#[[ i mean it's literally hiruma but also ]]

[beansterpie]

ES21 japanese volumes - part 1/??

part 2 >>

Sooooo I recently got my hands on the complete Eyeshield 21 manga series in Japanese and as someone who's only ever read the story through fan-translations on dodgy websites online, I wanted to go through and "live" blog about it, so to speak. I thought it would be interesting to see the changes between the languages and where the fan-translations likely fail with mistranslations. (No shade btw, I think fan-translations are great both as a hobby and the fact that they're doing their work for free, but it's also a reality that the vast majority of fan-translators are amateurs, many of whom don't fluently speak the language they're translating, so there's bound to be mistakes!) Also, I wanna know what they're originally saying because I’m nosey <3

I know the official English translation by VIS is allegedly pretty decent, bar the toning down of some things (like Hiruma's language lol) so if you've had the chance to read the official version, feel free to chime in on differences with the fan-translation that I'll be referencing, or potential differences between the Japanese version too!

And finally, while I am half Japanese and grew up there, tragically my language skills are imperfect. I speak it, but my vocabulary isn't very robust, so I do look up the definitions for a lot of words and kanji, as well as more nuanced connotations or references that may go over my head. Bilingual problems <3 But again, it's good practice for me and I think it'll be kind of fun!

Right off the bat, this page. What it’s saying is essentially, “You better come out and play (in the) American Football match!” But because Japanese syntax is different from English, it’s structured like “American Football Match you better play!!” The translator was confused by the final line, because in Japanese a way to say ‘participating in a match’ is by using 出る which means to ‘go out’— sort of like ‘go out (into) the match’. Maybe a better option would have been ‘get the fuck out and play!!” or just “you better fucking play!!”. It still keeps the overall sentence structure which sounds awkward in English, but at least it gets the meaning across.

(I’m not gonna get into every little mistranslation btw, because that would take forever, but I felt that was a good way to explain how frequently there are little mistakes like this.)

Putting the rest under a cut because I imagine this will get long

Look at our boy <3 So as you know, we start our story with Sena Kobayakawa timidly seeing if he passed his high school entrance exam into Deimon High School, with his childhood friend/older sister figure, Mamori Anezaki lending moral support.

In the third panel, what Sena says is actually “I feel like I’ve been praised for the first time in 10 years—” (maybe they changed it because that was too pathetic 😭) Then in the fourth panel, what Mamori says is more along the lines of “And to think you were a total mess in math and English… It’s all thanks to Mamori-sensei!”

Also I want to point out that Mamori is a little cheekier in the first few chapters. Like obviously still kind and nurturing in personality (her name is literally ‘to protect’), but she teases Sena and feels more like an older sister than like, an overprotective mom lol. Miss that for her 😔

Then along comes our kind senpai to accost our clueless protag...

There’s no mistranslation, but I just wanted to mention that the way Hiruma talks in Japanese is so funny? Like in panel 1, he’s speaking with a dramatic affect, he sounds like some sort of npc in a jrpg giving the protag a quest. And then in panel 2, his ‘of course!’ is this shortened, slang version of the word that sounds almost cute and very modern after the previous line. Hiruma uses a lot of slang in general, though I can’t say if any of it is like, common or used by teenagers (of the time, anyway) or if it’s just Hiruma-isms.

(Look at Kurita doing the sign of the cross in panel 3 😂)

I can’t believe Hiruma managed to physically emulate the experience of contracting some shady internet virus…..

Something that’s done with Hiruma’s dialogue a lot (it’s done w/ other characters too, but most often with Hiruma) is where there’ll be a word/term in kanji that means one thing and pronounced in a certain way, but then the furigana (so the phonetic pronounciation, basically) next to it says something different. Now, in some stories (like Berserk for my pals out there), this is used to create poignant, layered meanings in the text. In ES21 however, it’s mostly used for sports manga flavor. For example, in the above page in Hiruma’s spam fax message, he uses the word 作戦, which means tactics or strategy, and is pronounced: “sa - ku - se - nn” さ-く-せ-ん. But the furigana next to that word reads タクティクス which is quite literally just the English word ‘tactics’ spelled phonetically in Japanese lol (aka a loanword).

He does this A LOT, most frequently with sports terminology, where the kanji are pretty dense, technical terms, and the furigana a loanword version of the same meaning. (though now that I think about it, it might also be because while パワー (power) and スピード (speed) are frequently used and well known loanwords to the average Japanese person, タクティクス (tactics) might be more obscure, so the kanji is there to like, clarify the meaning? 🤔)

Also I love all the early 2000’s tech we see in the early chapters— flip phones and fax machines galore! Even within the later segments of the series, the flip phones start to magically get more advanced, but in my heart ES21 takes place in like, 2003. If they ever do a remake of the anime (which is unlikely to say the least) I’d want them to maintain the early 00’s vibes. It just wouldn’t be the same if everyone had smart phones.

Skipping ahead a few pages, I remember this bit never really made sense, but I got enough of the general gist that I kind of shrugged and moved along. But!! the translation is just making stuff up here?

So for context: it’s Sena’s first day at Deimon, and Mamori (who’s a grade above him) advises him to make proper friends this year, since he has a history of only ‘hanging out’ with shitty bullies who used him as an errand boy.

In the English translation, Sena seems to get a text from a mystery number, telling him to pay up for a bet we never saw happening. He goes to meet up with the texter, who we assume at this point is a previous aquaintence, since he had Sena's number? Maybe one of those bullies that Sena hung out with from middle school? They make Sena go and get them an unspecified thing, but because Sena ran there and back so quickly, they don't believe that Sena actually went, and is lying when he says they were sold out. They drag Sena to a small shed to beat him up, and in the last panel of the third page, Sena says that he's been their errand boy since kindergarden?

So for a number of years I was under the impression that the Ha-ha brothers knew Sena from before the series, even though that never seemed to come up in the rest of the story.

But in the original version, Sena is actually getting a text from Mamori-- which makes sense because it was established earlier that his cell phone is brand new and he only has Mamori's number in his contacts. Mamori's text says: "If someone tries to make you run their errands, tell them 'let's decide by rock-paper-scissors!'" Sena is understandably kind of embarrassed by this, and mutters to himself that he's not a kid anymore.

Then it cuts to Sena being picked on to be an errand boy lmao. Presumably this is because Sena just looks like an easy target to bullies, not because of any previous aquaintence rip. The blond bully tells Sena to go buy them bread (which might sound weird, but Japan has a lot of tasty snack breads that they sell everywhere). In panels 2+3 of the second page, Sena timidly tries to bring up the rock-paper-scissors thing, but is intimidated into giving up and just doing what he's told.

Again, they don't believe that Sena actually went all the way to the school store and back with how quick he was, so they decide to beat him up in the shed. As he's being dragged, Sena says, "It really was sold out! I've gotten used to being an errand boy since kindergarden, so I've just gotten fast--!"

So yeah, if there were any other people who've only read fan-translations and were confused by this bit, there you go.

oh you just know it smelled like ass in here.....

(I never noticed the shotgun propped against the desk on the right before lol, idk why I'm surprised, but Hiruma really just left his Actual Guns lying around huh?)

(2nd pic - Kurita: "New club applicants!!?")

There he is!! Our boy Kurita!! I do miss when he occassionally had like, more human features lol. As much as I love his big ol' smiley face, it does rub me the wrong way when the fat characters (because Komusubi falls into this too) are the only ones with anpanman faces.

(anpanman, for the uninitiated)

(Kurita: "To literally clash with the opponent in order to pursue a goal together with everyone-- that moment is exhilerating!")

Aw look at Sena feeling inspired! Honestly I really love how Kurita is Sena's first friend he makes in the series, and that vibe in the early chapters where it's just Sena, Kurita and Hiruma is so much fun <3

(P1: Kurita: "Way to go Sena!" Imaginary Coach: "It's thanks to you that we could participate in the Christmas Bowl!" Mamori: "You're so cool Sena!"

P2: Mamori: "You have to make the first move!" Sena: "U-um!"

P3: Sena: "Can I... be the team shumu*?" Kurita: "WHAAATT!? O-OF-OF COURSE!")

*Ok soooo I don't fully understand what a shumu is lol, or how you'd translate it to English. The word itself apparently means 'person in charge' so? The fan-translation just calls it the manager, but based on something Hiruma says later, I get the impression that the shumu and the manager are technically different roles? But when Mamori becomes the manager later, she takes on a lot of what are allegedly 'shumu tasks', along with Hiruma, so idk. If anyone's read the official VIS translation, feel free to chime in on how they did it, because I'd be curious to know!

