#at all times assume I am thinking about rika

[lxmelle]

Just some thoughts on 270

Yes the end is near.

Yes I almost threw up when I saw that unmistakable hairstyle...

Yes I was a bit disappointed that there were no visible satosugu crumbs - or are there? More on this later... and the it overall just felt a little bit 😔 empty 😪

Nevertheless, I want to just blab about a few things.

First, is it Geto/Kenjaku?

If we think about how Yuta’s copy CT works, Rika would need to consume a viable part of the sorcerer. The only part of Kenny left was his whole brain. He was the brain. The rest is Geto. We have not seen any evidence of Yuta having CSM, so it can be assumed that Yuta did not have Rika eat any part of Geto. Otherwise, it’s be Geto’s CT and not Kenjaku’s body-hopping technique.

Imho: The person with Takaba is not likely to be either Kenny or Geto. Geto cannot function without a brain, there was none “spare” either, so the theory of a spirit entering the body is going to make it alive again - no, it doesn’t. There is no other living sorcerer who can do that - Ui Ui maxed it out with the number of times and there is no other person to swap with. Just. Not. Possible.

And Kenny was seen to have told Mimiko and Nanako that he took Geto’s brains out to inhabit it.

So. My conclusion is that Gege is baiting. Just as he did with the “we have to help Yuta!” And the rude yelling that got so many of us wondering just who would speak to roughly to Yuta and what warranted it. We were all asking: who calls Yuta “Yuta” and not “Okkutsu-senpai” etc. I even thought it was Shoko, assuming that Maki was in the same hallway as the others, but the main culprit was of course the most obvious, Maki herself.

And that baiting thing with the clock theory about 2:21 pm linking with chapter 221 of Gojo’s unsealing - I theorised it’s about having presence (like how spiritualists, and in Shinto, believe that spirit is all around us) despite being dead and his soul with Geto.

And goodness know what other theories there are out there about time and Gojo revival. I’ve said before that I don’t buy into it, but it is interesting.

So is it Geto? Kenjaku? I 80% think not but... yeah, I am worried. To be completely transparent, I’m so scared that it is.

Because I’m in the camp of: please please Gege, please please please let Gojo and Geto be at peace in their eternal afterlife until they’re ready to be reborn and let them find each other over and over and over again.

So rationally, I doubt it is. But I’m worried. I’m worried for reasons like: why aren’t the bodies and resting places of Gojo & Geto still not mentioned?

Next thing to I have some thoughts on are about Itafushi. They’re really good friends and I think it’s also just one of those things Gege is doing because it’s JUMP and he doesn’t want to just pretend the Hana -> Megumi thing is forgotten. It also shows some character growth.

So overall, I’m rather neutral about the Megumi + Hana thing. They’re still kids, and Yuji + Megumi are compatible but they’re also not quite Satosugu, so their relationship will be undeniably different. Friends or otherwise.

It’s nice to see the Megumi is taking initiative and finding novel ways to make new meaning & connections. I wouldn’t read too deeply into it, especially since Hana obviously read too deeply into it and got it all wrong.

I will say that it feels cliche maybe. Again it’s maybe a JUMP serialisation thing shonen mangakas do, since a big portion of the fanbase are young boys too. Gege can’t be doing too much for lgbtq+ too obviously after all.

So it leaves me feeling it is a little reminiscent of the Sasuke and Sakura pairing in Naruto - as if it could become something seemingly out of convenience/settling/making do, but what do I know? Sometimes relationships in life are like that. I’d rather marry my best friend, but you know... different strokes for different folks. As they say.

Now it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t find a way to make it about satosugu. I’m imagining collective groans from people who may be reading this... so please skip if you’re bored of me now, lol. Or read on if you like to be in satosugu delulu brainrot like me.

One of the satosugu-related takeaways from this recent chapter is that it seems to reduce the possibility of interpreting Gojo not allowing Shoko to process Geto’s body as being out of consideration for her.

Her saying that the idiot should have let her process Geto’s body pretty much says Gojo took matters into his own hands. Not only was it protocol… but she also personally thought it would be a privilege. But Gojo did not let her.

We ofc don’t know the details.

So it leaves us with: He did it for his own reasons, or reasons at least relating to Geto. Kenjaku thought it was out of consideration. And Kenjaku is not a reliable narrator, nor was Geto... who tended to think he didn’t matter.

You know, as a person who can quietly just swallow vomit and shit rags without complaint. As a person who could practically transform the filth, negativity, evil, and darkness of the world into power that he could use for good - he was vessel of sacrifice.

Anyway, I digress.

It seems to indicate that Gojo kept his body to himself ... for his own reasons, breaking protocol.

And referring back to 270 again, for Shoko to talk about the afterlife right after preparing the body -> cremation is strange. Does preparing the body and cremating it have anything to do with the afterlife? 🤔 so somehow, prepare body -> cremate -> mourn/afterlife?

Interesting in that Gege is giving us yet another example of how everyone has a different reality / belief. If we believe what we saw in Gojo’s death, then there is one and Shoko will be proven wrong when her time comes like how Gojo was wrong about dying alone.

And it is also interesting in the sense that it’s familiar…

Something about how she said prior to Gojo’s unsealing, about “I couldn’t love either of you like you loved each other, but I was there too.” - am I reading too deeply? Probably. But it’s there for me to read.

Shoko prepared Tsumiki for cremation. She was made her beautiful for the afterlife - even if she was to be cremated, there was something about giving her something (dignity?) before she turned to ash. And those left behind can send them off into the afterlife feeling they did their best.

I think you’d need a certain level of trust for someone to hand your beloved over. Or at least feel like they would mourn the departed like you would. Or faith that your beloved would be happy with entrusting you with that decision. In some cultures, the family wash and swathe their dead in cloth with their own hands where possible.

So Shoko. Shoko could do it for Geto, for Gojo. She was there. She was willing. But. It was almost as if saying that Gojo 1. could not allow someone else to prepare Geto’s body, and neither did he seem to have mourned because 2. Geto was not cremated to be sent into the afterlife. As if he didn’t trust anyone. As if he could not let go.

Again, Rika kept Yuta’s body “alive” too. Parallels are paralleling.

I don’t know how Geto regenerated or if Kenny was responsible for it. Or if Gojo somehow did. But those are just unnecessary details at this point.

And again, Shoko was there but she could not be like what Gojo was to Geto and what Geto was to Gojo.

How complicated.

I’m reminded of that scene where he says to ichiji and Shoko: “There are just 3 of us remaining huh.”

In agreement to Shoko acknowledging that Geto’s body needed retrieving from Kenjaku, it was quite a pregnant pause from Gojo before he goes, “………yeah.”

He seemed surprised Shoko brought it up and decided to just gloss over it.

To me, it collectively implies that Gojo doesn’t let Geto be anyone else’s but his.

His friendship was his one and only. His loneliness was his. His dreams were his. His love was his. His life was his. His body was... his. And his soul was his too. As was his satisfaction.

I think Gege wants us to understand something here. By what he is showing and not showing us.

If I think about the exclusivity that they shared... the whole, “we are the strongest (together)” and “it wouldn’t be bad to be killed by you” or even “I’m jealous but if you were satisfied I’m glad for you.” and then “if you were there to pat me on the back I’d be satisfied.”

It’s a lot like... only YOU can be the one. And therefore I think Gojo kept Geto all to himself. Maybe thinking Geto would only want HIM to touch his body.

It was his exclusive right. And that was mutually shared... because Geto wasn’t really pleased with Gojo getting satisfaction from elsewhere (lol, you know, the “jealous” 妬けるね that got the fandom in a frenzy).

I’ve mentioned it in another post... link: https://www.tumblr.com/lxmelle/758015943938113536/i-love-the-idea-of-mutuality-that-is-deeply-rooted I really do like the idea of Gojo and Geto just teaching each other things. Like selfishness and love. Binding each other to the other. Selfishness and selflessness as part of being human.

Was this an act out of the side of Gojo that was “a little selfish, a little inhuman but a little too human”, and he wanted to keep Geto all to himself? Despite not giving his best friend a proper burial?

When I think about how he normally did what Geto approved of (you can dispute this if you wish) and I think back to how he might’ve really given Geto’s body back to his family- but what we saw in the manga seemed like they didn’t have much involvement either. Surely they’d have wanted Geto cremated?

So it leaves me with the idea that it was Gojo acting out his secret feelings.

Just Gege and how he shields Gojo’s privacy. Secret words. Secret thoughts. You know. Gege being Gege letting Gojo do Gojo things.

