#I am normal about mythology references

[justherefornothing1]

Eyes And Ears: Speaker Theory

Warning: I’m still learning about the general eyes and ears lore. And these are my theories. So please take everything with a grain of salt.

I have an idea for the Watchers (EVO and Life Series) and also a reason as to why they’re so irrelevant to the Life Series. Is this really necessary? No, but it came to me and I feel if I don’t share I will promptly explode.

In EVO SMP, the Watchers are the audience, right? And the Listeners are…I think I heard empathetic audience members? I dunno, I’m still new to the lore. So what if, the Speakers were *drumroll please* …mod makers or series/SMP creators?

Ok, the inspiration comes from the Biblical creation myth. It states multiple times that God said “Let there be (insert thing here)” and BOOM! It came to be. So God spoke the world into existence, like how mod makers or series creators create new worlds and change how we see Minecraft (and other games in general). 

Transferring to Life Series, we know that the Watchers created the game, and Listeners are trying to…help the players escape?(again, new to the lore). So where does that leave the Speakers? Well, sticking with the creation motif, what if they created the world/universe the Life Series/EVO lore happened in? Or maybe multiverse, if that’s a headcanon you’re into. And they created The Watchers and The Speakers to guard over their creations. 

Like a yin-yang duo? Darkness and light, winter and summer, life and death, chaos and order. One balances the other. Neither can exist without the other. Both must be balanced. 

Which leads to a possible reason for the games being that the Watchers desire MORE negative emotions than the universe in giving them (like how a child wants more sweets than they’re allowed). And Listeners retaliate, attempting to maintain the balance by helping the players escape. A bit off-topic, but an interesting detail. 

So why haven’t the Speakers been active? Why have they not stopped the Life narrative and saved the players? I have a few ideas, none concrete.

The Speakers created the world and took a nap. And they haven’t woken up. Pretty much said “ok kids play nice” and passed out lol. Some mythologies actually follow this, so this is my personal favorite. Also it’s so goofy.

They’re just…bad gods? Don’t really care what happens? Something like that.

Speakers don’t think it’s that bad. “Oh, it doesn’t involve a whole planet or put a universe at risk, it’s fine! The kids are just hungry, let them eat” vibe. See Number 2?

They don’t know. Somehow the Speakers are blind (pun intended) to the “sibling squabble” going on.

Can’t fix it. Out of their range of power. This theory doesn’t make sense because they CREATED THE WORLD and can’t fix a small problem? That would be weird…unless they got overthrown? Nope, the rabbit hole is too deep. Next.

A secret sixth option. ???

And I could continue, but the next part’s not fleshed out enough and not relevant enough right now. Maybe if someone asks politely, I could make part 2. 

TL;DR: Speakers could canonically be creators, since mythology has examples of creators speaking worlds into existence. They could have created both The Watchers and The Listeners, to balance the other out, like yin-yang. It is up for debate what the reason is behind the Speaker’s lack of intervention.

[trashmouthdickiebird]

Icarus, the sun, and the moon

Please read Prince of the Sorrows I am so normal about this book

[varlaisvea]

’this one’

ok i am kind of a dork about ta’agra. i am a ~linguist by education, and in eso, ta’agra has definitely gotten the most love out of all of tamriel's languages, enough such that it has understandable grammar and root words. (enough such that you can kiiind of figure out a general idea of what zerith-var is saying a lot of the time!)( if you've read the amount about ta'agra that i have!) (a normal fanfic writer amount, which is obiously a lot but, as with all elder scrolls lore topics, is insignificant compared to the real ta'agra fans out there). (but for real imagine being a language dork and having a video game give u a lil language dork treat for being a dork about its made up language. elder scrolls babey.). i’ve always been interested in how khajiit refer to themselves, because they have multiple ways of doing so, and—this being the elder scrolls—the choices people make in this regard are culturally meaningful. someone may say “I/me” or “this one” or their name/nickname, and the choice says a lot about the character, their background, and their mindset.

"this one", as a phrase, actually has deep and nuanced historical, cultural, and linguistic lore. because this is the elder scrolls.

as far as personal pronouns, zerith-var and the characters in his flashback stories only use I/me to refer to themselves. one could simply assume that language usage changes over time (khajiit in the 4th era in skyrim, don't really use it, for example). but, this being the elder scrolls, of course this (ultimately extremely minor) lore discrepancy is explained: zerith says “this one” is a more accurate translation for the way the personal pronoun (I/me) is used in the modern day, but it’s completely absent in his time. he doesn’t like “this one” at all: he observes that while ta’agra and cyrodiilic have mixed significantly over time, in his era, they were ‘mere acquaintances.’

so, it's an effect of khajiit mixing more with the rest of tamriel after a few decent centuries without a major war or catastrophic plague, but it's also more than that. languages are frameworks that both inform and convey the speaker's cultural perspective, and using "this one" reflects a desire to express something that "I/me" does not. in terms of how the word is used grammatically, the translation of “ahziss”, the ta'agra personal pronoun, is most accurately “I/me/my." but the literal meaning of "ahziss" is more accurately "this one" or "one person [of a group]" (although canon vs fanon is murky here). so, implicit in the ta'agra personal pronoun is the fact that the speaker is part of a whole—ie, they are saying me, this particular member of the group (the khajiiti people), or this particular khajiit (me). i imagine this is why some khajiit use "khajiit" as a personal pronoun; that also seems like a pretty reasonable approximation of what it sounds like "ahziss" means. this being the elder scrolls, khajiiti mythology also reflects this concept of the individual always being a part of the whole through the lunar lattice—you can see why it might be important to someone to convey something like that in their speech, when referring to themselves.

if this were not the elder scrolls, the lore related to this phrase might end at grammar and history (or well before that), but we are playing a game franchise whose name itself references the truly absurd amount of lore it has. so obviously we must consider the modern usage of the term, in order to really round out the lore about 'this one.'

nobles, like Khamira and Gharesh-ri, tend to speak with a distinct upper-class accent, and exclusively refer to themselves as I/me. The same is true of many scholars, mages, and wealthy people. this seems to suggest that well-educated, wealthy, and cultured khajiit are speaking a more "proper" tamrielic. southern elsweyr is more cosmopolitan (at least the parts that remain, which are largely cities), and people from the south tend to consider themselves more worldly and refined than their northern counterparts. accordingly, this 'upper class' and 'more tamrielic' manner of speech seems associated with a southern accent. this is consistent enough in the game that you can hear the torval curiata in zerith-var’s quests speaking with a southern accent, but using ‘this one’, and it’s kind of jarring.

currently elsweyr has been devastated by the knahaten flu, but historically the south was a wealthy, multicultural coastal trading economy (plus skooma and elegantly organized crime). the north has always been largely badlands inhabited only by baandari nomads, with a more modest agrarian trading economy in the two (formerly three) cities in the north, which are constantly invaded by cyrodiil over the centuries, and cut off from the rest of elsweyr by a massive canyon (and now also a condemned city). so (sorry to any non-americans but i can only make analogies referencing places i know), the north is like if vermont was an ancient desert with dragons in it, while the south is like if bethesda maryland was a post-apocalyptic jungle w/ dragons in it.

soo lower-class, rural, and less-educated khajiit, as well as khajiit from the northernmost part of elsweyr, seem more likely to use 'this one', and there's a lot of overlap in those groups. it's just part of the way people talk-- many people seem to use 'this one'/'I'/their name to convey shades of meaning. using "this one" or your name both require consequently referring to yourself in the third person, which has a much different vibe than referring to yourself in the first person. using your full name, or your name plus your title, or your nickname, or "this one" all have different vibes, and say different things about how you would like to define yourself in that moment. different people mean different things with their choices, but your choice can convey levels of intimacy, public vs private speech, formal or informal, etc.; it's all about feeling and personal preference.

razum-dar is probably the khajiit you talk to the most, and he is interesting to pay attention to--he is as calculating in his use of language as he is with everything else. to the player and to queen ayrenn, he mostly calls himself "raz" (suggesting that's what he uses with people he considers friends), and he usually only uses "I/me" when he is expressing a genuine emotion--ie, almost never. he uses "this one" to humble and formalize his speech when speaking to nobility or in an official capacity, but he also defaults to it when he's in the field. he is impressively cultured, well-read, and politically savvy, but he keeps those "this one"s generous when talking to others, especially high elves. being from merryvale, he has a fairly obvious northern accent, so he is happy to play the part of the lazy redneck sleaze he knows people will presume him to be--he counts on people underestimating his intelligence, and uses it to his advantage.

when the elder scrolls is great, it's because they don't shy away from depicting eg racism, they make their racism function accurately within the culture they have created, and the in-universe racism is fully baked right into "this one".

the cyrodiilic perspective is the in-universe cultural norm in tamriel, and the cyrodillic idea of what a khajiit is like would be informed by the khajiit they would most often interact (and racism). that would be farmers from rimmen and riverhold at a grain market, or baandari traders, who talk and act even more Like That and are even more ~exotic. so, it makes sense that an exaggerated northern accent with copious "this one"s is often used as a sign that someone is being lazy, dishonest, false, or patronizing. think of Pacrooti and Fezez; both have the obsequious khajiiti huckster manner of speaking, underscored by every over-the-top khajiiti idiom in the wiki. They never say "I" or "me", which means they are always referring to themselves in the third person, which in English implies deception. it tacitly admits you are using a persona with some separation from yourself and a good amount of falseness, especially if you let slip that you understand the concept of "I" well enough to insincerely call a stranger to whom you are trying to sell something "my friend." (Fezez even uses "khajiit" as a personal pronoun, which is part of the persona in his case, but also people still do talk that way a sometimes--it seems to be old-fashioned; mostly used by elderly folks, baandari, and people in truly remote backwaters.)

i feel like you can see what zerith var disliked about 'this one'. like, even setting aside the fact that as a person, he cannot comprehend a definition of 'I' that does not already contain within it the concept of the lunar lattice (which is azurah's love, which connects all khajiit to one another, even the ones whose souls were thought beyond saving.) like you can see where that alone would be incomprehensible to his understanding of his own existence. but even aside from that.

he is observing how people treat each other in this time, both good and bad. so he must see the ways khajiit experience racism, and how that racism differs from place to place. his life was such that he never even had to consider the unthinkable question of how to convey what 'I' means to you, let alone how to convey that in a language you now must speak for your own survival. like how do you explain 'when I am talking about myself, I mean me, this person who is honored to be part of an eternal whole, and so completely humbled to be a link in that lattice that they must speak of themself in the third person.' and like, my mans understands how they got there, but he also sees it getting mocked and associated with all the negative stereotypes of modern-day khajiit. which he also cannot help but see reflected in the actions of khajiit, both because he is now experiencing a multicultural society for the first time ever and thus seeing khajiit through an observer's eyes for the first time, and because you totally actually do meet plenty of khajiit who lean into that persona, in fact most khajiit in any type of merchant or service role, anyone who is trying to sell you something, throw some of it into their personality.

and now despite the fact that he is a two thousand year old monk with the power to resurrect the damned in order to offer them true peace, and he has been here for like twenty minutes, he's already felt the weight of 2000 years of history and 2000 years of racism by having to contend with the existence of that phrase. i get why he's like 'nah not for me'

anyway surely this is a normal amount of things to know and ways to feel about a simple phrase in a fictional language!

[quirkwizard]

Final Note: A Look at the True Ending of My Hero Academia

Wow, Hori. Way to ruin my heartfelt review of the final few chapters of your series. It was very inconsiderate of you to put this out.

Okay, but seriously, I was not expecting this to happen. When I had heard that Volume 42 was going to have a lot of new pages added, I thought there were just going to be more extras. Stuff like little notes and character profiles. Imagine my shock when we get a whole additional chapter for the proper finale of the series.

I am only writing about one chapter here. In spite of the fact this is ending the series, there's only so much I can cover here. So this is going to be a lot shorter than some of my other mega posts. More notes and a few longer tangents then the bigger analysis I had written about on the final arc and the epilogue.

And yes, I am using the fan translations here. Normally, I'd wait for some official translation to come out, but going by what people have said, these translations are pretty close to what's going on in the manga. Plus, the last volume isn't likely to come out until October and there is no way I am waiting that long to talk about this.

Duds and Duds: The Final Stitch-Part 2

Let's get something simple out of the way first: new looks.

-Nejire got one of the more improved looks. The spiral gauntlets and leggings are simple additions, but really add a lot to her look.

-I guess Present Mic's hair works like a tree. It grows as he ages and if you cut it, you can tell how old he's gotten by the rings.

-Best Jeanist, how did you get a hair cut that somehow even made you look like even more of a complete fop? And why the laces? Why do the jeans have laces in them?

-I'm mixed on Mirio's new look. The ones on his legs are kind of silly, but very fitting for him. I also miss the visor he had on as well. However, I cannot accept the pompadour as a part of his appearance. I'm sorry, but it just looks silly.

-Kamui Wood's new look is simple, but amazing. The narrower eyes look more menacing, the branches around his mask forming a makeshift crown, the wreath of leaves around his head to give him this regal look. It's great, no notes.

-The Ketsubutsu Schools kids got some minor touch-ups to help them stick out more, such as Shikkui's more rap artist-inspired look and Tatami's arm sleeves. It just makes them look less generic. Yo Shindo caught me off guard though. Maybe it's the cow-lick or hair dye, but he looks like an entirely new character. Like I swear his face changed shape too.

-I think Tamaki just won me over. No joke, he actually may have gotten one of my favorite looks. The all-black look with the hood gives this monstrous appearance. The teeth on the hood is not only amazing appearance, but a really cool reference to how his power works around eating. The little bendy straw on his costume is amazing as well. It's both a cute detail and a practical part of the costume.

-Juzo, Setsuna, and Kendo didn't have much going. Maybe a few minor design choice changes that don't hurt anything. Same with Tetsutetsu, but I really like his sharper hair and larger eye accents. Just something about them made him pop out more. I like Manga's drawing tablet as his chestpiece. It's a really cute design for his character.

-Seiji looks even cooler now with his sharper features. Inasa is more of a sidegrade. The Slimy Shadey hair is really odd, but I do like the goggles to help fit in with his steampunk look. Camie I'm the most confused about. Why does she have feathers in her cap? Is that a reference I'm not getting? Maybe to a superhero or mythological figure?

-Monoma has the worst design out of anyone here. I don't even know where to begin with him. The clock earrings are dumb and just seem like they'd get in the way. His gloves are actively keeping him from using his Quirk. And do I even need to say anything about this hair cut? I can't believe Hori turned Monoma into an e-boy.

-Fat Gum is a bit of a downgrade for me. The all-black look doesn't suit his more welcoming brand and personality. Plus, the "M" and "G" in the middle of the "F" already present on his chest just look really out of place. I just think it worked better with the "F" and "G" on his old costume. They just fit a lot more seamlessly into his overall look and helped break up all the yellow with some white.

