#you cant give him an arc like this and have him suddenly end up with someone else/alone

[ghostlycleric]

Just remembered that Will wants to spend the rest of his life with Mike. Will is content with loving him silently for the rest of his days. Will is content with pushing Mike into a relationship with El and keeping both of them in his life forever. Will is content with watching the love of his life love somebody else forever. Will wants Mike in his life so bad that he doesn’t care if it hurts, if pretending his love is El’s makes him cry. He will need him forever anyway. He cares so much about both of them that he’d rather them be happy than himself.

[curiouschaosstarlight]

Honestly, I think the full extent of my existence is inherently baffling and mythical to the "I just think we need to remember that this character is horrible and irredeemable and the worst!!!" and "we just need more villains to BE villains!!!" and "people who 'woobify' villains are stupid shallow idiots!!!" crowd.

Like yeah, sure. I like most of my villains to be tragic and/or sympathetic. I like them to have the capacity to be a wet pathetic baby bean, even if I might have to force them into the role a bit.

But I also like Professor Hojo as-is and he's the ONLY reason I got into FF7, and my favorite character from FF7, and he isn't the only purely evil and terrible villain I adore as a purely evil and terrible villain.

Like.

You can have both, and it's fully possible to like both.

(And that's not getting into how often I see characters who DO have tragic backstories and actual reasons for doing terrible actions, as an explanation not an excuse mind, and then the fandom just rabidly insists that character is pure evil and malicious and can't possibly have any other reason for doing anything beyond sadistic enjoyment...)

[tyran-the-tyranical]

That one line from Raphael's Second Diary will never cease to get me 🥺 LIKE MIGHT I ADD- these are his private thoughts, separate from his manipulation attempts and so he, with his full chest, admits so much in his second diary, like when he says "never have I been so attracted to mortals as I am to those infested by the tadpole." AHH, (my delusions are so real, trust)

BUT WHEN HE SAYS "They gestured to the melting hooks, suddenly glanced my way, and in their face I saw they had the best of me." look, I get the subtext behind all these quotes, but a girl can just ignore all that media literacy and take it for face value, OK? 💅 but also reading into it, he does admire Tav to a certain extent, and I have to wonder, why? Tav isn't an origin character and Tav's actions and character basically changes with every playthrough (Same with Durge, as they can change too) So I have to wonder if it's because Tav is controlled by the player, since, Raphael does end up breaking the fourth wall in his epilogue speech, so perhaps that's what he sees.

Another way to look at it is, either way, no matter what the playthrough, he sees something in Tav, something that makes them stand out much brighter than their companions (For some reason???)

To further that statement, what is the best of Raphael? I mean, if its an evil playthrough, that would be obvious, but if you're playing a good playthrough, what then? perhaps what he sees is someone he can finally use to get the crown, that's also very likely. Still though that's a very to the point (IMO) not as interesting of a reading since it's literally just his end goal for us, BUT STILL A VALID ONE, because, it is true, that's what he wants from us the most.

Also his third diary where he just straight up admits that he's being so honest with us so he can manipulate us, love that for him, "I am master here. A prince of bargains cloaked like scarlet satin. All that hidden under sublimely obvious truths that cannot be discounted." Which also makes me wonder, is Raphael actually an honest person? I mean, Korilla thinks he's at least decent, but honest? outside of helping us, if we look at Yurgir, he really fucked him over lol. Obviously, Raphael isn't what he seems, even if he's honest with us, to what extent? he says it himself, he's honest about "...sublimely obvious truths..." but what about when he says he's grown quite fond of us in his own way, HMMMM?

I wish this man got a proper story arc in the game, outside of the whole deal for the hammer and House of Hope, that's all plot related for the hammer, but a storyline about Raphael as a character? I mean yea, maybe that would whisk away some of his mystery, his intrigue, but I'm sorry- you cant just end it with him fucking himself (poorly) and trying to break Hope (making her a metaphorical symbol of hope anyway, I think....) AND LEAVE IT THERE?!?!? at the same time, I do like the ambiguity of his character, you could think of him as a cruel bastard after seeing what he's done in the House Of Hope to his debtors and Hope herself or perhaps just a Pathetic lil guy who's shit in bed lol, or maybe even soft, if you go off Korillas words and what he does for us in game he can come across as quite nice, especially after we've interacted with Mizora who's is the only other Cambion example we can go off of.

I also just think it's interesting that he sees anything in Tav/Durge at all. Ofc he says he sees the best of him (Always gotta relate back to himself lol) but that especially a mortal is what he could see himself, the best of himself, but then again he does see potential and ambition as admirable (?) or just something he appreciates, you can see that with Mol and Gortash to some extent anyway, But what ambitions does Tav have outside of just trying to survive? Like, the obvious answer is he wants us to give him the crown and we're the underdog in the story but then why does he refer to Tav so differently then? I fear this has turned into another rant again, lol.

Just a final thought here, but, if he did ever get a story arc, similar to the companions, would they give you multiple directions to take his character? i mean with Shadowheart for example, you could help her break from shar or have her fully convert into shars chosen, but even then, if you free her from shar theres the point of saving her family or freeing her from Shars (curse?) there's multiple ways for her story to end. Though, Raphael isnt a companion, so would he have something similar to idk a minor companion like Halsin or Minthara, who don't really have that much of a diversion (I think) in their endings, they don't really have the option, only really if the player decides to be evil or not, they kinda just follow them either way, it doesn't really impact their own stories. Obviously, I would prefer something with nuance but also, HE ISN'T A COMPANION 😭 and pressingly some of the companions need more work done than he does atm lol. Maybe that's me just projecting lol, once again, me wanting to have my cake and eat it too, anyway, that's me done... for now lol

[spacedlexi]

Kenny and Violet anon here YES.

Violet is upset because someone she defended against her found family of 8 years let her get taken by brainwashing adults for 2 seconds and everyone flips their lid.

But Kenny refuses to stop a train, and gets into a whole fight with Lee over it (AND REFUSES TO HELP YOU FIND A LOST LITTLE GIRL WHILE YOU’RE FIGHTING OFF AN INFECTION, where as Violet always defends you in Episode 1 regardless of whether you ignored and/or antagonized her or not), and gets mad at an 11 year old for not being able to handle helping someone in labor by herself and everybody’s like “Nah it’s okay, his family died years ago so he gets to do whatever he wants.” as if Violet didn’t witness one of the only consistent family members in her life die in front of her 💀

There’s so many comparisons I could make and one day I’ll make a Venn Diagram about all of their similarities but for now I’m glad someone pointed this out.

there are some things kenny does that have No excuse (like refusing to help bitten lee look for missing clem all because hes mad you didnt side with him enough. leaving lee to singlehandedly save himself in the pharmacy because he got scared. threatening to slap clem for blaming herself for lees death. off the top of my head). but his behavior on the train is annoying yet understandable. he doesnt want to admit his son is dying and he feels like duck dying in the first place is his fault for not saving shawn. you can convince him to stop without things getting physical

the Problem comes in when people can understand and sympathize with kennys annoying/shitty actions, but when it comes to violet (who has the same "my family is dead and its made me bitter and closed off" backstory (and her whole arc is about learning to love and care again)), suddenly all understanding goes out the window. even tho shes not even a FRACTION as annoying and shitty as kenny can get 😭😭

violet is mean to clem for the One scene where youre introduced to her (ignoring your first moment with her in the courtyard where shes smiling at clem so you already know her shitty attitude later is a lie. louis even defends her. wingman lol. and depending on what you say in response to her you can Immediately see the regret on her face LOL). but before the scene even Ends shes complimenting clem and clem loves it. then youre forced to talk to her and tenn about the twins, you have a nice card game where you can joke around with her, then she shows up at the dorm and they have a nice heart to heart about how theyre BOTH struggling with the loss of people theyve loved, and they can sympathize about both being harsher than they intend (THEY GET EACH OTHER CANONICALLY)

and vi not being "a people person" is a huge part of her arc?? she doesnt like that shes like this 😭 but shes also better with people than she gives herself credit for and its why she makes a good leader. (and even if you pick the "came off strong" option clem is OBVIOUSLY teasing about it but vi cant tell and gets defensive ("its not like im trying to be bffs or whatever. sorry" is so "you want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid" of her)

and then after this shes never mean to clem again?? (unless you antagonize her but even then its mostly just about her standing her ground and not taking shit she doesnt deserve. which is fair). shes only mean to brody while fishing (and shes mean to brody because deep down she blames HERSELF) and the whole POINT of that scene is to try and mend their broken relationship which immediately makes vi a happier/nicer person if you do (also interesting how louis doesnt get any shit for His behavior while hunting 🤨 no hes just cool and fun). violet also apologizes for being "weird" in the dorms the previous night as well (bby girl why are you afraid that everything you do is weird 😭 she says that word a lot)

violet will Always have clems back (in EP1 and 2!!) No Matter What you do or say to her. i think people take her loyalty for granted. so if you dont save her in EP2 and expect to continue to have her unwavering loyalty in EP3? thats a You problem. she is Fucked Up mentally on that boat by lilly and her not-exactly-ex, and then gets caught in the explosion she didnt want anything to do with. AND THEN SHE APOLOGIZES because she recognizes she was WRONG

