#mod xen replies

[haikyuu-plus]

You may say that what you write today, tomorrow o the next days, may not be good, even if it is a lie. And do you want to know why? Because in everything we write, we leave a little bit of us and, the desire to overcome you, will remain there. And it will reach us.I know you needed to explain and release everything you had inside; Do it whenever you want.

Dear Friend, 

I have kept this message in my ask box for a long time and truly, I have often come back to read your words of encouragement. It feels bittersweet right now..But everyone who still frequents this blog should read this message. You’re inspiring and thank you for existing

[fae-fucker]

Zenith: Chapter 4

Note: I will be editing parts of the quotes from the original preview to reflect the way they appear in the final product. So if something is written like this it means it’s no longer in the book, and this indicates that something’s been added. This is so that I don’t have to explain in complex detail how things have changed if the changes are minor.

Don’t worry, this will stop once we get to more new content. 

Girls shouldn’t be space pirates.

Those were the last words Dex had said to his ex, and, well, look how that turned out. He was eating those words now.

Fike, the irony stung.

What’s with female authors constantly writing meaningless sexism and then have their characters PROVING THE MENZ WRONG.

Like I get that it’s a bit of a power fantasy and everyone wants some payback for being underestimated, but it’s always dumb bullshit like this that serves no other purpose than to impress or prove the male characters wrong by DOING MANLY BADASS THINGS.

I can’t articulate what I’m feeling properly but you get my point, right? The MENZ always end up being proven wrong, but only when the female characters do traditionally masculine-coded things, because not only do female characters need to prove themselves to men, the only talents worth respect are those that men are “supposed” to have.

Whatever, moving on.

Update: That whole chunk of text has been removed. Thankfully.

Dex is a dude who used to teach/date (???) Andi and is now hunting her because ... she ... lied to and cheated on him? Something like that. I guess we’ll find out. He’s the one in charge of the hunt and he’s NOT PLEASED.

A female captain was one thing. But a whole rutting ship full of girls?

You need to settle on your dumb conlang curses or on old-timey curses you saw used in [some SJM series]. You can’t have both “fike,” whatever that is, and “rutting” in the same book. I mean you can, but it’ll look like this, aka garbage.

Update: This comment has also been removed. 

Leave it to the Bloody Baroness, the most ruthless space pirate in the galaxy, to get the best of the best.

[...]

Also leave it to the Bloody Baroness, Dex thought, as he stared at her photograph, to get me to work with the Arcardian Patrolmen.

BLOODY BARONESS WILL NEVER BE INTIMIDATING, I’M SORRY.

And yeah, for some reason, in this HYPER-TECH FUTURE, they still have photographs?

Also, why does Dex think that wanting good people to work for you is somehow unique or particularly impressive?

Whatever. We have a quick flashback to Dex’s latest meeting with Andi. Y’all need to see this so I’ll just post the entire thing:

She was standing in the shadows of a pleasure palace, a Holo cyborg dancing in the window behind her. Androma’s pale, ghostlike hair was streaked with purple, which was new, and peeked out from beneath a black hood, pulled low over her face. He could just barely make out her glowing grey eyes and the smooth metallic plates on her cheekbones, a defensive body mod she’d had done years before. But he could make out the rest of her: perfect curves beneath a sleek, skintight leather bodysuit; the hilt of a knife sticking out from her black boots. And, of course, outside of the hooded cape, her trademark glowing katanas swords strapped across her back like an X of death.

I was gonna make a remark about how people Sasha’s age probably should know better than to write garbage like this, but then I remembered that her KWEEN SJM is 30+, so nevermind.

And yes, Andi has fucking KATANAS. And they are AN EXXX OF DETTHH.

I’m cackling.

Update: So um ... Let’s talk about those edits, shall we? Andi’s eyes are no longer glowing, and as much as I’m happy they toned it down (I wish), this is really the last of their starshined problem.

She has metallic plates on her cheekbones now, which ... let’s examine some official art (from the book trailer):

The art is kind of inconsistent, but those are not on her cheekbones, but on her cheeks. And frankly it looks terrible, as a concept. I would guess it’s the result of miscommunication, but since this is on the official website, I’m assuming Shinsay approved this.

And how is this a defensive mod? She couldn’t have her skull reinforced with titanium or some shit? Ah, yes, the most vulnerable part of the head: the cheek/bone. You gotta protect ‘em! 

