#madhouse part 3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arataka-reigen · 6 months

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Fall Anime Lineup Review by yours truly 🙋‍♀️🍄🌻

This season, I decided to watch as many anime as I could just for funsies :^) in total, I have started 19 shows, and I will be reviewing most of them here to help you decide whether to give any of them a go or not.

(This review will include exclusively animes that debuted this fall, so no second seasons or continuing shows from the summer season)

I will be classifying these anime in three categories: "definitely worth the watch," "anime i've dropped," and "not a masterpiece, but check it out if you like the premise"

Reminder that this is my personal list, and as such it 100% reflects my personal tastes (like my preference for female main characters and yuri shows)

So I might give 5 stars to shows other people would find bad, and that's okay! I invite others to make their own lists as well <3 (insert lets take ibuprofen together meme here)

(Last thing: i've added cw for only a few shows, and this is by no means an extensive list of all possible triggers for any of these shows, so watch at your own risk and if you want more info you can always ask or dm me)

Without further ado, let's get on to it (under read more because im not a jerk to make you scroll past All That)

Definitely worth the watch / Top 5 Shows of the Season

The Apothecary Diaries

Summary: Drama, Historical, Medical, Mystery. An apothecary gets kidnapped and forced to work in the emperor's palace as a low-level servant. She is determined to quietly work until her years of servitude are over, but when the emperor's infants fall ill, Maomao uses her medical abilities to solve the mystery of their illnesses and accidentally attracts attention to herself, being brought to work in the inner palace instead.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: This show is incredibly well animated and voice acted. The characters are brilliant and the stories are beautifully touching. It appears to be slightly episodic so far, with Maomao having to solve a new mystery or save someone's life every episode, but there is still a sense of a continuous story being told and I can't wait to see where it goes.

The strongest part of this show is definitely the MC. Maomao is incredibly competent, self-assured, and a no-nonsense person, but she is also completely obsessed with drugs and poisons, going so far as to test them out on her own skin and become completely giddy when she is presented with the opportunity to work with drugs in the inner palace.

Another great quality is the sorority between women, Maomao was raised in the red light district, and the courtesans there taught her a lot about life, which Maomao applies to her everyday life.

If you only have time to watch one anime this season, this is the one I'd tell you to watch.

CW: self-harm, child death, kidnapping, classism.

Edit to add one more cw: pedophilia (it is treated as a bad thing and not endorsed, but it caught me by surprise while i read the manga so i thought to warn this is an upcoming topic that will probably appear on ep 6)

Sousou no Frieren

Summary: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy. What happens when you are a 1000 year old elf who has to live on after your friends' death? For 10 years, Frieren and her companions fought against the demon king, disbanding after he was defeated. The story accompanies Frieren after Himmel, the Hero, dies, and she has to come to terms with the fact that the short 10 years she spent with him have made a big change in her life.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: Much like The Apothecary Diaries, Frieren's tale is not full of battles and fast paced episodes, actually it is slightly episodic, accompanying Frieren as she goes around collecting spells (that's her hobby) and traveling around the land through all the places she went with her party back in the day, seeing their statues and getting to experience new things while trying to figure out what those 10 years of adventuring meant to her.

This is MadHouse we are talking about, so of course, the animation is one of the strongest attributes. Sound design is also very good, you get to feel the quiet moments and appreciate them. The ending song is so good.

Also like Apothecary, Frieren's greatest qualities are the characters, especially the MC and the feelings they have to face.

Tumblr loves characters haunting the narrative right?? You guys are gonna love Himmel, the Hero istg

CW: death, grief, mild violence.

My New Boss is Goofy

Summary: Iyashikei, Workplace, Comedy. Momose used to be harrassed by his last boss so he decided to quit his job and joing a different company. Momose's new boss, Shirosaki, is an airhead and being in his presence is a fun and healing time for Momose

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: SALARYMEN YAOI. This show will heal your soul. The animation is simple but pretty, the cute effects like the ones on the gif above really help set the mood of a cute show. You've heard of cute girls doing cute things on anime, now get ready for cute salarymen doing cute things such as adopting a cat and naming it their shipname, riding the merry go round together, etc.

Also, may I offer you a canon bi/pan male character who is not embarrassed to come out?

Btw this is iyashikei, so nothing really happens, that's the whole premise of this genre. No drama, only healing. Idek if there is anything i could put as content warning. CW: cuteness overload.

I'm in Love with the Villainess

Summary: Isekai, Fantasy, Comedy, Girls Love. Rei wakes up in the body of the hero of her favorite otome game. Her favorite character in that game happened to be the villain, though, so now she is determined to dedicate herself to pursuing the villainess.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: I debated a lot whether or not to include this on my top 5, but the incredibly deep and honest discussion about sexuality on ep 4 definitely swayed my decision in its favor. The animation is nothing special tbh and at times can feel very static, but the character design is good enough for me.

This anime is like if Maria from Hamefura was the one who got isekaid and then fell in love with OG Katarina, so... yeah, of course I love it.

It seems that this anime will go in some interesting and unexpected directions as well in the future so I consider this is a must watch of the season.

CW: classism, discussions of homophobia, mc can come off as a bit of a stalker,

To complete my top 5:

I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness

Summary: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy. Despite being innocent, Charlotte is accused of evil deeds, has her engagement annulled, and is forced to flee her country. While crossing the forest, running away from royal guards, she collapses near the residence of one man known as "The Demon Lord"

When he hears her story, said Demon Lord decides to let her live with him and teach her all about the naughty things in life (such as splurging on clothes, eating dessert instead of dinner, and playing games all night long).

Rating: ★★★★★

Review: EXTREMELY WHOLESOME. You'll be cheering for these two to get together in no time at all.

It's kinda like My Happy Marriage, but with less drama lol the female lead was raised as a servant in her own home, much like Miyo, and then gets rescued by a male lead who wants her to learn how to assert herself and live for herself, pursuing her dreams and valuing her own life.

Not a single moment with the male lead so far has been anything but incredibly wholesome and funny, Allen is genuinely a good person who wants Charlotte to heal for her own sake. He gets incredibly happy when she hides a secret from him because it means she is becoming her own person.

So far, this anime hasn't had a single problematic trope this type of romance anime usually has, and i don't think it will. What it does have are fun tropes like: "and there was only one bed", side characters hardcore shipping the MCs, male lead who is genuinely a good person but laughs and talks like a villain, etc.

ALSO, this series has not one but TWO catgirls <3

I could genuinely talk about all five of these animes for hours, but I still have lots of others to review. Hit me up if you want to talk abt any of them, though, i'm gonna be super happy.

Honorable Mention:

Spy X Family Season 2

Rating: ★★★★★

Anime I've dropped or will probably drop soon

The Vexations of a Shut-in Vampire Princess

Summary: Comedy, Fantasy, Vampire. Komari is a shut-in vampire who is weaker than most vampires because she refuses to drink blood. One day, she wakes up to the news that she was appointed as commander of a unit of the imperial army and must now do her best to win wars and survive while all the vampires under her command fight for her position

Rating: ★½ (a full star is too much, so I'll give it half a star)

Review: This one is bad, fam. The reason I found why it is so bad can be summarized in a 3 words: the male gaze.

Komari is filled to the brim with yuri bait, with every female character being into the MC, but all of it is 100% targeted to male audiences. This show is NOT classified as shoujo ai, so i wouldn't get my hopes up and ultimately dropped it after only the first episode.

If you need one more reason to Not watch this, I'll let you know that in less than 10 minutes of the first episode the MC almost pisses herself because that's a thing they decided to include for no reason at all.

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-rank Adventurer

Summary: Adventure, Fantasy. After losing his leg as a newbie adventurer, he retires and returns to his hometown, becoming a handyman for the village. One day, while searching the mountains for herbs, he finds a child and raises her.

His grown-up daughter leaves to become an adventurer herself, and after years, she hasn't returned home not even once...

Rating: ★½

Review: Oh, I wanted this one to be good so badly 😭 it was one of the animes I was most looking forward to after reading the premise. Actual dilf character who is in his 40s and not in his 20s? I wanted it to be good. But, alas, it is bad. There is nothing problematic with it at all, the anime is straight up just bad. Bad animation, horrible pacing, terrible exposition, abhorrent setup of the story, not enough moments dedicated to setting up the story and making the characters interesting at all.

I Shall Suvive Using Potions!

Summary: Isekai, Fantasy. The God of Earth accidentally kills Kaoru and, as compensation, offers to lead her to a new life in another world with any power buff she wishes for. She chooses to be able to make potions with any effect of her choice, infinite storage space, and other stuff

Rating: ★

Review: ngl the first half of the first episode was pretty interesting, with Kaoru dying and then bargaining for compensations, but after this it just gets very very very boring. Nothing too bad about this one, it's just not worth anyone's time.

Tearmoon Empire

Summary: Fantasy, Time Travel, Comedy. Following her execution at the guillotine by the hands of the revolutionary army, Mia Luna Tearmoon wakes up to learn she has returned to when she was 12 years old, before the downward spiral and decline of the empire that led to her death. She finds her bloodied future diary, and decides to use it to change events to ensure she doesn't end up at the guillotine once again.

Rating: ★

Review: i honestly still don't know where i stand with this anime. It's got an interesting premise, but the development of the story is not at all interesting. This and the S-rank Daughter anime are under a category of "animes i wish had better writers."

CW: death, torture

The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch

Summary: Fantasy, Comedy, Gag Humor. Alyssa, a witch who lives alone in the forest, picks up an abandoned human baby one day. 16 years later, Viola had not only grown into a daughter who adores Alyssa, but also into a woman of exceptional proportions, and the people around them mistook Viola for Alyssa's mother

Rating: ★★

Review: it pains me to drop this one ngl, as it is a very sweet mother & daughter story and I feel like we don't get enough of those. The story can be very wholesome at times, and i've had more than a few good laughs with it. But it's just not interesting enough to keep you watching, and most of the jokes get old pretty fast. I'd recommend watching just the first episode because it is cute and funny enough by itself

Not a masterpiece, but check it out if you like the premise

Hoshizuku Telepath

Summary: Comedy, Girls Love, Supernatural. Fifteen-year-old Umika Konohoshi, with a love for aliens and space, is having a hard time socializing at school, but she hopes her words will someday reach other people. When self-proclaimed alien Yuu Akeuchi enters her life, Umika will learn more about being open.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: Just cute girls doing cute things + this one is actually classified as Shoujo Ai, so i have high hopes for a bit of romance. So far, it's just been very, very cute, wonderful animation, cute characters, cute interactions, cute everything

None of these characters are neurotypical btw.

I highly recommend this one, it almost made my top 5.

16bit Sensation: Another Layer

Summary: Time Travel, Workplace, Comedy, Otaku Culture. Konoha is an illustrator who loves beautiful girls and bishoujo games. She works at a video game studio and dreams of making bishoujo games. However, in the present, where mobile games are all the rage, Konoha spends her days as a sub-illustrator just coloring the back of background characters.

One day, after some happenings, Konoha got her hand on a masterpiece of a bishoujo game, and upon opening the package, she is suddenly taken back in time to the golden age of bishoujo games (the 90s). She joins a company named "Alcoholsoft" in pursuit of her dream of making games.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: Main character loves infodumping about her special interest so much she manages to get herself a time travel deal after infodumping on a random old lady.

This is another anime that almost made my top 5. It has a slow start and the continuity sometimes makes no sense ngl, but the premise is still very interesting. I was used to stories where characters get isekaid into a completely different time and space, but this girl is just sent back 30 years in time so she can witness the boom of her beloved bishoujo games.

The MC can get kind of annoying sometimes, but it isnt too unbearable, I still highly rec it.

Shy

Summary: Action, Super Powers, Drama. As the planet approached its third World War, individuals with superpowers appeared from around the globe to maintain peace. They became the symbols of their respective nations, striving to limit crime and bring evildoers to justice. Teenage heroine Teru "Shy" Momijiyama is Japan's representative in the world of heroes. When a mysterious threat called Amalareiks emerges, Shy must work together with her fellow heroes to stop them at all costs, all while dealing with her own feelings of inadequacy and shyness.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: a lot better than I expected, the myanimelist score does not do it justice istg. This season is full of shy and reserved main characters, but I feel like they get to be a lot more interesting than your usual shy characters. Both Hoshizuku Telepath and Shy deal with their shy characters in interesting ways and I rec both.

I also absolutely adore Iko, who is one of the first people saved by Shy in the anime, but she ends up badly hurt, which sends Shy into a spiral of doubt and fears.

CW: mild violence, death, grief, self hatred and suicidal thoughts

Migi and Dali

Summary: Comedy, Mystery, Suspense. Osamu and Youko want to adopt a child, due to their increasingly old age, they decide they can only take one kid. They decide to adopt Hitori, a gentle and beautiful boy.

However, Hitori's humble and overly polite exterior is merely a facade. In reality, Hitori is a carefully crafted character played by identical twins Migi and Dali. They did all that to be able to infiltrate their childhood town and uncover the mystery of their mother's death.

