#i know i would accept the ending if i just reread the whole manga but i simply do not want to do that i'm sorry

[beldaroot]

sometimes i think about the cf ending and i want to bite my own face off but. we move!

[cruyuu]

I'm reading japanese comments and it seems they also suspect Sukuna might be alive. Their interpretation is that the dialogue doesnt mean Sukuna rejected the offer. Actually rereading it the part where Sukuna implies Yuji is a liar (tsundere lol) it's like Sukuna saying

"you are lying, if you took me in, you would only despise me and hurt me anyway"

Hi anon!

They're not wrong for thinking so. Sukuna doesn't say yes or no, and hence the answer isn't clear. He does release Megumi (first part of the deal) but we don't see him return to Yuuji's body (second part of the deal). We just see him evaporate after Yuuji says "Let's try again" so it's likely to say that his death is not certain.

Considering just how underwhelming his "death" is... yeah. We don't hear or see anything about him and I feel like that is the biggest red flag there is. Now, I know some would argue that Sukuna should remain a mystery, never to be cracked open because that's his point as a character- that he cannot be understood- but I beg to differ, considering that everyone in this manga had been understood (and their character arcs reached their conclusion) no matter who or what they are.

If we take that into the account then Yuuji should also remain a mystery and his actions towards Sukuna unexplained. They cannot be, however, because how did Yuuji go from "I'd do anything to kill that creep" to "Let's try again". How did Yuuji go from desperately hung up on saving Megumi to, in the end, hung up on trying again with Sukuna? From trapping him in a domain to spend time with him and ask him to come back to then still asking him to come back afterwards, finishing off everything with "Well... we can always try again."

He says "Even if no one can accept you, I can. I alone can live with you."

So... how did we go from this:

to this:

Does Yuuji need reminding who he's fighting? Does he remember he called himself a murderer over this guy? He is inhabiting the body of the person Yuuji cried over so... exactly what is going on here?

All this needs an explanation, one which Yuuji can give and should give. Like... it's a big mess and it isn't being addressed at all. Both of them are just spinning in circles. From indifference to hate to what might be acceptance (coming from Yuuji, but I can't say the same about Sukuna- again, it needs to be directly stated.). I cannot even call Sukuna a hater because he was busy praising Yuuji the last couple of chapters and now... here's right back to "hating" him.

The only one who truly stopped running around in circles was Yuuji. What about Sukuna?

Is it fitting for a character to stay the same or to evolve? Yuuji had evolved completely- from being reluctant to kill, to embracing killing, only to say that his life has a purpose outside of just that. Outside of roles and things which others or "the world" deems necessary. This talk eerily fits with Sukuna's role as a monster in this story, considering his appearance and unrivaled strength. He's been cursed by birth, as was Yuuji (his words), and hence why Yuuji could understand him.

Well, what about Sukuna? Do we get an explanation from him? What about his contradictory behavior which clashes with his statements? His whole relationship with Yuuji which truly cannot be defined? His ties to Yuuji (coming from reincarnation)? His deal with Kenjaku? His continual survival despite the fact that he had gotten his fill even back in the Heian era?

There is something there and it needs to be addressed.

Now, it was Yuuji who said, "Let's end this cycle" yet the one who still considers himself a curse is Sukuna. So what cycle exactly got ended?

Sukuna evaporates after this, commending Yuuji on keeping up this act all this time (and this is the first time he calls him by his name instead of just "brat"). In one translation, he says "Do not look down on me" but in the other, he says, "Don’t underestimate me." I'd roll with this second one because it fits Yuuji's "you are me" speech way more so than the first translation.

This fight directly draws parallels to the fight against Mahito yet in this fight, everything is reversed.

It isn't the cold-hearted Yuuji who's facing down Sukuna, but one who is kind. It isn't Yuuji who's equating himself to a curse (like he did to Mahito), but equating Sukuna to himself– to a human. In the fight against Mahito, Yuuji embraces the idea of killing and living as a cog meant to eradicate curses but here, he shrugs off all of his roles, says that life matters outside of that, and asks Sukuna what he will do.

"I can kill you."

"Release Fushiguro, come back to me and I'll spare your life."

He gives him a choice.

Yuuji doesn't give Mahito any choices, even if he says that they are the same. He'll kill him again and again, no matter what, no matter when. There is not an ounce of sympathy or understanding there.

The difference between these two fights is... quite notable. Sukuna is being babied while Mahito had to run for his life. Sukuna is given a choice while Mahito had none. Sukuna got "Let's try again.", Mahito got "I'll kill you again and again."

Why? When both of them laughed at him. When both caused him trauma. When both took so much from him.

[Side note: No, Sukuna being reduced to a blob won't make me see this as any sort of humiliation. Yuuji appears far more kinder than he did in the fight against Mahito (even a bit concerned) and besides, he comes and scoops him up in his arms, telling him that they can try again. If the point of the fight was to give Sukuna the same treatment then I do not think it was successful because Sukuna got such a loving treatment that it straight up made me laugh. Keep in mind that Megumi (the person Yuuji was crying over and was fighting hard to save) is lying like a couple of steps from Sukuna unconscious, yet Yuuji came and sat down next to this curse that he supposedly despises (his words in 265, not mine) and told such lovely things :) ]

If Sukuna is supposed to die for the cycle to end, Yuuji giving him a choice to be spared would make no sense. Also Yuuji telling them they can try again also makes no sense. If he's dead, isn't that just repeating the cycle?

The way this fight parallels the Mahito fight (Nobara is there, and the way Yuuji first uses Divergent Fist and then Black flash to rip both Mahito and Sukuna out of their forms) remains of interest to me.

Mahito, once knocked out of his form (what he calls his birth), ran to Kenjaku. Kenjaku asks him if he wished to be saved, but in the end, ended up consuming him.

Worthy of mention, also, is that Mahito sought out Sukuna (touched his soul two times) but wanted to kill Yuuji, kinda like how here Yuuji sought out Megumi (touched his soul two times), but wanted to kill Sukuna. Again, it's the whole vessel situation which is being paralleled and contrasted. If we take Yuuji from that fight as Sukuna's parallel here (considering both have a soul inside of them), then, again... it's interesting because in that fight, it was Mahito who lost. Yuuji won.

By drawing parallels to the fight against Mahito, and placing Sukuna in Yuuji's spot (considering he, too, now has a soul alongside his, perfectly paralleling Yuuji), it's still suspicious that Sukuna would just disappear. Sure, you could argue that the point is for him to "die" but that would be boring now, wouldn't it? Besides, we're not here to discuss his certain death but theorize if he may still be alive.

The first possibility is for Sukuna to reincarnate later on. He dies here finally, and gets reborn with no recollection of anything as a human.

The second possibility is for Sukuna to reincarnate but with his memories intact. It's kinda unlikely considering... well... the breaking of the cycle, but then again we still don't even know what the hell that cycle is supposed to represent... nor how curses truly came to be, mind you!

The third possibility is for Sukuna to still be alive via... well, a plan crafted by his intelligence.

I don't consider someone like Sukuna (who took gambles and devised strategies) to just accept dying or, for that matter, be stupid. One of my friends thinks Yuuji taking Sukuna out in 265 (in his DE) is a strategy to get him off his game and "ruffle his feathers" because Yuuji is severely affecting Sukuna, that is true. It could be a tactic to simply make him angry and therefore not allow him to think and have time to counter-attack or devise a strategy.

But... this entire explanation makes absolutely no sense considering Yuuji's last words to Sukuna are practically what he had been stating to him in 265. There truly is no manipulating or pretending... it was pure honesty both there (in the DE) and in the real world.

Here's a list of ??? moments from the recent chapters which do make Sukuna's survival still probable:

Yuuji spends more time convincing Sukuna to live than actually killing him.

"Let's try again" Okay but... now? In a thousand years? When????

Sukuna calling Yuuji by his full name (yes, even tho that might be character development it's still weird he doesn't call him brat when he always refers to him as such. It's especially weird he'd call him by his full name when he had called him "brat" when talking to Megumi at the beginning of 268)

Blobkuna... Why does Sukuna's bodyless form lowkey resemble how the Merger might look like? Why doesn't he appear like those finger bearers of his do and then evaporates? Is it because of Kenjaku's insurance? So many questions...

Related through reincarnation. Nothing about that. Nothing at all.

Yuuji is able to transfer his soul into fingers (just like Sukuna) and he practically embodies him. Killing him is equal to killing Sukuna. Does nobody in this manga care about this fact??????? We saw him see Nobara through Sukuna's finger (the one he ripped off was taken by Rika). By this logic, Sukuna cannot truly die as long as Yuuji is around because Yuuji still remains as an active vessel housing a piece of Sukuna's soul.

All that planning... just to accept death? Sukuna isn't someone who would accept death. That thing is so obvious that even Megumi points out that he fears dying in 268. He survived countless of years within those fingers and if he did, he must've done so for a purpose. Not a bland purpose such as "killing everyone and crushing Yuuji's spirit" but a more meaningful one. Considering just how hung up he is on Yuuji, how he doesn't want to have an equal and that he ate his twin because of that... there must be something more to it. Especially because of Yuuji's own words to him.

And there might be more but I'm busy and can't really hunt for panels nor re-read jjk now. All in all, it just feels... kinda confusing and empty. His death isn't fulfilling as all others have been. While everyone else gets to talk about everything about themselves, Sukuna doesn't get a word out and he just peaces out. It would be funny to me if I didn't care about him as a character but I do, so I still have hopes.

[yuseirra]

More about 159~

hahaha XD aw, GOSH this comic is CRAZY, I think it would be fun if I read it as books and in volumes, it's because it's incomplete, and scattered eps that things feel so tense and awkward, I'm sure. It'd have more sense of flow as a volume.

