#she feels like an aloof boy in romance anime

[phoenixkaptain]

Anyway I’m really enjoying Fields of Mistria rn and it is almost entirely because the characters are so cute and vibrant. I don’t want to spoil anything but my favourite part is the characters and interactions anx my second favourite part is that the fishing minigame is really similar to early Pokemon (very positive).

In terms of how fun the fishing is, I’m putting this game pretty high despite how simple it is. Because you can fish or dive, and I can’t help but imagine my cute, tiny little character diving down, grabbing desperately in the water, and somehow surfacing with an entire goddamn fish.

Also, Dozy.

The game is a 10bil/10 from me, guys

[the-sword-lesbian]

Thoughts on the Arcadia Gays' Stardew Valley playstyle and who would be Best Girl for each of them?

Allllllright LiS plays Stardew Valley let’s go!

You said Arcadia Gays but I plan to do more as well so let’s get into it!

Chloe: primarily focuses on combat and mining and only really grows enough to cover favors/gifts at first but then gets really into cooking and expands the farming a bit more for ingredience. Favored relationships: Maru because fellow science nerd, Abigail because fellow adventure enthusiast, Penny because she reminds Chloe of Max. Platonic besties with Sam.

Max: terrible at keeping any crops alive so she mostly focuses on exploring, foraging, and some fishing when she gets the hang of it. Favored relationships: Abigail because she reminds Max of Chloe, Penny because she reminds Max of Kate, Sam because skater boys are cute, Leah because aloof artist girl she keeps bumping into in the woods while foraging.

Kate: Animal husbandry out the wazoo. Especially coop animals, especially rabbits. But she adores her chickens, dogs, and cats. Not super good at fishing and a bit too nervous to delve too deep in the mines. Favored relationships: Haley! Because she’s the exact same brand of “I can fix her” pretty artistic meangirl that Kate falls for every time. Penny because she can relate too much to her.

Rachel: Miss “stop at nothing” perfectionist won’t settle for anything less than hundred percenting this game. She does it all and just for the sake of getting everything she romances everyone to be a shit disturber and to get the group events. After unlocking and completing the island she will literally just log into the game and stand on the beach for whole days. Favored Relationships: Abigail because she can really relate to the feelings of being stuck in the mold that your parents want for you. Emily because she’s fun. Leah because she’s hot. Alex because a big dumb cute footballer is fun. Sam because skater boys are cute.

Victoria: playing not just the vanilla game but stardew valley expanded as well. She tries to max out all the questlines and do good at the festivals. Favored romances: Sophia because she can’t not date the cute anime nerd. Olivia because hot MILF. Leah because who wouldn’t? And very specifically NOT Haley because “god who would ever deal with all that negging elitist bs??”

Bonus rounds!!

Courtney: terrifyingly invested in this game. Has more money than you thought the UI would actually show. Beat the whole game and is now in it entirely for the aesthetic builds and collecting every clothing item. Wears a different outfit every day. Favored relationships: none by design but has romanced every romanceable character just to have done it. Gets along best with Emily though.

Taylor: Bought the game because she saw Victoria playing it. Romanced Haley and did nothing else.

Steph: All around consistent player. Likes adventuring the most. Also playing a modded version. Favored relationships: Abigail because she likes the ttrpg and adventuring parts of her character. Leah because she ticks a lot of Steph’s boxes. Emily because she’s fun. She tried to romance Haley but got tired of the negging. Sophia because of course. She also installed a mod that made Sebastian transfemme to romance.

Warren/Lauren: Made a girl character, loves the game but plays in secret. Has romanced 11 out of the 12 dateable characters.

Alex: likes the fishing and adventuring. Has a few animals. Favored relationships: Abigail, Sam, and Seb because fellow musicians/nerds. Penny because she’s just so sweet! Harvey because he’s a nice guy. Emily because she’s so much fun and so positive. She also romanced Leah and it gave her gay feelings about Char so she avoids that romance now.

Riley: one part mining nerd, one part beekeeper. Has grown all the flowers and has a textbook perfect garden/apiary arrangement. Favored relationships: Maru because fellow science and robotics nerd! Abigail and Leah because she thinks they’re both cute.

[itwillallbeokay]

I don't usually post this stuff but after I discovered that there's people on Tumblr who have watched the Pretty Rhythm series I kinda feel like I want to engage in some discourse about it so here's my ranking of the three seasons based on the characteristics of the show :

Pretty Rhythm : Aurora Dream

Outfits : Yep, the best thing about this season is definitely the clothes. The designs, the cohesion of the team outfits, and the way they each fit the theme of the wearer while being part of a larger design. I especially love MARs first team outfits— they suit the girls so well while still maintaining the overarching cohesion that indicates that they're a team. My favourite, though, has to be the street outfits. Mion, Aira and Rizumu’s street fits from the first half of the show are still such bangers even though it has been more than 10 years since the show was released. Aira Harune is, was and will always be my fashion inspiration.

Characters : Saying this solely because of Rizumu. She definitely has the most interesting backstory out of all the girls and is the most well-fleshed out amongst the three main girls. I feel that Mion’s character was sidelined a lot, which is unfortunate, and Aira suffers from the case of Because She's the Protagonist, i.e., a lot of her wins seem handed to her and not earned.

A little rant here: I kinda disliked that at the end Aira basically just managed to perform a better version of Aurora Rising. I wouldn't be this bothered about it if she'd been shown to work hard for it, but that's not really the case. Aira's mojo was always about following your heart, and it would have fit better if she didn't attempt the Aurora Rising and instead did something out of the box. The Aurora Rising storyline should've belonged to Rizumu, Kaname and their mom. Aira winning Prism Queen in spite of not doing the jump would've shown that Prism Shows were evolving, and that the era gad changed.

3. Songs : The two openings are the good songs in this anime, along with Kanon's solo. That's it. The rest aren't bad in their own right but if we compare them to the songs from s2 and s3 they do seem lacking.

Pretty Rhythm : Dear My Future

Songs : Every. Song. Is. So. Good. The openings, the endings, even MARs song in this sequel is their best song. Dear My Future is still a jam of mine. Easily the best part of this season.

Outfits : I like the Symphonia outfits for Mia, Hyein and Aira in the latter half, and Prizmmy’s group fits in the first half aren't bad at all, but unfortunately, as the series progresses, non-centre characters like Ayami, Reina, Karin, Shiyoon, etc suffer from copy pasted outfit designs.

Characters : Too many characters, too little time. I like Mia a lot as a protagonist, but the unfortunate issue is that only she gets a bit of depth and complexity. The number of characters causes other girls to suffer. Adding to that, the Sho-Aira-Yunsu love triangle takes up a lot of time causing the newer characters to lose out on screentime.

Pretty Rhythm : Rainbow Live

Characters : Finally, almost all characters are fleshed out well in this, including the side characters. I especially love how well written Ito Suzuno is— she comes off as aloof and abrasive but she warms up to Naru and the others. The friendship between the girls develops organically. Even her romance with Kouji Mihama is well done, easily the best romance in the series. Their conflict is a challenging one, but it's resolved maturely. And I love her and Otoha’s friendship. They're polar opposites but they work so well. I love that Otoha sees past Ito's abrasiveness and helps her when she's in need. Ito may be a tsundere archetype but she's written like a real person. Also, Naru is a realistic protagonist. She may be the most innovative amongst them, but she's definitely not the best at Prism Shows. Her wins feel earned. Definitely a step up from s1.

Songs : I love the openings, especially Butterfly Effect and Boy Meets Girl. Ito and Otoha's duet is also a favourite. Their voices contrast each other so well. I wish the individual and the group songs were a bit better. Not that they're bad, per se, those songs are just not my cup of tea.

Outfits : Unfortunately, this season dropped the ball with Naru and Wakana’s outfits. Naru's fits suffer from way too much detail, and are also a little too childish for my taste. As for Wakana, her fits are plain boring. Bell's outfits are good, but her team members lack the same level of detailing in their fits, which just seems really weird considering they're supposed to be a team, and not her backup dancers.

Overall, the season I enjoy watching the most is s3, because of the better storylines and well written characters.

[straightbaittournament]

only the option with the LEAST votes will be eliminated. propaganda under the cut (and more always welcome!):

akko kagari and andrew hanbridge:

Very typical hetero-love-interest introduction, rival vibes, aloof rich boy & headstrong "commoner" girl, learning to see each other's point of view, she dresses up for the first time in the series to sneak into his party to try to talk to him. Just classic 'ugh they're clearly gonna get together' but... they don't. Nothing romantic is ever explicit, and by s2 they're friends and that's it. there's no discussion or drama. they're good friends. literally shocked me. apparently a guy and girl who fit a bunch of romantic tropes... can just be friends

sam winchester and eileen leahy:

The last season set them up to be together, and then in Sam’s finale flash-forward, they replaced her with “blurry wife” literally a random blurred out woman rather than having him end up with Eileen Eileen is the coolest Supernatural character: she's deaf and also formerly dead (like Sam)

asuka tenjoin and yuki judai:

The ship name (fianceshipping) comes from the episode where Judai *accidentally* duels some guy to become Asuka's fiance (said guy never asks Asuka how she feels about this, ugghhh greater Duel Academia student body be normal about ladies challenge). Turns out that he *didn't know what a fiance was* and just wanted to have a good ol' time cardgaming. I think that this says more about this ship than anything else I could tell you. During the final season, Asuka almost confesses to him but cuts herself off & they then thank each other for giving each other some clarity of mind because they're both going through pretty rough times at that point in the plot. Looks concerningly like they're about to do a whole "ohh we need to make the main girl and boy romance out of obligation" bit and then they just don't do it. It's great. judai is the gayest guy of all time (subtext) and im like 80% sure asuka was experiencing comphet bc he's the only guy in their grade that treats her like a person. besties 4ever!!!!!!!! [straightmod has been informed that judai is also textually queer because he is canonically attracted to a non-binary character.]

kurosaki ichigo and kuchiki rukia:

Oh man, where do I even begin? So, for some context, Bleach starts when Rukia (a shinigami) gets critically injured saving Ichigo from a monster, and she transfers her powers to him so he can finish it off. Instead of transferring half her powers as planned, however, she transfers all of them, which forces Ichigo to take over her job as a shinigami. During this time period, Rukia... lives in his closet. Yeah. The entire first arc of the manga is dedicated to their relationship, and while a lot of it is playful banter, Rukia's presence in Ichigo's life fundamentally changes it for the better. Rukia then gets kidnapped by the rest of the shinigami who aren't at all happy she gave her powers to a human, and the main plot ensues from there. Throughout the story, Rukia and Ichigo constantly save each other when they're at their worst. When Rukia thinks she deserves to die, Ichigo is there to tell her she deserves to live. When Ichigo is in a funk about his superpowered evil side, Rukia is there to snap him out of it (something his canon love interest explicitly realises she was unable to do). They share a sun/moon motif for crying out loud, and yet like that last sentence said... they don't end up together, but with other people instead. Yeah. No shade to the canon ships, but Ichiruki is peak straightbaiting, honestly. They have a lot of banter/chemistry, fundamentally change eachother's lives for the better, save each other when they're at their lowest, and have a very deliberate sun/moon dichotomy... but they both end up paired off with different characters instead asdfghkl

izuku midoriya and ochako uraraka:

It’s the classic main character x friend who is a girl ship. They have no actual romantic interactions outside of their friendship. Ochako has “feelings” for Izuku, but they are clearly feelings of friendship until one of her friends insists that she must have a crush on Izuku, making her feel confused and embarrassed. Izuku clearly sees Ochako as a good friend, but when they first meet, he blushes and thinks “I can’t believe I just talked to a girl.” On the same day, he also blushes when he sees that a famous male hero is proctoring their exams. It’s literally so boring as a romantic ship. They have no chemistry as a couple.

edward elric and winry rockbell but SPECIFICALLY in the 2003 anime:

literally in different dimensions by the end! they still have a lot of the hallmarks of "ohh endgame childhood best friends" or whatever but fma 2003 just said. naah. winry got the shortest end of the stick and i feel so bad for her!!! continuity specific straightbait. in every other universe they get married and have kids but screw you two specifically 🙏

mako, korra, and asami:

it's that one meme where the guy ignores his girlfriend to check out another girl, only the two girls get to know each other and get together. S1/2 has love triangle drama between who Mako will be with (Korra or Asami). S3 no one is together but Korra and Asami become really close friends. S4 Korra and Asami are together. Mako is single. Like the only example of exes being good friends and Not getting back together, as well as giving the middle finger to heteronormative assumptions when after the love triangle is over, the two girls get together Shipping the two girls in a love triangle together but it actually happens

pat and ink:

Pat has a crush on Ink early on, and it seems possible at first that she may feel the same way. However, it is later revealed that she actually has a crush on his sister and is a lesbian. It's okay though because then Pat realizes he's in love with his childhood rival and they become wlw mlm solidarity! Everyone wins!

maka albarn and soul evans:

Throughout the series, they have a deep friendship with each other which is consistently extremely important to the story's narrative. In order for them to be able to fight, they must get along and resonate with each other, and due to the mechanics of their world, fighting independently of each other is extremely difficult. In multiple instances, they are shown to be willing to put themselves in harm's way to extreme degrees to keep each other safe. They are even shown to live together. They are The Singular Straight Ship I have ever shipped and I love them. Also they are really cool and Soul can turn into an awesome scythe weapon that like only Maka can wield. And they fight really awesomely together.

luke skywalker and leia organa:

The idea of Luke and Leia was used in advertisements but they obviously decided not to do that. IT’S SO FUNNY. Like, I think this is the closest white straight people will ever get to ‘they were cousins’ing a couple. I looked up advertising to see if it was just in the movie proper or it WAS used to sell it and https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5z1SziDPKQw&t=118s&pp=2AF2kAIB ‘Luke and Leia: in danger, in love, in Star Wars’ is going to be one of the things that rolls around in my head for ages. It’s not just the whole ‘het love triangle advertises 2nd pairing that everyone knows won’t happen’ like Twilight, it’s the backpeddaling ‘no no it can’t happen, they’re actually siblings! It’d be weird! Ignore the ‘good luck’ kiss and the ‘I’ll be back’ kiss in the medbay and of course the full on make out session scene that happened! And even our own advertising’ Of it all.

good luck everybody! now go vote!

