#maybe it's just cause he's a manga only character so far put people talk about gyari a lot

[shoechoe]

do you have any thoughts on diavolo and donatella's relationship, headcanons or otherwise? hard to say with so little in canon, but it must've been something pretty special if diavolo allowed himself to get close to her (as shortlived as it was...)

I absolutely do. I've talked about Donatella a bit in the past, so I'll link some relevant posts to this one here.

(x) (x)

But I do feel like I have more I can say, which I will put under a cut.

In some sense, I don't consider Donatella fully a character as much as I consider her a vector for the plot to get started. She doesn't have a single speaking line in the manga, she's dead before the story starts, and she's only brought up to elaborate on other characters- namely, Diavolo and Trish. Canonically, she has functionally no agency other than being a former partner to Diavolo and mother to Trish (both relationships we see as close to nothing of as Vento Aureo could possibly manage).

Donatella is, in my opinion, a combination of two common writing tendencies in Jojo: one, its tendency to throw in background female characters to have an unexplored relationship with a male character just so they can have a child, and two, the characterization of Diavolo in particular being full of "throwing in a bunch of things that imply something really interesting about him, but with a complete lack of elaboration that leaves the potential unexplored and intent vague" (as I've said before, that's a thing the series likes to do in general, but I think Diavolo has got it bad).

The most obvious implication with Donatella is the nature of Diavolo's past. As we see him in the series, Diavolo is aggressively paranoid of any and all connection with anybody else, including any knowledge about or contact with him. Him having a girlfriend briefly/one-night-stand(?) in the past suggests that he was once not this way, or maybe not as bad as he is in the present story. The knowledge of Donatella also comes with the knowledge that he used to have an alias he would use for interacting with people before he became the Boss and hid away from society entirely, which adds to this.

However, we already have things to suggest that he displayed odd and paranoid behavior even then; namely, him burying his mother under the floorboards at around the same time. To me, I always thought this suggested blood relations were something that always bothered him, though for what reason back then, I'm not sure. Still, this suggests he was never quite a normal person, making his brief relationship even more of an interesting behavior for him (with the implication that Doppio was the one fronting to the public most of the time, yet Diavolo being the one who had the relationship, making it even more peculiar).

We don't really know how long they dated for and we don't know exactly how Donatella felt about Diavolo after he abandoned her and left her with a child. Similarly, we also don't know how Diavolo felt about her; at most, we know his relationship with her is something that he regrets, and when he goes into tangents about how his past haunts him, he's usually alluding to said relationship with her. We do not know about what Diavolo thinks of Donatella as a person present-day.

Personally, I can't see Diavolo carrying particular sentimental attachment to Donatella in present-day Vento Aureo. By that point, he's too far gone to care about anybody, I think. If anything, he probably ceases to view her as an individual and more as a fragment of his past come back to haunt him. If he does have feelings about her as a person, it is likely contempt and frustration.

I have often seen it portrayed as a plot hole that Diavolo didn't just go ahead and kill her early on to save him the trouble; I actually disagree that this is a plot hole. Killing Donatella, I imagine, would only have caused him more trouble than it's worth. Wouldn't people get weirded out at him ordering for the killing of a seemingly random woman, tempting people to look into it? I imagine the only chance he really could've had to kill her was at the same time he faked his death in his hometown, but we don't know if he could've done that, given she was likely somewhere else in Sardinia at the time and he'd have to rush to flee without people noticing.

It is perhaps a little more character-contradictory that Diavolo was not paranoid about Donatella going to look for him until it was revealed she had his child. To me, I think that Diavolo could've not been concerned about her because he couldn't believe she would particularly remember him for so long after he just dated her for a few weeks; he didn't kill everyone in his hometown, after all, just burnt it down. One of Diavolo's shown traits is that he is utterly unable to understand other people caring for each other, so it makes sense he lacks understanding why Donatella would care about her memory of his younger self.

I have also seen it asked why Donatella did not go looking for Diavolo before she was dying. This is something that's not explained, so I find it a fair plot criticism. Personally, I think the most logical explanation is that she was looking for someone who could take care of Trish after she passed. It sounds like she was left without anybody that could take her daughter if she was gone, and so in desperation, she sent someone to search for Trish's father. This explanation would mean that it's less of a sentimental "I want to see the person I dated so long ago just one more time" thing and more of her last-ditch effort for anybody so Trish wouldn't be left orphaned. (It seems most likely to me that Donatella would have a complicated mix of resentment but also a sense of remaining feeling for Diavolo after he accidentally left her with a child. She doesn't seem to ever speak badly about him, but he did do something terrible to her by abandoning her like that.)

As for how Diavolo and Donatella met and got attached to each other... Honestly, I don't think very much that doesn't go into complete fanfiction-territory. That's something we are given literally nothing about. I like to think that Donatella was something a little special to him, even if she only managed to charm Diavolo for a very short time. It does feed into the tragic nature of Diavolo's character; the idea that he once had the inklings of someone who cared about him and he was/could've been happy with, but his paranoia and greed ultimately overpowered anything else, so any kindling of love was never meant to be.

This is pretty long now so I'll leave it at that haha... but that's how I feel about Donatella, generally. She's probably the background Jojo character I care and think about the most. (And I didn't even get into her relationship with Trish as a mother to her lol...)

[bxtonpxss]

SHIPPING INFO. answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

what’s your OTP for your muse(s)?

Neya & Thor are the only two applicable options here when it comes to things outside platonic/familial relationships. Opacho is 5 and Jack is also just a baby, but she's like best frienemies with Faolan. I know when you hear OTP its usually referring to romance but I'm super big on platonic relationships being OTPs!

That being said Neya x chemistry, she's not overly complex but Neya is a kind-hearted and deeply supportive type of character who despite often being in situations where she's in way over her head, is willing to persevere and overcome whatever obstacle that may be, especially when it involves people she cares about! If our characters build a relationship through our writing then I will never say no to it! This also applies to Thor! They have a good relationship built through us writing together and/or chatting about stuff via messages I'll never say no.

what are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

Pretty much anything, except you know the obvious and universal no no's.

how large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

Hoo boy ok. So, Neya, for her era (and the author even states this in the manga) at 16 she's considered an adult. On that alone I'd do 2 years younger and 4 years older cause I'm just trying to think of how it'd be from her time period. Now, this ONLY applies specifically for [main verse || itsuwaribito] when she's in her canon universe or some other feudal-era settings. I understand she's still 16 and other people don't vibe with that, I don't force anything on people (at least not intentionally, if you ever feel like I write something that makes you uncomfortable please tell me!) and romance is never my first or main priority, I like crushes/gradual friends to dating/lovers etc when writing anyway. This also obvi needs to be discussed first cause duh. Also, I'm fine with like 'x character looks 16/17 but is actually 100+ years old' (I’m an Inuyasha girly uwu, so we love a good demon/immortal s/o pairing).

For the verse where she's stuck in the future, [verse || under a rock] she is by modern-day laws legally underage. I'd go for 2 at most maybe 3 years older, 1 year younger. For the sub-main verse set at the end of the series with her running her village [verse || nanushi] she's canonically an adult there so I can deal with 10 years older or whatever and when it comes to the monsters/demons/immortal characters, so long as both parties are consenting adults it's cool!

Thor's a talking rodent. He's adult age and would be considered a young adult by human standards I suppose. So as long as the other creature is adult-aged it wouldn't matter to him. I can't put too much thought into this one, trying to make the math make sense is gonna hurt my brain, but obviously NO child-age creatures.

are you selective when shipping?

Can't really say, like excluding Coschu x Surgechu, which happened gradually through jubilantsparks and I's constant gushing about our chus via DMs I've never really shipped seriously with anyone else before so I can't really give an honest opinion about it *kanye shrug*

how far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

When they start undressing and getting real handsy, but none of that will ever be happening here so no need to worry!

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

For Thor, specifically in his Lt. Surge Raichu verse (affectionately shortened to Surgechu) I shipped him with jubilantsparks' Fem!Pikachu OC Elysia who had a Cosplay Pikachu verse (affectionately shortened to Coschu). Coschu x Surgechu was fun and I miss them :') Also, Thor and Elysia in general were my favorite platonic OTP that could have easily become romantic cause they loved and cared for each other so much as best friends who could have just as easily become something more if they wanted to </3

NeRiya with Jade's Iriya . We've had many discussions about this enemies-to-friends/maybe more slow burn/redemption arc for Iriya. I cherish it deeply and Iriya deserved better than what he got in canon ; n ;

does one have to ask to ship with you?

Hmm, not really? I have a very chill and go-with-the-flow type of mindset when it comes to building relationships and shipping in general. The more our characters interact, get to know each other and the closer they become the better! If there's ever a certain aspect of their relationship you wanna discuss with me privately or plot, then just shoot me a message!

Also, I never assume anything so if you're invested off the rip in wanting to pursue the ship beyond them being friends then once again just message me. I'm here to have fun and write with folks, so go for it I will most likely never say no lmao. Crushes on Neya or Thor are also 100% ok, even if it's one-sided I have no problems with it, you don't even gotta ask me for that.

how often do you like to ship?

I've only had two (2) actual ships during my entire time here on this site. I have a bad case of anxiety brain when it actually comes to shipping and I never wanna assume or push anyone into doing anything so it's rare I ever approach. I'll just sit and vibe and settle with my time in the friendzone while making up scenarios in my head like the dork I am.

are you multiship?

Ok, after getting some answers on what multishipping is from an RP standpoint, I want to say yes I am. I'd have no issues with having multiple ship partners. Every character interaction is like in their own separate universes so like I can't understand limiting myself as a single ship. This is subject to change but like I said, I barely have any shipping experience.

are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

More-or-less! As stated above I don't really ask or approach first for ships soooo if it happens it happens. I'm down for shipping off of chemistry through a gradually built relationship!

what is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

ooh chile I'm in a bunch of fandoms lol so I'll just go with the fandoms for my muses specifically. For Pkmn it'll always be ShinHika/Paul x Dawn/ Ikarishipping. Pokeani can pry that dynamic from my cold dead hands.

I like all the potential pairings within Utsuho's group, but that'd be too much to list. Gin x Kin, Neya x Uzume, Neya x Hikae, Hikae x Iwashi.

For SK I was a sucker for Hao x Tamao back in the day. It still could've been cute if Takei didn't turn Tamao into Anna 2.0. I find her whole personality shift weird.

finally, how does one ship with you?

Just write with me! I don't care how many asks or threads we end up having. I cannot reiterate how much I adore relationship building in writing. We write enough threads together and our characters grow to like each other or something I'm 100% down to clown! Also, If you don't suffer from perpetual cold feet like me, just shoot me an IM and let's talk about it! Easy peasy, promise I don't bite!

Nabbed from: @gamenu initially, but I've been seeing other moots do it too! Tagging: @sillymuses, @lostusagis, @museguided, @despairforme, + anyone who sees this!

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Hi, Lost, I was just wondering if you could answer something about Erwin that I've been struggling to understand for a while! Why is Erwin's dream considered as corrupted and not innocent anymore? Why did he have to be "freed" from his dream? And why was he feeling guilty? How was he trapped between his dream and being commander? Why did he have to choose between one of them? Sorry if this ask is a little confusing! Im not very good at putting together words haha!

