#I can't even say I believe Shiro's the dad if there are two dads

[itsuki-minamy]

"K - RETURN OF KINGS" (Novel)

CHAPTER 9: NEKO'S DREAM (Part 2)

* List of Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

She was sure she wouldn't feel alone.

Nobody would leave.

It was a lovely world that made her reel.

A parrot spread its wings to her. Hisui Nagare extended his hand.

"Ameno Miyabi. Or Neko. Please come with me. Be the key to open the door to a new world. I welcome you."

Before she could think of anything, Neko's paw stepped forward.

Neko doesn't know what awaits them in that world. But at least that guy on the other side of the parrot sees himself as an ally. He would never leave Neko alone. If the world he talks about comes true, no one will ever abandon Neko.

Like those people.

Like mom and dad.

Feeling a sharp pain deep in her chest, Neko slowly reached out.

"Neko."

His voice echoing from behind her made her jump and cringe.

Hesitantly, she looked back.

There were two boys.

One was a dark haired boy with a grumpy expression on his face.

The other is a white-haired boy with a soft atmosphere.

But now they both look the same.

They had a sad look.

"Neko. What are you doing?"

Kuro's voice did not blame Neko. It's that kind of voice that you can't say something he's afraid of, because if you say it, it's likely to come true.

"Are you going, Neko?"

Shiro's voice was filled with deep sadness. It was the sadness that Neko knows so well. A close friend suddenly leaves, disappears. The sadness at that moment was like a huge hole.

She felt as if the ground under her feet was distorted.

She felt that she was about to make a big mistake.

Neko was sad when Shiro disappeared. Shiro went somewhere even though he said he wasn't going anywhere. She was sad, she couldn't forgive him and couldn't give up, so she searched here and there with Kuro.

Shiro returned after all, but otherwise she believes that she would still be looking for him. To spend the rest of her life looking for him and to fit back into his pocket.

She now she would be causing the same pain.

"...Wagahai is a cat."

Muttering to herself, Neko looked at the ground. She suddenly became distorted. Neko didn't know from the dripping tears. It was hiding behind the door.

"But maybe I'm a monster."

"There is no such thing!"

Kuro yelled that out loud which surprised her. Looking straight into her round gold and blue eyes, Kuro raised his voice even higher.

"You're our friend! You're definitely not a monster!"

Shiro said otherwise. Despite his sad face, his smile was as warm as the sun.

"Even if Neko is a monster... Neko is my Neko."

"......"

That's all.

That's what she said. Shiro also recognized it. That day, at that time, a child fell from the sky. She's been there ever since she jumped onto his chest.

The warmth that gently enveloped Neko, that she was alone in the cold room.

The world doesn't have to be warm. She doesn't need you to be nice to her. If these two people are there, if Shiro and Kuro are there, Neko will be happy.

Neko blinked as if she had woken from a dream and turned to the parrot.

Snuggling into Shiro's warm arms, Neko said clearly:

"Because I'm Shiro's cat. I can't be your friend."

Saying that, Neko separated from Nagare.

"...Is that so."

Hisui Nagare didn't say much. He slightly tilted his head, he closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

After saying that, the parrot spread its wings and flew away.

Neko, Shiro and Kuro watched him carefully. After the green shadow got smaller and finally disappeared into the sky, Neko crouched on the spot.

"Neko? What's up?"

Kuro yelled in panic. Neko covered her face and shook her head. She couldn't stop crying. Neko muttered like an idiot along with heat running down her cheeks.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry."

Even Neko wasn't sure who she was apologizing to.

With Hisui Nagare?

With Shiro and Kuro?

With her mom and dad?

Was with the photo of that child that was at the back of the Buddhist altar?

She didn't understand. Shiro and Kuro gently hugged Neko's shoulders that she did not know. Wrapped in that warmth, Neko kept apologizing for something.

++++++++++

That night she also had a dream.

XX was in the room. It was night. The porch shutters were closed, the kitchen and living room were deserted, and only icy cold filled the room.

Alone in a cold room. XX was sitting holding her knees.

Despite that, XX was not cold. Somewhere in her heart there was warmth. That was already a part of her. As long as she has it she won't be cold. That is now clearly understood by XX.

There was a Buddhist altar in front of her. She from time to time she could hear voices calling her.

"Ameno Miyabi."

She was no longer afraid. She just thought it was cute. Because of her, because of her cowardice, she was trapped inside her.

When she reached out and knocked on the door, she could feel the coolness.

(I'm sorry.)

XX apologized again. Even so, she couldn't open the door. She didn't have the courage to find Ameno Miyabi there.

At least not for now.

++++++++++

Having broken the link with Kotosaka, Hisui Nagare leaned his body back and took a deep breath.

Various thoughts passed through his mind. With the addition of Ameno Miyabi, many plans that were scheduled to go live now fell through. Of course he had alternatives, but they wouldn't have as much impact as he thought at first. If it could have been incorporated, the "Chabudai Alliance" would probably have been almost destroyed, but...

"Don't get carried away, Nagare."

Iwafune, who was sitting cross-legged and drinking beer, said with a smile.

Nagare's eyes were half open and he stared at Iwafune.

"Iwa-san. Since when have you been there?"

"You've been there from the start, right? Well, you can't do that anyway. If she's a girl, you should have a little more ways to do it."

With a beer in hand, Iwafune shrugged. Nagare was silent for a moment and then said:

"I figured it was the best way to go, but it seems I was wrong."

"Well, I didn't get that kind of opportunity. I couldn't tell you either."

At that moment, Iwafune asked, "Hmm?"

"So does that mean it's my responsibility? This guy was careless. And to think that what I did didn't teach you a trick or two for hooking up a girl. That's too bad, Nagare."

He wanted to say that he didn't need to be taught such things, but it was an undeniable fact that he had just failed. Nagare listened silently.

"Listen, Nagare. A girl wants to be needed. You have to make her think you're useless without her. You don't understand that sort of thing, right?"

"It is necessary?"

"That's right. Reasoning and interests are second and third. Make that person think you need them!"

"But I need her."

"So! Don't say that!"

With a thump, Iwafune slammed the beer can down on the table. With that momentum, Nagare stepped back a bit.

"If you don't put it right in words, you won't be able to convey it! You're smart, calm, and trustworthy, but you lack humanity. So girls won't follow you! Even if you're a little silly, women are creatures who choose to be kind and they want to be with you."

"Uh..."

"Look at me. It looks like this and it's pretty popular. Why? Because I'm lazy!"

Saying that, Iwafune groaned into the beer and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his cassock.

"You are an apprentice to me too, Nagare! What is important is the "feeling of being left out". If you are square and rigid, not even the waiter will follow you."

Nagare stared at Iwafune's loose cassock with inorganic eyes.

Of course, Nagare respects Iwafune. As "Grey King", as his adoptive father, he doesn't think he would be where he is today without him, but other than that, he despises his neglect of his private life.

However, Nagare found a grain of truth in Iwafune's words. That is to say...

"People are drawn not only to what they need, but also to those who need them, right?"

"Uh, well, I didn't even talk about such a difficult topic."

"So the startup plan should include that element as well."

"What? Starter plan?"

With a thoughtful face, Iwafune pondered.

"Ah, umm, that's it. How about a receiver of the existing social system?"

"Yes. If I could add Ameno Miyabi to my companions, I could use her cognitive manipulation ability to speed up the boot, but now that's not possible either. It's a shame."

Saying that, Nagare moved forward silently.

The clothes that held him and kept him alive had already served their purpose. His arms, legs and his body, which were previously confined to sustaining his life, are now free to move.

And it's all thanks to that relic.

The "Dresden Slate" pulsed silently under Nagare's eyes.

Nagare, who was linked with the "Slate", felt the pulsation from it directly. As if in sync with lost heart, he squirmed a little. Each time he felt an enormous surge of power.

"Right now, the "Slate" is still asleep. However, this power will be greater than any power mankind has ever possessed."

Nagare crouched down on the spot and gently patted the "Slate".

"When the "Slate" really wakes up, unprecedented chaos will ensue. Assuming that time comes, we need to change the existing social infrastructure from the current stage. At the very least, we need to have an organization that can handle the disruption."

"Hm."

Iwafune raised the beer to his mouth with a difficult expression on his face, completely different from before.

"That is the minimum responsibility of those of us who try to awaken the "Slate". "Jungle" must not be underground anymore. We must rise."

Take humanity to the next level.

It is Nagare's dream. Ever since the Kagutsu Incident took his life, his family's, and everything else, he's been thinking about it. Why did that happen? What did that mean? Why did those who died at that time die? This is the answer.

It was a necessary sacrifice for the next age, a new step. This is how Hisui Nagare sees them.

And when the next age began, it was already visible that great confusion and misfortune would occur.

