#i want more people to know of xxxholic and how good it is
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xxxHOLiC, 2003
#i want more people to know of xxxholic and how good it is#the anime didn't get the budget it deserved and it shows#but the adventures and lessons have stuck with me since 2003 lmao#xxxholic#watanuki kimihiro#yuuko ichihara#xxxholic rei#dark fantasy#japanese folklore#japanese fantasy#manga#2000s manga#rare manga
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Hihi! What are 5 things that make you happy? (bonus, ask the last 5 people in your notes :0)
TMNT - Seriously like every show and movie is GREAT and I'm currently reading the IDW comic. I've literally adopted each and every turtle as my own son.
Trigun - Vash the Stampede is my BABY GIRL and MY HUSBAND. I've been into Trigun since I was a lee wass. I love Vash so much. I got my dad to actually watch Trigun with me so it's something really cool to bond over with family. Trigun stampede is also like SO good. I also read Tri Max in the library and didn't publicly cry. :)
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle / XXXholic / Magic Knight Rayearth/ Clamp - I'm super into these classical shoujo series. They shaped how I am as a person to this day. Clamp was a lot of firsts for me in terms of manga reading so they're forever in a special place in my heart.
Scum Villain's Self Saving System - This book lives rent free in my mind. I can't believe how funny it is. It's so insane and I love every second of it. How am I somehow Binghe and ShenQingQiu at the same time, but lowkey I want what CumPlane have IRL. that's the ultimate romance to me and they're platonic .
Lout of the Count's family - LITERALLY go read it this series. Cale Henituse, young master silver shield, is EVERYTHING. That sweet man who adopts everyone is just like me FR except we're nothing alike BUT I STILL LOVE HIM.
My secret 6th - DO YOU KNOW Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint is written by a married couple???? Kim Dokja is apparently modeled after the wife??? Hello??? I'm not normal. I'm not sane.
I'm asking you next @noname-nonartist @wrathofnature @wallstoothin @wizard-finix @tinyballerinadancer1 :>
real answers below
Art/ Creative Expression! Being able to draw pretty neat stuff whenever I want is so awesome! It's more then drawing, I like writing and making stuff by hand too.
Super generic answer but my family! I have a pretty small family and a bunch of pets. We're all super close and they bring me joy. I like helping and taking care of them and I like it when they help and take care of me!
Another Generic answer, my friends! Sometimes they're the reason I get up out of bed! Friends are awesome like that.
Brainrot! Zoning out about my latest brainrot is my life copium. I like to imagine my current fav character being horribly tortured by the narrative but it's ok because my brainrots always have hurt comfort. Or I just imagine bundling up my Oshi in a blanket and giving them a warm bowl of soup. It can go either way really.
Cartoons, Anime, Movies, Media/entertainment in general - I can't get enough of them. They're just so delightful especially the ones with whimsy.
#brainrot#what makes me happy#fandoms#tmnt#omniscient reader's viewpoint#orv#teenage mutant ninja turtles#lcf#lout of the count’s family#scum villains self saving system#svsss#trigun#trigun stampede#trigun maximum#Clamp#xxxholic#tsubasa reservoir chronicle#I am so unwell for them#I love them your honor#secret 7th is Ace Attorney
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I think it's because the only CLAMP's works I read are TRC and CCS but I didn't see the true name thing coming. When I read it, I thought of is as a parallelism to TRC but your recap made it sound like this is a theme for CLAMP's works.
Would you mind giving me more context about how true names play a part in CLAMP's universe? And why did a lot of people see it coming even if is not something that happened in og CCS? At least not that I remember
Yes, true names seem to be a recurring theme in CLAMP's stories, especially in the most recent works.
In general, for what I know (I haven't read all of CLAMP's stories but I plan to fill that gap now that Clear Card is over) it's very common to have characters who are called in a way for most of the story, but are revealed to have another name towards the end.
This thing of the true name, in particular, seems to have taken a more concrete shape in xxxHolic, where Yuuko explained that if you give someone your true name, they can take your soul, and if you give them your birthday, they can take control of your life.
Hence why, especially among magicians, it's usual to go by fake names (Yuuko's name itself is a fake one and they never revealed what is her true name), cause it's particularly dangerous if it ends up in the wrong hands.
I think many people saw it coming, for Kaito but Akiho too, for good reasons: in chapter 51, thanks to Momo, we have the first mention of Kaito going by a fake name. That was also reiterated in a CLAMP Space some time ago. When there's a "flag" for a true name, fans usually expect to get it in the end, and in fact the other flag came in chapter 78 when Akiho told Kaito, in tears, that she didn't have a name to call him with.
Giving someone your true name is no joke and this is a testament to what Akiho means to Kaito (if it wasn't already clear from what he did for her).
For Akiho, it was something that was in the air since looooong time, because both her name and her last name were too similar and related to that of Sakura to be "real". They really looked like an alias that was made up to result in that way.
We had a "flag" for Akiho too, when she was reharsing for the play and there was a line where Sakura asked her "what's your name" and Akiho opens her mouth as if wanting to reply something instinctively, but stops herself and we only see "......" in the bubble of her dialogue.
I always felt that was the "flag" I was waiting for, it seemed to me like she was about to accidentally tell her true name.
We don't know if Akiho has been using this alias ever since she left her clan, to be honest it would be a little weird and it wouldn't be farfetched to think that she uses a different name for every country she goes to.
Akiho comes from a clan of magicians, and even though she doesn't have powers, she still learned all the customs of the magic world.
Moreover, it is sensible that she would be sent around the world with a fake name straight from her clan, since she bore a magical artifact inside of her, that they needed to protect.
Then, as you said, there's also a component of parallelism with Tsubasa because, as I've been saying for some time, Akiho and Kaito do have parallels with Syaoran and Sakura in TRC (they experience similar things in several instances).
#reply#cardcaptor sakura#clear card arc#card captor sakura#ccsakura#ccs spoilers#anonymous#akiho shinomoto#yuna d. kaito#cristaux#cosmos
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final part of @secretarykang's ask since gil already has drunk hcs
gilbert feinze fashion headcanons
this man is a walking fashion icon tho like srsly he looks like someone who poses for the chanel magazine
gil actually knows what style fits him and the colors that would suit him so his servants are adamant on ensuring his wardrobe is top notch as possible
in fact, there's a time when gil punished some of them for handing him clothes that are too itchy he had to struggle during meetings with other clans (he just didn't feed them blood for like uhh one week which is torture in itself)
his color palette revolves on autumn browns and nudes? he's basically like a walking maple leaf at this point
he recently found out black items don't suit him as much as people make it out to be tho he wears black mostly when he is going to war conferences
most of gil's clothes in the demon world have victorian-esque with dark academia touch to it since he's the head of the feinze clan and he has to look like royalty so he assumes the post
he's more on long coats, white dress shirts with long sleeves, dark trousers, brown boots, and ofc attention to detail like silver link cuffs and piercings (yes he never forgets his piercings)
another item that he never lives without is his wedding ring since it's the only thing he got from giselle
also carries around a golden pocket watch that he exclusively got from karlheinz (so he would know if he reversed time and did some sht he needed to cover up)
tbh gil thought of doing like a tongue and nose piercing but he just went "I don't want them anymore" bcos he found out that he would experience talking like a baby and looking like a cow
btw he owns a lot of ruby jewelry bcos they remind him of blood (after all he stopped drinking blood ever since giselle died)
when he lived in paris, he would opt for trench coats and suits that would emphasize his frame (and he realized girls really dig him in suits bcos he be walking on the streets and they just come to him bcos he looks so good)
but when he resided in japan, he believed in kimono supremacy
like what suit? he'd rather wear kimonos since they're more comfy and the sleeves are loose and he can move and about
and yes, the color palettes would vary... kinda leaning more on the warm orange and red tones. but tbh gil had a hard time looking for the perfect kimonos and yukatas that would fit him
that was until he found out abt this manga called xxxHOLIC and he got all his kimono inspirations from watanuki kimihiro (aka main character of said manga)
one might think he's a cosplaying adult especially when he walks around in kaminashi 😭😭😭
for his footwear, he owns a lot of shoes (like he doesn't only settle for the classics) but one thing he doesn't wear that much are sneakers??? and it has something to do with his adult image like basically this guy makes sure he looks adult
even said one time, "at least I don't go to Ryoutei and pretend like I'm some kind of teenage transfer student" isthisshinandcarla
he mostly wears derby and oxford dress shoes since they are easier to pair with most of his suits. but when he's wearing a kiono, he would either go for a simple geta pair or his classic black brogue boots
ofc gil is not complete without perfumes bcos this guy owns a lot since he has lived for a long time. while there are tons of perfumes that's been out in the market, he always deviates towards chanel no 5 (aka one of the most hated perfumes by many)
and yes, he knew what the original chanel no 5 smelled like, hence he found the newer ones so different than what it smelled before
it's actually frustrating how gil can pull off this perfume and smell good even tho many people say it smells like an old grandma soap
he even bought the accompanying soap and lotion like anything chanel no 5 he has (even the giant bottle)
one time devyn passed by his office and she told him he really smelled so good like wood and tea and clean soap and when she asked his perfume, gil casually pulled out the bottle much to her own horror
"Are you kidding me? That famous Chanel no. 5 is your perfume?"
