#genius hiyori

[evilkitten3]

i have a theory about shinji, gin, and aizen, but i'm not really sure how to word it.

we never really see shinji and gin interact all that much, which makes sense bc both of them have significantly more important relationships with aizen, but at the same time it's a little odd how much there isn't.

like. gin cut hiyori in half. shinji is understandably pissed about that, but he aims that anger at aizen - and this seems to be one of the very few things in the bleach world that honestly isn't on him bc he never told gin to do that, he never even implied it. hiyori was never a threat to him. hell, we don't even know if she was charging in the right direction; if anything, attacking her implies that she was which is a really stupid thing to do when you're surrounded by a bunch of people who super want you dead and would kill you if they could be sure you weren't tricking them into stabbing each other (ofc it could also be a fakeout but still)

but i don't remember shinji's beef ever really being with gin, even tho he didn't seem to anticipate that gin was working with aizen the whole time during tbtp. so like does he feel responsibility there? cuz gin went straight from academy to 3rd seat and shinji could plausibly feel like that sent him right to aizen bc he doesn't know that gin was always aiming for that. did he blame himself? does he feel like he should've seen it coming? does he still see him as some weird genius kid? does he just view gin as an extension of aizen, which is both dehumanizing to an extent but also entirely fair bc gin did that to himself?

the thing is, since we never really see them interact much, it's kind of only interesting on shinji's side of things, bc gin doesn't really care about much outside of whatever the fuck he thought he was doing and the version of rangiku that he has in his head who needs back something that the real one doesn't ever seem to have realized she lost to begin with. gin's so disconnected with basically everybody that most of the time you can usually assume his thoughts are just "lol. lmao" and there's no reason to think that doesn't extend to shinji as well (gin has deep thoughts on: aizen, ichigo, and matsumoto (massive asterisk on that one ofc) and i think everyone else is kinda set dressing to him lmao the guy is Fucked Up)

anyway i think it's interesting to toy around with that relationship as it was in reality as well as how it might've been perceived, but also in the sense of both of them being sort of opposite ends of the manchild spectrum - shinji leans into his childish side but still has a fairly adult worldview, and gin is able to pull off maturity to an extent but was never able to escape a deeply childish mindset

[aeroblossom]

midori's relationship to maple is interesting to me. even though he toys with her emotions and forced her into her fate to begin with, he actually knows her quite well. he knew enough to understand that her personality stems from her loneliness. i guess it makes sense considering he studies people's psychology to begin with, but despite how he treats her, he's not outwardly cruel to her at all. rather, even when dealing with her, he asks you to treat her gently. he's never insulted her or been harsh to her, always speaking gently, even if he was only manipulating her. of course, you have to consider she's the only one capable of killing him, so he was definitely cautious of her. he also thought it was safe to hide his real id card in maple's body - maybe because he didn't think anyone would be able to get it out, yet at the same time, he wrote an instruction manual on how to handle her. i wouldn't say he cared a lot about her, but compared to some other contexts i've seen this dynamic in, he's pretty polite, no matter who he's facing up against. even when freaking out, he maintains himself. he's an asshole, a very polite asshole

[neo-zone]

"In another life, I would've really liked just doin' war crimes and manipulatin' people with ya, Sousuke."

- Shinji Hirako (probably)

[kiun]

lmao what the actual fuck

way to go against one of the most important themes in your own manga

the hospital arc was literally about hiyori staying alive and living her life to the fullest potential away from the far shore, it was a realization both yato and hiyori had. there was a whole thing about when yato would finally cut her ties to the far shore because everyone, including yato, wanted her to stay alive and be a human being living out her life in full. the manga has had for ages this theme of shinkis being people whose lives and potential were cut short because they died too soon and the gods giving them another chance at living in the after life. hiyori was supposed to be different from this!!!!!!

only for all of this to literally be turned on its head because they just had to make her yato's shinki for some angst that's not even hitting right because the entire last arc has been too drawn out and shoddily written. this was the worst case scenario for hiyori's story to end, the absolute worst and they actually did it lmao

[dailysouhiyori]

SHIN AS KYOKA 👁👁👁👁👁👁 ???? (BC WELL. AKUTAGAWA MANIPULATED-ISH HER [AMONG OTHER STUFF] AND.. YK!)

Day 31: DEMON SNOW, PROTECT ME

[stimmingandstruggling]

still thinking about they two different shin death cgs and how in the emotion route he’s bleeding from so many places but he’s smiling and the scarf is gone because he’s dying as shin tsukimi, the 0% contestant who loves his sister. and in the logic route the scarf remains and he just stares, and he’s sou hiyori, fulling leaving himself behind because he’s surviving but at what cost? there’s no one left who deserves his kindness, he doesn’t care anymore, his tie to morality and himself is gone.

[hauntingblue]

Sanji crucified and getting punished by a giant spider lady for his sins against women....

[strawhattery]

happy holidays! as my own little nod to the twelve days of christmas, i've made a list of twelve zosan fanfiction recommendations! i hope you enjoy them as much as i do!

this list was originally posted to my bluesky—complete with screenshots of the AO3 listings, which i didn't include here because the post was already really long. there's no particular order to the lists other than what was on my mind each day i posted over there!

the joy of cocking by unity1814

why i recommend it: this is a story about sanji's sexual awakening, and it's brimming with charm, silliness, and heart. the really love how this author portrays the way sanji understands the world & himself through cooking.

under these unpromising auspices by mithrilwren

why i recommend it: a delightful subversion of the "only one bed" trope, the intimacy captured in this pre-relationship fic is so special, and the author's razor-sharp characterizations really shine.

where the real road lies by theroyalsavage

why i recommend it: everything about this hades au is perfect. this author's writing style is stunning and immersive, and the zosan dynamic here is that fun, engaging blend of combative and devoted that i LOVE.

informal swordfighting, and the sorts by naturecalls111

why i recommend it: this story is bursting with wit and irreverent charm, and the zosan dynamic here is probably the funniest i've ever read. a must read for fans of romantic comedies and modern AUs!

icarus, down and out by trixree

why i recommend it: this au PERFECTLY translates the straw hats from canon into a modern world, and the way this author writes sanji learning about & falling for zoro is so good that /i/ felt half in love with him by the end!