(not her literally trying to make a joke about it to ease the tension 😭 people dont give her credit for also having a sense of humor. like louis is the only one who cracks jokes around here) but again when it comes to kenny his actions are understandable and defendable even without an apology 🙄 i literally side with kenny on Everything except the larry thing and if you dont make the right dialogue choice with him? he will not help you look for clem. because of larry 😐 i killed your son for you bro and then took care of his walker doppelganger so you didnt have to. and this isnt even touching his behavior in S2. and yet despite everything he does hes still one of the most beloved characters in the fandom 🤨

i just have to remind myself sometimes that all vi options were made 53-61% and the vi haters are a loud minority. her always being above 50% is so interesting to me because i love when choices are split perfectly 50/50. but the way the fandom talks about her (and the women in general) you wouldnt think shes technically the more popular option (and i Hate playing the popularity card its so annoying, but im only doing it bc people also say shit like "maybe if vi wasnt so mean more people would pick her" they DO pick her!!! you just got mad she was mean for 5 seconds, never payed attention to her again, and used her determinate reaction on the boat as justification for not liking her 😑) (also ignores how mean louis gets in EP2 regardless of choice?? but like kenny His actions are defendable and sympathetic and hers arent 🙄)

[scriptstructure]

Heyho! Your blog is an amazing resource!

I have an ide that i am not sure will work and i am loking for ways to make it more organic.

My main character is trying to force himself to fulfill a role as a military leader within his society that makes him miserabel for the sake of protecting his family. I start the story in medias res and it moves him out of his usual enviroment into one where he doesn't need to fill his role because there is no comunication between him and back home, Most of the people from his army are not there with him except for two of his close friends so he can't realy properly fill it either.

Him trying to act as much within his role as a way to try to reasure himself that he is doing everything he can for his family (he is not thinking rationaly) and both stopping himself from getting used to something, that in his mind, can't last. The role he is trying to assume is not analogous with him at all. But since i write close third person pov and he is denying it, i cant show it clearly. I want to clue the reader in by only showing him struggling with maintaining his fake persona after it half fals apart and not a lot of him sucessfuly pretending so the reader sees that he is full of it and it doesn't come across like him suddenly changing character when he starts to let go. I worry it will not work out because the relative lack of exposition with him in the role proper and a lot of him being a disaster. I worry i will make him look incompetent. I worry there are a thousand other pitfals i don't even see. Do you have any idea how to make this character arck better structured.

There are a few different ways that you can approach this sort of thing, and it's going to depend on what kind of story you're telling and what kind of character you want this guy to be, so I'm going to show you how I would work through this character arc, giving a few lines of thought.

My main character is trying to force himself to fulfill a role as a military leader within his society that makes him miserabel for the sake of protecting his family.

Question 1: why is he trying to force himself into this role in particular, esp. when it effects him so badly?

Potential answers:

He sees this role as a position of power which he feels he must maintain to ensure his family's safety, using systemic influence as a barrier between his family and whatever danger he percieves as threatening them. He does not believe in the correctness, or function of his role, or the system he's a part of, but must pretend to conform in order to maintain his position

He's a true believer, he really believes that this role is vital and important, and that he needs to be able to fulfill it, or at least that if he were a real or proper (man, citizen, soldier, etc) then he OUGHT to be able to fulfill it. He probably sees his own struggle and failures as a personal flaw or weakness compared to what he believes he SHOULD be

He's been 'going along with' his position for his whole career, and due to circumstances or politicking has ended up in a position way above his ability level, and is stuck, if he shows that he can't handle the position it will cause danger and instability to himself and his family

He is a believer in the system and has worked to gain his position, but personal issues (poor health, mental health, outside circumstances, etc) have rendered him unable to fulfill the role that he had previously wanted. He still can't retire or give it up because he feels holding that position is key to protecting his family from the threat he percieves

There are probably many more options that you could go through for his particular position, but notice that in each of these, he must maintain the illusion of being completely competent and in control, even though he is internally suffering due to his position.

I start the story in medias res and it moves him out of his usual enviroment into one where he doesn't need to fill his role because there is no comunication between him and back home, Most of the people from his army are not there with him except for two of his close friends so he can't realy properly fill it either.

Question 2: Why doesn't he stop trying to fulfill his role when he is taken out of the environment in which it is required?

Potential answers (multiple of these may be true in varying degrees at once):

He has developed a habit of fulfilling this role which is difficult to break out of because he has been doing it consistently and constantly over many years, these actions have become reflexive for him

He really believes that what he does is good and necessary, and is determined to keep doing it no matter how much it hurts him personally, or how futile the effort may seem

He has developed a habit of fulfilling this role, and outside of it just does not know what to do anymore. Rather than being reflexive, as in answer #1, he uses the role to cover that he doesn't know what else to do in a given situation, the role has become a script he can follow

He does not know that he is 'out of the system' and may fear that this is a trick or test, and that if he fails at performing his role adequately, he or his family will be punished

And so on. The important thing here, is that fulfilling the role serves a purpose for him outside of the role itself.

Also, many times, when someone has been doing a thing for a long time, no matter how much they dislike it, they may automatically return to that action. Think, for instance, about people slipping back into 'customer service mode' or 'teacher voice' when they aren't at work.

Him trying to act as much within his role as a way to try to reasure himself that he is doing everything he can for his family (he is not thinking rationaly) and both stopping himself from getting used to something, that in his mind, can't last.

I would suggest that if you think about this situation from his perspective, he may be acting entirely rationally.

Does he know for sure that letting the role drop won't have negative consequences?

Does he believe that the role itself is pointless?

Does he know that the people who are with him definitely won't betray him if he lets the role drop?

Can he be sure that if he does let it drop in this situation, word will never get back to his superiors that this 'failure' has occurred?

If he doesn't have certainty about these points, then from his point of view, continuing to attempt to fulfill that role may seem like the most rational, sensible option.

I want to clue the reader in by only showing him struggling with maintaining his fake persona after it half fals apart and not a lot of him sucessfuly pretending so the reader sees that he is full of it and it doesn't come across like him suddenly changing character when he starts to let go. I worry it will not work out because the relative lack of exposition with him in the role proper and a lot of him being a disaster. I worry i will make him look incompetent.

As the story is in close third person perspective, I think that a good tool in your workshed here is going to be the expectations that the other characters have of this guy and his skills and competence.

If someone who knows him well expects him to be able to handle whatever the current situation is with ease, but instead he gets mad, or is avoidant, or decides that actually something else is more important to be concerned with, then you can use the character's reaction to his actions to shape the understanding of him.

Character 1: We should ask That Guy what to do about The Event, because he's got experience and he's always seemed like a sensible person who can deal with Problems That Guy: There's an Event? Well have you filled out the paperwork correctly? Do you think that we can just do things the wrong way just because we're in the middle of nowhere? If you don't do the paperwork, then no wonder Problem is happening! I have to go and polish my uniform buttons now, because the regulation handbook says uniform must be neat and tidy at all times. Character 1: Wow, he was very sweaty and flustered and that didn't seem like something he would say at all. Now I'm panicking because The Event is happening, and it seems like he's not even interested in helping with Problem.

The other characters probably won't know what exactly his problem is, but they don't need to. You could have them speculate that he's acting strangely because he just loves his role so much and is unable to function without it, for example.

As well, I don't think that him 'changing character suddenly' is a problem in this case, in fact, I think that that is probably exactly what is happening: he is going from playing the role that he has had to fulfill, to having to be 'the real him' without any safety nets or assistance.

It sounds to me like a sort of breakdown, where all of the things he's relied on in the past are no longer functional options. That's upsetting for anyone, even when the structure you've been relying on is dysfunctional or harmful--'better the evil you know than the one you don't' and so on.

It might be helpful for you to read about military or quasi-military individuals in extreme situations, so that you can see some of the ways that these roles can be used helpfully, or clung to harmfully.

Military discipline is intended to be a way of training large groups of people to act in certain ways when given certain instructions, even when they're in immediate danger. This often involves very particular and arbitrary rules, which are treated with a large degree of weight when it comes to discipline.

Let's use uniform rules as an example:

A uniform creates a uniformity among members of each rank, as well as creating differentiation between ranks. It limits expressions of individuality, and creates an appearance of group cohesion.

Uniform rules may include things like the proper styling and grooming of hair and facial hair, the correct wearing of shirts, jackets, ties, etc. The correct method of shoe polishing. Clenliness, neatness, and keeping things in good repair.

Some of these are going to be functional: it's no use going into the field with a pair of trousers that are about to tear through at the seams.

Some of these are going to be non-funtional, but useful in creating order: Everyone wears their hat tilted to the same side, someone who does it differently may be trying to start conflict with superiors, may be struggling with the requirements of the rank, or may not have been properly instructed.

