#and I am well aware he looks nothing like he does in the manga

[akumakosuke]

Yay, I finally finished the first chapter of my new fic...

†Our cursed love†

This is my first time writing an actual fic so it might not be that good, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged! I would really like to know your opinions on what I'm doing right and wrong, things I should change and so forth.

A little PS this is not going to be absolutely canon, there will be some changes to the lore and techniques so be warned. I am also fully up to date on the manga so there will be manga spoilers.

Please enjoy the first chapter of ‡Our cursed love‡.

No warnings

~_Our cursed love._~

Chapter 1- Our pedestal.

~No one POV:~

The day is like any other day to most people. The sun blazing high in the bright blue sky, perfect white fluffy clouds dot the sky, moving along swiftly with the breeze. The sound of streets full of vehicles and streets full of people fills the air.

The day was like any other to non-sorcerers.

They all go about their lives, completely oblivious to the two Gods currently walking among them, blissfully unaware of the evil seeking to destroy these two Gods.

The day was like any other to the two Gods. Aware they’re being hunted but unaware of each other.

It’s true what they say, ‘ignorance is bliss’ and our two Gods will have to learn that lesson the hard way.

~3rd Person POV~

A young boy, around the age of 9 walks with an unusually cold face for a child wearing a blue hoodie with beige shorts and black sneakers. His expression isn’t the only eye catching thing about him, his eyes are quite simply breathtaking. Strikingly brilliant sky blue orbs. His short, fluffy white hair gently swaying in the breeze.

To passers by he seems like a relatively normal child with oddly spectacular looks but normal is not a word fit to describe this God.

Satoru Gojo decided to take a trip to Shibuya for no other reason than boredom. He knows it’s ‘dangerous’ because of the many, many bounties on his head but does he care? No, of course not.

Why would he care? He’s a ‘God’ right? All these fools are beneath him, besides its clear that none of them would even be a problem, he might be 9 but he knows his place in this world, he knows the ‘blessing’ he’s been born with and he knows how to use it -albeit not well- one glare is enough to dissuade anyone crazy enough to target him.

He can sense them all around him, thinking they’re hiding their cursed energy well but nothing can get past his six eyes, nothing.

~10 minutes earlier~

A young boy with long grey hair tied into a neat pony wearing a (f/c) shirt and (2/f/c) pants that are clearly too big for him and a pair of (f/c) boots steps out of a fancy black car in the middle of Shibuya. The 9 year old closes the door and the car drives off, left unattended which would be odd if he were just a boy, although his expression is somewhat normal for a boy his age, relatively bored, his eyes hidden by a pair of blacked out glasses with a circular frame.

He confidently makes his way through the busy streets, despite his small size he easily navigates a path through the much taller adults, some only sparing him a brief glance but none question why there’s a clear gap between him and everyone, a physically space none of them an seem to cross, naturally and absentmindedly moving around the boy to avoid it.

M/n Goto is aware of this gap as it’s intentional. He’s practicing although the few hungry pairs of eyes on him are distracting. M/n knows venturing out alone is ‘risky’ because of how valuable he is but hes a God isn’t he? Those fools are beneath him.

They’re clearly trying very hard to hide their cursed energy but alas it’s in vain, M/n sensed them following him since he left his estate. It’s not like any of them would be a problem for him, he knows his place in the world, he knows the ‘blessing’ he was born with and he knows how to use it -thanks to his loving father training him since he could walk-, one glare is enough to dissuade any idiotic enough to try and mess with a God, besides nothing can touch him without his permission, nothing.

~present time~

Destiny is a funny thing, many argue its existence.

If destiny exists then freedom cannot.

If freedom exists then destiny cannot.

Many argue its existence, many chose to deny its existence, they chose freedom.

The freedom of choice.

M/n Goto and Satoru Gojo do not believe in destiny.

M/n Goto and Satoru Gojo both chose to come to Shibuya today because they wanted to, they were bored and chose to do the riskiest thing by leaving unsupervised.

They both chose to walk this random street, they both decided they were tired of being followed and chose to turn around. A completely, random choice.

Completely random.

“Huh-?!”

“What-?!”

Time suddenly stops for two young, lonely, untouchable Gods.

M/n Goto and Satoru Gojo do not believe in destiny, so what is this feeling? Not the physical feeling of their shoulders colliding.

This sudden tug, this oddly familiar feeling like meeting a different version of yourself.

Luminous, sparkling sky blue orbs meet now uncovered blazing, blood red orbs and for the first time both are in absolutely awe of another’s appearance.

~M/n POV~

‘He- he bumped into me… his eyes… they’re… how did he-? This feeling… who is he, i feel like I should know… wait… he’s…’

~Satoru POV~

‘I didn’t sense him-? He touched me… i was sure i had it on… those eyes, they’re breathtaking… who is he? Why do i feel like I should know him? Wait… he’s…’

~3rd person POV~

“Cursed.” They both mumble at the same time causing both their eyes to widen, both taking a step back from the other.

The warm, carbon filled air suddenly feels a whole lot more suffocating, the feeling tugging at both of them gets stronger and they both know the other feels it.

It’s an odd sight, two unsupervised 9 year old standing in the middle of a busy Shibuya street just silently staring at each other in what can only be described as bewilderment.

For the longest time they’ve both believed them to have no equal. From the moment they opened their eyes they were forced to live in a word beneath them filled with people beneath them. They were put on pedestals so high no one else could ever hope to climb it and yet…

Their lonely pedestal is apparently bigger than they thought, all they had to do was turn around and be confronted with the other.

A shared pedestal is something everyone told them was impossible, they were born Gods among mortals, they were special, miracles, forever alone.

“Goto M/n…” M/n, finally regaining his brain, blurts out, feeling something he’s never felt before, nervous.

“Gojo Satoru…” Satoru eventually replies, having taken a few more seconds to recover and identify the unknown feeling in his chest, anxiety.

“We should probably lose them first before we talk…” M/n suggests, hesitantly turning his gaze away from Satoru and toward one of the groups of curse users currently hiding out in a tall building across the street with horror on their faces because the sheer amount of power coming from the two Gods is mind breaking.

Satoru turns his gaze towards another group hiding on a rooftop few building’s down with the same expression and hums in agreement. He slowly reaches out to grab M/n’s hand, he doesn’t know why but he just does.

The moment their skin makes contact they both jump, the feeling of physically touching another is so foreign, so intrusive yet so natural.

They quickly easy into the feeling, Satoru pulling M/n along and M/n following without complaint.

This action feels so normal it’s almost easy to forget the innocent looking 9 year old boys are running away from assassins hunting Gods not boys.

They both in this moment, forget they are Gods, they forget they are cursed, they both, even if only for a fleeting moment just feel like two normal boys, running freely through the streets of Shibuya, unsure of when they actually started running but unwilling to spend any time thinking about it.

They just run, the destination isn’t a concern to either of them and after running for what felt like both a lifetime and barely a second they stop in a dark, dirty alleyway, joyful laughter still bubbling from their chests as they catch their breath.

“Phew, I’m pretty sure we lost them.” Satoru comments as he leans against the wall, relaxing a bit more because he can’t sense anyone else.

“Hmm, it would be foolish of them to follow.” M/n adds, leaning on the opposite wall, also relaxing.

A short, comfortable silence envelopes the two Gods as their gazes lock, again being completely caught off guard by the other’s eyes. Millions of questions run through both of their minds, having finally found another like them is something they didn’t think possible , they were told it’s impossible.

“How… how did you touch me? Get past my barrier which I’m positive was active?” M/n asks incredulously, he should be absolutely horrified someone can bypass his technique but he isn’t.

Satoru looks at M/n in slight shock, now being made aware the other also had a barrier active at the time of contact.

“I… I don’t know, i also had a barrier active so maybe they cancelled out?” Satoru would have never thought he’d say that with such a casual tone, someone being able to bypass the one thing that makes him untouchable, he should see M/n as a threat but he doesn’t.

“So we both have a kind of barrier technique and they cancel out somehow… that should be horrifying right? Our one impenetrable defence rendered useless…” M/n’s voice drops to a low whisper but there’s no hint of defensiveness, simply taking in the fact he can be touched, he’s not unbeatable.

“It should but honestly it just makes me excited ya know?” Satoru chuckles, his eyes sparkling even more as his usual cold expression replaced a small grin, his heart is still pounding in his chest, the tugging feeling getting stronger the longer the talks to M/n.

M/n mirrors Satoru’s expression, feeling the same pounding in his chest, the tugging feeling moving his feet forward as he takes a seat on the floor next to Satoru, his barrier preventing his clothes from getting dirty. Satoru quickly joins him, activating his own barrier to stay clean.

Although both of them are just 9 years old, being born basically ‘God’s’ they naturally possessed some basic control of their techniques, both already having trained to use their techniques for a few hours none stop before they get tired.

“It is isn’t, my entire life I’ve been told no one would be able to challenge me and I thought how boring that sounds, they said I stand on a pedestal made for Gods and that I alone stand atop it, atop everyone else and then I thought how… lonely that sounded…” M/n says, pulling his legs to his chest as he rests his head on his knees, looking at his new found friend.

Satoru adopts the same pose, his mind and soul filled with pure joy as M/n speaks because he understands, he understands so well and he never thought someone else would understand.

“Mhm, they called me blessed my entire life, a miracle. Showering me in praises and gifts alike, telling me how special I am, how I’m better than everyone else. They also call me a God, put me on a pedestal too tall for a kid… They don’t see the view from the top, they don’t see how big and empty that pedestal is…”

M/n listens to Satoru, there’s something freeing in listening to him speak, like a weight lifted off his shoulders, the weight of being called the strongest and the loneliness that comes with it, a weight no 9 year old should even have to know about.

“Well it was big and empty but perhaps we can share it?” M/n asks with a hopeful tone, somehow already knowing he doesn’t really need to ask.

“I… I would like that. Our pedestal?” Satoru has never felt this type of excitement, the idea of sharing, being equal to someone else, of not being alone is enough to make him feel like a normal kid.

“Our pedestal.” M/n repeats, the word ‘our’ rolling off his tongue so naturally.

“So what do you normally do for fun? When you’re actually allowed to do what you want ?” Satoru asks, clearly excited to do whatever friends do when they hang out, he’s excited because he doesn’t really known what others do because he’s never bothered to pay attention to anyone else, they were beneath him so there was no point in getting to know them but now, now he’s never been more interested in another.

M/n grins, suddenly standing up and looking down at Satoru with a sparkles in his already spectacular eyes. Satoru still can’t believe he likes someone else’s eyes more than his own, his attention immediately glued on M/n. They both feel that tug again as M/n extends his hand towards Satoru, the idea of physical contact regardless of their barriers still seems so absurd but so enticing.

“Wanna find out?”

Satoru takes M/n’s hand, the unfamiliar warmth of another comforting their souls , penetrating their minds. M/n pulls Satoru up and their hands stay linked as they exit the alleyway, M/n leading the way, unknowingly staring the first chapter in a very long and dangerous book.

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Tag list-

@itsgivingitalian

[martialartslover7]

Why I think Kishimoto isn't sexist, but just VERY tonedeaf and an idiot

Boy, will I have some venting to do today. I mean, at this point, it's not a secret, that Kishimoto has consistently stated that "he can't write women", to save his life. And to this day, for as long as I was a fan of the series, I am going to be absolutely real: This statement is so full of shit. Why? Simple. And allow me to express it in very big capital letters, so that even the last giant mental invalid can understand:

WOMEN ARE HUMAN-BEINGS WITH BREASTS AND A V BETWEEN THEIR LEGS. WHAT TYPE OF "NUANCES" IS THIS GUY TALKING ABOUT? THERE IS NOTHING "COMPLICATED" ABOUT THEM. WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS?

Like, this entire statement is bullshit for a completely reason altogether: Why even reduce his own point to the fact that the shinobi just so happen to be female? This just sounds like excuses on top of excuses, especially considering the competition like One Piece and Bleach, who all have badass, memorable and sometimes, quite well-written characters, that just so happen to be female.

Let's count up a few IPs that I am aware of, written or directed by males, that has some of the most badass, and most memorable females in all of media:

One Piece

Bleach

Soul Eater

Kill la Kill

Jujutsu Kaisen

Code Geass

Persona

Tekken

Street Fighter

SoulCalibur

Fire Emblem (not all of them, some of them, from what I have seen, can be insane jokes)

And so on, and so forth, the list goes on. And you know what all these IPs have in common, that make them stand out, compared to what Naruto does to its females?

THE FEMALES AREN'T GETTING BOGGED DOWN BY IRRITATING, REDUNDANT AND DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE TROPES, THAT FLAT-OUT RUIN THEIR POTENTIAL AND APPEAL AS STANDALONE CHARACTERS!

Like, allow me to list up all the tropes, that Kishimoto made use of, while writing the manga, or being involved in the process of writing / directing the anime, along with the movies.

1. Making the women overtly dependant on the male characters

This one, is not as egregious, but it's a good kickstarter. In the context of the world these characters operate in, to me, it does make sense to show that, like in the Edo period of Japan, women were always seen as second-class citizens, always needing to be tied to men somehow, otherwise they are "worthless". Considering the corrupt, militarized system that most of the girls work in, mostly operated by wrinkly, old farts, who enjoy playing god too much, it does remain understandable to me, that they would be hesistant to be 100% committed to the job, and just ask for normal lives...

...BUT...

