#this protag is a former character

[bee-the-whovian]

What do you do when your protagonists are anti-heroes? Well, the villains have to be worse.

Yes, yes, the protags are thieves and pirates, but only kinda. Don't worry about the fact that they will kill people and take their money because at least they're not the SLAVER SHIP with all the rapey pirates. Nope... the main character's future husband is gonna kill all those bad guys and let the slaves go. So, it's fine.

I never considered the consequences of anti-heroes. These villains have to be THE WORST and I don't know how I feel writing it. Right now it's just an outline and I've got shivers.

[mihai-florescu]

And every time someone undermines anzu as a character and thinks they can just self insert on her because she's a blank slate character another angel loses its wings

[galedekarios]

i think one of my favourite things about gale is still that gale is both extremely, extremely capable in his chosen field and very worldly in many other matters, while also at the same time being very earnest and genuine about who he is at heart.

he was an archwizard and a former chosen, capable of composing the weave itself, able to distill somatics to their most efficient basics, inventing new spells with his most trusted feline companion, whose spellcasting ability is only held back by her lack of opposable thumbs, while also being the very same person who has his projection do a little °˖* ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ to reassure the protag it carries a certain measure of his personality (which it had to be instructed to do and i love that so much) and making puns about said feline companion being quite 'prosper-puss'.

he contains multitudes. he's truly the most character to ever.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

sugar sugar rune x twst au word salad

“The heart is yours to take, but you must not allow yours to be taken.”

The concept of this AU borrows a lot of ideas from the animanga Sugar Sugar Rune! ^^ It’s an older shojo series that I always think of when Halloween season arrives. Sugar Sugar Rune is about two years witches who are best friends, Chocolat and Vanilla, who compete to capture the most hearts in the human world. Whoever is victorious will become queen of the Magical World—but with love comes danger. If their own hearts get stolen, then they can lose their lives.

I should add, I currently don’t intend to write a fic based on this, I just wanted to braindump my ideas out and speculate on how this AU would work.

And now, without further ado…!

I think a good place to start is to explain the key points about the world and other relevant lore! Then we will get into the characters. (No story spoilers though, this AU won’t follow the original plot of Sugar Sugar Rune to a T!)

So the Magical World of Sugar Sugar Rune is where all magical creatures, including witches and wizards, reside. In the Magical World, ecure (or hearts), crystallized emotions, serve as an energy source and currency. Mages must frequently venture into the Human World in order to "harvest "pick up"/harvest ecure since humans have the unique ability to regenerate their hearts even when already stolen. Contrasting humans, mages only have one heart. That means if a mage's heart is taken, they will surely die. When mages fall in love with one another, they exchange their hearts during their wedding vows. They have to be careful who they fall in love with, as they can literally "die of a broken heart" if their partner betrays them. It's ill-advised for a mage to fall in love with a human, as while humans lack the ability to "pick up" hearts, a mage has to voluntarily hand their heart over if they reach a certain point (the color red)

Speaking of red!! Ecure/hearts can come in various colors depending on the emotion associated with it. Each color (and thus emotion) is associated with a different value, which roughly aligns with the value of the Japanese yen. The values are, as follows:

Yellow or Jaune - surprise, fear (5 ecure)

Orange - love at first sight, crush, infatuation (300 ecure)

Green or Vert - friendship (350 ecure)

Rainbow - happiness, delight, amusement (500 ecure)

Pink or Rose - the beginning stages of love, sweet love (1000 ecure)

Purple or Violet - lust, forbidden love (2500 ecure)

Blue or Bleu - respect (3000 ecure)

Red or Rouge - passionate love (5000 ecure)

Black or Noir - hatred, jealousy (no known value, hurts mages) I think this works really well with the concept of Blot in Twst—

White or Blanc - innocence (no known value, purified black heart; has restorative or healing properties)

Besides serving as energy and currency, ecure are also a way of counting points for Queen Candidacy. In the Magical World, the ruler is determined not by birth by through a competition in which candidates compete to see who can collect the most ecure (I believe over the span of a year). In the original Sugar Sugar Rune, the two candidates are Vanilla and Chocolat. The former is shy, sweet, and sort of a crybaby, with her mother being the current queen. Chocolat is the daughter of the queen's former competitor and comes off as more of a brash tomboy.

So what I'm proposing for the Sugar Sugar Rune x Twst AU is :DD basically keep all the lore but replace the two protags with MALLEUS (as Vanilla) AND LEONA (as Chocolat). They won’t be besties like the original MCs were, but more like traditional rivals because it would be funny lmao

Malleus is the more regal and composed of the two (he is literally a crown prince), so he has that obvious parallel with Vanilla. Not only that, but he's more withdrawn and has deep insecurities about being alone (also similar to Vanilla). I think his reputation could play well into the AU as well; in the Magical World, everyone fears him so he’s used to being alone—but in the Human World, he’s beloved for being awkward and mysterious (reflecting the international Twst fandom’s adoration for the guy). Malleus would feel obligated to win to carry on his family’s legacy but also because he feels like if he doesn’t, he has nothing left. No friends, no people to keep at his side—but if he has the status of King, then he’ll have a whole nation looking to him. Since his mom is uh… “with the stars”, the current Magical World queen could be his grandmother, and Malleus may feel like he has that legacy to live up to.

Leona, like Chocolat, is the underdog. What he lacks in status (as crown prince) he makes up for in intelligence and charisma, which nets him many followers in the Magical World. He comes off as tough and hard to approach to humans who aren’t used to his demanding attitude though, so it puts him at a disadvantage in the competition. He’s very much the “bad boy” similar to how Chocolat wasn’t a traditionally girly girl, but it’s ultimately the heart of gold buried underneath his hard edges that will eventually put him toe-to-toe with Malleus. I think Leona’s reasoning for wanting to be King would be similar to what he expresses in his original source material—to prove himself worthy, regardless of the family or order he was born in. Maybe he was almost not considered to be a candidate at all and his brother Falena was supposed to compete? Or alternatively, Falena is Malleus’s real competitor but Leona snuck into the Human World as an upstart/self-imposed third entry 😂

Chocolat and Vanilla have a mentor mage in the Human World named Robin (who is a famous rock star fjsvwisnksks). He’s the one who explains things to them and serves as their guardian figure while they room together and study at a human school for the Queen Candidacy.

