#(POINTS AT IORI'S ARC)

[ohlolme]

oohhhkeyyy so the way I interpreted is that teen Utahime and Gojo were on good terms back then and then something happened along the way (we’re talking abt over ten years here) that made Utahime hate him which I actually find interesting bc I’ve always wondered why she actually hates him. Is it only because he annoys her?? I mean he annoys EVERYONE, but gg specifically stated “she truly hates him” (check this) so I always felt like something DID happen between them that made utahime really dislike him. maybe he crossed the line at some point and said something that deeply hurt her, which is quite possible I mean cmon we’re talking about Gojo here, this guy can be mean af.

and btw I actually do ship gjhm but I’m just huge sucker for nuance like yes two things can coexist at the same time, emotions are layered and ppl are FULL of contradictions so like let fictional characters have a bit of that nuance too, let them be complex, not everything is as black and white as it seems.

[littlechibs]

afflicted with oc thoughts suddenly

[rorja]

Hiiiii! We've been absent for a while (rja the only one keeping this blog alive) because we are working on a very long fanfic.  It's a rewritten jjk plot to fill all the plot holes (but also adding new stories..) from Gojo and Geto's high school to their adult days.  There will be two readers, and ofc to avoid confusion they will have names so.. yeah. They're the so hated ocs that we fanfic writers are afraid to put out.  This story has been in our drafts since november of the last year and after so many "let's keep going", "let's rewrite everything" and "okay enough I need a break" we thought it's been time that we need to be brave.  So we wanted to share with you the two ocs and a teaser of the first chapter will come out in a few days.  ⸻YURIKO IORI

First year along with Nanami, Haibara and Marja. She's from the Iori clan and is Utahime's cousin. Her mother had been involved in a scandal about binding vows with curses that brought the elders to condamn her to the death penalty. Yaga, and old friend, pleaded them to spare her daughter and to give her custody to him, promising to take care of her and assuring she would not take the same path as her mother. Yaga took care of her, to the point he sees her as his own daughter. 

Personality: 

After so many years of being criticized because of her mother, she's a natural introvert that hides a lot her feelings. She's an open book only to Yaga and her friend Marja… and later also Gojo: her aloof attitude firstly irritated him, then appealed him and then it will be the fake walls he knew so well she liked to put up to avoid confrontation and dealing with her problems by herself.  When teased, she has the ability to think of very mean clapbacks in few seconds and that is the main object of Geto and Gojo's fun towards her. But in reality, she is very kind and loving to her friends, often taking the role of the one taking care of others however only Shoko sees her as a little cat that hisses but instead wants cuddles (and wants to be spoiled).  She's very smart, being one of the best first year student along with Nanami, her only weakness being math. Like Utahime, she loves music and plays the guitar alone in her dorm room and can be always heard humming songs. 

Relationships:

Marja's best friend. Her friendship with Nanami was born thanks to their time spent studying together. Haibara admires her ability to be so organized and smart, often preaching she's born a natural leader which frustrates her because she never received compliments like that. (He's find her also scary when she's angry). 

Her relationship with Gojo at first is only based on bickering, due to his arrogant personality that teases her to get a reaction and attention that he wants so badly but doesn't understand why. After the star plasma vessel arc, they get even more awkward. Even if both of them focus more on mission to avoid the school ground and process what they had been through, Gojo will manifest his dislike and worry of her career by calling her weak or diminishing her achievements causing many fights and long period of silence between the two. Everything will change after Geto's betrayal, Gojo's pain will finally show his true colors that will make friends that spend the nights together talking and reflecting about everything to the point of finally admitting their feelings for each other. 

Fun facts: 

She's an october libra as she was born October 16th. Though she's not fond of astronomy, she likes to indulge Marja. 

Yuriko would often be caught by Yaga trying to help both Marja and Haibara cheating midst their exams, throwing at them paper balls with the correct answers (which are useless because she has a terrible chicken writing)

Marja is responsible for her most used nickname: Riko-chan. Then later used by the whole group as an inside joke to make fun of her.

She is the only one that knows how to manipulate (fully on the term!) Marja. 

Yuriko is a bit of a perfectionist; something that is very well-known among the group, making her get along well Nanami. Indeed, he was the first one she befriended at school and the two of them would be often spotted on campus studying together. ⸻MARJA SATOU

First year along with Haibara, Nanami and Yuriko. She comes from the Satou clan and is the only heir, though she's not that well accepted in the family because her father is a foreigner, making her only half japanese. Regardless, she does not get along with her father, often scared of him to a fault because of the insane pressure due to her unusual cused tcursed technique and his tight connection with an italian cult. Her past is the reason behind the binding vow limiting her own technique.

Personality:

Marja is a very energetic girl, but her energy is mainly focused on having fun with her friends or pulling Yaga's last strings of patience. The group first hang together because of her: indeed, it all started when Marja and Shoko got paired up in the morgue and they started to work together. On her part, Marja is an ambivert girl that at first glance could pass up for an introvert, but it's when she gains confidence that her real personality takes an unexpected turn and it gets revealed her playful, laid-back and lazy true persona. Naturally this side comes out mostly with Yuriko. She shares some personality traits with Haibara, which is the main reason they get along so well to be called by the others 'twins'. Marja is quick to adapt to every situation she's in, without as much as to blink. It comes natural to her. But underneath her carefree personality, she hides a more mature side which is not often on display, not even with her best friend Yuriko and that is something that finds its root in her troubling past. Marja doesn't seem to take her job as jujutsu sorcerer seriously, but her words often tend to contradicts what she really feels or thinks. Her complexity lies in the fact that her morals are not defined nor she has firm beliefs, which is something that she carries from her childhood and could end up clouding her judgment.

Relationships:

Yuriko's best friend. She loves hanging out with Haibara, often preaching they are platonic soulmates or twin siblings in another life. Marja also gets really along with Shoko, as the two of them would spend most of their time closed inside the morgue either to tend to their researches or learning bits of medicine with the same professor. The only person Marja doesn't get along with is Gojo Satoru, for their personalities would often clash and crash. Nonetheless, their bickering could be considered as that of a siblings relationship, as none of the two gets taken seriously by the group.

Her relationship with Geto begins one-sided, for Marja develops a crush on the boy the months that followed the school's start. Their relationship begin very subtly but steadily, and somewhere along the road Suguru starts to feel the same way about the girl. Back in high school, Geto is seen to care for and spoil the girl a lot, even in something small as sharing their meal. Even so, Marja tends to be a bit clueless to Suguru's own way of showing his affection, believing that the boy treats her the same way as the other members of the group. After the blood vessel incident, both of them start to drift apart but after Geto's defection things only seem to worsen: on the very night Suguru massacred a whole village, he ended up hurting Marja as well which is something he would feel guilty about his whole life. On the days that followed his betrayl, it becomes painfully aware to everyone how much Suguru loved Marja, as he kept some polaroids of her between his poetry books. They of course don't see each other for a long time, and even though they share the same feelings, they will never have the chance to confess to each other. 

Fun facts: 

she absolutely despises Gojo Satoru and when she noticed that Yuriko had crush for the very same guy, she almost killed herself. For this very reason Marja is responsible for most of Satoru's nicknames: from snowflake to mess of limbs. She gets very creative when it comes to badmouth the guy.