...it does leave you asking: Why did they choose to be ninjas in the first place, then? To get smitten with the boys (not counting Hinata, by the way, because she was literally forced into this role)? Just applying as literal child soldiers in a war, that they didn't even start to begin with? And yes, I get it, kunoichis excel in areas that male shinobi struggle with, like silent reconnaisance, charming other men, or sometimes women, to tickle information out of them, being healers, but here is the thing: As the Naruto progressed as a story, this pattern kept repeating, every time a female character got introduced, it would fall back on the following checklist:

Is this woman a healer?

Is she obsessed with looking for a boyfriend / a husband?

Is she lacking in combat-based strength, to the point where she needs protection from either of the male characters?

Because, except for the healer bit, which is more of a specialized field, I just brought it up, because I felt it to be awfully noticeable how often the girls requested to be healers, as if they have to fit into such a mold, or they aren't capable as shinobi, the other two questions get repeatedly answered, for pretty much 98% of all female characters, especially by the end of Shippuden.

And don't get me wrong: This is NOT a negative, per se, that they desire a boyfriend, or someone to spend the rest of their days with, this is not what I am complaining about. In fact, a good chunk of ships in the series are hella cute, and I don't want them to go away. Because to an extent, the romance aspect feels genuine, especially between Naruto and Hinata, or Sasuke and Sakura (yeah, fight me on that, I will defend these two as a ship, until I die), or hell, especially Shikamaru and Temari, which are the GOLD standard, of what a good ship needs.

What I am complaining about though, is that, the series kind of uses this romance aspect as a shield, or excuse, to undermine the female characters, in the long run. Think about it, when was the last time when Sakura, in spite of all the grueling training she had to suffer through to become this strong in the first place, not wanting to be a hindrance to anyone, legitimately kicked ass, after killing Sasori? Not counting the war arc, because this arc is frankly, an inexcuseable mess, and Kishimoto should be ashamed of himself for making it suck this hard for how many asspulls this arc had. Nope, the moment Naruto goes berserk, and Sasuke just... appears... she is reduced to a whimpering mess, who can't stand on her own two feet, and has to be saved by someone. And this happens. ALL. THE. TIME. That's all that happens with her, sure, she heals countless ninjas during the war, but again, healing isn't the only specialty she got:

SHE IS A SHINOBI! SHINOBIS FIGHT! THEY DON'T JUST STAND AROUND LIKE IDIOTS, AND EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO ENEMY FIRE! GET! ON! WITH IT!

I swear, man, this just frustrates me beyond any reason, and the worst part, even someone as awesome as Hinata, who kicked so much ass in Part 1 (especially the filler arcs, don't get smart with me, I watched the anime, suck a small one on that), who had a whole, potential story arc hinted at with Neji, and the issues regarding their entire clan, was reduced to a simple Naruto #1 fangirl for the entire duration of Shippuden, not even the filler could salvage her in any way, and for someone like me, who relates to Hinata on a spiritual level, I find this just so damned pathetic. And whenever I watch The Last, all I could think about was this one coherent thought: You. Had. ONE JOB. Kishimoto. And you failed her. As a standalone character. Causing the entire movie to come off as if you were just shoehorning everything together, as if we only liked Hinata, because of the NaruHina ship. Well, newsflash, it couldn't be further from the truth. So, screw you, and the entire The Last movie.

Plus, I am sure I am speaking on everyone's behalf here: Anko Mitarashi and Tenten were done the MOST dirty by Kishimoto. Nuff' said.

On that note, that brings me to my next point:

2. The angry Karen housewife stereotype

I swear, this meme right here...

And Kushina's entire existence truly proves my point that, Kishimoto is really not doing himself any favors, whenever he says "I don't know how to write women". Oh, but then THIS is your answer? Is this how you see them all, the very second they get married and have kids?

So let me get this straight, the moment a woman, in the Naruto universe, gets married, has kids, and takes care of them, they become:

Aggressive, to the point of physically assaulting their own kids (Kushina definitely would have done so, let's not lie to ourselves, I love her, but this behavior of hers, combined with Sakura's general attitude towards Naruto, would have definitely made him suicidal after a while, if it weren't for the fact, he accepts it in his mom's case, because she doesn't know any better, considering her childhood)

Unpleasant to be around for their husbands (as if, we get guilt-tripped into thinking, the wives are the ones being selfish, wanting their lovers to be home with them, which, by the way, is a serious piece of shit way of thinking, because, they are married for a REASON, and not to stay apart all the time, THEY ARE FAMILY, at least, from how it gets painted as, in Boruto, from what I have seen so far)

Becoming total sociopaths, as if their genuine worries and concerns get painted as something so abnormal and "creepy"

...and this is how you see them all? THIS is your answer? Again, I know, we have ZERO evidence to prove that Kishimoto himself, is sexist in real life, it would be irresponsible of me to put that out there, because I just don't know the guy. I am just saying that, with how the housewives were all written thus far, and how, from Naruto's POV, he began having a fear of angry moms, calling them "scary", and how the females got seriously underrepresented in the course of the story...

...IT DOESN'T DO HIM ANY FAVORS.

I can't even believe I have to say this, because, newsflash, Kishimoto, and I will say it in caps: NOT ALL MOMS IN THE WORLD, ACT LIKE THIS!

They can get mad with us, they are fully in the right to whenever we do something stupid, no matter how old we get, because they will always view us as their babies that they cradled in their arms. But the problem here is: In Boruto, it gets painted as if the moms are the ones in the wrong here, just for being a tiny bit more concerned than others, because again, the world that they live in, is dangerous. And leaving the Otsu*redacted* aside, I can fully sympathize with them, so seeing someone like Boruto himself taking so many liberties being a spoiled, rotten brat, who never suffers serious repurcussions for his behavior (I know, he lost his headband for cheating, but for someone like him, who wished literal DEATH on his own father, just for him not being around enough, needed a way harsher punishment, you just don't say that your parents, dude, this doesn't take a genius to understand, especially since this is Naruto and Hinata we are talking about her), once again, it undermines the females, as if the kids ALWAYS "know better", and they "just suck, because moms are scary". Fuck off. Seriously. This is just disrespectful. No excuses. It shouldn't be written this way. Even more so, because the POV of the mothers gets never tackled, making this seem one-sided.

3. A few romances fall back on tropes, that disrespect not only the girls, but also the guys

OK, I will probably get some flack for saying this, but, regardless of the explainations in one of the Retsuden mangas, the InoSai ship, is perfectly encapsulating to me, how the romance in Naruto isn't without its flaws, and it mostly stems from how some of the characters just never get the privilege of gaining their own story sections about their own individual struggles as standalone characters.

I AM LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU, CHOJI AND KARUI! THEIR ROMANCE IS SO OUT OF LEFT FIELD, IT'S NOT EVEN WORTH JOKING ABOUT, EXCEPT, IT'S LITERALLY A JOKE, DUE TO THEIR NAMES BEING POLAR OPPOSITES TO ONE ANOTHER. HA. HA. HA.

Personally, to me, Sai is not that interesting of a character to me, I was never able to connect with him in any way, despite the importance he had in the story, alluding to the ROOT Anbu under Danzo's leadership.

But his "romance" with Ino, was seriously pushing it to me, not only because, it just regresses Ino's entire character, pushing her back into this mold that she is only interested in brooding, mentally ill edgelords like Sasuke, which paints her a shallow person, but it just paints Sai himself, as a stand-in for Sasuke, too, which undermines his own character, unintentionally. There are so many things wrong with their overall dynamic, I can't even put it properly into words.

And don't think, InoSai are the only exception to this rule. As much as it pains me to say this, NaruHina and SasuSaku are also affected by this, not as severe, but it's still pretty noticeable.

NaruHina

The fact that, with NaruHina, we needed an entire freaking movie, which, frankly, should have never happened, had they done a better job at utilizing Hinata as her own character, with Naruto present to help her out with her clan, and it all hinged on Naruto himself regressing as a character too, needing to be put in a fucking Genjutsu, just to see how he "truly felt" about Hinata... I am sorry, what is this? I mean, from a writing standpoint, this is just straight-up BAD. It's clichéd, it's painting Hinata as a damsel in distress, needing to be saved by Naruto, and Naruto himself being pardoned with "he is just dense", and overall, you can really tell, this is all just hamfisted into a single movie, because they needed to desperately convince us: Look, this is a thing. They are together now. Now play the emotional music, because that's all it needs.

Listen, I know Naruto never had a clear grasp on his own emotions, but the overall pay-off, to me, is just not there, no matter how hard I try. It just feels hollow, I don't feel happy with this. Because, for this to ship to work, they had to go through all these extra lengths to regress them both first, as individual characters, just so they can shut the lid on the whole thing. Made even worse by how this confession of Hinata during the Pain Invasion arc, was never brought up again to Naruto, until the freaking movie, and I still don't understand why. I know he didn't "ignore" her, but why does he fail to recognize Hinata's love confession, but the moment Sakura drops by to confess to him, too, he immediately calls it BS? Please. Make it make sense.

SasuSaku

Listen, nothing will stop me from loving these two as one, they deserve the peace amongst themselves, but the problem is, like InoSai, it falls back on the trope of, the girl bearing this mindset of "I can fix him", and while Sakura certainly did succeed... hear me out:

This is a purely universal thing now, this isn't just applying to SasuSaku. Otherwise, both ships have a solid foundation, ruined by shit writing. Nothing else to say.

That moment of Ino crying for Sasuke, really made me realize: Kishimoto really is clueless, not just about women, but men, too.

Because, again, for how often some of the girls bore this mindset of "I need me some brooding hunk of meat", essentially, desiring a man that knowingly treats them like crap, just so they can bear the delusion of "I can fix him", while downplaying and belittling the "uncool" guys like Choji, Rock Lee, or hell, even Naruto or Kiba, guys who, for the most part, have a solid grasp on their moral compass and their self-worth, denouncing their advances with "ew, no", is honestly disgusting to me. Like, come on, man, they aren't as cool as the edgelord teammates, but why downplay them so hard in the presence of the girls? Don't they deserve love too? Why belittle them for their eccentricities, it not only paints the girls in a bad light, but it straight up mocks the male "goofball" teammates for being the way they are. In short: NO ONE IS THE WINNER HERE.

Phew, OK, I hope, I made my point, loud and clear now. Because these points have been bothering me for a VERY long time now, and look, correct me if I am wrong. I am never 100% foolproof, so if I left out anything, feel free to correct me.

I needed to vent about this, because I felt so genuinely pissed off for how underpowered and underepresented the girls are, and how unkind and unforgiving the writing was to them, overall.

Peace.

[spyxfamilyanalysis]

Do you think donovan has something to do w project apple? The one that makes Anya can read minds, and if he does do you think he experimented w his children? Or Demetrius is born that weird

Well, I think there might be misunderstanding about the name of the Project. Project Apple is experimented on animals like Bond Forger, to make them useful with special abilities, for Bond's case is predicting the near future. But of course, there are still some limitations: the future can be altered, it is not fixed, as can be seen in Spy x Family episode 13-16, when Anya reading Bond's future predictions and changed it before Twilight was in danger.

And if you are asking what project Anya is experimented, is actually "nameless". Throughout the series and manga, the name of the project is currently unknown, and I, myself, am not sure if the Tatsuya-san will reveal it... Yet somehow, the Internet "said?" that there are the same name? That confused me???

Anyway, this hypothesis about Anya and Donovan has gone wild ever since, so let me explain.

We haven't known much about Demetrius, the only time he appeared was when Damian called him to meet their Father, which can be found in this scene (Chapter 37)

To know more about chapter 37 -> link (it's not that I'm lazy, this post already analyze full so idk what to add...)

About the scars, here are my predictions:

Maybe he really is related to the Project, since the mark of the stiches are pretty close to Anya's. And some are suspected that the ornaments on Anya's head could be a way to hide her scars from the experiments, or I think they are literally just accessories for her hair, like when she was small.

About the scientists, some said that after Anya escaped, the only "laboratory rat" managed to survive, they may be working on animals, like Bond, after that, as "hope" for science to save "world peace". And Donovan could be either an experiment like Anya, testing some sort of weird stuff on himself, or someone like the scientists who just got injured from, like idk, being attacked by his "laboratory animals". And I think that the chances of him being injured from war is very low, because he is the one to start war between Ostania and Westalis.

Are there any chances of Demetrius inherit the intelligence from Donovan? I think no. It's definitely not from the crazy ideas of his own father thinking of war, Ostania and Westalis are currently in the period of the Cold war, where there are no need for weapons, yet politicians are in a tense period, with the risk of war breaking out. True that his intelligence might be genetically inherited, but I can assure that both Damian and Demetrius may know nothing about what he was planning. So, uh, yeah, Demetrius is just that weird, and he is an introvert. You can tell how short his lines are when he was on the phone.

Off-and-bonus topic: I am very suspicious about their mother, Melinda. She first appeared officially in chapter 65, and the bus hijack incident of the Red Circus Arc. When Damian spoke about Donovan, her expression changed completely, as if she hated him deeply and want him gone from her sight. This could mean that she might know about what he was hiding, and probably she has an obsession to Damian, her sweet son~(?)

Look, she is so sus for hell sure. >:( But I'm not sure whether or not she is evil? Even Loid is aware of her now...

Also, take a very close look at the dialogue after the hijack (Chap 75):

She truly loves Damian, yet what we didn't realize that, his brother, Demetrius was not even mentioned in her interior monologue(?)/ mind. We also know that she calls Damian as a curse...: "I never should have come here... If only he'd died in the hijacking...", "If only I weren't burdened with this child...", "How he disgusts me...". At first when this chapter was out, I read this part and thought "he" that she mentioned was Donovan, and now, re-reading this, she was mentioning Damian. And I have no idea if she cares Demetrius more than Damian, or is it the opposite?

