#romance manga always focuses on hands

[nooneassked]

Rereading Hirano to Kagiura for the 1,000 time and honestly, this was such a missed opportunity for Kagi to suggest that Hirano touch his abs for 10 seconds. We’re teased too much about his abs to not get an ab touching scene in this manga.

Also low key interested to see how this artist draws muscular men since their style is very cute. 👀

[badgalsasuke]

My thoughts on the Naruto ending

So I had said I was gonna post about my feelings and thoughts regarding the Naruto finale that might contain a few hot takes for some people, so here it is.

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG POST.

The Naruto ending is universally disliked, there's not doubt in that. Veteran SNS shippers don't like it because Naruto and Sasuke end up with women they don't love and aren't attracted to, and believe Naruto and Sasuke could've end up "single" with no ships confirmed; younger SNS shippers that weren't there when Naruto was still coming out believe they should've ended up together even though that could have not been plausible due to the manga industry quite conservative practices. Het!shippers on the other hand, believe the ending is bad for two different reasons: the first being that some believe that Narusaku and Sasukarin would've made more sense than SS and NH (some say just Narusaku and Sasuke should've stayed single); the second being that although they like SS and NH and the potential they believe these ships have "but wasn't explored further", Kishimoto can't write romance so he messed up both ships, making them bland and barely romantic.

Another reason why the ending is disliked for non-shipping reasons and mostly by Sasuke stans, is that even though in the couple chapters before the 700th one Naruto and Sasuke talk about changing the shinobi system, we see in Boruto that the system has not been changed at all and instead Naruto and Sasuke are reinforcing it despite all the oppression and suffering they were put through it in its name. We even see Itachi, the man who committed genocide being lauded as a hero for his actions and zero reflection on Konoha as a genocidal State. Oh and the Hyuga clan still practices slavery.

So here I come to say the following: Naruto's ending makes sense.

Now before y'all tear me to pieces let me explain myself. The first time I read the finale I thought it was stupid, one reason being that the ships make no sense no matter the angle you try to look at them and the other reason being that Sasuke was now working for the same State that murdered his clan with Naruto now as the head of that same State and making no changes to the Shinobi system (not a very good look on him, right?), so I thought for many years that the ending sucked.

Then The Last, Boruto and Sasuke Retsuden came out and all I could think was "woah this is all really shit from the butt".

But then one day when I was thinking about the manga as a whole, mostly because I was starting to realize that Kishimoto was being intentional in his writing of Naruto and Sasuke's romantic bond and it wasn't accidental like most of the fandom thinks, I just started connecting dots and trying to make sense of the whole story and seeing how the ending fitted into that. I'm someone that whenever it comes to literary analysis and criticism always tries to think about what was the author intention before I label something as bad because it wasn't my personal preference how something was written.

And that's how I realized what there was theme to the Naruto ending is. It's all about conformity.

Now, don't get me wrong the Naruto ending still has flaws, two big ones in my opinion, which I'll point out further down the post, but what I want to do is show you the forest because I feel the fandom is mostly focused on a couple of trees when it comes to the finale. I want you to see the thread of events Kishimoto created and how he was trying to keep it as in character as possible.

So first things first. If you've read Kishimoto interviews over the years then you would know what was the ending he had envisioned: chapter 698. He talks about how he wanted Naruto and Sasuke to have their final fight, make ammends and change the shinobi system together. He achieved two out those three things he intended.

In a quite controversial interview that most of the fandom likes to ignore, Kishimoto stated that he had no emotional attachement to Naruto and Hinata as a couple and it was Studio Pierrot who had pitched the whole thing about The Last movie. He also states that he decided to make NH endgame after Shippuden had started and he had also considered Narusaku as well, but then in another interview that came later he started saying he had intended to make NH canon since the very beginning. He was constantly contradicting himself in these interviews over the years. Kishimoto has also expressed his distate for SS and Sakura's character in general in different interviews.

So what I personally believe is that Kishimoto's editorial, Shueisha, made him change his statements because saying he had no plans for NH and it was Studio Pierrot idea was quite damaging to the franchise (no wonder the interview got kinda buried too, lol).

I think the biggest challenge for Kishimoto was giving the editorial, the studio and most of the fandom the het!ships they wanted without compromising as much the characters the story of his manga revolves around, Naruto and Sasuke.

So we get to ch. 699 where I believe Kishimoto is laying the ground for the finale we ended up getting.

In ch. 698 it seemed like Naruto and Sasuke had been able to resolve their issues and been able to talk about their feelings for each other. Something Sasuke repeats in ch. 699, a chapter entirely narrated by him. However right at the end of ch. 699 we get what seems to be a regression of what we had seen in the previous chapter.

It is implied that Naruto and Sasuke had an argument off-screen hence why Sasuke thought Naruto would not come to see him and bid him farewell before his atonement journey. What was the argument about is never really explained, some fans speculate Naruto was upset about Sasuke going on an atonement journey considering Naruto had pleaded for Sasuke to not be imprisoned and saw no reason for Sasuke to go on a redemption trip. I personally believe it had something to do with Naruto failing to come to terms with his feelings for Sasuke because, as we see right away, Naruto gives Sasuke back his headband and Sasuke says he'll keep it until they have their real fight which is interesting, to say the least, because didn't we just see their real fight the literal prior chapter? basically, we're being told Naruto and Sasuke haven't been able to truly talk about their feelings and put into words what their relationship really is about hence why Sasuke keeps the headband. As long as Sasuke has the headband, it will mean Naruto hasn't been able to truly accept what he feels for Sasuke. In essence, ch. 699 is Kishimoto retconning ch. 698 to give way to what comes later.

After chapter 700 came out we started getting so much content, both filler and canon, that tries to explain how we got there. Let's start with The Last, the movie that tries to explain how the heck Naruto ended up with Hinata.

The Last is sort of a hybrid, it's written for the most part by Studio Pierrot employees who had the idea in the first place and Kishimoto corrected a few things here and there and is also what for me, makes the ending flawed for one big reason: Naruto's character assassination.

Naruto is a shonen manga that's more focused and concerned on it's emotional battles and communicates it to the audience through it's physical battles rather than the powerscaling stuff Naruto dudebros would have you thinking the manga is actually about. So this means that Naruto, its main character, spends the entire manga learning about his feelings and putting them into words. That's what his story is mainly about; learning to love and to be loved.

The Last undoes this in the stupidest way possible. To give Naruto an excuse on why he always ignored Hinata they intend to make the audience believe it's because "Naruto doesn't know what love is" by writing Naruto not being able to differentiate between loving someone and liking ramen. This is absolute nuts. We know that Naruto understands what is love, what is not love and that love doesn't come out of nowhere, we see that when Sakura fake confesses to Naruto, he's able to spot right away she's not being genuine because he understands those three things. So this is the first flaw of the Naruto ending for me.

The second flaw is the dismissal of Kurama and Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki. I find the most embarrasing thing about The Last to be that they had to put Naruto through a genjutsu so he could hallucinate "memories of Hinata being there for him but he was too dumb to notice" but it's even worse once you remember that Naruto canonically should not be able to be put through a genjutsu in the first place. Studio Pierrot had to break rules of Kishimoto's universe in order to give NH some mediocre development and to me this will always be the worst part of the finale. If you can't make a ship work within the universe rules, then why make it a thing at all?

Some people didn't like that Hinata is totally useless in the movie, but for me this is not a flaw, as it is entirely in character with who she is in the manga. Making her a mary sue out of nowhere on the other hand, would be a flaw of the story.

Now that I've talked about what I think are the flaws of the Naruto ending, let's talk about the things that work in The Last (and I believe is where Kishimoto put his input) to make the finale make sense. The first one being that Sakura is the one that pushes Naruto to be with Hinata. In the manga we see several times Sakura is insecure about Naruto and Sasuke's bond and being jealous of Naruto's spot in Sasuke's heart. Even Hinata is baffled by Sakura wanting to help her and asks her why she's doing all that because she knows they're not friends. We then see Sakura think about Sasuke (who's also conviniently excluded from the movie) and simply say "we, girls, should support each other", she wants Naruto out of the picture so she can have Sasuke for herself and she succeeded. It's also important to note that once Sakura got what she wanted she no longer pretended to be a friend of Hinata, she didn't even kept close contact with Naruto either as we see in Naruto Gaiden, Sarada and Naruto don't know each other like that at all, if Sakura was being a genuine friend to Hinata and Naruto, she would've kept her family close to Naruto's but she didn't.

One more thing that I find works about The Last is that Naruto doesn't passionately fall in love with Hinata, but instead is constantly guilt-tripped into liking her, which is more true to his character. You have a man already struggling to accept his sexuality, who also has his deceased mother's expectation of marrying a girl and on top of that is a pathological people pleaser, of course he's gonna marry the first girl that tells him she loves him. It makes sense this all happened while Sasuke was not in the village. Naruto panicked about his sexual identity and rushed to marry an "acceptable woman" in the eyes of the people whose approval he craves, as we see in the special chapter Kishimoto wrote that came out after The Last: the villagers fawning over Konoha's hero dating the Hyuga heiress.

Likewise, Sasuke not attending Naruto's wedding helps the ending not be as contrived or out of character of them. Kishimoto never wrote anything on why Sasuke skipped the wedding as far as I can recall, but in the episodes that Studio Pierrot made dedicated to Naruto's wedding we see a Sasuke completely absent and detached from the event, something Naruto dudebros use to dunk on him because that made him a terrible friend from their perspective, but as usual they're not paying attention to the full narrative Kishimoto is creating here.

Making Sasuke be happy for Naruto and attend his wedding and give him a gift and all that crap, would've made het!shippers and Naruto dudebros happy but it would be at the expense of his character and the story Kishimoto was writing. Remember, Sasuke had kept the headband all these time until he could have his real fight with Naruto, meaning he was waiting for Naruto to be honest about his feelings for him, so him not attending Naruto's wedding is a way to communicate to the audience (at least the part that's paying attention) that Sasuke is heartbroken by the news.

I believe this is why Kishimoto designed adult Sasuke the way he did and makes him dress the way he does as an adult. All black and depressing. I also believe that Sasuke will stop dressing that way the minute he and Naruto have their real fight, if they ever have it, that is.

Additionally, Kishimoto nailed making NH canon before SS would be canon. Naruto, as I stated before, is the one that struggles with his identity and feelings for Sasuke and the one that has the expectations to marry a woman so it makes sense that he would be the one to marry a woman first. SS becoming canon first wouldn't make sense because not only is Sasuke more outspoken about his contempt for Sakura, whereas Naruto remains polite and neutral to Hinata's feelings, but Sasuke also has no reason to be with Sakura if Naruto is still available, in fact, Kishimoto making Sakura be the one to chase Sasuke after Naruto's wedding because Sasuke never came back, as we see it stated in Naruto Gaiden ch. 10, is also in character for both Sasuke and Sakura, instead of writing it the other way around like SS shippers wished, y'know their whole thing about Sasuke coming back to the village for Sakura and apologizing to her because he didn't realize how much he actually loved her because he was trapped in the darkness blah blah blah (I think this is what happens in filler novel Sasuke shinden lol).

If Naruto is not available, then Sasuke is in a very emotionally vulnerable position and Sakura took advantage of that. You see the narrative Kishimoto is creating here? There's a thread to follow on why stuff happened they way it did.

Now, I mentioned before that the theme of the Naruto finale was conformity. Here's where I explain how:

The first thing is Naruto's physical appearance. Kishimoto liked to draw a young Naruto all punk and grunge. He even had already made a design of adult Naruto where Naruto looks, well, cool and HOT.

