#but i love the trope where hajime is like

[taitoska]

need hajimes work station to look like this

[aparticularbandit]

...is there also going to be hajime/mikan in this fic

...is this another thing i did not expect that is probably going to show up

....

i guess

[munchieschomp]

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT⁉️⁉️

What are we talking about😏😏😏😏

Asking for a hickey 彡 Umemiya Hajime ୭ suggestive, mdni, shy!reader, first time relationship (for both partners) + more?

Thinking about Umemiya (again) and you asking him to give you a hickey for the first time. You've never gotten one nor given one and you saw a girl around your age with one on her neck and as much as you hated to say it, it looked... nice. It was as if her man was asserting his dominance even though her wasn't there. And you? You weren't opposed to that.

So, there you are, standing in between Umemiya's legs while he sits on the couch, his big hands splayed on your hips, watching you as you looking down past him to the floor. As you tug on the hem of your skirt, so many thoughts were running through your head.

Umemiya and you had only been dating for two months and as much as you didn't want to rush things, as did he, you really want more, more than just the heated make out sessions. So, asking for this is the best way to start, right?

"What is it, baby?" he asks, thumbs rubbing soothing circles over the fabric. "C'mon, look at me, sweets." Ume places a soft kiss to your covered stomach and butterflies fill not only your stomach but your lower abdomen.

He's making it so hard for your pretty little head to focus, you think that if he were to be so gentle with your body you would melt. "It's embarrassing though, Haji," you mumble, looking up from the floor.

You meet his gaze while moving your hands to cradle the back of his head, fingers entangling with his platinum strands. Nervous was what you felt, you know that this isn't something to be nervous about asking.

"You can tell me, ask me anything, baby," Umemiya reassures, another kiss to your stomach before pulling away, leaning into your touch.

You bite your lip before your cheeks heat up. "Could you... uh... give me... um... a hickey... please?" your say, voice dropping to a whisper.

Umemiya couldn't even process what you had just send, he is too busy malfunctioning as he's caught off guard, blinking in shock. This was only a quick reaction before his arms wrap around your hips, strong muscle pulling you into him, thus causing a soft yelp to leave your lips.

He looks up at you, soft puppy eyes and a tiny smirk playing on his lips. Your heart begins to beat faster in wondering what his reply would be, even though Umemiya looked quite the opposite of repulsed, you're still nervous of his reply.

A hickey, huh? Didn't think you'd be into that," he hums in a teasing tone and you tense up under his touch before he sooths you. "You sure you can handle it, sweetheart?"

If your face is anything, it's definitely flushed now, beet red. "Y-Yeah! I mean... I just... I wanna see what it feels like, and..." your thumb brushes over his lip hesitantly and he relishes in the touch, you add, "I trust you."

"Alright, sweetheart. If that’s what you want, I'll make it nice and memorable for you,” he adds "But don’t blame me if you end up wanting more after."

@unriding ume thoughts once again🙂‍↕️

[opensesamepandemonium]

#1

Sonia Nevermind x Gundham Tanaka - Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (+ general Danganronpa franchise)

I mean, I honestly don't know where to begin...

Literally everything about these two tickles the very depths of my heart. They fullfill so many tropes along the way, (weird kids in love, beauty/beast, overtly affectionate/can't handle any physical contact - JUST TO NAME A FEW)

I agree with the popular headcannon that Gundham has autism, but would also like to throw the Sonia-is-clearly-also-autistic hat into the ring. As a fellow girlie with the 'tism, I see a lot of similar traits exhibited in Sonia. So add the neurodivergent couple trope to the list guv’na!

It is heavily implied throughout SDG2 that Sonia and Gundham share a romantic interest in one another. The Japanese version even more so where Gundham refers to Sonia as 'she-cat' or 'Dark Queen', but refers to everyone else as kisama (a polite version to say 'you', or alternatively suggests contempt). It's clear that he holds Sonia with a high amount of respect; the likes of which he doesn't show to any other of his classmates (aside from Hajime and Nekomaru).

In the v3 anime (that usually shall not be named) Kazuichi scolds himself for talking up his 'romantic rival' to Sonia. Further cementing the romantic hints the SDG2 fed to us.

All in all, this my very top OTP and that is the hill I will die and be buried on.

Thank you very much.

Art by: Daccartsy

[funishment-time]

hajime appreciation ramble:

he's just a guy!!!! i love that he's just a guy!!! i also love how he's just generally incredibly done with everyone's shit the entire game, despite being really willing to understand where they're coming from- he's the funniest protagonist in my eyes. introducing a character with no talent was a great idea, imo. i also loved him in the dr3 anime (despite some mischaracterisation), seeing how insecure and emo and alone he was pre-game was very interesting. the world and his mindset leading up to his decision were something i really wanted to see post-sixth trial. his hair is unnecessarily spiky!!! his shirt is way too tight for no reason!!! he has such a massive chest that i have to headcanon him as a trans guy, i just have no choice (kamukura project gave him top surgery guys)!!! he's the shsl best boy!!! hajeem!!! all the hajime ships!!! everything!!!

papa hajeem !!

i've always liked that he and Kamukura are sort of a play on the "you may think you have no power...but secretly you have all the powers" trope. Hajime did have all the powers. he also lost all his humanity and self and his alter (or whatever you'd call Kamukura) did some profoundly uncool things. no immediate stepping up with Honor and Grace here, the guy with All The Powers became a war criminal. it's why i'm confused when people call Kamukura a Mary Sue or whatever: he's a reversal of the idea entirely

also i think hajime grumbles about people leaving the lights on all day and turns them off himself.

[breadflavouredlemon]

There's always this thing in komahina fanfics where Komaeda doesn't believe Hinata actually loves him. That trope is fine, nothing wrong with that of course. But the other way around always hits different.

Like what if he's just a substitute for Kamukura/another character? What if Komaeda only wants him because he has talent now? Or he's only staying with Hinata because he feels indebted to him? What if he's not special enough for him, that he's easily replaceable to the other? It pretty much has a lot of potential.

Hinata is just as complex as Komaeda is, and I swear, I'll eat anything up with Hajime-centric komahina angst. >:(

[melina-ya]

Love- story tropes;

Characters; Rindou Haitani, Ran Haitani, Seishu ‘Inupi’ Inui, Hajime Kokonoi.

Warnings; intoxication, a little Angst, not proofread;

a/n; my fav tropes~

Rindou Haitani — best friends brother;

You two met about 2 months after you met Ran, his elder brother.

Since they do almost everything together, the brothers have two separate friend groups to have at least a bit of privacy.

You were introduced to Rans friends through a friend of yours and clicked with him instantly.

One time while your entire group was hanging out you spilled a drink on your shirt and asked Ran if you could wash up at his house since he conveniently lives near by.

When you stepped into his home, you were surprised to see his brother, which you didn’t know he had, there.