swordbearer by glassedplanets

why i recommend it: a masterclass in outsider pov, this author perfectly captures several dynamics of zosan's relationship (and the whole straw hat crew!) and delivers it through a deeply sympathetic—and stunning—portrayal of hiyori.

in the cracks of light (i dreamed of you) by abandonedstrawberry

why i recommend it: this was the first zosan fic i ever bookmarked (and i FREQUENTLY reread it!) 🥹 i adore the zoro perspective in this as well as the perfect blend of zosan's bickering with their more vulnerable moments.

strip by aishahiwatari

why i recommend it: this is the definitive OPLA!zosan fic for me. this author captures sanji through zoro's eyes in the most arresting way, with immersive, lush descriptions of him in all his infuriating attractiveness.

the things you don't see by fruityumbrella

why i recommend it: this author has a gift for writing relationships that feel real & lived in. the conflict & resolution in this story are believable & handled SO WELL. plus: a world-class zoro and nami scene!

search and rescue by megatonnetalon

why i recommend it: i can't recommend this series highly enough. it's a modern au bursting with SO MANY charming, genius details & it had my cheeks hurting from smiling by the end. i could NOT put it down once i started.

hold me down by mellish

why i recommend it: a canonverse story with a fun & inventive plot device that does a great job of using sanji's WCI backstory to craft a compelling post-enies lobby sanji POV. if you love zoro taking care of sanji, this is for you!

pied de biche by batman

why i recommend it: i've shared a few fics so far of zoro taking care of sanji, but in this post-enies lobby story, sanji takes care of zoro. and then some. the prose here is so lush and painterly, it's GORGEOUS.

[incorrect-hiyori-quotes]

Hiyori: If I had shape shifting powers I would abuse the hell out of them.

Hiyori: Like if I'm arguing with someone, I'd turn into their dead relative.

Nagisa: Genius.

Ibara: *Booking them both more therapy sessions*

[mamadarama]

I LOVEEEEEEE KANNAAAAAA I adopted both him and Ibuki and I'd protect them to shreds so if Nice has anything in plan for them I will be the first to fist fight him

Anyways I didn't know that Kanna's name translated to that. It made my brain think lmfao. Also I can't be the first to theorize this right like, I can't be. But I haven't seen anyone theorize it or maybe I'm just in the wrong circles but knowing that Kanna is the last of 4piece to get a tour card, and it'll be with Ibara and Nagisa (or so I've heard) it's super convenient as Ibara is duhhhhhh related to Godfather and Nagisa is DUHHHHHH suddenly think Kanna is a lab human or something with Godfather's data and information, hence his name and genius, as well as his autistic traits similar to Nagisa. And considering this will be the last of 4piece, it's suitable time to hit a climax and the big reveal be with Kanna. Hence, do you miss me, or the god symbols in his name. Considering the tech at least, it's not too far fetched as Enstars is fucking crazy. I do think this will also circle back to Priest, HiMERU and Kaname as it's about time the Tojous get attention as well. And a reincarnation/recreation of a child Godfather would be disaster and (Akira barges into my house and kidnaps me)

- madayumenon @umiedibles SAVE MEEEEEE

yeah i dunno, im sure he has something to do with the whole godfather situation (possibly on the priest/negi/hitsugi side of the picture?) but whos to say about his name cuz it could also be in reference to him individually as a character rather than the role he plays. maybe he was intended to be the perfect idol or replace subarus dad (esu is involved in that so i wouldnt put it past them to have two characters with different experiences abt the same situation in the same unit) being raised with the intention of him being the perfect idol would explain his serious personality ....

or hes possibly a replacement for whatever role nagisa was originally intended for when godfather adopted him . him being a replacement for another characters previous role would lend itself to his name being "do you miss me" because by replacing the previous character he would be "reviving" them/their role. especially in the case of someone like subarus dad

i also wouldnt be surprised if he was biologically related to nagisa and theyre using kannas introduction as a way to smoothly reveal more of nagisas backstory without disrupting the flow of the story, instead of putting it in edens next climax event . maybe hes nagisas half brother or something . they do look similar enough and autism is hereditary after all . plus the writers dont usually introduce characters out of nowhere without giving them some kind of connection to the existing characters and/or an in universe explanation about why they hadnt shown up sooner

im just thinking out loud i havent put too much thought into the details of these theories. well just have to wait and see what happens . im sure itll all make sense later

edit: oh also the kanji in his name could be an indicator of hopelessness ("is there no god" "has god abandoned us" etc) and that could tie into his personality quite easily as well and would follow the trend of how the characters names are themed around specific aspects of their individual characters instead of their position in the story (madaras name and calico cats, tatsumis name being religiously themed, hiyoris name being about the sun and good weather, etc)

[einsatzzz]

Welcome to The Amazing Miyako Show, proudly sponsored by the infamous Murakami family! Remember, before you sign that pesky waiver absolving them of all responsibility for your life and limbs, let's get down to the action! You've been invited to be part of the show, and the hungry mob is hungry for some entertainment! Show off your skills, your talents, or your complete lack thereof, and dazzle the crowd! And don't worry, the only thing that could be on the chopping block is your dignity.

Thank you for sending such a fun ask Mel! I'm choosing Akatsuki as the Oniyanagi Family's representatives for The Amazing Miyako Show!

When it comes to events where one needs to show off their talent, the first person that comes to mind is Yui actually! His genius and passion for robotics have mostly been poured into and has accumulated to form his ultimate creation, Kanarobo! A flying robot packed with lethal weaponry, but don't worry! It can be friendly and sing too! Yui made sure to put a lot of fun varying features to it, I personally also wonder what other features he put into this robot.

More ramblings below!

The robot can dance too! But its movements are limited, since this version is still a bit too heavy. Yui is currently trying to balance it being able to do various stuff besides combat (=more weight) and it being able to fly (more weight = needs more fuel; more fuel consumption = shorter fly time). This robot is still work-in-progress and it's not at its final form yet! Wouldn't it be funny if it becomes a gun/dam in TYL sdbfhsvf

The singing tone is actually quite expressive, compared to the voice of the original voice provider. I can imagine Yui and Shiki (who's more knowledgeable in software stuff) working together in the tuning for the voice bank. This is similar to how producers would tune voca|loids/voicebank software like Mi/ku.