I wrote a lot of things based on my stream of consciousness this morning (because well I draw hikaai and I DO care a lot about character portrayals and analysis) and I want to share it with you all! I reread it after the heat of the moment and I find it really funny,

If you want to feel assured about Ai and Hikaru (and perhaps ONK as a whole) or like the ship hikaai, I feel this is another post that could help you. Like I said in my ch 159 review, if this ain't it, I have no idea where this is going to head and I might as well take a break off from this piece for a bit and get some air. P3R episode Aigis is coming out on the 10th (great timing!) but I think I'm on the right track. I got so many things right since I picked this up thus far :D So for now, here we go again:

This is just my intuition and a piece mostly based on gut feelings.

Ha;; This morning, I saw someone extremely worried about Kamiki and Ai and couldn’t leave them feeling uneasy... I’m not in a position to calm others down, though!! I'm the one who needs to be calmed!! give me time to brace myself!!! I get tense because I care about where the story's gonna go too!!! I analyze characters and make fan works. I HAVE to look into the source material and make sense of things in order to do that o<-< I’m really stuck with this manga, aren’t I? What a ride... Okay I know the character looks a bit out of it. But listen, even if we criticize the character, we should wait for the next chapter before doing so. Come on, what would Kamiki even LIE about in the first place? Let’s sit down and think calmly. Let’s go over the facts.

Honestly, it would have been better for Kamiki if Ai wasn’t an idol. If Ai hadn’t been an idol, Ai wouldn't have had to die for deciding to keep her very kids with him!! Ai was murdered because she was an idol who had a boyfriend and kids(it's an absurd reason but to Ryosuke, that was his reason to go through with it). If she hadn’t loved Kamiki, she wouldn’t have died. This isn’t Kamiki’s fault, of course!! To add, if Ai weren’t an idol, they might not have broken up in the first place. Even if they had broken up, Ryosuke wouldn’t have tracked Ai down and killed her!! Things would have been so much better for this character if Ai hadn’t been an idol. His situation on the matter, It's totally the opposite of Nino and Ryosuke’s!

To Kamiki, Ai was certainly one-of-a-kind and irreplacable, yeah. But from Kamiki’s perspective, Ai was never a perfect, flawless figure that he found the need to idolize. She was someone who learned acting from him, who was clumsy and scattered, who needed his guidance in the beginning. She shared the same pain, opened up to him, understood him, accepted him, and loved him. Even though she gave him a deep wound and they parted ways, even when he thought she didn’t love him anymore, she remained precious to him to the point where he was willing to give his life for her. She was the person he wanted to marry. Ryosuke and Nino would kill her for not being perfect enough, but that’s not who Kamiki is. He’s actually the biggest victim of that incident only after AI herself. If Ai had survived, he might have been able to meet their children, reunite with Ai, clear up misunderstandings, and more importantly, Ai would still be alive. That alone would have made life more bearable for Kamiki than living in a world without her. I keep saying this but I'm sure he wouldn't have leaked the address to Ryosuke on purpose. I wrote many theories about this and I came to a conclusion that it must have been a mistake on his end, after getting drunk from sadness after Ai dumped him in the phone call. What kind of mastermind could he even be regarding this case? He was 19 at the time. It's total nonsense. There is no reason for him to try and attack Ai who tells him she has their children growing smart and healthy. He's lying about it to Aqua to make him feel better about avenging him because he believed that's what him and Ai's wanted.

What kind of grand conspiracy could a character like this possibly be behind? At least when it comes to Ai’s death, I don’t think he’s responsible. Even if he grew mad, I feel like that would have taken place after it happened. So what is it that this character wants? I’ve been curious about that too-

When I heard anime S2's opening, I immediately realized!! He wants to see Ai again! Would Aqua say something like,

Aqua has Ruby, Kana, and Akane. He’s not going to live just to get closer to Ai or live solely for her love. Maybe to fulfill Ai’s wishes, but that’s different.

“Without you, I cannot live anymore

I would sacrifice anything for you

I can’t get enough of your love

What should I use to fill in what’s missing?”

If Kamiki has any goal, it’s this: He's never been seen to have a desire for Ai to be the ultimate, perfect idol. He’s not twisted that way. If he’s twisted, it’s more like, “I’ll give anything for Ai.”

Think about it. If someone you love died, what would you want most? You’d want them to live again, right? You wouldn’t go around committing serial murders saying, “No one can surpass them!” You’d just want to see them again if there was even the smallest chance. That’s the most important thing. Nino and Ryosuke are twisted. They liked Ai as an idol, not as a person. But this person has two cute kids with Ai... even though they never got to see them properly. He says he has paternal love, and I believe that because there’s no reason for him to hate the kids. He was prepared to take responsibility, after all. Wouldn’t he be happy about having kids with Ai? Wouldn’t he find them adorable, especially since they look so much like him and the one he loves? Seeing how much he still cares for Ai, he’d probably love their kids too. He refers to them as "Yours(Ai's) and mine". He’d probably want to bring Ai back for the sake of the kids, if not for himself. He even believes Ai died because of him, so that would only add to his desperation and longing. When someone dies, they can’t come back, so that possibility doesn’t usually cross the mind-

However, It seems that the songs are saying there is some kind of hope for that becoming a reality even if the chances are very slim. To think Kamiki would have wanted to preserve Ai’s image as an idol and that's what's been driving him? No way. That’s exactly what killed Ai. He’d probably be sick of that... He just wants Ai to live. That’s his motive. He’s been hanging onto that.

As for the Hikaai ship, I had been holding off on judgment until Ai’s feelings came out. I felt like I won’t know until I hear from Ai herself how she feels about him so I waited out for quite long till the entirety of the movie arc, until it got its closure-

And it really occurs to me, people don’t seem to realize how much thought and conviction it takes for Ai to feel that strongly about a person.

Ai is scared, has a sensitive soul, overthinks things, is defensive, and gets wary. She’s afraid to love and get close to people because she doesn't want to get hurt.

But Ai couldn't give up Kamiki’s child because they were what she had with him, even while she was afraid it would be a burden to him!! Do you know how much certainty, affection, and love that takes? It doesn’t seem to resonate with people as much as it does for me, it's such a deep and strong feeling. That's what really got me. She was scared, but she still wanted them because they were theirs...and she protected their children with all her heart that point onward.

This kind of love is something that you might encounter just once in your lifetime, you might never get to meet someone like that at all.

So I thought, “Good for Ai. She found someone she loved that much.” Kamiki must have been a really precious person to Ai to make her feel that way.

In my opinion, for someone to make Ai feel like that, they would have to be the kind of person who would give out their every part of their organ, even their heart to her if that's necessary, and still think it’s not enough. And when you listen to the songs, the speaker does really seems to express that kind of emotion. That's why I thought 'Oh, this is definitely Ai's lover. This is Kamiki that's saying these things.'

You have to trust Ai’s judgment. Ai is serious about love, and she found someone to give it to. He's the one person she decided on. She wanted to live her life with him, worried about him until the end, named her children after jewels because they looked like the one she loved. Had her son who takes after his dad so much have the characters "love" and "longing" in his name. That’s how much she adored him.

What does that tell you? And when you look at the backstory, it seems Kamiki thought he loved Ai even more than she loved him.

Then that must mean he must have treated her really well. So, it’s not about whether Kamiki loved Ai or not anymore. That's totally just a given!! What’s important now is what he has done since Ai's death.

In chapter 155, he said he was "going to do what he could for Ai" and left. Then Aqua showed up near him in this chapter saying, “I need to save you.”

When you listen to the songs, the narrator keeps saying they don’t mind dying. This is a character who has already said they could die for Ai. So what will they do? I think they’re planning to die “for Ai.” But is offering something for Ai or dying for her really what Ai would want? No. Ai would want Kamiki to live and be happy, and they know that, but they’re lying to themselves. That’s the lie this character tells. It’s a self-sacrificing but self-satisfying kind of thing. That's why Aqua says the lies "are for his own sake". This also explains why Ai left a message asking to help Kamiki. This character is someone who could go to extremes "for Ai", but Ai didn’t want that, which is why Aqua is trying to stop it.

If this isn’t the case, then I won’t be able to make sense of this manga... Haha, the Persona 3 DLC will be out soon, so I’ll just go play that...

This feels right to me, though. If it’s not, I don’t know what else it could be;;

Maybe Kamiki's been possessed by an evil god? But even if that’s the case, the motive he has would probably still be about "saving Ai".

On another note, Kamiki was so gentle and kind in his tone when speaking to Aqua. He spoke really softly, didn’t he?

If he had been able to raise the kids with Ai, he would have been the type to pamper and spoil them... He'd have been a sweet dad. I feel like Ai really did choose a good guy to father her kids.

The way he speaks to Aqua feels quite similar to the last lines and atmosphere of the lyrics of Mephisto.. something about it will be brought up soon, I mean Aqua's wearing that same clothes.

To Kamiki, Aqua must be his and Ai’s cute son, right? But does he know Aqua’s soul is originally that of a 30-something-year-old doctor? If he’s possessed by an evil god, maybe he is aware of these things. But if he doesn’t, it might be a bit awkward. His son is almost the same age as him inside...

Aqua is Aqua, though? But that thought still made me laugh a little. I could imagine Kamiki suddenly speaking very formally towards Aqua upon figuring out he's actually the doc who aided Ai with delivering his children safely. Kamiki seems like the type to speak with a lot of courtesy... the way he speaks has been very polite. It depends on the character, but I think that is part of how he is originally.