Because you met Ran as a friend of a friend and the topic of conversation never came up in front of you, you had no idea what your so called bestie did in his alone time and neither did you know of Rindou.

But you were positively surprised seeing the handsome younger Haitani. He just wore a hoodie and some sweatpants, yet you were overwhelmed by his looks.

When he noticed your presence he was very confused what some stranger was doing in his house. After you explained everything he showed you the way to the bathroom and left to go to his room. Soon after you left as well, but insisted the next time you saw ran That you hang out at his place.

You two started being at their place more often so you’d run into Rindou More often.

Ran didnt question anything, but you were developing a little crush. Over time Rindou started reciprocating those feelings and your rather small encounters developed into you and him talking more and completely ignoring ran. Which made him Kinde mad lol.

Soon ran also noticed the way your relationship was developing and made teasing remarks That First got Shot down by both of you until Rindou was forced encouraged to finally confessing his feelings.

Ran Haitani — Enemies to lovers;

You first met because your Little Brother was Part of a Gang That the Haitani Brothers recently joined.

With everything im Your Power you tried to talk Your Brother out of being in a gang, which didn’t work. So you showed up at the gang hangout quiet often to try dragging him home. That got people to make fun of your Brother, including Ran.

When Ran would make jokes about your efforts and that would make you Start bickering with him.

You hated him. Everything about him, everything he stands for.

He encouraged and lived the same dangerous life of your Brother, who you just wanted to protect. Why couldn’t he understand? Why did he make fun of how hard you were trying?

His Life was probably so easy That he would take Your fears as lighthearted, you thought.

One day Your Brother was nowhere to be found at the usual hangout spot. You were worried sick. When Ran noticed you and the lack of screaming toward Your Brother he went up to you to investigate.

As a bigo Brother himself he understood the situation you were in and decided to not make any unnecessary remarks and put his pride aside to help you Look for him. It was surprisingly his offer.

The two of you went around the City to spots where your Brother could potentially be at.

While you were walking it was at first silence, until one sparked up a conversation and it was weirdly - nice? He was actually likable. He made some funny jokes and listened to what you had to say.

He was so different than you Imagined. You always got the impression that he’s a brutal stupid bully without a heart, but he’s not like that at all. I mean he’s no saint but he’s Not As Bad As you thought.

Could you potentially like him?

After Your Brother was found a couple days passed and imagine who was ringing your doorbell with a smirk on his face, asking you out. ;)

Seishu ‘Inupi’ Inui — She fell first, he fell harder;

You were in the Same grade since elementary School, but never really talked.

If the math lessons were boring you again you’d spend Your Time sneaking glances at the pretty blonde. You may not know each other on a personal level, but you’ve always had a little crush on him.

Before he went to juvie no one really Knew about his Gang Life since he tried to hide it in School.

You liked his calm demeanor and small gentle smile he’d show every now and then. And even though you Never knew about his After School activities you’ve always thought there’s a tough side to him.

In the class he was Never popular nor an outsider. He didnt exactly have Friends, rather he got along with some and spend the breaks with them.

After he came back from Juvie and his secrets out everyone avoided him like the plague. They feared him.

The Same Boy you still saw as cold on the outside but warm and friendly on the inside, the Same Boy that you’ve known since he was a innocent child and struggled with English class. That was the Boy they feared.

Aside from everyone else’s reaction of ignoring him now, you were different. In Your eyes hes still the Same. You believe that whatever is going on in his live must have a reason that he doesn’t need to share with the Rest of the class.

You’re the only one Not turning away immediately when he’s just looking in your direction. And he notices.

One day you find the courage to talk to him, thinking he Must be lonely at School. And he may Not Show it but it genuinely made him very happy.

He used to Not notice you like this, but he’s always thought of you As the prettiest girl in class and may has noticed how you Look at him from time to time.

And now your kindness made him open his eyes to the absolut catch you are. The more you two Talk the More he enjoys the sound of your laugh, and loves listening to your rambles about the Most Random of Topics You’re so passionate about.

He finds himself absolutely in love.

Hajime Kokonoi — Sunshine & Grumpy;

Your Love Story happens After he Lost Inupi and eventually got over Akane.

After he parted ways with his childhood best friend he Never thought he’d find someone who’d give him the feeling of enjoying someone’s presence again, but here you Are.

You met while he was walking home after a Meeting in the middle of the night, where he even though he’d never admit it was feeling pretty lonely.

You were walking the same way After having a couple Drinks with Your Friends and noticed how tired the guy next to you looked. Being the bubbly and a bit tipsy Person you Are you asked if everything is alright. Usually you wouldn’t talk to a complete stranger alone outside while it’s dark but somehow the alcohol in your system pushed your sense of safety aside.

He didn’t answer and gave you a little side eye yet you just kept on talking, when he noticed how you were obviously intoxicated he decided to escort you Home As you kept talking to him.

He brought you up to your apartment door and tried to leave, which you didn’t let Happen until he gave you his number. He eventually gave in and tipped his number into your phone.

The next morning you cringed remembering your encounter and decided to apologize over Text.

When he saw the Text and thought about last night he didn’t perceive your talkative nature as annoying and also Kinde enjoyed it .

He texted back and so began Your friendship which formed into a relationship faster than thought.

To him you were never a replacement for anyone you were far to Special for That, you healed his wounds without even realizing and made him the happiest he’s ever been

And he knows he doesn’t Match Your Energie and he used to be very scared That you thought it was a sign he didnt like you or something but to you his more calmer grumpier demeanor gave you comfort, a place to just feel safe and peaceful. You loved him for giving you peace in your life and your heart.

And the Same for him. You gave him excitement and made him feel alive.

a/n; found this draft and finished it After like 9 months or so lol I’ll try to write more often again :) thank you for reading and have a good day

[zhvakinnn]

wdyt haikyuu chr with "he treats you really well but you can't return his feeling" and "the 'i loved you'" tropes???????