I think we might need to accept that Gojo and Geto just have this exclusive thing we aren’t privy to.

That’s all for now. Abrupt ending 🫡

Thanks for reading my rambling if you made it this far 🫶

Feel free to share your thoughts/comments/criticisms 😄

[neonscandal]

something I wanted to understand, the author said that satoru was quite a womanizer, but then he said that geto was much more popular among women than satoru I didn't understand

Technically, the author said that they didn't see Gojo being faithful to one or a certain woman not that he was a womanizer.

With what we know about Gojo (and Gege Akutami's trolling ways, for that matter), I think that's up for interpretation.

FAN INTERPRETATION

Fans really took that sentiment and kind of ran with it because, to us, Gojo is high spec in every way. Canonically good looking, tall, competent at like.. everything according to Akutami, strong and presumably loaded. Of course someone like that would be a womanizer, right?

Except Gojo is an oversized child who still kinda refers to Digimon in conversation and primarily hangs out with 16 year olds. People project a lot of their BS onto him because they can't imagine ticking all those boxes and not being an asshole. But he’s a corny dork who is seemingly impervious to the outright disdain of most of the people around him. IT’S COMICAL. Personally, I think this interpretation is incorrect, demonstrably.

The other side of the fandom is naturally like... well of course he couldn't stay faithful to one woman. He's been faithful to Geto for ten years! I think we know what camp I've pitched my tent in *gestures vaguely to the rest of my blog* Especially when you bear in mind that Gege Akutami specifically designed Gojo and Geto to be intrinsic complements of one another.

CANON

I'm not so SatoSugu addled (once the brain rot sets in, it's terminal) that I am unable to disclose the secret third way we can interpret this. Canonically, when we look at Gojo as a character... it almost makes sense to assume he's simply not interested in dating at all.

Empirically finds it hard to relate to others

Even when he does care for others, he's still emotionally shallow and aware of it

Gojo clan leader with all associated unpleasantries and responsibilities from a young age

Single benefactor to two children; assumes direct responsibility over two more by staving off their execution

First line of defense for all of jujutsu society

Has a grand design of toppling said jujutsu society

Has experienced devastating loss which informs the grand design of his life's mission and he's always plotting, even when it comes to the seemingly altruistic act of "adopting" the Fushiguro kids or pressing Yuta and Yuji to learn under his care. When you consider that context, it furthers the idea that he's pretty divorced from emotion. Like, he wants them to have a childhood but its still at the pleasure of his convenience and ultimate purpose.

LOOK at this gorgeous, gorgeous boy from pop layer art because I need it and, when I covet, you must also covet. Edit: I'd accidently copied the wrong link there! It's been fixed 💙

In universe, we've seen maybe two canonical couples: Yuta & Rika and Hakari & Kirara (to be animated). This supports the fact that Gege's not really concerned with injecting "romance" into the plot unnecessarily. Undeniably and supporting the SatoSugu agenda, however, is the fact that JJK 0 very much aligned Gojo & Geto with Yuta & Rika with the theme coming to a head in season 2 with Gojo's sealment. For clarity, I mean how love ultimately cursed Rika and Geto after death by Yuta's begging her not to leave and Gojo not properly disposing of Geto's body. Love turned Rika into a curse and allowed Kenjaku to swoop in on Geto.

GETO'S POPULARITY

Geto is, quite literally, popular with everyone in universe and that was before he became a cult leader... which also indicates a predilection for popularity, I guess? As a character, he is principled, thoughtful, gentle and strong. I think, collectively, we tend to toil over the fact that Gojo spent more time missing Geto than he actually knew him. But... that's the same for Shoko and Nanami. After Geto's defection, Nanami couldn't forsake him even if he morally couldn't approve of his actions. Over ten years later as the night parade of a hundred demons is set to take place, Yaga starts saying something along the lines of finally getting rid of the scourge that is Suguru Geto and Shoko makes it a point to leave. I think it's because, after everything, she still holds affection and pity for Geto and would rather not hear him being bad-mouthed for breaking under the pressure of things.

He was the best of them, after all.

[sa1-13]

So, the voices of brainrot won so I had to put this into words cause I have been thinking about this idea for about… two hours now and I HAVE to put it out there.

The character I was thinking about was a Sonadow fan kid Void made by the wonderful @emthimofnight . Go check out all of her work, it’s absolutely divine! Her stuff is what ultimately inspired me to start drafting my own Sonadow fan kid.

Anyways, I, the romance writer that I am, was trying to think of how the actual hell a romance Void would even come about. A TL;DR summary on Void as a character: Void is narcissistic, greedy, selfish, born and raised villain with a god-complex so massive it makes Mystic Messenger’s Rika’s complex look angelic by comparison. A romance between him and… well- literally anyone- would never work. Despite his good looks, no romance would get past the other person’s attempts to initiate as, in Emthimofnight’s own words on Void on a post about their character’s reactions to being confessed to, “He just assumes it is natural for someone to be attracted to him… …whether he actually reciprocates is entirely determined by what he could get out of the person confessing.”

However, in my continuous back and forth with myself, I kept coming back to the second and third words used to describe him, greedy and selfish. The reason being was that I technically already knew how to make a character like that enthralled into a romance thanks to a manga called, “Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun!”.

To keep myself from completely spoiling one of my, at the time of writing this post, two favourite archs in the whole manga, I’ll just describe the way the mangaka makes the greedy and selfish character fall in love with the object of their affection: B gives A a smack to the face with reality that their is someone above them, A’s sudden confusion and yet fascination with this new complete stranger who just broke into their head, the fascination leading to A trying to get B, only for B to be constantly putting themselves just out of reach A’s grasp, driving A to only want B more, finally, both dumbasses are into this so it keeps going.

The second step onwards aren’t exactly hard to to imagine happening, as they are just natural consequences of both characters’s writing, leading both characters to make to follow step after step. It was just that first step that was putting me in a bind. What in the hell would you have to do to make Void even consider you to be better than him? So, I kept trying to go back to what gave him the god complex in the first place. It was his ability to fight, right?

That’s when it hit me: someone just has to beat him in a fight.

Before you say that’s impossible, firstly, nothing is truly impossible in writing, secondly, if we’re talking about fighting, if someone is just as gifted as him that has done more training than him, bitch is getting his ass handed to him. People with god-complexes often either stop, or never started with gifted people, improving themselves in the area that gave them the god-complex in the first place. It’s why villains with them are defeated more often than ones without them.

Just imagining Void deeper and deeper into all consuming, rather obsessive, love that slowly drives to actually start getting stronger and stronger, while literally everyone watches in object horror, and as those who try to control him try to force him to stop, the end up giving up their hand, making Void doing the most selfish and greedy thing he could have ever done in that situation, leaving. That kind of stuff is what I live for.

Anyway’s, thank you for coming to my TED Talk, Imma go pass out now.

[tannaztr]

My version of Satoru killing the love of his life, Suguru.

This is a part of my original fic that is why you might see Y/N during this part.

“Magnificent,” Geto ignored the pain, leaning against the brick wall and whispering to himself. “Truly magnificent.” He was losing blood and fully aware of it. “If I had Rika, I could have just achieved my goal. Next time…” he promised himself.

The orange hues of dawn painted the sky in orange and red. His eyes met a figure standing in the light while his body rested in shadows. He knew who it was. His heart ached at the sight of him. He already knew what he was forcing the man standing in front of him to do. He had avoided that. At least, he had tried to avoid that. To spare him from this moment. He leaned over the wall, his knees gave way under his wounded body as he let himself sit.

“You are late, Satoru,” Geto couldn't help but let softness seep into his voice when he called his name; he never could resist it. “To think you’d be the one here at my end. Is my family safe?” he asked, trying his best not to look at him. Those ocean-blue eyes of his weren't covered, making it even harder for Geto. He didn’t want to be reminded of those eyes, yet he lied to himself; there wasn’t a moment he had ever forgotten them, not for a second.

“Every last one of them managed to escape,” Satoru responded, holding his fist tight to keep his hand from shaking. All he wanted was to rush over, to hold him, to call Shoko and beg her to heal the man before him. For him. He struggled to keep his voice steady, believing Geto deserved better than a broken murderer. “The ones in Kyoto, were they under your order?” he asked, uncertain why he even brought it up. What he really wanted to say were those three words he had longed to tell him.

“Yeah. Unlike you, I am a kind man. You sent those two assuming I wouldn’t kill them, didn’t you?” Geto asked, his gaze still averted from Satoru. “To set Okkotsu off.”

