#but the important part is that i happen to be able to talk about shidou ryuusei (and blue lock) for a grade. fucking incredible

[pinkinsect]

they should let me cite my tumblr mutuals on academic papers

[semisgroupie]

PART I — A BROKEN RECORD ON REPEAT

shidou ryusei x fem. reader

wc: 5.5k

warnings: foul language, alcohol, reader is in a loveless relationship, legal jargon, talk about babies, some angst

note: this is a very plot heavy chapter and very little shidou and reader interaction but that’s to build up for what’s to come!

series masterlist | next part | taglist

Mundane?

Could that be the word you’d use to describe your life currently? No, even that is being too nice. You could list off all the possible adjectives in your mind but they wouldn’t be enough to properly describe your emotions towards your life. You’d have to string together a sentence to do so.

So now what would the sentence be?

Your life is like a broken record that goes on nonstop and makes you want to rip your hair out of your scalp.

Bingo!

That’s what you would describe your life as. Everything fell into place and there was no excitement for you to look forward to—well there was something very exciting coming your way, you just didn’t know it yet. But it’s best to give some background.

You grew up in a traditional nuclear family. Your parents worked endlessly to make sure you and your younger brother lived a comfortable life. You appreciate them for that and in return you made sure to do your best in school to ease any burden on them. You were a straight-A student, captain of the debate and mock trial teams in your school and helped out in your community. For that, you ended up receiving a full ride scholarship to one of the top universities in New York City.

During your time in college, you worked your ass off to maintain the scholarship and thensome. That’s when you found your passion in law and attended law school which led you to where you were now. One of the top corporate firms in New York City, you always made sure to devote time to your family and you were able to buy your parents a beautiful home where they could finally relax and retire.

At the age of 23, you met your now fiancé, Niles Murdock. He put you at the top of his world, for the first few years you two were together. Then it seemed like once he put a ring on your finger, he just stopped trying. No more random bouquets, no more casual walks in the park, no more lazy nights where you two sat cuddled up and ordered takeout to stuff your faces, it was all over. His parents were decent people, maybe that’s a lie. They only saw people and actions as transactions and they were the ones to convince you to go into corporate law. “That’s where the money is!” They said and you followed like a pet.

When you graduated law school you had multiple offers but your heart was leaning towards a position at the prosecutor's office. You would’ve had to work your way up but it would’ve been something you enjoyed. But you took the offer at Baker, Fisher & Ross LLP. The first year was hell, sitting in meetings and conference rooms with men that only saw you as a walking sex doll and disregarded any of your opinions. Three years later and now you’re the youngest and only female being considered for a position as partner, at only 28.

That was currently the only perk in your life.

Sometimes when you sat in your office and looked out the window, you wondered what would’ve happened if you went into criminal law. Where would you be then? Would your relationship with Niles have ended? Would you be slaving for a dollar? But most importantly, would you be happy?

But those were all questions that would remain unanswered. You had to push them aside because you had more important matters to focus on. You had to make partner in this firm. You had to or else this route would mean nothing. It would mean that you threw away everything, for nothing.

In the morning you woke up in an empty bed, as per usual. Niles was a stockbroker so he had to go meet with his Wall Street coworkers and probably snort a few lines of coke to start the day. You walked out of your bedroom and went straight to the shower to wake yourself up. As the water cascaded along your skin, you went over your schedule for the day. You had three meetings and then after lunch you had to go meet with the mock trial team you were mentoring. You loved working with them. They all reminded you of yourself, all bright eyed and eager to the world of law. If you could, you would warn them about making the right decision. You wanted to warn them to keep the fire inside them lit and not let it die out like you had. But then you’d scare them off and there goes something to brighten your day.

You finished your shower and rummaged through your closet, grabbing your gray pants suit and heels to set on your bed while you prepared a pot of coffee and made yourself up. After you finished getting ready, you poured the coffee into your mug and grabbed your bag. Just like clockwork you walked to your car, drove to your office building then walked to the local bakery to pick up a croissant for your secretary. Jesse was an angel, he was someone that you could rely on and chat with whenever you felt like you were going insane. Hell, he probably could write novels about your life with how much you told him.

After paying for the croissant you made your way back down the block to your office building and made your way inside. The building had 18 floors and was filled with multiple law firms. Your firm took up the top 6 floors and you didn’t really know much about anything else that occupied the space. Maybe if you’re stuck in the office late you’ll go look around and figure out what’s going on inside the building. It’s not like security would confront you anyways, they were too busy sleeping or flirting on the job.

You made your way through the growing crowd of people and waited for the elevator. Then after a few moments you packed yourself inside the metal box that was kind of like a can of sardines waiting to be sealed. You held your bag and the bag with the croissant inside close to you and looked out into the crowd of people that were waiting for the next elevator. They all shared a similar expression of boredom but there was someone that caught your attention. Just as you were about to turn your complete focus to them, the doors to the elevators shut and you started your ascent to hell. But there was something about the stranger that would stick in your mind no matter how quickly you looked at them, their pink eyes.

The elevator ride was fairly quick and you got off at the 17th floor. The top floor was reserved for the big shots and partners and if everything were to go your way, you’d be up there soon. You made your way to your office and stopped by the desk that sat in the antechamber that connected you both. “Good morning to the best secretary in this hell hole, I brought you your favorite.” You set the bag down at his desk and received a bright smile.