(please make it very very angsty until i cry my eyes out)

Im confused who and what character should I choose so I made my sister choose

Sorry I have been inactive these past weeks I had my part time job but I'll try to answers the request:)

Characters: iwaizumi, nishinoya x GN reader (separate)

Warnings: mention of a father/mother (to the people without their parents im so sorry), angst

🌺as always i don't know much English so if something is wrong correct me🌺

Masterlist

See you later

(he treats you well but you can't return the feelings)

Hajime Iwaizumi

You and iwaizumi are very good friends you support him in volleyball since diapers

you were just kids back then when he had this huge crush on you giving you flowers and letters

Until one day when he wanted to play with you he saw a truck filled with boxes he went running towards your house and seeing it almost empty, he heard a voice behind him

"hajime?" He smiled brightly when he heard you "c'mon (name) let's train in volleyball "as much as they wanted to play they can't" your father said touching the boys shoulder

"why?" "Were moving to Canada for my dad's new work he said he needed to work their" you said fidgeting your fingers "how long will you be there?" You shrugged not knowing when you will be able to see him

When he ran off you thought you made him mad and thought you never get to say goodbye first

When you were about to get in the car to wait a 'wait' faint shout was heard you look back and it was iwaizumi you smiled brightly when you saw him

He hold his knees while catching his breath "i...wait... I want to make a promise, if we grow up promise me to see each other and marry each other" you were just kids you smiled brightly and hug him "i promise!" Iwaizumi's smiled went wider and he gave you a ring the is a flower like made in paper while his is a bee

"sorry I had to ran off, I had to make this quickly" you glance at your parents who's now saying goodbyes to iwaizumi's parents "I guess this is good bye" you said about to cry iwaizumi squish your cheeks and said "no see you later"

Your parents are now calling you, you gave him a one last hug and ran to the car

"i promise"

Its been 10 years since you were both still 8 he still waits for you

"iwa-chan~ you kept on zoning out who's in that pretty little skull of yours" he frowned when oikawa appeared

"yeah iwaizumi you kept zoning out" matsukawa said sitting next to takahiro "wait, is it the person your thinking was the person you promised to marry?~" oikawa teased him 'i knew it i shouldn't have said that to him'

"who would've thought our promised something like that" matsukawa giggling at takahiros comment "argh everyone just shut up im done you all" he said stomping and he was shock when a person was Infront of the gates in the Court

"oh sorry but is Mr. Nobuteru here?" The person said looking at the paper instead of him

"oh yeah his.." Iwaizumi's examine the person till he realizes who it was

"(name)?!"

You were shock thinking someone is stalking you but when you look up you were pretty shock too

"hajime!"

Everyones eyes on you too when you hugged him

"oh my god I didn't know you would be here"

"i didn't know too, how did you get here!"

"hello beautiful" iwaizumi's smile faded when matsukawa came to the side

"ah hello im (name)" you smiled waving your left arm but once you did he didn't saw your Ring he frowned more "ah (name)! The person who iwaizumi is gonna marry" the oooo was made in the back round

He didn't missed the way to awkwardly laugh and change the subject immediately

Ever since that day you didn't miss any schedule for the two of you even though oikawa kept insisting to come

You hangout most of the time to pay for being separated

The only thing he wanted to ask you is where is the ring he was scared maybe you didn't want to keep it anymore or you broke it and don't wanna tell him because it's embarrassing

But he should feel this way you two aren't even together yet

This day he wanted to visit you to your house but then he saw you with a guy

It didn't go unnoticed that you smiled brighter, having start in your eyes

He was now curious who could it be

When he approached you two, you waved at him and the boy also look back at him and smiled

"hello you must be iwaizumi" he said politely and iwaizumi nodded "its finally to meet you in personal" finally? He thought "finally?" "Yes my partner here kept bragging about you promising to marry one day" he said giggling and you kicked his leg slightly

That break his heart even more your his partner, you were already taken

He kept thinking about the promise and how its unfair that he stayed loyal while you found another one, he shouldn't be acting like this you were just a kid back then you weren't on your right minds

You exuse yourself to your partner and drag iwaizumi to a walk

The walk was uncomfortable silent don't know who to speak first or what to say

"hajime..im sorry I broke our promised" you said looking down at your feet

"you shouldn't be sorry we're just kids we don't know what we're saying"

You look up at him "still a promise is a promise i shouldn't have broke it.. hehe i guess i have to eat socks" you said giggling with him the tense was lifting a bit

You both continue walking admiring the surroundings now it was just a comfortable calming silent "how i miss Japan i forgot how beautiful is it here"

Iwaizumi stopped walking making you look at him "(name) i know you don't like me but ever since we're kids ive loved you and.. this is awkward..um.. promise me this one last time" you hum at him to know that your listening he step closer and squished your cheeks like when you were still kids

"promise me that in another universe will be together and.. we'll be married" you were shock you felt guilty that you let this man go you looked at him deep in the eyes and nodded and smiled "i promise" you two didn't let go of each other once you two get closer you felt something growing in your stomach

Your lips collided but only a mere of seconds till you both back away and you ran back home, he was also shock

You were too because now you can't escape the feelings for him

"see you later"

Not very angst but i tried

Nishinoyas part here (i loved you)

[anonzentimes]

I've kind of realized something after spending a while digging through various fic recommendations. If a fic is recommended by TVTropes, there's a high likelihood that the characterization of Nagito is gonna be pretty bad. The site's consensus on the character is pretty much a distillation of all the most shallow Reddit takes on the character. "Nagito's a static character", "He gets sexually aroused by Hope", "Hajime despises him (no we're not projecting and using him as our self-insert)", etc. etc. Oh, and can't forget to indulge the bullshit theory about him maybe having raped Monaca. Like it's almost comical just how much whoever wrote his Trope Pantheon entry clearly despised him. With Nagito being shat on to a much greater extent than other fictional characters who've done mountains worse than him (looking at you Harley Quinn).

Also that kind of goes for the various story blogs I've seen around this site. I'm struggling to think of a single one where the characterization of him didn't engage in some sort of petty bashing. Mudslinging that the people making them will defend by crying "We're just giving him REAL character development that the OVA didn't". The New Future and Survivor are some of the worst examples of this.

the moment I read reddit takes on the character in reference to Nagito you KNOW I was shaking in my boots at what horrendous things would be coming up and then you start listing the worst of the worst dirt that gets thrown on him from people who fundamentally hate or misunderstand him and it just got progressively worse like

It’s crazy how bad the mischaracterizations and arguments can be over Nagito it’s so ridiculous… I have a desire to understand most everything I love and fear mischaracterizing or misunderstanding the characters I love and seeing people be so relentlessly unforgiving mischaracterizing him is always so crazy to me Lol. I know the entire point is that there’s a misunderstanding so people usually don’t understand or aren’t self aware of it, which is the scariest part about it in my opinion, but my god it’s dreadful the things these people do and say. I’ve had people in my inbox scream that it’s not that big of a deal and it’s so annoying, like yes it matters because the character matters to people. Not to mention most of the mischaracterizations are usually rooted in some sort of ableism and homophobia it’s truly dreadful. The reason I’ve ever even gotten any traction I’m pretty sure is because apparently being decent and understanding Nagito without bashing him is something people applaud me for Lol. I don’t think I’m that special, but when there’s so many annoying people over this character and when people find someone who is not like that who can and attempts to articulate things about the complex character I think people enjoy it. Even if there’s a good amount of people who understand his character the amount that bash on him, are homophobic towards him, ableist towards him, and mischaracterize him, is just so extremely disgusting that it feels offensive. There is no reason that stupid “theory” about Monaca should ever exist other than disgusting filthy minds who should rethink about their place in this world. I hate them very much. I’m glad I can provide something good for him, at least hopefully, because he means so much to me. I wish everyone could understand him because the misunderstandings he has are so disgustingly extreme and horrible. I understand that he is a complex character but I will NEVER tolerate stupidly horrendous reddit takes throwing dirt on him ever.