Meet Up/Catch Up

Now to talk about certain changes to Class 1-A. Yes, I'm dedicating another list segment to this. I have a lot of thoughts on it

-Wow, I really don't like Sero's peach fuz mustache. It looked bad in the helmet, and it's even worse now. It just looks so wrong on him.

-I despise Iida's half buzz, though I will admit that's more than everything ruining that hair cut over the past seven years.

-Nighthide is such a terrible hero's name. I'm not sure if that's just bad translation, a lack of creativity, so simply an in character choice for Shinso to be bad at naming stuff. Just like his mentor.

-Kirishima threatening to scratch the hood of Bakugou's car is one of my favorite jokes in the series. I know it's only part of the fan translation, but I'm going to be disappointed if it isn't in the official one.

-I like how Hori basically had Denki and Jiro look into the camera and confirm they are not dating. Right after confirming two characters getting together that nobody cared about but him. 

-I have once again been vindicated by canon. Iida is in fact faster than Bakugou. The manga out-and-out said it. All the power scalers out there can turn on your badge and calculators.

-Hey, look at that, a billboard with Izuku's face on it. It's almost as if he hasn't forgotten about it over the last couple of years. Maybe Hori wanted to make it extra obvious for some of the fans.

-I appreciate how not everyone is a pro hero by the end and some of them are still sidekicks. Any other author would have had it, so all the students are pros with their own agencies, but it's realistic not every one of them would have the want or ability to become a proper pro. I'm honestly surprised which ones are and aren't though.

-I'm kind of amazed that my guess of the rankings of the heroes ended up being so spot on. Pretty much all of them ended up in the brackets. I would have guessed where they were. Even some of the reasoning was spot on, like Bakugou's terrible people skills still getting in his own way a lot of the time. The dark horse of all this was certainly Shoji. I assumed that he would have fallen in the rankings due to spending so much time trying to deal with the heteromorph situation, but I guess that ended up helping him in the long run.

Missing Invites

So one complaint I've heard about this ending is how focused it is on Class 1-A and especially Uraraka and Izuku. Which I can kind of get. It's just that, as the final chapter in this entire story, it carries a lot more finality to it. So, if some character isn't given any attention, chances are they are never going to get it. I can understand the desire to see other characters. Like I wanted to at least get a look at how All Might and Endeavor were doing. Even if it's only one panel, it would have been nice how things were for them eight years on.

However, I do think that misses the point of this chapter. Because a lot of this chapter is around to act as an epilogue to the main cast of the series and to show us the future that they were and are still fighting for. As well as to tie up Izuku and Uraraka's arcs and to affirm what the story is about and what messages are. Anything that isn't focused on that feels more like a nice bonus rather than something integral we needed to see, such as getting to see the Big Three as heroes. A lot of the characters and their arcs were wrapped up already. As nice as it would be to see where they ended up, you don't really need to.

Ships Docked

Look, I'm glad there weren't a lot of ships got together within the final act. If we're being honest, a lot of the ships that people love didn't have a strong foundation in canon. So I didn't really want or expect an "And then everyone paired off and had a kid" ending that people were wishing for or dreading would come to pass. Considering that there hasn't been much in the way of personal relationships for more than 1-A as a whole, instead of pushing 1-A more as a larger unit of people that help and support one another rather than focusing on individual pairs, it would have been very jarring.

That being said, it's hilarious how, in a fanbase as famous for shipping as this one, there are only three canon pairings at the end of the series. Maybe four depending on how you interpret Gentle and La Brava's ending. And two of them were for ships nobody cared about. There was Shindo and Tamati, a pair that you'd only know was a couple from the databooks. Then there was Kuroiro and Komori, a connection that only had the faintest of set up in the databooks, a brief exchange during the Joint Training Arc, before being pushed front and center in the very last chapter. And of course, there was... we'll get to that, trust me.

Ghosts of Shipping Past

So you're telling me that Izuku got pushed to Uraraka by Bakugou and Toga pushed Uraraka to Izuku? Bakugou and Toga, who are the most popular pairs for Izuku and Uraraka respectively, are literally pushing Izuku and Uraraka together. And that's what ends up making them confess to each other. If I didn't know any better, I would say this is a Supernatural finale level of spite on Hori's part. That he got so tired of people harassing him and his staff about shipping and had this part sketched out to specifically make people upset about it. 

And if Uraraka is seeing Himiko and Izuku is seeing Tomura, does that mean that they are both being haunted by them? Fanfic writers, this is a golden opportunity here to make a comedy fic. A newly minted hero couple try to live their lives while being haunted by the ghost of their archenemies. What, is Himiko going to be cheering Uraraka on about getting together with Izuku and that she should take him right now? Meanwhile, Tomura's haunting Izuku about how he should grind out another level in League of Legends before doing anything else?

Odds are LeMillion to One

I'm still pretty mixed about Mirio becoming the Number One hero. I guess it feels like such a big deal to get the top spot only to have it fall to Mirio. And I'm not saying that to slam Mirio. I do like Mirio. Mirio is one of the most heroic figures to come out of UA, if not the whole series. It's just odd to me because Mirio feels like such an afterthought. Outside the Yakuza Arc, he hasn't had much going on with him, let alone an arc where it feels like a proper conclusion. I suppose it's to show the change in things. How the greatest hero in Japan isn't this invincible pillar, but this jokey guy that can hang out with kids and make a fool of himself.

I guess that has less to do with where Mirio ended up and more about how little presence he had in the story. Looking back, I do think that Mirio's presence and momentum were put to a grinding halt because he lost his Quirk. That Horikoshi just wasn't sure what to do with him once the Yakuza arc was done. Because when I try to map out Mirio's character and his arc, I struggle to understand where it was going and how it ended up here. He's introduced as the guy who seems like the best "One For All" candidate on paper. Then it's shifted to being more about carrying on Sir Nighteye's successor. I know I'm getting way off-topic here. It's just been something that's been on my mind ever since I read the chapter.

Temperate

Shoto is great in this chapter. I've always stood by the idea that part of Shoto's arc in the series is about him trying to define himself as a person. Away from all his family and the baggage that came with it. From trying to accept his power as his own to riding himself over the demons of his father to finally being able to be his own person. Saying that he just wants to do something because he wants to do it. It's also a good contrast to how Enji was. Instead of obsessing over the same thing that destroyed his family, once Shoto got as high as he felt he could go, he instead turned to something new that he wanted to try. For no other reason than he simply liked soba and thought it would taste better with something he made. 

I also really like how they tie this into the idea of heroes having more free time and becoming less and less needed. That now heroes have chances to take care of themselves, stop worrying about everyone else, and have lives outside their work. Again, that's something I feel like didn't ring as true with only Chapter 430 as context. We never got to see anyone besides Izuku working in that chapter. And since he was a teacher and not a pro hero, it didn't feel like what Hawks did came to pass outside of maybe a few lines. So I'm glad it got some focus on Shoto and his own arc. I think it's a excellent note to end his character on. I'm glad that it was more overtly finished as opposed to the single panel we got for it in Chapter 430.

Blast Back

So, after all that, what do I think about Bakugou's ending? I think it's an effective bittersweet ending to his character. He reminds me a lot of veterans after a war. And I'm not just saying that because he was in two wars for his life, both of which he technically died in, though that is part of that. It's more about the mindset and character of Bakugou. He's a man who defines himself by his ability to fight and win. Now the world is coming to the point where those aren't as valued, and he lashes out because of it. He tries to find that drive in other people like his sidekicks, but none of them have it anymore. He tries to reignite that rivalry with Izuku, only to find that he's moving on with his own life. 

It's like a natural expansion of his failure to move past his mindset earlier on in the series and how obsessed he was with being the best, only now it's twenty times more depressing. It's an interesting way to end his character. Bakugou got what he wanted, but realizes how little any of it really means. Which isn't to say it's a sad ending. Bakugou was able to complete his arc and come out the other side a better person. That is a more worthwhile reward than any kind of ranking. However, I do think there is some hope for Bakugou. Considering how much of the chapter is about people trying to live their lives outside of being a hero, I prefer to think that he would eventually do the same.

Weightless Burden

Out of all the characters, Uraraka needed this chapter the most and easily benefits the most from the extra focus. There's just a lot about her character that felt unfinished otherwise. Like with a lot of stuff, it does help that we get to see Uraraka in action and helping people with their Quirks. It helps clear the air about what exactly Quirk Counseling is and how it's going to affect people from now on. That what Uraraka said wasn't just hot air, and she did help people. And that, yes, what the League did and went through was important. It helped push people to make changes later to keep something like this from ever happening again.

More importantly, we get to see her dealing with her emotions. I feel like an underrated part of Ochako's arc was her being more honest about her feelings. We got a lot of her trying to understand people and the importance of reaching out with Toga. And without that part of her arc completed, it seemed like a part of her story was left unfinished. I like how it gets so much focus in this chapter, with Uraraka basically being literally haunted by her feelings, both metaphorically and literally. All in all, I like how Uraraka was handled in the final chapter, and I think this is a good end for her. If only there wasn't something that overshadowed her entire storyline in the eyes of the fans.

Within Reach

I feel so vindicated by this whole chapter. Besides all the claims people made about Izuku being disproved, it retroactively makes Chapter 430 better. I was always fine with Izuku being a teacher. I felt it was a very natural place for his character to end up in hindsight. It's something he has the skill to do, especially in a place like UA with his observational skills and hero knowledge. However, it can still feel jarring with just Chapter 430. Izuku's dream was to be the world's greatest hero. He did achieve that, but it was never mentioned that he wanted to be a teacher. Having Izuku say that was what he wanted and enjoys doing is very important. It helps add a lot of validity to this writing choice and shows how much Izuku has grown into wanting things outside of hero work.

More importantly, I feel like this works much better as a finale for him. While Izuku working with Dai about his Quirk did work as showing Izuku's change in mindset, I don't think it was as satisfying of an ending. It worked to tie up some of the thematic ends to the story and Izuku, but it did not work as well for an emotional climax. Because Dai was just some nobody we hadn't met before. Now, we get a lot more proper closure with Izuku and the rest of the cast. We got his final moments with All Might and Aizawa, but not much else. Now we finally get closure with all of his classmates, Bakugou and Uraraka included. And it gives us time to show him enjoying stuff outside of hero work instead of just being told about it.

Car Bomb

Alright, let's disarm this first bomb. The car ride.

Speaking of growth, it is not out of character for Izuku to reject Bakugou's offer. It has been over a decade since Izuku has been in middle school. He has grown a lot over the year the story takes place in. Shoot, he's probably grown a lot more since then as well. My point is, this is not the same Izuku at the start of the series. He would not freak out over signed All Might merchandise. Izuku and All Might have been friends for a decade. He would not jump at the chance to work under Bakugou as a sidekick or with him as an equal. Izuku does and should have a life outside of Bakugou. Izuku does not owe Bakugou anything for helping to make him a suit. It was a group effort with Toshinori and the rest of Class 1-A, and I really doubt Bakugou would even want Izuku to join just because Izuku "owed him one".

I bring this up after talking to Izuku and Bakugou on their own because both are important parts of why this section of the story was done this way. Izuku out and out said that he wants to be a teacher over a pro hero. Being a hero is important to him. It lets him spend more time with his friends, and he gets to help people, but it doesn't define his life any more. He's doing what he wants now. He doesn't have that self-destructive heroism as a part of him anymore. His wanting and choosing to be a teacher is part of that healthy selfishness I was talking about before. I honestly think that him working with Bakugou would undermine that part of the ending. That he'd go back into hero work full time and have it take over his life rather than focusing everything on teaching. Shoot, it even ends with Bakugou telling Izuku to think more for himself.

And I think a lot of this comes down to people overestimating Izuku and Bakugou's connection and its relevance to the overall story and underestimating their own growth. Bakugou is Izuku's rival, and they play a part in each other's story, but their rivalry is of minor note to the greater story. This isn't like Naruto and Sasuke, where the two main rivals are of vital importance to one another's storylines. It's more like Ichigo and Yuru, where the rivalries are far less prominent and only occasionally cross over. It was more that Bakugou's own arc was heavily tied to Izuku, but Bakugou's arc was only part of what was going on in his own story. Specifically, the part of Izuku training to be a hero and how they both learn from one another. However, that part of it is done because Izuku found a life for himself outside of hero work, leaving not as much for Bakugou. Which is why I think the ending seems sad for Bakugou, even though I'd describe it as more bittersweet.

Holding Hands? How Scandalous!

All of this chapter aside, let's get into the real meat of this and defuse the second bomb. There were a lot of fans that were upset about this. Let's remove the good chunk that were simply upset their ship didn't become canon and focus on some real issues people have with this.

No, this isn't a fake-out. This wasn't made by Hori's assistants, generated by AI, or whatever other piece of cope you've heard online. This did happen, it is canon, and it is romantic. And yes, them holding hands is supposed to be romantic. Not only would it be out of character for these flustered nerds to do anything more implicitly romantic, but them holding hands ties a lot more into their characters. Them grabbing each other's hands is an integral part of their connection and growth. It's to show the two are connected and understanding one another. It ties back to the idea of reaching out being about understanding someone and part of why the two do it so much together. By them clasping hands at the end, it's to show the bond the two have made and how close they are now.

No, Uraraka getting with Izuku is not something that was forced into the story, nor was it something that came out of nowhere. Uraraka's feelings for Izuku have been set up ever since she was introduced. It started out as a crush but was slowly reinforced and built up between the two's appearances, both apart and together. Having her get with Izuku ends part of her arc as well. One of the biggest points of Uraraka's story is how bad it is to repress your feelings and not be emotionally open with the people around you. This is contrasted by Toga, someone who was hurt by that same repression, yet now was totally honest with her feelings. It's why Uraraka said that she admired Toga as a person for that honesty. Shoot, it's why Ochako confesses her feelings for Izuku in that fight. Something people seem to be forgetting. Uraraka pushing down her feelings wasn't the end of that plotline, it was merely another plot point in her story that culminated in this confession.

No, this doesn't devalue or reorient Toga's story to be about the two of them. Toga has always played a major role in the romantic connection between Izuku and Uraraka at various points in the story. There's a reason why Izuku keeps getting brought up whenever Uraraka and Toga fight each other. However, that was only a part of her character. Toga's story was all about trying to be understood for who she was and trying to find happiness in her life. She got that when Uraraka was willing to bleed and die just to try and reach out to her. And Toga's story was over when she died and saved Uraraka's life, living life as she chose to till the very end. Izuku and Uraraka getting together does not ruin that. Her usage here is more about her manifesting due to Uraraka's unresolved emotions. It's why Toga only shows up when Izuku becomes more active in her life. Again, it goes back to that whole thing about Uraraka admiring Toga for being so open about her feelings.

