#Shuumatsu train was so good

[a-sleepy-ginger]

25/6/24

❊✺❂✺❊

Shuumatsu train final episode (was such a stupid fun ride)

Peach iced tea

[spacevixenmusic]

Source: Train To The End of The World [2024]

[thequietkid-moonie]

Hey i want to make a request for Buddha, Hades, qin shi Huang, that Just like they até training but the accidently hit they s/o in the and start bleed, but seeing the só worried make her laugh even If its hurting, and Just How they would React to that, please is my First time making a request

I LOVEE YOUR WRITING :)))

Accidentally hurting S/O while training

[ SCENARIO ] [ Buddha, Hades, Qin ]

[ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie / Records of Ragnarok ]

A really interesting prompt!!! I had a loooot of fun thinking on it!! Thanks for requesting it!!

Also, I don't specify where the injury is, I only mention it and say that is bleeding

Buddha

Buddha is a really caring person, although he normally hide it behind his cheerful and carefree attitude (not because he is shy, is just the way he is), however as much as he cares for you he isn't going to treat you like you are made of glass, he is totally the type to push you or even hit you softly in a playful manner (as long as you are comfortable with it of course), and he is totally up to playfuly fight with you

If you already train he sometimes just watch you do it, sometimes he gives you some advice or even laugh a little when you strugle with something. If you are just about to start training he is totally up to help you with it (but not before tease you a little)

If you ask him if he could train with you it would be rare for him to say no (just in the case that he wants to just lay down and relax, otherwise he normally accept), and as playfuly as he is Buddha still take it kinda seriously, specially if you do take it seriously, however that doesn't stop him from joking around or tease you here and there

Buddha is totally up to playfuly fight with you, but for this to happen it should be in a more serious fight, while training he correspond your efforts and use all his strenght just to give you a fair fight, however he never has the intention of hurt you

It could be that you to just get carried away for the excitement of the fight and start to use more and more strength and being more carefree with it, Buddha even started to tease you with the power of his eyes just to mess with you and provoke you

For being so distracted with the excitement he doesn't noticed when his attacks started to be more rough or even aggresive until he sees that you had started bleeding, he is really surprised when he sees your blood and almost trip on his own for the shock, his body react before he can even think in what to say, immediatly holding you firmly but carefuly to inspect the injury

Buddha started to be so serious that when you started laughing he is shocked once again, and still it doesn't take him much time before relaxing and laughing too (if you are so amused by it then it doesn't hurt much or isn't too serious), thanks to your laugh Buddha lose all his seriousness and may even start joking about this whole situation

However, he doesn't forget that you were bleeding so he lead you to where he can treat your injury while still laughing, and after your injury is properly taken care of he will cuddle you for a while (and you won't convince him to do something else or get away from his)

Hades

Hades is a really caring person and a really fair leader, even if you weren't his partner he will never think on lay a hand on you without a good reason and being in a fair fight, although since you are his partner the only idea of you getting hurt irritated him

If you already train or want to start training and become stronger Hades find it admirable and is completely supportive with your wish, still that doesn't mean he isn't worried about it so he will try to make sure take every precaution

You have to persuade him to train with you (tease him to convice him doesn't really works, he just laugh at it saying that he knows what are you trying to do), he doesn't want to risk hurting you but still it isn't too difficult to convince him but he always stop when he thinks that you two have enough already or feel like you can't continue fighting

As time pass by, you had become stronger or already used to being in fights then Hades will feel more comfortable to fight with you in a more serious manner, now giving the best of him corresponding to your efforts

Is probably that the two of you got carried away for the excitement of the fight and went further with all your strength, so when you start bleeding for an injury he caused you Hades is in shock for a moment, seeing your blood shock him but at the same time bring him back to reality, he start panicing a little and start to apologize over and over for his carelessness and for hurting you while checking your injury

The moment you start laughing he is dumbfounded, he looks at you for a moment before relaxing and laughing softly too, he can see that you aren't mad at him or worried for it, you are taking it pretty well so there is no need for him to panic

However it isn't like he will let you like this, after laughing a little Hades tells you that is enough training for today and gently lead you to where he can take proper care of your injury

He tries to not worry much about it but that makes him be more alert to don't let himself get carry away like that again (even if you don't mind he does)

Qin Shin Huang

Qin Shin Huang doesn't seem like it or doesn't show it much but he is really caring over you, you are his beloved partner and he just wants the best for you however he tent to be really carefree and playful so it seems like he doesn't pay much attention to it

Qin is a fighter, he has got to where he is by fighting for it, so if you already train is more likely that he will insist on training with you (is just something else that he will like to share with you), however if you don't train yet but want to start to do Qin will be really supportive and excited over it, wanting to help you with it and ready almost immediately

As much as he is excited when he is training with you he won't really get carry away for the excitement, when you two are training he tries to stay focused and even when he is still a little playful he is serious too

Qin isn't going to actually fight with you to train until he is sure you have the strength to do so, not like he sees you as weak is just that when he fights he gets carried away so he wants to make sure he doesn't end up hurting you (also because with the power of his eyes he will have an advantage)

When you two start having fights as training Qin tries to don't go too harsh on you and finish it when is clear that one of you have advantage over the other or when one can't continue, however as the time goes by and you become stronger you two will have more and more fights where you don't have to hold back yourself. He is afraid of hurting, but as you two start to have more and more fights is almost imposible to avoid (and he doesn't want to treat you like if you were made of glass) so he just tries to avoid deep injuries

The moment he notice that you are bleeding Qin takes a moment to examinate the injury, but only if you are bleeding too much he stops you and ask you to stay still (if is only a little scrape he doesn't see why stop the fight if you still want to continue)

When he sees that the injury isn't too bad he goes back to his carefree attitude, and when you start laughing he is laughing with you too, however he will stop to take care of your injury he will hate for you to lose too much blood or something, and it doesn't matter if you complain or say that you can do it alone he will hold you in his arms and carry you to where he can treat your injury (either him or putting someone to do it, in any case he will stay by your side and make you have a break from training for the rest of the day)

[cafeinthemoon]

King - Chapter VI

Chapter 6

Wordcount 5,6k

Title A Kingdom of Women

Fandom Shuumatsu no Valkyrie / Record of Ragnarok

Previous chapters

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5

Symbols ⭕ . ➕ . 🖤

Warnings: Mentions of unwanted pregnancies; multiple pregnancies; basically, Poseidon is not a good man

Tagging @cloveradora @the-dumber-scaramouche @mikkies @sl33py-zer0 @nooneknows8976 (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A.: Wow, finally a new chapter for this story! Even I find it hard to believe lol As pointed out by a reader in the comments, this story demands a lot of effort, and one of the reasons is obviously the chapters' lenght. This time, it's longer than all the others, as a compensation for the lack of updates. Tbh many things happened in the last weeks that kept me away from my works, but I don't want to discuss them here. It's not worthy.

Here are some hints about this chapter:

I tried to make Poseidon's character closer to his mythological version, which includes his relations with women. Though he doesn't make a proper appearance in this one, his presence is felt in each event, each sentence. He's the main subject of the conversations, whether in a positive or negative way. I love when this kind of stuff is included in stories to emphasize the importance of a character, and I hope I managed to do it right :)

Here we will have the first solid (or not) info about Amphitrite. I like Amphitrite's figure, and I will turn her into an important part of the structure here.

Of course, the selkie's skin is in her husband's possession. The thing with selkies' skin doesn't sit right to me, and I used this concept to create another source of tension for this story.

Finally, I'm sorry for the big delay and I hope you enjoy this new chapter :)

Yes, you have to stay vigilant, but no one can do this forever. Even the strongest can get exhausted. So, you need to relax. The thing is that you must learn when and where – and with who – you will allow yourself to rest. This can be scary in the beginning, and you will feel the most terrifying loneliness, but experience will come, and you will find balance.

Remember: your home is where your friends are.

When you were sent back to the lodge, the only things you wanted were a bit of silence and a moment by yourself, so you could process the events of the last day, your new position as a married woman and the task that was now in your hands: how would you manage to do something that only the most experienced masters were able to do, you who were never trained in any form of combat, not even in the use of knives? Yes, you did get your wish of not bearing a child answered, but were you really successful in your negotiations with your husband? You doubted that, and as to keep you in your place, he made sure you didn’t think you were.

Well, contrary to your wishes, once you stepped into the room and were left there by the servant (the same who took you to the ceremony’s preparations), you were barely allowed to readjust in it, because Alyssa was just too excited to see you again: ignoring your requests for her to be careful, she left her spot at the window and almost ran toward you when the door was opened, her hands around her belly as to protect the baby from her own recklessness.

– Y/n?! Y/n! Is that really you?!

