#i'm afraid this is when the manga peaked

[kerubimcrepin]

Wakfu Manga - Tome 4, Part 1

During every tome his character bio is mostly the same, save for little rephrasings, and yet it's always such a blast. The Brotherhood of Tofu has bewitched him.

I'm insane... I'm crazhyy.

Imagine being an Eliatrope demigod whose entire purpose is chilling and inspiring others to chill. Like imagine spending millions of reincarnations chilling and there's no war or tragedy, besides maybe the fact that you often outlive people due to being a demigod (but even that is remedied by the fact that you have 11 siblings).

Now imagine a war breaks out and shit. Maybe it breaks out twice. God knows if they reincarnated between these two, though they probably did.

NOW imagine that, after defeating the baddie, — even though you're the demigod of chilling, you spend thousands of years in absolute silence in cosmos trying to catch your deity mother's psionic suffering waves to rescue her, and THEN you face a fate worse than death.

Wouldn't it be fucked.

There are some very good Joris moments in this volume — though the peak was in tome 3. He looks pretty interested in this, for obvious reasons.

Of course YOU would know about century-long art projects, century boy.

The fact that an entire planet is just gone and lost is very tragic to me. They'll never know their home, even if the World of Twelve is also home to them.

STOP BEING CUTE!

Not him standing menacingly and looking right at the reader 😭🤣

He is getting so much enrichment from this. So much mental enrichment, like a cat.

He always knows when to say something ominous and scary.

Very good Joris expression.

HIS FANGS. HIS FANGS. HELLO?!

Anyway, this being the face he pulls after seeing a past incarnation of Yugo come to terms with his immenent death and never seeing his brother again, is so Joris-core. Of course he'd go "🤨"

But despite his chipper attitude here, his mood and curiosity start to rapidly deteriorate after this moment:

I think that for Joris "I am afraid of being alone so thank god my father and uncle are together with me for centuries and remember me after dying, because I don't know how I'd live otherwise" Crepin-Jurgen — talks of actual proper reincarnation with memory loss are scary and exhausting.

He didn't exactly have anyone to tell him what Kerubim and Atcham would be like, after reincarnating. Maybe he spent the couple of years that they were kittens and couldn't talk, fully convinced that he lost Kerubim forever.

That's bound to leave a mark on a person.

It's especially horrifying and off-putting because of how casual Adamai and Yugo are about death and forgetting. Joris has always valued memories — they may as well be all he has of some of the people he loves, at this point. It's the reason he gifted them his fishing rod — in a way, it is a memory of Khan.

Yet, every time Yugo and Adamai die, some new version of them — a version they won't have control over, a version who will forget everyone they have loved up to that moment, — will spring forth and take their place. They'll have new families. "They" probably had hundreds of children and hundreds of lovers in the past, but were those people even them? Is it going to be "them" after they die?

He likes Yugo and Adamai a lot. The thought that someday some strangers may take their place is... a lot.

I can't discuss this scene without including these two entire pages, because something very interesting is happening here:

Joris, quite carelessly, lifts the pillow that contains two precious items, with an annoyed expression, before aggressively questioning Adamai.

I really think he hates all the reincarnation talk.

Anyway, he has very visible fingernails again. Nail polish win.

The fact that sexy femboy Baltazar is exclusive to Wakfu manga is oppression against teachers and education workers.

Joris is worried that something bad happened, but it was just inter-adventurer party abuse, which is normal.

He's so ready for this bullshit to be over.

Standing a very asocial distance apart from everyone. As is the usual <3

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.220 thoughts

[Here For a Good Time AND a Long Time!]

(Contents: thematic analysis - happiness/autonomy)

All Up From Here

What'd I tell ya? You don't give things a numerical score, cus something better is always capable of coming along. Tozuka himself even incorporated my exact feelings into this chapter!

"I'm as happy as can be, Andy." "What are you talkin' about, Nico?! It's all up from here!!"

Acknowledging that you're happy is of course an important first step to actually being happy, but to say that you can't be happier is to say that you'll never be this happy again, like a preemptive refusal to accept greater happiness in the future

This is also why I don't personally like to throw around "peak" as a compliment, because again it implies that nothing compares now and never will again. It puts the recipient on a pedestal, and forces all further interactions to be analyzed exclusively in comparison rather than on their own

Take me for example: long-time readers of mine know that Medaka Box is my favorite manga of all time, but as UU has continued to grow and evolve artistically and narratively, I've been forced to reexamine my relationship with both series. By insisting that nothing would ever surpass Medaka Box in my heart, I've been actively holding my opinion of UU down, refusing to change the shape of the hole that Medaka Box left in my life to fit UU, afraid that doing so would cause me to forget Medaka Box

...Huh, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Andy telling Nico to look forward rather than becoming complacent with his current happiness or previous joys is actually a perfect capstone to their last meeting in the previous loop, as Nico's inability to allow Mico to make him happy in Ichico's place was ultimately what allowed Ragnarok to reach a critical point as quickly as it did. He certainly won't allow it to get to that point again, but rooting himself in the high of getting married rather than looking forward to the perpetuity of married life rings a bit of a bell, and one that Andy is quick to silence

This Too Shall Pass

Andy himself needs to take a future-focused stance like this, as if he doesn't, he would certainly go insane...again. In L100, he spent 200 years trying to kill himself because he saw no future in his immortality, just a constant waste of time with no purpose or goal. He would never find love, and any love he did find would be fleeting, as he would watch everyone he cared for slip away. He'd peaked when he had his gang in the Wild West, and everything since then was downhill

Until he met Fuuko

Once Fuuko was in Andy's life, suddenly every day was better than the last. Every day was fun, every day was worth living, and even when he couldn't see her anymore, when he was stuck eternally burning alive on the sun, he knew that there would be a day when the suffering would end. Because he had something to look forward to, the knowledge that things would get better, Andy was able to put up with literally the most painful hardship anyone has ever experienced without a word of complaint

All thanks to Fuuko

No Fate But What We Make

Fuuko, of course, went through the same thing, just on a much smaller scale. She went through ten years of believing that there was no future in a life where she couldn't touch anyone, and the only thing that kept her going was the serialization of a manga. Once it ended, so too did the roadmap of her life; if the only thing she could look forward to was the next chapter, there was no future without one

It was only when she met Andy that she began to see possibilities for herself, that that there was a reason to keep going. Because of Andy, Fuuko was able to look ahead and make a real plan for herself, to commit to multiple preparations and contingencies across 200 years of loneliness, to lay the foundation for her and everyone else's happiness

All thanks to Andy

But Fuuko interestingly takes the opposite approach here. While she builds her future, she seems to think of it as a culmination of the past. She says that the moment of their meeting wasn't the start of their story, but rather Andy's very creation was the start, that he and his life choices are what brought the present and future into possibility. Fuuko attributes all of her successes to him, a domino chain that simply swept her along

But just like Andy corrected Nico, so too does he correct Fuuko

"It started with you, Andy. If you were never born, then I -" "Ha! It was just dumb luck. You're the one that turned that luck into fate."

In this moment, Fuuko has an external locus of control, believing herself to have been dealt a bad hand and that she just got lucky when she swapped out her cards, but that's not what Andy sees. He sees a woman who made the right calls with what she had, who swapped out the right cards and made the right bluffs to turn a bad hand around and win big anyway, and he doesn't want her to lose sight of that

Just like he doesn't want Nico to think his life is going downhill, he doesn't want Fuuko to think her life isn't in her control. If life isn't in your control, then neither is your happiness; anything you have can be taken away, and you forfeit the ability to take it back. Again, Andy can attest to that: he only found Fuuko by sheer dumb luck

No one orchestrated their meeting, it just happened, and it was only because Fuuko made the choice to embrace the consequences of that meeting that their lives turned out for the best. If Fuuko hadn't pushed herself to kiss Andy and save both of them from being captured by the Union, she likely would have been killed and he probably would have somehow found his way back to being Victor, this persona fading into nothing while still remaining unnamed

When hardships inevitably come Fuuko's way again, she needs to understand that she can't rely on luck to save her, but she can rely on herself. She's proven it a thousand times, and even become someone that everyone else can rely on; with her own hands, she defied everyone's destinies and forged a happy ending for all of them. That's not something that could have just happened by the whims of fate, only by the choices of someone with the strength to take control of their own life. After 100 loops with only subtle variations thanks to the minimal interference of the only one who could, the 101st has the chance to create the perfect ending specifically because Fuuko chose to interfere when given the opportunity