“I trusted you,” Satoru stated, the three words Geto longed to hear hanging unsaid in the air, words Satoru never had the courage to express. “Trusted that a man as principled as you wouldn’t kill young sorcerers without reason.”

“Trust, huh?” Geto managed a smile, finding Satoru’s belief in him incredulous after everything. “I didn’t think I had any of that left.” He wished he could tell Satoru to hate him, that he deserved to be despised. Trust was something far beyond what he deserved, especially from Satoru—the man he had turned his back on, the man he had ignored while desperately trying to reach out, even after Geto had committed atrocities for what he believed was right.

Lives of hundreds meant little to him, Suguru understood that well. He knew Satoru would shield him against all odds, ready to clash with the higher-ups, prepared to upheave the jujutsu world itself for him. "Do you have any last words?" That question seemed alien coming from Satoru, as if uttered by a stranger inhabiting his body. Satoru couldn't bear the thought of extinguishing the life he held so dear, a life that brought immense joy, cherished memories, and unconditional love into his heart. Suguru was the first to accept him entirely, the only one who saw beyond the facade of strength and impassivity the world assumed of Satoru. As he sat before him, a part of Satoru felt as if it were dying alongside him. Deep down, he yearned for you to be there, to halt his actions, to stand against him, to save Geto from what he was about to do. But you weren't there. How could Satoru ever conceive of taking that life? How could he live with himself afterward, not break down, not shatter into pieces? His hands trembled uncontrollably, betraying his inner turmoil, unable to stay steady as they were poised to take away what he loved most in the world.

"No matter what anyone says, I've always despised those monkeys. Yet, my disdain never extended to those at Jujutsu High. It's just that... I could never truly smile in this world," Suguru mused, his thoughts drifting to you, reminiscing about the days spent with you and Satoru. A longing surged within him to see you one last time.

"Don't tell her it was you who did this," Suguru implored softly. "Don't let her know you were the one to end me." His voice carried a calmness that belied the immense burden such a secret would place on Satoru's shoulders. To keep this from you, the one person besides Suguru whom Satoru could be his true self around, was an unbearable thought. Yet, in his heart, Suguru believed Satoru needed you more than ever after this ordeal. "She'll never forgive you if she learns the truth," he added, wishing he had the strength to assure Satoru that it was alright, that he understood.

"Suguru," Satoru called out gently, his voice a soft echo of the countless times he had uttered his name before—as if none of their tumultuous history had ever occurred. Taking cautious steps closer, Satoru kneeled, avoiding the need to look up, sparing them both additional pain. Their eyes locked, and Suguru's entire being yearned to stand, to bridge the gap between them, to reach out to the man he had wounded—the man who would, from this day forward, carry an unbearable weight in his heart.

"I love you," the words hovered on the brink of silence, a declaration that bore the weight of untold truths, the ardor he had yearned to proclaim aloud the day Suguru chose to walk away. How he had longed to declare it to the world, to let every echo carry the depth of his affection for Suguru. Would those three words have altered their fate? Could they have anchored Suguru, preventing the chasm that now lay between them?

Surprise flickered in Suguru's eyes, a brief spark of what could have been. He knew of Satoru's love, shared the sentiment, yet found himself unable to voice it, unwilling to burden Satoru further. A rueful chuckle escaped him, surrendering to the twisted irony of their final encounter. "At least grace me with some curses in my final moments," he jestingly requested, masking his turmoil with humor.

Satoru's response was swift, a merciful act born from an abyss of agony. He ensured Suguru's end was devoid of pain, sparing him the sensation of life's ebbing tide. Yet, in doing so, Satoru embraced an immeasurable suffering, accepting a lifetime haunted by the pain of this irreversible act.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 7 Minagoroshi pt. 1

I know I'm probably giving it way more thought than I should but I wonder why the MangaGamer release of Higurashi calls them Higurashi Hou. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Kai means answers (maybe Umineko? I don't remember), so I just wonder why the Steam/GOG releases call them Hou. According to a quick googling Hou means way or method? Then there's Hou - Rei, Hou+, I don't really want to go deep diving into it at the moment because I've still got these two chapters at least to go.

This might sound sarcastic but I genuinely like that this is how this chapter opens. I'm certain it'll go back to the formula of the club doing their usual shenanigans, then eventually the terrors, but I like how this opens with a frank discussion about Rika and the time loop.

I wonder why the universe, or whatever you want to call it decided to use Shion as the murderer twice. I want to theorize that there's some sort of importance for the fact that of the five chapters set in 1983 it used the same killer twice, but I can't really come up with a way to explain it.

I don't know why I never really thought about the fact that Ooishi is near constantly the instigator of the murders and events. It's easy to try and posture that with the explanations being given that I totally and completely called and figured this out. But the truth of the matter is while I did sort of notice that Ooishi seems to start the plot towards its eventual conclusion I never really did anything with that information. I was about to argue that he wasn't really that big of a part of chapter three I remembered that a lot of the stuff involving Teppei and Satoko's abuse never really came to the fore until he showed up to question her about Rina's death in that chapter.

The thing about Takano is I don't really know how much of her own bullshit she buys. I know that in the scrapbooks she goes out of her way to paint the Sonozakis as the central pillar of the conspiracy of the day, but how much of that is genuine belief? I don't have much to base it on but I get the vague impression that her attempts to pin it all on the Sonozaki family/Three Families is all a red herring that she's trying to mislead people into believing for some reason. The why and the what eludes me, assuming of course that's right, and it's not just she's bonkers and just writing whatever. I do get the impression that her entire reason for explaining/mentioning the Onigafuchi Swamp, the curse, all of that is entirely just for her own personal amusement. She's trolling the cast for reasons.

This I find interesting, why doesn't Rika possess any knowledge about what happens during the curse killings of 1980-1982? Is whatever's ruling over the timeline of 1983 able to suppress her memory of it? Or does it tie in to the fact she doesn't remember anything around the time of her own personal killing? I can't explain to you why I'm so much easier going with the aspects of the Hinamizawa mystery here being potentially explained away with magic bullshit than I was with the shown to be blatantly untrue parasite/aliens explanation but I am. Maybe because the mystical aspect has been established a lot longer than the sudden appearance of parasites and aliens? Maybe I myself am slightly spoiled due to having read/played Umineko first so the idea that witches are behind the fantastical crimes doesn't bother me as much. That's not idle speculation on my part, there's a screen relatively soon that mentions the idea of Rika being a witch.

So with this I think it's safe to assume that shortly after the events of Onikakushi Rika did get killed. What entity is constantly killing Rika? I doubt that it's the same person getting Tomitake and Takano. At some point around their deaths in Tsumihoroboshi I started thinking that Takano is probably behind Tomitake's death. I have no real basis for this assumption, I just think it's highly likely she would be one the one to inject him with the drug that makes you kill yourself. It feels more plausible than a group of cultists ambush him, then inject him, and then just let him go. It also makes sense if you assume that Takano's belief about the parasite is based even slightly on reality because this way she could verify the effects of the infection with her own eyes. The fact she dies almost immediately afterwards is kind of irrelevant to this, because I don't think she ever expects to be gotten on the day of Watanagashi.

[leggerefiore]

Le project is finished!

I explained it to you in chat, but for everyone else here, let me explain. To find everyone else's estimated height when we only have a canon height for Volo, (6ft3 or 75 inches) I needed to know how many pixels tall he was. Hair has volume and isn't completely flat (esp anime hair) nor do hats fit completely snug on the dome of the skull. So I allocated space for that on each model. To find where the top of the head actually was, I reverse constructed the heads like I was drawing something, veeerrrrry fancy way of saying I drew two circles.

Once as I did Volo's, I zoomed in super close in Clip Studio with a guide, noting where the floor hit on the ruler, as well as where the top of the upper circle representing his skull hit. I then subtracted the floor number from the skull number to get his height in pixels. Then I had to do a lil math because I needed to know how many pixel would proportionally read as 1 inch. To do so, I divided Volo's height in pixels by 75, and it gave me a number just above 6.1; this is the ratio I used to figure everyone else out.

We decided to try to get Cyrus's height as well, and I bumped into my first issue, I couldn't just shrink Cy down and use the same ratio because the camera angle was different. Also, I couldn't just stitch the images together because without knowing down to the pixel, where Cyrus's head hit on Volo, the previous ratio would give an inaccurate result. I found this out the hard way and got this funny shit:

Alas, I requested another image, this time with Volo standing beside Cyrus, for the sake of me being able to create a new ratio. We went ahead and added a few more characters for fun. That's when I realized I had made a massive mistake in the first set of calculations: the modeler already shows me where the floor is and everyone was already lined up on that axis. A redo of the first set of calculations was in order.

