#baka to jjk

[cursedvibes]

There's something really interesting about Sukuna dying as a pathetic lump of flesh, screaming on the ground, and both Kenjaku and Uraume going out with a smile after fighting & bonding with a sorcerer who represents modern jujutsu. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to develop this theme.

[beachbeibi]

Do you like jujutsu kaisen?

I do! I’ve made a couple fanarts of it too! I just always forget to cross post, here, have a trio of happy idiots

[lps468]

🗯️ ; BAKABAKABAKA !!!

[derseprinceoftbd]

At some point as a Fandom we're going to have to look back and accept that the best set of chapters in the entire series was the epic clash "Thousand Year Old Slut vs Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo-Bo".

[fujimiiiya]

Art belongs to MILK on twt (they are an allxyuji artist) so gave appreciation

🐯 Are you sure? Are you sure? Choso, you're going to regret it.

🩸 Yuji, don't threaten me. I'm doing this for Yuji's sake.

🩸So loosen your grip power *trembling hand*

🐯Ah! Aaaahhh!! You're definitely going to regret it. *fake acting* I'm saying this for my big brother's sake.

🩸*flinched, surprise* BIG BROTHER❕？

🐯 I think you should definitely choose this one here.

🩸*crying* Yuji....for my sake...!!

🩸okay, if Yuji says so, then I choose this one here !!!

🩸*flips card* turns out to be Joker, *gasp*

🐯Yess yess thank you for today's housechores, Choso *waving bye bye*

🩸....

🩸Yuji is so cute. He's such a handful little brother 😊

[thelustdevil]

Complicated

18+ below the cut MDNI

NB!Reader x Various, no specific characters mentioned but my personal list is at the bottom.

CW: Sexual content, romantic themes, relationship dynamics, gray romantic area.

»«

The two of you had a complicated relationship… it wasn’t always terrible. But people didn’t understand it. So you didn’t talk about it much, and they didn’t ask.

Going to high school together, then university. Falling in love between the two. Then breaking up halfway through your third year of university. By the beginning of your last year, you rarely said a polite hello in the hallways. In public you were nothing more than a previous flame, all burnt out now.

In private, that all changed. Those embers would never go out.

He’d bury himself inside you just to feel the warmth of your soft, wet walls. Running your fingers up and down his spine as you sit on his lap. Strands of his hair tickle your neck while his forehead rests on your shoulder. Sometimes he’d lay you down on your side, cock still buried inside you, and the afternoon would be spent sleeping in each others arms. Only to wake up to his slow thrusting, strong arms caging you in while they hold him above you. Your legs are pushed to the sides. He’s loving you right now, savoring the feeling of your like he’d ever have the chance of forgetting it.

Are you thinking about me? Is it going too far?

Little things he’d ask you. He’d whisper them against your back while his arms are wrapped around you. Every time you’d reassure him. If you really weren’t okay with this, you wouldn’t be here. Simple as that. You remind him that both of you have grown up a lot since you first met. Conversations like this flow easier. Communication flows easier.

He’d laugh. He knew that was jokingly directed at him. Before you’d even had time to think, he would be between your legs, apologizing once more for his previous juvenile actions. You both knew he’d been forgiven ten times over but you also knew he wouldn’t stop.

You don’t date anyone else. Or sleep with anyone else. Not that either of you wanted to.

It didn’t feel like your relationship was a secret. Nor did it feel like a relationship. But it felt right. Privacy had always been thing for you two. Your relationship was public conversation when you had a history of academic prowess and extracurricular athletic success. But it was also your little oasis amid busy lives and building future careers, being functioning young adults. And it still was. Only now, the two of you were the only souls that knew of it.

Dates were a thing, they just happened at home or far from it. Pictures of the two of you smiling in front of different dazzling views sprinkled both of your bedrooms. He wouldn’t admit it but you tell him you know he just wants to fuck you near every landmark. So this whole country has your touch lingering everywhere. He’s says you’re being dramatic and he couldn’t possibly help how hot you are in vacation mode.

Call it an obsession but every free moment is spent together. Or spent texting each other, quick Snapchat videos and goofy memes sent back and forth. Even if you weren’t directly interacting with him, he was on your mind. The image of him clouded your thoughts while you daydreamed. You felt his touch ghosting over your skin while laid in bed at night. His voice beckoned you from your dreams, promising visions of a future starring only you two.

You knew he felt the same. He’d confessed his feelings during late nights, your bodies intertwined keeping the nights chill at bay. Hushed whispers escaped his lips as he buried himself closer to you. Telling you how he sees you when closes his eyes at night. He can feel the way your touch warms his body even when you aren’t there. Visions of you in his mind flashing around. Nothing felt as real as you. Nothing felt as right.

Those were the nights you spent the longest ruining the sheets. Those nights he buried himself deep inside you every time he came. You knew your body would never accept someone as deeply as you did him. He touched every part of you when he fucked you. The feeling stronger than any drug you’d ever taken. This shit was soul deep, and both of you thrives in it.

You knew one day things would shift. Paths would align and finally the two of you could build the life you actually wanted. Nothing framed by contracts or business. Just you and your man against it all.

EREN, Levi, Connie, BAKUGO, Izuku, KIRI, Sero, Hitoshi, SHOTO, Shouta, YUJI, Megumi, YUTA, GOJO, TOJI.

[actuallykyogai]

BAKA-SURVIVOR FILM ☆

ANOTHER WIN FOR ME!!

[rishiimaa]

Hi there! I saw you were writing for Kingdom Hearts and I was interested in making a request if that's okay. It's completely fine if you can't right now, I understand things get busy in real life. I hope you are well!

Hii! Yes I’m back in the role chat! Start requesting away, I was moving out of my college campus and I never knew how long moving could take, but I’m allowing people to request now! I have enough free time!! <3

[motto-chanto-itte]

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN NOBARA KUGISAKI IS DEAD?