Yet, for the actual finale he gave us an ugly Naruto, but also a Naruto that looks tired and exhausted. How does this tie with the conformity theme? when Naruto was young he used to go against the rules, defy expectations people had of him, tell authorities to fuck off. Like, when he was told to give up on Sasuke when he was 12, Naruto responded "If giving up on Sasuke makes me wise, I'd rather be fool my entire life", this man was a rebel. But as an adult we see him become the head of State that continues to reproduce the status quo that had once oppressed him. Naruto turned apathetic, his appearance reflects his attitude.

And this is consistent with the narrative Kishimoto's been crafting. Just in the same way Naruto conformed to society's expectation when he married a woman he doesn't love and barely knows, he also conformed and succumbed to the shinobi world status quo. It would *make zero sense* for Naruto to revolutionize the shinobi world while married to princess slaver Hinata Hyuga, that'd be an oxymoron, completely contradictory narrative wise. Certainly, Naruto always struggled to find an ideology, to put it in some way, when it came to Konoha and its ninjas practices and had a messed up perception of its villagers (see: the whole Dark Naruto mini plot) but he still wanted to change the shinobi world WITH SASUKE by his side, once the story established they don't end up together and Sasuke isn't by his side, Naruto doesn't care anymore.

This is why I don't find strange that Kishimoto wrote Naruto oversleeping in the eve of his name day as Hokage, a day Naruto had once dreamt about when he was a child. The spark is gone.

But the spark isn't just gone for Naruto, it's also gone for Kishimoto. Naruto didn't even attend his name day because he was knocked out by Himawari. This is Kishimoto being petty. He spent 15 years writing a story where the goal was to see Naruto become Hokage and he knew how anticipated this moment was and he still went and ruined it for the fans anyway. Naruto dudebros were furious about this, but not once did they stop to wonder about the implications of this, what it said about Kishimoto's relationship with his work if it had gotten to the point he went and "fucked it up".

Naruto cared about the state of the world before he became indifferent to it. This is why when Sasuke stans complain about Naruto not actually caring about Sasuke's trauma but can never really explain why Naruto is like that as an adult. They try to pretend Naruto never cared but this is a lie, kid and teenage Naruto was compassionate to Sasuke's trauma and pain even if he didn't always managed it in the best way possible. So, I always feel like they're missing this particular piece of the puzzle: if Naruto can't be his true self then he cannot change the world and neither can Sasuke.

Because the same thing occurs to Sasuke. One blog once posted that Sasuke not caring about his child is out of character, but Sasuke not caring about Sakura's child is very much in character and I feel that sums up Kishimoto's writing of both adult Sasuke and Naruto. This passiveness you wouldn't imagine from their younger selves, takes a hold of them once they become adults and gradually "get in line" to be a part of the real world. Sasuke doesn't care about his child because he had her with a woman he doesn't even like or respect. Sasuke is stuck in time still holding onto that headband, hoping he and Naruto will one day have their real battle.

Sasuke uses the forehead poke, a gesture he always hated, on his wife and child because he, just like his brother to him, wants to distance himself from them. Sasuke now serves the same village that plotted the mass murder of his clan and family because why not? his brother is lauded as a hero for killing his entire clan after all. Sasuke too, has conformed.

I actually wonder if this is in some way linked to modern Japanese culture. Japanese culture and society are deeply conformist with everybody is always trying to fulfill roles imposed in them, always trying to achieve what is expected of them. It could also be about how adulthood sucks the passion and hopes out of the youth (Kishimoto started writing Naruto when he was 24 and finished when he was in his forties). And of course, the closeting of queer people leading miserable lives as pretenders.

If Sasuke is meant to end up with Sakura and Naruto is meant to end up with Hinata then Kishimoto cannot make them happy marriages and give them happy families, he also cannot keep Naruto and Sasuke as revolutionary outcasts that stand up against the status quo, that fanservice would be out of character and out of theme.

This is what I mean when I say the ending makes sense, once you see the finale is all about conformity the thread of events becomes understandable and more heartbreaking too. You don't have to like it, but I do think we have to understand where is Kishimoto coming from when he wrote it the way he did.

The Naruto fandom wanted black and grey from Kishimoto and that's exactly what Kishimoto gave them, black and grey.

EDIT: I've written more on how the conformity theme starts to become present in the series as far back as in Neji's death, check it out HERE

[jadeacereigen]

Why I see Reigen as asexual

This is a very self-indulgent post, but it's his birthday today and I wanted to compile all the things about Reigen that make me see him as a fellow ace.

Please don't take this list too seriously! None of these are This Is Canon signs and some of them are just jokes. Also, it's pretty hard to find evidence of asexuality barring a character explicitly saying "hey i never feel sexual attraction" so bear with ne here.

1. That Scene With Dimple

Yeah, we all know the scene.

"But does love always have to come with sexual desires?" -Reigen Arataka

This is what almost asexual person asks at some point. It's just such an asexual quote. Society often conflates the two things as inherently hand-in-hand, but that's not true for everyone!

2. He never shows attraction to anyone

Now of course, the story is not primarily focused on him, and he's usually with Mob so he probably wouldn't be flirting in front of him. But there aren't even MOMENTS of him showing a smidge of attraction to other people, even when we see his life without Mob's presence. It really stands out in comparison to other goofy mentor figures in manga/anime who are commonly portrayed as hopeless flirts.

3. He's never been in a relationship before

When asked about his past romantic experiences in the official fanbook, he pretends he's had plenty of passionate romances and then describes a scene from Titanic before saying "Marriage is one of the countless types of lifestyles you can choose. It's best if everyone does whatever they want." So basically, despite being 29 years old at the time of the fanbook, he has had no significant romantic experiences and doesn't see himself getting married. (Even if he might be interested, as I'll explain in the next point.)

This is not exclusive to asexuality of course but it's a very common sentiment for ace people imo

4. He doesn't think he can be in a relationship

In Confession Arc, he has no idea how to ask someone out and has to cheat while giving advice to Mob. He also tells Serizawa afterward that if anyone saw him for who he really was, they'd turn him down right away.

But then, at least in the manga, he says that he hopes he can be in a relationship where he and his partner "can exist without distorting each other". So I think he does want to be in a relationship, he's just way too insecure about himself for many, many reasons.

I like to think one of these reasons is because he is asexual. It's a struggle for allo aces to find someone whose sexual preferences are compatible with ours, and yet it remains important to maintain our boundaries (aka not distort ourselves).

5. His anime outfit has ace flag colors

I mean. Gray, white, pink purple...

6. His reaction to a porn virus

Look at the face of this poor asexual man who spent an entire night trying and failing to get rid of a porn virus...

7. He is asexual

He is just asexual hope this helps (:

[galacticseonghwa]

a book like love - mark lee

INCLUDES ! — non idol!bf mark x fem!reader, just straight fluff because i miss mark and i see him on sunday, lmk if i've missed anything else AUTHORS NOTE ! — my friend helped me with writing this one, she doesn't have tumblr though so heartbreak, not proofread!

the sun was beginning its descent behind the sleek modern architecture of the Starfield Library in Seoul, casting long golden rays through the massive glass windows. Inside, rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched like endless towers of knowledge, the quiet hum of soft footsteps echoing in the air. It was a typical late afternoon, but for mark and y/n, this moment felt anything but ordinary.

mark was lounging in one of the cozy chairs near the top floor’s balcony. His legs were crossed, a book propped up in one hand, but his attention was on y/n. his eyes were drawn to y/n, who was skimming through a shelf of romance books on the shelf in front of him

she didn’t know he was watching her. she rarely did, and that was just one of the many things he loved about her. y/n had this quiet, unassuming way of being like she was always in her own world, focused, intent on whatever she was doing, but completely present in the moment.

y/n had this gentle grace when she moved, and as she reached up to pull a thick book off the shelf, mark couldn’t help but smile and chuckle softly to himself. y/n's hair was tied up in a messy bun, with a few strands escaping to frame her face. she looked effortlessly beautiful, she always did.

it's been three years since they'd met, since they'd walked into this very library for the first time, two nervous 21-year-olds both obsessed with books, one obsessed with manga or anything spider-man related and the other with romance. it was there, amid the stacks of poetry, that they'd found each other.

he first noticed her when she bumped into him in the crime section, her book flying out of her hands and landing right at his feet. she apologised over and over, a deep pink blush colouring her cheeks. they laughed it off, and after a while, their shared love of books drew them back to the library every week. they studied together, talked about dreams, books, and everything in between. eventually, that awkward friendship blossomed into something more.

y/n glanced up from her book and caught his gaze. her face lit up instantly, that warm smile spreading across her lips, making his heart stutter in his chest.

she made her way over to him, the sound of her soft footsteps making him feel like he was living in a dream.

“are you going to keep reading that book, or should we go grab a drink?” she asked, her voice as soft and soothing.

mark slowly set the book down with a soft grin. “i’d rather have you in my arms.” he said and gently pulled her closer to him.

y/n rolled her eyes playfully, but mark could see the blush creeping up her neck. she always did that, pretending to be embarrassed by his cheesy lines, but he knew better than anyone that she liked it. he had a way of making her heart flutter, just like she did to him.

“i should have known you'd say something like that,” she teased, sitting down next to him on the plush chair. her scent, a mixture of rose and strawberry, wrapped around him like a warm hug. he promised to breathe her in forever.

mark leans closer to her and places his hand on her thigh, his thumb gently stroking the fabric of her jeans. he smiles up at her and places a soft kiss on her neck.

they sat there for a moment, simply enjoying the quiet and each other’s presence. it wasn’t often they had moments like this just the two of them, surrounded by books, a world of possibilities and quiet joy.

“so, what’s next for us?” mark asked softly, his voice almost a whisper as he glanced at the horizon through the window, his hand never leaving her thigh. the sky was streaked with pink and orange as the sun set, and for a moment, the entire world felt still.

y/n's smile softened, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. “what do you mean, markie?”

he turned to look at her, his hand instinctively brushing her hair back. “i mean… we’re 25 now. we’re no longer in school anymore. what do we do now? what’s our next chapter?”

y/n smiled, her eyes closing as she savoured the quiet moment. “i think we’re already writing it. this is our next chapter.”

her words brought a contented sigh from him. of course, they were already living it. their life, right here, right now, together, was perfect. they didn’t need to have all the answers right now. all that mattered was that they had each other.

“do you ever think about the future?” he asked, his voice quieter now, as if he was revealing a hidden vulnerability.

“most of the time,” y/n said, her voice steady and reassuring. “but i think... i think the future will always be uncertain. the important part is that we’re in it together. i’m happy with you, mark. wherever we go, whatever we do... as long as you’re by my side.”

he reached over to take her hand in his, his fingers threading through hers. there was a sense of peace in that touch, a promise that no matter where life took them, they would always be together.

“i’m happy with you too, baby” he whispered. “More than I’ve ever been with anything or anyone else in my life.”

y/n smiled softly, her eyes shining with the kind of love that made mark feel like the luckiest man alive.

the library around them continued to hum with soft conversations and the rustling of pages, but to them, the world seemed to stop. there was no rush, no pressing need to be anywhere else. they were in this moment, wrapped up in the quiet, safe in their love.

“so, baby,” mark said after a moment, letting her hand go and squeezing her thigh lightly. “how about that drink, hmm?”

“hmm,” y/n hummed, looking up at him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. “only if you promise not to say any more cheesy things for the rest of the day.”

he laughed softly. “i can’t make that promise, but i can promise to make you laugh.”

her eyes twinkled as she leaned in and kissed him gently making him smile against her lips. “deal.”

together, they stood, hands still intertwined, and made their way toward the elevator, leaving the serenity of the library behind them for a while. but as they stepped into the bustling streets of Seoul, surrounded by the noise and energy of the city, they both knew they had everything they needed.

they had each other, and that was more than enough.

the warmth of the coffee shop was a welcoming relief from the cold winter outside. mark and y/n settled into a corner booth, their mugs of coffee steaming between them. y/n curled her hands around her cup, her fingers gently tracing the edge as she gazed at mark, a soft smile playing at the corners of her lips.