And finally, I bet she is hiding something from Damian... I mean, when Anya was mind-reading her, she was a bit scared. A scary obsession to Damian terrifyingly... maybe something about Donovan and the war between the 2 nations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Message from the author (me): This is a very interesting topic! After I received your question, it took me several days to give you my answer which I think is most suitable and accurate, I do hope it is the answer you are looking for. Truly sorry for the long-time response, I was working with my final exams, so I can't answer you immediately.

Anyway, thank you for waiting and taking your time reading!🥰🥰🥰

[taki118]

Yakuza Fiance ep 3 Manga Comparison

Ep 3 of Raise wa Tanin ga Ii aka Yakuza Fiance, just aired, and you know the drill there are some important and/or fun things that slipped through the cracks of adaptation. Since I am SUPER normal about the manga I got everything here under the cut. Warning these are fan translations cause I'm lazy.

So for reference yes the manga chapter does start like that but there is a little back and forth in the scene overall including this

Kirishima actually has to beg more for Ayano (thats her name) we loose some good bits, such as Aya being a bikini model and having a boyfriend she complains to him about, and how Kirishima describes their situation like its your bog standard high school romance.

This scene was really cut down to be like a cold open there's more but there's this

We get more insight into Kirishima's situation with these women and confirmation there are more and that they are aware. Another thing is Ayano does help Kirishima work through some thoughts and cutting down their back and forth looses some of that. (maybe i'll do a whole thing on this later)

I actually really like how they did the first sleep scene in the anime except

Why did they leave out the line where Yoshino guesses it was Kirishima? Its so odd but again this scene of Yoshino in the kitchen is longer in the manga

Most importantly it makes clear a full day has passed and that she was trying to sus out info from him at school. Also she ponders if he poisoned her water filter before she has her freak out that he's so crazy it's becoming normal for her.

Overall the second sleep scene is done fairly well I like how it's animated the manga just gives you a feeling its going on longer as Kirishima makes a bunch of braids in her hair so her jumping makes more sense but also we loose this bit

I dunno I just think Kirishima worrying about the futon and her hair is funny.

Honestly I'm actually surprised how closely the convo they have after this is so close to manga. I'm glad cause it's important I could talk about it but thats not what this is for (getting so many ideas though)

So again there is more back and forth about Kirishima calling Gaku (where he says he thinks he shouldve gone in person to apologize) and more on Yoshino's dad, with her asking how much he's looked into her and Kirishima admitting it was a bit. Yoshino also states it was because her dad was normal she had some hopes of being with a normal guy, and that all the men in the house feel like fathers or brothers to her which I do honestly think is important for her so I'm sad thats out. Its not alot but it is some added context.

so ok this guy at the summit, (excuse my shitty picture)

Yeah he's not introduced in the manga at this point, every other character is there but for some reason the anime added this guy to the scene. Like he shows up WAY later and doesn't do much had it pointed out to me but its still weird. Anyway surprisingly the meet is very accurate to the manga thought for sure they cut something but no instead of ending with Akime giving an ominous stare we get this guy glaring at Renji, and like I think it really undercuts the scene cause it makes him seem more important than he probably is.

Anyway the scene with Hotei is again longer in the manga and like the scenes with Renji a lot of the warmth is lost again you don't really get a sense for their dynamic like technically there's nothing really missing but it doesn't quite have the right feel.

So I am very surprised with how much the cut from the SHouma shopping scene. Such as this

Like Yoshino is literally dragging him around cause he can't be bothered and Yoshino points out he went through the trouble of booking a room but not packing luggage, grade A Shouma logic, (also why that added bit in ep 2 makes zero sense) But we also loose some more explanation as to why he's here now.

Its not needed needed but it does provide extra context. What I am upset with is they didn't do the pay off for a set up in ep 1

Like the weirdly cut out the part of their conversation about the bullying Yoshino got in ep 1 explaining who she sent the picture to and why she did it. It's so weird honestly cause again this shows us how close they are and what their dynamic looks like. Also it just makes the conversation flow more naturally, in the anime is a little odd.

Well at least they kept Kirishima's weird ass basement.

Again though a LOT is cut from the dinner scene with Yoshino and Shouma the conversation is a lot longer.

She brings up Kirishima after rolling down his sleeves (which is funnier in the manga) and again the flow is better. Yoshino gives a much more in-depth explanation about why she can't really describe him to Hotei. But there is some character stuff here in her feeling comfortable enough to tell Shouma, also he makes some funny faces.

Anyway the explanation about the gang stuff is kinda the same overall but the manga feels less expositioney about it what with how its presented and how it feels more like a conversation

It just feels less like Shouma is talking at her but rather with her.

So again I don't get why the anime keeps removing the humor from the series like this

The idea that Yoshino is dying from over eating but Shouma wants to get some ramen and how he compares her to a sea lion, like its fun anime why do you seem to hate fun. But again a LOT of context is taken out of the scene from between Yoshino complaining about Kirishima to Shouma saying he'll kill him

Like the pieces are here but they arent quite fleshed out enough, the anime makes it seem like Shouma just offered to kill unprompted but Yoshino brings it up first in the manga and the way she talks there he does sound more dangerous.

The convo again is similar but lacking in depth, both because its shortened and because a lot of the build up is missing. Honestly theres just sooooo much in this ep I'm not surprised but I am surprised where its cut from. The ending is exactly the same with Kirishima and Shouma meeting (again why that bit last ep??) with the exception of missing out on this golden undercut

Like seriously why take out these jokes anime? this better be in ep 4

[sneezemonster15]

2 anti arguments

Sasuke moved to fight Orochimaru because of Sakura's words

Why would Sasuke look at Sakura's lips and then get mad when she smiled at Naruto if he wasn't jealous

Can you debunk

I am sure I have talked about this before, as have multiple others. Never mind, let us see.

As for your first question, there's nothing to debunk. Sasuke did get triggered by Sakura's jibe, but it would be wrong to say that he was entirely motivated by her words. That would be selective reading, which is quite immature and misleading, as it gives an incomplete picture of the story and characters. It's the wrong way to judge media.

First of all, one must understand that the story is NOT about SNS vs SS. All these 'SS said this and that' kind of questions come from dull SS stans who simply refuse to see the story as anything outside of SS. For them, the story starts with SS and ends with SS. Just like NH stans. Anything other than that does not successfully register on their minds. They don't care about the larger narrative or other sub/side narratives that converge together to make the manga what it is.

The story does NOT follow the narrative of whether Sasuke loved Naruto or Sakura. It's about Sasuke and Naruto's love, Sakura is not much more than plot device for their development.

1) Okay, as for the first question, what we need to fully comprehend that it is TEAM SEVEN fighting Orochimaru, not just Sasuke and Naruto. This is the panel anon is talking about.

True, Sakura doesn't really contribute much to the battle other than screaming Naruto! Or Sasuke kun!! But the point is, the teams either pass the test together or fail the test together. Mistake of even one member will cost the entire team and Sasuke is quite aware of it.

Okay, let's see what we have already understood in the story prior to forest of death arc. What is the context here?

Even before the Forest of death arc, we as readers have understood that Sasuke's propensity of entering the fight alone and consequently fighting alone as well, did not prove to be successful or even efficient.

This was the first lesson Sasuke learnt fighting as a member of team seven. He wasn't able to take the bells from Kakashi, because he acted on his own, and ignored the aspect of teamwork. Sasuke learnt from this. He learns that in order to achieve victory, he needs to be responsible and think about the team collectively and not just individually.

Secondly, Sasuke was already treating Sakura as a team member even prior to forest of death arc.

At this point, Sasuke DID care about team seven, which includes Sakura. If he didn't, he wouldn't have done what he did as can be seen in the above panel. Sasuke gave Sakura the confidence she needed so she would not be discouraged to participate in the chuunin exams. Why would he do this if he didn't think of her as a part of team seven? He obviously saw a dejected Sakura and decided to cheer her up by mentioning her genjutsu know how (sadly we didn't see it especially demonstrated anywhere but okay...Sasuke was humouring her and we get that). Sakura undid it all when she confronted him when he was leaving Konoha but it's not like he resented Sakura at all times. When she showed growth, and she did have her moments, even if rare, low intensity or shallow at best, he also reciprocated. He is not a malicious or petty person, he wouldn't ignore the growth of his team mates, he cared about his team.

So in forest of death arc, a lot has already happened before Sasuke panics and freezes at Oro's attack. This is shown by Kishi in NUMEROUS panels. I don't know how people simply sweep it under the carpet. Sigh.

Look at ALL these panels that come before Sakura's jibe. What do they tell you?

It was not only team seven's, but also Sasuke's first time fighting such a powerful opponent. He was scared for his team, he knew that one mistake of his could cause the death of all three members. Look at how he was physically protecting Sakura, doing his best to judge the situation so they could all escape scotfree. When one is confronted by an opponent much stronger and much more more experienced than you, would you just stand there waiting for your death or would you device a strategy to back out and escape? What would be the smart thing to do? He was obviously panicky. After witnessing Oro's powers, he knew that he had no chance of winning on his own. Naruto was inside the belly of the snake and Sakura was a helpless victim that he was literally carrying. He knew that he had to give the scroll away to ensure the lives of his teammates. He was scared for their lives. And why wouldn't he be?

Even before Sakura says those words to Sasuke, we see Sasuke already thinking about Naruto's words and he is trying to make up his mind about breaking the freeze he is in and fighting Orochimaru.

The whole context is about Sasuke trying to find level ground and this is then reiterated by Naruto when he taunts him and calls him a scaredy cat, and is gradually trying to find the courage that he needs in order to fight. It's not about SS, neither is it about Sakura being the frontrunner of team seven.

Basically, the whole import of this scene is that Sasuke needed to overcome his fear and face the challenge in front of him especially because the lives of his team mates were getting threatened because of his inaction. If he didn't make his decision soon, they would become vulture food.

This is why when Sakura sees Naruto successfully escaping the snake and arriving at the scene to fight Oro, she is impressed by Naruto's strength and determination. But then after Oro incapacitates Naruto by messing with his seal, she gets panicked as well. She knows she cannot do anything except for screaming, but she knows that Sasuke can do something, he just needed to be brought out of the freeze, like pushing a deer in headlights out of the way.

And this is exactly why when she says those words to Sasuke and calls him a coward, he is reminded of Itachi and he is finally moved to action as you can see in the picture attached below.

How is he supposed to fight Itachi if he cannot even fight to protect his and his comrades' lives? How is he supposed to defeat Itachi, someone much more powerful than him, without courage and fortitude?

He is literally saying it all himself. What is so confusing here honestly? Once he sees Naruto risking his life and overcoming his fears (and taunting him in the process aka #scaredy cat hahahaha), how can he simply remain passive when his comrade is clearly risking his life to save the team?

Sakura's words definitely act as a trigger but only as a trigger, the development of this whole scene started way before Sakura's panel, for at least three full chapters, and it is about Sasuke's development, as the information that we get from this scene is about how Sasuke perceived the threat of Oro and what finally motivated him to move, seeing Naruto risk his life and then the thought of Itachi at Sakura's words. If one thinks it validates SS, they are clearly thinking with a shiprot brain.

Naruto fans and especially dumb shippers use these selective moments to prove their point while entirely erasing the rest. There's nothing to debunk, it's all already bunk (Seinfeld reference lol). SNS fans need to stop getting gaslit by these dumbasses.

2) As for the second question, it's also a result of selective reading and SS shipping brainrot rather than what's actually in the manga and I have talked about it in detail here.

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Trying to start a giant-ass meta on why I ship Mycroft/Albert and what there is to see of it and right off the bat I'm like...I want people to look at every single panel of their interactions.

No, it's not Sherliam levels. And BIG OLD DISCLAIMER: very little of what I'm going to present here is like "We were clearly intended to read it this way." I'll always argue that Sherliam is meant to be romantic: it hits so many well-established notes and tropes it's almost impossible to think otherwise. MycAl is a bit different. I do think it's definitely like...we're welcome and even invited to see it. But a LOT of my shipping it comes from the way I personally read and interpret things. So this is about explaining what I'm seeing that makes me ship it, rather than trying to be like "This is canon and you should agree with me." Anyway, for reference, I'll be using the official translation as far as it goes and then swapping to teawaffles' wonderful translation for the rest!

So...like right off the bat throughout the entirety of their Chapter 4 interactions their body language and expressions and ways of talking are so flirty? (Also, I still find it funny that in the manga Mycroft is introduced before Sherlock and thus Mycal is introduced before Sherliam. Older bros first lol.)

Maybe it's just that 2 decades on the internet have skewed me towards reading suggestiveness into everything, but the way Mycroft addresses Albert feels so flirtatious even if he's literally just being normal. "And what would an Indian Army official such as yourself want from an intelligence official such as myself this late in the evening?" Like...am I crazy? Does that not kinda sound like a porn intro? 😂 (This could also be Sherliam Side-effects. The way they call each other Professor and Detective in That One Scene is like...almost undeniably foreplay. Now every time anyone calls each other by title/profession/rank is this series I assume they're hitting on each other.)

But also Albert is just so...handsy throughout that scene. He's touching Mycroft's knickknacks, and just sort of limp-wristing all over the place. And I mean, I think that's just one of Albert's public-facing personas (customer service peeps, you know what's up) but it definitely lends itself to the existence of Vibes.

Anyway, there's this parallel of "You have my attention. What do you want?" that I think is kinda neat. (But look how comparatively sad Mycroft looks in the second version!!!)

