#arata tag

[bezzygom]

teens are so mean

[jdramasource]

MACKENYU as ZORO in ONE PIECE (2023)

[andaniellight]

IT'S BRING YOUR KID TO WORK DAY I SAY! >:]

Marine 1: ...!

Marine 2: ! ! !

Marine 1: Mihawk is bringing...!?

Marine 2: Sshh, lower your voice! I think we're thinking the same thing, but... most importantly, since when...?

Marine 1:

Marine 2:

Marine 3:

Marine 1: Teenager already, huh...

Marine 2: ...I feel old...

Marine 1: [nudging with elbow] You don't have the rights to say that. Imagine being him, dude...

Marine 3:

Marine 3: Are you two seriously considering THE Roronoa Zoro to be Mihawk's biological kid instead of his disciple or apprentice...? They don't even look alike!

[chootaminute]

two of them (two of them)

[ppeuppeuppeu]

when Taylor Swift said “HE LOOKS UP GRINNING LIKE A DEVIL” in Cruel Summer, my immediate thoughts were him

[thrilling-oneway]

Fate in Project SEKAI - 1/?

VBS

2.3k

1. An and Kohane

Right from the main story we're introduced to the idea that An and Kohane's first meeting was simply fate. Kohane was just a bypasser overhearing An's singing, hearing An talk about her dreams. It's this that makes Kohane reflect on herself, how she's never been passionate and never had anything she wanted to throw herself into. This girl is everything she isn't and everything she would like to be.

They don't even meet formally, but An's profession of her dream and Kohane's longing for one is what causes their SEKAI to manifest. We know from MEIKO that it's been around for a long time, but it wasn't until Kohane saw An that it revealed itself to its owners. But that could've been anyone. Anyone could've been inspired by An, or Akito and Toya, since they were involved in its creation too. Heck we could've had Kotaro who outright stated was inspired by Akito. But no, it had to be Kohane. Kohane had something she wanted to change about herself, and meeting An is the only way this could happen.

An also needed a partner, and Kohane was the perfect partner. An grew up talented surrounded by talented people. She never had any problems, she'd always been a step above everyone else. Kohane is a total beginner, far, far out of her comfort zone. They compliment each other. Kohane learns from An how to sing, how to be confident, all about her dreams and aspirations. She learns what it's like to be passionate. An learns what it means to rely on someone, what it means to wholly trust someone. A beginner is not to be protected, a beginner is to be taught. She teaches Kohane all these things, and learns what it's like to struggle too. She experiences a sense of weakness for the first time, the fear that someone will surpass her. She's not jealous, she's happy for Kohane, but she's insecure that Kohane will become too good for her, that she'll fall behind and lose the person she loves and trusts more than anyone else. It's these insecurities that push her to become even better, to improve further. She may be naturally talented but that doesn't mean you can't improve.

Kohane's fes card further touches on the idea of An being everything she wanted to be, by literally making her become An. All this time she thought she had to become An, not realising that what she truly needed was to stay being herself. Kohane wanted to change, but to change yourself doesn't mean to become someone else entirely. Kohane is still Kohane. She's still the shy girl who was too scared to do anything, but she left that girl in the past the second she chose to return to An in the main story. It's this idea of a rebirth that is touched on a lot more later on in Nagi and Akito's arcs, and VBS' arc as a whole.

2. Akito and Toya

Was Akito and Toya's meeting just a coincidence, or was it fate? I'll discuss the overlaps between coincidences and fate in this game later, but for now we'll say that yes, Akito and Toya's meeting was also fate. In fact, it's rather similar to An and Kohane's - a parallel, if you will. Not quite the same but not wholly different.

Akito had been fully devoted to soccer for his entire childhood. He was talented, the best player on the team. He put so much time and energy into it. And then he lost, and gave up. Bringing back that idea of rebirth. Akito's passion for soccer burnt out, he was done with it, and not going back. Sure he was good, but he had nothing left in him to care about it anymore. Seeing that concert relit that passion. Made him rediscover himself. Maybe he wasn't made for soccer, but made for music. Music was an opportunity to reinvent himself, much like it was for Kohane.

Toya came from a musical family. Surrounded by professional musicians, tied to the fate of music from birth. His family expected nothing less of him than to follow in their footprints, a fate pushed onto him regardless of whether he wanted it or not. It wasn't right for him and it hurt, his parents hurt him trying to make him into something he wasn't. He may be talented and experienced, but he was willing to run away from it all. The lyrics to RAD DOGS say as much. Classical music was never his real fate, his real fate lied with street music. Even then, street music was just something he chose because it was so different from the path chosen for him. It was an unknown route that he didn't know how to navigate, but nonetheless, he grew to love it. Fate cannot be chosen, so maybe Toya's spontaneous choice was leading him in the right direction.

Akito happened to meet Toya on the street one day, just like how Kohane first encountered An. Akito, who had refused to work with so many people before, immediately chose Toya on his own accord. He recognised Toya's talent, that Toya was new and inexperienced despite all that, and that Toya was someone who needed a guide in this unknown world. Akito and Toya are two sides of the same coin. Akito is bold and brash and two-faced, Toya is calm and reserved and honest. Akito has no background or talent in music, Toya has all of that. Even their colours are complete opposites. But at the end of it all, both of them chose this path as a way to reinvent themselves. Relight a fire that had burnt out within themselves, allow it to burn brighter than before. Relight, restart, reborn. It's all the same. They're one in the same despite all their differences. They compliment each other and it's what allows them to work so well together, to trust and love each other more than anyone else. Aun no Beats' title is derived from the term Aun no Kokyuu/Aun Breathing, when two people act in perfect harmony to the point of breathing the same, being able to understand each other without words. There's a reason they and no one else was chosen to cover that song.

3. Bird lore + Arata and Souma

The Walk on and on event essentially confirms that the meetings of the two pairs were indeed fate, and that they're soulmates. A word that so fully describes exactly what they are. They complete each other, understand each other and trust each other so, so deeply. Kohane would not be who she is now without An, An would not be who she is now without Kohane. The same applies to Akito and Toya, their meeting is essential to who they are now, they wouldn't have navigated this far without standing shoulder to shoulder, back to back. The best way to describe these feelings, these actions, the way they act and the way they complete each other, two halves of a whole, two sides of the same coin, two parts of the same story, would be love. Platonic or romantic, the text supports both. Kohane and An will keep working hard to become the best possible partner for each other. Akito and Toya are still learning too, how to become even better than the best partner anyone could ask for.

The cards for that event contain a few references to the idea of soulmates two. First, the costumes. Toya and Kohane's costumes for the event have a single wing on the back. Their first recolours change the accent colour to their partner's image colour and flip the side of the wing. This alludes to the mythical Hiyoku bird. A bird with only one wing that will not be able to fly until it meets its other half. Akito and Toya would never have been able to fly, to get as far as they have, if it weren't for that chance meeting on the street. The same applies to An and Kohane, if Kohane hadn't run into An she never would've changed, and An never would've had a partner quite like Kohane. The cards also feature crows, a bird that, notably, mates for life. Toya explicitly states in the event that he wants to stay right beside Akito forever. It's a promise, it's not quite fate but it's the closest a person can get to it with their own actions. Toya is never going to leave Akito's side, and in return, Akito will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. We see this demonstrated in Toya's card, with Akito literally having broken Toya's cage to reach him, and continue to sit beside him.

KAITO's card is particularly interesting, as it suggests that Akito and Toya, and An and Kohane are not the only fated partners on Vivid Street. KAITO's costume notably already has two wings, a completed whole, only one of them is damaged. Whilst not confirmed, it's highly likely that this is meant to represent Arata and Souma. After all, Souma was an important character in Walk on and on, as was his relationship with Arata. Souma and Arata's relationship has been compared to Akito and Toya's multiple times. Both of them wholly care for and love their partners, as outright stated by KAITO in THE POWER OF UNITY. For Toya, Akito is incredibly important to him. Akito taught him to love music again, Akito introduced him to a whole new world that he only entered out of spite but now is devoted to with his entirety. He has nothing but gratitude for Akito, much like how Souma has nothing but gratitude for Arata. Both of them want to give something back, through the medium both they and their partners love and understand more than anything.

Souma's accident may have made him unable to continue to stand by Arata's side, but Arata will continue to carry the dream that once rested on both their shoulders. It's more complicated for Arata though, who is still clinging to the grief of losing a partner who always stood beside him, a wall placed between them against his will, a wing torn from his shoulder. Dreams can't be carried alone, which is why he can't truly ever carry Souma's dream, nor claim it as his own. He's so caught up in his feelings that he can't realise that he wants this too, that it isn't just for Souma. It's in his honour, the memory of a dream that can't be achieved anymore. Arata's inability to realise this brings him so much pain because he loves Souma, so much, and it crushes him to think that he's betrayed him, in a sense. But once again, they truly are two people who complete each other. Souma wouldn't have reached the heights he did reach if Arata wasn't there beside him, and Arata would not still be on this path if it weren't for Souma leading him along for the first part of the journey.

4. Nagi and RAD WEEKEND

If there's one thing known about fate, it's that fate isn't kind to everyone. Fate was cruel to Nagi, it took her life from her. Her dreams were to be left unfulfilled, half complete. She had no choice in the matter, her story was coming to a close, before she could bring it to a proper conclusion. However, even if her fire burnt out, she still had the time to light a fire in a new generation. Her story will never see a proper end, but she can give her story to a new generation, and inspire them to write their own, one that can be truly completed.

Nagi held RAD WEEKEND as a send-off to herself, one last performance that she could put everything that she could into since she wouldn't have another chance. It was also a chance to create a legacy for herself. Whilst she herself would be gone, her impact would be remembered, be seen by many and inspire them to reach for their dreams, or perhaps give them a new dream. As she looks out to the audience whilst putting her legacy and dreams into the world, she sees An and Akito in the audience. While they wouldn't know it for years, Nagi knows, in that moment, mere days before her death, that these are the children she's inspiring, the ones who will remember, the ones who she's lighting a fire for, a fire that will never burn out. It's fate that Akito was there, it's fate that Nagi saw both him and An, and chose to entrust her life's work to them. Without Nagi, there is no Vivid BAD SQUAD. Without Nagi, An and Akito would not be so passionate, for there is no RAD WEEKEND to be passionate about. Akito wouldn't have chosen Toya as the one to run toward his dreams with, because there would be no dream to run towards. Kohane wouldn't have seen that passionate girl on the street and wished she could be just like her, wish she could be more than herself. And without that, there would never be a Vivid BAD SQUAD, never be a SEKAI, never be an Arata who learnt that he's not alone, or a Kotaro who learnt that he's not as talentless and useless as he believes.

Without Nagi, there's nothing. Her fate was not to die before her story was finished, because she finished her story. Her fate was to pass that story on, allow it to be rewritten and adapted by the ones she inspired with it, allow it to continue on. Nagi had more of an impact than she will ever know, but she knew that it's what she wanted, she knew who she was telling her story to, who she hoped would take what she gave them and run and burn brighter than she ever did. For Vivid BAD SQUAD, for Arata and Souma, for Kotaro, and for Tatsuya, Nagi is what guided them to their fate. Even moreso, she may have created it.

[chiricat]

souma and arata⁉️

[kotaromita]

Part 1/? SILLY KOTARO -> AKITO COMIC

I mostly write fanfics to release my Akito/Kotaro addiction but I wanted to draw a goofy comic about it too. More to come, maybe?

Also, subtly Arata/Soma and Tatsuya/Senpai mention, hehe.

[hnrye]

the npcs do not get enough love methink :-( i think they're neat. not those guys though i kind of hope they die sorry.

[linagram]

mini-interrogation time! [ valentine's day special ]

to celebrate valentine's day, the guards have asked linagram prisoners one simple question related to this holiday!

"How do you feel about Valentine's Day?"

(all these answers take place after the second trial)

Akio: "My parents celebrate it. I don't really care about it personally. Receiving a gift from him would be nice."

Aimi: "I like the aesthetic and the meaning of it, but I don't have anyone to celebrate it with.."

Prisoner 003, Shun, wasn't able to answer the question. The paper he was supposed to use has also been eaten by him.

Naomi: "How am I supposed to feel about it? Am I supposed to feel anything at all? Please tell me."

Kei: "I like it! But I don't really celebrate it. I remember receiving chocolates once back when I was in school, but I don't remember who made them and how I reacted.."

Eiko: "TAKERU TAKERU TAKERU TAKERU TAKERU TAKERU TAKERU Do you know when Eiji-kun is going to come back? I have prepared a gift for him.."

Asahi: "I only care about the chocolates. I'm too young for all the romance stuff anyway."

Yurika: "I used to dislike it, but now I get to spend it with Takame-san. So I like it."

Riku: "I always was very popular in school, so obviously I get a lot of gifts and chocolates every year. I usually give the ones I don't like to Yue, but I guess that's not possible anymore."

Reina: "I forgot that it was a thing. I guess this tells you everything you need to know."

[apamates]

Getting Old: Poem Number 34

Whom, then, shall I have as someone who knows me— since even the ancient pines of Takasago are not friends from my past.

[fullyfazed]

This is for such a niche audience but these guys give off the same vibe

[downbadmostofthetime]

im so deprived of arata x reader fics bro it’s like im dehydrated in a desert please i just need something!!!!

[blackhallow]

Deep in Nobara brainrot rn all I can think is how Gege built her friendship with Saori from her very introduction just to randomly introduce Fumi in ch124 and have Nobara's emotional moment be about a promise we had never heard of to a girl we'd never met. Like my God this is such a weird creative decision? Saori is the ONLY person Nobara had ever mentioned from her past (mind you before ch125 we only knew about her grandma thanks to Word of Gege, Nobara had never mentioned her) then all of a sudden there's a childhood friend she treasured just as much?

Not to mention Fumi's POV in that flashback ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING. At the end of it we're left with way more questions about Nobara's past. What's the reason her grandmother isn't in one of her chairs? Where's the rest of her family? Why does she actually hate the village? We were led to believe it was because the villagers drove Saori away but Fumi's flashback stablished Nobara hated them BEFORE Saori came around so WHY? Why did she think everyone was crazy in that place and immediately latched onto the two outsiders? What could’ve happened that made a SIX YEAR OLD so adamant in hating everyone? And absolutely no insight on her being trained as a sorcerer in the countryside? Even when we know, per Nanako and Mimiko's backstory, how sorcerers can be persecuted by countryside folk because of superstitions? No? Really? None of that? Nothing at all? So we're just going to... introduce this random girl... instead of answering.... I see...

ANYWAYS either Gege completely lost it there or there is a plan that's going to make everything come together and blow my mind. I have my own theories about this and Nobara's comeback and her role in the culling games but that's a post for another day. In short—Gege gimme some info or ELSE

[doodlingwren]

I knew I saw him somewhere before.

The specific sonewhere before:

Like cam'on. I can't be the only one to notice.

[kimbapisnotsushi]

arbitrary-not-arbitrary list of hq characters who would totally bop to "why do i" by set it off x hatsune miku:

tsukishima (it gets stuck in his head ONE time and he loops it repeatedly until he manages to shake it out like water out of his ears)

daishou (privately he considers it THE song he would have put on replay back when mika broke up with him but he does not plan on ever telling her that)

tendou (because he's always been a miku fan since day one)

semi by extension of tendou

goshiki by extension of being into everything his upperclassmen are

kyoutani

bessho

komi (it pumps him up for workouts)

lev (obviously)

the entirety of johzenji, who are absolutely the assholes who blast a song and scream along to it in public

(except jiri and tsuchiyu i love them)

aran