“You’re the greatest.” He took it and quickly opened it to eat the contents of the bag. That’s one thing about Jesse, you could give him a bag of rocks and he’d still be thankful for it. You smiled and turned to head into your office, just as your hand touched the knob Jesse cleared his throat. “Sorry, I got distracted but I heard that at the end of this week is when you’ll find out if you make partner. They’re having a little party at Vincenzo’s and they’ll make the announcement there. But don’t say I told you, Mr. Fisher is going to come down to tell you the news, so act surprised.” You felt a surge of adrenaline rush through your veins at his words. You’ll finally know if your work has paid off and if you made the right decision. “You got it, I’ll start practicing my shocked expressions.” You winked at Jesse then made your way inside your office to gather what you needed for your first meeting.

Right before you got ready to take your lunch break Mr. Fisher made his way to your office. You looked up at the older gentleman, out of the three men who helped create the firm, he was the kindest, he still had some sense of humanity in him. “Good afternoon, I just wanted to stop by and let you know that we’ll be announcing our decision on Friday. I also wanted to thank you for your hard work, if it wasn’t for you I’m not too sure if we’d still be running as good as we are. Enjoy your day and keep up the good work.” He smiled and left your office, once he was out of sight Jesse got up and made his way into your office.

“Come on, you’re telling me what he said on our way to lunch. Oh and is your detective friend joining us today?” Your ‘detective friend’ is someone you met in college, more specifically one of your closest friends that you met once you started college. Joy Aurora, she was your college roommate from freshman year and stuck by your side through law school while she pursued a career in law enforcement. Now she works as a lead detective in the prosecutor’s office. She was the first person to sense the bad vibes from Niles but she wanted you to be happy so she didn’t interfere. That still doesn’t mean she doesn’t put her (not so) little opinion about him every time you two talk.

“No, she has to go to Long Island to try to find some evidence for a case she’s working on but she’ll probably be able to meet us later on this week.” You organized your things then went with Jesse to lunch at the local diner.

“So you’re telling me that you have to go to dinner with Niles’ parents tonight but he couldn’t spare the time to have lunch with your brother when he visited a month ago? I mean, I know he’s an ass but that’s a major dick move. But remind me, what do you see in him?” You took a few moments to think about your answer but the pause was enough to convince Jesse. “He was perfect when we were dating. He always surprised me with flowers out of the blue, he always found time to come over and would force me to eat while I was studying for the bar, he was sweet with my parents and brother, he made my heart skip a beat whenever I saw him and I had to catch my breath whenever he smiled at me.”

“But how do you feel about him now? And be honest with me, Y/N.” You knew he was going to ask that question but you still dreaded it. “I don’t know how to feel about him. I feel like he’s tired of me and I feel bored. I feel frustrated with him but I’ve gotten used to it.” You looked down at the engagement ring on your finger and looked at the diamond on it. “Niles surprised me with this engagement ring about two weeks after I started working at the firm. He took me to get my nails done, helped me buy a beautiful dress and took me to dinner at this French restaurant that I still can’t pronounce the name of. Afterwards we walked around Central Park and then he popped the question. Back then I felt like I was on cloud nine, now I feel like I made the worst decision of my life. Isn’t that funny? How your life can change in an instant. I like to think that he’ll change, that he’ll go back to the Niles I fell in love with but with each passing day the hope just fizzes out.”

Jesse got up from his seat across from you and pulled you into a hug. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I just don’t like seeing how miserable you look. You always look like you’re longing for something else and I don’t know what to do to help you. You’re my friend and I hate feeling like I can’t help you.” You hugged him back and shook your head. “It’s something that I’ll have to deal with by myself, Jesse. I got myself into this mess and I have to get myself out of it, or at least make it more tolerable.”

The rest of your lunch break was spent hearing Jesse complain about his tinder dates and boring love life. After heading back to the office you went to gather your things for the mock trial team you were mentoring and went to the conference room on the 15th floor. The students were still on the way so you could set up everything and refresh yourself on the details of the case they’ll be arguing for their competition. On the elevator ride down you skimmed through the packet to get a general gist of what the case was then made your way into the conference room.

Once inside you set up the packets at each of the empty chairs around the table and set the extras in the middle of it. You checked the time, still about 15 minutes until the students were supposed to come in so you had 15 minutes to kill. Thankfully there was a dry erase board in the conference room so you walked over to it but there were no markers. “Just my luck.” You looked around the conference room, checking wherever you could just to find at least one marker that you could use. You were just about to start crawling around to check any nooks and crannies around the room when you heard a knock on the door.

You fixed yourself a bit and turned to the door. “Sorry to bother, I just came to bring these in.” You saw the male at the door with a box of dry erase markers in his hand. Your eyes roamed along his face and once you met his eyes you quickly recognized him. He was the guy you briefly saw in the morning right before the elevators closed. He had beautifully tanned skin that contrasted perfectly with his blonde hair and bright colored eyes. Your eyes quickly traveled to his slightly exposed chest since the top two buttons of his shirt were opened. But you shook yourself out of your little trance. “Thank you so much, I was on the hunt for dry erase markers.”

You walked over to close the distance between you two and stuck your hand out to take the box from him. Your fingers just barely grazed his and you took the box. “I’m Y/N, I work for Baker, Fisher & Ross. Nice to meet you.” You stuck your free hand out to shake his and you had to fight yourself from going into another trance. “I’m Ryusei, I work a few floors beneath you at Jameson & Cole. My boss told me at the last minute that she had thrown out the last dry erase marker and had me go on a supply hunt so that was a pain. So, if any of the big shots at your firm need an assistant please let me know.” He joked and you shook your head as you laughed, “trust me, if you’re annoyed over a last minute task you’d hate working for any of the partners at my firm. They’re all very snooty and think too highly of themselves.” He chuckled and leaned against the doorframe. “Thanks for the warning.”