“do you ever think about the past?” she asked, her voice contemplative.

mark raises an eyebrow. “the past?”

“yeah,” she says, her eyes softening. “like… when we first met. back in the library.”

mark leans back in his chair, taking a long sip from his mug. the memory felt like it belonged to another lifetime. “i think about it all the time. how nervous i was to even talk to you. how much i wanted to ask you out but didn’t have the courage to do so.”

y/n laughs softly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “i was so nervous too. i thought you were way out of my league.”

“out of your league? me?” mark babbles surprised. “i was a mess. you have this way of making everything seem so effortless.”

they both fell into a quiet moment, reminiscing about the small, awkward beginnings of their relationship. from that first, fumbled encounter in the library to the late-night study sessions, their connection had grown with each passing day. what had started as friendship had blossomed into something deeper, something unspoken but undeniably strong.

“i think we’ve come a long way since then” y/n says softly, her voice full of affection for the man in front of her.

“yeah,” mark hums, his eyes locking with hers. “and i can’t wait for what’s to come.”

mark reaches across the table, placing his hand in hers. “we’ll write it together. just like we’ve been doing all along. the story of y/n and mark”

and in that moment, as they sat together in the coffee shop, mark knew that no matter where their lives led them, they would always have each other. their love, like the books in the library, would continue to fill the pages of their story, one chapter at a time.

TAGLIST ! — @sinisxtea @wonwootakemyheart @injunnie-lemon @haechology @sk8mrk

[ponderingmoonlight]

Chapter 5: Duel of Fates – A Perilous Encounter in the Darkened Hall

Pairing: Gojo x fem!reader

Warnings: reader's death, language

Genre: Isekai, Romance, Fantasy

Synopsis: Your life takes a tragic turn as you perish in a car crash, only to awaken in a whimsical world of fantasy with none other than Jujustu Kaisen characters as its main protagonists. But as if that wasn't enough, you're about to marry the prince version of Gojo Satoru. How will you navigate through this world of history and fantasy? Does your life take the same sudden twist of fate as that of your favorite characters?

<- Previous Chapter l Next Chapter ->

„How did you already catch my name?”, he purrs at you with his sickening low voice.

You can’t deny the fact that you found him pretty hot in the manga and anime. But back then, he wasn’t more than a 2D character. Seeing that death machine standing right in front of you with his piercing appearance and 6’2” lingering over you like an unpromising shadow is completely different.

“Your reputation precedes you”, you press out while freeing your shivering body out of his grasp.

Fuck, you can literally feel your heart dropping to the floor. This is bad, even worse than being next to Gojo’s side. Does that man kill as he pleases in this world as well, is he on his way to end Gojo? Your eyes widen in sheer horror while your thoughts spin around you like a carousel out of control.

“May I ask for your name?”

“My name? What do you want to do with my name?”, you reply in an instant.

He tilts his head to the side, his low laughter forcing your whole body to shiver in nothing but fright.

“You’re acting as if I’m here to kidnap you. I saved you from falling over, is your name too much for ask for?”

“(y/n) Zenin”, you mumble under your breath.

Thank god for those glittery gloves Gojo forced you to wear. Without them, your hands would be covered in cold sweat by now. You need to get a hold on yourself, tame down your screaming heart. Toji won’t attack you at a random ball in a hallway, right?

“A Zenin, huh? I feel sorry for you.”

What? You furrow your eyebrows at him. What the hell is this guy talking about?

Oh.

You’re such an idiot.

“Must be nice that they kicked you out of that cursed family”, you comment dryly before you’re able to stop yourself.

Screw your loose mouth and the urge to always voice your thoughts. This was probably the dumbest move you could have made. In the manga, only a handful of people know about Toji and that he was in fact a part of the Zenin clan until they decided to kick him out because he lacked of cursed energy. Out of all people, you shouldn’t be the one who knows about this, you shouldn’t be the one to meet him in an empty hallway in the first place.

“I should get-“

“You’re not going anywhere, Lady (y/n). Just as I expected when I first saw you here, you aren’t an ordinary girl that chases after the prince. Your father forces you into this, huh? Tells you that he’ll kill you if you don’t marry that guy.”

He grabs your wrist with almost no pressure.

“This has to be a family thing”, you mumble to yourself until his cold glare meets yours.

“I swore to myself to wipe out the entire Zenin family after what they did to me, after what they forced me to do”, he mutters.

All color drains from your face as your glossy eyes stare at him. What are you supposed to do? Scream, run, cry for help? Your body refuses to move a single inch, his orbs keeping you in place.

“I won’t be a Zenin anymore after marrying Prince Gojo”, you breathe out.

“Too bad I can’t stand that brat on the throne either.”

You swallow down the knot that builds up inside of your throat. Don’t panic, you need to focus and choose your words wisely. But…how are you supposed to stay focused when that sickening force of a man grabbed your wrist and pierces through your mind with his stone-cold orbs?

“Too bad indeed. I’m in that game just like you are”, you press out as his grasp tightens.

Oh, you are so dead before your life even began, killed by your own “cousin”. Why did you never even think about the possibility that Toji might show up here as well? If he’s coming for Gojo just like he did in the manga, if he really dares to lay hands on Geto and Gojo…Why wouldn’t he kill an insignificant side character? You weren’t even a part of the Jujutsu Kaisen verse in the first place.

So that’s it? You, dying through the hands of Toji Fushiguro?

"Oh, look who decided to grace us with his presence. How delightful to see you here, lurking in the shadows like a true gentleman. I must say, your timing is impeccable as always. But for now, may I ask you to take your hands off my fiancé, Sir?”

A wave of relief washes over you when you catch a glimpse of those iconic bright blue eyes emerging from the darkness next to you.

“I humbly beg your pardon, but apparently I forgot your name, Sir. You know, I’m not apt at recalling the names of gentlemen these days”, Toji replies with a satisfied grin.

“It’s Prince Satoru for you. Who am I speaking to?”, Gojo replies coldly.

With a swift motion he’s standing right by your side, releasing you from the threatening grip of Toji’s hand around your wrist.

That was a close call. Way too close for your liking. If it wasn’t for Gojo to come around at just the right time, that guy would have folded you immediately.

“Sir Toji, Your Highness. Now excuse me, even though it was a pleasure to meet you, I have to return to my other responsibilities. I hope we meet each other again soon, Lady (y/n).”

You don’t even dare to answer, avoiding his gaze like the plague as he disappears into darkness again. A nauseous flood of fear gets a hold of your heart. Out of instinct, you hold onto Gojo’s sleeves tightly while the hallway gets filled with the haunting sound of your heavy and uneven breathing.

This is it, the closest you’ve been to dying again after getting reincarnated into this world – after no more than maybe 48 hours. Your heart feels like exploding any given minute, ears ringing so violently that you fail to understand a single word Gojo tries to tell you. Is this really how your life will come to an end all over again? After all, everyone in Jujutsu Kaisen seems to die. And you’re nothing but a little side character in this story, someone who wasn’t even meant to exist in the first place.

“Lady (y/n), what has gotten into you?”, Satoru repeats over and over again while grabbing your shoulders in order to keep you from falling.

That naked fright glittering in your orbs he knows oh too well, the haunted expression that is written on your face. What did that man say to you before he arrived here? He should have never let you out of sight in the first place, not when there are so many people around who want to see him dead.

“Find us a private room, Suguru. I need to calm her down before returning.”

“Of course.”

Like in trance, you allow Gojo to pick you up and carry you down the hallway, your fingers intertwined with the fabric of his fine suit in a way that doesn’t allow you to let go ever again.

There’s no doubt in the fact that your life will end if you meet Toji like this again. Who else did you forgot, who else do you need to look out for? Is this really how it has to be now? Living your new-found life in constant fear, surrounded by nothing but people who want to see you dead? Apparently, not even marrying the prince of this goddamn kingdom is enough to find peace.

“(y/n), look at me.”

What if you get poisoned or choked in your sleep?

“(y/n), I need you to focus on me.”

Or worse, what if they torture you in order to gain any information about your soon-to-be-fiancé?

“(y/n), come back to me.”

He grabs your face with both hands and comes so close that you can’t escape his stinging bright blue eyes. Suddenly everything turns silent for a brief moment, leaving only you, Gojo and your racing heart behind.

“I don’t know what or who haunted you like this, but you are alright. You are save with me, do you understand?”

“You’re a fool if you think you can protect me.”

“Who if not me? Isn’t that why you chose me as your fiancé and begged me to take you back?”

“Begging you to take me back!?”

You spring back onto your feet faster than Gojo is able to regret his poor choice of words, orbs shooting pure venom his way.

“I begged in no way for you to take me back. We have a contract, right? We are trading partners”, you clarify sharply.

“Trading partners, right”, Gojo mumbles.

“But still, I’ll watch over you. It’s my responsibility to-“

“You can’t protect me from this world”, you interrupt him, shaking your head vehemently.

“This world is my world and I know it all too well. Give me a little bit of your trust, you won’t regret it.”

“Oh yeah? I can’t even trust you over your vows and all those beautiful disgusting words you’ll say later on, about how much you adore me and that I’m the only one for you”, you bark back at him.

You’re being ridiculous and you know it, nothing but the purest frustration catching up with you.

This is unfair, almost too much to bear. You never asked for any of this, never dreamed about being on this man’s side or getting to wear those pretty dresses, you never wanted to be a princess.

“In this world, you’ll be my only. And I’ll make sure everyone in this way too glamorous room will have no doubt in my deep feelings for you. I’ll make sure that no harm ever reaches you, I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Prince Gojo”, you bite back.

When he leans closer, your breath gets stuck in your throat all over again. What a mess of feelings and words, what a pile of chaos you maneuvered yourself into. Is this really worth the potential freedom you’ll gain afterwards? There’s no guarantee that your plan works out. What if you get killed before that? What if Gojo changes his mind?

The feeling of his warm hand resting on your shoulder rips you out of your train of thoughts.

“Hands off”, you bark at him while slapping his hand away.

“"I’m not one of your mistresses, and you’ve got more than enough to keep you busy already, don’t you think?"

But instead of having the decency to at least look shocked or caught, Gojo smirks at you the way he always did with his hands raising in mock surrender.

"Come on now, don’t believe everything you hear. Besides, I’ve got high standards—can’t be wasting my time on just anyone," he replies with a wink.

“Prince Satoru, Lady (y/n), guests start to wonder where you went. I’d kindly advise you to return to the ball and end what you started”, Suguru’s voice suddenly bites through the thick tension between both of you.

Fuck, you got way too close. You distract your shaky fingers by hectically straighten your already perfect-sitting dress while avoiding Gojo’s gaze at all cost.

“You are more than right. Let us get this over with”, you mumble before storming out of the room.

Suguru raises an eyebrow as he watches you leave in a hurry, then turns to Gojo with his head tilted to the side.

“What was that about? I have never seen you struggle so hard to keep your hands to yourself, Prince Gojo”

Gojo chuckles, running a hand through his hair with his gaze still glued to the door you stormed through.

“Oh, come on, Suguru. She's not like the others, way more… unpredictable.”

Suguru scoffs, crossing his arms.

“You? Interested in someone who doesn’t throw themselves at you? That’s new.”

Gojo’s grin widens, his gaze still lingering where you disappeared.