I got it fixed and here's the images:

I did go ahead and round everyone to the nearest whole inch. The results are: Volo 6'3, Cyrus 6'0, Ingo 5'10 (slightly rounded down), Cynthia 5'10 with heels (slightly rounded up), Grimsley 5'8, Nanu 5'7, Rika and Saturn at 5'5, Mars 5'2 with heels (thanks to the camera angle I was able to calculate the height of her heels - just over 2 inches, meaning she's roughly 5ft even without them).

Enjoy!

Alpha Cyrus standing lordly over Volo, who has yet to meet someone taller than him and is bewildered. Also, alpha encounter music playing the in background and giving him flashbacks.

My joke about Cyrus standing just under 6' feet is defrated, but I am happy I got the number so close at a random guess. Ingo's height is nerfed... My train man never stood above the line 😭... Emmet, of course, is the same height. Assuming Cynthia's heels are around the same height as Mars, she's at 5'8" (Grim territory), but I think they're actually a little shorter than Mars's own, so probably 5'9".

Grimsley isn't the shortest king, but his height does suit him. I'm going to blame Nanu's height on his bad posture. The true short king is Saturn... He deserves a crown. Rika's height wasn't so unexpected after seeing her around the taller characters. I'm a little sad she's a bit shorter than I thought, but she's still taller than me lol. Tiny Mars being an entire foot shorter than Cyrus. She's looking up to him in more than one way.

Thanks for doing all this madness to satiate my curiosity!

[marshmallowprotection]

Mystic Messenger 7th Summer Event Analysis

Anyway, you're all here because you want me to talk about what I speculate is going to happen when the photo drops because it will be the 17th when the image is revealed and that means we're going to start seeing it in the early hours of the 16th over here on this side of the planet.

So there is a little bit for me to talk about but not too much because there is not too many details going on but there is enough that I can speculate this or that.

Unknown is in the center of the image so he is the focal point. I am not upset about that because like I said earlier, I didn't expect to see him on the title screen ever again apart from being a cute little chibi. There is a difference between seeing him in the stylized chibi artwork and seeing him in the flesh if that makes sense.

I am about to change my icon on Discord so fast to be Unknown that it's not even funny.

When I noticed that he was clearly holding a guitar, the first thing that came to mind was that merch photo that I shared because it seems as though it is the same purple on the guitar. It is either a very deep red or that hot purple color. I tried to color sample what I could for the surface area of the guitar and it appears to be more pink than purple but you can expect given the fact that Saeran has magenta hearts.

I do miss what he was coded with purple since that is my favorite color but I've come to love pink as my second favorite color thanks to him as a character. See, that color started to appear more and more with Jumin since Jumin's hearts are purple, but it's always interesting to think about how some merch had Unknown with purple and then Jumin with blue back in the day.

I don't think anything is different about his outfit since he appears to be wearing his tank top and jacket, the only thing that stood out to me that was even remotely different was the fact that I couldn't tell if it was a red stripe on his pants.

He has a stripe on his pants but I don't know for sure if it was used here or not. They don't always draw him with his pants showing and when they do, sometimes it can be hit or miss if they add in that little detail. His boots aren't in this photo so I don't get to make a cowboy joke, unfortunately.

The zippers in his jacket aren't always drawn, either, so that is one thing that will never be consistent when it comes to art like this.

That's really all I can tell about him from what we're shown which is why I can't really say all that much about him except for the fact that he is giving lead singer of an emo band. I can't believe we came full circle and we get to appreciate him being the one that invites you to join his emo band. I, for one, I'm ready to join his band and I already have the set list. I'm ready for it.

As someone whose favorite band is Fall Out Boy, of course, I'm ready for it.

Cheritz will sometimes label things with Ray or Unknown, but we'll all know who it is once we scroll down and see who's in the photo. That's just a thing that happens but it bothers me. Ray is not Unknown, but sometimes he's been referred to as such in merch or media, and I do think Unknown was referred to as Ray a few times in the past and it always throws me off. Names matter!

I like when they're labeled appropriately!

I do think the little Twitter event we recently had for the anniversary when they showed us GE Saeran as Unknown, it was meant to be an Easter egg to prepare us for this specific picture.

Anyway, what really threw me off about this picture when I was trying to review it was the fact that it appears to be split into three parts. It would... be easy to assume that Unknown is on the stage with V but that doesn't appear to be the case.

I speculate in this situation that the picture is cut into three parts.

V is in the audience or he's trying to get into the music festival. Rika is trying to advertise with elixir with everything she has in her arsenal. Unknown is on stage doing his best to do what his Savior told him to do. They each have their own corner to play and that's interesting to see. I don't know what I expected when I saw Mint Eye Idol Group... and I still don't know what we'll see tomorrow.

Did you guys know that Monster energy will get musicians to drink branded cans that just have water inside to better sell the product to people? Yeah, that's the only thing I could think of when I saw this... and well, now all of you are going to be aware of it for the rest of your life.

Monster is already bad enough for you, and I don't think you want to hydrate with elixir at a concert.

At the very least, if you wanted to go on a trip, you're definitely going to go on a trip if you drink enough of that.

Because of the way the image is juxtaposed, I think Rika is off center stage or in the crowd trying to sell the product. I don't know where she is but it can't be on stage with him just because of the way the image is.

Which is what led me to believe that V couldn't be on stage with him because of his posture and the poster behind him. I don't know what the composition of this photo is going to be but from what I've already seen here in this blurry promo image, I think it's going to be really visually interesting.

Another thing I noticed when I was looking over the photo was the fact that I couldn't tell what V was wearing. There's a part of me that wondered if he was trying to fit into the crowd by wearing his believer robes. But, I don't know for sure. The color looks dark enough to be that, the only thing I could think of once I had that thought was one simple question:

What if it is band merchandise for Unknown?

There's another part of me that wonders if V is trying to hand out flyers because Rika told him to. Which again leads me to wonder who designed the soda can and the flyers because it certainly wasn't Rika. When she designed something for Mint Eye it is done in a stylized manner that does not lead itself to inviting somebody to join her.

I mean, I don't think you're going to join her when you see her idea of recruiting someone and it's this:

In universe, she thinks she is a great designer but everyone around her knows the only thing that she can make is what happens when you learn how to use clip art for the first time and you go overboard. I love it. I really do. It speaks to me. I think she's great at this style but ask yourself this question, Would you join a cult if this was the only flyer for it?

If something in universe looks good design-wise it's because she made Unknown, Suit Saeran, or Ray do it. I mean, yeah, can those designs be simple? Yeah, but they get the job done. I mean, look at those photos! I feel like I'm being led to Mint Eye, THE CULT, when these photos are given to me.

TLDR;

[gojonanami]

https://www.tumblr.com/gojonanami/747580868509466624/my-god-i-cannot-im-pregnant-being-the-words?source=share

honestly? i'm vibing with the whole 'pregnancy' take on it!! i actually think it's really very good!

it sets up the premise perfectly imo

the words are heartbreaking enough to curse suguru into becoming a curse.

i don't know how curses are made, so i don't know if suguru, on some level, would need to be willing to become a curse or whether the words do their own thing??? like do they need to be alive, on the threshold of death, or dead to become a curse?

but anyway, that's just... super duper duper duper sad... but i'm ready for the angst!! come at me, sab!! come at me!!! hit me with the angst!! i am ready for it!!

i feel like it also kind of... propels the story forward? this angle, i mean. like it gives it a certain drive and momentum? like there's so much emotion that you can play with, and that's super duper cool!!

also, also, also, sab, our brilliant wordsmith, for this one, take it away and write as much as you want!!!

even if it's pages and pages, and pages, and pages, and pages, and pages, we'd be more than happy to read it!! trust us – we would be.

i always salivate like a dog for a bone (okay, in my experience of having dogs, they kind of prefer sausages and human food over bones but anyway!) so a long fic is like a treat!!

no me too!! I think it’s a very interesting premise honestly!

so from what we know about how curses are made — it’s from negative emotions and words — words are very powerful, especially ones said when faced in the final moments of someone’s life or said by a dying person.

for rika, she became a curse because yuta wished her not to die — and she remained a curse until yuta could truly let her go and admit his love for her. I assume her ‘interesting’ background that seems very questionable may have something to do with why she was so powerful — since misfortune and death seemed to follow her from a young age.

