#Oda's expression game is on point

[opbackgrounds]

Thriller Bark has no right to be as funny as it is

[lnkedmyheart]

This one is in response to @fizzytastic asking

"I would LOVE to know what you mean regarding the light novels."

Dazai in the light novels has been down BAD since the day he met Chuuya.

I know the whole "must be because I love you" can be viewed as a joke but my man actually "whispered with a look of regret" at being shot down.

He also proceeded to cheat during the game by tampering with the machine to ensure Chuuya would lose the bet and become his dog. He was also stated as being in awe of Chuuya's fighting ability, repeatedly refering to him as "incredible". Dazai also flat out admits to wanting to try out living because "Chuuya convinced" him.

He is even described as having forgotten how to breathe watching Chuuya fight.

Moving on to the events of Stormbringer, Dazai spends too long exposing his obsession with Chuuya, telling the big bad that he spends all his "days and nights thinking about ways to annoy Chuuya".

He further proceeds to insist that Chuuya is human because of how strongly he hates Chuuya and due to a specific word it can be viewed as him saying Chuuya would hate him less if he wasnt human as was stated in the stage play of the same.

Furthermore at the end of Stormbringer he offers to come up with a new plan to give Chuuya an out if he needs one when he has to use corruption as a last resort. And he fully intends on coming up with a new plan within 2 minutes.

In general Dazai does a lot of staring at Chuuya throughout the light novels. On a lighter note Dazai jokes about wanting Chuuya as his personal maid at one point and demands that Chuuya let Dazai look inside his head and know everything there is to know about him.

But then we move onto the dragon head conflict as mentioned in Dead Apple where after making light of an executive's death and getting punched in the face by Chuuya, Dazai is so shaken up by Chuuya implying he's inhuman, he actually pulls strings to try and bring the conflict to an end. He also stops corruption by touching his cheek and pulls Chuuya's head into his lap while he is unconscious after his fight with Shibusawa. The following is from the manga.

Now everyone knows about the whole Snow White and Prince reference but in the light novel its clarified that Chuuya's ability was not affected by the fog and Dazai knew this but he still forces his head down. Even more telling is that Dazai cradles Chuuya's face for no real reason because Corruption had already been nullified when Chuuya made skin to skin contact when punching him in the face.

And of course that was how their expressions are drawn in the manga panel

Then we move to the present day and you have Dazai saying this to Sigma about Chuuya

But then his comment about Gide has him claim the exact same behaviour is romantic in his messed up troll brain

Basically Dazai has a history of staring at Chuuya in awe since 15, "jokingly" confessed at 15 and then got somewhat upset about the rejection, cheated to be able to keep Chuuya as his, repeatedly makes remarks that imply he is vaguely obsessed with him at 16, tends to let Chuuya rest his head in his lap post corruption, has nullified him twice that we have seen by touching his cheek (as per the movie and once as per the ln). Is actively affected by how Chuuya views him (which was shocking to me).

Aside from that he has also talked about Chuuya to the ADA off screen because Yosano knew about Chuuya and his ability (though this could just be a random update about the membera of the mafia to watch out for during meetings) and I heard he talked about Chuuya to Oda in The Day I Picked Up Dazai ln.

This is not counting any of the seriously insane amount of wan content because I dont view it as canon or atleast entirely canon but there Dazai admits to keeping 27 journals detailing things about Chuuya and its an exaggeration of the canon fact that Dazai prides himself in being a Chuuya Nakahara Encyclopedia. It also plays with how close they both actually are with several character refering to them as besties, Chuuya being forced to admit he doesnt actually hate Dazai.

(Oh and this is not even considering just how much Dazai touches Chuuya, like in the manga there is a part where Dazai keeps tugging at Chuuya's hair and refusing to let go while complaining about how much he doesnt want to touch him. Just let go dude...)

So yea, I would not be surprised if Dazai has his vows prepared by the time the last pre defection ln drops. Ofcourse this is mostly a lighthearted joke about Dazai being down bad but in all seriousness, Dazai genuinely cared about and still cares about Chuuya and its made extremely obvious throughout the novels. Its actually worth noting that it was actually Chuuya who seemed to be more vitriolic towards him until the end of Stormbringer where Dazai actually gives Chuuya a choice and shows open concern for Chuuya's needs. Hell Dazai was also the one insisting on Chuuya's autonomy, while he keeps insisting Chuuya is his dog, he hates the idea of people using him like a tool, its why he always gives Chuuya a choice. Chuuya always actively chooses to go rescue Dazai in Dazai's plans of getting kidnapped. Chuuya can always go, "nah, I dont wanna use corruption" but he doesnt because he knows since the events of stormbringer that Dazai will always give him a choice even if corruption seems like a last resort.

Chuuya has good reason for trusting Dazai. Its cause Dazai has in fact proven to him that he can trust him. Its why he went in to fight a dragon despite being told Dazai was possibly already dead.

(And yea I know the current arc would have people go "lol he tried to drown Chuuya, he clearly doesnt care" and you know what? That's so dumb. Dazai tried to drown Chuuya, yes. But we dont actually know what is happening with this arc rn and what he is doing or if Chuuya is in any way involved in whatever he is doing. Dazai said all those things and there was no need for him to say that but the fact that he even remembered several moments they shared, yea no, he was clearly affected by it. Maybe I am wrong and Asagiri decided to yeet out all of Dazai's characterization we saw with his behaviour towards Chuuya in 2 entire novels of his past but IDK I think I'm gonna wait till this arc ends and everything unfolds before making a conclusion about how Dazai is such an asshole he tried to drown his partner.)

Seriously, vows are like the least they could do at this point.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

the episode of 👁 👄 👁 savanaclaw

Apparently, the artist for the Twisted Wonderland manga adaptation will be changing for the Episode of Savanaclaw???

The artist for the Episode of Heartslabyul was one of Yana Toboso’s assistants. The Episode of Savanaclaw will be taken over by another mangaka, Oda Suzuka (who has worked on the manga for Pretty Boys Detective Club, Psychic Detective Yakumo, and the Owarimonogatari TV specials.

It’s certainly a stylistic change from Heartslabyul (Leona’s expression looks more friendly than fierce to me), but I’m looking forward to seeing how Savanaclaw is adapted. The latter is pretty universally considered one of the weaker points in the game’s main story, so I’ll be on the lookout for how the manga tackles its presentation. I’m sure it’ll be a fun ride regardless!

... Now I’m curious if a new artist will take over for each dorm’s episode??? Or maybe the decision to change artists was done now because the previous artist was needed to help with Black Butler/Yana’s other projects.

[seanlovesdbz]

Netflix recently released a live action adaptation of one of the world’s most popular anime and manga, One Piece. This adaptation was met with praise from fans and critics around the world as it stays faithful to the source material by capturing the characters goofy personalities, displaying the over-the-top unrealistic fight scenes, and following a similar storyline which many adaptations fail to do. The success of this show has led to the belief that we are now living in a time where adaptations can be done successfully as long as they are created by teams who truly care about the original.

One Piece’s success has led to discussions around other popular anime’s being adapted for live-action with some already receiving this treatment and failing, but in recent times these adaptations have become more successful than in the past as evident by One Piece and the live-action adaptation of Detective Pikachu, based on the Pokémon video games and anime. During 2017 Netflix created an adaption of the 2003 manga and 2006 anime, Death Note, which failed miserably and was despised by critics and fans of the original. This hatred came from the major changes Netflix made to the original, the characters were changed from Japanese to American with their personalities severely altered, all events are based in Seattle, and due to the shortened time the plot was condensed and ending changed. The original creators were also not directly involved with the movie which meant all changes were made by those not familiar with the original product. This attempt at their first anime adaptation proved as a strong learning point for Netflix with all the issues they had that led to Death Note failing, fixed for the adaptation of One Piece.

The One Piece creator, Eiichiro Oda, was heavily involved with production on the adaptation as well as casting which ensured that all characters closely resembled and acted like the character he created. The show had a large budget of 138 million USD which created realistic sets and props that allowed viewers to be fully immersed in the world. As well as allowing the first part of the story to be told over 8 one-hour long episodes which prevented the story from being rushed and missing important aspects to the plot. Netflix has shown that using these methods is a formula for success, which begs the question. Is it time for a live-action Dragon Ball Z?

The first attempt at creating a live action Dragon Ball Z failed miserably, with Dragon Ball: Evolution being considered one of the worst movies of all time, with the creator himself expressing his disgust with the final product. The movie failed due to having nothing in common with the original source material besides the name, the characters are nothing like their inspiration, being whitewashed and devoid of all characteristics that made fans fall in love with them, as well as completely throwing out the overall plot of the show. This attempt in 2009 led to the creator, Akira Toriyama, coming back to create more content for the Dragon Ball universe as he did not want the film to become the last piece of his legacy. However, this attempt was more than 10 years ago and now with Dragon Ball content reducing, it may now be the time for a live action adaptation to flourish due to audiences wanting things similar to Netflix’s One Piece.