Rating: ★★★★

Review: This show is batshit insane and absolutely hilarious. These twins mistrust everyone around them and are constantly on edge to maintain the facade of being only one person, the extents they go to keep this up make for hysterical situations and I just couldn't stop laughing while being absolutely horrified by everything that goes on in this. This is a very disturbing anime, though, and the cw for this is gonna make you question whether or not you can trust my opinion, and you know what? I don't know if you should trust me either. But like,,, it really is that fucking funny. It is also just incredibly disturbing and fucked up as well, so watch at your own risk.

CW (this one is very problematic, don't say i didn't warn you): non sexual forced infantilization, non sexual forced pet play, non sexual groping, forced partial nudity, forced eating, minor incest vibes, implied murder, invasion of privacy, surveillance, classism, fursona, bullying, kidnapping and imprisonment. Most of these things happen to a minor, so.. yeah... not great...

If you would like more info on these cws before starting this anime, feel free to send an ask or dm me.

Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions

Summary: Mystery, Detective, Comedy. Totomaru wants to solve murders and help people, but lacks the skills for it. Following the advice of one of his seniors, he ventures out to enlist the aid of the reclusive Ron Kamonohashi. Five years ago, Ron was the most promising detective from the illustrious Detective Training Academy Blue; yet for reasons unknown to the public, he sank into obscurity.

The true reason Ron withdrew from the detective world was not from lack of desire, but rather from something out of his control—and Totomaru might just be the key for his return to his former calling.

Rating: ★★★

Review: This is the classic sherlock ripoff that comes around all the time. Not saying it is bad tho, it is quite fun and the dynamic between Toto and Ron is very good. The animation is pretty decent as well. I have only seen one episode so far, but I already like it.

Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me

Summary: Romance, School. As part of a punishment game, Ryuuto is forced to confess to the girl he likes, Runa Shirakawa, a very popular student.

Runa doesn't have a boyfriend at the moment, so she simply agrees to date him.

They have different friends and ways to have fun, and they are different in almost every way. Nonetheless, they begin to relate with each other.

Rating: ★★★

Review: this romance is quite fun and cute, Runa is very carefree about her relationships and isnt embarrassed by things like sex or whatever, she is quite experienced (as the title says), but she has never experienced real love so she just goes around dating in search for it. Ryuuto is very different and gets embarrassed just thinking about holding her hand. He also wants to make her feel appreciated and figure out what her interests are, so he is one of the first dudes to actually treat her like a human being, which, god, it is so real how men take women for granted and this anime shows that by the juxtaposition of Ryuuto being an actual decent person.

Anyways, it doesn't get a higher recommendation from me because the main source of conflict so far in this anime is another female character, who hates the female lead. And that. Uhh. I don't like stories like this. Im a women loving eomen. Im a yuri enjoyer. Im a girl's girl. So, i'd enjoy it more if the antagonist wasnt a girl who hates the female lead. But it is good enough so far to give me hope that this will change in the future.

The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons

Summary: Slice of Life, School. The Yuzuki family, which consists of four brothers, lost their parents two years ago. Hayato, the eldest son, is a hard worker and the pillar of the family. Mikoto, the second son, is calm and collected, but he has a soft spot for his younger brother Minato, the third son, who is energetic and lovable, but clumsy and awkward. Gakuto, the fourth son, is a studious and mature first-grader who is often referred to as a "wise man." The story follows their daily lives.

Rating: ★★★

Review: this is the only actual shoujo of this list. The rest is either shounen or not classified as either. I have only watched one episode so far, so I can't say a lot about it, the first ep was cute and wholesome, as most slice of life is. I say go for it if you want some wholesome family.

Undead Unluck

Summary: Action, Comedy, Super Powers. For the past 10 years, Fuuko has been afflicted by a condition that brings extreme misfortune to anyone who touches her. This has resulted in the deaths of her parents.

As she stands on a bridge above train tracks, Fuuko is touched by a strange man, causing the footing underneath him to break and dropping him in front of an oncoming train. However, when Fuuko finds the man's corpse, she discovers that his body is regenerating and that he is coming back to life.

The man is immortal and wishes for death. Together, the two will look for the best death possible.

Rating: ★★

Review: god, this one is absolutely insane and so full of blood and death, help. But it is good, I had A Lot of fun with the first ep and I'll give it a chance because I can see myself getting really into the main couple. This is a hardcore shounen tho, so it does include some classically annoying tropes, especially since the dude has to touch her to be hit by her unlucky powers.

This season only had 2 shoujos, and one of them had a classic shoujo problem (problematic age gaps), so i didn't watch it. Here is to hoping next season has more shoujosei.

Thank you for reading until the end (wtf, are you crazy) and happy watching <3

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theyhavetakenovermylife · 4 months

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Shadows Entwined: part 7

BatmanVsTmnt!Leonardo x sidekick!reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 / Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Bonus (18+)

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A/N: Finally it's here! Part 7! It’s been a long time coming. If you aren’t sure what the hell is going on, it’s okay. A lot is happening. I’m literally trying to follow the happenings of the movie as I write.

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After the whole ordeal with Scarecrow in the boiler room, you, Leo and the rest of the crew, find yourselves facing down a much bigger enemy.

Warnings: Spelling, loooong, fighting, many details, MANY Batman villains, Joker venom and ooze, mutant Batman, mentioning of getting hurt, and worst of all - Joker and Harley DPA.

The reader and the turtles are 19.

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When Batman said the halls of Arkham Asylum was like a maze, he wasn’t kidding. The halls went on for miles, with sudden strange turners and twists, along with unnecessary staircases that lead up, only to lead directly down again. Leonardo could not help but wonder what kind of mad man would build a place like this. This place could surely not help anyone, but only make them more sick.

Leo couldn’t help but notice the uneasy look in your eyes. With every door and every turn you seemed on edge, your shoulders tense and your stance ready for anything. Leo appreciated the fact that you were looking out, making sure that your surroundings were safe before moving forward. Yet Leo could not shake the horrible fear he had felt while being infected with the Scarecrow's fear gas. The way you had looked at him, fearing him, begging him not to look at you. Every fearful look you threw down Arkham’s dark halls reminded him of that. How you had feared him, and how he had almost hurt you in his pursuit to make you look at him.

Batman seemed to move down the halls with urgency and determination. Leo followed closely behind you and the gloomy vigilantly. In the short time he had known you and your father, Leo had learned that while in Gotham, it was best to follow Batman’s orders. Leonardo didn’t find the thought of the bat knowing the halls of Arkham to be strange, and by the way he turned every corner, it seemed as if he did just that. Batman knew Arkham, and he knew it well. You on the other hand was a different story. Until today, you had never even been past the iron gates of the asylum, reason being that Batman never allowed you anywhere close to that madhouse. And by the way Batman seemed to cover you, making sure the coast was clear, it was obvious that he still didn’t like it. Leo couldn’t blame him. He too felt a certain nervousness whenever he looked at you, the fear of anything hurting you nagging on his insides.

It didn’t take long before Batman led you to a door deep within the dark halls of Arkham, far away from any windows or other signs of the outside world. A quick wiggle of the door knob told you that the door was locked, prompting Batman to step forward. Batman bursted the door open with a firm kick and a loud bang. All three of you found yourselves in a big circular room, with a sky light at the very top of the high ceiling, and doors lining the curved walls. It was the lightest room you had been able to find in all of Arkham, yet the atmosphere was heavy with foreboding darkness and dread, flowing from the very walls. You knew exactly what room all three of you found yourselves in - the operation theater.

In the middle of the circular room was a nurse and a security guard, hunched over and placed upon the knees, their heads covered with a burlap sack, a smiley drawn onto the fabric. Cries and whimpers could be heard from under the sacks, along with pleas for help. Just behind them stood Two Face, in his signature two colored suit, with a golden gun in his hand pointed down between the two hostages. You gasped at his deformed appearance, with two cat-like heads growing out of the same neck, along with two tails growing out from his back.

“Glad you could join us, Bats”, Two Face’s right head said, a smug self satisfied smile placed upon his mutated face.

“You’re just in time for the coin toss”, the left head said, holding up a coin for all of you to see.

Leo grabbed the hilt of his katana, only for Batman to stop him, putting his hand out in front of him. The look upon his face was stoic, hard to read. “Wait”.

Leo was about to protest. Sure, he knew to listen to Batman and trust his order - he had been going so all the way through Arkham, so why shouldn’t he now? But Leo could not stand by and let two innocent lives get killed, just because Batman wanted him to wait. He opened his mouth, ready to speak his mind, when he felt your shaking hand grab onto his arm, your eyes staring up towards the balcony at the opposite end of the operation theater.

“Better listen to the bat, turtle boy”, sounded a strangely maniacal voice, followed by a hiss. If Lel had hair, it would be standing up straight. He could not explain it, but there was just something about that voice that made his stomach tighten in discomfort.

Slithering onto the balcony, a white snake wearing a purple suit jacket, along with what looked like a green mohawk. “Take it from me. One reptile to another”, it laughed, its voice echoing against the wooden walls.

“Joker”, Batman growled, his fists tightened as he readied himself, you and Leo following his lead. “Where’s Ra’s al Ghul and Shredder?”

Joker faked a gasp, throwing his hands dramatically into the air, acting offended. “That’s it?! Where’s Ra’s? Where’s Shredder? Huh! Why not; Joker dearling, I love what you’ve done with yourself”, he said, laughing once more before he dramatically threw himself against the balcony railing, feigning a hurt look and a disappointed voice. “Honestly Bats, I’m hurt”.

“Aw”, Harley Quinn's voice sounded as she made her way onto the balcony, stroking the snake's head with her paw. “Don’t pout pudden”, she said in an overly sweet voice, that only the Joker could find attractive. “I love your scales”.

“I go through all this trouble, and it’s like he doesn’t even see me!”, Joker cried, the back of his hand pressed against his forehead.

“You work so hard”, Harley said, bringing Joker’s face to look at hers, before she once again started stroking his head. “You’re my workingist Joker!”

Joker hummed in delight as Harley started rubbing her snout against his.

“I imagined I would see many horrible things when I walked in here”, you mumbled to Leo and Batman, your face grimacing in disgust. “But this is even worse”.

You just managed to finish that sentence when one of the other doors to your left slammed open, letting Robin, Raph and Mikey storm in, weapons ready in their hands.

“Hey! We made it!”, Mikey smiled, only to turn toward the balcony, just in time to see the tongue slapping Harley and Joker had started going for, along with the most unholy sounds any of you had ever heard. He gagged with a shiver. “Ew! That’s… weird and gross. Leo!”. He turned towards the blue clad turtle at your side. “Don’t get any good ideas from this!”

Leo’s only answer to Mikey’s comment was a slight snarl. He knew damn well what Mikey was hinting at, and once all of this was over, he would surely make his little brother pay for that comment.

It didn’t take long before Raphael noticed the two hostages kneeling down at the feet of Two Face.

“It’s the hostages!”, he yelled.

“Wait for my signal”, Batman said, but Raph had already started running.

“Nuts to that! It’s rescuing time!”, the brute yelled.

“Raph!”, Leo yelled, pulling out his katana as he started running after his brother. You were ready to run for Leo. Maybe you would run with him, aid him in whatever way possible, or maybe you would stop him. But before you could do any of that, Batman pulled you back with a firm hand on your shoulder, using the other to pull a bat star from his belt.

Two Face growled as he started to open fire upon the two turtles that were charging upon him. The two ninjas dodged the bullets with ease, weaving left and right, sais and katanas ready in their hands.

Batman threw the bat star, aiming it directly at the opening of Two Face’s golden gun. It flew through the air, before boring itself into the opening. Two Face looked at the gun in confusion, just managing to get a look at bat star before Raph was upon him, knocking him to the floor, using the hilt of his sai. Then he and Leo turned to the two hostages.

“Stop!”, Batman yelled as Raph started to pull the sack off the security guard. “Joker always has a trap”. But Raph did not listen. He pulled the sack off the head of the security guard, only to be met by a cassette player, playing cries and whimpering on a dying loop. Neither Leo or Raph got to react to the sudden twist of events, before a flickering blue light and a sizzling sound emerged from the fake security guard. Raph and Leo screamed out in pain, feeling their muscles contract under the eclectic shock.

“No!”, you yelled, trying to run forward once more, only for your father to pull you back, this time so hard you almost fell over.

“Whups!”, Joker exclaimed, bringing a hand up to his mouth, faking a shocked and embarrassed expression, before wiggling a red remote button in his other hand. “Did you think those were hostages? Guess the jokes on you! Hahaha!”

Leo and Raph fell to the floor, Leo’s katana clinging as it hit the ground. With a maniacal laugh, Harley leaped from the balcony, swinging her mallet over her head, aiming for the two groaning turtles. Your heart was beating and your mind was racing as you reached into your belt, pulling out two heavy balls, connected by a rope. Ignoring your father’s protests, calling for you to stay behind him, you flung the balls in her direction. They flew through the air, sending Harley to the ground as they hit her with a sudden bark of surprise, the weight of the balls hanging bound the rope around her. She growled and started biting at the ropes as you, Batman, Mikey and Robin ran in for action.