[more-than-a-princess]

14. What is the most annoying fact or trait or fanon that is attached to your muse and bothers you?

More Munday Questions - Accepting!

So, I received this question twice for this meme and I'm going to answer them separately. Mostly as after writing this muse for over five years now and writing text-based roleplay for over two decades, I've had a lot of time to think about this.

But for this specific ask, I'm going to focus on the Sonia Nevermind-specific things that bother me about her character and the fanon interpretation, while I'll leave some of the tropes that get attached to this muse for the next one.

Finally, if you haven't played any of the Danganronpa games: Spoilers ahead for everything.

So, in no particular order:

The idea that Sonia is stupid/dumb/an idiot. I absolutely hate this take for one reason: she's not. She's sheltered, there is a difference.

Sonia cannot have all the skills that even the canon insists she have without being pretty smart, at least on an intellectual level. She has some degree in fluency in thirty languages, alongside knowledge in a variety of academic subjects as well as military training and diagnostic medicine.

Does she get phrases and slang mixed up? Absolutely. But Japanese isn't her first language. It probably isn't even her fifth language, at least in my headcanons for her. And she's learned colloquial Japanese through anime, dramas, and film: not much in the way of practical, conversational skills.

Is she a bit naive? Absolutely. But again, she's sheltered: she's grown up in a castle where her every need was seen to, before attending the most exclusive private school in her country where she was, in the eyes of the students and staff, a celebrity.

Now, she's a little bit stupid when it comes to someone having genuine feelings for her (unlike Kazuichi's tendency to put her on a pedestal for superficial reasons) and she can't cook, clean, play/sing music, or draw/paint for the life of her. But she's not an idiot. She's actually pretty intuitive when it comes to other people, and she relishes in learning something new every day.

The idea presented in free time events that Sonia would happily share an equal amount of power and authority over Novoselic with Hajime simply because he looks like the hero of Novosonian lore.

I hate this scene so much. Out of every Sonia scene in every game, I despise this one the most. Because it reads, to me, that she's just sitting around waiting for a hero to save her because god forbid Kodaka and Danganronpa give women any real power, real agency, or anything to do with their lives that doesn't revolve around a man in this franchise, often the protag/hero (and yes I will still argue this applies in UDG even with Komaru as the protag). It's already been pretty well-established that this series sucks at depicting female characters for the most part (to the point they couldn't even allow for a female protag in V3 without killing her off. I would have loved to see the game fully through Kaede's eyes instead of Shuichi's for many reasons!), but this particular Sonia scene takes the cake for me.

Therefore, I refuse to acknowledge it exists and will choose instead to write Sonia as a woman who, while being born into her role as heir to the throne, will do everything in her power to make it feel rightfully earned and not relinquish it to anyone.

That Sonia should have died in the simulation because she's seen as useless compared to the other survivors.

Nope nope nope. Sonia may not be one for physical combat or hands-on technical skills, but that doesn't make her useless. She is clever and she is compassionate, and those two things are very important to hold onto as the survivors rediscover their hope and the desire to break out of the simulation and live.

Also Kodaka was a chickenshit who didn't let her actually use a tank, despite sharing the fact she has military training. Lame. Waiting for the terrible OVA to actually show Sonia using any of her skills was a poor choice (but it blessed us with icons).

That Sonia is a waste because she comes between/interrupts a Kazuichi/Gundham (Soudam) romance and therefore must be made evil/killed off/removed in some other fashion from the series.

Ah, another fandom take that makes me grimace.

Listen, I lived through the Gundam Wing years and have been a Relena fan since I was a young teenager. I went through it in that fandom and I've gone through it in Danganronpa.

There is enough space for every ship in every fandom. You don't need to vilify a character to make your ship 'valid.' Especially if that character happens to be female. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Soudam myself (I just don't see the chemistry there tbh!) but I'll never harass or shame other fans who enjoy it. Yet I've seen a lot of misogyny where Sonia is concerned by avid Soudam fans, declaring Sonia being romantically involved with either Gundham or Kazuichi is boring at best, disgusting at worst.

For shippers who think like this, do better.

[hayatoseyepatch]

now, ofc, i have to ask for a match up! i love them too much to resist. and especially now from you? how could i miss that chance?? 🤍

so, let me tell you about myself: i'm an introvert! 90% intro, 10% extro. i think a lot, constantly thinking about five different things in different languages all at once. i'm very observant and unfortunately mirror people's vibes if i feel uncomfortable or put on the spot. but i love interacting with people that fuel my energy, where i feel real joy and not tired of yapping at all. i love sarcasm, i love bad jokes, i love to challenge people that have negative opinions about important topics. but i suck at giving presentations, i have very bad anxiety when it comes to speaking loud and in front of a lot of people. i also have a very quiet voice to begin with. despite being a thinker, i'm highly emotional in my relationship, love physical touch and being taken care of teehee

some of my interests/hobbies are definitely working out (i do it twice a day), doodling, gaming, reading (actual books as well not just smut 🙃), studying up on history, cooking, and any fixation my adhd deems worthy for a few weeks

i'm not good with ignorant people, i point out bad behaviour on the spot. i speak my mind. i hate baking but man, i love cakes. i also love spice, it's my favourite type of food category. anything spicy, really. oh, and i'm quite indecisive ;-;

fandoms: i need to pull my joker here... you gotta help me, sam. choose between wind breaker, jjk, or blue lock for me

tropes: enemies to lovers, soulmate, love at first sight are probably my top three, not counting dc tropes here 🫣

my type: sylus. I MEAN, i love someone who is in control, who can control me and situations. someone where i can feel safe and turn off my brain for a bit. i don't like to doubt myself or the relationship, so i love honesty. they need to speak their mind as much as i do. i gravitate towards more domineering men, 50/50 on the batshit crazy or kind guys, really. like eevee said, i have a type: the type is trees, i love climbing trees. i like it when they take initiative and show me more than what i have known prior to meeting them. i love a man who can make me laugh! and passion, pls, i'm a scorpio, i love romance and passion in my relationship ahdjsj. someone who can keep up with that is my type 😏

favourites: nagi, rin, barou, kunigami, umemiya, endo, geto, choso, sukuna, inumaki, nobara, utahime, shoko, mei mei dont judge me, beside that weird thing she is so fkn badass

icks: i dislike boring slow pokes/dumb characters and child-like characters. someone who won't put in effort. pls no short king, i'm too tall for them. else i most often find the mc to be lacking to get my interest, i love the bad guys and the side characters

that is all, thank you, dearie <3 remember to take breaks and stay hydrated!!