That being said, adorable of Sena to think he could have handled that responsiblity at all 😂 our boy has many talents, but being smart and organized is not among them.

Ok fun feelings are over, it's time for pain.

(Sena looking at his contact list, having just added Kurita's number, then wham D: )

The three bullies from before were waiting to get revenge. The dialogue is a bit different in the original. Juumonji (the blond one) actually says: "That fatso a friend of yours, Sena? Tell me his contact info-- if you do that, we'll let you go." To which Sena timidly and reluctantly agrees. Then Kuroki (the dark haired one) says: "But do you think one bat will be enough? With that brute strength..." In the final panel, Juumonji says: "It's better with just one, since we're gonna call the police beforehand." Togano (with the glasses): "The police?"

Juumonji: "As long as we get him wrapped up in the fight, it'll be fine. We'll say we got these wounds from being assaulted by the fatso with the bat -- We'll get him disqualified from the American Football tournament." One of the others: "Ooohh, smart!"

I guess the overall sentiment isn't that different, but knowing that the initial demand was for Sena to hand over Kurita's contact info with the promise that they would spare him if he obeyed-- and that at first he agreed-- makes his change of heart feel even more significant.

(Sena: "IF YOU'RE GONNA HIT ME, THEN HIT ME!!! I'LL NEVER TELL YOU (Kurita's info)!!!")

Tell 'em Sena!! A part of me sort of wishes the story maintained this serious story beat instead of undercutting it with humor in the next panel (not shown here) but at the same time, ES21 is overall a more lighthearted, comedic story which I love it for, so I don't think I'd like it getting too angsty. I'll always have Berserk in my corner if I want some actual angst lol.

(1st pic: various sounds of surprise or pain, and in the last panel: "Oi, don't let him get away!"

2nd pic: Sena -- "No way!!!" Hiruma: "Hm? Oh it's that guy" )

Lol I do love the little details Murata included, like Kuroki taking a swing at Sena as he's biting Juumonji's hand but then totally missing in the fourth panel because Sena's so fast. Also I'm always on the lookout for the kinds of stuff Hiruma buys, snack wise. We know he loves sugarless gum, obv, and drinks coke based on that one time he bought some for himself, Kurita & Sena, but what else are in those bags? I want to know!!

--------

And lol apparently I'm only allowed 30 images per post rip, so I guess I'll end this here. I guess I can.... reblog and continue? Or I might just make another post for the next part 🤔 Besides this got way too long, so I'll have to be more brief in future posts lol.

I'm honestly not expecting more than like, five people to interact with this lol, but if anyone is interested in specific points of the story they want me to look at, please feel free to ask!

[the-roadkill-cafe]

Fic Writer Interview

I was tagged by @phoenixyfriend

Tagging: @stormwind13 @elenathehun @hiruma-musouka @kendochick-moor

Remember to make a new post!

How many works do you have on AO3?

8

What’s your total AO3 word count?

75,290

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

One fandom - Naruto. In the past I’ve written for other fandoms, but not on this account.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Company of Trees, Throwing a Stone in a River, If The Bird Doesn’t Sing, Tree Branches, the devil and the deep blue sea

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to respond to everything, though it can be quite some time before I get around to replying. I like to respond to comments to say thank you and to interact with people. While I don’t think fic writers are owed reviews or comments, I do think mutual interaction helps make fandom go ‘round, and to that end, I want to interact with people who leave me comments.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Considering my fics are all pretty much WIPs, there aren’t really endings, per se. But the one with the angstiest planned ending is Throwing a Stone in a River.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

At the moment, no, I don’t really write crossovers or fusions.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not...really? I’ve had some rude comments, but none that I say really qualify as hate. I have really kind readers.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do write smut! I write all kinds of smut, from non-con to fully consensual. However, the vast majority of it is not published, mostly because I haven’t actually finished anything.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. About...three times now, someone has plagiarized The Company of Trees. I’ve always been told by someone else, and luckily, the issue has always been easily resolved.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

A long time ago, I had someone start translating one of my fics on another account, but the website shut down and I don’t know whatever happened.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A few times, but nothing that was ever published. I’ve written a lot with jaycrowind and @stormwind13.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Pretty hard to say. My favorite ship depends on my mood and what fandom I’m currently reading in. I will say that my first OTP was Sesshoumaru/Kagome in Inuyasha.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Sorry to say, but probably all of them, hahaha. The three posted on my AO3 accounts are behemoths and I write pretty slowly. I haven’t given up on them! I just don’t know if I’ll actually finish them.

What are your writing strengths?

I like to think that my writing strength is characterization.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. Sentence variation. Pacing.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Oh boy do I have thoughts about this. When it comes to anime, I’m actually a bit nitpicky, but then, I’m nitpicky about a lot of stuff in general, hahaha.

Presumably, in the vast majority of anime, everyone is speaking Japanese. There are exceptions, but I won’t get much into those. For things like suffixes (-san, -sama, etc), I prefer to leave those untranslated because they are very revealing of the speaker’s personality and the hierarchical nature of Japanese culture. They also don’t really have good translations in English. There are ways to translate them, but in my opinion, they don’t convey both speaker personality, social status, and also social+emotional distance the same way, because English speaking cultures (typically) just aren’t as stratified as Japanese culture.

I also leave familial terms of address untranslated (Okaasan, niisan) and certain titles and positions (In Naruto, Hokage, Shodai, Nidaime, etc.) untranslated because again, they’re difficult to translate. For familial titles, it feels incredibly awkward to type “Brother” in dialogue when directly addressing someone. Again, not only does it leave out the nuance of the relationship between the speaker and the addressee, but in English we just don’t directly address people like that, generally speaking. In Japanese, you do, because you try to avoid using someone’s name.

I don’t like to translate attack names because I just think they sound silly in English, that’s why.

For things that aren’t anime, I generally try to avoid outright writing whole sections of dialogue in another language. Instead I prefer to indicate a different language in the dialogue tags or something (The two men started speaking in Spanish blah blah blah) or italics. There are really only a few times where I would write dialogue in another language, usually to show that someone was previously not understood but through magic/a translating device/etc suddenly they are now understood.

Can I put a pet peeve here? I’m going to put a pet peeve here. In Naruto, Hashirama is not the Shodaime, he is the Shodai. Shodaime is grammatically incorrect and you can even check the wiki, he is literally not called the Shodaime. Basically, the -me suffix in Japanese makes a regular number (one, two, three) into the ordinal version (first, second, third). However, Hashirama’s title Shodai is written not with the kanji for “one” ( 一 ) but with the kanji for “beginning” ( 初 ) which means it can’t take the -me suffix because it isn’t a number. Essentially, Shodai translates as “starting generation” or “beginning generation”, therefore Shodai Hokage is “starting generation Hokage” (or Fire Shadow, if you prefer). But Tobirama is the Nidaime, because his title uses the number ( 二 ), so translated, he is the “second generation Hokage”.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Inuyasha, a long, long time ago.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Mmmm. Either The Company of Trees or Throwing a Stone in a River. However, although they’re my favorites, I’ve been finding my SI/OC (more OC than SI) fic very compelling.

[lockdaisy]

Clifford D. Lewis Appreciation

Ok, so I just wanted to make this post because

1. Eyeshield 21 is easily one of my favorite series of all time, and I’m hellbent on doing everything in my power to help it get at least some of the recognition that it deserves (I’ll be writing a full series recommendation post on a later date)

2. while Hiruma Youichi is still undoubtedly my absolute #1 favorite character in all of Eyeshield 21, Clifford D. Lewis (who is easily my second favorite character in the series) is so wonderful yet so criminally underrated that I want to give my boy at least a modicum of the love he deserves

I mean, just look at this beautiful motherfucker

He might as well be some fashion model or an art muse with those regal pretty-boy looks of his. Like, those high cheekbones and angular features?? Those tousled, luscious blond locks?? Those cold eyes that look down on positively everyone before him?? Oh, hell yes

Just look at this!! This is literally what his face looked like while thinking about how every other quarterback is trash in comparison to him, and what it looked like just before thinking about nevertheless offering one “half-baked guy” a chance to join the bench because it might be “interesting” to let some low-tier loser believe he could stand near the top

It’s just that he has one of my favorite combinations of character traits!! Like on one hand, he’s so smug, condescending, manipulative, petty, vindictive, superior, elitist, arrogant, cold, posh, snarky, snooty, stuck-up, supercilious, spoiled, haughty, conceited, imperious, and plain-flat bitchy. But on the other hand, he’s so overwhelmingly intelligent, talented, and successful that it’s hard to say that he isn’t justified in acting that way. I absolutely love “better than you”-type characters who can actually back up what they say. (Also, his bitchiness is just so adorable, I love it)