Chapter 4:

Chapter 23:

Btw, in Scandal in the British Empire...why does Mycroft introduce himself to the Queen? Never mind, not why we're here. Again, my weird innuendo sensors perk up in Chapter 17 at "I did not drag you out of bed this early for nothing." Maybe it's because my perception of Victorian niceties, whether it's factual or not, is that there was this sense of avoiding talk of physical realities. We don't speak of pregnancy, we speak of "her condition" and "confinement." We don't "go to bed," we "retire." And so on. So conversely, it feels almost suggestive to even acknowledge that someone was in bed. In whatever state of undress the might imply. *Kellen Goff Sasaki voice:* OOOH how sCanDaLOus. (Mind you I DON'T believe there is anything of authorial intent in this, again, just trying to explain the factors that make me read things a certain way.)

The little mind games: Albert immediately recognizing that he's being tested, and Mycroft well aware that something is off, that he and Albert are using each other to their own ends. All juicy ship ingredients.

Then there's this...I can't articulate why it's important. But it is. Something about mouths and thoughts. If I wasn't terribly lazy, I'd go digging for examples in various manga series and I have a pretty firm suspicion that I could prove that, often, Mouth-Focus Thinking Panel + Name = Ship.

Jumping forward to the start of The Riot in New Scotland Yard (Chapter 29), Mycroft's demeanour has really changed. During the meeting at the British Museum he's radiating "I'm not angry I'm just disappointed" energy. He's tense, he's not sure if the Moriartys are enemies and when he understands their plan he seems understandably sad about it even as he accepts it. But now, he's radiating an almost Sherlock-like excitement. He's just gotten to see a miniature version of The Plan in action during the Jack the Ripper case, and it worked. He says he's just visiting Albert as an acquaintance (read: friend in Mycroftian), and that's what it feels like. They're chummy. It's cute. Also Albert teasing Mycroft over his squabbles with Sherlock when he leaves? When did Albert find out about that, hmm? (I mean, could be spying of course. But I like to think it just suggests they've talked more than we've seen.)

Annnnnd....cutting this part off here because I'm bored of it for now and it's long. I'll do the rest when the mood strikes. 😂

[epickiya722]

I think people took the "hey, you should be aware of issues about the way some stories treat it's female characters" and instead of actually going forward and treating these characters as, well, characters that deserve to be fairly analized

they went backwards and put up impossibly high standards for these female characters and made anything remotely sexual about them regardless of context as "it is evil and bad writing" when they wouldn't ever do the same for the male characters.

They don't even bat an eye for the fact that whole fandoms will absolutely ADORE a guy who is either the most vile asshole in the story or straight up a bland nothing as long as he is generically attractive enough.

Like that's just misogyny but "girlbossed" now.

(I kind of went on a ramble here, I won't lie and I apologize for that. I just.. had a lot to say.)

And I definitely agree with you, Anon.

I made that same point that you stated in this point right here in a post I wrote a while back.

The same people who will say "it's bad writing" are the same people who don't take the time out to analyze a female character.

It's not "bad writing". You just don't want to understand her.

A male character can have the exact same traits as her and can be analyzed and "He's just misunderstood" and adored, but the most that female character can get is the bare minimum from the fandom.

I have my male faves, too, that I like to analyze. But don't the female cast also deserves the attention, too?

Everyone who follows me know I am a big Miruko fan. And I love her more now because over the past... 2 years or so I have written posts about her of why she probably acts the way she does or does the things she do. And it came easy to me.

Mind you, she is a minor character. She doesn't have a lot of screen time and we don't much about her backstory unless you have read Vigilantes where she gets a flashback arc. And even with all the little information she has from canon, analyzing her was fun for me.

Analyzing her actually why it's fun for me when I do so for Yuji.

It's just there.

Let's say a female character is comfortable with her own sexuality and femininity. "Slut, whore, oversexualized". But the same people who apply those terms to male characters in a more positive way.

"Such a slutty waist, look at him so sexy, he's such a whore and I'm here for it".

So let me get straight. A woman can be a sexy character, but a man can even those that aren't even all that sexy.

Again, I'm using Miruko as an example.

People will have grievances over her costume but were so quick to be horny over the male characters wearing that same costume. Which, and I know some of you ain't gonna like, some of them did not look good in.

Also, then what about the male hero costumes or the fact that Shigaraki and Dabi are obvious fanservice now? You're telling me you're okay with the fact that Endeavor and All Might's costumes are super tight but Miruko shows some skin and it's a problem?

Oh, I'll give another example of some fandom misogyny.

Maki Zenin. The JJK fandom be pulling some tomfuckery when it comes to her. "She's such a girlboss". Okay, but you feel sympathize or empathize with her? "Oh my gosh, Sukuna is gonna kill her!" So, let me get this straight. Even though others who have been hit with Black Flash has survived, Maki the one female victim of it is going to die from that one blow? Whose body is pretty much a cheat code against cursed energy? That Maki? That one?

Let's not forget, you can bring her up without someone bringing up Yuta! I wrote a post about her and Nobara and someone goes "At least, Maki loves Yuta, right?" THIS IS NOT ABOUT YUTA!! GOOD GRIEF, CAN THIS BE ABOUT THE FEMALE CHARACTERS FOR ONCE? LIKE, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE WITH THAT!!

And Yuki! Sooo... y'all are upset that Gege killed her off, right? Okay, understanding. I like Yuki, too. With that said... um... then why in the fuck did I have to type a Yuki Lives tag for her despite her being dead in the manga since December 2022? Almost 2 years? There are currently 3 fics with that tag and two of them are mine!

Kaori, oh, the fandom doesn't love you enough! I had to type in a tag for her! There was no Itadori Kaori & Itadori Yuji tag! THAT IS STILL HIS MOM?! "But Kenjaku---" Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is still Kaori's body, right? If Choso states he has three parents, then Yuji can, too. Guess what, Kaori is his mother. People love to make sure others know Kenjaku and Suguru are separate people but what about Kaori? You don't think she was her own person?

From Wasuke's words and behavior, I figure she was different than how Kenjaku acted.

Anyways!!

Also, with Delicious in Dungeon! I haven't even watched or read it and I have seen so many posts about how that one helmet guy had a lot of panty shots and loving it, yet I hear about people having problems with Falin and Marcille being sexualized? Makes no sense to me, it just doesn't.

It's like people in fandoms want something involving female characters just to bash those female characters.

Complex female characters - insult them

Female characters is written to have a variety of personalities and backstory - boring, shifts focus to more bland male characters

Female character exist with many characteristics - fandom focuses on one trait and make that her whole personality

Female character just exists - labeled just one single word, not worthy of any attention, post about her and someone will make it about a male character

Just... honestly, I feel like before you call a creator a "misogynist", how about taking a step back and observe how you treat female characters and understand the story in which those female characters come from?

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

An Unwavering Light - Chapter 4

Rating: T/Teen for violence (specifically for descriptions of injuries) and mature themes, including ones about trauma and depression.

Setting: begins before the confrontation with Aizen and co. in Fake Karakura Town arc, and goes from there to the Thousand Year Blood War arc. This chapter takes place during the events of the manga from chapters 392-422

Music to listen to: nothing anymore by Shiro Sagisu (YT | Spotify), Light's Theme by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi (YT), Nothing Can be Explained Instrumental by Shiro Sagisu (YT), and Ambered by Bluetile Lounge (YT | Spotify).

Fic synopsis: During the confrontation against Aizen, the unthinkable happens. For Hitsugaya, a vow is broken, and for Hinamori, her future is unknown. With everything in shambles, how can they piece their lives back together? Or their bond?

Chapter synopsis: Hinamori is taken to Twelfth Division to begin her physical recovery. Hitsugaya undergoes Hojiku-Zai and reflects on his regenerated limbs.

AN: Yes that's right! You're not just getting one chapter this time, but two! We have more angst but also some brotp goodness!

I'll say upfront, for anyone worried about there being body horror in this chapter (if you remember what Hojiku-Zai is like, then you know what I mean) rest assured there isn't any here as I don't like writing that sort of thing.

This chapter was intense to write, and I know the next one will be too. It also occurs to me I am posting this on Rangiku's birthday...yay for timing!

Disclaimer: BLEACH and it’s characters belong to Tite Kubo.

<< Prev chapter || Chapter Index || Next chapter >> coming soon

______________________________

When Hitsugaya comes to, the first thing he sees is the sky, and in lower part of his periphery, the towering silhouette of Soukyoku Hill. His mind is hazy for only a few seconds before snapping back to reality.

On either side of him are Fourth Division members, who carry him on a stretcher and don’t notice he’s awake. Despite their rushing steps, he’s barely jostling around.

With a grunt from the ebbing pain, he casts his gaze to the right. Isane walks speedily alongside those carrying him; as she does, she’s calling out orders to those around her. In the gap between her and one of her subordinates, he sees Komamura and Hisagi being carried on stretchers as well.

Where’s Hinamori? He can't sense her reiatsu anywhere. Is she still back in the Fake Karakura Town? The only thought stopping him from trying to get off the stretcher is that Unohana had shown up. She's in safe hands, but it doesn't stop the urgency that thrums through him.

“Captain Hitsugaya, you’re awake!”

He returns his attention Fourth Division’s lieutenant. A few of the surrounding officer glance at him, but are quick to turn their gazes away.

Isane offers him a relieved smile, but her concern keeps it small. “You’re back in the Soul Society, we’re taking you to Fourth Division. We’ve been told Inoue-san will assist with healing our wounded. Given their severity, we can ask her tend to your injuries first.”

 “No,” he rasps out.

Isane blinks, her smile vanishing. “What?”

“Contact Kurotsuchi…I want Hojiku-Zai.”

A flicker of horror crosses over her face. Even the officers carrying him slow their pace and exchange surprised or concerned looks.

“Captain, are certain?” she asks. “Inoue-san shouldn’t be more than a few hours. We can treat your wounds until she arrives and can ask her to see you fir– ”

“I’m certain.” He hadn’t meant to snap, but he can’t afford to wait any longer. “I’m aware of the consequences, Kotetsu. Tell Kurotsuchi if he’s returned, or whoever he appointed to oversee Twelfth Division in his absence.”

She takes in a heavy breath, considering.

He doesn’t have time for this. He can’t be like this for a moment longer. The urgency buzzes along his nerves and he holds on to it, lets it take over his senses.

Eventually, Isane raises her hand, signalling her officers to halt. Then, she bows to him; even as she does this, she winces. “I’ll inform him and Akon-san right away.”

_____________________________________

Hinamori drifts in the darkness. It had been numbing up until a stinging sparks in her eyes. She has no choice but to open them.

She does it slowly, but even then, it doesn’t stop her from grimacing from the brightness of the light. Where is she? Why is it so bright?

Shadows come into the edges of her vision, hazy and moving around her. Then sound returns, and there’s the beeping and humming of machinery. The air is cold, and smells odd. The figures around her are speaking, but she can’t make out what they’re saying.

One of them gets closer. They’re holding something and bringing it towards her face. “Lieutenant…we’re about to…you’ll be out for…”

Their words fade in and out. She’s too weak to speak. She simply stares back at the figure as they put what they hold over her face. Whatever it is, it’s making her return back to the darkness. She doesn’t fight her eyes closing.

_____________________________________

There’s a whirl of machinery that runs through the whole of Twelfth Division. In this room, it’s quieter, a background noise to the comings and goings of division members just outside of the door. Looking around, Hitsugaya suspects it’s an examination room. It’s sparsely furnished, with only a thin mattress over the metal table he sits on, a two-tiered tray that’s been wheeled over to him, and a chair in the corner.

He glances at Hyourinmaru, still dirty with concrete dust and rubble, propped up against the wall at his bedside. He remains silent, but Hitsugaya can sense his seething; at him or something else, he can't tell.

The wall he presses his back against is chilly and gives off a dull shine from the overhead lights. Despite the coldness and strange odors scenting the air, he’s glad to be in a room like this. It’s quiet, the silence in stark contrast to everything that’s happened in the last several hours. There’s also the fact that during the few times he needed to visit, he’d seen other rooms in the division, and tried not to think about what half of the machines in this barracks did.

He shudders. He never thought there would come a day when he’d ask Mayuri for anything. He’d always been conflicted about his fellow captain; on one hand, he has a brilliant mind that has led to leaps in technology for the Soul Society and the work the Shinigami carry out. On the other, his methods were abhorrent and went against most of what he’d once thought Shinigami stood for.

How things had changed. How he had changed. Over the years, and in a matter of a few hours.

The door opens with a low, metallic whine. Hitsugaya is oddly calm when Akon enters the room with two needles and a vial. In the latter is a green liquid that sloshes around as he approaches.

“Captain Hitsugaya,” he says in way of greeting.

Hitsugaya only nods in return.

Akon keeps his expression measured, but Hitsugaya senses a slight hesitation in him. He wonders if he spoke with the Fourth Division member Isane left with him, who stands outside of the room.

“Are you aware of the side effects for Hojiku-Zai?” Akon asks.

“I’ve heard that it’s painful,” he says. “Incredibly painful.”

“It may also lead to small defects, such as aching joints or missing fingers or toes. However, it’s a rare occurrence and your limbs should be the same they were before they were severed, but I feel I should still warn you. Knowing this, do you still want to proceed?”

“Yes.”

Akon comes around to his left side and puts the needles and vial down on the tray. Hitsugaya’s uniform sleeve and pant leg had been cut off by Fourth Division members. Akon removes the several layers of gauze wrapped around his shoulder first. “You’ll want to bite down on something,” he advises, nodding to the folded cloth next to the needles. “It’s far more painful than you realise.”

“Kotetsu numbed my shoulder and leg before I got here.”

