#When Shirou shows up

[lostplay]

[everyryuujisuguro]

[madthetruemad]

Feixiao and jingliu x reader who calms jinglius mara and feixiao's disease through physical touch (holding hands, kissing, transmission of body fluid), so you probably know which method is the most effective 😏

hehe reminds of mana transfer in fate 🫣🤭 specifically in that scene with shirou & sakura-

Feixiao x Reader x Jingliu

Summary | Or in which Feixiao and Jingliu find out what all causes your ability to activate.

Warnings | sfw & nsfw, smut, +18, mdni, p in v, fingering, oral, questionable use of abilities, reader has a dick, gn reader, reader is taller than feixiao & jingliu and reader follows the path of abundance, nsfw under the cut, grammatical errors, etc.

Note | I kind of went snooping around in your blog and noticed you don't write fem reader, so dw I didn't make the reader fem in this <3

When Feixiao held your hand for the first time it was as if a considerable weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Something wrong?”

Feixiao shook her head and let go of your hand, the feeling of relief was quick to leave her. You smiled slightly at the scene, you could tell her mind was working and trying to figure what exactly was happening.

“It’s my ability that aligns with the path of abundance.”

“Your ability?”

You nodded, “yeah, I’m able to calm any sickness and disease through physical touch. Now, it doesn’t fully heal, mind you. Just calms the symptoms down.”

“No wonder Jingliu likes you.”

You rolled your eyes, “I’ll have you know that Jingliu is with me for more than my ability.”

“Sure, sure,” Feixiao teased. Though, her eyes soon dropped back down to your hand when you held it out for her.

“You know, Feixiao, there’s nothing wrong with using my ability for yourself.”

Feixiao closed her eyes and smiled before grabbing your hand. The calming effect washing over her in an instant, “I know.”

You started to tug her along the busy streets of the Luofu. Due to some much needed vacation, you both had headed straight for the perfect spot which was as far away from the Yaoqing as possible which was why you were on the Luofu. Though, Feixiao did have some complaints since it was Jingliu’s idea to rest and relax here.

“Speaking of Jingliu, where is she?”

“Back in our room. Since we were cuddling the night before, she’s been able to sleep a whole lot better.”

“Because you were calming the mara within her?”

“Basically.”

Feixiao looked to you as you easily carved a path for you both through the crowd.

“Are there other ways to use your ability?”

You chuckled at that, “yeah, you could say there is.”

Feixiao pressed for more, her curiosity peaked, “like what?”

“Well, physical touch is one. Like hand holding, hugging, cuddling, and kissing too. Some ways are more effective than others.”

“What’s the most effective way?”

You glanced at her and quickly looked away, “w- well…”

“Well,” she pressed.

“It would have to be the transmission of body fluid.”

You turned your head to look at her again and saw how her face turned a dark shade of red. It took you by surprise if you were being honest. Never, not once, have you ever seen THE Feixiao flustered.

“Feixiao?”

You nudged her a little. Your worry racking your brain as you wondered what she could possibly be thinking about.

“Are you sure?”

Her question took you off guard, “I-,” you cleared your throat, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

And then you saw it. That grin of hers. The one grin that showed that she was always up for a challenge, “want to try it and see? We can even bring Jingliu to see as well.”

Which was exactly how you found yourself back in your shared hotel room. Your arms easily holding Feixiao’s legs up and over your shoulders as you sat on your knees on the bed, her back pressed flat in the mattress as you lifted her hips up. Your breath hitting slightly on her throbbing clit before you wrapped your lips around it and began to suck lightly.

The little mewl that escaped her lips had you grinning into her cunt as you started to lap at her sticky folds, the tip of your tongue lightly teasing her fluttering hole every time you flicked your tongue down.

All the while Jingliu made quick work of your pants, your shirt having already been discarded to floor. And the moment that she managed to pull down your pants and boxers a little, your cock sprung free from it’s confines. The tip already an angry shade and dripping. Pressing her bare tits to your back, she wrapped her arms around your waist and let her hands trail down your v-line and to your erect shaft. Her cool fingers immediately trailing down your length before wrapping around it and giving it a small tug.

The action caused you to moan into Feixiao’s cunt, the reverberations sending jolts through her body as she arched her back of the bed. Her hands immediately reaching out for you as she grabbed a fistful of your hair and began to tug on it. Smirking against her, you easily pulled away from her grasp. Her reaction was immediate as she glared at you a little, but her moans quickly returned when you brought one of your hands down on her cunt. Two of your fingers plunging deep into her hole, her tight walls clung harshly against your deft digits, it felt like she was about to break them in two.

Not wanting to be ignored, Jingliu tightened her grasp onto your cock making you buck your hips a little, “ahh, don’t do that! Do you want me to finish on your hands?”

Jingliu merely smirked at you, “maybe I do.”

You rolled your eyes. She was teasing, obviously. You three were going to test the transmission of body fluid after all.

Finally, after edging Feixiao a bit more, you pulled your fingers out of her cunt. Her breath running a bit ragged as her orgasm was swiftly taken from her. Looking back at Jingliu, she got the silent message and released your cock.

“You still with me?”

Feixiao nodded as you lowered her hips so you could align your cock with her dripping, throbbing entrance.

“Good.”

Your tip teased her fluttering hole. Your precum smearing against her slicken folds before slowly inching your hardened shaft into her. And while inching your cock into her, Jingliu wrapped her arms around your neck and pulled your head to the side so she could kiss you. Before Feixiao entered the mix, you and Jingliu were always side by side, so, just this once, Jingliu would let Feixiao have you for the night. Though, that didn’t mean she would up and leave of course. She planned to be here the whole time. So, might as well kiss you in the meantime, right? As a sort of reminder that you didn’t fully belong to Feixiao.

You moaned into the kiss, your tongue pushing into Jingliu’s mouth just as your cock fully sheathed into Feixiao’s cunt.

“Mmmm, ahhh, I can- I can feel the difference.”

You broke the kiss as both you and Jingliu looked down at her, Jingliu softly laid her head into the crook of your shoulder as you grinned, your hips pulling back before harshly slamming into her.

“Can you now? Was my precum all you needed?”

You started a hard, steady pace. Her cunt hugged you tightly, her walls squeezing you in such a way that had your muscles all tense.

Feixiao immediately shook her head, “no- I need more!”

You chuckled softly as you continued to slam your hips harshly into her, your eyes trailing down to where you both were joined. A white, creamy ring was quick to form around the base of your cock as you gripped her hips.

Jingliu continued to let her head rest against your shoulder. One of her hands slowly reaching for you as she laid her palm against your chest, her fingers lightly racking across your skin.

“Fuck me next, alright?”

“Heh, yes ma’am.”

[tonguetiedraven]

Yukio and True Cross: A Tale of Exploitation

Part 4 of my Yukio Okumura Critical Reading series. (Other parts here: one, two, and three) Please read them before diving into this one. It will continue to build on what was covered there.

We've discussed Yukio's role at the academy and how he views his role in Rin's life, and how he views himself in the lives of his peers. Now I want to talk about one of the biggest hinderances in Yukio's day to day life.

True Cross.

True Cross is a problem. A problem for Yukio and Rin in a lot of varying ways. Not just the obvious and looming problem of their parentage being enough reason for them to both be killed. There are a lot of reasons that Yukio is the way he is and makes the moves he makes, and aside from Mephisto, True Cross itself is probably his biggest opponent on the chess board his life is. For now at least. The Illuminati is waiting in the wings.

Now when last we left our overworked exorcist, he was sporting this expression in chapter 12.

And honestly, this is what I'm imagining every time he wears that customer service smile.

I've touched on it in my other parts, but now I want to take a moment to really reflect on the fact that Yukio has two jobs.

Yukio Okumura is fifteen. This is his first year of high school just like the rest of the cram students. This was his first time moving out as well, and on the day he isn't at home, Shirou dies.

But we'll get to that a bit later (honestly a lot later) when Rin finds out about the Blue Night.

Now at this point it's been about four months since Shirou died and the twins started True Cross Academy. It's often easy to lose track of time in this story, and I'll try and periodically remind everyone of where we're at with that.

The twins have officially made it through one semester at this school. One semester of keeping this a secret. Mostly.