In an emergency situation, a good and competent officer should be able to tell the difference between these two things, and to adjust enforcement accordingly.

A leader of a polar exploration mission who is fixated on making sure that crewmembers have all polished their shoes correctly, but isn't concerned that the cold-weather gear is inadequate and leading to men getting frostbite or freezing to death, is not adjusted properly to the situation that they are in.

On the other hand: A leader of a polar expedition who notices that discontentment is leading to conflict among the crew may assign busywork to certain individuals who seem to be causing trouble, to keep them from having time to do so. The fellow can't keep picking fights if he's too busy and exhausted from having to clean and mend gear all day.

Of course, this is all going to be relative to your characters' particular situations, but if you think about how your character may attempt to utilise proceedures that he thinks of as methods of creating order, but applies them improperly to the situation at hand, then you can find ways to show that he knows what he's doing, and in another situation may be competent, but is unsuited to the current situation.

Things to keep in mind:

Learned and repeated behaviour vs 'true' feelings, intents, or wishes

Investment in his role and in the system vs desire to do otherwise

Outside threats or pressures vs inside stresses

Other characters expectations and assumptions based on past experience vs behaviours occurring in new context

I think you're probably on the right track with this character and I think it will be helpful for you to work on developing a sense of the relationships between this guy and the characters he is isolated with, so that their expectations and assumptions of him can stand in for exposition of him being 'successful' in his role.

I hope this helps!

Mason

(if I missed anything, or there's a need for clarification, please feel free to ask again!)

[troofless]

just finished reading naruto! through fandom osmosis i obviously had been spoiled on all the important plot points but it still made for an interesting read.

pros:

kakashi (from accounting?), killer bee, sakura are the goat

lesser goats are yamato (bro got thanos'd at the start of the last arc lmao), shikamaru (ofc), might guy (rip rock lee character arc ig)

sasuke getting disrespected by killer bee and madara disrespecting everyone was the best parts of the manga you feel me

sasuke kills danzo like thank fucking god and it is also the best fight engineering tbh like the guy who has been victimised by the system perpetuated by danzo is killing danzo also danzo harvested all those eyes from uchiha clan like wtf

IN A VACUUM sasuke and naruto final fight ties everything up. all things considered having this big fight right after obito->madara->kaguya+zetsu made no fucking sense

found it funny that sasuke was acting so edgy but his kill count is so low like theres this scene during orochimaru time when he stands over a 100 bodies and they're like damn sasuke you didnt kill a single one of them. and then when he met edotensei!itachi he basically did the equiv of laying down his arms so itachi could talk no jutsu him out of massacring konoha except itachi was like 'i have nothing more to say to you' like lmaoooo

also sasuke did the funniest thing ever by reviving orochimaru to get orochimaru to edo tensei the hokages to get THEM to talk no jutsu him into not massacring the village

sasuke being completely absent during pain arc and last arc (until the end) is really fucking funny like what did he even do man. walk around, kill time, sit around watching itachi genjutsu kabuto

tobirama being a hater in contrast to hashirama is the funniest thing ever and i love the dynamic

tobirama telling his brother to shut up

haha obito and kakashi shared sharingan panels :)

TRIPLE KUCHIYOSE SUMMONING BY TEAM 7

lee stealing neji's eyebrows meme

shikamaru's dad telling him to burn his pornos

might guy 8 gates vs ten tails madara stole rock lee's wig actually might guy just stole rock lee's whole schtick

the idea that kakashi would have murked himself after witnessing the death of almost everyone in his lives if it weren't for might guy is so funny

how tf did sasuke and naruto lie on the ground with their severed arms forming a heart shaped blood puddle and end up married not to each other

you cant tell me bkg is not based on sasuke but if like bkg didnt have a baggage of a dead brother and clan, same for aizawa with kakashi except kakashi is just cooler cos hrksh flopped

cons:

did NOT expect a prophecy and reincarnation plot point

sasuke was so annoying whenever team 7 met up with him and tried to get him to go back like they shld have just forgotten about him like sai told them to

naruto feels too much of a golden boy at the end of the madara arc when he starts to talk no jutsu obito if that makes sense. plus he gets so power upped its like an automatic win button for any fight now, anytime hes in trouble hes like 'omg kurama give me more chakra dattebayo' and suddenly hes fine

also his friendship w kurama was shoved in so abruptly like kurama literally (really) talked to him for the first time during the last arc and warmed up to him in the middle of the fight with madara(??) like cmon at least drag it out and start during the pain arc

team 7 went for like 1 mission and you expect me to believe now they wld die for sasuke

sasuke (tries to) kill sakura like at least 2 times and one of those moments happens 7 chapters before the end of the manga how are they still together

how the fuck did naruto say 'wow... sasuke and i really r compatible... wind exists to boost fire...' with a straight face like cmon

pencil holder neji :( it felt like he rly just died to further the naruhina plot point like why

obito obsessing an unhealthy amount over dead rin like ig its consistent

how is infinite tsukuyomi even a paradise like bro you could genjutsu yourself to the same effect if that even makes any sense and it wouldn't be any diff + what happens if the chakra used to sustain tsukuyomi runs out anyway what im saying is that sasuke was more onto something with the whole destroying and building anew that what obito and madara were on

rip sakura. girl was like 'i can fight with you two now' w kaguya and then instantly had to be saved by naruto (this also happened with sai 'i am part of team 7 too you know!' like rip)

TALKING ABOUT WHICH they're literally in the final fight against kaguya who transports them into the lava and sasuke saves naruto with his summoned hawk but doesn't give a shit about sakura (and kakashi) and naruto has to point out WHERES SAKURA and turns out kakashi saved sakura (and obito) with his quick thinking and reflexes like what the fuck sasuke this was ur future wife what was kishimoto thinking

also sasuke right after that states that only naruto and sasuke can seal kaguya meaning if they die its game over meaning everyone else was second priority (so basically just abandon kakashi and sakura)

wait in retrospect literally after that sakura and obito go on to save sasuke via tping to where he is like????/ sasuke you kinda suck ass methinks

naruto and sasuke going from tag teaming to ripping off each others arm is the stupidest segue ever

SAKURA SHOULD HAVE LEARNED GENJUTSU AND USED IT IN BATTLES BECAUSE WHAT WAS THE POINT OF KAKASHI SAYING SHE HAD POTENTIAL IN GENJUTSU IF-

why the fuck did kishimoto feel the need to do the thing where a side character goes 'i can help now!! we can pitch in to support!! we are not weak anymore!!' and then get instantly bodied so they need to be bailed out by naruto

anyway it just goes to show writing climaxes and final battles r hard i guess. the only good 'fighting' mangas that had these r like. fma. chihayafuru (except i forgot how the fight ended). (bnhas kinda sucked for me cos i feel nothing for shiggy) (bleach final arc kinda sucked ass in general and ichigo shld have just ended after losing his powers as closure). oh but konosuba is pretty good tho (konosuba is just good fullstop lmao the ln is so tight in mixing plot points disguised as filler)

anyway if kishi or whoever did a rewrite of itachi pov id be down bc imagine being that guy who massacred his entire village for his brother and then spent years rogue in an organization and then died and then edo tensei'd to disrespect kabuto and then have the best talk no jutsu in the manga w naruto and sasuke which he could have used before he died on sasuke

[bonefall]

Your talk about Briarlight's mobility device is super cool, so i wanted to ask for your opinion, if a cat was missing a single back leg (amputated at the heel), would a mobility device be helpful? I'm assuming no, i've seen cats with only two legs hopping around, which leads to question #2.

The character in question got injured and their leg needed to be removed, a Cinderpaw situation of sorts. The clan begins pushing the use of the mobility device on them, parallel to irl people pushing the use of prosthetics to make amputees look 'normal'. Paired with a severe case of gifted kid syndrome, where their missing leg made training difficult and they begin to burn out because they're suddenly struggling, they get shoved/shove themself into the cleric role. They're miserable about this; They loved being a warrior, but simple training they used to breeze right past suddenly became difficult, so they've resigned themself to picking leaves and chewing herbs.

I'm mostly worried that it will be read the wrong way. The character COULD complete their training, they arent lesser than anyone else, but the gifted kid syndrome hit at the same time, along with a mild dose of peer pressure and internal ableism. It IS a case of 'disabled characters go in the square hole medicine cat den!', and thats the whole point because I wanted to explore the ableism in that situation. They just think that if they can't get something right in the first few tries, they cant get it right ever, so they resigned themself to the metaphorical square hole.

I'm just worried though that by trying to comment on it by adding it to the story that im instead encouraging it. Any advice is 100% appreciated, it's just a thin line and im super worried about walking it. Anyways sorry for invading your ask box i just really wanted to ask for second opinions and i have absolutely no one else to turn to.