You sighed in relief when she stopped in front of you with no troubles, but didn’t have time to think of this because the girl wrapped her arms around you and gave you the tightest hug that her condition allowed her.

– You’re finally back! – her voice was a rushed whisper – You should have been sent back yesterday, so when the night passed with no sign of you, I feared that something might have happened to you! But I’m glad you’re okay…

Though you were touched by those words, you preferred not try to wonder what Alyssa had in mind.

– Thank you – you moved away to look into her eyes – He decided to keep me with him for the entire night, so I had no choice. I’m sorry for causing you such anxiety.

You went to sit with her on your bed.

– So, yes, I’m back, but I don’t think okay is the best word to describe myself right now.

The girl frowned.

– No? How so?

You stood in silence for a moment, trying to find the appropriate way to turn your thoughts into words... And, when you did, was solely to provoke in your friend a laughing crisis.

– So… – you started – You told me that many things could happen once I found myself in Poseidon-sama’s presence… But why didn’t you tell me that this included being carried around like a bag of potatoes?

The sound of Alyssa’s laughter filled the enormous room before you could even finish the word potatoes. Her body trembled as she fought to control it, covering her mouth and closing her eyes tight, tears rolling through her hands. At first, you showed impatience – after all, being laughed at by a god by what he saw as fragility was a serious matter to you – but her reaction was so genuine that you just couldn’t stay mad.

– Alyssa, that’s not funny, okay? I didn’t enjoy being treated like that! It was humiliating and I just want to forget it!

– A bag of potatoes! Just imagine the Lord of the Seas carrying one! I can’t!

– Stop it! – you yelled, laughing too.

She took a deep breath and, then, was finally able to speak normally again.

– I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t help it! I was so worried about you and then, when you finally come back, this is the first thing you have to say? – she raised her hands in rendition – It’s just too hilarious!

You rolled your eyes.

– I wish I could see things that way.

Calming down, Alyssa gave you another reason for her attitude.

– Well, actually, it’s not just funny. I’m also surprised that he did this to you as well.

Now, you were the surprised one.

– What do you mean?

– When I was brought to the altar, I was wearing a transparent dress, so the first thing that Poseidon-sama noticed was the size of my legs – the girl explained – He didn’t say anything about them, but his disappointment filled the space between us. When he grabbed my hand and took me to the chambers where our wedding would be consummated, he made a comment about me being too slow and started carrying me on his shoulder – and, as if deliberating with herself, – But you’re a bit taller than me, you know? You must be able to walk faster… – she shrugged – Well, I guess this isn’t enough for him as well… – turning back to you, she suddenly changed the subject – But what about the wedding? The first time you saw him? What did you think? How did it feel like? Tell me everything!

Your cheeks got warm when you recalled the wedding night. You still had mixed feelings about it, so that you weren’t cheering for all that happened, at the same time that you weren’t really sad. But since you were still trying to digest such feelings, you sensed that this wasn’t the time to discuss them; Alyssa could be an understanding friend in case you did it, but you wouldn’t overwhelm her when she was so content for having you back.

– Well, I… Since our family was never devoted to any god, I had no idea of what to expect – you started – I just thought that Poseidon-sama would be similar to the statues we use to see in the temples’ entries and the public spaces. So I was really surprised when I finally saw him – you lowered your tone – He’s beautiful… And with a beauty that’s simply impossible for any human!

– I know – Alyssa commented – He firmly believes that gods are the ultimate bearers of perfection, so he does anything to embody this idea.

You chuckled.

– And I have to say it works in his case. Still, there are some unsettling things about him, such as, when you only take his appearance into account, you might think he’s around our age, but when you look into his eyes, this illusion disappears, and he looks older than everyone, anything you know… – a shiver appeared on your neck and went down your back while you remembered the god’s eyes – Older and terrifying.

Alyssa had an explanation for this.

– He’s one of the eldest deities from Greece, and was chosen to rule over the Domain of the Seas before the mythological ages. Water is a primordial element from all known worlds, including ours, you know? It’s only appropriate.

– Makes sense.

– Besides… you probably noticed that he’s not exactly a mild-tempered man – she lowered her voice, as if afraid of being heard by anyone beyond you.

You remembered the quake on the day you arrived and could only agree.

– This is why I was so worried for you, y/n – Alyssa continued – You’re just so lucky that he didn’t find any reasons to be displeased with you…

You bit your lip.

– Well… maybe he already did.

Your friend opened her mouth and closed it again, and you felt her fear and preoccupation in that small gesture. She asked what were you talking about.

– When Poseidon-sama took me to the chambers where we would have our wedding night, I made him a request – you swallowed – I asked him not to impregnate me.

Alyssa needed to make a superhuman effort to not scream when she heard that.

– You what?! But, how did you…?! – she shook her head – Do you have any idea of what it means to ask such thing from a god? Even more Poseidon-sama?

You let out an impatient sigh.

– I didn’t want to come here and I didn’t want to get married! You already know that – and, calming down a bit, – Not bearing a child was the last hint of freedom I could think of maintaining in this place, so I risked everything I still had (which wasn’t that much) in a deal with him. I’m a merchant, don’t you remember? – you shrugged – This preservation instinct... it runs in our blood.

The other girl frowned, still not believing that you indeed negotiated with Poseidon.

– Well, can you tell me the whole story, then?

– Of course.

And for the next minutes you recalled the events of that night, as well as the mission you received from your husband that morning, moments before he sent you back to the lodge, not hiding anything – except the nickname he gave you. Alyssa listened to each word carefully, not making a single interruption, but the sudden changes in her expression as the story followed revealed everything you needed to know about her feelings towards it.

In the end, by the fact that you returned to the room and the consistence of your narration, she was convinced that the god answered your plead; besides, she remembered seeing a small table close to the bed with a bottle upon it, both similar to the objects you described, and it was easy to imagine that there was a contraceptive fluid inside it.

However, she didn’t think her husband agreed with this deal as if moved by anything that resembled mercy, and she said that to you.

– By what I could see from him, I agree with you – was your reply – The nature of this mission is a proof itself.

Your friend let a hesitant “hm” escape.

– Yes, but that’s not exactly what I’m talking about…

– How so?

She gave you a worried gaze.

– I guess I didn’t tell you everything you need to know about being married with the god of the Seas – she moved upon the bed in discomfort – Look… Having children with desirable traits is not the only reason why Poseidon-sama has so many wives. The fact that most of us conceive in our first time with him makes us… unavailable for quite some time, to start with. There are other factors that might separate him from us, such as sickness and recovering periods between one pregnancy and the next, as well as when his presence is requested out of his domains, mostly in councils at Valhalla, which forces him to stay away for weeks, sometimes for months. For all of this, it’s convenient for him that some his wives are infertile or ask him to not have babies.

You frowned. So, there were women who were unable to bear children among you, and that wasn’t a problem for him? And you weren’t the first to make him that type of request? Well, now that you thought about it, it was only logical that you wouldn’t be: Poseidon has been taking wives for centuries, and you couldn’t suppose that all of them were willing to become mothers.

Besides...

– So, you’re telling me that if I’m not having a baby anytime soon, it means that he will…

It was unnecessary to finish the sentence. Alyssa gave you a silent nod. It was now more than clear that your request wasn’t the most clever decision from your part, something that you could have avoided if you were familiar with gods and their whims.

So, he’s this kind of man, then? Honestly, this side of him was clear for all the time we were together.

Still, you had some counterpoints.

– Alyssa, if I’m not the first to make this type of proposal to him, why did you react that way?

– First, because of your courage, perhaps increased by the fact that you know little about gods. Second, because I could never suppose that he would say yes to such proposal coming from a human – she put her hand under her chin, deliberating – He might have had something in mind… Something that we can’t figure out for now…

– Yes, I see, but there are other things that I can’t ignore. For example, what about Amphitrite-sama? She’s a goddess and his first wife. She is above us. I don’t see why he would chase after us when she’s there for him.

The look your friend gave you told you that you were, for one more time, wrong.

– Maybe it’s time for you to know about Amphitrite-sama, y/n.

Alyssa told you that what existed between Poseidon and Amphitrite was a marriage of convenience: she was the daughter of ancient sea deities, who inhabited those lands long before Poseidon’s arrival, and who offered her hand in exchange of their permanence in them; Poseidon accepted the offer as a way to reassure his dominance over the seas, and it has been like this since then. At first, they even tried to live as a normal couple, but it didn’t take long for both to realize it wouldn’t work, so that today they were just two people who shared the same house, and were more like professional partners then husband and wife.