[nflstreetsanimereviews]

Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! Review (manga)

With the Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! anime currently airing, it seemed like a good idea to go back and read the manga. I kept up with it for a while when it was releasing, but at some point I lost track and never finished it, even though I enjoyed reading it. That’s a bad habit of mine. Anyways, since I’m keeping up with the anime, I thought it would be good to finally finish the Tomo-chan manga (nearly four years after it ended).

Tomo Aizawa, the Tomo-chan of Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko!, is a freakishly strong girl–so strong in fact, that she not only is part of the men’s Karate Club–she’s the best member in the club. Even more impressive considering that she’s only a first year. With such strengths come weaknesses as well. Tomo has a crush on her neighbor and childhood friend, Junichirou Kubota (Tomo calls him ‘Jun’, so will we), but due to the nature of their relationship, he sees her as ‘one of the guys’ rather than a girl. The two love to spar–often fighting for the most minor of reasons. Jun, rather than being a part of the Karate Club, Jun trains at the Aizawa Dojo, which is run by Tomo’s father. Due to Tomo’s rambunctious nature, Jun was unaware that Tomo was actually a girl until middle school. To be fair, if my friend only wore shirts and shorts, had short hair, and every day with them was like Prehibernation Week, I would assume they were a boy as well. Tomo wants to become more feminine in order to finally make Jun acknowledge her as a ‘girl’, but past habits are hard to break.

Helping Tomo with her quest to become more ‘girly’ is Misuzu Gundou, Tomo’s other childhood friend. Misuzu is a great foil to Tomo–she can fight with words as well as Tomo can fight with her hands. Her sharp wit was one of my favorite things about this manga. Jun and she have a lot of beef due to her trickery. Early on, Carol Olston becomes friends with both Tomo and Misuzu. Her airheaded and aloof nature only adds to her ‘girliness’, something that Tomo admires. Carol, while having her own boy problems, also offers Tomo help…although her help tends to be less effective and more bizarre than Misuzu’s.

What differentiates Tomo-chan from most other manga is that each chapter is only one page long. Each page is presented in the same 4-koma format, with them being different enough from each other to be its own ‘chapter’. If one wanted, they could read one ‘chapter’ each day–that’s how most people kept up with the manga when it was releasing, as it was released in daily one-page slices. Kind of like how one would read comic strips in newspapers. That alone gave Tomo-chan some novelty when it was releasing. Not many manga are released like that. Of course, considering that the manga is finished now, and that it would take more than two and a half years if you read one page a day, no sane person would ever do that. The paperback version of the Tomo-chan manga simplifies things–instead of 953 single-page chapters, they are all grouped together in 51 separate chapters spanning across eight volumes (with some extra chapters included with the volumes).

While the ultimate goal in Tomo-chan is for Tomo and Jun to start going out, what makes this manga worth reading is the comedy. Misuzu and Carol add a lot to the series, with their meddling with Tomo and Jun often ending up being humorous due to the two ‘bros’ being obstinate when it comes to love. It’s very clear that Tomo’s feelings for Jun are replicated, but with both of them being dense as a rock. Getting them to change from friends to lovers is a lot harder than saying “I think Jun likes you as well.” Even if you dislike romance manga, Tomo-chan shouldn’t be too much for you, since the comedic aspects outweigh it several fold.

Tomo-chan’s brief chapter length allows for story arcs to breeze by. There are rarely any take-backs in relation to Tomo and Jun’s relationship progress. The story’s pacing is fast, but not fast enough to the point where you don’t know what’s going on (or be ‘Chainsaw Man pacing’). There’s also a significant amount of character depth, which is surprising considering the format Tomo-chan was released. Most of this is owing to the fact that there aren’t that many characters in the manga. There’s only a handful of side characters, half of them being the main character’s parents, and the other half being various students from Tomo’s school. They’re all integral to the story as well, often colluding with Misuzu and Carol (or acting on their own) to get Tomo and Jun together. There’s also the fact that the characters, even the ones that you expect to be annoying, are fun to see. They do follow tropes, but that doesn’t define them. 

Honestly, Tomo-chan is such a light read that it’s honestly hard to scrutinize it. It isn’t akin to trying to critique a children’s cartoon–it’s more like trying to find flaws with Garfield. It really isn’t meant to be taken too seriously, and thankfully doesn’t pretend that it's deeper than it actually is. In a sense, writing a review of it of any length of more than ~500 words is too wordy. What I’ll say is that Tomo-chan manages to be compelling and avoids being shallow, despite the fact that each ‘chapter’ is only one page. The force of inertia takes out any ‘surprise’ that one may foresee when starting it, but that isn’t the reason why people read this manga. The fun of Tomo-chan is seeing where that inertia goes, and how various characters influence it. While it’s not how I read it, all of Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! can be read within an afternoon. I’d give it a look if you’re interested in rom-coms, or just comedy in general. Also, check out the anime too if you like the manga.

70/100

[asphaltvalkyrie]

Baldur's Gate 3 OC Brainrot

I'm currently starting Act II and having a grand old time. I came into the game with little knowledge of its plot or characters, though I was familiar with Faerun due to having played in two D&D 3.5e Forgotten Realms campaigns in college.

I made a wood elf Ranger named Alsvid with the intent of having him be a reincarnation of my Ranger from my Ragnarok Online days, which were about 15 years ago (!!!) but things went... very differently.  

My RO Ranger was a handsome, pale-skinned, soft-spoken sort with social anxiety and a low self-image, who was slow to open up to people due to military-related PTSD. He was also aro/ace, though he had several close platonic friends.

I started with a similar face, hairstyle and eye color, but then things got a little weird. I'm playing on my partner's PC because he's the one who owns the game, and its graphics card is just barely up to running it. So, I turned up the maturity sliders and freckles and makeup and whatnot just to give his face a bit more depth since most of the detail would be lost.  It looked like most of my tweaks did nothing in the character creation menu, but when I got to the actual game I realized they did EVERYTHING. So cute anime boy trashed his skin and now looked like an old rock star - I'll post a pic of him once I can get one over to my own PC. Also I had him try the penises on like hats until I found one with just the right amount of pubes. 

Then I started to meet the party members, and I found the more shy and aloof dialogue options very unsatisfying  because I really liked all these people and wanted to know as much about them as possible. So I started picking the dialogue options that I thought they wanted to hear were the friendliest, most considerate ones possible.

Bitchy, condescending vampire who tried to bite me in my sleep because he's starving and feels sick?  Sure, think of my blood as your bowl of warm chicken soup and I hope you feel better!

Secretive, distrustful cleric of an evil goddess with a powerful macguffin that she refuses to talk about? Religious trauma, amirite? I'm here if you need to talk, no judgment!

Pretentious pedant of a Wizard who might accidentally blow up an entire city if he doesn't get expensive magic items? Well, I'd better get you a hell of a nice birthday present!

Foul-mouthed hell soldier with a flaming engine in her chest that burns anyone who touches her to ash? I'm just so sorry I can't give you a big hug. 

Cocky, self-important Warlock who made a deal with a devil and is now whining about having to suffer for it? Don't be sad friend, you did it for all the right reasons.

Volatile, humorless Fighter who clings to her callous and cruel warrior culture at the expense of all her relationships? Your queen would be so proud if she could see you now!

So, the majestic lone wolf became a happy, bouncy golden retriever slobbering on everyone. And speaking of slobbering - I threw the ace part out the window for much the same reasons as I threw out the social anxiety. I thought I might romance Gale since that scene where he helps your character tap into The Weave was utterly charming, but then I recruited Karlach.  She quickly became my BFF because gigantic, outgoing,  foul-mouthed ladies are the best, but I was still on the Gale train. Then one night my boy was in camp and she sat down next to him and said she wanted to "ride him until she saw stars" and I just... can't say no to that. Haven't gotten to the point where she can touch him yet, but all the innuendo has been delicious and I look forward to her snapping him in half like the twig he is instead of just incinerating him like... well, the twig he is.

And now I want to write him a backstory. That said, this game's a lot more elaborate than my usual fare and I was afraid of sucking out loud, so I picked my class features and feats and whatnot based on utility and not for RP reasons. Its gonna be fun working backwards to justify them.

[larentsaloud]

Pride & Prejudice x F4

OMG. Not my favourite couples mash up. Here we goooo:

Thyme X Darcy 

Rich boi complex, starved of maternal affection. Umm. So we all know that Darcy was raised by his aunt and that Thyme was raised by the house keepers, so they probably can cry on each other’s shoulders when they enter the group therapy. I would love to see them discuss trauma while Gorya and Lizzie wait for them in the nearby coffee shop and swap proposal horror stores. Liz, you know he abducted me? OMG! Tell me. *sips tea*

Tailed by stalkers in Darcy’s case she was a friends sister, so not as disgusting as Hana, but for my purposes I am saying this tallies. I mean Hana is a special case, but that sis of Darcy’s bestie was another level of mean. Why does every man need an obsessed bitch tracking him like Elon Musk is about to track us with his chip implant, I failed to comprehend. Jane, you made every romance triangle a quadrant and I love you for it. 

 Insult my heroine before / during a confession. Ha. I cackled when Darcy rapped about how terrible Lizzie’s family, background and what not was and then he was like, yeah but scratch that, because I most ardently love you. The fuck? You can't just insult my girl’s lifestyle and be like never mind it’s cool. I want in on that mess. kjshsahjk. Compare to Thyme who literally said Gorya looked like a tramp and was black and blue with bruises (all your fault Thyme) but like ummm can't believe you made me fall so hard. Bitches. That  is highly toxic. Thank fxck my ladies have sense and do not fall into those traps that those bois weave. 

Have minimal awareness of emotions beyond misery until they encounter Gorya / Lizzie. Yeah no explanation needed. They are the prototype of aloof emotionally frozen degenerate. Pretty sure all my exes studied Darcy and decided to pause never grow past the point of Darcy being a little whiney bitch about everything. Ugh. Dancing. How dreary. It’s not Darcy you are just miserable. 

Love the girl before she realises her own feelings.  

Won't take no for answer: case in point Mr Darcy was sure she would not refuse. Thyme: finds creative ways how to break every boundary known to man. 

Gorya x Lizzie 

Are outspoken, with chaotic loving families that ends up causing more harm than good. Only difference being Gorya not shy of resorting to physical violence, but then pretty sure Austin would have written her character with few more punches if the evil editors allowed her to slap Mr Darcy after his confession. Trust me I that's how she wrote it in her first draft. 

Not in the market for a hubby / boyfie until Wickham / Ren appears. Remember when Wickham was wagging his tail at Lizzie’s skirts? Yeah. Then we have Ren using her as a pass time, while he discusses his actual crush. What a selfish bastardo. They can both be condemned because they play with my girls feelings and bread crumb their affection. Fuck that shit.  

Despise Darcy / Thyme for being proud spoiled mother trucker. LOL, because at least Darcy didn't bully everyone, but I bet he was a nightmare mood spoiler and a complete drain on any society with his gloomy nature and refusing to dance. FFS. As for Thyme, he's probably quite introverted too, so not much of a party animal more of a sappy drunk who gets spiked and abducted. They share that rich boi im better than you aura. 

Have a family member that causes them heartache. Lizzie: sister who marries her first crush. Gorya: dad in debt, which causes her to become a part time play boi bunny for a night. Both of which cause much concern to Darcy and Thyme, but also end up giving them reason to fight our heroine’s case. 

[captnjacksparrow]

So does Kishi officially hate NH and SS? Because I can't help but think like that when I see them in Boruto. Like no way he wants them to be seen as happy or content. Also, it seems like he still hates Sakura because just just look at her, she hasn't really changed. Her dynamic with Sasuke hasn't really changed. She gives chase, Sasuke ignores. Except Sasuke looks more depressed.

Hey, after fifteen years of us chasing after the story and characters we invested in so much, at least give us some indication that they are least happy after sooo many sacrifices, like they deserve that happiness.