for suguru, I think he’s had a lot of misfortune in his life to begin with (re: his whole life as a sorcerer lol), and perhaps reader’s words could be “I’m pregnant” along with “I don’t want you to go” or “I wish we had more time to spend as a family” or something — said in the heat of the moment (perhaps because suguru died protecting her) would trigger his transformation into a curse. I do think there needs to be some desire to stay based on what rika said at the end of jjk 0 where after yuta apologized for what he did, she said she was glad to have all this time with him.

anyway also you’re very kind and I hope to do this incredible idea justice 🥹💕 it will probably end up being very long based on my ideas for the fic so far. I need to probably discuss with Hannah (my beta reader) for thoughts 💕🥹 I love you. You’re far too sweet 😭😭😭

[pyropsychiccollector]

Do you have any interest in Pokemon? Not because I want to nerd out about it specifically, but because... let's just say, I've been rather inspired after reading your Raincode stuff, and watching some Pokemon animations online. (人◕ω◕)

Still have to determine if this is merely a temporary spark, or a true desire to write out what I have in mind, however~ (人◕ω◕)

You know, it's strange. For all I talk about Sayaka being the "source" of so many muses and subsequent harem ships these days... My true, honest beginnings - my first forays into discovering and reading fanfiction in general lies in...

Ash x Misty. n___n I must've discovered fanfiction.net myself back in, ooh... 2004? That feels so long ago. I'm old. XD Had no interest in writing back then, I was just thirsty for a ship that canon kept mercilessly teasing me with. No other anime I liked had me so invested in a ship. I suppose Digimon eventually hit me with Takato x Rika, and Takuya x Zoe, but Ash x Misty was definitely my origin point for anything fanfiction. That was the first time I ever Googled "Ash x Misty stories" or anything of that ilk. Seeing so many stories on ffnet made me proud to be a shipper for them. lol

Granted, I was a kid. And the quality of fanfics was as varied as it is these days. But back then I didn't care so much if some stories were cheesy. I remember coming across aged up Ash and Misty scenarios, a more adult and nefarious Team Rocket terrorizing them, Ash as the Kanto Champion and TR trying to get to him by assaulting/kidnapping Misty.... That was one of the better written fanfics I read back in the day.

That all said, am I still a Pokeshipper these days? Ash x Misty, sure. And shinobisage09 made a Ash harem card a while back...

In terms of my tastes? Ash x Misty is my highest priority. Ash x Serena is alright, I just haven't watched the XY anime to grow attached to that ship, while the original Pokemon anime was my childhood. XD Ash x May is okay, very neutral to that one... Ash x Melody is fun. She was only in the 2000 movie, but man she left an impression~ Melody is probably the reason I enjoy Natsumi Kuzuryu so much. Or rather, girls like them - spunky, tough girls that have tender sides they don't like showing. Ash x Anabel is fun, too, from what I remember of the Battle Frontier anime... Ash x Dawn is okay, like May I'm pretty neutral about it. And then the grass girl there... I haven't watched the Sun and Moon anime either, so I dunno what that ship - or rather, how the girl thinks about Ash....

I guess to summarize, my favorite Ash ships are Misty, Melody, and Anabel. Serena to a little lesser extent. Then Dawn and May. Then anyone else, so long as it's not toxic or creepy. XD I suppose that girl from the fifth movie... Bianca, I think? Or Latias in her form...? Whichever it might be, the kiss at the end of that movie was cute, but I'm a bit unsure about dabbling in human x Pokemon.... Not sure if that's a kink of mine. It might be easier to "assume" that was the real Bianca kissing Ash, and not Latias... Even though the evidence points to the contrary. lol I'm used to burying my head in the sand~ XD

But I digress. Outside from Ash...? Uh.... Probably the only other Pokemon ship I like is Brock x Lucy (the Pike Queen). That episode in Battle Frontier was awesome. XD Beyond that, I can't think of other ships in Pokemon that I like. I haven't read the manga, so I'm neutral to any Red, Brendan, Krys, or any of their ship stuff. I do find Leaf to be cute. Claire is hilariously tsundere. Cynthia is bae~ Gardenia is cute. I love Team Magma Courtney, specifically her Omega Ruby version. She's crazy, but I like the crazy~ XD I don't necessarily ship those girls with Ash. Maybe Courtney x Brendan (Hoenn protagonist), but that's about it.

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Massacre Chapter 19

I don't think I've commented on any chapter title pages before, but I want to talk about this one real quick.

Rika and Hanyu are in the bottom of a well. In this image, Rika is looking up to the top while Hanyu is looking down instead.

The frog in the well was an opening metaphor about Rika's situation. She still wants to see the world beyond what she knows but Hanyu has given up on it.

Rika seems to have acknowledged this world is ultimately doomed, but she's grown so attached to it because she put in the effort to make it so perfect.

Rika is attached enough to this world that she still wants to fight to the bitter end. She was willing to say she'd stop if she died this time, but relented when she recalled how this would leave Hanyu alone.

And as Rika deals with trying to figure out what's happening in this world and having to decide between her friends here and Hanyu, Keiichi comes in once again on cue.

Keiichi!! You're stealing my job! What am I supposed to say when you got all the important talking points!

I guess I can throw in that the compromise Rika mentions in the poem is she's compromising what she wants to try to make her friends and Hanyu happy. Detachment from the world makes it easier to deal with her repeating deaths and keeps her able to keep jumping to other worlds with Hanyu. But Rika cannot build an ideal world she wants if she stays detached from it.

Keiichi and Rika's chat felt kind of like a reversal of the conversation they had in Cotton Drifting Chapter 8. This time, Keiichi is the one confronting Rika about something she's afraid to speak about.

Unfortunately, while Keiichi is a great motivational speaker, he's not good at unlocking peoples' hearts. Just like with Rena in Atonement Chapter 12, he could only watch Rika walk away.

It's Wednesday June 22, and Rika is woken up to the worst possible news.

I'm going to assume Hanyu just knows the day of Rika's death because there's no consistent date to Rika's death in previous arcs. She died on the 21st in Curse Killing, the 22nd in Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening, and the 25th in Atonement. Abducted by Demons is the only one without a clear death date, but she probably was killed on the 25th in that world as well.

Just like how Rika managed to reach Satoko's heart, Satoko is able to reach Rika's heart.

It all suddenly clicks in Rika's mind how her death is not the end of the world. When she dies, her friends are left to mourn and regret never being able to save her. That's what her detachment does to them.

Hanyu told her to live her last day without regret, but Rika cannot do that because she regrets not telling her friends about what is about to happen so they could fight together.

Okonogi calls Rika to tell her that Irie was found responsible for everything. Rika says she can't believe it and I hope she doesn't.

This is the second time Rika has remarked Okonogi is doing something for the first time ever. I think it has to do with the Three Rules breaking down.

Thinking back on it, the Three Rules appear to have two major purposes: Break apart Rika's support network and obfuscate Takano's involvement in Rika's murder. But Rika's actions this arc have broken down the gridlock enough that Okonogi is forced to step in to do the job instead. He's managing to isolate Rika from the others. Now he's trying to cover up Takano's involvement in everything.

I just hope she's not taking the bait.

back

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Not to immediately harp on how they designed Okkotsu's bully, but I knew. I knew from the Coat Rack Man. I saw the writing on the wall. And yet: 😨🤬🤡

Oh hey, we're back in Gojo's favourite room for a harrowing student-teacher conference:

The Jujutsu High School Board LOVES a secret execution. It's like their version of detention

"The curse placed upon you is one that can save people too, depending on how it's used." What an optimistic thing to say to someone who has just gravely injured 7 people seemingly by accident

I love everyone's old haircuts. Inumaki's spiky hair is fun! Also hgkjhgkjgh @ Team Gojo being the only students never pictured in a classroom

Also, the hair makes him look EVEN MORE like a smaller Gojo

"This is where we learn curses to exorcise curses." [Mentally, stressed] Tell me that ahead of time. HAHAHA. Did Yuta just think he was going to a regular school?

"It's a promise. That when we both grow up, we'll get married." Awww, Yuta and his playground fiancée are cute

Oh. Never mind. I take it back, it is in fact extremely haunting (no pun intended):

I am immediately endeared to Yuta and his awkward, haunted demeanour. He's just trying to live, huh?

"Put... me... on?" I feel like this can't possibly be right but immediately I want to assume that this curse is born of elementary school children not wanting to put on their jackets

"I want the confidence to say it's okay that I'm alive!" Maybe the real curse was insecurity all along

Awwwww I love Maki's gruff inspiration speech that also simultaneously promises Yuta that after this mission they'll be friends

As he has the ring on, makes me think it must be out of the question for Yuta to date if he's haunted by his ghostly fiancée

Also they're not going to elaborate on why Yuta was in the hospital?

"This is my personal theory, but there's no curse more twisted than love." Gojo said: Why yes, I have been hurt before, thank you for not asking, Yuta

"Do not forget that Okkotsu's secret execution was only suspended." "And don't you forget that if it comes to that, I'll side with Okkotsu." I love when Gojo is righteous. It's nice!

"Besides, no one's allowed to take youth away from young people," said Gojo, as if enduring violent battles with murderous apparitions is something that all teenagers do

I don't know how putting Rika's curse in a sword will break it so much as relocate it, but I do love a training montage:

"Maki! You've got a chance!" HAHAHAHA the dating question has finally been raised. Also I love that Panda's qualification for if someone can date Maki is if they also use weapons. The Nobara bond holds true too

I really do like Inumaki. The way he pushes his teammates out of harm's way. His curse essentially being its own kind of chronic illness (me too, buddy!) What a reliable and strong presence he is, even permitting for the fact that it is hard for people to understand him

"Inumaki-kun is kind. He doesn't want to accidentally curse others, so he speaks in rice ball components—words that can't carry curses. Even today, he helped me out. He tried to keep me away from danger." I love that right after I was mentally monologuing about how much I enjoy Inumaki, so too, is Yuta

That is extremely not how cough syrup works but we love a combo attack. [Kakashi voice] Teamwork!

"Once I break Rika-chan's curse, I'll be a normal person." Doesn't bode well for Okkotsu that he's still in this school, hm?

Omg where did Geto get Toji's weird worm storage friend???

Also since Geto's around, I wonder if this is going to feature the infamous attack we heard mentioned in S1

"Toge's cursed speech is something he's been able to use since he's been born, so back in the day, he struggled quite a bit." Imagining Baby Toge accidentally throwing his parents into the wall when they play peekaboo

Awwwww Inumaki empathizing with Yuta's involuntary curse

Why did Gojo sniff as he entered the development as if he could smell that Geto had been there gjghgfgg

"Geto Suguru. One of the four special-grade jujutsu sorcerers, who was banished from Jujutsu High after cursing over a hundred normal people to death. He's the worst curse user." 1) It helps to have the context of the Hidden Inventory Arc right before this 2) There are only FOUR? And Yuta is one?? 3) It's funny that they're all curse users essentially but it's derogatory to say that instead of sorcerer. Oh, the anime social structure

"I don't want everyone to catch the monkey smell." Geto said: I'm icky! And also maybe xenophobic. It depends on what metaphor you're going for

"We're going to kill all non-sorcerers and create a world with only jujutsu sorcerers." What makes Geto think this is a marketable business plan

Also the answer to my earlier question about the traumatic attack is: Yes, yes, it is

Gojo said: Stop trying to convert my students, it hurts my feelings!!

"I don't really understand what you're talking about, but I can't help anyone who insults my friends!" This is the funniest possible reason that Yuta could say no to ethnic cleansing. But alright, I'll take it

"On the coming December 24th, when the sun sets, we shall conduct the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons." Ah, it's the preamble to the traumatic attack. Also, Merry Christmas?

"I find it hard to believe he'd start a war he couldn't win." Gojo said: I have never accused Geto of optimism before

Geto really does love a diversion attack. And also torturing high school students. It's a wonder they didn't see the whole Exchange Event problem coming

"Why are you still a jujutsu sorcerer then?" "Because I'm spiteful." Hahah, I love Maki ❤️

"I wish I could be like you," said Yuta to Maki, immediately after her saying she's spiteful and wishes to crush her own family from within

HAHAHAHA YUTA OFFERING TO HELP WITH FAMILY-CRUSHING. What a nice, weird boy he is:

Maki said: You've unlocked the secret phrase to my heart. I now want to give u a leetle kees

NOT TO QUOTE THIS SHOW AT ITSELF BUT: "Jujutsu sorcerers are extraordinarily compassionate. An opening is always created when their ally is injured." 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Inumaki using his remaining strength to tell Yuta to run away 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 The only time we've heard him use someone's name!!!!!!!!!!!

"That woman saved me. Handle her with more care than a butterfly or a flower!" Yuta has grown a backbone but with the soul of a marshmallow. I love him 💘

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YUTA USING CURSED SPEECH. POWER SWAP!!

"How old are you two?" "Fifteen." "You're still just children. It's not too late for you to turn back. You don't know right from wrong, do you?" Mimiko and Nanako said: Excuse me, Ijichi, we would like to be tried as ADULTS, thank you very much

"How many years do you think it took the sorcerers in my country to weave this one rope." Why must this movie continuously feel like a subtle hate crime LMAO

Is that three sided weapon the one that Maki uses in S1? 👀

"Especially when we jujutsu sorcerers exist without belief." The revelation this is an non-theist society is actually very interesting, Geto says one (1) useful thing in this movie

Yuta is experiencing Baby's First Homocidal Rampage

Seeing that it is the exact same team in the Shinjuku battle really recontextualizes what it must've been like for the Kyoto School to be ambushed during the exchange event. They've really been through it as a school

Yuta thanking his curse fiancée for falling in love with him!!! 😭💗

Not to break the sincerity of this moment, but I bet this went over really well with the monsterfucker community

"So that's how you want it, womanizer?" "That's rude. It's pure love." Insane dialogue to accompany this scene. 10/10. No notes

"I trusted you. Trusted that a man as principled as you wouldn't kill off young sorcerers without a reason." Bold take from Gojo about someone who has killed over a hundred unsuspecting people at very minimal provocation

Is the silent dialogue meant to be Gojo telling Geto he loves him? I cannot think of what else this would imply:

Also I guess this explains why no one's like "Well, it's obviously Geto's fault!" for all the curse problems. They think he's dead!

"You're the descendant of Sugawara Michizane! That makes us super distant relatives!" So are all jujutsu sorcerers indirectly or directly the descendant of other sorcerers? It seems that way

"This past six years, I've been happier than I ever was when I was alive!" said Rika, as if that were not a weird thing to say about the time she spent committing acts of extreme violence as widely-feared apparition

Does Maki see Rika if she's not wearing her glasses? How does she experience this moment? She can definitely see the floating peaceful orbs

"You found it for me, sensei?" "No, not me. My best friend. The only one I ever had." With greatest affection. This is a symptom of Dumb Bitch Disease. WHY DO U SAY THESE THINGS TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE ACTIVELY BEEN ATTACKED BY HIM, GOJO

UHHHHHHH what brings Yuta to have lunch with Miguel!!! Who attacked them all a year ago!! What a threatening way to the end the movie

[bibaybe]

I'm so curious about Rika and Chishiya's relationship!!Plz tell all

so i got two asks about this, so you can see their dynamic in season 1 here!

season two is where they're kind of capable of actually showing their feelings for each other in a public setting, so rika takes advantage of that most of the time. during the witch hunt at the end of season 1, rika got shot in the arm and proceeds to get shot a second time in the leg during the King of Spades hunt, so we get a lot of chishiya taking care of her, bandaging wounds, etc, and its super cute and sweet when she's not being bitchy. ("why am i the one that keeps getting shot, huh? couldn't you take one for the team?" "next time the king of spades comes around, i'll get shot if it makes you feel better" "you better.... actually, don't do that. i like you in one piece" "yeah, that's what i thought")

she doesn't hide her feelings for him in the slightest, but he still keeps a bit of distance bc, shocker, they're in the borderlands and he doesn't want to be wrecked if she dies, duh. but she's more of the mindset of, fuck it, i could die anytime, if i die i want to have been with you. but she doesn't push him or anything, just makes her stance clear and lets him do the rest.

i'm not sure when they officially get together yet? i've got 3(maybe 4 i can't remember) episodes left so i haven't mapped that out yet. all i know is that, if they meet aguni and heiya which i assume will happen? awkward if it doesn't bc i've got a whole thing planned out and might just make happen anyway. BUT i think they still aren't officially together at that point, but chishiya is more comfy with the idea at that point. but when they run into aguni, rika has to deal with how she used and hurt him and basically tell him that everything she did was fake. and at the end of the convo, he's like, "when did you start falling for chishiya?" and she's just like... awkward didn't think you knew sorrryyyyy but like forever ago and its kinda awkward but unbeknownst to rika, he'd suspected she had feelings for him towards the end of their time at the Beach, so during their time apart he had time to come to terms with it

also unbeknowst to rika, after their talk he talks to chishiya and is like "she's special and she chose you. you better realize how fuckign good you have it and not let anything happen to that girl or i'll kill you myself" and they come to a mutual understanding and idk if they ever tell her but thats a thing

also heiya trying to flirt with chishiya and him just kind of ignoring her and then seeing rika and chishiya flirting when they think they're alone bc the only time they get distracted from their surroundings is when they're together and being like i have gotten rejected twice now bc of this bitch i stg i'll kill her but then they actually end up becoming friends after they have to work together and idk its just kinda funny to me

anyway chishiya and rika being each other weaknesses and strengths is just something i really like thinking about and they are so fucking personal to me i love them

[satanswrathussy]

mystic messenger playthrough day 5 i think??

this is literally just a thought dump there's no need to read this unless you want to read my ever spiraling confusion while playing this for the first time !!

