#ended up reading the manga too to catch up to the latest chapters

[fumifooms]

Hello! Anon Asker again here. Recently got through the latest volume on Kindle with the Dungeon Master arc.

(Spoilers ahead for others...?) Now that we got most of the characters' backstories, I feel the earlier black magic ritual they did for Falin makes a lot more sense.

Marcille is desperate to keep the people she loves alive given her sense of loss and persisting dread about outliving everyone she knows.

Laios (apart from loving his sister) has lingering guilt from having left Falin behind before, exacerbated by her sacrifice and the way she always puts him first.

Then there's Senshi and Chilchuck who have on more than one occasion shown a distaste for magic.

Yet Senshi didn't fight it much and stood by them, because he himself is not a stranger to loss, especially when it comes to loved ones who have sacrificed for others so that one might survive.

But Chilchuck I'm not so sure. He was the most vocal in how against black/ancient magic he was, but also didn't really stop it. Maybe we can attribute it to his own abandonment issues by his wife, or just that he could imagine what it might be like if it was one of his daughters (as we saw in a small chapter art where he had a nightmare of his daughters dead). But I wanted to hear your take on this if in case you do.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to this ask! It’s a layered topic so I procrastinated on polishing my answer.

I think this is super interesting! Especially because we’re coming at this from totally different angles, since reading the manga I never thought that using dark magic didn’t make sense considering the situation or was weird. You’re coming at this at an angle of what personal reasons would make a character do this, while I looked at it in an angle of what social reasons would make a character let it happen. Post gonna be a lil long so I put it under cut! Tldr with your angle though, I think you’ve pretty much got it spot on and I don’t have much to add, I think your take it’s very interesting, and true.

So, why not do dark magic?

Throughout the whole manga, very early on too, we see our characters testing their society’s perception on morality in ways that we see that the moral wall was pretty baseless in the first place, mainly the disgust towards eating monsters for instance. Or sometimes, the morality of characters is lacking to our standards, having a perception we’d see as twisted, like in the kobold extra. Like Marcille talks about in the barometz/direwolves chapter, eating something "filthy" will make you filthy too and that’s why Marcille was innately so opposed to eating monsters. We also see it with the orcs’ chapter for example, Kui tackles a lot of difficult themes with nuance like racism, both the orcs and the elves have their perspective and their big faults in their part in their conflict, but in the end who’s right and who’s wrong isn’t spelled out for the readers. The point is that morality in the manga isn’t set in stone, it’s something that as the reader you draw the line on yourself, and we see that our characters aren’t infallible moral compasses either. The use of magic, too, is left up in the air on how good and moral it is to use, "unnatural" vs efficent vs cheap cop-out vs harmless or harmful.

So for me, when Marcille explained dark magic, how it works and why it’s forbidden, ‘yeah there’s probably a hidden catch in there’ I thought but I was super on board with it. To me, not using dark magic because it’s different and less known would be like not wanting to eat monsters for the same reason: more born out of fear and ignorance than reasonable and rational.

So we’re coming at this from different angles like I said, while you focused on character motivations for being fine with such an unholy act of magic I thought of it in an ambiguous morality and consequences way. So instead of "why should/would they do it?" to me it’s "why not?". And to me it’s a bit like "Well, no one should steal! But if the person really needs to for food, well I could let it go" for the characters’ thought process, though of course the instinctive revulsion and the stakes are much higher. They have all worked really hard to get there, and if there’s a chance it’ll go well then they would try it. Senshi and Chilchuck are much more reticent than the others like you said, but they’re able in the end to either rationalize doing it enough, or just prefer to listen to the directives and see how it goes by taking a more passive role. Not unlike how peer pressure can get you to participate in something you don’t want to do. But to me it’s a lot about growing accustomed to the unknown, hearing about it from Marcille who researches dark magic instead of the half-foot anecdotes about "dark elves" and "dark magic" used to nefarious ends. Which, presumably dark elves don’t even exist, we don’t know exactly what the half-foot definition of dark elves is, it’s a misconception and it’s a boogeyman, which is part of my point.

Where does Chilchuck’s distaste of magic come from? Elves. But by then Marcille, by being an elf herself and being trustworthy and friendly thus far, has started to chip away at these preconceived notions. Maybe what he heard wasn’t foolproof, after all. Under pressure and stakes like they were, people with even an usually very rigid morality may bend a little, steal, etc. To me, even if Chilchuck brought it up later, still very uneasy with it, it didn’t mean that him doing it was unrealistic or weird. People do things half-heartedly or unsure on if it’s the right thing to do sometimes, especially under pressure. Their will wavered while Laios and Marcille’s didn’t, and ultimately that’s what decided what they would do. What’s the other option? Marcille and Laios weren’t going to back down, so what, fight them so they don’t do it? Otherwise they’ll do it anyways with or without you, and then is there even a point to putting up a fight about it or even leaving? You can see the raationalization being done in real time, if you reverse engineer it.

Ironically enough I think this scene set after they do it depicts it perfectly: Chil lays out why he doesn’t like the thought of it, she responds on why dark magic being bad is up for debate, and he goes to argue but ultimately chooses not to and goes along with the group.

But yes it’s an interesting topic! Marcille researches positive uses for ancient magic so of course she’d be ready to use it to revive Falin, Laios has normalized reviving and magic a lot and overly relies on it, and Senshi doesn’t want to do it, but it’s because of his ideal- because of his instinctive recoil at anything that is magical or "unnatural"… Except for the golems. Because of how he sees himself as part of a larger ecosystem and cycle of life that humans shouldn’t have control over, that should know how to sustainably live with nature without getting greedy or cocky… Except for when he idealized Anne the kelpie as his best friend that even though is a monster would never hurt him. He tends to pull away from others socially needlessly, not letting himself grow too close to people or a community, too. Point is, Senshi has his pitfalls and isn’t as inflexible as we might think, and not everything he does is rational or even consistent with his own beliefs under his normal circumstances, though I do think he’s the one who was/should be the most opposed to the reviving character wise.

And I said that Chilchuck’s reason for not liking dark magic is rooted in superstitions and elves and history- and that’s certainly true but it isn’t the full story either. While Senshi’s preoccupied about morals and his world view, Chilchuck is SCARED of it, he thinks of the CONSEQUENCES, not the act itself (though it also def doesn’t charm him either). And not just the direct consequences of what a dark magic resurrection means either, it comes up a lot that Chilchuck is worried for others and for himself, about careers or the law and generally the future, and tends to micromanage them or be on their case because of it. Made a lil compilation below, notice the trend, he’s very focused on what others will do if they learn that they did dark magic, he’s focused on hiding that they did, not grappling with the morality of it as much. He’s very worried about the legality of it. He sees it as a crime but not something that shatters his worldview y’know. And even after Marcille did it and uncovered that she researched dark magic, he still trusts her and her judgement, is only wary of her a but for a bit before going right back to being thick as thieves together.

I was gonna talk about racism as a plot point and through arcs in the series here but I think I made my point without it, so that’ll be a topic for another day. But yeah… Spoilers for the last volume stop here and skip to the last paragraph if you still haven’t read ut all (bless your Kindle reader soul, good luck waiting for the next chapters). Is the winged lion bad? He’s harmful, certainly, but he’s not evil, and at its base it’s an entity without a sense of morality. Dunmeshi tackles morality in a really interesting, typical of seinens way, and unity is another big theme, as much as racism is a narrative tool and plot point the lesson is that putting efforts into befriending people you don’t understand is good. And with some, like the winged lion, that’s not gonna pay off, but everyone deserves to be understood regardless. Narratively that’s why Laios is the character he is, and why we get to learn about Kabru, the orcs, the canaries, Thistle, even the demon, and see it under new lights. Kui is big on critical race theory and sociopolitical issues used in/for storytelling, and it shows. During canon Chilchuck is growing closer to an elf coworker and tentatively giving her his trust, which pays off, and that is enough to make him reconsider wether dark magic is that bad, and think of how much risk he’s willing to get into for the party. Whew got sidetracked by the narrative genius of Dunmeshi and Kui but, the point is that in the story, characters changing their mind on issues and having their viewpoints challenged is very much common and important.

Sooo yeah! As I said I do enjoy your perspective as well, I’d never thought of it that way so it was interesting. Hopefully this is an insightful post and not just a load of nothing that wasn’t relevant to your question haha. But yeah, while reading I truly approached it from a "why not" angle, instead of a "why yes". They don’t like the method but they do want Falin to live, which makes it easier to dirty their hands for. Wash your hands of it and don’t think about it too much afterwards. (Top 10 reasons why it’ll backfire! none of them will surprise you 🌟)

[jayteacups]

Reader-Insert Masterlist

This is a comprehensive list of all Character x Reader fics I have written. They are all written in second-person POV, and are written for a gender-neutral reader unless stated otherwise. Please heed warnings for each individual fic. 

Fandoms: Attack on Titan (more to come)

Characters: Levi Ackerman, Eren Jaeger (more to come)

Levi Ackerman

Multi-chapter works

The Harbinger’s Premonition [AO3]

He's not meant to see you, but he does. To him, you are Death's Harbinger. To you, Levi Ackerman is a mortal that you wish you didn't have to haunt.

Grim Reaper!Reader Canonverse AU, canon-typical violence, canon compliance, spoilers for the show and manga

Ongoing; 10.1k words

One-shots

Between the Pages

Lately, your attention has been captured by a new book series, to the point where you won’t stop talking about it. Wanting to know exactly what it is that you’re talking about, Levi does some reading of his own. 

Fluff, established relationship, 2.7k words

All Too Familiar

In a twisted turn of events, you, Levi’s lover, take the bullet instead. 

Angst, spoilers for Season 4 Part 1, major character death, 2.4k words

Onwards Past to Eternity (Request)

An alternative happy ending to All Too Familiar. 

Angst, fluff, Season 4 spoilers, manga spoilers, 6.4k words

Embrace of the Sun (NSFW)

Morning musings with your lover turn into something a little more heated.

Fluff and smut, explicit sexual content, fem!Reader, 5.0k words

Gentle Touches (Request)

In which Levi experiences affection for the first time. 

Fluff, emotional hurt/comfort, newly established relationships, non-sexual intimacy, 3.4k words

And So It Begins. (Request)

On the field, you are a force to be reckoned with. Off the field, it is almost the exact opposite. Either way, you catch your Captain’s eye, and so it begins. 

Fluff, confessions, getting together, fem!Reader, 5.8k words

Limits

Mind still buzzing from the horrors of a disastrous expedition, Levi returns home to you in a daze. You try to offer whatever comfort you can.

Hurt/comfort, a little angsty, civilian reader, 1.5k words

Remedy

Struggling to keep up with your university workload, you fall sick, much to your dismay. Your boyfriend takes care of you, but Levi’s spent too much of his life watching a loved one struggle with illness, and can’t help the rising fear within him when looking after you.

Sickfic, university AU, fem!Reader, 2.0k words

At Ease

You, the Survey Corps’ most prized asset, finds solace in the stoic but gentle teashop owner who you’ve come to know as your friend. 

Or: The Captain!Reader x Civilian!Levi AU absolutely nobody asked for.

Friends to lovers, emotional hurt/comfort, role reversal AU, 3.5k words

Ignorance is Bliss

Out of the entire cast of Attack on Titan, the member that spends the least time online is probably Levi. And after seeing the responses to the latest collaboration promotional photoshoot, he wants to keep it that way.

Actor AU, established relationship, fluff, humour, some suggestive content, 1.1k

Levi Week Day 3: Shy & Blushing | Affections & Fondness

To celebrate your second anniversary together, Levi takes you to see the beach for the first time. 

Canonverse, established relationship, post S3, fluff, mild NSFW (oral sex), 3.5k

It’s A Wrap!

Working on Attack on Titan as a makeup artist has irreversibly changed your life. As the end rapidly approaches, you find that letting go is harder than you’d thought. After years of harbouring feelings for Levi that you can’t divulge, his final day on set arrives. You know it’s time to say goodbye to him and part ways—but maybe you don’t have to.

AOT Actor AU, Actor!Levi x Makeup Artist Reader

Fluff, mutual pining, friends/idiots to lovers, confessions, brief implied sexual content, 6.9k

Ficlets (<1k words)

Safe With Me

Lately, mental exhaustion has been weighing you down, and Levi takes it upon himself to take care of you. 

Hurt/comfort, mentions of mental health struggles, and mental exhaustion, 0.8k words

Dozes 

A quick little fic about sleepy morning cuddles with Levi. 

Fluff, established relationship, 0.6k words

All Is Well. 

After watching the latest Attack on Titan episode, you seek out your actor boyfriend in need of reassurance that he’s okay.

Fluff, Season 4 Pt 2 spoilers, actor AU, 0.8k words

Confessions 

You confess to your long-time best friend about how you truly feel. 

Fluff, friends-to-lovers, 0.5k words

Insecurities 

You don’t feel like you deserve him. Levi has a few things to say about that. 

Emotional hurt/comfort, angst and fluff, 0.6k words

A Failed Attempt

Levi feels like he should try to be more traditionally romantic. Little does he know just how bad at that he is.

Fluff, humour, newly established relationship, 0.8k words

A Lover’s Hands

“His hands are weapons of war, but they are gentle, and you can think of no better pair of hands to cherish you so.”

Fluff, established relationship, suggestive content, 0.4k words

Another uni AU drabble (title TBC)

You and your boyfriend want nothing more to cuddle in bed and sleep in the safety of each other’s arms, but university work seems to have a vendetta against you.

Uni AU, fluff, established relationship, 1.0k words

Love’s Philosophy [AO3]

A ficlet collection based off this prompt list. 