A mobility device would not be useful, nope! I'm planning a "mobility device that is just for everyone else's comfort" with Thunder Storm too, though that arc is ending with Thunder pulling it off (and then finding out that Tall Shadow exiled Bumble and flipping his fuzzy little lid)

I think what you need most is clarity of your message, and confidence. You know WHAT you want to say about this-- so start thinking about how to show it. How do you impart this to your audience?

The cat in question doesn't need to realize it. They can have friends, mentors, family, other people who come to the right conclusion. Set up their Gifted Kid problems early, and SHOW that they give up and do as they're told when they struggle with something.

You seem to be doing well by establishing that Examplepaw doesn't like the cleric den, and so this was NOT the right choice for them. In my opinion, that's something that muddies Jayfeather's arc in-canon. He's forced into it but ends up just... fine with it and good at it. The fact Jay was pushed there against his will doesn't actually result in negative consequences.

And people argue, "ah, well, authorial statements say ACTUALLY he ALWAYS would have liked it but he felt like he was fitting a stereotype by going in there so actually it's good that they did an abelism because he wouldn't know what's best for him" and like... they don't see the problem in that lmao. Don't Be Like Them People.

But anyway, that's enough advice rambling on my part. @The Audience, if you guys have advice for this anon, feel free to RB it with commentary or reply to it, especially if you have experience with burnout and physical disability

[a-dream-bookmark]

a dream bookmark presents: APR 2024

farewell (noun)

an act of parting or of marking someone's departure.

Welcome to A Adieu Bookmark, our April 2024 recommendations list with a theme around farewell fics. From the start of the month, we have compiled a list of fics the community has given and prepared to give to you. We would like to provide our biggest appreciation to the people contributing to the making of this list. Thank you so much and we will announce the theme for May 2024 soon!

Do you want to know more about us? Check this out!

The list is below the cut!

MEMBER'S RECS

ENHYPEN

|| the sun that always burns series by @ja3yun | requested by @writingmochi

This fic has dark/mature themes

Pairing: jake x reader

Genre: sexual content/smut (mdni), fluff, angst, friends to lovers to ex, afab reader

Synopsis: you and jake's high school relationship blossomed into a romance filled with hope and promise. However, as time went on, jake's long-term expectations began to weigh heavily on you, who struggled to meet them. your paths eventually lead you in separate directions, each experiencing different aspects of life and ultimately moving on from your past love. unexpectedly, fate intervened and you both reunite after years apart. the reunion allows you to rediscover your feelings for each other, but also forces you to navigate the complexities of your past and present.

What they said about the fic: farewell plays a huge part in the turning point in this story and what i love about it is how it is set right in the epicentre of the series that you have this curve that creates a perfect arc of a story

COMMUNITY'S RECS

THE BOYZ

|| ghost of you by @sungbeam | requested by Anonymous

This fic has dark/mature themes

Pairing: nonidol!ji changmin x bff!fem!reader 

Genre: childhood friends au, you are literally dead./major character death, mentions of a car accident, implied past bullying, swearing, fluff, comedy as a coping mechanism, angst, comfort/hurt, grief and survivor’s guilt, so much crying that you might get tired, just telling you now it is not meant to be a romantic plot but there r hints bc i’m a sucker, i’m not religious but ur a ghost(?), getting over one’s best friend’s death is not easy folks so that’s why y/n goes ghost B)

Synopsis: after the death of his best friend, changmin’s been left to grieve and wallow. but when you suddenly come back to him in the form of a ghost, he realizes that this might be his chance to right some wrongs. (aka; changmin has seven days with your ghost to figure out why you’ve been returned to the land of the living.)

ATEEZ

|| 01.24 by @zchnlswrld | requested by Anonymous

Pairing: idol!san x f!reader 

Genre: angst

What they said about the fic: A real tear jerker if you ask me :(

|| break up sex and yearning duology by @whatudowhennooneseesyou | requested by @whatudowhennooneseesyou

This fic has dark/mature themes

Pairing: seoonghwa x reader

Genre: angst with no happy ending, smut on both parts, possessive!hwa

What they said about the fic: I wrote this after witnessing a couple who loved each other break-up b/c the man wanted children and the female didn't. It's an angst piece about an issue u cant negotiate

Navigation | Collections

[raveneira]

Continuing from my other post, for those who may be curious if this finally means Im giving up on KawaSara and the possibility that it could become canon...my answer is no, Im not.

Realistically its not lookin good, Im mature enough to admit that, does that mean I think this is the end? no I do not, why? because in a decent mangaka’s writing this usually would be the ship killer, but Ikemoto isnt a decent mangaka, hes not even a decent artist, the bar is literally in hell with him on all fronts.

With this sequels writing literally ANYTHING is possible, it doesnt matter if theres build up to it or not because just look at Kawaki’s villain arc, he literally changed his whole mindset in a fkin DAY and no Im not kidding, go back and read 76, literally took only a day for him to make a complete 180.

Look at Sasuke back in 69, he understood Kawaki, empathized with him, took the blame on himself for failing to be the one to kill Boruto instead, said Konoha doesnt have anyone to blame except for him. Now look at 78, hes holdin a sword to Kawaki’s throat despite sensing Momoshiki TWICE and KNOWING why Kawaki is doing what hes doing, he LITERALLY swore to do the same and yet here he is, hunting down Kawaki like everyone else as if he never once thought about killing Boruto himself.

So do I think this is the death of KawaSara? no I dont, because this sequel switches from one narrative to another on a whim whenever it wants to, so right now things look horrible for KawaSara like theres no way things could ever work out and that they just totally hate eachother now etc but when the story feels like it actually wants to bother remembering Sarada and Kawaki’s bond it will, and if Ikemoto has decided to make them canon he literally will with or without build up because the man just does not care.

So no Im not giving up on KawaSara, and no I dont think KawaSara is dead, this writing doesnt give af about logic or build up so to say 79 really killed the ship is giving this man too much credit as a writer. Nothing is consistent, and nothing STAYS consistent either. If he suddenly wants to remember KawaSaras bond he will, and if he suddenly wants to forget it he will as well, whatever he feels like in the moment is what he’ll go with.

I dont blame ppl for losing hope here, I dont blame ppl for giving up either, I completely understand your frustration and hopelessness and I do not blame you in the slightest if you just wanna call it quits here, totally understandable.

All Im saying is Im not, not because I cant take the loss, I’ve lost plenty of ships and handled it just fine, but for the principal of it.

I will never forget and never let anyone else forget how a certain fanbase cared more about seeing a harmless small fandoms ship sink than enjoying their own ship they claimed was smooth sailing

I will never forget how this supposed biggest fandom of the most popular ship was praying on our downfall CONSTANTLY simply because they couldnt STAND people shipping Sarada with anyone other than Boruto who they felt she was the property of and no one elses

I will never forget how big accounts incited hate and bitterness towards us unprovoked for no other reason than just enjoying seeing a small group of ppl suffer and be ridiculed by their followers because it was just fun hating on the little guy

I will never forget how the entire fandom turned on one big account for the simple fact that he came out that he shipped KawaSara [theres other reasons now but that was the first and still is the main reason they hate him]

I will never forget how this fanbase made that disgusting head tweet [saying they wanted teen Sarada to give Boruto oral on Kawaki’s dead decapitated body] and over 500 ppl FROM THAT FANBASE liked it and cracked similar jokes, one of which saying Boruto should give HER head instead which also got a bunch of likes

I will never forget how that fanbase was quick to accuse KawaSara fans calling us sick and disgusting over a instagram post saying they hope Kawaki R-pes Sarada only for the poster to admit to being a KawaBoru shipper and NONE of those ppl apologized

I will never forget how this fandom was so insecure and downright hateful towards KawaSara just existing that when members of their own fandom also liked/didnt mind the ship they were literally SHUNNED from the fandom to the point they had to leave it because they couldnt stand it

I will never forget how that fandom constantly vandalized the KawaSara wiki page because they couldnt stand it just existing

and I will never forget how these ppl pretended to be the victim of us this entire time and convinced majority of the fanbase of this as well because they had so many ppl already on their side branding us as the bad guys when literally all we did was try to fkin ship in peace and they just WOULD NOT let us do that.

THATS why I wont give up on the ship, not because I cant take the loss, but because I cant stand letting these ppl feel like they won because more than anything they wanna see ppl drop the ship so only Bsa exists while Kawaki is thrown to whoever is convenient but Im not gonna do that. I’ll stand with the ship whether its canon or not, if others do the same great but if not then that sucks but I understand.

I aint gonna give em the satisfaction tho, whether its endgame or not, whether things get better or worse for them, even whether the ship really is killed or not, Im not giving the ppl who’ve just nonstop been praying on harmless ships downfall the satisfaction of thinkin they finally buried us, I just wont do it.

[honeycreammilkshake]

I feel like an ass for saying this, but outside of Sukuna and Yuuji i dont really think the other characters are interesting. Yeah MAYBE Geto but thats also just the most indeoth character gege has wrote. Otherwise everyone single other character is just overtly simple or a jackass.

