#I love you yuugo

[goldiipond]

happy pride to them specifically

[omarwolaeth]

I hope to god that, in the boys by majority, loving the bracelet girls isn't a facet of the bracelets effectively being eldritch devices that cause reality to shift in conjunction with each other.

Partially because that's very uncomfortable of a subject to broach in-universe, and partially because that's a bit fucked up for the bracelets themselves/Ray to do.

[randomyuu]

A JJK GoYuu fancomic... of a fanfic (read right to left)

You know… despite me getting into JJK fandom this year, I’ve never drawn any JJK characters. (cue me drawing 9 whole-ass comic pages-)

This wonderful fic is titled (you'll whisper, serpent tongue) what you fear you have become by @voxofthevoid​. This comic covers chapter 1 scenes.

Beware of the tags, as the fanfic is NSFW. Oh, and also, manga spoilers! Major character and arc spoilers! I’ve read until chapter 4 and no NSFW so far, but still, beware!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43446157/chapters/109219954

I hope you enjoy reading this comic and the fanfic if you decide to!

Update: Chapter 6 scene fanart

More of my random thoughts and an early drawing of GoYuu below:

Have I told you I’m not used to drawing manga as well? Manga panels are pain. PAIN, I tell you. I shouldn’t have done this, but I did. I did, because every time I read the synopsis of this fic I keep picturing manga-like scenes. You should blame me for reading those AllYuu doujinshis.

It was… interesting experience. I was struggling a bit with the balloon consistency, like, do I use white boxes or just italic words for thoughts? Or maybe a balloon with a cloud-like border?

And there’s GoYuu (YuuGo? Idk honestly, don’t care lol) themselves. As I said, I literally have never drawn JJK-related content before. So when I started thinking about the panelling, I realised that I don’t really know how to draw Gojo, even more a thousand-year-old Yuuji. A whole day is spent researching Gojo, Yuuji and Sukuna’s appearances lol. Sukuna’s markings are a problem since I can’t find a full view of his markings. I know I can just finally watch the anime (yes I haven’t watched the anime, only some short clips; yes I know the animation is good, and I really want to watch it but my brain doesn’t want to) or re-read the manga, but I don’t want to ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

After going through Google images, Twitter and Reddit, I whipped up a front drawing of GoYuu as my reference:

Gojo’s is easier because he hasn’t changed from the official (I blatantly eyeballing the character sheet I found haha), but Yuuji is different. Yuuji’s hair is longer; if I recall, there’s no exact description of his clothes. I assume he’s topless due to this description: Messy pink hair, long enough to cover the creature’s nape but not to hide the segmented dark markings running down his back, shifts in the wind.

And halfway through storyboarding, I realised that I have no experience using screen tones. Whatsoever. So off I go searching for a screentone bundle I can freely download and slowly figure my way out after fully lining the page.

And we haven’t even touched perspective, background, achromatic colouring, non-human characters—man, I really bite more than I can chew lmaooo

Ah, the things you would do to satiate that drawing mood ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Also, I hope I’ll have time to draw more fanarts of JJK GoYuu fanfics because they live rent-free in my brain and I need them to get out. Maybe other pairings as well? I like quite a lot of pairings that involve Yuuji. He’s precious, and I love having it shown to me over and over through fanfics.

[graphx]

tpn artbook things I noticed!

MATCHING YUUGO AND RAY VEST IM GOING TO EXPLODEEEEEE

Norman with a gun is so funny to me. He is trying so hard to look cool but he is a bird with hollow bones, the recoil from that lil thing would send him to the floor faster than Ray slapping him

stop pretending ur helping Norman, Don is literally doing all the work behind u

he is so scared to be next to ashye even in the poster (rip zack's nose scar)

the fact that norman looks so much like Nat in the concept art XD is that a cowlick or a halo???!?!!

(CHARLIE BROWN????) I regret pointing this out to my sister because now it's my pfp in her phone

vincent's sense of style will never be anything less than amazing. Look at Cislo he is SO READY for game night :D (JEMIMA AND ZAZIE WITH STUFFED ANIMALS AUGHHHHH)

HES IN HIS COMA EVEN IN THE ART IM- jail. jail for a thousand years. right next to his dead dads too IM DONE

have a Dominic it will make you feel better

Paula not knowing how party poppers work is adorable.

what they deserve (im embarrassed to have andrew's face in my camera roll)

look at Ray and Gilda pretending not to care about their little brothers (they love them more than life itself)

HE IS CARRYING THEIR THINGS JUST LIKE A DAD SHOULDDDDDD (upgraded from old man to walking coat rack :D)

why does phil get a father figure that hasn't died D:/ (jk love that for him more stronk phil plz)

YELLOW EYED VIOLET AND BROWN EYED PHIL JUMPSCARE

(my sister: gillian is dying in the bg

me: this ani't about her)

Barbra 🤝 Gillian stealing demon masks and keeping them as souvenirs

EMMAS LOST SHOE!!!!!!!

.......i'm not gonna say anything here........

there was no Don glow up he was always beautiful to me

little bunny revenge arc

he slept in the dining room???? because he didn't wanna go in the old rooms of his siblings where he wrote poachers DDDD:::::::

the ominous messages behind them!!!!!!

[quijabored]

OKAY SO I JUST FINISHED WATCHING LIKE THE ENTIRETY OF S3 FOR BSD SO UH SPOILERS FOR A LOT OF IT BUT ESPECIALLY THE ENDING CUZ HOOOLYYY SHIIITTTTT

I JUST

I CANT PUT MY THOUGHTS DOWN INTO COHERANT SENTANCES SO LIVE LAUGH BULLETPOINTS ((o(^∇^)o))

OKAY SO AKUTAGAWA AND ATSUSHI???

THEYRE GONNA WORK TOGETHER ARENT THEY I JUST KNOW DAMN WELL DAZAIS GONNA LIKE MAKE IT SO THEYRE COINCIDENTALLY PAIRED UP TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF A GUY

ALSO THE PROMISE ATSUSHI HAD AKUTAGAWA MAKE??? FYM AKUTAGAWA CANT KILL PEOPLE HES IN THE *PORT MAFIA.*

Just realizing I don't know how to do the whole colored text or different font thingy BUT ANYWAYS

STILL I LOVE ATSUSHI FOR THAT AND SINCE IT WAS MADE WITH A GOAL IN MIND, I REALLY HOPE I GET TO SEE AKUTAGAWA DEVELOPMENT

AAAAHHHH HES SO SILLY I LOVE AKUTAGAWA HES MY SON

SPEAKING OF SONS

IVAN??? HES SO ME LIKE HE IS SO ME????

ASAGIRI WAS SPYING ON ME WHEN MAKING IVAN FR

Funny thing when I first started getting into the fandom bit for bsd and I saw Fyodor being simped on I was like "eeehh I mean I guess hes cool but I dont really get it. Like sure hes an interesting character but..." AND THEN I SLOWLY STARTED BECOMING A FYODOR SIMP AND I JUST SKDHKSJD I HATE THAT MAN I HATE THAT MAN HES SUCH AN ASSHOLE

please I love him so much hes such a bitch I hate him I love him so much

"If Fyodor told me to cut my skin off I would" FUCKING SAME

ALSO AAAAAA THE ENTIRE TIME LIKE I WAS JUST STIMMING LIKE IM TELLING YOU IT WAS AJSHSKDJSJ

I HAVENT HYPERFIXATED ON A SERIES LIKE THIS SINCE THE PROMISED NEVERLAND (Specifically the manga. Miss you Yuugo)

AAAAAA ALSO THE FACT THAT CHUUYAS JUST STUCK IN POES STORY??

AND POE BEING LIKE "But if Ranpo were to die what would be my reason for living..." LIKE HELLO??? I LOVE MY OTHER SON (Poe)

AND AND AND FYODOR???? AHHHHHH HES SUCH A BITCH I LOVE HIM

THIS MOTHERFUCKER WAS REALLY COMMUNICATING QITH MUSIC??? ALSO THE SURPRISED AND SHOCKED LOOK AT THE END WHEN DAZAI FOUND HIM??

I KNOW WE SEE MORE OF HIM LATE BUT FUCK

ALSO FYODORS ABILITY?? From what I saw it seems that it's just kill by touch but if Dazais like "welp, idk" then I'm guessing it's a bit more complicated than that AND I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS AAAA

Also Mori and Fukuzawa did the sskk punchy thingy they did in the end of S2!! I'm not sure if people ship them (I refuse to take in any content about Mori) but if people do then win for them :D

Also Im extremely excited to see Nikolai cuz hes me minus the Ukrainian terrorist bit BUT AAAA I HOPE I GET TO SEE HIM SOON

JUST SEARCHED IT UP ITS S4 EP 5 AND AAAAAA

I can't watch BSD until tommorow now cuz I wanna have a minute to process everything BUT AAAA I CANT WAIT TO WATCH S4

Fyodor made me feel so many ways I love him

AAAAAAA OKAY SO MY FAVORITE BOY (Akutagawa) IS ALSO SUPER SILLY THOUGHOUT THIS WHOLE THING LIKE

THE SCENE WHERE ITS LIKE "Are you sure youre the real Akutagawa?"

"Yeah."

"...And youre not gonna try and kill me?"

"Yeah."

"What did you have for breakfast?"

"Yeah."