– Amphitrite-sama’s personal life is a mystery to all of us – Alyssa explained – She’s rarely spotted by any of the other wives, and talking to her is almost impossible for us. Only Poseidon-sama, Proteus-sama and the servants are in touch with her routine and habits. We don’t even know exactly her feelings and thoughts towards us: some of the girls believe she hates us, this being the reason why we don’t see her often, but others think she actually cares for us, because she was the first to know the god of the seas as a man, so she’s aware of what is like to be in our place. I’ve never seen her myself, and I’m not sure of what to think, but I think she uses to spend her time out of here, maybe with her family, friends or a lover. I suppose we will never know.

You, from your part, were sure that enduring days and nights beside a man like the Tyrant of the Seas and being forced to accept the presence of thousands of other women in her own house must have been anything but easy. You were able to feel compassion for the goddess, but tried not to think too much about it.

What really interested you about Amphitrite, to be honest, had nothing to do with her private life or marriage.

– I’d understand if she chose to live her life that way. I suppose I myself would do the same if I was in her place – you commented – But, about her role as the Queen of the Seas... how exactly does it work? What are the signs of her presence here?

About this, Alyssa had some words, but they sounded as mysterious as all the rest.

– As far as I know, she shares the administrative matters with her husband, though he’s the one who has the final word in every question – a strange glimmer appeared in her eyes – But I’ve heard some stories that said that she is the real responsible for the maintenance of the palace’s structure, which includes its physical premises, the organization of the staff and their daily routine… and even us.

– What? – you frowned.

– About this, I have my doubts – your friend shrugged – But some say that most of the servants answer directly to her, and that even Proteus-sama fears her. Besides, there are rumors that she has already helped women and their children to leave her husband’s domain forever, as a way to favor the ones who have suffered and to maintain the order, given that the number of women would always vary like this.

– I see.

– Well, whether these stories are true or not, Amphitrite-sama is the Queen of this place, and we should be careful if we ever have to deal with her.

***

During the period that preceded your wedding, you received all your meals inside the lodge by the same hours everyday: since you still haven’t been touched by Poseidon neither you were given the pair of earrings that identified his wives, you still haven’t the right to join the other women in the great hall for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Alyssa had the said right, but due to the aching that her swollen feet provoked in case she insisted on the long walk to the hall, as well as to make you company, she preferred to eat in the room, where you had a small table prepared for this.

However, now that you were married and were free from physical restrictions, you no longer had reasons to keep yourself separated from the others, so right in the day after you were sent back, a servant came to lead you to have your first lunch in the hall.

Even though you were expecting for this, your heart jumped inside your chest with the perspective of entering a large place full of people who you didn’t know and who weren’t exactly receptive to your kind. You thought of asking your friend to come with you, but didn’t have the courage to do so: you would have to learn to survive there sooner or later, without bringing discomfort to anyone. But, without you expecting it, she offered herself to accompany you.

The servant raised an eyebrow at her.

– Are you really in conditions of walking to the great hall?

– I am – Alyssa replied with all the confidence – Besides, this is an important moment for my friend, and I want to be there with her.

The servant looked from her to you, then back to her, but didn’t argue. They asked both of you to follow them and closed the room’s door as you walked out of it.

***

The servant pushed the pair of golden doors before you with little effort, but they obeyed immediately, revealing the great hall in its full glory.

Just like you imagined, it was similar to other places you’ve been at, in a sense that it carried cleanliness, organization and luxury as its pillars, making it as beautiful as those other premises, with walls decorated with marine concepts, columns of white marble, large tables of noble woods and objects coated in gold – and it was as full as the center of a human city in a market day.

To anywhere you looked, you saw a mixture of colors, shapes and sounds created by priestesses of the Northern Waters, selkies, naiads and other kinds of nymphs, mermaids who were able to change their scales and walk with legs, and many other women from different regions of the known worlds, all of them wearing pearls like yours. Some would proudly exhibit the jewels as if they were the meaning of their lives, but others seemed to have forgotten about their presence on their bodies, just like the pearls became part of them; in fact, some didn’t wear them as proper earrings: there were girls who you guessed to be from the depths of the seas, having delicate, translucent fins instead of ears, and the pearls were pierced on their upper sides; others didn’t have visible auricular organs at all, so the pearls were on their heads, necks and, in some cases, on each side of their hairless faces, where their eyebrows would be.

The majority of the women, which bodies were of humanoid shapes, had their pregnancies evident, with rounded bellies covered in loosen dresses, like to the one you were wearing right now, but others seemed to be just like you, with no protuberance to indicate the presence of a child inside them; and there were some who, despite resembling the human form, were carrying baskets on the fold of their arms in order to transport eggs, and those eggs were from different numbers and appearances. You didn’t see children at that place, and this corroborated with what Alyssa told about them being taken from their mothers after the period of essential activities between them, such as breastfeeding.

Indeed, the scene was strange and beautiful, so much that if you didn’t know what kind of place you were at, you could be led to believe that you were in a kingdom of women.

As you walked through the main corridor, having the long tables at both sides, you recognized some of the girls who traveled with you, but most of them you were seeing for the first time. From their part, the reactions were similar to what you saw when you entered the carriage: at each step you took, the looks of curiosity, suspicion, disdain and explicit discontentment for the presence of, not only one, but two human beings in that sacred house burned your skin and made your heart beat faster.

You glanced at Alyssa and noticed her nervousness.

– Are you alright? – you whispered.

– Yes – she mumbled back, with her hands on her belly – It’s just that I’m no longer used to the distance between our room and this place.

– I see – you looked ahead, and spotted the space where you were supposed to take your food – Let’s get something for us and find a calmer spot to sit at.

You stopped in front of the large pans and the mixed scent of spices, seeds and meat invaded your nostrils alongside the steam. Everything seemed tasty, though you could barely recognize the foods. Unlike the things offered to you at the lodge – everything specially selected for your species – the foods were all mixed there, so Alyssa instructed you while you filled your plate, indicating what would be accepted by your body and what you were better stay away from. In the end, you managed to get a good combination of exotic seafood and typical spices from Midgard, and went to one of the tables.

***

The meal was excellent, and you were content for finding a good spot to sit despite the crowd around you. In order to not gather unwanted attention (at least not more than you already received), you avoided talking while you were there, unless it was strictly necessary. You were careful not to make a mess, and cleaned after ourselves before leaving the table.

To be honest, the hall wasn’t as noisy as you expected: it was more like a party were only the rich attended, with a display of good manners, elegance and the sound of soft voices spreading across the air. You never enjoyed being at that type of event while you lived with your father, but you knew how to behave, using your ears more than your eyes, pretending to be absorbed in your current task and only looking around a few times to make sure you became part of the landscape.

Still, a human who has entered the hall for the first time couldn’t be as invisible as she wished, and you noticed the occasional looks from the people near you. There was a woman in special, who were sitting on the opposite side of your table, three seats away from Alyssa, who wouldn’t take her eyes off you, even when you stared her back; she resembled a human girl in everything, from her brown, wavy hair to her olive skin, the only exception being the aspect of her eyes, bigger, in the slight shape of almonds, with their outer corners turned up. Alyssa noticed her looks and, moving her lips without letting her voice out, she identified her one word.

Selkie.

You’ve never seen an individual from that people before, but you’ve heard stories about some who has been living among humans since the old times; the relations between the two species were never easy, so that you wouldn’t be surprised if that one tried to bring this old feud to the depths of the sea. You already decided to ask about her later, but soon this precaution became unnecessary, for when you stood up and prepared to leave, the sounds of the room were supplanted by a clear, real voice.

– Another human being among us in so little time? Interesting. It seems that our beloved husband is planning to bring change to the family. For reasons only known by himself.

Your eyes turned automatically to the selkie’s direction, and you saw she was already looking at you, now on her feet. You noticed her swollen belly under a tunic of an opaque fabric that resembled a seal skin. The table was silent as the other women stared at you, some unsettled by those words, others eager to hear your reply.

Alyssa grabbed her plate and was going to walk around the table to reach your side, but you saw the look in her eyes, a quiet plead for you to not listen to the provocations, but you were just tired of that and decided to ignore the advice.

– If you’re going to say that I don’t belong to this kingdom and I have no right to be here – you took your plate from the table – Save your words, because I myself agree with you.

The selkie frowned: whatever she wanted to hear from you, it wasn’t those words.

– What?

You sighed.

– Do you really think one would choose to live in a place where their people are not welcome? – you looked around – Would someone here do something like that?

The woman bit her lip, but kept her composure.

– Whether you chose to come here or not, it’s good that you’re aware of this. You must be a careful girl.

You shrugged.

– Most of the times.

Alyssa, who finally stopped by your side, intervened.

– We’re not seeking for trouble, Melian – she spoke to the selkie – There’s no need for this conversation to carry on.

The other displayed a smile full of sharp, small teeth at your friend, but there was no sign of sympathy on her gaze.

