#so moral of the story i guess is that my sister should make all my wishes because apparently shes luckier than me lol

[electric-plants]

i just failed the 50/50 to qiqi for the first time and tbh it was kind of exciting just because of all the memes about it lol

[sailorspica]

dare i argue...

kenny has a very interesting, consistent morality that isn't all that aberrant compared to most of AoT's main cast.

he is our main source of ackerman lore, whose fallen status within the walls directly telegraphs the position of eldia in the larger world, so on closer inspection, kenny, levi, and mikasa are more than a bit analogous to grisha and the warriors. in kenny's case, i think most of the elder jaegers. hear me out:

my ongoing beef with the uprising arc anime adaptation includes this scene with kenny's grandfather. confoundingly, WIT cut significant length from grandpa's explanation about the ackermans' persecution at the hands of the MPs, but gave kenny a line that... is ghostwritten by zeke jaeger.

in the manga, kenny discouraged kuchel from carrying levi to term for reasons he doesn't verbalize (snk 65)

in the anime (aot 43), my subtitles say "I swear, ain't no point being born in a craphole world like this where there's not a single dream worth pursuing."

the dubbed line is "who'd want to be born into this piece of shit world anyway? there isn't a dream you could have worth suffering through it."

btw i think WIT giving kenny like, 5x more lines with the word "dream" is fucking cheesy and childish; i could see how this mindset is challenged immediately by carla in bystander, but does kenny have to be the one to say it? we get that from historia and alma and ymir already! plenty of characters express thoughts of regretting being born, but this and zeke's are particular to eldians and ackermans, not individuals

but what grandpa ackerman says about this "deal" between the ackerman patriarch and the crown echoes grisha and zeke's propaganda bedtime stories. the first generation born within the walls hoped that ignorance would spare future ackermans, and eldians left behind when the walls went up hoped compliance would save them from... paradise, conscription, what have you. historical omission and revision: neither fucking worked! that ackerman patriarch died pointlessly, every eldian sacrificed to marley's imperialism from foot soldiers in the trenches to the warriors and proto-warriors, ksaver's generation and older, died pointlessly.

much like the warriors, i don't think any of the above excuses or downplays kenny's wrongdoings, but contextualizes them:

he's a serial killer

as far as we know his Ripping was mostly MPs. as of this scene in ch. 65, the latest were lurking outside a dying old man's home, whether that means they monitored the eldest living ackerman closely, or they were there to jump kenny. point is, killing cops is uhhhhh cool. i don’t care he becomes one himself later. the old 2nd wave feminist adage of “the personal is political” applies to any gender, really, and we should all take police violence against vulnerable populations personally, so whether you frame kenny’s kill count before joining the MPs as self-defense or vengeance, there’s a net positive of fewer MPs terrorizing the streets of the interior and the underground.

he abandoned and/or abused levi

my guess is without his anime-only Zekeism™, kenny’s concern before levi's birth is more specific to kuchel’s circumstances, and also informs his abandonment:

raising a child would make kuchel’s life even more difficult;

the underground and moreover a brothel are no place to raise a child;

as his reaction to levi not knowing his last name goes, living as an ackerman is a curse unto itself (the zeke and ksaver conclusion), even if kenny’s relationship with uri has improved his circumstances;

my most charitable and extracanonical thought for this man is… i wonder what happened to his and kuchel’s own parents. how else do you lose track of your sister like this? did they feel abandoned themselves? did kenny already doubt kuchel would live long or be strong enough to protect a child (maternal mortality, which fellow MP nile dawk brings up in 108)? when he said “i’m not cut out to be some kid’s father,” did he also think that of kuchel? or did he think he also failed as an older brother—kenny and kuchel as grisha and faye...

we only get kenny’s POV of his time with levi, which lasts about five pages of chapter 69. my point is, levi whump revisionism tends to give him annie leonhart's canonical childhood, for which there is no evidence in chapter 69 or in bad boy.

of course, filling the blanks of kenny's pedagogy is grim, and popular fanon isn't unreasonable at all. there's no nonviolent way to teach violence, which kenny calls "the only tool he had" and likely thought of as the only thing he could offer levi. removing levi from the underground didn't seem to cross his mind, either, which could point to a pessimism that people kill people, above and below—the ackermans were wiped out on the surface, after all. but i actually find the understanding of their relationship to the royal family as feudal in the japanese sense helpful here: would bringing him along set levi's path for him, one in service to the reisses? cruel as it was, kenny guaranteed levi's freedom.

he's a cop

okay, this is where the manga gets a little ambiguous/inconsistent with chronology. when kenny gets the anti-personnel squad, he says he’s “never been part of the military before”—he’s actually following levi’s footsteps here, a criminal recruit far outclassing these graduates of the cadet corps. however, to historia, he identifies himself as part of the first interior squad in 845. the fuck?

what is more certain is after he meets uri and becomes his bodyguard 😏, he joins this "assembly" or "council" of nobles and wallists. "bodyguard" does not sound like a role in which kenny would wander the walls doing extrajudicial murder like sannes. when levi and hange interrogate sannes, he proudly lists his own resume (snk 55), which includes killing armin’s parents, erwin’s father, and historia’s mother (the 2nd worst thing to be in the walls is blond), so besides alma, kenny doesn't seem to be included in these panels of the first interior squad "bloodying [their] hands" for peace within the walls.

i think a reasonable conclusion is kenny joined the first interior squad after uri's death in 842, and this squad is so elusive as to be legendary to the average MP. there is probably some translation subtlety with "squad" and "section, " so my understanding is the anti-personnel squad is either part of the first interior squad, or an elite, separate but affiliated group much like levi's special operations squad.

i think of kenny in these three years as unmoored much like iseyama describes levi after shiganshina; the main thing guiding him seems to be his disdain for rod reiss, since he has no hard feeling against frieda. dare i say... rod is kenuri's zeke?

besides his worry for kuchel and debatable care for levi, kenny does, actually, express some of the humanitarianism that motivates his nephew, also in chapter 65 and also excluded from the anime adaptation:

"how much WE lost in those five years?! how many precious lives?!" "he don't give two shits about any of it! not his his family, not humanity, and certainly not you, historia!!

like, HELLO? who is he referring to? the residents of wall maria? the culling that killed armin's grandfather? historia's half-siblings? hell—trost and stohess, mere months ago? i think he's being genuine! this isn't a token, empty phrase, tugging at historia's heartstrings. a killer can value life, i don't think that's that crazy a thing to propose, least of all in attack on titan and least of all in the uprising arc where levi squad kills other humans (also all cops).

kenny's narration in chapter 69 and episode 47 revolves around power. his respect for uri starts from acknowledging him as "the strongest guy around," which echoes over the moment he abandons levi—he's done his level best to teach levi to be the strongest underground, and his philosophy of proving yourself to be the strongest or most powerful doesn't belie a sense of superiority over the weak or any desire to rule; it's the logical conclusion of the oppressed. he thinks of himself as strong, but doesn't call kuchel weak, and his use of "we"—he counts himself part of humanity. his later ambition to steal the founder... makes him more similar to erwin. he just wants the knowledge, the view from up there.

but i think kenny is a little dishonest in chapter 58 before one of levi's coldest "yeah"'s of all time:

i'll kill anyone if that's what it takes to get the job done. ya kill too when it benefits ya, right?

for both men, this object "you" is not themselves as individuals, despite their posturing. it could really, really be humanity, for all three ackermans. mikasa, ten chapters prior:

there are only so many lives i can value, and i decided who those people were six years ago, so you shouldn't try to ask for my pity. because right now, i don't have time to spare, or room in my heart.

and her series-long journey is excavating her heart for humanity. the common fandom complaint that she "only cares about eren" is, to me, similarly reductive as their view of kenny. characters can lie to themselves, or reveal they're more selfless than they thought.

in conclusion:

ACAB

WIT skipped a lot of exposition to animate an extra kenny-levi fight that doesn't even make sense spatially

of course he sucks! and so do the younger ackermans! but they all suck a lot less than they think they do

kenny is also historia's uncle by marriage, in my heart

someone draw him and zeke hanging out

[efadefoks]

I decided to put everyone into one post and to talk about some assosications I have with the characters and their cards

The Fool (Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment. [If the card is] Reversed: Negligence, absence, distribution, carelessness, apathy, nullity, vanity.) Of course it is Han Juwon in the begining if the story. "In many esoteric systems of tarot card interpretation, the Fool is interpreted as the protagonist of a story, and the Major Arcana are the path the Fool takes through the great mysteries of life." He is a Fool afterall: careless in his investigation, doesn't think about the people around him. He thinks he is the smartest guy in the room and the bestest boy in the area.

The Lovers. Here I decided to interpret it in the most literal way. But the card itself provides quite a nice explanation too. "6. THE LOVERS.—Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome. Reversed: Failure, foolish designs. Another account speaks of marriage frustrated and contrarieties of all kinds." I really love the ending. The whole reunion thing is straight out of the romance story. That's why I chose this image to represent this card. The moment of piece at last.

The Hermit. When I first thought about this collage idea I was absolutly sure who should represent this card. "9. THE HERMIT. Prudence, circumspection; also and especially treason, dissimulation, roguery, corruption. Reversed: Concealment, disguise, policy fear, unreasoned caution."

The High Priestess. Oh Jihwa my beloved. There were several posts about her recently. She is a wonderful character. "Secrets, mystery, the future as yet unrevealed; the woman who interests the Querent, if male; the Querent herself, if female; silence, tenacity; mystery, wisdom, science. Reversed: Passion, moral or physical ardor, conceit, surface knowledge." Tell me this is not about her, I'll wait.

The Sun. The Moon. The Star. I thought it would be really symbolic to choose three young (and dead) characters to represent this cards. (of course, LDS is alive and old now but I think we can considr his younger self to be buried somewhere really deep in his mind. He wasn't the same person he'd been before his sister disappearance). Another thoought that I had in mind while making these three pieces was that scene from the first episode. The dialogue with Mother and her friend. "You are so lucky to have your daughter. Such a pity the God decided to balance it with your son." How almost everyone thought that Lee Yuyeon was a blessing and her brother - just a delinquent.

19.THE SUN.—Material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment. Reversed: The same in a lesser sense.

18.THE MOON--Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error. Reversed: Instability, inconstancy, silence, lesser degrees of deception and error.

17.THE STAR.--Hope and bright prospects, Reversed: Loss, theft, privation, abandonment; another reading says: arrogance, haughtiness, impotence.

Kang Minjeong is a little star flickered out too soon.

The Magician. "Tarot experts have defined the Magician in association with the Fool". "While the upright Magician represents potential and tapping into one's talents, the reversed Magician's potential and talents are unfocused and unmanifested."

The Strength. One of my favourite cards and my favourite brave girl. I need to come clean I am not a fan of a lor of women portrayals in asian culture. But Yoo Jaeyi just stole my heart. She is kind, she is angry, she is loving, she is grieving. She is real. She is her own person. I love this image of her. "8. FORTITUDE.—Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace."

The Devil. Do I even need to explain myself? Well probably yes. Another candidate for this card was you guessed it - Han Kihwan. But after some thinking I finally decided on this one. "15. THE DEVIL.—Ravage, violence, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality; that which is predestined but is not for this reason evil. Reversed: Evil fatality, weakness, pettiness, blindness." While Juwon's father is the evil person and the real villain of the story I do consider Kang Jinmuk the Devil.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

PJO TV SHOW (and book) SPOILERS beneath cut!!!!!

