#I went through so many chapters for this panel specifically

[what-the-fuck-khr]

june sixteenth

#kozato enma #khr #katekyo hitman reborn #khredit #khrgraphics #my shit #birthday roundup #character birthdays #16th of june #00 #Enma!!!!!! god how I wish he was animated #I went through so many chapters for this panel specifically #saw it on Google but couldn’t find the chapter #so I just. sped through a bunch of the Shimon arc lmfao

[rowanwithaz]

Comforting Heroism

Major Mha 423 spoilers

Unforgivable actions by understandable people:

This is really interesting to me. In this chapter Izuku says he can't forgive Shigaraki/AFO several times,and he's had similar sentiments before,but of course he can still see the hurt they're going through.

A couple of things stood out to me.

This is a pattern throughout the war. Izuku can't forgive Shigaraki or AFO,because they've hurt too many people,but it doesn't dissipate their pain. Izuku doesn't want to save villains,he wants to save them from their hurt. Because he can understand AFO,because he can understand Shigaraki,he can't forgive them for what they've done,but he provided Shigaraki with a sense of comfort,went to Shigaraki's child self to comfort the crying boy inside him.

And this mentality Izuku has isn't knew by any means,the war before this is when he comes to the conclusion he wishes to save Shigaraki,

I don't know if even he knew how he was going to though. So,in a sense,he's saved the crying boy inside Shigaraki,or should I say Nana did.

(Shigaraki saying he wasn't able to crush Izuku's hand may be him saying he couldn't refuse Izuku's comfort,like Izuku said himself; taking someone's hand is a form of comfort. So in the end,Shigaraki wasn't able to deny Izuku's (and the vestiges') help any longer)

In this chapter Shigaraki confesses that he was a crying boy deep down,which he had been denying pretty heavily,and that part of him escaped,that crying boy was saved by being comforted.

And I think Shigaraki ending his own physical body was definitely some good ol' symbolism. With Shigaraki destroying the body that AFO took from him,the body AFO forced to be destructive,he saved everyone and the boy crying in his own self. Like a hero. Shigaraki getting to fulfill his life-long dream whilst ending his own pain and suffering just feels right.

And the conclusion for AFO's pain and suffering and the explanation align with this.

Izuku saying this after AFO was defeated makes sense. Izuku is putting an end to the cycle of pain and suffering. AFO used and used people,causing them to do the same things he's done,and the OFA users,Izuku,and Shigaraki have put an end to this once and for all.

(This frame is chilling. AFO is just like, "Shiiiiiiiiiiit." )

Which was ALSO Izuku's goal.

Izuku has wanted to end this seemingly endless line of suffering,the pain that caused this chain reaction,Izuku wanted to put an end to it.

Izuku didn't fail to save Shigaraki,he didn't fail to stop him and AFO either.

Izuku's pain and suffering:

Izuku himself has been suffering this whole war. Physically and emotionally. An interesting little thing I noticed when Izuku was fighting AFO,when Katsuki shows up,that's when Izuku tells AFO he can't forgive him.

We have to remember what exactly AFO/Shigaraki put him through,last and especially this war.

Obviously,when they killed Katsuki,this gravely affected Izuku. So,I feel Izuku's pain and suffering from this

Hasn't been resolved yet. One of two main reasons I believe this is at the end of the chapter Horikoshi is using this panel,

Y'know,the one that happens right after Izuku forces his feelings down about Katsuki's death?

Izuku still has his own cycle of pain and suffering caused by AFO and Shigaraki,like in both wars,and I feel there's so much emotional damage that needs to be addressed.

I've been talking about comfort a lot throughout this analysis,and that's mainly because Horikoshi said in an interview a while back that he wanted to portray heroism in a specific way.

Reassurance.

Izuku comforting that crying boy,that is a form of reassurance. And throughout this war and chapter everyone has been feeling relieved merely by his presence alone. But,what about Izuku himself?

I feel this is where the whole, "You don't have to handle it all on your own," comes into place. I feel Katsuki needs to help Izuku feel reassurance in some way shape or form.

Izuku saved/won the day with everyone's combined efforts,but Izuku needs to rest.

And this whole sequence of events reminds me of the vigilante arc,and if everyone remembers,it goes like this.

Katsuki shows up,

He takes out a villain,then lets class A help,

they help Izuku with a sense of comfort,then Katsuki takes the wheel in emotionally connecting with Izuku. He reassures Izuku the greatest,because he's so special to him. So,people theorizing that Katsuki is going to catch Izuku (I dunno 'bout that) you're filling in the LAST blank. What goes before this?

A talk. A simple. Emotional. Talk. I don't know if this will happen for sure,but it makes sense all things considered. One of the biggest reasons Izuku became a vigilante was because the war hurt his friends,and more specifically,hurt Katsuki.

And since Togachako parallels them,it wouldn't surprise me if they had another emotional talk in the battle field (wouldn't be too surprising since there isn't much danger anymore) and with class A watching,perhaps they'll tell each other their truth,the WHOLE truth.

Random thought:

Speaking of Togachako parallels,I find it quite interesting that right Izuku's facial expressions look very similar in these frames when thinking of not hurting someone he loves,having a flashback to Katsuki getting hurt,then this latest chapter Izuku getting a little emotional after Katsuki helps.

I think it's the eyes and eyebrow placement or something.

#Mha spoilers #bnha spoilers #Midoriya Izuku #shigaraki tomura #AFO #Mha 423 #Bnha 423 #Bkdk #Dkbk #GreeNade #Anyways I had a lot of thoughts on this chapter and I needed to get them all out #I get why people were a little disappointed #but c'mon #I feel this was an amazing chapter #But hey that's just me

[linkspooky]

Someone has pointed it out before and it's becoming more prevalent now more than ever. Sukuna is really shaping up to be Megumi's own Mahito. Bro has violated him in so many ways - deformed, corrupted and tainted his body and soul that I'm sitting here reading the weekly updates hoping Megumi will finally wake up and yell 'ENOUGH!'. Like, when Megumi finally breaks free I want him to be as crazed as he was (or even more) when he first deployed his domain.

You're right anon, there are a lot of parallels between what Sukuna is doing to Megumi currently, and what Mahito did to Yuji throughout his introduction arc and Shibuya. In fact Megumi's journey right now mirrors wat Yuji already went through in Shibuya, possession of his body, using his body to make him complicit in murder by getting the blood on his hands, then killing off his loved ones to weaken his resolve.

Sukuna is to Megumi what Mahito is to Yuji. They are both curses that represent the opposite of what the heroes represent. Yuji lives to save lives, so Mahito violates life. Megumi lives to save his loved ones and Sukuna rejects the idea of ever loving another person.

Mahito and Sukuna both employ the same strategy to break down the sorcerer they are opposed to, there are several parallels between what Megumi is experiencing right now and what Yuji experienced at the hands of Mahito. The first thing Sukuna did was show Megumi he was too weak to save a friend. In chapter 9 Sukuna rips Yuji's heart out and Megumi isn't able to fight Sukuna enough to force him to fix Yuji. Similiarly, Mahito right in front of Yuji's eyes mutates Junpei and there's nothing Yuji can do to turn him back. Any deal he tries to make is rejected by Sukuna and both of them laugh at him. The two panels even parallel each other in Yuji and Megumi standing in the aftermath of witnessing the deaths.

Mahito also goes out of his way to make Yuji lose his innocence, by proving as the ultimate test of his ideology to save others. Mahito tells Junpei that all life is equally worthless in the same few chapters that Yuji says he doesn't want life to lose it's value.

Yuji wants to give people a natural death, a death that comes at the end of one's life like his grandfather's death, and not the brutal way that victims of curses are killed. Mahito's ability violates life itself by twisting humans into inhumane shapes that mindlessly cry out in agony and lash out at whatever's around them until they die.

Mahito himself also forces Yuji to kill innocent people, because the humans he mutates can't be saved they can only be mercy killed. Something which unnerves both Yuji and even a seasoned professional like Nanami, which Mahito says his soul was shaking in response to seeing what he had done to the humans. If Yuji's philosophy is to save people, and let die natural causes after living long lives Mahito kills people without any reason and gives them unnatural deaths. However, he's not satisfied with just killing Yuji he wants to psychologically break him down he wants to become him.

Mahito acts plotwise as the mirror to Yuji's actions by being his opposite. He's attempting to force self-analysis on Yuji. Yuji doesn't stop to think about killing curses, the same way that Mahito doesn't contemplate killing people.

Mahito has power over Yuji specifically because Yuji does not analyze himself. Part of the reason Mahito and Sukuna in general are able to run rampant over Megumi and Yuji's entire lives is because they are both people who adapt the cog mindset too well.

They act without thinking, and they act for the sake of other people rather than themselves. It's easy to be manipulated, to be blindsided, to be run roughshod over when you are a cog because cogs don't think. The easiest way to get manipulated by others is to not think for yourself after all.

Mahito is essentially trying to get Yuji's ego to break by making him question every philosophy he fights for. His strategy is to violate that same philosophy in front of Yuji's eyes while he's helpless, again and again. Sukuna even helps him in Shibuya.

Sukuna takes away from Yuji the idea that he can die and save others by taking Sukuna with him, by forcing him to become the sole survivor of a massacre. Even if he's executed and Sukuna vanishes permanently he's not going to reduce the total number of deaths in the world because now thousands of people have died because Yuji let Sukuna out in Shibuya.

Sukuna's first move to break megumi when he has control of his body is the exact same play, to convince Megumi that he is a murderer by using ten shadows his own technique to destroy Tsumiki's body. Mahito also as mentioned earlier made this play early on to make Yuji feel like a murderer by having to kill the mutated humans that were just innocent people.

Megumi and Yuji are made to feel like murderers by Sukuna and Mahito respectively, they're also made to kill the people they wanted to save. Yuji's desire is to save everyone so he's forced to mercy kill innocent people, and Megumi's desire is to save his sister so Sukuna's literal first action is to bury Tsumiki as deep as possible.

He's not just taking away Megumi's sister, but also his reason for living and being a sorcerer. The same way that Mahito is trying to show Yuji that his philosophy of saving people is wrong and worthless, Sukuna shows Megumi that everything he did to protect his sister amounted to nothing in th eend. Megumi and Yuji both value life and Sukuna and Mahito violate and trample all over that life.

Flowers = purity and innocence, and Mahito and Sukuna both exist to defile those things, trampling and tearing apart those flowers.

The next action Mahito takes is to kill Yuji's mentor right in front of him. Which is what we just witnessed Sukuna did to Gojo, in Megumi's body. Nanami and Gojo even die in the same way, still standing as their torsos are separated from their lower halves.

Mahito's actions didn't stop with Nanami though, as Yuji when he was about to break from the pressure of Sukuna's massacre in Shibuya received support from Nobara arriving on time to remind him he's not alone.

Only for Mahito to kill Nobara right in front of him a moment later due to a small slip up during the fight. Nobara's unceremonious death and being made to fight alone again breaks Yuji's resolve almost completely until he believes what Mahito has been trying to convince him of, that all of his ideals are wrong, that they're just excuses, that he's completely helpless and can't fight back.

Now, there's a couple of parallels, the murder of Nobara could both parallel the attempted murder of Hana and Angel someone who gave Megumi and the audience a brief hope spot that she'd be able to exorcise sukuna from him only for that hope to be ripped away in the goriest fashion possible.

Or it could be Tsumiki's death which was the breaking point for Megumi at which point he stopped fighting back even curling up in the fetal position like Yuji. It could even be Sukuna immediately awakening to punch Yuji through a building. Either way, Sukuna's strategy mirrors Mahito's here, it's to number one isolate Megumi and convince him he's alone, and two by victimizing all of his friends in front of him he shows Megumi he's helpless to stop him and convinces him not to fight back.

Either way Mahito violates the idea Yuji can save anyone even his friends by killing Nobara in a fight that they are both fighting in, right in front of his eyes, convincing him that his philosophy for helping others was an excuse and he never had the strength to save others to begin with.

The same way Sukuna violates love, he makes a joke of pretending to be Megumi again so Hana will embrace him, only to eat her when she drops her guard. He talks about destroying Tsumiki Fushiguro while she's drawn naked on panel and there are flowers representing purity torn up in the background. Megumi's sister is possessed by Yorozu, a woman who is fanatically in love with Sukuna and the two of them make a twisted mockery of the love between siblings in the bodies of the two siblings they're possessing.

Mahito twists the value and sanctity of life to insist that all life is worth nothing, because Yuji his foil is the one who fights to save as many people as possible without thinking about it. Sukuna rejects love and other people in his life because Megumi is only fighting for the sake of the people he loves.

They even use strategies from the same playbook, forcing their victims to kill, then the killing of a mentor, a friend right in front of them until they've convinced their victims they're helpless and alone.

Mahito insists that he and Yuji are the same. Sukuna's goal too in a way is to become Megumi, by completely dominating his body so he can reincarnate in this era. Mahito wants to kill Yuji, and Sukuna wants to make Megumi experience an ego-death, bury him so deep within his consciousness that he'll never stop fighting back.

Mahito is sucesful in a way because even if Yuji managed to kill Mahito, he became like him. Mahito wanted to covince Yuji that life was meaningless, that he didn't need ideals to strive for and all his ideals were excuses and to get out of a tough situation Yuji decided to just embrace that cog mentality. Mahito convinced Yuji to just keep mindlessly killing curses without looking for a purpose beyond that.

However, that's not a true victory over Mahito because once again that's what Mahito wanted Yuji to think. Mahito was trying to drag Yuji down to his level and convince him he was no better than a curse. Yuji and Megumi are weak to Mahito and Sukuna's manipulations because they embrace the cog-like mindset and don't try to take control of their own lives.

Yuji is currently, still mindlessly exorcising curses while Megumi at the moment is also in a mindless cog like state where he is being used by someone else. Neither of them have broken free from being cogs and become fully self-actualized individuals in control of their own actions, especially in Megumi's case because he's being possessed by Satan.

The only way for them both to fight back will be to take control of their own lives, and define who they are, outside of what Mahito and Sukuna insist that they are. Megumi has to take back his own body at this point because it's the climax of a long arc of never really being in control of his own life or allowed to make his own decisions.

Since Megumi is currently sunk to the deepest part of his shadow, I imagine it will be almost exactly like the first time we see him use his domain. "Bring forth the deepest shadows..."

A future Megumi who has surpassed his own limits. A Megumi who gets to decide what he wants to be, outside of what Gojo wants, or what Sukuna is using him for.

That requires both for Megumi to assert himself, and for Yuji to help him. I've posted this panel a hundred times but Megumi says "Start by saving me..." to rescue Yuji from despair post Shibuya and get him moving again. However, if you think about it Jujutsu Society would say that Megumi needs to be killed for the greater good, and everyone including Gojo has Megumi's rescue from Sukuna as a second priority.

Yuji's act of saving Megumi would also be him asserting his will and throwing off the cog mentality, because he'd be going against Jujutsu Society and deciding for himself who he wants to save.

Megumi and Yuji have had their philosophies tested and completely deconstructed by Sukuna and Mahito respectively, but this isn't the end, but it's up to the boys to reconstruct them. Remember Mahito and Sukuna aren't really enlightened or wise. They're trying to convince Megumi and Yuji of these things to convince them they're helpless so they'll stop fighting back and be easier to dominate. It's up to Yuji and Megumi. To show them both that they're not helpless as Sukuna and Mahito would want them to believe and they can fight back.

#megumi fushiguro #itadori yuji #mahito #ryomen sukuna #metasks

[sillypiratelife]

You need to read the live action, the manga and the anime as different canons. It's healthier to the fandom's brains AND it's also better for analyzing properly what is going on.

One Piece is the type of story that relies heavily on the medium it is presented on. Hm actually, let me correct myself: One Piece is the type of story that celebrates and understands and was born to be told in that specific medium. The form and the content don't exist as separate entities, but are rather intertwined to elevate the narrative. That the characters are soooo cartoonish is not a mere style choice— it holds meaning, it complements what the author is trying to transmit.

One of the first things that I learned in college while studying storytelling was that there's a max point for tension in any story. There's a top to how tense you can keep the audience. If you reach that point, you won't be able to intensify the emotions; that's it, you need to introduce a breather or you'd end up with a stagnant narrative.

In manga/comics and cartoons/anime it's easier to walk that line. The power to make some silly joke or have the characters acting stupid is in the hands of the mangaka. I bet any manga reader or anime watcher can think of a moment in their fav series when the characters were in the middle of a seriously important moment, just to be involved in something ridiculous that breaks the tension.

It's fantastic. Mangas and animes love to make fun of their mediums, introducing satire to allow the audience some laughs. It's not until later when the reader/watcher sits and realizes how fucked up the whole situation was. A delayed punch to the gut, something to keep the mind working and thinking of their series until they wait for the next chapter/episode.

How to make the audience feel the impact of a character? Well, you can allow the audience to empathize with the character by explaining their reasons or backstories, you can show the world through their eyes. You can also show them all goofy and happy, so when the hammer strikes the readers/watchers will be nostalgic for the good times, mourning the fact they will not get more of that and becoming nostalgic. There are so many ways to keep a character haunting a story...

Oda is aware of all the manga medium can and cannot do. For people like him, the limitations are actually just more tools to play with. If you want to double check what I'm saying, go reread the panels where Luffy awakened Gear 5. Only manga could offer what went down in those panels; when the very nature of Luffy's powers are revealed to the audience and the characters, the manga gets self-aware and voices it out: "hey, this is the type of thing that only happens in comics, right?"

The anime allows a different range of tropes and shapes the story, correctly translating it. It's true that the best translations mind the public and the medium, adapting the jokes and references. It's also true that every translation is a little betrayal to the original, a unique creation in its own right. A good example of that is the way that the fillers shape the perspective of the watchers when it comes to the characters' dynamics. If the anime has a filler arc where the fight, a new tension will be present in the next manga canon arc. If the anime shows a filler where characters are close friends, it's gonna be weird when they start acting all distance back at the manga canon events. Not all fillers are meant to be considered part of the main storyline, of course. You have OVAs and you have movies and fillers and all types of media that are considered separated.

On the other hand, you have the visual changes: imagine that the anime changes the angle of a scene where two characters used to stand close and put more distance between them. What the manga could mean as a subtle implication that those characters cared about each other could turn into cold tolerance of the other's presence. Even the best of animes have those changes!!!!

In One Piece's case, turning the story into a live action series must change almost everything. It'd be impossible to maintain the cartoonist aspects of the story (unless they decided to go full Looney Tunes in that movie with Brendan Fraser lol). The choice was the following: we can try to keep the original elements even when they translate poorly to the new medium so we can please the original fans that are used to the story —OR we can try to translate the essence of the story and change all that needs to be changed, so that we keep the storyline and storytelling coherent and cohesive, at the cost of creating something not necessarily alien, but still new.

Violence in OPLA is way more serious.

You know how in the manga/anime characters would get fatally wounded and come back like it was just a minor injury? Or how they'd heal with no major medical intervention? That's a liberty of the medium. Your brain doesn't process the same way when you see a drawing wounded and when you see a real life person wounded. In OPLA, the suspension of disbelief is harder to achieve. Even and because the story was already introducing Luffy's powers and other fantastic elements, they needed to be careful to not overdo it. One option was to make people actually die— to know that in the live action not everything is so silly? It raises the stakes. OPLA discards some elements that are natural of a manga and in consequence, the story turns out to be darker. You have no fillers or little stripes of silly drawings or author comments or openings and endings. You'll have to do with what you do have and tell a story worthy of being told in that new medium.

That's a good translation right there, made by someone who understands that you cannot copy and paste things recklessly. That's the formula that made so many live actions fail, in fact.

You'll see many fans complaining because they don't understand any of what I just explained. For them it's easier to justify their opinions by saying that "they did this bad and that's why I don't like it" than admit that "they did this correctly but it's not my thing anyway".

One big example? Fanservice cannot be carried out from manga/anime to a live action. It's not the same to exaggerate the proportions of a body in a drawing (we can discuss the morals of this later) than ask of it from a human person. It's not the same to use some sexual traits in fiction as a way to appeal to the audience than to carry out those implications to a live action (again, I'm not saying it's good or bad because that's a discussion for another time).

Actors are humans. They will never have the same characteristics as an animation or a drawing, no matter how advanced technology is. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you appreciate art for what it is in its medium.

So really, what's the healthiest option? It'd be to approach each version as exactly that, a version of the story. As foreign as it can sound to some fandoms, the audience doesn't have to justify their opinions on something. Opinions are not professional reviews or art analysis. You can be as subjective as you want! To perceive each version as its own little world is easier: you can say "I like this better" without invalidating the opinion of anyone else. There's also the fun in exploring the different implications (they look like friends in this version but like lovers in this other) and playing with the divergences. Fans do that all the time in their art (literature, visual art, music, etc)

You can also analyze different versions of what is going on and contrast them. Do the differences change the form and content of the story or just one of those things? How does this new element change the dynamic between these characters? Are the characters written well but get thrown into a new setting? Is the setting the same but the characters feels more like ocs than the characters from the original story?

Knowing how much One Piece values symbolism, it'd be interesting to see how they could translate the constant influx of symbols in the manga or in the anime to the live action. The live action might show just the most important parts, cutting all the rest for lack of both space, time and budget. What does the author consider to be vital to the story and what can be cut down?

To have three parallel Luffy's in different stages of the story is fascinating to me, more so than the idea of trying to mix three formats that won't even match, mind you.

#shan blogs about one piece! #one piece anime #one piece live action #one piece manga

[darsynia]

Just Right | Ch 1

(Steve Rogers/F!Reader, post-Ultron multi-chapter)

gif by @dailystevegifs

Summary:

You've been in love with Steve Rogers for at least a year, but he treats you the same way he treats every other member of the team-- with respect, but nothing more. It takes an inter-dimensional mistake and a whole second, more assertive, actually interested Steve for you to realize that you don't want just any version of Steve Rogers-- you want the one you've been pining for all this time.

Length: 2,998

FIC MASTERLIST | NEXT CHAPTER | MCU MASTERLIST

Ok so the thing is, I adore @ronearoundblindly, and I decided to write her this. The idea I got also very happily fits with my Avengers Bingo square of 'Is it permanent?' It's not my first Steve fic, but it is my first Steve/Reader! I hope you like it Ro.

Reader's nickname 'Dine is pronounced 'Dean.'

Chapter One

You simply can’t believe this is happening.

Fifteen minutes ago, while you were going over proposed alterations to Sam Wilson’s Falcon suit, a person who looked exactly like Steve Rogers walked through the wall right beside you.

“Oh my God!” you’d immediately said. “Do not tell me that Stark created some kind of matter splitter that lets a person walk through walls, please? I live here. I don’t want to put alarm lasers in my bathroom, but I’ll do it!”

Steve had looked behind him at the solid wall and seemed surprised. “I’m sorry miss, but just a second ago, that was a doorway.”

“If you two are trying to distract me out of noticing that the controls for Redwing are different, it’s not going to work!” Sam said, his focus remaining on the sketch you’d mocked up for him.

You’d looked back over to Steve, and that’s when you noticed that something was… off. First of all, you hadn’t designed that uniform, but he did have a few vintage ones still floating around. Second of all, his hair was longer than it had been the previous day at the monthly midday meeting.

The third difference was the way he was looking at you. Admiringly. Something he’d never done before-- you would have noticed. 

Sam asked a question about one of the altered features, and as you went through your explanation, you’d kept an eye on the way Steve was wandering through the large room. He seemed to be growing more and more confused, picking up an item to frown at it, walking around one of the free-standing computer terminals, and generally seeming lost. More than once, you’d caught him looking over at you in confusion.

With alarm bells going off in your head, you had made a decision. “You know what, Sam, I think I just caught a problem with this. Can I fix that and have you go back over it tonight, after the dinner thing?”

“Sure, ‘Dine. How many wings did you sign up for?” Sam had said challengingly.

“Oh no you don’t! That’s confidential information. Not as many as you, that’s all I’ll say.”

“You know it. See ya, Steve,” he’d said on his way out. You’d walked along with him, and once Sam was through the door, you hit a very specific button on the panel next to it.

“I think you know I could probably break through any one of these walls,” Not-Quite-Steve said from across the room. He sounded regretful.

“I mean, you could try, but this room is fortified. We test prototypes here, and not every invention behaves as expected,” you’d replied, a little proud of your deliberate double meaning. The button had sent an alert to just Stark, for now, but it also turned on a live recording of the whole room, displayed in certain spaces all throughout the complex.

“That’s why there are no windows,” Faux-Steve observed calmly. “Basement of the tower?”

You had willed yourself not to react to that. After the disaster with Ultron, after losing Bruce to fury and almost losing Stark to guilt, they’d all moved upstate, away from the bad memories. Was this Steve from their past or a whole other future? Was he really Steve at all?

“What were you doing right before you came here?” you asked, walking slowly over to the locker area. You’d probably fit into a few of the things there, if you had to.

“Arguing with Tony over something I thought he shouldn’t be doing.” He’d offered her a thin smile and slipped his hands into his pockets, like that would make him seem less dangerous. You knew better. “Look, whatever it was, it sent me here, and this ‘here’ isn’t my here.”

Natasha had taught you never to give too much away. “Oh?”

“My ‘here’ doesn’t have--” 

Before Fake Steve could finish his sentence, Stark burst into the room completely suited up, and things had gotten chaotic from there. 

You’re on your way up to one of the open office rooms to write down everything you can remember, but as you get closer to the correct floor, you slow down. You have a bit of a dilemma, and no amount of reassuring yourself is helping.

The sticking point is how you realized something was wrong, what first made you recognize a discrepancy. The longer hair thing will probably be enough, but it isn’t the whole truth. You don’t want to reveal the whole truth, because the whole truth involves something you’ve kept to yourself for over a year.

The real truth is you are head over heels in love with Steve Rogers. Your Steve Rogers, except he isn’t yours. He’s never looked at you the way this one just did.

You haven’t let that be a problem, of course. You’re in your dream job; after being in armor fabrication and development at Stark Industries for years, you’d been recruited by Tony Stark himself to work with the Avengers. It’s been a genuine pleasure creating individual designs that are tailored to each fighter’s strengths and weaknesses, instead of the mass-produced stuff you’d worked on for Stark Industries. 

You’d tried hard not to let yourself show any favoritism, after you’d realized your crush on Steve wasn’t going away. You don’t even call him Steve, except in your own head-- but all of that is at risk right now. You’re tuned to indifference, and the open interest you’d caught a glimpse of today is sending your senses reeling.

“Hey, ‘Dine. Tony sent me up to make sure you’re okay, said you looked a little shaken up.” It’s Natasha, and she’s coming your way down the hall. Now you’re even more shaken, because if Stark noticed, Nat sure as hell will.

“I need to write this shit down, but yeah, a little bit,” you admit. “It’s like if instead of Vision, the model in the cradle was Rogers, and they got him 95% right.” With a 5% ‘thinks I’m cute’ flaw, you don’t say aloud.

Nat follows you inside and stands waiting as you busy yourself with finding an incident report and the exact right pen. You handle it right up until you start writing your name and her shadow darkens the rest of the paper.

“Something you need?”

“You’re freaked out.”

“Well, yeah. If an interdimensional version of St-- Rogers is able to stroll into our test room, we’re going to need some equally interdimensional protections for this place, not to mention a thousand thousand other important locations all across the country!” You’d just picked something out of midair to bluff her, but it’s the truth, and now you’re even more worried. You set down the pen and look up at Natasha. “What if they need him, Nat? What if we can’t send him back?”

“If it’s something Tony built, Tony can build it,” she says pragmatically. “One worry at a time.”

“There she is!”

You’re late to the gathering, and you’re going to have to make up an excuse, because the forty-five minutes you spent dithering over your clothing choices had everything to do with the image you wanted to present tonight. You ended up going with something casual, dressed-down, because as much as you’d felt a little thrill at the way Alternate Steve had looked at you, it had been disconcerting and alien. No way did you want to foster more of that.

You look up and smile weakly at Sam-- until you remember something. “Shit, Sam, your thing! I’m so sorry, I didn’t go back in the room after--”

He comes over and slings an arm around your shoulders, comfort bred by familiarity. “No, I get it. Don’t worry, manufacture isn’t set for another week.”

You relax into the hug, slip a hand around his waist and squeeze before both of you let go. “It’s just that I promised--” This time it’s Sam’s expression that interrupts you.

“You know you design this stuff, you don’t have to act like armor yourself, right? You sensed something right away, didn’t you? And you got me out of the room.”

Stark’s loud, defensive voice cuts through your mumbled explanation.

“-veryone’s giving me shit over this, but I’m not the one who screwed up! And I’m the one who’s going to fix it, so lay blame on the correct Stark! Who is, for once, not me.” He’s been making his way over to you to thrust your favorite beer in your hand without asking. You look around for Sam, but he’s gone. “If anyone should be mad, it’s ‘Dine,” he shouts over his shoulder. In a quieter voice he adds, “Don’t tell them I said this, Brigandine, but I apologize on behalf of my bumbling alternate universe counterpart. Who knows what kind of weird traits IMPOST-Steve has that our version doesn’t!”

You already feel sick, and you haven’t drunk or eaten anything yet.

Stark drags you over to the catered wings and fills a plate for you without paying much attention to the cues you’re trying to give him, which is tipsy-typical. Honestly, you’re kind of grateful; with a plate piled high you’ll have every excuse to focus on your meal instead of the cluster around the Steves. Your gregarious boss at least carries it for you, and you indicate the farthest table. This earns you a bit of a concerned look, but you just clink your beer against his and tell him to shoo.

It’s interesting watching the seemingly identical men holding position, holding court, really, as the various Avengers and associated staff ebb and flow around them. It takes a good hour (and half of your plate) for each person to get some time with the newcomer, after which the lights dim a bit, along with everyone’s senses. This is the open-bar payment for the all-hands monthly midday meeting of the day before. Not all the attendees actually live at the compound; you only see the whole team once a month.

With the lights down low, your corner is practically dark, but when a familiar figure approaches, you know who it has to be.

“Have they settled on a name for you yet?”

“Tony seems to favor ‘Major America,’ which is better than I would have expected,” Not-Steve says as he pulls out a chair and settles into it. He turns his head toward you and smiles, the relaxed, almost-flirty kind you’ve always wanted from him. “I get the feeling that if it weren’t for the contrast in uniforms, most of these people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

You make a non-committal noise and finish off your beer. It takes a few gulps, but he just watches, like there’s anything more to see than an anxious, embarrassed woman incredibly out of her depth.

“What about you?” you ask, afterwards.

“Well, we don’t have this complex, which I think I gave away when we met the first time. Tony asked me not to go too deep into the changes--”

“No, no, I get it,” you interrupt. “There could be something we don’t know about yet.”

“And vice versa, yeah. It might have taken longer for me to figure things out if it weren’t for one of the biggest differences. I’ve never seen you before.”

The half-bottle of alcohol hits you just as he says that, and you stare at him.

“Yeah, seeing Sam so comfortable with a complete stranger in a room that strangers probably shouldn’t be allowed in ticked some ‘danger’ boxes for me,” AU Steve says. 

The light from the only nearby lamp edges his profile in yellow, and you decide to call him Gold Steve in your head, because ‘AU’ is the periodic table symbol for gold, and that’s what passes for clever for you right now. You’re so proud of this that you miss the next thing he says, and have to ask him to repeat it.

“I said, how did you know? You knew right away.”

“Your hair is longer,” you say, a little too quickly.

Gold Steve tips his head sideways and regards you with a look that amplifies your blood alcohol content to dangerous levels. “It’s a subtle difference. You noticed that?”

“For all you know, it’s my job to keep everyone up to regs,” you joke. 

His slow, easy smile is familiar enough, but for the fact that you’re alone together in a dark corner. “I wouldn’t mind that at all,” he says warmly.

It’s time to get out of here before your lost dignity is your only legacy here at the Avengers compound. Already the tipsy feeling is fading, but the Steve Proximity Alarm is blaring at full volume.

You didn’t actually know how accurate the thought was until Gold Steve stands and gallantly (bafflingly) offers his arm, and you hear a second familiar voice behind you.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, is it? She just had the one beer.”

Gold Steve reaches up to rub the back of his neck, clearly chastened. “No, of course. Just instinct, I guess.”

“This is above my pay grade,” you squeak, and set off toward the door. You’d been looking forward to talking to Clint while he’s here. There’s a containment idea you’d had for some of his more dangerous arrows-- but there’s no way in hell you’re staying around to watch Steve Rogers talk Steve Rogers out of paying attention to you.

As you slip through the door, you hear one of them call out, “‘Dine, wait!” but you have no idea which one of them it is.

The next day brings with it a more detailed plan of what to do with Gold Steve. You’re on the periphery and busy with the planned upgrades to Sam and Clint’s gear, so you only hear about it at lunch. 

From Gold Steve himself.

You hadn’t even planned to go to the cafeteria area, but as always, your minifridge is sadly devoid of take-out when it really matters. The kitchen looks safe when you get there at two PM, late as usual, but in your defense, you were really caught up in the creative process. 

One of the things you love about the Avengers Compound is the random thoughtfulness scattered everywhere. In the cavernous freezer, there’s always a supply of various frozen meals, almost as if you were living back at home and digging in your mom’s fridge to find something she’d made two months ago. They’re made biweekly but eaten any old time, and you score a hit on the back bottom shelf: your very favorite hearty soup.

You’re mid-microwave with it when Gold Steve walks in to rinse out his bowl. Seems he’d made the same exact thing. You wonder who helped him, where that person is now, and why Stark had thought it necessary to design a kitchen with only one way in or out. Hasn’t he ever seen Jurassic Park?

“Oh, hello,” Gold Steve says. You aren’t looking over at him, but you can hear the smile in his voice. You don’t answer right away (because your brain is running through a fragmented list of things to say, and every time you grab one it’s garbled. ‘Soup is for the winter,’ is right out. ‘It’s nice to not expecting to see you here’ makes you nearly abandon the kitchen and push past him out of sheer desperation), and he fills the silence for you. “Oh, that smells familiar, is it the soup?”

You nod, hoping like hell that his version of Tony Stark hasn’t designed telepathy.

“Maybe it’s bad form to joke about it, but I wouldn’t mind taking that recipe back with me. If we figure out how to send me, of course.”

If this was your Steve you would have said something like, ‘I imagine we’d just write it down and put the notecard in your pocket.’ You do joke with the guy, it’s not like you never interact. It’s just that those interactions are as platonic as two houseplants sitting on the same indoor windowsill.

The microwave dings, and you excuse yourself to grab the spoon over near where Gold Steve is standing. After a stir and a taste determines it needs more time, you grit your teeth and start the timer for another minute.

“I’m sorry I make you so uncomfortable, if you don’t mind my saying.”

“You don’t!” you lie, but Gold Steve’s crossed arms lay on the guilt too much to ignore. “I’m… not used to the attention,” you say delicately. His brows furrow, and somehow there are still forty more seconds on the timer before you can be saved by the bell. “She who is seen and not heard?”

“I don’t believe that for a second. Sam Wilson hugged you at that thing last night, you don’t get there by being seen and not heard.”

“Yeah, well, I’m one of the only people who love Redwing as much as he does,” you mutter.

To your delight and horror, Gold Steve comes over and rests a heavy hand on the microwave door, inches away from you. “I cannot imagine being in a room with you and not seeing you,” he says.

The traitorous microwave beeps loudly, startling you sideways into his arm for one shocking second. You back away, saying the first thing that comes to your head.

“Why?” You close your eyes tightly as you realize you’re basically asking for a run-down of compliments from the guy, rushing to say, “I don’t mean that. I mean, I do, but I’m just--” 

You hear the sounds of the microwave being operated, and confused, you just stand there with one hand clapped over your mouth, eyes closed. After two loud beeps and the start button, the microwave runs for a few seconds, beeping loudly again. It’s so unexpected that you open your eyes and see Gold Steve with an encouraging look on his face, one hand held out placatingly in your direction.

“Can we start over?” he asks.

Next chapter...

#steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x f!reader #captain america x f!reader #captain america x reader #captain america #mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x you #captain america x you #romance #pining #steve rogers x female reader

[guacamoleroll]

THEME 👏🏻 !! esp w the new panel hehe i love it !!

MUSE i’ve been interested to hear from you the most. did you end up screaming in joy or pain OR something else LMAO ?? personally I actually SCREAMED with the face reveal

thank you, reverie !! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

i'll be honest, i screamed for JOY.

ik many people's personal theories about fyodor's backstory were ruined or altered by the recent chapter, which was the reason much of my theories stuck to analyizing possible trajectories specifically through a writer's lens (i really didn't want to be bamboozled when something went awry, in true bungo stray dogs fashion).

and so far, it's passed every mark! there is enough intrigue to keep us involved in the fyodor plotline, without explicitly stating that he's alive or dead. it hasn't just bluntly stated what his ability is, or truly explained any of his background besides that he has interacted with bram before, and that he is a lot older than many thought.

and yes, i broke the sound barrier with his face reveal. i mean—LOOK AT HIM.

#₊˚ପ notes from muse .ᐟ #✉︎ ⎼ [@aureatchi] ‧₊˚ #౨ৎ˚ ⎼ from the muses .ᐟ

[piracytheorist]

More thoughts on the adaptation choices!

There's an interesting change from manga to anime in chapter/episode 3, when the Forgers visit the opera.

In the manga, it's a female singer, and as I talked about in this post, she's singing the aria Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen from W. A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

In the anime, it's a male singer, and he's singing the poem Estuans Interius from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

There is one technical difference; Die Zauberflöte is an actual opera (= with a story and actors and roles and such), so it makes sense when they say they went to an opera. Carmina Burana is a cantata (= no specific story, no actors or roles and all that, just collected poems brought to music), you wouldn't say you'd go to the opera then listen to that work. Unless a) they just say opera to mean anything related to classical music or b) Estuans Interius is actually an aria from an opera in that universe. I don't know why they'd go to listen to an opera written in Latin, but I digress.

Now again, it was a choice to change the musical piece that was performed in this scene. I don't know whether they couldn't have a performance of Der Hölle Rache due to copyright issues (and it's one of the hardest arias in the entire Western opera repertoire; it's not like they can just hire a soprano to sing it just for a small scene, so they'd have to use an existing performance). Mozart may have been dead for 231 slutty slutty years but copyrights are a tough nut to deal with.

That said, there's also interest in seeing the meaning of the two musical pieces. Der Hölle Rache is about the Queen of the Night asking her daughter, Pamina, to go and kill her own father, Sarastro; if she doesn't, she will disown her for life. Here's a translation of the libretto:

The vengeance of hell boils in my heart, Death and despair flame about me! If Sarastro does not through you feel The pain of death, Then you will be my daughter nevermore. Disowned may you be forever, Abandoned may you be forever, Destroyed be forever All the bonds of nature, If not through you Sarastro becomes pale! (as death) Hear, Gods of Revenge, Hear a mother's oath!

That's... a little rough, when attempting to make a connection between that and what the Forgers are currently trying to build. Though I doubt Endo meant for any such subtext; it's a little too subtle and has a lot of layers for me to consider it a connection the reader was supposed to make. I think it was simply an aesthetic choice because she does look pretty badass.

You don't hear the words in the manga. It took me looking carefully at the notes and the costume, going like "Could it be...?" and finding the sheet music for that aria to realize Endo was depicting the Queen of the Night there. So he could comfortably depict a character who wants her own daughter to kill her father, otherwise she'll abandon and disown her, without the readers making any connection between that and the actual story.

But in the anime, you do hear the words. The words "Then you will be my daughter nevermore" come right after the notes shown in the first manga panel. Imagine knowing German (or knowing what this aria is about), watching this show of three randos trying to build a family, and then getting hit with that. Yeah, you'd very likely make an unfortunate connection.

So they chose a different work, one that piques my interest as a musician, both itself and its composer.

Carl Orff is one of the most well known musicians... but if you asked me, I know him better as a music educator rather than a composer. I'm like "Yeah the guy whose education theories I learned at university! Oh he also wrote Carmina Burana." Many of those theories we use up to this day. His name was one of the most used in our education classes, along with names like Montessori and Piaget. So considering how the story includes two people who are trying to learn how to be good parents, it's very interesting that they had a reference to one of the most influential music educators. I don't know. Maybe I'm seeing too much into it. I still find it interesting.

As for the work, Carmina Burana is well known among classical musicians for being... provocative. A lot of the songs are about carnal pleasures, and Estuans Interius is no exception. You can find translations of the poems used here, if you're interested. Here is a translation of what is sung in that scene specifically:

Chains cannot hold me, Keys cannot imprison me, I look for people like me and join the wretches. The heaviness of my heart seems a burden to me; it is pleasant to joke and sweeter than honeycomb;

Now that is something easier to connect to the Forgers, innit? The context of the entire poem gives a specific meaning to the lyrics, but it's the part that we hear that matters in the context of the story, and I pretty much love how that part speaks of resistance, of being deemed a "wretch" for not following the norm, of joining a community of said "wretches", and of how that can free someone of the burden of pretending in order to conform.

#Spy x Family #sxf meta

[robotlesbianjavert]

top 5 spineraki moments ?

was going to joke "wow only top five???" and then realised oh. how am i going to manage a top five. when there's so much and it's all so good.

anyways. all of these are based on personal appeal and interpretation. but also my personal appeal and interpretation rules above all ✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻

5. Chapter 373: FRIENDS :)

Yeah duh, did you see how crazy we went when this entire chapter dropped? The only reason it isn't higher is because I'm holding on for my most grand theory to pan out (or for like. anything lmao).

Especially special chapter to me because the two things in the ShigAFO fight that have triggered Tenko/Tomura were a) questioning whether he has friends and b) his anger and hurt seeing the heroes give everything they can to save Bakugou when no one has ever extended that kind of effort to him. And then Horikoshi followed that up with a chapter specifically titled "Friends" wherein someone who has consistently demonstrated that he cares about Shigaraki gives everything he has, how little it may be, in a desperate plea to save him. Might mean nothing :)

4. The Last Time Shigaraki Was Allowed To Talk to Anyone From the League LMAO

Literally the last time Shigaraki had any direct interaction with anyone in the League (besides being on panel with them for 240 and ShigAFO trying to warn Dabi not to charge into the final battle like an asshole) was with Spinner and Twice in Chapter 231. Which is crazy and drives me to a frothing fury on a regular basis. But it's also a moment I care about a lot because a) Twice :)

And b) there's this little discussion between Shigaraki and Spinner that's not really shippy, but still demonstrates this brief moment of - fairness, partnership? Where Shigaraki asks for Spinner's opinion, and Spinner gives an honest evaluation of the situation. A cynical read might say that Shigaraki is figuring out if Spinner is going to ditch at this point, but Shigaraki tends towards being straightforward and frank. So it's nice to read it as Shigaraki genuinely wanting Spinner's input on their situation. Plus the fact that Spinner has stuck with Shigaraki throughout all the chaos as they fight their way through Deika is so sweet - remember how many people thought that Spinner would ditch the League when MVA was ongoing? Remember how people STILL wondered when Spinner was going to ditch?

Also not exactly cheating, I just want to call back to this moment from 224 where Spinner is the one who first clicks into Shigaraki's plan. Because of their gamer bond :) Between these two moments, I think we see that potential for synchronicity between them, as well as those early examples of Spinner's faith in Shigaraki's ability to lead the League.

3. Spinner Trying to Comfort/Check In on Shigaraki Post-SnS

I don't really have a big in depth reason for this besides the fact that it fills me with so much potent emotion. However while getting a screenshot I realised AFO was monologuing about his philosophy on friendship throughout. I am incorporating this into my most grand theory.

2. I'd Never Seen Anything Prettier...

Legitimately an insane moment that Bones WILL regret fucking cutting. But so insane, one day you're yelling at your terrorist boss about the gang's aimlessness, desperate to know where we're going, and 19 chapters later you get your answer. The warped, crumbling horizon of Chapter 239 is one of the It moments for Spinaraki, just a gorgeous scene with gorgeous commentary from Spinner. This moment was crucial to informing a lot of my early interpretations, of Spinner potentially having to decide between that promise of the horizon and the destruction of a society that has hurt all of them, or Shigaraki's health and safety, in case Shigaraki's actions turn self-destructive.

EXCEPT.

What I actually love more and think really enriches that climax is what we see from Spinner before all this.

As Machia rampages through Deika, demonstrating greater ferocity than when he was fighting the League, Spinner screams out for Shigaraki while being knocked down while fighting - and when Trumpet (beloved) decides to back out of the fight in order to get to Redestro, Spinner latches right onto the van and holds on for dear life into A Lot Of Destruction zone.

When the horror of the MVA adaptation was dawning on all of us, I had a bitch fit explaining the importance of Spinner's perspective and role as narrator, pointing out how it is that Spinner's changing feelings about Shigaraki as a leader and a person are the wraparound for Shigaraki's development this arc. I also referenced @stillness-in-green who pointed out how this arc was about how Shigaraki coming into his own as a leader and the Symbol of Fear looked to other people - Machi and Redestro are also there, awed by Shigaraki and pledging themselves to them.

Where Spinner differs is that this moment isn't the light switch for him on his Shigaraki opinions - it's a culmination of the past months. Shigaraki in the crater as Spinner waxes poetic is beautiful, but it wouldn't hit the way it does if Spinner wasn't already ride or die (literally). He care about Shigaraki before this, before he latched onto the van, before he ranted at Trumpet, before he saw Shigaraki barf after disintegrating a bunch of people - it was before the MLA ever got into contact with them that he was musing on Shigaraki's boyish smile while combatting Machia. It's good.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS BECAUSE I AM A RELENTLESS CHEAT

I already talked about brief moment when Shigaraki manages to order Machia and Spinner smiles.

Doki-doki

The VENERABLE Chapter 295 Hand Crowning Scene (plus Compress leaving Shigaraki to Spinner, and Spinner's realization that something is wrong with Shigaraki in the following chapters). It's beautiful and haunting and tender and sooooo ripe for angst. Only in the honourables though despite being a big deal because the AFO takeover means I've had to wait even longer for Shigaraki to interact with the League again :/

Not strictly Spinaraki but the energy of it. The flashback of AFO caressing Spinner's cheek when giving him more quirks. My dears has your father-in-law ever tried his shot on ya. Also as @codenamesazanka once noted it's SO different from AFO's normal quirk giving/taking like. Cmon.

Last honourable but certainly not least:

hehehehehehehehehehhehehehheheehhehehehehehehehehh

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. My Number One Spinaraki Moment (for now).

THEE Declaration Bonus Dynamic with Toga

It was obvious before this moment that Spinner had changed his tune on Shigaraki and was willing to keep following him, and this scene in Chapter 233 was the Official Declaration As Such. One might not know that, based on how he would still keep getting comments wondering when he'd ditch the League that have only recently waned.

But what always sticks out to me is the reference to Toga - I've got nothing I love, like Toga does. Nothing I really wanna do.

In Chapter 223, Spinner asks his Machia-battling buddy, Toga, why she's still with the League despite loving Stain and there being so little of his influence left in the League. Her answer is just: love. Being a part of the League allows her to pursue her vision of love without judgement (and there's a lot to say about the harm of Toga's love, both externally and internally, how it's impacted by her abusive family life and ostracization by society, but it's still love that's real for her and means everything to her, and that harm could have been mitigated if someone bothered to understand her and accept her).

(As a side note UGH there's so much you can do with Toga & Spinner. I've had a WIP for like two years now centering on them and it's driving me crazy.)

Spinaraki would never go like, makeout point-canon. It'll be a hell of a baller move on Horikoshi's part! Imagine how funny it would be! But the Shonen Jump ain't gonna go there. But in the hypothetical situation that it DID and we got a lot of people going, "Where the hell did this come from, I thought they were just friends why is it gay now", then this moment while fighting Trumpet would be what I point to.

Spinner says here that there's nothing that he loves like Toga, nothing that he really wants to do. But by 373, there is something he wants to do - he wants to follow Shigaraki, he wants to reach Shigaraki's side, he wants to see Shigaraki stand tall. It may not seem like much to someone else, but for Spinner who spent his life until now feeling empty and purposeless, it's everything. So now, who's to say he doesn't have something that he loves?

#bnha bloggin #spinaraki #shigaraki tomura #spinner #shuichi iguchi

[norwigianbluefairy]

A Court of Fire and Earth. - Chapter One.

Today was going to be different.

Aurora knew it in her bones. 

The "knowing" wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. She'd often know things. Sometimes it was just as it was right now—no more than a feeling, a tingling sensation in her chest that warned her that something was going on but gave her no clue as to what. 

Other times, it was more specific yet very mundane; she would know exactly where a certain person was, like the head maid or Caspian, for instance. 

But then there were times when the knowing was a heavy weight in her stomach, a warning that rang throughout her body like cold steal against her skin... like that day when her mother had insisted on going riding even though the smell of onious rain and thunder hung heavily in the air and Aurora had known that if she went, something awful would happen.

The point was that she knew that something was coming, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for Aurora to keep the anxiety from showing on her face as she was seated before the dressing table, Rosalie patiently brushing the golden comb through her hair like she was hoping the strands would eventually turn into actual gold.

So when Caspian's telltale knock sounded on the wooden paneling of the door just as Rose attached the clasp of her necklace, which tickled ever so slightly when put on due to the many emerald droplets dangling from the gold chain, Aurora already knew that whatever it was, it would be something she'd rather avoid. And man, was she spot on. 

[Aurora's Outfit #1]

Trailing behind the elderly man down the hallway that was partly lit up by the sunlight streaming in through the large window at the end of the hall by the stairs, Aurora cast out an invisible net throughout the estate, searching not only for her sister's whereabouts but also for a clue as to what might await her downstairs.

The warm, familiar aura of Jaz trickled into her consciousness before two heartbeats had passed, putting her younger sister down by the creek at the back of the house. Good.

 That would put her at a safe distance from the unfamiliar male presence that she detected somewhere below.

 As she descended the slightly curved staircase that brought them to the foyer, Aurora's eyes immediately found the person who didn't belong.

Deep-set golden eyes that matched the cadmium-red color of his hair locked onto hers, and the intensity there almost made her miss the final step before her feet hit the ground floor.  

Boldly, she stared back, refusing to buckle under his scrutinizing gaze as she came to a halt at the opposite side of the small decorative table placed mid center of the foyer, displaying a beautiful ceramic vase full of freshly plucked wildflowers in various shades of yellow, white, blue, orange, and purple.

The scent of them almost blocked out the male's own scent, which drifted towards her as if it attempted to curl around her senses like a viper: warm cinnamon, leather, and amber. 

Had it not been for the male's daunting stare, Aurora might have been tempted to close her eyes to take it all in, but with that penetrating gaze sizing her up a mere arm's reach away, there was no way she'd fall prey to such temptations. 

Finally, after what felt like hours, the male's gaze slid from hers, eyeing something over her shoulder with what looked to be a mild flicker of annoyance before locking back on hers.

Looking as if he was about to introduce himself as he shifted his weight ever so slightly, Aurora cut him off before he had the chance, earning herself a horrified gasp from Rosalie whom had faded somewhat into the background by the stairs.

"Don't bother, I know who you are.." 

Of course, she knew who he was. 

All though she had only seen him twice since their official marriage five years prior, she could never quite seem to get those golden eyes out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried. And tried she had.  However, they still haunted her dreams from time to time, which seriously annoyed her more than she ever cared to admit.

He appeared much bigger than she remembered while standing before her like this—almost a head taller, if not more, which made her feel smaller than usual. Surprise briefly flickered across his handsome features before what she could only describe as pure amusement danced in those sun-kissed eyes.  

"Do you?" 

His voice sounded like smokey velvet and autumn rain, which completely caught her off guard. The surprise almost caused her mask, which she had painted on in order to conceal the fuming rage curling just beneath the surface of her skin at the sight of him, to slip just a fraction out of place, but she was quick to regain her composure before anyone could see.

"I do. What I don't know, is why you are here, my lord.." 

Unable to keep the displeasure at his sudden arrival out of her voice, Aurora purred the honorific title like a snake would coil around its prey before devouring it whole. 

For some odd reason, her response made his mouth curve into a crooked smile.

~~~

Glaring daggers at him with the hostility of a fire drake which had been awoken from its slumber, Eris regarded the female before him curiously.

He had been told she was quiet, gentle, and rather submissive, but he could find neither of those traits present in her eyes as she had glided down the staircase—shimmering blue eyes— the color a mix between aquamarine and sapphire which created a unique shade of blue of which he had never seen before.

In fact, it appeared whomever had gathered what little information he had on her had not only failed to get an accurate read on her personality, but it seemed they had also failed to mention how devastatingly beautiful she was, even with that casually calm yet murderous expression on her face.

Blinking a few times as he realized that he almost let himself get distracted, Eris drawled nonchalantly.

"Do I need a reason?"

The female rolled her eyes with a huff, seemingly not the slightest bit impressed with his attempt to ward off some of the fire her eyes were blasting his way. 

Rolled. Her. Eyes.

Not many people dared to be so bold, yet he couldn't find himself getting offended by the fire burning brightly in those mesmerizing blue eyes. Rather, he found himself a little impressed by her feistiness. 

Most of those who surrounded him were either wary of him or trying to get into his good graces, which he always found odd considering he didn't have any.

But not her, it would seem. She didn't shrink from the intensity of his gaze.

"You do if you don't want to end up as fertilizer for the apple trees.~"

Her plush, delicately curved lips caught his attention as she spoke, and he knew right then and there that he'd have a real problem avoiding staring at them for the rest of the day, not to mention the dirty thoughts now crawling into his mind, which he quickly locked away in the darkest corner of his mind.

He'd entertain them some other day.

Her eyes flickered from him to gaze over his shoulder at the neighs of impatient horses that drifted up towards them from the front of the house, brows drawing together as they fell back on him seconds later, confusion and a hint of worry lining her beautiful face. 

Right, enough games. Time to tell her why he really had come.

"I've come to ask you for a favor...~"

❤️Second Chapter is now out on Wattpad. ❤️

Took me forever to finish it because i kept getting distracted and being a perfectionist, I had to get it exactly how I wanted it.😅

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it.❤️

#acotar #autumn court #acotar fanfiction #eris vanserra #aurora hallewell #acofae #high fae #magic #romance #my writing #wattpad

[someone-always-cares]

chapter 5, page 50

first - previous - next

[image description: an sac webcomic page. "probably should have transformed before this, bit late now but- huh?" jade says, looking over at lewis who has his arm held out to catch her attention while looking down at somthing. "what is it?". more of the kitchen is shown, it's mostly bare still, aside from a now visible high shelf on the empty wall behind them, containing a few items, the most notable being a carboard box stained with blood. "ovens on. cheese sticks?" lewis replies, crouched down next to the oven, jade leaning over to see what he's looking at. "don't know word or spelling. pizza cheese" "you don't know how to spell mozzarella?" jade asks, eyebrow raised. "i may be a bit stupid" lewis replies, from off panel. the panel only shows jade's head, and the rest of the kitchen behind her, including the now open door and the shadowed figure in front of it. their body is mostly in shadow, all that can be seen is their lower half in boots, jeans, pinkish-purple shirt. the shillouette of their upper half implies pointed ears, and wavy hair, and mst notably, pink glowing eyes with slitted pupils peering out of the shadow. end id]

owo who's this?

anyway place your bets for what's up next

ooh "going to try and finish next weeks page early so there's no repeat because of this week's con!" yeah that didnt fucking happen. but here we are and heres a cliffhanger for your patience!

also as a change of pace from my recent "really want to make sac into a printed comic" rambles, i did actually make something else into a published work so i'm a published illustrator now! not just me- there were 6 of us and i specifically was one of 2 illustrators! a fun guide aimed at and created by young trans people

"A guide for trans, non-binary and gender queer people to help navigate through life and the systems around them as well as educating others on the experiences and truths of trans people. Whether you are questioning your gender identity or wondering what being trans even means, this book is for you! From accessing trans health care, being an ally exploring your identity and getting answers about who you are, this incredible guidebook will hold your hand through it all and show you the safest most accessible ways to being your true self (and supporting people in your life to do the same). In a world full of systems that can be a maze to navigate, especially as a marginalised person, we have got your back and are clearing the way for simple support."

so yeah you can get that here!!

anyway con ramble: con went better than expected at least! i mean i'm not going to that one again unless i get a dealers table, but i covered all of my costs so better than it was in birmingham febuary! i took a bunch of stuff from the hotel when i left to since i got a nicer room than i meant to which came with fancy coffee pods which i nicked and spent too long on sunday trying to give them away to people but nobody at the con had the right coffee machine if they had one

also i dont know what it is but no matter how much detail i try and put in the background it always feels too empty. i blame this mostly on my own bedroom where i am most of the time im at home. picture howls bedroom from howls moving castle but all the trinkets are all art prints, stickers, plushies, and assorted bullshit. thats where i live. also my art program keeps throwing a hissy fit if i add too many things

#sac #someone always cares #webcomic #webcomics #also i gave the coffee pods to my manager since she had the right kind #i did try to pawn them off to random con goers with a “free coffee pod with any purchase” sign but only one person took me up on that #i dont even think that kids parents had the right kind of coffee machine but the kid was delighted with the novelty of a free coffee pod

[progg]

Chapter 393 Breakdown

Here are my thoughts on Chapter 393 of Hunter x Hunter, “Plea”.

393 starts off with a bang. I didn’t expect Luini to die so quickly, but I had a feeling his power would play some part in his death, resulting in him being severed in half or trapped. Such a death would be consistent with the horror atmosphere of the Succession Arc. Lo and behold, Luini did indeed suffer a gruesome fate.

Interestingly, the Troupe—at least, Nobunaga, Phinks, and Feitan—seem to defer their search for the treasure in favor of crushing the Hei-ly. Looks like they’re going to leave the hideout too, which should be beneficial for Ken’i.

Next, we get a look into Morena’s followers, including a series of character introductions. We don’t get quite as much for these characters as we did for the trio in 391, but this is still a masterclass in writing. Creating a cast of characters this wide and this unique (in such a short amount of time) is not easy and is, in my opinion, further proof of the Hunter x Hunter’s quality.

We also learn a bit more about Morena’s ability. At first, I thought Contagion allowed for Nen users to gain an additional ability, but it seems infected followers can only learn abilities from their Nen category. It’s sort of like a Nen teaching ability that awakens a person’s aura nodes when they reach level 21. If this is the case, the situation of Morena’s followers closely mirrors that of Kurapika in Tier 1. Several people suspect Kurapika of having a Nen ability specifically designed around teaching Nen.

Without Luini, Morena’s followers are left scrambling for much-needed levels. Voconte, one of Morena’s followers, offers to use his ability as a trap (this will come up again at the end of the chapter). Soon after, Tevelares and Quorolle return from the fight against Hinrigh and warn about the Xi-Yu underboss’s ability.

Gelato joins them as they ask Morena herself for guidance. Morena seems to be very knowledgeable in Nen.

The scene changes, and we’re reunited with Lynch and Zakuro, who have awoken after being knocked out by Hisoka. Apparently, Hisoka told Zakuro he was “going to see a movie”. Along with Hinrigh, the duo head to the cineplex, where they ultimately decide to break off and search for Chrollo (more on this later).

The conversation between Hisoka and Hinrigh is awesome. However, instead of discussing the details of the conversation, I’m going to address the elephant in the room. In my last breakdown, I raised the possibility that the Hisoka in Chapter 392 was not actually Hisoka. I was kind of testing the waters there, since I know a lot of people really want to see one of their favorite characters return. After 393, I can no longer afford to be noncommittal. This is almost certainly not Hisoka.

There are already some theories being tossed around about this, but I want to focus on the more tangible reasons Hisoka is a fake. The first is one I alluded to in my previous breakdown: Lynch’s question never went through. In fact, fake Hisoka has been asked three times about his identity and has never answered!

It’s a classic writing tactic to have characters ask questions the readers should be asking themselves. “Is this really Hisoka?” is absolutely a question Togashi wanted us to be asking.

Secondly, there’s a very telling reference in this chapter that I missed on my first read.

The banner in this panel is a reference to The Thing (1982). 

If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it, even if you aren’t a horror fan. It’s a fantastic film, but more importantly, it’s centered around a hostile alien with the ability to mimic human speech and form.

The fact that Togashi chose to include this reference here of all places is enough to convince me Hisoka is a fake. I think Chrollo is a very interesting candidate for the imposter, and I’ve seen many posts that detailing possible pieces of evidence. But it’s also important to think about what comes after such a reveal.

Zakuro and Lynch were so scared by Hisoka (Chrollo) that they decided to look for Chrollo instead. This is downright hilarious to me and not out of character for Togashi. Chrollo heading to Tier 1 also has major implications; he may run into Kurapika or Hisoka there, before the rest of the Troupe. Finally, masquerading as Hisoka can (and perhaps already did) give him inside information regarding the Xi-Yu’s plans. The mafia families are secretly planning to eliminate the Phantom Troupe to preserve balance. However, they would potentially share that plan with Hisoka.

The information warfare occuring aboard the Black Whale, coupled with multiple fake-out deaths, causes us to doubt almost everything presented to us. As Kurapika says, “with Nen, what you see is not necessarily the truth” (something that’s rehashed in the Theta-Tserriednich plot). It’s that persistent doubt that contributes to the horror atmosphere of the Succession Arc.

After the conversation between Hinrigh and Hisoka, we join Ken’i as he speaks to Corporal Maizan (the corrupt guard from 392). Ken’i quickly deduces the arrangement between Maizan and Hinrigh and offers to make the payment himself. He also emphasizes Morena’s status as a “second-liner” or “faker”, who should normally be loyal to the crown (as Onior and Brocco supposedly are), but has gone “rogue”.

Legality—or rather, approval from the crown—seems to be important here.

Not sure if I’ve discussed this before, but one of Togashi’s greatest artistic strengths is his facial expressions. You can probably remember some panels that exemplify this, but one of my favorite examples is the one of Oito here:

Togashi’s facial expressions have so much nuance he can convey complex emotions with undeniable clarity, or make your skin crawl with a smile. I think he knows this and is showing off with Ken’i.

Ken’i, Hinrigh, and Maizan head to the alleged location of Morena’s hideout, room 3101. The room is among the first-class cabins, and we’re reminded of the class divide on the ship. It’s also part of Voconte’s trap ability that was hinted at earlier in the chapter. One of Morena’s followers, an elderly man, is in the room (humorously repeating the phrase “anyway, I didn’t do anything wrong so please come in”).

Maizan disappears immediately upon entering, shocking Hinrigh and Ken’i. Hinrigh asks the man to instead come to them, throwing a knife toward him and remarking on the fact that it, unlike Maizan, did not disappear. This room is a clear parallel to room 1013, Prince Marayam’s chambers, and the discussion about Nen boundaries (see Chapter 375).

#hunter x hunter #breakdown #manga #chapter 393 #succession arc

[makima-s-most-smile]

Trigun Ultimate 1 (Part1)

With much delay, I can finally join the bookclub with my meagre thoughts and comments. I just try to say stuff that I haven’t seen, I think.

Chapter 1: The $$ 60 Billion Double Dollar Man

I thought the city in the establishing story was a small one, like in all those westerns of my youth. Few houses, one mainstreet, that kind of city. But with those numbers of daily casualties (), it has to be a bigger one. Damn, that totally did not register when I read it the first time! 

I love how subtly Vash moves. I didn’t see in the first readthrough that he puts his finger into the barrel. And all the while his opponents are boasting, he is taking control of the situation! Nice!

Me, when I see all the Trigun theories!

With the knowledge that they are in April and thus in one of the main cities, the whole number of dead plants makes so much more sense.

Also, how bad are the conditions that they don’t have access to a resident doctor in one of the big cities?! It looks like that woman’s personal plight, but then the waitress lady chimes in with the plants, so the whole city seems to be dying?

I still hc that Vash is in April specifically to avoid another maintenance bug taking more of his sisters. For the humans, but also for the sisters on their own.

Chapter 3: Hard Puncher

Thank you, Speedwaggon, for your explanation…

Look! Glasses! He puts them on! Squeeeee!

Again, this is the entire April city. Not gonna lie, I read somewhere that like 20? Million people survived the Great Fall. Somehow I don’t believe that, if that tiny city is one of the big ones. But then again, this is Nightow still finding his vibe.

Chapter 04: Bang!Bang!

I love how mindful and in the present Milly is! 

Sadly, she never really gets her win. No wonder many people think of her as just a silly airhead, when her mindfulness gets immediately countered by a joke.

Someone needs to calculate by those examples how much a donut costs and then how much a bullet does.

Chapter 05: Assault

A riverbed? There were rivers in the past? It would make sense, since worms and thoma are native to the planet and water is needed to start life. But damn, did No-Man’s-Land lose water by twin sun sunstorms?

Chapter 6: Diehards

Somehow I feel like the speech bubbles should be pointing to the other, with Kaite being the one who knows the ins and outs of the ship.

Chapter 07: Rem

Dude’s living partly in a fantasy world… Neon being fully like: It's like in the novels!

Well, Vash, buddy. You could explain Kaite afterwards, why you are so weird, but we already know that you won’t stay to explain!

Not the first time people mention Vash's arm. Totally not becoming important later.

Here he’s an adult or at least a teen, not like a kid as shown later. Could it be that he still feels like the time he lost Rem and only his body aged? His mind is still trapped in that moment.

Kaite lost his dad and fell on hard times. This will not be the last time that we see kids’ desperation exploited in the manga. It is also an interesting mirror to Vash with how he connects to Rem. We know at that point that she was there when the ships fell and died then, too, and that she rescued humanity. And that Vash made a promise with her (more like with himself… but in her memory). Her memory leads his actions, while Kaite’s negative memory of his father led his. Though we see the kid reflect upon them and it more or less boils down to him feeling neglected and left alone for his father’s work and then… well, truly left alone. This is his turning point.

Vash is not wrong with telling Kaite to start anew and all, but that also blatantly ignores how much that kid went through and it has a very optimistic view of the future, maybe even naive. But that is the basis on which Vash is able to move on. It also reflects on Rem, but that is something for later.

What I think is interesting, Vash does not look happy or forgiving in the panel, it looks serious, too serious, too burdened for the thing he just said. It is not uplifting at all…

08: Duelist

Hello, Stormtroopers! How do they even miss his nether regions? Vash just stands there, legs spread apart and they miss everything!

A…hahahahahaha. He doesn’t seem to be, does he?

Lol, Milly gave herself the nickname?!