Multiple AUs, varying individual ratings. 

Ongoing; 11/20 ficlets posted as of July 2023. 

Headcanons & thoughts

The Florist Saga: Florist/plant dad Levi | Florist Levi x teashop owner Reader | Florist Levi tag

Being called ‘pretty’

Busy-body S/O

Getting his wisdom teeth removed

Thoughts: IKEA dates | Doting on him

Submissions (from you guys!): Naps | Massages

Eren Jaeger

Ficlets (<1 words)

Since You Asked So Nicely

It’s three minutes until midnight. Your boyfriend’s eager to unwrap his birthday present a little early, and since he asked so nicely, how could you say no?

Established relationship, suggestive content, implied modern AU, 0.6k

Headcanons

#eren thoughts  ⬅️ other headcanons and short blurbs

More to come...

Navigation

[fayrinferno]

Recent animo-mangoid experiences in elderly (a blog post)

In case you forgot I am a huge nerd, I shall remind you with the latest updates to my not insignificant power level. I finished some long-running series and then the curiosity and boredom got the better of me and I watched/read some of which the kids do these days. Here are some haphazard thoughts on all that.

SNK

First of all, I finished what there was to finish of Shingeki no Kyojin and as it was a story I followed for a decade, guess I could say a few parting words. I wanted to say it when the manga ended already but the anime ascertained it: it had a decent ending. A fine ending, especially as far as long-running manga goes. It was pretty realistic; warping your dreams and spitting them out into something lacklustre and problematic like life or something. I'm glad to say some of my favs survived the gruesome ride and got some semblance of happy ending, although things are not perfect. In such a story, I don't think they can or should be. Even standing on the sidelines, I understood the series got quite controversial reputation after the years but I didn't see it that way, personally. Sure, the topics and themes covered were controversial but if you can differentiate between writing about and endorsing something, I guess there's nothing more to talk about.

By the way, back when I was in Japan, I visited a SNK exhibition titled "Shingeki no Kyojin Ten: FINAL". Part of it was a room where you could "hear the sound of the series finale" (reminder this was back in 2019). It was taken quite seriously, we had to enter the room one by one and were forbidden from using phones/cameras there. And we heard some sound... that I guess could be part of one of the final scenes? Anyway, if there was some interest in that, I could put together a post about my visit there, there was some interesting stuff for fans of this series! I have no idea if there is someone who did that already but if someone would like to see that, let me know. I don't think I'll do it on my own accord, anyway.

2. KNY, JJK

Up next, I started some two of the 'shonen big three' of the last few years (as I identified them with my perception of the fandom places I frequent). To see what the fuss is about, obviously. First off, it was Kimetsu no Yaiba, I started watching the anime on Netflix in 2022 and am currently caught up with the anime. This year, I did the same with Jujutsu Kaisen anime. I grouped them cause the experience I had felt somehow similar. First of all, they are both entertaining and enjoyable. You can easily find characters to like. And remind yourself once again of the appeals of battle shonen. It's kinda comfy falling back into old shonen and thinking like, "ah, this is like my baby's first shonen!" While some older people would be like, "*baby's first shonen* is just like this 80s/90s shonen". It never dies and the things that work, work. Anyway, superficial take but the designs of KNY ad JJK work so well (both in their own rights). I can imagine how they fuel fanwork, although I have been too scared until now to check out the tags until I was caught up. I understand KNY is finished and JJK is ending, too. I decided I will stick to the anime for now with KNY and I will catch up with JJK manga that I'm currently reading. And I caught up, five chapters before finale, at a very satisfying point. After that, I'll take a peek into the tags. It's not like I see either work as perfect but I can see how even some of the flaws make it more enjoyable. Survey question for those who've read until here: are you trying to understand the "logic" of the techniques and attacks as they explain it in battle shonen? I feel like I gave up on that, I'm just like, "naruhodo" and I don't even try to wrap my head around it :'D That 6-8 year old who yelled "domain expansion!" in a as he ran by at the swimming pool may actually understand better. I was already shocked that he is watching (or rather, streaming) this in foreign language at his age, then thought about what kind of rating JJK would have... and then I remembered us watching DBZ at an age or not much older than him, tried to remember how violent it was and pondered things like whether the topics in JJK are somewhat heavier anyway although people got holes in their torsos and cleaved in half in DBZ too and how he might as well yelled 'bankai!' or something instead... and yeah, I'm thinking I'm old. But KNY and JJK are still enjoyable haha.

3. HAIKYUU!!

When I was deciding what to watch after this, I was reminded of that volleyball anime called VOLLEYBALL!! that I had started watching in Japan. I think I only got as far as one or two series but I started from there and man, I hadn't expected I would enjoy it so much! This is, hands down, the easiest thing to watch for me from all that is mentioned in this post. If there were 900 episodes out, I would just keep watching it every day after work. Part of it surely is that I played volleyball in middle school/junior high. It felt so nostalgic to reminisce about. We had felt so serious about it too, representing our school, although, since I never continued with in high school, I never got to the more technical volleyball stuff. It still made me miss playing, the atmosphere is depicted SO well. Maybe it's also nostalgic cause my first anime was also a sports anime. And yes, ngl, gimme the cute boys playing sports, getting all emotional about it... it's so pure haha! I'm sure the fandom is not just that but I think I will enjoy the fanworks just as much once I'm caught up. BTW, the new movie surprisingly made it into mainstream cinemas here so yeah, I should watch it soon. It was another thing that made me go 'hmmm' like, I get Ghibli but are the kids actually coming to cinema to see this? Was this a calculated choice on the distributor's side to play this at the major cinemas all over the country; an anime movie that takes place in the middle of a long story and works only so much as a standalone (I assume) if you haven't followed these characters? Whatever the case, I guess anime is becoming more mainstream than ever before. And yup, Haikyuu is turning out to be something close to my kokoro, I would compare it to Yuri on Ice I suppose... (yeah my kokoro has another tiny crack in it now that the movie was cancelled).

4. DUNMESHI

Yep, we come to this one. I heard so many good things about Dungeon Meshi and when I read the synopsis, I was even more intrigued. I tried the manga, then few episodes of the anime, then manga again and I stuck to it and finished it a few weeks back. And yes, BRAVA, Kui-sensei. I had a hunch that this one would work better as a manga and I think it does. It was absolutely refreshing to me! So much brilliant thought that is considered taboo for some reason? And Kui's writing makes you think, "but why (is this taboo if people are like that?)" The art is very good, too. So neat, well-thought out and technically great. The ending felt satisfying to me, too. I have no complaints about this little series. You don't even need to ship anyone; it is funny, intelligent, and enjoyable without all that.

5. THE REMAKES

One last category I wanted to shortly mention are the recently announced remakes. It feels crazy to see Ranma 1/2 getting remade! I caught that, then I caught news of a new Rose of Versailles project?! And then came news of the Rayearth remake??? The first two I guess are something that could have been expected with the popularity of Takahashi and Lady Oscar BUT it was with Rayearth that I realized that anything can happen now. It doesn't mean it has to be good, but it CAN happen (first such shock I remember was the Netflix adaptation of 7SEEDS which was miserable but I am still shook that it even happened). BTW, I never even watched/read Rayearth. I brought the manga from Japan to read it in original because I was always intrigued by it and Clamp (and let's be honest, it was also because it was just a handful of tankobons). I still haven't got around to it but I want to do it before watching it, whether the original or the remake.

[pancake-breakfast]

Totally cheating and writing this post early. IT'S THE ONLY WAY.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 6, Chapters 5-6 below.

Chapter 5: Colorless Expression

Vash's careless pose with a cheerful smile is a very harsh contrast to the revelation at the end of the last chapter.

I wonder who got that photo of July going up. Also, shout out to the tiny, tiny headshot of Vash in the newspaper.

Never underestimate the cruelty potential of little old ladies. Especially if they think they have nothing to lose.

Is Vash going to church??

LOL, not if this kid has anything to say about it.

I dunno. I think Meryl might be onto something. Or maybe just noticing it for the first time. Maybe some of both.

Vash looks like he's praying. Or falling asleep.

Aaand there's tired Vash looking like Knives. Ugh, someone take care of him.

Very rude of them to bring guns into the house of God AND to then suggest murdering someone with them right then and there.

I read this guy's name wrong so from now on he's Justin Baby.

Never trust a Haliburton. They're always up to something.

Meanwhile, Wolfwood is in noodle bliss. I'm sure that's gonna last and he's gonna get to enjoy the whole bowl undisturbed.

Yep, he got a whole three panels before a cacophony of news about Vash's latest shenanigans interrupted his meal. You can see his peace and quiet melt out of his being.

Vash was already feeling pretty freaking depressed over all he's done. That's why he went to the church in the first place. This is not helping.

Wait, has Vash been drinking?? Buddy, don't you know alcohol's a downer? It's not gonna help with the depression. Even Wolfwood thinks this is a bad idea. Looks like he still has the moves, though.

Ohhhh, babygirl doesn't look so good.

Wolfwood and the girls know what's up, and Wolfwood in particular looks less than thrilled about it. First his soup, then sloppy mess Vash, and now his boss.

Vash, babygirl, what's going on in that spiky head of yours right now??

Wolfwood has clearly had enough of this morning's shit.

There's so much going on on this page, with characters overlapping without any panel breaks even though they're clearly not realistically positioned around Wolfwood. It's like our priest man is drowning in them. And then there's Vash, alone in the lower left corner, the last place you're likely to look when reading manga, and the only one set out from everyone else. ;_;

"Needle-noggin-isms." Heh.

Dude, this guy has Mad Max speakers.

Drunk or not, Vash still has mad skills.

He burned some of his power to catch that bullet. That's... he's really not in a good mental place, is he.

Meryl just goes into a full-on panic at the sight of it. Can't say I blame her, all things considered. No one was as up close and personal with that last encounter in the Dragon's Nest as she was.

Uggggghhhhh, Vash knows he's messed up.

Guys, I shoulda stopped three chapters ago. This chapter's depressing AF.

God bless Wolfwood. He's doing his best to protect Vash while abiding by them Needle-noggin-isms.

Milly's just straight up carrying Meryl, isn't she?

Vash, noooooo, this huuuuurts.

He's got too much he's trying to carry, and now he's just lost. Thank God for once he's not alone. He's got people around him right now, and that... that might be enough. Even one person having his back might be enough.

WHICH IS ALL HE'S GETTING APPARENTLY BECAUSE VASH CAN'T BEAR TO WORRY MERYL ANYMORE AND MERYL'S IN NO SHAPE TO DO ANYTHING.

Heh, the kid is trying his best to fight the adults. Good for him.

And Wolfwood, trying his best to lighten the mood. Awkwardly.

Chapter 6: Seeds Voyaging to the Stars, A World Inside A Pod

How DARE you show me their smiling faces after that. How dare. I'm in no mood. D:<

Oh, good. It's Knives. I think.

Ok, I love how in every one of these panels, the dark streak in Knives' hair is somehow hidden. It gets called out once on its own, but when we're looking at Knives' face, it's not there. It just kind of deepens how incredibly important it is.

The games are over. Now Knives has to find a different way to save his brother... and himself. Or risk them both dying in the process.

I wonder what Legato will think of his boss's new look....

I thought Elandira was down with Knives' plan because she had no issues with it for some reason, but now I think she's just here for the chaos and not really much more invested in who wins than Zazie is.

Ooof, Vash catching sight of his reflection. That face looking back at him is always his brother's.

Yeah, Wolfwood's run out of patience for this shit. He might punch Knives in the face if he had the chance right now. This... this is how he shows he cares about Vash's well-being.

Ooohhhh, is Vash getting echoes of what happened there?

Seeing his sister's corpse isn't sitting well for Vash, either.

Hells, even before the fall, we have Vash just floating around by himself. He has a whole-ass happy, non-genocidal brother and a caring surrogate mom, and our introduction to him here is him by himself, touched by nothing, backdropped by the void of space.

Hahahahaha, the boys look so confused.

Interesting that Rem is wearing a silly mask at this awkward birthday party when we were JUST TALKING ABOUT how Vash plasters a fake expression on to try and paint things a brighter color. I'm sure it has no significance whatsoever, especially with Rem awkwardly dodging Vash's question about what's the matter by saying how incredible a year it's been.

OMG BABY KNIVES!!! You can't look at this and tell me Knives didn't adore Rem at least as much as Vash did.

She adores them, too, despite how much she must feel like she's grasping at straws trying to figure out how to take care of them.

I love that every version of Trigun thus far has had a birthday scene for the boys with Rem.

Fishing them out of the plant bulb must have been a task.

Hahahaha, definitely a shortcut. In so many ways.

The boys aren't fooled. I know the boys are hyper-intelligent and all, but even normal kids often pick up on micro-emotions like this.

Ugggghhhhh, they both loved all the people on the ships. THEY BOTH LOVED ALL THE PEOPLE ON THE SHIPS!!!

Their conversation.... They both want to be friends with the humans, even if it takes effort.

Knives, maybe you should lay off some of the war movies.

I like to think they created Plants the way the Quarians created sentient AI in Mass Effect. They were just trying to do something that didn't include making a conscious intelligence, and then something went weird that no one understands, and now Plants.

Blaring space ship alarms are not a preferred wake-up method. Especially when you're on the spaceship.

Is Rem trying to hide the twins from the crew??

Cliffhanger ending?! Booooooo....

Author Bonus Chapter

Uhhhh, ok, I'm just gonna note the kana here...

...isn't exactly a sound effect like all the rest of the kana on this page. This is literally the word for "pants" (ズボン, zubon) repeated several times.

Why they're all shouting "pants" at a pro-wrestling event is beyond me. Maybe 'cause the guys often don't wear pants.