What follows is simply a bunch of my nonsensical responses to the first 2 episodes in no particular order; I really cannot explain that any other way I’m afraid

“Whose side are you on?” “Hers, always. She’s my little sister” JUST RIP OUT MY HEART WHY DON’T YOU

Mythomagic. Mythomagic. Mythomagic.

Sally saying not everyone who looks like a hero is a hero and not everyone who looks like a monster is a monster - THE FORESHADOWING??? THE REFERENCE TO BOOKS THAT ARENT EVEN BEING ADAPTED YET IM LOSING MY MIND - Also, the justice for Medusa in this was absolutely gorgeous and so well done because it didn’t black and white anyone as just a hero or just a villain but very well highlighted the woven and layered morality of a very complex web of stories, personally I’m mostly a Medusa defender but give me a good quality, well written Perseus retelling and you could probably convince me otherwise I think the point of many of these stories is that there is never a true victor and nothing is ever as easy to understand as a hero and a monster. I’m getting distracted now but hey let’s keep going, I really love Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes, which very strongly labels Perseus as the monster and Medusa as the victim, but I also think there is an argument that Danaë’s plight was diminished/overlooked in it and I would be open to hearing opposing views on that. Since I’m in this tangent I should add I don’t study classics I am just a fan, so I’m not the expert and would generally expect others to know more than me so get it out there I’m eager to learn. Anyway, Percy Jackson (sorry for the tangent)

Percy saying he thinks he’s made real friends I WANT TO CRY

They softened Gabe up quite a bit, or at least I thought they did maybe you guys think otherwise, but I wonder how his death will come across in this case(????)

I actually really like that they had Annabeth clock who Percy’s father was and push him into the water instead of it being Clarisse shoving him into the creek and stumbling upon it by accident, because it really heightened that idea of her being six steps ahead

I think the conflict between Grover and Percy was interesting and I’m intrigued as to how easily it’s resolved with the quest coming up, and on that point am I right that Sally making Grover swear to protect Percy was a new addition? Because I’m guessing that if the conflict between them is still heightened then that’s going to be the logical reason Grover uses to get into the quest, but also they made a big deal out of that and I kept expecting her to request he swear it on the Styx but she didn’t, I wonder if it was meant to be implied (?) or maybe I’m just reading into it

There was less Annabeth screen time than I was expecting but every second she was on screen was PERFECTION

The casting could literally l not have been better I love them all omg

I was kind of surprised they didn’t confirm Percy’s dyslexia and ADHD in the first episode and instead had Luke mention it because I always thought that Percy had already been diagnosed long beforw he call to camp but maybe I misremembered that (?)

THE D’ANGELO REFERENCE YES - like I know it wasn’t about them but it has to be intentional right?

The blink and you miss it Kane Chronicles reference amused me I haven’t actually read all of the Kane Chronicles yet but I really should

WAS THAT BLACKJACK!!!!!??????

I’m guessing that mechanical monster Percy saw out the window was reference to the bulls in book three sorry I can’t remember what they’re called, and with that the doodles in his notebook YES!!! I noticed a cyclops, Medusa, the minatour, and what I think might have been the hydra but I haven’t rewatched yet so stay tuned for possible correction on that lol

I love camp so much! The cabins are incredible and the interior of the Hermes is so much nicer than I imagined whilst still maintaining a kind of overcrowded atmosphere, I love it.

“You are Poseidon’s son” “I am Sally Jackson’s son” y’all don’t understand I almost screamed oh my good lord yes yes yes yes yes

Also, sassy Percy

[magicalgirlsirin]

hi rly enjoyed ur post on elysian realm! ik ur a new fan (i am too) but i heard that before retcon, elysia was a lot more morally gray. would you happen to know how exactly?? im rly curious bc i think it would be a severe improvement obviously. we deserve complex women who do wrongs

So when I say retcon in relation to the elyrealm arc it's less so "things they changed because of the story evolving and wanting to expand previously established events" and more "things they straight up forgot about in service of making Elysia a herrscher". It's not like hi3 is a stranger to retcons though?

For example, Durandal being the "original" Kiana is a retcon. The fact that our Kiana was a clone remained the same, but it's clear from older story stuff (iirc it's Everlasting Memory/Theresa's chronicle set?; second eruption manga doesn't focus on the Kiana part) that Durandal wasn't originally there. Otto refers to Kiana as K-423, and that Theresa needs to retrieve her, which implies that Theresa knows it's not Siegfried and Cecilia's kid, but her distress remains the same. The later game retcon by Thus Spoke Apocalypse is that OG!Kiana and Siegfried were going to go retrieve K-423, but OG!Kiana ended up injured and so Siegfried only left with K-423. And if you're confused then so am I because the details don't really super line up with the presentation, but it's like, fine, because at the end of the day the current writing intention and trajectory is for Durandal and Kiana to be sisters, and to both be Siegfried's daughters.

Anyways, for Elysia, a lot of her retcons occur in a very rapid pace from the first realm chapter set to Elysium Everlasting. Like I mentioned in my last post, the herrscher reveal is nonsense just going off of basic information like the fact she received MANTIS surgery like all the other Flame Chasers. However, there are other plot threads that are completely dropped for the sake of making Elysia a very special good girl who you should love because she's so nice and never did anything bad.

[About Betrayal 1 - Chapter 2]

[About Betrayal 2 - Chapter 2]

Elysia the traitor plot is something I was, well not hopeful for (a friend had already warned me that the game wouldn't do anything interesting with it] but I still ended up mulling it over a lot because it was such an interesting hinge piece for her initial presentation.

What stands out to me is the phrasing. Kevin says she never endangered humanity even if she was a traitor. Kevin says that Elysia made a decision. This implies agency, like Elysia was actively choosing to do something dangerous for the sake of the Flame Chasers. However, if Elysia was a herrscher from the beginning, then none of this makes sense. She doesn't choose to be a herrscher if she was one from the beginning, so why even make it seem like her betrayal was her choice at all?

[Traitor - Chapter 1]

It doesn't stop there though. Mobius' active disdain implies that whatever choice Elysia made, it was enough to make Mobius of all people consider her a lost cause. Mobius, who body mods and injects honkai energy into anyone with a pulse (hyperbole) to try and make humanity last just the slightest bit longer.

[Traitor - Chapter 1]

Mobius wants us to doubt Elysia's intentions. If you go through all their shared information, you'll find that the worst Elysia really does is just... coerce Mobi to wear pink dresses, and while that is obnoxious, it wouldn't warrant utter contempt for Elysia as a person.

There's actually a lot of stray text that implies there's something wrong about Elysia's existence, which I guess in generous terms could be interpreted as setup for the herrscher reveal? But it just feels like it's just there to add to the mystery that won't go anywhere.

[The Blind Spot - Recollection]

This right here nags at me. Deeply so. Elysia isn't so much a character as much as she is just a concept, the idea of a story that could be told. Not even in the canon-compliant weird endgame hook meta-textual breakout in Transcending Finality about the power of stories... Although, there's a way to introduce it here and tie it to Elysia to give some semblance of connectivity.

I went this long without actually giving my thoughts on how to make Elysia's writing good though. Disclaimer for clarity sake I know not everyone will agree with the changes I want to make and I'm also not claiming to be a more skilled writer than anyone in the hi3 team, they're all people with enough talent to be employed by the company.

That out of the way.

This isn't so much about making Elysia morally grey as much as it is about giving her an emotional core, because right now she's pretty hollow. Rather than a pristine girl who never did anything wrong, I'd rather cast her as a romantic, tragic heroine who would move heaven and fate just to seem noble.

Elysia was born human. Maybe she loved stories, and how they transported her to far off places, far far far away from the tiny town she was growing up in. When she was old enough, she traveled the world. Honkai descends. Because she was a globe trotter she ended up connected to many people, and was given the chance to join the MOTH organization. She gets MANTIS surgery. As the number of soon-to-be Flame Chasers grow, discussion begins about if the strength of the soldiers is enough.

'Maybe, if I had power comparable to a herrscher, we could fight with less casualties.'

She doesn't say this out loud, of course. It's a dangerous thought, a line that shouldn't be crossed. But she's curious. She breaks into Mobius' lab [Miss Pink Spy - Pristine Memory] to find the information she wants. Mobius figures out her intentions and warns Elysia off. It's not even in consideration, so keep whatever plan you have in mind off the table before you do something irreversible.

Mobius thought that Elysia gave up on the plan after the seventh erruption. The haunted look behind Kevin's eyes, the sadness creasing Elysia's face, all of it makes it seem like a simple consideration forgotten by the sands of time.

Elysia doesn't have a discipline. She told Dr. Mei it wasn't needed since her combat performance was well above standard margins anyways. (She is on par with Kevin in strength, after all.) At least, we all thought she didn't. A deal is made with Aponia.

Aponia, Aponia, apostle of fate, I offer you my 'humanity' to become a 'story'.

Elysia cannot receive any more disciplines. The target has to be "human". Elysia as a story, unchanging, pristine, capable of remaining as she is without blemish, can reach out and become a herrscher while remaining herself. She's desperate. She wants to help. She reaches into the deep, the start of the universe, and gathers the power. She names it Origin, since it's something she found at the source.

She's a herrscher.

Herrschers are an enemy of humanity.

Kevin runs her through with Shamash.

Elysia is still herself though, talking like she would as usual.

-Oh Kevin, I wanted to know if your tears would freeze, but I was hoping it wouldn't be like this. They're so warm, though. Thank you for crying for me.

-I see no herrscher here, just... the flame chaser, bearing the signet of ego.

The Elysian Realm keeps a secret. Aponia keeps it, the fact that Elysia gave up her humanity. The final banquet? A polite way to refer to Elysia's own demise.

It's sad, isn't it? That strength she wanted to give fell right through her fingers. Her own undoing, the desperate plan of a foolish girl who wanted to be a hero, but only ending up as a villain to oppose. It's so much more meaningful, then, that Elysia's gift, the power of sapience, is kept on to the next cycle of humanity. Held again, the power of ego, of humans, to someone with a kind heart to move beyond the past she's trapped in. Thank you, Raiden Mei, for carrying on the ideals of the thirteen trailblazers, the moths who chase the flame.

so anyways yeah i think elysia couldve been interesting whos to say

[vivalavi-daa]

Fav 2022 K-Dramas/Movies

1. My Liberation Notes

About: Three siblings, exhausted by the monotony of day to day adulthood, seek to find fulfillment and freedom from their unremarkable lives

Honestly, no one did it like My Liberation Notes. The way they captured the mundane lives of adults, the longing for happiness, freedom, and the loneliness of it all. The way they depicted all that through raw lines, monologues, and even silence that gave even deeper meanings. To say I love this show is an understatement 🥺

2. Extraordinary Attorney Woo

About: Woo Young Woo, a woman on the spectrum that tackles challenges as a newbie at a top law firm

This show is popular for a reason. It has everything you could ask for in a kdrama: feel good vibes, heartwarming stories, heart-fluttering love, found family, and interesting characters (with brilliant acting). Although we couldn't expect Woo Young Woo to be representative for all people with autism (since autism is considered as a spectrum), but I love the way her portrayal in this show was educative while also really fun to watch 🤍

3. Twenty Five Twenty One

About: In a time where dreams seem out of reach, a teen fencer pursues her ambitions and meets a hardworking young man who seeks to rebuilds his life.

