definitely not a rabbit

A little bit of everything but with animals (wolves are my favorite but I don't want to change my url)

[polyamaesthetic]

genderfluid queer ace + pastel purple

requested by @apolloandellipses

genderfluid: moves or fluctuates between multiple genders

queer: any person who is not cisgender, heterosexual, and heteromantic at the same time

asexual: doesn't experience sexual attraction; an umbrella term for people who identify with part of the asexual spectrum

[rabbitindisguise]

[edit: discord is murineaponia if you want to find me!]

[arakawakoguma]

[licl0ud]

the different faces of the capricious and childish God of Death.

[arakawakoguma]

My Goldfish Got Shattered to Pieces...

[depsidase]

[anistarrose]

if you are a parent, or may become one, or you are otherwise likely to arrive in the situation of caring for a child while they eat, promise me this: if a child doesn't like a certain food or food group, you will ask them WHY. and specifically, you will pay attention to either confirming or ruling out "it makes my mouth itch" or "it makes my stomach hurt," both of which are medically important info that children may not provide unprompted. which i know because this PSA has been brought to you by "i spent my entire childhood and much of my early teens eating peas and lentils while wondering why everyone else liked the Violently Itchy Mouth Sensation so much, like were they a bunch of legume masochists or something, before i finally realized that Violently Itchy Mouth Sensation was in fact a sinister demon appearing only to me, and her true demonic name was: Legume Allergy"

[brainrockets]

Do not let your child suffer from spicy bananas!

[sebbyisland]

So you're Suenaga writing Akane-banashi and your protagonist begins to understand that all stories are based on the power of human connection via studying a very common story about strapping your child's name with as many wishes for longevity as possible so they don't die young. And then you write an antagonist who staunchly refuses to think about human connection and in fact, sees it as a weakness, who is also super passionate about giving his "children" meaningful names full of promise for their future.

and then you use the other famous story about avoiding death and assign that as the de facto antagonist trap card power move. your antagonist embodies the god of death now. and to really drive the point home, your antagonist Changes his Name That Was Given to Him By His Father (figure). The Name that Was Given to Him to Extend the Life of his Father's Legacy. As a Storyteller. The Legacy of His That is Based on Human Connection. His Art is His Humanity. And the Human Connection that impacted his Art the most was his Love for His Kids. He Gave Him That Name Because He Loved His Kid. You Know Kinda Like that Classic Story About A Parent's Love and Naming Your Child to Extend Their Life. You're doing this in the story about stories btw like just checking.

[glamorousgamine]

“Be Happy, You’ll Work More”: The Joy of Kaichi Arakawa

The moment Kaichi’s deal was revealed I was intrigued because it gave Issho more dimension. Up until then, I had theories about Issho that were superficial and made him a flatter character. “Issho wants complete dedication to the arts.” Explain Kaichi. “Issho takes issue with good father figures.” Explain Kaichi. Etc.

Importantly, Kaichi shows us how Issho is as a teacher towards a confident adult who has nothing personal for or against him. The confidence is key, and makes Kaichi an inverse of Shinta: the former was a successful salesman before he pursued rakugo and his experience as a salesman gave him a solid core that helped him avoid the inconsistency of the latter. Kaichi knows he’s good, he can do something else and have a perfectly good life, but rakugo lets him live a life he can be proud of; and that is what makes him so infuriatingly good at rakugo.

I once met a guy like Kaichi in an improv class. He even had a similar physique. Every time he was up, his instincts and choices left us all collapsing with laughter. One day he revealed that he did this for fun, that he didn’t need acting to earn a living, and the teacher let out a mock-exasperated sigh. “Oh god, you’re one of those.” His lack of desperation meant that he could commit to the bit, no matter how absurd, and we were all just along for the ride.

In short, Kaichi adds more levity to the Issho school and gives Issho a capable student who has enough calluses from corporate Japan to respond to his demonic instruction with “Oh you (>؂ •́)ᕗ”

Bonus story: An acting teacher once lamented to the class that we were all such bad actors. I replied, “Of course we are, that’s why we’re taking your class.”

[glamorousgamine]

Akane’s Secret Power is Love

tl;dr: Nepo baby (affectionate)

Months ago I saw something on Bluesky that said that people who are called geniuses aren’t that way because of innate talent but because they started young when their brains were more moldable. Examples cited include:

The Williams sisters and Naomi Osaka: Richard Williams wrote an 85-page plan to turn his daughters into tennis pros and started lessons when they were 4. Osaka’s father cited the same plan as inspiration for his daughter.

