#and vice versa for Yona

[senkicho]

I feel that we as a fandom do not appreciate the Hak and Val friendship enough.  It really is something

[incorrectmlpstudentsixquotes]

Yonabar wedding headcanons, please? I know you're into the poly ships but they've been my OTP ever since "She's All Yak."

First and foremost, Yona’s father did not originally approve. Even going so far as invoking an old yak custom of the father of the prospective bride challenging the suitor to unarmed combat to prove Sandbar’s worth. (For the record, this wouldn’t necessarily mean Yona couldn’t marry Sandbar if he lost, that was still always her choice, it’s just a matter of Yak pride.)

Now, a little known loophole in that custom is that the suitor is able to name a second to fight in their stead. It’s kinda like Krogan rules, not every yak can be the biggest and the strongest, but even the weakest Yak should be able to inspire others to fight in their name.

So, naturally, Sandbar named Yona as his second.

Needless to say, Yona’s father had no more unkind words to say about Sandbar after that fight.

(Bonus points is that Yona’s mother also offered to be Sandbar’s second. And poor Yona’s father honestly didn’t know which of those match-ups would have been more painful.)

On the flip-side on the topic of in-laws, Sandbar’s parents absolutely adored Yona and doted on her non-stop in the days leading up to the wedding. For someone who’s lived a very harsh lifestyle where rugged strength is paramount over all else, being pampered by her future in-laws and treated like a princess was a very welcome change of pace for Yona.

It helps that all of the S6 spent so much time at Sandbar’s house that Yona was pretty much their daughter in all but marriage anyway. Sandbar putting a ring on it just made things more official.

When the in-laws officially met each other before the wedding, Yona’s father made the mistake of making a passing remark towards Sandbar’s physical weakness.

The sheer burning intensity of the glare from Sandbar’s mother made Yona’s father afraid to sleep at night for a whole week. The two mother-in-laws now make the effort to catch up once a month over tea.

The wedding itself was pretty multi-cultural, taking traditions equally from both pony customs and yak customs, with both fiancé and fiancée basically picking and choosing which traditions sounded the most fun. Interestingly, most of the yak traditions were chosen by Sandbar and vice-versa with Yona choosing mostly pony traditions. After all, both had seen so many weddings in their own traditions, why not try something they’ve never seen before?

One of the biggest yak traditions was taking a special wooden carving made by the bride’s parents and smashing it to pieces, which they would then replace with their own carving that would get smashed by their children, if they ever had any.

Obviously, Sandbar wouldn’t be able to smash the carving with his bare hooves, so Gallus gave him a sledgehammer as a wedding gift. He figured there was gonna be a lot more ‘smashing’ in Sandbar’s future being married to Yona, so he figured he should be prepared.

“Dude, like, ninety percent of yak traditions involve breaking stuff.”

“Yona would be offended if Gallus was not totally on money.”

Speaking of their friends, Sandbar asking Gallus to be his Best-Man was an obvious no-brainer, but Yona had a bit more difficulty choosing which of their friends should be her Maid-of-Honor.

After a few solid minutes of careful deliberation, Yona basically just shrugged and asked all of them to be her Maid-of-Honor.

So in the reception of their union, after the bride and groom had their first dance, the guests were all treated to the image of this poor, addled griffon getting dragged to the dance floor and getting absolutely crowded by three different creatures all wearing matching green dresses.

Of course Trixie took pictures.

Dang, I actually had a lot more to say then I thought. This is what happens when you ask for my headcanons.

(Self-indulgent bonus: If you’d like to include my OCs, Camren and his crew made a temporary truce with Gallus to procure some totally-legal, totally-not-stolen fireworks to cap off the reception.)

[solcomfortssouls]

Anime tag game

comfort anime?

Kuroko no basket the final game movie, Gakuen babysitters, Kemono and Big Windup for friendship scenes.

most recently watched anime(s)?

Blue lock, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Akudama drive, Spy x family, Arcane, Bnha

your go-to anime when asked for recommendations?

Naruto, One Piece and Bnha from the big ones.

Psycho Pass, Akatsuki no Yona, Fate/Zero and Nana and for absolute quality of their specific genre.

Parasite and Iron-blooded orphans for clever action.

Megalo box and Erased for short brilliance.

Kuroko no basket, Bakuten and Big Windup for sport anime.

Poko's udon world and Gakuen Babysitters for cute slice of life.

Grimgar, Hakkenden, Nanbaka, Angel's of death, Kyoto no Kanata, Bisco, Tsubasa, and Black bullet for whump and hurt/comfort.

For movies mainly Ghibli works as Howl's moving castle and Mononke, and a giant one is Promare.

anime that you love the characters but hate the plot (or vice versa)?

Big Windup has excellent characters but the plot with the long boring games really lags. Hakkenden has really cute characters and relationships but wow the plot is so full of holes and nonsense.

favorite genre?

Fuh that's hard. I'm pretty open to genres themselves, I just love character drama, hurt/comfort and tight friendships, mainly bromances. So anything that has that becomes my fave, even if the plot sucks otherwise. Though truly brilliant anime also ask moral and philosophical questions, have team dynamics and interesting character arcs.

Open tag, let me see some anime recs.

[chogahofa4519]

Baby & Me Arabic OP - English Translation شارة أنا وأخي - ترجمة إنجليزية

Lyrics: Ahmed Natouf

Music: Rasha Rizq

Vocals: Hala Al-Sabbagh, Tarek Alarabi Tourgane, Bassam Al-Hassuni

كلمات: أحمد نتوف

لحن: رشا رزق

غناء: هالة الصباغ، طارق العربي طرقان، بسام الحسني

أنا وأخي (وأخي)

شوقٌ يدفعني لأراها

أمي ذكرى لا أنساها

(ana wa'akhi (wa'akhi)

shwqon yadfaeuni li'araha

umiy dhikraa la 'ansaha)

My brother and I (and I)

Passion pushes me to see her

Mother is an unforgettable memory

طيفٌ أنقى

من زبد الأيام أبقى

أمي .. أمي .. أمي

(tyfon 'anqaa

min zabadi al'ayaam 'abqaa

umiy .. umiy .. umiy)

A purer ghost

From the scum of the days, I stay

Mother.. Mother.. Mother

همساتها أحلى من ناي

سكنت قلبي

كلماتها باتت نجواي

تضيء دربي

(hamasatuha 'ahlaa min nay

sakanat qalbi

kalimatuha batat najway

tudi' dirbi)

Her whispers are nicer than a flute

She comforts my heart

Her words have become my guide

She lights my path

"لا تنسَ أخاك

ترعاه يداك

لا تنسَ أخاك"

("la tnsa 'akhak

tareah yadak

la tnsa 'akhak")

"Don't forget your brother

Your hands care for him

Don't forget your brother"

لو سرقت منا الأيام

قلباً معطاء بسّام

لن نستسلم للآلام

لن نستسلم للآلام

(law sariqat minaa al'ayaam

qlbaan mieta'n bassam

lan nastaslima lilalam

lan nastaslima lilalam)

What if life stole from us

A kind, generous heart

We won't give up to pain

We won't give up to pain

"لا تنسَ أخاك

ترعاه يداك

لا تنسَ أخاك"

("la tnsa 'akhak

tareah yadak

la tnsa 'akhak")

"Don't forget your brother

Your hands care for him

Don't forget your brother"

My first ever translation on this blog. Wohoo! I decided to translate the Arabic OP of Baby & Me to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the HanaYume magazine🥳. I've personally haven't read any issue of the magazine since I don't live in Japan (I wish), but they include a lot of my favorites like Fruits Basket, Yona of the Dawn, Skip Beat, and of course Baby & Me!