Couldn't express how much it's comforting to watch the two main characters build connection in the pursuit of happiness. The fact that these two people share different perspectives in life (one was hopeful & optimistic, while the other one was realistic) was its charm. Not to mention the growing bond of the friendship between them and their friends. Together, they make every scene seemed refreshing and entertaining to watch. It was truly an uplifting youth show that brightened last year's atmosphere ✨

4. Alchemy of Souls

About: A powerful sorceress in a blind woman's body encounters a man from a prestigious family, who wants her help to change his destiny.

Love, love the world building of this one! Also, the gripping love stories that took "I'll love every version of you" seriously 🥺. It was captivating how observant every characters in this show were & the way they unfold the stories. Even the action scenes portrayed like an art. Therefore, even though it has many episodes with long duration, I wasn't bored at all.

5. Little Women

About: Three sisters become embroiled in a major incident and face off against the wealthiest family in the nation

The fact that two of my fave actresses (Nam jihyun & Kim goeun) casted in one kdrama was such a dream!! It's a women centric kdrama i could say, from the way the main characters, writer, & director are all women <3. I love that it has such morally grey characters and a story that's full of intriguing misteries. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

6. 20th Century Girl

About: A teen girl has her eyes set on a boy for her lovesick best friend. However, things become complicated when she falls in love and is forced to choose between love and friendship

A heartening youth stories that every fan of 2521 should watch! Again, the plot seemed cliche but it still managed to enthralled you with sweet & fun interactions between the main characters, their growing romance, and what comes for them in the future. It was a rollercoaster of emotion but I really enjoyed it to end <3

7. Business Proposal

About: Hari, a regular employee, shows up to a blind date in disguise of her rich friend to scare him away. Things go awry when he turns out to be her CEO and makes a proposal.

Normally, a kdrama with a cliche plot and some cringe lines wasn't my piece of cake. But Business Proposal is something else I guess. It managed to make even the cliche plot entertaining to watch, still. I didn't expect that I'd laugh this much while watching this show, but I did. Their actings were so fun to watch and it's such a light kdrama that i enjoyed to watch.

Addition: Fav K-Drama (Not Released in 2022) that I've Watched Last Year

Prison Playbook

About: a legendary Korean baseball player whose life change after he chases a man who harasses his sister and finds himself spending a year in prison.

This is such a gem for a slice of life genre! From the director of Hospital Playlist & Reply series, you could expect some heartwarming feels coming from every characters' background stories. Despite the serious & harsh life we could thought of from prison life, this kdrama have many comical scenes, a series of roommates bickering, & such a moving found family. I wish the director would make more of these 🥺🤍

K-Drama Recommendations: 8/?

[rolotouto]

Lost Stories 2024 New Year's Event

I got 2024 New Year's Lelouch because, after watching the event, I suspected he might mention Rolo in his lines, and he does indeed! Lelouch: Tomorrow, Nunnally, Rolo, and I are planning to spend time together as siblings, just the three of us. It feels like a dream to be able to spend time peacefully like this... As you might guess, the story of the New Year's event (not voiced, so I'll post screenshots from here on) is in fact a dream that Mario/Maya has, where, among other things, Nunnally and Rolo are both siblings to Lelouch. Although Mario/Maya's brain didn't fix Rolo's antagonistic attitude towards him/her...

Rolo (to Mario): You are inconveniencing others by standing in the middle of the path like this. How about being a little more considerate?

Nunnally: Oh, Rolo, come on, speaking like that again... I always tell you you shouldn't do that.

Rolo: But Nunnally, this guy is the one who... Like in every other instance where Rolo and Nunnally have interacted, they address each other without suffixes, so they seem to treat each other as equals rather than one of them clearly being the older sibling. Also, Rolo referred to Mario as "koitsu", which is openly disrespectful, especially since Mario is older... The reason Mario is standing there dumbfounded is that he still hasn't realized that he's dreaming. He is confused after seeing Britannians and the Black Knights working together, and also when he meets Rolo and Nunnally with one another:

Lelouch: Mm? They are my little sister and my little brother. Isn't it obvious for them to be together? Mario: Your little sister and little brother... I guess there's nothing wrong, right... Why did I think it was strange...? Sorry for saying something weird all of a sudden...

Nunnally: Fufu, you're an odd one, Mario-san. (TN: Uses my username rather than Mario)

Rolo: He was already odd before... Lelouch: Hahaha, you're being called out, Mario. Mario: Ahaha... You got me. Then Mario wants to understand what's going on with some new event at Ashford, but the bell indicates that they need to go to class.

Lelouch (to Mario): I'll explain later. Rolo, take Nunnally to the classroom.

Rolo: Yeah, got it, Brother. Let's go, Nunnally.

Nunnally: Yes, please, Rolo. Brother, Mario-san, see you later.

Lelouch: Yeah. See you later, you two. After this scene, the characters teach Mario about the event. It seems that there's going to be a competition to decide the future of Ashford Academy. And there are three teams, each with different members and intentions for the kind of school life Ashford Academy should promote: ・Suzaku's WHITE team (Suzaku, Nunnally, Savitri, Anya, Schnee): "Disciplined school life with a focus on morals" ・Kallen's CRIMSOM team (Kallen, Rivalz, Benio, Gino, Shirley): "Energetic school life with a focus on passion" ・Lelouch's BLACK team (Lelouch, Rolo, Ledo, Milly, Nina,): "A free school life with a focus on individuality"

They will play different games, and Mario will join a different team each round. The first round is a karuta game where you need to guess a country after hearing a hint. At first, it seems like Nunnally's team will win (but Kallen's, the team Mario is part of this round, does):

Rolo: They are strong, huh? Nunnally and the others.

Lelouch: As expected of my little sister. To think that she would remember all the kaminoku... (TN: A karuta term) The next game is hagoita doubles, which is more or less similar to badminton, and where Suzaku's physical strength makes his team win (Mario was also part of the winning team this time). Rolo has to make his snarky comment against Suzaku too:

Ledo: One more point and it will be match point. What could we do?

Rolo: There's no point in asking. Nothing can be done against that monster. So they apologize to Lelouch for losing, but he understands the situation:

Ledo: My apologies. We couldn't win against Lord Kururugi after all.

Rolo: Sorry, brother.

Lelouch: It can't be helped. Kallen is about the only one who could compete head to head against Suzaku. The next game is about flying kites, and Lelouch asks Mario, who is on his team now, to control the kite.

Lelouch: So I leave the 3rd event, High Altitude Kite Battle, to you.

Mario: But I'm lost… What even is that? The "High Altitude Something"…

Rolo: It's the High Altitude Kite Battle. You don't even know something like that?

Mario: I don't think you'd usually know, though... Milly and Ledo explain that the objective is to cut the opponent's kite string.

Mario: Ah, so it's fighting kites. (TN: "Kenkadako," which is an existing word, unlike the fancy term Lelouch used)

Rolo: No. It's High Altitude Kite Battle.

Mario: Why is Rolo so fixated on such a strange thing... A-anyway, in a nutshell, I have to win at the fighting kites, right? I think Rolo is being pedantic about the term just to go against Mario or maybe to defend the term Lelouch used. Maybe he's jealous because Lelouch entrusted the game to Mario? The dialogues don't point the reason out explicitly, though! By the way, it's mentioned that Milly drew the design of the kite, which is Zero's mask, and Rolo says "I also helped paint it".

Well, since Mario wins, there's yet another tiebreaker round which involves KMFs and where everyone ends up having to work together, until Mario wakes up from the dream. I don't think the rest of Rolo's lines are all that interesting, so I'll stop the translation here. You can probably find videos of the whole event if you search for its name: 三色志開幕！~新しい朝に願いを新たに~

As I mentioned last time, Turns 12&13 should arrive in a couple weeks, and I assume that, afterwards, together with Turns 14&15, it will be the moment to release a new Rolo alt with his plugsuit version (other characters have their plugsuit version as separate units too). Hope my sakuradite is enough for then...

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Trey: *Trying to explain Riddle is that way because of his mom*

Me: Give me a minute as I pull up my ‘Trauma Doesn’t Excuse Sh*t Behavior’ PowerPoint.

Say it with me, everyone: an explanation is not an excuse 😊

You know, the other day I was watching one of Ryan George's Pitch Meetings and when Producer Guy asked Writer Guy how the audience would root for the villain of the franchise and the response was "he's handsome" which basically explains most people's reactions to fictional men.

Prepare for incoming rant that has little to do with the ask

This probably might come as a shock because one of the main appeal of twst would be the whole villainous aspect/Disney Villain fanbase but I don't really like villains that much, at least, not romantically. Like don't get me wrong, I think that they're incredible characters and it would be so fun to sit down with one and have a conversation with one. Villain songs are so fun (I was literally singing ‘This Day Aria’ to myself the other day I haven’t heard that song in like a decade) and you can tell that that characters like Scar or Hades or Shere Khan or Jafar or Maleficent are having so much fun being deliciously evil and even the more serious, complex ones like Loki or Frollo are fun to pick apart so yeah I understand the hype. I just always rooted for the heroes and I guess heroic characters have always been more my type.

My mother absolutely loves Erik Destler and is forever salty that Christine chose Raoul (despite my many many attempts at arguing why Raoulstine is the superior couple - smol primary school me could not understand why my mum liked the chandelier dropper and was deeply concerned), my best friend has been in love with Heathcliffe since we were eleven, and my little sister has literally told me that her type of fictional men are the toxic red flags (not exactly word for word but she did explain why she likes bad boys over good boys when I was complaining about how my type (wholesome soft boys) always get sidelined for the arrogant, snarky bad boys - we're also very diametrically opposed on our views of friends to lovers (my s++ tier all time favourite and her loathing) vs enemies to lovers (I can't really stand it - Pride and Prejudice is the only exception - and that's literally all she consumes) so that might also be a reason).

Like, I understand the appeal of a Byronic hero (Mr Darcy has far too much power) - a closed off, broody man that hates everything but you? And will burn down the world to keep you warm? I can respect that there are people who dig that. But their not really for me.

The mild bout of insanity thirteen year old me had where I spent two months attracted to Edward Rochester is an outlier and should not have been counted (though that was during my wattpad phase so...)

But I can admit that I have yet to shake off my feelings for Dr Henry Jekyll, Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray (though to be fair, Mr Gabriel John Utterson the lawyer and cinnamon roll artist boy Basil Hallward do own my heart). And yes, Jeremy Jordan did make me question my morality as he did make my feelings for Light Yagami be too positive to be sane for a brief moment (Touta Matsuda is still my man, don't worry). But apart from them, literally all of my faves are what you'd call your traditional, morally upright heroes.

Basically what I'm saying is that my perception might be skewed because I've never had the whole 'villains are cooler' mindset when it came to stories. Yes, I love the villains as characters but I always liked their heroic foils more (goodness is just so attractive to me). You get lots of amazing heroic protagonists that have horribly tragic backstories and they're the ones I always fall for because the idea of being a kind sweetheart despite the world being anything but is just *chef's kiss* that's a kind of strength that's so swoon-worthy.