If a new adaption were to be created following Netflix’s formula would be essential to its success, and there would be support from many influential fans such as movie star Michael B Jordan.

Based in response to:

[noa-ciharu]

Actually idk why fandom is so worried Chuuya might die when all signs indicate that's very unlikely to happen. I mean:

Chapter ended on cliffhanger. Asagiri does this often and it's always to hangs readers on suspense. Remember chap then ended with Kunikida and explosion? He was MIA for few chapters then turned out to be alive from something he surely would have died of (irl). Same thing with half of Agency happend at some point.

Which brings me to second point. In manga we saw no major or minor characters die. All who die are chapter based characters, such as Ace or that girl with bomb around her neck. Both times it's clear character was written solely with point of dying and serving as character development for another character (Fyodor and Kunikida). Chuuya has his own story in mangas and novels, it simply wouldn't be fitting to kill him off screen on 3 pages.

Some characters escaped death. Take Gogol for example, he was cut in half. Pulled ability trick and turned out to be alive. Kenji was stabbed by sword but turned out to be fine (another cliffhanger). Vilians who got defeated turned out to be fine too (Fitzgerald for example, he fell from great height but didnt die). There were many instances where Asagiri could easily get rid of characters but they(he? idk author's pronounce) decided to keep them all and involve in story later on again.

Chuuya is put under vampire ability curse. It's a wonder if he can even die as he's already 'undead'. Plus readers weren't shown how he got bitten/cursed and what happened of port mafia (no way they'll all die due to it, too many important characters are infected). Perhaps when Chuuya returns to being human (by Dazai's ability), he'd recall that in a flashback.

Chuuya's and Fyodor's survivals are connected. Dazai did that in order to kill Fyodor. Now, do you really think series main villan would go down like that? No way. Also Dazai is clever, he wouldn't gamble Chuuya's survival like that, so I don't think it'll be Fyodor lives but Chuuya dies situation either. Not to mention that Gogol is still around, he could put some shit. So from narratives perspective it'll make little sense to kill Chuuya in the manner chapter ended. Of course, some mangas have death for shock value and message that noone is spared from death's unexpectedness but BSD isn't one of those. It's more about mystery, complicated plot and mental games than shock value. Asagiri could put thousand ways to prevent their death as it was done before in story to other characters.

Which brings me to the last one: Dazai's reaction. Now, Dazai is morally grey character with manipulative or even sadistic side to him. Nonetheless, after Oda's death and him switching sides, he actively tries to be a better man. He's ruthless now only when he needs to be. He values life now. So only way I can see him drowning Chuuya on purpose is if Dazai concluded it's the only possible way to get rid of Fyodor and his gang once and for all and there is no other solution. Chuuya would be the sacrifice then. Since 1) no way Fyodor will die there 2) Dazai would gamble Chuuya's life on senseless mistakes in his schemes, Dazai knows there's a solid chance of their survival. Also his joke at the end is pretty good indicator that Chuuya isn't in danger, otherwise I seriously doubt he'd smile and jest like that.

Now, Dazai cares for lifes of his commanders. He wouldnt let Atsushi or Kunikida be killed thanks to his schemes. Nor would he let Chuuya. Here, his facial expression:

It's mostly hidden from the view, eyes and mouth not shown in one picture - expression and emotions not meant for readers to see (because Dazai implicitly keeps his emotions in check and rarely shows them). He looks somber and melancholic. Evidently not happy with what he has to do, since there, after all, is the risk Chuuya might die. From Dazai's perspective. He recalls times they spent together, reminisce something about emotional bond, all things that are unlike his unfeeling self, and then -

Turns it into joke and cruelty. I believe this is a mask to server for readers, Sigma and himself as well (also a good indicator that he's not taking this too seriously perhaps?). Because Dazai perceives emotions as weakness (he internalized that, maybe he doesn't think that consciously, but he does think that on primal ego level), he can't allow himself to be perceived as possessing a weakness neither by audience, Sigma, nor himself.

[azureaqua]

Final Showdown! (a.k.a Last of the Ikemen artbreeder series, the Ikesen guys - Pt. 2)

Yay, I'm not dead! Or I have just risen from the dead.

After nearly 2 months I've made the Ikesen guys too! Let me tell you, this was the hardest & longest one tbh. I had to make asian portraits only and there were 17 guys in total, so yeah, it took some time.

(It's also kind of funny how - unintentionally - I did my 3 main Ikemen games in a certain order; the way the suitors' number grow each time lol.)

I'm not sure if I'm as satisfied with this batch as I want to be, despite the time and effort, but all together they look nice! So let's get into it!  

↓

Part 1 here, if you missed!

• Oda Nobunaga

(It was a big debate. He looked pretty good in several attempts, but he's again; one of the older guys, and to me he looked a bit too young in my other tries? This turned out to be the best in the end, he has a small smile at the corner of his mouth and his eyes are the sharpest in this one, like Haguro hunting for his next pray. His jet black hair was smooth, but his eyes are edited, obviously. Overall I think it's a pleasing sight, he looks devilishly handsome too haha!)

• Takeda Shingen

(He was one of the difficult ones. As I said with Keiji, there were several auburn attempts, slender eyes and manlier jaw. But he looked too young for Shingen. I tried mixing it with Kennyo's avatar, since I was done with him by then, and it kind of helped. I'm not sure about his face all together, maybe his eyes are too small? Or his mouth his weird, that he's not smiling perhaps? I don't really know, but I'm happy that I could achieve his thicker eyebrows - in his design they're specially highlighted and it adds to his many manly charms!)

• Kicho

(It was a difficult debate with myself, again. At some point I confused myself and wasn't sure about his features and expression. Also, somewhere along the editing he started looking European, so it got concerning for a second, but his eyes and face shape survived, which is a critical part in his design. In the end he came out Asian though (I hope)! I must admit, I put a little bit of purplish tint into his hair, because it was so similar to Nobunaga's, but other than this and his eyes, I didn't touch anything on his features! He's a bit more feminine, but he's also one of the 'painfully beautiful' characters and he's canonically a woman in history, so I think it's okay!)

• Mouri Motonari

(I was afraid of his character, because his design is really Latino in my opinion. Some kind of male lead in a Mexican soap opera haha. Especially because of the darker skin and white hair combo, I was concerned that the contrast would not show or I won't achieve such a clean look. But I think, despite my worries, he's one of the best edits from this bunch! And I'm really happy that I got his secretive and mischievous expression right as well! Just like his dangerously gorgeous, blood red eyes!)

• Sanada Yukimura

(He was one of the easiest! He doesn't have a complicated design, his face is quite simple; child-like, young, but also determined and earnest. The brown hair and brown eyes were a good combo as well, and they worked together nicely. At some point I tried giving him a smile or something, but then I just left it at the neutral expression. Like with almost everyone, since the program changes so much about their hair and face shape if you want to make the portraits smile lol.)

• Naoe Kanetsugu

(He wasn't hard, but choosing between the two semi-finals WAS hard. On one of them his hair was better, but his face was very off-track and didn't even look Asian. I don't know how in-character is he for real, but I think he's okay? Maybe a bit too generic, but still cool? His face is stern and straight, his jaw is firm and his eyes are sharp. A faithful subordinate of Kenshin, I think he's a decent try!)

• Toyotomi Hideyoshi

(I must admit, I'm the least satisfied with him. There's just something weird with his face? Or his smile? And he's hardly Asian, but at the same time he looks Asian as well? Just me? I think his hair is nice, its color is pretty though. And his carefree, pure, welcoming smile is really precious in my opinion! Fitting for Mamayoshi! I tried making a stern, strict expression too, but it looked really weird on him, again because the program converted his face so much that it just looked bad.)

• Imagawa Yoshimoto

(He was an early edit, and I'm having second thoughts, mainly because of his hair color. It has a blueish tint, I think?? Or I'm the only one seeing it, because I desperately tried mixing some blue into his hair but this time I failed miserably oof. But I do love his face and features, plus his sincere, relaxed smile! He's pretty, like a fine piece of art! Also he somehow looks both young and mature at the same time. I have no idea how I achieved that.)

• Ishida Mitsunari

(The angel, the most precious out of everyone! He looks so pure and like he fell from heaven! I don't know, he's one of the most satisfying edits in my opinion. I just love it so much how he came out! Maybe his hair could use some work and his mouth, but I feel like his face is spot on for some reason? Maybe he's not as happy as he usually is, I guess I captured a serious Mitsunari this time haha!)

...Whew! I'm happy that I got this done too, finally!

But I'm genuinely unsure, because as it already showed in my Ikevamp edits that I kind of suck editing Asian characters, it's simply harder for me...