So, there are a number of ways to answer these questions.  In the manga, pretty much everything we know about Erwin’s dream comes from Erwin himself, and the point that some readers consistently overlook is that he is an extremely unreliable narrator, particularly in the chapters leading up to Midnight Sun, where he is in the depths of despair and sees his every action in the bleakest light. 

Erwin deludes himself into believing that he is a liar and a conman because he thinks that he alone is fighting for his own selfish reasons, and not the pure and noble goal of Saving Humanity. This causes Erwin enormous guilt which exacerbates the guilt he carries over his father’s death and the deaths of all the soldiers who have died under his command.  To make matters worse, he believes he has conned his soldiers into dying for the sake of his own dream, rather than to save humanity.

In the depths of his self-loathing, Erwin is deluding himself of course; he is far from the only character fighting for his own dream.  Many other characters have their own dreams and reasons for fighting; Eren wants to be”free”, Armin wants to see the ocean, Ymir wants Historia to live for herself, Annie wants to return home to her father, etc.  Also the tragic irony of all this is that Erwin’s dream is fully compatible with the cause of attempting to save humanity.  It’s Erwin’s dream that acts as the catalyst to uncovering the truth of the world and of course, as it turns out, his father’s theories were correct.   

Sadly Erwin never lived to see his dream fulfilled, however the thing about dreams in SnK is that they have a tragic tendency to turn into nightmares when they are fulfilled. Look at Eren’s dream of “freedom”. 

Isayama is explic about this in the Character Guide: 

When he faces the sea, Armin takes a seashell a representation of something that can only be found there and tells Eren to look at it.  But Eren, the all-important character, doesn’t even look at it. The sea shell that Eren doesn’t even glance at as it sits awkwardly in Armin’s palms is meant to symbolise their dreams coming to an end, or maybe their childhood coming to an end.

By contrast, when he’s talking about Erwin’s final moments he says

You hear people saying that dreams are better left unfulfilled.  As I was drawing Erwin’s last moments, I took this to mean that one’s life is better lived if they chase their dreams until the very end.

So the fact that Erwin’s dream remains unfulfilled is not necessarily a bad thing. 

As to why Erwin’s dream is regarded as being “corrupt”, rather than “pure” like Armin’s, I suspect this is primarily a result of Erwin’s monologue in chapter 76, with some readers failing to realise that he is an unreliable narrator. If you believe everything Erwin says here, then yes, I guess you could come to the conclusion that he is a selfish conman who sacrificed the lives of his soldiers for his own corrupt dream, but of course that’s very far from the truth.

I'm not sure if I've answered all your questions here Anon, but hopefully this helps to dispel some of the confusion.

[diableasura]

Now that i've watched every one piece movie that isn't a retelling of an anime arc or straw hat chase i'm gonna go ahead and indulge in the very human tendency of ranking them in order from best to worst (SPOILERS!!!!):

One Piece: Strong World. Maybe it's because this was the first movie i watched and my first experience with one piece in animation but strong world has remained my favorite since day one (though the second place is very very close i must say). The straw hats are all great and have their little moment to shine the plot is solid and they do a great job with nami, out of the four straw hats with a movie more focused on them she's by far the one that gets the best treatment. Strong world is in the perfect position of being a pre time skip movie, so it's not dragged down by the expanding cast of post time skip, but also since it was the tenth anniversary movie they put in more effort than with the previous movies and it shows. Also sanjis cowboy outfit instantly makes it top tier.

One Piece: Film Gold. I'm... kind of obsessed with this movie?? Seeing the straw hats in a heist really scratched an itch i didn't know i had but my god does it feel good. The designs really excelled here the crew looks gorgeous throughout the entire movie and tesoro's island is so interesting and fits very well in the one piece world. Tesoro is also my favorite villain of any movie, i've seen people say he's the perfect blend between crocodile and doffy and that's so true lmao. Loved having zoro as the damsell in distress, inject that shit straight into my veins i love it when the strong character is the one in need of rescue. Everyone was very cool during the heist but i remember really enjoying franky and luffy's dynamic cause lbr we're kinda starved of it in the manga so it was nice to see them interact so much here. Overall amazing movie and the only one i've rewatched out of all of them.

Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island. This movie has become a cult classic amongst the fandom and with good reason. It breaks away from the loud spectacle of the other movies and is quieter and more unsettling and so far the only example of actual psychological horror in the lore. I've talked about this before but that final scene with the straw hats cheering luffy on even while they're being consumed by the baron and luffy struggling to the brink of death to save them changed me... I love seeing this family love each other so much!!

Clockwork Island Adventure. I know, I know what's the second movie doing so high up... but it was just so good!! It's very short but that's just a benefit to the plot and i love the gimmick of each straw hat being captured one by one till it's just luffy remaining and the one who has to free them (can you tell i love the movies where the straw hats are kidnapped and the others have to rescue them?? that's my drug). Sanji's fight in this movie kicks ass too, the animation is gorgeous.

One Piece: Film Red. This might seem like a sin, to have this movie so far down the list cause i've seen its pretty unanimously tied up with baron omatsuri as the best movie but to be honest i feel like that's just recency bias. The movie is still a spectacle and the songs slap and yes one of them was in the top 5 of my spotify wrapped this year lol. Uta is a good antagonist but i was never that hooked by her shared past with shanks and luffy, mainly because it's so aggressively impossible for it to be canon, it almost broke my suspension of disbelief. Zosan sleeping side by side was pleasing to my monkey brain and it almost made up for including st charlos in the movie seriously what the fuck was he doing there-

One piece: Stampede. The start of this movie is amazing cause they come up with the perfect competition to have all of these pirate crews on the same place but it quickly devolves into a "how many characters can we fit in" contest and the plot quickly turns into "lets all beat up the villain", which is fine! I did like seeing so many characters, at one point half way through the movie crocodile just appears out of nowhere lmao but hey i'm not complaining i love crocodile. Usopp is the straw hat who's focused on the most in the movie and i feel conflicted with what they did with him cause it just felt like they were making him go through his water 7 arc all over again by having his inferiority complex flaring up. And usopps arc was amazing in water 7 but reviving it for this movie felt a bit weird and repetitive. Despite this though i was very happy seeing him getting the focus, usopp is a painfully underrated character so having him on the spotlight is always welcome.

Dead End Adventure. This movie is a lot of fun. There's a bar fight, a secret pirate race and sanji being his sneaky self and helping out luffy during the final fight. Whats not to love?

One Piece: Film Z. Much like Stampede, i really enjoyed the start of this movie cause the monster trio get to briefly fight the big baddie together, but the plot kinda loses some steam for me after that. Also they tried to make the admirals sympathetic cause the villain is a retired admiral who was once their mentor but i really really really dont care about the marines at all so that was a bit awkward. The straw hats look stunning in this movie, i love that in the movies they give them a million different outfits and the ones from this one absolutely slayed.

Choppers Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals. Another fun movie where all the straw hats get a moment be cool. There's a kid on this island who i found completely insufferable but i can forgive this movie cause this is also where zosan have that famous scene where they praise the other to their defeated oponent, which made my monkey brain happy.

One Piece: The Movie. This movie's biggest misstep is that sanji isn't in it, but even with this critical flaw it was still quite enjoyable. Zoro is very funny on his own but add luffy into the mix and their dynamic was hilarious. Usopp as always was great. The villain is small potatoes tbh but not really the important part of the movie, which focuses more on the relationship between the kid they meet and his gramps. The final message was surprisingly very sweet. Also sanji appears briefly in the end credits to appease me.

Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle. This movie is a-okay. The villains are a complete joke and it takes the crew less than five minutes to deal with them. The crew dynamics carry all of my enjoyment with this one.

The Cursed Holy Sword. Yeah... this movie commited the unforgivable sin of having zoro as the main focus and yet managing to do absolutely nothing interesting with him. Even if they did shamelessly create kuina 2.0 with saga, they could've delved into how zoro would react when two different duties (his promise to saga and his position as the crew swordsman) clash against each other... but instead we see no conflict with zoro, even though we all know this situation would be conflicting for him. They just make him scowl throughout the whole runtime and thats just not who Zoro is... Luffy and usopp are a lot of fun though.

TL; DR my ranking is:

Strong World

Gold

Baron Omatsuri

Clockword Island

Red

Stampede

Dead End

Z

Choppers Kingdom

One Piece: The Movie

Karakuri Castle

Cursed Holy Sword

Conclusion: the one piece brainrot is no joke.

[lavendori]

[MP100] TSUBOMI: FINAL BOSS

if mob is about a powerful esper trying to navigate the struggles of adolescence and social acceptance, then tsubomi, despite being hardly present in the series, is The Main informant of shigeo’s latent power and thus, mob & ‘???%’s final boss.

the first times we see her, it’s through the idealized lens of mob pining for her from a distance. they were childhood friends but he barely talks to her anymore. she is reportedly the school idol & based on other’s reactions, she seems like a far-off unattainable dream.

throughout the series leading up to season 3, we get a sizable amount of hints of her character. most notably, she doesn’t seem to care for mob’s powers, which causes mob to conclude that psychic powers don’t make a man appealing. ritsu also says she’s the kind of person (manga) who would just go home if she got bored. when we first met dimple, his “get a clue” line really triggered mob, and we get this vision of younger takane saying it to him (not entirely sure if it was a flashback or projected image due to mob’s interaction with dimple, tbh.. someone can correct me if i’m wrong!)

based on these things, at least for me, my first impression is that she’s a bit shallow and possibly even a little mean. mob obviously has amazing qualities + so much compassion beneath his middle school awkwardness & is SO powerful but she’s not really impressed by it. why would mob like her and let himself feel so bad about his powers being less appealing than an athletic guy who can run fast?

later on, in season 2, however, we get a bit more hints of what she’s like. we see her observe mob when mob uses his powers to fix emi’s writing notebook (i��ll come back to this). we also see a moment of her and her friend in reigen’s office where the friend asks reigen for romantic advice. takane asks him something too and it’s concerning, especially for ritsu, who now believes she’s interested in some guy from cram school. (ritsu is also trying his best to hide the fact that mob is associated with reigen LOL). but then, we see a scene where she tells the friend she made up a story to test reigen. this definitely gives more edges to her character. it’s now clear that she’s not just an airheaded popular girl who’s into superficial things like dating and gossip. she might be a little shallow, but she’s not superficial. she has the intellectual capacity to test reigen.

so yeah, maybe she is a little shallow, but i think rather than superficial, tsubomi is image-focused and puts a lot of thought into how she presents. while this might be a different form of shallowness, she’s not an airhead who only thinks about mundane things. rather, she cares about her image and how she comes off to others. when she sneezes in front of her friends, her first thought jumps straight to “they will make a laughing stock of me in the school!” - she must be pretty self-conscious to assume this. you either have bad choice in friends who aren’t real and laugh at you when your time comes OR, as mezato suggests, she simply doesn’t feel like she can trust anyone and therefore guards herself quite diligently.

mezato, who has proven herself to be a sharp observer of people, says that tsubomi holds her real feelings back & doesn’t let them show. guys only like her for her looks but nobody seems to really Know her. she doesn’t seem interested in other people. even her friends don’t seem to notice or see her true colors behind the mask of her pretty smiling face.