She was born on June 27th, making of her a cancer. She likes to indulge in western astronomy and likes to make it everyone's problem (mostly Yuriko, who is always the victim no.1 of Marja's interests!)

She uses a family's heirloom that controls the wind to fight, for her cursed technique is quite useless in combat.

Marja is known to have a weird interest for the human's brain, whether it is in dissecting bodies together with Shoko in the lab or having a small figure of a brain on her desk.

Yuriko is responsible for her most used nickname: Ricchan. Then later used by the whole group as an inside joke to make fun of her.

If you have any kind of questions, please ask us because we want to talk (yap!!) about this project so badly and a post isn't enough!

[citruscitrushope]

Why Ken Shiraishi is Still Written OK (aka why Vivid BAD SQUAD will never surpass RAD WEEKEND, and why that's a good thing)

An essay I wrote in someone's Twitter DMs as we discussed their belief that Ken's writing has been becoming out of character ever since On Your Feet, and my attempt to present a counter-argument that turned into an analysis of VBS stories up to this point.

1,089 words, warnings for swearing, spoilers, and the fact that this is barely formatted like an essay at all but was just a ramble I thought I gave some good points in and wanted to share.

So bro is openly going against the things that made rw what it was ("ok Toya make all the songs" <- that is not what happened with radder)" and I doubt bro would be full on ignoring it (nor clpl full on ignoring it seeing as they have all of the group's full stories planned from the beginning) and I personally theorize that it's to emphasize the four's strengths as well as to make them come face to face with their weaknesses to grow stronger (I think concerto is the most obvious case of this). Nagi's goal with rw wasn't to make something to be surpassed, it was to pass radder's dream to the next generation to reach the heights they couldn't (i.e. worldwide popularity) and I very much feel like the vbs story has enough backing them going in that direction (Toya's wl chapter, what I've seen of radder flashbacks, even Ken's whole reason for opening weekend garage).

For context, the preceding conversation was about how Ken has been going against a lot of his initial things (Running weekend garage to help the next generation, helping them not work as hard, etc), how he knew Taiga was gonna tell vbs the truth of RAD WEEKEND and that he should first but he didn't, and then how he's been overworking the kids and going against the team effort rw was by radder

Again, clpl kinda suck at writing vbs sometimes but dammit they ain't bad at foreshadowing, they teased Nagi stuff for a year or two before lutf and stuff after all. Plus they've never had a sudden decline with a character, it took two years for Mafuyu's mom to fully be revealed as bad, and even with Taiga that was a solid year. (Now what they do do a lot of are sudden "redemption arcs", sure the Otori brothers' was decent but all the times they've tired to have Shinodad or Toya's dad grow as people has been so bad like bro some people are just shit).

Plus vbs' story has been slower than most of the other units until this current arc (hell they took the longest to end their first arc), slow building blocks to surpassing RAD WEEKEND. So for this current arc to have them saying "our next event will surpass them" so suddenly just doesn't add up. It has to be a red herring. And again, Taiga's been this game's only true betrayal arc, others have been characters going from neutral to bad (Mafumom, one-off characters) or ones meant to be bad that eventually become allies to their respective groups (Arata, Iori, Otori brothers). Taiga going from an explicit ally to an enemy is an outlier, and I've noticed that they usually won't repeat plots and stuff in this game (well outside of Smile of a Dreamer and Our Happy Ending but I think that was on purpose).

I highly doubt that vbs' ending will involve them surpassing RAD WEEKEND, they're probably the only group who's initial goal hadn't changed over time (L/n "I wanna be with my friends again" -> "We wanna be pros that touch others with music". WxS "Let's save this stage" -> "let's travel the world to make our dreams come true" n25 "i need to save mafuyu" -> "she's seemingly saved but shits still tucked"). Even MMJ's which has seemed to always be "Let's be idols and give hope to others" has had steps to go through, it wasn't instantly "Let's perform in the dome" it was "Let's be idols" -> "let's do a live show" -> "let's do a solo show" -> "let's perform in the dome". VBS hasn't been like that, it's always been "let's surpass RAD WEEKEND" and never been anything but that, so their progression has just been them saying "this'll get us closer to surpassing RAD WEEKEND" with little to actually show for it.

It's a lofty, impossible task, and I think Ken and Taiga know that, but they view it in different ways. Taiga sees it as "you'll never live up to it give up stop trying" while Ken's is "you'll never live up to it but that doesn't change that you're still talented performers". Even though how characters always compare each other to radder (An and Taiga seeing Nagi in Kohane, Taiga seeing Ken in Akito) , they're not radder, they'll never be them, and I feel like that's what the story wants to have them and the audience eventually realize. That's what Nagi wanted, right? To have the next generation do what she and the rest of radder couldn't, to keep singing and to be known around the world. They've already contrasted how both Taiga and Ken have attempted to keep Nagi's wishes alive before (i.e. the whole "Don't tell An until she's ready" thing), and Ken handled this better than Taiga but both weren't the best at it, and vbs had to find the strength themselves to keep going. Taiga did it in a brutal and dream-crushing way, while Ken's was gentler and more honest but came too late, and I feel that they wouldn't get rid of that contrast with Nagi's other dream. Taiga ran off and became famous overseas, but never fully processed his grief. Ken is encouraging the next generation, but still isn't doing it perfectly.

So I feel that Ken's plan is to show vbs *their* strengths. The ones only they have. Not in the context of reaching radder's level, but in reaching their own, and truly fulfilling Nagi's wish. He's not doing it perfectly, he's overworking them severely, but I highly doubt that this is purposeful. Again, I just don't think they'd make the dilf have a villain arc.

But nothing anyone has done in response to vbs's dream has been perfect. Even from the main story with akitoya and Kotarou sabotaging Kohane, to Arata in sbd, to Taiga to Arata in bfby, and then lutf is obvious. It's a messy tale of unprocessed grief and unfiltered dreams, things that can lead to both triumph and tragedy. But I truly can't see any malice in Ken's actions, or even Taiga's to an extent. While there obviously was some there, to him I assume it was to protect the legacy of his sister and to not tarnish her swansong.

I don't fully know where I was going with this but all in all I think Ken has good intentions albeit with unintentional extreme expectations, VBS was never meant to surpass RAD WEEKEND, and the vbs story's messy pacing lately is purposeful

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2025, Issue #4/5

One Piece: On the tour of Elbaf, the Straw Hats learn that the Giant youths aren't being raised to be warriors anymore; an anonymous friend of Loki's suggests that he's secretly kind, to Loki's chagrin; Shanks or a lookalike appears with a mysterious partner, summoned by the same demonic sigil as the Elders. "Shanks' " partner has pretty familiar eyelashes...dare I to dream...?

Yozakura: On the day he plans to renew his vows with Mutsumi, Taiyo loses his wedding ring; when he discovers that Kyoichiro took it to polish it, the two have a heartfelt conversation. This was such a good bookend for the series and Taiyo's relationship with Kyoichiro, at least to me since I'm not super invested

Undead Unluck: Andy and Fuuko finish charging up The Heart with their memories, allowing them to take down a fusion of Sun and every remaining UMA. Please, please, please...let the anime get to the end, I need to see this fight animated...