But I pat myself on the shoulder for the effort and time! And they're such a big group, I'm happy that I could squeeze this in!

School season started again a month ago, so my free time is over, but I'm trying to post content! I'm just incredibly slow, as always! > <

Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Remember Remember the Fifth of November

Remember, remember the fifth of November. We're soon to cover a lot. I see no reason, why Sorbet's malfeasance should ever be forgot.

Seriously...we get our biggest RA origins chapter on Guy Fawkes Day? Rad even if purely coincidental. We also have this quiet peculiarity. Something that's been brought up here before. The cover page is just part of the main story? Yes, request apparently but it's a natural fit. That's new. Even Pudding was cluing us in on a past happening pertinent to an event. Watch stuff like this, the "rules" of the narrative breaking down. It's also really, really cute. Where are those fish ending up? Okay, let's get to the real meat of this. You can probably guess from the chapter title...

I'm the Mickey to your Minnie, you're the Tigger to my Winnie...Ginny! I'm...dating myself with memes aren't I? Ginny has become a fast, fast favorite. This was already a thing too, but seeing adult Ginny I get what people mean. There's a certain sensibility to being Bonney's mom...but she does look like another skrunkly glutton on Egghead more than anything. York is a clone, this has dark implications. Please don't be too cruel to new blorbo Oda. I'm gonna add her to the figure collection I promise.

Seriously though...how many of y'all get that Ginny is exactly what I've been on about? Forget Kuma's whole taking on burdens thing and being a goddamn blaring echo of the Crane Wife story. I can make this easy now. Ginny is what it would look like if you plugged Nami's character into the "quartermaster" role I've used Kiku as a guidepost for.

We're already past the point of teasing about lack of subtlety so I don't know what to say anymore. This flashback is making a big to-do about someone who fits the bill for the exact archetype straddling the present story around two foils. Doing it in a way that could lead back to a darker scene from Vegapunk's past. If that wasn't apparent enough,

Really driving the point home with Sorbet. Just like Goa & Gray Terminal. Just like Bakura & Okobore. These two were the tentpoles of the lawless waste being kicked around. Marco, Toki, Yasu, Kiku & Tsuru...pay attention when a core theme of the previous arc comes up like that. Especially that beat about marriage and Ginny's suitors. If that wasn't all enough, there's one element here I can't shake:

Look at Kuma's chest, the faint blackening...does it kind of make you think of Luffy's scar? You see it in the eyes too, we're not used to seeing adult Kuma with normal features for him. His expressions...it's a concept we've talked about a lot. This late in the game you notice when a character gets visual traits usually reserved for the protagonist. Kuma does this a fair amount, and the whole story sorta does have the same tone as like...if Luffy & Uta grew up together. Or if he stayed in Okobore with Kiku for a few years even. As much as I love the Revolutionary lore, this has me going absolutely crazy right now.

[malachiexists13]

Dramatic vs. Romantic - Mitsuhide's Route Endings

So I recently finished playing Mitsuhide's route for the second time and I have a lot to say. The first time I played his route, I did the dramatic ending. This time, I did the romantic ending. And this is the first time I've ever done both endings for a character and holy shit- the differences.

Something that confused me is how the dramatic ending feels more.. tame compared to the romantic ending. I was always under the impression that the romantic ending is a sweeter end while the dramatic ending is the conflict continuing. But this seems to be the opposite for Mitsuhide and I'd really like to point this out.

Disclaimer: it has been six months since I completed Mitsuhide's dramatic ending so I am going off my memory for this. Also, there'll be discussion of topics relating to toxic or unhealthy relationships as well as attempted murder and drug overdose so if you're sensitive to that, then this isn't the post for you. There'll also be spoilers for Mitsuhide's route (obviously).

In Mitsuhide's dramatic ending, he teams up with Sasuke, Yukimura, Yoshimoto, and MC/Mai to go take down the Shogun, Yoshiaki Ashikaga. But things don't exactly go his way. The Shogun realizes just how important Mai is to Mitsuhide, and in an act of revenge, poisons her with an arrow. It's a slow acting poison that will undoubtedly kill her without proper treatment. By this time, Mitsuhide already knows that Sasuke and Mai are from the future, and so he asks Sasuke if the chances of saving her would increase if they were to return to the future. Sasuke says yes and so, Mitsuhide pleads with Sasuke to save Mai.

Mitsuhide chooses to let Mai go if it'll ensure her survival. He chooses to betray and let her go because he loves her. Of course, Mai lives and stays in the Sengoku and the Shogun is defeated. Mitsuhide realizes the Shogun has to have the antidote so he tricks the Shogun into thinking he's been poisoned as well, which causes the Shogun to unknowingly tell Mitsuhide the right dosage of medicine and the Shogun dies from overdose. The rest of the ending is literally just them spending time together and it's essentially slice of life then. I really like the dramatic ending. It stays true to Mitsuhide's character in my opinion and Mai didn't annoy me as much.

Side note: I really dislike the MCs in these games. Mai and Emma are the only ones I can tolerate. Alice is fucking annoying and Mitsuki (I think that's her name?) is so naive, it hurts. Mai and Emma can actually hold their own, but Mai is still naive in her own ways. Personally, Emma is my favorite. But Mitsuhide's romantic route seems to get rid of what little agency Mai had.

In Mitsuhide's romantic ending, it takes a more dramatic rather than sweet end. Mitsuhide chooses to team up with Motonari and Kennyo, and with some assistance from Sasuke, has the Oda and Uesugi-Takeda form a temporary alliance to distract the Shogun. But things take a turn for the worse. In this ending, Mitsuhide is more possessive and paranoid over Mai. He constantly wants her close and is terrified of being away from her or losing her. He literally threatens to cut off Motonari's hand if he touches her and then later, yells at Motonari and threatens to decapitate him if he even so much as gets close to Mai.

I hate to say it, but that is NOT healthy behavior! If your partner becomes so emotionally dependent to the point where they get so possessive and jealous and can't even bare the thought of you not being in their life, that's not good. To me, it feels as if Mitsuhide is not emotionally ready for a relationship in this ending, not after all he's been through. And rather than acknowledging how unhealthy his behavior is, Mai encourages it. It also feels like a complete 180 from his behavior in his route.

Throughout Mitsuhide's route, he remains calm and composed. Yes, he does express some jealousy such as when he pulls Mai away from Masamune. And he does write an entire fucking comedy to spite and insult someone who made Mai cry- But honestly, Yoshiaki deserved that, let's be honest. And Mitsuhide is a bit rude towards Yoshimoto, but that's literally because Yoshimoto is the love rival and also has feelings for Mai. But besides that, Mitsuhide always shows a willingness to love Mai from the sidelines, and to let her go if it'll keep her safe and ensure she'll live. He acknowledges that he's not the safest man to be around. And this behavior continues in his dramatic end until he accepts her as his fiancée and that she won't let him let her go, so he decides to always love and protect her.

Why is it different in his romantic ending? Why is he more possessive, more paranoid about losing her? And why does Mai encourage this behavior? What changed? I may not have much experience with relationships seeing as my previous relationship ending was my fault and I came to realize that I am ace/aro, but I can recognize unhealthy behavior when I see it. Mitsuhide doing a total 180 with his behavior is weird. Mitsuhide literally panicking over losing Mai even though he'd been so willing to let her go before and literally threatening multiple people on her account is not healthy. It's not endearing. It's not cute. It's concerning.

Encouraging behavior like this is never a good idea and I can only see Mitsuhide getting worse in the long run unless he somehow realizes it himself. But with how Mai encourages it? I doubt it, severely. It's sweet how much he cares about Mai, but it's also concerning. Mitsuhide is a grown adult, being this emotionally dependent on a single person for his happiness isn't healthy. And Mai shouldn't be allowing herself to be so emotionally dependent on a man like this, not one who's willing to die with zero questions asked for the sake of his ideals or one who behaves like this. So no, it's not "sweet." It's a massive and bright red flag.

I'm not trying to say Mitsuhide is toxic or abusive. That's not what I'm implying at all. But, he does seem a bit yandere? Or like he has Obsessive Love Disorder. Something like that. It sort of reminds me of how Logan from The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto behaves. Logan was obsessed with the story's heroine, Delilah, and he expressed his "love" through being sweet to her but distanced her from her friends and stalked her. He literally set up cameras outside her house and broke in a couple times, which gave him something to use as blackmail in order to get Delilah to date him. And Logan was confirmed to have Obsessive Love Disorder which was pretty fucking obvious with how he acted with his previous love, Sophia, and with Delilah. He became obsessed with this version of Delilah he created in his head.