First off, yes to the fluffy fur ruffs on his black coat. And second, what a bitch. You know Clifford deliberately pretended to be onboard with Bud’s idea for the sole purpose of yanking his chain at the very last second. This is the kind of petty stunt a bitchy cheerleader in a Hollywood movie would make. He’s such an ass. I adore him

And look at how tiny he is!!!! Clifford’s just so tiny and short, but he still found a way to look down at everyone else with his hands-on-his-hips smirk. He’s like one of those pampered chihuahuas who’s somehow intimidating enough that he gets to be snippy and patronizing with everyone around him

So pouty. So cute. He’s one of those characters who I love seeing getting knocked down a million pegs and put in his place. Like... ok, maybe TMI, but he’s exactly the type of brat I would love to dom and peg so hard that he ends up becoming a Good Boy

(ES21 SPOILERS: Which is why the scene where Shin Seijuro tackles him to the ground and holds him there is so goddamn hot like HNNNGGGGG)

Sorry about the huge, random, non-OP text post, but I just

I just really needed to gush about my haughty, underrated boy

God, the prospect of seeing an animated!Clifford alone is reason enough for me to be willing to sell my left tit for a reboot of the Eyeshield 21 anime. Along with literally every Hiruma scene and some of the absolutely spectacular matches that never ended up getting animated

Please watch Eyeshield 21, people!!!! It’s so good!!!!! And it has characters like Hiruma and Clifford who are!!!! JUST PERFECTION!!!!!

[demon-quarterback]

Who's your favorite(s) besides Hiruma? And least favorite if you want

I’ll get least faves out of the way first. Apollo is up there, he’s literally just Trump in manga form. Selfish racist egotistical piece of shit that literally exists so we can watch what happens when Hiruma wants to utterly destroy someone with top-tier trolling.

But tbh Agon probably wins out for the sheer fact that Trum– I mean Apollo actually has a visible change of heart. Most that happens with Agon is that he feels slightly bad for making his brother cry, and realizes he might actually have fun playing football. But I mean… You know all those headlines of football players becoming r*pists and getting away with it because the schools don’t want to lose a star player? If it weren’t for Unsui and Hiruma keeping him in check, he’d probably already be a serial r*pist and/or murderer, if not by the time he goes to college. Kudos to the writers for making a legit terrifying villain, because he’s a pretty accurate representation of what happens when young athletes who are worshipped for their talents end up too far up their own asses.

/deep breath

My second fave though is definitely Raimon/Monta. He’s fucking hilarious, but more than that he’s so passionate and driven. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and sometimes slips up because of it (re: almost getting the Devil Bats disqualified from the Kanto tournament, and getting into a fist-fight with Sena over Honjou’s glove), but he still learns from his mistakes. He’s constantly striving to improve himself. And he’s SO damn supportive of Sena; Even when Sena’s feeling crippled by doubt and anxiety, Monta is encouraging him while also giving him a firm nudge in the right direction. He’s a fucking bro.

My third fave is probably Riku. Usually the whole ‘Friend/sibling figure to the main character’ type turns into the ‘Bitter rival corrupted by jealousy’ type, but..that never happens with Riku. He wants to view Sena as an opponent, sure, but even the brief time he tries to decide “That’s it, we’re enemies” doesn’t last long because he values Sena’s friendship too much. He mostly just wants Sena to hurry up and grow a pair and take football seriously. He’s a good boy with a genuinely good heart, and in spite of his tendencies to get cocky or over-emotional, he strives to be the best he can be, for the sake of his team.

[nerdygirlkerrie]

Top Ten Sports Anime Husbands

So I saw this thing going around tumblr not long ago and thought I would adapt it.  Anyone wants to do it too, feel free, but I’m not tagging anyone!

These are ordered, more or less by importance to me lol  Gonna be long

10.  Fuji Syusuke

Probably my first yandere, way back from high school.  Tenipuri was probably also my first real sports anime.  I literally thought he was a girl for like the first three episodes lol  But despite being, imo, possessive and teasing, he’s fiercely loyal, and will fuck shit up.  The lazy genius

9. Seung-gil Lee

I love me a cranky Korean boy.  I feel him on a spiritual level – I don’t like the general public and am suspicious of those trying to be friends with me lol  I also have terrible fashion sense and love my pet to death.  He’s just really interesting, and so vicious… already might be a theme 

8. Narumiya Mei

There always have to be one arrogant ball of sunshine, right?  Mei is so larger than life – completely a drama queen, but somehow without being super obnoxious.  He has the skills to back up his arrogant.  He is smol and extra™  (Although, is 5’7 really that short?)  He looks cuddly though, if you can get him to be still long enough lol 

7. Kakei Shun

The epitome of sarcastic and chill.  Kid was hanging out with an American street gang drinking at like 13.  He’s a badass, but not mean.  Is completely unintimidated by Hiruma.  You can almost feel the eyeroll when he deals with his teammates, but he’s loyal to them.  Intelligent and smoking hot 

6. Haibara Jirou

True smol and 100% adorable.  He’s 90% hair, but it kind of makes you want to run your hands through it.  He’s the heart of his friends and is surprisingly sweet.  Has a great sense of humor and is really, really caring.  Kind of secondary mom friend.  Unintentionally, and intentionally funny.  Plus has an adorable confidence issue.

5. Otabek Altin

Like Kakei, he’s the chill one.  Serious and mature, he’s surprisingly kind.  Somehow puts up with being surrounded by a bunch of extra fools.  Does things his own way, but is also pretty much the mom friend.  Secondary smol one, but it doesn’t even matter cause his shoulders take one’s breath away~

4. Akashi Seijuro

Anyone that knows me, knows that I fucking love yanderes.  I don’t know why, I just… do.  Like if I met one in real life I would run screaming, but in anime? Dayum.  Akashi is lethally intelligent, a little psychotic in the beginning, but he owned who and what he is.  I like characters that have no sense of humor but are some how funny anyway. His nuances make him super interesting. 

3. Yukimura Seiichi

Basically the Akashi of Tenipuri, right?  Control is his trigger and he has to always be in control.  One of three smiling evils on this list – looks pretty and sweet, but will fucking eviscerate you if given a reason.  Like Akashi, he’s delightfully non-functional, but is somehow terrifying despite, and not because, of this. 

1. Kominato Ryousuke

Okay, so I couldn’t choose a number one.  I love the last two equally.  Ryousuke is probably the most functionally savage character I’ve ever seen in sports anime (for like, non-creepy, legitimate yandere).  He’s not gross, but he will fuck you up.  Has an adorable complex about his height (smol and terribile™).  Wears that yandere smile beautifully.  He teases everyone, and can absolutely be vicious if provoked, but he’s not nasty for the sake of being nasty and is actually pretty awesome older brother figure.  To both his real brother and the other players. 

1. Miyuki Kazuya

Man, I don’t even know what to say about this emotionally constipated idiot catcher. He’s so beautiful it practically hurts to look at him, but he’s pretty messed up to.  He pushes people away using teasing and brutal honesty, but is actually pretty lonely inside.  He is also one of the most supporting boys in all of Seidou and is always going above and beyond for his teammates, he just shows it badly.  Doesn’t know how to interact very well, leading to some pretty big blunders (ie Nabe situation), or what to do with friendship.  Probably didn’t even realize he had friends until well after he’s named captain.  Being captain overwhelms him cause again, he’s bad at people.  But no one cares more than him.  Says he’s cold and uncaring, but probably the biggest softie, besides Mochi lol 

Honorable mentions in no real order:

[nerdyfangirlproblems]

After finishing Season 2 of Boku no Hero Academia I've realized something.  Everyone’s favorite little angry temper tantrum kid could literally be the son of Hiruma Yoichi or at least a relative. Like, through most of the episodes I just couldn’t stop laughing at the similar traits they share... Their angry faces are the best and they scare the shit outta ya.

They even seem to both have this intimidating aura and outfits. Only difference is that Bakugo doesn’t need to import guns from the US. Bakugo is literally his own gun and if Hiruma had that kind of power... yikes. However, I think you all get my drift here. Look at those intimidating poses and crazy faces. Both boys are obviously the strong best boys. Don’t fight them, unless you hate breathing. 

Also they both share this absolute winner mentality. They are both willing to risk everything in order to win their battles. They both appears as scary and without a doubt ‘crazy’ characters, however they also both share great knowledge of tactics and finding the best solution to victory. Though, i have to say Hiruma has the upper hand given he is more ‘calm’ than Bakugo is when fired up... my point still stand though. They are both very focused on reaching a goal and they are prepared to risk their own health to become stronger, even if it means they only gets to move one step up the ladder.