What I’m thinking is that Leona and Malleus will venture into the Human World under the guidance of… Crowley 🤡 LISTEN, IT WOULD BE FUNNY Crowley does a lot of the exposition in Twst, so he could reprise that role here. He is also vain and thinks highly of himself (but ultimately cherishes his students) like Robin. Picture Crowley having to mediate between Leona and Malleus fighting every second of the day while living together—

That’s honestly all we need to replace to get the AU rolling. If we want to, we could expand the Queen (King now I guess) Candidacy to have more candidates. Then maybe the other Twst characters could also participate but the story could still center on Malleus and Leona as the two to “keep an eye on”/audience favorites.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this 🤔 but I do think this could be a fun AU for like. Yume/self insert scenarios so you can angst about whether your feelings are real or fabricated so [insert mage of choice here] can harvest ya like a plant… Or angst about not being able to be with [insert mage of choice here] because they might literally perish… Many possibilities!

[stealingpotatoes]

Thoughts on count dooku? Hes one of my all time favorite characters in star wars (i blame dooku: jedi lost by cavan scott)

HE IS SUCH AN INTERESTING CHARACTER like?? guy who basically sees exactly how the republic's gonna mess w the jedi but then leaves a bit too hard and ends up as a sith. thats so COOL we love a good accidental corruption arc and tragedy

ik we have TotJ to kinda make up for it, but clone wars underutilised that man to oblivion. like in the movies they poke at him being a former jedi (but maybe not enough) and they make him to be at least a bit complicated. then in tcw he just became a moustache twirling villain who's evil bc he's evil. like COME ON i get not doing it so much in the movies, you have less time, this is a 7-season show where the 3 main protags are all from dooku's lineage and you're not gonna ONCE explore this or how qui-gon's death changed all of their (ok less so soka's) lives forever???? not gonna explore how dooku is a fallen jedi like anakin will be or have dooku try to reason w obi wan over qui gonn???? nothing??? ur just gonna make him go round murdering everyone with no motivation and not be the cool collected elder-statesman-and-former-jedi we know???

[illarian-rambling]

Aw balls. I almost forgot an intro

Hi, I'm Katie! I'm a writer with two ongoing wips that I like yammering about, so ima do it here!

Pronouns: she/her

Age: 20

Other interests: art, dnd, the Magnus Archives, anything Cosmere related, martial arts, Critical Roll

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My wips are set in the same universe, on the planet of Illaros, fifth from the last star left living in the universe. There's a continent, some islands, and other assorted junk down there. The gods have a dyson ring, but they don't like to talk about it. The stars are the eyes of an ancient primordial force of destruction.

Honor's Outcasts follows a rag-tag group of delinquents trying to survive psycho pirates with family ties, a siren theocracy, magic that rots in your blood, and the Horrors. Their number includes such mighty heros as: a kid who can explode people with her mind, a buff shark lady who survives regular eldritch encounters by not paying attention, a mute aroace siren man with a bitchy attitude, and the world's sweetest gang mamber. Of course, they're one big family, and what's family without a little religious terrorism?

The Mystery of the Mortal God asks what happens when magic and science collide in a world where ethics panels haven't been established yet. Set a few decades down the line from HO, this story follows a cowboy witch with a chip on her shoulder as she discovers a mysterious robot laying broken and confused on the side of the road. At the same time, in a city on the other side of the globe, a blue blooded detective investigates a cold case suddenly gone hot. In time, all players will meet, including the mage who set this whole conundrum in motion.

The Final Voyage of the R.S. Starbreaker is sci-fi with ghosts! More accurately, as the magical societies of Illaros take their first steps into space, they don't use unmanned probes, but instead call upon the gods to send ghosts to be bound to a mighty runic galleon: the R.S. Starbreaker. This first skeleton crew consists of an honorable former Flying City pilot with a seedy past, a brash elven astronomer infamous for her incomplete work, a meticulous selkie cartographer determined to map the solar wheel, a laid-back fae man with a dangerous set of ideals, and the key to this mission's success: a former part of an eldritch hive mind on a hunt for his extinct people's missing afterlife.

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Anyways, if you're here, feel free to say hi! I'll mostly be posting whatever bullshit comes to mind, but maybe you'll get lucky and something entertaining will come out? I certainly hope so!

Have a bitchin' day <3

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An addition! Here are my characters' playlists! (And intros for those who have them) (All instrumental because I can't write while listening to vocals)

Izjik Meautammera +intro

Sepo Kaiacynthus +intro

Twenari Devaris +intro

Djek Kagura +intro

Daedryn Whitenight

Astra DuClaire +intro

Mashal Darezsho +intro

Ivander Montane +intro

Elsind Cavernsight +intro

Avymere Spearsong +intro

Ghost Ship Radio + wip intro (for the Starbreaker crew)

(Curious as to which character you might relate to the most? Here are some quizzes that might help you out!) (First is for MG and HO, second is for Starbreaker)

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A second addition! Please feel welcome to check out my new Illaros library! These are short stories written (mostly) in my setting that I've shared before on here, but I figured I'd put all the links in one place :)

Down in the Deep Dark - 2,500 words - The tale of how Izjik and Sepo met

Violating the 4th - 11,000 words - Coverage of the first Surgeon case from the POV of Ceyrel (Ivander’s detective partner)

