#once i read issho i was like MY BOY

[ygodmyy20]

Okay this has been sitting in my drafts for awhile and I just gotta post it. I couldn't get this moment from @toastytoaster22's fic Don't Start Now out of my head from the end of the chapter. It just sat in my brain, being cute and adorable and warm like these two are! I 1000% felt like Shigeo's mom in the story, I can't with these two. They are so sweet.

I tried to get it to a soft-fuzzy-nice place which matched how I felt when I read it. I think i got there...? Sorta? Anyway gotta give thanks to Toasty for creating some of the most wonderful fics, they all make me feel so nice and happy every time I read them.

Also this started as a fan comic idea of the fic initially but my paneling skills are....weh not great haha but if anyone wants to see some REAL ROUGH comic outline it's under the cut. I do think one panel of Shigeo was nice.

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2024, Issue #47

One Piece: The Post-Baroque Works Straw Hats learn that the Luffy has been publicly labeled as Vegapunk's killer, and Robin notices a familiar X edited onto Luffy's arm in the accompanying photo; meanwhile, Luffy meets the disgraced prince of Elbaf, Loki. Vivi snuck a message to the Straw Hats past Morgans, and some readers believe Loki's situation to be a parallel to when Luffy met Zoro and take that as a sign he may be recruited to the Straw Hats

HxH: Balsamilco attempts to assassinate Halkenburg, but is struck by Halkenburg's Nen arrow, resulting in his body being possessed. Provided he can evade Benjamin's suspicions, Halkenburg can use Balsamilco's body to assassinate Benjamin instead

Yozakura Family: As Kyoichiro enter's Asa's ship to rescue his father, Momo, he recalls his conversation with Momo about the plan to use Momo's Dreams to break Asa's Conquest over Taiyo's body, and is surprisingly against a plan that would endanger Taiyo; meanwhile, Alpha cries over seeing his father possessed by Asa. In addition to clarifying how Taiyo can be rescued, one could also draw parallels between Kyoichiro and Alpha's desires to save their respective fathers

Undead Unluck: Soul takes the stage to fight Julia; Change fights Gina, disarming her while entering Phase 3, but ends up getting decked in the face for her troubles. Gina's character arc reaches its climax, mirroring her dialogue from her first appearance with a notable change in her opinion on "change" as a concept

Me & Roboco: Ruri and Roboco take the Hunter Exam Serialization Conference's trials to have a serialization approved for Shonen Jump. With her serialization approved, Ruri's manga will likely be a recurring element going forward, possibly getting full faux chapters like Uron Mirage in Witch Watch

Sakamoto Days: Atari foresees her death, which can only be avoided if she meets up with her soulmate; using her precognition, she survives an attack from and ultimately defeats Higuchi, the karma-obsessed killer from Sakamoto's flashback. The viability of Atari's precognition is shown off, but fans start to question her exact wording; while we all assume her "soulmate" is going to be Shin, she has never once directly alluded to him specifically, and might well mean Heisuke instead

Elusive Samurai: now fully human, Shizuku devises a plan to overcome Takauji's divinity and render him vulnerable to human weaponry; a character I don't recognize and can find no information on secretly offers Tokiyuki refuge in Shinano. This will presumably account for some of the missing time in Tokiyuki's historical records

Witch Watch: Nemu tries to come clean about being the stray cat that routinely visits the Otogi Family, but ends up engaging in accidental bestiality with Keigo (and arguably purposeful bestiality with Wolf). Shipteases my personal favorite part of the entire series, making this one of my favorite chapters of the week

Blue Box: Chinatsu realizes that something is up when Taiki doesn't come to meet her, and manages to find him locked up in a shed by a boy who claims to have liked her for some time. Chinatsu's faith in Taiki and righteous indignation towards the other boy are a refreshingly straightforward take on the usual misunderstandings and subterfuge you find in these types of rom-coms

Akane-Banashi: Akane tries to refuse Issho's forceful recruitment, but Urara appears to save her from throwing her career away in a moment of passion; Akane asks Urara to explain Issho and Shiguma's past. Whatever Akane learns here will influence her decision to study under Issho, and will definitely be of extreme importance to how she refines Shiguma's Art