“Exactly. Makes it more fun, don’t you think? Now, let me propose to her.”

Tags: @m0k0k0 @lees-chaotic-brain @sanicsmut @risuola @fire-loving-siren

@sunshine7queen @gatitam @kentocalls @hellkaiserinphoenix @skylarlyn823

@livmarauder @nothisispatrick300 @haileycannotcometothephonern @xstom @byakuya61085

@arehzhera @ttysmfwna @miizuzu @erensfavve @rubyninja1

@luvsymai

[coquettecouture]

February favorites!!

Sadly, one of the most beautiful months is coming to an end. February, the month of love, hearts and all things pink. On the other hand, that means it’s time for my February favorites! A new segment I would like to start to show all of you my CoCo approved faves!!

Jane Austen adaptations!

With spring just around the corner, it is the perfect time to indulge in all of the best Jane Austen film adaptations. There is something that is so utterly romantic about them. From enemies to lovers, to childhood friendship blossoming, even to gothic romance. There is something beautiful in the pages of every story.

My personal favorites for this month, the 2 I cannot stop watching are Pride and Prejudice (2005) with Keira Knightley and Emma (2020) with Anya Taylor-Joy. They are so beautifully done that is brings a tear to my eyes every time I rewatch. There is a new discovery in every rewatch, for both movies, that makes you fall in love with the characters on screen!

Vintage nightgowns!

On the subject of the Jane Austen era, I have been accumulating a beautiful collection of vintage nightgowns. There is something so comforting in falling asleep and waking up feeling like a princess. If you’re at all into the princess core, wearing a nightgown to bed will definitely heal that inner child itch.

The easiest way to start your own collection, is through amazon or aliexpress. However, if you want authentic vintage gowns I highly suggest thrifting or checking your local antique shop. I have found countless hidden gems in the sleepwear section of my local goodwill, you never know what you can find!

Disney princess movies!

The best franchise, possibly of all time, is Walt Disney’s princess collection. It has everything you could ever dream of while being captivating and dreamy. From Dragons to eternal dreaming, there is a special kind of magic in every movie that holds your attention and refuses to let it go. If you were thinking of giving them a rewatch, this is your sign!

Now, if I had to rank my top 3, I would say all of them. I’m incredibly indecisive…. After that though, I would say Beauty and the Beast at number 1 of course. Belle is my favorite princess of all time! Then The Princess and the Frog, as the storyline never fails to entrance me and make me cry! And finally, at number 3 would be The Little Mermaid! It’s just so nostalgic, and brings me back to miniature CoCo curled up on the couch with my mom and sisters. Let me know which movie is your favorite in the comments!

Misc. faves!

I wish I could do a dissertation on all of the little things I have been hyper focused on this month, but unfortunately there’s not enough words. LOL. So for this part of the blog, I will just list out my random favorites and hopefully if you like them too we can be twins!

୨୧ - Vanilla Cupcake Yankee candles!

୨୧ - Eos Vanilla Cashmere body wash / lotion!

୨୧ - Nana! (the manga!)

୨୧ - Ouran high school host club!

୨୧ - The princesscore aesthetic

୨୧ - Tate McRae’s new album ;) (I especially love I know love, Purple lace bra, Signs, Dear God and Nostalgia!)

In conclusion…

While the month of February has come to a close, I hope you enjoyed my last blog post for this month! There was so much to find joy in this month it was difficult to pick just a few, but I wanted to share just a few of my favorites with all of you, and I hope it was gratifying! Between Valentine’s Day and it being the overall end of Winter / beginning of Spring there is just so many things to find happiness in. I hope all of you had a lovely month, and an even lovelier Spring season!!

As always, leave a comment down below with any suggestions or recommendations on what else you’d like to see from me. Whether it be more of my writing or less, an entirely new idea, I’m all ears! Thank you so much for your support and I love you all so very much! Stay cutesy divas.

Xoxo - CoCo 🎀🧁

[autisticgoten]

More thoughts on aroace Goku/the autistic Son family (+ headcanons and postcanon ideas)

Because I couldn't justify putting them all in the art I just posted lmao

[Image ID: An aroace flag colour picked from Super Saiyan Goku, with Goku in front of it. End ID.]

I have always read Goku as somewhere on the aroace spectrum, especially during the early series.

(Thoughts/Goku-based thesis under cut)

In early Dragon Ball, Goku often has to have social concepts such as sex, gender, romance, etc., explained to him. This, of course, is related to the running joke that he's sheltered and has no comprehension of things which are second nature to most people.

[Image ID: A panel of Roshi saying "I am appalled by your inability to judge women!" Goku responds, "Really...?" End ID.]

(From Chapter 25, where Roshi is horrified that Goku does not objectify women. The surrounding panels are worse, typical early series jokes.)

He's 12 here, around the age where media often portrays young people as developing feelings of attraction. Though his lack of interest may be portrayed as due to his isolation, that really wouldn't have that much bearing on experiencing romantic interest when he explores the rest of the world. Toriyama consistently choosing to write Goku like this seems to say something more about him than just this running joke.

Then, of course, there's the (somewhat infamous) scene where Chi-Chi confronts Goku when they are both 18 or so and insists that he promised to marry her.

[Image ID: Two panels. In the first, Goku thinks, "Wow... And all this time, I thought she meant something to eat! Well, I guess that's it... I did promise!" In the second, he faces Chi-Chi and says, "Okay! We'd better get married!" and she says, "Yay!" End ID.]

(From Chapter 171. Searching for this exposed me to too many people's opinions on Chi-Chi.)

Goku is remarkably casual about agreeing to marry someone, especially as he didn't really know what it meant a few minutes ago. I really don't think this is intended to be taken too seriously -- it's largely a joke about how nonchalantly Goku treats things that are super important to most people, because he has other priorities than most people.

I don't think this is a reckless/stupid moment for Goku (or a predatory moment from Chi-Chi as I've unfortunately seen people say). He's young and doesn't understand social expectations very well and you know, he made a promise. It's perfectly reasonable to him.

Goku is now 18 and still exhibits the same cluelessness when it comes to romance, even though he has been around the world and met many people, including people his age.

This moment also makes me think a lot about my headcanons of both Goku and Chi-Chi (and the whole Son family) being autistic. Goku is so so autistic to me -- he largely exists outside of social expectations and is confused when they are imposed onto him, he is focused on one thing (mastering martial arts) to the point where other things seem unimportant to him, etc. On the other hand, Chi-Chi is also autistic but in the way of attempting to adhere strictly to social expectations because she wants to Fit In (#girlautism). Women get married because they were promised to someone when they were young and that's that.

This diverts from manga canon/Toriyama's writing, but in the anime filler about Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding there's a whole dumb bit where a character called Grandma Hakkake 'teaches' her how to be a good wife by making her clean her house.

[Image ID: A screenshot from the Dragon Ball anime where Chi-Chi is intently cleaning up a pile of dishes. End ID.]

(Episode 151)

It's so absurd that it makes me think about Chi-Chi rather desperately adhering to the social role of a Good Wife. When you consider this, it contextualises a lot of her characterisation. She is frustrated with Goku because he doesn't fulfill some socially-expected aspects of a Good Husband, such as earning the household's income, keeping Gohan in school, etc. She is frustrated because she has done her very very best to be a Good Wife and yet he doesn't seem to be trying at all.

This is NOT an attack on Goku in any capacity, I don't think he's a bad husband or father at all. There is a difference, however, between Goku's personality and the social construction of a Good Husband.

I'm thinking about this post by @gokustits where @dbfandom breaks down this rather infamous panel from the original Japanese (I highly encourage reading and interacting with the post because it's excellent).

[Image ID: A panel where Chi-Chi is yelling "Oh, come off it, Goku-sa! You never do any work, and you never look after Gohan-chan--!! Have you ever made a single penny since we got married--!?" End ID.]

@dbfandom: The first bubble is her scolding Goku for being an absentee father, but it's through the societal lense. She's saying he's a bad father (by societal norms: aka a "provider"), but not a bad "dad", and she's angry about the year and a half in which Goku was absent but could have not been (due to the wish to Porunga to be brought back that Goku refused!)

The difficulties in their marriage largely come from this miscommunication, where Chi-Chi assumes that Goku knows these societal norms because they're societal norms, but of course he doesn't. This isn't really either of their faults, especially as they got married at 18 (!!!). It's more tragic than anything to me.

Their early relationship feels kind of like 'playing house' to me. Chi-Chi has a very specific idea of marriage and Goku goes along with it. I do think they're happy, especially before the Saiyan Saga starts, but it feels less related to the social expectations and more in spite of them. They develop a relationship and enjoy spending time together, fall in love in some capacity for sure, but when Goku is pulled in other directions that relationship is strained.

This is going more into the realm of reading between the lines/headcanon, but my interpretation of Goku's feelings for Chi-Chi are really just that he enjoys spending time with her and doesn't mind what form it takes. I view him as a sex-neutral ace (he doesn't care much either way).

I don't think there's any doubt that Goku loves Chi-Chi as their relationship ends up.

While Chi-Chi's initial feelings for Goku definitely seem like she convinces herself that she has them because she's betrothed to him, I also think she develops very real feelings for him. I read her as a little aroace-spec too, though I think she specifically enjoys romance as compared to other ways of being with someone more than Goku.

Anyway! Onto the kids!

[Image ID: A coloured DBZ chapter cover in Japanese, with Videl, Goten, and Gohan. End ID.]

(Chapter 428/DBZ 234)

Gohan is actually the only one of the Son family I read as totally allo, lmao. Well, there's really not much evidence either way, but his romance with Videl feels fairly natural to me. If anything, they have more obstacles to their relationship than pressures.

(Except that one weird moment where Chi-Chi is excited that the girl Gohan likes is rich, but I personally don't think that influences him too much.)

I do really think Gohan and Videl is just one of these rarer cases where people fall in love in high school and get married young but end up with a pretty healthy relationship.

(It happens. I started dating my partner of 8 years in early high school lmfao, though we do certainly have some aroace-spec shenanigans going on)

Not to say they're completely untouched by social expectations and all. Being in a heterosexual marriage certainly comes with plenty of that. Gohan getting married young like his parents does also play on my mind. Even if he wasn't pressured into it, society certainly doesn't object to anything he does.

As for Videl, she is also very allo to me with her initial crush on Gohan. I like a lot of their early relationship which is built on training together.

(This only makes Super even more frustrating with how they completely strip Videl of her personality and what made this relationship interesting.)

[Image ID: A trading card of high school Videl and Gohan back-to-back, looking at each other over their shoulders and smiling. End ID.]

I also read Gohan as autistic, though he's better at masking than Goku. He also sometimes struggles socially (though this may also be part to his isolated upbringing) and has special interests (entomology in Super, of course, but also martial arts just like Goku -- I'm sure he has complex feelings about this considering his trauma but also his earnest love for it in less high-stakes situations i.e. Saiyaman).

Okay! Finally nearing the end, onto Goten (and a bunch of my headcanons)!

[Image ID: Three panels. In the first, Trunks says, "Y'know what, Goten?!" and Goten responds, "What?" In the second, Trunks says, "If I tried... I bet I could only beat you with one arm!" In the third, Goten says, "What?! One arm?! You can not!" End ID.]

(Chapter 433/DBZ 239)

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, I love Goten. I love the energy that he and Trunks bring the Buu Saga and their fun, childish outlooks.

I read Goten as autistic too ("no way, tumblr user autisticgoten"). Alongside some of his characterisation which feels very inspired by young Goku's, his friendship with Trunks also makes me think of this.

Often, Trunks is the instigator, proposing schemes for Goten to join in on. This may be explained by Trunks being the older and more confident kid, but I also like reading this as Goten being Autistic in the way that he really wants to fill the role of Trunks' friend well.