Then we have Minato, who is always very petty and bitter when Yui gets some spotlight. My brother in christ, please let him live! Showing off his babies is one of the only few times Yui ever really wants to be in the spotlight (in his mind, its his babies getting the spotlight actually). Tbh, Minato is the one person who can grind Yui's gears so easily, so we might be able to see Kanarobo's lethal functions if we fast forward to image above to a few minutes later. Ah yes, beef my favorite meet. It runs deeps here.

Good thing Kurumi is there to stop him from running up to the stage sdhfvsghvfsd While drawing this, it made me think that damn Minato truly is blind. I would be 😳😳😳 if Kurumi gave me a hug from behind. This is what hatred does to a person! You'll be so blinded, you won't see the cute girl behind you! Someone give this man some glasses! Unfortunately, Kurumi got too excited about the Kanarobo performance that she couldn't control her hug strength.

Hiyori gets dragged into the craziness like always. But tbh, even before Oniyanagi, he's pretty used to getting involved in official events or when Disciplinary Committee leader decides to beat up some thugs, so a talent like this is pretty tame so far (compared to the idea of getting dragged to actual missions in some battlefield). Now, he just resigned to be there on stand-by in case someone gets injured from the performance on stage. But he didn't know that the upcoming medical emergency (rib fracture) is just brewing very near behind him 🤩🤩🤩

Minato is the closest to Kurumi in the 10th Gen Oniyanagi lineup, so he won't get seriously angry at her for stopping him or for breaking his ribs sdjhvfhsfd

Besides the recent frequent appearances of Kanarobo, I really enjoyed sketching Miyako! I still find it so hilarious how she wants to take Kanarobo hahahaha I did not expect that development, but it's so fun! I'm a bit unsure which eye coloring style to use for her, if the standard one (black pupil?) or smth similar to Takehsi and Yuni? Anyway, I just followed the style from the picrew for now.

[bobalegsanji]

Umakemenotwannadie

Chapter 1 ☆ Chapter 2 ☆ Chapter 3 ☆ Chapter 4 ☆ Chapter 5 ☆ Chapter 6

Sanji just needs a little love in a world that couldn’t care less

Modern magic AU. Zosan. Chapters: 6/?.

Trigger Warnings: depression, substance abuse, implied drug addiction, past childhood abuse, panic/anxiety attacks

One Piece Masterlist

It wasn’t long until Robin entered the living room, another old book in hand and a determined gaze at Sanji.

Ugh .

‘’Dear cook, are you free tonight?’’

Well, he can’t hide in his bedroom, so no use lying. ‘’Let me at least make some tea and smoke a cigarette before we start.’’

She smiles, taking her seat at the table. ‘’As you wish.’’

…

Hiyori doesn’t leave until 11. The moment the front door slams, Sanji sees it as his cue to go to bed. He excuses himself, promising the raven-haired woman he’ll make up for the lost time with some self-study.

Just to be sure, he knocks on his bedroom door. 

‘’Hmm, come in.’’

Sanji opens the bedroom door and peeks inside. Zoro is laying on his own bed, actually wearing a shirt for once.

‘’Hey.’’ He walks in, straight to bed. If he’s lucky, he might be able to sleep the full night.

‘’Why’d you knock? It’s your room, too.’’ Zoro looks confused. He’s got both hands behind his head, the position makes his arms flex and Sanji might stare just a bit too long. 

He’s just impressed. That’s it, he thinks. It’s because of Hiyori, he’s just horny and lonely. At least his bed looks untouched. 

‘’You gonna answer, or what?’’

‘’Huh? Yea, I wasn’t sure what you were doing.’’ He lets himself fall flat on his back on the bed. 

Zoro just stares at the ceiling. It creeps Sanji out a bit, but it’s not really his problem, so whatever. If only he would turn off the light. Isn't him laying down in bed a good enough hint that if Zoro so desperately wants to stare at a light, he can do it somewhere else?

‘’We’re going out tomorrow.’’

Sanji sighs and rolls over, so he’s facing the wall. With a bit of luck, the idiot can maybe take this hint and leave him be. ‘’I know, you fucking genius. Managed to find your way to the group chat for once?’’

He doesn’t respond. 

After a while, Zoro starts to move behind him. Not too long after, the light turns off.

It’s finally quiet. It doesn’t take long for Sanji’s eyelids to grow heavy. When he’s almost asleep, Zoro breaks the silence again.

‘’I’m not going to talk with you about feelings and shit, just so you know.’’

Sanji opens his eyes. He’s listening. 

‘’I don’t want to hear anything about your classes or anything, that’s not my problem.’’

He’s almost ready to talk back to him. How is Zoro such an asshole? Zero-empathy, idiot, stupid, moss-

‘’But if you don’t want to go tomorrow, tell me, and I’ll figure something out. I don’t know why you’re so fucking annoying about people being near you, but I trust it you have a good reason for it.’’

He’s not sure how to respond. Not even sure if he should respond. Does Zoro want an answer, or just want to make himself feel better by saying something?

…

“You don’t have to have an answer, just let me know you heard me.”

“Don’t call me stupid, Marimo.”

Zoro laughs softly. “Good night, stupid cook.”

Sanji grumbles something similar to good night. He’s glad that the darkness hides his smile.

─ ⊹ ⊱ ☆ ⊰ ⊹ ─

The walk from the metro station to the club provides him enough time to smoke exactly three cigarettes. 

It’s not far from their house at all, only four metro stops, but something in Sanji knows they’re going to a place a bit further than where they usually go so Sanji doesn’t have to be surrounded by magic all night.

He’d like to take the credit for figuring that out himself, but honestly, Chopper told him over breakfast. 

He’s thankful for it, even though he’s still a bit wary. New experiences are always scary, but that’s what he’s been searching for. If every few minutes he has to swallow the lump of anxiety in his throat down, so be it. Can’t back down now that he finally gets what he wished for. 

“Ah, there’s a queue,” Luffy says, disappointed. “I hate waiting!” 

His arm is thrown over Usopp’s shoulder, who’s leaning back on him heavily. How they’re walking like this, Sanji doesn’t understand. 