[bakatenshii]

hi hello im peeping back onto the dash and dusting it off a lil thats all xx

[bixiaoshi]

fuck my stupid baka life.

[hangup119]

ඞ JOIN GAME?

fifteen. who else feel Baka rn 😭

previous | masterlist | next

SYNOPSIS. not everyone is good at playing obby’s on roblox, and you’re no exception to this rule: after a particularly nasty encounter with another player on roblox’s altitorture, you log into twitter only to find out that the very same player who publicly dunked on your gaming skills turns out to be anton lee, a well-known streamer who also happens to be a friend of a friend. fed up with his fans bombarding your dms with teasing remarks or jealous musings, you decide to end it once and for all by appearing on his next stream with a promise to get through an obby successfully. however, you realize that the only thing you’ll be successful at is falling for anton lee instead.

TAGLIST. @shoberi @gisellessgf @serafilms @palchokitty @seunghancore @nujeskz @hisrkive @alwayswook @emohoon @milktea-academia @kyusqult @dolloie @slutforjeno @meowbini @yizhuobberi @fae-renjun @kcharlyy @whoisgwyn @saranghoeforanton @wonbicat @au-ghosttype @gyehyeonist t @dodot04lover @outrologist @papichulomacy @odxrilove @maleegayuh @ilovejungwonandhaechan @papichulomacy @dalsosapple @starwonb1n @tojis-luver @slayhaechan n @100203shong @lakoya @he6rtshaker @rikibsf @brachioswrld @woonagi-lemon @jjk-97 @ffixtionista @endtostartbreathin @ki3ntot @bidibaabidiboo @totheseok @astrae4 @hanbinniesmango @daegale @regrool

[cursedvibes]

My JJK Arc Ranking

Culling Game (ch 159-221) + Baka Survivor (ch 239-243)

Perfect Preparation (ch 144-158)

Itadori's Extermination (ch 137-143)

Death Painting (ch 55-64)

Shibuya Incident (ch 79-136)

Vs Mahito (ch 19-31)

Fearsome Womb (ch 1-18)

Hidden Inventory (ch 65-79)

Shinjuku Showdown (ch 222-262+)

Kyoto Goodwill Event (ch 32-54)

Cursed Child (Vol 0)

Note that this is my personal ranking of which arcs I like the most and least, not any objective statement. Like for example, I think Hidden Inventory is well-written, but it doesn't interest me much, that's why it's further towards the bottom.

With the manga drawing to a close, I thought I'd write down my thoughts about what we've gotten so far and what I like or don't like in the different arcs.

Culling Game

Starting at #1 with the Culling Game Arc. It's where my interest in the story really picked up and I got invested to the point of bothering to write analyses, dig into the lore and historical background and even start writing fanfiction. Culling Game is the meat of the story, where we got introduced to new important lore of characters, further explored their themes and connected dots that had been set up before. It is sort of a lul after the big climax of the Shibuya Incident, but I think that's also what was needed here, since this is more of a section where Gege takes time to explore concepts and characters further. Shibuya is a big payoff for the first part of the story and Culling Game builds on that, it establishes a level ground for the last part of the story. Characters like Yuuji and Maki for example found themselves fundamentally changed after Shibuya and used this time to find their footing again and try to create a new way for themselves to move forward. In Yuuji's case he had to do it twice even with the massive turn of not being Sukuna's vessel anymore aka having his role, purpose and ideal death taken from him. He catches himself relatively quickly though.

Also this arc just had a lot of moments I really like, actually most of my favourite moments in jjk happen here. Like Kenjaku calling Yuuji their son, Yuuji's fight against Higuruma, Maki's awakening, Noritoshi reconciling with his mother having a new family, Kenjaku & Uraume rolling up to the White House, the Yuki vs Kenjaku fight, the Heian trio spa day, Yorozu's backstory, Kenjaku and Tengen getting Sukuna's mummy and much more. The fights were for the most part also great. You always took something new away and I liked how we were slowly spoon-fed information about the Culling Game and Kenjaku's plans. Almost every chapter had something to pick apart and even with the cycle through the colonies there was always tension because you didn't know what this would all lead to. Even when the protagonists were doing well, things could change at the drop of a dime. There was a false sense of security. The main group got a little bit of control only to have it ripped away when they least expected it.

Baka Survivor

I put the Baka Survivor arc up here as well because while it might technically be during the Shinjuku Showdown, I thought it was so far removed from the fight against Sukuna that it's reasonable to see it as its own mini-arc. Plus, I think this section is a lot better than the majority of the Shinjuku Showdown. It's like Gege took some time to play around and write what was fun to them, the stuff they actually want to write. The end was a bit...meh. Mainly because of the context of this fight and Kenjaku's larger role in the story, especially what Kenjaku's death this early would mean (or not mean...) for Yuuji. Yuuta's integration here was also very weak because while he might have reasons to go after Kenjaku that were a little bit explored (although I think you could've done way more with it than just "wants to do it for Gojo" after all a big theme of this fight was connecting with other people and building friendships/partnerships, which is something closely related to Yuuta's character), he was absolutely irrelevant from Kenjaku's perspective. You could've put anyone in his place and it wouldn't have changed anything from Kenjaku's point of view. Well, maybe if you put Yuuji there, but Gege was clearly not interested in exploring their relationship like that....

Anyway, I have raved about this arc a lot on my blog already, but in summary I absolutely love how we explore both Kenjaku and Takaba further, compare them and their understanding of comedy/curiosity and how both of them struggle to open up to others, show their real self and make themselves vulnerable. I especially think that this was actually thematically a very nice end for Kenjaku. They indulge in what they really want, have fun without the need of excessive cruelty (although there was violence from both of them) and they allowed themselves to connect with someone else again and make a friend. Chasing after their superficial goals of merging humanity they lost their closest friend, Tengen, were thrown into doubt and Takaba both offered himself as an alternative and pulled them further away from their insane ideas. Best thing about it is that Kenjaku went for it! They got caught up in the comedy with Takaba, they paid the price for allowing themselves such a close relationship with someone else and lowering their guard, and they still didn't regret it. In fact they were glad they spend their time before their death with Takaba and finally having fun. Of course the merger plan continues, they can't just let Tengen die with them or fall into the protagonists hands and it is too late for Tengen to change back anyway, but I absolutely love Kenjaku's character development here. Just remains to be seen how Takaba will leave this fight and how he will react to having once again lost a partner.

Perfect Preparation

Really like this arc for all the new lore we get as well as emotional chapters like the Zenin massacre and Yaga's death. The introduction of Hakari and Kirara was fun too, but the highlight for me is definitely the meeting with Tengen and Maki's massacre. Ch 145 and 146 might be in the top 5 of the chapters I have reread most often. You always find something new there and there's so much about the relationship between Tengen, the Star Plasma Vessels and the six eyes to take apart, particularly with later reveals like Yuki also being a Star Plasma Vessel. Those two chapters were also what first really got me more interested in Kenjaku and their history with Tengen. It's when it becomes apparent just how much Kenjaku has planned and arranged over the past millennium and it also raises even more questions of why Tengen never mentioned them before and how Kenjaku could stay undercover for so long.

Then we of course also have the Zenin massacre. I like how it starts with giving us some clan politics. I love that shit. Wish we got something similar for the Kamo and Gojo, but oh well. Maki's meeting with her mother when she goes for the weapon storage is already pretty chilling, but it's even better when you see her mother go from "why can't you make me proud of you for once?" to "I'm glad I gave birth to you". Shows how much she suffered under the Zenin as well, despite playing by their rules. Too bad she only came to the conclusion to treat her kids decently when it was already too late. Maki also only found out her mother did care about her and was the one to finish off Naoya when she was already dead. Just like her reunion and clearing conversation with Mai, it all happens just a little too late and that's what makes it so wonderfully tragic.

Also shout-out to Yaga's death scene. I've come to appreciate it much more recently and I particularly like seeing him together with all the other autonomous cursed corpses he keeps hidden away and the hints of the friendship he has with Kusakabe.

Itadori's Extermination

Honestly, I mostly like this arc for its atmosphere. It's one of the instances where you feel the most just how much destruction, chaos and desolation Shibuya and the start of the Culling Game caused. The main characters roaming the streets all split up and sleeping by campfires, the broken buildings and civilians hunting for scraps of food, curses praying on desperate humans...it's great. Wish we got more of that later on, but I only really got a similar feeling when the foreign armies attacked.

And of course we get the fateful Itadori flashback here. I don't know how many hours I spend looking at those two pages and taking the dialogue apart. Just two pages and I've become utterly obsessed by this weird family. Also the first time we see Kenjaku in a vessel that is not Geto, so that's extra nice.

I remember also really liking Yuuta's reintroduction when the chapters first came out. He looked so much worse than in Vol 0, so that was really intriguing. Bit disappointed there wasn't more conflict and it turned out he looks like shit because...well, that's just his look now. Still good arc.

Death Painting

I like this one because it's where Yuuji, Nobara and Megumi feel most like a team going on a mission and solving a mystery. Especially the opening of it, with weird paranormal events that remind you of classic Japanese horror stories is really nice and always manages to draw me in. Kinda wish there were more missions like that just for the sake of atmosphere, even though I don't think the story necessarily needs it. Seeing Mahito and Kenjaku capture a civilian man, strip him, nail him to a wall and then feed him a cursed fetus was also insane. Never get tired of watching/reading that no matter if it's the manga or anime. Vol 7 was the first jjk volume I ever bought and I remember how striking it was to open the book and start with that scene. Gave me chills.

I also love the entire fight with Eso and Kechizu. One because I just like their characters and getting introduced to the background of the Death Painting's existence was interesting, but I also really enjoyed Yuuji and Nobara's dynamic here and their talk about what it means to kill.

Shibuya Incident

Really good arc and what made me more interest in how jjk would continue when I first read the manga, but rereading it there are definitely some fights and scenes that really drag for me and I end up skipping whenever I read it again or when I watched S2. Like all the curse users working for Kenjaku that ended up being entirely irrelevant. The backstory of Ogami and the guy with the big eyes was nice because it gave us an insight into what the life of regular curse users (not big hitters like Geto or Kenjaku) is actually like and how society changed when Gojo was born. That's some world building I very much appreciate. Aside from that all the curse users are very forgettable though. There's a reason I only remember Ogami's name and none of the others'. Some other stuff also just comes down to character preferences like I'm not that interested in what Nanami or Ino were up to and Toji was also...eh. Nice, but I'm not losing my mind over it. Nanami's death scene is great though. I mostly love Shibuya for its later stages. Yuuji's fight against Mahito, how seeing his friends and civilians die through his inaction makes him breakdown, how his world view changes over the course of fighting Mahito and their scene at the end when the roles of predator and prey are reversed. Kenjaku's entrance and explanation of their plan and what was to come is also very interesting and probably the part I reread most in this arc.

Vs Mahito

I gotta say I do really like Junpei's story and his developing friendship with Yuuji. Yuuji's first few encounters with Mahito are great as well. It's nice seeing them get to know each other and seeing the inciting incidents that cause both of them to gradually get more and more obsessed with killing the other. I also really appreciate this arc for giving us some of those slower scenes that are just focused on Mahito, the curse family or Mahito & Junpei talking philosophy. Mahito is a quite fascinating character even in his simplistic cruelty and here you can also see the most just how horrific, but also intriguing, Idle Transfiguration is. This arc has one of the best horror in jjk and I appreciate the anime for emphasizing the comparisons to the Human Centipede movies and human experimentation even further. It's really close between this and Shibuya Incident. I just ended up putting Shibuya higher because when it hits, it hits hard and I still like the high points it has more than the Vs Mahito arc. Still appreciate the groundwork this arc laid for Shibuya to be as impactful as it was.

Hidden Inventory

Like I said in the beginning, I do think this arc is well-written and I think it's a great way to flesh out Gojo and Geto's characters as well as give us more world building and establish the background presence of Tengen and the connection of the Star Plasma Vessel and six eyes to her. I'm also convinced that what we learn here about the Time Vessel Association and the cults that build around Tengen will become relevant again when we get to the Heian flashback and Sukuna's/Tengen's/Kenjaku's backstory. Still have that "Kenjaku created the Time Vessel Association in the Nara period" theory in the back of my mind. This lore is also the main thing I like about this arc. Don't get me wrong, Gojo and Geto's struggles and change in mindset is nice too, but I don't care much about Gojo and don't like Geto, so I ended up focusing more on everything around them. Including Riko. I find her story, the way she grew up and her inevitable death very interesting. Episode 3 of season 2 is still my favourite episode of the season of maybe even the entire anime because it's just that beautiful and I love how they added to the themes of her character by connecting her to the ocean. The inside of the Tomb of Stars is also so eery and entrancing, I could soak in that atmosphere forever. The only reason it's so low is because a lot of this arc is dedicated to Gojo and Geto and their relationship etc. While that is absolutely necessary and was very well done, it's not something I'm much interested in.

Fearsome Womb

Start of the series. It's really those first few chapters and the mission at the detention centre I like about it. It's where you see Yuuji still quite naive and ready to play the hero. I am very interested in his life before joining Jujutsu Tech and when he first got introduced to jujutsu, so this is always nice to revisit and see how he acted before he was forced to become a seasoned sorcerer very quickly. Those glimpses of how Yuuji was always a bit of a loner and also extraordinary from the start due to Kenjaku's meddling. Knowing his family background makes these scenes now even more interesting. His mentality back then is also what makes the moment in the detention centre so special, where he realizes Sukuna isn't Kurama and won't be a convenient power source for him. He could die if he is careless (which he is, of course, he never dealt with anything like this before) and he is scared of it.

Besides that, I also like the introduction of Kenjaku and the curses, how chill it is and how you see them walking among regular citizens undetected by anyone. I think that's especially a fitting introduction to Kenjaku's character. They are unassuming in the beginning of the series, easy to overlook next to flashy Mahito and Jogo, but that's how they have always been throughout history and it's part of the reason for why they never drew much attention besides the Death Painting experiment, which wasn't directly linked to them. Of course Tengen covering for them was the other big reason.

Overall, nice start into the series, even if some parts are a bit slow and don't animate me much to reread them.

Shinjuku Showdown

Shinjuku Showdown fights on a reread do merge well into each other, but it's undeniable that they are very formulaic. Yuuta starts out the same way Higuruma does. Talking about regrets, giving his all, how he has to end everything with a technique only he can use and then he gets cut down. Same with Maki, Kusakabe, Miguel and Larue. It is all the same. We are currently literally watching a slight reshuffle of the fight that started this arc.

Parallel we learn more about Yuuji's new abilities and Sukuna has to gradually exert more force. Technically a good thing, but it's all so repetitive that it loses more and more of it's emotional impact for me. If there is any emotional impact at all. Eventually it just becomes explaining of cursed technique after cursed technique that won't work anyway with minimal depth otherwise. Things get a bit better when most people have been cut away and we start focusing on Yuuji and Sukuna, but by that point I'm already so tired by everything that came before that I can't get that hyped about it and just want a complete change of pace that breaks all rules that have been set up and introduces something completely new. Like the merger for example... Although I have to say, Kashimo's fight might be my favourite still out of the bunch. Has a lot to do with my particular interest and what I'm looking for in a fight. It was short, but we got a nice wrap-up for Kashimo's character, learned more about the Heian era, explored the theme of love and strength and got what is so far one of the deepest looks at Sukuna's philosophy and mindset.

Besides that, on the reread, by the time Kusakabe's fight happens I'm catching myself only skimming the pages. It doesn't help that there's not much initiative happening from Sukuna's side besides the very recent chapters. He's just waiting for others to do something, which lowers the perception of any imminent threat from him. The later half (before Yuuta showed up again) isn't as bad as the Gojo vs Sukuna fight, but I'm still having a hard time staying invested while reading it. Gojo vs Sukuna 2.0 pretty much tanked my interest again. Every week I'm shaking Sukuna to just spit out his backstory already and release Tengen because that's the only thing I care about at this point and I'm bored of this fight. But again, my opinion, others likely feel otherwise.

Kyoto Goodwill Event

Was a bit tempted to put it above Shinjuku Showdown, but at the end of it Shinjuku Showdown still has some scenes I really like, like Kashimo's fight, Yuuji fighting Sukuna and the Sukuna, Uraume and Kenjaku scenes in ch 222. That's more than what I could say for Kyoto Goodwill Event. I don't necessarily dislike it. It doesn't really have any moments that bother me as much as the ones in Shinjuku Showdown, but at the same time nothing in this arc really stands out to me or catches my interest. Often I end up forgetting about it entirely. There's not really much to say about it because I don't have any strong feelings about this one. Not really something I reread unless I'm looking for some very specific information.

Cursed Child

When I first read Vol 0 (right before the Death Painting arc) I thought it was a concept story for jjk. The infant stage of it before Gege made the proper story. Sort of like the original chapter of Naruto where he's actually a fox spirit. Interesting to read to see where jjk started, but not tied to canon. That's also why I didn't question Geto acting very different here. I just though "wow, they made his character way less aggravating". So yeah, Vol 0 is really not something I find interesting or enjoy and I think the writing in it is quite rough. I didn't find Yuuta very compelling. He's an obvious Shinji rip-off, which wouldn't be that bad in itself except I don't find his personality that interesting and him pulling powers out of his ass without any of them being set up prior made me really dislike him. He can just copy techniques now and use them much better than the original person because he's just that overpowered. Who knows how he learned about any of this, who knows what the limitations to any of his powers are, he can apparently just do anything and that makes his fights not very thrilling because there aren't really any stakes. He also has barely any connection to the villain of this arc except that he happens to kill people Yuuta cares about. Geto's ideology is entirely irrelevant. Geto could've said he's killing people because he wants to turn them into Christmas decoration and the fight would've happened the same way. I think putting an ideologically-driven villain against someone whose only care is that his friends are alive and who has also not even the experience to judge if anything Geto says is justified wasn't a very good move. Centring Gojo and Geto's conflict would've been better and also showing us literally anything that would make it possible for us to judge if any of Geto's complaints are justified, if he's talking about real problems. Just going by Vol 0, we don't know that. We can only tell that the bullshit he spouts is an allegory for white supremacy/racism, which obviously is bad. But on it's own it seems like he's just spouting bigotry for bigotry's sake, which doesn't make for a very compelling villain, especially if the rest of the characters and setting don't fit his attitude. Nobody can ever even bring themselves to say something like "genocide bad, eugenics bad". They just don't engage with what he's saying and if that's the case, then why bring it up in the first case. It makes Geto's antics even more unnecessary. On its own it's really not that good of a story and since it's a oneshot with initially no guaranteed sequel, I would expect a bit more.

All that being said, the first time I read Vol 0 I was very annoyed and glad I followed it up with the Death Painting arc, something which is much better written and more up my alley. If Vol 0 was my first exposure to jjk, I don't think I would've continued reading. Having more context from Hidden Inventory fleshes at least out what Gojo and Geto have going on, but my complaints about Yuuta and his lack of meaningful relation to Geto and what he stands for still makes me dislike this arc.

[shinjisdone]

OKAY OKAY MY SPECIAL ONTREST IS BASICALLY..MY OC. Specifically the oc I made from the best Thorfinn fic out there, "to soften a warriors heart"

(I drew her multiple times already but i wanted this one to be the base of the oc. Its a WIP!)

I don't want to overshare! I just wanted you to know how much your work inspired something that makes me so happy.

For me, the story took a more romantic turn between Thorfinn and my oc. I call her "Orla". There's so much about her regarding Thorfinn and the plot that I wanna type but like - it will take forever for I'll just type out the stuff the tiny stuff

Orla's character was inspired by multiple characters. I even named her after one of them I liked. The list were 'Luna lovegood' from Harry Potter, 'Casca' from berserk, and 'Orla' from derry girls. She's lively, carefree, and basically just the opposite of Thorfinn in general. I was always a sucker for that kind of dynamic, I just hate it when it turns toxic when it could've been cute. Her backstory plays a lot into her character since there are mentions of her being a slave and after escaping by killing her master she felt 'brand new' and enjoyed the control she had over her own life (since she never had it) her while journey was centered around false freedom where when she joined Askeladds band, she killed for the sake of her own freedom. To not end up to where she was before. Her 'carefree' nature was kind of a toxic trait to her. It led her to make decisions without fearing the consequences. Being impulsive and just liked to take advantage of her new found freedom. The feeling of her finally having the upper hand in situations. I like to recignize her flaws aswell. Her flaws being her selfishness. Like I said, she joined and went along with Askeladds band, killing innocent people just for the desire to have a sense of control. I made sure along the journey from start of season one towards the end, she kind of has a realisation and existential crisis apon what she's done and recognizes how many people she's killed and how many lives she's ruined.

Lastly, for the final act, I ended up "killing" her off just for the extra bonus of pain in Thorfinns relationship with her. Yk, to get him started for season two. Because I had this one scene where they talk about going to vinland together after Thorfinns gets his revenge done but I know Thorfinn HAS to be empty in season 2 so I was like - why not "kill" his future. (She ain't dead I just made it look like she did)

*coughing up blood ME???? Hapahadpahahhh mmm-m-my???? Widdle brainrot story for u????

Compliments will get u nowhere b-baka

But omg she looks so great too???? Goodness goodness I am bewitchedddd

I am someone who unabashadly makes OCs aaaaaall the time in my little disgusting corner of the stories I love (counting Dororo, Demon Slayer, MHA, Zelda, VS, JJK, TWST) b-but to have someone make an OC and base it a bit on my fanfic??? Sobbing crying ugly crying

Ugh oh my goodness tell me all about ur blorbo I am sipping on my tea mhm tell me

I only know Casca from Berserk a little bit but that already makes me SCREAMM

An carefree, happy person born for the need for freedom and therefore killing to keep it mwah. Honestly, these happy-go-lucky characters that stem from dark backstories are always so interesting and imo the most interesting way you could write a char like that. Slapping my knee this is tasty, thisbis good food.

KILLS TO HAVE A SENSE OF CONTROL AWOOOOO THIS IS THE ANGST I EAT UP MHM THE DARKNESS IS DELICIOUS

YES!!! YES!!! MAKE HER REALIZE HER MISTAKES MAKE UR CHARACTERS SUFFER OOOOO THIS IS MY GUILTY PLEASURE.....like building something up and DESTRYOING IT. TEARING APART HEARTS IN FICS

👏👏👏👏 man honestly if I made the reader "die" in front of Thorfinn that would have left him a wreck (my goal) I wanna turn him into a wreck like makima turned denji into a dog

But imo I felt like if the one person you had in this world just vanished in the Chaos and you realize it too late while still whipping your around to see if they're still maybe nearby but see nothing - I think that would make the doom sink in

Mwah this was heavenly thank u

[flaresanimedump]

Fukuzawa and Ranpo romantic themes essay **Updated May 2024**

ALRIGHT here we go

The story thus far:

Well HERE IT COMES.

First off y'all are focusing too much on Fukuzawa. Sorry but if you look to Fukuzawa only Fukuzawa/cats has merit. Even with FukuMori it's Mori we get 90% of the ship content from (silver fox?? Can you not hit on him for FIVE SECONDS MORI-)

You have to look at RANPO. And so we will, mostly, in this response.

Now I did say "themes" first so you're all gonna have to deal with me doing both. I’m just gonna lead with the thing that I see the behavior in the og tweet with the most:

Antis almost never fail to say "father and son" in their captions when they post screenshots of this anthology chapter.

As the translator of this anthology I will tell you it's not father and son. It's tsundere boyfriend.

How is this tsundere?!: “I’m not worried about you, baka, I just don’t ever want to see you sick—play sick nurse for you again!! So take better care of yourself!! Here’s a snack!! Feel better or else!!” + this phrase "I never thought I'd hear such caring words from you" is your basic tsundere trope template in JP.

Why does that mean it’s romantic?!: Tsundere behavior is mostly reserved for love interests – particularly this bit.

He’s just offering him a snack!!: Look at the shojo background in every panel. Look at the sparkles. Look at them setting the fluffy lovey-dovey mood. Look at Fukuzawa’s saying he’ll take them to his heart. You can hear the “Kyaaaa, Yukichi-kun was so close!!!” if you listen carefully.

But- but- FATHER AND SON!!: you may now see why it took a Fukuran shipper to translate this 4 years after it was released, despite the scanlation boom over covid ;)

But that’s an anthology! It’s not really canon!

Moving right along then, this is Bones only, but:

Seeing color because you meet someone is literally the basis of an entire subset of soulmate AUs.

I bookmarked two romance quotes in the last 6 hours that center on romantic love bringing color into someone’s life. This is an extremely common romantic trope and I still can’t believe Bones went there in Origins. a. “But Nova!” they cry, “lots of parents say their children bring color into their lives!!” True!! And you’ve just said why this isn’t the same! Fukuzawa brought color to RANPO’s life, not the other way around. This is why I say to look to Ranpo for this ship!

Well Bones sucks!

There are about 104 examples of “Unbroken Vigil” on TV tropes. Exactly two of them are children waiting by their parents, and they’re both from live action film. This trope, across all categories of media, is absolutely owned by romantic couples. Notably in the anime and fanon sections there are no examples of family members doing this. I won’t say there aren’t any anywhere, though. JJK exists. But that’s a good example of how different Ranpo’s reaction is from the usual “caretaker is in the hospital” mood – sure Yuuji’s sad when his grandpa dies, but he’s gonna be ok. Ranpo’s, as Yosano says, devastated. Ranpo’s devastation fits squarely in the romantic box for this one boys.

Point of reference: Fukuzawa

I’m gonna hit two points at once in this section:

Ranpo’s kneeling to Fukuchi here but he has no loyalty to Fukuchi. He’s kneeling out of loyalty to Fukuzawa, so in truth he’s kneeling to Fukuzawa’s will. He’s acting as Fukuzawa’s knight. Even if we pretend King and Lionheart wasn’t a fandom phenomena for years, this isn’t a parent-child thing. Ranpo is steadfastly faithful to his king.

But lo?? Ranpo’s a lying liar. He’ll face away from the president under exactly one condition: Fukuzawa’s life is hanging in the balance. Then he’ll go against the only thing he himself has said he’s willing to stand for. This is not how the parent-child trope works. The parent says “live for me, I’ll die for the greater good” and the child cries and the parent dies. It’s like. The most common movie plotline in the universe when adults' parents are in movies.

Instead Ranpo actually does something that another stated romantic couple in this series does.

Goes apeshit on the threat.

Then later he’s not even remorseful. He tells Fukuzawa they did it and eats a bunch of cake without a care in the world after. He’d do it again and we know it.* So his moral compass isn’t to follow the president, it’s actually to follow him up to his own good and then burn the entire city down if it’ll keep him alive. This is really the most damning of Ranpo behaviors that screams of something more than familial affection.

Fukuzawa’s lines when he's poisoned are “we must not fight the port mafia. My life isn't important, protect this city (from the inevitable damage the fighting will do).”

Ranpo’s argument to disobey him is that the port mafia will start taking their families hostage to get them to give Fukuzawa up. “And if that happens, even the detective agency will be forced to give in.” His argument isn’t even “our friends will be in danger,” it’s “if we don’t fight we'll have let them kill President Fukuzawa.” Which, you know, Fukuzawa already said was preferable to fighting.

So this whole argument is literally that ship meme: “I will sacrifice myself to save everyone.” / “I will sacrifice anyone to save you.”

*Ranpo’s near-complete lack of punishment for this is a subtle sign of Fukuzawa’s bias too but this is already too long.

Shirushi

Or the 4th season's opening song. This has not been easy I tell you WHAT most of the translations for this song’s lyrics leave something to be desired and song lyrics are hard to understand. Anyway, we have Shirushi, which Luck Life's vocalist said was about Ranpo and Fukuzawa. And it’s. Well I wouldn’t exactly call it a love song because it’s bigger with “you gave me a reason to live” as one of the recurring lyrics. But the song’s got more lyrics about wanting/wishing/pleading to stay together: “I want to stay here // please, let’s just stay here // I want you and I to continue” and them being together, the “here” in question, is called “the place where [my] heart belongs.” It’s so sweet aaaaaa and it most definitely sounds like a love song.

"I will be his shield"

Here we have the rare Fukuzawa point.

Ok can I skip explaining this it’s very very obvious and I already went over one of these things.

Normal thought process: I should keep an eye on this kid. Fukuzawa thought process: I will become his shield, his sword, his shelter, to allow his magnificent mind freedom to work its magic--

Two halves of one whole

This is a weak ass point but I always found it thematically contradictory to the father/son interpretation, particularly when it comes right on the heels of a certain line fancops like to reference.

At the beginning of Origins Fukuzawa literally parkours across a room, backflips and everything, shocking the guy with all the papers with his mad skills. And Fukuzawa thinks “What? Why? That wasn’t impressive.”

He’s hinted to be the physical counterpart of Ranpo’s hyper competence. I.E., Ranpo is the one-of-a-kind mind and Fukuzawa is the one-of-a-kind body. Together they become unstoppable.

This implies a bond that won’t end?? But parent & child plotlines always have a theme of the child growing up and moving on. Atsushi and the orphanage director, though they’re fucked up, personified it. But they’ve clearly established that Fukuzawa and Ranpo are two halves of one whole and neither of them are planning to separate at any point. What’s Ranpo gonna do, go become a regular cop?? This just doesn’t suit a father and son dynamic.

Jealousy

Alright this next part will take some effort but FIRST we must all agree there’s romantic tension between Fukuchi and Fukuzawa. When I initially drafted this the finale had not come out, but we STILL had this going on:

Ok, so we also have the finale and we know Fukuzawa has some Strong Feelings for Fukuchi too. And Ranpo friggin' hates it.

I don’t aim to eradicate the platonic reading of Fukuran or anything, Fukuzawa and Ranpo are cute together no matter what! So this does smack of a teenager mad about having a stepdad taking all their mom’s time. But I cycle back to what Fukuchi cites as the focal point of Ranpo’s jealousy for the other easy interpretation.

The only time in my life I’ve thought “Aw I wish we’d met sooner :/” and felt a little envy towards someone's high school friends was with someone I was dating. I’d never think anything to this effect about a family member, certainly not enough to get violently jealous of their old friends or, heaven forbid, significant others.

What Ranpo is wishing for here is to have known Fukuzawa longer than Fukuchi, which could not happen if he was Fukuzawa's son. Fukuzawa was too young to have children when he met Fukuchi. So Ranpo's jealousy doesn't seem strictly platonic.

Praise

I will never understand how anyone sees the praise scene and thinks it’s normal father-son behavior. Teenagers wouldn't wouldn’t be caught dead doing this. Adults are far beyond it. Ranpo’s 26. Yes he likes candy and can’t ride the train, but the trains in Japan are WORSE than driving and neither of these behaviors mean he's a literal child. He has a driver’s license and investigates corpses for a living. He’s an adult.

This is a textbook praise kink.

Update: We got NEW STUFF WHOO

First I need to explain all of Japanese to you! Kidding, but we are gonna talk about second person pronouns. If you're not already aware, Japanese has well over 15 words for "I." Similarly, there are also 10+ words for "you." That being said, "you" is often seen as too direct and therefore all of these words can be seen as rude (you're supposed to use the other person's name with an honorific or their title, i.e. Fukuzawa-san, Shachou). You can use "you" for advertisements where the "you" is very general, OR with friends/lovers/etc.

OK we're gonna look at 2 of these pronouns now:

あなた(Anata) is a common second-person pronoun. This is the one that comes up in advertisements. It's semi-formal, though rude in certain contexts. As already stated, Anata is mostly used with people you're already close or familiar with (some examples in BSD include Kyoka to Atsushi and Akutagawa, between Haruno and Naomi, and Ango to Dazai) but can be used with strangers you're not close with and/or people you're a little irritated by (examples: Atsushi to Kouyou and Fitzgerald, Poe to Yosano). You are NOT supposed to use Anata with superiors. Historically, however, Anata once had another use: as a term of endearment between married couples. Generally the wife might call her husband this. This doesn't happen much though!! Only in certain contexts, which I'll get into. Don't go telling people Anata is a romantic pronoun because of this essay, it's not. Mostly.

お前(Omae) is rude! Ok it's not that rude, but it's a tough guy "you." This is often used when people are annoyed with the "you" in question, i.e. Kunikida scolding Dazai for drowning/being broke, "Dazai! Omae-" like that. Like Anata, this can be used by guys who know each other well/are good friends. Also like Anata, historically, it once had another use: as a term of endearment between married couples. Generally the husband might call his wife this. This is older than the endearment use of Anata and far less common now. It was explained to me as being a bit like saying "my woman." But once again this is rare!! It doesn't mean that now! Don't go expecting it to be romantic all the time because it almost never is!! Except--

Except that Fukuzawa uses very old language, because he's named after a guy whose heyday was the 1860s. That's plenty long enough ago to use Omae as a term of endearment. In fact there are only two characters who he calls Omae, one of whom is Fukuchi:

HOWEVER, while this proves Fukuzawa only uses it with people he's extremely close to, Fukuchi uses Omae back. I could make a joke about the two dudes who would be gay if they could just work out which one should bottom but this is a Fukuran essay so you can use your imagination for that. I'll move on to the other person he uses Omae with:

Ranpo, of course! But you see... Ranpo rarely calls Fukuzawa anything other than Fukuzawa-san or Shachou. Except he did at the end of the anime:

WE GOT AN ANATA FOLKS. Ranpo doesn't call anybody else Anata. He goes for Kimi mainly. Yet here he whips out Anata for Fukuzawa who, if he was looking at Fukuzawa as his superior, he should never refer to as Anata. So not only do we get confirmation that their relationship isn't just boss and employee, we get THE OMAE+ANATA SET. This isn't definitive cannonizing content of course - as I've said multiple times, these both mean something different now - but it's strongly suggestive. And speaking of suggestive,

Word of god

If you were ever worried that Asagiri might frown on the ship, or that he doesn't know about it, or that he didn't intend for a shippy interpretation at all, you can put all those fears to rest. In January 2024 Asagiri held a panel at the Kochi Museum of Literature and the Fukuran fans were WELL FED. Asagiri was asked half a dozen questions about Ranpo and Fukuzawa, but the most fun answer was when he was about Ranpo and Fukuchi. Rough translation below:

Q. Can you expand on the relationship between Ranpo and Fukuchi?

A. To put it in a slightly misleading way, Ranpo views Fukuchi as his rival in love*. They are enemies in a love triangle. Fukuchi doesn't agree.