[Image ID: A full-body illustration of young Goten in his gi, smiling. End ID.]

(my art! full post here as I remain proud of it)

As for queer stuff, well...

We only have brief appearance of teen Goten as written by Toriyama, in the DBZ epilogue.

It's fairly brief and the most insightful thing, really, is that he mentions he's going on a date, which means he's interested in romance in some capacity.

[Image ID: A panel where Goten says "And I had a date tomorrow, too". End ID.]

Honestly, any conclusions drawn from that alone would be pretty narrow (I'm not analysing GT or Super in this particular post).

So... now for headcanons and my personal ideas!! Everything from here is from my own writing of post-canon DB, so fair warning if you're only interested in the analysis.

I really, really like teen Goten being bisexual and aroace-spec.

[Image ID: A digital sketch of teen Goten in a gi holding up a peace sign and saying "i love bisexuality", with a bisexual flag in the background, and another tiny doodle of him in the corner. End ID.]

(little scribble from 2023 I didn't post)

Goten is the first one in his family to actually identify as queer. This brings up a whole BUNCH of feelings when he comes out. Goku wouldn't care at all, of course. Chi-Chi definitely isn't intolerant but has some traditional ideas. Her entire marriage is built on heterosexual gender roles. She has a lot of talks with her son which lead her to consider a lot of things differently.

Goku never identifies as aroace because that doesn't matter to him but the idea helps him understand that the way he sees romance may not be the same for everyone. He and Chi-Chi talk a bit and while I think their relationship is definitely better after the Buu Saga in general due to their age and a lack of stressors, this really helps them come to terms with the unexamined issues in their relationship and how they've always had different expectations.

(Young queer people helping their older relatives understand things about themselves is so, so important to me and I just want to see it more. On a personal level, my sister and me coming out helped my mum realise she's bisexual.)

Anyway, my interpretation of teen Goten does flirt around a lot but he rarely has serious relationships and the people he dates always just end up as friends. This is because he's aroace-spec, and also because he can't conceive of anyone in his life being more important than Trunks.

In the end, as an adult he has a semi-romantic bestfriendship-based queerplatonic-y thing with Trunks. No particular labels. They just live together and are in multiple kinds of love!

(I hc Trunks as a trans man and gay but I will not go into that today because I will never shut up)

I think Gohan is definitely the first person Goten comes out to, though. After Gohan moves out, Goten has a habit of just appearing on his roof to talk with him, and this happens during one such talk.

[Image ID: A digital sketch of Goten and Gohan sitting on a roof under a night sky. End ID.]

(an unfinished sketch also from 2023)

And, to circle back to the Autism! During one of these talks, Gohan also tells Goten that he's been doing a lot of introspection/research and thinks he's autistic (and their dad is likely autistic...). And so the family are able to put a name on that certain thing that seems to set them apart from others.

(Last personal anecdote: I got my autism diagnosis right around the time my dad started to realise he is autistic too, as runs in his side of the family.)

Anyway! I could go on and on but this headcanons segment is already too long so I'll save it for other posts.

If you made it through this monster of a post, thank you!!! I hope you found something that rings true for you.

AROACE AUTISTIC GOKU FOREVER!!!!! <3

[alexissara]

The Best Ships of 2024

If i’m anything I am a lover of love. I pretty much only engage stories with some kind of sapphic love element with some rare exceptions for strong ships I've seen, particular cool women with no love interest, or my partners wanting me to check something out. So as always strap in for a collection of sapphics at the very top tier of great to imagine having little dates and shit because this year was a really packed year for amazing women I wanted to to kiss each other. 

The list is not just new ships from 2024 media but any ship that I just happened to get into this year or had something to reinforce it in my life.  If you like you can see last years list https://www.tumblr.com/alexissara/739778084236050433/top-10-ships-of-2023?source=share and if you enjoy my little top 10 lists and want to see the lesbians I make ahead of everyone else go to my patreon https://www.patreon.com/AlexisSara.

10. Falin Touden and Marcille Donato [Delicious In Dungeon]

One of the most canon non canon ships of all time. One can hope that the anime rectifies the manga and has these two kiss in the end. This ship was one of the biggest ships of the year and while I am a contrarian and a hipster I am not immune, I really love these two, their sweet, cute and have a really strong dynamic and a sense that they truly love each other and would do anything for each other as well as a strong sense of attraction to one another. These pretty white women simply are delightful and worth every bit of hype and love they got this year. 

9. Velvet Crowe and Magilou [Tales Of]

I hated the of Tales Of Berseria but I love both these characters so much, they are so much fun and their like just a perfect dynamic. The extra goth edgy girl who eats people with her demon hand and the silly traitor clown girl mage who is always just treating life like it’s a game make for this really fun dynamic. Women deserve edgy OCs and they deserve those Edgy OCs to kiss a cute little silly lil clown girl. I just don’t know what else to say, their just kinda perfect together you know? 

8. Ayaka X Hiriko [Ayaka is In Love With Hiriko]

So this book and show is called Ayaka is in Love With Hiriko so you know it’s about these two doing a romance but the thing is that Hiriko is a stupid ass loser boss and Ayaka has to put her whole pussy into getting this girl to fuck her. I don’t totally love their we need to be in the closet at work kinda deal I think it’s weak to a lot of the other themes in the story but Ayaka and Hiriko genuinely are loaded with charisma and are actual lesbians textually in the narrative which is just rare even for stories with explicit sapphic relationships it’s not normally said out loud as a word and so Idk these two are special to me and their really funny too. 

7. Olive and Callie [My Dragon GF]

This is a ship that could be on a list every year really, since My Dragon Girlfriend debuted Olive it’s been a top tier ship but this years My Dragon Girlfriend gave us a very delicious date chunk of time focused on Callie and Olive doing a date and it was such a fucking cute date so here they are. Trans girl vampire and her cat girl GF it’s just perfect, I don’t know what to say, shy dorky trans girl vampire with her confident cat girl GF and the little ways they interact and feel the life and stuff. I just love them. Every time Courtney puts up little a little smut comic of them or draws them or whatever I am excited, I want these two girls to just ya know be married or whatever, they are the stars of the show to me. 

6. Tama X Koko [Sword Of The Necromancer]

I fucking love these two so fucking much. There is just nothing that beats a woman going to the depths of impossibility to revive the woman she loves no matter the cost, the toll of the consequences, dammit this woman is going to live, that’s not how her story ends and she will save her. That energy, that drive to just say “A World Without Her Isn’t A World Worth Saving” that is the kind of energy that immortalizes a piece of art to me and we see that energy from Tama but then we see Koko’s perspective and she has that same energy. Both of them see each other as this important part of the world, something worth giving up everything for and it’s so special with one of the worlds most amazing payoffs in a game. 

5. Emilia and Valentine [Sunset Phoenix]

Oh to be a magical mob boss with a little butch spy in your pocket who maybe also wants to betray you. These two are a very complicated relationship but ultimately bail each other out of awful situations again and again and again. These two are not dead yet but every piece of the world wants to fucking rip these two to shreads and it’s amazing how they endure everything going on in the plot and how their dynamic shifts over the time of the story. I can’t wait till the second arc of this story and to see if these two get together or not but their gay and their great and it’s so action packed and fucking great. 

4. Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit [Superwomen In Love]

I finally finished Superwomen in love this year after years of following the series from it’s early scanslations to now and it was even better than I would have expected. These two girls are utterly perfect for each other, their happy ending with explicit love confessions and them raising a kid together is just super sweet and I mean when girls fuse together it’s always a top tier ship. The Kamen Rider fun is great even for me who doesn’t do a Kamen Rider and has no interest in it. Their dates are fun, their desire for each other is fun, their little struggles don’t feel based on just misunderstanding and I really enjoyed the little short body swap story they added too. Their just so damn cute and I love them and I wish there was more of them to enjoy. 

3. Harlivy [The Strange Case of Harleen and Harley Quinn]

Okay, so I didn’t want to repeat any ships this year but there was a new version of Harley and Ivy in the utterly brilliant The Strange Case Of Harleen and Harley Quinn and what am I supposed to do when a brand new version with new origin stories in a YA setting that still lets the characters be radical and cool criminals and be in love since they were teens but gives them a little bit of mess despite a younger audience comes out!  Harleen and Harley both have great dynamics with Ivy, it’s nice to see the different ways they try and support her and also each other. Unlike a classic Dr. Jacklet and Mr. Hyde story the pair of them aren’t really portrayed as “good and bad” side of someone or a “Civilized and wild” side but instead just like alters that live together in the same mind and body. They are different people that have different skills although they draw from similar experiences. Pamala is already in love with Harleen at the start of the story but she falls for Harley right away too even before she realizes they are separate people.  These two are amazing criminal GFs and I love them in every universe basically. 

2. Syliva’s Sapphic Polycule [Potionomics] 

Potionomics put out their Masterworks Edition update and it made it where Sylvia could romance every single character in the game at once if she wanted and therefore making this one of the few games in the world with actual sapphic polyamory possible. While you don’t get to talk about dating other people with each other it’s still a cut above so many other games that simply don’t let you date other women once you’ve locked in.  Syliva’s got chemistry even with the guys in the game but obviously if your a lesbian like me your probably gonna just have her date all the girls and their all fucking fantastic relationships. Sylvia’s gonna keep herself busy between running her shop and kissing all the girls she is dating but she deserves the fun and joy they all bring into her life. All of their little romantic arcs are great and I love how the relationships feel very two sided where you grow through mechanics cuz your relationship with them and they grow in the arc not just being in a relationship with you but growing to some new place in their life. 

1. Sevika X Jinx [Arcane]

Sevika is one of my favorite characters of the year and Jinx is one of my favorite characters just in general. While neither will show up on my best characters list it’s because I didn’t love Arcane Season 2 so I just felt weird putting them there when I have up and down feelings on how they were handled yet, I can’t deny they are here on my top ship and a lot of that is carried by how cool they are. The way Jinx prioritizes getting Sevika her new arm she made for her over saving her own dead brother’s goggles, the way Sevika is willing to risk her life to fight enforcers so that Jinx can finish what she wants, the way Sevika believes in Jinx and wants to see her do things in the world, the way Jinx trusts Sevika without needing to say anything to her, these two are just so good and it really is a relationship between equals which shifts Sevila from her normal dynamic of being under someone. Every scene these two were in together was just a delight, an utter tree and honestly, they wree the heart of this season to me that felt neglected by needing to big up another region of the worlds lore and set up these magic giant stakes that just weren’t needed. Long live Zaun, via la revolution, the people deserve more than one seat at the table.

[nica-my-beloved]

Things I Love and Dislove About Ikemen Games

These are my opinions!

CONTAINS ADULT CHARACTERS

You don't know how much this means to me because most of the time I try finding shoujo mangas I end up with stories that involve high school kids.

I'm a die heart fan of demon romance but majority of the shoujo manga that explores supernatural beings involves a 1000 year old demon king falling in love with a 16 year old high school girl. This sickens me not only because of the age gap but one of the party is a freaking minor.

As an adult, I'm so happy the Ikemen Games doesn't involve younger characters or at least characters that are 'minor' as a romantic partner.

MC's ONLY JOB IS TO SIMPLYFY THE STORY

I have said this before, MCs are just props to simplify the story and characters to us because the writers think we're too dumb to understand what the character is saying. They're like Paimon so that we don't use our braincells to understand the characters better.

I wish they didn't do that and have MCs backstories that describes their personality. I mean, all the MCs want to 'prove' to the male leads that they wanna be 'strong' but I'm tired of this trope.