Also, I don’t wanna shit on a fellow artist, but I have to say: Idk who this artist is that they got this job but I thought Shinsay would have enough money to hire someone who understands perspective and facial anatomy.

Dex Dogtective is having a BAD TIME trying to catch the Marauder, so he complains about their own ships.

Here I am, the ship seemed to say. Large and in charge and as slow as a rhinoceratops.

I just wanted to include this so y’all could see RHINOCERATOPS.

Update: This line has been changed and is now: Here I am, the ship seemed to say. Large and in charge and as undercover as a Xen Pterran carriage slug.

Also here’s what Dex apparently looks like (from the artist’s Instagram): 

That’s the face of someone who sniffs dirty underwear.

Dex then wanks on about how hot the Marauder is. No, really:

A sleek, beautiful beast that looked to be made of the stars in which it swam.

Deadly and delicious, all varillium glass in the shape of an arrowhead, now concealed by metal shields to protect it during the chase.

He probably has a secret porn stash of plane schematics.

Some little dork comes up to Dex to declare that the Marauder is “making an interesting move,” because I guess the carrier pigeons are dead.

He looked up at the youngest Patrolman on his dedicated crew, a boy just barely of age, who’d never seen battle. Who didn’t know the feeling of blood on scarred hands.

He doesn’t seem like he’s there for battle anyway, considering the fact that he’s near the captain at the moment, is the one delivering the update, and likely isn’t a part of the ground troops.

Update: He looked up at the youngest Patrolman on the ship, a boy no older than fifteen with slitted reptilian nostrils. A boy who’d never seen battle. Who didn’t know the feeling of blood on scarred hands.

Why does he have slitted reptilian nostrils? Is he a particular type of alien? A mutated human? Voldemort? Why do you explain Lira’s whole deal for three paragraphs and then just go “meh, he’s got a weird nose” for this dude? You couldn’t even just throw in a random collection of letters and pretend it’s the name of a type of alien? 

Effort who?

But what is this “interesting move?”

“We aren’t able to catch up to them, as we’d previously hoped.”

Their “interesting move” is ... outrunning them? Like I know what the “interesting move” is, but the way it’s written is so stupid and makes no sense. Who would say this? Dex asks the guy specifically to “use his words” to explain their “interesthing move,” and all he gets is “shit shit we can’t catch up.”

Seriously, who edited this?

Update: Someone edited this as best they could, I guess, because his reply has been changed to “It seems they’re charting a course for the asteroid belt.” 

Does this change anything? No.

The boy asks for orders and Dex tells him to fuck off.

“The rest of you,” Dex said, unbuckling his harness and standing up from his seat, voice rising to a roar, “will catch me that fiking damned ship!”

The glory of his rage was lost in another explosion.

I suspect the glory of his rage was lost some time before that.

Can we just take a moment to go over the dialogue here?

Boy: They’re making an interesting move!

Dex: What’s the move?

Boy: We can’t catch up to them like we hoped! They’re heading towards the asteroid belt!

Dex: I KNEW IT!!

Boy: What should we do?

Dex: GO CRAP YOUR PANTS SOMEWHERE ELSE. THE REST OF YOU: CATCH UP TO THAT SHIP AND GET IT FOR ME!

That was a nonversation. Who put Dex in charge? Is he the Captain of Redundant Orders? He was literally told that they aren’t able to catch up and need to rethink their strategy, and he’s like CATCH ME THAT SHIP.

One of their engines gets fucked.

Dex tumbled into the metal siding, his anger tumbling with him.

Multi-level tumbling.

Update: This has been changed to: Dex’s temper rose as he unclasped his harness and toppled against the metal siding.

Why did he unclasp his harness twice? Or is there a difference between unbuckling and unclasping?

Dex thinks it’s time to take matters into his own ... claws?

Dex squeezed his fists. The pilot flinched back as a triangular blade sprung out of each of Dex’s gloves, just over his knuckles. “Move the fike over.”

Or he’ll scratch you to death with his kittycat claws.

Update: Dex squeezed his fists. The pilot flinched back as four crimson triangular blades sprung out of each of Dex’s gloves, just over his knuckles. “Move over.” 

I’m so fiking mad that they removed fike, so I’ve decided to bring it the fike back, just like we all fiking deserve.

And obviously one blade isn’t enough, you gotta have FOUR, and they gotta be CRIMSON, like the BLOOD OF HIS ENEMIES. How else will you communicate that he’s HARDCORE. 

He could hear commotion in the background, the sound of the pilot’s whining voice as he phoned Cyprian, a glorious tattle-tale.

