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#it took me so long to recover from the manga
ponderingmoonlight · 2 months
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Megumi losing his will to carry on until (y/n) shows up
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Pairing: Megumi x reader
Word Count: 1,5k
Synopsis: Megumi can't take it anymore. All the death, the grief, the misery he caused. He'll never forgive himself for losing you...But are you really dead?
Warnings: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS! but more in a really decent way, like I actually think if you have no idea of the manga you don't get that these are spoilers lol, HEAVY angst but also comfort, poor Megumi is at his lowest so TW if that offends you
I know I promised you a Sukuna fic it technically is and I will serve, but this basically wrote itself so I hope you like this as well hehe
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Take a deep breath in and out, calm your tingling nerves, allow your feet to walk at normal pace. You waited so long for this moment, recovered from your endless injuries Sukuna conflicted on your body and soul. It took Shoko forever to stitch you up again, to make you look like a human being again. But there you go, walking on your very own legs, to finally see the true love of your life again.
When was the last time you spoke to him? Oh, you remember it exactly.
“I’m scared. Scared of what will happen, scared about the things we’ll lost…”
“Hey, you’ll never lose me, okay? I will always stay by your side.”
Little did both of you know he’ll break that promise a few weeks later and that he won’t return to your side for over a year. How hard you fought, how desperately you tried to stand a chance against Sukuna – only to get thrown out of life yourself.
“Are you sure you can handle this, that you are fit enough?”, Yuji questioned with his hand resting on your shoulder.
“You know you don’t have to-“
“This might be the only chance to get him back, right?”
Yuji smiled at you with that pained expression on his face you saw countless times these last months.
“Yuta and I think it might work. After all, everyone knows how much you mean to him.”
You clench your hands into fists. There is no doubt in the fact that Megumi Fushiguro is still in there, that he is still the boy you know and adore with all your heart. Even if it means you’ll get attacked again, even if it might end your life, you’ll have to try.
-Megumi-
Megumi’s body doesn’t move an inch, lifeless eyes staring into nothing but darkness. What time is it? He couldn’t care less. No, time doesn’t make any sense right now. Not when he lost everyone he loved. His family, his friends, his self-control. You.
His heart stings immediately. Oh, your gorgeous face hunts him down like nothing else. The way you talked, the way you laughed. The way you looked at him with widened eyes when your lifeless body fell to the ground, the way your blood pooled around his brown shoes.
Why? Why didn’t you listen to him when he told you earlier to stay away from Sukuna? Why did you decide to show up anyway, without Yuji or Yuta by your side? There was absolutely nothing he could do to save you.
Just like his sister.
Just like Gojo-sensei.
Just like everyone else.
It seems unreal to him. Unreal that he’s the one still alive, that all these people lost their lives through his very own hands. Oh, he’ll never forget the way you cared for his sister, your dumb inside jokes with Gojo. He’ll never forget the way you held his hand that one night, how your soft smile outshone the heavy moonlight.
“Don’t worry Megumi, everything will turn out alright eventually!”
Oh, how wrong you were. How awful these words make his guts turn, how desperately he wants to close his eyes forever.
No, you didn’t deserve your fate. Everyone didn’t deserve their fates. But he? He deserves nothing but death.
Nothing but emptiness.
Nothing but darkness.
“Megumi.”
Is he hallucinating again? Is your voice hunting him down like it always does? It sounds so clear, near to reach. As if he could open his eyes, stretch out his hands and-
“Megumi.”
Again.
His skin suddenly starts to feel warm, as if someone touches his arm. Impossible, no one should be here, it’s just him in this prison that never ends-
“Hey, I’m here. It’s me, (y/n).”
“(y/n)?”
That name. That gorgeous name he adores to the moon and back, that last name that saved him from giving up until you died in front of his eyes.
“Hey, it’s been a while.”
“You’re dead.”
That voice sounds so unknown, so far away that you flinch for a second. Is this really Megumi and not just a cheap copy of him? You swallow hard, desperately try to contain your emotions. Oh, how much you longed for this moment, to finally hold the love of your life again. But on the other hand, you can’t take the sight in front of you. Him laying curled up on the cold floor, face showing absolutely no emotion.
You shake your head. No, you have to be strong right now. If not for yourself, then for him.
“Open your eyes, silly. I’m right here”, you reply.
Gently, you cup his cheek with your hand the way he always secretly adored. This just has to work, you need to get him back.
He hesitates for a moment, breath stuck in his throat. Is this really you or just his own sorrow reminding him of the things he’s done? But what…
He opens his eyes.
His gaze finds yours.
Time stands still.
“I missed you, cutie patootie.”
Reality hits him with full force. This might be a cruel trick, a hallucination. But that nickname was always a little secret between both of you, how you called him in private. No one except you knows about it. No one except you looks at him with so much love gleaming in their eyes. No one except…
“(y/n)”, he breathes out.
“I know you think I’m dead but…I made it, Megumi. I never gave up hope to see you again.”
You can’t hold back the waterfall of tears that now streams down your cheeks, eyes holding onto his gorgeous face for dear life, afraid to lose him all over again.
“(y/n).”
And for the first time since you know him, his eyes get watery to the point where they overflow with tears, the salty stream getting caught in your hands.
“(y/n)”, he whimpers again.
“Don’t feel sorry for what happened. It wasn’t you but him. I don’t blame you”, you blurt out immediately.
“(y/n)!”
Faster than you’re able to comprehend what’s happening, he wraps his longing arms around you, presses you so close that your lungs refuse their service for a second.
“I thought you’re dead. I thought���I killed you.”
The sheer agony in his voice forms a painful lump in your throat. Oh poor Megumi…He doesn’t deserve to feel this way, doesn’t deserve to hold all these horrible memories. How much you’d wish you could simply take his pain away, could make him forget what happened.
But all you’re able to do is holding him tightly.
“You would never harm a single hair on my body-“
“But I did!”, he screams.
“I hurt you! I almost killed you! Just like Gojo-sensei, just like Tsumiki!”
His voice breaks, a dry whimper escapes his lips.
“I…I can’t do this anymore. I can’t hurt another soul. I don’t wanna li-“
“Stop right there.”
Desperately, you force him to look into your reddened eyes.
“This wasn’t you, Megumi. Did you hear me? No one ever thought it was you. We loved you, we missed you, we want you back. When Shoko stitched me up, all I was able to think about was you. Fuck that shitty jujutsu world we’re living in, fuck all the curses and monsters and humans. Think about us, Megumi. Think about what you told me back then, that you’ll always stay by my side. Because that’s were I need you, this is why I love you more than anything else. In my eyes, you’ll never be anything apart from Megumi Fushiguro!”
Without thinking twice, you press your despairing lips against his, taste the salty tears of him and you that mixed on each other’s faces. His arms wrap themselves around your back and waist, hold you into place while you get lost against the lips you know so well but yet not at all. Megumi just needs to come back to you, needs to find his willpower again.
“I need you”, you mutter against his mouth.
“I love you.”
The agony radiating from his voice becomes almost unbearable, lets you hold onto his neck even tighter. No, Megumi didn’t deserve what happened to him. He didn’t deserve to see his loved ones die right before his eyes. He didn’t deserve all the things he’s been through. But this right here, this is just right.
This is a reason to hold on, right?
“Promise me you won’t give up”, you urge.
“Promise me you’ll give yourself the chance to heal, that you’ll stand with me and Yuji and the others. Just promise that you’ll come back.”
“I swore to myself not to be a burden to this world anymore, that I’m done with my pathetic life, that I deserve to die. But you’re alive, you’re lying in my arms…And now I’m too selfish to do that.”
Again, he caresses your lips with his in the gentlest way while his arms hold you in place.
“If I’m not able to look at myself in the mirror, I’m able to look at you.”
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sanjisboyfie · 5 months
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shanks being your doting boyfriend
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(slightly himbo) shanks x male reader
NOT PROOFREAD mb. small, slight manga spoilers??? sorry guys + LMFAO i hadto ctrl + f every single time i used "arms" and switch it to "arm" also im so soorrryyyy its kinda rlly short.....forgive me also idc???? if this seems ooc to me shanks is just a silly lil guy.
— oh god. the power you hold. you actually singlehandedly could change the course of the entire one piece universe if you wanted to. why??? because one of the four emperors of the sea follows everrything you say like a lost puppy. he hangs off of every word that leaves your lips with a dumb, lovesick grin on his face. his head is empty, just thoughts of you. good thing you use this power of yours for good and keep this man HUMBLE.
"[name], can you please tell your idiot boyfriend to just do the dishes, i can't-"
"beckkkkkk, why are you bothering me and my boyfriend's personal time together?" shanks whined, little spooning his way into your side. his stubble was scratching your skin, making you itchy around your neck and shoulder, especially with the way he was so aggressively nuzzling his head. "we haven't even woken up yet,"
"yeah, and you were supposed to be on cleaning duty last night and you instead chose to spend that time coddling [name], so look where we are now,"
"i'm the captain, goddammit! why do i have to do something like cleaning duty?"
"ask [name], he made that rule,"
shanks' aggressive demeanor turned into putty as he pouted at you. it was not a fitting expression for someone that had a reputation like his and also his age (too old to be acting like a kid).
"babbbbyyy, why are you making us spend less time together? is it because you hate me?"
"shanks, just go fucking do some cleaning in the kitchen. it's a shit show and it's pissing me and the chefs off. get a grip, babe," you scolded, pushing his pouting face away from your own.
with a look of hesitation, shanks finally backed off and got out of bed. as he was putting on a proper pair of trousers on, he was muttering about his own boyfriend was bullying him. his comments went ignored by both you and beck — who was watching with a look of disbelief on his face.
to see his best friend, captain, and one of the four emperors of the sea so easily swayed into doing chores was something he doesn't think he'd ever get used to. no matter how long you and shanks have been together, seeing the red head so obediently follow orders was infathomable.
— shanks -> really intimidating status as captain of the red hair pirates -> turns into complete mush when you walk into the room. without fail, he physically deflates into whatever seat he's sitting in and holds his arm out to you invitingly, waiting for you to sit on his lap.
shanks was supposed to be in serious mode. he was sitting in front of some pretty high ranked marine officials, who were after his crews' heads. he wasn't the type to hold hostages, just to let them go back running to their navy base, but considering the crew was on a vacation of sorts, he needed to know how they were able to track them down.
it lingered in his mind that there was a chance there was a mole in their ranks, but he didn't want to accept that as it would be a painful reality.
"so, how did you know we'd be at this island to recover?" shanks questioned, eyes glaring holes into the marines' faces. they were shaking where they sat, except for one who tried holding a tough demeanor. "i'm not going to do anything to you if you just answer my question,"
just as the marine was about to spill all their information out, the door of the room they were in was slammed open. shanks' haki faltered slightly as he was able to recognize that it was you, and with that imbalance, it sent the marine officers over the edge and made them pass out instead.
you took in the scene, bleakly apologizing for interuppting. shanks didn't have the heart to scold you, so instead he just took you into his arm with a wide grin and said, "no, no, it's alright. i was beginning to miss you anyway, doll. was wondering why you weren't with me," he pouted into your skin, making you laugh.
"turns out one of the lackeys you let on board recently was the reason why these guys showed up out of nowhere," you informed your lover, who hummed in interest, "took a while, but was able to get him to crack under pressure."
shanks sighed in content, hugging you even tighter, "i love you so much, you're so sexy when you take control,"
another laugh escaped your lips as you heard your boyfriend almost drunkenly sing you praises, "it was nothing, the guy had zero resolve anyway,"
"you're so amazing, baby," he continued complimenting into your skin, acting as if there weren't three passed out marine officers in front of you two.
a couple of the lackeys of the crew came bounding into the room and almost froze when they saw their intimidating captain cuddling into your side like an eager puppy.
"u-uhm, captain?" shanks only hummed in acknowledgement as he held you tight to his side. "what do you want us to do with these guys and that bastard traitor?"
"oh, just keep them tied up and then leave them on the shore when we depart — they probably won't survive with all the wildlife around here," shanks hummed, waving his hand dismissively. you were standing in between his legs and he was relishing in the skinship you were allowing him.
"should we tell the rest that we will be setting sail soon then?"
this time you interjected, "yeah, i'll come with you, boys. i'll make moving the bodies easier."
the crew's face lightened up at your familiar kind behavior, but then stiffened when they heard a groan coming from shanks.
"but [name]!! these guys got it, just stay with me longer, please,"
"oh, shut up, idiot. just go back to the main event and lift up the spirits of our crew, they probably wanna hear words from their captain after such a traitorous bastard infiltrated us,"
shanks sighed at your mini lecture, but dragged himself to follow your footsteps. he was holding onto your hand and his feet were practically stomping into the wood.