One semester of living on their own. Of trying to make Yukio's scholarship and pay cover both of their expenses. One month of trying to keep Rin somewhat in line. One month of teaching a class he got very little heads up for. One month of doing additional exorcists missions on top of all that and maintaining his grades.

Why point that out? Because I want to make it clear that Yukio has been put under a lot of pressure. More pressure than he ever has been under, but he has been under a lot of pressure since he was seven. What he has also lost is the support and guide he had during those first seven years on this path.

This arc will give us our first real view of what True Cross the organization is like, and it does not paint it flatteringly. Nor should it.

Chapter 12 is the midway point of the mini camp arc. Everyone is in the forest trying to find a lantern and bring it back and the sky has just lit up briefly with blue flames. This is from Rin finding Shiemi passed out, getting frustrated/overwhelmed with the chuchi all over the place, and igniting.

By all likelihood he didn't intend to do that, however he still did and it is by the dumb luck he lives by that he didn't get caught.

Yukio is wearing the above expression because he sees the sky light up and Shura is laughing a few meters behind him.

Shura reassures Yukio that it'd just be bright in this darkness, and she's right. Ryuuji, who didn't have his flashlight on, knew there was a bright light but didn't recognize it as blue.

Nonetheless, we have Yukio showing a moment of frustration or exhaustion or likely both, and saying that he can't hide Rin's power much longer.

That's an important moment of verbiage to clue us into Yukio's headspace here. He is putting himself in the position of responsible party for Rin's secret. He is aware that when the secret comes out it will land on his shoulders to handle it and and he is aware it is his responsibility to delay it as much as possible.

It should absolutely not be his responsibility mind you. He is aware of the exorcist world, yes, but he is also fifteen and should not be in this position. I strangely often see people rage that Rin is expected to keep this secret while also blaming Yukio on the fact that it got out. It often seems that people who put forth a more responsible figure and manner are expected to take on more responsibility and then blamed when the responsibilities heaped upon them (and Yukio has many) overwhelm them or come to the only conclusion they possibly could.

Rin's secret gets out because Rin is emotional and not trying as hard as he might to keep it secret. Rin is who he is, and as he tells us himself, he's not much for keeping secrets. To keep this secret would require confronting emotions and guilts he's not ready for, and would require accepting his flames to some degree, and they are, at this point, still heavily tied to Shirou's death in his mind, and that and everything demonic about him is something he avoids thinking about or dealing with to the point he'll eventually lock himself entirely out of the ability to even use them.

It doesn't help that we also know that there is another hand at play endeavoring to force them into a reveal.

Yukio asks Shura why she's here and doing this.

Shura is putting her report to the Vatican on hold (remember she's an investigator) and says it's because she thinks Rin is funny and ambitious.

I think there's some truth in that, but it's absolutely not the full reason. However for her to give the full reason would be admitting feelings and emotions she doesn't acknowledge and she is seldom serious with Yukio outside of specific moments where she's trying to mentor him, so ambition and humor are the given reason.

However the moment I want to focus on is where Yukio shows surprise. As I've mentioned, Yukio rarely blatantly shows his thoughts or emotions unless he's been pushed and driven to that position over a period of time. Here however, the mention of Shirou has him showing surprise.

Now this will come back in much later, but Yukio seems surprised by Shirou being mentioned here. (Another tally on the 'Shirou knew he was going to die' list.) We are told later that he knew this but the surprise is still there. I'm not sure if it's her taking Shirou's words into account, or if Kato retconned this scene later, but the surprise is there.

Shura doesn't bother explaining, just continuing like Yukio is already in on everything.

Now at this point we leave the conversation and Yukio ruminating over what Shura said. We're given a shot of what she's looking at too.

So we know that Shura at least is aware Mephisto and Amaimon on here. We are not told if Yukio is aware of their spying presence.

The POV switches back to Rin in the forest where they find out the actual challenge and dive into it.

When we get back to Yukio's POV we find out it is now after 4 am. So regardless of whatever time the group started out on this assignment, it has been a LONG day. I cannot emphasize that enough. That is part of this entire thing. True Cross and Mephisto rarely push and manipulate their people/players unless they are 1) stressed by as many factors as it's possible to amass, 2) exhausted, 3) isolated, and if they can swing it 4) hungry and deprived of other basic rights and comforts.

It is late, it is hot (Yukio still doesn't have his coat), Rin has already ignited once and Shura is drunk and just mumbling on the side lines, and Yukio has probably been standing here watching for at least a bit.

I will again reiterate, this is NOT just a test for Rin.

They see a bottle rocket go off -- one of the items they gave the students to use in case something went wrong, and Yukio heads out to help. This is the last we see of him this chapter. We go back to Rin and friends who meet the god of the forest, and Amaimon was right, he is way too happy to help out and causes havoc among the students and Rin.

They manage to escape the enormous chuchi's grasp through the power of friendship and good throws and book it back to the camp where we discover that Izumo and Takara both beat their group back.

For the reader that were paying close attention the first time they read this, they'll notice this means everyone used their matches on the lantern and no one set off their flare, which means Yukio went after someone that was likely not a student and likely a trap.

It takes a while for anyone else to realize this, which is fair because Shura is the only one who knows he left.

Rin asks where Yukio is like a good brother who just noticed his twin isn't present, and Shura dismisses it as Yukio being in the way.

Now this could be read as her just being light hearted/dismissive, but I think with what we'll read in chapter 15 that she was being sincere. She wanted Yukio out of the way and circle so that she could do her next actions un interrupted because Yukio is the one trying to keep Rin's flames a secret.

I cannot stress enough how every adult around Yukio is plotting and manipulating and how he cannot relax his guard around anyone. There is no one he can trust to be telling him the truth and not be trying to manipulate him, even Shura. This is also true for Rin, but Rin is unaware of it to a large degree and doesn't interact with the adults as much as he does his peers. Shura also doesn't try to manipulate him as much as she tries with Yukio. She's more direct with them.

Yukio is working multiple jobs and forced to interact with these people and has been given the responsibility to keep Rin hidden, safe, and as un manipulated as he can.

We leave Yukio with him understanding something is very, very awry and facing off against the god of the forest as the chuchi rage against him, and go back to the camp and Rin.

There are three things I want understood about the camp scene that we will mostly be skipping because this analysis is about Yukio.

This is a plot specifically to expose Rin. Amaimon is here to piss Rin off and set him off and make him lose control. Mephisto planned this, and Shura is aware of this plan to at least some degree. And to at least some degree, she goes along with it.

Rin very much plays into their manipulative hands. Shiemi is mind controlled by a chuchi egg and forced to play the part of Amaimon's willing puppet, and we are made to understand later on that she was entirely aware during this full ordeal. Renzou gets two cracked ribs and probably a concussion from this. Ryuuji gets choked enough to be coughing up blood. Konekomaru gets a bad enough break that he has to spend days in a hospital. They are all hurt during this and that should not be ignored. They are also being manipulated and used during this, and Shura got rid of Yukio so that he wouldn't be in the way, but that also meant he couldn't protect these students either.

Rin's thoughts as he's watching his friends just get decimated (and I feel the need to point out Takara and Izumo are still back at camp) is that they are all so kind. That they've supported him and helped him and encouraged him and he doesn't want them getting mauled like this and he recognizes that this is his fault. While that's not entirely true and he shouldn't put other's cruel actions on his own shoulder, he does know that Amaimon is after him and they did not which put them in a far more dangerous situation than they were aware of. Rin has also already shown himself to intercede and throw himself between people he cares about and danger on seven occasions before this. This entire setup is probably the most predictable thing that could have happened. IT WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT. It was entirely planned. Planned by a Demon King who manipulates time itself. -the seven times I'm talking about: Jumped between Yukio and the hobgolbin, jumped between Ryuuji and a reaper, jumped between Paku and the naberius, jumped between Yukio and the naberius summoned thing, lured the naberius away from the other students, took a head butt from Kuro, tried to take on the god of the forest himself.

It is only now that we switch back to Yukio's POV, and only for a moment. Yukio right next to Renzou -- just to give you an idea of how damn far Amaimon shot Renzou --sees the situation and immediately shouts for Rin to think. To stop and breathe and not do what everyone who knows Rin knows that he will do.