“Such lightweights,” Franky snickers. “We barely drank at home.”

“It’s kind of endearing,” Robin points out.

“It’s tragic,” Zoro sighs. “I’m not making sure they’re getting home tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nami says confidently. She pulls her already way too small shirt a bit lower, showing even more cleavage. Sanji feels his blood slowly rush to his head, he quickly turns his attention to Luffy next to him.

Nami grabs Robin’s hand and drags her to the front of the row.

Not even three minutes later, Nami comes running back to them. She grabs Brook’s hand and starts dragging him to the front. “Come on, we fixed it.”

She sticks out her hand to grab Sanji as well, but changes her mind midair. “You too, let’s go. Robin is inside already.”

The bouncer’s face lights up when he sees Nami again. “Is that everyone?”

“Yep.”

Sanji looks around to be sure,“ Actually, we’re missing Mosshead and Chopper.”

Nami looks around, obviously annoyed. When she confirms they are gone, she returns her attention to the bouncer. She blinks her eyes seductively, “You remember Zoro and Chopper, right? Green hair, tall, muscular. Small, brown hair, think you can let them in when you see them?”

His eyes travel down to her shirt. “That’s no problem, Nami. I’ve been wondering when you’d be back.”

She smiles as she drags both Brook and Franky by the hand inside. “Don’t worry, this won’t be the last time,” she winks as she says it.

The inside is exactly as Sanji imagined. Luckily, there are not that many people near the tables among the walls, including the one that’s already been occupied by Robin. She’s sitting very close to the door. At least it’s a quick exit if he starts to feel overwhelmed.

“Do you come here often?” Sanji asks no one in particular. 

“Sometimes,” Usopp’s words are already slurring slightly.  “Haven’t been in a while, though. Makes more sense to go to the magic ones, our people, you know?”

“Right.” Their people.

“Don’t listen to him,” Brook tells him as he sits down at the table. “You’re one of us as well.” 

Sanji gives a thankful smile. 

Franky gets drinks for everyone, and Sanji can’t lie, it’s kind of fun. It really is like drinking at home, but with the added opportunity of making fun of other people.

It doesn’t take long for Sanji to feel a slight buzz. It’s a comfortable one, washing away his worries and making him more talkative.

Suddenly, Chopper is standing in front of them. “Hi! I’m sorry, Zoro got a call and he walked away and then he got lost and then I was lost as well and-“ 

Everyone is occupied with listening to Chopper’s story. Sanji’s eyes scan the room, looking for Zoro. If Chopper’s here, where’s the Mossball?

“Where’s Zoro?” He asks Usopp, who is sitting next to him.

He looks around with hazy eyes. “Oh, over there!”

He points at the door. As promised, Zoro is standing there, having a discussion with the bouncer. He’s holding something, while Zoro keeps pointing at it.

“What’s wrong? Should we help him?” Not that Sanji cares about him being here, but why didn’t Chopper stay with him? 

“Don't worry, he just has to show his magic ID. They’re kind of prissy about it here.” Usopp takes a shot, passing another full shot glass to him. “Drink up.”

“Magic ID?” He’s confused, he doesn’t have anything like that. Never had, as far as he knows. Is it a cultural difference? Or did his family just never give him his? “What’s that? I don’t- I mean, you didn't have to show anything, right?”

The upside of being tipsy is that if Sanji’s tipsy, Usopp is definitely drunk.

“Uhhh, you don’t know anything, huh? It's an ID card for users with dangerous magical abilities. It’s for safety and stuff, so they know who they are letting in. Most normal clubs refuse him, this one is fine, just a bit annoying about checking it every fucking time.”

Sanji physically feels the air being knocked out of his lungs. If he hadn’t drank so much, he’d probably be able to fully process it, but he can't. He just closes his eyes, trying to wrap his head around Usopp’s explanation. “He’s dangerous?”

Usopp starts laughing hysterically. 

Sanji’s face immediately flushes from embarrassment. This revelation is stressful enough without the others asking questions about what’s so funny. 

Shut up , Sanji thinks. I’m trying to figure something out here. 

His laughing grabs the attention of the other people at the table.

Sanji quickly takes the shot Usopp passed him earlier to regain his composure. 

Luffy refills the glass the moment it touches the table. He throws it back again immediately. 

‘’Sorry, I got a call and couldn’t find my way back.’’ Suddenly, Zoro is right next to him, busy tucking a small, pink card into his wallet, and Sanji can feel his head swim with oh no not him what’s he doing why did Usopp tell me this what now

His eyes wander over to the empty shot glass in front of Sanji. He must have seen him take the previous shot. That annoying smirk blossoms on his face. ‘“Well, well. Do you mind sharing your glass, or are you a little bitch about that as well?’’

He hates it. He hates how easy it is for Zoro to get under his skin. Sanji would call him out for his annoying, bitchy behaviour right now, if his head wasn’t swimming with liquor already.

Zoro takes this time to refill the small glass, already holding it in one hand. ‘’Well? Made up your mind yet?’’

He knows Zoro is just trying to get a rise out of him, but Sanji’s a simple man. He quickly takes the full shot glass out of his hand, careful to avoid touching, and throws it back as well.

His throat burns. His eyes are closed. When did that happen? 

He opens his eyes from a loud slam. The sound came from himself, slamming the glass down on the table. He pushes it over to where Zoro is still standing, looking down at him. ‘’I’m done with it. Time to catch up, Mossy.’’

Zoro smirks, eyes looking satisfied from Sanji to the bottle. If he notices the slight slur in Sanji’s speech, he doesn’t say anything. He refills his glass as he speaks, ‘’Didn’t think you had it in you, Curly.’’

The satisfied look in his eyes, the smirk, the nickname… A foreign feeling blossoms into his abdomen. It’s neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, but it’s certainly unwished for right now. Sanji’s not ready to decipher those feelings right now. 

He doesn’t respond, and luckily, it seems Zoro doesn’t expect an answer. He just takes a seat across from him and continues talking to the others. 

…

The conversation makes no sense, at least, to Sanji it doesn’t. He closes his eyes, trying to focus on the words and sentences and grammar, and what did Luffy just say? Why does everyone respond so quickly, while he still hasn’t processed the first word he’s said? 