Why does MCs have to always be innocent and prove themselves? Why does she always want to 'understand' the male leads? Can't we...for once have a romance that doesn't involve MCs teaching male leads true love?

Also STOP give MCs odd jobs! Book stall employee...letter carrier? I mean who is happy and satisfied doing this? How about giving the high-paying jobs like Auditor or Businesswoman or Scientist or etc etc...I know Mai is a fashion designer and businesswoman and Mitsuki is a travel agent turned maid. Alice is a baker and Yoshino is a pharmacist. The only MCs that continues to follow the path of their dreams is Mai and Yoshino.

MATURE ROMANCE

I enjoy seeing two adults slowly fall in love.

There is something different about teenagers falling in love vs adults falling in love. The romance is more realistic. They don't talk about how they're gonna plan their future together or which college they're going to go instead their chat is much more deep and that's refreshing.

NO BAD ENDINGS

Happy endings are nice. Everyone deserves one! But when there are no bad endings, the story won't have stakes.....and when there are no stakes, I can't take any gunshot sounds, blank screen and MCs saying 'Is this the end?' seriously.

Just stop being cowards writers! Put some bad endings!!

FAIR SHARE OF ROMANCE

Although I have played my fair share of Maiden games, majority of them are not that romantic.

I love cute romance moments to lighten up the mood and I really need them. Ikemen games delivers that too well....way too well...

I do have some criticism for random steamy scenes, I don't mind as long as they have context and mood.

The story is not so story focused all the time and also has time for mischievous romance which I like! It helps in calming me down and enjoy at the same time.

BULLSHIT GACHA SYSTEM AND NON-EXISTING GRINDING SYSTEM (Not very F2P friendly)

Even though Genshin's gacha system is shit (you need mf 90 wishes to get a guaranteed 5 star and 180 wishes to get the limited 5 star you want!) I still think it's ways better than the gacha system of these Ikemen Games.

Yes I agree that both the games are different in genre, one is an open world anime rpg and other is a maiden game with gacha mechanics. But that doesn't mean that I have to always pay to buy limited gacha tickets!! At least genshin gives us an open world to explore and grind primos (even though its time consuming)

Yes they do give limited tickets when you enter an event or complete the mission board but that's only ONE TICKET and you need 50 LIMITED TICKETS to get your guaranteed limited 5 star card. On the other hand, they give out many standard tickets but what am I gonna do with it if they aren't gonna update the standard banner?

These games are NOT F2P friendly and if you wanna...like say, want rank no.1 in an event you'd have to save a lot of items.

Ofc I know about the subscription thing and you do indeed get a lot of items, but the most essential thing for me is limited gacha tickets and diamonds because I wanna collect as many beautiful cards as possible and you don't get them from these monthly subscriptions. It's a waste of $5 very month. I'd rather buy a nice hair care or skin care items from that.

INTERESTING SETTINGS

I have my criticism in some of their stories but I can't deny that I LOVEE their story settings. Their premise for each game is solid to the point it makes me wanna actually try it.

This is something I find very rare in 'shoujo' genre.

For example, I don't like Vampire themed games because they suck! (both figuratively and literally) but Ikemen Vampire interests me because they take real historical figures and makes them vampire, which is a really cool idea! You don't know but I'd die to get myself in situation like that because it would be an honor to meet some great historical figures, chat with them and make them lose all their brain cells just like me. I would die to meet especially Isaac Newton and grill him for making those torturous physics theories that gave me brain tumors in my school.

Very cool setting! I can't wait to see what's in store for us in the future!!!

EVENTS ARE INSANELY BORING

I've never enjoyed a single story event from Ikemen Villains. They are boring and makes me fall asleep immediately at chapter 1. I think that kinda spread to Ikemen Prince because I barely open Ikemen Prince app now.

I honestly don't find the stories of these events interesting at all. It always feels like 'I have seen this before' maybe in some other game or some other manga.

And the Collections events.....yeah, I hate them! I wish they never existed!!! They keep the fan-loved characters at the butt-end of the list where 90% of the players don't even make it unless they burn their whole month's salary. I know that's why they do these anniversary elections because I bet if Sariel was the most voted character, his story would have been the most expensive one to get.

VERY LIKEABLE MALE LEADS

This is a personal thing but I love charismatic male leads a lot! Male leads with a lot of suave and beauty! Yes I care about these things when I play gacha games okay! I play gacha games to look at hot guys (because I know I'm never gonna get one in real life!)

But I also love that the devs puts an effort to make them feel good too. So I wanna give a shoutout to them!!! 'KEEP GOING!!! JUST DON'T MAKE TRIGGERING MEN WHO SAYS 'I'LL KILL YOU'!!!

[class1akids]

Was bakugo's advice for deku really meant for izuocha? Honestly I hate how dudebros keep saying that deku rejected bakugo's proposal to be in a straight relationship with uraraka even though it actually makes sense for deku to reject bakugo's offer.

Bakugou's advice just feels very shoehorned to me. Like, even in the conversation between them, it was a weird non sequitur. Also Bakugou's advice wasn't the only one influencing Deku - so was what Shoto said to them about discovering more sides to himself, but he doesn't get portrayed as wingman.

I think the rejection works in the context of Ch 430. Hori really didn't do a great job framing the mecha suit and it became like a passive Deku's life got fixed when Bakugou made him a hero again (obviously big oversimplification). So Deku rejecting the sidekick offer made it clear that being a teacher is his choice and his main way to be a hero (it has no build-up and it's a kind of flimsy argument when he's a teacher in an elite school, but whatever).

In the grand context of the story though, the question is where you put the emphasis. If you have BKDK as a hero team in the end, they fulfil the childhood promise narrative and the DvK2 narrative of save/win. It would have been the fairy tale happy ending for them that was teased in Ch 430.

But with the rejection, it becomes a bit the same "be careful what you wish for" narrative that many other characters had. Bakugou who kept pushing Deku away for a decade, gets rejected in the end as rival when he's fully embracing that rivalry and that childhood dream and where he has worked tirelessly to make it happen.

It fits with the whole "past never dies" kind of narrative - where Bakugou's change is acknowledged by the normal, friendly relationship he has with Deku. But he's getting hit by a dose of karma where Deku doesn't share his goals anymore, where Deku is not running after Kacchan anymore, where Bakugou is not the most special person anymore and where Deku chooses to take someone else's hand in the end. The hand of someone who always encouraged and supported him.

And all Bakugou can do is to acknowledge that rejection with grace and respond with an advice where he puts Izuku's happiness over his own personal wishes, showcasing his growth and maturity as a person.

I think if you look at the story of a bully and his victim, this kind of narrative works without being extremely vindictive and is in line with how Hori was writing their relationship for the first part of the story. But in the meantime, so many things have happened, their relationship was constantly reframed and the tone of 430 is so drastically different to 431 when it comes bkdk that it feels like a very different ending.

I don't know if this consequence element is something Horikoshi wrote deliberately, in response to criticism or he was so focused on the izuocha romance that he didn't really notice it.

I personally don't hate it - since the rest of the cast gets bittersweet endings, I think it fits - but it just feels like a weird sudden change and I do understand why people dislike it and why they think it's not exactly an uplifting ending of a superhero manga.

[aihoshiino]

chapter 149 thoughts

Chapters Since The 143 Kiss Happened And Went Entirely Unacknowledged And Unaddressed Count: 6

anybody else here unironically love getting yuribaited or just me

Honestly I kind of don't know what to think about this chapter lol. As it stands I didn't really hate it - in a lot of ways, it feels like a return to the humour and emotional focus of early OnK which is something I've honestly been missing in the manga while revisiting the anime. Mengo's art toys chapter was great and getting some proper Akane focus was nice. On the other hand, transitioning into this style of writing with no cushioning after the last arc is so incredibly jarring and the Akane stuff we get here is… well, we'll put a pin in it for now and address it later.

In general "put a pin in it" feels like the right energy for this chapter. As the second chapter of a new arc it's primarily setup for the stuff we're going to be dealing with for the next however long, I think it's going to be something we can really only chew on when we have a more solid idea of what exactly it's setting up, long or short term.

Anyway…! We start off with an explanation of why Kana seemed to flip so suddenly last chapter which does patch up some of that logic a bit. I think it's a little silly that she didn't actually overhear the conversation and thus clue into the actual goings on with how close she was standing but that's basically romance misunderstandings 101 so…

Her leaping to assumptions and giving up so quick also feels a bit abrupt but tbh Kana has always been deeply insecure and quick to leap to it's so over when it comes to her feelings for Aqua. Not only that but as others have pointed out since last chapter, from Kana's outsider perspective, Aqua was at his happiest and most at peace while dating Akane and has been in a mental health spiral to the point of expressing suicidal ideation since they broke up. Obviously we, the readers, know the extenuating circumstances at place but from Kana's POV it makes perfect sense to conclude that Akane makes him happiest and is uniquely equipped to do so. It just feels clunky in execution.

On the subject of clunky… I won't lie, it really bugs me that the first really significant AKKN interaction we're getting is love triangle shit entirely centered on Aqua. One of my biggest complaints about the series post TB was the way the end of that arc set up a huge status quo change to Akane and Kana's rivalry and then kind of failed to expand on it at all and that continued to be true all the way up to the Movie Arc. I'd hoped that them both working in close proximity as actresses on the same project would give us opportunities to dig into that. We got some lip service in that regard and then swerved hard into suddenly hyperfocusing on Kana's insecurities regarding Ruby while Akane got all of zero meaningful focus during the back half of the Movie Arc even though she was one of the characters with the most potential to bring interesting things to the table.

Honestly, one of my biggest fears with Akane's declaration that she'd stop Aqua's plan was that even though the two of broken up, she would continue to orbit Aqua at the expense of being allowed an arc of her own that focused on her relationships with the wider cast. Like - even if what she says about not being romantically interested in Aqua anymore is true, she is nevertheless entirely revolving around him to a really frustrating degree. It really feels like Akasaka realized Akane would have solved everything going on in the Movie Arc and had to panic and offscreen her as a result lol.

tho akane dismissively talking about the idea of clinging onto a past lover did make me do a very mean chuckle. ouch, better hope ruby didn't overhear that one, girl!

That said, for all my complaints, I didn't hate their little talk. Yes, it contained an absolute mountain of transparent-to-the-point-of-cynical KanaKane shipbait but it was pretty gay so who's to say if it's really good or bad or not. It's also just nice to see Kana and Akane being able to have a talk that isn't entirely hostile even if I really wish it was under different circumstances, or even that we'd just seen the road they took to being able to be so civil with each other. But whatever - we're here now, I'll take what I get.

Circling back around a bit, I am intrigued by the idea of Akane framing herself as having 'moved on' from Aqua when she very clearly hasn't lol. Like I indicated up there, I don't quite think this is the case nor do I think we're supposed to uncritically accept this as being the case - it reads moreso to me that Akane is trying to convince not just Kana but also herself that she's moved on from Aqua so Kana doesn't feel like she's in Akane's way if she tries to shoot her shot. As for why… well, that's something to talk about at the end of the chapter but I do think it's interesting either way. Akane wildly overshooting in her scrabble to convince Kana it's totally just platonic and going for sonzoning Aqua was also about the most insane thing she's said in a while but her utterly panicked and deranged expression as she said it made me bust a gut laughing.

In general, the expression work this chapter was on fire and there was a ton of really funny and really cute moments - Akane's blushy pout after Kana's quasi-confession, the fish-eye lens effect on her when Kana sees her outside her door and especially her and Kana's expressions in the second to last page… jesus i lost it so bad.