And now she has the opportunity to interfere one last time

Let's Enjoy Life

We've talked about it endlessly at this point, but Ruin is a clear foil to Andy in a ton of ways, and this chapter is a perfect illustration of that concept, literally. Not only is this fight happening on the bridge where Andy and Fuuko first met, the flow of the battle itself is like a speedrun of the first 20 chapters

The meteors and lightning from last chapter, getting hit by a vehicle and reduced to a head (the train in ch.1 or the truck in ch.2), having his body sealed by specially made Union containers (eye-scar guy in ch.1), getting pummeled by Void on the highway (ch.2), facing Shen immediately after (ch.3), then jumping straight to being launched into space by Nyoi Kinko (ch.16). Even the way he talks, insisting "this isn't enough to kill me" is pretty much exactly what Andy and Victor would say whenever anyone would hit them with anything - because he thinks they're trying to kill him

But that's not the goal. It never was

Tozuka played a fun little trick on us from the very beginning of the series. By calling UU "the story of [the] quest for the greatest death ever," the expectation that was set up was that we would see the most extravagant, bombastic and show-stopping death ever put to page, that the goal was to find the one thing that could actually overcome immortality. He made a promise that the story would end with Andy's demise and all the spectacle that came with it

With this chapter, it is clear that this was a promise that Tozuka had no intention of keeping

Not in the sense that Andy won't die, I have a hard time seeing this series ending without that punctuation to his story, but the death itself is no longer the purpose of the journey, and I would argue never really has been. The "greatest death ever" is one that comes at the end of a fulfilling life, one where the deceased is surrounded by people who love them and, even through the tears and grief, everyone can look back and smile. This was the lesson that Fuuko learned in ch.1 as she fell to what she thought was her death; the suicide that was meant to end her suffering simply put into perspective how empty her life had been, and being saved, being held, being shown affection by Andy showed her what her life could be

Ch.1 was a perfect preview of the rest of the series, because as I've said many times over by now, Andy and Fuuko's stories are near identical. Just as Fuuko learned that life needs to be lived for death to have meaning, so too would Andy. And now, two hundred and twenty chapters later, Tozuka has finally paid off that slow burn by having Andy acknowledge that he enjoys life!

And now he wants Ruin to do the same.

"I've got one rule and one rule only!! ... Now, c'mon, You follow it too!! Let's enjoy what life has to offer!!"

"You follow it too."

Andy doesn't want to kill Ruin. He wants Ruin to understand the truth. Ruin loves the world, and that's a start, but he wants to eliminate the thing that makes the world truly beautiful - the people in it. Andy's "ridiculously long life" was pointless because he was alone, and Ruin's life is set to be just as long. He insists that he only needs the Rules, but how long can that sustain his soul? At best, madness is all that awaits him, but as we said, a life that accepts it will never be happier is one that has accepted it will be unhappy

Ruin needs to be shown that his way of life will only lead to unhappiness, and that there's a better way. That loving people and being loved by people is better than hating them and isolating from them. Just like Andy drifted through life ambiently allowing things to happen to him, taking opportunities as they came along rather than actively working towards a goal, so too is Ruin losing control in this fight. He's getting smacked around like a rag doll by the culmination of the life that Andy lived, and the Rules he hid behind to distance himself from humanity can't do a damn thing to help him

When Andy thought there was nothing more he could do, that he had to sacrifice himself to the Union to keep Fuuko alive, she stepped up to save both of them, reaching out to someone else for the first time. That was the moment Andy's life started to change, the moment that Andy was truly born, and I believe that Ruin is about to learn exactly what that's like

Undeath and Rebirth

The official twitter gave us a fun bit of insight this week: in L100, the mark over Ruin's eye that I've been calling a scar this whole time was actually a birthmark. While the mark from Remember on Andy actually is a scar, it was present from the moment of Andy's creation, making it functionally identical to a birthmark

But now, in L101, both of these birthmarks are gone. Andy no longer has Remember, and Victor is no longer trying to return, so his wound has healed; meanwhile, Ruin's natural birthmark has been subsumed by a wound. Andy is no longer defined by his origin and now can look toward the future, while Ruin is likely hiding from his origin, covering it up and ignoring the implications of it

Andy was reborn and able to heal, but Ruin is more damaged than ever; more ruined than ever. With his birthmark gone, the pain of his past can be left in the past, but by marring himself so grievously, there will always be a reminder of it. It will only be once Ruin learns to look forward like Andy, like Fuuko, that he will be able to heal and be reborn as well. It is only then that he will cease to be ruined

Conclusion

Of course, this is all assuming that Tozuka actually cares enough about Ruin to keep him around and actively develop him. For all I know, this is going to be another Kururu situation where I'm filling holes that Tozuka only ever planned to leave empty, but as I've said a thousand times, Tozuka has built up more than enough good will for me to give him that benefit of the doubt. I wholeheartedly believe that Tozuka has a plan for Ruin (and hopefully for Kururu too), but in the end I'll still be okay with it either way so long as he uses them properly to develop and analyze Andy and Fuuko

At the end of the day, Ruin's character has given me another angle to approach our leads from, and that's what a good foil is supposed to do. Even if Ruin doesn't accept the lessons and is made to be an illustration of what happens when one refuses to live their life no matter what, that's just as good narratively, even if it's sad to think about. We'll just have to keep reading and enjoy what Tozuka has to offer, whatever that may be

...Ah, crumbs, do I need to change my sign-off???

The original translation was "let's enjoy life," but presumably for either accuracy or dramatic flair, David Evelyn went with "what life has to offer" this time. Now that it's been introduced in canon, that's the quote that's going to become iconic, and most people won't know about Tozuka's convention appearance or the chapter blurb that only appeared in the original magazine run! "Let's enjoy life" is inevitably going to be forgotten as the phrasing of the sentiment, so should I fight the tides and stick with the original, or accept reality and adapt accordingly...

...Well, when I put it that way, after everything I've said in this review, I think my choice is pretty clear. If anyone wants me to go back to the old way, let me know, but for now:

Until next time, let's enjoy what life has to offer!!

[spockandawe]

Hello hello! I'm sleepy and bored at work, but still have two meetings to go, and THEN I stumbled across an ask game a themed reading list! I got linked to it here by a friend, and I've been reading a surprising amount this year compared to what I usually manage, so let's goooo

Author you've read the most books from:

Oh man. This has to be either Terry Pratchett or Mercedes Lackey, even though I haven't gone through the WHOLE catalog for either one. Let's look this up? Wow, more of a difference than i was expecting: Terry Pratchett, 39. Mercedes Lackey, 63.

Best Sequel Ever:

Oh, that's so hard! Arguably Thud! by Terry Pratchett counts, but looking that late in a long series feels like cheating. I'm going to say either Ancillary Sword (imperial radch #2) by Anne Leckie, or The Siren Depths (books of the raksura #3), by Martha Wells. The earlier books hooked me, but then these ones just put me in the salad spinner and went to town.

Currently Reading (12/'24):

Too many 🥲 I won't even get into mangas and manhwas here, lmao.

Evil As Humans by Nian Zhong

I Became A God In A Horror Game by Pot Fish Chili

SSS-Class Suicide Hunter by Shin Noah

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint by Sing Shong

The Guild Member Next Door by Honeytrap (this hasn't snagged me yet, but the manhwa is extremely charming, i mayyy just stick to that)

Star Instructor, Master Baek (loved the manhwa, NEED full prose context, haha)

Drink of Choice While Reading:

I read a lot on walks, so none, really! If I'm reading in bed i might make tea or grab something cold and bubbly, but i tend to get too immersed to remember my beverages.

E-reader or Physical Book:

E-reader. I was that weird kid who always carried around like five books, and this is so much better. It's faster, it's more convenient, I can word search, it's easier to share snippets with friends, it suits all my needs beautifully. The caveat. Is that I dont trust the permanence of digital media at ALL, especially if drm is involved, so i really try to own physical copies of everything i LOVE.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Dated in High School:

Oh god, dating, the worst activity. Ummm. Gosh. See. My trouble here is that I have chronically terrible instincts for who is actually good romantic interest material in real life, and that problem was SO MUCH WORSE as a teenager. Let's say Sha Hualing. Is this ending well for me? Nope!

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance:

'C Language Cultivation' by Yi Shi Si Zhou! I'm an engineer, but god, i am not a programmer. But I'm so glad I went into this book anyways! I was able to MOSTLY get pulled along for the ride when characters talked programming, and I think its SUCH an interesting way to conceptualize cultivation in a modern setting. And then on top of that, the plot went crunch and did some really interesting things! I would have balked at this one normally, but it really worked for me.