– Why not? We’re having so much fun with it!

You spoke to bring her attention back to you.

– So, is there something you want to ask, or am I allow to leave? – you glanced at Alyssa – I need to take her back to her room.

Melian raised an eyebrow, as if thinking of a new provocation. But, as it uses to happen with people who are used to such things, she didn’t need much time to find one.

– You’re so worried about your human friend, but what about yourself? – and, inclining her head to the side in fake worry, – Don’t you need special care too?

– What?

– Oh, you’re pregnant, aren’t you? – Melian pointed at your ears – I can see you’ve already been with him, but were you able to do your part, or are you just like her, who needed a second trial to do the only thing she’s supposed to be good at?

Alyssa lowered her eyes, but said anything. You gritted your teeth: you could stand people talking at your back and despising you, but doing this with a friend was a different story.

You decided to speak out the truth and see what was going to happen.

– No, I’m not carrying a child and, heaven forbid, I will never do it!

A wave of shocked whispers spread among the girls.

“Is she unable to conceive?”

“Poseidon-sama didn’t touch her? Why did he bring her here, then?”

“Maybe he did touch her, but she didn’t get pregnant!”

“What if she refused to give him children? Can you imagine that?”

“Nonsense! Saying no to a god, and your husband? She could never...”

“If this was the case, she would certainly be punished, but she’s here, safe and sound!”

– Don’t listen to them – Alyssa whispered – They have nothing to do with this.

Melian, whose surprise hasn’t been completely hidden, still had some words for you.

– Is this some sort of punishment he gave you, or are you cursed? Why do you speak of your condition in such a cheerful manner?

– Because, to me, it’s a reason to cheer at – the firmness of your words silenced the whispers and made her swallow – When I was taken to my wedding night, I pleaded to our husband, asking him not to give me children… and he listened to me. I am able to conceive, but I didn’t wish to, so I begged him and got my request answered.

The air was heavy with that revelation. How dare you – was the question in each of the faces turned to you.

– I don’t believe you – Melian spoke between her teeth – If you did something like this, you should be dead.

– Yet, here I am – you hit back – Alive and not pregnant. What are you going to do about it?

The selkie gasped. Alyssa held your arm, as if begging you to leave the hall.

It was when a calm contralto voice raised in the room, and everyone turned to its direction.

– Melian, won’t you stop pestering the girl just because she did the very thing you wanted to do, but had no courage to?

The voice belonged to a woman with blue skin and fins on each side of her head, who was sitting on the same side of the table as Melian and somehow looked older than the women around her. You noticed that she was the only one who hasn’t raised her head to see the argument, but it didn’t mean that she wasn’t paying attention. You found it curious that, despite not having a prominent belly, her chair was positioned at a certain distance from the table.

The selkie turned to her, with a gaze that carried more nervousness than exasperation.

– Suriah, don’t start with your...

– Don’t you know our husband detests these kind of behavior? – the woman, Suriah, interrupted, unaffected – Besides, meal times are supposed to be pleasing, not a source of distress.

Melian’s skin turned pale with those words, less because of fear of the older wife than because of a non disguised anger.

The woman sighed and finally looked at you.

– You’re not just an inexperienced wife, as far as I can see, human – she started – You also know little about dealing with gods, don’t you?

You swallowed. You remembered that Poseidon himself said something similar to you.

– You could say that.

Suriah laughed.

– It’s pretty obvious, judging by the fact that you didn’t just plead to him… – she raised the spot on her face where there would be an eyebrow if she had hair – You tried to negotiate with him, didn’t you?

You gasped. How did she know?

– This type of thing might work among your people, but with gods, specially with someone like Poseidon-sama, things are quite different – she explained – He might have conceded you the favor you wanted, but what he asked from you in return… I suppose it made you shiver.

You didn’t reply.

– You don’t need to be so shy about it – she assured you – There are others like you around here, and they know what it’s like to be in such position. Our husband indeed loves us, but he doesn’t get along with rebel women. In this sense, Melian is in a better place than you.

Melian, who was still in silence, lowered her eyes at those words.

You, from your part, wanted to leave that place and forget about this unsettling conversation at first, but your curiosity, as well as the fact that you needed to gather information, overcame this urge, and you stood there.

– Suriah, right? – she nodded positively at your question – You seem to have experience in matters with gods. Can you tell me more?

Suriah seemed satisfied with your request.

– Of course I can, and I’m going to make things easier for you to understand by telling my own story. When I first came here, I knew the basics about my future husband and the life that awaited me, yet I think that if I knew more, I would never get into this situation – she sighed – Just like you, I wasn’t willing to carry children, so I begged for his favor, he gave it to me… But with a price.

You sensed a tension spreading among the women when the word price reached their ears. Suriah ignored this and carried on with the story.

– There’s a certain game, very popular among the gods, which I won’t bother to describe to you. I should learn the rules in one week and play one time with a subordinate of Proteus-sama, who’s a master at it. The result would determine if my request would be answered: if I won, I wouldn’t be impregnated that year; otherwise, I would have a child for each mistake during the game… every year.

You gasped.

– Every year? – your voice trembled – How is this possible?

Suriah chuckled, not refusing an explanation.

– The physiology of my people is such that allows us to endure multiple pregnancies. If I make love once, I will have one child. If it happens more times, consecutively, I will have the equivalent number of children. This is precisely what I bargained with Poseidon-sama: no child, or the number of my mistakes. And I lost.

You swallowed, but found the courage to ask what you had in mind.

– And how many mistakes you made?

The woman revealed the reason why her chair was distant from the table: she had a basket with lilac eggs on her lap. An unsettling wave of whispers spread among the girls when she raised the basket, and Melian slowly sat down. You couldn’t take your eyes off the basket’s interior, but found yourself unable to count the eggs: you only knew that they were many.

Answering the question you didn’t make, Suriah spoke:

– There are fifteen eggs here – she looked at them with affection – Fifteen beautiful children waiting to be born. Just as there were fifteen of them last year, and there will be in the next one.

Chapter 7

[tetrix-anime]

26 Spring 2024 Anime I'll Be Posting

Dekisokonai to Yobareta Motoeiyuu wa Jikka kara Tsuihou sareta node Sukikatte ni Ikiru Koto ni Shita (The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases)

Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)

Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai (A Condition Called Love)

Henjin no Salad Bowl (Salad Bowl of Eccentrics)

Hibike! Euphonium 3 (Sound! Euphonium 3)

Jii-san Baa-san Wakagaeru (Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again)

Kaijuu 8-gou (Kaiju No. 8)

Kami wa Game ni Ueteiru. (Gods' Game We Play)

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 3 (KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 3)

Lv2 kara Cheat datta Motoyuusha Kouho no Mattari Isekai Life (Chillin' in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers)

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei 3rd Season (The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3)

Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha II (The Misfit of Demon King Academy II)

Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii? (An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride)

Mushoku Tensei II: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2)

One Room, Hiatari Futsuu, Tenshi-tsuki. (Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included)

Ookami to Koushinryou (Spice and Wolf)

Re:Monster

Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau (Whisper Me a Love Song)

Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote (The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio)

Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid 3rd Season (The Duke of Death and His Maid Season 3)

Tensei Kizoku, Kantei Skill de Nariagaru (As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World)

Tensei shitara Dainana Ouji Datta node, Kimama ni Majutsu wo Kiwamemasu (I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability)

The New Gate

Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu 2nd Season (Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy- Season 2)

Unnamed Memory

Urusei Yatsura 2nd Season

Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai (Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night)

Yozakura-san Chi no Daisakusen (Mission: Yozakura Family)

Yurucamp Season 3 (Laid-Back Camp Season 3)

Anime previews I may not post because the previews are available only after the episode is available (usually because it is available on streaming platform ahead of TV broadcast):

Dekisokonai to Yobareta Motoeiyuu wa Jikka kara Tsuihou sareta node Sukikatte ni Ikiru Koto ni Shita (The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases)

Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii? (An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride)

One Room, Hiatari Futsuu, Tenshi-tsuki. (Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included)

Anime previews I will not post, but might post contents of it (e.g. artwork from magazine):

Date A Live V

Dekisokonai to Yobareta Motoeiyuu wa Jikka kara Tsuihou sareta node Sukikatte ni Ikiru Koto ni Shita (The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases)

Highspeed Etoile

Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau (Whisper Me a Love Song)

Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku? (Train to the End of the World)

Winter 2024 List

[deltaengineering]

Spring Anime 2024: A Wizard is never late

Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku (Train to the End of the World)