Then he has to open his eyes again because the room is spinning, even with his eyes closed, but his eyes are so droopy, he’s not sure if he can keep them open. He’s dizzy, like he’s stuck on a carousel that’s currently going a hundred miles an hour.

He takes a moment to look around the table. Everyone is excited, loud, talking, in various states of drunkness. Actually, Usopp doesn’t look excited. Sanji’s not sure how drunk he looks right now, but it can definitely not be worse than Usopp. 

‘’I would kill for a cigarette right now, Sanji...?’’ 

He looks across the table. He knows the voice came from Nami, but why won’t his eyes focus? He blinks a couple of times, hoping that’ll fix his blurry vision.

‘’Sanji? Are you okay?’’ He knows it’s Robin, but she sounds muffled and distant. He’s not used to drinking this much. 

Wait, did Nami just ask for a cigarette? ‘’Smoke?’’ He brings out. 

He hears Zoro laugh. ‘’Shouldn’t have tried to impress me by drinking so much, shit cook.’’

Sanji doesn’t care, it’s not like he drank for Zoro anyway, but let him believe he’s that important to him. Nami’s words triggered that familiar itch, and now he can’t focus on anything but satiating that feeling. Also, the idea of his beautiful Nami with one of his cigarettes between her lips might’ve led to a small hint of arousal. Nothing anyone can prove, though.

Wait, does Nami smoke? Whatever, that’s for sober-him to think about.

‘’Can you just tell me where your cigarettes are?’’ Nami asks.

He shakes his head, ‘’Wanna come with.’’

He stands up. Besides a bit of stumbling, he’s actually quite stable. He quickly puts on his suit jacket, checking the front pocket for the new packet he picked up this morning.

Nami doesn’t seem to care about his unsteady appearance. ‘’Here.’’ She hands him the end of Robin’s purple shawl. 

‘’Huh?’’ Sanji just stares at the lavender colour in his hands. It’s pretty. Somewhere, in the very, very back of his mind, this colour would make him think of peace. It’s the colour of lying in bed after a long day, of the birds he always saw sunbathing in the tree outside his window.

He gulps, closing his eyes to try and block away the memories. Not now, he thinks. 

He feels the shawl being tucked. Nami is dragging him along with her via the shawl. 

Sanji stumbles along. She’s staying near the walls, so he really has no reason not to. Plus, it feels kind of weird and childish to need a guide like this, but, good? Intimate, even. It’s a new low, being so touch starved that being dragged along by a shawl feels comforting. 

‘’Wait, the exit isn’t this way...?’’ 

He’s not sure how Nami heard him through all the commotion. ‘’I know, there’s another exit somewhere around here…’’ Suddenly she gasps and drops the shawl. Sanji kind of falls forward, not expecting her to suddenly let go. He hadn’t noticed how much he was relying on Nami leading the way. He manages to catch himself before his face hits the wall. 

‘’Nojiko!’’ She happily screams. ‘’Wait a second, Sanji, I’ll be right back.’’

And off she goes, leaving Sanji alone in a big, crowded room, utterly drunk and with only a purple glitter shawl to protect himself. 

It’s fine , Sanji thinks. She’ll be back in a bit. I’ll just wait here. 

Of course, he’s fine. Sanji is a big boy, someone that can definitely deal with being left alone piss-drunk in a dimly lit, very crowded room. It’s not like he’s scared of other people, or something.

Sanji closes his eyes. He tried to follow Nami’s silhouette with his eyes, but she went too fast. The flashing lights don’t help with his dizziness. It’s disorienting. 

And suddenly he realises it’s so hot. There’s too many people around him, moving and screaming and drinking. The brunette to his left is definitely getting a bit too close for comfort. He takes a step away from her, almost stumbling over someone’s bag thrown on the floor. 

He can feel his breathing become more shallow and rapid, and is that sweat? Why are there so many people? They’re too close and too loud and it’s too much - 

He clutches the shawl tightly in both hands, hoping to ground himself, but to no avail. 

He doesn’t want to wait for Nami to return. He’s not unfamiliar with the panic that’s slowly but steadily growing in his chest, but he has to find a way to stop it right now. Once it’s bigger than himself, he knows he’ll lose control, and he can’t let that happen. Not now, or ever again, but especially not around his new friends.

Sanji can’t think straight, he can’t focus on anything but the feeling in his bones telling him to get out . 

If only he knew where the exit Nami was talking about is.

I just have to calm down , he thinks. Fewer people and I’ll be good as new. I can deal with this.

The place can’t be that big. Nami will be able to find him, but he can’t stay here. Not in such a vulnerable position. He feels claustrophobic, almost like he’s suffocating. Like the oxygen has been sucked out of the room and no one seems to notice but him. He closes his eyes tightly, bracing himself for what he’s about to do.

He claws at the wall with a shaky hand, shawl clutched still in the other, and walks. His steps are slow and calculated, the alcohol makes it hard to predict where the people in front of him are going. 

It’s hard walking like this. Everything is still spinning, either from the alcohol or panic, probably both. He hadn’t noticed, but Nami had been an anchor of stability and safety. His breath hitches every time someone suddenly moves closer to him. His throat is dry, but focusing on it for too long makes him lightheaded. And so, he keeps walking, urging himself to focus on anything but the gnawing anxiety in his throat. If someone sees him struggling and comes over to help him, he’s not even able to tell them off with how laboured his breathing has become.

Luckily, he quickly comes across a door without directly running into anyone.

He pushes the handle, for a split second he’s scared the door is locked, but then it budges. He throws his whole body weight against the door, quickly closing it behind him and letting himself fall against it.

Everything feels unreal. The people behind him, the noises they make, it all feels fake. Sanji feels completely disconnected from the world. His knees give in, and he drops to the floor.

Pain spikes up through his body, but he has no time to look for the source. His mind is too occuppied trying to take in his surroundings, but it’s difficult in his current state. He’s in some sort of corridor, parallel to the actual clubroom. It’s very long and dark. He has no time to think about the logistics of it any further, not with the knot in his stomach about to burst. 

