#questions about natsume's backstory

[everythingsinred]

My bf wants to pick up reading Gakuen Alice where the anime ends. It’s been a while since I’ve read it myself and I never actually finished it. Is the manga so different that it would be a bad idea to do that?

Hi!!

It's really cool your bf wants to pick up GA! I think it's a great manga and very fun and emotional to read <3

I guess my answer is that I would personally recommend starting from the beginning. The anime deviates a lot from the manga, sometimes for entire episodes, and the last arc with the circus is entirely anime-only so I think it could be confusing to go into the manga in the middle of the story after the anime. I think the relationships progress differently, and there's certain progress made with Mikan that the manga doesn't do like the anime does.

Though I would recommend starting from the beginning, if your bf still wants to go from where the anime leaves off, that would be Chapter 29, or with Volume 6. Chapter 28 covers the Kaname and Mr. Bear story, which is the last chapter the anime adapted, but keep in mind that the anime expands on this story a lot and adds some Mikan revelations on alice shapes that are less developed in the manga at that point. The last 4-5 episodes of the anime are entirely anime-only and there's liberties taken with Natsume's backstory as well as his relationship with both Ruka and Mikan and Mikan's friendship with Hotaru and Narumi-sensei and then also Narumi-sensei's backstory. (As you can see, there's a lot they added.)

I think it's easier to start from the beginning because it's only 28 chapters and it helps ease confusion later on when backstories are revealed and relationships get more developed. A lot of the anime-only content not just expands on manga content but contradicts it, so not knowing what was anime content and what was in the manga might create obstacles later on.

At the end of the day, though, that's each person's own call to make! If your bf decides to start at Chapter 29, just keep in mind that there's some contradictions.

Thanks for the question and tell your bf happy reading!

[captainkirkk]

🦇🎃 WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP 🎃🦇

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

Merlin

The Hunt for Red Emrys by darkbluedark

King Arthur sets out to keep his promise to the spirit of the Druid boy by repealing his father's ban on magic. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, for reasons including but not limited to the following:

(1) He can't change the law until he understands magic better, but no sorcerer is willing to explain magic to him until he changes the law;

(2) The sorcerers all have some strange obsession with Merlin, which is awakening all sorts of feelings in Arthur that he really doesn't fancy examining too closely;

(3) He is starting to feel like the butt of some Druid-population-wide inside joke involving the mysterious phenomenon called Emrys; and

(4) Oh yeah, Morgana is still trying to kill him.

Thus he embarks on a journey of discovery, diplomacy, accountability, and self-improvement, and maybe even falls in love along the way.

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun

Kalego-sensei is...dead? by IcyPheonix

The Misfits come to school one day to discover that they have, a substitute teacher. They decide that this can only mean one thing; Kalego-sensei, has died.

He hasn't but that's not gonna stop them from pretending he has of course.

SVSSS

The Moon's Beloved Shadow by mofumofu

Shen Qingqiu is a man who hides his twin brother from the world with the ferocity of a phoenix-eyed mother crane.

Shen Yuan is a helpless transmigrator who wishes Airplane-bro had given even a single bit of backstory for this side character he's inhabiting!

Luo Binghe isn't doomed to face the Endless Abyss, but he is forced to confront something infinitely more frustrating: an overly protective brother.

Natsume Yuujinchou

What Colors Do You See In This Monochrome World by mermorgie.

Natori's voice brought him back to the present. "You alright there, Natsume?" The look the exorcist was giving him was warm and a tad concerned. Natsume gave him a small, but earnest smile. "I'm fine, Natori-san. Just a bit nervous." This was the truth. He had no idea why the head of the Matoba Clan invited him this time, but he was sure that the man was up to no good.

Or: Natsume gets invited to an exorcist meeting. He is not too happy about it, but at least the view is great.

Harry Potter

Three's Family by darkbluedark

It’s May 1979 and the Order has just apprehended a pair of mysterious wizards who look remarkably like a Potter and a Malfoy. Naturally, James Potter and Sirius Black are called in to identify the strangely familiar strangers and determine their backgrounds and loyalties.

(This would be a lot easier if their captives weren’t convinced everyone they talk to is dead. It would also be easier if they didn’t spend half their bloody time bickering.)

-

“Just ask them questions only they would know the answer to,” Malfoy suggests.

“There’s not a single thing that I know about either of them from the first war that any old Death Eater couldn’t find out.”

“How is that possible?” Malfoy huffs. “He’s your father!”

“Am I or am I not famously an orphan?” Potter snarls.

Once More Unto The Boggart by darkbluedark

Professor Lupin let out his breath very slowly. “So this is why you think you’ve been struggling to make progress with the Patronus charm? Because a part of you wants to let the dementor close, in a way, in order to hear your parents?”

Harry nodded again, though more guiltily this time. “I want to let the boggart out, just once, and, er, not cast the charm."

Those Who Have Seen by darkbluedark

Only those who have seen death can see thestrals.

It turns out, thestrals look different for those who have seen Death.

[bsd-verse]

Kouyou's backstory, the old boss, Mori's past, the cat Natsume, Order Of the Clocktower, how the Guild founded, Tanizaki siblings, Fukuchi, Teruko, the Book, Fyodor and many more. Actually if you think about it. Bsd has many questions to be answered and I look forward to seeing them getting the long waited answers. And that's what makes Bsd great to me.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I have a question for you guys.

I was rewatching Yosano's backstory episode (and cried again. what of it?) but something this time caught my attention.

In the scene where Fukuzawa and Mori are fighting and Fukuzawa angrily tells him his plans "lack humanity"... is the word they both use... not "kokoro"?

It would appear to be, from this manga translation. If that really is the choice of word, that's really interesting, because one of irl Natsume-sensei's most well-known books is the novel Kokoro.

What does this mean? Is Mori really following the plan Natsume laid out for them? Is he derailing from the initial plan with the exclusion of "heart/humanity"? Did Natsume intend for "heart" to be sacrificed in the name of defense? Or is this conflict, with "heart" at the center, exactly what Natsume needed for this plan to work?

And on Mori's end: this isn't his usual cold, impeccable logic. This is anger that Fukuzawa is getting in the way. More than that, it almost seems to me like Mori has a paranoid streak. Check this out here:

To be quite honest with you, Mori sometimes makes weird calls that imo aren't the best decisions - and they're all out of some fear he has, typically over the protection of the city and the country. Mori's takeover of the Port Mafia is seen as overall a good thing - because the previous boss grew increasingly paranoid and started ordering unnecessary violence, something Mori himself wishes to avoid whenever possible. Yet his projection onto Dazai causes issues during the Mimic incident - sure it was logically sound, but he lost Dazai for it. Was it really then the best solution there was? And what about Yosano - so caught up in what she could prove and what she meant for the war effort that he failed to consider her taking drastic action out of sheer despair? It's interesting that Mori, who advises others on not letting their fears and emotions get in the way of strategy, is prone to the same thing at times. Might he get worse at this kind of miscalculation? It'd be altogether kind of tragic if he messes up later in the story out of paranoia, considering his predecessor's legacy...

Edit: I changed the last bit, as it's left somewhat unclear if part of Mori's reasoning in the whole Mimic incident was to get Dazai away from him - in fact, it's likely that wasn't the case at all and Dazai was just saying this to intentionally get under his skin. Unfortunately I am a bit of dumbass who misinterpreted this line on first read, and now read it differently:

He's sticking with the logicality of it - one person's life for a gifted business permit is a worthwhile sacrifice, even if it drove away his right hand man. Either way, whether it's projection (Dazai is just like me, so he'll understand) or paranoia (he is going to inevitably kill me someday - which is still kinda projection imo) or some combination of the two - I think the original point still stands: maybe focusing all your efforts on ensuring you're always prepared for some eventuality or other means you overlook things you deem less important or irrelevant. Maybe removing heart from your decisions... isn't actually the best call in the end.

[diary-ofamadwoman]

WHERE IS NIKOLAI??? Why didn't he go back to save Sigma? Is he that heartbroken that he has changed his mind about wanting to know more about Fyodor? (I know that Fyodor told him Sigma's dead, but Nikolai must have considered that possibility and thought of a way to get the info even if something happened to Sigma)

I can see something like "all my efforts were in vain and it's not worth it anymore" pass through his mind after the realization that he has lost Fyodor forever (as far as he knows) and maybe he kind of considers the idea of living with the mysterious, perhaps idealized to certain extent, version of Fyodor. But wouldn't that contradict his character? He's seeking the truth and freedom and sees more than a regular person, beyond what's visible at first sight

And he's clever. Let's say that his reaction to Fyodor's 'death' was genuine, it's possible that in the following moments he realizes that there must be more and Fyodor couldn;t be dead

Or he goes back to get Sigma but he's too late and Sigma's already with Dazai and Chuuya?

It would be interesting to see whether Nikolai has given up on knowing more about Fyodor, or he comes back in order to get the info

ALSO!!! Nikolai's goal was finding information about Fyodor's ABILITY, which could mean Nikolai had already started suspecting his ability is unusual, or maybe he even has a theory about what Fyodor's ability might be. This wouldn't mean that his reaction wasn't genuine, everything was too sudden and even if Nikolai has a theory, he doesn't know anything for sure

Idk how much of Fyodor's backstory will be revealed but I hope we get to see how he met Nikolai too; Fukuchi and Dazai as well; also, does he know Natsume? I have so many questions...

[kamyru]

A summary to the family relationships in Voltage Inc stories

I once posted about how the MCs from Voltage Inc are mostly mentally healthy girls from complete families, with both parents being more than adequate and usually with siblings. The statistics for the games I am writing for are like this:

Her Love in the Force: Two alive parents that are good at parenting and an alive sibling good at "siblinging"

Irresistible Mistakes: Two alive parents that are good at parenting and an alive sibling that briefly mentioned

Oops! I Said Yes?!: Two alive parents that are adequate at parenting

Plust: Love U So True: Two alive parents that seem to be good at parenting

Romance MD: Always on Call: ... She is the one whose family status can be compared to the LIs

Tokyo Love Hustle: I don't remember, but I'm not sure both her parents are alive

So, out of 7 MCs, only one and a half (if anyone remembers TLH's MC's backstory, tell me what's up with her) have a tragic backstory regarding their families, which makes up around 80% of MCs with no family trauma. If we take more MCs, then it probably is 85%. Now, let's see how we are with the boys. (I don't remember or know all their stories, so correct me if I wrote something wrong).

Alive parents with alive siblings (if they have any): Seiji Goto, Toshiaki Kijima, Toma Kiriya, Natsume Asaoka, Kuranosuke Kiba, Shu Hasunuma, Munechika Takado

Alive parents with dead siblings: Shusuke Soma

Alive parents with dead siblings and questionable love for them: Eiji Takao, Tetsuya Hosho, Sentaro Kyogoku

Alive parents with questionable love for their children: Yukihisa Maki, Shunichiro Tachibana, Ukyo Senkawa, Kunihiro Kasai, Sui Claude Saigu, Mikoto Amamitsu, Kaede Ekuni

Another fatherless child with his dad away: Hyogo Kaga (he can fall in the previous category too), Taku Hayama

Adopted orphan: Ayumu Shinonome, Rei Kamiki, Keita Mitsuura, Go Okubo, Daimon Togo, Toshiki Kasumi, Suzumu Mado

Adopted orphan with dead siblings: Takaomi Tsugaru

Adopted orphan with dead siblings and questionable relationship with the parents whose at least one adopted parent died: Hideki Ishigami

Not adopted orphan: Jun Araki, Taro Akuchi

Characters about whom I don't remember/know anything (please, tell me in the comments what's up with them): Jin Namba, Toru Kurosawa, Eiichi Matsunaga

Status unknown (please, tell me if you know anything): Ryoga Buto

So, here we have 35 characters. The ones about whom I don't know anything don't fall into the first category, from what I remember. And even if we put the last one in the first category, we still have a rate of 23% with no family trauma. By games, it looks like this:

Her Love in the Force: No trauma = 12,5% (1/8)

Irresistible Mistakes: No trauma = 30% (3/10)

Oops! I Said Yes?!: No trauma = 33,3% (2/6)

Plust: Loving U So True: No trauma = 66,6% (2/3)

Romance MD: Always on Call: No trauma = 16,6% (1/6)

Tokyo Love Hustle: No trauma = 0% (0/2)

Besides the fact that we don't have information about Ryoga yet, these are still not accurate because Kuranosuke theoretically falls into the "No family trauma" category, even if this man has trauma regarding his family and his entire personality can be explained by his family's behavior towards him. 

Even the story with the "happiest" families (Plust with 66,6%) isn't close to MCs' 80%. 

I want MCs with traumas who went through something and overcame it. And if Voltage Inc likes to make it hard from the beginning, using their families, then there it be. I don't want men characters who went through hell and back to come to MC so that she could fix them. I want MC to have her struggles that don't involve her man. Women's lives don't revolve around their men. They can have struggles outside their relationship. 

Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is important to support your partner and everything. I like how the LIs have character development. But if you look at these games, MCs' lives seem so good and careless before meeting their SO. Their problems begin after men appear in their lives. They go through problems that aren't as serious as their partners, while the men save the day and are named heroes. 

The family thing is only ONE aspect of the traumas that Voltage gives to MEN in their stories. There are so many struggles that a woman can go through: toxic exes, physically present but morally absent parents (especially fathers), high expectations, double standards, and sexual harassment. 

I have had a pretty normal life compared to Voltage Inc men's. But I still can't identify myself with the MCs in here. I'm only 21, and I have seen more sh*t than the MC from "Her Love in the Force" when she entered the Academy. It makes me uncomfortable when I play for a plant from a greenhouse whose strongest personality trait at 23+ is naivety. 

I want to live in a world with parents that love me nonetheless, there's no depression, sexual harassment, toxic relationships, messy breakups, divorces, bad relationships with siblings, mental illnesses, double standards, or high expectations. But it's not possible right now, and I want to see problems depicted in fiction to know that I am not alone. 

I want to see a LI who goes out of his way to help MC with her problems, at least sometimes. I don't live on this earth to save men from themselves. I also want to have support to overcome my problems. 

[trilliumszz]

abt the pm transfer.

People have theorised a lot about it being Dazai. In my opinion, this is unlikely simply because it would not serve any form of development. Dazai has already been at his worst, when he was in the PM. He would not gain development from being forced to be an inhuman monster again. In fact, it would likely detract from his character, and it would make the impact of Oda’s death weaker.

Other characters, such as Kyouka or Yosano, would neither be willing to join the PM or gain any development from it. Yosano does not need to be in the Mafia to be violent and morally grey, and her current characterization does not require adjustment. Besides, she’s already been used as a tool to control others. Mori telling her that Fukuzawa permitted her transfer is likely less of an actual implication of events to come and more of the same thing he did when inviting Dazai to rejoin the Mafia.

Similarly to both Dazai and Yosano, Kyouka would not develop from joining the Mafia. She has already been there, and her arc is a journey from dark into light. Also, Kouyou would be very much against it.

Kenji is a more interesting case. He certainly has a to-be-developed dark side (for lack of a better word), but he would be difficult to integrate into the Mafia. He is capable of violence and murder, yes, but he is incredibly loyal. His morality is nearly identical to the Mafia’s. But he is already attached to the ADA. Additionally, Mori would likely consider him too great a risk to be worth bringing to the Mafia. With the ADA, his default state is relatively peaceful, but in the violent environment of the Mafia that would very likely change. Natsume would likely interfere if that were the outcome.

(Hunting dog Kenji though…)

Atsushi is extremely unlikely for similar reasons to Dazai and Kyouka. We have already seen PM Atsushi, in BEAST. I doubt Asagiri would add that again. That wouldn’t really add to Atsushi’s character at all. It would also screw over many important character dynamics, though changes in his perception of Dazai might be interesting. But there’s really no foreshadowing for this possibility.

Moving to Kunikida, that is out of the question. Kunikida would quite literally blow himself up before he would join the Mafia. He wishes for no one to have to die in front of him, and he does not even participate in the assassination attempt during Cannibalism.

Finally, we have Tanizaki. Throughout the story he’s been shown as a pleasant, polite guy, though on occasion he’s been… Darker. Similar to Kenji’s dark side stuff. He is explicitly stated to have an affinity for assassination, and repeatedly becomes murderous at any threat to Naomi.

His ability is also very likely to be far, far stronger than we know, kept in check only by Fukuzawa’s authority. Taking him out from under him would create an incredibly powerful weapon, assuming this is the case. Tanizaki is shown from the beginning to be able to avoid bullets, even. I’ll cut myself off though- this isn’t an ability analysis. Simply putting it out there that he is incredibly useful, and I doubt Mori would let that slip by.

As for character development, it would be a perfect opportunity to develop Tanizaki’s darkness. In the Mafia, there is no need to seem pleasant and kind. We could see far more of his true nature. It would be an amazing fit to his character arc that had been foreshadowed from the beginning. It could allow backstory opportunities that were not previously present. It would even provide a contrast to Kyouka.

No one fits the transferee role better than Tanizaki.

Oh, and, to wrap this all up in a neat bow:

Thank you for listening.

[morphogenetic]

post dgs2-2 comments/thoughts/theories (with some spoilers for what I believe is 2-3 or 2-4 at the latest)

first of all, the third part of the case kind of dragged for me bc by that point I'd basically figured the whole thing out already. however, it was EXTREMELY vindicating for me to get the fact that natsume was basically getting gas poisoned every night bc I made a joke after he said a guy was trying to kill him every night. Wrong! carbon monoxide poisoning.

secondly. wow it is really surprising to me that the masked disciple hasn't shown up yet I thought THAT was why sherlock/yuujin were trying to hide the case and I know he was in jp promo material ages ago so ?? assuming that's 2-3 just from the name of that case.

third:

it's not a huge level of vindication because I caught it from the flavor text that this would be important but still. Vindication.

fourthly:

a) i thought this was a human pet collar before i thought it was a belt.

b) this obviously fucking belongs to the van zieks family so I'm starting to get an inkling for why barok is...like that. which leads me to my next thing.

5. i don't know anything about the actual case of 2-4, but I DO know that it's called 'twisted karma and his last bow.' i don't fully know if the karma there is supposed to be the "his" in that sentence, but I do know one very specific thing that has been hammered home to me. the asougi family sword is the Karuma. im assuming what happened is that someone on the asougi side (not kazuma obviously but someone else) is the reason for barok hating japanese people...perhaps because one of them was his friend when he was younger and then said friend killed his (dad/older brother/insert important guy here). at the very least, I'm 80% sure that, if "karma" is not referring to a person, it ABSOLUTELY is referring to the sword, or they wouldn't make such a big deal about what the sword is called so much

6. which prompts the question...why the fuck would yuujin and sherlock not want that information to get out? i don't have a good idea on why not yet, but I definitely think that they're aware of barok's tragic backstory - especially sherlock, their court interactions proved that enough to me - but I don't have a good idea. the best that I have is that van zieks and sherlock know each other, and that watson and yuujin knew each other from when yuujin studied abroad, and then the 4 of them ended up knowing each other through sherlock and watson.

7. this doesn't help me at all with figuring out the bigger conspiracy w kazuma/gregson/watson/whoever A. Shin is yet, but I can't help but think it is at least tangentially relayed to the von zieks emblem belt....

8. Lighthearted note to end on. I think this guy is gonna come back again bc WHY DO YOU HAVE A FUCKING KNIFE

[thesmallmeggles]

The Triumphant Return Of Zanzo Headcanons...

Or is it? 😉

Woe, Hi-Fi Rush Roleplay Server Zanzo be upon ye! *Everything in canon plus my earlier headcanons still apply, this is just for information specific to him*

Motozawa Zanzo, "Zim"

🍍 The epitome of "Sinnamon Roll". He's a (kind of?) sweetheart but he keeps causing problems for everyone

Sometimes I worry I play him too soft & sensitive but that's nbd

🍍 The other Zanzos in the server gave him his nickname (There are multiple timelines converging together in the Vandelay Forums. Makes for fun times 🙂)

🍍Zim Capitalizes Every Word He Types. unless he's feeling sad/insecure, then he goes lower case

Backstory Related

🍍 This man is trans! He'd been living in stealth for decades before coming out in the Forums

🍍Zim looked into Project Armstrong on his own time while recovering in the hospital from canon events. He didn't get far with it

🍍He tried to teach Zimverse!Kale the Torture Dance sometime in the past. Efforts were unsuccessful

🍍While I have mentioned him being in court before in RP, the reason was because he participated in a joyride as a teenager. Some questionable friends persuaded him to steal the Motozawas' car and they crashed it into a warehouse. Zim's dad sat with him in the courtroom for the trial- did not reduce his anxiety about the whole ordeal. This event led to a greater rift growing between Zim and his family

Romance Related

🍍He crushes hard on Macaron. If Mac wasn't his boss, he'd be more open about it

🍍Zim has had, at most, five long term partners overall, including Violet. Most of them... weren't great. He's also had multiple short term relationships, which I won't elaborate on, but they were 🌶️spicy🌶️

🍍He often avoids PDA because of both his variable tolerance for physical touch and the culture he grew up in. He is also touch starved and almost constantly craves physical contact

🍍Zim loves imagining his partners dressed in different outfits, including maid uniforms. Not necessarily a kinky thing but it can skew that way

Random Fun Facts

🍍Loves Halloween And Spicy Food. He likes citrus desserts, especially lemon flavored things. No Liquorice for him (black liquorice). He likes pineapple on pizza, mushrooms are a "no". Vandelay Island tap water tastes weird to him

🍍He's been into robotics since he was five. Snakes, worms, and slugs are his current favorite animals among several others

🍍Superfan of a virtual pop star named Natsume Miso (wonder who that's a reference to 😆). He's currently revamping a project to make her "real".

🍍In addition to his own plushies and various figures + model kits (Miso being among them), Zanzo owns Tetsuo the sensory slug (gift from Violet) and a plush octopus named Tako-san. He owned a green wiggle worm named Midori in childhood; Bullies flushed it down the toilet :(

🍍Favorite scent is new model kit/figure, so basically plastic

🍍The idea of no clipping out of reality freaks him out

🍍His favorite horror media tend to involve either body horror or aliens

🍍He's drawn sparkle dogs before

🍍Birds attack his neurals

🍍He has burn scars from spilling ramen noodle cups on himself. (Mainly on his torso since getting prosthetics.) Poor motor and impulse control make for struggles.

🍍Not mentioned in RP, but he owns chewelry in various geeky themes. He exclusively uses them in the privacy of home

🍍 He is also known to view anime through 🏴‍☠️certain avenues🏴‍☠️. He first learned about it from anime forums, since he couldn't always watch his favorite shows on regular television and was too broke to buy physical media sets. The latter detail isn't so much of an issue since working for Vandelay (he buys LOTS of merch), but old habits die hard

[izumisays]

dear yuletide author,

Thank you so much for reading this and taking part in this wonderful annual conspiracy.

First of all, I hope you have a lovely time! If any of the fandoms below pique your interest, I’m delighted already, and ready to hear all the stories you want to tell.

Fandoms: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume’s Book of Friends, 猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin (TV 2022),  Hunting (猎狐), Thunderbolt Fantasy (東離劍遊紀), 御赐小仵作 | The Imperial Coroner (TV), 苍兰诀 | Love Between Fairy and Devil (TV)

As for reading preferences, I’m happy with a wide variety of tones and genres, of any rating, ranging anywhere from lighthearted antics to dramatic casefics. But the core of all the stories I love has always been character interaction and interplay of their competences. How the characters play off each other and bring out their best/worst, how they’d react to a divergence of events, how true they’d stay to themselves in a different setting – I love fanfiction for allowing us to reconnect with our favourite stories time and again by asking these questions. And there are so many ways to do it! To name a few favourites, I’m always game for POV hijinks, a missing scene, a casefic, canon expansion, backstories and what-ifs.

You may notice that some of my requests lean towards shipfic – those, too, are welcome in a variety of tones – but I also tried to include openings for gen ideas if that’s your jam. Additionally, while it is not usually my top interest, I don’t have anything against AUs if there is something that you are itching to explore: I tend to enjoy them for a new aesthetic that fleshes out the favoured character dynamics in a new light, or a fusion that redefines the playing ground to allow the characters to exhibit their core competences in new and exciting ways.

I would be very grateful if you could avoid a/b/o and associated kinktropes, played-straight soulmate fic, and character interpretation that runs contrary to their core values. If in doubt, please reach out to me on anon - the askbox is open!

Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) - Matoba Seiji, Natori Shuuichi

I continue to have so many emotions about the horrible exorcists, it's not even funny. And can you believe this is the last year Natsume Yuujinchou is eligible for Yule?! Shocking.

We have been treated so GENEROUSLY by Midorikawa-sensei, who in infinte wisdom knows to serve us what we truly need and not just what we think we want. (And if sometimes that means I have to ferally text my friends screaming about LOQUATS, then that too is part of her grand design. I remain very grateful and very humble.) Honestly I’m so pleased that what we’re getting on the page seems to be softer and more open to possibility than what we collectively imagined as a horrible exorcists fandom, yelling about bitter exes and divorces. There is surprisingly less knives and more communication, soft resignation and a working relationship as opposed to a bitter estrangement and mutual avoidance — not ignoring the feuds and bone-breakingly heavy legacies, but growing around them, somewhat? Miharu and Homura arcs were absolutely ruinous in the best way, and what we saw after adds more layer to understanding the history between the two houses but at the same time has enough soft bits around it that makes me hopeful? The mix is intoxicating. I’d love to be a fly on the wall and see the reaction of Matoba’s clansmen when Natori shows up in their boardroom to borrow their esteemed leader for a few days, on important business. HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN, I need to know for science.

Between the two of them, it's an established theme Natori is doing a worse job of judging Matoba by what he does than what he says than even Natsume. He is so stubborn! And the invitation to stop listening to Seiji glibly run his mouth is right there! (I feel compelled to add here that Seiji running his mouth with the most clingy shit is my favourite thing. “Oh it would be nice to have Natori-san’s paper talisman.” “Oh it would be nice to go on a wistful little loquat date again.” URGHUGHG - me and Nastume both, probably). And yet it's Natori cracking the door open, a small crack maybe but that's still a door to the possibility that solitude is not necessarily their only path in life. This is so ruinous. I love it.

Casefics, shipfics, boardroom comedy, AUs or futurefics — all good, as long as it digs into the dynamic between them. Messing with timelines, forced proximity, day jobs crossing with exorcist jobs, narratively convenient youkai curses forcing their hand, etc etc.

I’m up to date with English official translations of manga & anime, and slightly bitter that we won't have more canon information about Seiji's sister in time for the Yuletide. SO TANTALIZING.

Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴 ) - Shen Yi, Du Cheng.

Always welcome the addition of Du Qing, Du Cheng’s fabulous sister, or the ensemble cast of the investigation unit.

For this show, I’m both charmed by the dynamics between the main leads, and the completely realistic (ha!) way they use art skills to solve crime. This is some anime level nonsense and I’m eating it up with a spoon.

Case fics case fics! Case fics that explore and develop the relationship between Shen Yi and Du Cheng. I ship them, and would welcome the acknowledge of the growing closeness and intimacy between them in the story, but you don’t have to push yourself if you are there for camaraderie alone. I think between their backstory and the events of s1, there is a lot that makes them tick as a duo. Things that particularly please me: the playfulness in dialogue and little things like picture notes, acknowledgement and reliance on each other’s competences, protectiveness and care that comes across both in the middle of real danger (how many hostage situations can Shen Yi get himself into? Asking for a friend) and in daily routine. (Food is love! Allowing people to have naps is love!)

The inherent domesticity of adopting one loner artist by a whole investigative unit. I really liked the evolution of how people warmed up to him, and different distance at which these relationships grow and show in their daily work.

On a similar note: how large will Shen Yi’s menagerie grow to be, if he keeps adopting all sorts of strays from his cases? *An amateur artist myself, I am very fond of the many ways art has been shown to interlace and influence things we perceive to be objective and tangible on the show. It’s not just about sketching a perpetrator’s portrait, and joke as I may about the realism of crime-solving with a sketchbook, I’m definitely fond of all kinds of aspects of art and its transformative power that were brought into the show.

Thematically, one thing that boggled my mind when watching the show is how it gravitated towards exploring violence and crimes perpetrated against women, and created a whole range of competent, sympathetic characters… and yet they all somehow were either in victims, perpetrators or both. It’s like the show writers are trying to engage in important issues, but stop before actually seeing it through to the logical end. Is it censorship? Individual creative decisions? I don’t know, but I would hope that in fic, we could be bolder about saying B after saying A.

The drama is available on viki.com, which is where I watched it. I am really excited to watch s2 whenever that releases, but as of writing of this letter it hasn't happened yet.

猎狐 | Hunting - Xia Yuan, Wu Jiaqi

Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good white collar crime, especially one that busts a few capitalist myths. But let’s be real, the best parts of this TV show were Xia Yuan and Wu Jiaqi’s overseas 💕dates💕 I mean business trips, which mysteriously required they be outfitted like a well-matched pair of ridiculously long-legged models that strutted right out of the Vogue pages and into the metaphorical fire. The kind of fire that, in turn, required them to fake date, or dress up even more glamorously to impersonate filthy rich celebrities and their butlers, or deployed other similarly logical methods of tracking down runaway fraudsters.

I would eat up more of such adventures with a spoon, nay, a SHOVEL. Just like the epilogue showed, I’d like to imagine their adventures post-canon be a series of bright postcards (bang bang from Russia with love) capturing their antics in various capitals of the world.

Some ideas for inspiration could be: • Competitive not-dating. Xia Yuan and Wu Jiaqi just happen to contrive the circumstances in a way that makes the next operation seem conspicuously like a date, and the other one simply cannot let this slide and ups the ante. • I’m totally on board with some commentary or scheming from the peanut gallery of the Economics Crimes Division (I love you, Xiaolei!) to set them up faster. I don’t know if I love more the idea of the two of them giving in to the gang’s attempts to set them up, or the gang continuing to set them up completely unaware that the two of them are already dating, thus amplifying the comedy.  • As mentioned above, every city needs a pair of scarily competent and scarily beautiful law enforcement agents (who are also derps) descend on it to charm the pants off the local police forces and then solve some crime while they are at it. It’s also incredibly cute that Wu Jiaqi is the worldlier (or nerdier?) of the two, and can dispense funfacts and trivia at Xia Yuan’s incredibly soft face. I’m a simple girl and I like simple things. • ALL THE TROPES ever, as essential and completely logical ways to solve economic crimes. All the dress-ups. All the role-playing on the job with bae.

The show is available on viki.com.

Thunderbolt Fantasy (東離劍遊紀): any characters

It torments me personally that at the time of writing this letter the issue of s4's English streaming licenses has not been sorted yet. Damn it, my Mandarin is nowhere near good enough to watch it without English subs! (weeps into hands) You may safely assume that I will watch new episodes as soon as they become available in English.

Sanfan is a mixture UTTER GLEE and deep fondness for the genre staples, self-aware and masterful playthrough of all the wuxia tropes in the book, and one goddamn well-constructed story. It plays the tropes straight, calls them out with a knowing wink, walks the tightrope between the two with panache, and just as you are relaxed and enjoying this trapeze show, it grins cheekily at you, sets the hat on fire and pulls a bunny out of a discoball.  It’s DELIGHTFUL and fun and lovingly crafted, just like a good passion project should be.

I want anything that capitalizes on the absolutely hilarious dynamics between Rin Setsua and Sho Fukan (and while personally I end up using the Japanese versions of their names more often, please feel free to go with the Chinese names if you prefer). Sho Fukan does not want any of those heroic quests, he’s the human equivalent of been there, done that mood, and he just wants to REST and hopefully dump a bunch of magical murderswords someplace safe. Rin Setsua is a Totally Respectable and Non-Villainous Member of Society, of which he will inform you firsthand in the most high spoken and verbose way possible, and maybe even produce paperwork that has definitely not been tampered with. He harbours no ulterior motives, ever, and does not trail behind Sho Fukan for any reason beyond the pleasure of his company, and his mission is to personally victimize and cockblock every morally derelict villain in two countries, by no-one’s request.

Whether you go shipfic (yiss!) or canon levels teamup circus (also yiss!), don’t hold back your horses. Everything about this is Extra, and should continue to be so <3

I am okay with both expanding the canon and playing with AUs/crossovers/fusions for this one, provided they retain the character dynamics. I love the extended cast as well: any characters including the Seiyou gang (and on that note, if you want to write the Seiyou backstory for Shou’s gang that has no Rin in it, you’re welcome as well), reappearance of the familiar faces from Touri (read: Rin’s victim list, past, future and present), original characters lined up and waiting to be screwed over (guaranteed) and rescued (the administration does not bear any responsibility etc etc).

Season three, god bless Urobutcher, just went and upped the ante by 9000 – time and space travel! Magical walkie-talkie pocket-sized boyfriend dolls! Dramatic daddies and villains literally yeeted into literal space, jjba-style! The sandbox has expanded exponentially, and if you think this is a good excuse to open the door wide for any perceivable AUs and still remain canon-compatible, well, then you have the right audience in me.

This year I’m not limiting my request to just the two main characters (though as you can see my fondness for them is great) because I think season three especially kicks the doors wide open for various kinds of hilarious team-ups, confrontations, family dramas and peanut gallery commentaries about one another’s delusions of grandeur. If you would rather write about characters in the demonic realm, or have been wanting a good match-up for characters that never met on screen, or bring back some dead faves — well, then s3 labyrinth invites you to play with it, and I’ll happily read it.

御赐小仵作 | The Imperial Coroner (TV) - Chu Chu, Xiao Jinyu, Leng Yue, Jing Yi

You do not have to include all of the requested characters.

This show was so enjoyable, and I think it was largely because the four main characters had such an incredible chemistry amongst themselves, and all four were competent in their own way. The cases and intrigues are very intelligent, the comedy is well-played, and romance is adorable. Need I say more?

A few suggestions should you need them:

I am really partial to Xiao Jingyu, who seems a little bit on the spectrum, very cerebral, very capable, but at core of it - so fundamentally decent and kind. Scheming/clever characters are often depicted as unscrupulous to a degree, and I feel very pleased that Xiao Jingyu is simply not doing that. He understands other people's strong points and limitations (himself included) and just rolls with it.

I am unapologetically here for the telepathic teamwork-slash-and improv comedy that is Xiao Jingyu and Jing Yi. They just know each other so well, and this is the most playful Xiao Jingyu gets to be, and I am totally here for it.

I am very fond of the hilariously warm relations between Xiao Jingyu and Xiao Jingli. (This is for those of us who always wanted General Meng to give Mei Changsu less courtesy and respect and more of princess-style carrying him out of trouble/self-inflicted exhaustion/minor inconveniences like death threats before breakfast).

You know how the show totally leaned into Leng Yue/Chu Chu? It was so fabulous. In fact it was probably the most fabulous pairing of the four, simply because Leng Yue is so dazzling, the epitome of a jianghu rockstar, and so chivalrous towards Chu Chu. Girls have to look after other girls!! Girls have to bandage each other's wounds with utmost homoeroticism! GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS.

I find the two canon couples very cute, and if you want to play close to canon, that's totally fine too: the four of them is a force to be reckoned with. I absolutely love how whipped for Leng Yue Jing Yi is, and I love that Xiao Jingyu's moral stance is if Chu Chu wants do to an emotional support autopsy, he would simply oblige. Good thing there always seems to be a lot of corpses around them.

The show is available on viki.com.

苍兰诀 | Love Between Fairy and Devil (TV) - Dongfang Qingcang, Changheng

It took me by surprise just how much I enjoyed this show: I thought I was in it for the sheer amount of money invested into visuals (it's completely ridiculous how good looking everything is; if this is a testament to how many low budget cdramas I've seen I don't want to admit that), but I ended up having a really good time throughout. A lot of it was because of Dylan Wang/Wang Hedi's performance as Dongfang Qingcang, and the way the script let him have fun with his emotional journey and occasional bodyswaps. But it was also because of that hilarious not-friendship he had with Changheng, the secondary love interest to the main heroine, and this is what I would like to see in a fic.

the entirety of Yunmeng Lake arc was a love letter this show has for this crackship, you cannot convince me otherwise. It's some sort of tragicomedy while it lasts, but it breaks a lot of barriers and opens the door for their relationship in the future. The long suffering face DFQC had every time Xiao Run was all over him, determined to wrestle him into sword brotherhood! *cackles*

What happens after though! Their hilarious little schtick of "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" undermined by the fact that they are literally finishing each other's sentences! Changheng casually inviting himself to the Moon palace to rescue DFQC from the brink of death in presence of creme de la creme of his generals! CHEF'S KISS!

You know how DFQC was jealous of Changheng for getting to marry the goddess!Orchid? And Changheng's reaction being are you mad, I feel the same way as you do? Yeah *breathes heavily* Sorry Changheng, none of the people in this show think about your feelings.

And the ending! Changheng getting to be best buds with Danyin instead of a consolation endgame pairing! Changheng getting to lay down the mantle of the god of war and roam the three realms free! And remember what DFQC says in the little special: after he comes back from the dead, he and Orchid split their time between Shuiyuntian, Moon Kingdom and Yunmeng Lake, and they like love the latter the most. You know what this means? CHANGHENG THIRDWHEELING FOREVER. Super love that for them.

Anything that leans into the comedic potential of this ship would be golden. I am literally cackling as I am writing this, so take it as a sign that I'm easily amused.

I’m also open for treats for any of the above – to me, dropping stories into other’s stockings and finding some surprises in your own is definitely a highlight of the true Yule experience :)

Thank you for taking the time to read the letter, and I’m greatly looking forward to reading your story — and hopefully, getting to chat about these ridiculous and wonderful characters post-reveals :)

[akaiuchiha]

So, I couldn't sleep so I decided to went through my notes and there was a period when I translated song I liked (english cover for example) and I translated Reason Living at some point (and English cover).

Guys, I think you have no idea how crazy this opening is to me.

(Beware, spoilers ahead, don't read if you don't want to be spoiled)

The symbolism behind it is just awesome.

Dark Era is really one of my favourite arc. It made me cry and grieve FOR MONTHS before I was even able to listen to the opening without wanting to cry.

And I KNOW how BSD works, it's about the characters but also about saving the world and crazy people trying to change everything with the page.

But if you think about it, BSD is also about people finding themselves. I think we can all agree that some characters for whom we got backstories or even explanations DID find themselves are at least, they are going in the right direction (they clearly are not Zoro). And Atsushi is the main character for a reason because he is still finding who he is and why he is worthy.

And Reason Living? It's just pure hope and angst at the same time it hurts. They PLAYED IT while Odasaku was fighting Gide and I HATED that because the irony of it always made me cry. Playing REASON LIVING when Odasaku LOST his reasons to live??? I know maybe he could have try to keep on living because he wasn't alone but that's not the point and I fully understand Odasaku okay. That man lost his ideals, his ideas of a brigther future because of Mori, how was he supposed to react in other ways than wanting to kill Gide?

But playing this song, about not knowing why you are alive, why you should stay alive but still wanting to find a reason, wanting to find hope?? Yeah that was a horrible experience.

This song describes so much characters. We can obviously state Dazai who's still trying to find himself (I personaly think he is about to have his answer in the manga but it's not the topic here), but it also describes Atsushi who is still learning about his ability and how to deal with it and how to deal with his past. Maybe we can also include Kyouka, even Kunikida because I'm quite sure he is as lost as everyone.

They act but they don't know why, they just know they have to and that maybe they'll find why they have to keep on living.

And I swear this opening hit HARD. I never questioned why I was alive, I just want to be alive because I don't like death at all. It's scary and the end of everything so yes, I never thought about it. But this opening? It takes your feelings and crushes them under the pain, the hope, the despair and everything the characters feel.

BSD is really one of my favourite manga and it really hit me how this manga is about people searching themselves and trying hard to create a brighter future.

Yeah, it might be stupid because Reason Living is probably not the only opening talking about all of that, but it's still my favourite out of all of them. Also, it's clearly stated in the title "Bungou Stray Dogs" how the story is not going to be a walk in a park.

And yet, this story is absolutely amazing and the influence of Dark Era, of Odasaku in this universe is crazy because he's not really a good man (this scene in the novel traumatised me, the one with the vacuum cleaner) and his influence is clearly less important than Natsume's, but we can all agree that it is weird how in every universe, he can't live if Dazai's alive.

Anyway, I really went too far, I just wanted to vent about why Reason Living is a really good opening and how soul crushing it felt to hear it during the fight. Even without speaking and understanding japanese, I felt its meaning deep within my soul.

Thank you for reading!

(I'm really sorry if it's seems a bit..weird to read, it's late where I am from (like, 2 in the morning) and my hands were going ahead of my brain).

[elibean]

Thanks for answering my ask. Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

of course, thank you for asking! :D oooooh sure!! i'm not sure I have 10, actually ^^; let's see...

yukine!!!! my darling sweet baby boy. ha i bet y'all thought it was tsuyu, huh? most people do. i fell in love with yukine after reading ahead in the manga when the anime was airing (and i do believe this bit was untranslated at the time?) and learning that he takes the hit from yato. this baby bratty child doing something so brave and selfless when just chapters before he was hurting yato....good good stuff. and he's only gotten better from there. and he gets to keep his brattiness! he's a tsundere lil baby but he loves fiercely and would do anything for yato and hiyori and... and after learning his backstory and everything else and GOD I LOVE HIM

tsuyu. i don't have nearly as compelling a reason for loving her as much as i do as i did for yukine. she's....she's a cute frog girl.....idk what you want from me. she is a good character in her own right, she's strong and human (like when she broke down bc she felt bad for telling them they shouldn't save bakugou) but as her nature as a very very side character, she doesn't have a whole lot of development or much to work with. i like her and she's cute. the end!

dazai. he's alllmost tied with tsuyu. actually i thought about reordering those two. i'm not really sure. i just have way more tsuyu merch than dazai merch (though that doesn't mean a whole lot bc i hardly have any yukine merch at all BECAUSE IT DOESN'T FUCKING EXIST anyway). i love how morally grey he is...well, almost morally black lol. like dude has murdered and tortured people but is still on the side of the "good guys". his backstory with oda is great, the idea that he's on the side of the good guys not because he WANTS to but because it's what his friend wanted; and also that he doesn't even really care either way, that it's not like he had some deep change of heart or anything but just. was that devoted to his friend is just. mwah, good stuff. i don't like how he's written sometimes as like, he knows EVERYTHING and is ALWAYS 5 steps ahead of everyone else; gets kind of annoying, sometimes, but i still love him.

- the rest// yeah ok now is when we're starting to falter. from here on down i don't really have a solid order. i adore amajiki (and i love how hori made a joke about him being...well, a stand-in for hori in some ways lol), i love kirishima, i love deku (i ADORE deku as a protag i think he's great). i love rin from yuru camp. a recent fave is lu guang; love how he's willing to risk EVERYTHING for cxs and is a total hypocrite, but for him to properly make this list is gonna depend heavily on how the show writes his background, his motivations, and the resulting fallout and how that's handled. oh i love tanuma from natsume yuujinchou too! he's wonderful. oh big fan of atsushi too!! and poe....ok i'll shut up now hehe, these are all "characters i like a lot" but like, not characters i actively think about often (with the exception of lg bc of current brainrot...again, we'll have to see if that holds up and he can get properly added to this list)

[into-september]

📄What’s a WIP you never finished that you would like to go back and revisit?

If the fandom wasn't deader than disco: my epic Kyo Kara Maoh trilogy about Conrad becoming king of Big Shimaron that was my NaNo project back when I wanted that sweet sweet Scrivener discount. It was so cool! It was populated with AU characters from all over the anime I was watching ca. 2013 and like.

Romeo and Juliet from RomeoxJuliet! (they hardly even met in the story, Juliet was Wolfram's tragically impossible might-have-been and Papa Montague was the Big Bad)

The Demon King from Maoyu Maou Yuusha!

The Samezuka Academy Relay Team! (Conrad's bodyguards!)

The Takakura siblings from Mawaru Penguindrum were a central part of the magical backstory together with Chrono from Chrono Crusade and I gave them some names that were really cool and Shouma's was accidentally a genius. (Rosette Christopher and Masako Natsume, the tragically perfectly arranged marriage broken thanks to shifting family politics)

Scrapped Princess! was part of the same backstory and was recounted as a fairy-tale in a significant scene pretty early on

This is not a complete list and I'm fully aware that no-ne else would've cared about any of it, but man. It was fun.

Thanks for asking and sorry for rambling on about fandoms I think I have one in common with maybe one or two mutuals

(questions here)

[note-boom]

hiya, question 10 for the ask game? (bsd)

Oh, hello there! Thank you for the question!

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Hm....I'll be honest and say that I'm not really caught up with the DoA arc as of yet, so I'm holding off opinions on that (even though it looks promising as my most disliked arc for now).

Amongst the others arcs (going just off the main story arcs, which is the PM arc, Guild Arc (+aftermath), Cannibalism, Perfect Crime, Hunting Dogs; not doing Sky Casino, Kamui, and Vampire because, as stated about, I don't know them too well).....

Man, this is tough, as I'm not usually someone who dislikes things too strongly, but I guess I'm very neutral about the Cannibalism arc? (originally, I was going to say HD arc except I looked through the wikia and saw I LARGELY misremembered it, so you get cannibalism instead).

Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing set up, and I absolutely love it because the 1st 3 arcs were my intro to bsd via the anime. Buuuuuut, it's just that the other arcs were slightly more interesting to me? PM having the introduction of our port mafia, guild having western authors (even if I might put the guild arc as second least favourite because I simply disagree with some of the author portrayals xD), the other arcs having mushitarou (beloved pathetic groundhog), sigma, tachihara and yosano backstory, hd character development, ada family bonding...so on.

Cannibalism has an interesting buils up, of course, and I have lots of good things to say about it. But I guess I would have liked it sliiightly less....people are playing mind chess in the background (Natsume and Dazai and Fyodor, I mean)? I love BSD's insane takes on what a smart genuis is (it's so funny to me) but story-wise, I do think I prefer characfers developing...independently? Or a better word for it would be in spite of all the manipulations going on behind the scenes, not because of it (or a healthy mix of both, even)

[joelletwo]

case study 2: wah! matoba seiji

matoba seiji, in case anyone on my blog somehow doesnt know, is THE recurring villain of natsuyuu, an episodic series that doesnt really do recurring plots as a (general! recently broken!) rule.

his introduction brings in the idea of humans being violent and especially cruel to other humans, a very grounded threat that is otherwise only gestured at with natsume's backstory, with the physical threats otherwise coming from supernatural yokai. this troubles natsume over the series and keeps him on edge around matoba even when they become loosely allied and matoba becomes a more sympathetic character.

he has an eye targeted by yokai thats been "nastily wounded" in the past (which he's prepared to show off to natsume, apparently just to be offputting for fun), covered with a protectively charmed eyepatch. this and his long hair (which IS a char design choice that stands out in this series, though it has ostensible lore reasons) become his identifying features that mark him as Visually Weird.

his usual partner in ethically dubious exorcism is nanase, the only woman in natsuyuu to wear suits and who yokai disguise themselves as women to try to seduce. again! very subtle

for matoba himself, until recently, his fashion is unremarkable normiecore, hes not shown to interact with women chars differently than men, and a debatable gay subtext he has with natori is more a sympathizing than creepifying characterization, along with his revealed childish side, but

his dub actor does put a pretty distinct.................. flavor on this line (the 0:44 mark) and some others. so. there is Something to matoba, who continues to be shown as singularly callous and cynical in contrast to every other heartwarming char. i dont know for sure if his mode of speech is unique among the cast, but it always sounds and reads to me in english and the very little japanese i know as such. theres. Something. he is being marked in many aspects of his active and passive presentation as Different. hes Not Like Other (men), in ways that reinforce his Creepy and Dangerous nature, and which the dub decides to characterize with Gay Voice.

actually, in the most recent arc of the manga, it's revealed he has a persona for spying on his industry where he wears a dress and veil and disguises his voice as a woman's. this goes politely uncommented on by natsume and rudely ignored by nyanko below, and it's not really used to further mark him as a villain him - in fact, this arc is being used to reinforce his current harmlessness to natsume.

but. well! it's a hell of a payoff on the idle and jokey 'is matoba seiji a queercoded villain?' question i had years ago

[matoba: by the way, why all the fluff? nyanko: it's a disguise!! the noble persian nyanko!! and what's with you! i've been trying to ignore it, but what's with that getup? matoba: do you want to hear? nyanko: ...! i don't!!]

matoba is unembarrassed by this, and this plot is sandwiched between another character connected to him who crossdresses and is also a creepy villain but unrelated to the crossdressing and a chapter where natsume himself crossdresses to solve a yokai problem. natsuyuu (and its author) have usually been normal about gender variance. matoba, who started out multiply Visually Othered to mark him as a singular villain, now has commonality with the chars around him through this in his meow meow era! an interesting flip.

case study 1: the yona villain

hyo/hiyou YonaOfTheDawn runs the drug black market that is ruining a town and turning its people into puppets in his arc. as an antagonist, he makes the protagonist group, their newfound friend fighting her political ruler dad's political inertia, the king who is at odds with the protags, and a substantial military/merchant force mobilize and work together to take him down. hes powerful! he is primarily identified by his scar.

he wears ornately patterned floral robes and has delicate features and longish hair, none of which stand out to me as an unusual design choice considering the rest of the cast, but he /is/ immediately characterized as very vain and 'prissy,' especially about his scar.

and, uh, his own men scoldingly call him slurs for acting femininely (the other translation has him say a shrill voice like a woman's, like here v)

he hates busty women and his men police his gender. subtle

(the scar is doubled after yona slashes him in their confrontation.) he has lots of comedic exaggeration panels, which is normal for defanging and pathetic-ifying yona villains (tae-jun.............<3) and also the cast as a whole (yona as a series has exceptional comedic timing, for all its serious plot)

but this doesnt diminish his threat as an antagonist, which i remember being very heightened for yona's normal villain writing to that point, especially due to it being very. women focused. (in an author's note later, she notes that the "carve pieces from her thighs" was a typo of the originally less charged "from her belly," but she left it in because it was fitting for his misogyny.)

he obsessively and creepily hunts yona throughout the arc for derailing his plans (and adding to his scarring), but in the end, he's pretty unceremoniously punched out of the plot by yona's shoujou image of masculine perfection/future boyfriend, hak.

[mihai-florescu]

Hand over all your Tsumugi Headcanons asap. If you dont have anny hand over all the lore insted

Ive been in a bit of a slump creatively lately so i feel like i forgot any and all headcanons i ever had. I hoped i'd get better, i didnt, and having an unanswered asks bothers me so i'll be very boring in my reply.

Tsumugi's easy to misinterpret. He's clumsy and caring, but he also never lets any task he starts unfinished. He can be surprisingly cold, i think, because he sees himself as unaffected by what's happening around him.

Backstory wise, we know his mom falls prey easily to scam organizations (i believe it was mentioned theyre religious in nature, but i have to double check, it was definitely in Element). This lead to her losing money, a divorce, having to close the dance school she had where Tsumugi and Natsume met as kids. Tsumugi has an older brother who is distant from the family, presumably because of his mom's actions.

Despite all of this drama, Tsumugi doesn't resent his family. It was also a miscalculation on Eichi's part when he assumed Tsumugi was his friend cuz he wanted money to distance himself from his mom. Which was never the case. I personally would love more Tsumugi family lore, i want to meet his brother in the future, but alas, this is what we know so far.

When you think of the war, you condemn Eichi and Keito, but overlook that Tsumugi was just as much involved in scheming as the rest. He didnt start the war, but he was invested in seeing the plan finished, even after he got cast aside, he never neglected his duties down to the burning of the documents. He admits multiple times he sees what they did as a necessary action and never regrets it. But because he believed so much in Eichi and didn't want to acknowledge that it was a contract based friendship, you can't help but feel bad for Tsumugi. You're more willing to forgive him and pretend he was just manipulated by Eichi. Even Madara seems to have fallen for this and to be on good terms with Tsumugi now despite the animosity he holds towards the people who actively participated in the war.

Tsumugi adapts easily. It's part of his objective "i dont feel pain" persona he puts up. The main role he plays is that of bluebird of happiness, at first for Eichi, then for everyone else as a way to make up for the pain they've caused in the war. And this just makes him seem trustworthy and pleasant to talk to, it's why he has so many connections. He also seems to know a lot of secrets because of this persona. The younger characters see him as a caring older brother, but the rest just see him as inoffensive. Rei in particular is known to just. Share random secrets about other characters with Tsumugi.

Idk if anything im saying really matters, let's go in speculation territory. I cannot provide answers in the form of headcanons as requested, but i can provide questions. Im very curious how the story wouldve progressed if Tsumugi had been part of Valkyrie instead of Fine. Cuz we know he was in the handicrafts club, he stopped attending cuz it became more of a Valkyrie hangout spot, we know he adapts easily if he believes in a cause; i think he couldve followed Shu's demands if he could get himself to care for their artistic goals. And I really dont think the war wouldve been won by the student council if this had been the case. Shu and Natsume would also not have been part of the oddballs. Idk im not really going anywhere with this train of thought, im just saying Tsumugi was essential to the war and the narrative to progress as it did.