Kill Blue: Juzo finally wins the cavalry battle, then invites Hijiri out for ramen at Noren's uncle's restaurant; Shin almost manages to get a lap pillow from Noren, but is interrupted by Jinta, who now considers him a blood brother. Juzo's refusal to accept one person's suffering for the Greater Good will likely be a recurring theme for this arc

Nue's Exorcist: Tsujita resolves to confess to Gakuro and picks a fight with Kazusa, resulting in both of them getting accidentally groped; Rido seems to be betraying the Exorcists to heal Mizuki's illness; Gashadokuro is resurrected. If we're not going the poly route, then Tsujita's proactiveness is set to earn her the dishonor of being the first losing heroine; either way, Gashadokuro is definitely going to interupt her date with Gakuro

Kagurabachi: Hiruhiko exposits about the Hishaku's organization and somehow comes to the conclusion that it's not just his similarities with Chihiro that would make them good friends, but their differences; the Hishaku close in Samura. If the Hishaku successfully kill Samura or Uruha, Hiruhiko will be given possession of one or both of their Enchanted Blades

Super Psychic Policeman Chojo: Ippongi brings her grandfather to meet Chojo, who in turn comes to believe that Chojo is a dangerous womanizer who's trying to seduce Ippongi. With the number of girls surrounding Chojo, it's starting to seem like the author is trying to set this series up as a harem

Astro Royale: Realizing that the cops are so dangerous because of their synergy, Hibaru realizes the best strategy is to divide and conquer. A nice bit of strategy on Hibaru's part that justifies the one-on-one matchups quite gracefully; I do hope we'll see combo attacks later, though

Yokai Buster Murakami: Kuin and Murakami meet Shutendoji, who doesn't want to be the leader of a yokai gang and instead wants to relax and drink; Murakami recruits her to the Kuin Corps by letting her do just that. Kuin now effectively has both the exorcist and yokai worlds under his command; could a peaceful and unified world be around the corner?

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi: After beating up an old man, Kiyoshi is granted the title of Grand Cross, giving him the right to go on expeditions to the Demon Realm; a bounty has been put on Kiyoshi's head in the Demon Realm. Presumably, Kiyoshi will begin an expedition to the Demon Realm in the following arc

Hima-Ten: Kanna transfers to Tenichi's school, definitely for work and NOT to get closer to Tenichi; Kanna IMMEDIATELY notices that Tenichi likes Honoka, but doesn't seem discouraged. If this doesn't end up poly, I'm rioting

Ichi the Witch: Kumugi gets to know Ichi, and the two seem to hit it off pretty well, though seeing him in action unsettles her a little bit. Magic-based discrimination seems to go beyond gender and applies to aptitude, setting up the hapless Kumugi as a foil to the one-in-a-million Ichi

Shinobi Undercover: Miyake calls out Hibari for being fake as hell and even taunts her for trying to save a civilian; though Hibari fails to deal damage, she manages to send a message to Yodaka. Hibari's refusal to abandon a classmate and decision to call Yodaka for help reinforces the growing themes of Frienship

Hakutaku: Hikuma's team gives a skewed impression of how quickly game development works, and Kitahara reinvents Among Us. As this is the first major conflict, the main team is likely going to win, but the thematic implications may not be clear for a while

Ruri Dragon: Despite her fear of thunder, Ruri uses the knowledge that her classmates aren't scared of her as motivation to use her powers to stop the storm. Ruri's fears of being an outcast are effectively assuaged, and she's beginning to be able to accept herself

As I wrote this, near the end tumblr informed me that I exceeded some kind of text limit about halfway through Hakutaku, so perhaps I'll need to shave these down going forward?

If anyone has any suggestions for how I can better refine this recap series or make it more engaging, please let me know! As it stands, the only benefit I'm getting is an excuse to try to remember the series I don't care as much about, but I don't think that will carry over to other readers, so I'm open to any feedback y'all are willing to give!

[pockethep]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "pockethep"?

I’ve had this Tumblr for a molten minute and originally it was a Pokemon themed blog before I deleted my side blogs (a choice I regret every day). The Pocket in my user came from “Pocket Monsters” and the HEP was just tagged on because a lot of pocket monster themes names weren't available but younger me wanted to be open to having a blog that wasn't just 1 thing.