Rel's Haunting - 16,000 words - A story of a fallen angel, the dead god who made them, and finding wonder in the supermarket

Full Saturation - 2,000 words - A short horror story set on modern Earth about saturation diving and places better left untouched

And for some one-shots:

Mashal and Ivander hanging out

Izjik making Sepo a flute in the Trench

The cast of Mortal God gets a beach episode

Mashal teaches Astra to ride a horse

Again, have a bitchin' day <3

[gingerhastoomanyobsessions]

not to post like it’s still 2022 but how did nobody notice that goncharov was a Macbeth adaptation???

like. we’ve got our troubled protag (macbeth/goncharov) whose ambitious wife (lady mac/katya) pressures him into clawing his way to the top of a violent power structure (scotland’s monarchy/the italian mafia). he ends up ordering the death of a former friend because said friend realizes what he’s done (sending assassins after banquo/sending ice pick joe after mario, but the latter has more emotional depth since joe and mario were friends). valery takes on the role of the witches by supplying goncharov with ominous warnings and hinting that all is preordained as he tries to bring goncharov to justice. in reaction, goncharov attempts to destroy potential threats (sending ice pick after andrey and sofia, who survive because of joe’s failure to go through with it and subsequent death in the church scene), paralleling the assassination of the macduff family. it’s also when we get that sweet gunfight amid the historical ruins, but that’s not important rn. when katya learns that goncharov tried to have sofia killed, she breaks down and tries to shoot him on the bridge scene (“if you loved me you wouldn’t have missed” etc etc) before almost throwing herself over the edge, bringing to mind lady macbeth’s mental collapse and subsequent suicide. instead of birnam wood coming to dunsinane, we get the boat scene. when goncharov asked valery why he was so determined to bring him back to russia to be prosecuted instead of just killing him, valery told goncharov “you’re untouchable so long as you’re on Italian soil” and the boat isn’t technically on Italian soil. andrey and goncharov have their stand-off at the ship’s wheel, symbolizing their fight for control over the system. meanwhile, sofia and katya make their escape, getting the chance to survive and leave the system of violence that killed their shakespearean counterparts. goncharov doesn’t know that katya is still alive, so his speech winding up his pocketwatch when he’s talking about how her time ran out and how nothing could stop the clocks? that was his “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” moment! when andrey shoots goncharov and DOESN’T MISS, it’s not just gay, it’s his “man of no woman born” parallel. he managed to do what nobody else could. but this movie has no malcolm character to bring the system back to normal and take the throne/lead the mafia. it’s just andrey at the wheel. and the deafening ticking of goncharov’s pocketwatch, laying face-open in the pool of blood, before it runs out of time and winds down for good.

[m3rricat]

I reblogged a Knights of the Old Republic post last week sometime, and ever since I've been thinking about how much that game means to me. I was a young teen when it came out and it was my first RPG. (if you don't want to be majorly spoiled, stop reading!)

So it was a lot of fun, and I grew up on Star Wars and all that so playing a Jedi was like, the stuff of dreams. And I managed to play it without getting spoiled for Thee Twist. That is, I had no idea up until the big reveal that you (yes, you!) are the shadowy Revan, the Jedi-turned-Sith-Lord, the former master of the current big bad.

And I was legit dumbfounded. You mean... me? This woman character I created? She was a terrifyingly powerful Sith Lord who betrayed the Republic and nearly ruled the galaxy? She wasn't, like, the Dark Lord's girlfriend? You mean nothing about her character or relevance to the plot has anything to do with her being a romantic partner (or a mother?) She's not there to be sexy at all?

Because you see, back then we were only at the cusp of having more female protags in nerdy media. And as a nerd since birth practically, I was falling hard into the not-like-other-girls bullshit, because in most all the media I revered, women were shoved into specific roles, and it affected me. But KOTOR did legit cut against that for me, and for all its flaws it has stayed with me and still very much affects the kinds of stories I want to tell.

[maximumqueer]

An aspect of Luffy as a character that I don't think gets talked about enough is the way in which he makes alliances with potentially questionable individuals (Law during Punk Hazard) or temporary truces with antagonists form previous arcs (Rob Lucci during Egghead.)

Because it would have been so easy to just have this aspect of Luffy's character be a result of him being too trusting. But it's not that. Luffy doesn't necessarily believe that the aforementioned people are going to keep their promise to him, even if in that moment he takes their word at face value. His trust instead lies in the belief that him and his crew are fully capable of handling any potential betrayal of an ally (temporary or otherwise) if they do end up going back on their word. He is fully willing and ready to beat the shit out of a former ally if the situation calls for it.

And what I love about this is that we have a example in Impel Down where Luffy is forced to actually contend with the potential fallout of a betrayal in the form of him freeing Crocodile. Luffy doesn't have the benefit of his crew in Impel Down to help with the fallout of Croc turning against him, nor does he have the time to simply deal with Croc himself due to them needing to get to Ace by a certain time. And yes, part of Luffy's hesitance is due to him hating Croc for what he put Vivi through, but I also interpret it as Luffy not having the benefit in that moment of making his usual reckless decision of working with a person that can't fully be trusted and simply dealing with the (potential) fallout of that later. Because he is alone (in the sense that he does not have is crew and is instead being aided by people he only recently met). And while he does end up freeing Croc, it was in no way an easy decision on Luffy's part, and definitely not one he was happy with making.

I just really love these type of aspects of Luffy's character. Because on the surface it just reads as a typical "dim-witted" shonen protag who maybe trusts in people (antagonists) a bit too much, but when dug into a bit more, it upholds the themes of community and found family of the series. Because it is heavily implied (if not just outright stated) that Luffy's willingness in making these reckless alliances is - in part do to trust in his own strength, yes - but more importantly in the strength and judgement of his crew.