Yukio's plead falls on deaf ears as he knew it would. Yukio could not keep the secret by himself, and Rin is no longer willing to hide it. Rin draws the sword and the fight between him and Amaimon is on.

The next shot of Yukio, he's running towards the injured students.

He is almost immediately focused on them and their injuries. He is direct and focused on getting them to safety and away from the danger he knows Rin is.

Remember that he is the one who specifically warned Rin about getting injured and relying on his flames in chapter 8. He predicted what is about to happen.

Yukio evacuates the students with Shura showing up part way through and the two of them snapping at each other. Yukio gives Koneko a temporary cast for his arm, because if you remember, Yukio has a doctor meister and seems to at least be somewhat adept at field medicine, and he carries Shiemi himself while Rin and Amaimon tear apart the forest and light up the sky with blue flames.

They are both going more and more feral, violently tearing into each other and their surroundings, and we see Yukio looking back as they make their way forward, and I think it's worth bringing back up this moment from chapter 2.

There was more truth in this than we often acknowledge.

It is my opinion, and I believe the manga heavily supports this reading, that

this is what Yukio has feared. What he foresees as the conclusion of what will happen if Rin relies too much on his flames and the demon within himself. That Rin will cease to be Rin at all and that he will become nothing but a dangerous and feral mind like the worst of the demons that Yukio feared when he was young. That he will lose control to the demon and it will almost certainly fall on Yukio's shoulders to stop him.

And not for nothing does he have this fear.

Chapter 13 ends with them running. Chapter 14 opens with Mephisto interceding on the fight and locking a resisting Amaimon away in a Cuckoo clock prison as one does.

The students are attempting to flee with Yukio carrying Shiemi, and let's pour one out for poor Renzou who had to by all accounts climb steps to get up to that thing with his broken ribs. Like damn.

They stop because Shima can't breathe and it's at that moment that Yukio spots Shura and is furious.

Her response is dismissive and rude, and honestly I cannot imagine how infuriated that sort of response would make me in this situation. Not only does everyone use and manipulate Yukio, they very often treat him as a child while they're at it, dismissing his intelligence and skill, and it is very likely intended to further push him and frustrate him.

Yukio is truly one of the most manipulated characters in this manga.

The new Paladin is introduced on this bridge. We meet Arthur Angel who confirms with Shura that there are others spies here because there are always spies in and around, often overlapping and working for more than one party. Mephisto shows up with Rin in tow, and Rin seems entirely gone. Feral and determined to attack everything near by. He snarls and lashes out at the students, Yukio, and Shura, and seems mindless.

Angel and Mephisto and Shura hold a conversation while Yukio watches silently with the students and it isn't until the Kurikara is sheathed that Rin calms down and seems to come back to himself at all.

At which point by all accounts Rin seems to have no real memory of going feral or how he got on this bridge. Angel lunges forward to press his blade against Rin's neck and Shura gets between them leading Angel to restrain her instead.

We get the frankly fascinating lore drop that Angel seems aware Shirou asked Shura to train Rin. Apparently Shura ratted Shirou out to everyone, lol.

I'm going to skim over most of the rest of this chapter but want to pay attention to a few moments on the bridge.

We don't get real closeups of Yukio or his POV during this, but we get these moment. Him reacting to injuries and trying to gather them, all the while knowing these students are no longer seeing him the same way and knowing that everything has changed beyond his control. (It's a bit uncertain just who Ryuuji is glaring at, but honestly pretty much everyone on the bridge would make sense in one way or another.)

A thing I think a lot of people kind of glance over or miss is that Yukio himself is not at the trial that IMMEDIATELY follows the reveal of Rin. Yukio is with the students, getting debriefed and likely examined himself. He does not know what transpired there and would have had to get the information second hand, likely through Shura or Mephisto who he does not fully trust. (One he trusts far less than the other.) He wouldn't get it from Rin, or at least wouldn't get a dependable/accurate explanation from Rin who would not know who to look out for and would likely be unable to remember the details Yukio would want.

We are shown the trial from Rin's POV and we miss some of the dialogue going on around him as Rin focuses on his own thoughts.

And his thoughts go to his twin.

During this trial where they are calling him a bastard and a conspirator and a weapon and other horrid things, Rin's thoughts go to Yukio and how he didn't listen and understand what Yukio was warning him about. Rin mourns his own reactions but will never say this to Yukio. He will think it and he will hold it to his own chest as he is want to do when it comes to his twin.

Neither brother is good at talking to the other about things like this. Things that need saying. It is just another conversation put on hold, much like the conversation about Shirou's death and what Rin is now.

"Damn it," Rinthinks repeatedly, until he loses control of himself again and tells all who are assembled here (and they assembled so damn fast y'all) to shut up and listen to him and that he is not a weapon or demon lord but will be the next Paladin.

Then he disses Angel's clothing in the best Rin fashion and Mephisto's wager is accepted.

True Cross moved quickly. Much much too quickly for this to not have been planned at all. This is a farce of a trial. They found a teenager who was not supposed to be alive and instead of listening to any proper kind of evidence or even acknowledging his twin or hearing what the hell was going on at all, they immediately move to try and kill him only to shift to using him as a weapon, because using people and demons is something that True Cross excels in.

Now it is likely July 20ish and he is given six months to pass the certification exam. The certification exam has not yet happened as of my writing this, and we're in January in current manga timeline. I think the original pre world going batshit plan was for the exam to be in January but the world went a bit batshit so you know, priorities. True Cross got them right for once.

This trial was a show. It was not just nor did it pretend to be. The majority of the Grigori are aware of why the twins exist and what Mephisto is likely planning. They play ignorant a lot, and that is all it usually is, a pretend. Pretending to be unaware and ignorant allows them to have the pretense of clean hands in the atrocities we will continue to uncover in True Cross' past. This organization paints itself as the only true and just and good defense against the darkness of the world, and part of Yukio's arc is becoming more and more disillusioned with that.

He was brought into this organization by Shirou under the pretense of growing strong to protect Rin, and it seems until a certain point that he thought they were doing good, but that belief, if it was one he held, will not be able to withstand what comes.

Chapter 15 we open with Yukio a few days later. Possibly the next day. Possibly a day and a half later.

Yukio steps into their dorm room to wake up his twin to discover his twin has done the pillows in the bed trick which tells us Rin didn't want to get caught not being in bed.

He receives a text from Shura saying she's going to be late and swe see the opening of Yukio's pov closing with Yukio tightly gripping his phone and showing mounting frustration.

We're not told his reaction to the trial or the news that Rin has six months to pass. We're not told a lot about what has happened since, though we are shown that it was on Yukio to explain to the students what exactly had happened and was going on.

Yukio's hands and posture give him away in this scene. The tension and dare I say shame as he explains clinically who and what they are. That Satan possessed someone and had a child with a human woman. That Rin has flames and he does not. He doesn't quite look at them during this scene, and he cannot give them a lot of information for a lot of reasons.

This is another occurrence where we see him keeping himself at a distance from all of them. Shiemi even points out that he is formal, almost like this was a class. He does not let himself show his emotions or thoughts, just answers what he cans and leaves, likely to further questioning from other exorcists.

This is all we get of him post trial. We never see what exactly transpired between the twins after the trial. What we do see is the normal friction between the two and both of them still not quite talking to each other.

Yukio pulls Rin away from the main class for his private lessons, which seems to be the Vatican's decision about Rin hanging out with the others students. Ostracize him and make someone else handle the problem.

The twins sort of have a conversation.

Rin points out Yuio looks angry, Yukio denies it and gets annoyed at Rin acting like an older brother. (He's smiling that smile so there seems to be frustration there to me, plus the context clue of when he says it and how he says it.)

Rin says he can tell when Yukio is angry, and at this point he's accurate, but there will come a time when Rin cannot tell what Yukio is thinking/feeling, at least not accurately.

Their conversation continues with Yukio telling Rin to take this seriously for once. Rin mishears and thinks he said 'cereal' instead of serious. We love the goofball.

This is an important line for both twins. It shows how Rin intends to do and handle this, by just not thinking about it.