Also they both share the best smiles. Someone, anyone, should draw Hiruma being his one true father. These two would be great together if Hiruma had some kind of quirk. Thank god Hiruma isn’t the father of this kid now that I think about it... imagine the monster that would have created. However, I love my two crazy boys. They are born to be winners, they are born to train their asses off to achieve their goals and nothing will stand in their way.  It would be cool if Bakugo was actually inspired by Hiruma in design, but I doubt that is actually a thing. I do like how similar they are since I always seem to fall in love with these troublesome boys. 

For those who are unfamiliar with Hiruma Yoichi he is from the manga Eyeshield 21, which is a manga from 2002 which ended in 2009. It is created by Riichiro Inagaki & Yusuke Murata. Yusuke may sounds familiar as he was the one creating the illustration for One Punch Man. The manga is about American Football and is by far one of the best sport mangas out there. I don’t recommend watching the anime given it is very old and outdated and it seriously deserves a new anime with the ending included and with a style actually worthy of the art of the manga. I hope you enjoyed my little observation nonetheless. 

[terriblesportsimagines]

Hello! I just found your blog and I have binged read so much of your work lol. They are really good! And boy am I glad you do ES21, may I have relationship HC with kakei, hiruma, shin, and takeru with smol SO?

Kakei Shun

I did relationship headcanons for him waaaay back Here , however,I will do a few more, accounting for the smol

Would probably love you if you were not so smol, and indeed,there are times when you being so tiny was a little bit of a hindrance – ie whenhe loses you a crowd. 

The height difference is legit ridiculous, since he iscanonically one of the tallest in the series.  At 6’3 there are timespeople mistake you for his little sister, which never fails to make you break downinto a fit of giggles.

While he could totally abuse the size differential, hedoesn’t.  He doesn’t pick you up needlessly or move you around, trustingyou to do that yourself.  He’s always there to grab things from a highplace for you, but that’s about it. 

He does like it when you sit in his lap or drape yourselfacross him if the two of you are lying somewhere though.  It’s hisfavorite way to watch tv, if he has to do so.  He stretches out across thecouch and then pulls you down on top of him so that you are resting on hischest and he can run his fingers through your hair.

Hiruma Youichi

Your size means little to him, except as a means to make iteasier to manipulate or tease you

He enjoys looking down on you, which spikes yourfury, which of course, in turn, makes him do it more.  He likes it bestwhen you try to fight with him.  Thinks it is hella adorable and way tooentertaining.

God help the person who isn’t him that comments on your sizethough.  This kid is 100% ready to fight if anyone looks down or insultsyou.  Threat book activate!

Your being pretty small is kind of helpful though, becauseit means you don’t get in the way when he does things.  He can have you inhis lap and still do whatever he wants to and that’s a bonus in his book,because despite the fact that his tongue would burn to say so, he likes havingyou with him and in reach at all times.

As a boyfriend he can be pretty frustrating, because hishobbies (read: football) are all encompassing on his attention.  Plus, he neverreveals his true feelings and wears a mask 100% of the time.  You betterget good at reading between the lines and seeing beyond the kekekes.

But he’s unexpectedly sweet in his own way.  He looksout for you, makes sure you have everything you need.  His attention todetail is insane so he always knows, sometimes before you do.  Youare always somewhere in his mind, even if he’s focused on other things.

Don’t think you’re going to be immune to his threats orteasing though.  He will make you crazy, and on purpose. Being with Hiruma is like an adventure ride, a spontaneous, insane one whereyou never know what he’ll do.

Not big on PDA, like at all.  Don’t even try, or you’llend up hurt, because he will be cold and will push you away.  Butif you are alone, he will kiss you all you like, as long as he’s not busy, andhis mouth can do terrible and wonderful things to you.

Shin Seijuro

Let’s face it, you’re going to have to put like 90% of theeffort into this relationship.  Not because he doesn’t care about you, hereally does, it’s just he gets hyper focused on football, to the exclusion ofliterally everything else.  If you are busy, there are days when Sakurabahas to remind him that he has a s/o and that he might want to contact them.

Despite this, he is strangely possessive.  Like if heactually lets himself think about it, he’s a little insecure about yourrelationship, mostly because he doesn’t really know how to be a good boyfriendand messes up constantly.  So when other guys (and it’s guys specifically)hover around you, he gets irritated.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t reallyrealize why.

He seems bigger than he is somehow, but really, he’sactually not that tall, so secretly appreciates how small you are.  He’sworked hard to dominate in his sport, but always thinks he can be betterconditioned.  He’s big in other ways than height thought – breadth forinstance, because there isn’t an inch of him that isn’t covered in thicklycorded muscle.  Thus, he still dwarfs you.

Other than the convenience of it, he doesn’t even see yoursize.  You are you, and he loves you, regardless of your size.  Hesees everything through movement and body shape, and yours signifies you

Since he makes only minor attempt to be current as far asthings other people his age are into and breaks any technology he touches,you’re the one that has to push into his life and attention.  It’sexhausting at first and there’s probably been more than once you thought aboutgiving up, but then he actually smiles at you, and you forget all that. The one day you didn’t meet him, just to see if he’d noticed, he spent nearlyan hour searching for you and complained so adorably you never did it again.

Is very good at kissing you.  Puts his wholeattention into it, and sees it as a skill to train just like physical training

Yamato Takeru

Take all sorts of delight in your being small.  Prettymuch picks you up whenever he feels like it, which is a lot.  Just swingsyou into his arms, sometimes to cuddle you, other times to carry you aroundbridal style.  Hope you aren’t embarrassed easily reader-chan, because hehas zero shame.

Likes being manly for you – getting things off high placeswhen you can’t reach, lifting things you can’t carry, just generally doingthings for you that your size prevents you from doing.  Fills him withpride, and he never fails to look at you with his heart in his eyes

It tickles him pink how small your hand is compared to hisand he could literally hold it all day, and does. 

No matter how busy the football team gets, he alwaysmakes time for you.  Will pick you up and walk you home every chance hegets.  Actually, anything to do with you he does if he can – studying,dates, just generally taking up your space.

Is an enthusiastic boyfriend.  Laughs at all yourjokes, probably thinks you are the most beautiful, amazing person in the wholeworld.

Anything you want to do, he does, but he’s not adoormat.  Will debate with you and challenge if he disagrees, but realfights?  Unheard of.  Honestly, who could stay mad at someone likeYamato?

He’s just so happy to be with you, and this fact getsthrough to you so easily.  Even when he can’t be with you, he sends youcheesy, but adorable, texts.  Doesn’t it during practice too and makesHojo crazy.  His teammates can always tell, even if he tries to bestealthy though, because he laughs way more.

He’s laughing at his own jokes.

Mostly though, he cherishes you, treating you like an equal,but also like a blessing to his life.

[beansterpie]

choose violence: 3, 7, 12, 21

Hehehe thanks for the ask Moth! <3

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Don't have any screenshots, but the main one coming to me right now is the take I've seen before about how Casca's long hair during her time as 'Elaine' was a good thing because she was 'getting in touch with her feminine side', and her cutting off her hair after regaining her mind was bad actually. Rather than acknowledging that her hair had grown long because she literally wasn't capable of maintaining her own appearnace?? It's just. Such a baffling ass take lol, where to even begin.

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Oh damn, lemme think. I have a few characters where I started to like them MORE because of how shitty fandom is towards them for no reason, but not many the other way around... Ok so this isn't a character but g*tsca lol. I never really shipped it, but I understand it's place in the story and there are even elements about it I find intriguing, and occassionally, sweet. But the fandom is so gd annoying about it lol that it's genuinely soured me on the ship.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I feel like Griffith is too obvious, and so is Jin Guangyao lol. Hmmm I guess I'll write about Agon because why not!

Ok so. Agon is different from the other two in the sense that both Griffith and Jin Guangyao are characters that are morally grey that I feel are often deeply misunderstood by a lot of audiences. Or audiences just like, miss the point of their characters lol. Agon, on the other hand, is a grade A asshole and he was intedended to be a grade A asshole lol. He is a total douchebag genius who was made to be an Ultimate Bad Guy™ (within the context of a sports manga lmfao).