Tea my absolute BELOVED, I am so excited you decided to participate!! UGH I have had thoughts on yours from the moment I decided to set up this event. LETS GET INTO IT!!

I pair you first with Hajime Umemiya!

⤜♡→ Okay listen, this has actually absolutely nothing to do with the fact I know he’s one of you faves. I am fully going into this with no favoritism or special treatment. I just genuinely think your personalities go so well together. Extrovert x Introvert is one of my favorite ship pairings and I think you both are a perfect case!

⤜♡→ Hajime immediately took you under his wing upon first seeing how reserved and shy you can be at first. He was DETERMINED to pull you out of your shell. What Umemiya wasn’t expecting to fall more and more in love with you with every passing day and with every interaction where he got to peel back your armor.

⤜♡→ Ume is so excited to hear that you love spicy food, because do you know what he’s doing? He is immediately going to the greenhouse where he purchases his seedlings to plant you your own section of pepper plants in his garden. He is so excited when he shows you, going on to tell you how impressed you’ll be with him once he cooks you all your favorite spicy foods. With Kotoha’s help of course.

⤜♡→ No one can tell me that Ume's love language isnt acts of service and physical touch. His favorite past time is taking care of you. he craves the feeling of you in his arms, and will stop at absolutely nothing to ensure you feel every ounce of his love at any given moment. He has lost so much in his life and he was sure to let you know every hour of the day just how precious you are to him.

Umemiya couldn't keep the smile from his face if he wanted to. To him there was something so intimate about bathing with you, it was one of his absolute favorite things to do with you and something he craved after a long day. It had nothing to do with seeing your beautiful body exposed to his gaze, well it had a little to do with it let's be honest here, but he just adorned the skin-to-skin contact that came with this time. Feeling your warm skin so close to his own was his own little slice of heaven.

His lips pressed against your shoulder leaving a trail of kisses along your skin. "You're so beautiful, baby." He hums in contentment against your skin, arms wrapping around your middle as his larger frame dwarfs your form. "I'm so unbelievably lucky that I get to call you mine." His praises of you are whispered against your skin between kisses. His large hands roaming your form as he washes your body for you. "And you're all mine Isn't that right, sunflower?" He grins when you hum in agreement. "And that tattoed freak can never have you right?" Cue Ume getting splashed in the face with water. "Okay I earned that one." Come on Tea it's me you really thought I wasn't gonna mention Endo?

Your next matchup goes to Choso from JJK!

⤜♡→ Choso holds such a special place in my heart, and so do you!! Choso is the older brother type, and has so so so much love to give, If you need to just unwind and have someone ready to nurture and care for you, to just allow you to shut off and recharge for a bit he is definitely your man!

⤜♡→ I feel like Choso is so often mischaracterized as a submissive, while I fully believe sometimes Choso will let you take the reins, this is Choso “you hurt my brothers, its on sight” Kamo we’re talking about here. He has no problem taking control of the situation in and out of the bedroom. And if anyone would dare to make the mistake of hurting or upsetting you, this man would watch the world burn if it meant keeping your smile on your face.

⤜♡→ He is intensely loyal and very passionate, Choso may be a bit behind on the times. But he will consistently go out of his way to show you all the love and appreciation you deserve, which is simly all of it!

⤜♡→ He is nothing short of desperately in love with you. Choso wants to spend the rest of his time on earth with you. He wants to build a family wth you, share a last name, and love you with every fiber of his being.

⤜♡→ He loves seeing you and Yuji interacting, he wants nothing more than the two most imprtant people to him to get along and develop a care for one another the way he cares for you both.

Choso leaned down, tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration as he held the icing bag, he knew your distaste for the act of baking itself but he knew how much you enjoyed cakes. Choso was extremely perceptive when it came to you and how you were feeling. He always noticed even the most minute details. The furrow in your brow, the way you tended to fidget a bit more, how your voice had gone back to a quiet octave. He noticed it all. So he had taken it upon himself to surprise you. He spent the day watching countless videos on cake decorating just so he could impress you with your favorite cake to come home to after the week you’ve had.

He perks up upon hearing the sound of the front door turning he smiles wide, eyes melting with affection as he walks over to you. Leaning down he cups your face in his hands, pressing a long loving kiss against your lips. Dragging you into the kitchen once he pulls from you, presenting you with the cake. Your eyes widen a bit s he presents it to you. “Did you make this Cho?” You ask, eyes wide with surprise at his action. He nods his head, giving you confirmation he did in face make it himself.

The icing is haphazard, it truly isn’t the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen but the knowledge that he made this because he knew of your love for the sweet made you melt into his embrace. “It's perfect Cho.” He could swoon at your words, dipping his finger into the icing and plopping some on the corner of your lips. “Oh would you look at that, it seems your dessert got on my dessert, looks like I need to clean it up.” He coos teasingly before leaning down to capture your lips once more.

[kitasuno]

throwing up screaming crying the only promise he keeps is one where he finally gets to be with you im 😂😂😂😂😂 OK

oh my god ANON I KNOW I KNOWWWW

i have so much to say about that fucking oikawa fic bcuz.

like.

UGH.

he’s so insufferable but he’s SOOOOO tragic and AAAAUAYGGHHHHHH i want to put him in a snowglobe AND omfg can u imagine Playboy Oikawa #1 roaming the streets of argentina but YOUUU have his heart and AUghhhh

i also love jealous oikawa trope… jealous oikawa away in argentina who knows iwaizumi is also ur best friend and KNOWS iwaizumi is IWAIZUMI and falls to his knees and screams when he sees iwaizumi hajime (27) athletic trainer and refreshes ur ig and twitter every 3 seconds to see if u fall for Athletic Trainer TOOOOO and he’s going absolutely INSANE

Let’s just say . tooru has posted . a total of 256 thousand thirst traps to remind u of ur lost love abroad who is looking Much Better than hajime with his new muscles n new tan and new money…

so yeah he’s keeping that promise. and he is PATIENTLY waiting.

[danggirlronpa]

i like your interesting take on tsumugi as a protagonist. i don't hear tsumugi a lot in terms of meta reasons and appreciation and i'd like to hear your though about tsumugi being a main protagonist please. :)

I'd LOVE to. Protagonist Tsumugi is something I really do think fondly of and often wish for.

Firstly, I think Tsumugi is really the only mastermind who you feasibly could play in a perspective of without making them forget they're the mastermind (a la Izuru). So much of V3 is either pre-planned or run by others on Team Danganronpa that her actual involvement as a mastermind is essentially nil - she's just doing damage control. It would be very easy to foreshadow the reveal without outright revealing that she's involved, the same way as with Kaede in the first trial.