"I'm not. Why are you making a face like that?"
fun fact: chanel no 5 is also giselle's perfume
#diahell#diabolik lovers#diabolik lovers headcanons#diabolik lovers oc#dl oc#dialovers oc#oc asks#oc aesthetics#oc questions#fashion headcanons#oc fashion#karlheinz#karlheinz diabolik lovers#karlheinz sakamaki#tougo sakamaki#devyn kang#kang devyn#gilbert feinze#gilbert#giselle feinze#giselle
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I've been neglecting Tumblr as a whole this weekend as I burn through costume-making, but I think I can keep up with Trigun Book Club!
Archive
Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10
Trigun Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4
Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for Trigun Vol. 2, Chapters 5-6 below.
Chapter 5: Murder Café
CW: Sexual assault, human trafficking
This title sounds like a place I'd either really want to eat at or never want to eat at.
It's interesting to see what they did and didn't keep of the city design in Stampede.
Even yandere emo boys have to eat sometimes.
The heck? Is this woman barefoot?? Why would anyone be barefoot out there??? Oh. Oh, shit. Are we gonna get into that aspect of the story already???
Yyyyup. Well, dang. These men chose the wrong bar to stumble into. I know a few things about yandere emo boys and there's a thing or two they're a bit sensitive about....
If your SO ever, EVER slaps you to the floor while screaming at you for looking at someone else, even if it's not in public, get help and get out of there. I realize these guys aren't these women's significant anything, but that's not the point. Or maybe it is. They are the kind of people who would treat another human being this way. They are not people who love these women.
Dude. This shit is blaming Legato for being too pretty and making these women feel bad that they'll never have a handsome man like him while bragging about assaulting them in the same breath. WTH???
Everyone else in the bar wants to take these guys down, but they're big and powerful and intimidating, making it pretty impossible for the average person.
Ok, but this panel of chibi Legato just... chewing away. At this rate I'm gonna add him to my collection. And then shove him in a box and throw him in the bottom of the sea.
I wonder if this guy meant to hit Legato's fork or if it was just a lucky shot. Also, what kind of grip does this man have that he was able to keep ahold of his fork while it was shot in two?!?!
Huh, he was going to let them go about their business, confident they'd get theirs. But they done overstepped now.
He says it like a command, as if they have any control over the matter once he's in play.
Nice and traumatic for all involved. Good... good....
I'm impressed these guys are standing their ground after that display. We're gonna assume they're so scared that whatever sense they had has left their stupid heads.
Current favorite angry Legato face:
Just in case being kidnapped and raped by slavers wasn't already the most traumatic thing to happen to these women....
Honestly, it's good and important to see this bit of humanity from Legato, even if it makes for a much more muddy morality in the story overall. Maybe particularly because it makes for a much more muddy morality overall.
Dude, for his arm to be at this angle, he's gotta have CLAMP-in-their-Tsubasa-Chronicle-xxxHolic-era proportions.
I wonder how Vash would have handled this situation had he been there instead. Surely Vash isn't unaware that this sort of stuff happens in this world....
Chapter 6: A Gathering of Demons
CW: Human trafficking
So much sand....
I love how, in this story, our primary windows into the world are Milly and Meryl. Like, they're characters in their own right, but they're also the closest thing we have to an Everyman through which we interact with the story.
Yeah, Vash is probably on hyper-alert for now because of the Gung-Ho Guns. Constantly concerned about the safety of everyone around him.
That reminds me, I should retrieve my tea from the kitchen. (It's jasmine, if you're curious.)
GoshDARNIT, Legato! You're not supposed to be flattered and happy when people announce they're gonna hunt you!
He's just a silly, happy boy.
Heh. Foreshadowing.
YUS YUS YUS MY BOI WOLFWOOD IS HEEEEEEERE!!!
Soooo many things I could say here and I will say none of them. Instead, let's all just appreciate how much the bus driver here looks like a hippie straight from 1960's Berkeley.
I'm impressed they managed to get that thing on the roof of the van.
LOL, Wolfwood's response to people calling him out for being a frumpy, shady guy....
Awww, cute Vash face!
I love everything about their meeting here.
It's interesting that WW quickly notes how much Vash fits the description on his posters when Monev was quick to say Vash looked nothing like the description of him.
I do like the introduction '98 gave them, though, with Vash inventing a crazy name for himself and then Milly casually dropping the whole "Vash the Stampede" bit.
Vash looks very unsure of WW here. Resigned, but unsure.
The slavers are gonna try to do what to whom? Hahahahahahaha GL
Speak of the devil....
Who the hell is he talking to??
Yeah, this wasn't gonna end well for them....
THE PORTABLE CONFESSIONAL!!! Gods, I hope this thing shows up in Stampede. It's the dumbest thing, but it's also beautiful. Especially the way WW just SHOVES it on people's heads.
WW's introduction is great. Is he a genuine sweetheart or is he a conman? Both??
WW can't not melt at kids, can he?
Dude, they've been hanging out for... what, a few hours? And already WW is reading Vash like a book.
This pose looks... uncomfortable.
Hahahahahaha, he's stuck in it.
Gods, that's a freaking MOUNTAIN of bodies. He should compare it with the one Erwin Smith has.
Ok, I kind of love how Legato handles these guys. He's like, "Oh, so you want to make a profit selling people? How about I kill half of you so you can make a profit off the organs of people you might actually give a shit about? Get fucked, scumbag."
Oh. THAT'S where the chapter title comes from. Hi, everyone!
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What inspires your art? Like, how did you come up with your art style, how happy you are with it and if there are any other artists that inspire you?
Asking a few people as a way to understand and grow as an artist at a crossroads. Have a good day.
That's a big question! lol
Inspiration:
I think it's fair to say that I'm inspired by a wide variety of things, and that's what tends to combine to influence art—most of my art comes from a place of wanting to communicate what I'm thinking, just like my writing does. Some things are easier to communicate visually, and some linguistically. I took a variety of classes in college as part of my degree, including some unrelated to it, such as cinematography, lots of art history, etc. and I think having an understanding of those things can help to cultivate an understanding of what goes into... everything, really. Composition, color, form factor, material, history. I find it all interesting and I like to think about those things when I write and draw because I like to have concrete ideas of place and object.