Yet another Smaas-ism. And this sentence is a trainwreck.

Update: He could hear a commotion in the background, the sound of the pilot’s whining voice as he commed the general. Pathetic tattletale.

Did Shinsay read my first snark or what? So many of my favorite bits have been changed and I hate it.

“You were right,” [the co-pilot] said. “They’re heading for the Asteroid Belt.”

Of course I’m right, Dex wanted to say. Androma always runs until she finds a place to hide.

Damn that wily Androma, always running when she doesn’t want to get caught and hiding when she doesn’t want to be found! Only she could come up with such outside-the-box, wild card strategies!

Update: The copilot, a man covered in purple spikes, stared at Dex openmouthed. “You were right,” he said, his massive canines visible. “They’re heading for Gollanta.”

Shinsay, are you gonna explain your random aliens or what?

Dex sets up a trap for the Marauder in the asteroid belt and we end on this:

Androma was good at what she did. But so was Dex. 

And besides, a prodigy protégée could only outrun her master for so long.

Androma has literally nothing to do with the ship moving too fast for them to catch, but ok, whatever.

[haikyuu-plus]

*no hesitation* A GOOD HUMOR. i extremely like your writings. Youre pretty great v3v

Dear Anon, 

thank you. I hope the last ongoing work on here will bring you some more laughs.

[haikyuu-plus]

You are a friendly person, very good at making the characters like themself. You're such a sweetheart and you deserve more followers! Yes I am stroking your ego with this one but sometimes people need that. Keep up the good work!!

Dear Anon, 

it’s been a long, loooong time. 

But thank you, sincerely

[haikyuu-plus]

Headcanon that going to theme parks with some of the taller volleyball bois would be a bit of a hassle cause they would be too tall for some rides or the safety bar wouldn't go over their legs properly lolol

Poor boys trying to impress their crush or just being there to have fun and all they could do was watch from afar... Someone better buy them some cotton candy.

Love that headcanon, Anon, thank you so much for sharing it with us!

[haikyuu-plus]

question: if hinata and kageyama had a girl senpai who kinda went like ‘ awww why’re you so cute sometimes? i must hug you!’ (´∀｀) or smth would they be the types to stutter , stay quiet /still, stare at them in confusion...? I want to know your opinion XD

I think Hinata would end up in a pile of mush. Having a female senpai who cared that much about him and pampered him with such nice words would leave him no other option but to drown in his own flustered emotions.Kageyama on the other hand would perhaps freeze for a second, his lips quivering as he would attempt to muster up a reply and fail horribly after a couple of minutes. Perhaps he would end up yelling a “Thank you, senpai!” that would come out more forceful than he had intended it to.

[haikyuu-plus]

Aa about that one anon who talked about the Miya twins having an s/o who's super into wrestling, I think it'd be kinda funny if their s/o acted as a referee/MC for whenever they just kinda wrestled with each other. Like lets say they were fighting and their s/o would yell "Here comes Osamu and BOOM Miya Atsumu goes down with a devastating Choke Slam!" Aaa I hope this makes sense!

Thank you for sharing this headcanon, Anon!

The Miya twins would probably have some silly wrestler names as well, like Miya the Diva or ‘samu WHAMmu or Kung Fu ‘tsumu.

[haikyuu-plus]

okay but smol question: imagine this scenario- the boyz are crushing on someone who’s a lesbian. how dejected would they be when the person in question turns to them and like ‘ bruh im sorry but i only like girls. ‘ like i can predict hilarious reactions from the characters like noya, oikawa, ushijima, futakuchi... pfft.

Since requests are closed at the moment I can only give a very general answer, Anon, sorry. I think most, if not all of them, would soon come to the realization that there was nothing romantic they could have with this person. If some of them really liked her personality though, they would certainly try to become friends with her, asking her for advice in how to pursue girls and learning quite a lot about themselves in the process. Perhaps they could even have a ton of bonding moments regarding relationships and the struggles they inevitably faced.