His eyes keep closing  unintentionally, no matter how hard he tries to keep them open. The feeling of anxiety overwhelms him, taking up all his focus, until he’s completely drowning in the overwhelming urge to cry. He wants so badly to fight it, to just stand up and walk away, but he can’t move his legs. His heart pounds in his chest, echoing in his ears. The noise of the club assaults him from all sides. 

It’s as if the walls are closing in on him, each inhale feels shallow and insufficient. 

‘’Sanji?’’

He can’t respond, can’t even fully process what is happening. His senses are heightened; the voice and footsteps running towards him are overpoweringly loud, so why can’t he link a name to the voice? 

‘’Sanji, what are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you for 10 minutes and – Oh fuck.’’

He opens his eyes, praying fiercely he doesn’t look as pathetic as he feels. His vision is blurry, but he can make out Chopper’s worried face. He’s dropped right in front of him, so close that all he has to do is stretch out his arm and touch him-

‘’No!’’ The sound is muffled, the voice is unfamiliar.

‘’What’s wrong, Sanji?’’ Chopper’s eyes desperately scan his face. ‘’’No’ what?’’ 

Sanji tightly shuts his eyes, trying to escape from Chopper’s fierce gaze. 

‘’What happened?’’ Chopper sounds so scared , it tugs at Sanji’s heartstrings. 

Sanji just shakes his head. He clasps his hands in front of his face. It’s wet, he hadn’t realised he had started crying.

‘’Are you in pain? Sanji? Where’s Nami?’’

He wants to nod his head: everything hurts so much, but it doesn’t hurt enough at the same time. He wants to scream, and whisper, and yell at Chopper to please help him, but he can’t. Hell, he can’t even move. He has no control over anything right now, not even his own voice.

‘’Stay here, I’ll get Brook, okay?’’

He hears Chopper run away. He wants to shake his head, wants to use his wheezing voice to tell him no one else needs to see him like this. The hands on his face make breathing even harder, and as frustrating as it is, he can’t put them down right now. He’s scared that if he lets go, there will be nothing left to hold him up anymore. 

Sanji’s not sure how long he’s been sitting here. It feels like seconds have passed, but it feels like it’s been hours at the same time. Throughout all of this, he still hasn’t been able to take a proper breath. 

‘’He’s in here.’’ It’s Chopper again. The loud footsteps make him flinch. For a split second, he recognises the footsteps. The light but fast tread, the stone ground that makes the exact same echo in the empty room, Niji .

He whimpers loudly. He slaps himself before he can realise what he’s doing. Anything to get the memories out of his head.

Don’t get too close don’t get too close don’t get too close

He hears noises from the club behind him and someone falling in front of him. Niji ? No, that can’t be. Chopper ? Brook ? He can’t take a look. The loud noise startled him, making him tug his hair. Hard.

‘’Sanji, what happened?’’ Brook asks, sounding completely panicked. 

He tugs harder. The pain and embarrassment of the situation made him feel worse. He lets out a subdued cry.

‘’Sanji, can you let go of your hair for a moment?’’

The pain doesn’t help. The thud thud thud in his ears of his beating heart feels like a ticking time bomb, like all it takes is a little more adrenaline for his heart to combust.

‘’Brook, do something!’’ 

Zoro? If Sanji could afford to panic more right now, he would. 

‘’What the fuck do you want me to do, I can’t touch him,’’ Brook screams angrily.

‘’Just do something!’’

Sanji wants to scream at them to shut the fuck up, but he’s not sure how to direct his body to do that. Focussing on their voices only intensifies the dizziness. Another intense wave of anxiety washes over him, making him groan a pathetic, weak whimper and tug his hair once more.

‘’Sanji, I’m going to touch you now, okay?’’

‘’No!’’ Another tug. The sickening thud thud thud in his ears .  

‘’I’m a healer, remember? I can’t promise I can take away your pain, but I can try, okay?’’

He’s so nauseous. Everything is too much and too loud and too bright and-

And then everything is quiet. 

He feels light, like the weight of the world he usually carries on his shoulder is finally being passed on to someone else. There’s a soothing presence on his hands. It’s comforting, the need to self-destruct immediately recedes; he relaxes his fingers, focussing on the gentle, warm pressure on them. His eyes are closed, but all he sees is white. He still feels a slight discomfort, a slight nausea and dizziness, but he feels present . Like his spirit and body have reconciled into one.

It only lasts for a moment, until Brook jerks his hands away, but for Sanji it feels like eternity.

Sanji opens his eyes. He’s still a bit confused and disoriented, but the world stopped spinning.

Brook is on his knees in front of him, or he was, at least. It’s like he fell back, now holding himself up with both hands, staring at Sanji. He looks freaked out, it’s a look Sanji has never seen on him before.

‘’Brook?’’ 

Sanji’s eyes follow the sound of the voice. It’s really Zoro. He’s standing on the opposite side of the room, half-leaning against the wall, and not taking his eyes off of the two. He looks equally worried, but not as terrified as Brook.

‘’Sanji?’’ His body jerks forward, like he wants to come closer, but stops himself. ‘’Are you fine? Did it work?’’

He opens his mouth to say something, but his mouth feels funny. ‘’Uh…’’

‘’He’s got a bit more colour to his cheeks,’’ Chopper says, relieved. He walks up from somewhere besides Sanji, he hadn’t even noticed him there the whole time. ‘’He’s probably just a bit dazed by Brooks magic. I think he’ll be fine.’’

‘’Guess so… Brook?’’ Zoro returns his attention to Brook, who hasn��t moved yet.

Chopper squads in front of him, lightly touching his cheek. Brook looks alarmed, he takes his eyes off Sanji to look at Chopper.

‘’He’s… Sa- Sanji’s… What?’’ He immediately looks back at Sanji. 

Zoro takes a few steps towards Brook. He clasps a hand on his shoulder, probably meant as a comfort, but the gesture just startles him. ‘’You did well, Brook.’

Sanji’s the first to say he’s still very out of it, but he’s calm. He just stares at the scene in front of him, trying to blink away the sleep in his eyes. He wishes he had some water to hydrate his dry throat. He slowly brings a hand up to his face. It feels weird being able to control his body, he lets out a giggle.

‘’What’s with him?’’ He hears Zoro say.