TL;DR I DIDNT GET THE DAY 5 BAD END !! I'm on Jaehee's route and I'm terrified of messing up lmao

Word Dump

I already forgot how i've been formatting these- but i'm mobile so i doubt it matters anyways :,)

Anyways I discovered I have to start from Day 1 every time I get an ending, and I didn't want to do all of that just to see the Day 5 bad ending- so I looked up transcripts of the dialogue and ... I'm definitely getting ddlc'd because what the fuck bro

I think my favorite part is how Zen talks about his freaky dream, and SOMEHOW if you don't pick someone by Day 5- Yoosung gets woke then JUST DIPS????? WITH SOME RELIGIOUS CULT PPL?????? HUH?????

I'm assuming this isn't canon, like it was just thrown in to shame the player for not choosing lmao, bUT I'm also convinced the cult is involved in the story- and I'm absolutely blaming Rika for it even though i have like..... minimal evidence............. and that she's dead............ i still don't believe she's dead

Also I know this is a game so real world rules don't apply- but I didn't expect THAT to be the bad ending? I'd expect something like that to happen in a Yoosung exclusive bad end, not necessarily just a neutral "oopsie you're indecisive!" ending. I think it would make more sense if- because MC didn't get enough hearts for anyone -the RFA decides "actually let's NOT trust this random person to replace our dead friend."

So I'm on Jaehee's route- which may have been a bad choice, because the internet says the story makes the MOST sense if you play Zen/Yoosung/Jaehee ... but since I chose Jaehee when I started, I decided I'll just .... work backwards or something lmao.

OH ALSO I FOUND OUT JAEHEE IS NOT ROMANCE-ABLE AND IM SCREAMING CRYING AND THROWING UP

Anywhooo I'm not sure how I feel about this route so far, because it kinda just feels like a Jaehee pity parade? Like the devs decided "yes. she shall be a punching bag.", because so far it just seems like I have to keep reassuring her? Which I don't mind- but like please just let her be hAPPY SOON???

Predictions

Although I think the Day 5 bad end was meant to be a cop out, I think the cult ACTUALLY has something to do with the game.

is it bad i wanna invite the cult to the party

I think Rika faked her death and then started that weird Yoosung snatching cult. I don't care I REFUSE to trust her.

I'm also convinced Rika is Unknown and she's gonna make MC convince the RFA to join her weird Yoosung snatching cult.

I am very anti Rika despite never seeing her (outside of the cutscene before Day 5)

I bet Rika is just THE WORST. Like the way everyone talks ab her??? No one is just NATURALLY that nice unless they're covering shit up.

Theories

Would saying "Rika is the worst" count as a theory?

I JUST CAME UP W THIS- BUT I WOULD BET MY RIGHT HAND THAT RIKA WAS EMBEZZLING THE FUNDRAISER MONEY TO START HER WEIRD CULT

okay i forgot anything else i was wanting to say. it's only 5:30 so there's probably more day 5 chats coming up (i missed a lot bc i slept until 9am >:( )

[standingonsound]

so im having some issues on a wip that's a follow up to my iono fic so i wrote a quick little thing to try and reinvigorate myself. idk if it's going up on ao3 or anything but assuming i manage to work through all my plans i like having this out since it shows that rika did try to help iono with her issues

also i didnt do any editing so its probably rough as fuck but whatever

Rika knocks on the door. She waits. The sound of music rumbles from inside the apartment, but no one comes to answer. She tries again. Her fingers toy with the ring of keys hanging from her belt. She has a spare key. She can just barge in. It’s how she got into the building up to this point. She doesn’t want to enter the apartment without permission though. It’s rude, disrespectful.

But this is important. Iono’s performance review for the past quarter is concerning, and the League is considering cutting her loose. Rika knows what the problem is. She covered for Iono, and is the only reason her friend still has the job at all. Rika needs to warn her, to get Iono serious about improving her performance.

She knocks a third time. When there’s still no response, she plucks her keyring from her belt loop and shoves the key for Iono’s apartment into the lock. She turns the knob and cracks the door.

“Iono?” she shouts over the music. “I’m coming in!”

She pushes the door the rest of the way. Iono’s apartment is a mess, as always. Iono is sprawled out on the couch, her head in the lap of the friend who’s been visiting. It would be cute, if not for the blank looks on their faces or the drool dripping down her friend’s chin. 

Rika’s heart skips a beat. She thinks the two are dead for a second, before Iono jerks awake and lifts her head.

“Izzomone ‘ere?” Iono mumbles.

Rika’s fear turns to anger. She storms up to Iono. “What the hell is the matter with you!?” Rika restrains herself from attacking or grabbing the other girl. To occupy her hands, she makes sure the friend is breathing. She is.

Iono blinks a few times, looking Rika up and down. “Rika?”

Rika squats so that she can get in Iono’s face. “What the hell is this?” she asks. “You said you were cutting back.”

Iono has the decency to look guilty. “I am, I swear! But Roxie came to visit and we thought it would be fun to get high. This is the first time in a while.” She’s not even trying to use her normal voice. Instead, her voice sounds deeper, almost gravely.

Rika strokes Iono’s cheek. She’s gaunt, half-starved. Her teeth are yellow and she smells like it’s been a while since she last bathed. She didn’t look this bad the last time Rika confronted her about her drug problem. “What’s going on with you?” Rika asks. “Is there something you need to talk about?”

Tears well up in Iono’s eyes, but she blinks them away. “I’m fine,” she says. “Work’s kinda stressful, that’s all.”

“You mean the Gym?”

Iono shakes her head. “Streaming,” she answers. “I’ve been getting raided by trolls. They’re griefing and costing me subs and ad revenue.”

Iono tries to lift herself out of Roxie’s lap, but she needs Rika’s help. After getting her upright, Rika sits down next to her.

“Listen, Iono,” she says. “I didn’t come just to say hi. Your League performance reviews are crap. You’re not keeping your Gym open regularly enough, and when it is open you’re not accepting enough challengers. Then, your battles are lackluster, too. You’ve been keeping your Pokémon sharp, right?”

Iono twiddles her thumbs. “Like I said, I’ve been trying to cut back. It’s hard. I get, like, sick. I can’t even get out of bed.”

Rika pities Iono, but going easy on her at this point would doom her. The only way forward is to push. “They want to revoke your Gym license, Iono. I talked them out of it this time, but I won’t be able to save you again.”

Iono buries her face in her hands and sobs. “I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”

Rika hugs her. “I’m here for you, whatever you need. We can get you in NA and—”

“No!” Iono jerks out of Rika’s grip. “If my sponsors find out they’d drop me. I have to do it on my own.”

Rika takes Iono’s hands in hers. “No, you don’t. I’m here. Anything you need, I’ll help.”

Iono rests her head on Rika’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

Rika pats her on the knee. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll always have your back.”

Roxie chooses then to stir from her daze.

“You alright over there?” Rika asks.

She jerks, turns to Rika. “Who’re you?”

For a moment, Rika considers being mean. “Rika,” she says. “I came by to check on Iono.”

Roxie squints, suspicious. “I’m Roxie,” she says.

“Charmed,” Rika says.

The conversation grinds to a halt.

“Well, I should be going.” Rika stands up. “Iono, please remember what we talked about. For your sake.”

Iono’s face is red, and she struggles to look Rika in the eye. “I will.”

“Thanks.” Rika tips her head to Roxie. “It was nice to meet you. I’ll see you around.”

Roxie nods, but doesn’t say a word.