If you want a reason for why this post is woefully late, it’s this show: since we’re going in ascending order of quality here, it must come first, yet I have a hard time saying anything about it. I suppose I can start with the most obvious problem: I will probably watch your original anime, but I do that to get away from light novel levels of insufferable dialogue. Yet this one definitely goes with the NisioisiN school of writing, which is to say, talk a lot first, then figure out a point at your convenience. This definitely doesn’t endear the show to me and makes it mildly annoying right from the start, but it could still be salvageable - but then Shuumatsu Train just turns out to be not particularly good at any of its selling points. For a weird show it’s not weird enough. For a comedy it’s not funny enough. For a character drama the characters are too superficial. For a profound allegory, it's much too vague. And even though the parts are hardly stellar, the result somehow still ends up as less than the sum of them. It‘s not a total write-off since at least there is some ambition here, but I really can’t say that being more meaningful than not at all is enough of a payoff for something that is mostly just basic attempts at wacky humor presented in an annoying fashion. 4/10

Yuru Camp S3

So, speaking of ambition. My last contact with Yuru Camp was me getting very mad at S2‘s incessant products and services shilling. Admittedly S3 turns this down to an acceptable level, but that only makes the deeper issue more apparent: Yuru Camp is and has always been astonishingly vapid, and three seasons and a movie in all the vibes in the world can no longer make up for it. I won’t even complain that the show is no longer about camping in any meaningful capacity (since I never cared and at least the local-tourism-and-food lane we‘re in now doesn’t require purchase of specialized gear), but godammit if personality-free blobs looking at small footbridges for three episodes didn’t kill my enthusiasm for any of this mush. It‘s still broadly inoffensive, but at this point I feel like I’ve thoroughly exhausted anything this show is ever willing to offer. And Yama no Susume shows that you can have all the theoretical positives of a Yuru Camp with compelling enough characters, so there’s really no excuse. 5/10

Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai (Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night)

I don’t know where this recent trend of cute but reasonably serious girl band anime came from (I would like to think MyGO, but more likely it‘s Bocchi the Rock + the most blatantly obvious and viable way to improve on Bocchi). But here is Jellyfish and uh… it certainly makes an attempt. The first impression is very positive, since Doga Kobo provides pleasant visuals (per usual), but it quickly becomes apparent that it’s the writing that is really holding this one back. It’s not even bad ideas or a lack of ideas, since the concepts this show wants to tackle are generally quite good. But pretty much every execution on those plot ideas is botched in some way, be it by resolving them in a stupidly simple way (impostor syndrome? just do your best!) or by just having a character read out their character arc really dramatically. A bunch of plot points don't even make sense when you look at them in context of the ostensibly real world this show takes place in, and the ending is a massive nothingburger. It's all stuff that's barely passable when something like Love Live does it, but in something that aims higher it seems like a first draft at best and more likely just extremely amateurish. One can only wonder if you gave such a concept to a seasoned veteran like Jukki Hanada... 6/10

Tonari no Youkai-san

Tonari no Youkai-san started out as a rather simple show that I really liked: a mostly but not exclusively lighthearted depiction of a world where Youkai are real and the weird situations that can create, with likeable characters carrying it along. But then it became apparent that what it really wants to do is back-to-back KEY-style sadpiano scenarios. While those aren't bad in moderate amounts, the fact that every scenario now had to be about some heartbreaking backstory no matter what quickly became rather tiring. And then, if it wasn't apparent enough that this show was writing itself into the weeds, it capped the season off with a completely bizarre sci-fi multiverse action arc where everyone dies (very sad!) but then comes back alive because power of friendship beats entropy or something. Well, at least I prefer laughing at this nonsense to being annoyed at contrived tearjerkers, I suppose. I wouldn't call it quality though. 6/10

Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)

When the Dungeon Meshi started, I just didn't get it. The hyperbole around this show (mostly coming from manga fans, I think) was clearly not befitting a very mediocre gimmick anime where even the gimmick had been done better elsewhere multiple times. I do have to admit that as it went on, I could start to see where people were coming from: Once the cooking dies down a bit, the characters start to develop a bit and it finds its pace, Dungeon Meshi's "default mode" is an entertaining adventure anime with some nice characters, decent humor and engaging action. So far so good. However, I'll still call the show merely above average because it's in its default mode less often than you'd think. Every time I started to like something, Dungeon Meshi immediately had to head off in some random other direction that I don't care for: The cooking I did not care for in the beginning becomes vestigial but never stops taking up airtime nonetheless. The nerdy exposition about dungeon mechanics should not merit more than a footnote in a splatbook, but never stops taking up a lot of airtime nonetheless (it's also a painful reminder of the "worldbuilding over narrative" nonsense that I hate, but Dungeon Meshi isn't the worst offender here so I'll let it slide). The show expects me to care about other, far less interesting parties after I just barely mustered up enough enthusiasm to see Chilchuck as more than a spare Marcille when Marcille can't play the tsukkomi herself. Falin turns into a tragic zombie chicken. They adopt an annoying cat. It goes on and on and I'm not thrilled. I will admit though that I will likely still watch the sequel, mostly because Trigger really does a fantastic job with this adaptation on all levels, which at the very least manages to keep it watchable even in the doldrums. I just wish the source material was more consistent. 6/10

Kaiju No. 8

Every season there's some random anime that isn't particularly great, but still competent enough to merit a watch. It's usually some light comedy like Torture Princess, but every once in a while it's something else. This season it's Isekai QC, but in spring it was something even less likely: Kaiju #8, a Jump-brand premium shounen. Yeah, that's a surprise. It just doesn't do anything particularly wrong, apart from the genre staples that it must do wrong: The pacing is bad, but just regular bad. The tone is all over the place, but just regular all over the place. The protagonist isn't as good as he first seems, but not as bad as he could be either. It starts out as "less miserable Attack on Titan where people shoot at huge monsters with guns at shounen powerlevel efficiency", which is extremely awkward, but eventually it settles into a more standard "hit bad guy with sick special attacks" groove, which isn't exactly exciting but at least clearly something the show wants to be. In short, nothing special but the bullshit does not exceed the maximum level I will tolerate as the price of entry to epic dudes epically fighting in an epic fashion. There always is a point with these where you have to ruthlessly cut your losses, but it did not reach it in its first season when the average genremate reaches it within the first episode. That's... something. 6/10

Nijiyon S2

I wasn't even going to write about this because what is there to say about Nijiyon, except that Nijiyon is that rare mini spinoff that actually gets better and starts to outshine the main show at points. Half the time. The other half is still very basic and very arbitrary 4koma hijinks, but an improvement is an improvement. 6/10

Bartender: Glass of God

Why did they make a second Bartender anime in 2024? I can't answer this conclusively but I will say that if Suntory didn't pay for at least half of this production, they got something for free. With that out of the way, the most interesting thing I can say about Bartender is how it compares to Gin & Sonic '06. The old one was certainly ambitious, but in a rather obvious way: Treating the Bartender mystique as somthing close to supernatural and presenting it in a very abstract and stagey way. This is great when it works, but just as often merely comes off as extremely pretentious. The new one... just doesn't do any of that. It's a very straightforward, simple story with actual characters and stuff. It's workable enough with some stronger and some weaker episodes, and even though it does not even attempt to reach the highs of the old one, it doesn't sniff its own farts and does its best to avoid the old man machismo stank that faintly polluted the first adaptation. So I will actually call it better in some ways, maybe even on average, but it still can't compete with a show that had a better reason to exist than to get you excited for Yamazaki whiskey. 6/10

Euphonium S3

I've had my ups and downs with Yoof, and I will say that while some nags remain, I am satisfied with how it managed to (hopefully) wrap up. In fact, S3 might be the best the show has ever been. We were never going to get the cartoonish and quite frankly more entertaining presentation of S1 back, but for what it's worth, S3 takes the overcooked presentation and histrionic character writing of S2 and brings them down to a palatable level, and that makes it at least worth thinking about. Another big point in its favor is that it's now finally truly the Kumiko show, and not just the Kumiko stumbles into other people's drama show. Cast additions like Kanade and Mayu are prety great as well so yeah, I had a good time. Really my biggest complaint is that S3 might actually be a little too good at character drama, because at one point it seemed it was on the verge of starting to question a few of its core assumptions. I never expected it to have doubts over whether letting your school club control your entire existence is in fact a good thing, but ideas like Reina actually being as insane as she comes across and that Taki actually being as terrible as a teacher as he comes across seemed extremely promising. But nah, of course Kumiko just had to be honest with herself, that solved all the problems and then the show just coasted to the most predictable ending imaginable. Euphonium always seemed like it could be way better with a bit more risk-taking, but this was a particularly disappointing moment for the show to be itself. Anyway, if you just expect Euphoinum you're getting the good Euphonium here. 7/10