‘’It’s Brook’s ability, don’t mind him. It’s basically like he’s high right now, it should wear down in a couple of minutes,’’ Chopper says.

‘’Hmm. And him?’’ 

Sanji can't see the worried look Zoro sends him, or the hand he put on Brook’s head. 

‘’I’m not sure…’’

His fingers touch his cheek. They’re wet. He’s not dumb, he knows they’re tears, but something in him is so curious to taste it. He licks his index finger and immediately flinches, ‘’Eww.’’

‘’Well, you’re supposed to be a medical stude– What the actual fuck, cook?’’ Zoro sounds annoyed.

Sanji looks up, shocked. His eyes find Zoro’s, and he smiles. ‘’Zoro!’’

A vein in Zoro’s forehead twitches. 

Sanji smiles brightly, ‘’cute.’’

Zoro closes his eyes and opens his mouth, but before he can bring out anything else, Brook comes in between.

‘’Sanji’s magical.’’

Zoro gets that angry, irritated frown he always sports whenever he has to think about something. ‘’You’re wrong,’’ He doesn’t miss a beat.

‘’I think you might have… misfelt something, Brook,’’ Chopper states, looking worriedly at Sanji who’s now playing with Robin’s shawl.

‘’I know what I felt,’’ he sounds far away, like he’s thinking hard about it.

‘’I’ve been sharing a room with that dimwit for weeks, he’s normal.’’ Zoro takes a step closer to Sanji, waving his hand in front of his eyes. ‘’Hey, you good?’’ 

‘’I know what I felt,’’ Brook says angrily. ‘’He has that... That spark. I could feel it.’’

Sanji follows Zoro’s hands with his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he sticks out his hand to touch him.

Zoro jerks his hand back. ‘’I think he’s defect.’’

‘’Stop messing around with Sanji!’’ Chopper sounds annoyed. ‘’I told you, he’ll be fine!’’

Zoro takes Sanji’s state in for a couple of seconds. After a moment, he takes his keys out of his back pocket and throws them on the floor in front of Sanji. ‘’Here, play with that while the adults talk.’’

Sanji quickly picks them up, smiling to himself at the tinkling sound they make. 

‘’I’m serious,’’ Brook resumes. ‘’He has some kind of magic flowing inside of him. I’m not sure what kind, or how strong, but he has something .’’

‘’Maybe some of his family is magic, but he hasn’t inherited enough? Is that possible?’’ Zoro asks doubtfully, obviously not really trusting Brook’s words. 

‘’Yes, maybe he has too few to be magic, but enough that you can feel it?’’ Chopper asks hopefully.

Brook looks sceptical at Sanji, whose head keeps nodding off while still holding Zoro’s keys. His magic can help sober people up, but has side effects of drowsiness and tiredness. Sometimes it makes people feel intoxicated. Poor Sanji. 

‘’I don’t know… I usually don’t feel anything unless they really have a proper amount of magic.’’

The three are quiet. Zoro breaks the silence, saying what they’re all thinking. ‘’Think he’s an adeptblood?’’

Chopper and Brook don’t respond for a while.

‘’Let’s go home,’’ Chopper says after a while. ‘’He’s going to feel really tired and embarrassed once he comes down from that high, not even taking into account why he was in that state to begin with.’’

They nod. Zoro walks up to Sanji, ‘’Cook, we’re going home. Let’s go.’’

He opens his eyes to look at Zoro. They’re drowsy. ‘’Home?’’

Zoro nods, picking up the shawl Nami had given him and gives him the other end. ‘’Hold onto this.’’

He stands up. Now that the world has stopped spinning, Sanji feels light and euphoric. The first step he takes feels like he’s flying. ‘’Home,’’ he repeats, sounding content.

Zoro laughs softly. ‘’Yes, home. Hold onto that shawl for me, will you?’’

Sanji smiles at the tinkling sound of Zoro’s keys in his other hand. 

Chapter 1 ☆ Chapter 2 ☆ Chapter 3 ☆ Chapter 4 ☆ Chapter 5 ☆ Chapter 6

[onceonafullmoon]

Character Analysis Yaps

Part 2: Character Analysis of A Midfielder (Hiori + Sae)

Blue Lock is a manga about a program focusing solely on creating the best striker to lead Japan to the World Cup. But, despite this, I find myself drawn to the midfielders in this manga, particularly in how their character development and backstory shapes them into becoming midfielders. For this analysis, I’ll be focusing on Hiori Yo and how I think his story shows some parallels to Itoshi Sae as well as why I believe Sae willingly chose to be a midfielder rather than being “crushed” to do it.

Hiyori Yo was born into a family of relevance to the sports world with his mother and father bothe being silver medalists. Hiori was hailed as a genius and was expected by his parents to be a striker. Later on we learn that tragically, his parents only wanted Hiori to live up to their dreams of where they failed as athletes, that they only had Hiori so they could live vicariously through him when he reached the top. This realization effectively dispassions Hiori of football and leads him to having a relationship of having to play football rather than wanting to play football. 

This continues for quite some time until Hiori is accepted into Blue Lock, where he finds that, despite his initial hesitance to give his all while playing, when Bastard plays against the Ubers, there’s a part of him that wants to see how far he can push forward Isagi. But, through playing, he finds he’s conflicted with the “expectations” set upon him, trying to pinpoint the difference between what Isagi and his parents wish for him. Eventually, he settles on the point that while his parents wish to decide his life, Isagi only wants Hiori to meet his goal for Isagi’s own improvement. And with that realization, Hiori realizes his new ego as someone who wishes to test strikers for his own benefit rather than theirs.

Now, like Hiori, Itoshi Sae is almost immediately regarded as a football prodigy from a very young age (though Hiori obviously isn’t acknowledged to the same extent). But unlike Hiori he comes from a background unknown in the sports world. He’s an aloof, arrogant child, but one who cares deeply for his brother and who dreams of becoming the world’s best striker along with him. This, however, changes as when he returns from his trip to Spain, he tells Rin that he’s no longer interested in their shared dream, instead choosing to chase after the dream of being a midfielder. 

