#THE NTMG PARTS!!!!!!

[viatrix-glow]

I NEED EVERYBODY TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!

HIII @viatrix-glow i am your secret valentine for @valensemblestars !!! i wrote you this switch natsumugi fic, i really hope you like it sierra <33

[crystallineloid]

[closedshop]

No more Mayochan posts regarding That matter for now. Oka? I have more Mayochan thoughts than stuff relating to that. Earlier, for example, I was talking about Tatsumayo cannibalism with oomf on the public twitter TL because despite generally finding that subject very overdone and trite there are brilliant ways to go about it or connect it to characters I must confess It’s all about beauty in the grotesque and rawness and blood and intimacy in the end, for me. It is useful for opening up and giving aspects of yourself to someone or sexual intimacy or eroticism, even lovelessly, and I think each should contain a level of horror because they are inherently horrifying things already. But not in a tumblr poetry way, alright? … I was just left with thoughts after a specific beautifully disgusting piece of writing by one of my dear friends regarding consumption of the other’s self and hunger (tsumunatsu funnily enough that’s why it got to me) … I am not immune to pondering it when it was put the way they did specifically, something that truly feels similar to the tearing of flesh to read.

[estakes]

Why would you dislike certain natsumugi shippers?

there are two kinds of ntmg shippers that i personally don't really vibe with:

1. ntmg shippers who only see tsumugi as part of that ship and not bother with him outside of it, and

2. ntmg shippers who take personal offense if someone doesn't like ntmg

point 1 is pretty much self explanatory. to me, it's as if they're treating tsumugi as if he isn't his own complex character and only serve to be natsume's "malewife" or just an accessory to him. which is kind of sad, because the more i read up about tsumugi, the more interesting he becomes to me.

point 2 is when someone says that they're either not comfortable with ntmg's dynamics or they just don't find the appeal of it, and some ntmg shippers will make whole ass threads/essays why ntmg works and why they're meant for each other, which is just a whole lot of words for, "i think you're wrong and these are the reasons why". people are allowed to dislike/find discomfort in something. ntmg isn't everyone's cup of tea, and some people just really don't find the appeal of it.

no, it's not a personal attack against you or the ship either and not an invitation for you to lecture them about why you like this ship

[natsmagi]

The growth of their relationship is so good (and sadly a lot is gated in !) but whenever I see someone who loves one and hates the other I wonder...how? They've both played a part in each other's progress (and let's not forget how explicit the story's been about Eichi and Natsume's colour being the same and where Natsume could have ended up without Switch)

i guess some people just see the very surface level way they treat each other aswell as how the fandom has basically reduced them either to "natsume punches and berates tsumugi" or "tsumugi is a master manipulator that started the war and doesnt deserve natsumes forgiveness" or some shit like that 😭😭

i do definitely understand ntmg not being everyones cup of tea though. their dynamic is a very strong and overbearing one and some people dont really wanna deal with their baggage im sure AKJSHFKJH

IT DOES MAKE ME VERY SAD THOUGH WHEN PPL COMPLETELY UNDERMINE THE IMPORTANCE THEYVE PLAYED IN EACH OTHERS LIVES........ from when they were kids and finally felt seen in one another because they had the same goals in life where they both just wanted to be a shining star that makes people happy to make their moms proud, to tsumugi learning how to "feel pain and everything else" due to the impact natsume had on him. the two of them are far from perfect but because the two are also vastly different in nature it makes it easier for them to spot their flaws and better themselves. and again, they do at the end of the day have the same goal. conflict isnt a bad thing; when tackled correctly it can help you truly flourish and better yourself. and i really love the way ntmgs story tackles these things. i enjoy the nuance in their relationship and i enjoy how at the end of the day they truly do just want whats best for the other because they mean so much to them. but im well aware conflict also makes many people uncomfortable so oh well what can u do

[turkey-sandwich]

I've created something based on...observations. Idk if this is right...

No haters, everyone likes them

I've never seen anyone ever talk bad about these characters. For a good reason. They're either the greenest of green flags (ADONIS!!) or they're just characters who you could never hate because of their personality and interactions with the other characters

Has a large fanbase to the point that they're probably considered overrated

Self explanatory. Both Sakumas have a large fanbase. Rei is literally the engstars PR teams' favorite guy because they put him in so many situations in their ads, same with Mika too apparently. Also *gestures to the Fistfight Incident*

Has a large amount of fans

Has a big fanbase, but not enough to be overrated. Has the potential tho. Kaoru probably going to join Rei up there at some point...