LIKE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

Live laugh love Dazai but FUCK MAN AKUTAGAWAS TRAUMATIZED

Like don't get me wrong I love Aku how he is and I'm gonna love him more when I learn more about his character, but god damn it hurts to watch him seem so reliant on Dazais praise and Dazais approval like akdjkajsdj Ive been there my boy :(

ALSO I FEEL SO BAD FOR KUNIKIDA LIKE HE HAD TO GO THROUGH SO MUCH THIS SEASON

I PROBABLY HAVE OTHER THINGS TO SAY BUT AHDKSJDKWBD I LOVE BSD AND I CANT REMEMBER WHAT ELSE I WANTED TO YAP ABOUT BUT AAAAHHH ASAGIRI WHEN I CATCH YOU ASAGIRI- ASAGIRI WHEN I CATCH YOU-

Twas talking about this scene earlier btw :3

AH ALSO WHEN FYODOR GOT SMASHED WITH A WINE BOTTLE??? HELLO??? I LOVE HIM BUT I STARTED LAUGJING AT THE SCENE

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 2, Match 30: Kazuma Kiryu vs. Yuugo and Lucas

Submitted kids:

Kazuma Kiryu: Haruka, Ayako, Eri, Riona, Izumi, Taichi, Koji, Mitsuo, and Shiro

Yuugo and Lucas: My guy. [They have] like 60. I'm not gonna list them all.

Propaganda under the cut! (Spoilers ahead!)

Kazuma Kiryu:

1. “There's a pretty big section of one of the game that's entirely about taking care of all those kids and it's all really sweet !”

2. “How the fuck did he get 9. There’s like 6-8 games where he’s the main character and he adopts haruka rlly early, but then in one game in the middle of the series, in the beginning like opening scenes he’s like avtually fuck it I’m adopting an ENTIRE orphanage/eight WHOLE children. (not a bit like. He actually did that) he’s the silliest billy badass old man. Grampy Kiryu also, bc haruka has a kid now.”

Yuugo and Lucas:

Yuugo: “I LOVE THIS RAT MAN SO MUCH ok so he starts off not wanting anything to do with these 15 children (ik i said 60 but they come later) who showed up at his doorstep because yk his entire family was killed and he's afraid of loving someone in the same way again. So he tries to push them away but oh boy these kids are clingy and also they found the emergency detonator and threatened him with blowing up his house.

Here's the thing though one character arc, the reuniting with his friend who he thought was long dead, and the rescue of an entire hunting ground full of kids later raising these kids literally becomes his new purpose in life. Along with Lucas (his aforementioned friend who I'm convinced is married to him) he helps teach them everything he knows about surviving in such a hostile world, things he himself had to learn the hard way which cost a lot of his loved ones his life. Before these kids showed up he was hopeless and without purpose. He didn't know why he was still alive and even contemplated ending it all. But all this changed when he adopted these kids.

Lucas: Anyway imagine watching your entire family die in front of you because you got trapped in a human hunting ground run by man eating demons, so you start a rebellion by recruiting kids in the hunting ground and teach them how to use guns among other things. That's what Lucas did!! :D

Anyway it's pretty much confirmed that he's the kids' confirmed dad, there's like 2 scenes where they outright call him their father. But I disgress.

Much of what I said in the Yuugo propaganda applies to him as well, he teaches the kids all he knows about survival which he had to learn the hard way and would protect them with his life. The difference is he's been doing the parent thing for a lot longer, he literally RAISED the Goldy Pond kids.

Both: First off: gay marriage. Second: The way they know exactly what it's like to lose loved ones due to inexperience and how they went "yeah no way in Hell this is gonna happen to these kids we're gonna prepare them for The Horrors" was a 2 person thing you think it's easy to take care of 60 children and homeschool them? Third: This is spoilers btw. They go and do a Die Hard (infiltrate a building that's been completely overtaken by the enemy and take it back from the inside) just so their children wouldn't have to live with the trauma of killing an actual human being.

I wish they were my dads.”

[digimontamerlayne]

I'm playing Cyber Sleuth for the first time because I got it on sale, and I am now angrily glaring at past me for not looking for it on deals sooner cause I love it. So here's my over excited rant of my general experience. I actually cut this short remarkably.

I am only on Chapter 4, so my info only goes to after defeating the Eater in the Subway.

At the start I felt pressed on the whole Pokemon Starter-esque way you gotta choose between Terriermon, Palmon, and Hagurumon. But you can still get them all later which is nice. The need to choose just put me on the spot.

Normally, I'd have jumped at getting Terriermon (I prefer Lopmon but you can't go wrong with Terriermon), but I wound up doing "wheel of fate" and got Hagurumon.

And now I'm attatched to it. I digivolved it to Clockmon cause I knew one digivolution was Guardromon, so I was curious about the others' possibilities. I could tell one was Scumon, though, and that was not happening. Thank you.

My current team set up is Clockmon, Gabumon BLK (I got attatched to him too), Fanbeemon originally but it has been switched for Lopmon for now, and Impmon in my reserve because the moment I found out Kuramon and then Pagumon digivolve to Impmon that felt mandatory to do.

Story thus far is pretty cool. Interesting characters. Kyoko Kuremi is pretty and rather interesting, but she needs to have her coffee pot removed from her office immediately. Anyways, she and Nokia feel a bit on the nose to pull in specific audience through use of "attractive allure" (*eye roll*), but I was told for Nokia it's part of her character of how she likes presenting herself and I know people who do the same and especially when they were 17 like she is, so she does make sense to me. But half the time that outfit of her's does not. It defies logic, I swear. Pretty or not. But Nokia's connection and partnering up with Agumon and Gabumon is pretty freaking cute and feels like a hint at her true colors underneath the choice of flashy-ness.

Arata felt pretty enigmatic, though less than Yuugo because Arata had just enough "I'm deliberately acting too cool" and was just enough of a smirking "jerk" to counter most of the enigmaticness. And then he gushed about the Cyber Sleuth thing after trying to brush off his interest. He revealed his true colors: he's a geek like the rest of us. I will hold that and the fact he ditched me to escape Crazy Detective Date on my own over his head whenever I talk about him. But the rest of him still feels "mystery" enough.

I'll talk more about other characters some other time when I feel more connected or understand them better. Right now, I only really got connected to Nokia (plus Agumon + Gabumon) and now Arata enough to give opinionable interest. Except one, dude. I'm gonna gripe about Jimiken here in a minute for a reason.

But anyway, I love a lot of the side stuff going on too.

Example: Mirei sending me to make hackers abusing Digimon repent is nice. But in the second round, the Three Scammers Siblings you go after, I was not ready for that! The oldest sibling as a nonbinary character with motives linking towards their identity and how pressed they felt having to "choose", and how their scams (which were mostly just catfishing compared to their brother's scams) link back to their harsh emotions towards that. Not justified (especially if you look at the "forcing their digimon to do the work" part which is why you're confronting them) for what they wound up doing to others, but clear in what motivated them. I was neither expecting nor ready for that, and I love it. And the fact we get to give them a pep talk about how they were strong and are a great sibling to their brothers to cheer them up was awesome. I am sorta sad that the dialog where they ask for our digiline wasn't actually interactable. C'mon, in Pokemon Soul Silver and Heart Gold, you get more numbers than you can keep up with. Why not with this?

So, I'm having the time of my life with this game.

Although I found out the hard way about the Game Overs when you lose a battle. I loath Jimiken and the chapter and a half BACK he sent me. What I felt on par with "not saving in Pokemon and your device dying" level of despair. I had to redo chapter 2 and then my progress through chapter 3 back to that stupid fight, saving every few minutes out of sheer paranoia! It undid digimon I had converted and digivolutions I had done!

I was cussing out his Devimon and Meramon while fighting it. I was having flashbacks to Adventure Devimon, just channeling 12 year old me's emotions to relive that hatred of Devimon for this fight... But that died the moment Jimiken blamed his Digimon for losing. I became this specific Devimon's number 1 advocate cause screw this Paul Stanley wannabe. It is not this Devimon's fault you suck. This Devimon was Hella strong and made me scream cause it took me from just under half health to no health on my reserve digimon when he himself had just one last hit point before I beat him (can you tell I'm still a little sore on that?).

This was an amazing moment for me. I hated Jimiken so much it somehow bulldozed right over the loathing I had for Devimon in general that my introduction to Digimon drilled into me in a matter of moments. This is a bizarre development for me I'm still getting used to.

Also, WHAT IS CRAZY DETECTIVE LADY DATE!? What is her problem? It's funny but she is unsettling with her yelling.

Alright, I'm cutting this rant short here before I keep going over board.

I got carried away in the tags, so there's a rant in there, too.

[darklight-owl]

Basically, I think Ray technically was there,like in the panels,but you could take him out of the story and literally nothing would change. He was only there to agree with Emma about everything,literally those are all his dialogues after Jailbreak Arc,and it felt waaaaaaay out of character to me. I was expecting for them to learn to balance each other because Emma is over-optimistic and Ray is the opposite,Norman was their mediator. But instead Ray just follows what Emma says without questioning the logic of it. And if it were a slow process of trusting her I would be more forgiven,but this change in his personality occurs immediately after leaving the house.

After that,he literally disappeared in almost all of Goldy Pond. In the next arcs,he took Emma's side when it would be way more in character for him to agree with Norman,and then the story was over. Literally no impact. Once I read someone who described it as "he feels like they took pictures of the panels and it just happened that Ray was there, but otherwise he was a glorified extra" and I couldnt agree more. But tell me,why do you like how Ray was handled? I would love to know!

I get where you're coming from but I think you're kinda missing the point of his character after the jailbreak arc a little? I agree he took the role of the second-in-command in a lot of Emma's schemes but I don't really see a problem with that, there's a lot of stuff that Emma couldn't have done on her own and Ray's decisiveness really helped her pull through. He was a pillar of strength most of the time and there's a lot of value in that.

In the Goldy Pond arc he was the one who talked Yuugo into saving Emma, in the King of Paradise arc he was the one who got Emma to admit that she really didn't want to go along with Norman's plan, and in the Seven Walls arc he once again takes the role of a foil to Emma (who often takes things at face value without thinking much) and starts spiralling because he's tied down by his intrusive thoughts and worries, making the Seven Walls more challenging to overcome.

As for the drastic change in his outlook where he goes from an extreme pessimist to fully trusting Emma, remember what he had just gone through. This kid had just tried to kill himself because he thought it was the only way he could save his siblings, but they managed to get out as a big group thanks to Emma's optimism and Norman's schemes. She had saved his life and proven that being hopeful isn't the same as being naive. Why WOULDN'T he trust her after that?

