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neerons · 2 months

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Hey, how are you?? I hope you are doing great. I love all of your masquerade kiss posts and everything else you write because you put so much effort into them. You explain the MK characters in such a deep, fascinating way that it's admirable, and I kinda miss your analysis, lol. I have a question, tho if you are interested and free to answer. What is one thing you personally hate and love about the MK mc and the LI all 4 of them and if their is anything you would like to change about the game??. Like any route incident or character trait?? I believe their is a lot to say where MK is heading personally for the characters, both good and bad, tbh I would love to know your answer. Anyways, take care and have a great day ❤️

Hey ❤️ I’m doing alright even though I’ve been sick since yesterday, thank you for asking! I hope you’re doing good as well

Thank you for these thoughtful words. You always make my days whenever you say such nice things 🥹 I’m glad if my analyses are appreciated or helpful, I try to be as faithful to the representation of the title as I can while I give my own thoughts. Telling me I do it well and in a fascinating way means so much to me, thank you again ❤️

Things I love and hate about the Masquerade Kiss characters? Anything I’d like to change about the game?

To answer your question, there are many things I love about the characters and nothing I hate, or particularly dislike. Hatred would be a big word to use and if I hated anything about the title, I would find it hard to read it to be honest. I think this title is perfect for me as it has everything I love within it, which is why I’m really passionate about it. The things that tend to be "less good" about the characters are aspects of their personality that represent their flaws, so it’s only natural to like them less, and I have to say, I think their flaws are very well chosen. Maybe I sound like a simp for the title haha, but then so be it 🤣

The Masquerade Kiss MC

What I especially love about her character is that she successfully represents what I had always hoped to see in a MC. I personally was often used to seeing MCs that, while very lovely in their own way, were very "flat" and not especially interesting with their personality. Due to the fact that writers try to make sure the readers can self insert and project onto the MCs, earlier MCs were somehow very bland, or "weak", and submissive in a bad way for the sake of the self insert and LI. With newer titles, this problem seems to be less present though!

When I say they are weak I don’t mean their physical strength by the way, but rather the fact that they are so kind they are completely selfless. I think that if done right, such a representation can be beautiful, but more often than not, I saw MCs who were so "kind" their character was being crushed by their LI and they completely lacked anything that could be relatable to most readers, if that makes sense. It was in my opinion bad writing, because it was very one sided and only served the purpose to go faster with the story to learn more about the LI.

Compared to that, the MK MC is sooo well written in my opinion. She has everything, and without any extremes. She’s an independent and capable woman with a strong and kind personality, but she doesn’t reject others or love nor does she act as a man hater (thankfully, she didn’t fall into that annoying type of feminist writing). She’s extremely strong both physically and mentally, but she can still be sensitive, cute and have her weaknesses at times. She’s all about justice and doing what’s right, but can admit her own mistakes and adapt her judgment when she sees that what she believes in isn’t always right. Despite her intelligence, she can be a bit silly especially with the right crowd. She fits in very well with the 3S’ due to that reason and is often either as exasperated as Yuzu, or takes part in all their weirdness and banter

She’s also extremely beautiful, which is a breath of fresh air for me because the amount of times that I’ve read stories where the LIs often mentioned that the MC was plain looking or ugly at first… I actually don’t think it’s bad to have an average looking or "ugly" MC, but after the other titles or games that I’ve played, it was good to finally have a MC all the LIs could basically admire and compliment like she’s a literal goddess. Especially if the reader is supposed to project onto the MC (it’s nicer to be expected to look like Venus rather than Gollum…🤣) To be honest, whenever I read titles, I always imagine the MC to look like my OC, so it hurts to see the LIs think she’s not especially pretty at first 🥹

As for what I don’t like about her, nothing really in particular, but there are things I wished I could have seen more. In her character introduction in the app, she’s described as a sort of sister figure to other women, but I’ve never seen that yet.

I’ve seen women either be friendly, or jealous, but I’ve never seen her have a sort of sisterly role towards any females. Given her career, it wouldn’t be odd for her to be admired by other fellow agents too so I kind of wish to see that. I actually really hope we can even see her actual family and have her meet her younger siblings. We had a few interactions with her parents and especially her mom, but I hope we get to meet her brother and sister as well. It would bring a lot more characterization to her.

Some people could also argue that in Kazuomi’s route, she’s often left aside to give place to Kazuomi who’s always a few steps ahead of her, and therefore her talents and character isn’t as fully explored compared to other routes. Personally that doesn’t bother me a lot, because it’s already been clear how good she is, and Kazuomi is definitely the main guy with a lot of depth to his own character, so it makes sense that it’s tougher for her to shine when she’s against him. That doesn’t remove any of her greatness. Her being the way she is is already exceptional if we take into account that a lot of other MCs never reached her level of characterization

Kei

There are many things I like about Kei. His story, first of all, which I didn’t expect to turn out this way at all the first time I’ve read his first season. Seeing his growth and changes have felt like going on a journey. If he’s potentially not interesting to read as a LI, I’d say he’s at least great to read simply for the whole character development and story building. He’s slow burn, which may not be appealing to many, but it feels worth it whenever we reach the stages we have wished to see.

I would argue that the writing of his route make him one of the best, if not the best, story among Voltage titles. I say this despite liking Kazuomi’s route the most, because I can only bow down to such a beautiful route. It’s so unique and difficult and confusing at the same time. It’s like you’re experiencing what he feels about love alongside him. He has so many sides to him that give him a lot of depth, and I didn’t expect to witness this type of character before.

His trauma and story telling is handled in a very bold way. I had never seen Voltage write such a tragic background story before. It’s not like I’ve read every title out there, but from everything I could see, it seems like MK overall is very unique. I also love his sense of humor and his playful attitude. He’s a big tease, which is perfect to enhance Kazuomi’s own playfulness and to get on Yuzu’s last nerves

Something I wish would have been different in his story however would be how Caleb was handled at the end of his arrest once they managed to stop him. I just wish it would have been more spectacular. The final fight wasn’t bad, but it could have had more impact, more spice to it in the fighting scenes ✨

Yuzu

He’s great, and so are his flaws. I always think about how his qualities and flaws are perfect combinations, he is pretty relatable and realistic. I once heard something that approximately said that, in a given trait, all our qualities have a "trap", and that these traps basically lead to our flaws. In this case, I always thought how Yuzu’s perfectionism can turn into stubbornness and lead to frustration. Just like his sensitivity is hidden and shut down by his rationality a lot of times. I think he can be very relatable, especially to those who struggle to open up and communicate their feelings, even with themselves.

I really like that he uses his knowledge about technology to face his problems, such as saying that when he and the MC argue, they have a "bug" that needs to be fixed. It’s really cute and adds to his hard working or nerdy nature. He obviously always tries to do his best and while it’s hard for him to admit it, he’s very fond of his closed ones and will always be there for them. I also love how he is intelligent in many ways. He’s not narcissistic or condescending to those who appear less intelligent than him, he always wants to do better and takes others’ opinions into consideration if they matter.

As for what I’m hoping to see in the game for him, I’d say more interactions between him and Kazuomi. Maybe due to having the same writer, it seems Yuzu and Kei are shown to be especially close but we know they all share a deep bond with different dynamics. It would be nice to see more key moments that would show the type of bond they have as well, since Yuzu is said to respect Kazu a lot in his own character introduction

Kazuomi

Of course there are way too many things I love about this man since he’s my favorite. I love how confident he is, how he always manages to stay in control of things, and how fun he can be. He’s the type of character that makes you think everything will be alright in the end. I also love that this personality he has might not be his actual one, and I’m only looking forward to seeing how he really is. He’s really mysterious at times, and his past seems to be deeply present in his mind even now. He’s the only one who is the most discreet when it comes to opening up about it, so it’s really making me curious to know what happened.

What I love the most is how good and unique his relationship with the MC is. They’re at the same time completely compatible personality-wise, and at the same time, their work make their relationship hard to operate like a normal one. I don’t especially wish anything from his route would be altered, but I’m hoping to see he and MC finally reach a sort of stability in their relationship where they can settle down without thinking that what they have might be temporary. With MC’s job and Kazuomi’s tactics that will make him reveal himself to her one day, we don’t know what will happen between them, but I’m optimistic about their future. They were basically made for each other

Seiichi

I absolutely love him, which is why I will take this opportunity to expose my love and rant about all the things I need to rant about. There are a few things that should have been explored before stopping his stories, which is why I’m mad that they decided to stop writing for him. Things such as seeing more of his older sister, who was implied to appear again to fight back against Seiichi and MC, if I remember correctly. In the end, we won’t know what she would have done if they had decided to continue more with his stories. We also needed to know more about him. About how his grandparents raised him, getting more PoVs of his past, etc…

Something that I’ve found very weird is that when you play Kazuomi’s Ultimate Vacation, you can decide to get a PoV of the Boss. If you choose it, Boss then quickly has a thought about his past, about how the island he grew up in had marijuana plantations, and then you learn that his island ended up destroyed as a result. I didn’t understand why they discontinued his story only to reveal things here and there in other routes. I don’t want breadcrumbs about him, I want the whole bakery (and I say that as a French 😡😂)

Really though, I don’t know what was the point of doing this, I love learning more about him, so it’s all fine with me, but why in Kazuomi’s route? Why make a PoV option for him when you’re only going to show a few lines about his past and then move on to Kazu’s story again? I found all this very interesting and mysterious. Maybe they couldn’t follow with his story since he was the least read of the bunch, so they decided to expose what they had planned for him in the other routes for the fans.