Two Face rubbed his left head, before slowly standing from the ground, gun still in hand, eyes burning at the four heroes that came his way.

“You had your chance”, his right head mumbled.

“My turn”, his left head roared, pulling out yet another gun from his suit. With both guns in hand, he started opening fire upon you, focusing his attention on the two youngest of the group. Mikey squealled, him and Robin dodging the bullets as they ducked for cover behind the wooden railing of seating up above, the bullets leaving holes in the ground as they went.

As the chaos started, Harley finally managed to bite her way through the ropes, leaping for you and Batman with the mallet in her hand.

“You!”, Harley yelled, her eyes burning holes against your mask. “Did daddy bring you along to work today? To show off some new tricks for the turtle boys? Too bad, because I did not like it!”

She got ready to swing her mallet at you and Batman, only to get interrupted by the intuition of polar bear, breaking through the door Raph, Robin and Mikey had emerged from, breaking the door frame as he went through.

“Is that Mr. Freeze?”, you asked in surprise and fearful awe, taking in the size of the white bear as it stood on its hind legs.

“Seems like it”, he mumbled back.

“Batman!”, he grumbled, his red eyes staring down upon him, his freeze gun buzzing in his paw. “Just the flying rodent I wanted to kill!”

You and Batman jumped out of the way, just before the ice beam could get to any of you. Mr. Freeze almost seemed to have forgotten your existence, focusing his gun on Batman, following him around the operation theater. You turned, just managing to duck as Harley’s mallet was swung for your head.

“Long time, no see, (H/N)”, she smiled, continuously swinging her mallet as you dodged. “Time we catched up, don’t you think? Now tell me girly, how’s the love life going?” She laughed, having as much fun as a child playing Whack in an arcade.

From the behind the railing of the seating, Robin and Mikey came out from hiding, seeing Batman being chased down by Mr. Freeze.

“Oh right. That guy”, Mikey said, annoyance dripping from his voice.

“Rematch?”, Robin asked.

“Rematch”, Mikey agreed, before the both started running down the curve of the seating aisle, getting behind Mr. Freeze before jumping upon him. The polar bear started turning and roaring wildly, trying to throw the two boys off of his shoulders.

“He's winning again!”, was the last thing Mikey got to yell, before he and Robin was thrown to the wayside, hitting the wall before passing out next to Raph and Leo.

Your attention behind caught by your flying brother, you did not react fast enough for Harley’s mattel, the force of her swing throwing you across the room, before landing in the pill of the others, right next to Leo, feeling your body ache all over.

Batman was stunned. Seeing his two children lying unmoving on the ground, he was easily caught off guard by Harley’s mallet, pinning him to the ground.

“Just stay down, Batsie!”

Batman growled before kicking her off of him. She screamed as she fell back, landing hard on the ground. Batman turned over on all four, getting ready to stand up, but the sudden ice beam of Mr. Freeze’s Freeze Gun had frozen to the ground in a kneeling position.

Joker started crawling his way from the balcony, down to the middle of the operating theater. “See Bats, isn’t this a fun change of pace?”, he said, crawling down over the seat railing and along the ground. From your position on the ground you could hear it all. Your aching body hurting with a slight fear, but your eyes were locked on the unmoving Leo. “Me, you, the city, its villains - oh, we were in such a rot”, he sighed, before holding up a glass tube of neon green liquid. “But this ooze, uh, is really shaking things up!”

“Leo”, your soar voice whispered, your hands finding his shoulder, lightly shaking him. “Wake up”.

“I made a deal with old knife head and demon head. They gave me some of their wonderful ooze to play with, and in return, I gave them the formula for my Joker Venom”, he laughed, pulling out a syringe of neon pink liquid, before pouring the green liquid into the syringe with the venom. “Turns out, if you combine the ooze with my little thingsur, you get something new, huhuhu! Something that not only transforms you!”, he continued, circling the icy lump that contained Batman. “But drives you made, hahahaha”.

“Leo!”, you gasped, trying a little louder, your hand tapping his cheek. “Please wake up, Leo! Please wake up!”

“Of course it’s a difficult concoction to make in large doses”, Joker continued, making his way right behind Batman. “But I only have enough for-”. He grabbed onto Batman’s head, plunging the syringe into his neck. “-one!”

The liquid disappeared into Batman’s neck. He started yelling out in pain, while Joker started laughing maniacally.

Finally Leo opened his eyes as he stirred awake, groaning as he started to get up. Never before had that color of blue brought you so much relief, but that relief was soon gone, as your father continued to scream out in pain.

“(Y/N), what’s going on?” Leo asked you as Raph groaned beside him. You would have liked to spend a moment, admiring the way he continued to use your real name, but you could not. Not with what was going on in front of you.

The last door in the room’s right side slammed open, missing Robin by an inch, revealing Batgirl and Donatello.

“Glad you could come”, Robin groaned, rubbing his head. “We didn’t interrupt your snugging, did we?”

Batgirl was ready to rip Robin a new one, but was interrupted by the screaming of pain and Joker’s laughter. “Uhuh”.

Batman’s eyes started to turn yellow, his skin darked to dark sickly gray, his teeth became longer and his mouth widened. The ice around him broke apart as his body grew in size, making the fabric of his costume rip. His hands and feet grew, claws tearing holes in his gloves and shoes. He arched his back outwards, wherefrom a pair of dark bat wings shot furth. His wings opened up, before he shot up towards the sky light, with a high pitch roar that made you cover your ears.

“A bat Batman?”, Mikey asked awestruck, staring up at the flying creature above you. “That’s-!”

“No, Mikey!”, you yelled at the orange clad turtle. “It is not cool!”, you snarled, causing Mikey’s head to retreat into his shell momentarily.

The mutant bat suddenly plunged down towards the ground, snatching Two Face off the ground with a sudden force. The villain screamed in confusion and terror as he swung through the air, before Batman flung him out of a stained glass window.

“Wasn’t Two Face on our side?”, Harley asked, slightly concerned, turning to the clapping Joker for some clarification.

“Who cares?!”, Joker exclaimed with a big smile. “It’s not about side! It’s about selling the joke!”

He and Harley laughed, finding the whole ordeal amusing. Mr. Freeze on the other hand, did not. The polar bear shut at the bat, only to have the beam of his Freeze Gun being blocked by the bat’s large wings. With a snarl, the bat broke the beam, launching downwards.

“Impossible”, Mr. Freeze mumbled in shock, watching as Batman flew straight towards him.

The bat flew directly at him, the floor breaking underneath them, sending dust up into the air. Bang after bang, the floors gave in as they fell down through the levels of the asylum, horrible sounds emerged from the hole. Slashing noises and the tortured screams of Mr. Freeze echoing through the levels.

Robin pushed past you, aiming to get a better look at the hole Batman had just disappeared through. As Robin moved closer to the hole, your big sister instincts kicked in. You pushed past Leo, and just as you stood behind your little brother, the large creature flew up from the hole, landing just in front of the two of you, just a few centimeters from Robin, leaning over the ground on all four. You shivered. Robin looked so small and weak in front of the large bat. But your ever brave brother did not move. He stood his ground before the creature, determined not to let fear get him. Instead he moved closer, calling out for the man that he was before.

“Batman?”, Robin asked, moving in closer, watching the creature. The bat huffed and puffed air in and out, remaining silent in front of the boy. “Father?... Are you there?”

The creature roared at Robin. You managed to grab a hold of him, just as Leo pulled the two of you back to a safer distance. You felt Robin’s hand tighten around your arm, as your own tightened around Leo’s.

“I don’t think Batman is home right now”, Leo said, just before he quickly moved all three of you away from the bat’s wild claws as they swung out after you.

Batman snarled in your direction before setting upon you in a chase. He didn’t get far however, before Raphael jumped onto his back, trying to push him down to the ground using his weight. But the bat stood up, before shooting up in the air with Raph hanging screaming from his shoulder. They started flying around under the sky light, causing the Joker immense enjoyment.

“Haha! He’s a bat monster after my own snake heart”, he said, bringing Harley in for a hug.

Raph was thrown onto the ground before Mikey started running in for action, only to be chased around by the flying bat.

Donnie, thinking quickly, turned to Batgirl. “The anti ooze!”

"Retro mutagen!”, she corrected him, pulling out the dark filled with the yellow liquid. “It’s right here, but it’s untested! It could kill him!”

“If he escapes and too much time passes, this change would be permanent, right?”, Leo asked.

“Right”, the two purple clad scientists answered in unison. You were sure to bring that up for Batgirl later.

“Then we don’t have a choice”, Leo said, taking the anti ooze from her hand.

“What’s the plan?”, you asked, ready to do whatever to bring Batman back to normal.

“You stay here and keep your brother safe. I’ll take care of it”, he answered, before jumping up onto the railings.

Robin sighed and crossed his arms, catching your attention. “Your boyfriend is no fun”.

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

From the railing, Leo watched as Mikey ran around, the bat following closely behind him, waiting for them to get closer.

“Sorry I wore your hat!”, Mikey yelled as he ran past Leo, giving him the opportunity to jump onto the back of Batman. Here he straddled the back of his torso, getting ready to stab him with the dart.

“Hold still!”

But as Leo’s hand moved down, Batman caught his arm, before using his wing to throw Leo off of him, sending the turtle rolling across the ground, dropping the dart in the process. Leo crawled after the dart, reaching his arm out, only for Harley’s mallet to be slammed down over his hand, causing him to yell out in pain.

“I’ll take that!”, she smiled. “Don’t want you ruining our fun!”

Just as Leo was ready to jump at her, a roar sounded behind him, followed by the claws of Batman’s hands closing around his ankles. Leo yelled out as Batman started flying around with him, hanging upside down.

“Leo!”, you yelled out.

“Right, that’s it”, Raph grumbled. “We’ll get Leo, you’ll get the anti ooze”, he said gesturing towards you and your bat family.

“Got it”, Batgirl said.

As the turtles sat upon Batman, you, Batgirl and Robin set your aim on the mutant snake and dog, who stood laughing at the show in front of them. That laughter died out as Joker felt the flat Batgirl’s boots against his face.

“Look who it is”, Harley laughed out loud at the sight of you and Robin. “The Boy Wonder. Papa really brought the whole family in for this! Looks like you-!” Her words were sharply cut off, when Robin kicked her mallet up with his boot, causing it to slam against her face. Shocked and confused, she wasn’t prepared as Robin descended upon her, punching as if her snout was a punching bag, making her drop the mallet down beside her. You once again wondered if you should have pressed Batman harder on the idea of sending your brother to therapy back in the day.

Once he had on the ground, he reached for the anti ooze, only for her to snap out at him, her sharp teeth almost getting to him. You ran for them as Harley started pushing Robin away, only for her to kick you back. Batgirl too tried to come for your rescue, but got captured by Joker’s sneaking tail, bringing her to him as he started rubbing his palms together.

“Let’s see what kind of venom I got in these fangs”, he snickered, showing off his long sharp teeth. “Shall we?” Joker leaned closer to her, giving her enough space to kneel him straight under the chin, making him chump his teeth together. Confused and dazed, Joker loosened his grip on her, letting Batgirl headbutt him.

Robin fumbled around the hand that pushed against his face, before biting down on one of Harley’s fingers. She yelped and let go, giving Robin just enough time to grab the anti ooze. But as soon as his hand was on the dart, she was on him once again, pushing his face down into the dirt.

“What are you gonna do now, wonder boy?”, she laughed, putting pressure on him as he squirmed, forcing his face down harder. “Daddy is not here to help you anymore! Hahaha!”

Growling, you grabbed a hold of Harley’s mallet in a firm grip. “No, but I am!”, you yelled, making the mutant hound look at you. “Don’t you touch my little brother!”, you called out, slamming the mallet against Harley's face. She yelped like a dog, letting go of Robin. “And for the record, my love life is great!”, you yelled, before swinging the mallet at her once more. Donnie and Leo just managed to catch a glimpse of it, Leo feeling his heart flutter a little with pride.

“Okay, I see why you like her”, was all Donnie said, before dodging one of Batman’s claws.

“Batgirl!”, Robin yelled out from the, throwing the anti ooze her way. Batgirl, as skilled as she was, managed to get out of Joker’s snake grip, and was now forcing his mouth open from behind, before she managed to catch the anti ooze. Donnie saw the way Leo looked at him, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Not a word!”, the purple clad turtle grumbled with a lifted finger.

“Donnie!”, Batgirl yelled out, causing the said terrapin to turn to her once more, before catching the anti ooze she threw in his direction. At the same time, the large bat winged creature flew down from above, grabbing Mikey before he flew away.

“Mikey!”, Donnie yelled, throwing the anti ooze one last time at the screaming and hollering turtle. Mikey fumbled around a bit before he managed to catch the dart with both hands, starting up at the bat above him.