That being said. I JUST THINK HE'S FUN OK. He's such an over the top douchebag that his shittiness comes back around to being entertaining, and then it's extra satisfying when he eats shit. Plus there's enough in canon regarding his relationship with Hiruma (and also to Unsui in different ways tbh) to imply that there's a lot more going on beneath the surface that he's too pigheaded to admit, and that's just plain fun to explore in a fandom context. ALSO he's just fun to bully! I love a character who is presented as extremely powerful in most ways where I can gleefully take them down several pegs lol. He's like a beloved chew toy <3

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

Hmmmm... For Berserk, I guess...? The rpg-group onwards? I mean idk, I feel like the GA gets the most hype in Berserk, but for good reason imo, it's easily my favorite bit too. I guess I could say the fights, but ngl I love a lot of the fights (though some of them drag on too long imo). But I've also seen a decent number of people saying that they love the rpg group, and I. Disagree. Lmfao. Well like, I don't hate the general premise, but I don't love the shift to more stereotypical high-fantasy vibes during the fantasia arc, and I find a lot of the characters in the rpg group are either totally extraneous at worst (Isma, Ivalera, Magnifico, Azan), or like, have a lot of wasted potential (Schierke, Isidro, even Farnese and Serpico to an extent).

[choose violence]

[multiply014]

I’m sorry I took so long answering the post you tagged me in, @hcibara!!!

I don’t even know how to copy the post with formatting, I mean is there an easy way to do so because I literally just copied the text and added the formatting??? =)) okay sorry HAHA

I put a short fic at the end because... we... friends... :') For you, @hcibara, because you're a blessing!

Fandom (Pairing): DCMK (CoAi) Title: Morning Summary (Word Count): He sneaks visits in the early morning... (305) Links: Entry on AO3 and FF

RULES: Choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions. Then tag some friends.

friends i’m gonna tag:

…I don’t have friends????????????? I’ll tag you back @hcibara LOL sry for ppl kind enough to read this pls answer this and be my friend???? No? Yes???

I choose: dead fandoms. No, not really, just kidding… 1/3 kidding.

Detective Conan (obvsly, I do nothing but post about this)

Yakitate!! Japan

Eyeshield 21

The first character you loved:

Haibara Ai/Miyano Shiho (because how can you not??? That was a rhetorical q btw, no need to answer guys pls this bb deserves only love)

Azuma Kazuma (or is it Kazuma Azuma lord ppl would think I don’t have a fandom besides dc)

Hiruma Youichi (because senpai is cool ya-ha! Okay sry)

The character you never expected to love so much:

Agasa-hakase (at first, he’s meh, but but but how he cares for queen Ai-kun is perf)

Kanmuri Shigeru (I liked him already when he was introduced but no no no not to this extent maybe I just have a weakness for genius)

Kobayakawa Sena (I usually don’t like spineless main chara but but but senaaaaaa)

The character you relate to most:

Haibara Ai (current height to actual age ratio lol jk but she’s full of contradictions i love her)

Kawachi Kyousuke (srsly I react to anything)

Kobayakawa Sena (because I’m awkward as hell)

The character you’d slap:

Kudo Shinichi (b o i why you always lying)

Azusagawa Yukino (G U RL NO also if I can include Mizuno here also????)

Kongou Agon (u so petty bro)

Three favorite characters (these are in order of preference): I’m guessing the first one is my ult?

Haibara Ai, Miyano Shiho, Sherry—wait what you mean I have to include two more???? Lol—Agasa Hiroshi, Kuroba Kaito (I wish him and the queen interact in canon; honorable mentions: canon ran is a gem a true angel, conan on the other hand boy u consider my bb’s feelings first before I put u in top 3, k?)

Kanmuri Shigeru, Kazuma Azuma, their baby idk maybe it’s possible with bread jk errrrr Kinoshita Kageto lelelel

Hiruma Youichi, Seijuurou Shin, Kobayakawa Sena

A character you liked at first but not so much anymore:

Shinichi Kudo/Edogawa Conan (I still like him, though not as much…)

Matsushiro Ken (his chara was kinda put on the back-burner in the mid-late chaps, sadly…)

Taki Suzuna (because it was fine until she occupied the late panels which could have been for best girl Anezaki Mamori huhuhu)

A character you did not like at first, but they’ve grown on you:

Kuroba Kaito (I’m not rly fond of magicians but huhu this precious precious kid)

Coo (HAHAHA sorry but i rly didn’t like the bird at first but well birds are pretty and ahem Hatoful Boyfriend lel)

Raimon Tarou (huhu, bb acts/is stupid but has times of depth as well????? ????????? Also Juumonji Kazuki and Yukimitsu Manabu but huhu monta wins by just a little bit huhuhu)

3 OTPs: Again, I’m guessing the first one’s the true otp lol totp? ottp? Sorry, don’t mind me, this is why I don’t have friends?

CoAi, ShinShi, ConAi (HAHAHA okay srsly anyone or anything with sass queen Haibara Ai/Miyano Shiho, I ship as in you know coai can actually stand for coffee x ai lel)

Kanmuri Shigeru x Kazuma Azuma, Kanmuri Shigeru x Kuroyanagi Ryou

None AND THAT’S A MIRACLE so I’ll just put some of my OTP’s in other dead fandoms, yes? i can’t do that????? But this is my post so I’ll do it anyway??????? Imonoyama Nokoru x Takamura Suoh, SuzaLulu, Yuuri Shibuya x Wolfram von Bielefield (HUHUHUHUHUHU)

It’s fun answering q’s and reading answers too so if you managed to read until here, i’d love to see your answers also! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

Morning

A girl is sitting at the couch, alone in the dark. Strawberry blonde locks fall across her face, making it difficult to see her expression. Has she fallen asleep on the couch again? The quiet intruder fetches a blanket and carefully drapes it on the girl. She doesn’t stir, and he wears an expression of exasperation, though a fond smile makes it way on his face and stays.

For a while, he stands motionless, just staring at her. But the break of dawn is near, and he must go—he visited this early only to check on her after all, however much he tries to convince himself otherwise. But he needs to do one last thing, for himself too, later, he thinks, but he almost laughs at how absurd he’s acting, sneaking into his friend’s house just to make coffee for a grumpy old lady. He smirks—she’d hate it if I told her—then flushes—no, this is NOT for her—as he shuffles around the kitchen and fusses over the coffeemaker.

He leaves as silently as he had come.

They meet moments later in the same house. As she brings the cup of coffee to her face, she takes in its aroma with her eyes closed, and she smiles a full second. A scene he first witnessed three days ago when he stayed over and prepared coffee. His undoing.

The rim reaches her lips and she drinks. As the cup is placed back on the saucer, the usually frigid air around her during mornings has considerably warmed, which, for a few days now, is seemingly becoming her new norm.

Today, though, she raises her brow at him, asking, “Problem?”

Countless. How about you, do you only ever smile at pets and... coffee???

He brings his own cup down, answering, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

[elenathehun]

reading is emotional, part 13

So I read volumes 11, 12, and 13 several months ago, at the end of September, and then real life basically interrupted any attempt to write a reactions summary. So in lieu of that, I'll just pull my initial impressions from a Naruto group chat I participate in:

Jiraiya's intro is horrible - why is he a fan fave again? - but it also overpowers the most important thing in that scene: a foreign seal had been placed on top of Minato's work and was interfering with the original. I mean, wow, so many stories should come from just that. What haven't I seen this utilized by fandom more often? Orochimaru had access to Naruto as a baby, for one.

[One chat member points out that Orochimaru placed his seal on Naruto during the chuunin exam] When did he have time to do that? [another chat member points out that Orochimaru hit Naruto in the stomach to get him out of the way] Is that all it takes to apply a seal? Dammit, that's lame.

Anyway, is it just me, or does it seem pretty clear that Jiraiya was basically MIA in part 1? It doesn't seem as though Sarutobi knew where he was, given that jounin were supposed to report seeing him to command...

Meanwhile, an unstable jinchuuriki is just killing people all over the place - and our one sacrificial jounin is tasked with watching him. Dammit, I forgot how annoying this arc is. There is no chain of command in Konoha. No one seems to know what anyone is doing, ever.

[Chat member asks how Konoha has not fallen apart with no chain of command] I honestly assume ROOT has an actual purpose aside from fluffing Danzo's ego, and that is acting like an actual military. But seriously, nothing about how Konoha is portrayed makes a lick of sense. There should have been teams set to just watching the sand nin, especially Gaara. Jiraiya should have immediately reported for duty to Sarutobi.

Also, it's sort of horrifying how bad a teacher Jiraiya is. I mean, Kakashi is a bad teacher, but at least he never claimed to be good at it. [chat member asks if I'm at the point where Jiraiya throws Naruto off a cliff] Right now he's just trying to help a 12-year-old boy with shit control over his own chakra learn to use demonic chakra instead. In a lot of ways, Jiraiya is actually worse as a teacher, because it's clear that he's able to accurately assess Naruto's weaknesses as a shinobi. He's just uninterested in helping him get better at using his own chakra and not the fox's. I guess I'll have to re-read the early part 2 section, but aside from summoning and the Rasengan, what the hell did Jiraiya ever actually teach Naruto?