“It might help a little, but it will only work so far. I assume she wasn't able to numb every area, given the type of wounds. As such, it likely won’t stop the pain that’s going to come from the regrowth of your nerves.”

“Then what if I was unconscious?”

“It doesn’t work unless you’re awake.”

How Mayuri had come up with his contraptions and procedures often bewildered Hitsugaya. He can’t say he’s surprised that a requirement for something like this involves being conscious. “Very well.”

He grabs the cloth offered to him by Akon and puts it between his teeth. Akon stops on the last layer of gauze and assists Hitsugaya to lie down. He then sticks one of the needles through the vial’s cork top and extracts some of the green liquid. “I’d also advise you to not look, it’s not…pleasant.”

Hitsugaya grunts in ascent. Despite the warning, he eyes the needle as he lays his head back against the mattress. Akon removes the final piece of gauze.

“It will be quick,” he says, but it’s less of an assurance to ease any anxiety Hitsugaya may have and more of an affirmation to what Hitsugaya hoped the procedure will be. He can’t wait for anything else, he needs something quick. He knows pain, has experienced in many battle, and nothing would ever come close to what he'd been gone through only a few hours ago.

As the needle draws closer to his shoulder, he shuts his eyes. With sight gone, he reaches out his senses, picking up on all of Twelfth Division’s reiatsu, but he searches through and over them, until there’s a small fire. She’s further down the hallway, her reiatsu steady but weak.

He’d sensed it earlier when he was being taken by Isane and her officers to Twelfth Division.

“She needs to undergo several operations,” Isane had explained when seeing his stricken reaction. “Minazuki couldn't heal her internal injuries. Once her operations are complete, she’ll be transferred to Fourth Division.”

“When will that be?” he’d asked, voice taut.

Isane’s expression had softened to one of sympathy. “We’re not sure, but Akon-san has estimated up to two weeks.”

Akon's free hand presses down on the gap between his neck and shoulder.

Live, he begs again. You have to live, Hinamori.

Hitsugaya clings on to that plea even as the needle pierces his arm and he bites into the cloth to muffle his scream.

_________________________

Hinamori kept the smile in place even as he turned to go back to his division. She's never been happier for him than in this moment. It wasn't only because he deserved a promotion like this after decades of hard work, but because he'd finally come out of the slump. It's hard not to blame him for getting into one, with his captain vanishing without warning or any clues as to what happened.

She feared he had lost his purpose, but with his shoulders squared and his steps purposeful, any worry that lingered lifted from her heart.

The haori suited him in an odd way. To think a Soul this young could achieve a rank this high, but given his prodigal level in skills and intellect, it shouldn't surprise her. Still, even thought it had been a month since he was appointed captain of Tenth Division, she had to stop herself from doing a double take at the haori and new hairstyle.

She'd get used it in time, and she has no doubt he will be a captain for many decades, maybe even centuries.

But the longer she looked at his receding back, the more a strange sensation crept in. It's one she'd experienced a few times, perhaps even tried to ignore many more. There's a distance between them, one that had began when she started at the Academy.

She'd always known she wouldn't see him around as much, but they're friends, always have been, but it didn't mean they would walk the same path. Certain things, like promotions and her dedication to Fifth Division, made it harder to close this gap between them.

It's not an issue, she told herself when a ting of sadness edged it's way in and damped her smile. They'll be friends be for centuries, until death. So then, when had it gone from knowing that to hoping it can be like that?

________________________

By the time he is taken to his room in Fourth Division, Hitsugaya wants nothing more than to sleep. Unlike others, he had this one to himself and away from the majority of the noise of the division. A faint pain throbbed through his regrown limbs. Without having to tell Isane this, she and another division member wrapped them in bandages coated in the same salve that she used to numb his wounds before.

“Where’s Matsumoto?” he’d asks after she’s finished and her assistant leaves the room. “Is she here?”

“She will be shortly,” Isane says. “She required further treatment from Twelfth Division. Her operation began after you left and shouldn’t take more than two hours. Lieutenant Kira did what he could at the time, but Lieutenant Matsumoto ended up straining herself too much when she came to the Soul Society.”

Hitsugaya’s eyes widen. “She came here during the fight?”

Isane’s lips form a thin, tight line and she avoids his gaze. “I don't knwo why that is, but she'll tell you in time. She’s scheduled to arrive here after her operation. We’ll use extensive kido to ensure she’s discharged in two days time.” She gestures to the bandages. “We’ll remove these tomorrow morning, the pain will have subsided by then. We’ll also perform tests on your limbs to ensure there isn’t any abnormalities. We trust Akon-san’s assessment of the treatment, but we just need to make sure.”

He can only nod.

She bows. “I need to attend to other patients. Dinner will arrive for you shortly. We have officers stationed nearby if require anything.”

He bows his head in return. “Thank you, Kotetsu.”

He barely touches dinner when it’s served to him. Along with no appetite, a sense of nauseous threatens to churn his stomach even at the scent of food. He ignores the concerned look for the officer who comes to collect his dishes several minutes later.

There’s a constant commotion going on outside his room, coming through as muffled rushed footsteps and the occasional shout. He doesn’t pay attention to any of it.

In the silence, with his pain in his limbs numbed, he stares at the ceiling, at the space between two lights, eyes heavy but unwilling to close. He breathes in deeply, quietly. There isn’t a coherent thought going through his mind. Only a series of sensations, wordless and weighing his head down. His chest still hurts, but it’s less of a clenching twist and more of the aftermath of holding something too tightly. It flows out wide, as though he is caught in the ripples of a stone that’s shot through water.

This ache threatens to bring back, in vivid detail, everything that happened today.

I couldn't protect her.

With a fierce shake of his head, he chooses to focus on something else. Hyourinmaru now lays on a table at his bedside. The weapon is only a little bit cleaner, with the hilt and sheath baring smudges of dirty. He makes to reach for his zanpakuto but stops when he's about to move his regenerated limb.

Swallowing thickly, he tilts his head a fraction and stares down at the arm. He’s barely moved the new limbs, and when he did it was involuntarily. He feels and senses everything about them – their weight, the fabric of the dried bandages, the natural coolness of his skin – as if he hadn’t lost them in the first place.

With a strange hesitation, Hitsugaya lifts and bends the arm at the elbow. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. No pain. No odd sensations. As if it were the arm he’s always had. But it isn’t. It’s something entirely new, unknowable yet looking the exact same as before.

_________________________

He’d fallen asleep at some point, but jolts awake in a cold sweat and a cry strangled in his throat. He’d kicked off the sheets and his arms reach out in the air. With his aching heart racing, he barely remembers to breathe. He wipes his hands over his face, trying to get rid of the blood that isn’t there, until he remembers where he is.

It happened all over again.

He swallows back the threat of tears and curls inwards. He keeps his eyes wide open for the rest of the night and into the dawn before a division members comes to check on him.

_________________________

Hinamori awakens in a darker room. There's still the humming of machinery, but there's now a window letting in the first rays of the sunrise. She breathes in, but it's strange. It's air, but thicker and hotter. Something is attached to her face and digging into the sides of her head. A mask, she realises.

She tries and fails to raise a hand to her remove it. She can feel something working within her to keep the pain at bay, but it must be affect her movements too, making them sluggish and heavy.

She looks around the room for someone or for a button to press, but this isn't like any room in Fourth Division. Where is she?

You're in Twelfth Division, Master.

She startles at Tobiume's voice. She's barely perceptible, as though speaking to her through a thick wall. Hinamori raises her head, and immediately regrets it when a wave of dizziness hits her. She lowers her head with a wince. She feels around, until her right hand ghosts across the sheets and bumps into her zanpakuto. The connection between them is tenuous, only made slightly stronger when she wraps her fingers around the blade's sheeth. She chances turning her head, an there lies Tobiume on a stand next to her bed.

"Why...?"

She doesn't finish her question. The word briefly flashes a memory before her eyes, but she can't make out what it is.

Healing...It's the only word she can hear from her zanpakuto.

The darkness has fallen to far for her to drifts back into. She can only stare at the ceiling, waiting for someone to come.

_________________________

The rest of the morning goes by in a blur. Hitsugaya remains seated in bed, staring out the window into an empty courtyard. He can't think a coherent thought, can only languish in a haze that consumes his mind.

Eventually, another officer delivers his breakfast. He's about to send it away when he notices movements over the officer's shoulder.

His eyes widen when he spots Rangiku over the officer’s shoulder.

She stands in the doorway of his room, one arm bandaged and a slouch in her shoulders. What strikes him the most, however, are the dark circles beneath her eyes, the paleness of her skin, and the frizz in her hair.

“Captain,” she says.

The officer – Mori, he remembers now -- finally notices her. “Ah, Lieutenant Matsumoto. Are you alright? Did you need something?”

Rangiku shakes her head. “No, I was coming to visit my captain. I’ll come back later.”

“It’s fine,” Hitsugaya speaks up. “You can come in.”

Mori worries his lip for a second, then bows. “I’ll return shortly.”

Rangiku steps aside for him to leave. Even left lalone, she doesn’t move into the room from the doorway. She leans against it, as if she’d been putting on an act before with how well she really is.

“Are you sure it’s all right for you to be walking around?” Hitsugaya asks.

She says nothing, only meeting his gaze, and it's enough to tell him she has been through something awful. Something has broken within her, like him.

Her gaze softens, and she lets out a short, quiet sigh before righting herself. She nods to his untouched breakfast on his bedside table. “You should eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” he says, not sparing the food a glance.

She walks into the room. Her steps are slow, hiding the unsteadiness he can sense from her. “Still, it’s not good to have an empty stomach," she reasons, "especially at times like this.”

Did she even realise she spoke the words Isshin’s used to tell them whenever they skipped a meal?

“Did you eat yours?” he asks.

That gets a flicker of a smile from her. “You have me there.”

As she sits down in the chair at his bedside, he takes up the bowl of soup and hands it to her. “Then here. I don’t feel like having miso today anyway.”

She blinks at his offering. “I…” She lets out a strange sound, a cross between a humored huff and a withheld sob. “Thank you, Captain.”

She’s quick to take the bowl and start draining it, and he withholds his questioning by eating a piece of tamagoyaki. He leaves two for her, giving her the dish after he’s done with it.

He’s never been like this with her. They look out for each other and ensure each other's welfare, but never like this. It’s never gotten to the point where they are concerned the other hasn’t eaten, to the point where they can barely speak to each other but can still convey without words they’ve gone through something unimaginable.

“How are your arm and leg, sir?” she asks. “Captain Unohana told me you underwent Hojiku-Zai."

There's an additional question there that goes unspoken: Why did you choose that method? He ignores it. “They’re doing tests on them within the hour. After that, they’ll assess whether I can be discharged later today or tomorrow.”

“But how do they feel?”

“Fine, nothing out of the ordinary.” He’d only moved his regenerated limbs to sit up, but otherwise kept them immobile. However, to prove his point, he lifts his left arm. There’s stiffness from keeping it still, making his movements stilted as he raises it. “It’s like nothing happened.”

It feels like a confession, a vulnerable moment he’d normally keep from her. He blames the exhaustion and the wordless thought eddying in his head. He can’t deny, however, that it’s a relief to speak with someone like her. Someone who knows him, has seen him in harder times.

“How are your injuries?” he asks while lowering his arm to his side. He doesn’t want to think back to the fight, but can’t help it as he recalls, “On the battlefield, I sensed your reiatsu change suddenly. You were almost on the brink of death. What happened?”

Perhaps without realising, Rangiku clutches the left side of her waist. “I was attacked by a creature created by those three Arrancar – Ayon I think is what it was called. Kira-kun did what he could. Twelfth finished what he’d started, and then Fourth healed over the rest. It’s all better now, and Captain Unohana said I shouldn’t have any issues.” She raises her bandaged arm. “This is just for scratches and strain. They’ll probably remove it today.”

He gives a nod. “That’s good to hear."

She waits, shoulders tense and fingers lacing together in her lap. She must sense his hesitation and eagerness to ask her further. Is now the best time? If not now, when? If she weren’t here, he’s certain his thoughts would fall back to what happened yesterday or to Hinamori is, helpless to do anything for her. He knows even after he gets out of here, that’s still going to be case. For how long, he can’t predict.

“Something else happened there,” he says, voice gravely. “You vanished from the fight in the Fake Karakura Town. You ended up here, and from what Kotetsu told me, Aizen and Ichimaru did as well.”

She eyes twitch at the mention of Gin’s name. It’s as he suspected, but seeing her reaction makes him change his mind about where to lead this conversation. “I won’t ask you to explain your actions now, but I will in the coming days.”

Her shoulders fall. “Yes, of course.”

He lets out a short breath. Despite the obvious relief that she doesn’t have explain what happened after the vanished, there’s still an air of tension around her, and it’s his turn to wait for her to come out with it.

“They’ll probably be coming to do your tests soon.” He blinks at her words, and all the tautness floods out of him. She makes to stand, as if she hadn’t noticed the tension in the air at all. “I’ll leave you to –”

“You can stay.” She freezes at his offer. “Unless you need to return to your room.”

She hesitates, briefly glancing at the doorway behind her, then sinks back into the chair. “I guess someone needs to make sure you don’t act out.”

It’s as close to normality as he’s gotten in the last twenty-four hours. If this were any other situation he’d lecture her, but instead, he huffs. “That’s my line.”