No, the fact that Uraraka ends up with Izuku does not devalue her character in any way, shape, or form. Her getting with Izuku is part of her story, but that's it: part of her story. She can still be her own person with her own life outside of Izuku while being in a happy relationship with him. They aren't mutually exclusive. Uraraka has this whole other arc she goes through with Toga that is integral to each character and the story overall. For the past eight years, Uraraka was and still is a pro heroine who helped countless people with the expanded Quirk Counseling program. That part was well established before the relationship was resolved. Because that's just as important to her story and character as the romance with Izuku. That doesn't go away because she updated her status to "In a Relationship". It doesn't automatically reduce her to a housewife. I'm sick of people saying this, and it's a frankly disgusting way to look at her character.

Epilogue to the Epilogue

So what do I feel about this ending? It was nice, and I am glad that we got it. I am someone who defended the original ending and have only come to appreciate it more as time has gone on. That being said, it did leave me with this feeling of incompleteness. Like the overall picture was there, but there were fragments of it missing. And in those fragments, people started filling holes with their garbage ideas. I do think that Chapter 431 filled out some much-needed holes within the first finale and ends the series on a good note.

Heck, Hori was able to fix and cover a lot of the problems I had with Chapter 430. The fact that Izuku wanted to be a teacher seemingly coming out of nowhere? Settled and expanded upon that he always wanted to be a hero as well as a teacher. The lack of any real final moments between Izuku and Bakugou? That was settled pretty well with the two of them in the car. The lack of resolution regarding Izuku and Uraraka? One of the main focal points of this chapter and what we ultimately end the series on. It feels more complete, if that makes any sense. And I'm glad Hori got this opportunity. Few authors ever get the chance to make a recovery like this, and fewer still are able to pull it off.

I will say that now I'm less worried than I was before. When I ended my review of the final few chapters, I talked about how much the general perception of the series would have been tainted by the ending. I feel like most fans are a lot more agreeable with this than they were on Chapter 430. I still stand by the fact that it was ruined by leakers and the general anti-hype tainting any discussion people could have about it. And it wouldn't have stung so if all of the obnoxious memes and straight-up lies surrounding the ending weren't out there.

Will My Hero Academia live on? Oh, I'm sure it will somehow. Maybe Shonen Jump will force the hand of one of their many mangaka into making a sequel series. Maybe it will live on through merchandise sales, spin-off light novels, and however many movies they decide to make about it. I know for certain it will live on. In us. Countless characters, stories, and art pieces that we all made because of it.

I started this series right around the same age as Izuku. Some young kid who was quiet, socially awkward, and obsessed with superheroes, knowing all sorts of trivia about them. So naturally, I was drawn to series where the protagonist was literally me. Yet what kept me was the story, the worldbuilding, the characters, the art, and, of course, the power system. But the thing that resonated with me more than anything was the message: anyone can be a hero as long as you choose to be one. Now that the series is over, here I am again. At a similar age to Izuku. I wonder if I've grown as much as he has. All I know is that My Hero Academia will always have a special place in my heart.

Sure, there were ups and downs throughout the story. Yet, in a strange way, I appreciate that as well. This story helped me a lot when it came to my critical thinking with the media I interacted with. It made me think about and reconsider what I was watching and reading over and over again. It helped me overcome my gut reactions to events and how those reactions would stick with me. It helped me think more and more about the actual message and meaning of it. Not what I thought the story was saying, but what the story was trying to tell me. It made me reconsider parts I despised and helped me appreciate what I enjoyed so much about this story.

Most of all, it inspired me to create this blog and to meet all of you. It filled me with so much creative passion that I couldn't help but share it with all of you. Was it hard? At times. But there was always the feeling that what I did inspired and helped the people see the series in a new light. I've had so many people talk about how much they love my blog, how they are excited to see me post, and how much they want to use my Quirks for their stories and characters. I've even had people say to me that what I did helped them think about stuff critically, and they were inspired to make their own stories all because of what I did. That means so much to me. More than you could ever imagine.

And now it's over. I'm left to wonder what I will do with myself and this blog now that it's done. I suppose I'll have to figure that out soon enough.

[yuseirra]

Analysis on Kamiki

Organized further notes on the Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko myth

Happy new year! I brought something new(yet again) on this guy... as first thing of the year, wow. Something about him really bugs me I guess. But I came up with something that can explain what he is and I've been expressing a lot about that. I have to understand what the subject is before I could build something upon it and create fanwork so, please take these as a struggle to do it o<-<

From what I've concluded, he's a character that definitely cannot be understood fully without understanding Japanese mythology. It's been fun doing some research about it and since I'm not an expert and it's all self-conducted, I can be off, but I think I've done all right. I've done cross-checks and looked into multiple resources, official documents, and websites so; I did a lot; to make sense of something that doesn't seem to.

well, here goes!: If you like the character or seek a better understanding of him, I think this may help!

Doesn't it feel like something about how things unfold around Kamiki is deeply unusual?

The people who make his life difficult—or maybe it's more accurate to say those who hurt him—seem to either die or end up miserable. But it’s unclear whether this is something within Kamiki’s control or if it happens regardless of his intent. There’s no clear cause-and-effect relationship. Moreover, people around him, including the protagonist, seem to become extreme in their behavior. Even Nino didn’t seem to be in her right mind—almost as though she were possessed. She doesn't seem sane.

Kamiki himself, however, behaves relatively normally: he warns Yura to watch her step, urges Nino to turn herself in, asks Ryosuke to deliver flowers, cries to Uehara about what happened to him, and tells Aqua to go back and live a normal life. But the outcomes of these actions spiral into bizarre consequences: Yura dies, Nino tries to stab Ruby, Ryosuke harms Ai, Uehara ends up in a murder-suicide with his wife, and Aqua decides to drown Kamiki along with himself, culminating in that tragic ending.

To me, the only person who seemed relatively unaffected while staying by Kamiki's side was Ai. The two of them appeared genuinely happy together, which might explain why Kamiki struggles to let go of her. Maybe it’s because he was truly happy during that time. When Ai was with him, he believed he could overcome anything. But even their relationship took an unexpected turn when the twins were conceived, and they eventually separated.

Sarutahiko, the husband of Ame-no-Uzume (the goddess of entertainment), is described as “a god who guides everything toward goodness.” This is how a shrine dedicated to the two deities refers to him. When I read that, I felt like there was something significant about it.

If such a god operates this way, wouldn’t it stand to reason that if the god fell into corruption or was broken, they’d become the opposite—a god who guides everything toward evil?

Something about Kamiki is genuinely strange. Can his actions be interpreted as intentional? If so, when did it start? From what point?; Yet, it seems like he possesses some kind of ability to guide or lead others in a particular direction—without physically doing anything himself. This would explain why he can claim, “I didn’t do anything.”

From the songs, it seems Kamiki didn’t realize he's capable of doing this before Ai’s death. There are two songs about wanting to meet or revive the dead. In “Mephisto,” the narrator claims to have forgotten who they are, and I think this narrator is Kamiki. This isn’t Aqua, as Aqua knows exactly who he is—a reincarnated person—and struggles to live as just Aqua the boy. On the other hand, Kamiki seems to have been something else without realizing it until later.

Both “Fatal” and “Mephisto” appear to be Kamiki’s songs. They likely symbolize Kamiki’s realization that he is Sarutahiko, the god of light and guidance, and that Ai was once his partner when he was in his divine form. The lyrics suggest he’ll do whatever it takes to bring Ai back, even sacrificing his own life. This aligns with Kamiki’s lines and motivations, which differ from Aqua, who expresses a desire to live.

As for Kamiki’s claim about sending flowers, I don’t think he was lying. The events in chapter 154 were too strange, leading me to suspect from the beginning that his intention was simply to send flowers and that things spiraled out of control from there. Chapter 160 confirms this idea—the explanation aligns well with his character and prior context. When considering Kamiki, Nino, and Ryosuke’s mutual acquaintance, it makes no sense for Kamiki to ask Ryosuke to threaten Ai. He's the boyfriend of a member of her idol group, who is also a fan of Ai. Why choose someone with that sort of connection to go and attack Ai? Could he have suspected such a thing? Instead, I believe Kamiki trusted Ryosuke enough to make such a request, after having befriended him for a few years, expecting him to deliver the flowers as intended.

Kamiki’s innate nature seems to be gentle and kind, but excessively naive. He tends to believe others’ words at face value, struggles to discern good from evil, and harbors a desire to do what’s “right” or “approved by others.” However, due to the lack of proper guidance, his judgment is severely flawed. Ai seemed to recognize this and often acted as his advocate, standing up for him.

Statements like “Carry the burden of the dead” and “You are empty, so no one will ever love you” were internalized by Kamiki without question. His problem isn’t malice—it’s excessive naivety and emptiness, combined with a tendency to trust others too readily. When things go wrong, he blames himself and spirals into self-punishment.

To me, it seems that he truly blamed himself for the issues he caused when he parted ways with Ai and tortured himself over it. Afterward, due to his timid nature, it makes sense that he only tried to send flowers. That’s the most natural progression, given his personality, which is why I can’t believe that he ever intended to harm Ai.

If he really is the incarnation of the god who was the husband of Ame-no-Uzume, then he is the god of guiding paths and should be a god who leads others, right? He’s supposed to push people toward good decisions or guide them to a “better future.”

However, the environment he grew up in wasn’t good, so he probably didn’t know what the “right path” was. That’s where the confusion started. This is why Ai’s request regarding him strikes significant: if Kamiki ever lost his way, she wanted him to find it together with her and her kids. Ai had, to some extent, played the role of his guide, as there were no proper adults around Kamiki. But Ai also had a lot on her plate to handle, and she ultimately judged that it would be better to leave him to reduce his burden, so she parted ways. In the end, Kamiki—still lost and unable to recover as a god of guidance who had lost his way—spiraled after Uehara’s death and fell into despair, becoming corrupted and unable to recover. From that point on, it seems that he started to twist the fates of those around him.

I think much of this happened as a passive. His small actions seem to have caused butterfly effects, continuously leading everything in unhappy, extreme, and strange directions. People who got involved with him ended up becoming unfortunate. That's because he's the god of guidance that deals with people's futures, but is severely flawed.

He likely didn’t realize until Ai’s death what kind of power he had, but at some point afterward, he became aware and probably started using the “black star” consciously. The charisma to sway others or the ability to deceive them may be an expression of the power of Sarutahiko, the god he incarnates. It seems he shared that power with his children. The ability to influence others aligns strongly with the god’s ability to lead people’s futures. The power of love represented by the “white star” comes from Ai. The god who loves humans unconditionally is Ame-no-Uzume—Ai—and the god who loves absurdity and irrationality is Sarutahiko—Kamiki.

Tsukuyomi says the entertainment world isn’t her domain, and in Shinto, the gods of entertainment are the couple Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko. The Aratate Shrine that appears in the story worships these two gods together, granting wishes. Kamiki talks about wishes several times, and that’s because he’s been fulfilling them himself. But as I said earlier, because he’s not in a good state, it’s like a monkey’s paw—people get what they wish for, but in a twisted way.

It must be true that he has paternal love. He was likely helping his children in his own way, but his self-loathing and guilt over Ai’s death kept him from stepping forward to meet them. In the end, doesn’t he go to see them? That’s probably because his goal was nearly achieved, and he planned to die soon. Before that, he might’ve wanted to grant each of the twins their wishes once. That's what he does when he meets them, he mentions wishes and bids them luck. Why else would he have gone to see them? He didn’t have to. And yet, he encouraged them. He was kind, wasn’t he? Did he try to kill Ruby? I don’t know... omg. Well, about that, he neither confirmed nor denied it. Apart from that eerie smile from hell, maybe he considered it, but in the end, he didn’t do it, right?

As for whether he used his ability to manipulate Nino to try into harming Ruby (but then, would he have calmly watched her performance?? That doesn’t make sense. If he had intended to harm Ruby in such a way, he wouldn’t have watched her performance so intently. He would’ve thought something went wrong and executed a backup plan or something. And would he have told Aqua to continue watching Ruby’s idol journey if he planned to kill her??); or if he genuinely meant it when he told Nino that they should stop and was sincerely planning to die or turn himself in, only for his powers to unintentionally cause something similar to what happened to Ai... I actually think it’s the latter. Logically, the latter aligns more with his previous statements and actions.

Seeing this situation unfold, Aqua likely concluded that no matter Kamiki’s intentions, the only way to protect “Ruby’s future” was to eliminate him quickly. That’s why Aqua made such an extreme choice.

Kamiki seems to be a kind of calamity just by being alive. He has the ability to influence the future, but it seems to push people in an unfavorable direction. In Mephisto, it felt like he wasn’t aware of this aspect of himself, but by Fatal, with all the talk of "corruption" and "stars," it seems he had become conscious of it. Comparing the two songs (Mephisto → Fatal), you can see how the emotional tone grows increasingly extreme and unhinged. Both songs express genuine sadness and longing, but the way those feelings are enveloped shifts. By Fatal, it’s as if he’s reached a point where he can’t see anything clearly anymore.

From that point—or possibly earlier—it seems like Kamiki became the kind of person who could commit countless transgressions just to see Ai again, using his abilities while minimizing his own accountability. That’s likely why Aqua calls him selfish and despicable: because his actions stem from his desire to see Ai. Kamiki himself acknowledges his sins, so this interpretation seems accurate.

But if he does possess this ability, it’s hard to tell how much of the outcomes fall within the scope of his intentions. It doesn’t seem like he wants to kill people—it feels more like an unintended consequence. For instance, the deaths of others don’t seem to be something he wished for, as he continually blames himself, saying, "It’s my fault, it’s my fault." It seems like the process goes: he wants to feel closer to Ai → he retrieves the light (star) associated with Ai → those who possess that light end up dying. This chain of events is likely why these tragedies keep happening, and why he has to pay the price for his actions.

Is he evil? If you look at the results, he certainly appears extremely so. But if we’re talking about his nature… it feels like his state deteriorated to the point where, had someone helped him regain clarity, this outcome might have been avoided. And the only person in the world who could have helped him was Ai. That’s why he continues to search for her.

If Kamiki really is a god, Ai would indeed be his one and only precious partner. They were originally meant to function together. Even if we leave that aside, it doesn’t seem like there was anyone else who treated him properly. That’s why he longs for Ai.

Looking at his interactions with Aqua, it seems that what happened between Kamiki and Aqua was the result of Kamiki interpreting Aqua’s wish and making it come true. Aqua wished to take revenge on him, and as a result, Kamiki was completely destroyed socially. But the process was so devastatingly catastrophic that even Kamiki himself was taken aback, pleading, "Don’t do this." It feels like he was betrayed by the very wish he granted.