Roboco: It's Wedding Week apparently, with Gaku getting hitched to a girl he saved in the wilderness; Second Year gets jealous and seems to share a story meant to humiliate Gaku, but it turns out to be completely serious and heartfelt despite the subject matter. A weirdly sweet chapter by the end, and certainly always strange seeing Roboco play the straightman

Sakamoto: Sakamoto delivers Heisuke his gun and Piisuke to protect Atari from Torres before rushing to Shin to save him from himself; the flashback to Sakamoto and Shin's meeting begins. I'm suddenly so invested in their friendship, this might motivate me to reread

EluSam: Tokiyuki's drum performance goes terribly, but turns out to be a long con to lure Toki into the perfect position to assassinate him. Seems like an odd gambit, and I highly doubt it's what really happened, but wild if true

Witch Watch: Taiga sacrifices himself in order to allow Kuon to seal Jeanne d'Arc, realizing Ibuki's prophecy. A forgone conclusion, but a well enough written one that I'm not totally unaffected by it

Blue Box: Chinatsu's father regrets prioritizing work over his daughter for his entire life, so he takes a page out of Taiki's playbook and makes a run for it to reach her game in time when his taxi gets stuck in traffic. This might be the most emotionally resonant moment in the series for me specifically

Akane: With a baseline understanding of Issho and Shiguma's history, Akane resolves to figure out the rest of their rivalry through Shiguma's Art; the rest of the Shiguma School resolve to all become Shin'uchi so that they'll be able to reopen their school one day. I saw one comment refer to this as the Sabaody Arc Incident of the series, and I really have no better analysis than that

Kill Blue: Inukai turns out to be Juzo's former child apprentice, who becomes frustrated and disillusioned by Juzo's current behavior; he sets out to eliminate the Jardin members staffed at the school, but is saved by Juzo, proving that he's still the same man, just adapting to the needs and opportunities of his situation. I think Inukai offers an interesting opportunity to the series by giving us a way to see more of the adult Juzo, though it remains to be seen how far Fujimaki will take this concept

Nue: Tsujita pleads with Gakuro not to go after Shiroha because the Fujino Family will certainly kill him and she likes him; Gakuro tells her that he'll give proper thought to her confession; immediately upon infiltrating the Fujino Estate, Gakuro learns that they're one step ahead and expecting a sneak attack. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse at this point, so no comment on this moment until I know the payoff

Kagurabachi: As Iori's memories of Samura try to resurface, the Hishaku arrive at her school to capture her, but Chihiro and the Masumi come to save her. For everything that happened in this chapter, the thing I'm most compelled by is the revelation that Chihiro has earned a reputation in society for being a mass murderer, which will certainly play into the themes of Heroism vs. Sin being levied against the Swordbearers

Chojo: Chojo's old friend Dan, a Yugioh protagonist pastiche, comes to visit, though he is pursued by Rare Hunters; Chojo fends them off with Dan's signature card, a classic YGO trope. I'm with @wickedsick on this one, card game protagonists should be side characters more often, it's such a good bit to see a grown man living like that

Astro Royale: Shikaba turns out to be the organizer of the upcoming event, the Astro Battle Royale tournament, with the Daybreak Ore on the line. We (almost) Have a Title; this kind of gives the impression that the remainder of the series is going to be the tournament, but that doesn't feel right

Kiyoshi: Kiyoshi finishes his basic training with Akari, then begins applied training with Sakaki. ...Is Akari the love interest? Also, I forgot she's supposed to be his partner, she's really not very present...I hope Usui has bigger plans for her, I'd hate for her to just be "The Girl"

Hima-Ten: Suddenly back home, Himari and Tenichi discuss the parameters of Tenichi's employment, expanding his duties and empowering Himari to be more honest with her thoughts and wants. This certainly won't pose any ethical issues when she accepts that she is in fact in love with her housekeeper, who she pays

Ichi: World Hater begins The (legally distinct) Rumbling, but Ichi only gets more excited by the prospect of the hunt and activates an Uroro-Amplified Uruwashi, Hisame's spell. I'm so excited to see Nishi delve into whether or not Ichi's sparkly-eyed obsession with hunting the Magiks is his best quality or simply dangerous naivete, if not both

Shinobi: Tobi blatantly admits to being a ninja, but Mukai thinks it's all part of the Haunted Walk; Yodaka has trouble fighting him in the dark until Hibari and Umineko arrive, allowing him to go all out. I can see other folks disliking it for how dry it is, but I'm still a big fan of Mitarashi's sense of humor; even the dramatic dialogue is pretty clever - "you poor thing, you won't even get to see the moon during your last moments" -> "isn't this great? You'll get to see the moon in your last moments"

Hakutaku: Akamine figures out how Hideout Plan works just from the context of meeting Hikuma, then is suddenly swarmed by friendly wild animals because he's a manic pixie dream man or something; Noto is nearly rejected by the rest of the Tidio team because her actions suggest an incomplete prototype, but she convinces them to give her a chance. I can't help but feel this series is giving a skewed impression of the game dev industry and process; also Akamine's line that there's an annual day of unusual circumstances suggests that there's a supernatural element to this series, which I...don't think I want, but I also feel like that'd be a good twist to make this actually engaging

Syd Craft: Lulu goes to Syd's office to try to get some dirt on him, and instead meets Elio, who she immediately clocks as a crossdresser; through a misunderstanding of a letter delivered by Souffle, the three end up exercising in the middle of the office as a way to...become more romantically charming...I guess? The letter turns out to be a bomb threat. Lulu being introduced to Elio and Souffle and becoming fast friends with both of them is a fun little twist, but until Tsutsui gives me poly or yuri, I won't rescind my earlier assertions that he's a coward

Top three of the week:

Undead Unluck, obviously

Sakamoto Days for continuing to get me so invested after years of mild engagement

Shinobi Undercover for solid dialogue and reminding me why I was so excited to see the Candy Flurry duo coming back

Ichi just barely missed the top 3 this week, I suspect the actual battle next week will push it up a bit, but honestly this whole week was pretty strong for me, so if the next issue brings it just as hard, it could really go any which way...

[eartheats]

//ooc post but god. for my own sake, i'm organizing and trying to set some hard dates for some events. i'm also looking for some volunteers, specifically BBA adjacent for one of them and just in general for the second! i need to stop keeping plots in my head.

no cws up until the third bullet point, where there is talk of kidnapping (successful attempts on adults, failed attempt on a teen), violence (to adults and to a teen), murder (of an adult and only an adult), mind control, and other evil team shit on the horizon. be forewarned! the final bullet point will be in very high stakes territory, given that noriko fully intends to try and end the world, but feel free to ignore if that isn't your jam. live your lives besties <3

(mid-may ETA): Bouton evolution arc. I need to find someone or multiple someones to bother with a very nosy Roselia who is trying to find a shiny stone, and may potentially steal something sparkly thinking that it's what it needs. If anyone wants to volunteer for this lmk, but I can just as easily borrow Carmine for this if nothing else! (CLAIMED)

(may!): Ren goes back to Zapapico! Temporarily. Jacques is going to get his grand festival trophy from Sinnoh and quietly retire. Ren's going to be in Zapapico and getting used to life back home for a lil while.