(it's also just funny to see the "too trusting" trope subverted in a way that has the protagonist be ok with dubious alliances not because he trusts them implicitly, but because he and his friends can just beat the shit out of them if they do end up betraying them)

[spinnedcycle]

locked tomb protags feel like they carry the spiritual DNA of certain homestuck characters

(TLT author is former homestuck)

[arkus-rhapsode]

When you see yourself in trash (Gachiakuta Discussion)

So with the positive reception of my recent thinkpiece, I wanted to make good on my promise that I’d post more. And this has kinda been one I’ve been wanting to do for a while. But due to the deeply personal nature of it, I wanted to really give it the time it deserved to come together.

This is going to be a post about Gachiakuta, which if my multiple posts on it haven’t been an indicator, I'm kinda a big fan. But what’s more, I really wanted to talk about why Gachiakuta speaks to me more in depth.

Background 

So for those who don’t know, Gachiakuta is a weekly manga series by mangaka Kei Urana. Urana is a former assistant of the student of the Soul Eater and Fire Force creator, Atsushi Okubo. This series premiered shortly after Okubo’s Fire Force finished up, and stars a young boy named Rudo who lives in the slum area of a place called “The Sphere” (Or Heaven depending on the translation). Rudo has a habit of stealing from waste deposit sites and repairing broken items he finds. He lives with his adopted father Regeto after his biological father was sentenced to “The Abyss” for murder. The Abyss is a gaping chasm where all of the Sphere’s trash and prisoners are dumped. 

Rudo is a somewhat surly child, and noticeably struggles with properly expressing his emotions despite the fact he is a highly emotional person. Smiling in particular is a struggle for him. Rudo one day comes to find Regto killed by a mysterious masked man, and blamed for this crime. Rudo is sentenced to the Abyss where he cries in anger he will return and kill everyone here. In the Abyss, Rudo is met by monsters made of trash and people devoted to fighting them, the Cleaners (Or Janitors depending on the translation). This fighting force of magic garbage men use the power of a “Giver” to empower items dear to them known as Jinki. With Rudo discovering that he can do the same with his gloves given to him by Regeto. Now he’ll work with the Cleaners killing trash monsters as he unravels the mystery of who killed his adoptive father and how he’ll escape the Abyss.

And it has been the newest manga series in the last four years that has not only made me feel hyped but await every chapter since its release.

Now if everything I said previously sounded like “well that sounds like a fairly straight forward if somewhat interestingly flavored revenge action manga. What makes it special?” Well then we’re going have to talk about Rudo. 

Rudo

So Gachiakuta is a series with a lot of weirdos in it and some unconventional story structures to it (and we’ll touch on that later) but I think the character who embodies the core of this series is its MC, Rudo. 

On the surface Rudo is a character that could feel at home with any number of shonen manga protags. Really expressive, yells a lot, spiky hair, and a power that’s kinda special amongst its power system. Basically, If Deku from MHA was a bit more angry and sleep deprived, you probably think he and Rudo were the same person on the surface. And for the most part, Rudo seemed to be that way, an angry kid out for revenge who treasured the last remaining gift he received from his foster father. Yet then we get to chapter 15 of Gachiakuta. A truly special chapter. 

When Griss, Rudo’s teammate for this mission, was run through with claws by the villain, Jabber Wongar, Rudo seems to suffer some for of PTSD as the world goes hazy and he sees Griss as Regeto, stabbed and bleeding. We cut to Rudo as a child in Regto’s care and there, Rudo is banging his head against a wall to the point blood is coming out. 

When Regto asks why Rudo would do this, the only thing Rudo can describe is how he has nothing. He has these feelings he doesn’t know how to describe yet he believes he’s nothing from the abuse he suffered at the hands of parents. All he has to really express it it this sort of frustration. While Rudo’s parents being murders may have been a lot for any child, Rudo carries literal scars given to him by his father. His hands peeled and scared and burnt black. The pain in his hands stops when he wears the gloves Regto gave him. 

And when Regto wants Rudo to find something to focus his passion into, the thing that catches Rudo’s attention the most is a broken mannequin. Rudo cries letting out those feelings he said he couldn’t describe. Wanting to fix something and can’t believe it was tossed away because it was “a little broken.” At that moment, Regto realizes something about Rudo. He sees himself in those same objects that weren’t valued and tossed away.

So this is where I get to one of the things about Gachiakuta and Rudo in particular that speaks to me. Rudo, to me, is an example of a neurodivergent child and the text actually bothers to focus on how this affects his life. Now I know the moment I’ve said that there will be a lot of people who want me to explain, and the first thing is, no the manga doesn’t come out and say that Rudo is on the spectrum. But rather it lays a pretty explicit analogy to someone who may not be typical in some regard mentally or emotionally. I know in the space of neurodivergent individuals representation is… difficult. Not just to find in the media, but also represented in a way that isn’t just “they’re a super genius.” Because there are many many forms of neurodivergence and how the manifest can be different for many individuals. Someone with ADHD may have their life affected in ways different than someone diagnosed with Autism. This is where I think it's very important for me to say, I’m just one guy on the spectrum. I’m speaking from my personal experience but you shouldn’t take my opinion as gospel. This is just me and my experiences. And my personal reading of this  

So when I say, a “mentally different character” in the media can be a tricky tightrope to walk, I mean it. Wanting there to be a positive representation for a community that may not get representation, but also not wanting to be like some monolithic depiction of what living with one of these conditions may be like. And there are plenty of ways where this could go very wrong (Anyone remember the time Aquaman cured Autism?). So when the text can’t just say “I am X” it's not uncommon for the readers to begin to see or relate to how a character may act. Speaking of how they act, in the case of anime and manga another “complication” can occur in the fact that many of these characters can act… well whacky and that’s treated as most acceptable in the universe. Whereas in real life, its likely anywhere from Gon to Goku would get side eye with their behavior. And thus you have the basis for plenty of head canons, one prominently being a character’s place on the spectrum. 

