#Oda's expression game is on point

[opbackgrounds]

Luffy has a specific face he makes whenever he accidentally no-sells an attack

[monoclesnapple]

Intermediate Shenanigans

Bungo Stray Dogs Chuuya Nakahara & Gender Neutral Reader + Osamu Dazai & Reader + Odasaku X Reader Summary: Headcanons about taking care of middle schooler Dazai and Chuuya and dating Oda Beginning Note: Shoutout to all the class clowns/funny people, they're great inspiration for scenarios. @kiwibeanv helped with the stories of said funnies. Word Count: 2629 (Fluff/Crack)

First off, you're their parent figure and they live with you. All comfy with you and they trust you a lot. Now to move on to their stupidity.

Immaturity at its finest.

It’s constant arguing, pointing fingers, and the like.

They’re always fighting for your attention, pushing against each other so your hand can pet them.

You’re sitting on the couch, watching TV, when Dazai runs into the living room and jumps to the spot next to you. Since you’re leaning against the armrest, there’s only one seat next to you.

Dazai pushes himself under your arm and hugs your waist as he sighs contentedly. You idly rub his arm for a few minutes before Chuuya comes in with an annoyed expression.

“Oi, StinkZai, do your history homework before you go do whatever.”

Dazai whined and buried himself deeper into your side. “I’ll do it later! I’m tired right now.” He closed his eyes.

“Dazai, you need to do your assignments before you eventually forget and never get them done,” you told him. He let out a groan at that, “Why can’t Chuuya do it? Isn’t he supposed to listen to me since I’m smarter?”

“You’re not smarter than me! Even a shrimp can do better than you!” Chuuya sped to the two of you and pulled on Dazai until the latter fell to the floor.

“Ow!- That’s my spot!” The brunette rubbed his arm. Chuuya had stolen his spot in your arms now and smirked at the other.

“Maybe you should’ve done your homework first, you idiot!” He blew a raspberry and rested his head on your shoulder.

You sighed, “If you two continue to fight, I’m simply going to go to my room and relax without either of you.”

They both froze and looked at you then at each other. Despite their inability to cooperate without trouble, they agreed on the fact that your presence was probably the most important thing they want. They begrudgingly decided to keep quiet, moving so Chuuya can sit on one of your knees while Dazai reclaimed his initial place.

Eventually, they get their emo phases. One day, Dazai just randomly started wearing bandages over his eye, saying that he looks better.

“Why are you wasting bandages?” “Because I look so cool and a lot of girls come up to me and say I look nice! I know that so many people have a crush on me, especially when I’m like this!” “Just wait til they find out that this stupid mackerel is actually a bad person and a major turn off!” “Chuuya, don’t say that, please.”

And Chuuya had a Sonic phase. He thought the hedgehog was so cool, he wanted to be like him in as many ways he can.

He then found out about Conker’s Bad Fur Day and asked you if he could get it. You thought it’d be a wholesome game for kids, but when you looked at the plot and ratings, you didn’t buy it for him. He was sad, but got over it.

And then he came across Devil May Cry and decided to watch the gameplay and cutscenes because you might not buy it for him (you may consider, but it still has some scenes that you’re skeptical about.)

Nero from DMC4 is so cool despite the excessive “Kyrie!” throughout the game, Chuuya wants to dress like him. And dye his hair white.

Every time he loves a character, he wants to dye his hair their own hair color, but you never let him because why should he ruin his lovely hair? (He may or may not ask to dye his hair just so you can compliment him.)

Hot Topic is their favorite store because it has so many aesthetics and they love the style of the apparel.

They start simping for characters and reading fanfics. You know what they’re reading because they use the family/shared device and don’t delete the history. Why are there so many lemons? What do they mean? (Unless you’re a fanfic reader yourself)

They kinda know what sex is, they have a faint idea, but they’re probably wrong on a few things.

Hence, Dazai is excited for sex ed! Wooo! His head is smacked by Chuuya because the latter is embarrassed that he just yelled that out and now kids are looking at them.

When they’re learning about it, Dazai’s snickering at the pictures. But not the childbirth, what the actual fuck did they just watch? 

Oh boy, now they’re the cringe and immature kids who laugh at everything that can vaguely be related to sex.

Anyways, now to the scenario that was the whole reason for this

You were sitting on the couch, Dazai and Chuuya on the floor and you’re petting their heads. You check your phone, keeping a hand on Chuuya’s head and caressing it. He’s smiling with his eyes closed in bliss. Oh, how he loves this affection.