As for Ruby, I believe Kamiki also granted her wish, but the way it manifested was horribly twisted. She doesn’t seem happy. Her beloved brother died, and yet she shines brighter than anyone by hiding the truth. Is that happiness? Perhaps. But Ruby once said she wouldn’t become like her mother. So, like Aqua’s wish, Ruby’s wish seems to have been granted in a way that was fundamentally flawed. If you look at the lyrics of Fatal, this "lack of Ai" appears to be the key flaw. Without Ai, Kamiki was fundamentally incapable of recovery. But since he believes Ai died because of him, he can’t stop.

The events of Chapter 160 should reflect the truth. When I picked up and became more invested in reading this story back in Chapter 154, I thought, "Something feels off here." Chapter 160 finally addressed that. I believe it’s accurate.

That’s why Ai thought she and her children had to help Kamiki. He didn’t end up in this state by his own will. However, Aqua, after witnessing Kamiki’s collapse and the ripple effects it had on Ruby, judged him to be beyond salvation. Aqua likely concluded, "He has to die; it’s the only way," and acted accordingly.

This might very well have been the "right" decision. Kamiki’s powers seem uncontrollable. A mad god wandering around wreaking havoc can’t be allowed to continue. Perhaps if Ai could return and reassure him—Hey, calm down, I’m alive—it could have resolved things. But by now, he’s committed so many sins that it might truly be too late.

So, if we retrace things, where could we turn back the clock to make everyone happy?

Ai and Kamiki, in my opinion, could have been a happy couple. If they had simply been left alone to live happily, this could have all been avoided.

It feels like the gods came to the human world, suffered greatly, and broke apart. One of them partially recovered, only to die, while the other went mad in the aftermath.

And this manga… if so, essentially tears apart a real-life divine couple that’s known for living happily together. Lol, maybe those gods cursed this comic for having caused them this because I can't picture an ending like this getting an overall pleasant reception...some people may like it, but I don't think the general consensus would be so; I don't like it so much either. The only way I believe it can come together somewhat is through reading over the myths with some extensive research but that's not really something that's explained within the manga itself, thus it can't really be confirmed unless the artists tell so;

Anyhow, the author seems to have a deep appreciation for mythology, in my opinion.

When I first came across Fatal, I felt that the existing narrative hinted at some connections to mythology, so I started delving into the myths surrounding the deities Amaterasu and Ame-no-Uzume that were mentioned in the story.

The narrative between Ai and Kamiki appears, at least to me, to be a modern reinterpretation of how Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko came to meet. As I dug deeper, Kamiki started to align with Sarutahiko in so many ways that it felt implausible to dismiss the connection. Although there aren’t vast records or details on the myth, I managed to find translations of the relevant sections, particularly in the Nihon Shoki.

In the myth, Amaterasu sends her descendant Ninigi down to Earth, and the goddess entertainment, of the performing arts, Ame-no-Uzume, assists him. Upon surveying the land, Ame-no-Uzume spots Sarutahiko, who is shining brilliantly. She approaches him and persuades him to guide her, and Sarutahiko agrees. (Initially, he was obstructing the path because if he agreed to guide them, it meant ceding part of his territory and potentially his position as the sun deity to Amaterasu.) The two fall in love, and he eventually relents.

Doesn't this parallel how Ai thought Kamiki was "like a jewel" when she first saw him? His name is also associated with light, and he ends up guiding Ai—helping her learn acting and supporting her growth. At that time, Kamiki still had the white star, representing his role as a god of righteousness, guiding Ai away from her self-destructive tendencies.

Additionally, in the myth, Ame-no-Uzume serves Sarutahiko a meal to thank him for guiding her (and Amaterasu's grandson). Doesn't this echo the moment when Ai treated Kamiki to a meal as thanks for teaching her acting?

Their relationship grows so deep that Amaterasu’s grandson essentially acts as a matchmaker, and Ame-no-Uzume takes Sarutahiko’s name, leaving the heavens to settle with him on Earth.

Ame-no-Uzume is a celestial deity, while Sarutahiko is an earthly one. Here’s where I started to sense the underlying theme: they belong to different realms. If Ai is a star and Kamiki is a jewel, then even if they are both deities, their origins differ. When they separate, they can't meet again because their realms don’t overlap. Ai ascended to the heavens, and Kamiki, unable to become a star himself, began searching for her out of longing.

In the myth, Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko seem to have connected almost instantly—there are even implications that their bond was formed through physical intimacy right from the start. (This is hinted at in the myth, apparently.) They say they didn’t have an official marriage ceremony, but people generally regard them as married. I found this curious—why not simply state that they were officially wed? And even this mirrors how Ai and Kamiki almost got married but didn’t? Their stories overlap significantly in so many ways, almost too much to be a coincidence.

The descendants of Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko are known for their exceptional dancing skills, a dance for the gods, the Kagura. Doesn’t that remind you of Ruby?

So, as I pieced these parallels together, I was like, “Oh, wow!” And then chapter 162 happened, and I was completely thrown off, thinking, “What is going on with this plot?” Interestingly, Sarutahiko is also associated with misogi—a purification ritual involving water. I remember speculating at some point that Kamiki should just be pushed into water, that he seems really cursed, and later, I found out that there’s a legend about Sarutahiko drowning. That’s when I thought, “This has to be it. This must be the reason the story is unfolding this way.”

If Kamiki truly represents this deity, then he must be a god of virtue who became corrupted. Originally, Sarutahiko is a god who guides people toward the right path, which means he must have been incredibly benevolent by nature.

But Sarutahiko also has a dual nature! He’s said to be the model for the tengu, a Japanese mythical creature known for being either extremely malevolent or extraordinarily kind. This duality makes everything click perfectly!

Honestly, it’s all incredibly fascinating. This part of the story was really fun to piece together.

Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko seemed to have an incredibly harmonious relationship. People even created masks of these two gods to use in festivals, and they would visit shrines dedicated to them to receive blessings for marriage or to hold wedding ceremonies. They also pray for good fortune in love there. Since the two gods are connected to the entertainment industry (though Sarutahiko’s original domain wasn’t entertainment—it seems like he helps out because it’s his wife’s work), they take care of entertainers. As mentioned earlier, they also have the ability to grant wishes together. It seems that this ability only manifests when the two are together.

Also, wasn’t it mentioned that Kamiki’s soul was noble? Sarutahiko is a god with a noble soul. Like many gods associated with light, he is described as just and virtuous. So, is it really entirely his fault that he ended up in such a state? If Ai were still alive, I feel like he never would’ve fallen so far. And if it turns out that he wasn’t even trying to kill Ai—something I genuinely believe—wouldn’t it make the story much clearer if they explicitly addressed that?

If the story is indeed borrowing from mythology, then there should be a message or some thematic consistency, but it feels incomplete or ambiguous, which is frustrating.

I started researching because certain aspects of Kamiki’s characterization felt off to me, and that led me down this path. If this was intentional on the creators’ part, then it’s quite impressive. But why aren’t they clarifying it? Most readers aren’t going to put in this much effort to analyze the story. So, is this not something they considered important? Or am I just overthinking? Still, without interpreting the story this way, I think there are logical gaps that can’t be explained otherwise. That’s why I can’t tie this story together in my mind—it just doesn’t sit right with me.

At the very least, by the end of the story, we need to understand what it’s trying to say. Without that clarity, it’s hard to feel satisfied. Right now, it feels seriously vague, and many people don’t understand it. If that’s the case, it means the story isn’t fully functioning as a narrative.

I don’t think Kamiki being portrayed as an outright villain would make for a good story. The work has already painted his character in shades of ambiguity. If they frame his actions as being motivated by anger over being rejected by Ai, and if that led him to harm her, it wouldn’t be a very meaningful story, in my opinion. Moreover, the flow of the narrative already feels strange. It’s not that I can’t accept that people are capable of such actions, but something about this character doesn’t feel like he would act that way. I had someone address, “Even if Kamiki hurt Ai, why can’t you still support their relationship?” Well, sure, that might be possible, but…hey, the thing is, I don’t think that was actually the case here. It’s not because I want to justify their relationship that I'm denying what's obvious—from what I make out from having read the story, I don’t even think he harmed her in the first place, which is why it feels off, and made me look deeper into it. If I believed he had hurt her, I wouldn’t support it. I'm not saying people can't do it, I wouldn't have been so passionate about them, that's all.

Until chapter 154, I had never once drawn that couple—I was just observing. I never expected to get so deeply into this or to end up saying so much about it… sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t have picked up this story—it’s led me down such a challenging path, goodness!! In the end, it’s still unclear, right? Why is that? Why would that be so? Why did they have Kamiki say at the end, “I only intended to send flowers”? I genuinely believe that’s true. That's what I made out of his character even before that was actually addressed in the story! I KNEW it had to happen because that's how he would have acted, according to how he's been depicted!! Based on his personality as depicted in the story, he doesn’t seem like the type to hire someone like Ryosuke to intimidate Ai or harm her. That’s just not how the character was written. There’s no need to portray him that way! So why did they? When you apply the mythology, everything fits together so well, which is why I kept looking into it. But the creators have left it vague and unresolved, making it really frustrating.

I think I'll be able to send them off properly.. have a closure myself after I complete the story I've been writing for these two characters! As much as I like both characters, they've been making me feel so anxious because it was so hard to make a judgment due to the ambiguity. But even though I’ve been filled with anxiety, the reason I kept drawing those two characters was that, in my own way, I had some basis and intuition for doing so.

That is all~ see you all with another comic strip soon, happy new year! :)

[smallsies]

Audio Drama Sunday — May 26, 2024

It's been tragically long since I had the time to make one of these posts amidst the rise in jam chaos & other things over the last few weeks, but the event officially concluded yesterday with the release of 14 new pilots!!

In all honesty this event consumed most of my life so far this year, but I am incredibly excited to be on the other side of it - having released the first episode of my debut audio drama, @spacespeckspod as well ! - with so many wonderfully talented people. These shows are beyond incredible, so I just want to dedicate today to talking about them! (& I truthfully haven't listened to anything except jam shows as of late, lol)

@gavinswindowpod - "In-universe TTRPG" is always such a fun angle, and this show did a stellar job balancing the different directions that can take. Listening to the character's conversations feels very much like overhearing a group playing, all of the actors did an incredible job with that! & I'm looking forward to more in the future :)

@theichorousrotpod - Firstly, G knocked it out of the park with the music in this show, it's incredible. Secondly, "pathetic guy trapped by the horrors" is beloved and very well done, Sam is an incredibly talented writer and the cast did a stellar job bringing these characters to life. (I would let Dr. Yates perform top surgery on me etc etc.)

@thefinderskeeperpod - Beyond with being two of the nicest people ever, Lemon and Maddie's character dynamics in this was SUCH a joy to witness. "Grizzled old man & clueless newcomer walk into a bank, except there is something incredibly wrong with the bank teller" is spectacular, the sound design was, of course, spectacular, and I'm very excited to hear more.

@valdiviansfinest - Clear bias in saying this, but space shows are SO fun, and the Valdivian's Finest team did an amazing job showcasing all of the best parts of the genre. I don't have enough good things to say about this show, I love space Amazon and don't think the courier service has ever done anything wrong ever.

@working-tidal-pod - Taking points off for Louis spawning the "it's a comedy" joke that became a constant reference when we were listening to shows (/lh) BUT the writing is so funny, the sibling dynamic feels incredibly realistic and all of the actors are amazing and very talented. Feesh show has the potential to become a go-to comfort podcast, looking forward to hearing more!

@asbestos4president - This show is incredibly fun, "alien Twitch streamer" isn't a podcast I ever thought I would encounter, but the team did an absolutely fantastic job with their pilot. The writing is really funny in the classic aliens-misunderstanding-human-concepts way, with more modernized in-jokes that makes the characters feel very realistic!!

@beyondrepairpod - Extra props to this group as they were the event match team, with much less time to organize before scriptwriting, but managed to put together a stellar pilot. Hope was so well-done, the ship AI is VERY normal and you can absolutely trust them, shoutout to Pancake for their absolutely spectacular acting there!

@worldfusepodcast - These characters are incredibly charming and this world is so fun. Everything about this is just really well done; all of the actors were amazing, the writing is clever & easy to follow (& it's, of course, very fun that Ila is playing a detective :)!!) Looking forward to hearing more of this show!

@hello-are-you-there - Again, slight bias as I love a good apocalypse plot, but HAYT is a really fun radio show style podcast by a really lovely team. Aiden's moments of snark are great, Milo did a wonderful job bringing him to life amidst the bleakness of an end-of-the-world plot, & the inclusion of mythology is really well done!

@gobbpodblog - Magical zoo! Magical zoo!!! I love strange and unusual creatures and this team did an amazing job bringing them to life in this episode :D The animal ambiance at the start was really charming, and Prinxe & Caw were fantastic as Jake and Dr. Vermillian. Really excited to hear more!

Schrödinger's Pledge/@englewoodafterdark - As a college student I understand the implicit horrors of Greek life all too well (/lh.) The exploration of hazing practices and the normalization of them within those communities honestly is scary on its own, and the sound design really brings that to life in this pilot. Beyond excited to hear more Englewood After Dark later this year!

The Block - Fi was the only participant to make a solo show, and ended up with a spectacular example of what a one-person show can look like! I'm a little sad this podcast isn't continuing as they've introduced such an interesting concept and world here, but they did an outstanding job with the pilot.

Eart(h) FM - We listened to this one in the server the other night, & this show was definitely a lighthearted uptick from some of the other things we listened to, lol! It feels a bit silly to say a show about the end of the world is fun, but there is just so much hope and life this team managed to fit all in one episode, and the music is wonderful.

@spacespeckspod - I feel a bit awkward talking about my show, but I do want to say thank you to my lovely teammates who helped bring it to life! I appreciate all of you endlessly, and I'm really excited for the future of our little space show <3

If you want to check out these shows, they're all available on the Jam feed, & @aclickbaittitle has also started an (in-progress) Podchaser list of those with individual feeds!

Finally, an extra shoutout to the crowdfunder for Forged Bonds, @forgedbondspod which is still running & which you can check out here! Pine is such a wonderful member of the AD community, & (especially as a fellow classics enjoyer) I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do with this show. If you have the means, you should absolutely go support them & their amazing podcast!!

[alpaca-clouds]

Reconstruction Wicked Grace - The Card Deck

Alright. As I wrote on Monday, I decided that I will put the fact that I hyperfixated on the history of card games for two years in my teens to a good use and try to reconstruct the rules of Wicked Grace from the little information we have been given in the Dragon Age games. From all I know, we do never see the actual cards, but from the context of dialogue about the cards, we do have some knowledge.

I will link to this nice write up by @carabas from almost exactly 8 years ago, as this was my main reference for this.