You spent the next few minutes chatting with him until his phone started ringing. “Fuck, I have to go set up for my boss’ meeting. It was really great talking to you, I’ll see you around.” You nodded and lifted up the box of markers as he started to take his leave, “thanks for the markers.” He flashed a wink at you then turned the hall to go to the elevators.

You stood in place for a moment and collected your thoughts. At the end of the day he was a stranger that you probably won’t see again so there was no need to be hung up on it. So you carried on with what you were planning to do. By the time the students made their way in you had some notes written on the board and you turned to them. “Alright guys, my name is Y/N and I work for Baker, Fisher & Ross and I’ll be your ticket to winning this whole competition. First things first, we’ll do introductions and then do a little exercise to loosen ourselves up.”

The rest of your day went by quickly and then it was time for what you were dreading most, dinner with Niles’ parents. All you had to do was grin and bear whatever bullshit they had prepared for you but biting your tongue was no easy feat. On the drive back home you received a text from Niles that told you to just meet him and his parents at the restaurant. You had gotten used to just meeting Niles at restaurants since he could never be bothered to meet you at home so you two could go together. After a quick drive back to your loft, you showered and then redid your makeup and slipped on a black dress then quickly left to the restaurant.

Coincidentally it was the restaurant Niles took you to when he proposed so all those memories came flooding back. After parking you entered and the host led you to the table where your fiancé and future in-laws sat. “I hope I didn’t keep you all waiting for too long, I came here as fast as I could.” You gave a short hug to both of his parents then sat down next to your fiancé. Surprisingly he leaned over to kiss you and took your hand in his while his parents began to drone on.

Being with his parents was surprisingly pleasant this time. There were no offhand comments thrown your way and they didn’t let their privilege ooze all over the place. Well, that was until Niles announced that you were up for partner at your law firm. His mother spoke first, “oh dear, if you make partner then you won’t have much time. You two have been together for so long and I don’t have any grandchildren yet. When I was your age I already had Harrison and was pregnant with Niles.” You chewed on your bottom lip to try to fight the urge to roll your eyes then you mustered up a fake smile.

“I completely understand where you’re coming from Susanne but we still haven’t really discussed the topic of children yet and making partner is what I really want.” She shook her head and sighed which meant that it was time for her husband to steer the conversation. “Sweetheart, sometimes you have to push what you want aside. I mean, Niles is doing great on Wall Street and is making more than enough to support you and children. What do you think, son? Don’t you want children?” You looked over at Niles, hoping that he’d defend you in this matter. “Well, I do want children,” a genuine smile was threatening to spread across your face, he was finally defending you, “you guys are right. I can support us, baby. I think that’ll be the perfect next step for our future.”

And just like that, your hopes got crushed. “We’ll just have to talk about it more.” You faked another smile as you spoke and you moved your hand from his grasp. The rest of the dinner went by quickly and you walked with him and his parents to their car. Once they drove off, you and Niles made your way to your car since one of his buddies dropped him off. The drive back was silent and it was almost impossible to fight your frustration and bite your tongue.

It was just bubbling and threatened to boil over. Once you two were in the lobby of your building you had to get it off your chest. “Are you serious, Niles? You expect me to give up my career so I can be a housewife? You know how hard I’ve worked for this and you want me to just throw it away?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to face you, his hazel eyes had no emotion to them, just like the rest of his face. “What’s so wrong with that? You knew from the start that I wanted to have kids and at this rate we’re not going to have them.”

Your eyes widened at his words. “We’re only 28. I’m not throwing away anything for children, I don’t care what you or mommy and daddy dearest think. For once I want you to act like my fiancé and support me and my decisions. Just once.” He opened his mouth to reply but you had already gone ahead of him into the elevator and pressed the button to your floor. Just as the doors were about to close a wrinkly hand stuck its way through then a familiar face walked in. “Just in time and my favorite neighbors are here.” You smiled at the elderly woman as she got on the elevator, “good evening Mrs. Bennett.”

“You two look so spiffy! Was it date night?” You shook your head and spoke to her during the short ride while Niles leaned against the opposite wall and watched you two in silence. Just as the elevator was about to stop at your floor Mrs. Bennett gently placed her hand on top of yours, “are you two in search of a puppy? My daughter’s dog just gave birth and we have too many puppies to give away. If you’re not busy just stop by my apartment.”

Niles opened his mouth to say something but you beat him to the punch, “how wonderful, I’ll join you on the way to your apartment and see the puppies.” Niles scoffed and rolled his eyes, “that mutt is going to be your responsibility, not mine.” He muttered and walked out of the elevator once the metal doors opened then you and Mrs. Bennett followed behind.

He went into the direction of your shared apartment and you went the opposite direction. Mrs. Bennett shook her head and looked at you, “trouble in paradise?” You shrugged and followed her to her apartment, “I guess you can say that.” She sighed and decided not to press the subject further. She opened the door to her apartment and right in the middle of the living room you saw a cardboard box with multiple eyes staring at you. “They’re akitas and just take your time with them to find your perfect match. Do you want some tea?” You shook your head and approached the box, there were 6 puppies in the box all begging for your attention. You played with them for a little then held up one, the one that practically clung onto you during your entire visit. He was a boy and had black fur with white spots over his eyes that made it look like he had little glasses. “I think I’ll be taking this one home.”

Mrs. Bennett approached with her cup of tea and smiled, “perfect and don’t worry about paying for him. Think of him as a thank you for all the times you came over to check on me and bought groceries for me.” You hugged her and with a short goodbye you left. As you walked through the hall you held the puppy up as you thought of a name for him. “Spot? Hm, that’s a little generic. Biscuit? I can see you don’t like that one. How about Atlas?” The puppy wiggled in your grip and yipped, which you took as a sign of confirmation. “Atlas it is.”