Girls Band Cry

So, about that "Hanada writing Jellyfish" quip I made earlier? What if that actually happened, in the same season no less? Yeah, these two shows are shockingly similar but unlike Jellyfsh, Girls Band Cry does things right... for the most part. You need to get used to the somewhat janky CG animation, but you're getting some great expressiveness in the deal so that's no problem. You'll also have to put up with Hanada's trademark yuribaiting, a pretty weak ending (as if these two shows didn't already copy each other's homework enough) and music that is much too obvously coming from the Vocaloid camp for my liking. Apart from that, GBC is very good. Not quite as good as MyGO (which has even better character dynamics and I still can't get past how shockingly high its quality is for a franchise anime), but it's really close. So close in fact that I don't even feel like pointing out in detail why GBC is good, because it really is MyGO again: Very flawed yet likeable girls try to get their mental in order while swinging between goofy and depressed and occasionally making music. It's not complicated, but when the character writing delivers (i.e., by seasoned pros like Yuniko Ayana or Jukki Hanada), it just works. If this is a trend now, I'll gladly take it. 8/10

[neospokenworld]

SPRING ANIME 2024 FINAL THOUGHTS

So just like I did months ago with my first impressions post, here are my final thoughts on every anime I started watching that was ongoing this season. I'm gonna list them as they end to be more organized and not have it jump around, so before we start, here's a quick section about the anime I dropped:

Astro Note: I forgot it existed past the first episode not gonna lie lol, I'll probably resume it in the future since it was a fun first episode but other than that nothing else to say

High Speed Etoilé: I wanted to like this so badly, the story could've been interesting but from what I saw it never hooked me at all, plus the 3d was very rigid so overall it wasn't as good to continue

Spice & Wolf: This is one I'll surely resume in the future, I was liking what I was seeing but one day I just lost track of it and never returned. What I saw left me with a very good taste so this is one that I have to resume someday

Okay, now we can begin:

DUNGEON MESHI

Started watching this one when it was at episode 18 and caught up to it really quickly. I honestly wasn't expecting to like it for some reason but as soon as I started it I knew it was gonna be a fun ride altogether. Nice characters, a good story, excellent animation (I mean it's Trigger but this is like my 2nd anime from them) and food that I would 100% eat if it was real lol. I'm glad it's getting a 2nd season because I really wanna see how it continues

BARTENDER: KAMI NO GLASS

This was beautiful, what else can I say? I mean I knew that this anime would be different after watching the first episode, even joking to myself while watching it ''This is premium anime'' lol. Everything from start to finish had this soothing vibe to it that I absolutely enjoyed and not gonna lie I think from episode 6 onward it knew how to push the right buttons on me to make me more and more emotional, by the time I finished the final episode I was on tears of happiness hearing the credits. I don't know how the original was but I think this is a gem of an anime that surely deserves to be talked about more

YORU NO KURAGE WA OYOGENAI

It never stopped delivering peak, back when the first episode aired I knew it would be something special, and while it felt just a little aimless past the episode of their first concert, I think in the end it wrapped up the main points kinda nicely. This is a show that got me feeling emotional on a near weekly basis and always knew how to share banger episodes. Even if it wasn't yuri in the end it was still a beauty of an anime in my opinion, it only needs to polish a few small things here and there to be basically a masterpiece imo and hopefully the manga that is coming along with it can do it

SHUUMATSU TRAIN DOKO E IKU?

This was such a fun ride overall, I gotta admit back on the first episodes I had a feeling this would be something that would break me when they were close to Ikebukuro, but even if in the end it didn't it was still a really good ride from beginning to end. One thing I liked was how the conversations between the girls were a bit faster than in most anime out there, I don't know but that made them feel more natural to me, it was cool to see all of them interact with the weirdness of the world and ngl this finale actually moved me a little lol. Not the best but still a pretty good one all in all

PS: Both the Opening and Ending here are severely underrated, Ga-Ton Go-Ton is on my top 3 for OPs this season and Eureka is easily my favorite ED for the season, both of them are just so good both visually and musically it's surprising to say the least

Part 2 will come when the other 4 end, so probably early next week

[applescabs]

tagged by @phoenixfangs yayyaa get ready for paragraph assault. it's vacation so I'm watching lots of shit.

reading: oof. lots and lots of things. plenty of ongoing mangas (i mostly follow by the volume) most notably I'm almost done w Homunculus (2 vol left) and King in Limbo's last omnibus is dropping on tuesday (i preordered it) so im excited for that! ig I'm also playing through slow damage rn, which is mostly a visual novel, but it has more gameplay than the usual nc visnov. its a mystery, which im always a fan of.

currently watching: 4 things w my brother; -boku no hero season 7. yes, season 7. yes, I still like this series, in fact I think it's really good and it's kinda funny to me how there's so many joke posts going around (made by people who havent even seen it) about it being shit. it airs on saturdays but we usually watch it on sundays (because that was more convenient last season and it sorta stuck) -isekai suicide squad. its entertaining/interesting enough and has some good animation sometimes. it airs on thursdays so we literally just watched the newest one. i like clayface n deadshot in this one. -blue lock. i went to the Nagi movie w another friend and then managed to convince Finn to watch the show with me. he's not a sports anime guy (this is his first) so we'll see how it goes, lmao. we're trying to watch s1 before s2 drops in october, but we're keeping it a weekly thing, watching it alongside new releases. -jojo part 3 ova. we watch this one sporadically since the episodes are longer than the standard nowadays, so he's not always in the mood. the music in this one was made by one guy with his midi soundboard, but I love the vibe of the whole thing, very different from david prod p3. I'm also watching 4 things myself; -Cowboy Bebop. constantly in awe of how good it looks. the fine details on the ships and weapons... augh. its making me want to check out more 90s animes. i'm also a big fan of how it does its storytelling, its got good visual language and utilises "show dont tell" well. i exclusively watch this one on the tv instead of my laptop, its too good for the laptop. -Shuumatsu Train. one that i didnt finish last season that i decided to pick back up, since its strange and interesting enough that it seems like a waste to leave unfinished. -Boueibu s1. im rewatching s1 so that i can immediately watch s2 afterwards (havent seen it yet) -Tasogare Outfocus. what can i say. i always watch anything gay that comes out (not that i always finish them...) i do also like movies and moviemaking so the backdrop interests me as well.

currently craving: im actually like. full af i just had icecream for desert plus an iced coffee afterwards. ig im craving brushing my teeth.

coffee or tea: see thats the thing. cant choose. im choosing both. i like to have both coffee and tea at night, coffee as a nice after dinner treat (mostly iced coffee, if it's hot i usually drink it in the afternoon) and tea late at night when I'm chilling. might make some tea after i stop being so full. also zach i might just have to take you to court over the sweet tea thing. better find a good lawyer.

tagginggg @kuwupikaa @sunflowermews @isleofair @drakefisher @xrd n anyone who feels compelled to do thisss

[tsunflowers]

the shuumatsu train ed is so good

[yuriskies]

Shuumatsu Train EP 9 thoughts

I think this episode firmed up my interpretation of Shuumatsu Train as a story contrasting digital and physical connection. Spoilers after break

Now that the story has tipped its hand with regards to Yoka's situation, we find she's at the center of a conspiracy by Poison Pontaro to cover his tracks following the disaster of the 7G rollout. Some vaguely organized thoughts with regards to the world building.

1a. Yoka is only dimly aware of what's happening, having no real memories of the pre-7G world. She effectively is the center of the universe, with apparently unlimited ability to shape the world to her liking. Yoka is treated like a princess, but actual power rests in Donaro's hands. He subtly manipulates the situation to distance himself from the responsibility for the world he had a hand in creating, quietly stoking peoples' anger towards Yoka by making her the visible face of 7G while goading her into being the enforcement arm against malcontents.

This dynamic mirrors how we've seen Big Tech operate over the last decade: portraying their systems as a tool for individual creativity and empowerment, and in doing so distancing themselves from the flaws in those systems by discussing their downsides as the effects of individual bad actors. For example, Facebook's enabling of the Rohingya genocide through proactively boosting hate speech to drove engagement-based ad sales was initially framed as demogogues finding a way to connect with one another. Individuals may drive problems, but they are often enabled through fundamentally broken technological ecosystems.

2. This previous point is underlined by Yoka turning a man into egg custard which Kontaro excitedly runs over to eat. Violence was literally transmuted into a commodity.

3. Yoka's world is one where discomforting and confusing things can simply be zapped away. Through both experience and design, learning is framed as antagonistic experience to her. She sees a world that hates her, and what she is allowed to see is presented as the normal state of things. Yoka is able to use her powers to avoid the process of growing, but that ultimately in the dark about her own situation or how it is manipulated. Hence why "the Witch Queen of Ikebukuro is like staring into an abyss...made up for mystery, fear, and the unknown". She is powerful, but in remaining unaware of her own power or alternatives to workings of the world, she remains merely a tool for someone else's dirty work. In the meantime, she remains isolated and is increasingly unstable.