But no, if anything, they seem totally miserable. What made Kishi do that? Yes, he can't show them ooc, but Sasuke marrying Sakura is already ooc. Naruto being a bad father is already ooc. Like why go to the extent of showing Sasuke trying not to touch Sakura and pointedly showing that they never kissed? That's just like a determined effort on Kishi's part to show that their marriage is not working. Naruto works way more than any of his predecessors and sleeps in the office or couch so as not to disturb Hinata, when Hinata is specifically designed to accommodate anything that Naruto might require.

Don't get me wrong, I think Boruto is trash. But I am still in interested in SNS in Boruto because that's still canon. Just makes me wonder how Kishi will finally conclude SNS, because their bond still shows clearly in Boruto. Do you think he will kill them any time soon?

Good ask, Anon☺️☺️❤️❤️

Before answering this, I am going to tell you that I don’t watch Boruto. But I know what happened so far, vaguely. Like, Gaiden arc, Karma seal, Kawaki adoption, Kurama’s death, loss of Rinnegan, Time travel arc. Anyways, I might have missed many interactions between Sasuke & Sakura in the filler episodes or other canonical episodes. I would be happy If you send me an episode list or timestamps in where they interact, so that it saves my time instead of me, watching that entire shit show. 

So does Kishi officially hate NH and SS?

In this post, I dissected SS from a non-SNS perspective. It seems Kishi went all out of his way to make their interactions too insincere, blunt and toxic. I mean Sasuke’s absolute lack of interest in her was very evident even until chapter 693. That is right before, their final VoTE fight. And even after Sakura comes to heal their injuries, he just said ‘Ummmm..... I guess Sorry’... 

Kishi could have made Sasuke say some corny shit to Sakura like how he felt bad inside for hurting her, how he missed her, wiping her tears or whatever (Puke!!!! 🤮🤮🤮). Because in the previous chapter, Sasuke basically confessed to Naruto internally about how he felt about Naruto when he was a child. Kishi could have done the same for Sakura in just 4, 5 panels. But anyways, my point is, Kishi’s moment to salvage that ship is chapter 699. 

But he didn’t.

Did Kishi tried to build their bond after marriage?

He definitely could’ve. But he didn’t. 

This shows his clear distaste in SS.

As for NH, Kishi is indifferent. He neither hates them nor loves them. Kishi created Hinata as a pairing fodder and she still is. 

Also, it seems like he still hates Sakura because just just look at her, she hasn't really changed. Her dynamic with Sasuke hasn't really changed. She gives chase, Sasuke ignores. Except Sasuke looks more depressed.

Hmmm, I don’t know whether Sasuke hates her, anon. Again, maybe I’ve missed those parts. But when he looks at her, it’s always filled with regrets and an urge to avoid her (like Itachi avoided Sasuke, but for totally sad and genuine reasons). 

But this again begs the question, ‘Why feeling regret or hesitant even after 12 years?’. 

Believe me anon, Love/Bonds/Understanding can happen at anytime of your life. From where I come from, not everyone marries out of love. Arranged marriages are common. But still, many couples make effort and work out their difference, and find love. Kishi could’ve done the same for SS too. 

Is Sasuke that heartless? No.

He was once a boy who bear hugged his brother every time Itachi comes back from the Academy. Itachi’s presence itself made Sasuke so happy. 

Did he become heartless after the massacre? Also no.

Even after the trauma, Sasuke just became aloof and cold. But he always becomes a child who can pout, be silly, becomes animated, bicker around Naruto. So, he can be lovely, but only around the people he choose by himself. 

Still, Sakura is not that person. So, he looks like he is depressed and wants to escape from her at any given chance because of a certain guilt. 

What made Kishi do that? Yes, he can't show them ooc, but Sasuke marrying Sakura is already ooc. Naruto being a bad father is already ooc. Like why go to the extent of showing Sasuke trying not to touch Sakura and pointedly showing that they never kissed? That's just like a determined effort on Kishi's part to show that their marriage is not working.

To answer, this goes way back, anon. 

Kishi is a person who prefers to write love through intense friendship, sensei-student dynamics and brotherhood. He can occasionally write cute and sweet romance but it can only be short like 2 or 3 pages... or a chapter, max. He can’t go on doing it for 70 chapters for romance. Which was evident from Minato & Kushina, Dan & Tsunade, Obito & Rin. 

But the real deal of Naruto manga is the bond between Naruto and Sasuke. The bond between Itachi and Sasuke also played a huge role in this series. And then comes Hashirama and Madara, Jiraiya and Naruto, Kakshi and Obito, Kakashi and Naruto and many more. So, Kishi pretty much gave an ending he wanted for a long time in chapter 699. He successively pulled off a great manga without corny and shitty romance but with just friendship and brotherhood alone. He didn’t give two shits about NH or SS before chapter 700.

Naruto series’ another success lies on it’s characters tragic backstories. I simply loved them all and most of them made me cry. 

Kishi wanted to move on from Naruto.

But then Money played a big part. Naruto series can be milked in a lot of ways. Editors wanted all the characters to become some baby making dolls. So you have to create pairings. Based on the popularity polls, they decided NH and SS.

In my opinion, Sasuke is a goal-oriented person. He is a wanderer who works on his own accords. Ever since he left Konoha when he was 13, that was his path, so you can’t make him stay in one place. At every stage of his life, he had different goals.

At age 8-15, he had one goal. To kill Itachi. Can he have a romance here? Nope.

At age 16, his goal is to destroy Konoha. No chance of romance in that dark path.

At age 17, he wanted to Revolutionize the shinobi system. Since he wanted to be alone for that goal, no possibility of romance.

At age 18, he adopted Naruto’s dream as his own. To make all shinobi cooperate and look out for Kaguya remains. Romance cannot happen here as he was constantly wandering around and he prefers to work alone.

This is how Kishi designed Sasuke’s character throughout.

Now all of a sudden, if you ask Kishi to go OOC by asking him to write corny romance for his favorite character Sasuke just for the sake of making him relevant to Boruto series, what will he do? 

Since Boruto is a series which is a sequel to Naruto, you pretty much know everyone’s backstory. Those 12 year old New Gen kids possibly can’t have tragic stories like Naruto or Sasuke. 

Kishi being a troller, used this opportunity to create a piss poor sob story for Sarada by making Sasuke as an absentee father and an unloving husband.

He created a sad story for Sarada and he gets to shit on SS ship. Two birds, One stone!!!! 

Now, Sasuke being an unloving husband is OOC ? Nope. He was never a marriage material in the first place. So he is perfectly in-character.

Sasuke being an absentee father is OOC? No and Yes. No, because it’s the effect of the cause I mentioned above. Yes, because unlike Naruto, Sasuke once had a father. He can try to reach her out now and often. but he prefers not to do instead he cares more about Boruto. LOL.

Sasuke being not family oriented is OOC? Nope. He is a goal oriented person. His goal is same as Naruto’s dream. He will go to any extent to fulfill it, even at the expense of his family’s happiness. Because that’s what he learnt from Itachi. What Itachi taught him was, even at the expense of his own happiness and Sasuke’s trauma, he preferred Konoha and Shinobi World’s peace. That’s what Sasuke is doing now. 

Naruto works way more than any of his predecessors and sleeps in the office or couch so as not to disturb Hinata, when Hinata is specifically designed to accommodate anything that Naruto might require.

As for Naruto, 

I think it’s very funny. And I guess, I know why.

Just like Sasuke, Naruto is also a goal oriented person. 

Remember, in that Boruto movie, Sasuke knocks Naruto’s door at the midnight?

Imagine if Naruto opened the door. 

Sasuke will be like, ‘Alright mothafucka!!! I wanted to die in the VoTE itself. You wanted me in your dream world. Am working my ass off for your stupid dreams and trying to reach you without even meeting my own family. And yet here you are, sleeping well and sound. Am just gonna Chidori you!!!’ LOL.

I think you get my point. 

If you make Sasuke to be an hardworker, then Naruto must work even hard to fulfill his dream. So you possibly can’t have Naruto playing duet with Himata or whatever trash. 

So kishi pulled his Two birds, One Stone for NH here!!!

In short, Kishi gets to make his New generation shine through this pathetic sob stories and at the same time, kept his favorite characters without going OOC. 

So, it’s a polite way of Kishi showing middlefinger to SS and NH for making him do this. He is saying, ‘Alright folks, you wanted this all along. But this is what you will get!!!’.

Just makes me wonder how Kishi will finally conclude SNS, because their bond still shows clearly in Boruto. Do you think he will kill them any time soon?

I think about this all the time. How will they end?? How will they die??

Now, don’t think I am some sadist for wanting them to die. I am just being practical and honest here. This is a new generation series. Of course, at some point, Naruto and Sasuke has to die for the sake of character development. And I will be happy if they die because I don’t like their miserable portrayal in Boruto at all. 

Naruto series has a pattern when it comes to death portrayal. Meaningful characters (except Neji) always die protecting someone/something they cherish. Jiraiya died for Naruto, Yahiko died for Konan & Nagato, Itachi died for Sasuke & Konoha, Haku died for Zabuza, Obito (younger) died for Kakashi & Rin and so on.

Ever since Naruto became Hokage, his death is pretty much plastered on his head. He will die protecting Konoha just like all the Hokages from First to Fourth who sacrificed their life for Konoha. 

But Sasuke??? 

I am going to say he will die protecting Naruto or the village. But for Naruto mostly. Either way, Sasuke will die first. 

Dying for Naruto, the reasons are crystal clear. He already died protecting Naruto once in the Zabuza arc. He will never hesitate to do it again. Which was evident from the way he told Naruto in the Boruto movie while giving his Susanoo, ‘If they capture the real you, then everything is gone’. Somewhere in Boruto Manga chapter 38 (I don’t remember properly), Sasuke was yelling at Naruto, ‘If you are gone, it’s pretty hopeless’ and was praying ‘Naruto, don’t you die’. 

So it’s pretty much Sasuke saying to Naruto, ‘I’ll protect you, You protect everyone’

But why the village?? Why will Sasuke die for Konoha which caused him so much pain?? I know anti-konoha stans wont like this, but that’s the reality.

It seems many Sasuke fans never paid attention to his character. After hearing the story from all the Hokages, Sasuke said, ‘I will not let Itachi’s life and this village into nothing’. He really meant it. Because for Sasuke, Itachi was more precious. Itachi died saying, ‘I’ll have protected my village as Uchiha Itachi of Konoha once again. I have no more regrets’. Sasuke wanted to respect his brother’s wish finally and that’s why he openly claimed in the battlefield, ‘I am going to protect Konoha and become it’s Hokage’. Sasuke’s another precious person is Naruto. He is the Hokage now. 

Don’t you think Sasuke will die protecting something Itachi and Naruto values so much??

He even claimed it openly in Boruto Manga. ‘I would die anytime for Konoha, as has your dad (Naruto)’

Sasuke even said to Boruto, “I will stop you even if I have to kill you”. And do you think Sasuke is just pouring out some empty words??? Sasuke will not let Boruto to turn into an Otsutsuki monster and destroy the village.

Like I said, Sasuke will go out first. And eventually Naruto will follow him. Or they both die protecting the village together. I don’t see them dying for their wives or children. Because, their relationship with their family is not too strong and their ambitions are far beyond their own families.

Maybe for this reason, Kishi is trolling NH and SS in Boruto. LOL.

Naruto’s bond with Sasuke was formed even before his birth, when Kushina asked the 3 month old Baby Sasuke to be friends with Naruto.

However, One thing is for sure. One will not live very long without the Other or Both will die together. That’s how their bond should end. 

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Boreas (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- The Cold One, Lord of Winter, Lord of the North Wind by the people of Olympius

The Bore by Apollo

Frost Boy by Artemis

Bo by his brothers and Chione

Age- 18 (immortal)

Location- The Underworld

Personality- He's aloof, cold, distant, and apathetic. He doesn't concern himself with the daily drama of the pantheon, instead only focusing on looking out for himself, his immediate family, & his boss Zeus. He's currently single.

Being the god of the north wind (& essentially winter), he has many abilities. He can fly due to his large frost white wings and has the ability of aerokinesis. As offensive attacks, he can give a person frostbite and hypothermia (as well as creating weapons & armor out of ice). He has bountiful abilities with cryokinesis. He always emits an aura of coldness, making others around him feel slightly cold. He also has the ability of pyrokinesis (cold fire manipulation). He is also able to communicate with pegasi as well as shapeshift into one.

Notable physical features include his pale alabaster skin and his short silver white hair.

Bo's main abode is in the Underworld (he loves the cold weather). He lives in an opulent palace built entirely out of ice, crystal, and everlasting snow. Inside, there's always a cold wind blowing. Most of the furniture is also made out of ice & snow. In Olympius, he resides in Bolt Towers- an ultra exclusive & high rise apartment building in the Skyline neighborhood of New Olympus. In his apartment, the thermostat is set to below freezing.

He also has a cottage in the state of Thrace.

Bo also has a few arctic animals as pets. There's three polar bears named Avalanche (called Ava for short), Blanket, & Juneau, a snowy owl named Antler, and even a wolverine named Blizzard. He has thought about getting an ice dragon, but they're extremely rare & hard to come by.