You unlocked the door to your loft and walked inside, Niles was in the kitchen with a glass of whiskey in his hand. “So you picked one out?” He didn’t even bother to look at you or Atlas as he spoke but you just shrugged it off and set Atlas on the floor. “Mhm, his name is Atlas. Don’t sound too excited.” You watched as Atlas approached Niles and nudged his leg with his nose but Niles just stepped away from him. You patted your thigh which caught the puppy’s attention and made him run back to you. Niles finally looked over at you and then looked down at Atlas, whose tail was wagging a mile a minute.

“Well Atlas is your problem, not mine. I don’t understand how you’re not ready for kids but can sign up to take care of a dog.” He downed the rest of the contents in the glass and put it in the dishwasher. “I’m going to shower then I’ll sleep in the spare bedroom since you’ll want to share our bed with that mutt.” You just watched as he disappeared into your shared bedroom to gather some things then went into the spare bedroom. You looked down at Atlas who looked back up at you with wide eyes and leaned down to pick him up. “Don’t mind him, he’s grumpy. I’ll just shower you with enough love for two people.” You kissed his snout and made your way to your bedroom to get ready for bed.

The rest of the week went by in a blur, you were able to fit Atlas into your schedule easily and even Niles warmed up to him. He even surprised the pup with a squeaky toy one night after coming home from work.

Soon, it was already the big day. The day where you’d find out if you made the right decision for your career path. You decided to wear what you dubbed your lucky dress, which was just a red dress that you wore to important consultations. You did your makeup and made yourself some coffee then brought Atlas to Mrs. Bennett’s so she could watch him while you were at work. On the drive to the office you felt excited, adrenaline surged through your veins and you sang along to whatever song played on the radio at the top of your lungs. You went through the usual morning routine, getting a croissant for Jesse and everything went as it usually did.

The day went by so slowly in your opinion. You wanted to know what their decision was already but you had to be patient. The time soon passed and you made your way to Vincenzo’s with Jesse. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and kept you close to him as you two walked into the restaurant. “This is your big day superstar, did you pack your things for our move to the top floor?” You smiled and lifted a hand to gently pat his chest. “Once the announcement is made I’ll get my things ready.”

The restaurant was packed. It seemed like the whole office building was invited. You looked around but Niles wasn’t there but maybe he was running late. There was no way he’d miss an important day like this. Or at least you hoped he wouldn’t miss it. “I’m going to get some drinks, I’ll be right back.” You moved from Jesse’s grip and walked over to the bar, there stood Joy. You smiled brightly and hugged her tightly. “Hi beautiful, where’s your knight in shining armor? I haven’t seen him here yet.”

You shrugged at her question and grabbed a strawberry daiquiri, “no clue, I sent a message earlier to make sure he knew where to go but I haven’t gotten a reply from him yet.” Joy raised an eyebrow and even though she hadn’t said anything yet, you knew what was going to come out of her mouth. “I know, just give him some time. Maybe he got caught up or he’s on his way.” She shrugged and took a sip of her beer, “if you insist but I hope he shows face soon. If not, I’m going to talk your ear off about him and nothing will be able to stop me.” You laughed and nodded.

You spent the next half hour with Jesse and Joy then your attention was piqued when Mr. Baker, Mr. Fisher and Mr. Ross stood at the small stage and Mr. Baker tapped his microphone. “Good evening everyone. First off, thank you for taking the time to come and celebrate this event with us. This decision we’re about to announce took so much time and so much debating, I just want to say that both people who were up for this position are more than deserving for this position and it pains us all to offer it to only one person. So, with great pleasure I would like you all to congratulate Mr. Kuon Wataru!”

Your eyes widened at the announcement and your heart sunk to the pit of your stomach. “Kuon got it? He made partner?” You asked your questions to no one in particular and you watched as Kuon got up to thank everyone. Mr. Fisher made his way through the crowd and approached you with an apologetic look on his face. “Y/N, I’m sorry. I fought for you as much as I could but they wouldn’t budge no matter what.” You nodded and downed the rest of your drink as Mr. Fisher placed a hand on your shoulder and gently squeezed it before walking away.

Jesse placed his arm around you and held you close to him, shaking his head. “Fucking bastard, his father made that big donation during our last fundraiser so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what swayed their opinions. It’s not like all of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths.” You felt like you were suffocating, like there were large hands clamping around your neck and they were squeezing down as hard as possible.

“I need to get some air.” You made your way through everyone as quickly as you could. All you had was tunnel vision to the exit, not even acknowledging anyone that was near you. You went out through the side entrance and leaned against the wall as your chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. You went through your bag for your phone and dialed Niles’ number. After a few rings you finally got an answer, “hey babe.” His words were slurred and you could smell the alcohol on his breath through the screen and you heard all the chatter and laughter in the background.

Your frustration quickly rose and you couldn’t even hold yourself back. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re out getting shit faced during one of the biggest nights of my life? I bet you didn’t even remember what today was. You couldn’t even bother to reply to my text earlier. You know, I had a feeling you’d end up pulling some shit like this but I tried to push any doubt aside because why would my fiancé not show up? Why wouldn’t my fiancé be around for such an important occasion? But it turns out that you don’t fucking care! You don’t care about me and what I want, if it’s not about you getting your way then you don’t care! Don’t bother coming home tonight, don’t bother coming back at all, I’m done with you Niles. This is the last straw. It’s over.” You hung up the phone and tossed it back into your bag.