“Batman, if you die from this Batman, please don’t become a bat ghost and haunt me”, Mikey begged, before swinging himself up onto Batman’s shoulders, stabbing the dart into his chest.

The creature let out a sound of shock and pain before flying around in circles. Mikey jumped onto his back, standing as if he was surfing through the air, down towards Joker and Harley.

“Cowabunga!”, he yelled, jumping off just as Batman flew into the two villains, sending them all flying into the balcony, before it fell apart, wood and debris falling around them on the ground. Batman laid convulsing on the floor, roaring out as he moved onto all fours. You once again felt Robin grabbing onto your arm, his fists tightening around you. You did the same with Leo, unable to move your eyes from the scene in front of you.

It all happened so fast. Once on all four, the bat wings retracted, quickly reducing in size before disappearing back into his skin. His skin returned to normal and his claws retracted. Before you knew it, Batman laid on the ground in front of you, flat on his stomach and his clothes torn.

“Did it… work?”, Mikey asked, fearful of what he might have done to the dark knight.

Donnie calmly stepped forward, holding onto Batman’s wrist, checking for his pulse. It didn’t take long before a smile appeared on his green face. “I think he’s gonna be okay”.

Robin breathed a sigh of relief, letting go of your arm. You too could feel yourself ease up, leaning against Leo as you let go of the breath that you did not know you were holding. Leo’s arm found its way around you, softly stroking the middle of your back.

“You saved him”, your brother said, turning towards the youngest of the turtles. “Thank you”.

Mikey looked at the boy for a moment, his words settling in, before his face turned into a bright smile, picking Robin up in a tight hug, almost choking the poor boy.

“Please stop!”, Robin pleaded, unable to move his arms.

From the rubbles of the balcony, the Joker slowly emerged, pushing the unconscious Harley aside, before he slowly started slithering over the floor, looking for the nearest door out of the operation theater. He didn’t get far however, before he ran straight onto the boots of Batgirl.

“Eh…”, he said, looking up at her from his low position on the ground. “Hello, Batgirl, uh… Lover your boots”. Batgirl did not answer. Instead she just lifted her foot, smashing it down onto Joker’s face. He fell flat onto the ground, with all of his teeth falling out like dominos. From here Batgirl pulled him up by the hair, holding a phone up in front of them.

“Smile!”, she said, clicking the button on her phone, taking a selfie of her and the knocked out toothless snake, him laughing weakly at the phone.

“Please send that to me”, you chuckled, as Leo started asking Donnie where he and Batgirl had been, while Mikey and Robin started carrying Batman out. “It will look great on my memory wall”.

“Batgirl and I found the surviving hostages in a room down stairs”, he explained. “They’re fine…” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Mostly”.

Leo nodded. “And now that we know that the anti ooze works, we can give it to the Gotham Police so they can get these inmates back to normal”. But then he started thinking, his blue narrowing. “But if Shredder and the Foot aren’t even here…”

“... Then this whole damn thing was just a giant distraction!”, Raph yelled, slamming his fists together.

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brucebocchi · 4 months

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Ranking every new anime I watched in 2023, Pt. 3: #10-6

hey, i just started a ko-fi for my writing and possible other creative outlets. this post will also be available there, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i'm currently between jobs. the tumblr version of part 1 can be found here and part 2 here.

I didn't mean to drag this out quite so much, but I ended up writing a TON for the top 10, so for the sake of everyone's attention spans (and so I can buy some time to finish my top two) I broke it up into two more posts.

ALSO! I've embedded a link to each show's OP in the title of each entry. I wanted to give more of a visual element to each show outside of the header images, plus there have been some incredible OPs this year. I've gone back and edited them into the prior posts as well.

10. Trigun Stampede

It’s funny, I had fond memories of watching Trigun on Adult Swim in my adolescence, to the point where I used to count it among my all-time favorite anime for a while, but I didn't realize until this year that I hadn't actually sat down and watched it from beginning to end. It’s honestly a very uneven watch, and it’s clearly split into two parts: The first, a dieselpunk western revolving around a mysterious goofball with a big-ass gun and a bounty on his head, and the second a slightly more somber revenge quest as he is forced to survive his way past a rogues gallery while vowing not to take any lives. Still, it was a hit among western anime fans for a reason, and it was formative to me even back when I thought anime was kinda cringe.

Trigun Stampede is far from a faithful reinterpretation of Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga nor of the original Madhouse production. Meryl Stryfe is no longer a jaded veteran insurance adjuster but a much younger muckraking journalist. She’s no longer tailed by the gentle giantess Milly Thompson, but rather following her senpai, the gruff, bleary-eyed Roberto De Niro (the names in Trigun have always rocked). Nicholas D. Wolfwood isn’t an affable priest with a dark past; he’s all dark past now. And Vash the Stampede, now rocking a fuckboy undercut, is less of a mercurial wisecracker with a soft side and more of a reluctant gunman freaking it in a sensitive style.

Stampede wastes no time differentiating itself from any previous version of Trigun. Vash’s history is no longer a mystery waiting to be uncovered; it’s a driving factor of the plot as his brother Knives seeks revenge on humankind for their use and exploitation of “plants,” an alien race to which the two seem to be connected, as an energy source. This was always an element of the original anime that I felt went unexplored, so it was fascinating to see Stampede dive right in. It’s a great introduction to the story for people who haven’t seen the original, and full of unexpected turns for existing fans. It’s still built on the bones of Trigun as we know it, but it is very much its own thing.

People made a lot of hay about Vash’s new appearance, but I think it works. The huge pleather trench coat, spiky flat-top, and tiny glasses remain an iconic 90s design, but I believe the 90s is where it belongs. This take on Vash is just as capable but much more self-effacing, tortured, and averse to violence. This is a younger Vash, and it’s clear that his history with Knives is a much fresher wound, rather than the dull, nagging ache in the original. This is a gentler (but no less talented) Vash, so I think the softboy look suits him this time around.

I also spent most of the season quietly insisting to myself that the original version of Meryl is much better (and cuter) than the Stampede variant, and I still stand by that, but the updated version definitely grew on me. I mean, just look at that hat. But it’s clear from the jump that Stampede’s first season is very early in this version of the Trigun story (you may notice that the bounty on Vash’s head is much, much less than the famous 60 billion double-dollars), and Meryl has some growing to do (and presumably a whole lot of professional frustration) before she becomes something like the one we knew and loved around the turn of the 21st Century.

I’m still yet to watch Beastars, but it’s immediately apparent why Studio Orange was entrusted with the Trigun IP. This show looks incredible. This is some of the best CG animation I’ve ever seen outside of a Pixar or Spider-Verse movie. Characters are amazingly expressive and oscillate between naturalistic, weighty movement and cartoony flailing. Action scenes are inventive and dynamic and stand up to even the wildest sakuga. And yet, it still looks like an anime. It still retains the classic 24fps look and even occasionally trades in the CGI for hand-drawn animation for effect. We are long past the botched Berserk revival: This is what CGI anime should look like.

It’s plainly obvious that Trigun has always carried influences from landmark western media like Mad Max and Dune (not to mention Fist of the North Star, but that one always wore its Mad Max influence on its sleeve), so it’s been an unexpected delight to see those influences take a new shape now that both franchises have seen major updates since the last iteration of Trigun went off the air. For all of the alien technology and technicolor glowing lights, Trigun takes place entirely in a desert setting, and it’s impossible to see these chase scenes and not immediately think of Fury Road, or halfway expect to see Villanueve’s take on the Fremen popping out of the dust clouds.

Stampede is a very welcome entry to a franchise long believed to be well and truly over, and the more eyeballs on Trigun, the better. It’s evident by the end of this season that this take on the story is only just beginning, and it has already taken unexpected departures from the story as we already knew it. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, but that’s mostly because we have confirmation that Milly will be in the next season. It can’t get here quickly enough.

9. Insomniacs After School

I watched and read a frankly absurd amount of romance-centric anime and manga this year, especially of the slice-of-life variety, to the point where even by the early summer I thought I'd had my fill. I'm overjoyed to say that Insomniacs After School proved me dead wrong.

What a treat this was. It's a simple enough premise: A boy with insomnia is sent on an errand to his high school’s abandoned observatory, where he finds a classmate sleeping because she suffers from insomnia as well. They quickly find out that the observatory is a perfectly quiet environment for the both of them, and that they actually get restful sleep around one another. In order to get away with making use of the area, they resurrect the school’s astronomy club and find a genuine love for astrophotography and, you guessed it, one another.

You couldn’t have picked a more apt studio to adapt this work than Liden Films. Call of the Night made a splash last year for its saturated, vibey nightscapes, and Insomniacs’ gorgeous astral visuals carry that mantle. The nighttime backdrops of the quiet suburbs, wide-open beaches, and lush countryside are nothing short of stunning, and Isaki’s adolescent wonder at the world’s hidden beauties reminded me, and I do not say this lightly, of something Miyazaki would’ve animated.

On a couple of occasions this year, I’ve been able to step back from an anime, take a breath, and simply say “That was beautiful.” Insomniacs gave me one such occasion. Even putting the visuals aside, the story itself is lovely and would have made this the feel-good anime of the year, if not for the next entry on this ranking. I would have more to say, but Insomniacs After School speaks for itself. Give it a shot.

8. Skip and Loafer

There are so many standalone adjectives I could use to describe this one, and most of them are ones that would normally make me want to impulsively run the other way like “comfy,” “feel-good,” “wholesome,” what have you, but I think the most comprehensively I can boil it down to a single word is “lovely.” Everything about it just gives you the warm fuzzies, and almost makes me think that the “I want more stories with no conflict” dorks might actually be onto something.

It’s a simple one: Mitsumi, a dorky teenage go-getter with her entire life planned out, moves to Tokyo from her no-horse beach town to attend one of the country’s best prep schools, but much like everyone who played the first two hours of Persona 5, she quickly gets lost in Shibuya’s subway station on the first day of school. She runs into Sousuke Shima, a laid-back boy from the same school who’s also running late, because that’s, like, what he does, and manages to wrangle him into running to school with her.

Mitsumi quickly draws attention from her classmates, not only from delivering a speech as the incoming class representative (and subsequently barfing all over her teacher), but because she inadvertently made fast friends with the hottest, most popular first-year in the school. This attracts the attention of social climbers and jealous hangers-on, but Mitsumi hardly notices. She’s used to knowing everyone in her school back home, so she wastes no time reaching out and seeing what’s up with anyone who’ll give her the time of day.

A lot of Skip and Loafer revolves around the roles for which we think we’re destined in a controlled social environment like high school, and how easily the preconceptions you have of other people can be shattered if you just get to, like, talk to them for 20 seconds. Mitsumi’s friend group quickly fills itself out with people who wouldn’t give each other so much as a passing glance at first, but come together so naturally that you almost can’t believe they weren’t friends already.

Shima, for his part, also struggles with those preconceptions; for as laid-back as he seems on the surface, he’s a habitual people pleaser and is constantly playing a role. He’s so caught up in the performance that he doesn’t quite know what’s going on half the time or how he really feels about most things. Mitsumi is so naturally magnetic, though, that he does seem to genuinely enjoy his time with her, and vice versa. You can see where this is headed, if the gorgeously-animated dances they do together in the OP weren’t enough of a tell.

Everything about Skip and Loafer is just downright pleasant. Character models are simple and sketchy, the color palette is awash in pastels and neutral tones, and the soundtrack is peppy and whimsical. It’s a warm hug of a series, and at no point does it feel cloying or manipulative. High school slice-of-life is pretty bloated as a genre, and I watched a ton of those this year, but there’s just something so charming and magnetic about Skip and Loafer that instills in me a sort of false nostalgia for the ideal high school experience I never had.

Also: Nao-chan. Exceptional trans representation. We do not get enough of that in anime and she is a breath of fresh fucking air. I would die for her.

7. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

And now for something much less wholesome.

I really don’t seek out harem anime. Tenchi Muyo was formative to me as a tween, and a rewatch last year ended up being a major catalyst in getting me back into anime, but despite it being widely considered the second-ever harem anime, it hasn’t left much of a legacy in the ones that followed. Harem anime from the 00s onward has largely been formulaic wish-fulfillment slop that runs itself in circles as a perpetual money-making machine rather than developing any sort of plot (see: Hina, Love and Girlfriend, Rent-a-). I know I covered Girlfriend Girlfriend earlier, and while that’s nothing like Tenchi either, it does scratch an ever-present itch for stupid, madcap, relentless anime bullshit.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, [...] Really Love You, meanwhile, sees that itch and takes a fucking chainsaw to it. To say everything about it is over-the-top would be an understatement: The top is Hyakkano’s floor. This show gives you everything you could ever want in a harem comedy, but to the extreme: It is your dad making you smoke the whole carton. It is Hell’s donut machine, and you are Homer Simpson. Satire is often at its best when it pushes the boundaries of absurdity, and 100 Girlfriends revels in that push like a horny bulldozer. This is not genre subversion, it’s genre explosion.

