#but i was too lazy to rewrite it from the manga

[beaulesbian]

ONE PIECE EP. 1106 || Zoro (not) joining the search party.

chapter 1074

[thenntrewrite]

Today's the day I introduce my Nanatsu no Taizai/Seven Deadly Sins OC, the very first one I have ever made in the year 2015-16.

ALERON/MORGAN LE FAY

Her name is Aleron, but she is loosely based on Morgan le Fay, so her true name is Morgan le Fay (or just Morgan, depending on how I write her backstory). She's a pretty powerful mage that is arguably rivaling Merlin for the title of 'best mage in all of Britannia', but in order to justify that, I borrowed from Dungeon Meshi and did the 'combing two races gives the offspring a longer lifespan' while also applying 'combing two races makes the offspring that much stronger' while also applying 'hair color dictates magic'.

Aleron is a half-Goddess (indicated by her extra eye and the fluffy feathers as well as the star theme she had going on) and a half-faerie (indicated by her ears and flowers naturally growing in her hair). The idea of her design was to indicated 'heaven and earth', so she'd have stars on her upper half and her lower half would have earth (sandals to be closer to the ground, ruffles in her skirt to indicate waves)—her entire staff is just a combo of that theme!

Backstory wise, a very short summary, she's an alchemist that has lived for many centuries already and has a hyperfixation on magic—collecting ancient tomes, reading them, crafting her own magic, alchemy, studying under talented mages from other races, etc. Her mother is Rhiannon—a Goddess/Celestial that fought in the Holy War—and her father is Gorlois, a faerie king that rules the Kingdom of Tintagel in another faerie country named Cornwall. To tie Aleron in with Arthur, Rhiannon dies during the war and reincarnates as Igraine. I had the rough idea that Aleron gets hired throughout the country by different kingdoms as the royal court mage (she needs that coin), and eventually wounds up in Camelot to cater to Igraine and her family—which eventually becomes Aleron's family since she was there when Arthur was born—for a time before Merlin comes into the picture.

If you have any questions about her, feel free to ask! I'd love to answer them.

[candaru]

Fixing Marie and fixing Stein's arc*

*Disclaimer: I am ONLY an anime watcher. I have some loose knowledge of the manga, but this rewrite comes from the standpoint of "what would make the story tighter" with no thought of the manga canon.

Soul Eater starts as a 1/10 show and gets up to a solid 8/10. Those early episodes don't interest me at all, because fixing them would require starting over from almost scratch, but those 8/10s are so fucking juicy and easy to turn into 10/10s with just a little bit of rewriting. With that being said:

Spirit should've been the one to pull Stein back from the madness. Marie's arc should've been about motherhood, and she should've been used as a foil for Medusa.

This isn't even about shipping, though I do ship Spirit and Stein. This is about tightening up a story to actually wrap up loose ends and not create female characters solely to exist for the male ones. Here's how the fixes work:

For of her introduction, instead of the "I just want to get married for money and be lazy" gag which we never actively see from Marie (she is clumsy at her job, but never lazy), and the godawful "I'll marry a toilet" joke, Marie is introduced as being upset being called into work because she wants a nuclear family. She dreams about being a housewife and stay-at-home mom, and focuses deeply on the latter part. When Azusa points out that she'll have a chance to teach lots of children, Marie points at Blackstar and Death having an explosive fight in the distance and says something akin to, "Those aren't normal children!!!" It's Soul Eater, it's a comedy.

There are already a good number of scenes where Marie and Crona interact, and Crona clearly sees Marie as the (good) mother they never had. All that needs to be done to further this agenda is showing Marie's POV—she's initially unsure of how to treat Crona, given their circumstances, but quickly grows fond of them and begins to take special interest in caring for them.

Marie is still sent to live with Stein, as her extremely empathetic and kind nature is a good balance to his apathy and insanity. However, he is not just allowed to wander free, ESPECIALLY after being caught trying to free Medusa. Death doesn't want him in chains, because he feels that's animalistic, but tells Marie to keep him under house arrest for a while.

This would've worked fine, except that the snake planted in Marie has been lying dormant, and when Medusa activates it, she can control Marie like a puppet to let Stein out. That's when he goes and gets lost in the maze of his own mind.

When Crona comes to Death to request seeking out Stein, Marie says she can't trust them anymore, and demands to come with. In response to that, Spirit says he can't trust Marie, because the snake might still be residing within her. Besides, he knows Stein best. He's coming, too (instead of SITTING AROUND IN THE DEATH ROOM DOING NOTHING FOR SEVEN EPISODES).

During the battle against Stein and Medusa, Marie and Spirit both try to lunge for Stein, but Medusa cuts them off with an attack. Marie ends up separated and with Medusa vs. Crona, while Spirit ends up separated and fighting Stein alone.

When Medusa taunts Crona for being an obedient child, Marie cuts in with, "Yes, they ARE obedient! And kind, and gentle, and patient! That's why you don't deserve to call yourself their mother!" She turns to Crona and nods, affirming her trust in them. This is a resolution to Marie's saying that she can't trust Crona until she sees them fight Medusa, and fills Crona with emotion and strength: they realize they have another mother who cares about them more than Medusa ever did.

Meanwhile, Stein says to Spirit what he did to Marie in canon (begging him to run away before he attacks), adding that "I hurt you once before, I'll do it again!" but Spirit stands strong. He might be terrified inside, but he doesn't show fear the way Marie does, because he's seen Stein like this before.

Inside Stein's head, we see the radio. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE RADIO. In canon, Medusa tells him to smash it, and at one point it seems the radio might be his way of hearing the outside world, because he hears Maka's voice? But usually, his own voice is muttering nonsense, and it seems to represent his madness, in which case Medusa would never suggest he destroy it. Then the solution is to "accept it," which is not a good suggestion given the in-universe context and ALSO doesn't have anything to do with the radio metaphor.

So, in this rewrite, the radio is clearly representative of his madness. It's Stein's own voice, repeating things like "follow the path of madness," "you belong to Medusa now," "dissect everything," etc. Stein tries to reach towards the radio to turn it off, but every time he does, he seems to interfere with it and a loud, awful static noise happens over the voices. This makes it so he can't hear the voices, but is also painful, and he keeps stopping to cover his ears. He can't get close to the radio, so he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to listen to it, but if he tries to turn it off, the static gets louder and hurts him.

Medusa suggests that he just stop trying to fight it. If he stops fighting it, the voices will come in clearly, and he won't be in pain anymore. "Just accept it; just listen to the voices. That's what you really want, anyway, isn't it?"

While he fights Spirit, both of them are going all-out, yet exceedingly good at dodging and blocking each other—because they were Weapon and Meister for years, and they both know how the other moves. Because of this, Spirit manages to corner Stein against a wall with a blade to his throat.

Stein, with his eyes shadowed over so it's unclear if he is mad or sane, tells Spirit to just cut it off and end it all. Spirit shakes his head, and reaches out to soul resonate with Stein.

He enters Stein's headspace the same way we see happen often with Maka and Soul; he sees Stein crouched on the floor, hands to his ears, and the radio. Stein explains the situation, and tells Spirit to try smashing it with his blade. Spirit can tell this will kill Stein, but Stein says he doesn't care. "I can't fight it. I'd rather have it destroyed."

(The fights between Medusa/Crona/Marie and Spirit/Stein cut back and forth to add tension; I'm just telling them in order to make things clear.)

Spirit walks over, seeming as if he will smash the radio—then reaches out to the dial and turns it. It's a volume dial. The voices turn way, way, down. Stein looks up, startled and looking as though the pain has suddenly rescinded.

Spirit explains: "You're right. You can't fight it—not alone. That's why you need people around to help you. I can't turn it off, but I can at least turn down the noise."

In the real world, we see that Spirit has turned Stein's head gear. It looks like the radio dial. Stein has been trying to turn it down himself all this time, to no avail, but when Spirit turns it, it works. Stein falls against Spirit momentarily before opening his eyes and waking back up into sanity.

"Spirit..." "Yeah?" "Sorry about experimenting on you." "Eh. If you really want to apologize, you can buy me a sake when we get back."

It's Soul Eater, it's a comedy.

At this point, Marie is able to get to them, and throws herself into the hug, overjoyed to see Stein back to normal. She pulls Stein's glasses out of her pocket and hands them to him. It seems the battle is finally going their way, but Medusa is preparing another attack on Crona.