I mean shit, the world building is so lackluster. Theres a lot that looks like it was written on the fly and no real thought put into it sometimes. Hell theres timess where plot devices feel like they got put on a backburner and forgotten. Shit some deaths felt unessacary (gestures to the fhcking female cats)

And noboara? Dont get me started her staying dead would have been amazing to help yuuji grow!

Nope, shes back. Its the fucking fairy tail death situation all over again.

Also, in the new chapter im NOT happy with how gege handled Yuuta. So anticlimactic...

Im just.... im really upset over this because you can tell a lot of this was halfassed and forced.

Also fuck RCT. Brings back people feom the dead but you cant bring baxk anyone else? What the fuck is going on. Im not excited for the mangas ending at all...

i feel you, anon. sorry for the late reply btw.

don't feel bad about sharing your opinions. i agree with you on them. i feel like a LOT of the characters are either underdeveloped or simply not as interesting as they could have been. i feel bad because i think gege is experiencing a lot of pressure since this is their first official and long-running series and it became really popular. i think they might not have as much experience as some other mangaka or maybe just they rush or don't fully plan things out? i'm just speculating so i hope i don't seem cruel-hearted in saying as much.

and i agree a lot of the plot seems too sudden and not fully fleshed out. i often cannot even keep track of the technical stuff and details bc new stuff is always being added and i think i've even found some contradictions and unexplained stuff that doesn't really make sense.

overall, jjk isn't as well-written as it maybe could have been, and i'm saying this objectively. i think gege loses sight of the story a lot of the time and sometimes pulls plot developments that don't make much sense as a way to speed things up.

nobara coming back could have been handled much differently for example. as much as i do agree that her death could have served yuuji's arc well, i think she deserved better than being killed off so suddenly. she shouldn't have been killed off at all. or if she was brought back sooner it wouldn't feel so fairy tale unrealistic.

and i also find yuta a bad replacement for yuuji and just kind of boring honestly. he's like gojo 2.0 in terms of character-building only gege adores him this time.

i'm also not understand the full extent of rct. maybe i'm missing something?

idk anon. you're right on a lot of this. thankfully the manga will be ending soon, and there's a chance that someone other than gege will be continuing it, so maybe better developments and more closure will be giving to us?

idk, no disrespect to gege but im honestly not sure what kind of story im reading any more.

[lesbianyosano]

manifesting Fukufuku dying in each others arms -> I am losing it slowly anyway thoughts on the newest chapter?

this has been sitting in my askbox since september and im really sorry anwsering took so long, but ive been trying to articulate how the last few chapters/last episode made me feel and im still not sure, because there have been so many bizzare choices made by both asagiri and the ppl behind the anime i still cant wrap my head around it fully (this got stupid long sorry)

starting with fukuzawa, i made a post a while back talking abt how i was assuming he was going to die/why it'd make a lot of sense, and there were really two main reasons for that; 1. he hasnt had anything interesting to offer for the story for a while and 2. his ability actively stops other important characters (mainly atsushi and kyouka) from further developement. the first thing is now gone which im pretty happy with! i love fukuzawa a lot so it's nice to see him finally have a purpose in the main story and im excited to see where it will go (also fukufuku you will always be famous to me <3333333), but the issue of his ability is still very much here. ive seen ppl theorize that all men are equal is just him lying and there is no ability but i honest to god would hate that, bc it would seem like such a shallow twist. atsushi's conflict with the tiger is central to his character so if it suddenly got revealed that a huge reason why he's even capable of using his power is just placebo "believe in yourself" bullshit i think i'd tear my own hair out. so im still thinking fukuzawa may get killed at some point, esp with the position he's been put into now and how much he seems to not want it.

and as for the "chuuya was never a vampire" fiasco, i honestly have no words, it was so unbelievably bad. ik there's been a ton of posts about how "its actually good" bc fyodor's death was caused by his inability to trust, and dazai's belief in his allies is what put him at an advantage, which is nice yeah, but it doesnt change how fucking stupid of a plan that was. if their goal is to kill fyodor, why not do it in that flooded room? fyodor escapes solely bc chuuya gets him out but if he was concious the entire time why not just leave him there? why continue to pretend? im usually not a huge fan of getting angry over plot holes when the narrative and themes are whats more important, but this is just so blantantly stupid. it feels like asagiri just wanted a plot twist for a plot twist's sake. mersault in general is so poorly constructed as an arc (dazai communicating via his heartbeat,,,, give me a break) but at least you'd hope it would end in a way that makes you excuse all of that, and then it doesn't. i think this post sums up how i feel about this than i ever could

and the fact that its december and we are STILL behind the fucking anime asagiri be so for real. it's easy to see now that the constant half chapters and short releases were a deliberate choice to have the anime catch up which i dont love, but fine, whatever. but now??? what the point of half releases? these chapters have been ready for a long time, and there's no way asagiri and the editors and whoever else is involved arent aware of how frustrated the readers have been for years now. the only explanation i can think of is that maybe the manga will have a different arc conclusion and ctheyre trying to idk, make it seem like we're following the anime closely? idk this shit is so stupid

overall this past arc or two have been bad, there are some elements that make them enjoyable still, but there is no theme consistency and overreliance on cliff hangers (that ppl still somehow buy). it feels like there are no stakes to the story, and that's really bad. maybe it's why i was hoping for fukuzawa to be killed alongside fukuchi idk, it'd finally feel like something is changing

on a brief positive note i quite enjoyed fyodors death, weird catholic freak, ofc nikolai is cradling your arm like this. i was a little suprised to see fyodor killed just yet (bc he always needed to die for the story to be able to wrap up eventually), but given the jesus quote, he may as well come back in some way tbh

[soul-dwelling]

I kinda realised that fireforce is just soul eater without Maka - just Kid and B*S - Shinra and Arthur just getting some of the more "reasonable" and "human" parts of Maka. Like it seems that Ohkubo took the "wow Maka cant really compete with Kid and Star cause they are basically gods" and went with it

I hadn’t thought of it that way, with Maka’s analogues being Shinra and Arthur. 

But it gives me a thought, about how the arc writing for Maka could have been better in Soul Eater.

Coincidentally, my friend elliotthezubat and I fell into the three-person team approach for a re-write we’re doing of Fire Force--only I think that the three-person structure we came up with may have had more to do with evoking the idea of the Christian Trinity when it comes to a story that is already so ingrained in religion, and not ignoring that technically Fire Force did the Christian Trinity as well (Sho, Shinra, Mari). 

And I think when we had the idea, it was before Fire Force was confirmed to be a prequel to Soul Eater (in which case, our trio idea may have been pulling from the Chain Resonance structure more than I realized) but after Shinra, Sho, and Mari combined forces (itself a long diatribe I could get into about how forced that was to set up the prequel nonsense, how Spirit and Maka could resonate in the final arc of that manga, etc). 

It just sucks that Fire Force cannibalized the aspects of Maka to spread out to various characters--and, yeah, that means bringing up Tamaki again. 

Maka has a bit of her silliness (really getting into spying on Stein and others going into the Death Room) that Soul calls her out on--that maybe you can apply to someone like Arthur, which kind of fits, she herself being such an avid reader that maybe you can see some of those roleplaying aspects in her own personality. 

Maka has the levelheaded shonen protagonist qualities that get applied to Shinra. 

But then that leaves Maka’s physical appearance, and Tamaki is stuck with that--and not much else. That is a shame, not that Tamaki should be a Maka clone, but that she is made visibly into such a Maka clone--to then be the fanservice bait for the series and a pathetic commentary by Ohkubo to defend his own fanservice baiting. 

The Soul Eater manga did bother me with the sense that Maka was falling behind Black Star and Kid--but never really did anything with that. I mean, I kind of appreciate that the story didn’t: I like that Maka still kept up despite how much the text insisted that Black Star and Kid were getting more and more powerful…when it never quite came across that way, seeing as everyone was getting better at what they were doing because, you know, experience, time progression, etc. Maybe it’s not much of an ass-pull for Maka to keep up because we have believable explanations: she is now wielding a Death Scythe, she struggled to unlock the Grigori form, she still can tap into the Black Blood. If there is any flaw, it’s that the Grigori stuff really needed an arc to tease that out more--but I guess “Maka overcame Arachne’s madness” and “Medusa was targeting Buttataki for his soul perception abilities and Maka may be just as powerful” was enough foreshadowing. 

Still, there is something to be said for giving believable angst for Maka to help set up the power scaling of the series, progress her character by giving her a challenge to overcome, and to justify how it is that she is keeping up with Black Star, who is becoming a god, and Kid, who practically is a god. 

Did any of this ever come up in the “Salvage” Book of Eibon arc? That would have been a more compelling approach to why Maka suddenly starts doubting herself and tells Soul to get a new meister. Maybe that would have been more impactful than “a stalker is making me jealous and worried that I don’t really resonate with Soul, and he is a Death Scythe, so I should let him go.” It also would have tied in better with Maka’s internal monologue at the end of Chapter 113. 