[haikyuu-plus]

Guwaahhh I think it'd be really cute to go on a zoo date with aone! Especially if there was like a polar bear exhibit cause then you could say "Look Aone, it's you!" Also I think it'd be cute if you got matching polar bear key chains with him lolol

Aaaah, that’s such a cute headcanon, Anon, thank you so much for sharing it with us!!! Dang, just imagine if there were polar bear ears or hats and you’d buy him one of those! Such a cutie-patootie, huehue

[haikyuu-plus]

Hey I just wanted to let you know that I love your writing. All of the characters are written perfectly somehow, like are you the haikyuu God?? No one is ooc, and I don't know how you do it, but it's amazing. ♥️

UUUUUUGH ANON YOU MAKE ME FEEL ALL MUSHY INSIDE I don’t even know how to thank you for your kind words ･:*:･(*/////∇/////*)･:*:･

I try my best to keep everyone as in-character as possible but Furudate is the only one who could probably tell for sure, so reading what you sent me/us is something that I’ll always cherish. I’m always open for discussions about characters reacting in a different manner, although I do have to say, that I can be quite stubborn with my opinion.. Ugh, I feel like I’m gonna ramble, but let me tell you this, I’m gonna print this out and frame it and put it on my bedside table. Thank you so much, Anon!!!

[haikyuu-plus]

i put them on my pencil case … XD -japan anon

japan anon: i watched totoro today finally , for the first time after influence from a friend.... WHY DIDNT I DO IT SOONER DAMMIT. (imagine if the boys met a totoro though. i can see himata screaming and noya throwing himself at the totoro. bye)

Haaah, thanks for sharing again!  Haha, I bet Karasuno (and all of our other Haikyuu!! cuties) in a Miyazaki AU would be an adventure in itself!

[haikyuu-plus]

japan anon: meanwhile i got a noya piyo keychain and btw I FOUND A TANAKA IN THE SAME STORE BUT ON THE LOWER FLOOR, and daichi, suga, asahi and yamaguchi as well! since my faves are noya and hinata i asked if they had them saved somewhere else / or in stock but there weren’t any XS

japan anon: I FOUND TANAKA SUGAWARA DAICHI ASAHI AND YAMAGUCHI + TENDOU IN TWO STORES TODAY!!

Dang, I can understand the urge to buy all of then, Anon, seriously. I’d probably grab those Tanaka and Tendou plushies, honestly... 

[haikyuu-plus]

japan anon: if i got the tanaka plush i would feel a bit like he's awkward by it bcs ' A GIRL GOT ME ?!!! WHAT IS THIS?! NOYA-SAN IM NOT READY FOR THIS RESPONSIBILITY

Yah, but imagine cuddling him at night and whenever you look at him you get an instant boost of courage and confidence!

[haikyuu-plus]

Thanks again for putting up with my long replies :)

I think it’s great to see how much everyone has improved in their match against Inarizaki. We’ve probably seen a good amount of small developments in Tanaka, Kageyama, Hinata, and Nishinoya. Even Daichi and Asahi (to a lesser extent). I’m also hoping to see more Sugawara, Yamaguchi, Ennoshita, Narita, and Kinoshita play and improve more in matches as well. Can’t wait to see Tsukki vs. Kuroo in Karasuno-Nekoma match and the amount of snarking/sassing between them haha.

I definitely agree with you that Karasuno not winning the nationals would be more credible and memorable. (And don’t worry, I don’t think it’s not mean to wish for this.) But there may be a good amount of fans out there that can’t bear that possibility, so who knows what direction Furudate would take to make the series end on a satisfying note.

Glad to hear that you’re still updated with the latest chapters! When I read that chapter (with the visually symbolic scene of Tanaka surpassing his limits and scoring), my first thought was to check in with you because he was one of your top favorite, precious Haikyuu boys. But then I noticed in the next few days that there was no mention of this from you. So I didn’t dare discuss and spoil it for you (until I saw your reply).

On a small note: @ Jas/megadere: Welcome! I look forward to hearing more from you with your scenarios/thoughts :)

Naaaah, I always welcome long replies, no worries, Sal!

Yeah, I think that it’s almost impossible to have well-crafted characters without exploring each and every one of them at least a little during a match. I think you, I and Mod Jas belong to the last couple of people who still appreciate the Inarizaki match, lol.  Ah, I think that the ending is gonna be heartbreaking, in a way, but I’m really hoping that it’s gonna be a satisfying end. Something that makes you enjoy rereading the story over and over again.  Aaah, you can always spoil me! It makes me excited to see it for myself, haha. But I’m definitely up-to-date with the manga, even though I don’t talk about what’s going on very often. I feel like I’d end up rambling, so yeah... Also: Mod Jas send you a big and friendly hello, it’s lovely to meet you!  :3

[haikyuu-plus]

oh right! i wasn’t asking for a request but a general opinion because their reactions would be hilarious in some cases imo like imagine hinata for example: ‘ ... REALLY?! ‘ ‘ really.’ (stares at them jaw dropped for some minutes until someone gets him out of his trance)