At this point, the canon resumes as normal, with Maka and Soul showing up, etc. Absolutely nothing in the other plots is ruined, since Spirit would've just spent the entire time stuck in the Death Room with Azusa.

[rayshippouuchiha]

went ransacking through my ao3 bookmarks bcs i live vicariously through these when the going gets tough. some of these might have already been recc'ed alrd but im too lazy to check 🫠

The Menagerie by zegez

Tsuna collects everyone as pets, literally, most if not all of them are animals. it's glorious and very cute

Bad Influence by Emric84

Toji and Tsuna meet, what follows is a catastrophe for everyone else. Toji27 is the most left field ship i had ever encountered but by god was it good while it lasted. ABANDONED but had enough content to it BUT STILL GOD IM SO SAD THIS WAS SO GOOD????

body aches by HeavenlyDusk

In which KHR was originally a very different story.

This one is a little heart breaking but also really hopeful bcs tsuna is learning to be more comfortable w/ being Tsuna™ the protagonist while still maintaining some semblance of himself from a past life. its still ongoing but i have it as one of my comfort fics <3

Overcast universe by Ocearna

a khr rewrite where 1827 meet and bond as kids and tsuna getting that cloud influence. cloudysky!tsuna my beloved.

Beginnings and Middles But No Ends In Sight by Ourliazo

Arcobaleno shenanigans before the curse.

in the hearts of men (there be madness) by Silverfox579

YKNOW WHAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALWAYS FASCINATED ME IN CANON AFTER I GOT OVER THE ANIME ENOUGH TO NOTICE IT??? THE HYPER DYING WILL MODE PERSONALITY like after the kyaa badass tsuna lets gooo, you start wondering what the fuck is going on there actually bcs basil is not like this,, what goes on here 👀👀

or!! dark!tsuna au-ish in reborn's pov

Bargaining chip by Mina37

like the one before but in xanxus' pov this time

My Sweet Affinity by Chaotic_Roses

criminal minds au featuring tired w/ a mysterious bg leader tsuna, freshly released from prison hitman reborn, intern gokudera, Hana, and scammer kyoko.

[this could've been] a villain's origin story by petroltogo

Tsuna running into and unknowingly helping villains after helping release xanxus from the ice box should've really been the hill where it all went wrong, surprisingly tho, only shenanigans. featuring!! chikusa and tsuna childhood friendship that i very much adore

whisper in my ear (i'll build your dreams on bones) by Silverfox579

its only a one shot but gOD I WISH THEY EXPAND ON THIS ITS SO COOL I AM IN LOVE W/ THIS FIC I HAVE THIS FIC PLASTERED ALL OVER MY SOCIAL MEDIA, IF I HAVE ANY WAY TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR I WOULD ASK PERMISSION TO PRINT AND BOOK BIND IT FOR PERSONAL USE BCS THIS!! CONCEPT!!!

or!! the five times the stress of war and battle got to tsuna and wakes up the God in his head. (the last two are spoilers for the manga but hnnnggg i NEED to rec this)

a rose by any other name (would taste just as bitter) by heyimflamel

sealing flames has very, very dangerous repercussions. not only are you sealing this person's will to live but sealing someone w/ sky flames whose purpose is to harmonize? you get something dangerous indeed. dark!tsuna corrupting flames one guardian at a time.

High School Montage by HeavenlyDusk

a montage of vongola tenth gen as they navigate through high school through outsider pov. slice of life-ey and very chaotic (the side story w/ the childhood friends oc my beloved 🫶)

The Boy in the Ice by eloquentelegance

UA has to deal w/ these weirdos lurking around their courtyard all thanks to the mysterious ice pillar that just dropped from the sky w/ a boy frozen inside.

rattle this ghost town by blackkat

Mukuro meets Naruto and spirits him away lmao

Set the Skies Ablaze by cywscross

K(anime) and khr crossover that took me by the neck and never let go. it's essentially discontinued now but the 3 chapters it has??? keeps you coming back in hopes that it does, miraculously, update 🫠

To the Beat of My Own Drum by Seito

College AU where reborn is the normal one and tsuna and his friends bring the chaos in his life. the found family that this fic gives and radiates is so 🫶🫶🫶 like i love it so MUCH

that's it for now bcs im sleepy hehehe

!!!!!!!!

[ichirukilover]

I closed the door to Bl/each after the tragedy of 6/86 and briefly opened a window to LA, because well that pair is my weakness and it made me laugh how treacherously I/R it was.

So when weeks ago I saw a beautiful I/R fanart on Tik Tok (The anime came back, so the algorithm decided it was a good idea to torture me), and the response to a comment that said "They should have ended up together "was "READ THE MANGA", I was baffled. I mean, what did that mean? had I read a fake manga all those years and the "real manga" appeared Da Vinci Code-style after 2016? Was it all a Jump conspiracy? Have we been duped all this time?

That piqued my curiosity, so I wandered around several sites, reading publications from the "correct/canon/real manga" point of view; and well, you'll see even worse things the bible says.

Here are my favorites:

"The I/H was evident from the beginning, just read chapter 0": yes, because a one-shot that is a sketch of the general idea of a manga, that goes through many revisions and rewrites is absolutely determinant in the development of the main manga, and seriously, what exactly is the evidence?

"HM arc is the ultimate proof of I/H, he went to rescue her and even came back from the dead for her": well, so did her other friends and even R/enji and R/ukia, maybe they were all in love with her too. And about the resurrection...just...never mind.

"I/H are perfect for each other" Here I could do a whole essay from a psychological point of view that proves that it is an absolute fallacy and was more than clear in the FB arc, in real life they wouldn't work and would be a toxic couple. And God knows at least that boy needs therapy.

"O***ime looks like Ma/saki" * Bombastic side eye. Criminal, offensive side eye *

"O***ime deserves I/chigo”: Oh, so he was some kind of trophy for being a good girl, so it wasn't enough to objectify her, they also do the same with the boy.

"Ru/kia was a shinigami and I/chigo was a human, and she's much older than him, their relationship was impossible." *Everything but the rain entered the chat*.

"I/H fought together against Y/wach": And we all know how well they (he) did, right?

"W/D/k/A/L/Y": *sigh* that's what it looks like when you try to fix a mess and fail miserably.

"W/D/k/A/L/Y's scribble": ...

"Anime invented IR": The studio simply pushed something that was already implicit in the original material and they knew it would sell more, it's basic marketing. Most of us knew what was filler and what wasn't (rolls eyes).

And there definitely wasn't a parallel manga that magically made sense of that ending. What a disappointment.

And I/R are the delusional and lacking in compressive reading? It's so much easier to say you just don't like people ship I/R, instead of sending them to read the manga or giving lazy arguments. Pathetic.

This was long, but I just needed to vent or something, because I honestly found the whole situation absolutely hilarious.

My English is broken, so I hope I have been understood.

PS: So in my delusional mind I/R is right now enjoying his honeymoon on the beach *wink**wink*.

Blessings.

As someone that didn't leave after the ending and has seen all these "amazing points" take form and basically became the classic "IH and pro ending dudebro agenda" list, let me tell you, I was and still am baffled too. No matter how many times I read them, I still get shocked at how some really believe that bunch of BS, or better they keep repeating it untill they'll believe it.

You adressed them in a simple but direct and straight to the point way, I don't even need to add anything to what you said, agree to all of it, wait lol well maybe I could add the the pilot chapter lit has In0ue de0d at the end of it but what do we know, that doesn't seem to matter to them lol it doesn't have to make sense smh

In our delusional mind that ichiruki honeymoon on the beach is so vivid and real... I wonder why lmao

[tigreblvnc]

BLUE LOCK MATCHUP — @m1ckeyb3rry

Your match IS...

— Chigiri Hyoma

✦ …………………………………..

✦ …….. I rewrote the whole matchup……

✦ …… because I realized halfway through that my first choice wasn’t the right one at all :D

✦ YAY.

✦ I think this is the first time I’ve ever done a complete rewind like this.

✦ It doesn’t bother me because I prefer being accurate in my choices, but wow, I didn’t expect it, lol.

✦ SO.

✦ Back to square one.