Let's take any character, say Rill Boismortier from the series Black Clover. He’s a relatively second character in the series with an aptitude for art magic, who had locked himself in his room isolating himself from others till his butler reached him and now he’s a very eccentric, excitable, outgoing character. From the fact that he has a fixation on art to things like making sounds that could be read as vocal stimming, Rill could be read as an autistic character.

Or how about we look at one of the more memetic takes of the internet and all the jokes that Fern and Frieren from Frieren: Beyond the Journey’s End are autistic. This joke mainly comes from how in this world everything has a cool, somewhat mellow vibe with many people acting very muted. With Frieren herself struggling with making a distinction in the passage of time thanks to her elven aging and trying to understand the human condition. And Fern also a relatively reserved and subdued individual only really expresses her feeling a sensation of frustration or annoyance through “Kawaii pouting” puffing out her cheeks.

There are plenty more examples, but I wanted to illustrate that there are characters in manga and anime that I believe-yes, someone with neurodivergence could identify with, however, would I go as far as to say that this was the writer's original intention? Well choosing to err on the side of caution, I'm going to guess not likely. Someone could easily say, “you’re reading too much into it. There is nothing in the canon that outright says that. Rill is just a joke character, Frieren is a completely different species so it can’t really be neuro-atypical from a human standpoint, Fern’s pouting is just a gap moe trope.” And to be honest, I don’t necessarily think people holding these beliefs would be wrong. Nor do I wish to imply that if someone sees themselves in one of these characters that means they’re on the spectrum.

I'm saying there’s nothing wrong with either option. If you are someone neurodivergent and you see yourself in someone like Rill, that’s great. If you are someone who isn’t neurodivergent but still sees themselves in someone like Rill, that’s also great. The point I’m trying to make is that it may be unintentional, but a neurodivergent person seeing a neurodivergent story inside a specific character can happen and in many ways offer insights into the character.

And for someone like me who has spent a long time coming to grips with how my atypicality has affected my identity, Rudo’s story hit me. Hit me in a way I don’t think many series have. Rudo is a character who shows a fixation on trash, particularly broken pieces of trash. His old wounds he covers and just the feelings on this specific piece of clothing is able to make the feelings of his wounds go away. And just the way he described having emotion inside, but not being able to properly express it to the point he was doing self harm, it tore me up inside. 

Made even more dramatic by the fact that Rudo is having this flashback being triggered by Griss being stabbed. Griss is a guy Rudo has known for a day who is shown to be a cool guy, but most importantly, when Rudo spent his welcome party sulking in a corner all tied up in his shell, only for Griss to ask him about his future. Rudo truly was feeling like he was losing a fatherly figure again in front of him

This was one of the moments that in my mind showed me the sort of direction this series wanted to go in with Rudo. Edgy, dark, cool, and stylistic revenge series in manga have existed for years. In fact, they’ll exist long after Gachiakuta and myself have expired. Many of these series can vary on the portrayal of their MC, conflicted, ready to embrace destruction, righteous in their pursuit, yet Gachiakuta has been unique for me, seeing Rudo have all the hallmarks for a vengeful story yet people always come to speak with him on his behavior. 

Not in a sort of guidance counselor way, but more in a natural way of trying to make this kid who has had a life where he hasn’t had to properly think about/experience certain things life can throw at you and they want him to improve. From telling him it's okay to not know what he wants to do in the future, to letting him know it's okay to make mistakes, to learning how to properly have a conversation and connect with others. I think a lot of these moments can feel like sweet nothings, but for me I saw it as a part of growing up. Or rather something I wanted growing up. I’ve experienced many moments of my life where I felt lost not in small part to the fact it felt like no one could meet me on my ground. And something about Gachiakuta is the attempt that almost every character has made trying to reach Rudo and show him a form of empathy. And as the series has gone on that empathy has really changed. He went from a kid not understanding what was wrong about saying “I'm only working with you till fulfill my goal!,” demanding cooperation from others, to actively trying to ask for help when hears of an opportunity to come closer to his goal. 

This sort of vulnerability I think was present in his moment screaming his revenge. He’s visibly crying. Despite all the bluster and crassness, there’s clearly a frustrated and overwhelmed boy who has been condemned by a society that brands him “unclean.” This is also where I should mention Urana is an absolute master with art and expressions. Making everyone feel so alive. Rudo’s faces are an absolute highlight. Despite a person who seems set up to have a chip on his shoulder, he may be one of the wackiest in just how big he can let his emotions go. Which ties into our next part.

Zodyl and the Watchman Series

Now I'm sure you’re wondering, “Arkus, you said that this manga hasn’t hard confirmed Rudo is actually neurodivergent, yet you say the text makes the analogy so does someone finally say it?” Well to answer that, I’m gonna need to talk about the main villain of this series and the tools he’s after, The Watchman series.

Our seemingly main antagonist of the series is a man named Zodyl Typhon, leader of the organization The Raiders (Or the Vandals depending on the translation) a group of evil givers who seem to be devoted to the destruction of The Sphere. As they living in a world where the natural order is simply that they are a people who have garbage raining down upon them. Polluting them, crushing them, and people of the Abyss have gradually become accustomed to it all. Zodyl wants to shock the system and he wishes to get his hands on all the various powerful Jink known as the “Watchman series.” So far it's known that only Rudo’s gloves, Amo’s boots, and Zodyl’s coat are part of this set. 

Zodyl is depicted as an amoral, somewhat sociopathic person, with intense eyes, viewing people as experiments to test his theories, and showing practically no emotion. He describes each piece of the Watchman series as containing extremely powerful emotions in them. A normal person couldn’t use these items with going mad due to these emotions. Yet people like Rudo and Zodyl haven't gone mad. Well that’s being they’re not like others.