In Olympius, he gets around in his sleek white sports car. In the Underworld, he travels by the use of his wings.

He's the oldest of his brothers & is aware of how he's painted- being the "bossy overbearing party pooper." Bo still cares for his brothers even though he has trouble showing & verbalizing it. He's not in contact with Notus (god of the south wind), but he does have a pretty good relationship with their cousin Chione (goddess of snow).

Bo adores his mother Eváeros (goddess of air & the zodiacs). She visits him often.

He's also friends with Despoina (goddess of the arcadian mysteries, frost, winter, & shadows) and Aeolus (god of wind).

Bo also doesn't mind his aunt, Pagoniá (goddess of ice).

His go-to drink is a snow cap (a drink made with bourbon, heavy cream, orange liqueur, powdered sugar, & nutmeg). He also likes hot white chocolate, lemon-lime soda, mint infused sparkling water, and martinis.

Bo's favorite colors are white, purple, silver, & dark blue!

His favorite dessert is baked alaska. He also likes his mom's ambrosia salad, served cold!

His main source of income comes from working for Zeus. He models for Platinum Alchemy as well as being a contributing writer for his men's magazine.

Bo doesn't have much of a rapport with the other members in the pantheon. He thinks that Apollo (god of the sun, music, poetry, healing, medicine, archery, plague, light, & knowledge) is an idiot and that Chrysos (god of gold & riches) is too full of himself, saying "You'd think he'd have gold shoved up his ass."

He doesn't mind Hestia (goddess of the hearth) or her dark chocolate peppermint cake.

Bo hasn't had much success in the romance department, but he does have feelings for O, a popular singer and oread (mountain nymph). He remembers the first time he saw her in person- when she was performing at the palace for a private party of Zeus'. Her beautifully haunting voice stirred up something in his heart and he was a puddle of tears during her piano solo. Even Zeus took notice of it. After the party he had sent her a friend request on Fatestagram & a few weeks later, Bo received a notification saying that she'd accepted it. Aside from liking a few posts here and there, they have not actually communicated.

He looks forward to the dinner Chione hosts to celebrate the Winter Solstice.

In the meantime, O became the muse and inspiration of his poetry & love letters- that he keeps locked away. It was just a few weeks ago when he mustered up the courage to anonymously send her a gift- a gorgeous pair of garnet earrings.

His favorite meal is the vichyssoise and snow crab legs (with extra garlic & butter). He also likes the garlic risotto. His favorite takeout order is the pizza bianca.

In his free time, Bo loves reading, listening to music, and working on his poetry & ice sculptures. He also enjoys active activities like snowboarding, skiing, hockey, and figure skating.

"Nothing burns like the cold."

[findyourmojo]

Just a random rant

I don't know why it took me this long to realize how toxic the AoT fandom is? I mean sure, the fans before often argued about ships etc. but lately the hate is just too much to handle to the point even the publishing company had to tweet about it.

If you liked the ending, your a basic-speed reader. If you didn't like the ending, you didn't understand the story. What?

I personally did not like the ending and I have my reasons.

1. the last chapter totally abandoned Eren's character. The same boy we saw fighting for freedom in the last 138 chapters suddenly was (all this time) just going with the flow of whatever Ymir wanted. The same boy who said he will not allow fate to dictate what happens to Paradis, became the same boy to force them into war and hate on each other. The boy who wanted his friends to lead happy lives didn't even know if they will survive the rumbling in the first place. Not to mention subjecting them to a life of trying to convince other nations of their heroism.

I'm not even mad with the Eren whining at the last chapter. He's a kid. He's allowed to act that way. But to use Ymir as a justification for everything he has done despite all the character build up through the years? Meh.

2. Armin always used his talking no jutsu. I didn't mind it. It's his strength. But somehow, in the last chapter, he just accepted Eren's "I just went with the flow" answer without even trying to reason with him? He didn't even ask why he didn't tell them? He didn't even ask if there was any other way? But most importantly, he had the guts to thank Eren for committing mass genocide. As if he wasn't there in the first place (with the alliance) to stop him?

I don't care how great Armin's talking no jutsu is, but there is just no way he'll be able to convince anyone outside Marley (the nation to only see what really happened) the truth.

3. I thought Mikasa letting go of Eren was what enabled Ymir to let go of the titan curse? But in the end we see her still tragically holding on to Eren. It's fine if we were given at least a little more context to what Mikasa was upto all these years. Instead, we see her sad and alone next to Eren's grave even after all this time. Also, what happened to her affliation with the Azumabito clan? It would've been nice to see Mikasa, even in the littlest bit to be moving on.

4. It doesn't make sense that the Hallucigenia disappeared when Ymir's curse was broken? Hallu in the first place did not originate from Ymir. So Hallu vanishing with the other titans on the last chapter did not make sense to me.

5. The build up for Historia's pregnancy. If the sole purpose of Historia's pregnancy was so that she can't be forced to inherit the beast titan, we could've just left it at that. Instead, we had this build up of Historia and Eren talking in secrecy. The last panels have Historia giving birth. And somehow, some fans are saying that we just theorized about it too much? When they built it up for so long?

6. I'm not even mad that the surviving characters were used as comedic relief in the last chapter. Yes, no matter how weird that Reiner scene was. What I can't accept tho is that the warriors and Marley had happier endings than the soldiers of paradis. The only vet that got to 'enjoy' his remaining years on earth was Levi. I'm not saying that the warriors did not deserve the happy ending, I just hoped that the survey corps, who we rooted for all these years could've gotten a happier ending.

7. I've said it so many times in this account now, but Hanji's death was unnecessary and totally avoidable. With how things played out in the end, Hanji deserved so much more than just a character killed for drama.

8. The anime really went from freedom, slavery, action etc. to romance real quick in the ending. I guess?? It's okay?? If that's what the author really wanted?? The anime to be in the first place??

9. If Eren loved Mikasa, and that their romantic relationship will play a crucial role in the ending, why was Eren so aloof with Mikasa through out the series? I'm not discrediting their relationship, I'm fine with the fact that they love each other, all I'm saying is, they could've foreshadowed these romantic feelings more.

10. The parallels between Historia and Ymir was all just coincidence????

11. I always knew Zeke's death was coming one way or another. But his death was so anticlimactic? The only satisfying death for me was Erwin's really. He really died as a hero. Zeke who had a 11/10 IQ needed Armin to snap him out of it. Weird.

12. I really don't think the Alliance can talk their way through world peace. Not when Paradis idolizes Eren while the rest of the world hates him.

13. Seriously tho, no one's bothered how Eren is portrayed as a hero despite wiping 80% of the human race? 80 fucking percent? Still we had a full ass panel with the chatacters thanking him? When Eren didn't even know what he was doing?

Not liking the ending doesn't give you a right to harass the author and team though. That's just despicable. We're allowed to criticize but only to some extent. I loved the anime (not until chapter 131 onwards). I feel like everything escalated so quickly from then on that even the author was overwhelmed. I'll treasure the anime but not in the way I thought I would've. My disappointment with the ending doesn't even come from me spending too much time on theories, it was just really a meh ending for such a wonderfully anticipated turn of events. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement.

But hey, it's Isayama's story. If this is how he saw the world he created come to an end, I can respect that. I had a great time for the last 8 years. And it was an honor to watch it unravel, no matter how much I did not like the ending.

[mysingularitybts]

Unexpectedly Expecting a Min Yoongi One-Shot

Pairing: Idol! Min Yoongi x reader 

Genre: angst, romance

Warnings: none

The paper in front of you didn't lie, yet you stared at it in disbelief. While you had your suspicions, you didn't want to accept it. It's not that it wasn't in your plans because it was, but not so soon. After all, it had only been a few months since you had married Yoongi and between him being an idol and you managing your growing business, how was it all going to work out? 

You read the paper so many times, staring at the bold letters spelling 'positive'. You were pregnant. How were you going to tell Yoongi? He was an amazing husband and a great person, but the thought of telling him still made you nervous because this was not in the plans. You could only hope he would react positively, and you were sure he would, but there was this pesky annoying voice in your head saying he would get mad or upset.

According to what the doctor told you you were twelve weeks along. One would think you would notice you were pregnant, but you have been so busy with work it hadn't passed through your mind that your period was late at least until a week ago. Realizing the situation you left work and quickly went to the pharmacy, bought a pregnancy test, and took it. It came out positive, however, you had to be a hundred percent sure so you went to the doctor. The wait for the official results had been agonizing and stressful not only because of the results, but because you went through it alone without Yoongi to support you.

Weeks have passed and every time you tried to tell him the words did not want to come out. They would get stuck in your throat, your heartbeat would quicken, your palms would get sweaty, and he just looked at you expectantly waiting for you to say something. When some words managed to come out of your mouth they were not the ones intended. Deep down you know you shouldn't be too worried because he loved you and while it was sooner than thought he would receive the baby with open arms. So, why were you so damn hesitant? It might be the fact that it was such a life-changing situation and it happened very unexpectedly might I add.

Sitting at home you were surfing through the channels looking for something to watch, but it was soon forgotten as Yoongi walked into the room.

"Hey babe, remember to pack your bags for tomorrow," he said as he sat beside you on the couch.

"Yeah they are almost done," you said unenthusiastically looking at him.

"What's wrong? You don't want to go camping?" he asked with a chuckle taking your hand into his.

It had become a habit for him to take your hands and play with your wedding ring. You had asked him about it once, and he said it relaxed him and that it was a reminder he had you by his side.

"It's not that it's just I'm not really in the mood," you sighed pitifully. Maybe he will let you off the hook this once.

"You'll have fun with the guys you'll see," he reassured, cuddling you and putting his head on your neck.

"There's no doubt about that," you laughed feeling his hair tickling you.

The boys were always fun to be around. Being with Yoongi for years now you have gone on trips with them and they never failed to amuse you. From losing passports to filming funny videos to getting matching shirts to getting drunk and blacking out. There was never a boring moment. But camping while being pregnant? It did not sound good at all. As of recently one of your pregnancy symptoms has been constant urination. Like every half hour. The thought of going into the woods constantly to pee didn't motivate you to go on that camping trip.

Yoongi and you were the last ones to get to the camping site. It might have been because you were dragging it out, sadly, you couldn't stop the inevitable. Getting out of the car the boys greeted you.

"Ah thank god you're finally here we need help with the tents," Jin exclaimed from his spot reading some instructions.

"Y/n, I'm so happy to see you it's been a while," Hoseok greeted you excitedly with a hug.

You couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "It's only been a week, Hobi."

"Yah that's too long," he complained, releasing a pained sigh.

Since you had taken so long to get there the sun was already going down and, surprise, you had to pee. Urgently. You peeked a glance to the woods, the trees were tall with big branches casting a darker shadow, you could faintly hear the rustling of the wind and the movement of small animals. Overall, the woods gave off a dark and scary look. Your mind started racing at all the things that could be out there, what if there were bears or you got lost? Thinking of what to do you had two choices: either suck it up and go alone or drag your wonderful and fearless husband with you. The latter was the way to go.

"Yoongi, honey?" you called walking over to where he was by a tent.

"Hmm," He was focused on assembling the tent.

"I need to go pee," you said sheepishly.

Seeing as he didn't react you nudged again, "I really need to go."

He only waved you off with his hand. You swear that man can sometimes be clueless. With an exasperated sigh you clue him in, "Come with me I'm scared."

Glancing up at you he understood. He got up and left Jungkook to finish building the tent. Jungkook will manage he thought to himself.

You walked far enough and did your business as Yoongi busied himself somewhere else to give you some privacy. Unfortunately for Yoongi, this happened many more times too many for it to be normal. Each time you dragged Yoongi along he got a bit annoyed but then he got concerned because while you tended to pee a lot it has never been to this extent. What if there was something wrong with you or you were sick? On one of the many bathroom breaks to the woods, he decided to ask you about it.

"Are you okay?" he asked as you walked back to the camping site.

"Huh?" you spoke at his sudden question, yet you saw it coming.

"You're peeing too much," he said with an obvious tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Maybe it's all the water I'm drinking," you mentioned nervously. You didn't know how much longer you could keep this up. It was suspicious.

"Hold up, seriously," He stopped walking and turned to face you, "What is this about?"

"Um-well there is something I have to tell you," The gig was up, it was now or never.

"Is this what you have been trying to tell me for the past few weeks," he questioned you as he raised his eyebrows. There was worry in his eyes but he didn't let it show in his stance. Typical Yoongi.

"Oh, so you noticed?" you asked with your eyes widening seeing as you hadn't played it as smoothly as you thought.

"Of course, I know you better than I know myself," he said with a serious look.

"I decided to give you time and tell me on your terms," Yoongi shrugged.

"This is why I love you," you smiled at him.

"So, are you okay?" he nudged again crossing his arms.

"Overall yes but I-" It was happening you were going to say it. Of all the scenarios in your head, you hadn't expected to do it in the middle of the woods.

"I'm pregnant," you announced, your eyes not leaving him waiting for his reaction.

"I'm going to be a dad?" he unfolded his arms and went slack.

"Yes?" you gave him a nervous smile.

With a simple gummy smile, the biggest you have ever seen, your worries went away, and relief flooded your body.