Influences range from manga to books to superhero comics (I mean, obviously), cartoons, music, movies, and whatever else, but also of course other little things from day to day life whether that's personal experiences, specific imagery (of a sunset or something else), foods, outfits I see on the bus, and so on. It's very much a matter of absorbing the world around oneself and translating that into images (or words).
There are definitely a lot of artists that inspire me! Not necessarily style influence but some of my current favorite artists include (but are not limited to) Petra Nordlund, zombieisok, Nick Robles, Esad Ribić, Tradd Moore, Cathy Kwan, Tess Stone, and a whole bunch of other people (too many to list them all!)
Like, Ryōko Kui has great art! Dungeon Meshi is super pretty. It's great to read comics and see great art—I love the way Non-Stop Spider-Man (Chris Bachalo) looks, I really like David Lafuente's work in Radiant Red, Scott Hepburn does some really cool work, I really enjoy the way Eduardo Ferigato draws the characters in Radiant Black (esp Marshall), etc. etc. etc. there are a ton of artists whose work I love!
And! I think this is important—my friends! Spending time talking to my friends has always been a source of inspiration for things to write or draw, since I was in middle school at least. It's fun to bounce ideas off of each other and I enjoy it a lot even when I don't draw or write something related to whatever convo (which, lbr, is most of the time lol)
Art style:
Off the top of my head, there are some specific things I studied on purpose in middle or high school while drawing—Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket and CLAMP's works in general but especially Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and xxxHolic were very influential on my developing art style. What I did then was not try to make my art look Like CLAMP or Like Takaya at all times, but rather mostly looking at things like how they would draw ears or whatever else, though I also did copies/studies of specific panels (freehand, not traced) where the goal was to make it look like the source to understand shapes etc.
I think that CLAMP's shōnen manga style influence is probably still wildly obvious in my art—I draw people very long-limbed and I know it! (lmao)
I was also definitely influenced/inspired by Nanae Chrono's Vassalord, plus some anime like Tiger & Bunny, which I adored in high school.
Tess Stone's work overall but esp Hanna is Not a Boy's Name has also always inspired me a lot, though I'm not sure to what extent his art has influenced mine—but I think it would be a lie to say it hasn't lol. His work with shape language, color, typography, etc. is next level 👌
As far as more recent influences, it's harder to say. I look at a lot of art, read a lot of comics, and so on, so I pick up small things through osmosis from all of the things around me, inevitably, as well as looking at reference photos. So art style is of course the specific way I process the world and art and so on—the corners of mouths, the shapes of shoes—and re-combine it on paper, and it varies from the very simple 10 minute chibi doodles to the more rare and intensive full illustrations that take 10 hours/multiple days.
As far as my own art quality/satisfaction, I'd say at this point I tend to be mostly neutral on it as a whole, with of course specific pieces I like a lot or some that didn't turn out quite right. I know I have strengths and weaknesses and I only took one or two drawing classes growing up, a couple of painting classes (a few how to draw books)... nothing more than rudimentary basics for the most part.
I have a very hard time grokking some things, esp as it pertains to spatial awareness and dimensionality (my irl coordination and proprioception isn't great, which I'm sure is related). Complicated perspective is hard, sure, but just making objects feel like objects is also difficult so I often have to spend a long time working that kind of thing out when I include stuff like turnarounds or alternate angles. My art has a strong element of harsh-edged two-dimensionality, imo, whether shaded or not, and I know that—that's not necessarily a bad thing, but there are times when it's not what I need lol
But I like the way I draw people, anyway, even if stiffness is a problem, and I enjoy drawing shoes and clothes and faces and so on, and I know my anatomy has improved a lot in the past 5 years or so which is always fun to see. Looking back on something and being like, "man that's rough," is like—a concrete sign of improvement, that's for sure. looking with new eyes.
So I am almost entirely self taught, and I tend to draw—as mentioned earlier—to communicate something specific, so while I drew more constantly as a child, as an adult I don't spend a lot of time just doodling (esp now that I'm not in school anymore lol) or anything like that... I look at references a lot more though lol
I should probably do some studies like figure drawing or take some more advanced classes, and I would like to do so at some point in the future, but for now I'm fine just doing whatever. I have a lot of hobbies (and ADHD) so sometimes it's like... help 😂
anyway!
that was long lol but hopefully helpful.
#asks#Anonymous#also just found out chrono is trans glancing on wikipedia hell yeah bro 🤝#i will say in contrast to my drawing i actually DO write almost constantly and have been doing so since i was like 10#it's one of the only things I can often manage to do even when executive dysfunction is kicking my ass#probably because my brain is always overflowing with thoughts and words
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Sorry if this has been asked before. Been reading Hana and Angel threads and while the hate is disheartening, I can't help but agree the execution of Hana is really disappointing. That said, Megumi has had so many interactions in the Culling Games but somehow none of them really stuck. At the very least with Yuji, his relationships are well crafted and given more emotional weight but with Megumi? Why is it that the author seem to deny giving him a good and well established connection outside of his friendship with Yuji? Is he purposely being limited to just the MC's friend? I would have thought that as deuteragonist he'd at least be explored more outside of the constraints of his ties with Yuji.
The Hana situation in particular. Thank goodness that she's still alive, but the real question is, will her supposed 'connection' with Megumi play a role in his character development? Or is she just relegated to be a future plot device?
Like, I just don't get some of Gege's decisions. Why bring up the whole 'getting saved by Megumi as a kid' when he could have just went with she's a vessel for Angel and that's it? Why make a connection if he wouldn't bother expanding it (in case all that is in store for Hana is simply to be used as plot device later)? Idk, it feels demeaning to Megumi's character. Like the half-assed relationships around him is a mirror to his character or something.
I salute your passionate love for Megumi, anon 🫡.
But, to your point. I get it about the execution. I just don't think too much about it. I'm over here vibing with Gege, anon 🌊, I acknowledge but ultimately don't focus on the flaws in jjk. I like it enough to be selective about where I focus my critical thinking regarding jjk.
But I do think Gege is very guilty of steamrolling through things and characters and that's why a lot of people can't stomach jjk.
I also must admit I have zero objectivity about Megumi so I see the situation differently than you. I kind of wonder if rather than limiting his character as a friend to the MC, Gege is just writing Megumi as a quiet young man who has few friends with whom he connects deeply with. You know... like the total introvert that he is.
To me, Megumi having few relationships also speaks volumes about how Megumi holds Yuji and Tsumiki in very high regard. It could be hc, but there's something very "attachment" issues about Megumi.
I taco'more about it under the cut.
Regarding your question about Hana as a plot device...
As much as I hate to say it, I think given the treatment Tsumiki got, Hana turning into a plot device is very likely, most especially because her symbolism represents light in the sense that she brings illumination and reason (Angel).
Basically we're reading Megumi Kaisen and Gege just wants to give Megumi development no matter who gets dragged into his drama.
Ok but in all seriousness. While I maintain that having a crush on Megumi does not cheapen her character (even though I acknowledge I'm not a fan of the "girl pines for unavailable boy" trope), I can see why others don't like her back story.
The only thing I can think of is that either we don't have all of the information we need about them yet, or Gege is sort of using the backstory to show something regarding "fate/destiny" but was admittedly sloppy about it.
The thing with "fate" as a trope is that it's hard to execute. If you've read Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle/xxxHolic you've seen it. How do you make it look like fate is happening without it feeling like plot armor?
