#amalgamate! itsuki

[why485]

I wanted to do another Fuutaroubowl predictions update now that I’m officially halfway through at chapter 62. This also felt like a good checkpoint since it’s just before a huge story arc and a bunch of crazy stuff has just happened!

Ichika - 0% No change in ranking, but there’s a more substantial reasoning behind it. Ichika is both too mature and not selfish enough to pursue a relationship with Fuutarou. She definitely likes him, but will self-sabotage her chances because she doesn’t want to potentially ruin the group dynamic, and she would also rather see her sisters win (mostly Miku) if it has to happen.

Nino - 35% Nino has thrown everything into complete chaos. Within the span of a volume, Nino’s totally changed and I have no idea what she’s thinking anymore and neither does she. She’s very aggressively attacking right now. She wasn’t satisfied with the “ambiguous confession because it was too loud to hear” and so confessed again like 30 minutes later with no ambiguity whatsoever. This definitely raises her chances (15 points), but not too much because it feels too early in the story for this to go anywhere, and because I dunno, would you trust Nino in a relationship? Still, I have to hand it to her for doubling down the way she did. That’s very atypical of manga writing.

Miku - 1% It’s a pity 1%. I love you Miku and I’m cheering you on but there’s no way you can win no matter how hard you try. You’re just too cute.

Yotsuba - 40% She’s just such an unknown. Now that there’s a serious confession in play, I have to point out that Yotsuba was actually the first, way back in chapter 21. It was so early though that Fuutarou was just confused. The thing is, I don’t think she was lying, but I also don’t know why she would say that after knowing him for only like a month at this point. It’s totally possible she was the girl in the photo and actually remembers everything, and the contrast between Yotsuba and Nino’s confessions kind of makes me think she has a chance now so she’s up 10 points.

Itsuki - 65% There’s not too much to say about Itsuki. She still feels like the Taiga to Fuutarou’s Ryuuji. I like her a lot, I think they’d be a great pair, and I’d be totally okay with her winning. That said, she’s almost too close to him at this point. Almost like she’s already family, so I could see that going against her, thus a loss in 5 points.

Quints Harem Ending - 2% Every time they do a flash forward it catches me by surprise and my conspiracies get more and more schizophrenic. What if he’s marrying a symbolic Rena as a stand in amalgamation to represent all 5 of them?!

[marionedde]

genshin ocs i finally made a reference arent you proud of me. there will be more to this under the tag "jack impact"

im also trying out a new brush so its. an adjustment on the coloring

Monstadt:

WOLFGANG SCHÄFER- Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Path (I am aware): Elation

World: Corruption

Vision: Dendro

Constellation: Perversa Rumore

Weapon: Catalyst

Age: 22

Summary: A Wolf in Monstadt, with a tendency to spread rumors and indulge in gossip. She loves to feast, as taught by her clan, but acts incredibly polite around people with perfect mannerisms.

Liyue:

Xue + Mei Heng/ Dew Hopper - Storm of Rumbles and Droplets

Path: Destruction + Harmony

World: Thunder and Rebirth

Vision: Electro + Hydro

Constellation: Lapis Fracti + Argenteus Medicus

Weapon: Polearm + Claymore

Age: 19 + 20 (3,050ish)

Summary: After Xue Liu took a horrid fall in the Chasm, damaging her hearing, the Adeptus that saved her seemed to grow a strong attachment. The two are practically inseparable, and value helping and supporting each other as much as possible.

Inazuma:

Kori Nakajima and Itsuki- Bound Tree of Stone

Path: Remembrance + Enigmata

World: Human and Rock

Vision: Geo (for both)

Constellation: Mater Lapis + Filius Lapis

Weapon: Bow + Catalyst

Age: 47 + 14 (278)

Summary:

Trained under Lady Guuji, Itsuki is a calculating, curious and ferocious young kitsune. The only thing that properly tames them is Kori Nakajima the historian, who on all levels except biological, is the caring mother of this wild yokai.

Sumeru:

Safir- Spinning Sands of Judgement

Path: Equilibrium

World: Legion

Vision: Anemo

Constellation: Murus iudicii

Weapon: Sword

Age: 25

Summary: Safir is the kind but dedicated guardian of the desert in Sumeru. She will kindly let any refugees, traders or travelers through, but if your intent is hate, Safir's judgement will be swift and thorough.