Tiny, tiny Nightow in the audience. You know, I would have never guessed he was into pro wrestling given the IMMENSE AMOUNT OF DRAMATIC POSTURING AND WRESTLING OUTFITS his characters wear all the freaking time.

Gods, I recognize some of those signs. I didn't even like pro wrestling....

"Check my monkey ass directly into smackdown hotel!" LOL

"Ah, this reeks of effort!" Classic Nightow.

LOL, I could see him trying to buy all the figurines for himself. Gotta admit, if someone made a figurine of the main character of something I published, I'd buy it, too.

I will never get over Nightow asking McFarlane to do an "American Check" on the gun. The legacy of my country, folks.

"Please detail this area as it pleases you." Good to know Nightow is paying attention to those small details when he draws. /s

Actually, he did bother to emphasize the need for the ear piercing and the mole, which is good.

Somehow, I don't think he regrets the chain too much.

Hahahahaha, he imagines the place like some sort of evil lair.

Ohhhhh, nooooo. New Jersey?? Gods, this must have been a thing for someone who wasn't very familiar with U.S. geography. This was in 2000, too, apparently, which means (for all you young 'uns) that the internet was notoriously unreliable for looking up stuff like this. This was back in the day when a lot of teachers banned the use of internet sources because it was just assumed they'd be wrong. Assuming your teacher wasn't afraid of the internet entirely because they heard people could find naughty images on it.

They make figurines via DARK RITUALS.

Good to know I'm not inexcusable. I may not have many figurines, but manufacturing processes have always intrigued me.

LOL, "san kyu." San kyu for writing it, Nightow. You bastard. I'm going to cry myself to sleep over fictional characters tonight because of you.

This song started playing around the time I finished up this volume, and it seemed fitting, so I'm gonna put it here.

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10 || Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Volume 1: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6 || Volume 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Volume 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Volume 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5, 6-7 || Volume 5: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6 || Volume 6: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4

[isabeauwolf]

I'm curious. What was everyone's first anime amv's that you watched and what ones stays in your mind rent free?

This Ryou Bakura/ Yami Bakura amv got me into RED back in high school. If ya'll have read the og Yu-Gi-Oh manga and Duelist, ya'll know. If not, let's just say its wayyy darker than the 4kids anime we grew up with and a lot of stuff was censored. All the crap Yami Bukura put poor Ryou through, Yami was super creepy and throwing out death punishments left and right, but the people deserved it. That was even before the card game was introduced!

I know, I know, Inuyasha is basic and over memed to death, but it's still very close to my heart. It was my first anime in middle school and is very close to my heart, say what you will, but I love the dub. I've re-watched the series 5 times before The Final Act aired, I watched it every week both in subbed and dubbed. I've read the manga online years ago after the original anime ended cuz I had to know what happened! I bought the VizBigs and have a couple of the anti-manga which I hope to finish collecting someday, have other merch and games too.

I'll even share that I used the instrumental version of "Dearest" while walking down the isle for my wedding. Why? The song fit my husband and me so well, we had been through so much together and our love only grew stronger. Even while we were apart, we never stopped thinking of each other.

Eternal Snow always hits me with heavy nostalgia. Do I always cry while singing it? Of course, I do. I always come back here in winter to listen to this beautiful song. I remember watching the whole series on YouYube in high school after reading the manga. The story really sticks with you and inspiring, no matter what your dream is.

This amv I think best summarizes Kai Chisaki, Overhaul perfectly as a character. He has such a twisted mind, but that's part of the reason he was such a great villain, and his style/quirk made him such a bad-ass villain.

The way Pops found Kai as a boy, alone, covered in filth and I imagine he was hungry, always made me feel as if we were missing something from his past before the latest chapters came out. He wanted more than anything to replay the man who saved him, rebuilding the Shie Hassaikai's former glory and reputation along with returning people quirkless. Might have saved so many lives who were eventually lost, but at the end of the day, he still choose the darkest route and solution.

"You have no place here", hearing those words from Pops, his father figure, that's probably what finally pushed him to do everything he did. Ignoring Pops wish and taking matters into his own hands, its brief, but it hurt him, he's shocked before recollecting himself and putting Pops into a coma.

Kai’s final scream makes me cry every time because you just know that’s when he realized he’s lost literally everything he ever had, his quirk, the ability to fix Pops, the Shie Hassaikai his only home, and the quirk erasing bullets and serum, his plan that's been pouring so much time and who knows how long working on.

I haven't said it often on here at least, haha. But MDZS is one of my favorite BL anime, danmei, and manhua I've been obsessed with since 2020.

If you haven't watched MDZS, or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, I highly recommend it. The world building, music, the characters, the animation and raw feelings it pulls out of you.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's love is only a part of the series, the depth of their feelings cannot be matched by anything after what they’ve gone through together. No boundaries to their relationship and not even death stops their love.

Lan Zhan let go of everything to protect Wei Ying and tried to feel the pain he felt. They went through life and death together. It was literally them against the world. Even though they had no one by their side, they were with each other.

I still have to catch-up with The Untamed... XD I always play their song, "WANGXIAN" before "Mourning for Love."

[madraleen]

Bungo Stray Dogs - Kafka Asagiri/Sango Harukawa Vol. 16-17: A "THEY ARE SO PRETTY!" Commentary (*anime spoilers and manga spoilers up to ch.114.5)

-OKAY BUT the image of fyodor and dazai playing chess and looking pretty, and dazai's extended arm sort of towering over and sheltering atsushi and the non-atsushis ASDSDF

-oh, francis wants mitchell revived because she can kill hawthorne, i didn't remember that

-okay but now i feel bad for nominating tanizaki for the mafia so strongly, he's so sweet telling yosano "i'll do it for you" when he sees her reluctance

-it's so wild that "the great war" of this 'verse ended only fourteen years ago

-oh elise was docile at some point, i see

-going back and forth reading the volumes and catching up with the latest chapters, i think bsd is excellent at setting the tone and atmosphere. there's energy and pace in the composition of the panels, AND there's really no panel wasted.

-idk idk, little yosano's arc is so smart. it's so twisted and thought-out and poignant. if i didn't already applaud asagiri-sensei, i would just based on this. it's another arc that's so hard to read - in a good way.

-hot take but you know how some people feel there's too much dazai focus etc etc... there isn't though. like, at all, not in the main manga. i feel like they might get that sense because of the spin-offs etc, or maybe because such a vast majority of bsd fans loves dazai and constantly talks about dazai, but dazai himself is not featured particularly much in the manga, he's there just as much as any of the main-main cast, maybe even less. i think it's that he has such a presence, he makes such an impression and is so memorable that it FEELS like he's featured a lot because he's the one that sticks in your mind at the end of the day, but i wouldn't say he's stealing any spotlights or anything.

-mori's greatest crime is the immortal regime

-as entertaining as bsd is, there's some parts that i find genuinely difficult to read. they're too much. (in a good way)

-"to take down a mafia boss this strong we need an undead regiment" and then he goes and kills the boss himself. WHICH IS IT, MORI-SAN!

-aw yosano grew up alongside ranpo and under fukuzawa's care <3

-"our agency reveals its true power when we all gather together" O RLY nOW ATSuSHi, does that mean we're gonna get a reunion to beat the tripolar singularity, does it DOES IT?!

-WHAT DID KENJI-KUN EVER DO TO YOU, ASAGIRI-SENSEI, WHY DOES HE HAVE TO GET BOTH BLOWN UP AND STABBED

-GIN IN A SUIT

-"in this fight, the agency will emerge victorious" I BELIEVE YOU, FRANCIS, BUT AT WHAT COST

-dude, look at tanizaki with kenji, he's terrified

-man, now i feel bad again, tanizaki cares so much for the agency and i'm giving him up to the mafia like lamb for slaughter

-i love how atsushi isn't dumbed down. he uses his brain, he's perceptive.

-ooh right, mitchell's been treated but we haven't actually seen her conscious yet!

-tachihara be multitasking, like... playing both protag and antag in the same damn panels :'D

-dazai is so pretty, he's so pretty, i can't.

-KYOUKA LANDS SO GRACEFULLY AND ATSUSHI JUST FALLS FACE-DOWN IN MUSHITAROU'S CELL

-oh yeah, did we ever learn what the deal with "the seventh agency" was?

-"intelligence can cloud your senses" true true

-behold ango, the man who hasn't slept since this entire arc started

-yes okay, but why does ango look so soft when he tells us he's been working with dazai from the beginning, aw. well, and a little harassed maybe. but let's go with soft

-oh! oh!!! ango looks genuinely appreciative of dazai's heart rate trick!! in the anime he was more dismissive, calling it just a party trick for dazai!

-the fact that ango used the seventh agency only once to erase dazai's crimes so that he could live outside of the mafia.

-oh ango was the mind-reader of the government? i thought the skill-user they mentioned literally read minds. not objects.

-narrative consistency my ass, book-san has no concept of narrative consistency.

-THERE'S A "SEVENTEEN WORLD VILLAINS" LIST?!

-what wife, fukuchi. fukuzawa is too busy dealing with his adopted children and his two ex male-wives. what wife.

-OH? OH?! YOU PICTURE DAZAI AMONG THE AGENCY MEMBERS NOW, FUKUZAWA?! WHAT HAPPENED LATER, FUKUZAWA? WHAT HAPPENED AND YOU FORGOT YOUR BLACK SHEEP SON, FUKUZAWA?!

-okay, but jouno and tecchou tho. just. them. together.

-honestly, the most implausible thing in the entirety of bsd is lucy serving clients with THAT smile. i'd sooner believe it's a deep fake

-my god, tecchou is such a beautiful princess. he has very untainted eyes too

-SIGMAAAAA <3. he's so pretty. like extra super pretty vs the anime.

-"it's exactly how dazai-san planned it!" yes, atsushi, you summed up (most of) bsd pretty well, thank you.

-are they... are dazai and fyodor playing imaginary chess

-WTF DAZAI HOW SO PRETTY OH MY GOD YOU'RE JUST SITTING THERE

-OKAY BUT SIGMA ALSO SO PRETTY, LOOK AT THAT FACE, YOU JUST WANNA SQUISH IT

-on sigma: "he was practically born to run a casino..." AHAHAHAHA WAY TO SPOIL THE PLOT, MR GUARD! but sigma is so good at what he does though. he's such a good manager and leader.

-the panel composition is so excellent, man. so excellent.

-it's a pity tachihara can't truly join the mafia fam even if he wants to, 'cause he literally needs the hunting dogs' monthly surgery

-oh come OOOOON, sigma is SUCH A KITTEN, can we keep him in the agency, come ooooon, he's so kitten, and dazai would love to pester him

-shuuut uuuup, dazai used ango to send a "bet you're nervous, atsushi-kun? deep breaths, boy, deep breaths!" message to atsushi? SHUT UP THAT'S ADORABLE

-awww, this conversation calmed atsushi down and reminded him of the good old days at the office :""")))

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

02/18/2024 – 02/24/2024

Sunday

Week 2 of missing Cipher Academy. Yes I’m going to do this for at least a year.

Girl Meets Rock is fine.

Undead Unluck is pretty good, it’ll be interesting to see how the group gets out of this one. Loved the parallel between the Gods searching for the Greatest Life while Fuuko and Andy search for the Greatest Death.

Oshi no Ko is fairly intense, but I appreciate the creators still including comedic moments; I guess they don’t want the story to get too harrowing. But Hikaru and his relationship with Ai is really fascinating, as the two of them bond over being perpetual actors/liars in order to hide their pain.

Dandadan fine. At least Momo and Zuma have a fun dynamic.

I guess Chainsaw Man’s been demoted to Manga Sundays rather than Tuesdays when it comes out, as I don’t really get spoilers for it anymore. It does feel a bit hard to see where Part 2 is going after Part 1 was just strength after strength, but I’ll still keep the faith.

One Piece good. As always, I feel like I don’t know enough to be able to say much about it.

Finally watched the second Kizumonogatari movie, Nekketsu. I loved the distinct Monogatari atmosphere, the action scenes were beautiful and fluid and odd, and lowkey this movie series has me kind of shipping Araragi and Hanekawa… I know Senjougahara’s his true love and all, but the vibe of two people sharing a unique experience is unmatched. Also that wheat field where they talked was absolutely gorgeous and extremely up my alley.

A new chapter of Yuria-sensei! It’s fun that she and Riku once shared a hobby, and it hammers home just how much Goro had a type lol

I’ve fallen off of reading non-Shounen Jump manga extremely hard, and I can’t pretend that some part of that isn’t because of this Week in Review thing lol It’s just a bit boring when I read a single chapter and have no thoughts on it but I have to log it here anyway, so I’ve been putting off reading a lot of series I follow. But also, it’s true that I feel like when I binge-read a manga, get caught up, and then have to survive off infrequent releases, everything I read just gets deleted from my memory and I spend the next few months confused with every new chapter – I want to strive to wait until a manga’s finished before reading it now, unless it’s something I know I would really like.

With that out of the way, Shiroyama to Mita-san ended recently, so it’s time for me to catch back up with this endearingly strange couple. As a whole, it’s fairly one-note, with the same dry sense of humor throughout all of its gags, but the premise itself is engaging enough on its own and there’s moments of sincerity scattered throughout that keep it a fun read.