You felt the tears build up and they quickly blurred your vision. You wiped at your eyes to try to hide the tears, you’d just hate it if anyone came out and saw you like this. You didn’t want to go through the whole explanation of how your life turned to shit in less than 10 minutes. You decided that you should just head home and then you could drown yourself in whatever alcohol you had stored and cuddle with Atlas. You went through your bag to find your car keys and just your luck, they weren’t there. “Of course, I left them in the fucking office.”

You wiped your eyes once more and made your way to the office. You felt your phone vibrate in your bag, of course it was Niles trying to make up some poor excuse to explain why he didn’t show up but you weren’t in the mood to deal with it. You walked inside of your office building and stood in front of the elevators.

For some reason you looked down at your hands and saw the diamond of your engagement ring glistening in the light. The tears built up again as you looked at the ring. You were so caught up you didn’t even hear anyone approach. You sniffled and wiped your eyes then a voice broke you out of your trance.

“Hey, are you alright?”

taglist: @blueparadis @vinsmouke @dabibreeder @nekee-lilac02

[aphrodaisyacs]

Re the yj / bllk au(?): besides the Jackie/kunigami similarities which other characters do you see fitting into this au???

ok so after thinking about it some more, I realised that reo would be a much better fit for jackie in this au. first off, his backstory states that he is so privileged in his everyday life that he's barely had to work for anything, ever. as such, I strongly believe that he would NOT be able to adapt to surviving in the wilderness. he would cling onto the hope of getting rescued, but as soon as it becomes clear that they won't, he would... not take it well.

and finally, the reonagi friendship parallels with shauna/jackie. that dramatic breakup in canon where reo thinks nagi is ditching him in favour of isagi? well, if it happens to coincide with a sudden overnight cold snap...... yeah......

now, since reo is the jackie of this au, I think kunigami would fit much better as laura lee. someone kind, with a strong moral compass and a presence of Good that the others feel like they can depend on post-crash. kunigami would also definitely volunteer to fly the plane to get help, despite the very real possibility that it will might kill him

as for the other characters, it's a lot harder to find direct parallels but here are some other things I've got for this au:

(warning: contains spoilers for the blue lock manga & yellowjackets s2)

the plane that crashes contains the blue lock 11, shidou, the bench players + ego & anri. here, the v U20 match was supposed to take place in a different part of japan and they were heading there when it all went to hell

in this au kunigami didn't get eliminated and the wildcard program doesn't exist, hence why he's still around (he's one of the bench players)

ok so I lied when I said I couldn't find other parallels- if we are keeping what yellowjackets did with having 1 (one) adult character who is the opposite sex of the teens survive, then it's anri. and... hoo boy. I genuinely feel so bad for her because like. jesus fucking christ. she does not deserve to be stuck with these boys in a situation like this. I can only hope that she finds the secret underground lair sooner than ben does because she has a much higher chance of surviving that way

canonically gagamaru fucks off into the wild on a regular basis for fun, so all the boys are going to turn to him for guidance when it comes to surviving the wilderness. he is also most likely going to hunt game for the group as well, making him one of the most important and well-respected members of the group until they run out of food and decide to start killing and eating each other

hear me out- bachira being the one to start the cult because his 'monster' keeps directing him to food sources/symbols/whatever. eventually the more religious members of the group (like igarashi) start talking about leaving out tokens of their gratitude for the 'monster' and it all snowballs from there

one winter day when everyone is starving their minds off, rin and shidou butt heads for the millionth time. except instead of deescalating the fight, the other boys have run out of fucks to give and decide to let them duke it out while they watch from the sidelines. but the fight just keeps going and going, until one of them gets beaten to death. it is brutal, it is tragic, but... at least they have food now?

and thus, their hunting ritual is born- 2 of them get chosen to fight to the literal death, and the loser gets eaten by the rest of the group. at long last, their canon dialogue will make sense /j

so who survives in the end? at this point in time I've only locked in isagi, bachira and nagi, because I strongly believe that these 3 will manage to find a way to win all those 1v1 death matches. in the rin vs shidou fight I mentioned earlier I haven't decided on who wins, but I know that the winner of that match would survive until rescue. in yellowjackets, so far we know there are 7 survivors, and if my theory that there are 8 total survivors is correct then that would leave 4 more spots for the blue lock boys

this got much longer than expected and in the end I don't know if I even answered your question properly hjafklsd I hope you enjoyed my ramblings!

[ordinaryxtreme]

Blue Lock Thoughts(tm) Post

So I read Blue Lock up to the U-20 match and let me just say that having a lot of thoughts about it is an understatement. These are not Smart(tm) thoughts at all, just me screaming into the void. I'll mostly be talking abt third selection up to U-20 match so spoilers for up to ch 148!!

Chigiri and Kunigami

MY SHIP... The third selection truly made them so Spicy. They could've been the dynamic duo that perseveres together all the way through the selection, but they got separated and Kunigami didn't even make it PAST the third selection, at least, not in the normal way. I was upset at the reveal (I was very embarrassingly yelling to my friend in voice chat while reading) because I missed their banter. But now that I think about it, we now have the knight/hero rising up from the ashes to meet his princess again and I'm now so glad this was the outcome. As my friend so eloquently put it, it's super cool that Blue Lock isn't afraid to separate their duos. Which brings me to the next duo...

2. Reo and Nagi

Reo's separation from Nagi is honestly the best thing to happen to both of their characters. Reo didn't really interest me as a character until Nagi left him and he was all gunning for revenge. I thought they were going for some sort of villain arc with him, but what they did was SO much better. Yes, Reo was understandably bitter for some time, but he changed stances and saw it from a different point of view really quickly. We literally watched him go through the 5 stages of grief.