__________________________________

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[asirensrage]

Saudade - Chapter 7

Rating: Explicit Pairing: Mikey x OC, Hanma x OC, Ran x OC, Mikey x OC x Draken Fandom: Tokyo Revengers Warnings: swearing, violence, threats of violence, murder, smoking, sex, consensual sex between teenagers, alcohol, recreational drug use, mention of trafficking, torture, family neglect, mentions of sexual violence. isekai OC. memory loss. unbeta’d **warnings are not exhaustive** Summary: No one seems to realize she doesn’t belong until she finally runs into her “new” brother, Hanagaki Takemichi. Now, hearing his story, Takara makes the choice to help him and hopefully find her way home, but faking it til you make it only lasts so long when you start losing the memories of the life you had before. As Takemichi becomes the only family she’s ever known, how far will she go to protect him?

notes: Another chapter! This one includes one of the first scenes I wrote for this fic (before it was a fully formed fic). I hope you enjoy it. Things are going to start getting a little more complicated after this chapter… Please let me know what you think!

Warning: spoilers for the last season of Tokyo Revengers and/or manga events

also on ao3

fic masterlist - prev chapter

It feels strange to watch her brother’s personality change. She likes the older version of him better, the one who seems to understand her more. Not this…boy. 

He runs around without a care in the world, diving headfirst into the Tokyo Manji gang without any real thought. There’s no concern over the things she knows his future self is worried about, no paranoia over Kisaki and the merge of Valhalla into their gang. It eats at her watching him, knowing that she can’t look out for him all the time, especially when she’s in a completely different school. The only way she knows what’s going on with him is because Hinata keeps her updated and Mikey and Draken have decided that she’s one of them. Even if she doesn’t want to be. 

The problem with having a brother who’s involved in a gang, even one like Toman, is that there is no way to keep herself separate. Not really. She’s beginning to understand her role in this, especially when she’s noticing the things she missed before, like the way Kisaki starts showing up, especially when she’s being dragged somewhere by her self-proclaimed friends. 

She will always be a tool for leverage against Takemichi, especially if he gains the power his future self has proclaimed he wants. And as many friends as Takemichi gains every time he returns, he has just as many enemies. 

🏍️

She’s become more well-known after the junkyard fight. Takemichi brought an awareness to her that she knows he doesn’t realize has an impact. He is his young self, he doesn’t hear the rumours of a challenge of who can willingly get her into their bed first. Or if he does, he doesn’t care, not thinking it through. 

Draken does. 

He knows exactly what the boys are talking about when they say stupid shit and it’s only because he makes the choice to warn her that she even knows it’s happening. 

She’s sitting on a ledge with her feet swinging when he tells her. Her brother is off doing stupid things with his friends and she’s been dragged out of her house by Mikey again. She’s beginning to think she’s a substitute for when he can’t get Takemichi. 

“Heard there’s a bet running through the gangs about who can fuck you first,” Draken says. 

Both Takara and Mikey turn to look at him. 

“What?”

Takara frowns, staring at him and the way he looks too casual about it. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Draken shrugs. “That shit at the fight, they all saw you and know you’re involved with Toman. They think it’s free reign.”

“The hell I am,” she snaps. The blond had warned her when she had arrived but she didn’t think it’d turn out like this. “I’ll break their dicks off if they try.”

Mikey snorts his drink out of his nose at her declaration and Draken just grins at her. 

“Course you would,” he says it like he expects nothing else and she looks away, feeling her stomach flip. 

She swallows the sudden flash of attraction. She’ll ignore it. She remembers the way Emma spoke about him, how they look at each other. She’s not interested in causing more problems, for herself or anyone else. 

“You know who?” Mikey asks, wiping the drink off of his face. 

“Not yet,” Draken answers, looking between the two of them. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she tells them. “I’ll deal with any who try.” 

“Talking about me?” An arm slings over her shoulder, pulling her into someone’s side. 

She shoves them off, digging her elbow into their ribs to get them to let go. Draken steps forward, helping yank the person away. She turns and sees Hanma, stumbling before he shoves Draken off. “Ugh, who let you out of your cage?”

He turns back to grin at her. “You know I can’t stay away, princess.”

“Fuck off and die,” she snarls. 

He blows a kiss at her. She ignores him. Takara knows that Hanma and Kisaki are the cause of her brother’s deaths in the future, but right now it’s a little hard to match these kids to what her brother has told her. 

“We haven’t met,” her attention is dragged to the other boy accompanying Hanma. He looks short in comparison next to Hanma and Draken, but he adjusts his glasses and smiles at her. There’s a calculating look in his eyes that she’s used to seeing in her coaches when they’re strategizing and she knows who he is before he introduces himself. “I’m Kisaki Tetta.” 

She’s tempted to not answer, to ignore him completely since he’s her brother’s murderer, but if she’s going to save Takemichi, she needs to know everything. She nods back. “Hanagaki Takara.” 

“Hanagaki?” 

Draken moves forward, shoving himself between Takara and Hanma as he throws an arm over her shoulder. The movement pushes her slightly closer to Mikey. “Yeah, this is Takemitchy’s sister.” 

“Weren’t you on the other side?” Takara asks, looking towards Hanma. “I thought you were enemies or something? You were fighting.” She says it to feign ignorance, to let them think she doesn’t actually know what’s going on. 

Hanma grins at her like she’s confessed. 

“Valhalla lost,” Kisaki tells her. “They’ve been absorbed into Toman. They’re part of our gang now.” It’s interesting to note his use of the word ‘our’, still she frowns. 

“Is that really a good idea?” She looks to Mikey now, ignoring the others. “I just mean that if they were your enemies before, what keeps them from betraying you from the inside?” She can practically feel Kisaki’s eyes burning into her, but she focuses on Mikey, acting like she’s just trying to understand. 

“That’s not how it works,” Mikey tells her. “They’re ours now.”

“Besides, anyone tried that, we’d deal with them. There’s a whole command in charge of sniffing out traitors.” Well, that is interesting. 

“Do you get them a lot?” she asks dryly. 

“No,” Draken assures her. “Just better to be safe than sorry.”

“Hmm,” she leans back on her hands. Then they’re inexperienced. “That’s true. You need a good defence to balance your offence.”

“I’ll be your offence,” Hanma teases, leaning around Draken. 

She stares at him, unimpressed. “I don’t need your help.” She hops off the wall, brushing herself off. “Mikey, Draken, I’m going home. I’ll talk to you later.”  

“Let me walk you home, princess,” Hanma says, moving towards her. 

“No thanks. I don’t need you to know where I live.” She watches as Draken grabs the back of Hanma’s jacket and pulls him to where he was. 

“Go, Takara,” Draken says. “We’ll make sure he doesn’t follow. Unless you need a ride?”

“Thanks, I’m good.” She waves at them before walking off, her mind running with the knowledge she’s picked up. If everything was going to play out like Takemichi saw, the main culprit behind his death was Kisaki. She needed to be able to keep an eye on him so she could intercept as needed. And she would. Her brother was terrible at defending himself. She could play defence. It wasn’t her preferred position, but she could do it. 

By the time she gets home, she has a plan. It’s not an enjoyable one, but Takara learned at an early age to use what she has at her disposal. She needs to keep an eye on Kisaki to protect her brother. Her best chance at that…was through Hanma. 

🏍️

THE FUTURE. 2017

To say Takemichi was confused was an understatement. 

He didn’t understand why his friends looked like that nor why he was suddenly in an apparent position of power. He couldn’t exactly call Naoto, not with his friends following his steps and the lack of having his number. It wouldn’t look right calling a cop when he’s apparently a top admin of Toman.

He finally gets a moment to take a breath, to try to regulate this new future with the past he left behind, when he’s forced to get ready for a meeting. He does the only thing he can think of. He calls his sister.

Takara answers by the second ring. Her voice is impassionate and distracted, as if she has no care in the world. It reminds him of the way she answered in the last version of the future.

“Hello?” 

“Takara! It’s Takemichi!”

“I know. I have caller ID, after all.” 

He pauses, unsure of how to tell her that he’s himself again. “It’s been a long time.”

There’s a long moment of silence before he hears her swear. “Hold on.” There’s movement on the other side of the line, her voice as she says something he can’t catch to another person before she finally returns. “Where are you?”

“At my place? Apparently, it’s mine. It’s really fancy and there are a ton of people here. I’m supposed to be getting ready for a meeting.”

“Shit. You don’t-” He hears the sound of a lighter and then the way she inhales and exhales. She’s smoking. Again. “I can’t tell you not to go, but you shouldn’t. The men…they aren’t the people you knew, Take. We’ve all changed a lot in the last twelve years.”

“Even you?”

She lets out a huff of a laugh. It sounds a little pained to his ears. “Yeah. Even me.” There’s a beat of silence before she speaks again. “Promise me something, little brother.” He doesn’t think he’s ever heard her call him that before. 

“Anything,” he says, thrown by the endearment. 

“Be careful. Don’t trust them.”

“Who? Takara…what’s happened? Where are you?”

“Same place I always am. With my husband.” The defeated way she says it strikes fear into his heart. 

“Who? Taka?!”

“Goodbye, Takemichi. I’m sorry.”

“For what? Takar–” Takemichi is left listening to a dial tone. It’s fine. He’ll track her down after he gets through this meeting. 

🏍️

In the chaos that follows, in the wake of Chifuyu’s death, Takemichi doesn’t get the chance. He’s rescued by Kazutora and arrested by Naoto. 

“What happened to my sister?” He asks when he’s in the car, being driven to the police station. “Where is she?”

“You tell me,” Naoto says. “Your sister is suspected of being an accomplice to many crimes, but she’s only a stepping stone to the real target. If we can catch her, we’d gain access to Hanma Shuji quickly. Everyone knows how close he keeps tabs on her.”

Takemichi falls back against the seat. She married Hanma. Again. Was it always bound to happen? Like Hinata’s death? 

No. He could change that, he can change this. He can save them. 

“We’re here.” 

Takemichi is dragged out of the police car. He’ll figure it out. Somehow. 

🏍️

Takara listens haphazardly as Tetta and Shuji talk. She’s leaning against her husband, smoking, and being careful not to eye the drinks she set down on the table. They’ve mentioned disposing of a traitor tonight and she was there when Kisaki demanded Shuji’s presence in the aftermath. They sent out people to deal with the missing one. They haven’t told her, but she knows who they’re looking for. It was just a shame they were too late. 

“Right, princess?”

“I hate when you call me that,” she tells him, taking a drag of the cigarette in her hand, and tuning back into the conversation.

“That’s what you are, aren’t you? Toman’s princess?”

She smiles softly, looking away. “That was Emma, not me.” She pauses, eyeing the drinks in their hands as she leans further into Shuji. His arm on her shoulders weighs heavy. “Is that why you killed her?”

The air goes static as the accusation stands, but she didn’t say it as one. She said it as fact. Kisaki’s eyes narrow on her and Shuji’s grip tightens. 

“That was business,” Kisaki finally says. His eyes don’t leave hers and she knows he’s weighing the options of getting rid of her. She’s been a thorn in his side, but a manageable one under Hanma’s guide. 

“Hmm..” She takes another drag of the cigarette. “That why you killed my brother?” Or tried to. Again. 

His gaze sharpens. “What?”

“Taka-” Shuji’s demand for her to stop fades as he starts to blink rapidly and slump sideways. He falls off of his chair, cursing her but unable to move. 

Kisaki knocks his chair back, rising to his feet, but it’s too late. He stumbles, catching himself with the table as he reaches for his gun. She shoves the table towards him with her foot fast and watches as he loses his balance. 

“What the fuck have you done?” he asks, managing not to completely fall as he kneels. It’s a nice sight after everything she’s been through with him. “How?” 

She smiles, a real one for once, and stubs out the cigarette. “You’re not the only one who knows how to play the long game, Tetta.” She crouches, taking his gun from his holster as his fingers twitch trying to stop her. He was so focused on the threat from the men like Chifuyu, he never saw her coming. “You should have left my brother alone. Let him live his life.”

“Takara-” 

She unlocks the safety and shoots him in the head. The stunned realization remains on his face and she wonders if she could bribe someone to keep it there for his funeral. That would be hilarious. 

She moves over to Shuji. His eyes narrow and she can see the anger there. And the hurt. “I’m sorry,” she tells him. It’s true. As much as he liked to piss her off, and keep her with him, he’s tried to give her a good life. He’s tried to make staying with him worth her while. “I told you to leave him alone. You didn’t listen.” 

“Princessss,” he slurs the endearment. “-na run?”

“Nah,” she shrugs. “I think the cops will forgive me for this one. Especially when I take out the right-hand man as well.” She leans forward and kisses him quickly, for old time's sake. “Bye, Shuji.” She shoots him too.  

tag list: @raith-way @zeleniafic @veetlegeuse @chickensarentcheap @residentdormouse

@themaradwrites @kingsmakers @thatmagickjuju @awkwardchick87

tr tag: @mitsuwuyaa @blackfire2013 @bleach-your-panties @reiners-milkbiddies

saudade tag: @thisbicc @scythegal

network tag: @pixelcafe-network

[ivyial]

Gojo Satoru and Emotional Strength

Now that the Hidden Inventory arc is over in the anime as well, and everyone is caught up on Geto and Gojo's backstory, I wanted to share some thoughts on Gojo's reaction to the Geto debacle and how it all ties into his relation to strength.

Gojo is a physical force to be reckoned with: we know that, every character in the anime, including Gojo himself, tells us this all the time. He is the strongest. There is no one stronger than Gojo (with the potential exception of Sukuna, but this is awaiting confirmation as *spoilers for the manga* the Sukuna vs Gojo fight is currently ongoing in the manga).

Every time we talk about Gojo's strength though, it's purely physical. Every observation and remark ever made is about his fighting abilities and his technique. However, there's also a key component of Gojo that allows him to be who he is, and that is sheer emotional strength, even if we always make fun of him for being outwardly emotionally immature.