Fontaine:

Mx. Entienne- Devil's Advocate

Path: WInd

World: Corruption

Vision: Anemo

Constellation: Movit Atrium

Weapon: Pistol

Age: 23

Summary: The famous convinct that escaped the Fortress, aka Prisoner 420666 or "The Devil of Meropide." Hiding under the pseudonym of Jo Entienne, they disguised themselves as an attorney who always- ALWAYS- defended the prosecuted.

Natlan:

Abeni Luthuli- Cowrie Shells and Crystal Ice

Path: Trailblaze

World: Reason

Vision: Cryo

Constellation: Manus Sortis

Weapon: Catalyst

Age: 43

Summary: Abeni Luthuli- a name that needs no introduction in Natlan. A Cowrie-shell fortune teller with a nack for always landing the exact right predictions. Abeni loves his work and life, but through watching others be led on the path of destiny has made him crave an adventure of his own.

Snezhnaya:

William Marrow- the Amalgamation of the Snow

Path: Voracity

World: Void

Vision: Cryo

Constellation: Bestia Scaena

Weapon: Ice Guantlets

Age: 19

Summary: Previously known as Brighella, or the Beast, Marrow was once the modified killing machine of the Fatui Harbingers. After escaping half whole and without hand, Marrow struggled to survive but miraculously made it out alive. Despite his disability, Marrow has adapted quickly and is now the eager and ruthless harbinger that brings the reckoning of the Fatui's sins.

Masterpost

[pastel-rights]

Dangan doodles 💕 Geez new people are probably so confused reading the tags akfjajdjwj

———

Please don’t tag the last image as ship!

[aros001]

Read through light novel vol. 16. Random thoughts.

"Who is this OC looking f**kboy?"

Those were genuinely my first thoughts upon seeing the art of Takt on the throne. And it would seem my immediate dislike was not unfounded.

Seriously though, everything about him is like someone's self-insert original character for their shitty power fantasy Shield Hero fanfic.

"He dresses really cool, like all modern with jeans and pockets, and he can use all the holy weapons and vassal weapons, and his level is above 300, and he has a harem of totally hot powerful women, and he's the king of his own country, and he can counter everything that people use against him, and he can steal powers he doesn't have, and he can beat Naofumi and all the other heroes with, like, no sweat at all!"

I want All For One to come in and kick this little twerp's ass. Show him what a real OP villain who can steal powers is like.

This isn't a critique of the writing by the way. It feels like Takt is supposed to feel like that kind of character who plays to those tropes and is REALLY easy to hate.

I both do and don't like how Naofumi is acting in the prologue. Obviously I don't like specifically what he's doing because it's creepy and uncomfortable, but I really like the reasons for why. The dude is fried from everything that's happened and unlike Itsuki it's not because of a curse. He's grieving from a heavy loss, easily the biggest he's had since coming to this world, and unlike with Ost's death he has no one he can yet focus his anger on, so he's feeling completely lost and mixed up. Another great moment from Sadeena in helping him regain at least some of his sanity. Sex is a common way people try to find comfort after a terrible loss and if that had been the case I think she would have slept with him or even encouraged Raphtalia to be the one for that. But she could see pretty clearly that wasn't the case. Naofumi wasn't looking for comfort. He was practically a zombie, just going through the motions.

“It seems that from among the four holy heroes, the Shield and Bow have been most active over there. Based on their level of activity, there’s also a bias in the legends about the seven star heroes. They mainly talk about the Hammer, Claws, and Whip.” A bias. The Shield and Bow did complement each other well, that was true.

F**k that! Sword and Shield, BroTP!

“Putting that together with what we learned in Kizuna’s world, it sounds like the effects of the fusing of worlds,” I pondered. There was a wave that had combined the Shield world with the Bow world, and then the Shield and Bow world had been fused with the Sword and Spear world to create the current one. It was only natural that a bias in the legends would arise.

"Worlds lived, worlds died. And nothing will ever be the same."

I've talked before that I'm a big fan of the concept of a Multiverse in fiction, especially in superhero comics. Right away I liked that the four Holy Heroes came from different parallel universes and then getting Glass and L'Arc showed that there were also parallel fantasy universes also fighting the waves. And now we get this theory from the characters that Raphtalia's universe is an amalgam, made up of other previous universes that fused through the waves. It's very Crisis on Infinite Earths and JLA/Avengers.