Until Dazai pushes and climbs on him to be the receiver of your pets. He smiles innocently when you glance over, but smirks at Chuuya, who shoves him as well and takes his spot back.

This continues to go on and you’re about to say something, but then the door is unlocked and opened. Dazai excitedly turns to see Oda coming in. He runs over and hugs the man while Chuuya sets himself in your lap.

After greeting Dazai, Oda is carrying him and walks to you and Chuuya, pressing a kiss to your head and ruffling Chuuya’s hair.    

You're in a relationship with Oda, and Dazai loves it.

His two favorite people together, who he might call his parents? How blessed he is!

He doesn’t know who he prefers, so the two of you are equal in his eyes. But when it comes to physical affection, he might go to Oda since Chuuya’s all over you and Dazai’s too tired to do anything. Also, he doesn’t see Oda as often as he does you.

Chuuya thinks Oda is great, but he’s not as close to him as Dazai is. If he had to choose between you or Oda, he’d honestly choose you.

Oda loves coming home to find you three waiting for him on the couch. It warms his heart that he is wanted and loved.

Either he comes home to you all cooking dinner, sleeping in a pile on the floor, playing games (board games or video) , or watching TV.

He still takes care of his adopted children at the curry shop, but he also enjoys the company of Dazai and Chuuya

Sometimes, he would bring those five kids to your house so they can play with Dazai and Chuuya. Everyone has fun, it’s like a party. (Sneaking kisses in the kitchen as everyone else plays video games on the TV)

Oda is a gentleman, whenever you two go out, he always opens the door for you, pulls out your seat, and kisses your hand when you both meet and bid goodbye to each other.

If Dazai ever sees you and Oda share a kiss, he’s cheering in his mind. Whereas Chuuya just brushes it off with an unnoticeable upwards twitch of his lips and an eye roll.

Once, you spotted Oda talking to Dazai outside under the moonlight. You knew the former was telling the teen about the right thing to do. Dazai had expressed his want of being involved in some well known group.

He hinted a little about maybe being a detective or even following Oda’s footsteps of going to the mafia. You really didn’t want him to go with the second option, but at least he’d have Oda to guide him if he’s even alive at that time

Thus, he’s told to prioritize other people’s happiness over his own. It’s tough, but it’s for the better of everyone.

He also says the same to Chuuya, but he goes into more detail with Dazai. You mainly handle Chuu with the lectures since he’s more likely to take your words to heart.

Chuuya has great friends in school, they seem like a lovely bunch, and you trust them. You’ve met them before and they were very nice.

Dazai doesn’t have as many, but you can tell he’s not really clicking with them like Chuuya is with his own. When his mood seems to lower, you go to him when he’s alone and you two cuddle. You can faintly pick up the sound of sniffles and feel your clothing moisten. After the session, you two don’t mention it because you know Dazai doesn’t want to remember that.

With any trauma, you take them to therapy. If it’s affecting either kid negatively, they need to talk about it. Initially, they talk to you, but they go see a professional if that doesn’t work.

Academically, the two of them are good. Dazai’s grades are always A’s even if he procrastinates or doesn’t seem to get his work done.

Chuuya usually gets B’s, but his PE is the best with an A+. He signs up for any sports the school offers if he’s interested.

Dazai’s lowest grade is PE, around a C because he’s not athletic like Chuuya.

Both Dazai and Chuuya have the same PE class and teacher, but their participation and effort are the opposite.

“Okay, everyone needs to do fifteen seconds of push-ups and fifteen sit-ups, let’s go! Get started!” The teacher instructed. They were walking around their class in the gym, ensuring everyone was doing what they were told.

They noticed a student lying face down next to the wall and when they walked by, they pointed at him and asked, “Who is that?”

Chuuya heard their inquiry and answered, “Dazai.”

The teacher was silent for a second before focusing back on the other students, “Let’s go! You should be on the next exercise now!”

Whenever there’s a fundraiser, they’re begging you to please donate so they can get a prize.

“Pleeeaaassseee? You can get a refrigerator stuffed with $200! Or even an iPad!” Dazai’s giving you the puppy eye(s) [depends if he’s bandaged his eye or not] and Chuuya is hugging you and kissing your cheek. “We love you so much, can you pretty please with a cherry on top donate? We’ll pay you back!” (They don’t make money, nor do they have an allowance.)

When it comes to projects, Dazai always waits until the last minute.

“Hey, can we go to the store and buy supplies? I have a project.” He whispered to you.