In one of the most painful visual analogies, Zodyl describes that in this world there are people born missing pieces that every other human is born with. This leaves them as something sort of empty. WIth Rudo knowing exactly what he’s talking about. This was already hinted at by Amo who says wearing her Watchman boots feels as though she’s a toy that had a new battery inside. Zodyl doesn’t think that missing something fundamental is a bad thing though, in his opinion not being born with it has made him a vessel for this power. 

I once again cannot say with a hundred percent certainty that Kei Urana was intentionally channeling the experiences of those who may be told “they’re not like others because they were born atypical” but it's so hard for me to not read it that way. Especially the part where Zodyl rejects the idea that there’s anything wrong with this. He’s not wrong for how he’s born, look at all the cool stuff he can do now. While Rudo stands there and thinks about how isolated he felt from everyone else. It's easy to see these as two very valid responses to someone with a mental health diagnosis, lamenting how this puts you at odds with others and how being different in this way makes it harder for you to connect. While the other rejects needing the validation of others, there isn’t a problem. 

Once again, no one just flat out says it, but so much of the subtext is basically there in your face in regards to Watchman and Zodyl’s speech. But the fact this power is only wielded by something that is described as a missing piece. With the image of a heart in pieces. To me, the emphasis placed on the value of one’s emotional and mental capacity as something that can be filled, like its just so out there how can I not see something there? 

Well maybe its because I want to?

Artistic Interpretation 

Look, I'm not gonna to give you a dry lecture on the value of artistic interpretation. I think we’re all mature enough that multiple people can have multiple different interpretations of a single world. With art being something that lends itself to being read in a variety of ways. I'm not making this post to delegitimize any interpretation.

Rather I wanted to come all the way back to the pin I put in when mentioning the unconventional story structures. Now it should come to no one’s surprise that the woman who was an assistant and student of the guy who made Soul Eater makes some bizarre choices. Not the least of which being the characters and tone.

No, rather I wanna touch on something that I find Urana and Okubo do better than a lot of people which is visual interpretation. Both utilize the visual aspect of this visual medium to make some points. But rather, both of them allow these visuals to hang out there and allow you the reader to come to your own interpretation of this. 

This type of storytelling in my opinion can force the audience to actually engage with the work in a deeper meaningful way. While some would argue that it leaves things open in a way that may never truly be satisfying. I think in the case of Gachiakuta it has less of that tha an Okubo work, but there are plenty of things I do believe Urana leaves out there for you to read as you will. 

When I see her going out of her way to make a doll with their heart missing and a man describing a feeling of them missing, Uruana is not expressly saying anything, but allowing us the audience to decide how we read it. I'm certain she has her own way of viewing this story, but I do appreciate that she’s allowed Gachiakuta to be a series where we are allowed some creative liberties. Especially in the fact this is a weekly shonen manga. A demographic I feel often can suffer from needing to make everything somewhat obvious in its meaning or intent. 

But Urana really knows how to capture this sort of vibe. Allow the art to speak for itself and I find myself having to put some of myself in the series when I read and interact with it. So while I’m sure there will be people who think I have basically convinced them of nothing and that this might all be reading to deep, I do at least want to point out that Urana herself has at least allowed for me to make these connections on my own and I think that is worth something at least on her part as a creative.

Conclusion

So yeah what was that all about? Welp like I said this was to be a more personal thinkpiece. One where I wanted to work through my own feelings on why this series had me captivated. Also it's possibly my attempt to broaden the discussion of Gachiakuta. 

Despite the fact many have made the prediction its gonna be a “big deal” it really isn’t. At least by pure sales wise. Nothing bad, but nothing remarkable at the time of writing this. Honestly its doing much better than a series that’s not on the extremely accessible SJ app. It’s a good series but it may just always be underground. 

Every influencer wants to be on the ground floor, whether it's this, Red Hood, Kagurabachi, Nue’s Exorcist, Astro Royale, Mama Yuyu, Centuria, etc. I get that hype and memes are a powerful thing in this internet consumer world. But I do want a series that may be big or important one day to touch on things that make it good beyond hype and anticipation. 

And for me that is what I got with Gachiakuta. There’s an element to it that I haven’t really felt in manga in other media. And the fact it could make me feel that… that’s special to me. I know I’ve talked about some heavy topics and I do hope I was as respectful as I possibly could be. Opening up like this was hard for me. 

As I do truly love this series and hoped I could illustrate why it resonated with me, perhaps it resonated with a lot of people who can see themselves in this one trashy boy.

I hope everyone reading can have that sort of character they see themselves in, and if you enjoyed please like or reblog as it tells me you'd be interested in reading more

[mageknight14]

One of the coolest things about Neku and Sho’s respective dynamics with Rindo in NEO TWEWY is how they twist around expectations with Sho, one of the main antagonists from the previous game, being the one who gives genuinely helpful advice towards Rindo while Neku, the enlightened protag, gives him the wrong kind of advice.

While is it true that Sho is mainly using Rindo and the Twisters in order to further his own goals/agenda, every single piece of advice/information he gives them ends up being helpful in some way and stays relevant up to the end

-Don’t just overly rely on me, actually reach out and recruit others (Nagi and Shoka, who end up being incredibly important and useful)

-Synchronize all your powers/talents together in order to achieve a greater goal (Nagi’s Dives, Operation Awakening in its entirety)

-Get the jump on the other teams and take them out before they become a problem later on (W1D5 with Rindo using his time travel powers to reroute the DRS, W2D6 where he uses his time travel again to find out more about Motoi and discover the truth about him, etc)

And last, but certainly not least, warning Rindo about the dangers involved in using his powers and giving him exactly the information he needed to relay back to Kaie and Rhyme in order to save Shibuya.

On top of that, there’s a distinctive pattern where everytime Rindo/the team shows signs of trying to overly rely on Sho, he immediately threatens to leave and pushes them to achieve more for themselves via sink-or-swim. He’s the face of the game’s Hard mode for a reason.