Monday

Ah

Tuesday

Oh no

Wednesday

Okay I had some errands to run today and then I just passed out

Thursday

Okay!!! This week was a bit of a crapshoot but I’ll never miss DunMesh Thursdays. Today’s meal was (instant) ramen, and I wish I had some shrimp or fish tofu to put in it, but we used all of those for the fried rice the other day (and I don’t like eggs in ramen…I don’t like how it makes the broth all gloopy). We get a cute flashback scene to the origin of Falin and Marcille’s friendship, and a further examination of the themes of the show – that being the delicate balance that all ecosystems must maintain in order to thrive, and the folly of humans who try to enact their own visions on it without understanding its structure or how they themselves fit into it. The fight afterwards was also fun and dynamic, with a cute gag to end off the episode.

Also read the latest chapter of Takatora-kun, but there’s not much for me to say about it. I’m interested in this new adult character who looks just like Takatora but with glasses, but I’m more curious about the pharmaceutical advancements that he seems to hint at.

Friday

Busy again today…couldn’t even watch Drag Race before passing out in bed lol

Saturday

Alright, it’s Drag Race time, but I’ve been kind of dreading it since I heard that Nymphia doesn’t do well and Snatch Game is such an all-or-nothing sort of challenge to watch anyway (in the sense that on the rare occasions where there’s a genuinely stand-out performance, it’s a blast to watch, but usually it’s middling at best and absolutely agonizing). The reading challenge at the top of the episode didn’t bolster my confidence too much, and I had to skip the Snatch Game entirely because the second-hand embarrassment made me want to die. Once again, I don’t give a shit about Plane Jane’s storyline this season, but they’re definitely pushing her as a frontrunner and finalist so we’re going to have to contend with her for a while yet. (Currently, my prediction is that the final four will be Nymphia, Sapphira, Plasma, and Plane Jane.) The runway was super cute, though – I loved how everyone had a different approach, and the theme lent itself to interesting runway walks and a lot of fun interactions with the judges. Sapphira and Nymphia were the highlights for me, but it was fun seeing Plasma weaponize her BFA again. I’ve never been happier to see the judges’ favouritism allowing Nymphia to be safe, and I think it lent itself to a bittersweet and meaningful lip sync. Xunami and Morphine dancing together and singing to each other really embodied the song and heightened the emotions.

Undead Unluck…I’ve been nervously anticipating this arc because I love Anno Un, and I’m happy to report that his voice actor does not disappoint. Yumi Uchiyama really handily plays off both his cuteness and his coolness, and sets him apart as the enigmatic character that he is. The cold open had some great animation, with Sean’s bloodied silhouette and eye being a particular highlight. I hope this is a sign of better animation to come when the Autumn fight actually starts in earnest, and that this will be the last episode where they have to cut corners as the cour reaches its end. But before that, CANADA MENTION!!!!!!!!! This absolutely blew my mind when I first read it, and it’s so special to see it in animation – I love that they got the seawall and the weird seahorse head looking shape of the peninsula, and the poutine was so cute. I love how Anno unsettles Andy and Fuuko, and his G-Liner ability is cool to see animated…but of course, the elephant in the room is the CG again. And once again, I can’t really fault them, and they did hand draw the spiders when they got executed by the guillotine, but I wish they could’ve done something more to integrate the models into the look of the show better. But again, I have my fingers crossed that the finale run will be more stable. The main Autumn UMA is done well so far, with that light bit of body horror with the poor guy’s head and the mechanical movements of Autumn’s eyes. And then Anno and Juiz’s conversation had a fun terseness to it, as two characters who know more about the world than most other characters but with opposing philosophies and approaches. I wish they didn’t have that long flashback scene in the middle of the episode, because the episode could’ve ended with Fuuko diving into Andy’s past and been stronger for it, I think. But regardless, I’m once again nervously anticipating the next Undead Unluck episode.

[hirako5hinji]

was watching mieruko-chan last night and telling @viciousvizard​ why I like the protagonist i.e. she’s just a normal 16 y.o. highschooler who had an ability thrust upon her against her will, and she’s constantly terrified of the monsters she sees on the daily and only wants to live a normal life and that’s relatable? any normal teenager will feel that way, tbh. any normal human being would feel and react that way tbh, when thrust into a helplessly horrifying situation.

...aannnnd then there’s our bleach protag: 

[okaywa]

*Kiss Me Sweetly

Tendou x f!reader 

Angst with a happy ending, excessive fluff, friends to lovers, smut, dry humping 

4.4k words

The demon of Shiratorizawa had crimson hair and eyes to match. He was tall, composed of long limbs and sharp angles. His eyes were perpetually half-lidded and droopy with dark bags. He had a crooked smile made up of pointed teeth and a silver tongue that frequently got him in trouble with the school staff and students alike. 

He wasn’t actually a demon, a nickname branded to him by cruel children in elementary school. He wasn’t a monster either, despite popular belief. Although he had learned to embraced his title as the Guess Monster, even learned to love the respect that came with it from his opponents. In the end, however, Tendou Satori was just tired. Tired of the people at this school, tired of the nicknames that stalked him though the halls, and tired of you.

You, who never stooped to your peers level with half-brained insults and nicknames. You, who had smiled and said hello every time you saw him since elementary. You, who encouraged him to pursue volleyball, the only thing he felt powerful doing. You, who sat through his seemingly endless chatter with an interested smile. You, you, you and your kind smiles, soft words, and gentle curves. 

It wasn’t until high school that you started sitting with him at lunch. Eventually lunch transitioned into getting coffee every Monday after school. Then the coffee hangouts progressed to going to your house and reading the latest manga he was interested in every Friday. 

Each moment with you was a breath held in anticipation for the other shoe to finally drop. When were you just going to get it all over with and stop acting like you cared about him? Enough of the pity, please. No more shared lunches. Stop giving him your notes when he fell asleep in class. He was exhausted for you. 

Sometimes he let himself believe you. That you actually cared for him and enjoyed being around him. He convinced himself that your laughter was genuine when he teased you and made sardonic jokes about the world. He could go months relishing in your friendship before remembering it wasn’t real. 

Being around him certainly didn’t benefit you. He had heard plenty of the rumors and he know you did as well. 

I heard that he’s so controlling she’s too scared to actually leave him. 

We aren’t even together, he thought viciously.

Well, I heard that she only puts up with him because she feels bad. Seriously, who actually wants to hang around that freak . 

He wanted to scream that he knew. He knew you pitied him. He wanted you to leave but you never got the goddamn hint. You stuck by his side all through high school and now it was the last day and you were still here. Sitting next to him, sharing his earbuds. You could’ve walked home ages ago, but you were adamant about waiting at the train station until he got picked up.

“You can stop now,” he said, setting you free. 

“Hm?” You looked up from your phone. “Oh, do you want to play your music?”

“No, you can leave,” he snapped. “No one is looking at you anymore; no one cares. You don’t have to be here with me.”

“Tendu-chan, I don’t understand,” your pretty lips were turned down in a frown. 

“I don’t need you,” he lied. “You don’t have to be here to make me feel better. It’s over, we move on now and we forget about it.” 

“What are you talking about?” Your voice was soft, confused. 

“I don’t need your pity,” he said, finally getting the words off his chest after all these years. “I know you only stuck around because you felt bad for me. But I don’t need it anymore, high school is over. I don’t need you to hang out with me because you feel bad.”

His eyes were closed, and he relished in the peace of finally, finally spitting it out. 

“Is that what you think?” 

His eyes snapped open. You were angry? You should be happy. Happy you finally have an excuse to get away. A clear exit.

“Fuck you, Tendou,” you stood up, throwing his headphones at his chest. “That’s what you really think of me? That I just pity you? You think I’m so shallow that I hung around you to make myself feel better? Is that what you think?”

You stopped, sucking in a steadying breath while he stared up at you in shock. Yes, that’s exactly what he had thought. 

“I-” 

“No,” you cut him off swiftly. “You’ve said enough. I’m leaving. You can talk to me when you get your head out of your ass.” 

Tendou watched you walk away until you disappeared around a corner. He had been wrong? But he almost always guessed right… right?

Had he really been so consumed by his self-loathing that he had misread the intentions of the one person who cared the most for him? 

“Oh,” he let his head fall back against the bench and stared at the bright sky until his eyes watered. 

Not many had witnessed it, but the demon of Shiratorizawa was indeed just a person. A person with emotions, as disguised as they may be. He hid behind this personality he’d crafted. The carefree, loud, perpetually cheerful demeanor that protected him from his peers and their wicked words. It had never protected him from you though. You saw through it as if it were glass, just a window to his misery. 

“Oh,” he said again, standing up slowly. “I see now.” 

He boarded the train and rested his forehead against the window, watching dark storm clouds creep over the city with the silence of a cat stalking its prey. 

How fitting, for it to rain, he thought as the first drops splattered against the window. 

—-

After three sharp knocks on your door, Tendou stepped back and held his peace offering close to his chest. He knew you were home because your rust bucket of a Toyota was parked in the driveway. His fingers tapped the plastic bag impatiently and it was nearly impossible to ignore the way his heart jumped when the door cracked open slowly.

“Ah, I see you’ve managed to pull your head free. Was it difficult?” You asked flatly, leaning against the doorframe with your arms crossed.

“Immensely, took Wakatoshi three bottles of lube,” he said earnestly. 

You cracked a small smile, eyes flitting to the plastic bag in his arms. You raised an eyebrow as a silent question. 

“Can I come in?” He asked. “It’s awfully cold out here, you don’t want me to catch a cold now, eh Y/n-chan?”

“Maybe I do,” you said, stepping aside to let him in. 

“How cruel of you!” Tendou gasped, pressing a hand to his chest in feigned offense. 

He stepped into your entrance way and you were quickly reminded just how tall he was. His lankiness only made him look taller as he loomed over you, eyebrows drawn together in determination. You stared back, suddenly nervous in the presence of your friend.

“I’m sorry for misjudging you,” he said, intense red eyes still locked on yours. “It was wrong and unfair of me to make such harsh assumptions.” 

You weren’t used to him being this serious. He was always intense but the two combined were overwhelming. 

“Let’s sit down and eat whatever you’ve brought,” you said, stepping around him to walk to the kitchen. “Then we can talk, yeah?”

He followed so close he accidentally kicked your heels a few times and you could still feel the heat of his gaze on the back of your neck. He set the bag on the table and unpacked the to-go containers. 

“It’s from that place you really like,” he said. “By the school.”

“Oh, thank you, Tendou.” You accepted the chopsticks he held out. 

Tendou gasped dramatically. “Such formalities, Y/n-chan!”

“Tendu-chan, then,” you corrected yourself.

“Much better,” he said praisingly.

He sat down across from you, eating only a few pieces of chicken before setting his utensils aside. He didn’t say anything, even as you ate your fill. It was clear he was antsy, fingers tapping a staccato beat against the table. 

When you finally slid your plate to the side he scooted forward, resting his face in his palms expectantly. 

“I forgive you,” you said simply. 

Tendou’s signature manic grin took over his entire face and his long fingers tapped a rapid beat on the table in his excitement. Oh, how he had missed you during the two weeks he spent giving you space. He had never realized how much he enjoyed your presence until it abruptly disappeared. Tendou’d also had a few other revelations during the separation.

He said your name softly, so at odds with his typically loud demeanor. He was his most authentic self in your presence, he had come to realize. You looked up from packing up the remaining food and tilted your head. 

“We are still friends, right?” He asked with a tinge of nervousness. 

“Were we ever?” You countered, not angrily. 

“Yes,” Tendou answered quickly, reaching out to grab your hand. “Of course, it was my mistake to ever think otherwise.”

You looked down at his hand on yours and ran a finger over the wrappings he kept on his two fingers. He watched you keenly, fingers twitching at your delicate touch. 

“My, my,” he said with a sly grin. “What is little Y/n thinking about?”

You shot him a bland look, dropping his hand pointedly. “You’re disgusting.”

Just like that any tension between the two of you vanished with his boisterous laugh. He wiggled his wrapped fingers in your face enticingly until you smacked them away.

“I brought the latest chapter Shonen Jump,” he said animatedly, reaching into his bag. “I thought we could read it together.” 

It was a Friday, after all.

“Sure, let me put this food up,” you said. 

Tendou grinned eagerly, bouncing to his feet while you brought the food to the fridge; already talking a mile a minute about a different manga he had just finished. You couldn’t stop the smile that worked its way onto your face, you loved his aimless rambling. Where you more reserved, Tendou was outgoing and could fill any gaps in the conversation you left behind. It worked well for the two of you. 

While watching Tendou chatter away you wondered if you had been too harsh at the train station. Clearly there was an underlying insecurity that convinced him you didn’t care about him. Was it his history of bullying? Before you had really gotten to know Tendou, it was hard to imagine him as anything but carefree and untouchable. You knew he would tell you eventually. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow. Over the past few years you had found the best way to get Tendou to open up was to say nothing at all, his rambling always ended up on touchy topics anyways.

Tendou held out an earbud for you once you sat down on the couch beside him. You placed it in your ear and smiled when you recognized the playlist the two of you had put together. The only time Tendou could stay quiet longer than five minutes was when he was reading. You settled into the familiar routine, sitting close to him while he angled the pages towards you so you could both read. Tendou was such a fast reader you were forced to learn to speed read as well in order to keep up with him. Now, you were perfectly synchronized.

 Today, however, he couldn’t stop glancing over at you. Ugh, he suddenly so acutely aware of everything you did. Every time you shifted to see a panel or readjusted the earbud he felt his heart pickup and he was too aware of every movement he made. His limbs felt too long and awkward, his face felt too warm, and oh my god did he brush his teeth this morning? 

Tendou swallowed nervously, for once relieved for the chapter to finally end so he could put some space between your bodies. He stood up abruptly, wincing when the earbud was ripped out of his ear. 

“Ow,” you held your ear. “Is something wrong, Tendu-chan?”