I guess that's why it's harder for me to look past the characters' actions in twst is because, well, they chose to do everything they did. They made a conscious choice to be terrible, despite understanding the consequences. Riddle may have been brainwashed into becoming a tyrant by his mother but he still admitted that he knew he was being horrible - he understands the concept of morality, of good and bad, and he willingly and deliberately did everything he did.

I suppose this text post I found on Pinterest would explain my point better:

[la-pheacienne]

Rhaenyra is objectively a victim, but to people in the fandom, sob story olympic is about self projection, it’s about MY victimhood. They don’t think Rhaenyra is a victim because she’s not a character you can use as a vehicle to talk about your own problems. You can make posts about Alicent and moan about low confidence, anxiety, feeling useless, resenting other people's success or people trying to take control of their lives, projecting your inferiority/victim/martyr complex, etc. At the core of it, it’s narcissism, it’s thinly veiled self glorification and baits for validation. But you can’t really talk about Rhaenyra’s sob story and make it about yourself. Most of them don’t have very exciting lives or ambitions. Rhaenyra is sexually autonomous, has three bastards, and had her throne stolen because she was a woman. Not relatable.

"At the core of it, it’s narcissism, it’s thinly veiled self glorification and baits for validation".

"Rhaenyra is sexually autonomous, has three bastards, and had her throne stolen because she was a woman. Not relatable".

Yep, you said it all. Not relatable. Relatability is the number one quality a fictional hero should have in the current context of american media. Traditionally, or at least in my culture, what you go for -mainly- is exceptionalism. In order for me to care about a character they need to give me something exceptional, something particular, something that nobody else has. I am not looking to see myself on screen. I don't give a fuck about that. Give me something different. But be careful, exceptionalism doesn't mean lack of realism, not at all, I am all about realism, I just don't like characters just because they have weaknesses I can relate to. I need more.

Irrelevant but also kind of relevant : when I was little I read Little women. I loved it. So if you are not familiar with the story, it's a poor family with a lot of sisters, end of 19th century. Jo is one of the sisters, an Arya type of person we could say : she hates the discrimination against women, she wants to live like a man, doesn't want to get married, she wants to become a successful writer. Then you have her sister Amy, perfect little lady, accepts her position as a female, doesn't want to challenge anything, wants to get married to a rich husband, can be vain and self-centered, kind of manipulative etc. The heroine of this story is Jo. We are supposed to root for Jo. Amy serves mainly as a foil to Jo, even if in the end the two manage to get along. Yeahhh except that in the latest movie adaptation, guess which one of the characters people obsess with. Did you guess it? That's right. And why is that? Well because the actress that plays Amy is an absolute cutie with a sexy sultry voice, dresses perfectly and excells at what society expects of women. She conforms, she doesn't challenge, but she succeeds. So, relatable but also idealistic, the perfect combination. But Jo, who gives a fuck about a girl who was scorned all of her life for wanting something different for herself, for not accepting her context, for thinking out of the box. People don't want to see that. They don't want to be that. What they want is to play by the rules and succeed.

Same fucking shit with the tragedy of Antigone. Antigone is the heroine, she challenges the status quo, she sticks to her own moral code, she doesn't give a fuck about what the men around her want, she does her own thing and she is punished. Her sister, Ismene, serves as foil : she is coward, she is a conformist, she bows her head. In the end she regrets not helping Antigone because she loves her sister and she wants to share her punishment. Antigone denies her in disdain, she does not consider her worthy. Because she isn't. Ismene loves Antigone, yes, but she does not share the same exceptional traits that Antigone has and for which she is punished. So she does not deserve to have a place beside her. She is inferior. Ismene is actually more popular in Tumblrina culture than Antigone because people relate to her weakness.

People don't relate to these exceptional heroines because they are not looking for exceptional characters. They are looking for a more successful or a more glamourous version of themselves.

[atticoratticus]

DISCUSSIONS OF THE JJK MANGA

Okay so I just got fully caught up in the jjk manga after binging all 220~ chapters in the span of a couple days. I went in knowing some stuff about the characters, nothing major, but enough to set up some expectations for the story

All I'm gonna say is that those expectations were absolutely SMASHED. The action is intense, the development is amazing, the characters are well written, the story is very well paced, and the antagonists are EXCELLENT.

Speaking of antagonists, I love Mahito. He very quickly rocketed to becoming my favorite character in the entire series. He does a bunch of fucked up shit and it's awesome, because he's so blatantly evil that anything else would be disappointing. Yes he kills some very popular characters, but it simply wouldn't be in character for him to just let them live. He's consistent while still being unpredictable. Every panel he was in, I knew shit was going to do down and that it was going to be a hell of a time reading it.

Geto (well, I guess I should say Kenjaku) is amazing too. I love how he's both manipulative and also very clear in his intentions. He offers a more deliberate approach to the antagonists of the series, being more meticulous in how he goes about tackling his plans. Learning bits and pieces about him and his motives as the story progresses is so much fun, because it leaves you guessing how he's going to go about making his goals a reality (and holy shit, I did not expect for him to rope in foreign militaries into making his goals happen.)

Of course I have to sing praises for the main characters as well, because they make the story what it is. Itadori is put into such an interesting position from the start, both by being thrust into the world of sorcerers and purely by being Sukunas vessel. The way he matures throughout the story is such a gradual change that feels so natural, and it's something I love to see. He's not a static character - he's always striving to improve and get shit done and it's amazing.

Megumi is incredibly interesting to me. From the start you kind of expect him to take the path of the classic troubled anti-hero (think Itachi or maybe even Sasuke), but as you get to know him as a character it becomes apparent that he adverts all of those expectations. He's not afraid to kill people if he needs to, but he doesn't revel in it. It's a necessary evil, and his view on morality is incredibly interesting. He's not explicitly good, but he's extremely far from bad as well. His mental turmoil when faced with the threat of his sister being killed for something she had nothing to do with was heartbreaking, and seeing how all of his effort amounts to practically nothing when faced with her death is as soul shattering for the reader as it is for him (especially seeing as his body was the one used to kill her).

Gojo is a character I probably knew the most about going into the series. Hes THE character in jjk, and it's hard not know who he is if you're even a bit active in the modern animanga community. But even then I feel like his character is very easily misread by many people. He's seen as this childish guy with a god complex by many people who either haven't gotten far into the series are aren't bothered to take a deeper look into why he is the way he is. Especially in the chapters looking back on his past with Geto, it's interesting to look at the parallels between how he acts in the current timeliness and how Geto acted before he became an antagonist. He's grows very subtly throughout the series while still staying very similar to how he was at the start, and that isn't a bad thing at all.

Sukuna, similar to Mahito, is very blatantly evil. I mean, how could he not be. He doesn't show up a lot like I thought he would, but when he does it always leaves a hell of an impact. He acts for himself and himself alone, but he isn't unaware of the people/curses around him. We've seen very little about his past, and honestly I'm so pumped to see a bit more into what shaped him into how he is in the current point of the series. Him switching into Megumis body was such an adrenaline filled moment for me, because holy SHIT things are getting serious. You're reminded just how much of an enigma Itadori is, because up until that point you're used to Sukuna not being able to take control of his body as he pleases. But now? Megumi is practically powerless now that Sukuna took control of his body.

I have a lot more thoughts on the characters and just the story in general, but that's just my impressions right now dhajdjjdj

Didn't expect to write that much tbh

[crispofftheblock]

Throwback to the time my sister wanted to paint my little brother's nails and my mother's current husband threw a fit.

For reference, my little brother is 10 years younger than me, my sister is 3 years older. At the time, I was 12, my sister was 15, my brother was 3.

Now, C*rt isn't the father to any of us. He's some skank my mom picked up because her last flame (the father of my brother) was in prison and she's codependent.

C*rt is sterile. His peepee doesn't work and his fishies don't go swim swim. This is something he has very big sad sensitive man feelings about.

So one day my sister was painting her nails and my 3yo brother wanted his done too because little kids be like "older sibling is doing something? I want to also do that thing"

So, my sister was like sure!

But C*rt threw a GIANT fucking fit about it saying that he'd never allow "his" son to paint his nails bEcAUsE ThATS GaYyY!!1!

He asked my sister

"Are you going to paint your kids' nails? Even if they're boys?"

To which she said "lol yeah probably"

So our sweet darling empathetic and understanding perfectly mentally stable moms-husband said "Well your kids are going to be gay!"

Now, this is around the time I had just come out as a lesbian because back in 2009 in suburban white northern Utah, I had no idea that being trans was something I could even be. All you had was Gay(bad) or Normal(good).

But my big sister had my back from the very beginning. So when C*rt said this to her, her IMMEDIATE response was:

"At least I can have kids!"

I don't remember much after that but loud cowboy boots stomping down the back steps and the door slamming. We didn't see C*rt for a couple hours after that.

(You might be wondering: where was my mom during all of this? Why, where she always is. Hiding away in her bedroom because she can't ever stand up for her own fucking kids unless it publicly makes her look like a decent mother to strangers)

Fast forward 15 years. I'm happily trans. My sister is bisexual as fuck, and my little brother just now today told me he now has a boyfriend that he's super happy with.

Guess you didn't get all the precious little perfect white Bible Babies you wanted, eh, mah?

Anyway, TL;DR my sister is a fucking badass (and a ridiculously talented and creative artist and you should give her a follow over at @krowkeeper). And I've never been more proud of the siblings I got stuck with.

Moral of the story: make your broken family into kintsugi art.

Thanks for reading.

[lexo-is-pesto]

Somebody should make a Midsommar au of Murder Drones...

Hear me out!

(Spoilers for midsommar)

Dani would obviously be Uzi. Isolated, alone, insecure, and suseptible to a cult >:]

I know we all love our boy but let's face it, there's no "good" characters in this movie so N's Gonna be Pelle I'm so sorry. He's seemingly kind, cares about uzis problems really makes her feel like hes listening and there to comfort her. He also just so happens to be in love with uzi and accidentally leads her boyfriend and his friends to an insane cult where everyone except uzi dies and she becomes part of the cult... whoopsies ^^,(Maybe n would think he's doing the right thing for uzi idk)

Thad is gonna be Christian. Again I'm so sorry to Thad fans and especially to anyone who ships him with uzi but I can't really see Thad as being what uzi would need in a partner. In this au, thads a bit of an airhead and genuienly forgets things which frustrates Uzi, especially when they become big things like birthdays and anniversaries. He also thinks shes overreacting to most of the time, shes kinda clingy, and really they just want to break up with eachother :T

Josh is Doll. She's very focused on the cult itself to the point where she gives up her morals and humanity in the quest for knowledge. She's also very aware of the issues between Thad and uzi but quite frankly doesn't care enough to do or say anything. She's just her for her thesis man =\

Lizzy is Mark. I don't have much of a reason for this one. She wants Thad to break up with uzi because she doesn't like her? Idk she doesn't do much in the story besides disrespect the cult which I feel fits her character. the misogyny not so much so uh yeah that would get cut I think

That's it for the main group!