Hidden Gem Book:

'Evil As Humans' by Nian Zhong. I really need to rave about this one more, because it's one of the best cnovels I've ever read, and I'm so sad it took me this long to catch word of it. I'm not done yet, because i got overwhelmed by Emotions and was afraid of running out of book so I stopped reading, like a dumbass. It's so so so so good. It's got everything. It's got fascinating worldbuilding, amazing characters, glorious imagery, BEEFY plot, and one of my favorite relationships I've ever read. I would recommend this book whether or not someone has read a cnovel in their life before. And it's so sad that hardly anyone talks about it!

Important Moment in Your Reading Life:

Ooh, I think.... that moment in the peak pandemic days when I was finally intrigued enough to check out MDZS. First, I devoured it and it was SO good. Second, I kept reading cnovels. Third, my passion for cnovels got me into bookbinding. This really made a notable impression on the course of my life since then, which I frankly wasn't expecting at this age!

Just Finished:

Hmmm. I'm not FINISHED, but I'm caught up to the current translation of 'The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low' by Baek Sam. The translator said they would hopefully be catching at the end of this month, and god, I really hope so, this book lodged inside my ribcage.

Longest Book You've Read:

'The Husky and his White Cat Shizun' by Meatbun. It's 1.2 million words. If I ever finish ORV that will dethrone it, but for the love of god, montressor

Major Book Hangover:

Haha, any book I like tends to leave me hung over! I notice especially for the cnovels because they're so long and I get my emotions spun up so high, but it's definitely a regular feature. The only time this doesn't happen is if it's a series like Murderbot when I can immediately press on to the next book, until the inevitable SERIES hangover.

Number of bookcases:

Oh, unfair, the sizes vary wildly. In my house, let me see. There's a BIG built-in bookcase in the basement that has most of my prose fiction and craft books. Basement bedroom has a freestanding bookshelf that might be for art instructional books and art supplies, but im still rearranging.

Upstairs, i have a wide/short bookshelf that's also a tv stand, but it's split between western comics and board games. Kitchen has a teeny wall-mounted set of shelves with my cookbooks. Dining room has a buffet where my shortlisted craft books are stored (so I don't have to get them from the basement).

And upstairs, my pink bedroom has two. There's a small built-in that's for my manga collection and small zines. And there's a corner bookshelf that's for sheet music and coffee table books. I think that's everything!

Preferred Place to Read:

On long walks 🥺 It's so nice. I like it so much. The weather is hostile to my fingeys at this time of year, I need to drag out my various fingerless gloves and scatter them in convenient places so i remember yo grab them. Other than that, curled up in bed, either lying down or sitting against a back pillow.

Quote That Inspires You:

Oh gosh. I dont remember quotes very well. And 'inspire' might be the wrong word. But a number of Terry Pratchett ones stick with me, he really just was an incredibly memorable writer

It was sad music. But it waved its sadness like a battle flag. It said the universe had done all it could, but you were still alive.

-Terry Pratchett, 'Soul Music'

Reading Regret:

I don't regret reading books! Even the ones I hate. If I'm not getting something out of the experience, I'm hideously adhd to begin with, I will probably forget to finish rather than even consciously decide to quit. If I have a regret, maybe... I have a lot of other hobbies and obligations, and there are SO many books I wish I'd already read. I regret not prioritizing reading more in my life, even though I'm sure that in this AU, I'd have brand new regrets instead 😂

Series You Started and Need to Finish:

Mmmmm... Imperial Radch. I read the first trilogy l, the short stories, and Provenance. I just haven't been able to find the right headspace to start Translation State. I'm sure I'll love it! But I haven't done it yet.

Three of Your All-Time Favorite Books:

Agonizing!

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Unapologetic Fan for:

The Books of the Raksura, by Martha Wells!! I love murderbot, but i LOOOOVE the raksura books, they deserve more appreciation

Very Excited for This Release:

Alecto the Ninth please im begging on hands and knees 🤣

Worst Bookish Habit:

Look, I am. Very adhd. I will accept your rec with great excitement and make a reminder to myself to go check out this book asap. Then i will also forage for my own new books, because it's good enrichment in my enclosure. Let's not ask what my follow-through numbers are like. Shh, don't worry about it.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Oh, this is gonna drive me nuts. I'm at work, but i HAVE a picture. The resolution, however--

It's the slim hot pink and black paperback. It's an Agatha Christie, and I'm almost positive it's 'The Mysterious Affair At Styles.' But I can't find this edition online to confirm. The book to its left is 'Any Way The Wind Blows' by Rainbow Rowell, the one left of that is 'Alta' by Mercedes Lackey, the one to its right is the complete Sherlock Holmes, and the one right of that is 'Sleeping Beauty' by Mercedes Lackey, so I know my books pretty well! But that ONE. Is driving me nuts 😂

Your Latest Book Purchase:

'Tiger Tiger' by Petra Erika Nordlund! It's sitting on the shelf next to my front door, and I'm POSITIVE I'll enjoy it, but the stars haven't been aligned for me to start it yet, expecially because i do read so much on my phone but i think graphic novels are a Must for physical purchases. If i have digital purchase of comics, they're probably redundant with my physical copies. They're just as ephemeral as prose ebooks, but so much larger to store 😂

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

Ooh, that's probably 'I Became A God In A Horror Game' by Pot Fish Chili. This is an interesting one, because between story arcs I lose momentum and take a longgggg pause. But then DURING story arcs, I can't put the silly thing down. It's gripping as HELL.

[rainofbrasspetal]

Grappler Baki: The Stitchy Review

Started Grappler Baki June 17 2024.

Finished Grappler Baki July 6 2024.

Stitchy's Score: 9/10

I, like many others, have seen those infamous clips and "WTF is Baki even about" memes. I finally decided to take a look at the source for myself. WTF is Baki? Well, it's peak, I'm afraid.

I was once a hater of Itagaki Sensei's artstyle, I thought Baki was so ugly. "How can people stand to look at it?" I would ask myself. I am extremely happy to report, however, that I now have no choice but to stan my king and Baki's art. I think Baki has fantastic and engaging art. Baki's girlfriend, his landlady, his mother, ect, they all look like regular people. Only the guys that fight and have dedicated themselves to being "the strongest" have these horrificly muscular bodies. It makes a lot of sense to me and makes everything else pretty easy to swallow.

Each character is also pretty destinct which is also fantastic. I happened to really fall in love with the cast. I brought up my character designer friend in my Mashle review, but I was discussing Baki with her earlier today. She correctly noted that hight difference is also really important and Baki has it in spades. Yujiro Hanma is like the strongest dude ever to exist and there are actually a few characters taller than or almost as tall as he is. Baki himself is also pretty short, which is great. It makes everyone stand out more and helps the silhouette of the characters. Baki also looks like he really is a 17 year old boy! Another plus in a world where I am supposed to believe that Kiyomaro Takamine (Zatch/Gash Bell) is a middle schooler! He also has a great personality, a fun protagonist that almost seems out of place in such a violent story.

Grappler Baki is the most "normal" of the series, from what I can tell. All the big memes aren't going to be found here, unfortunately. That being said, this manga is still absolute nonsense. There's biting and ripping and breaking and just incredibly unbelievable violence. Baki characters feel like cockroaches! Baki himself takes a ridiculous amount of damage and just is fine at the end of the day sometimes. It really reminds me of the old brutal Mortal Kombat 9 x-ray moves, like Sub-Zero freezing your stomach and crushing it, before just continuing the fight like that didn't happen to you. The fights are so brutal and engaging to watch. Even when the side characters were going to fight, I often found myself excited to see how it went. It's just a good old time.

If you've never read or watched Baki, I don't want to give too much away from the plot (MAKE SURE YOU DO SOME RESEARCH! It really took me a minute to figure out what order best to consume the story as a whole. There's like 5 or 6 Baki mangas and two of them have the same name). I will say that I was really locked in the whole time, though! UNFORTUNATELY, this also has the bit where it loses that perfect 10/10 score. I will tell you that Grappler Baki has maybe four important female characters and unfortunately they are pretty lacking. They really don't get to do too much, Baki's girlfriend especially doesn't do much.