“Of course not, dearest Y/N,” he put on his widest grin, bowing down and extending his hand. Fuck, your nickname for him was not helping his nerves. “I was just wondering if you would like to accompany me to the bathroom.”

“Ew, what is wrong with you?” You smacked his hand away. 

“Well, you did ask,” he chirped cheerfully before prancing down the hall. 

You sighed, replacing the earbud while settling into a more comfortable position. After several minutes you realized Tendou had yet to return. Frowning, you stood up and went to the bathroom to find the door still closed. 

“Tendu-chan?” You knocked softly. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, Y/N,” Tendou popped his head out from your bedroom. “I was looking at your photo wall.”

You raised your eyebrows, following him inside. “Yeah? I have quite a few.”

It had been a hobby of yours to have at least three pictures of each of yours friends on your wall since elementary school. Since you started hanging out with Tendou at the beginning of high school, his section had amassed a great deal of photos. 

“I forget you’ve never been in here,” you smiled, watching Tendou closely.

You had never seen such an open expression on his face before. His eyes flicked over the photos of him taped to your wall quickly, as if he couldn’t decide which to focus on. 

“I didn’t realize,” he said softly.

“Hm?”

He tilted his head back, sliding his eyes to look at you. “I didn’t realize I still had a safe place, a paradise.” 

“You’ll always be welcome here, Satori,” you reached out and squeezed his bicep. “I promise.” 

“I feel so blind, Y/N,” he closed his eyes, head still tipped back as he took in a slow, study breath. “I thought I had lost everything when volleyball ended. My friends, my passion…” 

Crimson eyes locked on your own, the intensity of them so startling you sucked in a sharp breath. 

“But I still have you,” Tendou said, slowly turning his body to face yours. “Right?”

“Of course,” you answered.

“Good,” he nodded. “Good.” 

His head turned back towards your wall of photos, fingers reaching out to snag at the bottom of one. You looked closer and saw it was a picture of the two of you at one of his games. You had jumped onto his back to hug him and your friend had barely managed to get the shot. The blurry grins on your faces were bright and excited.

“Can I?” He asked, tugging lightly on the corner. 

“Take it, I can print a new one.” You said. 

He peeled it off carefully and flashed a grin at you. 

“Thank you,” he reached out, placing his hand on the top of your head, ruffling your hair messily. 

You knocked his hand away and brushed your hair back into place with a huff. Tendou laughed loudly, sprawling backwards onto your bed with a thump. He looked at the picture once more before sliding it into his pocket. He folded his hands behind his head and looked up at you with his signature sleepy smirk. 

“Make yourself comfortable, I guess,” you said. 

“Aw, you’re so considerate,” Tendou crooned, stretching his arms out until his shirt road up to reveal his toned stomach. 

You glanced down at the exposed skin and blushed, looking away quickly. Tendou noticed, of course, and couldn’t stop the mischievous smirk on his face as he reached out and grabbed your hand. 

“Tendou-“

“Oh, hush,” he chastised lightly. “I’m just getting you to sit. This is your bed, after all.”

You sat down on the edge, watching as he pulled your hand to his chest. He examined your fingers faintly before weaving his fingers with yours. When your fingers spasmed nervously he gripped them tighter. 

“I had a lot of time to think,” he sighed, eyes still fixated on your joined hands, before elaborating. “While we were apart.”

You stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue with bated breath. 

“I like you, Y/N,” his eyes seemed to bore straight into your soul. 

“Tendu-chan-“ You started to pull your fingers away.

One second you were sitting at the edge of the bed and the next you were pinned beneath Tendou’s body. His breath tickled your lips and his hands kept your arms above your head by the wrists. 

“Please, let me say this,” he pleaded, eyes switching between yours and your lips. 

“You made high school bearable for me,” he said, pushing up until he was knelt between your legs instead of having you pinned. His hands rested on either side of your ribs. “I didn’t appreciate you enough at the time but-“

His fingers clenched in the sheets. “I do now, I appreciate you so much. Everyone else thought I was a monster, demon, whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore but when it did you were the only one who made it all easier. Does that make sense?”

“What about Ushijima? Your teammates?”

Tendou chuckled, letting his head droop between his shoulders. “Of course them, silly Y/N. They didn’t really have a choice, hm? I was on the team, you don’t really get to pick who’s there. You went out of your way to befriend me, to make sure I was okay before you even knew me.” 

You looked up at him, ignoring his little sniffle and the way he rubbed his nose against his sleeve subtly. You sat up slowly while Tendou watched you closely with his head tilted. 

“You’re my best friend, you know that right?” You asked softly. 

He nodded. 

“You will always be welcome in my home and I promise I will always want you around. You’re right, whatever those people used to say about you doesn’t matter. They were needlessly cruel and I wish I could’ve stopped them from hurting you,” you reached up, cupping his cheek gently. “You’re important, Tendu-chan. You’re caring, funny, and genuine. I love hearing about your favorite anime and your coolest blocks. I really do.” 

“Ohhh, is little Y/N crying for me?” He cooed, using his sleeve to wipe away the tears gathering on your lashes. “Sweet thing.” 

“I’m serious,” you said, letting him wipe your cheeks. 

“I know,” he squinted at you. “Will you let me try something?”

From the way his crimson eyes kept flickering down to your lips, you could easily guess what he wanted to try. You nodded mutely, breath catching excitedly as his face drew closer. 

The first touch of his lips felt like a static shock. Your eyes fluttered close as he pushed a little closer, experimentally moving his lips against yours. He let out a low groan into your mouth, pushing forward until you were laying down again. The hands that had been by your sides now moved to tangle in your hair and cup your face while his hips settled comfortably between your thighs. 

The first brush of his tongue across your bottom lip sent fire licking up your spine which eventually settled as a fluttering warmth in your stomach. Your hands came up to grab his arms, nails leaving shallow crescents on the pale skin of his biceps through his shirt. Parting with a nip to your bottom lip, Tendou licked his lips as he looked down at you. 

The sight of your flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips sent a thrill of exhilaration through his chest. 

“Well?” He asked, a cocky grin smeared across his lips. 

It was like you were seeing Tendou in a brand new light. Before he was just your friend. You always knew he was good-looking but now, you were supremely aware of his shapely lips, cut jaw, and broad shoulders. His hips between yours was as intoxicating as the elated look on his face. 

“Stop looking so smug,” you huffed, pulling him down to your lips again. 

Laughing softly, Tendou happily obliged you in another sensuous kiss that left you dizzy and breathless. He swallowed your gasp when he experimentally rolled his hips into yours.

He pulled back, eyes lidded with a dazed smile, and tilted his head. “Is that okay?”

You nodded eagerly, leaning up to capture him in another kiss. With a sly smirk he pulled out of your reach, head tilted expectantly. 

“Yes, Tendou, now please get back to it,” you snapped, secretly appreciative of his need for clear consent. 

“There we go,” he murmured, stooping back down with a thorough roll of his hips. 

A groan was shared between both of your open mouths as his hips fell into a steady rhythm, slowly undulating against you. Sighing out his name, you let your head fall back while Tendou trailed kisses across your jaw and down to your throat. 

“Fuck, Y/N, you’re so perfect,” he murmured breathlessly, leaving wet, open-mouth kisses down the column of your throat. “Feel so good, hah-“

 His clothed erection lined up perfectly with your core, sending searing electricity flickering through your stomach. Your hands went from gripping his arms to tangling in his hair, tugging lightly at the crimson strands. 

“Haah-ah,” you moaned at a particularly accurate thrust that had his entire length dragging along your clit. “Satori, please.” 

“Oh, fuck,” Tendou sighed into your ear, pushing aside your hair so he could hide his face in the warmth of your neck. “You’re so hot, gonna make me cum in my pants. Keep making those pretty noises for me, sweet thing.”

You nodded along eagerly, pulling his head away from your neck so your could attach your lips again. Steady thrusts began to lose their rhythm as both of you got closer to completion. Tendou let out a throaty groan, wrapping his lean arms around you tightly so he could rub his hard-on against your core with more force. 

“Satori, ah!” You cried out at the stimulation. 

He clashed his mouth against yours messily, teeth clicking while he gasped against your lips. 

“M’ close,” he clenched his eyes shut. 

“Me too, me too,” you whined, hips writhing up against his desperately. “Satori!” Tendou practically growled at that, mouth claiming yours assertively. You shouted his name again while your orgasm wracked through your body, leaving you sensitive and tingly as Tendou chased his own release. He came with a low moan into your mouth, hips rolling gently through the aftershocks. 

When he finally slowed to a stop he went completely slack on top you. Tendou mouthed gently at your neck, fingers petting your hair as you both caught your breath. You released his hair and unclenched your stiff fingers a few times before wrapping your arms around his shoulders. 

Curious hands slowly pushed beneath your shirt, tenderly exploring your body while Tendou continued to leave lazy, open-mouthed kisses on your neck. His handsiness didn’t bother you since you were also busy tracing the muscles of his back. 

You whined when he landed another quick kiss before pushing off of you. 

“I gotta clean up,” he said, darting down to kiss you again. 

That reminded you of the uncomfortable dampness in your own pants so you got up as well. You found a pair of sweatpants that he could fit into from your brother and set them by the bathroom door for him. By the time you came back from changing he was already lounging in your bed again, your brother’s sweatpants an inch or two too short  above his ankles. 

Tendou’s expression brightened when you walked in, his eyes wide to match his grin as you climbed in to lay next to him. He was quick to wrap his arms around you again. 

“Well?” He asked. 

“Hmm?” You responded, face pressed against his shoulder. 

“What are we now?” He leaned back so he could see your face. 

You stretched languidly, tossing a leg over his hips and an arm over his chest before responding. 

“What do you want this to be?” 

“I want you to be mine,” he answered honestly. 

“Then I’m yours,” you said simply, kissing the hinge of his jaw. 

“My girlfriend,” he said adoringly, twisting to his side so you were facing each other.

You laughed softly, letting him cup your cheeks so he could pull you into an unhurried kiss. His tongue pressed past your lips to sweep along your teeth and slide hotly against yours. 

“I’m pretty great at apologies, huh?” He boasted. 

“Oh, shut up,” you groaned, pushing him away by his forehead. 

Tendou let you shove his face away with a quiet giggle before brushing your hand away so he could attack your neck with more kisses. 

“You better not be leaving marks,” you threatened halfheartedly, too caught up in the addicting sensation of his lips on your body to be serious. 

Tendou eyed a particularly red spot, pressing a light kiss to it. “Of course not, baby.” 

“That didn’t sound too convincing.”

“Well… it might fade,” Tendou circled the spot with his finger. “I kinda like it.”

“Satori!”

“Whaaat?” He crooned. “It lets everyone know you’re mine.” 

“Ugh, you creep,” you murmured, accepting a soft kiss. 

Tendou giggled cheerfully, squeezing you closer to him affectionately. He left a flurry of kisses across your cheeks and nose, sighing happily. 

“I love this,” his hands roved over your body. “Getting to touch and kiss you as much as I want.” 

“Mm, me too.”

Tendou’s lean body was beautiful, so was his blush when you informed him of this. He groaned and hid his face in the crook your neck. 

“I’m serious!” You insisted, pulling his face from your neck so you could look at him.

“I know you are, thank you,” he mumbled, avoiding your eyes. 

“Aww, are you embarrassed?”

Tendou scoffed. “Tch, of course not. I’m a catch, a total babe.”

Laughing, you let him bite playfully at the hinge of your jaw for a moment before shoving him away so he couldn’t leave another mark. Tendou settled down and was happy to let you brush your fingers through his hair until it lost it’s shape and started to fall over his forehead. 

“Mmm, sleepy,” he sighed, practically purring as you massaged his scalp. 

“Go to sleep then.” 

He hummed, twisting his body until he was on his stomach with half of his body draped over yours. You smiled warmly, of course Tendou was a clingy sleeper. 

[lazysublimeengineer]

Bye Bye Baby

Summary: I want you bad but it's come down to nothing

And all I have is your sympathy

'Cause you took me home but you just couldn't keep me

Characters: Takemichi H. & Manjirou (Mikey) S.

It wasn't just like a movie

The rain didn't soak through my clothes, down to my skin

I'm driving away and I, I guess you could say

This is the last time I'll drive this way again

Lost in the gray and I try to grab at the fray

'Cause I, I still love you but I can't

The roar of the CB25OT rang against the road as he swerved ferociously into the right panel of the street. Nonetheless, the sounds were being swallowed by the heavy rainfall and the clap of the thunderclouds. His clothes were soaking wet and clung heavily into his skin. But Mikey didn’t care. All he cared right about now was to get rid of the heavy thoughts around him ever since Takemichi left and went back to the future. He wanted to stop Takemichi from leaving that day. But the words got stuck into his throat. He didn’t have any right to stop him. Takemichi needed to go back to the life where he belonged to. And it wasn’t in his arms and in this past.

Bye, bye, to everything I thought was on my side

Bye, bye, baby

I want you bad but it's come down to nothing

And all I have is your sympathy

'Cause you took me home but you just couldn't keep me

Bye, bye, baby

Bye, bye, baby

Takemichi always possessed a heart bigger than himself or any of them really. His honesty and sincerity towards them were pure as a snow. His promises to save all of them from their tragic fate was a beaming hope for their bleak and gray futures. It was one of Takemichi’s biggest strengths yet also one of his glaring weaknesses. Mikey could’ve take advantage of it. He could’ve stitch up lies about an impending danger to the gang or to anyone else just to make him stay. But all he could say to him was, “Go back to the future, Takemitchy. Go back to that future where Hina is waiting for you!”

Because Mikey can’t make him stay here if Takemichi’s heart doesn’t belong here and all he can give him was his sympathy.