Tldr I honestly think Ray had a huge impact on the story after the Jailbreak. Emma needed a confidant and he was right there to fill that role. Also his character arc where he learns to value his own life is beautiful and I wouldn't change that for the world :')

[fullscoreshenanigans]

have you some fanfic ideas about Isabella and Ray?

Something thatr you plan to write one day.

Mine are largely “what if Isabella didn’t die in the manner she did and was able to interact with the Grace Field kids again when they aren’t pressed for time,” with one being she manages to survive her wounds in canon and makes it to the human world alongside them.

A favorite is one that has lived rent-free in my mind since S2 teased it in episode 4 is a canon divergent AU where Isabella pursues the escapees, supposedly being offered her freedom in exchange for capturing and returning all fifteen of them unharmed.

Absolute worst thing they could have done; why tease me with something so tantalizing, especially with how lackluster to offensive the rest of the episode is.

It’s a bit different from the anime though in that she’s accompanying Andrew in the raid as opposed to leading it herself. There’s also the difference of Lucas and Yuugo surviving it.

It’s the embodiment of this image

Born from one main thing I would have loved to see in canon and something I can never get enough of in fanworks: I wanted to see the Grace Field escapees talk about Isabella and all the trauma she put them through, and all the conflicting feelings that came out of the many years they shared at Grace Field in light of that.

And because it’s me, there’s a reveal of Ray being her biological son in the midst of the raid, which I like because in the chaos of everything else it registers, but it doesn’t really sink in until after they’ve managed to escape into the tunnels Sonju made like in canon. Plus, I wouldn’t want to take away from the rest of the children’s inner turmoil over Isabella’s reappearance. She was the only mother they ever knew, and I do entirely understand why people prioritize Ray in these reveal situations, but he never brings up their connection once in canon, for similar reasons to why he never explicitly states how watching his siblings get shipped out made him feel until he’s in a manic state, working himself up into a frenzy so he can go through with his suicide: he absolutely loathes pity for what he believes he willingly brought upon himself (never mind the desolate circumstances under which he made the deal with Isabella). Any pain he feels from that is penance for his actions and choices. He would never prioritize this internal conflict going on inside him over the anger, fear, and sadness his siblings are going through, even if once things have settled down and they have a moment to themselves he can’t bring himself to speak up and comfort them along with Emma, Don, and Gilda until he’s prompted by Jemima.

Other bits of this AU: • The raid happens in October 2046 instead of October 2047. I thought almost two years of Isabella being imprisoned was too long, plus I wanted this to occur before Lambda is destroyed in February 2047 and before the Seven Walls search party has fully explored the demon world and found out how to enter them. The initial expedition to the East is cut short because the group has found a lead they want to confirm and discuss with the rest of their family, conveniently finding them back at the bunker when the raid takes place. • The incorporation of the Minerva demon supporters Shirai mentions in the mystic code book.

Them approaching Isabella during the months she’s kept locked up in order to ensure the children escape whatever attack Grace Field HQ has planned for them is the reason she agrees to pursue them when Grandma and the farm boss demon offer her the chance. This also brings all the children into contact with amiable ally demons, not just the Grace Field kids with Sonju and Mujika or the Seven Walls search party hanging out in demon towns, giving them an “in” into demon history, culture, and geopolitics, as well as insight into James’ life and the upper levels of farm system since Isabella doesn’t become Grandma. On one side of the spectrum are the Grace Field escapees, who are the most open to working with them, and on the other side are Norman and the Lambda escapees, who are the most reluctant and hostile toward the idea. There’s a range of unique opinions among them, but these are the general groupings. (Goldy Pond escapees initially occupy the Lambda stance, but by the time the Lambda children arrive on the scene they’re more amiable toward demons.) • Andrew is assisting Isabella in capturing the children, but with the visceral disdain he feels toward the cattle children he’s operating under his own agenda of killing all of the Goldy Pond escapees once they’re located, eventually shifting to killing Emma once she makes it apparent she plans on overthrowing the entire world order and hierarchy that gave him purpose and a feeling of superiority. • A scene between Yuugo and Anna that isn’t used to push a ship. This is like the only time I ever see them interact in fancontent, and the majority of the time it’s used to push RA with Anna acting as a parallel to Dina and Ray to Yuugo. • Isabella, Lucas, and Yuugo interactions. Just want to see the adults interact lol • Don, Emma, Gilda, Norman, and Ray all go to the Seven Walls. • They miss the two-year deadline.

If you’re interested, here’s 7k’s worth of half-baked ramblings of a rough, unfinished outline that I’ve sent to @officersnickers and friends on discord who have been kind enough to indulge me on the subject:

~ ☆ ~

Don and Pepe are watching the monitors when they spot the group approaching the main entrance. They set off the silent alarm, not wanting to risk using the PA system to let the rest of the bunker know they’re under attack. The kids have practiced drills for this situation, so while the majority of them are launching into preparations to leave, Emma, Oliver, Ray, Sonya, Violet, Yuugo, and Zack all make their way to the security room to ascertain the situation. This group isn’t immediately blowing up the entrance way like Andrew’s group does in canon (since their priorities are different). It looks like they’re waiting for the go-ahead from someone. Don’s, Emma’s, and Ray’s blood runs cold when they see who appears to be in charge of the operation as Isabella makes her way into view of the camera. There’s the agonizing pull of taking every possible second to observe and predict what’s she’s going to do weighed against how preparation time they can afford to lose, not helped by how it seems like she isn’t making any moves other than conversing with someone who looks like they’re going over a list while another is fiddling with some electronics…but the demons in the group are going off in the directions of the emergency exits which can’t be a coincidence, so ultimately they decide to head out now to regroup with everyone else in the armory if they’re planning on boxing them in.

They all manage to make their way to the hiding spot by the time the fiddling with electronics leads to entrance being opened normally as opposed to blown off with explosives. Isabella makes her way to the monitor room as soldiers and demons slowly and methodically comb over the bunker because their priority is the capture all the Grace Field escapees alive. Any escapees from Goldy Pond captured alive are a bonus but can be sacrificed if it means securing the Grace Field escapees.

Isabella then sets out to do as she was instructed by headquarters: emotionally disarm her children and hinder their attempts to escape. She goes on the PA system to let the children know everything’s all right and that she’s here to take them home before moving on to address each Grace Field child individually. Starting with Alicia, the youngest, before moving up to the oldest, she recalls a precious memory or sentiment she has of them from their time at the house.

I haven’t thought of what each one of these memories/sentiments would be yet. For Thoma and Lanni, it might be something like how one of their pranks got out of hand, but the resolution was very sweet for how it brought the family together. For Nat, it might be how he struggled with playing a classical piece, but once he perfected it his performance mesmerized and brought tears to everyone’s eyes. For Don, it might be how attentive he was with his younger siblings, especially Conny (this ends up not having the exact intended effect and pisses Don off because Isabella was the one who was complacent with walking Conny to her death along with all the other 60-70 children she raised during her ten years as the mom of plant #3, but that anger isn’t fully articulated until later).

For Emma, it might be the strength she displayed during her last few months at Grace Field and especially during their final confrontation on the wall (I’m really :? about this one because the weight of these memories should be increasing with each child; naturally the younger kids aren’t going to have as many serious or weighty memories since they were young and didn’t have as many notable interactions with Isabella while knowing the secret of the house, so I’m still debating over what would be appropriate for Emma, but maybe something like that and how she proved to Isabella that escaping was possible, totally shattering Isabella’s delusion that becoming a mom was the best possible path forward and living a life of blissful, ignorant happiness was better than one of uncertain freedom)

And then we end with Ray, which I actually almost settled on the dialogue for: “When I heard you sing Leslie’s lullaby by the wall, I thought it was the cruelest twist the universe could play on me. But as time went on, I saw it as blessing to be able to raise the son who was taken from me the minute he was born.” And then maybe an additional line of “I’m sorry I couldn’t offer you the same childhood as your siblings.”

If they weren’t under such dire circumstances, Ray might lash out or vomit, because if this isn’t so fucking selfish of her, dumping this mix of truth and lies on them when there’s no option for them to respond in reciprocation or rejection. He’s noticed the factual errors in some of the memories, and he can’t (won’t) believe what she said to him is anything but a ploy, playing on all the times he let his mask slip the tiniest bit around her but especially when he was younger. Also, regardless of how accepting his friends and family of this information because it really is inconsequential to them who he’s biologically related to, her expressing these sentiments takes control of a situation away from him once again because he wasn’t ready or willing to discuss the subject yet.

He settles for biting the inside of his cheek until the taste of blood brings him out of his brief, blinding rage. Jemima feels him tense as he’s holding onto her.

Isabella reassures her children one last time that everything will be all right, and that they’ll all be reunited soon before the PA system goes silent.

At this point I defaulted to the kids settling on luring in as many intruders into the bunker as possible before enacting a defense protocol or something to make it explode, taking out as many enemies as possible so there’s less that will pursue them when they make a break for the forest. I have…not thought through how this would entirely work that would allow for Isabella to remain either unscathed or only with minor injuries when the place explodes lol, but regardless, everything comes together in that dramatic moment so there’s the climax of Ray’s relationship to Isabella being revealed to the rest of his family (because in the canon timeline I can’t see him ever bringing it up unless an external force prompts him to, we didn’t get the closure to this relationship that I wanted to see in manga, and this is my incredibly self-indulgent and dramatic AU, so putting all my favorite things in here lol) and no one can immediately talk about it or anything else going on because they have to get to safety, so it’s just left to simmer until hours later in the back of certain people’s minds.

I like the idea of Yuugo being injured while saving Ray during this raid because dammit, first it was Norman sacrificing his life so he could live instead, then Emma cut off her ear because he didn’t  cooperate with the escape plan she and Norman had set up, and now Yuugo’s hurt. He’s tired of having people he cares about being hurt all in the name of protecting him from his mother, someone who’s supposed to love him unconditionally but is instead doing all of this to prolong her own survival. I’m not sure how to work that in here exactly though lol.