By contrast, when Neku shows up to join the party on W3D4, he starts to unintentionally take Rindo’s place as the leader, with the Reports themselves noting how Rindo is starting to stagnate with his growth once again when he has someone to overly rely on.

This continues on up to W3D6, where Rindo actually goes against Neku’s order to not time travel in order to not fall for Susukichi’s trap.

I think what’s most impressive about this is how it’s all in character for them. While Sho has been noted above, what Neku’s advice towards Rindo is a logical extension of the lessons Hanekoma passed onto him.

Mr. H’s words is generally great life advice that still applies to the themes of both games but Neku’s specific application of it boils down to telling Rindo that no matter what happens, he needs to just let the chips fall where they may. To make the most out of a bad situation.

And while that works great for someone like Neku, his application of Mr. H's advice is exactly the sort of excuse to defer to authority that Rindo has been blindly grasping for over and over the entire game, which is shown prominently in his convo with Haz.

That he should just move on and try to accept the outcome but Rindo actively rejects that to take the ultimately harder but better road for everyone involved. To take responsibility for his actions and fight hard for what he wants instead of just letting things just pass over.

Rindo is a deliberate inversion of Neku as a protagonist. What works for the latter isn’t going to work for the former and vice-versa. And that’s perfectly okay. There’s a reason why Rindo’s theme, the World is Yours, has this as an opening line.

[sorastar6]

David Protag AU- Character Personalities (1/4)

You read the title! This is basically the personality of each of the drdt characters in my AU. And if you can't tell by the title, this AU makes David Chiem the protagonist instead of Teruko Tawaki (This is not because I think David is better and he should've been the protagonist, it's purely for fun and an idea that I had randomly, I love Teruko <3). But, that's not all that's really changed (a LOT is changed) so I'll basically explain the main points of the AU and then show the character personalities.

So, the Au takes place 5 years after everyone entered Hope's Peak Academy. They graduated, and became former Ultimate Students, which would make them around 24, 25 and 26 years old. In this AU, there's several HPA (Hope's Peak Academy) scattered all around the USA and Japan. Each character are all from different HPAs, and all of them are divided in duos that went to the same Hope's Peak. Meaning that they knew each other for 5 whole years until graduation.

The duos are as follows:

David and Nico Teruko and Xander Ace and Levi J and Hu Rose and Min Arei and Whit Charles and Arturo

Eden is paired with... Someone special (I'll explain someday)

All of these knew each other for 5 years before the killing game. And they had the same mentality that they have in canon drdt when they first entered. But now they changed but not in really drastic ways, but the 5 years they spent at HPA changed them.

I think that's it. Now I can move on to their personalities! There's only 4 on this post because I'm tired

David Chiem- Former Ultimate Inspirational Speaker

David Chiem once held the title of the Ultimate Inspirational Speaker for his uplifting and optimistic personality, but ever since his graduation, he took a break from his career to "rest". Most people already forgot him, except for his most die-hard fans that patiently await for his return, even though he hasn't shown his face in months. He isn't able to return at the moment, as he can't come back in this... Messy state that he's in.

Nico Hakobyan- Former Ultimate Pet Therapist

Nico Hakobyan always had a great connection to animals of all kinds, and they have been getting better and better at their job ever since they started becoming more sociable. They always say that a certain classmate has helped them come out of their shell. But, a lot of people say that they're a little weird, like their emotions are "exaggerated" or "unnatural".

Teruko Tawaki- Former Ultimate Lucky Student

Even if Teruko Tawaki's talent implies that she has good luck, she has the exact opposite, horrible luck. She always has been unlucky throughout her whole life, but ever since she graduated in Hope's Peak Academy, she became quite the troublemaker. She refuses to stay idly and just let things happen to her anymore, so she now fights back against her luck and refuses to let it take control of her life. Quite the revolutionary change, don't you think?

Xander Matthews- Former Ultimate Rebel

A reckless and loud man that truly deserved to have been the Ultimate Rebel. Alexander "Xander" Matthews is what people would call a "hero". Someone who fights every day for justice and fairness, because he believes that the world can be made into a better place. He absolutely despises anything that he deems "evil" and won't hesitate to do anything he can to destroy it. Even if that "anything" could be something that should make him "evil" too...

[dangermousie]

Various things none of which deserve their own post.

1. This short drama drops today and I can’t wait! Honestly short dramas are where it’s at lately:

2. Speaking of short dramas, I finished Lovesickess and Rise from the Ashes - the former was a gender swapped Ancient Love Song with a happy ending (tho not as good) and I truly truly enjoyed it - it would have made a great proper drama circa 2010. Our protag accidentally time travels to the past and meets and falls in love with the powerful 28 year old Duke who seems to know her. When things end as badly as they can, she attempts to travel back to save him but now she meets 21 year old him and when that ends, her last attempt is to meet him for a small bit of time when he’s 7. (She has no control of where in the timeline it ends up.) Unlike ALS, they do give them a happy ending, despite the gloriously emo line from his tomb letter to the effect of “I was running towards loving you and you were running towards losing me” (paraphrase.)

Ashes was total insanity in the best way, like The Double on speed, where our FL after being murdered by her husband in conjunction with her half sister, transmigrates to her younger self and sets out to revenge. She’s ably assisted by the ML who has his own grudges against the bad guys and who the OTP decide pass as her uncle - and all the other characters buy it. One of the most deliciously demented parts of this drama is that for a large chunk of it various characters believe an uncle and niece are having an affair (because the OTP ain’t subtle) and either try to use that to bring them down or, like FL’s slimy father and husband, go “oh well, it would be more scandal if this came out, gonna ignore.”

Between all the stuff in these two dramas, if they were regular dramas, censors would probably spontaneously combust.