✦ I’ll explain at the end of the post why I changed direction, but essentially the only other choice that came to mind while reading your description was the red panther. It perfectly fits all the traits you love and hate in people. Honestly, my choice could be summed up in just those few paragraphs since your lines scream “princess” more than any other character…

✦ In this case, you two share a lot in common, which leaves no room for any other potential match. I can only see Chigiri by your side :) Believe me, he’s a great partner, both from what we see in the manga and what I interpret about his character off-screen.

✦ Let’s start with the common points!

✦ "I’m quite smart but I don’t really try to be?? Like I mostly play on my phone or watch shows/read in my classes but I have perfect grades anyways." Without calling Chigiri lazy (far from it), he easily succeeds at what he sets his mind to. When it comes to sports, he's a smart guy with a sharp, critical, and curious mind that quickly grasps things and learns easily. We know that from an early age, he made a breakthrough and gained popularity because no one could rival his talent. Nature also blessed him physically, but we’ll get back to that later, Monica Bellucci.

✦ "I’d say I’m also pretty quick-witted and good at thinking on my feet BUT I’m kind of judgmental." Yes. Chigiri.

✦ "I was the one in high school who knew ALL of the tea because people would just tell me their secrets unprompted." Well, it’s not quite the same for Chigiri, and this is where things get interesting: for him, it’s the opposite. Since he’s so talented, many have high expectations of him, and he has high expectations of himself too. His knee injury was a taboo subject at the beginning of the manga until Isagi brought it up and got Chigiri to open up – though I like to think it was Isagi’s therapist-like aura that encouraged Chigiri to confess everything.

✦ This is where you complement each other well. Highly talented and productive people often hide their failures and vulnerabilities, and when they do confide, it’s a real sign of trust.

✦ For this reason, I think one of Chigiri’s love languages is quality time.

✦ Another reason this match makes sense: you two naturally balance each other with your respective temperaments. But there are also striking similarities, like your general popularity. People gravitate towards you both, seeking your presence.

✦ And honestly, it was when I reached the “likes/dislikes” section that I completely reevaluated my choice for your matchup because everything you mentioned just screams Chigiri. That’s what ultimately pushed my original choice aside and made me rewrite everything!

✦ "People who are passionate about things, people who are very kind/gentle, they NEED to have a sense of humor though so definitely someone very comfortable being sassy or sarcastic, people who are on the calmer/quiet side because that balances me and my high-maintenance self out, people who don’t get angry very easily." I’m quoting this because it almost directly describes Chigiri. To me, he’s a boy who started off very confident and arrogant, but his knee injury taught him humility and introspection. This balance brings a lot of nuance to your relationship. He knows how to switch between being highly competitive and cocky on the field, yet he becomes very calm and kind off the field. Chigiri is the type to dish out sarcastic remarks without getting upset by them.

✦ There’s a little note about him that says, "He thinks his strong point is that he's proactive when it comes to things he likes or wants to do." Sure, most of the Blue Lock characters are passionate about what they do, but the fact that Chigiri is the only one with this specific note in his canon profile shows how central this trait is for him.

✦ "Traits I dislike in others: people who explain things I already know because nothing makes me crash out like a mansplainer, people who are overly pushy, people who are way too nonchalant and don’t pay attention to me, people who are overly blunt to the point that it becomes mean, people who look down on me or are condescending, people with no social awareness." Similarly, Chigiri strikes me as one of the most balanced characters in the Blue Lock roster, and I see him as someone who would be respectful in everyday life. In fact, I think this applies to most of the manga’s characters, but once they’re off the field and not in high-pressure situations, they’re just regular humans like us. Well, most of them.

✦ "Hobbies: Horseback riding (I do dressage, which is kind of like horse ballet)." Why do I feel like this is a sport Chigiri would absolutely enjoy? Maybe it’s because dressage requires technique, precision, and elegance—qualities that define Chigiri well.

✦ "Writing." If I remember correctly, Chigiri enjoys reading. Short stories, specifically. While I see him sticking to his preferred genres, your love for writing would definitely pique his interest. Writing is a pretty personal activity, and not everyone is comfortable talking about it, let alone sharing their work. Since Chigiri is receptive to art in many forms, he’d be intrigued and would want to know more about your writing style, your characters. You can learn a lot about a football player’s mindset from their gameplay; similarly, a writer’s work reveals much about their inner world.

✦ "Making tea." I’m picking up on all the tiny details because everything aligns so perfectly with Chigiri, and I’m still wondering why he didn’t come to mind during my first attempt. Also, I remember reading that you love autumn, which creates a fun link with Chigiri: "His favorite season is winter because he enjoys drinking tea and eating sweets while sitting under a kotatsu."

✦ "Doing makeup/hair/skincare." Chigiri again :) Along with Aryu and Kaiser, Chigiri is one of the characters whose appearance is meticulously maintained. He genuinely cares about looking good.

✦ "Taking pictures (both of myself to post online and also just of scenery/animals/flowers/pretty things)." Except for Nagi, Shidou and Sae (surprisingly), we don’t know much about most Blue Lock characters’ online lives, but I can easily picture Chigiri scrolling through Instagram, checking out fashion, beauty, and wellness accounts. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a Pinterest board for home decor, hairstyles, and inspiration.

✦ "I like being told that someone loves me and I also like being looked at." Funny you say that because there’s a line about Chigiri: "He likes when he is praised for his talent or admired for how fast he can run." You two were definitely the queen bees of high school, huh?

✦ "In terms of giving, I think it’s gift giving because I love finding little things that remind me of someone." Spot on. I think Chigiri would love receiving gifts, especially books, clothes, or stylish items. He strikes me as someone whose house is the most well-decorated out of the whole friend group, and everyone loves visiting.

✦ When it comes to public displays of affection, I see Chigiri as someone who’s more reserved. He might be with his partner in public, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he acts—he keeps it private.

✦ So… YES. I said I’d get back to appearances, and now is the time.

✦ … Monica Bellucci is one of the most beautiful women of her time, and nothing and no one can convince me otherwise. The fact that she speaks more than six languages (including Italian, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Persian) makes me absolutely crazy. And honestly, if people compare you to her, it means you’re turning heads just like Chigiri :) So yes, the couple goals are present, and that’s why I rewrote this entire matchup to highlight it on my blog.

✦ Cancer and Capricorn have one of the best compatibilities in the zodiac, thank you and goodnight.

✦ And just because the analyst in me can’t help but dissect every brain: the ISFP and ENFP combination is very interesting and draws heavily on creativity. Both types are known as free spirits who don’t like to conform to norms, and they want to create and invest in things that resonate with them. These two types share Introverted Feeling (Fi) in their cognitive stack. It asks, "Is this good? Bad? Do I like this?" Your ideals guide your decisions and preferences. You can’t be forced into something you’re not in tune with, or you’ll become unproductive—or worse, completely stuck.

✦ I haven’t even touched on the headcanons yet, so the curtain rises now :)

✦ You met at the end of autumn, early winter, when the season was still clinging to its russet leaves, but the white of the ground had already started to appear.

✦ Back then, Chigiri still had short hair and ran faster than light. You, as usual, were surrounded by people, admired by the teachers. Good grades. Your profile was enough to make others envious, but it was so distant from you that it didn’t really affect you.

✦ In any case, it wasn’t a concern you showed.

✦ The fact that you didn’t speak right away, even though you probably knew Chigiri from afar—everyone talked about him. People talked about you too, but it was hard to tell if Chigiri was aware of you. In truth, apart from soccer, there wasn’t much that could hold his attention for more than five minutes.

✦ … And you liked that. The fact that he always gave everything for his passion. That he was bold, laughed in the face of the slower ones. There was a part of you that didn’t necessarily approve, but another part that admired this confidence. Only the best can afford to act like that.

✦ You watched him play from the stands. Soccer wasn’t something you always understood—the rules or the appeal—but the team spirit, the way people fought hard to score goals; that you liked. You understood the excitement of gathering around the field to cheer on one side and then the other. It was a moment shared with others.

✦ What eventually made Chigiri approachable was, ironically, the very thing that shattered his rise.

✦ During a match, his leg twisted, and you didn’t see the redhead on the field again after that.

✦ You were there. You saw what happened.

✦ And you also noticed how everything changed for Chigiri once he returned to school, without the weapon that set him apart from the rest and elevated him above others. His knee now had a brace.

✦ Most people scattered, lost interest. The strongest had fallen, so there was no point in orbiting around him anymore; there were other heroes.