He’s not cruel like that.

The picture frame is empty

On the dresser, vacant just like me

I see your writing on the dash

Then back to your hesitation

I was so sure of everything

Everything I thought we'd always have

Guess I never doubted it

Then the here and the now floods in

Feels like I'm becoming a part of your past

Takemichi stared at the picture where he stood beside Mikey and the other members of Toman. It felt like a long time ago yet it doesn’t. A month, a year, a few weeks or even a few days…where it all seemed like a minute or second had passed when he came back to the future. To the current present. Where he actually belongs.

But why does it felt like his heart was empty? A vacuum of nothingness?

He should be satisfied right?

But why he couldn’t shake off this feeling of emptiness?

The smiling face of Mikey before he returned to the future made his heart soar previously.

But now it also brought his heart down shattering into a tiny, million pieces.

How ironic.

Bye, bye, to everything I thought was on my side

Bye, bye, baby

I want you bad but it's come down to nothing

And all I have is your sympathy

'Cause you took me home but you just couldn't keep me

Bye, bye, baby

There's so much that I can't touch

You're all I want but it's not enough this time

And all the pages are just slipping through my hands

And I'm so scared of how this ends

They still meet up through a quaint café or in a nearby bar downtown to catch up. Mikey has been laughing and exchanging crude, childish jokes with them until Draken became annoyed at him as usual and they were beating up each other’s asses once again.

It felt normal. Yet it wasn’t.

There’s a lingering emptiness there that he could feel but avoided thinking about it further. Or even bringing that up.

Takemichi’s absence would seeped quietly into his veins when he was finally alone with his own thoughts and emotions.

Mikey stared at the ceiling numbly. A devastating ache started to fester inside his heart.

But he has to grin and bear it right?

Since he can’t drag people down with him.

And he already promised to Takemichi before they parted ways that he’ll protect everyone’s futures as well.

So, he’ll fulfill his promise no matter what it costs.

Bye, bye, to everything I thought was on my side

Bye, bye, baby

I want you bad but it's come down to nothing

And all I have is your sympathy

'Cause you took me home but you just couldn't keep me

Bye, bye, to everything I thought was on my side

Bye, bye, baby

I want you bad but it's come down to nothing

And all I have is your sympathy

'Cause you took me home but you just couldn't keep me

Oh, you took me home, I thought you were gonna keep me

Bye, bye, baby

Bye, bye, baby

Draken told Takemichi that Mikey was managing a restaurant overseas so that’s why he couldn’t attend Pah-Chin’s wedding.

Relief and disappointment flooded Takemichi’s veins at the news.

He should be relieved right? Everyone’s doing fine. And Mikey was having a great future as well. So why does it feel like there’s a pang in his chest from the moment he didn’t saw Mikey at the reception hall previously?

Takemichi couldn’t hold on too long for that niggling thought as Hina has called him from afar, letting him know that there’s already a cab waiting for them outside the hall to get into.

Maybe he should let it go…

And focus on his impending wedding soon…

Since he promised Hina back in the past…

And say goodbye to these ideas and thoughts of wanting to see Mikey soon just to ease his anxieties and doubt…

But his heart told him otherwise.

Meanwhile in an obscure bar hidden in one of the alleys in Tokyo…

“You sure you don’t want to gatecrash and invite yourself boss to their wedding?” Sanzu asked idly as he sat down in a barstool holding a glass of whiskey into one of his hands.

Mikey continued to read silently about the latest reports on his former friends and comrades. Even though he already cut off his ties with them, he made sure that he was carefully keeping tabs on them and ensuring that their futures were secured and normal.

All except for one.

Takemichi and Hina’s impending wedding.

A blank expression was still on his face yet his hand automatically tightened its grip on the paper.

It’s the best future isn’t it?

So why did the news made his heart break down into tiny pieces?

“It’s not my style to gatecrash a wedding where I’m not invited in the first place. Besides, events like these are a waste of my time and utterly boring.” Mikey replied in a monotone voice.

As he said those words, he knew that he already said goodbye to his feelings about the blue-eyed crybaby hero that tried to save all of them in the past.

This was for the best even if his heart disagreed with it vehemently.

(A/N: I don’t own any of these characters from this franchise nor Taylor Swift’s Bye Bye Baby song. While waiting for chapter 213 of the manga to come out soon, have some Takemikey angst for your daily suffering needs. Currently listening to the Fearless Taylor Swift’s version of the album and Bye Bye Baby is just screaming of pain and angst hence the inspiration behind this one shot angsty fic. Reviews are amusing. So, let me hear them from you.)

[the-nysh]

many readers (eastern and western) have mix feeling about latest chapter of opm, including your fav meta writer @/diolovewry who maybe not gonna read opm after this because too dissatisfied about Garou's character development, i wonder about yours? what you think about this chapter and Garou's character in this chapter? Sorry for bad english

Oh dang there's a lot for me to catch up on that I haven't seen yet. And yes, I value their opinion as they're a very dedicated Garou fan (as an artist, cosplayer, merch collector, and meta writer for years) who closely reads the story, both the wc & manga, from his perspective (not the heroes') in a fresh way from deeply empathizing with his feelings with enough passionate maternal love to adopt him as a fellow parent themselves~ So yes I can relate to that!

ANYWAY, from what I'm seeing....they've been really faithful to the wc and are expressing much confusion over trying to rationalize his manga self's apparent sudden 'switch' of acceptance to seemingly 'give up' the monster side (referring to when he expresses wanting to competitively fight the heroes again to awaken the martial arts 'secrets' he lost "without monsterizing this time") and for receiving the blessings support from the 'endorsers' (the hero side) whose behavior he's always hated and suffered from. Like so:

What can't be forgiven is that he's trying to take advantage of the hero side he hated until now without giving him atonement or time to fix his feelings. And it doesn't make sense for Garou to accept this situation.

Because Garou had always been someone in the middle (not like actual monsters or the current heroes), so in their opinion, it doesn't make sense or feel right for him to 'turn over' or flip to their side, as it feels too soon for him to become a hero (like them), and seemingly cheap/superficial (with respect to his longtime feelings, mental strength, and his conviction to never waver or change from becoming someone who saves the weak in his own way) to consider this a 'happy' ending for him, if the message is to 'hail' the heroes' flawed way of doing things while seemingly dismissing his side. As they say:

Garou used to say "I'm just being killed by the will of the majority" In the end, Garou was killed by the will of the majority, who said, "Justice is right. Heroes are wonderful."

(Where his feelings/mindset are always destined to 'lose' as his old self always feared. So they find that message depressing if Garou - and all that he’s stood for - has so quickly and seemingly ‘accepted’ the situation by conforming to their ways in the end anyway.)

So whew! That's a LOT of feelings that I can understand the origin & confusion for, but honestly this chapter did not tell me that the core of his mindset or personality had been broken or 'killed', or that he'd fully flipped sides to 'accept' the ways of the current hero system. Cause we saw in his speech at the beginning how unsatisfied he still was with the 'fake peace' the heroes had created if it breeds complacency and unaddressed 'evil' to spread in people. So when he said “I knew in my heart what I had to do” (to eliminate evil in people’s hearts and create the true peace + fair justice he wants that’s different from what the current heroes do) - then THAT's still important to him! And it's still a valid goal he can work towards in his own way! (His current situation doesn’t eliminate that.) But if he wants to create real radical change that's different from how the current heroes are doing it, and if he subconsciously knows from his future self the way it won't work, then he has other options/directions available to him from which he can approach that goal differently. And importantly not bearing it all alone on his shoulders anymore either, if Bang is there to help and support him.

Also concerning Garou 'becoming a hero' - while Bang may have set things up for him to eventually become his successor by introducing him as a new 'rookie' to the HA someday (we don’t know how soon)....do we know if Garou's actually aware of that? Or if it's something Bang (and Sitch) only arranged in secret? (Because they have faith in him to do well and provide his strengths for the world's sake. Aiming for the bigger picture.) Has Bang TALKED to Garou about those future plans for him?! That I don't know...or if Bang's only left it OPEN to discuss in the future...because we don't know what Garou thinks about that 'decision' yet. We don’t know if he’s even agreed. But potentially working towards radical change from inside the system (instead of crushing it from the outside)?? Now that's a different approach. One thing I know for sure, is that Garou is going to dislike the Neo Heroes (an actual evil front for the Organization) who'll oppose and try to dismantle/replace the HA if the manga will continue that route and.....yeah, I can see where manga Garou’s perspective & feelings can relevantly get involved again, but much closer to the action now. But he hasn't 'joined' anyone yet, and he's still got game to challenge the heroes and improve himself. :P

So the message I got from the ch, titled ‘what was gained,’ was something different (focusing more on the security to build a future from having the needed emotional support and family), with manga Garou gaining the actual support from a parental figure who's changed (Bang) to properly Be There for him now, and how Garou's not alone anymore or limited in options (as he left off with barely anything in the wc) for him to fully focus on working towards what’s important the core of his goal more constructively without other distractions - like how the dine & dash bill was already covered to free him up. Cause that part of his feelings didn't change for me. I can still see what he values and cares about most, and how he wants to be strong enough to create the true peace he's always wanted (for the weak like Tareo). So I don’t see him conforming to their (or anyone else’s) ways when he’s still got his own (new) methods to try with more tools/backing/support at his disposal. He doesn’t need to be ‘like them’ to succeed (he honestly still wants to fight & challenge them) if he already knows in his heart what he can still do, that's unlike the current heroes’ way of doing things.

(They also expressed confusion over him liking a hero from a sentai show instead of a villain - but you know...considering from where he's coming from, his genuine ideal for an actual kind hero being represented, and not another disappointing asshole one with 'fake' justice, is not off-base for him at all. :O)

Concerning his arc progression tho, this sentiment I agree with:

from the beginning to the middle of the Garou arc, the character Garou acted on his own will and stuck to his beliefs, but from the middle, the strings that manipulate Garou began to appear, and in the end, he became a complete marionette.

Because I hated the intrusion from ‘god’ manipulating him to go all the way. Literally violating and corrupting Garou’s mind against his will, trapping him in the cycle of cosmic injustice beyond his understanding or control as a literal victim to god’s agenda, who influenced him to commit the very atrocities his real self would never agree to do! Completely against his real self’s goals (to change humanity for the better) without him even realizing it if he passively made everyone die. And forcing him to learn what becoming True Absolute Evil actually entailed thru the trauma of actually killing the one person (Tareo) he’d always staked his life to protect...!! ;o; Holy shit, that was all so horrifically cruel for him to experience. (That canon literally redacted it.) I’d never wish that suffering on anyone. D: Stripping him of everything that makes him HIM was honestly a droppable offense to me, but THANKFULLY Garou’s real self came thru in the end (as I hoped and had faith he would) to be the hero who stepped up to fix the tragedy, mistakes, and everything he hated to save the world. Like ignore Saitama’s involvement for a sec; Garou made the ultimate sacrifice here, cause this was his arc to shine. And he deserved far better than to suffer and die at the hands of a cosmically unjust manipulator.

Using time travel to fix everything was ehhhhhh (another trope) and how the main characters involved forgot everything was gwaaaaaaa, and then ‘explaining’ how Garou’s ‘acceptance’ came from the influence of his future self was okaaay....

That honestly it felt there was a general ‘idea’ to get from point A to B to arrive at Garou’s ‘acceptance’....while the middle part to actually show and explain that became [uhhhhh] (it could genuinely benefit from more edits to make the clarity stronger and more cohesive, as even going back to collect panels for photosets - just wow it was really all over the place)

But if the argument is that (epilogue) Garou still became a complete marionette to abide by the ‘system’ he hated then......I’m not sure if that was the message. When his goal didn’t die, he still kept his feelings to work towards what he wants/values more directly, I didn’t see him accept or agree to ‘join’ any group yet, and he actually gains the emotional support (+new family in Bang) he didn’t have in the wc, to more healthily and openly arrive at his goals without tragically destroying himself. It’s.....also securing his future involvement in the plot without being as lone and aimless(?) as he could have been. (Manga Garou still has time to work things out, but now without a target on his back either.) And I know ONE can’t get rid of him that easily! He’s too important. Garou’s basically guaranteed to come back again in the manga vs his more uncertain path in the wc. And while I can understand if Garou fans maybe want to stop reading in the meantime (esp for the parts he won’t be here), still....the love invested to look forward to his future...even in a different way, still holds merit (that with Bang’s reconciliation it actually offered me much more wish fulfillment I never thought I’d get!) I didn’t find this ending as depressing as the wc’s at all; it offered a different peace of mind, and the interest to see what becomes of Garou now (and the plot) is still there for me. :’3       

[robinrequiems]

"Everyone keeps on trying to set us up but we are already secretly dating" clishe as jondami

I know its kinda late but I really love this trope xjkajkajkajka

OO NO. NEVER LATE.

• damian, at 17, has never dated anyone, never danced with anyone at a gala, probably never kissed anyone. his brothers had thought he was aromatic, which was okay!

• until they asked Damian about it:

Damian: ..where would you get that idea? i.. have romantic attractions.

• yeah his brothers were like: WOW! Oh my god! but they have seen how Damian disregards everyone, ignoring everyone and everything

• he only showed feelings to his family, friends, his animals, and jon. jons a separate category, they didn’t know if they were friends/partners/ or enemies sometimes

• but with the way damian smiled with Jon? and how jon hung out with damian? it was perfect!

• kon and kara have both watched as jon declined girls and boys, and basically everyone. he’s been asked out, jons a catch, he’s a sweetheart.. than why isn’t he dating anyone? jons dated people a few years back.. that weird middle school romance with Kathy, and that one week relationship when he was 14, but then everything stopped.