In case you didn't know, Baby & Me is really popular in the Middle East, we call it "أنا وأخي"(Me & My Brother) and I have a lot of childhood memories with that anime. I remember being physically incapable of listening to that theme song without crying. The emotional music, the flashbacks in the OP, the lyrics, and the already sad tone of the episodes on top of that was just too much for my little heart🥲.

Please let me know if you want me to translate anything into Arabic or vice versa!

I hope you enjoyed! See you soon!

مرحى! اول ترجمة على المدونة! قررت أن أترجم شارة أنا وأخي بمناسبة الذكرى ال٥٠ لمجلة "هانا يومي." إن لم تسمعول عنها من قبل، إنها مجلة يابانية للمانجا للفتيات. لم أقرأها من قبل لأني لا أعيش في اليابان، لاكنها كانت تتضمن الكثير من أعمالي المفضلة مثل فروت باسكت (سلة الفاكهة)، يونا فتاة الفجر، سكيب بيت، و بالطبع أنا وأخي!

أتذكرون كيف كنا نتابع أنا وأخي على قناة سبيستون؟ آه كان لدي ذكريات رائعة مع هذه القناة. أذكر كيف كنت دائمًا أبكي عندما كنت أستمع لشارة أنا وأخي. قلبي الصغير بم يحتمل الألحان الحزين، وكلمات الأغنية، والنبرة المؤثرة للانمي🥲.

أعلموني إن أردتم أن أترجم لكم شيءً إلى العربية أو العكس!

أرجوا أنكم إستمتعتم! أراكم عما قريب!

[tatzebea]

Tausch ♡

[entamesubs]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but how long does it take to sub an episode and release it? Thanks for the hard work btw （╹◡╹）♡

This depends from episode to episode. Non-duel episodes are easier to translate but more tedious to time. Duel episodes are more tedious to translate but easier to time.

I say "tedious" because it's not really hard, per se. It's just very repetitive work. Duel episodes require me to type more because I have to stylize colored font as well as make sure effects are as specific as possible in English. But they're easier to time because lines from the duel line up very well with scene cuts, and I have more of a leeway to put two lines of dialogue on screen, so it goes by faster. Vice versa for non-duel episodes.

To quantify it a little, translating for non-duel takes around 3-4 hours. Translating for a duel takes around 4-5 hours. Timing overall takes around 4-5 hours, or 6-7 if there is a lot of typesetting to do. I also take an extra hour to edit the script while timing.

This means each episode takes at least 8 hours of work on the short end and 13 hours on the long end. Most take around 9-10. Keep in mind that is 9-10 hours spread over two days, so it's around 4-5 hours of work per day.

This is also only hours on my end for translating and timing. Yona generally takes around ~2 hours to proofread after translation. Altogether the sum total of our hours would make it around 11-12 hours per episode.

Both episodes can also be the opposite amount of work depending on other factors (like say, puns), so this is a very general look.

This also doesn’t include stuff like if there are very long translation notes for me to write. Sometimes those take an extra hour depending on what I have to cover. Most only take like 10-15 minutes.

[raveneira]

What are your favourite ships from other animes you like ?

Oh I have a bunch, but I’ll try to name/show as many as I can think of

Fena x Yukimaru

Hanayashi

Haru x Futaba

Ash x Eiji 😭

Rebecca x Asta

YujiKiri, its canon idc.

Edwin, one of my fave OG pairs.

Kyoru

Kisa x Hiro...I just love them ok.

Gruvia

Hak x Yona

Yato x Hiyori

Saito x Louise

Eremin, controversial I know but its canon fars Im concerned, its way better than the actual canon thats for danm sure.

Banri x Linda, this should’ve been endgame idc what anyone says.

Haru x Ellie

Alice x Ryo

Sonamy

Zervis

Gochi

Yusuke x Keiko

Kaname x Sosuke

Ash x Serena

Jimmy x Rachel, yes I prefer their Americanized names lol

Darien x Serena, once again I prefer their Americanized names lol

Killgon, I dont actually SHIP it ship it but I definitely see the potential and I do believe Killua may have a slight crush on Gon, altho Im not sure if Gon reciprocates lol

Takaki x Ashton, LEAVE ME ALONE 😭

Mikazuki x Atra

Yamagi x Shino, LEAVE ME ALONE 😭

Inukag

Kohaku x Rin

Ritowa, I know this ones a bit controversial and I despise Yashahime but I do genuinely find their relationship cute and its possibly one of the few good parts of this god forsaken sequel. Of course I dont want them together currently because of the age gap, but Towa only has 4 years left till she turns 18 so as long as nothing serious happens between them till then Im totally for this ship. Atleast shes not a literal child he raised and is a teen old enough to atleast comprehend this sorta thing and know whats appropriate and what isnt.

Mikayuu...leave...leave me alone please 😭 Im still greiving

Karma x Nagisa, I dunno why I just always found them cute together

Asch x Natalia, they both lived happily ever after the end LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

JoshNeku, I cant fully explain why but I always really liked this messed up ship, theres so many layers and complexity to it that makes it so intriguing and conflicting to ship lol but overall I genuinely do believe Joshua cares for Neku and saw value in him in the end, not as just someone he manipulated in the game and gambled on, but genuinely sees him as a friend after witnessing him selflessly risk his life trusting Joshua when he had every reason to pull the trigger. To me I feel like these two have alot of unresolved issues they need to talk out but Joshua isnt willing to face Neku nor admit he actually cares and wants to be friends for whatever complicated reason he cant. But I believe if whatever wasnt holdin him back he would have joined Neku and the others and the two would’ve reconciled, which is mostly my basis for shipping it lol.

Sormik, its literally canon nobody can convince me otherwise, they have every bit of confirmation minus only an official statement sayin their endgame but honestly who needs that? anyone who’s played the game and watched the anime KNOWS these two are way more than friends and way more than brothers.

Kokichi x Shuichi, like JoshNeku this is a very complex and complicated ship, theres alot of flaws in it but also a ton of possibility. I feel like these two had a chance but missed it because Kokichi was such a constant liar and Shuichi never actually tried to understand him or give him the benefit of the doubt despite him trying to be a better detective, he failed to properly investigate Kokichi and get to the bottom of why he is the way he is and what his true motives were and instead rushed to assume the worst of him, doubting him till the very end. This ship is even more tragic than JoshNeku whereas Joshua and Neku ended up genuinely caring about eachother despite their messed up history, Shuichi completely gave up on Kokichi and vice versa, but you could tell the two did genuinely wanna get along with and get to know one another but simply couldnt because of the constant misunderstandings. Shuichi got impatient with Kokichi and gave up and Kokichi lost hope in befriending Shuichi and gave up on letting anyone in on his plans and resolved to die alone hated by everyone even the one person he had hoped would understand him. Their story is super tragic with so much untapped potential I cant help enjoying it. You could say Im over analyzing and sure maybe in a way I am but thats just how I see it.

