#just missing them. and ooe

[wyverncult]

they are very shanoa and albus. i miss them

[beevean]

I think Order of Ecclesia is the best point of comparison in how the games treat the Belmonts compared to NFCV.

The Belmonts never technically appear in OoE, but the game makes it clear how important they are to the series. Their absence kicks off the entire plot, as Ecclesia was literally founded to try to fill the hole the Belmonts left. Villagers who are merely distantly related to the Belmonts are important enough for Albus to kidnap because of their connection to the Clan. And Shanoa has to almost sacrifice her life to kill Dracula, something that the Belmonts have done constantly. In many ways, OoE helps cement the importance of the Belmont Clan by showing how screwed the world is without them.

Meanwhile, what would change in NCFV if you removed the Belmonts? Would it really matter that much? Would it be as difficult for someone else to fill their role as it was for Shanoa? No, of course not. Because NFCV doesn't give a damn about the Belmont Clan.

Yeah. As I said, even when the Belmonts are missing, it is an important plot point. The world scrambled to find another way to defeat Dracula in the clan's absence: hence, the foundation of Ecclesia, and everything that came with it. The Morris took the Belmonts' place in Bloodlines and PoR, and they managed to kill Dracula twice, but because of this Jonathan lost his father at a young age and has to grapple with his grief.

Now, some games are more divorced from the Belmonts than others. The Sorrow games are about Soma and more distantly about the role of the Dark Lord and how it brings balance to the world. CoD is 100% about Hector and Isaac's cycle of revenge that at best can be see as a microcosm of the Belmont/Dracula own cycle of hurt. However, even those games don't shit on the Belmonts as much as the shows do! Not only Julius and Trevor are correctly portrayed as powerhouses in battle, Julius is the reason Soma is the Dark Lord in the first place! Trevor is the one who took Dracula away from Isaac, kickstarting the plot (yeah Hector is given credit for running away and forcing Isaac to pursue him, but Trevor is the one who actually acted)

Had N!Trevor died to Dracula in S2, the rest of the show would have been almost entirely the same, hell maybe even better because cutting the Trepha plot would have given more room to the others, especially Styria. Just make Alucard and Sypha fight Death, I'm sure they could handle it. It's not like Death died to the Vampire Killer 🙃

And same with Nocturne. So far, Richter hasn't really done anything that other characters couldn't have done. yeah yeah he creates the Claimh Solais with his magic to strike Drolta, but again, that's not something uniquely Belmont.

I would say that he's right, but no, he's not. Because the Belmonts never had a place in the show. They never fully mattered. The last time the show gave dignity to a Belmont, it was the very first season where Trevor was graced with a character arc.

Again, I must stress: I'm not a Belmont purist. Hell, my favorite game is the one least concerned with the Belmonts. But I recognize that they and Dracula form the backbone of the franchise, and the show's recurring pattern of pushing them to the side, when not actively insulting them through Alucard or others, is irritating and makes hard to believe the Deats brothers when they swear that they're huge fans and want their product to be faithful.

[djsherriff-responses]

Welp, instead of actually watching Captain Laserhawk itself, I went and scoured through your posts to find a way to fix my AU. I know. Weird thing to do considering what you post. But you've gone and did your job, woman! So here's some things that I looked into because I still tried to take your criticism to do more research on the show and its themes and such (please let me know if I've gotten even one thing wrong):

Dolph barely had a proper childhood and was mainly treated as a weapon ever since he was a teenager, maybe even younger than that. It wasn't until Alex broke him out and… well… y'know… before abandoning him later on.

With Jade (since my AU involves combining the looks and personalities of the characters from their original games and CLH), her CLH personality… clashes with her BG&E counterpart, having more of an extroverted personality and yet being more inexperienced with some things in comparison to BG&E Jade who, while more introverted, has more experience with fighting and such. I'm not sure if I can work with this (I mean, as an ambivert, I'm pretty sure I'm aware of that term), both Jades have been, from what I've read, night and day.

Sarah and Bullfrog are meant to be parallels to each other(?)

According to a post you made, there are also biblical symbolisms that aren't just "America is Eden now, suck it". Alex's betrayal to Dolph is reminiscent of Judas betraying Jesus, and the talk Rayman and Bullfrog had has some resemblance to the forbidden fruit of knowledge. There could be more, but that's all I got from you.

Rayman was meant to be a mascot made for children. You mentioned that Dolph and Alex made him lose his job, but as of writing this, I never looked so deep into that, though from what I presume, maybe it was something not-kid-friendly they did? I also found out that Dolph and Alex encountered NijiRed at some point, so did they lead to the scene where Rayman snapped at the guy? There was a wasteland war at some point and a few of the characters lost their biological parents there O_O

In a reblog you made, I discovered that my AU is actually somewhat similar to Raye's "Orphans of Eden AU" (without the orphans ofc). Jade and Dolph being adopted siblings, Rayman being a double agent of sorts to help the good guys while struggling to keep his job, Pey'j… not… actually being weird towards Jade… there could be more parallels, but it's weird yet interesting that I've made my AU to have some of OoE's elements.

That's the most I've looked into, I might send you more if I do find any, but this is all I have for now :>

I cannot stress enough that if you’re gonna make a CLH au that’s specifically meant as a parody of CLH, you really should watch it (or change it where it’s not a parody but still comedy or whatever). But if you won’t watch CLH, I at least suggest you read @quixtrix posts regarding the show because I’m just one person with my own biases and thus I’ve missed details

Im assuming Alex isn’t romantically involved with Dolph in the au still? You should probably give the pair a deeper connection since Alex ends up sleeping with Pagan and Dolph catching them is a significant moment

Honestly get it, doesn’t exactly help that Jade has some of the crappest writing in the show. It just depends which version of her you’d prefer exploring (same with Pey’J)

That post is just a theory on Bullfrog’s possible backstory due to him being an Assassin and Sarah being a Templar. There’s stuff that’s likely not going to happen in the actual second season (Bullfrog and Sarah’s mothers being important characters the most likely)

Yep, there’s also themes criticising late stage capitalism and destructive ideologies (such as Alex’s belief in “burning it all to the ground”)

WATCH THE SHOW! (To be as spoiler free as possible, Alex ends up causing a massive ruckus that the niji 6/power ranger knock offs have to fix, Red/leader of the team says racist things against aliens on live TV and that causes Rayman to swear at the guy)

Raygirl’s orphans of Eden au is cool

[brolcagno]

Finally watched through NG entirely! Gonna leave my overall Spirit Hunter mumbles here!

Spoilers ahead so beware!

Thoughts are that I love you Miss Ooe honestly, DMII really is the weakest out of the series for me right now!