(early june through august): I wanna work in the Iron Crown sighting/healing arc I have in the works, because while Ren's not going to CATCH the paradox, it's going to be something that works alongside any volunteers for taking care of Noriko's evil team resurgence. Mostly as extra assurance for them to lose! Tatiana reconciliation Arc will probably take place around here too. basically, if anyone wants involvement with zapapico/ren just in a general context, feel free!

(start of september) Ren goes back to Blueberry! Madison and Jacques will be posting some of notes they find from Noriko, which will have some involvement IC if desired since I'll be using Caesar Ciphers to scramble shit up if anyone wants to play detective. :3c They'll also briefly be around to post on Ren's blog/answer questions!

(mid september) The final batch of notes is found and translated, and the opening to Noriko's secret base of operations is opened! But Madison/Jacques are going to end up kidnapped here by Iori, an admin in Noriko's Neo Flare stuff and actually a faller from Hisui! She'll be available to interact with for at least a day. <3 Design coming soon, I need to figure out her nonsense.

(also mid september) yeah so ren is. escaping the academy, even if it tries to keep them constrained. they are going to be meeting their mom on the remains of cinnabar island, where one confrontation may take place. please keep in mind if you try to do a ren rescue party, it is going to fail. (very specifically for ren) it has to fail for the next leg of the plot, but i AM potentially considering getting carmine in on this mess and getting her injured in the process, and while there, noriko is definitely going to think about taking her too so that her kid has a friend. which. yeahno. this one is influenceable, but is MUCH more likely to fail, so if anyone wants to big damn heroes carmine you have my full permission 👍👍👍 save that girl! (CARMINE SAVING IS HANDLED BY THE GIRLFRIEND BLESS)

as a small aside: would anyone like to get ren's very stressed out team to take care of for a bit? noriko's a lot of things but she's not a monster, if anyone wants to take care of the team for a bit/potentially use them against lotus :3c it may be. interesting! (CLAIMED for now)

(october-november? maybe) noriko's neo team flare shit (name pending) will emerge proper and try to be as evil teammy as possible! ren is going to be a mind controlled admin named lotus and have none of their actual pokemon! shit's going to be bad, but! while it might take a bit to organize some losses for them and i may mostly leave that to anyone who wants to fix this mess (we can either handwave or actually play them out, preference to whoever volunteers), but there's gonna be one event specific for camille, one for iori, one for lotus (which can influence how the big admin battle goes), and then what i'm hoping to be a siege on the base. this one i have ways to bullshit a win (for the good guys!!) for, but i wanna see what people come up with, too!

and by the new year, everyone should be recovering, and that'll be the end of team neo flare at least! the rest of the event will decide everyone else but ren's fate. they will end up coming back fine from this, but it's gonna be rough :')

so yeah. basic rubric and very changeable (i gotta ask some players some stuff and things), my only real rule is no instant wins/legendary spam/godmodding really? i want this to be fun but i want it to feel like an actual uphill battle a bit, and i'm still trying to build toward that. this could even be pushed out into 2025, depending, but! yeah!!!

idk if anyone has questions feel free to leave 'em on this post and i will try to get to them when my brain isn't a mess because of retail or other stuff 👍

volunteers (for my ref)

@/suddenlyauntiemaya (bouton evolution arc!!! pushing this one back for this :3b)

@/little-guys-pokemon-central

@/elite-amarys (CARMINE'S SAVIOR!!!)

@/goindownswingin

@/professor-amaryllis (ren rescue party!)

@/electricalflre

@/bee-bee-kyuu (ren rescue party!)

temporary team-ups/team holding:

lulu the orthworm: going to @/professor-amaryllis!

bouton the roserade: @/professor-amaryllis! teaming up to bring lotus back to their senses/back to being ren :3c

coriander the ferrothorn: available! she is not a battling pokemon and is. going to be about as stressed and anxious as lulu, as a warning.

soba the furret: @/bee-bee-kyuu! will be very determined and ready for a fight.

harusame the huntail: available! will also be very determined though a lot more emotional.

any pokemon who is not taken will likely be taken in by amy, and lulu is going to be going to amy instead by default for planning purposes~

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

It's been a while, but with the reveal of Yamato's new design in the upcoming PV for March 2025, I thought it was finally time to dive into my favourite Yamato ship out there - let's do this:

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

The portrayal of their relationship is very fascinating to me, because it absolutely is not at the forefront of the story for the most part and, unfortunately, becomes more scarce the more the series progresses (in any type of media form, that is). However, despite that, these two are - especially in Adventure - downright pivotal to each other's development regarding several aspects (in a similar way Taichi and Sora are portrayed through the course of the first few arcs of Adventure). Let's break this down:

At first, they don't seem to have too many interaction points. In fact, similar to how Jyou and Taichi start off not really trusting in the other's abilities, their initial relationship is rather rocky. This becomes apparent when Jyou is the one who tries to mediate between Taichi and Yamato and fails due to being unable to make a choice - causing Yamato to also be wary of Jyou's "reliability", so he doesn't think very highly of him at first. As they may be (presumably in Yamato's case) the oldest male characters in the group and, if you squint, you may still see them sharing very minor background interactions, mainly talking about seeking shelter for the group (or, mainly in the English dub, shake their heads over Taichi). They're not particularly close and there is nothing much to it at first...

... Until we reach the restaurant episode, which is a turning point for both of them - not only regarding their personal development, but also their entire relationship. I highly recommend reading the novel version of this episode, because it reveals so much about how these two think and feel about the other - and it boils down to one simple, but wonderfully executed concept: As Jyou is forced to work in Digitamamon's restaurant to pay off his debt, Yamato promises to help him to return to Takeru and look for the others faster. On one hand, as it is always the case at this point in the story, Yamato's primary objective is Takeru - but on the other, it's clear that, despite how much he struggles with interacting with others, he still prioritizes helping Jyou out. And Jyou does not take this for granted - the novel, while underlying his self-esteem issues, puts emphasis on how he thought Yamato would scream and shout at and just leave him behind. Jyou wouldn't even have blamed him for it in the slightest. And yet, he is thoroughly thankful for his help - and confesses through his inner monologue that he considers Yamato his very first real friend, feeling equal to him, even if he's aware that Yamato may not feel the same.

And there we have it - the theme of "friendship" that ties these two together indefinitely. Because yes: Yamato, who had been fed PicoDevimon's lies about Jyou intentionally acting clumsily to keep him at the restaurant, was more than ready to confirm Jyou's doubts at first. He wanted to abandon him and Jyou would have accepted his fate with a smile - and yet, he was absolutely ready to sacrifice his life to protect Takeru for Yamato's sake. It's that willingness, that selflessness that acts as a wake-up call to Yamato, making him realize how great of a friend Jyou really is, how foolish he was to have doubted him - and that's when his Crest of Friendship glows for the first time, thanks to Jyou's display of courage and his sense of Reliability.