Mitsuhide technically did stalk Mai by "observing" her and he snooped through her belongings to find something to blackmail her. Which that blackmail led to them being faux engaged, then later faux married. I know this was all done to keep her safe from Yoshiaki, but I'm not sure if that entirely excuses it.. There was just so many red flags that stood out to me throughout his romantic ending, I can't even with it. His main route is fine, there is some questionable content but it gets explained either later on in the route or in his POV stories. His dramatic ending is by far, one of my favorite endings and it's one of four dramatic ends I've done- The other three being Edgar Bright's, Chevalier Michel's and Vincent van Gogh's. (Edgar is a fucking idiot omfg-) Really, out of everything in his route, his romantic end is the only thing I have a problem with.

Mitsuhide is not a bad person. His romantic end just tells me that Mai is a fucking idiot and that he may not have been emotionally ready for a relationship. His dramatic end is better. I recommend it, it made me freak out a bit but more in a good way. His dramatic end was essentially "holy shit- what the fuck is even happening?? This is insane" compared to his romantic end being "..WHY ARE THERE SO MANY RED FLAGS???." Both ending pictures are so pretty though like- One thing I agree with Mai on, and that's how pretty Mitsuhide is with his white eyelashes.

I'd also like to say that I am well aware that this is a game from 2017, hopefully, CBYIRD has realized just how concerning and unhealthy this sort of behavior is. The reason it bothers me so badly is because I remember when I discovered this game and how impressionable I was at the time. And it makes me wonder, how would I have reacted to this sort of behavior back then, had Mitsuhide's route been released and I hadn't gotten bored and didn't touch the game for two years? I probably wouldn't have taken it very well and it worries me that other impressionable people may discover this and not realize the red flags.

Btw, for an example of how impressionable I was back then, I didn't realize how controlling and toxic Nobunaga's behavior was until three years later when I finally decided to try playing his route again. I got so pissed off that I quit and I haven't touched his route since. And Nobunaga is one of my least favorite ikesen characters. I have yet to find anything that would redeem him in my eyes.

If you took the time to read this long post, I appreciate it. I'd love to do something similar to this for all the other characters but it may be a bit difficult haha.. Some characters I may end up playing their routes three times, such as literally anyone from ikerev. Since most of those routes I completed back in 2020 or they were just so unremarkable in their ending that I can't remember.

[karinayun]

Ikesen Fanfic (Just my imaginations)

Hi everyone! So I always been interested writing fanfics for my fav animes/games and I decided to make one today! I decided to write my first fanfic for Ikemen Sengoku. Actually, I’m torned between choosing the Sengoku suitors for this story but I guess I’ll be going for Masamune! So, any Masaaaa staanss heree, lets give it up! XD anway, in this fanfic the Mc posses some sort of ability which are inspired from Zenitsu(Demon Slayer) who becomes incredibly powerful in his sleep and a bit of mix from Haninozuka (Ouran High School) who does martial arts in Karate. Yes, she is still someone who came from the future & currently are engaged to Masamune. The Oda forces are well of her quirky abilities yet they agreed to keep it a secret since women in their time are meant to kept low most of the times. Masamune really like that about her however, he prefers to be the big tiger protecting his beloved. It’s gonna be a bit long & this is my first Ikemen fanfic, I hope everyone enjoys! You are free to leave thoughts and comments for improvement though! 

.......

It was afternoon in the autumn, Masamune and Ieyasu were on their way back to Azuchi after doing some inspection in one of the Oda territory. The One-Eyed Dragon are more enthusiatic than ever to return to his beloved odd ball who is currently waiting at Azuchi along with the others. Sure she is an oddball but his oddball, this is all because of her quirky abilities to fight during her sleep and what’s more, it’s a fist fighting that even with a sword is no match to catch up to her unrealisitic thunder speed like. The 500 years to come differs much to his time now since his fiancee, a female could also learn and master a martial art (she told Masamune that she had been mastering martial arts since she was a kid and even went as Japan’s representative. Although she had quit being a national athlete but she still does them in private to stretch her muscles). It’s a mystery how her mastery level and strength somehow increased the moment she’s asleep....

“That is if she senses danger though..”, Masamune muttered to himself which Ieyasu happens to hear as well.

“Who could you be talking about? Oh right, it couldn’t be anybody else other than Mc”, Ieyasu remarked dully and earning a chuckle from Masamune.

“Can’t help it. We been away for about 2 weeks and she’s the only one I could think of”

“You mentioned something about ‘danger’ though. Say...does this concerning her abilities while being in a dream wonderland?”, Ieyasu asked as Masamune’s grin finally turn into a serious expression. Her abilities is beyond what a normal human could do thus, threatening her peace if it were to be found out outside the Oda’s or more precisely, among the warlords. 

“I don’t think she’s in a complete sleep land. Do you remember that one time she was knocked to faint on her head while the bandits attacked Nobunaga and Hideyoshi?”, just at the mention of the memory had Masamune wincing and gritting his teeth. He may not be there but at the thought that his fiancee was beaten had his heart frozen and burning with anger at the same time. 

“Obviously they were outnumbered by the bandits. We know however that quantity is not an exact problem for Nobunaga with Hideyoshi by his side, however it was thanks to her, unconsciously knocking down those bandits with her bare fist and foot. Hideyoshi said everything was as fast as lightning”, Masamune couldn’t imagine but Hideyoshi said so. Nobunaga was a witness as well.

“Nobunaga was able to catch a tiny glimpse saying she only hit certain weak points that had the bandits fainted in an instant. I wonder if I’ll be able to see her in that state somehow”, Masamune laughed to Ieyasu’s remark and added,

“Haa! Well, I hope not. As remarkable as she is, I prefer her to be safe all of the times. You see, when I say she’s not completely dreaming, it’s because the lass once told me that whenever danger surrounds her, her dreams would immediately shatter and there’s a red thread hanging just right in front of her”, Masamune explained seriously. Remembering the conversation he had with her two years ago when they discovered her abilities.

“Okay, there’s a danger signal or indicator I shall say but how does she even know where her enemies standing or where she should assault them?, just like the other Oda forces, Ieyasu was curious too and this was his chance of asking Masamune

“She pretty much saw everything with eyes closed. And her speed ability? Well, she told me once they had a great grandfather from the Agatsuma clan who is unconfirmed to be a samurai or not, but he wields thunder breathing. Once in every generation, a child will bare the same ability. Well, for her generation, guess it’s her”. 

Masamune continued to explain to Ieyasu how her oldest generational family from her mother’s side seemed to pass down to her. Although, there is no samurai family with the name Agatsuma they known. Masamune could assume that the family may come in another more years. Plus, she also didn’t bare the name Agatsuma herself. Masamune wished he could see for himself how strong his fiancee his but at the thought that only happens when hazard approaches had him vanishing his thoughts instantly. It’s not only Ieyasu who was curios about such a peculiar capability. By the time they finished their stories about MC, they had arrived at Azuchi town. Afar, they heard Keiji and Mitsuhide who rushed to meet them with their horses. Masamune and Ieyasu didn’t like the looks on their faces. The teasing Mitsuhide had a stony expression which indicates nothing good is ever coming from their mouth, 

“There is no time to explain! MC, someone had just took her away. Some townspeople had actually witness that her mouth was covered with cloth”, Masamune heart dropped at Keiji’s words. An hour ago he was just thinking how she should be safe at all times but...

“We had lead. Not to worry but we should rush before they gotten far”, Mitsuhide voice had Masamune back to senses. They nodded together and went along with Keiji and Mitsuhide. Leaving their horses behind since the kidnappers are known not to be far. Nobunaga’s left hand man words were proven to be true though, because the kidnappers along with the unconscious MC was gathered at a lonely and dark alley. There were about 10 of them against four warlords. 

“You’re in our way! This girl is precious to the one-eyed dragon ya see? Having her means wrapping him around our fingers and we could get a large sum for that!”, such a cocky remark from one of the bandits and they were giving evil grins. Masamune who was at the verge of anger stood infront and readied both of his swords.

“Well yeah I’m here and you’re gonna pay for laying a finger on my fiancee”, he growled lowly. Everyone was ready at their stances when suddenly they heard a thud behind one of the bandits. It was MC who was already on her feet though her head hung down and both arms on each side. 

“Hey!! Why is she standing?! You should make sure she is asleep!”, 

one of the bandits shout as another approaches MC. However, he was met with a full blown side kick from MC on his stomach. He was fat but he actually flied and hit the wall from the kick MC had given him. Her feet was still in the air and only back at the ground after the bandit she kicked fell unconscious. 

“She’s not in her dreamland anymore is she, Masamune?”, Ieyasu more likely stated to Masamune. 

“Seems like you sedated her or more likely, your forced her to sleep didn’t you?”, Mitsuhide grinned. “Well, that’s no good...for you of course”, Mitsuhide statement left the bandits curious and alarmed but before they even got a chance to act, MC made her move. Hideyoshi description of MC being the thunder herself was now lie. She simply landed on every bandits in a form of lightning and every single one was on the ground. The very last person she had on was the leader who cockily talks about selling her out. What scares him is that she actually had some lightning auras around her and sure her eyes is closed, she is definitely asleep! With both her arms spread wide to her sides, her right foot landed straight on his face, making him fly like his other comrade to the wall. Her kick was enough to knock him out. Now, MC was standing straight and still asleep while muttering ‘milk’ and her body started to fall on to the ground. Masamune was fast enough and caught her before she hit the hard ground. He cradled her in his arms and his face frown with worries. 

“You really are something...”, Masamune muttered to the sleeping MC, which earned her a sleeping smile. 

“Masamune....home....”

“Yes, I’m home. We had a lot to talk about but maybe you should continue sleeping after all that sleep fighting”, Masamune carried her in bridal style. 

“Hey lad, do check on her for any sprains or injuries back at the castle will you?”, Masamune faced Ieyasu with the sleeping MC and he huffed at his request while eyeing at her. 

“I don’t think she might need them, if anyone who needs treatment it will be those bandits...which won’t be getting one. But, I’ll help though”, the contrarian warlord begin walking away followed by Masamune who simply smiled at him. 

“Goodness! The little mice is not a little mice after all”, Mitsuhide who was awe but chuckled at the sight. 

“They weren’t beaten to pulp but the blow she gave might just do worse than that!”, Keiji said as he was staring at the bandits. The bandits were arrested and Masamune head back with his sleeping fiancee and Ieyasu. Everyone was in shock but no words were able to describe them. 

MC’s Sleep POV: Hmmm..that sweet smell....this warmth...

“You really are something”

I thought I saw I sillihoute that I know so well. I recognized that figure anywhere. His voice and his warmth, I missed them so much! Masamune! I wish I could wake up now and see him for myself...but I can’t...I could only smiled so happily knowing he’s here with me...He is enveloping me with his warmth...I don’t mind sleeping in his arms..but I do hope I get to wake up to see his smile soon. 

“Goodness! The little mice is not a little mice after all“, I heard that Mitsuhide! You should be thanking me!

“They weren’t beaten to pulp but the blow she gave might just do worse than that!”, I only beat them at the right spots you know, Keiji? They would just be unconscious for quite some time though.

“You had a lot of explanation to do and to make up for our time lost, so you better wake up hurry”,  eeeekkk!!! MASAMUNE!! I hope I’m not blushing now because it’s embarassing!! That Masamune had the guts to tease me even in my sleep! He knew I’m half conscious, tho...I can’t wait to make up for our time lost <3

[ninhaoma-ya]

Chapter 1055 — New age

Getting a bit miffed with the app — third attempt at writing down my thoughts..

Oh well, at least the quality of the current chapter makes up for the lack of app-quality! Not sure if it’s the arc winding down with all the info dump that entails or something else; but I’ve been enjoying the latest chapters a lot!

..except the constant reminder of contrasting peaceful party with ferocious fighting. That’s getting a bit old.

(In the top right panel you can see really clearly what’s drawn by Oda and what’s the product of his assistants — look at line thickness, uniformity, cleanness and regularity!)

Is this something he’s had a grip on for a long time, or something his clash with Sabo taught him?

I also like the tiny marking above Raizo that looks like a question mark.

(I hope Raizo is all right)

More lore! More knowledge! At first read through I read it as ‘few hundreds of yards deep’. I only noticed now it says ‘years’ o_O

I love petty Law, using his powers for…

…totally inconsequential things, just because he can and he doesn’t want to crawl approximately three meters.

More weight to the ‘Red Line is man made’ theory!

More lore! It’ll be great when we see what Pluton actually is one day. Poseidon is Shirahoshi* and her ability to talk to sea kings (who might bring down the Red Line) and Franky burnt the warship to a crisp (although some speculate he incorporated the best parts into the Sunny). But what is Pluton really? A machine? A force of nature? An energy source?

The visual ‘world outside’-reference with the Heart and Kid pirates together is a nice touch, by the way.

Oh, Momo. You’ve grown so much!

And Denjiro’s small smile is just adorable. And I like Ryokugyu’s ‘oooooh crap’-face in the lower left corner.

Oda’s expression game on point all around!

Aren’t you a creepy reincarnating bastard?

I wonder if Ryokugyu’s powers work best on land - is he drawing energy from the land or tapping into his own photosynthesis stores (as hinted at when we saw him talking with Fujitora)? Can he fight above sea as well as on land?

Impressive haki, there.

But does this mean you can talk to people through your (conqueror’s) haki if it’s developed enough? Like being able to knock out selected people, Shanks here is clearly talking to Ryokugyu and leaving him a message he can understand, although it’s unclear if he can ‘listen’ to him as well.

I like the subtle accounting for the whole crew: Nami in the opening pages, enjoying herself and being the best older sister to Otama possible; Robin learning about the Poneglyphs; Brook, Usopp, Chopper and Franky the embodiment of carefree partying after the threat of he admiral leaves… and the monster quartet, being ready but also giving Momo and his retainers the space to shine. I love it.

Great chapter! Can’t wait for what’s next.

I give it the courage to stand up for what’s right and the power to have telepathic conversations.

[opbackgrounds]

I like how Oda can inject humor into something as mundane as the Straw Hats running away from Oars. Zoro does a lot of the heavy lifting in this panel with his comedically serious expression, but even his pose, all upright and angular, shows that there's no real urgency here. Bonus points goes to Chopper, but on the whole there's a business-like practicality with the Straw Hats here that's at odds with the supposed seriousness of the situation, and that contrast is just plain funny.

[one-piecee]

#ONEPIECE1045

Okay, wow, this was definitely one of the funniest one piece chapters I've ever read. I felt like I was reading a cartoon network-y, Tom and Jerry esque type fight but in the best way possible.

The chapter title is called Next Level -

which is very fitting, because at this point there is just no one on Luffy's level. He's really unmatched.

Like he's just having fun,

- and yes, like we all assumed (correctly), he can make all of his surroundings rubber as part of his awakening. BUT, not only can he make every surface and object rubbery, he can also make Kaido himself stretch like rubber!!

Kaido literally swallowed Luffy whole and he ended up

blowing up into a ballon inside of Kaido, making Kaido's body stretch like rubber

AND HE ESCAPED FROM INSIDE OF KAIDO THROUGH HIS EYEBALL??? LIKE WHAT KIND OF FIGHT IS THIS

and it's just... so good to see how fun he's having

AND THEN WE GET THIS CRAZY ASS PANEL???

and my personal favorite moment of this fight-

LUFFY PLAYING JUMP ROPE WITH KAIDO??? LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME THIS IS THE BEST

and you can just see that Oda himself is having so much fun because i mean

he's just having the time of his life drawing all of these expressions, and all of this it's jsut so. fun!! like this is luffy's fruit awakening in it's perfect state, the hito hito no mi model nika is all about bringing joy into people's hearts and tell me one person who wasn't reading this with just the biggest grin on their faces

and then of course.

because oda is oda.

this can't all be fun and games!!

and i understand... the way he drew this was funny, like the way luffy went from gear 5 to this old wrinkly sight but the implications of this? just made me go from having the biggest grin on my face to really damned sad

"this is taking a lot out of me" like all of his gears, and all of his powerups, luffy is slowly killing himself quicker and quicker and gear 5 is LITERALLY SUCKING HIS LIFE OUT. He's giving it his ALL, his heart literally stopped and he GOT IT BACK UP FOR THIS, he's sacrificing so much of his life just to beat kaido

He literally had to bang his hands on the ground to get his heartbeat back up -

going gear second stance, to get back into his gear 5 and saying

Do you really think after all of this, something like death can scare me? Come on heartbeat, get loud again.

He is literally trying to get his heart back up, the music starts sounding again (Doom Dut Da Da) and he's back.

(and yes I had to combine all of the panels cus there's so many i loved i needed to add but stupid tumblr has a 10 pic limit)

FIRST OF ALL LIKE LOOK AT THE FIRST FOUR PCITURES, THIS IS LIKE TOM AND JERRY OR SOMETHING AND I LOVE IT

LIKE IT'S JUST SO FUN, I CANT WAIT FOR IT TO BE ANIMTED

and then Luffy punches through Kaido, or more correctly he makes Kaido's face rubber, and then punches him and stretches out his face !!

and then ofc we get that end panel, god he's just so cool

no break nest week i dont think!!!

what did you think of the fight?

[fckinghunt]

⚠️ BSD CHAP 98 SPOILERS ⚠️

ok so i just got finished reading that chapter and i have a LOT of emotions about it (i am also in denial)

However, I have some things I want to talk about from it, as well as throw my own crackhead theory out there (because I am in denial and I refuse to believe Chuuya is not ok)

First of all, when I said I wanted Chuuya content again, I did NOT mean like this.

ANYWAY, here are three interesting things I saw while reading this chapter.

1. Dazai hearing "angels"

I'm not really sure what to make of this. Who are the angels? What is he talking about? As far as I know, Dazai has never refered to anyone as an "angel" before. The only people I can think of are the Decay of Angels, which wouldn't really make sense considering he is talking to one of them in this scene (Sigma) and the only other two hes been around is Gogol and Dostoevsky. Maybe one of them whispered to him, or maybe they acted in a way that Dazai was able to pick up what they were thinking and then told Sigma that he was "whispered" it, but I'm not sure.

Could Ango have told him? Does Ango have a way to communicate with Dazai, or is the communication only one way (only Dazai being able to communicate with Ango but not the other way around)? Would Dazai call Ango an "angel"? I'm not sure what to make of this scene to be honest.

2. Dazai's reaction to Dostoevsky's "trump card"

is it just me, or does Dazai look a bit nervous here? He's playing his usual game of insulting Chuuya by referring to him as a "loathsome card", but his expression is quite a bit nervous. I wonder if he didn't expect this was going to happen, or if this is another instance of him pretending to be surprised or nervous when, in reality, he has everything planned. (like we have seen him do multiple times throughout the series). This is likely, but at the same time, the only one around to see and hear him is Sigma, so would Dazai play pretend in front of him? ...probably.

I feel like that bead of sweat with that unsure expression is worth pointing out, though, even if it does end up just being him playing pretend. This is Dostoevsky we're talking about, who clearly is the only one who can rival Dazai intelligence wise. And its not like those Dazai cares about are "immune" to harm. After all, just look at what happened to Oda. So it is a possibility that Dazai didn't see this move coming. However, I have a feeling he did, and perhaps he was just hoping Fyodor wouldn't do this.

3. Chuuya's clothing

Now, one thing I will say about Chuuya is that I think he is probably the character who changes his outfit the most throughout the series. However, we've still only seen him in one outfit in the modern times of the series. It was during his teenage years that he changed his clothing a lot, but post Atsushi joining the ADA, he's been wearing only one outfit pretty consistently, even in the extra scenes where hes at the bar drinking with Hirotsu and Kajii.

So, why now do we see another outfit change from him? Why now is he suddenly wearing something different? Given, it is still his style (and he still has the hat), but I still feel like its important enough to at least bring up. Why would his outfit suddenly change? Last time we saw him, he was in his regular outfit, so I wonder what happened between then and now for him to change his outfit. Was he simply bitten on his day off or something? Or is it somehow bigger than that?

Crackhead Theory Time

Ok, so this may or may not be because I am in denial, but I have a theory regarding the vampires:

I think that it is possible to reverse the vampire effect, and those infected will be put back to normal.

Now, the most likely and probably easiest way for this to happen is, of course, Dazai touching Bram in order to nullify his ability, and then that would turn all the vampires back to normal.

To be fair, this is an idea I've had even before this chapter came out. After all, this seems like a lot of characters to be turning into vampires for it to be irreversible, right? I mean (almost) the entire mafia is turned (as well as half the world ig) and that seems like a lot of characters to get rid of. Of course, I'm aware there are plenty of shows that do kill off quite a lot of characters, so that alone isn't a guarantee that they're going to come back, but still. Something just told me that there would be a way for everyone to go back to normal without half the cast dying by the end of the arc.

GIVEN, I don't know how characters like Akutagawa and Tachihara are going to end up, considering they were badly injured and/or killed BEFORE they turned, so I'm not sure if there is a way for them to return. Perhaps Yosano can heal them if they're still clinging onto life? I'm not sure.

BUT, now? With Chuuya turned? I have a feeling there is a way out of this.

I refuse to believe that gravity manipulator and Port Mafia's best martial artist Nakahara Chuuya was bitten and turned into a vampire on accident.

I have a feeling that there must be a way to reverse it, and that Dazai knows of that way, so he arranged a plan that included Chuuya turning into a vampire. Chuuya has a LOT of trust in Dazai, so this I feel is something he'd (begrudgingly) agree to doing, trusting that Dazai would save him from it just like he had saved him from Corruption so many times before.

That, and the fact that Chuuya is way too skilled to just be caught off guard and bitten. Even if he couldn't bring himself to kill the vampires going after him because he cares about his friends and subordinates and can't bring himself to hurt them even when they're mindless vampires trying to attack him, he could quite literally just fly away to safety. So how and why did he get turned?

Perhaps it was one of his friends, acting normally at first, so he dropped his guard, then they bit him. That might explain the reason for his different outfit, too, and maybe even explain why Dazai seems nervous when he realizes who the intruder is. Still, I'm not entirely sure.

My biggest belief is that Chuuya got a sign from Dazai (or maybe not even that since sometimes he just knows what Dazai wants him to do without prior communication) and willingly let himself turn into a vampire in order to go along with Dazai's plan. Trusting that Dazai would save him like he had saved him from Corruption so many times before.

Maybe it was another instance where Dazai had multiple plans and left the choice up to Chuuya like he did in Stormbringer, and Chuuya chose the most effective one even if it might be more dangerous for him (mentally and/or physically). Perhaps thats why Dazai is nervous, because he realized that that was the plan Chuuya decided to go with.

I have a lot of ideas and theories, and I keep getting more as I'm typing this. I'd love to hear what other people think, though. This is definitely a very interesting chapter and changes quite a few things for me. (emotionally, though, what the FUCK)

[honouredsatoru]

JJK Characters x You on a date

notes : I tried including Gojo's love for Digimon since I also grew up watching Digimon and loving the anime with all of my heart, also because Gojo's seiyuu, both Japanese and English versions, voiced for characters in Digimon, so I wanna pay homage to the both of them. other than that, I also included my love for arts and history, something I tried to incorporate into my writing, just to make it like.. lilith's style, ya know?

extra notes : also I wrote megumi for Elli, just because haha.

warnings : slight cussing. not proofread lol. other than that, none. 100% fluff!

characters : gojo satoru, fushiguro megumi, kugisaki nobara, nanami kento, itadori yuji.

Gojo Satoru - Arcades, vintage shops, especially collectors, especially Digimon, comic book/manga stores.

[Your name]! [Your name!]! Look, look! It's the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 series! All 9 of them! Let's get in!"

"Ahh hold on. Towu! We're supposed to visit the cat cafe, you promised that you would go with me and take pictures with the cat hairband on! And I'm starving!"

You jokingly scowled at him, tapping your Doc Martens feet on the ground, arms folding.

"Fucking adorable. Let me see if I can tease her more, hah." A smirk soon appeared on this blue-eyed darling of yours.

"Let me get the manga and I promise, I'll go to this cat cafe with you, baby. Hm?"

"Oh alright."

"I love you, sweetheart. I know how much you wanted to go there but the manga. I- ahaaaa"

He started pouting as he kept pointing in the direction of the Digimon manga by the window. You quickly opened your camera, taking pictures of him sulking, emitting a soft giggle that actually made his heart squeezed with joy.

He presses his lips against your forehead, thumb circling your cheek, gently squishing them before opening the door, yanking you into the comic book store with him. You vowed to hide the comic books once he goes on a mission. After all, he made you wait a month before the two of you finally get to go to this cafe you always wanted to visit.

"Baby, I can read what you're thinking. Your face shows it too. Hehe. Watch me hide your panties."

Taking in a few gulps of air to deepen your breath, you opened your eyes, to meet the love of your life's own eyes, snickering at you, his large hands on the crown of your head before ruffling your already messy hair. There is no way you can stay mad at this man, as childish as he is, you know he loves you and deep down? He knows you love him too.

Itadori Yuji - Thrift stores, internet cafes to play online games with you, cinemas.

"Candy! [Your name] love! Don't! Make! Me! Ahhh cover up for me! I am gonna lose! I am gonna-"

He turns around to face you with soft eyes, his eyebrows slightly droopy before looking back at the computer, taking in the seconds in his head to register the fact that he lost in his mission with you in Inferno.

"Awww sorry babe. I mean.. you just started playing CSGO, so tell me, why- again- damn it- you wanna- AH. Damn it! Throw the fucking grenade! I mean why you wanna play this game, you need more practice- FUCK YOU."

Gentle chuckles were heard, emitted from his throat, his soft, peach toned lips landed on your cheek repeatedly as he rubbed soothing circles around your back.

"Breathe, bunny baby. You're so feisty whenever you start having online matches. Breathe. I love you, and I don't want you to get your blood pressure rising because of these dumbos, hm?"

Your lips curl into a faint and appreciative smile, nodding while your eyes are glued to the screen, ignoring the fading laughs and snickers from the people acknowledging your mini rage.

"I love you too. If I win, I'm getting us boba and chicken nuggets. So let me fight them, okie?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Megumi - Museums, art galleries, photo exhibitions, aesthetic cafes.

"Oh Gumi bear, look at that! That is the Raft of Medusa, it was done by Thèodore Géricault, he himself interviewed two survivors from the shipwreck."

He looks over your eyes that shine with excitement and pure happiness.

"Art"

Was what he thought every time he laid his sight onto you. God knows that he falls in love with you every single time he is blessed with your presence. Resting his arm around your waist, pulling you closer, inhaling the scent of mixed berries and wild roses, he swore he heard his heartbeat increasing every two seconds in a span of one minute.

"Oh really? What do you think this painting is all about?"

Glancing at him before returning to the painting, you puffed your cheeks, pressing your lips together with your index finger curled on your chin and your thumb under it.

"Lord, she is so cute whenever she does that. Can I kiss her? Should I? No wait, she's trying to tell me her own interpretation of this painting. To me. Oh wow. I'm gonna kiss her... later. I can't interrupt her." That is all he could think of. You. He is deeply, madly, beautifully in love with you.

"In my opinion, it tells me the ways of how men, or human beings, seek out in order to survive. When we are at the brink of desperation, insanity, happiness, greed, lust, desire, wrath, grief, don't we all do things unimaginable to help us go through the day? They even resolved to cannibalism. I think even I would commit to that if I was in an extremely dire situation."

You looked at him, a wide smile on your face, emitting a soft giggle that entered his right ear and stayed within the chambers of his mind. He closed the spaces between the both of you, sealing his lips onto yours, with the intention of making this very moment last a little longer heavy within his heart.

"Art."

Was what you thought of him.

Nanami Kento - Theatres, historical museums, fine dining restaurants.

You squealed, lightly clapping your hands as you ran to a block of marble, your foot tapping against the floor. He chuckles, hands in his pocket, taking fast strides towards you.

"Namnam! Look look! That's the Parthenon Sculptures! It was founded in hm... Athens, yes! If I am not mistaken, around 438 to 432 BC. These sculptures decorated the insides of the Parthenon, it is a temple located at the fortress of the Athenian Acropolis. It is said that this temple was built to appreciate and worship the Goddess Athena, she was the deity worship in Athens. Also, ah ah! Did you know that the word parthénos means "maiden", "girl" or ‘virgin"? And I-"

You look at him, your magnificent lover wearing a dark brown trench coat, with ecru brown trousers and a black turtleneck tucked in, his neck layered with white gold necklaces. Your hand unconsciously scratches your sideburns, giggling at the side of his stoic expression, eyes piercing yours beneath that yellow-green glasses he constantly has on his chiseled face.

"Oh... I am sorry... I didn't mean to bore you. I was just so excited because you know me! I love anything that is related to ancient greek history and mythology. I can't seem to get enough of it and it is absolut-

"I'm not bored, [your name]. I was just paying attention to every single word that pretty lips of yours uttered. It's magnificent that you knew all of this. It shows just how smart, curious, bright your mind and soul is. And darling?"

"Huh?"

"I am lucky to be blessed with someone like you. With Gojo constantly following me, there is no way I can read the books I bought for myself. However, having you around, breaking the ice with your random history tib bits, I feel like I am reading the pages, savouring each word, alphabet, sentence, thus expanding my quest and love for knowledge."

You looked down. Normally, you're not the type to tear up this easily but seeing how this man, this angel of a man, appreciates the little things you loved and adored, you can't help but let the waterworks out. You lifted your head up to meet his gaze, the tip of your nose slightly stuffy. You grabbed his arms, clinging onto him, the difference of height and size makes it sweet to the eyes of strangers surrounding you both.

"Oh Namnam. Thank you so much. This means the world to me. Shall we... go and see the best of Ramesses the Great? I've loads to tell you!"

Nobara - Shopping malls, ferry rides, beach dates, parks with cherry blossoms.

"Baby... tell me, have you ever seen anything as joyous as the ocean?"

You two stood by the seashore, fingers intertwined, your head resting on her shoulders, the sound of the seas splashing against the rocks and the warmth around your foot, it tingled but it feels good at the same time.

"I don't want this moment to end, [your name]."

"Why is that, pretty one?"

A faint sigh leaves her lips, you feeling her body loosen up.

"I just.. school is sort of stressful so my time spent with you liberates me from the pressure, fatigue, and image of curses embedded in my brain. Walking with you... through this airy womb of skies and clouds, don't you know it makes me happy?"

You leaned closer, pressing a soft peck on her cheeks, earning yourself a pair of scarlet cheeks with a gorgeous smile from the one next to you. You turned yourself to face her, hands on her shoulders, bringing her body closer to yours.

"Whenever and wherever you need me, I will be there. I might not be perfect, but I am gonna do my best to be the one you can always count on."

You pressed a kiss on her left cheek.

"I love you."

A kiss on her right cheek.

"I love you."

A kiss to the lips of the woman whom you shared your entire universe with.

"To the moon and back, I love you, Kugisaki Nobara."

The end.

tags : @tojisveryown @sookyshima @megumifushi @sixeyesgojo @sirthisisa-wendys @sasso-oda @fushigurocockslut @nkogneatho @kotarousgf @noritoshiikamo

[chromatic-lamina]

chapter 1014—spoilers

Okay, I’m super busy, so not much to say this week except it made me tear up.

But first, the cover!

I love this! Law’s nickname being the Japanese word for tiger (tora), the o part just means man. And it just kind adds to that itch to write that Law-wandering-monk thing. I think that Oda has allusions to religion all over One Piece, cos’ it’s pretty everyday in Japanese life too, even though Japanese will tell you that they are not religious.

But Law is the guy who has so far had the vague Christian background, and who adopted the wandering monk disguise while in Wano. (written about here).

[More below the cut]

The scans had this really neat bit of information too (below). I got this from mangasee. I usually go to ... I can’t remember, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole today, the site seemed dodgy, but I think they’re (forgotten name) the original scanners. But, anyway, thanks very much to them. They often colour panels as well.

I think the LawZo, ZoLaw shippers can run with this one too! (Zoro’s animal being a tiger, I think).

Okay, the chapter. I won’t cover it in depth, just things that struck me. It doesn’t mean the rest wasn’t important, but you know that someone will cover it all.

Flashbacks can be lazy writing, and maybe it is lazy writing—Oda trying to figure out how he can boost Chopper’s power cos it’s needed now, but the flashback with Caesar is not out of the realm of imagination (panel above).

It’s also why I think  it’s a good idea not to take announcements and pronouncements as (G)oda’s word. Cos, especially those coming from World Government sources, or that are hearsay, have a likelihood of being a different story in flashback. Like, Oda never fully shows his hand.

Regarding the panels, Caesar’s ego would let him design something for Chopper, even though Chopper is his enemy. Maybe Chopper designed his own enhanced rumble balls using Caesar’s knowhow.

The Marys are super cool (and Perospero is still in the game). 

And look!! Law and Kid are sharing a panel! Or a strip (and so are Sanji and Zoro, and a speech bubble! I guess Zoro must have woken up). 

These guys won’t be so easily fooled by Kaidou’s words of Luffy’s demise, but the idea of the Polar Tang popping up from somewhere to rescue Luffy maybe has more credence this week.

Law’s got his, I’m so upset with this news I must grit my teeth face on. His captain’s coat is still stylishly draped. He did have that second to rest on blackleg’s shoulder in 1012, was it? He must have fixed himself up then. Ooh, and tatt. Did we see his tatt when he landed on the shoulder? I must do some serious research.

We only get a blob of Kid, unfortunately.

Robin’s looking kick-ass while she kicks some ass. And Brook’s in the background doing his own version of Zigfield follies. (Panels above).

So, Kanjuro sure plays dirty (above). I do like the scans’ translation of “Even the sharpest of swords becomes dull when pointed at a friend”. Ashura’s line to Kiku when she hadn’t done such a good job of eliminating Kanjuro the first time around.

And man, if she couldn’t finish of a traitorous friend, she sure can’t eliminate a father figure. But fake-Oden/Kanjuro has no hesitation in finishing her. 

Of course the words that Oden-Kanjuro says, “How could you raise a sword against me?!”  can be read on so many levels and applied to so many characters. And of course are also what Kiku should be saying, and the scabbards as a whole to Kanjuro.

Ah. Not Kiku. She and Izou have had like five minutes of reunion. Oh, man. That exchange a few chapters back. Ahhh. And that’s a very poetic translation. I wonder what the official will be? But Kanjuro was a friend. Is a friend. And that’s what cuts the deepest.

Yes, he was damaged. Orochi too. But was it that mindset where the pain was just too deeply embedded to ever trust the good, or feel it? But I think he felt it. Just couldn’t trust it. Such a complex character. 

And Kaidou and Kanjuro, the only two characters that I remember (there are probably more) who have an expressed death wish. That being a main aim of their lives.

What a betrayal, huh? Oof. And Kin’emon’s tears are evident. Is Kanjuro’s crying? Seems he was never able to feel or see that emptiness and form were the same thing. Ah.

Shinobu too. Big chapter for her. She did not suspect Kanjuro at all in Ebisu town where she accused Law’s crewmates of betrayal. 

Both she and Kanjuro didn’t recognise Tonoyasu (Yasuie) and shared a moment of camaraderie in their embarrassment at not knowing his name. I know her role was to deflect reader suspicion from Kanjuro, but putting that aside. Oof.

And Momonosuke? Thinking he saw his father again? (And what did he read in the log book?).  Man, once that kid is shogun I hope he hires a good psychologist / healer.

And what does he want Kin’emon to tell everyone? And whose voice did he hear?

And Shinobu, I reckon you could have taken out the frog.

Bonus:

Although he’s looking worse for wear. C’mon Chopper. You and Marco can do it!

[eirist]

Little Bits and Pieces of Heaven

EVENING OF THE SEVENTH

One-shot #: 29

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: For @bloodshot13​. You wanted a Japanese Festival. AU. So here it is. I must say it is an awesome suggestion and would be a pity if it’s only going to be a drabble. Besides the story itself wanted to be a bit longer so I yielded. Enjoy!

I used the Japanese Tanabata Festival for this hence the title. And for wordplay reason as well. I think this festival is a good choice of setting for these two’s not-so-perfect first date.

Summary: Not all first dates are perfect. And with Zoro and Nami… this shouldn’t come as a surprise at all.

“You’re late.”

A pout appeared on pinkish lips before a familiar I-knew-it-look appeared on Nami’s face as she stared him down.

Zoro scratched the back of his head. “It’s nothing new,” he retorted—a bit weakly though—trying to justify why he made her wait for him for a good fifteen minutes.

���I shouldn’t be surprised,” she deadpanned. “It’s a miracle you even made it here.”

Zoro glared at her for that comment.

Nami glared back… more viciously. “Zoro, this place is just a ten minute walk from your apartment! Fifteen from mine and I still got here before you!” She explained with a huff.

“I’m here now aren’t I?”

Nami regarded him with eyes promising excruciating pain solely for him.

“If this is your idea of dating a girl, you definitely suck Zoro.”

“Oi!”

It didn’t occur to the green-haired idiot that Nami hated standing alone at festival’s entrance, waiting for him to arrive. It didn’t helped that a lot of couples who passed by gave her lingering, wondering gazes before whispering to each other making her feel uncomfortable.

“Let’s just go,” Nami spun around to leave him still scratching his dumb head. “We’re wasting time.” She said it in a rather curt tone that made Zoro feel dread coiling inside his stomach.

Damn it! They barely made it past the festival entrance and Nami’s already mad at him.

It only took three strides for him to catch up to her as she entered the festival street. It was filled with people of all ages. Japanese lanterns hung overhead lighting the whole place, along with decorations made from colorful papers in different shapes. There were ornamental balls with their colorful streamers everywhere while stalls for food, games and other items for sell bordered both sides. Children ran around them, as their parents breathlessly tried to catch up, warning them that they might get lost.

“Oi Nami,” he called as the orange-haired girl pouted her way through the festival’s jam-packed and noisy street. “Come on. Wipe that sulky look off your face.”

“Hmph!”

“Fine!” He huffed, feeling his temper flare at her tantrum.

Nami tried to hurry away from him and Zoro rolled his eye as her effort was futile while wearing a yukata.

He followed her with a scoff as she continued making her way through crowd, ignoring the stalls around them. She was heading at the end of the street where a bridge leading to the temple was situated. It was lit up with the same lanterns that were hanging above them. Bamboo trees lined up its sides decorated with tanzaku in different colors.

“Nami.”

“What?!” She hissed barely glancing at him as she continued walking, her wooden sandals clicking angrily at every step.

“Why are you angry? I arrived here didn’t I?”

She stopped in front of a stall selling candy apples and chocolate bananas and stared at him in disbelief.

The idiot had forgotten that they agreed to meet an hour earlier than what their friends had set so they could enjoy the festival together without any interruptions.

Nami didn’t bother reminding him of that. What’s the use? Instead she just pressed some fingers to her temple to subdue the impending headache that is Zoro.

They still haven’t made it past ten minutes together and she’s ready to kick the living daylights out of his moronic ass.

“Ugh. I give up,” she groaned after a few seconds, shoulders slumping dejectedly.

“What now?” Zoro growled at her.

Nami lifted her eyes to glare at him again. This was supposed to be a sort-of-‘romantic’ evening between the two of them.

They finally agreed to try and move their relationship one step further a week ago… from long-time friends to lovers finally…

She thought that this festival is the perfect opportunity to test the waters for their first ‘date’.

Did she honestly she believed things are going to be easy with this man? Not when it looks like Zoro still has to grasp the concept of ‘dating’.

This will definitely take a lot of work. A damn LOT of work!

She let out an exasperated sigh and Zoro’s brows furrowed.

“Let’s just go hang wishes on those bamboos and wait for the others so we can enjoy this festival.” Nami mumbled as she turned away from him for the second time that night, practically giving up the thought that they can pull off anything akin to a date at this festival.

Zoro frowned at what she said. Wait for the others so they can enjoy tonight?

Her statement actually hit a spot.

Weren’t they were supposed to enjoy this together? Wasn’t that the plan?

He ran a hand along his hair in frustration and followed her silently.

This time Nami was not hurrying away from him. She strode ahead in a cool manner, head shifting left and right as she observed the stalls lining the street.

His frown deepened.

Ok, maybe it’s his mistake for being late. But it’s not his fault he kept ending up on the other side of the street from the where the festival is taking place! It was too crowded and the directions posted for its location were confusing.

He had circled the area thrice before he spotted Nami—looking really pretty in her mikan-patterned, light-green yukata with her hair up in a side bun and decorated with a bouquet-like kanzashi, its dangling beads swinging slightly from her movement.

There were curling wisps of her orange hair framing her face and it made him want to reach out and touch them just to feel their softness against his fingers.

Zoro clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, mentally chastising himself as he recalled the look on Nami’s face earlier as she peered in the crowd waiting for him to show up.

It dawned into him that he didn’t like that expression on her.

He reached out to grasped her hand in his, stopping Nami in her tracks.

“Hey… I’m sorry ok?”

Nami looked surprised with what he said. She looked down and blinked at their joined hands disbelievingly before shifting her eyes up at him.

Then she pursed her lips as if trying to stop herself from smiling at him.

“You’re an idiot Zoro.”

“Yeah, I know.”

This time she didn’t fight the smile that wanted to appear on her lips.

“I should’ve expected this,” she said with a roll of her eyes as she squeezed his hand that was still clasping hers. “Next time… I’ll just pick you up in your apartment to save us time.” She stared straight in his eye, daring him disagree with her.

“Fine.” He answered and Nami looked startled at how easily he agreed. “If it saves me from your pouts and sulking as we—OUCH!”

Nami deliberately stepped on his feet with her wooden sandal with a cheeky smile on her face.

“I’ll make you regret saying that.”

It was Zoro’s turn to groan.

She tugged at his hand, urging him to continue moving forward into a less crowded spot near the bridge.

“Honestly… I’m looking forward spending this time with you,” she admitted quietly as they stood near the stall that sells tanzaku.

“I know,” he nodded and gazed at her seriously. He reached out to touch the curling wisp of her hair with his fingers. He was right. It was soft. “Me too.”

This one hour spent alone with him is precious for her and it is the same for him. They are still at beginning of their relationship… their friends still doesn’t have any inkling about the change in their status yet.

Nami had the right to be pissed at him earlier because he just wasted some of what was supposedly their time together.

They smiled at each other before Nami gave the sleeve of his yukata a rather hard yank.

“Let’s go Zoro! We still have a lot to do before the others are here.” Her tone immediately turned domineering as she pulled him towards tanzaku stall. “We need to hang our wishes on those bamboos first!”

Zoro just snorted and she grinned back at him.

“And you still have to treat me with some yakitori and candy apples!”

“Hah? Why should I do that?!”

“This is a date Zoro! The guy usually shelves out the cash when you’re out on a date!”

“You witch! You’re just trying to get back at me for being late!”

Nami gave him her most dazzling smile.

“That too… And we still have to check all the stalls with those games. You promised me goldfishes remember?” She pointed at the stall for goldfish scooping.

“I have?”

“Yeah… you did…” Nami glowered at him. “You’re bragging about your scooping skills the other day. And we made a bet on how many you’ll really be able to catch.”

Zoro laughed. That they did. “Fine, I’ll catch you some alright?” He conceded and gave her a soft smile that made Nami melt on the spot.

He reached for her hand again as she lead them towards their first agenda for the night.

They still have half an hour to enjoy their date without their cheeky friends intruding. Well… if worst comes to worst… he and Nami can just sneak away from them to enjoy the fireworks and the rest of the festival together.