✦ You saw him, sitting under the isolated tree behind the school. He was alone, and instinctively, you knew he wasn’t seeking company.

✦ But you couldn’t help it.

✦ You joined him, announcing yourself politely. You were alone, so it was easier for Chigiri to accept you sitting beside him.

✦ From your backpack, you pulled out snacks from the konbini—you knew Chigiri liked them. He always opened a pack after training.

✦ The fact that you remembered this moved him deeply. Everyone only defined Chigiri by his abilities on the field, never by what he liked. You remembered that he liked sweet snacks and even brought some tea in a thermos.

✦ You shared the food while talking until sunset, and even now, that remains one of the best autumns Chigiri had ever known.

✦ Even at the end of high school, when your paths diverged, he kept in touch by phone. He regularly sends pictures of landscapes he finds beautiful. Cats he finds on the street. Cherry blossoms in spring.

✦ Time and obligations sometimes keep you apart for long weeks, even months, but you always end up crossing paths again in the shopping streets of Tokyo. More specifically, near the clothing stores.

✦ You both followed each other on Pinterest and enjoyed pinning photos to your shared boards. You smile when you notice a new picture added and see the other’s name beneath it.

✦ "Look, this reminded me of you."

✦ Skies with changing colors are your favorite photos.

✦ Even with his busy schedule, he always comes to see you during your horseback riding performances. These shows are particularly beautiful, and his respect for your understanding of horses is immense. Anyone good with animals is undoubtedly a good person.

✦ He claps without shouting, always with a smile on his face. He knows you’ll spot him in the crowd.

✦ He keeps the little trinkets you give him, attaching them to his phone, keeping them in his fanny pack.

✦ When he’s in town, a thought of you always wanders through his mind, and he takes out his phone: "I’m near the mall. Want to meet up? It’s time to see who’s kept the best fashion sense."

✦ Always a slightly teasing remark, but never mean.

✦ Like you, Chigiri remembers the little details and the things you like. He’s even become surprisingly good at gifting you the best stationery—cute and colorful pens, notebooks, everything.

✦ When he was able to run again without fear of injuring his knee, you were the first person he told.

✦ "The match against the U-20 is coming up soon. You’ll see me on the field, Mira, and I’ll be running."

✦ ONE SHOT TIME.

The match against the U-20 had passed, and Blue Lock had won.

Blue Lock. You hadn’t heard much about it, only what Chigiri had told you. And Chigiri wasn’t the most talkative guy in the world, especially when it came to his own affairs.

But one thing was clear: he had joined the program and was running again.

Running.

It was something that defined the one who earned the nickname of the Red Panther. And you had seen him dash faster than anyone on the field. There was something beautiful about watching Chigiri play, whether it was his fluid, controlled footwork. His straight trajectory along each wing of the field while everyone else was crowded near the goal. His red hair gleaming above his shoulders like a dancing flame.

You had found Chigiri in all his former glory.

When the final goal was scored, signaling the end of the match, everything inside you tightened with joy. Your first instinct was to suggest to Chigiri that you meet up in the city during the break, at the café you used to go to in high school. The sign hadn’t changed, and luckily: you could still enjoy your favorite dishes there.

The Cat’s Corner welcomed you with its Parisian café tones, its wooden tables, old paintings, and tiled floors.

Chigiri had just arrived at the table where you were already seated.

"Hey, champ! So, you’ve been hiding the fact that you’ve become super strong from me!" You say with a big smile, opening your arms to welcome your friend in a hug.

"I’m just saving the surprise to make my comeback more epic, what do you think?"

"You were amazing. That was an incredible match, I can’t believe it!"

"Me neither, you know. It wasn’t looking great at first; we were all a mess."

Chigiri sits down, reaching for the menu, but your hand stops on his wrist.

"I already ordered! Karinto manjuu and green tea for you, sir."

"Wow, what a memory! Good thing I haven’t been getting that for ten years!"

"Tsk, amateur. You think just because it’s been months I don’t remember what I brought you under that tree?"

"You remember that?"

"How could I forget? With your funeral face, it looked like the world was ending."

"That’s pretty much how I felt."

"And now, how do you feel?"

"Now…"

Chigiri glanced away, looking at the passing crowd. The constant noise rocked the rhythm of his thoughts.

"… peaceful, I’d say. To be able to… play like before. I’m not scared of blowing out my knee anymore."

"What happened then, while you were stuck in a new block with just guys?"

You smile, and quickly, a teasing expression crosses Chigiri’s face.

"Don’t start imagining things—it’s just teammates, nothing more!"

"Yeah, yeah… We all went through the yaoi phase in middle school, Hyoma!"

"Maybe you did. I was training to be the best."

"And now?"

"Nothing’s changed. I’m still training hard. To beat who I used to be… and to finally be the best striker."

Chigiri’s order arrives, and the steaming tea seems to plunge him into deep thought.

"This time, I won’t slow down. I’m not afraid anymore. I’ll give it my all to get there, even if it costs me my tendon. Hey, Mira. Will you follow me in this new ascent?"

There was no need for an answer to understand the obvious, which only made your smile grow.

A word about your match: As I mentioned, I revised my choice because I believe that with Nagi, the spark just won't catch. There are too many differences between the two of you, and even though I love opposites-attract dynamics, considering the traits you like and dislike in someone, Nagi is, rationally, not a good match for you. Nevertheless, I still posted the matchup I had originally planned with him (because, well, why not) HERE in case the draft analysis I made interests you. Enjoy!

© TIGREBLVNC 2024 | SEPTEMBER '24 MATCHUPS EDITION.

[beevean]

I don’t know how to express this but somehow I get a feeling that Netflixvania and Netflixvania fans don’t like anime and look down on it?? To me, as someone who grew up with anime and manga, Castlevania is still very much a Japanese story despite being set mostly in Eastern Europe. With the serious ham, the character designs, the enemies, “demon lord” Dracula, etc. Even the early Classicvania games are like a Japanese take on Western media and horror films. That’s why Netflixvania lost a lot of its charm to me and seems like just another grimdark, “mature” take on American (not even European) vampire tropes. So with all this defense of Netflixvania and blatantly ignoring and ripping apart the source material, saying its story is inferior and that there’s no substance, I just feel like they don’t think much of the Japanese creators who have made Castlevania alive. They don’t care for how Ayami Kojima inspired the show design and the character looks, they don’t care for how Koji Igarashi added so much lore and themes to Castlevania (themes they’re claiming the show expanded on and did better), they don’t care for the original Castlevania in 1986 for which we can thank for even spawning this franchise. And with the way Japanese people are portrayed in the Netflix series, it just seems like a more blatant “we can do so much more better than Japan” move. Am I overthinking this in believing the Netflixvania fans and creators are kinda racist?

I wouldn't accuse the fans of being automatically xenophobic if they simply prefer something with a more Western appeal. Even the "games stupid" crowd don't think so because it's anime, it's because they're too lazy to engage with the story. It's elitism against videogames, not "lmao japan stupid".

But the people responsible for the show? Oh yes, you can see xenophobia in their arrogance, in their quest to "improve" on the games, to make it adult in an in-your-face way, to miss the idealism because cynicism is much "deeper", to redesign characters to make them more conventionally handsome (and literally fetishizing and emasculating the few who kept their bishounen looks, no I will not let it go). It's rich of them to crudely imitate Kojima's style to make the show look like an anime, when their themes, characterizations and values are much, much more Western.

Speaking of Kojima! How would you describe her style? Personally, I love it for being so ethereal, dreamlike, fragile, grotesque in part and yes, even erotic in her original work.

Some non-CV examples:

And how do the Deats brothers describe it?

She "brought the horny". And for them, this is the right justification for this shit:

It's immature, it's shallow, it misses the point, it's disrespectful, and I can confidently say that it's painfully American. And Nocturne, with its hyperfocus on politics, is more of the same. It's the same americacentric arrogance that caused so many regional changes in videogames in the '90s, from censoring breasts to rewriting stories in the manuals to changing a cute mascot to make them look angrier to even things like composing a whole different soundtrack for Sonic CD: the assumption that the Western audience can't, and won't make the effort to approach something that doesn't cater to their culture.

And then you add the arrogance of "fixing the stupid games with no story". These shows are made with nothing but spite in mind.

[russeliarat]

Ended up doing some redesign pages for some Hyrule Warriors characters for fun because what's there to do on a lazy Saturday?