Maybe my only wish was that he wasn’t made out to be such a jerk to MC in Kei’s route S1. I don’t mind that he can appear as an antagonist at first, but this really seemed to have killed a lot of readers’ will to try out his route due to that, when he’s actually a great character with good morals. Lacking readers for his route is most probably the reason why they decided to stop writing for him, too.

There’s something else I wish (maybe?) could have been different in his story. There’s the fact that the EAC is, depending on the route, either depicted as controversial in their way of handling things, or as a good agency that wants to bring justice. It would have been good that in the end, MC didn’t become a senior agent for the EAC in my opinion. I was pretty disgusted by the agency to be honest. It was made clear that the EAC higher ups would have never promoted MC to a senior agent position if it weren’t for Seiichi faking his death (and we never knew why they never wanted her to become one in the end), and it was revealed later on that the EAC lacked agents after Seiichi made sure to "take care" of the agents who were rotten.

Technically, we learned that the EAC they were working for had their bad apples as well. Even if Seiichi took care of them after disappearing, I felt pretty bitter to see MC become a senior agent for the EAC when they didn’t have the intention to choose her willingly at first. And of course I was also super sad because Seiichi wasn’t here anymore, which led her to live without him for a few years before finally reuniting again. I loved their reunion, but I just felt sad that things had to turn out this way for them. I’m thinking that this ending wasn’t planned at first, and they they came up with it as a last resort to end his route earlier, because there are quite a few plot holes that were supposed to be filled later on in future stories.

Aside from that, I loved his route overall and only dislike that they treated him "badly" compared to the other LIs. He’s really mysterious which is what made me so obsessed with learning more about him at first, and then made him my second favorite. I also loved how he protected MC against the EAC when they wanted to pin her as a criminal, and how in other routes he also seems to care for her, even if it’s very subtle.

I feel like with his type of characterization, he was made for readers to interpret his acts a lot. He loves to confuse MC at times and they have this sort of banter where they won’t admit their feelings and will unmask the other, which I really love. I love that he yearns for her quietly and will only show her a fraction of it to tease her, and possibly to indulge himself too

Thank you for the ask, and sorry if my answer was long! Take care as well!! ❤️

#ask #kazuomi shido #yuzuru shiba #kei soejima #seiichi setoyanagi #voltage inc #love 365 #otome game #voltage #love 365 find your story #masquerade kiss #mk #otome games #voltage otome #masquerade kiss boss #mk boss

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the-eeveekins · 6 months

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The 18th Day of G-Witch: Precious Things

So, off the bat I get to address a complaint I saw about Miorine pop-up later in the show: Prospera never manipulates her into her bad choices, she makes them on their own.

And that's true, to an extent. Nearly every bad choice Miorine makes starting in this episode and into the next few were ultimately decisions she made. But in every case, it was Prospera's words that pushed her towards making those decisions. Prospera doesn't actually have to heavily manipulate Miorine into playing into her hands, she doesn't have to actually convince her to do these things, because she understands Miorine so well that she knows just what to say to make Miorine make those choices herself.

This is a perfect example of that. Prospera wonders aloud if Suletta will really give up Aerial and stay uninvolved in her schemes, thus pushing Miorine to concoct a plan to forcibly separate Suletta from Aerial. Time and again, Prospera hands Miorine the rope and she hangs herself with it.

These scenes make this episode so tough. You can tell Suletta has been waiting for Miorine, you can tell how excited she is to finally be reunited with her. And you can tell how excited she is that Miorine is about to turn 17 and they can officially get married. Look at her face, Suletta is so ready to marry Miorine as soon as possible.

This was essentially Miorine's last hail mary attempt to avoid something drastic. I think if she would have gotten a positive reply from Suletta, she would have asked Suletta to simply give up Aerial to Prospera/The Benerit Group and tried a different route of breaking Prospera's grip on Suletta. But Suletta's answers combined with Prospera's earlier words push Miorine into drastic measures.

Look, ultimately I don't like Guel and I disliked his character development and how much focus he got in S2 at the cost of more important characters. But at least the guy handles being rejected properly and accepts Suletta's response. Which makes the way parts of the fandom and even Bandai itself continuing to try and push this relationship so annoying and frustrating. He got rejected TWICE, accepted Suletta's rejection and moved on with his life. I feel bad for fans of his who keep getting stuck with merch trying to push that aspect of his character.