Next, V is Ingimar. HA HA that's right the cultists are gonna be the disassemblers and absolute solver users >:D Anyway she's aggressive towards N because he brought a lot more and "better" people for the cult than she did. Aka he had a better hunt and V WILL be holding a grudge till she dies

Connie and Simon are Rebecca and Darren because I said so. Moving on

J is ulf. Just like in the show, J is entirely loyal to the leader and beliefs that the cult holds. This causes her to act out when anyone (especially disrespectful ones like lizzy) oversteps their boundaries. Think of the ancestral tree scene. That's her.

And that's about it for the major characters.

Some more minor ones;

Cyn would probably be Maja as much as her whole plot makes me uncomfortable, the idea is she's young and foolish wich fits cyns whole little sister vibe (omg I'm gonna BARF)

Since uzis parents don't play a huge roll in the story besides to be um dead I guess. I'd say nori and khan should be the elders in the Ättestupa scene

The friends uzi makes in the cult could be literally anyone. maybe alice and beu Tessa as a drone? Other background workers we know the names of?

Not sure who I'd pick to be Terri...

That's about all the ideas I had for this au, I rewatched the movie recently so kinda just mooshed my 2 brainworms together. I thought it was pretty interesting tho so I'm throwing this out in case anyone wants to use it. Feel free to!

Peace and love md community ✌️

[blueamphibians]

My moms brand of homophobia is the only kind i will ever accept. Its so weirdly wholesome.

Despite her being hardcore christian, she actually never bought up LGBTQ stuff to me and my sister--not in the "its taboo" way, but in the "i am more focused on instilling proper morals in my children and LGBTQ stuff isn't even on my radar."

So obv that meant i had a super positive exposure to it when i found out, because no-one had ever told me it was bad. I found out gay people existed and went "makes sense" and moved on yk?

But back to her homophobia: She lives by a very strong rule of "its not my place to judge them, it's gods," so while she does think being LGBTQ is against the bible, she also doesn't think its her place to comment.

She DOES however think that its her place to be gracious to everybody because God is going to judge HER too, at the end. So this brings me to my favorite story ab her, right.

So our country is VERY conservative to the point where being LGBTQ can get you quietly fired or in extreme cases deported. The place she works regularly flies in staff from abroad though, and they're usually highly LGBTQ-friendly.

So my mom comes home one day, more stressed than usual, and i ask her whats up. And she goes "I had to warn one of the abroad staff not to talk about gender studies with the locals here", and i got prissy and went "why? because its wrong?" and she looked at me and went "No, because they're being nice to his face but what if they go and say something behind his back?"

Like her first instinct was to protect this man who didn't realize just what the environment here was like. And then she drove him around the city trying to help him find a touristy gift for his husband and even suggested different places to try even though she didn't have too.

Like sure my mom is homophobic but her morals clash so STRONGLY with the ideas of hate that she ends up being an ally. I lowkey came out to her one day by going "what would you do if i liked girls"

and she said "well. Id be sad because its wrong and I want you to go to heaven."

and i said "but how would you treat my wife? would you be nice to her?"

and she went "well, yes, of course--" and i went "what if i don't think its wrong?" and she went "well i cant force you but id like if you read the bible more :("

its worth noting that she was so uncomfortable during this conversation, which was so surreal for her, that she started cry laughing in the coffee shop because i was being really intense.

My mother is homophobic but shes also tolerant and so fucking kind and yk those are the kinds of people i can coexist with. She's the kind of person to see a gay coworker get fired and get upset, not because he's gay, but because her workplace had the audacity to fire somebody so experienced.

All this to say: I love my mom.

Side note, my roommate is homophobic (i don't blame her, and its not like shes doing harm) and I'm actually really open to being friends with her because shes kind as fuck and tactful. So yeah, its nice to coexist i guess

EDIT: also. My mom is like, really bad at being homophobic. Like she "knows" its wrong, but she gets really confused when she tries to explain why. And she doesn't actually...do anything homophobic. She sees men in heavy makeup and goes "wow....his eyeshadow is so good..." and then Side Eyes Me

idk. Shes a really good person. The only people I've seen her go "they should be harmed" about is like, r*pists and shit. Doubling down: I love my mom.

[hamliet]

Warning: Untamed spoilers!

Okay so, I finished the Untamed drama a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to think of much since. I loved it, but I also have issues with it (it’s probably because I tend to take this stuff wayyy too seriously, which I am sure you can tell by this very long message, lol). I want to read the novel, but I’m worried I will have the same issues and will be frustrated all over again. I came across your Tumblr and I wondered if you might have some insight?

The thing that worries me is the whole moral ambiguity theme and feeling conflicted about Wei Wuxian as a character. I’m kind of embarrassed to say this cause usually I’m the one arguing for more complex, multi-dimensional characters. Irl I’m always telling people to try to see things from someone else’s perspective, to think about the other side. So… I ought to like this… But I guess I was just really enjoying WWX as an uncomplicated hero/underdog, fighting against the man. I loved how self-sacrificing he was, how committed to doing the right thing no matter the cost. That kind of trope really gets me. It made me want to go protest in front of an oil company or something. I really had no clue that he was anything other than a simple good guy, except for Lan Zhan repeatedly warning him about using the black magic—which admittedly was kind of a red flag… (Whenever anyone says “I can control it! This extremely powerful weapon definitely won’t be used for evil!” that’s never a good sign.)

But, black magic aside, when his sister and Jin Zixuan died, I was really thrown off-balance. It really seemed like it was his fault (at least in part). I know the drama tried to blame everything on Jin Guangyao, but I’ve been told in the novel he’s more directly responsible, which honestly didn’t really surprise me, because blaming Jin Guangyao did seem kind of like an afterthought. It didn’t really fit the tone or theme of the story.

The thing is, having him (directly or indirectly) cause the deaths of two important main characters seems to imply that he had made some mistake—that we should be critical of him in some way. Or else, why would that have to happen? I know Chinese authors love angst, but if main characters have to die for the sake of drama, why not have them die at the hands of an obvious villain? The fact that WWX was involved in their deaths makes it seem like he did something wrong. But I didn’t really understand what. What exactly was his tragic flaw? That he was trying too hard to play hero? That he messed around with the dark magic and couldn’t control it? He was too proud, too overconfident? For me, the takeaway wasn’t really clear.  

As I said, I am okay with moral ambiguity. But WWX is different in that what is attractive about him IS his goodness, his selflessness, his willingness to sacrifice everything to do what is right. That’s why I loved him so much. But, by making him morally ambiguous, it kind of takes away from that. It almost seems like the author is criticizing those traits? Are those traits bad? I mean, I guess sometimes they can be. In my own life there are times I have tried to play hero, and as a result have screwed things up. But that seems like a surprising message for a drama like this. Or is it just that life is messy and even when you try to do the right thing sometimes it doesn’t work out? I didn't get the message.

And it was kind of painfully disappointing because I loved WWX so much! For his goodness. I almost feel more ready to forgive Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang for their crimes because, in some way, I don’t hold them to the same moral standard. Their goodness wasn’t what appealed to me about them. I feel like it’s very confusing to have a story all about moral ambiguity in a character who seems to be trying so hard to be good.

And then, when I talked to other Untamed/MDZS fans about this, and asked if the novel is more clear about this stuff than the drama, they were all like: “Oh, WWX is not morally ambiguous! He was just forced into a bad situation by the REAL bad guys! Only people who didn’t know him thought that he was morally ambiguous.”

Which just made me more confused. It’s like, if we are just supposed to love WWX and not feel conflicted at all about his actions, then why have him kill two main characters? And why keep hammering home the theme of moral ambiguity, which the drama did A LOT. (I mean they talked about it many times. It’s even in the lyrics to the song!)

And I was conflicted about WWX after the deaths. I felt like, after Jin Zixuan died, WWX should have realized his mistake for cultivating the black magic and have tried to get rid of it or something. But instead, he just goes back to argue with everyone and defend himself, starting the fight that eventually killed his sister. In the drama, he doesn’t really express regret about any of that, just sadness for what happened. He apologizes to Jin Ling for his comments about him lacking “maternal education,” but he doesn’t apologize for indirectly killing his father. It seems like the creators of the drama don’t really blame him either, and we are just supposed to blame the Jin clan and Jin Guangyao. But again, if we’re not supposed to blame him, why have him seem even partially responsible for those deaths? And why keep mentioning the theme of moral ambiguity?

I’m okay with redemption, but part of redemption is acknowledging that someone did something wrong. It seems like Untamed wants to have a story about redemption without actually recognizing his part in everything. Anyways, I know the drama really fell short in explaining a lot of things that were part of the novel. I wonder if you think the novel will explain everything clearly and all my concerns will turn out to be nothing? Or if the novel is similar enough that I might have the same reaction? I know I should just read it for myself, but it’s really long and I’m scared of disappointment 😅. I also told myself I would wait to read the novel until I deal with some things in real life, because I know that once I start reading I will not be able to think about anything else. As you can see, I am already not thinking about anything else and I should probably just read it, sighhh.

Anyways, thank you so much for kindly reading this very long rant. It is greatly appreciated. ❤❤

Hi! No worries about spoilers, I watched it long ago :D

In short: I think you would like the novel.

See, apparently protagonists aren't really allowed to be that morally complex or gray in the same way they can be in a novel, leading to all sorts of mishandlings and even fumblings of different elements of the adaptation. It comes across as contradictory in the drama because it is contradictory; they're telling you WWX is morally perfect, but he is demonstrably not, and fans of the drama kind of gobbled that up at the expense of the novel's characterization. Which is a shame, because the novel is so much more thematically rich. I mean, I think The Untamed adaptors did the best they could with the circumstances they had, but the novel is so much more complete and thematically tight, if that makes sense. (It's actually one of the few novels in existence that I can say truly milks every drop of potential from every possible character, situation, and theme.)

To kind of demonstrate what's different about the novel, I'll answer some more specific questions below:

why not have them die at the hands of an obvious villain?

So the funny thing is that the premise of the novel is that they are searching for a villain (because society is always searching for a villain), only to realize there is no villain at all. WWX is one of the few characters who truly realizes this in the end and has compassion for JGY. WWX is a good boy.

As I said, I am okay with moral ambiguity. But WWX is different in that what is attractive about him IS his goodness, his selflessness, his willingness to sacrifice everything to do what is right. That’s why I loved him so much

Alas, so this is where I'm going to try to explain that while it might sound like I'm saying the novel might be less appealing to you, I actually don't think it would be!

WWX is a complex character, and admittedly no one in the novel is black or white, good or bad. Yet, the traits of his commitment to doing what he thinks is right, as shown in the show, are still very present. WWX is very pure of heart in the novel; he just also is very human.

Honestly, I'd say that WWX is a perfect idealist in the novel. His ideals are good, too. There just sometimes are not good or right options to choose from because their world is so messed up (society is the real villain, so the villain is simultaneously everyone and no one); sometimes it's levels of wrong to choose from. Also, as an idealist, when his loved ones die because of him (which does happen even more directly in the novel than in the show), he sinks into despair and gives up on everything, even goodness, briefly, which is what leads to the massacre he's known for committing and also his own death. But when he wakes up resurrected as Mo Xuanyu and gets another chance, he's still idealistic and hopeful enough to take it; he's just a little wiser about his limits this time.

His goodness and his love with LWJ (a societally scandalous relationship) offer society a glimmer of hope to change the entire world from monster to human--that's the point of the novel! So if you think of him as a beacon of light, you're in luck.