Reading Queen Melromarc describe the king of Faubrey and I'm just remember a scene that I and many Overlord fans love to the depths of our hearts, of Sebas the butler encountering a naked little fat man who got his sexual thrills off beating the women the brothel provided him. Sebas, like any true gentleman, kicked him in the dick so hard he exploded. Is there some to hope that a similar fate befell the king whom apparently married and killed (and probably even worse than that) 9,999 women? Not even Witch deserves that. Nobody deserves that.

Even though it'd probably take him to a dark place he shouldn't go, part of me was hoping for some karma to occur when Witch revealed herself as Takt's ally to Naofumi. He no longer had the shield, meaning he could attack her like he never could before, meaning he could kill her with his bare hands. I'm glad he used the defense rating attack on Takt, because there's been great long-time set-up for that, but yeah, I wanted Naofumi to at least get to break Witch's nose after everything he's been through. And if Witch wasn't irredemable before, she most certainly is now, proving she has no loyalty to anyone other than herself. She used Naofumi and the other heroes from the beginning for her own goals. Her mother had enough control that she couldn't just do whatever she wanted. And Melty was standing in the way of her getting the throne. She's still a terrible person but there were at least reasons for her to be against these people. But Trash? Her father, who has been loyal and on her side since the beginning, who doted and spoiled her from a young age because of how much he loved her? She had no hesitation in ordering him killed along with everyone else. There was no reason behind it. It was just pure cruelly, greed, and self-satisfaction.

And then...there's the Queen. ...F**k. Y'all bastards were really good at keeping that spoiler hidden. I was accidentally spoiled that Alta was going to die but not through this site. I had no idea the Queen was going to die. Of course Naofumi couldn't have the Shield during that part. If he made Mirellia into a shield like he did Ost and Alta he probably would be unstoppable, because she was just that f**king awesome.

We're pouring one out for you, your majesty. May your youngest daughter inherit your great wisdom and unbelievably hilarious slapping ability.

I'm really glad with Trash's development in this book. Like I've said in past posts, I can feel basic empathy for him given his backstory, but feeling sorry for him was not enough to actually put me on his side, because he was not putting in any work to actually be better or redeem himself. He was just acting angry and crazy and then just sad and withered. Here? While he had to be shaken and roused into it (can't blame him for that as he just lost the love of his life), he puts in the effort to make use of himself and holds himself accountable for his past actions. I really like that he wants to continue being called Trash. That is his penance. Not more feeling sorry for himself or blaming the rest of the world. It's time for him to be the man he knows he's supposed to be.

With all that though, Melty was definitely the person I felt the worst for after the death. Of all the younger characters, despite being royalty and mature for her age, she is the person who feels the most like a real kid, and her crying her eyes out while clinging to Naofumi hurt just like it should, because this little girl just lost her mom. No idea what the expectation is in Melromarc for when Melty should take the throne but for her it's always going to feel too soon, because how could it not?

“Daddy . . . thank you for approving my marriage. You’ve finally agreed to let me marry Ollie,” she said dreamily.

“I’ll make you forget this ‘Ollie’ soon enough, although his keeping you a virgin for so long is something to be thankful for!” Takt cackled. It was clear that he was using some kind of illusion to make her think he was her beloved. “Those who don’t give proper thought to their daughters’ happiness have no right to live!”

Oh good! He's a rapist too!

So Naofumi was the Shield's first choice and the other three were the Bow, Sword, and Spear's third choices. I like the credit that's given that the first choice is not guaranteed to be the best, as they can become just as corrupt or egotistical, or the third choices are not guaranteed to be the worst, as they can grow into real heroes. I'm just wondering how the selection process worked and why they all couldn't get their first choices. The Holy Weapons apparently have some sway over the universes they pulled them from, given the promise of granting wishes if they want to return to them. My immediate theory is that the weapons all set up paths that'd lead their choices to being summoned but just through sheer coincidence and randomness all the first choices, save for Naofumi, kept missing the path. Going down the list, the weapons become more desperate and thus are more willing to use more extremes to get their choices, thus why Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki had to be killed in order to be summoned. They missed their window with their first and second choices so now they absolutely have to guarantee they get their third, even if the methods are less than ethical.