Maybe that could have also been set up earlier when she confronted her Clown self and really started to ask, “Was I the weak link in the Chain Resonance? Is that why Black Star ran off to Japan? Is that why I’m now seeing him dead in this delusion? Am I so pathetic that Kid is right outside and probably would survive this but I can’t get his help so I’m now facing off against my own worst enemy--myself--and will die here?”

[exactlysizzlingdonut]

I. JJTS FINISHED WATCHING MONSTER AND HOLYYYYYYY FUCK

IM SO SAD THAT THIS IS THE END 🙁

SPOILERS!!

NO WAY JOHAN ESCAPED AGAIN BRO HE'S GONNA FUCK EVERYTHING UP 💀

ALSO TENMA IS SUCH A SWEETHEART WHAT THE HELL.. JOINING DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS HES A GEM I CANT BELIEVE THE LACK OF TENMA CONTENT AFTER ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT HE HAS DONE FOR EVERYBODY IN THIS SERIES

ABSOLUTE GEM OF A MAN I CANT EVEN EXPRESS HOW I FEEL ABOUT JIM WITHOUT SOUNDING FERAL AND CRINGE CRONGE (potential verbal appreciation post? It’ll probs be rotting in my drafts HAHSHD)

Also can we talk about how pretty Nina’s voice is when she’s serious, it really reminds me of nausicaa’s voice WHIHC IS A WIN WIN!

Really wanted to find out their real names

ALSO WHEN ROBERTO WAS ADOLF REIN WHATEVER??? THINKJNG ABOIT HOW GRIMMER WAS TALKING ABT HIS BESTIE OMG I NEARLY CRIED BRO.

THAT ALSO LEFT ME WITH MY JAW DROPPED BECAUSE NAW WHAT THE HELL HOW DO U EXPECT ME TO CASUALLY REGISTER THAT INFORMATION WHEN YOU DROP SUCH A BIG BOMB ON ME. AT LEAST WARN ME 😀

Johan being a menace to society (in the worst way possible) never fails to make me giggle

Adding on, Roberto is a meme of a character cos just when you think everything is going okay, he makes an appearance and suddenly you know damn well everything is not going okay anymore

ALSO I DIDNT KNOW GRIMMER WAS GOING TO FUCKING DIE??? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT

FRANZ BONAPARTA BEING SUCH A SISSY,, GOING ON A MF TANGENT OF HOW HE FUCJED UP LIKE YEAH NO SHIT STFU

wim being so adorbs <33

EVA AND MARTIN BRO THEY HAD IT GOING;;;(;;(::-6;;) WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE

Eva redemption arc I mean queen was lowkey killing it throughout the series.. sometimes questionable but otherwise ily (but I HATED how she treated tenma 😒)

NINA GETTING THE BEST SCORES GO YOU QUEEN YOU DESERVE IT

What was Johan and Nina’s mum doing bro- did that favouritism play a role in this outrage.. guess we’ll never know!

OH NOT TO MENTION MONSTER SOUNDTRACK SLAPS SOOOO HARD. SKIPPING THE OPENINB FEELS LIKE A CRIME. FULLY LISTENED TO THE ENDING IN THE LAST EPSODE BC YK I WANT TO GO OUT PROPERLY AND DAMN IT’S RLLY NICE? BUT I DONT THINK I WOULDVE BEEN ABLE TO LISTEN TO IT AT THE END OF EACH EP BECAUSE MAN THESE CLIFF HANGERS AND HOOKS MAKE ME GO FERAL FOR THE NEXT EP

WHENEVER “THE SEEDS OF TIME” STARTED PLAYING IN A SCENE I WOULD GET SO EXCITED IT’S PROBABLY MY FAV OST RN. OMG AND “Present” IT’S SUCH A CUTE OST AARGRGEGSGESHSGDFFEDD

THIS AJIME IS SO GOOD HOW COME I BARELY SEE OR HEAR PPL TALKING ABT IT… ???DEFINITELY TOP 3 BRO MAYBE EVEN TOP 2 (idek what my anime ranking list looks like 👹)

LUNGE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ARC REAL?? When he said he’d buy a beer for grimmer n they can talk about this whole case 💔💔

Nah Lunge was mad funny, his only personality trait was hunting tenma down,, then half way through the series he goes “I’ve made a fatal mistake 😗” n reconsiders his life decisions. The audacity,, and I was loving it.

Milan bro 😢 AND TENMA TELLING THE KIDS TO STUDY HARD AND NOT GIVE UP?? I NEED A TENMA IN MY LIFE.

DIETER IS SUCH A CUTIE PATOOTIE OMLLL

okay after some reflection johan saying "which one didn't she need" or stmhn like that at the end BAFFLED me. it made me really sad too

oh yeah HAHAHAHA johan being an iconic cross dresser. you can't tell me he wasn't rocking that outfit when he was with suk... also when he dressed as young anna HIS FACE WAS SO FUNNY "welcome back! :D" bro is so devious HEGHAHSDG

just thhnking about that tenma push up scene it had me giggling and swinging my feet OGH LET;S NOT FORGET WHEN HE WAS LIKE "good girl" TO NINA .... that's the stuff i want to hear frfr

on a serious note though, he's such a good father figure. this man would make the best father ever.. i've seen multiple comments saying that even johan saw him as a father figure and LORD DOES THAT MAKE ME UPSET :(((((

that nameless monster book spoke facts at the end tho, johan is such a beautiful name no joke

his hair looks so fluffy too

HAHA no how about the scream he scrumpt i was lowkey embarrassed like johan you can scream sm better than that.

idk why but he's so fine when he drops the ground- both times in the library and in the rain. i swear it's the hair and his back

yk this anime reminds me of that one tiktok sounds with the garden song that says "no matter where you are, everyone is always connected". it's quite cool to think about it holistically, but in a sense it's also so surreal, and even scary. this masterpiece is an extreme reflection of our world imo, with many elements of truth and reality. anyways i'll leave this kind of stuff for another post (draft lol). but honestly though, i really liked this series. maybe since it's older, it has that sense of authenticity?? not invalidating other anime series but idk. i really enjoyed it.

RAHAHGSHJDHFGHJG LET'S STAY TOGETHER BEING TENMA'S FAVOURITE SONG OMG THIS IS KILLING ME HES SO my heart is aching sm..

im jus reading about tenma's childhood rn :')

WAIT THETRS;S SOMETHING CALLED ANOTHER MONSTER?/ IS THIS A SEQUEL OR SMTHN... well yk what time it is then!

[m1ckeyb3rry]

That’s a good idea….will start check marking….. I’m also realizing I think part of the problem was I actually do press send sometimes but if the connection is spotty and I don’t realize I close out tumblr and then it never ends up fully loading/sending properly….

SHSHS I cant imagine that’d be comfortable with the dizziness…well uh..at least it’s over now!! Haha…..

OUUU wait that’s a good take…..it’s kinda funny I think I remember Isagi and Yuta having the same mbti too?? Not sure how accurate the typing actually is but I thought that was funny LOL but IM CRYING LMAOOOO you really said I need some spice in my life let’s switch it up

Honestly I would not be surprised if that ended up being the case like….after every single time we’ve manifested something into existence I’d be more surprised if it didn’t get manifested into reality LMAO

SHEGSHS every now and then I think about how I’m blowing up your inbox but omg another special tag I’m so honored LOL hope the ideas prove useful for when you’re in a slump!!

AHAHAHA atp trying to guess your final wc should just be a game im sure its at least mildly frustrating for you but I can’t lie every time it happens I chuckle a bit especially when you post it with that one ant meme LMFAOOA

Oh em gee very excited!! Whenever that comes out im gonna reread part 1 to refresh first LOL it’s ok we gotta give our man a break from being protag he’s been going through it LMAOAO between getting insulted by the love of his life in fwtkac the whole freaky Friday conflict and now bfb where he’s been pining since he could walk I

Gotta bless the other sectors of the fandom with your work….give them a taste of your writing then they’ll discover your blog read the Karasu fics and join Karasu nation…that’s the end goal LMAO atp you’re just overseeing all of bllknation covering every base

Hsjshsj glad it went well!! Struggle because of motion sickness I assume? Manifesting very hard that that goes away soon…

GAGAMARU AND YUKI LMAOOO ok that’s a pair I was not expecting ngl it’s ok it’s the power duo one blind one and one with super vision /j actually I feel like that’d be really funny like…since yuki is also a model he has such a refined vibe and as we know is very well mannered while gagamaru spends a lot of the time in the woods in the wilderness fighting bears or something LOL such opposite vibes

Yeah…like I get the shock factor thing but tbh to me that still doesn’t “justify it” to me LOL like it was just so sudden?? And there’s still so many holes like how’d she suddenly just appear good as new minus the one eye…no I fully agree like it was so random, not lead up not even a hint from the past what like 30 chapters?? Like they really just decided to throw her back into the ring at the last second….like we haven’t seen her since Shibuya arc and she somehow just spawned back like make it make sense…..tbh I think the “shock my readers” thing is such a gege thing to do :,) considering all the other comments we’ve heard from him LMAO but yeah the execution was not it……jjk fandom is also scary I see people getting eaten alive for “hot takes”