Has a decent amount of fans

People talk about them, but not as much

Carried by their ship

Sigh. Sadly both Mao and Makoto are carried by their ships. Some people only like them because of ritsumao and izumako (izmk leaves a bitter taste in my mouth). Also Tsumugi with ntmg and Niki with rinniki. I mean, there are probably Mao/Makoto/Tsumugi/Niki fans that like them without the shipping, but they're rare :/

Barely anyone talks about them

LITERALLY. The only people you'd find talking about them are the ones who produce them, and that's not exactly many. Also Anzu deserves more credit

The fandom has varying opinions about them

A part of the fandom like them, the other doesn't and some don't even care. Most applicable to Eichi and Rinne (I say this as a former Eichi disliker). Some think mayoi is a creepy weirdo, some think that Tori is a spoiled little kid without any character development and so on and so forth

[loveregrown]

Clearly ntmg is biforbi. What's funny is they are both pathetic when it comes to women but Natsume tries & Tsumugi is timid and inexperienced when it comes to being around women yet still charming. Although, Natsume is pathetic about Tsumugi when it comes to romance between each other, he can't even be direct... outside of Tsumu, but even in his death threats and really silly nicknames that are meant to be insulting, part of his gap moe is in his silliness and how hard he tries to seem otherwise & be smooth. He thinks he's soo cool.

[saka-sakis]

annoying mophead

[perceremade]

I hate when sora is like only reduced to a little yellow thing that hangs out with ntmg because thats never going to be all he is but hes the best type of character to possibly be in a unit with them .and also theyre his beauroful friends

[viostellar]

[insane rambling please ignore me] next door is so good. ok. ok. this will make no sense i'm writing this for myself but next door is so good

- so it is obviously. this post will mostly be about the izuleo of it all because im the worst like that but i wanted to give a shoutout to ntmg for how far they've come; switch is like the found family of all found families it makes me so happy to see them helping each other out like that

- when i was reading blue filament i was like My god sora is like a leo if the war didn't happen and then next door brought that back and then, in my wildest dreams, stuck him with sena for a majority of the event, and u know what izumi & sora has to be one of my fave friendship duos in the game "ha ha ha" "speak with words" "hi hi hi?" i love them

- ITS PART 2 TO CHECKMATE its izuleo being able to come back to what broke them apart in the first place and being able to finally see each other for who they are and!! communicating!!!! and outwardly saying that they care about each other!!!!!! the "dream" that they gave up on in ! era was the one they shared together and last time their own personal issues broke them apart but im so fucked up about it because they never ever stopped caring about each other; sena in next door talking about how he loves himself because he loves knights... leo's stunned silence after his proposal LITERALLY even arashi making teasing izumi with "wow izumichan did u just propose to leokun lol" its a parallel to when she said almost the exact same thing to sena all the way in checkmate its just sooo good. i fucking hate enstars man

- izumis part in next door is a good nice bit of show not tell; the decision he makes to ask leo to come back with him to florence isnt something that he makes up on the plane its a decision he makes leading up to that moment in next door. his entrance into the story being of him talking to madara over the phone and saying "it's all his fault" because hes blaming himself yet again for leo being taken advantage of... him meeting sora, commenting on how he's just like "leo-kun from back then", taking care of him, the entire bit of "excuse me we've known each other for so long, do you seriously think i don't want your company", its all just! its good! he finally admits to the people that he loves that he's struggling, that he wants help, and he wants them to support him in his dream its just [crying all over the floor] fuck this guy!!!

- in particular i am struck by how. leo like spirals this entire event and both izumi and madara see it first; how leo sees it too by the end of next door and makes sure that he loses the judgment, yada yada the growth that theyre all showing in next door is so good i cant get over how leos like "i'm remembering it all over again, but you're really something else sena" rhat they both get to come back to the dream that they shared but the circumstances are entirely different; its not just the two of them anymore theyre surrounded by people that want to love and support them!! in particular smth that DESTROYED ME was sena saying “i’m probably the one that hurt you the most” and then leo just calmly telling him he’s the only one that believes that... especially after horaharo which is just. sena admitting that he’s scared to touch leo again because he might break him again i just. ughhhh. it just makes me so happy to see izuleo doing their silly little re-try of "making each others dreams come true" theyve just wanted to make each other smile... this whole entire time.... 