and then there’s the comedic line of guys who don’t really know her, all waiting to confess to her before she officially moves out of school. here we also see clear moments of her brutal honesty. of course, being asked “why don’t you like me” is an uncomfortable situation to be in, but she could’ve responded in other ways for example, i know people who feel bad and might sugar coat the truth a bit more (especially in middle school!), or might have been shown more visible discomfort bc it’s hard for them to hide their feelings. instead, she doesn’t bat an eye and remains impassive when she tells them straight up she’s not interested. the most emotion she really shows is just cringe @ the boys lol. this honesty says a lot about her & also is reminiscent of the past where she tells child mob “i’m bored of that.”

these qualities are also affirmed by dimple during the divine tree arc. although dimple was provoking mob, his description of tsubomi lines up with everything else. she’s honest about her values & doesn’t conform to others, even when her friends offered the divine tree food. she cares about her image but doesn’t trust anyone, not even friends. all of this paints a picture of tsubomi as a cold guarded person who is brutally honest, extremely aware of her values, & stays true to those values + herself.

ironically, this is actually kind of the direct opposite of mob, who is a gullible softy and has a hard time putting weight to his own convictions (of course, due to trauma, but i digress). right from the start, we see through reigen, dimple, and tome that mob is still developing his own views/opinions. 

but you know what, maybe that’s one of the reasons he likes her. they’re childhood friends & she has all the qualities he lacks. she also doesn’t make a big deal out of his powers, which he seems to subconsciously appreciate— (being treated as normal, that is). likewise, others make a big deal of her & don’t treat her like normal either. she clearly doesn’t trust others & one has to wonder if that’s a related (& partially a self fulfilling prophecy. she doesn’t show her true self & therefore doesn’t get treated like normal either.)

they’re both just normal people who knew each other as kids. mob wasn’t even aware she was the school idol. even if tsubomi doesn’t realize it, i think part of her appreciates that mob is someone that still treats her earnestly for who she is.

this is mostly evidenced by the few shots of tsubomi observing mob. for one, the fact that she was watching mob patch emi’s writing back together, and had thoughts on it, seems kinda different from the usual stuff we see of her. she’s also ready to give reigen the benefit of the doubt after seeing mob’s photo in the office. ultimately, although she does not trust a lot of people, she does trust in mob’s earnestness, even to the point of waiting for him despite evacuation orders, despite the earthquake and heavy winds from ???%’s power swirling around her. she noticed that his voice was shaky & (at least mentioned in the manga) this was the main reason she stayed behind. despite how far they grew apart from each other, she still really trusts him & believes he’s a trustworthy guy.

also, still not sure why they took this part out but given what we do know about tsubomi, it would appear this sort of dynamic would actually be possible between them. which is ??? interesting???

anyway, all this is to say: despite how little we see of her, her relevance to mob’s growth & confrontation to ???% is HUGE. neither mogami nor suzuki could bring out mob’s full strength, even if they challenged him to his limits. mob was only able to fully snap out of mogami’s created headspace after dimple mentions tsubomi. even when teru awoke ???% that one time, it didn’t cause nearly as much damage as this final arc. tsubomi is mob+???%’s first love, and ???% has a LOT of feelings about that!

(tl;dr) and that is why tsubomi is his true Final Boss.

[krello-png]

Feelings on Xicor and DB AF as a whole!

Posting a thread I had back on Twitter here, though I'll be expanding on a fair bit since I have MUCH more room to breath so, let's get into one of my favorite subjects in this fandom, AF fan culture!

The fandom in the 2000s is really fascinating to me as someone who wasn't "there", the show and manga were 100% DEAD, there were only games that retold the same story from Z to GT during that time and yet because of a certain localization that was happening the fanbase was kinda thriving, constantly making new stuff. There was ZERO actual new story content and yet the fans just took it upon themselves to make shit and keep that flame going! New transformations, endless sagas, whole multi work fan manga that just spawned from a dead series that happened to get an English Dub with a different soundtrack.

Arguably at the center of most of this was this guy right here, XICOR, third son of Goku and the main villain of AF (or at least, it's first arc.). People talk about how a character like Xicor is rather boring and yeah that is true, the character of Xicor is boring, but it's not he himself that's the fun part, it's what he represents that makes him interesting!

He's undeniably fascinating if ya think about it.

His design? Ripped from a fan form. This pic is from like, 04' if I recall correctly and it's not even a new character, it's Goku in Super Saiyan 9. That's why he has Goku's Gi but green, the spikes are there cause apparently it's a dragon form??? Who'd have thunk it eh?

His character? Basically every villain that came before him and then some, a high and mighty powerhouse with an ego to match. Eager to take the throne atop the universe where his father supposedly sat as West Kai had told him. Ruthlessly evil to his core and merciless, in other words, very generic.

His backstory? A hodgepodge of several different fanfics from around the same time that combined into what we know now. The illegitimate third son of Goku, born of West Kai and Goku's DNA because she had taken his blood (or seduced him depending on the fic!).

It's just endlessly interesting what he represents, he feels less like a real character to me and more like an icon. Something that embodies DB's OC culture and general fandom in a lot of ways, whether the fans would admit it or not, he's a mainstay in this fandom that won't go away. No matter how far removed we get from that era.

And that's not even getting into the story he's attached to, or rather the concept. DRAGON BALL AF, After Future! Or perhaps it's April Fools? AF is never concrete. It could be anything and everything. It's far beyond what it originally was, beyond what the creator of that "SSj5" image intended. Hell, it's not SSj5 at all, it isn't even Goku! But as far as the fandom is concerned, that didn't really matter.

What had originally began as one fan story, one image really, eventually became something that would define basically any Post GT story line. A lot of them having similar elements with wildly differing execution, from Goku's third son to Cellbuuzer or any manner of unholy creations one could dream up in their heads.

I think to some degree everyone involved in spreading the idea around knew it wasn't "real" but there's something insanely cool about how it became this big community fan project with ideas anyone could use in their own stories.

I honestly can't speak to the quality of AF Origins cause I've never read it myself but Toyble and Jiji's AF Doujinshis are probably the most well known versions of the story aside from maybe PGV's take, but I can't speak on that either cause it's insanely long and it's lore is.. complicated to put it lightly.

Toyble's version of the story takes the Xicor premise and runs whole hog with it, the majority of Xicor's agreed upon characterization is found here and the action is a damn fun read if you're into this kinda thing.

The real highlight is probably the art and what little bits of humor are present, it feels very Toriyama like at it's best and I've no doubt it's why he landed a job doing official work.

It's a darn shame that it never truly finished but the ending we did get was kinda sweet and I'm more than happy with that.

Jiji's AF is a lot longer and has the benefit of actually being finished, with multiple arcs that are quite fun. The highlight is probably the story with Marble and seeing Goten, Trunks and Uub handle a threat on their own.

The last arc being a repeat of the Shadow Dragons is not my favorite conceptually and their designs even less so but it's really nifty to see everyone handle their own Dragon so, I give it a pass.

Both are rife with heavy amounts of ripping shots from the original manga and tracing in some instances but I can't say I'm too bothered by it. As they're still fun to see as real takes on AF in some form. There's definitely better fan manga out there but these are the ones I wanted to highlight.

There's so many more fun and bizarre things from this era of DB's fandom history that I wanna highlight and go in depth on but I'd be here for a million years if I did so I'll leave on this:

I honestly believe there's no fandom that's like Dragon Ball's, Sonic's fandom is close, but that was never a dead franchise. This fandom can be annoying, offensive and quite unfun sometimes, but I adore it at it's best. It's a wildly interesting ride I'm happy to be part of!

[marunalu]

Hey, idk if you talked about this, but I’ve been thinking something about the Inko Shimura theory. So far in the series, Izuku’s dad has been kept a secret for suspense purposes, right (cough cough DFO)?? Well, we also never never get to see Nana’s husband either which I found weird cause it is implied that her husband’s is the reason why she gave up Kotaro. I feel like Horikoshi could have totally drawn a panel where Nana finds her dead husband’s corpse. He draws Nana and Kotaro together but never her husband. Since Nana is the one working, her husband would have enough time to hang out with his family but it’s never shown. Could the reason because he has way too many of Inko’s features and Horikoshi doesn’t want the fans to connect the dots?? Sorry it got long

I mentioned nanas husband a few times in the past but never really put to much focus on him in my dfo or inko shimura metas, mostly because we know almost nothing about him (similar how we almost know nothing about hisashi).

While I dont talk much about him, I have my own theorys and just like you said I also think the reason why hori hasnt shown us what he looked like is because he will have some physical resemblance to inko and would readers give the chance to connect the dots way to soon.

If we look at kotaro for example we can see he comes a lot after his mother appearance wise. He pretty much looks like a male version of his mother. An interesting thing in mha is that usually all the characters look a lot like their mothers and only have some few traits of their fathers.

While I DO LIKE the inko shimura theory and believe in it, I have to say I dont think inko and nana have many similaritys even when inko was younger. The only thing they seem to have in common is a similar hair style and all might mentioning that for some reason inko reminds him of nana but cant really explain why (he says maybe its because of the hair but he is unsure). But like you said its still very possible that inko simply comes more after her father the same kotaro comes a lot after his mother.

I have the headcanon if izuku really didnt inherited his freckles from his father (when afo was younger), then he got them from his grandfather from his mothers side. Inkos hair is dark green in the anime (in the manga her hair color is not confirmed but I guess its the same) and her eyes are big and round, her face is round as well so all of that could come from her father. Since we know almost nothing about him its fun to speculate about what he looked like.

We dont know if nanas husband was a hero, stay at home dad or if he had an other job, we only know he was murdered. And while we dont have any confirmation yet, I think its not far fetched to say that he was most likely killed by afo. My personal headcanon is, he made afo believe that he is the current ofa owner to protect his family and to give nana time to flee with kotaro (and inko she was pregnant with at that time) and as soon as afo realized he was tricked he killed nanas husband, also as a warning towards her that the same thing could happen to her child(ren) if she doesnt give him ofa. Thats why she gave kotaro in foster care and why I think she left inko in an orphanage or the hospital (with her scarf, because inko wears an identical looking scarf like nanas at one point) after her birth.

All in all like you said its strange that hori still hasnt shown us nanas husband in at least a tiny flashback moment, despite that his death had apparently such a huge impact on her that she would stop to smile and only startet to do so again when a young all might became a part of her life. So yes I do feel like hori is deffinitetly trying to hide something about nanas husband, the same how he is hiding hisashis identity (which at this point is so damn obvious afo its mind blowing how some people can still deny it!)

[superkooku]

My thoughts on the apothecary diaries

(volumes 1 & 2 of the manga)

I'd like to write a review for the manga. Of course, it's just my subjective POV. I'm no professional reviewer, just a fan.

The (very) good

Maomao

If I had to pick knh's greatest strength, it's our protagonist.

Of course, many have noticed how we have an actually fleshed out female character, and that's great. But even by normal standards, she's awesome.

I could see both her strengths (levelheaded, curious, smart) and some weaknesses (too blunt, missing some social hints, getting carried away in her passion). She's also very expressive and it's delightful to see.

Finally, her sudden promotion is actually justified. She's helpful and smart.

The side characters

So far, no character has annoyed me (except maybe some maidens. But it's on purpose).

The rest of the cast may not be as fleshed out as Maomao, but they're all interesting.

I like how the concubines aren't villanized. We see how they themselves suffer, but also their qualities.

Lifa especially surprised me. I initially thought she'd be nasty, but she's quite nice. Her outburst at Gyokuyo becomes more interesting when we learn she isn't her normal self. She's just a sickly woman who's afraid for her son.

