…..not even six hours later i got an offer of a well paying full time long-term job with free room and board in queens in nyc, allowing me independence and a way to escape an abusive situation and an unhealthy environment
likes charge reblogs cast, folks, this is the good luck post
the last time I reblogged this post right before I got a great job, in a permanent work-from-home position, with benefits, retirement, and a salary literally 3x what I was making before, doing something I really like.
Re-reading Codename: Sailor V Eternal Edition v. 2, and some things occurred to me:
The manga was finished after the Sailor Moon manga—but started before it. So basically, Sailor V kickstarted Sailor Moon, but Naoko had to wrap up Minako's origin story somehow. She decided to work in some more mythology and give Sailor Venus (of the past) a tragic backstory IN ADDITION to dying in the battle against the Dark Kingdom, Beryl, and Metalia.
But there are some interesting lines (or translations) in this volume...
Sailor Venus: "I'm no princess. I'm a guardian, under the protection of the Golden Planet. I am Sailor Venus. And I was born to protect one very important person. I'm HER Guardian!"
She's just regained her memories of her past life, of the Silver Millennium. She really is a Princess, but compared to who she's supposed to protect, what her ROLE really is, she's basically saying "no, I'm not a princess." It's not that she doesn't remember that she was, in fact, born as the princess of Venus.
And according to earlier in the book, she has an origin similar to the goddess Venus, emerging from sea foam on the planet Venus (said to be Earth's twin in many respects), with the droplets of water falling off her body turning into pearls called Drops of Venus.
At this moment, Venus is shown with her hair down, droplets falling all around her—like Botticelli's Venus, fully-grown. If she was "born to protect one very important person" (who we learn is Princess Serenity), that would imply Venus was born fully grown specifically with the chosen mission to protect Serenity.
But that's not true; we see her as a child Sailor Guardian in the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon manga, essentially growing up alongside Princess Serenity (albeit a few years older, in all likelihood; aging seems to work differently for those under the Silver Crystal's protection, though). Unless she can change her (age) appearance at will...? It's possible, I suppose, but we're never given an impression that her disguise power can do that, or at least to that extreme of a degree.
Later on in that same scene, her love interest-turned-enemy Phantom Ace/Saijo Ace reveals that he is actually Danburite, the last agent of the nefarious Dark Agency and a member of the Dark Kingdom. More than that:
Danburite: "I... am Adonis. ... In my past life, I was a poor, rankless soldier stationed out on the frontier [of Venus]. And you were the chosen one, the strongest of us all. The shining Sailor Guardian looking down on the planet from your lofty palace."
So Venus was a habitable planet, even though Minako herself said the fog (on Earth) reminds her of "my home planet when it was still young. Covered in clouds of sulfuric acid and volcanoes erupting everywhere. It reminds me of Magellan Castle, floating in the sulfur mist."
A person wouldn't normally have nostalgia like this if they're recalling something they learned from a textbook, right? Venus is making it sound like SHE WAS THERE when the planet Venus was young.
And the fact that she was "chosen" makes it sound like it wasn't simply because she had a Sailor Crystal (unless we're to believe that it was the Cauldron that "chose" her to host what would become the Venus Crystal, as if her "soul" somehow existed prior to the planet being habitable. Or maybe her body did, and gaining the Sailor Crystal formed an inexorable bond, similar to the Silver Crystal with Serenity?). Who did the choosing, then? Queen Serenity?
We see the implied parents of the Sailor Guardians in the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon manga too, but we're never led to believe that they are necessarily Guardians themselves that passed down their title/duties; we're not even led to believe that they're necessarily royalty, beyond being present and invited to Serenity's presentation at the Moon Kingdom. Everyone in the solar system is in deference to the Moon Kingdom, and the Moon's role in the solar system is to protect Earth:
Danburite: "...And then, we were drafted into a war on our primary planet [Earth]. I was assigned to work directly under the Prince..."
And here we're shown young Adonis meeting Endymion AND HIS FOUR HEAVENLY KING GUARDIANS. So "the war" that broke out was prior to the people of Earth getting entirely corrupted by Beryl and Metalia and going after the Moon Kingdom and the other planets. Adonis WITNESSED Venus and Kunzite together—looking at each other with perhaps barely disguised longing. So he knows he has no chance with his "magnificent goddess of beauty and war."