I've been gushing about Mengo's panelling and expressions for the last ten or so chapters but she really is amping it up lately. It definitely feels like her art for OnK has been getting really refined during the last few volumes and while this chapter was a little whiplash-y coming off the end of the Movie Arc, I also think it's a really impressive display of Mengo's range, too. Her horror and drama chops were on full display while all that was going on but in a more lowkey chapter like this, she brings a lot of life and charm to even simple things like the little montage of everyone wrapping up their day of the beach - it's three silent, tiny panels at the bottom of the page but she crams a ton of detail and character into each one.

I also am Extremely Shrimpterested in the note this chapter ends on. Something OnK does occasionally is use genre trappings as a smokescreen for what is actually happening on page and Akane's words at the end here seem to indicate this is happening here, too. This entire chapter goes extremely hard on the romcom tropes and dynamics but the way Akane's energy totally changes once she's on her own makes me think this is intentional and a reflection of the way Akane is setting up to use Kana.

Because I do think it's undoubtable that she is setting up to use Kana. Her sudden leap to captain of the SS AquKana is not about wholeheartedly supporting two people she loves (at least not primarily) and more about her continued efforts to save Aqua from himself. Kana just happens to be a convenient pawn in making this happen.

If I'm making this sound very cynical and cold of Akane: it is! But that's why I think it's so interesting. Akane is very like Aqua in a lot of ways and seeing this tendency of his to perform cruelty and manipulation to the greater end of doing the most good (or at least in their eyes) mirrored in her is very juicy and potentially very deadly in the hands of someone as smart and perceptive as Akane.

It's also kind of telling and kind of really sad to see Akane asserting that Aqua wouldn't be able to take revenge if he had a girlfriend at his side when that certainly didn't stop him back when he and Akane were dating. It's subtle but it's consistent with just how little faith Akane seems to have ever had in Aqua's feelings for her. Kana's not the only one struggling with long term insecurities in that regard.

I also can't not address the elephant in the room that is the story setting this up while the resolution to whatever the hell is going on with Ruby is still dangling over everyone's heads. I mentioned this last chapter but it really is getting to be bizarre just how much of a nothingburger that has been turned into, not just in terms of the characters' lack of reaction to it but the way the narrative has just entirely failed to give it any weight or significance whatsoever. I can only assume that one of the other girls making a move to pursue Aqua (if it does end up happening) will kick Ruby into action and we'll get god knows what sort of resolution there but a dark and evil part of me that loves to start shit thinks that the funniest possible resolution would be for it to never come up or be referenced ever again just for the sheer frenzy of confusion and bafflement it would cause. everybody loses!!!

[notsorryiml8]

Okay, I’m super sick (yay). So, have been stuck in bed perusing the interwebs for the past few days, in between fever dreams. Naturally, while I could be working from home, I look up Naruto things among others, because why not. Half the time I don’t know what to believe and I’m relatively new to the fandom, so bear with me. So….

In today’s edition of “Did Kishimoto Really Say: Kakashi edition”

Everybody always says, “Kishimoto said it in an interview,” but nobody ever produces a source. So, did Kishimoto really say?:

1) He intentionally made Kakashi, for lack of better terms, hardcore and effeminate?

Like he’s hardcore and bada$$, will slit your throat or chidori you in 0.5 seconds like the cold blooded killer that he is, but at the same time super effeminate (hence reading romance and liking Icha Icha, being nurturing, giggles like a schoolgirl, and being just so darn pretty), almost like borderline androgynous, and representing a duality of personhood. And it was intentional? And that’s part of why I guess he’s so appealing to just about anyone and I guess so shippable with just about everyone? 🤷🏽‍♀️ The mind games are strong with this one.

2) Kakashi was supposed to be an “old soul trapped in a young body.” Like he was supposed to only speak in parables and riddles like a wise old sage, and be centuries old, but Kishimoto was like naahh…?

3) Kakashi has no love interest/significant other because Kishimoto was so busy focusing on other aspects of him, that by the time the series was ending it was too late to give him one because he’d have to create a new character and there wasn’t time, so he left him to live a life of bachelorhood? There just wasn’t enough time.

So I guess in Hiden with Kahyo, that’s why a lot of people say it felt rushed - the bulk of the book from the time they meet to the time the airship go boom, it’s literally ONE DAY! Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl. Girl and her friends and family try to kill boy. Things go boom. People die. Purple lightning. Girl repents. Boy still likes girl. Boy becomes head leader guy. Boy puts girl in jail. Ahh, a love story. I still ship ‘em though, but that’s just me.

4) All the characters were supposed to wear masks because, well, ninja, but it would have been a nightmare for writing and animating when showing expressions?

So, we only got Kakashi and a handful of random characters? I’m okay with that. He’s unique. 🙂‍↕️

5) Kakashi was supposed to be a samurai and have a whole samurai backstory, but the idea was nixed because he wouldn’t fit in with the others? Okay, and??

That would have been awesome! That’s all I got. Look, I’m sick. Brain wants to say more, but can’t.

6) Kishimoto didn’t want to keep drawing shoes, so stuck with sandals. This one is more of a me problem and not Kakashi related. And I don’t care if Kishimoto said it or not - I just HATE exposed feet * and reading the manga and watching the anime was extreme exposure therapy. 🤢 😂

*ETA: unless it’s 90 degrees year round/summer/ hot/indoors - then yeah, feet = okay.

Okay, now back to sleep for me!

[tzuyuscloud]

Iced Americano please Kim Minji x fem reader

Everyday on your way to the bookstore you walk pass the neighborhood skatepark where she is often found. She has long brown hair that stays tied up, big brown eyes and is always flooding in her clothes. You like to take extra time when passing the park just to admire her beauty from afar because god forbid you ever speaking to her in fear of embarrassing yourself.

The bookstore was always quiet and was nicely decorated by the owner who happened to be your boss. The same old customers came by checking out mangas and renting other books, nothing exciting ever happened. Until the bell rang indicating that someone walked in,

“Hello.” you softly spoke and a soft voice responded with a, “hi” causing you to look up and see skater girl. You physically felt your heart skip a few beats as your jaw hit the floor. Clearing your throat and rubbing your eyes you focused your view on the girl who was in the romance mangas section looking through a few books.

With a book in her hands, she made her way to the counter where you stood. “is this all for today?” you asked nervously.

“could I also get your number?” The girl asked with a smile that lit up the room. You felt like you were gonna pass out if she looked at you any more.

“I-Um y-yeah sure” you stuttered as you rung up the book. “that’s a great series by the way” you nervously laughed.

The girl smiled, “really? I heard it was good so I had to see for myself” she said. “Ill call you” she winked before exiting the store with her skateboard rested under her pit.

At the end she left with your number and heart.

You couldn’t believe the last twenty minutes, pinching you arm constantly in hopes that the universe was just playing mind games but no, pretty girl was in fact in the store and asked for your number. When you realized she never gave you her name…

After your shift you closed up store just to see the same pretty girl leaning up against the building with her skateboard leaning next to her. “Gosh I was scared that you slept there too, you get off so late” she said with her brows furrowed slightly showing concern for you walking home late.

The fact that she asked for your number and then waited for you had you doing summersaults in your head. “Oh yeah I work closing shift on the weekends.” You nervously laughed.

“where do you live?” The girl asked as she walked beside you.

You pointed down the long street, “i live at the end of the block over there.”

“Oh really!? I live on the same street! That’s why I like to come skate a lot because its just down the street. Oh by the way my name is Minji. I forgot to introduce myself, Kim Minji”

Kim Minji. The name suits her so well. You felt yourself staring at the girl for a while until she finally got you out of your trance. “what’s your name, pretty girl?” she smirked causing heat to rush to your face.

“Ahem..y/n” you tried to hide your blush but Minji saw it and couldn’t help but tease you.

“Your blush is as cute as your name” Curse this woman being so smooth with her compliments, your face was never gonna feel the cool evening breeze again with how heated its getting.

The both of you emerged in deep conversation, topic after topic outside of y/n’s house until 1am hit. “its getting late and you need your sleep. How about we get some coffee tomorrow?” Minji smiled as she helped you stand up.

“Ill be waiting” you responded before saying your goodbyes. Not long after did you receive a message from what seemed to be Minji.

Unknown: ill pick you up at noon

Unknown: Save my number as ‘Minji 💜’

Minji 💜: goodnight cutie ^3^

—

Next day

As promised, Minji was at your door step exactly at Noon in baggy streetwear and skateboard tucked under her arm. This time she wore her hair in two buns with strands of hair falling into her face making her look cuter than before, if that was even possible.

“I know a great coffee shop nearby” Minji said, “they have great Iced Americanos”

On the way there she tried to get you to ride her skateboard which just ended up being you standing on the board while she held you up. Her laughter was the best thing you’ve heard in a long while.

“What do you want?” Minji asked you at the counter. “um I don’t know, I don’t drink a lot of coffee” you answered leaving her faced distorted in judgement.

“How do you survive with no coffee? Oh you poor soul” She joked. “Here you should try-“

“I’ll try your drink” You decided catching her off guard. “Oh well, two iced americanos please!” she smiled to the cashier who looked done with their shit.

Minji happily drank the coffee while watching you chug the drink in front of you. “Bro this is good” you gasped.

“you’re already using my slang thats cute” Minji teased you. The rest of your date went smooth ending with her dropping you back off at your porch, but this time she leaned in leaving a kiss on your cheek.

“Goodnight pretty girl” she winked before dropping her skateboard on the ground and skating down the street.

[yumeka36]

After hearing all the hype, I finally decided to watch Frieren. I was 99% sure I would like it based on what people were praising about it. And now that I've watched all (currently) 28 episodes...yeah, it's really good.

I knew it was gonna be a slow-paced series that's mostly driven by the characters and world-building as opposed to an ongoing, impending plot...and I'm totally okay with that. While I do enjoy series with a lot of flashy action and emotional angst, I also like when series don't pander to this typical way of being entertaining. Cool fights and suspenseful plots will always be popular, especially for anime/manga, so I greatly respect a series that dares to be different and still delivers. While the characters in Frieren do have an ongoing goal, it's not the main focus of the series: the focus is on their interactions with the world and each other. This is especially unusual for a series that takes place in a D&D fantasy world with monsters, demons, and magic. Such a world is full of potential for fast-paced fights and angst-ridden action, but Frieren does it differently. The handful of battle scenes in the series so far are handled very "matter of fact" - they're not given any more fanfare than other things that happen. Anyone who's watched a decent amount of shonen anime is probably used to all the intense violence and raw emotions that pour out during fight scenes, so seeing how relatively calmly the characters in Frieren handle similar situations may not be for everyone. It even took me a while to get used to how the more suspenseful action scenes in Frieren are handled compared to most other anime.

One of my favorite things in anime, or any medium really, is having characters with appealing but also unique relationships - relationships that can't really be defined by "typical romance," "typical friendship," etc, but something special and unique that I want to see develop as the series goes on. This is a big reason why I like Spy x Family so much, and why I like Frieren as well. The relationship between Frieren and Fern is something like this: On the surface they have a "master/student" relationship, but there are so many more layers to it, like Fern often being exasperated by Frieren's obsession with new spells or the fact that her interpretation of time is so different from that of humans', that sometimes Fern acts like the more "mature" one of the group. But at the same time, despite her elegant air, she has a childish side to her in how she pouts and sulks whenever she's upset with Frieren and Stark, plus her no-nonsense personality that often clashes with Frieren's easy going approach to things. But despite this, we still observe the intimacy between them and how comfortable they've gotten with each other over the years. Then there's Fern's relationship with Stark, that I find incredibly adorable mostly because, again, of how nuanced it is. They're not constantly emoting or yelling at each other, yet you can tell there's something going on between them based on more subtle things, like Fern giving Stark a hard time compared to how she relates to everyone else, and Stark being sensitive to her mood changes.