And of course, there's Jinshi. He's quite intriguing to me. He seems to put on some kind of facade in front of the others, one which matches his beauty, but it makes him seem shallow and annoying to Maomao.

Speaking of them.

The complicated relationship between Maomao and Jinshi

I talked about the characters in general, now, I'll focus on the "main" relationship.

(Right after Maomao X Poison, my OTP)

First of, yeah, Jinshi's a bit clingy with her 😅. I've seen some people dislike this fact, but personally, I don't mind it. It makes them imperfect and that's a good thing.

And it manages to stay funny instead of creepy (for now at least).

I'm pretty sure it'll become romantic, because I got spoiled 😅. Jinshi's clinginess and Maomao's comments kinda hint towards it anyways.

It's like a healthier version of "Enemies to lovers", though the first part is mostly one-sided.

(No actual hate or spite, just a bit of unease from her side.)

I seriously love how each one can throw the other off their game. Jinshi can't use his charm on her. But Maomao can't hide her schemes from him, he always catches her.

It's like a little mind game. Fun to read.

In volume 2, their interaction after the banquet felt different. I'm excited.

(also, if it becomes romantic, I'm pretty sure he'll realize his feelings way before she reciprocates, lol.)

The politics and commentary

I'm not that good with politics, so I could be wrong, but I like how knh delves into the palace (more specifically the harem).

We see how beautiful the concubines are, the lavish decorations in their rooms, but also the darker side of their lives.

The NINE YEARS OLD concubine (Lady Lishu), how women are put against each other and forced to always be careful in order to survive.

We also see how much damage superstition and ignorance can cause (r.i.p the prince), while most characters aren't dumb, but just used to the system.

There's also that sweet story on the woman dancing at night. We see how far she has to go just to reunite with her childhood friend.

Knh delves into many complicated themes inherent to the society in culture while staying tasteful.

The illustrations

Kudos to Nekokurage. The style is often cute and expressive, but some panels really are beautiful.

(like the final one in volume 1, with the woman dancing, or the freaking covers !)

The cuteness of the style doesn't make more serious scenes less impacting (like when Maomao gets angry at the maid).

Smaller points

The humor

Gyokuyo's three assistants are cute (though a bit foolish)

Other relationships (Maomao with Lady Lifa or Honnyan)

The mystery

The lack of useless fanservice

Maomao's past is acknowledged several times and not only in a negative way. Her background helps her. It's sweet.

The... less good

Although I really enjoyed reading this manga, there were some spots that (imo) can be improved or added on.

Pacing issues

I feel like some things are too fast or could be expended on.

Also, many months sometimes feel like mere days. For example, when Maomao first comes into the palace or when she spends time with Lady Lifa.

Some characters are too incompetent and mean for no reason.

MOST characters aren't dumb. There are exceptions.

It's probably made so Maomao seems even better in comparison. I don't really like this approach.

At least, the doctor is nice, but I would've liked to see him being useful. Maybe some flawed mentor figure for our protagonist.

Maomao can't do everything in this big palace. Seeing other people actually doing their job would be refreshing.

Also, that maiden Maomao slapped is a bit too "strawman" to my taste. Is beauty the ONLY reason why she gave Lady Lifa the notoriously toxic powder again ? Really ?? Is someone actually that stupid ?

It doesn't really make the moment less impactful, but a bit more frustrating (maybe it's made on purpose).

The science can be a bit vague

The vagueness can be justified by the context. This part is handled very well (like Maomao explaining what an allergy is without using modern terminology).

Especially when it comes to Maomao's immunity. I googled it and it only works under very specific conditions.

It's effective against venoms, not poisons.

It takes many years

It can backfire in the long run

It's a small problem, because expositing everything to the reader is not the way to do it and I actually don't hate this subtler approach.

There's nothing too unrealistic, but it's very vague.

Now, there are three options.

It's vague on purpose. Knh will delve into it later on. This approach would mean Maomao would suffer from her methods. I don't want her to be hurt, ofc, but it'd be interesting to delve into the problems of this method.

It'll be justified later on. Not exactly like 1, because the problems will be cancelled instead of solved (for example: she used this method since her childhood)

It will remain vague and we will have to suspend our disbelief.

Also, chocolate isn't an aphrodisiac for us, but knh somewhat explains that it's because they're not used to it like we are.

(Maomao can eat chocolate for example).

Again, it's vague but not completely incorrect, so it's just a little personal issue.

I expected a bit something like Dr. Stone that delves deeper into it, but knh's approach is also interesting. It's not like Maomao doesn't explain anything, she does, it's just more focused on the knowledge she can gather in their era.

Final thoughts

But it's not 100% realistic and focusing more on the "apothecary" part of knh (without forgetting the characters) would be beneficial.

I love this manga and although it has it's little flaws, it's really a wonderful discovery.

I'm very excited to learn new things about the characters (especially Maomao and Jinshi) and the palace in general.

I give it 8.5/10 🤩

[abla-soso]

My gal Twice literally developed a split personality that he couldn’t control for years. Brainwashing like that done in cults isn’t the same as media you know where a person has zero control over their actions. The manga spelled out way back in the My Villain Academia saga that Toga experienced extreme child quick “therapy” that was meant to mentally suppress the urges her quirk gave her. The mask imagery in those scenes existed to show the extreme mental pressure that put her under it wasn’t a simple talking session with a counselor.  She was biting her hands drinking blood from her wounds in her sleep the experience did not leave her mentally stable.

Also you are literally the only one saying the LOV can’t be called out or aren’t responsible so don’t argue that when that isn’t the point at all. Maybe you  interact with people that are giving you guilt free stuff but that was never the point of the manga or what we were talking about so stay on point. 

If you feel people are saying you don’t understand trauma it is because your rants suggest that. You act and write in a way that is only black or white. Either the characters have full empathy and agency and choose evil or they have none and can’t control themselves. If you understood trauma you would know it can be a mix of both where you lack full control but are still responsible for the consequences of your actions. You say you understand but you don’t behave or argue in a way that in any manner really suggests you do beyond buzzwords.

You say “But I obviously do.” Where? Nothing you have said suggests you do. Everything you write is either fighting about arguments some unnamed people made or saying you guys as if the people that talk to you and point out issues with your posts are a hive mind that all believe these extreme points. If you think I want the LOV to skip away after the fight like nothing happened you are the one who doesn’t understand anything because you have made up something in your mind and are getting upset about that over there far away from the truth.

I mean You say you hope characters die and then act surprised when people thing you don’t want those characters heal. Shocking. It is as if you have no concept of others outside of you. Argue about guilt free cards when someone actually says such a thing and I mean actually says that says that not says something that you think means that. Don’t fight the battles you have with other people with anyone besides them.

Also maybe you may disagree but the key thesis of MHA is a true hero fights to save everyone. Just like a doctor fights to help all their patients or a firefighter fights to rescue everyone from a fire. If Ochako wants to make her profession you know her actual job hero work the story is saying she must first do everything she can even put her life on the line to save people and she can’t turn away who she saves. Same as how a firefighter must put their lives on the line and enter burning buildings where they could die to rescue people no matter who they are even terrible people. Same as how a doctor must treat everyone even murders and horrible people. Sorry but de-escalation isn’t easy. The reality of it is that you have to make yourself vulnerable to people some horrid that can hurt you. The story has always been about the idea that to defeat a villain it isn’t enough to just hit it society does need to listen to and address the issues that caused various problems and work to fix them while holding villains accountable. And for that message to work you have to do it for extreme characters just like a redemption arc doesn’t work unless the character has done something extremely bad.

Maybe we can agree that this is a lot for anyone and why again the society in MHA is flawed because it is traumatizing and using teenagers to fight these battles because the adults failed to protect the children or to address these issues. But the story is meant to take extreme issues and show kids that even if the world is messed up right now and they have to fix problems adults failed to address or worse contributed to that hope isn’t lost and they can do it by working together.

Its a modern fairytale where instead of children being forced to go fight giants and monsters they are being asked to empathize with people who hurt them instead of just calling them evil and killing them. Both stories when taken to extremes are bad but both teach valuable lessons the first bravery and the second empathy and both resilience, teamwork and courage. 

This is just as obnoxiously condescending and ignorant as your previous message that I was tempted to just delete it. But I’m in a mood to rant and vent, so I will.

Talking to people like you is so frustrating because you swear you’re not excusing the villains and you claim you’re holding them accountable and yet you jump through hoops to declare the villains as too traumatized to know right from wrong and thus give them a guilt free card. Maybe work on this of lack self-awareness before barging to a stranger’s inbox to be as obnoxious as possible.

I don’t have the time or the energy or the desire to go through my whole blog just to give you specific examples of me supporting the idea of giving the villains a chance for redemption and healing. I’ve talked about it many, many times. Look for it if you care. But don’t talk out of your ass and assume how my mind works. Just because I no longer feel sympathy for the villains and wouldn’t care if they dropped dead doesn’t mean I don’t logically support the idea of their healing and atoning. 

I am so beyond sick and tired of this narrative that claims anyone who dares criticize Hori’s writing (when it comes to the heroes’ responsibility to the villains) is an ignoramus who doesn’t get the story’s themes. I get the themes. Empathy is nice and mercy is cool. I fucking get it. I just think they’re terribly written. 

Your comparison between heroes and doctors/firefighters is disingenuous because when doctors/firefighters say “we need to save everyone” they’re working against the elements of nature (diseases/fire), not against the people they’re trying to save. Your comparison would work if you compared the heroes with cops or the military or forensic psychologists or any job that forces people to help or deescalate the violence of criminals who insist on causing destruction and assaulting others. And guess what? None of them think all criminals can be saved. None of them think it’s possible to save someone who doesn’t want to self-reflect and take responsibility. None of them prioritize “saving” the criminals above protecting innocent people. None of them think deescalating means putting their literal lives in jeopardy. 

And Hori is not even consistent with his "save everyone" because he showed us Deku giving up on some villains! Why are the league of the villains the only ones given endless chances while the other villains were tossed away after one chance and sometimes without being given any chance???

Other writers of Shonen manga nailed the “save the villains” plot because they leaned heavily on the unrealistic/fantastical presentation of their themes and characters’ psychologies, while Hori was fairly realistic. And they made sure that the heroes would not dehumanize themselves to be empathic and compassionate, and they would mostly let the “talk-no-jetsu” therapy for after the fight was over and the villains’ asses were kicked. And most importantly: they didn’t make every single hero - even teenagers! - feel morally obligated to give that “talk-no-jetsu” in the first place. That’s why their “save the villains” story worked and Hori’s didn’t. 

One of Hori’s biggest problems is making the heroes feel morally obligated to be the villains’ therapists! during times of war! while the villains are trying to literally murder them! That is a ridiculous demand because BNHA is not a fucking fairytale. If it was, then serious RL issues like child abuse and redemption would be dealt be symbolically and not realistically. If BNHA was a symbolic fantasy then I wouldn’t care if serious RL issues (like terrorism, stalking, physical assault, attempted murder, and adultification) were used in an abstract way to explore other RL issues (empathy, mercy, acceptance, child abuse, isolation, despair). Like I said in the previous ask: You can’t argue for hyper-realism when talking about the villains’ trauma/moral responsibility but argue for utterly unrealistic fantasy bullshit when talking about the heroes’ trauma/moral responsibility (just give the traumatized terrorists empathy and mercy and they will stop being evil!). You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

[desultory-novice]

not to come here for the most niche thing in the universe,,,, but uh. shipping-wise, do you see anyone for Haltmann in any way? -glances at my list of at least 8 Haltmann ships lmao-

You wrote in! Yay!