They end up going to the same area they go to during this arc in the manga after that to rest for the night before they figure out what to do. Ray, Emma, Don, and Gilda all go to figure out how they’re going to do night watch rotations, but everyone in the GP resistance is like “no, you guys need to be there for the younger kids, we’ll cover the night watch” and also them implicitly saying to take time for themselves too because they know how conflicting the situation is for all of them. So all of the GF kids hang out in the little portion of the tunnel system that’s close enough to the rest of the group but will allow them to have privacy to talk about anything they want to and rest for the night. I default to either Mark or Rossi starting off the conversation after everyone gets settled enough for what remain of the night. Or maybe both of them start things off by apologizing because they feel like Isabella showing up is somehow their fault. Was inspired by specifically this section of evanescent’s always a riddle inside my head (aesop's kin):

They know about the things Isabella did to their family: how she gave away their siblings to the demons, how she purposely broke Emma’s leg, how she sent Krone away, and yet they would still find themselves missing her and longing for those times back at Grace Field. Emma, Don, Gilda, Anna, and Nat quickly reassure them that this isn’t the case because nothing that happened at Grace Field was their fault. Everyone starts discussing how what’s happened makes them feel: how they’re upset at losing their new home, how Mom had to come back and ruin what they had, but she remembered all those things about each of them (though some of them were off; she got the name of Nat’s song wrong, for starters) and it’s just… a mess for everyone. But Ray’s been quiet the entire time.

Emma wasn’t planning on broaching the subject of what Isabella had said to him until they were alone, but Jemima ends up doing it for her by asking, “Ray, are you ok?” Idk if I want to have each of the younger kids paired up with an older one for seating arrangements at this point so it’d go Ray-Jemima, Emma-Dominic and Rossi (or one of them’s with Thoma and Lanni), Gilda-Mark, Don-Chris, Anna-Alicia, Nat-Yvette, or if I want them more huddled closer together in one big group so that it’s more noticeable Ray’s off, but if they are paired up, Jemima picks up on Ray being quiet and tensing during the entire conversation because everyone is dealing with their own trauma and they’re not sure how to even touch upon Ray’s. But Ray just looks at Jemima with a sort of sad smile of acceptance and a gentle headpat and says, “Yeah, I’m okay. We found out when I was six, by accident.”

Don, Thoma, or Lanni wonders out loud how that happens by accident before one of the girls attempts to shush them, but Ray ends up elaborating anyway because now that the anger’s subsided about everything that’s happened, he’s just kind of tired like he was back at the house after Norman was shipped. Isabella makes him tired with their convoluted mess of a relationship, and he figures now that it’s out in the open, what’s there to lose if they might already think less of him or want to distance themselves for whatever reason, any is valid.

“Yeah, it was an accident. Moms aren’t supposed to raise their biological children, or if they do, they aren’t supposed to know about it. But someone at HQ thought it would be funny I suppose, or maybe it really was just random chance, but I was sent to plant #3. On my sixth birthday, or at least the birthday they gave me, I was pretty sure I knew what the workings of the house were. So I decided it was time to confirm if my hypothesis was correct. I took a tree branch, damaged my tracker, and waited to see what happened. I was pretty sure Mom would accept my deal, and with my scores I shouldn’t be shipped out… but I was also very scared. About all the things that could go wrong. So to soothe myself as I waited, I started humming a lullaby that I remembered my birth mother singing to me while I was in her womb.

“It took Mom almost five minutes to get to where I was sitting near the gate, and when she arrived, she just… had the most horrified expression on her face when she asked me how I knew that song.” He makes an attempt to scoff, but there’s no energy or bite behind it. “It’s kind of funny, in a pathetic kind of way. It was one of the only two times I was ever able to knock her off balance.

“And then it all clicked, and before I could stop myself I asked her, ‘Hey, Mom, why’d you give birth to me?’

“It took her a moment to recompose herself. Then she said, ‘Well, Ray, I did it to survive. Longer than anyone.’ The most important lesson she ever taught me.

“Thankfully I was able to stop myself from begging her to say she couldn’t kill any of us. That she couldn’t kill me. No point in wasting breath on a fantasy or giving her the satisfaction of denying me.

“So I moved on ahead with setting up our deal. I’d be her spy, and I wouldn’t get shipped out until I turned twelve. We agreed it was best to keep up appearances in public, but thankfully we were able to resent each other in private. And before you say anything, Emma, it’s okay.”

Emma’s briefly stunned by the sudden address, but rebounds. “I didn’t even say anything…”

“No, but you were thinking it, and… it’s okay. We resented each other. It’s one of the things I ended up not begrudging her for entirely. I mean, think about it: a living, breathing reminder of what she had to endure during her last year at headquarters walking around the house. It was one of the worst things they did to her, and I can’t really blame her for feeling that way.”

At this point Alicia comes over and join Jemima in giving Ray a hug because everyone knew about Ray’s plan to commit suicide and the work he’d put into the plan that allowed them all to escape, how he had to sell himself to Isabella in order to get the parts for the deactivator and that led him to sacrificing other kids, but this added another layer to that tragedy that in the moment no one knows what to really say, because there isn’t anything that’ll make things better.

But they do want to be there for Ray. He’s their older brother who was often quiet and alone at the house unless he got dragged into playing by Emma, Norman, Don, or Susan, but still took care of them back then (there were probably some special dynamics he shared with the other kids he shared a room with since most of them were the quiet kids. Except Alicia and Don lmao), and ever since they escaped he was, while never as extroverted as Emma or Don, still taking care of everyone in his own way and being more free and open than he ever was back then. Everyone loved to see that shift in Ray, which is why it’s so painful to see him revert back to how he was when Norman was shipped out on top of everything else that’s just happened.

(S1 episode 10)

He’s not quite to the same level as back in late 2045 because if nothing else, he is genuinely committed to the vow he made about living and being there for his family. But such a dramatic turn of events with Isabella reappearing in their lives against all odds, he takes it as a sign to give into a notion that’s always teetering on the edges of his mind but he’s gotten better keeping at bay this past year: after everything that’s happened, he doesn’t deserve to be happy.

It’s not his physical similarities to Isabella that he believes condemns him to this fate, but his actions that mimicked hers as he navigated the reality around him to achieve his desired outcome, although as a result of that they can be triggering when he spirals. “Even after we escaped, I just accepted that I’d never really be free of her. I’d see her in all the little habits we picked up from the house, or whenever I looked in a mirror.” (This might be a musing in response to him ruefully recalling a time one of his siblings casually noted their similarities.)

But the part he’s not comprehending is that for his family it's part of a package deal, i.e., they can’t be happy knowing he’s suffering (but everyone gets slack because they're young and very stressed out with the situation going on in that moment). So even if they don’t have the right words to fix everything, they’ll still offer words of comfort and reaffirm they love him.

They do eventually stop Ray from quietly spiraling, although the mood isn’t entirely resolved because he and Emma disagree about how they’re going to proceed. Emma’s in a difficult spot because they can’t forget all the things Isabella has done; she made the choice to comply with the system she was in for years so that she could continue to survive, and it seemed like she relished her dominance over the kids at multiple points. She thoroughly deluded herself into believing that the fake happiness of a few short years is the best the majority of the children can hope for, and that she has moral standing to continue operating in the way she is to foster that glided happiness and prolong her own life. To have the kids challenge that with escaping threatened the reality she constructed for herself because it was too painful to hope for more.

But Emma also can’t ignore that Isabella is a victim of the system just like they are, and maybe if their positions were reversed, she’d make the same choices Isabella did. Even if ultimately it wouldn’t pan out, she at least wants to try talking to Isabella one more time if the situation allowed for it. Especially since details in the memories Isabella recalled incorrectly wind up corresponding to the partial coordinates provided to them by a supporter a while back that were cut off before they could finish.

Ray is entirely against her approach because again, the most important lesson Isabella ever taught him was that she would do anything to survive, making her diametrically opposed to them. There’s no point in trying to talk to her; no one’s life in their group is worth just having the chance to speak with her when they probably wouldn’t get through to her, and even if they could, what can she do in her situation? The demons will most likely kill her if she fails a third time. She isn’t going to just lay down her life for them. And assuming the coordinates she provided are meant to be a safe harbor, they can’t proceed there until they know all their pursuers are dead.

But he knows what Emma wants deep down in her heart, and it hurts because he hates to see her give so much of herself to people like him and Isabella who aren’t worth it in his eyes. He doesn’t want to see her get hurt again because he’s already come so close to losing her after already losing Norman (or anyone else in their group, but he knows if Emma has her way she’ll end up taking on more of the burden herself), but he’s also kind of sadly resigned himself on not being able to reach her.

The same goes for Emma with Ray. There’s a muted despondency regarding each other that they haven’t mutually experienced since Grace Field, although it did happen on Ray’s end back at Goldy Pond when he initially saw her being stabbed by Leuvis and when it took her a few weeks to wake up from her coma. A feeling that if things go the way they each want now, the other will be hurt in some way, and they’d never want to add to each other’s suffering.

(Chapter 122 | Chapter 123)

It’s a very conflicting spot to be in, normally cherishing the honesty shared between them and valuing what makes the other so irrevocably themselves. There is still some comfort in it, having it out in the open instead of knowing the other is burying all their worries and emotions deep down, but it’s not at the forefront of their minds in the moment.

The next morning Anna and Nat opt to stay with the younger kids so they can sleep for a little longer while Don, Emma, Gilda, and Ray go to meet with Lucas, Yuugo, and the Goldy Pond kids. The latter ask how the younger Grace Field children are doing (and are subtly trying to assess how the older ones are). Gilda replies they’re doing as well as can be given the circumstances, and there’s a collective lament of losing the bunker when they have no solid plan of where to go from here.