With the big final boss, the World Eater as Naofumi called it, I'm theorizing that he/she/it is using the waves to fuse multiple universes into one so that he/she/it can eat it all in one go.

I only have two issues with this volume and they're both kind of nitpicks. The first is with Trash's plan, specifically with the Glawick ore. I don't remember it ever being established before in the series. I really liked the Rucolu fruit being used in the Cal Mira wave battle because it was set up way beforehand, so it feels like a lot less of a Deus ex Machina. Same with Naofumi using defense rating attacks after his battle with Glass. That's good set-up. The ore doesn't break the story, it just feels very convenient that such a thing happened to exist. If I'm mistaken and it was set-up before and I just forgot, please let me know.

The second is Naofumi and Raphtalia being separated again after a trip into another universe. The story next volume seems like it'll be very different from last time but that part does feel like a repeat of what we've already seen. Plus, with the new status quo of Naofumi knowing how she feels about him, I want to see their interactions now that he's recovered a bit from the loss of Alta. Again, it's a nitpick, since I'm certain they'll find each other again, but I don't like feeling like I'm being deliberately kept away from what I want to see.

“The source of your power, the one true hero, now orders you. Reconsider the state of all things once more and bring down a storm of flame upon my target! Drifa Firestorm!” Takt completed the spell.

...

“The source of your power, just a hero, now orders you. Reconsider the state of all things once more and scatter the storm that would burn its target! Anti Drifa Firestorm!” I read the magic Takt had incanted and activated magic to nullify it. With that, the fire tornado scattered into nothing, as though it had never existed.

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!

“I’m here to destroy everything you possess,” I menaced quietly. “Your pride, your dignity, everything you treasure. I’ve already half-destroyed your composure and your arrogance. Now it’s time for the other half. False hero, possessing six of the seven star weapons and the shield from the four holy weapons! Now face the reality of being defeated by a regular guy who holds none of the legendary weapons!”

No wonder Raphtalia couldn't be in this part. After hearing that line I don't think she'd be able to hold herself back and would have tackled him like a wild Albedo in heat right then and there.

I am so looking forward to when this volume's final battle is animated, especially the part where Naofumi gets his shield back. That is going to feel like such an epic, heroic moment.

So Rishia unlocked Pay-to-Win. ...I don't really know what to say to that. What do ancient magical relics care about money? ("What does God need with a starship?")

So the person Malty had Ren give a sword lesson to back in vol. 11, was that Takt, King Faubrey, or someone we don't know yet, like the mastermind behind everything?

Is Kizuna marked for death now? From how Fitora made it sound to Naofumi, when a Holy Hero dies a new one can't be summoned if the others are still around. If Kizuna's world works similarly, she might have to die or there'll be no Holy Heroes other than her.

Naofumi really likes his Dragon Ball Z, doesn't he? Which is appropriate given I just realized that the Energy Blast from the Spirit Tortoise Shield is almost literally the Kamehameha. Seriously, Kamehameha translates to "Turtle Destruction Wave".

So...what the heck do I do now? I've spent about a month reading through 16 volumes of Naofumi's rise and I know there are at least 6 other volumes that haven't been translated to english yet. I'll probably go find another LN series to read until vol. 17 comes out in July. Though I am curious if RoTSH has a fan translation site like Overlord and Konosuba do.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/shieldbro/comments/fot3tj/read_through_light_novel_vol_16_random_thoughts/

[awesomepepperfrycx123]

Itsuki 2 Door Wardrobe with Mirror in Walnut Finish

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[recentanimenews]

The Quintessential Quintuplets – 12 (Fin) – Team Effort

In an attempt to be fair, not equal, Miku cites a technicality in the Campfire Legend: the key is not dancing with Fuutarou, but holding his hand at the finale. Since Fuutarou has two hands, she proposes she and Ichika both be holding them at the proper time. Unfortunately Ichika was coughing and couldn’t hear what Miku proposed, and Miku can’t bring herself to repeat it.