(Note: I know this is Geto's episode, and me talking about Gojo's emotional intelligence doesn't take away from Geto's experience in the episode. However, everyone's already talking about it, and I have nothing to add to the discourse. So I'm going to talk about this instead.)

Geto touches upon that shortly during the infamous KFC breakup (2x05 - Premature Death):

Geto: You could do it (nb: create a world without non-sorcerers), couldn't you, Satoru? Yet you would try to convince someone else that it's impossible to do something that is possible for you?

And then we get *the* Geto quote (which is honestly so poorly worded and it's a bit fake deep but it does convey an interesting message): are you the strongest because you're Gojo Satoru, or are you Gojo Satoru because you're the strongest?

Gojo: What are you trying to say?

Geto: If I were able to become you, this foolish ideal would become a lot more grounded and real, don't you think?

Geto's jab at Gojo's strength and ability to execute his plan raises the following question: if Gojo could, why doesn't he?

I don't think the answer is as simple as saying that "Gojo is naive" or "Gojo is too empathetic for that" or "Gojo is a good guy".

Geto's been through hell by consuming curses and his life as a jujutsu sorcerer has definitely been more miserable than Gojo's. 16/17-year-old Gojo is removed enough from the reality of weaker sorcerers to not be as impacted as the rest of them. However, he's seen as much as they have: he's seen the numerous, pointless deaths, the destruction, all of it. He's just lucky and talented enough to avoid getting overinvolved (stated by Akutami himself - Gojo can do just about anything he sets his mind to, so he doesn't get too involved with anything). But that doesn't make him blind. We know he's frustrated with jujutsu society, the rules, and the suffering (of his students especially). He also knows that someone has yet to outrank him, and he's aware of the burden placed on other sorcerers, despite how often he jokes about them being weak.

It would be ridiculous to argue that Gojo is too foolish to know how curses and cursed energy work and that they all mostly come from non-sorcerers. But it's not like he doesn't want to stop people from suffering either. So, why did Geto join the 'dark side' (lmfao) and Gojo hasn't?

Emotional strength.

By emotional strength, I mean the character's way of dealing with his emotions and handling them correctly, no matter what is thrown their way.

Make no mistake: I am not calling Geto emotionally weak. In fact, to be able to withstand all that he did for such a long time, you'd have to be incredibly driven. There's only so much he could take.

No matter how close they were and how much they loved each other (and this is also why I'm making the case for Satoru's emotional strength - you can't look me in the eyes and tell me that he wouldn't have ideally done everything for Suguru or joined him in everything he did), this is their point of contention: when is it time to let go of traditional logic and moral and to give in to emotions?

They both have similar emotional baggage due to how often they were sent on missions together and how they both lived through the Amanai incident. Where Geto decayed over months and months, Gojo literally died. They both went through incredibly traumatic events.

I'd argue that the reason why Gojo didn't immediately join Geto, the person he loved the most, in his quest, was initially shock; but it's not naiveté. It's a mixture of genuine shock and a lack of understanding. As I said, though, he knows how the jujutsu world works and he saw what happened to Amanai. You can't possibly, in good faith, call him naive.

You also couldn't say that the reason why Gojo didn't follow Geto was pure emotional strength. He was too young for that. But the event did contribute to building that part of himself.

Geto is partially right: there is a "simple" solution to end everyone's pain, to make sure that no one ever has to get hurt again and to look out for the next generation without them even touching a curse. Gojo could do it. The reason why Gojo is also the strongest is because he doesn't give in to his emotions when dealing with jujutsu matters. What we tend to mistake as carelessness is the complete opposite.

I don't think such strength could have been achieved without Geto's story. Gojo has thought about killing the higher-ups before and going on an actual rampage:

(And, spoilers for the manga, they've all been massacred, and if I'm not mistaken, we still don't know who did it. Let's work under the assumption that it wasn't Gojo, because the signs don't point to him.)

Gojo's not *that* empathetic of a guy. He can and will be brutal against his foes and he has pretty much no mercy for them.

His anger is not directed at the victims even when we know he thinks of them as weak. I'd be willing to bet that every time he has those thoughts, he thinks of Geto to remind himself of what he shouldn't do. Again, sheer emotional strength to think of this guy you loved so much, with whom you've been through insane trauma, who engaged in the most heinous acts and not think "You know what, maybe he was right after all."

In the end, I'd say that there is an answer to Geto's riddle: when they were teens, Gojo was who he was because he was the strongest - he was strong enough to be somewhat oblivious to everyone else's pain. It's kind of like knowing something in theory, but not seeing it in practice. Later on though, he is the strongest because he is Gojo Satoru. He would be a significantly weaker character without his ability to handle his emotions the way he does. And no, if Geto were able to become him, this "foolish ideal" would not become a lot more grounded and real.

Now, the question is, is he eventually going to snap and let his emotions get the better of him?

[rei-caldombra]

Delicious in Dungeon - First Impressions Review

This is based off the first 3 episodes of the anime and does contain spoilers. Please be aware that I have not read the manga and am not spoiled. 

I actually got to watch the first 2 episodes of the anime live at Anime NYC last year. It also came with a sampler manga volume that includes a bit of the first volume of Dungeon Meshi. I’m glad they gave this out, this is a cool and unique item. It was nice being able to look at the manga art while waiting for the panel to start, so then I could compare it to the anime. I think the visuals match the manga very well and think both look great. I think there may be slight differences in facial expressions but nothing notably different or anything I would notice if I was not intentionally looking closely while writing this. The visuals of the anime are very high quality. The animation and art are clean, detailed and smooth. 

I like the intricate details of monsters. The mollusks in the armor in episode 3 are fantastic and easily my favorite part of the show. This is creative, unique and fascinating. This was completely unexpected. It is so interesting and inventive. This took a classic fantasy enemy and explained it in an entirely new way. If they can pull this off every episode, I would be ecstatic. I hope we get to see more reimagining of classic creatures on top of one's original to the series. 

I also enjoy the cooking aspect of the show. It's very satisfying to watch. I do like very detailed cooking and eating animation. I think the show is at its best when it presents an interesting creature followed up with an interesting way that they are cooked. Again, this is done well in episode 3, where we see the multiple ways that the living armor could be cooked. 

Another specific moment I loved was the detailed look into traps in the dungeon. Traps in any kind of dungeon-like structure are a staple, but usually they are breezed past as the characters avoid them. It was great seeing how these mechanically function. And even greater to then see how these traps can be used to cook food. This is another time where Dungeon Meshi does something truly unique and inventive.

It’s also decently funny. I do not think it’s laugh out loud funny, but there’s good jokes. I do think Marcille’s reluctance may get a bit repetitive if it keeps getting leaned into so hard but hopefully it won’t be too bad if we continue the same pattern of each episode featuring a new monster or two that they show us how to cook. I am totally down if it primarily wants to continue the trend of creature cooking of the week for now. 

When it comes to the characters, Laios is the main one I have much to say about. I think he is a solid main character. He is pretty straightforward but with the funny flair of being concerningly fixated on eating dungeon creatures. 

It creates lots of great rapport between the characters, and I am totally up for this simply being a weird hyper fixation of his. I enjoy when writers embrace characters having weird specific passions like many real people do. I think there is potential for there to be some more depth to him through his responses to his sister being in danger, but sadly I do not think that element is being hit properly, at least not yet. I hope going forward we will get more perspective from Laios on his sister that makes me care more about her and them as a family. 

The previous point is a good transition into my primary gripe. I think the main premise of saving Falin clashes with the tone of the show. You’d think they would be rushing to save his sister but it does not come across that way at all. And I do not feel like this is out of caution for moving through the dangerous dungeon or any reason along those lines. I understand that the dragon probably digests slowly but it still doesn’t change that this is between life and death. Falin being in danger does not feel very relevant. A lot of the time it feels like they are taking their time and enjoying themselves. Which is not fundamentally bad, but feels strange when the reason for them being there is to save the main character’s sister from dying. It feels so irrelevant that I genuinely forget that she existed for a time. With the general tone and content I think a serious motivation like his sister being in danger isn’t needed as a plot point. They could just want to finish where they failed, and Laios just wanted to go through it but be able to cook the monsters this time. And I think nothing would need to change. I think a simpler and less serious motivation would be better. A more dramatic plot like someone slowly dying would fit better if the series seemed to have more intent on being dramatic. But I do not see many attempts at that so far. Even at the very beginning when they realize she is down there we do not see much emotional expression. It seems focused on just having fun with its concept of cooking in a dungeon. Which is totally fine, but for me this creates a very poor tone. If I want to just be invested in the cooking and adventuring then I do not see the purpose of Falin being slowly digested being in the back of my mind while they relax with some food. If I am supposed to care about Falin then it doesn’t feel right to see the characters spend time and effort just to test if they could use trap oil to safely fry something when she is being digested by a dragon. For me there is clear tonal whiplash that harms my investment in the show. 

I will definitely continue watching as I am enjoying the fun adventuring and cooking. Hopefully the tone will be improved as we go forward. The anime is already slated for 24 episodes so we have a lot ahead of us. I do like the basic episode structure of “creature of the week” but I do worry about it continuing to be interesting for 24 episodes 24 weeks in a row. But I think and hope we will get some more dramatic elements eventually and more focus on Falin being in danger while they take their time cooking. Thank you for reading!

[hifumihime]

Not sure anyone will read/care about this but I need a spot to vent about this whole "Idols "recommending" Made in Abyss" thing that's currently trending on twitter because I feel like I'm losing my mind (also I have no one else to talk about this).

So, one tweet from an unverified account posted that several idols were out here promoting and recommending the manga/anime Made in Abyss to their fans... and like... that's not at all what happened? One of them mentioned in a live off hand that he was going to watch it (along with a list of other shows), but stated he probably wouldn't finish them because he was currently touring. He apparently has never brought it up again. Another had a volume on the floor in the corner of a photo he took on his instagram story. He has also never talked about it before or since.

I have not read or watched Made in Abyss, but I follow several anime accounts online and basically every single person was recommending this show when it came out in 2017. It's still highly regarded in the anime community. I have never seen a single person ever speak about the "sexual" moments in it. I was curious and decided to read the first 3 chapters and... yeah, there's one part right in chapter 1 that has a pretty gross illustration of the child protagonist, which I'm not going to go into more detail here because it did make me extremely uncomfortable. I will note that apparently the South Korean version of the manga/anime is heavily censored and also rated mature, but I've not seen what the censoring in question looks like, so I don't know how much they could have read/watched that in, say, the North American/Japanese versions.

My overall opinion, after sleeping on this, is that calling these idols predators or worse is an extreme over-exaggeration. I'm not surprised people are saying this because the tendency for fandoms to overreact and be the morality police are worse than ever before, but if we're really cancelling these people for reading "problematic" fiction/dead dove content, then I'd be right alongside them.

From my physical manga collection alone, I can name three series I own that would get me cancelled:

After the Rain: protagonist, a high school girl, falls in love with an older man (mid-40s?) who serves her at a family diner. She starts working there, and they develop a friendship. Spoiler: nothing happens between them

Cardcaptor Sakura: pretty well known magical girl series so I won't go into the plot, but like.... looking back on it, there were a TON of age-gap romances in here, one of which being a teacher and an elementary school student. I remember being in elementary school and reading it for the first time and being weirded out by it. Spoiler: nothing happens here either (though I have not read the clear card sequel series)

Daytime Shooting Star: Romance with a love triangle between her teacher (wow I'm realizing I read a lot of age gap/teacher/student stuff) and a classmate. Spoiler: she doesn't end up with her teacher!!

I can think of a ton of other non-anime related examples of "problematic"/dark fiction that I love too: Game of Thrones, Last of Us, House of Leaves, My Dark Vanessa.... One of the best books I've read last year was about a cannibal. I guess to twitter, I am also a cannibal?

I think the unfortunate reality of being an anime fan is that basically 80% of the shit out there has "problematic" elements to it, or as I like to call it, "anime bullshit". And I think a lot of kpop fans have not actually watched anime or read manga and aren't aware of this.

You're allowed to feel uncomfortable with fiction. You're allowed to be weirded out that an idol likes a dark manga that has children as the main protagonists, where awful things happen to them. But at the same time, people are allowed to read dark content as well and that does NOT make them pedos, abusers, etc. That is a horrible accusation to make against someone, especially with no proof other than the fact that they may or may not own a volume of an extremely popular manga series. I really feel like the internet as a whole does not realize that words have meaning, and accusing someone of such vile behavior because of the fiction they may or may not read is just... insane. It's insane behavior. Please go outside.

Anyway if you read all of this, congrats. I'm basically word vomiting this all out at 6 am because I'm bad at sleeping. Would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the matter honestly!

[snowhashiraamiya]

KYOJUROU RENGOKU X ORIGINAL CHARACTER (OC) FANFICTION

Tornado of Opposites

WARNING: This fanfiction may consist of topics and scenes inappropriate for readers under 18.

Consists of: Sexual Trauma, Assault, PTSD, Cursing, Bodily injuries, Death, Suicide attempt.

⚠️Proceed with Caution⚠️

CHAPTER WARNING: Mild talk of death, scarring, alcoholism

MANGA/ANIME SPOILERS AHEAD

⚠️Proceed with caution⚠️

Chapter 9: I could listen to you for forever

This man… was truly different from the others..

“Umai.. umai.. UMAI!!!” Rengoku boasted as he ate, “How is your food, cherry?” He asked and looked at me, my eyes flashed wide at the nickname.

“C-Cherry-?” I stumbled over my words and kept eating quietly. Rengoku chuckled, “Yes! Your hair reminds me of cherries, so I’m gonna call you that now.” He smiled with his mouth full of food.