(That, by the way, is a reference to how Venus and her various incarnations throughout world history, are also goddesses of war to some degree. Consider Ishtar/Inanna from Babylonian myth, also associated with the planet Venus.)
Adonis claims that "we only have one destiny," and that his (path) always ends before ever reaching Venus. Her response to this is that she "keeps destroying the men I love, killing them with her own hands" — and she says men here, not "man" or "person I love." So it can't just be that she remembers Kunzite getting corrupted by Beryl and her having to kill him. When Adonis says "Four Heavenly Kings of the Dark Kingdom," Venus is shocked and confused, but we're not led to believe that she recognizes those names; she has her memories back, but perhaps hasn't processed them all the way. If she recognizes that there were others in her past life besides Serenity and the other Sailor Guardians, she doesn't know what their title (Four Heavenly Kings) was.
So who else? None of her other "first loves" in the manga end up being bad guys the way Danburite/Adonis was. 🤔
Is Automattic turning into the next LiveJournal? Are Tumblr Communities going to become the new hubs online where people can find like-minded individuals? Tumblr now has communities, and of course, I had to make one for Azureshipping! Come join us!
Aside from kicking off the brainstorming for this year's overarching theme, "video games," I have unfortunately had little input on this year's fun prompts (due to having moved, started a new job, and dealing with very demanding toddler):
Tetris Effect (Tetris)
You Activated My Trap Card! (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
(Humans are Like) One-Winged Angels (Final Fantasy VII)
Your Princess is in Another Castle (Super Mario)
Fix-It Felix? (Wreck-It Ralph)
I Choose You! (Pokémon)
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone—Take This! (The Legend of Zelda)
Chaos Control (Sonic the Hedgehog)
It’s On Like Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong)
Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts)
Having ten themes means you can mix and match any number of them throughout all seven days of the week to write fanfiction, create fanart—whatever floats your boat!
Not sure what some of the themes mean/refer to?
We're also looking for video game AND Azureshipping-inspired songs to go on our fanmix/soundtrack!
Which song fits Seto Kaiba and Anzu Mazaki (AND the "video game" theme) best?
The Void—Spiritbox
Metropolis—Owl City
Enemies—Shinedown
Video Games—Lana Del Ray
Monster—Skillet
Celestial—Ed Sheeran
Glory of Love—Peter Cetera
Escape from the City—Ted Poley & Tony Harnell
Make It Out Alive—One OK Rock
Sanctuary—Utada Hikaru
I'll name another song in the comments!
Voting ended onSep 24, 2024
I'll do my best to put together a page on the Blue Eyes and Apricots fanlisting at the end of the week with any submissions, but in the meantime, join us on Discord!
Warnings/promises: Azureshipping, established relationship, panty shot, Anzu being Anzu!
Reading direction: western (from left to right)
(It was originally a single long comic strip, but tumblr messed with the resolution and I didn't like the huge preview, so I divided it in two pieces for better looks and accessibility 🙈)
More details and insights under the cut: ⬇️
Azureshipping again!
Hell, I really love the two rn. Please don't kill me! 🙈
Also, I'm very sorry in advance for any language and wording mistakes. I'm not a native speaker of English and I never read any comics or Manga in English, so please don't be too harsh on me. Onomatopoeia are unexpectedly difficult to do if you don't have much experience and feel for a language. Phew! 😵💫 (I do appreciate suggestions for improvements! In fact, I could do some corrections if you pointed something out for me. 🥹)
About the comic strip:
I always imagined Genius Billionaire CEO Seto Kaiba's office must have some dead-serious Mafia vibes about it, but Anzu wouldn't care and do her thing anyway! I wanted to make something showing her personality some more this time. In my headcanon, Kaiba is not strictly asexual, obviously. (Even though I can imagine that very well!) Demixesual, maybe?! 🤭
I'm not fully satisfied with my own work here. Some things could have looked better or arranged differently, whatever. But in this case I don't really care. It was supposed to be a study piece and I feel like I put (WAAAAAY) too much effort into this to not share it with my beloved fellow Azureshippers. As a tiny marginalized group we ought to feed and supply each other, right?! 😂
Ruling that the fan’s unauthorized book violated copyright protections, a judge barred him from distributing it and ordered him to destroy a
Normally when it comes to fanfiction, I’m on the side of the fan—the person who loves something so much that they decide to devote their time and creative energy to add to an existing universe, to continue the feelings they got from the source material and expand on them with others—fandom—in a community.