*YES this word means romantic love.

Yes it's a joke but it's basically carte blanch to ship it to your heart's content, Asagiri knows you're there and winks at you in his interviews. AND it's also Kafka Asagiri saying that Ranpo sees himself in a love triangle with Fukuchi and Fukuzawa. So. You know. Just a small (major) win for the Fukuran fans there!

--End of new info--

But what about-

Now, I did mention the line I know all the antis are getting ready to comment with, and I just don’t think this would be complete without the inflammatory “well actually” section. There have been many a tweet saying “Fukuzawa says he sees Ranpo as his son!”

Actually, he never does. They're explicitly called partners/buddies, however.

NOVA IT’S RIGHT HERE!!

Bad news kids: this isn’t an exact translation. It’s very sweet and all but that’s not what the Japanese actually says.

This line is closer to “I have a child in my care for my own reasons, too.” He didn’t say Ranpo was HIS child, there’s no possessive grammar here (heh no の). I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone argue that Fukuzawa didn’t see him as a child when he was, you know, a child, but the series doesn’t take place when Ranpo is a child. Also I don’t see how that has anything to do with Ranpo’s feelings at the time.

Well that’s semantics, Fukuchi says it too!! See??

This 1) is Fukuchi who has about 1000 reasons to be a fukuran anti that have nothing to do with ages and 2) isn’t a direct translation of the Japanese text either. It says “little favorite” in Japanese, and that’s it! “Little favorite” just sounds weird in English so the translators used a common phrase that people generally DON’T and SHOULDN’T use for their own kids (imagine if everyone knew you liked one of your actual kids better than the rest D:). I have it on good authority that the official Italian doesn’t say “favorite son” and I know the Japanese doesn’t, so this line is not cannon.

Well how about this!!!

I’m not really sure why this is referenced when it’s clearly the center of the chapter’s joke – the point is that Ranpo ISN’T 5, he just acts that way.

Plus I can throw this panel back from the same WaN chapter as an argument:

“Ranpo’s grown so handsome” or if you prefer, “Ranpo looks so virile now...” – rare simp Fukuzawa.

Well you can’t possibly deny this!!!

Congratulations, this is the only one with any merit! What it fails to do is prove Fukuzawa said it or remove any of the stuff already mentioned here. Ranpo could very much be in love with Fukuzawa. This line in origins is narration, not dialogue or thought, and it isn’t carried through in the narrative so it’s relatively easy to view it as a joke. The same book christens them “Tantei [Sou]jin,” same sou as in “[sou]koku,” with kanji meaning “Detective duo/detective twins/double detectives/detective partners” though I’ve also found it to mean something very near “equals.” The kanji are ‘subtitled’ as "Detective buddies” in English (katakana) in the Japanese book. All this throws multiple wrenches in the idea that they’re broadly viewed as parent and child or even as having a significant power imbalance between them.

Which brings me to my final point: none of this proves anything definitively! There’s plenty of material for both interpretations. The entire point of engaging with media is to develop your own interpretation and have fun with it. But freaking out and screaming your headcanon when a scene hits you as slightly different than that headcanon is very much screaming at the sky. Lord knows I’ve seen these four arguments enough times that if they were going to convince me of anything they already would have, and Asagiri sure can’t hear you.

I think everyone who doesn’t think this could be romantic at least from Ranpo’s side expects that romantic imagery/themes for this ship can only appear from Fukuzawa, and only if it’s predatory? Like as long as I don’t whip out a canon image like this

they’ll say “I would definitely do that with my parent” to every argument even if in reality they never, ever would.

I did recently see someone saying "why would Ranpo even like Fukuzawa, he's 30!" and listen, I can't help you there. I've had crushes on actors twice my age since I was 10, it's ingrained in my wiring. A sexy badboy bodyguard who declares himself to be at your service AND buys you food will never not be hot to me.

"What's attractive about Fukuzawa" requires another essay, however, so this is where I leave it. Obviously much of this is open to interpretation, but I don’t see people making skk posts that just say “BESTIES BESTIES BESTIES” or “BOYFRIENDS BOYFRIENDS BOYFRIENDS” ya feel. It’s always on panels like the ones I brought up, because people do recognize a romantic slant when they see one. You don’t learn to detect that from media, you learn it from living long before you start caring about morality politics in shipping. Thus I interpret the screaming very much as LALALALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU-

P.S. actually I do want to add one final note because I know what the fancops will say even if they take all this at face value: Grooming refers to “actions deliberately undertaken to befriend and establish an emotional connection with a child, to lower the child’s inhibitions in preparation for sexual activity.”

Dating someone you knew when you were underage does not equal grooming. Grooming is a purposeful crime. “Even if they’re dating now that’s grooming!” incorrect! Please do not only listen to your friends about the law, they may also tell you a cop has to tell you if they're a cop (they do not) or any number of other very wrong things. Google is free.

[thelustdevil]

Help! I dunno what the next post should be: