#“you're the audience” yoshida says.

[iridescentscarecrow]

thinking about how the yoshiden theatre scene

mirrors makima and denji's date from part one, in that it ends with an affirmation of normality. of humanity from yoshida: "is this what it's like to be normal? / yeah. it is.",

only that it's less one sided than the makima conversation about denji having a heart ever was because it's more participatory in a sense. yoshida's the same, the wording: "think skipping school to hang out would make us regular high schoolers?" how he uses "we" so much, so much i

think about fujimoto's character triad of reze, yoshida and togata. how togata and reze are tied to finding themselves in the main character and how yoshida (?? the we is telling.). thinking about the togata movie scene. thinking about the togata movie scene. thinking abou

thinking about the devil under the movie screen. its corpse under the movie they're watching play out. it's resemblance to a squid. seafood. octopus. something. it's intentional. "all that's left is to remove the body." thinking about

"you aren't the protagonist. the world won't end without you."

#and oughhh #not the protagonist. the audience. the gradual disenfranchisement of chainsaw man and therefore denji and his Being of chainsaw man. becaus #it's asa now. the protagonist is her. it's so wonderfully meta in an awful horrifying way i. #“you're the audience” yoshida says. #god. the yoshiden feels do be hitting good today #csm #chainsaw man #yoshida hirofumi #denji #csm 136 #csm spoilers #crow.txt #mitaka asa #csm part 2 #csm meta #fire punch #kind of

[longagodreams]

Winter Resort Class Trip

Summary : Basically a written version of whatever the absolute peak romance of that class trip chapter in volume 15 was. From Tappei's POV.

______________

"Tomorrow we're going on a class trip to Mezuki Town!"

Cheers exploded.

"The Mezuki Town is known for its great winter resort and its accomodating inn. Now, children, I don't want you to be careless for this trip; it is winter, and although we will make sure to keep it safe by the weather forecast, you will have to prepare for everything..."

The teacher went on to list and explain whatever they needed to bring. The whole class jotted down the items in bulletpoints diligently, Yamada Miiko included. They have already experienced how harsh winter could be, and imagine how much harsher it would be in an unfamiliar town high up in the mountains!

Once it was over and the teacher left the class, the clamored murmurs started. They were all excited for the trip - it was the first time they visited a winter resort for a school trip. Miiko was already exclaiming to her friends all the things she wanted to do. Meanwhile, Tappei assured Kenta that yes, he'd be able to make it, since it would be his parents' shift on the day of their trip. Even if it wasn't, he remarked to himself, they would probably insist he goes anyway.

___

The day of the trip came and they all loaded into the bus. The journey was long and tiring even though they did nothing but sitting. The scenery that passed by were very pretty, though - that's Japan in winter for you. When the bus finally stopped and they hopped off, they marveled at their surroundings.

"Look, they have ski resorts! I wanna try skiing!"

Already Miiko was pointing at something in the distance and blabbering her immediate fancy. Her friends calmed her down, though they were eyeing the resort with wonder and awe all the same.

"Now, now. You all had a long day on the ride and you want to have all your energy to do anything you want while you're here, okay? So why don't we go to the inn first and have dinner? It's getting dark and we have to register first anyway."

The class obeyed and they went on their way.

____

Truth be told, Tappei had fun in the resort.

Well, of course he did, why wouldn't he? Everyone had fun. Especially Miiko. He teased her a bit over lunch and she got mad at usual ("Who are you calling a clumsy runt?!"), but she went back to her good mood soon enough. Maybe he should consider asking her out to one of the resort sites. 

There's just one little problem...

"Hey, why did you keep ogling at Yamada back there?"

Yoshida looked back at him innocently while they washed their hands in front of the bathroom mirror.

"He he, was it really that obvious?"

"You can drop it. She may not realize, but it's blatant for anyone who's around to witness."

"Is that so... You know, I don't think anyone else notices. No one else has questioned me on it before. Is it possible that you...were watching me?"

Tappei's eyes narrowed. "That's none of your business."

Yoshida only smiled, keeping his mysterious air. "If you say so."

And the day after their heated exchange, of course they had to end up at the ski resort together. Tappei wasn't even sure why he was persistent to go through with the ski race, if he looked back on it; maybe he just wanted to prove something to Yoshida with Miiko in the audience. So they took their place on the top of the mountain and got ready.

They took off. It was a close match, and Tappei was determined to win. But then something happened; Yoshida tripped, or was it Tappei? Whoever it was, the outcome was the same: one of them promptly became a giant snowball that rolled down and crashed into the other. BAM! They were out cold for a minute. The class that were watching sprang up to help.

"Oh my goodness!"

"What happened?"

"Tappei and Yoshida crashed into each other while they were skiing! Someone help them up!'

They were brought to the infirmary. Tappei knew that because that was where he and Yoshida found themselves in when they woke up. That was expected, and it was a relief that neither he nor Yoshida got seriously hurt. What wasn't expected, however...

"...Wha?! Are you...me? Huh?"

"Is...is that you, Tappei? Are you in my body? Why am I seeing myself?"

"Says you! You're in my body! Wait...if you're me...and I'm you..."

Suddenly the trip became so, so much worse than how it was at first.

____

"Are we really going to stay like this?" Yoshida asked through Tappei's mouth as they stared at each other and themselves in the bathroom mirror.

"Seems like it..." Tappei responded, touching at Yoshida's face with Yoshida's fingers that he now took control of.

"What are we going to do? If we tell the teacher, she's just going to  assume we're pulling her leg!"

"What to do, what to do...okay, how about this: we pretend to be each other and act as if everything's okay. We'll go home after the trip and - maybe our parents will know what to do? Or maybe we'll go back to normal in a day or a week. We'll see. I really don't want to be stuck in your body forever, you know."

Yoshida thought about it for a moment. "Sounds like a plan, yeah. Let's do this. Let's hope we get back to normal sooner or later."

____

Acting like Yoshida was tougher than he thought. Fortunately Yoshida was naturally not a talkative person anyway (like him), so 90% of the time he just shut his mouth and tried to smile all the time. He thought he did a good enough job of not attracting attention from the others.

The one who is NOT doing a good job, however...

"Waaaah! Tappei, what're you doing?"

"WHA - WHAAAA," Miiko stuttered out, much to Tappei's horror as he came to see what happened.

What the heck was Yoshida thinking?! Hugging Miiko to himself on the infirmary bed like some sort of prince charming? All his painstaking effort to blend in as someone who has not swapped bodies, and THIS was how Yoshida paid him back? Did this guy see a chance in the body swap and took advantage of it to get closer to Miiko?!

The audacity. Tappei would have strangled him if it wasn't literally his own body he would be damaging. But wow.

Tappei in Yoshida's body barely managed not to fling himself on Yoshida to give him a beating, much less control his expression into something less...intense.

Miiko seemed to be more than a bit put off by Tappei's change in character anyway, and quickly distanced herself when she was able to wriggle away, face red from embarassment. Serves you right, a small voice in Tappei sneered at the opportunistic homeboy. Said homeboy seemed a little downcast at Miiko's fast escape, much to his further disdainful glee.

Now to get past dinner...

____

Dinner was...tense, for some reason. Maybe it was the shift in the atmosphere because of Yoshida-in-Tappei's body's little stunt, or maybe it was just him sending dirty looks Yoshida's way. He had already told Yoshida to knock it off and not try to get close to Miiko while they were swapped like this, but it was still so irritating. 

Whatever the source of the tenseness was, Yoshida was also feeling it, and even Miiko, Kenta and the rest of their circle took notice.

Not that the class would know what's really wrong. Right? - Well, it's impossible they would put body swap on the table.

Miiko decided to start a chat with Tappei (oh no). Tappei-who-is-actually-Yoshida, as he had throughout the day, responded with a manner that could pass as his usual self...if he was in a particularly bright mood and after he had won a prize or some other good thing, and even that's still farfetched. Was he even trying?! He couldn't tell for sure whether the others could tell, anyhow.

Tappei-in-Yoshida's body could only stare and lament as Miiko and Yoshida-in-Tappei's body's conversation continued. He himself could not approach Miiko so easily, by a combination of his own fear of acting out of character when it comes to Miiko and Miiko's apparent lack of...familiarity? When it comes to Yoshida. And that observation filled him with a complex emotion he didn't feel he was prepared to analyze.