Okay, but this is massively cool!

Oh, so Neon was actively looking for Vash to hunt him down for killing his family? And then he lets him just go. Like I said, this guy is not really living in reality. A fucking romantic!

#trigunbookclub #trigun bookclub #Trigun Ultimate Part 1.1 #Trigun rant

[koppiki]

Chapter 18 Released!

I'm in a bit of a weird state with all of this because I'm so far ahead (I just pretty much finished chapter 20 the other day)... it's almost like I've forgotten about these chapters. Like, "wow wasn't this plot point a really long time ago???" but it just hadn't been typeset yet.

Anyways, chapter 18. There's a lot of fun stuff in there! For one, I think my two friendos on the cleaning/redrawing went absolutely HAM on everything here. The sfx are great! I don't know if it's immediately obvious, but we've also started using a ton of new fonts. Hopefully the variety is nice.

Page 48 is a really good example of this-

Wow! How nice! Both in the font variety and in the typesetting.

Speaking of, I think the new font we found for Fuka (as he is a different font in Japanese in much the way Grey is) is really good. It conveys how loud he is without being harder to read/too out of place.

Another side note- I think the typesetting on this panel looks REALLY good. Like, it's so subtle but...

That sort of... y'know, variation? It looks SO NICE! I love making some words bigger (I specifically asked for it here, you see).

Also, if you think the word "humane" is a weird choice... it's all I had! Plus it's a 1:1 translation from Japanese (far as I can tell, there's no differing context between English/Japanese there), so... it's fine. It's supposed to be weird (I believe the strangeness/ill-defined nature of it is mentioned in ch 19?).

Gosh, looking back on it... this chapter has some really nice landscape-ish spreads. Like, just that sense of cluttered-ness is so great.

Shinozaki sure is cute, isn't he?

Look at my beautiful boy here (side note, just learned that you can panel images on Tumblr, as shown above). Yuuyake's so cute, too. What a big dork she is. I love her earnestness too. Gosh, I can't wait to get to volume 6... there's so much GOOD STUFF THERE! SO many good faces, so much good paneling... but I must hold off a bit. Have to revise 19+20 still (I'm sure I made a bunch of mistakes).

Eh, whatever! I'll worry about that when we come to it. Speaking of worrying about things, we've been thinking of redoing a lot of the earlier chapters. Not to be too harsh, but... they kinda suck. Like, not badly, just... they're okay. Not to mention how I'm sure I mistranslated a bunch of stuff. It's okay since it was a learning experience. Getting through all that was necessary!

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to improve what we did. Might do that after finals.

I've said a good amount here, not that it means much of anything in the end... I just need this outlet so I don't endlessly gush about Shinozaki-kun to literally everyone I know. What a little creature I am, huh?

#shinozaki kun no mente jijou #scanlation

[asakamasanobu]

so many of ritsu’s lines stick out to me like i feel like i cannot stress enough how much he lives in my brain rent free but the one particular line that keeps recurring in my mind a bit too fucking often is from that one specific panel of ch29.5 …… where he has his whole internal monologue about how he’s forgotten all the sad stuff and things he didn’t like about himself so it’s all okay now and i just ;__;

i actually go back and read the thoughts i wrote when i first read that chapter fairly often since i made a point to bookmark it before i lost them into the void and what broke me so much about that scene is how sad and empty his gaze is when he allows himself a brief moment to recall his experiences and his growth since the darkest episode of his life and also how he is truly trying to convince himself that he’s okay now and doing better now because he’s no longer suffering through the same intense feelings of hurt and betrayal and heartbreak that he did in the immediate aftermath of the incident ……. because it’s clear as day to me that it isn’t okay. he’s never once been okay since he was 15 and as “okay” as he seems on surface (bc he has adapted quite well and is a lot mentally stronger since then and it’s one of the reasons why i like him so much) just taking him as he has grown on surface level obscures so much of his insecurities and struggles with self-worth and trust issues and inability to love openly and fully the way he once used to and nothing will ever change about that no matter how much time passes and no matter how far ahead he’s moved on

but it also hit me again recently how it really is possible to forget about all the sad things and the things you don’t like about yourself ….. i think back to how it’s barely been a quarter of a year since things happen to me and yet i cannot bring myself to feel anything about them anymore even though they were so harrowing and intense when they were unfolding. i think about how it doesn’t even feel like it happened to me and how strange it is when it shouldn’t feel so far away, and how impossible it is that one can move on so much when in the throes of the moment you couldn’t bring yourself to move even a step. i think about how that makes you a very different person from the person you once were, and how ritsu is so different from his past self — and stronger in one sense of it — even though he still retains so much of his earnest, thoughtful and ceaselessly hardworking younger self in the person he is today

but i also think about how in another sense of it, ritsu is weaker than his past self too. and i need to express this in a very nuanced way because i think beyond doubt that he’s wayyyy stronger than he used to be. so much stronger. but it’s just that the contours of his wounds are still part of him today, even if they’ve healed up and are almost completely forgotten. even if he was able to wipe them from his memory through sheer grit and as an important coping mechanism to let go of the past and move steadily forward. because even if you let go of the past, you can’t rid yourself of what the past has left on you. the wounds that have healed and are all but forgotten still feel different on your skin when you run your fingers against them, and are reminders that even though you’ve forced yourself to forget, there’s an unconscious and unchangeable part of you that remembers. and that’s why ritsu is so much more broken and vulnerable than he was before, because even if he’s forgotten most of all that happened and even takano’s face, there’s still that part of him who’s been deeply hurt and traumatised by the “sad things” that he went through and this mobilises him to protect himself from the possibility of any similar situation in the future, even if that comes at the cost of his happiness. and of course there’s the part of him that still hates himself. who yearns for things greater than himself, and is frustrated with the limits that his self imposes on him.

but of course even with all these overthinking crytyping over ritsu’s fucked up mental state, i again still stand on how i think he’s a lot stronger now. even if he still struggles with the parts of himself that bring him grief, they also don’t weigh down on him as much as they used to. and more than anything i think there’s a quiet acceptance in him that this is who he is, and in this acceptance there’s also the determination that in that case, he’ll have to work hard to become who he wants to be. i think he’s moved on so far ahead already in regulating his emotions, in becoming a good editor, in chasing his dreams — and i think he can go so so much further. i think that there’ll be a day that he won’t be held back by anything at all and he’ll be able to accept even the hardest parts of himself to accept, and i’m really looking forward to that day from the bottom of my heart :’-)

#looking forward to burst into UNCONTROLLABLE TEARS THE DAY IT HAPPENS !!!!!1! #anyway . i was supposed to be reading this paper on the economy and shit instead of this #in fact i was reading this paper on the economy and shit when i was seized by intense ritsu feelings like no other #ok lie i’ve been seized by harder ritsu feelings before but today i really wanted to yell my feelings out ….. wah #and it was very refreshing to do so even if i be waxing nonsense poetry at some points ;w; i just love ritsu vvvvv much #i love his strength and his weakness and his duality of both and how incredible he is #i love all that he is and am really just so excited to see him grow even more !!!!!!!!! my emotional support PATHETIC MAN <3

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Looking for a Place to Happen

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series), age gap, general stupidity.

This is dark!biker!Sam Wilson x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Series Synopsis: There’s lots happening in Birch and you find it all too amusing.

Sister series to Smalltown Bringdown, When the Weight Comes Down, Little Bones, and Fully Completely

Note: We’re starting Sam’s installment but this weekend I’ll probably only be catching up on my headcanons and drabbles because I’ve been a lazy bitch and I’m sorry to those who have been waiting.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Chapter 1: I've got a job, I explore

💀💀💀

The sleepy town of Birch was awake. 

In those last weeks, the arrival of outsiders had roused the attention of many once passive residents of the timeless territory. Those brick buildings unchanged by the tick of the clock inlaid into the old tower above the library that chimed every hour on the hour. They still stood with only chips in the mortar but the air tasted different. The frost was more bitter and the sky more grim. An omen of something no one could predict.

It was the perfect setting for a screenplay. The isolated town with its unsavoury secrets and the visitors who threatened to bring them to the surface. It was inspiring to you, to imagine what was hidden behind the stern wrinkled faces of the town elders and under the jackets of those men who wore the cut of the local club. The bikers ruled the town covertly but everyone knew that Bucky Barnes’ palm was lined with the map of Birch.

As a bystander, an unnoticed observer, just another ant in the hill, you watched from the side and amused yourself with the drama of others. It was like a soap opera or another HBO hype machine. Those things you aspired to when you could be free of this ho-hum town.

The snows added to the natural gloom of the place. The deep heaps smothered the noise and harkened back to those days of colonial settlement. Forgotten, desolate, fearful. 

You ventured down in your heavy boots that stretched to your knees and pushed your chin down into your scarf. As a child, you ran and jumped in those piles, now you were out of breath just trying to walk past them.

You stopped in the bakery that doubled as the only café, a place where the owner, Babs, tried to to intimidate the last caffeinated trends. She was always a few seasons behind but you didn’t mind so much. 

You ordered the salted caramel mocha and waited patiently as the quiet woman fought with the steaming machines. She was older than you but you’d work with her for one summer during high school, only five years ago. She had the eyes of a child still, but there was something worn in her. As if she’d been exposed to far too much in her three or so decades in that place. She was a harbinger of what you didn’t want to become.

You thanked her for your drink and set out once more into the billowing winds. Birch winters were never kind but this one was crueler than most. Your teeth chattered as you blew the steam away from the lid and hugged it with your mittened hands.

You stopped short as you heard the familiar ding of the diner door across the street. You recognised the mechanic who kept to herself and once growled at you in the grocery store. She stormed across the street, followed closely and quickly by a black-haired man you’d only seen once before. He was one of those outsiders who came to deal with the club men.

You sped up as you sensed chaos brewing and pulled out your phone as you balanced your paper cup in your other hand. You flicked your camera on just as you got to the front of the shop and the man grabbed the mechanic. You let out an ‘oop’ as she turned on him and you aimed the lens at the couple as they fell into the snow, the man’s shoes giving little traction to his steps. 

You moved closer, stunned by the scene, and kept your cell phone rolling as you found a better angle around the snowy walks. As she choked him on the ground he elbowed her and she coughed as she rolled away. She snarled as he clamoured to his feet, slipping and sliding as he marched away.

You killed the recording and watched the man cross the street again, nearly wiping out as he did and when you looked back to the mechanic, she was gone behind the clattering door. You chuckled to yourself and tucked away your cell. It was prime footage for TikTok; with a bit of editing, it would be comedy gold.

💀

You stomped up the steps of your grandmother’s house, this time through the front door as you heard her chair rocking in the front room. You usually took the stairs in the back as you paid her to live on the upper floor of the duplex. You checked in with her daily, she didn’t get out much more than the occasional trip to the grocery store when you couldn’t or you dragged her out to join you for a tea at Babs’.

“You’re late,” she grumbled as you set your cup down and unzipped your coat.

“For what?” you scoffed.

“It’s after noon and you don’t even come down to say hello? A ‘good morning, nan’,” she harrumphed.

You chuckled and hung your coat before shoving your boots over on the mat. You grabbed your mocha and leaned on the doorway as you watched her crocheting in her chair, reruns of some court show playing from the boxy television.

“I was working,” you said, “sent in some stuff for review. Hopefully not much work to be done.”

“I don’t know how you make money on that interweb,” she bemoaned, “I don’t trust it.”

“Maybe you’d trust it more if you used the Netflix subscription I got you,” you crossed your arms, “then you wouldn’t have to watch trash daytime TV.”

She shrugged and muttered under her breath. She could be crotchety but you liked her sense of humour. Your aunts and uncles never came around because they just took it as spite. You were the only one who knew how to handle the jaded old lady.

“Maybe you coulda looked out the window,” you snickered, “quite a show going on in town.”

“Hmm, what’s that?” she stilled her needles and reached for her tea stained cup.

“Just a fight. You wouldn’t believe it, that lady mechanic beat the shit--”

“Language,” she huffed.

“Anyway, she had this guy in a chokehold. It was awesome.”

“What guy?” she squinted at you over her glasses.

“I dunno. Some out of towner. Remember I told you about that burly dude hanging around the library?”

“There’s more?” she sucked on her teeth, “those bikers have never been good news and now they’re bringing in more.”

“Yeah, well, what’re you gonna do?” you sniffed as you took out your phone and rewatched the scuffle with the volume down. You shook your head and opened up your TikTok. 

“I don’t understand why you’re always on your dang phone,” your grandmother pestered.

“I’m not always on my phone,” you smiled at her smugly, “there are those time when I’m listening to you prattle on or you know, making you tea, oh, and cooking you dinner. What was it I did last week? Oh that’s right, I got Pippin out of the crawlspace.”

“I’m too old to be chasin’ that cat all around,” she huffed, “where is he anyway?”

“He’s your cat, I don’t know? Last time I saw him, I sent him back out the window for shredding my charger.”

“He knows you need to give it a rest,” she laughed to herself, “got your nose to that screen too much.”

“And what do you do, old lady? Crocheting doilies to put where exactly?”

She gave you that dry smile, the one that said watch it but carried a hint of humour still. You hit post and put your phone away as you waved off her irritation.

“Well, you know what, I sit all day at my computer, doing who knows what and you know what it got me?” you taunted, “a large mocha!” you sipped as you sat on the sofa and grabbed the remote, “and it’s paying my rent and putting bullet points on my resume.”

“Mhmm,” she scowled, “just remember, real life ain’t online. Those videos you’re always laughing at like hyena, that’s not reality. You forget it and it’ll come back and bit you. ‘Specially with those bikers.”

“Oh, nan, you know too well, don’t you? Didn’t you have a fling with one back in your hippie phase?”

“Two, actually,” she raised her brows, “I was young and stupid. Not like you, but still.”

“I love you too,” you chirped and sipped from your cup, flicking the station to Jerry Springer, “that’s more like it.”

💀

Your usual TikToks were sarcastic and dull complaints about your small town life. The response was less than pleasing but it gave you an outlet to vent. You liked to goof around and document the very specific type of weirdos that resided in Birch. But the video of the fight in the snow blew up your phone and made it difficult to ignore the buzzing as you went back up to your room to eke out the last of your captions for the ad agency.