It is impossible for Nagare to anticipate and not take countermeasures. What he wants is human innovation, not unhappiness. If there are people spilling, you need a saucer to catch them.

"Iwa-san, thank you for your advice. The shape of the new "Jungle" has once again become clear. In the "next" age, not only those who need us, but those who "we" need, we will take everything."

Nagare activated a special ability and made several windows float in the air. Ranker Limited Quest.

An important order as a mission only for Mishakuji and Sukuna. When he stroked it, the window turned into a paper airplane and flew off into the darkness.

"Activate mission 5538. Let's raise a new "Jungle" with our own hands."

With a small murmur, Nagare slowly rose to his own feet.

++++++++++

Cutting through the darkness of the night, the sound of the 750cc exhaust carried through the metropolitan highway.

As he made his way through the gaps between the trailers, the big motorcycle of "Kerun" ran like an arrow. With his full-face helmet he didn't feel the wind, but the landscape he saw melted at great speed and didn't hold a constant shape. If he made the slightest mistake steering the wheel, he would be thrown high and far and melt into one of the blobs of that landscape.

Inside the rider's gloves, his palms were soaked. Gripping the steering wheel over and over again, "Kerun" yelled.

"Hey, "Jema"! Persecution, what's going on?!"

He was sure that he had already gotten rid of them, it was okay to slow down. Disappear and reappear as if it had been blown away by the wind. As the lights streamed in from the edge of his vision, "Kerun" wished for him from the bottom of his heart.

"No! They're still chasing us! ''Scepter 4'' even sent a helicopter?!"

Thinking it was a joke, he felt a chill in his stomach. Thoughts and memories rushed through his mind as fast as the landscape passed.

It was supposed to be just a game. If you win, you get points, and if you use the points, you get super powers, it's a wonderful game. "Kerun'' and "Jema'' advanced by leaps and bounds. They weren't strong, but they were quick and wise. They only dabbled in safe, delicious missions, and they won handily. The power they gained there helped them change their lives. A lot of money, delicious food, fun trips, cute girlfriends, all of which are things that cannot be obtained as a student, all of which are obtained through "Jungle".

And now all of that was about to be removed.

The HUD that was displayed within the full face summoned even more despair. A map that reflected his location information, the destination was blocked with a red X mark. "Scepter 4" was shutting down traffic. The only way to escape was to go down the lower path. If so, it's the end of the series. "Kerun" was not so good at motorcycle technique that he could run freely on narrow roads.

University, family, girlfriend, finding a job, life. Several words came to his mind. There is a lot written on the "Jungle" forum about what happens to psychics trapped in "Scepter 4". Day after day, unspeakable torture would await him. According to one person, they were thrown into a special prison and never returned to society. According to another person, electrodes were implanted in their brains and they were forced to work permanently as a slave to "Scepter 4".

Even if those comments contained exaggerations, he would undoubtedly be branded as "criminal". He would drop out and live a long, dark life as a straggler.

He didn't like that. Why did he look like that? There are many guys doing worse things.

At the moment when his face distorted as if he was about to cry, a voice suddenly echoed in his ear.

"Do you want me to help you?"

Jiggle, the rider outfit trembled. He didn't know where he was hearing it from. When he entered the HUD, an unknown account was connected to the voice chat. "Kerun" he shouted agitated.

"Who are you?! Jema, what's going on?!"

"I-I don't know! Although it's supposed to prevent unauthorized accounts from entering."

"With that level of security? Are you serious? Well, it doesn't matter. Whether you want help or not, decide in 10 seconds."

The blocking net was closing on the map every moment. He didn't have time to hesitate. "Kerun" he begged someone he didn't know.

"Help me! I'll pay you!"

"Ok. Go down to the lower path."

Before thinking about it, "Kerun" slammed on the brakes, turned the steering wheel, and left the metropolitan highway. As he crossed at excessive speed, more voices echoed.

"Turn right at the first light. Go straight and stop at a convenience store. Just wait for instructions."

"Oh, hey! If I do something like that, I'll get caught by "Scepter 4"."

"If you want to be safe, listen to what I tell you in a low voice."

Gritting his teeth, he still did as he told him. At the same time, he activated "Whisper Command" and ask "Jema", who should be watching from afar.

"W-What's going on? Who is he?"

"Uh, I don't know! But he's quite an advanced hacker. Our conversation just now could have been overheard..."

Of the two, "Kerun" is mainly in charge of practical work and "Jema" is mainly in charge of information processing. Since "Jema" said so, it would be better to think that the network was under control.

While he was thinking about such things, "Kerun" stopped in front of a convenience store.

His vision was shrouded in darkness.

"......?!"

He panicked and looked left and right. He was pitch black for only a moment, and what jumped out at him were the exposed concrete and inorganic guide lights. Somewhere in the underground escape passage a thought came to him...

A voice came from the side this time.

"Let's hide here for a while."

A figure suddenly appeared in a space that should have been empty. The entire body was wrapped in black clothing, and the face was covered with a full face mask. It was a bit different from the camouflage mask they wore, but it was definitely a member of "Jungle".

"...Ah, are you the guy who contacted me?"

When he cautiously asked, the black clad shrugged slightly.

"I'm under no obligation to respond. My job is to get the target to safety."

Saying that, the black clothed one put his hand to his ear and began to communicate somehow.

He didn't know what it was.

But at least "Scepter 4" didn't seem to get there. When he looked at the map on the HUD, he could see blue emblems representing PCs with "Scepter 4" and follow-on helicopters moving back and forth around them. "Kerun" felt a cold sensation that they must be looking around.

"Eh?"

"Kerun" couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The map started to move, but he hadn't moved. However, the marker meaning "myself" on the map was moving at considerable speed. An old marker began to move in pursuit of him.

Like a hyena chasing wounded prey. "Kerun" looked at him in a daze and uttered words that weren't even a question.

"What's happening...? Am I here? Why is the map moving?"

The answer came out of his ear.

"What's moving is a discarded PDA I set up here. I hacked into your account and made you log in twice there. It'll take a while before they notice the clothes."

"Huh?! Hey, what are you doing?! Taking someone's account without permission!"

"Well then, shall we bring them back? The blue clothes will gladly come to pick you up."

He had no words. He didn't like it, but he had to listen. That guy certainly seemed to be an ally, but an ally in "Jungle" means nothing more than "an opponent who has the same interests". Depending on the situation, he could always become an enemy.

Before long, the mark of "Scepter 4" disappeared from the map, and "Kerun" patted his chest in relief.

"...Apparently, it seems to be fine. Thank you for your help."

"The reward is 10,000 JP."

The blood of "Kerun" was frozen at the ready-to-use request.

"What? 10,000 JP?"

"Ah. I won't lose a single point."

"Fu, don't be silly! Didn't you hear that story?!"

"You're the one who received the reward without checking. I've already done my job. Now it's your turn to pay."

"Kerun" was again stuck in the voice. He couldn't help but admit that there was a reason for what he said to the other party. No matter how impatient he was, he should have confirmed the reward and negotiated.

He didn't think so. At that time, he didn't have that kind of time. "Kerun" is just a college student. There was no way he could make a decent judgment or bargain in the ten seconds that would ruin his life.

In other words, this guy knew and extended a helping hand.

"I don't have that many points."

Feeling bitter, "Kerun" had no choice but to defend himself. He now he had about 4,000 points. He couldn't shake the sleeves.

"Is that so? If you combine it with your partner, you can prepare around 10,000."

By partner, he meant "Jema." First of all, that communication should be a private chat with that guy. Although he was listening to that conversation, he hadn't said a single word since before.

"Hey, Jema..."

He called out to his "partner" with a grasping sensation, but again there was no response. He was still connected. However, the fact that there was no reaction...

"You were abandoned."

The one in front of him, dressed in black, was the one who muttered. There was no tone of mockery in his words. It was a way of saying that he was only confirming the reality in front of him.

This time his blood boiled. The fact that he was the only one trying to save himself from it aroused his helpless rage. He raised his fists and shouted.

"Don't be kidding! Oh, I'm not paying, because it's just me!"

The angry voice that echoed inside his mask suddenly stopped.

A blade was plunged into "Kerun's" throat. It was the point of a sword drawn by the guy in the black armor. It was so fast that he didn't even know when he pulled it out. Anger withered and fear arose in its place.

"Is that so? Then let me take your life."

"Oh, hey..."

"Killing the target won't give you a penny, but if you throw it away, you won't be able to show anything else. Even "Jema" will pay what he owes if he finds out about the target's fate. Then, it will be completed."

"Wait, wait! I understand!"

Still rigid, "Kerun" let out a miserable voice. Tears clouded the HUD vision, out of fear and regret. The black robed guy's words were not threats. He really he would do what he said he would do. That is what "Kerun" knew intuitively.