• like jon just no longer tried. they have seen jon laughing at his phone, but they don’t know why. it’s that stupid smile you get when you look at someone you love.

Kon: you aren’t worried about your sons love life?

Clark: ..do you want me to be worried about your love life?

Kon: I’m not— ( oh he thinks of me as his son )

• kon just dropped it, but kara smacked his head because of it.

• but anyways, the batfamily just wanted their little brother to at least go on one date! and the supers didn’t want jon to be alone, jon would be an amazing boyfriend, they knew that

Dick: look, Damian is.. restively calmer with Jon.

Tim: fair, but what if it ruins their friendship they have?

Stephanie: easy answer! we just don’t tell them it’s a date.

• meanwhile, here damian was, laying on jons chest and reading the latest chapter of a manga he just got

Jon: kon and aunt kara have been weird.

Damian: how so?

Jon: dunno, just like.. trying to investigate me. asking me what I like in a person.. it’s weird. it’s like when you tried asking me out

Damian: I didnt try to ask you out! I did!

flashback:

Damian: jonathan- if someone.. what do you.. tolerate in a person?

Jon: what

Damian: what do you like?

Jon: chocolate

Damian: in a person idiot!

Jon: hey don’t insult me): I like people who are.. headstrong, and uhh don’t let people knock them down, but also care for others

Damian: that’s so cliche, i like a cliche idiot who I have no chance with

Jon: what?

Damian: hm?

Jon: what did you say?

Damian: I called you cliche

Jon: okay..

current:

Jon: no you didn’t

Damian: yeah I did!

Jon: you told me you liked me and then pretended like I didn’t hear??

Damian: so

Jon: that wasn’t you asking me out

Damian: I didn’t even ask you out then!

flashback;

Damian: hello.

Jon: hi, you’ve been avoiding me

Damian, throwing a chocolate box at jons head: accept my chocolate

Jon, thankfully, his powers worked and he caught it: whats this for?

Damian: you.

Jon: okay, thanks

Damian, visibly panicking: date. you. me. please ?

Jon: huh-?

Damian: oh god I can’t do this, damnit!

Jon: Damian, breathe

Damian: I can’t, I can’t even ask you out properly!

Jon: oh.. oh.. Damian, Damian, hey, look at me. quit glaring- would you go out with me?

Damian: I was supposed to ask you):

Jon: it was a team effort

present:

Jon: you didn’t ask me out period

Damian: shut up

Jon: but they’re being weird

Damian: mine are too, they asked me if I was aromatic.

Jon: pfft, you’re the biggest romantic out there though!

Damian: i am not!

Jon: with me you are

Damian: no. shut up. but they’re being weird and trying to figure out what’s going on in my life. it’s gross

Jon: pfft

• they sorta just forgot about that. they really shouldn’t have since a month past and they are all celebrating damians birthday ( dunno his birthday, i get mixed results all the time )

• damian is awoken by dick who is forcing him into an outfit. he wanted to sleep all day. he’s uoset

Dick: hey birthday boy, happy 18th, you’re an adult now!

Damian: barely, all I can really do is legally move out.

Dick: hey, hey, don’t be a downer. cmon, everyone is here

Damian: everyone? please say you didn’t throw a party

Dick: I would be a liar then, sorry, lil d, but today’s a big day, okay? I know you hate parties, but you deserve one.

Damian: tt

• and low and behold, the only one down stairs is only jon kent.. damians so confused. and he’s holding flowers. and looking like he wants to sink into the floor. oh Jesus fuckingchrist

Damian: richard-??

Dick: surprise, I’m a liar. you two, are just going to go out for a nice lunch- have fun, if anything happens, call me.

Jon: hey, d…

Damian: um.

• dick just walks away, not before kissing damians head and wishing him another happy birthday.

• even though dick would actually like to spend the day with him, he also just wants to see if Damian and jon could work, but if it doesn’t, that’s okay. all he wants is his brother to be happy. dick does end up nearly having a breakdown in the bathroom though, his Robin had grown up so much, Damian was.. a petulant child when he first got there, and now? he’s a nearly functioning adult. he’s really proud of him okat?

• and dick is having: oh shit I’m old moments. but dicks so happy with the way damian freely smiled when he saw jon, even if he was confused. the Damian from even 5 years ago wouldn’t have done that. ( sorry dick and dami family stuff snuck in )

Damian: ..why the flowers?

Jon: dick gave them to me.. said to give them to you. they knew your favorites..

Damian: huh.. oh. oh no

Jon: huh?

Damian: this is a date

Jon: it is? oh no, I would’ve dress up more-

Damian: no, it was made by.. that. oh

Damian: they set us up

Jon: for what?

Damian: a date, idiot!

Jon: oh..

Damian: damnit.

• they hid their relatiosnsho because it was easier to go out in public, they didn’t want the superhero community to keep them apart during life threatening missions either. ( during life threatening missions, a lot of couples were split up since there would be a conflict of interest and it would cause many risks if someone was constantly worrying over their loved one, you know? granted, some couples are fine, but Damian knew bruce, he knew they would be separated. Bruce also knows damij would give his life for his loved ones. Heretic was an example of that, so he definitely would, Damian knows that he has a point, but he doesn’t want jon to be alone during life threatening stuff )

• and Damian didn’t want to deal with the fact his brothers might feel a little betrayed by the fact he hid for.. 3 years now. oh yeah, they started dating at 15. Damian.. loved his family, but sometimes? they were.. overwhelming. jon was just an escape sometimes, and he didn’t want his family to know that he escapes from his family

Jon: you know.. this wouldn’t happen if we just..

Damian: shut up.

• but dami & jon went out though, they went out for lunch and had a nice time.. minus the paparazzi Damian wanted to murder.

Damian: this is why I don’t want to make us public.

Jon: will we ever be public? it’s now or never, d, i don’t wanna hide us forever.

Damian:

Damian:okay. fuck it.

• and then they kiss. break the internet temporarily. and have to find a way to tell their family.

• thays. gonna be so fun.

[seoafin]

Following your advice I ended up catching up to the latest available chapter of VNC and i’m dying !!!! Murr best character of all times. Roland and Noé are my two big favs with Domi following close behind but everyone is so good, there’s no one I dislike. Mochijun’s power is atounishing,,,,, I love all the researches that have been done about French history and whatnot, it shows in the manga that they’re not going in with a subject they’re ignorant about. The Chasseurs being based on Knights of Charlemagne/Matter of France, I pray that Roland and Oliver won’t die like as in The song of Roland because of Ganelon/Gano ‘s betrayal but 😭 with Gano’s character introduction it is not looking good for them 😭😭

(Admittedly, I started reading Pandora Hearts because VNC was my first time reading Mochijun’s work. I was that swoon though I’m also curious if Mochijun is the type to kill off their characters HAHA)

The church absolutely sucks but Roland’s Christianity is so refreshing, I think VNC and Vinland-saga are the two rare stories in which it makes me take Christianity/Religion a bit more seriously. If you were ever to write that Roland fic please know I’ll be your most excited reader!! Esp given the lack of VNC x reader content (Tho of course don’t force yourself, only if you want to ect ect)

I think your interview is/was today so GOODLUCK I hope everything goes well for you!! Capitalism and work sucks but at least we can travel. Please have fun in Cuba/Italy whenever you get there (I think those were your current destination?) !!!

yes!!!! you caught up!!! mochijun is so good....i'd trust her with my life. i get upset when ppl talk about female mangakas and leave her out considering PH did extremely well in japan. all her characters are >>>> even the antagonists are vv compelling and even then there's never a outright villain bc mochijun likes to play with perspectives and unreliable narrators/narratives a lot and it's great to see that in vnc too!!

fortunately! mochijun isn't as trigger happy as some other mangakas (cough) but there's a reason why all her series are marked tragedy 😭i'm already preparing for some deaths that are definitely going to break my heart 😭😭

my interview was a couple of hours ago and it was a lot more professional than i was expecting (the store is union backed surprisingly) so thank you and everyone else for your good wishes :D

[goodlucksnez]

All//might & Ai//zawa snz fic

So after reading the latest manga chapter where all//might is standing in the rain for a long time I was like “ummm what if he got sick” so I wrote this

also poni really wanted to read this so i would have written more but its okay maybe another time

WARNING FUCKING ANGST BUT ALSO CUTE

Enjoy 2100 words of y//agi//ai//zawa

“Shouta I’m back.” The lanky former symbol of piece said as he entered the small apartment of the underground hero. As he looked around at the dimly lit interior, he could not help but shudder as the cool air chilled his wet clothes from the rainstorm, he just found himself in. Now that he was retired, he had many hours on his hands and he had spent that time doing all he could in the war against the villains.

This last journey, he found himself back to the site of the battle of his successor and class 1A intending to check on the anti-hero supporters who refused to evacuate. It was raining, and the blonde was slowly getting drenched. However, the cold and numbness that normally came with the rain didn’t seem to bother him anymore, as if all of the feeling had drained from his body and he was left a void. As he looked around at the broken buildings and cobblestone of the street laid before him where the previous battle was held, he couldn’t help but see his statue. He remembered that statue…his signature phrase “I am here” engraved on the bottom in granite stone. He remembered meeting with the sculptor and posing for what seemed like hours.

‘Such a long time ago’ he thought to himself.

The smile that was carved into the stone was so perfect, however as he looked at the wide grin, he felt like he was looking in a fun house mirror. The man he saw portrayed in this stone wasn’t him. He vowed to make the world a better place but now that he reached his end, he saw he failed. The world has turned out even more broken after his retirement and he was unable to protect the one student he promised he would. He felt that he’s gone further away than heroism than anyone else. As tears slowly started to cloud his vision he blinked and saw a cardboard sign held up by a thin piece of rope around the statues neck written on it in red spray paint was “I am not here”. As a shudder passed through his body he was brought back to the current reality. He stepped inside leaving a trail of waterlogged foot prints as he made his way to the kitchen. On the cool stonework countertops, he found a yellow sticky note as he began to read the note, scribbled in messy handwriting, he heard the familiar click of the lock as he turned to face the entryway. He saw the familiar black hair of his partner. As he watched Shouta shook out the umbrella that he had in his hand he spoke up.

“I was just about to read your note.”

The underground hero jumped at the sudden noise and as his piercing eyes fixated on the source of the sound he quickly relaxed when he saw the gentle smile of the former Pro. As he stepped inside and put his key in the bowl, it echoed in the quiet hallway. Shouta then motioned to the multiple bags he was holding.

“Don’t think we want to eat Ramen for the rest of our lives do we? Might be a good idea to get some real food.” he said as he continues to carry them into the kitchen and put them down on the counter.

As he put the bags down, he looked over at the wisp of the man standing before him. His diminished stature had taken a toll on his health. Tired eyes sat in sunken-in-sockets. His normally vibrant school bus yellow hair had turned to a grayish yellow mustard color and even though he would never admit it, he saw the clump of hair in the trashcan every morning. He was dying. It was an unspoken truth in their relationship but the underground hero would do anything to make sure he was happy and healthy in the final years of his life. He deserved that after all didn’t, he?

As he began emptying the bags onto the counter, he couldn’t help but notice the puddle of water that seem to be growing larger under the thin man, however Yagi continue to shiver and shake too preoccupied reading a can of tuna. As Shouta reached for the can, he met the eyes and said in a gravelly voice.

“You should change out of those clothes don’t want you catching a cold now do we?”

The former pro simply smiled although it was hard to fully sell it as he turned his head and coughed violently into his soaking arm sleeve. Immediately Shouta furrowed his brow and when he met the gaze of him again, he was quickly put in his place.

“Shouta how many times do I have to tell you, my health isn’t a concern of mine…it’s an undeniable fact, besides you don’t actually get sick from the rain.”

Shouta quickly interjected. “No but you could get hypothermia,” he began to plead “come on will you change out of those clothes…for me.”

As the older man sighed there was a clear rasp in his voice before he nodded quietly and turned to leave, his shoes squeaking on the tile floor as he left the kitchen.

After all the food was put away Shouta turned on the tea kettle to warm some water knowing full well that even with the warmest clothes Yagi could never be warm. As he walked slowly down the hall passing the bathroom and the study, he found himself at the door of their bedroom. He could hear fabric rustling but before he could enter another sound echoed throughout the house.

“hih'TSS-heh!”

A harsh sneeze echoed in the still apartment. ‘Even in his weakened state his sneeze is powerful’ Shouta thought to himself as he pushed on the door letting it slowly swing open. The image before him would startle anyone who knew All Might in his prime. The man had an oversized baggy red wool sweater in his hands. His silhouette illuminated by the ceiling light above seemed sickly and weak. The scar near his appendix which had a spider like web pattern that spread through his torso, as if venom was slowly poisoning his body was in full view. Yagi was bent at the waist and as he brought his other hand up to wipe that his nose Shouta could see small irritation tears had sprung to his eyes.

Shouta took a few steps forward and whispered a quiet bless you, a phrase his dear friend Mic had told him before his departure from this world.

Yagi quickly regained his posture and a slight blush crept into his sickly skin. He muttered a quick thank you before bunching up the wool sweater in a vain attempt to put it on. Shouta reached out his hands and slowly grasped the fabric and as the blonde bent forward, he quickly but diligently guided his his head through the hole in the sweater followed by both his arms.

Once the sweater was on the frail man’s body, he went to the nightstand which was stacked high with different medicines as well as vitamins and other health supplies and grabbed a travel pack size of tissues, before handing one to his partner.

In a voice gravelly but still soft and concerned he asked. “Did you catch a cold?”