Also, there's nothing complicated about this scene, there's no love triangle going on. Only homophobes desperate to downplay a same-sex relationship would turn a scene where a girl clearly rejects a guy while explaining she has feeling for someone else (Miorine) into some sort of complicated relationship situation. Looking at you, Anime Trendz.

As if to drive home the fact that Suletta was talking about Miorine in the last scene, Miorine also reiterates that she doesn't want to lose the things precious to her (Suletta). I know it was frustrating when the show was airing that they never said "I love you," but given what we know in retrospect, I'm glad the staff still found ways to show that these girls loved each other. I'm so tired of people saying they had no chemistry or their relation was a weak one because they never said those exact words, when we now know that Bandai would have never let the staff do that.

Miorine is doing everything for Suletta's sake, even going behind her back and making decisions for her because she thinks it's for the best (just like her father did to her). This also begins the very frustrating trend of Guel silently sitting back instead of speaking out, because he clearly sees that what she's doing won't keep Suletta uninvolved. And considering his feelings for her, you'd like to think he'd push Miorine a bit harder towards a less drastic course of actions than the one that would hurt her so much.

This is a duel Suletta detractors love to point to when they say Suletta isn't skilled and is carried by the Aerial. "Override is cheating and Suletta was only about to win this fight because she cheated" was a common argument I saw. Setting aside that it's not against the rules, by the same vein, Guel is also cheating by using the AI assist to basically do most of the piloting for him. Funny how people are quick to disparage Suletta's skill as a pilot because they think Ericht controlled the whole suit (it was just the bits), but when Guel literally has an AI program pilot the whole MS for him, there's suddenly not a peep out of those people about Guel being a bad pilot. And sorry I know this is kind of a pointless rant but I've had to read too many sexists on Twitter and Reddit tell me how good Guel is and how bad Suletta is to not say anything.

Anyway, even though Guel had a newly repaired and upgraded Darilbalde against Suletta's damaged Aerial, Suletta still basically had Guel beat easily before the AI saved him and put Suletta on the defensive.

Like, I know Suletta doesn't literally say "Will you marry me?" but look at this dialogue and tell me with a straight face it's not a marriage proposal. If you think this scene is anything but Suletta asking Miorine if she'll marry her, you're either homophobic or have a horrible case of heteronormative you need looked at.

Miorine is a stronger woman than I am. After hearing that I don't think I would've had the strength to push that button, and you can even see her hands shaking in that moment. The anguish she must feel hearing Suletta say those words and knowing what she's about to do must have killed her inside.

Also...we saw what the GUND-BIT Rifle does to a mobile suit even in school regulation mode. Suletta was so determined to win and marry Miorine that I think she was seconds away from accidentally straight up murdering Guel here.

Honestly, this scene probably hurt me more than any Gundam death ever has. I was depressed for a long time after it aired, and it absolutely made in so much worse that there was a one week delay until episode 18 aired, making this the last thing we saw for two whole weeks until the next episode (which was more pain!) Even though this is my 4th time watching it, it's still difficult to sit through, and it's only made bearable by knowing there's a happy ending waiting for them at the end of this.

Lynn said in an interview that Miorine had to be as cruel as she possibly could in this scene because if Suletta had detected even the slightest hint of kindness or care for her in Miorine's words and actions, she would have held onto that and not let go.

I definitely agree that Miorine's actions here are awful to Suletta and I understand it when people say they wouldn't personally be able to forgive her after something like this. But also realize that:

Miorine never expected Suletta to forgive her or come back to her, and she was fully prepared to throw away her own happiness and her relationship with Suletta for the chance that she could break Suletta free of Prospera and let her live an independent, happy life.

For better or worse, as horrible as this is, it does work. This puts a massive dent into Suletta's belief that listening to her mother and following her motto will always lead to gaining positive things in life. And that dent is important in the next episode.

#25 days of g witch #g witch #the witch from mercury #gundam #g witch spoilers

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yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon · 16 days

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Ayano Aishi

There are several things about Aishi that I'd like to change because of my own interests and because I dislike what Yandere Dev has done with her.

Some of the simpler stuff is just with how she functions. For instance, I don't think that every "rival" should fall in love with Taro. Rather, it should be split into three possibilities: The rival has a crush on him, he has a crush on the rival, or they simply wish to become friends. The only reason why Ayano wants to eliminate them is because Info-Chan feeds into this narrative so that Ayano possibly murders more girls.