Don't worry about questions that are a little niche, as long as they're SFW/general audiences, that is! Frankly, I feel like I've covered a lot of the general knowledge stuff already, so we might as well dig deeper on some character asks!

So, let's talk Haltmann's personal life!

(PS: This post is 90% fluffy/feel good stuff, so if you don’t like the characters involved, there’s almost guaranteed to be nothing here for you. I’d recommend just scrolling on by.)

I admit, I've got some fondness for Haltmann x Sectonia (1) which I think may be one of the more popular pairings for him?

I do think it's sad that, due to the characters' fates, the pairing sort of naturally lands itself in a "they met in hell" scenario. Although a reincarnation timeline for them isn't out of the question either!

(Though we've kind of already got a glimpse at the potential Kirby afterlife in that Morpho Knight novel, so it's not like you COULDN"T set a story there.)

I'm still working around to how I might treat a reincarnation scenario in any of my own works. Now, I tend to think they are both "canon dead" for different reasons, so I'd probably have to work around to different solutions to how they could both come back that would also support potential relationships. 

(I also ship Sectaranza after all! But if enough time passes by the time the Dream Stalk finally dies and Sectonia's soul is released and up for reincarnation, such that Taranza has either passed away or just moved on to the point that the two of them realize they're different people now, I can see it being an amicable decision to move on/support each other’s new lives on their part.

 .......Oh gosh, not to go on a mini-tangent, but I’m just personally kind uncomfortable with “I realized we’re toxic together and now we must never see each other again stories.” In fiction, that is. Obviously, you need to take care of your own life, what you’re capable of shouldering and what you should, and stories are a good way to teach life lessons, but...that’s just one that’s a little painful for me, personally. I’d really rather everything work out, if it can.)

For Max’s part in the coming back to life story... As far as we know, Star Dream still possesses his body. It’s an empty vessel now, but if Star Dream is keeping it preserved, then....maybe some kind of Kaiba from the Yugioh manga situation where Haltmann’s soul has not necessarily been completely destroyed, but the various bits and bytes of it have all been scattered, and need to be put back together piece by piece before he can return?

Anyway, it’s kind of sweet to imagine two people who are so very time-displaced from the world they know (and only they know each other’s darker histories) and finding a rock and familiarity in each other!

As for other stuff they have in common, I think it's a little cute that they clearly both enjoy the "finer things in life" and they'd be two who wouldn't even question each other's somewhat extravagant habits! 

Although Max feels very nouveux-riche(2) versus Sectonia's landed aristocracy vibes. So I see Max getting very excited about having a gajillion (unnecessary) tchotchkes, while Sectonia only sets her sights on one-of-a-kind artisan crafted treats. But then they both nod approvingly at the appeal of a fancy dinner out at a venue with great atmosphere and a positively stunning view!

(Who DOESN'T like food in the Kirby-verse?)

(1) I wanted to add, I think there's something surprisingly touching/sweet about this ship too when you pair it with certain gender headcanons for the two also? I mean... Sectonia IS a canon body-swapper who "used to look like Taranza." :quietly clutches trans-Sectonia headcanon: And Max has no known wife in the picture. Losing his daughter basically caused his whole life to fall apart, but no mention of a wife anywhere? ...Sus... Of course, maybe the whole Haltmann family was made in a factory or... maybe because they're both egg people AND aliens, they have some interesting biological options going on!

(2) I don't know if this is a common headcanon or not, but I see Max as someone who started out very poor. Just, had good ideas, a good heart, dreamed big, but for a variety of reasons, could never find success with anything he did. Pre-Star Dream Max, though we never truly get to see him, gives off serious "goofy inventor dads who the rest of the neighborhood rolls their eyes at" vibes. (I think it's the laughter. While the laughter in his boss fight is meant to be kind of discordant, it's also so silly sounding that I always imagine him as a man who laughed - for real - a lot, pre-accident.)

Thus, he really did need Star Dream to take his dreams and turn them into a successful venture. Of course, everything went WRONG after that, but...

Another reason I see the Haltmanns as starting out poor is the "gift of the magi" vibes I get from Susie giving him the pocket watch, and him giving Susie the hairpin. It feels like, when you have just ONE gift from someone that you cherish above all else so much, you keep it on your person at ALL times, it was probably REALLy difficult for them to get you that one gift.

Anyway!

Now, in a magical happy-verse where everyone already lives, akin to the novels (or what I hope they might do in a potential game-accurate anime series) I also find Max x Hyness a bit adorable! The "Bad Dads." Only they miraculously chill each other out/cancel out each other's vices in a way no one can explain?! 

Now, while I think it’s a cute pairing, I don't actively ship Susie/Zan, as my Susie leans toward aroace and my Zan is not “uninterested” but one of those people who so focused on her job and her devotion and her list-of-one-hundred-and-eleven-things-she’s-got-to-keep-from-breaking-apart-including-herself-first that she's just going to forget to have a relationship and one day BAM!! Ten years have passed. But, I giggle guiltily when I think about their ship/friendship causing their two dads to meet. And get to talking. And....

(Let us not forget, Max has a keen interest in the Ancients and history as well! And with his being prone to bouts of heightened emotion when things go wrong, I get the feeling he'd be one of the few people to NOT shut down Hyness's anger and depression but rather sympathize with it and actually have the life experience to back it up! And poor awkward Hynes could probably use opinions from people who aren't his worshippers.)

Also, if you listen to their boss music back to back, they’re REALLy similar.

Bonus: Not a ship so much as a friendship, but I can also see Max getting along great with Chef Kawasaki. Maybe it's the fact that Max is an egg and Kawasaki is a sweet potato?? 

But going with the "nouveux riche" and "likes a nice dinner" headcanons up above, I see him as someone who could just appreciate the chef's cooking without a lot of boisterous fuss, like King Dedede might inevitably end up causing. (I think Kawasaki was supposed to be a BAD cook in the anime? I've never seen it, so I'm just going with the idea that he's a good cook here.)

...I had more to say here, but I fell asleep and can't remember the rest now. Anyway, it's an idea!

[sleepydrabbles]

A random note for anyone who thinks Bakugo’s character growth is slower/less amazing than the rest of class 1A

It is. But our timeline so far is about 1-1.5 years (stay tuned for a potential correction, I forget how long it’s been since the war arc and I’m rereading the manga to set up a timeline for myself). He spent half the first year learning he wasn’t the shit— so he’s naturally at least half a year behind. The growth he’s going through now is growth class 1A had probably about 6-12 months ago.

And let’s be honest— any growth looks minuscule next to Izuku getting jacked, learning how to control a quirk and then like seven, developing emotionally to a point where he could act with courage in the face of villains, saving like five people from themselves, etc. like All might notes, we’re watching the initial sprint of growth with Izuku, where he learns a lot in an incredibly short amount of time because there is SO MUCH to learn.

His other classmates have relatively normal growth— a few new skills, some emotional strength boosts, a few saves under their belts. They already knew they weren’t the shit— they were there to learn to be heroes in the same way most kids enter technical high schools with the intent to reach a career path.

Bakugo is arrogant and aggressive and antagonistic. He’s belligerent. He doesn’t listen. As some of you have noted, what kind of learning can a student like him do? Almost none. That means his growth was stalled AT LEAST until internships, where he simply said he was there to figure out what he couldn’t do, acknowledging potential weakness and the need for a mentor at some level. He put himself behind. That was entirely his fault. Cause and effect then rolled into place: once you get that far behind, short of a miracle, you aren’t going to catch up. Ever.

I don’t think even he realized this until he went fucking nuclear.

When you talk about Bakugo’s growth, whether you believe it does or doesn’t exist, please factor in the overall time taken and his general personality, and then remember he’s a pubescent high schooler. Maybe you were amazing as a high schooler but I know I had a few times where I was so wrapped up in my amygdala I ignored very good advice (though I have to admit it was more about studying anatomy, strategizing ways to make money, etc— kind of hard to compare a homebody artist with a sweet tooth to a spice-loving adrenaline junkie with explosive hands and a horrible temper.)

These are all factors that affect the situation, whether we like it or not. And they’re factors we know about, not hidden factors we have to guess at. Horikoshi gives us regular time indicators and Bakugo’s birthday. It’s established that they’re at a high school. We watch him interact with his surroundings (and I gotta say, he’s not popular, even in his middle school scenes. I get the feeling people groaned mentally when he got started).

Age 14, 15, 16 also need to be considered equal across the board. You cannot analyze one character and say “he’s only 16” and then analyze another and say “he’s already 16”. Everyone deals with their own challenges and the cause and effect those create, and they deal with it differently based on age, personality, and life experience. Please remember that.

And if you just want to rant about hating a character, tag it as a rant and not a critique, please.

[confusedamphibian]

orobus coco is so underrated there are literally 3 posts under his tag.

[frozenmoonshine]

Things I LOVE about TR:

‌First of all, characters. And the fact that it is a fully character driven story. The way they are built, portrayed, designed even. The way they are all written to feel like real people, like they are all your own friends and acquaintances. I have no problem imagining Tōman members (founders and original members) as being just these kids from the block that hang out in the neighborhood. I have felt since they were introduced as if I've known them all personally. They have resonated with me so deeply, I cannot even put that into words. We're not even talking "kins" or simply relating to characters here. It's even deeper than that, they are basically real in my perception (and I guess I'm far from the only one).

‌I love how layered, and deep, and complex each one of them is. They have very real, very human feelings, thoughts, fears, flaws, traumas, motivations, dreams... Their relationships are genuine. Their bonds transfer to the readers. We feel them. Just as we feel FOR them.

‌Then, narration techniques. Yes, I know. Nothing is more frustrating than a bunch of unreliable narrators in the still ongoing story, and scattered clues that can't be pieced together 'cause the key pieces are always missing, and never seem to be what we think they are. BUT! That is precisely what keeps us on the edge of our seats, leaves us interested, intrigued, makes us want to "crack the code", to solve the mystery, to know what really happened, to get the whole picture. It makes us observe, analyse, speculate, come up with theories... It keeps us entertained way beyond just reading the chapters weekly. It leaves us wondering, it leaves us wanting more, and it always only teases, even when giving us some answers. They're never full, never really clear, and they always open up new questions and new possibilites. And again, bring us to think about the story and it's characters, way beyond what we're reading weekly. Almost as if the real stories are the ones going on in our heads. And if that's not amazing and impressive storytelling and entertainment skill on Wakui-sensei's end, IDK what is!

But there is indeed another thing about his storytelling that I absolutely love and deeply respect, and that is the fact that he manages to make this appeal equally to the audiences of all ages! Maybe even more so to the adults than kids and teens! And how he does that? By dressing the much deeper story in an edgy outfit, so to speak. Unless you're a surface reader, or too immature to understand what you're in fact reading, you do know that what TR is all about has NOTHING to do with biker gangs, delinquents, fights, crime, all that. Not even the time travel shennanigans! All that is just USED AS MEANS to tell a story about other stuff that really matters. But it's 'cool' on the surface, it's flashy, it's 'badass', it's larger-than-life, and as such bound to attract attention and readers. It's still technically a shōnen manga, so that much is understandable. But it's so much more than any of that!