He wondered if Miiko could tell that guy who was now still putting on the prince charming act was not actually him...

"Hey, Yoshida, what're you glaring for? It's scary..." Yoshida's friend, who was seated beside him, commented.

"Ah, don't worry about him," Yoshida-as-Tappei answered for him, "he's probably out of loops from yesterday's accident too."

"The accident that wouldn't have happened had you been better at skiing, you know," Tappei-as-Yoshida finally retorted, feeling like a boiling pot with the lid finally starting to open from the pressure. Again, he didn't even remember who it was that tripped first - it just burst out.

The others listening in were surprised. At this point they noticed something was off with both of them. Well, no matter, if Yoshida wasn't going to pull his weight.

"Eh? What're you talking about, Yoshida? You're the one who fell first," Yoshida said blasely. Tappei's temper rose - his tone clearly meant 'you fell first, Tappei'.

An altercation began to take place, something of a common occurence between Tappei and Yoshida, but -

*BIP*

"Ah! It's dark!"

"Help! Help! Why is it dark?"

"It's a blackout! The lights are all off!"

"Aaaah, I'm scared! Yuuko, where are you?!"

"Ow - ow! Hey, who is this?"

"I can't see anything! I can't see anything!"

"Someone call the teacher!"

Within the chaos that ensued, Tappei just so happened to bump into Miiko. He could feel her shaking and flailing around in panic.

"Aah-!"

"Yamada -"

"O - oow, who is this...what's happening..."

Without thinking much, he grabbed her by the shoulder before taking her hand in his. Miiko calmed immediately and stayed in place.

"Who...who's this?" Miiko's small voice asked from beside him.

"Don't worry," Tappei said in lieu of an answer. "We'll just have to wait until the lights turn back on. We should be fine..."

Silence. Miiko's hand tightened back and her breathing quietened. Tappei wondered what she was thinking - and whether she could see him, because he definitely couldn't see her.

Would it be bold of Yoshida to take her hand out of nowhere to keep her calm in the middle of a blackout? Maybe so, and it'd definitely make a scene, but he couldn't let her continue to flail around in the darkness in fear. At the very least, they're together, and in this pocket of darkness (as long as no one stumbles their way), they were safe.

"Tappei?"

The body belonging to Yoshida froze.

"You're Tappei, right?"

If Tappei could answer immediately, he would. But there were multiple factors why he couldn't.

The foremost reason: How?

Miiko knew it was him.

He only held her hand and spoke, and Miiko knew.

It's ironic, but it took the darkness of the dining room for Tappei to finally be seen as who he really was.

Miiko was his childhood friend, after all. Of course she'd be familiar with the way he spoke - his voice may be Yoshida's, but the words and inflection were still...him. 

Or maybe...maybe because this was how they had always ended up in similar situations like this. Miiko would be in trouble, and Tappei would just happen to be around, and out of some sort of compulsion he would be there to help. He would tease and make fun of Miiko before and after, but when push comes to shove and Miiko finds herself in a tight spot she couldn't get out by herself, Tappei would be there. And they would get through it together.

Like now, when he held her hand in the pitch-black room as they waited for the lights to return.

He wondered if Miiko noticed it was Yoshida's hand holding hers and not Tappei's.

For this short moment, it was just them two: Miiko and Tappei standing together in the middle of the dark, hand in hand.

There was a silent beat before Tappei knelt down and touched her face with his free hand. Was he going to hug her? Or just frame her face? He himself didn't really know, he was going with the flow of emotions -

*BIP*

The lights went back on.

Tappei froze. Miiko stood unmoving. Yoshida from a few feet away stared at them both with wide eyes. Kenta in turn was somewhere behind Yoshida.

"Ya...Yamada!"

Tappei had whipped his hands away and held them behind his head all "normal and relaxed" (he realized at the last second that this was Yoshida's body that was holding hands with Miiko and all, and wouldn't that open up a can of worms), but it was too late - Yoshida saw.

Aaand...Yoshida lost it. He ran towards Tappei, fist flying, ready to fight.

"You said yourself not to do anything until we return back to normal!!!"

Tappei panicked. "I wasn't -" he started to say, even though he did, in fact, start to do something.

Yoshida tripped. He fell and bumped and crashed into Tappei and all was black.

...For a quick moment. Then Tappei found himself sprawled across the dining room's floor with their friends looking down at him and Yoshida in worry.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Wow, Tappei, what got you so mad out of a sudden?"

"Hey, Yoshida, your head's okay, right? Should we take you back to the infirmary?"

And that was when Tappei discovered he has returned to his body, and so has Yoshida. He sighed in relief. Well, it made sense that since they swapped bodies by crashing into each other, they could also swap back through the same method

...though he still didn't know how it was even possible.

The class trip days turned back to normal and everything was great.

_____

"...Hey, Tappei?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want to say...thank you. For helping me back then during the blackout..."

"...Wait...weren't Yoshida the one with you? Who held your hand?"

"Hmm...was he? Maybe? I did see him, but I could have sworn...maybe during the blackout, you and Yoshida somehow switched places real quick? I don't know...but, I feel like I really need to thank you. So, thanks."

A soft exhale. "Don't mention it."

[arkadiaasks]

Interesting so you complain about Go Rush (a show that asks the audience to use critical thinking skills) but support VRAINS (a show that asks the audience to revel in misogyny, racism, and ableism).

Sigh I really shouldn't answer these kind of questions...

I criticize Go Rush!! because Rovian is an incomprehensible beatnik slam poet who mumbles out nonsense cheered on by her lesbian wife.

Why am I supposed to care about her motivations if the show does not articulate them to me. "Show Don't Tell" is an overrated mechanism especially for children's TV.

It's also pretty clear the last 4 or 5 episodes of the Space Treasure arc got dinged because Mr. Lounsbery got COVID resulting in the back end being scrambled as they did Whacky Nonsense running around with the YudiaSheet.

It's the onus of the show to explain to me why Rovian is at all concerned about The Lugh. And why I should care about her ultimately.

This isn't asking critical thinking it's called the motivations of characters got scrambled or dropped in a trash can (and worsened due to a dialogue gimmick) and much of the end of its second arc got severely mishandled in my opinion, when an actor got severely sick.

I "support" VRAINS because its writing and story is clearly explained by its staff lead by Mr. Yoshida.

Even if you think it portrays Misogyny, Racism and Ableism (I don't think it does more than any other utterly bland Centrist Liberalism based work, and I honestly think you're reaching beyond reasonable belief), the story is still inherently better communicated to the audience as well as its themes and motifs.

And if you're arguing me liking VRAINS (I think it's my third least-liked Yu-Gi-Oh! with DM and ARC-V beneath it) says something about my moral character, that's insane black-white moralism that doesn't understand how humans function.

One can find a lot of value in a highly flawed work (VRAINS or the works of H.P. Lovecraft) and still be a good human being in their day-to-day life and believe women are equal to men, and that racism is idiotic.

I think a lot of Go Rush!! is good, especially with Yudias and Zuwijo's motivations, but I can still think it did itself dirty with an antagonist turned ally's motivations being articulated and fucked up its second arc's landing.

As much as I also can think VRAINS was heavily worsened by Link era Dueling Rules, realism to the actual game, was kind of honestly boring and the entire Mirror Link VRAINS arc was nails on a chalkboard, but still think its themes and motifs and ideas were some of the strongest in Yu-Gi-Oh! despite a lack luster execution.

If someone not batshit insane can articulate Rovian's motivations to me, I'd love to hear them.

#yugiohvrains #yugiohgorush

[kationella]

To Be A Sun

This is me ranting about the symbolism of the Sun Arcana characters in Persona. Ok, thanks.

As of Persona 5, our Sun characters have been Tatsuya Suou, Akinari Kamiki, Yumi Ozawa, Ayane Matsunaga, Sho Minazuki and Toranosuke Yoshida. Unlike the Justice characters, the Suns seem to be completely different characters with no similarities. At least, at first glance.

The themes of this rant will be the following:

1. Loyalty

2. Solar Eclipse

3. Center of the Solar System

4. Supernova

5. So...

Loyalty

I will begin with a trait that the Suns have in common: Loyalty; although they don't have the same brand. Whether its loyalty for a certain person or their personal ideals, the Suns will stick by them to the end of times.

Coincidentally, this also means that it will be extremely difficult to change their mind about the object of their loyalty. Stubborness is a side effect of this.

Let's review.

Tatsuya's loyalty lies with his friends, especially Maya and Jun. The latter tried to kill him and Tatsuya forgave him the same day. Not to mention that Tatsuya stubbornly clinged at the memory of his friends even though it meant the possible destruction of Earth.

Though we meet Akinari near the end of his life, we get a glimpse of his loyalty to the protagonist in the way he was always waiting for him each Sunday afternoon and how he strived to say goodbye to the protag even after his death.

Yumi's loyalty is towards her mother, getting angry at her father on her behalf and forsaking her role in the school play to help her.

Ayane is an example of the other type of loyalty; the one dedicated to their ideals and beliefs. Even though she develops it late in her Social Link, she learns to stick by what she wants for herself.

Meanwhile, Sho and Minazuki are devoted to one another. The entire plot of P4AU is them trying to be alone together.

Old Man Tora shows the two types of loyalty. The first one towards his firm ideals and the other one towards the people he means to serve. This is what makes him the only politician I believe in.

A Sun Arcana is one of the best friends you could ever get. The ride or die type of friend. The problem with this is that, in their effort to stick by their object of loyalty, they forget to take care of themselves. It would be extremely dangerous for them to align their loyalty with a toxic person or dangerous belief. More on this later.

The Suns need to find their inner source of happiness so they can properly shine. Something no outside force can take away. And talking about external threats...

Solar Eclipse

The Suns already start with a distinct shine of their own. Something they were born with. However, when we met them there is always one external influence that blocks their sunlight.

And so, we have the Solar Eclipse effect, where a character from the Sun Arcana feels inadequate due to factors outside their control, not realizing they are perfect the way they are.

It's common for a Sun to have a certain individual related to those problems who serves as their blocker.

Whether it's some dimensional game you're a piece of (Nyarlathotep and Philemon), your parents' dispute (Yumi's father), a lost opportunity to show your worth (Original Trombone Player), experiments made on you (Ikutsuki) or a scandal you were wrongly accused of (Kuromoto).

The only one without a certain person would be Akinari, but to be fair it's hard to blame someone else for a genetic terminal illness. Ironically, his last days were spent talking with someone who had a piece of Death inside him. Who knows. Maybe if Akinari had known that Minato was related to Death itself...

Especially if we consider that almost all of the Suns had an amiable relationship with their blocker at one point or another.

Philemon was Tatsuya's guide through his journey.

Yumi felt gratitude towards her father for bringing her to the world.

Ayane did return the trombone solo to the original player.

Ikutsuki was the closest thing Sho had to a father figure.

Kuromoto was Yoshida's old mentor.

Once that blocker moved on with their fate, the Suns started to shine again. And what to do now that the heavens are their own again?

Center of the Solar System

The most basic fact about the Sun (besides the fact that it's hot) it's that it is the center of the Solar System. Every other planet rotates around them. The Sun stays firm, with a shinning light for the rest of the system.

In the same way as that, the Sun Arcana characters have the potential of becoming leaders and the protagonists of their own stories, setting an example for the rest of their acquaintances.

Tatsuya is the most obvious example. He is the main protagonist of his own game. Nothing to say that isn't already known.

Akinari writes a storybook that would become the inspiration of a new generation of children, if Nanako's love for it is anything to go by.

The whole point of theatre is to lead the audience through a story and create emotions in them through a character. Something Yumi excels at.

Ayane's Social Link is about being more selfish and grasping the opportunities presented to her.

Yoshida is the most literal example, being a politician and all.

Sho still has to find that *something* that will end up making him an example to others but he is on the way.

A fully developed Sun will be able to be a charismatic leader, who earns the loyalty of their team through kindness and generosity. Sunlight is meant to help others see the world around them, in the same way Suns will help others see their potential and own inspiration. You just can't take your eyes off them since you literally gravitate towards them.

This is the main point that separates a Sun from a Star. Those with the Star Arcana need to learn they can shine brightly for themselves, while the Suns learn that they can shine for others as well. They all start with low self-esteem, but their pride will keep developing as time goes on.

Suns have a natural talent for initiative. Through their stories we helped them realize their own potential but now its up to them to do the rest.

Supernova

As we all know, fire needs fuel to burn, but what happens when you allow your inner fire to burn you from the inside out and leave nothing behind?

You get the case of King Leo, the Reverse Sun.

So far we have only one Reverse Sun character but we can determine a lot from him. Basically, Reverse Arcanas are the "corrupt" version of their original personalities, so what happens when a Sun becomes corrupted? Well...

See, King Leo or Sudou fits all the criteria that defines a Sun.

He is extremely loyal to both Kashihara and Joker. However, this loyalty only brought him misery when both abandoned him. Sudou poured so much in them that when they disappeared, he had nothing left.

Sudou thought his Solar Eclipse was caused by Tatsuya and Maya, when in reality it came to be thanks to Nyarlathotep and his father. A life of hallucinations and misery caused by these two.

Sudou's position as an executive in the Masked Circle shows his leadership aptitude and potential to become the center of his own system.

Sudou spent so much time eclipsed that, in his desire to shine as bright as he could to break free, he ended up burning everything in his path. He literally exploded in a fiery rage and collapsed.

At that point it became mercy for Tatsuya to kill him.

His is a sad case, especially when comparing him to the other Suns and realizing his lost potential.

A similar case outside of Persona where the "Inner Fire Burns All" applies would be Azula from Avatar. Now that I think about it, she would make a good Reverse Sun Arcana... hmm.

So...

The Sun Arcana is such an interesting card. By all accounts, it symbolizes happiness and joy. A common mistake is to think these are given. No, a true Sun Arcana *fights* to achieve that happy ending. Once they reach it, their victory will be the sweetest of all.

Celestial Arcanas in general have the tendency to be a guiding light to everyone else (although some of them do it unintentionally).

There is also the matter of the writing parallels between the Suns and their Moon counterparts, but that is a theme for another time.

And now you'll ask me: "Kationella, what was the point of this analysis?"

Well, it all comes down to one question that has been plaguing me for days:

Would it be ironic for Suns to wear sunglasses?

#persona 2 #persona 3 #persona 4 #persona 5 #tatsuya suou #tatsuya sudou #akinari kamiki #yumi ozawa #ayane matsunaga #toranosuke yoshida #analysis #meta

[ao3feed-nhie]

by fantasize

"Now that she thinks about it, she remembers the ridiculous amount of times she’d compared her time with Paxton with her time with Ben, even when she first started dating him. Whenever she would be doing anything with Paxton even remotely similar to something she’d done with Ben, her mind would throw past memories at her, hurl them at her as she tried to dodge them feverishly.

She’s spent the past two years trying to push those thoughts to the back of her head, ignoring them and letting them conglomerate until it eats up her entire brain. She knows that eventually, she will have to confront those thoughts, and that time is now. She can’t continue pretending like everything is fine, that her heart doesn’t skip a beat every time Ben smiles at her, that she doesn’t think about him whenever she closes her eyes, that she doesn’t feel a thrill in her body every time he touches her, and that she doesn’t enjoy spending time with him, or bickering with him."

[in simpler words: after a one week fling with ben in sophomore year, devi chose to date paxton. now in senior year, she's starting to realize that what she thinks she wants isn't what she actually desires]

Words: 8333, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Never Have I Ever (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Multi

Characters: Devi Vishwakumar, Ben Gross, Paxton Hall-Yoshida, Fabiola Torres, Eleanor Wong, Nalini Vishwakumar, Rebecca Hall-Yoshida, Trent Harrison, Mr. Shapiro (Never Have I Ever), Kamala (Never Have I Ever)

Relationships: Ben Gross & Devi Vishwakumar, Ben Gross/Devi Vishwakumar, Paxton Hall-Yoshida/Devi Vishwakumar, Ben Gross/Other(s), Eve (Never Have I Ever)/Fabiola Torres, Eleanor Wong/Oliver Martinez

Additional Tags: lots of, Pining, slowburn, Hurt, Confusion, i tried not to make either of the boys seem like 'bad guys' if you know what i mean, bc i genuinely do like both paxton and ben, but i just dont think dexton would work out, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to friends to lovers to strangers to friends to lovers, this wasn't orignally supposed to be this long, devi reflecting on her grief, yes devi does get mad easily that's just canon, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, there is dexton but benvi endgame

#ao3feed #fanfic #never have I ever #nhie #nhie netflix