I feel NG has a lot more interest and personal investment in the characters than the other two do! I still prefer the DM cast overall but I feel NG does a better job of defining the relationships between characters. We do get some improvement in DMII in regards to the old cast interacting, but it comes at the cost of the new characters being difficult to bond with. (I think this is largely in part due to so many of them dying no matter what you do.)

I like the spirits best in the original Death Mark! I feel you get to know them best out of the whole group. NG and DMII had some really good ones, and I really love the little pre-fight animations for when you're going to fight them in DMII! But idk... it's really hard to beat Hanayome as a story beat, and the Kanon Soldier is one of my favorite spirit designs out of the whole series! Shimi-o is also so uniquely gross in what he does, and I feel so sympathetic for Hanahiko...

Idk. The first two games are just straight up better I think! Which isn't to say DMII is just awful, but it just doesn't meet a lot of the standards I think the first two games set. I do like being actually able to walk around as Yashiki, and talk to your partners! And the exploring aspect can be really nice! But the chance-based mechanics during dangerous choices are. Bad. Playing myself I nearly died bc Damion and Yashiki couldn't handle giving a girl a handkerchief... Again, it's hard to bond with the newer characters too, which is a shame bc some of them are really great! I wish we'd seen more of the two adults. And overall the writing is weakest here too! I adore how much Yashiki got roasted, I think it's really funny! But there's a LOT to be said about The Departed's whole deal, and the way the entire case shook out. And others have said it better than I could.

In an ideal world? If we're getting any more full length games out of this series in the future, I think I would want it to have mostly DM's casting/spirit types, NG's writing and overall cohesion, and some (but not all) of DMII's mechanics, possibly with some expansion in regards to your partner! Maaaaaybe that faux social system from NG too?

[wygolvillage]

ok honestly that longass review of the tiktok ya novel got me thinking about Cliched Amnesiac Protagonists (yes this is a long nonsensical ramble about order of ecclesia again)- oftentimes amnesia as a plot device functions to hide information that the character would otherwise already know, but ooe doesn't actually do this. i find ooe's use of the amnesiac protagonist cliche to actually defy some of the conventions of the plot device tbh and it strikes me as more of a thematic choice

one example of amnesia as plot device is breath of the wild, of course, as being put in the shoes of competent champion link as an inexperienced player would feel dissonant and beg the question of why things in the world are getting re-exposited to him. so, in that case it serves to make him an audience surrogate, a blank slate to project your own feelings onto as you are just as unfamiliar as he is. i also think ooe does this to an extent- it's an explanation as to why the player gets the central combat mechanic tutorialized, why they have to get the history and function of ecclesia explained, etc... but shanoa being a blank slate is not meant to make her an audience surrogate. she's emotionless. she's missing what many players would find relatable and self-insertable. this aspect of her personality frequently comes into play in how she interacts with others, as she isn't a silent protagonist, unlike link. her views and thoughts are her own and are filtered through a lens that most video game players cannot insert upon. additionally, having the will of her superior, barlowe, imposed upon her, and her lack of agency, is a key thematic element in the plot. the player to her avatar? there's definitely an angle there, that shanoa can be read as a deconstruction of the blank slate surrogate protagonist- from before metatextual video games like undertale came into vogue and explored similar ideas about the nature of video games and their players. i don't think this reading was intended but i still think it holds water thematically

so, back to that point about agency. the main character of the shitty YA tiktok book has one similarity to shanoa, that the loss of her memories was a deliberate and manipulative act she did not agree to in service of a grander plan. in the case of thst protagonist its related to romance drama and what powers the character did or did not have, the plot's so muddled i can hardly remember which twist is which. in shanoa's case it's part of the horror- barlowe offered up her memories to make her a suitable sacrifice to dracula, which also helped him further sever the bond between shanoa and the defected ecclesia member albus, and emotionally manipulate her by restricting information, context and the ability to emotionally process what she's been asked to do. the player, too, is deprived of this context so it allows them to make assumptions based on the structure and cliche of other castlevania games- how many people assumed at first that albus was the jealous rival archetype to be saved from his own vice and possession, a lá richter or hugh or maxim, just based on how he's seemingly presented? it fascinates me honestly.

pre amnesia shanoa did not know what post amnesia shanoa eventually learns about the nature of the order. and isnt that kind of the final nail in the coffin? that barlowes methods had always been keeping her in the dark, that the ritual that made her "a blank slate" was only an extension of what he had already been doing since the start?

shanoa doesn't gain knowledge or do the right thing as a result of regaining her memories or emotions, thus revealing a Shocking Twist- her memories and emotions are only the "reward' at the end for a quest completed- she does this on her own by fighting for her own agency as soon as the shroud been lifted and she knows that she has to. it is not a regaining of her memories that untangle the mystery of the plot, or solve the conflict, or make her step up the stairs to dracula's throne room.

it's her.

sooooo yeah i don't think its as much of a lazy cliche or plot device in this specific case. its a vital part of The Narrative

[mae-gi-writes]

Where The Sea Birds Sleep | Kevin (The Boyz Imagine)

A cute confession needs no words. 

A/N: I just wanted a cute fluffy Kevin au because it’s been a while and I forgot how great it feels to write for him. xx Stay safe, stay healthy and take care y’all <3 

Genre: aquarium trip au, fluff, cute hand-holding.

------

The school of fish glide through the aquamarine water, scales flashing all colours of the rainbow as they catch the light bouncing off the aquarium walls. Kevin is already steps ahead of you like a giddy child, palms pressing against the cool glass and nose practically squished up against it. His gaze swivels back and forth to catch a glimpse of as many species as he can and a small giggle bursts from his lips at intervals.

You watch with your arms crossed a few meters back, an amused grin adorning your face. You feel Jacob nudge you, "you're doing it again."

You immediately wipe your face blank, "doing what?"

"Staring Kevin down like he's a fresh piece of sashimi you wish to gobble up."

You slap his arm without hesitation and the said man yelps, "piss off," you mutter.

On your other side stands Juyeon, hands shoved in his pockets and looking like he'd rather be anywhere else but here.

The three of you had given in to Kevin's needless whining about aquarium visits, with the latter dropping subtle hints every now and again-- pamphlet deals, coupons to buy a fish, a discount on end of the year sales for aquarium visits. This guy literally picked up everything that had the marine animal plastered over it for his friends to see, and thus you had decided to take matters into your own hands, considering that no one else would otherwise.

Not because you had a huge mega crush on the said young man.

No, this is solely because of your long standing friendship and a way to make him stop whining.

Clearly though, Jacob and Juyeon don't think so. They both playfully nudge their elbows to your sides as you keep following Kevin's voice pitched with excitement.