[natsmagi]

Haven't opened enstars for so long... n when I did, I was so shocked to see Tsumugi, i was like, "Where tf did her titties go"😭😭😭😭 my enstars broken brah😭😭😭😭

THATS SO REAL THOUGHHHHHHHHHHH when i was drawing that ntmg childhood thing and had to draw regular mugi iwas genuinely so depressed and so sad because Where are the curves. tsumugi this isnt you.......... which is part of the reason that drawing took me like 4 days to complete. no boobs no motivation

[natsmagi]

I would just like to say that I headcanon that Tsumugi is not scared of bugs at all. My reasoning for this is that he ate anything he could get his hands on as a kid because poor and starving and if i remember correctly he joked about how leather boots could taste good and that means he probably ate a shoe? and if that is the case I believe that he would of eaten bugs as a little kid and thus is very chill around them. he eats a bug and then natsume hits him for being gross :p

HELP I CAN DEFINITELY SEE THAT THOUGH. especially considering how when he was a kid hed suck on azalea nectar when he got hungry, who knows what other stuff that kid ended up putting in his mouth. a child phased by nothing. He would eat live bugs

but who knows, this current story is telling us how the war caused tsumugi to finally learn to feel, and hes mentioned natsume "teaching him pain, and everything else" Whos to say that "everything else" doesnt also include a fear of bugs

[natsmagi]

i couldnt resist

[natsmagi]

the way a lot of the enstars fandom just cannot accept the fact that people and characters grow and change and improve themselves is so insane to me, not just with ntmg either

ITS REALLY UPSETTING........ like to me the big appeal of ensemble stars cast IS the way they can do all these horrible and fucked up things and then manage to grow and heal from what theyve done and endured. i love how, despite everything, there is no real villain in enstars (lets ignore whatever the fuck SS had going on). each unit can be the hero in their own story and then the villain in someone elses.

obviously we cant expect everyone to know every detail about every character, i just wish people were more open to the nuance of the cast. more willing to accept that "oh maybe i dont have a full grasp on this situation and shouldnt speak all matter-of-fact-ly" and also look deeper into the text and not take everything you see at face value

but yea the worst part is def how the characters either get villainized and have their pain and reasonings completely ignored or woobified and act like theyve never done anything wrong. the nuance is what makes the characters fun!!! why are we stripping them away from that!!!!!!

[natsmagi]

hi what are your natsumugi hcs if you dont mind me askinf

OH HMMM i struggle w remembering any hcs on the spot but some i DO recall are:

-t4t sweep -the reason the streaks in tsumugis hair are just a lighter shade of blue is because he initially tried bleaching it white to match natsume but fucked up the process so it only got slightly lighter -as much as i talk abt ntmg wedding they r totally the kind of guys to get married in like. their 30s. i like to think that once they finally Do get together they remain content with just being a couple for a really long time considering the hassle it was to get here. and they also know theyll be spending the rest of their lives together anyway, so why rush? -i want both of them to be scared of bugs. Realistically i know natsume probably wouldnt be bc hes a freak and also does gardening but i just need natsume and tsumugi to both shriek when they see a roach and have to call sora for help. when sora is unavailable natsume has to be the bigger man though and demolish that thing while tsumugi shivers behind him. the image i envision of this scenario is very amusing to me -tsumugi checks their horoscopes weekly aswell as their compatibility. and while natsume also enjoys horoscopes and such since theyre part of his field he thinks tsumugi is kinda cringe for this. but he gets so excited and happy when the horoscopes say something positive so he lets tsumugi indulge in it -i was trying to see if i had spoken of any of my other hcs before and instead i found this:

this is all i can come up with at the moment. Mayhaps ill return at a later date with more crumbs to offer

[natsmagi]

what are your thoughts on magic lantern... i decided to peek at the story on a whim and wow im getting hit by a category 5 adhd event

i really like magic lantern!! i know many people dont like !!-era stories since the character writing can get weird but its still a story i highly recommend reading! its important for the current development of switch, and i like that it shows a slightly more unsettling/depressing part in both natsume and sora (the plushies and natsumes reaction to it. iykyk). plus its just generally a fun read !!

i havent read the official tl in full, but iridesenescence on twitters translation is really good and i highly recommend it!!

along with it having incredibly sweet moments between everyone in switch it also offers jawdropping ntmg crumbs. i remember when i first read it i had to yell about it to my non-enstarrie friend bc i was just like what the Fuck am i reading