Videl x Gohan, this one needs no explanation we all know this is one of the most healthiest if not THE healthiest non problematic ship in the entire DBZverse, its just so wholesom and pure theres really nothing bad to say about it. The one gripe I and many others have is Videl losing her drive as a fighter and retiring to being a housewife, not that being a housewife is bad its just given her potential beforehand and this being a shounen manga its not unusual for us to have expected more for her than just being a housewife. As for Gohan he is father and husband of the year, a million times better than his father was, this is why ppl need to stop sleepin on Chichi because she raised her son right, to be a real man and take care of his family. Gohan may be rusty and takin Ls now on the battlefield but atleast when he comes home he tends to his family instead of going to 10 different planets and mentors trying to get stronger while neglecting his wife and kid in the process.

Those are all the ships that comes to mind right now, sorry for giving so many but there are alot of ships I enjoy lol

[freewilllife]

Regardless of how badly written Hakyona is, they will 100% end up together. It may seem impossible to a few zealous Hakyona shippers, but they honestly don't get how privileged they are. Literally every cover is endorsing the couple Hakyona instead in some way. No matter how contrived it seems they will ALWAYS get together no matter what, even if they're separated for 100 chapters and never communicate properly. They will obviously marry and have kids. At least that's my opinion.

Yeah, I agree. I do think the romance between Yona and Hak could have been written better. Kusanagi-sensei uses too many familial tropes to be enjoyable for me...But to each their own, I guess.

But yeah...I´d wish Soo Won and Lily was as surely cannon. There are some "romantic" interpretations of some scenes...But that´s about it. That is a pity...they would have had such a good chemistry. She is a girl he does respect greatly and vice versa.

[iamafictionfreak]

Listen...

Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the Dawn’s 201st’s chapter is especially brilliant. Why? Well, we have the ever faithful bodyguard archetype and the former princess of the kingdom turned vigilantes... leaving their set paradigms behind and evolving into what promises to be well rounded characters that we’ll be jumping for joy about at the end.

This has nothing to do with whether you love Hak or Su Won.

It’s about a young girl becoming a woman by accepting her role to play in politics, by protecting those she loves through her position (dead father or no), by choosing to forsake revenge - because despite how much it hurt to loose her father, she’s seen that the devastation left behind in a kingdom ruled in the past by a family that let their fears and their rage govern their actions - and by falling in love.

Hak says to her, ‘so I heard that you no longer need a bodyguard’ before kissing her senseless. He isn’t reprimanding her, isn’t forcing her into a corner by confronting her with a painful lie, isn’t making fun of her.

‘You don’t need to protect me’

He’s simultaneously acknowledging that he knows she no longer needs him as a bodyguard (not in the truest sense) and that his purpose has changed - he no longer fits that role. She’s grown enough - has faced her demons - that he’s forced to see how little he’s managed to confront his own.

The author can’t place every character front and centre: it was made clear that Yona was the main character from the start, with Su Won and Hak being a close second. We needed to see the past in prior chapters before the present could pave way to the future: Yona now understands what Su Won is doing. Does it mean she forgives him? Psh, NO. It just means that she’s reached a level of enlightenment that I for one am in awe over.

Since moving back into the palace, she’s been threatened, locked up, blackmailed and has been forced to play the royal game to GREAT aplomb. She chose not to include her dragons, to keep them safe and cut Hak off from his primary duty in life because she was genuinely scared, with good reason, that he’d be killed off for knowing that the king is dying. EVERYONE knows that his loyalty is to her and only her and that he’s the most terrifying man in the palace.

Now, I bet most of you were thinking, ‘but Hak’s a beast. he can’t be beat’.

True. BUT. The way to rule a kingdom CANNOT be founded upon bloodshed and ashes. If Hak starts a fight in the middle of the palace, the dragon’s will get involved and everyone opposing them will likely perish. Maybe the dragons would take a loss too. Are there any good guys or bad guys here? It’s not the best way to start the rule of Yona, who doesn’t even want to rule. But that’s her choice: either tell him the truth or keep him safe. Start a battle that will end more lives for a thrown she doesn’t care for or play the game.

And Hak...

He’s playing a game of his own, and it was a smart one, save for how most know he’s lying through his teeth. But he's likeable and charismatic and the soldiers love him, so he has a form of leverage there.

Long story short, he wanted IN. He doesn’t want protection, he wants to be with her on the front lines of every battle, be he a slave, a solider, a commander... a prince? Who knows. But it’s not just about being with Yona; it’s about coming to terms with what happened to the country and loves and reconciling his rage with his need to keep it safe. 

He’s finally choosing a path of his own and it’s no surprise that it still leads down the same path as her, with one fundamental difference.

He’ll be her partner this time, in all the ways she needs him to be and vice versa. It’s not bodyguard and ex-princess anymore. It’s captive princess and solider. Soon it’ll be something else once more. He’s finding his place in her world, in THEIR world. 

He does this by fighting for a country he believes in and cares for - volunteering to fight on the front lines AGAIN - how he faces his own rage, a rage he can’t let go of, how he’ll confront Su Won and how he’ll, one day, feel worthy of standing by the side of Yona.

That’s a powerful presence. Whether he’ll succeed is a different kettle of fish. But he’s in it now, happily. Do I think he TRULY lost that fight?

No. No I think he was taken by surprise by a supreme fighter and rolled with it, recognising that the fight confirmed his suspicions.

So what happens now?

Not sure: Su Won still hasn't revealed how he truly feels about all of this, save the indication that he expects to die and soon, serving the country. His life isn’t his own, which is incredibly sad really. The biggest criticism for the character isn’t that he killed the king, it’s that he befriended two people he knew he’d betray and threw them to the wolves. 

He should never have had them care for him, should never have spent so much time cultivating a friendship he knew he’d destroy, hearts he’d step on. 

But what’s done is done and Yona is greatly changed.

It’s growing ever more fascinating.

[thoughtfulstudentsalad]

Is it just me or is Yona and Lili’s friendship an underrated subject in the AnY fandom?

It’s definitely one of the irreplaceable facets of Akatsuki no Yona, but I don’t see much analysis (Maybe it’s time for me to write one). Which makes sense cause the last time they actually met was like... in the Xing arc. 

Still, I can’t imagine reading AnY without Yona and Lili’s friendship not being showcased. At least personally, I don’t think I would have liked Yona’s character as much if Lili did not exist. Yona grew as a person thanks to Lili, and vice versa.

[kris-cross-writing-blog]

Blog Rules and Info:

Hello, my name is Kris and I'll be your writer this evening.

Some Fandoms I write for:

Whatever is in parentheses is what I'm caught up with in terms of the series.

Bungou Stray Dogs (Anime + Manga)

Yona of the Dawn (Anime)

Fruits Basket (Anime)

Ikemen Vampire

Ikemen Sengoku

Ikemen Revolution

Genshin Impact

Ikemen Prince

Ikemen Villains

Touken Ranbu

Honkai Star Rail

Snow White with the Red Hair (Anime)

Kamisama Kiss

Jujutsu Kaisen

Demon Slayer

Vanitas no Carte

Etc.

(Please note that with some of these, I'm still in the process of finishing it/getting a grasp on the characters)

What I'll write (Request wise):

Headcanonns

Scenarios

Fluff

Light angst

Character X reader

Platonic Character x reader

Character reactions

Character interactions

Match-ups (on occasion)

(Other stuff but this is just the basics)

What I won't write (request wise):

Character X Character

Nsfw (Maybe little stuff but nothing straight up sexually explicit)

Male × Male or Fem × Fem unless platonically (I just don't know enough about that and I don't want to insult anyone.)

Incest or anything similar (Just please no)

( I reserve the right to refuse any request for any reason I have. Please respect that decision and maybe we can work on an alternative)

Some rules:

If you have feedback, questions, complaints, etc. I am more than happy to receive them!

Just one thing. Please, for the love of pockets, be respectful.

This is less of a rule, more of a "so you know" I'll generally write in the second person when it comes to requests.

(Aka you) If you have something else in mind, like you want it to be in third person or something, let me know!

If you send me a specific request, please don't send it to other writers. Or vice versa.

Please don't spam. If you think I haven't gotten your request, DM me.

Please don't send more than three requests at a time.

Other info:

I will take requests but I'll also just write whatever I want from time to time

You can request for things other than fanfiction.

My DMs are always open if you want to talk, ask questions, get advice (I dunno how helpful I'd be but I'll try!)

I may be a bit slow. I have mental health stuff and a lot of school/work. But I'll try my best to get requests done as quickly as possible!

[I'm trying to think of how to not sound rude while saying this(´-﹏-`；)] So basically, this is my blog. Meaning I can do with it what I choose. If I don't feel comfortable answering or writing something, that's my decision. Although I will usually try to give some sort of explanation.

Feedback is greatly appreciated. I missed a comma, or used the wrong homophone? Let me know! If I answered your request and it was miles away from what you wanted, Tell me and I'll try again! You loved it? I'd love to hear! You hated it? Awesome, tell me why and I'll consider it! I said a character was British when he was actually Scottish? I'd die of shame if nobody told me and it was just left there.

You can send in asks that aren't about a request. I love interaction and I'd be MORE than happy to befriend people.

Alrighty then. That's all for now.

Please note that these rules are subject to change. However probably won't (?)

Sorry if this was too long! I look forward to seeing how this goes!

[hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall]

I didn’t want it to be this way

Pairing: Dark!Curtis Everett x F!Reader;

Story Rating: Explicit, 18+ only;

Warnings: Non-con, cursing, explicit sexual content, forced loss of virginity, angst, smut.

Summary: Train crashed, but there are survivors. Both from tail and head. But you are not the leader. Curtis is. However, he is not the same as he was before the crash. You try to talk to him but nothing is as it was back then.

A/N: This a one-shot made for the amazing @jtargaryen18​ ‘s Dark Curtis Holiday Challenge. This is probably the darkest and most angst thing I wrote... ever! I am actually feeling like making a story out of this if someone will be interested. Thinking of it as a preview :)

Word count: 3100+

The idea of revolution. You still remember the heated conversation you had with Curtis about it. Spending most of your life in the train not knowing anything about people and the world outside of this metal can, your way of seeing the future was completely different to how other did, including him. 

“You’re just a kid.”

It really annoyed you, until he could not say that to you anymore. The first time you sat at the meeting discussing the action of the tail, was the same day he could not look at you as a kid. But this does not mean he did not believe in your ‘childish’, as he used to call it, idea of revolution. 

“They deserve to experience what we have everyday!” He hissed at you, during one of the meetings, when you decided to speak up about the absurdness of the whole idea, of reversing the tail into the head. “Put them in our shoes!”

“What’s the point, Curtis?” Your voice was always calm and steady, which surprised Edgar, who always backed out during the argument between the two of you. “Tell me, how would we differ from Wilford? We’re not helping. We are just taking the power in our hands”, your breath hitched, when stood up absurdly and yanked you to the wall, holding you at the collar of your jacket. 

“Curtis”, a quiet whisper from Gilliam was always a way to stop the man from further action, but not today. Curtis lowered to look you straight in the eyes. 

“You childish thinking that all the people are good, will get you killed one day.” You swallowed harder, when he pushed you more into the wall. “If those people there would be good, we would not be here leaving worse than the fucking insects!” He pulled away but his stern gaze was still fixated on you. 

“They are all scared… You don’t know…”

“I do know!” He added, sitting back down, hiding his face in the hands, visibly tired of this conversation. “Humans are not different from animals. If they have a chance to kill for their own good, they will.” 

You looked around the room and sighed remembering this conversation. It felt like it happened too far ago, but it was only 37 days ago. 35 days ago the train exploded and the engine that kept on moving the train stopped working. You all but Yona’s dad survived. Both of the kids had almost no scratch. Curtis, who towered above you three had it the worst. Especially his left arm, that miracly survive the heroic action of taking little Tommy out of this awful base.

You still weren’t sure how you managed to find the little cave nearby the crashed train. You took him there and made sure that he would be able to come back to health. You needed him, the people that survived needed him. He was your leader, no matter what he said. He was unconscious for about 20 days. Every night was like a life nightmare that you needed to go through, thinking he would never wake up. You didn’t know what you’d do if that would come true. 

“That went fuckin’ perfect!” You turned to the side of the voice and smiled sadly seeing the young man. You still weren’t sure how in the heaven he survived, but when you came back to the train to search for the survivors, he was there. In the small made bed, taken care by the tail people. They told you he lost a lot of blood but he was breathing a bit after you were gone. For the entire 18 years since you lived in the train, you never cried. Never until this day. When you noticed his body, his alive body on the floor. You remember falling on your knees and just ugly sobbing on his chest. All the energy that was consumed with fighting and helping out Curtis tire you down completely and all the emotions came out. 

Edgar healed quickly. Maybe even a bit too quickly, but you blamed his young body for it. He forced you to take the lead of the people that survived the crash, at least until Curtis wakes up. You were opposite it, repeating Curtis’ words, ‘I ain’t no leader.’ But you did it, for him, for Curtis, Yona, Timmy and the others. 

“They listened to Curtis for way too long!” You sighed tiredly, looking at the table where all the people were sitting about 20 minutes ago. “I don’t want to impose anything on them. They were forced to so many things already, but revenge is not a way to live. Not now. Not when so few of us is left…” Your voice sounded so tired, small and caved. 

Your ‘childish’ ideas have not died with the fight you had in the train. After the crash you believed even more that living together as one society, a tail and the head, would be the only good thing. But you were not stupid. You knew that people should not be forced to changes so quickly. You knew that tail wanted the revenge and the head would not be happy to live with the tail, after all the years living a high level life. You didn’t blame anyone, you really tried to understand. But you believed that if you would be able to live together it would only be for your benefits. The front of the train knew things that the back didn’t and vice versa. People could learn from one another if they wanted to, but they were too stubborn. 

“Maybe... You should try and talk to Curtis, or I…”

“No. You…” You turned to him and he tensed just now realising how tired you looked. The black circles were bigger than he ever seen even in Curtis. You looked physically and mentally tired. He was sure he noticed you hissing, curing and whining out of the pain. But whenever he asked, you always smiled at him and said that you were alright. There were times, he was sure he noticed a blood on the little handkerchief you had with you. But again he never asked, because he knew the answer. “I will talk to him. Why don’t you walk around the caves and see the reactions of the people?” Knowing that there was no way for the tail and head to live together just yet, you divided the people from the train into different caves. No one from tail knew where the head lived and vice versa. Only you and Edgar knew. He has become your right hand in decision making. That’s why you didn’t want him to go and talk to Curtis. He respected him too much. And you wanted it to stay like that. 

“You should rest, Y/N” You raised your brow and shuffled his hair playfully, before leaving him alone. You took a deep painful breath. Everything hurt. Your every bone, muscle, your lungs and head. You did not have time to rest, to take care of yourself since the crush and it was taking a stroll on you. You did not mind the pain that much, but the blood with your every cough was being annoying. You were angry at yourself for Edgar to notice this. He was too young to worry about you. 

You looked at the direction of the little single cave where Curtis was laying. He was still too weak to get up and actually work. Not to mention that he just wasn’t ready mentally. Gilliam’s betrayal destroyed him, not to mention, that he started to doubt you as well. Gilliam was like a grandpa for you. You were the closest to him. He practically took you under his arm when you were left alone at the age of five. You followed him like a shadow. Curtis believed that there was no way you would not know, did not hear GIlliam talking about his ‘real plan’. During one his worse days, he pushed you hard onto the wall and blamed you for all this death, claiming you a little puppet doll that just did everything that both of them wanted. 

You never fought him. You were smarter than that. He was mentally unstable, and despite his left arm still in pain he was much stronger than you. Despite all the years of arguing you were never afraid of him. He was your shield, the man you always went to when you had nightmares, until that day. You didn’t fight him because you knew that he could have killed you. It hurt you. 

You didn’t have time to grief anyone. Tanya, Grey. You were too busy to fight, and then to survive, help the people, help Curtis. Even the nights weren’t really time to grieve. You had so much to do, that you barely slept. You were too busy. And now his hatred towards you was another thing you needed to grief, because you loved him. It was not the same love you had for Edgar, or Timmy and Yona. No this was the love that was almost forbidden in the tale section. You loved him way before you even understood the concept of love. You loved the man that hated you. How stupid. But you didn’t have time to think about it. About your feelings. 

Taking a shaky, scared deep breath you walked to the cave, hoping that he would at least listen to you. He was the only one that could bring peace right now. He was your leader after all. 

**

He cursed under his breath, probably millionth time this day. The pain was annoying and the fact he could not move the arm too much made him even more on edge. he knew he was needed for him people, but was not ready to come back yet. The pain clouded his mind. He needed to be 100% ready to come back. Not to disappoint anyone, especially Edgar. 

When he saw the young man walking to his cave he was sure he was dreaming. But he was really there. With this cheeky smile on his face and annoying jokes flying from his mouth. It was really him. Truly alive. It was than Curtis decided that he needs to come back to health quickly. 

He sat hearing footsteps. He frowned not expecting anyone today. If Edgar came to see him it was in the morning or evening, never in the middle of the day. He clenched his jaw, however noticing you walking closer to his bed.

“What are you doing here!” He hissed lowly, not missing the way you flinched at his tone. He was hoping he has scared you enough to never come back. He didn’t want to see you, listen to a word you would say. He despised you, dreaming of your dead body. He believed you were a traitor just like Gilliam, a traitor that deserved the most painful death. And he didn’t mind bringing that on you. 

“If you come here again, I will make sure you will feel the pain I feel right now!”

He hoped those words would keep her away from the cave. It did for couple of days. He didn’t see her. Yona always came in to change the bandages, sending you one of her angry looks, but never said anything. He knew the young girl learned to like you. The same with Timmy. This was probably the only reason he still haven’t killed you. 

“We need to talk”, you said quietly. He smirked seeing how desperately you tried to act cool and composed, but despite the levels of clothes, he could see your shivering body. And to his great satisfaction, the cold was not the reason. 

“I don’t think so!” He answered slowly getting up. He didn’t miss the way your body automatically etched to help him. But you stopped yourself, knowing that he would never let you touch him. “I told you what I would do to you, the next time I saw you, right?” He was steps away from you and  noticed the way you swallowed hard, when he towered over you. He felt so good noticing how small and weak you looked comparing to him. 

“The people… They need you, Curtis. The tail is trying to get rid off the people from the head and…”

“Good!” He stopped you, clenching his healthy hand. “We fought for that. For the superiority.”

“No, Curtis. We fought for freedom”, you whined, when his right hand clenched on your throat. Your eyes widened, when you started to get difficulties with breathing. You looked him the eyes and you felt shivers down your spine. He was pissed and right here right now, you were sure he was close to actually killing you. “Curtis… please…” Your small hands travelled to his wrist hoping he would loosen up a bit. 

“Don’t you fuckin’ tell me what we fought for! You are nothing but a traitor, that deserves the most painful and agonising death!” He didn’t move, didn’t flinch when the tears started to fall down your cheeks. He never seen you cry. Not when you were a child, not when Edgar died, or they shot Gilliam. But he didn’t care. This will not save you. 

“Please… I didn’t know”, you tried so hard to speak but apparently that made him even more mad. You started to see stars when he loosened up and threw you on his bed. You backed away to the wall, when he started to walk towards you. “I really didn’t know. He never spoke about those things when I was there. Please… believe me!” your throat burned, but you needed to tell him that. “If I knew I would tell you Curtis… You know I would!”

“I really fuckin’ don’t.” He shouted, towering over you. “You were his shadows since you were a little brat. Followed him everywhere. And me? I was just one of the tail passengers!” He smirked seeing your terrified expression. He felt powerful. The first time since he found out Gilliam betrayed them. Now when you were just sitting there. On his bed. Completely terrified. He took a deep breath feeling his cock twitch at the thought itself. No, he will not kill you. Not yet. Edgar, Yona and Timmy care about you. He won’t kill you,  but he will make you lose any will to live. “You know, Wilford was right about something.” You were watching him with fear when he kneeled on the bed, insanity in his eyes. “I should probably get laid.” 

You froze at his words. This was not happening. You tried to kick him away but he pinned your legs to the bed, and will animalistic ease climbed on you. Pinning your both hands over your head with his right hand, and your legs with his one. He was strong. Impossibly strong. You tried to fight, tried to get away. 

“Curtis, please let me go”, you sobbed, feeling his left hand wondering down to your breasts squeezing them painfully. “Please don’t do this!” He only laughed and his hand travelled down to your pants and you closed your eyes, when he yanked them down with ease. “Please, please, no!” You begged him. This must have been a nightmare. This was not happening. Curtis would never do that. The man you loved would never made you do that. He would never force you into anything like that. 

“I didn’t want want it to be this way”, he hissed to your ear, his fingers opening his zipper, not caring about your sobbing, tears and protests. You wanted to scream, but you couldn’t. “I told you not to ever come here. You betrayed all of us, and I will punish you. In one way you will never forget.” And without another word he pushed inside you, making you whine in pain. He was big, too big. You weren’t ready. You were dry down there, not stretched, and his every move was a horrow show. 

His breathing sped up when he slowly deeped in inside you. You was pushing neglecting your pain, until something stopped him. He widened his eyes and looked at you, shock and surprise in his beautiful eyes, you learned to love so much. For just a second you thought he may stopped, that he came to his senses, but he only smirked and with a groan he pushed further, harder taking your innocent away from you. He put his left hand on your mouth to kill the screamed that left your lips and not giving you a second to adjust he started to pound on you. There was nothing gentle in it. He fucked you, taking only his pleasure into consideration. 

You closed your eyes, praying for it to end soon. It hurt so much that you didn’t even fight him anymore. So he took his left, pained arm out of your mouth and put it on your waist, speeding up the pace, making you sobb and whine more. 

“Fuck! You’re so tight!” he hissed through his teeth, enjoying every second of it. Every move, made his cock twitch and you hoped this was going to end soon. How did any of this happened. How could the man you knew so well, the man who cared so deeply about his people, do something like that. How could a man you loved do this? You dreamed about it. About your first time being with him. But not like that. You panicked when his movements slowed down, and became haotic. 

“Please, not inside!” You whispered, but had none of that. He looked you deep in your eyes, with the same smirk, and emptied himself into you with a satisfied growl. You felt his spew leaking away down your thighs, when he finally moved away. You were just laying there. In a complete pain, scared and shocked. 

“Get the fuck out before I change my mind and cut your throat open!” He hissed, turning away from you. 

This was not what you came here for. In that second you wanted him to kill you. You wanted him to end the humiliation you felt. Your heart was broken, and you felt mortified. You got up on your wibbly legs and put your trousers on, shaking from the fear and cold. With no words you left the cave. You couldn’t even cry. All your tears were gone. Everything hurt you. When you were safe and far away from his cave, you let the agonising scream. 

It was then you decided. The minute Curtis comes back all healed, you leave. Run away as far as you can. Even if this would kill you. You would not be able to look him in the eyes. You felt dirty, and used, and yet...you still loved him. The man who just raped you. 

[hypmic-writings]

Hi! Can I request 91 with 1 & 5 for Dice x Gentaro? They can both be Kings/ royals from different kingdoms dancing in a garden together at night. Thank you😁���

91. Royalty AU

1. “You look stunning tonight”

Okay, if you guys need me I’ll be in the corner SCREAMING because this AU is so good and I love the idea of Prince!Dice and Prince!Gentaro ugh just imagine them with long hair in robes lathered with jewels and swords and YES! I could only pick one quote so I did #1 since I felt like it fit the prompt best!

ALSO, does anyone read Akatsuki No Yona? Cause I totally see Gentaro as a Soo-won type that’s like really charming and pretty but also super intelligent and driven hehe Ayways, hope you liked this~

Word Count: 1,338

Genre: Fluff; Royalty!AU

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Dice sighed deeply as he closed the door behind him, finally able to sneak out of the castle without being heard. He could still hear the chatter from the party inside the hall, but he quickly shuffled away, wanting nothing more than to be as far from people as possible.

It was difficult being a prince, there was no doubt about that. Dice would be the first to admit that he wasn’t right for the job. Yes, he might have been tutored at a young age in all types of languages and cultures and politics, but none of those things held any real interest to him.

He wanted to travel beyond his kingdom. More than anything, he wanted to see the outside world. He had argued with his parents about that many times, saying that experiencing other kingdoms first hand would be the best learning experience but he was always shot down. On top of saying it was dangerous, they had a notion that Dice only wanted to travel to have grand adventures and do things that were deemed ‘inappropriate of a prince’.

Well…they weren’t exactly wrong.

As Dice made his way through the palace grounds, he saw a figure in the garden, sitting on one of the benches near a willow. The faint sound of music could still be heard in the distance as Dice walked towards the figure that he could now make out as the one and only, Prince Gentaro.

“Prince Gentaro?” Dice asked, walking closer to the other prince.

Gentaro glanced up from the flowers he had been admiring and turned his attention to Dice. Once he knew it was him, Gentaro raised an eyebrow and shot him a playful smile

“Well, well, Prince Dice, you’re looking dashing tonight,” Gentaro said teasingly. “Don’t tell me you’ve walked out of your own party. Heaven knows what gossip would come of that.”

Dice groaned as he sat down beside his friend in a less-than-graceful manner.

“Screw all of them, I hate parties like this,” he grumbled, glancing quickly at Gentaro before looking away. “You look…stunning tonight,” he mumbled, not wanting to meet Gentaro’s eyes as he felt his ears turn red in embarrassment.

“Ah, you’re too kind to me, Prince Dice,” Gentaro said, pulling out the fan he had tucked in his sleeve. “And come now, parties aren’t all bad. I myself happen to enjoy them from time to time,” he stated, glancing back towards the palace briefly. Dice sighed and sank lower onto the bench.

“Of course, you do, you’re the perfect prince,” he mumbled, leaning his head back and looking up at the tree that loomed above him. A puff of wind blew lightly, making the warm summer evening feel even more comfortable.

Gentaro frowned a bit but looked on with concern at his friend. Dice was many things, but downtrodden was not one of them and right now he looked completely defeated.

“Ah I see…” Gentaro said, fanning himself slowly with a knowing look. “You’ve finally hit the road block, haven’t you.”

At these words, Dice sat up a bit in his seat and turned to the older prince.

Despite only being a few years older, Gentaro always seemed to be more…princely…to Dice. Whereas Dice struggled to fit the mold of a prim and proper prince, Gentaro created his own version of what royalty should look like. Dice always secretly admired how Gentaro seemed to rule with kindness that was lined with cunning and knowledge only a lifetime of learning could offer.

They had discussed their roles as princes and Dice often found Gentaro giving him advice. Although it always came in the form of stories or jokes, there were times that Gentaro would offer a profound piece of knowledge and Dice could only take it in with awe.

The two would often meet at gatherings and parties, and Dice grew to have more and more feelings for Gentaro, but could never tell just what the older prince thought of him.

“What do you mean?” Dice asked, trying to sound bored but completely unable to hide the curiosity in his voice. Gentaro heard this and smiled at him, brushing away his long hair to drape over his shoulder. There was a moment of silence between them, only filled with soft music.

“Dice,” Gentaro began in a soft voice, looking up at the trees. “We’ve known each other for a long time now, right?” Dice didn’t respond, simply nodding at the statement as he gazed at the Prince in front of him.

“Then I’ll ask that you take this advice to heart,” Gentaro said, turning towards Dice suddenly, his lips tightened. “You should take the time to decide what kind of King you want to be.”

Dice felt his heart begin to race faster in his chest at Gentaro’s words. What kind of advice was that? Why was Gentaro looking at him with such intensity? And why had Gentaro leaned in closer when he said that?!

“Oi, what’s that supposed to mean!” Dice exclaimed, his voice coming out more angrily than he had intended. Gentaro, however, brought back the usual smile he always had on his lips and hummed.

“It means exactly that. I can see it in your face, you know. You can hide it well from others, but not from me. You’re being stifled by the role of a prince that your family has laid out for you and you don’t know what to do about it,” Gentaro explained, fanning himself once more. “You should take time to explore the reasons you want to be King.”

“I don’t want to be King, I have to be King,” Dice groaned in frustration.

“Regardless, you’re the one that will be sitting on that throne one day. Everyone will be looking to you for guidance and answers,” Gentaro explained, rationally. There is no right way to rule, there are only multitudes of wrong ways,” he added with a light laugh.

Dice quickly looked away from Gentaro, feeling his heart skip a beat as it always did whenever the older prince laughed. It sounded sweet and gentle, but Dice knew that Gentaro was anything but sweet or gentle and he frustratingly wondered how the older Prince could manage to be so many things at the same time.

“Yea…I’ll…take that into consideration…” Dice mumbled, looking down at his feet. “Thanks…” he added softly. There was another brief moment of silence before Gentaro clapped his hands.

“Ah, but now isn’t the time to think about things like that!” Gentaro exclaimed, rising to his feet. “It’s a party so we should only be thinking of having fun tonight, right?”

Dice looked up at him in surprise, a look that quickly turned to panic when Gentaro held out a hand to him.

“What the hell?!” Dice exclaimed hurriedly.

“Would you care to dance, Prince?” Gentaro asked, his eyes shining in the setting sun. Dice was not accustomed to ever feeling so unsure of himself, but somehow Gentaro always managed to make him feel flustered. He quickly huffed and groaned in annoyance, but took Gentaro’s hand regardless. As soon as he was back up on his feet, Gentaro surprised him once more by taking Dice’s other hand and leading it to wrap around his waist.

“Gentaro!” Dice exclaimed at the sudden touch. As a prince, it was unusual for anyone to touch him or vice versa, but here Gentaro was openly wrapping his arms around Dice’s neck.

“You said it yourself, right? There are too many people inside for us to dance properly, so let’s just stay like this for a little while, okay?” Gentaro responded with another laugh.

Dice felt the heat return to his face once more but allowed Gentaro to sway him back and forth in time with the faint music that was still ringing in the air. Dice wasn’t sure if Gentaro held the same feelings he did, but as the sun set, Dice was sure that he didn’t want to let go of the older prince.

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Top 10 Anime of the 2010 Decade

When choosing anime of the decade, I decided to limit it to either a) anime that began airing in the 2010 decade or b) complete individual seasons that aired in that decade (as in the season actually has its own separate name and all that). I decided not include any continuous ongoing series from previous decades that don’t separate into named seasons, which yes, eliminates 2009’s Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, but ya’ll already know that’s an all time anime fave of mine. Basically, these ‘anime of the decade’ posts cover anime that comes up as belonging to the 2010 the decade when I search my personal MAL.

Best Anime Started in the 2010 decade: March Comes in Like a Lion. I wrote a full post breaking down why I chose this beautiful anime about found family and healing as my top pick here, with links to my in-depth liveblog, some great video analysis and more!

Best Anime Seasons Aired in the 2010 decade: Natsume’s Book of Friends San and Shi. I wrote a post explaining why I chose this lovely show about a boy and his monster friends here, with links to all the extensive writing I’ve done about how much this show means to me.

And here are my other picks!

Kyousougiga- A colorful and inventive tale about a magical mirror Kyoto that features lots of action and humor while also being heartwrenching in its exploration of complicated family bonds and suicidal depression. The story gently lets you know that it’s enough just to exist. On top of all that, it has a great protagonist who's a ton of fun while still having plenty of character depth. She even calls out the adults around her for expecting her to be some energetic little girl who heals their souls with her smile without considering she has her own problems to deal with! 

You can read a full review I wrote for the show around when it came out, which I did as part of an ancient, cringe-inducing review series, here. Though I may cringe a bit at past me, my love for this show remains!

Nichijou-  A wildly bizarre, hilarious show about the ‘ordinary life’ of weirdo teenage girls, a pint-sized child scientist, a robot, a talking cat, and more. It features gonzo animation and tons of unforgettable moments.

 Dee Hogan wrote a great article on what makes it special: Nichijou: Everyday Epics of High School Girls. 

Chihayafuru- A show about one girl’s determination to be the best she can be at a Japanese poetry-based card game! Chihayafuru sucks you into a niche competition with its sharp writing, varied character dynamics, graceful visuals and wonderful sense of drama. It stands out from other sports anime by having men and women from a wide age range and variety of backgrounds go up against each other as serious rivals and does a great job exploring the different ways their lives shaped their passion for karuta and vice versa. 

You can read my liveblog of the series here. Lauren Orsini wrote a great article about how the most recent season explored the often overlooked struggles of new mothers here: How Chihayafuru frames breastfeeding as an early parenthood challenge.

Yona of the Dawn - A princess is horribly betrayed, chased out of her castle and left to fend for herself...so she decides to find some mythical dragons to be her allies! This a fantastic adventure story with a protagonist who goes through some impressive character development and she’s surrounded by a fun and enthralling cast with entertaining dynamics. It’s really one of anime’s greatest shames we’ll likely never see a second season. 

I wrote a couple of reviews of the show back when it was first coming out. I wrote a review for the first cour of the series here in my fall 2014 anime review and review of the second cour in this post here. You can also see my liveblog of the show here!

Mob Psycho 100- A story of a shy psychic boy and his con-artist mentor. This show’s bombastic animation, entertaining characters and awesome action all come together to send a simple but strong message: if everyone is not special. you can be what you want to be!

I wrote a short review of the show here in my Winter 2019 Anime Overview. Anifem has a good breakdown of what makes the show work in their Winter 2019 Recs.

A Place Further than the Universe - A gorgeous heartstring-pulling show about high schoolers on an expedition to Antarctica is packed to the brim with beautifully developed characters. It explores grieving and growing up with nuance and grace. The girls are alright!

 I wrote a full review of it here.

Bloom into You- A well directed and thoughtful romance between two young women that explores the identity issues and self hatred teenagers can wrestle with. The show also takes a nuanced look at the struggles young wlw face, while showing the support and inspiration adult wlw can lend them. 

I wrote a full review of it here.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun/Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun-  a sidesplitting comedy about a high school shoujo manga artist that features a lot of awesome twists and clever subversion of old clichés. 

I wrote a rough review of the show back in the day as part of my Summer 2014 anime overview.  I wrote a more polished article about it and the author’s other work here: From Evil Twins to Monthly Girls: The evolution of Mangaka Izumi Tsubaki.

---

A few of the honorable mentions I considered: Given, Little Witch Academia, Silver Spoon and Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

[honeydh]

I love us doing stuff with kpop and akayona and such. Like it’s tres UwU. I love them. Le gasp omg wait kpop and shirayukihime 👀👀👀👀

YES SHIRAYUKI I always think of shirayuki when I think of yona and vice versa

Fr tho this is so fun when we mix kpop with anime

SPEAKING OF WHICH ADJFJDBDKD when haechan grew his hair long!!!!!!!!! And it was supposed to be blond!!!!!! EDWARD ELRIC like I was freaking out about it for a loooong time. My favorite kpop boy with my absolute favorite anime boy

[fan-dinosaur]

ch. 171 thoughts

Disclaimer: I am was in the Bleach fandom for 13 godforsaken years. I don’t trust anything anymore.

HE CUTS. THROUGH. THE SWORD. HOW HEAVY IS THE GLAIVE HOLY SHIT. Also that’s my BOY! HELL yeah.

But also what kind of king yields that kind of a weak-ass sword.

Hak goes from “How the hell does that [don’t call me Hime-san] talk go?” right back to “She likes prim guys”. The poor boy has lost so much blood he’s lagging. It’s like he has to add, “AND ANOTHER THING!”

I’m glad it’s not the whole topic of discussion, too.

Question: have we actually seen the entire glaive blade run someone through? I know we’ve seen the points of it sticking through, but has Hak ever actually turned someone to shish-kebab on its pole? THAT’s some strength.

It’s interesting to me that Kuelbo jumped back with Hak’s glaive lowered and held in one hand mid-stumble. 

Read: Hak was not actively engaging his weapon at that moment.

The man was projecting DEATH so viscerally that a man with the upper hand instantly feared for his life.

“Darkness” Dragon, indeed! 

More below the cut for purposes of tag clutter.

Hak’s wielding of the glaive after he stumbles/Kuelbo retreats looks completely different. I appreciate Kusanagi changing it for his injury and current strength level. Hak uses it more like an axe: vertical swings, close two-handed grip, gravity-assisted. He’s much weaker now, having acknowledged just how much blood he’s lost.

Um f*ck you dude, don’t you dare come for my Fire Tribe Farmers Soldiers!

Praise be to Shin-Ah for waiting until Yoon was nearby to use his powers. It’s tactical, patient, and gives a little context as for why he wouldn’t hurt Zeno (despite the obvious DON’T WANNA). He had a plan and a cue.

Also his flat-backed “Yoon, run!” made me chuckle despite the circumstances. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that angle in a manga before, especially not paired with a talk bubble. Kusanagi’s style is really cool.

That hug. Found family. Ugh my heart </3

The back view of the Dragons walking away is just so similar to Hak’s “only now do I see how reassuring it was to have them behind me” moment. Ugh my HEART. </3

I *love* that Yoon immediately knows why they swap with him and barely questions it. It shows Yoon knows his strengths and weaknesses and accepts them. We stan one (1) self-aware Pretty Boy Genius.

Interesting note: Yoon is a master at battlefield communication. Hak asks “How are you [here]-?” In one sentence, he lets Hak know 

he’s alone 

Yona is still in the palace 

he was traded and let go, which is how he’s here

it was an exchange, therefore Kija and Shin-Ah took his place willingly and knowingly, and not by force 

all the dragons are together now, and

he didn’t feel the need to go with them to treat wounds, so they must be in relatively good shape.

It’s skilled communication. Yoon immediately addresses most of Hak’s unspoken questions. When Hak panics over his answer, Yoon gives him a viable and tactical reason as to why they went with the Tully Tribe, and why he chose to remain. When Hak worries about Yona, he gives Hak an example of her safety, more than just a reassurance. 

(Interesting that he mentions a kick from several days ago, though. Yoon implies that Yona still has agency, which allows Hak to relax enough to not rampage after Kuelbo lean on him and take a breather. A lie of omission to literally keep Hak alive.)

Yoon is a wise motherfucker.

Now the thing that makes me swallow a little harder.

Kusanagi’s dialogue here is leading. 

Though Hak seems relieved, or even pleased, by Yona’s badassery, he trails it off as he falls over sideways. Like hearing she’s alright was all that kept him upright. All that was keeping him going. 

Usually we get at LEAST a little pride or teasing or sass.

Yoon tells Hak (and by extension, us the reader) that it’ll be just a little longer before Hak can see Yona, too. 

Except Hak does not acknowledge this time frame.

Hak’s expression is not relaxed. 

Yoon’s is, with his little blush of - maybe comfort? Encouragement?

Hak’s is not. Hak’s brow is furrowed, his mouth is turned down, his eyes are downcast. This expression reminds me more of Soo-Won’s resignation, Kija’s concern, Zeno’s pain, Jae-Ha’s resignation. It’s not a happy look. 

Hak looks worried as he passes out. A LOT of attention is placed on his silence as his eyes close. 

I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT HAK BEING INJURED SO SEVERELY OKAY. HE BETTER BE FINE AND DANDY. I’LL ONE-WOMAN RIOT.

I blame Kooboh Titties.

Here’s what I think re: future chapters:

I don’t think Hak will be conscious when we see him next. I think we’re gonna get more of a Ch. 11 post-cliff situation when Yona and the Dragons + Algira and Vold do get back. 

I have Thoughts about how A&V will relay Hak’s current state to Yona. Their presence is going to worry her, because last they saw Hak, he’d just managed to stand up from being cut off his mount. He sent them to save her in his place. That’s a big deal for her boyfriend bodyguard.

I also think we’ll see the Dragons rescue her, and then Algira and Vold show up (or vice versa), but when Hak isn’t with either of them, Yona’s gonna know Something’s Wrong. 

And then Kuelbo comes back alive.

“Where’s Hak?”

Yona’s situation is an interesting one. 

With Gobi attempting to manipulate the situation as such, Yona has an opportunity to make an ally, or at least an ‘enemy of my enemy’. 

But Gobi’s machinations or not, Yoo-Lan doesn’t like her, this pretty little Koukan princess her husband has taken a shine to. Doesn’t like this situation she’s been forced into. 

Doesn’t like that Yona is fighting it, either. She respects her husband, even in this, and this girl doesn’t see the honor in his choice.

“Her emotions” might not have anything to do with Kuelbo’s path, but they do affect hers. 

It’ll be interesting to see if Yoo-Lan becomes an ally or an accomplice. 

She isn’t willing to let Gobi manipulate her, sure, but we know she’s loyal to Kuelbo to a fault. And she knows Yona’s thinking about escape. 

Still waters run deep, after all.

I don’t know. I have a lot of Thoughts and Feelings. This chapter may have disappointed some, but to me it feels like the calm before the storm. 

Psh, like that’s not the hurt-comfort-drama I crave.