The headcount isn’t the only wildly outsized element of this series; every single member of the titular harem, each a tick on the checklist of every -dere archetype you can imagine, pushes the slider of each of their character tropes so far to the right it’s breaking the track. The deredere is a ball of deranged horniness, the tsundere betrays her intentions so compulsively that she’s functionally incapable of lying, and the kuudere is so robotically devoted to pure efficiency that it’s salient to mention that her name is literally pronounced “Nano A.I.” If you can think of an anime girl archetype, she is in this (or will be in future seasons), and she is the apotheosis.

And yet, this show still bothers to make each one of them an actual character. Harem anime has such a low bar to clear on that front, yet most entries in the genre still bang their dicks against it. Hyakkano's titular girlfriends, at least the ones introduced in the first season, are actual characters with actual backgrounds, actual motivations, actual growth, and actual reasons to like the protagonist beside the premise. They’re all founded on stock anime tropes, to be sure, but the original manga’s author actually put in the work to give them, you know, personalities. And above almost all else, they actually like each other too! This isn’t exactly a full-on polycule (though two of the girls are prone to making out with each other on occasion), but for as deeply weird as this family unit is on paper, they actually come across as a group of people who love and care for each other rather than everyone cattily jockeying for the same position.

And not for nothing, but Rentaro is easily one of the best harem protagonists I’ve ever seen, and again, this is coming from a Tenchi Muyo fan. I do enjoy Naoya’s over-the-top earnestness in Girlfriend Girlfriend, but Rentaro is the gigachad version. He is exceedingly patient, kind, and understanding of each of these girls’ unique quirks and qualities and quickly grows to learn to manage them in conflict and help them work through their insecurities, and he loves them back in kind and puts in the work to make equal time for each of them. He doesn’t want to “fix” these girls; he sees them for who they are and proactively does everything in his power to accommodate them. He's like if Tadano from Komi Can’t Communicate actually got the harem he deserved. Putting aside the fact that he’s, y’know, 100-timing his girlfriends, he comes across as just a really good partner.

I also want to be clear: For its rampant, fanservice-laden anime bullshit, this show is genuinely hilarious. It’s not some kind of “how did this shit even get made” trainwreck; it is a comedy first and foremost, and the comedy hits exactly as intended. The comic pacing is buckwild, the visual gags are so rampant that they’re almost difficult to keep up with, and the translators, at least in the version I watched, did an outstanding job of localizing the constant wordplay. It’s also so unapologetic in its horniness that you can’t help but admire it a bit; 100 Girlfriends knows exactly what it’s about, and it dares you to say something.

There’s a very good chance this won’t be for you. 100 Girlfriends is constantly pushing the boundaries of good taste, but never in an offensive way and never truly at its characters’ expense. Geoff Thew calls it the “most 'harem' harem anime,” but I'd argue that it’s the most "anime" anime: It is every trope you’ve ever seen in romcom anime cranked up to a thousand and smushed up against your nose. This shit hits like Panera lemonade. It is peak trash. If you have a tolerance for anime bullshit, this show may very well test that, but I still cannot recommend it enough.

6. Heavenly Delusion

Didn’t think I’d be getting into more than one post-apocalyptic anime this year, but I’d seen this one recommended so many times that I felt this list would be incomplete if I didn’t watch it. Don’t ask me about Pluto.

Heavenly Delusion (Hulu lists it under its Japanese title, Tengoku Daimakyo, for some reason) splits its runtime between two different stories: The first, a pair of young travelers making their way across a ruined Japan in search of nebulous goals neither is sure even exist; the second surrounding a group of adolescents in an unnervingly idyllic walled garden in some sort of school setting. The narrative flips between these two sporadically, rarely ever showing its hand in how they are even remotely connected.

On the post-apocalypse side, we follow Maru and his bodyguard-for-hire, Kiruko, as they trek across the country to deliver Maru to someplace called “Heaven,” while at the same time, Kiruko is in search of a pair of men from their youth. They are often beset by bandits, cults, and most crucially, horrifying monsters called “Man-Eaters,” which Maru has the unique ability to kill. On the school side, we see a group of gender-ambiguous kids in an enclosed space, constantly monitored and kept in a very controlled environment. Everything feels.. wrong. Nobody seems entirely human. There is a lingering and seemingly taboo curiosity about what lies outside the walls. I hesitate to say any more.

There is phenomenal human drama in here, and sparks so many conversations about transhumanism and human nature, gender, trauma, community, all things I’m not smart enough to really dive into. But to even address these topics here is to give the game away, and Heavenly Delusion is a story better left unspoiled, even if, a full season in, I’m still not 100% sure what’s going on.

This show is gorgeous in ways I’m still struggling to articulate. The character designs, animation, lighting, and cinematography are so immaculate that I repeatedly had to remind myself that I wasn't watching a movie. Heavenly Delusion looks like a grungy Shinkai film: Character models are immaculately realized and fluidly animated, the light and shadow effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen in TV animation, and action sequences are visceral and unpredictable. Maybe all I needed to say is that it was made by much of the same Production IG staff in charge of Psycho-Pass.

I want to say as little about what happens as possible, because the mystery is the main draw of Heavenly Delusion, but I feel the need to warn that there is a very dark and sour turn near the end of the season in the form of some strongly implied sexual violence. It was thematically unnecessary, and once that side of things is resolved, everyone just kinda… moves past it. It doesn’t ruin the show, I still recommend it heartily, but be forewarned. I found it upsetting, but more in the “did this REALLY need to be in there?” sense. The mounting tension and slowly-unfolding existential horror in this series are otherwise expertly woven into the narrative, and this part landed with a wet thud.

This is a much longer story than most of the season would have you believe, and it ends with far more questions than answers. One side of the story leaves off with an open end, and the other with a massive cliffhanger, which left me a little cold but with interest piqued for the next season. For what it is right now, though, Heavenly Delusion is a nearly perfect, endlessly thought-provoking mystery and one of the most gorgeously ugly things I’ve seen this year.

#anime reviews

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trappedofficial · 2 months

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Trapped Chapter 3 - Part 4 -Pages 120 - 127

HELLO HELLO FELLOW HEROES!! Sorry for the incredibly long wait on this set!!! Every time I post on insta I forget to do tumblr and then suddenly I'm drowning in a million other college related things to do BUT we have a spicy new trapped set coming live right here to you!!!! A little taste of the nightmare animatronics, a hint of Dark's plans, a smidgen of "the first night is never usually that hard-" and more!!

This is definitely one of my most fave sets that we've ever released- by the amount of guests and amazing passion between the crew, I could see without a doubt how excited everyone was to get their hands on the fnaf 4 setting!!! So, without further adieu, let's give them a huge round of applause!!!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL CHARACTER SHADERS!!! BE SURE TO CHECK OUT ALL THEIR AMAZING ART THEY ARE LITERALLY THE MOST AMAZING PEOPLE IVE EVER MET!!!

Thank you to Mojito for character shading page 120!!

Thank you to @eyesore-boi for character shading page 121!! (Check out their new series @markipliers-madhouse !!)

Thank you to @tealietyt for character shading page 122!!!

Thank you to Salty for character shading page 123!!!

Thank you to Andrei / @youramigo-andrei character shading page 124!!!

Thank you to @acatwithateacup for character shading page 125!!!

Thank you to @iam-unoriginal for character shading page 126!!!!

Thank you to Yeggi for character shading page 127!!!

And thank YOU all so much for reading and your patience with me!!! I apologize for my lack of posting. College is super down to the wire right now, so trapped pages and other pages may be delayed again, but I may as well post all the stuff I already had in stock!!

See you next time!!!

#trapped #markiplier #comic #fanart #series #webcomic #art #warfdice #fnaf #artwork

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justahumblememefarmer · 4 months

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Ultimate Doctor Who Poll Round 1 - Matchup 19

Episode Summaries under the cut

105: Last Christmas - Season 8 Christmas Special: The Doctor and Clara are asked for help by Santa Clause, and head to a base at the North Pole. At the base they meet several scientists who are dealing with dram crabs that sense thoughts and attach themselves to people's faces, putting them into a dream state while it eats their brain. Clara is attacked by one and is trapped in a dream with her deceased boyfriend, Danny. The Doctor attaches one to himself to join her dream and get her to reject it as fake, waking them both up and destroying the crab. Symptoms of being victims of the dream crab still affect everybody, and the Doctor determines that they are all in a shared dream state, he and Clara were just in a lower layer.

They all wake up again, and the Clara figures out that they are still dreaming. They fight off dream versions of themselves, and wish for Santa to save them. He rescues them in his sleigh and they begin to remember their real lives, slowly disappearing as they wake up in the real world. The Doctor goes to visit Clara, discovering that 62 years have passed for her since he last saw her. Santa appears and reveals that this is one further dream, and they wake up. The Doctor invites Clara to travel with him again, and they take off in the TARDIS.

137: The Shakespeare Code - Season 3, Episode 2: The Doctor takes Martha back in time to see one of Shakespeare's plays. He announces a sequel to his play Love Labour's Lost to be Love Labour's Won which is known as one of Shakespeare's lost plays. The Doctor and Martha go to visit Shakespeare and he is very taken with Martha. They also find that Shakespeare is immune to the Doctor's psychic paper. The owner of the Globe Theater shows up, angry that Shakespeare announced the sequel would be performed the next night, and cancels the performance. One of the maids, an alien witch in disguise overhears this, and with her mothers, create a voodoo doll of him and drown it, killing him.

The Doctor and Martha investigate the strange death, and retreat back to their room at the inn. Shakespeare stays up to write, and the witch Lilith enchants him to write a strange paragraph into his play. The inn keep walks in on them and the witch shows her true form, scaring her to death. The Doctor and Martha come running after hearing the scream. Lillith is seen flying away on a broomstick by Martha. Figuring that Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre are part of the witches plans, they track down the architect, who has been locked up in a madhouse.

The Doctor helps the catatonic architect regain his lose memories, and he reveals that the witches influenced his construction of the Globe and drove him mad once their use for him was done. One of the witches, Mother Doomfinger, appears and kills the architect. The Doctor works out what species they are, and names Doomfinger as a Carrionite, injuring her. He explains that Carrionites are a lost race of aliens that use an ancient science based on the power of words. They also work out that they plan to use Shakespeare's words and the construction of the globe to restore their species.

They confront Lillith who makes Martha faint by naming her, and makes a voodoo doll of the Doctor, knocking out one of his hearts, then leaves. Martha restarts his second heart, nd they make it to the theatre as the play ends, with the Carrionites portal being opened and beginning to swarm. They tell Shakespeare to improvise a verse to get rid of them, and he closes the portal, retrapping all the Carrionites and destroying the pages of his play.

#doctor who #ultimate doctor who poll #my post #polls #12th doctor #clara oswald #10th doctor #martha jones #peter capaldi #jenna coleman #david tennant #freema agyeman #last christmas #the shakespeare code

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anniepb05 · 7 months

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Part 4

"WHAT?" Crowley steps back. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? She won't listen to us!" He sighs and looks away. He thought Aziraphale had changed his mind about Heaven. Why is he so headstrong? Can't he see what they've done to the world, to humans, to HIM?

Oh, no. Crowley thinks he still has hope. Of course he thinks so, after all, that's the reason why he left him, right?

"Crowley, I know what Heaven has done to us, but I've discovered some things that-"

"What is it now? 'She's not that bad'?", Crowley interrupts him. He's obviously hurt and angry. He hates him, the angel is sure.

"It's not that, but-"

"She wants me DEAD. You heard the Metatron!"

"I heard him, but-"

"And you think we can talk to Her and She'll say 'Oh, you're right, sorry about that. I'll forget about my plans of destruction'? Really, Aziraphale, I thought that you-"

"CROWLEY, LISTEN TO ME!" The demon is shocked. Aziraphale never shouts. But it's not the moment of patience, they need to save the world. No, the universe. And if Aziraphale has to shout to be heard, he will. "She doesn't control Heaven. Heaven has NO idea of what She wants. Not since the War."

The demon takes a few seconds to process that information. "What do you mean? Heaven has been doing whatever they've wanted to do for...6000 years? But that's- That's INSANE. How-?"

"Listen, I don't know how. The only thing I know is that The Metatron has been controling Heaven. God hasn't spoken with anyone since the War."

Crowley sighs, visibly tired of all this Heaven and Hell shit. And, honestly, Aziraphale feels the same way. "Okay, let's suppose that's true. What, then? We can't talk to Her. You said it: she hasn't spoken to anyone."

"I know, but we have to try. As an Archangel, maybe she'll listen to me- to US." The demon stares at him in silence. Aziraphale wishes he could see his eyes, but his sunglasses won't let him see them. All he gets is his reflection. "Can you please say something to me?"

"Well, yeah. I mean- It's not like we have more options, so... Let's try it, talk to Her."

The angel nods and gulps anxiously. This has to work. It's their only chance. God has never answered their prayers, but this time has to be different. She must be aware of all that's happening, and She couldn't possibly ignore this...right?