"I will pay... all the points I have..."

Muttering, "Kerun" opened the account of "Jungle". The recipient politely accepted the mission issued by "Kerun" as a form, when all points were paid... 4000JP, Janpy appeared as a matter of course and announced that the account would be deprived of all points.

With that ceremony "Kerun" ended as a member of the "Jungle" clan. The career he had built disappeared and he went back to being an ordinary person.

The black robe held his swords and bowed their heads slightly.

"6000 points left. How will you pay?"

"Kerun" shuddered. Unfortunately, he is already insolvent.

And the person he called muttered cruelly in his ear.

"Bring me that motorcycle."

"I understand."

The black robe involuntarily poked at the throat of "Kerun" with the tip of the knife. He got off his motorcycle and backed up. Thus, in a very natural movement, the black robe straddled the motorcycle.

"If I sell it, it will be worth a lot. After that, I'll take it from your friend. So I'll let it go this time."

The black robe started the engine and the motorcycle began to work. "Kerun" was silently watching his back.

++++++++++

"Rank up! Saruhiko Fushimi has been promoted to U-Rank of "Jungle". Congratulations."

Fushimi countered the spectacular statement of the parrot-like mascot, Janpy. He put the PDA down on the couch he was sitting on and muttered to himself.

"It's no game."

Hirasaka, leaning her back against the wall in the corner of the room, snorted.

"I can't say enough about cheating and being naughty."

"It's not a foul, it's a feat. If there's a hole, it's natural to use it, right?"

Hirasaka just shrugged and said nothing to Fushimi, who was listless. There is no objection to that, and Hirasaka has been supporting Fushimi in the first place. She had no intention of complaining from the beginning.

The two are in the hideout prepared by Fushimi.

A couch table, a laptop, a mattress and a blanket are randomly placed in a bare concrete room. It is really a room just to come home and sleep.

Only they and Hisui Nagare know that they are there. That "King" watches over everything. However, it is impossible for even Nagare to take a look at the contents of this room. Both visual and auditory, it is designed to be completely isolated from the outside world. It is the first time that the PC is also disconnected from the network and the camera and microphone are physically crushed.

Therefore, this room was the perfect place for secret conversations.

"How much did the motorcycle sell for?"

Fushimi asked unexpectedly. It seems that he entered into negotiations to obtain compensation. Hirasaka handed Fushimi a small folded bill.

"Shibata NR750. It was sold at a good price because it was new. However, since they will be treated as stolen goods, the fee was deducted."

After taking a quick look, Fushimi took out a wad of rolled up bills and tossed it to Hirasaka. Before receiving it, she knew that it was smaller than what she normally receives. She assumed that means that if you sell a motorcycle, you should keep it as a reward. There were no objections. Dealing with Fushimi is always fair. She likes that he doesn't waste time.

After accumulating the bounty, Hirasaka walked away.

"What are you going to do with that mission?"

Fushimi's eyebrows rose. His stagnant eyes turned to Hirasaka.

"5538, huh?"

"The forum is full of repeated large-scale quests. Mission 5538, "Plan Startup". It's different from the quests I've done so far."

Hirasaka took out a PDA. In that electronically locked room, the PDA is just a record board, but you can still check mission details.

"We will attract VIPs from all walks of life to "Jungle", including entertainment, media, legal, political and financial sources and diplomacy. That seems to be the essence of the "starter plan". If this is accomplished, "Jungle" can become an organization that leads this country, both in name and in reality."

"So you got the treasure and finally set out to conquer the world? It's nonsense."

Fushimi muttered as if he vomited.

Hirasaka stared at that expression. In order to survive in the underworld, it is essential to have the ability to guess to some extent the feelings of others. Anger, frustration, fear, bewilderment. What the person is thinking, how he will act next, can be dimly seen when superimposed on the situation.

"This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Now that you've been promoted to U-Rank, you'll be able to take on more difficult missions. Isn't it possible to reach Ranker during this large-scale mission?"

Cynical and grumpy. Yet exceptionally capable. This is the human image of Fushimi Saruhiko, which she obtained from observing him over a short period of time. It seems a bit out of place with the current situation of a traitor who gave up "Scepter 4" after being defeated at Mihashira Tower and jumped into "Jungle".

Hirasaka only wants to know one thing.

"However, this quest can also be a final blow to your old nest."

Did Fushimi Saruhiko really betray "Scepter 4"?

"There are many voices from all walks of life who question the raison d'être of "Scepter 4", whose "Slate" has been stolen. In other words, "Slate" is like a brocade flag. Whoever owns it can claim sovereignty. Faced with what was stolen, you can become a traitor."

To find out, you have to delve into the emotions of this man. Why is he angry and what is he interested in? For Hirasaka, his "partner", the opportunities are endless.

And the observation shot from a moment ago...

"The reward is enough. There is no reason not to travel."

Looks like it's already out.

"Hirasaka. On this list, I listed the weaknesses of those who are likely to be interested in the proposal, who are likely to lose money even if they are not, and those who are. Compensation will be calculated separately."

"I understand."

Hirasaka nodded and immediately used "Wall Break" to escape from the room. She grabbed the edge of the window or gutter, land softly, and operate the HUD with her line of sight.

(As a result of the observation, Fushimi Saruhiko has no attachment to his former home. I will continue to monitor future trends.)

Attaching the collected video and audio recordings from the eye camera and microphone, Hirasaka sent the email to "H.N".

The secret investigation on Fushimi was a requested mission from a fairly early stage. In order to faithfully fulfill the mission received from Fushimi, Hirasaka also faithfully fulfilled that mission.

In fact, Hirasaka doesn't care if Fushimi is a traitor or not. Truth is money. That was it for Hirasaka.

And one more thing. Hirasaka has a way to monetize that information.

Hirasaka straddled the parked motorcycle. The destination is Tsubakimon. She started the engine while she figured out the plan to invade there.

++++++++++

Kuro was walking through the winter city.

A green onion head popped out of the shopping bag on his chest, and at first glance, he looked like a student on his way home from an errand. Nobody pays attention to him. At least, that is what it seems if the circumstances are not known. But he was wrong.

Kuro knew more than anyone that it was a mistake. The senses that had been forged through years of training felt the piercing gazes from here and there.

(Hey, it's him.)

(He's worth 10,000 points!)

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 124: Everyone Forgets Everything

Xenologue 16: Heirs of Fate II: Realms Collide

Shigure narrates that this chapter is about a different realm with a separate Kana, the male one. The chapter opens with Sophie and Dwyer in a town, fighting against dragon form Kana. Dwyer explains that he found Kana crying and that he suddenly turned into a dragon. He speculates Kana lost control because his mother died like their fathers. Sophie refuses to believe Silas is dead and says that they'll rescue their fathers.

The map scrolls over to Forrest, who is traveling with his retainers, Nina and Ophelia. Ophelia is giving directions using a rock that she's pretending is magic, because she forgot that she made up the fact that it's magic. Ophelia says it was a good-luck charm from Odin. As an aside, I do love the fact that Odin once again sacrificed himself to hold off enemies attacking his loved ones. Ophelia says that she believes with all her heart that he wouldn't die, but doubt is beginning to creep in. Forrest says that he didn't encounter his father, but found Byrnhildr lying on the ground, implying Leo dropped it after dying. Nina says that she won't mourn Niles, because he's an asshole who never visited her and that it would have been better if Niles saved Leo instead of her. Forrest tells her to perish the thought, because he couldn't get by without her and Ophelia's company. 

Forrest's group hears Kana's roars. Nina spots Vallite soldiers approaching and Forrest decides to go save Dwyer and Sophie, saying it would disgrace the bloodline of Nohr to let them die. A battle begins, using Ryoma's boss map from Conquest. Forrest and Dwyer can talk to each other. In this conversation, they introduce their teams. Dwyer says he's happy to be rescued by a beautiful woman, then corrects himself to say he's happy to be rescued by a beautiful man. Alternatively, you can have Forrest talk to Sophie, who correctly identifies Forrest as male and mentions Forrest’s horse is a girl.

This is an escape map, giving you two routes to go. Asugi, Caeldori, Midori, and Rhajat stand in your way. Shiro, a swordmaster like his father, stands like Ryoma in the middle. I assumed he would stay there for twenty turns like his dad and took my time through this map. I was wrong. He begins chasing after turn six, making this map a terrifying dash for the exit.

Kana is in dragon form during this map, which is neat. Apparently, you get a scroll with the skill Magictaker if you beat this map without losing any units. I say apparently, because I’m getting this info from the wiki. Shiro killed a few of my units. You get similar skills but for different stats in all of the other Heirs of Fate chapters except the last one.