In contrast, the physical journey of the Apogee crew has exposed them to the diversity of human experience, both good and bad. In response, they have been forced to grow and redefine themselves. They are increasingly aware of how the world operates, and are equipping themselves with the tools to confront it. It's clear Shizuku may be in deep denial about how hurtful she was to Yoka and her changing position in her emotional universe (not vocalizing her regrets like the others in the previous episode, shock followed by the insistence she knows something that always stays the same), but she is being repeatedly told that moving forward - or even just keeping things the same - is a proactive process.

4. There is a connection being drawn here between online bubbles and cosmology. The swan boat dude disappeared off one end of the Ikebukuro-Seibu line and reappeared on the other. It is what you would expect to happen in a closed universe with curved spacetime - travel far enough in a straight line and you'll end up where you started. The "expansion" of Ikebukuro is itself a bubble universe, and both Zenjiro's rambling about Ikebukuro being a miniature version of cosmic expansion and the broken tracks on the swan boat dude's map are getting at this. The implication that Yoka's bubble will have to be popped to reconnect with her friends.

[yurisorcerer]

7 - More than one person told me that this was "a bad episode." I…understand why someone would think that, certainly. I'm not sure I agree, if only because even Shuumatsu Train's worst ideas are so confounding that calling them outright bad feels inadequate. A misstep, though, that might be true.

Episode 7 is essentially a bizarro inversion of a traditional fanservice episode. These are, themselves, not necessarily super common anymore and for many kinds of anime they've been relegated to the no-mans-land of bonus OVAs and such. Shuumatsu Train's engagement with the concept is very much Shuumatsu Train-y in that it's flatly inexplicable. For the most part, there's not a lot of cheesecake or anything here---which is good, it would be wildly out of tone with this series, and the one shot that is like that is pretty jarring and bad---instead, the girls find out that the zombie horde from episode 6 are weak to ecchi. As in, they are weak to even hearing about it. This leads to a pair of climactic (har har) scenes where Akira dryly intones a scene from an erotic novel aloud, which makes the zombies explode. Later, our main four sing a bawdy song on top of the train, which has the same effect.

In essence, I think this is a parody of the entire concept, undermined by the actual panty shot late in the episode. Even if we disregard that, it's still a very odd direction for even this show to take. There's also the matter of three of the four main characters spending most of the episode wearing colored greasepaint. Reimi's is black, and while it's not my call to make whether or not that's racist exactly, it definitely feels weird and uncomfortable in a way that the rest of the show really hasn't.

Thankfully, the episode's denounement is actually one of the better ones, preventing this from being a total wash. In it, the girls speculate whether or not Mito (the zombie queen) was bullied when she was younger. Akira says that it doesn't matter, but Shizuru is quick to point out that it actually does, since we are all shaped by our past; who we are today is who we were yesterday, and then some. It's also worth noting that, strangely enough, this is one of the best-looking episodes! The animation is fluid and stylish throughout, the backgrounds are great, and there are some neat effects used to portray the zombie horde as a singular shambling mound of uncanniness. (I want to say the effect in question is some version of Live2D but I'm not actually sure.)

8 - Episode 8 on the other hand, opens with first a brief comedic bit, and then a very much not comedic bit, as the girls pass through an area that seems to amplify their fears and regrets. After the credits, we puzzlingly cut to a different scene entirely, where the girls are planning to enter a town based on that in-universe anime NeriAli, first brought up back in episode 1.

The bulk of this episode is probably best understood as self-parody. NeriAli as described in the show's text is already incomprehensibly strange, and combined with Shuumatsu Train's own proclivities, it produces an episode that reaches a level of surrealty normally reserved for short-form comedy anime (your Teekyus and such). It is genuinely hard to parse what all happens here, but the very basic gist is that one of the stations has been turned into a parody of NeriAli, a version of the show where its bad guys won, but this frankly makes the entire affair sound much more coherent than it actually is. This is probably the strangest episode of Shuumatsu Train thus far, and that's really saying something.

As with episode seven, the denounement segment at the end prevents it from feeling like wasted time (moreso here, since episode seven has other strengths whereas episode eight just mostly feels like genuine nonsense). We learn that Yoka, or at least someone named Yoka, is ruling Ikebukuro as its "witch queen."

There are four episodes remaining of Shuumatsu Train---it was one of the earlier premieres of the season, recall---and my hope and assumption is that this episode was a purging of all the show's most out-there ideas before we bring things home for its final stretch. Worst case scenario, this ends up being another promising original anime that flames out in its back half. I suppose we'll see what things look like in a week's time.

[thequietkid-moonie]

Moonie, mind blowing idea now because this dumbass has insomnia and came up with another request:

Bichos escrotos - titãs

Brunhilde

Do as you will with this information

God!reader is complety supportive of her plan

[ ONE-SHOT ] [ Brunhilde ]

[ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie / Records of Ragnarok ]

› Song that inspired this [ Bichos Escrotos - Titãs ]

A really interesting song! I actually liked it!! I don't get much requests for Brunhilde, not complaining tho I don't even know if im good at writing her

Brunhilde hates the gods, she hates them to dead, there is no one who hates them more than her and yet she can't hate you

It wasn't always like that, the moment she met you she was just polite but doesn't thought much of you, however you insisted on wanting to know her, for some reason you find her really interesting and wanting to get closer to her. It was irritating and annoying as hell for her having you around, but as the time pass Brunhilde started to warm up a little, it was a really slow process but you manage to get closer to her

One of the things that brought the two together was the fact that both hate the gods, yes you were a god but that doesn't stop you from hating your kind, you just can't endure how disgusting egocentric beings they can be, thinking they all perfect and superior than humans when they can be actually worst (and she finds really hilarious your opinion)

It took a long time but at the end Brunhilde started to see you as a good friend, you being the only exception of her eternal hate for gods. She started to trust you so much that even she allowed you to see her true emotions and be there in her vulnerable moments (even when she isn't completely direct), she knows she can trust you with important things without even getting into much details because you know her

Once she started to make her plan to challenge the gods she gives you some hints but didn't say it completely clear for a while, she even asked you to please contact Buddha without telling you for what, however, knowing her the way you do know her it won't take you too long to find out what she was planning to you (and she doesn't mind much, she knows you won't try to sabotage her plan and if you are willing to help her is just a win for her)

Brunhilde asked you if you were really willing to help her because if you do there will be serious consequences for you, not matter if you win or lose, but you just tell her with a big smile that she shouldn't worry about such things, if you weren't sure of taking those risks you weren't even approached to her at the start in the first place and with that you two started to get ready together

You helped her with her investigation about humanity, your helped her choose the fighters and train Buddha's technique volundr, and just like that the time pass until the moment of the meeting of the Gods came

Once the moment of the meeting came you just take a sit like always and get comfy on your throne, patiently wating for your dear friend to came, you hold a little smile and keep your mouth shut for the entire discussion, just talking if someone asked you something and giving silly vague answers, not too strange for you, you didn't even bothered on thinking much on your vote when Zeus started the voting, just trying to ignore all the sound of the room to pay attention to be able heard the sound you wanted to heard

When the doors finally were open, revealing your friend with book in hand you can't help but smile widely, this is what you had been wating since the start of this stupid meeting, delighted with how the expression of all the gods change with irritance with every word leaves Brunhilde's lips

Once the meeting was over you just wanted to go to your friend to laugh about all of this situation, mocking the prideful gods, but you were stoped by Zeus, who was starting to get ready too for the tournament, kindly asking you to fight for the gods side on the Ragnarok, you were a pretty stronge and recognized god, with your unique habilities and strength it won't be difficult to win against those pathetic humans, you take a moment to look at him, pretending to think about it for a moment making Zeus start to feel irritated, before shrugling like if it wasn't nothing and saying no, you will fight for the humans, leaving Zeus get consumed by his own anger while you happily make your way towards your dear friend, wanting to tell her what just happened, and, also, laugh at the gods you hate so much

[ardentlytess]

✨the tag game✨

tagged by: @talays-portkey thank you so much!!<3

THREE SHIPS 🚢 i have so many, but the top three that live in my brain rent free most often would have to be: puentalay from vice versa, wangxian from mdzs/the untamed, & sangwoo/jaeyoung from semantic error (with akktheo from enchanté as a close close close fourth)!

FIRST SHIP 🚢 i'm honestly pretty sure the first ship i was every properly invested in was percabeth from percy jackson & the olympians, followed by peeta & katniss from the hunger games, closely followed by suki from avatar: the last airbender & myself. what can i say. past me had taste.