The way my rewrite works is that OOT is taken from the Child Timeline, after Link has gone back in time after defeating Ganondorf, meaning that Ruto would still be a child. So I have thusly made that change.

I wanted to keep her design relatively simple because it's so iconic, but I added a few details like the pearls and earrings to give a little bit of detail. I didn't want her to stand out as too simple in a sea of redesigned, detailed characters. The Silver Scale weapon I changed up the design a bit because it looked a little awkward with Ruto's new look.

She's also the only one I did costumes for because I loved some of the ideas but thought how tragic it was that they either didn't work or were recolours. Yesterday, my sister got me the Majora's Mask Himekawa manga, so I was overjoyed to make a design based off of Lulu. I basically just made her fins very dress-like and modified the shape of her ears and eyes to an extent. I merged the Wind Waker and Great Sea costumes to create the middle costume, which is meant to look like a one-piece bathing suit. I also took a little bit of inspiration from Marin and made her pearls into tiny flowers. The last one is the Twilight Princess costume, because that pink skin looks dreadful for something that's meant to be TP. It's probably meant to look like Rutella, but Ruto just looks sunburnt. So I mixed my inspo with Rutella and a bit of the TP Zora in general tbh. My favourite part are her ears and earrings ngl.

I have a few problems with Volgas design and I tried hard to fix it, but I'm generally not good with skulls or very muscular men. I'd like to think I did okay though. I generally wanted to really get across that he's a dragon. This Volga would have to be coloured to truly see the difference because I want to take more from his Master Quest costume's colours instead.

I just changed up the small details to really hammer home that he's not human. In a way, you could compare his armour to Zelda's, which I may play around with their dynamic at some point. I even changed up his weapon took like like a couple giant, jagged teeth on a fancy stick.

I wanted his design to feel very over-the-top and like a masquerade costume like my redesign of Cia, and Wizzro's design in general.

This one needs a little bit of context to how the great fairies work in the re-write. Depending on where the scenario's location is, the fairy be different. As an example, the Twilight Princess scenes (tbh I can't remember if any of those scenarios required a great fairy) will have that games respective fairy, as does Ocarina of Time. With Skyloft, I've encorparated that game's Zelda in as a way to merge her and Fi into one fighter and for plot purposes. That Zelda (I've named Dove so far for clarity) does the whole getting the pumpkin soup to Levias, though she uses her Loftwing and a bunch of fairies for help. But that leaves Hyrule Warriors, which doesn't have their own Great Fairy and has the OOT Great Fairy instead.

So I came up with this one. I have a running theme with some character designs of ancient eras, whether it be Greece, Rome, or Japan. To fit with Link and Zelda's designs, I went for the idea of a nymph for their Great Fairy, but instead of being associated with passion and positivity, she seems more upset to fit with the slightly darker theme of the re-write. This design actually merges three types of nymph actually. She functions exactly the same as the regular Great Fairies - she still sends fairies from her temple or fountain to assist Hyrulean forces.

You may have noticed that I drew some flowers at the bottom of the page, and I erased it, but there were dragonfly wings I used as reference. I used a lot of flowers with connotations of sadness, as well as magic and power, as well as ferns which are apparently associated with the fae. So yeah, I really like flowers and I used to be obsessed with Greek Mythology. Can you tell?

[ao3feed-todoroki]

Unrecognizable Hero

Unrecognizable Hero by SqUiShY bOnEs

After realizing his two adopted sons should meet the future heroes they will one day work with, Japan's Secret Military Action's head, and current Prime Minister; Takataki Masaru, decides to send Midoriya Izuku and Shinso Hitoshi to UA. Izuku and Hitoshi are sent to Class 2-a, supposedly the future top heroes of Japan. Since Izuku and Hitoshi are both government hitmen who work closely with the current top heroes, it was decided they should make connections with people they will work with in the future. Izuku is excited about his new adventure, after all, he knows a few people from class 2-a already.

Words: 73021, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: M/M

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Inko, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Todoroki Fuyumi, Todoroki Natsuo, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Todoroki Rei, Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Takami Keigo | Hawks, The rest of class 2-a, im too lazy to write their names out, Other Minor Characters

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Dabi | Todoroki Touya/Takami Keigo | Hawks, Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, minor Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi

Additional Tags: Well now I have to think of Tags let's go, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku is a villain, hehehe villain au, Villain Midoriya Izuku, wahoo, Hero Todoroki Shouto, Hero Dabi | Todoroki Touya, gosh tags are hard, how do people write such good tags, pls I had ideas for tags ten minutes ago, actually wait, Hitman Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya no more hes a Todoroki now, Marriage, theres death, plenty of death, Gotta say there's some angst in here too might as well tag that, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, i give up on tags, can i hear a wahoo?, FOrgot to mention it's a rewrite of an old fanfiction I wrote on Wattpad, How could i forget that?

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48188353

[ao3feed-tododeku]

Unrecognizable Hero

Unrecognizable Hero by SqUiShY bOnEs

After realizing his two adopted sons should meet the future heroes they will one day work with, Japan's Secret Military Action's head, and current Prime Minister; Takataki Masaru, decides to send Midoriya Izuku and Shinso Hitoshi to UA. Izuku and Hitoshi are sent to Class 2-a, supposedly the future top heroes of Japan. Since Izuku and Hitoshi are both government hitmen who work closely with the current top heroes, it was decided they should make connections with people they will work with in the future. Izuku is excited about his new adventure, after all, he knows a few people from class 2-a already.

Words: 73021, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: M/M

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Inko, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Todoroki Fuyumi, Todoroki Natsuo, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Todoroki Rei, Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Takami Keigo | Hawks, The rest of class 2-a, im too lazy to write their names out, Other Minor Characters

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Dabi | Todoroki Touya/Takami Keigo | Hawks, Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, minor Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi

Additional Tags: Well now I have to think of Tags let's go, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku is a villain, hehehe villain au, Villain Midoriya Izuku, wahoo, Hero Todoroki Shouto, Hero Dabi | Todoroki Touya, gosh tags are hard, how do people write such good tags, pls I had ideas for tags ten minutes ago, actually wait, Hitman Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya no more hes a Todoroki now, Marriage, theres death, plenty of death, Gotta say there's some angst in here too might as well tag that, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, i give up on tags, can i hear a wahoo?, FOrgot to mention it's a rewrite of an old fanfiction I wrote on Wattpad, How could i forget that?

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48188353

[linkspooky]

Does this mean you’re gonna rewrite Mai’s “last words” in this squeal fic?

Because if so, then you’re doing god’s works since Mai’s last words in the manga were… pretty rubbish. Especially with the whole “I am you, and You are me”  spiel.

Hmm. I wonder if Mai in this AU would even want to tell Maki the truth about how Maki’s Heavenly Restrictions is the reason why both share curse energy, or if she would lie. I mean, if I understand Mai correctly, I feel like she won’t tell Maki due to her not wanting to make Maki feel like it was her fault and all. Ah, I guess I’ll just have to wait until the time comes.

Yes, I'm rewriting Mai's last words.

There are several things I want to change with this scene. Number one, just rewrite the rules about cursed energy treating two identical twins as the same individual.

Not only does it play into dumb stereotypes about twins, but it also is the opposite of what was set up of Maki and Mai's arc. THe whole point of Maki and Mai is that they are two different people, who have two different sides to the same conflict, that is growing up in the Zenin Household. Mai wants to live a normal life because she is terrified of cursed spirits, and also doesn't really want to prove anything to the people who abused her. Maki wants to prove that the people who abused her were wrong, by rising above that abuse and proving herself stronger.

They both react to the trauma in different ways, Mai clings to her nearest family member which is Maki, Maki pushes Mai away to remove herself of that vulnerability. Mai is too codependent, Maki is too independent. There are negative ways to the way both of them cope, it's not Mai, Maki pushes everyone away, she's pretty nasty to Yuta on sight in JJK Zero and apparently that's common behavior for her, and she also... almost gets afraid when Yuta compliments her and can't accept his compliment because the idea that someone could accept her for who she is before she's proven herself to the clan doesn't even occur to her. Maki throws up walls in front of people and Mai. Mai wants to cling to Maki, wants Maki to stay in the same place she is, and when she doesn't get those things she acts out and hurls insults at Maki to try to provoke a reaction. Which is about Mai's feelings and not about Maki's feelings.