Look at it this way: what are the odds that Hana would run into Megumi ever again? Under these particular circumstances no less. She's literally host to what sounds like a major sorcerer from the past who has the power to exorcise Sukuna.
It's "fate" plot armor in action if you consider there are millions of people in Tokyo and that the Culling Game wouldn't even be happening if it weren't because Toji didn't kill Geto.
The fact that she calls him "destined" one is a bit too much, yes. And you know what? Between you and I, one of the reasons I've hated how people hate on Hana is because I can relate to her infantile and undeveloped perception of love, which is why I like the hc of a Hana that learns to see the real Megumi--the natural progression of that perception.
But back to the fate conversation, you also want to keep in mind that Megumi is literally a "blessed" child and the son of an unlucky af man who happened to break destiny. He is also the one descendant of the clan that inherited Ten Shadows.
So you have tons of "fate/destiny" type elements around Megumi's character and Hana is one of them.
Regarding his relational dynamics feeling unfulfilling to you. I mean, yeah I gotcha. If you care to come over to the dark side, the way I see it, again, he's very selective of the people he gives his heart to.
You give meaning to things according to how you see the world, so even if Gege is not going deep with the writing, come on, come to the dark side. I must admit I personally don't see how the relational dynamics being half assed says anything negative about Megumi's character. I do love the idea that these dynamics he has with others say something about him though...
Like his dynamic with Sukuna speaks to his own untapped creative potential.
Or how his dynamic with Gojo was part of what made him doubt himself since he already assumed he could never surpass him.
Or how his dynamic with Inumaki shows he's very intuitive.
Or how Hana is a mirror of Megumi's naïveté when it comes to putting certain people on a pedestal because he cares for them intensely. Idk anon, I kinda like this hc about Megumi because Hana metaphorically represents the light/mirror he needs to become aware of this pattern in himself.
In conclusion, I just want to say that I do think this would be one of those situations where, for the sake of enjoying jjk, one just files one's grievances under "don't think about it too much and focus on jjk's strengths and what you do love about it."
Hope these mindset reframes help if you care to consider them, and thanks for stopping by.
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tag 9 people you want to get to know better!
thank you @thermoskind for tagging me!
three four ships: look, i tried to narrow this down to three but i thought of these four and got sad at the thought of not including them all so y'all are getting an extra one.
doumeki/watanuki/himawari (xxxholic) - MY BABIES WHO I LITERALLY NAMED MYSELF AFTER!!! listen, my son watanuki deserves to have a stoic but protective boyfriend and a sunshiney girlfriend who hug him lots and help him see he's worth loving. AND my daughter himawari deserves to be loved without fear of accidentally doing harm. AND my son doumeki deserves to be with the people he cares about despite the fact that they're both self sacrificing as fuck. this is the trio of my dreams and i will love them until i die.
satoshi/daisuke (dn angel) - so like...this ship is from a manga that a) isn't popular and b) i would not recommend despite the fact that it had a vice grip on me as a fourteen year old. that being said these two anime boys are truly THE BLUEPRINT against which i compared all other ships for YEARS. like, there was a time where how much i loved a ship could be directly correlated to how much they reminded me of satoshi and daisuke. they were IT. and this ship truly gave us everything! the romeo and juliet parallels of them coming from feuding families!!! the enemies to friends (to lovers in my heart) of it all!!! they are THEE fire and ice ship!!! THEE sunshine one and stoic one!!! literally never talk to me about the canonical dn angel ending i want to believe in my imagined ending where they were allowed to be in love.
nico/karolina (runaways) - this is specifically about the comic book version but the tv show version is also good! i remember reading the first few comics series like...a decade ago and OHHHH MAN these two messy girls really got me. i remember reading the first conversation that implied karolina was a lesbian and becoming the living embodiment of this emoji 👀. and then nico's whole mess of a sexuality crisis after karolina leaves? poetic cinema if i've ever seen it. i spent so many years holding a torch for these two that when they actually got together in the comics in 2018 i legit bawled my eyes out. i read the words "i'm not confused anymore, karrie. i'm not scared. i know what i want" and i DIED. their first kiss has been the background on my phone for nearly five years. they are my everything i am soooo serious.
ed/stede (ofmd) - OH YOU KNOW THE GAY PIRATES HAD TO BE HERE. when i say they rewired my brain that is in no way and exaggeration. i can vividly recall scrolling through tumblr and seeing how much people were talking about this show and thinking "okay but is it really gay or is this just another tumblr thing?" LIKE. I HAD NO IDEA. staying up until two a.m. to watch episodes 9 and 10 and feeling every human emotion all at once is a moment i will never recreate. i could've done anything that night. i could've fought god and won. it's ten months later and i still think about these two every fucking day. i truly can't wait to see more of them. david jenkins thank you for my life.
first ever ship:
arnold/helga (hey arnold) - i was like...seven and didn't know what fandom was yet but i watched every episode with baited breath waiting for these two to get together lmao. the romeo and juliet episode is burned into my brain for all time. when the jungle movie came out and they finally got together after OVER A DECADE of waiting i literally went out and bought a cake to celebrate.
last song:
grace kelly by felix hagan & the family - what can i say? this song is a bop!
last film:
glass onion - listen, i would watch benoit blanc solve murders for another fifty movies and never get bored. also janelle monae i am free on thursday if you are also free on thursday and want to meet up on thursday when i am free.
currently reading:
i'm between books at the moment but the one i most recently finished was lost boy by christina henry. it was genuinely the most five out of ten book i've ever read. like...not bad by any means but so meh i have no words.
my plan is to read the magicians by lev grossman next because i miss those characters more than i can say but like hell am i gonna watch the show again after...all that. i heard the books are worse soooooo we'll see how far i get.
currently watching:
the mayfair witches - i recently watched the first two episodes and i really enjoyed them! i've never read the books so everything is new and exciting to me. i'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes!
currently consuming:
a caramilk bar. ❤
currently craving:
the ofmd season 2 trailer. please djenks i need to see ed again my crops are dying.
tagging:
i feel like most of the people i would tag have already done this so instead i'm gonna do a cop out and say if you're reading this consider yourself tagged!
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Hey there! 😄 I have a question: I’m not sure I’ve been following you long enough to catch the start, or maybe I just missed it, but what exactly IS Heart Eater AU? How different is it from what you consider canon? 😯
Hello and welcome!!!
Nah, Heart Eater au has been around for maybe a year now? And I go through spurts where I forget I have other au's so it's very likely that people just miss it lmao. But thank you for showing interest and I apologize in advance for this lengthy answer!
Heart Eater AU is a modern au where nine tailed fox Kirishimi lives with college student Hien. Generations ago, Kiri was the fox spirit that protected the Rijin family until they believed she was a threat and sealed her inside a puzzle box. Legend has it that she's cursed the family for their betrayal and releasing her will only spell doom for the Rijin family. Present day, Hien is the last true Rijin and attending college for business to take over his families company. He receives the puzzle box from his grandfather before he passed away and out of curiosity, Hien solves the puzzle, releasing Kiri.
The entire time she spent sealed away is in anger and she swears she will consume the heart of the last Rijin for the trouble they caused her. Except Hien's grandfather also gifted him a charm that keeps Kiri from attacking him outright. The sight of it usually quells her fiery attitude. Seeing how she can't just take his heart as easily as she hoped, Kiri demands accommodations with Hien and they become reluctant roommates.
That's the short version, of course and it has supernatural elements to the story itself! They're visited by all sorts of entities, including Emet-Selch who is an eldritch horror in this au! It's a bit inspired by xxxholic and all the fun adventures Watanuki has with the supernatural.