"You. Have. Made. Me. So. Happy," he exclaimed as he hugged you and pecked you in between every word. The happiness you were feeling was overflowing as you laughed. Needless to say that little voice in your head was wrong all along.

"So, you are not upset or anything?" you asked making sure he was okay with the news.

"Why would I be?" Yoongi said as he pulled away from you, not letting your hands go.

"When we talked about kids, we had agreed not to have any for a few more years," you explained.

"It doesn't matter. They were always on the plan," he reassured, "It happened sooner than we thought, but we'll make it work."

"Is this why you were so apprehensive about camping?" he asked thinking back about your behavior.

"Yeah, I didn't know how it would go down with the pregnancy symptoms I've been having," you mentioned.

"You should have told me. I wouldn't have pressured you into it," he scolded you.

"It's fine," rolling your eyes, you began walking once again.

"Let's go home," he said, swinging your intertwined hands.

"Home?"

"Yeah, I can't keep taking you to the woods to pee," he teasingly said.

"yah!" you exclaimed with a smile.

"Will the boys be okay with us leaving?" You hoped they wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"They'll be fine, they love you," Yoongi said.

On the way to the boys, you had both decided to tell them the big news. Yoongi tried acting aloof, but you saw through it. He was so excited he couldn't keep the news to himself and wanted to tell his brothers. You found it adorable.

"Hey guys we are taking off," you announced grabbing one of the bags.

"What? Why? We only got here a few hours ago," Jimin questioned from his place by the fire, his cheeks and nose red from the cold air.

The others looked in your direction waiting for the answer. It was unlike you and Yoongi to leave so suddenly.

"Yes, but I have to take care of y/n," Yoongi said dubiously.

"Why is she sick?" Taehyung asked as he walked over to you and placed his hand in your forehead checking your temperature. With a laugh, you swatted his hand away and he gave you a pout.

"No, but she is pregnant," he revealed the corners of his mouth turning up into a big smile.

"Makes sense," Jin said, not having processed the words, "Wait, what?" he suddenly turned around, eyes open in surprise.

The reaction of the boys was a mix of gasps and shocked looks. In a heartbeat, all of the boys stood up and went towards you and Yoongi to congratulate you. They were all very excited for you and the new family member to come. They even started planning all the things they were going to do with the baby.

It was a happy moment you were surely going to remember for the rest of your life. Looking around to take it all in one more time you saw Hoseok and Namjoon patting Yoongi in the back while Taehyung and Jin fussed over you. Jimin and Jungkook talked excitedly between them placing bets on whether it will be a boy or a girl. Yoongi caught your eye as he gave you a joyful smile and mouthed an 'I love you'. Everything was going to be okay, your unreasonable worries staying in the past as you looked forward to the exciting months to come.

A/N: As always if you guys enjoyed it please make sure to like and reblog. Let me know what you think!

What would you have done? Told him immediately or wait?

See you guys later ;) 💜 x

-Nikki Marie

[mythia]

♊︎ 9 Great Gemini Characters in Anime ♊︎

Gemini characters in anime/manga are RARE, and Gemini characters that aren’t deluded, deviant, unhinged, or warped are even rarer (think Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter). Therefore, I compiled this list to bring some light to characters that are doing the Gemini name proud! None of these characters are without their own personal demons and struggles, but all of them, in my opinion, are redeemable, complex characters who exemplify the Gemini archetype. Note: This list is in no particular order, I love all these characters equally haha!

 1. Shouko Nishimiya from A Silent Voice | Koe no Katachi

June 7th

Shouko Picture Link

Shouko is a gentle, sweet, and overall kind soul who struggles to communicate and connect with other people because of her deafness. Despite the barriers she faces, more than anything she yearns to communicate and socialize with others and hopes to make friends. Because of this desire, in grade school she uses a journal to communicate through writing, and she often urges her classmates to write in her journal in order to talk to her. This is certainly fitting, because Gemini, being ruled by mercury, is all about communication—whether through body language, speech, or writing.

Shouko faces many hardships throughout the story—such as bullying, the worsening of her hearing, and her grandmother’s death—but through it all she smiles to mask her deep inner pain and to ease the minds of those she cares about. This reluctance to engage negative emotions, and desire to not trouble other people with one’s own emotions, is truly characteristic of Gemini energy.

Gemini energy is associated with the third house—the house of communication, short distance travel, and siblings—and as such, it’s no surprise that Shouko has an extremely close connection and relationship with her sister, Yuzuru.

2. Shoya Ishida from A Silent Voice | Koe no Katachi

June 6th

Shoya Picture Link

Shoya is a deeply troubled character who struggles to connect with other people because of his intense anxiety, self-loathing, and remorse over his past mistakes. His past consumes him, and the mistake that troubles him most is the fact that in elementary school, he bullied Shouko Nishimiya, a deaf classmate.  

In grade-school, Shoya was a social boy with many friends despite his propensity towards rash, reckless behavior. But things changed for him in sixth grade. Keenly observant, Shoya noticed the frustration of his friends and classmates that developed because of Shouko’s seemingly “special” treatment. Additionally, Shoya felt the dynamic in his friend group changing. In his immaturity, he blames these changes and his frustrations on Shouko, and begins to bully her as a result. Part of the tension between Shoya and Shouko was that Shoya could not understand Shouko or communicate with her. Above all, understanding and communication are central to Geminis, and so it’s no surprise that this lack of understanding is what leads to major tension between these two characters.

Shoya is shown to be an intelligent person; for example, when Yuzuro decided to give school a second chance, it’s Shoya she seeks out in order to tutor her. He is also shown to be a gentle person. For example, when it comes to his family, Shoya is shown to deeply care for his mother, sister, and niece—he works extremely hard to pay back his debt to his mother, and he is always gentle, kind, and attentive towards his little niece, Maria.

3. Mamushi Hojo from Blue Exorcist | Ao no Exorcist

June 4th

Mamushi Picture Link

With her textbook tsundere personality, Mamushi embodies the Gemini archetype of “the twins!” On the surface, Mamushi is aloof with an independent personality, however, underneath her cold social mask she has a deep affection for her family (especially her sisters), and her mentor, Todo. Also, later on in the series, her husband Juzo comments that she has a soft side to her personality, too. This extreme duality is quite characteristic of Gemini energy.

Unfortunately, it is her misplaced affection, loyalty, and trust towards the traitor Todo that leads to her betraying her family in the Impure King arc of the series. However, once she realizes her mistake, she is genuinely devastated and remorseful because she cares for her family and is devoted to her responsibilities to the temple and as an Exorcist.

Mamushi is a calm and studious person with a strong sense of loyalty and justice. Mamushi seems to experience some degree of anxiety when it comes to socializing, partly because she is a serious individual who prefers to keep to herself and her close friends. She seems to enjoy nature and the company of animals, and takes great care of her Nagas (snake demons), for which she has great affection.

4. Kōshi Sugawara  from Haikyu!!

June 13th

Suga Picture Link

Suga is a dependable pillar of support for the Karasuno volleball team and is known as “the indomitable setter” because of his enduring nature. Though Suga has a predominantly calm, gentle, and nurturing presence, when he gets impassioned he shows no qualms about yelling at his team from the sidelines or saying what’s on his mind. Suga also has a good sense of humour and enjoys teasing his teammates! Despite his calm demeanor, he has a prominent mischievous side, too; for example, he encourages Hinata to crash the Youth Camp and finds it hilarious that Hinata does indeed go ahead and attend uninvited. These noticeable dualities are definitely characteristic of Gemini energy!

Suga truly wants what is best for the team even though it means allowing Kageyama to be the team’s main setter without protest, despite the fact that Suga has seniority. Though he is often sidelined, Suga is an intelligent and observant player, who excels at detecting the mood and state of his team-mates. Further, he is good at coming up with new and clever game plays and tactics. He is also shown to be a studious individual who prioritizes studying.

5. Umetarou Nozaki from Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun | Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

June 6th

Nozaki Picture Link

Of all the Geminis on this list, no other better represents the Gemini archetype of “the storytelller” than Umetarou! He is a passionate mangaka who is wholly devoted to the art and craft of producing his shoujo manga, “Let’s Fall in Love.” Umetarou is an observant person who constantly looks for story ideas in his everyday life.There is a strong duality to Umetarou’s personality—underneath his serious demeanour, he has an incredibly imaginative and playful nature that  comes out when he tests possible story-lines for his manga out on his friends.

He is a gentle, social, and considerate person who goes to great lengths for his friends. When his assistants/friends gather at his apartment, he’s a thoughtful host who makes extra food for everyone, and he genuinely seems to enjoy sharing meals with other people and attending to guests. He even often lets his male friends stay overnight. He also allows his friend Mikorin to stash his suggestive manga, dating simulation video-games, and figurines at his apartment (talk about a good friend!). Also, Umetarou does his utmost to ensure Chiyo is happy—her distress is shown to greatly unnerve him. Umetarou is also close with his siblings despite living apart from them.

Though Umetarou is intelligent, he is emotionally dense. He doesn’t recognize that Chiyo has a crush on him even though her feelings are incredibly obvious. It’s unclear whether he TRULY doesn’t realize her feelings, or if he is only pretending to be oblivious because he is uncomfortable with his emotions and Chiyo’s emotions. Since he writes a manga about love, his discomfort with romance is pretty ironic! However, discomfort surrounding difficult emotions is quite characteristic of Gemini energy.

6. Mitsuri Kanroji from Demon Slayer | Kimetsu no Yaiba

June 1st

Mitsuri Picture Link

While all the characters on this list have an inherent caring, gentle nature that is characteristic of Gemini energy, Mitsuri takes it a step further! In the tarot, the card associated with Gemini energy from the major arcana is “the lovers.” This is certainly fitting, as she is the Hashira of love. On top of that, her goal is to find a partner who is stronger than she is to marry.

Mitsuri is passionate, sweet, and affectionate. She greatly admires her peers and compliments them nonstop in her own mind—though, her shyness prevents her from voicing these thoughts aloud. Additionally, Mitsuri’s being and personality embodies duality; though she has a gentle personality, she is a fearsome fighter with great agility and strength.

Like others on the list, when it comes to difficult emotions, Mitsuri becomes withdrawn. It’s clear that Obani Iguro is in love with her, yet she remains largely ignorant of his emotions. She also seems to experience some degree of anxiety and overthinking when it comes to expressing herself to her peers, and is most comfortable residing in her own world inside her mind.

7 & 8. Kaoru & Hikaru Hitachiin from Ouran High School Host Club | Ōran Kōkō Hosuto Kurabu

June 9th

Hitachiin Twins Picture Link

The mischievous and witty twins, Kaoru and Hikaru, certainly tap into the gemini archetypes of “the trickster” as well as “the twins.” As twins, the two have a deep sibling bond. Both are intelligent, witty, and curious.

They both have a great capability for affection, however, before joining the host club, Kaoru and Hikaru are shown to be somewhat aloof with everyone but each other, leading their peers to think they are simply stuck-up. The truth is that their distant, cold exteriors mask a deep turbulence and sadness within them that arises due to an inner isoation and loneliness that both of them carry. Identity is a key theme for the twins because other people cannot tell them apart. The failure of other people to recognize them as individuals brings both of them great inner sadness, but at each of their cores, they long for true connection and friendship with people other than each other.

Easily bored, these two enjoy playing jokes and tricks on their friends. They both have playful personalities, and don’t mean harm, but at times their playfulness moves beyond mischievous toward manipulative. Personality wise, Hikaru is more expressive, open, and emotionally immature than Kaoru, whereas Kaoru is more observant, reserved, and attuned to the emotions and expressions of other people than Hikaru.

9. Ryota Kise from Kuroko’s Basketball | Kuroko no Basuke

June 18th

Kise Picture Link

Of the “Generation of Miracles” characters, Kise is arguably the most gentle— next to Aquarius Kuroko, that is! Kise has a sweet and friendly personality with a bit of a competitive edge. Emotionally, Kise is quite expressive, even crying upon his first ever basketball loss.

Kise is extremely intelligent and observant. Additionally, he is an insanely fast learner. His “special talent” is the ability to see any basketball move once, analyze it, learn it, then execute it as if it were his own all along. This exceptional ability to mirror others’ and learn quickly certainly plays into the strengths of Gemini energy!

When it comes to basketball Kise starts out as a competitive and selfish player, but after losing to Kuroko’s team and realizing he can’t win on his own, he begins to lean on his own team-mates more and appreciate them. All in all, he is a popular person who cares about his friends and prioritizes developing his friendships. Kise clearly desires a friendship with Kuroko, as he makes every effort to seek him out and talk to try to establish a deeper connection despite their situation as rivals from different teams.

The End! Notes:

*apparently May Gemini’s don’t exist in anime which breaks my little May Gemini heart 😭

* Keep in mind this list is limited to characters that I have personally encountered in anime and/or manga or light novels :)

Tell me your favourite Gemini characters!