[hotsugarbyglassanimals]

i think beastars would've worked way better if the desire to eat the meat of herbivores by hunting them down and killing them wasn't inherent to all carnivores and wasn't this like... weird uncontrollable urge. as a story that muses on what would happen if an animal society with parallels to ours existed, its an interesting concept but it falls apart -really- fast when people attempt to compare it to the racial dynamics of our reality (the author heavily advises against this, but I think it's a significant issue if people continue to think of it this way regardless of her intent). and it also falls apart when considering something like harm reduction and rehabilitation. with the latter point i would chalk that up to an issue of execution and lack of understanding on the author's part

god this post is so much longer than I thought it'd be uhhh

carnivores viewing herbivores as a potential food source is something that's considered inherent to being a carnivore. Not the craving for meat or adequate sustenance, but viewing another sentient living being as food which i think is a significant difference. It's treated as a matter of fact within the text and isn't disputed in any real way. In fact, a lot of the really ... "questionable" (understatement) societal dynamics are presented as like. just being the way things are with characters accepting it without any real heavy objection to it in some instances (there is a specific story in beast complex I'm thinking about right now). Haven't even touched upon the gender bioessentialism but maybe I'll get to that in another post

There's a strange sort of Both Ways dynamic between carnivores and herbivores where herbivores have the significant disadvantage in physical strength but outnumber carnivores by a large margin. Herbivores are also significantly more represented in some career prospects while carnivores have to follow social rules to be as non-threatening as possible. (As a note female carnivores are presented as straight up not being as dangerous or aggressive as the male ones. and while there are ones that predated on herbivores they're portrayed as mentally unwell or manipulative, or in some cases their predation has a twinge of sexuality to it... male carnivores generally are portrayed with a bout maliciousness in their predator instincts until they receive treatment and "go back to normal")

Let me summarize what I think wouldve been far more interesting to consider: how punitive justice doesn't work to prevent crime and doesn't stop people from repeating crimes, how people who lack resources are driven to desperation and how that can enable them to commit violent acts, how oppression isn't born out of fear of the oppressed group but rather a means of seeking domination over the oppressed group.

I really hesitate to put carnivores in the role of an oppressed group and with what i can gather from beastars I'm starting to think that was avoided on purpose, but I'd have to reread it in order to give a better analysis

I think it'd be interesting overall if the issue was that carnivores aren't getting enough sustenance and in turn are quite malnourished. Maybe they didn't eat meat of herbivores but instead the meat of non-sentient fish, but that was viewed as a slippery slope that leads to eating herbivores. Stuff like synthetic meat or anything resembling meat (and like the manga, stuff like bugs not counting) was banned. So even though fish meat would be a worthwhile option to consider, it is still illegal due to moral views despite the illegality causing far more damage to society as a whole. This could Still be like, not ideal in a story sense I feel like but as beastars exist right now it's much more concerning

I've read the entire manga and yes I know fish meat was considered a solution at the end but the whole thing was so fuckin flimsy that it felt like a bandaid solution to the problems that were portrayed in the beginning

[talenlee]

Keitaro Urashima

Keitaro Urashima

The conversation around representation is often a thing that involves talking about the very real ways in which the people who see themselves unrepresented in media, or only ever represented in a negative way, can have negative consequences, even to the extent of them inducing PTSD experiences in particularly long-exposure. The way that trans people, people of colour (and we’re going to go in on that when it comes to anime some day), ace people, and – you know, everyone outside of the rudimentary accepted dominant hierarchy get to be represented. But there’s another element of representation where the stories you absorb can often give you a symbiotic relationship to an image of who you are and who you can be, and this can show up in the way that a lot of guys, particularly guys in my general category of unremarkable basic dudes who like anime and felt lonely in their teenage years, thought that being a creepy drip was, y’know, understandable.

And there’s no patient zero here, this is all fluid exchanges of the gas that is culture, I’m not trying to pretend that this is one person’s fault, but there was definitely a person who I think I can point to as a very reasonable exemplar of a trend that kicked off and is still showing up in anime culture to this very day.

I refer to the crappy mediocre dude that is Keitaro Urashima.

I’ve been thinking about Love Hina a lot recently, for some reason. I once mentioned this venerable procession in the ecosystem of the harem anime genre when I talked about Tenchi Muyo, the first anime Star Wars, But Only Kinda.

Don’t worry, I’m not doing a story pile on Love Hina. That’s a big ask and it would require me to rewatch Love Hina and then reread the manga (which is honestly, pretty better). Plus, looking at Love Hina as a whole is challenging in its own way what with the weird racism and the awful characteristics of the women in the series and also the way that the story bifurcates and the whole characteristics of the world itself rather than just focusing on Keitaro and the kind of dude he chooses to be, or rather, doesn’t choose to be.

If you’re not familiar, Keitaro is the protagonist of the early 00s harem anime, Love Hina, remarkable mostly in that it was successful and seemingly set up a trope style for romantic anime of its genre since then. If you’re mad about Rent-A-Girlfriend right now, I think you can trace the genealogy of that now to the soggy, pathetic wet babyman shoes of Keitaro Urashima, even if we know a lot less about how much wanking Keitaro does.

Keitaro, at the start of the series, is described as a ronin, a term used for a university student who isn’t in university, someone who failed their first entrance exams. In Keitaro’s case, he failed his first entrance exam and his second entrance exam, all while aiming for the most prestigious university in Tokyo, the University of Tokyo (Tokyo daigaku, abbreviated todai in venacular). His parents decide that two years of trying to get into a university and pointedly not having a job sucks, so they kick him out and direct him to go spend time with his grandmother, who has a job for him. She takes him on as the caretaker for an apartment building she owns, where he needs to ‘maintain’ the building (but also, pointedly, not manage it, that’s done by his cousin-aunt (it’s weird, don’t worry about it (oh no we’re in multiple parenthesis help this is going to look antisemetic if I end it badly)) Haruka (phew)). Now he’s in charge of ‘caretaking’ for this building in which a bunch of girls aged 14 to 19 live, and he’s told what to do, in terms of repairing things, all while he continues his studies in an attempt to get into Todai.

This job is pretty wild when you consider that in addition to being a full time live-in job that gives him a place to live and food to eat while he studies, and is also in a super sweet Onsen but also puts him in the immediate proximity of a gaggle of extremely attractive girls he is ostensibly likely to wind up in a relationship with, as long as he can spend some time interrupting the way he keeps winding up touching them inappropriately accidentally. And I mean that, this is a universe bent around a corkscrew shape to ensure that if somehow Keitaro can grab a boob when he’s trying to interact with literally anything else then yes, that boy is going to wind up grabbing a boob. This challenge gets made more complicated when some of the characters are too young to have meaningfully large boobs for the grabbing but they find other ways for him to sexually harrass the children (but accidentally). Then they hit him and that’s all okay.

See, back when he was a little babby kid, a girl and he promised each other they’d get into Todai together and fall in love and be happy forever after (or whatever), and that promise is why he’s trying so hard to get into this university. This moment is super important to the telling of the story, because this moment is also the first time and last time in the entire narrative of Love Hina in which Keitaro Urashima commits to a course of action rather than falling dick-first into every single other part of his life at the behest of other people who are sick and tired of seeing him being a big pathetic slop who suffers so much and struggles to contend with a reality that is handing him his life on a platter.

This guy gave me and so many dudes like me so many bad ideas about how to be a dude. If you look at the show and disengage from the framing of the comedy beats, where Keitaro is hilariously and comically unlucky (something I’ve been thinking about for other reasons lately), and you start thinking about how life is like for the girls living in this house, where you can just randomly get your tit honked or your towel dropped by a schlubby guy that the show somehow describes at first as unattractive and then eventually as ‘quite handsome actually,’ who got the job because he’s the failgrandson of the building’s owner and the cousin-nephew of the manager and he’s kind of useless at doing the things that constitute his job.

Keitaro spends a lot of time feeling bad about his life, about how terrible and pathetic his life is because That Feel When No GF, and how hard it was to pursue his goal of getting into uni to re-meet with his promise girl. This is the fundamental dramatic arc of this series: Ya Boy, Keitaro, as he tries to find love, and the way that non-stop coincidence follows this boy around. For example, did you know that the girl of his promise might be one of the girls at the apartment complex? And how then another girl who might also be the promise girl stumbles in and finds him and she just happens to be like the other one but really nice as opposed to really PRONE TO RESPONDING BADLY TO HAVING HER TITS RANDOMLY GRABBED?

You need to understand just how common the gimmick of ‘Keitaro gets hit for doing something perverted that isn’t his fault’ in this series. Like, if you were in this universe and didn’t see the buildup and you kept seeing this dude winding up in these situations, you wouldn’t fucking believe him anyway.

What this meant is that there’s this whole story about a lonely boy who is doing his best and isn’t hot and doesn’t have any natural advantages as he responds to a non-stop barrage of abuse from an unreasonable world that will hurt him so much for no good reason. It’s also the story about a cute boy who never explains himself or acts to prevent and protect himself from the appearance of problems and literally failed his way into a full-time job with extremely nondemanding requirements and eventually through sheer engine of coincidence winds up finding true love and also having five different girls of a variety of types crushing on him.

It is a pitiful story, where Keitaro benefits from overwhelming privilege and support, and it, I think, taught a lot of people in that era that the way you made a likable boy character in a romantic story was to make someone wretched so the audience could not possibly be anything but sympathetic to them. You don’t need a drive or an interest or a focus or things you care about or do with your free time, you don’t need to have things you like to do. What matters is being sad about being lonely and you can build the scenario out from that.