Most of our story revolves around a tournament, which is also a big plus. What arcs does everyone love? Naruto's Chunin Exams, Yu Yu Hakusho's Dark Tournament and, Dragon Ball's Tenka'ichi Budōkai, Yu-Gi-Oh's Battle City! The people love tournament arcs! We yearn for the tournament! Even Oda stuck one in One Piece during Dressrosa! A main plot that revolves around a tournament, what more could we ask of Grappler Baki?

Another thing I believe Grappler Baki handles well is what I'm going to call, "The Vegeta Problem." I call it The Vegeta Problem because he is always the first character I'll think of in the context. I define it as: introducing a character that is supposed to be so strong and intimidating but usually gets whipped before the main character gets to take his turn and beat the bad guy. Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu. Since Baki's villain is Yujiro Hanma, and he's said to be untouchable and just a ridiculously impossible standard, it never feels like someone is weak when they lose to him. Even people who lose often put up decent fights. Baki is very good at making fights really edge of your seat, which is refreshing!

In conclusion, Grappler Baki is a fantastic read. It has everything someone would want from a manga mainly about fighting. A ridiculous ride that grabs you and makes you really want to see where the twists and turns take the story!

[beevean]

I got started reading the Berserk manga.

Guts is definitely something! Saving a naked fairy dude (where are his clothes? Why is he naked? Do fairies not have to wear clothes to protect themselves against the elements?), only to swat him for being annoying, and then not even responding when he's whipped? Quite a way to establish an anti-hero!

The upside of reading the manga instead of watching any of the anime is not just a more complete experience, but I can also skim over any scenes that are too uncomfortable for me to read! I know for sure some of the scenes will be very disturbing for me.

Let's gooooooooooooooooooo I hope you like Berserk 🥰

Haha, Puck has no clothes. It's okay, because he has Barbie doll anatomy :P which, believe it or not, becomes a minor plot point later on. (eventually we meet a female elf who wears a petal dress, so I guess girls wear clothes and boys don't)

Guts in the Black Swordsman arc is... yeah, he's something. Peak edgy '90s anti hero who is a total asshole but it's okay because he has a big fuck you sword. He has a good heart, really! Just hidden deep, deep, deep deep deep down. He's better with context, but the first few volumes are a bit of a hard swallow because they feel a little too tryhard. It's always funny to me when I go back and I see scenes like Guts deliberately making himself bleed to get pumped up for a fight, it never gets brought back again so it feels random.

ngl while I understand the desire to skim over the most violent bits, I'm afraid you'd have to read the whole thing with your eyes closed :P the 1997 anime, from what I know, is less graphic when it comes to violence - there are gushes of blood, but no guts (heh) flying around or what have you.

[littleeyesofpallas]

When I was little I had recurring nightmares about people breaking in to my house and I would have to keep myself hidden but also things would happen where I'd be unable to stop my parents or sometimes my pets(?) from attracting the attention of the intruders and being killed as a result. So I'd have to sit like under my bed or in my closet or behind the shower curtain or something, watching the intruder(s) hiding from my parents or my dog, and feel compelled to watch in silence as their paths collide and play out, sometimes in an actual attack or sometimes just with the implicit threat of one.

When I first played the (frankly really unremarkable) indie horror game Tattletale, I thought the premise would be something very different. The actual premise is that you play hide and seek with a furby thing as it tries to kill you and it happens to be Christmas eve. But initially I thought it was going to be about trying not to wake up mom and dad because you were just as afraid of getting in trouble for peaking at your present as you were afraid of the eerily intelligent and autonomous toy being a threat to both you and to your parents if you were to get them involved in it's creepy game or murder hide and seek.

One of my favorite lesser known Alfred Hitchcock movies is Shadow of Doubt, in which a young woman finds out that her visiting uncle whom she shares a kind of special kinship with is actually a notorious serial killer at large. But when she discovers this fact, that fact is almost immediately discovered by her uncle. So she spends the bulk of the movie trying to find some way to alert police without letting her uncle know she's done so, because of the threat that he'll kill her mother in retaliation otherwise.

(The movie Stoker is actually a fun kind of homage to this movie where the twist is that the thriller encounter with her murder uncle actually awakens the serial killer in the girl as well)

There is also a single volume manga by famous Mangaka Fukumoto Nobuyuki(creator of Kaiji and Akagi, among other hit series) and Kawaguchi Kaiji(artist of Zipang and Silent Service among others...) Where two friends get lost in blizzard on a hiking trip and as they begin to think they'll die on the mountain one confesses out of guilt that he murdered a woman on the same mountain years ago... And then they find shelter, and the protagonist becomes paranoid that the murderer will try to kill him to keep his secret before the blizzard lets up. In the early stages of the story in particular he has to try to either escape or radio for help or kill the murderer himself without alerting him, all while both he and the reader aren't entirely sure the murderer actually intends to hurt him or not. It has some wild twists and turns (frankly maybe one too many) but it's still a great psychological thriller and one of my favorite short manga.

Anyway point being that inbetween these things I've got this nebulous halfformed narrative thread in my brain that I come back to sometimes about hidden killers knowing you know they're killers, and having to deal with their presence in secret from other people. I've always wanted to try my hand at writing a story that falls into this kind of structure but I feel like I'm just not suited to craft these kinds of delicate suspenseful logic puzzles where the rules of the arrangement make sense and are consistent and have consequences that are enticingly threatening.

In particular the halfbaked premise I've always sat on was to have a kind of witchhunt setting (but which would work better, medieval Europe or colonial America?) Where you unwittingly give shelter to a stranger who is being chased by witch hunters, and then you have to try to determine whether or not she's a witch without letting her know you suspect her for being a witch, and whether she's a real witch or not, you then move on to trying to alert the witch hunters while knowing she suspects you of knowing and trying to snitch on her. And the horror and suspense of being watched and the sort of reverse double blind of knowing she knows you know but still having to play dumb just in case you're actually wrong, but then also having to look her in the eye and lie to her, knowing she knows you're lying while you do it.

It's got a kind of a Death Note Light -v- L appeal to it too,(or early Promised Neverland) where there's room to expand on this kind of convoluted 4D chess mind game going on between two people, but also between the weird hypothetical of what the other could be almost more than what they actually are, if that makes any sense(?). Like, beyond the reality of the singular chain of events that make the story, you're basically having to manage two different plots; One is where the adversary knows everything and the management of how they'll act based on that in the worst case scenario, but the other is where they actually don't know yet and how you have to act to keep them from finding out.

Does that all make sense? But then add to that a vague threat of the supernatural. Like, you still don't know if she is actually a witch, or if the real threat is just that if being implicated in the witchhunt, and if she if IS, then there is the wildcard of not knowing what she can do with that to affect you or others.

To add yet more needless complexity, if I wanted to expand or really milk the premise I could play it like a classic Imposter Game (ya know like Mafia or Werewolf, or yeah I guess Among us gets a mention...) And make part of the plot that the witch hunters arrive announcing they've been chasing TWO people, and you have to manage sussing out who the second witch, or witch collaborator, in the cast of characters is while trying not to be incriminated as them yourself.

Worst part though is that even if I was better at constructing this sort of plot AND had the writing skill to follow through on it, Id still have to wrestle with how to end the whole thing. Problem being that these types of stories all thrive in the uncertainty of the big maybes and ehat-ifs; actually confirming threats and resolving the plot threads are almost always less interesting than the build up

I keep phrasing this in the second person because even though my loose wrestling with the idea kind of defaults to just novel prose, a part of me wants it to be something more like a VN or a walking sim type interactive story? But god knows trying to nail down any of these ideas AND leave it open to player choice is a deathtrap rabbithole to fall down.

Anyway I dunno what the point of this was other than just outlining the thought because its there floating around my head again. Its like 3am and I can't sleep and in that funky half lucid brain space where connections are sorta forming on their own and I feel like it helps to just get them out onto something. Like I'm dream journaling while awake?

[fictionaladoptionpolls]

Last Order

Age: 10*

Home: Academy City (A Certain Magical Index)

Blood type: AB

Likes:

Dislikes:

Classification: Esper

Last Order is one of over 20,000 clones of Misaka "Railgun" Mikoto produced in one of the mass-Railgun-cloning projects that apparently exist. She's also the central controller of the Sister Network, which means that if you infect her with a virus, all of the clones get sick or something?

…I'm pretty sure I don't know enough Magical Index/Scientific Railgun lore to parse what Last Order is, so I'll try to focus on who she is. Which I also find difficult, because most descriptions of her personality focus on contrasting her with the other Sisters, specifically pointing out how Last is a relatively ordinary kid.

And that's pretty well supported by the manga panels people post on Tumblr…though she does get the odd moment of pathos, and apparently she remembers everything that happened to the other Sisters. Including their deaths. Most of whom were killed by Last's ersatz adoptive older brother, Accelerator.

I'm afraid this is another character I can't grok in a timely fashion, so I'll need to rely on propaganda again. I apologize to all fans of A Certain Magical Railgun for not understanding your show.

Until that adoption propaganda starts coming in, what does Tumblr think of Last Order?

A Certain Scientific Railgun really peaked with the Sisters arc, huh?

[referring to above screencap] CUTEST THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD OMG I'M CRYING

I love Mikoto when she gets badass, her power is so useful. I wish she could have a better implication with the Sisters and get more stories with them. I really think the fanservice brings down the serie even though the world and idea are very good

Wait, fanservice? …that's just the original Mikoto, right? There's no fanservice shots of Last, are there?

[quickdeaths]

@mindecay

Each year, Hope's Peak Academy held the Annual Inter-Disciplinary Talent Harmony Assessment - a wordy descriptor for something that amounted to simply an extended group project. A 2nd-year and 3rd-year student would be paired together and challenged to present some demonstration that showcased aspects of each of their Talents. The majority of the work was left upon the shoulders of the younger student, with the older student acting as a mentor, while also handling the administrative aspects, such as submitting documentation, scheduling the demonstration, and providing proof of collaboration.

Having done it herself as a 2nd-year, Shinobu Yaguchi found the entire affair rather meaningless. It seemed to her a strange concession to the idea that to over-specialize in a single, narrow field was a mistake, and that some degree of interdisciplinary collaboration was more fruitful... at an academy singularly devoted to fostering individual narrow talents. However, it was a requirement for graduation, and their distaste for it mattered little when they were ultimately responsible for another student's success.

The pairings had been posted in the morning, to much fanfare, with a number of the juniors running off to find their partners immediately. Yet, for Shinobu, the day had passed without anything out of the ordinary. Eventually realizing she would need to contact her partner herself, she took leave of her classroom, undeterred by Taiami-sensei's requests that she stay, and with instructions to Anzu to give her phone number to Miss Fukawa of the 78th class, should she come looking.

Having departed early from class, it had been Shinobu's intention to avoid others, only to feel a hand tug on her blazer as she stepped inside the convenience store right across from the school gate. "Ah, Miss Ichinose." After turning around to see the girl, they nodded to her with a blank expression. "Good afternoon. I assume West Tokyo International is on break today." With one hand carrying a plastic bag loaded up with snacks, and the other with a similar bag stuff full of thick manga magazines, Miss Ichinose nodded. "I know you come to get coffee here after school, Shinobu-kun, so I came to try to see you. And, pick up some things." She lifted up both bags.

That's borderline criminal behavior, Miss Ichinose, and I don't have any time to entertain your delusions today. "I see." They reached into one of the refrigerated doors, producing an iced coffee for themselves, and then, after some thinking, a bottle of iced tea for Miss Fukawa. She was a writer, after all, and the image of a writer somewhat seemed more aligned with tea than with coffee. "I'm afraid I can't stay. You should return home." As far as Shinobu Yaguchi was concerned, that was that.

Miss Ichinose, however, seemed quite put off by it, her face falling as she again reached for Shinobu's suit jacket. "But you don't have any dates today. I know that you don't, and you don't have early training either." Her voice was strangely accusatory. How grating. Firmly pulling her arm away, Shinobu looked back with a frown. "If you've so thoroughly memorized my schedule, Miss Ichinose, you should be aware of important Hope's Peak Academy functions. I have classwork that needs attending to. Goodbye." Perhaps it was a blessing that it was only her, but she wanted to take no further chances, paying quickly and departing the convenience store.

The delay meant that by the time she'd returned to the school, classes had been let out. A text with Anzu was enough to confirm that Miss Fukawa had not come by, which left Shinobu with few options. "I dislike troublesome things," they muttered to themselves, adjusting their tie and smoothing their jacket from the rumples left by Miss Ichinose as they made their way to the classroom of Class 78. The door was open, with the students having cleared out, save for a girl with braids and an unfashionable school uniform sitting alone. "Excuse me," she said, tapping her fingers against the door frame. "You're Miss Fukawa, aren't you? I'm Yaguchi. I presume you saw the Assessment postings."

[mintchocodevi]

Allow Me to Formally Introduce Myself

If you're reading this then I must have interested you in one way or another! Thank you for checking out my page first and foremost, Tumblr will become my new dedicated space for writing fanfics that are 99.9% going to be reader inserts. However, let me introduce myself!

Pleasure to meet you!

I am a 23 year old female VTuber! I use multiple models and designs, but I do have a favorite obviously. If you're a minor, don't interact with me, I can't stand children. : )

You can call me:

Mocca

Ena

Mint

Devi

About Me:

I've been writing fanfictions since, honestly, I don't remember when. I've been watching anime and playing videos for just as long! I took commissions at one point because people often enjoyed how well I would write things. Well, unfortunately, I ended up not knowing how to say 'no' to really uncomfortable commissions because I was happy to be paid for what I could do and was burnt out for years. I'm finally finding that spark to write again and more than happy to take requests.

I was born August 30th, a Virgo, I reside in the state of Florida (which sucks btw), and I really enjoy sweet things. Mostly cakes and frosted kinds of cookies and less so candy.

In my free time I enjoy streaming! Below will be a huge list of links where you can follow me, stalk my pages, etc. Streaming has been a super fun creative outlet for me that has helped re-ignite my creativity after I lost it for a long time.

Do you take requests, what can you write for:

I am more than happy to take requests! I struggle with coming up with ideas on my own so please message me or send me an ask with a character you want to read about and some form of prompt or idea in mind and I'll do my best to get to it. As for what I can write for, you can see my public MyAnimeList right here for everything that I've watched, am watching, have read, or am currently reading! Don't be afraid to ask me about something that may not be anywhere on my lists, I've seen A LOT of anime and read a lot of manga in my 23 years of being alive and unfortunately can't remember everything.

Links:

Twitch

Twitter

Instagram

Discord

Throne

The End?

Thank you so much for taking a peak at all the stuff above! Please know that if you're only interested in my writing, that's okay! I appreciate anyone and everyone's support no matter the platform or creative liberty one enjoys! You DO NOT have to support me in any other way if all you feel comfortable doing is enjoying my writing!

I hope you have a lovely and joyful rest of your day, and enjoy reading!

[tired-teacher-blog]

Title: My savior/ My demise

Chapters : (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

Status : Completed

Characters: Dabi/ fem reader (with a healing quirk)/ other mha characters' appearances

Genre : Angst/ fluff/ Romance/ NSFW in later chapters/ Tragidy/ contains manga spoilers

Summary : Your once calm and peaceful life takes a surprising turn to the unexpected when you meet the infamous villain Dabi. What will happen when you discover a side of him that no one else knows? A side he only shows when he's with you. Will your story have a happy ending?

Please do not read if you're a minor!!

Note : This is loosely based on the manga as I had to tweak some of the events to fit this plot. No major changes though, just a bit to include you in the story.

Explaining y/n's quirk: You have a healing power; you're able to extract people's pain, illnesses, injuries and everything in between with a simple touch. You're able to activate and release your quirk at will because using it for long periods of time without rest weakens you.

Masterlist

AO3

Chapter 1 :

You grabbed your backpack, put on your shoes and stormed out of your appartement.

You were late for work.. again. The hospital you worked at as a nurse is only ten minutes away from home, but if you don't hurry up you were going to be in trouble for sure.

You ran as fast as you could stumbling a couple of times over your own feet. You passed by the river as usual and something caught your eye. There was a figure of a man dressed in black, standing by the river side staring into the horizon. He peaked your interest but you couldn't possibly waste another minute, so you just kept running.

Needless to say, you were yelled at that day as well for your repeated tardiness.

It was already dark when you clocked out. All you wanted to do was take a shower and go to sleep, you didn't even care for dinner.

You were again passing by the river on your way home when you noticed a dark figure. Was it the same man you saw that morning? No way, it couldn't be, who would stand in the same spot for more than ten hours straight? It must be another person right? You thought to yourself. But as you got closer to him, you realized that he was in fact the same person! What was going on? Was he hurt? Did something happen to him?

And without even thinking, you found yourself approaching him:" Hmm.. excuse me sir, are you alright?"

He was startled, and turned his head around to see who was speaking to him. He never replied, he just kept looking at you with tired eyes, so you spoke again:" I'm sorry to bother you but.. hmm, I saw you this morning on the same spot. Have you been here this whole time? Do you need any help?"