[it-sy-bit-sy]

The ending of Attack on Titan: a shallow analysis

(I don't think I should have to put a spoilers alert on a blog about the ENDING OF AOT, but in general if you mind being spoiled on a series, I advise you to refrain from attending discussions about the body of work until you've finished it in its entirety/come up to speed on the current chapter/episode. Screw hype dude, do you like being hurt? Also for the TLDR, it’s that Attack on Titan explores the cycle of hatred (Eren’s journey) AND love which is why Mikasa and Ymir become relevant at the end of the story.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PREFACE

Since the newly added panels of AOT’s ending have been likened by some to the ending of Naruto, I'd like to say that Naruto's end truly hurt me; the way it flows into Boruto is so contrived it burns. A story that's always centered around powerful ninja bloodlines fighting political wars suddenly introduced aliens that harvest planets for energy as the super antagonist, and additionally they're the source of all our characters' powers as well as the jinchuriki and tailed beasts themselves. Then when you look at the plot of Boruto which heavily relies on the Otsutsuki clan as an antagonistic force, their whole existence feels like the transition from Dragon Ball straight into the first DBZ arc with Goku learning he’s really part of an alien race that was meant to destroy Earth.

I didn't detect so forced a role in the ending of AOT, but it's absolutely plausible to speculate that the alternate ending was influenced for this reason, as we know Attack on Titan wasn't produced through Isayama's involvement alone. Certain compromises are made when operating as a team, though it would be wonderful if the original intent of authors were more absolute in the world of production than they are known to be.

And as much as I don't enjoy half-hearted continuations of series for a royalty check, I ALMOST can't blame them for doing it...it creates (many) happy fans, more jobs, and Isayama gets his royalty check. The rest of us suffer but hey, artists need money I guess... 🥀 Moving on. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#1. Eren's development as a character

I never saw Eren's goal steered in the direction of breaking the cycle of revenge or hatred. He was acting wholly in his own interests. He's intensely selfish, doesn't want to change his views, and exists in the story to further the cycle itself. According to me, Chapters 129 and 131 perfectly explain his motivations for the rumbling.

Now before I go on, I'd like to bring a particular scene to mind. I do remember him saying this once (to Historia who had just told him killing the rest of the world is unjustifiable and wrong):

Yes, he said that, but I don't think that is what he ever intended the rumbling to be used for.

After he stated that 80% of humanity was wiped out so Paradis will be safe for the time being, he neglected to answer Armin's questions in 139: "Did you really need to go that far? Are you sure you did all of this for our sakes?" We may also consider the thoughts he chose NOT to share in chapter 131:

That combined with this excerpt from 129 is pretty much all there is to Eren's convictions.

Those are the same words he said in Chapter 2 after his mother died.

So despite his brief period of self-loathing when considering 1) the countless lives in survey corps sacrificed for his sake, 2) being confronted with his and his father's involvement in the Reiss family, 3) everything he learned about his enemy--that all titans are formerly human, that the titan shifters were just children deceived by their world--he even admits to Reiner during Tyburn's speech (Chapter 100) that they are indeed in the same boat--and on top of that, admitting that the rumbling will do nothing to fix the course of history, he settled with the same conviction he held the moment he decided to do something to change the world.

Again, here's his words from 139 showing us just how angry a boi Eren was.

This was Eren Jaeger...he didn't even really know what he was doing.

As a human being, Eren was very much in the cycle of revenge as much as everyone else was. His course of action never deviated too far from that path. He knew better, but he lashed out at the world to protect the few people he cared about anyway. He took freedom away from the ones who threatened him. He was a mass murderer, and so were the other soldiers in this series fighting for their own reasons, since titans were people. Survey corps were always slaughtering these people whom they saw as monsters. Marley viewed Eldians as monstrously and with as much hatred as Eldians viewed the titans. Eren did not try to justify his actions to everyone. He simply stopped seeing the value of life in others not important to him, as humans often do.

So what did he sacrifice 80% of humanity for? From 129 again:

Them meaning his immediate friends.

No, he didn't care about their children's children and beyond because there's no way to control what happens when you're gone from this world. It wasn't his problem. Eren had 4 years at most left to live, and he wanted to do what he could to ensure his friends were happy before he left.

And as jarring as it was to see Eren become undone in the last chapter, I didn't find it completely out of character, because for one he was talking to his closest friend moments before his own death, and secondly, Eren was just a stupid human like the rest of the people in this series. Obviously, most people just want a normal life that they can spend with people whom they love. Eren was the same way, but was denied that future (and happened to be able to do something about it). Very selfish goals, but those chosen few were his world. Along with a general distaste for humanity, that's how I understand his character motivations.

*Which is to say in relation to the extra pages, Ymir's curse returning a generation or two after the events of AOT doesn't entirely void his actions. I’m assuming the power of Ymir apparently exists as a force of nature on this version of Earth period, so I suppose this points us to an endless cycle of humans eventually finding the power and using it as they see fit *

#2 Why is Romance Relevant to Attack on Titan?

I wasn't expecting a romance factor to be relevant at the end of the story, however considering that Mikasa's affection for Eren WAS her most prominent personality trait as a character, then the events that followed, I was forced to look back to a few moments in the series that could lend light to why, in the end, a romantic subplot ended the curse of Ymir. My conclusions are as follows:

1. Quite literally, the cycle of hatred never ends. Humans will always have a reason to be unkind to one another. We are animals after all; this trait cannot be reasoned through with logic, bred out, or defeated. We are a self-aware species (Eren's even aware of his own hypocrisy in Chapter 131). There will always arise those who take what they want for themselves because they decide in the end they don't care about others as much as they care about their own interests.

2. To make this second point, I'm stealing these words out of a certain machine lifeform's mouth, but bear with me here:

"But the humans...? Now THEY are interesting. Because they are an enigma! They killed uncountable numbers of their own kind, yet loved in equal measure! It's fascinating, don't you think? What could possibly drive such behavior? We have dedicated ourselves to unraveling this riddle of humanity..."

--Adam from NieR:Automata

AOT uses Eren and Mikasa as a case study of humanity. Humans hate and love in equal measure.

In Ch. 129, Zeke's piece here foreshadows the significance of those two for the story, I guess?

Now everyone reading this series as well as the characters in it had noticed how much fondness Mikasa always had for Eren, and how aloof he always was towards her in return...that's something for them to work out.

Despite never really reciprocating Mikasa's feelings, Eren told Armin at the end of the series that yes, he enjoyed receiving her attention; he would have liked to live a happy life with her. So, Mikasa just liked Eren, Eren liked her... And similar to Mikasa, Ymir just liked King Fritz. It doesn't matter whether we think these feelings were sound or not; they did what they wanted with themselves. I suppose that explains the reason she was a mega simp for Eren in the whole story. Yes, this turn in the story reads like a different plot now, not one about war and killing monsters, but I'm pleasantly surprised that this trait taken as a flaw of Mikasa’s actually served as a necessary condition to end the conflict of the titans.

Eren wouldn't let go of his hatred of the world for his own satisfaction, Ymir wouldn't let go of her love of King Fritz for her own satisfaction, and Mikasa is the only one who decided to let go of her convictions in the interest of someone other than herself. That's what moved the curse.

I think Isayama used the characters of Ymir and Mikasa to demonstrate that while there is a cycle of hatred and revenge running rampant in humanity, the cycle of love doesn't stop either.

In closing, and I truly apologize for such a lengthy post; I hope I didn’t reiterate my point too often here...I didn't think about any of this until I heard so many readers upset with the way AOT ended. I'm not personally left with any disappointment in where the story went. I didn't know where it was going to go in the first place, and I think it could have been much worse for us in different hands. 

*shrugs*

AOT is a story about the nature of humanity.

*And in regards to Jean, if that is supposed to be him with Mikasa in the new panels, all I can say is dude likes his girl. He was a simp for her and she was a simp for Eren, but the fact that they shared their lives together means a lot even if Eren was never completely buried in her heart. He meant a lot to her man, idk...

[jjr1971]

I suppose this shouldn't surprise me but this particular anime title (and personal favorite show of mine) is really violently triggering a lot of online incels at the moment...the Japanese title is イジらないで、長瀞さん, Hepburn: Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san; In English, it's known by the longer title Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro.  It's a new manga series (I'm current on it and have the next volume, #8, on pre-order when it releases in August) and it's basically a romantic comedy....it was even more recently picked up for an anime adaptation which is currently airing in Japan and streaming in the USA with subtitles on the Crunchyroll site/app.  I wouldn't be surprised if it gets picked up for an English dub & North American home video distribution eventually; it really is that good.

But it really is a very subtle show with complex emotions.  It's also kind of a role reversal story.  It's reminiscent of the earlier series Teasing Master Takagi-san (Japanese: からかい上手の高木さん, Hepburn: Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san, lit. "Good at Teasing, Miss Takagi"), another romantic comedy set in Late Elementary/early Middle School...it features a very emotionally mature and smart girl who likes a boy but he hasn't matured at the same pace and still views her as a practical joker rival.  He's playing checkers and she's playing chess.  He keeps trying to one-up her and she easily parries him and makes him embarrassed.  But from the audience POV she's definitely flirting with him, he just can't perceive it. With Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro our characters are High Schoolers.  The main character (known only as "Senpai", a polite form of address for people older than you) is a shy, reclusive, sensitive artist type who wears glasses and keeps to himself.  He's a Junior in High School.  He's been the victim of actual bullies in the past (that we see via flashback) but just kept his head down and endured.  One day he's in the school library, trying to study and there's a group of first year girls socializing at a nearby table (Sophomores, technically.  Japanese High Schools have only grades 10-12; 9th graders are still in Middle School in Japan).  He resolves to just ignore them and try to study but clumsily knocks over his satchel, sending books & papers flying, including (*gasp*) the adventure/romance manga he's been drawing as a personal side project. The girls all look up, noticing the commotion.  One of the girls walks over to help pick up his things and to "Senpai's" horror notices the manga drawings and skims them.  The other girls leave but she stays behind and starts asking questions about the manga and its characters.  She begins to act out the scene he has drawn, playing the female protagonist.  She doesn't have a sword like the character so she does a karate kick and holds it.  He's kind of impressed but intimidated.  She critiques the story and offers suggestions.  She even teases him a little.  The next day she shows up in the Art Room, where "Senpai", who is a member of the Art Club, is working on a sketch drawing.  She's loud and obnoxious and resumes teasing him, getting on his nerves. She even follows him while he's walking home, laughing and teasing him playfully some more.  She claps his back a little too hard and sends him flying into the nearby canal.  But we can see from the regretful expression on her face she didn't mean to and feels bad about it.  And all the times she's around him and even when she's being very intense with her teasing, she's blushing red in the face the whole time.  She helps him out of the canal and apologizes and introduces herself.  He's tall and lanky and she's short & athletic and on the swim team.  She gazes up at him as she says her name syllable by syllable ("Na-Ga-To-Ro") and with one finger playfully traces the Kanji on his chest through his wet shirt, again with a playful look on her face and blushing. And so it goes for the next 7 volumes of the manga.  He tries to remain aloof & dignified, while she says loud & obnoxious but also playful and clearly the more emotionally immature of the two...so they're like a comedy duo of sorts.  He completely misreads her at first and has little fantasies predicting how she will be terrible next, but they never pan out.  He expects her to be obnoxious to other guys and terrorize them the way he feels a bit terrorized but....she doesn't.  To guys she doesn't like or have interest in, she's quite cold & cutting.  She reserves her "special treatment" only for her Senpai.   All this is a long introduction to make note that a lot of incels who are also into anime really REALLY don't understand this show....they complain bitterly that it "glorifies bullying" and reserve the most hateful language for Nagatoro herself, using all the usual hateful words for women (c-word, etc)...they really really hate her.  On the one hand, I would

love to see this series dubbed into English but on the other hand I feel bad for the online abuse any voice actress will inevitably suffer from lending her voice in English to this character someday.  A lot of these guys seemingly have a real issue separating fantasy from reality and will yell at voice actors when they're actually angry at the character they play.... Nagatoro does arguably cross the line into bullying territory initially, but like I said, she feels remorseful for pushing him into the canal.  Her friends are kind of dimwits and *are* themselves traditional bullies....but when THEY try to bully HER Senpai she gives them death stares and they back down.  She's very possessive of him.  In the manga especially, Nagatoro sometimes "gets out over her own skis" and winds up revealing her real feelings and getting embarrassed herself, overplaying her hand and getting little bits of come-uppance.  She sometimes blurts out her real desires then covers them up quickly with a dismissive joke....it's a little gas-lighty but I understand it's mainly a defense mechanism. What the incels who hate-watch this show can't conceive in their heads.....is that Nagatoro has genuine feelings for her Senpai.  She's not bullying him....she's flirting!  Aggressively and badly, sure, but it's not mean-spirited.  She even coyly suggests to him he should be bolder with her, she could make it worth his while.  In my past, I've dated a hyper-aggressive flirt who reminds me a lot of Nagatoro.  I just have a lot of empathy for both characters and wish them well.  Just like with the male protagonist Nishikata in Takagi-san the viewer feels like doing a loud "stage whisper" to him:  "psst!  she likes you, dummy."  There are a few moments here and there between the two of them that are so wholesome & sweet it makes me want to cry.  It's such a good show and it's so horribly misunderstood by a lot of very damaged people who are too blinded by their own misogyny and self-pity to see it. To sum up, Nagatoro wouldn't constantly hang around her Senpai and do the things she does if she didn't have genuine feelings for him....which she very plainly does. And by Ep.5 of the anime, it's clear he cares about her, too.