Big differences from Kiri's canon story is that Kiri is usually a hyur but in this story she becomes a kitsune who pretends to be a normal miqo'te by tying a ribbon around her nine tails to look like one big tail. Also Kiri's attitude is vastly different. She's a bit arrogant and smug whereas typical Kiri is more friendly. Hien stays about the same, determined to fulfill his goals but has a relaxed side to him. Usually counters Kiri's quips with a better wisecrack remark of his own that shuts her down.
The rest of the au is simply told through various stories, screenies, and is very much still in the works but it's one I enjoy a lot! Anything kind of spooky with a bit of romance is good! It's also fun exploring their dynamic and how Kiri interacts with a world that's completely different then the one she remembers.
You can find more works related to Heart Eater au in the links below!
Heart Eater
Devour
Star Shower
Summer Vibes
Heartbeat
First Kiss
Also! @heirsofdiscord has joined the au and has made lots of beautiful artwork and screenshots to accompany the story of Moth'ir and Thancred! I highly recommend taking a look!
Thank you again for the interest and if you ever want to know more about this au or anything else, feel free to ask!
#|| Mognet#|| Heart Eater au#IN WHICH I RAMBLE FOR A CENTURY THANK YOU FOR ASKING ABOUT IT#I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THIS AU#i have so many ideas for actual plot that i just never get around to writing or gposing lmao
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KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITIN!G TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !!
NAME: bee!
PRONOUNS: she/her
PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: for more in-depth plotting, probably discord? but i also talk nonstop about rp related things on my twitter!
NAME OF MUSE(S): lloyd irving, richter abend (tales of symphonia), kimihiro watanuki (xxxholic), and bee (bee and puppycat)!
RP EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): GOD i’ve been rping since i was.. probably 12. i don’t want to say how many years it’s been, i am OLD
PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: started on neopets, moved to gaiaonline where i stayed for a LONG time until i moved to tumblr!
BEST EXPERIENCE: BEING ABLE TO MEET MY RP PALS IRL,,, i’ve been able to a couple of times with different people and it makes me SO happy ;;v;; i hope i can continue to do that for many years to come!
RP PET PEEVES/DEALBREAKERS: i don’t have a lot, i just ask if you’re interested in doing something specific with me, please talk to me!! i am always happy to chat!
FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: GIVE ME THAT HURT AND COMFORT BABEEYYYYY (fluff on its own is also extremely good)
PLOTS OR MEMES: both!! i love plotting out things and seeing ideas being brought to life, but memes are also good bc sometimes you get some really memorable and funny stuff out of them!
LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: oh god i try so hard to shorten my posts but i write a lot. i cannot help this i’m sorry
BEST TIME TO WRITE: on one of my days off! i work at very stupid hours so once i’m home my brain just goes to mush
ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): I THINK SO?? i relate very strongly to watanuki and bee (i didn’t get my nickname from her tho i swear) and i think i have some of lloyd’s goofball tendencies... richter was like my edgy emo phase that i look back on and cringe at /JOKE
tagged by: nobody i took it from amber
tagging: the cool person reading this
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[7]
~
Warning! This post contains spoilers up to chapter 170 of Tsubasa (and Chapter 71 of xxxHolic). Please skip this if you have not read that far.
Please also make no comments about what happens after that point in either manga.
~
TIME FOR DRAMA
Well the little hesitation before Chi uses his name sure speaks volumes now.
I know it’s just a writing quirk leftover from the translators trying to fill the gap in the speech bubbles but IT FITS SO I’M TAKING IT
Ohh this part kills me too. It speaks so much to why Fai’s running in the first place - because Ashura wants Fai to kill him and Fai absolutely can’t bring himself to.
Even though Ashura is a monster.
Even though Ashura has murdered countless people across Seresu.
Even though Ashura has deliberately manipulated Fai throughout his life so that he had SWORN to kill anything that harmed the people of Seresu, planning full well to go on a murder spree later, exceed Fai’s magical strength, and then force Fai to kill the only father figure he’d ever known in the process. To break the curse? Sure. And brutally scar Fai’s psyche perhaps EVEN WORSE THAN IT ALREADY WAS.
But Fai can’t do it, because in lieu of the twin he thinks he killed himself Ashura is the only person who has ever shown him any kindness ever in his life, so HOW COULD HE? How could he possibly bring himself to murder the only person who gave him a space to feel loved and protected and safe?
As much as I know Ashura did all this with a goal in mind, he utterly failed to comprehend the feelings at stake here.
Which leads us to everything that happens in Seresu later but LET’S NOT GO THERE JUST YET.
LET’S STAY HERE AND SEE OUR FIRST EXAMPLES OF FAI’S FAKE SMILE.
EVER PRESENT AND UTTERLY SHINING
TO HIDE THE FACT THAT HE IS UTTERLY HEART BROKEN INSIDE AND ON THE HEELS OF HIS MOST HEART WRENCHING CONFRONTATION IN CENTURIES
EVEN HERE, ALONE WITH CHI AND NO-ONE ELSE, HE STILL CAN’T BRING HIMSELF TO EXPRESS HIMSELF ANY OTHER WAY
THAN TO JUST PLASTER A SMILE ON AND ACT LIKE IT’S A FUN TRIP HE’S TAKING
Because admitting anything else might just destroy him in the process.
And it’s only for the BRIEFEST OF SECONDS
Right as we can no longer see his smile any more
That Fai finally lets the act drop for a single heartbeat
AND THATS ALL HE GIVES HIMSELF
HE’S ALONE IN THIS EMPTY WORLD AND HE STILL HAS TO KEEP UP THE ACT UNTIL HE’S ONLY A PARTIALLY FORMED FACE IN A MAGIC SWIRL
And I’m still sad because, to jump back to the moment with him standing over Ashura
LIKE
DESPITE EVERYTHING ASHURA HAS DONE
FAI STILL EARNESTLY WANTS HIM TO HAVE GOOD DREAMS
FAI IS ABSOLUTELY BROKEN INSIDE
Once again the paternal figure in his life has GONE ON A MURDEROUS RAMPAGE AND KILLED NEARLY A COUNTRY WORTH OF PEOPLE
AND ONCE AGAIN FAI IS THE CAUSE
ASHURA DID ALL THIS FOR FAI
DELIBERATELY SO THAT FAI WOULD MURDER HIM
And Fai has to run away and hope he has good dreams instead BECAUSE THIS DELIGHT OF A MAN HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG IN HIS LIFE
HE ONLY WANTS TO BE KIND AND HEAL PEOPLE AND YET THE UNIVERSE GIVES HIM SOUL DESTROYING TRAGEDY EVERY TIME
FAI DESERVES THE WORLD
#Oops excuse me its my time in the wailing room again#long post#UGH#UGHHHHHHHHHHH#how does anyone deal with feelings about Fai#Tsubasa#Tsubasa catch up Chronicle#Catch Up T2#Fai#L I K E#EVEN IN THE MOMENT WHERE HE TELLS ASHURA TO HAVE GOOD DREAMS#HE’S THE ONLY ONE#IN THE ENTIRE WORLD#AND HE STILL FEELS LIKE HE HAS TO KEEP SMILING#FOR ASHURA#AND I WANT TO S C R E A M
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As a treat, for fandom ask, how about xxxholic (or clamp in general if some questions don't fit)
Since I already did xxxHolic I'll do CLAMP this time around! And you're absolutely right, this is a treat I love all excuses to ramble on about my interests.
The first character I first fell in love with:
Like I said for the xxxHolic ask 110% Yuuko. I cannot say enough how much I absolutely adore her.
The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:
Lol. Both Kurogane and Fai (but especially Kurogane). Let me explain myself so I don't give anyone a heart attack. Basically I heard so much hype around them before I read TRC my brain went full "oh they're going to be overrated" mode. This is anyone's fault besides the people who forced me to read some terrible YA romance novels in middle school, but it's still the truth.