This is when Emma brings up her hypothesis that Isabella is trying to guide them to safety with the rest of the coded coordinates she provided in her message, and also if there was a possibility of speaking with her, she’d like to try, knowing it would be an uphill battle getting people on board with it. The way their new friends were introduced to their mother was her destroying the sanctuary Minerva established for them and seeing the effect she had on the children she raised. But something in her voice combined with all the memories Emma had of her growing up, up until they parted on the wall and Isabella looked so lost and rooted on the spot, seemingly earnest in her quiet declaration that she couldn’t bear for her children to leave her, and a general sympathy for her plight as a victim of the farm system and unlike her facing that on her own for years…it doesn’t sit right for Emma not to try.

No one says anything in response immediately. The conviction she has in her belief puts the Goldy Pond group in a tough spot because no one wants to actively go against Emma; they’re a family and care about each other…but there’s so much extra risk involve beyond trying to assess if they should try to reach the coordinates and work on luring the remaining pursuers out to eliminate them, or if they should attempt it now when they have the younger kids in tow so there’s that extra layer of safety in knowing the pursuers don’t have a chance of relaying their location to headquarters.

Emma doesn’t let that linger in the air for too long, admitting she knows not everyone will agree with that approach before turning to Ray and confirming he’s still against it. He solemnly answers yes. “She didn’t rise to the position of a Mom (that word feels so bitter on his tongue) without being manipulative and ruthless.” He goes on to list his counterpoints he mentioned before and presents his conclusions about what her being out here means: she’s either fully committed to capturing them to regain her position and prolong her own life, or she’s trying to help them knowing her life is forfeit if she does. He doesn’t see this conflict ending without her death, either by their hands or the demons (and isn’t that another way she’s selfish, potentially forcing them to do this instead of having the decency to die back at the house or doing the deed herself instead of pursuing the children she claimed to love so much). Neither of them look away during this exchange as Ray tries to maintain a neutral, emotionless voice because he knows the extra layer of attention and pity he’s potentially being regarded with, and he utterly loathes it.

All the escapes present surely grew up hearing and reading stories about families and parents having biological children. There were most likely some stories detailing less than ideal situations where parents took advantage of their children, but I feel like the caretakers at all the farms would try to instill a sense of security in their charges with the idea that the relationship between a parent and child is a special bond, and that the goal for each child was to find them their forever family when it came time for them to leave the villages of Glory Bell and Grand Valley respectively.

There’s such an ineffable cruelty in seeing the first biological parent-child relationship they were ever in proximity to play out like this, that would leave Ray like this, speaking this detached and matter of fact, looking so much older than his twelve years. Even if they don’t have all the intimate details of his relationship with Isabella over the years, they’re familiar with the reality of their world. It wouldn’t exactly earn her any points with them.

They try to ascertain what their pursuers priorities are. Is it to capture all of them alive based on how they handled the raid, avoiding explosives and recklessly shooting at them? Is it to secure just the Grace Field escapees with the Goldy Pond group being bonus captures but expendable losses? Or are even some of the Grace Field escapees acceptable losses if it means capturing Ray, Emma, Don, and Gilda alive.

Yuugo picks up on Ray hinting that he might be trying to use his life as bait again, like he and Emma did when they set out on their journey to Goldy Pond, and pointblank states we’re not going to intentionally single any of you out and put you at risk, or in the position where you’d have to kill your own mother. Ire creeps into Ray’s voice as he counters it’s foolish not to take advantage of one of the few concrete pieces of information they have in light of how the woman has operated for years, especially if she’s running on a deadline and needs to catch them before the Tifari they’ve heard about that occurs next month. That might make them more aggressive in their pursuit.

They settle on going to an area of the forest that would be the most conducive for an ambushed based on what they know of the land and what they read in books back in the bunker if they pick up on any signs their pursuers are hot on their trail instead of holding off for reinforcements. As an extra precaution and layer of confusion from afar, all the Goldy Pond kids and older Grace Field kids who are close in height keep their hoods up as much as possible while out in the open.  

Also because it’s me I’d try to work in a scene where Emma talks with Ray before they set out that includes a line akin to “his eyes were so painfully violet in the light of the morning sun” in Emma's thoughts in response to something he says and how he’s carrying himself, though I debate about the inclusion of “painful” because it’s not that she now attaches shame to the traits he shares with Isabella, but more so as a combo of “ah‚ so that's been there right in front of us this whole time” (because I like Ray’s eyes being a darker shade of Isabella’s violet to obfuscate their connection and explain why Emma and Norman never picked up on it) and how Ray and Isabella are both people who have been so deeply wounded by this system they were born into and who she desperately wants to save, even if she isn’t sure how to do it or if, in the end, closure between them isn’t possible.

Ray also apologizes for speaking so freely in front of the younger kids the previous night and bringing down morale, lamenting how he and Isabella always brought the worst of each other.

Meanwhile, Andrew isn’t nearly as injured as he is in canon during the raid, but he’s still wounded and is livid the livestock has managed to flee their forces. If it were up to him, he’d declare Isabella’s test a failure with his bias against all cattle children, including those who have grown up.

(Leuvis to Emma in chapter 80)

But there are people above him who see so much potential in her that he can’t override his orders unless she’s openly mutinous, and if she’s actually in front of the children her presence could still be useful in manipulating them. He can, however, shift group opinion and make them more amenable to capturing the four highest-scoring children while considering the rest as collateral damage in pursuit of a worthy Tifari meal for The One.

Isabella maintains that they should capture as many children as possible. Not only would they be looked upon more favorably upon their return if they keep them alive long enough to perform gupna on them, but even just capturing some of the Goldy Pond escapees temporarily to use as hostages could be a boon if they trouble securing all the Grace Field children. Andrew hints at Isabella having personal incentive for her plan over being pragmatic, to which Isabella concedes the reputation she built up over a decade is at stake, and she plans on proving her worth to the higher-ups by following through on her end of the agreement unless unforeseen circumstances force her to settle for less.

She’s not a stranger to playing it cool like this, but it is a bit ironic to her how strongly she’s working toward her own demise after years of doing the opposite. She was hesitant when a Minerva supporter approached her while she was imprisoned, thinking it was a trick to confirm she had aided the children in their escape, but after being presented with the possibility of helping them after she had hurt them so deeply with her betrayal, she accepts the opportunity for atonement.

Eventually there’s a confrontation between the escapees and the pursuers that results in Isabella pulling a similar maneuver to what she does in canon as Andrew moves to shoot Emma and Ray with his gun (because if it’s only Emma, Ray can reason it away as favoritism; if it’s only Ray I dislike the potential message of her prioritizing her biological connection, and in light of walking Norman off seemingly to his death, I prefer it being both). Thankfully someone is quick enough to recover and stops her Andrew from really finishing her off with the kill switch he’d been given by headquarters (defaulting to Paula), though the wound is still severe. They also have the boon of a few reinforcements from the Minerva supporter demons who had been keeping an eye out for them and located them due to the commotion.

While everyone is in a bit of an adrenalized stupor given what’s just happened, the demon mentioning they have the supplies to save Isabella snaps Emma out of it and into action. She immediately volunteers to be among the small group that accompanies them on the expedited trip to the hideout and volunteers her blood for donation as a universal donor. She isn’t going to tell anyone else they have to donate because everyone here either has only known this woman as a pursuer from the farms who traumatized their friends from Grace Field or is from Grace Field and has been traumatized by this woman. Even if they look at it from a pragmatic perspective of saving Isabella so she can provide them with information, there’s no guarantee she’d cooperate. But she saved Emma and Ray entirely of her own accord, so maybe there’s a chance something could come out of it. Anna, Don, Dominic, Sandy, Yuugo, and Zack accompany Emma and the demons to the hideout, and while they’re operating on Isabella they remove the electronic chip on her heart. Better to be safe while they’re already in there since they don’t know what’s exactly going on with it (she was able to leave the premises of Grace Field, but who knows if it can be remotely reactivated after a certain amount of time passes with no word from the retrieval team to headquarters). She spends a bit of time in a coma recuperating so the kids have more time to reflect on their relationship with her and what they’re going to do when she wakes up.

Ray finds himself at a loss with all this. He’s just spent the past week and however many odd days in an anxious limbo dreading a final confrontation with his mother yet simultaneously wishing for it to happen so he could finally put these tumultuous feelings to rest and his family could be safe. But she had to throw another upset his way by saving him and Emma. Maybe she acted solely for Emma’s sake (he knew how much she favored her) and he was only coincidentally saved. How could there be an alternative answer after the way she regarded him at the house and the imposed distance between them. Does it ultimately matter when that trauma is carved so deeply in his bones. He genuinely doesn’t know how to proceed from here and there’s just a sense of…numbness, thinking of how their relationship will always be tainted.

Assuming she’s being genuine, though, he doesn’t want to impose his feelings toward her on any of his siblings; they’re each entitled to their own thoughts and opinions, and he tells them as much when he notices the younger ones hesitate to talk about her in his presence.

I love imagining Yuugo being asked to go get Anna for something after they’ve settled into the paradise hideout, and he finds her sitting alone watching over Isabella who’s still asleep and weak from the confrontation. It’s a very conflicting set of emotions to have because on one hand this woman laying before him has done a lot of psychological damage to her children to various degrees, and she gave them all a scare when attacking the bunker even if she was playing a very careful game of trying not to reveal her true intentions to the demons in guiding them to this new hideout. But she looks so fragile before him and in light of what he knows of her plight after succumbing to the farm system, he can’t also help but feel somewhat sorry for her.

He asks Anna how she’s doing with the whole situation, and Anna touches on a similar mix of feelings. He asks her if she’s willing to forgive Isabella. She goes over how she understands how it might be harder for some of the other children—Ray in particular without having to elaborate since they’re both well aware by now how complicated and fraught that relationship is, to the point where it might never amount to anything without being painful—but Anna also touches on her memories of Isabella loving and caring for her and her siblings at the house, and how in the last split-second action she thought she would make in her life, she chose to save Emma and Ray, so for her, Anna as the individual, she was willing to try to forgive. Not forget, because they could never go back to how their relationship was as mother and daughter at Grace Field (like the natural journey many children undergo as they age alongside their parents, although this one was underlain with much more dire and upsetting circumstances than average), but to try to forge a new one.