"Did you drag us along on purpose just to stand there and do nothing?" Juyeon murmurs into your ear while you enter the jellyfish section, causing you to shoot him a look, "Don't," there's an edge to your tone but Juyeon isn't afraid, even reaches over to mess the perfect ponytail you took thirty minutes to perfect.

"Juyeon!" You yell in a growing mixture of annoyance and he runs away to hide behind a still awestruck Kevin. The latter blinks back to reality, noticing the glower on your face before he asks what's wrong.

You grumble something about Juyeon being a dick, to which he blows you a kiss. The aquarium is devoid of people, making it easier for you to take your time or rather, to wait for Kevin who ooes and aahs at every single fish he lays eyes upon. Warmth blossoms through your heart as you see his face light up, a smile tugging your lips upwards without realizing it.

That is precisely one of the reasons why you love him so much. He's amazed by life itself and watching him is like experiencing a different kind of sunset everyday; breathtakingly beautiful and different.

You wish you had that kind of optimism. But like a flower in need of sunlight, you had found yourself tilting towards Kevin in search for his warmth to envelope you.

It is when you reach the manta ray section that you jump up in excitement, quickly scooting beside the said dark-haired man where you can see the birds of the sea gliding through the waters with a gentleness that causes you to grin, not realizing that you're currently mirroring Kevin's expression.

"Oh look at that one! It's a baby!" Kevin points and evidently enough, there's a paler, smaller manta ray accompanying its mother.

"They're so cute," you find your voice as you feel the softest brush of manta ray skin against your palm. You giggle, "it tickles."

"Manta rays are so poetic," Kevin says, "I could write a whole book about how they swim."

"I'd buy that book in a heartbeat," you joke, "they've always been fascinating to me."

Your hand suddenly brushes against his by accident and you quickly pull back, heat exploding through your cheeks and you pray to god that the darkness of the aquarium is enough to hide it.

"Why?"

"I don't know," you can feel his eyes, those beautiful angular almond eyes, on you. You keep your eyes glues to the waters though, "I guess I'm a hopeless romantic. We don't call them birds of the sea for nothing."

He hums in agreement, "that's true."

"Why do you like fish so much?"

There's a soft pause, broken only by the sound of water churning in the background.

"Ever since I was small, I had a fish tank," he starts, "I would look at it everyday and try to figure out why the fish never ate each other."

You snort, "calm down cannibal."

"It's true! I swear it's a kid thing okay?"

"Sure."

"Well anyway, my mom used to take care of them back when she didn't have a job. So she told me that they had their own ecosystem and that breaking the balance of it would ultimately create havoc."

"Hence cannibalism?" You notice his shoulder against yours. Had he always been this close? Maybe you're just imagining things.

"You're such a weirdo Y/N," Kevin crinkles his nose at your comment, "people would just call it the cycle of life. Why'd you gotta be so vulgaar?"

"I wouldn't be me if I weren't vulgar."

"No," his alto grows softer, closer to you, "you wouldn't."

Another pause ensues, though it is comfortable. You pet the ray that is lifting its fin as if in a solitary wave and you gently stroke the underside before your hand dives back down into the water. It knocks into Kevin's.

"Sorry," you mutter before going to pet another ray that is incoming. But warmth suddenly engulfs your little finger and blinking down in confusion, your mouth grows dry at the way the young man has his little finger hooked into yours. What the--?

Your eyes find his face only to see him blatantly caressing another ray with his other hand, trying his best to ignore your poignant stare. Questions are bouncing at the tip of your tongue and you press your lips together, realizing that you do indeed like the feel of his finger around yours.

Noticing that you aren't pulling back yet, Kevin grows a little more confident. He leans into your shoulder a little more, just the gentlest pressure of clothed body to body.

Then, the rest of his fingers weave through yours like magic and you can't believe how right it feels.

You probably stay that way for a few minutes longer even though it feels like seconds. All too soon, you feel Kevin shift while murmuring that maybe you should catch up with Jacob and Juyeon, who have long since disappeared. He doesn't let go of your hand though, keeps holding it tightly in his until he finds some tissues to wipe it off.

He holds your hand so gently between his, his touch fleeting and light, yet sending an array of goosebumps skittering down your said arm. You can barely breathe as you search his eyes, but when he looks back at you, the tenderness of his face is enough to render your heart into a frenzied staccato.

"I wonder where they've gone," he hums, tugging you along with a thumb gently brushing over your knuckles. Your face is flaming red at this point and he'd be an idiot not to notice.

"I--" you can't keep your eyes off your entwined hands, "I don't know."

He glances back, notices the focus of your attention, before grinning playfully, "what?"

Your gaze flits upwards to his, "nothing."

His hand squeezes yours as if in understanding and upon hearing his soft playful giggle, you let out a small laugh before squeezing back fondly.

A few minutes later, you spot the missing two boys by the coffee stand don't hesitate to scowl at them when you notice their eyes lingering over your linked hands, smirks flashing across their faces.

"Hey Kevin," Jacob calls out, "Why are you holding Y/N's hand?"

Oh god. You wish you can punch him. Your entire body grows still.

Kevin, with soft peony cheeks, only grins in return before he says a little smugly, "because I like her. And because she's going to be mine."

At this point you feel so hot that you wouldn’t be surprised if you were to combust right there and then, nudging Kevin as you bite your lip to stop the smile from spreading across your face. Meanwhile, the other two boys high-five each other as Kevin leans in a little closer, lips just mere inches from your ear:

"So will you? Be mine?"

[stuckonjbbarnes]

Season of the Witch {One Shot}

This is for @chloerinebarnes​‘s 200 Writing Challenge. I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS

Prompt: "This is why you don't use an ouija board." Pairing: Sam x OC Warnings: Demon, they say Hell a lot...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Monroeeeee." She hears the static crackle of rapidly changing radio channels. "MO-NR-OOE"

"ZOZO ENOUGH." She frowns, rubbing at her eyes and attempting to wake up.

As she stumbles to the common room, a vase goes flying nearly hitting her in the chest. Using her telekinesis to set it back on the pedestal, she continues walking. It had been a week since she last consulted the Ouija board and the gang were bound to be back from their mission at any time. Monroe had no idea how to explain what is going on.

"Zozo, could you like chill for a minute and at least...like point out what is wrong?" Groaning, she moves into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. 

"No...this is not Sokovia, you dumb demon." Cabinets fly open around her. "I'm sorry...We are in New York."

Her ouija board flies across the kitchen floor, skidding to a halt in front of her. Monroe stares for a moment and it dawns on her. She fucked up. Oh she really really fucked up. Wanda was going to kill her. Zozo wished he could kill her. Sam...well her boyfriend was never gonna let her live this one down.