Going back and looking at anime I watched before Love Hina came out, and then the anime that came out afterwards I’m kind of shocked to see how many of those earlier anime are full of characters who have like, really notable opinions and preferences? They are people who are trying to do things, not just having things happen to them. And that can be a problem when you start to think of these characters as not just characters but also the kinds of things that say, isolated people think of as a template for how to be. Keitaro, if you fell into this emotional groove at the wrong time, told a lot of guys a really awful way to be a guy.

That’s not what I wanted to talk about though.

Did you know that Love Hina is set in the same universe as Negima? Like the last trailing part of the Love Hina story, after we grapple with the whole adopted-sister incest angle oh yeah that’s a thing too, it’s weird, don’t worry about it, not doing parenthesis joke again, it comes up that yeah, this is a universe with weird stuff in it. Keitaro is able to take the galactic beatings because he’s probably an immortal.

Weird, huh?

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Media #Anime

[terminaxshowtime]

For this post;

Top 5 Mp100 arcs

Top 5 fandoms from mutuals (you can or can't be in them, doesn't matter)

Top 5 Genshin Impact Locations

OK!! I'll do these in separate reblogs, esp since it'll take me a while to do the last one cause I wanna find images.

Top 5 MP100 arcs (WARNING- SPOILERS!!)

5. Teruki Hanazawa arc, the reveal of ???% and just the general conflicting morals between the 2 were really great.... looking back on it now it's crazy to me how that was what Teru used to be like, now he's just so much more of a protagonist than he ever intended to be.... anyways, loved the humor, loved the story, and the art was wonderful as always!!

4. World Domination arc, while it might have been pretty similar to your stereotypical Shonen at times, the way it was done was great and didn't feel too overused. Honestly, Reigen, Dimple and of course Serizawa felt like the MVPS, plus my boy Mob, and his feelings and the fight with Toichiro were great... it was also nice to see all the other characters from the past participating! Shoutout to the Teru vs Shimazaki fight because that was AWESOME and the animation for the anime version was SO GOOD.

3. Divine Tree arc. During the whole arc, I felt this increasing sense of dread, and honestly I found myself crying during multiple parts near the end of it. I adored the development of Dimple along with Teru and Mob's fight, there was just something about this arc that made me go AAAAH. Art beautiful and made me terrified. Story great. Also I cried like a bitch at Dimple's death despite having already been spoiled he was going to die, and then not die.

2. ???% Arc, I could NOT have thought of a more perfect ending to the series. I reread the manga version and I will admit it was better than the anime, especially with the Shigeo-Mob dialogue. I was so terrified during this whole thing and the characterisation of Shigeo was perfect. Highlights would probably be the thing with Teru because oh my GOD the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! THE HORROR ON HIS FACE! I LOVE MY BOY! as well as of course the shigeo mob interactions, accept yourself boy! But of course, my favourite part was... Reigen. Firstly oh my god, the taking off shoes... I've listened to Rolling Girl enough times to know what that means... but then also the way he speaks and the helplessness he feels? And Shigeo just rejecting him.... but then my fucking boy DIMPLE JUST COMES BACK AND POSSESSES HIM?? I SCREAMED DESPITE ALREADY KNOWING HE WAS ALIVE. THE ANIMATION IN THE ANIME AT THIS PART WAS SO GOOD. And Reigen's Confession of his lies and how he's a fraud... just... God I cried so much. Shigeo's shock that he admits it snapping him out of the ???% state was incredible. I love my boys. I love this arc.

1. Mogami arc enough said okay everyone pack up your bags and go home. listen I don't even know what to say anymore it's just the mogami arc. sorry ???% arc I love you and honestly you're almost tied with mogami arc but I just. the manga mogami arc broke me ok? OK go home now

[hottakehoulihan]

Implacable

Characters behave recognizably canonically: Close enough. Not abandoned incomplete: Yes (complete) Engaging (Funny/cool/thoughtful/feels): Yes (funny) Do I recommend it: Yes

Premise: Altpower malicious compliance. Taylor is full of hate. HATE. Taylor brute-triggers as they're shoving her in but doesn't quite realize that's what happened until she throws a punch and does significantly more damage than she was expecting and Sophie has to out herself to avoid further damage. Of course the trio spins this with some success, and Taylor ends up a probationary Ward just like Sophie is. And she's pissed. And Danny is pissed. And the two of them use every bit of scholastic ability / union administrative experience to study and use the Wards contract.

It's not particularly long, alas. A couple hours reading time maximum. It came to an end just as I was really settled in my chair and ready for a longer ride. There are a whole bunch of fan-made omake that I didn't read many of and couldn't endorse anyone else try either lest they get the ones I did get. From what few comments i read, there was apparently a fair amount of drama in the comments (I didn't see it and can't guess what it's about) and also the author rewrote/tightened a fair bit of the story after finishing it.

Still, positive marks. I did want more, and it did end. I laughed out loud more than once. I can't recall a malicious compliance fic I've enjoyed as much.

Alas, there's no AO3 link. Reading on SV/SB is a bit sad; so many enthusiastic and supportive audience members, all permabanned, and no way to know why. I've only read two stories on QQ ever but maybe I should do some digging there just to see what they've got on offer.

Billymorph writes a lot in animation fandoms; Pokemon, Ducktales, and Bob's Burgers are among them. Good for them! Not sure if this is the only Billymorph wormfic. I'd check out more if I found it existed and was complete.

I normally try to read only complete stories for the most part. Incomplete ones just sit in my soul like a canker, even after I forget most of them and forget that I'm following them. And, of course, I am as generous a reader as I can bring myself to be (look just use a spellchecker and maybe read it out loud to yourself at least once? Hell, just a spellchecker) but if the Kingkiller chronicles are ever finished it'll be too late; my heart isn't in it anymore even though I've still got that permanent sense of annoyance that I can't finish the series.

There was something in the fantasy/scifi author realm online around 2017--lots of loud reminders to readers that authors don't owe you anything. I can't say that's wrong; author writes book reader buys book the end. No parasocial, no right to tell the author to change story. No obligation on author's part to provide answers to theory or present WOG on subjects. The book is the book.

But damn it's hard for me to accept that I am not owed--after investing my heart, time, and money into seventeen volumes--a final volume. I keep quiet about this, lest someone go "End of Evangelion" on my poor innocent Nana manga, but I feel it. An unfinished story is better than nothing, but it often feels worse than nothing.

Even though an unfinished story is in some ways more immortal as a result.

I wonder how much of Worm would not exist if it weren't for the folk who were able to donate heavily? Glad for that. Also glad The Discourse hadn't crushed the author's enthusiasm yet; I'm slogging through my Ward reread and am very eager for the end of Arc 7

I have decided not to review one-chapter stuff. I want to give love, and I love many single-chapter things (Binge Watch is super fun) but there's a significant time investment and a teeny bit of anxiety. My rating system is super simple and incredibly generous...and in fact I should probably abandon it actually and just dive into the premise since I'm unlikely to read or review anything that doesn't score at least a 2.5 out of 4. But I won't change the method just now.

I find it unpleasant to read multiple stories simultaneously if they have the same characters. I can do it, but it isn't great. ...enough babble; time to make food. Cheers and stuff.

[pixeljade]

Tbh after rereading Wandering Son I can say...it really needed like One More Chapter to wrap everything up.

Like imagine, it can be set in their mid-20's, they're all grown up and meet again. I think Nitori goes by Lily now, and published her book finally. Anna probably got far enough in her career that she decided to reveal their relationship not long after, despite protests from the agency. The two of them grow old together, and have extremely successful careers in their respective fields.

Takatsuki probably kept on modeling, and eventually, I like to think he manages to meet some other transmasc folks (who are seriously lacking in the manga lemme tell ya), and decides to revisit his identity. I personally think he ends up in the sorta "none gender with left boy" category of identity, but transitions and uses masculine pronouns. He eventually starts noticing when girls and guys like him, and dates around before finding someone who makes him laugh.

Mako of course slowly makes her way into transness and drag, and I like to think she eventually found a boy who likes her for who she is. I feel like she maybe at some point convinces Oka into a fling (with help from Doi and Chiba) but it ends in disaster, but afterwards Oka becomes strangely defensive of the fact that Mako's a girl (entirely because it affirms that he isnt gay). Oka remains an idiot til he dies. Mako returns to the bakery when her family begs her to return, and once HRT gets her far enough, she decides she doesnt mind it and takes over.

Chiba would marry Doi, but only after whipping him into shape. She makes him properly apologize to everyone before she even so much as kisses him, but he's actually pretty agreeable. I feel like Doi becomes a teacher, at their old middle school, but Chiba I feel like would become a librarian of some sort. Maybe entirely because she'd enjoy telling noisy kids to be silent.

Sarashina would be an absolute wrecking ball in college. She tries different routes on whims (much to Momoko's chagrin) and eventually ends up part of a punk or metalband, and drops out of school. Sarashina starts drinking and hooking up with folks, until eventually Momoko and her get together, and become a weird codependent couple until they both work thru their issues. The whole way through, Sarashina changes gender presentation every other day, but remains identifying as a girl "more or less" when you ask her.

Nitori's family are hesitant to accept her at first, of course, but as they see her smile more, they begin to try her preferred name and pronouns. Maho's the last person to accept, but even she has to admit she makes a fantastic woman.

Takatsuki only lets their identity slip to his family halfway into his 20's, afraid that they'd never accept him, but ultimately his mom's only concern is that he keeps dressing well. The rest of his family shrugs the whole thing off. Some of them never quite "get it", but they are supportive.

Mako's mom we get to see fully diving in supportively to her. She accepts she knows little about trans things, but after going to the bar Mako is training at, she starts to get it. Eventually, she's the portrait of a perfect ally. Mako's dad actually doesnt even notice until she's two years on HRT, and then just kinda shrugs about it.

I just feel like. With all the characters' stories, the only one which really has a satisfying end is that of Nitorin, and even then I'd like to see a little down the road.

[lesbian-kyoru]

obviously ship what you want! but i do want to discuss one aspect of fruits basket that takaya wrote so well: it’s how, with tohru, yuki, and kyo, she fakes you out to think it's a love triangle. but once you get to the end of the story and have the full context, you realize you were only “tricked” by the structure of the text and never by the actual text itself.

by the structure, i mean that the first act in particular alternates pretty evenly between yuki-tohru scenes and kyoru scenes. this repeated flip-flop between the two “pairings” is typical of a love triangle set-up. it essentially tricks you into thinking that the whole point is “which boy will she choose,” but fruits basket actually ends up being very subversive in this regard. once all of the characters’ feelings are revealed throughout the story (particularly after chapter 84, aka yuki’s realization and acceptance of his platonic love for tohru), it quickly becomes clear how different these scenes are that feature the two “pairings,” with regards to their tone, development, and overall meaning.

both relationships share so many meaningful scenes with great development, but they're meaningful in incredibly different ways. particularly, takaya absolutely nailed the tonal difference of platonic interactions vs romantic ones when writing yuki and tohru’s relationship vs kyo and tohru’s.

with yuki & tohru, there's an innate comfort and peacefulness in their scenes. they grow closer and get to know each other more and more throughout the series, but there's no romantic/sexual tension and there’s no push from either person to have that be apart of their dynamic. (it’s particularly interesting to note that yuki eventually realizes that forcing himself to flirt with tohru and forcing romantic interactions with her early on felt wrong and uncomfortable, which reinforces how purely platonic their relationship is.) theirs is a very well-developed and touching portrayal of bonding with someone in a fulfilling, platonic way. their friendship is meaningful for them exactly as it is, with no underlying romance.

meanwhile, as early as the first rooftop scene, kyo and tohru’s scenes really capture the heart-racing, almost anxiety-inducing nature of talking to someone that you're attracted to or are developing feelings for. they're still comfortable with each other as friends—they spend almost the entire manga as just friends—but there's still a distinct underlying tension and attraction present in all of their scenes. it’s clear that there’s something more there from the get-go. this only becomes more evident as they continually push those boundaries with each other and have very not platonic scenes. unlike with yuki and tohru, where yuki’s flirting felt uncomfortable and forced for him (and tohru never really flirted with him to begin with), with kyo and tohru there’s a consistent sense that they’re blurring the lines of their friendship as they bond, flirt with each other, and have more romantically charged scenes.

all this to say, takaya has done a really well-done deconstruction of the love triangle trope, where that's what it looks like at first—but upon further inspection, these characters actually have two super different relationships. more than that, i think it’s very satisfying how your first reread of the early manga almost feels like an “aha!” moment. once all of this information clicks in your brain, it’s so clear that yuki and tohru were always going to have a life-changing platonic bond, and it’s so clear that kyo and tohru were meant for each other and were always going to fall in love from the start—even if you were sure you were in for a typical love triangle.

more than the cleverness of how this was written, what i love most about this aspect of fruits basket is that, at the end of the day, both of these relationships (romantic and platonic) are presented as incredibly meaningful for tohru’s arc. it never was about “who would win her love” or “who she would choose.” it was about how two different relationships could be so special and life-changing for her in different ways—and also, for yuki and kyo, how meeting tohru was so important for both of them in, again, two different but incredibly meaningful ways. frankly, takaya went off with this one!

[f3296]

Hi I just feel like I need to ramble and maybe some one else out there feels the same way. So in the AOT I’m not all that big on ships just because shipping really isn’t my thing but I do enjoy it to an extent. I consider myself to be a multi shipper because again the relationships in AOT are so complex and I love all the characters and their dynamics. My biggest “ship” would be Eurihan just because that trio to me is all sorts of fun and I love their dynamic.

But with that being said, I find myself to be drifting farther and farther away from the Eruri aspect just because as I continue to reread the manga and pay attention to the themes of the story canonically speaking I don’t actually see any “romance” between them. The Fannon concepts of Eruri are fun and beautifully tragic with the fan arts and stories especially in modern AU. They are a very attractive couple and I fully understand the hype but canonically speaking I just don’t see it anymore. I love their dynamic as a whole and brings such a complex look to both Levi and Erwins character that their friendship is something to admire.

And with that being said I feel their complexity of characters and their story gets lost within the fandom. I think the term that is used is “shipping goggles” when canon stuff of the original story gets lost or replaced for the sake of the ship. Which in this case I feel happens a lot in Eruri specifically.

Now I really don’t want people to feel I am bashing Eruri. I’m obviously a fan with my own fan art and my interactions with mutuals so please no one take offense. This is just a quirk I have in every fandom when canon material gets lost for the sake of a ship.

Specifically with Levi.

Now I understand my biases consider Levi is my favorite character and I truly Kin him. But when I watch edits or read DJs or even just scrolling through things like tumblr or Twitter I find myself avoiding the Eruri tags because I get so frustrated when all I see if Levi’s entire character being based around Erwin. The concept that Levi is only alive to fulfill Erwins promise or he only fights for Erwin and completely derailing his character to be centered around Erwin is frustrating.

Levi fights for all the scouts since the very beginning. When else first meet him and he promises the dying scout he would eradicate the Titans, this is a shared dream the scouts had and has said he will do what he can for All of them. Not just Erwin.

Now this isn’t to disregard Erwins importance to Levi. Erwin gave him a purpose to live, he was his friend and trusted comrade and felt he was the best for humanity. Erwin is important to Levi no one is saying other wise. He just isn’t the center of Levi’s world.

Levi trusted Erwin because he saw something bigger than himself and Levi wanted to help Erwin get there because Levi himself if a very loving and selfless character. This I find to be so beautiful of Levi’s (and mikasas) character.

When Levi learns the truth behind Erwins actions and his selfish reasons to fight for humanity was for the sake of seeing in the basement really sent Levi into turmoil. (I feel this is WITs fault for not expressing this properly in the anime) this is why he continued to pester and push Erwin to know his motives past the basement, because Levi wanted to believe he was this selfless leader he had been finessed into believing he was (because we can’t forget canonically speaking Erwin is a con man and enjoys gambling which makes him and great leader)

Levi tells Erwin to die so he would continue to go down with the facade he was a selfless leader and to continue to live up to the expectation. Levi accepted this fault of Erwin just as he had accepted the faults of all his comrades and their selfish actions.

Levi was canonically devoted to Erwin, but not in the romantic way.

Erwin also never expressed a “interest” in Levi in that matter outside of their friendship and Levi’s abilities. It also should keep in mind that Erwin was ultimately in love with Marie, and chose not to have a family and a wife (which he actually wanted) to avoid having a widow. We can head cannon all day long about how “he realized in his last moments” or “behind the scenes” or interpreting smart press stories a certain way to fit the narrative but it’s just important to remember the difference between cannon material and your own HCs.

Now I know a lot of people will read this and think “wow a levihan shipper wrote this” and you would be right I also ship levihan as well. And they are also not cannon in a relationship as well but the romantic implications for them specifically cannot be ignored because you don’t like them. Levi and Hange are canonically best friends. They are known as the “abnormals” of the scouts. They know each other the best. Their relationship is so complex it cannot be defined as a friendship. (Even Moblit admits he doesn’t have a bond with Hange like Levi does) and it’s okay if you just see them as friends, and I honestly don’t blame a lot of people who do considering WIT really bit the bullet with missing key Levi and Hange moments to better fit their dynamic (I’ve seen people say they aren’t even good friends and that breaks my heart they are besties )

And honestly why wouldn’t you want to ship levihan? This ship in my opinion is the least problematic with the least controversy to it. It’s comforting and sweet and gives a sense of love and family. It’s literally a best friends-> lovers trope. Their friendship is what makes this ship in my opinion so pure and honestly why I fall in love with it more everyday.

And I know some will say “what about Moblit?” And honestly, it bothers me how much he is used to argue levihan because I ultimately feel his character also gets dumbed down as a default for Hange just for shipping and it bothers me too.

*and honestly guys Hange and Moblit isn’t even that great in a ship since considering Moblit became an anxious alcoholic trying to take care of Hange and Hange would get so caught up with their work they wouldn’t even notice. NOTE: they obviously cared for each other as comrades and Moblit felt Hange was needed for humanities survival and cared for them obviously but just my opinion I don’t see that ship working in my opinion.

But in reality guys, I never saw any of these characters “getting together” because they’re soldiers. Their hearts were dedicated to the cause of saving humanity first so that’s the beauty of AOT and the ambiguity of the characters relationships with one another because ultimately they all have attributes to love and benefit each other. Even with the forest scene and the plane for Levi and Hange, I never expected A “happy ending” for them in the sense of platonic or romantic because that doesn’t fit their canon narratives. Levi was destined to be the last soldier standing and brings the complexity of being the perfect soldier with a human heart.

*though the implication of romantic feelings never being acted on were there because they indeed paralleled with eren and mikasa

Levi’s literally means “attached” he attaches himself to the people he cares about and dedicated his strength and ability to help others gain their hopes and dreams.

Erwin tragically lost his humanity to become the devil for the sake of humanity which ultimately left him fruitless to his venture.

Hange taking on the burden of making the tough decisions and shouldering the weight of the deaths of the soldiers and Erwins legacy left them feeling loss and useless until their sacrifice.

All these characters have such complexity to them, they are all deeper than their fannon ship and should be appreciated and the narrative shouldn’t be shifted for the sake of a ship.

Levi didn’t fight to the end for just Erwin he did it for all of them.

So again, sorry for my rambles and I hope there will be those who read this and understand where I am coming from with this and understand though I will continue to ship all three, it still makes me sad I feel I can’t interact with some without them destroying entire characters for the sake of the ship.

