#RE|| subject: unohana retsu

[7ambofgod]

RE|| LAZARUS RISING

co-written with @viciousvizard 

.   Nemu stands poised with respect as a few old members of the twelfth division have tuned into the screens observing a bay in the fourth division. Their attention is focused on just one small woman. There are tubes inserted into her mouth, her arms, her wrists, even a medical device siphoning kidou out of her. All these tubes and attachments are plugged into a frail girl bandaged thickly around the middle. The bandages are changed every hour like clockwork by diligent shinigami in the fourth division.

.   Liver damage, extensive. 4th stage renal failure. Double stents drained into a catheter balloon. A biliary drain desperately salvaging healthy liver tissue to inhibit the inflammation. Spinal fluid repair done through her brain.

.   Nemu glances at the screen and in the medical bay, there is a great scuffle and argument off screen. Finally, Unohana Retsu sweeps into view and places a gentle hand on Isane Kotetsu’s shoulder. She allows for an exception this time. Nemu observes the ‘exception’ that Unohana Retsu has granted in her usually well-organised, sterile ward.

.  These are friends of the injured girl. They are also worse for wear. Limping from battle, but unmoving from the medical bay. These unusual beings of half hollow and half shinigami soul are protective. They form a protective barrier between the fair-haired girl and the other, prying shinigami. She is only allowed the courtesy to observe from a screen. But she observes well. The faces of that girl’s friends. They are all unfamiliar to her. She is a new face, but they are all old. She can feel Mayuri-Sama close by, looking completely uninterested in the ordeal, but he has not ordered Nemu to make herself useful in the few moments she has been watching that woman. And he does not order any of the 12th division Shinigami to move either. This is unusual.

.   “Sarugaki Hiyori pronounced dea-”

.   “NO! HIYORI!” Nemu does not know who that cry belongs to. It is from her group of friends, all desperate, tired and heartbroken. They look ready to fight the grim reaper themselves. All of them are crying - - until Unohana Retsu sweeps forwards once more and smiles.

.   The girl’s vital signs have picked up. A great sigh of relief has been released over everyone. They are all still crying.

.   Nemu briefly, selfishly… wonders if there would be any who would shed tears for her if she was to be mortally wounded.

.   “That moron wasn’t going to die so easily.” Nemu turns, her eyes widening as she notes that Mayuri-Sama has made the comment. He’s finally impatient. “Well? The show is over. Nemu, get over here!”

.   The plaited girl bows her head. “Yes, Mayuri-Sama.”

.   And that is how she found herself within a few hours facing the very tired, very drained… but very angry Sarugaki Hiyori.

.   “I am Kurotsuchi Nemu, lieutenant of the 12th division.”

.   The girl had looked baffled at the sight of her. But could not do much. Not even speak. She looked at Nemu’s badge, a grimace of pain flashing in those big, brown eyes. They were so expressive, even in death.

.   Nemu only learned later on… this was the former lieutenant of the 12th division. The one who rose from the verge of death because of her unusual regeneration abilities.

.  She was one of the first to know Mayuri-Sama as a free man. She vows to know her better.

[fauzhee10069]

My thought after skimming NPAB

“No Paths Are Bounds” by CataclysmicEvent could be the most popular TGCF fanfic right now due it being translated into many language. It basically retelling the story of TGCF with some alteration (most notably is Xie Lian being blinded by curse shackle).

To be honest I'm not really into 'retelling story' because basically we just like re-reading stories that already exist. Total chapters are 152 so the story is quite long and I don't have time to devote my time reading it due to my IRL stuffs (as you can see how rarely I post on tumblr lately, right?).

But I found the author's twitter post about some of the breakdown of the story, summaries that were fully discarded or retained-in-background. Then I was intrigued by the author’s portrayal of Shi Wudu.

I also found that the author's most favorite characters are Shi Wudu and Mu Qing (which turns out that we share the same interest) so yeah...