I know this doesn't reach much people, but idc because the only options I've got are:

->Part 1

->Next

1. Going insane about go2 (actually doing it)

2. Getting into a madhouse

3. Write this

4. Sleep until season 3

5. Cry to my mom (already been there)

#aziraphale #crowley #good omens #go2e6 #good omens spoilers #ineffable divorce #ineffable husbands #fuck metatron #i'm going insane #i need therapy #neil gaiman #gay #writing #fanfic #reading #writers on tumblr

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nijigasakilove · 2 months

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Oh my goodness Madhouse you’ve done wonders on me. Masterclass in the truest sense. Storyboarding, background art, pacing, Sakuga, you name it. Episodes like this remind you why Frieren is so highly regarded.

Had a feeling after last week’s episode that we hadn’t seen the last of the Frieren clone and the others, and turns out I was right. this became a war of attrition that sadly Lawine and Kanne failed. I was definitely sad to see them have to be escorted out, after getting thru the first stage of the exam they surely had to feel like this was their year. But they’re young and can always try again in 3 years. Better that than them dying.

Übel really shined in this episode. I feel like they kinda downplayed her strength tbh. She was the perfect matchup for Sense’s clone. Effortlessly cutting her hair and defeating her. The flashback to the last exam with her killing the dude with all those protective spells on him was crazy too. She might not be the strongest, but her only limit is her imagination. If she thinks she can cut ya, it’s over.

Fern and Frieren vs Frieren clone part two was immense. A true visual spectacle. Fern had the upper hand initially, but wtf was that spell from Frieren’s clone at the end? No arms or staff left and it just took a stare to push Fern all the way back like that. It’s scary how we’ve never really seen Frieren go all out. Who knows what other tricks she has up her sleeve with all these thousands of years of knowledge.

And with the Spiegel’s defeat that concludes the second phase of the exam. Can’t wait to see what comes next.

Frieren gotta just stay away from treasure chests at this point lmao

#Frieren #frieren beyond journey's end #animanga #animangahive #frieren the slayer #frieren: beyond journey's end #animanga hive

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djinnandtea · 4 months

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The Old Centaur's Almanac Guide to Romance

A human/centaur Solstice romance in three parts

Chapter 1 (Chapter 2, Chapter 3)

Helena’s bookshop was not designed like any other bookshop she could remember going to before she had been taken. The walkways were not meant to accommodate only a human body or two, and her seating options varied in size so as to fit the smallest pixie up to any mid-sized troll. She offered not only complimentary tea and coffee, but a handful of other brews she purchased each week from the herb stall down the road, and her books could be purchased with both silver and gold coins, as well as other bartered goods and even the occasional favor. She was proud of her shop and what she had built for herself since being brought to Fae, and she reminded herself of this pride every day that she went in to work during the month of December.

It was by far Helena’s busiest month. The solstice was the most important holiday of the year for the fae who lived in her city, and while Helena had grown to appreciate the event on her own terms, it was still not a time she was particularly fond of. Especially not when it meant her usually quiet bookshop, with it’s steady-ish stream of regulars, turned into the madhouse it always became during the two to three weeks leading up to the longest night of the year.

It was only the sixth of December, and already Helena was over it.

“Fifteen more days,” said Marin, her assistant shopkeeper, as Helena walked through the door of Bibliotaph and hung up her coat and scarf. She straightened her black turtleneck and her tartan mini skirt, and brushed a few wisps of brown hair out of her face.

“That’s too many days.”

Helena made her way around the counter to set her purse down in her office and begin dealing with the day’s to-dos. Her priority was preparing for the three boxes of almanacs she was expecting, which had already been delayed once. Given almanacs were the number one seller of the season and the entire reason Bibliotaph was flooded during the month, it was a near-catastrophic situation. Without almanacs, not only would the shop be overwhelmed with visitors asking for them, but there would be no money to be had to soften the irritation. The shop would lose business.

“Any word on the almanacs,” Helena called out to Marin as she began sifting through her stack of post.

“Yes,” replied Marin. “Niko called just before you got here. They’re finally ready, and he’s sending his brother over in around an hour to drop them off.”

“Oh, thank Oak.” She checked her wristwatch. “At least they’ll be here a little bit before we open.”

Marin walked into the office and handed Helena a cup of coffee. “It’ll be all right.”

Helena smiled as she took the mug out of Marin’s bark-like hands. “You’re a blessing.”

The dryad tilted her head and smiled. “And so you are blessed. Now come out and sit with me for a minute before you deal with that mess.” Marin nodded towards the stack of mail Helena was holding. “I’ve already looked through it myself, so I know there isn’t anything urgent.”

Helena sighed. Marin was right, and they both knew it. Besides, the way they had been staying late and arriving early since the last week of November meant that there was little else to do besides wait for the almanacs. They had arranged and finalized most everything else. “Yeah, yeah, all right.”

It wasn’t that Helena didn’t enjoy passing the time with Marin, but that she was anxious in general for the day to start and the rush to begin. Almanacs were a traditional gift to give for the solstice, which also marked Fairy New Year, and while they’d had enough to get them through the first few days in December, they’d run out the day before. Helena wouldn’t feel comfortable until Niko’s brother brought over their shipment and she could get them set up on the shelves.

“You know,” she said as she sat with her coffee, “I didn’t know Niko had a brother.”

The centaur who published Helena’s preferred brand of almanacs was a rather private person, so she supposed it shouldn’t surprise her she had more to learn about him. Niko was nice enough, and a brilliant craftsperson, and that was good enough for her.

“Me neither. He said his name is Alexandros.”

“Well, I hope Alexandros doesn’t mind the snow.”

“Did it start finally?”

They both turned to watch the snow begin to fall in earnest out their front shop window. “I think I need to put out an extra doormat,” Helena said, already dreading the mess.

Marin nodded. “I’ll do it in a minute. Let’s have our coffee first.”

They did, drinking their cups slowly and comfortably. Marin was right; it was good to take a moment to pause. It wouldn’t hurt anything. However, only five minutes later, they were interrupted by someone ringing the shop bell.

“What on earth,” muttered Helena as she hopped off her stool behind the counter and set down her coffee. She could see from the window that it was a centaur waiting for her outside. He had a large box in his arms and two more saddled on either side of his back.

“Hello!” he yelled through the closed door. “It’s cold as Ash out here!”

Helena tossed a look back at Marin. “He can see I’m about to let him in, right?”

Marin snorted. Helena unlocked and opened the door.

“Yes, I can see you’re about to let me in,” the centaur said with a wide smile. “But how I love to complain.”

Helena stepped aside so he could enter. She eyed his boxes of books. “Well, since you’re bringing my almanacs, I suppose I’ll allow it.”

“A fair trade,” he replied. “May I set these down?”

“On the counter is fine,” Marin said, gesturing towards it.

“Do you need help unloading?” Helena asked.

The centaur smiled again. “No, Miss, thank you. I’ve got it.”

She watched him deftly turn from one side to the other to unhook the boxes of books that he’d saddled to himself with some kind of harness.

“You do got it,” she said appreciatively. She knew from personal experience that the boxes were heavy. “I guess that you’re Alexandros?”

He straightened up, dusting his hands on a handkerchief he produced out of the small leather shoulder bag he wore across his chest. “Please call me Alex. Are you Helena?” He extended a hand to shake.

Helena took it, unable to stop herself from looking the centaur up and down. “I am. It’s nice to meet you.”

He nodded. “And you.” He turned to introduce himself to Marin.

Alex was nothing short of beautiful. Part of this was his looks. His equine half was a lovely dapple gray, with black at the base of his tail and a bright white down to the tips, and his human half—which was largely covered by a deep green woolen sweater—was handsome, too. While the equine ears at the top of his head (which sported a lush mane of gray curls) at first threw Helena for a loop, the green of his eyes and the warmth of his smile countered any uncertainty she may have felt about the rest of him.

“You know,” she said as Alex turned away from Marin and began taking in the rest of the shop, “you’re here a lot earlier than your brother said you’d be.”

Alex looked back at her with a small smile. “Is being early a problem now, or do you like to complain like me?”

Helena folded her arms and jutted a hip. “I didn’t know I was complaining.”

Her answer amused the centaur. He bowed his head at her with a flourish of his hand. “Then, I beg your pardon.” A pause. “Would it help if I said that your shop is lovely?”

Helena flushed at the praise. “Only if you meant it.”

“Of course I do. How long have you been in business?”

“Just over five years. And thank you.”

He turned back to the shelves, walking carefully down one of the aisles. “What did you do before?”

A harmless question on the surface, but still Helena tensed. “I was in midwifery.”

Alex stepped out of the aisle and swung around to look at her, his smile gone. “I’m sorry,” he said gently.

Helena shrugged. “I was a nurse back home. The fae who took me knew that I could help.”

The silence held for an uncomfortable moment. Then Alex flicked his tail and turned back to the shelves.

“Do you prefer books to babies?” he asked.

Helena rolled her shoulders to ease the tension there, and then began opening one of the boxes. “I prefer self-employment to indentured servitude.”

From behind one of the bookcases, she heard Alex snort. “Now that is a sentiment I wholly agree with.”

“Do you work with Niko?” Marin said, as if oblivious to the shift in mood and as she began to open another of the boxes.

Alex appeared out the other end of the aisle. “Yes and no. I illustrate the almanacs, but otherwise have nothing to do with his business.”

Helena choked on her breath. The illustrations were the biggest selling point of the almanac, after the stellar accuracy of its predictions. She had always assumed Niko had been the genius behind the whole of it.

“Why has he never mentioned you before?” she asked, her hand roaming over the beautifully detailed cover of the almanac she was holding. “Your name is nowhere on the books!”

Alex shrugged. “It’s never mattered to me.” His tailed flicked again.

“You do amazing work.”

He shrugged again. “I should head back. I’m sure Niko has more deliveries for me.”

“Oh,” Helena said before she could stop herself. “Of course.”

Alex caught her gaze and held it. “I can come back later.”

She swallowed. “We’re open until 4:00 p.m.”

He tilted his head. “And if I want to see you outside of business hours?”

Helena couldn’t help her surprised huff. “Then you’ll have to make an appointment.”

Alex held her eyes for another moment, and then ducked his head with a small laugh. “It was very nice to meet you both,” he said, nodding to Helena and then Marin. “I really must go.”

He turned and left without waiting for a response, and Helena watched him take off back to his brother’s workshop through the front windows.

“Holy Oak,” Marin muttered. “He sure was something.”

Helena cleared her throat and smoothed down her skirt. “I’ll never understand centaurs. We need to set these up on the front display and the end caps.”

“Helena! He was completely interested in you.”

She turned to look at the dryad. “Clearly not interested enough. We need to work.”

“So mysterious, you have to admit.”

Helena gave her a warning look. “Marin….”

“All right, all right!”

They unpacked the almanacs, and Helena did everything she could to put thoughts of Alex out of her mind.

#monster romance #monster lover #monster smut #monster kink #teratophillia #my stuff #the old centaur's almanac guide to romance #monrom

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aroaceswagcompetition · 11 months

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Poll list part 2

Rouge the Bat(Sonic) vs Raphael Santiago(Shadowhunters)🎉

Death The Kid(Soul Eater) vs Tsubomi Takane(Mob Psycho 100)🎉

Berdly(Deltarune) vs Nausicaa(Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind)🎉

Din Djarin(The Mandalorian) vs Anzu Hoshino(Romantic Killer)🎉

Amethyst(Steven Universe) vs Steven Stone(Pokemon)🎉

Talfryn(The Penumbra Podcast) vs Stanley(The Stanley Parable)🎉

Clay Terran (Ace Attorney) vs Buttercup(The Powerpuff Girls)🎉

Sei Handa(Barakamon) vs Xu Xialing(Shangchi and the legend of the ten rings)🎉

Sunny(Wings of Fire) vs Beta(Horizon Forbidden West)

Dr. Sylvester Ashling(Epithet Erased) vs Marcy Wu(Amphibia)

Perry the Platypus(Phineas and Ferb) vs Lancer(Deltarune)

Serana Volkihar(The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim) vs Charlie(It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

Zhongli(Genshin Impact) vs Tatsumaki(One Punch Man).

V1(Ultrakill) vs Aziraphale and Crowley(Good Omens)

Shaggy(Scooby Doo) vs Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)

Reigen Arataka(Mob Psycho 100) vs Pyuko(Dannganronpa: Hope’s Chains)

Marie(Splatoon) vs Rose Cookie(Cookie Run Kingdom)

Joan D’arc(History) vs Morgana(Merlin)

Murderbot(The Murderbot Diaries) vs Royce Bracket(Transistor (game))

Ryland Grace(Project Hail Mary) vs Hollyleaf(Warrior Cats)

Wolf(Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) vs Savathûn(Destiny video game)

Damian Wayne(DC Comics) vs Dr. Miranda Jones (Star Trek The Original Series, season 3 episode 5 Is There In Truth No Beauty?)