LMAO safe from kaiserism today…tbh I can’t see myself actually converting BUT the compass >>> the whole animal shelter dog scene was Lowk so cute I love the use of the dog’s own background in paralleling kaiser’s own situation! But that line “she’s my mother but I’m not her son” LITERARY GENIUS but also I’m crying when they talk about marriage and a wedding I’m fr just imagining ness just standing there alone on kaisers side something about the scene just seems so funny to me

- Karasu anon

tumblr is so glitchy sometimes i can’t even blame you 😔 the amount of times i’ve thought i posted something and didn’t or someone will send an ask and i just won’t get a notification for it??? same with dms and then people think i’m ignoring them but that’s not my intention at all 😭💔

yess they do have the same mbti!! and so does hiori apparently 🤔 tbh i tend to like characters who are sassier because they’re more like me so they’re easier to write/connect with (asshole karasu 🤝 asshole mira) but realistically in a relationship you can only rlly have one person like that the other needs to be nice or else it’s just stressful 😭 irl whenever i meet people who match my freak toooo well i get annoyed because like why are we only being mean to each other but when people start to get too moral abt it it’s like “oh it was never that deep” LMAOAAO there needs to be a happy medium of someone who finds it funny and can throw a jab or two out there when necessary but for the most part they’re just chilling 😩 which lowkey IS isagi (and hiori) now that i think abt it but NOOOO if i convert to isagism what will become of me

HFJDJSSJ okay random kiyora headcanons speedrun (kaneshiro if you’re watching these are fire pls include them in the manga): he ran cross country for one year during the soccer off season and he liked it because he could listen to music during races but it wasn’t competitive enough for him so he quit, he’s lowkey fire at either knitting or crochet but no one knows (he’s not shy abt it though it’s just that no one talks to him for long enough to realize), and he got a pet umbrella cockatoo after watching the movie rio in theaters

NO I LOVE GETTING THE NOTIFICATION YOU SENT AN ASK it’s so fun to read them 🥹 and PLSS honestly it’s less frustrating and more just like 😨 whenever the word count gets crazy long because for the most part i’m just happy to be providing 😩 the only thing that worries me is when i take too long writing smth rlly long and people think i’m on hiatus 😭 like no i’m still here it’s just that this one shot is now novel length so…

okay wait genuinely multiple people have been converted to karasu nation because of me LMAOAOA especially bfb and fwtkac…honestly it’s a role i’m proud to play 🤩🙏🏻 but yes atm i need to expand my outreach/not make karasu suffer any longer he’s been through it in the miraverse as of late 😟 i’m excited for cherry tree pt2 i think it’s probably going to be shorter but very cute 🥹 which yk cute and rin don’t necessarily go together very naturally given how he is but trust i will make it work 🤩

HEAR ME OUT GAGAMARU AND YUKI / TARZAN AND JANE AU LMAOOOOO no it’s so perfect hold on i’m going to edit a screen cap of it once i’ve responded to this why does it fit uncannily well…i’ve convinced myself gagamaru and yuki besties number one bllk duo forget bachisagi or kunigiri or nagireo or tabieita or whatever 🥱 gagayuki the ONLY pair i care about (and karasu + shidou they’re cool too)

i completely agree although i’ve already seen people on all corners of the internet calling people who are dissatisfied with it brain dead or without reading comprehension/media literacy…that’s just how it’s going to be ig 😓 jjk to me has this problem where it’s simultaneously overhated AND overrated 🤔 because people do not realize there is a middle ground!! like no it’s not the worst manga ever and there are several high points + on the whole it is better written than several other animangas especially shounen ones however it is NOT peak fiction and it is definitely not the best thing to come out in recent times!! like people don’t realize you can criticize it and still not bash it/gege completely 😒 also i have to say it…a manga being popular ≠ good idk WHY that’s such a popular argument but things can be popular without being well written!! look at any number of ya dystopian novels from the 2010s for proof 😭 nobody’s denying that jjk is popular it’s just that that doesn’t automatically make it the best thing ever…i saw someone on tik tok say that a lot of jjk fans confuse hype moments/panels with good writing and i do think that that’s the case at times 🫣 but what do i know lol

tbh smth abt kaiser’s fuck ass haircut turns me off rlly bad like maybe if he still had the shaggy blond going on or if he put it in a bun more often i’d see the appeal but the rat tails are not it 😰 and LMAOAOAO PLSSS kaiser’s side at the wedding is just ness and noel noa (he was paid to be there) and both of them are just like 😐😐 the whole time HAHAHA they are not into it at all…maybe kaiser was onto smth when he said that they should just get married without any guests because imagine how awk it would be otherwise 😭

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

GIRL SAY ITTTT

Like the homoerotic tension between these four is insane??? Eli and Demetri especially, like. They're so painfully in love and have been from the jump. It's honestly hilarious that it took me until S2 to catch on, because like. Even in S1 they were fruity af. Eli spends half the time shooting Demetri piney looks and like...what??? We're just supposed to accept that's a normal way that platonic besties stare at each other unprompted???

#for a while i thought that demetri and hawk’s obliviousness was hilarious#whether it’s canon or not #but now it’s not funny at all HONESTLY. I was like "I'm gonna laugh so hard if they keep their beards for the rest of the show" but now it's like. This show deadass wants me to think these absolute farces of straight relationship have any substance and depth to them at all. Like. They unironically are trying to portray Eli, Demetri, Yasmine, and Moon's beardy little arrangement as some kind of epic young love teenage romance. Like Yasmine flying all the way back to prom for Demetri in S4 despite not even wanting to be SEEN with him in S3??? What??? So we're just supposed to accept she did a full 180 offscreen without question??? It literally only makes any sense if she's putting on some kind of act to appear Super Ultra Straight. And Moon, poor Moon. She totally moved on with her life and was having the time of her life flirting with women and being over Eli, but nooooo, we gotta have her suddenly like Eli again to reward him for being a good boi -____- And you know. Even though she never gave any indication of being into him for more than the shallowest possible reasons.

Like it's literally infuriating that we're expected to unironically root for these pairings. They do a huge disservice to all four characters and casually regress all development that all four of them have gone through. Demetri and Eli finally learning to accept their authentic selves (i.e. GAY) and learning that you don't need a hot trophy girlfriend to be cool??? Demetri learning you can't woo girls by making weird sexual venn diagram jokes??? Eli learning that pining for your ex of two minutes for close to a year is in fact unhealthy and kind of concerning??? NOPE! Let's completely strip the girls' agency so we can give the boys everything (we're meant to believe) they want. And Yasmine and Moon, getting to have agency and not be tied down to two gay nerd boys who "liked" them for the shallowest reasons on the planet??? Yasmine, getting to have a redemption arc and a character based around something more than being hot for a nerd boy who made creepy comments toward her??? Moon, getting to move on, explore her sexuality, and get over the boy she dated for 2 minutes??? Nope! They are props for male characters' stories and we're all just supposed to be cool with that :)

#YASMIN KNOWS MOON IS NOT STRAIGHT WHY CANT SHE JUST SHOOT HER SHOT FOR REAL FOR REAL Like did she not see Moon giving her a full-body check-out in S4 or??? Like is she really that completely oblivious??? Girl you have been yeeted so far out of the friendzone that it is but a distant dot on the horizon at this point -_____- The only thing I can figure is that Yasmine has homophobic parents and/or other family who gave her a hard enough time about not getting a boyfriend (which she notably does not have in S1) that she felt like she needed a beard to keep up appearances. I always figured part of the reason she was so awful during S1 is because she was having some kinda trouble at home and took it out on her peers.

"we may have to deal with Demetri and Yasmin’s closeted asses pining for their best friends until the end of the show." I KNOW AND IT PAINS ME SO MUCH Like y'all!!! They are not straight!!! Yasmine, you have seen Moon kissing women!!! Demetri, you have seen Eli dye his hair purple!!! Please get your act together, you two!!!

I'm going to smack them upside the head, I swear. mlm/wlw slidarity in being Totally Fucking Oblivious.

Bro I don’t understand why some show writers give us so much evidence pointing towards a gay/queer/lesbian relationship and then they force them into a straight one. Cobra Kai writers specifically.

ELI AND DEMETRI

YASMIN AND MOON

Hawkmetri has so much potential, if they’ll just realize that they clearly have feelings for each other and get together. We still don’t know what will happen in season six, but I’m always imagining what may go down and if it could lead to their becoming a couple. I don’t know, there’s so many ways S6 could go and there’s still a possibility, but it’s very slim. Considering all of the moments Hawk and Demetri have already had together and it all being for nothing, we may have to deal with Demetri and Yasmin’s closeted asses pining for their best friends until the end of the show.