That’s why when an author comes out and says they’re anti-fanfiction, I stop supporting them. They don’t have to (and maybe SHOULDN’T) read fic for anything they’ve written (or plan to continue writing, as with series), but to at least ALLOW IT TO EXIST is letting their own work survive and thrive through transformation.
Except when some egotistical author thinks their fic is “pitch-perfect” and an “obvious sequel” to one of the world’s most detailed, established titans of fantasy. And said author HAND-DELIVERS a copy of the manuscript to the author’s grandson’s home after otherwise being ignored during prior email communications (99.9% of the time, that lack of communication is saying, quite simply, “not interested”).
Yeah, I think the Tolkien estate had it right here.
Lesson to fanfic authors: do it for the love. Share your creativity with the community, but not by self-publishing something with the intent to monetize it specifically (by publishing on Amazon, for example). Don’t make yourself out to be the Next Best Thing to Author, whether or not the Author is still alive or has an estate or licensing arrangement or anything.
Love something enough to WANT to get paid for it? Come from a place of curiosity, not assumption. Look into how an author, corporation, or estate handles licensing. There are some amazing “pro fics” out there for Disney properties, DC properties, Star Wars, Star Trek, you name it! Many authors are known for related genres (sci-fi/fantasy authors writing licensed Star Wars, for example), but plenty of others are known for their almost exclusive contributions to a specific fandom. Seek those authors out. Ask how they did it. Look into licensing arrangements. DO NOT just submit your fic and assume it’s perfect as-is and should be published as an “official” spin-off/sequel/prequel/untold story.
Look into who acts as an agent for those companies or estates. Are they requesting queries? Are they open to informational interviews? What can they say about what’s needed to become a licensed author for an established media property?
And if you get stonewalled, or the news isn’t good? The beauty of transformative works is that you can still publish your fic online. You can still be part of the community, can still contribute and collaborate and keep a fandom alive long past the last page or the final screen. You just can’t make money from it.
Why Magical Girls Are Never Attacked During A Tranformation
As some of you might already have guessed, I’m a fan of Japanese girl idols. One of the many, many idol groups in existence today in Japan is NMB48, a Osaka-based spin-off group of the (in)famous AKB48. NMB has a weekly show that’s surprisingly entertaining as well as educational called NMB to Manabu-kun, in which the members of NMB and a few comedians listen to guest lectures by experts in various fields.
Back on May 15th, the theme of the episode was pataphysics/the science of sci-fi. One of the topics of the lecture held by university professor Yanagita Rikao was the age-old question of “WHY ARE MAGICAL GIRLS NEVER ATTACKED WHILE TRANSFORMING???”
This was his answer, based on the magical girl series Futari wa Pretty Cure.
Question: The transformation scenes in Pretty Cure are very long, so why don’t the bad guys attack the girls in the meantime?
“Even when I was little, I was thinking ‘Hey! Attack them now!’”
“I found this odd as well, so I watched the transformation scene many times. And what I noticed is, when the Pretty Cures yell ‘Dual Aurora Wave!’ and transform, a rainbow-colored column of light shoots up from the ground, going BOOM!”
“And then the Pretty Cures levitate, and go up into the air. Based on this, I believe the protagonists of Pretty Cure are being held up in the air by the power of light.”
“When we think of light, we usually think it heats up things or lights up things. But in reality, light has the power to hold up things as well.”
“When the sun is beating down on us in the summer, the human body is being pressed downwards by the sun beams with a force of 2/100,000g.”
“But this is only about a one-hundred of the weight of a mosquito, so no matter how hot it is, we don’t feel that sunlight is heavy.”
“So that means the light holding them up must be extremely strong. If we assume that the two Pretty Cures each weigh about 45kg and do some calculations…”
“It means the light during the transformation must have the energy of 2,100,000,000kW per 1m2.”