Keagan Máistirúin(Na Daoine Maithe (The Good People)) vs Sweetheart(Omori)

Kaitou Joker(Kaitou Joker) vs Piccolo (Dragon Ball)

Roach(Our Flag Means Death) vs Alex Fierro(Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard)

Aradia Megido(Homestuck) vs Hestia(Greek Mythology)

Zane Julien(Ninjago) vs Agatha Wellbelove(Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell)

Yelena Belova (Marvel) vs The Bear/Brent/The Pusher/The Fool/Shah Zaman(Ghost Quartet)

The Witch Queen(Old Gods of Appalachia) vs P03(Inscryption)

Lord Havelock Vetinari(Discworld Novels by Terry Pratchett) vs The Knight(Hollow Knight)

Power(Chainsaw Man) vs Jetstorm(Transformers Animated (2007 cartoon))

Athena Cykes(Ace Attorney) vs Grumbot(Hermitcraft)

Yuki Rurikawa(A3!) vs Anonymous/Someone(Our Dreams At Dusk)

James(Pokemon) vs Dipper Pines 1 Mabel Pines1(Gravity Falls)

Charles Emerson Winchester III (M*A*S*H) vs Chaerin Eun(Surviving Romance)

Yamori Kou (Yofukashi no uta) vs Zenyatta(Overwatch)

Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto) vs Entrapta(She-Ra Princess of Power)

Simon Snow(Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell) vs Sabo(One Piece)

Silver(Sonic) vs Gin Akutagawa(Bungou Stray Dogs)

Kankri Vantas(Homestuck) vs Madhouse Mike(Cryptid Crush)

Darius(Owl House) vs Jason Todd(DC)

Emerald Trio:Willow, Hunter,Gus (Owl House) vs Artemis(Overly Sarcastic Productions' Miscellaneous Myths)

Jo March (Little Women 2019) vs Daryl Dixon(The Walking Dead)

Bakura Ryou(YuGiOh!) vs Professor Balaam(Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun)

Granny Smith(MLP) vs Cyborg(Teen Titans)

Maki Katsuragi(Hoshiai no Sora) vs Kaladin Stormblessed(The Stormlight Archive)

Jess(Loveless) vs Asui Tsuyu(BNHA)

GIR(Invader Zim) vs Xiao(Genshin Impact)

Alexa(Xenoblade Chronicles X) vs Selah Summers(Selah and the Spades)

Felix Hugo Fradarius(Fire Emblem 3 Houses) vs Sunil Jha(Loveless)

Madeline Hatter (Ever After High) vs Maya Fey(Ace Attorney)

Kim Dokja(Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint) vs Noé Archiviste(Vanitas no Carte)

Eleven(Stranger Things) vs Jinx(Arcane League of Legends)

Fitzroy Maplecourt(The Adventure Zone) vs Pidge(Voltron)

Volo(Pokemon) vs Cole Brookstone(Ninjago)

Traveler(Genshin Impact) vs Madotsuki(Yume Nikki)

#aroaceswagcompetition

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chibivesicle · 1 year

Note

If you could fix Trigun Stampede or write an alternate version of it that stays truer and more faithful to the 98 anime and the manga, not just visually but emotionally, philosophical and symbolically, how would you? Given how your in depth analyses and in general reading it to filth, I would love to know how you would fix it or rewrite it!

Hello and thanks for the question!

Sorry for the slow response, I've been busy and distracted by other shiny objects (Kekkai Sensen) to get back to this. I still haven't had time to really answer another ask but I hope to get to it in a week or so. As far as Trigun Stampede, I felt it had issues in the following areas: 1.) Technical skill surpassed all other aspects of the production. They put all their eggs in making it look very good. Which it does. I found out from the Sakuracon panel, that they spent two years working on animating the faces. Kudos for that level of work but if you write a poor story it doesn't matter how emotional they look. 2.) Paradoxical pacing. Twelve episodes were not enough to capture the original Trigun manga nor '98 anime. The '98 anime added establishing content to extend the limited manga chapters which helped to give the viewers Meryl as their entry point. It also had great pacing. Intro, build up, tension and resolution either in each episode or in two part episodes.

3.) Total emphasis of style over substance. This was the the worst part of it. They assumed making things look pretty would suffice and did not write individual episodes well or the full twelve. And since they were only working with twelve the story did not have time to just be and let us enter the world because of the paradoxical pacing. 4.) Generic character designs for the contemporary eye. In their attempt to make the characters look more 'normal' they lost the unique style of Yasuhiro Nightow's original designs. His characters are exceptionally stylized in a distinct way and they completely redid them. We also know that other studios can adapt his characters much more like in the original work both with the '98 anime and Kekkai Sensen. Madhouse and Bones anime-stylized the characters a bit for anime but not by that much compared to what Orange did. Milly is still large and clumsy in the anime, while Vash is super contorted at times. Wolfwood is still angular and Meryl still has that soft short stature. In KS, Klaus is still a giant gentleman, Leo is still dodging chaos, Chain is cool and distant, K. K. still has her confident stride, and Steven's posture is still terrible. I can watch the '98 anime and Kekkai Sensen and know that these characters were designed by Nightow. Looking at Stampede, I cannot tell by looking at them.

5.) Weak characters. Another point the Sakuracon panel noted was that the creative team spent five years developing Stampede. I can't help but feel like they wasted their energy. They came up with all this lore and information for their own version of No Mans Land - and then never tied it together. Studio Orange got lost in the weeds and never really figured out what they wanted to make or say. They also relied on characters info dumping and blatantly telling us what they are doing. That is not how Trigun or Kekkai Sensen work as stories. It is up to you to figure out what the characters are doing, why they are doing it and how to interpret their actions.

The characters were unclear in their motivations, there was no intro, mystery or payoff. After twelve episodes in, we still don't know what Rem told Vash that he has his technical pacifist philosophy. We know she told them that she loved them and she was happy to know them and that they should take care of each other. But why was Rem with Project Seeds? Why did she believe all life was sacred? Why was your ticket to the future blank?

Vash was far to passive but never said why and was not a gunslinger. Which was pretty much key to his skill and why he was infamous. Even before the July incident he was an excellent gunslinger and Western drifter. Wolfwood was meh, his natural people skills from the manga were completely gone. He was not only a trained killer but he was a natural people person and tried to be compassionate when possible. Meryl was two years older than in the manga/'98 anime and far less experienced. Yes, she was smart and by the book but so weak. Roberto was useless. He did not serve the plot. How would I have done Stampede? 1.) Trigun Maximum emphasis. Incorporate more of the manga into the anime, but cutting out some of the wandering chapters which did not serve the plot other than for some hard to follow action scenes. They lifted some elements from Maximum, but parts I was never a fan of e.g. the late introduction of the fact that Wolfwood was likely in his early 20s but will be debated until the end since his own backstories and timelines in the manga are inconsistent. My point is that Wolfwood's timeline is a hot mess.

Instead, they could have streamlined some of the fuzzy hand waving science and odd timelines for characters like Wolfwood and Livio. What they did was lean in hard to the rapidly aging aspect of things so as far as I can tell, Wolfwood is like 13 in Stampede?

They added in Elendira the Crimsonnail but made her a child who manifests nails from the air. Um, sure. If she is a she at all or genderless or nonbinary. The point is, she is not an adult trans woman with excellent fashion taste.

Added in the missing civilians from the original work. As others have commented, Stampede is a very empty world. There are no normal people. The entire point was that there were lots of normal people living their lives on the planet. They are completely absent. There are barely any civilians to protect since they aren't there. The design of the cities and towns for this were also weak. Yes, they needed plants, but most of the cities grew around the ships and dwarfed them. December was a full city with a downtown, high rise buildings and public transit. Stampede is just a weird tribute to Dune or something like that.

There was the potential to take the original anime, add in the key points of Maximum and it would have been an awesome anime.

2.) Had a clear story line for all twelve episodes and then for each individual episode. The storytelling for Stampede was an utter disaster. The terrible pacing, the inability to show characters through their actions, their lack of rational thoughts from time to time. The bad science; e.g. a town with only windmills but no solar panels. No knowledge of plants and photosynthesis? What the hell were these people eating? Apparently, they came up with worm related lore in their brainstorming sessions, but if you DON'T put that in the actual anime, we won't know that.

Too many things were like "Oh wow, look perfect timing! Always!" Dude, no. Part of the original was how timing wasn't perfect and characters slogged around for months trying to reconnect.

I think Vash being a little more upfront about his rationale to try to avoid violence would help and if he did it with his gun like in the originals. It makes his skill even better and more appreciated and highlights how he does not shoot to kill. Even though this series started with the backstory with him and Knives, Rem's moral code was not outlined. Thus, we don't know why Vash does what he does due to Rem and her influence on him.

Wolfwood was terrible, lacking all of his charm, personable attitude and willingness to sacrifice and be critical. He just comes off as a dick. Honestly, all they needed to do was make him more friendly and call out Vash for faking it like in the original. Meryl would have been better like her original with more experience and Milly as her junior. Nightow writes excellent female characters who aren't uwu/waifu types. They are women who are competent, have strengths and flaws and hopes and dreams. They are not there for you to dream about them fawning over you and acting on your every beck and call. Instead, they likely could kill you. Or at least really hurt you. They are not sexualized, nor fan service. They are just women and the men are just men. I'm not saying they aren't attractive - Meryl is still cute, Milly is dapper, Chain is curvy, K. K. is fashionable. But that isn't the defining aspect of their characters.

3.) Kept the character designs closer to the originals. In a saturated media landscape where so many anime look the same and generic, the style of the original would have stood out. Keep that lanky angular style of the original. Have those dramatic poses which showed so much about each character. I mean, they could have updated them and ditched the '90s eyes through chunky hair bit. Also, by changing Wolfwood from being a priest/preacher much of his internal moral conflict is lost. Along with the jokes which were classics by this point. With so many people not knowing the original, the jokes would have been unknown and fresh to newer viewers.

4.) Made the series 24 episodes with 12 per season. This really would have helped the series out big time. Instead of the oft critiqued terrible pacing, do what so many other series do now; split up what used to be a single season into two parts. It would have allowed for more downtime, lingering shots, characterization through interactions with the normal people. Vash playing with children. Eating donuts. Pancakes. Wolfwood giving up his food. Meryl writing reports and trying to be emotionally distant. Milly helping Wolfwood in a fight. Many of the micro-moments of characters were lost, but these help us to understand them and how they will react through very basic set up. Madhouse did not have a blockbuster budget for Trigun but it didn't matter when they set the tone up right.

They had too many blink and you will miss it moments. The this is not a problem with manga since you look at each panel individually. The original anime allowed for much better establishing shots as well as lingering on things to make it clear what that thing was. Kuroneko-sama is obvious in all the episodes, in the OP and ED and nyas (she has an entire track of 'nya' on the second donuts OST). Well, I would have made sure she does that in Stampede. I don't want it to be some sort of cryptid moment in the corner of the screen. Especially, since Kuroneko-sama still appears in the KS extras even bonding with Steven. Oh, yeah, and all the time in the KS anime; on the street in Hellsalem's Lot. Crossing the street in HL. With a monster jar stuck on her head that crashes into Leo. In the ED of B3 & Beyond.

Sure, Studio Orange put Sonic in there but the level of Kuroneko-sama in KS is much higher than KS in Stampede.

A longer series would have also allowed for more of the humor to come through. Trigun has ample slapstick/zany/situational humor that was lost in Stampede. Stampede took itself too seriously. Due to that, they never could turn off the serious mode. But even tough situations elicit humor. In the manga, Wolfwood explains how he doesn't die to Vash more or less but lays down to sleep. Vash then has a full on panic and Wolfwood is beyond pissed - since he's just trying to sleep. Even when Wolfwood is about to die, he cracks a joke with Vash in the manga.

Nightow clearly has a dark and sarcastic sense of humor at times. That could have come through in it and it was lost - to be serious. It is natural for people to crack jokes in absolutely terrible situations and Nightow loves to do this. If the Kekkai Sensen anime took out all of the sarcastic/dry/quips of the cast it would be so terrible. That is what happened to Stampede. They went full on serious sci-fi but forgot about the plot, characters and motivations.

5.) Included the strong religious undertone. Correctly. Much of the Christian and Buddhist themes were lost in Stampede. Why does Vash cling to an impossible ideal/moral code? The role of suffering and turning that other cheek. The creepy accurate angel designs for the plants. How Vash and Knives were of a virgin birth of angelic beings with one falling from grace. The oodles of Catholic guilt that trapped Wolfwood and Vash. But trapped Wolfwood more. Why do people have different lines they can and cannot cross? What is right? What is justice?

All we got in Stampede were crosses mixed with a zia (perhaps) and concept art of the Eye of Michael where all the women are hotties. This goes 100% against the modesty of the original and the lack of fan service. Nightow does not draw his characters to be hot nor does he want to put in relationships - especially with Trigun. Kekkai Sensen has only one known relationship, K. K. and her husband. Which is great, but we aren't there to examine their relationship. Instead, K. K.'s family motivate her to do her job and protect them.

