#he literally lost them and got them back in the next chapter💀

[shantechni]

The latest chapter in a nutshell

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

Picking up where I last left off let's go let's go (Part 2):

Remember how it was mentioned that Malleus most likely isn't monitoring this dream? Well Silver thinks that because this is during the time where Malleus isn't even born yet so he couldn't really control what he couldn't imagine

Ok going back so the rest of the gang and Lilia are going to the place where Maleficia is most likely at? Also this part is funny but Grim nearly got struck by lightning from Meleanor's magic (sorry little guy it's fun bullying you from time to time). Grim also makes a comment that Malleus eggo is a big bitch AHAHAHAHAHA. But then they get surrounded by Silver Owls who will let them live if they surrender Malleus eggo (NO). Lilia was about to get stabbed but SILVER SAVES HIM and we get another "he looks like the Knight of Dawn" moment but it's literally this

Yuu was starting to get tired from carrying Malleus eggo so Silver offers to carry the said eggo. Grim wonders if Silver's got endless stamina but he says it's for a different reason and it was because he remembered the day where Lilia told him he was adopted, when Lilia carried him home in the pouring rain (tears are pouring down my eyes as I'm typing)

So the gang are currently in a Briar Guard Camp, where they get attacked cuz the guards thought they were the bad guys 💀. But luckily after that they managed to recover. Lilia has recovered enough to be able to carry Malleus eggo again, and Grim saves Yuu from a lightning strike. More Silver Owls appear and before Silver faces them Sebek comes to save the day together with Baul

The earthquake and thunder start getting worse as thorns (similar to Malleus OB) start appearing which doesn't look too good.....Meleanor overblotted. The group immediately arrive at the castle to deliver Malleus eggo and Lilia wants to return to Meleanor immediately

The scene moves to Meleanor and the Knight of Dawn where he wished that they could have come up with a compromise but harmed each other too many times to make it happen. His final wish was for humans and fae to live in peace (STOP IT RIGHT NOW)

The rain stops, Meleanor's magic is no longer lingering in the air. This revelation causes Lilia to break down cuz he wasn't able to keep her and Leverne's promise.

Stopping here for now cuz I'm getting lost but don't worry I will continue once I finish studying

Next: Part 3

Previous: Part 1

Edit: some parts were moved to Part 3 CUZ I GENUINELY GOT LOST 😭😭😭 I had no idea what was going on I'm sorry guys

[distinguished-slacker]

Speaking about chapter 133…

Since it has been a long time since I made long posts and these kind of chapters that focus on other characters, much less girls, much less Mitsuba, are rare, I felt like talking about it🤧

First of all: Screw this title and the boob joke.

Now, somehow I liked this chapter? It is the first time ever since chapter 17 that we see Shinoa and Mitsuba talking to each other about themselves. Although in small quantities, many of the things I wanted to see happened: Mitsuba addressing Shinoa’s change in behaviour, them talking about their sisters, how similar they are but also have their differences, their reasons to live, their relationship, the squad leader role and how Shinoa does not talk much about herself.

We didn’t learn anything new except for Mitsuba not necessarily seeking her family’s validation and Shinoa being able to control demons.

About the former, I am actually happy that Mitsuba is not necessarily seeking Aoi’s validation because someone like Aoi does not deserve that effort. But I am bit sad that after the things Aoi said to her in chapter 70, we didn’t get more than this. It does not have to be now but I hope eventually we get some flashbacks about the Sangū sisters’ past to explain why Aoi treats her like this.

What worries me more is that we already know Mitsuba’s reason to live so does that mean I will never get to see her demon? I mean, it’s those scenes where characters talk with their demons in that white world in their minds where we get to know more about them but Mitsuba already opened up a lot in the real world. At this point of the manga I am not expecting anything about Mitsuba’s character in the long run; it’s just that I want to see how her demon looks like (Also, 2024 is the year of the dragon so why not?🐉)

I’ve seen that the fandom is divided between those who took it literally and think the girls are seriously competing for Yuu’s love and those who think they were just joking to lighten up the mood. I am with the latter. The vibes their conversation gave me were lighthearted. Mitsuba has a crush on Yuu but she never made a move on him and it doesn’t seem like she ever planned to because her feelings are probably not that strong. Knowing how Kagami writes women he could have made this chapter much worse but “No comment” is all that we got. In all honesty, she seems more worried about Shinoa being depressed than Yuu leaving them. She even says it: “Will that be the first real reason to live you’ve ever found?”, and also blushes before deciding to participate in the ‘competition’ as if she is embarassed because all of this feels just too stupid but she still does it because it lightens Shinoa’s mood. Shinoa also does not take her seriously either. I am not saying my take is correct since the only one who truly knows what is going on is Kagami but I still strongly believe this.