So again love ships not ship wars. That’s the fun part when ships aren’t cannon you can just mix and match whenever you feel like it ❤️❤️

[akatokuro]

A follow up question to your answer on not liking the whole back to the beginning thing after the boat scene in the manga, wasn't that obvious in the VN as well? We know the boat scene takes place in Prime, so it's always been before EP 1, or was your original impression that Meta-Beato (Yasu) just didn't remember it or something, that the EP 8 manga then changed?

I don't see the Meta in as concrete, linear terms as you seem to. The boat scene, to me, works best as an "ending" to both the meta-narratives and the reality narratives presented - I'm always reluctant to try to pin down the meta in terms of linear time and space, but if I had to say, I see it more along the lines as, on one layer (the meta has Many), an abstraction of the process to which the Battler in "reality" and Yasu were able to come to an understanding on October 6. As I said before, making the meta narrative post-boat completely changes the nature of Beatrice's characterization and motives within it, and what the purpose of the gameboards presented to Battler are.

Beatrice's actions, personal thoughts, and how she orchestrates the gameboards reflects, to me, that same core of Umineko of "people are saved when they are understood" - someone who is searching for any chance of understanding and kindness in a world that has convinced them this would take a miracle of untold proportions. This is undermined if we put forth that she'd already largely achieved that, and is just trying to "remind" Battler - along with the urgency about how she was guaranteed no happy ending and her struggle with utter hopelessness in regards to her goal. When you reread Beatrice's internal monologue in EP4, struggling with the knowledge her wish is impossible and having to accept that, it does not reflect someone who has already seen that Battler is capable of reaching out to her and wanting to help her, despite knowing everything.

The version of her character that is truly struggling with a black hole of hopelessness, and fighting and screaming for even the spark of a chance to truly be understood, despite everything she knows telling her it will never happen, is more compelling to me than the one created by the manga retcon.

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Fruits Basket Diaries, #6: Why Do I Adore Ayame So Much?

[see part 1 here]

[see part 5 here]

This is part of an ongoing series where I’ll be cataloguing my experience rereading (and finishing for the first time) the Fruits Basket manga. I’ve just finished reading up to the end of the manga, so there will be spoilers for the whole story!

Fruits Basket is full of unrequited loves, both platonic and romantic. Usually, these kind of "lost love" relationships, ones based in a history of complete infatuation on one side that isn't mirrored on the other, either turn into romance stories or are filled with distress, but Fruits Basket takes a very different approach, allowing these relationships to exist as a unique variety of affection, something soft and tender instead of fiery and dramatic. We get to see characters who feel love and admiration for those who don't quite reciprocate live peacefully with those feelings, using them as the source of a strong friendship rather than screaming them from the rooftops. These characters (Ayame, Haru, Hanajima), get to find lovers of their own while their former (and, admittedly, still a bit current) obsession (Hatori, Yuki, Tohru) does the same, but they never have to pretend their feelings don't exist--in fact, they still have loving friendships with their former obsessions, even if they aren't "the one" for them.

We also see the beginnings of these kind of relationships within Fruits Basket--Momiji watches Tohru leave with Kyo and hopes he'll find someone of his own one day; Kagura retains her affection for Kyo, even while she acknowledges his relationship with Tohru; Yuki gets a dramatic, tearful goodbye with Tohru, even as she connects with Kyo and he gets closer with Machi. For these characters, "moving on" doesn't mean leaving their feelings behind, it just means accepting new parts of life along with the old; as Hanajima puts it so beautifully, "My weakness will always be Tohru-kun". And yeah, I get that. I've spent a lot of time trying to cleanse myself of feelings, to just make them go away so everything can "be normal". Eventually, though, I found that truly accepting and loving the part of myself that fell in love with the person in the first place, the part of myself that still sees them and glows a bit, is what has truly helped me move forward in relationships like these without guilt. Because yes, there will always be people who are my weaknesses, people who I was once infatuated with and who I still have a strong attachment to, and that doesn't have to be painful. Hanajima gets the best of both worlds, it seems--she lives her own life outside of Tohru, but she also loves Tohru enough to fight for her happiness. This dynamic mirrors my experiences with some of the most important people in my life, and I think that's why each of the three pairings I mentioned earlier, ones I see as the main examples of this dynamic, is so special to me. Seeing Haru and Yuki's friendship develop as Yuki realizes how deeply Haru cares for him and starts to reach out in return was especially comforting, putting a positive spin on Haru's long-held affection instead of forcing him to "get over" it.

There's this one quote from the final volume: "But the one thing I do know is that love isn't just about loving what's in front of you. The past, the future... maybe it's about holding all of them close to your heart." Maybe past infatuations don't have to be regrettable, failures to sweep under the rug--through the relationships it shows, Fruits Basket finds the potential of the past to make the present beautiful, even when not everyone's dreams came true back then. The people I would consider my weaknesses, as Hanajima said, were, are, and will be the source of many special moments in my life. Even as I pursue relationships and goals I never would have dreamed of in my younger days, there are still people from those days I would drop everything to support, and that, Fruits Basket reminds me, is, indeed, a special kind of love.

[seikyoko]

Johnny Gill appreciation post

There’s plenty of issues I have with DGM Hallow, people other than me have talked about it and honestly I don’t feel like rereading the manga AND rewatching Hallow to explain all my dissatisfaction with it, but whatever, they wanted to make it short enough for it to be 14 episodes, it’s difficult to make it 100% faithful, whatever, I understand, even though I’m sad the zombie arc and the funny part of the phantom G arc were not in here, I understand, I’m not going to nitpick even the little things.

BUT WHY THE HELL would they on purpose take out the Johnny content in such an outrageous manner? like at the very beginning, where Johnny is the one who notice that polite speech doesn’t suit “Allen” and that when he doesn’t pay attention, he slip to more casual speech. It was instead replaced by.. Lavi, and while yeah good to give more Lavi content,

It was annoying to steal another character’s very rare screentime, and besides, it was impossible for Lavi to do this interaction, even if Johnny didn’t in the manga. Look, that happened after the 14th reveal, Bookman forbade him from getting too involved with “Allen”, because it was going to be his downfall if he involved himself that much in the war, and Lavi heeded his advice, you never see Lavi & “Allen” interacting again after the 14th reveal (though with the recent events of “Allen” going to the campbell mansion and is going to meet bookman and everything even if Lavi’s not with bookman that’s probably going to change), and that interaction was way more important than “woah bro no need to be so formal” with the mana mask revelation and Red’s actual personality and everything, and you know it’s relevant to that because it happens in the same episode, and in the manga very few chapters after.

And also the whole “the regret won’t let me die in peace” between Johnny & Kanda, instead.. happens between Marie & Kanda & Lenalee, and the anime scene absolutely sucks, the sacrifice Kanda is making doesn’t really hit you and it comes off as the dbz “past evil dude/asshole is now helping the protagonist”.

Look, he got better after the alma karma arc, and he love and trusts Lenalee & Marie a lot, but I find it kinda weird Kanda would volunteer such personal information on his feelings that easily with virtually no reason to (though I’m no Kanda expert), the interaction is just Lenalee who wasn’t involved in the Alma arc weirdly insisting on prying, after Kanda already accepted the innocence and can’t take it back anymore and Kanda pouring his heart out just like that , which, weird, because when Lenalee say “don’t you were already trapped in the order more than all of us and the order harmed you so much”, his reaction is to change the subject by successfully picking a fight with most people on the room (like Komui and Bak at least) by drinking it out of Lenalee’s hands.

It doesn’t even work as real Lenalee screentime because you can tell she was a mouthpiece to make Kanda say it before Hallow end/say it to someone other than Johnny, it wasn’t a real Kanda & Lenalee interaction

In the manga it was after Johnny and Kanda (who already bonded and came to care about each other quite a lot during their roadtrip/travelling around), who are both people who are pretty much risking everything to find and help “Allen”,  exited the pub and Johnny showed that he was a ride or die friend, reminding Kanda of Alma, likely the first time he thought of his past without feeling pain (like “Allen” comparing the orphanage director to Mana), then Johnny ask why Kanda did it, whether Kanda even answered or not, it was going to be nowhere as personal as how it ended up being, then that akuma snatched Johnny, and it very much stated “it’s Kanda yuu” at the beginning, showing that it was a speech personally aimed at Kanda, rather than a generic exorcist, saying that he was an absolute fool to come back, that he had very very little left to live, and he should’ve spent his last moments in peace, and that he chose hell, and he doesn’t go “what are you talking about ?” or deny it, showing that yeah, he does have little left to live and he most probably did choose hell.

Then Johnny goes “really Kanda... why ?” then go silent, so Johnny wasn’t going to badger him on it, then Kanda goes on to say his reasons (and yeah Johnny works better because he have more informations about the Alma thing than Lenalee had, since Kanda most likely almost never talked about it, and the scientists there were probably more informed than the exorcists after the facts and Kanda most likely didn’t tell her much, if anything really, I mean the dude can’t even stand when you say his first name just because it reminds him of that time, and Johnny did witness Kanda stab “Allen” and the whole shitshow, he’s more involved I mean).

AND THE “I was about to say sorry and then I stopped myself, thank you kanda, thank you, than..” WAS SO TOUCHING

end rant about “the manga is better !!”

And they’re not only making these moments worse, but they’re shooting themselves on the foot, because Johnny is a vital character to the “searching for Allen Walker” arc. and they keep down playing his worth as a character and his bond with “Allen”.

Johnny dropped everything for “Allen”, he loved his job as a scientist and everyone in the order, and the whole thing was risky as hell, and he did it anyway (he had no guarantee of quitting the order safely, and he wouldn’t have without Kanda, he had no guarantee of finding “Allen”, he had no guarantee the Noah or the 14th wouldn’t kill him immediately and when he first decided it he didn’t know Kanda would be around so doubly gutsy), and the love is very clearly mutual with how badly “Allen” freaked out at thinking Nea killed Johnny and that heart warming hug when he exited the wheat field and how desperately he wanted Johnny to be okay when the earl attacked and Nea took over, and you can tell it’s because Johnny mattered to him a lot instead of a general kindness thing because, really, the whole TOWN/CITY was in danger from the Millenium earl being around and homicidal, and last but certainly not least, JOHNNY’S DECLARATION OF FRIENDSHIP which really mattered to “Allen” (It was the most flustered he’s ever been in the whole manga).

And it mattered in the end ! it changed everything ! Kanda wouldn’t have found “Allen” without Johnny’s plan. and “Allen” would be literally dead, erased, not from this world anymore if it wasn’t for Johnny.

Look, unlike all the other times Nea took over, the last one was pretty bad, in fact it should have been impossible for Allen Walker to ever open his eyes again, his soul was done for, he was technically dead.

But the power of people’s bond is probably the most powerful thing in DGM verse, so powerful that it can even do the impossible, like bringing back the dead.

Cross, Tyki and Link weren’t going to do that because of their allegiances, Road can’t maintain her form, even if Mana was going to choose “Allen” over Nea, he is very much amnesic, it wouldn’t have occured to Kanda and most of the order to try that, because it was very obviously the 14th, and Kanda doesn’t even call “Allen” by his name anyway, they’d have jumped straight to trying to defeat him or try another method to bring “Allen” back, if Apocryphos could still bring him back his way, he’d have merged with “Allen” and “Allen” as we know him would be no more.

Yeah, pretty sure “Allen” would be no more, and it wasn’t a case of right place/right moment or anything, it was because Johnny and “Allen” loved each other (platonically, I shouldn’t have to precise that but here we are) and it shook reality in ways usually only the earl take advantage of.

Also you imagine the amount of mental badassness it would take to take your friend, and physically try to carry him away while he’s the target of the earl who is looking extremely deranged and is being really violent ? 

Also he prevents Kanda from using violence against “Allen” who was in pretty bad shape, and that with Tiedoll’s speech help him find the guts to face “Allen” eye to eye and a lot of what ensued after

Don’t ever underestimate Johnny’s importance to the story.

Yet here he’ll always be a barely relevant side character to the anime (well at least Hallow I refuse to watch the 2006 anime and check if his earlier moments were done justice), and for what reason ? because he’s not good-looking/hot, and because he’s not physically powerful or badass in a conventional way.

That’s.. the end to my salt I think

[mikanyuzu-26]

Is Chapter 139 of Attack on Titan being messed up deliberately?

*Views are my own. I barely post anything on social media but I feel the need to express my thoughts as a long-term AOT fan.

You need to be a genius in getting everything wrong. As a reader who has been following the series for 8 years, the frustration and disappointment the recent chapters brought me are beyond words. The series Attack on Titan has long been known for its well written plotline, with pieces of hints eventually leading to the reveal of mysteries, ranging from the identity of enemies to the origin of titan. Isayama the author is more than capable in building a story, as evidenced by the carefully arranged setups and successful characterization in 130+ chapters. Probably echoed by other readers, the story surprisingly went downhill since Chapter 124 (aka the alliance arc) when pacing becomes slow with no major progress in overall plot. Eren who is the supposedly main protagonist is nowhere to be found in most of the chapters, let alone his inner thought. The conclusion in Chapter 139 is even more confusing, showing clear disconnection with previous chapters and major characters being OOC. There are fans who are kind enough to summarize the inconsistencies.

Chinese netizens’ comment on the story quality

I would interpret the bad writing in Chapter 139 as intentional, with two possible reasons, or both: 1). To betray and hurt the readers as expressed in his interview. He is free! 2). To passively protest against a plot change by his editorial team

“I was a big fan of Game of Thrones, so I can relate to the feelings of those fans who were disappointed with how the series ended. But when I’m drawing, I’m expressing my own feelings, and I think as long as I’m doing that, my fans will be able to accept whatever ending I come up with for them”. The question is – was Isayama hinting at a GOT-like ending that expressed his true feeling? Looking at his response at this point of time, was he foreshadowing a disappointment?

Personally I am a believer of (2) – the plot was hijacked. I see the pacing issue starting from Chapter 124 as Isayama and the editorial team trying to buy time in reconstructing the plot. This is the period when multiple minor subplots (e.g. Connie’s mom, Aruani, conflicts with Yeagerists like Daz, formation of Alliance, Reiner’s mom & Annie’s dad) are introduced and closed off shortly after, while Eren is nowhere to be found.

Also note that Isayama did not even show up in the interview/live stream after the end of the manga in on Apr 10 and Apr 14, 2021. The editor represented him instead. It was also revealed in the most recent live stream that the editorial team had quite a lot of influence over the plot, in which they changed the last few pages of Chapter 139.

As many of you have already raised, early chapters already mentioned the “only way to put a final end to the cycle of revenge” is to do a full rumbling. I believe this is the first draft of the ending of the story as this idea has been expressed more than once directly out of the mouth of Eren.

The other possible change is the way of how Ymir is being freed. In earlier chapter, Eren clearly understands what Ymir has been waiting for 2000 years in Chapter 122, and this is also the reason why Eren is able to start the rumbling in the first place. The possibility of Mikasa freeing Ymir is not being introduced until Chapter 138 (or 139), and certainly comes out of nowhere as the only people outside of path who have seen Ymir are Armin and Ramzi.

How is Chapter 139 being intentionally messed up? The inconsistencies above suggest that at least two plot twists are only being decided at the very late stage of the story. • Eren’s true intention (Eren Requiem vs. full rumbling) and the reasons behind • What Ymir wants

Throughout Chapter 139, there are definitely better choice of words which even average Reddit/Twitter/Tumblr users were able to re-write in the past few days. However Isayama just somehow chose the worst way in presenting the story as if it is a shoutout to readers. The presentation also makes Chapter 139 memorable, though not in a way most have expected.

“Why Mikasa?” “Well…only Ymir knows that one…” When I reread Chapter 139, it seems to me that Isayama is not trying to shy away from admitting the plot change. The disbelief from Armin’s way of saying “Huh? Did you just say Mikasa?” is an analogy to the readers’ reaction due to the lack of interaction between Ymir and Mikasa before the last panel of Chapter 138. Eren is also drawn with a resigned expression. If this is an over interpretation of the frame, Eren’s next response “Well…only Ymir knows that one…” directly points out how the statement lacks a clear and sound reasoning. You can translate it into “Well…only [the company/my editor] knows that one…” or “Nothing I just want to throw this in”. Isayama clearly knows what he is writing and indeed “only Ymir knows that one” becomes a meme.

Also to add that prior to Chapter 139, Ymir has always been a parallel of Historia/Krista, not Mikasa, even as early as Chapter 51, but this plot was just somehow nowhere to be found eventually.

Why Rumbling? The most disastrous consequence of a plot change, from wiping all history and civilization (that has been repeated in his conversation with Historia in Chapter 130 and his internal monologue in Chapter 131) to an Eren Requiem, is that it takes away all the justification and rationale for Eren to eliminate 80% of the population in the first place. Whether or not Eren executes the rumbling and dies willingly, the world will still be in conflict and future generation will remain in the forest. If the plan is to free Ymir, a better way is probably just asking Mikasa to chop his head off. That saves humanity (Ymir likes drama, after all!).

Isayama could have easily used phrases like “I just want to move forward” but he put “I don’t know why, but…I wanted to do that…I had to”. This is also Isayama speaking from the Eren – he does not know why Eren is doing rumbling just to achieve the 80% plan. He just “had to” draw it.

“10 Years, At least!” This is probably the most debatable and dramatic part of the chapter. Eren expresses his love to Mikasa but the scene is presented in a way as if it is a kid throwing a tantrum. In addition to that there is Armin’s comment “Oh ok…I didn’t expect something that pathetic..” as if it is again, the readers’ comment. The scene is portrayed in an unbelievably comedic way, especially when you compare it with Eren’s conversation with Ramzi in Chapter 131, which is supposed to serve the same purpose in showing Eren’s human/soft side. Most importantly, freedom has always been Eren’s core value throughout the series. The outright contradiction this line shows only makes the whole idea of this panel questionable.

Character Regression Needless to say, characters’ behaviours surprisingly regress back to the first arc, wiping out all developments throughout the series. The worst thing is it even kills the hype of re-reading the manga as you know the characters never grow, after all the sufferings and hearts sacrificed. Examples include: • Eren is still a crybaby • Mikasa remains trapped by her relationship with Eren and the scarf • Historia is not living proudly for herself after the Uprising arc • Reiner sniffs Historia’s letter after going through depression and wars (there is even a petition online asking Isayama to change this! You see how problematic this is.) • Jean and the horse joke

Almost everything that could possibly go wrong is wrong in 1 chapter These are written by the man who have been writing good chapters in the past 10 years. Can you believe it is just a lack of sense?

• “Thank you. You became a mass murderer for our sake.” • The “poop” that Armin gives Eren (Isayama likes using meme right? :P) • Eren’s face when he is punched

Is this the High School AU style?

Compared to Chapter 112...You can tell the difference.

The way how the fandom views Chapter 139 is certainly very divided, but even amongst those who like it, most still think “things could have done better” (source: SNK Chapter 139 Poll), showing how awkward the style is compared to previous chapters. The inconsistencies in character portrayal and plot are too hard to ignore. It pains me to see a well-constructed and reputable series, one step away from legend even just with an average ending, closed with a chapter that almost defeats the purpose of the rest. Trust in Isayama – while he can build a legend in 10 years, he can also take it down with 1 chapter.

By the way, Levi is one of the few characters who isn’t ruined. Probably also a conscious choice.

[spiderling-space]

hello, i'm the one who asked for the idia x noobmaster69 drabble. i love it pls i love it so much i keep smiling whenever i reread it. if it's not too much, can i ask for the last part of it, please, like maybe a closure between them (idia gets confessed on by noob midgame) it's okay if it's a short drabble or if you take your time writing it, i will patiently wait for it. thank you again so much.

I’m glad you enjoyed it UwU. I shall call you Noobmaster69 anon from now on xD Hope you liked the nick I chose ;)))

Anon is talking about this

<I didn’t write “please let this appear in the tags” when I first posted it so it didn’t appear in the tags. I knew being superstitious was good for something xD>

Italics indicate thoughts

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

Idia Shroud

Idia was glad that he was surrounded by the things he was familiar with. During the last online game he played against Noobmaster69… ahem (Y/N)… he accidentally slipped that he would rather play Speed Need. Unfortunately or rather fortunately for him, (Y/N) didn’t have that game so they needed to play against each other manually which meant that (Y/N) had to come to his room. Idia freaked out after he offered it but before he could change the subject, she accepted to come over.

Idia was in a panic. He even tidied up his room and hid his hentai certain manga. His room was only this tidy on the day he arrived at NRC at the beginning of the term. Then she came, Idia’s heart was racing. “What is this smell?” Idia purchased Vil’s cologne, it was an impulsive decision. “Honestly, it smells fantastic!” Hehe, she likes how I smell. Idia thought with a faint blush forming on his cheeks.

Since (Y/N) had never played Speed Need before, Idia had to teach her. In a way, he was happy that he was teaching her how to play a game and since it was her first time, he would win! After she practiced a couple rounds, it was time for the tournament. Idia couldn’t help himself but grin widely as she crashed her car a couple times at the beginning of the game.

Then a miracle happened and she passed him, winning again! Then they went for another round. Idia won this time. Previously they decided whoever wins 2 out of 3 would be the champion of the day. On t

“God, you’re adorable when you’re so fixated on the game. I love that about you.” Those words caused Idia to crash his car which allowed (Y/N) to pass him and win again but Idia didn’t care about the game at that moment.

If she had magic, he would have thought that she paralyzed him with a jinx but it wasn’t the case. “Hey, Idia are you okay?” He saw her hand waving in front of his eyes, he still couldn’t move.

“Wh-wh-what did y-y-you say?” Stuttering at that moment was not in his plan at all. I must have looked so pathetic!

“That you’re handsome?” No, she didn’t say that, did she? Or was I too focused on the game to not realize it? “That blue color makes you look attractive?” This has to be a dream! Stuff like this only happens in anime. “That I can’t figure out how you got that body even though you rarely leave your room.” Since this is certainly a dream, I can say what I really want to say. “That you look adorable when you focus on something and I just love it?”

That was it for Idia, his dreams meant he was the one in charge. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve met. Your lips are so kissable. I’ve always imagined having a gamer girlfriend and now here you are.”

“Girlfriend?” (Y/N) asked, sounding confused and amused at the same time.

“And this is where we kiss.” Idia leaned toward (Y/N), eyes closed.

“Well if you want a kiss, I’ll give you one.” Hehe, this is where things get more intense in anime.

Idia was ready to get his first kiss ever even if it was just a dream but just like all good dreams, his ended abruptly when he felt a touch of lips on his cheek. That felt real? “You haven’t asked me out yet, Idia…” (Y/N) patted his chest. This feels real too. What kind of dream is this? “You won’t get another kiss from me unless you ask me out officially.” (Y/N) said with a cheeky tone.

“This doesn’t make sense. In all animes I’ve watched, this is where we…” Idia stopped himself before blurting out anything else.

“Oh wow, you’re really fast one, aren’t ya?” (Y/N) let out laughter while holding on Idia’s shoulder. He felt the vibrations caused by her laugh. “This isn’t VR, dearest, it is real life.”

Oh Zeus no! Please let this be a dream! Idia’s mind went haywire. He confessed his feelings because he thought it was just his imagination. Otherwise, he wouldn’t do it in real life. He froze in his spot, not even blinking for a second.

“Hey, are you okay?” (Y/N) snapped her fingers in front of Idia to get him back to earth but it didn’t work out. Idia was too embarrassed to utter anything. He felt his cheeks burning when he realized he had been staring at (Y/N). “Please don’t die on me.” (Y/N) held his face between her hands. “Goodness, you’re still adorable.”

Idia.exe malfunctioned. Please restart the program.

“I don’t think you will be able to talk back today…” She giggled. “…so I’ll just leave right after I’ll let you know that I’d like to be your girlfriend.” She planted a kiss to his other cheek before taking her bag and leaving his room.

Even after she was gone, Idia couldn’t move from his spot. It was overwhelming for him. He was able to talk to his crush smoothly and face-to-face. He wouldn’t do this even behind a screen normally but a simple mistake made him talk. He just wanted the ground to open up and take him. Maybe Father will do it now. Hopefully… Idia ran the whole interaction on his mind again and again until Ortho came back. The poor boy thought his brother was hit by a stupefying spell. While Ortho went to get Azul to help him, Idia only wondered one thing.

How will I talk to (Y/N) ever again?

[alicemitch09writes]

hello author-san, u have made me a suna stan 💕

my heart wants to know more about how y/n fell in love with him and what she was thinking of when suna distanced himself towards the end of oli 😭😭😭

Oh my! The power of fanfiction!

Hahaha, but just know that there are a fiction of my ideas because canonically, we don't know how he really is. I do have gists of his personality after rewatching season 4 and rereading the manga and reading some fics.

Soooo...to answer your ask, and to cleanse myself from a sea of thirst asks, here we go:

When Suna asked her to date him, 'no' was ready to be said, it was at the tip of her tongue, but she saw the earnest look in his eyes, felt the sincerity in his words, too. And at the back of her head, there was a voice telling her to say 'yes'. And when she did say it, her heart quick started.

The first few days of dating him were clumsy, more so on her part, because she didn't know how to be a girlfriend, worried that he might be pranking her, worried that she's horrible at it. But Suna would patient with her, the same way she was when they were in high school and he was adjusting to his environment.

Slowly, she eased herself into the relationship.

She was the one who held hands with him first, fascinated by how long his fingers were, how pale he was compared to her, and how strong his hands were against hers. In turn, Suna, who was blushing so hard, sneakily snapped a photo of their joined hands, saw the scar on her finger and asked about it, then kissed it.

Reader found herself falling more and more for Suna for every time he showed her a piece of him, shared with her something new - loved how he was always involving her in things. And when the tables turned, he would be just as enthusiastic (evident in his eyes, because he has a constant poker face).

He didn't make fun of her after finding out her arachnaphobia or fear around dogs. In fact, she got herself to calm down after Murase-san's doberman visited, Suna helped her petting and befriending the dog, clinging against him the whole time.

After their one-month mark of dating, they became more and more intimate, they opened up to each other a lot.

Osamu was offended that she didn't tell him about their relationship, but calmed down after finding out that neither did their seniors. They were all leading busy lives, after all.

By their eight-month mark of dating, she suggested that Suna get himself pierced. She said it'll make him look cool or heighten his senses. It took a while until he relented and got an Industrial piercing. He already has lobe earrings from high school, but never really wore earrings much. Not until he dated her.

One time (and I was inspired of an art I saw on Twitter), some children approached Suna doing his infamous pose and asked for a photo. Suna jokingly said, "please ask my girlfriend, first" and the kiddies gasped and turned to Reader saying, "girlfriend-san! please?" Suna knew she wasn't really good with kids and had a good laugh, seeing her flail and fold at the kiddies' eyes and nodded. When they were done, one of the kids shyly told her, "you're pretty girlfriend-san!" and their mom said, "what a lovely couple you two make!"

Reader blushed, as did Suna, but he tried to play it cool. But he did capture Reader with the kids in 4k.

Suna is infinitely proud of his smart girlfriend, posting all her achievements in his SNS, when he's not surrendering to laughter at the twins' antics. He has her university graduation uploaded, her thesis defense uploaded, her crying because she got accepted at graduate school, and her crying because she received word that Mika got pregnant and got engaged.

Seeing how proud he is of her helped with her confidence and self-esteem.

When she does Shodo, Suna would sometimes walk in her study room to watch. And one time, she asked, rather shyly, if she could write on his skin. He relented, and she was fascinated with how beautiful he was inked.

AAAAAAND, they eventually did it. Thankfully, she has papers around to soak in the ink and keep the room from being totally dirty. They then talked about tattoos, tiny ones that'll allow them in onsens.

Reader just keeps falling more and more, feeling more and more affirmed as her own person and loved.

But when Suna distanced himself, it scared her.

Suddenly, she felt like she was a kid again, seeing her father walk out the door, hearing her mom cry.

The loneliness from before, post-incident came rushing to her. It didn't help that he was also ignoring her calls. In a fit of panic, she called her sister, Mika.

Mika, who was panicked when Reader called her, in tears, scared that she might lose Suna. This angered Mika, and Reiki, who was listening in because Mika answered in loudspeaker. Both of them had half a mind to rush to Hiroshima and beat Suna's ass. But Reader begged them not to.

Instead, they gave her some advice. Mika, telling her sister to try to talk to him. Reiki, telling her of what he knows (very careful not to mention him and Kaoru talking) and telling her to stand her ground.