I ended up skimming their name through those 152 chapters.

And here’s my thought…

First, keep in mind that I didn't read the whole thing and just skimmed it, so my thought will be limited to that. Don’t take my words as reference, it would be better if you judge it by reading it yourself.

Plus, this will be heavily subjective and personal.

At least what I want to say first is that this fanfic is worthy enough of being loved by many.

As for Shi Wudu, there is noncon stuff with Jun Wu.

Yeah, this fic contains #junshui but in unhealthy way.

The premise is interesting because often I also have ideas for angsty #junshui content where Jun Wu blackmailed Shi Wudu for his fate switching deed.

The author further made that it was Jun Wu himself who taught Shi Wudu about switching fate.

Despite #junshui, the actual pairing is obviously #peishui. Yeah, I agree with the author that Shi Wudu deserves a happy ending.

Sometimes later it’s implied via Shi Wudu that Jun Wu is also interested to Mu Qing.

Now, I’ll be honest, I like pairing #junqing more than #junshui because I'm invested in PeacefulDiscord’s fanfic about them (yeah, it’s angsty pairing as well with possibility #fengqing in the end and the fanfic is likely got removed as of now due to the author wants to revise it).

Back to NPAB, i feel this part is a bit nonsensical because Mu Qing is the older god than Shi Wudu, he’s been around in Jun Wu’s court more than Shi Wudu. So why would Jun Wu only interested in Mu Qing now?

Of course there is a term that attraction can come later, but I still find it hard to be logically convinced.

There was a moment when Jun Wu appreciated Mu Qing's beauty, but why wasn't that done a long time ago when the latter first ascended?

I think it would be better that #junqing happened before #junshui, or that it didn't happen at all.

Speaking of Mu Qing, apart from being the martial god of southwest, it is very interesting that NPAB Mu Qing is also the god of medicine (medical master).

Medical masters themselves mentioned a little by MXTX in the novel.

It’s free real estate to me, so I'm often excited to create an OC based on that role.

But in NPAB, that role was taken by Mu Qing.

In canon, Mu Qing is obviously not a medical master, there is absolutely no implication that he is a healer.

But in NPAB, that is his role. To be honest, I'm excited, because Mu Qing’s role becomes even more prominent than his canon counterpart.

I particularly love this part:

NPAB Mu Qing is basically Unohana Retsu Yachiru of TGCF and healer Mu Qing became a quite popular fanon in TGCF fandom.

Back on Shi Wudu, the Black Water arc is more complex in NPAB than in canon. Both Shi Wudu and He Xuan were actually victims of Ju Wu's scheme, with the former even got SA’d by the emperor.

I love the fight between He Xuan and Shi Wudu inside Mount Tonglu, the truth was being revealed there and it eventually ended tragically with Shi Wudu’s death however…

Next chapter feels like a joke, probably a mock up chapter with Shi Wudu being transmigrated to modern world and met Shen Yuan who mistook him for a cosplayer.

This part is so random, after riding the angsty with Shi Wudu, he was suddenly in a supposedly comedic situation, WTF??

I thought that Shi Wudu will be permanently stuck in modern world with Shen Yuan, which will be… cringed imo (his character profile is not suitable for comedic situation atm).

But chapters later, I’m glad that he is back into TGCF world, revived by no other than Mei Nianqing.

Let me just pretend that his moment with Shen Yuan is just a dream… or does not exist.

Then, there is also beefleaf…

Which I think is not great idea to give them a lovechild during the course of NPAB’s TGCF.

I’ll be honest here, I have never been a fan of badass pregnant lady troupe.

I mean, no matter how badass you are, no matter how strong or overpowered, imb4, hax, etc you are... when you’re pregnant, you will be a liability in any dangerous situation! Deal with it!

No matter how capable you are, you and your unborn child will remain a matter of concern for the party.

Which automatically translated “a burden”.

I appreciate pregnant mother more who realize their limitations and choose to support the party in a safe place.