Tsumugi is also the V3 character who has the most vested interest in keeping the trials going and making sure they get solved, because if the trial ends there, then there's no show. I could absolutely see Tsumugi's protagonist interventions ("No, that's wrong!") as being subtle interventions to make sure that the group is on the right track, but justified in her not quite knowing the answers because she isn't an ace detective, she's just a cosplayer with a mic in her ear to tell her when she needs to get everyone back on track.

I also think that playing as Tsumugi would play into V3's greater theme of culpability and the control of the audience. By playing as the mastermind, you are directing the killing game. Within the fiction, you, the player, are personally responsible for what happens here. Again, Kaede plays into this in a lot of ways as well (I think a version of the game where you still play as Kaede at first would serve this AU best), but the slow burn of it all makes the realization that much more horrifying, in the same way as the realization that everyone is Remnants at the end of SDR2. Kiibo as protagonist could also accomplish this, since you'd be more connected to the in-universe audience, but I think Tsumugi would provide an interesting take unique to her where the player is really taking on the role of Team Danganronpa itself.

There's an overarching theme that Tsumugi fits into with previous protagonists, too; Komaru had no connection to the mastermind, Makoto was friends with the mastermind once, Kaede and Hajime were accomplices to the mastermind once, and Tsumugi is the mastermind/accomplice to the masterminds. You get the final entry into this sort of sliding scale of connection to the villain, which in current DR is kind of dangling open-ended.

And she's also the only character in V3 who really plays into Danganronpa's overarching theme of the imposter complex ("plain, plain, plain")! I think it'd be so cool to have a take on the I'm Just Some Guy nature of DR's protagonists that is actually very talented, but still has this low self esteem because of the way they think about their talent. They tried to do this with Shuichi a little bit, but imo it wasn't very effective, because it never really came up; Shuichi's arc wasn't about learning that he is actually a good detective, it was about overcoming trauma. A Tsumugi arc where she learns that her talent is valuable, that she can have an impact on the things and people she cares about - especially when we, as the audience, think she's talking about supporting the other players, but in reality she's talking about supporting the killing game? Oh. Ooooooooh. I love that shit.

I do generally think that they should have done a lot more with Tsumugi's character. And, in fairness to them, there are reasons for Tsumugi being just a quiet background character without much impact - it's the big startling counterpoint that she's secretly the mastermind, compared to the more traditional tropes of the rest of the game; Tsumugi's reveal is what really blows the game wide open and makes you rethink the entire story thus far. I just personally think that there are ways they could've done it more effectively, to really give it that oomph.

[notoneglance]

Why the takoyaki amnesia doppelganger episodes???

So I think we can all agree that this whole plot line in Blade was wild and peak Inoue and definitely a comedic break in between two emotion heavy arcs. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t do anything for the narrative. Despite being a huge departure in tone from the rest of the show, it does actually fit thematically and in terms of character development.

As a refresher, the arc I’m talking about happens in episodes 29 and 30 of Blade where Hajime briefly loses his memory and meets an identical-looking guy who convinces him to switch places for a bit. This guy, Mikami Ryou, is the heir to a takoyaki-making group in fierce competition with a taiyaki group and knows nothing of the Undead.

As silly as this whole premise is, the “prince and the pauper” style identity switch thing is a well-established trope often used to explore a character and their situation, just as it does here in Blade. There are intentional parallels between Ryou’s life and Hajime’s, despite their completely opposite personalities, and by switching them around, this arc both gives us a new lens on Hajime as a person and foreshadows the ending of Blade.

So let’s recap Ryou’s situation: 

He’s the son of the head of an intensely competitive takoyaki-making gang, the Iroha clan, and was raised into this job. He doesn’t seem to have anything against making takoyaki itself—we first see him enthusiastically working at a stand—but he isn’t actually part of his father’s group. In fact, he hates the pressure to be involved in the conflict to the point where he switches lives with some random stranger just to leave it all behind. Part of this is because he is dating Michi, the daughter of the head of a rival taiyaki-making group who also seems a bit distant from her family. Both Ryou and Michi’s fathers discourage them from being together, each believing that their child is being “deceived” by their competitor.

Does any of this sound familiar?

The Battle Fight has way more going on than the simple two sided takoyaki vs taiyaki rivalry, but from the pov of the audience, it can be simplified into an Undead vs Human Kamen Rider fight. The show explicitly draws parallels between the two fights. When Ryou’s father says he wishes that Ryou would join the Iroha clan so that they could “win and survive”, Hajime despite his amnesia is instantly reminded of the Undeads’ motivation to do exactly that. 

Like Ryou, Hajime was raised in this competition but does not particularly want to fight, instead forming a connection with someone on the other side—Kenzaki.

Actually, the whole “win and survive” thing is really interesting. Because of their circumstances, both Ryou’s father and Hajime fully believe that their survival is dependent on winning. It’s a kill or be killed world out there, and even if Hajime is starting to wish that there was some other way, neither of them are willing to let themselves lose. I’ll come back to this point later, because neither actually end up needing to win in order to survive.

Anyway, we have a bunch of similarities between Hajime and Ryou’s situations, but what does that actually tell us about Hajime (other than that he and Kenzaki are in love)?

Well, first off, having those similarities sets up space for a distinct contrast to highlight some aspects of Hajime’s character. The plot going on with the Blade squad and the fake Hajime centers around Hajime’s humanity. In the beginning of episode 29 before Hajime loses his memories, Kotaro accuses him of not having enough human emotion to care about what happens to Shima’s bird Natural. When he is replaced by Ryou, Kotaro thinks that the personality change was due to Hajime taking his words to heart.

These episodes emphasize that Hajime isn’t human and he’s definitely not the friendly and open person that Kotaro seems to want him to be. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it doesn’t make him dangerous.

Most of the people besides Kotaro are just confused by Hajime acting so out of character, and Amane actively rejects this false Hajime. Even if Kotaro is happy about Hajime acting differently, he’s an outlier, and probably the only one in the group who has ever really held negative feelings for him.

Just like how Kotaro prefers the new Hajime, Michi initially prefers Hajime to the real Ryou, actively choosing to claim that this imposter is Ryou despite knowing otherwise. Ryou’s father goes along with it too, even after it’s implied that he has also figured out that this man is not his real son. Unlike Ryou, Hajime is focused and strong—a fighter. In the rivalry between the takoyaki and taiyaki groups, Hajime is the one who has the determination to “win and survive”, to fight for the Iroha clan.

We see the opposite on the other side as well, that Ryou is not a fighter. When thrown into a situation where an Undead attacks him, he runs away screaming rather than holding his ground. Which is a perfectly reasonable reaction for a regular human!

The part where the idea that “Hajime is superior to Ryou” to the people in Ryou’s life falls apart is when it comes to the emotional bonds. 