It's one of their greatest moments, it softens and humbles them and causes each of them to think more highly of the other - especially Jyou is repeatedly displayed to take note of Yamato's behaviour and ends up continuously rescuing Takeru as a promise to Yamato (as well as to their mother). In general, it's a shame that there isn't more of a focus on them both being brothers who struggle with their roles in their respective families - but that doesn't mean that they don't keep inspiring each other:

In the Dark Masters Arc, Yamato leaves the group to figure himself, his path and the meaning of friendship out - whereas Jyou decides to stay behind with Mimi, continuously contemplating what his own path is after all. While they do not get to talk about it to each other, trying to resonate with Yamato helps Jyou to come to terms with making his own choices - and once he meets Yamato again, who freshly escaped from his Dark Cave, they share an encouraging smile and team up to pull Sora out of her spiraling sense of duty as well.

Duty, purpose and choices are continuous themes between them that come full circle once we reach the stageplay - which is why I chose the screenshot above as a header for this post. Because here, six years after their Digital World adventures, it's Jyou who came to terms with what he wants to do for himself, despite all the hardships, family obligations and other stress factors. Yamato on the other hand is seen struggling with the idea of growing up, making choices for himself and losing everyone in the process... Similar to how Koushirou asks Taichi to confide in him, Jyou is the one asking Yamato to do the same, encouraging him to choose for himself instead of "being chosen" - just like watching Yamato back then had inspired him to do the same.

As mentioned, it's a shame that canon hasn't provided more interactions between these two. They do feel linked together, since they're so vital for each other's emotional development - but neither 02 nor Tri nor Kizuna showed them having significant moments with each other. (Minus the fact that 02 basically gave them a similar hair length and seeing how Jyou always seems to adore and be inspired by Yamato, this may lead to a very interesting headcanon at least, but I digress.) There are little nods in the PSP game and while Jyou's adoration for Yamato shines through in the reboot as well, these instances of Adventure, the novel and the stageplay will at least forever live rent-free in my head.

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

I have once written an analysis post on who I think are the characters that bring out the best in each Chosen Child respectively - and while Yamato seems to be particularly hyperfocused on Taichi in all the more recent portrayals of Digimon, I still feel like Jyou is the one person that knows how to handle and reach him best. In more than one way. There is just a sense of fondness and patience I can sense between them, one that has been growing between them ever since they overcame their shortcomings (Jyou's timidness and Yamato's brashness) as children. Basically, you could say that they had to become the people they are as adults to be compatible with each other; Yamato is still a very emotional person who doesn't always know how to express these emotions properly - which is where I think Jyou would function as the reliable, calming rock he has eventually grown into, as depicted in the Kizuna shorts. I simply feel like he is capable of relaxing Yamato with absolute ease, encouraging him to open up or letting him have a ramble... And that may sound funny in return, but I also feel like Yamato has an equally calming effect on Jyou in general as well. Yamato used to be his anchor in Adventure, giving him direction and security and through his stressful doctor life, I think Yamato's presence could be a grounding factor as well.

In my Jyoumi analysis, I pointed out how Jyou may need someone with more outgoing energy levels to pull him out of his own head - but with Yamato, I feel like that isn't necessary, because they already contrast yet complement each other despite being more introverted. A lot of (more recent) fandom portrayals like to depict Yamato maintaining his rockstar aesthetic - and Kakudou's current vision of Yamato seems to go in a similar direction, so that may actually contribute to more adventurous aspects of their relationship (and really, if you aren't swayed by the idea of Jyou being Yamato's number 1 fan in the crowd, I cannot help you, it's one of most adorable things I can think of, even if it was just a one-sided crush).

Personally, I just see them as this absolutely chill couple as adults that would settle down doing sophisticated stuff like wine tastings, going to museums with Sora and Takeru (who would be absolutely delighted by them being together), having late-night dinners with Taichi and Koushirou, still shaking their heads over their friends (Taichi and Mimi in particular)... I just get warm, floofy butterflies in my stomach when I think of them.

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

As you may have been able to tell, I absolutely adore them as a romantic ship - mainly because I feel like Jyou is the most romantically compatible character to Yamato in the entire series due to the mutually calming vibe they give me. I'm still sad canon doesn't even give us much when it comes to them, so the sea-themed official art that dropped this year displaying them as captains of the ship felt like the most nurturing breadcrumb ever. I would love to see more of their platonic bond, but if I had anything to say, I would adore seeing these two end up with each other.

[itsmelilyv]

yuri recommendations for yuri day

Hello!! It is yuri day. Here is a short list of yuri I really love, if you're looking for something good to eat ~

Even Though We're Adults by Takako Shimura A bartender sleeps with a teacher, only to discover she's married. An exploration of the difficulties adults can have discovering and managing relationships.

How Do We Relationship? by Tamifull Two college lesbians start dating on a whim, but run into problems when they try to express their needs. A genuine, heartfelt look at the difficulties of communication.

Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games by Eri Ejima Girls at an uptight high school embrace their love of fighting games. Full of gorgeous renders of girls crying and screaming at games. There's a tournament arc. If you like competitive video games at all, please read this.

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All by Arai Sumiko An introvert with a love of hard rock makes a new friend. Incredibly stylish, and written clearly by someone with a love of music.

Liar Satsuki Can See Death by Ryouko Yuri-light. A high school girl, cursed to see death before it happens, tries to prevent it. A mix of detective mystery and slice of life, and very dark at times.

Otherside Picnic by Iori Miyazawa Yuri-light. Two college women explore a horrifying alternate universe, full of unknowable monsters, to make money while searching for a lost friend. If you like creepypasta, this might be for you.

---

Bonus Round, for absolute freaks like me who constantly need more to read:

Futari Escape: Two young women do anything they can to avoid work.

A Monster Wants to Eat Me: A high school girl who wants to die meets a mermaid who might grant her wish.

I Don't Know Which One Is Love: A college woman falls ass-backwards into five relationships at once.

She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat: Two lonely women befriend each other over their love of food.

Lily (by Yy): A high school love story grows into a college love story. Slowly, deeply explores the growth of a relationship.

Moonlight Garden: A secluded, otherworldly brothel hides the lives of it's mysterious inhabitants. One wants to escape.

And as for yuri games, I really love Ladykiller in a Bind (a bratty woman explores dom/sub relationships) and Heaven Will Be Mine (several women use mech fights as an excuse to make out)

---

I have read so so much yuri in the past couple of years and it's only getting better and better... we really are living in a golden age of yuri. I have at least twice as many I could recommend.

At some point I'll make this into a full, thorough post, like I did with Lily Explores Ten Transgender Manga (which I would super recommend if you want some good trans stuff~)

happy yuri day <3

[kaibutsushidousha]

Ok after finishing all of the main story content in Samurai Remnant, I'd really like to know your thoughts on not just Saber, but the other new servants as well. (I know you did Rider already so maybe you could talk about her Avenger form added recently to FGO)

Saving the Iori and Saber posts for after I play Entreat the Darkness but I suppose I can do this one now.

FSR's cast is built like Fate/EXTRA's. You have big arcs for the protagonist and the main Servant. And then every other Master is a supporting character for the protagonist's arc and their Servant are supporting characters to those supporting characters.

Zhou Yu is the golden example of that. He is the guy who understands Zheng's position, relates to his experiences, and serves as the model for Zheng to follow after every ending. He's not very explored in the parts of his character that aren't relevant to that, in the same way Zheng isn't very explored in the parts that aren't meant to show the ways he's similar to Iori. Although this is probably guaranteed to change when he goes to FGO because Zhuge Liang is right there hiding inside his Waver Velver skin.