Protagonist. Ok, this could maybe fall under the category "characters", but it's a different point I wanna make here. Takemichi is by no means among my favorite characters. In terms of direct likeability, he has none. He's annoying, stupid, indecisive, cowardly, a loser, the one that never learns. And that's precisely what makes him an outstanding choice of a personality/characterization for a protagonist! He's unique, he's different. He's not a "Luffy" who's super strong to begin with, and he's not even a "Naruto", who starts out weak but trains to become super strong. No. Takemichi is weak, and stays weak. He doesn't change. He doesn't grow. He struggles with his flaws, but doesn't win. He's still flawed. Very much so. Do we hate him for dragging everyone else down to hell with him? Absolutely. Is he inspiring in any way? Not at all. #not_my_hero Does he make the reader want to be in his place, or want to be like him? Hell no! But does all of that make him an excellent protagonist? Most certainly yes! Because a protagonist does NOT need to be cool, to be likeable, to be strong, to be a "hero" (in convential save-the-day way). Protagonist can be as flawed and human and hateable as any other character. Because that's what makes them feel real. Relatable. And that's what Takemichi is. We can all recognize at least some negative aspects of ourselves in Takemichi. And if HE, as horrible and full of flaws, and unchanging, as he is can have a whole damn awesome, badass story about himself (technically), we, readers, can learn to accept, if not love, the parts of ourselves we hate but cannot change.

[realcube]

❥ HOW HE CONFESSES

characters ❥ mikey, draken & baji 

tw ❥ the beach, bad driving, mentions of murder and cursing 

cr ❥ requested by anon

a/n ❥ i’ve not read the manga yet :’(

MIKEY 

♥ his love language is shoplifting for you <33

♥ like okay.. in writing it kinda sounds pathetic compared to all the other shit he does but like.. he goes through the effort of personally picking up your favourite snack from the grocery store —instead of getting his toman underling to do it for him — and hiding them under his shirt 

♥ and he thinks about you the whole time he is sprinting away from security 

♥ if that isn’t true love idk what is 

♥ today wasn’t any ol’ day tho, snacks and sweets were going to cut it 

♥ instead, he went for the big shiny rock on a ring he keeps seeing the window of the rock shop on the high street

♥ it was pretty, for a rock, but not pretty enough for anyone in their right mind to think it’s worth £10,000/$14,000/ ¥1,500,000!!!

♥ however, after hearing that price from a salesperson, he knew that stupid rock ring was exactly how he’d win your heart <3 

♥ it was a challenge and it had him working overtime, but after pulling some strings, doing a couple favours, and maybe even inadvertently killing some people (you never know 🤷‍♂️), he managed to get his hands on the pristine stone, which he had come to learn was called a diamond, which was why it was so expensive 

♥ the guy who did him the favour of stealing it initially asked if mikey was planning on proposing and mikey said yes —since asking you out on a date is technically a proposal — and the dude didn’t even question it, he just said good luck

♥ and that sort of energy was exactly what mikey needed right now as he stood behind a wall near your lunch table as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do 

♥ all your friends had left yet you were still sitting there alone since mikey texted you and asked for you to wait behind, and the fact you actually did filled him with hope from the get-go

♥ “(y/n)! there you are!” mikey greeted as if he didn’t know exactly where you were this whole time. why was his heart thumping so harshly in his chest? and why did he suddenly feel overwhelmingly embarrassed? i mean, he’s not done anything worth being awkward about.. yet.

♥ he didn’t understand. he never usually gets this way around people. but then again, he shouldn’t be surprised since he knew you were an exception from the beginning

♥ “hi, mikey.” you hummed, head propped gently on your arm while you slipped your phone away, “why did you want to see me? is something wrong?”

♥ the slight concern he detected in your voice was enough for him to immediately blurt out, “oh, no! nothing like that! everything is great; i am great and i, erm, hope you are too.” he announced, somewhat glad that your only reaction was a blank stare as it meant he doesn’t feel inclined to explain himself 

♥ “so, uh, i was just wonder if you..” he started, clenching his jaw as he mentally reassured himself. the fact that he felt embarrassed about feeling embarrassed made things infinitely harder from him. he took a deep breath, and spilled

♥ “do you want to go out on a date with me sometime?” he basically screamed, squeezing his eyes shut tight and emptying his left pocket onto the table in front of you so that his special gift would accompany his proposal 

♥ he closed his eyes as if that was going to protect him from rejection, but before he was able to silently rebuke himself, he heard faint sobbing from where he dropped his present 

♥ upon opening his eyes, the shock from the sight before him was enough to give him whiplash

♥ in an unfortunate turn of events, he must’ve emptied the wrong pocket because sitting on the table in front of you was not a diamond ring, but rather a sherbet dip he bought to share with you if you said ‘yes’ to his proposal 

♥ and his suspicions were correct, you were the one crying 

♥ ....

♥ waIT WHY ARE YOU CRYING mikey panicked, frantically looking around for someone who might’ve hurt you, or perhaps someone he’d have to send to A&E

♥ “are you okay?”

♥ “yeah.” you whispered, your light chuckle enough to prevent mikey from worrying any more, “i’m just..” you stuttered, smiling fondly at the blonde, “i’m just really happy. i thought you’d never ask.” 

♥ it was impossible for mikey to conceal the sigh of relief he breathed as he slumped down next to you on the bench, “thank god. i thought someone had threatened you or something.”

♥ “threatened me? why would they do that?” you innocently cocked your head to the side, rubbing your eyes as you did so. 

♥ oh, yeah. mikey hadn’t been fully transparent with you about his.. current employment. as far as you knew, he was a full-time student at ‘toman academy’ and he had a part-time job babysitting (which was hardly a lie, in his opinion)

♥ so you didn’t really know about how he was the leader of the tokyo manji gang or any of that

♥ originally he thought it was fine to keep it a secret, but now that you were officially his partner it would be immoral to not let you know about his affiliation with the gang 

♥ so he decided to tell you over a sherbert <33

♥ “so, are we official?” he cooed, ripping the lollypops out of the bag and popping one in his mouth while offering you the other by tapping it against your lips lightly 

♥ “yep.” you smiled, taking the lolly into your mouth with a smile, glad that he didn’t bring up your little waterworks a few second ago 

♥ but in all honesty, he was preoccupied wondering what the most appropriate way to phrase ‘i am the leader of a gang of delinquents’ would be 

♥ poor little mikey brain working on overdrive 

♥ he decided to pull out the ring, since he still had to give that to you, so while you were entranced by the fat gem glistening under the light in mikey’s possession, he began, “so, babe, do you think being a gang leader is hot?”

DRAKEN

♥ he honestly didn’t have a clue how to ask you out

♥ in fact, he didn’t even know that he had a crush on you until mikey pointed out all of his weird behaviours around you 

♥ so his first instinct was to go to mikey for advice when thinking of ways to ask you out 

♥ but the only idea that mf was to get ‘will you go out with me, (y/n)?’ tattooed onto his ‘thick skull’ and ofc draken wasn’t about to do that

♥ although he did consider it for like.. a minute

♥ (he was like.. hmmmm... well, the tattoo guy does owe me a favour so... maybe i could get it for free?)

♥ (or permanent marker might work???)

♥ anyway, he eventually decided to ask you out the good ol’ fashion way!! by just telling you how he feels

♥ however, once he explained this plan to mikey, he was scoffed and said ‘good luck with that’ in the most condescending tone of voice

♥ draken’s initial instinct was to simply beat up mikey and go ask you out anyway, but this conflict ran deeper than just him and mikey bickering about trivial issues- his whole relationship was on the line! 

♥ so after hearing the leader out, he finally decided on the most appropriate way to confess — just like how all the dudes in the animes mikey and him and watched did it 

♥ by giving you flowers and chocolates <3

♥ and mikey even offered to come into the store with draken and help him choose the goods since mikey was a self-proclaimed ‘love-expert’

♥ draken obviously denied his offer but he came along anyway 

♥ “ooh, ken-chin! look at these ones, they’re on sale.” mikey gasped, happily grabbing a pack of heart-shaped chocolates off the shelf, ripping them open and stuffing his face, “and they are delicious too!”

♥ paying no attention to the fact that mikey had essentially already committed a crime since there was no way he intended to pay for those chocolates, draken mused while eyeing up the rest of the sweets, the bouquet of flowers he had already chosen tucked under his arm, “valentine’s day was a week ago, that’s probably why they are on sale.” 

♥ “draken?” 

♥ a familiar voice from the end of the aisle caused draken to avert his gaze from the chocolates displayed in front of him and instead search for the source of the voice, which happened to be you standing innocently with your basket in-hand

♥ “ah, (y/n),” draken tensed, immediately shoving the bouquet of flowers behind his back at hopefully out of your sight as he put on a forced smile to distract from them too, “what a nice surprise seeing you here.”

♥ “hm?” mikey chimed in, unable to vocalise his curiosity through the chocolates stuffed in his mouth, but that didn’t stop him from trying, “is that the (y/n) you were talking about? the one you were going to conf--” 

♥ “that’s enough outta you.” draken hissed through a fake smile, shoving mikey into the next aisle, which happened to be the snack aisle so, entertained, he decided to stay put

♥ “oh, is that your friend mikey?” you inquired, having only ever heard about mikey through rumours up until now. though none of them exactly matched the image you saw just there

♥ “yep, he’s pain sometimes, but he’s still cool.” draken muttered, awkwardly rolling on the balls of his feet as he waited for a deity to save him from this interaction —  not that he didn’t want to talk to you, it’s just that every second you spend with him, the less likely it becomes that his confession will go as planned

♥ and you only confirmed that with your follow-up question

♥ “i see you’ve got flowers, and you’re looking for chocolates. who’s the special someone?” you teased, poking draken’s cheek playfully (which is one of the many things he only finds comfort in when you do it)

♥ “oh, no one.” he hummed, his coy smile doing a number on your heart rate

♥ “how about you? who is that card for?” he inquired casually, gesturing to the classic pink ‘i have something to tell you... <3′ confession card that was only in-stock during valentine’s day season, that was sitting atop the groceries in your basket

♥ a cocky smirk tugged at his lips — as if to say ‘i won’ — while he watched you become increasingly flustered right in front of him. it was adorable

♥ but he thought it would stop there; stop with him winning the teasing battle, you getting all sheepish then leaving but that apparently wasn’t your plan

♥ instead, you lowered your head and outstretched your arms to give him the card (which was still in the wrapping plastic) 

♥ “red-handed. i bought these with you in mind, draken.” you said, voice barely above a whisper, “but if you don’t accept then that’s fine too, have a nic--”

♥ “who said i don’t accept?” draken grumbled, almost as if he was annoyed, as he took your card and examined the card thoroughly for a couple seconds

♥ then suddenly, he froze. the shock of the realisation leaving him stunned to the point where the only thing he could do was shift his eyes from the card on to you and utter in a terrified tone, “this isn’t, uh, this isn’t a confession, is it?”

♥ you shrugged, “i guess, it is.” 

♥ “damn it.” draken cursed, glaring at the snack aisle and hence mikey, for giving him this stupid idea

♥ “is there a problem?” 

♥ “no.” draken said through gritted teeth before pulling out the bouquet his had hidden behind his back, “but i was meant to confess first.”