“Oh, WWX is not morally ambiguous! He was just forced into a bad situation by the REAL bad guys! Only people who didn’t know him thought that he was morally ambiguous.” Which just made me more confused. It’s like, if we are just supposed to love WWX and not feel conflicted at all about his actions, then why have him kill two main characters?

Ex-frickin-actly. You can blame censorship for this!

It seems like Untamed wants to have a story about redemption without actually recognizing his part in everything.

Again, I applaud your point because this is exactly the thematic contradiction that the censorship created. Said contradiction doesn't exist in the novel.

Anyways, if you do end up reading it, I'd love to hear from you!

[lowkeyremi]

⚠️ Major demon slayer spoilers under the cut ⚠️

anyway I’m just writing abt how much I despise doma, and how I feel abt the backstories of akaza and inosuke now that the new season is out 💕

LETS BEGIN WITH THAT RAT DOMA

First impressions: I’m not even going to lie when I first saw him at the end of the entertainment arc season I thought he was hot. Like dayum who is that fine ass man. Then I was like “HOW COULD THEY CUT US OFF WITH ONLY A GRAIN OF THIS FINE ASS MAN” so little ole me makes my way to the bookstore to buy volume 18 (mind you I have no other volumes and it was a random purchase)

Midway through: I read that shit and was like “THAT’S IT?” I NEED MORE (so after much bribery my wonderful father bought me the whole box set of manga) and I’m back to the beginning I read the manga all the way up to volume 18 and here’s what I have to say.. (I should have started with akaza his story comes first 🤦🏽‍♀️)

Okay let’s start with the ending of chapter 140 of volume 16: Shinobu is doing her job looking for demons so she can kill them, then she smells a scent of blood. She comes across doma and guess what? That twisted mf is happy to see her cuz she’s a woman and he prefers to only eat women. Next up is 141 of vol. 16 and we’re met with a little flash back of Kanae dying. Shinobu is scared and she’s trying to find out what happened. Her sister states what the demon who hurt her looked like, then we’re back to the present and Shinobu recognizes doma because of how her late elder sister described him. She tries to use her sword to get some poison in him (wisteria). She can’t cut his neck because she’s weaker than the other demon slayers.

At the beginning of 142 we’re give a brief little back story about doma. He had a temple where people come to him and pray to him. As a child he would cry hearing their sad backstories and he wanted to help people. At the end of the volume it’s not looking too good for Shinobu. She’s on the verge of dying because of all the damage doma is doing.

Vol 17: in the beginning of the volume doma’s crying (empathizing?) with Shinobu. He calls her weak and admires her for her strength to keep going even though she isn’t strong. He begins to absorb her and she tells him to go to hell. That’s when kanao runs in and sees the end results of the fight. (Rest assured Shinobu’s death wasn’t in vain it’s later revealed that she injected herself with poison that would kill doma, so when he absorbed her the affects would take place sooner or later)

We pick back up with doma in volume 18: mid volume doma explains how he eats women because they’re nutritious. He cried over Akaza dying saying he was his best friend. He also talked about how Akaza never ate or fought women. (Ima talk about his reasoning when we get into akaza’s part) He starts to get angry because Kanao calls him out and talks about how much of a sick mf he is (I LOVE HER WTF) After fighting for awhile inosuke comes in to help and doma says he recognizes inosuke…

THATS A WRAP FOR MY DOMA ANALYSIS NOW FOR THE CONCLUSION:

I agree that at one point doma was a good guy, but after turning into a demon he started out bad then became WORSE. He ate both the Shinobu sisters AND he kept talking about his love for eating women. And it wasn’t even a “oh I appreciate women” kind of thing it was “females are objects for me to eat” if I ever met his ass we fighting. His morals became sick and twisted and I’m glad akaza tried to keep away from his creepy ass. I wouldn’t have had a problem if he ate men and women equally but this weirdo had a fixation on JUST women. I would include the part abt inosuke’s mom but we’re getting there.

INOSUKE (my lovely child):

okay we’re at the end of volume 18. Doma remember’s INOSUKE because of his face. He looks exactly like his mother. He digs through his brain (literally) and remembers that Inosuke’s mother came to doma (with little baby inosuke) in fear because her husband and mother in law would beat her and yell at her. Doma liked her enough and let her stay at the temple only after the day it got so bad that he decided to kill her husband and mother in law.

She was slowly becoming aware of who doma was and what he did to the people. She didn’t like it and felt uneasy about it. She confronted him and he was NOT happy about. So much so he decided he would kill her. (Mr woman eater can’t have people knowing his secret) It was said by doma that he actually LIKED her and had no intention of KILLING her.

He even told inosuke about how his mother would sing “pinky promises” to him which seemed to jog his memory into remember her. Once she knew the truth though, there was no going back. She ran for her life with her baby and he chased her. She knew she was going to die so she at least wanted inosuke to live a good life.

She apologized for not being the mother he needed and throws him off the cliff. In the next second doma strikes her dead. He didn’t even bother to look for inosuke because he assumed he died from the fall. I think doma cried real tears in that panel? Anyway, inosuke is beyond pissed. He says that he’ll send doma to hell and the volume ends.

It all continues in volume 19: They continue to fight for awhile and doma decides to leave so he can avoid being scolded he uses his demon blood art to continue fighting inosuke and kanao but he suddenly starts to melt which meant the poison kicked in that Shinobu injected herself with. (Once again she injected her self with the mindset that doma would absorb her and he’d intake enough poison to kill him- it worked)

MY CONCLUSION:

I love inosuke and I feel bad he had to go through that. (I mean yeah he doesn’t remember most of it but still) His background builds character and helps us understand why he was raised by boars. His skills are amazing but he doesn’t know much about modern day stuff because he was raised by animals. It’s hard for him to communicate how he feels and to show affection (at first). After meeting tanjiro, zenitsu, and nezuko he learned how to be an affectionate person. He’s still not good at showing it but it’s obvious that he’s trying.

OKAY ONE OR THE SADDEST ONES IMO

We’re back in volume 18 because the majority of it is about Akaza and his back story.

Vol 18: Akaza is on the brink of death and he explains how he can’t die because he has to get stronger. (He thinks it’s just bc Muzan said he could get stronger but I believe he wants to get stronger so he can avoid the situation of his loved ones being hurt like his late wife and late father in law)

Hakuji used to steal wallets and other things as human so he could afford medicine for his dying father. (Even though he tried his father ended up killing himself) His death took a toll on Hakuji (Akaza’s human name). He became a delinquent and he would beat people and cause trouble.

One day he met his future father in law, who was asked to take Hakuji back to his dojo to train him and hopefully mellow down his behavior. Hakuji was not feeling it and tried to beat him up but he got a taste of his own medicine and was knocked out by the dojo master. (I’m sorry but I found that shit so funny)

Keizo (Hakuji’s future father in law) took Hakuji back to his dojo and asked that he take care of his daughter until he got back. He explains how his wife drowned herself because she couldn’t handle taking care of their sick daughter. Hakuji was all like “yo you sure you want me to take care of her? I’m a criminal.” And dude’s like “yeah well I beat the shit out of said criminal so I think everything will be okay :D”

That’s when he met pretty girl Koyuki <3

(LOOK AT HER JEJEJSWKW)

Anyway he meets her and she’s left alone with him. The first thing she asks is if he’s okay because of his injuries. She was such a kind girl. (I think that gave Hakuji true happiness because he met such a pure soul) She was worried about him and how he couldn’t go out do anything because he always had to take care of her. He didn’t mind though because he enjoyed her company.

He was also very good at taking care of her because he had to take care of his sick father. The only thing he didn’t like was how she would cry while they talked. He felt really bad for the girl. He offered to take her to see the fireworks because she couldn’t get there on her own.

Keizo tells Hakuji the story of how he got the dojo. He also tells him about the people who want the land for themselves and about how the neighboring dojo started harassing their dojo. (Remember this because it’s important later)

Three years pass and Hakuji is 18 while Koyuki is 16. Keizo asks Hakuji to be the successor of his dojo because his daughter has a crush on him and he’s like the only student who’s been at the dojo (bc of the bad reps the other dojos give to their’s)

Ofc he said yes. He was so happy that his life had turned around. He decided to go to his father’s gravestone and tell him about it. When he arrives back at the dojo he can sense something it off… WAY OFF.

Someone tells him that the neighboring dojo poisoned the well water. Keizo and Koyuki are dead. He suddenly had a flash back of he and Koyuki seeing the fire works together. That was the day she asked him to marry her. Hakuji said he realized he couldn’t live without her and would do anything to protect her and her father. And he felt horrible when he couldn’t even do that.

He was so angry that he killed 67 members of the dojo that poisoned the well. Muzan came to scout the area because there were rumors of a “demon” (because of all the deaths) around. That was when he met Hakuji. He promised him that he could get stronger if he became a demon. And so Akaza was born.

After all of the backstory shenanigans we’re brought back to the present where Akaza is getting his ass beat by Tanjiro and Giyuu. He’s so close to dying. He’s giving up his life though because Koyuki’s spirit comes to him and tells him that he’s done enough. As he’s fading away he reunites with his wife and apologizes for not being able to protect her.

And that ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary hoes /j is why Akaza never ate or fought any women.

MY CONCLUSION: Akaza loved Koyuki so much and is why he couldn’t kill women. He loved one so much that he couldn’t bring himself to do something that would make him feel guilty. He was a troubled boy who needed love, so when Koyuki took him in he felt complete, he felt the need to protect, he felt loved.

I know that sounds cheesy but it’s true. Yes, Akaza killed Rengoku and people hate him for it but just remember he didn’t originally want to be a demon. He was doing everything he could to get stronger so he could protect the people he loved and if being a demon was the way then he’d become a demon no questions asked. I’m so glad he reunited with her. He needs a hug :((

THAT CONCLUDES MY DEMON SLAYER EXPLANATIONS AND ANALYSIS I KINDA WANNA DO ONE ABT MITSURI, THE SHINAZUGAWA BROS, AND MUICHIRO. IF YOU GUYS WANT THAT LMK. BAI BAI :))

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 224: Who You Are

Thursday, on her way to school, Ren got a message.

Yusuke: Pardon me, but you do remember the exhibit was today, correct?

Ren: Correct.

Yusuke: Do you think you could accompany me once again?

Ren: Of course!

Ren: Should I meet you at Kosei or the museum?

Yusuke: Just head straight to the museum.

Yusuke: I have to be there early to organize a few things.

Ren: Gotcha.

Ren: Do you want the others to come?

Yusuke: Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?

Yusuke: Hold on.

Yusuke started messaging the group chat.

Yusuke: I have an exhibit today. I’ve already invited Ren, but does anyone else want to come?

Makoto: Oh…

Yusuke: What’s the matter?

Makoto: Well, I was just thinking, we need to whip up a calling card for sis.

Makoto: We’re on the cusp of the deadline, and we need to make one soon.

Yusuke: I see…

Yusuke: Well, I can make the design at least and hand it off to Jose to give it to you.

Jose: Are you sure?

Yusuke: Positive.

Ryuji: And I’m guessing you want me to write the first draft once again.

Ann I can come with you to give you moral support.

Ryuji: Thanks babe.

Makoto: So, do you want me to put on the finishing touches?

Lena: She’s your sister.