My heart was beating profusely at this man, not in a bad way at least.

“So, how did you become a slayer?” I turned the conversation onto him, He swallowed his food and thought for a moment.

“Well, my father is a retired hashira. He was the flame hashira before me.”

My eyes widened, “Really? That must’ve been cool, having a hashira as a parent.” Rengoku shook his head, “It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows when I was a kid. My father trained me, sure, but after my mother succumbed to her illness, my father left me to train myself.”

I covered my mouth, “Oh.. I’m.. sorry..” The blonde smiled and rubbed her knuckles, “No need to apologize, sweetheart. You didn’t know.”

I nodded and looked up into his eyes as he spoke, “Anyways, my younger brother, Senjurou was very young when our mother died, he wasn’t old enough to remember her. My father became consumed in his drinking.”

My eyes fluttered and he continued speaking, “So I studied my fathers ‘Flame Hashira Chronicles’ and trained my hardest, to get to where I am now. My father still drinks, as far as I am aware. I have to visit home sometime.”

I took a deep breath, “That must’ve been difficult..” He nodded, “It was, I’m not afraid to admit that, but I didn’t let it extinguish my passion.” He closed his eyes and smiled, tilting his head to the side.

“You’re just as strong as I am.” I replied and looked into his golden eyes, “We all have our own ways of going through things.” He said as he looked at my scar, “Even with your scars, you’re still so beautiful.”

My cheeks burned a feverish red and I looked away, he chuckled and continued eating, “Is your food alright?” I nodded and rubbed my cheeks, “It is, very tasty.” He smiled and the meal was delightful with him.

***

“So, how many forms does snow breathing have?” Kyojurou asked as the two of them strolled down a path in the woods, the stars peeking out from the trees.

“Hmm.. my mother taught me 7 forms, but when she died, she released the 8th one. It seems it can only be used on the brink of death.” Kyojurou nodded and walked beside her with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Well, your mother sounded like a wonderful woman.”

I nodded, “And so did yours. How many forms does flame breathing have?” He looked up at the sky in thought, “It has 9, but like your 8th form, I don’t use my 9th form very often.”

I nodded and looked up at him, he smiled down at me and patted my head. The feeling making my heart pound, his eyes went wide. “Your hair is very soft.. may I-“ I smiled and nodded, Kyojurou moved slightly closer to her and ran his fingers through her red locks.

“Very soft, what kind of products do you use?”

I laughed softly, “Nothing in particular, just wisteria infused shampoo.” He smiled widely, “Well it feels and smells lovely.” I nodded, “Thank you.. Kyojurou?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

He chuckled, “Of course, I really enjoyed spending time with you, Amiya.” I rubbed my cheeks and kept walking with him, “I did too.. perhaps.. we could spend more time together soon..?”

Kyojurou’s heart went a mile a minute, “I would love that.” I smiled and squeaked, “I’m excited!!”

He chuckled and watched her, gods.. how could anyone not love her? She was kind, sweet, beautiful, considerate, strong.. he could go on and on.. he wanted to protect her, to keep her close to him.

He wanted to hold her, and listen to her soft voice for forever.

Sorry for the short chapter, I’ll make it up to y’all next week ❤️

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

From the new cover am i the only one who noticed hoe's Ryusei behaviors around Koji is different ? Even before Kojiro decided to turn him into a pinara with no candy, since in their flashbacks Ryu looked like the calmer one meanwhile him with Toman and his classmates looks more opened and playful

I don't think it's because he's un-happy with Kojiro ( well of course in the current time he isn't but i'm talking in general ) since he's like this even before things went wrong

I'm nit the best analyising personalities but does it have to do something with when you feel responsible to ta ke care of someone ? i'm asking i don't know, i'm just comparing it to myself since it's all i know, with younger kids in the bus cause i want them to feel having someone cares to listen

For Ryusei maybe that it's that he's used to Kojiro impulsive and un-aware of his actions so it's like "if i didn't keep my eyes open he might hurt himself" ?

Ananlyising. personalities. Is. Confusing.

i don't much like how the side manga covers aren't that myuh special, they have their normal clothes and all, nothing much to analys. But anyway Koji here looks too delecious for a hair. His design doesn't look like any other cgaracter of any part

Well to start off with i agree Ryusei was definitely not unhappy with Kojiro, Kojiro himself wasn't the problem (at least not at first) we see him being playful and smiling a lot around Kojiro when they were small kids.

We didn't really get to see a lot of them as younger kids so it's a little hard to tell but as they get older he does seem more laid back. And this is also when he starts to get unhappy with Kojiro. Kojiro seems to become more violent and they start hanging out with these other gang members, this is when he see Ryusei's smile disappear. And yeah I'd agree with your analysis I do think the reason Ryusei is a lot more serious and sad looking during this time is because he's stressed. He doesn't like the way things are going, he feels responsible for Kojiro (we can see this with the way he tries so desperately to save Kojiro and stop him from killing Baji). Ryusei just seems to want the old Kojiro back, he was perfectly happy when it was just the two of them. Revenge, gangs he never seemed to want any of that, those were Kojiro's ambitions meanwhile Ryusei just wanted to stay by Kojiro's side.

Oh and with the cover thing yeah it would be nice to see them in more intricate outfits, I can kinda see why they just went for uniforms though. I actually really like the green bits in Kojiro's hair too, it was unexpected but as you said it's different! I like how the colour matches his eyes too

[succ-my-coke]

Trigun Stampede ep 1

-THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR TRUGUN STAMPEDE!!!!-

I gotta say that the first episode of this remake is really living up to my hopes and dreams. While a shall forever be disappointed that it’s not a full redo I’ll be content with this I think. I’m gonna talk about my thoughts/feelings/observations about the new series and what’s different so far. THIS IS NOT A SUMMARY

Characters

1. Vash - I’m loving his characterization right off the bat, he’s goofy, kind, and has his serious moments, pretty true to his original character. I do like however that he doesn’t seem as jaded(so far) because they seem to be portraying him as younger than he was in the original. His introduction of a batshit evil laugh was amazing honestly. I had some initial issues with his redesign but I think it meshes well with the character. His arm being addressed and then instantly being used to make a joke was great honestly, very on brand. I think it’s really interesting that they are having him be more actively involved with the plants and their upkeep unlike the original where he only interfered occasionally.

2. Meryl - so far I feel like Meryl has been changed the most. She’s much younger in this, it’s called out specifically that she just graduated from a fancy school and seems to be very naive. Nothing at all like the original character. She does have her stubbornness and morals which is good and I think her over all character here will mesh well but may not be as bad ass and the original Meryl. Her design though is kickass and very reflective of how young she is

3. Roberto De Niro - A new character! One that I have nothing to compare against! I think he’s really ingesting so far. Obviously very jaded and aware of the how bad the world is but Al’s has some sense of morals. He doesn’t seem to be a reporter that cares about leads to much but he does know how to throw his status around and use it to help out.

4. Knives - we saw very little of him in this episode but what we did see was pretty cut and dry evil. He’s got and evil organ and some control over the wildlife of the planet, using it to spy on his brother. I did like the larger emphasis on him attempting to have Rem be saved as well as them. His design is extremely interesting when compared to Vash’s. Knives completely seems to embrace his inhuman tech side while Vash is trying very hard to look human.

Observations

1. I found the pacing interesting for the first episode. There’s already some man ikr things being addressed such as the plants and Knives and their connection to Vash. The new series obviously isn’t shying away from these things like the original material did and it makes me wonder about how the plot progression is going to go.

2. I am likening all things being used, the setting of Jenora rock and the references to the city of Julai (July I believe) and the direct reference to the Bad Lads gang. Speaking of which I am truly excited for the possibility or brilliant dynamites neon to be animated in this way I think it would be spectacular on all levels.

3. The people of jenora rock are used in two ways I think. 1. To show that Vash is a good guy and not what he seems to be despite his bounty. And he’s known for things despite his crimes. 2. That while the legend of the humanoid typhoon is widespread the bounty is not common knowledge.

4. The design for the plants are completely new as far as we’ve seen. I’m looking forward to seeing how they are going to address the design of the plants themselves, the original anime made them seem a little more monstrous than angelic and the manga was more angelic that human so I wonder agent they will look like. I also can’t wait to see what the red plant means.

5. The entire scene where Vash is begging for a bullet from anyone already shows so many things. The first being that Vash is a complete goof. The second being that Meryl has a strong sense of involvement with things, unlike her mentor. The third being that people are willing to help him even with his bounty, this being shown by Rosa giving a bullet to him. Also the scene is a great call back to the first episode of the original anime where something similar happens with Vash in a tight spot with no bullets however he has no one to help him out there.

Overall I’m really pleased with the start of the new adaptation and I’ll see you all on the 14th for episode 2!

[twilightmalachite]

Altered - Heaven and Hell 6

Author: Akira

Characters: Eichi

Translator: Mika Enstars

"But, as a result, those many, nameless members supporting fine were then ignored. You should be resenting that fact. You should be angry, and complain."

Season: Winter

Location: Time Street

⚠️ This is an import from a unproofed Twitter Livetweet!

Noon, the next day, on the second day of OO. OO Venue 2, Time Street

Eichi: (—Of course, this “Altered” does not exist.)

(So no matter how hard someone looks, they won’t be able to find this unit.)

(It amounts to nothing more but an urban legend rumored around the internet. In other words, it’s up to you to believe if it exists or not.)

(Well, it doesn’t exist… But for a unit formed by the Five Eccentrics to participate in OO, an event where various unofficial units battle for glory—)

(Well, if you know their personalities, you’d know there’d be no way for it to be true.)

(However, if you're a fan who's been deeply dedicated to this day, the notion is appealing.)

(If such a unit truly exists, then they’d want to see it no matter what, yes?)

(Essentially, humans only believe what they want to believe.)

(This was once said about a great man long ago who was enshrined as a dictator, despite the fact he never wanted to become dictator.)

(The simple-minded masses believe only what they want to.)

(No matter how much politicians or scholars preach the truth, they will only believe a quasi-truth in accordance with their own knowledge—And latch onto conspiracy theories.)

(All I did was simply tell a lie that’d appeal to that crowd.)

(Although it’s rather regrettable, my experience from back during the war has come in handy.)

(With the establishment of ES, the concept of idols has gradually infiltrated the world. The world we live in has become an alien one, where the common sense we once knew no longer applies.)

(Despite all that, human nature does not change.)

(Here remains to be the planet of the apes, where cavemen with clubs roam.)

Eichi: —Hello. Yes, I’m aware of the current state of things. Thanks, keep up the good work.

Do nothing but your best, members of fine!

Fufu, I see. It’s been a long time, so you feel strange being called that. You don’t feel like it applies to you, is what you’re saying?

I guess so. You guys are no longer fine. Every one of you now works individually or under a different unit name, don’t you?

In the past, during the time of the war, fine formerly was a large group.

Back then, there was no limit to the number of members allowed in a unit, and we could endlessly increase the number of members in fine.

During the time Chess, once prided as the largest within Yumenosaki, split up, fine took in the lost lambs with nowhere to go.

Thus, fine became the largest unit in Yumenosaki in terms of number of members.

Throw a rock, and it’d hit a fine member.

Hiyori-kun and Nagisa-kun were the only ones suitable to stand on the stage, but there were countless nameless angels behind them.

And of course, these numbers meant power. Through that, we were able to become a force capable of overthrowing the Five Eccentrics.

It’s a fact not as well known as one might think. Nobody cares about the nameless crowd, after all.

Even those who claim to be well-versed about idols still believe that the fine of that era of war consisted of Hiyori-kun, Nagisa-kun, and their leader, Tsumugi…

I, Tenshouin Eichi, who took over the leadership position and kept fine alive, am the only one who thinks of it as a group of four members.

Although in reality, it was a large group, not just four people.

It’s pretty obvious if you think about it. It’s a simple math problem.

If the ability of each individual is inferior, even if at our very best… With only four people, there’d be just no possibility to surpass five geniuses.

However, due cognitive distortion and false rumors…

A shounen manga-esque plot was spread and believed in—that the fine revolutionaries, inferior in number, managed to defeat the great evil that had infested Yumenosaki.

It was a convenient rumor for us, so I influenced rumors of that sort to spread.

But, as a result, those many, nameless members supporting fine were then ignored.

You should be resenting that fact. You should be angry, and complain.

There is nothing more excruciating than to be ignored. Especially for an idol, whose goal is to be on everyone’s radar.

You should be angry. Be angry, scored heroes.

Engrave your existence into this world.

My heart aches for your current situation. I consider you my former comrades, I cannot leave you behind.

No, this whole time I’ve been waiting for the change to shine a light upon you guys one day.

I agree. Right now’s the time.

You shall return to the front of the stage again, through this OO.

I have a path set up for you. All that’s left for you to do is to dance well.

Yes. I’m counting on you. No, I know you can do it… my friends.

Show those people of the world who know nothing what it means to be a true idol.

Eichi: (…Fufu. So far, so good.)

(It’s been a while since I’ve devised a plan with a lie as big as this one.)

(Since the establishment of ES, I’ve enjoyed idol activities healthily, but it appears my skills haven’t declined too much.)

(No, rather, since the beginning… I’ve always had the essence of a schemer, with perhaps idol activities becoming more akin to a hobby.)

(Though I’d like not to think so, even if that is the case.)

If possible, I would have preferred to be an honest idol, rather than a scheming mastermind, or an emperor that reigns supreme.)

(I’m not sure if anyone would believe me if I said that, but it’s the truth.)

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