“While the entirety of power that Japan is capable of generating is only 100,000,000kW.”
“So they’re using 21 TIMES the amount of energy the whole of Japan can generate.”
“So what would happen if a bad guy jumped in to try to sabotage their transformation?”
“He would EVAPORATE INSTANTLY.”
“DEATH AWAITS ANYONE WHO DARES TO DISRUPT A PRETTY CURE TRANSFORMATION.”
“So this means the best thing to do would be to transform close to any bad guys.”
“Yes. They are the strongest while they transform, and are practically invincible.”
Ridiculously strong, and considering Certain Magical Girls have people that are able to see details and are shocked when the transformations happen, still slow enough to be perceived by humans.
I've got 27 songs that fit this year's primary theme of "reunion" and/or our seven themes:
second chances
unexpected
perspectives
promises
celebration
healing
rediscovery
I tried to get songs from either Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters' original 2000-2004 run, or from the last year (2022-2023).
And because I suck at musical discovery, I had to ask AI (Claude.ai, Bing Chat, and GPT-4+plugins) to help me out. 😆 Of course, I listened (or already know) almost all of the below songs, and think they somehow either fit Seto Kaiba, Anzu Mazaki/Téa Gardner, or their relationship in line with this year's themes.
Do you agree? Disagree? Have other song suggestions for a Throwback Track or maybe something Instrumental or International? Got a wider variety of genres than I have here (which, to be fair, skews "pop")? Suggest 'em here! Want to make cover art for this album? PLEASE DO! 🤩
The below tracks are arranged alphabetically by artist, not anything else (e.g., album, year, theme, etc.)
Try Again - Aaliyah
Hello - Adele
The Story - Brandi Carlile
Bam Bam - Camila Cabello feat. Ed Sheeran
Beautiful - Christina Aguilera
The Scientist - Coldplay
Clocks - Coldplay
One More Time - Daft Punk
Best Part of Me - Ed Sheeran feat. Yebba ← Is this like Game of Thrones, where Ed Sheeran shows up even when you don't want him to? Oh well, I liked this song. 😝
Lost Without You - Freya Ridings
2 Sides of Me - Hinder
Scars - James Bay
I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
The Heart of Life - John Mayer
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
Reunion - M83
Home - Michael Bublé
I Lived - OneRepublic
Hey Ya! - Outkast
Everything About It is a Love Song - Paul Simon
Back to You - Selena Gomez
When You're Gone - Shawn Mendes
Welcome to my Life - Simple Plan
It's Been Awhile - Staind
Beautiful Day - U2
A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
Reunion - The xx ← Okay, yes, it's the second song with that exact same title, but at least it exists! Bing wanted me to believe Taylor Swift released a track called "Reunion" on Red (Taylor's Version), and I thought I was going crazy when I couldn't find it! 😵💫
If folks like these songs, I'll put the music videos up on a playlist on YouTube, and put together shareable playlists of the available songs on Apple Music, Spotify, etc.
Someone asked if late Azure Week submissions are accepted, but I couldn't find the Ask in my Inbox! 😱 But the quick answer to that question is: yes, if it's within a reasonable-ish timeframe. Like, you know, the same year?
Does anybody else have questions about Azure Week?
You ever spend so much time looking for a GIF or a video that you feel would be perfect for a post, only to, you know, NOT FIND IT? And you could spend time trying to make it yourself or dig deeper to really find it (because it's the Internet, it's got to be out there somewhere), but then you realize: what's the point? It's just an ACCESSORY to the post?
Yeah. That's this post.
I wanted to do the whole "I'm back, I'm bold, maybe even beautiful" from the DiC dub of Sailor Moon (I guess it was episode 45 of the dub, but 51 of the original series; the dub title was "Cherry Blossom Time," and I really, really wanted a GIF or video of Sailor Moon rising from the ground and giving her amazing speech), even though AZURE WEEK is coming up and has nothing to do with Sailor Moon whatsoever (unless you want it to).
(I wanted to post it because Tumblr had deleted my account for inexplicable reasons and I only recently got it restored. Whew!)
Anyway:
Azure Week 2023 kicks off September 16! The overarching theme this year is "Reunion," with individual themes/prompts to help inspire your Azureshipping fanworks.