Kotaro might be wrong about Hajime not caring about people in general, but there’s no reason for him to specifically care about the people Ryou loves. When Michi asks the fake Ryou if he loves her, Hajime replies that he doesn’t know what love is, upsetting her. Hajime spends most of this arc confused and not really invested, vaguely going along with the events without particularly asserting his own will, whether others are expecting him to be a takoyaki maker or Michi’s boyfriend. He doesn’t have any real stake in all this drama because he doesn’t actually know them—he’s not their Ryou.

However, things get switched up when Ryou comes back and declares himself as the real Mikami Ryou.

Both Michi and Ryou’s father initially insist that Hajime is the real one, culminating in a takoyaki vs taiyaki bake off competition between the two Ryous, where both characters that previously seemed disinterested become fired up, breaking out of the lover/fighter dichotomy that has thus far been set up.

Despite running away from the fight, despite running away from his life, Ryou does actually care about his girlfriend and father, and he wants them back. He doesn’t actually want to leave them behind or for them to leave him, so when push comes to shove he stands up and puts his whole spirit into the competition in order to get back his life. Later, when an Undead comes to interrupt the competition, Ryou stands his ground this time, risking his life to defend Michi. 

Afterwards, Ryou puts a stop to the fighting between their two families by uniting them through marriage—something that Hajime was never capable of doing despite also almost getting married to Michi—because Ryou is the one that genuinely loves both Michi and his father. And when it comes down to it, they choose the Ryou they know and love over Hajime even if he seemed outwardly better.

Ryou isn’t naturally a fighter, but that’s fine because he can when the situation calls for it, and his reluctance to fight is what allows him to find a solution to this rivalry that benefits everyone rather than just one side.

Meanwhile, Hajime also participates in the “who is the real Ryou” competition not because fighting is just what he does, but because he cares about people in general. 

Even though these are strangers that he has no real personal ties to, Hajime feels a connection with Ryou’s dad and his motto for the clan to “win and survive”. Which makes sense, since it’s basically the whole idea behind the Battle Fight, even if he does not remember it. The first time that Hajime made takoyaki, it was extremely half-hearted, just knocking ingredients over into the pan with a confused frown, but now he is fully putting all of his effort into this competition because of his desire to see the Iroha clan succeed.

When the people he loves are threatened, Ryou acts against his nature to protect them. We don’t see this parallel on Hajime’s end here, since none of the Blade squad are in danger this arc, but we’ve seen it happen so many times before with Hajime saving Amane and Kenzaki and even Kotaro that one time. Even without showing it, by having these parallels, the show reminds us of this aspect of Hajime’s character.

The point of the Ryou/Hajime contrast in these episodes is to show that Hajime is an Undead, a fighter—and that he also is someone who cares about people because these two things are not actually mutually exclusive and in fact tie into each other. 

In the end, the thing that brings Hajime’s memories back is twofold: the memory that he is the 53rd Undead who will cause everything to be destroyed if he wins, and the memory of Amane saying his name.

That is a good set up for the next arc of the show where the other characters find out that Hajime is the Joker and what exactly that entails, and we start seeing more of the conflict in Hajime between his instincts to win and destroy and his desire to live a human life with the people he cares about. Having this more solid understanding of Hajime, of his strengths and shortcomings and the way he fits among the other characters, is important groundwork for the new set of information and conflicts.

But there is one last thing these episodes do, which is to foreshadow the ending of Blade.

The interesting thing about these episodes is the way that the taiyaki/takoyaki rivalry gets resolved: not by one side winning over the other, but by both sides surviving through Ryou and Michi’s marriage.

In Japan, when two people get married, legally one of them is no longer part of their birth family and is instead becomes a part of their spouse’s family. It can be either the husband or wife, though in practice it’s usually the wife that marries into the husband’s family, as it appears that Michi does here. Socially though, marriage can be viewed as more of a merging of two families, as is seen with Michi’s father also calling Ryou his son.

In the end of the show, the Undead/Kamen Rider conflict is resolved in a similar if more tragic fashion. 

There does not have to be a winner to the Battle Fight for both Hajime and the world to survive. Just like how Michi joins Ryou’s family to bring peace, Kenzaki ends up physically changing species into an Undead. Meanwhile Hajime does not physically (or legally) change his status, but he socially becomes human by living among them.

Despite the goofiness of the takoyaki episodes, Kamen Rider Blade as a whole is a more serious show. Their conflict—between the Undead and humans, between the characters and destiny—cannot be so easily resolved. While Michi and Ryou join each other’s families and get to live happily together, Kenzaki and Hajime can only partially trade places as species and are unable to ever see each other again, not really resolving the conflict of the Battle Fight but only putting it on hold.

Still, even if Hajime and Kenzaki are left separated and connected only by the violent demands of fate/God/the Overseer of the Battle Fight, there is a lasting bond between them. It’s not for nothing that the ring designed off their combined character motifs is called “eternal marriage”. 

TL;DR: The takoyaki episodes are important in how they set up Hajime as a character in preparation for the Joker arc and also foreshadow how Hajime and Kenzaki get symbolically married to bring peace

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

oh oh oh for the selfship ask game may I ask for all your self-ships:

🔥, 💋, 🎂, 🩰

thank you and have a lovely day!

hiiii angsti! thank you for indulging me and my cringe, i hope you're having a great day uwu

🔥 — who gets jealous easier?

Typically my f/os because I'm pretty chill; I already have them bagged so unless it's a moment of insecurity I don't feel the need to get jealous or step in unless someone is being egregiously too flirty with them even after they've stated they are taken. In the case of Tamarack though, her jealousy phase is mostly during the step 2 era and her jealousy levels decrease after we become a couple (also in the step 2 era and she's worked on her confidence)

💋 — if you two were a romance trope, what would it be?

Sparkling Leaves (Tamarack Baumann), Soft Armor (Mikasa Ackerman), Flaming Pearls (Portgas D. Ace): Childhood Friends to Lovers

Blues (Gojou Satoru): Friends to Lovers

Sunflowers & Tomatoes (Umemiya Hajime): My Temporary Annoyance to Friends to Lovers

🎂 — how do you two celebrate each other's birthday?