After battle, Kana turns back to normal. He explains that Corrin died after giving him her sword and saying to run. Nina points out that they must have all been attacked at the same time for a reason. Forrest says Kana will be useful for saving their parents. Kana begins crying and Forrest attacks him with Byrnhildr to stop him from transforming. Forrest explains that time does not flow in reverse (except in Awakening) and that they can only help Corrin by looking forward, not back. He points out that no one else is frozen with grief and tells Kana to be a brave warrior. Yata turns into Grim Yato. Ophelia likes the name.

Kana reveals he knows everyone else's name already, even though they don't know him, and asks why they don't remember him. Ghost Azura pops up and explains that their memories will return when it's all over. Kana can't remember Azura dying. Azura says that he'll soon forget her, just as the others did, just as they have forgotten Kana. Sophie says that she would have remembered forgetting Kana. Also Azura gives Kana a dragon stone.

Azura says that maybe they've never met this version of Kana, because of the whole Deeprealms are alternate universes thing. She says some flowery shit about memory and says there's no point in explaining stuff because they'll only forget it. She says there's no reason to worry about forgetting their loved ones, because you won't remember it and be sad about it. Ophelia and Dwyer disagree, calling it a dire tragedy and saying that forgotten people are essentially dead respectively. Azura says that memories and life are interchangeable. She warns that, when asked to choose between their memories and something else, that they should choose what they can't afford to lose.

Shigure sings the Conquest verse. He implies that the curse on Valla is responsible for the scrambled memories and says the key to escaping it is a stone left behind by a dragon. He says that straying from the correct path will cause the curse to eradicate all memories and emotions, washing them away like the tide.

He really is Azura’s son, considering how frustratingly cryptic he is all the time.

Support: Mana/Selkie

C: Selkie and Kana think each other are cool. They decide to go hunting together.

B: Kana and Selkie are good at hunting together. They decide to come up with battle plans together.

A: Kana and Selkie are good at killing together.

S: Kana says he likes her and they get together.

Review: BOOOORING.

Support: Hisame/Rhajat

C: Rhajat's curses aren't working and end up doing the opposite of what she intends. Hisame gives her tea and pickles which are so good Rhajat thinks they are enchanted.

B: The tea calms Rhajat and makes her magic work right. Rhajat loses a charm, but remembers where it is after Hisame gives her tea. Hisame explains he is always relaxed because Hinata is high-strung and taught him what not to do.

A: Rhajat makes tea alone. Hisame is worried she won't have tea with him anymore, but she says she needs to learn his relaxation techniques.

S: Hisame is stressed because he likes Rhajat. Rhajat calls this cute and says she wants to be with him forever, because his tea made her deadlier. Hisame isn't calmed by this.

Review: Decent but not extraordinary.

Support: Caeldori/Siegbert

C: Siegbert sees Caeldori fighting and says the throne should belong to someone like her.

B: Siegbert explains he's worried about whether he's fit to be the king of Nohr, because he thinks he is inadequate. He explains a king must be a perfect paragon who excels at all things, or else he does not deserve the power vested in him. Unfortunately, Siegbert sees people better than him in every subject. Caeldori says that perfect monarchs only exist in fairy tales because no one is perfect. Siegbert says Caeldori is perfect.

A: Siegbert apologizes for calling Caeldori perfect and ignoring the pain of people thinking she's gifted, because actually she works hard. Caeldori says Siegbert can perceive the pain of others, meaning he'll be a good king.

S: They get together in a scene where neither of them feel like themselves.

Review: Siegbert’s anxieties over being king are good, but this one flubs it with him apologizing for thinking Caeldori is great at everything. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t like Caeldori very much. Her lack of flaws make her boring and annoying. And yes, there are a few Supports where she is flawed, but this isn’t one of them.

Support: Ignatius/Ophelia

C: Ophelia warns Ignatius that evil spirits are feeding on his fear. She shouts DUCK to mess with him, causing Ignatius to faint. Ophelia tries to wake him up by setting him on fire.

B: Ignatius is mad at Ophelia, so she tells him that frowning attracts evil spirits. Ignatius tries to smile. Ophelia says she'll protect him from evil with a good luck charm and chunks salt at him. Ignatius asks if it worked and Ophelia admits she's just making it up as she goes along.

A: Ignatius decides the good luck charm worked because he hasn't died yet. Ophelia says sure let's go with that. She begins researching miracles, like how swordsmen with cursed hands unlock hidden potential through emotional trauma. She says with miracles, their friends wouldn't have to die.

S: Ophelia doesn't find any miracle magic. Ignatius proposes. Ophelia decides to test a new spell on him with only a low chance of instant death.

Review: This one is fun, but Ophelia acts a bit too ridiculous.

[wizardofgrace]

who is/are your comfort character(s)?

if im ugly honest it's my wow oc i made in middle school. i imagine her in dumb adventures to help me get to sleep.

if im normal honest it's shiroe from log horizon. log horizon is my "watching this again could fix me" show

lighter or matches?

lighter because i smoke so much. because im paranoid about setting the fire alarms off. because then people are in my space and i could get fined. or in trouble. because i don't trust myself to not let it burn into my wicked hands

do you leave the window open at night?

yes. canada has no ac around here. at least in the apartments. it's only bad at night because I don't have a good fan.

which cryptyd being do you believe in?

mothman because i am in love

what color are your eyes?

gray

why did you do that?

i do what i can. it's never perfect. i make a lot of mistakes. but i always make it. i have to make it.

hair-ties or scrunchies?

scrunchies because i got soft ones that apparently make my hair break less hopefully.

how many water bottles are in your room right now?

none. i use a stanley cup

which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

cold coffee but I only get it when I'm out. hot in the autumn exclusively for PSLs.

would you slaughter the rich?

no. why should i choose who lives and who dies? should i say i could kill if im too much of a coward to pull the trigger?

favorite extracurricular activity?

all i do is play video games but i really like baking. back in the simpler time i even had a google blog for it. baking in the sun.

what kind of day is it?

uncomfortable. nothing out of place.

when was the last time you ate?

last night, ice cream alone on the couch.

do you love the smell of earth after it rains?

i like the smell of concrete in rain better. it reminds me of florida.

are you a parent? (all answers qualify)

no. i should never be.

can you drive?

not very well

are you farsighted or nearsighted?

my vision is pretty good.

what hair products do you use?

mostly 2-in-one so showers are easier. i have a coconut leave in thing when i have more energy.

imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

yes and i would make little designs too. i have flower stickers and gemstones too.

do you say soda or pop?

soda

something you’ve kept since childhood?

i have a box of a lot of precious notes and pictures from grade school. but the only thing from birth is a small angel doll my nana made me.

what type of person are you?

desperate.

how do you feel about chilly weather?

i don't mind it in moderation, but up here it's 8 months of cold through the year (we just had a frost warning yesterday) and it is very difficult.

if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing?

throwing our asses in a fucking circle

perfume/body spray or lotion?

lotion. i need it every time i wash my hands. i like perfume though

a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times?

what i could say to my dad.

about how many hours of sleep did you get?

7 hours

do you wear a mask?

no

how do you like your shower water?

hot until my scalp itches, then cold

is there dishes in your room?

there are two on my desk.

what type of music keeps you grounded?

150+bpm that i dance to like a parrot or songs that i have created elaborate music videos of in my head

do you have a favorite towel?

i used to. in a simpler time.

the last adventure you’ve been on?

this question made me sad.

is there a song you know every word to by heart?

there are a lot.

what’s your timezone?

mountain.

how many times have you changed your url?

a lot. i can't remember my original url, or the url of my first blog.

someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years?

my husband.

a soap bar that smells good?

plain dove white soap.

do you use lip balm?

yeah.

did you have any snacks today?

no. just coffee and water.

how do you take your coffee?

with cinnamon and a healthy dose of creamer

an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?

tiktok

what’s your take on spicy foods?

love them. wish i could love them more.

you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

the feeling of not taking other's lives does not extend to myself. it's the one last bit of control i have.

can you remember what happened yesterday?

yeah. woke up, bought weed, thought about my dad, drowned the thoughts

favorite holiday film?

the grinch with jim carrey

what was the last message you sent?

technically, talking a coworker through a release issue at work

when did you first try an alcohol beverage?

in high school, at my grandma's house. i didn't drink again till i was 21, and i didn't stop for a long, long time.

can you skip rocks?

poorly.

can i tag you in random stuff?

yes. god knows i do it to fucking everyone else

here’s weirder asks

who is/are your comfort character(s)?

lighter or matches?

do you leave the window open at night?

which cryptyd being do you believe in?

what color are your eyes?

why did you do that?

hair-ties or scrunchies?

how many water bottles are in your room right now?

which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

would you slaughter the rich?

favorite extracurricular activity?

what kind of day is it?

when was the last time you ate?

do you love the smell of earth after it rains?

are you a parent? (all answers qualify)

can you drive?

are you farsighted or nearsighted?

what hair products do you use?

imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

do you say soda or pop?

something you’ve kept since childhood?

what type of person are you?

how do you feel about chilly weather?

if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing?

perfume/body spray or lotion?

a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times?

about how many hours of sleep did you get?

do you wear a mask?

how do you like your shower water?

is there dishes in your room?

what type of music keeps you grounded?

do you have a favorite towel?

the last adventure you’ve been on?

is there a song you know every word to by heart?

what’s your timezone?

how many times have you changed your url?

someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years?

a soap bar that smells good?

do you use lip balm?

did you have any snacks today?

how do you take your coffee?

an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?

what’s your take on spicy foods?

you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

can you remember what happened yesterday?

favorite holiday film?

what was the last message you sent?

when did you first try an alcohol beverage?

can you skip rocks?

can i tag you in random stuff?

[originalfireemblemscenarios]

/c Ryoma x Female Reader

🌸

"I can't believe I let him...that I doubted you because..."

She gave a sigh as they headed toward the lake together, "I'm so sorry. You deserve better from me, too, Shiro. I'm aware that Lord Ryoma treated you harshly for it, but know that I'm glad the truth came out."

The lake came into view as they began to slow.

"It would have bothered me to no end; you were so familiar despite it having been our first meeting. So even if you're frustrated, it just...it means the world to me that I got to know you for this short time."

The two had reached their destination. The shore of the lake was only a pace or two in front of them.

Again with me over thinking it all hah-

I'm no longer accepting starters, right now I'm only writing continuations!

~🧸

"It's not him treating ME harshly that got me mad" he doesn't want you to blame yourself for Ryoma's actions or words "It's just that even now he didn't say a thing to YOU now did he?" and of course he doesn't mean those orders or anything like that but how he didn't even comment on the fact that in the future you'd be together "The you from the future kept telling me how dad loves you so much and he just shows it in ways that aren't so obvious, but even now he doesn't even say anything at a moment like this...! I guess what I mean to say is I just don't know what to think" he sighed in defeat "I'll just talk to you about it once I get back" he looks at the lake for a moment. Before stepping in he gives you a quick hug "Bye mom"

[bluerazorbirb]

About the Two fathers theory, and why it keeps nagging me

OK, so I caught up recently with the manga, it’s why I haven’t really been able to look this theory up much.

I didn’t think of the possibility of the twins having a different parentage while reading. It’s only when I saw this one crack theory post about Mephisto, of all people, being their potential dad by shape-shifting or something, that I looked at the timeline a little more (and I haven’t saved that post, so I can’t find it, sadly).

Anyway, the way chapter 108 presents the events is disjointed, and somewhat confusing with few time indications, but this may be why some kind of twist could be very well hidden here (along with 106 and 107).

Disclaimer: In spite of presenting the elements here, I’m neutral at best about the possibility that the twins’ parentage isn’t as it appear. I don’t see it as very possible, and I don’t know if it would matter much to the story if it’s even remotely true (perhaps for Yukio’s development, idk). Nevertheless, I’m putting my thought-process here.

Something that one crack theory ‘Mephisto is the dad’ post pointed out was the timing of the pregnancy, and how it doesn’t actually appear to line up with the timeline we’ve been given. As for why that is, let’s examine the events in detail:

(Wall of text incoming, TLDR at the end)

-

We know Satan came back to Section 13 two years after vanishing in the sewer. He came in with his demon army and took the kids and workers in Section 13 hostage. Lucifer and his three Baal followers acknowledged their ‘father’s leadership and offered their assistance. Satan was fine with having the Section 13’s researchers keep making the Elixir, as long as they gave it to him. This also suited the Section 13’s team, because Satan was a precious test subject.

However, True Cross’s Eastern branch’s Asylum being invaded like that forced its leaders to admit the existence of Satan to the other branches, and theses branches sent out exorcists in reinforcement to deal with this new threat. True Cross East still kept the existence of Section 13 a secret. Mephisto also failed to negotiate the release of the Section 13’s children in exchange for supplies (given he was aware that Satan wanted to let Section 13 continue their research, this was likely part of his 'statement’ to the other branches). We don’t know how long this whole thing took, but it likely was only a few hours, since it’s a hostage situation, and exorcists can use keys to travel to True Cross East fast.

The Paladin Abel Franken announces the plan to the outsider exorcists: Satan’s vessel is decaying, he likely only has about a month to live. They will fight and try to take on the fortress during this time.

And so, for a month, they fight. Satan never shows up, but the three Baal do. Many exorcists die (final count is 114 by the time this is over). They are at a disadvantage, because they cannot find where Satan’s HQ is (since it’s in Section 13, and True Cross East is still hiding its existence, and all the nasty clone experiment biz going on in there). By the time the month ends, the exorcists are ready to cave in to Satan’s demand, and send supplies to keep the hostages alive.

It’s when Yuri decides to act. She’s been kept on the site as a consultant after Satan first demanded her presence. While asking her higher up permission to go herself and negotiate with Satan, she learns that Section 13’s leaders are happy with the situation, and have been secretly resupplying the secret lab themselves. They’re just waiting for Satan to finish decaying while using him as a subject. It also means that the outsiders exorcists are basically dying for no good reasons.

Hearing this, Yuri goes behind her superior’s back, and get into Section 13 with the key she had secretly kept from the time she worked inside. Satan guides her to him, and Yuri pleads for Satan to release everyone in Section 13 in exchange for her staying by his side until the end. Satan eventually accepts the term.

We don’t know how long Yuri and Satan stay in Section 13. The outsider exorcists were meant to send out supplies to keep the hostage alive for the next month, but we don’t see that happen. This coupled with Satan’s decay being an issue means the two likely did not stay in Section 13 that long. Perhaps a day or two, at most.

During this time, Satan announces his departure to Eminescu and the people in Section 13, who are displeased by this development. Yuri reconnects with her friend Jenny, and learns that Jenny plans to use the opportunity that the outsider exorcists are here to reveal Section 13’s horrible deeds.

Yuri also discusses her plan to run away with Satan for him to finish his days with her. But the women are overheard. Jenny is killed, Satan and Yuri are captured right as they leave True Cross East, and Yuri shows signs of being sick.

After Satan and Yuri are recaptured, the outsider exorcists are being fed a BS story about Satan’s vessel being found decaying somewhere once the demons left the fortress (the demons left because of Yuri’s negotiation, which is kept secret). The outsider exorcists begin to question if Satan was even here, or if True Cross East is hiding something.

In order to cover-up Section 13’s existence and its involvement with Satan, Mephisto tells them that Satan was invited by Yuri after he bewitched her. He also announces to them that Yuri is pregnant by four to five weeks, and has a Cradle Barrier around her, preventing her child from being killed.

This here is the first issue with the pregnancy. It is possible I’m wrong, but from what info we were given, by the time Satan was recaptured by Section 13, only roughly a month should have gone by from the moment Satan took over True Cross East. In other words: roughly four to five weeks.

If this is so, Yuri Egin became pregnant from about the time Satan resurfaced, and a month before she found Satan and they got together to do the deed.

And it’s not a discrepancy the outsider exorcists would be able to pick on, as Mephisto told them Yuri was the one responsible for inviting Satan to True Cross East’s Asylum a month back. From what they know, she could have gotten pregnant during that time.

As for Shiro, we don’t see him at that meeting, but we do see him discuss Satan’s child with both Yuri and Mephisto, so he’s aware that Yuri is pregnant… however, the paneling of Mephisto and Shiro’s discussion has a strange layout. Specifically this part which happens in the middle of a flashback he has while stealing Kurikara:

Now, why the reaction here? Why not before? By this point, as readers, we’ve already seen the decision Shiro took right after knowing about the pregnancy, so what’s the point of putting such a reaction here? Maybe there’s no significance to it, but even Mephisto’s wording, “Yuri was pregnant”, is a bit unsettling. Perhaps the Japanese version shows something else, though, so this is just speculation.

But that timeline strangeness itself is no proof that Satan isn’t the father, or that two fathers are involved. For one, Yuri does have a Cradle Barrier around her, which only manifests to protect a demon child. Furthermore, Mephisto could have lied to the outsider exorcists about how far in the pregnancy she was. I know this would be harder to pull, because Yuri is under examination, but the Section 13 personnel may be the ones doing the job. And there is one other thing which could point to Mephisto not giving the right estimation for the pregnancy.

…But that reason is also something which points to the Two Father Theory being a possibility.

-

The thing about Yuri, is that she was late in delivering her babies. She was four weeks past her due date. Roughly about a month.

There is a month’s discrepancy with the info we were given about when Yuri became pregnant, and Yuri was a month late in delivering.

This hardly seems like a coincidence to me.

Which brings me to two possible conclusions if we go with the idea that Yuri’s pregnancy should last about the same time a normal pregnancy does. The first is that Mephisto simply lied to the other exorcists about the time of the pregnancy to cover up Section 13’s involvement with Satan, making Yuri the only culprit for the month the exorcists spent fighting the three Baal and Satan’s legion.

The second possibility is in favor of the Two Father Theory: Yuri was pregnant a month before meeting with Satan, and somehow, thanks to demon-power shenanigan, got pregnant again with another child. The reason she was past her due date by a month was so that the other child���s development would catch up with the first.

In this situation, given what we’ve seen so far, the second child is most likely to be Rin, since the Cradle Barrier vanished once he came out. The Cradle Barrier disappearing is also another hint on Yukio being possibly full human by ancestry as well (although the concept of a trade off in the womb would have been interesting).

Like I said, this possibility shouldn’t particularly affect the story, although if it’s correct, then, the fact that very few people in high place ever refers to Yukio as a ‘son of Satan’ is notable. For one, none of the Baal, or Satan himself have referred to Yukio as either a ‘brother’ or a ‘son’ (Satan himself only referred to Rin as a ‘son’, he calls Mephisto by his original name, for example). Granted, it’s as likely that demons just do not recognize Yukio as a family member due to his lack of demon powers, but this is still something to consider.

That aside, it raises the question: who is Yukio’s father if not Satan? The likeliest candidate is still Shiro, for lack of anyone else. It’s where the Two Father Theory falters in my opinion, because, while there certainly are romantic tensions in between Yuri and Shiro, and there is no doubt that Yuri viewed Shiro romantically, we haven’t seen their relationship progress to a point where they would have casual unprotected sex with each other.

Arguably, that’s also where the timeline of the event can be referred to, because the last scene we have of Shiro and Yuri together before Satan returns is when Shiro picks up Shura, and Yuri ultimately refuses to take Shura in, because she’s still waiting for ‘Rinka’ to come back once his body fails. This whole encounter happened six months after Satan bust out of Section 13. In other word, it happened a year and a half before Satan returned (further confirmed by Shura when she speaks of the sole time she met with Yuri, two years before the twins’ birth).

It does mean that, as readers, we’re missing a year and half of potential interactions in between Shiro and Yuri, a year and half when Yuri could have changed her mind about waiting for Rinka and open up to other potential futures. What still makes this a huge maybe to me is that Shura only met Yuri once, so if Shiro ever spent time with Yuri, he did it on his own, without Shura’s involvement.

Well, that’s about it for the wall of text.

TLDR: According to Mephisto, Yuri was pregnant four to five weeks in when she was captured with Satan, and this makes it more likely that she was pregnant before sneaking into Section 13 and spending a few days with Satan in there. But since she gave birth a month late from her due date, Mephisto either lied about how far ahead she was, or Yuri could have gotten pregnant a month later for a second time with Satan somehow, making Rin and Yukio fraternal twins with different fathers.

(Not going into the weird ‘fraternal twins with signs of parasitic growth’ affair, because I’m not knowledgeable enough to comment.)

But, if Yuri was pregnant before she came in, she likely realized the truth about her child when they announced the news to her. And she would know who the father involved was.

Not like it would help if the child has already been labeled as the spawn of Satan thanks to the Cradle Barrier, though.

[heroesandmasterminds]

Hmmmmm 3, 11, and 35 for the unusual asks <3

3. Rant. Just do it.

I'm going with my favourite ranting topic: Voltron! VLD and its characters deserved so much better because it genuinely started out as such a good show! The characters were lovable and multifaceted, the plot was interesting, the relationships between the characters had so much potential and honestly any two members of Team Voltron could have an amazing bond.

Even as late as S8 there are individual scenes/episodes that are enjoyable enough to watch in themselves, except when you take a step back and look at them in the context of the whole show the problems start emerging; Hunk and Keith on Clear Day was adorable, as was Pidge bargaining with her mother and Shiro's arm wrestling with the team supporting him, but look at it in the context of the whole show and it's soured by the fact that Allura is doing her own thing yet again, and there's no connection between her and the rest of the team. Hunk and Keith's fledgling friendship will never develop beyond that scene. Shiro has no meaningful interactions with the team beyond that scene for a considerable length of time. It's sad!

And there are some great character or friendship moments that are so lovely to watch except then you look at everything around it and actually it makes no sense? The Sunset Scene! I love it so much but actually they haven't had a meaningful conversation since S3 and there's clearly a lot of hurt and miscommunication to sort through - they can't just automatically be at this deep-bond stage of friendship again.

Coran had about three meaningful scenes but they felt like random appearances in the middle of being a background character. I wanted to see more of how the loss of the Castle affected him, he who loved it probably more than anyone. How losing Altea hurt him, when he was awake to witness Allura going into the pod and likely had to say his last words to Alfor and others knowing they would be the last words. Not just him being totally chill giving away the last piece of his home to a random Earth warship. Comforting Allura about her father and Altea without getting the level of comfort he deserved in return.

Lance's death or Keith's almost-sacrifice at Naxzela, such important things for their characters, except they are never talked about. In fact Lance, shortly afterwards, seems to be daydreaming about Allura when surely the fact that he died affects him somehow? Same for Shiro, we never really see that affecting him the way PTSD did in S1. Keith was away from the team for so long but how did that affect him?

I love Pidge's bits searching for her family, or Allura missing hers, but over time they only seemed to pop up when plot-relevant so it takes away from how believable it is and how invested we can be. I wanted to say something about Hunk except there isn't really enough to talk about. Maybe that Shay, after S2 when she asks after Hunk once, disappears completely until S7? If you aren't in fandom, keeping that ship going, you basically stop caring and I know this because I've been showing VLD to my dad and we watched the end of S7 yesterday. Most fans freaked out over Shay appearing but he had no reaction because he hadn't seen her at all since S2.

Or Lance's broadsword? I LOVE that scene so much (as I messaged you about a few hours ago, Lizzie!) but it means nothing in the wider context of the show except that Lance has grown as a character, which we could see from other scenes, and it parallels Alfor which they were doing as early as S3 anyway. They needed to do something with it.

I loved James and Keith's interactions in S7 but in context, them being civil came kind of out of nowhere, they are just suddenly okay with each other or if they did talk about it we didn't see it. Which is a huge problem with this show, so many things happen offscreen or we're supposed to imagine they happened when they're things we should really be shown (e.g. Keith telling the team he's Galra! That was the first time I thought hey, something's a little lacking in the writing here...)

The Journey Within is the episode I dislike most of VLD except S8 which is on another level, to be fair. It's ok in itself, even if it hurts to hear them treat each other like this, but then instead of sorting through some of the long-term emotional baggage they add to it. And it never gets resolved.

I guess VLD's biggest problem is that everything is disjointed. Things that work individually don't work in the wider scheme of things because long-term arcs keep getting lost along the way. It isn't smooth storytelling. And especially for relationships (of any kind) towards the end it felt like they just didn't have time for most of them. I think this show could have benefited from time - both screentime and time to produce the seasons.

So yeah, long rant, practically a meta, but there you have it!

11. What unusual talent do you have?

I'm not sure actually. What counts as unusual? I guess I'm very intuitive when it comes to helping people with anything emotion-related?

35. What does home mean to you?

It's cheesy, but people. Home is anywhere I feel safe and can do the things I want and be the truest version of myself and for me that's with certain people.

[white--moon]

He snorts, "Listen, I only have so much goin' for me. I gotta brag about what I can." He's not serious in the slightest. "Not everyone can say they've got hands. It's a brag-able achievement."

None of what Ichigo's saying about two dads maybe having a thing means much to Shiro's definition of anti-gay parent figures, but that doesn't really deter him. There's a lot of aspects to his life that are frowned upon and not well accepted. His brows go up when Ichigo starts telling him no, a little knee jerk dislike of being told no, a little because he didn't realize he was doing such a bad job of masking. Ichigo's definitely getting good at reading him. He twists a little to watch Ichigo's animated rant. There's increasing frustration in his tone. This is not the first time Ichigo's apologized for his dad before Shiro's ever even actually met the guy. His brows furrow some and the repeat apology mixed with how genuinely Ichigo seems to believe his old man will be too much actually does give Shiro some sort of small pause. The way Ichigo acts really does make him doubt how good of an idea it is to meet Ichigo's family any time soon. Maybe one sister was good enough.

He studies Ichigo's posture for a moment. "Why would I break up with you because of your dad? You don't even live with him. I literally never have to see or interact with him if we don't get along. I'm with you for you, not him."

He can't help but smile at the offer that pops up in the text chat on Ichigo's phone. He texts back that he would love to go to the beach with them and Ichigo (because he's not leaving Ichigo out of plans with his sisters) some time. "How old are your sisters?" She just seems so sweet and innocent and young. Sheltered, he decides, but maybe it's not a bad thing. "I can see why you get so protective of them."

Ichigo says he knows like it’s obvious and Shiro catches on a sound between offense and guilt. It shouldn’t be happening. It definitely shouldn’t be obvious. He was drunk, Ichigo shouldn’t have taken anything he’d said seriously. “I was just drunk and bitching.” He settles on in response, as if it’s some sort of counter argument so the whole thing can be dismissed. “I would'a been fine.” He doesn’t regret his drunk texts, because he can see how that interaction maybe laid the beginnings of what they’re doing now.

He looks over, but Ichigo’s tone is… something he’s not sure what to do with. It’s not casual, it’s not chastising. It’s sort of soft and a lot. He knows exactly what the words means, but not quite how to respond to them. He hesitates a short moment, then swallows and shrugs, and attempts casual anyway. “It’s fine. I told you I’d let you get some school stuff done.”

A brow arches mildly. That doesn’t really clear much up, honestly. But ok. “Oh, right.” He wonders if Ichigo’s talking about his pretty ex girlfriend for a second, but he’s pretty sure that’s not the case.

He’s distracted, but it’s on purpose, which ends up meaning he’s distracted from work and distracted from Ichigo and everything else going on too. He showed up because he basically got bullied into it- though now he wonders if Rukia told him he had to be here because Ichigo showed up without him. And with Shuren, evidently. The line of his mouth thins with a hint of tension that’s broken when he catches the illumination of Ichigo’s phone screen being shown to him. He looks over, then does a little bit of a double take, before grabbing the phone to get a closer look. “What the fuck? How come you didn’t tell me you got friends with fire power? That looks fun as hell, if I had known the family you were supposed to be visiting was gonna blow things up we would'a went.”

[ptw30]

Hi! I've been enjoying your breakdowns of VLD, and was wondering what your take is on them being so vague of Keith's ethnicity/ race? I know in past versions of the show he's been Asian (usually Japanese if I'm remembering right), but w/ VLD they just have half galra/human, no detail on his human side. He has no last name, and his dad isn't even named -yet we know the name of the Holt family dog of all things. I can't see much good reason for leaving a presumed Asian mans ethnicity ambiguous.

Thanks for reading my rants posts!

@ashacrone knows more about the previous iterations than me, so Asha, correct me if I’m wrong but Keith in the DD comics had Chinese and Japanese heritage, right?

Circling back to your question - if you believe the rumors, DW Marketing decided not to reveal Keith’s Earth heritage because many fans saw/headcanoned Keith as Asian, so Marketing didn’t want to say the creators had coded Keith white.

Even if you don’t believe or care for rumors, let’s look at facts and the show’s content. 

VLD had a completely white writers’ room following S3, and by the end of the series, the room consisted of three white men and one white female.

If Keith was Asian, then Voltron did not have a white male paladin.

If Keith was white, then the white male paladin became the leader of Voltron, taking the position from a Japanese, disabled man with PTSD, and he also became the leader over his previous commander, a non-white female character. 

Of these two options, which scenario seems more plausible from an all-white, male-dominated writers’ room?

And here’s the kicker - even though I wouldn’t have liked Scenario Two with Keith as Asian either, since I loved Shiro in Black and Allura as the head of the Voltron Coalition/Atlas but it would have kept a PoC in a leadership role, which - yay! - making Keith Asian would have be easy. 

When the team returned back to Earth in “Know Your Enemy,” Iverson could have addressed Keith, “And you, Cadet Kogane.”

That’s it. That’s all it would have taken to make Keith Asian or of Asian descent. And it would have better than the ambiguous-maybe-maybenot character being the defacto “hero/leader” at the expense of two capable, strong leaders who were PoC.

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Lance has been hurting lately, but hiding it under his bravo. No one notices the pain he's in even as he helps them throughout the day. Finally it's 'night' and everything crashes for him. He does his best to hold it together, but as the others come up to him again - asking for help he can't give - he breaks. Past hurts are made known and Lance doesn't know if they'll trust him to be him anymore.

Awwe :(

—

Lance opened his eyes, everything felt heavy with sleep as he attempted to blink away the grogginess that hasn’t left in a few weeks. The right side of his head pounded at the bright lights that filled his eyes as he stepped out into the constantly light hallway. He slept, but he didn’t feel like he slept. Maybe he wasn’t sleeping? Maybe he just closed his eyes and pretended to sleep? Lance leaned on the wall for support, his head filling with dizziness as he bit back a groan in pain. 

Lance was hurting, he couldn’t deny that anymore. Hurting for his family he left on Earth. Hurting for the desire to be better for the team. Hurting to find a place to call home. Hurting to just hurt. 

No he wasn’t physically hurt, he just hurt. Everything became too much for him and he was breaking under the pressure of everything. The pressure to save the universe, the pressure to be the best defender he could be. The pressure to not let anyone down. 

Lance knew that the team was proud of him, he knew that they wanted him and needed him on the team. He just couldn’t handle the idea of messing up, of being the reason someone get’s hurt, the reason of the worst happening. 

“Morning Lance!” Hunk excited spoke as he started explaining whatever concoction he had created in the time it took for Lance to roll, literally, out of bed, put on the same clothes he wore every day, make himself look presentable and stumble down to the dinning hall. 

Lance put a smile on his face, it hurt but he wasn’t going to let the team see, his best friend see. “Hunk my man, you made this all for me?” 

“Oh shush Lance, he made it for everyone,” Pidge gave him a small sibling like shove and sat down in her usual spot. 

Lance gave an empty chuckled, and cleared his throat when Keith walked in the room, already preparing their morning “fight.” Lance took a deep breath, his lungs aching and he quickly released it, stopping the pain as soon as it started. Was he going to be okay? 

-

Lance dropped his head, letting the slightly too hot water fall over him. He didn’t want to think anymore, he just wanted to sleep, or maybe just not think for a bit. 

Come on Lance, man up, you’re okay. Tears began to burn behind his eyes and Lance shook his head back n forth. Why am I like this? Lance reflected on his day, he woke up, ate, bickered with Keith, trained, ate lunch, trained more, talked to Coran, trained, chilled with Blue, trained, and now shower. 

It was a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary yet Lance still felt off. He slammed his fist into the side of the shower, ignoring the pulses of pain that exploded over his hand. A sob threatened to come out and Lance bite his lip, why why why, he sunk down onto his knees, small shivers consumed his body. 

-

Lance doesn’t remember getting out of the shower, he doesn’t remember drying himself off, he doesn’t remember getting dressed and climbing into his bed. He only remembers hearing pounding on his door. “What the he-” Lance missed dinner, he never misses dinner. Shit. 

“Lance, buddy, pal? Are you awake? I brought you some food.” Hunk’s voice was too energetic for Lance right now and he could make out the faint whispers of the team. 

Maybe he could pretend he was asleep, maybe if he laid still enough and didn’t talk they would just leave him alone. Lance knew he didn’t have the energy, the energy to keep a smile on his face, to convince his team that he was okay. Please go away, please go away.

“He’s probably asleep, he did give it his all today,” Pidge’s voice was small behind the metal door and Lance couldn’t help but give a small smile at her. Like a genuine smile, he couldn’t help it she reminded him of his little cousins he would babysit back on Earth. 

“Come on, let’s at least check,” the door slide open and Lance quickly shoved his head further into his pillow. Jesus Keith, why do you always have to go the extra mile. 

Lance attempted to control his breathing as he vaguely listened to Hunk and Shiro attempt to reason with Keith and Pidge, Coran randomly filling the room with his laugh and his footsteps into the room. 

“Come on my boy! You must eat your goo, or else you won’t be strong enough to defend yourself against a wild Vortextaur in an ice storm.” Coran placed his hand on Lance’s back and Lance bite back a groan. 

“I’m not hungry,” Lance knew his voice was muffled but he didn’t car and he hugged his pillow closer to his face, ignored hos hard breathing was getting. The bed sunk under some weight and a familiar hand began rubbing circles. Thank goodness for Hunk. 

“You feeling okay buddy?” Hunk’s voice was soft and quiet. 

Lance nodded his head, praying everyone would leave. Tears began to form behind his eyes and Lance bit his lips, he couldn’t cry in front of the team, he didn’t want them to think any less on him. 

“COME ON LANCE!” Pidge jumped on top of him, a nice attempt at getting Lance to react but even Lance didn’t have the energy to respond. 

He knew he shifted the mood he could feel the concern from his team rolling over him like a fog in the night. Fuck, he knew he had to fix it, but how? He pushed himself up, “I’m okay everyone, I promise”  

No one believed him. Hunk gave him a small smile, Pidge a sympathetic look, Keith a unbelieving stare, Coran a supporting dad look, and Shiro a slight frown. The tears came back, Lance hated when the team was unhappy with him. 