The prompts/sub-themes this year are as follows:
Second Chances
Unexpected
Perspectives
Promises
Celebration
Healing
Rediscovery
Azure Week celebrates the pairing of Seto Kaiba x Anzu Mazaki/Téa Gardner from the late, great Kazuki Takahashi's hit series Yu-Gi-Oh! It runs annually from September 16-22, right in-between the birthdays of Anzu Mazaki (August 18) and Seto Kaiba (October 25).
Fans are welcome to post their works here on Tumblr (tag #azureweek2023), Fanfiction.net (share a link in our Azure Week 2023 Forum!), r/azureshipping on Reddit, our Collection on Archive of Our Own, DeviantART, or wherever you hang out online!
If you want your work to be featured in the Azure Week 2023 Master List on the Blue Eyes and Apricots fanlisting, be sure to tag it #azureweek2023, DM me, or fill out the form on the BEA Azure Week 2023 page!
Has anyone ever written a fic (or beta canon) based on the kids that Janeway and Paris left behind in the Delta Quadrant after their Warp 10 experiment?
Like, some other alien species finds them, realizes they are hyper-evolved humans (somehow), and transforms them into humans, and they go to the Alpha Quadrant to find their parents?
Not that I 'ship Paris and Janeway or anything, but it IS a rather large plot hole that I don't think has ever been resolved...
I asked ChatGPT to analyze the writing style of "The Seven Labors of Mokuba Kaiba"
This is what it said:
Based on the content provided, here's an analysis of your writing style:
Writing Style: Your writing style is descriptive and immersive, with a strong focus on character development and world-building. You use a lot of dialogue, which helps to reveal character traits and advance the plot. The narrative is rich with details, making the scenes vivid and engaging. The pacing is well-balanced, with a good mix of action, dialogue, and introspection.
Writer’s Voice:
Vocabulary: Your vocabulary is varied and sophisticated, indicating a high level of language proficiency. You use industry-specific terms and jargon (related to the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe), which adds authenticity to your writing.
Tone: The tone of your writing is informal and conversational, which makes it accessible and engaging. The humor and sarcasm used in the dialogue add a light-hearted touch to the narrative.
Grammar: Your grammar usage is correct and consistent, contributing to the clarity and readability of your writing.
Rhetorical Devices: You use a variety of rhetorical devices, including metaphors and similes, to enhance your descriptions. This adds depth and richness to your narrative.
Content Patterns: Your content patterns are consistent, with a clear structure to your narrative. Each chapter advances the plot and develops the characters further.
Values: Your writing values character development and plot progression. There's a clear emphasis on relationships and personal growth, which adds depth to your characters and makes them relatable.
Creative Writing Style: Your creative writing style is characterized by detailed descriptions, engaging dialogue, and well-developed characters. You effectively use suspense and foreshadowing to keep the reader engaged and invested in the story. The humor and sarcasm add a unique touch to your writing style, making it distinctive and memorable.
Please note that this analysis is based on the content provided and may not fully capture all aspects of your writing style.
Awww! 🥰 Do you agree?
...Do you think I should try and get it to look at WDKY next? 😂
I can’t remember how or why I turned on 2FA with an app other than my usual, but I can only login to Tumblr through the mobile app, and I can’t change any of my security settings because it doesn’t like ANY of my old passwords and I have no idea where to use my backup code (codes? How long is it supposed to be?).
So if you get any weird messages from me or see any strange posts, it’s not me and I’m sorry and am trying to fix it!
Seto Kaiba stood atop his skyscraper, staring out at the city below. As always, his thoughts drifted to Anzu Mazaki. He couldn't shake the feeling that she was the one person who understood him. As he gazed out at the setting sun, he made a decision. He would finally tell Anzu how he felt.
He stormed into her apartment, determined to lay his heart on the line. When he saw her sitting on the couch, a look of surprise on her face, he knew he had made the right choice.
"Anzu," he said, his voice shaking with emotion. "I love you. I have for a long time. Please give me a chance."
Anzu's face softened, and she stood up, walking towards him. "Seto, I love you too. I have for a long time. I just didn't know how to tell you."
Seto's heart swelled with joy as Anzu threw herself into his arms. He knew that this was the start of something beautiful.