I should really wrap this up as it has gotten far too long. However, what happened with Stampede is Studio Orange likely got so into making their mark on the series and giving it a new angle that they lost track of how to make it work. What story makes sense? How do you depict your characters? What type of pacing do you use for a twelve episode show which may or may not get more episodes?

If it really were in development for five years, I can't help but think Covid-19 really messed up some of their work and why things ended up disjointed. Or they had too many people involved or too much input and tried to include it all. Whatever actually happened, they needed a tighter linear story and consistent vision. Which they lacked.

#ask #answered ask #trigun stampede #trigun anime #trigun maximum #studio madhouse #studio orange #yasuhiro nightow #what i would do

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best-underrated-anime · 6 months

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Best Underrated Anime Group F Round 1: #F8 vs #F1

#F8: Young boy gets sold to a demon to be his grandson

Iruma Suzuki is sold to a Demon by his abusive parents. Fearing for his life, he is greatly surprised to learn that the demon bought him because he desperately wants a grandson. Iruma agrees, as he is unable to say no when anyone asks him nicely for something. He thus begins a new life in Babylus. However, he needs to hide the fact he is human, or he may be eaten by other demons. Throughout the series, we see him grow as a person and embrace this new life, making many friends along the way, including his closest friends, Asmodeus and Clara.

#F1: High school girls go to Antarctica

16-year-old Tamaki “Kimari” Mari wants to make the most of her adolescence when she encounters Kobuchizawa Shirase, a schoolmate who has saved up one million yen in an effort to travel to Antarctica after her mother went missing on an expedition there three years ago. The two team up with Miyake Hinata, a convenience store employee their age who’s looking for an adventure, and Shiraishi Yuzuki, a teen star who’s never had friends due to her career. Together, they travel to “a place further than the universe” as part of a civilian expedition to Antarctica.

Titles, propagandas, trailers, and poll under the cut!

#F8: Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun (Marimashita! Iruma-kun)

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Propaganda 1:

The main character, Iruma, is very kind and wholesome, and you really just want to see him succeed throughout the series, especially after knowing everything he’s been through. He was neglected and used by his parents, but now he gets to live out a nice life despite being surrounded by demons, as his new grandfather spoils him. The demon that adopted him, Sullivan, is an extremely powerful figure in the demon realm, but through most of the series, he looks like an egg. The side characters are also well-designed with interesting personalities. The main two, Asmodeus and Clara, become almost inseparable from Iruma after they become friends, and the three of them are very cute together. There is also a canon nonbinary cat person, who is technically Sullivan’s servant, but he is treated as part of the family, and he’s a disaster bisexual.

Propaganda 2:

It’s really good in terms of art, plot, and characters. There’s nonbinary representation in the form of Opera, and there’s friendship galore with very poly undertones. It’s so sweet and good, and it’s just rahhhhh. Everyone is silly but also realistic and well-developed. There are reasonable arcs, and there’s a well mix of plot-driven growth and character-driven plots. I love every person who appears onscreen, even for like two seconds. The world building is lovely and so bright and colorful.

Propaganda 3:

You should vote for it because it is genuinely one of the best animes I’ve ever seen. It has good character development, mysteries, focuses on the cast well, and it is not a harem anime. The plot is also really good and is suitable for all age groups.

Fun fact: the main character crossdresses three times in the first three seasons

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse (mild)

#F1: A Place Further than the Universe (Sora yori mo Tooi Basho)

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Propaganda:

Let’s start with the fact that this is Madhouse doing a (relatively) grounded coming of age story about high school girls - the show looks gorgeous, of course. The music’s solid as well. (I still regularly listen to the ending.) But what really shines is the writing and characterization.

The pacing on this is perfect. For a show that spends half its runtime getting to Antarctica, you never feel like the time should be allotted differently or that you’re missing out on hijinks. Episode 12 is a particular standout, with tension building up until it explodes, and then goes still for the true emotional climax of the show. The four main girls all feel like believable teens, and seeing their relationship develop over the course of the series and watching them come into their own is well-done. The way it handles Shirase and her emotions, and how this complicates her relationships with them all is a particular standout. This may not be eligible in that it’s one of those anime people who watch A LOT of anime will recommend highly—it was on Crunchyroll and IGN’s best anime of the 2010s lists and on several “best of” lists for 2018. But it never quite took off the way it truly deserves, so I’m submitting it. It’s getting an English dub soon, though, and I really hope that gives it a resurgence of popularity. The girls are alright.

(Admin: Propaganda has been edited slightly to remove spoilers)

Trigger Warnings: None

If you’re reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #animated show #group stage #group stage round 1 #tournament polls #welcome to demon school iruma kun #marimashita iruma kun #a place further than the universe #sora yori mo tooi basho #marimashita! iruma kun #group f

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w3ath3r-0f-sw34t3rz · 5 months

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taylor parts that live in my head

gold was the color of the leaves when i showed you around centennial park hell was the journey but it brought me heaven

myyymyyymyyyyymyyyyyyyy lover<3

but you keep my old scarf from that very first week

love you to the moon and to saturn

I JUST KNOOOWOWWOOW UR NOT GONE NO U CANT BE GONE N O

additionally: every instrumental part of haunted

IF YOURE OUT THERE IF YOURE SOMEWHERE IF YOURE MOVING ON IVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU EVERY DAY SINCE YOUVE BEEN GONE I JU

a beautiful boy who died

you never gave a warning sign (i gave so many signs)

and in the end in wonderland we both went mad... OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

the intro to i knew you were trouble. that shit gets me going

cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned everything you lose is a step you take so make the friendship bracelets take the moment and taste it you've got no reason to be afraid you're on your own kid. yeah you can face. this you're on your own kid. you always have been

at least i had the decency to keep my nights out of sight // only rumors bout my hips and thighs and my whispered sighs, oh lord

the instrumentals in the moment i knew i lose it every time😭

on the way home // i wrote a poem // you say 'what a mind' // this happens all the time

TROUBLE TRO U BLE T R O U B L E

bold was the waitress on our three year trip // getting lunch down by the lakes // she said i looked like an american singer

whispers of 'are you sure' // 'never have i ever before'

OOO OO OO OO OOOOOOOOOOO (it's nice to have a friend [in case you couldn't tell])

'I LOVE YOU' AINT THAT THE WORST THING YOU EVER HEARD HE LOOKS UP GRINNING LIKE A DEVIL ITS

BIG REPUTATION BIG REPUTATION OOOOO U AND ME WE GOT BIG REPUTATIONS

have i known you 20 seconds or 20 years

if you love like that, blood rUNS COOOLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

you drew stars around my scars

every speaking part in wanegbt. like. ever.

YOUR MIDAS TOUCH ON THE CHEVY DOOR NOVEMBER FLUSHED AND YOUR FLANNEL CURE THIS DORM WAS ONCE A MADHOUSE I MADE A JOKE WELL ITS MADE FOR ME HOW EVERGREEN OUR GROUP OF FRIENDS DONT THINK WELL SAY THAT WORD AGAIN AND SOON THEYLL HAVE THE NERVE TO DECK THE HALLS THAT WE ONCE WALKED THROUGH 1 FOR THE MONEY 2 FOR THE SHOW I NEVER WAS READY SO I WATCH YOU GO SOMETIMES YOU JUST DONT KNOW THE ANSWER TIL SOMEONES ON THEIR KNEES AND ASKS YOU SHE WOULDVE MADE SUCH A LOVELY BRIDE WHAT A SHAME SHES FUCKED IN THE HEAD THEY SAID BUT YOULL FIND THE REAL THING INSTEAD SHELL PATCH UP THE TAPESTRY THAT I SHRED

no one sees when you lose when you're playing solitaire

the entirety of enchanted

#call me basic go ahead #taylor swift #ts #music #lyrics

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lily-orchard · 1 year

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I thought I tried sending in some feedback on Marah a long time ago, but I don’t know if my ask went through, if it got ignored because maybe this was just ranting (I didn’t think it was, but *shrug*), or if I just missed it getting answered. But anyways, I’ll try again perhaps

There’s really 3 types of plus-sized characters that ended up in media (that sometimes overlap) most commonly. One is the plus-sized characters that are around for fat jokes. One is plus-sized characters that are around for awhile, and then “get healthy, and exercise, and ‘better’ and slim down (to either skinny or ‘attractively curvy’” (Willow from the Owl House fell into this trap some, actually). Then there’s the plus-sized characters that are, from the start, “curvy and extra attractive for it.” Or more commonly referred to- “Big and Beautiful!”

The problem with these 3 representations is that it tells plus-sized people you only be liked for being the butt of the joke, or you’ll only be liked if you slim down in the right places and become curved (narrow on the sides, thick waist/hips, butt, boobs and thighs. Skinny everywhere else).

Marah, and then Lacey before her, in Poke Madhouse- both fall into the latter most category. They are plus-sized yes, but they are both just ‘curvy.’ While this represents some plus-sized people, it doesn’t represent all of us. Many of us don’t look ‘conventionally attractive’ to media standards. Our top halves look like pears, or our bellies are bowling balls haha. On top of that, it’s a bit… Of a problem when a character’s primary trait is just being gushed over for their looks (and for lack of better phrasing, specialized). Particularly with plus-sized curvy characters. Marah started to break out of this, but Lacey never did (given the fact she only had one appearance). And going back to Marah, we are kinda less to believe that within the story, G only likes Marah initially for her looks of being ‘curvy and sexy.’ It didn’t help that we haven’t been given many chances to know Marah past her looks.

What people are ultimately wanting out of a ‘good plus-sized character’ is one that doesn’t fit conventional norms for beauty, but is still happy and confident on the outside. Again, I use the phrasing “pear shaped top halves, or bowling ball bellies” literally. That’s what a lot of us look like. Our stomachs are not small while the “good parts only” are big. Our stomachs carry a lot of weight. And that spreads to big backs and big arms.

Not that I read many comics from this site as it is a… Trench of many MANY bad tropes, bad comics, and issues. But Webtoons did have one positive portrayal of a plus sized person in their comics- Big Jo- (for the FIRST part, maybe it fell into tropes later on) but the initial design of this character, and the design she kept WHILE getting healthy through exercise and proper diet felt GOOD to see. I’d reference her for a good physical design. (I can’t recommend the story since I never finished it, but still)

Many of the tropes with plus-sized individuals erase a certain type of ‘fat people.’ We are not allowed to be beautiful for what we are and must either be ridiculed, or ‘fixed,’ or not exist at all. It doesn’t feel good to see.

The biggest thing I would say is that IF you ever make another plus sized character, make them big in the stomach and arms. Keep the ‘non-conventional’ parts big, and let them be proud. Insecurities that breed up from societal pressure to be skinnier is fine to have in, but make THEM WANT to be confident, despite those insecurities they may have.

As for the two plus sized characters you have already- IF you continue with Poke Madhouse AND IF you continue to utilize Marah or Lacey, I’d just work on fleshing them out as characters. I’d drop the jokes of everything and everyone being just blown away by how attractive they are (unless it’s specifically a comic where one of them as put in a lot of extra effort to their appearance for the day) and flesh them out personality wise. Like you would with any woman- make them, (and in Marah’s case) and make their relationships about something other then looks.

See, this is the problem I have whenever this comes up. Most of this isn't true.

I'll ignore Lacey, given she was a one off character made specifically as a favour to a random viewer, and whose original story arc was scrapped (Lacey was made specifically to their request) and neither of us designed Lacey she was designed by somebody else that I don't talk to anymore.

But we'll stick with Marah.

The thing about characters being "blown away" by Marah's beauty happens exactly ONCE. Only once. In this frame.

This is the only time this trope is used with Marah. All other times, Marah's "beauty" is not a factor because she is a creature that only one other character in Madhouse WOULD find attractive.

Marah's character IS fleshed out beyond that. Namely: Marah is a fucking weird, musical, theatre kid.

Marah has an exuberant personality, overtly eager and affectionate, prone to overacting performance, and having a tendency to trip over people's boundaries. This makes her equal parts endearing and irritating (running with the theme of every Gardevoir in the comic) and what little time she's had on screen has been used to flesh her out rather well.

In fact, we took heavy inspiration from a friend of ours who is ALSO an extremely exuberant theatre kid with a tendency toward dropping the most cursed shit you've ever seen.

So when you come in saying "Marah's whole presence is being attractive and has no fleshed out personality"

About the only merit any of this criticism has is that Marah's dress gives her a cinched waist. Everything else you've suggested, we've already done.

Give her a fleshed out personality? Done.

Make her not conventionally attractive? She's a fucking Gardevoir, she already was not conventionally attractive. Those things are freaky looking. What, did you see the eyelashes and you were just down?

This is my problem. Instead of critiquing the character that exists, you critiqued an imaginary character that only exists in your head. You did not engage with the work itself, you did not pay attention, you got as far as "Oh, hey cutie" and stopped reading right there.

I can't take this criticism on board, because Marah is ALREADY THE CHARACTER YOU WANT HER TO BE.

I would file this entire ask into the same pile as the people calling Alie a domestic abuser, or "masculine." It's based on information that just isn't true to the work.

TL;DR - Stop making shit up.

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