Rin is lying to himself here, and not even lying well to himself. This arc will force him to confront this lie and overcome it and think at least a little about all this. About what has happened and what this will mean.

Yukio will be forced to confront this lie as well, and be forced to consider his own thoughts and emotions and whether he is angry or not.

This is never just a test for Rin or for Yukio.

Shura shows up at this point and lays it out for Rin that from now on her and Yukio are always going to be watching him. She gives Rin the candle assignment and Rin does not manage it and will not manage it for a while. I want to know what the bill on candles was by the end of this. I bet Rin either lights all candles just to show he can or never lights another out of sheer stubborness.

Shura leaves Rin to it and goes back to Yukio and this cute moment happens.

She almost never calls him anything else. Another person who constantly reminds Yukio of when he was younger and wimpier and a cry baby, and remember that he has sworn to himself to never again be weak and frightened. He is striving hard to leave that all behind but cannot move past what he was with the constant reminders around him.

(*cough* Mephisto wants it that way *cough*)

Shura goads him into a challenge and we get the flashback I talked about previously of little Yukio being beaten by Shura.

I need to add that the verbiage of this bugs the hell out of me.

She orders him as his superior to do it. Shura wants Yukio to relax and not be so uptight, but she also refuses to do it and help him unless it's entirely in her way, and it causes increased stress and friction, and often comes across bratty and entitled. Their relationship is old and complicated, and there is often an imbalance in power like this. Shura is the closest he gets after Shirou's death to a mentor he can depend on, and he can't quite trust or lean on her because of things like this. She will mellow out and open up and take this more seriously and become someone he can lean on more, but it will take a while to get there with work needing to be put in.

Yukio accepts the challenge with the agreement that she stops calling him wimpy if he wins. They start to fight, Rin is shook at how good they are, and Yukio uses this moment to question her.

I don't know if I've ever seen analysis on this moment, or even much recognition of it at all. Likely because the anime and it's muddled opening episodes to the Kyoto arc doesn't really go into it.

Please read the manga, y'all. It gives us SO MUCH more than the animes gave and give us ;-;

Anyway, Yukio points out the fact that he knows that the forest was a setup. He was sent away and Rin was revealed, and it was deliberate. Shura confirms that she did indeed go along with Mephisto's plan.

Shura confirms that she did this deliberately and is happy Rin has been exposed. That she knows they're pawns. Yukio is not at all happy with any of this and we find out:

Yukio swore over Shirou's grave to protect Rin. It baffles me how people seem to ignore or not notice that Yukio is determined to protect Rin for most of this manga. He states it blatantly more than once.

He swore to protect Rin, and he has been taking the full weight of the secret upon his own shoulders. All of his peers have conspired against him, and it now confirmed that all were. The ones we are aware were in on Rin's heritage are Neuhaus, Shura, and Mephisto, and each of them have plotted and worked to make sure Rin was revealed, and he was, and now Rin has six months to pass an exam or die and Yukio is under no illusion that Rin can pass that.

Currently, he's valid for thinking that. Rin got a two on a test Yukio gave him in a class he was tailoring to Rin passing. If there's a written component to this test then they're fucked. Rin might be able to pass a skills portion, but he's currently in the next stall obliterating candles with wild flames so Yukio doesn't exactly have reasons to think that's going to happen either.

Yukio is stressed to hell and back and trying not to show it but it is slipping through the cracks and he is not being listened to by anyone around him. Rin and Shura keep dismissing his thoughts and opinions and pushing their own thoughts and opinions on him, and right or wrong, he is a person who despises being treated like he's stupid and like his words aren't being heard. (Does anyone like being treated that way?)

Shura watches his reaction and expression and asks him if he knows what makes a good exorcist. He says heart, skill, and body, which he learned from Shirou. (We'll see that in a flash back during the Blue Night arc.) Shura agrees, but says that not bottling up emotions is even more important because demons exploit resentment and stress.

Quick pause to point out earlier where I said a few thousand words ago that:

True Cross and Mephisto rarely push and manipulate their people/players unless they are 1) stressed by as many factors as it's possible to amass, 2) exhausted, 3) isolated, and if they can swing it 4) hungry and deprived of other basic rights and comforts.

This is a reason. Demon and people and organizations find it much easier to exploit people who are resentful and stressed.

Shura continues her observations.

And that is where I will end this one. Yukio is being primed for something, and Shura sees that, but Yukio is not in a place to listen to her, nor can he exactly be blamed for that with how she has treated him and manipulated them to get to this point.

We'll cover the Kyoto arc next and keep digging in on all the reasons why True Cross has a LOT of issues and why Yukio is getting so very disillusioned.

As always, check out my tag #raven ramble for more of my aoex analysis! I've got a lot more to do, and if you sent me an ask about analyses, don't worry! I will get to you <3

[uponawhitehorse13]

Caster SFW alphabet

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Due to the circumstances of her life she is ready to both give and receive any form of affection. She’s very careful about finding out and sticking to your preferred love languages.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

As usual with Fate someone has to be master and someone has to be a servant. As a friend she can be a bit of a tease but is nice overall.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

She almost always falls asleep when cuddling. The feeling of warmth and security really helps her relax.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Caster tries very hard to be a good housewife to varying degrees of success. Most of the time before cooking anything she has Shirou give her a lesson. She’s happy to clean as long as it doesn’t intrude on your time together. If it does she’s having the golems do it. One thing she does excel at is sewing, she’s great at fixing up your clothes and even making new ones.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

You will be betrayed and killed.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

While she would be over the moon if you proposed it’s very hard to actually pull it off. If she sees you moving around suspiciously or trying to keep something from her her paranoia will get the better of her. This will most likely lead to you getting stabbed and bleeding while she monologues about how she saw through you and knew you were cheating. When you tell her about the ring she immediately does a 180° and starts apologising through tears while healing your wound and saying how happy she is.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

No matter what kind of person you are or what she’s doing she always has an extremely delicate touch. 

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Everytime you get back home she jumps you with a hug giddy to show you what she’s been working on in your absence.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

She would not hold back about gushing to anyone who will listen how much she loves you but only if you’re not present. When she attempts to say it directly to you she gets incredibly shy.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Easily gets jealous due to her paranoid nature.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

She would enjoy long romantic kisses.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

She is honestly amazing with children. Actual peak parent material.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

She’d be very happy if you two had a routine together. Nothing special but things like brushing teeth next to each other, making breakfast together and that kind of stuff.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

She likes going on walks with you at night. The empty streets allowing you to soak in each other's presence.

O = Open  (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say  everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

A big part of the relationship would be helping her deal with the way her past has affected her so it would be a gradual process.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Mostly patient but there are certain things that tick her off really quickly.

Q = Quizzes  (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little  detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

She would do her best to remember a lot of the things about you.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

It would be the first time she got paranoid and thought you were doing something behind her back only to be proven wrong. It’s something that may seem stupid but it means a lot to her.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

She would put so many protective spells on you that you might actually end up bulletproof.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

She would always have elaborate plans she ropes anyone she can into.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

If I haven’t made it obvious yet she has major paranoia/trust/attachment issues.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

She is far more interested in putting  you in cute outfits than dressing herself up. Combined with her sewing skills you’re in for quite something.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Losing the one person in her life that didn’t use or betray her would definitely lead her into going completely insane and lashing out.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

At some point in the relationship when her insecurities get the best of her she would decide to use a love potion on you. However whatever she’d try seemingly wouldn’t work. She tried slipping it into your drink, putting it in food and even convincing you to drink it directly but nothing seemed to have an effect. She knew it should be working due to her proficiency in crafting and she even tested it on other people. She would eventually confront you about using some form of protection magic or being under the influence of someone else’s spell. This leads to you explaining that there’s no change because there’s nothing to change. She has never been more embarrassed in her life.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

She would not enjoy you being secretive.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

She insists on always sleeping with you no matter how small the bed.