Michelangelo: At 6 he started living with his nanny and her stonecutter husband, and at 13 he apprenticed to a master artist.

The Polgár sisters: They were conceived to prove that geniuses are made, not born. All three became world class chess players, with the youngest considered the greatest female chess player of all time.

In the same vein, what makes Akane built different is that she started young. Her father was a rakugoka when she was born, she’s consciously absorbed his craft since she can remember, and soon after he was expelled she began training under Shiguma Arakawa. She’s ahead of Kaisei by an early childhood and ahead of Hikaru and Karashi by almost two decades. Rakugo is as much a part of Akane as the average person’s first language.

More than the quantity and quality of time Akane has spent with rakugo, however, is the support she’s had from both her parents and from Shiguma. Despite the cliche of the tortured artist with a horrible childhood, it’s easier to take risks and grow as an artist when you have a reliable support system*. Kaisei has his mom but his dad is deadbeat and Issho is an asshole, Hikaru’s mom didn’t believe her daughter had any talent, and Karashi’s dad did not approve of a riskier path in the arts when he had his future in business all but guaranteed.

Meanwhile, Akane has had Shinta’s example since the beginning and he still supports her as Tohru, Masaki tells her, “Go out and win this!”, and Shiguma knows how to teach her a lesson without inducing a nervous breakdown. No wonder Hikaru and Karashi continue to chase her while she’s just starting to run ahead of Kaisei.

*This is something Akane has in common with Kaichi, who is the subject of my next planned AkaBana essay, “Be Happy, You’ll Work More”.

[makxmaa]

I love how Akane banashi highlights the impact parents have on their children, for better or worse, and how the characters draw on those experiences in their rakugo performances.

Akane's father inspired her to become a rakugoka and introduced her to rakugo, but his influence was so strong that, at one point, she wanted to become just like him, even at the cost of her own individuality.

On the other hand, Hikaru's mother never truly believed in her daughter. She didn't support Hikaru's dream of becoming a voice actress, just as she hadn't supported her acting career before that. As a result, Hikaru was driven more by anger and the desire to prove herself than by a genuine love for performing.

Karashi's dad taught him from a young age to always think strategically and make sure whatever he did would pay off. Because of that, Karashi tends to play it safe and avoid taking risks. The problem is that by always staying in his comfort zone, he struggles to grow and evolve, even when taking a chance and failing might help him improve .

And now we can see Issho's influence as a father figure. By placing him at the top of the new generation of rakugo performers and constantly pushing him toward that role, he ends up taking away some of his individuality. In a way, it's similar to Akane, who spent so long chasing her father's shadow that she started losing sight of herself.

But then there's his mother. She's the one who's always been by his side, looking after him. Her poem has a completely different kind of influence on him. Instead of telling him who he should be, she encourages him to follow his own path and reminds him that, no matter how difficult or winding that path may be, he'll eventually reach his destination.

[watanuki-chihiro]

Much like the Zuiun Cup was a callback to the Karaku Cup, the God of Death Duel Duet is a callback to the Selection Event. Except this time, they've switched positions: now it's Kaisei that's doubting himself while trying to chase after Akane.

Even though Akane reinforces her ideals while Kaisei rejects his, they still come to the same conclusion: being weak is not a fatal flaw. You are still capable of strength.

I am very excited to see Kaisei's performance and what this means for him from here on out.

[sebbyisland]

Ok folks (shoutout @watanuki-chihiro) have talked abt how God of Death Duel Duet (G3D) parallels the Zenza Rensekai, and that got me thinking. Can we talk about Akane’s convo with Kaisei after losing? Because this scene was way more fucking loaded than any of us expected I think. Considering recent events.

like off the top of my head there’s

”The stage really isn’t the place to go searching for yourself” this is actually the most ironic thing homie could have said😭😭😭😭😭he didn’t know guys he didn’t knowwww

“I only encouraged her to perform at the Isshokai for my own goals” way back when, kaisei was actually the one to encourage her to participate in the selection event hmmm but that wasn’t for your own goals now was it? He did all that because that’s his fave kouhai lmao.

“I’m kinda in an hurry” and then proceeds to extend the conversation unprompted…..There’s this imagery of her chasing his back as he walks forward. But brother you are inventing reasons to look back 😭like we get it she’s your favorite kouhai and you see yourself in her we get it….