Just like Yuu and Mika, the Shinoa squad finally decided to separate from Guren and become their own team (but I wonder where is Guren?). Shinoa being able to control demons gives them a strong card just like how the vampires’ team is really strong, Guren and Mahiru rely on experiments, and Yuu has Mika as his demon and the knowledge that they are swapped. Now that she is all motivated, could her powers be able to control Mika? I want to see Kimizuki, Yoichi and Mitsuba in action too (I am tired of katana fights). I am happy to see the squad after one year and I hope the next chapter follows with them again or the vampires that are not with Mika and Yuu.

This is like a competition on who makes Shikama more miserable💀 I understand where Shinoa is coming from since she can finally make Shikama pay back a bit for how much he ruined her life but at the same she looks so insane that she reminds me so much of Yuu and about how tired I am that Kagami is drawing so many parallels between characters that the individualities they had are being lost😞

The big question here is what this chapter means in the long run? Was it just to give have some funny scenes or is the chapter setting up something for Shinoa? Shinoa is aware Yuu rejected her and yet still tries. Her brain tells her it’s impossible but her heart says otherwise:

The way her feelings are delivered and the way Yamamoto draws her makes me interpret it as Kagami’s way of conveying how a sexist education can affect a girl’s mind (if I choose to believe in his writing decisions, that is). Again, Shinoa knows she is rejected yet still tries. This contradiction can be seen again when Shinoa tells Mitsuba that she loves her a lot but since she does not value her own life at all so she does not need Mitsuba or anyone’s validation because it would not change a thing…but still she craves Yuu’s validation. It’s irrational and powerful, showing how much the brainwashing got into her.

Will it take more for Shinoa to stop needing Yuu’s validation? What will it take? Yuu rejecting her more directly? Yuu trying to kill her after she tries to kill Mika? Will it be someone else’s intervention? Is this tied to how Mitsuba needs someone’s validation but it does not have to be her blood related family? Is the manga leading to a point where Mitsuba might help Shinoa break out of her brainwashing and in turn Mitsuba will find validation though Shinoa and altogether the girls stop crushing over Yuu?

I hope so because the way the chapter is written has that feeling in the air that Mitsuba actually likes Shinoa romantically. Yuu does not love Shinoa or her back yet Kagami instead writes about Mitsuba focusing on Shinoa and not Mitsuba being sad that Yuu does not like her back. The way she tries to cheer Shinoa up and how she kept talking with Shinoa about embarassing things despite knowing Kimizuki and Yoichi might overhear them because she was happy that Shinoa was finally opening up to her…hmm

Also, the “I love you lots and lots”??

These past two years Kagami has been especially explicit with Mika and Yuu’s feelings for each other, more than in the rest of the manga, so maybe he will get more bold as a writer when it comes to the girls’ relationship? Who knows…

Could this actually be a joke-turned-into foreshadowing?

I felt like this chapter was a bit better than previous ones and I am happy that their friendship got a bit more focus. However, I don’t expect that writing about them after almost 10 years of barely any focus will dramatically improve the development and depth of their friendship. A flashback about their past together before the squad was made could help on setting the bases for why they are close but there is still that big gap between chapters 17 and 133.

[gontagokuhara]

OKAY I FORGOR💀 TO MENTION THIS actually idk if I already said this but I LOVE the way you write kokichi? Like kokichi's jesterism clowncore energy is not talked about enough in this fandom, he's not just a lying troll, he can also be a corny little canned-bit filled jokester! He can be your angle! Or yuor devil! But he and Kaede give off such an "annoying little brother"/"exhausted oldest sister" vibe in pointy objects it never fails to make me laugh and also feel feelings!

Also ngl writing my lil (literally >2k) review gave me the energy to do my writing assignment so thank you for indirectly but also directly contributing to me not failing my class LMFAO

hi hello!! first of all thank u again for ur very sweet comments i keep rereading them . actively working on the next chapter and i reread them like an hour ago <3 also you are so me re: the writing thing literally i am writing this long ass response out as a warm up to getting started on the chapter again I SEE U. solidarity u got this class

as always below the cut because i like to yap (no spoilers butttttttt call it a small hint of what's to come next chapter)

ANYWAY !!! im glad people like that choice <3 his general silliness tends to get lost in canon in the midst of such a heavy fraught situation (where his dumbass is instigating fights constantly......) and so i feel it more natural to have it bleed into him in pointy objects you know? his backpack also offers just unreal opportunities for clownery and i can't help myself. i have issues with a lot of canon/fanon portrayals of kokichi so with him (as i do miu, and kiyo, and kaito, etc) i like to do the classic mogul move yoink & twist. i take character that needs fixer-uppering, mash 'em around like playdoh, and make them mostly the same but......better in my humble opinion. i feel like i do that pretty well with kokichi, and hearing those choices are appreciated makes me very happy <3

in that vein the kaede/kokichi dynamic is SOOOO important its one of my favorites ive worked into pointy objects i think. justice for my real protag kaede BUT her biting the dust so early both robbed canon content of what a friendship between them could look like. but it also gives me LOTS of room to pick up their barbie dolls and make them have good moments together. speaking of pointy objects canon, they arrived at camp within about a year of each other, before a lot of the other mainstay demigods began living there full time. gonta, miu, kaede, maki, and kokichi spent a lot of time as the only ones at camp; kids like kirumi/tenko/himiko/angie/kiyo are all summer-only, and full-timers ryoma, kaito, and kiibo came later (ages 14, 16, and within a few months of sonia giving them a soul [roughly the same stretch of time as ryoma's arrival], respectively).

all that lore TO say: kaede and kokichi grew up together in a lot of really important ways, and the dynamic that developed over the years very much is that exhausted older sister/exhausting little brother who are fiercely and kind of unexpectedly protective over one another. i could go on about all of the early full-time campers' dynamics because there's a lot within those five especially that i've like. developed in my brain? but havent fit into the 170k words 💀 the mind palace of spiderwebbing character relationships is very vast for how much has actually made it into the fic.....but wink wonk we WILL see a taste of it this next chapter

and finally, re edits: i did my one BIG edit fest back in may, and since then there haven't been any major changes. that said, i do reread the prior chapters quite often (checking details to make sure new writing doesn't have any discrepancies, getting myself back in the headspace to write shuuichi's voice, etc) and do occasionally find typos or phrasing or sentence flow i like changed, so i do fix those as i see them. that said, i DO know what you're talking about with chapter 3; that was a chapter i did pretty majorly redo in may, and there was definitely some redundant word use and odd sentence structure i went back and corrected. but i haven't made any changes that drastically alter the contents of the story; not more so than i did back in may, at least!

ok this as always got very long but it was as always very fun to answer!!!! thank you again for all your support MWAH MWAH and im sure we'll make contact again soon enough!!

[otrtbs]

nat bestie!!!! this chapter!!!! 21k words we literally don’t deserve you. we’ve been FED fed with this one.

i’m SO glad the spy was lucius because i was ready to bet my money on remus (you did make him act kinda sus in my defense) so at least no one in the group betrayed each other !!!

and knowing you like the secret history i’m assuming you like donna tartt in general which leads me to believe you’ve not also read but throughly enjoyed the goldfinch (same, btw) and i remembered this quote and i think it’s something that would probably cheer up james a bit (his call with effy shattered me)

“Well - think about this. What if all your actions and choices, good or bad, made no difference to God? What if the pattern is pre-set? No no - hang on - this is a question worth struggling with. What if our badness and mistakes are the very thing that set our fate and bring us round to good? What if, for some of us, we can't get there any other way?”

also when regulus sent james’ the flowers and the card was something like “i’m doing something brave and impulsive :)” i swear my anxiety went through the roof because like. hello???? last time you did something brave in canon look where it got you bitch 😭 then i was like wait we still have a while until chapter 34 so he’s good he MUST BE!!!

at first i was thinking reg might be planning like some kind of marriage proposal to james, but then i changed my mind and now i think that’s what marls wants to do with dorcas in paris.

barty and evan my beloveds!!!

regulus and barty my beloveds!!!

and i finally trust sirius 😭 it only took me 30 chapters but i’m here!

high james was everything i could’ve asked for, he’s a dork and i love him.

i know i’m missing something but this is what came up to me in the moment, sorry for the rant but i loved this chapter sooo much thank you for your service <3

21k words ohmygod 💀💀 I just kept going and going 😭 but also thank you so much!! ily <33

I did make remus sus!! 💀💀 I tried to make everyone a little suspicious at least once just for fun and doubt anskddksl but then I was like omg y’all are y’all gonna be mad when the mole isn’t actually in the group?? ansjdksja But it was all good haha!

stop STOP THE GOLDFINCH IS MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF ALL TIME I mean I have 3 copies of it (1 annotated, 1 for loaning out to friends, 1 audiobook so I can listen to it while walking to class/driving/doing dishes etc) I cannot accurately describe my love for it!! Boris <333 light of my life <333 that quote is so poignant!!!! esp the part right before too

"Well—I have to say I personally have never drawn such a sharp line between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ as you...The two are never disconnected. One can’t exist without the other. As long as I am acting out of love, I feel I am doing best I know how."

also ALSO this quote from the goldfinch is literally the entire guiding principle behind art heist, baby!

"For if disaster and oblivion have followed this painting down through time -- so too has love. Insofar as it is immortal (and it is) I have a small, bright, immutable part in that immortality. It exists; and it keeps on existing. And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along literally from hand to hand, singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of lovers, and the next."

Regulus leaving his little note about being brave hahaha it was just a little teensy scare! but he came back ! <3

dorlene paris proposal ?? maybe??? who can say ??? also barty <3 i love him sjkfhskdah high james just exacerbates the dork that james already is and i love him for it <3

ahh thank you for reading!! and thank you for the kind words!!!! <3333