"Just...relax. I'll fix it. But I need someone else to help or you're gonna stay stuck. Be patient my friend." Monroe mutters, testing the bitter coffee and pouring in more flavored creamer.

Settling into the sofa, she cracks open a grimoire and sips her coffee. Monroe is so engrossed in the section on divination that she nearly misses the sound of the quinjet landing. But Zozo heard it and a potted plant is flying down the hallway, crashing before she can will it back to it's spot in the living room.

"Zozo, what part of relax is so HARD for you?!" Monroe groans, attempting to clean up the mess.

"Clumsy as always sister?" Pietro asks, walking in with Wanda and Vision at his tail.

"You know me, big brother. Always tripping into things." She rolls her eyes, manifesting a new pot for the plant and getting the last of the dirt compacted.

"Leave her alone Pietro." Wanda chides, stopping to help clean up the shattered pottery.

Monroe hears something else thump, both she and Wanda look up to see Pietro picking up one of the recliners and vision floating a bit, looking nervous.

"Clumsy as always big brother?" She teases and he glares, brushing himself off.

"No using powers against family, Monroe." He grumbles.

"I didn't...did you Wanda?" But her twin is by Vision talking to him in hushed tones.

He looks at her and she squints, wondering if he senses Zozo. The super soldier portion of the Cap Trio walk in, looking from one Maximoff to the next and wondering what they missed. Nat pushes them out of her way and settles on the couch. The guys attempt to do the same, except Bucky stops and turns grabbing Steve by the neck with his metal hand. Vision just barely manages to pull Bucky away before he can crush Steve's neck.

"Wanda what the hell?!" Steve yells, moving a good distance from Bucky, who is staring at his arm in confusion.

"I would never do that." She frowns, sitting next to Natasha.

"Pietro."

"I can't physically do that." He shrugs, glancing at Monroe.

"Monroe, why would you–" Bucky begins but is cut off as Vision hurtles into the wall.

"It's not me!" She cries, trying to keep an eye on Zozo's shadow.

Before she can spot it, recliners flip, the TV turns on blaring whatever program at 100 volume, Natasha and Wanda are both on their feet running to Vision. Steve and Bucky are screaming and attempting to cower behind the couch, until it flips behind them leaving them as open targets.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Pietro shouts attempting to slow time to no avail.

"Would you guys all SHUT UP. I am going to fix this. DAMN." Monroe yells, cutting everyone off. Even the demon has flipped the TV back off. "Zozo ENOUGH. Go back to my room now."

There's a quiet and everyone is staring at her, breathing hard. She knows she’s in deep shit and begins thinking of a way to explain that doesn't sound like she is an idiot...even though she is because she messed up with a demon.

"What did you do, baby girl?" Sam walks into the room, making a bee-line for Wanda and leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Wanda!" She blocks his face with her hand.

"Not Wanda." Monroe lifts her hand, Wanda looks between her and Sam with the same bemused expression that is probably on her own face.

"I...uh, anyways. What did you do Monroe?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck, looking over the destroyed living room and coming over to plant a quick kiss on your mouth.

"I...forgot to say bye to my Ouija Board...and the demon that lives inside it is throwing a tantrum because he can't go scare other idiots playing with Ouija." The couch flips back over, nearly knocking Steve and Bucky over. "I HATE YOU TOO. You are being SO dramatic."

She watches Zozo's shadowy form retreat down the hall. The rest of the team starts moving the furniture back into place. Muttering who is Zozo and what is Zozo. Monroe takes Sam's hand and pull him towards her room.

“This is why you don’t use an ouija board, Monroe." He sighs, giving her hand a squeeze and stopping to watch from the doorway.

"Yeah yeah, Sam. Get over here and say goodbye with me."

"Why do I have to help? You were the one playing with an ouija board."

"Zozo AND I ARE PALS...Right Zozo?" She asks the demon, who is taking residence in the corner of her room. An empty coffee mug flies at Sam and she easily brushes it aside with a flick of her wrist. 

"See. He just doesn't like you guys..."

"Why do you need me though, babygirl?" Sam asks, sitting and looking around but unable to see the shadowy figure.

"Duh, baby...never play with an ouija board by yourself...it's a rule." Monroe rolls her eyes and sets his fingers on the planchette, adding herur own and brushing his.

"Isn't saying good bye...a rule." He quips and she hisses.

"That's what we're doing now." 

"By all means..." Sam watches Monroe and follows as she circles the planchette over the board.

"Thank you for a miserable week Zozo. It has been fun having a demon running around while all my friends were working. But we release you now. Go forth and scare the hell out of children. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Sam echoes and she sees Zozo's shadow get sucked back into the board. Monroe sits there a moment and locks eyes with Sam. He's got a wild look in his eye and she realizes....he saw the shadow on the board. Their fingers are touching on the planchette. He saw through herr eyes...and yet, he doesn't mention it. He seems pretty okay about it, honestly. 

"You know...when I started dating an identical twin...I expected some crazy shit. I just didn't expect this much..." Sam wiggles his fingers.

"This much what?" She raises a brow.

"Witchy-woo?"

"Baby...it's the Season of the Witch." She laughs as everything settles and he wraps her in his arms. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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[ibadouji]

.proto!ibaraki

.GENERAL STATS

name. Ibaraki-Douji.

master. verse dependent.

age. ???.

gender. male

height. 7′3″

extra. left-handed. missing his right arm. long hair. grotesquely large/demonic hand when in battle.

favourite foods. anything containing meat. sweets. rice cakes.

favourite drinks. sake. peach soda.

dislikes. certain groups of humans. deception. being underestimated. disrespect. anything that disrespects|offends shuten-douji. many other things. (too lazy to list them)

residence:outside of chaldea (he does not live inside of the facility. he refuses to but he will often be seen there)

" Oh? You expected something else? A woman perhaps? Do not be a moron. I am still Ibaraki-Douji, ringleader of the Oni of Mt Ooe. Do not get too comfortable around me, you will not know when I will turn on you and eat you. "

summoned as the male counterpart of Ibaraki Douji. He can be said to be the exact same as his counterpart. The difference being he is 'calmer' and taller than the Ibaraki Douji known to many in Chaldea. Don't take it the wrong way though, his calm temper is only reserved for those whom he sees as an equal in some way, shape, or form. When provoked, he is just as fearless and blood-thirsty. His temper is difficult to quell when he goes on a rampage.

[beheadingofmakai]

“Let’s Be Their Coincidence” -- Design Document

This post is meant to divulge a bit of trivia, things that were part of the characters but that weren’t revealed so as to not derail the narrative, and other such extra things that, while relevant in the creation process, weren’t made explicit and/or implicit in the story. I believe it is always good to make a comprehensive summary such as this in a document to always keep in mind where it is you want to take your narrative and characters, and how to go about it consistently, and since I have no plans on continuing this particular story, I might as well reveal everything that didn’t see the light. This blog is a writing blog as much as it is a repository of ideas and a love letter to the joys writing, so I do believe this might be of interest to anyone who wants to see the “behind the scenes” process, so to speak, of the Valentine’s One-shot. Future One-shots ideally will also have an accompanying Design Document post. It is simply something I believe to be a good idea and also a fun and useful to keep everything you need about your cast in order so you don’t end up being inconsistent in their execution.

Also, I am a huge hedonist, and I am doing this for myself as well. 

Let’s begin.

Astrael

Astrael’s real name is Azrael, better known as the “Destroying Angel” or “Angel of Death”.

Astrael used to be a simple Archangel (this is a good reminder that Archangels are the second lowest rank of the Choir, just above Angels) who happened to have been born a rare genius in techniques of erasure. She always found it too easy to learn how to ‘remove’, whether that be information or lives, and while that lead to a mastery out of curiosity, she herself never liked actually using her skills. Her job in the Choir of Angels was minor stuff, ranging from recordkeeping to delivering minor omens to devoted followers under the guise of “apparitions”.

When Moses and Ozymandias’ confrontation brought the Ten Plagues to Egypt, God ordered the Plague of Death. Jehoel, the Seraphim of Fire who knew of Azrael’s rare but underutilized talents, ordered her to accomplish this job. Azrael, hesitant but aware that she couldn’t refuse a direct order from a Seraphim, begrudgingly accepted the job. She was informed to kill every firstborn from every house, unless that house’s door was marked with lamb’s blood. Using her knowledge to remove her own physical form, she became a fog that blanketed Egypt, removing the specified lives. The sheer efficiency with which she accomplished this surprised her superiors in the Choir, and for years, she was the go-to person take lives, be it from religious opponents or from other such accursed earthly matters, matters that Azrael had no personal interest in. Being the Tenth Plague of Egypt was the “big job” she commented to Nahoko about.

As time passed, she began to detest her job more and more, for she began to see herself more as a “spearhead” than a person; the Choir needed someone death? She would be the one thrown at them. Time and time again, she was sent to remove life, and never to remove the misery or suffering of the people devoted to God. She eventually had enough and deserted the Choir. Whenever Angels desert, they usually do so to become Fallen Angels and ally with Demons, or simply because they have become immersed in earthly matters and have decided to leave, but none do so without repercussion. Azrael saw no pursuer, for they knew what she was capable of.

During one of her ‘jobs’ for the choir, she fought the Shinto goddess Inari Okami. She was not able to terminate her, not with any of her removal techniques. Inari Okami, however, saw the sheer pain behind every single one of her motions, and offered a shoulder to cry on and an ear that was willing to listen. Azrael considers Inari Okami as the one person she truly respects, and the two have remained in contact ever since. Inari Okami, the goddess of fertility and agriculture, among other things, is the one that offers Azrael a commission in Japan after she deserts the Choir.

Azrael changed her name to Astrael after deserting, as a reference to her passion for Astrology and stargazing. She loves reading the Zodiac as well, especially the sections that have to do with romance.

Ever since her time in the Choir, Astrael has been interested in romance, and loved to get assigned Omen jobs because that meant she could go to Earth and observe the wild romantic lives of humans, who give themselves to emotion much more than the more stoic and cold Angels. She had a ‘human phase’ when she was a kid, where she wrote many self-insert stories of herself as a human and her adventures on Earth.

Astrael is a lesbian.

Her Cupid’s Bow’s form is that of a sniper rifle. A Cupid’s preference shapes their Bow. As she considers herself a consummate professional and a Cupid is ideally not seen by their ‘target’, a sniper rifle was the ideal choice for her and her steady hand. She also thinks it’s cool. She can morph her Bow into a pair of semi-automatic pistols, but that doesn’t have much use, considering Cupid is supposed to stay out of sight.

Her master of Scenario Witchery comes from her vast experience. The specific Scenario Witchery she uses in Coincidences is called “Lovermaker Park - Graveyard of Indecision”. Since her talent lies in removal, she’s not actually bringing forth feelings of emotion from her targets, rather, she’s effectively removing, that is, killing the hesitation in those who are in her Scenario. By ‘killing’ their indecision, she brings forth their true underlying emotions to surface. Aimi felt the magic as “grim” because the source of Astrael’s power is indeed grim and ruthless, but the way she’s using it is truly and honestly benevolent.

Astrael’s decision to become a “freelancer Cupid” comes from her lifelong admiration for the Earthly emotion of love and how passionate it can be expressed. She means every word of her wanting to see clumsy couples come together and be happy.

Aside from Astrology and love, Astrael enjoys texting with Inari Okami, hiking, and rollercoasters.

Nahoko

Nahoko used to be a Mount Ooe henchwoman. A bit player who never was anything more than “a troop”.

When Minamoto no Yorimitsu and his Four Heavenly Kings came a-knocking, she was immediately knocked out by Sakata no Kintoki right hook. She was sent flying through a cave wall so hard that everyone just assumed she died. She was, in fact, unconscious, making her one of the few survivors of the Extermination of Mount Ooe.

After becoming a vagabond following this event, she settled next to a certain rural town, living by the mountainside and lying low. She mostly hunted to survive, but really missed being able to drink sake on demand. The townspeople eventually learned of her, and approaching the mountainside was forbidden due to her dangerous presence.

One day, a young man intentionally approached her. “Whatcha think yer doin’?” she inquired. “I want to be strong. Please teach me how to be strong.” he replied. She laughed and mockingly said she’d consider it if he brought her sake, but that if she didn’t like it, she’d kill him on the spot by removing his spine. He brought exactly one keg and it was the best she’s ever drank.

She mostly saw him as a little toy, but humored his requests to train with him. She taught her how to fight and how to condition his body to reach higher and higher heights of strength. He would never, ever, become as strong as her, for she was an Oni and he was merely Human, but he insisted that he’d love the look on her face when the day came and he proved her wrong. She liked his guts.

However, Oni are fundamentally mischievous, and with the massacre of Mount Ooe fresh on her mind, despite legitimately growing to like him, she was first and foremost using him to eventually get back at Humans, starting with that village.

Little by little, she had him tell him about his village as idle conversation. Eventually, she learned of where the livestock and the main stash of the village’s rice for taxes and such were. One day, she went and stole everything, eating and killing the livestock, ransacking the rice.

Everyone immediately pointed their finger at Nahoko, but the young man, by now an adult in his mid-20s, defended her. She had indeed done it, but he defended her over and over, not allowing baseless accusations without evidence to be thrown at her. Nahoko felt immense guilt for the first time in her life, having utilized her “little toy” like this, not realizing just how much the two had bonded over the years, and how she spat on his trust.

The very next day, she had come to realize that she couldn’t bear it, so she went to the village to confess, just to find the man beaten and bruised. He had been lynched for siding with the Oni. As rage filled her, she uprooted a tree with a single hand and swung it around as a club, smashing house after house, striking villager after villager, until she noticed that the roots of her makeshift weapon tried to capture her.

The village had brought an experienced Onmyouji to deal with her. It was him that had beat the man to a pulp, and so, she threw herself at him, aiming to crush him to dust. Alas, the Onmyouji was too powerful, and a single incantation launched her away with the power of the earth: He was a nature specialist. The Onmyouji shot several seeds at her, but before she was hit by them, the man shielded her with her body, standing up one last time before being riddled with the seeds. He only managed to miss a single bullet seed, which hit Nahoko in the left leg.

Seeing her chance, Nahoko escaped with the man, leaping away with all of her strength. As he lay dying, the man expressed how happy he was that she was ok, and asked her to find the culprit, so she could clear this misunderstanding. Crying her eyes out, Nahoko begged for him to hold on, but the bullet seeds were already acting, and thorny vines were growing from beneath his skin, torturing him from within, feeding on his own insides to grow. Truthfully, this was nature magic of the most malicious and cruel kind. 

Nahoko couldn’t bear to see the man she had come to realize she loved to suffer like this, and after their first and final, sorrowful kiss, she snapped his neck to save him the suffering. His death was painless, but Nahoko couldn’t forgive herself for doing this to someone she loved and who loved and trusted her back in the way he did. She cradled his body, hugging him tightly, impaling herself with his thorns to atone. 

Nahoko entered a long period of deep depression, disappearing for many years in mountain caves, until she finally could bear to forgive herself enough to see the light again. She saw a different world from before, full of industrial life, urban cities, and peace. Youkai like her were now considered not real.

After this, she simply became a vagabond, going where she pleases, doing as she pleases. Her boisterous nature returned to her, but she was a changed person, and much more mild and civilized than before.

The “curse” of her left leg is indeed the seed of the Onmyouji that hit her, causing a thorny vine to have embedded itself inside her leg, coiling her leg bone. Her unnaturally high magic resistance kept the vine localized entirely to her left leg, but her immense guilt prevented her from removing it, and now, she couldn’t do so even if she tried.

Nahoko is bisexual.

Astrael’s job offer looked like something to kill time with, as well as a way to start making amends for playing with the man’s feelings, so she took it, believing that she has a duty to help others get the warm and loving future she denied the man and herself of.

Nahoko’s specialty lies illusion magic. Aside from her shape-shifting abilities and immense strength that come with being an Oni, she’s always had a knack for illusions, a rarity among Oni. This is how she turns into the ghoulish Oni beast of Lovermaker Park, and how she disguises a regular branch into the Branch of Amenonuhoko. She’s also the one that spread the rumors of Lovermaker Park prior to Coincidence, shapeshifting into several different people to gossip about it in Meguro. Lastly, she’s the one that came up with the “oddly colored bench” idea, as, in her own words, “a landmark or some weird shit of some sort, not too mystic, just out there enough, hooks kiddos into rumors somethin’ fierce!”. Astrael liked the idea, so they went with it.

Nahoko loves handicrafts and is a hobbyist carpenter. She likes to carve geta clogs in particular.

Nahoko has always been eccentric when it comes to fashion; her mix-and-match wardrobe, tacky warpaint, bells, bones, feathered glove, and on-and-off sarashi mix isn’t an Oni thing, she just enjoys dressing weirdly.

Actually a really good singer and loves karaoke.

Aimi

Aimi is actually the around same age as Michiko, not a Kitsune pretending to be a high school girl. Aimi is 18.

Aimi is originally from Kyushu, but her family moved to Tokyo when she was younger.

Aimi is a Yako, or Nogitsune, a specific kind of Kitsune that is known to be malicious, cruel, and harmful to humans. She comes from a long line of Nogitsune, and her family is practically Youkai nobility. She’s the eldest daughter of the current generation.

She can go toe to toe with an old Oni like Nahoko because of her raw power and potential as part of a powerful and ancient family of Nogitsune. Her specialty is spontaneous combustion.

She met Michiko when she was 13  and Michiko was 12. As stated in Coincidence, she wanted to lead her to her death, as a Nogitsune does, but she grew to genuinely like, and then love, Michiko.

Her bond with Michiko has led her to reconsider a lot of things as a Nogitsune with such grand pedigree. This has led to many fights with her family, and at some point, there was even talk of offing Michiko so Aimi would stop with this nonsense. Aimi made it clear that if anything happened to Michiko, she’d bring an era of torment to their household and end the lineage’s prosperity as Youkai with her own hands. They relented.

She’s a troublemaker and a problem child. Aimi gets in trouble practically all the time, and is seen as a loose cannon that not even delinquents mess with. Teachers, fellow students, random passerbys, her own family,  no one is safe from her pranks, no one, except Michiko, her steadfast companion in mischief, and Michiko’s family. She does prank Michiko and her folks here and there, but it’s always magnitudes more lenient than her usual, malicious pranks. Nogitsune are just like that.

Actually very intelligent. She gets some of the best grades in her class.

Not only does she get along very well with Michiko, her best friend and girlfriend, she also gets along swimmingly with Michiko’s parents and Michiko’s older brother. They love it when she comes to visit.

She loves techno, 90s rock, industrial metal, and future funk. She does not like enka.

Aimi loves accessories and has a bunch of them. She’s very stylish and knows she is beautiful, so she tries to keep up with fashion to look good. She doesn’t enjoy wearing traditional clothes too much, preferring modern and more urban trends.

Aimi is pretty good with technology, in stark contrast with her traditionalist home and its denizens. She plays a couple time sink mobile games and loves making silly ASCII art in her free time, which she sends to Michiko.

In Michiko’s own words, “Aimi is the kind of girl that takes silly photos of stuff and launches them your way at 4:30 AM with a funny caption”. This is entirely true and she does this very, very frequently to Michiko and her older brother both.

Michiko

Michiko is 17 years old and comes from a middle class family.

She’s always lived in Meguro, Tokyo.

Michiko is a completely regular and ordinary human form the new era, who prior to the events of Lovermaker Park in Coincidence, did not know about the supernatural.

Her first friend that isn’t her brother was Aimi. She used to be a quiet and very shy person until she met Aimi. After that, she’s been much more outgoing and outspoken. Her family loves this, but also laments the fact that she now gets in trouble practically all the time thanks to Aimi.

Her brother’s name is Kenta (23). They’ve always gotten along really well, and Kenta is also friends with Aimi. Kenta practically adores Aimi because his precious kid sister has only been smiles and joy since they became friends.

Michiko’s parent’s, ‘Auntie’ and ‘Uncle’, are a hard working couple of loving parents. They sometimes lament that they work too much and haven’t been able to truly be there for Michiko as much as they should, hence why she used to be quite and very shy, but since Aimi came into Michiko’s life, they’ve relaxed a bit in this regard. They love Aimi like their own child due to her positive effect on Michiko.

Michiko used to be bullied. Aimi put a stop to that with her own hands, but Michiko didn’t come to realize this until years later.

Gets average grades, Aimi helps her study.

Surprisingly athletic, despite her appearance. She’s only realized this recently, when Aimi remarked that it was actually kind of incredible how she could keep up with her when running away from teachers, jumping out of windows, and in general getting in trouble.

She likes wide frame glasses because they are tough. She hates having to wear glasses, however, because she always ends up touching them with her fingers by accident and she hates having fingerprints on them. In her own words, “this happens to me at least 93 times each day and I want to drink napalm each and every single time”.

Loves video games. Her favorite genres are shmups and fighting games.

Her favorite styles of music are techno and 90s rock. She’s the one that introduced 90s rock to Aimi, and in turn, Aimi introduced her to techno. She also loves video game OSTs.

She used to dress very plainly, but now she tries to accessorize more so she doesn’t look too plain next to the natural beauty and great fashion sense of her best friend and girlfriend. Aimi loves dressing her up.

Actually quite cunning sometimes. She loves the expressions of people when they realize they’ve been bamboozled by her. Michiko never really does mean pranks like Aimi does when she’s by herself, but she HAS helped Aimi take her pranks to the next level of nasty by chiming in ideas, especially if it involves teachers she doesn’t like.

After Coincidence, she requested for Aimi to let her touch her ears, to which she accepted. She immediately bit an ear lightly instead of using her hands, prompting a very cute and startled yelp from the fox girl. She was summarily executed via tickling for this crime.

[fatumalas]

fill out the angst application below. tagged by: @daiengi  tagging: Whoever wants to?

basics

> Name: Watanabe no Tsuna > Age: 1064 (born 953) > Species: Human

bold what applies

drinker smoker done/does drugs knows what a broken heart feels like has committed a crime suffers a physical disability suffers a mental disorder has experienced severe trauma

details

> Biggest fear: There’s not much that she fears, but perhaps a fear she feels strongly about is fading away without making peace with herself. Tsuna regrets the dishonorable methods that they all used with it came to that fateful night at Mt. Ooe, but has no express desire to change what happened. Like it or not, it was necessary for humans to live free of Oni. She carried her regrets to the grave, unable to do anything about them. This is partly why Tsuna is pleased to be called to the world, especially since two of the biggest Oni are also around. They don’t have to like her, she’ll just be happy if they recognize her feelings on the matter. They are going to be working together, after all.

> Recurring nightmare: She wouldn’t call it a nightmare, but a recurring dream Tsuna has is, of course, her fateful battle with Ibaraki-douji. Perhaps it would be terrifying to some, being ambushed by an Oni and almost whisked away into the dead of night. But the battle that ensued, Tsuna has never felt more alive. Should her Master she this dream, they’ll experience that rush of emotions firsthand.

> Something you miss: Her allies. Raikou and Kintoki are here, but they’ve changed somewhat. Though she supposes she must look different in their eyes as well. The feeling of camaraderie they once shared with Urabe no Suetake and Usui Sadamitsu has vanished. She wishes to return to those days, but doesn’t dwell on them too much. Tsuna lives in the now, painful though it may be.

> Biggest regret: The methods used for the Mt. Ooe massacre. Disguising themselves as mountain monks, infiltrating the Oni camp, poisoning the wine, and slaughtering them all. She regrets it all so much, but doesn’t say anything. It was her duty at the time. Even now she doesn’t voice her regrets. Who would believe her? She imagines she would either be called a liar or be thought of as just telling a joke. Her biggest regret has become a heavy burden, in her eyes.

> Pressure point: There isn’t really anything that would upset them, save mocking her for being fooled by an oni’s tricks. While it’s not exactly a sore subject, Tsuna would grow more and more annoyed the more it’s brought up. She already laughs at herself for it, she doesn’t need other people doing the same. 

> A secret: One secret that Tsuna will keep to herself, or at least try to, is her resentment of Minamoto no Raikou. They were the ones who came up with the ‘honorless’ plan of killing the oni, and she will always resent the fact that their samurai code of honor was broken that night.

pick one

fire or water mother or father to hurt or be hurt eerie or gory unrequited love or no love

[crossgartered]

P5R Liveblog (19/?

Shido arc, Congressman Ooe & the Former Noble

Once again I want to date Hifumi Togo. But! I will /not/ do that, because that is not the Plan, even though it would be SO EASY to click 'i want us to date' instead of 'we'll be friends forever' hhhhhhhhhbbbbHHHHHHh

"we were on the trail of a certain bureaucrat, who was involved in a slush fund to support refugees. He kept himself pretty well guarded, so it was almost impossible to get any solid leads on the guy... then one night, I got a voicemail from Kayo saying she had gotten hold of something big. But... that was the last I ever heard from her. The next day, that bureaucrat was found dead at a love hotel... And Kayo had gone missing."

...at some point I will actually write a fic and then all the details I've collected will actually be useful

So Ooe basically caused Kasumi's death is what I'm taking from this

I mean...Futaba's cognition of her mother was pretty monstrous, at least until the Sphinx fell

It's not that weird. C'mon guys.

SEE LOOK RYUJI HAD THE RIGHT IDEA

That's a creepy painting. What's that thing in the middle supposed to be? It reminds me of that Green Day album cover, where they're 🎶holding on my heart like a hand grenade🎶

It seems rounder than a heart though...

Maybe it's the crumbling world?

I love the Yusuke-Futaba pun banter.

All right, pool deck time. Time to switch everyone into their swimsuit outfits. Hmm. What to do with Morgana... Maybe put him in that white cat costume, to match the rest of us?

...ughh.

All right, this is Forneus, who is... Bufu? Frei? One of those two.

Oh, Ryuji says he actually apologized to the girls. That's nice to hear.

WHAT IS THIS OMG I am cackling okay what's with the cheese trap

Oh. It's a sp restore?

I mean, that is one of the reasons I've had trouble completing this Palace in one day before, but with SP adhesives and some items I managed to pull through.

But I have not had to use SP items in this entire game with the exceptions of Okumura's boss battle and near the end of Kamoshida’s Palace. I have a huge stockpile, pretty much, bc I was really expecting to use them. And I don't even have access to SP adhesives bc I haven't leveled up Takemi enough.

They really give you a lot of SP in this game compared to the original.

Granted, I have an advantage over a new player, but still...

I wonder how Futaba managed to get them out without her turning into a rat herself.

Maybe it'll be more than just an sp restore. It is a /trap/, after all.

...I wonder why Mot could 'rattle' us. Futaba doesn't really view people as vermin, I don't think.

...I wonder why Shido can turn us into rats when we're specifically wearing suits that protect us from cognitive distortion

Well, whatever.

Actually, no, not whatever. I'm actually really curious why they didn't play around more with that. Someone who doesn't (yet) have the necessary willpower to call forth their persona inside the Metaverse, who slowly comes to view the distortion as more and more like reality. They get snapped out of it, of course, but for a while they're like 'maybe this really is his castle' and 'why are we even doing this...aren't we his loyal slaves?' like Ann switches back and forth between her school clothes and her cognitive version's outfit (blegh), or Haru looks more and more like a robot

Actually the more I think about the more I have trouble seeing how to execute it without it being distasteful or just plain difficult. Nvm

[beevean]

"NFCV turns Dracula into a tragic figure!" They say when they just copy/pasted his origin from SOTN and then simply proceeded to make him sad and give him a forced happy ending with absolutely zero repercussions for his actions. No regrets for what he's done, no saying sorry to Lisa for doing the exact opposite of what she'd wanted him to do, Lisa herself is seemingly perfectly fine with the fact that her husband has killed and maimed thousands of people: including toddlers!

I mean look I get it Lisa's a saint, she wants to bring out the good in him yadda yadda...but the fact that she has absolutely NOTHING to say to him about it, NO reprimands, after her dying words were to beg him not to harm humankind, after trying so hard to get him to understand and empathise with humans, no she just gleefully rolls on a bed with him saying she wants to spend the rest of her days with him.

Yeah you can tell Shankar didn't think of Dracula as a villain

Dracula's introduction, indeed the very first seconds of the show, is literally Lisa walking through the impaled skeletons decorating his footsteps. How can you not see him as a villain is beyond me.

(btw, turns out that in the MF manga, apparently Dracula impaled people too: if we take Hector's nightmare for real, he stumbled upon them as a child. But they're all in armor, implying that Dracula defended himself against knights who attacked him at his castle. There is no indication of who were the people that Dracula killed, if knights or mere unfortunate peasants, and when you remember the flashback we see in S2, yeah no he did not defend himself. Totally not a villain, guys!)

As I said, I appreciate the idea of giving more focus on Dracula's grief and how it drove him mad. The games hardly approach this concept after SoTN.

And that's it AFAIK. In PoR and OoE he's just a bastard. So yes, I welcome Dracula being presented as a grieving man! Show how twisted his idea of love is! But they went way too overboard, and instead, they turned him into a weakling who can't even get respect from his generals, and who is too depressed to properly command ("Braila. Fine. Braila it is. I no longer have the strength for these petty decisions"); he terrifies Godbrand into submission when he presents one good argument, but lets Carmilla insult him and Lisa in front of everyone and accepts her flimsy explanation with a laugh. Ah yes, that's how I've always imagined Lord Dracula to be: a depressed man stuck in his chair.

And yeah, that ending. Way to miss the point of his character. Way to ignore how he doomed himself to a lifetime of death and rebirth at the hands of the worst traits of mankind, how he'll never break free from his hatred, how he'll never see his beloved ones again let alone earn their forgiveness. No, he'll just live happily as a man again! Until Lisa dies for real, I suppose :)

also yeah lisa what the hell? girl really decides to spend a new honeymoon with her anthrocidial husband but doesn't want to see her son because "he needs closure" :) mother of the year :)

She didn't even have the same last words in the show. She says "Don't hurt them! They don't understand! I know it's not your fault, but... if you can hear... they don't know what they're doing. Be better than them. Please!". For reference, in SoTN she says "Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, then at least do them no harm. For their's is already a hard lot."/"Those unable to forgive mankind will walk the path of their own destruction. Those who do not belong to that world shouldn't do anything..." It's not the same thing, and we don't even know if in the show Alucard heard those words, let alone Dracula.

[recentanimenews]

Chihayafuru, Vol. 2

By Yuki Suetsugu. Released in Japan by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Be Love. Released in North America digitally by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Ko Ransom.

I’d said in the last review that Chihayafuru is, in many ways, a sports manga. But this is not your average baseball or soccer title. Karuta is not really thought of as something that kids do these days, particularly once they enter high school, and especially if they’re good at other sports, which Chihaya is – everyone points out she should be on the track team. But Chihaya has a dream, and is very, very driven towards getting that dream, even if it means playing over and over without her two friends – we’re in high school now, and both have been away for years. Luckily, Taichi has returned, bringing his unspoken crush, his reluctance to get back into an “uncool” sport, and his ability to see flaws that Chihaya can’t see herself. Arata is another matter – not only does he still live far away, but he tells them in no uncertain terms that he isn’t playing karuta anymore.

The reason Arata abandoned karuta is not the most original one in the world – in fact it’s the most cliched part of the book – but it works anyway, especially as it helps to show off why Chihaya’s impulsiveness is not always a good thing. That said, it looks like it may work out in the end, which is good. Karuta is very much something that Chihaya associates with ‘having fun with friends’, and the group activity is the most exciting part about it. In fact, Chihaya’s enthusiasm is actually masking several issues – Taichi notes that her memorization at the start is still quite bad, and a new character who ends up joining the club, Ooe Kanada, who reminds her that the poems aren’t just there because they sound pretty – there’s meaning and depth behind each one. This is AMAZING to Chihaya, who is nice and sweet but her single minded determination means she can miss the obvious.

As for the Karuta itself, it’s actually still pretty exciting. I was not entirely certain whether Chihaya would win the match halfway through the book – in a series like this, the occasional loss is going to be inevitable, even if you promise that you’re going to win. I’m still somewhat amused at various antics going on during karuta that I would argue are fouls, but then I’m not a karuta player. It’s also a very old-fashioned game – it’s pretty obvious why the club is somewhat mocked, though honestly you get the sense it’s due to Chihaya’s overenthusiasm more than anything else. It’s also very clear why Kana thinks that they should be performing it in kimonos – a lot of karuta runs on aesthetic, and if you look the part it may help in other areas as well. As for any romance in the story, well, Taichi still has a crush on Chihaya, but that’s about it – she’s totally oblivious.

Chihayafuru may not be the most obvious josei series out there, but if you read it it will win you over on pure energy, just like its heroine.

By: Sean Gaffney