#jitxt

[jichanxo]

LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH EVERY TIME I DO IT MAKES ME LAUGH

update: context

[jichanxo]

tbh i was also thinking something similar (and mentioned it in a fic)

honestly it drives me crazy thinking about kuwana's students seeing how he acts around yagami (like this) and just going 🤨. like. buddy, please.

anyway is it that kuwana takes nice pictures of yagami or is it just that yagami's too pretty? 🤭

[Spoiler but like this is alr a few years old game so uh but spoiler nonetheless] . . . Did Kuwana specifically took that pic of Yagami or having a guideline or what because why does it look like a magazine editorial shot? Why does he looks so pretty there?

Even Yagami is surprised at how good he looks in it : D and out of all of them he chose that pretty one to pick up asjksdhlg

[jichanxo]

I love Masaharu Kaito

stop that you're embarrassing him /jk

[jichanxo]

playing LJ and idk what’s in the japanese water but Yagami is INSUFFERABLE!!!

He’s so fucking annoying his only argument is “muhhh sawa sensei” when Kuwana, Reiko or Ehara say the horrible things their kids endured like SHUT UP!!!! Reiko and Ehara’s children killed themselves bc they were bullied, I understand and support them fully for getting revenge, especially since the justice system is shitty when it comes to such cases

Did you feel the same or am I tripping?

putting this under the cut

sorry i know you sent this days ago and maybe your opinion has changed since then but i'll answer the best i can? (also i hope i don't accidentally spoil anything ahahah)

this take is not uncommon (and i felt the same at some point, though i've since changed my mind) so no, you're not tripping lmao. despite changing my mind, the fact that people say this pretty regularly probably means the writers didn't execute the idea as well as they could have. i would say that it feels clumsy and almost like a joke (cue sawa-sensei counter) to the point that it detracts from the point they're trying to make. i think some people will disagree with me on this -- rather than the writers, it's the players who aren't fully understanding what's being said to them in the text -- but regardless of whose "fault" that is, yes it's a Known Thing

(funnily enough, during my first playthrough, my sister mentioned seeing a meme about "sawa sensei" getting repeated a lot, and by the time the 2nd/3rd time hit we were like OH MY GOD THE MEME WAS REAL. which is a funny memory to me. lmao)

i think the thing that's getting lost here is that the "sawa sensei" argument is not meant to discredit how kuwana, reiko and ehara feel about the injustice. this part is not in question. yagami's stance on doing illegal shit is also not relevant to this conversation (and i'm not sure i could provide a compelling argument on this front anyway, aside from that he's very anti-murder, lol. clearly he does illegal shit himself so he's not against doing illegal shit based on principle alone. depends on circumstances probably)

sawa gets brought up because she clearly did not deserve to die. almost everyone agrees that sawa was a good person. kuwana puts her on a pedestal for confronting him about kusumoto being bullied, idealises her and muses that she would've understood him for what he's doing (killing people. and this is clearly a stretch). reiko says that sawa was the only person who visited kusumoto in hospital without an ulterior motive, which is one of the best testaments of character that she could give, really, imo. ehara probably holds a negative opinion of sawa for her false testimony about there being no evidence of bullying -- but this was clearly done under pressure of the people around her, and ehara's opinion is the exception to the rule.

so, sawa is a good person. so what? who cares? what's the point of bringing her up?

the point of what kuwana is doing is that he sees it as a way of righting the wrongs that the justice system leaves unaddressed. he needs to believe that what he is doing is right, because it gives him purpose and distracts him from his guilt.

sawa's death contradicts this. even if he and reiko didn't kill her themselves, it's proof that their extreme actions have negative consequences. they can say that the system is wrong, look what this monster did to my son, etc etc. but what they are doing also harms innocent people. the justice/revenge/whatever they pursue is at the cost of other innocent people. sawa herself represents the unforeseen cost of kuwana's self-imposed mission to kill bullies. they can justify themselves all they want, but sawa's death is a reality they can't talk around. they acknowledge she was a good person, but she died because of their actions. is this a worthwhile cost? yagami doesn't think so.

and the thing is, kuwana and reiko can be persuaded.

at least, that's kuwana's opinion about reiko

and later he says this about himself.

these screenshots are pulled from a youtube video w/ english dub so take it with a grain of salt, but you get what i'm trying to say here.

i think the repetition is the point. they agree sawa was a good person. they can be persuaded away from their current stance (that murder is an acceptable response). by repeating himself, yagami is using the argument that's most personal to them, mostly likely to convince them. repetition is not a bug, it's a feature. whether or not this was conveyed well by the writers is another argument altogether, but yagami's point itself is sound.