"who even made me captain, i never asked for this," he sighed, making the crew weakly laugh to fill the awkward silence while you just tried apologizing for your boyfriend, and captain's, idiotic behavior.
— shanks really cherishes the alone time he can spend with you. living your lives as highly wanted pirates makes your daily life hectic. and, thankfully, the foundations of your relationship only led to you two being able to keep that strong trust, respect, and love for each other so alive.
it was nighttime and the ship was rocking ever so slightly with the waves. for once, you switched cuddling positions and had your head resting on shanks' chest. your fingers were drawing mindless shapes on the exposed skin while shanks' arm was squeezing your plushy flesh every now and then.
"you know, i love you so much, right?" he confessed into the night air, the genuineness of his emotions being made obvious with how softly he spoke.
"i love you too," you easily said back, not thinking twice.
"but, do you know i love you?" shanks repeated, sitting up and holding onto your waist to make sure all your attention was directed on him, "i know our lives don't make our lifestyle easier and i know i get really busy when times get rough, but i needed to tell you again that i love you so much [name]."
you grinned at his sincerity, leaning forward and pressing a soft, gentle kiss to his chapped lips. he reciprocated in a second's notice, but you pulled away before he could deepen it (as he usually did whenever you two kissed).
"i know you love me shanks, you are the sweetest lover i can think of. your kindness and humanity remind me everyday that this life is worth living if it's with you," shanks smiled at your words, nudging his forehead against yours to entice you to pull in closer to him.
your lips locked once more in a passionate filled kiss. your bare chests were now skin to skin with one another and it took a couple minutes of desperate kissing for shanks to be satisfied.
and when you finally pulled away and settled back onto his chest, he squeezed you once more and asked, "you've had other lovers besides me?" in reference to what you said earlier.
cue an eyeroll and pinch to his sides to make him shut his pretty mouth for some needed peace and quiet.
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thejujvtsupost · 3 months
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Hello 👋, could I request a choso x reader fic, where reader comforts him after his fight with yuji? (if you haven't read the manga and don't know what happens after the fight it's okay, a choso comfort fic is perfect as well) Something sfw, or it could be NSFW too if you'd like. And I had this headcanon that choso is touch starved (I mean, he was in a tube for 150 and after getting a body I don't think the curses do a lot of hugs) if you'd like to use.. :D
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Comfort After His Fight
Hiiii anon! Sorry it took so long to get this out, right now I’m doing some Drabble length stuff while I’m still recovering from surgery so I hope that’s okay. <3 I really love this prompt btw!
Notes: GN!reader, hurt/comfort, touch starved Choso.
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“Cho I really think he’ll forgive you, give him some space.” Choso was agonizing over his situation on your couch for the millionth time and you felt the strong urge to comfort him. Standing in front of him and putting a hand on his shoulder was a good first step without overwhelming him- not having physical affection his entire life had left its scars.
“I almost killed him, I almost killed my little brother and the only family I have left. He hates me.”
Three months passed since the Shibuya incident, establishing a connection with Yuuji was more difficult than expected.
You haven’t been dating long, as a Jujutsu high alum you came to help out and Yaga asked you to stick around as a teacher. The salary was hard to pass up but you would’ve done it anyway for the kids. Choso was easy to fall for, his loyalty was his driving force and maybe he was misguided at first, but his heart was kind.
“He went through a lot of trauma, finding out he has a brother doesn’t help how confused he is. His friends got really hurt and they almost died too. The teacher he was close with lost an arm and Gojo got sealed. He felt helpless. Just keep trying in small ways, I’m sure it’ll work out.”
Choso hugged you around the waist as you let down his hair and ran your fingers through it. “How do you know?”
“Yuuji is a sweet person. His friends are considered his family but it’s just different, you’re his only surviving relative. He’ll come around.”
His face buried itself in your presence and he heaved out a deep sigh.
“How about some hot chocolate? You liked it last time I made it, right? It’ll help.”
“Just let me hold you a little while longer please?” Choso sounded so small in his request, still getting used to the feeling of comfort.
You leaned down to kiss his forehead and hugged him back snugly. “I’m here with you.”
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Thinking about making a request? Check my bio to see if they’re open!
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lunaekalenda · 9 months
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warnings: angst, death, wounds, blood, major jjk manga spoilers
"You always said you were the strongest... Prove it, Toru."
You don't even recognize your own voice, breaking from time to time due to the sobs. His hand sneaks weak to your cheek, taking the tear that it's about to run down your cheek away with his thumb, leaving a little blood trace under your eye. You can't take your gaze away from his, you can't stop pressing the wound of his chest. He smiles, weak, softly, but only for you. You can hear the noise of explosions not far from you, more of your friends getting hurt, more of them dying. You keep pressing his chest while his head lays on your thighs. It's getting worse, but you are too selfish to leave Satoru here, alone, to his slow death. Specially, after he gave his own life for you. You're convinced there has to be a way to save him, to save your other half and the only man you've ever loved so deeply and strong to not be able to imagine a future without him. But still, with every blood drop that escapes between your fingers, a second of his life goes away. His usual pale skin looks transparent under the moon, and his body temperature isn't even close to the heat that receives you when you go to bed late. His blue eyes are teary, fixed on yours, still shining with all those feelings he has told you so many times before. "Toru, you're gonna make it alive." You're not sure to who you're trying to reassure, but a tiny part of your mind wants you to be right. You'll remember this moment when you grow old, he'll tell this story to your grandchildren.
Your tears fall slowly on his cheeks, getting mixed with his own ones, as he catches air to speak, even when you told him not to.
"Don't cry, my love. Don't cry for me." his low voice is followed by violent coughs. You try to calm yourself as you try your best to keep the wound pressed, but he rests his hands on top of yours, trying to put them away of his body, but you are firm on your decision. "Hide. Go away. Save yourself." You reject all his ideas shaking your head, too sad to speak. But then Satoru grips your arm stronger. "I can only trust Megumi to you. He doesn't deserve to lose us both." He caresses your skin lovingly, as he always does.
"He's not gonna lose us, Satoru. We can keep taking care of him together, you're gonna survive." You pray for the fight to be over, to someone to find you both, to someone to help him. He was there on every single scar your skin has now. That's what his wound will be, a scar more on his body.
When Gojo discovered that Sukuna took Megumi as his vessel, one part of him never recovered. Megumi wasn't blood-related to your man, but it was his only family. His child. He taught him how to do the laundry and how to cook. He read stories to him until the kid fell asleep, he made his favorite meal every single birthday the two of them passed alone. It was always Satoru and Megumi, until you entered their life.
Satoru felt like you were the missing puzzle piece for their little family. Megumi loves you as much as you love him. You're an example for the kid, and he has been always nice towards you. And Satoru. Goddess, Satoru is your soulmate.
There's no other way of explaining your bond, and there won't ever be a similar feeling towards anyone. You love him with every inch of your body and every particle of your soul. Your hearts followed the same pace, and you fear that yours will stop as soon as his does. But, as long as you're by his side, you'll make sure it still beats. Satoru sighs when another explosion sounds far, as if the fight was moving towards the surroundings of Tokyo. Sukuna probably believes Satoru is dead, and that's your best option to survive. You're sure someone will come and help you both. Both of you are still there, under an almost demolished building, covered in blood, dust and sweat, but together. Satoru's mind flies towards the events of this afternoon, as his eyes darken a little. He knows it wasn't Megumi, and he knows how to take Sukuna out without hurting him, but still... It was too impressive for him to react. Sukuna didn't need more than one hit to hurt him deadly. He played with Satoru, played with his feelings and his loyalties. And you'll never, never, forget that.
You hear quick steps around you, and you hug your boyfriends's body, still pressing on his chest. The voice that speaks from behind you is clearly recognizable.
"G-Gojo?" Utahime seems too shocked to speak, and even when she sighs when he speaks back to her, she quickly leaves in search of Shoko, even when the future of Satoru is not certain. He coughs softly before speaking.
"Sukuna will release Megumi once he gets all his power back." Satoru tries to fight the knot in his throat, and holds your hand in search of strength. "I'm not sure what... he will do to him first. Please, take care of Megumi. And remember him that nothing is his fault, and that I love him. And I'm proud of the man he is now." He looks directly in your eyes now, even when you can see him between tears. "My love." Why does he sound as if he was saying goodbye? He is going to make it. He's going to watch Megumi grow up by your side, he will still wake you up with breakfast in bed, and he'll prepare desserts for the three of you on his days off. He'll take you to dates, he'll buy more tiny things that reminded him of you, he'll take you for a walk every Sunday morning. He'll kiss your ribs and your wrists and your lower back as he always does, he will lend you his sweaters when you're cold and he'll take your hand in crowded and not so crowded places to keep you near. "You're strong, beautiful and pure. You have so many beautiful things waiting for you, even if I'm not here to see them with you." His cold hand touches your skin again. "Live for both, darling. Keep me in your mind, but don't let my memories tie you to the past." he takes air violently, and you press his wound harder. You're gonna save him. "And I love you. I love you in a way I didn't knew I could love, as if a part of my soul is tangled to yours." His eyes are teary again. He tries to sit, but he's too weak. Instead, he takes his index to his lips, kissing the fingertip, before slowly pressing it against your lips. "I love you."
And Satoru's heart stopped beating under your hand.
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fallloverfic · 29 days
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Me: I read/watch Delicious in Dungeon for The Plot The Plot (spoilers for S01E13: Red Dragon III/Good Medicine, and CW: blood):
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Thank you Trigger for adding this, this was not in the manga, blessings be upon you and your families. I did not know that last episode Chilchuck asking if they'd never escape the crotch would be prophetic alkdjalj
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Listen, if I told you how many screencaps I took of Laios in his civvies/pajamas... well. He looks beautiful. 15/10 great job, Trigger, thank you.
I am also still soft for the siblings.
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He is so worried about her.
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Laios do have a lovely back, though.
Shoutout to Trigger for keeping all the times Senshi and the other characters faceplant in each other's crotches for this whole little arc lol I took so many screencaps of Laios though, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for them to animate this.
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Unconscious luggage Laios is the best. Love how Senshi carries him (and that all three guys are standing behind Marcille, who is protecting them).
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Just laser-focused for me.
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And the party pile alkdjlaj I was waiting for this so much alkdjalj Poor unconscious Laios, with Senshi squishing his crotch. Poor Marcille, stuck beneath both their tank and their bulky damage dealer and their rogue, all after fighting an army of blood dragons and using ancient magic to revive someone. Life's never fair for the mage.
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I always loved the way Chilchuck just lifts up Laios' leg alkdjlaj The tall-man is literally too tall for him aldkjalj
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I have been specifically waiting for them to animate this for months lakjdlaj This whole sequence is one of my favorite parts of the manga and ahh they did such a good job!!!
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They kept the chest push, just incredible. Bless.
I just love how Kui really explored how races of different sizes and heights interact with each other and how it changes different things. Laios is literally a tall-man and the tallest member of their party, and the buffest in a different way than Senshi is (Senshi is sturdier and generally far stronger, but Laios is their tank for a reason). And despite Senshi's strength, and Laios being badly injured, they still cannot fully compensate for the fact that Laios is still the biggest of them all.
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Also they added this alkdjla And I love it so much alkdjaj In the manga, Laios has his left leg pulled back a bit to make room for Chilchuck (or maybe just because it's how he sits down after Senshi and Chilchuck finally push him over), but here he's literally between Laios' legs in part because Laios is just so tall and Chilchuck is just very small by comparison.
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I just ahhhh Chilchuck trying to keep him seated just kills me...
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Ahh these shots just end me. They all look so good and I love how they're arranged. I love how desperate Chilchuck is to appeal to him, because Chilchuck doesn't want him to die T-T He knows how much Laios is hurting over Falin, both mentally and physically (he is still recovering from when she hit him), but...
Overall this was a phenomenal episode, and it was adapted really well. I loved how the characters played off each other, the voice acting and music were wonderful, the animation was excellent, just... ahhhh
Other delicious Plot:
The Plot in Episode 3
The Plot in Episode 7
The Plot in Episode 9
The Plot in Episode 11
The Plot in Episode 13 (you are here)
The Plot in Episode 14
The Plot in Episode 15
The Plot in Episode 16
The Plot in Episode 17
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velteris · 4 months
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frieren manga spoilers but I just realised something about the timing of Frieren's 500-year break from fighting demons
it was because of Macht, who was the last demon she fought for half a millennium.
when the hero party came to recruit her, she said she hadn't fought demons for about 500 years. 80 years after that, when she was telling Fern and Stark about her fight with Macht, she said that fight was 600 years ago. Her arm was turned to gold then, which didn't dispel for almost a century. (this remains the craziest Frieren lore to me, that she just walked around like that for a century)
the timing lines up and it makes sense! Frieren is defeated by Macht; it's almost certainly not the first of those eleven fights she's lost. but it takes her almost a century to recover, which was probably a huge shock to her self-confidence as a battle mage, and a HUGE pain in the ass to live with that took her off the field for a full century. 100 years isn't super long, but it's also not a blink of an eye for her--that's one-tenth of her life. hard to get back on the horse after that.
this also explains why she's so insistent on getting Fern and Stark out of there and not getting involved at first. it's not just because she thinks Macht is stronger and they're in danger. it's also because even if they get away, like she did half a millennium ago, there's a chance that Fern and Stark could be stuck with the same condition that she was inflicted with--except they don't have a leisurely century to solve it. they'd live their whole life with it, and die cursed. and it would be because she, who knew about it, let them walk into that situation.
frieren's started to understand the brevity of a human life now. she won't let them waste it like that.