Blues: since Satoru was born on the 7th of december and me on the 9th, we celebrate our birthdays together on the 8th. I have a personal hc that since there are so few students that go attend jujutsu tech that the staff celebrates the birthdays of said students so we kinda do it just like ye olden days of being students. We share a cake (we both like vanilla sponge cake with strawberry and whipped cream) and we pick somewhere to go for the day but instead of it being a cheap version of something Yaga didn't want to pay for, we go to the real thing

Sparkling Leaves: There's no confirmed birthday for Tamarack right now but I imagine she was born in the fall like myself albeit different months. We might occasionally do a small party with friends but for the most part we like spending those days with each other

On my birthday she busts out the cello with a cover of a song I really like and I love to give people gifts so for her birthday I try to do get gifts I know she'll enjoy using frequently. A new bow for her cello or tickets to a classical concert she's been wanting to see and once the concert is over we go to a restaurant for dinner

Soft Armor: On both ends probably dinner dates are our go-to, a nice walk under the stars. We both like to keep our respective days more on the lowkey end and we see it as an excuse to have an extra date night

Her birthday is in winter and mine is in fall, so it is usually chilly so we will snuggle up if it's a picnic style birthday date and enjoy a thermos full of hot tea or cider if we wanna be adventurous

Flaming Pearls: Because we're usually on a pirate ship, unless we happened to be docked somewhere we usually have our birthdays being celebrated by the crew. Ace is pretty good at getting a party going (another way he and Luffy are similar) and pirates never need an excuse to have a good time, so shanties will be sung, toasts will be made and the party will be going until everyone's tired and knocked out and snoring on the deck

But if we are docked somewhere during a time one of our birthdays falls, it's a date for the entire day and we're left to our devices. Usually going to different restaurants and looking at the local sights

Sunflowers & Tomatoes: Hajime definitely goes the extra mile on my birthdays. He knows I'm not a huge fan of surprises but we do compromise with TINY ones, his tiny surprises usually include doing a mini scavenger hunt in the house where I have to find a bunch of sticky notes to eventually get to the present itself. But because Hajime is a fan of surprises, I try to plan one for him at least every other birthday

Usually a birthday party with a different theme or it's a 'Help Hajime Garden' birthday bash

🩰 — who is the better dancer?

Me: Flaming Pearls, Sparkling Leaves, Soft Armor, Sunflower & Tomatoes

About Equal: Blues

send a selfship ask

[caitchercatlady]

Ranking Asian Dramas of 2024: Winter

YouTube community posting is not going to be enough to share my opinions on dramas that I watched this year. Instead, I will share them here. Then, I realized that a Tumblr post won't be enough, but I still want to post here anyway. No matter, it's time for plan C: Posting in parts! What you will see first will be all of the dramas that aired in winter 2024 (some that aired in December of 2023 that finished in 2024, not to get confused). First, let me introduce you to my ranking system, which seems self explanatory.

Where’s the Replay Button?

They Got the Bag

Good For What it Was

Wanted to like but it has eh?

Why did I even Finish this?

With that noted, let's get started. (BTW, these will be in order of when they first aired.)

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama (Premiered Dec 24, end Jan 2nd; Where’s the replay button?)

If this wasn’t my favorite drama of the year, what was going to be? Episode one pulled me in for a loop by first making me think that this is going to be a shy child star and hot new celebrity trope when in reality the hot mysterious celebrity is actually a closeted fan of the child star whose dream just came true. Thankfully, he’s not saesang crazy because he remembers that he has a reputation to uphold, but that doesn’t make the romance any less cute whenever Yuichiro and Hajime are together. I honestly wished this series was longer, but I’ll rewatch it someday anyway.

Patisserie Mon (Premiered Jan 3; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

Truthfully, I found out Perth was in this, and I wanted to binge every moment that he was in it. To be fair, the side characters, minus FL’s friend, were the best part of the show. The love triangle ruined the main characters for me. Isamu for the win! That opening theme slaps hard AF though. I will play the whole thing from start to finish each episode. (I've been putting it on full blast since I found it on Spotify!) The ending was also very wholesome; Not gonna lie.

Intern in My Heart (Premiered Jan 10; They Got the Bag)

I was very worried that a show like this wouldn’t take a younger man/older woman romance seriously, but lo and behold, I was wrong! I was very happy that Ray and Rin (and the side characters as well) were treated like normal people in this drama. I mean, Ray is not normal because of his foresight powers, but when it comes to the romance, age didn’t play some comedic trope that made the two so awkward. It wasn’t awkward in the slightest as a matter of fact.

Blue Spring Ride Season 2 (Premiered Jan 19; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

I completely forgot that the first season aired in the last year, so that’s why I didn’t review the first season at that time. Admittedly, as a person who read both the manga and watched the anime, I was kinda thinking that events jumped around and about for this anime to have more drama in it. Maybe I’m misremembering and that the racing is just really fast. Honestly, maybe I preferred this because at least we get more story with Futaba and Kou. Now, onto Season 2. So we go from getting the boy to a stereotypical love triangle done always wrong all for the sake of “romantic trouble plot.” Also, minor student falls in love with adult teacher. Jesus, you would think that this drama would’ve cut that out, right? We’re in 2024 for god’s sake. Trying to finish this series for the sake of this post was absolutely painful to watch. It’s convincing me to not read the rest of the manga if it’s going to be like this, and that’s sad because the anime and manga had me in a heart grip.

Legend of Mermaid: Human Love (Premiered Jan 22; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

To be clear, I really didn’t want to watch this because the effects are pretty bad, especially the CGI fox demon and how goddamn slow the fight scenes are, but I was watching this as a part of my Mermaids in Asian dramas video, so I had to watch it from start to finish I absolutely regret it with how hokey it was. Oh well, at least I watched it on YouTube for free. Also, once you actually get into the movie, the plot intrigue really isn’t that bad. However, the mermaid concept as the title states, doesn’t exactly exist, so as a partial romance, the story falls flat, but as a mystery fantasy, it does better.

Happy Ending (Premiered Jan 25; They Got the Bag)

It was very cute for a short series. Very romantic at that. Kinda wished it was a full series for me to get into it more, but they got the bag for audiences to be attracted by it.

Anti-Reset (Premiered Feb 2; Good for What it Was)

Logically, this drama shouldn’t make sense, but I watched it because the premise reminded me of Absolute Boyfriend, the manga from the early 2000’s. The story was pretty predictable, which I expected from something like this, but Yi Ping and Ever 9 were just so cute together. If the show was just about the two of them and no side characters who try to break them apart, I would’ve had a more enjoyable experience than I already had. The ending broke my heart 100%. I thought I would be ready for what I was about to watch, but I was so wrong.

My Piggy Boss (Premiered Feb 2; Wanted to like but it has eh?)

This is Beauty and the Beast. Usually, you can’t make Beauty and the Beast boring, but somehow, they did. Xiao Zhu as Belle is like Emma Watson’s version of Belle, and I’m not happy to see it. I normally like stories where the jerk warms up to the female lead, but his change felt unwarranted because the FL was so unapologetically boring.

Kun in the Distant Ocean (Premiered Feb 11; Why Did I Even Finish This?)

Someone in the comments of MDL said that they believed the script to this movie was written by AI. After watching so many bad Chinese drama shows and movies this year, I wouldn’t be surprised anymore. Again, this was for the mermaid drama video, and movies like this make me regret the experiment in the first place. Everything about this movie felt wrong. Why was the character and plot all over the place?