Another interesting thing about the series is how long the timeline is. Over 100 years have passed for the characters, Frieren in particular of course, since episode 1 to episode 28, yet nothing seems rushed. The series focuses on the bits of their lives that matter through flashbacks here and there, and that makes the series' world more engrossing when you have an idea of all the events that transpired over such a long time. Characters who aren't even alive/present during most of the story, particularly Himmel and his group, can have so much influence in the narrative. All the scenes where Frieren is reminded of things Himmel says and does make so much sense, not just because he was such an important person to her, but because someone who's lived for as long as she has is bound to have these deja vu moments where she had experienced a similar situation before.

The latter part of the series involving the mage exam made me a bit apprehensive, since I don't like when series introduce a bunch of characters at once in a competition with the protagonists. When there's so many new characters that need to play a role in the current plot, they probably won't be well written. But honestly, by the end of the series, I thought they were all interesting characters. This is mostly due to, again, the series giving ample time showing how each of them thinks and strategizes, how they work together with others, what their motivations are, etc, rather than just showing off their powers. Even a character like Serie who's shown to be an antagonist was still interesting as I could at least understand her motives and beliefs.

There's more I can say about Frieren but I'll stop there. Overall, an excellent series and one of the best I've seen in recent years. Looking forward to more anime, and I may even check out the manga!

[froizetta]

WIP Wednesday: baby edition

This week I present my first attempt at writing DC fic for a pairing other than superbat - but, you know, only barely because this is for superbat mini, aka jondami. This is the start of a fic I'm planning out about Jon and Damian through the years (ignoring Bendis' timeskip because I can) in a coming of age story, in which Jon tries to deal with figuring out he's bi and having a crush on his cool(-ish) older best friend. Working title: Puberty Fucking Sucks because like. It just does.

It started when Jon was 12.

There wasn’t anything special about the day itself. In fact, it was pretty ordinary: a normal Thursday afternoon where he and Damian were passing the time between school and patrol in their base, as they did every week. Damian was sitting on the floor with his back to the couch, curled over his sketchbook, doing… Well, Jon didn’t know what Damian put in his sketchbook, since he’d made Jon promise not to look. Jon was nice and a good friend – and maybe a little scared of what Damian might consider fair retribution – so he always humored him.

Meanwhile, Jon was slumped on the couch, putting off doing his homework by half-reading a manga that Damian had recommended. A…shujo? Shogo? Some kind of romance thing. Whatever it was, it wasn’t really enough to capture Jon’s attention. So instead, he found himself watching Damian.

They’d been best friends for most of the last 2 years at this point, so Damian was very familiar to him at this point. But in his boredom, Jon found himself focusing on the details of his face in a way he hadn't before, looking at the parts and not the whole. His eyes were slanted and striking, piercingly and vividly green even hidden below the thick, dark sweep of his lashes. His nose had a little bump at the bridge, and his mouth was small and turned down at the corners, so he always looked a little grumpy even when he was in a good mood. His hair was dark and crazy thick (it was an Arab thing apparently, or so Damian had told him when he’d mentioned it one time) and it was surprisingly soft when he didn’t style it. Jon knew that from personal experience, because once Damian had let Jon hug him during a sleepover when he’d had a nightmare, and Jon couldn’t help but rub his face into it a little, like a cat. Damian had grumbled a little but hadn’t pulled away

Damian was really pretty, Jon thought. It wasn’t a new thought. Damian had always been pretty – though not pretty like girls were pretty, just…attractive. It was just a fact of life, in the way that most actors and pop stars and even Damian’s own parents were just obviously, objectively nice to look at.

But still, something about this Damian was different from the version that lived in Jon’s head. He was still shorter than Jon, although not by much. But even though Damian was smaller than him, he somehow looked…more. Older. His hands had always been long and kinda elegant, but now they looked as strong as Jon knew they were. And his jaw was no longer round and soft like Jon’s, but sharp and defined. Masculine. There was a breadth to his shoulders that felt new, even though logically it couldn’t be since he saw Damian most days, but…but somehow he hadn’t really noticed it before. It made his uniform blazer hang differently, in a way that felt weirdly distracting.

Damian wasn’t just pretty anymore, he realized. Damian was handsome. And Jon wasn’t sure why, but something about that thought got to him, made him feel weirdly hot and squirmy inside.

He quickly buried his face in the pages of the manga he wasn’t reading. He’d felt like this before, months ago. He was watching a commercial break with his parents and the pretty actress on screen had really enjoyed her branded yoghurt. Jon had gone very quiet and very red, and his dad had shot him a knowing look. Which was pretty much the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to anyone ever.

Jon had mumbled something about finishing his homework and fled upstairs. He spent most of that evening typing a bunch of awkward questions into google in private browsing mode. And then after that, he’d guiltily rewatched that yoghurt commercial a few dozen times – but on mute, so his dad couldn’t hear. His attempt at secrecy didn't really pay off, because a week later his dad had come into his room and sat him down for a Talk, as in the Talk, which had firmly pushed the yoghurt incident itself to second place in the ranking of Most Embarrassing Things.

But…but this didn’t make sense, Jon thought to himself. Why would Jon be having yoghurt commercial feelings about Damian? Damian was his best friend!

He chanced a peek at Damian over the top of his manga. It was still just Damian, familiar and sulky and way lamer than he liked to pretend he was. His best friend, Damian. He had his head bowed, pink tongue poking out between his lips like it did when he was intensely focused, and for some reason Jon couldn’t stop staring—

He forcibly ripped his gaze away, mortified. Oh no, this was weird. This was so weird. The yoghurt commercial was rapidly being pushed to third place in the rankings. He needed to leave right now.

He stood abruptly. “Hey, so I’m gonna go.”

Damian turned his head to look at him sharply. His habitual scowl was tinged with confusion. “What? Go where? We’re supposed to patrol in an hour.”

“Just training,” Jon said, false-bright. “I’m gonna work on some stuff. Training stuff.”

The confusion was very much still present. “Oookay?” Damian said. He flipped his sketchbook closed. “Did you want to spar? I could—”

“Nope,” Jon chirped, already edging towards the door. He was trying very hard to look at anything but Damian, which was probably super suspicious, but. Looking at Damian just felt like a lot, okay?

“It’s just some dumb superpower training my dad told me to do,” he continued. “It wouldn’t interest you, trust me. So you can just stay right here, while I go…away from here.” He winced. “Anyway, see you at patrol!”

He didn’t wait for Damian to respond before he turned and marched out of the room, well aware that he was acting absolutely insane but completely powerless to stop it. Thankfully, even though Jon knew Damian was incredibly suspicious of his behavior, he didn’t follow him.

Jon spent the rest of the time before patrol carefully carving patterns into wooden blocks with his heat vision and trying not to think about Damian’s opinions on Activia.

[wavytam]

Sanji and Zoro's Pact/Sanji's love for Nami

One of the things that has been blatant from the beginning of One Piece is how Nami has a special place in Sanji's heart. Whether it derives from admiration, some type of respect or simple, genuine, love (or the three at the same time), there is something there worth noting.

Oda has also dedicated a lot of colorspreads, manga moments and coverpages to show us that. And in recent chapters, he once again brought up how, even when Sanji does show interest in other girls, it's always Nami who is on his mind the most.

(Also, when we talk about the colorspreads specifically, it's quite interesting how he includes the two together even when the requests only have to do with one of them, not all the time ofc).

And although Oda does not like to focus on romance and love stories in One Piece, he still seems to use them to advance the plot when they exist

A good example is Boa Hancock, whose love for Luffy motivated her to go an extra mile to help him rescue his brother in Impel Down.

So it feels like Sanji's feelings for Nami might also be used as a way to advance the plot.

How exactly?

Well, if we take a look at Sanji's recent development it has been focusing a lot on his inner war of empathy vs. lack of empathy/love vs. science.

We all know that Sanji has suffered a lot at the hands of scientists (his father and his minions) and of their cruel "experiments" (his brothers).

Because of that bad experience and his strong will, he has always been very certain of what he does not want for his life and of the principles he wants to live up to.

He won't beat women

He will feed anyone who is hungry

He won't use his hands in a fight

However, in recent chapters, his behavior might change since his Germa DNA is no longer latent.

Sanji himself was afraid that it would make him behave like his brothers, and with this panel (and although it seemed to be resolved in Wano), we can still suspect that there might be something there worth worrying about.

Now, of course if could mean nothing, but I find it unlikely since Oda even chose to switch the direction of the swirls of his eyebrows to show when Sanji's Germa powers are taking over (it's still a bit difficult to know what exactly happens when they "activate" though, since Sanji's exoesqueleton is always active now).

We also have to remember the pact that Sanji and Zoro made. The awakening of his new powers are what motivated Sanji to ask for Zoro's "help", should they get out of hand.

By the end of Wano, it seemed like there was no need for Zoro to keep his promise any longer,

but if Oda took the time and space to draw panels like the ones below for there to be no pay off in the future, I think he wouldn't have botheredto include them in the first place.

It's also clear that, because of their frequent bickering, everyone wants to see a Sanji vs. Zoro fight, and the pact that they made might be the way Oda found to make these two fight on equal grounds.

Now, do I think Zoro will kill Sanji, like Sanji himself asked? Not exactly.

I think that Zoro might end up helping Sanji kill this Germa personality that seems to be developing within him... but I don't think Zoro will do it entirely on his own.

The other person who might be extremely important is Nami.

Like I said, with the recent chapters, colorspreads, and cover pages, Oda has been once again showing us how much Nami is special to Sanji. And its worth noting that Sanji has also addressed an interesting power called the "power of love" when he protects Nami.

Again, it does seem like a gag, but the more we advance in Future Island Arc, the more it seems to be revolving around the subject of science/rationality against love/desire for other characters as well (I.e. Kuma, York).

Another good example is in Thriller Bark.

Where Sanji fought his "programming" to protect Nami and blamed this behavior to the power of love.

(It's worth noting what Sanji describes what the power of love can do: make the impossible, possible, and blow everything away. Insteresting)

Moving to more recent chapters, we also have this coverpage with its request at the bottom.

It might seem like any other request made for Oda, but I think it's worth noting what he included in the picture that wasn't in the request.

Two things come in mind:

The raccoon priest using the three sword style to "discipline" Sanji

Sanji's worldly thoughts being especificaly about Nami

This cover page was posted during the Wano arc, around 30 chapters before the Pact, so we can kinda consider the racoon strucking Sanji with Zoro's fighting style as a foreshadow for a future Sanji/Zoro fight, right?

But why did Oda also put Nami there?

Well, as Zoro fights Sanji to honor their pact (maybe with the intention to kill him if he sees no hope)... Nami might be the one to make Sanji return to his normal self before it's too late. Making the impossible, possible *wink, wink*

Remember, it has already happened before at Thriller Bark, and it might be a foreshadow to the moment the Power of Love stops being a gag, and becomes a real type of power that can be used in a battle.

So, in the end, Sanji might go back to normal but with total control over his Germa Power... and maybe with another power up? Hehe, who knows.

And maybe, not only will it be important for Sanji to finally know that he will not behave like his brothers anymore... but maybe also for Nami to see how important she is to Sanji.

Although for the audience, it's clear that Sanji holds Nami in a higher regard, it seems like Nami herself might not be aware of that since Sanji does flirt with a lot of women.

Well, that's it for now. Feel free to tell me what you think hehe

As I have stated in my other theories, I might get some things right, everything wrong or everything (miraculously) right but I don't mind being wrong, since the fun part is to speculate, talk about our favorite ship's and see how Oda surprises us!

Hope you liked the read! 🤗