3. Dashing Youth continues to be great. There are all those hijinks but they have a seriously seriously dark undertone - like the scene where BDJ’s master dies and he loses it and BDJ’s doting grandpa comments matter of factly to the dad that now the kid has seen the true face of jianghu - it’s not chivalry or friendship or glamor but this (death and loss.)

4. Olympics are coming which means slim pickings for dramas for a few weeks. Not being much of a sports fan, I am just happy I have a long reading backlog.

[seastarblue]

Bold the Facts Tag!

YAY another one! Thanks for the tag @sunflowerrosy !

Last time was Kaiden’s, so I’m doing… Arbor today! where Kaiden is the protag of Interwoven, Arbor is the protag of AGGTRG! (A Golem’s Guide to Regaining Goodness)

Personal

Financial: wealthy / moderate / unsure / poor / in extreme poverty

Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / non-applicable (Golem = not able to be defined by humanoid standards)

Class: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

Education: qualified /unqualified / studying / other

Criminal record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

Family

Children: has a child or children / has no children (Fiamma his feral dragon daughter 🥹)

Relationship with family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) /has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased / adding a has no family here

Affiliation: orphaned / abandoned / adopted / found family / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable (He doesn’t remember :>)

Traits/Tendencies

Introverted / ambivalent / extroverted

Disorganized / organized / in between

Close-minded / open minded / in between

Calm / anxious / in between / contextual / energetic

Disagreeable / agreeable / in between

Cautions / reckless / in between / contextual

Patient / impatient / in between / contextual

Outspoken / reserved / in between / contextual

Leader / follower / in between / contextual

Empathetic / vicious bastard / in between / contextual

Optimistic / pessimistic / in between

Traditional / modern / in between

Hard working / lazy / in between

Cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown

Loyal / disloyal / unknown / contextual

Faithful / unfaithful / unknown / contextual

Beliefs

Faith: monotheistic / polytheistic / agnostic / atheist / adding an unsure (which normally I’d consider agnostic but in this case? Nah.)

Belief in ghosts or spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a matter of speaking

Belief in an afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care / in a matter of speaking

Artistic skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none (he can write but that’s the extent of it)

Technical skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

Habits

Drinking alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / tried it / alcoholic / former borderline alcoholic turned sober

Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / already quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain smoker ([Smoking… there was a time I was on fire…?] ahh character)

Recreational drugs: tried some / never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

Medicinal drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess / definitely needs some psych meds but doesn’t have access

Unhealthy food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater (he doesn’t eat :>)

Splurge spending: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

Gambling: never / rarely/ sometimes / frequently / compulsive gambler

———

no pressure tagging the Tag Game List! Lemme know if you’d like on/off:

@sableglass @dioles-writes @viridis-icithus @allaboutmagic @paeliae-occasionally

@astor-and-the-endless-ink @vsnotresponding @nightlylaments @ancientmyth @vesanal

@thebookishkiwi @verdant-mainframe @threedaysgross @fifis-corner @bamber344

and as always, open tag!

[regalvoid]

Let's begin the second list of my Bi-Annual New Manga Recommendations

First on our list is Get Away, Matsumoto! -100 days escape-: or as I like to call it, the combination Sports and Death Game Manga. After being framed for a murder, former competitive cyclist Matsumoto is now a fugitive on the run. The real killer promises to confess if Matsumoto can survive 100 days while following various rules and completing challenges along the way. Characters are very well written and the emotional storytelling is great. Matsumoto's catchphrase is Zoom Zoom which I love and say often. Action scene are phenomenally depicted. Its a manga I sprint to as soon as it's released. Currently at 16 chapters and comes out Fridays on Jump+

If you are looking for a wholesome goofy read, check out Taro Miyao Becomes A Cat Parent?!: Author Taro Miyao is gifted a cat. Initially hesitant but quickly falls in love with the little beast and begins to form the perfect "kingdom" for Niccolo (the cat) to thrive. Lots of reoccurring gags and quirky characters. Niccolo is drawn very cute (except for when he's going to the bathroom then hes depicted deadly serious) If you are a cat owner, you will likely have a good time with this one. Currently at 27 chapters and comes out Thursdays

DRUNK BULLET is set in prohibition era America. Soldier Gary got himself through WWI by looking forward to having a nice stiff drink when he returned only to find out, uh-oh no more alcohol. His search for his drink of choice ends up with him gaining a rag-tag group of misfits that travel across the US to try as many different forms of alcohol as they can find. 1920's US is an uncommon setting for a manga which is nice change of pace. The characters are all quirky and lovable. IMO the story is just the right amount of stupid for it to be fun but not too lighthearted as to take away the drama. Historical people also show up from time-to-time making me look up every character that is introduced. Currently at 22 chapters, check it out on Saturdays

Next up is Monocrhome Days: Child Art Prodigy turned Exceptional Office Worker, Hanaichi Fudo is roped into doing the backgrounds for his coworkers manga. He begins to fall back in love with his former passion as the two begin weaving a masterpiece. The characters are written great and are very expressive, I personally love the odd, unique way the mangaka draws faces. The art itself is okay but the mangaka goes all out on the backgrounds the protag draws, they are stunning. Only 9 chapters as of writing, but I am already incredibly invested in their journey, check it out on Saturday

The last and most recent manga I'll recommend is Syd Craft: Love Is A Mystery: Raised to follow of the family legacy of being a great detective, Syd Craft is at the top of his game and puts on a very serious professional act. Unfortunately he hates being a detective and would much rather be reading a romance story and falling in love, but mysteries keep popping up where ever he goes. The art is very cute. The contrast between Syd's detective persona and his inner monologue is refreshing. The story only has 5 chapters but it has a lot of potential. It's out on Sundays.

These are just the five series debuting within the last six months I like the most. If you want more recommendations feel free to let me know : )