Anyway, in the next scene, we get an up-close and personal look at how incompetent Sarutobi was. All these jounin look pretty worried, and for good reason! One of their number is dead, and the Hokage is saying they're going to wait and see. This is a massive disaster in leadership.

Anyway, cut back to the hospital, where Sakura and Ino only show up to play spectator to Lee. It's infuriating. Why even bother having female characters, Kishimoto? I would have found it less insulting if he'd just decided to portray a totally gender-segregated society.

Anyway, I do appreciate that relationship we see between Sarutobi and Anko. I think it's clear that whatever his failures as a leader in the present, he was quite charismatic previously. But god, new leadership is absolutely necessary from a military POV.

...and Jiraiya threw Naruto off a cliff. I think it's safe to say that Tsunade was clearly the best teacher out of the lot of them.

Baki travels back and forth between Sand and Leaf with no chaperone. Because that makes total sense.

And Temari makes the same argument against war and for peace now that kid!Tobirama did 600 chapters later. It's a shame she didn't become Kazekage, but her vagina disqualifies her. [Chat members begin discussing the viability of a Kazekage Temari AU] If Sand's Kages all come from the same family, why the hell would you choose the nutty, psychopathic 12-year-old over his far more stable siblings? I understand it's not a democracy, but there's still an element of choice here. [the chat then considered Kazekage Kankurou] Kankurou's too sensible. Only nutcases become Kage - if half the men in your family had died on the job, you might pass too.

[chat member asks why Jiraiya is so keen on using the fox's chakra when everyone else is adamantly against it] He's an irresponsible weirdo in-universe. Given what we know in part 1, it was staggeringly incompetent: the only other example we see of demonic power is a boy who has killed about a half-dozen people on-screen. The real reason, of course, is that Kishimoto didn't want to do the hard work of developing Naruto's abilities organically, so the unearned superpower it is.

[Same chat member asks how I feel about Sasuke so far] He's not dumb. He actually has a survival instinct of a sort. And call me crazy, but there are a lot of Sasuke = Tsunade parallels there. He's lost literally everything, and there is a deep skepticism of Leaf propaganda that Naruto and Sakura haven't developed yet, and maybe never will. Like Tsunade, he is the scion of a founding clan - the very definition of the insider. That that hasn't saved either of them from tragedy and loss.

Anyway, reading the Neji/Naruto fight was actually the worst because I don't like Neji at all, but Naruto doesn't really deserve to win. Why couldn't Sakura beat Ino in the prelims and then go on to fight Neji? Anyway, I can skim a lot because Kishimoto's fight art isn't very dynamic.

O hai, Kabuto is still at large, still killing ANBU mooks. I definitely have to write the story where Team 7 gets involved with Kakashi's investigation of the mysterious traitor instead of participating in the chuunin exam.

anyway, Naruto shows he has a bit of a brain during Neji's fight. It's a shame this only happens every so often when dictated by the plot, instead of growing organically as part of his character.

What is the point of the Hyuuga? I mean, they have that nifty seal, you'd think the village council would really pressure the main house to ensure the branch members were able to use the entirety of the gentle fist skillset. If I were Danzo, I'd be maneuvering in that direction: hundreds of sealed Hyuuga with the full power of the gentle fist would really augment Leaf's manpower. I can understand the main house keeping the branch house down with superior knowledge of the gentle fist; I can see the main house using the seal to quash rebellion in the branch house; I can't see both, not in a world where the Hyuuga are part of Leaf and have a manpower requisition of some kind they need to fill. Leaf needs soldiers, and deliberately handicapping the ones who serve the village...yeah, if I were Danzo, I would force the issue.

OK, more of Kabuto just wandering around the stands, randomly healing Hinata.

Anyway, time for Neji's monologue. Mostly what I got from this is that Neji actually has no idea what really happened. Apparently, Cloud's Kage came directly to Leaf for the peace treaty, and Hiashi is strong enough to kill a Kage-level opponent. This doesn't even count the fact that the Kage of Cloud is actually in the stands right as Neji is telling Naruto his tragic story. Given that Neji was about 4 when his father dies, that makes sense - he probably cobbled his story together from household gossip.

Anyway, what I got from this is that Gai should have ensured that Neji got the crap beat out of him at least once by a social inferior. This is not the sort of lesson you want occurring during an international event open to the public, and honestly, Neji's overconfidence could have gotten him killed very easily - and not just by his opponents. Talking about Konoha's internal politics in front of outsiders is the sort of thing that involves the secret police...

Anyway, Naruto uses dangerous demonic power to beat up a 14-year-old boy. Jiraiya did not clear his training plan with Sarutobi ahead of time, looking at the unhappy surprise on Sarutobi's face. Also confirmed: the Byakugan can see demonic chakra that is invisible to the regular human eye. Would have been nice to have multiple Hyuuga guards on Gaara, right?

Ugh this Hyuuga bullshit is infuriating. I'm tabling it for another day until I can finish editing my Hyuuga rant post.

Moving on, Raidou's little "shinobi must be punctual" speech makes me think the blatant favoritism we see in canon wasn't appreciated by the Joe Schmoes around Sasuke. Kakashi can do that crap because he's basically been active a million years and is good for it in the clutch, and his co-workers still hate it! Sasuke doesn't have that leeway.

Ah, Shikamaru: one of Naruto's many out-and-out chauvinists.  

Anyway, it's pretty annoying that the matches have been set for a month, but not one of these dumb children bothered to do research on their opponents.

Kishimoto again devolves to show, not tell: Shikamaru is apparently the reason the rather weak Team 10 survived the Forest of Death, although how he did so is never explained. It would have been nice to see it, you know?

Oh, that's right. Shikamaru is a genius, who apparently never does shit unless dictated by the plot. So in real life, he'd be like one of those weird child prodigies who end up hermits in Montana, but this is Naruto, that ain't going to happen here.

The group chat had pretty divergent opinions on the tunnel Shikamaru was using to spread his shadow. For the record, I thought it was a pretty amazing asspull, but that's been my feeling the entire time I've been suffering through this arc, so go figure. I'm still sort of salty about how Shikamaru went from "maladjusted fuckup" to "GENIUS" in the space of one freaking battle. Every time Kishimoto talks about the "ideal chuunin psycho profile", I get an eye tic. In what universe is Shikamaru commander material at this point in canon?

OK, time for Kakashi's dramatic entrance, which is very dramatic.  

@hiruma-musouka proposed a while back that Kakashi is a fundamentally avoidant personality, and I can't stop thinking about canon in light of that. So an alternate reading of Kakashi's tardiness for Sasuke's match - Kakashi was actually hoping Sasuke's match would be forfeited due to tardiness, and Sarutobi's weak will foiled his cunning plan!

Gaara casually kills two mooks in plain sight. Where is Leaf's internal security? The only thing I can reconcile is that the Uchiha did all internal security, and given their deaths and the fact that Leaf still seems to be a largely pre-literate society, no group managed to fill the vacuum afterward.

How has Sasuke gotten so much better in a month of training? I don't care if your fancy eyes allow you to mimic moves and see very fast movement, you still need to build up the muscle to actually go fast yourself!

A moment of silence for the people of Sand, who are so familiar with the Ichibi they can tell right away when Gaara lets it possess him totally.

Those panels where Sarutobi and the "Kazekage" are looking at each other are actually pretty good. Ramps up the tension.

The invasion starts, and there is absolutely no coordinated response from the Leaf-nin.

Anyway, Shikamaru pretending to sleep through the invasion of his village is a massive black mark on his record. Like, God save the Nara clan level of black mark. He's technically an adult, he's the heir, he ought to be representing his clan...him trying to sleep through an invasion is a mark of cowardice, and would have terrible repercussions on his family. This is, in fact, the sort of thing that starts complicated succession disputes.

...and we end on Sarutobi, ready to fight all the time.

Anyway, reading this part of the manga sort of solidified why Naruto is a bad character for me, from a writer/author POV. Naruto spends so much time talking about how he understands the villain's pain. The problem is, Naruto's tragic life history never really shows up as a tangible issue in the plot! He's a lonely kid, but good lord, everyone in Leaf is lonely. People are jerks to him in a general way because he's an orphan and poor and stupid, which sucks but happens a lot in real life too. And even though people are jerks to him, we never really see them be cruel to him because he's got a demon in him. Iruka treats him like a wayward student; Sakura is basically his friend in a few months; Kakashi is a sadsack teacher, but he's not singling Naruto out with his awful teaching, and he does trie to find someone competent to instruct him; Sasuke isn't nice to him, but he's no crueler than the rest of Naruto's classmates. Basically, when Naruto talks about how he feels the villain's pain, I'm very meh. Contrast this to the chick version of Naruto, where lots of little girls beat the shit out of each other in the name of friendship: Nanoha. Fate Testarossa is a deeply tragic figure, and you are really, really, rooting for her to move to a better place by the end of that show. Or geez, just the first two episodes of Michiko and Hatchin, which features some truly awful child abuse.