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alexxncl · 1 year
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who fell first, who fell harder (brothers)
based on the og game, lesson 16+ spoilers
masterlist | more drabbles/hcs | dateables edition
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luci
this might be unpopular but he did both
it just took him forever to realize bc he was too caught up in making sure mc didn’t get themselves killed
always went easy on them whenever they got in trouble
pushed his pride to the side *shockingly* whenever they got hurt
would be one of the first to help them whenever they needed anything and gave in to everything they asked for with no prompting
realized how down bad he was after they studied together one night, he fell asleep at his desk and they brought a blanket over and put a pillow under his head so he'd be more comfortable
woke up with hot coffee, breakfast, and a note telling him to take better care of himself with the bed half made, he realized mc stayed in the room with him the whole night
connected the dots right before he made a pact with them in lesson 20 (?) and confessed to them after they [redacted]
mc always saw through his stuck up act, sympathized with him once they realized he genuinely cared about their well being
started spending more time with him after the lesson 16 incident
he forbade them from going to school until they fully recovered from everything that happened, insisted on walking them to school every day
the stereotypical kdrama tripping and falling into the person's arms while they walked to school
they confessed after the whole pact situation right before they left the devildom
mams
we all know he did both like let's be fr
"first man"
i love him sm y'all dont understand
every time he needed help, he'd go to them
every time he was feeling insecure, he'd go to them
he noticed little changes in their demeanor and always did his best to cheer them up if something was wrong
not exactly a love at first sight thing, but real close to it
quite literally broke down in their arms the day before they left the devildom
all his brothers picked up on it and teased him relentlessly, he had to talk to lucifer to even build up the courage to confess
and even then it took him until the night before they left
mc was oblivious as hell to his feelings which is crazy bc he did nothing to hide them
they saw through his tsundere act and warmed up to him the fastest
honestly they fell not long after he did but they didn't wanna say anything out of fear of ruining their friendship
the lesson 16 incident shook him up so badly that he clung to them for weeks after it, he didn't let belphie anywhere near them even after apologizing
yelled at the brothers whenever they talked shit and called him names, they almost always went too far and it always got to him
after they went back to the human realm, he skipped class and dealt with being strung up by luci just to see them
levi
levi fell first, mc fell harder
HEAR ME OUT
he'd invite them over to game with him and watch anime at ungodly hours of the night
they're awful at videogames so he'd let them win just to see them get all excited
don't tell his brothers that though
when they slept over, they made sure he got out of his habit of oversleeping so he could avoid lectures
helped him with his anxiety since they also dealt with it
with mc, they empathized with his anxiety/depression and spent as much time with him as possible whenever he had his episodes
saw how much he cared for his brothers and his pet(s) and, eventually, how much he cared about them
they opened up to him about their insecurities and he did his best to reassure and relate to them so they felt less alone
they confessed to him first bc of mammon's encouragement, he knew his brother wouldn't be able to do it without prompting
they did it a few weeks before they left the devildom so they'd have time together
after the lesson 16 incident, he'd always go to their room with manga or a console to try to take their mind off of what happened
every time they went out together, he'd be in his demon form and have his tail wrapped around either their ankle or their wrist/hand subconsciously
satan
satan fell first, mc fell harder
again, hear me out
the first thing he noticed about their interactions with him was their lack of fear
they were so much less powerful and more fragile in comparison to him, but that didn't deter them from wanting to get close to him
in true tsundere fashion, he tried pushing them away once he realized his feelings
that didn't work and they tried spending more time with him to see why he started acting weird
THEN they ended up falling for him
how he acted like he didn't care for his brothers but went out if his way to make sure they were ok
how he was able to be vulnerable with them about his insecurities and self hatred bc of his birth
how they got to see his soft side with belphie and cats
his reaction to the lesson 16 incident also pushed them over the edge
his entire angry demeanor crumbled, he always had new book recs and brought them cats when he had to go to school si they wouldn't be alone
they confessed first, but it was right before they left bc they were too scared of rejection
asmo
mc fell first, asmo fell harder
mc never fell for his "me, me, me" attitude and got him to open up easily
they found themself gravitating towards his room whenever they needed a pick me up, he'd always be down to give them a spa day
despite his sin, he never overstepped with the sexual jokes and advances
it starred off as a tiny crush, but mc realized it was more than that after a really bad day for asmo, they got to take care of him the way he took care of them
asmo was head over heels after that, never left their side
he stopped trying to act like he wasn't insecure about his position in the devildom or his looks, he was more comfortable opening up about his struggles
even tho mc fell first, asmo confessed like a month before they had to leave the devildom
the lesson 16 incident had him clinging to them 100 times more than he had before, lucifer had to pry him away from them so he could go to school
the day they left the devildom was full of tears
beel
mc fell first, beel fell harder
he has such a big heart and he's trusting of everyone, his openness helped mc become more comfortable around him
he only gets angry in regards to his sin or his family, and he considered mc family very early on
they'd start packing extra snacks in their bookbag when they knew they had classes with him, and id they weren't in school, they'd have them in their pockets
after a really stressful day, mc went to beel for consolation, and he dragged them to the kitchen after wrapping them up in one of belphies weighted blankets to try and fix them a beel-sized meal to make them feel better
seeing how easily he'd drop everything to make sure they were ok
seeing how gentle he was with them despite his size and strength
seeing how happy he looked when talking about his family
him allowing himself to be vulnerable about belphie and lilith
all of it boiled over when he cooked for them, they confessed on the spot
he was caught off guard, but realized after some thinking that he felt the same and didn't realize it
they moved slowly, and while beel navigated his feelings for them, he realized how much he cared about them
giving them extra servings when it was his turn to cook, and when it wasnt, he'd slide some of his food onto their plate
going to their room to talk if he had a nightmare about the celestial war
asking satan and luci what the best ways to deal with anxiety were
making sure they drank enough water
and after the lesson 16 incident, his feelings were all over the place
he was angry at himself, angry at lucifer, angry at belphie, but never angry at mc
he didn't want to be angry with belphie, but once mc (reluctantly) forgave him, he and belphies relationship was fixed
they spent their last days in the devildom together going to all of his favorite restaurants and food trucks
belphie
belphie did both.
he hated the human. he hated all humans. he had to, for lilith.
he manipulated them, lied to them, betrayed their trust, he KILLED them
so why did he feel so guilty about it?
why did he find himself gravitating towards their room every day before school, waking up early just to peek through the crack in their door to see how they were doing, disobeying lucifer's direct orders?
why did every flinch of theirs leave him with a gaping hole in his chest?
no matter how many times he apologized, he never felt like he truly deserved forgiveness
but they were so kind, so understanding, so infuriatingly sweet to him despite everything he did
he loved them, and he do everything in his power to show it, even if they never felt the same
mc saw how much he was hurting, they saw how much his actions affected him, how he was trying to be a better person
the brothers would understand if they never forgave him, but why did they feel inclined to?
they were never really asleep when he snuck by their room to check on them, he had to have known that
his brothers spoiled him the way he spoiled them
after learning to navigate their friendship, mc realized what they felt was deeper than whatever platonic feelings they thought they had
they were in the attic, belphie ranting about one of his anti-lucifer-league schemes failing, and they kissed him
they spent their remaining weeks in the devildom attached to his hip, much to the brothers' disdain, but they couldn't hide how relieved they were at his sudden change of heart towards humans
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carnal-lnstinct · 26 days
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Change The Fate's Design
Pairing: Goddess!Reader x War God!Goku Content: au: CLAMP’s RG Veda-inspired fic. afab reader. established rivals. love confession. hinted unrequited love. angst. hurt/comfort. possessiveness. A/N: This is just a retelling of one of the plot twists from RG Veda so spoilers but I doubt anyone is going to read that old manga. I recommend it if you like beautiful, dramatic characters and pain of which you can never recover from! But also, it's CLAMP so it has its...problems. For context: There is a prophecy that the unborn heir of the War God will awaken as the God of Destruction destined to destroy all the realms, and the War God knows.
“...Do you think destiny can be changed?” The golden-eyed war god asked suddenly.
A brow arched in response, followed by an unimpressed stare. Odd. 'You are asking me', she thinks to herself. Fate has never bound her to anything to expect anything in return from it. Everything she has, she has earned by the will of her own heart and the strength of her own two hands. Something troubles the War God to ask her of all people such a thing. Moving confidently, her feet shift around as she turns to face him with a soft, yet arrogant grin.
“To get what I want, I would rearrange the stars themselves.” Boldly left her lips without a hitch nor a blink of an eye.
Goku does not flinch at her callous answer, either. The god of war stares back and slowly a smile forms, breaking the melancholy of his expression. However prideful and selfish her intentions come across, she speaks with a sureness that came as a comfort to him, clearing his fears to reveal a path of hope for a future untethered by the stars. A better future for his son. For that wish, he will become just as selfish as the goddess— if not more— for what he is willing to attempt to save the future prince.
It felt like an affliction in his soul, worse than any atrocities the most wicked creatures could conjure. Weighing all of the heavens against the life of his innocent child, desiring the latter at the risk of calamity befalling everyone else. Including himself. But he does not waver, nor stall. Goku steps forward closing their distance to speak in confidence, sharing his forbidden words.
“Then…Would you lend me a hand in changing the path of the stars?” He asks, a gentle cant of his head as he watches her with a solemn gaze. It is just as bold to ask this much of anyone to join him in sin, let alone a court rival. And damn foolish to assume a prophecy can be changed when the stars have never been wrong. But he needs to try.
Does this push them all towards the path of the prophecy or set the stage for a more desirable future for the heir of his kingdom? 
The incredulous look he gets in return for his plea says it all. Even without sharing the context of his wish to change fate, he must know how ridiculous that sounds. For one such as herself who did not believe in fate's direct hand there has been some truth to it, crediting the natural powers of heaven itself. But... she does not need to believe in it, nor does she require the reason. It was enough he groveled to her for his fool’s errand. Desperate.
The Goddess’ arrogant grin grows and she steps closer as well, lending her attention to his cry for help and smug as can be. There’s a wicked glint in her eyes.
“Will I get what I want if I lend you my strength?” She asks, coming in closer still.
“What is it that you want?”
Her touch is soft and it surprises him, suddenly, gently, resting along the curve of his cheek. Golden eyes widened looking down at her and her own eyes were gentle and reverent of the form before her like he had never seen before.
"...You." There’s a longing in her tone, as well as a demand. But not her ego anymore.
Her intentions are clear but Goku is stunned, to say the least. She hid this well behind her arrogance and duty, perhaps biding her time for the right circumstances of just him and her. Yet, it was only for a moment he hesitated as he took in her sincerity. He understands the opportunity it gave him. 'Anything for Gohan.'
“...If fate can be changed…” His voice trailed off, eyes faltering in concede making his head lower away but her hand shifted to cup his jaw, lifting his head to bring his eyes back on hers.
“I will rearrange the stars to get what I want.” She declares. The silence stirred between them now, unwavering eyes watching the other. And then her other hand grasps his face as she lures him down into a kiss, sealing their fate. Permitting his selfishness and his foolishness to disrupt the will of the realm. They could be selfish fools together.
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ninapi · 9 months
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┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺╚══ Snake Pillar ╝
Premise: Love isn't always something beautiful, wanted, expected. Iguro had always been in love with Mitsuri, but that didn't stop his Tsuguko from falling for him.
Word Count: 3686
Warning: Main character death, spoilers of the main manga timeline.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
Spring, everyone’s favorite season was now here.
The Sakura trees were in full bloom in the capital, the streets filled with beautiful petals flocking around the chilly wind.
Animals and humans alike were now getting intimate to bring new life to this world.
The perfect season for demons to go rampage in town.
After a two weeks long mission along the fire pillar, you were summoned by Oyakata-sama and his wife, the reason was unknown to you but the messenger didn’t seem to be carrying bad news.
“(Y/N) my child. You’ve proven to be the best of your generation; we’ve both been talking, and we think you should be upgraded to Tsuguko. I believe you have the potential to be our next pillar.”
That caught you off guard, yes, the mission was very intense, but if it wasn’t for Rengoku-san you would have died, at least four times. You considered yourself just one more of the bunch, nothing special, besides your bond with the fire pillar that is. You both got more than along, were in complete sync, and everybody knew about this, even your master.
“That would be an honor, Oyakata-sama. If I may ask for something selfish, is it possible to…”
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
The pillars were summoned for a brief meeting a few days later, the crows didn’t elaborate on the reason, but it didn’t seem urgent, so they all arrived at their own pace.
Once Oyakata-sama arrived, they all took their respective place around the leader, excited to see their master.
“My beloved children. Sorry to call you with such a short notice, I have some good news that wanted to share with you.” this didn’t happen often, usually the meetings were about important upcoming missions or bigger troubles, but he looked awfully calm this time around.
“(Y/N) has proven her worth in countless missions and the last one was her last trial; she will be officially our new Tsuguko starting tomorrow.” Rengoku’s smile was so bright even Gyomei could feel it. He was radiating fire at this point, as proud as one could be.
“Sanemi, I think you’re the perfect match for our little (Y/N).” this caused said smile to drop to the floor in seconds, he was sure he would be the chosen one.
“With all due respect, Oyakata-sama. I can see the logic behind it, she does have great wind affinity, but I honestly don’t think she can withstand my harsh training, wouldn’t it be better to send her over to Rengoku?” Ah... Shinazugawa…such a lovely man, thought Rengoku as his smile was slowly returning to its rightful place.
“Yes, I thought so too, they do have amazing chemistry. But you know I always listen to my wife; she insists she’d be better off with you.” that left Sanemi speechless and a little bothered, he really didn’t want to train a little spoiled brat, he was already busy at it is.
“I can sense your discomfort, Sanemi. And let me lift those worries out right now, even if we both agreed you should be the one, (Y/N) herself came to us asking if it was possible to be trained under Obanai’s lead, she didn’t even know who she would be sent to by then, but she made her preferences known, and I respect that.” Iguro had a coughing attack at the news, having to place a hand on the ground to recover.
“She did what?” Rengoku was beyond heartbroken, he even forgot Oyakata-sama was the one delivering the news, he would never disrespect him in any way, but this was shocking.
“Rengoku.” Himejima clapped his hands loudly, making Rengoku realize what he had done, throwing himself on the floor at once. “I’m sorry for my behavior, Oyakata-sama. Are you sure…she said that?”
“Lift your head Kyojuro. She did, it sounded like she had a reason though. Why don’t you try asking her?” with a short nod, he went back to his seat, crestfallen.
“Obanai, I know you didn’t want a Tsuguko. But she’s the best we have right now, please make sure to train her properly and don’t be too harsh on her, she asked nicely, must really want to be under your care.”
Iguro was losing his cool. He wasn’t only getting a Tsuguko against his will, it was a girl at that. And not just any girl, the girl majority of the guys around the corps had a crush on, even the almighty fire pillar. He didn’t want this, not in the slightest.
“Iguro-san, Iguro-san! (Y/N) is so, so, so, cute! You’re so lucky! I envy you so much!” Kanroji was pulling from her braids in despair, she had been begging for a Tsuguko and had wished for a cute girl to dot on and talk about boys, you were the perfect candidate.
“Oyakata-sama, as I’m sure you know, I’m not good with girls. How can I have a female Tsuguko?” his breath was ragged, his head was spinning, he really didn’t want any of this. “Can’t you give her over to Kanroji?”
“My children,” his tone wasn’t as loving as it usually is anymore, sending chills down everyone’s spine, “This is not an auction, Rengoku and Kanroji might want her, I wanted her under Sanemi myself, but she wants you, Obanai. I’m being as fair as I can be, she’s the one who must be trained by you, the one who will suffer the consequences of this decision, and it has been made, there’s nothing more to argue about. You are all dismissed.”
They all got up from their seat, walking out to the garden as soon as he spoke, Sanemi collapsing on the floor with a satisfied long sigh, “Safe.”
Rengoku on the other hand was quietly sulking behind a wooden post.
Iguro was just there, trying to regain some air back to his lungs and to process what had happened, his loyal friend hissing on his ear trying to offer some sort of comfort.
“Iguro-san! Don’t doubt to call me if you need help! I’m a girl too, we get each other. Maybe I can even steal from time to time and smother her with love after your harsh training! Ahw! So exciting!” Mitsuri was swaying on her feet, daydreaming happily of who knows what atrocities.
“Will do….” his voice was nothing but a whisper, his feet safely guiding him back to his state. Life wasn’t on his side, he’s always been aware of this since he was a child, but this, this was just too much.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
You were in the serpent state with your bags by sunrise, ready to fully immerse yourself in the experience, a bright smile on your face.
Iguro, who just woke up was definitely not ready for this, not even saying good morning he jumped right into the matter that barely allowed him to sleep last night, “(L/N) why did you ask to be my Tsuguko? Wasn’t Rengoku a better fit? I’m sure we can get Oyakata-sama to reassign you if we both go toge-“
“I want to be trained by you, Iguro-san. Is that a bad thing?” your eyes were glossy, disappointment painting your features. He wasn’t trying to make you cry, he was just not the right man for the job.
“Why would you want that? You know my training is rough right? I won’t slow down just because you are a girl.”
“I am not expecting you to slow down. I just thought Tsugukos were chosen by affinity. I think you are the coolest Iguro-san…I would like to inherit the snake breathing techniques one day…” this was the first time someone called him cool, this was specially surprising coming from someone who’s been near Rengoku for the longest time.
“Not everyone can do this. You have to have a connection with the species-“ your eyes were glued to the beautiful snake around his shoulders, a childlike expression on your face. “You just want to touch Kaburamaru, don’t you?” his eyes were full of realization, he caught you.
This made you giggle, the snake skillfully wrapping around your arm on its own, quickly enamored by you. “Maybe…”
The ridiculousness of it all made Iguro accept his fate, his snake friend seemed comfortable enough with your presence, he is always friendly but not to this level, you probably had potential for his breathing style by the looks of it, he had to give you a chance to prove yourself.
“Go drop your stuff in the empty room by the entrance, I’ll see you in the training grounds in ten.” He’s never seen such a bright smile before, Kanroji had the most beautiful there is, but your smile was different, it felt warm, you were probably rubbing on Rengoku for too long, it had to be that.
Throwing it to the back of his mind, he moved on with his day.
He had a Tsuguko now, training would be his priority for a while.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
Rengoku was still in shock, even if an entire day had gone by. He was sure you guys had a thing, or was it just his imagination?
You don’t just hold hands with random people, right? He wasn’t the most experienced in the love department, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t just him, the longing in your eyes each time you saw him, the way you smiled at him so brightly, so tenderly, it couldn’t be all in his head.
He wanted to see it with his own eyes, so he headed to Iguro’s training grounds, he needed to hear it from you, the reason why.
You were exhausted, panting on the floor after a very long training morning with your favorite pillar. Kaburamaru was laying on you, sunbathing on your belly, making you giggle as you caressed his beautiful scales. Iguro was watching the interaction from up a tree, you didn’t know he was there, but you knew he had to be close otherwise the snake would have left after him already.
He was about to leave when Rengoku arrived, his worried expression made him want to stay a little more. In all truth, he was still wishing you would change your mind and go with the fire pillar, but after training you all morning he wasn’t as discouraged to train you anymore, you had more than enough potential to be a pillar and Kaburamaru loved you, it wasn’t easy to find someone so compatible with his own skills, it would honestly be a shame, even if he didn’t want to accept it.
“(Y/N) dear, is your training for the day over? I wanted to have a word with you…” getting up gently, you set the little snake down on a patch of grass before heading your way over to him. “Sure, Kyo-san. What’s up?”
“I…I was wondering why you chose to come to Iguro instead of being with me. We have such an awesome connection, having you teaming with him instead will be devastating for me.” he was more heartbroken than anything else, he couldn’t care less for the missions, he could do it all by himself, he just enjoyed them so much more since you started tagging along, he misses you already.
“We do, yes.. I just…well you know how everyone’s scared of him? I just think he deserves a chance; nobody wants to be his Tsuguko and I think we could potentially get along one day, he’s great with animals, and so am I. Don’t you think I could be a good serpent breathing representative? I don’t think I could do cool things with fire like you do.” your heart was so big, it was one of the things he loved about you, he couldn’t be upset anymore after hearing your reasoning.
“And what about good old Rengoku? He needs a Tsuguko too you know? I will miss you…” his voice dropped along with his hand which now rested on your waist.
“Good old Kyo-san has a cute little brother that will eventually come to be in his care, he doesn’t need me.” your cute giggles were music to his ears, he really did like you, a lot.
Iguro on the other hand felt uncomfortable watching this whole thing. So you felt pity? Was that it? You wanted to be with him so he wouldn’t end up being the only pillar without an apprentice? He didn’t know how to feel about this, it didn’t feel good, but it also made something fuzzy bloom in his chest.
“Oh? So he’s cute, huh? Is he cuter than me? Am in troubles?” a low chuckle rumbled in his chest, his hand tugging you closer to him.
“You might be~” poking your tongue out at him in a teasing manner, you ran away from him and headed inside the serpent state, “Gotta take a bath, see you later Kyo-san!”
Iguro came out of the tree to pick sleeping Kaburamaru up, Rengoku glaring in his direction. “Didn’t peg you as a stalker, Iguro.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but this is my state. Now, I would like to make it clear from the start that I expect you to stop clinging to my Tsuguko. She needs to train hard; distractions are not welcomed.” he didn’t know why he was saying all this, words were just coming out of his mouth on their own.
“Weren’t you into Kanroji? Why does it matter to you if I cling to her or not?” raising one of his intimidating eyebrows up, he scoffed. “I well, what? No, I’m not. But she has nothing to do with this. I just don’t want you parading around my state all day, that’s all.”
“I’m not here to see you, so I don’t see why it bothers you this much. But ok, I will leave my time with her reserved for after training hours, then I get to have her all to myself.” without another word, he headed to his own state, his heart felt a bit lighter now that he cleared things up with you, but he’s never heard Iguro talk this much, it was a bit concerning.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
One thing about Obanai is that he wakes up early every morning, even before the sun’s up.
The reason why being he just didn’t want anybody to get a the slightest glimpse of his unwrapped self as he takes a bath, other members of the corpse share the space and he didn’t want anybody to be even more on edge because of him.
You were the contrary, always late, falling asleep was your worse flaw and he hated it deep down in his guts, but he was glad in a way as he never had to encounter you bright and early when he is most tense.
That was until this day.
You weren’t what you would consider ‘early’ you just didn’t sleep at all, there were a lot of things in your head and coming from a difficult mission with lots of death plaguing it would of course cause you to lose sleep. So you decided to take a bath and start stretching while you waited for your training session to start.
You bumped into him on his way out of the bathing area, making both of your towels fall to the ground. Crouching to pick both up you apologized profusely. “I’m so sorry Iguro-san, I didn’t know there was someone in the bath already!”
He was paralyzed with fear, his face out in the open for everyone to see.
You tried not to stare, but this was your first time seeing his face properly. “Don’t look, I’m hideous…” he tried to cover his face with a bucket nearby, your hand reaching over to stop him from doing so.
“There’s no such thing as a hideous person, Iguro-san. I can understand you being self-conscious about the scar, we all obsess over something in our body, I personally don’t like my thighs, that’s why I cover them, but people say they’re nothing out of the ordinary, even if to me they’re awful.”
Mumbling behind his sleeve, he peeked one eye out to look down to your succulent thighs, “They’re fine…why would you hate them?”
“And why would you hate your beautiful face? Makes no sense to me~” giggling past him, you went inside the bathing area, needing to hurry as your trainer was up already.
“B-beautiful? What-…” scoffing, he headed over to his room, quickly wrapping his face away from the world as he usually does. You were indeed a weird one, always seeing the best out of every situation, it was honestly refreshing, but difficult to handle for someone like him.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
Time skip~
You’ve been under Iguro’s care for over a year now. You’ve perfected the first three breathing techniques, surprising him with your progress.
You were good, he was even fearing Kaburamaru would leave him and become your partner full time. Who can blame him though? After all this time seeing you around every day, he gets now what people see in you. Not only were you pretty, but you were strong, considerate, kind, selfless. Definitely a match for Rengoku, not him.
You were now sure of his undying love for Kanroji, she would visit him often, eat lunch together, he even bought stuff for her constantly, it was painstakingly obvious they both liked each other. As it was how much Rengoku liked you.
You on the other hand had mixed feelings.
Of course, Rengoku is lovely, he wanted to pursue you officially, but you had a hard time accepting his feelings. You spend all your day with Iguro, you’ve got to truly see him for what he really is, learned to accept him, entertain him, be in sync with him. You now made a great team. It was him you thought about before going to bed and as soon as you woke up. It was him who you wished to receive praises from, it was him you wanted to make proud.
Even if he was clearly in love with someone else, your feelings shifted his way without anyone’s consent.
The way he would bring you a cup of tea after a harsh training routine, the way he would sit quietly next to you eating sweets peacefully, you’ve seen his face already and wasn’t disgusted by it, he could eat around you comfortably.
The way he would let you hold onto his arm if the missions were tough. The way his eyes soften now in your presence.
You were deep in love with a man who’s heart belonged to someone else…
A mission came around for you two, a particularly tough demon had come out very near a village booming with tourists. It needed to be contained and destroyed as fast as possible.
You’ve seen the way his demeanor towards you had changed every time you talk, you know he didn’t think of you as a nuisance anymore, but you also knew he wouldn’t accept your feelings, and as hard as that might be, you decided to keep your feelings to yourself and treasure the relationship you currently had with him.
The demon was tougher than you two expected, even with a pillar there you were having a hard time killing him. Three women had already lost their life to his rampage, you needed to do something.
Since he seemed to like killing women, you were trying to devise a plan to lure him in and give Iguro time to cut his head off, but your head turned blank when you saw the demon sneaking behind Iguro and about to stab him right through the heart.
Panic surged through your body, inhuman speed possessing you as you rushed to his aid, receiving the blow instead.
Iguro saw it all in slow motion, how you fell to the ground, covered in blood, how the wound had pierced a vital organ dooming your recovery. His rage served as the means necessary to cut the demon’s head and send him to oblivion. But the cut was too deep, he didn’t know how to help you.
You could barely keep your eyes open when he gathered you to his chest, tears unexpectedly coming down his face slowly, one after the other, “(Y/N), no, why? Why?? You’re so stupid, how many times have I told you I’m stronger than you? I can take a blow like that! But you….just look at you….why, just why would you do this…?” your hand reached over to his face wrappings, undoing them so you got to see a glimpse of his face one last time.
“Because I love you. I couldn’t just let you die Iguro-san...” his hand came over to stop yours from fully removing the wraps, his entire being too shaken by the situation to comprehend your words.
“C’mon…let me see your beautiful face one last time…I don’t have much left…” your soft smile and trembling hand made him forgo his stubbornness, letting you remove the wraps.
“Thank you for letting me be your Tusuguko…even when you didn’t like me.” you chuckled slightly, coughing out blood while doing so, alerting Iguro and making him tighten his grip around your faint body. “I know you don’t like your face, but I will always think of it as the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I hope you felt loved while being around me, even if it was just a little…” he nodded, collapsing to the ground fully with you in his arms. He really liked Mitsuri, everyone knew about this, but you had loved him like no one else had, openly, abundantly, and he couldn’t give you any of it back.
“Would you…remember me…?”
“Of course I will, what are you saying…you’re my only Tsuguko, I will never have another one, the techniques will die with us…” nuzzling his chest, you gave one last shaky breath, “Thank you…Igu-….” Leaving this world in the hands of a loved one has no price, makes time living among others worthwhile.
With a smile on his teary face, he bid goodbye to his only apprentice, the woman that loved him to her own demise.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
The serpent state was never to be the same and he made sure of it.
He made everyone leave and remained there on his own, never taking another Tsuguko as he promised he would.
He likes Mitsuri, everybody knows that, even her, and he did till his very last breath, but he always carried with him the load you left him, the unshared feelings, the overwhelming amount of love you had towards him and Kaburamaru and always lived within him, being his companions until his arrival in the afterlife.
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Masterlist
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wuahae · 10 months
Note
hey cat!! i've been good~ i binged all the chapters of the spyxfamily manga in a day and it was wonderful 😌 i would love to see hoshi + meeting for the first time in college! shy hoshi meeting strangers 🤭 hope you've been well too!! sending lots of love~ -prom anon
I LOVE SPY X FAMILY....i haven't read it in a really long time but i'm waiting for my animanga phase to come back before i catch up to it again haha
hoshi + meet cute
soonyoung thinks he's been sitting on this couch for an hour. or maybe it's only been half an hour. or... he knits his brows. to be honest, he really doesn't know. time passes strangely when he's drunk.
he knows a few things though—they've played at least three more rounds of beer pong since he first sat down on this couch, the cheap frozen pizza mingyu barely managed to make edible has started to taste less like cardboard the more drinks soonyoung's gotten in him, and he knows if he gets up to pee he might not make it out of that bathroom in one piece. or at all.
there's a loud cheer as joshua and vernon win another round of beer pong on the table behind him, a dip in the couch as someone sits next to him.
"hey, you okay?" a cold water bottle pressed to his cheek. a slow blink and turn of the head.
oh, here's another thing soonyoung is certain about. the person that just sat down next to him is really, really, really cute.
“uh.”
“soonyoung, right?”
"...uh huh."
"great!" you give him a cheery smile, handing him the water bottle. "jihoon said to give this to you. said you'd need it."
"thanks," soonyoung responds, just a little dumbly. you are just so cute. he can't feel his face.
“so you’re jun’s friend?” you ask, taking a chip from the big bag on the coffee table. “from college?”
soonyoung nods, sipping on the water. “we took psych 211 together freshman year.”
“the sex class?”
“yup!” as loose-lipped as he is, soonyoung is not about to admit he almost failed psych 211: diversity of human sexuality. “best easy A ever.”
“but i don’t think i’ve seen you here before?” soonyoung asks. he might be an absolute mess drunk, but he doesn’t think he could have missed you if you were at one of these parties earlier this year.
you nod enthusiastically. "i don't go here, actually!"
"oh really?"
"yeah!" your flannel slips a little from your shoulder as you reach for another chip. your knee brushes against his. soonyoung's pretty sure his mouth is gaping. "we're actually friends from high school," you explain, eyes bright and wide from what he hopes is the alcohol. he really hopes he isn't making a fool of himself to someone completely sober.
and under normal circumstances, soonyoung would ask for how long? does that mean you were friends with jihoon and wonwoo since high school too? not to mention the dirt he'd try to fish out of you regarding the three to use later.
but right now, soonyoung is still recovering from the three lost rounds of rage cage, his tongue can't seem to work right with the blur in his head and the ringing in his ears and fuck, he wants to make a cool first impression on you and maybe show off that he's a key part of the university dance team but all he can really think of is how he still really, really needs to pee.
"cool," he utters, more than a little dumbly this time.
your eyes crinkle as you laugh a little, leaning over. "you're cute, soonyoung. talk to me later when you're more sober, okay?"
soonyoung blinks. what?
someone—he thinks it's jun, that damn cockblock—calls your name and announces a declaration of war against the new reigning champions of beer pong.
"oh look at that," you tease lightly. "duty calls." nudging soonyoung before you get up, you gesture vaguely at him. "can i have a sip, by the way?"
soonyoung nods before he even follows your gaze to see what you're gesturing to, but before he realizes it, you take the water in his hands and screw open the cap, tipping back the bottle to drink.
"thanks! see you later!" you say cheerily, handing it back to him before turning around to join jun in defeating seungcheol and jeonghan (who is most definitely cheating).
and between the increasingly raucous noise of the new beer pong game starting up and the pounding in his head that threatens to send soonyoung into the bathroom to do more than just pee, he has a single, striking thought.
holy shit... soonyoung is definitely in love.
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animebw · 1 year
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Short Reflection: Winter 2023 Anime
Is it just me, or did this season of anime kind of blow? Yes, anything would be a step down after the absurdly stacked Fall 2022 roster- and in fact, two of my favorites this season were continuations of shows I already liked from fall (Blue Lock and MHA)- but man, there was just a stench of failure around so much of Winter 2023′s offerings. Not just in how many of them turned out to be disappointments, but in how many of them didn’t even get to finish in time! Barely a week went by without another show suffering long delays, production after production crumbling under the weight of mismanagement and corporate apathy that doesn’t care how many animators are worked to death for an inferior product as long as they can make some extra cash from rushing it out early. I mercifully managed to avoid all the victims of these delays (well, almost; RIP Kubo-san Won’t Let Me Be Invisible), but even existing in the same space as them felt like it took a toll on everything else. This was a rough one, folks. But there were still some gems worth highlighting, so after spilling my thoughts on Onimai, Trigun Stampede and MHA Season 6, here are my thoughts on the rest of the anime I managed to finish this season!
(Also no Vinland Saga review yet cause I’m waiting for the season to be over, but spoilers, it’s still really fucking good. You’re shocked, I can tell.)
Tokyo Revengers Season 2: 1.5/10
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You know what? I give up. I gave Tokyo Revengers every opportunity to finally pull itself together and turn into a good show. But not only did it drop the ball so hard the shockwave registered on the Richter scale, it felt like it was actively going out of its way to suck as hard as it could. Every single plot thread in season 2 is bungled so horrendously, from Takemichi’s increasingly unforgivable stupidity to the insulting cul-de-sac fights that change nothing about the status quo to the truly infuriating mishandling of every female character (Hey, I know, let’s give Yuzuha a panty shot while she’s being beaten by her abusive brother! Great idea!), that there is no possible way this show can ever recover. Even if the next season is somehow a masterpiece that fixes all the series’ issues- which it won’t be, let’s be honest- it won’t change the fact that Tokyo Revengers has established a new low for lazy, intelligence-insulting storytelling in shonen. The only reason it managed to get so popular is that it keeps making you think it’s about to do something really cool and meaningful with its high concept. But at this point, it’s all but proven that it never will. Fuck this show, fuck the manga it’s based on, and fuck everyone who accepts this barely-animated hackjob slop as anything close to acceptable entertainment.
The Fire Hunter: 2/10
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Between this and Mars Red, I’m really starting to hate studio Signal MD. They’ve got a habit of turning fascinating highbrow fantasy premises into some of the dullest, sloppiest, most poorly produced pieces of pretentious dogshit that think they’re high art imaginable. And this one’s directed by Mamoru Oshii! He’s supposed to be a veteran director who knows his shit! How did he turn out such a colossal flop? Almost nothing in The Fire Hunter works on an audiovisual level; the animation is embarrassing, the direction is incomprehensible, the editing is somehow even worse (I have never seen such poorly timed painterly insert stills), and the whole thing is smothered under a droning soundtrack that drowns every scene in the same overbearing, tuneless sonic dead air. Even the best script in the world couldn’t survive this cataclysmically bad production, and suffice to say, this is very far from the best script in the world. It’s equal parts mind-numbing exposition, dull narration, and pointlessly mean characters with no interesting internal struggles or worldbuilding to justify the air of arrogance about the whole affair. The Fire Hunter desperately wants to convince you it’s art, but it’s just crap. Skip it.
To Your Eternity Season 2 (2nd Half): 3/10
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I’ll give it this: the second half of To Your Eternity’s second season is unquestionably better than its first. Not a very high bar to clear, I realize, but after the utter slog that was Bon’s introductory arc, it’s good to have actually interesting things happen for a change. Unfortunately, for all the fresh air the siege of Renril brings to the proceedings- new characters, new kinds of stakes, a bonkers re-imagining of what Fushi’s powers are even capable of- it’s nowhere near enough to save this show from running itself into the ground. Whatever magic To Your Eternity once had is well and truly gone, buried under a flood of terrible production compromises and questionable story choices that have lead it down a path it can never recover from. No matter how much future arcs might try to turn things around, they’ll never escape the lesson this show has somehow forgotten it used to preach: when something dies, it can never truly return. To Your Eternity is dead. It’s over. Let it rest in piece while it still has some faint shred of dignity left.
Giant Beasts of Ars: 3/10
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Did someone open a time portal to 2006? Giant Beasts of Ars feels exactly like the kind of original fantasy anime that studios were pumping out two decades ago- and unfortunately, that’s not a compliment. It gets off to a good start with a strong introductory episode that sets the tone well for a fun magitech adventure with some giant monster fighting, but the second that adventure gets under way, pretty much everything goes to shit. The characters are bland. The world itself is dull and uninspired. The action is lifeless thanks to a weak production that can’t give these fights the oomph they need. And the plot escalates from understandable low-key stakes to some of the most asinine “suddenly we’re fighting god now” swerves I’ve ever seen. Seriously, the way this story loses all sense of scale in its final episodes as it barrels head first toward a climax left me stunned in disbelief. Never mind the fact it ends on an asspull cliffhanger that’s almost certain to never get resolved because nobody’s going to want a second season of something this limp and underbaked. What a waste of time.
Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: 3.5/10
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I was really excited at all the fantasy anime coming out this season. After being swamped in the isekai sewers for so long, it was such a relief to see the industry remember they could tell stories about actual fantastical worlds and not just, you know, reskinned Dragon Quest knockoffs. So imagine my how immeasurable my disappointment was when one by one, all these promising series let me down. Kaina’s Naussicaa-inspired world of snow seas, giant spire trees and steampunk skiffs navigating an allegorical prayer for co-existence with nature and rejection of militarism should have been an easy slam dunk, a new Miyazaki for a modern landscape. Unfortunately, as beautifully realized as the world is- Polygon Pictures is no studio Orange, but their impressive background art and environmental storytelling continue to make a strong case for CG anime- the writers forgot to populate that world with anyone worth getting invested in. The characters are the stockiest of stock archetypes, photocopies of photocopies of tropes that have already been worn to the bone by decades of misuse and overuse alike. If you’ve seen even one generic fantasy anime, chances are you’re already sick of these characters, and there’s nothing fresh or particularly meaningful here to make up for the lack of originality. Don’t get me started on how poorly the princess is treated, yegh. Is it too late to unplug the concept of fantasy anime for a few years and hope it recovers some steam before we plug it back in?
High Card: 3.5/10
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There is no excuse for High Card being as lame as it ended up. A Kingsmen-style goofy gentleman spy action comedy written by the author of Kakegurui in which secret agents in dapper suits fight with the power of magic transforming playing cards? And the entire world is themed around cards and card games (the country is Fourland, the spy organization is Pinochle with its office on Old Maid street)? This should have been a camp masterpiece every bit as delightfully unhinged as Kakegurui. This should have been the most gloriously Anime Bullshit (affectionate) experience of the year. But instead, it was mostly just Anime Bullshit (derogatory). It takes so little advantage of its concept, wasting episode upon episode on trite plotlines and cliche developments, jumping between so many tones and focuses without ever settling on a single one. I came here to see Twink Bruce Wayne summon bazookas out of thin air with the power of Instant Interdimensional Marketplace, not slog through the umpteenth iteration of “the stoic katana girl needs to open up to her male colleagues” or “tragic little sister with an incurable illness.” The bouncy ED, which sees the main cast all singing together in the car, was the one consistent bright spot, and even that started feeling more and more like an insult as time went on. If only the rest of the show were as loose and freewheeling as those painfully short 90 seconds per episode promised.
Don’t Toy With Me, Nagatoro-San Season 2: 3.5/10
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Look, I’m no prude. I’m not above trash. Nagatoro’s first season was far from a masterpiece, but it had enough actual charm and character depth that I didn’t mind coming along for the ride. But the thing about trash is that just like every other show, you still have to do it well. Nagatoro wasn’t ever entertaining because it was a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists, it was entertaining because it found something recognizably human in spite of being a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists. And sadly, whatever spark made that first season work didn’t survive the transfer to OLM studios. There are fun moments here and there, but the overall package is just too half-hearted to care anymore. Not even the introduction of Nagatoro’s sister keeps the proceedings from feeling increasingly mindless. What’s the point of this show, really? What does it offer that I can’t get better elsewhere? Because if the only appeal is the teasing gimmick, well, Teasing Master Takagi-san is right there, people. You could be watching an actual good show about a girl mercilessly teasing her crush instead of this flavorless assembly-line mushburger of an anime. Just saying.
The Tale of Outcasts: 4.5/10
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There’s something strangely endearing about The Tale of Outcasts, despite its many flaws. Does it read like every thirteen-year-old girl’s embarrassing stash of unpublished Ancient Magus Bride fanfiction? Yes, unquestionably. But you know what? There are far worse things to be. Maybe it’s the isekai exhaustion getting to me, but there’s something so refreshing about a cringey wish-fulfillment fantasy adventure populated by stock archetypes and hacky plotting that’s actually, like, wholesome? That feels like it was made out of genuine amateurish love for Victorian splendor mixed with demon furries instead of incel resentment that the world isn’t catering to their every whim? Yeah, it’s still cringe, but it’s charmingly cringe, not revoltingly cringe. I still can’t really recommend it unless you’ve got a real soft spot for deep-voiced daddy beast people who can be your angle or your dveil, but out of all the bad shows I kept up with this season, this was the one where I never minded clicking on that next episode button, and that’s gotta count for something.
Urusei Yatsura (2nd Half): 5.5/10
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I think it takes a change in mindset to really appreciate Urusei Yatsura. True to its 70s roots, this is not an anime to watch for a constant sense of forward progression. This is a show to be enjoyed as a reliable weekly comfort, 25 minutes of mayhem every 7 days with a familiar cast of characters bouncing off each other endlessly. If you come in looking for a tightly woven narrative that’s always driving toward a forseeable endpoint like most modern anime confined to single cours runs, you’re likely to be disappointed. But if you let yourself just enjoy the chaos and don’t worry about what might come next, I think you’ll find a lot to like here. If nothing else, I appreciate Studio David sticking to that old-fashioned spirit. But I have to admit, I might’ve preferred a more streamlined adaptation that doesn’t waste a second of runtime. What can I say, I’m used to modern anime pacing. Or maybe I’m just annoyed by yet another instance of a tomboy character who wants to be more feminine. Which, you know, not Ryunosuke’s fault that particular trope has gotten so beaten to death these days, but still. Sometimes making changes for modern times isn’t such a bad thing, you know?
Revenger: 6/10
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So y’all hear about this Gen Urobuchi guy? Apparently he was pretty famous back in the day or something, IDK. He’s been plugging away at his goofy Taiwanese puppets show for the past few years and slapped his name on the story concepts of a few high profile projects for extra buzz, but now at last, he’s returned to grace us with a full story and script from his own hands! ...and apparently from 17 years in the past as well, because from what I’ve heard, Urobuchi originally wrote Revenger back in 2006, well before the one-two-three punch of Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass that would make him a household name. And boy does it definitely feel like a trial run of those shows. Not that it’s bad by any means; it’s slickly produced, the cast has good chemistry, and the Booch is clearly having fun coming up with creative ways for evil bastards to be mercilessly slaughtered. But that’s really all it is, with little of the staggering depth and emotional complexity that would later earn him a place among the greats. It’s a first draft of basically all the thematic ideas he’d later perfect: the corruption of systems of power, the failure of blind heroism, the necessity of finding hope even in the darkest corners of the earth. I still recommend it for any fans of creative edgy violence, but don’t come in expecting another Madoka. It’s a bite-sized snack of an Urobuchi show, not the main course. And I’m totally fine with that; it’s entertaining enough on its own modest merits to be worth a look.
Play It Cool, Guys (2nd Half): 6/10
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Yeah, I knew this one was gonna grow on me. There’s nothing like a really good low-key deadpan comedy to put me in a good mood at the end of a long day. Really, I think Cool Doji Danshi’s secret weapon is how much it appreciates the mundane awkwardness of everyday life. I have been in many situations much like its titular characters, little moments of confusion where the pieces don’t quite line up how they’re supposed to and before I know it I’m putting my umbrella in the fridge because I momentarily mixed it up with the groceries. And also like its title characters, I’ve learned just how damn important these moments are to my life. None of us are perfect meat machines 100% of the time; in many ways, our clumsiness is what makes us human far more than our accomplishments. And there’s something so wonderfully comforting about watching these boys (and men) come to appreciate their own imperfections much as I’ve done of myself. We need more shows that celebrate that simple silliness as well as this one does. So if you’ve been looking for something to lift your spirits in this increasingly grim world, I cannot recommend this show enough.
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: 6.5/10
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Do my eyes deceive me? A non-isekai, shoujo oriented fantasy that’s all about slavery being a bad thing? Stop the presses, we’re defying all the norms over here! Between this and the new season of Vinland Saga, it feels like we’re finally starting to push back on the noxious floodgates that Shield Hero pried open, and I could not be more thankful for that. Now, is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale a perfect depiction of the dynamics of slavery? Fuck no, it’s a young adult wish-fulfillment romance about a hot sulky fairy boy falling for the woman that was once his owner, this thing’s as problematic as an Antebellum-era Uncle Tom’s Cabin ripoff. But at least it’s actually trying to say something about the effects of dehumanization on a societal scale and how it manifests, and I’d argue it succeeds more often than it trips over itself. Plus, how fucking great is it to have an actual shoujo romance again? Set in a charming fantasy world with some actual originality? Sugar Apple Fairy Tale’s not perfect, but its charms are evident of a trend I hope to see countless other shows follow. The more fantasy anime looks like this instead of The World’s Strongest Necromancer is Reincarnated With a Cheat Skill In Another World Harem (I just made that title up, but admit it, you weren’t sure at first), the better off we’ll all be.
Ippon Again: 6.5/10
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We seriously need more good female-centric sports anime. The guys have been dominating the field with their shounens and seinens while the girls are forced to subside on moeblob table scraps more concerned with being cute than actually telling a compelling sports narrative, or else being handed the absolute bottom of the production barrel (cries in Farewell My Dear Cramer). Ippon Again isn’t gonna right the ship all on its own, but it’s a damn good first step. The characters feel like believable teenagers, their judo matches are given genuine weight and strong animation, and while it suffers from some tired sports anime cliches, it always executes them with heart firmly on its sleeve. At its best, it captures the same freewheeling adolescent spirit that defines the likes of A Place Further Than the Universe, and I don’t say that lightly. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a damn good time with no caveats, and hopefully it’ll only be the first of many great lady-centric sports anime to come.
Tsurune Season 2: 7/10
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If you’ve somehow forgotten about the first season of KyoAni’s pretty boys doing archery show Tsurune from back in 2018, well, I don’t blame you. As a testing ground for the studio’s rookie talent to take their first crack at putting their own show together, it was by far the studio’s most workmanlike production, an all-around solid experience but lacking the insane polish and panache that defines the KyoAni brand. But my god, what a difference five years makes. Tsurune’s second season isn’t just a massive upgrade on the production front, it’s a complete overhaul on the show’s entire look and feel. It’s sweeping and elegant, it’s vibrant and explosive, it’s as expertly poised and shimmering as a bowstring drawn at dawn right before it releases a brilliant arrow. This show has gone from KyoAni’s simplest looking show to one of its most richly cinematic, complete with earthier color tones and revamped score from Fruits Basket composer Masaru Yokoyama. Yes, it’s ultimately still just a show about pretty boys learning to shoot bows well as they overcome their issues together. But with such a massive step up in its look and feel, it’s officially become just as much appointment viewing as any KyoAni masterpiece.
Blue Lock (2nd Half): 7.5/10
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Now that’s more fucking like it. Last season I bemoaned the lack of edgy death game nonsense I was promised in this edgy death game sports anime, but once we reached the second selection, Blue Lock kicked into high gear and made good on its premise at last. Betrayals! Allies turned enemies! Enemies turned allies! Overcharged homoerotic rivalries and break-ups alike! Overdramatic shonen boys trying to crush each other underfoot to grow stronger! Self-actualization through rejecting the power of friendship and embracing the power of “Fuck this guy!” This is everything I wanted when I first learned about Blue Lock’s premise, twisting the classic shonen sports formula into an equally blood-pumping tale of clashing egos and selfishness as everyone fights to become the best player by embracing their worst selves. It might have taken a hot second to get there, but now that it’s arrived, this show has become some of the most deliriously entertaining chaos you’re likely to find in the genre. Well done, you mad genius.
Buddy Daddies: 8/10
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Man, whoever’s making the decisions on what shows PA Works produces is really on a roll lately, huh? It takes a real genius to look at premises like Ya Boi Kongming and Akiba Maid War and see an opportunity to create something truly special. But even that pales in comparison to the brilliance behind Buddy Daddies, a.k.a. “Hey, so this Spy x Family show is about to take over the world, right? What if we made our own version of that, but mix in the homoerotic buddy-cop energy of Tiger and Buddy to make it stand out?” That’s the kind of galaxy-brain thinking that’s rapidly making this studio a personal favorite of mind. And it’s that kind of confidence and pure solid storytelling chops that make Buddy Daddies just as entertaining and endearing as its most obvious inspiration. It’s not exactly the same- it’s set in modern day, it’s more focused on the child-raising than the assassin stuff- but it’s every bit as good at nailing that specific sweet spot of deliciously entertaining spy action, wholesome family hijinks, and the bittersweet space in between trying to reconcile those two worlds. Heck, Miri’s a way more realistic four-year-old than Anya ever was; you can tell the writers really did their research on what it’s like to care for a child that young. The year’s still young, but I think this show is already a strong contender for the feel-good masterpiece of 2023. Just don’t go in expecting the hot guys to kiss, because you will leave disappointed if you do.
The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady: 8.5/10
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We’ve done it, folks. We’ve finally cracked the code on how to make modern isekai great. Step One: Center it on a female protagonist with an actual personality instead of an empty self-insert male-patterned cooler full of stale oatmeal. Step Two: Make your story all about subverting the exhausting masturbatory self-centeredness of vanilla isekai in favor of a symbolic or literal revolution to give power back to all lovers of fantasy instead of pandering to maladjusted thirty-year-old manchildren. Step Three: As part of that progressive reinvention, make it GAY. AS. FUCK. The Executioner and her Way of Life was a strong step in the right direction, but as good as that show was, there was clearly still room to push things even further. But now, at last, that potential has been fully realized by the stunning tale of a reincarnated princess and a genius young lady coming together to revolutionize the world. Folks, MagiRevo fucking rules. The main leads are wonderful separately and even more wonderful together, the production is strong enough to carry the story’s soaring ambition, and it’s a genuinely powerful exploration of the harms caused by archaic systems of patriarchal power, and how difficult it is- but also how necessary- to change what’s been leading a society down the wrong path for so long. And while it drags a little in the midsection, it all culminates in a spectacular final act and a final episode that had me sobbing in my seat for 25 straight minutes. This isn’t just the best isekai since Re:Zero, this is a triumph of queer fantasy carving its own revolution through a genre that’s desperately needed it for far too long. So come join me and raise your banner with Anis and Euphie, because their journey deserves all the attention we can give. I promise, you won’t regret it.
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eurydicees · 9 months
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Random ask, who are your top 5 (or top 3) fav characters from Haikyuu? And why do you love them? Also, what are your top 5 fav moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....
oh i would LOVE to answer !!! sorry it took so long to get to this!! this was sooooo hard to do. it's not in any particular order because i can't bring myself to do a favorites list like that, as i have so much love in my body to give to the world and also haikyuu specifically. under the cut because this got long!! there ARE manga spoilers in this post!!!
top 5 characters
oikawa
yeah we all say this one coming let's be honest with ourselves here. his growth as a person genuinely makes me crazy. he's so well developed and he's truly such a fascinating character. his arc is beautifully tied in with the MCs and beautifully ended. the way it all ties together and comes together with him at the end...chef's kiss. i have a whole theory about the way it all comes back to oikawa that i have ranted about on discord but i have not posted it...oops.
bokuto
my beloved............he means so much to me. he's so special in my heart. adhd representation fr. he's so much smarter and has so much more depth than people give him credit for--which drives me crazy and i hate it--and he genuinely has such an impact on the narrative that doesn't get appreciated enough. i love him so much.
atsumu
i really don't know how to put this into words but i'm so obsessed with him. he's so important to me. it's smth about the drive and hunger to get better at what you love, the absurd confidence in yourself that is earned rather than a facade, the way he never sees another option but putting all of your heart into what you love and want to do....he means everything to me.
akaashi
i don't know if this one will come as a surprise to people, but he's fr one of my favorite characters. he's so interesting. his mindset is really interesting and i absolutely loved seeing him in the fukurodani v mujinazaka game--it's about how he recovers, how he learns to keep trying as best he can no matter if he's worth it or not or strong enough or not, how deeply he loves his team and how deeply they love him, how he learns to love them rather than try to control them. it's just like. you and those you love being the most important people in the world, the protagonist of your own story and life, but also not being afraid of losing. not being afraid of trying, even if it means you may fail. give me your 120%. i know you can. man. i don't even know. he makes me crazy.
kenma
oh man. his journey and arc makes me...i don't even know. it means so much to me. the promise to make him say something was fun or frustrating--then nekoma's loss, and him saying it was fun anyways. oh my god. crying about it tbh. his development as a character: not particularly remarkable at first sight, but cunning and smart underneath what he looks like, learning to put every piece of himself into a game, learning to have fun while playing even if he loses. man. yeah. kenma.
top 5 moments
tanaka's mediocre me monologue (chp 263)
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aaaaaaaa. this idea that you may be mediocre but that doesn't mean you can't risk it all and push yourself further and be the best. it's the whole POINT of haikyuu. don't limit yourself because of your insecurities or because someone tells you that you can't do something. you don't have time to waste by giving up or doubting yourself, because there's so much you can do. this is the moment that solidified tanaka's character for me; i hadn't super loved him before this moment and then i got to this and went. oh. yeah. ok. that's really good actually.
nekoma's loss to karasuno (chp 324)
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oh my god. this makes me crazy. i don't even have words for it. don't make me think about it. i'mc rying.
kiryuu's monologue (chp 334)
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it's just. the idea of this top 3 ace who doesn't have enough confidence to believe in himself learning to "channel your inner narcissist." AND ITS BOKUTO WHO INSPIRES IT. CRYING. and like just this idea that well, you may not have confidence in yourself, but other people believe in you and you believe in them, so don't let them down by talking down to yourself. and like..."it takes everything i have to keep up with this man, it takes everything i have to play volleyball" and playing anyways...i'm biting things .
oikawa's volleyball is fun moment (chp 373)
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oh my god ok. this moment means everything to me. it's about the burn out it's about the passion it's about the rediscovery it's about the fun it's about the love it's actually the point of everything it's what matters it's one of the best chapters in the manga, one of the best pieces of development for oikawa, one of the best pieces of development for hinata, i'm going crazy i'm so insane about this moment . i actually cried reading this for the first time. tears streaming down my face. i have a more in depth post about this moment here!!! but like genuinely as someone who experiences artistic burnout so easily and so often, the reminder that what you love is fun is so important to me. easily one of my favorite moments in any piece of writing ever.
the ending (chp 402)
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i'm not gonna include the whole monologue but it makes me fuckign wild. i just. yeah. yeah. yeah. haikyuu. it means so much to me.
honorable mentions for top moments:
"if i'm here, you're invincible" don't touch me i'm crying
NISHINOYA FOOT RECIEVE
yamaguchi's failed serve and the way karasuno recovers & yamaguchi's six points & tsukki and yamaguchi's serve and block panel with the shield and spear. going insane.
"when oikawa is backed into a corner, he'll set to iwaizumi" i'm actually crawling up the walls about this
the last point in the second aoba johsai game. enough said.
tsukki's Moment TM . you all know exactly which one i'm talking about.
kenma calling yamamoto tora
"volleyball is a sport where you're always looking up".......garbled screaming at this
HINATA PERFECT RECEIVE
tsukki's "if i could stuff this now i'm sure everyone would go crazy, but i can't, so...you better be there hinata" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the last inarizaki point. the reflection in kita's eyes. the flashes of we don't need the memories. this angle, this position, it's perfect. the parallels to the last aoba johsai point. speed isn't invincible...those two understood that a little better than everyone else. oh my god. shaking.
can you tell that my favorite game is the inarizaki one. because really i should just say my favorite moment is that entire game.
kenma's "it hurts. it's painful. i don't ever want this to end." & "don't give up on me now hinata"
the kenhina knife fight. oh my god. i feel deranged with the way i talk about this panel.
"someone even better will find you" oh my god kageyama my sweetheart
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duhragonball · 10 months
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Dragon Ball Super manga Ch. 47-50
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Man, you said it, Piccolo.
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So Moro has escaped the Galactic Patrol’s prison after 10,000,000 years in confinement, and his plan is to restore his original magic power by using the Namekian Dragon Balls.  He found out about the Namekians from fellow prisoner Cranberry, who was one of Frieza’s goons during the Namek Saga of DBZ.  So when Moro escaped, he took Cranberry with him to lead him to the Namekians, although I’m not sure how that works, since Cranberry would have no idea how to find New Namek, or that there’s even a New Namek to be found.
Anyway, Goku and Vegeta tried to stop Moro, only to get their powers drained, and they’ve spent the last three days recovering while Moro has been very slowly gathering the Dragon Balls.  Goku thinks they can stop him by hiding the one they’re with and suppressing their ki.  But it turns out Moro can detect the Dragon Balls directly, so he doesn’t need to rely on Namekian life signs to show him the way.
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So Goku and Vegeta decide to face him head on, since they don’t seem to have any better options.  Moro is surprised to find they’re still alive, but he plans to kill them once and for all this time. 
Oh, when I was complaining about how this arc just rehashes a lot of themes and imagery from classic Dragon Ball, I forgot to mention how Moro’s whole dynamic with Cranberry and his quest to restore his former power is lifted straight from King Piccolo.  It’s a shame, because I want to like Moro.  He has a cool look if nothing else, but they’re just not giving me anything to work with here.
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So things look dire for Goku and Vegeta, until suddenly Merus shows up.  Recall that Goku and Vegeta teleported to New Namek on their own because Merus’ ship was still a few days’ travel away from the planet.  Well, those days have passed, and now Merus is here to lend a hand.  First he reveals this new device that was designed to trap Moro temporarily.  It won’t last long, but it doesn’t have to.  Merus just needs Moro to hold still for the second part of his plan...
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...Majin Buu, whom he brought along.  The only one who could defeat Moro ten million years ago was the Grand Supreme Kai, and Majin Buu absorbed him five million years ago, so Merus has used hypnotherapy to reawaken the Kaioshin’s memories within Buu, and apparently it worked.  Buu not only recognizes Moro, but he’s outraged at all the terrible things Moro did in the past. 
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Moro breaks free of Merus’ sticky trap, but it doesn’t seem to matter, because Buu kicks the shit out of him.  Moro’s energy draining ability doesn’t seem to work on Buu at all, and Buu seems to have gotten stronger from having the Kaioshin’s dormant memories brought out.  But this is all for nothing if Buu doesn’t use the magic-sealing technique that Merus needs him to use. 
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But before Buu can use that technique, Cranberry summons the Namekian Dragon, and starts making wishes.  Apparently he has some device that can force a Namekian to translate his wishes, which is a clever plot device, except Cranberry never made it far enough to find out that Porunga only responds to the Namekian language, so I don’t see how he would have known to use a device like this. 
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Anyway, Moro convinces Cranberry to wish for Moro’s magic to be restored, and then he kills Cranberry for his trouble, because he has another wish he needs granted.  We don’t find out what that is right away, but stay tuned.
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Meanwhile, Buu restores Goku and Vegeta to their full power and assumes the appearance and personality of the Grand Supreme Kai for the duration of this battle.  I never thought of this before, but maybe Buu’s healing powers were always abilities he got from the Kais he absorbed, rather than an innate power.  I guess the only way to know for sure would be if Kid Buu healed someone, but he’d never do that.
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Then we get a bonus segment which reveals Cranberry’s origin story.  He was the Frieza soldier who got beat up by the Namekian villagers, and Zarbon superkicked him to death.  Well, Mr. Popo wished back everyone who was killed by Frieza and his soldiers, and that includes Cranberry, who managed to escape Namek’s destruction by fleeing in Vegeta’s spaceship.  This probably would have been more interesting if Cranberry had gotten to do more in this story, but he’s already dead, so we know he’s done.
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Moro declares victory and tries to leave the planet, but the good guys pursue, although only Buu can fight Moro in the vacuum of space.  The problem is that he’s no longer a match for Moro now that Moro’s got his magic restored.  He goes for that technique the Kai used 10 million years ago, but Moro figures out it’s a bluff.  Buu doesn’t have the power to execute it this time.  But why should that be?
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Merus suspects that it’s because Majin Buu separated into two beings during the Buu Saga.  Merus assumed that the good Buu retained all of the Grand Supreme Kai’s power, since he kept the Kai’s appearance, but maybe Kid Buu got some of it after all.  And since Kid Buu is dead, that means the surviving Buu doesn’t have the power he needs to pull off Merus’ plan. 
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But it’s not all bad news.  Merus’ original idea has failed, but Goku and Vegeta are confident that they can overpower Moro in a fair fight.  The problem is that Moro keeps using his magic to drain their power, which spoils things.  So Merus sends them back to New Namek, and he goes out to help Buu. With his sticky trap weapon and the Grand Supreme Kai’s teleportation power, they manage to bring Moro back to the planet’s surface, where they can all fight him together. 
So I like that idea.  Moro’s not invincible like Super Buu or Jiren.  He’s got a lot of different abilities, but he still has some weaknesses, which can be exploited as long as Goku, Vegeta, Buu, and Merus work together.  Unfortunately, Moro had one other trick up his sleeve.
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Remember that other wish he made to Porunga?  Well it was to free all the prisoners at the Galactic Patrol’s jail.  He had struck a deal with them all before the story started, and now that he’s busted them out, they head for New Namek to back him up.  Wait, how did they get to New Namek so quickly?  It took Merus days to make the trip.
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Of course, you might wonder what difference escaped convicts could make in a battle like this, but Moro uses his magic to empower them, which is also a nice touch.  Moro may not be physically strong enough to defeat a Super Saiyan Blue, but he can make others stronger, and he can drain Goku and Vegeta’s powers while they take on the small fry. 
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Eventually, Goku and Vegeta are overwhelmed, and the good guys are forced to withdraw.  Goku prepares to teleport everyone back to GP headquarters, but Vegeta decides that he’s sick of this shit and refuses to join the others.  Instead, he takes off after the spaceship that brought Merus’ group to New Namek. 
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They make their own escape, and the pilot plans to regroup with the others at GP headquarters, but Vegeta forces him to take the ship to Yardrat instead. 
And this is really the first interesting twist to the whole arc.  I was getting pretty bored with Goku and Vegeta being joined at the hip, getting outmaneuvered by Moro while Merus makes all his big plans.  It’s one thing when it’s just one of them, but when they’re both doing the same thing, it’s redundant, so it makes sense for Vegeta to get sick of this shit and seek out an alternative strategy.  He’s sick of magic and tricks and teleportation, and he’s convinced that he can defeat Moro in a direct confrontation, so he’s chosen to take matters into his own hands.  So we’ll see how it plays out. 
Things have gotten a little better with these chapters, but I’m still not sold on this story.  We’ll just have to see how it goes...
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aotopmha · 1 year
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I'm finally catching up with the manga for Vinland Saga because the season 2 material overall is just ridiculously solid, but I'm also always sad when a great story defaults to old, uninteresting tropes that I think could fairly easily be avoided.
After episode 18 of season 2 I decided to finally pick up the manga to see what happens next (so spoilers here) – and, yes, as is easy to assume, Arnheid dies.
It "makes sense" that she dies in context, but so few stories seem able to avoid this trope of killing the cool female character to make you sad and the more it is done, the older it gets to me.
And the biggest issue to me here is that I feel like you absolutely could've made the same narrative point without killing her.
As far as I know Ketil and his farm, Einar, Arnheid or almost anyone else in this arc aren't even historical. Thorfinn, Leif and Canute are the only characters to currently have the most historical backing.
Vinland Saga is a hyper-dramatised narrative combining history and the fantastical Icelandic sagas and it usually does a good job balancing the historical and fictional aspects of the setting, but the discussion of "realism" within these types of stories is always interesting to have.
Thorkell can throw Thorfinn against trees and long distances in the air, breaking countless bones and he survives and is fine through so much hurt, yet the story can't bring itself to have Ketil hit Arnheid a few times less or just a little less hard or even have Snake interrupt a few moments earlier, so she could at least recover.
I only made it to her death scene right now and it almost even made me tear up. (I think I probably will cry when it happens in the anime.)
It's a well-written scene in isolation, but there is also an element of strange thematic disconnect to have the characters directly tell you the very solid reasons she could have been kept alive on the narrative level.
She could've found new hope and a new life travelling with Thorfinn and Einar and be one of the women joining them on the ship to their journey to Vinland.
The whole arc was about Thorfinn finding/rediscovering (new) meaning to live, so why couldn't have Arnheid?
It's the first time I've taken issue with the actual writing of the story, which is fairly impressive (took almost 2 whole seasons) – any issues I had prior to this were fairly minor (pacing with Canute's arc, for example), but this really bothered me because the narrative literally kept none of the reasons to write Arnheid out, either.
Her previous husband (and child) already died. Leif gave money for her and aside from that, Ketil seems to be heading to be captured, dead himself or simply surrender to the king and stay where he is.
(We'll see where that goes.)
Einar, Thorfinn and Leif are now free men and have no beef with Canute and even if they were to run into issues with him, Arnheid would have little to do with it.
And even if they all survive and at one point give chase, I think Ketil, Thorgil or Snake could be taken on by Thorfinn and Einar.
My point is, it feels like killing Arnheid was writing a sad scene for the sake of writing a sad scene.
I think tragedy works when it has backing. And I think this has some character backing (her rejoining her husband, additional motivation for Thorfinn and Einar), but I think at this point not much thematic backing or even plot backing.
People often say characters deserve better simply because they like them, but I think Arnheid absolutely not just deserved better because she was a cool character, but because she deserved better writing backing her character.
It's so strangely jarring to me because I think the story has been so good otherwise.
I know at least one other important female character should show up to be a mainstay if the story keeps to history and that character should be there to stay up to the end, but it's also a bummer that the first female character in the story with any depth got such a jarring ending.
I'll hear the story out (I'm currently at chapter 93) because this is still right after Arnheid died, but I really doubt there could be any reason the story could give me that'll make her death feel less like shock value.
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aftongiulien · 1 year
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This was a request from @onecantsimply (Sorry again for what happen)
jack the ripper x heracle sister
Warnings: a Little manga spoiler, character death.
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Jack the ripper,the most famous searial killer in the history of humanity, caught the Eye of heracle's sister and Zeus daughter y/n, the young girl Is the sister of a Demi-god and also a demi-godness,
jack not only falls in love with her beauty, grace and personality but even her colours are beautiful, the colore of true love and Happiness, always make jack's Heart mealt.
Jack first met you when wandering around the corridors of the arena. you were walking around searching for your Brother,as you saw him. His beautiful eterechromia caught your Eyes,his gery hair were trully a good match with his Eyes. He seemed Lost, searching for someone so you got closer, before you could even speak, he turned around giveing you a gentle smile " my my my, what such a pretty lady we have here," his Eyes slowly tracing your body "are you Lost? Do you Need help m'lady?"
He kissed your Hand,and you blushed Quickly, hiding your blushing face in your Hand you said "mhh,n-no thank you, y-you looked Lost and i wanted to help you," jack smiled, caressing your face" oh dear,so kind of you but do not worry about me, i'm Just waiting for someone and you?" " Mhhm me too, uhhh mmm what's your name, mh *chukld* my gentleman" you earned a delighted chuckle from jack before he spoke "jack,jack the ripper, and you?" "Mhh? Jack Is very pretty name, Just like you, my name Is y/n," the man blushed like hell,and After a long and Happy conversation you greeted each other goodbye.
ok so now let's pass to the agnst part, jack Kills Hercules. That's terribile you're Heart Is broken and jack's even more,
For a moment your Heart shook for the shock, you negrt thought jack was evil, you knew he had to do It but still It hurted like hell.
After seeing his comdition, you jumped in the arena Helping him out,your colours showed worry for Jack and disgust for the crowd that's abusing Jack.
After his very very long recovery finally jack was able to be by your side,to help you and love you the way you love him,but still he feels guilty, you helped him recover, you've been by his side even thought he's the One Who took your brother away, please comfort him and tell him that he Isn't a Monster.
He Will probably spend hours looking at your colors, love seeing your kindeness and love fill your aurea makes his Heart Flutter, but still when he sees your stress he's pained, he knows After Hercules dissapearing you would have to take his place
But still jack Will Always help you throught everything, stress? He'll set up a relaxing bath, aroma candls are a must, and obviously your favourite drink.
After all jack Will Always love you even thought your uncle Zeus,adamas and Hades, really scare him, not to mention Ares and Hermes, please hold jack's Hand when you bring him over to meet the family,man Is scared as f.
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fizzingwizard · 3 months
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Time for some semi-ritual bitching about one of my favorite bitch-worthy topics, Yugioh
Why couldn't they have just done Memory World properly
Why make us suffer through Doma... and especially KC Grand Prix, a single episode of which is more boring than filler in any other fandom... and they made an entire filler arc out of it! Like Doma has lots of faults but at least it tried to do something interesting. It tried to develop characters, which proooobably shouldn't have been undertaken by a filler arc with no canon script to follow, but gold star for trying! Had a shitty finale not remotely worthy of its awesome beginning, but did we really expect any better? lol. KC Grand Prix tho, no. That's just there to Idk be mean to men with pink hair and dumb names?? In the ridiculous hair dumb names anime???
cut because Fizz has the curse of long-windedness thanks my evil fairy godmother
anyway back to Memory World, maybe the issue was the story in the manga still lagged behind where the anime was. I don't remember. If so I guess there was no choice but filler. Still, did they have to blow the budget on it? They lost most of their good animators during Doma, where they also introduced a couple new crap ones who stuck around till the end of course -___- And no doubt the animators were getting paid peanuts for long hours of work, and if they'd run out of budget to even pay that... well clearly the show should have been shorter. Like two whole filler arcs shorter. Just take a break, take a pause, come back when you're ready to do Memory World the way it should be done. Back then no one took breaks, "The fans will forget us," nowadays TV shows just up and away for multiple years at a time x'D before returning suddenly with a new season.
The reason I'm still salty and plan to be salty to my grave is just this. Memory World is the one and only YGO arc since season zero that was not explicitly about card games. They'd been dropping hints since the first that we could expect ancient Egypytian shenanigans in the finale. We were supposed to find out about Atem's lost memories and recover his name. That was the driving force behind everything that wasn't filler. I specifically became a fan as a kid because I enjoyed reading about Ancient Egypt and thought the idea of a millennia-old feud between a pharaoh and whoever Bakura really was sounded neat. So I watched hours and hours and hours of card games all for the sake of making it to Ancient Egypt.
(don't get me wrong I enjoyed the card games lol. Never ask a YGO fan to explain how watching characters stand around and yell "Pot of Greed allows me to draw two cards from my deck!" for hundreds of episodes somehow stayed fresh and interesting)
So we reach Memory World at loooooooong last and. And the animation is the worst. Atem falls off a cliff it's just like "ow." Bakura isn't have as intriguing anymore now that he's a poorly drawn anime guy with scars. He arrives toting Atem's father's mummy it should be scary. It should be shocking. But instead, for some reason we watched dancing girls of questionable historical accuracy repeat the same frame several times, while Atem makes a face like a baby trying his hardest to go number two in his diaper. In the manga this scene is really funny, with Siamun being Sugoroku in every way, and Atem in his awkwardness being more Yugi-like than we've ever seen him. In the anime they are just going through the motions. There's no life in anything.
The one thing the anime version got right was understanding that this was the one and only opportunity we'd have to learn about Atem. You know, half of the main character for the whole show. Even the manga is really so busy doing plot stuff it kind of forgets to make us care about the ancient Egyptian cast. The anime took advantage of the need for pacing to give us a couple low key moments about Atem & Friends, but for some reason it decided we should 1) know what Atem looked like falling flat on his nose as a toddler, and 2) show us that from a young age he was making grand progressive speeches about equality. Seeing Atem portrayed as a nice guy who cared about people gave me mixed emotions after watching him struggle for seasons with the possibility that he might have been a bad king and not remember it. Because we got a whole season of him making mistakes and disappointing fans in Doma, and now in Memory World the final answer to what kind of person Atem was is just "well he's a good guy in the modern sense of the word lol" and then we move on. Also, neither that speech, nor Doma, are manga canon, but fans on the whole remember Doma much better than they remember nice guy baby Atem. Which is so very nice -.-;
So Memory World could have been so much fun, exciting, adventurous in a way you can't always be when you have to stay put on a holo-duel stage (card games on motorcycles hasn't been invented yet!), and insightful about a character who has been the central point of everything yet whom we knew next to nothing about. Instead it was a poorly animated clusterfuck of battle scenes that were difficult to make sense of. The Bakura stuff was the best. The Kaiba-insert filler was the worst. I was disappointed with Set's arc in the manga as well, another thing that had been built up for years and years and ended up more about the mysterious waif-like dragon girl than Set vs Atem. If the anime changed something to add in Kaiba, I wish they'd have rewritten the Set vs Atem duel so it was mildly interesting, and Idk maybe Kaiba could have teamed up with Atem against his past self, which would have aggravated him to no end? Instead of just wandering around insisting none of this could really be happening. Or he should just not have been there at all. Personally I go the DSOD route and pretend Kaiba was never in Memory World, same as the manga. It's not like erasing him from the anime version has any impact on events bahahaha. He was included for MONEY MONEY MONEY popular character NEEDS to stick around even if he has abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do because MONEY MONEY MONEY
I love DSOD to pieces. But my own dream for the anniversary project was a remake of Memory World. Even if it had been a 90 min movie version instead of several episodes, as long as it was better quality, and invested in Atem as a character instead of simply as a pawn in a game, I would have enjoyed those 90 mins better than the entire Memory World season. Doma and KC Grand Prix were a mistake if they played a role in how awful Memory World was.
But they did the Millennium Duel well. Not astonishing, but really, except for useless Kaiba being there, it was more than adequate. (And although Kaiba himsefl was useless, it was cool seeing him rejected as an opponent for Atem in favor of Yugi. Actually I kinda wish they'd made a bigger deal out of that...) Kid me cried buckets (actually I must have been well into my teens by then bahahaha. I def cried though). Thanks to those final two episodes, the series send-off didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. If it had ended with Memory World it would have been an even bigger disappointment to me than the finale of Bleach. And I despise the finale of Bleach x'D
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