That's why I think that a 9 months pregnant The Boss in the middle of the battlefield is ridiculous (Metal Gear reference).

Reading: <fighting> <badass> <danger> “oh the baby!?”  <fighting> <badass> <danger> “oh the baby!?” are getting on my nerves in all my life in enjoying fictions (JUST STAY INSIDE YOUR GODDAMN HOUSE, BITCH!!)

If you really need a representation of badass woman, or badass mother, do it when she's not pregnant.

In fact, badass mother with a child/children (who was already born of course) is still underrepresented than badass preggers.

I prefer beefleaf to have their kid(s) post canon.

Or (tbh), I prefer fengqing who get the children (Nan Feng-Fu Yao twins AU LOL).

Now talking about the OC, NPAB has quite a lot of OC(s) but right now I want to talk about Zhao Beitong first. Evie created her to serve as a mentor figure for Hua Cheng. Her role as the master of mount Tonglu, mother of ghost kings, the genius blacksmith who forged many celestial powerful weapons, the queen of Wuyong & Jun Wu’s wife AND GUOSHI (Tonglu Hudie).

To be honest, as interesting as she is, I’m not a fan of her character.

I found that her role is quite too much, my personal opinion is that she is a bit Sue-ish, despite the author claimed that the OCs are simply meant to be supporting characters to help the plot progression.

I’d rather have her roles get split into two characters. One as Hua Cheng (and He Xuan) mentor and another as queen of Wuyong/Jun Wu’s wife (via flashback/posthumous character).

The mentor could be from one/two of Jun Wu’s deputies who turn into the mountain (make them powerful enough to be able to project human form) while the queen’s story can be told by Mei Nianqing in addition when he told Xie Lian and Hua Cheng about Jun Wu’s past in canon.

Being Jun Wu’s former Guoshi & Hua Cheng’s mentor already put her fighting prowess alone comparable to them.

Which means the like of Pei Ming, fengqing and other martial gods/combatants are apparently inferior to her.

Then I also don’t like the story of her being the executor of the gods in previous heavenly dynasty while Jun Wu orchestrating from behind (as mastermind).

All for the sake of her grief as losing mother.

That is like the effective way to tell the audience how strong & badass your OC by carrying out the massacre while also place her in innocent light (we don’t blame in her, whilst sparing her from responsibility of her action).

You only feel pity to her, regardless what terrible things she is capable to do.

All because of “I’4m A wRoNg3d m0th3r!!!”

Let’s be honest, Zhao Beitong’s motherhood issue got too repetitive in her story to the point where I got (yawn).

Perhaps that’s the problem of story too much tell, another reason where I can appreciate the element of surprise of MXTX's storytelling.

I’m not defending the previous (gen of) gods, as MXTX herself implied that they were corrupt canonically.

But I prefer the canon version where Jun Wu is more barbaric in slaughtering them by his own hand, Jun Wu's narrative as a strong villain is more accomplished well for it demonstrated his strength as well as his cruelty (regardless how corrupt the victims themselves were).

I think it’s fine if you want to put your OC in some light by having her contributed in forging deadly weapons, but I’d rather have Jun Wu did the execution as you already made your OC prominent enough as a blacksmith.

EDIT (27/12/22): Okay, after re-skimming again, the ones who did the heavenly slaughter were both Zhao Beitong and Jun Wu, but still...

I don't know what criteria the author sees of prominent female character, the author created Zhao Beitong as an icon of such.

But personally, characters like Ling Wen and Yushi Huang have been quite woke for me, because even though they are not physically strong as combatants, they are both very competent. MXTX prefers characters who are competent and irreplaceable than just being everything.

At this point, I’d rather have the author to fully utilize Jun Wu’s three other deputies than making over-fully packed OC.