[a-flaming-idiot]

I don't know if this is a hottake or not, but I've kinda been of the mind that Shirou Ogami wouldn't be the best dad. And I mean specifically raising a child from infancy. Shirou is cold, distant, emotionally stunted, has a horrible temper, and has trouble showing affection. Like he works with Michiru since she's already an older teenager/young adult when they meet. So Michiru kinda already has a strong enough footing emotionally from her bio-parents. At least enough where she can bruteforce through Shirou's hard exterior and get through to him to be softer with her. But I lowkey feel like if Shirou had a younger kid, he'd slowly fuck them up just due to his emotional issues. Kids kinda need that attention and affection from an early age to developed properly. So Shirou might unintentionally neglect his kid. Even if he really does love them. Though I can also see the argument for him being the type of guy who holds his newborn child for the first time and immediately just fucking melts. And like this is his entire world now. Still the biggest, meanest grump to everyone else. But that's his baby. Full-on girl-dad.

[s8nny]

—HE was sure he had put on his skates wrong because the clasp was too tight. But he wasn't going to say anything. Even if someone pointed a gun at his head at that moment, he wouldn't complain. He had tried to follow his senpai's actions but had gotten lost at some point. He didn't think Fubuki would notice his mistake.

"Yukimura, do your feet hurt?"

He swallowed audibly. "No. Not at all."

Finishing adjusting the hem of his pants, Fubuki looked up at his student, who was staring at his feet with suspicious interest. He couldn’t hide his discomfort. For someone so direct, Fubuki didn’t understand why it was so hard for him to tell the truth when it came to his own well-being. Thankfully, training teenagers had sharpened his perceptiveness. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed how Yukimura had tucked his pants into the skate. He sighed loudly.

"Well, maybe they do hurt a little."

Smiling, the adult approached and began explaining step by step how to put on the skates to avoid getting hurt. Yukimura smiled, relieved. He didn't like having to explain things twice, and he often forgot that his teacher, unlike him, had the patience of a saint. Fubuki handed him the knee pads while continuing the conversation.

"I still find it incredible that, having grown up in Hokkaido, you’ve never set foot on an ice skating rink, especially knowing how good you are at sports."

Hyouga remained silent, feeling his cheeks flush at the compliment. His parents were not very involved in his life. They worked a lot and were hardly ever home. He was used to being on his own in every way. He would go out to train whenever he wanted and could return home knowing no one would be there to greet him. He was still not used to an adult being interested in his affairs for the first time.

"Yeah, well, the opportunity just never came up." With his hands resting on his knees, he noticed how his teacher’s eyes never stopped watching his every move. He should have been used to the extreme vigilance his coach subjected them to, but it always made him nervous.

"I'm sure you'll have a great time." Approaching the door to the rink, Shirou gently and politely called out to the attendant to let her know they were about to enter. The young woman smiled at him with bright eyes and blushing cheeks. Yukimura turned his head in embarrassment and huffed. He always had to endure all of his coach's flirting scenes. "Let's go!"

Yukimura grabbed onto the railing as soon as the blades of his skates touched the ice. Taking small steps, he tried to slowly approach Fubuki, who was skating freely a bit further away but always watching Yukimura out of the corner of his eye.

He knew that if he offered help right away, Yukimura would feel embarrassed and refuse. As usual. Being his coach for the past year had taught him a lot about the young man. He had a good heart, but his stubbornness often got the better of him. Although, that last trait couldn’t be held against him too much.

Yukimura continued taking steps while holding onto the railing, but he was starting to gain more confidence. Letting go of one hand, he began to observe the movements of the people around him. Gradually, his legs started to adjust, and the trembling in his knees began to disappear.

"You're doing great, Yukimura." He smiled, satisfied. He would never admit it out loud because Fubuki would never stop teasing him if he knew, but his coach's praise always felt amazing.

Yukimura was now skating with more confidence, moving with small and timid glides. When he was close enough to Fubuki, he tried not to show how relieved he felt for overcoming the challenge.

"I told you, Yukimura, it wasn't that hard," Fubuki commented with a mischievous smile.

Yukimura, still holding on to his pride, replied, "Maybe. But if I fall, don’t you dare laugh."

Fubuki let out a laugh and spun gracefully on the ice, stopping right beside his student. "Deal."

Yukimura, feeling his senpai's confidence, let out a sigh of relief. He decided to try gliding without relying on the railing so much. Slowly, he raised both arms to maintain his balance and took a firm step forward. To his surprise, his legs responded well, and he managed to move forward without stumbling.

"Wow, look at that. You're quite the skater now," Fubuki joked as he watched closely, always ready to step in if needed.

Yukimura rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his lips. "Don’t exaggerate. I can barely stay on my feet."

"That just means you're learning," Fubuki replied with a kind but firm tone. "It's a good start. Next time, we'll try something a bit more challenging."

Yukimura looked at him with a mix of curiosity and reluctance. "More challenging? Like what?"

Fubuki raised an eyebrow, his smile widening slightly. "You'll find out when the time comes. For now, keep practicing. You'll see how, little by little, you'll feel more comfortable."

The two continued skating in silence, with Yukimura focusing on his movements and Fubuki staying close, like a protective shadow. From time to time, Yukimura glanced at his teacher, grateful for his patience and support, making sure he hadn’t left. That he hadn’t left him behind.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Fubuki broke the silence. "You know, no one expects you to be perfect from the start. What matters is that you keep trying."

Yukimura nodded, this time not hiding the gratitude on his face. "I know, it's just..." I don’t want to disappoint you.

Fubuki suddenly stopped, turning to face Yukimura with seriousness. "Listen, Yukimura. It's not about not disappointing me or anyone else. It's about pushing your own limits, about being better than you were yesterday. And you’re already doing that."

Fubuki's words resonated with Yukimura, filling him with renewed determination. He nodded again, this time with more conviction. "Understood."

Fubuki smiled, satisfied. "Good. Now, how about we try skating without looking at the ground?"

Yukimura lifted his head, meeting Fubuki's eyes that were watching him with that mix of challenge and confidence. Oh, how he admired him. "Let's do it," he replied, determined not to let the ice defeat him.

As they both skated, the sound of the blades gliding across the ice mingled with laughter and the echo of their conversations, filling the air with a warm camaraderie. In that moment, Yukimura knew that no matter the challenges ahead, he was ready to face them.

And even better, when he did, he wouldn’t be facing them alone.

a/n. i love these two with all my heart. they deserve the entire world and i just want to create more moments because their bond is so dear to me <3 hope you enjoyed this :) sorry if there's a mistake <3

[arisa-doii]

Hey, how are you? I would like to make a request. Could you create a romantic headcanon for Shirou Ogami about how he would react upon discovering that the female reader, who is new to the city, can transform into a fox-like kitsune with multiple tails and has fire powers?

I love this idea, let me try and use my brain for a second. So to try and get this right I did some research on the mythological animal. And it said that kitsune are a type of yokai possessing god like powers, usually they're tricksters or pranksters.

I don't know if hes already dating you, so Shirou is just in love for now

Paring: Shirou Ogami x KITSUNE!reader

Gender: Female

------------------------------------------

Before Shirou found out about your identity

He would not like you

Mostly because you liked to play tricks and pranks

Even when it was a serious moment.

He did appreciate it when you tried cheering up little kids.

Like the ones from the orphanage that were getting sold.

You put on little shows for them in a traditional kimono

And some magic tricks as well.

one of them being shooting fire out of your mouth.

shirou thought it was a cheap trick, like how magicians do it

Thats when Shirou developed feelings.

I mean, who wouldn't?

You looked beautiful to him, especially when you did your makeup.

Now you tried not using to much of your powers, so when you transform into your not too powerful form, you just say you're a fox.

However, when that horse guy went full Nirvasyl syndrome and Shirou got knocked out.

You knew what you had to do.

You went into your full form.

You didn't know if you were able to defeat him, however, you needed to atleast defend so that michiru can survive

You held out well, you didn't want to kill the horse guy so you were only defending.

defending by shooting fire to burn and tire out the horse guy

Then Shirou woke up, when he saw your form.

He was absolutely mesmerized, you looked ethereal.

peach and white fur, nine tales. He knew what you were

You were a kitsune.

He smirked, knowing that the person he loves can spend an eternity together.

He turned into the silver wolf and defeated the guy.

You went back into your normal form.

When Shirou went back into his, he dropped into your arms.

Smiling all the way back to his room

[victorckk]

Because you all seem to really love my UTM No Heart design (which is still blowing up) I decided to make an info post for him !!