However, Maki also completely cut Mai off and left her behind in an abusive household in the first place, without either taking her with, or telling her that she still loved her or commnicating to her what her feelings were. Maki's communication style is no communication. Maki is the one who created the distance between them in the first place.

They are both handling things badly is what I am saying, but in different ways, so this sudden insistence that they are the same person comes out of nowhere and is the opposite of the conflict that's been set up between the two of them.

This idea that Mai is to blame and Mai is why Maki is keeping her weak, is also just spitting on what came before it, because the whole point of their conflict was that there was no good victim bad victim. Mai's not wrong for wanting a normal life outside of being a jujutsu sorcerer. Number one Mai doesn't even have a choice, so of course she doesn't want to work hard at a job she is forced into doing where she can die at any moment.

Mai's allowed to want a normal life, the same way that Maki is allowed to want to get stronger, Mai's not selfish or lazy, for just wanting a different life then the one she's forced into. The insistence that Mai is what's keeping Maki weak because she doesn't want to get stronger, just kind of flies in the face of Mai's character. Also, Maki's character flaw is that she's too independent and won't rely on others, so like what prevented her from getting stronger is that she always insists on doing everything alone it had nothing to do with Mai. In fact she lost to Ogi... because she walked into the Zenin compound alone with no plan.

So, my planned fix is to correct these two big problems:

1) Change the lore surrounding twins (a pretty simple fix, there is nothing special about twins in regards to cursed energy, Maki just happened to be born with a heavenly restriction and Mai with weak cursed energy, the superstition about twins is just that a superstition). 2) Mai isn't the reason Maki doesn't get stronger, because their cursed energy isn't linked. The reason Maki and Mai both can't get stronger, is because they both refuse to work out the conflict between them and work together. Mai and Maki's cursed techniques could actually be complementary, Mai creates weapons, while Maki fights, but Maki insists on doing everything on her own and Mai doesn't even want to be a sorcerer and thinks Maki's insistence of doing everything on her own means she doesn't care about Mai.

However, I do want to keep the dream sequence in so here is essentially my intended fic. Mai dies in front of Maki (she comes back but that's spoilers), not because she decided to give up all her cursed energy to Maki but because they are both thrown in the pit, Maki's body is too helpless and she basically can't move as Mai gets killed trying to cover her sister's body.

So, Maki for all the times she tried to be strong, is completely weak and helpless the moment she needed to protect Mai the most. The cursed spirits go away and Maki's body starts slowly recovering, but in the time between she has a vivid hallucination.

In Tokyo Ghoul there's a character named "Kaneki" and in moments of weakness he imagines another character named "Rize" essentially appearing before him as some kind of spiritual guide and mentor and urging him to get stronger and more violent... but Rize isn't really there, the real Rize is heavily injured and not conscious. Kaneki is just hallucinating Rize as a tool to motivate himself.

He used the image of Rize to believe that someone was basically acting as his cheerleader, and encouraging him to get stronger, because he needs to imagine himself as someone special and someone important otherwise the tragedy in his life will break him. He adds a narrative to his pain to give it meaning, because otherwise bad things keep happening to him and he can't be stronger than them. Maki also, is following a narrative that she can somehow, if she gets stronger, if she trains hard, she can win against her trauma. If she is strong enough she will no longer feel worthless and that will prove everyone wrong about her.

Maki is following the same kind of narrative, she is made to feel worthless so obviously she's someone worth something, she is made to feel unimportant, so obviously she is someone chosen and special. She has to be these things because she knows no other way to motivate herself to fight in the face of all of the trauma she's carrying around.

So basically, Mai's body is dead on the ground and Maki has experienced total helplessness. Everything she fought to gain the strength to be able to help others, it's all gone, she feels like she's going to die in this pit alone never having accomplished anything, so Maki just starts to hallucinate.

In this sequence, Maki sees Mai appear before her again, and bids her to destroy everything. It's not really Mai though, it's just Maki's hallucination. SHe is imagining that this is what Mai wants her to do, and that Mai is still there cheering her on to give herself motivation. When actually, Mai is dead on the floor and Maki just wants revenge.

Then, Maki snaps and kills the clan.

And at that point Mai comes back from the dead (but that's spoilers) and we learn this is not what Mai wanted, and Mai is terribly worried because Maki has become a mass murderer to avenge Mai, and is on an extremely dangerous path, and literally that's not what Mai wants, Mai wants for them to be sisters and now Mai has to fight to have that with Maki again and try to save Maki from herself.

[prompt-master]

UDG might not be good but I will say for sure the Anthology Manga of it is way better. Like one of the things that happens in it is that Toko will read one of Komaru's favorite manga if Komaru can read Toko's whole collection of books which was like in the hundreds. Komaru literally read all of them in one day which shocked Toko.

Another thing that happens in the manga is that Komaru really wants to go shopping with Toko as well as match keychains and clothing with Toko including underwear.

Also apparently according to the manga, the only thing Nagito can make that's actually good is Sushi.

Another funny thing is that the manga reveals how Togami was truly tortured when he was imprisoned in UDG...he was forced to wear funny glasses and was force fed instant ramen which he was insulted by cause it's such a commoner's food. That's it but to him something like that is hell.

----------

Another thing that happens in the manga is that Komaru really wants to go shopping with Toko as well as match keychains and clothing with Toko including underwear.

Also apparently according to the manga, the only thing Nagito can make that's actually good is Sushi.

Another funny thing is that the manga reveals how Togami was truly tortured when he was imprisoned in UDG...he was forced to wear funny glasses and was force fed instant ramen which he was insulted by cause it's such a commoner's food. That's it but to him something like that is hell.

--------------------------------------------------

Oh god I love all the danganronpa anthology manga with all my heart. Every time I read them I always find something that absolutely kills me with how hilarious it is. And i gotta admit the udg is pretty good! I loved the part where Fukawa says she won't read any manga because she wants her first one to be Komaru's 🥺💛

Its not anthology but the genocider syo side manga is also good, and if I saw it finished I'd honestly reccomend that over the game for my friends. Or just a full udg manga in general

[1kook]

I made another dumb carrd praise me girlies <33

[king-paimon]

Houseki no Kuni Thoughts: The character I can’t hate

Hi everyone. It’s been a while and after learning that Houseki no Kuni is coming back in just a matter of days, I figured now was the time to finally post this. I’ve wanted to write this for a long time and certain events in my life has compelled me to add more but not want to post at the same time, if that makes sense.

This post is sort of an analysis on a certain character from the series that I surprisingly have a lot in common with. Though I think that goes without saying that many people in the fandom, including myself, can find themselves within the different characters, especially Phos. I think that’s one of the reasons why we care so much about them and want the best for them.

But like I said, for me there’s another character that I found myself connecting with more. A character who changed so drastically that it felt like whiplash for readers and the characters in the story. A character who was put in a difficult role by those around them to later gain a new one by someone who claims to care about them more. A character who became a favorite for many, but quickly became the one they detested the most. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about, yes?

Yeah, I’m talking about Cairngorm. 

I’ll do my best to explain myself. This is a long hot take and I’m sorry if anything I say doesn’t make sense; I was literally going through the manga again when rewriting this because I know I didn’t remember everything correctly. Please feel free to say your thoughts about what I write. If this post is too long, I can cut it up if that’s easier for everyone. Or if you believe I need to add some sort of trigger warning, please let me know!

 Anyways, here we go...

Cairngorm: Reluctant Obligations and Purpose

I think many can agree that Phos got the short end of the stick when it comes to their life. Unlike the other gems, they weren’t the strongest and count stick to any of the given tasks that everyone else could do out of disinterest. No wonder most of the other gems pitied or were annoyed or just barely paid any attention to them. It got so bad that Phos was given a relatively meaningless task to do so they can do something instead of laying about. Why do I bring this up? Well, despite the clear negatives that Phos experienced because of this in the first chapters, I’d argue that Phos had it easier than certain gems. Though I don’t think it was truly confirmed, it seems that most if not all of the gems are given specific roles after their inception and were given proper knowledge by Adamant. These are roles that the gems stuck with, even when if they expressed forms of dissatisfaction (ex. Dia or Jade.)  Phos, on the other hand, was allowed to explore. Yes, they got teased or reprimanded for being lazy/causing problems, Phos is still allowed to try different things a lot, something that I don’t believe many of the gems were allowed to do.