♥ your jaw dropped, leaving draken concerned for a second until you instantly pulled him in for a tight hug; another thing he admired about you was that you gave hugs like you were in the mafia, strong enough to cut off his airflow

♥ “double confession!” you squealed, absolutely delighted that draken not only wanted to confess to you, but he had the same idea to come to the shop and buy stuff beforehand

♥ “i guess so.” draken chuckled, handing you the bouquet of flower as soon as you pulled away, “these are for you.” 

♥ you gasped, smiling at how he managed to remember your favourite kind of flower after a single off-handed comment you made ages ago, “thank you!” you hugged them to your chest, “have you already paid for them?”

♥ “no.” draken replied simply. “but they are still yours.”

♥ sometimes it slipped your mind that draken was part of a literal gang since.. he just seemed so normal and humble 

♥ but on some other occasions, it was painfully difficult to consider draken anything close to ‘normal’

♥ and one of those moments was when he was trying to convince security he was pregnant with a flower-baby, and when that evidently didn’t work, he just made a run for it with mikey, whose pants pockets were filled with sweets that trailed behind him where ever he ran

BAJI

♥ he didn’t even ponder about how he was supposed to confess to you for over a second

♥ the idea just came to him instantly and he went with it

♥ the only question he asked was ‘how can i show them how badass i am without bragging?’ and he immediately came up with an answer and rolled with it, no questions asked 

♥ and there was no planning or anything done beforehand either, he literally just texted you ‘where are you?’ at like 7PM and when you replied ‘the park’, he hopped on his bike and sped over 

♥ like he didn’t even ask which park.. he just guessed.. but he guessed correctly 

♥ your heart almost stopped as you watched a chunky motorcycle come speeding towards you at such a rate that all you could do was brace for impact and kiss goodbye to your relatively peaceful live

♥  however, at the very last second it swerved around you and came to a halt, allowing the rider to extend his free hand to you, “hop on.”

♥ the voice was all to familiar and you weren’t surprised at all to see baji with his signature ‘i could kill you’ grin plastered on his face 

♥ as your heart rate slowly began to return to normal, you cried, “what do you mean ‘hop on’? you almost ran me over!”

♥ he unclipped his helmet and tossed it to you, “safety first.”

♥ “did you even hear what i just said?” you grumbled, putting on the helmet anyway 

♥ “i think you said something about how excited you are to finally go out with me.” he mused, shuffling forwards slightly to give you more space to sit on behind him, like a true gentleman /s

♥ “no.” you replied simply. 

♥ though you initially had no intention of going anywhere with him, you still found yourself reaching your leg over his bike to take a seat behind him, “where are we going?”

♥ baji shrugged, chuckling slightly as he felt you gently wrap your arms around his hips, “don’t know, but hold on tight.” he warned, revving his engine and taking off without another word

♥ perhaps you were the fool for getting on a motorcycle with baji and letting him take you to an undisclosed location, but you trusted him enough to know that he wouldn’t try to drive you off a cliff or put you in danger.. or at least, that is what you hoped

♥ however, if it wasn’t a rival gang that kills you, baji’s driving definitely would

♥ he drives like a madman and left you with no other choice but to cling onto him for dear life, since if you didn’t bury yourself into his side, you’d probably fly off with all sharp turns he does around the other cars/bikes

♥ it was like being taped to the top of a vehicle in mario cart

♥ eyes squeezed shut, you yelled over the harsh blaring of the wind, “slow the fuck down! where are you even taking me?” 

♥ baji was having fun, but he was getting the feeling you weren’t..

♥ usually he doesn’t care about what other think but this was the first time he was taking you out, he didn’t want you to think of him as a maniac driver, or else you might not want to come with him ever again

♥ “if you open your eyes, you’ll see.” he uttered, slowing down slightly so the noises weren’t as harsh 

♥ taking his word for it, you hesitantly pried open one of your eyes and turned your neck so your face was no longer pressed against his shoulder

♥ and honestly, you were glad you did. passed the edge of the road, you had the perfect view of the beach below, the sea gently glistening under the orange sunset 

♥ now that your nose was free from only breathing in baji’s sickeningly strong, wild spice body spray, you finally able to enjoy fresh ocean air 

♥ “the beach.” you mused, smiling down at the completely deserted sandy shore, which looked so beautifully peaceful in contrast to how busy it was when you usually come 

♥ “no shit.” baji chuckled, his eyes remaining glued to road, despite how much he wanted to see your reaction

♥ you let out a defeated sighed, leaning against his back, “but it’s closed.”

♥ baji nodded, “yep, that means we’ve got the whole place to ourselves!”

♥ before you could question what baji meant by that, he steered off the edge of the road and down the steep hillside which led to the beach, though it definitely was not meant to be drove on as there were several warning sign at the side of the road, warning drivers about the hill

♥ “baji, what the fuck?!” you screamed over baji’s amused laughter, similar to the way you’d laugh if you were playing GTA, rather than playing with actual human lives

♥ “isn’t this fun?” he yelled back, enjoying how the wind felt against his skin as he maneuvered his bike down the steep hill 

♥ honestly, you weren’t sure whether you enjoyed it or not, but as soon as the bike came to a smooth landing upon the soft sand of the beach, you found yourself silently wanting to do that again

♥ “well, how was that?” baji asked, immediately hopping off the bike on his own only so he could offer you a hand

♥ accepting his hand, you stepped off the cycle only to notice that your legs were shaking, yet you oddly liked it, “that was.. okay.” you murmured, not wanting to feed his ego but also unable to lie to him.

♥ “great.” he uttered, leaning forward to carefully unclip your helmet for you and sling it over the handle of his bike

♥ “so,” he started, looking around the beach for any stray cops or surveyors, “what do you wanna do?” 

♥ he felt a light tug on his jacket sleeve, causing him to look down and meet your pleading gaze, “do you think we could go out again? some other time, maybe?”

♥ all baji did was laugh, resulting in you become sheepish for a moment, until he wrapped his arms around you picked you up for a hug, “obviously!”

♥ you smiled, your cheeks heating up slightly, “nice!”

♥ “anyway,” he started, placing you back down and dashing off towards the sea, “loser owes me lunch!”

♥ ignoring how he gets lunch either way, you immediately sprinted off behind him, watching as he dramatically fell over a large shell and face-planted into the the sand

♥ being the kind friend you are, you ignored him and continued running towards the water, only for him to grab your ankle and trip you up too

♥ “ha!” that is how he shows affection <3

[ootahime]

what is utahime’s role in the future? — a prediction (manga spoilers)

part 1 (unedited)

I WAS ABOUT TO POST IT BUT I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED IT AND I WAS SO HURT FR!!!!! I HAD REWRITE THIS ENTIRE THING </33

part 2 is here!

in this post, i will be analyzing the information we’ve been given about utahime so far to form a prediction about her future role in the jujutsu kaisen series. if you’re as interested in utahime’s character as i am, please feel free to keep reading :3 (i’ll also be talking about her relationship with gojo a bit too)

soukatsu_ on twt!

kaikaikitan on twt!

utahime iori is a semi-grade 1 sorcerer working as a student supervisor/teacher at kyoto jujutsu high school. she loves drinking beer and going to karaoke. she’s also close friends with shoko and she’s not particularly fond of gojo most of the time. what else do we know about her?

hates sweets (funny she’s the complete opposite of gojo)

she’s great at singing and it’s a huge part of her technique

squabbling with gojo became a reflex :3

everyone absolutely adores utahime

loves watching soccer and baseball

a terrible drunk (worse than naobito zenin)

gojo is her main source of stress

let’s dive into her personality and abilities!

chapter 65

before i get into it, i think it’d be best if i were to explain the timeline because a lot of people seem to be confused about this one particular thing. utahime is born on february 18th, 1987. contrary to popular belief, she is not 3 years older than gojo. it is november 2018 in the story because gojo was sealed on halloween. if gojo was born on december 7th, 1989, that would mean that right now, he is only 28 years old. he has yet to turn 29.

the year is 2007. gojo satoru is a second year at tokyo jujutsu high school. the japanese school year begins in april which suggests that gojo is only 17 at the time (even if it’s not april, it doesn’t look like winter yet so it’s unlikely that he’s already 18). utahime is 20 because it is past february. she is a 2nd grade sorcerer at the age of 20. that’s not bad at all!

chapter 65 introduces young utahime and mei on a mission together within a cursed site. in real time, they’ve been gone for two days which is a cause of concern for gojo, shoko, and geto because the two haven’t contacted anyone since the beginning of their mission.  the two begin to suspect something is wrong because the hallway markers they’ve set in place disappeared, and no matter how far they travel within the halls, the end is nowhere in sight.  mei theorizes that the cursed spirit is overlapping the space as they travel forward.  utahime agrees with this speculation and proposes a plan to escape the cursed spirit’s grasp by moving erratically.  notice how she says that if one of them should escape, they can try to attack from the outside or call for help.  if utahime was not capable of inflicting damage on anything then she would have told mei to escape and attack if she can while she waited to be rescued.  however, she didn’t.  she included herself in the sentence which leads me to believe that she is capable of going on the offense if needed.  

keep in mind that at this point in time, mei is a grade 1 sorcerer.  she is knowledgeable about all things involving jujutsu because she is experienced and skillful.  we can see this aspect of her character illustrated when she theorizes that the cursed spirit is messing with the space they’re in.  she chooses to go with utahime’s plan because she agrees that it’s the best action moving forward.  this verifies that utahime is an intelligent girl that’s able to get along with pretty much anyone.  

her intellect is demonstrated once again in chapter 79.  she was able to deduce the possibility of there being more than one traitor and the fact that one is probably a higher up.  she also narrowed down the mechamaru as the mole of kyoto not because he was acting suspicious but by process of elimination.  she thought thoroughly of his technique and how easy it would be for him to manipulate devices small enough to be undetectable.  

sure you can argue that she should already know all her students’ abilities and whatnot but you have to admit that it’s hard trying to sniff out the traitor when no one is acting suspicious.  in addition to that, how did she know that there was a traitor in the top brass?  i would have never guessed that tbh LOL (maybe bc im an idiot).

okay, now that we have established that she’s intelligent, let’s answer a more important question.  is utahime weak?

chapter 33

if gojo calls utahime weak, does that mean there is some truth to it?  well it is true that she is weaker than him because he’s the strongest and all.  in my opinion, he’s just teasing her.  he probably found that calling her weak is what really riles her up.  maybe i’ll talk about why he loves teasing her so much in a later post.  but anyway, gojo calls everybody and their mom weak.  he even said jogo was weak and we know how powerful that guy is.  gojo’s words alone do not indicate much about utahime’s power.  in fact, i don’t even think he has seen her use her technique yet.  he’s probably only ever heard of how it works.  this is what i think their conversation about her technique was like:

gojo: hm?  ur cursed technique is singing?  can u show me?

utahime: what!  no way!  

gojo: why not?