Anyway, I look forward to reading the next volume of the manga and finishing season 1 of the anime adaptation.  I would definitely watch it again if it gets an English dub release.

[harrowscore]

Mikasa Ackermann, Levi Ackermann, Amane Misa, Aeron Greyjoy for the charactet ask :3

SOMEONE HEARD MY PRAYERS AND NOW MY TIME HAS COME, tysm!!!!! <3

okay, let's start with levi (my beloved):

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life (THEE little feral anime man after my heart)

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (Dark, Tall and Snarky + piercing grey-blue eyes and chronic insomnia? clearly my type ❤)

hogwarts house: gryffindor (maybe....?) | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

ugh, the hp sorting house system is way too reductive. he has qualities of gryffindor, slytherin, and hufflepuff - brave, astute, loyal to a fault, etc. so it's a hard choice. but if i really have to choose, i'd go for gryffindor. i know that his Bad Boy facade shouts slytherin, but while he has larger goals (killing all the titans, then saving the world etc.), he's got no actual ambition for himself. hufflepuff would also be a good option.

daemon (from the his dark materials series): (because i've just decided that's just way more accurate than the hp method) some kind of big feline. maybe a panther - a black panther would be the ideal - aloof, predatory, dangerous, fiercely independent.

best quality: besides his obvious strenghts as a leader and warrior, the way he cares for his comrades-in-arms. it's very hard to gain his trust and respect, but once you have it, it's forever. he's pragmatic and ruthless, yes, but he also has a huge capacity for compassion and friendship. not that he would be effusive about his affections, of course.

worst quality: none, he's absolutely perfect ❤ jklsdfhjk jokes aside, he really struggles to open up (a serious understatement), idt he ever talked about his traumatic past with anyone. i mean, maybe he mentioned it to hange and erwin (erwin knew him when he was still an undergound thug, so...), but... he's not great with feelings. despite his apathetic, intimidating mask, he feels and cares deeply, but he has a long history with losing the people he loves, so he tries to not personally care about his squadmates, which can be both a strenght and a weakness. of course, he spectacularly fails at this.

ship them with: well, it's not a secret that i'm a huge rivamika fan, this ship is almost literally consuming my waking thoughts lmao. imo they're perfectly compatible: very similar personalities (stoic, the strongest warriors, absolutely terrifying on the battlefield but with a soft underbelly), very similar pasts/experiences, so many parallels that it's actually ridiculous, etc. i love how they're both each other's equals and likeness (yes, i took it from jane eyre. no, i don't regret anything lmao). a lot of tropes i love, too: Terrible First Impression (the Pride and Prejudice vibes are so strong with these two, you have no idea), Kindred Spirits/Mirror Images, Veteran/Young Prodigy, The Last of Their Kind, even Height Difference lmao. i could write a whole rivamika manifesto, but this is already too long. (maybe for some other time 👀) i would've loved for their dynamic to be more explored in canon but alas, isayama clearly didn't give a shit about the ackerman legacy, he just used it as a plot shortcut to give them conveniently unique powers, since they never really talked about it 🙄 (and before some troll comes into my askbox shouting "you iNcEsT fReAk!!!!1!!", they're only very distantly related. we know shit about the ackermans but we know for sure that they've got at least several generations between them. biologically their shared DNA is 0%, obviously they don't see each other as family, all the eldians have a dead ass common ancestor from 2000 years ago so they're all basically ⁓related anyway. if you really wanna scream about i.ncest, go watch got/dark/the borgias and shut the fuck up please. or alternatively go outside and touch some grass) sorry for the rant, uh. anyway, i can also see levi/erwin. idk if i'd ever care enough to read a fic about them (i'm usually a huge multishipper, but for some weird reason not when it comes to rivamika? same with braime and kastle tbh), but still, i can see it.

brotp them with: hange and erwin, obv. veteran trio >>> ema trio, sorry not sorry (at least h. and e. died before yams had the chance to ruin their character arcs)

needs to stay away from: ...uh, filth, i guess? lmao

misc. thoughts: besides the stupid teenage fangirl crush i have on him, i'm genuinely fascinated by the man himself. he's a huge mess of a contradictions, and yet somehow it works: he's violent and brash and kind of an asshole, but also has a strong moral code and integrity; he's obv very skilled at all the killing/torturing stuff and yet he has a huge respect for life; he's got a potty mouth to say the least, and yet some very aristocratic manners/tastes (the way he sits, his preference for tea and usually refined clothes); he comes from what's supposed to be an illustrous bloodline, he's methodical and very precise, and yet he was born and raised in the underground, he's been used to filth and blood and poverty since he was a child, kenny of all people was his father figure, and probably has known no other life than a perennial survival mode existence. he's "humanity's strongest soldier", but while well-built he's also small, the david to the titans' goliah, and probably not what people would assume a born warrior looks like. he's also one of the few characters who stayed true to himself and his original characterization until the end, bless you smol king ❤

(okay, this is getting long!)

mikasa:

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them (so much. she deserved better ❤️) | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! (stunning lady ❤) | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

this is actually easy: mikasa belongs to hufflepuff and no, i won't take criticism (just joking lol). enough with this "hufflepuffs are fluffy puppies/Cinnamon Rolls <3" thing: mikasa values loyalty and duty more than anything else. she's also hardworking... and fierce, strong, lethal. yes, hufflepuff and lethal are not mutually exclusive concepts.

daemon: (finally the better option) a she-wolf, fiercely protective of her pack.

best quality: loyal, brave, incredibly strong (alongside her more fragile qualities). practical and level-headed on the battlefield, at least when eren is not included in the picture.

worst quality: struggles to let go of the past (understandable, considering her trauma). tunnel-vision when it comes to eren, obv. extreme levels of delusions ("if only i spoke openly about my romantic feelings for him - as if i didn't made them abundantly clear in ⁓6 years - he wouldn't kill 80% of humanity :(((" lmao okay. just. okay), but that's more on the writing. she's sadly more static than any other main character throughtout the whole series.

ship them with: see above :) but recently i've also started to be intrigued by mikasa/annie and mikasa/sasha. also, i'm sympathetic to jeankasa fans, though i don't actually care for the ship.

brotp them with: EMA trio, especially armin+mikasa. their friendship is so beautiful and special. also sasha.

needs to stay away from: ...... eren, at least romantically. again, that's more on the writing than anything else, but e.remika unfortunately encompasses many tropes i loathe with all the strength of my old shriveled heart: childhood friends-to lovers where the (male) childhood friend doesn't acknolewdge/is completely indifferent to the other (female) friend's romantic feelings, she hopelessly pines for him for years without anything more than a cold shoulder... until in the last chapter it's revealed that he loved her all along and doesn't "want other men to have her!!! :((" (then why did you have no reaction whatsoever to jean's years-long crush on her while she was jealous of any vaguely female-shaped human being you were friendly to, including hange? are you that dumb, man?); the female character's development and entire arc 100% revolves around the male protagonist - she has no goals, no dreams of her own except staying with him forever and ever; the romance is based on an idealized childhood dream, therefore reaffirming those childish illusions would make the character regress, not actually grow up (and nope, epilogue!jk doesn’t count; that also lacks build-up - i would’ve said the same about rm as well, so it’s not about shipping, guys, it really isn’t - and mikasa needed an inner change; getting married to another man but still praying to eren’s shrine is not substitute to actual development lol). post-time skip she's never really frustrated/angry with him, they never get a confrontation about him becoming a, y'know, mass-murderer of gigantic (pun intended) proportions; she puts him on a pedestal, and never stops idealizing him/never sees him for what he actually is (the narrative framing him as some kind of tragic martyr/saint eren from paradis with zero agency and basically... no clear motivation for the abovementioned mass murder, and not the actual complex tragic anti-hero/villain motivated by revenge and righteous fury he deserved to be, does not help). it lacks a good or even decent build-up - it's basically all tell and not show. now, if they'd actually been childhood friends to enemies to lovers/mutually co-dependent... it could have been interesting. sadly, it's not my cup of tea. of course this is just my personal preference, no hard feelings to the shippers.

misc. thoughts: enormous potential. she's been my fav female character since s1 - and ah, i miss s1!mikasa, when she had actually other stuff to do besides mothering eren. i love that she's the strongest warrior (second only to levi, obv), that her skills are never called into questions despite her gender, i love how she stands up for herself and the people she loves, that she may seem cold and stoic and yet has a such a huge heart, that she's not perfect but also sometimes awe-inspiring. sadly, she never really gets out of eren's shadow; what she lacks is an arc focused on herself. that's why imo getting deeper into the ackerman lore would've helped (also, you cannot make the main female character and the most popular male character descend from the same Unique Bloodline or whatever, and never really make them acknowledge it out loud; as a writer, you just can't lol). my spite is so strong that i'm currently writing a ridiculously pretentious fic that's 70% development for her character, to give her a voice, and 30% ackerthirsting. (yes, that's the fic i'm always vagueblogging about lmao, rip @ my brain). if any other rivamika fan is interested… mind you, it’s in italian tho, and idt i have the skills to translate into english.

misa:

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

daemon: mmh, maybe some kind of butterfly? beautiful, colorful, and short-lived.

best quality: glorious fashion sense, more inventive and ingenious than fans actually give her credit for.

worst quality: shallow, impulsive, and obv her dependence on/obsession with light (which stems from trauma btw, but still… the very opposite of a relationship between equals).

ship them with: rem, kinda (monster/human ftw!). also weirdly enough mogi, a little bit? she deserves someone who actually respects her… though she’s far from being a perfect angel. she may actually be crazier than light on some aspects. but in this house we stan evil ladies anyway, so i have no problem with that <3

brotp them with: uh, idk, maybe matsuda?

needs to stay away from: obv light. also takada.

misc. thoughts: a tragic victim of sexist writing. she may be… unhinged to say the least, but she didn’t deserve the abuse she got from light (and from the fans). the female characters’ writing in dn is so bad that idk if it’s on purpose, to kinda mirror the reality of women in a patriarchal society (dependent on men, housewives whose life entirely revolves around their husband/boyfriend etc.), or just casual misogyny lol. it’s even more baffling since we don’t know the author’s gender (they may be a man, a woman, nb, anything really). i tend for the latter option tho.

aegon greyjoy (now, i wasn’t expecting him lol):

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

i’m so sorry, i haven’t the slightest idea lmao. maybe gryffindor? mind you, it’s been a long time since i’ve re-read the books, so i don’t have many thoughts about him.

daemon: maybe it’s cliché, but some kind of fish/squid lmao

best quality: ugh, i really can’t remember much from his chapters :(( he’s not a coward, i guess? (lame answer, sorry!)

worst quality: definitely his religious fanaticism.

ship them with: no one.

brotp them with: uh… his family, ig? except euron.

needs to stay away from: obv euron. brr ://

misc. thoughts: i genuinely like the greyjoys chapters, though i vastly prefer the martells (with the exception of theon and asha, bcs i love them). yes, they’re deranged. yes, victarion is… well, victarion lol. but the drowned god religion is actually interesting, grrm knows how to write trauma - every time aeron mentions euron and that freaking door i’m like… :// - and the tragedy of it all… just great writing all around.

okay, that’s the end lmao. thank you so much, love!!! ❤❤

[merakiaes]

To begin with, I'm full of contradictions, utterly boring, very insecure and highly complicated. I would say my strongest personality traits are my kindness, calmness and sympathy. It's almost impossible to scare or upset me, because I always see the good in a person and recognize where anger, frustration and despair come from. There's no cruelty in me at all. I'm open and impartial towards everything and everyone, without any judgment or prejudice. I also have a calming/grounding effect on other people and animals, which is great because I honestly love all sorts of animals (I'm also a vegetarian because I refuse to intentionally hurt any animal). I'm always well-meaning and there to help others. I despise people who enjoy the suffering of others, just because they have the 'power' to. I'm very open-minded and I think that every opinion matters and that whatever someone has to say is important, at least to them and therefore for me. I will never ignore someone's sorrows and suffering and I try my hardest to help and comfort as best I can. But, even though I see the good in everything, I'm very insecure myself and have little love and understanding for myself. I have a very bad self-esteem and not a particularly positive self-perception, which mostly defines my actions. It makes me believe that I'm a burden to others and that I annoy them. I feel like I'm not "worthy" of love/there's nothing lovable about me, that there are too many problems in contrast to the little good things. Nevertheless, I would never change myself for anything or anyone, I am who I am. This is one of many reasons why I try to stay away and distance myself from others. For me, dealing and interacting with people is really difficult, because I'm so clumsy and nervous around them and easily feel like I'm making a fool out of myself. Another reason is that I fear to be rejected and thrown aside when someone sees how boring, problematic and annoying I actually am. It's also hard for me and incredible frustrating that I'm unable to articulate myself the way I want to, so that I mostly stay silent. And, since I'm a very quiet and rather shy person, I prefer people who initiate the contact and talk a lot/like to talk, who do the talking instead of me, but without intending to suppress myself. You would be surprised how timid and reserved I am, I'm sure you wouln't notice me in a room full of people if it wouldn't be for my different appearance (I'm always wearing only black, have dyed my hair a little and two ear piercings). Because I'm easily sad and not a funny/joking person, I like and enjoy people who are not too serious themselves. And I'm the most loyal person you'll ever find, once you earn my trust, I'll always be on/by your side, no matter what. I've always felt alienated from my surroundings, like I don't belong anywhere, like I'm the only cat in a room full of dogs. That's probably why I have a soft spot for the weirdos, outcasts, loners and "crazy" ones. Though, in my opinion, the definition of normal, crazy and real are very subjective. My whole life I've felt kinda judged, misunderstood and unwanted. People often falsely think that my unassuming nature is naivity and take my social-insecurity for aloofness and coldness. I'm also quite opinionated and aware of what I want, how I feel and who I am. I'm often questioning my surroundings, the traditions and rules and if I believe that something is wrong, I have absolutely no problem challenging others, even authority. I'm a perfectionist, which often leads me to overthinking and that can be equally good and bad. I'm absolutely clueless in romance and totally oblivious to flirting because I'm 100% inexperienced in this stuff, but I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic.