LAST SONG 🎧 it was one step closer by intersection (AKA, fruits basket's second ending theme)! i tend to listen to a lot of anime openings/endings while studying in particular so i'm cycling through one of my usual playlists right now!

LAST MOVIE 🍿 i actually very rarely watch movies so i had to think a bit for this one, but i'm relatively certain that it was your name engraved herein. very heartbreaking. very beautiful. very very very real. the ending broke me as a human being, especially paired with the quote the director gave about the reality of missing the "train of happiness."

CURRENTLY READING 📖 i am currently reading girls of paper & fire by natasha ngan! to be honest, it's been a pretty difficult read for me emotionally given the subject matter, but it's a sapphic fantasy novel set in an asian-inspired, caste-based fantasy world that follows a young girl who's abducted & forced to become a concubine to the king, only to find herself falling for a fellow courtesan while juggling her own goals of survival, justice, & revenge. i'm just about to finish this one, though, so after i do, i'm probably going to pick up either hell followed with us by andrew joseph white (a queer sci-fi/dystopian novel that follows a trans mc who's slowly mutating into a deadly monster— also has autistic rep) or godslayers by zoe hana mikuta (the second book in a sapphic sci-fi/dystopian series about mechas carrying out the will of a tyrannical capital city & gearbreakers who are the only ones willing to bring them down)!

CURRENTLY WATCHING 👀 i've been in a weird kind of slump lately, so of everything currently airing i'm only really keeping up with my school president, moonlight chicken, & bokura no micro na shuumatsu— & even with these, i'm very rarely watching them on the days they actually come out, even though i'm enjoying all of them so far! i am, however, also doing an impromptu, completely unofficial vice versa rewatch that was definitely not supposed to be a full rewatch & was just supposed to be a quick little flip through to get some quotes for a set i'm working on but turned into a full rewatch because i simply couldn't resist. 10/10. highly recommend. puentalay will never not transcend a slump for me.

CURRENTLY CONSUMING 👄 this one's maybe slightly strange but strawberries dipped in ice water!! ice water just makes strawberries (& every fruit, honestly) taste so much better. also trying (& failing) to focus on a pchem lecture. considering i'm writing this up instead, i'd say it's not going too swimmingly. 

CURRENTLY CRAVING 🫦 hmmmmm honestly i've been craving milk tea for weeks now & tteokbokki even longer! will hopefully be treating myself with one or the other once this round of midterms is over & done with!

ONWARD TAGS 🏷️ i'm tagging: @i-got-the-feels @pannakorn @puentalay @oswlld @icouldhyperfixatehim @stormyoceans @chinzhilla @chinzillas @gooseras @hidden-joy @laowen @intolove & anyone else who'd like to do it! i'm not entirely sure who has/hasn't been tagged yet &/or who's interested so definitely don't feel obligated! just sending lots of good vibes & love to you all<3

[fragmentsoflulu]

Shuumatsu Train doko e iku?/Train to the end of the world ep#7-8; short review

Woops I'm late to the party. First we fight zombies, secondly.... I have thoughts on episode 8.

Episode 7 continues with the zombie thingy.

A pretty calm episode compared to what this anime has given before, but still a good one, though I don't have much to say... except for the end.

It's obvious the "queen of zombies" definitely isn't one. She puts our four girls through the test and we keep learning about our characters like this actually, like how Nadeko is very good at video games.

Turns out Queen of zombies became such because the zombies were the only ones left who waited for her. I felt touched, tbh. But more importantly, we get the gist something is wrong in Ikebukuro.

Which is confirmed in episode 8.

This episode was a ROLLERCOASTER.

It starts off in an incredibly silly way, with the girls passing through a station that gives them THE ITCH. THE CRAZY ITCH. And then it suddenly transitioned into a much creepier looking station.

Like, wow, just wow. The change of atmosphere gave me chills. The girls (and the dog) get hit then by the memory of their biggest regret. It went by pretty fast so I had to come back and pause to understand.

For Akira and Reimi, it seems both linked to... someone's death/disappearance? One that Akira has let happen, one that Reimi has caused? Very curious to see if they expand on it later on.

Nadeko's one is much clearer and kind of hurt me. She regretted not stopping her parents' fighting and asks her dad to come back... Which comes back later in the episode.

Doggie...? What happened to you :(

And of course, for Shizuru...

Her argument with Yoka.

And then the opening plays. This whole episode introduction was a rollercoaster.

-rewatches the opening because it's a banger-

The girls start rambling about NeriAli, which is what the next station is about. Shizuru is going through a guidebook about every type of characters they can encounter in NeriAli. It's apparently a series Yoka used to love and ramble about to Shizuru.

When they arrive there, it's pretty different from what they're expecting. It seems the bad boss Chaos has taken reign, won against the heroes who have died, and the Walkers are pretty against them going to Ikebukuro for some reason...

Thanks to their knowledge of the series, they manage to find a hidden club of resistance, elaborate a plan to bring the heroes back. Sadly the plan fails and the heroes die definitely.

When lecturing the Darkizumites, Nadeko says this line:

And is reminded of her own issue with her not stopping her parents' fighting, giving herself good advice on purpose. She ends up wearing the hero Alice's outfit due to her brave attitude.

The other girls are also dressed up as the other heroes, and beat the enemies thanks to.... shogi rules, Akira noticing the patterns and remembering how to beat them. They defeat everyone, and then the Chaos boss joins them.

That's the interesting part. The boss tells them he can't let them go to Ikebukuro, because the Queen witch has ordered him so.

Who turns out to be... Yoka, their missing friend.

After leaving the Darkizumites to fend for themselves, the girls leave again on their train wondering how the settings of NeriAli were tampered with, and worried about these news regarding Yoka's whereabouts.

This episode went really fast, but it was great. The first minute doesn't tell you at all what you're getting into, and it finally drops the bomb on Yoka's actions after some quite good character action from Nadeko.

Can't wait for next Monday!

-rewatches the ending because that one is a banger too-

[444lpblue]

Train to the End of the World #2 – Suppose, Maybe, Presumably

TRAIN TO THE END OF THE WORLD, SHUUMATSU TRAIN, IT'S SO GOOD, GO WATCH IT. Er-hmm. Episode 2 of the show continues its great worldbuilding in this absolutely wacky series. This might honestly end up being my favorite series this season if it can keep this up. Clues and hints surrounding the show everywhere just make it so interesting, and I'm just very curious how weird and maybe even dark it could possibly get. I love how they barely tell you anything. It's a big charm of the show for me. The production seems to be in good hands also with this episode only having 3 animators with very few ADs and still looking completely fine. (Though there are a ton of in-between animators).

Ya know the deal if you want to read my full thoughts on this episode. You can check it out here.

https://animehouse.moe/blog/anime/train-to-the-end-of-the-world-2-suppose-maybe-presumably/

[erikkamirs]

My dumbass has dropped anime that I was so close to completing. Not even that I didn't like the anime, I just forgot to finish it. 😔

Hakozume - 9/13 episodes. Well, I never should have started watching an anime featuring goddamn cops. ACAB.

Kaijin Kaihatsu-bu no Kuroitsu-san - 8/12 episodes. Pretty mediocre tbh.

Fantasy Bishoujo Juniku Ojisan to - 8/12 episodes. I did actually really like this anime. But I also read the manga, so maybe my experience got spoiled.

Ousama Ranking - 20/23 episodes. This anime was so good and so cute. But my dumbass still forgot to keep watching episodes.

Sabikui Bisco - 8/12 episodes. This was good, but not like fantastic or great.

Shuumatsu no Harem - 7/12 episodes. Was watching this anime ironically. Ended up reading the manga and forgot about the anime.

Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru - 9/12 episodes. I liked this anime, and I'm caught up with the manga. It's getting a second season eventually, so maybe I'll bother finishing it up.

Thermae Romae Novae - 6/11 episodes. All 11 episodes came out at once. So I didn't forget to watch it as it aired. I guess the novel concept of a time-traveling Roman architect got stale pretty quick.

Tokyo 24-ku - 8/12 episodes. This anime was okay, but not like fantastic. The climax to episode 1, where the blue-haired guy has to save his childhood friend from getting run over by a train was so good!!!! It's so stupid cool tbh. The rest was kinda lame.

Vanitas no Karte Part 2 - 6/12 episodes. Despite being the second part to an anime I kinda liked, I got bored fairly quickly.

Akebi-chan no Sailor-fuku - 7/12 episodes. Despite being very pretty, I got bored of the all-girls school slice-of-life bullshit tbh.

Most of these dropped anime seem to be around Winter 2022. I'll probably pick up My Dress-up Darling, Ousama Ranking, and Fabiniku again. I did watch and drop a couple of Spring 2022 anime. The most important one is the 3rd season of Kaguya-sama, which I only watched the first episode.