He’s still in development, since.. you know, UTM has less darker themes than the Nelvana series did. So it is a bit difficult to kinda keep that threatening aspect of his.

Hmm.. I also don’t remember a lot of UTM lore (my memory is bad) so if I’m forgetting anything, feel free to remind me!!

I also want to flesh him out more, since the shows didn’t really do a good job other than having him be “big scary bad guy ooOoOoOoOo” and I’m not really a huge fan of blank slate villains.

I love them developed 😈

So I’m willing to accept some headcanons and ideas for him!

Keeping the concept of him being the ruler of the Silver Lining.

He used to be widely respected and loved, but grew colder and more aggressive after various incidents.

No Heart’s goal is to rid the entire Silver Lining of Caring and Love. Others fear him, so nobody is willing to stand up to him. Those who have in the past were turned into different creatures that worked under his rule.

I can’t draw him because my art skills won’t allow me to, but Beastly was probably one of them.

I also want to give No Heart a reasoning for his motives. It could range from anything to heartbreak (being betrayed by those he cared about and grew bitter) being taken advantage of as a ruler, or anything else that could have resulted in him taking on his alias as No Heart.

He pretends to be cold, callous, merciless, and whatever else one could describe him as, to hide the pain and suffering in the heart that he claims not to have.

Also straying from the “turned into a bunny” thing, because what the heck was that??? He’s not stupid and wouldn’t fall for that at all.

Instead of vanishing by falling for some useless trick, No Heart started to spread hatred and other negative emotions from the shadows. He used this technique so nobody would ever find him as the culprit; it kept his identity hidden.

Trivia / Headcanons :

His favorite color is hot pink.

He is asexual biromantic, perhaps..?

He would definitely have a badass villain song. 100%

To be added..

Voice Claim :

Because I do NOT like his voice in UTM (and I’m sure everyone can agree) I’m giving him a voice claim.

All I could think of so far are :

Keith Silverstein - (Gabriel Agreste / Hawkmoth, Zhongli, etc.) - The reason for this choice is the fact that Keith can sound aggressive, terrifying, and authoritative when needed for certain character types. Fit for the ruler of an entire realm.

Ben Diskin - (Keldor/Skeletor, Shirou Ogami, etc) - The reason for this one is because of Ben’s deep voice as Keldor and Shirou, and sounding downright terrifying as Skeletor. His voice can range from authoritative and deep, to high pitched and manic. Fit for villains.

I’m definitely leaning more towards Keith, though.

[yuripoll]

KNOCKOUTS: Qualia the Purple (2011 - 13)

Qualia the Purple is a three volume scifi series by Shirou Tsunashima based on light novels by Hisamitsu Ueo about a girl whose friend sees humans as robots.

Through the uncanny purple eyes of Yukari, all people appear to her as robots. Her talent is both a blessing and a curse. She is able to assist the police in sizing up threats, since her “skill” allows her to evaluate humans’ quirks and physical capabilities like cataloging the parts of a machine–yet her strange sight has cost her the friendship of her peers. She does have one friend in her corner: Hatou “Gaku” Manabu, a girl at school who cares deeply for Yukari. When Yukari is recruited into a secret organization, the real trouble begins. Gaku is thrust into a realm of mystery, quantum experimentation, and alternate universes, with only her wits–and her love for Yukari–to guide her along the way. - AniList

ENG published by Seven Seas; AFAIK no convenient site to read the JP.

CWs under the cut. General severity rating: mod to major.

suggestive scenes <- details are greyed out but there's an upskirt shot at one point; occasional mildly suggestive posing; some mild non-sexual nudity and flashes of non-explicit sex; occasional sexual reference.

violence <- i did try to list out every distinct type of violence but it got too big. tl;dr, never especially graphic or gory, but violence is very frequent. details are typically blacked out. includes dismemberment, decapitation, strangulation, and gun violence.

body horror <- primarily in relation to the above. beyond that, there's mainly just the conceptual body horror of an injured human getting fixed like a robot (which is a major plot point and also really cool).

major character death <- not elaborating too hard on this one <3 you'll know when you get there. there's a big tonal shift after this happens (again. you'll know when you get there).

minor character death <- a plane is blown up and multiple minor characters die, including children. technically temporary, and the incident itself isn't dwelled on.

inappropriate age gap <- ch12, a conversation is had with an alternate hatou who has fallen in love with alice, noted to be 13 at the time where hatou is 16. called out as creepy by our hatou within that conversation. ch15, we see part of another world where hatou pursued a relationship with alice, including briefly showing them nude in bed and kissing. i'd say it's framed mostly negatively; the relationship is described in narration as brainwashing.

domestic abuse? <- ch15, flash forward of a relationship implies some degree of emotional abuse.

child abuse <- inflicted by a mother. part of a character's backstory, physical briefly shown in ch14. ch15, a different mother is also shown physically abusing her child, justifying it against the other mother by saying its out of love. additional abusive practices in relation to human experimentation mentioned below.

bullying <- there's a bullying plot in early chapters which is largely just teasing and gets resolved quickly, but ch11 briefly shows a bullying situation that reaches into abusive territory. additional, less notable mentions of bullying dotted about after this point.

suicide <- shown in ch15 via walking into traffic.

kidnapping <- there's a kidnapping in ch6 & ch13, both are brief but grievous bodily harm is inflicted in both instances.

human experimentation <- of the unethical variety. conducted on children, and resulted in death on at least one occasion. the facility in question was abusive in additional ways, such as using solitary confinement, threats, and pain as punishment for non-compliance.

internalised homophobia <- hatou thinks of being attracted to other girls as deviancy.

bittersweet ending <- less bleak than the whole latter half of the manga, though.

[zeravmeta]

*Hopes for the as least of a harsh response* Yuya Sakaki

Why I like them/why I don’t:

さぁ、お楽しみはこれからだ！

What the hell can I say about Yuya that I haven't already said in the past decade. Arc-V is the series that got me out of my ygo hiatus and back into the series as a whole, and Yuya is a big part of that. I've written metas on him in the past which you can find on my blog, but whats always stuck out to me about Yuya is that he's kind of a pathetic depressed loser failure (best way possible) but still drags himself back up. We see him stumble so damn much throughout the show and he does fail and lash out and suffer and make things worse BUT HE STILL GETS BACK UP!!!!

HE!!! TAKES THE STEP FORWARD!!! WITH COURAGE!!! HE WEARS A SMILE!!!!!! NOT BECAUSE IT IS EASY!!! OR BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO PLEASE THE AUDIENCE!!! BUT BECAUSE A SMILE CAN HELP YOU FEEL COURAGE!!!!! BECAUSE PENDULUM IS THE RANGE, THE OSCILLATION BETWEEN JOY AND SADNESS!!! IT'S AN EXCHANGE, A CONVERSATION!!!! A WAY TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE AND HAVE THEM UNDERSTAND YOUR VIEW!!! ENTERTAINMENT CAN BRIDGE THE TRAGEDIES OF WAR BECAUSE WHATS MORE UNIVERSAL THAN THE SMILES IT CAN BRING!!!!!!

I've made the joke before but he is the closest analogue yugioh has ever had to shirou emiya which is a hilarious statement but it's true, from clinging to his fathers ideals because he knows no other way to live to his genuine mercilessness when pushed to the edge, all the way down to the living weapon metaphors and transfem subtext

What I like about their appearance: I think Yuya's design is unironically the best out of the protags, he just combines so many aspects of what makes previous protags designs work, but specifically I also love that they put him in different outfits. I have such a soft spot for his clown outfit and his riding duel outfit is sleek and minimalist.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?: Sub only man, again I have a candid vitriol of YGO dubbing past DM because it turned any serious dubbing of ygo into a joke

OTP: As an Arc-V fan I'm under a binding geas so it is physically mentally and spiritually impossible for me to answer anything other than Fruitshipping here.

NOTP: probably the only one of these I hold but out of all the protag/rival ships across all ygo, yuya/reiji never actually compelled me all that much.