[chiffaust]

× . 𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗡𝗘'𝗦 𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦.

pairings. t. eichi/reader.

synopsis. you were someone dearest to eichi, it really is a shame it has to end this way, but you brought your downfall upon yourself even after his warnings.

content. angst, set in place during the war arc, implied suicide? (reader), dancing w him, he "executed" reader, can be read romantically or platonically?

(n) — take this shitty eichi angst while i work my way through writers block. i shouldnt have written this since i forgot most of the things that happened in the war but i cant get my grubby hands off the angst material it gives </3

Tension rose amongst you and the students of Yumenosaki—especially between you and Eichi, although it is probably one-sided in Eichi's part.

He knew although you were quiet; you were still stubborn. He had seen it before, watching you on stage all alone like that against powerful units of Yumenosaki.

You were truly an irrational idiot, but somehow he was enamoured by you.

And as he stands in front of you in the same stage he'd see you perform; all words disappeared one after another.

Why must you be so stubborn? Why won't you just back away when he specifically told you to stay out of his way?

He shouldn't even feel this sad, you brought this to yourself. Furthermore, he has already made up with the fact that he only views you as a tool to success; all like the others.

Sacrificing you is one step closer to it.

"We've come far, Tenshouin." You suddenly spoke, breaking him away from his train of thoughts.

"... Right. And to think that I'd be fighting against someone dearest to me too." He hung his head low, further trying to fight away the sadness soon envelopes his whole heart.

"And to think that you started off as a lonely boy too." Ah, how irritating. Must you really bring that up?

Nonetheless, he's still sad; this'll be the last time he'd ever hear you, no?

"But I never lied, Eichi."

Suddenly, you pulled him in closer, hands intertwined with one another. For one last time, you looked at him in the eyes. Just like this.

The crowds erupt into cheering at your sudden fanservice, but all of those entered and left his ears.

On this stage, it'll be the last time he would ever see you in an equal ground.

"Neither have I lied before," he suddenly swift you in, "—at least not to you." He twirled you around and dipped you onto the ground. Your lower half fallen as your hands gripped onto Eichi's hand for dear life.

"For an ill person, you sure do have a lot of energy to waste." You looked up to him, a smirk crawling up your face.

He knew that smirk; it wasn't your usual smirk, it seemed more nervous.

You were nervous.

"Fufu, I do want to give it my all fighting against you."

"But the promise we made, [Name]—it will not be broken." he said, letting go of your hand completely, the fall you faced was gentle; but you're sure after this fight your fall will be much worse.

For now, everybody's attention is on you. Every slight mistake you make, the crowds can see it—if not, the people you're about to fight against will.

Your mind wandered to his words before your performance. Right the promise. But do you even have the time to think about it now? This'll be your last time dancing on this stage, you should put in your all into it.

... But you're still going to be defeated completely to plump by that friend of yours, wouldn't you?

The thought made you stumble on your own feet; nonetheless, you had the perfect cover-up for it and continued performing as if nothing had happened.

"If we are to be separated, if we are to lose our way; I shall make sure we'll be connected, no matter how many times it takes." He whispered those words. You remember it vividly.

It was you who made that promise. From the corner, you and Eichi made eye contact. His smile still lingers, but you knew him well. He was sad that this has to happen.

If only you could just stay right there with him for a little longer. If only you were a better use to him to the point where he'd at least try and put in some effort in preventing you from doing this.

This feeling; it isn't love. It isn't hatred either, so what is it? Do you hate that man? Yes you do. But do you wish you'd just stay by his side forever? Yes you do.

Feelings are complicated, you wish you could be saved by this feeling instead.

Your performance ends and soon fine came out, dancing with grace and brilliance that you wish you'd achieve before you retire as an idol.

But you suppose you cannot get everything you want in your life.

The vote rendered to fine by a lot; a humiliating defeat for you, but you didn't care.

You clapped for they had stood victorious once again, your face soften as Eichi's only grows sadder.

"It's a promise. I'll wait for you, Tenshouin." Was your last word spoken to him before you went off stage.

Why is he reacting to his victory this way? Why was he sad that you didn't win?

Should he run after you? No, he shouldn't. That's a terrible idea.

"Eichi-kun? Are you okay?" A certain teammate of his asks, voicing his concern while the other had already gone offstage.

It is just the same at the end of the day.

"No, I'm fine. Let's go, Aoba-kun." Eichi replied, a rather weak smile he flashed his teammate that didn't seem like him at all.

"If only I could prevent you from leaving." Those words lingered in Eichi's thoughts as he steals glances to the seat next to him.

You are absent again for today.

Did the others give you too much headaches lately? He doesn't know. He wish he'd know what you're thinking most of the time, really.

No matter how many times he'd convince himself you didn't came to school, he still managed to find himself walking up the stairs to the rooftop.

For the final step he took and the slam of the door; he could only respond nonchalantly with a smile.

There you were, on the rooftop—orange rays of the sunset enveloping your figure as he walks forward—forward to you.

"It's quite nostalgic, isn't it?" Eichi asks, further and further getting closer to you who stood too closely to the railing. His heart beats faster and faster with every step he took.

"We... Met like this, right?"

"Correct. It is far in the past already, so it's not a surprise to see that you've forgotten about it already."

Silence overtook the two of you.

"Tenshouin—"

"I like you." Your voice overlaps with his. You locked eyes with one another, eyes widen in surprise.

Oh, how you pitied one another after the sudden confession.

Your gaze falls down onto the ground and so did his for a moment.

"—and that is why I offer you a proposal," he said, reaching out a hand to you. "Join fine with me. We'll fit great together as a team."

Your eyes widen once again, falling short to his proposal.

"I see great potential hidden deep within you; we're both the same, [Name]." He started to spoke, "—our motive, our reasoning; everything."

"You want to see this school change for the better, and so do I. We can change it if we work together, I'm sure of it."

"You can win your fans back once again, if not thousands of people more—with me, nobody would even dare bother you."

"With me, you can climb up the ladder of Yumenosaki's most powerful unit and punish those who deemed you wrong! Wouldn't you like that?"

"Please don't monologue your way through this." You immediately cut him off.

"Right, sorry." He apologized, smiling sheepishly at you. "Nonetheless, what do you say? Will you take my hand in offer?" He asks, smiling softly at you.

You were silent, replying with almost to no sound to his offer, but he still wanted to believe that there's some slight chance that you'd take it; take his hand and be together with him once again.

He really enjoys your company after all.

You took his hand, but not in a way he was expecting you to. His eyes widen as he was pulled closer to you, hands intertwined with one another.

Your gaze soften at his bewildered expression. Without any warning, you whisked him away into a waltz.

"We made a promise. We'd entrust our hearts to each other in order for no one else to steal it away." You said, waltzing along with the confused Eichi.

Eichi soon hung his head low, smiling. He can never really know just what you're thinking, can he?

"That is correct—although that was nothing more but a foolish dream instead of a promise."

"Must it be a dream? Don't you wish for it to happen? You do like me, no?"

"Right. I do like you, but it'd be better if it just stays as a foolish dream of mine; one that will never come true."

"—since you're going to leave my life sooner or later..." Was all he could mumble that day. He wish he'd reminiscence those memories with you longer.

The air was colder than usual, yet the same orange-tint light illuminates you just like the other times.

"I enjoy everything we went through together." You muttered, glancing back at him with a smile on your face.

"Laughing with you, crying with you, being with you..." You trailed off, your grip on the railing only tightens, "dancing with you..."

How much longer can we last? He asks to himself, unable to move from his spot. He wasn't sure on what to do. You didn't accept his invitation to fine, so he deems you as nothing but an obstace.

He should be viewing you as such, but he simply couldn't.

He really did enjoy your company. He really did, he never wanted all of this to happen—this'll never happened if you weren't so stubborn.

It is... Truly baffling.

So for one last time, allow him to return your kind gesture—allow him to whisk you away into a waltz, all like those times you'd do for him.

Ah, why are you looking at him like that? Well, he suppose it's going to happen considering he had "executed" you, but he did tried to help you fix your reputation back.

Your trust and admiration in him already dissolved into nothingness months prior, but nonetheless, you followed. Into the waltz you two shall dance for one last time.

He couldn't help but laugh; laugh it all away, ignoring the tears that's already forming at the corner of his eyes as he dips you.

He'll really miss you.

The waltz on the rooftop signify the end—the end of your everlasting relationship with him, whatever it is you two had between each other.

And that was the last time he ever saw you inside Yumenosaki too. There was rumors speculating around your disappearance—some say you committed suicide while some say you fled to live in another country as a normal high schooler.

He knows better than to trust baseless rumors, but the former does make more sense than the latter.

He has finally gain control over Yumenosaki completely. He does wonder, if you are here would you be happy? Would you continue to stay by his side or would it all end up like this nonetheless?

You are a true enigmatic. Wherever you are, he does truly hope that you'll find your happiness once again. As for him, he is happy now. He thinks.