Rika leaves. She worries that she hasn’t really gotten through to Iono. Drastic measures might be necessary, but Rika doesn’t want to put her friendship in jeopardy. For now, Rika decides to trust her words got through to her friend. Iono needs to get her act straight. If she loses her position as a Gym Leader, she won’t be able to keep her apartment. Rika wouldn’t let her end up on the street, but it’s not like she makes enough to support someone else. Larry would help her make ends meet, but that wouldn’t be fair to him. He already does way too much.

Rika spares a backwards glance at Iono’s apartment door. “Good luck,” she whispers, then heads down the stairs.

[erigold13261]

I’m a bit afraid to ask but… what’s your thoughts on JJK S2 + the movie so far?

Already said this, but why the FUCK can Maki hear curses and why does she look at them when she doesn't have glasses on!? And Mei Mei is wonderfully animated (though I talked more with a coworker about her and I fucking hate that the series turns her into... THAT.)

But I'm liking it so far! I kept saying in my head that the reasoning that Satoru used to get Yuta to join JJK was fucking stupid. He's been lonely his whole fucking life (or at least the last 6 years) why the fuck does Satoru saying "wouldn't that be lonely?" or whatever change Yuta's mind to WANT to join JJK?

The kid literally tried to kill himself seriously enough that Rika had to stop the knife! He had full intention to end himself but just saying he could be lonely gets him to change his mind of 6 years of loneliness and trauma? I just thought that part was a bit dumb/rushed.

LOVED the design for cursed Rika though! Absolutely amazing design right there! Like her a lot more before the eye became a part of the design though.

OH! YEAH! Why the fuck is Yuta still alive!? The pact was for Rika AND him to die! That is how the curse was broken! It was a PACT! No matter if Rika wanted him to live, he should have died with her! >:(

Anyway, the movie was really good. Satoru is a fucking baby who could have stopped everything from going to shit if blue just killed Suguru at the end of the movie (obviously there would be no story but dude, come on. You know he's a threat).

Oh! Also love how Rika was animated when Yuta walked into the classroom for the first time. That was really well done!

And Maki is a bitch. Like way more of a bitch than she needs to be. I get her being upset with herself because she can't see curses or use cursed energy (and this was before more of her character development later in her life), but she still felt so much ruder to Yuta than she needed to be.

There is a difference between being blunt and being mean, and I feel like she was just being mean. Or at least projecting onto him (or I guess doing that tsundere thing because apparently she liked him and he liked her? Don't know why but kinda wish Rika and her's dynamic got fleshed out a bit more or something idk.).

For the Hidden Arc, I wish we got to see more young Kento and Yu. Like obviously I wasn't expecting much, but WHY bring them to Okinawa at all if those two weren't going to actually help Riko? (loved the annoyed fave Kento did when he heard Satoru and Suguru were staying an extra night though. That made me laugh hehe).

Speaking of Riko, I was NOT expecting that ending at all... I did not like her attitude in the beginning, but I was giving her grace because of the circumstance she was in. Which is why I warmed up to her really quickly by the end of the arc.

Talked with a coworker to ask if we get more information about Heavenly Pacts because those sound interesting, but looks like we only get scraps and tidbits throughout the series so far. Which sucks because hearing Toji's story really got me interested in them.

Toji was also really cool! Kinda annoying with how he acted, BUT it actually worked in favor for his character I think! He is really fucking smart but just has this I don't care attitude that usually annoys me, yet it works with him because he seems consistent? I don't know how to explain it, but he's fun and not totally annoying in how he acts.

Also, can he actually see curses? Because he has NO cursed energy, does the Heavenly Pact allow him to do that? That's what I am assuming, but I don't know shit about Heavenly Pacts yet.

Oh yea! When he got his with hollow purple I think the animators should draw organs! Him and Satoru should have been showing some guts from their wounds! Would have been better to me lol.

Speaking of gutting, does Suguru get to just keep using curses that were destroyed/exorcised? I swear that rainbow dragon got killed like 2-3 times and he kept using it, but Megumi's shadow puppets die and can never be used again? That sucks (maybe I am misremembering the curses Suguru uses, it's not like he can unsummon them like Megumi can).

That scissor/am I pretty curse that Suguru uses is so fucking cool! I want to see that one more!

I am just rambling now honestly. They were all really good. Almost all my problems with it so far are very nitpicky and technical. But I'm enjoying the show still up to this point!

(Still not looking forward to Hanami's death. Was also told Mechamaru dies later to Mahito and I hope it looks cool. Like if you are gonna kill a cool character let them die in a cool way! From what I was told Hanami dies in a dumb way and I want her to be dead in a cool way!

I think we also don't get to see her domain!!! NOOOOO! Please tell me we do! I hope my coworker just didn't remember it and we get to see it! We already saw Volcano Heads, Cuttle Fish, and Mahito's domains! Don't fucking tease us for Hanami's! She was about to use it before Satoru decided to be a bitch and shoot her! >:0)

Okay yea, lol. I'm done. Good shit so far!

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 6 Tsumihoroboshi pt. 22

I am very undecided if I should call what’s about to unfold here a retcon. Apologies for another massive screenshot dump.

See, the reason I’m hesitant about calling this a retcon is because it’s portraying these events from the view of this timeline’s Keiichi being able to think about things rationally. This Keiichi is able to remember these events from Onikakushi and think about them from the rational angle of Mion and Rena were probably on the up and up, but that doesn’t really hold water with the way it was portrayed in Onikakushi. After all Keiichi did find a needle in the ohagi, Mion did have a syringe (probably H173) that she was going to inject Keiichi with. Hell even with the part where Mion is crying because of Keiichi accusing her of murder she did very swiftly start to rant about how she should have killed Ooishi long before he started Keiichi on his path of paranoia.

Clearly this span of screenshots and exposition is meant to try to mesh Onikakushi more cleanly with the larger plot that has come about as of Tsumihoroboshi. So it has to try to explain away Keiichi’s paranoia with his onset of Hinamizawa Syndrome, but really I think you could just as easily explain it as Keiichi remembering events from other timelines that did happen the way they did. I don’t doubt that Keiichi had Hinamizawa Syndrome back when everything went to hell in Onikakushi, but this sudden turn of trying to explain that Keiichi doubting his friends and becoming excessively paranoid just rubs me the wrong way.

Except he didn’t! Up until this very moment he had no recollection of any of this happening! Even at the time when he did homerun derby his way through Rena and Mion’s skulls he very definitely didn’t act like they deserved it! He never outright expressed regret at the deed of murdering them, but he never explicitly blamed them for their deaths either. Keiichi acted like they were used by the grander conspiracy to get at him.

Keiichi’s freakout worsens as he is overcome with guilt over having killed Rena and Mion five chapters ago. This makes Satoko and Mion thoroughly confused because as far as they’re aware Keiichi might as well be having this meltdown over a bad dream. Rika however approaches Keiichi to confirm that Keiichi is aware of his sin of having killed Mion and Rena five chapters and four years ago. Keiichi confirms that he is acutely aware, and that he didn’t even realize it when he clawed out his own throat at the end of Onikakushi and only just realized it now during the later half of Tsumihoroboshi. It never really goes into detail about her rebirth process, only that Rika prefers to have some time to come to grips with what happened “recently” but I can’t help but wonder if this is similar to how it works for her. But really I suppose that’s more a question for Minagoroshi than anything.

This… is a very ironic screenshot given what happens later on in Minagoroshi.

Rika then goes on to make Keiichi remember what it was like when he gave in to paranoia and eventually killing Rena and Mion. She rationalizes that because he went through this he could save Rena. Probably.

Now, I don’t know about Ryukish07’s writing process, and I don’t know if Wikipedia should be believed about the release dates between chapters. But given the short amount of time between Tsumihoroboshi and Minagoroshi I can’t help but assume that the pair of these were probably written together for the most part. Four months doesn’t seem like nearly enough time to have completely forgotten the characterization for who is probably your most important character in the franchise. But it is just wild to me how Rika seems to do a complete 180 in terms of characterization from Tsumihoroboshi to Minagoroshi. I guess maybe you could handwave it away as she doesn’t remember this particular conversation due to dying shortly after this chapter ends? Even though that doesn’t make a bit of sense considering she mentions things that happened right at the end of the chapter in the next one.

Anyway, thus now burdened with the memory of killing Mion and Rena in a past life Keiichi apologizes to Mion for it, and vows to be there to protect her in the future if she needs protection. A flustered Mion accepts this.