And in that moment, Yuugo can’t help but be reminded of Dina; how she always tried to see the good in people and her calm and caring nature. It warms his heart and might have him choked up the slightest bit how even after everything, these kids are still trying their best to retain their “light/whiteness” (as Shirai awkwardly puts it in the mystic code book) in a cruel world so disproportionately against them. He lovingly ruffles Anna’s hair, maybe comments on how that’s the kind of grace that saved him, and then remembers what he initially came in here for and sets about arranging for someone else to take over watching Isabella.

Anna does have the help of Zack, Sandy, and the supporter demons so she’s not at risk of being completely burnt out (waaay too much to put on a ten-year-old; they’re good older brothers, and Lucas and Yuugo are good dads who’d never allow it to get to that point; they’d step up themselves to help before it came to that, like they did when all the kids were injured at Goldy Pond), but that was one of the times she was having a quiet moment with her mom and reflecting on the complexity of the woman before her while also probably being one of the Grace Field kids who provides her with the most physical touch by holding her hand during her recovery (the same hands that braided her hair when she was younger, broke Emma’s leg, walked Conny and Norman off to the gate, and saved them from Andrew and the demons now feeling so delicate and frail in hers) that lends itself to Anna being one of the more forgiving older Grace Field kids (Ray being the benchmark for the other side of the spectrum) while not pushing her feelings regarding their mother onto others because they all have their own pace to go on their paths to reconciliation/healing on this matter.

Yuugo would eventually come to appreciate Isabella’s acerbic and refined wit as they could both rise to whatever challenge the other sets on that front, subtly egging each other on in their own ways, while also seeing her making an earnest attempt to reconnect and care for her children again. The younger ones are quicker to go back to her and he’s unquestionably prioritizing that for them rather than what it’s doing for her wellbeing—if any of them made any indication otherwise, he’d step in; he’s watching like a hawk—but all the same, he’s not going to deny that to any of them.

With Ray, it helps that Isabella’s not attempting to waltz back into his life and push him to reconcile, but Yuugo’s still somewhat offended that she’s even trying given what he knows about their relationship. Seeing her not only deny her son that unconditional love upon realizing their connection but treating him 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 because of it and her own selfish pettiness, I think he’d have a dual reaction to any interactions they had because it’s such a painful process for Ray and he hates seeing him go through that, but he’s also a bit pettily glad at Isabella being denied in her attempts. At the same time, Yuugo would be offended if she didn’t try to do something to make amends after everything, so it’s just a painful process that’s to be endured as long as all parties involved are even the tiniest bit open to it.

He's smug and passive-aggressive about it to her early on. Not that she would ever make a grand display of how the walls Ray has up hurt her, but maybe in muted, almost imperceptible body language. And he scoffs at her if there’s any remote chance she even thinks what she’s done in the time they’ve reunited is enough to make up for years of cruelty. She tells him she doesn’t, in as much of the dignified Iron Woman persona she can muster at this point. She accepts that in deferring to Ray’s lead on how he wants to proceed with their relationship, he could ultimately choose not to have one with her at all, but she’s letting him know she’s willing to try, for whatever that’s worth to him. It doesn’t erase what she’s done, but it’s the best course of action she could take, so Yuugo begrudgingly respects her for that while also taking into account the unique cruelties inflected on her as a woman subjected to the farm system. (The reveling in thwarting children’s attempts at wanting a better life for themselves is appalling to him, maybe even heightened given how he treated the Grace Field kids when they first met, but she’s accepting the fallout of her choices without a hint of self-pity or feigned incredulity about why Ray’s reacting the way he is, so, it’s something of substance for Yuugo. It’s largely the same for Lucas, only he’s not passive-aggressive or smug about it; maybe just bluntly honest while still remaining civil lol)

It does help immensely that Isabella’s surgery is over and the rest of the group has made it to the hideout and settled in, the Minerva supporters inform them Norman isn’t dead but alive at Lambda since that’s a huge sticking point for Ray. He spent half his life dedicated to saving Norman, and in one fell swoop she ended it and reveled in doing so.

(S1 episode 10)

It’s a bit selfish, considering she still walked Conny and at least sixty other children off to slaughter over her decade as a Mom, and it’s not like she did anything to alter Norman’s fate herself, but it’s a lot more workable for Ray than if Norman had died at the gate. (I don’t think his reaction in canon to her dying would be possible if Norman wasn’t there grieving with him.)

To Isabella’s credit, she doesn’t know much about Lambda when she hands Norman off to Peter besides it being an experimental facility that he wanted Norman to “help” with, so he might very well be dead or be in the similar situation to her with a kind of living death. You could take her saying Norman is dead to Emma either as a parallel to Ray not wanting to give Don and Gilda false hope about Conny, as another means to break Emma and have her give into despair more quickly so she can finally be “happy,” or both.

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 177

Chapter 177: "Mother"

This chapter.. this damn chapter never fails at getting me emotional. I'm still so very upset that Isabella dies this way too when we had other characters such as Emma and Barbara also get impaled by fierce demons and survive with their scars, so why not my queen huh?? I know there's that whole neverland fairy tale idea where adults aren't allowed there, which would've been an interesting concept for our series given the several adult deaths we had already, but that would've cancelled out some of the oldest Goldy Pond kids who are already older than 18 at this point. However, with how Emma phrased the new promise to allow all humans raised as food to cross over into the human world, there wouldn't have been any issue. Isabella could've easily joined them then, like c'mon Shirai, couldn't ya at least let these kids have one parent join them, please? They already lost Yuugo and Lucas, we didn't need to add another!

As if stabbing this woman wasn't enough, this bastard goes on to taunt her, saying that she'll never make up for her past mistakes no matter how hard she tries. First off, to hell with this guy. Secondly, that's such nonsense. I know this moment is supposed to be seen as "Isabella's big redemption moment," but it totally didn't need to happen this way. I'm gonna sound like a broken record when I say this, but this woman's redemption arc started way back when she first admitted defeat on the wall while watching her precious children escape GF. From gathering the ropes they used so the demons wouldn't know which direction they ran, to secretly planning an entire uprising within the farm system in hopes to one day assist her children when they returned. She even used her newfound power as Grandma to help spare the lives of other children at GF by lowering the amount of harvests that took place. Granted, walking the children to their deaths as caretaker and her treatment of Ray are certainly her biggest flaws that can definitely outweigh all the good she's done during those several years as a mother, but again, it's not like she truly wanted to act that way! It was her job; a job she only took because she valued her own life so much (& honestly, I would too), but she excelled at it for their sake. She's renowned for being the best for providing such high quality meat to the farm (which sounds bad when ya think of them as food, I know), but it means her children were raised with such rich emotions and were able to reach a reasonable decent age because they knew what happiness and love felt like and she did everything within her power to keep them alive as long as they possibly could. So to hear this demon make a statement like this just irks me because while it's true this one mama bear moment may not be enough for Isabella to be redeemed fully, it completely disregards every other motherly act she's done for her children over the years.

Literally the only positive I can take away from this highly unfortunate demon encounter is how damn strong and determined Isabella is. The fire in her eyes and the intense grip she has on this demon that straight up prevents it from moving to hurt Emma or the other girl.. aahh it's such a badass moment! What a queen!

Every single time I come across these panels, all I hear in my head is that Mushu quote: "You missed! How could you miss? He was three feet in front of you!" Seriously though, I can understand with how quick everything happened and the intense new threat could've caused Ray's aim to be off a little, but my boy, this could not have been a more worse occasion to miss. I don't wanna say it because it'll be so mean but s2!Ray could've done better.

Bro I remember so very clearly when a couple panels of this chapters were first teased before the official release (& yeah I was a complete mess back then too), but when this panel was going around, it was cropped short to where Ray wasn't seen at all, so people were going nuts about where he was, why wasn't he also surrounding Isabella, if his hatred for her really went so deep to not wanna be near her while she's at death's door, etc. It was kinda wild and absolutely made me anxious, but thankfully the panic was short lived when the full page was available. Sorta. I mean, it's still not a pretty panel, seeing my favorite villain minutes away from losing her life, but at least Ray is present along with all the other GF kids.

Seeing Isabella being more concerned about everyone else aside from herself after a serious stab wound.. what a bittersweet "like mother, like daughter" parallel.

Crazy how Krone's actions and words lead the kids to believe Isabella's intentions were just as heartless. Yeah both ladies wanted to survive and would choose to achieve that by any means necessary, but at least Isabella cared for the well-being of her children. That's already a whole lot more than what your typical mom or sister is capable of.

Having this panel placed in the middle of all the heartbreak is very much appreciated because I definitely need some adorable flashbacks to make me feel a little better before diving right back into my puddle of tears. Seeing her smile and laugh alongside the trio is the most adorable thing, especially that head pat she gives Emma. Also love that reference to ch95's extra page where Gilda was working so hard at the shelter that a sleepy Chris mistakenly called her "mom." Oh, my poor boy Chris.. he's gonna have so many things to catch up on once he wakes up and learning about Isabella's death ain't gonna be easy.

Say it louder, sweetie!!! And most definitely repeating myself once more by saying that I'm so glad the second season animated that panel of Isabella hugging the trio despite this chapter's events not happening.

I love this idea of Isabella & Yuugo being the "what if" versions of the kids. Isabella's situation could easily be applied to any of the girls, though most people associate it with Emma which is fair, just as we usually make the connection of Yuugo to Ray due to them both witnessing their family getting killed and all that time they spent alone, whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally. All three honestly.