“Huh...?” You were woken up by him at whatever the time was, so you rubbed your eyes and sat up. Oda was still asleep beside you, a peaceful expression on his face. You kept your voice to not disturb him, “What?” When you checked the time, it was 2 am.

“I need some things for my science project,” Dazai was just standing by your bed, with big eyes, looking as though he had thrown up.

“When’s it due?”

“Tomorrow.” You frowned at that.

“Sorry bud, can’t help you. It’s too late, why aren’t you in bed?”

“I had to work on my project and other assignments,” he shifted in his spot and awkwardly averted his eyes. “I only need two things, glitter markers and a poster board.”

You stared at him tiredly, before sighing. “What happened to the ones I bought at the beginning of school?”

“I lost them.”

You blinked, unmoving. “And you can’t borrow Chuuya’s?”

He shook his head, saying they weren’t what he needed. At last, you moved the covers off your body and made your way to the closet. “Fine, go get ready. You should be thankful I’m even entertaining this idea.”

Dazai silently cheered and sped to his room. Why were you so lenient with these children? They’re gonna be spoiled.

His project was claiming that potatoes can power up devices. As stupid as it sounds, he somehow makes it convincing until it’s actually tested and obviously it doesn’t work. But he still gets a passing grade for the effort.

During one of their classes, Chuuya asked to go to the bathroom and ten minutes later when the teacher was about to ask about his location, he comes back with a lunch tray.

“Where’d you get that?” “I look like a sixth grader.”

He just munched away as everyone stared at him confused before they got back to the lesson.

Another time, the teacher left the room for a few minutes. Since Dazai wondered what their coffee tasted like, he waltzed over to the desk and took a sip and immediately spat it out.

“Ugh! It tastes like shit!” When the teacher came back, the whole class silently agreed to stay quiet and not tell on him.

When it was around Halloween and everyone could wear a costume, Dazai wore a squirrel suit. He brought an acorn prop and clipped it to the front of his pants. When walking up to the stage for the best costume contest, he hit the acorn with his legs, playing with it, until it accidently hit his balls and he crouched to the floor in pain. Of course, the guys winced at it, but it was pretty funny. Someone, Chuuya probably, yelled out, “He busted a nut!”

More nonsense, pantsing sometimes occurred. And Chuuya was the unfortunate target for Dazai. He had snuck up behind the former, and yanked down his pants. Regrettably, Dazai’s fingers also caught onto the waistband of the undergarments and when it came down, he got a face full of balls.

He was so traumatized despite being the one to commit the act.

Food fights can also happen. While Chuuya was peacefully eating his lunch, Dazai threw a tomato slice at him and the fruit made a satisfying splat! on Chuuya’s cheek.

He also tried to throw cheese, but he missed and it landed in the hair of someone who was just walking by. (And somehow did not get in trouble).

For presentations, Chuuya had to do an audio recording, and Dazai just sneezed at the beginning of it, He recorded another but when uploading the audio files, he accidently clicked the sneeze one. Presentation day was funny, but Chuuya didn’t necessarily like it.

If they had online school, Chuuya would be talking to the camera before a ball smacks his face. He falls out of frame, and Dazai is just seen running in the background.

There are also interviews or random school news done by the student council. They hate having to work with Dazai and Chuuya together because they always argue. The one time the video went right was when Chuuya had a voice crack.

Rallies also happen, and students would have to cheer as loud as they can for their team. Chuuya and Dazai are the loudest, but they also suffer from voice cracks. After the rally, they lose their voice for about a day.

Rocketry is an elective, and there’s a weird Russian kid named Fyodor. Both the boys don’t really like him. Since he’s associated with rats (Kids call him Rat, and one person did see him surrounded by rats in an alleyway as though they were dependent on him), they wanted to get a rat plushie. They asked you if you could get them the plush. You decided to buy it for them, not knowing why they actually wanted it.

They taped it to a rocket they made for the elective, put more power into it, and they launched it into the air. When it blasted off, they looked at Fyodor with threatening stares.

Occasionally, you and Oda would volunteer to help with some school activities. The first time both of you arrived, so many students had a crush on either of you. They’d go to Chuuya/Dazai and whisper “That’s your parent?”

Oda’s a dilf and you’re also a milf/dilf.

What a happy family you lot are.

[oh-my-otome]

I was sad that my ike-sen account got wiped, I wasn't sure if I wanted to start the game again from scratch. But boy... how is Kennyos route?👀👀👀👀👀👀

Nooo! I’m so sorry that happened! Start again, if you feel comfortable. I just started Sasuke’s route and I’m already cracking up, so if you do start over, maybe give the ninja significant awesomeness a try. I shall also recommend Mitsuhide and Motonari without a drop of shame. Obsessed? Of course!