*one of the classmates tells him that she can only use her CT once in a while because it consumes a lot of energy*

gojo: hahaha!  u have to conserve cursed energy to use ur CT?  why are u so weak, utahime?

utahime: i!  am!  your!  senpai!  respect!  me!

what i’m trying to say is that gojo loves poking fun of people.  we should not believe him when he calls someone weak because compared to him, everyone is weak.  

this is a little off topic but let’s examine him telling her, “and you don’t have the nerves, utahime.”  i think he’s trying to say that there’s no way she’ll ever do something like that because she’s not the type to put her students in danger.  remember the soft expression and relieved smile on her lips when she said that she was glad the students were safe after the kyoto incident?  gojo was directly in front of her so not only did he hear her say that, but he could have seen the look on her face too.  even if he told her that she didn’t have the guts to betray the school to get on her nerves, he knew that utahime simply cared too much about the students so he ruled her out as a suspect right away.  this is why he ultimately decided to confide in her and ask her to help him.  

i’m a person who loves over-analyzing things.  i really enjoy the dynamic between gojo and utahime.  they’ve known each other for more than 11 years and although they always bicker, there is an unspoken feeling of trust between the two.  gojo can do anything and everything by himself because he is truly the strongest person alive, but he still knows when to rely on others.  him deciding to entrust utahime with such a job implies that he believes in utahime’s abilities.

chapter 52

she’s not using any cursed energy here--not to our knowledge at least.  this is just pure skill.  she was able to swiftly evade the swing from haruta.  he was surprised himself considering the fact that he was right behind her.  how do we know her CT isn’t speed?  after haruta swung at her, we can see that some of her hair got cut off.  if she was using her CT then speed should be her specialty.  she should have been able to completely avoid the attack altogether but she didn’t.  of course this isn’t a wow moment because jujutsu sorcerers should know how to dodge attacks, however, i’m just trying to get the point across that she’s not a defenseless person without her technique or others.  let’s not forget that semi-grade 1 isn’t a weak rank either.  you can’t simply be recommended to be a grade 1 sorcerer if you only can support others.  

chapter 48

i want to bring up this panel. it suggests that utahime and takuma are sorcerers who have not experienced black flash and therefore, do not understand the essence of cursed energy as well as those who have like gojo and nanami.  i find it strange how takuma and utahime were used to represent sorcerers who haven’t experienced it yet.  is the purpose to demonstrate that there is a clear difference in skill between adult sorcerers like utahime and takuma compared to gojo and nanami?  i could be nitpicking but the order of todo’s statement doesn’t line up with the sorcerers being shown.  let me explain in depth.  todo starts off by saying, “for those who have experienced black flash as compared to those who have not...” wouldn’t it make more sense to show gojo and nanami on the right side to represent sorcerers who have experienced black flash?  that was mentioned first, after all.  gojo and nanami should appear when todo says “for those who have experience black flash” while utahime and takuma should be shown right after to personify the second part, “as compared to those who have not.”  i’m just making it more complicated than it actually is LOLOL i’m sure it really just means they haven’t experienced black flash yet, which is completely fine.  i also find it fascinating how they used utahime to contrast gojo.  with nanami and takuma it makes sense.  nanami is someone takuma looks up to, he wants to gain nanami’s approval before he deems himself worthy of a promotion. what about utahime and gojo?  what’s the purpose of comparing those two together when it’s obvious that gojo knows more about the essence of cursed energy more than anyone else?  i might be delusional whoops

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let me know what you guys think?  this is only a part 1 so i haven’t gotten around to answering the question.  i’m pretty much done with the second part, i just need to revise it a little.  i think after i post part 2, i’ll try to interpret all the gojo and utahime moments in the manga >.<

[blushing-titan]

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about chapter 138 again, and I came to a few conclusions. First and foremost, I’m surprised at the amount of Mikasa’s fans who are happy about the possibility of the cabin vision being an actual AU. Mikasa has been one of my favorite characters pretty much since the beginning, but I feel like - if the AU is real - it’s a huge step back for her progress and general well-being. Let me explain my point below - warning, it’s pretty long! I’ll be using manga panels (I obviously don’t own them, all credits go to the author!), and there will be spoilers.

My perspective on Eremika

I’m a firm believer that Eren and Mikasa’s relationship is a bit too unhealthy for Mikasa, at least in it’s current state - to me, it’s clear as a day that it’s way too unbalanced. Mikasa just invests more in it - it’s been shown countless times, both in the manga and anime, that Eren’s safety and well-being is her top priority. He’s on her mind most of the times and she constantly wants to be near him - she thinks of him as her safe place and home.

But what about Eren? He’s often irritated and suffocated by her overprotectiveness. He’s quite a proud person who doesn’t want to be constantly saved - despite generally needing it sometimes. In my eyes, it’s another imbalance - Eren wants to be the strong one, but since Mikasa is just naturally better at that, he constantly feels belittled, like it’s a form of rivalry.

On top of that, throught the entire series Eren has his own set of dreams and goals that doesn’t necessarily always revolve around Mikasa - all while Mikasa makes up her plans and goals solely around Eren. She even admits that all she wants is just to be at his side.

What concerns me too, however, is that Mikasa often puts Eren’s safety and well-being over her own - and it’s something that she realizes. 

Sometimes, Mikasa’s friends act as a voice of reason, but when someone tries to raise any objections or concerns against Eren, she usually backs him up or tries to rationalize his actions. In the example below, Jean is concerned about the scar that Mikasa got after she got attacked by Eren (right after Eren lost control over his titan in chapter 12).

On top of that, Mikasa can be very passive, and even uncritical when it comes to Eren’s more questionable actions. There are times in which the latter can get a bit too blunt, or even straight up mean, but Mikasa either protects him, tries to justify his actions or is literally immobilized by them - like in the scene in which Eren insults her and proceeds to fight Armin, who’s been trying to back her up. Notice how Mikasa is unable to stop Eren from continuously attacking Armin (when, a reminder, the latter one stood up for her), but immediately jumps in to stop Armin from attacking Eren. You can clearly see that even she is shocked by her reaction.

We can also see her being in denial about Eren’s hurtful actions later on. She doesn’t even want to talk about it when Jean brings it up:

She’s also still concerned and worried about Eren a few chapters later, after he had done and stated that he’s about to do terrible things - even at times when her other friends were endangered. This time, it’s Armin who tries to act as a voice of reason.

Now, before we get ahead of ourselves: 

Do I think that Eren doesn’t care about Mikasa, or even hate her (as he said)? No - she’s obviously extremely important to him and he was definitely lying during the table scene. Personally, I’ve never seen him having any romantic feelings towards her, but that doesn’t mean anything - love doesn’t always have to be romantic and I 100% believe that she’s still someone who he holds very dear to his heart. There are many moments that show that he’s also very protective of her, and that - along with Armin - she’s one of the most important people in his life. 

But my point still stands - aside from that, the relationship is just too unbalanced to be considered healthy, especially for Mikasa. Both Eren and Mikasa see it in different light, which often cause them to collide. I just can’t help but feel like Mikasa sacrifices too much for it, too - she often ends up jeopardizing her safety, constantly worries about Eren and clashes with her friends because of it. To some extent, Eren may be doing some of these things as well - but let’s be 100% honest, never nearly as much as Mikasa does. He fiercly protects her when she’s in danger and backs her up when he agrees with her, but at the end of the day he has his own goals and opinions. He doesn’t fixate himself with Mikasa nearly as much as Mikasa does it with him - he’s never jealous of anything but her skills, meanwhile she's often on alert when he’s around other girls. In the manga, she’s displaying jealousy over Annie and Historia, in the anime we can add Hanji to that pool, while in A.O.T. Wings of Freedom she’s also jealous of Sasha and even freckled Ymir - all while Eren remains oblivious and - in these situations, rightfully so - annoyed.

We know that there are reasons why Mikasa treats Eren like this. He obviously saved her life when they were children, but it’s also because she was strongly traumatized by losing both her biological family, and then people who took care of her right after that. It’s only natural that she does anything in her power to not go through that again...

...but it’s important to question if the way her relationship with Eren goes - how she commits to it 100% and how it affects her - is really the best way for her to heal and eventually live a happy life. I believe that Eren himself saw that it was becoming too toxic for Mikasa - and, considering that he actually cares for her and knows that he doesn’t have all the time in the world, he focused on making her move on. In my opinion, that’s why he wanted to push her away during the table scene. It’s also why he tried to get rid of the scarf that Louise brought to him. Even if the execution is far from perfect, he still wants what’s best for her, so he tries to put an end to enabling her unhealthy coping practices. He wants her to live a long, happy life.

Soooo...how does “the cabin AU” fit into all of this?

The answer is simple - it doesn’t. It’s a huge mixture and repetition of everything that’s harmful about Mikasa’s obsession with Eren. It’s a confirmation that Mikasa would be able to leave the entire world for 4 years of constant lying to herself. To betray her friends, leave everything behind, act as if everything was going to be okay and, in turn, make it all worse for herself. Because let me remind you one thing - Mikasa will go on living after Eren looses to the titan curse...but what will she do from now on? Will she stay in the cabin forever, alone and with no one to talk to - no one to share the pain after saying her final goodbye to Eren? Will she come back to the war-ridden world and face her old friends - like Armin who must have been frantically looking for her and Eren? Some of these friends may not want to have anything to do with her after all that - some may be already dead. Maybe there’s no place to go at all.

In my opinion, Eren being okay with this would ultimately prove that he doesn’t care about Mikasa’s wellbeing - and, as I’ve said before I just don’t think that’s the case at all. On top of that, as stated in the beginning, it would serve as a regress of Mikasa’s character - she wouldn’t be able to overcome her weaknesses, which would only make her life harder in the long run. Therefore, I simply can’t accept this vision to be an AU. What do I think it was, then?

Mikasa believes in Eren’s good heart, despite all awful things he commits - she repeatedly says that he does it all for them - his friends...and yet she wants to believe that there must have been a way to not let it all happen. A part of her may be blaming herself, which is why she questions if she could have changed anything by giving him a different answer. 

To me, it’s very obvious and I have to admit: I was horrified to see the amount of fans saying “If only she hadn’t family-zoned him, so many people would still be alive!”. Mikasa was NEVER to blame here and her answer should never have a force to change something like that. At the end of the day, it was Eren’s decision to go on with the rumbling, and I hate to see Mikasa (and the fans, too!) putting any blame for it on her.

In conclusion, I really believe that the vision was Mikasa’s daydream - most likely created as a coping mechanism since at this point she knew what was about to happen - what she had to do. Not any AU flashback, but rather a poor, traumathised girl trying to come to terms with the cruel reality - and ultimately reclaiming her strength. In her mind, she comes back to her safe place for a few moments, just to get a bit of comfort - a place where she and Eren live peacefully and safely. In fact, the panel below may suggest that she was dreaming about something similar ever since the training days:

I also believe that, at some point, Eren enters that dream - perhaps somehow through paths, or is sent there by Ymir. There, he once again reminds Mikasa that he wants her to live long, be free and forget about him.

I think in the end, Mikasa rejects that fake utopia, finally understanding that it could never happen and it was not her fault. She accepts the reality as it is and stops rationalizing Eren’s actions. She also comes to terms with her feelings towards him, but won’t let it cloud her judgement anymore. She will remember him and cherish these memories forever, but acknowledges that it has gone too far - she chooses humanity, the world and finally: a long, happy life for her. Just like Eren would want for her.

This time, Mikasa wraps the scarf around herself.

If you’re here, wow - thank you so much for reading, it means a lot! I’m sorry for any mistakes I’ve made while writing - English is not my first language and I didn’t really have anyone to beta-read this long wall of text xd Hope I made my points clear - and just to clarify, my text is not an invitation for any ugly Mikasa haters. As I’ve said before, she’s one of my favorite characters and I hope for the best for her - she’s been through so much, poor girl needs a break :C