All Might sighed his breathe with a distant wheeze could be heard, simply shook his head in agreement before sitting down on the chest at the end of the bed. He then put his head in his hands. ‘Why am I like this, he thought to himself ‘I have someone who generally cares about me and yet I hide, I know I failed as a hero but I have a failed him as a partner as well?’ He quickly turned his head to the side as a fearsome tickle demanded his attention.

ESH!... AhhhttTZZschhuw!...iyy-ih-ESH!"

The sneezes rack through his body leaving him panting slightly. As his lung struggled to breathe, he sniffed at the thick congestion and wiped his nose on the tissue that Shouta and handed him minutes before. As he looked up, he was surprised to find the room in front of him was oddly empty he called out in the voice louder than he intended.

“Sho where have you gone?”

A reply quickly followed “I’m making your favorite soup lay down in the bed will you…also bless you.”

He followed the order he was given and as he climbed into the black satin bed, he couldn’t help but shiver as his body demanded more heat. He found that he was always cold these days, no matter how much he bundled up. It was as if no heat could be retained in this frail body that he now called home. Within minutes Shouta entered the room but to his surprise with an assortment of things. He had a tray, one you would see in an old movie where the wife would dot on his husband, it was decorated in a sheer white tablecloth decorated with pink flowers. It had a bowl of a steaming liquid as well as two mugs and a vase full of sunflowers. As there are sickly sweet smell drifted in the room and Yagi couldn’t help but smile.

“You remembered, my favorite flowers.” He said with a voice thick with congestion. As Shouta sat the tray down over Yagi’s lap and climbed onto the bed, he smiled a slight blush sprung to his cheeks before he spoke.

“You told me a long time ago that you admired sunflowers for their optimism. You said it’s a form of gratitude because it honors the gift of life, always growing towards that bright sun,” his voice cracked as he spoke again “you told me that it turns its head to face the rising sun in the east and it follows the path across the sky throughout the day…. it’s that determination that you admired and that’s what I admire about you…even when you are being stupid.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments before the dull blonde turned to the side and harshly sneezed a triple.

“H-hhdihtt! Hhdddtschhhuww!!...hUDD’tschhuuuw!!”

 Shouta quickly handed him a tissue and began spooning the hot liquid onto the spoon he had brought.

“Open up Sunlight.” The blonde chuckled. “I’m not a child Sho I can feed myself.”

He replied “I know but I promised to take care of you, so just let me do this.”

“Very well” Yagi said as Shouta began to spoon feed the hot liquid into his mouth. The soup was warm and comforting, a hint chicken as well as carrots and other vegetables immediately filled the blonde’s mouth. It was delicious and he quickly swallowed as Shouta filled the spoon once more. But as he drew the steaming liquid closer to the blondes face the steam irritated his nose and he found himself pinching forward.

Hhdddtschhhuww!

As he sneezed, he hit his head on the spoon causing the spoon to fall and land in the soup creating a splash and slightly scolding the skin of both of the pros. Yagi would’ve laughed himself if he wasn’t preoccupied continuing to sneeze.

“N’doe…hHHT! hhnnkkKSCCHHhhuw!! ESHHHUHhhh!! Can hhtt-hhHHh! Hiitt’usszhhuh!! Sto hh-h stop hHHh! Hiitt’usszhhuh!! ESHHHUHhhh!!

Shouta quickly slid the tray to the side table and gently straddled the former symbol of peace. As the blonde continue to sneeze Shouta commanded for him to lift his head. As Yagi did, Shouta pressed hard against the cupid bow of his upper lip and almost immediately then sensation of needing to sneeze dissipated and Yagi breathed a sigh of relief. As he sniffed, he opened his watery eyes to look at a Shouta whose face was determined.

He asked while sniffling back congestion “snf snff ugh what are you doing?”

Shouta smirked before replying “I’ve learned a few things in my day, such as there are certain pressure points in the face that aid in congestion for example.” As he moved his hands to the sunken in cheekbones of the thin man and Yagi, he could feel his sinuses drain and his sighed in relief again.

“Thank you” Yagi basically moaned as the underground hero retracted his hands.

“I’m afraid it won’t last, but for the moment you will stop sneezing which is an improvement on your health…also bless you like 15 times I think.” Shouta said with chuckle “Now how about we both lay down and head to bed.”

Yagi smiled and replied “I love that idea as much as I love you.”

FIN

[palbabor-writes]

I have, uh, thoughts...

M’kay, I know this has likely been harped on until nothing is left but little bits and pieces, but after reading this latest chapter, I realized what’s been bothering me about this current arc. It’s the imbalance of violence and aggression that is heaped onto Shigaraki.

I don’t know if this is Horikoshi’s intention, and I’m likely looking wayyy too into this, but I’d argue you don’t have your characters say things for no reason. So, if you’ve got a minute, let’s see if I can sort through these nagging emotions of mine.

warnings: manga spoilers 220 - 285, basically, no touch if you don’t want to see the current arc 

Ok. Let’s roll the clock back and look at something Shigaraki told us at the USJ.

Now, while he has changed a lot from these early arcs, that core motivation he carries here is the same. He wants society to see just how fragile and how ridiculous their reliance on a hero state of justice really is. And, I would say that he’s absolutely right in this assessment.

The idea of heroes and villains needs a foundation of violence. They need that evil, almost as much as they need the concept of justice. It’s the age old right and wrong theory. It doesn’t leave space for grey, for nuance, for differences in ideology or upbringing.

However, heroes like to ignore what they can’t fix. Like anyone, they’re human and humans don’t often take pleasure in looking at the uncomfortable. I’d argue that’s why Gran Tourino doesn’t check back in on Kotaro. Yes, he made a vow, but those memories of that crying child being placed with a trusted friend, and not his mother, not Nana, have stuck with him. Nana wouldn’t be any wiser, or any less dead, if he checked in on her son. In chapter 281, we finally, FINALLY see Gran reflecting on that choice both he and Nana made

If he had checked in, Kotaro might have known a different memory of his mother, or he might have at least been able to see the threads of aggression and abuse that were riddling Tenko’s life. He might have seen AFO, manipulating and watching. Might, might, might. No matter how you shake it, everything changes when there’s some kind of monitoring, of looking out for your fellow man.

With that in mind, BNHA’s world state, which is based on hero work, would need a strong set of checks and balances to function properly, to catch those falling into the cracks & I’d argue we don’t see much push for that from the everyday populace.

Which is wild. Because society itself is practically Quirkless. Sure, 80% have a quirk, but in Japan you cannot use your quirk in public. If you do, you run the risk of arrest or classification as a villain.

That is why we see moments like these

Izuku is likely one of the only people in this massive crowd who really has no quirk. There is a horde of people standing there and no one is lifting a finger. It’s kinda a “bread and circuses,” mentality. They look fucking entertained and no one is freaking out except for Izuku, who knows what it feels like inside that goop thing. Instead, they’re all waiting, watching for the next hero, or for All Might to show up. But wait, aren’t there heroes there? It’s a city and this is a massive attack, it’s brought foot traffic to a standstill, surely a hero will get there and save this boy who is literally dying.

Oh. They’re there. But they’re waiting too

They are all “managing,” the situation and hoping Bakugo will survive long enough for someone with the right quirk to come along. Not polling the masses of people to see if any of them could possibly assist in the meantime, no, all these civilians get to watch this miscarriage of “justice.” Don’t worry. If the kids strong enough, he’ll make it.

So far, Shigaraki’s underlying motivation calling for a more rigorous, critical, take on heroes doesn’t feel too far fetched. Looking at chapter 1 alone, the current way things are isn’t right and it’s not fair.

Now, Shigaraki isn’t going about asking for it the “right,” way, but I bet he’d see a similar response even if he wasn’t hurting and maiming people as he goes.

The latter would let him be swept aside just as easily as the former. We see this happen with Stain. The news isn’t talking about the Nomu, or the countless people who were terrorized and hurt. No, they’re talking about the Hero Killer, because just like in our real society, that’s what get the clicks, the likes and the attention. Again, people don’t like to look at things that make them uncomfortable.

Yet, even with this horrifying fact, that Stain could go down in history books as a villain, as someone who gleefully killed others, people, both good and bad, sat up and took notice. Many even identified with his ideals: That heroes are corrupt and they are only in the field for the fame and money. Only All Might was the perfect specimen to Stain. Because this is an idea that people can get behind, to me, that means that others know things are stacked against the underbelly, the downtrodden. But they can’t be bothered to call for change.

On the flip side, Shigaraki, who has a better grasp on the true ills and neglect of hero society is often told he has no “real,” ideology, no real conviction, and this is a theme that’s repeated over and over and over.

Like most things in BNHA, it begins with All Might

Then it’s carried to Stain, Dr. Ujiko, an ally and long time supporter of AFO, to Re-Destro, and, most recently, to Endeavor. They all can’t see what Shigaraki is wanting, what he’s calling for.

It’s easier to name him a monster, a freak, scum, then to listen or to absorb any of what he’s saying.

But, as he says, he’s got convictions. He’s got his father’s, he’s got AFO’s ideas on the ethics and morals of hero society, AFO’s drive to crush OFA, once and for all, and his own deep seeded resentment and neglect toward a broken hero society. Honestly, he’s got more motivation than almost any other character.

And how is he treated? How does Horikoshi show us the “heroes” response? He gives up a heaping of violence. From chapter 270 to 285, Tomura Shigaraki is hit, punched, burned and beat around a whopping 36 times. And, for most of this fight, he is effectively quirkless.

How many hits does he get in? A grand total of 6.

And his first reaction is never to maim, in these moments, instead it’s to talk, to rattle, and to question

He only goes for Endeavor after he’s been burned, likely, without his regeneration abilities, to the point of death. These heroes aren’t aiming to subdue, they’re going in for the kill. And yes, he has just decayed an entire hospital and the surrounding area, the heroes are warranted in their anger and their frustration. After all, they’re the ones who dropped the ball here. This was a “planned” raid and they should have been the only ones in any real danger. They’re heroes, so I’d argue that it’s their job, their life’s mission to save, no matter the cost.

Besides, if they can spare AFO, not once, but twice, they should be trying to spare Shigaraki just as hard.

This has been a long and drawn out arc, with many, many ups and downs, but the one thing I don’t wanna see is the heroes getting a pass. This society has pitfalls and it’s got big ones. People are treated as lesser if they don’t have quirks, or if they have the wrong ones, the ones that don’t make them look normal. People are pressed to the side when they don’t conform and a hero, the current number one, has gotten away with mentally, and physically, scarring his family for over 20 years.

Right now, there are no checks. There is no: who watches the watcher in this world and I’d argue society has suffered for it.

Yet how are we shown how to treat those who don’t agree with us? With anger, untapped rage and physical violence, of course. And this is true of BOTH sides.

At the end of the day, as he said back at the USJ: violence only breeds more violence and while I don’t like predicting future chapters or arcs, I’m hoping that thread won’t be dropped. It’s one of the things that drew me into BNHA and I hope we get to see more, not less, of that grey morality.

[kirstynbot]

Media Focus: Spy x Family (Manga)

I read Spy x Family up until chapter 61 in three days. I wanted to catch up with the manga before the anime officially premiered, and I was pleasantly surprised by the story! It wasn't a task to read. There are many great comedic moments and it made me curious to see how the story would eventually end.

Here is the official summary from Viz:

Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a telepath!

Note: This post will be talking generally about spoilers of events happening in the manga, up until the later chapters. I would recommend skipping this post if you want to consume this manga / anime without any type of awareness of what's going on.

I hold a personal belief that the way humans interact with each other creates a butterfly effect to change a politically charged scenario at a grand scale (e.g. war). Lots of small changes need to happen in order to cause a change of grand proportions. I like that this story's main goal resonates with this belief, so much to the point that even the person who is supposed to catalyze this change is small. The fate of the mission rests in Anya Forger.

Of course, Anya is not solely responsible for making sure things align perfectly. Loid and Yor might be trained professionals, but their lack of education around parenting is clear in various scenes throughout the manga. They have their slip ups, but over time, both Loid and Yor become more adept at parenting.

There are a bunch of secrets between the Forger family, and it's hilarious to see them all try and hide their true selves from each other. Even the dog, Bond, is hiding something! Anya is probably the worst at keeping her secret, but that's expected since she's a child and has the least amount of experience with lying. It's comical that both Loid and Yor are so preoccupied with keeping up their own lies that Anya's exposures go unnoticed.

I really like the main characters, and their different motivations for staying in the family. I love Anya's mischievous yet careful demeanor. And have you seen Loid and Yor? Talk about an attractive pair. We start to see a potential romance bloom between Loid and Yor, and I will be happy either way if they do or don't fall in love with each other in the end.

Unfortunately, there is a glaring issue I have with the series, and it can be summed up in two words: Yuri Briar. That's it, really. I already had enough of that repulsive plot in other shows, and I don't need that here. There are people who genuinely don't see anything wrong with this relationship, but I am not one of them. I think this series would have been fine without his unwelcome obsession over Yor. I'd be fine seeing less of him.

As for what I would want to see in this manga, I'm interested in Yor's continued growth. As of the latest chapter, she's contemplating whether she should keep being an assassin or not. She seems to be motivated by her advancements as a parent and housekeeper. I can also see this in Loid too, but he still hasn't made that decision yet to leave behind his spy days for good. I am eager to find out what happens next.

Since the anime is releasing soon, I wanted to briefly express my praise for the voice actors chosen for Loid and Yor. I am excited to see the pages come to life! Action scenes are always better witnessed in anime to me because I don't have the spatial understanding to choreograph the action in my head.

This is also the first anime I'll watch where I read the manga first, so I am interested to see how my perspective will change.