But oh my god I love these too idiot dads so much, there are no words! I can see why these are people's favorite characters they are just so... so! They're just so much I love I would do anything to make these idiots happy, they are the dads I wish I had and they deserve happiness and each other. Kurogane especially, his character archetype is not my favorite at all but honestly he's one of my favorite CLAMP characters.
The other person is Yue. I remember being so irritated by him when I first watched CCS I called him "an elitist bourgeois asshat" in one of my liveblogs lol. Well he may still be an elitist asshat, but he's definitely grown on me. I don't like tsunderes, but he can be a good character, as a treat. (He's also super pretty, uses a bow, and symbolizes the moon so he was going to grow on me eventually inevitably).
The character everyone else loves that I don’t:
Does anyone like Clow Reed? If they do welp. Clow Reed I will fight you in the back of a Denny's parking lot and I will win out of pure rage.
Same goes for Taishakuten I will also be fighting you in the back of the Denny's parking lot. Cool motive, still murder. There is no explaining away what you did to Karyoubinga.
The character I love that everyone else hates:
Are there any CLAMP characters people hate besides the creepy ones (who deserve hate looking at you teacher from CCS)?
Maybe Bishamonten from RG Veda? Look I know he has like ten lines and is a war criminal but he also simps for his wife so like... it's fine (he still pissed me off in the beginning of course just, I appreciate a man who respects his wife).
The character I used to love but don’t any longer:
Kendappa. I know, I know, we love some sapphic representation, but honestly by the end of RG Veda she really grated on me. I just felt like her character motivations really fell apart, and at the end she sort of just became useful for a plot twist and nothing more. It really frustrated me, and I just found I couldn't love her as much as I did throughout the rest of the series.
Like, it's fine if she's attracted to power but then why did you do what you did with Souma? It just doesn't make sense, it felt like you could have done a much better job writing it. I'm getting heated about this again I need to move on lol.
The character I would totally smooch:
Yuuko, of course. Also Hisui if Kokuyo didn't immediately murder me.
The character I’d want to be like:
I would not only smooch Hisui I would ask them to teach me their ways. I wish I were as confident in what I want and as willing to let go of a constricting environment as they were.
The character I’d slap:
Clow Reed, Fay Wang Reed, Taishakuten, Kendappa, all the creepy ones, the list is very long lol.
A pairing that I love:
Hisui x Kokuyo is my second favorite CLAMP ship (my first is from xxxHolic and I already explained). They're just so devoted to each other, and so content despite everything going on around them. I just really love their dynamic and their backstory is dramatic and romantic and just, yeah!
Also Yukito x Touya because, I mean, how could I not?
Also Tomoyo x Sakura, let's go lesbians.
A pairing that I despise:
Yasha x Ashura in a romantic sense is really weird to me. Please no.
Also I'm sorry Clow but Yuuko is in fact too good for you, and even if you are canonically in love with her and she in love with you, no <3
I hope I didn't forget anything. I'm sure this will change after reading all of CLAMP's works, but for now I think this is pretty comprehensive!
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Lore Here: Drace about your rant of me about the Fem/Yuu. You kinda forgot Yana Toboso is behind all the making of this game despite being affiliated with Disney. She's famous for having the best and badass female characters, from the cute yet dangerous dancer Lizzy to the ditzy yet awesome gunslinger maid Mey Rin. So I don't think female empowerment isn't a thing in Japan.
I'm sorry, but you are projecting your ideal to her, not talking about how she actually is.
Have you seen at least youtube comment on Black Butler osts like Lacrimosa or Monochrome Kiss? Mostly are about Sebastian, Ciel, or even Claude and Alois. Hardly mentioned women. Famous is what people think of you, what people knows you for, not everything you can do.
Yana Toboso can make compelling, interesting, badass women because she is indeed a great, skilled writer, that is true. But it's not what she's famous for. Like how in universe Malleus and Idia can play the violin well, but they are not famous for it, Malleus is famous for being one of Twisted Wonderland's best magician, and Idia for being a weeb. Just because you are good at something, doesn't mean you will automatically get famous for it. Furthermore , just because you're good at it, doesn't mean it's something you will prefer or enjoy.
I am not denying how compelling the women she did/can writes, but think about this. If she enjoy writing/designing women so much, why didn't she write more prominent women with more screentime? Make female main character of any her own works?
Sure, you can have developed character despite lack of screentime, but if you like the character, naturally you will want to give them more screentime. And I don't feel that passion from Yana when she writes women, just like I don't feel that passion when she writes Leona, Epel or Sebek.
Track records show that she was once yaoi mangaka under the name of yanao rock, releasing two yaoi tankobons, Glamorous Lip and Hana Shonen. Then she did draw a character for the joshimuke game Touken Ranbu, Hyuuga Masamune. , and involved in two anthologies for that game. After that, in the 2020 she is also character designer for the joshimuke anime Skate-Leading Star. And we know TWST is also all male cast joshimuke. See all of these her involvement with joshimuke and none ever mentioned female character? What she does best, and what she enjoy, ultimately is writing and designing men, and sorry to say, that's the fact. I'm sure someone as famous as her did get request to design female characters, but so far she never finalize it (in context of cases where she is honorary/hired character designers or the sorts). Sure, she does admire fellow strong women, she can write strong female, you can see that if you stalk her twitter, but for whatever reason, other than simply doesn't want to, she never write a prominent female character, let alone main character.
CLAMP also starts as yaoi doujin makers, but they also did their share of mangas of female empowerment with female main characters/prominent women like Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth or xxxHolic. When there is comparison like this, you can't use Yana as best example of female empowerment because she never wrote prominent, main female character before. And by prominent, I mean prominent out universe, that she got plenty of screentime , that readers are consistently reminded of what she is, what she can do, and how is her personality.
-Mod Drace
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3. what were your top five books of the year? (or of whenever.)
17. did any books surprise you with how good they were?
this year I'm not sure I even read five books. the only ones I can remember are The Calling and The Toll and neither my "jay reads x" tags or my ereaders are suggesting otherwise. BUT of all time? I'mma include series as Just One and in no particular order:
Good Omens. Listen, if you follow my blog you know this. the hyperfixation serotonin cured a month long bad depressive episode when the TV show came out. It was the first book I ever managed to reread and I own at least 4 copies. I've always been a slut for angel/demon friendships or romances and I really liked a lot of concepts in it and I already knew I was a PTerry fan when I picked it up so it got me into Neil Gaiman too
the Terre d'Ange trilogies by Jaqueline Carey. Listen. these are beautifully written books. They are also incredibly racist. The first trilogy is entirely white savior. There's a race of romani inspired people and their in universe name is literally Ts*ngani. There's a Jewish inspired people and the white protag finds their name of god to undo a curse. BUT they're also done in ways that like. You can kind of feel like she's trying to pay respects to the cultures while choking on her own foot. If you can think critically about these things and other casual fantasy racism (and that you can see from later trilogies she's trying to not be as insensitive) and they don't turn you off the writing is beautiful and all the romances feel real and there's such beauty in her world and even with the racism and the hell she goes through, Phedra never stops seeing the beauty in the world around her and I think that's beautiful (ditto Moirin and Imri kinda has to learn to see it but he absolutely gets there) oh! but a heads up- there's lots of sex. It's very sex heavy tho you can skip the scenes there's not generally any plot in them and never anything you can't context out from things happening before or after
Dragon Age: Masked Empire. I'm not going to call this book good. I'm not even going to say I like it. Almost everything about it pisses me off (esp in context of the canon of the video games.) Like in my head there's outlines and plans for a rewrite of the whole book based around a scene changing and Celene not being fucking racist when she's dating a god damned elf. (Briala!! deserves!! better!!) But the book is still a special interest and I love it dearly.
the Kingmaker Kingbreaker series by Karen Miller. I am a slut for characters who Know they're the Family Disappointment and try to wear it with irony. Gar checks that box. And Asher checks the "favorite son and thus hated by siblings" box and mash them together? Wonderful. Even more wonderful when the prince looks at this ragged fisherman and goes "hm. he doesn't respect me in the slightest. Lets give him a job I love this" and friendship blooms. Admittedly I've not finished this series bc I get deep enough in the second book and it hurts bc I kin Gar and everything goes wrong for him and my gf won't promise me he dies (as is the only way to make him stop hurting at this point) but it'd Good Shit
aaaand we'll be weeb for a mo and go with Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles bc CLAMP fucking slaps and I've not disliked anything they've done but Tsubasa (and xxxHolic) are their most ambitious projects I've seen and Tsubasa ties together really well despite pulling twists and turns most people wouldn't be able to pull off. Plus like. Fai's my boy. My wonderful baby boy. my traumatized baby boy. My "I'm happy and optimistic and oh so charming I'm not traumatized at all!~" baby boy
runner up: the Scythe trilogy by Neal Shusterman! Let me tell you, if you ever want to hate getting attached to characters you can't say the name of without giving context, this is the trilogy for you! In a future earth where humanity has achieved immortality (and things are mostly run by a sentient AI) Scythes are chosen to be trained and then given quotas on how many people to "glean" to keep the population at a level that can be supported but most people still live at least the equivalent of a few 80-100 year life span.But, when Scythes finish their training they shed their old name and life and pick a new name and that name has to be someone who was influential in the mortal days. You ever see my posts saying "how dare this series make me like a character named Ayn Rand"? yeah. There's a Rand. And a Marie Curie and Michael Farraday and a fucking Nietzsche (tho he's very minor). This trilogy follows a couple of kids as they're trained to be Scythes and have to fight the power and corruption in the system they're now a part of whether they wanna be or not and oh yeah, while it doesn't come up often Citra is emphatically cannonically not white.
as for being surprised at how good something was I'm not.....sure. I tend to literally only ever consume media at the suggestion of others (which is part of why I can stagnate) so I tend to expect things to at least be decent, the only exceptions being like. books I read for school. I suppose A Separate Peace by John Knowles counts here. I think it was the first time I really resonated with a character for negative actions in a not really negative way and was one of the first things me and my toxic best friend used to kinda describe our friendship (that we knew was toxic.) I've never reread it to see if it holds up to who I am now as a person, I expect it doesn't, or at least not completely, but it's still got a special spot in my heart. Helps that I got really good marks on my in class discussion on it due to being willing to admit levels of resentment that can sometimes come from being a teenage introvert friends with an extrovert.
#books;#jay reads;#asks;#I was gonna answer this yesterday and then I had a Fucking Day#I'm sure there are other things I could put on this list#but my memory is SO bad and I've not read a whole lot since I left school
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this has been on my mind for a while, i feel like at this point women mangaka are generally just better people than their male peers. id love to hear some manga ud recommend by women, or even counterpoints, but series like Dungeon Meshi and Full Metal Alchemist (among others) handle almost every concept way better and with more tact, from writing complex stories and compelling characters, to treating women like people and not literal naked rubber dolls colored in and posed like p*rn
you are so correct and right and speak the truth. female mangaka are superior. the only thing i’d say women don’t do inherently better is technical skill, there’s a ton of men who are very artistically talented, but arts such as drawing and music are sexless because they come from within and aren’t influenced by external factors such as upbringing and culture like storytelling is. everything else though is done better by women.
the problem with female mangaka is that they’re gatekept in the industry big time. if you google ‘top selling manga of all time’ and go to the wikipedia page, there’s only one woman (kimetsu no yaiba) and she’s hiding behind a male pen name just like arakawa hiromi did when fma was publishing. neither of these are a coincidence. women are generally discouraged from pursuing writing, and if they do so they’re supposed to be kept to female-catering genres such as shoujo, josei and BL, which are all much less mainstream, aka much less known and much less money making, than shounen. women having to go behind male-sounding pen names just so men don’t feel emasculated when consuming their stories has been a thing since forever across many different cultures. misogyny is universal.
however since i personally am more into grittier stuff and i love gratuitous violence and other Mature Themes i just naturally gravitate more towards manime with all its faults. my favorite genre overall is comedy though and women ARE much funnier and wittier and more clever. female mangaka also typically avoid drawing gore, which i guess is cultural but a shame.
i’m not a manga person, i prefer watching anime, so i compiled a list of my favorite anime based on manga written by women a while ago. i am VERY picky and nitpicky and very, very difficult to please so keep in mind that the list is not comprehensive in the slightest, it’s just things that i personally liked. there’s tons of non-shoujo stuff written by women that generally have a good reputation (ao no exorcist, gangsta, kuroshitsuji, noragami, d gray man, magi, xxxholic etc etc etc) that didn’t stand out to me at all so again, short as it may be the list isn’t comprehensive in the slightest, i’m sure that people who are more easily entertained than me could come up with much more names. anyway everything else is copy-pasted, i know you know of fmab but it needs to be included because fmab is my favorite series of all times:
anime based on manga created by female writers that is in fact not heterosexual shoujo/BL garbage and i liked (bc i saw a post talking about female mangakas and all of the examples were in fact heterosexual shoujo/BL garbage that i unfortunately do not like and my anime opinions are super important obviously):
fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood (adventure/action) any comments on why fmab is the best product the anime industry has ever put on the market that will not be outranked ever is tired at this point. fmab is a masterpiece through and through. most of the cast including the mcs is male tho, which is sad
saraiya goyou (historical/drama) if fmab didn’t exist it would have been the best title out there. the word masterpiece was invented solely to have a concept to describe it. the ost makes up about 40% of its greatness and was also written by a woman. too bad all the characters are also dudes
acca: 13ku kansatsuka (drama/political) not quite as good as saraiya goyou but from ono natsume as well. pleasant is the word to describe it. relaxing. most of the cast is male.
dorohedoro (horror/gore/comedy) the best title since like 2006. everything about it is great. i don’t have a single criticism and that’s rare. the cast is actually balanced and the Female Characters™ all 3 of them are like, written like people and are also queens
hachimitsu to clover (slice of life) saddest shit i’ve seen in my whole life in a colorful packaging. heterosexual as hell but not in an obnoxious way. cast seems diverse but it’s predominantly male
3gatsu no lion (drama) from the same great umino chica who is a master at writing uncomfortable truths and playing on emotions. she’s great truly, her character crafting is genuine but it gets under your skin, it’s filled with melancholy. 3gatsu is actually better than hachimitsu to clover but 1) i have history with the former so i like it better and 2) it was produced by shaft which is a sin in itself. they did a great job and all, i just hate the studio. has 3 speaking female characters in total but all 3 are great.
hoozuki no reitetsu (comedy) it’s hilarious it’s fresh it’s pretty it’s original it’s creative it’s clever. i love everything about it. the whole cast is male with like 2 exceptions and a rabbit (best girl).
saiunkoku monogatari (historical) i know it LOOKS like heterosexual shoujo garbage but it in fact isn’t. fits the reverse harem trope solely because everyone is in love with mc, but there’s next to no actual romance in it. unironically a feminist power fantasy. i’m still shooketh at how incredibly pleasant it turned out to be. the mc is a young girl but the rest of the cast is almost exclusively male.