And mind you, I will put this up in two parts, with the other part coming tomorrow, because I think before we can reconstruct the rules, we first need to analytically construct what the full deck looks like. And I think we do get enough information to do just that. Let me explain!

We know a total of 21 cards in this game, and we know that the cards come seemingly in four “colors”/suits: Serpents, Songs, Angels, Knights. (I am still super confused by the Angels, because from all we know there is no angel mythology in this world, but whatever... It would make so much more sense if it was Spirit or something.) With some context it does seem that some people call those suits by other names. There might be a good chance that some people refer to serpents as drakes at the very least.

However, I will focus on one thing that we know: There are the suits in this game, but there are also themes. Rather than the cards having numbers, they seem to be put into some sort of thematic content. And I think that is the most important information we need for understanding what the full deck looks like. After all, we can already see that other than with a normal Skat or Poker deck, there are no numbered cards. Which makes me think, that this game mixes actually two influences: Yes, there is clearly some influence from Poker in here, but I also see that I see some Hanafuda in there, as Hanafuda also has those themed cards. For a quick reference: Hanafuda has 12 suits (one for each month) with 4 cards each. In each suit two cards are just normal “landscapes”, but the other two cards are special and can be grouped into a variety of groups. Flags. Animals. Signs. And those also can be grouped together. And I think something like that also has influenced Wicked Grace.

So, let us look at the cards we know. I have been so free to group them together with colors:

We can see some themes in there. Positive feelings. Negative feelings. There are two things that double – which makes me think those will show up in each set. So, let me sort this out a bit more.

So, we know there is an Angel of Temerity and a Song of Temerity, just as we know that there is a Knight of Mercy, and a Song of Mercy. From this I am going to conclude that those two “themes” are going to be in every single suit. Meaning: There is going to be a Serpent of Temerity and a Knight of Temerity, just as there is gonna be a Serpent and an Angel of Mercy.

Now, given how much of the worldbuilding in Dragon Age focuses on the importance of feelings and traits it could be possible that the other four to five positive things could also be present in each deck. So maybe Charity, Truth, Compassion, Wisdom and Compassion show up in every deck. Maybe Fortitude too. However: Given that Charity and Compassion, as well Truth and Wisdom kinda fit the same “theme” I would argue, that those are going to be similar but different things. Especially as Avarice and Deceit are actually the opposites/antithesis to this.

So I am going to assume something: There is going to be a similar thing in each deck, but not quite the same – both for Charity/Compassion, Truth/Wisdom, and Avarice, and Deceit.

I am also going to assume that the same is going to be true for Fortitude and Sadness.

Now, Decay and Death also fit one theme. Just as Dawn and Twilight fit a theme. So given what we know I am going to assume that there are going to be full sets. And given that there is also a Song of Autumn and the fact that there are four different seasons, we can safely assume that there is gonna be a theme with seasons. So, let me going to fill out the other suits with that knowledge.

So, this is what this looks filled up. The bold ones are the ones we know, the italic ones are the ones I am going to assume. Technically you can assume that half of them can be switched out or can be replaced by similar words. The negative emotions in purple I base mainly around the demons we see in the game (yes, I know that it should be rage, not anger, I guess), and with the positive emotions there in dark green I decided to go with something that would make sense in that world.

Which leaves us with four cards without “partners”. The Knights of Ages, Roses, and Sacrifice. And the Serpent-Dagger for the Serpents.

Now, Roses and the Serpent Dagger are fairly easy, I would say: There is a set of flowers, and there is a set of weapons. So let me fill this up like this:

Again: Marigolds, Daisies and Lilies could be any flowers. With the weapons I am somewhat certain, because it is kinda the type of weapon you could have (shield could be a sword) and here I am even fairly certain that the association with the suit is right, given that the suits are the ones that are somewhat associated with the weapon in question.

Which leaves me with two questions: What could be the theme-group that ages and sacrifice could fit in? And what are the “face cards”?

Because we have this bit of dialogue from Inquisition:

Cole: “There’s a crown on his head, but a sword, too.  His head didn’t want either.“ Varric: “Don’t talk to the face cards, kid.”

This implies that there is at least one set of face cards. Now, in traditional poker sets, the face cards are obviously King, Queen, and Jack. However, given how the set above looks right now, I am tempted to say: Okay, there is not multiple face cards in the suits that are named the same in every suite. And given that Cole talks about a crown on his head, but also a sword (implying on the head), I do wonder if the card Cole is talking about is actually Sacrifice and that Sacrifice is one of the Face cards? In that case I would assume that there is one card Ascension. But other than that?

And Ages? I have truly no idea what we could mix up with Ages? Is it just gonna be Ages for every Suit? Or can anyone think of a proper theme?

Well, I thought this would be a good place to give this over to y’all.

I am trying to figure out what the last cards are going to be – and then I am gonna try to properly reconstruct the rules and point values.

Please, just tell me what y'all think! :)

[multifandoms27-blog]

if you’re still taking yugioh requests do you think i could get atem and kaiba comforting an s/o who’s afraid of storms (especially thunder and lightning)? thank you!! 🩷

OMGOMGOMG YES HI I just saw this in my inbox!!! I am absolutely still taking Yugioh quests!!!

Content: Atem x gn!Reader; Seto Kaiba x gn!Reader

Warnings: None

Notes: You didn't specify if Atem was in modern or ancient times, so I just went with ancient times......I'm a history/mythology nerd so I took the chance lol sorry. I also slipped in a small YGOTAS reference at the end of Atem's part lol

• ───────────────── •

❥ Pharaoh Atem

Normally, it was custom for the Pharaoh and his spouse to sleep in separate bedrooms. This allowed them both down time after being in the public eye all day. As much as you loved your husband, you needed this time away, even if it was to just rest.

After your servants helped you undress and get ready for bed, you were left alone with your thoughts. Although, you were so exhausted you just wanted to sleep. You'd be up and at 'em again in the morning.

You hadn't even realized you fell asleep until a loud boom woke you, practically shaking your room. Sitting up immediately, your heart beginning to thump rapidly in your chest, you opened your mouth to yell for anyone who was still awake.

"Guards! Guards!"

Almost immediately, a couple of the many palace guards entered the room, all three being armed. "Your majesty, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm-" You were interrupted by another loud boom. You screamed and shut your eyes. "Fetch my husband! Please!"

"Right away, your majesty!" The three left the room to get their king from his room.

Soon, Atem strode in swiftly, and the sight before him broke his heart. His spouse, curled up in a tight ball on their bed, scared out of their mind. He quickly approached them, and gathered his (Y/n) into his arms. "There, there...I'm here, my love. What's gotten you so afraid?"

Clinging onto him almost immediately, you answered, "The storm...I wasn't expecting it..."

"Oh, my love..." Atem gently moved a strand of hair out of your face. "It is only a storm, it will pass."

"No, Atem...I have always been afraid of them. Since I was a child." You shook your head, moving away slightly to look at him.

"Is there any way I can help you with this fear?" He asks, voice soft and kind, as always, and his hand gently rubbing your arm. "I can try to cover your ears, but I'm afraid my hands do nothing compared to the might of Set."

Atem adds a small giggle to the end of his last remark, showing you that he was kidding. It makes you giggle too. "Oh, Atem...how I love you so."

Another boom flows through the sky outside, making you jump and scream, scaring Atem for a moment. He tightens his hold to try and calm you. "My (Y/n), it's okay. As long as I am here, I will protect you. Set will not harm us."

"How can you say for sure?" Your voice shook with fear. "Set is a fearsome God, Atem...have you forgotten all of his stories?"

"Set would not harm the royal family, he protected my father during his reign, and his father before him, and his father, and so on." Atem then gave his spouse a smile. "We are safe. But, if you still feel scared, I can stay with you throughout the night."

You nod. "I...would like that very much."

Atem nods, then moves your head rest out of the way so you both lay on the bed, your face in his chest. "Is this okay?"

You nod again, then yelp and jump closer when another boom rings in the room. Atem thought for a moment. "There is one story that comes to mind about Set. You recall how Anubis killed him, yes?"

You nod. Atem carries on.

"Well, after going into the afterlife, Set had begun to do good things. My father once told me a story about how Set travels with Ra on his nightly trip to the underworld, and Set helps him battle the fearsome Apophis."

You focus in on what your husband is saying. The warmth of his arms around you and his body being pressed to yours, the softness of his voice as he tells a story passed down through generations, and suddenly you find yourself falling asleep once more.

"...and now, when people hear thunder, they are reminded that Ra is engaging in an epic battle, with Set by his side." Atem finishes not too long after, waiting for a response. When he doesn't get one, he looks down to see you've finally fallen back asleep, and the thunder seems to have gotten quieter. Set was moving away, possibly sensing the Pharaoh's spouses discomfort.

Sighing softly to himself, Atem placed a kiss on your forehead and taking in the peaceful look on your face, before finally falling asleep himself. Screw the rules, he's the Pharaoh.

• ───────────────── •

❥ Seto Kaiba

It was after hours at KaibaCorp, and Seto was still at his desk like usual. You, having finished work three hours ago, stopped by to try to coax him back to the house so that he could get some sleep. Of course, he didn't budge. Like usual. Knowing you were going to be sitting here for hours, you opted to order some dinner for the two of you.

"What about Mokuba? Where is he?" You asked Seto before ordering the food.

"He's with Yugi, he wanted to attend one of his game nights." Seto spoke without moving his eyes away from the screen.

After getting said food, you had noticed dark clouds rolling across the sky, with flashes of light in between the angry clouds. Clenching your jaw as your anxiety spikes, you quickly move back to your car and sped (as legally as you could) back to KaibaCorp.

When you got back to Seto's office with the food, he hadn't noticed your anxiety yet, or the rapidly approaching thunderstorm. You plopped the food down and curled up on the couch. Reaching over, you took out your food and begin to numbly eat it while scrolling through your phone, tensing as you start to prepare for the first sound of thunder.

Soon the storm begins, first with a flash of lightning, and then a loud boom soon after. You jump, dropping your fork. That gets Seto to look up as it makes a muffled thump against the ground. "...you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." You nod, going to pick up the fork from under the table. Another flash and boom sounded, making you jump and hit your head on the table.

Reeling back, you grimaced and held your head, and Seto moved over to you. "Are you sure?"

“I…” You sighed. “No. It’s the storm, I’m…scared.”

Seto didn’t do anything for a moment before sighing and pulling you back up on the couch. “I suppose I can stop for the day.”

“What? No, Seto, your work is important. Don’t-“

“Hush.” Seto tapped some more on his keyboard before shutting it, and moving over to you. “Mind if I sit here?”

He gave you a small smirk that makes your heart stutter. You nod and he sits down. Thunder sounds around you both, and you jump into Seto’s side. His heart warmed as you came to him for protection. He put a hand around you.

“It’s okay. No storm will hurt you with me here.”

You resisted the urge to cringe slightly. You loved your boyfriend, but sometimes he can say the weirdest things. “Thanks, hon…”

Seto’s grip tightened, then he leaned over to grab his food, and then grabbed your fork from the ground. “You can share my fork.”

“Thank you.”

Seto ate with one hand, his other hand around you. You watched him eat for a moment before he wordlessly offered a bite to you. You took the bite, then looked to the windows as rain began to pour down.

“It’s okay, we’re inside. Nothing can harm us.” Seto reassured.

“I know, just…” You sigh. “I’m sorry, I know this is probably childish…”

“Is that why you never told me about this before?" Seto asks, taking another bite of his food.

"...kind of." You then jump as lightning flashes and thunder rolls loudly in the sky. "Although, I guess you would've found out one way or another..."

Seto nods, setting the fork down. "Well, I don't think it's childish. People have fears, always have and always will. It isn't something childish or new."

You nod, sinking into his side a little, jumping and yelping a little when thunder sounded again. Seto leaned back into the couch and moved you into his lap, one hand on your head as he cradled it against his chest. His other hand rested on your thigh.

"Is there anything I could do to help?" Seto asks, his hand that's on your thigh begins to massage it, and the hand on your head gently scratches your scalp.

You begin to relax, but tense up again as you see lightning light up the room again. Seto's repeated movements are accompanied by a kiss on the forehead. You focus back on him.

"This is fine...thank you." You move your face slightly, so that it's in his chest.

Seto hums, and you can feel the reverb. It feels nice. It feels warm, and safe. You still tense and jump at thunder and lightning, but Seto's hands help you settle down enough. He occasionally plants kisses on your forehead or cheek, and makes small talk to try and distract you. Before you know it, the storm clears and the thunder begins to sound distant, the lightning becoming less frequent.

"Seems the storm is going away. Should we get ready to go home?" Seto asks, looking out of the many big windows, then back to you.

"In a minute." You mumble, snuggling into Seto's chest. "Right now I'm enjoying myself."

Seto cracks a smile. "Was this your plan?"

"No, but I'll take the outcome." You smile, making Seto let out a small chuckle before tightening his hold on you.

• ───────────────── •

Here is my Masterlist in case you want to request, or look for more of your favorite character!

[smoooothoperator]

Beautiful Stranger

01: Way To Fall

Driver! Lando Norris x OC (Lily Barton)

Summer love, strangers to friends to lovers, Greece and Greek mythology references

Words: 3.2k

Warnings: Lando being Lando, crash, injuries

Masterlist

Official playlist

next part

a/n: here you have the fist chapter of my new story! I hope everyone likes it and welcomes my new character Lily

kalimera: good morning

glykiá: sweety

efkharîsto: thank you

🎮

When the summer break arrives, everyone wants to know where the drivers will go. They ask where their vacations will be, if they'll spend time with their families, go to parties or stay at home to do the activities they couldn't do during the first half of the season.

"So? What are you going to do?" Carlos asked me, a glass of God knows what type of drink on his right hand, and his left arm on the back of the long couch. "You'll go with your family somewhere with that big boat?"

"I don't think so, mate" I sighed. "I just don't feel like that. My brother has to take care of two kids, my sister has summer competitions… I'm not in the mood, actually"

"And what are you going to do? Stay in your apartment and play videogames?" he laughed, making me roll my eyes and look away. 

"I don't know, maybe I will do that" I groaned.

"Go somewhere alone" he said, placing the glass on the table and grabbing his phone. "Buy tickets to somewhere far enough of the spotlight and rent an apartment. I bet that would be exciting"

"Yeah, right. That only happens in movies" I scoffed while drinking a little of my beer. 

"And you don't want it to happen to you? Come on, I know you are tired of the dating rumors, of being always on tabloids asking about your love life in summer. You should go somewhere alone, far from the media" he said, patting my back.

Maybe he's right. Maybe I should go to a place where no one knows who I am. Maybe I should grab a map and find a place where I can be on my own.

That's how I ended days after searching for a place where I should go. 

Portofino? No, even if it's a beautiful place there are a lot of tourists and famous people there.

Somewhere in Spain? No… I was there last summer.

France? The Netherlands… no, they would recognize me.

Greece. That country has many islands. Maybe I can go somewhere and stay there all the break. 

There are some islands where communication barely arrives, where you live in a mix of the past and the present and ignore the exterior. Right, that’s what I need. 

I tried to find a good place, somewhere not too difficult to access. I shouldn’t rent a car, right? I have to look like a normal guy that casually has lots of money. No big luxury brands to be seen, no expensive watches or jewelry. I have to look like another tourist that wants to be in a village for a few weeks.

Now… How should I go there? Which place should I go? Not Mykonos, not Rhodes or Santorini. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. 

“Huh? Where are you going?” Max asked, walking behind me and watching the screen of my laptop. “Greece?”

“I want to go alone” I sighed, rubbing my forehead and looking at the screen, the list of all the islands of Greece were shown in front of me. “But I don’t know where to go”

I saw Max sitting next to me, looking at the screen and  reading it. I searched in Wikipedia the list of islands just to know the name of them. But then the population was next to the names.

“Tell me a number between 1 and 144” he said, taking the laptop away from me.

“What?” I frowned looking at him. “Mate, it’s not a game, come on…”

“I’m helping you decide where you’ll go. So tell me a number” he frowned.

“God… Okay…” I sighed, closing my eyes and thinking of a number. “32?”

“Well, now you’ll go to Parga” he said.

I sighed. That was easy. It was too easy, and I didn't like it. I needed a place to get lost, my mind wanted to be in somewhere where neither my best friend knew where I was.

"But…" I sighed while brushing my hair with my hand. 

"I won't tell anyone" he sighed. "Lando, mate… you need it. I understand. Now with those rumors about you saying things you never said and the girls they say you are dating, you need to be somewhere away from the problems"

I look at him and nod. He's right, of course he's right. Carlos and him know me, they know how bad the hate affects me and how it makes me feel. 

"I'll go to that place" I sighed nodding. "But promise me you won't tell anyone"

🖌️

The started great. Everyone in the village started their routine as always, going to their boats, opening their restaurants and starting to cook. The streets smell of food, the women making their traditional dishes just to serve the tourists that came here, kids running and playing on the streets with their friends and the old people talking on the door of their houses.

"Kalimera, Nora" I smiled at the woman that was preparing some breakfast.

"Oh, Lily" she smiled, kissing my cheek. "Today we have a reservation. Someone will come to one of the apartments"

"Oh, really? At what time?" I asked, serving myself a cup of coffee. 

"Don't worry about it, Dorien will take care of it" she smiled. "He works for me, glykiá. You can go do your work"

I smile and nod, taking a deep breath and looking at her.

Nora Makris, owner of some of the apartments here in Parga. The day I came she adopted me as one of her kids, taking care of me and helping me with everything I needed. 

"What are you going to do today?" she asked, putting a plate of fruit in front of me.

"I think I'll work for a while at the cafeteria and then I'll go to the beach" I smiled at her.

Life here is easy: you wake up, get dressed always with a bikini under the clothes, work for a while and then go to the beach. Do you need more money? You can guide the tourists and help them with everything they need and translate things from the local people. 

Three years ago I came with the idea of escape from my life, needing a place to disconnect and forget about my past. And thanks to Nora now I have a place to call home. Working in the cafeteria is always fun. The villagers come and teach me some of their traditions, they teach me their language and how to live like them.

After I finished my breakfast I started to help Nora, making coffee or baking things. I know everyone in this place, so I greet them with their name and make their favorite things the way they like.

"Kalimera, Lily" they smile when I arrive at their table, complimenting my coffee or my outfit.

Everybody wants to know about me. Why would a young woman come here alone for a trip and stay longer than expected? They say I'm mysterious, that I'm a gift from the gods. Maybe that's why they treat me like I was born there, not asking about my origins or about my life, only accepting that I'm one of them.

The morning went quick, the same routine as always. The upstairs neighbor wanted a coffee with a plate of mixed fruit, the old lady that lives two doors away wanted her morning tea with one of the pastries of the day, the mother that lives with her two kids wanted her usual morning coffee and a toast with avocado and cream cheese. Everyone has their story here, and that's what I love about this place. 

"Lily, you can leave now" Nora said walking towards me. "I'll for a while for the lunch time and them I'll start preparing some dishes for whoever wants to come"

I nodded and smiled, grabbing my bag and taking off my apron, leaving it on the hanger that is next to the backdoor.

I went to my apartment, going upstairs and opening the door. I have to get changed and make something for lunch, something quick and easy so I can go to the beach soon.

Everything was going great. I was listening to music while cooking, singing on top of it and moving around. Cutting tomatoes, making some bread and making chicken to make a gyro. 

I heard noises in the apartment next to mine, like someone talking in English and opening and closing doors, even someone talking dirty English. Walls here are thin, but I won't complain. I prefer having thin walls rather than not having anything.

When I finished making my lunch I grabbed my laptop and went to the balcony, eating everything while watching a show.

"That's Peaky Blinders?" I heard a voice from the other balcony.

I stopped the episode and frowned, looking at the tall wall that separated both balconies. I can't see the face of the person that talks to me, I only can hear him.

"Eh… yeah" I nod, blushing. "How do you know?"

"The accent and that they are always saying Thomas Shelby" he chuckled. "It's a great show"

"Yeah it is" I nodded, smiling. "It's the second time I watch it"

"That's nice" he said, and then silence again.

I continued watching the show, but it was awkward. Nora should have told me that the tourist was going to be my neighbor, that we were going to share walls.

The rest of the lunch time was relaxed. After I finished the lunch I laid on the couch to watch a little more of the show while packing my beach bag and getting changed to go there.

The beach here is some streets away, and on the way to it there are many stores to get the attention of the tourists: souvenirs, ice cream shops, things for the beach, even swimwear and sandals shops.

I grabbed my earphones and started playing some soft music after getting out of the apartment, locking the door and putting the keys on the bag. 

I started my way to the beach, smiling at some people that recognized me and even stopping to talk with some of them. The old women always have something to talk about, even some of them try to make me date their grandsons.

"They would settle down with someone like you" they use to say. "You are so responsible and down on Earth!"

It always makes me laugh. I'm mysterious to them, no one knows why I came, only Nora. 

I kept walking down the street, hearing music that now wasn't as soft as before. It was some type of rock, making me not hear my surroundings.

Making me not hear the scooter that was driving straight towards me.

"Stop!" the guy screamed, but it was too late for him to break and for me to jump back. "Shit!"

I fell to the floor. It was so fast, making me fall hard. I could feel blood in the plan of my hands and my knees, even a sharp pain on my ankle.

"Shit, are you okay?" he gasped, leaving the scooter on the floor and kneeling in front of me.

"What the hell?" I groaned, but I immediately moaned in pain. "Just pay attention to the road!"

"I did! You were the one that wasn't paying attention!" he exclaimed and it made me gasp, looking at him.

"It's you" I frown, recognizing the voice.

"Me?" he frowned, nervous. "What? You know who I am?"

He looked around, searching for someone or something. I could feel how anxious he was feeling right now.

"Shit, do you know who I am" he groaned.

"Yeah, my neighbor" I said, looking at him. 

"What?" he mumbled, frowning. "Oh, you are the one that is watching Peaky Blinders… yeah, sorry"

I frown and look around. Was he searching for someone? No one was around, at this time people are already on the beach or working on their shops.

"Shit, you can walk, right?" he sighed, helping me to get up.

"Yeah… no" I groaned when I stood on my feet. "No, I think I hurt my ankle"

"Ah shit" he sighed. "Is there somewhere I can take you? Like… a medical center?"

"Yeah" I sigh, leaning on him since he was holding me to not stand on my ankle. 

"Get on the scooter" he said, holding it and sitting on it, looking at me.

"What? No! You just crashed on me with it! I won't get on it!" I exclaimed, but the pain was worse than my own pride.

"I'll help you, okay? And I'll go slow and pay attention to every corner. Now, please, get on the scooter" he sighed.

I look at him and then at the back of his seat, where I'm supposed to sit. I have to get close to him to fit, wrap my arms on his waist and hold him. God, it will be really awkward.

"Come on" he hurried me.

I sighed, grabbing my bag from the ground and hanging it on my shoulder, standing on my good leg while I watched how he was offering me his hand to hold it. I looked at the palm of my hand, gow scratched and bloody it was, then at my knee. I’m surely going to get his shirt dirty with my blood.

“But the blood…” I sighed looking at his hand.

“I really don’t care, come on” he sighed, moving his hand to hold mine helping me get on the scooter. “It’s just blood, I can wash it away. And if you don’t look that ankle it will get worse”

I sigh and nod, getting on the scooter in a really uncomfortable way. He doesn’t have a spare helmet, so he took his helmet off and put it on my head. He didn’t start the engine, making me believe the vehicle was broken.

“Wrap your arms around me” he said looking back at me. 

“What? No!” I exclaimed, raising up my  hands, trying to not touch him.

“You’ll fall if you don’t do that!” he sighed, and grabbed both of my hands wrapping my arms around his waist making me blush hard.

This guy has really a strong rizz, he didn’t even flinch when I placed my hands on his abdomen, the dry blood getting on his shirt and my fingers feeling the line of his abs. 

I tried to not blush, looking away and making sure he couldn’t see me through the mirrors. He smells good too, I wonder what type of perfume he’s using. And his curls are so good made, just on top of his head and on his sides is kinda shorty.

“It’s on this way, right?” he asked me, pointing to a signal that had a cross on it. “It’s in greek”

“Yeah, it's that way” I said nodding.

He parked the scooter in front of the door of the medical center, getting off of it after holding it with the stand. He took off the helmet from my head and then hung it on the handlebar. 

“Do you need help?” he asked, looking at me.

Now I can see his eyes, his face. Well, he's cute. 

“I think so, yeah” I sighed after trying to get out of the seat, but it was impossible.

He helped me, holding my arm and then he turned around. He wanted to carry me on his back? Can this be more awkward than it already is and looks? I sighed, sitting with both my legs hanging on the side of the scooter and looking at his back.

I hope no one is around. Because it’ll be the talk of the town.

🎮

I felt bad. Really, really bad. The moment she recognized me I panicked, thinking that she recognized me because of who I was, not because of my voice. She’s the girl next door that when I walked inside the apartment Max rented for me was playing music while cooking. I heard her voice and then I heard the dialogues of the show I watched not long ago.

Her voice was soft, like velvet, and when she talked to me after I crashed into her, her mad voice made me remember Yuki. She was panicking and in pain, andI could feel how nervous she was while we had the ride on the scooter.

When we arrived at the medical center and I carried her inside of it she started talking in greek, making me impressed. She speaks perfect english and a perfect greek, where is she from?

“I have a sprained ankle” she sighed looking at me.

The moment the nurse saw her when we walked inside the local she guided us to a room, so I placed her on the hospital bed and sat next to her on a chair. I’m not an idiot, I know that it’s my fault and I should take care of what happened.

“Oh…” I frowned, looking at how the nurse was rolling a bandage around her right foot. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault”

She sighed and looked away. I still can feel how  uncomfortable she is. 

“I’ll pay for the medicines you have to take” I said, and she turned her head quickly at me, surprised. 

“No, don’t worry about it! I can pay for them” she frowned, like if she was offended that I was offering to pay for the medicines. 

She sighed and looked away again, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking out through the window. I bet she wanted to be on the beach, she was wearing a bikini under her summer dress, and on her bag there was a towel and a book too. 

“It’s the least I can do, I ruined your day” I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. 

The nurse looked at us and said something that made her blush. I wonder what she said.

“Okay” the girl sighed. “Yeah, okay”

I smiled weakly and nodded at the nurse, watching how she got up to grab something. I grabbed my phone and sighed, searching the dictionary I downloaded.

“How do you say thank you in greek?” I asked the girl, frowning, then I heard her chuckle.

“Efkharîsto” she said chuckling softly. “You came to Greece with no idea of how to say the basic things to survive here?”

“I survive thanks to a dictionary” I said sighing. 

“Well, let me tell you that it’s useless” she laughed. “You should learn the basic words, just to not waste time searching them”

“What’s your name?” I asked her suddenly, looking at her and how her face changed.  “I crashed into you, at least let me know the name of my first victim”

“Your first victim? I feel honored” she laughed, making me laugh. Good, the tension is now less present here. “Lily”

“That doesn’t sound Greek at all” I frowned, looking at her surprised.

“That’s because I’m not from here” she said shrugging her shoulders. “And what’s your name? In case I have to demand you, you know”

“Oh…” I laugh, but my mind immediately started to panic. Should I tell her my name? What if she discovers who I am? “Logan” lie.

“Well… nice to meet you in a bad way, Logan” she nodded.

Well done, Lando.

taglist

@lestappenloverr @racinggirl @roni-midnights @livster @kakorrhaphiphobia @starkeyellow @celestialpierre @ophcelia @msliz @lorarri @ironmaiden1313 @imsorare @mycenterfold

[yakopi]

Kagurabachi theory part 2

In my previous post I talked about my thoughts about the allusions to gods in Kagurabachi, and I mentioned that 7 Enchanted swords could be a vague reference to the 7 prosperity gods. And now I want to talk further about the swords.

Part two. The Enchanted Swords and what makes them special.

At first, I thought that the swords could be a further reference to the different prosperity gods, as Enten summons goldfish and Ebisu is the god of fishery.

This could also tie into the title of the story if the swords have something to do with the gods. Kagura dances often are accompanied by props, and fighting is often associated with dancing.

Meaning that possibly every time Chihiro uses Enten to dance/fight, he invites the (power of the) gods in his bodies.

Then, when I thought it through, I think that I found another connection:

All swords, until now, have a potential link to yokai/mythological creatures.

Enten summons goldfish, and there is a Yokai, Kingyo no yurei, which are goldfish possessed by spirits of the deceased, often murder victims.

Cloudgourge gives ice, water, and lightning abilities and sometimes summons attacks in dragon forms. Dragons in Japan are associated with water and the weather, so that tracks.

Tobimune has summoned feathers in a move called 'Crow/Karasu', and Tengu are a Yokai based on crows.

Kumeyuri has not revealed much about it, just some geisha-like spirits, however, there are enough Yokai that are based on normal-looking women. Yuki-onna, kuchisake onna, Ame-onna etc. I will have to see more to determine (if true) which yokai it is precisely.

The last revealed sword is Magatsumi, which has references to multiple yokai. It creates flowers and butterflies through spider (Jorogumo), dragonfly (koshinuke no mushi), and centipedes (omukade) techniques.

However it could also be a reference to a single yokai: the Jubokko, a vampire tree that consumes all your blood and is associated with insects that will take care of the carcass that is left. It could also explain the black liquid, as blood can become near black the longer it coagulates.

(A Jubokko would also be kind of ironic considering these trees are created when a huge amount of people died at their feet. And wouldnt you know, there was a war going on at the very moment Magatsumi was created.)

We have not seen the other swords, so everything is still possible, however, my theory for now is that the essence of yokai has been in one way or another placed/forged into the swords (hence why they are called Yoto, demon swords).

The first swords contained 1 yokai each, however those swords were just not strong enough. So the 6th sword was forged with either 3 yokai in it to make it more strong, or 1 yokai that could be stronger the more it is used in battle/gets blood.

This theory could also be why Magatsumi had to be sealed away so carefully compared to the other swords. It was already so powerful due to the 3 yokai that nobody should wield it in fear of damage/being corrupted by the yokai.

Or because if it continued to be used it would eventually get so strong that anyone wielding it would be overcome by it.

(If this theory is true, Enten could become an interesting plot point later, as Chihiro's father was murdered, so he could be in the sword.)

TLDR; The demon swords can possibly contain demons. Who could have thought?

(More thoughts in Part 3: Sealing power)

[homestuckreplay]

Favorite Homestuck Character: 27th US President William Howard Taft

(page 556-566)

8/29/2009 Wheel Spin: Dramatic Irony Verdict: Puns, The Lower Form Of Humor

8/31/2009 Wheel Spin: Parent Bad :( Verdict: Brother Truly Awful And Horrendous

We begin these pages with John, followed by a quick cut to Dave. Both of them navigating the dangers of their home and the possibility of being watched, but in very different ways.

The Colonel Sassacre and Bathtub level ups are clearly just a setup for puns, so I’m not gonna read too much into the idea that everything can level up (yet). But Colonel Sassacre gained 9550 boondollars from his level, so he must be pretty far up the echeladder compared to the bathtub (490) and John’s meager 200. Sassacre’s new level is ONE MAN JULEP VACUUM. A julep is a chilled cocktail, today usually made with mint, bourbon and crushed ice, although historically used rose petals and was prescribed for health. In 1939, the mint julep became the official drink of the Kentucky Derby after being drunk there probably since its inception. For the ‘genteel, aristocratic southern colonel’ hoovering up a large number of juleps at the derby must be a sign of social status. A high achievement indeed.

Meanwhile, the bathtub’s levels are both references to apocryphal bathtub-related stories. ARCHIMEDED was the ancient Greek mathematician who got into the bathtub and realized that placing an object into a liquid would displace that volume of that liquid (and could therefore determine what metal an object was made from, via the relationship between weight, volume and density) and ran naked through the streets yelling “eureka!” So, his AQUACRADLE is the watery crib that nourished and inspired him. Meanwhile, William TAFT was the US President famous for being the heaviest person in office, who was believed to have gotten stuck, or JAMMED, in the White House bathtub. Although both of these stories are probably false, they’re famous and they’re fun references.

Finally, VAULTHALLA is a pun on Valhalla, the hall of slain warriors in Norse mythology. It’s horrific as a pun (complimentary) but I do think p.558 is the best looking page in all of Homestuck so far. The jewel tones streaked to create the sunset and the sea, the way the boat bobs on the waves and the fire flickers and is reflected in the water is way more beautiful than it needs to be to carry the pun.

LAD SCRAMBLE (p.560) is John’s equivalent of YOUTH ROLL (p.379) in terms of being acrobatic feats attempted and failed by these characters. Can’t wait for Dave’s Dude Scoot and GG’s Kid Tumble. But I am really glad this happened to our boy on the lowest flight and not miles above the house. The code violations on Rose’s building are scarier to me than the absolutely MASSIVE imp that shows up afterwards.

As predicted, this is the rook. It has a better moveset than the imps and is worth about five of them power-wise which is absolutely more than John can handle. The learning curve of Sburb continues to be really steep. I wonder if all the enemies are literally climbing up from below? It makes sense given that they’re part of the forces of darkness, and it sets the game up as a giant chase using architecture, where – at a certain point – just out-climbing the smaller enemies might be more effective than killing them, and only the higher level enemies will even reach the players.

Returning to Dave after a hundred pages away from him is like stepping from the normal world into the first layer of endless puppet hell. His mind is a complex and terrible place, but he – or the narrator – is getting closer to admitting some things. He feels ‘pangs of jealousy’ about his bro’s turntable gear and there’s a mention of getting worked up, and he acknowledges that his bro’s comic ‘get[s] under [his] skin’ and that he thinks it’s ‘just a little TOO ironic.’ He is also aware that ‘trouble’s a-brewin’ due to a missing sword. This feels like somebody getting sucked in too deep to a subculture that’s fine in moderation, but then somebody takes it way too far to the point that it’s harmful – but by then it’s too late to get out, especially when that somebody lives with you, has power over you and presents themself as an authority.

Today I learned that ‘Animal’ is the actual name of a Muppets character (along with Rowlf). This comic is of course puppet themed – Bro does not have a diversity of interests – being tormented by Jigsaw from the movie Saw, which I will watch soon. The art style is different to Sweet Bro & Hella Jeff, less pixelated and artifacted with some hand lettering instead of Comic Sans, darker in both tone and color palette. I’m sure this is post-post-post-post-ironic to some people but to me this is just every ‘what if we took a children’s story… and made it Fucked Up’ post that has been made on the internet in the last decade.

There’s also near-confirmation that Bro is hiding close by and messing with Dave’s mind via sylladex. On p.563, there’s a flash of the sword on the wall being captchalogued, and on p.564, the flash of Lil Cal being de-captchalogued – both from back towards the couch area if my mental picture of the room is right. Out of every character we’ve met so far, Dave’s bro is the one without a single redeeming quality; every new fact or insinuation draws him as an even worse guy.

[insert-clever-username-1133]

*burns down building cutely* guys im literally just a girl!!!

welcome to my blog

hi guys!!! im loralai but you can call me lora. this post is a running collection of all my chaos

you guys like lists? good bc that's all ive got for you

~

stuff i do

art

i draw in ibis paint on my phone with a disc stylus and use capcut to edit animatics (which yes, i can still do, despite being in the us). most of my stuff is tagged with either #art or #doodles, rarely both. doodles is my old tag for sketches and... well, doodles. i put everything under the art tag now

writing

i have one published fic right now with another multi chapter on the way and some one shots im going to get to eventually! i don't have an update schedule. im little1133 on ao3

music

if you have perfect pitch talk to me please i need someone who understands the feeling when you get a song stuck in your head and you can't remember what key it's in but all the keys you picture it in sound wrong so now it's in your head but it sounds WRONG

fandoms

epic the musical

this is my main fandom right now! epic has had a huge effect on my life, gotten me back into drawing and writing :) im always down to yap about the babies or read your fic or whatever

i love odypen so so much. also i heard someone use the ship name penelody and that's the prettiest ship name ive ever heard i think. platonic eurypoli is also one of my favs. im a eurylochus defender for life

if you follow me you are big time signing up for epic spam

kotlc

this is my longest-term fandom i think. i love this little fandom so much!! Katie (@ myfairkatiecat , very cool user) got me into it last summer (i know, not very long term for my longest term fandom. im young okay). im a keefe defender (sorry stria) and i love fintan pyren a normal amount. fav ships are sokeefe, dexiana, and fintante! i am a sucker for platonic sophitz. they go well together what can i say

iywalirayhtdwa > wiityispb

percy jackson / riordanverse

i love love love this series so much. leo is my baby. percabeth should be called smartwater for ever and ever. i don't participate in this fandom because i learned my lesson from kotlc about joining the fandom before you're done reading and ive already gotten spoiled enough just from random youtube comments. am i really going to abstain from this fandom until ive read all however many series there are? probably not

greek mythology in general

dnd

yeah... right above this is percy jackson and epic the musical. you knew this was coming. im rapidly turning into the greek mythology kid. it's bad.

hadestown

i listened to the soundtrack with animatics a bit ago and im planning on watching a recording of the actual show. this musical has already. made me. FEEL THINGS. A LOT. doubt comes in absolutely broke me which im sure isn't a surprise to anyone who's seen hadestown. just like in epic Hermes is a whole vibe and a half. living it up on top, chant, and why we build the wall have alternated being played on loop in my brain. this musical is literally so.

im currently playing in a dnd campaign (#ivanna) as an elven wizard named Ivanna and in the late planning stages of dming a campaign (#crossfire campaign) for me and my friends. im unwell about both of these things

mouthwashing

i... don't have much to say about this fandom. im not very active in it. love the fanart. love daisuke and anya ofc. we be taking responsibility with this one

elnea kingdom

i don't really post about this game on here because the fandom is mainly on Reddit. this is here purely for propaganda. look up this game and play it. you know you want toooo ohh you wanna play it soooo baaaad

posts i want you to see

too lazy to do this list rn. im gonna link the seaglass vacker eyes post, the Ody is the short one in odypen, and some of my top posts later

tags ig

#art - self explanatory.

#bookmark - things I'm saving to refer back to later.

#liveblog - ive been doing this less lately but it's always a tradition for me to do at least a few liveblogs whenever im consuming a new media. i love this tag because it contains my magnum opus: my huge reblog chains with every little thought i had while reading kotlc. all of them have like 40 self reblogs to just add to them. there's a chain for each book, and i did it for the first like 5 or 6 books. i highly recommend looking at those they're very funny.

userboxes + other

i don't have a dni. if i don't like you ill block you

im not donating to your gofundme

my interests are subject to change on a whim with zero warning

[katsona-the-katsequel]

Human Heart, Aigis' Heart

Here comes Aigis' story!

___________________________________________

I am the humanoid tactical weapon Aigis. I am an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon developed in the Kirijo Group's lab. I am the cutting edge of modern military technology, and the culmination of many years of shadow research. Though my body is mechanical, I also possess a human-like mentality, and I am the world's most powerful Persona User. I am particularly renowned for my sturdiness, and just like the story of the Aegis Shield from Greek mythology that gave me my name, I am truly undefeatable, impenetrable, and invincible.

Yes. I was supposed to be invincible.

However, at Gekkoukan High School, where I was currently studying, I never had a chance to use this excellent weaponry in my student life.

To borrow the words of Yukari-san and other female classmates, I felt like a little blue or depressed.

"...Well, today is the 4th, so...um, Aigis-san. Please tell me how you would feel about it."

Oh, by the way, we were currently in class. Professor Toriumi was asking me to respond. I was just thinking about it, but as a cutting edge humanoid tactical weapon, my brain is capable of parallel processing, so I won't miss any questions. But...

"What's wrong? Is modern Japanese too difficult for returnees? There's no need to think about it so deeply."

The text we were currently reading was a novel called "Kokoro" written by a man named Natsume Soseki. I didn't seem to have a good enough understanding of this "Kokoro" yet. After about 32 seconds of silence, the teacher spoke to me in a manner that could be perceived as slightly over-the-top, perhaps trying to give me a clue as to the correct answer.

"He proposed to her over his best friend K, and she ended up committing suicide... I wonder what Aigis would think in that situation?"

"If it were me... I would think that my friend would have committed suicide."

"...It's not the same as it used to be. Give it a twist! Give it a twist!"

"Could it have been a murder disguised as a suicide?"

"Why?! This is Soseki! Don't turn a masterpiece of pure literature into an Edogawa Ranpo mystery!"

"In terms of motive, the young lady is the most suspicious... but we need to check the absence certificate..."

"Listen to me! Listen to what I'm saying!"

As usual, Toriumi-sensei exploded, and soon the bell rang to signal the end of school. If this were a plan for me to kidnap "Miss" from my best friend K, it would be easy... But even for someone with a mind that can summon Personas, understanding this "heart" was not as easy as it sounds.

"Well, you are human beings, but it's still hard to understand other people's feelings. Isn't it okay to worry so much about it?"

My precious friend nodded enthusiastically to Junpei's words. It was lunchtime now, and we were on the rooftop. I'd asked the two of them to come over to get their opinions on how to solve the problem I was currently facing.

"However... the reality is that 'humanness' is an essential skill for my school life. If communication with civilians is hindered for any reason, then my mission will also be hindered."

"But it seems like you're getting along well with the other kids in your class."

"No, I feel like I'm a total stranger in the so-called 'high school girls' community. I can't even fully understand how to communicate via cell phone email..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"For example", I said, taking out my cell phone and showing them the email I received from Yukari the other day. It said, "Tell Kirijo SP I'll be late (^_^)."

“This?”

"Normally, the term SP refers to a bodyguard who provides personal protection for important people. So I told the Kirijo Group's security department that Yukari would be coming home late that day."

"Well, that's..."

"For some reason, they gave me a strange look."

"I guess."

"That night, Yukari was very disappointed when I heard that SP was an abbreviation for Senpai. But that's not all. In another email, I saw the phrase "H/K" and it took me three days to realize that it was an abbreviation for 'By the way', if it was 'H&K,' I would know that it was an abbreviation for the German gun manufacturer Heckler & Koch."

"That's something the average person wouldn't understand..."

"What is the point of using gal characters? It is unreasonable to make 'juko' read as 'ta', or 'ju' read as 'sa', and to increase the amount of information that would take only one byte to two bytes. It's inefficient."

"Now now now. That's what being a high school girl is all about. Besides, you don't need to be bound by those norms, Ai-chan is human enough... Ah, that's right."

Suddenly, Junpei stood up as if he had just thought of something.

"What's the matter?"

"From now on, if you want to ask for advice like that, I think it's best to get advice from someone in the industry."

Saying this, Junpei smiled happily. This kind of human-like smile is essential to camouflage one's appearance as a human female, and yet it was something I lacked. I wondered if I could acquire a smile like that...?

"And so, I'm your special lecturer, Takeba."

"I-I'm your assistant, Yamagishi."

“Junpei, in the end, didn’t you just want to use Aigis’s troubles as an excuse to have some fun?”

The situation was incomprehensible.

Afterwards, we met up with Yukari and Fuuka, and for some reason we ended up inside Karaoke Mandragora in Paulownia Mall.

"Well, well, well, don't worry about the small details! Going to karaoke with friends after school is a typical thing for high school girls to do, right? I think it's important to start with the formality, you know."

"Is that so? Junior high school girls go to karaoke on their way home from school... I get it. But in that case, shouldn't we invite Mitsuru-san too?"

"I-I think Kirijo-senpai is a bit different from the average high school girl..."

The details were unknown, but it was profound.

"Okay then, let's start with Ai-chan. What will you sing? Anything is fine."

"Singing, huh? It's my first experience, but I'll do my best."

"Okay then, do your best!"

...

"It was an unexpected situation."

"Well, my head's still spinning..."

"I thought my eardrums would burst..."

"Well, well, I guess that can't be helped, huh?"

It was an unfortunate accident. The moment I turned on the microphone to sing, a terrible cacophony occurred. The electromagnetic waves emitted by my engine resonated with the speakers, causing a phenomenon known as howling. It was like a sonic bomb.

The force of the blast was devastating. All the drinking glasses were destroyed, and the karaoke equipment in the next room was also damaged.

"The electromagnetic seal at the core was perfect, but no one had thought about the drive motors at each joint..."

Was this a feeling of despondent feeling? Was it impossible for me, after all, to acquire the abilities of a normal female student? As if to cut me off from such thoughts, Junpei spoke as cheerfully as ever.

"Well then, let's pull ourselves together and move on to the second high school girl staple! Let's go take a purikura photo!"

".. Purikura?"

I was a little wary of the words I had no memory of, but since it was Junpei's plan, I replied with a firm yes.

"I'll give it a go... Yes!"

"All right! Let's go to to Game Vanick!"

"So...what is a purikura?" Junpei took a big tumble.

...

"So this is Purikura... Print Club? I see."

According to Junpei, it was a device for processing photos taken of several people with stickers. Apparently, taking photos with friends and sharing the stickers was the basis of high school girls. I didn't really understand the intention behind it, but if this action was necessary for the operation, I couldn't run away. Desertion in the face of the enemy was punishable by firing squad.

"Okay, let's go."

"Okay, let's have Yukari and Fuuka together. Um, the background is this... the frame is this... OK, let's start. I'll press the button."

"Come on, Aigis, strike a pose."

"A pose, is that it?"

"That's right, smile smile."

"Eh, a smile...?"

Before I could even process what was happening, a sound similar to the clicking of a camera was heard, and shortly afterwards the stickers were dispensed from the receiving slot below.

"Uh... Wait, my smile is a bit stiff, maybe?"

"She's not laughing."

As Yukari had said, the expression on my face on the photo was what you might call expressionless. As a weapon, I didn't have the ability to change my expression depending on my emotions.

"Let's try again, shall we?"

"I think that attempt would be futile. The fact that I cannot express a smiling or crying face is due to my specifications, so there is nothing I can do about it."¹

When I said that, everyone looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"What's the matter?"

Without answering my question. No, as if they had no time to answer, everyone continued laughing. "What are you talking about... hehehe... Ah, Ai-chan, as expected of someone who has been maintained by Ikutsuki-san... Hehe."

"Ugh, that's painful... What kind of pun was that?"

"It can't be helped. Ahahaha."

"It's weird if Ikutsuki says it, but if Aigis says it its charming.”

I understood. Although it was not my intention, it seemed that what I said was a pun, a series of similar-sounding words used to create a sentence. I was a little confused, but I was also happy that all of them enjoyed it.

"Huh? You can smile."

"Eh?"

I was surprised by Junpei's sudden remark.

"Were you laughing?"

"Yeah, I saw it too."

Fuuka agreed with Junpei. I saw.

Was I laughing?

"That's right. She has a better smile than our unsociable field leader."

At Yukari's words, that person turned away as if it didn't matter. Now that I thought about it, this person didn't show his feelings on his face very often. Still, he was doing a great job as a leader and seemed to get along well with his friends. Suddenly, I thought of one thing and spoke up.

"Am I of any help?"

"Huh? What's wrong all of a sudden?"

"I can't behave like the so-called 'high school girls'. I'm not good at karaoke or photo booths. I can't understand the human heart. But even so, is it okay for me to be here as one of your friends, as a member of SEES?"

"Of course!" Junpei answered loudly.

"Was that what was bothering you, Aigis?"

Yukari also spoke in an exasperated tone, followed by Fuuka.

"Aigis, you were worried, weren't you?"

"Worried... Yes, maybe I was." What I must do was defeat shadows together with everyone else. And to protect that person. If I couldn't act like a female student, then perhaps I was not up to the task, perhaps I was not living up to everyone's expectations. It was these thoughts that were making my processing unstable, and now it seemed that even I had finally realized this.

On the way back from Paulownia Mall, Fuuka came up to me and said,

"You know, I think that if you get anxious because you don't know what the people around you think of you, doesn't that mean you have a great heart?"

“Is that so?”

If so, I was glad, for I, who was troubled by my inability to understand the mind, was relieved to learn, paradoxically, that it was the mind that troubled me by things it found difficult to understand.

"The human heart is a mysterious thing."

"We all feel the same way."

Everyone was together... that's something that made me happy. I suddenly took my cell phone out of my pocket and looked at the photo I had taken earlier.

"We have matching ones."

When I said that, Junpei and the person walking in front of me looked a little surprised.

This time I was aware of it too. It is at times like these that humans laugh.

I am Aigis, a humanoid tactical weapon. I sometimes worry because I can't understand the human heart, but I am a lucky Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon because there are people who care for me.

___________________________________________

¹. They're not being jerks. Aigis accidentally made a pun.

I sometimes forget Minato is there 😭

Tag List: @kerto-p

[daintev]

If there is any TF2 fan that's also a Los Campesinos! fan PLEASE tell me do you also think Clown Blood; or, Orpheus’ Bobbing Head fits Demoman really well? or am I crazy?

Like the line "Climb the Anhedonian Mountains just to circle the plughole" Anhedonia is, by definition, the inability to feel pleasure in normally pleasurable activities.

Then some later lyrics "Each evening, morning, afternoon, I want for nothing", referencing an annotation from Genuis that made a good point: "This repetition combined with the first verse’s reference to anhedonia inverts the usual meaning of ‘want for nothing’ into something negative i.e. not wanting anything is a symptom of depression." Does that not fit the Demo?

Like the line "She fucks to cum, I drink to be drunk, and both of us are wasted". To reference another Genius annotation: "Both the “she” and the “I” participate in physical activities just for the physical sensations they produce. And since both characters are “wasted,” they appear to have succeeded in getting what they want. What’s more, their lives are “wasted” because they are only pursuing shallow pleasures." DOES THAT NOT FIT DEMOMAN?? Am I just crazy? I don't know but I like to think it does.

The song also goes into Greek mythology, given Orpheus's name in the title, now from what I can remember (with my poor memory) Demo doesn't canonically have a partner, so I first thought applying Orpheus to his story wouldn't make much sense but then I thought about instead of a romantic partner like Eurydice was to Orpheus, it could be his adoptive family. In one of the stories of Orpheus, in an attempt to get his wife, Eurydice, back to life he seeks help from Hades, playing a mournful song that both moved Hades and Persephone. So, he agreed to let her return to the overworld on the condition that Orpheus would not look back and face Eurydice until they both made it to the overworld. But fearful he might have been tricked, just a few steps away from the exit, Orpheus looks back. And Eurydice was there the entire time and the moment he looked she disappeared once again.

I thought this could be applied to Demoman and how he lost his adoptive parents due to his fierce temper and fascination with explosives. He probably spent years and still spends time grieving and feeling guilty for their death, blaming himself for their demise and wishing that he could maybe bring them back. Hence why I think Orpheus's story could be applied here; he looks back at Eurydice and causes her to disappear due to the fear of being tricked. Demoman feels guilty for causing his parent's death due to his fascination with explosives, despite being a child.

Then the outro lyrics "Orpheus' head bobs in the ocean" refer to Orpheus's death, him being torn from limb from limb by the maenads (followers of Dionysus) his head then floating down the River Hebrus to the ocean along with his lyre (his instrument gifted from Apollo), still singing his sorrowful songs. Applying this to Demo he may still mourn his adoptive parent's death even after all these years, and fair to him, his current parents aren't exactly all sunshine and rainbows; putting crazy and harmful expectations onto him.

I hope I don't look crazy talking to a brick wall here but I just thought the song fits Demoman pretty well, at least to me :]

[tyriq-edits]

In the Plain of Nysa (Trigun Greek Mythology AU)

Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Priest of the Twins' Cult

Lives pretty much in the Sanctuary of Nysa by himself but gets occasionally visited by other Members of the Cult, his younger brother Livio or people in need of the Twin Gods' Blessings.

A (Kinda?) normal Priest living in his tiny Sanctuary offside from Civilisation on a small Island in the Aegean sea called Nysa.

His Duties for the most Part consist of Prayers and Sacrifices for the Gods And keeping the Temple and Statue of the Twins clean and occasionally doing a Ritual on thr Request of the odd Visitor.

Did not expect one of the Gods he is serving to be dropped off at his Temple by the goddess Meryl and her Satyr companion Roberto and to be stuck Body-Guarding said God but oh well here he is.

May Or May Not Regret Giving Vash That Short Chiton.

For more Information/lore about this AU just look at the in the plain of Nysa tag on my page or just send me an ask in my inbox.

Also shout out to my best pal Stephan for teaching me how to draw.

Additional Ramblings about the lore and WW’s design under the cut

This is btw what a Penennular Fibula looked like and I only now noticed that WW is wearing it wrong in my drawing 🥲 The needle is supposed to rest on the Bow of the brooch and not in the opening in the middle.

Also this Fanfic takes place approximately around the time of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), however Penennular Fibula were primarily worn by either Celts and Romans. So as you can tell while I am trying my best with historical research and keeping things somewhat historically accurate, there are still creative liberties being taken for this AU.

As for why this AU and Wolfwood‘s Sanctuary are called "in the Plain of Nysa“: It‘s actually a reference to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, aka the most complete version of the Myth of Hades and Persephone we have. In this Hymn it says

In other words it was "in the Plain of Nysa“ in which Persephone was kidnapped by Hades. On a fun note, Nysa is actually not a real place anywhere in Greece. It was instead meant to symbolise "a place far away“ the same way we tend to say "in a kingdom far away“ when starting to tell a fairytale. However that did not stop some Ancient Greeks from guessing where Nysa might be located. Some thus point it to be situated somewhere in Macedon or today‘s Balkans, others claimed it was around the area of the Black Sea or…. That Nysa was on the Island Naxos. Which is why in early drafts the Sanctuary was meant to be located on Naxos itself but as I have never been to Naxos in my life it felt disrespectful to the actual people who live there so I just changed it to the Sanctuary of Nysa being on a lone non-existent Island near Naxos instead.

On a smaller note Nysa was also said to have been the Birthplace of Dionysos, with his name meaning "God of Nysa“. In other Stories however Nysa was the name of a mountain on which Dionysus had started his cult.

I am also taking some creative liberties with how Priesthood functioned in ancient Greece. Unlike how it works in Catholicism and other religions, Priests in ancient Greece were not a separate social class. Heck apart from a few Cults and sanctuaries, being a priest was not even seen as a main occupation of job for that reason. And a priest usually wasn‘t chosen by some council, but in many cases you just paid a certain amount of money to become a priest. They did not even have an official attire like catholic or shinto priests do nowadays. However they were still expected to dress somewhat formally compared to WW‘s Exomis, which is basically the ancient greek equivalent of a priest showing up in shorts, flip flops and an old Tshirt.

The Twins Cult in this AU is by the way HEAVILY based on the Eleusinian Mysteries, aka the Mystery Cult dedicated to Demeter and Persephone. I will some day make a post dedicated to them and priesthood in ancient Greece as a whole.

And yes I still fucking hate drawing feet and shoes.

[ilions-end]

ayyy euripides' electra time (ian johnston transl.)

i really feel i approached the three electra plays in the perfect order. the libation bearers to get me hooked, sophocles to make me frustrated and want more, and now euripides to fullfill all my secret fantasies

that is to say WOW what an initiative electra!! like in aeschylus, her path is so much clearer to her than orestes' is to him, she carries all her hate and resentment on the outside, but while aeschylus only lets her put the plot in motion and then retreat into the shadows, THIS TIME SHE PARTICIPATES. this time HER HAND IS ON THE SWORD!!! oooh delicious

i think this one also balances the weight of both murders (clytemnestra and aegisthus) more evenly than the others. personally i really like how aeschylus underlines how insignificant aegisthus is even as he dies, but now this is kinda my second favourite portioning of revenge

i DON'T MEAN TO COMPARE THE PLAYS SO MUCH, it's just i'm starting to develop LAYERS OF UNDERSTANDING here. whoops

also euripides MAKING FUN of aeschylus' electra comparing her footprint to orestes', by making her go "pshh obviously his footprint would be a different size to mine"?? i want to go back in time and tell euripides "did you think when they said their footprints were alike they were talking about SIZE? bro. omg." i am so annoyed by an ancient playwright misinterpreting another's play it's actually embarrassing.

i did enjoy euripides throwing in "hey, this might be crazy but uhh have we considered that maybe poor people can be noble and rich people can be morally corrupt" every other scene though. i bet that blew the mind of the upper class athenian audience

electra going "you dare imply that my brother would SNEAK into argos and our father's burial place like a COWARD? like a fucking LOSER with NO GUTS?". priceless

WAIT WHAT, that one-line reference to castor once trying to seduce electra. that took me by surprise. EW EW EW THAT'S YOUR SISTER'S DAUGHTER, DUDE. i'm not usually surprised at incest in greek mythology but i want to bap his nose with a rolled-up newspaper. YOU'RE A DIOSCURI, ACT LIKE IT.

yesss we love a despicable aegisthus. the vicious insecurity, the effeminate coding. myrtle flowers in his hair. electra saying whenever he gets drunk he goes to agamemnon's grave to throw stones and kick and shout abuse. oh little man you feel your own inadequacies so strongly, don't you.

but also mmmmm how this version makes the most of out of orestes' abuse of the laws of xenia. he is invited in as a friend! he's honoured with sacrifice, and turns around and commits murder with the sacrifical tools! he does the honourable thing in the most perverted way, OH it's so crunchy

i'm so emotional about electra speaking her grievances, both directly to her mother, and also how orestes encourages her to vocalize all her anger at aegisthus' corpse.

she yells at dead aegisthus what a fucking IDIOT he was to think he could seduce a married woman, marry her, and expect her to be faithful to him. it's so true it's so true

clytemnestra continues to have a point about everyone making a big to-do about her infidelity, when her husband brought back cassandra and was just gonna be like "yeah i'll have two wives (one a mad, enslaved priestess) it's fine it's normal why are you judging me".

augh how electra and clytemnestra's big confrontation made me nauseous, it's so realistically a portrait of an abusive mother who CARES about her daughter, as if that excuses the way she treats her. as if all the abuse is the fault of the child. "Why do you let your husband be cruel to me?" "That's how he is. And you have a stubborn nature." MAKING ME ILL!!!

ELECTRA'S HAND ON THE SWORD. FINALLY SHE'S ALLOWED TO HOLD THE WEAPON, TO KILL HER MOTHER.

and then OF COURSE comes the well of emotion, of bitterness, of sadness, of affection. "There. With this cloak i'm covering up one who was loved and yet not loved." AUGH AUGH AUGH IT HURTS SO GOOD