“Lance,” 

Why was Shiro’s voice so powerful, even at a whisper? 

“You can tell us if something isn’t okay. You know that right?” He kept his eyes on Lance, even making his face look slightly sympathetic. 

“Look,” Lance’s voice crack and the tears burned even more, “I’m okay. I know I haven’t been on top of my game because I want to make sure Keith can get some attention for his improvements.” Lance released an empty laugh. 

Hunk pulled Lance into him and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s okay to not be okay Lance, its just not okay to not ask for help.” 

Lance swallowed, his throat began to swell, he needed to keep it together, he wasn’t going to break, he wasn’t going to cry. “Guys, I’m fin-” 

Hunks fingers swept against Lance’s cheek, “you’re crying.” 

Lance pulled himself away from Hunk, wiping his eyes quickly, attempting to find the words to make everyone leave. “I’m okay,” he could barely whisper two words before the hiccups formed and Lance was full on bawling into Hunk’s arm. 

The room stayed quiet except for Lance’s whimpers and everyone’s occasional “it’s okay” and “just breath.” 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Pidge mumbled from her spot perched by Lance’s right leg, everyone had found a place next to Lance, giving comfort in their own ways. 

“Not much to talk about, it’s just…..it’s just too much.” Lance despised how small his voice sounded, he hated being seen as less than what he already was.

“What’s too much my boy?” Coran moved his right hand up to his face and began twisting his mustache. 

“All of this. The fighting, the training, the constant stress of being on the possibility of a battle, the fear of dying at any moment, my fa…my family, and I could be a lot better than what I already am.” Lance felt more tears fall down his face, he hated being weak, he knew he was done on the team. 

“Lance you’re already a great team member already, I know you’ve always gotten easily stresses over these things but you are already a great team member.” 

Lance wanted to believe what Hunk was saying, after all that’s his best friend but Lance couldn’t convince himself to believe him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

The team didn’t know what to do and they all moved themselves closer to Lance and gave him as much comfort as they could.  

—

I know I kept in a more “open ended” style but I related to much to Lance in this and I have a very hard time believing people when they tell me things like this. 

I hope you like it!!!!

[spartanblacksmith]

I have to say, you are a very well versed individual. This is a great take.

Also, I may have misspoke. I meant that Heroes want order, but believe the world is Chaotic.

Villains want Chaos, but believe the world is Orderly.

Similar to Batmans and Jokers relationship. Batman, the dark crusader who fights for order in a chaotic city, and Joker, the madman tired of seeing sane people around him, and wants insanity and freedom of the mind for all.

When Firefighters get the job, they expect that there's going to be fires and not just sitting around the firehouse.

Surgeons don't go into 15 years of medical training to not expect broken, sick, and/or people beyond saving being brought before them.

Deku became a hero to save people. He had been watching All Might and the other heroes do it for years. He knew just what it involved.

You're right about Hawks, wanting a world of no problems, but working himself to the bone trying to fix all the problems he does encounter. You're also right about Dabi. He not only wants revenge on his father for working him to near-destruction, but also on the city and it's people that Endeavor trained him to protect. Hawks and Dabi are the perfect comparison of this perspective, Horikoshi chose well.

Kirishima started out wanting to be cool like Crimson Riot. But after seeing the two girls in trouble and his inability to even move, he knew heroes needed more nerve than just jumping in. He trained, and trained, and trained not to be famous, but to fight and sacrifice for others. When people are in danger, he wants to be their shield.

When it comes to Heroes in MHA, they aren't supposed to become heroes for things like "Fame" or "Money.

That's Stains original point. He believed that fake heroes were taking advantage of a "hero" system that allows lackluster heroes into the world. So he went on a killing spree of heroes to remove those he hated, forge good heroes out of combat (Like how he tried to spare Deku when he found him acceptable as a hero), and throw the areas he attacked into chaos.

And I agree that most of the other villains use violence against the heroes because of the world that failed them. They see it not as unfortunate circumstances, but as a system that was designed to break them.

Toga's circumstances were because of her blood quirk. Usually, blood quirks are seen as evil, just like Shiro's voice quirk. She thinks the lack of acceptability of her quirk in society caused her problems. (That and the lack of murder, but that's semantics).

Twice sees that no one can help him with his skizofrenia. After he committed that robbery, his life fell apart. A part of that was in fact a sad, judgemental system that's hard on convicts, and I can't even imagine how hard it is in Japan. And that's why he's part of the League.

Spinner wants to break the stereotype against mutant type people. Growing up in a small town that hasn't accustomed to changing times can be hard on people. Especially if they aren't ready to admit that furries would in fact exist in the MHA universe. If not then Tokoyami's out of luck.

(My god, I accidentally found out Spinner is fighting for the furry cause, moving on)

As for Shigaraki, that quote was what I was thinking of. He sees Heroes as nothing but thugs, enforcers for the government. As enforcers, he thinks that people will leave the work to them, like how regular people left him. So that's why he wants to tear it all down. A sort of destroy the Empire fighting as the Rebellion kind of thinking.

As for that, that's the sad thing. He did have a hero. All-for-one. He was not a good hero, but he did take him off the street and take care of him. He wasn't a proper father figure but more than his actual dad.

And that's the thing you pointed out that is so true. Perspective. Intent. Cause. Effect.

Like looking at Shigaraki's adoption by All-for-one. He could have been a good person and just give him a proper childhood. But it was mold him into a superweapon of destruction for his untold reasons.

The quirk One-for-all could be seen as a villainous weapon and figurative passing of the evil torch. But in the hands of Deku and All Might, it's a tool for helping people.

As for Twice's assassination, it was a terrible affair, but he was gauged as a crazy high threat. He was seen as a bigger threat than friggin All-for-one, who was deemed not dangerous enough for the death sentence.

Toga saw him get killed and thought that the heroes didn't see Twice as a person, but in reality, he was seen by all of them as the strongest person around, able to literally create armies in seconds. But he was fighting for a man that wanted to slaughter millions of innocents for his cause, so his death will haunt Hawks forever. (And not just because he possibly lost his wings for it)

Blame can be thrown at anybody or anything. Oneself, society, fortune, or the man who refused to give one a job to drag themselves out of a bad situation.

Sorry if this whole reply seems haphazard.

Since your talking about my hero academia, I wanted to ask you about what you thought about your opinion on the fundamental difference of heros believing in chaos and villains believing in order.

(Assassin's Creed not included)

Like, Comic Book Villains (like the League of Villains) typically believe that the world has an Order to it and think that it's bad. They then feel they must break it with violence and crime to cause chaos.

Comic Book Heros (Like All Might and Class 1-A) are the other side of the coin, they believe the world is Chaotic and bad things going on. They feel they must fight and work to make a little order.

Just wondering.

I'm remembering a very famous quote from MHA itself that perfectly describes your question.

Probably one of the best villan quotes in MHA.

And it is true in a way. But the fundamental difference in chaos is the intent.

All Might uses violence to save innocent people though one can argue that these villans were also once innocent people who were failed by the Hero Society.

These are the people who were failed by the people who were supposed to be protecting them.

It's similar to the question Toga asked once to herself:

"If a Hero's job is to save people then doesn't it includes them?"

Doesn't Jin kun comes in their list?

Where do you draw the line?

It was sad question because the thing is no matter how much we try their will always be people out of our reach.

So yes, while some Heroes have to rely on violence to stop the evil, they never do it on purpose.

In MHA, villans don't just want chaos because the world is too much in order, but because the heroes have failed them. Dabi was Touya Todoroki, the son of Number 2 Hero and yet he became a villan because he was failed by his own father who also happened to be a supposed Hero. Same goes for Shigaraki, who was also a lost child once. Everyone though, some Hero will help him amd that's why no one helped him at the end and the only person to reach out was AFO.

Take Civil War as an example.

Her intention was never to kill that many people, they were just after the terrorist. It was just a mistake on her part but it costed the lives of people. That is a crime. She felt guilty about it but doesn't this humanises her even more.

Despite the title of Heroes, despite the power she had, she still made a mistake. But it was never on purpose.

The other example I can think of comes from

The Boys

This is one of those series that totally depicts how evil power can be. Remember how Homelander was so evil that he let's the people of the entire plane die?

That were some evil superheroes.

But then that was main moto of that show! To show how ultimate fake and power corrupts people.

So all in all, if we keep this exception aside "The fundamental difference between Heroes wanting Chaos and villans wanting Chaos" is that Heroes don't even want chaos.

Remember how Hawks just wants a peaceful world for everyone where Heroes have too much time?

While villans like Dabi want REVENGE!

Yeah and because he wanted revenge on Endeavour he, along with his friends doesn't think twice before ruining the entire city.

Heroes and Villans, two faces of a coin.

One starts the game, one ends it.