Anyway, I'll post my long-awaited (?) Hyuuga rant later this week, and then I guess it's back to the old grindstone to try and knock out a reread of Naruto volume 14-16 before the new year begins!

[terriblesportsimagines]

It's cold weather time, you know what that means. Yes, that's right. Stupid cliche fanfiction tropes. Oh no, there is only one bed and it's cold so we have to share it!!! What a situation!!! Hiruma from Eyeshield 21. Headcanons or scenario ok, female pronouns ok. Thank you, ily. 💘

OH NOES WHAT WILL THEY DO?! 

Just gonna say, that I loved this and you can tell, from the length alone since it clocks in at just over 1800 words lmao Cut for length!

PS. Cliche tropes are my jam lol

Hiruma Youichi

“You~ichi,” you complain, shivering like hell.  Youwere seriously underdressed for the current situation, mostly because you’dbeen lied to and manipulated into said situation.  You glared at yourboyfriend, trying to light him on fire with your eyes alone.

Unfortunately, he remained very much unburned.

He also ignored you.  He was dressed properly ina fluffy bomber jacket.  Of course, he’d known you were headed toHokkaido to scout the team you had to play in a few weeks.  Hokkaido inlate October.  He’d told you it was somewhere, maybe in the south,probably as some kind of twisted joke.  He probably wanted to watch yousuffer, because you’d pissed him off last week by choosing not to waitfor him every day after practice in the blistering cold.  Yes, this wasmost definitely punishment.

Thus, all you had was a sweatshirt – a thick one, but still– and he’d forced you to watch the very long, very boring practice ofhis target.  By the end of it, you were pretty sure you couldn’t feel yourface, or your fingers, or anything else for that matter.

“I really, really bloody hate you,” you growled underyour breathe as you followed him, still shivering, into the lobby of the hotelyou were apparently going to stay at.

That too was a surprise, because you were pretty sure hetold you it was just a day trip. 

You expected to be met with blissful heat, but it was nearlyas cold in the lobby as it was outside.  This day just keeps gettingbetter and better, you thought sourly.

The person behind the desk smiled apologetically. “Welcome.  Do you have a reservation?”

Hiruma handed over his id and credit card without aword.  You were left huddling in your sweatshirt while he checked in, atleast until you couldn’t take it any longer.  “Why is it so cold in here?”

The person behind the counter only smiled some more, theirexpression even more apologetic.  “Unfortunately, our heat isbroken.  We are trying to fix it, however, we’re told it could be as lateas tomorrow.

Oh lovely.  You knew better than to complainright here, however.  Hiruma didn’t seem bothered by the revelation, in fact,it looked to you like his teeth flashed in best predatory smile for a splitsecond.  This probably meant he had no intention of even bothering to lookfor another hotel.  Was this another part of his nefarious plot?

He was so infuriating sometimes.  You had a pretty goodhandle on him all considering, but then sometimes he did things like this andyou completely floundered.  It was pretty awful.

Ugh, if he wasn’t… well, Hiruma.

At this point, you didn’t even know what you shouldexpect.  He’d thrown all your expectations out the window anyway, so thereprobably wasn’t much point in having them.  Despite this, however, whenyou followed him into the room and found only a single double bed you just kindof stared.

Now you were starting to think if this wasn’t all someelaborate trap to get you alone together and force you to sleep in onebed.  You never had before.  Whenever it had gotten too late to goback to your home after spending time with him, you usually just slept on thecouch.  He was so touchy about things like personal space and haddrawn very clear boundaries around that part of his life.  You weren’tconcerned, it wasn’t like he left you particularly wanting physically. You just figured it was another one of this trust things.

But now, here you were, in a hotel with no heat and only onebed and you just knew it was a set up.

“Youichi, there’s only one bed,” you state, not because youdon’t know that’s obvious, but because you want to see his reaction.

“Do you think so?” He returned moving into the room to placehis laptop bag on the small table beside the tv stand.  His tone wassnide, but you thought you saw a brief flash of that grin again, anddamn it, if it wasn’t the most attractive thing you’d ever seen.

Nevertheless, you rolled your eyes and pulled your purse offto place it on the bed.  “Whatever, I’m not sleeping on the floor.”

He didn’t bother to answer you, which was notsurprising.  He had his laptop out and was already working away, whichmeant he didn’t plan to go anywhere that night.  This in turn made youwonder if he even planned to feed you, and he bloody better, because you’d putup with enough of his shit for the day.

You were still cold, and since he didn’t seem to care atall, you dismissed him.  “I’m going to have a bath, I literally can’tfeel my fingers.”

You were tempted to throw something at his head just to makea point when all he did was hum, but you decided it wasn’t worth it.  Howhe could type so quickly when it was so cold you didn’t know.  You did,however, throw over your shoulder, “There better be food when I’m doneYouichi,” you said in a voice that told him exactly what you were feeling atthat moment.

Not that he needed told.  Despite being weird,half-psychotic, and entirely too selfish, he could read you better than anyoneelse and was pretty in tune with you.  Not that he used the knowledgeoften outside of screwing with you, but still.  You knew very well that heloved you.  The very fact that you were there right now was a testament tothis fact. 

And as much as you were kind of annoyed at him right at thatmoment, you did adore his manic face to bits.

You lingered in the bath, because it was warm and the hotwater went a long way to warming up the small room.  Thus, you were prunyby the time you forced yourself out, after several hot water refreshes. And even then, you really only got out because Hiruma complained through thedoor.  “Fucking food’s here.”

You dressed as fast as you could, hoping to get beneath theblankets on the bed before the cold seeped into your bones once more. 

You didn’t even pause to see what he’d gotten you, yousimply scampered across the thin, garish hotel carpet and dove into the narrowbed.  Hiruma snorted – you couldn’t see him, but you could hear him, andit was enough to have you glaring when you popped back up.  You might haveeven given him a scathing retort, except he was suddenly beside the bed,holding a bowl of what looked and smelled like udon.

Others might have admonished you to be careful, but hewasn’t one to waste words on such things when he knew you to be perfectlycapable of taking care of yourself.  Instead, he waited until you gotyourself sitting up, the blankets creating a nest in your lap, before settingthe bowl of soup there and handing you a pair of chopsticks and a spoon.

You beamed at him, which earned you, at least you thought, aslightly softened look, before he disappeared off back to the table and his ownbowl of noodles.  Luckily, the remote for the tv was in reach so yougrabbed it and turned on the tv.

The room was silent save for the tv as you ate yournoodles.  They warmed you up a bit, but you couldn’t help but feel thecold encroach once more.  Hokkaido in the winter, it wasenough to make you furious all over again.  Fortunately for your boyfriend,you didn’t really have enough energy for fury.

And you were too cold.

When the soup was gone, you pulled the blankets up to yourchin, but that didn’t really help your back and it seemed to you like theblankets were doing very little.  In short, you were miserable.

You did your best to bear with it and seethe in silence, buteventually it got too much for you.  “Youichi.” You stated, loud.

His head rolled towards you, black eyebrow rising. “What.”

“I’m cold, so if you could enact your endgame, I’d reallyappreciate it.”  Your voice was dry and you blinked at him slowly becauseif you moved even a bit, you would start shivering.

The fact that you knew something was up seemed to get tohim.  He stared at you for a moment before clicking his tongue and closinghis laptop.  Your eyes god really wide a second later when he proceeded tostrip himself of most of his clothing.  He’d never been so bare beforeyou, and you were suddenly your thoughts about him being a little shy, werecompletely wrong.  There was nothing shy in him now, nor was there shame,and there was definitely something predatory in his eyes. 

You expected him to be cold when he invaded your space, buthe was the exact opposite somehow.  He was like a furnace and it had yougrumbling incredulously.  “How are you warm?”  There was apart of you that didn’t care that you should be a little more freaked out thanyou were, or that you probably should have made it at least a littledifficult.  You cared about him being a source of warmth and youimmediately searched out that warmth.

Hiruma hissed, but his arms came around you, handsautomatically diving beneath your layers to flatten his palms to yourtorso.  “Your feet are cold,” he sniped, though you were pretty sure youcould feel a grin being pressed against your neck.