That brings us to the more pressing matter: Itsuki has apparently vanished. Despite fading fast due to catching Raiha’s cold (getting wet last night couldn’t have helped) Fuutarou coordinates a search, bringing a masked Ichika (who apparently caught Raiha’s cold through him) along with him. However, whenever a quint is masked or their face otherwise concealed, one has to suspect something is up. Also, the normally lilac-topped “Ichika’s” hair looked a bit too deep red.

Sure enough, Fuutarou catches on that “Ichika” is really Itsuki in disguise, because back when they were skiing she called him “Uesugi-kun” instead of “Fuutarou-kun.”He waits until the two of them are up in a chair lift to say so.

Turns out Itsuki got separated and lost due to her poor eyesight. That begs the question Why not contacts? Nino wears ’em, and her vision is thoroughly impaired. In any case, Itsuki was apparently testing Fuutarou to see if he’d be able to tell them apart…because their father can’t, I guess?

Itsuki’s whole thing is a bit of a head-scratcher, so let’s move on, shall we? Fuutarou reaches his limit, and he reaches the point where he can’t seem to get rid of the five quints, when at the start they were running away from him. 

He somewhat coldly asks what purpose would be served by any of them staying with him, and the head teacher declares the room where he’s resting to be out-of-bounds, which all but ensures they’ll find a way to break in and be with him.

This is all happening during the campfire, which Nino stands beside all alone, dancing with no one. Fuutarou took her a aside earlier to tell her “Kintarou” couldn’t make it, which seems like a cowardly move on his part, especially after she explicitly asks if she can trust him. I know he’s trying to spare her feelings, but I reckon Nino would prefer honesty over fiction.

Meanwhile, Miku and Ichika have a nice sisterly moment where Miku does what Fuutarou couldn’t with Nino: she’s forthright and honest. She likes Fuutarou, so she’s going to do what she wants going forward, while accepting that the others can do what they wish too. Even Yotsuba has a rare subdued moment where she finds Fuutarou’s well-worn camp guide and kicks herself for pushing him so hard he got sick, when again it was likely Raiha who got him sick.

As the campfire (and, incidentally, the show) builds towards its finale, the five sisters are surprised to find all of them breaking into Fuutarou’s room at the same time, even going for the light switch in unison. They also each manage to grab one of his fingers the moment the campfire ends.

Flash forward to the future, when Raiha is now a high schooler, the morning of the day her brother is getting married. The bride we see could be any one of the quints we know, and indeed is depicted as more of an amalgam of the five than any individual quint.

It’s therefore an incomplete future; he may one day have to choose one and their identity may be revealed, but this season is not interested in answering the question of who quite yet. There’s more story to be told! Back at school, the five sisters are finally on the same page about studying with him, with the final holdout Nino tsundere-ly relenting to the majority. Ichika’s decision to quit or change schools for her acting career is left up in the air.

When a recovered Fuutarou warns them he’ll be working them hard in order to get their test scores up, they’re all unnerved and run away from him together, the way they used to when they first met him. The difference is, they’ll be back, for his tutoring, for his friendship, and maybe for more. They can’t not…after all, they were all held hands at the end of that campfire!

In the final ranking of the Quintuplets…Wait, what’s this? They all scored 100? It’s a five-way tie! What are the odds? Looks like the argument of “Who is the Best Quint?” will have to be resolved in Season 2, coming Winter 2021…

By: sesameacrylic

[mutandis-blog]

I Smell A Rat 1.2 | Andrew Barnett | Chapter 1 Trial | re: Michi

At least, everyone was attempting to communicate? That was a good sign, right? He waited patiently, listening to everyone's responses and the amalgamation of evidence. Then, like a tiger ready to pounce, Andrew's eyes lit up at Michi's mention of using a tool.

"Wait, you have that wrong!" He cried out, trembling slightly as his voice cracked.

"I inspected the damage on the elevator doors carefully, and there was no sign of the culprit using a tool! In fact, there were very clear hand prints where the doors were forced open."

Andrew held up his own hand, even removing his heavy work glove and wiggling his fingers slightly. "I even measured my own against it, only to find that the indents were actually smaller than my hand."

It felt weird calling attention to his own less-than-manly hands, but for the sake of the trial, he felt it was necessary.

"The prints were also smaller than Hana'lei's hands, which means," he turned slightly to look at Itsuki.

"Unless Itsuki has unusually dainty hands, there's no way he could have done it!"