Jeanne is the same Jeanne we know since Apocrypha, except in serious mode 100% and in a Master-Servant pair where both sides have firm opinions about the other side's life choices and refuse to back down there despite their fundamental disagreements. FSR and its collab event were the only two times I came out of a Jeanne story having zero problems with Jeanne's characterization, which is a major testament to how good Chiemon is and how Jeanne plays an essential part in making Chiemon the best.

Ushi Gozen is already covered here and here.

Are is different in that he exists as a personal antagonist to Saber rather than as a supporting character to either of his Masters. Saber's arc is about becoming more than Yamato Takeru, so they fight a boss who has the literal constraints of Yamato Takeru's story as his Noble Phantasm. He has his own personal goal in evidencing his own existence, but that's a really frustrating concept as it is because it doesn't give Type-Moon's reasons why Are's existence is doubted. He's a character I have ideas for how I'd have done him differently, but that's a topic for its own post.

Saburou is an accessory to Dorothea's character but he's the most poorly communicated character in the game, so he muddles the point of Dorothea along with him. His motive for wanting to test Doro is not stated but it's implied to be simply disagreeing with her decision to retreat instead of storming Yasuhiro's fortress in their last Digression, which really makes him come off as just an asshole. And I feel like more could be done with the arrangement of him and Saber being mutually weak to each other.

Musashi is the one Servant who serves as a supporting character to Iori rather than her own Master and she feels a lot more right in this role than she ever did as a main player. She's the one character who understands Iori's arc through personal experience and ultimately tries and cathartically fails to be a source of closure to Iori, the other Musashi, and to a lesser extent herself, all in a single duel. It's a satisfying loss for everyone involved.

Yoshinaka is an odd Rogue who is stripped of anything and everything that defined Yoshinaka's source character. Making Yoshinaka a good guy because they didn't want Tomoe to be heads over heels for the worst man of his time is understandable, but the narrative that Yoshinaka was unfairly hated comes with reasons why he was hated despite being innocent, and the game doesn't bother to work with that either. Their Yoshinaka is just a nobody who exists only to be Tomoe's man.

Samson is the Rogue who exists to be Takao's supporting character since Musashi is busy being another one of Iori's. He's a screamy Berserker, but for the first time, this archetype worked because the 3D models allowed for new levels of expressiveness, such as the thumbs up and him sitting next to Iori's house pouting. He's as much of a simp as any version of Samson should be and the way Takao treats that giant hulk like a baby is pretty cute. He's just nice to have around, especially when he is playable.

[beginningobserver]

You might know that i tend to complete the evolution lines for my favorite characters (and i'm still struggling with Iori's Armadimon) and this means i should do the same with Rui's Ukkomon, right?

Especially when i made posts asking about "which Digimental would suit Rui and Ukkomon" before...

But, honestly?

I don't think Rui would want to get involved in the digimon battles and such. Especially when the main reason he snapped at Ukkomon at age 11 (in March 2003) is because of the digimon fighting and dying for their human partners.

Even if Daisuke and co explain that there's bad digimon so the fights are needed in order to protect more lives... I feel he wouldn't be comfortable with that kind of thing.

He's non-confrontational. This might be one of his biggest flaws at some point, but i think this also means he’s cool-headed and able to find different approaches to solve conflict without fighting. And this means he’s not the kind to be in the front lines like the rest of the 02 kids, or Taichi & Yamato. Rui suits more the type of support unit character, a role more like Koushiro’s, Jou’s, Mimi’s and Sora’s (yes, all of those had proven that you can take part of digimon business/battles without fighting directly with enemies: Koushiro helps supervisioning the battles and investigating stuff – especially in 02 & Kizuna; Sora and Mimi are more likely to be the emotional support. Mimi even recruited digimon to help them in the final arc from Adv’99, and Jou is like our medical/healer unit.)

Even if Ukkomon evolves someday in any extra material… I don’t expect it to be an offensive-type digimon, because of those same reasons above. Maybe he could turn into a support-type critter, one with abilities that could assist the 02 kids in a case.

tldr; Rui is not the type to be involved directly in digimon fights. The canon also showed that you can still be part of them WITHOUT having to directly go and attack the bad guys, you can be helping the crew emotionally, or gathering information/investigating stuff, or helping them to keep in a good shape and heal their wounds.

[somena-libra-dawn]

Now that I have read up to volume 103... I had to reveal my old weird misconception (yeah, called it 'misconceptions' right off the bat because it obviously is when having the thought^TM) before the revelation of Rum’s identity is that I suspected Muga Iori more than the Rum suspect trio.

Yeah, he lacks Rum’s descriptions but still being perceptive enough that I’d believe he is in the Black Org. Like, why does Momiji ask Conan that he figures out the case because her butler says so? At the end of the said case, he also mentions the Haneda (through Heiji) who is the key person of Rum arc. How does he know about that? Why did he tell such info? More importantly, why does such important thing happen right now!? (Ik it is meant to connect the following chapter but what was I thinking back then?)

Weirdly, he disguises himself at his first appearance. During the Kyoto arc, he strangely doesn’t show up till his lady is endangered. Not to mention, he is incredibly strong and smart.

‘Could it be… he goes along with Momiji’s love tics to get closer to Heiji and gain info of Shinichi since the two are besties?’ was in my thoughts at some point, and I believed he worked for the rich Ooka to gain profit for BO’s finance (like Vermouth being a big star thing I guess)… 

At least till he was revealed to be a former PSB member.

[derekscorner]

Fated Rantings: Remnants Rambling

A Game Better Than It Has Right To Be

I recently finished what is my fourth romp through the Fate Series. It has been slow going due to life but truth be told I didn't want to rush either.

My go of Fate Grand Order is still ongoing, my first anime was Apocrypha, then I watched the 2006 Fate Stay Night, and now I've finished Samurai Remnant after 70+ hours.

Each of these has been good so far. I may hate gacha games but FGO has a solid initial story arc and it's Lost Belt 6 story is also great apparently. I'm not sure I'll get that far but I am determined to finish Solomon's villain arc.

While I'd rate Apocrypha a better anime than it's often given. I am still in shock from the sheer contrast of Astolfo in-story vs the internet osmosis he's become. While the 06 anime was decent for me I do admit I had already seen plenty of lore videos prior so I knew what was going on.

Then there's Samurai Remnant that is better than I expected. I tried it because I am a new Fate fan and Type-Moon doesn't localize things often. I'd argue it is my second favorite story so far falling just behind Apocrypha.

Imagine a Fate Stay Night remade in this style!

Game mechanics weren't perfect or without annoyance for me, I will admit. I feel like Iori gets knocked around far to easy and can be stun locked.

The barrier gauge among most enemies and bosses is honestly a pain and feels like it's padding a bit (until you hit max level anyway) and it is easy to get lost in the towns at first.

Yes you have a map but I did get annoyed more than once be slow traversal hazards or dead ends. Granted, this is an aggravation for extras.

When in-story it is all fine. There's story reasons or game mechanic reasons for why you will have to crawl around, sneak, and so on. It was very much an issue I gave myself for wanting to do every thing and search every corner.

Many other things that annoyed me at first quickly vanished later as I leveled up or filled out skill boards so I will not list them. It was a somewhat basic but unique (in ways) game play set up for what is essentially a visual novel.

I only mention it all because I think this game would be an amazing blueprint for other Fate games. I've already seen people hope for a Fate Stay Night remade in this game's image.

Whether it's a new route or just the old novel redone the hope is now there and I find myself agreeing with them. Samura/Remnant is a great prototype for taking visual novels that began Fate and turning them into a video game that can reach more people.

Story is where it Shines

I won't lie, I expected something 'okay' or "mid" as kids call it, but no. This story actually is rather good. Several characters have more going on than it initially appears and multiple runs are required.

You'll play this game 3 to 4 times if you want every ending or to finish ever digression mission. Something I highly recommend you do because you'll miss out on explanations for several plot points or character motivations.

Admittedly, there are several things that I didn't get answered despite my thorough go of the game. I completely missed the fact that Tsuchimikado's family can use divination for future sight. It was this very skill that allowed him to create the Waxing Moon Ritual.

The whole reason the ritual is flawed is due to him using imperfect foresight to orchestrate the event. The story tells you several times that the ritual is a sham compared to the Fuyuki Grail War but I don't remember it ever actually stating why.

The wish of Rogue Berserker was also something I missed in-game. I won't spoil who he is (or was?) but knowing his wish now makes his finale and leyline placement much more sensible.

Leyline you ask?

Ah yes, it's explained in-game but I'll spoil it here since it's not that much of one. Due to the rituals imperfection a number of extra servants are summoned to Edo.

They're "rogue" or stray servants who are bound to a leyline in the land. (A spot of particularly high mana essentially.) On top of the rogue servants a pseudo servant and ruler class servant are also summoned.

Of course, none of these extra heroes have much interest in the ritual. You can befriend them in the story but the actual war itself is carried out by the 7 actual servants and their masters.

As for the ruler, well, Gilgamesh really just proves why he never gets the role in the funniest way. He doesn't care about the false grail, he doesn't care about the half-assed ritual, and he doesn't care for his job as a ruler.

He literally fucks off, weebs out, and opens a store five houses down from yours early into the game. It is one of the funniest fucking things.

It's small things like this or Gilgamesh's antics that give the story life. I don't want my section above to paint the image of it being bad for some things going unexplained. It's entirely possible I missed the in-game explanation.

But do know that characters will sell this story too you more than the plot beats will.

The story itself, in terms of progression, is simple. Iori gets drug into the ritual like most Fate protagonists do. Many of the events triggered are usually by way of the other masters having an actual battle.

Iori is there, he's an active participant, but he mostly runs around seeking information or making allies while major events are kicked off by the magi or servants triggering them. The digressions show you a lot of these perspectives.

Iori isn't a fool or ignorant of magic, he's just not a man of status or means to pull the stunts many others cause. I would argue he "has no desire too" but that in of itself is a murky topic.

Overall, I do consider it a good thing because the story is character driven instead. So much so that I won't even dare to try and fit it all in a post. I'll let you discover that for yourself...except for Assassin.

Not a bad character by any means but he has a moment in the game mid way and to this very day I do not get why he does what he does. It's like they just did whatever they had to for that boss fight to happen...

I just find it a shame because his digressions are actually humorous. Many character interactions are funny at times. It's always the small things too, little scenes that you could miss if you rush.

Other Questions & Conclusions

To be honest there's more I could ramble on but it won't fit into one post and I do not feel like I can make more than two or three. One reason is due to me obviously missing details that I only learned later due to a video by Otakudaikun.

Another reason is due to the sheer number of characters. There's several I've only seen for the first time outside of FGO and do not feel like I can do them justice due to my lack of familiarity.

Others are so simple that I do not think they have much to be said. They're not bad for it they're just simple and true to their nature.

Such as Jeanne. I didn't even get into how disappointing it is for her personality to be muted. And make no mistake, this is Jeanne corrupted not FGO Jalter.

I didn't cover just how much Rogue Berserker hit me personally since I liked his legend as a child.

I'd need a whole post of it's own to talk about Rogue Rider and her antics. Sure you see a loli but by hell I know Amaterasu's lore in Fate, her nature, so I only get nervous seeing her grin. (though I do love her dynamic with Kaya)

Nor did I elaborate on how cool it is for the main servants (the ones paired with masters) to be legends from Japan or China. I actually learned a few interesting ones due to this writing decision.

There's the other endings as well but nothing is as deep as the 'Entreat the Darkness' ending imo. They're all decent though.

I even have this theory that Iori is the reason Musashi was summoned to t his timeline with no proof other than he wants to best his master and she wants a decent opponent.

What I will reiterate is that you should try this. It's a great place to start Fate and it's a good one to try if you already follow Fate.

Go give it a try, bye now~

================================================

Other Fate related ramblings here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

[the-one-that-weeps]

36. A theory you have?

31. Favorite event?

4. Favorite character from each unit?

1. What got you into project sekai?

hiiii

Thank you for the ask! I ended up talking a lot haha.

1. What got you into Project Sekai?

Funny question! I've downloaded pjsk around 7 times now, whether because it crashed and I had to start from the beginning again, the times i got terminated for absolutely no reason or the times I eliminated it. The first first time was because of... Ruikasa tiktok. Yeah

4. Favourite character from each unit?

I'd say Saki, Shizuku, An, Rui and Kanade. I enjoy all of them more or less equally though, especially niigo. I love all my babies.

36. A theory you have?

Pjsk will be multigenerational. or at least, it'll go for longer than 6 years (time until we reach next anni and the moment when the third years leave). Firstly, because — in case they wanted to make all the characters have an equal amount of wedding/valentine/new year/etc. cards, — this is already impossible to achieve. (E.g: An has 2 wedding cards. You do not have enough time to give everyone 2 wedding cards)

Secondly because Colourful Palette has mentioned adding college locations and even new units for newer fans. They're not doing it now because 1) having too many units could make the narrative disperse and difficult to follow 2) we have enough content for now.

Finally, it just doesn't make any sense to kill the chicken that's been giving only golden eggs to them until now. The pjsk fandom has been growing exponentially for the past year, especially since 3rd Anni, it doesn't economically make sense for Sega to throw the project away.

31. Favourite event?

Can't pick just one, so here's a list off of the top of my head:

- Resonating with you: besides being the original tear jerker, this event is incredibly complex. You have so many points of view here: Shiho's dilemma upon wanting to pursue her dream but simultaneously wanting to stick close to her friends and simultaneously not wanting them to get hurt; l/n's blind "we need to get Shiho back" determination, mixed with worry of whether or not they can actually do it; how Iori acts as the perfect gray character and how she ends up letting Shiho go; Saki's worries and that one "I miss my wife /ref" scene genuinely made me squeal. And 1. Stan 1.

- Wonder Magical Showtime: crazily underrated. The wxs fandom needs to understand that an event doesn't have to be sad to be good. This event is absolutely amazing and scarily creative, even though it follows the fairytale structure wxs early events tend to follow. It's the epitome of what a wxs story is, I think. It's that good.