Aah, I see, that’s good to know :) Yeah, it could certainly come unexpected to some of the boys, but I think they’d learn to understand ~

[haikyuu-plus]

Anon Sal - Reply

Just putting this under a Read More, I hope you don’t mind -3-

Oh no worries! I haven’t lost my interest in Haikyuu. Unless the story deteriorates to the point of leaving a bad taste in my mouth (which I don’t think will happen), I’ll still be sticking with the fandom until the end :) Also, I’ll still be lurking around this blog, but not as much as I used to, depending on how occupied I am (or whether I get sucked in by another movie/book/series).

Funny coincidence that we both decided to watch Howl’s Moving Castle around the same time haha. By the way, if you have time and you’re up for it, I would definitely recommend reading the original book by Diana Wynne Jones. Fair warning: Howl is portrayed as more vain and less noble (at least on the surface) in there. But you may enjoy the more nuances or layers to his character in there. Also, I feel the plot and the world are more well-constructed and explained there. The book is not perfect, but it’s worth reading at least once.

I’m glad to hear that you’re gradually getting better and that you’ve taken sound advice to take one step at a time at a manageable pace. May the year of 2018 bring you more wonderful, positive things to your life.

I have seen that complaint and I understand where they may be coming from, especially if they’re dying to see Karasuno vs. Nekoma. At the same time, I agree with you that a lot of chapters are needed to flesh out the Inarizaki team more. I may have to re-read the chapters to get a better sense of their characters, but I am certainly amazed at the diverse cast that Furudate presented to us. I was also honestly surprised at how Kita turned out - he certainly is diligent and intense, but has his own interesting quirks. Suna certainly surprised me with his clever blocking techniques and I actually would like to see how Kuroo would fare against him. Would also like to see Oikawa vs. Atsumu as well. I can’t stop comparing the two in my mind, especially in terms of how they treat their team members (and fangirls). Also love how Osamu called out on his brother for his crap in the flashback. Overall, the team dynamics (and flashbacks) have been very entertaining to see. Although their supporters/cheerleaders can be scary and intense at times…

Overall, I’ve been very impressed with how the Inarizaki team really lives up to their motto. They always managed to push and outdo themselves, especially Atsumu. Makes me wonder how insanely strong Itachiyama really is.

But yes, this match has been quite a blast to see so far (oh and let’s not forget Hinata’s beautiful, perfect receive ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )). At the same time, I sort of wished Furudate has placed this match at a later point because I’m somewhat fretting that the later matches wouldn’t be as exciting as this one. Not to mention that this match has been placed right before the match with Nekoma, which sort of kills the suspension. (Or perhaps, Furudate may actually make Karasuno lose against Inarizaki. Which if he did, I will seriously screech like a banshee because I’m not putting up with a lack of Battle of the Garbage Heap without our dear third years there.) Anyhow, I’m currently predicting that Karasuno will not win Nationals and will most likely lose to either Fukurodani or Itachiyama.

And oops sorry for making this wicked long.

Haaaah, that’s really good to hear, I’m glad you’re gonna stay in the fandom until the story ends. I was planning to do the same thing. I also don’t think the story is going to get bad or too repetitive; our beloved characters keep improving themselves, I think it’s all worth it in the end.

I’ll try to get my hands on the book once I’m on my semester break. I never really have the time to read anymore, which is a real shame (unless I’m on nightshift and there is nothing going on, huehue - and even then I only manage to get through a couple of pages).

You know, a match between Nekoma and Inarizaki would truly be something I’d love to see. I also love how I constantly get the deity feeling when Kita appears in a panel, I love the little backstory Furudate thought of when creating him. I think now, that we’ve seen more of him, it really adds to his character and the atmosphere he emits.

Haaaaaah, I’m kinda hoping Karasuno won’t win the nationals, too... It’s mean to say something like that, and I guess it all depends on the deadline Furudate has for the entire story, but it would add to the reality of the manga. Karasuno has grown so much already and, as a team, they have overcome so many hardships. Just look at the Kageyama-Tanaka dynamic in the last chapter. I felt like my heart was going to break from all the happiness I felt reading it. Tanaka is such a good boy, so humble and to see him believing in his abilities thanks to Kageyama, who, also has learned to overcome his tendencies of being a tyrant in the past, is just.... I’m just so proud of all of them *wipes tear away*