OT3: I while ago I made a post talking about how awesome the fucked up codependency of yuya/serena/shun could have been so yeah here. IG fruit salad also works here, any combination of the yuboys/bracelet girls is funny to me, selfcest is not just a suggestion but a necessity as well as a competition and THEY ARE WINNING

Favourite card they use: This one might be a hot take but out of the three archetypes Yuya blends in the Performapals, Odd-Eyes, and Pendulum Magicians, my favorite bar none and my fully fav archetype in all of yugioh is the Magician Pendulums. Yuya's own arc in the show is about differentiating himself from his father, and I think the Magician Pendulums stick out to me so much in this regard because they're HIS archetype: Performapals are from Yusho and the Dragons are from Zarc, but the Magician Pendulums are from Yuya!!!

I think Enlightenment Paladin and Nirvana High Palandin are my fav cards he ever uses, but Arc-V does this genius thing with action duels where it just wildly humanizes the monsters, so they all have tidbits of personality throughout the show and I love all of them.

Also obligatory shout out to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon I love the big chicken and no one loves Yuya the way Odd-Eyes loves Yuya

Favourite moment they were in: Man. People thinking that Yuya just shouts Egao and fixes everything and that he never examines this when we have the Barret duel within ep91-92 where hes having a panic attack between saving Yuzu and just. discarding Smile World because he's so desperate to cling to his dad while also desperate to save Yuzu he is at one of his lowest lows here its just SUCH a good character moment that shows how much Yuya suffers from all the responsibility on his shoulders, self-imposed and otherwise

Least favourite moment: My live reaction- "Man, the Zarc duel was so fucking good!!! Literally peak yugioh, the best duel of all time! Alright so I bet we've got 1-2 more episodes to finish things off we've hit the series climax no way they can ruin this- Why are there 8 more episodes?"

Would I fuck, marry or kill them: im sorry yuya but move over im going to humiliate your older dragon god alter ego and shape the mattress like him

[roguedruid]

"Oh great druid this humble petitioner asks for your recommendations on fics you did not write but enjoyed greatly I look forward to getting your top 15."

Uhhhh Damn. Hold on. Lets seee..... I can give you eleven- in no particular order- that come to mind with a bit of searching. but questioner- I read so many fics. This is gonna be a crapshoot of fandoms, so hold on. Of Harrowed Hearts by Sable_Scribe: A Naruto fic which is sadly unfinished- but had an awesome vibe and really dives into the characterization of the Konoha 12 and their potential. It does have Naruto/Sasuke vibes- but when it last left off the slow burn was slow and Sasuke was barely realizing his emotions. The Games We Play by Ryuugi: It's posted on Spacebattles origionally- but it's been reposted a few other places. It's massive- nearly a million words. This was my first real 'Massive fic' i followed as it was updating- and my real intro to Space Battles/Sufficent Velocity as fanfic sites. Also- first Gamer fic that went *way* into the power scaling and endgame stuff. Jaune in this story escalates hard as fuck. I'm talking supernatural kung fu, elemental powers, the ability to destroy cities- And his threats are scary enough to match it. This was before Salem for most of the story- but the Grimm that show up are terrifying. Keeping on the forums real fast- Two Quests (Essentially reader driven stories) deserve to be on this list. Xander [Quest] by one Judge Mental is another of those Monolithic kind of reading experiences. it's massive- on a word count I can't even figure out- spread across like 28 threads. it starts as a simple premise- You are Alexander Harris- and you are born as the reincarnation of Ganondorf. Yeah- that Ganondorf. Things only escalate past that point- to where the last i checked we were possibly the strongest sorcerer on earth- and only 12.

"A Geeks Guide: CORE" series by Sage_of_Eyes. Again, monolithic in scope- it's a complete reimagining of the Highschool DXD mythology (yes, the ecchi novels/anime. Yes it's way deeper then it deserves. Yes, it's also metal as fuck)

Swerving back from forums:

A Drop of Poison by Angel Of Snapdragons: Naruto's Shadow Clones are fucking crazy- and if you've ever wanted to see the power fantasy of them escalating non stop- this is the good shit. Drifting by AlphaDelta1001: More Naruto- but this one has some of my favorite 'Kinda Genius' Naruto moments. It mixes up the timelines, throws in a completley revamped Chuunin exam, introduces tones of new characters- and completely revamps Naruto's methods- if you ever got bored of 'it's all Rasengan' in canon- this is definitely a suggestion.

From Fake Dreams by Third Fang: Fate Stay/Night. Supercharged. This is a bit of a controversal pick- mainly because Third Fang is one of those authors who's sense of humor is... off. Just a bit of that old school Shonen Jump Pervert vibe in the background- snarky comments and purile humor creep around the corners of his writing- but FFD is still immensly fun to read. The power creep- already high as fuck in Canon FSN- goes so high. Where recently Shirou isn't fighting Servants- But True Ancestors. Son of the Western Sea by Mac_Ceallach: If you want Percy Jackson going solo on a world-wide adventure- this is it. its after the War for New York, before the romans showed up- and Its got Percy just... being cool vibing. Hitting into other myths by accident. In contrast, if you want some true off the rocker Percy- An Impractical Guide to Godhood by Antony444 It's technically a crossover with A practical guide to Evil- but if you ever wanted to see olympus and the rest of the percy jackson verse just... implode with chaos? This is it. Flooding Hades with the flaming river- beating Ceaser in Gladatorial Events, fucking with the olympians? This goes hard. The Many Quirks Of Phantom Thievery by PsychicBeagle Persona 5, reloaded. Featuring New Game+ shenanagains, plenty of romance and memes, and puns. If you're a P5 fan, I highly reccomend it. It's Time For Another Good Idea, Bad Idea by Haurvatat: This is a weird one- for one it's Solo leveling, so it's fandom was kinda niche. on the other... It's got Cannabilism in it. But! As a Cook? this is a guilty pleasure fic. The cooking scenes are all written like Binging with Babish episodes, the humor is on point, there's actual stakes and emotions- theres closure? What more does a fic need.

[typellblog]

Archer's back

Archer is by far the most baffling character in the Fate route, right? Imagine reading FSN for the first time without being spoiled.

Archer only shows his face when the story is already well underway. He is in roughly three scenes, all of which are him talking to Shirou alone. We learn almost nothing about him, and in the end, he sacrifices his life fighting against Berserker. Offscreen!

He’s clearly not just a throwaway character. There’s something there, it’s just being deliberately covered up. This is different from a twist character like Sakura – in her case, we’re not given any strong hints that something is wrong. We’re not supposed to question her role in the story right up until Heaven’s Feel. Archer, on the other hand, does nothing but raise questions.

Why does Shirou immediately hate him for no apparent reason? Why does Archer persist in talking to Shirou multiple times, despite this? How does Archer’s advice manage to be the exact thing Shirou needed to hear in order to help him defeat Berserker?

And, perhaps most importantly, why does he so frequently stand with his back towards the person he’s talking to? Actually, why even bother making a ‘backwards-facing’ character sprite for him in the first place?

The use of a backwards-facing character sprite is really weird. It would be like if a director told their actors to face away from the audience and deliver their lines to the back of the stage. It misses the whole point of the medium!

Character sprites are supposed to tell you how a character interacts and engages with the people around them, through facial expressions, what they’re doing with their hands, etc. The way Archer engages with the people around him is by . . . not engaging with them.

So, Archer’s back is a message to the reader, from the author. He’s being presented as closed-off, aloof, mysterious. He has hidden depths, but you’re not going to get to see them.

The funny part is that in-universe Archer’s back also serves as a message from him to Shirou. He deliberately makes it weird and awkward for Shirou to talk to him, because he wants to come off as aloof and mysterious.

Of course, another element that’s added when it’s a personal confrontation like that is Archer presenting himself as superior. the fact that Shirou is literally, physically behind him also reminds us that he’s behind him in power, behind him in knowledge, and behind him in self-actualisation.

But again, this is only what Archer is trying to convey. And to be honest, it’s very funny that he’s trying at all. Because despite acting as though he doesn’t give a shit, it’s clear that seeing his past self, and his past self seeing him is important to Archer. Why else would he spend so much time talking to the guy? He has a semi-plausible excuse each time, but the conversation keeps wrapping around to personal matters.

By the way, I like to believe the reason why Archer leaves without finishing his line here is because he thought it sounded cringy halfway through and got embarrassed.