Makoto: Very well then.

Lena: I have club activities, so I can’t join you today.

Lena: I’ve been learning how to balance everything, but it is a lot.

Sumire: I know what you mean.

Sumire: I’m heading to practice today as well.

Haru: There’s a meeting at Okumura Foods that I promised I’d be at.

Haru: So I can’t join you either.

Ren: Well, we don’t all need to be there.

Ren: I already agreed to accompany Yusuke.

Futaba: I think one of us needs to be at Leblanc in order for Sojiro to let us use it.

Ren You can do that, right?

Futaba: Of course!

Makoto: Well, it seems like we have a plan going forward.

Makoto: Remember: a lot is riding on this. One false move, and everything goes up in smoke

Ren: Right.

Ren: I’m positive we’ve made the right calculations.

Makoto: I sure hope you’re right.

Futaba: Who do you think we’re talking about here?

Futaba: Us Phantom Thieves have done the impossible time and time again.

Futab: We can thread this needle too!

Makoto: Thanks Futaba.

Ren put her phone away, and continued on to school.

After school, she went to the museum as recommended. She looked around and saw the fervor and excitement of the exhibition. Yusuke noticed her from the corner of her eye. He turned to her. “Ah Ren! Perfect timing!” Ren smiled, and headed over towards Yusuke. He smirked. “Behold: ‘A Beacon of Light in The Garden of Madness’!”

Ren looked at it. The edges looked similar to the last painting, desolate, uninviting, and withered. But in the center, there was a beam of light. The area of the Garden that has been touched in light feels calmer, more inviting, more beautiful. “Wow,” she remarked. “You really outdone yourself!”

“Why thank you,” Yusuke replied. Tell me, what do you like about it?”

“I mean,” Ren began, “I see the effort from your last painting, and how you built on that. I can see the vitriol of the world, but I can also see that where there is light, there is comfort, and it really tells me a lot about your outlook. The world may be rotten, but wherever you find your light, the world feels whole.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Kawanabe said. The two of them turned towards him as he approached. “Really, it’s head and shoulders above what you entered last time.”

Yusuke got defensive. “And I didn’t need your help to do it.”

“Did you now?” Kawanabe retorted.

Yusuke was puzzled. Ren took a second, but she understood. “Wait…You said all of that on purpose to motivate Yusuke, didn’t you?”

Kawanabe chuckled. “Guilty as charged.”

Yusuke was stunned. “So…that was a ploy to draw out my inner artist.”

Kawanabe nodded. “And it seems like it worked.” He looked at the painting once again. “Honestly, it reminds me of back when Madarame made his own works.” Yusuke and Ren were puzzled. “That is a compliment. Although I understand it not coming across.”

“No…” Yusuke said. “I suppose Madarame was a real artist in his own right at some point. I wish I got to see that side of him.”

“Did you know him?” Ren asked.

Kawanabe nodded. “He and I went to school together. Honestly, perhaps I could have stopped him from falling prey to his worst instincts. However, his descent was slow enough where I didn’t recognize it as such until it was too late. Hindsight is 20/20, I suppose.”

“It’s not your fault,” Yusuke said. “It’s nobody’s fault but his. And thanks to The Phantom Thieves, he’ll never do it again.”

Kawanabe nodded. “Are they perhaps your ‘Beacon of Light’?”

“Well, at first,” Yusuke said. “But over time as I started making new friends, and getting more encouragement from that, I have found them to be my ‘Beacon’.”

“How interesting,” Kawanabe said. “Now that I’m thinking about it Madarame used to ask me for help all the time.”

“He did?” Yusuke said.

“But the last time he did so,” Kawanabe continued, “was a while ago.” He looked intently at Yusuke. “He gave me a call because a child he was taking care of was sick. ‘Kawanabe!’ he pleaded. ‘Yusuke is sick, and I don’t know what to do!’”

Yusuke was shocked. “M-Me? He cared about me?” Kawanabe nodded. “It seems like he did. At least for a while. I can’t speak on your living condition during that time as much as you can though.”

Yusuke paused. “It…wasn’t all bad. But I always had fear in my heart. Once everything was said and done, I finally stopped being afraid. But perhaps that’s what gave me my artist’s block. Like a child eating as much candy as they want, only for them to get a stomach ache once everything was said and done. The freedom of not being in Madarame’s clutches let me run wild before I could even define myself outside of that.”

“How mature,” Kawanabe said. “I do have to admit something though.” Yusuke was curious. “Not everything I said at the sushi place was a lie necessarily. If you want, I can still support you through my foundation. Just…a little more hands off.”

Yusuke took it in. He took a deep breath, and said “I’m afraid I must decline for the time being.” Kawanabe was surprised this time. “Right now, I need to focus on what I want. I want to continue to evolve my work on my own terms. Perhaps when I am ready, I may accept.”

Kawanabe smiled. “Well, whenever you are ready, here’s my business card.” Yusuke took it. “Well, I should go. There’s plenty of other talent on display here.” He headed off.

“I’m surprised you said no,” Ren said.

“Well, I was tempted,” Yusuke admitted. “However, I feel like I still need to work on defining myself more. Even though this was a rousing success, I cannot let this go to my head. I need to always be chasing what’s next. And when the time comes where the Japanese Art Support Foundation is on the horizon, I shall chase it!”

Ren giggled. “I have to agree. You’ve become a lot more mature.”

Yusuke smirked, and then pouted. “Madarame is a…complicated person. Obviously, he was a monster that needed to be dealt with. However, I cannot deny that there was kindness in him. As Phantom Thieves, I wish to work with you to cultivate a world that thrives in that kindness, instead of causing others to retreat into bitterness.” He extended his hand. Ren shook it, smiling.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of the Emperor, granting thee infinite power…

Emperor-Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 10

Inside Yusuke, a powerful force was manifesting itself. His Persona, Goemon, was changing. Evolving. It froze over before shattering, and his persona grew alongside him, becoming Kamu Susano-o.

How wonderful! Truly a beautiful first step towards a better tomorrow. I shall cherish this moment with all my heart.

Once Yusuke and Ren finished shaking hands, Ren remarked “I have to say, great covering your tracks on that Phantom Thieves question.”

“Hm. Well, you can never be too careful,” Yusuke said. “Let’s look around. I want to see what I’m up against.” Ren nodded. The two of them headed off through the museum, looking at the different paintings, and appreciating them in their own ways.

Meanwhile, after school, Makoto was heading out, when Eiko caught up with her. Hey!” Eiko said.

“Oh!” Makoto replied, surprised.

“Do you have any student council business to attend to?” Eiko asked.

“Well, no,” Makoto admitted. “However, I have…other things.”

EIko was confused for a moment, but then got it. “OH! You mean…” She glanced around, and then whispered “Phantom Thieves things?”

Makoto nodded. “And this one is big.”

“How big?” Eiko asked.

“Very,” Makoto said. “Both for us as a whole…and me…”

“I’m sure it can’t be that bad,” Eiko said. “I mean, it’s not like you’re going after your sister or anything.” Makoto looked at her seriously and nodded. Eiko gasped. “You’re going after your sister?!”

“Shhhhhhhhhhh!” Makoto warned her. She glanced around, seeing no one noticing. “That’s correct.”

“When?” Eiko wondered.

“Saturday,” Makoto answered.

“Yikes!” Eiko reacted.

“But furthermore, there’s a lot riding on this,” Makoto said. “What happens because of this will change the course of the entire country.”

“How?” Eiko asked.

Makoto seemed nervous. “Well…I think it’s better if we explain it once we’re out of here. Besides, I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

Eiko was stunned. “Are you sure?”

Makoto nodded. “I brought you into my house. I shouldn’t have to cause more chaos than necessary.”

Eiko hugged Makoto. “It’s OK. I know you care for me.”

Makoto smiled and blushed. She gave EIko a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks. We should head out.” Eiko let go, nodded, and the two of them left the school.

Once they arrived in Leblanc, Ryuji, Ann, Jose, and Futaba were all waiting there, along with Sojiro behind the counter. “Oh, hey Makoto!” Ryuji said. “Are you ready?”

“Well, almost,” Makoto said. She walked in, and EIko followed behind her.

Ann was curious. “Who’s this?”

“This is EIko,” Makoto explained. “My girlfriend.”

Eiko was shocked. “You told them?”

“I…” Makoto said, nervously, “I had to. I’m sorry!”

“No, it’s OK,” Eiko said. “They’re your friends, right?”

Makoto nodded. “Right.” She sighed. “This is all new to me. I mean, I also had to tell you about The Phantom Thieves, but they need to know who else knows just to be safe, and-”

“Shhhhhhhhhhhh,” Eiko said, pressing a finger up to her lips. “I just said it was OK, remember?”

Eiko backed her finger from Makoto’s mouth. “Right…” Makoto replied. She chuckled.

“Well good for you two!” Futaba said. “But we should get to the matter at hand.”

Makoto nodded. “Right.” She smiled. “Eiko, this is Jose, Futaba, Ryuji, and Ann. And that’s Sojiro. He’s Futaba’s dad.”

“I see,” Eiko said. “Hello.” Everyone greeted her back. Makoto smiled. She sat down. EIko sat down next to her. “So, is this everyone?”

Makoto shook her head. “We’re missing some people. It’s a pretty busy day.”

“And from what I can tell, it’s going to get busier,” Eiko remarked.

Jose looked over at Makoto. “How much did you tell her?”

“I explained the basic overview,” Makoto answered. “But maybe we can walk her through some of the finer details.” Everyone looked at her a little stunned. “Guys, she lives with me. Anything that happens with my sister at least has a tertiary effect on her.”

“Fair enough,” Futaba said. “I mean, when I was in trouble you let Sojiro in.”

“True…” Ann said.

“Oh yeh!” Makoto said. “Did you want anything? This is a cafe.”

“Hmmm,” Eiko said. “I’ll just take a coffee.”

Makoto turned over to Sojiro. “I’ll take one as well, Boss.”

“Sure thing!” Sojiro said. “Comin’ right up!” He went to prepare their order.

“So, how ‘bout I start writing while everyone else fills in Eiko about what’s going on?” Ryuji offered.

“Is it because you don’t know what’s going on?” Futaba teased.

“Hey!” Ryuji snapped. “I know what's going on.”

“Yeah,” Jose added. “He wouldn’t be in charge of drafting if he wasn’t.”

“Thank you, Jose!” Ryuji said.

Futaba pouted. “...I’m sorry.”

Ann giggled. “It’s OK, Futaba.”

“I thought you were here to support me,” Ryuji said.

“I am,” Ann said. “But Futaba needs support too.”

Ryuji pouted. “I can’t deny that…” Eiko chuckled. “What’s up?”

“It’s just,” Eiko said, “you’re all so fun. On the surface, you all seem different, but I can see why you’re all friends.”

Makoto smiled. “Thanks.” Eiko giggled some more. “But I think we should explain what’s going on.” Eiko nodded. They proceeded to explain everything surrounding Sae’s Palace and the accusations laid at the feet of the SIU director, and how they intertwine.

Eiko was stunned. “Wow. That’s a lot…”

“Yeah,” Makoto said. “Honestly I’m a little glad you’re not on the frontlines of all of this.”

Eiko grabbed Makoto’s hand. “If you’re that worried, should I be worried about you?”