And on top of that, because most of the gems didn’t pay too close attention to Phos, this essentially gave Phos free range to do whatever. And if Phos wanted to do certain things, like work with Antarcticite, Adamant just sort of allowed it. In some ways, older Phos had more freedom than most of the gems because of their status among the others. And maybe I’m crazy but it feels like Phos gets forgiven often by Adamant, especially as the series progressed.

Again, why did I bring this up? Cairn. Unlike Phos, it seemed that Cairn didn’t really have much a choice on what they could do after they came to be. When they were forced into existence after Ghost was taken, Cairn was essentially put into the role of being Antarcticite’s replacement for Phos as their partner and “keeper.” Cairn may have acted tough with Phos and was angry about the circumstances, they still took up that role. Whether they did it because wanted to or because they were expected is another thing. To me, Cairn took up this role because they were expected to.

Yes, it has been shown in the manga that Cairn made the choice to take over the winter duties and follow Phos to the moon, even though they didn’t want to. But that’s just it. These decisions Cairn made weren’t compelled by inner desire but because they knew it was for Phos’s sake. To me, these were instances where Cairn actively put their feeling on the side to do what is expected of them. It didn’t matter what they desired or how they felt, they had a role to fulfill no matter what, and it was to be by Phos’s side. It’s all because it was put in their head that they are expected and obligated to do these things by the others, especially Ghost. 

Hell, they were ready to decapitate themselves for Phos after they lost their head because of what Ghost told them. Even though Cairn was stopped, this just shows how far they would go to fulfill this role that they were put into because they were taught/conditioned to do so. I’m now wondering if Adamant would have still stopped Cairn if Lapis’s head wasn’t there.

This is a miserable sense of duty and obligation to others, especially individuals one can see as family. Sadly, this is something that I’m all too familiar with.

Parentification: Do it for your family

(I’m about to get a personal. Read at your own discretion!)

I’ll tell you all just a little bit about myself and I promise this will circle back to what I was talk about. (Though I don’t know if this is triggering but I’ll still add a warning here for people who are sensitive to depressing topics) I come from a relatively big family and I’m the oldest. Ever since I was a child, I was taught that I must fulfill my duties as the oldest child for the sake of my whole family and this was a reality that I accepted. I know not all families are like this with older siblings being expected to take up endless family/community duties, but that’s the case for me. I needed to be the “strong one” for everyone’s sake, even if it meant I needed to sacrifice my happiness and wellbeing, because that was my role. And if I didn’t fulfill my duties because I didn’t want to, according to my father, then I’d be an selfish person who would hurt the family and “god dislikes selfish people.” If I couldn’t fulfill that role well, I’d be a bad role model since according to my father, “all my actions impact on my siblings since they look up to me” and “it’s my responsibility to be the good example for their sake.” Because I didn’t want to be a “bad child” and hurt my family because of my actions, I remember sucking up my grievances and just did what was expected of me and more. Be the pillar and role model that my family can rely on because if I can’t be that for whatever reason... who was I?

That’s why I connected to the character Luisa from Encanto.  Her song “Surface Pressure” made me cry so much the first time I heard it and it’s my favorite Disney song to date. Everything she said in the song perfected how I felt when I was young and now when I’m an adult. I’m happy to say that even before the movie came out, I recognized that some of the things from my childhood weren’t healthy. Things have gotten better for the most part and I thankfully don’t have to fulfill all of the same duties that I had when young but sadly… now new duties are expected to be done and the effects from my childhood still linger. I still have this sense of duty and obligation to my family and their wellbeing, even though I’m told that I don’t need to do it anymore. I’d gotten so used to being the one who does everything and even though my family is older now, I’m sometimes still expected to fulfill old and new responsibilities because of my role in my family. It never seems to end.

Like I said though, things have gotten better and I’m learning to say no. But I won’t lie, there were times where I just wanted to disappear, kind of like how Cairn felt. Not die, don’t worry. Just walk away from my family, community, and anyone who knew me in life and start everything from scratch. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t hate my family, especially my siblings. I love them, even though they frustrate me sometimes.  I really want the best for them and I want to see them do well on their own. Still, there were times when I was tired and… I just wanted space from everyone and everything for… maybe a few years? I had a small taste of this when I first left home for college. I was away from home and was finally allowed to do what I wanted to do for myself. It felt good but wrong at the same time. Even though I finished school, life has brought me back home and sadly, those darn obligations are back on me. But now that I’m older and understand the world a little better, if I play my cards right, I’ll soon be truly free from these chains of familial duties and obligations. Thankfully some of my siblings and close friends understand my feelings and support me. Speaking of freeing themselves, let’s finish this rambling post by going back to Cairn.

True or False sense of freedom...?

As shown in some of the manga pages I added, I hope I was able to show why Cairn’s position is sadder than one would assume. So, when Cairn went to the moon and even though their sudden character change initially came out of nowhere, the more I thought about it, it sort of makes sense. On the moon, Cairn was allowed to actually make choices, from the clothes they wore to the name they go by. Cairn was no longer expected to look after someone else like they did back on earth, especially someone who had the tendency to attract trouble.

Cairn no longer had any obligations to fill. They didn’t have to put others first before themselves. They are allowed to be who they truly are. On the moon, Cairn had freedom… or rather the illusion of freedom. At least, it seems that way to me. This is up for debate after the last chapter but I remember during chapter 75 and beyond, this sense of freedom that Aechmea made for Cairn feels...false. But whether it’s false or true, this offered freedom is what made Cairn latch onto Aechmea so quickly. It’s gross how Aechmea clearly took advantage of their naivety but at the same time, it’s clear that Cairn still accepted this with sound mind... and it’s pitiful to see.

I understand people hating Cairn and I don’t blame them; I just personally don’t. Yes, I’m disappointed with their choices and actions but at the same time, I totally get it. They crave freedom and though they can make choices and are no longer expected to be Phos’s partner or keeper anymore, Cairn isn’t truly free; they just have a new master, and Cairn knows this. But at this point, they don’t care anymore. What they have on the moon was better than what they had on earth. I admit, if you ignore the manipulation stuff that Aechmea is clearly doing, Cairn kind of has it good. So…yeah, good for you Cairn. I’m even a little envious but not by much.

I don’t know where this series is headed for Cairn and the other characters. I still think we’re headed for a bittersweet ending and how that will play out is anyone’s guess. But you know what, because of how much I see myself in Cairn and other characters like them, a part of me is happy to see them feel free for the first time, even if it’s not true freedom.

So yeah, this was my post. I’d been working on and delaying it for way too long. Please feel free to share what you think.

[castelleve]

@saintouija​ asked: 🍓 i am asking everyone

🍓 What is something you and the mun disagree on?

LOOK.... I’m not using the NPCs, I don’t know if all these tags are gonna fit!!!

“Look... I love the theatre as much as anyone else, but there comes a point where just have to listen to something else once in a while.”e

“She considers me to be lazy... I, for one, think that’s not true at all!”

“She puts butter in her apple cider - that’s just weird.”

”I just don’t think manga should be the only thing she reads, you know? Pick up a real book.”

“She refuses to write me more often. I’m not hard to write at all!”

“Measuring your ingredients is NOT optional in baking! Her goods always come out gummy or dry because she never measures! Or too chewy because she overworks her batters and dough! Becauses she doesn’t measure!”

“Ads aren’t that annoying. Just use ad block.”

“Makeup isn’t that uncomfortable.”

“I like dogs more than cats. She’s just too lazy to train them.”

“Personally, I don’t find FGO that fun. There’s too much farming involved.”

“I just- I’ll never understand why she has so many cannibal characters? Do we blame Sondheim or do we blame Thomas Harris?”

“You know, none of you would know this, because she forgot about me, but I was her favorite aet one point. I demand to be used again! I don’t care if it ‘hurts emotionally’ or ‘she doesn’t have muse for me anymore’. Cowardly, i say!”

“She wants to write me more and I,e for one, think that’s a terrible idea. Have you seen Damian? Henri? Helena? All the characters she focuses on end up suffering!”

“I would love to just wake Mortau up, but she doesn’t think it’s ’interesting’ or ’dramatic’ enough.” 

“You ask if someone has real boobs once and suddenly, you’re labeled a creep! Thanks, really appreciate that. I’m nowhere near as bad as Enoch, he’s the real creep here.”