Seeing all the children beg Isabella to hold on, along with them confessing how much they love her.. oh my goodness, I think so often how thankful I am that this scene wasn't included in the anime because seeing the pain on their faces is hard enough already, imagine how loudly I would sob if I heard the emotion in all their voices.

Oh, if any version of her lullaby played here, my heart would shatter. I already feel close to tears. She probably dreamed of hugging all her precious children and openly declaring her love for them once more without any fear of what the farm system might do to her and/or them, and now that Isabella finally gets that chance, she has such a thankful smile on her face and I'm happy she gets to experience these warm feelings one last time.

I dunno about anyone else, but this chapter always feels like a "try not to cry challenge, level: impossible" for me. Doesn't matter if they added in this cute scene of her hugging the trio with such a beautiful smile, my heart is still in pieces on the ground. I'm the one who needs the hug!

Favorite panel/moment:

If you haven't learned how much I love Isabella, Ray and their complicated mother-son relationship yet, then I haven't rambled on long enough. But yes, as much as her death absolutely wrecks me, I'm relieved it allows us to get one final interaction between her and Ray. By now we have a pretty good grasp about Ray's feelings towards Isabella, so the fact he kept his distance this entire time until she called out for him is so sad. We can't really tell if he rushes to her side or if he takes slow steps, but what matters is that he didn't deny her request.

It means so much that this moment is just between the two of them too. Sure it was undeniable sweet to see all the children cry and huddle around Isabella, but she and Ray have such a deep history so they deserve one last scene together. Although it's a very fragile relationship, that doesn't prevent her from giving him a personal apology with the very last bit of strength she has. Aahh, how terrible she must be feeling right now, thinking back on all the times she wasn't allowed to show him the same level of affection as a mother would normally show her son or for making his life such a living hell. She could've very well chosen to be angry at herself here or let the pain show on her face, and yet she chooses to smile instead. Not a smug or confident one Ray's probably used to seeing her use, but a gentle one that really conveys how strong her regrets are.

Having her last wish being for Ray to protect everyone is so perfect with how it shows that right til the very end, Isabella's children have always been her top priority and she'll always think of them first. It's also sweet that she wants Ray to hold onto this promise because us readers already know how committed Ray is to providing for his family and keeping them safe. Hell, his compassion and protective instincts were on full display last chapter when he jumped in to shoot at that demon bastard and when he accepted all the moms and sisters to join the kids in the human world back during ch164. Those were such great opportunities for Isabella to witness just how caring her son really is and how much he's grown. I'm certain she's so proud of him. To this day I still wish Isabella had actually spoke that "I love you so much" to him, but I know she was steadily growing weaker by the minute that even speaking or seeing clearly was becoming a challenge for her. The nice thing with Isabella though, is that she doesn't really need to say such words out loud for Ray or any other child to know how true her feelings are, as Emma confirmed earlier during her moment of reflection, that Isabella's actions speak far louder to the point where everyone was able to recognize how strongly she loved them all. What completely breaks me about this entire chapter though is seeing Ray finally breakout into tears as he holds onto his mother's hand. This boy just found out his mother was alive, along with becoming their enemy once more, saw her betray their common enemy in order to assist the children, which sparks his discussion to forgive her and wish for her to join him in the human world, only to realize that won't happen as she jumps in to protect one of his best friends and ends up critically injured all because he failed to killing a demon. That is so much to experience all in one day. It's a miracle he kept his emotions in check to begin with, but now he's hit with the realization that he's losing his mother for good and.. damn it 'yall. Can we please give my boy a break?? And my queen too while we're at it?? Both of them seriously had two of the worst experiences in this world and instead of having them reconcile and build a better mother-son relationship in the human world together, we gotta make them suffer once last time, huh?? Fucking hell man.. I said it way more than once and I'll say it a million more times up until I'm on my own death bed, but the decision of having Isabella stay alive is by far the absolute best thing to come out of season two.

I want to wish their moment was lasted longer than a page and a third, but I'd probably never recover from all the emotional damage if their tearful goodbye had more focus. AAhhh.. seems like I should've wrote out a lot more considering the amount of time I spent on this chapter and how passionate I get about my favorites, but ya know, the emotions are hella strong today.

[officersnickers]

Who is your least and most favorite character in TPN and why?

Hmm... who could be my fave I guess...?

My son… my captain… my king 👑💙

Because he‘s just a little guy but he‘s sooo good while being my little guy! Depressed but determinded to live one, protective of his friends and family, snarky and sarcastic but never outright mean if you don‘t deserve so, he tried to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends, just loves too much and gets hurt by it, was even able to assure his mother it was right for him to live on… should I continue? Nah. Ray is just best boi, period.

Andrew on the other hand…

So much wasted potencial. Cool character design, I‘m not even appealed by him standing under Peter‘s wing, but man, he was so boring and cruel! Nothing was ever accomblished with this character (outside of killing Yuugo and Lucas and man, this was a low blow) which saddens me. Shirai can do write awesome characters! But… Andrew wasn‘t one of them :/

Here, have my fave picture of Andrew:

We should all say thank you to the demon devouring this guy :)

[goldiipond]

ohhhh my god lies down onthe foor. raydon

[kxmikomrade]

hellooo! Not many people ever write for the promised neverland fandom especially the manga so may I request a Oliver x reader (any gender)? Just general relationship headcanons please, if you could then maybe how he or the reader confessed. I hope that it's not too much 😅 Feel free to decline though and take care Kim! 😊💞

✧˖࿐ Oliver Relationship hcs

Order: Caffe Latte, Medium serving ham sandwich Genre: Fluff with a grain of angst Gn!reader Pronouns: Y/P (your pronouns) Type: Headcanons Requested! by: Anon! Warnings/Genre: !MAJOR-ish TPN MANGA SPOILERS! mentions of d3ath i think, probably some swearing and dats it just pure FLUFF Waiter's Notes: Hello traveler! ^^ please take care of yourself aswell, i hope this order will give you energy! Authors Notes: I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW DIS REQ, also I haven't designed my materlist/req page for TPN since I keep on forgetting. I haven't read the manga in like 11 months? so he might be ooc. And i think when u said 'demon world' u meant the human world, if not, i could start all over again, no problemo. BUT ANYWAYS ENJOY! :dd

•HE'S BF MATERIAL

•Husband material too 😳

•Ur hella lucky to have his heart wrapped around your fingers

•You guys had feelings for eachother for awhile now (years actually)

•So when you guys arrived and settled in the human world, he took up all his courage and confessed to you

•In front of everyone 💀

•Gillian was so happy that she was screaming, crying- actually no, SOBBING her eyes off and clapping LOUD simultaneously.

•And you were really embarrassed and happy that he liked you back

•Gillian lowkey planning ur wedding already

•IF SHE HASNT ALREADY WHEN SHE FOUND OUT U BOTH LIKE EACHOTHER THAT IS

•When u got together, u guys are so cute istg

•Lucas crying from heaven and Yuugo patting his back

•Literally what every couple dreams to be

•ZACK TEASES YOU TWO SO MUCH

•GILLIAN TOO

•AND SOMETIMES U THREE GANG UP ON OLIVER

•poor oliver

•Since your flirty, oliver's face is often the same color of his hair streak

•Though most of ur pickup lines r bad, it still makes him flustered

•''I thought happiness starts with an 'H'?'' ''?? it is?'' ''Then why does mine start with u?''

•THOUGHHHH, when he starts getting used to them, he MIGHT comeback at u

•''Are you a camera? bcs when i look at u, i smile'' ''Good, your smile makes the sun jobless''

•I think he needs to work on some of his comeback lines

•His hugs r so warm, he's a human heater but BRO. his hands r SO COLD

•Big spoon, but i feel like he would be more of a switch bcs he also likes being held

•plus points for u bcs u get to play with his fluffy hair

•head kisses bro.

•it doesnt matter if ur taller than him, ur getting head kisses no matter what

•Also, i feel like u guys would adopt a cat together

•and name it Luca bcs :')

•SPEAKING OF LUCAS- hes so proud of u guys that he cries bcs of it also yuugo but hes too shy to admit it

•U guys visit their graves (made in the human world) every week or two and u have a moment of silence

•just talking to them in your minds bcs u know they can hear u

•its a comforting silence between u both bcs u know Olivers there and Oliver knows youre here

•OKAY ENOUGH OF THE SAD STUFF

•U call him so many nicknames but mostly alongside 'Ollie'

•He's basic and just sticks to ones like 'Love', 'Sweetheart', 'babe'

•bro im 100% sure his food is MMMM

•Like Gillian's jelly bcs u get to eat Ollie's food everyday

•He's the ultimate malewife but he can also be ur husband 😉

•wedding? yes.

(457)

THATS IT LMAO RAN OUT OF IDEAS SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

[randomyuu]

there's a lover in the story, but the story's still the same

Ahh, don’t you love it when fear motivates your drawing mood? (not really)

That’s what I felt reading the scene that is drawn below. It’s fear for Yuuji but also feeling excited picturing an emotionless teen!Gojou so here I am. Always down bad for Vox’s Goyuu fics, aren’t I? *sighs*

Welp, here we go.

Title: there’s a lover in the story, but the story’s still the same

Author: @voxofthevoid

Second fic of the series there’s a lover in the story, but the story’s still the same

Pairing YuuGo, NSFW, please read the tags carefully before giving it a read... the usual drill ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

!!! SPOILER FOR THE FIC !!!

Highly recommend you guys to read them first. Or not, it’s up to you honestly :v

Usually I would gush about the fic but I’ve already done that under the fic itself so I just want you to know this comic is solely carried by me wanting to draw the ticking time bomb called teen!Gojou-post-discussion-with-adult!Ieiri. You could probably guess what they’re talking about :”)

The fear for Yuuji’s well-being started this, but Satoru’s cold eyes kept me going. I can’t get rid of it from my mind lmao

You can say drawing these kind of expressions is my jam   (￣▽￣)

I hope I did Satoru’s emotions justice haha

A bit of my thoughts and doodle below. Unhinged maybe, it’s midnight, I got more work to do after this, and my brain cells are barely hanging on. Haha I'm living the life-

I AM STILL REELING FROM THE FACT I MANAGED TO GET THIS DONE.