“It’s a real shame” is crazy bc from Akane’s perspective at the time, the words just remind her of her failure. She literally starts crying afterwards. But Kaisei was speaking genuinely. He would’ve liked to perform with her (as her senior lollll not as the underdog), AND it’s a shame she didn’t win with her Dad’s art, “the second half wasn’t bad.” He’s speaking to both points. This is kinda wild when we remember he’s a student of Issho.

An ISSHO OPINION would completely toss Akane’s performance at the Rensekai aside! “How can the Arakawa school entrust someone who doesn’t believe in his own art”Unlike Issho, Kaisei sees the worth in Akane’s “weakness,” and by extension Shinta’s weakness, and acknowledges it as such.

His behavior here reminds me a lot of how he acts at the start of the Isshokai. He empathizes with Akane’s fired up shonen protag mentality, but regretfully has to inform her that this event isn’t about their rivalry. It’s about rubbing elbows with rich people who barely even value rakugo as an art, as much as they do the idea of accessing the exclusive Issho Arakawa performance. Just like when he talked to Akane then, he all but admits how “It’s a real shame.”

It’s a real shame these people don’t really care about rakugo. It’s a real shame this event is all about Issho and the rest of them are just a fun side-piece, never quite able to leave his shadow. It’s a damn shame, but that’s how it is. How it always is. Over and over, what Kaisei thinks is appropriate for rakugo, does not align with how he feels about rakugo. Kaisei has been showing signs of disagreeing with Issho’s ideals/methods. The conduit for all that was and is Akane.

Essentially, Kaisei is taking everything he felt regarding Akane’s “weakness” back then, and now redirecting that energy towards his own art.

This is all very nice to see come together. While Akane has been set up to follow her Master’s legacy despite coming into rakugo for o other reasons (though her dad admits Akane would have become a rakugoka regardless of if he made it to Shin’uchi), Kaisei has been set up to reject his Master’s legacy despite coming to rakugo specifically to be like Issho.

^^This is so funny now we literally had him admit he always felt like Akane might be able to understand him. And is another example of him using Issho’s ideals as a mask for his true feelings. “I’m not interested in you” after he basically channeled all his jealousy around Rokuro and Akane into his horror performance…..Most repressed man you’ve ever seen….no wonder he is Like That.

I’m also curious about his deeper opinions on Shiguma and Shiguma’s art. Pre-heartbreak Kaisei kept insisting he didn’t care and wouldn’t mind if Akane learned Shiguma’s Art, but since failing his Shin’uchi exam, it’s a lot more personal. He “can’t forgive” Shiguma’s Art, because of how it impacts his Master, but like, Issho is a grown man. Isn’t it actually that he can’t forgive Issho and doesn’t know where to direct all his feelings, because he is still ultimately playing his games by helping him with the Isshokai and what not??? The same Isshokai where he is resigned to be a show pony??? Hmm.

We don’t always get a lot of Kaisei scenes but what we do get…always seems to have a bunch of other sub plots attached I suppose. He’s a fun character to chew on.

[feotakahari]

I think I’ve figured out how homophobia works. It’s like when Nathaniel Hawthorne flips out over an evil plant.

To give some context for what I’m talking about, most authors have a greater or lesser ability to set aside their prior knowledge and precisely depict something they’ve seen, without adding in things that it obviously “must” be. Even if they don’t understand why something happened, they can accurately portray the fact that it happened and the way in which it happened. Terry Pratchett calls this “first sight” and waxes poetic about it, while Meg Cabot calls it “painting what you see, not what you know.” Charles Dickens is the grandmaster who shows everyone else how it ought to be done. And Nathaniel Hawthorne, as it so happens, is worse at it than any “classic” writer I’ve ever seen. Everything he writes about is filtered through the perspective of “What does my religion say about this?”, and if the things his religion says are different from the things you could see if you used your eyes, then his religion takes priority.

There’s a bit in Rappaccini’s Daughter where Hawthorne needs to describe the physical characteristics of an artificially bred plant. A normal person would describe this plant as beautiful, but Hawthorne knows that God doesn’t want us artificially breeding plants, so the existence of this plant must be a sin, and sins can’t be beautiful. Therefore, he informs the reader that the plant is “glowing with an evil mockery of beauty.” The plant, meanwhile, continues to be a plant, which can’t be good or evil unless they sing and/or eat people.

In a similar vein, a homophobe looks at a gay guy who’s talking about his husband, and evaluates based on what God wants. A heterosexual man talking about his spouse could be delivering a cute anecdote, but homosexuality is a sin, and anecdotes about sins can’t be cute. Therefore, the only possibility is that the gay guy is intentionally mocking straight people with a twisted parody of romantic cuteness.

I’ve never heard this directly stated, but it explains so much about the way homophobes act when gay people talk about their relationships. It’s not that they’re flipping out at gay people acting cute. It’s that they treat a gay person who’s acting cute exactly the same as a gay person who’s mocking them, because the two actions are one and the same in their eyes.

[gabbyp09]

Akane Banashi Ep10 Jugemu

[mareevveevv]

Is this tuff

The designs belong to @sebbyisland ! I haven’t had this much fun drawing something in a while (and also I couldn’t draw cuz of busy), so ty for the inspiration

Apparently drawing muppets is like super fun?? So of course I had to make Hikaru and Karashi

[sebbyisland]

IM SO GLAD U HAD FUN!!!! bro why is it actually so fun to draw muppets frfr

[peachsori]

I'm going to go freaking nuts trying to think of the rest of this sentence.

Immediately bought the JP raw to see what we're working with cos the ENG is surprisingly heavyhanded with the...non-platonic connotations and (£! "! #+" ;#! #?

"For you, I've always..."

「オレはお前が…」

Ore wa omae ga...

Hey, so—what if I lost my shit here, once and for all? Let's go through a list of Best Of Buds™ things that Sakura could be saying here, and what the JP original would then have to look like:

"I've always respected/admired/trusted you" → Ore wa omae wo

"I've always thought of you as _____" → Ore wa omae (no koto) wo

"I've always looked for/chased after/etc. you" → Ore wa omae wo

Something about how Sakura needs Suo? That would have to be "Ore ni wa omae ga"

Like do you see what I mean. I'm not one to speculate about stuff like this (cos I hate being wrong aha) but with today's chapter, I'm just sitting here like What!!!

I'm also so curious as to whether the translation team get any insight into what Nii-sensei means for Sakura to say here. Cos "ore wa omae ga" could honestly end in a lot of ways, it's such an incomplete blank canvas of a phrase in Japanese and yet the English TL feels so...sure, in the direction that it's taking. Rather than the JP raw on its own, it's really a combination of the JP + the translation choices made by the ENG team that's making me look at this like it's the nuclear bomb to my coughing fujo baby.

*grabs the staff by their shoulders* WHAT DO YOU GUYS KNOW....

By the way, if the thing Sakura was saying was "I like/love you?" The JP for it would go something like: Ore wa omae ga...

Take that how you will.

[demonicshijie]

SUOSAKU NATION HOW ARE WE FEELING

[rabbitindisguise]

[peachsori]

I'm going to go freaking nuts trying to think of the rest of this sentence.

Immediately bought the JP raw to see what we're working with cos the ENG is surprisingly heavyhanded with the...non-platonic connotations and (£! "! #+" ;#! #?

"For you, I've always..."

「オレはお前が…」

Ore wa omae ga...

Hey, so—what if I lost my shit here, once and for all? Let's go through a list of Best Of Buds™ things that Sakura could be saying here, and what the JP original would then have to look like:

"I've always respected/admired/trusted you" → Ore wa omae wo

"I've always thought of you as _____" → Ore wa omae (no koto) wo

"I've always looked for/chased after/etc. you" → Ore wa omae wo

Something about how Sakura needs Suo? That would have to be "Ore ni wa omae ga"

Like do you see what I mean. I'm not one to speculate about stuff like this (cos I hate being wrong aha) but with today's chapter, I'm just sitting here like What!!!

I'm also so curious as to whether the translation team get any insight into what Nii-sensei means for Sakura to say here. Cos "ore wa omae ga" could honestly end in a lot of ways, it's such an incomplete blank canvas of a phrase in Japanese and yet the English TL feels so...sure, in the direction that it's taking. Rather than the JP raw on its own, it's really a combination of the JP + the translation choices made by the ENG team that's making me look at this like it's the nuclear bomb to my coughing fujo baby.

*grabs the staff by their shoulders* WHAT DO YOU GUYS KNOW....

By the way, if the thing Sakura was saying was "I like/love you?" The JP for it would go something like: Ore wa omae ga...

Take that how you will.