I crave physical touch and am literally melting into and bathing in any sort of touch, but I'm way too reluctant to initiate it. I'm rather sentimental with things given to me by people who I deeply care for, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. Sadly, I'm not good with words to repeat how much someone means to me and I never know how to show/act on it either. I'm lazy, forgetful and sleepy most of the time and too much people, noise and light is exhausting for me. That's why I prefer to cozy up at home, watching a movie or TV show and listen to music. Music is my greatest passion, even if I can't sing or play an instrument. It's the most calming and therapeutic when it comes to my anxiety and depression and I could never live a day without it. When no one is around, I even sing along really loudly and off-tune. The meaning music has for me is hard to put into words, but it's my sanctuary for when I feel like my thoughts and feelings are suffocating me. You will never see me in the street without headphones in my ears and even when I'm at home there's music playing almost all the time. I could talk for hours about music and what it means to me. My taste in movies is more horror, fantasy and drama and in music it's rock, punk and pop, but for both I enjoy when it's themed around mental illness and real-life problems and when it's from the 80s and 90s. I like vintage things and would love to live in the 80's. I love the feeling of freedom and liveliness. My favourite weather is when it's gloomy and more cold, when it's pouring big fat drops and the air smells like rain and my favourite season is autumn because of the weather, colors, temperatures, flavors and overall aesthetic. I'm on the curvy-side and incredible insecure about it, although I really don't want to be. Once I trust you, I would love to talk for hours about music, movies, dreams, fears or anything alike and life in general, no matter how silly it may seems. I have a fascination for dark and macabre things. I also love to take late-night strolls, to gaze at the nightsky and literally feeling the freedom and infinity. My favourite colours are dark green, black, dark purple and gold. I love the scent of peppermint, cinnamon and the forest. I love plants and would love to decorate my home with them, but unfortunately I don't have a green thumb at all. I like ivy, lavender and roses the most. I wish I could live peacefully in a cottage, surrounded by a forest and many animals. I feel little conected to where I lwas born/am living and I'm deeply convinced that my soul belongs in the UK, always has.

+  Could I please request a male matchup for Stranger Things and Peaky Blinders? I'm female, she/her. (I know you said that no amount is too much, but I still hope that I didn't exaggerate here - and I'm sorry for any spelling and grammatical errors, english isn't my first language)

STRANGER THINGS

I ship you with Billy Hargrove!

This is somewhat of a controversial ship that can be both good and bad depending on the circumstances. I’m choosing to look at it from a positive perspective so bear with me.

Kindness, calmness and sympathy are your strongest personality traits and that is just what Billy Hargrove needs to bring him back to reality, because it is my opinion that the Billy we’ve gotten to see is only the version of himself that he has allowed us to see. 

Billy’s automatic response when someone tries to help him by digging into his emotions is to get angry and defensive. Why? Because he’s put so much time and effort into building up walls around himself in order to not have to feel all his pain over and over again, and every time someone comes and pokes holes in those walls, he snaps.

He’s so used to not being loved and being abandoned that he automatically assumes that people who come off as supportive are going to leave eventually, too. So in his mind, he might as well scare people away at once so that he doesn’t get his hopes up and ruins the walls that he’s put so much into. That’s just easier for everyone.

But although he succeeds in pushing people away by getting angry and therefore succeeding in protecting himself from more heartbreak, he still feels a subconscious guilt when seeing how much he scares people, because that’s how scared he is of his dad. He treats people like his dad treats him and it destroys him to live with that, but he just doesn’t know how to do anything else at this point because his only purpose in life now is to uphold those walls, by whatever means necessary, so while I don’t condone his behavior, nor do I support mentally abusive relationships, I do from a psychological standpoint, think that it would help Billy that you don’t get scared easily. 

Seeing people get so scared, even if it’s by his own doing, breaks him down more and more every time, a little at a time, and it would change everything for him to be met by something else than that immediate fear. He would be faced with an outcome he hasn’t experienced before, which is being seen as something more than a monster; or more specifically to him, being seen as something other than a replica of his dad, because I can guarantee you that that’s something that keeps him up at night. 

Anyone can say that they understand, that they know where someone is coming from, that even if they don’t understand, they can see a persons reasons. But a lot of the times, this is just a case of empty words. Billy knows this and that’s another reason that he doesn’t let people in when they try to get closer, and he proves his point by getting angry at them and seeing the way they react. All of them get scared and leave. Rightfully so, but it also does proves the point in his logic. 

You say that you have a calming and grounding effect on people which is something he’d really benefit from, as well. He naturally surrounds himself with people who match his energy; impulsive, wild, preferably illegal, with little to no thought of consequences. That’s his form of self-harm - to constantly surround himself with things and people that are bad for him, who likes his bad boy-image and encourages his bad behavior.

What he needs is something else entirely; and that is to be in a calm environment. He needs silence, peace, and even if just for a while, just anything but excitement. He needs someone who won’t encourage his chaotic and reckless lifestyle like most of the people he hangs out with do, in order to bring himself back down to earth and find himself again. 

Once he actually meets someone genuine and like-minded and realizes that they’re there to stay, he’d most likely accept the help he’s offered. And after that, he would be so loving toward his significant other because he’d never want her to feel like he does. He would want her to be the happiest person on the planet and if there’s something I’ve learned, myself, it’s that the people who love the hardest are usually the ones who have been loved the least. So if you were feeling insecure, he would lift you up and compliment you constantly, always let you know how beautiful and amazing he finds you, and how lucky he is to have you. He’d be so overly loving and appreciative toward you and everything you do that you’d rarely even have the time to get stuck with your self-doubt.

He, too, feels like he’s undeserving of love, because when has he ever been shown differently? So I also think it would give him somewhat of a wake-up call to see someone he cares about, or just such a kind, genuine person in general, feeling like that. At the same time, I also think he’d react strongly to the way you accept yourself and refuse to change for anyone despite all the self-doubt you have, because that requires an insane amount of strength. It would probably inspire him a lot to be better, himself.

Billy would, most definitely, be the one to initiate contact with you just like he does every other female in his presence. Maybe it’s my mind being too mushed together by all the fanfiction I’ve read over the years, but I feel that once he got to know you, he would just fall for you on the spot. Not just “fall”, either. He’d trip on his shoelaces, fall on his face and roll down a flight of stairs once he finally managed to wrap his head around the fact that you understand, that you care and that you’re not going anywhere.

After initiating contact and coming to that realization, he wouldn’t mind just spending time with you in silence. All that talking he does is nothing more than a façade he’s put up to feel less out of place, less pathetic about being so weak around his dad, but it’s not the real him at all. Billy has been cold and guarded for so long that he, just like you, no longer knows how to communicate his feelings through words, either. Instead, he tends to show his emotions through his actions, so I can imagine there being a lot of silence. Mutual silence.

Would he still enjoy having genuine conversations with you? Yes, absolutely. As would he never hesitate to joke around if you felt down and needed to laugh. But he would also feel safe enough with you to be silent and vulnerable, without feeling that pressure to always keep talking and acting like he does when he’s with other people. He pretends to be comfortable, pretends to fit in, but in reality, he feels out of place, too. He’s felt unwanted, judged and misunderstood for most of his life just like you describe yourself to have done.

He has fooled around with a lot of girls but he’s still touch-starved, because no-strings-attached relations doesn’t do anything for him other than provide a temporary distraction. It never gives him the emotional, sentimental, meaningful proximity that he needs, so you have in common to crave physical touch and it would be a mutual thing for the two of you to show your emotions through touch rather than words.

You also have your love for music in common, and it’s so fitting because you like the same genres, which would only give him another way to be free around you. I can just imagine the two of you belting out your highest notes, totally off-key, while blaring rock music in his car.

To finish it off, loyalty is something he values above everything which is why he can never really hold on to long-term relationships or friendships. The only person who has ever been truly loyal to him was his mom, and even she made the active choice to leave him in the end, which is where his commitment issues stem from. So the fact that you’re genuinely loyal will be a complete game-changer. 

He, too, loves the feeling of being free, and I have no doubt in my mind that the two of you would find ways to feel that way together without him going back to his old, problematic methods.

Like I’ve mentioned before, I definitely don’t condone his behavior nor do I encourage anyone to stay in a toxic and abusive relationship, whether it be mental, emotional, or physical abuse. I don’t like savior-complexes and I don’t encourage anyone to get together with a “bad boy” because they think they can “cHaNgE HiM”.

But I feel like Billy is one of those cases that has certain circumstances that makes him a bit of an exception. He’s made some reaaaally bad choices and treated people very badly which he still has to be held accountable for, but going forward, he could be an amazing person if only he got reminded of what it feels like to be loved. Because at this point, he’s probably completely forgotten it, and living without love for so long will drive any person into madness.

I still wouldn’t recommend someone heading into a relationship with him solely for the purpose of “changing him”, but I do think that, if the right person came along on random, these changes wouldn’t at all be impossible.

The way he behaves toward people can’t be excused and he still needs to own up to his behavior and mistakes, but I think we’ve gotten it proven at the end of last season that he actually does want to be better and that all he needed toward the end was to be shown some genuine love in order to be able to make that change. 

 PEAKY BLINDERS

I ship you with Arthur Shelby!

Arthur is like Billy in a lot of ways, so this is a controversial one too for the same reasons, but Arthur is also very different.

While Billy has built up tall, strong, practically non-penetrable walls around himself to avoid having to feel anything, Arthur is much more emotional and aware of his mistakes since he never really managed to use his trauma to build up a protective wall, but rather just let them pile up without knowing how to properly process them so that he’s now stuck having to feel it all at once with no way out. 

He was left really vulnerable after his dad left which, I think, made him more open for the trauma he experienced during the war. It is my honest opinion that, had his dad still been in the picture, he would’ve been a lot less unstable today. But, as we know, his dad left him and his siblings, and that was the first trigger to a long line of domino bricks.

At this point, he’s so damaged that he has no sense of self-worth, whatsoever. He doesn’t feel worthy of love or a good life even though he wishes and dreams of it, so once he actually finds someone who wants to be with him, he falls hard, and would do anything in his power to be the best possible partner.

He’d be so romantic, so loving, so eager to please that he’d agree to pretty much anything requested of him. He’d abandon all of his other responsibilities to just live a happy life with you so living peacefully in a secluded area in a cottage with lots of animals is not something he would be opposed to at all. Nor would taking late-night strolls or staying in with you when everyone else goes out to drink be, because I’m certain that the only reason he drinks is because being sober on his own is too painful. 

His way of acting out with anger and violence is nothing more than a product of his environment. Every day, every sound, every smell, every person he surrounds himself with, are triggers to his multiple traumas and the longer he surrounds himself with chaos, the more he’s going to lose himself to his anger – because anger is the only emotion through which he knows how to handle his trauma, as no one has ever tried helping him onto a healthier road of recovery but rather just told him to “suck it up”.

So the fact that you’re so kind, calm, sympathetic and understanding, and that you’re recognize where anger, frustration and despair comes from, that you’re open and impartial toward everyone without any judgment or prejudice, and also have a calming and grounding effect on people would just help him so much. Everyone else that he frequently surrounds himself with are big parts of the problem that is his mental illnesses and aggressive and violent tendencies. They do nothing to help but rather encourages it and fuels the fire so they can use his anger for their own winning.

He’s just constantly told to suck it up, be a man, have a drink or three, snort a line of cocaine, blah blah blah. The way his mental instability is treated by his inner circle is the literal embodiment of toxic masculinity and does nothing to help his case, because then he starts hating himself even more for feeling all the emotions that he does.

So, once given the correct support that he needs, he would pay you right back by making sure you never go a day without being told how amazing you are and how lucky he is to have you. He would throw, or at least try to his absolute best ability to do so, all of your insecurities out the window before they’d even gotten the chance to get through the door. He would literally adore you and, metaphorically speaking, be ready to eat straight out of your palm if told to do so.

All he needs is kindness, understanding and most of all patience, because while he is a work in progress, he is trying.