There are so many things I want to talk about in the process of making this. But after I typed it out, most of them sounded so unnecessary so I rewrote it a few times. I tried to make this as short as possible lmao

Typesetting and sketching are the roughest parts of this project. During these stages, I kept feeling everything I did wasn’t doing the scene enough justice, and it was frustrating. As I planned this project, I read a few doujins and noticed the font types scanlation teams use. There are so many of them, and each helped convey the tone of each image. Felt like crying when I realised I’m not knowledgeable enough to apply good typesetting, ngl. And then the interior design. Fuck, the frustration is so real. I am absolutely clueless about this kind of thing. Tracing lots of references because I have no perception of space makes me feel even worse. I knew first times rarely create a masterpiece, but I was not satisfied with my accomplishment and the feeling of failing to fulfil my own expectations hurt.

BUT.

Thank goodness most of the things I need to draw are Shouko, Yuuji and Satoru. Because dear g o d drawing them healed me. I found so much comfort in drawing Shouko’s long hair and Satoru’s eyes and drowning Yuuji in an oversized hoodie. The comfort zone of character drawing never feels so real lmaooo

Drawing them was so effective that I can look back at the backgrounds with acceptance. Hey, I did it! Not perfect just yet, but I did it!

Haha I feel like I’m losing my mind. I don’t know if it’s in a good way or a bad way. Guess I do have one or two screws loose.

Only for Yuuji lmao

(nah I just need sleep, or cooling down from the rush of having finished this)

It might come off as a surprise if you’ve only seen my art on Tumblr, but I’ve always preferred to draw feminine-leaning ladies. I’ve always loved drawing their curves, whether it’s the figure, the clothes, or the (long) hair. But I’ve grown to like drawing masculine gentlemen as well with their sharp edges and straight lines, and now my ladies start to look more androgynous lmao

Anyway, I was pretty stoked to be able to draw adult!Ieiri! I… I kind of miss drawing long hair so here have some more before you go on your day ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

[graphx]

something I’m exploring in my fic actually

Re-reading how spiteful Lucas got over the years of living in the hunting ground.

As far as we know only Gracefield is the only farm that doesn’t have some kind of town worked into the coverup/backstory. Lucas and Yuugo might have recognized goldy pond’s architecture as similar to glory bell since they were both built by the ratri clan and in the end they both became farms. Analyzing Minerva’s actions you can see how he was influenced by his upbringing as a Ratri.

he gives the lab rats the tools to break out, but doesn’t actually help them do so. It’s almost like changing factors in an experiment but not doing anything more. Exactly the kind of experiments that the Ratri has been putting children through in Lamba.

(From the perspective of the readers we know that Minerva died for supplying them with information, guns, shelters and a way out under the farms, but from the perspectives of kids who didn’t know that? Kids who had the whole world against them? Obviously they would be suspicious)

like lucas mentions here, he originally thought it was a lie/trap all along. From the trio’s perspective we see how they rule out Minerva being an enemy but we never see how Yuugo’s group escaped. Maybe they were less dependent on Minerva’s help? Was the pen the reason they escaped? Did they use the book and THEN start to trust Minerva? Was their trust of Minerva’s plans for them equal to the trios? Were they more distrusting since they didn’t have a sonju/mujika to help them?

(if bunker dads hadn’t died at the beginning of the search for cultivida arc their differences in perspective/opinion of Minerva would have been great for emma considering if the seven walls was the best option. While norman does represent the other half of this conflict we could have gotten some more gray areas to explore with the bunker dads as an alternative! Seeing Lucas and Norman bond would have been sooooo interesting!!!)

It would be so cool to explore how yuugo took the events of the hunting ground and blamed himself while Lucas blamed Minerva.

it actually kinda parallels the main trio. Emma blames herself for not doing enough to get everyone out alive while Norman blames outside factors (more specifically demons rather than Minerva but it would be cool to see what Norman thinks of Minerva actually. Yeah he uses his name and resources to get what he wants, but does he blame Minerva for not doing enough? For only giving them a choice rather than bringing down the system? Does Norman hate giving up his identity to be this god like figure? Does he hate the role he has to fill? The shoes he has to grow into??? Sorry rambling love exploring characterization—)

but yeah it would be cool to see how lucas, yuugo and dina parallel the OG trio as the group that lost their emma.

lucas (like norman) rallies other people to the cause, makes a rebellion and helps in every way he can (side note when emma looses her memories norman is happy that she can still live a good life regardless which parallels lucas being happy that yuugo is alive even if he didn’t go back to help them)

yuugo (like ray) shuts down when his plan is ruined and there is no other alternative solution

we don’t get that much characterization for dina so sadly I can’t parallel her to emma much

but we do see in her final moments she was encouraging her family to do the best they could even while holding her dying family members in her arms while staring down certain death. That fits Emma pretty well!

anyway thats it, thanks for reading! I just needed to get this down before I forgot lol

i would love your thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pinkprimrose05]

Can you do the whole favorite thing about them, least favorite thing about them, favorite line, brOTP, OTP, nOTP, etc. for Yuya?

Warning: Long post, contains slight spoilers.

I am so very sorry for long this stayed in the box- but thanks a lot for the ask!

Favorite thing about them: Why must you make me choose. I can't. I can't do that. There's genuinely too many things to choose from.

...fine, I can do honorable mentions. One thing that piqued my interest in the tomato son all those years ago was how layered his persona can be... if you squint. Or if you're like me and relate to him on a spiritual level. You see, at the surface of his character, Yuuya's your average protag boy: fun-loving, good-natured and full of innocent hopes and dreams-

Except, that's not all there is to it. Not even at the very start of the story. We see from the get-go how he struggles with the weight of past events and his own doubts and insecurities -which only gets more and more prominent as the show goes on- all while holding onto his smiles in defiance against adversity, and trying to help others do the same as well. Personally, I still think that this is a deceptively simple yet very powerful message.

Least favorite thing about them: Ah, that's a question I can't quite answer. You see, there isn't anything specific I dislike about him, as much as there's stuff I dislike that happen to him- as in, to his character. Like the last stretch of the Xyz and Fusion arcs. Those parts did irreversible damage Yuuya's portrayal- so much so that even I, known for being more forgiving of the story's flaws than most, was shaking my head in denial through the first, second, and third watch. Lord help me when I reach them in the fourth.

Favorite line: Quoting myself from the Yuugo version of this post: would it be cheating the question if I said there's too many to count? Because it's still true. I know for a fact that I'll mention a line here and then find another one I prefer not a day later- that's how it is with the faves, I suppose. For the sake of not leaving this empty, though, here's one quote that stuck with me longer than most:

"The dueling I've had up until now isn't something I made alone. Because everyone was there, I was able to make it this far!"

brOTP: Yuugo!

...Saw that coming? Yes? No? Look, Yuuya's the protagonist so he naturally has a lot of interesting friendships, some established, some made over the course of the show... and a few entirely hypothetical, like this one. What can I say? I just think they'd go great together. Picture this: two idiots with half a braincell between them, who meet each other proper and instantly click. And get on like a house on fire from there. Seriously, they're so different yet similar in so many ways, and I think that'd lend itself to a great mutual underdtanding between the two- almost as if they have some kind of telepathetic link (hmmm). Putting them in one room for extended periods of time will either result in the most fun sort of chaos or in talks so deep they both end up bawling their eyes out in each other's arms.

They're friends. Besties. Brothers even.

OTP: Look, I'm a bonafide vanilla when it comes to romantic ships. Fruitshipping is my first and main OTP in all media of interest, and the threatre kiddos get a badge of honor for being one of a scant few pairs that got me extremely close to crying on more than 1 occasion. That's more than can be said for... *checks notes* ...99.8% of the characters I know!

nOTP: Hmm... there's none that come to mind, honestly. I don't mind seeing Yuuya paired with anyone, as long as the ship is not inherently inappropriate and/or isn't portrayed in any weird ways.

Random headcanon: Thanks to certain happenings towards the end of the plot, Yuuya ends up developing the unconscious habit of hoarding things precious to him. He'll go to sleep curled up in the middle of a nest of blankets and pillows, surrounded by all his favorite plushies, random trinkets and gifts from friends, and of course, his pendulum and card partners (thank god in-universe cards are stupidly sturdy). The first time Youko chances upon him in this state, deep in the peaceful bliss of slumber, she stealthily snaps a photo and- huh? No, you didn't hear a thing. "Cuteness overload can be heard from over a mile away?" Pfft, nonsense.

Unpopular opinion: No idea how unpopular this may be, but... I don't get the claims that Yuuya's not a good duelist?

Several people point out that he relies on Action cards to stall out a duel until he can turn it around, and conclude that as such, he's less skillful than most of his opponents. That take confuses me more than anything; after all, isn't it in the nature of the Action duel rule that one must make use of the card scattered around them? They're not just there for show, nor are they solely used for their effects. And besides, it's clear that Yuuya's particular brand of entertainment dueling places heavy emphasis on the dynamic aspect, which is why he's always running around the field and trying to make a spectacle out of every move. That doesn't diminish his skill in any way I can see- he's just more inclined to using resources outside those in his deck, thanks in part to needing more combo pieces than survivability cards by virtue of using Pendulums.

Song I associate with them: Assuming any song qualifies, I'd say it's Future Fighter; because it's literally Yuuya's (and Reiji's) very own personal song. It highlights core aspects of their personalities through the lyrics- and what do you know, our boy has a very nice singing voice too! It was one among many highlights from the back half of ARC-V S1 to me.

Favorite picture of them: Look, I just want to see him happy. I think he deserves to display genuine joy more often. And the more sparkles the episode budget allows, the better! So with that in mind, here's a few of my favorite pics of the boyo.

....oh, you thought I could pick only one?

Bonus: