#like Manakas story

[ecargmura]

Oshi No Ko Episode 18 Review - Akane's Oshi No Ko

“Oshi no Ko” has two definite meanings:

My bias (oshi is Japanese idol slang for bias) in the sense of having a favorite star or character (it can be used for fictional media or just someone you idolize in general)

My bias’s child (which is the premise of the story as Goro and Sarina died and reincarnated into Aqua and Ruby Hoshino, their idol bias Ai Hoshino’s child).

Kana is basically Akane’s “oshi no ko” in the sense that she was her idol (the first definition). She’s the source of Akane’s admiration and idolization. Because she wanted to be like her that she chose to become an actress. However, there is a saying that one should never meet their heroes because her actual encounter with Kana as a kid changed her. She learned about the harshness of the entertainment world with how auditions can be rigged. It was because of that one encounter with Kana that she chose to read about psychology obsessively (how is that librarian not questioning the types of books Akane was reading at the library?) and that’s how her acting improved and how she got to where she is now.

Akane and Kana’s rivalry is so interesting to watch because of their circumstances and how it leads to where they are now. Akane and Kana both got into acting, but the type of acting they were in are very different. Kana was the child star of the film industry while Akane was the child star of the theater industry. Akane has supportive parents while it doesn’t seem like Kana has her parents around as she did mention they live elsewhere in Season 1. Akane is the one dating Aqua while Kana is stuck in a one-sided love with him. They have such a complicated respect for one another and I like it a lot. This is how rivalries should be like—wanting the best for each other but also wanting to one-up the other. I think the best thing about their rivalry is that Akane hates the actress Kana has become in the present. She loved the Kana who was radiant when the focus was on her. She hates the Kana who has to step back to let others shine.

However, what Akane does not know was that her first meeting with Kana was after Kana met Aqua who had upstaged her in their first acting gig together. That encountered had caused Kana to be in an inner turmoil for the next twelve years. He had humbled her and then the rest of her child star years had been going through situations where she’d just get work because they need her. After her re-encounter with Aqua, Kana now knows how to give others spotlight when needed. However, she still holds back even when she wants to go all out. I hope that she’s able to revive that radiance next episode. I feel like it’s going to be like that.

The animation was really good. It wasn’t as great as the previous episode, but I loved how Princess Saya was shown. I also loved the part where Saya twirls around and then pans to Akane as a teen and a child reaching her hands out to Kana, signaling for her to dance at the same pace as her. However, my favorite part of the episode was Kana dashing towards her idol group members until Akane, as Princess Saya, stops her. That was like a jump scare in a way. I thought there was something wrong with the video at first.

The voice acting for Akane was really good. I always associated Manaka Iwami as a soft-toned actress, but this episode got me rethinking. She can pull off a deeper voice and she should use that in future works. It’s just too good. I can’t wait to hear Manaka Iwami voice cool older ladies or stoic girls because I know she can pull those off well.

I honestly can’t wait for next week’s episode. I feel like it’s going to shine on Kana and show off why she’s the genius child actress who can break into tears in ten seconds. However, I can’t deny that Akane was the star of this episode. What are your thoughts on this episode?

[intrepid-fictioneer-7]

Somewhat detailed sypnosis of Fate/school life, the 4-koma spinoff of Fate/stay night following the regular lives of the Homurahara students, specifically the track team trio. A manga that has never been translated into English, and so is largely unknown in the English fandom. This would largely not be a problem, except Fate/strange Fake is set in its continuity, or close enough, which makes its allusions to it and important plot points derived from it incredibly confusing.

Not my work, this sypnosis was exclusively typed up by Comun (@kaibutsushidousha​ here) on Beast Lair:

Ok, I have time now. Here's what the general deal with HimuTen is. Himuro no Tenchi is a yonkoma manga starring the normal girls of the track trio + Mitsuzuri, and the much less normal Sajou Ayaka from Fate/Prototype. As the "Fate/school life" subtitle implies, it's wholly slice-of-life, featuring its cast involved in everyday situations, the many original games they play, and supernatural shenanigans that they don't realize are supernatural thanks to Rin or Ayaka cleaning things up neatly.

Publication started in 2006 covering a story set 9 months before the Grail War, but then during its 2015-2017 run, it covered the Grail War from the perspective of people who didn't know the Grail War happening, and is currently set after the Grail War.

In terms of timeline, the main point of divergence that defines HimuTen is Kotomine's handling of Tokiomi's property. Like in the Fsn timeline, after the 4th Grail War, Kotomine was in charge of Tokiomi's finances until Rin grew up, but he made categorically stupid decisions on what to sell and what to keep, and his disastrous management was the cause of Rin's current money problems. But in HimuTen's timeline, while the outcome of Kotomine's poor management was still the same, what specifically he chose to sell was different. This results in two major consequences that separate HimuTen from Fate/stay night:

1)A lot of Tokiomi's less practically useful artifacts and Mystic Codes were sold to Makidera's father's antique shop, which often results in Makidera and her friends being involved in strange phenomena that Rin needs to take responsibility for.

2) A plot of land directly above Fuyuki's best leyline was sold to Sajou Hiroki, causing him to move with his two daughters to move to Fuyuki in 1994. By 2003-2004, Manaka already moved away from her father's house, and Hiroki himself never appears because he's always out of Fuyuki either meeting up with his mage buddy from Tokyo or dealing with Manaka situations, but Ayaka is a main character in this story, so that obviously has many ramifications.

Also, Ayaka's and Manaka's characters in HimuTen are pretty different from their Prototype counterparts. Fake Ayaka is about as much of a self-hating introvert with no self-esteem as Proto Ayaka, but she didn't get from the real Ayaka of this timeline.

The younger Manaka still had the same propensity to set the world on fire for her Prince Charming, but direct quote: "Her excessive omnipotence caused [REDACTED] to [REDACTED] because it was [REDACTED], thus [REDACTED] went completely off-rails, resulting in the collapse of her most confident plan. Catastrophic shipwreck. She learned that picture books are pictures books are for a reason. The Prince Charming of her dreams wasn't real. Disheartened, she [REDACTED]. [REDACTED]. She turned harmless."

Meanwhile, since Manaka never found her ideal hot man, this Ayaka has none of her Grail War trauma. Instead, she had the experience of witnessing depression turn her highly competent sister into an unproductive failure of a human being, and built an actual self-esteem from training in Fuyuki's best leyline, so she internalized that she needed to be the responsible sister.

And, relevantly to /strange Fake, Ayaka also left Fuyuki in the July-August 2003 period for a student experience in the Clock Tower. Waver naturally got interested in a new student with the same last name as Manaka, so they met and she was a temporary student in his class, where she also got to realize her Formalcraft talents from Proto and was advised to specialize in plants since she was so opposed to sacrificing animals.

The last major thing to talk about is the Grail War arc, although I think this was already discussed in the thread when FsF being a HimuTen sequel first came up. Due to the premise of the manga, we don't see anything of the Grail War actually happen, but from its consequences to the people around the track trio (Kuzuki's disappearance, Mitsuzuri's assault and hospitalization, Zouken's death, the Ryuudou family needing to move to the Semina Apartments after the collapse of the cavern under their temple, Medusa's post-war presence, Shirou's survival and relationship status with Sakura, etc.), it's completely that HimuTen follows Heaven's Feel Good End except for the minor divergences caused by Ayaka's presence. And those are only two:

1) During the weeks of the Grail War, Ayaka was teaming up with Ciel (yes, Ciel was there, but she isn't a character in HimuTen, she's just an incognito figure you find, exclusively during the Grail War chapters, talking to Ayaka in the background, appearing on the corners of pages, group shots, etc. and what is up with her cameos is only revealed in profiles outside of the story proper) to kept outside scavengers from interfering with the Grail War. Mashin's official statement is that together the thwarted 9 out of 10 invaders, and the 10th one that slipped past them would have consequences later in the United States. (This seriously implies that the Fsn timeline had a bigger number of scavengers profiting from the Grail War, which certainly will come up in some spin-off, probably the El-Melloi series)

2) Shinji lost a bet to Ayaka during that week, so he had to wear a magical wig that copied his hair, but slightly off-center, making people think he was wearing a wig all along. This protected his head from Sakura's attack, so in this timeline, Shinji was only injured rather than killed.

I suppose I could also talk about Tsunokuma since he cameoed here and how the reveal that the real Ayaka is currently studying in Romania is an extension of Manaka's and Celenike's relationship in HimuTen, but I'll stick to the Ayaka parts to keep this post as short as it can be.

[p5x-theories]

I don’t know if this has been said already but do you think that’s there’s any chance Manaka/Changweiaizhu will be the final story main thief to join the team? I tried looking through the opening but I couldn’t see her anywhere. However, not that this like conclusive evidence but it would make an equal team to the original phantom thieves. Like, in P5’s team it’s 4 guys, Joker, Mona, Skull, and Fox, and 4 girls, Panther, Queen, Oracle, and Noir. And if Manaka were to be the last story thief, that like actually awakens, it would be even. With 4 guys in the new team, Wonder, Cattle, Soy, and Enco, and 4 girls also, Closer, Wind, Polter, and Changweiaizhu. This would be also excluding Akechi, but since he’s also said to not really be a member of the Phantom Thieves I didn’t count him. And since it’s confirmed the story is supposed to be an alternate timeline to the original P5, it would make sense to have paralleling teams. As well as the fact it’s confirmed to be the same number of palaces, 7 in P5(excluding mementos) and 7 in P5X. While it could be someone else, like another woman in the story that’s been introduced already, she just sticks out to me so much, considering she tries to unalive herself in like the first hour of the game, which doesn’t happen in the original P5? Not counting Shiho, since she and Tomoko seem to be parallels. She’s just been bugging me since she got her own singular portrait and distinct character model, as well as getting a text icon. And while she could be just another phantom idol or just be introduced in Vino’s side quest, it just seems to deliberate to me. I could be totally wrong and just rambling but I wanted to get this out there since I can’t stop thinking of what if 🙃😫

Oh, I definitely agree that, if nothing else, it's super suspicious that they deliberately changed her model and gave her a portrait in the open beta! Not to mention that, as is the origin of the "Changweiaizhu" name, her 3D model matches the playable character naming convention. I really do expect her to be a playable character eventually, whether she's an Idol or a story teammate, unless their plans change.

It'd honestly be really fun if she did get to join the team in the story, though I'd assume the devs would have to make it so that her joining the team doesn't conflict with the events of Chizuko (Vino)'s side story, since these games tend to not make any Confidants or side stories feel "canon"/required. Then again, Wonder has to have done at least the first music club side quest for Ayaka's Confidant to make sense, since he frequently references being part of it. So maybe they're stepping away from that here, and Vino's side story will be vaguely relevant to how Manaka ends up joining the team...?

All that to say, I totally get your overthinking/excitement about her, haha! I'm really looking forward to whatever they have in store for her, and though this might be unrealistic to hope for from the devs, I hope if she does join the team she gets to keep some kind of mobility aid as a Phantom Thief, that would be awesome.

[magireco-minibang]

Here’s an ongoing list of all the fanfiction and fanart created for the Magia Record Mini Bang! Check back throughout April (or follow @magireco-minibang) to see new stories and art as they’re posted!

Planning to enjoy these fanworks? Make sure you also check out our comment drive (which gives you a chance to earn prizes like fanart for commenting!)

Title: A Wish to Understand

Author: @gorochuva

Artist: @puellamagiholyquintet (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Iroha, Madoka, Homura, Kyubey

Pairings: Kaede/Rena, Sana/Ren, Homura/Mabayu

Warnings: None

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Ending, what if, Hypothetical Character Development, Musical References

Summary: "Kyubey, I have some questions about the wish you supposedly granted for me when I became a Magical Girl." What if Ui Tamaki didn't exist? What would be the truth behind Iroha's wish? As it turns out, a few simple words at the right time changed everything...

"I wish you could understand how they felt!"

Title: Cage of Briars

Author: @chairteeth

Artist: @sicksweetcreamy (artwork here)

Additional art by @karinmisono (here)

Rating: M for Mature

Major Characters: Nemu Hiiragi, Touka Satomi

Pairings: Nemu/Touka, minor/background relationships

Warnings: no archive warnings apply

Tags: Psychological Horror, Adventure, Puzzles, Eldritch Art Gallery, Medical Trauma, Aged Up Characters, Alternate Universe - Ib, Violence, Canon Typical Child Neglect, Mentions of Nemu's Past Flings, Purple Prose, Banter, Flirting, Angst, Romantic Fluff, Drama, Minor Character Death, additional tags on AO3

Summary: The primary reason that a rose grows thorns is self-defense. Nemu likes to think the same applies to herself. When her good friend Alina Gray offers entry tickets to an art gallery for her nineteenth birthday, likely out of pity, she hopes to have a quiet afternoon to herself, away from her family, only for the gallery to go empty during her visit and swallow her into its depths. Now trapped with no way home and her very life tied to a flower, Nemu is sure she can find an exit before the homicidal artwork does her in. (And if possible, Alina Gray is going to court with a broken spine for the worst prank in history.)

But inside the gallery, there is something else, someone else. A shrike. And a shrike doesn’t let its prey know when it’s watching.

Title: Manaka★Magica : Chaotic Supper

Author: @shitposterxdxdxd

Artist: @sicksweetcreamy (artwork here)

Rating: M for Mature

Major Characters: Manaka, Ria, Tsumugi, OCs: Ichigo, Ringo, Momo

Pairings: none

Warnings: Graphic depictions of Violence, Major Character Death

Tags: Canon Universe, Action/Adventure, Magical Girls, Doppels (Magia Record), Canon: Magia Record, Being Meguca Is Suffering

Summary: Do you know "Peanut's Fast Food Restaurant"? Or Peanut's for short? You know,the restaurant that is just across the road from "Walnut's restaurant".

Well lately Peanut's has been gaining a lot of popularity and Manaka Kurumi doesn't like that at all! She is the daughter of the owner of Walnut's and she decides to investigate the recent and surprising popularity of Peanut's. Since she suspects that this is due to a special miracle that she knows very well...

Title: Kamihama Ultra Beast Files

Author: @abarero

Artist: @kyrakyrakitty (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Iroha Tamaki, Sana Futaba, Mikoto Sena, Hanna Sarasa, Mitsune Miwa, Yachiyo Nanami

Pairings: Main Pairings: Iroha Tamaki/Sana Futaba, Mikoto Sena/Hanna Sarasa, Yachiyo Nanami/Tsuruno Yui, Jun Kazari/Mitsune Miwa

Side Pairings: Rena Minami/Kaede Akino, Rika Ayano/Ren Isuzu, Masara Kagami/Kokoro Awane, Touka Satomi/Nemu Hiiragi, Momoko Togame/Mitama Yakumo/Kanagi Izumi

Warnings: none

Tags: Alternate Universe- Pokemon Fusion, Action/Adventure, Action & Romance, I put Arc 1 of the Game Magia Record story in a blender with Pokemon Sun/Moon+Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon enjoy, also there’s some Arc 2 girls here bc I love them

Summary: Welcome to the Kamihama region! Join Iroha on her Pokemon journey as she travels the land, meets new friends, encounters the mysterious Winchester Foundation, and searches for her missing sister Ui.

However, not all is as it seems. Something strange is happening in Kamihama- wormholes appearing in the sky, creatures attacking that are more beast than Pokemon, and people and Pokemon going missing. And it turns out these odd occurrences across the region are more closely connected than one might think...

Title: 5 times Yachiyo got someone a mug and 1 time she got one instead

Author: @automatic-purification-system

Artist: @rwbypro

Rating: G for General

Major Characters: Nanami Yachiyo, Azusa Mifuyu, Anna Mel, Minami Rena, Mitsuki Felicia, Sakurako | Uwasa of the Eternal Sakura

Pairings: none

Warnings: none

Tags: 5+1, Found Family, Friendship, Yachiyo's love language is mugs, refrences to canonical character death, takes place from Yachiyo's backstory to early arc 2, Minor Angst, Fluff

Summary: After Yachiyo moved into Mikazuki Villa, the first thing her Grandmother had done was take her to buy a mug for herself. "If you're going to be living here, then you can hardly use a guest mug!"

It'd taken her a while to pick one, but after she did, the fear and trepidation from the move, and from her new modeling job all went away. Going back to her Grandmother's boarding house afterwards, she truly felt like she was going home.

Ever since then, making sure that the people who stay at her house have mugs of their own has been a topmost priority.

Title: The Book of Wishes

Author: @enderprophet

Artist: @automatic-purification-system (artwork here)

Rating: M for Mature

Major Characters: Ui Tamaki, Iroha Tamaki, Touka Satomi, Nemu Hiiragi

Pairings: none

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Tags: Angst, Hospitals, Religious Imagery & Symbolism (But not in the first couple of chapters), Near Death, Make A Wish Foundation (Kinda), Terminal Illnesses, (Not if Iroha has anything to say about that AND SHE DOES)

Summary: Ui is saved from near-certain death, and proceeds to learn many things about the world. The beginning of a tragedy.

Title: Calcite Connection

Author: lilaclegionnaire

Artist: @garnetsandroses (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Ren Isuzu and Rika Ayano

Pairings: Rika/Ren

Warnings: None

Tags: canon compliant, witch shenanigans, dream logic, takes place during Arc 1, hospital imagery, implied/referenced self-harm

Summary: After an attempt to practice a new connect technique goes unexpectedly wrong, Ren finds herself waking up on a brilliant, technicolor beach. Meanwhile, Rika finds herself a new resident of a strange, colorless city. The two try their best to figure out what's going on and find their way back to one another.

Title: Abyss of Leaves

Author: @shaymeme

Artist: @harunakonomi (artwork here)

Rating: M for Mature

Major Characters: Kuroe, Ashley Taylor, Iroha Tamaki, Konomi Haruna, Mami Tomoe

Pairings: Ashley Taylor/Kuroe

Warnings: Severe bullying and xenophobia

Tags: Alternate Universe, Crossover and Fandom Fusion, Black Clover Manga Spoilers, Alternate Universe, Crossover, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: ��The leaves of a clover are each said to contain one thing.”

That was what they had told her when she asked them about their magical texts, about "grimoires".

"The first three are given over to faith, hope and love. The fourth is given over to good luck, and in the fifth… there lives the Devil."

That was what they said, and that was what scared her so much. Hikari Kuroe is not from the Clover Kingdom, but tomorrow, she will receive her grimoire, and she has no idea what she will do in the future. Grappling with the love she left in her home country and her past, and the friendship she has in the Clover Kingdom and her present that is filled with difficulties and strife, but beauty of its own, Kuroe is torn between her two halves, past and present, love and hate, light and dark… abyss and ascent. What choices will she make? Where will they lead her?

If the leaves of a clover are each said to contain one thing… then what leaf is she?

Title: Farewell, Felicia Mitsuki (Well… Not For Long-)

Author: thatcloveplant

Artist: Dinugs (art posts here and here)

Rating: G for General Audiences

Major Characters: Felicia, Sana, Iroha, Mokyu, Tsuruno and Yachiyo

Pairings: Felicia/Sana

Warnings: none

Tags: slice of life, fluff, friendship, romance

Summary: After a petty argument with Yachiyo, Felicia decides she’s had enough and ‘runs away’ from Mikazuki Villa. Sana follows her to make sure she doesn’t get into trouble, almost certain that she’ll calm down and come back home by the end of the day. After trying to calm her down and uhh many a Lesbian Moment ™, Felicia seems to come to her senses. They stay out just a bit too long for everyone else’s liking and Tsuruno is sent out to find the two of them and bring them back home.

Title: Knight Errant

Author: @garnetsandroses

Artist: @woogie-g (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Rena Minami, Kaede Akino, Momoko Togame

Pairings: Rena/Kaede, Rena/Momoko, Kaede/Momoko, Rena/Kaede/Momoko

Warnings: none

Tags: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Chivalry, Chivalric Romance, Action/Adventure, Romance, Historical Inaccuracy, Knights- freeform, Witches (Madoka Magica)

Summary: Rena Minami is a knight fallen from grace, Kaede Akino is a scribe longing to escape her court life, and Momoko is a lady-in-waiting who just wants the two to reconnect. When Rena is sent on a suicide mission through the witch-infested forests of legend to deliver a message to the neighboring kingdom, Kaede joins her on her doomed quest.

Title: Growing Pains

Author: @azusamifuyu

Artist: @randomartsideblog (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Felicia, Yachiyo, Juri

Pairings: Side Pairings: Yachiyo Nanami/Azusa Mifuyu

Warnings: none

Tags: Time Skip - a couple years after Arc 2, Slice of Life

Summary: Several years after the conclusion of Arc 2, a 17 year old Felicia encounters Juri Ooba, now sporting a face full of piercings. Deciding that this look is totally badass, she endeavors to get piercings of her own, come hell or high water. The only thing standing in her way? Yachiyo Nanami. Remembering the age-old maxim, "It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission," Felicia goes and gets her first piercing without asking Yachiyo. Hijinks ensue as she tries to hide it.

Title: A Couple’s Dance for Three

Author: GoggleLad

Artist: @rinasatsu (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Himena Aika, Alexandra Kurusu, Hiko (Magia Record)

Pairings: Aika Himena/Alexandra Kurusu, Aika Himena/Hiko, Aika Himena/Alexandra Kurusu/Hiko

Warnings: None

Tags: Fluff, Romance, Polyfidelity, Introspection, Mild Angst, Love Confessions, Dance Metaphors, actual dancing, Sharing a Body

Summary: Himena knows her own feelings, and Sasha knows her own feelings, and Hiko knows his own feelings. But as long as they keep dancing around the issue, they're never going to be able to untangle this web they've made for themselves. Still, if they can stay true to themselves, they can take it one step at a time, and just maybe they'll be able to get that happy ending they're all after.

Sometimes a relationship is a girl, her bestie, and the disembodied boy in her head, and that's okay.

Title: Layers of Paint

Author: @mjlol52

Artist: @solsis-equone (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Alina Gray, Azusa Mifuyu, Misono Karin

Pairings: Alina Gray/Azusa Mifuyu, Alina Gray/Misono Karin

Warnings: None

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Doppels (Magia Record), Addiction (doppels)

Summary: After a day of capturing witches goes wrong, Mifuyu is left to take care of Alina alone, but it seems like she may be able to get some help from this so called in Alina's phone contacts.

Title: White Rose, Blue Rose

Author: @harunakonomi

Artist: @serendark (artwork here)

Rating: T for Teen

Major Characters: Konomi Haruna, Mitama Yakumo, Momoko Togame, Kanagi Izumi

Pairings: Konomi Haruna / Mitama Yakumo

Warnings: None

Tags: Genre - Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Light-Hearted, Light Angst, Fluff, And they were roommates

Summary: An urban renewal project in lower Shinsei means Mitama has to move shop, but she's found a new place to set up; the back room of Flower Shop Blossom! Konomi's favorite spot is now bustling with activity from all the magical girls coming and going, but she now has to adjust to sharing her space with a new partner.

More to come! Follow @magireco-minibang to see the updates as they happen!

[the-physicality]

how to pick an nwsl team:

angel city fc (Los Angeles): if you like Christen Press. Very famous ownership group (politically concerning). The team is struggling but has bright young talent. Beckintweed is in her first season as head coach after bringing the team to the playoffs last year as interim.

notable players: christen press, Alyssa Thompson, Gisele Thompson, Messiah bright, Claire Emslie, Sarah Gorden

noteable injuries: Press- extended acl recovery, Jun Endo preseason acl

bay fc (San Jose/Bay Area): if you are an optimist/want to be an early adopter. a lot of exciting internationals, but struggle to win games. First year expansion team so also trying to define themselves. notable players: Rachel Kundananji, Princess, Asistat Oshoala, Deyna Castellanos, Tess Boade, Caprice Dydasco

notable injuries: Alex Loera - acl, Melissa Lowder gk #1 preseason acl

Chicago red stars: if you want to see a redemption story. coming back from a bad season, USA phenom mal Swanson is back to lead attacking talent. Also has USA gk #1 Alyssa naeher. Lorne Donaldson (who coached Jamaica wnt in the 2023 wwc as well as Sophia smith and mal Swanson at a youth level) is in his first year as head coach

notable players: Alyssa Naeher, Mal Swanson, Sam Staab

Houston dash fc: if you like rooting for an underdog and won't get discouraged. a team that has struggled historically but is still fun to watch. A lot of international talent, did very well in the draft. The team has a new head coach Fran Alonso who just came over from the Scottish women’s league. You can watch the team work to implement their new style in real time. Jane Campbell #3 gk for the uswnt as of late won goalkeeper of the year last year. Lost a lot of players to free agency and is rebuilding with rookies, trades, and transfers. somehow both the straightest team and the gayest team at the same time.

notable injuries/abscences: Kiki Van Zanten ankle/ lower leg sei, 3 players on maternity leave

notable players: Jane Campbell, Diana Ordonez, Sophie Schmidt, Paige Nielsen, Tarciane (incoming), Michelle Alozie

Kansas City current: if you like watching bangers. one of the top teams to beat this season. With Malawi sensation Themwa Chawinga this team is difficult to stop and has a lot of attacking prowess. Has some defensive liabilities. Coached by former uswnt head coach vlatko andonoski. Has signed a good number of u18 players

notable players: debinha, lo’eau labonta, themwa chawinga, Vanessa dibernardo, bia zaneratto

New Jersey/New York Gotham fc: if you like the uswnt. recently picked up 4 uswnt players in free agency. Also just got Ann Katrin Berger gk from Chelsea on a transfer. She is very good. Head coach Juan Carlos Amaros won coach of the year last year and the team won the championship. They have struggled with injuries this year and scoring more than one goal in a game.

notable injuries: Midge Purce acl , Abby Smith sei from 2023

notable players: Lynn Williams, Ann Katrin Berger, Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Tierna Davidson, Esther Gonzalez, Jenna Nighswonger, Emily Sonnett, Midge Purce, Yazmeen Ryan

North Carolina Courage: if you are ok waiting . traditionally a very strong team, has struggled a bit this season without Kerolin who tore her acl on the last regular season game in 2023.

notable injuries: Kerolin acl (Nov 2023)

notable players: Casey Murphy, Brianna Pinto, Tyler Lussi, Manaka, Narumi, Ashley Sanchez, Kerolin

Orlando pride: if you like the brazil women's national team. aka brazil fc. Has gone from a team that struggled to one of the top teams this year, in part due to the players brought in over the offseason, many of whom play for Brazil. Recently brought in Barbra Banda a Zambian striker, who has been very productive.

notable players: Marta, Barbra Banda, rafaelle, ally watt

Portland thorns: if you like soccer dynasties. traditionally one of the most successful teams in the nwsl with a lot of local support, the h th orbs struggled in the first few games with their worst start to the season ever. Following the firing of their head coach, the team has won 6 in a row in interim hc rob gale. Has a lot of strong attacking talent but is vulnerable on defense. The home field is turf.

notable players: Sophia smith, Olivia Moultrie, Christine Sinclair, Janine Beckie, Becky Sauerbrunn

Racing Louisville: if you want to watch a team turn around. a team that has struggled historically has put together a solid team in the offseason under new head coach bev yanez. Got some very good rookies in the draft and is off to a decent start.

notable players: Savannah Demelo, Reilyn Turner, Emma Sears, Uchenna Kanu, Ary Borges

San Diego wave fc: if you like to watch a team underproduce. very successful for a team established in 2022. Has a very strong system but has struggled with injuries as of late. The home field is shared with San Diego state football and is not always in the best condition.

notable injuries: Jaedyn Shaw, Alex Morgan (lower legs out tbd)

notable players: Alex Morgan, Jaedyn Shaw, Kailen Sheridan, Naomi Girma, Abby Dahlkemper, Maria Sanchez

Seattle reign: if you want to watch a team figure out their identity without US national team players. historically successful team that lost a lot of impact players in the offseason to retirement or free agency. Previously owned by the ol group, had to be sold because its owner Michelle Kang also owns the Washington Spirit. Dropping the OL, the brand got a massive upgrade. Is struggling this season. The home field is turf.

notable injuries: Claudia Dickey #1 gk

notable players: Jess Fishlock, Lauren Barnes, Quinn, Bethany Balcer, Alanna Cook, Ji So-Yun, Jordyn Heuitema, Veronica Latsko

Utah royals fc: if you live in utah. a new expansion team that is struggling quite a bit. First time head coach Amy Rodriguez selected ally sentnor as the first draft pick. Has a racist kit and stadium sponsor. Does not have a full roster.

notable injuries: Imani Dorsey Achilles

notable players: Mandy haught, Ifeoma Onumanu, Ally Sentnor

Washington spirit: if you want to watch rookies make magic. owned by Michelle kang, not afraid to make big moves and spend $$$ for a strong team. Has found success recently. Operating under interim hc Adrian Gonzalez until Barcelona head coach Jonathan Giraldez arrives after the end of their season. Croix Bethune is doing very well her rookie season.

notable players: Trinity Rodman, Croix Bethune, Casey Kruger, Andi Sullivan, Ashley Hatch, Hal Hershfelt

[scarfanon]

Magia Record Headcanon: Mikage and Riko's future

After several years, Kanagi steps down as leader of the magical girls of East Kamihama and passes the torch to Mikage and Riko.  The two opt to colead, just as Yachiyo and Mifuyu once did the magical girls of West Kamihama.  They divide their responsibilities, with Mikage overseeing Daito while Riko oversees Kousho, but as co leaders they still reach out to each other and discuss any situation before making a decision.  The two make perfect foils to each other, as Mikage has the ambition to take risks and get things done, while Riko tends to be more cautious and think through the potential consequences of any action taken; together they make a perfect team.

As time goes on, Riko begins running her family’s bento shop, and has learned from her parents how to prepare the food that they sell.  Taking a page out of Ashley’s book, she has also dipped her toes into being an influencer, with a focus on food preparation.  Ashley, Manaka, Tsumugi, the Yakumo sisters, Konoha, Leila, Yachiyo, Tsuruno, and Rabi are among her first followers, as well as her old babysitter, whose child has grown up hearing stories about the days that Riko and the babysitter spent together and so wants to be just like Riko.  Riko gifts them her old whale-shaped knife when the kid is old enough. Himika is one of the first new employees she hires.

Sometime later, Mikage takes over the Tomorrow Shop, and consults Mitama and Riko for advice on running a business, which leads to her dealing grief seeds to magical girls from behind the counter when necessary, and eventually she expands it into a much larger store.  As a teenager, she models herself after her sister, but is significantly less flirtatious, not to mention better at cooking thanks to Riko, and the children that frequent the shop often come to her for advice.  A surprising regular is Mitsune, who thanks Mikage for preventing Jun’s sanctuary from closing down and has created an online homepage for the shop.

[leagueofgardens]

Legion Álfheimr, Past and Present

The nine headliners of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr

Two legions at Yurigaoka Girls' Academy have borne the name of Álfheimr, one of which is still active, and both in their time have been believed the strongest legion in the world. Though most Assault Lily stories focus on different and less mighty legions, within the setting as a whole, none are more important than Álfheimr.

The influence of the first Álfheimr was so great that it set the standard of other legions, on average, having 13 members. They are also considered to be the originators of Neunwelt Tactic-focused battle strategy as it exists today.

Let's review the stories of both Álfheimarnir, past and present.

The First Legion Álfheimr

Legion Álfheimr began as one of Yurigaoka's reserve teams, composed mostly of third-year junior high school students with a few first-year high schoolers among them. Reserve teams like these are generally kept away from live combat and not considered "legions" at all. At Yurigaoka, the purpose of forming these teams is first and foremost that of preparing the younger girls to stand on the front lines later, after they enter high school (and also to take part in some inter-Garden competitions like firepower reviews.)

In Álfheimr's case, the battlefield found them before they were ready.

In 2050, two years before the events of Assault Lily Bouquet, Álfheimr was in Koshu for a training camp when the Huge invaded in force, seeking to build a Nest and establish a new foothold. The local Gardens failed to mobilize in time to push them back, and soon enough, the Lilies present found themselves not defending Koshu but leading the evacuation of its civilian population.

Álfheimr joined in, dividing their thirteen members into several smaller groups so that they could save more people. One of their number—Kawazoe Misuzu—died during this battle, but they did succeed in rescuing people, including a certain girl named Hitotsuyanagi Riri and her friend Kayu.

After that, Álfheimr became a formal legion and was sent on more missions. Of the roughly 30 combat missions they took part in, every one was a victory. Their final mission was the Odaiba Counteroffensive, in which not a single person died despite the overwhelmingly hostile odds, leading to it being considered a miracle.

The Odaiba Counteroffensive happened in early 2051, and shortly after that, the first Legion Álfheimr disbanded. In the typical Assault Lily fashion, we have multiple contradictory reasons for why this happened:

According to the defunct Assault Lily blog in an entry from 2016, Takegoshi Chihana lost a power struggle in the student council, and as she was captain of Álfheimr, the legion was forcibly disbanded.

In the early novels, Álfheimr fell apart as a direct result of Hasebe Touka being put into a vegetative state by an experimental mind-coupled CHARM she was testing on Mashima Moyu's request.

In Bouquet and more recent stories, the legion is said to have broken up due to regrets its members felt ever since the Koshu Withdrawal.

Later in 2051, one of Álfheimr's former members, Akashi Manaka, disappeared during a battle and has not been seen since; most people believe she's dead, but a few like her Schild candidate Ban Kaya are still hoping to discover her alive and well some day. The other members of Álfheimr eventually joined new legions.

Takegoshi Chihana, captain of the first Álfheimr

The members of the first-generation Legion Álfheimr were:

Hayashi Kaoru, currently a 3rd-year Lily, the Schutzengel of Takegoshi Chihana, and a reserve member of Legion Lohengrin. She was the original captain of the first Álfheimr. It's unknown when or why she stepped aside in Chihana's favor.

Takegoshi Chihana, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Lohengrin. In addition to being the captain of the first Álfheimr after Kaoru vacated that position, she's well-known for taking command during the Odaiba Counteroffensive and leading the Lilies there to victory. She was also, at one time, the Sigrún.

Akashi Manaka, who has been missing in action for a year. If she hadn't disappeared, she'd be a 2nd-year Lily.

Amano Soraha, currently a 2nd-year Lily and the captain of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr. She was vice-captain of the first Álfheimr.

Aoki Kaho, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Lohengrin.

Banshoya Ena, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr.

Hasebe Touka, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Sanngriðr.

Kawazoe Misuzu, Yuyu's Schutzengel, who died during the Koshu Withdrawal. If she were alive, she'd be a 3rd-year Lily.

Niinomi Nodoka, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Reginleif.

Shirai Yuyu, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Ráðgríðr (Team Hitotsuyanagi).

Taniguchi Hijiri, currently a 2rd-year Lily, the Schutzengel of Rokkaku Shiori, and a member of Legion Reginleif.

Yoshimura Thi Mai, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of Legion Ráðgríðr (Team Hitotsuyanagi).

Watanabe Akane, currently a 2nd-year Lily and a member of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr.

The Second Legion Álfheimr

The current Legion Álfheimr owes its existence to Tanaka Ichi, one of its 1st-year members. She's attended Yurigaoka since kindergarten and has a group of childhood friends known as the "Gang of Five." Along with her, this group includes Egawa Kusumi, Kanabako Misora, Takasuga Tsukushi, and Watanabe Akane.

When Ichi and the other first-years in the Gang of Five entered high school, the five of them decided to form a legion of their own, which received the official name of Legion Skuld. As Ichi was the captain, it was also popularly known as "Team Ichiban."

The reason Legion Skuld became Legion Álfheimr relates to Egawa Kusumi. An incident in junior high school, which we know few specifics about, nearly shattered Kusumi's friendship with the rest of the Gang of Five (though they later reconciled with her) and made her so depressed that she wasn't sure if she could continue being a Lily. Because of this, Yurigaoka temporarily moved Kusumi into the "special dormitory", a place for those Yurigaoka Lilies who need extra accommodations in their living arrangements (either because of their mental health, or for other reasons, like because they are Boosted Lilies.)

After the first Legion Álfheimr dissolved, Amano Soraha became disillusioned with being a Lily and planned to retire. She was moved to the special dormitory for similar reasons to Kusumi, and there, the two of them found themselves neighbors. They soon became close with one another. According to Soraha, she thought it would be a shame for all of Kusumi's ability to amount to nothing, decided "I want to be a Lily together with this girl," and changed her mind about retiring. The two of them, Soraha and Kusumi, then became Schutzengel and Schild.

Soraha using her Rare Skill, Heliosphere

Soraha decided to join the legion that her Schild was in, and she was followed by her roommate; Banshoya Ena, another veteran of the first Álfheimr.

Although not part of the Gang of Five, Endo Araya has also attended Yurigaoka since elementary school and joined the legion because she was interested in Ichi and Kusumi. She turned down an invitation from Shinobu, the Brynhildr herself, to join the elite Legion Brynhildr Line in favor of joining Legion Skuld.

Mori Tatsuki, the final headliner, likely joined because she was friends with Araya and Misora, though this hasn't been stated as fact anywhere. Tatsuki is also Araya's roommate.

After they proved their strength, Yurigaoka offered to let Legion Skuld change their name to Legion Álfheimr on the condition that Ichi stepped down as the captain and Soraha took over. They accepted the offer, and are now commonly known as simply Álfheimr, sometimes "the second-generation Álfheimr", and sometimes "Team Ichiban" as they were at the start.

Currently, Legion Álfheimr is one of Yurigaoka's four SSS-ranked legions—the strongest legions at the Garden and perhaps in the entire world. One of their major accomplishments was the liberation of Niigata, carried out after Sado Island was invaded by an incredibly powerful Ultra-type Huge given the name of "Fafnir", and Ryuto Girls' Academy in Niigata sent a request for aid to Yurigaoka. Álfheimr mounted an expedition to Niigata and played a key role in the defeat of Fafnir, though they were aided by several other elite legions.

Left to right: Tatsuki, Tsukushi, Misora

The headliners of the second-generation Legion Álfheimr are:

Amano Soraha, a 2nd-year Lily and the captain. She is also known as the "Wielder of the Blue Moon." Her Rare Skill, Heliosphere, allows her to create a powerful defensive barrier to shield herself and her allies. She is known for her friendly demeanor and large appetite.

Watanabe Akane, a 2nd-year Lily and the vice-captain. Nicknamed the "Conductor", her Rare Skill is Testament, which expands the range of other Rare Skills. Lilies with Testament normally have weak defenses, but Akane has mastered a technique called "Just Guard" to shield herself from attacks. She also plays the flute beautifully. She is Tsukushi's Schutzengel.

Banshoya Ena, a 2nd-year Lily and the commander. Her Rare Skill is Circlet Bless, allowing her to wield two CHARMs at once, and she is titled the "Princesse." She likes keeping aquariums and terrariums, and has a pet African lungfish named "Nyoro." It is a widespread rumor that she'll become Ichi's Schutzengel someday, though neither of them have proposed the oath to one another yet.

Egawa Kusumi, the "Child of the Gods", a 1st-year Lily. Her Rare Skill is Phantasm, giving her the ability to simulate countless futures and choose the one she desires (also, she is thus far the youngest ever Lily to have awakened Phantasm.) Her combat style is sometimes called the "Fairy Step," as she tends to look at her feet rather than her surroundings and twirl around like she's dancing. She is one of Yurigaoka's best cooks.

Endo Araya, the "Fenomeno", a 1st-year Lily. She has the same amount of magie as the average Boosted Lily, despite not being one herself. Her Rare Skill, Phase Transcendence, is familiar to anyone who watched Bouquet; unlike Miriam, however, Araya can keep fighting even after using it. She's well known for aggressively hitting on other Lilies at Yurigaoka, but people of every gender have been known to catch her eye.

Kanabako Misora, the "Little Alchemist", a 1st-year Lily. She is an Arsenal with a deep knowledge of both CHARMs and Lilies. Her Rare Skill is Regista, which boosts the magie available to her allies. She shares this Rare Skill with Kaede Johan Nouvel, but she has strong opinions on legion tactics and is viciously critical of Kaede's defensive command style, calling it "anti-Neunwelt."

Mori Tatsuki, the "One Who Hears", a 1st-year Lily. Tatsuki is a Boosted Lily who was rescued by Yurigaoka, and can understand the voices of the Huge, including their battlefield orders. This unique power doesn't make her less eager to fight and kill the Huge in the slightest. Her Rare Skill, Lunatic Trancer, is familiar to anyone who watched Bouquet. She is also an Arsenal who specializes in building and tuning CHARMs.

Takasuga Tsukushi, the "Wildschwein", a 1st-year Lily. Like Ena, her Rare Skill is Circlet Bless, allowing her to wield two CHARMs at once. She is a talented frontline fighter who is especially good at working together with Kusumi, and is one of her closest friends off the battlefield. She is also Akane's Schild. Unfortunately for Akane, who is afraid of the supernatural, Tsukushi loves stories about ghosts and other paranormal phenomena.

Tanaka Ichi, the "Heavenly Wolf", a 1st-year Lily. Her Rare Skill is The Way of the World, allowing her to perceive the movement vectors of allies and enemies alike and predict their future positions. As the president of Yurigaoka's Camellia class, she is strict with many people, but is kind and indulging towards her friends, especially Kusumi. She likes to play the piano and sing.

The reserve members are:

Maki Wakana, a 3rd-year Lily. She is Soraha's Schutzengel. Her Rare Skill is Regista. Uncommonly for a 3rd-year Lily, she has a good understanding of the Neunwelt Tactic and is an excellent commander. She, Soraha, and Kusumi are often said to be the strongest trio of Norns* at Yurigaoka.

Okada Kisara, a 3rd-year Boosted Lily. She is Ena's Schutzengel. Her Rare Skill is Zenon Paradoxa, an ability often described as a combination of Shukuchi and The Way of the World which makes unbelievably swift attacks possible. In contrast to Wakana, she prefers one-on-one dueling to the Neunwelt Tactic, though she can handle both. Because of her pale appearance and sadistic nature, Kisara is nicknamed the "Vampire".

Mozuna Noa, a 2nd-year Lily. Her Rare Skill, Charisma, is familiar to anyone who watched Bouquet. Noa's fighting style is unique, and Kusumi modeled hers after it. Off the battlefield, she's said to be very sweet.

*When a Yurigaoka Lily's Schild has her own Schild, the three of them are known as "Norns".

Final Notes

You might have noticed that Assault Lily has a lot of football (or soccer, if you're an American) references. This article contains three such references. Can you spot them all?

Hint: They're all in the final list of second-generation Legion Álfheimr members.

Edit: After I first made this blog post, Akashi Aika's name was changed to Akashi Manaka by official sources, so I've changed it here too.

[nasuversekinkmeme]

Weekly Roundup: prompts

Mahoyo

Alice reluctantly enters a political marriage with May Riddell Archelot when funds begin to run low and Riddell tries to prevent getting married off to an unwanted suitor. She and Riddell have to keep up the facade of a romantic relationship to keep up their mutual goals despite their mutual dislike and find those feelings slowly becoming more real.

Kara no Kyoukai

With the knowledge that Mikiya is the Ryougi family accountant now, please some boss/employee role play between Shiki/Mikiya

Tsukihime

Melty Blood

Considering (as far as I'm aware) we never see it in canon, a fic about Sion and Satsuki meeting and forming the Back Alley Alliance would be cool

Fate/Prototype

Alternate Ending for Fragments: Elza adopts Ayaka, Misaya and Aro, all are a family of choice, Manaka can stay in hell.

Fate/Stay Night

Artoria has an insane head game. Lancelot knows. He kinda wishes he didn’t, but he does.

Sexual assault tw, “Considering they’re the result of my being raped by fraud by own sister and we then fucking killed each other, I’m think I’m being remarkably civil.”

Smut, okay. what if like due to a long time being incarnate and maintaining a less active lifestyle, rider medusa has definitely gained some weight in particular, her already voluptuous body has gained some truly lewd proportions in her fat ass and thick thighs. and sakura is very, VERY appreciative of this. rider is somewhat embarrassed but certainly enjoying the attention from sakura. sakura/rider, lots of ass worship and lascivious description of rider's big, round, plump behind

Fate/Zero

I would love to read about genderbent Kariya Matou. I think her motives would be the same, but her interactions with the rest of the cast would be different. Her anger about the treatment of Sakura and resentment towards Zouken/Tokiomi would come from a place of how how Magi treat women in their family. It would also be nice to see Berserker Lancelot break from his madness to treat her nicely. (Worms may or may not be included).

Prisma Illya

Gorgon install shirou during heaven's feel. well it's gonna be impossible for dark sakura to do any kind of damage to him while he's currently over 20 stories tall. and to make things worse for rin , shirou's been getting some intrusive thoughts from gorgon herself ; and said intrusive thoughts can be summed up as "just eat those red idiots for mana" and "why not just crush that brat & run off with artoria?"

Fate/Extra

Gawain is living it up as a swingin’ bachelor…until Dame Ragnell gets summoned. Then he hard switches to “happily married man” and somehow get’s laid MORE. This confuses the hell out of everyone who 1. Doesn’t know them personally, or 2. Never read the story of how they got together, since Ragnell appears ugly as sin (and is at best curt) to anyone she doesn’t completely trust. Loophole; she’s never heard of Barghest, but being “Gawain” she counts and can see past the illusion. Reaction up to u.

Fate/Apocrypha

Smut, Astolfo being the world’s biggest switch and loving every minute of it. One minute they’re being pegged in a ball gag, the next they’re reaming out an ass write their foot on someone’s head.

FGO

so Chloe's whole... thing... is "justified" in-universe as she needs magic to stay stable, so she gets it by doing... that. Ergo, I want to see something where she's summoned in Chaldea and thus hooked up to a stable magic supply, so she doesn't have to do that anymore and gets to actually Process and maybe just Be A Kid instead.

Smut, You know, Mash is horny on main for her queen, nothing special about it. So when they're on the beach and Morgan asks her a little help to put sunscreen on her shoulders, Mash tries. She really really really tries not to think anything dirty but she can't help since she's touching so casually MORGAN'S BARE SKIN AND IT'S SO SOFT AND SMOOTH AND – “Thank you, my knight.” “Oh god please I need you in my pants right now.”

Sitonai is in the Body of Illya as we know, her profile indicating a good relationship with Shirou that is most likely from either the Fate or Heavens Feel route. Archer is a Shirou from a timeline similar to the route where he and Saber bond never developed to the point as the true Fate route, and among all shirous in chaldea he has the best relationship with Illya, given they lived together. All that is to say: Fate Grand Order: Illya Route, i need it pleass

Ishtar doing her best to find a way to cure or suppress Barghest’s curse…for selfish, horny reasons. Barghest is actually right in the overlap point of Ishtar and Rin’s strike zones: adorkable, eager to please, built like a brick supermodel, hung like a bear. It’s just that neither of them are into guro.

Summer Yu Mei Ren and Cu form a deep, entirely platonic bond over shared interests (read: killing things with cursed spears/camping), and Ritsuka has to reassure her that no, having a male friend is not the same thing as cheating on her husband.

Smut, Oberon and Jalter fuck. Everyone calls it the whitest boning anyone's ever seen

Smut, Melusine gets lovingly railed beach side by a group of girls, some have dicks, some don't, all that matters is that Melusine is getting the loving she deserves

Smut, I want to see Medb getting lovingly impregnated by the reader.

Gudako: *sees summer Lancelot's FA* Gudako: *turns to Mash* Gudako: "I'm sorry Mash but I have to fuck your dad"

morgan castoria or oberon get stuck watching a live action 10000000 page slow burn mutual pining fic set in novum chaldea and possibly have to restrain themselves from just going up and telling the two idiots whoever they are that their feelings are fucking mutual moron i can see it with my faerie eyes please just get together so i can live my life without reading your mind as you wax rhapsodic about this bitch's smile and sulk because you think they dont like you

Smut, Gawain/Barghest smut with Gawain fighting for his life to not get eaten for as long as he can while motorboating Baggie’s giant boobs

loli tw, One more inspired by cleaning up old Interludes: in David’s, he confirms he’s “a lure for giants.” Let’s see how this legendary horndog handles being simultaneously pursued by Gorgon, Kingprotea and Bunyan. (He would pick Kingprotea, like a sane person, if he had any choice. Gorgon is involved. He does not have any choice.)

Smut, Guda finally gets used to the fairy eyes Morgan Castoria and Oberon have, proceeds to start using it to telepathically dirty talk

i feel like everyone missed that cnoc/knocknarea and castoria had their fateful first meeting when castoria was 11 years old, i want something about this... i feel its very funny that cnoc basically decided her rival/girlcrush/best friend would be this weird little girl

Smut, unsanitary, Castoria discovering 1) what human periods are and 2) that she has a huge fucking kink for drinking period blood.

Smut, I think that somebody should fuck Goredolf. I don't care who and I don't care how, but it should be done lovingly. The man deserves it, goddammit!

Smut, Gilgamesh fucks Koshyanka up the ass. She then manifests a strap-on that’s also a gun and returns the favor. Somehow, Gil is still topping the second time.

Castoria and Caster Gilgamesh hook up impulsively and click together shockingly well, so they actually start a serious relationship. They keep it secret from everyone primarily because CasGil knows his Archer self would use it as an excuse to harass Saber again, and that would likely domino into disaster. Castoria is sick to the teeth of lying though, and Gil doesn’t like it either; they’re both REALLY good at it, but it still sucks. How will they cope? Will it all end in tears?

Smut, Yakudou trio fucking around engaging in Looney tunes hijinks leading into actual fucking

Shuten reviews various types of alcohol from all over the world.

Nursery Rhyme and Oberon have a discussion about the nature of stories and whether they truly are for the reader or not They don't have to agree, but just… something about the two living stories interacting feels… right. bonus points if, while they cant stand each other they still seem to value each other because of their natures as Living stories.

It's clear that the stress of everyday life is getting to Ritsuka (sleep deprivation, stressed all the time, depressed half the time as well). So some of their closest servants (who is up to the author) barge into Goredolf's room and demand "GIVE MASTER A BREAK!!".

Smut, MORGAN EDGING MASH PROMPT NOW?

After summoning the Fae of the Round and being asked to give an oral summary of the events of LB6, Guda simply responds with "Fuck Aurora". Without thinking, Melusine shouts "I TRIED DAMN IT" before realizing what she said. What happens next is up to the author but something comedic would be very appreciated.

Paracelsus' potion has an accidental side effect - effect is totally up to the author!

Kadoc, Mash, and Yu Meiren hang out, as the three (debatably) surviving members of Team A currently working for Novum Chaldea.

Gudao constantly lies to everyone around Chaldea, lies about how willing he is to work with evil servants, lies about liking the more annoying servants, etc. all to make sure that Chaldea is kept running. When they finally summon Castoria, they take it as an excuse to tell the truth about how they feel because they know there’s no point in lying to her.

Gudako has weird dreams, thats just how it goes. But lately her dreams have become much weirder, she can't remember much of it, but in them she seems to be talking to someone and recounting some sort of story, she can make out some characteristics, such as orange hair and light skin, but sometimes it seems like they have white hair and dark skin, but no matter what she can never remember their face, or their voice or even what they say, it feels like that person didn't exist and the dream itself is an illusion. So one day she asks da vinci to use one of her inventions to look inside her mind and see whats happening

Smut, Completely heterosexual smut involving Mordred and Hyde. ... I never said it was CIS smut, though - Mordred is a trans man and Hyde is a trans woman.

Concept: Morgan and Aesc(Tonelico?) Kick start Mash's new Saberface Harem. Platonic or smutty doesn't matter.

Guda actually became a beast of humanity awhile ago but it's only come up just now

King Hassan receives head Interpret it however you want

it is revealed via faerie eyes that the seemingly all loving endlessly patient master of chaldea CAN hate but its almost entirely focused towards columbus

Gudako, typically the giver of headpats, now gets to be received headpats for the first time.

the newest summer singularity is going to the beach that makes you old

fran 🤝Baobhan Sith having a younger version of your parent get summoned ,and holy fuck are they dorky.

[codingpoodle]

I didn't realize it was a SERIES finale and not just a season finale and I'm unwell

I was "eh" on season 5 of Aggretsuko, but it's a comfort show I return to time and time again. I thought 5 focused too much on Haida (Retsuko was really off-screen, not even 50/50) at the beginning but at least had a compelling story. If they were going to stick with that angle I think it would've been fine.

Then the final political arc happened. While it didn't make much sense to me, it was great to see OTM girls return -- Manaka is a character with limited screen time who makes the most of it (I feel like Feneko started out this way but they slowly phased her out, which is a shame).

I knew Retsuko wouldn't win, because that would defeat her character's purpose: the everyday worker in a stifling society. She is the audience's avatar, the very people who would rage along with her. Taking her loss in stride and seeing some of the characters off was ok, even a bit bittersweet. But something about the way the closing shots were done made it feel like "see you later" and not a true heartfelt "goodbye".

Which is when I looked up Aggretsuko on the internet to find out that was the FINAL season, and I was crushed. I'll miss that red panda and her friends. I hope Sanrio/Netflix continues to do stuff with the franchise, even if it's shorts. But after all we've been through with her, I was shocked to find out THIS was how the series ends. I really thought they were setting up for one more, and I feel a little pit in my stomach.

[marigoldwriter]

I'm doing a Mariko x Blackthorne OGchild and I have some doubts...

(I know you probably won't want to help develop something useless like a fanchild but I need to distract myself from the inevitable angst that's coming and this is the way I found it.)

I mentioned this before in another post!!! I'm making a kind of small story, that will probably just stay in my head (literally in my head because it won't come out of my head much, from what I can tell) about a fanchild of mariko x blackthorne, and I've been slowly describing this child. But as everything is not flowers, I was quite intrigued by some points in her description.

So, first of all, her name. I thought, first of all, of Umi, that means sea; ocean, and it's a connection with Blackthorne, his love for the sea, I would like to establish that reference. But then, I thought about Mizu, which would have the same objective and means water; fluid; liquid​. So I tried to get out of that environment, thinking about something further away, and focusing on the meaning of Mariko's name, these meanings are various, but they are ball, circle; child; truth; village, focusing on the slight fact that Mariko is a lyrical-sounding girl's name and in one of its meanings, which greatly defines the character, true, so I ended up finding Manaka, that means middle; centre; center, and I ended up not liking it. So, I ended up finding one that I really liked: Kairi, that means sea; majestic sea; nautical mile; sky, and with it, I also found Yumina, which means gentleness, kindness, superiority, and it ended up that I was in the last two (Kairi and Yumina), as I developed a special affection for Umi.

The second is easier, it's her appearance. I have no other vision in my head other than that this little girl is going to be a mini Mariko in terms of looks! She is completely identical to her mother, with the exceptions of her father, which are: blue eyes and wavy hair (I don't know about you, but Blackthorne's hair was kind of curly before, right?), which would make her look quite balanced, plus I can clearly see this girl at the same time running across the deck of a ship, her saying a whispering prayer wearing a light-colored kimono, she would kind of be the "Servant of Two Masters" philosophy that was shown since the beginning of the series, and exposed more in episode 2 (I still think that if it were to fit into a possible modern scenario, she is clearly the daughter of Blackthorne's successful marriage, and that would kind of make her have a somewhat troubled relationship with Tudor, but she and Elizabeth would get along very good!).

The rest is up to me, I would just like more possible scenarios where it could come into existence. You know, there's the tag "Alternate Universe — Canon Divergence", things like that, I wouldn't doubt anything. I just wish there were more possible scenarios for her existence.

[dionysia-does-stories]

She's An Actress But She Ain't Got No Need

Cringetober 2023, Day 15: Song Lyrics

On AO3

Rating T - 953 words - Skip Beat! - Heel Siblings - Red/Kyoko

Summary: Setsu and Cain Heel have to return to Japan for an award press tour for Tragic Marker and can't even get through the strategy meeting without getting into a fight with Murasame. Song Fic to "Don't Trust Me" by 3OH!3.

Story:

Black dress with the tights underneath

I got the breath of the last cigarette on my teeth

And she's an actress (actress)

But she ain't got no need

Setsuka Heel leaned back in her chair, bored. The director was yammering on and on about the upcoming press junket. Setsu and her brother had been forced to come back to Japan by the production. 

Tragic Marker had been a run away success. (Setsu wasn’t surprised by this. Her brother was in it and everything he did was amazing.) But the Japanese cast were all fussing and celebrating.

Cain was going to have to go to so many talk shows with these annoying people. Setsu had promised to go to all of them with him. She would sit backstage and watch as the brittle, pretty hosts pawed at him. 

Cain had become a sensation. His BJ was frightening beyond measure, but also all the young (and not so young) woman of Japan had fallen in love with him. They wanted to be terrorized by him. Just like that empty headed Manaka.

But Cain was Setsuka’s alone to terrorize and be terrorized by. All of Japan could keep their paws to themselves.

As if sensing her thoughts, her brother placed a hand on her knee. Electricity zinged through her body. Kyoko’s spirit broke through the act for a moment. She lost Setsu and was now just her regular self with her boyfriend’s hand on her. In public. With nothing but ripped tights between their skin. She forced her body to hold Setsu’s posture until she could regain her character.

Setsu shot Cain a look that she knew would be enjoyable to the point of pain. Let his fantasies run away with him. He was the one touching her in public.

She's got money from her parents in a trust fund back east

T-t-t-tongues always pressed to your cheeks

While my tongue is on the inside of some other girls teeth

Setsu’s phone rang. Her ringtone was a metal band at full volume. The entire meeting ground to a halt as Setsu slowly pulled her phone from her purse. A dozen eyes glared angrily at her. They had all been asked that morning to silence their phones.

Setsu obviously hadn’t bothered turning off her ringer. Her calls were important. Hamsters like Manaka could silence their phones.

Setsu checked the caller ID, recognizing the number. She stood up to leave the room. 

Cain grabbed her forearm. “Where are you going?” Setsu could read between the lines. What he was really asking is ‘How could you leave me?’ and “There should be no one in the world as important to you as me.”

Setsu’s smile was indulgent in the face of his possessiveness. “It’s Mum,” she told him.

“Oh.” He let her go. “Tell Mum hi for me.”

Setsu nodded and went outside. The cast watched her go like they were a freak show. Every so often they said or did something that reminded them that they were ‘dangerous siblings’ and not regular lovers.

Setsu loved to shock them. Kyoko kind of loved it too. Kyoko loved the power of her acting.

T-tell your boyfriend if he says he's got beef

That I'm a vegetarian and I ain't fucking scared of him

“What the hell is wrong with you two,” Murasame demanded as soon as Setsu was out of the room.

Cain didn’t even look away from the door.

“Why is she even here,” Murasame continued. “She’s not really your manager. You’re keeping her like some kind of pet. Your good little P—“

Cain swung around to look at him. His glare communicating the rage in every muscle of his body. Daring him to keep talking.

Murasame knew he should just shut up, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t fair that Heel got someone like that. Someone who he shouldn’t be allowed to have. It was indecent. 

Murasame threw the gauntlet down, “She’d be better off with a different owner.”

Cain flipped the conference table on top of him.

She wants to touch me (whoa)

She wants to love me (whoa)

She'll never leave me (whoa, whoa, oh, oh)

Setsu heard the commotion from the hall.

“What’s that?” asked Julie.

Julie could hear Setsu’s eye roll in the tone of her voice. “There’s this complete idiot on the cast of Tragic Marker that Cain keeps fighting with.”

“Is it all okay? He isn’t struggling with—“

“Not anymore,” Setsu cut in. Kyoko screamed in the back of her mind that Setsu was disrespecting their honored mother by talking over her, but Setsu was firmly behind the wheel. “They used to, but my wonderful brother was able to work through it. These days, they mostly fight about me. The idiot is very insistent.”

“Well, tell Cain ‘Mum’ says to not let boys disrespect her beautiful talented daughter.” Julie wasn’t as onboard with the Heel sibling charade as Lory. But she did love that she got to be both of Setsu and Cain’s one and only mother. “And I’ll message you pictures of the dresses.”

“Thank you, Mum,” Setsu paused for a moment, thinking. “I love you.”

Julie’s voice was brimming with warmth when she replied, “I love you too, daughter-of-mine.”

Setsu hung up and went back into the conference room. She carried a sense of familiar contentment in her heart. It only amplified when she saw Cain standing on a table that he was using to crush Murasame.

“Mum says you should beat him up,” Setsu said. She was paraphrasing but still.

The other members of the cast glanced at each other. What kind of mother tells her child to get into a physical fight? The whole family was strange and dangerous.

[mastimio]

I am tired of the misconceptions around nasuverse magi.

The consensus around fate tumblr, reddit and other such places is that every single mage that isnt the protagonist would kick a puppy and eat a baby. Tbf, there are elements of truth in it. But its to the point where, people, if they see that the character in question is mildly related to the clock tower they will instantly dismiss them. Its simply too much of an exaggeration. I remember when people said that having some of the crypters in FGO being genuinely alright people a retcon, because they were supposed to be the evil magus that opposed our plucky protagonist.

There is just a blatant refusal to critically examine magi characters like Kayneth or Tokiomi even when the story talks about them positively. It gets very embarrassing at times

When Mash and Leonardo gave the crypters glowing, five star reviews to our self insert protagonist, there were people who would rather believe tamamovitch in that they were somehow jealous of your accomplishments.

There were people who claimed Goredolf being a good man deep down was a retcon, and Kirchstaria being a gigachad was false, despite the part 2 prologue and crypter interludes showing otherwise.

When a magus character is given character traits beyond being a power hungry megalomaniac, it is talked about as if they are the exception to a rule. It prevents any discussion about magi from going anywhere.

People than ask why is there so many magi villains then? Its pretty fuckin simple. Nasu and other writers needed a villain, and there was an easy pool of unnamed characters they could pull from.

The problem with making exceptions out of protagonist magi characters is that they don't hate magi society. Rin still desires to be a part of the clocktower and study there. Luvia is an amazingly fun character, and has a frankly adorable crush on Shirou. Even her family can be designated as generally cool people, given Luvias younger sister is marrying for love rather than genes.

Luvia still threatens to kill Waver if he reveals her family's magic to the clock tower. Waver, despite being fate tumblrs pet boy who cant do magic very well, despite their idea that, wow wanting magic in this world is the worst thing ever, still thinks that being a magus, and reaching for the root is an incredibly noble goal.

Why cant it be down to the culture that magi were raised in? Why is it that these people are the exception, and the rest of magi society should burn? Why are so called good Magi thought of as protagonist/good person first, and Magi second, and why are antagonist magi hit with the magi first, shitty person second? Hell, even Touko Aozaki bounces from role to role depending on what story you are reading. Shes the villain of Mahoyo, a wise mentor in Kara no Kyoukai, and just somebody having the time of her life in Case Files: Grace Note. Aoko was planning to kill Soujuuro for witnessing magic, only stopping when he helps her fight against toukos puppet.

Even the traits that people like to shit on magi for are just traits prevalent in all Nasu villains, magi or not. Arrogance? Gilgamesh, BB, tamamovitch and Kiara have it in spades.

Sociopathy? Lio and Ryuunosokeare serial killers, as well as Jackie and Reika from apocrypha. Kirei is literally just like that ™️

Not caring for human life? Shirou Amakusa, Twice Pieceman, Kiara, Goetia, The Lion King, all grand visionary villains.

You could do the reverse for magi villains as well. Manaka was connected to the root and fell in love with Arthur. Shinji is an asshole and he cant even do magic that well.

Speaking of the root, there are very few magi villains who do anything to get to the root. Zouken, before he went bug man dementia guy, wanted to reach the root so he could help humanity. He lost touch with his goal and simply wanted immortality. And he is the example most people point to for evil magi stomping on anybody to get to the root. His treatment of Sakura was because he wanted to get back at their ancestor which he knew.

The Einzbern are barely even human anymore, just Homunculi following the directives of their long dead creators. Im not kidding, even irisviels father is another homunculus. There are no living magi in the Einzbern family.

Roa fell in love with Arcueid, which is what drives him in tsukihime. Cornelius Alba was a fucking incel who fell in love with touko, but was also jealous of her, which made him want to kill her. Zepia wanted to help humanity and save the world, but went insane when he couldn't figure out how. He decided to become an antagonistic phenomenon, in the hopes that might change the fate of the world. Dust of Osiris wanted to save humanity's future (and her girlfriend) by preserving it as a record, frozen in time in the philosophers stone.

What magic weed do they smoke, that most Magi villains want to save the world?

Touko is a villain in Mahoyo, she wants to kill her sister out of jealousy. Atrum Galliasta doesnt care about anything except the benefits magic can bring him. The american magi from Strange Fake and the japanese magi from Type Redline want to use their magic for nationalistic purposes.

The only magi who fit the popular image that I can think of are Souren Araya, Darnic Yggdmillenia, Nigel Saward, and some of the antagonists of Case Files, specifically from volume 1 to volume 3, including the original villains of the anime.

Even with Araya, he wants to destroy the root and find the happiest moment in human history to preserve it. Just like Goetia, Dust Of Osiris, and The Lion King.

Darnic wants to reach the root so he can gain enough power to make his mega family/faction secede from the Mages Association. The other guys are doing their thing so they can do their experiments in peace. They are escaping sealing designations, which are only leveled on the people who may expose the magic world by experimenting on random non magic people.

So, that talks about a general fandom perspective on average magi. But what of the Mages Association? The organization that will gladly turn a blind eye to the extermination of innocents, as long as you dont get caught?

Or they would. If it wasn't against their fucking laws that crime by magic or involving innocents were incredibly punishable. Its more a problem with the western fandom having a lack of official translations, but there are unofficial ones.

This may not be out of the goodness of their heart, as these are in place so as to not expose their existence to the rest of the world.

But, they still take care of these problems. They handled Jack the Ripper, and took care of mages like Heinrich Zepter whos experiments affected many civilians. Why dont they do anything in japan? They dont have much surveillance there. Its a whole plot point in garden of sinners.

Even in fate/stay night, the reason the grail war takes place in fuyuki is because it is so far from the watchful eye of the association.

[p5x-theories]

What We Know About Vino

(last updated 8/3/24!)

Chizuko Nagao, codename Vino, is a 75 year-old alcoholic who cares deeply for her granddaughter. She joins the team as a “Phantom Idol”, or cognitive teammate.

Her files are named with the codename "Dorothy" instead of her canon codename Vino. The exact significance of this, if any, is unknown.

Her All Out Attack finisher text says "I can't find a good place to stop", though it's obscured by her head.

Her Japanese voice actress is Masako Katsuki.

Chizuko spends her time at bars in Shinjuku, and this is where Wonder first meets her. She tells him to head to the station, but then saves him when a drunk man tries to extort him for money, and takes him to a bar that allows minors. She likes chatting with him, and exchanges contact information after walking with him to the train station.

The next time they meet, she's gotten so drunk she fell asleep before Wonder arrived. After waking up, she ends up telling him about her high school-aged granddaughter, Manaka, who recently attempted suicide (reminding Wonder of the girl that jumped off a roof the day he awoke his Persona), and survived but can't walk anymore. Chizuko is very worried about her, so Wonder suggests she try bonding with Manaka over a shared interest, which reminds Chizuko that Manaka loves music. Chizuko herself used to play the saxophone, while Manaka likes to sing, and they used to spend time together at a jazz club. Chizuko starts to formulate a plan to eventually perform there during amateur night with Manaka, though she asks Wonder to come and help out.

Her side story is being added in parts, and thus only the beginning of it is currently available in-game.

Information about her has also been translated as:

"A 75-year-old drunken woman. She has a bold and righteous personality, but is troubled by the difficulty in communicating with her granddaughter, who depends on each other for life. Although she is good at playing the saxophone, she has not practiced for a long time after the death of her husband, who also loved music."

Vino’s Persona Ampelos (based on the Hamadryades nymph of vines, and/or the lover of Dionysus and personification of the grapevine) is categorized as a Nuclear type, and resists Nuclear while being weak to Fire. Notably, she rides atop it like a glider.

Ampelos is a Surrender Persona, meaning she’s focused around applying debuffs to gain an advantage, and her trait gives an enemy the radiation status effect whenever it gains any other elemental status effect. She has three nuclear attack skills: the first hits one enemy, reduces its defense, and causes a random elemental status effect that the enemy doesn't already have; the second hits all enemies, with a 40% chance of causing a random status ailment they don't already have; and the third hits one enemy, increasing the damage it takes for two rounds based on how many elemental status effects it has (this increase stacks up to three times). Her passives cause enemies with radiation take more damage from nuclear attacks, and boost attack power relative to Vino's effect hit stat.

In combat, her melee weapon is a knife or dagger, while her ranged weapon is an assault rifle. Her Highlight is shown from 2:38 - 2:50 in this video, and hits one enemy, with a 75% chance of afflicting it with two elemental status effects it does not already have.

Her recommended card sets are 1) 6 of Swords (Science) + Queen of Coins (Harmony), 2) 4 of Coins (Power) + Queen of Coins (Harmony).

The game recommends teaming her up with 1) Queen.

[mmmfanfiction]

I havvveeee a horror movie idea concept thingy.

Our protagonist, Heidi and her friends go up to the mountains for a while. It’s their second year of collage and they want to do something to celebrate Heidi’s 21st birthday. They rent out a hotel in a rather old fashioned (and kind of creepy) town, planning to go further up the mountain the next day, however a snowstorm traps them all in the hotel. At first it’s all fun ‘woo a few more days of vaycay!’ But the group starts to realize that after a few days, everyone in the hotel is just… gone. On one day the group wakes up to one of the friends, May, missing. Everyone starts frantically searching for her but it’s like she never existed. They Mays best friend Nora goes missing a few days later, and everyone’s panic ensues. Then Aster goes missing a few more days later. Only two are left, Manaka and Heidi. They still stick together. After all, everyone’s known eachother since boarding school, so it’s not like they’d just betray eatchother randomly, right? Three days after Aster went missing the power cuts out, and Manaka snaps, screaming how they’re going to die out here, and before Heidi and stop her Manaka ran out to find some form of life… she… doesn’t return. Heidi manages to stay alive despite the freezing, waiting for her friend in fragile hope. This is where the story frays. In one ending, a boy and his mother sneak into the hotel. Heidi quickly takes him in, takes care of him, savoring herself from being alone. When one day she finds the mother murdered with a mysterious man above her.

“you! It’s you who took them!”

In a rage Heidi picks up a lamp, charging at him yelling all sorts of profanities as her eyes well up. The man urges her to calm down, but she doesn’t listen. However it’s the little boy who tugs Heidi from her rage.

“He was protecting us.”

the boy explains how the mother went back on the promise to the man, and so he killed her. Heidi was still.. pissed but whatever. The man then explains that he promised not to hurt anyone as long as the mother was nice to the boy, who saved his life. He then explained that this storm wasn’t normal.

“I’ve lived in these mountains my whole life, and nothing like this has ever happened.”

so, the boy, the man, and Heidi go out together, to find what started this, and to see who might be alive. The screen pans out, showing all around them, how small they are, then showing that all around the world, everything is frozen. Their hope is futile. It is up to the audience weather a monster was picking off the friends, or it was because they went outside that they had died.

In the second ending, Heidi spots the boy outside, alone. She goes out to him, but he runs, and Heidi pursues. She ends up in a snowy clearing alone, forest the only thing for miles around. Suddenly someone jumps out from behind her with a knife, ready to kill, but Heidi resists, and she resists hard. It is revealed that the killer had been set free when the snowstorm shut down the prison and gave him a chance to escape, and the boy was helping him, leading Heidi here. Nora and May had froze to death, while the killer got rid of Aster and Manaka, used them for food. Heidi managed to kill the damn bastard with a rock, stumbling back, and descending down the mountain, leaving the boy to die. She didn’t care. Safety was just a short walk away. If they just took that short walk…. One simple decision… and maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

[satoshi-mochida]

Dungeon Travelers: To Heart 2 in Another World for PC launches February 14, 2024

Gematsu Source

Dungeon RPG Dungeon Travelers: To Heart 2 in Another World will launch for PC via Steam and Johren on February 14, 2024 for $19.99, publishers Shiravune and DMM Games, and developer AQUAPLUS announced. It will support English, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese language support.

Here is an overview of the game, via Shiravune:

About

Recruit a huge cast of friends from four different base classes that branch into over a dozen variations, and always build the best party for the job! Explore one long, twisting dungeon that only gets more perilous the further you go, with plenty of optional quests and side areas to unlock! The original Dungeon Travelers game takes place in a separate world from the others, drawing characters instead from the fan-beloved world of the PlayStation 2 anime classic To Heart 2.

Prepare at the Guild – Whenever you stop for a respite from exploring, you can identify your new gear, reequip and restructure your team, or even upgrade your characters’ classes along branching paths!

Explore the Dungeon – The Auto-Map function will fill in the grid with each step, letting you know where you are and where you’ve been. Be careful, though! Don’t try to go too far at once…

Battle and Collect Monsters – The deeper you delve into the dungeon, the more dangerous the monsters will become. You’ll need tactics to counter each new threat—and what better way to get to know your foes than by weakening them and sealing them into your book for study?

Strategize and Win – With every battle you’ll amass more gold, EXP, and items. It’s up to you whether to press on, or to head back outside to power up for later!

Story

When I awoke, there was fantasy stuff everywhere… What kind of adventure could be in store? And will there be any way home when it’s all said and done?! It all started after class in the student council room. Takaaki and all his friends had been gathered to test some unquestionably suspicious if not downright dangerous game—or “full-body immersive RPG experience,” in the words of its inimitable creator Ma-ryan. The play-test was only questionably voluntary. The game started to launch. A bright flash filled the room… When Takaaki opened his eyes, he was somewhere he didn’t recognize. His friends Konomi and Tamaki were kitted out in full fantasy gear, and when he looked more closely, he realized he was too. Were they in the game? Forget that—how would they get out? Only one lead presented itself. “In the depths of the dungeon located nearby, there lives the god who created this world…” But who could it be? In search of more clues and hopefully some answers, the party set out into the dungeon…

Characters

Konomi Yuzuhara (voiced by Yurina Hase) – Takaaki’s childhood friend, one year younger, who lives next door. She’s fond of fortune-telling and food and has a dog named Genjimaru. Likes to look after people but isn’t much good at it.

Tamaki Kousaka (voiced by Shizuka Ito) – One year older than Takaaki and Konomi, she was always the boss of their motley crew. The heiress of an old family, skilled at cooking, cleaning, martial arts, and academia. Her hobbies include antiques collecting and historical dramas. Very bad with dogs.

Manaka Komaki (voiced by Noriko Rikimaru) – Takaaki’s classmate and class president. Formerly the class vice president. As a big snacker, she’s turned a certain storage area into a secret tea room. She isn’t very assertive, but has been friends with Yuma since middle school.

Karin Sasamori (voiced by Saki Nakajima) – A girl who loves paranormal phenomena… and also egg sandwiches. Blessed with boundless curiosity and energy, but doesn’t look before she leaps. The founder and fearless leader of the Mystery Club. Join today!

Sango Himeyuri (voiced by Sayori Ishizuka) – Ruri Himeyuri’s older twin sister. One year under Takaaki. A genius at computers and a major fan of red bean butter bread. Lives at her own pace, doing what she wants, when she wants.

Ruri Himeyuri (voiced by Konami Yoshida) – Sango Himeyuri’s younger twin sister. One year under Takaaki. Emotional and unacademic, she practices jealousy and stubbornness as art forms. On the other hand, she’s good at housework, and loves Sango more than anyone.

Yuma Tonami (voiced by Hitomi Nabatame) – A girl who sees everything as a contest: You can win or lose, and she wants to win. She’s constantly challenging Takaaki, but almost never comes out on top. She must have been born under an unlucky star. Most things she does backfire.

Lucy Maria Misora (voiced by Rio Natsuki) – A space alien from Planet Luu, the third planet orbiting 47 Ursae Majoris… or is she? She’s certainly an odd girl, with her own language and the power to get drunk on soda. Attends classes only when she feels like it, but no one seems to mind.

Yuki Kusakabe (voiced by Rina Sato) – An old classmate of Takaaki’s who thinks everything “seems like fate.” Never seen without the fancy notebook that she seems to carry everywhere. Likes black tea, though it burns her tongue. Seems to be primarily nocturnal?

Sasara Kusugawa (voiced by Ryoko Ono) – The student council president, formerly the vice president under Ma-ryan. Afflicted by a strange condition that causes her body to reject food made with love. An unabashed aficionado of soft and slimy animals.

Ma-ryan (voiced by Ema Kogure) – Real name: Unknown. Age: 14 forever in her heart. Moonlights as a voice actress. Even post-graduation, she comes and goes in the student council office like she owns the place. The definition of a troublemaker. Full of mischief and mysteries.

Harumi Kouno (voiced by Kotomi Yamakawa) – A girl who transferred in one day and started calling Takaaki “Darling.” Her true name is HMX-17b Milfa, and she was previously in the body of a teddy bear. She’s always arguing with her little sister Silfa.

HMX-17c Silfa (voiced by Harumi Sakurai) – The youngest of the three maid sisters has a distinctive speech impediment. With a phobia of human interaction, she hides in a cardboard box when she’s upset. The maid uniform she always wears comes courtesy of Yuji.

Chie Yoshioka (voiced by Kaori Ota) – Konomi’s close friend, nicknamed Yocchi. She’s known Konomi since middle school and Michiru Yamada since kindergarten. Bright and cheerful—and also weird and kind of nosy, but a good person at heart.

Michiru Yamada (voiced by Akira Kasahara) – Konomi’s close friend, nicknamed Charu. She’s known Konomi since middle school and Chie Yoshioka since kindergarten. Normally collected and wryly witty, but her family’s work is weighing on her lately.

Ikuno Komaki (voiced by Chiro Kanzaki) – Manaka Komaki’s little sister. She normally uses a wheelchair. Always worried about her sister’s trusting nature, she’s keeping a close eye on Takaaki, whom her sister is fond of. Cynical and often bitingly sarcastic.

Nanako (voiced by Kayo Sakata) – An innocent girl who loves Takaaki, or “Takky,” like a big brother. She’s also more of a go-getter than you might expect: in the past, she’s roped Takaaki and others into a quest to find a magic user.

Haruka Yuzuhara (voiced by Chieko Honda) – Konomi’s mother, and a sort of second mother-figure to Takaaki. She looks and acts considerably younger than she is and has a wealth of hobbies. Specialties: Killer Curry, thorough discipline, and loving her husband.

HMX-17a Ilfa (voiced by Emiko Hagiwara) – A maid robot whom Milfa and Silfa can call their big sister. Specially equipped by Sango with software that gives her a people-loving heart. Normally she seems sweet and demure, but don’t make her angry!

[roydeezed]

Weekly Shonen Jump Manga Round-Up(2023-03-20)

It’s the first weekly manga review! Where I’ll talk about any thoughts I’ve had on manga that were released this sunday. The ones which I care about and have extensive thoughts on will get their own sections while the others will be packaged into one paragraph at the end. 

Spy x Family(Chapter 77)

This chapter sees Loid help the resident tutor get over his trauma. We find out that he’s been using the busjacking as an excuse and his real trauma comes from his wife. And Loid being Loid, not only does he deduce that, but he uses basically every resource he can to confirm it and help the man. As we saw from his backstory, Loid’s always been a good person and I think that ever since getting his current assignment, he’s used it as an excuse to help people as much as he can. He literally used government agents for this and justified it as helping him get closer to students and alumni, my man is so deep in denial. This chapter also highlights what a great relationship Yor and Loid have. A fun detour after the bus jacking incident!

Tokyo Demon Bride Story(Chapter 27)

Picking up from what I talked about from last week's release, it unfortunately did turn out to be a fake-out. It was actually a test to measure Jinta’s loyalty to Manaka, Though it didn’t lose the dramatic tension as much as it punted it down the field for future chapters. Which this manga has been guilty of doing in small doses for a while. I did like that they still kept Manaka’s aunt’s lethality and the whole moment with the blade cutting off the fingers was really cool! The crumbling mirage effect totally worked. Though I can feel the cancellation bells ringing over it as the last panel felt like a preamble to a finale. I still really want to see its full potential.

Ginka and Gluna(Chapter 26)

Ginka and Gluna is very quickly raising the stakes, while focusing on what’s important. I hope it chugs along strong because it has legs. By not detailing how Magaraka escaped, the story kept all of its drastic weight and momentum into the reveal that Gluna forgot Ginka in his entirety. It’s an absolute tragic turn and I can’t wait to see where they go from here. I’m not sure if the power-up itself is temporary, but if it isn't, the dynamic of an amnesiac student stronger than her master will also be really interesting to see. The way Gluna’s spells corresponded with the memories she was giving up, was absolutely heartbreaking. It’s also heartbreaking knowing that all the chapters we’ve seen were so beautifully drawn and even those memories are lost to her. Gluna had a really strong personality from when she first arrived onto the page so it’ll be interesting to see what sort of personality is built up and how Ginka reacts to it.

Cipher Academy(Chapter 16)

This chapter concludes the murder mystery game and establishes Iroha’s skill and prowess over the rest of his team, gaining their support. Almost each page is filled with a crazy amount of information so it’s sometimes a little hard to parse but the best I could understand, mst of the messages were part of a progress report that the victim, as a spy was sending out. The five-star clue turned out to be that there was one more spy, and that was the deceased. So while the initial assumption was that this was so gamefied that the clues were all dying messages, the twist built upon the assumption by having the messages be true but not be dying messages. In fact only one of them was. And each player had their own objective, meaning that while you could solve the mystery, it usually wasn’t everyone’s top priority. So, after finding out everyone’s unique win conditions we discover what this game really is, and that’s a charisma based game much like mafia and wereworld where knowing the truth heps, but isn’t the end all be all. In fact, not knowing the true killer actually helped as it cast doubt on who it was. This was a game all about withholding and releasing information strategically and the way it was revealed and played out was masterful storytelling. One thing I’m curious about is the line when it started that the game held more truths then were outright apparent about some of the players. So I wonder if we’ll get a payoff about that anytime in the future. At the end of the chapter, Iroha meets up with his friends and gets introduced to Anonymity Requested who basically turns out to be a cheater. Let’s call them Anon from now on. Anon also seems to be the most outright evil character right now, being able to judge really well when to put in effort, when to not, and when to cheat. Also could be they’re just lazy. This was a really dense set of chapters so I can understand people who don’t stick with it, but if you’re reading this, I urge you to give it a shot because I don’t fully delve into all the puzzle elements but I have found a lot of enjoyment in it from just the dramatic beats. And the character progression is great too. It’s a lot faster than most manga as we’ve seen Iroha’s meteoric growth since the beginning and even more since chapter 11. I am really digging this series so far and can’t wait to see what Anon is gonna get up to.

Witch Watch(Chapter 101)

Last week, I didn’t give Witch Watch the kudo’s it deserved so I wanna pile a heaping helping now. Witch Watch has so many great things going for it, from it’s adorable art and romance to its hilarious comedy to its surprisingly engaging underlying plot. But what makes all of that work, including this week’s chapter, is how great the character’s are. They all fit within their tropes, sure, the stoic in Moi and the comic relief in Kanshi among others, but it’s the little quirks, twists, and evolutions of those tropes that fully flesh them out. Moi, despite being stoic, is always passionate about the things he cares about and thus gets into weird and super niche hobbies. Kanshi is callous and loves instant gratification and thus is a bad gambler. Each of their characters are built upon the core of their trope and archetype, helping to make sure their portrayal is always consistent. And because they’re so consistent, when they’re taken to the logical extreme it can be played extremely seriously and be that much funnier for it. In this week's chapter we start with Moi and Miharu getting into an argument over streaming service passwords. Moi, because he’s stoic and passionate, wants to set rules. But Miharu, who is kind of a little trickster, tries to talk him out of it. Nico, trying to remedy the situation, turns them into super fluffy versions of themselves, hoping they won’t be as direct and mean, but we get a hilarious and somewhat sinister body horror exchange where Moi gets brained and his memories stolen, which then turns into a battle shonen over the stolen memories. Because Witch Watch has such solid characters and is just that confident in it’s characters, storytelling, and comedy, it pulls off this gag so well. Also Nico turning the characters soft, softened their words, but because the characters are so strong, their personalities still shone through, and because such cutesy things were said with the edge of begrudging adults, it all took a hilariously sinister turn as well.

Undead Unluck(Chapter 151)

Undead Unluck continues it’s streak of great chapters with this week’s where Fuuko tries to get Billy to their side. Undead Unluck has such solid characterisation in it that, once you figure out a character’s motives, you can trace that as a thorough line through all of their actions. Billy’s always been consistent, shouldering as much suffering as he could manage so other’s didn’t have to. And negator ability of Unfair ties directly to his desire for that. He doesn’t want an unfair world, one where the weak should have to fight. Fuuko’s always been a direct opposition to that as she was one of the weak. Nut because she was allowed to fight and grow, she got stronger. From the moment she met Andy, to before the reset, and to now, Fuuko has had tangible and experience driven growth, learning from every battle she fought and every tragedy she witnessed. Bor both Fukko and the reader, things like the battle with God will forever be etched into their brains. And speaking of that whole battle, since I wasn’t doing this back then, can I just freak out about how great that was? It established such a strong foe and let us know what we would need in order to beat it while also making it clear that it would be nigh impossible even with that. But getting back to characterisation and motives. Billy is only the most recent example. You can chart almost every character's actions in that way once they’ve solidified their resolve, it’s seriously great storytelling and attention to detail. 

The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins(Chapter 17)

The rabbit hole keeps getting deeper and deeper with this manga. Taizan5 brought back Takopi to it’s origin with the name so I am really curious about what the sins are going to be. Because right now, the family just seems to be a victim. The mother disappears and after being confronted, Sota tells them they’ll understand once they figure out everything. Then they act like a family to try and figure it out and go to a baseball stadium where Tsubasa remembers getting his picture taken by what appears to be Sota. Sota seems to be a tragic figure and can’t tell them why they’re looping for some reason. But the sadness behind his eyes is evident. If the Grandpa has looped 2000 times without finding an answer, what hope do they have? This manga also reminds me a lot about Spirit Circle, where with each successive reincarnation, the bad guy became more and more obfuscated. It seems to me, the more and more we learn, the less sure we’re gonna be about everything, at least until the end. The panel at the end where Sota tells Tsubasa that he was in a coma for 4 years, is that before the time loop or during? Could it mean this is like a matrix type situation where they’re being put in this loop to be a better family?

Akane-Banashi(Chapter 54)

This chapter sets the stage for the upcoming competition and in the optimistic way it sets up Akane, I echo the character’s sentiments, it feels ominous. With the organizer being the guy that Akane humiliated, I can’t help but feel she will get some sort of payback in this competition. We also get introductions to competitors and further development to some side characters. Although there wasn’t much to talk about in this weeks chapter, it was still fantastic in it’s ability to set the tone going forward.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations(Chapter 79)

Although this chapter had some crazy sci-fi twists, I loved it so much. Honestly, at this point I see Boruto as being kind of an alternate universe and it makes the experience so much more enjoyable. The stakes were raised so high with this chapter as Boruto and Kawaki literally switched circumstances. Only a few people know but this sets up even more tragedy as the title character is on the backfoot for real for the first time. Not only is Naruto gone but Sasuke and the entire village are all now enemies of Boruto. Boruto has always been kind of spoiled and counted on the fact that others would save him. With this, he has no choice but to actually grow and learn on his own. I love the new landscape this sets up and can’t wait to follow it as it develops. 

Dragon Ball Super(Chapter 91)

I love the slice of life style storytelling in this arc. It harkens back to the original dragon ball’s storytelling and updates the humour. It’s also absolutely adorable as we Piccolo once again pick up the mantle of best dad as he trains and looks after Pan, who is also adorable in her own right. As Videl runs a dojo and Gohan researches for his presentation, Piccolo sees his son (Gohan) go down the same deadbeatedness of his actual father, Goku. Obviously, he’s mortified, as are we. He also says that Pan could one day be stronger than Goku and Gohan. But it’s all in good fun as they are basically one happy family nowadays. On the other side we have stakes beginning to rise as Dr.Hedo is recruited by the Red Ribbon Army. While the Red Ribbon Army is definitely evil, Dr.Hedo honestly seems pretty cool and would make a great friend to Trunks and Goten. Hopefully by the end of this arc he does. Also can we talk about how Videl and Gohan give Piccolo plushies as thanks for looking after Pan, it’s just doubly adorable. I never thought the day would come when Dragon Ball would be the cutest manga on Shonen Jump. But all in all, it was another fun chapter, I love these Red Ribbon Dorks.

THE LEFTOVERS

For the first manga of the leftover we have, Mission: Yozakura Family(Chapter 170) where the main characters get a five year training timeskip where they train and get stronger. I understand it was supposed to be played for laughs but it wasn’t really funny, just weirdly perverted. Though I did audibly gasp at the last panel where Taiyo and Mutsumi have two children. If anything, the cutesy moments between those two and kids are always the strong points of the manga so hopefully this time skip helps its quality. In Me & Roboco(Chapter 129) we get a fun detour into one of the side characters' lives, Gaku Serizawa. Playing it completely straight made it absolutely hysterical, I love when the authour does the hyper detailed and chiseled faces, it’s stupid but it’s my kryptonite. Jiangshi X(Chapter 9) had some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it characters come back to tee up for what feels like a tragic end to this little arc. The art was gorgeous as always. And I do get a certain Shaman King-esque vibe from it sometimes, though that might just be because Lee Pyron was a Jiangshi. Ichigoki’s Under Control!!(Chapter 15) had a another hilarious chapter, and this time with memory loss shenanigans. Oddly this was just one of many manga in Jump this week that played with memory. Anyways, I love the fake memories gag, it was done so well in the show Community that I still think about it. I almost had enough to talk about in Fabricant 100(Chapter 14) but I think I can squeeze most of my sentiments in a few sentences. This manga is slowly turning into a real battle shonen so I’m glad they’re solidifying the rules a bit more like with the badges and the blood. Also I like how the author sticks to the motifs they’re developing, like the sanctity of life and the fear of death, portraying both with beauty and reverence. In Blue Box(Chapter 93) we get a glimpse at Hina and go back to Yumeka again as Chinatsu’s basketball game fast approaches. We get a sweet moment between Yumeka and her boyfriend where he agrees to delay their date so she can go to the game and it does a lot to humanize Yumeka. It also shows how much she cares about basketball as it’s something she talked about with her boyfriend enough that he knows how important it is to her. It seemed like it was something she dropped cold turkey but obviously it’s not. We get another manga talking about giving up memories in Mashle: Magic and Muscles(Chapter 148) where in the afterlife Mashle will be allowed to come back if he gives up his memories in a sequence that parodies Fullmetal Alchemist's Gate of truth. Again, not a huge fan of Mashle so I can’t find much positive about it other than the fact that the art was great. Black Clover(Chapter 354) looks to be setting up the final battle and arc. In this weeks Sakamoto Days(Chapter 111) I’m pretty sure we see Sakamoto actually kill someone for the first time on the page, since this is the past. It’s adorable to watch the four of them bicker and their dynamic plays off really well together, I’m looking forward to what the pay-off of these two girls being inside the decoy is going to lead to. In Jujutsu Kaisen(Chapter 217) Sukuna faces off against Megumi's older sister who is a special kind of twisted and we get some really cool action scenes. Finally in The Elusive Samurai(Chapter 102) we see Tokiyuki for the first time being able to enjoy family outings. It’s pretty tragic as he doesn’t want to go back to war but he’s being forced too. His childhood his been ripped away from him by the war and he can’t do anything but bear with it.