And then come back stronger after his acceptance. Even finding a crazy ability to call his own.

And he OWNS it too. That moment when Shidou made fun of him for being a copy-cat, he DOUBLED DOWN ON IT and taunted him for not even being able to beat a copy-cat. Now that's the ultimate power move.

My favorite favorite FAVORITE thing is... he is still a duo with Nagi. They still sync perfectly well. They still know each other the best. Reo turned his spite on its head and came back to Nagi at full force.

What can I say except NAGIREO REAL!!!!! OK next point.

3. Bachira & Isagi

Honestly, I kinda didn't expect Bachira and Isagi to develop almost like a parallel to Nagi and Reo. I love how Bachira is portrayed. He obviously has some mental disorder (I'm guessing ASD or adjacent) and the way it's portrayed as a monster which Bachira eventually hones into his own... At first he just wanted friends, he wanted people who play just like him, to accept him as he is and that was what Isagi was to him. But in the end having others accepting him wasn't enough. He had to accept HIMSELF, his monster. And because of that he came in SEVENTH after the third selection!!!

Honestly, it was one of the most satisfying character development moments.

And again, after that, his and Isagi's duo play just comes out stronger.

Just Dynamic Duo Things.

3. Barou and Rin

I put these two together because they feel like the ultimate sports trope subversion. It's almost BLASPHEMOUS how they essentially become the egotistical "villains" of the field.

I love Barou as a character too, he is SO GAP MOE. Who would've thought that he was a malewife that was obsessed with keeping things neat? I want to destroy his ass. Ahem.

Anyway, Rin. He literally went fucking BONKERS at the idea that he has a team behind him. HE WANTS IT ALL TO HIMSELF.

THIS SHIT WOULD LITERALLY NEVER FLY IN A NORMAL SPORTS STORY. Which brings me to my favorite thing about Blue Lock

4. It is simultaneously a love letter AND a blasphemy to the sports genre.

I had a Kuroko no Basket phase years ago and I KNOW a KnB inspired story when I see one. Of course there's references and concepts that Blue Lock obviously borrowed from KnB. I could easily list all of them like the concept of "Flow" that is totally not KnB's "zone", the copy guy, the "emperor style", Aryuu Juubei who is totally not a homage to Murasakibara... References and concepts are easy to insert into any story. The important part is the Utter Unhingedness. They took KnB's barely believable superpowers and high school drama and all these high stakes that are totally just made up in the characters heads... and turned it up to 11.

KnB was a level of "skirting the boundary of what's humanly possible" that is still acceptable. Yeah, people thought it was insane and were laughing about it, but it didn't really have "haters". It's still just regular sports. But Blue Lock said fuck that, they're going to be straight up CONTROVERSIAL. There's no point if it doesn't have passionate haters. This isn't sports as you know it. And I respect that so much honestly. (If you've been on anitwt recently, you'll know that fans of conventional sports stories DESPISE Blue Lock).

I think with the sports genre becoming this Big Thing(tm) and the market somewhat becoming saturated over the years, this kind of blasphemy is exactly what the genre needs right now.

Speaking of blasphemy...

5. Itoshi Sae vs. Itoshi Rin

I love the whole angel vs demon thing going on with them. I love Sae's beautiful perfection and Rin's feral animal-like approach

(short digression, as a STEM major nerd I fucking LOVE the numbers in the visualization of Sae's abilities. I'm betting that it's the golden ratio because you won't get a number more perfect anywhere else!!)

I love their entire silent sequence against each other. No dialogue, no SFX. They were silently communicating with their bodies and with their eyes the way only brothers could. In a way, this is brotherly bonding :D

I love that Rin, and the Blue Lock team, is painted as the "villains" of the sports scene. And they won against U-20, the "heroes". They changed sports forever.

6. The unseriousness of it all (my lovehate letter to Isagi Yoichi)

In the end this is a manga about SOCCER. The characters take it WAY too seriously because they're dumbasses who literally only have soccer in their brains. It's honestly hilarious at times. But damn, if I'm not invested in this unreal, unserious, BFFR shit!!! Every time Isagi realizes something that is common sense (like when he "discovered" that luck also plays a part in games) I die a little bit inside.

BOY YOU ARE STUPID AND DRAMATIC AND GAY AND I LOVE YOU. Blue Lock would not be the same if Isagi wasn't the protagonist. If you think about it, every insane visualization of everyone's abilities is how ISAGI sees their abilities. This shit we are seeing, all the puzzle pieces, the fire, the thunder... is all in Isagi's head. And once he gets out of the game, he's literally just an awkward high school boy.

I guess he can be cute sometimes.

8. (For now) I don't think Blue Lock will end the way Ego says it will. (A love letter to Ego)

Muneyuki Kaneshiro you did it again. If you haven't read his other work, Kamisama no Iutoori and Kamisama no Iutoori ni, please do so. Having read those, I'm half-convinced that he'll pull an Akashi on us and give Isagi a canon love interest by the end AHAHA.

Digression aside, Ego said that by the end, there will be 1 striker to stand above all 299 "corpses" as he so elegantly put it. But I honestly don't think that'd happen. I have no basis for this other than the fact that it would just feel WRONG to end it like that. They wanted the sport to evolve by "creating soccer from zero", playing different positions with the ego of a striker. Honestly, I wouldn't see the point in all that when there's only 1 striker to survive in the end, you feel me?

Ego may have only said that to rile the boys up. He's playing the role of the ultimate "villain" for the boys to conquer. Now that's a very questionable approach to coaching but it sure fucking works!!! I really really love it.

And he KNOWS his methods are questionable at best, enough to get him banned from the world of soccer forever. He didn't care about himself if it meant these boys will evolve and play the ultimate soccer.

He really knows how to cultivate the perfect little "villains". Sure, it involved literally isolating them from the outside world in what is the equivalent of Soccer Jail, but you gotta do what you gotta do! :D

Honestly my wishful thinking is they end up with 11 top Blue Lock players (maybe a few more for the bench) and they get to compete internationally or something. Go beyond the scope and scale of regular sports manga... But I guess I'll just have to see what happens next!

OK. Alright. I think I'm done now. If you read this all, thank you for coming to my TED Talk!!!!

[catgirl-brain]

[ENG] Another Night - Kazui Mukuhara Voice Drama

Aand... it's been forever since this came out... I had a lot of trouble deciphering what Kazui was trying to say in some portions, so please take this translation with a grain of salt... It's super rough at some parts, sorry!

Kazui: Alright then… Let’s see how this turns out.

(door swings open)

Es: Sorry for the wait,

(door shuts)

Es: Prisoner number 7, Kazui.

Kazui: Excuse me,

(restrains Es)

Es: W-what!?

Kazui: Sorry, give me a second to be ridiculous here.

Es: (struggling) You…! That’s rude!

Kazui: Now, now… I won’t hurt you, so don’t be afraid…

Kazui: Huh..?

Es: (breaks free and gasps)

Kazui: What’s this…? I’ve suddenly lost my strength…

Es: (heavy breathing) Prisoner number 7, Kazui! Do you have any idea what you’ve just done!? You’ve just committed a serious crime.

Kazui: (hums)

Es: Hey! Are you listening to me, Kazui!?

Kazui: Prison guard-kun fought me when I squeezed them… That’s not the image I got from Futa’s account. I thought you’d overpower me,

Es: Huh?

Kazui: but you tried to get out as soon as I started, and - “What’s this?” I suddenly lost control of my own body.

Es: (huffs) I don’t know all the details either, I just know that a prisoner can’t attack the guard.

Kazui: I see… (laughs) But it’s not like a magic barrier- An old man like me wouldn’t be able to handle that… (As an old man, that helps) Still, in terms of reality… it feels a bit like it was hypnosis.

Es: Hey! I don’t care about that!

Kazui: Hm?

Es: Sit down there, Kazui!

Kazui: (chuckles) Ok, ok.

Es: The manner of these prisoners towards their prison guard... Don’t treat me as if I’m a kid, but that behavior is uncalled for... I'm not going to forgive you (for treating me like that), what do you have to say for yourself?

Kazui: Hmm…

Kazui: (claps) Sorry!

Es: Huh?

Kazui: Really- sorry, sorry! I was worried I’d get injured by you, Prison guard-kun. From now on I’ll try to get information safely. Depending on who they are, everyone has their own method of gathering information.

Es: Huh?

Kazui: I’m an anxious old man, so I just needed to verify if Prison guard-kun was armed or not.

Es: You...To do that sort of thing to me…

Kazui: Mm? I thought it would be fine, but I suppose it wasn’t.

Es: Oh? But I didn't like it.

Kazui: Oh, no no, I don’t mean to offend you. Well, it’s no problem, if we can’t attack you, you can’t attack us, either.

Es: Hmm? (approaches him)

Kazui: What are you doing?

Es: (slaps him)

Kazui: T...that hurts….!

Es: Hey, what’s wrong? I was able to attack you?

Kazui: That was uncalled for-!.. Even so... that seems to be true…

Es: What, should I have said that earlier? Should slap you again to see if it works that time?

Kazui: Aw, I get it! I’ll be patient… (clears throat) I suppose the guard has decided the situation… We’re just scared of unfamiliar situations, don't you hate it - not knowing things?

Kazui: If I can’t expect it, it could hurt me. Even if not, it's better to see first. There’s always something dangerous. And what’s more, from the beginning of this session, you seem unfazed by this “mechanism”- somewhere, it sounds like pieces of something are moving. (??)

Es: What are you trying to say?

Kazui: In other words, we’re divided into the positions of Guard and Prisoner. We’re both trying to glean the information we lack.

Kazui: I think it’s “fair” in that sense.

Es: Me and you guys… we’re “fair”?

Kazui: Well, that’s my guess. I was hoping that Prison guard-kun would agree with me if I decided it was okay.

Es: Hmm… but you’re such a chatty man.

Kazui: (laughs) That’s true (laughs) I’m worried all the time, this old man’s no good.

Es: Well, what you’re saying is pretty interesting. It’s true; at some times I don’t even know everything about MILGRAM.

Kazui: (affirmative hum)

Es: But! I am the Prison Guard of MILGRAM, and you’re a prisoner, that much is true.

Kazui: (hum)

Es: That’s the most important thing here. Now then, Prisoner number 7, Kazui. Let’s get started.

Kazui: Alright, very professional aren’t we? (laughs) Well, let me introduce myself. I like this too. This isn’t my first time introducing myself to you.

Kazui: Once again, it’s Mukuhara Kazui, age 39. Nice to meet you, Prison guard-kun.

Es: Hm. You guys are all murderous prisoners. Kazui, you shouldn’t be so cheerful.

Kazui: Murderous... is that it? Well, you’re not wrong there.

Es: Mm? Confess it then.

Kazui: Confess.. At the very least, I believe I’m a murderer. I admit that. I don’t know if that’s a good way to put it.

Es: A good way to put it…?

Kazui: And that’s all there is, for the most part. To me, there should be no murderers aside from me. (??????????????????????????????????????)

Es: What do you mean?

Kazui: For example, for what reason are you gathering us murderers here? That’s something a crazy person would do. Is there a better word other than “murderer”? The term is too broad.

Es: Hey, Kazui. This isn’t the time to be asking questions.

Kazui: And I’m not recognizable as a murderer, unless you know my crime. Why the hell are we even on trial? It doesn’t make sense.

Es: I don’t give a damn about all that. I am the one who will decide whether to forgive you or not.

Kazui: Oh, is that so? Even though I don’t know who you’re working for?

Es: They’re fluffy. And if there's a problem, they’ll show up.

Kazui: Hm..? It’s something like that..?

Es: Stop acting like a detective, it’s unpleasant.

Kazui: Okay, okay.

Es: (sighs) Kazui. How do you feel about the other prisoners?

Kazui: Oh, that’s a good one. Don’t worry, everyone is well and friendly. The younger ones often get stressed, but there seems to be a good balance.

Es: That answer would be the same no matter who you ask. Don’t worry about conflicts between prisoners.

Kazui: Isn’t that what’s happening right now? I don’t really know what’s in my head, and you don’t know what life is like outside of here (???)

Es: Hm?

Kazui: There's an air of good feelings around the prison. I would be okay with living here forever. Why have you prepared such an environment..?

Es: Hey! Stop trying to get the conversation off track!

Kazui: (laughs) I got caught. Forgive me, alright? I’m an old man, I can’t help teasing kids like you- I have to be a little mischievous.

Es: You’re the same as Shidou. I hate it. I swear, does every adult act this way?

Kazui: (laughs) Did Shidou-kun also do that? He’s really calm, isn’t he? Can’t take that one sitting down.

Es: Are you different? You seem just as childish.

Kazui: Mmm… Does it seem that way? That’s good.

Es: What’s good about that? I don’t get this.

Es: This is a place where your consciousness will reveal itself (?) calculated by the impressions from others, but they can easily lie.

Kazui: This is, this is… You’re pretty tough. (laughs) But you’re not showing your true self, and neither am I.

Es: Hm…

Kazui: But, I’m older, so I have to take more responsibility/I need to try harder when I’m around kids like you. I’m an old man, so I need to keep a smile on my face while hiding my fangs.. Even if you are young.

Es: I see..

Kazui: You can tell I’m lying… Well, that may be the case. Unfortunately for you adults are very good at lying.

Es: Adults, huh?

Kazui: You’ll be stumped(?). Although, maybe you have some mysterious power...

Es: (cute laugh) Hey, Kazui…

Kazui: Yeah?

Es: That’s exactly it.

Kazui: Eh?

Es: I see your weakness. I can look inside you and unravel the sounds of your heart… What’s more, that adult technique. (??)

Kazui: (laughing) What? What’s that supposed to mean?

Es: Stop laughing, it’s unpleasant.

Kazui: (oh hoho…) Oi, oi, What on Earth is going on here….

Es: Are you a sweet-natured man who takes his losses well? Or are you really someone else?

Kazui: (hums)

Es: I’m looking forward to seeing it… Is it possible to hide anything from it? (‘it’ being the MILGRAM machine that produces the songs). I see now...

Es: In time, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll see the vulnerabilities in the lies of a murderer.. Though I’ve already seen through it a while ago.

Kazui: So… You’re going to do all that?

Es: What do you think?

Kazui: Well, it’s not so bad… sounds just like an adult, doesn’t it?

Es: (laughs) Being an adult, huh… Don’t use that as an excuse for you behavior, coward*

Kazui: (offended sound)

Es: In this place, it doesn’t matter whether you’re an adult or a child. MILGRAM forces you to stare deep into yourself, and you can’t escape.

Kazui: I…. see. I don’t care about this place of yours, and it hasn’t even scratched my surface. I just want to be stronger than it. (?)

Kazui: Of course, I’ve killed, and now I have no reservations about breaking any other laws. It’s different… I wonder if I’m in trouble. Nothing has changed, but I don’t know how to feel. Don’t talk to me like you know what I’m feeling, kid.

Es: (offended noise)...

Es: Welcome, Mukuhara Kazui. I feel like we’ve met before… It's nice to meet you. I am Es, the prison guard of MILGRAM.

Kazui: (exhales, chuckles) Starting again, huh? Well, you won't regret it, that kind of relationship would be painful,

Es: That’s alright, isn’t it? Causing you pain is my job.

Kazui: Mm, you’re a pro.

Es: Surely, as just a regular human being, you can’t be totally prepared for this.

(Bell rings, machinery starts whirring)

Kazui: What’s this?

Es: It’s time for your cross-examination. You’ll face your regrets from now on.

Kazui: (sighs) Someone help… this is too much for me…

Es: That’s right, Kazui… show me your true feelings.

Kazui: Ahaha… Well, I’m embarrassed to concede to a child and say all that…

Es: Don’t worry. I’m going to know your soul from now on.

Kazui: Finding the truth of my inner feelings, huh? Alright.

Es: That’s right.

Kazui: Ah… oh, Prison guard-kun?

Es: What is it?

Kazui: This personality of mine… I’ve developed it from living in the world. Could you tell me about your own experiences? It’s a little annoying to have such a one-sided relationship, isn't it?

Es: I’m not interested in myself.

Kazui: That’s a lot of new information to add to the situation… I… I hide my own sins behind a delusion… I don’t know what you will see when it’s opened.

Es: Kazui…

Kazui: How’s that? Can you see how fickle adults are?

Es: Shut up. You’re the one who’s fickle.

Kazui: (laughs) Tough, isn't it? But is it the end?

Es: Prisoner #7, Kazui. Now, sing your sins.