Now for the fics…

These are in no order whatsoever. This is based purely on fanfics that I love that no matter what I keep going back to, there are honestly a lot I could put especially if I think harder but its late and I'm typing on my phone.

Yesterday Upon The Stair by PitViperOfDoom on AO3. (My Hero Academia)

Genuinely an amazing fanfic, probably the best BNHA fanfic I’ve ever read which is a strong title to hold. It even has its own TV Tropes Page. It was Published in 2016 and I read it religiously. It had it all, Queerplatonic relationships, Drama, Angst, heartwarming moments, and realistic character depictions. It’s one of those fanfics that most people in the fandom know as “One of the Big Ones”.

A Breach of Trust by Phantomrose96 on AO3 (Mob Psycho 100)

Another “One of the Big Ones” and another fanfic that I’ve been following since it was published way back in 2016 (a wonder how 2016 had a lot of really great fanfics just like how a lot of good writing came from the quarantine). This is such a good fanfic, that really expands past the base content of the manga/anime and has a well fleshed out world as well as characters. It’s a drama that has a good dose of angst and I love the way the relationship between Mob and Reigen develops.

Issho by ToastyToaster22 on AO3 (Mob Psycho 100)

Normally I’d try to keep it one to a fandom with these types of lists/asks but Issho was really good. Once again has the bonus of being a fanfic from one of my favorite anime/manga. But it highlights one of my favorite characters, Teru, in a way that develops him very well over the course of the series. Issho is just the first of ten parts and I'd recommend reading all of them.

Salvage by MuffinLance on AO3 (Avatar the Last Airbender)

One of my comfort ATLA fanfics. A great amount of humor, angst, and a lot of found family. I absolutely adore Hakodad pics and Zuko honestly deserves it but Salvage has the plus of adding more additional siblings and a cute isopuppy because Zuko really deserves it.

fool in the moon by arahir on Ao3 (Trigun)

Despite having read the Trimax manga and having seen the original Trigun anime, I didn’t actually start reading fan fiction for it until Trigun Stampede paraded through…And BOY was I missing out. Although fool in the moon is a recent addition to the roster of amazing pics, it’s up there as one of my favorite. It’s a vashwood fic with a healthy dose of angst and comfort. I don’t know what it is but Trigun writers all have the ability to write the most visceral things.

(HONORABLE MENTION: A Ship and his Anchor by DerringerMeryl who aced the Vash whump.)

Press 9 to delete this Message by moriturism on Ao3 (Jujutsu Kaisen)

One of the most cleverly written fics not just on this list but that I’ve read. I can’t recommend it enough, even to those that don’t ship satosugu. This is a hurt no comfort fic and the way my stomach sunk reading the date for one of the last messages is a feeling few people can replicate. It’s good all around. 11/10

Those Hands Were Meant To Love by Ahenix on Ao3 (Spy X Family)

I think this is one of the big fics for Spy X Family and for a reason. It’s fluff without plot, and I love a good bit of found family and fluff especially centered around my favorite “fake” family. I read this one a couple times last year because it’s cute and its only 6 chapters.

Cascading (In a good way) by Hubbleablubble on Ao3 (Genshin)

There are a lot of well written genshin fics but this one is my favorite both for the ship (Kaebedo) and that I enjoy the way the characters are written. I like how everyone was written in this. Although it’s only a chapter the pacing was great, especially as it told their story from strangers to friends to lovers. It also mentioned Khaenri’ah Royalty Kaeya which is a huge plus.

(HONORABLE MENTION Song of Resistance by TheOpticalMouse absolutely check this out, its a series of 2 fics)

Starstruck by shizuoh on Ao3 (Yuri on Ice)

All that needs to be said is that the author basically created the Actor Victor Nikiforov tag on ao3. It’s a fic that’s been there since around 2016 when the show debuted and it hasn’t left my favorites for a while alongside a lot of others. Featuring the aforementioned actor Viktor, a barista/babysitter yuuri, and Yuri as a child caught up between the two. There are a lot of great’s and this is one of them.

(HONORABLE MENTIONS: There are a lot of Yuri on Ice fics I could have put here so…Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart aches by Reiya (The Biggest Diamond among the rest of the diamonds), crust and sugar over by ShanaStoryteller, Where the Cliff Greets the Sea)

Academic Intrigue by kassvea on Ao3 (Word of Honor)

It’s a modern AU, college/university AU with well written characters that are true to the original source. It’s a story about starting over, especially given the scandal at the start of the fic. I love the connection between Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing in all forms of media but this is one of my favorites.

(HONORABLE MENTION: Sanguine by jaemyun this is one of the big word of honor fics and for a reason.)

[littlesniggy]

I absolutely adore your writing! Could you do headcanons about Kizaru, Kuzan, Akainu, and Fujitora rescuing their SO after they were kidnapped by pirates and tortured? I just wonder what they would do with someone they love being tortured and pretty much being a shell of their former self.

Thank you so much, Anon!! I really appreciate it!

Okay, before you read let’s be real: Akainu will be a f*cking bad partner and he is an asshole (I’d still let him fuck me all night long). 

So, now that this is out of the way, please enjoy. I think Kuzan’s and Borsalino’s reaction would be pretty similar, but that’s just my opinion. 

Borsalino (Kizaru)

The weight that had been pushing him down this whole time, not knowing if you were okay or even worse – still alive – finally fell off his shoulders. He makes sure to keep you close to him the whole time, guiding you to the marine ship and making sure you don’t have to see any of your abductors.

He is unusually quiet. Where he usually has to say something he keeps his mouth shut, giving you comfort. The possibility is high that you don’t want to be touched though so he makes sure to give you space if you ask for it.

He makes sure you are properly treated by a professional to talk to someone about your trauma. Dealing with being tortured is very hard, he understands, especially if his s/o is not a marine and not used to fighting/ getting hurt.

If you want him to stay by your side, he will take some time off from his duties but will eventually get back since Sakazuki won’t be lenient forever (more about him later). If, however, you want him to give you more space at home he will sleep on the couch and bring you breakfast/lunch/dinner or some snacks in-between.

He will eventually try talking to you about your trauma and will listen if you are ready to talk but not push you if you’re not. Borsalino is a always laidback and knows what to say but this whole time he is careful what he says. He doesn’t want to trigger anything inside of you.

He believes, however, that you will have to face what has happened to you in order to move on. He somehow also expects it at some point, not to torture you again but to give you some sort of closure (though you probably will never really get closure). He is there every step of the way to support you to go back to a ‘normal’ life.

Kuzan (Aokiji)

Like Borsalino, Kuzan is making sure to keep you close to him. Once you’re on deck of the ship he will go back and make sure all of your kidnappers are either arrested or dead (probably frozen to death if they were running away). Once he made sure everything is safe he will come to where you’re being treated at and lean against the door, arms crossed and watching you.

If he makes you feel uncomfortable, he will leave but he would want to stay with you, keep an eye on you and make sure you’re okay. Like Borsalino, he will not push you to talk about it right away but will ask you way sooner than the other one. He wants to know where you’re hurt, what they’ve done to you but will stop once he notices how difficult it is for you to talk about it.

Once you’re at home he will also make sure you get the proper treatment and will stay by your side (or at least close to you) at all times. He will tell Sengoku that he won’t be going on any missions until he made sure that you’re okay by yourself again.

Even if you insist that you’re okay he probably will stay by your side a little longer. He senses that you’re indeed not fine yet and I believe you will thank him for not leaving you alone, all by yourself and no one to share your thoughts with.

But I can see him also having doubts about your relationship. Not because he doesn’t love you but because he is actually scared that someone will abduct you again. He is sure that it was his fault from the beginning and if it happened once the possibility is high that it’ll happen again. Especially since it is (now) well-known that you’re his s/o.

He is also pretty sure that this thought has also crossed your mind and he will ask you how you want to proceed from now on. It hurts him to see you like this but he would feel guilty for leaving you alone if you chose to break things off. If you did he would still make sure that you’re protected at all times, having at least two soldiers watch over you every day.

Sakazuki (Akainu)

He will remove every rock, every leaf to find you and once he does, oh boy, none of your kidnappers will be alive once his rage quiets down. He doesn’t care if he is scaring you (in the moment), he just wants those bastards to pay. He will capture their leader though and send him to Impel Down, just for him to be tortured.

Sakazuki is not a reasonable person (when he’s angry) and would want to find out if there were more people involved. In other words: he won’t be there to keep you company. He will check in from time to time but other than questioning you he won’t be an emotional support (sorry, for anyone else who likes him).

Once he realizes how much you’re suffering though, he might consider taking a day off to keep you company but that’s pretty much it. He is not heartless, he just thought you were stronger. He is in a relationship with you for a reason and in this time he questions himself if he made the right decision. He expects his partner to be emotional stable and support him. He’s not too great at it himself so….it probably won’t last much longer if you can’t “get over it”.

Though, like Kuzan, he will make sure you’re protected during your recovery and even after, having marines watch you from now on to make sure something like that won’t happen again.

Issho (Fujitora)

Out of these four he will be the most caring and most understanding. He will listen to you, give you advice and even try to take some of your pain away by giving you some normality back. He will tell you about his day, bring you sweet gifts, or just sit there and keep you company.

Like the other three he will make sure you get counseling but will probably be the only one to attend some sessions with you (if you let him). He’s honestly the sweetest. If you wish for more time to yourself, he will give you space but like keep an ‘eye” on you. He will know where you are even if he’s not around.

He will also make himself responsible because he thinks that it is his responsibility to protect you and keep you away from any harm. He will talk to you about his feelings as well (if you listen) bit make sure that he will always be there for you. He knows you most likely wouldn’t want any physical contact but his presence alone will give you some ease of mind, knowing he’s there for you. 

Once you’re ready to talk to him he will feel with you. It honestly breaks his heart to see you like this and he will cry quietly to what you tell him. The things they’ve done to you, how you’ve suffered – to him, it’d be like he was there with you, being tortured with you. He wants to hold you closely but understands if you don’t want to.

[kimonobeat]

Red Velvet Lyrics: Aitai-tai (Miss-miss You)

English translation and romanization below the cut.

ENGLISH

Miss You... I Always... Miss You... I Always... Miss you

I like strawberries more than bananas Love that sweet and tart taste they have I like ice cream more than black coffee I can’t wait for summer

If you’d wanted to know every little thing about me, I would’ve gladly told you... My heart’s an open book for you I’ve got one wish oh If you wanna be my boyfriend

Miss-miss you I want us to be in love-love I wanna zoom on over to you right now Would love to tell you just how I feel Miss you

I want this, oh, to reach you right now I wanna say that to you right now: I wanna be with you boy

I like phone calls more than texting I get so distracted when you leave me on read I like walks more than movies I wanna talk to you about all kinds of things

I sorta hate the game we’ve been playing nowadays ‘Cause I’ve fallen in love with you So answer me You honestly do Feel the same way I do, don’t you boy?

Miss-miss you I want us to be in love-love I wanna hold you tight in my arms right now Won’t let this crush on you go Miss you

We’re a surprisingly good match for each other, yes So I’ll just go ahead and close my eyes The future still hasn’t happened yet I’m just sleeping deeply now

Our story will begin once our eyes meet You don’t wanna hear my voice? why

A sweet Sweet story If this is all a dream, don’t wake me up I pray every day. Please just notice already Here we are again

Miss-miss you I want us to be in love-love I wanna zoom on over to you right now Would love to tell you just how I feel Miss you

I want this, oh, to reach you right now I wanna say that to you right now: I wanna be with you boy

ROMAJI

Miss You... I Always... Miss You... I Always... Aitai

banana yori ichigo ga suki amazuppai kanji ga burakku yori aisu ga suki manatsu tanoshimi da ne

sasai na koto demo shiritai no nara yorokonde oshieta noni kokoro wa massugu negai wa hitotsu oh If you wanna be my boyfriend

Aitai-tai Aishitai-tai ima sugu byun to tonde ikitai yo kono kimochi tsutaetai Aitai

ima kimi ni, oh ima todoketai yo ima kimi ni say that issho ni itai boy

me-ru yori denwa ga suki kidoku toka ki ga chiru eiga yori sanpo ga suki ironna koto shaberitai

imadoki no kakehiki nanka kirai koi ni ochita ‘n dakara So kotaete ne shoujiki atashi to onaji desho boy

Aitai-tai Aishitai-tai ima sugu gyutto dakishimetai yo kono koi wa hanasanai Aitai

igai to oniai yes So kono mama close my eyes mada okinai mirai I’m just sleeping deeply now

kimi to me ga aeba hajimaru story atashi no koe kikitakunai no? why

amai amai monogatari yume nara samenaide mainichi inoru douka kidzuite mata koko de

Aitai-tai Aishitai-tai ima sugu byun to tonde ikitai yo kono kimochi tsutaetai Aitai

ima kimi ni, oh ima todoketai yo ima kimi ni say that issho ni itai boy

[ask-commander-wendy]

((FIRST OFF HNGKH YES OF COURSE YOU CAN DO THAT I WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY HONORED

ahem, second off, for my OTPS with wendy, I have three in mind (sticking with canon characters for ease and also to avoid as though I come off picking favorites, I love all my relationships with ocs so far!) which I’ll go ahead and put in the read more below (because I have a lot of feelings about each of them)

The first two are probably a bit obvious if you’ve been keeping up with my blog for the last month.

Jango/Wendy

Now, this was The Original Wendy OTP. Being completely honest with y’all, Jango is the reason I chose to bring Wendy back from what had basically been a five-year hiatus of her character. The thing I like most about them as a couple is how each sees something they want to become in one another. I know this is my own interpretation of the character, and I’m sure it’s probably a bit deeper than Oda ever intended for his character, but I see Jango as really wanting to improve himself after his pirate days, and I think he wants to create bonds with people in a way that he couldn’t on Kuro’s crew. That’s why he’s so openly emotional about his feelings towards Fullbody and Hina. I like the idea of Jango being allowed to branch out emotionally towards people like that, in a genuine sort of way. In Wendy’s mainverse, she fell in love with Jango pretty soon after meeting him once he and Fullbody were assigned along side her with Hina. She unironically loves his dances and his clothes and his weird personality. Even knowing that he used to be a pirate, she sees that goodness in him and she really doesn’t want to let go. I like to think that being in a relationship would be fun and happy and healthy and help each of them grow in their own emotional respects, seeing how both have mostly only allowed themselves very shallow, exaggerated relationships with others up to this point (Wendy in her excessive idolization of marines and Jango in his leader role of a pirate ship). Most of this probably doesn’t make sense, seeing as though their relationship plays out best in their interactions rather than words, but basically I just... I really like that idea of Wendy finding someone that makes her happy that she can finally feel comfortable being emotionally vulnerable to if she needs to be, and I just think that Wendy and Jango are on a very similar wave length when it comes to how they want to live their lives, loud and carefree and doing what they love with people they love. 

Kuzan/Wendy

THIS WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. I’M DEAD SERIOUS. Her relationship with Kuzan didn’t even really start coming into mind until very recently before I kicked this blog off. I honestly can’t even remember what lead me to start thinking about their possible relationship to one another but boy once I started it, the god damned flood gates opened. So much of Wendy’s current character and personality is connected with her feelings towards Kuzan and how she handled him leaving the marines (read, She Didn’t Handle It). Part of what I really enjoy about Kuzan and Wendy (besides that sweet sweet angst) is how choosing to actually pursue any feelings she may have towards him forces her to open up emotionally in a way that she would never ever do otherwise. Learning how to cope with his absence, and whether or not to forgive him is one of the most mature, serious things Wendy has to do for herself. I think it’s important to remember that not only did Kuzan leave the marines, but as of now, he seems to be allied with the Blackbeard Pirates, the same crew that quite literally scarred her. Really think about that for a minute. Forgiving Kuzan and being willing to learn about why he made his choices is not something that Wendy is going to do easily. But in the end, I think learning to do that is going to make her a better person. Kuzan really enjoyed the fiery passion that Wendy held for justice, because it reminded him of his own passions when he was younger, and Wendy fell in love with Kuzan because of his sense of moral leaning justice, and the way that he pushed her to become stronger, whether he realized it or not. Kuzan is still one of the reasons Wendy pushes herself so hard, a very small, part of her that she knows is dumb and unrealistic and impossible wants to think that if she can become stronger and smarter and more experienced, she can convince him to come back. 

And for the last one that may not be as obvious,

Fujitora/Wendy

This is another one that just kinda Hit Me one day. In Wendy’s current mainverse, she’s never met Fujitora, only heard stories and news about him. However, if they were to ever really meet, Wendy would pretty effortlessly fall in love with him. One of the interesting things about Wendy’s initial perception of Issho is, before she ever has the chance to learn more about him, she’s actually internally pretty opposed to learning about him in the first place (she’d never say something that disrespectful out loud of course) and she can’t help but see him as “Kuzan’s replacement”. I think Fujitora would be a very essential character for Wendy to meet at some point, especially at her emotional point post time skip. Having someone that she could see truly still appreciated justice and knew that the Marines are supposed to be a force for good is something Wendy desperately needs in her life, and knowing someone with such a high ranking felt similar to how she does would really help her to remember why she considers the marines her home. Each of them want to do good, and each understand that the marines have a lot of improvement to do, but rather than leaving the marines to serve their own justice (COUGH KUZAN COUGH) they want to fix this system, rather than abandoning it, and each of them having one another to look to and know they aren’t alone would really help in their efforts, I think.

TL;DR VERSION

Jango/Wendy is loud and goofy, but also something that can allow each of them to be themselves, rather than inflated personalities.

Kuzan/Wendy is somber and serious, but it helps Wendy to grow and mature as a person and helps Kuzan remember the good in the world.

Fujitora/Wendy is soft and quiet, and despite the darkness they’ve seen in the world, they still find light in one another.

Honorable mentions: Kizaru/Wendy, Hina/Wendy, Ain/Wendy, aaaannnnnnddddd i may have a very specific modern au in which i ship teach/wendy but i’m gonna save that conversation for another day haahHahAhaahaAH

[tokiro07]

I've realized that in doing my reviews for Undead Unluck and Ichi the Witch, I'm putting a lot of focus on remembering their stories, events and themes but not much on doing the same for the rest of Jump

In the interest of trying to improve my engagement and retention for Jump as a whole, I'm going to try summarizing the events and narrative or thematic significance of every chapter in this week's issue from memory (only looking up things like names for accuracy)

If this goes well/isn't too difficult to do, I may start to do this consistently, but we'll see. With that:

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2024, issue #46

One Piece: Luffy and co. are revealed to have been captured by Road, Hajrudin's navigator, who doesn't accept that the New Giant Warrior Pirates are now subordinate to the Straw Hats. This may lead to internal conflicts within the Straw Hat Grand Fleet

HxH: Kaiser has Fugetsu visit each of the remaining Princes on the pretense of delivering letters from the deceased Kacho so that she can use her ability to infiltrate Prince Luzurus' room and assassinate him. I honestly have no idea how this will contribute, I feel very lost when reading HxH piecemeal

Mission Yozakura Family: The Yozakuras begin their battle with the Asa-possessed Taiyo. Things are going too well, so the Bad News phase is likely to come up soon

Undead Unluck: Julia fights her way to Apocalypse and nearly loses an arm in the process, but Apocalypse's vision of justice allows him to return to his senses and show Julia Juiz's memories in retaliation to Luna's attempts to cheat. Apocalypse's death may in and of itself be the trigger for Unjustice

Me & Roboco: Three brothers straight out of a romcom move next door and try to hit on Roboco, attracted by how unattracted she is to them and their one-note, stupid gags. This is a rare gag that actually puts Roboco on the backfoot

Sakamoto Days: Shin and Heisuke reach the maze-like B2 of the prison and meet Tenkyu, a member of Slur. Tenkyu likely wants to find Atari for Uzuki's sake, which will likely put him in conflict with Shin and Heisuke and make him the antagonist of the arc

Elusive Samurai: Shizuku's human emotions of love and jealousy allow her to manifest a human body at the cost of her divine powers, saving her from vanishing from their overuse. With Mima and Shizuku's divinity lost to both sides, the war between Tokiyuki and Takauji can no longer rely on miracles or divine protection

Witch Watch: Suzuka once again asks for help cheating on one of her grandmother's traditional arts tests, this time on haiku. Tenryuu's perceptions of haiku are changed in the process, though this likely won't have...too big of an effect on his character going forward

Blue Box: The boys basketball team goes out of their way to keep Taiki and Chinatsu separated out of envy, resulting in Taiki being locked in a shed. This moves the focus back to the main couple and adds a little bit of drama to their relationship, which has otherwise been going pretty swimmingly so far

Akane-Banashi: Shiguma is diagnosed with throat cancer and may lose his voice; Issho dissolves the Shiguma School and forcefully inducts Akane into his own school. Whether Issho plans to sabotage Akane's attempts to learn Shiguma's Art or aid in it is unclear, but Akane will certainly learn something useful for it in the process

Kill Blue: Shin sacrifices himself to save Juzo from losing the cavalry battle. The battle will likely conclude next chapter, as otherwise it would now be two-on-one

Nue's Exorcist: To better understand Rido's philosophy on love, Gakuro asks to be introduced to Rido's girlfriend; it turns out that she left him because she has a terminal illness. This will likely impact Gakuro's views on love and motivate him to make a decision on which girl to confess to - hopefully we'll take the polyamory route?

Kagurabachi: Hiruhiko continues to pressure Chihiro into risking the lives of civilians so he can convince him that they're both the same kind of psychopathic killers, but instead Chihiro finds a new way to use Enten to escape his trap. Chihiro's views on murder are further elaborated on as the idolization of the Swordbearers as the heroes of the war is criticized

Super Psychic Policeman Chojo: Chojo is plagued by visions of perverse tragedies occurring to the women around him that will supposedly damage their faith in him. An ominous voice tells him that fate cannot be avoided, suggesting that even after saving the women, his strange behavior in the meantime may have still hurt his standing

Astro Royale: Himuro's backup cops are revealed to be artificially created Asteroids, taking drugs to enhance their abilities that are specifically designed to synergize with Himuro's Astro. The possibility for artificial Asteroids raises the threat level beyond what people happened to wish for when they didn't know they'd get powers from doing so

Yokai Buster Murakami: To save Kuin from execution by a council of Gendo Ikari imposters, Murakami convinces each of them to take on a new, albeit kind of cliche persona; in the process, he establishes Kuin as the new Gendo-like leader of the exorcist organization. Whether Kuin will continue as the leader is questionable, but such a sudden rise in the ranks has troubling implications for the series' longevity

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi: Kiyoshi decimates his proctor for the Grand Cross exam, denouncing the ideology that talent is necessary to reach that rank. Kiyoshi may or may not have precluded himself from being given Grand Cross rank in doing so, but his convictions to Effort and Friendship will likely prove far more valuable

Hima-Ten: Tenichi goes to Himari for advice on his potential relationship with Kanai, which she seems all too happy to give. With this early of a development, something is either going to get in Tenichi's way (likely the new girl, Kanna) OR they'll date for a short while and break up

Ichi the Witch: Ichi rejects Uroro's proposal to go on a witch hunt, earning the approval of the Witches Association; Ichi is finally given his iconic uniform, and Kumugi is forced to join Team Desscaras. This likely marks the end of the prologue, and the real story can finally begin

Shinobi Undercover: Hibari is troubled by her lack of friendship with Mukai, despite being assigned to be her best friend, and asks Yodaka's advice; receiving nothing helpful, Hibari just becomes confused until she's attacked by Miyake and needs to protect another classmate. The main difference between Hibari and Yodaka is likely that Hibari puts on an act while Yodaka is genuine, which she will likely learn through getting to go all out against Miyake

Hakutaku: To gain experience and get some networking in, Hikuma and Noto join a game jam; there, they meet Seo, a programmer, and likely their first major rival, Kitahara. This both builds the roster and establishes the flow of the series, as competitions like this will likely be a recurring element

I think I had a little trouble this time since it's my first attempt, but I remembered a lot more than I actually expected! If I do keep up with it, my hope is that I'll have better insight than I did this time, as I don't have a strong connection to a lot of these series and can't remember or articulate their themes as well as I can for my favorites

If I end up refining this process, great! If I end up dropping it, oh well! For what I got done this time, though, I did enjoy it, and I hope you do too!