When at last you could call your day hard-earned, you logged off and sent in your hours to the agency. Social media promotion was easy enough but the working gigs for a thousand different companies was tedious. You hoped you could build your portfolio enough to manage a single corporate page as you continued to chip away at your creative outlets.

You picked up your phone as you waited for Netflix to load on your tiny smart tv and flopped onto your bed, not two feet from your desk. You hit the icon in the upper panel of your phone and scrolled through the notifications, pausing to turn on another episode of the cable sitcom from ten years before. You snorted as you read each comment but the number under the video made your eyes round. The thing was bound to go viral.

As usual, you went down to help with supper. Pippin, the orange tabby, returned to cry at his dish and you fed him too. Your nan peered through her glasses at a crossword as she tasted the tangy pasta sauce. 

“More basil,” she snipped.

“Well, I asked if you wanted to help,” you muttered, “I think it’s good.”

“Hmmp, I need milk,” she jutted her chin out, “for my after-dinner tea.”

“You couldn’t say something like three hours ago?” you blinked.

“I could have but I didn’t,” she snickered. You rolled your eyes and she took another forkful of penne and filled in another line on her puzzle, “ah, no hurry, girlie, you know I’m patient.”

“Patient? You?” you chuckled as you took your plate and shoved it in the microwave to keep it warm. The ancient thing had a dial and the door stuck, “I’ll just go get it over with.”

“Don’t forget your mitts,” she called after you as you tramped into the front room, “it’s cold.”

You pulled on your knitted cap and matching mitts. You zipped up your parka and shoved your feet into the deep boots. You grabbed your wallet and buried it in the spacious pocket. You bounced out the front door and down the steps as the sky sent down another coat of powder for the night.

You went up White Forge Street and through the short path behind the diner that led to the main road. You glanced over at The Asp, the beacon of the dull town, and turned towards the grocer. Like anywhere in Birch, the store was outdated and stuffy. It felt like stepping into another time with the paper bags and chunky tills.

You went down the center aisle and stopped at the fridge to search through the frosted glass. Your nan only drank whole milk and the last time you carelessly grabbed skim, she whined that even Pippin wouldn’t drink it. She was particular but that was just her nature. You couldn’t say you were any less fussy in some instances.

You grabbed a jug and the door slapped closed against the worn rubber seal. You headed up the candy aisle and brushed your woolly thumb over your chin as you considered gummy bears or Reeses’ Pieces.

“Hard choice?” The deep voice jolted you.

You snatched the box of chocolate and looked over at the man in leather, his chin tucked down behind the collar as snow dusted his shoulders.

“Sure,” you said as you brushed past him.

The cut of the leather told you he was better not entertained. While you thought the men amusing, you weren’t stupid enough to engage with them. You rarely listened to your grandmother but she was wise in her own way. 

You knew a girl in highschool, she was fucking around with one of the club men in her junior year, she ended up with a baby and no support. You didn’t think he was into you that way but he could hardly have innocent intentions.

“How’s the old lady?” Clayton asked as he rung in your order at the end of the belt, you moved along with the groceries and pulled out your wallet.

“The usual, you know? She’s tryna quit again. Don’t know how long it’ll last.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll keep a carton aside for her,” he kidded as you felt your phone vibing in your back pocket.

“Don’t encourage her,” you swiped your card and punched in your pin, “although I don’t know what’s worse; the smoke or her sucking on those mints all the time.”

“Oh, it’s not the bitchin’?” he laughed.

“That, too,” you scooped up the paper bag and put your wallet away, “have a good one.”

As you came to the end of the first counter, you were nearly cut off by the club member as he swept around from till two. His own purchase of a car magazine and jerky was tucked under his arm.

“Ah, sorry,” he smiled, a sparkling smile, almost charming.

“No worries,” you continued on and he followed close behind.

“Those mitts look real warm. ‘Specially in this weather,” he said as you pushed open the door.

“Uh huh,” you kept on as your boots crunched out into the snow.

“You know where I can get a pair. Leather isn’t exactly thermal, you know?”

“These? My nan made ‘em. I’m sure Clayton got some hung up back there,” you looked across the street as you stepped up onto the ledge of snow between the sidewalk and the road.

“Am I bothering you?” he asked.

You looked at him dumbly and almost laughed in his face. You glanced back across the street then down towards The Asp.

“Sorta,” you answered.

“Make you a deal. Leave ya alone for your name.”

You eyed him. He was older than you like many of the Commandos. At least a decade, likely more than that. You chewed on your hesitation and cradled the bag more firmly against your side. His eyes strayed as he tried to see through the thick layer of your coat.

“Nah, I’m not s’posed to talk to strangers,” you said and hopped off onto the road.

You heard him behind you as he struggled to follow and as you came up to the other side, he came parallel with you and kept stride with you easily.

“I know you’re young but you’re not a kid,” he intoned, “what’s the harm in a name?”

“It’s a small town,” you stopped short of the end of White Forge, “I think I know enough about you to avoid you.”

“Oh ho, is that it? Well, I’m Sam, I’m not a stranger now, am I?”

“Not interested, Sam. Sure there’s women your own age over at the bar,” you nodded behind him.

“You wanna come see? Maybe have a drink?” he gave a crooked grin.

“You don’t give up, do you?” you shook your head, put off by his forwardness.

“Well?”

“Not tonight, Sam,” you turned around and headed down White Forge.

“Then what night?” he asked but you didn’t answer and he didn’t follow.

You turned down onto your street and refused to look back in case. It would be best not to mention the run-in to your nan, she was paranoid enough as it was. Besides, you’d forget about it by the end of next week.

#sam wilson #dark sam wilson #dark!sam wilson #sam wilson x reader #birch #series #sequel #fic #dark fic #dark!fic #looking for a place to happen #biker au #biker!au #au #marvel #mcu #captain america #avengers #tfatws #falcon #biker boys of birch

[psychewritesbs]

Chapter 160: How much of Yuji’s life has been orchestrated? + Megumi the stage-five clinger

Happy JJK-Sunday!

If I had to describe chapter 160 with as few words as possible, I would say: Oh f*ck...

My favorite moment was, of course, Megumi acting like a stage-five clinger. His interaction with Yuji in this chapter is especially ominous in light of Yuji being adamant of protecting Megumi from Sukuna.

A second favorite was Sasaki showing up in this chapter because of the implications moving forward.

Let’s jump right in. 

How much of Yuji’s life has been orchestrated by Kenjaku?

We start the chapter with Kenjaku talking to none other than Sasaki, one of the members of the Occult Club at the high school in Sendai that Yuji used to attend.

Of course, the bomb that Gege dropped on us in this chapter is when Kenjaku thanks Sasaki “for getting along with my son”. 

Like... excuse you?

Not only does this 100% confirm that Kenjaku used Yuji’s mother’s body to give birth to him, but this specific moment + some foreshadowing from previous chapters also opens an interesting can of worms about Yuji’s life: just how much of Yuji’s life has Kenjaku orchestrated?

For me, the implication is that Sasaki had an assigned role to play in Yuji’s life that would inevitably lead to him eating Sukuna’s finger. 

I am assuming this because although we don’t see Kenjaku’s interactions with the other people in Sendai, we get to see that, in addition for thanking her for getting along with Yuji, Kenjaku is incredibly kind to Sasaki. We also learn that she’s the only one who has received a special message from him (thanking her).

Ready to make this whole interaction more ominous? Someone pointed out that the kanji in Sasaki’s name means assistant. 

All of this brings us right back to Yuji’s free will--or lack thereof?

We already know that Kenjaku claims he made Yuji “ingest” Sukuna’s finger and that Megumi is rightfully concerned with this idea because he witnessed Yuji eat Sukuna’s finger “of his own free will.”

It’s also becoming increasingly obvious that Yuji was "created” solely for the purpose of becoming Sukuna’s vessel. 

What this new reveal about Sasaki does is that it makes everything feel like certain events have been part of Kenjaku’s master plan all along. While this still feels a little farfetched, it will come down to how Gege works this idea into the story moving forward.

Come to think of it, even Yuji’s grandfather’s dying words to Yuji take on a new meaning since we know Wasuke knew something was definitively up with Yuji’s mother.

Another possible bit of foreshadowing all the way in chapter 1: While the intersection in the second panel below could be ANY intersection in Japan, it sure looks like the Shibuya crossing:

A quick note on the importance of kanji meanings in JJK before moving onto the next section: knowing the meaning of Sasaki’s name tells us that names are important in JJK. If you haven’t, I recommend you read my break down on the meaning of Megumi’s FULL NAME. His first name is important, but so is his last name.

The plans moving forward

Going off to Tokyo Colony #2 are Panda and Hakari. 

As the strongest, Hakari feels like he should take on Hajime. As for Panda, it looks like his focus will be on hunting down Angel.

Side note: I love that Hakari is still calling Megumi names. Guess Senpai can’t help himself.

I must admit I was disappointed to find that Kirara will stay behind to report, but it is what it is. I am assuming Gege could see no use for Kirara and decided to leave the character out of the action for the time being. 

As for Megumi and Yuji, they’ll be heading to Tokyo Colony #1 to target Higuruma, everybody’s new favorite Law & Order boss. 

This brings us to Megumi’s current state of mind...

Megumi the stage-five clinger

I had a hard time coming up with the title for this section because what I see happening is that Megumi is starting to feel the pressure of the looming deadline for Tsumiki joining the Culling Game. What his behavior shows, however, is that he needs Yuji with him and is clinging onto him but won’t come out and say it--opting instead for aggression towards Yuji, the very same person he needs most. 

His behavior reminded me of how Megumi could be mean to Tsumiki even though he clearly adores her. Apparently that’s the meaning of being tsundere. I’ve read about the term tsundere before but it never “clicked” until this moment and I just love Gege’s interpretation of the trope through Megumi’s character. 

It goes without saying that it was REALLY interesting to me to see Megumi’s dynamic and interaction with Yuji in this chapter because it looks like Gege is letting us know Megumi’s state of mind continues to be one of desperation--remember that dogeza bow from chapter 157?

The thing about Megumi is that he looks stoic on the outside, but he’s actually an incredibly emotional person who doesn’t often show how he’s feeling. 

I hadn’t caught on, but in chatting with @justafrenchlondoner​ about the chapter, they pointed out Megumi’s behavior in his dynamic with Yuji appears nervous and aggressive.

Upon a second look I have to agree that Megumi is acting out of character and aggressive with Yuji when all that Yuji really wants is to protect Megumi from Sukuna.

And yes, let me go ahead and sound like a broken record as I remind you of Yuji’s rather ominous words from chapter 143 yet again:

And this is the part of the chapter that knocked the air out of me: Megumi telling Yuji to stfu about Sukuna but Yuji thinking to himself “as long as I’m around you will suffer” back in ch143 is so damn ominous.

Oh f*ck...

But this is what REALLY gets me about this whole interaction and why I’m calling Megumi a stage-five clinger...

Even though Megumi is calling Yuji selfish, in reality, the one being selfish is Megumi.

This is, of course, my own interpretation of the situation, but to me it feels as though Megumi is clinging onto Yuji’s strength for dear life. 

It’s almost like Megumi needs not just Yuji’s physical strength, but also his unwavering conviction or mental strength.

If you think about it, Megumi has only recently started fighting to win. Remember how unsure he was of himself when fighting Sukuna for the first time? It wasn’t until he went up against the Cursed Spirit from the Yasohachi bridge that he let go of his inhibitions.

Megumi’s battles during Shibuya were the pinnacle of his growth as a character in that moment. If I remember correctly, according to the timeline of events, the Shibuya incident happened around two weeks prior to the current chapter. You could say that although he is more comfortable in his strength than before, Megumi is still growing into his strength at this point.

The thing about Megumi is that everybody and their Divine Dog believes in him and sees his potential except for him. As Gojo tells him “you undervalue yourself.”

Looking back, the way Megumi asks begs Yuji for help in chapter 143 is very enlightening of how Megumi needs Yuji’s strength: 

I initially had read this to mean Megumi needed Yuji’s physical strength. Upon second look, however, Megumi has always seemed to have admiration for Yuji’s conviction.

With the looming deadline for Tsumiki’s vow to join the Culling Game, as Megumi starts to feel the pressure to make his plan work, who better to keep around than the person who will always go for the home run and whose strength he admires?

In other words, like hell he’s going to let Yuji leave his side. Which, again, only makes it more heartbreaking to think Sukuna is up to no good regarding Megumi and Yuji wants to protect him from that.

Oh f*ck.......

The panel below feels like a bit of a lighthearted and comical moment, but it’s also interesting to note that this is the second time they “fight”.

The first “fight” having taken place during the Cursed Womb Arc.

If you will remember, Gege used the Cursed Womb Arc and the Origin of Obedience Arc to show us how much our favorite trio had grown. 

Not sure Gege is going to parallel something here again, but just interesting to note.

Oh f*ck...

Ya, please excuse the French.

Despite the many words I’ve shared here, this chapter left me mostly speechless. 

I feel like I’ve been trapped in Gojo’s limitless domain expansion and all I can think is “oh f*ck” or “halloween” (if you catch my drift).

Chapter 160 was incredible because it looks like Gege has finally finished putting all his pieces into place and is ready to go for the kill by: 

Starting to unravel the story bit by bit, giving us all of the twists we both saw and did not see coming, and

Ramping up the stakes. Taking into consideration the estimates that JJK is somewhere around 60-70% done at this point, It’s not a matter of whether some of our beloved characters will die, but about who, when and how they will die

One last detail

I love the last four panels of the chapter showing Panda, Hakari, Yuji and Megumi all wearing their uniforms (barring Panda) and getting ready to become official participants of the Culling Game by entering their respective barriers.

Knowing that Gege is a very talented artist capable of showing and expressing emotions through his art, I feel like these panels tell us a lot about what the characters might be thinking and I thought I’d expand on that. 

Bear in mind this is my personal interpretation as an artist:

Panda looks excited and ready to fight, perhaps even confident. Panda is saying “bring it!” with his body language

There’s a hint of something I can’t describe in Hakari’s face. It’s almost like he’s coming face to face against how big of a challenge this is going to be and yet he’s resolved to walk straight into “the depths of hell itself”

Yuji looks focused, determined to go in and give it his best no matter what comes his way--that’s just who he is

And then there’s Megumi. I’ve been drawing Megumi recently, and one thing I noticed is that he has very specific micro-expressions. In his panel, he’s warming up his wrists as though he’s getting ready to fight, he has a focused look on his face, but the shadows around his eyes say he might be feeling like he is carrying the heavy burden of the uncertainty surrounding the situation he’s going through

With all that being said... the Culling Game is officially starting and we’re in for a one-way ride straight to hell.

Thank you for reading and happy JJK-Sunday!

What about you? What did you enjoy most about chapter 160?

#fushiguro megumi #megumi fushiguro #yuji itadori #itadori yuuji #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen manga #jujutsu kaisen spoilers #god i love jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen meta #jujutsu kaisen theory #jjk ch 160 #gege akutami #sukuna #ryomen sukuna #hakari kinji #jjk meta #jjk theory