“Fuck you,” you replied, hands stuck to his back.  Youalmost wished you weren’t wearing so many layers, but the idea of losing somemade you shiver anew.

He cackled, something wet and hot touching the side of yourneck.  “Kekeke, where did you think this was fucking headed?”

You knew it!  “You had to torture me just to getme into bed?” You cried, tempted to shove him clean off the bed, except he wasdeliciously hot and you weren’t risking the loss.  “I fucking hate you.”

He kept cackling, even as his hands traveled further andfurther up your torso to settle over your bra-clad breasts.  “There’s away you can get really warm, yahahaha.”

“Ugh, so terrible.”  But you were too busy laughing toeven be upset by that point and his long, lithe fingers were already beneathyour bra plucking at your nipples and making you moan.  “Mmn, if you’regoing to keep me warm, just take it off.”

Sharp teeth nipped at your neck.  “Don’t complain.”

You reached up and took his head in your hands and draggedhim up to your mouth.  “I’m going to kill you later,” you mumbled againsthis lips.

“We’ll see~”

[terriblesportsimagines]

Sassy anon is 100% alright with testing her patience with Hiruma. 😏 Female pronouns 👌

Sorry lovelies!  I am currently sick and so didn’t have the energy to post anything yesterday!

I hope this is okay, since I wasn’t really sure what you were asking for here :) Also, ended up long lol  Cut for length

Hiruma Yoichi

She had had just about enough. 

He was making her absolutely crazy – it was literallynon-stop with him.  She knew it was because she wouldn’t submit, and hehad an insane need to control everything and everyone around him, butstill.  One would think he would have gotten the hint by now and backedoff.  But no… this was Hiruma Yoichi, Commander from Hell (or ofHell as far as she was concerned).  He literally didn’t know the meaningof back off.

“Ya-Ha!  Where do you think you’re going, fucking____?”

That voice would haunt her dreams forever, and as much asshe never wanted to admit it out loud, not all of those dreams were bad. Some were actually pretty good, maybe too good…

Though she’d died before she told him that.

Just like she’d die before telling anyone she’dsomehow become attached to his insanity in the months he’d been bothering her.

There had to be something wrong with her.  Half thetime, she wanted to throttle him, and yet… she found herself seeking him outsometimes, just to go around with him because the way he looked at her made hernape prickle and her stomach flop ominously. 

“That should be obvious,” she replied, barely pausing as sheglanced over her shoulder.  “Somewhere you’re not.”

She felt thin fingers curl around the back of her neck,brushing her skin softly before tangling into her collar and yanking her to astop.  “Kekeke, sure you want to just walk away?” He purred into her ear,suddenly right against her back.  “I still have that.”

A shiver of awareness crawled down her spine and shewondered where this had come from.  His assaults usually didn’tcome with this sort of thing – he was prickly and strange about his personalspace.  Unless it was to straight-on intimidate someone, he usually madesure people were a safe distance away. 

It was a little tiresome that he was bringing up that,because she was pretty sure she’d made her position clear.  “And I toldyou, I don’t care if you spread it around.”  She retorted, lifting herchin, side-glancing him imperiously.  “What do I care what the unwashedmasses think?”

She heard a sharp intake of breath and if at all possible,he seemed to lean closer, pressing his chest firmly against her back. What was he doing?  She kept her expression neutral, but there was nostopping the increase in her heart rate or the hitch in her breathing, both ofwhich he undoubtedly felt and heard.  She could practically feel the sharpgrowth in his nasty grin against her ear. 

“Keke, what would they think about this, I wonder?”His low drawl slithered through her and she felt his fingers search along herinner wrist as if to confirm a new found knowledge. 

She needed to get ahead of this, because if she let him runwith it, he’d try and walk all over her… again.  If it was going toget out that they were somehow a thing, then she wanted to be the one tocontrol the flow of knowledge.  She still didn’t want him to know thesecret feelings within her, but there wasn’t a lot of choice.  She couldjust play it off after.

With this in mind, she spun abruptly, obviously surprisinghim, because his eyes widened fractionally.  Without giving him time toreact, she lifted her hand, touched the bottom of his chin then rocked onto hertip-toes to press her mouth to his.  It was barely a whisper of contact,just enough to shock him, and everyone who happened to be watching.  “Shouldn’tyou care more about what you think about this, fucking Commander?” Shesmirked, inwardly a little incredulous that she’d actually done it.

No one touched Hiruma without his permission, let alonekissed.  Usually, they ended up with bullets flying in their direction ifthey tried. 

But this time, it seemed she had finally managed to get thebetter of him, because he just stared at her unmoving, jaw clicked shut. She eyed him for a moment, then decided that it would be best if she left himthere – let him stew about the possible meanings of her whisper-kiss and if hewanted to do anything about it.  “Well, bye bye~”

As she walked away, she did her best to push down thefluttery feeling in her gut, but was only partially successful.  Shemourned a little bit, pretty sure she had just written her feelings in stone.

[terriblesportsimagines]

Virginity HCs nobody asked for...

Because I needed something to do... and these seemed fun.

Kominato Ryousuke, Miyuki Kazuya, Kawakami Norifumi, Shin Seijuro, Hiruma Yoichi and Kakei Shun under the cut!

Kominato Ryousuke

This kid is precocious af. He’s the type to know what he want and take it and be pretty unashamed as he does it.

Loses his virginity in second year, with a third year in an empty classroom after hours.  He’s surpassingly good at it, since he never does anything without knowing what he’s doing.  His partner thanks him and isn’t even upset that it’s just a one time thing.

 Miyuki Kazuya

Being the type that doesn’t like people getting close, he probably is in his early twenties when he does it for the first time.  This depends on whether he goes to university or pro right out high school. If he goes pro, I can see him letting some person awed by his skill take him home in the first few months of being pro.

If this happens, he’s pretty passive during the act, learning as he goes along.  He’s not at all honest about his experience, but it doesn’t matter, because his partner doesn’t even notice.

 If, however, he goes to university, he probably gets drunk and does something stupid.  It doesn’t go well, but it shows him how good sex could be. He doesn’t really care about his partner, so he reads up and tries it again sober.

Either way, once he’s done it once, I can see him becoming a bit of a player that has a lot of fun.  He’s hella attractive and knows it.  He might not think much of himself, but he knows he’s hot and is not afraid to use it.

 Kawakami Norifumi

This kid is all about love. He doesn’t go all the way until he’s in a committed relationship and they’re both adults.  Sex is an act of love, without love, there’s no point for him. Even if he starts dating his partner in high school or immediately after, they are together a long time before they take that final step.

He’s nervous and jittery, but he’s done his research and is all about his partner.  He asks questions the whole time – am I doing this right? Does that feel okay?  He would need reassurance, because he doesn’t want to do anything his partner doesn’t like.

 Shin Seijuro

Another precocious one, but for different reasons.  Shin is hyper-focused on the sport he plays and on keeping his body in optimal shape for it.  This means diet, exercise and… hormonal urges.  It may take him a little while to realize it, but he eventually figures out what his body wants.

He’s pretty content looking after himself for a long time, at least until he accidentally puts himself in a situation that leads to the dawning that his problem goes away longer if he has a partner.  After that, he just shrugs and accepts it as law.

His first time was early in second year with a third year that played another sport.  He likes muscled forms the best.  He was clumsy and instinct-driven, but he didn’t notice or care. Once he was done, he literally forgot his partner existed.

 Hiruma Yoichi

Trrruuussstttt. Seriously, you aren’t getting near him, let alone seeing him in such a vulnerable state unless he trusts you 100%. This probably means a long term committed relationship, and s/o better be able to handle his eccentricities.

Doesn’t have a terribly high sex drive – most of the time, he doesn’t even think about it.  So he’s probably in late university or after before he gets around to it.  He’s too busy with football.

He continues being too busy with football, even more after he’s drafted.  But he meets his s/o and they eventually get there.  Being the sort of man he is, he has the whole thing planned down to the second, and gets really flustered when his plan is disrupted.

 Kakei Shun

So, this kid canonically joined a street gang when he was like 13/14 so he’s familiar with sex (and violence).  He doesn’t seek it out, but it usually comes to him anyway, because he’s beautiful and big. He’s 6’3 in first year, so yeah, he also looks older than he is, so older people hit on him all the time.

He just sort of stares at them blankly and walks away, because he doesn’t have time for this shit.

He’s in a relationship when he has sex for the first time.  He’s not nervous at all, because he trusts the person he’s with.  He’s not great the first time, and it ends really fast, but he also learns quickly.  The next time is much better.