Because that’s the thing with a turned back, isn’t it? He’s already put himself in the position of someone about to leave, without actually leaving. He’s not trying to engage with Shirou on equal terms, but he doesn’t ignore him either. He’s conflicted.

You could read Archer as trying to get Shirou to give up, discouraging Shirou and getting him to accept his inevitable death. But the most important lesson that Archer's back gives in this route is that ‘the one you have to fight is none other than yourself’.

Now, that’s true against Rider, it’s true against Berserker. But coming from Archer you really have to interpret that as a challenge, don’t you? ‘The one you have to fight is none other than me.’

That doesn’t sound like someone who wants Shirou to give up. That sounds like someone who, when he comes to kill Shirou, wants Shirou to fight back.

To use an archery metaphor, Archer’s back isn’t a wall, it’s the target.

This is the fourth of roughly thirty analytical essays on Fate/Stay Night that I will be reposting here with some significant edits (although this one didn’t change too much) from Reddit.

Archer’s back will be a returning theme in this series, as it is in the VN itself.

[inazumaeleven-headcanon-space]

OK SO I KNOW ITS LATE BUT

Chrismas !

And stuff

So.

Happy Chrismas everyone 😄

Here’s what each **Inazuma Eleven** character’s favorite Christmas tradition would be(in my opinion ofc)

**1. Endou Mamoru**

- Endou loves spending the day decorating everything. He starts decorating in november, he is intense

**2. Gouenji Shuuya**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Baking Christmas cookies with his sister. It’s a quiet bonding time for Gouenji and Yuuka, and they always create perfectly frosted cookies.

**3. Kidou Yuuto**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Kidou enjoys meticulously wrapping each present with coordinated ribbons and paper, showing his attention to detail and care for others. (Or straight up autism)

**4. Kabeyama Heigorou**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Kabeyama lives for the big holiday feast and insists on trying a little of everything.

**5. Kazemaru Ichirouta**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Ice skating with his family. The peace of gliding across the ice under twinkling holiday lights is his favorite way to celebrate. (Also he enjoys being better than Sakuma and teases him)

**6. Domon Asuka**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Playing Christmas music. Domon loves creating the perfect holiday playlist and playing it all day long to set the mood.

**7. Ichinose Kazuya**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Setting up a Secret Santa exchange. Ichinose loves organizing and participating in gift exchanges, especially when it’s filled with laughter and surprises.

**8. Tsunami Jousuke**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Decorating a sand snowman. Living near the beach, Tsunami enjoys the unique twist of creating holiday cheer with sand instead of snow.

**9. Tachimukai Yuuki**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Watching Christmas movies. Tachimukai adores curling up with a blanket and a hot drink to watch classic holiday films like Home" Alone" and "The Polar Express.""

**10. Fubuki Shirou**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Building snow sculptures. Fubuki finds joy in crafting intricate snow creations, often turning them into small holiday displays. He is like crazy good at it too

**11. Sakuma Jirou**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Snowball fights. Sakuma loves the thrill of a friendly competition, and Christmas snowball fights are the highlight of his holiday. (Also, bc. Kazemaru sucks at it so he can tease him)

**12. Fudou Akio**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Picking out the Christmas tree. Fudou likes the process of finding the “perfect” tree, even if he grumbles about it the entire time.

**13. Kurimatsu Teppei**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Simmilary to Endou, Decorating the Christmas tree. Kurimatsu loves adding ornaments and lights, going all out to make the tree as festive as possible.

**14. Kogure Yuuya**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Pulling holiday pranks. Kogure loves sneaking funny notes into gifts or wrapping fake presents, finding joy in making everyone laugh.

**15. Utsunomiya Toramaru**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Taking family photos by the Christmas tree. Toramaru enjoys capturing memories and cherishes looking back at the pictures every year. He has a special camera just for that

**16. Hijikata Raiden**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Singing Christmas carols. Hijikata enjoys gathering everyone to sing carols, creating a nostalgic and heartwarming atmosphere. Also something tells me he would be a good singer

**17. Tobitaka Seiya**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Making handmade gifts. Tobitaka prefers crafting personal gifts, like carved ornaments, to show his thoughtfulness during the holiday.

**18. Afuro Terumi**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Hosting a fancy Christmas dinner. Aphrodi loves putting together an elegant gathering with gourmet food and sophisticated decorations.

**19. Rika Urabe**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Playing holiday games. Rika organizes games like charades or trivia during Christmas parties, bringing everyone together for fun.

**20. Kudou Michiya**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Watching the Christmas lights. Kudou enjoys taking quiet walks to admire the beautifully decorated streets and displays.

**21. Aki Kino**

- **Favorite tradition** Aki loves carefully arranging ornaments and lights, always aiming for a perfect mix of colors and personal touches. She enjoys doing this while sipping hot cocoa and chatting with friends.

**22 Haruna Otonashi**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Haruna spends time crafting personalized notes for each friend, making sure to include funny anecdotes or meaningful memories from the year.

**23 Natsumi Raimon**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Traveling to exendent family. Something about Natsumi being the "perfect older cousin" is just so beautifull.

**24Fuyuka Kudou**

- **Favorite Tradition**: Fuyuka loves the creativity of decorating gingerbread houses, often turning it into a friendly competition with her friends to see who can make the most elaborate one.

MERRY CHRISMAS (OR ANYTHING ELSE YOUR CELEBRATING)

[beanghostprincess]

I believe Emiya Shirou to be one of the characters that has surprised me the most when it comes to his ambition and his role in his own story. Usually in visual novels where you have to choose between girls, the male mc isn't very... Charismatic. They try to make the player relate to his actions so badly that the character loses all sight of what is being an actual character. Shirou, though? Shirou goes against everything the "savior"/"people-pleaser" character is. His survivor's guilt and martyr complex are so prominent that his ideals end up being negative for him, and the narration shows it explicitly. I'm honestly tired of self-sacrificing characters treating this trait as positive only and nobody telling them to look out for themselves too. Shirou takes it to another level. He's his own character without the girls and when he's with them we see different sides of him. I honestly have fallen in love with Fate and its writing but mostly with Shirou's story.

[uponawhitehorse13]

For Saber, Caster, and Rider from FSN; how do you think they feel about their True Names vs their Class Names, especially once in a relationship??? Do they prefer for their lover to use one over the other??? Assuming this is either post Grail War or in an intimate setting where they are alone and there is no risk of their True Name being overheard by an enemy.

Ok so first and foremost we need to lay a lot of things down because this isn't as simple as it may seem. The reason servants are called by their class in the first place is that their identity could give away their powers and the element of surprise is important in a battle royale. Due to this there's also really no way to know you're not being watched at any point in the war. If we're talking about any post HGW relationship the usage of their class name would come about simply as a force of habit.

Second due to Fate being a japanese franchise a lot of the way characters use names and surnames is dependant on that culture with first name usage being seen as intimate or used to show a character's inexperience with societal customs or their different cultural background.

Saber wouldn't care about you continuing to use her class name and feels no shame towards her name or surname and would not mind being called by them. However neither really roll of the tongue so that would probably lead to some sort of nickname being used which would end up probably being Saber again with her real name being used in intimate moments.

Caster similarly wouldn't mind either her class or true name. I do feel she would have a leaning toward sappy couple stuff like "honey" and "dear". She does very much hate being called a witch.

Rider has a lot of self image problems so she might have a dislike for her true name due to what it's associated with. You could try to work with her through her issues getting her comfortable with it or maybe using a shortened version like "Dusa".

The most interesting would actually be Archer. Both Shirou and Kiritsugu are simply called EMIYA when they become counter guardians. I think this is because while they are their own people the Emiya name symbolises the self-destructive dream and sense of duty they both end up following (which they fucked up with Kiritsugu's dad but that's a whole new can of worms). So him getting called Shirou would be a really emotional moment with him remembering how much he has lost himself.

Sidenote but this is also why Saber x Archer is one of my favorite ships ever. Because Saber getting saved by Shirou and then seeing him after he ended up worse than her and having to "return the favor" in a way. Because while she almost destroyed herself for her ideal Archer basically ended up in a personal hell. So her calling him Shirou reminding him that even after everything he's still the boy she fell in love with. It's peak.