As for Kennyo, if you like redemption stories, I recommend his Dramatic route! He does take longer than most suitors to express his love but that’s because he’s hardcore grieving and traumatized.

While his MC is brave and doesn’t want to give up on him, he makes a good point when he explains his resistance to Nobunaga (his family was hunted for years, so he’s not going to just start agreeing with the Oda in the span of an afternoon, let him breathe).

There’s lots of Ranmaru, of course, and we see a little backstory there, and even peek into his thoughts.

Kennyo’s route is well done, and you can tell how committed he and his MC are to their different causes. You get to read about the gritty reality behind Nobunaga’s glory rather than a glossed-over “people get hurt in war” throw-away line.

To me, Kennyo seems more approachable in his event stories. Either way, he deeply loves his MC (even when he tries to ignore it and be a “demon.”

And you really do have to (figuratively) forcibly extract the demon out of him, at least in his Dramatic route. It ends up feeling more realistic, though, because you see how the effects of war upends people’s lives in lasting ways.

On a lighter note, one of my favorite parts was this GIGANTIC SPOILER right here:

Without even fully believing your crazy “No, for real! I came from the future!” talk, he charges into the wormhole, not even knowing or caring if he’ll survive, and gets you medical treatment even though he has no idea where the heck he is.

Kennyo will figure it out when he gets there, but he’s damn sure going to get wherever “there” is for the woman he loves!

[cookiesandthedead]

One Piece and Disability

As a cripple myself I just wanna rant real quick about how much I love the disability rep in One Piece. There are a few key things I love about how Oda includes disability

Disabled people can still be badasses. Chapter 1 Shank's loses his arm, six years later he becomes a Warlord of the Sea. Nekomamushi and Inuarashi both lose limbs and replace them with weapons. Franky just Franky.

Disabled people are badasses but still affected/limited in some way by their disabilities. Shanks is still a terrifying fighter, but Mihawk points out that he is a less capable swordsman then he used to be. Issho is terrifyingly powerful but he is still blind, he does not know what Luffy looks like and mourns it. He can be taken advantage of in a dice game. He can sense the world around him but that doesn't fully make up for the fact he can't see. Whitebeard is under constant medical care, unhooked from his machines he can only fight for so long.

The older you get the more likely you are to become disabled. These people are fighters in a harsh world, the majority of older characters have some form of disability. Lost limbs, illness, cuts and scars that hurt them and impede their abilities. Terrifying badasses who comment about not being able to fight how they used to.

There are a variety of disabilities. Loss limbs, blindness, and illness have been mentioned. It can be argued that every devil fruit user is disabled, since they cannot even have a bath without becoming weak. Those who ate failed smiles, completely unable to properly express their emotions. (This is sticking to canon, not even going into how a lot of the characters show signs of autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression.)

Disabilities can still be an advantage. Spoilers for Wano ahead but one of my favorite fights is Killer vs Hawkins. In a fight that would have caused anyone else to be forced into killing their friend, Killer can safely remove Hawkins arm because Kid doesn't have one.

I can probably keep going on and on about One Piece disabled characters. The best bit is that Oda is subtle about the disability rep, these characters just exist in this world, they aren't called out as different or special. They just are

[anticidic]

45 + dazai/ango for the ask game!! in the spirit of going insane abt them (-> hiii this kavi @blackwaves )

#45: Once Upon a Time — Kamelot

Tell me once upon a time I close my eyes and see myself reborn Righting the wrong I won't stay to stand in line And wait for God to shine all over me I wait for the storm I am you and I know that you heard You and I are the last at the end of the world Then we talk, we run, and we hide Then so what, the human race suffocates?

A gray rain fell on Yokohama. The city soaked in it, cold and dripping.

“What’s it like—carrying the weight of all you’ve done and continue to do, knowing you’ll die just as alone as he did? Knowing he died because you couldn’t say no to the government pulling your strings?”

The question made Ango pause and grip the bouquet tightly. For a moment his eyes screwed shut, deep in thought, and he let out a tired sigh. He straightened up, the flowers dangling uselessly at his side, and he blinked away the rain that slid down an eyebrow. Dazai was a blurry mess of watercolors, and for once he had no urge to polish away the droplets from his glasses. It was better that way—he couldn’t see the rigid, almost pained, expression Dazai aimed at him.

But he felt it. A deep-seated anger draped in ancient sorrow. They were the same in that regard. Between them: little white lies that blew up in their faces, dancing around the past that loomed over them as they remembered the laughs and clinks of glasses under the low lights, a single damned photo up in flames.

It was a nervous shadow cast into the world by him, eating away at reality.

Ango was a mess of apologies, and Dazai sensed that this wasn’t the first time. Made up of years of regret, so inevitably it would come down to this. What did he expect? What did either of them expect? This kind of reality was saddening and infuriating all at once, but his present anger was so hushed and listless, he could barely tighten his trembling hand.

“I already accepted what I’ve done, and I’m well aware that nothing’s really changed between us.” Ango turned back to the gravestone and lowered his head, away from Dazai’s prying gaze. “I’ve had over four years to come to terms with that, Dazai. And I don’t need you reminding me every chance you get.”

“You do it to yourself,” Dazai shot back. “What’s funny is, I haven’t reminded you. This…is the first time I’ve actually brought it up. But I remind you every time we meet, don’t I?” He took a step closer. Then another. The soft earth squished, and he combed his fringe back, shaking the rain from his hair. The cold soaked through his coat and a slight shiver ran up his spine. He could take it. “But here’s the thing: it’s not just you. It never has been just you alone. It’s us both.” His eyes wandered to the flowers, dripping. Sad. A muted splash of color on this terrible spring evening. Even the weeping willow that towered over them with its shivering branches looked more alive. “It’s just sentimentalism, Ango. I can afford to be sentimental. I can also afford to lose.”

Teeth gritted, Ango got down on one knee before the gravestone. He avoided the carved S. ODA initials and set the flowers down in front of it. He mouthed words similar to a prayer, but quickly realized even praying would not turn back time. Things went the way that they did, and he accepted it with great, wide, welcoming arms even as it crushed him having the fingers pointed at him again and again. What would pacify the wrenching feeling in his gut?

Time after time. He had gotten used to it. He did.

But he was also well-versed in lying and couldn’t tell apart his own truths from those he force-fed others. It was just part of the job. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but there was always a villain in someone’s story. And he just so happened to be Dazai’s.

“There’s only now and the future. We cannot live in the past where he remains stuck, because…” Another shuddering breath left Ango’s lips, and he stood up again. “Because he wouldn’t want that. For you. That’s what matters, doesn’t it? You are unburdened by your dark past and have better people surrounding you. I’m still a part of that past, and while things have changed between us that might never recover, I don’t begrudge you.”

Dazai let out a strained laugh and approached Ango, the two merely an arm’s length apart. He narrowed his eyes and looked ready to snatch the glasses from Ango’s face and break them. Instead, a tiny smile played on his lips.

Tiny, mean, and tortured.

Red stained Dazai’s eyes and Ango noticed circles beneath them.

“I want you to hate me. I want you to curse me every time I put you in the hospital and every time I make your life purposefully harder. But you don’t. You still help me out. Help us out. The city. You’re just a government slave doing the dirty work no one else wants to do because no one wants to be the enemy of the people and I wonder, when will you say enough is enough?”

Words of regret. They spoke of shame for the hatred that was carried in the heart for so long. The hatred that seemed to be such an easy, righteous way out. And now? The aftermath of the fury was sadness and the understanding that vengeance was never just.

Ango looked away and removed his glasses to flick away more rain. “I can’t answer that question. It’s precisely because I have to make the most difficult choices that the burden is best left to me. I wiped your record back then knowing that if word got out, I wouldn’t just be put away but be a traitor to the entire country. No one sensible who works for the good of people would want to be an accomplice to a criminal, right?” Glancing back at Dazai, his expression softened slightly. “That’s how it’s supposed to look, at least. We catch bad guys like you. I do because you’d be labeled almost as dangerous as Chuuya with your crimes to the Special Division. But now you’re simply Dazai Osamu, detective of the Armed Detective Agency. You save lives.”

Closing the distance between them, they exchanged silent glances before Ango smiled. A genuine smile. One of relief and like a little weight had been lifted from his chest. Because Dazai was where he belonged—free to circle the skies after escaping his cage. It should’ve been the three of them like this, but Ango also accepted that any way he helped Dazai would not be graciously accepted, but one fact remained: Dazai kept coming back.

The worst pain would’ve been total, utter rejection. He withstood Dazai’s glorious assault knowing that despite the rift between them, they did not become strangers.

“Take care and send the agency my regards. I’m glad we could meet again like this,” Ango said and walked off, but he stopped shortly after. “I’ll look forward to it again next year on this same day. It’s the worst day of all, but we share it.”

Spotify Ask Game!

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Dos Soles

1118 ended up being a very interesting chapter for me. Didn't need to read it too deeply, but it immediately serves as this big "separate the wheat from the chaff" moment for ideas swirling around in my head. Luckily it's the type where the deep core is further enhanced while the little nuts and bolts "how" parts fizzle. There's an idea I had previously, for Chapter 1101 titled Backup Drummer where we said a lot of this idea, but reversed in Kuma's backstory. How Stussy has this oddball moment of butting in while Kuma is shifting gears. Laying groundwork she'll pick back up in very recent chapters.

So that got a lot more literal with 1118. While the broadcast literally crackles over a seemingly big reveal (an idea we already saw in a meta sense with Sabo/Vivi) our side story crackles. We snap back to mostly an update on the Straw Hats and what's going on in Egghead. Noteworthy though that the world's reaction starts to shift against the Straw Hats. If nothing changes, it feels like they might endure Sabo's fate of a government assassination of a popular figure being pinned on them. All while we're at a juncture this "side story" of Vegapunk's broadcast is ready to shift gears. Not unlike Marineford in a way. So let's keep that big picture element in mind looking at the rest.

First off, strike against two nuts and bolts ideas. We see Leo here and York was right about Robonosuke. So like, directly hijacking the broadcast or calling in the Grand Fleet look a lot fuzzier. Though of course there's lots of roads to use Robonosuke and he's still undercooked and we're also finally seeing a Grand Fleet captain once there's a "crackle." That's not meaningless.

For Robonosuke though, one thing that stands out to me is that it vs. Bonney in this chapter sorta play a nice game with the difference between Joy Boy and Nika. Those concepts have gotten a lot fuzzier thanks to Vegapunk's cast and I'm still 100% behind the idea the actual point is all of that prophecy stuff is a distraction. So without further ado...

There seems to be some controversy, not on my end. I've said for a while we're seeing the end of Bonney's journey. You fit this interesting space next to Koby & Yamato with Vivi trending towards it over time. Rebecca's not a bad one either. Someone inspired by Luffy who could easily be the "relatable" protagonist of a series. But together enhance the idea Luffy's a step further. Way I've always put it is One Piece is not a coming of age tale, it's a young man's odyssey.

Anyways, you get my point right? Kuma shifts into the next phase of his big segment, Stussy steps up and seeds her inner conflict as an intermission. The broadcast fuzzes out as we've set up Stussy & Drake? Bonney gets an excellent capstone moment. Much like we had a glimpse of her transitioning over into filling in the real version of Sabo at the Reverie.

Now don't skip what's right before this. Luffy going all Nika is framed as reckless. The giants had that kinda creepy SMILE-type mirth going on. Talking about how they need to tend to the fire. If nothing else kinda shows why it's dangerous if the devotee is hanging around, is "Nika" taking over and seeking this kind of influence? Excellent stuff to transition this segment, it'll be fun to watch how the next steps shift things.

Especially if we start playing with the specific idea of Luffy lunging back in after everyone's efforts got him to safety, the purest potential expression of how much Nika's silliness may be making him walk back growth we saw through Wano. It's very fitting a lot of the anger seems centered around the idea Oda's losing the story with all this...because I still think that's the point if Luffy doesn't rein in his awakening.

[four-white-trees]

6, 10, and 17 for rgg (in general)! also 19 for judgement specifically

Oda. I mean. I don't think i have to elaborate lmao

it's not even that he's human trafficker (dont...take that out of context) or that he trafficked Makoto at all. It's that he NEVER expressed one ounce of regret for his actions outside of how they affected his unrequited crush Tachibana. He never even fucking apoligized to Makoto. But the narrative and Kiryu act like had a redemption arc and it drives me up the wall.

I also really hate Nishitani...but I've gotten into fights about this so i shant say any more

ALL OF RGG? Hmmm...Blood of a Lion by Beast in Black! Very thematically resonant to RGG

Such a cool question. RGG has been such a presence in my life for so long it's shaped some of my tastes so I'll need to think about this

In general I do prefer dark, more grounded stories. When it comes to crime fiction, my favorite subgenre is noir. And I mean REAL noir, bleak and dark and a dismal ending. RGG's levity and...pushing suspension of disbelief beyond limits is unique for me.

Gameplay-wise, i do NOT like brawlers and I usually play on easy to get through the combat. This doesn't apply to Ichiban's games obv (the opposite for me there - i LOVE the gameplay) and Judgment's combat is so good and smooth that it MAKES me enjoy the brawling gameplay. But Kiryu and the protags of Y4 feel so sloggish to me that I'm more withstanding their gameplay than enjoying it.

Also all the objectification of women. Really not into that.

now i AM writing a sequel fic but as it's specifically a kuwagami fic, it has a large dose of self-indulgent contrivance so I'll pitch a J3 I think RGGS would make

With the Kaito Files we've seen Kaito is a formidable detective himself and can handle his own case load. Also we're LUCKY Kimura has returned for this. But he's expensive so we can't use him too much.

So let's make this a dual narrative told between Yagami and Kaito sections. They will still interact with each other at certain cutscenes so we get plenty of their nice chemistry but for the main plot they are working on their own. Yagami will team up with Saori and Sugiura at points and Kaito will lean on Hoshino and Tsukumo.

Let's start with Team Yagami. Saori has a case where she must defend a client on a robbery case. Problem is, even tho he's been caught on camera, he INSISTS he was not in Kamurocho at the time of the robbery. And he is not lying. Yet when Saori tries to press him for more info, he clams up. So she conscripts Yagami to do a private background investigation on him.

Meanwhile Kaito is out with Higashi when he sees an old Matsugane family member. He goes over and starts catching up with the guy but he's acting a little weird. He then dies quite suddenly in front of Kaito, the victim of a poisoning. Kaito follows up with the police on this clear murder but they're going to rule it as a choking and close the case. Kaito is immediately suspicious and decides to dig deeper.

From there, the plots will grow more complex as always and introduce a cast of delightful villains to fight. The Health Ministry will be involved. The plots will dovetail at the end where Kaito and Yagami (and Sugi and Higashi and Tsukumo on support drones) will kick major ass 🥰

Thematically it'd tackle the further consequences of the Great Dissolution, including some of the shit that happened in IW, and it'd also explore Kaito's inner life a little more. Yagami's side would have him unpacking a lot of what he went through in LJ. And Saori will NOT have to get dressed up as a hostess. But Hoshino will 😈

[itzrafee]

One Piece Chapter Discussion (Chapter 1127)

Ok this week looks like to be a short discussion as it’s mainly action. In the cover page we see Yamato talking with… Ok, I’m not calling him Dogstorm. We see Yamato talking with Inuarashi about the kidnappings as Oda places even more emphasis on it. Curious to see where it’ll go but let’s dive into our first glimpse into the land of Elbaf below the cut!

We start off with chaos in the land of Elbaf! There’s a fire and these bee creatures called Stingmores are dropping from. Thankfully, as they only have bruises on their heads, they are not dead, and Nami hasn’t followed through with the very human act of killing bees. (#savethebees) But we will see the pattern of Nami hurting incredibly cute creatures as we read through this chapter. Anyways, self-indulgent tangent aside, there’s a few interesting details here that caught my eye. Why is it that if the World Tree is damaged that Elbaf will be finished? Is it that the giants can’t let it be harmed at all? And is that out of religious or spiritual beliefs or fear of tangible side effects? There’ve been great big trees all over One Piece. The Adam tree, the sunlight tree Eve, and the Whale tree to name a few. Could it be that the World tree holds together the nation? Maybe through it’s roots or maybe it holds the sky islands above the country to it? The Vegapunks did talk about Wandering Clouds a little while ago. It could be that the sky Islands above the country would wander if not for the tree. Though that is pretty baseless theorizing as we’ve only got a small amount of facts to play around with. Next we get mention of a Sun God and an Ear God. The Sun God sounds like serious business but we know by the end of the chapter that the Ear God is a giant bunny that Luffy beat up and ate so are the titles like Skypiea where people can get the title of Kami/God? Could this end up like Mont Blanc Noland in Jaya when he killed Kashigami, the giant snake the Shandians worshipped as a god?

One of my favourite things about One Piece is the extremely realistic and human reactions that Ussop and Nami have to things the Monster Trio are just able to shrug off. In this chapter, Nami’s reactions are some of the funniest Oda has ever drawn. I genuinely can’t get over how adorable the hedgehog is and then her shocked expression before lighting it up. I guess it’s been a while since Oda really got to let loose with his comedy because he’s firing on all cylinders here. 

I genuinely don’t know if this is the fault of the Green Fairy absinthe anymore because Oda makes it a point to show the physical attack that hit Ussop. But then why bring it up in the first place? It could be a red herring but to bring it up and then quickly dismiss it that fast is interesting. I treat One Piece as a mystery quite often because it quite often follows the rules of one. Establishing causes and culprits close to the beginning of the mystery. Red herrings and misdirects. Heck, the central conceit of the story itself is a mystery? What is the One Piece? That’s also the reason why therizing and theorycrafting holds more water in One Piece than say something like Star Wars or My Hero Academia. Those communities emerged from fan fervor whereas in One Piece it’s almost encouraged by Oda through his setups and answers. Mystery, secrets, and lies are also thematically embedded into One Piece. Alls that to say, thinking about mysteries is fair game when talking this series. And regardless, we’ll find out what the answer is the further we get so let’s call off speculating here.

The lion kind of reminds me of Richie, the lion that Mohji, a member of Buggy’s initial crew, used to run around with. And also sort of like the Impel Down lions. We later see, after the Monster Trio knock it out, that the lion was actually just a cat transformed into a lion. Is that it’s ability or could it be that like Onimaru the fox from Wano, that this cat ate a devil fruit. Instead it was a lion fruit instead of a hito hito model fruit. 

As much as I love the whole crew, there’s something about the East Blue five that fills my heart with joy. The dynamics between them are solid as ever and the comedy top notch. Really there wasn’t too much to talk about in this chapter so I guess I’ll see y’all next time!

[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:

[opbackgrounds]

The klunk klunk of Luffy's brain trying, and failing, to shift into gear is a nice touch

[battlefrankies]

saw ur tags, wanted to give some context because you do bring up some interesting points!

newkama as a term is a combination of okama (a reclaimed pejorative that refers to drag queens/transvestites, who don't always identify as women) and newhalf (a term some trans women celebrities used to refer to themselves in the 90s, but today i've seen most trans women prefer to just be called women) (and the word for trans people in japan today is just english loanwords, literally just 'trans' and 'transgender', so the terminology has evolved)

the newkama and especially iva-chan's impel down group see themselves not as specifically drag queens or trans women, but as people who've transcended the restrictions of gender entirely. they do tap into that campy drag aesthetic though, like you can clearly see the rocky horror influence on ivankov's designs. i think it's a mistake to try and apply concrete labels that we see constantly online to this group (and also, lgbt people in general). oda isn't on twitter reading about how gen Z kids on tiktok want to be portrayed, he's talking to real-life people he meets, but also mostly he's drawing one piece and playing gacha games.

even on momoiro island when they were trying to put sanji in a dress, i think it's important to point out that sanji agreed to that training regimen and discussed it with iva-chan in order to get stronger; he could've left at any time. imo the optics for that section weren't ideal, but it emphasizes the freedom of expression for the newkama who live on that island. there's no pressure to conform to rigid standards of femininity when they're safe and comfortable having body hair and square jaws, but they just wanna wear a frilly dress too. ivankov could (and would) physically alter anyone's body at any point they wanted, but the newkama of the kamabakka kingdom felt no need for that.

are there better ways to portray that? for sure! i'm not mad about oda imperfectly supporting the lgbt community in a time & media environment that was either dismissive or downright hostile to trans people though. it was, again, head and shoulders above pretty much any shonen that was being published at the time. personally, i like that there's such a diversity of trans experiences being depicted in the series with so much affection, to the point where each time sanji said or did anything transphobic, he'd get punished for it. you can truly tell that oda thinks it's dope as fuck that people can just trans their genders, and to me that matters more than optically perfect trans women.

giselle gewelle from bleach, for example, being a really cute trans girl who is also evil, and whose trans identity is openly insulted by a protagonist and also she dies, in 2013. oda having the newkama not just be empowered, heroic characters but also living and thriving on their own island was basically unheard of at a time when 'bury your gays' was so prevalent it's got a tvtropes page. and it's not just that these heroic characters happen to be trans, their establishment of a supportive community in impel down is the REASON luffy could be saved.

i think a lot of people criticize the trans representation in OP in bad faith without context or any intention of trying to understand the context, but i don't take them seriously. the reason we're even talking about the supportive but flawed 2009 trans rep in one piece is because OP has so much staying power and influence in the cultural consciousness. i think it's fair to be uncomfortable with aspects of it, and that speaks to how far we've come since then, which is a good thing. i think the intent of these characters & oda's stance on trans rights couldn't be more clear though.

the trans representation in one piece is phenomenal actually

[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.

[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!

[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.

[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.