truthfully, i think LJ could have benefitted by leaning into what makes this case personally compelling to yagami. if you're not paying attention, the "but sawa sensei" argument can feel pretty flat, but putting emphasis on yagami's experiences would help it feel more rich and justified aside from "innocent people dying is bad" (even though that is a sound argument on its own). he does mention emi, i believe it's only once, so it's not like they don't do it at all, but i would like more. the impact of emi and of JE specifically is that yagami doesn't like to leave things unaddressed when he can do more, and that's clearly a motivating factor here. he won't leave kuwana alone for as long as there is 1. something yagami can do about it and 2. kuwana still intends to keep killing

think about the fact that yagami's parents were killed by someone seeing vigilante revenge, both a deeply personal tragedy, and a life defining event that set him on the path he walks now. leaning more into that would have helped, or at least been interesting, in my opinion. obviously it's not 100% the same since yagami's father was the lawyer and not the accused, but the key parts (vigilante justice + collateral damage) is there. of course yagami is trying to change kuwana's mind. not only does yagami understand kuwana's pain wrt the pain of inaction (yagami's regrets about emi) but he's experienced the aftermath of collateral damage, himself.

of course, yagami's personal experiences are only relevant to us, as viewers. sawa is still the best argument to convince kuwana and reiko (and i can easily imagine reiko brushing yagami off if he talked about his backstory LMAO), so that's what we get. sawa is what matters to them, so sawa is what he will keep reminding them of. that's why the sawa argument is what it is.

we can get into discussions about the inevitable failure of the legal system and what that means for "real justice", but we would never come to a consensus. instead, i think it's better to look at how kuwana and reiko are impacted on a personal level by their actions: neither of them have moved on, even after seeking their justice. they remain stuck in the past. their actions grant them no closure, and robs them of a future (reiko as a politician and mother, kuwana as a humble handyman: but as far as we know, a pretty damn good one considering how well he was able to leverage his connections to avoid being caught this whole time... at least in my opinion)

when kuwana argues, he asks how they should seek justice if legal avenues don't grant it to them. he asks, "what about the reiko kusumotos and akihiko eharas of the world?" he is right to point this out.

when yagami argues, he asks how revenge can be justified if innocents will suffer (and die) for it, even unintentionally. he asks, "what about the yoko sawas of the world?" he is also right to point this out.

there is no easy solution. they both have a point. that's what the story is ultimately about. kaito says it straight up at the end of the game:

well, that's my take. admittedly i'm not as well versed on LJ as some people are, so i could be remembering and paraphrasing some things wrong. i've seen people who really like LJ's writing, and others who straight up hate it LMAO, so yknow, your mileage may vary. hopefully this will at least help you understand the other perspective

if you want to hear another take on the sawa sensei argument, i'll put this here. i drew on it quite a bit while writing this, so yknow, credit where credit is due.

[jichanxo]

probably going to be less active for about a week or so cause i'm going to sydney (and attending smashcon).

[jichanxo]

don't talk to me until i've had my morning kuwana coffee (yapping under the cut)

this is the silliest thing i've done in a while and it was worth every dollar. laughed so hard i cried when it was served to me (and yeah. table service means a stranger had to serve it to me. i'm so sorry to her 💀) i need you all to understand that photos don't do justice the visual impact of having this served to me irl

ate him btw

goodbye kuwana 😔

[jichanxo]

being a kuwana fan has me smiling to myself in public because i noticed someone with a vape. girl please this is embarrassing

[jichanxo]

Talk about Higashi my eternal bbygirl

first impression: okay i can't remember my REAL first impression (i.e. when i first ever laid eyes on him) BUT he was my first favourite judgment character, before lost judgment happened. he's still really really great. love you higashi.

impression now: almost the same but he's just gone down the rankings in terms of favourites. he's still pookie wonderful handsome cute etc

favourite moment: when the group are interrogating yui mamiya and after hearing about kuwana's plan he goes "damn i'm kinda rooting for this guy" LMAO. higashi kaito files apron is also good. also forklift driving. and also him realising that the pretty lady he saved was saori and getting mad that yagami isn't picking up her call right away. sorry it's just a lot of Little Moments yknow

idea for a story: literally nobody cares but i would love to put higashi in the same room as kuwana. watch him go from "oh this guy hates yagami? maybe this guy will get me" and then it slowly dawns on him that no. no this guy is worse. higashi might "hate" yagami but he does actually truly hate kuwana. this idea will never not be hilarious to me

unpopular opinion: his design is underrated as HELL the sunglasses + earring combo is a deadly combination 🔥 he looks cooler and more yakuza-like than a bunch of mainline yakuza characters without being tacky. prescription sunglasses king. kissing him

favourite relationship: seeing him bickering with yagami has really grown on me a lot lately… funny of them

favourite headcanon: he's well liked by the kids at the arcade (though initially seems intimidating) and a great boss ❤ and of course he has a forklift license

[jichanxo]

yay racing with ji for who gets the fic done first! (doesn’t matter who wins, the real winner will be the kuwagami nation as a whole)

we are frolicking in the fields together! if this is a race then you're definitely winning

[jichanxo]

For the sensei fic ask game! 14, 21, 68 (love your work, and I'm excited for the full sensei fic release 🥳)

thank you!! i'm very excited for senseific too even though it's nowhere near done (sorry 😭)

pg 14: Kitakata looked at him with an odd look in his eyes. “You’re such a goody-two-shoes, Yagami.” He said, sounding as though he only just realised Yagami wasn’t a total dirtbag.

pg 21: Kitakata picked up some sweatpants from the floor (ugh), and Yagami politely turned back to the eggs. Before long, Kitakata was hovering over his shoulder in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

pg 68: “I’ve gone soft. I’m going too easy on you, really."

“Aren’t I lucky?” Kitakata hummed. “Rare to get a chance to make things right after messing things up so bad. I won’t let it pass by me.”

[jichanxo]

re: tags from tumblr.com/jichanxo/773101415990231040 -> save that wall for later, i think you'll need it more when i'll publish the chapter 🌚

ok cool i'll get back to making a dent in this wall in a few months then

[jichanxo]

Hmmm. Talk about Masaharu Kaito :3

first impression: oooooooh i wanted to like him so bad but it really took me a long time to be able to say with my Whole Chest that i liked kaito. i'm talking like, middle of the kaito files. yeah he's pretty great when he gets the spotlight huh

impression now: giant man 👍 he's fun i like him. that's bestie

favourite moment: would you guys hate me if i said "they won't stop coming on us"? okay fine i don't remember when exactly it happened but i remember thinking kaito was really cool towards the end of the kaito files. seeing him get angry and fighting for something that means something to him… that's some real shit (sorry this is such a generic answer 😭)

idea for a story: he should go on a date with mikiko again. he better woo the shit out of her all over again i'm so serious

unpopular opinion: i feel like not enough people have seen the kaito files… kaito is competent and can be a cool protagonist and exist outside of his relationship to yagami, actually

favourite relationship: stating the obvious here but seeing kaito and yagami together really is great. joking around and relying on each other and fighting together… good for them. good for them. also. even though they only hung out once. can we please make kuwana and kaito friends PLEASE. it also goes without saying that jun and mikiko are also a highlight <3

favourite headcanon: rggs can't trick me, this man is hairy

[jichanxo]

Hmmmmmm. Daigo perchance?

first impression: my first experience with daigo was (unsurprisingly) his yakuza 0 substory, which makes for an interesting first impression lol. i don't remember having a strong feeling about him, but i thought of him as bratty and mildly amusing. funny kid. what are you doing

impression now: a reliable handsome man. i dunno maybe it's the chairman aura but he just kind of… exudes this…. polite calmness… it charms me… i like him (currently the daigo i am imagining in my head is him around the end of y7. handsome fella.)

favourite moment: in y3 when i saw daigo on that damn stretcher on the roof and that gun on the ground, i knew in my heart exactly what i wanted to happen. and it did. i'm sorry it was the funniest shit ever fucking GET EM DAIGO

idea for a story: kind of a hard one because i'm not a Daigo Guy, but if i had to sit down and write something about him right now i think it would be something about his loneliness. he's at the top and to some extent it means he can't get too personal with some people. and so many of his relationships are just in passing, or not that deep. he has people he'd confide in, but nobody really sticks around. i think i would like to pull on that a little. think of some quiet moments in his life and press down on it and let the empty echo of the room speak for itself, or something. surrounded by grandeur and such little substance. i dunno i can't imagine anything i think of hasn't already been done

unpopular opinion: he's a fine chairman, you guys are just mean.

favourite relationship: mine/daigo is probably the one I find myself thinking about the most of them all. (unsurprising) i like seeing when people make him hang out with haruka too. cute. siblingisms. daigo/masato also gets an honorable mention because it's not my cup of tea but by GOD are the implications too funny to pass up

favourite headcanon: the only thing holding this man together when he's stressed is listening to music he was into during his emo/goth(whatever. sorry i don't know the difference T_T) phase

[jichanxo]

hooray for more kuwana lovers! Just started LJ and he’s so annoying, him going out for drinks with Kaito felt like getting cheated on but I still like him regardless :) he’s hotttt

hiiii welcome welcome! hope you enjoy lost judgment! unfortunately the more annoying he is the more you love him....

bonus kuwana for you under the cut :) ↓

[jichanxo]

sooooo... *twirls her hair* how many asks should i send until kuwagami art. jk as well. the real question will be: does it happen often that someone else’s art inspires you? in fandom spaces specifically

well you see it’s like a loyalty card program, every 10 asks or so you get a complimentary kuwagami

just kidding you can just breathe in my direction and I’ll be tempted to draw them. kuwagami blast! (you've caught me on a... just okay art day lol)

(people still like kabedons, right?)

anyway for my actual answer: in terms of direct inspiration, it doesn't really happen much? the last two times i did art directly based on someone else's work is probably this one from this fic, and also that time i drew art of someone else's judgment au. oh! and there's that moriohpsycho art based on this comic! (filthyguts' work is so very. hgngngghh. very good.) nothing else really comes to mind, and when i think of the other things i've been into recently there hasn't been as much opportunity for that to happen...

flex and herds = strong fixation but lmao. almost nobody else made stuff about them. nobody is surprised umineko = surprisingly i don't read much umineko fanfiction? and in terms of illustration, i certainly picked up imagery and indirect inspiration but nothing concrete enough for me to give an example... now that i think about it, i did once draw andromalius from redaction/sunny, but that was years ago, and also mostly because i was acquainted with the writer. ...i don't have that artwork on hand right now death note = didn't really get involved with the fandom + i enjoyed my own ideas well enough! ...i can't recall if i drew long-hair-L art before or after seeing other artists do it. and as for everything else the same kind of reasoning applies. didn't really get involved with the fandom or wasn't really compelled to make art in response to stuff i saw, or i just don't remember anymore.

buuuuuuut if we're opening this up to just... pulling ideas from other people? then yeah, all the time, though that kind of goes without saying when you have a creative hobby. ...it's probably going to be hard to come up with examples of this since it's more ambiguous.

there's uhhhhhh... kuwana listens to nickelback which was a @/four-white-trees invention, wasn't it? (EDIT: and @/overdevelopedglasses!) (not tagging in this post so he doesn't feel obligated to read my big ass ask responses 💀) as of writing this, it's not posted but i did end up making kuwagami art based on a nickelback song so. yknow. there's that LMAO

for sawashiro and arakawa, i do sometimes go reference @/todayisafridaynight 's art to help me with my own. ("how did he draw this part of the suit? oh, like that huh? hmm" <- this kind of thing)

and um. i'm not trying to pander to you (at least not this time), but genuinely it's one of the few examples that come to mind at this moment. but when i was writing my first kuwagami fic, i could feel the influence of the ever-changing on my brain... was turning over some of your ideas there...

you remember this? (you even pointed it out in your comment on my fic, and i should've said something then, but whatever i'm saying it now)

that was absolutely because of this

(obligatory poke at anybody else reading this post that you can read passthroughtime's fic here.)

so, um. yeah. not really sure what else to add to that. pretty self evident i think. (i'm always talking about the ever-changing but i don't think i can overstate the impression it left on me at the time)

anyhow there aren't really any other examples off the top of my head! these are all recent examples so they're not so difficult to recall, but there are probably others i've forgotten...

[jichanxo]

since i said i was going to post abandoned fic ideas, i remembered another:

kuwagami post LJ fic where kuwana says he'd do anything to see yagami again, just once. ..."anything" ends up being "dressing up as kamulop for a day". kuwana regrets his plan but gets to see yagami again after all. maybe he sees yagami getting into a fight and kuwana goes to back him up, yagami not knowing the whole while, and kuwana keeping his mouth firmly shut. kuwana's moves are familiar, but slower and clumsy in the mascot suit. yagami thanks him sincerely and with a smile, and it feels good to do something nice for yagami, no strings/consequences attached. kuwana's heart flutters... or something....

yagami never does find out who the fighting kamulop was. after investigating, all anybody knows is that it was a one-off shift by someone passing through...