- Same Dreams Same Colours/Vivid old tale: even though these events are very different, I enjoy them for pretty much the same reason: they're happy vbs events where the kids just chill and have fun. I'm sure that'll never happen in the narrative again, so these have a special little place in my heart. Mirai and Machi still make me sob.

- And Now, I Wear This Ribbon: contrary to popular opinion, Niigo backstory events are amazing. This one in particular made me tear up. It sets their dynamics, even from early stages, and shows us just how much the four of them have transformed over their time together. Overall, it's just such a tender event. And Yuki Akiyama.

- Lion Dance Robot's New Year's Show!: No angst. Just happy little guys being silly on Christmas. And wxs caravan.

- Kick it up a notch: I complain loads about pjsk event pacing, but this one handled it pretty well, actually. Not only does it "conclude" Kohane's "fitting in" arc, but it also shows us many snippets of what happens with other characters during that moment. It's thrilling in a way you're happy to see Kohane overcome her issues and equally scared and excited for what's to come (glances at Light up the fire). This is actually the event I think about first when someone asks me what makes a good event.

- immiscible discord: please give an applause for Kanade's best event, best commission, best character development moment, best side character appearance and best everything /silly. I can't articulate it right now but it is Great in G Major.

- Pandemonium and Sayonara to My Persona: obligatory shout-out to the events that shaped my personality in ways intangible to a sane man. I Literally Own Them My Life.

- Wxs WLE: this is like bringing back the old wxs formula but with even more character development. It actually gets so many things down so well, I'll be on this hill defending it til I die because this is the only WL that actually does its job well.

[atsoraasayoma]

Yes, Iori I agree one hundred percent, but if you looked beside you to the left from your perspective you might see why.

The second time. Shall I bring back and again show you the first?!

So, recap. Dark Master Arc. It’s up to Takeru to protect Hikari. So he protects her from…a rope…and then eventually Piedmon.

Moving forward this episode 3: Digimental up, Takeru is protecting her from a pack of Tyrannomon-and the episode focus is on them and getting their armor Digivolutions.

You never were. But this is not the point.

This is the point. Light and hope bind the evil. I don’t get the sanctuary part though…

..what ‘sanctuary’ are they talking about?

Yes, the answer is in the episode introduction! Like the overlap of the Digimon’s attack so to do their crests overlap in the intro…

..and there you go! Sanctuary bind! Hope and light practically hand in hand…

[your-lovely-rose]

☞ List of Culling Game Players:

– Tokyo No. 1 Colony:

- Chizuru Hari (There’s nothing here for now)

- Fumihiko Takaba (There’s nothing here for now)

- Haba (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hana Kurusu (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hanyu (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hiromi Higuruma (There’s nothing here for now)

- Iori Hazenoki (There’s nothing here for now)

- Megumi Fushiguro (There’s nothing here for now)

- Reggie Star (There’s nothing here for now)

- Remi (There’s nothing here for now)

- Rin Amai (There’s nothing here for now)

- Yuji Itadori (There’s nothing here for now)

– Tokyo No. 2 Colony:

- Charles Bernard (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hajime Kashimo (There’s nothing here for now)

- Kinji Hakari (There’s nothing here for now)

- Momo Nishimiya (There’s nothing here for now)

- Panda (There’s nothing here for now)

– Sendai Colony:

- Kasumi Miwa (There’s nothing here for now)

- Ryu Ishigori (There’s nothing here for now)

- Sukuna (There’s nothing here for now)

- Takako Uro (There’s nothing here for now)

- Yorozu (There’s nothing here for now)

- Yuta Okkotsu (There’s nothing here for now)

– Sakurajima Colony:

- Dhruv Lakdawalla (There’s nothing here for now)

- Hagane Daido (There’s nothing here for now)

- Maki Zenin (There’s nothing here for now)

- Naoya Zenin (There’s nothing here for now)

- Noritoshi Kamo (There’s nothing here for now)

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☞ About Culling Game:

× LOCATION: 10 Colonies across Japan

× KANJI: 死滅回遊

× HIRAGANA: しめつかいゆう

× RŌMAJI: Shimetsu Kaiyū

× Original Rules:

#1. After awakening a cursed technique, players must declare their participants in the culling game at a barrier of their choice within 19 days.

#2. Any player who breaks the previous rule shall be subject to cursed technique removal.

#3. Non-players who enter a colony become players the moment they enter and will be considered declared players.

#4. Players score points by killing other players.

#5. Points are determined by the game master and indicate the value of a player’s life. As a general rule, sorcerers are worth 5 points, and non-sorcerers are worth 1 point.

#6. Excluding the point value of a player’s own life, players must expend 100 points to negotiate with the game master to add one new rule to the culling game.

#7. In accordance with the previous rule, the game master must accept any proposed new rule unless it has a marked and long-lasting effect on the Culling Game.

#8. If a player’s score remains the same for 19 days, that player shall be subject to cursed technique removal.

× Player Additions:

#9. Players gain access to information on other players, such as their name, amount of points, number of rules added, and their current colony.

This rule was added by Hajime Kashimo.

#10. Players may transfer any number of points between one another.

This rule was added by Hiromi Higuruma.

#11. Players can leave the game by expending 100 points to invite a substitute into their colony.

This rule was added by Megumi Fushiguro.

#12. Players can enter and exit across all colony borders.

This rule was added by Yorozu.

#13. As of 9:09 PM on November 18, 2018, no new players can join the Culling Game.

This rule was added by Kenjaku.

#14. The Culling Game will end upon the deaths of all players except Suguru Geto and Megumi Fushiguro.

This rule was added by Kenjaku.

【 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: “The Culling Game Explained” (by Harsh S), “Culling Game Barriers/Colonies/"Other Side"/Danger Explained” (by Jmoney2131, Reddit), “About the Culling Game, what it achieves, merging and basic goals” (by ara-ara-duch, Reddit), “Culling Game Arc” & “Culling Game” (Jujutsu Kaisen Wikifandom) 】

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[antrauma]

... OK YOU KNOW WHAT THERE'S NO WAY SAMURAI REMNANT BAD ENDING WASN'T THE TRUE ENDING

it feels way more fleshed out with a proper closure and a weighty battle and wrapping up both protagonist's character arcs neatly and it's thematically appropriate and loyal to the setting,

Ray of Light feels the happiest and Yui got to have a proper send-off so I like it. But both other endings got silly throwing the human iori into final battles he had no business picking. If I was SR only, I would've been able to maintain my suspension of belief but I've been into this shit for way too long to not have internalized the gap between humans and servants and... ancient goddamn divine beasts. Besides, they both wrapped up Iori's side of the story way too fast after the final battle. Zheng/Dorothea conversation and Chiemon's death got way more dedicated poignant screentime. They just don't feel appropriate wrap-up points to Iori's story. But the bad ending was perfect.

YOU KNOW WHAT Gilgamesh ending is the true happy ending! Iori can keep picking all the battles he can with all the trouble Gil is bound to stir and Saber sticks around for the show and Gil wouldn't do anything too out of the way to threaten humanity itself even if he'd have no hesitation making himself a massive inconvenience (which, let's face it, is a plus for Iori's tendencies) and they can still neutralize the not-grail on the way and maybe even recruit other servants and masters into the crusade

and hey, it's a pruned world anyway, might as well let Gil play around for world domination