“Well…” Makoto said.

“Are you kidding?” Ann said. “She’s one of the toughest members on our team!”

“Yeah!” Ryuji added. “She’s the Fist of The Phantom Star!” Makoto glared at him. “Eeek!”

“Do you have the draft finished, Ryuji?” Makoto asked, intensely.

“Y-yes ma’am!” Ryuji said. He handed it over.

Jose looked over at Ann and Ryuji. “I will say, Makoto and Eiko bring up a good point. How do you two deal with your significant other being in the middle of all of this.”

This caught Ryuji and Ann off-guard. “You two are dating?” Eiko asked.

“Yes,” Ann answered, embarrassed.

“Yeah,” Ryuji agreed. “Well, um, to answer the question, while I do worry, I just worry a lot in general. I mean, I know a lot of the things I went through, and I know what she went through as well. But I know that she’s strong, almost to a surprising degree. When Ann wants something, she is determined to do it. Plus, she’s been a Phantom Thief longer than I have, so who am I to say she should stop.”

Ann giggled. “Thanks, babe.” Ryuji smiled and blushed. “As for me, nothing about this situation is ideal. I mean, we are all putting our lives on the line, but we all agreed to it. Our leader even cautions everyone about the risks, but we still agreed to it. Besides, we aren't alone. We have each other, and that puts my mind at ease. If Ryuji was out there by himself doing this, I’d be pale as a ghost. But with everyone else, I can relax more; relatively speaking, at least.”

Eiko chuckled. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m meeting you all then, huh,” she remarked.

“I guess it is,” Ann said.

“Yeah,” Ryuji said. “I can’t wait for you to meet everyone else!”

“Me either,” Futaba chimed in. “You seem nice.”

“Thanks,” Eiko replied.

“Alright,” Makoto said. “I think I’ve got it. Jose?” Jose handed her the card.

Eiko was stunned. “Do you design the cards?”

Jose shook his head. “That’s someone else. But I go to school with them.”

“You have another kid on your team?” Eiko remarked.

“No,” Makoto said. “He’s actually a prodigy. He goes to Kosei.”

“Ohhhhhhhh!” Eiki replied. “I see.” She turned back to Jose. “Well, you must be impressive.”

Jose blushed. “Well, I do what I can. He he.”

“Woah!” Futaba said. “Be careful Makoto. It seems like you might have some competition.”

Makoto chuckled. “Somehow, I think I’ll manage.”

“Yeah,” Jose said.”I don’t want to break a couple up.” Everyone shared a laugh. They continued talking for a while, eating and drinking as well, while Makoto put the finishing touches on the calling card. However, when evening rolled around, people started leaving. Still, it was a fun and productive meeting.

Meanwhile, after Yusuke split off from Ren to head back to Kosei, she got a text message.

Haru: Um, are you finished with Yusuke’s exhibit?

Ren: Yeah.

Haru: Oh.

Haru: I just got out of my meeting. I was going to try and come by and see it.

Ren: It’ll be up for a bit.

Haru: Well that’s good to hear.

Haru: But as long as you’re available, do you mind helping me with something?

Ren: What’s up?

Haru: I just want to go out and find some books down in Jinbocho.

Haru: But I also have a lot on my mind.

Ren: Sure thing.

Ren: Meet you there?

Haru: Yes.

Ren: Seeya soon.

Haru: See you soon.

Ren put her phone away, and headed out.

A little later, Ren met up with Haru in Jinbocho. “Hey there!”

Haru smiled. “Hello.”

“So, what are we looking for?” Ren inquired.

“I’m here looking for books on management, as well as seeing if I can find some books on growing vegetables,” Haru explained.

“Sounds simple enough,” Ren said. “Let’s go.” The two began shopping around. “So, what’s on your mind?”

Haru paused. “Well… I was in that meeting today, right?” Ren nodded. “It occurred to me that because of everything that happened, I don’t have a grasp on managing the company. I mean, I was set to be married off to someone who would do that for me. How can I guide the company with my vision if I don’t know how to guide a company in the first place, you know?”

“Well…” Ren replied, “I think if you’re giving it this much thought, you’re not going in the wrong direction at least.”

Haru smiled. “Thank you.” She frowned. “I want to be able to do more. All my life, I was told what I could or couldn’t do. I mean, I’ve rebelled when I thought I could get away with it, but I never felt like I had true freedom until recently. But even then, I got a lot placed on my shoulders. I feel like the easy thing to do would be to give up, but I don’t want to give up until I explain what I want.”

“You shouldn’t have to give up,” Ren assured her. “Like you said, you’re only now feeling your unlimited potential. You should have the freedom to choose what you want”

Haru smiled. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I keep bringing you into all of this.”

“What are friends for?” Ren retorted.

“True,” Haru said. “It is nice to have someone to talk to. I have Hiroki, and I’ve had him for a while, but we were never really open with each other. But that’s changed a little now too, I suppose.”

“Again, it’s your life,” Ren assured her. “Whatever you want.” Haru chuckled. They continued looking through the stores.

Upon seeing a gardening book, Haru went to reach for it, when she noticed someone else was grabbing it as well. “Sorry!” She said. She looked over, and saw that the other person was Hiroki

“Oh, uh, it’s alright,” he said. “I mean, I guess it makes sense. You are the one in the gardening club.”

Haru chuckled. “What brings you out here?”

“Well…” Hiroki replied. “Makoto-senpai is placing her trust in me to run the student council next year. So I came here to find books about leadership. Plus, I think I might start getting into gardening again, so I wanted to find some books for help on that.”

“I see,” Haru said.

“What about you?” Hiroki asked. “Are you here looking for gardening books too?”

“Well, yes, but,” Haru began.  Ren snickered quietly. “I’m also looking for books on leadership and management. I mean, I am hoping one day to manage Okumura Foods.”

“Oh. RIght,” Hiroki said. “Boy, this is a coincidence, huh.”

“You’re telling me,” Haru remarked.

“Are you done?!” a condescending voice said. Hiroki’s brother started coming over. “I can only ait for so long. I’m starting toge- YOU!” he noticed Haru. “WHy did your father have the AUDACITY to break off our engagement?!”

“I asked him to,” Haru responded.

“Since when did he listen to you?” Haru’s ex-fiance replied. “Do you really think you can manage a company all by your lonesome?”

Haru glanced away, unsure. “She’d do it better than you any day of the week,” Hiroki chimed in, surprising everyone. “I mean, your only skill is sitting there and looking pretty. You can’t even tell the difference between a stock and a bond.”

Hiroki’s brother glared at him. “Since when did you have a backbone?”

“You’re just now noticing my disdain for you?” Hiroki retorted. “Like I said: sit there. Look pretty.”

Hiroki’s brother scowled. “Oh please. You think you're better than me?”

“No. I know I’m better than you,” Hiroki shot back.

Hiroki’s brother grew angrier. “Wait until father hears about this.”

“Trust me,” Hiroki replied. “It’s not going to be new information to him.”

“Then why does he like me more?” Hiroki’s brother gloated.

“Because you’re a puppet,” Hiroki said. “He’ll tell you to do something and you do it, no questions asked. You say I never had a spine before? When was the last time you talked with dad without bending the knee?”

Hiroki’s brother grew furious. He raised his hand to smack Hiroki, but Haru stepped in and caught it. “Let’s not make a scene!” she demanded. She kept gripping his arm. “You can air out your disdain for each other on your own time. But right now, people are here shopping. I can’t imagine this would look good for you, or your father, if a brawl erupted here.”

Hiroki’s brother glared at her. He broke out of her grasp, shanking his arm, before settling down, at least physically. “You do have a point. Still, I hope you’ll reconsider.”

Haru continued her intense gaze. “I respect you enough to tell you that I think you could be competent enough to run a business. However, you are such a miserable person that I would rather spend time with The Devil himself than with you.”

Hiroki’s brother glared at her some more. “I see those devilish Phantom Thieves got you as well. No matter. We’ll see where you stand when the angels come. Perhaps if you beg, I’ll take you back.”

“Maybe you should go,” Haru said. “Before I decide to ‘make a scene’.” She clenched her fist.

“Hmph,” her ex-fiance scoffed. “I guess I’ll head back to the car then.” He turned to Hiroki. “Hurry up asshole.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Hiroki replied. “Or do. I don’t care either way.” Hiroki’s brother headed out. Hiroki turned to Haru. “Sorry about all that.”

“It’s OK,” Haru said. “I know he’s an unpleasant person. You don’t have to apologize for him.”

“Well, true…” Hiroki agreed. “But I'm also talking about…well...I know you can defend yourself. I just stepped in because…”

Haru smiled. “It’s OK. I appreciate it. To be honest, I’m not sure how well I’d do managing a business. So thank you for sticking up for me.”

Hiroki was taken aback. “Oh, uh, thanks,” he said, blushing.

“Do you want to continue looking for books together?” Haru asked.

Hiroki paused, and then shook his head. “As much as I want to make my brother write in agony, I think I do need to get going soon. I can pick up gardening books some other time. Seeya!” He started to leave.

“Wait!” Haru called out. Hiroki turned back. “Um, I’m willing to let you borrow any books I find interesting. If that’s OK.”

Hiroki smiled. “Yeah. That’s great!”

Haru giggled. “Talk to you soon, OK?”

“OK,” Hiroki nodded. He left.

Haru sighed. “Hey,” Ren said. Haru looked over. “How are you feeling?”

“Well…” Haru said. “Oddly, refreshed. My father broke things off with my fiance, so I never got to tell him how I felt. This gave me the opportunity. But I’m still a little conflicted.”

“Well, for what it’s worth,” Ren began, “I think this proves you have what it takes to lead.”

“What do you mean?” Haru wondered.

“Well,” Ren answered, “you managed to deescalate a conflict. You said what you wanted, and remained firm throughout.”

“Well, I needed help at the beginning,” Haru admitted.

“Speaking as someone who’s been leading ‘those devilish Phantom Thieves’ for a while,” Ren remarked, “a good leader will admit when they need help.”

Haru smiled. “I see.” She went into deep thought. “I guess I always saw my father as this be-all end-all figure. I didn’t think he was the paradigm of true leadership, but I never understood what exactly his failings were. I suppose that needs some thought given to it as well.��� She pouted. “I only have a few months before I graduate to figure everything out.”

“Ehhhhh,” Ren groaned. “I don’t know about that.” Haru was confused. “I’m not saying you’re not smart, but I imagine that you would want to learn more. You know, go to college, get a degree? I don’t think running a business is something you dive headfirst into.”

Haru smiled. “You’re right. I do need to work on taking those first few steps though. If I want to be the leader of Okumura Foods, I need to give people an outline of what the plan is at the very least before I go off to college.”

Ren nodded. “And who knows? Perhaps they’ll be really helpful. You told me you like having people to talk to about things. Maybe talking with them will yield similar results.”

Haru giggled. “I guess you’re right. But like you said a good leader knows when to ask for help, and well, I did ask you to accompany me today. So I think I’m in a better spot than I thought I was. So thank you.”

Empress-Haru Okumura: Rank 5

Haru grabbed the book she and Hiroki grabbed for earlier. “It’s getting a bit late. I think we should wrap up this shopping trip. This has been fun though.” Ren nodded, and the two went to check out, and head home for the night.