Guru kebanyakan drama, kalo kayak gini kan mending Hua Cheng dikasih guru macam eyang Sinto Gendheng wae -_-

Though, perhaps most of you already think that Zhao Beitong serves her role well as an OC, because her story is in harmony with the narrative written in the NPAB:

The tragic mentor/fallen goddess who aids the protagonists in defeating the villain while also getting her revenge.

But my personal preference is to prefer a character that aren't too excessively tragic/dramatic.

I’m actually aware that NPAB’s elaborated style of narrative is not limited to Zhao Beitong alone, but also to many canon characters.

However, that’s how despite some existing plot holes, I appreciate MXTX’s subtlety in story telling.

At this point, I’ll be more blatantly honest here, I found Zhao Beitong more annoying than NPAB!Shi Qingxuan.

Let’s go back to the positive one, I love how the fic had addressed this mulian’s issue:

And then in NPAB, we have this:

My favorite chapter that moved me was when Mu Qing became MVP in the battle against Bai Wuxiang. Bai Wuxiang then infected Mu Qing with Death Qi, the protagonists’ party almost lost their most reliable healer because of that and then the lake scene with fengqing & hualian.

NPAB have delves into deep emotions with multiple characters even early on than what MXTX had written (particularly, Hua Cheng’s POV).

I like the NPAB version of the final battle more than the canon because the former involves more characters to contribute in fighting Jun Wu and Bai Wuxiang, instead of relying too much on Hua Cheng and Xie Lian alone.

Then, regarding the epilogue (post Jun Wu’s defeat), although it is great to have multiple parties involved in final battle. In the end we will find a typical ending "happily ever after for everyone" yay.

Which is a bit... childish to my taste (sorry).

Especially in the part when it comes time for Shi Wudu to receive a formal punishment for his crime on He Xuan regarding fate switching.

I don't know why I don't like the way it is handled. Like witnessing the court process in our world, but in written form (narration).  Shi Wudu’s reciting all his sin verbally, can’t we just skip this part? (yawn)

At least yeah, he doesn’t get away with his crimes on He Xuan.

And the ending has Pei Ming as the new heavenly emperor which is neat.

So… yeah, that’s my impression of a fraction of the NPAB, I wished I have my time to read the entire story but yeah…

Anyway, apart from the things that I’m not a fan of, this fanfic can’t be called a mediocre in quality. The author is really devoted in writing this story as a form of love for TGCF written by MXTX herself.

Ciao.

[senboago]

Amaterasu Mochizuki.

I also wanna talk about why there’s wh*re put here, and gonna play with a human au here for her. Disclaimer; mentions of sexual abuse, slut shaming, and prostitution.

So, if anyone’s seen Ama’s occupations, she's an ex-prostitute. It’s not delved into in her official biography (simply out of respect for those who are sensitive to the subject). But what I’d like to establish here is that her prostitution was non-consensual, but forced upon her by her ex-lover and only family. She took any patrons at this time, desperate for the money demanded of her by her partner (and partner is used loosely here). This included married men and sometimes women. This of course put a negative label on her throughout her district.

After escaping the trauma and discarding her forced profession, she doesn’t care to talk about or even mention it. All official paperwork is even left as vague as allowed. Only a few people know of her past, such as few in the fourth division including Retsu Unohana, along with Sajin Komamura and Tetsuzaemon Iba.

In a human au, I imagine her story is very much the same as her main verse. An ex-prostitute, escaped from an abusive and toxic relationship. All the same only a selected few and her doctor knows. She probably works an social media influencer, focused on fitness and health. This plays very much into her journey from a healer to one of the strongest (and now lieutenant) of her division. Her favored fitness training is yoga and martial arts, primarily self-defense.

She also does lots of charity work, supporting domestic violence and sexual abuse/harassment victims, and mental illness awareness. Most of this is done more in the shadows however, with use of money earned through sponsorships.

Of course, an influencer isn’t without haters. And given how she’d have the same disassociated personality, it’d be no surprise for her to gain a thread of anti-fans; with plenty of insults and slurs to label her.