Obviously, there is much missing in the story so far of Itoshi Sae, with some important questions coming to mind. What happened in Spain? Which players did he meet? Why did he ever get those god awful bangs when he was younger? (Sorry.) And with these questions the most important one asked was: why did Sae change his dream? With this question came fan speculations, one of the most popular theories being that Leonardo Luna of the World 5 was the one to personally crush Sae. I, however, disagree with that theory, and I have evidence to back it up.

From the very start Sae was always regarded as a striker, but interestingly enough, when he’s paired up with Rin, he has never been shown to be the one to make shots. He has been repeatedly shown to pass to Rin, and Rin even remarks that “…if I dash where it looks critical, you’ll pass to me.”. From here, to me it’s apparent that Sae has only been a striker because no one around him was good enough to play at his level, until his brother showed up. This is shown well in the scene where Rin initially takes to the field for the first time, where Sae passes, but none of his teammates can make it to the spot he needs them to be.

Someone could argue against this though, by pointing out how Sae seems so defeated when he comes back from Spain to meet Rin again, and by the speech Ego gives about players who go to other countries. But, it’s important to point out that Sae never states that because players are stronger than him, that the reason he’s changing his dream is because he was discouraged. Rather, I think the reason that Sae changed his dream is because he saw all these players better than him, and he wanted to use them. Sae’s change in dreams was not the destruction of his ego, but a transformation built upon by shunning expectations drilled into him, similar to Hiori.

Both Sae and Hiori have this penchant for using other players, manifesting with their visions rather than their physical abilities in order to bring out potentials on their say. Sae shows this through his helping of awakening Shidou, a feat even more impressive because of the fact that Ego says that “someone who can grab [Shidou’s] thinking and work to lift up his plays to a higher level doesn’t exist in Blue Lock”. Rin himself even remarks that Sae chose Shidou because he was “an equation unsolved”. Hiori, meanwhile, shows his talents by creating a chemical reaction unseen before in the manga with Isagi, one that requires both parties to intuit the other’s reactions reflexively. 

Both of these characters also willingly push aside expectations put on them, Hiori obviously is pushing aside those ideals from his parents, but Sae also pushes aside those ideals, though it is less obvious. Sae is choosing his own path when he breaks away from him and Rin’s shared dream, arguably moving away from an expectation set upon him by Rin and also the rest of his peers who had seen him previously as a striker. And through this discarding of other people’s expectations, a transformation of ego is revealed, the ego of a midfielder.

Being a midfielder in Blue Lock is defying expectations set of you, it is transforming yourself into a greater version of yourself, it is showing the intelligence and strength to take the people around you and push them to their greatest potential and most importantly, it is something you must actively choose for yourself.

[beanghostprincess]

My current favourite crackship that I just created myself is Hiyori×Alive!Kuina. Just because if she can't get Zoro she'll just go for his cousin instead.

You're a genius. Your brain is huge. Please, let me kiss your brain. This is just amazing. I love lesbians. You're SO real-

Hiyori is easily one of my favorite characters and I love her SO much and people won't stop reducing her to her ship with Zoro. I think she doesn't need anybody and if she did want somebody it should be a girl. Because I say so. And Kuina is just,,, She would've been such a great character. Can't stop thinking about this fanart I found because it has changed my life for the better. She's in Wano to train to become the world's greatest swordsman and I'm just thinking about what if Kuina had been there to help them out too and she had been the one to save Hiyori all those times instead of Zoro.... Thinking thoughts. Like, of course, Hiyori and Zoro also have their moments because I do actually like their dynamic and I think she admires him a lot!! But you know. Kuina saves Hiyori a couple of times (when Zoro was going to do it, actually, she just appears like a second before him and ruins his moment) and Hiyori just melts. Because who wouldn't? Kuina would be so tall and strong and a sizeable woman, and I would personally die if she helped me save my country. Besides, I think they'd understand each other because both are women that have been reduced to that role specifically instead of their ambitions and their power and they're so much more. Hiyori was helpless when she had to see her country turn into this mess and she couldn't so anything else but to pretend,, Like-- If somebody knows how being a woman in the world works is Hiyori, and Kuina would understand. She'd admire Kuina so much for her abilities and her personality and ambitions!!!!!! And Kuina would absolutely love Hiyori's kindness and strength for being able to put up with so much!!!

Not to mention that Kuina would be taller than her,,, And bigger,,, And Hiyori would have to look up,, And this is now just the aesthetic part but God they'd look so different. That's Hiyori's guard dog. Wouldn't it be funny if Kuina were all serious and teasing with Zoro and like "*raises eyebrow* seriously?" type of masc girl, and the second Hiyori is around she turns into the happiest person in the world and extremely protective of her? Zoro judges her but he can't say shit because he's literally the same with Luffy (and Kuina teases him even more because she always has the upper hand and it makes him so angry). They're both down bad. Hiyori is just so nice to her and keeps saying she trusts her to become the world's greatest swordsman but even if she doesn't, she'll always have her heart and a place to stay in Wano. And I am weak, guys, I am so weak for lesbians.

Aghhh this is SO good. Somebody make them kiss. I- This is great. Oda could just say "ah yes Kuina actually escaped her hometown on her own and faked her death and traveled to Wano" and I'd believe him wholeheartedly because I want her back. I also want Hiyori back. I miss Wano sometimes a lot.

Also, Kuina sees Zoro with Enma and she goes:

Kuina: Oh cool, you got Hiyori's sword. Good luck with that one. Zoro: Do you want it or what? I am not giving it to you. You'll have to fight for it. Kuina: Nah, when I win our fight I want to win against the king of hell. Nothing less. Zoro: Where's the 'I can't win I'm a girl' bullshit now? Kuina: Stayed with the girl. Now I am a woman and I am going to beat your ass.

And Hiyori looking at them having the biggest lesbian moment in the world kicking her feet and blushing and Momo is next to her like "hehe you have a crush-" and he doesn't get to finish what he was saying because Hiyori hits him so fucking hard he faints. Don't tease her. Poor girl. She's in love, leave her alone.

[bleached-socks]

Ichigo, about Shinji: Is this guy really a genius, or does he just say things with authority and we all believe him?

Hiyori: Oh wow thank you. A hundred years. It took a hundred years for somebody to finally have my back

[dailysouhiyori]

bold of you to assume only one of them is cosplaying komaeda

sdr2 komaeda shin & udg komaeda midori