“It’s fine to use icons someone made you even if you don’t talk to them anymore, right? I don’t see why she’s so conflicted on it.”

“I am the perfect person to use with crime family characters, and yet she refuses. Why? I’m an organ trafficker! For fuck’s sake, let me do what I do best!”

“I, for one, like the taste of alcohol. But I can see why she doesn’t.”

“She wants to write Nocturne more. Start on the patron plot. And let me tell you that is a horrible idea. Why? Because I’m gonna get the Damian treatment.”

“I agree that Damian has... issues. But I don’t think he’s that bad of a person. And I don’t like what she plans to do with the Patrons plot... Helena needs support. And I don’t exactly agree with what she plans for Darva.”

“I used to be a pretty well developed character, but nooooo. She just had to rewrite me. At least she kept a few details the same, but damn.”

“I know what she has planned for me. I don’t like it. Henri’s scary.”

“With some of us, she’s so paralyzed by the idea of messing up, she won’t write us. But she’ll never know if she writes us ‘correctly’ or not if she never tries.”

“I’m with Elliot. I was never all that developed, but now I’m even less developed.”

“I... With a lot of her characters, she refuses to give them a break from their torment. I’m not sure that’s exactly healthy.”

“Bugs aren’t weird... they’re good for the environment.”

“Her taste in music is shit...It sounds over autotuned to hell and back. Some weird band called ‘Vocaloid’, wouldn't recommend.”

“Raised by wolves was a weird direction to take me. It was definitely a choice.”

“She made my baby sister a model... I’m concerned. I don’t like that. At least Beatrix is watching out for her...”

“I think my faceclaim is fine. I don’t think I need a new one?”

“Me? Sleazy? I think not. At least she thinks I’m cute.”

“Do I really need to be stuck with henri for this upcoming plot? ...Yes? Are you kidding me?”

“I don’t get used much and it’s such a shame. Give me some development already!”

“I don’t get why she seems so opposed to a normal office job. I’d kill for mine back right now!”

“Honestly, I can’t say there’s much of anything.The things she cares about I just don’t, so...”

“She should have given me a dog. Juniper gets a dog. Why don’t I get a dog?”

”I’m just glad I’m not you guys.”e

“I’m not bland, am I?”

“I can respect her decision not to launch herself into the nearest nuke water she can find. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to, though.”

”I’ve been alive one day.”

[choicesficwriterscreations]

450 Followers: Meet The Writer

Hello there! We’re back with another Meet The Writer Q&A and it’s our pleasure to introduce a fellow Brazilian fanfic author for our ninth interview:

Blog: @julia-highstorms​ Name (or petname): Julia/Ju Birthday: July 9 Nationality: Brazilian 🇧🇷 Current residency: I'm one of the 12 million people living in São Paulo, Brazil Languages you speak: Brazilian Portuguese, English and a bit of Japanese Masterlist: Julia’s choices fanfiction masterlist

1. Is there a meaning behind your url name? Yes! For those who have been following me for a while, they already know that I used to change my URL according to the Choices character I was stanning at the time but it was a PAIN to fix all my fanfics links 😩 so I decided to finally create an unique URL that I wouldn't get tired of. So I mixed my two surnames together and it (basically) means Highstorms. I loved it 😌

2. When did you start playing Choices? What's the first book you played? 2017 I believe. TRR book 1 was about to debut. YEAH. It was the Freshman Book 1.

3. When did you decide to join Choices fandom? December 21 2017. ILITW was in its last chapters and I was obsessed with it. I wanted to talk about it with other people, but I didn't know anyone who also played Choices. So I found the fandom on Tumblr and decided to join. I miss all my friends I made back then and we all went nuts with ILITW finale together 😩 Good times

4. Go back to your archive and tell us what was your first post on your Choices blog was about. My first post was about how I loved ILITW and how everyone was fucked up sjddndossok also a lot of reblogs about MAKE NOAH AN LI 🗣️

5. How long have you been writing fanfiction? I started writing fanfictions in my senior year of high school, although I attempted to write my own stories when I was younger, around 12-13.

6. Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it or would you change anything about it? My first fanfic ever is about The Maine, it was my favorite band back then slfjdfodj but my first Choices fanfic is If Jane Was Here (ILITW told by Noah) Chapter 1. I AM SO PROUD OF IT. Of course, there are some things I would change. Like adding even more angst. Having finished writing it way sooner. But I'm super proud of it overall. My first (and so far only) Choices long series I've ever finished. Wow.

7. What are your favorite Choices books to write about? Definitely Open Heart just because of Bryce Lahela and Rei (my MC). OPH has become a mess, but I love Bryce too much. I loved the It Lives anthology too and enjoyed writing about. And I'm hyped for my upcoming Blades AU series!

8. What is your specialty as a fanfic writer? Oooh I guess it is rewriting certain scenes or events of the books or thinking about AUs. Since ILITW I have enjoyed doing this. Writing on another character's point of view of the events that have happened (the whole If Jane Was Here series, that is ILITW told by Noah's POV). Or adding some depth to a certain scene (did something like this with Julia, my ILB MC, and Tom's relationship. And with Rei and Bryce's). Or even rewriting the story to fit better with my MC's personality (Rei, OPH MC).

9. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised? When people say they like my MC's, Rei (OPH MC) and Luxia (Blades MC). Before, whenever I played Choices, I didn't care much about the MCs because they're all generic (which makes sense because we're the ones playing it). They're always the happy go lucky friend that tries to fix everyone's problems and every LI is in love with them. Boooooring. Rei was my first MC that I created a whole non-canon personality to her, and that's why she's my baby 🥺 and when people commented that they felt represented by Rei, that she felt more realistic than PB's usual MC, well, that was my peak as a writer lol so they're basically OC's, with their own personalities and temperaments.

10. Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them? I do, but I wish I could participate more often! The prompts are what I like the most, because they give me ideas that I'd have never thought to write about before.

11. Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing? Meg Cabot was my favorite author growing up and I read some of Sophie Kinsella’s books too, so probably my love for adding a bit of comedy, silly little things in my fanfics came from them. I love Jane Austen too. And last but not least, my flair for angst definitely came from reading Fruits Basket, my favorite manga ever. There’s so much angst in Furuba dodksdishd Takaya Natsuki-sensei really enjoys it. I recommend reading her other manga series, Twinkle Stars, too.

12. What element of writing do you struggle with most? Actually writing lmao. You know, taking the plot out of my mind and typing it down on Google Docs. Writing is hard, takes too much time and I'm lazy 😩 I wish I could just transfer my ideas to a document and it's done. No need to write, no need to revise, etc. I love the final product, but I hate the process.

13. Do you have any abandoned WIPs? What made you abandon them? A BUNCH OAJDSKDKD 🤦 Either because my inspiration to write it has faded or because I don't want to spend my whole time writing.

14. You’re applying for the fanfic writer of the year award. What five fanfics do you put in your portfolio? Oooooh great question! I must put:

If Jane Was Here - Alternative ending (ILITW): this is the only finale I accept sorrynotsorry

Too Little Too Late - Jax x MC (Bloodbound): I wanted to feel hurt. People cried. I loved it sclkdsdjsops

The Loudest One - Bryce x F!MC (Open Heart): I wrote this one for CFWC Kinktober! And honestly, this is the best smut scene I have written. I’m quite proud about it.

Satisfied - Jax x Lily (Bloodbound): it was fun writing for my crack ship! My babies. And the first smut scene I have ever written. I’m glad it was with these two. I still can’t get over the fact that either one of them dies in BB’s finale. I cannot accept skfjdpd

Lullaby - Tyril x Elf!F!MC (Blades): don’t get me wrong, I love Tyril and his goth lordling mysterious elf boy personality and the first time he and MC made out was HOT but… I missed a bit of clousure before, you know? It felt a bit sudden to me, so I wrote a couple of fanfics showing their growing interest and attraction towards one another. This one is a light cute one and I really like it.

15. Do you create original content aside from fanfiction (original stories, art, etc)?  I sometimes draw some fanarts in which you can see by searching for #occasional drawings on my Tumblr.

Do you want to contribute with questions/ideas for the next Meet The Writer Q&A? Send us a message.

Thanks for reading! Reblog to share your appreciation for @julia-highstorms​ ❤️