He was confused. Why were you asking him if he was hurt? No, better yet, why did you approach him in the first place? Weren't you afraid of him? You were nothing but a little flea that he could easily burn to the bone.

He found you weird, that was his first impression of you.

_" So what if I'm hurt? you think you can help me?" He replied sarcastically.

_" Yes I can! See I have a healing quirk so I can extract any physical pain you have! I'm actually a nurse and I work at the near by hospital! You wanna try?" You replied enthusiastically, almost jumping.

Weird? No scratch that, he actually found you straight up annoying.

He started to get upset at that moment, he just wanted you to leave. But if you weren't going to do it willingly then maybe he should intimidate you a little:" Don't you know who I am? Did your parents not warn you about talking to strangers at night?" He said in a threatening manner and moved extremely close to you. "That should teach her a lesson." He thought to himself. But your reaction left him wide eyed. You lifted your hand and moved it slowly to his face. You ran your fingertips along his jawline without breaking eye contact:" Yes I know who you are, but I don't care. All I see right now is a person in pain and if I'm able to do something about it then why wouldn't I? No one has the right to decide whether a person deserves help or not." You paused for a bit before continuing:" by the way, I have no parents to warn me about things, I do what I see right, otherwise we wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be helping you." You spoke with confidence, all the while activating your quirk on him.

He was speechless, he couldn't even start to wrap his head around what was happening at that moment. For the first time in his life someone actually cared enough to offer him help. Someone actually wasn't scared or disgusted with his scars. And someone was actually able to relieve the pain he's been suffering from most of his life. But how did you know he was in pain in the first place? He had no evident injuries, no recent cuts or burns, so what was happening? All those thoughts kept running through his head.

You finally retrieved your hand and asked him smiling:" Are you feeling better?"

He blinked a few times before answering your question with another:" What's your name?"

(To be continued...)

[cringeyvanillamilk]

Hhhmmm so let's say that modern coffee shop au black bulls are all more or less anime/manga/cartoon fans what would be their favorite series?

You've probably waited months for this response, I'm sorry anon-!

Here's what I think they'd watch!

Asta: Naruto

Need I say more? Underdog main character who refuses to give up and works hard to make a name for himself despite being stigmatized by society? Naruto is Asta's hero.

Noelle: Akatsuki no Yona

I feel like Noelle would relate so much to Yona. Seeing her grow from a spoiled princess to a strong female character would inspire Noelle to do the same! I can see Noelle being a big fan of anime with strong female leads. Strong meaning development, not just physical.

Magna: Tokyo Revenger

I feel like Magna would find familiarity with the delinquent lifestyle that occurs within the anime. However, what really hooked Magna was the emphasis on loyalty and bonds. As a loyal boi, he’d understand the lengths the characters will go for their gang. And he’d obviously root for Takemichi to save his girl!

Luck: Hunter x Hunter

The sinister slow burn of Hunter x Hunter along with dynamic fighting scenes would peak Luck's interest. His favorite character would obviously be Killua, but he’d probably relate more with Gon personality wise. Which is a big yikes. BUT!! He’d like to fight Hisoka in real life.

Charmy: Food Wars

Alright, who saw this coming? What can I say? Charmy loves an anime that respects the art of cooking!  

Finral: Horimiya

Finral would be a fan of various romance and harem anime, but I think he’d enjoy Horimiya the most. He’d appreciate the themes of not judging a book by its cover and how it tackles romance realistically.

Vanessa: Perfect Blue

 I can see Vanessa being into more mature anime. Specifically mature anime that centers around a female lead. I know you specifically asked for an anime “series”, but I think Perfect Blue is the perfect anime (movie) for her. It’s a psychological thriller that touches upon public image and identity.

Grey: Princess Jellyfish

This anime was honestly made for Grey. It not only touches upon various types of otakus, but it also contains a lot of great characters that I’m sure Grey will enjoy watching and be comforted by. Especially when she can see herself in some of the characters!

Gordon: One Piece

THE POWER OF NAKAMAS!! Gordon loves the optimistic and idealistic tone of One Piece. Gordon would love the themes of friendship and hope. That no matter what background you come from, you can still fight for your dreams. 

Gauche: Demon Slayer

I feel like gore is something Gauche wouldn’t mind seeing in his anime. But what specifically got him hooked to Demon Slayer was the significant themes of family. Seeing Tanjirou finding a way to cure his little sister is something he can see himself do if Marie were to turn into a demon. The different types of familial dynamics within the story might also interest him as well.

Yami: Gintama

Gintama radiates Yami’s type of humor. It has a lot of toilet jokes and gags. It’s the type of anime that doesn't take itself seriously… until it does. When it gets more serious, it hits differently. Similar to how Yami is as a character. He’d vibe so much with Gintama himself.

Zora: My Hero Academia

In this modern AU, Zora is secretly a superhero comic book fan, so obviously he’d be into My Hero Academia. He’d wish people like All Might actually exist in real life. Really vibes with Aizawa though.

Henry: Spy X Family

I think Henry would be a big fan of the found family trope! And what better anime to showcase this trope than Spy X Family!

Nacht: Neon Genesis Evangelion 

This anime is a rollercoaster ride that Nacht would definitely enjoy. The way it subverts anime tropes and dives deep into the human psyche of the characters is what makes this anime fun to watch. Not only does it use religious motifs and twist it, but it's an anime that isn’t afraid to push boundaries and make you feel uncomfortable.

[more-than-a-princess]

Continued from here for @electricea due to new blog + beta editor!

She didn't doubt it, as she listened to Ryuji with a strained, sympathetic smile. Until she moved abroad for school, Sonia's idea of owning a shop had been nothing short of an idyllic romance. A pleasantly simple life of stocking shelves and helping customers who were always polite and thankful to do business there. The reality, she'd learned after beginning her time at Hope's Peak Academy, had been something rather different. And by the time she and Ryuji met that fateful night a few months ago, she hadn't even been surprised by the rude customer behind her, demanding she speed up her transaction. Her lack of expedience and perchance for manners, particularly as the clock neared midnight, had turned her into a blonde, foreign annoyance for the other customers behind her as she'd chatted amiably with Ryuji behind the counter.

It was far less aggravating, she supposed, for everyone that she spend time with him like this instead. Surrounded by various prepackaged offerings and waiting for him to bring a selection of sodas, she found she rather preferred it too. He didn't have the same tone he utilized behind the counter: it was the sort new members of staff used when working for the Royal Family, before they came to know the family they worked for, and they with them in turn. "When I was younger, I loved reading anything I could get my hands on, really!" She admitted, smiling fondly at the memory. "I think I mentioned that I was tutored at home until middle school and my parents chose my friends for me, so much of my way of learning about the world was through books or television. I still must read quite a bit for work, but it's usually news reports or various proposals. For fun, I like novels, particularly gothic romance and horror, and manga as well. They are very soothing for me."

If he was imagining something akin to a library in an animated enchanted castle, Sonia would have to admit that it wasn't far off. Except instead of being full of fairy tales and love stories, it was full of texts on history, language, philosophy, mathematics, science, and more. Though she'd taken care in finding all the fiction she could, including books that her parents would've been horrified to know she found, and read, as a young girl. They should've stored the naughty books somewhere a bit more discreet, she thought as he returned with the drinks. Or at least somewhere a young child wouldn't be compelled to climb up a ladder to reach.

"When you aren't here, where do you like to go to have fun?" she asked, now torn between her inquiry and the vibrant, colorful sodas and their labels he set before them. "I'm afraid I'm not terribly familiar with energy drinks! Do they simply contain a lot of caffeine?"

Her version had always been tea or, if absolutely necessary, coffee with enough sweetened syrup to take away the bitterness of roasted beans. Hopefully energy drinks weren't as sour or bitter as plain coffee or espresso was: she wouldn't enjoy it if that were the case. Unlike the strawberry soda he now held out to her, eliciting a bright smile and a nod from the princess.

"Oh yes, I agree, everyone loves strawberry. That is an excellent choice, thank you," She agreed, accepting the bottle. It wasn't the most unique flavor, but it was reliably enjoyed. Ryuji would know, Sonia thought as she uncapped the bottle: he was the one selling them.

Still, her eyes widened at his description of the seasonal noodles. Not only seasonal, but autumn and Halloween appropriate. Precisely the sort of thing that sparked her interest, causing her to set her soda aside for the moment. "Oh, pumpkin noodles!" She exclaimed, "I should like to try those. But you are right: I like to try new flavors, as long as they aren't terribly sour, bitter, or plum. I often am introduced to new foods when I travel for work, so I take those opportunities as they come. They aren't quite like this though, convenience shop food and such. I'd imagine you like to try everything the shop gets in stock!"

[babymilkawa]

“hi! i love ur writing! could i get a fluff w bakugou x reader when she has a panic attack in public and he rushes her to his dorm? sorry if this wasnt specific enough but have a good day!! <3”

aww of course! there are many things that could trigger a panic attack so I hope this was alright ^^ 🤍🍡🧸

there’s no need to be afraid

bakugou katsuki

fem!reader

fluff

word count; 892

warnings: mental breakdown, mental health issues, depression, suicidal thoughts

it was a Friday evening and you and bakugou decided to just chill in the living room with the others. no one was really doing anything, you were all just sitting there and talking to each other. the tv was on but only for some background noise. you weren’t even sure what movie was playing. or maybe it was a show. turning, you continued your conversation with mina while your hands played with your boyfriend’s fingers. 

it was a cold day but the warmth radiating from the man beside you made you snuggle up closer to him. you and mina were talking about the manga series that was just released but then uraraka called out to her from the kitchen, asking for help. mina waved at you and joined her friend at the back. bakugou was busy chatting with Kirishima so you turned your attention to the tv. right at that moment, a girl could be seen standing on top on the edge of a roof. the actress’s face was streaked with tears and a heartbreak song was playing in the background. 

without warning, your brain immediately took you back to that time when you were almost in the same position as her. except someone had come to stop this girl in the tv. no one had been there for you. you had to bring yourself back down. suddenly, you started breathing heavily and you knew what was coming. you felt like the pain that you had experienced back then was rushing into you again. frantically patting bakugou’s arm, you tried to get his attention. he turned to see your widening eyes and your struggled breathing. he knew exactly what was going on. excusing himself, bakugou held your hand and stood you up. he wanted to carry you out of here as fast as possible but he knew that that would only bring attention to you. that was the last thing you needed right now. he had to bring you back in his room before anyone else saw. Kirishima had looked up at his friend and then you with concern, but bakugou shooed him off, dragging you to his room. 

once the door shut, you broke immediately. falling to the ground, you curled yourself up and hid your face in your knees. bakugou was right beside you. he didn’t want to make you uncurl yourself but he noticed that you were still having trouble breathing. 

“hey baby? why don’t you give yourself room to breathe, ok?” he said, as gentle as possible. 

he could hear you start to slowly exhale with your mouth and he softly stroked your hair, “good girl. you’re doing great”

bakugou wasn’t sure what had suddenly caused this but he didn’t want to pry yet. he would of course ask you eventually so that he knew what kind of triggers you had in order to help you avoid from having that happen again. 

slowly, you let go of your knees and bakugou was going to wipe the tears off your face when you buried it in his chest. he didn’t mind, obviously. he liked being able to hold you close and protecting you. 

“y/n, I think this will make it harder to breathe”

your face still pressed to his toned chest, you shook your head. by now, you had stopped shaking and your flow of tears was decreasing. bakugou noticed this and wrapped his arms around you, resting his cheek on your head. 

then you pulled away with your head still hung low.

“I'm scared” you said, fidgeting with your fingers.

bakugou tiled your chin up to look at you. “you don’t need to be. I'm right here”

“but what if-”

“it’s not going to happen, baby. I know you. you’re strong and you’ve gotten through this before haven’t you?” 

you nod. “and now you have me. I just wish I could’ve been there for you before. im...sorry for that” he says.

you shake your head this time, telling him that he shouldn’t be. 

he pulls you in close again and says, “I'll make it up to you by staying with you forever. ok?”

you place a soft kiss on his collarbone as an answer.

the two of you sit in a comfortable silence. bakugou with his hand on your back and his chin on top of your head. you with your arms wrapped around his torso and your tear stained cheek on his chest. at that moment, you felt so grateful that you had him. he was right. there was nothing for you to be afraid of. you would never go back to that state as long as bakugou was beside you.

then, the sound of your stomach growling filled up the silent room. bakugou chuckles and says, “stay here, babe. I'll get you some food”

he places a kiss to your temples and leaves the room. while you wait, you change into comfortable clothes and bury yourself in his covers, inhaling his scent. by the time bakugou had returned, you had already fallen asleep. he enters the room with your favorites on a tray but is quick to set them down when he sees your peaceful face peaking out from his comforter. with a soft smile, he joins you in bed and brings your body close to him, kissing away the ghost of your tears.

a/n: I feel like I've always wanted to write something like this but I never knew how,,but I hoped y’all found it comforting it!

bnha masterlist

[nenithil]

Did Levi-Hans talk about Erwin's real personality after his death?(4)

previous:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Thirdly,Levi and Hanji's take on Erwin.

As I summarized earlier, Levi-Hans' view of Erwin was origianlly different.(smartpass)

--It's not about whose views are exact, but they focus on a different side of Erwin.

In Levi's eyes, Erwin was more like a man with insight that was difficult to understand, who was a ruthless leader and dedicated everything, including his personal desires, and even part of his emotions and kindness, to mankind, and who could manipulate and sacrifice everything for the liberation of mankind.

-- he had doubted this image, but in these five years, they had not been fundamental.

Hanji, on the other hand, despite her doubt on his personality, focused more on his humanity, on the fact that he, like herself, was a human being, with his own kindness and parts that felt confused and painful. And, like herself, he is concerned with the truth of the world.

Unlike Levi as the Watcher, Erwin is relatively more afraid of Hanji, but it might be her that had more resonance with Erwin.

About the dream that Erwin is passionate about, there was such a dialogue in smartpass interview:

Levi: No... The way you pester to the very end about someone else’s business... That’s just your job as a journalist. I supposed this is the so-called philosophy within these walls, “If you aren’t passionate about something, then you can’t go on”......

Interviewer: What does that mean?

Levi: What are you reporters “passionate” about? What about me? Erwin? Hanji? Our subordinates? Also...those brats...

And in smartpass: Levi’s dream, Levi once thought:

In the past, Hanji also had her own dream and moved forward for it

Therefore, Hanji can't be as surprised or feel betrayal as Levi about "Erwin has always been pursuing his personal dream". On the contrary, it is a thing that can be resonant with her.

Kenny's words had a great impact on Levi enough to change his concept, but I'm afraid it's just a funny saying for Hanji.

If Hanji has any complaints, it is mostly, "what's wrong with confessing to us for him? You shouldn't smash yourself like this."

Moreover, after Uprising, Erwin was quite open about his dream. When Zackley mentioned the basement or Levi questioned his dream openly, Hanji was present almost every time:

Erwin: I don't know (what to do) later, since it (the dream) hasn't been fulfilled now.

His expression was so low and sad when he said these words, but he did not hide this in front of Levi, Hanji, Pixis, and Zackley.

Here only Hanji, in the manga there was no description of her views about Erwin's dream. Of course this is because Isym does not feel the need and he might not want to draw their panels which would not be that dramatic, but Hanji could not have no feelings about Erwin's words.

Her thoughts, I think, were that of acceptance - because it is human nature that people's dreams drive them to come together and fight in the same direction. She herself could not have predicted the future but could only have improvised, just like Erwin, and Erwin's obsession with his dream has not yet done some harm to their immediate goals.

Therefore, what Levi knew more than Hans, was only his conversation with Erwin before departure, as well as Erwin's last confession.

I'm afraid that Levi's disillusionment with Erwin did reach its peak before departure, as Erwin appeared so self-willed, refusing to dissuade or discuss, or give Levi a convincing reason.

Personally, I think he has a bit of a childish annoyance to Levi as well, because he actually reminded him of the heavy reality waiting for him.

But before Wall Maria, it might be the moment when Levi is most unlikely to feel disappointed with Erwin. After all, what kind of things Erwin said could make Levi disillusion? Before the charge, he hesitated, but he was hoping that he could give up his selfishness and take responsibility - at least Levi felt so.

Erwin sometimes looks like a person who would sacrifice the lives of many comrades for his own desire, or a swindler. Let's not discuss whether this was part of his true personality now, but Erwin, in the conversation with Levi, in no way shows himself to be such a person. Instead, he talked about the responsibility as "our comrades are watching", his guilt toward the recruits he will encourage to die, and the sincerity of giving a worthy result to the "dedicated heart".

He talked about his dream that was hard to give up, but behind the endless regrets and fears, Levi saw his desire to choose the common will of his comrades. He was not as strong and selfishless as Levi thought, but neither was he as cold as Levi thought. He remembered the death of his comrades and gave up the dream he so fervently sought at the last moment.

--So not only Hanji would miss him, but Levi would also value this moment in his memory. If he found it disillusioning that Erwin let down his dreams with so much struggle, then Erwin is just a sad victim and the sacrificed, and how could he choose to remember him as a representation of the brave soldiers who died in this battle for victory? How could he bring meaning to his death by his fighting for mankind, if he thought that Erwin didn't care about mankind? How could Erwin in his memory always appear beside Hanji, among all the comrades, if he didn't think he was loyal to SC?

In fact, I felt this image of Erwin was closer to Hanji's view.

As a friend, being angry with him who sacrificed himself, I think it might be kind of harsh.

In addition, before going to Wall Maria, I think there is another point needed to be discussed. That is, how did Hanji see Erwin to go to the battle. As Levi pointed out, Erwin seriously wounded and disabled, using 3DMG is very inconvenient for him now. On the battlefield he would become a burden. This is a plain fact.

-- Later in the battle of Leberio, Hanji, who lost an eye, also chose to stay in the airship.

Moreover, if the full strength of the SC was sent to the battle, what if it failed? They really had the need to leave some of their men in the rear to preserve their strength, didn't they?

In the Great Woods, Hanji had doubts about Erwin's decision, so she immediately questioned him. She was not that obedient subordinate to follow orders without thinking. So, what is her opinion on this matter?

My speculation is that she also felt that Erwin was better off going.

Although Levi's reasoning was good, it's also a fact that putting in all the power will improve the probability of victory. And for this battle, they couldn't really think about failure.

As others in the meeting pointed out, the Military Government investedmuch money and strength in this operation, for which they imposed heavy taxes and caused a lot of discontent. If they could not win, the new government just established could no longer cope with the opposition of the people and the noble forces, they would probably be subverted. Not to mention the need to deal with external enemies.

By then, even if they leave Erwin and other SC members inside the walls, what future would humanity have?

And for Erwin personally, this is also too hard a situation. The fiasco would destroy his years of accumulated strength and prestige. He would have to reorganize the SC alone. Even when he first became the Commander, many reliable comrades were alway there and supported him. He would never be so lonely and desparate. And after his impassionate promises with to the people and the government are so tragically broken, it would be much more difficult for him to continue to regain support.

When Levi suggested that he retreat alone with Eren, he actually faces a similar future.

Although Levi had always assumed that Erwin was different from them all, that he could continue on alone with such heavy guilt (after his plan had led to the tragic deaths of all his comrades and irreparable loss ), Erwin was far from being so firm. He was not so different from them, he had his own unbearable loneliness and despair. To be left behind by everyone and to fight for humanity(not his dream) alone was an unacceptable future for him - not just to never see the basement again, I think.

So for all the reasons, it's not that bad for mankind to send all thesoldiers to Wall Maria. And for Erwin himself, to win and live with comrades side by side, or died together and at lease he could see the truth of world, was also a more merciful choice.

So Levi can only advice to Erwin himself, and it is difficult to get the approvement of Hans

They held different view, so they came to their difference about the choice. But after all, they have more like-minded places.

[darkvolley]

i'm a newbie to kh but familiar with the general patterns of 2000's-era fandom, and tbh i'm kinda glad I came in at the end of kh when the canon characterizations are more complete than the scraps y'all had to live with... I definitely wouldn't have been able to handle all the "p*do vexen" and "bootlicker saïx" and "10-year-old-with-comically-exaggerated-ADHD demyx" jokes, even if things like "TWILIGHT ISN'T LITERATURE" was funny as hell to middle school me XD

I was kinda late to the KH party myself but I was on deviantArt and YouTube a lot so I still got the main brunt of it. Especially since I did read the Saix Puppy comics and watch Demyx Time. I don't even know when those happened, I just know I was super into them in 2012.

But every fandom had to deal with the flanderization the most back then. The Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom seems to still be reocovering from all that even to this day, mainly with how much Ryou's character is still corrupted, but that might just be since Ryou is hard to grasp due to his limited screen time. But, I've noticed that even in relatively new fandoms nowadays you don't see it as much anymore. Even in the Servamp fandom, which I believe the manga started in 2012, I've noticed lots of fans are young girls and yet, little to no flanderization for any Servamp characters. So I seriously do think fandom as a whole has matured. But of course now there's the modern downsides in fandom like purity culture, but... I don't wanna touch that subject. I'm too afraid.

But ya know what, "Twilight isn't literature" transcends time and all fandoms and probably has the capability to unite us all together, lol. I think I'm lucky that I somehow managed to avoid any P*do Vexen tho. I don't recall ever seeing that but I've heard about it and uuhhh... Yikes™. The worst one to me tho was Demyx. He had a major focus in both those series and like, when you're 12 it's funny cuz ya don't know any better, but like... what was done to Demyx's character was just downright terrible. Especially in the SP comics. I don't wanna get into that topic but... Demyx being characterized as an innocent/idiotic 10 year old with several adults around him being very obviously predatory is like, 100 times more Yikes™ 😬

But like, at the same time there's a level of nostalgia to it all. Like, I wanna go back and rewatch all of Demyx Time after KH3 cuz that thing is still genuienly really funny and dare I say, peak comedy. I still find it hilarious that no one could understand Luxord just cuz of the British accent. And with Served, even to this day I think Larxene revealing that it was her the whole time cuz Marluxia took her boots(I think thats what happened) is so hilarious. And I can still hear Zexion saying "I'm not five, you asshat." in my head! I'm cracking up just thinking about all this!

So like, I think we can all still enjoy it as a nostalgic thing as long as it stays in the past and we know better now. Like, acknowledge the very obvious bad things and just not repeat them in modern fandom.

Did I go off topic again? See, I just, fuckin. Go on these rants. And I don't need to be talkin about this and yet here we are! It's fine, it's fine, it's fine. We're done, no more of this topic. Discussion closed.

[sor-vette]

omg omg ok ok

1. "that shoujo manga secondary character" amazing, brilliant, the pettiness is espectacular here, 10/10 👏🏽

2. "Sweetheart, either we make out or you step away." JAE IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN AND IM ROOTING FOR YOU BESTIE, GET YOUR GIRL 👏🏽👏🏽 no but honestly, he is so sweet and i love how he worries about our dear reader.

3. “whatever you like, your majesty, light of my life, the bread of my soul!” UGH JUST KISS ALREADY 🙄🙄

4. “You run to him,” the way he breathes it out, sounding so despairing, like you had cheated on him, breaking his heart into tiny pieces. / UMMMM EXCUSE ME SIR??? THE AUDACITY 😤😤😤 Okay, I understand the situation they are in right now. But they have to understand that she has unhealed trauma. Not to mention that she's not going to be airing her biggest conflicts with a group of people she doesn't technically know. All of those insecurities stem from the person who abandoned her as a child, her mother, and that is something that clearly hurts her and makes her walls super high. It's not easy to trust someone again when they have already failed you multiple times. I feel like with Jae it's different, because as Namjoon said, they clicked so naturally, as if Jae's genuine personality is what reader needed in her life. I agree that more communication is needed between them, but they still have to approach her in baby steps, and be constantly reminding her how important she is to their lives. And maybe send her to therapy, that might help more 🙃

5. Honestly this is going to be me in the near chapter of the boys keep on being mean to Jae ajakaks

Anyways, thank your for this chapter 👏🏽 i will patiently wait for the next one ❤️

aaaaaAaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHHH

A meme?!! One of the highest honors is I think receiving a catered meme to the content so thank you😭🤧🥰🥰

1. I'm wrangling my 0.5 braincells for all their worth for some witty one liners. Maybe I peaked with that one

2. As I said Jae is no doormat 😤 he's got two hands and he's not afraid to throw them if needed 😤

3. Not me realizing Jae has been a better romantic interest than the boys

4. Listen listen yes completely yes, but they're kinda dumb. These eight soulmates are absolutely on everyone's nerves right now. I promise they're gonna talk and while not cool the boys are also coming from a similar place of insecurity, they're all just... These people can't communicate for shit but they're gonna talk, there's an upcoming scene in the next chapter where they hash things out.

5. OK not so much as mean as... You know those pets that grow up being the only ones in the house and then suddenly the owners bring in a new addition and they're really sulky, petty and passive aggressive? It's like that. They know they have to get along but they won't enjoy it 🤣