#i completely lost touch with anime manga and games in general

[twilight-orchid]

How The Demon Brothers React After Fighting With Their SO

tw: some angst with resolution at the end, mentions of past arguments, insecurity.

Lucifer:

This man is petty as hell.

He doesn’t do the silent treatment, but he acts like you aren’t dating.

If you need to work on something together, you’re a co-worker.

At RAD you’re a classmate.

Around the house you’re just a housemate.

His poker face is immaculate and it will not crack when you’re around.

If someone didn’t know what was happening, they’d probably think you two barely knew each other.

However, you won’t notice, but as soon as you look the other way his eyes are on you.

He’s used to arguing with his brothers and is no stranger to explosive fights that end with he and the other person not being on speaking terms.

But you’re different.

He tries to go on with business as usual, but he can’t think about anything other than how much he misses you.

Yet, he lets it continue because he just can’t put his pride aside and apologize.

If you decide to sleep in your old room it’ll both hurt his feelings and royally piss him off.

He thinks you’re being childish and will be pretty rude about it, but that’s because internally his blood just ran cold.

It adds a degree of seriousness to the argument that he’s uncomfortable with.

Yes he’s mad, but he can’t lose you.

If you still sleep in his bed, he makes sure to scoot over to the very edge so he doesn’t cuddle you in his sleep.

In fact, the first night after the argument he’d probably put a pillow between you just to really punctuate the fact that he’s still upset.

I’d say it could go 4 days to a week tops without you making up.

After a point though, he just can’t function until the issue is resolved. He can’t sleep, he’s falling behind on his work, and he’s just generally not doing well.

You get called to his office one night and find him at his desk surrounded by piles of paper, disheveled and exhausted.

“MC, come sit down. I’d like to talk this through. Please.”

Mammon:

He’s so dramatic.

You dare defy him? The Great Mammon can’t believe this tiny fragile human would have the audacity.

The theatrics are just a front though.

His ‘The Great Mammon’ act is a mask for his insecurity, one he hasn’t had to use with you in awhile.

Even as the words leave his mouth he regrets them.

He’s going to be very uncomfortable with everything until the argument is resolved, but most of all himself.

He’s learned not to take his brothers too seriously when they toss insults his way, but words have a way of morphing to belief over time.

Internally he is going to be super hard on himself. 

Regardless of if the fight was his fault or not, he’s going to kick himself constantly for making yet another mistake.

He’s over the argument pretty fast. The anger quickly melts into anxiety.

Are you going to leave him? Do you hate him? Did he hurt your feelings? 

That being said, he doesn’t know if you’re still mad and he doesn’t know how to ask. 

As a defense mechanism, he defaults to how he treated you when you first arrived in the devildom.

Calls you human, disregards you, stuff like that.

If you decide to sleep in another room, before midnight expect him to be knocking on the door.

“Oi, MC. You awake? I just - I can’t - *sigh* Can we talk about this?”

If you sleep in his bed, he makes a point of sleeping with his back to you.

Less because he’s actually mad and more because he doesn’t want his image of you as he drifts to sleep to be a look of anger.

Though as soon as he passes out he’ll roll over and tuck you into his arms on instinct.

I’d say any after effects of an argument with Mammon would be resolved in a day, maybe two tops.

Leviathan:

Arguing activates his trolling the forums mode.

Goes back to calling you a normie and contradicts everything you say.

He’s less mad about the argument and more using the bitterness to cope with how upset he is.

He feels like a break up is less of an if and more of a when.

Why would someone as amazing as you settle for weird otaku like him?

Honestly doesn’t understand why you’re with him in the first place, so when there’s a serious argument he assumes its over.

Tbh don’t know how you and Levi would sleep together being that I doubt two could fit in a tub, but any deviation to your routine sends him into a panic.

It’s his reality check that the situation is serious and he needs to fix it NOW.

He’d have trouble apologizing in person. He can’t think of what to say, he stumbles over his words, and he feels like he’s on the verge of a panic attack.

Instead, expect a long ass text message.

He says how sorry he is, how much he misses and loves you, and legit begs you to forgive him.

If you sleep with him like normal, he’ll probably try to make up after laying there for awhile. His mind is going a million miles an hour and there’s no way he can sleep.

Still really has trouble verbalizing how he feels, so give the poor boy a break and take over the conversation.

He hasn’t had a serious relationship before and he doesn’t know what he should do to make it better.

So the after effects will last however long it takes him to read several mangas, watch some anime, and play a few games to see how the characters get over arguments in the story.

Satan:

Satan makes sure not to fight with you over minor issues.

He’s worked tirelessly to tame his wrath and he refuses to feed into it over a minor issue.

Thus, if you fight with Satan it’s a major argument and it’s explosive.

The aftermath isn’t much better.

He doesn’t want to risk blowing up again, so he’s frighteningly calm.

He’s an absolute master of the silent treatment.

He won’t say a word to you until he’s certain he’s calmed down enough.

For the first few days he’ll straight up leave a room if you enter.

For a good while the only way you can expect to communicate with him is through his body language and the expression in his eyes.

Satan’s biggest fear is losing control and lashing out at you. 

He couldn’t live with himself if he hurt you and he can’t stand the thought of you being afraid of him. 

He’s a whirlwind of emotions, so he isolates himself until he can figure out how to deal with it.

Not just from you, but from everyone else too. 

Satan will not share a bed with you for at least the first night.

If he got worked up enough to actually fight, it’s gonna take him time to simmer down.

And he’d rather not risk doing or saying something he regrets in the meantime.

Once he’s ready, he’ll approach you when he’s completely calmed down and has thoroughly analyzed the situation.

He’s considered both of your sides, tried to pinpoint what caused the disagreement to turn into a fight, and made a plan of action to prevent it from happening again.

“MC? I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what happened. Would you please talk it through with me?”

He won’t apologize for the argument if he feels like he was right, but he will apologize for letting the disagreement escalate into a fight.

Satan could go weeks without making up if necessary, but he tries to resolve it within a couple of days.

Asmodeus:

Wants to give you the silent treatment, but is physically incapable.

He can’t stand to have you ignore him.

He’s the type to go back to normal then suddenly remembers you guys had a fight.

“Wait, no! I’m not talking to you! I’m mad at you!”

His biggest downfall is that he’s so stubborn.

If he thinks he was right, he will die on that hill.

There are arguments with his brothers that happened a thousand years ago and he could still tell you exactly why he was right.

But with you, he realizes that doesn’t matter too him nearly as much as it usually does.

If it means going back to normal, he’ll forget who’s right or wrong.

If you sleep in another room, he’s beyond offended.

“What?! Well fine! I don’t want you in my bed anyway!”

Laying in bed alone is a different story though.

He can’t sleep. All he can think about is you. Your face when you sleep next to him, your smell, the feeling of his arms around you.

He 100% cries.

Finally goes and knocks on your door with wet, glossy eyes.

“MC? Can we talk about this? I can’t get my beauty sleep and my tears are wiping off all of my skin care lotion!”

Will throw himself into your arms before you can answer.

If you sleep next to him still, he rolls over and watches you sleep.

It puts him at peace and he decides seeing your sweet, resting face every morning is worth more to him than the argument.

He’ll initiate the conversation the next morning.

I think Asmo could make it a few days if it was a really serious argument, but he will not function well until you make up.

Beelzebub:

Wants to make up immediately.

He doesn’t like to argue, even less so with you.

Whether he was right or wrong, he blames himself. He’ll take all the blame in the world if it makes you happy.

He’ll go make you your favorite food and bring it to you.

If he thinks you don’t want to talk to him, he’ll leave it outside your door and text you to let you know it’s there.

He’s honestly devastated if you decide to sleep in another room.

You guys migrate to your old room when you want privacy from Belphie, but you almost never sleep separately.

Seeing you grab your pillows and march out of the room nearly stops his heart.

He goes completely numb and silent as he just stares at the space you had just occupied.

Like Levi, he thinks this means the relationship is over and he genuinely does not know what to do with himself.

He can’t even bring himself to eat, he just wants to lie there, lost and trying to grapple with his emotions. 

He’s another one who will absolutely cry, but unlike Asmo he will make sure no one knows it.

If you still sleep in his bed, he’s very nervous about it.

He doesn’t know if it’s okay to touch you, what he can or can’t say, stuff like that.

He just lays there stiff as a board not even able to close his eyes.

Honestly the fight would probably have to be resolved before bed. His anxiety just can’t take it.

I don’t think he’d initiate the apology. Not because he doesn’t want to make up but because his confidence is rock bottom in these situations.

He catastophizes and honestly thinks you hate him.

If you don’t initiate the apology soon, Belphie will. He can feel what his twin won’t say, and he knows Beel won’t approach you about it for fear of making it worse.

Belphie will lock you two in a room if that’s what it takes for you to make up.

Belphegor:

The embodiment of if looks could kill.

He won’t talk to you, won’t look at you, basically pretends you aren’t there.

If he must interact with you he’ll roll his eyes and sigh the whole time.

Tries to sleep through any interaction so he doesn’t have to deal with it.

He feels almost betrayed by the fight.

He thought the relationship was stronger than to have such a huge divide, so he’s really insecure about it.

After the first day, the anger has melted away to guilt.

He ‘s not guilty that you fought, but he is guilty about how he treated you after.

Guilt and self-blame have become unwelcome friends at this point. Guilt over Lilith, over his plans to destroy the human world, everything.

But more than anything else, the guilt for the fact that he attacked you weighs on him every day.

He moved past it quickly after, essentially pretending he hadn’t killed you, but that’s because he just couldn’t confront what he’d done. 

He feels like the luckiest demon alive that you forgave him, let alone  opened you heart enough to love him, and now it’s all in tatters.

Another thing to regret.

If you decide to sleep separately, it’ll hit him like a bag of bricks.

“You - what? Where are you going?” 

It’ll take him a second to process what you were doing, but then he’ll roll over and let you leave.

“Fine. Don’t let the door hit you.”

No one will see him for awhile. 

Belphie sleeps all the time anyway, but he just can’t make himself get out of bed.

If you don’t approach him to apologize, Beel will tell you that he’s been nauseous and randomly emotional which must mean his twin is coping very badly. 

Will beg you to go make Belphie happy again. 

If you sleep in his bed still, the argument will be resolved by morning.

He can’t keep himself from embracing you in his sleep, and it’s hard to say you’re mad at someone when you wake up in their loving arms.

It’s hard to pinpoint how long it could last with Belphie. If you don’t apologize first, he won’t let himself be conscious long enough to approach you.

This is both my first hc post as well as my first obey me post so I’m sorry if le boys are ooc. I just got this idea and couldn’t stop thinking about it so here we are.  Especially Belphie, he was hard to me for some reason. Let me know if you guys agree or disagree and if you want to send a request or ask, my box is open! 

#obey me #obeyme #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me lucifer x mc #obey me mammon #obey me mammon x mc #obey me leviathan #obey me Levi #obey me levi x mc #obey me leviathan x mc #obey me satan #obey me satan x mc #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #obey me asmo x mc #obey me asmodeus x mc #obey me beelezebub #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub x mc #obey me beel x mc #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie #obey me belphagor x mc #obey me belphie x mc #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me mammon x reader #obey me leviathan x reader #obey me satan x reader #obey me asmo x reader

[aomine-ryo]

Hi can you do a jealousy headcanon for GOM? 💜

Of course! Hope you like it :)

Headcanons: GOM getting jealous

Kuroko

He doesn’t get jealous very often because he just has so much trust in you

If he ever does, he’s really subtle about it that you won’t even notice unless he tells you

He knew that he could talk to you about anything so he was never particularly uncomfortable with you being around other guys

There was a boy in your class who you had been getting quite close to

He quickly became a good friend of yours, and you’d often hang out with him when Kuroko was busy

He was objectively rather attractive, but you didn’t really see him that way because you only really had eyes for Kuroko

Kuroko wasn’t in your class so he’d sometimes see you walking around the school hallways, however more often than not, you would be with that boy

He seemed like a nice and earnest guy, which is probably why Kuroko began to feel a little threatened by him

Not knowing any better, you invited your friend to come watch one of Kuroko’s practice games with you since you could use the company

Kuroko wasn’t very pleased to see him to say the least

He’d usually glance over at you during games because seeing you watching him motivated him to do better

But now when he looked at you, he’d see you talking to that boy and he’d just feel annoyed

And it definitely showed in the way he played as well because his moves became uninspired and predictable

You went to grab some food with Kuroko’s team and your friend afterwords and Kuroko would not keep his hands off of you

He’d constantly be holding your hand

And he’d leave absolutely no space between you two

Of course, you noticed all of this, but you didn’t want to bring it up in front of everyone

“Hey, so you’ve been spending a lot of time with that guy from your class, huh?” Kuroko said when the two of you were walking back home together

“Yeah, I suppose,” you shrugged, beginning to connect the dots

“Hm,” he hummed, his grip on your hand getting a bit tighter

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing,” he mumbled

“You’re jealous aren’t you?” you grinned

His face just became red as he averted his gaze

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he denied almost instantly

“So that’s why you were being so touchy back there,” you giggled

“Well I was just making sure he knew that you were mine,” he said, finally deciding to give in

“For what it’s worth, you really don’t need to worry about him— I’m sure he knows.”

“I’m not a violent person but if he tries anything, let him know he can catch these hands,” he said, clenching his other fist and holding it up

“Tetsu, he’s twice your size, but sure.”

Kise

Okay so we know that Kise is really cold with people he generally doesn’t respect

Well, this coldness becomes so amplified when he sees someone he doesn’t know with you

The two of you were on a date at a cafe once and he went to the cashier to place your order while you remained seated at your table

That was when a classmate of yours spotted you and approached you

“Y/N? Didn’t expect to run into you here,” he said, grinning widely before engaging in conversation with you

Meanwhile, Kise was standing in the queue, glaring at you two

In Kise’s eyes, he was very obviously flirting with you— and he was, you just didn’t realise it

Every moment that he looked at you two angered him more and more

The damn boy even made himself comfortable by taking Kise’s seat

Was what he said so funny that you needed to be giggling like that?

Kise hastily placed his order and then stormed over to your table, not bothering to wait for your food

The boy was just about to reach out to touch you when Kise slammed his hand down on the table, startling both of you

He didn’t intend to do it with so much force but it just happened and he didn’t care

“Hey Y/N-cchi, who’s this?” Kise snarled, voice calm but menacing at the same time

“Oh hey Ryouta, this is Satou, a classmate of mine,” you introduced innocently

“Hi there,” Kise said, flashing him a fake smile and not even bothering to register his name in his head, “Y/N-cchi and I are kind of on a date right now, and you’re in my seat.”

Kise took your hand that was resting on the table and squeezed it tight, making the jealousy much more obvious to you

Your classmate visibly showed his annoyance through an eye roll as he stood up from Kise’s seat

“Alright,” he sighed. “See you around, Y/N.”

His and Kise’s eyes were shooting daggers at each other at this point

“Sure you will,” Kise mumbled sarcastically as he watched him walk off

“Babe they’ve been waving at you from the counter for the past two minutes now, trying to get your attention,” you pointed out, looking at the worker who was just about to give up and bring the order to you herself

“Ah crap,” Kise muttered before rushing over to meet the worker halfway and apologise

“I think someone got a bit carried away with their jealousy, don’t you think?” you said once he got back

“Tch, the guy goes to our school. He should know that you’re mine by now. Yet he still thought he had a shot, what an idiot,” Kise scoffed, just the thought of the boy talking to you getting him riled up again

“You’re intimidating when you’re jealous, it’s weird.”

“Weird? I can be intimidating! Why is that weird?” Kise pouted, switching back to his usual eccentric self

“Because you still sleep with stuffed animals, Ryouta,” you giggled

“And so do you, what’s your point?”

Midorima

So he’s not one to really initiate things like PDA

He’s the kind of guy that just holds your hand in public and that’s about it

However when he gets jealous, he becomes a whole other type of possessive

You’d be hanging out with him and a few of your friends from school

And one of the guys would constantly flirt with you

You didn’t really think too much of it because you thought he was just being friendly

But between the flirtatious teasing and unnecessary touching, Midorima was slowly losing his patience

He’d be really subtle at first

He’d hold your hand a bit tighter and hold you by your waist every now and then, all while eyeing the guy down in hopes that he’d get the message

Obviously, it wasn’t enough because he’d barely even notice Midorima and would continue chatting away with you as if your boyfriend wasn’t right there

“Hey Y/N, do you wanna go to that manga store over there together?” your friend said, seemingly inviting only you even though there were five other people in your group

“Actually, Y/N and I were just planning on leaving, sorry,” Midorima intervened, the ‘sorry’ oozing with so much sarcasm that it was clear that he really didn’t like the guy

“Oh already? You don’t have to leave just because Midorima is, you know,” your friend said

Hahaha it took everything in Midorima to not send him flying like his three pointers

“Excuse me? I think you’re crossing the line there a bit, don’t you think—“

“It’s getting pretty late, we should get going,” you said quickly before things could escalate

After shooting one last glare at your friend, Midorima walked away with you

“The nerve of that guy— unbelievable,” Midorima sighed

“I thought you were going to punch him or something, that’s why I stopped you so quickly,” you giggled

“Honestly, I might have,” Midorima chuckled. “How are you even friends with someone like him?”

“I guess he’s just friendly,” you shrugged. “Looks like someone was a bit jealous though.”

“Please, why would I be jealous of an idiot like him,” Midorima scoffed

He’d never admit to an emotion like jealousy— ever

Aomine

Oh god this boy does not handle jealousy well

He would 100% break someone’s nose if he feels like they’re getting too close

The two of you were at a party once and Aomine decided to take a break from dancing for a moment to grab a drink

So he was leaning against the wall sipping on his drink while watching you on the dance floor

Of course, he wasn’t very pleased to find you dancing with some other guy

Aomine recognised him as someone who went to your school, so he very well could just be a friend of yours

However that didn’t stop him from feeling a growing amount of jealousy as each moment passed

Did you really need to be dancing that close to him?

Aomine should be the only one you dance like that with

He was already a bit tipsy so he may not have been thinking straight

But he completely lost it when he saw your bodies swaying so carelessly together

Next thing he knew, he was storming over to the dance floor

You didn’t even notice him until you were suddenly ripped away from the boy you were previously dancing with

And once again you were dancing with Aomine

He was holding your waist tight and his face was as close as ever

“What do you think you’re doing dancing like that with someone else?” Aomine growled

“Why? Is someone jealous?” you joked as you continued to move along with him to the music

“Don’t tease around like that. You’re all mine, don’t you realise?” he grinned, shoving his lips onto yours before you could say another word

The kiss was desperate and heavy, and as a result, sloppy— not that you minded too much

After seeing that act, the guy from earlier backed off, though you didn’t even notice or care for that matter

I mean, why would you care about any other guy when Aomine Daiki was in front of you?

Murasakibara

He gets jealous very easily

He’s like a child when it comes to most things— he doesn’t share

You’ve had your fair share of encounters with other guys that ended with Murasakibara scaring them off

The two of you were seated on the couch together on your phones

There was absolutely no reason for Murasakibara to have come over to your house just to be on his phone, but he just enjoyed your presence

You were scrolling through TikTok because you’d run out of things to do

You landed on a video of these two shirtless boys dancing to a song that you liked so you just watched for the hell of it

You started scrolling through the comments while the video kept replaying, garnering Murasakibara’s attention

The second he saw what you were watching his possessiveness just kicked in

“You really like watching those boys, huh?” he said, glaring at the boys as if they could see through the screen

“Not really, I just like the song,” you shrugged before turning to him with a smirk, “why? Are you jealous?”

“Well if it means I can get more of your attention then sure, I guess I’m jealous,” he answered simply. “Do I have to take my shirt off and do a dance too?”

“I wasn’t going to say that, but now that you mention it, I’d love to see it,” you giggled

Next thing you knew, he wrapped his arms around you, sending you toppling back onto the couch

“Too bad I can’t dance, I guess you’ll have to make do with some kisses for now,” he said softly, making your heart flutter

“Ah dammit, I wanted to see you dance,” you sighed, pretending to be disappointed

“Shut up,” he groaned, before pressing his lips against yours

This was what he was usually like when he got jealous though

He wouldn’t necessarily get angry or anything like that unless a guy was relentlessly hitting on you

But he’d just become really lovey and clingy just as a way of reminding you that it was him who’d love you the most

Akashi

We all know he’s a classy gentleman

So you can’t expect any dramatic outbursts from him when he gets jealous

He’s always able to keep a calm and composed exterior (not that that’s ever stopped anyone from feeling threatened by him)

Anyone who knew Akashi knew never to mess with him

And they especially knew how much he valued you so one step too far would probably lead to their demise

However, there was one boy at a dinner party you both attended who somehow didn’t get the memo

You ended up being seated in the middle of him and Akashi, which gave him the opportunity to chat with you as much as he liked

Of course, Akashi wasn’t the most pleased to hear what he had to say to you

It was very obviously some awful flirting

You just thought he was being friendly so you entertained his conversation

“Y/N, maybe you should stop chatting and eat— your food is getting cold,” Akashi said in attempt to get him to stop— it was getting frustrating at this point

For the rest of the night, Akashi remained clung onto you with his arm around your waist, monitoring every movement of that boy

It was particularly strange because Akashi was the type to mingle at events like these so you knew something was wrong

Akashi’s cold gaze seemed to be enough to make the guy keep his distance though

Akashi is just too powerful lmao

Once the two of you got back home, Akashi pounced to kiss you almost immediately

“Woah what was that for?” you asked when you pulled away from the kiss that seemed so urgent

“You looked gorgeous tonight, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Akashi said sweetly

“Aww, thank you, Sei.”

“A lot of people seemed to think so too by the looks of it. Especially that guy that sat next to you at the table,” Akashi pointed out

“Oh. Did you get jealous or something?” you questioned

“Well, yes. I want to be the only one looking at you like that. But I guess it can’t be helped sometimes,” he said, body still as close to yours as ever

“You’re the only one I want so you don’t have to worry for even a moment,” you said reassuringly

“Then that’s all that matters,” Akashi said with a smile before pulling you in for a soft kiss filled with nothing but adoration

#kuroko no basket #kurokos basketball #kuroko no basket x reader #generation of miracles #knb #kuroko tetsuya #akashi seijuro #aomine daiki #kise ryota x reader #aomine daiki x reader #kise ryouta #murasakibara atsushi #midorima shintarou #midorima shintaro x reader #murasakibara atsushi x reader #kuroko tetsuya x reader #akashi seijuro x reader

[chidoroki]

Isabella - 73584

I had a serious debate with myself over whether or not I wanted to sit down and spend my weekend writing another one of these praise posts. I was content with just doing one for each of the Fullscore Trio kids and ending it there.. but apparently I love this woman too much to just ignore her on her birthday. So here were are on September 9th with a list of all her best and my personal favorite moments as to why I believe she’s such a great character, antagonist and mother (yeah you heard me right). Considering she only shows up in the beginning and very end of the story, this post ended up longer than I originally anticipated, which just goes to show how many thoughts I really have about this woman. (for real, this rivals Ray’s post in terms of points but there’s far more words)

Since she also has some backstory and certain events differ between manga and anime (thanks to the second season), I’ll try to go in chronological order between both timelines instead of chapter by chapter, which might be a bit confusing as we’ll jump around the story a lot but just to bear with me as I try to makes sense of it all.

(spoilers for the entirety of The Promised Neverland & ch181.7, so if you haven’t read/completed the manga yet, consider this your first warning, because I’m literally going from start to finish with this one last time. I promise.)

- I’m not sure how well she compares to Emma when it comes to athleticism, but Isabella seemed to have no trouble climbing up and down trees when she was younger.

- Not only that, but she managed to scale the wall by herself using a method that requires a fairly impressive jump. It’s also implied that this is how she climbs the wall again so many years later when chasing the soon-to-be escapees, which helps prove that even at an older age, she hasn’t lost her touch.

- Was chosen to undergo training to become a Mom, which required high test scores and the current mother’s recommendation. She accepted the offer in order to keep living and survive as human the demons couldn’t eat.

- Based on Sienna’s comment, is it fair to say Isabella is on par with the full score trio? I mean, the woman is basically flawless.

- She was practically untouchable during her time at headquarters while training too apparently. Mom positions are scarce so the environment where these ladies fight (physically/mentally/emotionally) to even snag that job is highly competitive, and yet Isabella never let anyone deter her from her goal of becoming a Mom, which probably led to the “Iron Lady” nickname she received now that I think about it.

- She was the youngest ever to be granted the Mom position at..what, 19? 20? Somewhere around there, but impressive nonetheless considering they’re forced to have a child, build up a strong, emotionless exterior and endure so much fear. (but my goodness, the woman doesn’t age at all. she looks just as good when the story actually starts as she did her when she was a bit younger)

- It became common knowledge among the Sisters that she was also very successful in the way she raised her children.

- Her success greatly benefited the farm, as she offered up countless high quality goods, which sounds terrible, I know, but believe me when I say she gave her best effort for her children. Even though she held the Mom position, the amount of power she actually had in this system was pretty minimal, especially with how much she valued her own life. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes or risky changes, so she settled with doing the most with what she was capable of. She provided her children with a normal lifestyle, not only to keep up the orphanage facade, but knowing that their lives would all be cut shorter than they anticipate. She gave them love in hopes that no one would ever have to feel the dread she felt after Leslie’s death and/or finding out the truth. She tried to delay that horrific fate by encouraging them to learn all they can (like teaching the trio about strategy and chess) so they could achieve higher tests scores and (unknowingly to them) add a couple more months or years onto their lives. Yes it was her job to raise these children to such high standards but she excelled at it for their sake too.

- And I know y’all will just throw Ray in my face like, “oh but he was her actual child and she treated him horribly/different.” Okay but deep down I don’t think she actually wanted to? When they both realized they were truly mother and son, Isabella couldn’t just dote on him and start treating him as such. I’m sure Ray wasn’t too fond of Isabella at this point in his life either, knowing that she sent several of his siblings away to get killed. They probably would’ve gotten along just fine in a perfect world, but since they were both aware of the hell they’re trapped living in, they emotionally distanced themselves and formed a business-like relationship as a result of Ray’s deal, which benefited them both in different ways. For Ray, it was more practical, with the obvious notion of living as long as possible along with obtaining various rewards and knowledge of the outside world. For Isabella, it helped emotionally by simply just ignoring their true relation. I believe if she clung to that realization, it would break the orphanage illusion and eventually wear down her “Iron Lady” exterior that she relies so heavily on.

- Like can you imagine how much you would have to harden your heart in order to quite literally walk children to their death every couple months for years on end and just move on like it’s completely normal? Now imagine how earth shattering it must be to think about doing the same to your actual child. All those years spent perfecting a fake smile and emotionless exterior like she was trained to have and her son shatters it in an instant. She becomes completely terrified about how he’s actually alive and in front of her right now and there’s nothing she can do to truly save him.. and yet she still recovers so damn quickly I can’t even comprehend it! But there’s still some sadness in those eyes. You can’t tell me otherwise. That one moment of weakness speaks volumes to me.

- So now with her general backstory FINALLY out of the way, we can finally start with ch01/ep01 and how her laugh is sweet and innocent. I say that because (all hidden emotions and motives aside) that’s exactly how she’s supposed to sound in this moment, not only to us but to the children as well.

- She of course checks Emma’s tracker a moment later but other than that I still think it’s a pretty genuine moment between the two.

- As previously stated, her ability to raise high quality children is unmatched, which is clear as day thanks to the fullscore trio.

- Despite their crazy level of intelligence, the trio has yet to win a simple game of chess against Isabella, even when teamed up.

- She treasures everything about the kids.

- She really cares about them, even when it’s time to send them off with a smile, which we know is thanks to her strong facade.

- But mother dearest isn’t really fine. She doesn’t like walking kids to their death, especially so young. But she can’t let them (or even herself) know that. She can’t show weakness, so she hums Leslie’s song, which is a tool she’s used for years in order to give herself strength.

- Don’t worry, I disliked her this moment happened too, just as the story intended. And here’s where her fantastic antagonist role begins for all the world to see.

- A true champ at jump scares.

- Acts completely calm the night after a couple of kids found out the secret of the farm.

- She uses the tracker in plain sight, sending whomever went to the gate last night a threatening but silent message.

- Correct Norman, that’s the “Iron Lady” for ya. Also the name of ch03 for us. Well, “The Iron Woman” but same difference.

- She switches from calculating and manipulative breeder to sweet and pleasant mother so quickly and effortlessly it’s incredible. Isabella even checked Emma’s pulse in this scene to see if she was acting normal.

- At this point she still had no idea who went to the gate (Ray didn’t tip her off yet, at least I don’t think so) but her guess couldn’t have been more precise. The level of fear she drives into both Emma and Norman was great too, but then again her presence is enough in any scene to give us chills.

- Notices her watchdog isn’t at his usual post and starts to get suspicious.

- Not only of him, Emma and Norman, but Don and Gilda as well, thus giving the five extra chores to finish in an attempt to slow down any escape planning, such as cleaning vacant rooms, organizing the pantry and inspecting spare linen.

- While the trio believes Isabella was being too soft and patient in finding her targets, she effectively catches them off guard by bringing in Krone for assistance. The trio soon realize they were actually preparing the sister’s new room and those mundane chores were just an excuse to buy time.

- Look at her, all smug. Checkmate indeed. (and totally not important, but her eyes are such pretty shades of purple)

- The sass and her no nonsense attitude.

- Immediately puts Krone in her place the moment she even thinks about shipping out the targets. Of course holding off on shipping the targets would benefit the farm, as it would produce higher quality merchandise as time passes, but plant 3 is run by Isabella and she’ll be damned if an assistant thinks they could waltz right in and decide her children’s fate.

- She check’s Emma tracker again despite her claim of knowing exactly who the targets might be. You can never be too careful.

- Her precious children managed to win a game of tag against Krone, which is still impressive considering the kind of training the sister has gone through, so kudos to her teachings.

- Knows right away that Krone was trying to take advantage, which allows Krone to realize that the opening she had to learn more about the children was all planned by Isabella herself. Her intimidating nature is enough to scare adults too.

- Reveals that Krone was mostly summoned in order to keep Ray in check after his failure.

- Despite the trust issue, Isabella still keeps up her end of the deal by requesting the items Ray asked for, thanks to the odd perks she had under Grandma Sarah which allowed her to order goods that weren’t on the supply list.

- This hug between her and Phil is just too cute not to mention.

- I imagine she makes this comment because she knows exactly how long a rope must be based off her own almost-escape.

- It’s just something about how this scene is framed alongside this dialogue that makes me think “oh, like mother, like son.”

- I blame her very thoughtful planning for my first big freak out when I watched season 1 blind, like ma’am that’s my favorite boy, please don’t.

- She conspires with Grandma Sarah in order to get rid of Krone for good, which renders the evidence sister just found out about the children’s escape completely useless. Sarah believes there might be some truth to it, but ultimately ignores it and puts her faith in Isabella’s ability of controlling the children & the situation.

- She then cuts Ray off and ends their six-year long deal, opting to control the situation herself from now on. Also, how she wanted to keep him around until the very end is kinda bittersweet. Does she mean as merchandise? Or because she wanted him to live as long as possible? Ah such a tricky little comment.

- She also tosses him across the room like a rag doll.

- Thank god for this panel existing and actually being adapted into the anime so I could hear it because I had absolutely no memory of her laughing in this moment.

- “She says it so nonchalantly,” Norman said once upon a time, and it’s still so frightening.

- As insane as her ideals seem given the circumstances, nothing she says here is really a lie.

- She has the strength to quite literally break a leg and that cracking noise still haunts me to this day.

- It wasn’t even a spur of the moment thing either. Isabella came fully prepared with bandages to fix up any injury she was willing to inflict and that thought alone is terrifying.

- Not only that, but she broke it so cleanly that Emma’s leg does indeed heal perfectly in the exact time frame she estimates. This entire moment is so unfairly impressive, like ma’am how dare you do this to Emma of all people.. like why couldn’t you at least use that kind of force to snap Peter’s neck instead or something?

- To make matters worse, she then reveals Norman’s shipment date. And it’s the following day, which sends the kids into a very understandable panic.

- Needless to say, November 2nd, 2045 was a very successful day in the life of Isabella. Woman was putting everyone in checkmate in ep08 and my anger on full blast.

- This sly smile she sends Ray’s way after announcing Norman’s shipment to the younger kids is so cruel.. it’s perfect.

- I can only imagine she asked about Ray’s whereabouts because she knew the boys were close friends and she hoped they would at least say goodbye to one another, but that’s just me.

- Puts an end to Norman’s parting words in such a simple and chilling matter.

- The way she just openly threatens Emma with others just out of earshot.

- Norman out here asking the real questions. If anything, I say she’s more “content” rather than happy. I don’t think she’s ever really thought about her own happiness, at least not often enough, hence the slight pause. This entire time she’s been focusing on how to make her children’s lives perfect, but for herself she just wants to survive in this hellish world they’re all living in.

- I’m honestly still not sure who’s final decision it is to send people to Lambda, either Isabella, Peter or someone else (honestly never bothered to check), but whether or not Isabella had any say in the matter, I’m sure she’s at least a little glad that Norman gets to live a bit longer? Perhaps that’s a stretch, but I’m putting the idea here anyway.

- I say this because I believe that’s part of the reason why she offered Emma a Mom recommendation, not only because our girl’s high test scores, but in hopes that she could live a longer life.

- Although she really stresses in an intimidation fashion how pointless Emma’s efforts are now that Norman’s “dead,” the cliff remains a major hazard and her leg is still bandaged up, Isabella still tries so hard to convince her to give up, like Ray has, in order for Emma to end her own suffering. It was the first instance during my blind watch-through were I started to get the hint that Isabella might actually care about her kids, and of course I know now it’s because she didn’t want Emma to experience the same pain she did after Leslie’s death.

- With Emma and Ray both broken, things went by rather smoothly for Isabella those last two months, though she continued to keep a close eye on them.

- Her humming is so soothing. And why it took me this long to bring up “Isabella’s Lullaby” is beyond me, but oh my god, that song and any other soundtrack that uses its melody is absolute perfection.

- Had enough sense to not let her guard down the final night, even though her efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, but the idea counts.

- Though her caretaker side is focused on more during the fire, some motherly instincts do kick in as she instructs Gilda to get the babies from her room and lead everyone outside to safety. She was also concerned for Emma’s well being, hoping all the smoke didn’t get to her when the girl vanished. (i know you can argue “she’s only worried because they’re merchandise” which is fair but c’mon, i swear she’s not completely heartless)

- Took a hot minute (ahha) but Isabella eventually realized that the kids were actually escaping solely based on what they were wearing on their feet. I’m sure Emma’s discarded left ear was a big tip off too but to come to that conclusion by noticing the shoes they had on during all that chaos is surprising.

- She looks completely insane here but I always thought this shot of her was nicely animated with all the fire (or embers? sparks? whatever they are) flying around. The laugh she does before this is also a nice bonus. Oh, and she somehow managed to secure a radio from the room Don had locked.

- Figured the fifteen kids would head towards the bridge and called in headquarters to block it off.

- But when the children didn’t appear at the bridge, she just happened to know exactly where else they might try to cross the cliff.

- In the anime’s case, Isabella climbed the wall and ran there quick enough to engage in a stare down with Emma before she finally slid down.

- The moment I knew I was doomed.

- After the 15 kids successfully escaped, Isabella admits defeat, for she couldn’t really see how much her children have grown to outsmart her.

- This iconic quote, which conveys so much truth and sincerity. There were multiple occasions where she had to distance and restrain herself due to the system that controlled her, but the love she was able to show the children was genuine. If she wasn’t held back by the strict rules enforced by Mom position, I don’t doubt she would’ve treated Ray better or became far more emotional whenever a child had to leave for good or seriously injured, instead of donning a fake smile and being closed off.

- She realizes with this unspeakable loss in merchandise, the reputation she worked so hard to build up is meaningless now and that the farm no longer has any use for such an incompetent caretaker. She figures she’s as good as dead anyway now, so she wastes no time in actually helping the escapees by reclaiming the ropes to hide their exact method and route of escape, if only to grant the kids some extra time before the pursuers really locate them.

- She doesn’t act bitter as a result of her loss, instead choosing to wish the escapees luck with the future they grasped for themselves and care for the children that were left behind.

- She’s just so pretty y’all. Thank you anime.

- She was named “Best Antagonist” (and rightfully so!) back during the 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, winning over Askeladd (Vinland Saga), Overhaul, (My Hero Academia), Garoua (One Punch Man,) & others.

(Post-season 1 spoilers ahead, even though the anime is completely finished at this point, but will be touching upon her special chapter more as well.)

- Completely owns up to her mistakes that caused the farm a massive loss in profitable goods and is ready to received whatever punishment necessary, which she expects to be death.

- Only.. she’s not being killed, she’s actually being promoted to Grandma. Though Isabella was directly responsible for the children’s escape, the blame ultimately falls on Sarah who couldn’t correctly control Isabella, thus leading the old lady to be shipped out in place of the goods Isabella lost.

- Peter also notes that the farm found more worth in Isabella than Sarah, so her past merits also played a part in sparing her life, as having a woman like Isabella in charge would surely produce the level of quality the farm needs.

- Isabella eventually accepts the promotion, though she can’t help but feel hesitant and shocked about the whole deal. This woman was ready to embrace death and finally be free from this cruel world, but now she has to witness not only more kids being shipped off, but moms and sisters in training as well (yay old chapter reviews coming in clutch).

- She could have very well just refused Peter’s offer, but we all know how much Isabella originally wanted to survive, so she doesn’t just accept because this man dangled a sense of freedom in her face, she also agreed so she could have the opportunity to help her children in any way her newfound power would allow her.

- Of course, her transition to Grandma happens a bit differently in the second season, but I will give some bittersweet thanks to the anime once more for the obvious but curse them for also having this entire scene dark as hell. Let me see her beauty darn it! I can only fix the lighting so much until it looks overexposed and bad again.

Anyways, Sarah is still alive at this point and taunts Isabella with the escapee’s lives just to see how she would react, which gave her a small sense of hope. Then some demons pay a visit later on and also ask if she would want to see the children one last time, but Isabella tells them that not only would she be too ashamed to face them but that they would manage to survive Grandma’s capture plan, which involved several men blowing up their shelter. It’s now clear to the demons that these children are special, and while Isabella agrees, it’s not for the same reason the demons think so. The demons believe the kids are special because of how they were raised to such a high quality. Isabella calls them special simply because they’re her children, just as any mother would.

- In the anime, it’s the demons who offer Isabella the Grandma deal if Sarah’s current plan were to fail (which it does) and she takes it and the freedom from Grace Field House without question. Do I still believe she had similar intentions to help out the children like she did in manga at this point? Of course.

- Not even a full month into her new job did she start preparing to help Emma & the others by considering who from the current Sisters she wanted to recruit to personally assist her destroy the farm entirely.

- A month later and Isabella had already decreased the number of shipments that took place at Grace Field, which obviously helps raise the quality of the children by default, but it also means less death and gives those kids a chance to live longer.

- She completely anticipated that Matilda, Jessica, Sienna & Scarlet were conspiring against her and caught them quite easily, as they were among the top scorers.

- Each had a fair chance at becoming Moms but with those positions limited, it was obvious to figure out they were trying to force Isabella’s seat open by creating some suspicious activity to place on her almost perfect record. Unfortunately for the girls, our new Grandma is too smart for her own good and I love it.

- The four women are apprehensive to join her insane plan to go against the farm, but Isabella assures them there’s no freedom if they follow the system’s rules and betray her. The harsh reality they’re all living in will continue unless they stop competing with one another and combine forces to defeat the true enemy.

- To persuade them further, Isabella mentions the children they all gave birth to are still alive, bringing out an array of emotions from the women that they each thought they had buried deep down.

- THIS! Just all of this is wonderful and shows just how much Isabella learned from her children who once defeated her.

- To fully gain the women’s trust, she gives them Ray’s farewell note that he originally left in order to bait Krone, as proof she won’t double-cross them at any point.

- I love the fact that she kept the note close to her because it acts just like all the other various toys and items she saved in her secret room back at plant 3. The original owners were all precious to her so she kept a piece of them behind to remember them in a place only she knew about. As I said before when mentioning her “I wish I could have just loved them normally” quote, all the love she had for her children had to be suppressed when she was under the system’s control, but that doesn’t mean she never cared. Because she did, and if I haven’t made at least that clear by now then I’m failing.

- Can her intentions and love for her children be any more clear? (possibly, i’m not done with this darn post yet. how you guys holding up? i’m going a little insane at this point.)

- Anyways! Second season didn’t make the rest of the story easy so apologies for any timeline mishaps as I switch between both anime and manga events from here on out.. like how in manga Isabella is informed of the escapee’s return to Grace Field via Peter, while the in the anime it’s her who helps lures them back with a fake transmission via the radio they stole.

- Just before Emma & the others do return to Grace Field on November 13, Isabella finally reaches out to the farm’s many other Sisters to recruit them. She waited until the right moment to inform them of her crazy takeover plan so Peter wouldn’t become suspicious from all of headquarters acting/thinking differently (you know, like how Emma kept the jailbreak plan under wraps until the night of). These ladies also feel a bit wary and even think of Isabella’s offer as a joke, but with some real, heartfelt encouragement, she manages to win over every single woman to her side.

- The moment when it was first revealed to us that she was not only still alive but was also promoted to Grandma is still so powerful.

- She snaps Nat’s finger back into place after Peter broke it. (and considering emma’s group infiltrates the farm right after this, i’m pretty sure that ch170 with rallying the sisters took place before this..i think?)

- Gave me a minor heart attack.

- *CLAPS FRANTICALLY!!!* The moment she truly won me over.


- While her betrayal against Peter in the manga is fantastic and quite possibly one of my favorite moments, the anime did give us a little something too. It shows Peter spewing utter nonsense to Emma about how she’s destined to fail, only for best girl to bite back with such a fantastic quote, and then Isabella drops the act and switches sides. While I agree Emma’s comeback is “wonderful,” it’s the English dub that completely wins me over in this scene by having Isabella comment “Now that’s my girl” instead, like bro.. hearing that makes me so happy.

- For real dude, you have several highly skilled women pointing guns at you, I think her betrayal is crystal clear.

- This is like the perfect example of how she had to conceal her feelings while bound by the system. She just misses these kids so much y’all but she can’t let her true emotions show yet.

- Having her call Peter a boy is beyond hilarious to me. Also, how she disagrees with him on so many levels is excellent, like how he believes in experimenting on kids and having the right to call yourself their parent just because you created them, while Isabella believes in raising and loving children normally and that you earn that parent title by actually being part of their lives. To be fair they both inflicted pain on kids (Nat’s finger/Emma’s leg) but Peter’s action was a mistake in itself. Isabella got frustrated back when Krone even threatened to ship out the kids who discovered the secret, so you can bet she’s probably pissed off at this boy for harming one of her kids on purpose.

- The best mother-daughter moment ever! It’s such a shame it never got truly animated since the second season decided not to give the children guns, but we get to see a small smile from Isabella after Emma decided to still call her “mom.”

- The anime never gave Peter the chance to run away, like he (somehow) managed to do in manga, so we had the chance to see someone actually shoot at him. Well, in his general direction at least. Isabella lands a perfect shot not even a full second after he pulls out that disc. Accuracy on point.

- Said this once or twice in the past in manga so I’m glad the anime brought it back.

- Remains cautious and keeps her gun raised at Peter when Emma approaches him and rightfully so considering he still had his knife hidden at this point.

- Refuses Emma’s offer to join the kids in the human world at first because she knows that her (& the sister’s) actions shouldn’t be forgiven so easily, but with some rather blunt sympathy from Ray and encouragement from her other children, she finally gives in.

- This entire post summed up in one image.

- She apologizes even though distancing herself from her kids and preparing them for death were just required of her role as a caretaker. She wouldn’t have done any of that in a normal world. (do i sound like a broken record yet? probably)

- The emotion you hear in her voice during this entire dub scene hits my heart in all the right places.

- She still thinks of Leslie after all this time and I think that’s real cute.

- Her protective nature is on full display when she protects Emma from this bastard of a demon. A truly surprising and heartbreaking moment, considering this is the woman who’s survival used to be her top and only priority in the past, but now doesn’t hesitate to give her life in order to save her kid (and by extension that small girl emma saved. also, major heart attack for me).

- Despite being critically injured, this woman still possess enough strength to hold back a demon twice her size. She doesn’t even pay any mind to its nonsense. Like the demon, people often think this is when redemption arc starts but I believe it started way back in ch37 when Isabella retrieved and hid the ropes the kids used to escape. Ever since she admitted defeat on the wall that night, she threw caution to the wind and began cheating the system in hopes to one day assist the kids achieve a brighter future. Despite all the work she’s done behind the scenes, Isabella believes there’s still so much more she can do to atone, so even though she’s already received the children’s forgiveness, she continues to assist them by jumping in and saving them directly from demons for once in her life.

- Ma’am it’s sweet you’re so concerned with their safety, but we should be asking you that question ya know? (but then again emma was the same way after she woke up from her coma).

- Knows that just apologizing and saving Emma isn’t enough to suddenly forgive all her actions and wants to do so much more for the children as a result. Even though I already acknowledged all her subtle and hidden moments, I wish we got to see her care for them more openly.

- I simply can not read through ch177 and not get emotional. No matter how hard I try, I always feel tears start to form in my eyes. Oh my god, how cruel that death can be this beautiful. It’s so unfair.

- *uses old chapter review because I’m too upset right now* “She apologizes for everything. For not treating him right and loving him as a mother normally would her own son. For making him despise his life so much and enduring so much pain that he thought the only escape was suicide.”

- “She leaves him with one last wish to protect everyone, and that completely breaks me because you know exactly how much they both care for their family. Not only would they literally die for their family, but they would live for them too if someone asked. Truly like mother, like son.” (aaaaaahhhhh)

- Her, umm.. ghost (along with Conny’s & Yuugo’s) help Ray reunite with Emma in 2049.

- All my tears aside, the anime did something right by actually keeping her ALIVE!

- Have you ever seen something so GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL in all your life?? This image is so powerful it literally tossed aside any salty feelings I had that night with how the second season ended. Seeing her like this grants me so much happiness y’all, it’s truly unbelievable. I still can’t get over it and hopefully I never will.

Okay, now I’m done, thank god. Sorry this is like ridiculously long, especially since she’s absent for sooo many chapters. Also find it so hilarious how drastic my opinion of her changed from the beginning to now, from “bitch” to “oh my god I love her so much.” I know people will always have opposing opinions whether she’s actually a good mother or not and that’s totally fine. Wasn’t trying to convince y’all of that either because yes, some of her actions are real unforgivable, but she was suffering under the farm system too and just followed through with what she was trained to do in order to survive, but while other Sisters fought to climb ranks and help themselves survive, Isabella ultimately wanted the best for her children. The more power she gained, the more risks she took and once the system crashed so did her facade.

An absolute queen.

#the promised neverland #mother isabella #tpn isabella #tpn manga #tpn anime #chidoroki used chatter

[kageyahma-remade]

please talk more about the inarizaki banner and how it was used as a motif 🙏

first of all thank you SO MUCH for indulging me because I think about this banner all the time gdjfgkjd

second, have a look at @suckishima’s gifset! It’s a really great demonstration/summary of how it was used throughout the Inarizaki vs Karasuno match

i want to start by mentioning that there’s a really interesting difference in how the banner was used in the manga vs in the anime. The anime often cuts to Inarizaki’s cheer section, which is seated directly above the banner so the banner’s presence was made known to us since the very beginning of the game. But, it wasn’t given significance until episode 22. From this moment onwards, we start to see it in a new light:

However, in the manga, the banner was completely absent until the very end of chapter 280. Inarizaki’s coach explains what it means, and Riseki, Inarizaki’s pinch server, looks at it himself, but the readers are held back from feeling its full effect:

The core of this chapter is an explanation of what the banner means for Inarizaki and the twins:

Considering Atsumu and Osamu’s plays in particular: they pull off the freak quick attack Hinata and Kageyama have been uniquely using this whole series. They pull off a “reverse” version where Osamu sets to Atsumu. The attack isn’t completely reliable (because they do it without having practiced it first), but they still try it again and again. There are a handful of times when Atsumu jumps in front of the receiver and sets on the first touch, catching even his own teammates off guard. Atsumu is able to make sets count off of poor receives in general. They are constantly doing the unexpected and challenging themselves, every step of the way.

Now that we understand their personal philosophy, we are finally allowed to see the entirety of the banner:

This banner is great because it’s not just a philosophy the team holds but -- circling back to what Riseki learned -- it’s a mentality that can be good to have, a reflection of task focus that has been emphasized all throughout the series. It’s impossible not to make any sort of mistake. You can reflect on the game after it’s over but in this moment, what you can do today is to focus on the next point. Karasuno is down on themselves because they fail to score a point off of Hinata’s receive, until Hinata tells them, “You’d better be watching when I do it again!”. They haven’t lost yet; there’s always a next time.

Next is a really interesting exchange between Kita and Daichi. Kita expresses a dislike of the banner because it doesn’t mesh well with his personal philosophy. He is a much more conservative player than those he watches over. He says after the game that he would prefer if the twins didn’t try out new things in a game without having practiced them first. He says, “The road that brought us here doesn’t just stretch out in front of us. Challenging yourself is one thing -- being reckless is another.” The twins try the reverse minus tempo quick again but miss, and Kita is right there to save the ball.

There’s another battle of concepts to challenge Kita’s outlook on what the banner means. Karasuno constantly does four- or five-man synchro attacks, making almost everyone a decoy in an attack and leaving next to no one to follow up on a potential block. Kita criticizes this as he sees Daichi make his approach among everyone else -- “In the Shiratorizawa game, they didn’t pass to the back row on this attack a single time ... we know you aren’t gonna get the ball, so what’s the point? Why abandon your post as backup to your teammates just to be a decoy?”

Kageyama sets the ball to Daichi, Daichi thinks, “I’m not just here to play defense and back up my teammates. All of us are on this court to score.” and his spike bounces off of Kita’s arms and into the Inarizaki banner.

It almost plays out like a conversation.

There’s another subtle yet deliberate use of the banner at the very end of the game: Tsukishima looks at it before his serve and smirks. Aran just barely receives it and thinks, “Where the heck did that come from?! That glasses kid has been all about the ‘just get it in’ serve until now!”

The banner is shown one more time with the last point, when the twins attempt a back row minus tempo quick set that they have never done before, and they are blocked by the players who are most familiar with it, who know perfectly well that the unexpected is not invincible.

Thematically the banner is a great fit with the motifs of food, hunger, and growth presented all throughout this match. I especially like how it plays into Kita’s monsters’ ball speech, referring to the Miya twins and Kageyama and Hinata, who have been paralleled to each other for the entire match.

On Hinata: “Even when you’re dead tired, even when everything hurts and you just want to stop ... The drive ... to take one more step forward.” and “He plays volleyball like I eat my food”.

and on Kageyama: “Who is this kid? Where’d sweet lil Mr. Goody Two-Shoes go? What happened in the few weeks since camp?”

While they have not directly been shown along with the banner like the Miyas, it’s a really nice underlying statement to their growth and to their character, as both the banner and the payoffs to their respective training camp arcs have been focused on in this match. They always look to run ahead and challenge themselves but there’s an importance in learning from their mistakes and keeping a balance.

When you consider it in the story overall, “WHO NEEDS MEMORIES” is one of the many expressions that reminds you not to dwell on mistakes or fall into regret, because yesterday is food that has all gone towards nourishing you and building up your muscle. What is important is not necessarily your past, but how you stand back up from a fall and what you decide to do today. There is always a new you to nurture.

#once again this has gotten so incredibly long i'm so sorry bdkkjgnnffb #janina reads hq!! #hq!! #inarizaki #karasuno #ask #anonymous #food becomes muscle

[metalandmagi]

Summer 2019 Anime Worth Watching

Summer is here, and with it brings another new season of anime! In case you’re feeling lost and want to find some new shows to pass the time, here’s some of the anime I think are worth checking out...because some really good shows tend to fly under the radar. I think there’s some genuinely interesting stuff this season, so hopefully you’ll find something you like too. 

I also have a Winter list and a Spring list and a fall list now!

And here’s my master list for 2020

New Shows!

Given: A *cough* BL *cough* romance anime in which tsundere highschool guitarist Ritsuka Uenoyama is on the verge of losing his passion for music when he stumbles upon the sleepy-eyed Mafuyu Sato who constantly carries a guitar around that he doesn’t know how to play. Drama and musical shenanigans ensue. This was by far my most anticipated show of the season, because I happen to have read a few chapters of this manga and liked it a lot. The only reason I stopped was because I wanted to hear the music in this music oriented story...so naturally the anime makes me very happy. Not only is it sweet and cute with great animation, but it’s also hilarious. Sato is also basically a human incarnation of a lost puppy, and you just help but fall in love with him and the other characters! AND NOW WE HAVE TWO GAY MUSIC SHOWS THIS SEASON! 

Dr. STONE: An action adventure anime that takes place 3,700 years in the future after the world is struck with a mysterious phenomenon that turns the entire human race to stone. Our protagonists: the genius, scientific minded Senku Ishigami and the muscle-y comic relief Taiju Oki, must find a way to rebuild civilization and turn humanity back to normal using the POWER OF SCIENCE! It’s fun, good looking, and way more interesting than I thought it would be. I’m not very attached to the main characters yet, although it’s still early. I’m mainly sticking around for the plot, the comedy, and the answers to the crazy amount of questions I have after watching the first episode!

Fire Force: An action/drama where super powered fire fighters must protect Tokyo from people who are spontaneously combusting while our hero Shinra must find out who started the fire that killed his mother. More than anything, I’d say this show is definitely worth watching for the cinematography and action because almost every second has been high flying dynamic animation that really grips you. It reminds me a lot of Soul Eater, the story and characters have a lot of potential, and you know an anime will be good when the girls have muscles too!

If it’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord: Can you tell it’s based on a light novel? A slice of life set in a fantasy world where an adventurer named Dale stumbles upon an adorable lost little girl in the woods, who happens to be branded as a criminal. So of course Dale basically adopts her and tries to find out how she came to be with him. It’s basically fantasy School Babysitters without the tragic depth to it (but there’s room for potential). Yes, this is definitely the most wholesome show of the season, but it’s to be expected considering it’s basically Japan’s latest attempt to get people to have more babies. Personally, the most interesting aspect of this show is the fact that Dale and his “daughter” can’t speak the same language. Unfortunately, the light novel ends up pulling a Bunny Drop...so I sincerely hope the anime doesn’t try the creepy romance factor. So for now, if you feel like puking up some rainbows, give this one a try. 

To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts: An action drama where, during a civil war, one side used “forbidden technology” to enhance their soldiers and basically turn them into badass monsters. The only problem: the soldiers who were turned start to lose their humanity and end up killing humans for the fun of it. Now our protagonist must hunt down his fellow soldiers and kill them before it’s too late. Honestly, this show has some pacing issues and can be a bit stilted in terms of its character interactions, but what kept me watching was the last 5 minutes of the first episode. I was so not prepared for the roller coaster that was the first episode’s ending, and now I’m extremely intrigued. Besides it’s made by MAPPA so I would at least give it a couple episodes to see if it’s for you.   

Vinland Saga: The story of a young boy named Thorfinn’s journey to become a great warrior and while the adults deal with going to war. IT’S THE ONE WITH THE VIKINGS!!! It basically feels like a darker, grittier viking version of Moana. I’ve heard literally nothing but praise for this manga for so many years that my hopes skyrocketed as soon as I heard Wit was doing the adaption. And it has definitely lived up to the hype so far! It’s a great action historical drama to fill the void after Dororo. The only problem is no one will watch it because it’s on Amazon Prime.

Kochouki: Wakaki Nobunaga: A fun brightly colored historical anime about the famous warlord Nobunaga when he was a young teenager. I honestly don’t know what the tone of this anime is going to be from here on out, because it’s going to go from “fun thieving shenanigans with pretty boys” to leading people into battle, but it got me interested. I know putting Nobunaga in an anime isn’t exactly original, but this one seems like a fun ride...and it looks gay as fuck. 

And I have to shout out some that haven’t premiered yet...just in case...

Try Knights: This one doesn’t come out until the end of July, but you bet your ass I’m going to be watching it because it’s an original anime about PRETTY BOYS PLAYING RUGBY! And I have a feeling it’s going to be very... different from the other resident rugby anime All Out. 

Yokai Ningen BEM (Humanoid Monster BEM): Okay, this one’s not out yet either, but the trailer had a really cool vibe to it, so I’m including it anyway. It’s a remake of the 1968 anime in which a group of yokai who look like humans fight crime in the big city. If nothing else, the music is cool, and it’s made by Production I.G, so why not?

*UPDATE* The first episode finally dropped, and holy crap I’m so into this. It’s basically Durarara mixed with Psycho Pass mixed with Bungo Stray Dogs. The first episode has me completely hooked!

Next seasons and continuations!

As always there are some leftovers from the spring season that are continuing into the summer that I highly suggest!

Carole and Tuesday: The musical sci-fi anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe wherein a rich runaway named Tuesday meets a streetwise girl named Carole, and the two decide to start a band together. Now Carole and Tuesday must rise to stardom in a world dominated by android created music. It was by far my favorite new show of the spring, and if you can find a way to watch it (because it’s still not available legally anywhere aside from Japanese Netflix apparently) I wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s got the best and most diverse music I’ve seen in an anime in a long time, an interesting setting (apparently it takes place in the Cowboy Bebop universe!?), and very well rounded fun characters. And I'm dying for a soundtrack release with all the songs!!!!

Fruits Basket 2019: Yes, the remake of the classic 2001 anime in which a girl moves in with a family who can turn into animals from the zodiac is getting a full run. And thank God because I just can’t say goodbye to it after only 12 episodes. It is so stunningly beautiful in both animation and story subjects that I don’t know what I would do without it. The characters feel so much more fleshed out, and I feel like I learn a lesson about life each week even though I already know most of what’s going to happen. If you never watched the original because thought you were too “cool” to watch a shoujo anime, give it a chance. Because if you think it’s just a generic love triangle romance show, you couldn’t be more wrong. The reboot is so good at portraying different kinds of love and how the presence of love and family can change lives AND IT’S JUST SO FREAKING GOOD! 

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba: In case you missed Ufotable’s newest project, this is a shounen anime that follows a young boy named Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko who has been possessed by a demon and their journey to turn Nezuko back to normal while fighting demons along the way. I still feel like this is a pretty basic shounen anime story wise, but I really like the characters, especially the villains. It has some of the coolest fighting/power mechanics I’ve seen in awhile, and the animation is very cool and different!

Ace of Diamond act 2: Our favorite shounen baseball anime is continuing into the summer. And I have very mixed feelings about this season so far. We are getting some fun new characters and some great scenes with the team, but the games are very...choppy and rushed. Apparently this is how it goes down in the manga, and we’re in for some good Sawamura development...but it’s still touch and go for me personally.  

That’s it for now. Most of these are available on Crunchyroll, except Vinland Saga, Carole and Tuesday, and Kochouki: Wakaki Nobunaga. Since Try Knights and Yokai Ningen BEM aren’t out yet, I don’t know where they will be available legally. 

See you next season!

#long post #anime recommendation #summer 2019 anime #ace of diamond #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #fruits basket #carole and tuesday #try knights #yokai ningen bem #kochouki: wakaki nobunaga #vinland saga #to the abandoned sacred beasts #katsute kami datta kemono-tachi e #if it's for my daughter i'd even defeat a demon lord #fire force #dr stone #given #given anime

[shiroganeryo]

D.Gray-Man Tag!

I got tagged by my friend Violet to hop into this little game she made, and there are few things I love more than babbling about DGM, so let’s go! The rules are to tag three people to get the game going, so I’ll do it at the start because this will get looong. I’ll tag @14th-melody, @metzzi and @rudimentor0x0. Here’s the blank post. Sorry if you have already done it, I might’ve missed the posts ;;

⭐ What year did you first get into DGM? Hmm, actually, that’s a hard question because I didn’t get into it right away? If memory serves me right about what grade I was in high school when that happened, I was 15 - so, 2008. Pull a chair, I’ll tell you how that went. It was actually a recommendation from a friend of my best friend; we weren’t particularly close, I just knew he and I had a similar taste for anime/manga and I was looking for getting into a new series... but I wanted it to be worthwhile. So I asked my bestie if her friend wouldn’t give me a rec. He recommended me D.Gray-Man, and just like I do before watching any series, I watched the first opening to get an overall “feel” of it and I quite liked it: cool aesthetic, music was dope, characters were nice-looking. But, for some reason, I didn’t watch it and eventually forgot about it.

Then, one day on my way back home from school, I stopped by a nearby newspaper stand since here they also sell manga. They were all very cheap at that time, so I would often look for new volumes of the titles I was collecting (my allowance was enough to buy two or three!). I saw DGM’s first volume there, and went “oh! It’s that one series he had recommended me! I’ll take it and finally give it a shot.”

I fell in love.

I really liked it at first, but the point where DGM completely won my heart was during Lala’s arc. I had never cried with a manga before. 

⭐ Who’s your favorite character? This is probably very unoriginal, but it’s Allen! At the start I was very lukewarm about him, but as time went on, I felt like I could relate more and more to that kind-hearted boy and he became my role model. DGM has been with me through some of the worst of my life, and Allen’s resolve to keep going, keep walking, no matter how hard things were for him was what motivated me many times in past. It still does. Allen also taught me to be kinder and through him I realized being there for others makes me truly happy. Sadly, I also share with him the same trait of being unable to truly see how appreciated I am and all the good I bring others just for being there... But I’m working on that! He became the first character I felt like I could fully relate to, and I was surprised - but still very happy - to realize that, now that I’m an adult with more experience and maturity, I feel like I can understand him even more and better than before. Our connection didn’t wane with time, I feel so much closer to him now. He’s very special to me.

Standing at the second spot - because it’s also fair I would mention her -, is Miranda! I always say that if Allen didn’t exist, Miranda would be my number 1 since she stands so close to him hahaha After him, she’s another character I deeply relate with. My self-esteem isn’t the best out there so I’m quick to think I’m worthless or useless, just like her. Even so, she wouldn’t give up. Every time I felt like giving up because of auto depreciation, I would think “Miranda would try again, she would work harder”.

It’s like the two of them were walking me through the steps so I could move forward and keep doing my best.

⭐ Who’s your least favorite character? I’m going to say Chaozii. But, before we get to the usual “Chaozii slander” we’re used to doing in this fandom, let me elaborate. It has nothing to do with him not siding with Allen. As much as I love Allen, I know we’re able of sympathizing with his ideals because as the readers we have a plethora of information on his motives; if not for that, we would probably take the same stance as Chaozii has taken about him.

What riles me about Chaozii is that, unlike all of the characters, his mindset is either black or white, good or bad. Everyone seems to have a perfect mix of both, showing many facets just like, well, real, imperfect people. Chaozii is the only one who doesn’t have that. Being simple-minded is not a bad trait, but when that clouds your judgement, then it turns into a bad thing.

It all fell apart when he snapped at Allen when he refused to kill Tyki. That particularly bothered me a ton, even if I understand his feelings. Chaozii, who thought it was wrong and cruel to kill humans and was grieving for his lost comrades, was fine with killing a human whom he wasn’t even sure if was being forced to do things or not. Do you see the issue here? Chaozii never feels to me like he’s striving to do the right thing in order to bring justice, but instead, because he wants revenge.

I hope he does get to learn one thing or two in the future. He has potential to be a great character; but he needs a “redemption” first.

⭐ Who’s your favorite general? Tiedoll! Although I like all of them for different reasons. I really love Cross and differently from what some people think, he did care for Allen and I love their rather dysfunctional relationship. He’s a much deeper character than just a womanizer full of fishy shenanigans. He’s also really badass: former scientist, user of magic, (former) wielder of both an Innocence of his own and another person’s (Grave of Maria). I just happen to love Tiedoll a liiiittle more because I can’t take this guy! He’s just so sweet, and his doting nature makes him both funny and lovely. General Sokalo is really cool and all, but I feel like he’s just a cool guy to me. On a side note, General Klaud could step on me and kill me and I’d thank her. I hope we get to learn more about her Innocence sometime.

⭐ Who’s a character you would get along with? I would love to say it’s Allen, but he’s someone really hard to get close to. If I think about the characters I’d like to befriend because of shared traits or interests, I think I could get along well with Miranda, Krory, and Marie. The first two because they’re two softies who just happen to be really awkward, I feel like I would probably befriend them after trying to comfort them too often. And, the latter, because I’m a person who likes calm company whom I can have honest talks with.

⭐ What kind of innocence would you have? I honestly have no idea. If I had to pick one from the ones we already have, I think I would go with the Dark Boots. Being able to fly and maneuver in mid-air would be a dream come true, I feel the happiest when the wind blows against me. If I have to think of something “for me” specifically, I think I would like a long range Innocence. I particularly like firearm-like weapons like guns, so maybe a gun or dual pistols? Yeah, I think I’d really like the dual pistols.

⭐ What’s your favorite ship? Ah, to be in the DGM fandom is to be a multishipper; yet this is the part where I always get nervous at because my favorite is a rarepair. But!!! I’m building up the courage to be more open about (and less self-judgmental of) the things I like. It’s Allen x Miranda. I don’t really know when it started; from what I said before, you already know they’re both my top favorite characters and very special to me, so I naturally loved it when I saw them sharing screentime. When I realized it, I was looking at them and thinking “they would make such a cute couple together”. It just kinda happened.

To keep this short, there’s this blog I really like explaining about this pair’s dynamics. I think they have a great dynamic together and much potential. They could very easily have a wholesome relationship based in lots of patience and mutually covering the other’s weaknesses and helping them become someone better. These are the best kinds of relationships imo. I hope to share some of my headcanons for them (and even writing, hopefully!) sometime in here. I always picture Allen being older, so that gives me some free room for creativity; it doesn’t look like he has time for romantic love right now, and I don’t really feel comfortable with him being a minor for this ship, so both things go hand in hand.

Honorable mentions go to Link x Allen (again, older!Allen), Yulma and LaviLena, as I also get super happy when I see these particular shippings. 

⭐ What’s your least favorite ship? I actually have some, but it goes against my policies to publicly (consciously) say negative things about certain things if I can help it. I know I’m allowed to have opinions, but you never know who can stumble upon it and what I dislike can be something that makes someone really happy, you know? I tend to stay silent about such things when it comes to something as harmless as shippings.

So, I think I can say I’m accepting of everything as long as everyone respects each other! And, of course, if it isn’t distasteful (as in, illegal).

⭐ What branch would you want to be part of? We’ve only seen the European and Asian branches properly before but even if there aren’t many choices, this is still a hard question; I think both have lots of good things going for them. I think I would probably want to settle with the Asian Branch! I love how lively the atmosphere is and I also feel like there are way less science division shenanigans in there... Sorry, Komui. 

⭐ What’s your favorite arc? I have three! The Rewinding City arc came right after Lala’s arc - that had touched me a lot -, bringing in even more feels. It introduced Miranda and at the blink of an eye, made me care so much about her. The first activation of Time Record after she protected Allen, followed by his thanks to her hit so hard; I get really emotional talking about it. It was such a great, yet touching moment. I think everyone can relate to that; being worthy of receiving gratitude for something they did for someone.

Then, there’s Lulu Bell’s Invasion of the Black Order arc, followed by the appearance of the Level 4 Akuma. I can’t express into words how great the flow of the elements are there. The plot is focusing on multiple characters with their own background dramas happening, all at once, yet none of it feels out of place. Everyone gets their moment, everyone contributes to the big picture (saving the staff and defeating the Akumas). It all felt like one big collective effort of several parts uniting forces, no one was more or less important than the other. It was expertisely done.

And the last mention goes to the Searching for A.W’s arcs (Saying Goodbye to A.W also included). These arcs are being extremely painful but, at the same time, also extremely rewarding to go through. For the first time ever, we’re seeing Allen give in to his wants and acknowledge his feelings; he’s not honest with himself very often, and seeing him actually admit that he still wanted to go on - for himself -, that he still wanted to hold onto hope was something that I suddenly realized I had always wanted to see him do. It’s like I had been waiting for so long. Allen is growing up, and I’m loving to see the part Johnny and Kanda are playing in this. I could talk all day about how happy it makes me, to feel this much hope in the midst of such a difficult situation these arcs are covering. It captures very well the essence of D.Gray-Man imo: the bittersweetness of the hardships of life, and the good things it makes us realize we have had all along. The people we have by our side. The will to continue moving forward because we still have something we love and want to fight for.

Whew, I expected this would get long but guess I got too carried away; those were amazing questions to answer to! If you read until now, you have my most sincere gratitude and appreciation. I wish you have a lovely day! 😊

#dgm #d.gray man #d.gray-man #long text #tag #there are still asks in my inbox but I'll be tending to these sometime later! #I really don't want to spam you with long texts everyday #but I don't really like not elaborating my thoughts when I'm on to discuss something #added a read more not to clog your dashboards!

[recentanimenews]

ESSAY: Berserk's Journey of Acceptance Over 30 Years of Fandom

  My descent into anime fandom began in the '90s, and just as watching Neon Genesis Evangelion caused my first revelation that cartoons could be art, reading Berserk gave me the same realization about comics. The news of Kentaro Miura’s death, who passed on May 6, has been emotionally complicated for me, as it's the first time a celebrity's death has hit truly close to home. In addition to being the lynchpin for several important personal revelations, Berserk is one of the longest-lasting works I’ve followed and that I must suddenly bid farewell to after existing alongside it for two-thirds of my life.

  Berserk is a monolith not only for anime and manga, but also fantasy literature, video games, you name it. It might be one of the single most influential works of the ‘80s — on a level similar to Blade Runner — to a degree where it’s difficult to imagine what the world might look like without it, and the generations of creators the series inspired.

  Although not the first, Guts is the prototypical large sword anime boy: Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife, Siegfried/Nightmare from Soulcalibur, and Black Clover's Asta are all links in the same chain, with other series like Dark Souls and Claymore taking clear inspiration from Berserk. But even deeper than that, the three-character dynamic between Guts, Griffith, and Casca, the monster designs, the grotesque violence, Miura’s image of hell — all of them can be spotted in countless pieces of media across the globe.

  Despite this, it just doesn’t seem like people talk about it very much. For over 20 years, Berserk has stood among the critical pantheon for both anime and manga, but it doesn’t spur conversations in the same way as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira, or Dragon Ball Z still do today. Its graphic depictions certainly represent a barrier to entry much higher than even the aforementioned company. 

    Seeing the internet exude sympathy and fond reminiscing about Berserk was immensely validating and has been my single most therapeutic experience online. Moreso, it reminded me that the fans have always been there. And even looking into it, Berserk is the single best-selling property in the 35-year history of Dark Horse. My feeling is that Berserk just has something about it that reaches deep into you and gets stuck there.

  I recall introducing one of my housemates to Berserk a few years ago — a person with all the intelligence and personal drive to both work on cancer research at Stanford while pursuing his own MD and maintaining a level of physical fitness that was frankly unreasonable for the hours that he kept. He was NOT in any way analytical about the media he consumed, but watching him sitting on the floor turning all his considerable willpower and intellect toward delivering an off-the-cuff treatise on how Berserk had so deeply touched him was a sight in itself to behold. His thoughts on the series' portrayal of sex as fundamentally violent leading up to Guts and Casca’s first moment of intimacy in the Golden Age movies was one of the most beautiful sentiments I’d ever heard in reaction to a piece of fiction.

  I don’t think I’d ever heard him provide anything but a surface-level take on a piece of media before or since. He was a pretty forthright guy, but the way he just cut into himself and let his feelings pour out onto the floor left me awestruck. The process of reading Berserk can strike emotional chords within you that are tough to untangle. I’ve been writing analysis and experiential pieces related to anime and manga for almost ten years — and interacting with Berserk’s world for almost 30 years — and writing may just be yet another attempt for me to pull my own twisted-up feelings about it apart. 

  Berserk is one of the most deeply personal works I’ve ever read, both for myself and in my perception of Miura's works. The series' transformation in the past 30 years artistically and thematically is so singular it's difficult to find another work that comes close. The author of Hajime no Ippo, who was among the first to see Berserk as Miura presented him with some early drafts working as his assistant, claimed that the design for Guts and Puck had come from a mess of ideas Miura had been working on since his early school days.

  写真は三浦建太郎君が寄稿してくれた鷹村です。 今かなり感傷的になっています。 思い出話をさせて下さい。 僕が初めての週刊連載でスタッフが一人もいなくて困っていたら手伝いにきてくれました。 彼が18で僕が19です。 某大学の芸術学部の学生で講義明けにスケッチブックを片手に来てくれました。 pic.twitter.com/hT1JCWBTKu

— 森川ジョージ (@WANPOWANWAN) May 20, 2021

  Miura claimed two of his big influences were Go Nagai’s Violence Jack and Tetsuo Hara and Buronson’s Fist of the North Star. Miura wears these influences on his sleeve, discovering the early concepts that had percolated in his mind just felt right. The beginning of Berserk, despite its amazing visual power, feels like it sprang from a very juvenile concept: Guts is a hypermasculine lone traveler breaking his body against nightmarish creatures in his single-minded pursuit of revenge, rigidly independent and distrustful of others due to his dark past.

  Uncompromising, rugged, independent, a really big sword ... Guts is a romantic ideal of masculinity on a quest to personally serve justice against the one who wronged him. Almost nefarious in the manner in which his character checked these boxes, especially when it came to his grim stoicism, unblinkingly facing his struggle against literal cosmic forces. Never doubting himself, never trusting others, never weeping for what he had lost.

    Miura said he sketched out most of the backstory when the manga began publication, so I have to assume the larger strokes of the Golden Arc were pretty well figured out from the outset, but I’m less sure if he had fully realized where he wanted to take the story to where we are now. After the introductory mini-arcs of demon-slaying, Berserk encounters Griffith and the story draws us back to a massive flashback arc. We see the same Guts living as a lone mercenary who Griffith persuades to join the Band of the Hawk to help realize his ambitions of rising above the circumstances of his birth to join the nobility.

  We discover the horrific abuses of Guts’ adoptive father and eventually learn that Guts, Griffith, and Casca are all victims of sexual violence. The story develops into a sprawling semi-historical epic featuring politics and war, but the real narrative is in the growing companionship between Guts and the members of the band. Directionless and traumatized by his childhood, Guts slowly finds a purpose helping Griffith realize his dream and the courage to allow others to grow close to him. 

  Miura mentioned that many Band of the Hawk members were based on his early friend groups. Although he was always sparse with details about his personal life, he has spoken about how many of them referred to themselves as aspiring manga authors and how he felt an intense sense of competition, admitting that among them he may have been the only one seriously working toward that goal, desperately keeping ahead in his perceived race against them. It’s intriguing thinking about how much of this angst may have made it to the pages, as it's almost impossible not to imagine Miura put quite a bit of himself in Guts. 

  Perhaps this is why it feels so real and makes The Eclipse — the quintessential anime betrayal at the hands of Griffith — all the more heartbreaking. The raw violence and macabre imagery certainly helped. While Miura owed Hellraiser’s Cenobites much in the designs of the God Hand, his macabre portrayal of the Band of the Hawk’s eradication within the literal bowels of hell, the massive hand, the black sun, the Skull Knight, and even Miura’s page compositions have been endlessly referenced, copied, and outright plagiarized since.

    The events were tragic in any context and I have heard many deeply personal experiences others drew from The Eclipse sympathizing with Guts, Casca, or even Griffith’s spiral driven by his perceived rejection by Guts. Mine were most closely aligned with the tragedy of Guts having overcome such painful circumstances to not only reject his own self enforced solitude, but to fearlessly express his affection for his loved ones. 

  The Golden Age was a methodical destruction of Guts’ self-destructive methods of preservation ruined in a single selfish act by his most trusted friend, leaving him once again alone and afraid of growing close to those around him. It ripped the romance of Guts’ mission and eventually took the story down a course I never expected. Berserk wasn’t a story of revenge but one of recovery.

  Guess that’s enough beating around the bush, as I should talk about how this shift affected me personally. When I was young, when I began reading Berserk I found Guts’ unflagging stoicism to be really cool, not just aesthetically but in how I understood guys were supposed to be. I was slow to make friends during school and my rapidly gentrifying neighborhood had my friends' parents moving away faster than I could find new ones. At some point I think I became too afraid of putting myself out there anymore, risking rejection when even acceptance was so fleeting. It began to feel easier just to resign myself to solitude and pretend my circumstances were beyond my own power to correct.

  Unfortunately, I became the stereotypical kid who ate alone during lunch break. Under the invisible expectations demanding I not display weakness, my loneliness was compounded by shame for feeling loneliness. My only recourse was to reveal none of those feelings and pretend the whole thing didn't bother me at all. Needless to say my attempts to cope probably fooled no one and only made things even worse, but I really didn’t know of any better way to handle my situation. I felt bad, I felt even worse about feeling bad and had been provided with zero tools to cope, much less even admit that I had a problem at all.

  The arcs following the Golden Age completely changed my perspective. Guts had tragically, yet understandably, cut himself off from others to save himself from experiencing that trauma again and, in effect, denied himself any opportunity to allow himself to be happy again. As he began to meet other characters that attached themselves to him, between Rickert and Erica spending months waiting worried for his return, and even the slimmest hope to rescuing Casca began to seed itself into the story, I could only see Guts as a fool pursuing a grim and hopeless task rather than appreciating everything that he had managed to hold onto. 

  The same attributes that made Guts so compelling in the opening chapters were revealed as his true enemy. Griffith had committed an unforgivable act but Guts’ journey for revenge was one of self-inflicted pain and fear. The romanticism was gone.

  Farnese’s inclusion in the Conviction arc was a revelation. Among the many brilliant aspects of her character, I identified with her simply for how she acted as a stand-in for myself as the reader: Plagued by self-doubt and fear, desperate to maintain her own stoic and uncompromising image, and resentful of her place in the world. She sees Guts’ fearlessness in the face of cosmic horror and believes she might be able to learn his confidence.

    But in following Guts, Farnese instead finds a teacher in Casca. In taking care of her, Farnese develops a connection and is able to experience genuine sympathy that develops into a sense of responsibility. Caring for Casca allows Farnese to develop the courage she was lacking not out of reckless self-abandon but compassion.

  I can’t exactly credit Berserk with turning my life around, but I feel that it genuinely helped crystallize within me a sense of growing doubts about my maladjusted high school days. My growing awareness of Guts' undeniable role in his own suffering forced me to admit my own role in mine and created a determination to take action to fix it rather than pretending enough stoicism might actually result in some sort of solution.

  I visited the Berserk subreddit from time to time and always enjoyed the group's penchant for referring to all the members of the board as “fellow strugglers,” owing both to Skull Knight’s label for Guts and their own tongue-in-cheek humor at waiting through extended hiatuses. Only in retrospect did it feel truly fitting to me. Trying to avoid the pitfalls of Guts’ path is a constant struggle. Today I’m blessed with many good friends but still feel primal pangs of fear holding me back nearly every time I meet someone, the idea of telling others how much they mean to me or even sharing my thoughts and feelings about something I care about deeply as if each action will expose me to attack.

  It’s taken time to pull myself away from the behaviors that were so deeply ingrained and it’s a journey where I’m not sure the work will ever be truly done, but witnessing Guts’ own slow progress has been a constant source of reassurance. My sense of admiration for Miura’s epic tale of a man allowing himself to let go after suffering such devastating circumstances brought my own humble problems and their way out into focus.

    Over the years I, and many others, have been forced to come to terms with the fact that Berserk would likely never finish. The pattern of long, unexplained hiatuses and the solemn recognition that any of them could be the last is a familiar one. The double-edged sword of manga largely being works created by a single individual is that there is rarely anyone in a position to pick up the torch when the creator calls it quits. Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond, Ai Yazawa’s Nana, and likely Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter X Hunter all frozen in indefinite hiatus, the publishers respectfully holding the door open should the creators ever decide to return, leaving it in a liminal space with no sense of conclusion for the fans except what we can make for ourselves.

  The reason for Miura’s hiatuses was unclear. Fans liked to joke that he would take long breaks to play The Idolmaster, but Miura was also infamous for taking “breaks” spent minutely illustrating panels to his exacting artistic standard, creating a tumultuous release schedule during the wars featuring thousands of tiny soldiers all dressed in period-appropriate armor. If his health was becoming an issue, it’s uncommon that news would be shared with fans for most authors, much less one as private as Miura.

  Even without delays, the story Miura was building just seemed to be getting too big. The scale continued to grow, his narrative ambition swelling even faster after 20 years of publication, the depth and breadth of his universe constantly expanding. The fan-dubbed “Millennium Falcon Arc” was massive, changing the landscape of Berserk from a low fantasy plagued by roaming demons to a high fantasy where godlike beings of sanity-defying size battled for control of the world. How could Guts even meet Griffith again? What might Casca want to do when her sanity returned? What are the origins of the Skull Knight? And would he do battle with the God Hand? There was too much left to happen and Miura’s art only grew more and more elaborate. It would take decades to resolve all this.

  But it didn’t need to. I imagine we’ll never get a precise picture of the final years of Miura’s life leading up to his tragic passing. In the final chapters he released, it felt as if he had directed the story to some conclusion. The unfinished Fantasia arc finds Guts and his newfound band finding a way to finally restore Casca’s sanity and — although there is still unmistakably a boundary separating them — both seem resolute in finding a way to mend their shared wounds together.

  One of the final chapters features Guts drinking around the campfire with the two other men of his group, Serpico and Roderick, as he entrusts the recovery of Casca to Schierke and Farnese. It's a scene that, in the original Band of the Hawk, would have found Guts brooding as his fellows engage in bluster. The tone of this conversation, however, is completely different. The three commiserate over how much has changed and the strength each has found in the companionship of the others. After everything that has happened, Guts declares that he is grateful. 

  The suicidal dedication to his quest for vengeance and dispassionate pragmatism that defined Guts in the earliest chapters is gone. Although they first appeared to be a source of strength as the Black Swordsman, he has learned that they rose from the fear of losing his friends again, from letting others close enough to harm him, and from having no other purpose without others. Whether or not Guts and Griffith were to ever meet again, Guts has rediscovered the strength to no longer carry his burdens alone. 

  All that has happened is all there will ever be. We too must be grateful.

      Peter Fobian is an Associate Manager of Social Video at Crunchyroll, writer for Anime Academy and Anime in America, and an editor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: Peter Fobian

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[gamewise]

Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou Review

(Author’s warning: the following game contains racially insensitive stereotypes. They are not present in these screencaps, and are not the effect of the game’s relatively low score. The game is a product of its time not just on a technical level, but on a cultural level. If you choose to read this review, massive spoiler alert: this is just not a good game, no matter how you slice it.)

In Japan, the Mega Drive debuted in October of 1988 with a whopping two titles available at launch; Space Harrier 2, and Super Thunder Blade. It wouldn’t take long for the humble 16-bit console to get its third title, a licensed game based on the Osomatsu-Kun manga which was about to get a new anime adaptation thanks to its popularity coming back. So you’re probably thinking this is a cheap cash-in title designed to promote the new anime, and I would like to say you’re right, but... actually, no, you’re right. Osomatsu-Kun Hachamecha Gekijou (Little Osomatsu: Nonsensical Theater) is a cheap cash-in that does more harm than good for the Mega Drive.

Before we dive into this game, let’s talk about Osomatsu-Kun itself. Osomatsu-Kun was a hugely popular manga about a group of trouble making sextuplets, who just so happen to all look the same. The manga ran for a whopping seven years back in the 60′s, receiving an anime adaptation at the peak of its popularity in 1966. In 1988, Studio Pierrot would bring forth a new anime adaptation that would see the sextuplets as side characters, with characters Iyami and Chibita, and their misadventures becoming more of the main focus. So seeing the side characters get thrust into the spotlight because they become popular is definitely nothing new, especially when the original manga did the same! So now that we have a new anime adaptation on the way, what are we getting for our video game cash in?

Well... just look at it. I know Japan is notorious for making some pretty surreal stuff, but Osomatsu-Kun Hachamecha Gekijou takes the fucking cake. You play as the oldest of the six brothers, and go on a quest to... uh, you know, I don’t think this game really has much of a story to it. You go through three different stages trying to get from point A to point B while you, armed with a slingshot, take out enemies based on other characters in Osomatsu-Kun, a lot of them being Chibita. And yes, you heard right, this game is only 3 stages long, so it should be quick and easy, right? Well... sit down, this game pads itself out in the worst possible way, and it managed to piss me off.

As you progress through a level, you may think it’s as simple as reaching the end of a stage... it’s not. Remember the infamous maze level in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, or the one in Transformers Comvoy no Nazo? Well, there is a specific route you’re expected to take in this game, and it’s not clear. You’ll play this game going from point A to point B, but once you reach a certain point, the screen will just stop allowing you to move forward. You’ll see yourself before a pit, and think it’s instant death. In this game, it’s not death, it just leads you to a different part of the level. However, the path you need to take is cryptic as hell, and you’ll never know if you’re going the right way. The only way to find out is to take out the correct sub boss. When you do, you’ll see an intermission bumper like you would for anime, and you’ll ask yourself “Wait, am I just going through the first level again?” The answer is partially yes, because remember that point where the screen wouldn’t let you advance? Well, now you will see a platform show up that can take you to a new part of the level, but now you need to find a new path to get to point B. All of this is designed to pad the game’s extraordinarily short length. By short, I mean that if you know your way through all three levels, you can finish this game in about 15 minutes.

(Thank you to the person who put this shit together)

I’d be able to forgive the maze-like structure if the game was any fun to play, but as it stands, this is a painfully generic floaty platformer. By floaty I mean Osomatsu himself defies gravity by being able to float in the air for an extended period of time with his jump. It’s nice to be able to control his jump mid-air, but the weightlessness will more than likely mess up your precision platforming, or you’ll get interrupted by the mere touch of your enemies. Yes, when you take damage, you get stun-locked, and instead of just falling to the ground, you are stun locked mid-air. I could forgive it, but this game is once again, a 30 frames per second game, and almost feels like it’s been slowed-down intentionally. Another issue I take with this game is the difficulty, it’s way too easy. All enemy projectiles can be destroyed with your slingshot, and there’s enough distance between you and the enemy to have a pattern figured out easily. I guess the idea was because your slingshot has such a short range of attack, it would balance things out, but it really doesn’t. You’ll have plenty of lives and health to go up against the boss and sub boss as the game gets fairly generous with health powerups. There are also shops where you can buy some items to guide you with the ribbons you’re collecting along the way, but before you can access that you get the option of playing mini-games to gamble them away. I’d just skip these and go straight to the shop, it’s not like you need these power-ups that much anyway, you can beat this game without them.

On the visual side... this was the worst the Mega Drive had in 1988. Sure, it’s colorful, and the sprites evoke the spirit of the original manga, but this looks like a hold over from the Master System/Mark III, it just doesn’t impress me. Aesthetically, the game is fine for the most part, but eventually you’ll run into a few racial stereotypes for your enemies, and boy are they horribly insensitive. Even knowing this, I pressed on with the game, because I wanted to see if I could take something positive out of it and look past those enemy sprites, and about the only thing I find entertaining is Iyami being all the bosses. So aside from a few bad sprites, I find the graphics were more focused on aesthetics and functionality than pushing technical limitations early. Audio wise this game is just plain awful. There’s an old saying among video game music fans that only Japan could use the Mega Drive’s unique sound setup correctly, but if that’s the case, they’ve never listened to this game’s music. It’s obnoxiously loud, the sound effects are super scratchy, it feels too much like an assault on my ears compared to the sound effects on something like Curse, or even Taz-Mania. Nothing against the compositions themselves, I found two songs to be catchy, but otherwise, nothing stood out for the right reasons. Definitely not a keeper.

At the end of the day, Osomatsu-Kun Hachamecha Gekijou is shovelware of the highest honor. Even if you can endure the game’s painfully easy difficulty, and frustrating level layouts, you are left with a feeling of emptiness by the time you reach the end. This game will not so much break you, but it will leave you feeling empty and depressed as you say to yourself, “that’s it?” I certainly felt empty after playing this. Like I just lost about 20 minutes of my life, and I’ll never get it back. Is there much worse on the Mega Drive? Yes, but considering it was 1988, the console had nowhere to go from here but UP. I wouldn’t even think of recommending this today, even as a curiosity. This is one of those cases where I can say avoid at all costs

Positives

+ Aesthetics mimic the source material perfectly

+ Controls respond

+ The game’s translated subtitle “Nonsensical Theater” perfectly describes everything

Negatives

- Unnecessarily pads its length thanks to a cryptic maze structure

- Unacceptably short

- Insults your skill by being piss easy

- Racial stereotyping may be enough to turn you away

- Designed to cash in on Osomatsu-Kun’s returning popularity in the 80′s

- The game’s translated subtitle “Nonsensical theater” perfectly describes everything

- Audio will hurt your ears

- Unless you need to complete an actual Mega Drive collection... skip it.

- While taking screenshots, I somehow managed to unlock the game’s framerate, indicating that this game was deliberately programmed in assembly to play at 30 frames per second. The floaty mechanics actually handled better under 60 fps, no fucking joke. Do you believe this shit? 

Overall: 2/10

#video games #osomatsu kun #sega #retro #retro gaming

[ladywhaiyvern]

Musings of An Otaku #7- Of Machine Animals and Relics of Old Ones

Ever since life took its course a few years ago, I stepped away from the video game scene to spend time with family. Back and forth hospital trips and long days of surgery among the other stressors of just being in a busy hospital environment would have been a great excuse to lose myself in a game. But for some reason, I just could not for the life of me sit down long enough to get into any games. Mobile games hardly counted in my book. If that was the case then the only “game” I played during that time frame was “Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.” Hell, that’s the only mobile game I still play now. Religiously. Every day. Do dailies on Pocket Camp and then switch over to New Horizons and do my dailies there. Shit, I wish some of the items they offer in PC were available in NH! I digress. At this point, I had not sat down with say one of the next generation consoles at the time and played a newly released game. 

I guess I am trying to make up for lost playing time now as we are in the middle of pandemic. Limiting the time out in public to essential trips only. No eating out as much as I used to. What better way to pass the time, then catch up on games that I wanted to play but never got around to. Lord knows I have all of them purchased. Just haven’t played a single one yet. Then again, this goes for anything. I still have a very large pile of Anime blu-rays and dvds sitting around that I haven’t touched. Manga on shelves yet to be cracked into. I am working on getting through my Dragonlance books though! Just started book 2 of the Elven Exiles. Things are not looking good for the elves at all. ANYWHO!

Horizon: Zero Dawn. A game I remember seeing trailers and game footage for when it was in development back in the day. I was interested in it then, but then things had happened in life (as I have said). Started picking my way through it early last year. It was different, interesting. Your typical open-world action RPG. Beautiful graphics and landscapes. Didn’t think too much about it as I set it aside for a little while and then came back to it full force. Aloy did not draw me into the world, as much as the lore did. I wanted to find out what the hell happened to the world and why these animal shaped machines were so hell bent on killing everyone. I liked the look of these animal machines. Come on, I absolutely love Power Rangers and the seasons that used animal motifs (or mystical creatures). So, mechanical beasts were nothing new to me. They just were not sentient and hellbent on destruction. I mean, one can argue for a few seasons about it but I’m not here to discuss and argue Power Rangers. This is about Horizon: Zero Dawn. 

I do not recall how many hours I spent going through the main scenario of the game (as I did spend A LOT of that time hiding and planning ambushes on machines). And, well I am the type to go through the entire friggen map and get every single item and complete every quest. Okay, maybe not EVERY quest. I still have the hunting ground trials to do but I’m not really concerned with those as I am getting all the metal flowers, and ancient vessels. What can I say?! I laughed at the recommended level you had to be for the final showdown. I was way over that….and I mean…..wwwwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaayyyyy over that. I had the nice ancient amour as well. The one where you had to go around and get the power cells to open up the bunker. The one that has the nice shield factor. Yeah, I liked that. I liked many of the outfits with the added bits and bobs of machines and wiring. It was different and yet still very tribal looking. I also enjoyed the tribal aesthetic. We, as humans went back to the typical hunter/gathering tribal lifestyle after Zero Dawn. Nice to see the different kinships emerge. All the old memories of my cultural anthropology and archeology classes came flooding back which was not bad at all! 

I completed the main scenario the other day and WOW! Overall, that was a damn good game. While I did not connect with Aloy at the start of the game, I did become interested in her side of the story. I mean, seriously she was one of the only people that could unlock things with her genetic connection. The basis of how the world came to be destroyed and basically overthrown by these animal machines is a little on the scary side. We are becoming more and more reliant on technology. And that technology is slowly becoming more and more self aware and sentient. Everything is going that way. Look at our security systems, look at the smart houses, our cars, our smartphones, our smart watches. Machines that help us with cleaning and cooking are completely different then what I grew up with. Machines implanted into the body to help extend someone's life! I saw this first hand with my father and his LVAD (left ventricle assist device). Technology is both amazing and scary at the same time. It can be used for both the good and the bad. Dark and light. Shadow and sun. 

 Shit, I read an article the other day that both China and France are looking to create their own mobile military with biologically engineered supersoldiers. Taken from the New York Post’s article: “The French seek to improve “physical, cognitive, perceptive and psychological capacities,” and could allow for location tracking or connectivity with weapons systems and other soldiers.” https://nypost.com/2020/12/19/france-china-developing-biologically-engineered-super-soldiers/

 And that, my friends, is how the basis of Horizon: Zero Dawn started. No joke, machines built for warfare that went rogue and self-replicated by the use of absorbing plantlife, animal life and human life. Drained the Earth of its resources and caused “Zero Dawn” to be implemented. The basis for these “super soldiers” and “machine warfare” is nothing new to the Sci-fi genre. I mean, it’s been used in many many movie plots, video games, television, anime, manga, comic books and novels. It’s just scary to think that something like this could actually happen. It is not as far fetched as we think. Yes, many of these forms of entertainment have one more aspect going for them that we currently do not. Space travel. Another living planet humans live on. But the overall thought of some rogue machines being capable of self-replication and eradicating human life is still scary. And with any technological form- you know there will be some people who will be dead set on hacking these machines. I mean, even Aloy is hacking the machines to get them onto her side. Which, if you have not overridden one of the bigger machines in the game- it is so worth it! Love just sitting back and watching the machines fight each other! We are not that far from a Cyberpunk dystopian future. Hack the planet! 

I am moving into the DLC of the Frozen Wilds and am pretty close to being done with that as well. As I am enjoying it as I get to play more in this world and explore areas that are new, I am also a little on the disappointed side. I was hoping to learn more about the previous world and it’s demise. Granted, I am not done with the Frozen Wilds. I am in the process of traveling to the Thunderdrum- so I am hoping that will shed some light on these “demonic” machines and maybe expand the lore some more. I am done with the majority of the side quests and gathering the pigments, animal figures, and blue gleam. 

I am really glad that I finally decided to sit down and give this game a try since it’s been on my “to play” list for a few years now. I enjoyed the overall story and despite me not being one to enjoy a whole lot of stealth play- I did enjoy this one. I can definitely see how they set the series up for a sequel. I’m excited to learn exactly where we shall be going in the second game.

#random musing #musings #video game #video games #otaku #ps4 #ps4 games #horizon #horizon zero dawn #zero dawn frozen wilds #zero dawn

[onepdumpsterfire]

Warning: The characters will mostly be ooc and for the most part will not have the same background as in the anime/manga. The reader’s age will be above consent; the exact number is up to you.

Disclaimer: These stories are based ‘loosely’ on the game Obey me shall we date. The major stuff will be the same, but here and there the story will be changed or embellished. It is just an AU and I do not own the game the characters, from both One Piece or Obey Me, nor do I own One Piece in general. It would be cool though…

Time is a Delicate Thing

Devildom!AU

(pt16/?)

Various Characters X Reader

When you first arrived to the past you stumbled out of Kid’s closet, quickly taking cover from the five demon brothers you’d seen in the room on your way down to the floor. They were talking about earlier this day when they decided to disappear into a fake game as a ploy to get you to have a one-on-one with Sabo. 

It felt weird being back in time. Not in a physical sense, it was more mentally. Knowing that you weren’t in your original time, crouching down behind an unfinished project as you listen in on a conversation you would have never heard if it wasn’t for what happened later on this day.

You ducked around the room from one place to another as they moved, attempting to avoid detection. Eventually, though, the owner of the room did find you, releasing a loud and ‘you will totally not mention this again’ screech. “What are you doing here, Y/n? You’re supposed to be with Sabo right now!” Shocked by your sudden appearance, they wondered how they could have been so careless. Maybe you had seen one of them slip away? Ace, probably? He was the last one to disappear before you were left alone with Sabo. 

You eagerly agreed with their theory, encouraging them to let you go through with their plan. “It’s the perfect opportunity to have a talk with Sabo.” You said, already rushing out of the room to go ‘find Sabo’.

Out in the hallway, you still couldn’t get away from the troublesome past. Two voices made their way down the hall. It was the past you and Sabo’s, both of you were discussing the brothers’ disappearances. Giving an exasperated sigh, you ran down the hall to get away from your past self and Sabo. 

Your thoughts bounced around as you tried to think of a room you two didn’t go near earlier that day. Practically flying up the stairs to the third floor until you made an abrupt stop in front of a door you couldn’t quite remember ever seeing. With no time to think, you rushed into the room as your past self walked up the stairs.

On the other side of the unknown door, there was a room you seemed to recognize faintly. It was an inkling of a memory only, though. You hadn’t been in here before but there was a sense of familiarity wrapping itself around you making you feel at home.

A knock on the door startled you from your serened state. The person from the other end didn’t even give you the chance to collect yourself before barging in. “I knew I’d find you here.” It was Law who’d come in, looking relieved to find you. “Isn’t Zoro with you? He said he was coming over. Maybe he got lost along the way?” That was weird. If this was the past, then why would Zoro be outside the attic? A pit was growing in your stomach, something feels off about this time. It’s like it wasn’t you he was speaking to, but he seemed to notice you just fine. There was no mistake in what he said. You’ve met Zoro in this time, but it wasn’t your memory. It didn’t even feel like you were in your own body; just a disembodied being floating right above where you should have been standing.

Law declared he’d help you find Zoro and left the room, not sparing your stunned, immobile body a second glance. 

You willed your out of body experience to end by moving your weighed down legs to take a step. It felt like trying to pull yourself out of quicksand. The seconds it took for you to reach the open door felt like hours, but alas you reached the entryway, quickly closing it behind you as you exited the out of body room and returned inside your own. You looked around the hall you stood in, cod sweat beading on your forehead. You had no other clues to find Zoro in this warped time; but if he was running loose around one of these memories the attic was the safest bet to the time you were trying to find.

An argument spilled down the staircase that leads to the attic, echoing in the vacant hall. Curiously, you eavesdropped into the argument, which sounded like Sabo and Zoro going back and forth about the former’s imprisonment. Zoro shouted at Sabo about how he'd changed. About how the old him would have never been as pathetic as to let someone control him like this. 

Sabo paid him no mid, throwing a comment about how he’d changed too over his shoulder as he came down the stairs. You dashed towards the spandrel to hide from him, sneaking up the stairs after you thought it safe to come out. 

Zoro called out from the room he was locked in, pleaded for sabo to reconsider what he was doing before falling silent. When you neared the door he was no longer right beside it, rather splayed out on the bed taking a nap. Was this a different time? The one you were looking for, you hoped.

You touched the bars that acted as a door, caging the room. The magic Sabo used on them wasn’t as strong as you remember, it just gave away with one small push...Was it you who opened the door when Zoro was released? That can’t be right, you only had five pacts. Had you missed the culprit you were looking for? Or was it really just a mistake Sabo had made?

You walked over to him, waking up a very confused Zoro. He asked how you got in here, but then he saw the opened door and stopped himself from further questioning you... He’s... free 

HE’S FREE!

“You did it! You actually did it,” Zoro shot up from the bed, barreling to meet you by the door with a plastered smile, “I didn’t think a weak human could pull it off, but you actually...” He suspired, making a spall pin in excitement.

 How ironic, to be saved by the one thing he wanted to destroy. “Sabo and Shanks could have never imagined THIS would happen. “I can now go and achieve what I set out to do, thank you for this.” Zoro opened his arms, a dark tint forming in his eyes. “Here, let me show you how grateful I am.” You backed away from him, not liking the way he was looking at you. It was maniacal, a stare full of hatred and elation. 

“It’s rude to not accept someone’s gratitude, Y/n.” He spat his words out like venom. Horns sprouted from his head as a ruthless air came round him, just like his hands did around your neck. Your face was painted in terror as you clawed at his hands, only succeeding in making his grip tighten on you. Your head buzzed from the dual force of his hold and the smothering pressure from his emanating power. 

“AhaHahAHa you should see your face right now! It’s so,” Zoro pulled you up to your tiptoes so you were leveled with him, “Pathetic.” Your neck strained as it tried to keep the weight of your body from snapping it in half. “Don’t blame me for tricking you, blame yourself for being so foolish.” Your hands went slack beside you. Your body didn’t have enough strength to keep resisting the cold, static-like feeling that was overtaking you, drowning out his voice. “But don’t worry, I won’t kill you. I want you to see the destruction of your world.” He squeezed your neck harder, eyes filled with glee that turned sour with his last words to you. “But if you get in my way, I’ll make sure to leave your body unrecognizable.” Zoro dropped you on the floor, not caring to stick back and see if he’d actually left you half-alive.

-

There it was again, the out of body feeling from before. Except this time you couldn’t see anything anywhere. You couldn’t even see yourself. You were just an out of body spirit that floated in complete nothingness. It would have been more comforting if where you were at had a discernible color; a pure black of death or a brilliant and blinding white of afterlife, but there was nothing. You couldn’t make out what it was supposed to be, it just WAS. It existed without existing. It was nothingness, but it enveloped you like it was everything. You couldn’t even say that it was blank or empty because the words entailed that there could be a something in this nothingness. You weren’t even here, yet your disembodied existence floated in and was what surrounded you. This place was a juxtaposition and a contradiction on its own.

Before you could give yourself a migraine by thinking about this, a voice called out to you. There was someone else here. But they weren’t here, there was no here. It was just the void, it was just you.

“Y/n,” the voice calls out again, “you have to wake up and help them, please.” You can’t even turn to try and look for the person; you already had an eagle’s eye view to the vastless nothing in all directions. “Who are you- where are we?” 

“Don’t worry about that. Just know that my name is Kuina, and I’m worried about my brothers, especially Zoro.” The voice was familiar, but in a way that you would never be able to guess. “After my death, I remembered who I was. I forgot my way back to the Celestial Realm, but luckily I was able to stay with them.” Her voice grew quiet and melancholic, “watched over them… but now Zoro is being hot-headed again. Y/n,” she pleaded, “help them, please.”

You must have really had a streak of stupidity because you could just agree. There was something that drew you to her; made her feel like an old trusted friend. Even after what Zoro did to you, what he is going to do to Earth… You still agreed, for her. “...Okay... but first, why me?” 

“That’s because you’re my-” she was getting cut off as you started to regain consciousness. “That’s why-” a sliver of color appeared and disappeared before you. “So please, if y-” Blurry light plagued your vision; finally cutting her off completely.

You laid on the floor, a headache threatening to make your head explode. Gathering yourself with a few deep breaths, you forced yourself to look for the danger that your body wanted to ignore.

You found it in the form of arguing. Walking closer, you saw a gory sight that you wished would have never been ingrained in your memories. Kid sat on the floor, a bloody mess in front of him and the others circling around him. 

“Y/n, stay with me!” Kid shouted over the others, holding on to your cracked skull that threatened to spill your brain. The hit past you had taken was too hard, there was no way you could have survived that, yet a trembling hand slowly came up just to fall back down 

Zoro laughed at the weak display, unaware that who he’d left battered and broken wasn’t the you he had talked to up in the attic. “Zoro, how could you do this?!” Luffy yelled at him with balled fists at his side, he didn’t know how to feel right now. Zoro was in the human realm and suddenly he’s just here and he’s hurt you. 

The real you still stood atop the stairs, watching in on their woe. You should leave, you needed to. Benn said that you shouldn’t be seen, and yet that’s all you’ve done since you got here… But you couldn’t just leave them to suffer like this. Kid and Luffy were freaking out, Law and Sanji were screaming at everything they could, and Ace and Sabo looked like they were gonna explode!

You carefully went down the stairs so as to not startle them in their ongoing clamor. On the last step, you could finally get the full view of your beaten and bruised body. A milky white bone protruding from your arm, dripping with your blood. Your skull bashed in on one side with only Kid’s hand as a bandage to hold it in place. A leg bent in too many different angles for it to be normal. Labored and gurgled breathing wheezed out of your blood filled throat. The gory sight had you stunned in place.

The brothers’ loud gasps were what brought you back from your disassociated state. “Huh?! What’s going on?” Law looked at you flabbergasted, “how can this be?” Everyone was just as confused, giving their own variations of surprise.

“You were supposed to be dead!” Zoro lunged at you.

“No, wait! Kuina, she-”

“Don’t you dare say her name, human! You don’t have the right!” He shoved you down. “She-” you spluttered out blood, “ li-ived happily as a human!” You put your hands up, bracing for his next blow but it never came. “What.. what do you mean?”

You explained to them all that you had heard from the other Sabo. Kuina’s death, his pledge of loyalty, why he had to lock Zoro in the attic until things blew over. Your ‘’far fetched story only seemed more real when the past you disappeared in Kid’s arms.

“They uh… they can’t…Sabo?” They all looked at their big brother for guidance. It was like watching little kids look at their parent, hoping they’d provide clarity for their uncertainty. “... It’s true, what they said,” Sabo hesitantly confirmed, “How do you know that?” 

“Kuina, she-”

“Don’t lie to me! There’s no way she could have,” His confusion was making his words bite, “Who are you really?”

“I can answer that.” You all turn to see Shanks entering the house with Benn in tow. “What they say isn’t a lie.” Shanks gestures at Benn, “I had his look into Y/n ancestry because something wasn’t adding up.”

“It appears that Y/n is a descendant of Kuina’s.”

That part did catch you off guard. Was that what she wanted to tell you when you asked why’d she picked you when you were passed out? A sharp pain made you grab at your head almost like Kid did with your dying body earlier. The throbbing increased until your eyes rolled back and you could see a vision. A time long passed, a memory that belonged to someone else. A promise etched itself into your brain. “No matter how far apart we may be, or how much time passes, even if you don’t remember who you are someday. I will never forget you. I hope you find happiness in your new life. I love you Kuina.” Aline of blood leaked out of your nose as you came back to your senses.

“Those words…. They were the last thing I told Kuina before she was taken away…. How do you know them?” Sabo was once again shocked into silence.

Shanks filled in the missing pieces. Kuina was an angel before being turned into a human, some of her powers must have stayed. A residue of them must have passed down from generation to generation until they got to you. With the limited power Kuina still had, she must have passed on some of her memories to you.

“... Kuina…” Sabo was taking in everything he’d heard. “Kuina...!” He rushed at you, enveloping you in a hug, the others soon doing the same.

Zoro stood back, not wanting to believe what he’d heard. It can’t be. It was too good to be true. He could believe that Kuina was reborn as a human but you, who so happens to be her descendant, manages to get chosen for the exchange program. It just…. 

“Kuina…” no matter how much he wanted to say it wasn’t true, deep down he wanted to believe too. That his sister lived as happily as they said she did. That she somehow managed to hold on until she made it back to them. “...Kuina” He lowered his heartbroken and guilt-ridden face. He didn’t want to look at you after what he’d done.

“Zoro, it’s okay,” you pulled yourself away from the embraces of the brothers. “It’s not. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so interested in humans, Kuina would have never-” a knot caught itself in the back of his throat. 

“...Zoro… I didn’t know you felt that way…” Sabo neared him, “it wasn’t your fault. I wish I’d told you that sooner.” Those were the exact words Zoro needed to hear. After all these years, all the guilt that ate away at him. 

He raised his head, finally ready to look you both in the eye, a tired smile spreading on his face. He feels a little bit lighter than he did before. “Thank you.”

*MC gets told one rule to follow. Proceeds to break said rule.*

#one piece #one piece imagines #one piece sabo #one piece ace #one piece luffy #one piece zoro #one piece sanji #one piece kid #one piece law #one piece shanks #one piece benn #devildom #obey me #obey me shall we date #sabo the revolutionary #revolutionary sabo #fire fist ace #portgas d. ace #monkey d. luffy #monkey d. rufy #pirate hunter zoro #roronoa zoro #black leg sanji #eustass kid #eustass captain kid #trafalgar d. water law #trafalgar law #red hair shanks #one piece benn beckman #benn beckman

[luna-rainbow]

Recommended jdramas last decade

Given that the ratings list isn't exactly diverse and lots of interesting dramas didn't make the top cut, I thought I'd come up with a recommendation list. I remember back in the 2000s J-dramas were all the rage but now there seems to be much less interest in them outside of Japan, but that doesn't necessarily mean the quality is less! My preferred genres are more on the tense and action-packed side, and I rarely watched rom-coms or slice of life dramas until more recently. Nevertheless there are some very topical ones that are worth mentioning. Police procedurals 1) BOSS 1 & 2: another one of my perennial favourites. Set at the pace of American procedurals, equipped with snappy humour and quirky characters, it is the perfect amalgamation of funny, touching and gripping. 2) Strawberry Night: the original series with the gorgeous Takeuchi Ryoko and Nishijima Hidetoshi is leagues above the remake. It's much darker than BOSS but perhaps more resonant because of it. 3) Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu seasons 1-3: similar to BOSS, this cast consists of veteran supporting actors who play off well against each other. The cases range from satisfying to acutely dissatisfying, just as in real life. 4) Keiji 7-nin: similar to KinTori, the cast consists of some solid veteran actors, and the cases range from triumphant to depressing. There are some interesteing back stories to the characters, but it's not as well developed as you might hope. 5) Zettai Reido season 3: I tried to go back and rewatch the first 2 seasons, but it's a completely different story. Consisting of mostly a young green cast, somehow the actors have fit the roles so well that it doesn't irk. The cases mostly end on a note of despair and helplessness, as the system rolls over and quashes anyone in its way. 6) CRISIS: for the longest time I confused this with BG as the set-up of the characters are quite similar. It's very well-made, but again the characters function in a morally grey territory and is an interesting digression from the usual straight procedural. Crime solvers 1) 99.9 seasons 1 & 2: quirky and humorous, but also full of heart, and with Kagawa playing the straight foil to MatsuJun's insolent lawyer, it is almost perfect except for the lack of insipration in its cases. 2) Unnatural: I still consider this to have one of the best developed back-stories and characterisations of any crime-solver or police procedural. The script is by Noki Akiko, and it has a sensitivity to it that is not often seen in this cerebral genre. 3) Galileo seasons 1 & 2: released back in the day when Fukuyama Masaharu was still hugely popular, this was long enough ago that I don't actually remember what I liked about it, except that I do like and recommend it. 4) Kagi no kakatta heya: out of Arashi, I've never thought of Ohno as the best actor but when the role fits him, it fits like a glove. Based on a manga, it has the occasional unrealistic plot holes that comes with this genre, but overall it's well-produced, funny and the 3 main characters play off each other to hilarious effect. Medical dramas 1) Code Blue 1 & 2 - Hayashi Koji has a remarkable grasp on the mentality of young doctors. The first two seasons of Code Blue are on my perennial recommend list 2) Black Pean - I hesitated about whether to put this down, but there's actually very few medical dramas I recommend even though I watch a lot of them. I did enjoy Black Pean for its production quality and the dedication of the actors, but the script is an absolute let-down. 3) DOCTORS seasons 1-3 - this subversive drama straddles medical and comedy, and Sawamura's character slowly turned from a straight, obliviously helpful do-gooder, to an outright calculating manipulator but with the best of intentions. It is a fascinating premise for a main character and I'd recommend it purely for that. Rom-coms 1) Nigeru wa haji daga yaku ni tatsu - I really shouldn't put something I couldn't keep watching as the top, but apart from the fact I couldn't stand the 2 main actors, the story was an interesting philosophical exploration of what a live-in relationship means in practical terms. 2) Hotaru no Hikari 2 - again this was so long ago I couldn't remember much of it, except it was nice and sweet, although I think the first season was better contained. 3) Watashi ga ren'ai dekinai riyuu - I'm not quite sure this qualifies as rom-com as the characters didn't all get their happily ever after (which is actually quite rare in Japanese dramas). The story revolves around three women, each progressive yet conformative in their own ways, and how they dealt with the social expectations of courtship. A nice watch and probably a realistic window into how romance works in Japan. Underdog victories 1) Doctor X series 1-6 - Look, as much as I HATE this series as a medical drama wannabe, it is the defining story for the underdog against a conservative hierachical paternalistic world. It is full of impossible triumphs, no bad outcome ever happens and the main character never loses. 2) Shitamachi Rocket 1 & 2 - arguably the series that started the Ikeido Jun craze, it turned something boring and nerdy (rocket and machine engineering) into gripping rollercoaster drama. Well-acted and well-scripted, it made you cheer for the characters even as your real boring self acknowledge how ludicrous their victories are. 3) Grand Maison Tokyo - this is a story of redemption through the shared love of food, brought together by a team of great actors who clearly had great fondness of each other. There are some silly moments, but a lot of it was touching, sweet and highly rewarding, just like a beautiful meal. 4) No Side Game - I tossed up putting Riku-Ou in as well, but in the end I thought No Side Game was slightly better. Both based around sports (marathon and rugby, respectively), it's full of hot-blooded idealism about loyalty, teamwork and dedication, a shounen manga fairytale for adults. Slice of life 1) Gibo to musume no Blues - I'm really not a "slice of life" person, but this drama exceeded all expectations. It starts off odd and a little slow, but each episode will make you laugh and then cry a little about what it means to be family, all the silly moments, the frustrating moments and the tender moments that we share. 2) Ie-uru onna (season 1) - I'm not too sure this quite fits in "slice of life" or comedy, because the main character really is rather odd, but the first season had some beautifully reflective stories, again about what it means to be family and what home means to the different people in society. I don't know what happened in the 2nd season, but it's definitely lost that evocative touch. 3) Jimi ni sugoi! - maybe because the publishing industry interests me, but I thought this was a very cute series with some good inside tips about publishing, but also can be drawn to reflect on how people should view their vocation. Almost a rom-com, not quite a comedy, but a really nice light-hearted series with Ishihara Satomi at her most radiant. 4) Watashi, teiji de kaerimasu - this was a surprisingly sweet take on difficult problems that aren't necessarily unique to the Japanese workplace - the clash of generational values, the internal sense of inadequacies and the people who are deterimentally unable to say no. The main character, rather than being the focus of growth as often happens in these dramas, turn out to be the mediator as she uses her previous painful experiences of burnout to guide others through their own struggles. Suspense 1) 3-nen A-gumi: while prone to hyperbole and melodrama, this was a very nice fable of adulthood and the idea that once you are an adult, you must take responsibility for the consequences of your own actions, told through the microcosm that is Class 3A. Highly recommended. 2) BG: slick and well-produced, as many of KimuTaku's dramas are, it had action and suspense in good measures but unfortunately wasn't quite carried by the plot. Each individual case was interesting enough, but the main plot was rather convoluted and disappointing. 3) Ouroboros: almost similar to Toma's earlier Maou, it was cerebral, suspenseful and full of a sense of inevitable tragedy. The ending was more than it could chew, but it gave a good effort. 4) Kazoku Game: one of those rare dramas that really suited Sakurai Sho, where he was the intelligent and highly sociopathic and slightly psychotic home tutor for a highly dysfunctional family. A fascinating watch. Comedy I have to say this is a genre I struggle with. I'd happily watch slapstick and screaming in an anime, but live action is just awks. There's been some popular ones that I haven't watched but have heard good things about: - Tami-Ou: the sleazy prime minister accidentally swaps body with his extremely introverted son, and they both have to try and continue the facade. - Kyou kara ore wa: high school kids pretending they're better than they're really are, we've all been through that. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. There's a lot of well-reviewed dramas that I hadn't been able to catch, especially in the first half of the decade. There's a bunch of highly popular dramas that I hadn't been able to continue, but clearly they've got their appeal to the Japanese audience. I think in general Japanese dramas do human drama very well, especially the various relationships we have in our lives and how they interact. It's not great at doing the K-drama fairytale romance. I hope the list helps people try out some new things, or you could check out the top ratings list for other safe bets.

#jdrama #jdorama

[takirasu]

dmc has become, once again, the thing making me the happiest in tough times. CAPCOM DO SOMETHING

#i dont know what but smth or i'll go bald playin 5 on 100% #it gives me a sense of nostalgia #being so happy and into smth again and liking it even more #dmc was one of my main fandoms next to a ton of anime before kpop #its been so long i was into it when i had no smartphone and you couldnt communicate with others #in 2010 I only had my sis to fangirl over 4 #good times only #way into 2013 i got a smartphone and it was filled with dmc and manga the cringe #im kinda sad bc i was a casual kpop fan for 3 yrs until it took over in 2014/2015 #i completely lost touch with anime manga and games in general #kpop did both good n bad to me where the latter happened in the last months more frequently #so i'm glad when dmc5 was announced and i saw it months later that it pulled me out #if u read all those wow #personal #capcom #devil may cry

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E2 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 590 responses! Thank you to everyone who participated. 

Please note that this is the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results! 

Rate the Episode

The vast majority gave the episode their approval, with the largest percentage rating it a five.

Levi vs MP chase blew me away and I didn't remember rest of the show except Linked Horizon.

Animation blew me away and Kenny is better than I had imagined him in the manga.

They made Levi more bishy and badass at the same time. As expected of WIT. I find myself surprised at some of the changes and the new pacing, but I’m just here to enjoy this wild ride, so I’m open to anything. I can’t wait for Frieda to finally appear and confuse the fuck out of anime-onlies.

ep2 has already become my fav episode

It feels rushed. But I can only hope they make up for it later on.

I enjoyed it, especially the fight scene! A lot of things were missing from the manga, but I'm thinking they will be included in a different context. The ED was absolutely perfect! I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

It was super enjoyable in its own right even if I'm a bit skeptical of the changed pacing.

The animation in this episode was amazing!

Rate the Ending

Respondents have agreed that the ending is a bop, with votes heavily favoring the positive. Feelings were much more mixed for the opening. We’re happy to see that most were at least satisfied with the ending!

I think it's the perfect mood for an ED. I'm really glad Historia got such a great focus; the OP focuses more on several characters an the ED on her.. I like it that way.

It's great! I love Red Swan so much and I'm happy with both songs!

Loved it a lot. You could immediately tell the signature Sounds Horizon influence, which is great. The song’s been stuck in my head for days. I also love the fact that the visuals are Historia-centric.

I don't think it should've been the opening per say......maybe with different visuals but I absolutely loved it. I'm glad that unlike the opening it didn't disappoint.

The Sasageyo in the middle caught me off guard lol

but like why did they have to make me feel so many emotions over that ending tho???

i'm literally in love with the ED it sounds like a fairy tale and i need the full version stat

the ed took me to nirvana

The ending was really beautiful. The animation with little Historia was beautiful because we will see more of Historia. Heck, this is her time to shine. This is her spotlight.

How do you feel about Linked Horizon performing the ending this time?

The majority of respondents are happy that Linked Horizon is back this season, even if it’s the ending instead of the opening. A smaller percentage still wished they had done the opening instead, however.

Who Linked Horizon is?

I hope they perform the opening for the next arc

Ending or opening I wouldn't care. As long as we have Link Horizon.

I'm glad they are still sticking around but I'm still so upset the OP/ED were 100% from some romance high school anime.

Which one is your favorite ED?

Do we as a fandom have a bias toward Linked Horizon? Quite possibly, as the new ending has already captured the hearts of the largest group. Great escape came in second, and Yuuguri no Tori remains the least liked ending of the series.

The new ending is beautiful. The scenario, music, how sad it is considering the recent events in the manga. Beautiful. I've to admit that I prefer by far the ending to the opening.

Which scene(s) did you like best?

It goes without saying that the Levi vs. Kenny/MP chase is what blew away the fandom this week. It was the favorite scene by a huge margin. The runner up was Armin taking aim and shooting in order to save Jean’s life.

I've been waiting five years to see the bar scene, BANG! BANG!

not ashamed to admit I rewatched the Levi vs Kenny chase dozens of times

Favorite anime-only scene: Sasha saved Armin this time, i couldn't be happier for my girl. She ain't useless and definitely not a comic relief, i hope Isayama will do something in the future so that people appreciate &miss her more when 105 is animated.

Also, something I'm loving this season and doesn't receive enough credit is to hear Traute's voice. Her voice sounds so badass. Love it

The animation is so gorgeous and literally jaw dropping. I enjoy absorbing every single second of action. And seeing and hearing the scene of Jean almost being shot and Armin killing somehow has made me officially ship Jearmin.

On a scale of 1-5 how much did the animation during the Levi vs. MP chase blow you away?

As expected, the animation left the majority of respondents in awe. It took one month for the animators to get in that 30 second sequence and it was so worth the efforts of the animation staff!

The Levi fight scene was breathtaking. Genius.

Best animation. Ever. Levi you awesome badass.

On a scale of 1-5, how daddy is Kenny?

While a fair amount of voters wouldn’t let Kenny touch them with a 50 foot poll, a larger portion of voters agree that Kenny is daddy material.

I want Kenny to be my daddy :P

The only thing so far that is completely good is KENNY BANG BANG ACKERMAN! They're making a wonderful job with him and I hope the dudes from Wit studio won't turn him upside-down or change some important scenes. In the end... KENNY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND COOL UNCLE/COWBOY ON EARTH. I'll always follow him

Kenny is even colder bastard than he was in the manga. I like him!

How did Erwin light the match with one hand?

Will the mystery ever be solved? We don’t know, but the majority of voters are quite certain that Erwin’s chiseled jawline may have something to do with it!

How excited are you to see kidwin’s eyebrow game next week?

61% of respondents are ready to see Kidwin moving and talking. Possibly also the heartbreak that will follow as we watch his backstory unfold. We’re pretty excited for small Erwin too!

Is your heart ready for Historia’s childhood flashback?

The majority of voters are ready for Historia’s “not very happy” backstory to unfold in episode 40. Some are eager, some just think she’s cute as a button and others are ready for their hearts to hurt. About 12% of voters aren’t as enthused, however.

I hope we will finally see Frieda in the next one !

On a scale of 1 - 5, how much do you relate to Bartender-kun?

I think we can almost all agree with the bartender when he says “EEEK!” It’s quite relatable really.

It took 4 years to finally see Bartender-kun in his moe glory and it was beautiful. 10 outta 10 would EEEEKK again.

EEK!

Would you want Levi as your motivational counselor?

68% of you would appreciate Levi’s straightforward and blunt was of saying things in order to help you cope and sort things out. 32%, however, would prefer a more gentler approach.

Does Erwin have a gambling problem?

68% of respondents agree that Erwin’s gambles are a positive thing! The thrill of it all is quite a ride for both the Survey Corps and the audience. We look forward to watching his gambles pan out in animated form soon!

How are you guys holding up?

The largest group of voters are unsure about the changes and feel pretty sketchy toward WIT and Isayama for making and agreeing to the changes. However, a combined 50% of respondents overall are enjoying the anime so far, with 31% of those voters having a great time watching the events unfold in a new way. 8% of voters have already lost all hope at enjoying the adaptation.

Jokes aside, the pacing's still left me reeling a little. But I can see how this might make sense from the studio's perspective. If I was an anime-only, I think this episode would have THRILLED me. So yes, I am still invested in the anime and am looking forward to the rest of the season!

Thoughts withheld until we see how the rest of the arc is adapted

i thought it was really good! most manga readers disagree, but i have hope that important scenes will be included later, and we shouldn’t be so quick to judge only 2 eps. i think we should be grateful that the scenes they DID include followed the manga pretty well. i have faith in the changes isayama wanted to make, he is the creator after all. have hope yall!

How do you feel about the restructuring so far?

We were quite surprised to find that 57% of respondents are still open to  the changes, looking to see what happens next before ultimately deciding if the anime is in good hands or not. A small 15% are excited for the changes, while another 15% are not feeling them at all. A very small percentage aren’t enjoying anything about the restructuring so far.

I'm really trying to enjoy the season and not judge too fast before seeing all of the arc, but damn WIT, Isayama, you guys are making it so hard, I'm hella confuse by the changes you're making

In my opinion, the change of pace is for the worse. I'm sad Isayama hates the arc this much, and that he agreed to many crucial character scenes being cut. I think the arc in the manga only felt slow because of waiting for the next monthly chapter.

I'm confused by all the changes but it's only episode 2 so I'm waiting for what's coming next. The animation is beautiful, Levi is beautiful (even with his shirt on) so I like it so far!

Still generally hyped about the season, but wary of the changes. A little bit disappointed about the cutting of the minor characters' (dimo, nifa) screentime/character moments. But I'm gonna wait with my judgement 'till the arc's over.

Character development will not be the same. Hopefully they can build up Armin’s and Erwin’s characters in time for RTS or nobody will care.

What best describes what you think about the missing scenes so far?

While we’re all a bit sad to see some of our favorite scenes lost, the largest group of respondents have accepted that as a fact and are ready to just move forward. 26% are holding out hope that everything will be implemented one way or another. 13% of respondents are finding that the missing scenes are making it very difficult to enjoy anything about the season so far.

I literally want to fly to WIT Studio, go in banging a cowbell in everyone's ears until they put the cute scenes of titan eren and his dorky yet fine ass back in the anime.

I'm afraid that loosing some scenes now will take away more important ones later on. No Dimo telling Historia to give Levi a good punch. No Levi basically threatening Historia to take up the mantle of Queen. These interactions added depth to the characters. There's still time for them to include a few other things in flashbacks, but the changes have me a little on edge. Maybe it's just cognitive dissonance - I'll not write off WIT's and Isayama's restructuring efforts yet. But I will sit on my hands and bite my tongue when I ask my Anime-only friends about their thoughts on the pacing thus far.

the only thing I’m really upset they cut is the scene where Armin talks about how to manipulate the mass and everyone stares at him horrified, everyone’s bitching about the abs but the true loss is not seeing the horrifying expression Armin makes

Dimo's the real victim of the cuts here ;_;

My hype for this season died seeing how they are dealing with this arc

I think that people  complain too much about snk anime. Yes, some things are different and even some favourite scenes of mine where removed but overall this is still the best anime of the season, maybe even the year.

How do you feel about the scenes they did keep?

A combined 63% of voters were satisfied with the scenes that we did still get and many of those believe WIT excelled at executing them. 29% thought the scenes were still alright, but lost some of the impact they had in the original work.

The animation of all of it is phenomenal, but all the scenes/events are jumbled in comparison to the manga. It has me like ?????

The whole bit with Jean being "shot" was better in the manga IMO

Again, as before I am not the Uprising Arc's biggest fan, but one thing I did enjoy was whenever the focus was on the 104th kids coming to terms with fighting humans, struggling with their own morality and the orders Levi was giving them. In the manga, this takes place over a longer period of them, so you really get to see Sasha, Jean and Connie question things and come to their own decision not to kill. By reordering things now, I feel that has completely lost its impact.

The scene at the end where the SC crew learns about rod reminds me a bit of the AT & CT reveal when the way in which the SC reacted to Reiner and Bertholdt possibly being titans was withheld from the viewer so I think that maybe thats what they might be going for this season in the sense that they will find a way to cram a lot of moments in flashbacks later.

Rushed. Scenes have less impact. I’m just thankful I’ve read the manga so I have the context of how bamf these things really are.

They removed way too many Dimo scenes which makes him a very different character to the anime canon. In the manga he was a good-hearted opportunist trying to avoid the deaths of himself and his comrades whereas in the anime this was watered down significantly. Also, #BringBackGesumin2018

I like the pacing but many scenes lost their impact, e.g. Reeves death, Armin's kill.

Where do you think Rod, Historia and Eren are right now?

We definitely know they aren’t in the cave, but the largest group of voters aren’t even sure where to theorize they could be right now. Although there is a near tie between people who believe they are either at the ranch or the chapel. One commenter on the poll pointed out an area we hadn’t even considered, however: 

Because this option didn't show up in where Eren and Historia are: The Central MP Headquarters! The torture of Sannes was used as a way to find where Eren and Historia are, which is the original point of that mission. So there'd be a different, less redundant reason to go to the HQ in the first place! You can even add some missing scenes there.

How did you feel about the way the torture scene was handled?

Most of us did believe that WIT would censor the torture sequence a bit, but the largest group are shocked at just how much of it wasn’t shown at all. Nearly one quarter of voters are disheartened that they didn’t show it all. Commenters are mourning Hange’s memorable line about which testicle Sannes wants to keep the most.

THEY REMOVED THE “WHICH TESTICLE DO YOU NOT NEED” LINE. BUT THE BALL-REMOVING INSTRUMENT WAS THERE. TALK ABOUT AN UNFULFILLING CHEKHOVS GUN.

They cut out Hange's best line

Even though i expected it would be a little bit censored, but wasn't thinking it would that much, they turned it into a joke, a humouristic torture...like seriously wit?

I'm upset because they removed Hange's best line.

Where was Levi punching?

It may've not been directly shown, but sometimes there's more horror in what you can’t see than in what you can

I expected it to be censored but it's ok, they managed to transmit the grotesque and black humorous feeling that the manga gave.

im sad about hange’s line not being included, but other than that, i thought it was really good, and i didnt expect them to be as brutal as the manga anyways. :/

Armin contemplates how they are torturing and killing people because they have different views. How does this relate to the current manga events?

The majority of voters believe that this was a good foreshadowing for the events that have taken place much later in the manga. 17% of voters don’t feel that the situations are comparable, however.

Both sides are fighthing for their own good

Eh, that’s how human history has always been since time immemorial. It’s always people killing other people because of a difference in views and ideologies. Not saying that it should be tolerated, but everything is a case-by-case basis. Sometimes, you need to extinguish the enemy because the enemy alive is a far bigger threat to the world. That’s just how it is.

Everyone else is stuck in the mid-Uprising chapters while Armin is 57D pathsmancing his way to mid-Marley chapters

The uprising and ao Liberio aren’t comparable, but Armin is consistent through each

We didn’t get shirtless Levi, how are you feeling about it?

39% of voters are sad about not getting treated to some eye candy this week, while 34% just don’t care about it at all. 15% were happy just to see Levi’s nice bara tiddies outlining his shirt, while 12% of you are still holding out hope for rock-hard abs.

I was robbed of the abs I was promised and am like... really pissed off? Sad? Bemusedly confused? I know in the grand scheme of things it shouldn't really matter that much but dang, it hurts.

It might just be the lesbian in me talking but I don’t care they didn’t show abswin and Levi shirtless lol

Levi is daddy af. Thanks for exploding my ovaries bc I didn't want children. Super convenient.

But Levi still looked badass tho

What about abswin?

Similar to Levi, the largest groups of respondents either feel betrayed by WIT or don’t care about it. A larger portion than with Levi were completely satisfied simply by Erwin’s presence.

ABS ABS ABS!!!

Apparently this world doesn’t deserve Levi and Erwin’s abs... Looks like we’re not worthy of such a blessing.

I AM FEELING ABSOLUTELY BETRAYED BY THE LACK OF ABS I mean c'mon, WIT, you can't give me, a grown adult, just an angsty adolescent's steaming abs (from the Titan tyvm) and expect me to be satisfied with that.

The Ackerman reveal was handled a bit differently, with Kenny telling Traute about how he raised Levi instead of telling Dimo he is his pride. How do you feel about the change?

The majority of voters believe that the small change in the Ackerman reveal wasn’t a big deal. However, a pretty sizable portion do believe that the weight of the reveal was lost, with many commenters lamenting the loss of Kenny saying that Levi is his pride.

I think we'll have more impactful Acerkreveal to come when Levi and Mikasa talk. *nervous chucking*

Levi being an Ackerman is the less secret thing anyway, the way it's reveals hardly matter

Most of the fandom read some good ol fanfic, i'd be surprised if like 95% of the people watching it didn't know he was an Ackerman (or just log in to tumblr)

Lol so many anime-only reactors didn’t even notice the Ackerman name-drop so WIT pretty much failed at that. And it’s okay for fans to feel disappointed with the anime. We’re not **obligated** to think it’s amazing especially if we think there are parts of it that weren’t adapted well.

I expect another encounter between Kenny and Levi that leads to the talk about Levi being Kenny's pride, probably directed to Rod instead. This scene, on the other hand, worked as a wonderful namedrop and setup for a second encounter.

I love how he called Levi his pride in the manga so i’m very sad they changed it, it made Kenny’s death even more emotional.

It flew right past me oops

Levi threatening Historia didn't happen, breaking the chain of events that builds up to her punching him later. What best describes your thoughts?

It’s probably safe to say that many of us are raising questions about the loss of this scene and how WIT will make up for it or whether it was truly needed in the first place. 39% believe that WIT will still work it in somehow, while the majority believe that the scene is lost forever, with split opinions about whether WIT will make up for it in another way or whether their faith in Historia and Levi’s arcs is shattered forever.

The only thing I'm keeping my eyes on is anything related to Historia and her future step up as queen.  I'm sure she'll learn that she is royal next episode via her father, so I wonder if eventually deciding to take rule in place of her hidden relatives and corrupt government, will actually end up being her idea, which could explain why Levi's altercation with her was removed.  That would be really interesting and I think it could work out just as well!  I always thought his anger toward her was a little too sudden and misplaced in the manga, anyway, and if it's removed for good, I'm glad we don't have to live through that controversy again.

I’m kinda disappointed that they didn’t include Dimo Reeves’s redemption arc. It was very essential to Historia & Levi’s character. Maybe I’m worrying over nothing & instead Fligel will replace Dimo in that role, but Eren & Historia were already captured so I’m not sure how they intend to go about rewriting Historia & Levi’s character progression. However, the production team & Isayama do seem to understand how important character development is for this arc, so maybe they’re finding different ways to make it better in ways we didn’t even realize were possible. Maybe by the end we’ll all say “Wow! This was handled a million times better than in the manga!” But right now, it just seems like Isayama had a negative bias towards this arc & was only so accepting of the changes cause he just thought of the Uprising Arc as his worst piece of work to date despite it being the most important for character development & plot progression. I hope I am wrong though.

Which group of characters are your favorite?

Where do you primarily discuss the series?

I discuss the series in Facebook, dunno why you don't have that option :/

Additional thoughts on the episode?

Isayama reacting to S3 complaints: “Am I out of touch? No, it's the manga readers who are wrong.”

BUT NO FLEGEL QUESTION IN THE POLL!!!?!?!?!? THAT'S IT!!(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ I'm actually not going to do anything about it though. but still. Flegel is best boy.

I’m blown away by the animation!  I’m kind of enjoying guessing what might happen next and what other changes they’re going to make.  I still have faith that WIT and Isayama will deliver an amazing season three - holding out for more episodes until I lose my mind about changes.  It’s super entertaining so far.

I am aware that a 100% adaptation of the manga is impossible and I'm usually not bothered by it. However, I'm slowly getting nervous that too much could get lost and that those fans who want an accurate adaptation will get too frustrated with it to continue. I really hope WIT has a plan here and listens to the fans.

I really, really, really wanted Kenny to say that he was proud of Levi. It was really bittersweet. I hope WIT puts it later on when Kenny is about to die and hopefully he tells it to Levi straight up. But I’m not gonna lie, Levi never knowing that his “father figure” was proud of him all this time puts a tragic and beautiful twist to their relationship. There’s always been something sublime about unexpressed emotions that will forever be hidden because death claimed it first.

I feel like they're sacrificing character interactions and developments for the sake of pacing and action.  

I know lots of people are saying that everyone should chill before jumping to conclusions, but as far as I’m concerned all our opinions - mine included, as well as the opinions of those who are dissatisfied with the episode - are valid. And in my opinion, there was so much that the anime skipped. Sure, they were just small details. But it were these details that enriched the story. I trust Isayama, but at the end of the day, he too errs. He too commits mistakes. I don’t know, but if I feel overly dissatisfied with the adaptation even after the season is over, and in my defense am able to bring up valid reasons why I didn’t like it, then so be it.

It's a shame Dimo got reduced to such a minor character.

I felt a bit sorry for the girl who was killed by Armin. I didn't pay attention on her in the manga but in Armin's flashbacks she was more human. It was the proof that even such cold monsters like anti-human squad members have some heart.

I love it so far but Levi and Erwin need more love and they'll get it if they are shirtless and have moar scenes

Traute made me gay.

Ackerman bastards! How they can violate chairs like that?! Right now I can trust only Mikasa with my poor chair babies <3

everyone is like 'where are the abs' while my lesbian ass is sad about no gesumin smh

Thanks to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again on Monday! 

#snk poll #snk polls #snk spoilers #snk s3 #poll results

[petri808]

How We Got Here

The complete story from Hak/Yona Week 2018 in 1 post.  9K Words 

The battle over Kouka kingdom was finally over and while back at Hiryuu Castle, Yona and Hak reflect on their lives while awaiting the next step of their journey to begin.  This story starts off at the present but jumps back through time in a progression of age before coming back to it; Hak & Yona POV’s.  Some portions are taken from the anime/manga while others are totally made up.  

~~~XXX~~~

It had been 3 years since Yona or Hak had been forced to flee and now they were back at Hiryuu Castle surrounded by their friends, supporters, and the Generals of the 4 other tribes of Kouka Kingdom in the great meeting hall.  Anyone related to the assassination of Emperor Il were either dead or in prison awaiting their punishment.  

But to move swiftly towards reestablishing a sense of normalcy and peace in their kingdom, the Generals immediately approve to reinstate Yona as the Queen.  However, according to their laws, the Kingdom could not be ruled solely by a woman and so it was necessary for her to be married, and soon.  

“My husband has already been selected,” Yona states matter of fact, “Hak will be the King.  Does anyone disprove of my choice?”

The four generals look at each other and it’s Tae-Woo who speaks first.  “We already figured that out, so when’s the wedding?”  The crowd snickers and cheers.

“Little miss,” Zeno speaks up, “might I suggest a month from now?  That should be enough time for preparations to be made and enough time for guests to travel here.”

“That’s true,” she taps her chin, “because I would like to invite Captain Gi-Gan, and Princess Kouren, and Princess Tao, and…”

“We get it,” Geun-Tae laughs heartily, “if there are no objections from the other Generals, I move to set the coronation and wedding to be held one month from today.”  No one objects…

~~xx~~

For as long as he could remember, Hak’s grandfather would drag him to Hiryuu Castle for visits, some time’s lasting days, other times a few weeks at a stretch to train the Sky Tribe’s soldiers or for other official duties as the General of the Wind Tribe.  At first, he didn’t understand why, considering it wasn’t necessary for him to be there, but when he’d question it, was simply advised to do as he was told and to go keep the Princess company.  

They were close in age, she being 2 years younger than he was, but she would often get on his nerves.  Yona could be a spoiled brat and yet other times, sweet and caring.  She’d want to play games, then throw a tantrum if she lost.  She was good at playing the cutesy act to get what she wanted and most of the time he would give in, but not always…

~  

Stalking the young Princess, Hak, crept around the bushes he knew his friend was hiding behind ready to make his move.  The young boy of 7 grinned, as he sees her crouched into a ball and reaches out…  “Gotcha!”

“Ahhh!” Yona jumps up, turning around at both the sound and the way her friend’s fingers jabbed at her sides.  “Hak!” screaming at the boy who surprised her from behind.  “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Then Y-you shoulda…” clutching his stomach as he doubled over in laughter at her flushed and puffed out cheeks, “…hid better!”  

“Omph!” pushing him onto his butt, “you’re so mean to me,” flailing her arms at him in exaggerated swings.

Hak looks up a bit surprised at Yona’s burst of physical retaliation, “Princesses shouldn’t be hitting people.”

“And Princes shouldn’t be mean to Princesses,” crossing her arms in a huff.

“Then it’s good I ain’t a Prince,” he stands up, brushing off his pants with a smug look, “Princess.”

“Oooh, y-youuu!” shaking she’s so angry.  “I really… hate you sometimes!”  Yona storms away furious at Hak for making fun of her while he just laughs even harder.

“No, you don’t!” he calls after her.  “You’ll be begging me to play again!”

Too bad for the young boy that his grandfather had seen the ending of their argument and after a long-winded chastising and a few good cracks, dragged him to Yona’s room to apologize…

~~

Being cooped up behind the walls of the castle, Yona didn’t have any other children her age to play with or talk to so visits by her cousin and or Hak were really the only times she got to just be a kid.  Her relationship with the young Wind Tribe boy was a love hate relationship, sometimes he was nice to her but most of the time loved to tease and toy with her and it drove her crazy.  

She would complain to her father, but he would just smile and tell her to be nice.  Hak was a boy and boys were often rough and tumble, it was just their way, but he meant no harm.  Yona would still whine and her father reminded her that him being around would always keep her safe and sound.  When she asked why, that was how she learned Hak was training to take over as General someday and that information did make her feel a little better…

~

Yona woke up with a start in the darkened room.  It was another nightmare but like always, she could never remember the dream, only the feelings of abandonment or being left all alone, were all that remained in its wake.  Getting out of bed, she walks to another part of the castle, seeking out the only friend she had.  “Hak,” kneeling next to his bed, pushing on his shoulder, “Hak?”

“UghHuh?” the boy turns over seeing the Princess sitting there, he rubs his eyes.  “What are you doing in my room?”

“I had another nightmare,” she sniffles and wipes the drying tears from her cheek, “I don’t want to be alone, can I stay here tonight?”

Conflicted at how he should respond.  He was pretty sure that it was not proper for a girl, let alone a Princess to be sleeping on the same bed as him, but if he told her no and she complained to his grandfather, would he be the one who gets yelled at for making her cry?  “Um, I guess so,” closing his eyes to go back to sleep.

“Thank you.”  Yona slips under the covers, lying on her back next to the boy.  It was a little weird to be sleeping this close to Hak, but she also felt safer, like he was going to scare away her bad dreams.  She turns her head and notices he’s already closed his eyes.

“Go to sleep,” he mumbles.

How did he know she was looking at him?  “C-could I hold your hand?”

“Ugh,” he grumbles but seeks out her hand and grasps it, “happy now?”

“Yes,” blushing as he squeezes slightly, his hand was so warm, his touch, gentle despite his grumpy attitude, and yes, it made her feel a lot better.  After that first time, Yona would often seek Hak out whenever nightmares plagued her…

~

As they grew up, it became harder and harder for Hak to be around Yona.  Call it adolescent hormones, but every time she was close by, no longer was she just the childhood friend he’d play games with or make snow angels with during winter. Still a spoiled, whiny brat, but as each year went by, her beauty grew along with the feelings bubbling inside him. Problem was, he also knew her heart belonged to another.

It didn’t help that his grandfather would often make comments or not so subtle hints as to whom he’d love to see together.  Pushing, dragging Hak to visit Hiryuu Castle, forcing him to stay for long periods of time under the guise that Yona needed a friend. ‘Get used to it,’ Mundok would say, because soon enough Hak will take his place as General and be one of the protectors of this empire, and of her.

But adding fuel to that fire, he is asked of by Emperor Il to become Yona’s bodyguard.  Was the Emperor conspiring with his grandfather to drive him into an early grave? Hak had declined but Emperor Il was not deterred, ‘think about it,’ was the response as he walked away.  What was there to think about?  Yona didn’t need a bodyguard, she needed a baby sitter!

Speak of the devil but who came running up to complain about the Fire General’s son, claiming he was harassing and trying to court her.  First off, Hak found it amusing, second why did she come to him, as he yelled at her to go tell her cousin and maybe he would help her before skulking away.  Okay that response had a tinge of jealousy, but he knew the clueless girl wouldn’t figure it out.

This was why he told the Emperor no, behaving professionally around the Princess always went right out the window, and any other person would be punished if they spoke to her in that manner.  But, even after she apologized and bribed him with fruit, that only made his head spin more.  No, what he really needed was a place to hide and calm down…

‘Tae-Jun is at it again…’  Hak closes his eyes trying to tune out the escalating argument.  He hears a couple of guards talking nearby, that’s the Fire Generals son, he’s grabbing the Princess, we can’t do anything against him, someone go get Emperor Il…  ‘Damn it… I need to leave it alone otherwise from now on I’ll always…  Exhale.’  The memory of her apology…  He hears Tae-Jun call her cute and that he wants to touch her…  

Hak stands up.

“No!  Stop!” Yona cries out for help, desperately trying to pull away from the older boy...  

It was hard enough to listen to, but the moment he sees Tae-Jun being handsy and rough with Yona, Hak is even more furious.  He knows that kind of reaction would be no good, so as he swiftly strides over, formulating the only plan he could think of, or rather use the one emotion she always created in him.

“That’s enough,” Hak swoops in, pulling Yona away from the man’s grasp.  “Who gave you permission to touch My Princess?”  Both Yona and Tae-Jun are shaken.  “The Princess and I made our life-long pledge to each other when we were kids.  Right Princess?” cuddling her close and teasing her hand, “What’s the matter Princess?  Don’t be so shy.”

She laughs nervously with an honest blush, partially caressing his chin, “Not in front of other people.”  And when she is asked if she loves Hak, responds with a straight face clutching at his arm, “Yes, I love him.  I really love him.”  Now Hak is the one blushing in surprise at how serious she sounded, almost wishing it had been true.

But Tae-Jun refuses to believe it could true, stating his own position with the assumption this boy was nothing special, and demanding to know who he even was.  “I am the Wind Tribe’s next General, Son Hak,” he asserts with more authority in his tone.  But, even after Hak states that the Emperor himself asked him to be her exclusive bodyguard, Tae-Jun challenges him and pulls a sword.  Thank the gods that the Emperor showed up at that moment and forced the Fire tribe’s son to back down and make a hasty retreat.  

Now Emperor Il turns to address the two kids now parted and standing several feet away from each other, questioning their true relationship. Of course, they both deny it, Yona with just denial and Hak his usual indifference that he thought the idea would keep the suitor at bay.  Now with Hak in a vulnerable state of mind, Emperor Il asks again, and the boy finally accepts the position formally, promising to always protect Yona.

Hak reflects on that afternoon later in the evening when he is all alone.  Despite their protestations, did the Emperor now believe that his daughter and the future Wind Tribe’s general may have feelings for each other?  He couldn’t tell by Emperor Il’s expression what he thought since he always maintained a smile.  But one would think that if he didn’t want Yona to be so close to someone like him, he wouldn’t have offered the position again, right?  

‘Ugh,’ this was exactly why he didn’t want it in the first place!  Yona’s presence always flustered him, made him loose his focus, and his mind.  The first time the Emperor had asked it was just him and his grandfather present but when Yona was around, he didn’t think twice about accepting.  It was bad enough that the girl he loved, was in love with another man, and now he had to live in the castle, watching over her.  Yup, he had lost his mind alright.

Hak flopped onto his bed with his arm over his face, grateful that his grandfather had returned home shortly after hearing the news.  The old man had been over the moon that his grandson was getting even closer to the royal family, not just because of nobility gains, but simply because it warmed his old heart.  Yona was like a grand-daughter to him, and to know that Hak would be there to protect her made him feel so much better.

Not that it made is grandson feel happy.  Hak had been trying to bury his 15-year-old’s emotions and hormones for the Princess and now, that was going to be ten times harder than it had ever been before.  

Once he had taken the position at the castle, and pledged to protect Yona, that promise became both his curse and his salvation; if he could manage to keep his emotions in check.  Sarcasm became his way of dealing with the Princess.  Hak knew she hated it, but what would be his alternative? Admit to being desperately in love with her and when she turns him down shattering his heart into a million pieces, run away to commit suicide, maybe jump off a cliff or run his own blade through his chest? Sounds drastic, yes, but a possibility when you know deep down there will never be another woman for you like her.

This situation was the ultimate torture that you could ever put any man through and not expect them to go insane.  Every day, week, year that goes by and you are forced by your title and position to be around the one person that your heart desires and the one person you believe you’ll never have.  To sit back and watch them fawning over another that wasn’t you, have to listen to them talk about it, ask you about it and why, because you are the only one they’ve told this secret to.  

Hak told her that he would be happy for them, would serve them for as long as he lived, and said that enough to where he had tricked himself into believing it too.  Her cousin wasn’t a bad guy, a little strange and airy, but they had all grown up together, played together on the castle grounds, and if it made Yona happy, then that was all he wanted for her.  

Most days he could keep his heart in check, and then there were days that the cliff sounded like a better alternative.  It was like being in an out of control carriage on a very hilly road and you wonder should I jump now, then talk yourself into believing that it will eventually get better.  He wasn’t sure what Yona saw him as, maybe a big brother by the way she behaved around him, but when she would act all cute and innocent, say things that could be misconstrued…  Yeah, those were the days he wanted to jump…  

~~

After Hak helps Yona to get on her cousin’s horse, she makes a comment about his handling of women and that he must be entertaining many at home… “Don’t get the wrong idea,” Soo-Won tells her.  “We’ve been discussing who I’m going to be engaged to.  But, let’s stop talking about this, I can’t talk to you about this sort of thing.”

‘What!!!  And he’s still treating me like I’m some little kid!’   “Well,” trying not to seem flustered, “I’m about to be engaged too.”

“Huh?  To whom?”

“To Hak.”   ‘Did that just come out my mouth!  And Hak needs to stop staring at me like I’ve gone crazy, even if it’s true!’

“That’s great!  Congratulations...”

Once the horseback riding is over, and her cousin leaves them alone, Yona is sulking with Hak standing nearby.  “To think he’d believe such a lie,” she drops her head onto the railing.

Hak mumbles to himself, “You’re the one who’s cruel. And annoying…”  She has no idea how much those kinds of statements hurt him…

~

“But father this hair!  Why is it so red?  Even my mother had flowing black hair.  It makes me look weird.”

“It’s not true.  Right Hak?”

“Yes, Emperor Il, nobody has said that the Princess’ hair is strange.  But if I may be so bold to say, there’s definitely something wrong with her head.”

“Shut up servant!  Father do something about this guy!  Even though he’s my servant, he’s so arrogant!”

~

From all the work she put into preparing for her cousins visit, being harassed by Hak at every turn, being told by her father that she couldn’t marry who she wanted, scared by some strange stalker, and being somewhat rejected by the person she loves, Yona retreats into her room for the evening. She was confused, angry, conflicted, and frankly tired that everyone was treating her like a little girl, ‘I’m turning 16 in less than 5 days, I’m not a little girl anymore!’  Flopping onto her bed, part of her wants to cry, maybe scream, definitely scream but that would only bring people running to check on her.

What her father had told her had scared her as well, being the Princess, she would always be a target so whomever was around her could get hurt too.  Could she have been seeing things when she thought there was someone following her? Maybe her father’s words were still messing with her mind?  Yona curls her legs up, this was easier to deal with when she was younger, because whenever she was feeling scared she’d run to Hak and crawl into bed with him cause he would hold her hand and make her feel safer.  

‘Hak!’  Speaking of that man, ‘how dare he say I had a strange head?!  He’s always making fun of me, teasing me, taunting me…  Why is he so mean to me when we’re supposed to be friends!  I just don’t understand it.  I mean, he’s always been blunt and never holds back what he says, but the older we get the worse it became and now he’s such a sarcastic ass!

Ugh and now Soo-Won thinks we’re engaged no matter how I tried to say otherwise.  Okay, I guess I can see how it seems believable because Hak’s always with me, but that’s because it’s his job!  Great, that makes two men that think Hak and I are in a relationship, not that I care about what Tae-Jun thinks…  That’s totally not the point!  He didn’t even try to disagree when I said it, just stood there with his mouth hanging open catching flies!  Where was his stupid comments when I needed it?!’

She sighs, and closes her eyes, there was nothing more she could do tonight but hope that things will change...

~

In all his short 18 years, through fighting, political bickering, and battles with his own heart, never had anger or pain risen to the level of pure hatred, and all he could see was red as swords pointed at the girl he lived for.  It didn’t matter that these were soldiers he had fought with, trained, or that the man ordering their execution was the one betraying them all because in that moment, all that mattered was her.  The girl he had sworn to protect, she who held his heart, and more than his own life… he would kill for.  

Every, last one would die by his hand if need be, because Yona was the only one that mattered, the only thing so precious in his life that if she were to die here and now so would his soul, withering away like a dying flower in winter.  By the luck of the gods they still had at least one supporter and he managed to spirit the Princess away to the forest.  

“Princess Yona, do you need to take a short break?”

She sits down to rest.  “Hak, did Min-Soo die?  I wonder will I die too?  Will Soo-Won kill you too?”

“I’ll never hand my life over to that asshole.”

“Don’t die, Hak…” her eyes slowly closing, “because if you die, I will never forgive you…”

But now what?  As he watched the broken girl resting against the tree, Hak needed to focus on his survival instincts to get them through this, but his own heart was aching.  He loved Yona, but he thought he had loved Soo-Won too, and the Emperor.  He may have felt the Emperor Il was a little weak or naive but such a kind soul and to have been assassinated, in front of Yona.  ‘Leaving her all alone, you good for nothing King!’

Part of the aching was the guilt that he hadn’t done his job of protecting the castle.  The King had been killed and Yona was left unprotected.  Why hadn’t he investigated sooner when things started to seem uneasy around the grounds, the unsettling quiet that had descended.  ‘I promise you,’ he wipes her dirty, tear stained cheek, ‘one day we’ll be back at your castle…’        

‘Yona…’  The Princess was what he needed to worry about, especially since she had become a doll simply being led along with no mind of her own.  Told when to eat, to sleep.  If there were ever a time he was needed, it was now.  Hak clenched his fist.  Is this what Soo-Won had wanted?  Had he planned all along to draw her in close only to kill her and her father to take the throne by force?  

He was all she had in the world, the one semblance of normal still left in her life and he’ll do everything he can to protect the last of her innocence.

~~

“Fire at the Princess!”  Upon those uttered words Hak stepped in to block, taking an arrow to his back.

“Hak!!  Hak! Are you alright?!  Hak…”

“Please don’t concern yourself, it’s making me uncomfortable.” Leaping away, he takes her to a secluded bush.  “Hide here, and please stay perfectly still.”

“Hak,” seeing blood, “You’re bleeding.”  ‘He was injured protecting me…’  Yona waits but, overhears that they are going to kill Hak. She is torn as to what to do until she remembers why she left Fuuga…  It was wrong to expect Hak to always protect her, she needed to do something.

Rushing out of hiding she slams into the soldier aiming for Hak and confronts Tae-Jun with a renewed fire in her soul.  All the domino effect of pain that Soo-Won’s actions had started, and now seeing Hak, a man she had once thought invincible being struck down… Yona grabs a sword and frees her hair from Tae-Jun’s grip before rushing to confront the soldiers with Hak dangling from the cliff.

“Get Away From Hak!!” swinging at them.  He screams at her to run away but she refuses, clutching at his arms.  “No! Never!  Hak…  If you die I won’t forgive you!!”  Tears stream down, dripping onto his face and it stops his resistance, but as the soldiers close in they slip off the cliff… falling…

The next thing Yona knows, she is waking up in a house of some sort, bandaged.  “Who are you?” she asked the boy sitting next to her and is reminded of the cliff. ‘Cliff…  Hak!’  “Hak! Where is Hak?!”

As she listens to boy named Yoon prattle off Hak’s injuries, what he has done to try to mend him, and that tonight will be critical to see if he even survives, Yona prays.  “Please save him!”

“That’s what I’m doing…  Don’t you think that helping you is what I’m supposed to do?  You still haven’t given a single word of gratitude…” Yona sits glassy-eyed as Yoon berates her.  “…Have you ever even said a word of thanks to this guy?  Even though he goes this far to risk his life to protect you?”  Yona thanks Yoon and apologizes, but even with Ik-Su’s assurance that this wasn’t Hak’s time to die yet, it left her worried…

She awakens in the early morning hours to find Hak missing and in a panic runs into the forest searching for him but trips.  Sitting up, tears rushing down her face, he finds her screaming about him.  

“…You seem fine,” he smiles, “what happened?  Did you have a bad dream?”

But she was too furious with him to deal with his sarcasm.  “Even when you’ve been hurt badly you still over do it!  I thought you were going to die!  Please,” more tears pooling, “don’t just leave on your own!”  Wiping at her face, “You’re the only one that must be by my side…”

And she meant what she said.  It may still be selfish of her but Yona never wanted to be without Hak.  She knew she didn’t understand what was going on, her naivety meant she needed him more than he needed her just to survive but frankly, it would feel strange not to have him around anymore…

~~

“Hak!”

“An earthquake!”  Hak jumps to his feet as the wall of rock tumbled down, blocking the entrance to the tunnel.  ‘Crap!’ He had heard her call out his name seconds before the collapse.  True and ultimate fear gripped his entire mind and body, no soul at the realization that Yona was trapped behind the cave in of solid rock.  ‘No, No, NO!’  This can’t be happening, after all they’ve been through till now for her to die from suffocation because of these backwards thinking mountain folk!  

Damn it, if, no, when she’s safe and sound she’s never to leave his side again!  He was an idiot to listen to her commands, this girl was great at getting herself into danger and he just let her do it this time like the good servant that he was. Hak pounded his fists on the boulders, dug stone after stone, swung his spear at it only to be laughed at by the unyielding force of nature.  

He prayed, begged to the gods, ‘Please don’t take her away…’  to the Emperor to bring her back to him.  He couldn’t lose her, just couldn’t even stand the thought of not having Yona by his side.  She was finally starting to grow, standing up, becoming the Princess he knew laid dormant inside, and his promise to get her home again, it wasn’t fulfilled yet!  Even after all the harrowing events that had led them to this point, this was the first time that Hak couldn’t breathe.

Why couldn’t he foresee these kinds of events?  Why can’t he seem to protect her when she needs him the most, first at the castle, the cliffs, and now here?  All he could ever do right was deal with the aftermath and consequences.  Yes, he’ll find a way to save her and he didn’t give a damn if anyone tried to stop him. He’d cut them down too.    

Hak unleashes his anger at the stone as soon as the villagers tell him where to dig and by god he was going to get to her in time!  ‘Hold on Princess!’  It was like an inhuman strength fell into his body as he bashed at the rock, swinging and destroying the wall that separated him from her and his friends. No matter if it was a few inches or several feet of rock, it would bow to his will.      

And when he finally broke through, the relief at seeing her unharmed let all the anguish drain away.  His ailing and aching body was heaving from the extraneous work, but it was over.  “Princess!” Hak drops the axe, rushing up and grabbing her, wrapping his body around her tiny frame holding so tightly she couldn’t move if she wanted to.  He didn’t even have the strength left to cry.  She was safe, that was all that mattered.

Each day that passed by on their journey through the Kouka Kingdom, she noticed that the way Hak was behaving slowly began to change.  He was always the sarcastic pain, teasing her and annoying her whenever the opportunity presented itself but still, the thing that confused her was his clinginess.  In the past, it seemed he did anything he could not to touch her or be too close and yet now, sometimes she couldn’t get rid of him.

Sure, after the incident at the Blue Dragon’s village and his promise to stick by her side, it made sense, but it had begun before that. And what about the way he touched her, grabbed her?  Like at the entrance of Fuuga when he had asked if she was ready to pay with her body, though she had no idea what he meant.  Or how about the cliff’s when he’d pinned her against the wall and she thought he was going to kiss her.  

The list could go on and on and slowly she began to understand what some of it meant, or at least the weird feelings it was triggering in her. In Awa, as he licked the honey from her hand, looking as if he was enjoying it way more than just for the sweet taste… Her body heated up and maybe deep down she was enjoying it too.  No, she shakes her head, Hak was just her friend, someone that protected her.  He was staying close just to make sure she was safe, that’s all.

Yona couldn’t fully grasp why he was behaving this way.  The others would sometimes make comments about it, they, even strangers asking, assuming she and Hak were together.  But she would deny it, and so would he, most of the time.  She remembered his reaction to Kija trying to pay him to leave, furious that the guy dared to separate them.  But things only worsened after Jae-Ha joined their little travelling band.  That flirty pervert really got on Hak’s nerves anytime he got too close to her.

But the one thing she did understand was if this was his way of showing he cared for her life and for her safety, at least it was comforting. She knew that no matter what lay in their path, nor battle they needed to fight, Hak would always be there to protect her.  And if that meant putting up with his bizarre behavior, well then it was a small price to pay.  

Okay, and maybe it wasn’t so bad to have his attention focused on her.  She may not know the ways of the world yet, but she was starting to see the way that women looked at him, or even looked at her with jealousy.  

~

Hak was getting tired of all of Jae-ha’s teasing.  Yes, he gets it, everyone can see how he feels about the Princess, except apparently her, but it’s something he’s been dealing with for… let’s just say too long.  It was all complicated, they had grown up together, practically their entire lives spent around each other so maybe it was simply a matter of convenience that he had fallen for her while she on the other hand still couldn’t get over her pining for the man who had tried to kill her.

That was a lie.  There were other pretty girls around him, willing to throw themselves at his feet but none of them had ever gotten him to turn his head in their direction.  He didn’t even know why he had fallen for Yona in the first place.  A childhood felicity turned crush became a deep seeded yearning for the Princess even though most days, she acted like such a spoiled brat.  Yona was beautiful, no doubt, probably the most lovely female ever to grace their kingdom.  

God help him every time Yona said something that could be misconstrued like oh I’ll just nestle closer to you if it’s cold, if only she knew what such words could do to a man.  But he couldn’t get upset over it when she was saying it with the childlike innocence that made her the sweetheart that she was.  He wished she could understand without changing that side of her.    

On the flip side, as much as he loved the purity, as her courage grew, and her individuality and strength increased, have mercy, this only served to drive his arousal up tenfold.  It was getting harder to hold back those feelings.  Hak was a man of action after all, and it only made sense that such métier would peak his interest, especially coming from her. And what he wanted, was to help her see her dreams through of serving her people.  To become the true ruler of Kouka with the grace that her father had instilled in her coupled with the fire her ancestor bestowed upon her by the Gods. A balance, a force from heaven so to speak to restore order and peace in their lands.

It might have been fate that brought them together.  The orphaned boy who because of who had adopted him led to his meeting the Princess.  A boy who became a general and tribal leader with the skills worthy of being deemed the protector of said Princess.  Did the Gods know she would need someone to guide her, care for her until she was ready to meet her destiny?  If one believed Ik-su, their lives had been pre-destined long before their births.

Either way, be it providence or simply luck of the draw, what was done was done and it boiled down to one simple fact, this boy was in love with this girl.

~

Yona wasn’t sure at what point Hak was no longer just her friend or bodyguard but something else entirely because there was no dramatic shift in their relationship, at least not one single point in time that she could say, there, that’s when it happened.  But it did change during their travels and by the time they had made it to Shisen, Yona was seeing him in a different light, one familiar and yet so completely unlike the feeling she was used to.

With Soo-Won it was almost as if she had convinced herself of being in love with him.  Fawning in a juvenile longing over a boy that really did nothing to reciprocate her feelings only treating her like the little sister he never had.  Maybe she had swayed her heart towards him, he being the only other royal she knew, and when you grow up being told you needed to marry a royal, it made sense to latch on to a convenient choice.  

Hak on the other hand was always around too, just as much and more than Soo-Won.  Why hadn’t she considered him?  Well, he wasn’t a royal as he had so bluntly pointed out in their formative years, but he had always been in line for General, the highest position in a tribe, wouldn’t that be similar, she had once thought so.  

Of course, he was always picking on her, making fun of her or teasing her…  but then again…  he still looked after her, made sure she was okay, safe, even kept her secrets.  Hak would whine and then do what she wanted, they would fight and then make up again.  Neither seemingly capable of turning the other away.  And, he was the one person she would always run to, even as a child…

She didn’t want to admit he had been right, what he had said at the gates of Fuuga, that once they became fugitives and he was no longer the General of the Wind tribe, he had no obligation to protect her.  She had forced herself onto him, but he could have refused, slipping away somewhere safe and sound, and yet he continued to put his life on the line for her.  

And now look at the situation, the one she had first given her heart to, killed her father and ordered her execution, but the one who deserved her heart, who showed time and time again how much he had earned it, was the one she hadn’t chosen.  Until now.  Her soul warmed to the realization that Hak was the one who truly deserved her heart and she was ready, at least on the inside, to give it to him.

But now she wasn’t sure what to do about these newly found emotions.  She wasn’t ready to tell him how she felt yet, when they had so many other things to focus on, like surviving.  Yona knew she was already a burden on Hak, and no, this just wasn’t the right time. Eventually she’ll have to, when she was ready, maybe, even if it had to wait until their Kingdom had been restored.

~~

She knew it was necessary for them to go their separate ways, it would be faster in order to stop the attack on Xing, and it’s not like she wanted to be away from Hak, nor would he like the idea either.  If something were to happen to her he would no doubt tear this Kingdom apart in his grief.  But she couldn’t take him in case she ran into the one person she knew Hak wanted dead.  

“Hak, you go ahead over to the wind tribe first.  I will slow-down Soo-Won’s, the Sky tribe’s army’s.”

“You know you’re not going anywhere without me, right?” Min-Soo offers to accompany her and Algira but that isn’t good enough.  He reaches out, “Wait a moment, you think I’m going to let you go alone?!”

“Just go.  The Wind tribe is surely waiting for you Hak.  I might not be able to do much, but I’m going to try doing what I can so that I won’t have any regrets.  And, then we’ll go and meet with the four dragons, Yoon, and Ao.  Okay?” smiling big.  “I’ll just be gone for a little bit!”

“I,” lowering his head, “understand.  I’ll be waiting.”

“Hak…” clutching at his hood, Yona pulls him down for a quick kiss. Hak is so surprised that he can only stare down at her wide eyed, even after it ends, his mind blank.  “Well,” she blushes, stunned with herself, and turns to leave, “I’ll be going now…”

As soon as she was in the carriage heading to seek out Tae-Jun’s assistance, Yona puts her head down to mull over what she just did. Something in her body propelled her forward before her mind could even process why, she had reached out and pulled Hak into that kiss.  What was she thinking when she saw how sad he looked, that in case she never saw him again, he would hopefully know how she felt?  That she didn’t want to leave, and it was a promise to come back to him?  

In all the years she had been in love with Soo-Won never once had she even considered acting upon her emotions and yet today with Hak, she had done just that.  The inclination to want to feel his lips against hers flowed so smoothly and easily that after it was done, and her brain had caught up with her actions, only then did it hit her.  ‘Oh my god I kissed Hak!’  

What was Hak thinking now?  She hadn’t stuck around to find out but based on the stupefied look on his face, his mind had probably blanked out.  He was always the one to tease her, touching her, and doing other perverted things, but when the act was committed on him, he reacted strangely.  What if he didn’t like it?  He had pulled back didn’t he, ‘maybe he’s gonna be mad at me now!’ Clutching her face in horror, ‘No! I need to focus right now but, please don’t let him be mad at me because I…’  

Why was it so hard to admit it, to get the words, ‘I want to say out of my mouth?’  Maybe that was part of the reason for the kiss, to act without words, to convey how much she wanted him to always be with her, in any way, shape, or form, for the rest of their lives…        

~~

“Hak I’m sorry about yesterday!”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I’m sorry…  I overheard your conversation with the people of the Wind tribe.  I’ve always felt like I stole you away from the Wind tribe, and what’s more you have, you have a fiancée.”

“Fiancée?  Ahh, you mean Ayame.  I see, that’s why you were pushing me to go back, and said that stuff about returning my freedom?”

“Yeah but, I don’t think that you’re unneeded or anything like that, it’s just that, you’re very precious to me, so, stay with me…”

‘I can’t take this anymore!’  “What’s with that, I told you, didn’t I?  Many times!  I won’t leave you!  Like hell I’d leave you!!  And that’s not because I feel obligated not to.  Get that through your head already!!  The place I go home to is here!!”

“I’m sorry…”

“I accompanied you, was overwhelmed by your strength and passion, and decided to live for you.  The pride of serving someone…  The one who taught me that was you!!”

“Hak…” wiping away the tears.  “You might have been exasperated by all the things I’ve said but, can I ask you one thing?”

“Yes?”

“What will you do about Ayame?”

“Ugh,” running his hand over his face.  “Look I don’t like being at the center of misunderstandings, so I’ll just say this…” Facing her directly once more.  “The one I like is you damn it!!!”

“Eh?”

“Don’t ‘Eh’ me!!  I said Ayame has a partner already.  I like you and I don’t have a fiancée goddammitt!!  I'm tired out for today!!  Have you understood everything?”

“Y-yes…”

“Great!  Ahhhh! Much better.”  Hak walks away standing tall and feeling lighter than he ever has after releasing all that weight from his heart leaving a bewildered and bright red Yona sitting there to process what just happened.

After wolfing down dinner, Hak settles onto his bedroll and closes his eyes.  He felt so much more relaxed that the burden of hiding his feelings for Yona would no longer be necessary.  It was out in the open, with witnesses, she heard him loud and clear, and it looked like she understood every word he had spouted.  Sigh, he had buried those emotions down for so long…  Would he be able to carry on as if nothing had changed?  

He still wasn’t sure what her opinion was or how she may feel now, even that kiss back in Saika, was there a meaning behind it?  Yona has kissed him so smoothly, casually…  He wanted to be angry that she had pulled such a thing on him but, it also didn’t make sense since she wasn’t one to act in that manner.  How many times over the years he would tell her to just confess to Soo-Won how she felt and yet she was too embarrassed.  

How, when did the Princess develop the courage to up and kiss him?  He could ask her, but chances were greater that she would clam up in embarrassment again. That girl, so innocent and childlike and yet for all his physical strength she was so much stronger than he. In a relatively short time, he watched her go from broken to a force of the heavens and it only made him want to be with her, in whatever capacity he could take, for the rest of their lives…            

~~

Things couldn’t be more dangerous as they were right now for Yona and the growing opposition to Soo-Won’s position.  It seemed as his master plans slowly fell apart and the Princess’ supporters grew in both number and title, so too did the attacks in order to maintain the power he had taken by force.  And this latest battle was no different, with the resistance force defeating and pushing back the royal army but not without casualties… including Yona.

She had been hurt before in fights, but never this grave, and that left everyone on high alert for if the Princess were to die, so was the hope of saving Kouka Kingdom.  Yoon did his best assuring their group that she was by no means at deaths door, but it would be tenuous for some time, and that her unconsciousness was due to her bodies attempt at healing.  And so, they waited, the dragons taking turns guarding her tent and their campsite, Jae-ha, surprisingly falling back into a leadership role like he served in Awa. It helped to keep their spirits high, and their progress from slipping but Hak was beside himself and refused to leave Yona’s bedside.  

Two days later, Yona finally opens her eyes and turns her head to see Hak sleeping next to her, still clutching her hand, and a weak smile crosses her face.  All she can tell is it must be nighttime and if it wasn’t for the moonlight, Yona may not have known it was even him.  Who was she kidding, sighing in her head, who else would it be?  Slipping her hand from his grasp, “Hak?” she whispers caressing his face with the small amount of strength she can muster.

His brows furrow and eyes pop open.  “Princess?!”  Hak’s so happy to see she’s awake, he forgets himself and hugs to her prone body, repeating her name over and over as the tears he had been holding back finally stream down his face.  

“Hak…” she repeats, cradling and caressing the back of his head as tears of her own pool in her eyes, “it’s okay Hak…”

“No!” sobbing aloud, “it’s not okay!  You shouldn’t have gotten hurt, this is my fault, I didn’t protect you…”

“You know that’s not true,” voice soft and serene, “Hak you can’t be everywhere, I should have protected myself better.”

“Yes, it is.  I know Zeno did his best, but there were too many attackers, so I shouldn’t have left your side,” clutching at the bedding and burying his face deeper into the fabric. “What if…  There’s no way I could go on if I lost you…”

Yona’s heart skips and her body flushes, but unlike before, a sense of peace washes over her.  She stops caressing his head, “Hak, please look at me…”  A few seconds pass, but he finally lifts his face to look at her and what he sees is such a tranquil expression, it calms him instantly.  She smiles and places her hand against his cheek, “I love you.”

“Prin…cess…”  

Like a repeat of their first, Yona clasps both of his cheeks and pulls the dazed man closer and settles her lips against his in a soft kiss, repeating those three little words upon their release.  Hak props himself up and rolls to his side, still stupefied, touching where her lips had left their lingering warmth.  Yona lightly giggles at seeing her tough man acting like a confused little boy.  “Hak, you’re not dreaming,” taking hold of his hand, “I said I love you, I have for awhile now, I just couldn’t get the words to come out.”

He looks at her, “You waited until you almost died to tell me this!” Face palm, “I swear you enjoy torturing me.”

Pouting, “I do not,” growing into a grin, “well maybe sometimes, and that’s only because you do it to me!”

Laughing, “we’re both kind of idiots aren’t we,” sigh, “you know if we hadn’t been pushed out of Hiryuu Castle, I would have taken my feelings to the grave.”

“And I would have never realized that it’s you who I should have given my heart to, not him.  I don’t know if I deserve you, but Hak, you definitely deserve me, a thousand times over for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Princess…”

“Yona.”

“Y-you want me to call you Yona?  But…”

“Hak, if we do take back Hiryuu Castle, and if I regain my position, will you… be my King?”

“You’re serious?” she nods.  “You can’t be…  I’m not King material...”

“Oh, so would you rather I marry someone else?”

“No.”

“Well then, I guess you have no choice.”

“Why do I feel like I was just blackmailed?”              

“You don’t need to decide now, Hak…”

“Idiot, of course I’d marry you!  King or not, I don’t want anyone else to have you!”

“Then it’s settled,” patting his arm, “now go back to sleep.” She closes her eyes, a smile on her face.

Hak narrows his eyes, ‘this little…’  “Yona?”

“Hmm,” peaking at him.  “Did…” before she can say anything more, Hak had swooped in and crashed his lips roughly against hers, gaining a small squeak out of the young woman. After the initial shock, Yona melts into the kiss, lifting her head to add pressure, and her fingers threading into his hair while Hak cups the back of her neck to lend support and keeps himself propped up to her side.  

A deep rumble in his chest breaks the still of the air, to be answered by a purr of her own and when they finally break from the kiss, Hak keeps his forehead leaning against hers.  “Should we tell the others?” she asks quietly.

“We can worry about that tomorrow, but since it was droopy-eye’s turn to guard, he probably already knows.”

They hear a ‘Tch’ coming from outside and Yona giggles, “You’re probably right.”  

“Now,” he gives her a small peck, “time for you to get more rest,” settling on his side and closing his eyes.  “Good night, Yona.”

“Good night,” yawn, “Hak.”  As she closes her eyes, Yona utters a small prayer of thanks to the Gods for the angel beside her and for some reason, she knows everything is going to be alright.  

“Yona?” there is a knock at her door, “Are you ready to go down to the temple?”  Her mind is jostled out of the memories she had just been daydreaming about, their childhood, all the struggles, how they’d finally overcame their hearts…

“Oh, yes I am Yoon. Is Hak on his way?”

“Yes, Jae-Ha is escorting him.”

“Alright, I’ll be out in a minute…”

And now here they were, about to be married, a new Queen and her King.  Everything was ready for the wedding and coronation ceremonies happening that afternoon.  Guests had been arriving over the past week, all the food was being prepared, flowers and decorations set up.  But as excited as they both were for their future together, Yona and Hak were also nervous.  They each sit in separate rooms, their kimono’s on, Yona’s hair and makeup done, now all that remained was to wait until they were called upon.

This had been such a long journey for the two, if you counted back to the beginning.  So many memories stemming over their lifetimes starting as childhood friends and ending at the beginning of their adulthood. Good times, bad times, hardships, and times of happiness.  And while they sat in their rooms, awaiting the next step of this journey, the memories of how they got here flowed through like an endless river.  

Their childhoods filled with playing on the castle grounds, oh how Hak loved to tease her when they played, like that time he scared the hell out of her during hide and seek, and yet whenever she was scared, he was also the one she ran to for comfort.  It wasn’t until she was older that she realized how improper it may have been to sleep next to him, but at the time, if it helped the nightmares to go away, so it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.

It must have been inevitable that her father would choose Hak to be her bodyguard considering they were often with each other, and even from a young age, he had proven himself to be a skilled warrior worthy of protecting a Princess.  But if you counted the fact they also bickered constantly, no, back then it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to her and it was much later after the promise was made that she found out, Hak had originally turned down the position.  If he had said no once, what made him say yes, the second time?  Had that encounter with Tae-Jun made such a big impact on his decision?

All Yona knew, was that if Hak was a pain before that moment, she could have sworn his sarcasm and teasing only escalated after it, and it drove her crazy.  He was so quick witted, making fun of her looks, her size, her intellect, nothing got past him, and wasn’t afraid to say things even in front of her own father, the Emperor!  She had no idea why he would act that way.  Well okay, so maybe she fueled some of it, taking advantage and using him for her own devises.  Hind sight is easier to help one see why things may have happened a certain way.

But if there was one thing she was sure of now, is that when she needed him most, Hak was the only one to take her side, no questions asked, with a fierce loyalty that was unmatched even by the Dragons born to protect her.  That night of her father’s death, and when her innocence was shattered forever, Hak was the dark angel who saved her.  When the Fire tribe soldiers had them cornered on the cliffs, again, he put his own life before hers, and it ignited a blazing virtue in her own soul.

And yet, the first time she saw Hak truly get scared was not during an actual battle but when they were looking for the Blue Dragons and the tunnel had trapped them.  She herself was afraid of never seeing him again, but the look on his face when he broke through, and the way he hugged her so tightly afterwards, he really had been terrified.  It was a new side to Hak that was starting to draw her in closer.

Yes, somewhere along the way she had started to look at Hak through the eyes of a lover.  She wanted him, craved his company and attention. She would get irritated if other females were around or made any moves to get close to him, and when he’d turn them down it made her feel better, relieved.              

Having those feelings bottled up only made situations start get a little awkward or it would cause them to behave in ways that confused each other.  Like the first time she kissed him or when he confessed his feelings for her.  Actions triggered by raw emotions that bubbled in their hearts waiting for freedom.

Too bad it took a long time for them to adjust to these feelings.  You could blame inexperience, naivety, just the circumstances that surrounded them as the reasons.  I mean, it is difficult to worry about liking someone when you need to put more effort into simply surviving.  Now she can laugh about it, but it was a weird timing to tell a guy you loved him after you almost died.

But, looking back at it all, Yona, Hak, neither would trade those precious moments or memories for anything in the world.  Their lives before her Sixteenth birthday were fun times despite the bickering and the tragedy that came afterwards had led them to the greatest gift either could have ever asked for.  Lifetime friendships, adventure, and a love that will stand the tests of time.

~~xx~~

“… I have waited so long for this moment little miss,” Zeno whispers, smiling as he guides Yona towards the man she was about to marry.  “I’m glad you are my new Queen.”  

“Thank you, Zeno,” taking a deep breath, Yona smiles at how regal Hak looked in his ceremonial kimono, flanked by the dragons and Yoon that is was all so surreal.  “It’s almost too good to be true but we made it here…”

#hakyona #hak and yona #how we got here #akatsuki no yona #petri808 #fan fic #yona of the dawn

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character in general: Ciel Phantomhive? I don’t know him.It’s needless to say that I would have a lot to say about my feelings for the Phantomhive twins. The Spare Phantomhive, who will be referred to as Ciel in this particular opinion piece, was the first Kuro muse I played myself, and of course that comes with a lot of emotional package. I love this little boy.When I first watched the anime all those years back, I did pay attention to the fanservice and yaoi tropes. It’s usually not a great first impression unless it is what you’re looking for, but it didn’t take me long to realize that Ciel was different than the usual tsunderes and damsels in distress. He was not just a blank slate for any horny tween to use as a self insert, but he was a fully fleshed out character with his own agenda and his own motives. And that character was dark. At times it was r/i’m14andthisisdeep dark, but there were pleasant glimpses of actual grittiness. In a sense Ciel is a very classic character, a brooding boy who has lost his parents and seeks revenge, but there was spice to him. He didn’t have moments of softness but childisness, he pushed people away consistently without breaking down, he was showered with love and comfort but kept his eyes steadily on his goal. It takes determination from an author not to let such a popular character slide down the slippery slope of being pure fluff to appease the fans who, without a doubt, want it when it’s not what the story needs - what Ciel needs.As always, my suspicions were proven correct when I picked up the manga and the story turned out to be even darker and Ciel turned out to be even less likeable - and therefore I grew to adore him even more. Ciel is not a good person. Ciel is not a hero. Ciel has a tendency to be melodramatic or make bad decisions in haste, he is condescending and selfish and cold. Yet there is good to him, too. Ciel is a very fleshed out character with conflicting motives and emotions, moments of uncertainty that lead to great mistakes. He has a tendency to lie not only to others but also himself, and a desire to “kill the boy” as George Martin would say. Yet Ciel is not portrayed as an adult. Pecoscious, yes. Unusually clever, sly enough to beat many adults in their own games, to be brutal and cruel and selfish. Yet deep down he is a child - and children are not soft. This is what I love about him the most. how they play them: It feels strange to analyze a portrayal of a character that I also write, but I will do it gladly as I have good things to say. I’m picky when it comes to Ciels for obvious reasons. Considering that I roleplay both twins, running into weird “twin plots” (hehe, irony) is not really an issue, but it is difficult to match with people who portray a character I’m so familiar with in a way that I don’t understand. Dawny’s portrayal is very different to mine. Her touch is softer, more sensitive, more ponderous, yet she makes it work. When I write with her, I don’t feel like I’m writing with myself, but I’m also not bothered by the scenes where our interpretation would differ. I enjoy her take on Ciel a lot, which goes without saying if I happen to count the amount of threads we have. Especially our childhood threads bring a lot of color to the time of their life we know very little about. Writing with Dawny teaches me something about my own muse, and it’s amazing.the mun: Dawny seemed shy at first and I was worried I might break her by shitposting, so I was cautious. What a fool I was. Dawny pretends to be sweet and innocent but she is an absolute imp who acts like she didn’t suggest something that broke my heart or bullied my innocent boy who did nothing wrong! She’s great fun, and also interested conspiracy level meta-analysis just as I am. We can shitpost back and forth for hours, and then cry because of our headcanons that turn out angsty and sad no matter how much we try. I feel like our chemistry is great, and I’m glad to call her a friend.

do i;

follow them: Yesrp with them: Yeswant to rp with them: Yesship their character with mine: I don’t, but I would in the right context.

what is my;

overall opinion: - Thinks about sinful thoughts with an innocent face.- “I didn’t do anything,” she said after doing the thing. - If you think you can out-angst her you are a FOOL.- Underrated, but uses it to her advantage.- Matches your lenght in double after you yell “don’t match my lenght I’ll die!”- Great taste in videogames.

@fauxkxng

**Note: Mun’s answer are all to be completely honest. Don’t send url if you don’t want brutal honesty.

#fauxkxng #( ask — )

[agirlinjapan]

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 17)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Sorry about the unintentional RDG break last week! Somehow, I convinced myself that it had only been a week since the last post so it wasn’t time to post another yet. From there, posting completely slipped my mind. (I did get a good 10 or so pages translated throughout the week though.) Regardless, here we are today, a week later. This whoopsie won’t affect the usual RDG schedule. I’ll be posting next Sunday as well so that things get back on the normal track and I make up for the missing week.

Translation notes:

I’m not quite sure why this is a thing, but there is a belief in Japan that people in France really, really like anime and manga--possibly more so than in other countries outside of Japan. I don’t know where or why this belief started. I mean, I know anime and manga are big in France, but they’re also big in the US and scores of other countries.

Sugoroku is an ancient Japanese game that is comparable (in one of its two forms) to backgammon. 

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Off Course Part 1 (2 of 2)

“Are you okay?”

Izumiko looked up in surprise to see two deep blue eyes peering into her face. The face looking at her was excessively flushed and its chin seemed to jut out further than it should have, but the eyes were entirely focused on Izumiko. The boy was dressed as a Catholic priest, but his gaze was firm.

“Do you feel bad? Are you anemic?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Izumiko blinked repeatedly, wondering in shock if she had lost consciousness for a moment.  

What was I doing just now?... Oh, right. I was on the phone telling Miyuki he didn’t have to come…

She mentally checked herself over but found nothing wrong. Not one thing was off. She remembered falling under a spell, but now that seemed like it had just been in her imagination.

“Are you really alright? You always get so distressed when you see Claus,” Takayanagi/Shirou Amakusa said.

“Ah, um…”

Claus, who looked as big as a bear standing there next to Takayanagi, nodded, his expression remaining serious.

“That’s right. I think I scare you. We’ve never talked once.”

“I’m sorry…” Izumiko’s shoulders drooped. She was embarrassed of the prejudice she had been carrying. “I was raised in the mountains, so I’m not used to foreigners. I don’t really know how to talk with you…”

Claus offered a short response but the words were casually spoken in German so Izumiko couldn’t catch their meaning.

Takayanagi smiled and said, “Izumiko, you’re breaking out of your small world right now. If you get to know him better, I’m sure you’ll realize Claus is a good guy.”

“I’m Christian, but a modern Christian,” Claus said meaningfully. He put his rosary in his pocket. “There really aren’t any people in Europe who think non-Christians are devils. We’re not hundreds of years in the past. I can be good friends with people who identify as Shinto.”

“I’m not Shinto. I grew up at a shrine but my grandfather never told me I had to be serious about the religion or anything.”

Claus nodded happily at her hurried correction.

“Ah, in that case it’ll be even easier for us to be friends. Prejudice shows up when we don’t understand things. When I first came to Japan, I thought all Germans were Protestants. I was worried about that. But as individuals, people should be themselves.    

Claus seems to be a caring person. I wonder why I thought he was scary… Izumiko thought in surprise.

She had always been afraid of large, strong looking boys. The situation now fell somewhat into that catagory. Claus certainly looked like a rugby player, but his gentle nature was revealing itself. She could feel her nervousness falling away.

“I think so, too. People should be themselves.”

“You should smile more,” Takayanagi said, good-naturedly. “It’s so much better to be happy.”

As he said this, Izumiko couldn’t help but realize how stiff her face must have looked to him. She probably always looked that way around the exchange students seeing as she didn’t know what to do with them. She felt differently now though.

I built a wall around myself. I shouldn’t do that though…

Her father, Daisei, had hoped that she would get a better understanding of the world away from the mountains. Even though there were plenty of foreign students for her to meet at the school, she hadn’t remembered her father’s words until now. Perhaps that had been due to her own views being too narrow.          

“There are a lot of samurai and international characters in the offensive team’s army. There’s a girl participating too,” Takayanagi said, “Angelica’s image of what the Warring States era was like is a little too much like a manga or anime but I guess that’s because she’s French.”

“There are just as many fans of Japanese manga in Germany as there are in France,” Claus said firmly in response to his friend’s opinion.

“Ah, we have to go. If we chat through the judging, it’ll look like we were making some sort of deal over here. But Izumiko, come over and talk to me after the game is over,” Takayanagi said as he walked away. “Angelica’s a very interesting person, too.”

Izumiko relaxed her hold on the fence and headed towards the tent as well.

“…Okay,” Izumiko answered a bit shyly. There was no animosity in her voice. Surprisingly, she even felt a little better about the situation. “If there’s time.”

Who would have thought that it’s so easy to stop disliking someone when you didn’t even know you disliked them in the first place…

Up until now, Izumiko had accepted Mayura’s thoughts and beliefs without question no matter what. In other words, she had never come up with her own views about what Mayura told her.

…I’ve never thought about how narrow my viewpoint really is…

Izumiko already knew why Mayura Souda wanted to be the World Heritage Candidate. She worried about Manatsu who had the same heart defect as their brother Masumi who had died young. If it became possible that Manatsu might need a heart transplant, Mayura wanted to be in the best position imaginable to make sure he got one.

Izumiko respected her as a fiercely moral person whose concern for her sibling was touching. However, her intentions were undoubtedly for personal gain. Even Izumiko couldn’t argue that.

Mayura was a part of this now, but if Izumiko had been given a chance to do everything over, she wished she would have thought a little harder about it all.    

What happens if Mayura loses?... Izumiko thought for the first time.

If Mayura lost, Izumiko would be heartbroken, but she would comfort her friend, she thought. Her views on the situation would only be somewhat changed and she would be able to talk to Mayura about the other girl’s feelings.  

I’m capable of changing and adapting, Izumiko thought lightheartedly. I’m already changing and I’ll keep changing from here on. I can use a laptop and a cellphone now. Not as many things frighten me as there used to be. If things keep going this way, I’ll definitely be able to live life like a normal girl one day. I’ll be able to interact with everyone normally and I’ll be able to find a boyfriend just like anyone else.

Suddenly, Izumiko got the feeling that she was forgetting something important.

Huh?...

Her mind circled through possibilities but she couldn’t think of what it could be.

Well, she supposed it was alright.

The students, dressed in their Warring States era costumes, were starting to walk up the hill and find their teams. The competition grounds by the stables where the field games would be held were also going through their final preparations. Izumiko put her veil over her face and hurried back to Okouchi.

The beginning of the games arrived. The collective western and frontal forces, along with the collective eastern and defensive forces marched solemnly across the hill. They arrived at the stable’s competition grounds, creating a Y shape—the two sets of combined forces plus the game staff and observers who had gathered around the fence, waiting for them there. The impressive looking armies were greeted with applause.

With the multicolored flags, placards, and banners the soldiers on the hill were carrying, it was an impressive sight to be seen.

There was no unified feeling between the forces who had just come together, but all four of the armies’ enthusiasm was entertaining. Class 1-C was a part of the frontal attack team and they were carrying their “Winds of Change” banner. Izumiko clapped for them.

The generals came after the flag bearers. Seeing as it had been decided that the horses would not be brought out that day, everyone was walking. Still, the shine of the generals’ helmets with their tall decorations and the bright colors of all the armor drew a lot of attention.

“Wow…” Okouchi, who was standing next to Izumiko as they watched the procession, murmured all of a sudden.

When Izumiko turned to look at him, she saw that his gaze was fixed on the frontal attack team’s general.

“Amazing, wouldn’t you say?” Okouchi asked.

“Yeah, amazing,” Izumiko said, sounding much like Hayakawa when he was pretending to have heard something. She turned her eyes in the same direction as Okouchi’s.

The general was a blonde young woman.

…That’s Angelica.

She recalled how Karin had said Angelica looked like a china doll. Perhaps because of this, Izumiko had been imagining the blonde as doll-like and delicate. This wasn’t the case at all though.

Angelica was nothing like a doll. Izumiko got the impression that she was overflowing with energy. She was cat-like—a lioness perhaps.

The armor she was wearing was probably supposed to be from the Warring States era but it was covered in decorations. Izumiko felt like she could finally picture what Mayura had meant by a game design costume.

It wasn’t that Angelica was scantily clad. Not much of her skin was exposed. However, the truth was that her figure was quite evident beneath her outfit.

The difference between a Japanese build and the build of other nationalities was clear to be seen. Angelica had wide hips and while her face was small, her facial features were still sharply defined. She had an ample chest for a high schooler. Izumiko found herself staring unintentionally as well.

“I’m sorry to do this,” Okouchi said suddenly.

Izumiko turned back to look at him.

“Izumiko, let’s switch which part of the games we’re in charge of. Can you judge the board game for me? I think you’ll be fair about it.”

“Okay…”

Izumiko didn’t immediately protest, but it was obvious to guess the real reason why Okouchi had made the decision he had. At some point in time, Angelica had probably chewed him out for something he had done or said. It was very much like Okouchi to find a reason to be far away from where she was.

The battle, which a large amount of students would be participating in on the field, was made up of sports day events that everyone knew. There would be three legged races, egg-spoon relays, bread eating contests, and so on. There was no one participating who didn’t know the rules.

Due to this, Izumiko felt comfortable judging the games. However, the generals’ game of wit was a different story. She transferred her clipboard from one hand to the other and flusteredly flipped through the papers there.

“I’ve never seen the game played before now though. Um… it’s backgammon, right?”

“The rules are easy to understand so you’ll be fine judging it the first time you see it. You use two dice. You can only move the piece as much as you roll, so all you have to do is count the players’ moves with them. There’s not much deception in backgammon. It’s basically sugoroku.”

Izumiko watched as Okouchi showed her how to place the pieces at the beginning of the game but the round, black and white pieces lined up on the board with its long, narrow triangular shapes meant nothing to her.

“There used to be pictures on the sugoroku boards but these days there aren’t.” Okouchi let out a short laugh. “It’s hard to believe, but backgammon’s actually the older game. We chose it because the students are less familiar with it, but it’s well-known all over the world, and it’s got a long history to it. They even played it in ancient Egypt. It came to Japan during the Asuka or Nara era. It turned into a gambling game and the government cracked down on it. It was popular with the noblemen of the Heian era, too. In a way, sugoroku as we know it now with a game board came from backgammon. The version of sugoroku that you play with picture cards is a version that people play just for fun, not for gambling purposes.”

The explanation made Izumiko blink.

“Now that I think of it, there was a scene in The Pillow Book with sugoroku in it, too. The noblemen were obsessed with the dice game. I wondered why they were all so weirdly preoccupied with it.”

Okouchi nodded solemnly.

“Gambling is a serious matter, I suppose. When you get doubles in sugoroku, you can move more than one of your pieces. Everything changes in an instant if you can get your pieces into the last six board spaces, though. It’s a game that requires both luck and skill.”

“But I wouldn’t think a gambling game would make sense as a game for Warring States era generals,” Izumiko said in interest.

“Chess and shogi take up too much time. And playing current card games may have been unfair to the players who usually don’t get into things like that. The present day backgammon was reintroduced to Japan during the Warring States era. It was the game that made the most sense.”

Izumiko’s interest had been peaked. She wanted to see Angelica as well as the backgammon game up close.

I’ll do what I’ve been told to do. After all, I’m one of the kuroko in black who are supposed to be supporting the games from the shadows…

Izumiko walked away from the tent in the field and towards the area where the commanders—the so called military officers under the generals and the two teams’ generals themselves—would be playing their games.

Despite the way the team commanders were dressed and the fact that they were not participating in any of the active sports day events, they were quite similar to cheerleaders. They stood in front of their teams, leading cheers. The place where the commanders would be facing off against each other had been prepared in an open space beyond the fences where the spectators would easily see them.  

It was true that Takayanagi was heading the frontal attack team, but his shikigami were nowhere to be seen. Izumiko turned her head left and right, looking for them as she walked around the horse enclosure.

None of her classmates from 1-C had been chosen to become commanders in today’s games. Unsurprisingly, most of the generals who had been selected were second years. The boys and girls holding “Overthrow the Upper Class” banners were all gathered together in the rear attack team, laughing and seemingly enjoying themselves. Izumiko, who wasn’t good with competitions, didn’t think she wanted to participate as well, but she was a little envious of their tightknit team spirit.

As she watched her classmates, her vision suddenly blurred and the activities surrounding the horse enclosure moved out of focus.  

Izumiko blinked quickly, trying to regain her sight. The blurred spectacle immediately corrected itself, but she had the unsettling feeling that it might happen again.    

What’s going on?...

She had a very bad feeling about whatever it was. However, she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong. Instead, it was a strangely troubling sensation.

… Maybe it’s because I haven’t gotten much sleep in the past two nights. Izumiko considered, thinking it over.

All the same, she had to keep moving today. It was an important day, after all.

Huh?...

She looked around the horse enclosure again. Izumiko felt like there was something in the area that required her attention, but she couldn’t recall what it was. That had to be the origin of the strange feeling she was having.

Izumiko stopped walking, but then she reconsidered and began again.

She had promised that she would get through the morning without doing anything unnecessary or drawing attention to herself.

However, she couldn’t remember who she had made that promise to.

The large, rectangular backgammon board had been set out on a table with two stools on either side, facing each other.

The stools, which the armored players would sit on, were old. They certainly matched their surroundings, but they didn’t look particularly comfortable.

Eventually, the commanders finished their cheers and shuffled in. The generals of the front and side forces moved forward and sat down on the uncomfortable looking stools. The remaining commanders lined up around the board as if surrounding the players.

Shibata, one of the second years from the student government, arrived to act as a referee. He would take responsibility for the game while Izumiko moved to the side and kept score on a whiteboard. Tamura, another one of the first years, would then act as a liaison between her and Okouchi.

Shibata cleared his throat.

“Alright,” he said, using a wireless microphone to project his voice around the group. “Until the field battle is over, we will be having a backgammon competition. The points you score for your team will go into the final decision that determines which team will proceed on to attack the castle.”

Shibata then announced the game rules and other pertinent information that the players would need. After that, the game began.

There were quite a number of onlookers surrounding the generals and their commanders. Rather than being interested in backgammon, there were many more people interested in the costumes the players were wearing. It was clear to see that a large reason for this was Angelica’s presence. There were quite a few cameras pointed in her direction.

Angelica smiled towards the people with the cameras. It would have been strange for her to ignore them, seeing as she appeared to be enjoying her costume.

When Izumiko took a closer look at the girl, she saw that Angelica’s brown, crescent moon shaped eyebrows looked like something that belonged on an antique doll. Karin had not been lying. Angelica’s blue eyes were also large and deep set. Unlike Claus’s deep blue shade though, hers were a paler blue.

Angelica was certainly an attractive girl. However, Izumiko could not decide if that made her beautiful. She got the feeling that there was something treacherous about Angelica.

Angelica was standing next to Takayanagi behind the stool. She frequently turned to say things to him. Until then, Izumiko hadn’t noticed how tall she was. Standing next to Takayanagi though, it was clear to see that Angelica was taller than him. The armor she was wearing made her shoulders look broad as well. Seeing the two of them act so friendly with their heads bent so close to one another’s made them stand out, especially with Takayanagi’s aristocratic looks.

They look like they’re really close… Izumiko thought as she snuck a glance at them.

Obviously, Takayanagi had had a reason for bringing up Angelica’s name during their earlier conversation.

I wonder if she’d ever be that friendly with me…

She doubted Takayanagi would stop talking to Angelica, even if the game ended.

… I liked Claus right though. Strange…

Izumiko felt the need to shake her head clear. Up until now, she had barely spoken to boys at all. If she was being entirely frank, she had only ever felt comfortable speaking to her own gender. However, she felt like she would never be able to get along with Angelica.

It’s because she’s friends with Takayanagi… Maybe?

To her surprise, she found herself questioning her own thoughts.

She was in denial.

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