arakawa under the bridge (comedy) surprisingly… by shaft again. maybe i am prejudiced. anyway, hilarious to a fault. is technically centered around a str8 romance but it’s not too invasive so whatever. cast is pretty balanced and the women are written smartly.
saint oniisan (comedy) THE funniest thing i’ve ever watched, or nearly. it’s just great. same author as above. cast exclusively male
doukyuusei (gay romance) which i refuse to categorize as BL simply because it’s not BL. it’s a good gay story, arguably the best one yet. cast is exclusively male but i mean lmao
gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun (comedy) straight to A FAULT but funny nevertheless. is, technically, heterosexual shoujo garbage. but SOME heterosexual shoujo garbage can stay i guess. cast is balanced, there’s still more male characters tho
gokusen (comedy/action) which i don’t remember much about except kumiko being best girl and me liking it. if i remember liking it it means it was good overall just not memorable. cast is exclusively male except mc.
kaleido star (sports) which is the ONLY good, or like decent, or like watchable sports anime, the rest don’t exist. not based on a manga but the writer is a woman which is strongly felt through and through. good story about perseverance and will and optimism and competition. cast is predominantly female and all of them are wonderfully written
michiko to hatchin (adventure) again no manga but main writer is the woman known for creating the skating BL people pretend isn’t BL. michiko to hatchin is way better than the skating BL, but i’m just a humble girl. tons of sexy sexy i could have lived without but otherwise good shit. cast predominantly female.
mushishi (mystery/fantasy) mushishi is just unique. it has similar vibes to saraiya goyou and natsume sure, but ultimately it’s one of its kind. it has what ghibli wants. again no criticism about it at all except that it’s SO chill that binging it is super tiring. cast is predominantly male but it has few reoccurring characters so who cares.
natsume yuujinchou (mystery/fantasy) again similar to mushishi but less grim. chill story, the definition of wholesome unproblematic etc whatever kids are into these days. cast predominantly male but not memorable in the slightest
petshop of horrors (horror) watched it a million years ago so don’t remember shit but i do remember liking it. cast is probably predominantly male
sakamoto desu ga (comedy) well THE actual funniest thing i’ve ever watched, it licherally had me in tears, i watched the new episodes like 3 times on the days they came out, including watching them on tv in real time at like 3 am or whenever it aired in shinya. just really really funny. cast predominantly male.
#anon#ppl have recced me dungeon meshi so many times bc it's similar to gk one day...... one day i will check it out#then again ppl also say that vinland saga is similar to gk and boy it is not i fell asleep like 509 times while watching it so
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this was supposed to be a more general post that looks at the similarities between xxxholic and supernatural overall, and while I still want to do that, honestly the only thing I can focus on today is the overlap between watanuki and dean, so that’s what we’re getting instead.
i’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a character tragic. what makes their story sad. like, supremely, miserably, bone-achingly sad. and, okay, when i say i’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a character tragic, what i really mean is i’ve been thinking a lot about dean winchester and watanuki kimihiro. im rewatching supernatural with one friend, and im rereading xxxholic with another, and the experience is wild because all my wires are crossing in my brain, because dean and watanuki punch me in the gut in the exact same offensively upsetting way, and i really wanna talk about it.
i wanna talk about how the tragedy of dean winchester is that he spends 15 years stretching, like a rubber band, closer and closer to a realized sense of self, to then be repeatedly snapped back to his shitty self-esteem by the exterior forces on the show telling him (directly or otherwise) that he doesn’t deserve better. and that even after dean breaks completely free of his binds and starts to envision a life for solely just himself, he is left to die on a rusty nail and ultimately does not get to experience anything of that dream life of his own.
and i wanna talk too about how watanuki spends the first half of his journey learning to see his own value, to respect the ways he impacts others, and to actually begin forming meaningful relationships with the people who care about him, only to ultimately sequester himself into a shop he can’t leave for the rest of eternity while the people he loves grow up and leave or die or marry each other so they can keep having kids for the specific purpose of giving watanuki company, so he, too, gets to experience nothing of a life of his own.
like, it’s their shared endings that do me in. maybe they don’t seem the same on the surface (dean dies and goes to heaven, watanuki lives forever in a multidimensional shop he can’t leave), but i feel like narratively the consequences are the same. the damage to viewers looking for a cathartic release is the same. because dean dying and going to a place where nothing changes, he owns nothing, he works for nothing, means the growth he’s allowed as a character has ended. dean died never knowing what it meant to live for himself. he died never knowing how sweet true freedom--from john, from michael, from amara, from chuck, whoever--could be. and, honestly, i think you could say the same for watanuki.
i really feel like yuuko wanted something else for watanuki. yuuko does everything she can to help him understand that his life has meaning and value beyond his own understanding of himself. she tries to get it through his head that acting like he doesn’t matter, sacrificing himself willy nilly--that hurts people. his actions don’t affect just himself. and despite yuuko (and others! the joro gumo, doumeki, SYAORAN to name a few) spending so much time on this with watanuki, watanuki just doesn’t get it. or he does, but decides not to accept it. and because watanuki is stopped in time, trapped in that shop by the series’ end, the growth he’s allowed as a character ends, too. he literally stops living for himself, instead living only for the faint wish yuuko might come back. and it’s terrible.
there’s just this sense of lessons not really learned for both of them. dean dances for over a decade with the idea that he deserves to die, even if his deepest wish is to live. he toys with the idea of change, the idea of growth. and of course, he gets it to an extent. but the story never lets him really go for it. he’s given moments that indicate he’s ready for something more than hunting, something more than bloody death, but in the end he dies in a random accident and insisting this was always it for him. so what was dean’s true takeaway as a character? for audiences? did he ever really think he deserved something more?
and for watanuki, I ask the same. so much of watanuki’s arc is about learning the power of kindness and love when offered to those who otherwise don’t receive it, including HIMSELF. he is told over and over again, and seems to believe himself, that he can no longer make choices for other people on their behalf, nor can he try and undo what others do on his behalf. but I really feel the hope is that in teaching this to watanuki, in teaching the power of his own actions for better and worse, that he will make the kind of choices that aren’t needlessly self-sacrificial, because the damage of those self-sacrificial choices is almost always greater than the benefit. so what are we to make of watanuki’s final choice to stay in the shop? “don’t vanish!” says syaoran, but watanuki does exactly that. he literally removes himself from the world, takes on yuuko’s mannerisms and dress, and quits engaging with anyone who isn’t doumeki and kohane. what is our takeaway then? what does watanuki learn about loving himself when he so easily denies himself a future for the sake a dead woman who is never, canon suggests, coming back?
there’s just such a gut wrenching softness to dean and watanuki. such a sense of perseverance in the face of loss and misfortune that drives me up the wall. and there’s such a clear love for each of them from the people around them, too. we’re all a little in love with Dean Winchester. we’re all a little in love with watanuki kimihiro. I keep thinking of Castiel’s words to dean in “despair.” about how he does everything for love, everyone knows it. and I see in my mind doumeki telling kohane about his secret promise to never let watanuki die alone, like that kitten he held by the river in the rain. just as cas and sam and garth and crowley and so many others are dedicated to dean, so are kohane and himawari and yuuko and doumeki dedicated to watanuki. the loyalty both these men inspire from us readers as well as other characters, because of the goodness of their hearts...it kills me that neither of them get to really see it for themselves. how loved they really are. they catch glimpses, but neither gets a life in which that love can really be lived in. it’s just another layer of tragedy they both carry. dean deserved better. watanuki deserved better.
I could talk about a lot more, and maybe I will later, idk. the wider themes between the two texts, the parallels between castiel and doumeki, the ideas of hitsuzen and fate. but for now I guess I'll stop here. just looking at dean and watanuki is enough pain for one evening, I'd say.
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