So hypothetically, the "bad ending" (aka the "losing senpai" at the end of the week) would really just be Ayano panicking and deciding to just kill the rival at the end of the day. I guess depending on Ayano's stats, this could result in Ayano kidnapping Taro (bad ending #1) or Ayano failing and being jailed (BE #2).

I don't think much improvement is needed for Ayano's personality, but more so her functions and story. One thing I'd like to change is how she acts when she first meets Taro. Rather than being lovestruck, she is so overwhelmed by her dreams coming true that she faints on the spot. Due to this Ayano acting strange around Taro doesn't freak him out as much as it confuses him due to her never being brave enough to explain why she acts the way she acts. This also adds into a nickname of hers being Yan-Chan. This feeds a bit more into how her peers view her.

(Way too much more under the cut.)

Unlike Taro, I am very content with her being emotionless and her whole personality being her love for Taro. I think that's very much to be expected from someone who would kill for that same person.

What I dislike more so has to do with her functions and the rivals and Taro. Putting it simply I highly doubt that ten outstanding and unique young women would completely break out of their character, personality and reject their type for the sake of someone as bland and boring as Taro.

I feel like only Aishi would bother falling so unquestionably in love for no reason due to her own strange conditions.

Additionally, I think that the panty function for Aishi is completely uneeded and gross. Not only does it not make much sense to me, but the only sense I could make is if she flashed someone in order to recieve the boost that it gives her. And even so, that's simply wrong.

I think changing Ayano's hairstyle to recieve certain boosts not only makes more sense but would benefit and explore her ability to manipulate those around her with her appearance and facade of a personality- whichever one she may choose.

#Ayano #Ayano Aishi #Aishi #Yandere #Yandere Girl #Yandere Simulator #YanSim #YanSim Story #YanSim Ideas

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bluemoondust · 2 years

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✧General Yandere Headcanons✧ — Pregame

Character(s): Pregame Akamatsu Kaede, Saihara Shuichi, Ouma Kokichi, Momota Kaito

A/N: These are based off my own interpretation on their personalities, so oof. One of the things I wanted to do when writing these was to slightly mirror these four off of their counterparts when it comes to behavior and traits as a yandere.

Warning(s): Bullying (Emotional, Slight Physical), Obsessive/Delusional Behavior, Hints of Intense Stalking, Unhealthy Lifestyle (on Shuichi's end), Hints of Murder, Manipulation, Victim Mentality (from Kokichi), Injuries on Purpose (by Kokichi), Guilt Tripping, Sadistic Behavior, Possessive Mindset/Behavior, Hints of D.ubcon/N.oncon (on Kaito's part), Selfish Behavior

✧Akamatsu Kaede✧

Kaede isn't someone who would take these feelings in a good light. Even if they were healthy, her reaction towards it wouldn't be any better. Immediately she blames you for how she's feeling because who else will she blame? Herself? Absolutely not. You're the dolt who managed to weasel themselves into her head just so you could mess with her. She just can't let that slide. From then on Kaede became a dreadful presence in your life. Snide remarks, comments targeted towards your insecurities, and some light physical harm such as shoving or pinching you. It's hard to escape from her as she insists on tormenting you day in and day out. It makes you ponder on why the insistence of it all. Why does she bother? If you look a little further as well, you can also catch onto something. How would she even know what to say in order to get under your skin?

Truth be told, no matter how much Kaede had attempted to get rid of you from her thoughts, nothing did the trick. All she could do now was bully you into taking responsibility. Even if you're not aware of it. I will say, deep down she does love you even if she lowkey hates possessing these emotions. They act as a weakness to her so she shoves them down when they insist on rising up. This is entirely unhealthy but Kaede has managed to turn it into a norm in her everyday life.

But oh, does she seethe with anger whenever she catches you laughing and smiling with friends. It's jealousy, envy but all she sees it as you trying to get under her skin. Who gave you the right? So, obviously her next target will be your friends. Kaede's ultimate goal is to ensure you have no one else to turn to except her. At least she can tolerate your annoying, blubbering self instead of those piss-poor "friends" of yours. Even if you reject her after all that, it's difficult to carry on without her constant presence. You're stuck with her.

If you're instant on avoiding her, Kaede gets irritated. Eventually she'll force you to hang out with her, dragging you around wherever she goes. You have no friends so you have no where else to go, so don't f.ucking push her away. Don't make excuses. You have time for her now. Kaede is extremely good at emotionally manipulation which is why she's able to push you into joining her. Kaede will never admit this, but she lowkey does feel lonely in life and maybe she was projecting when her jealousy took over her actions after seeing you with friends. Humanity has done nothing but disappointment her over the years. People lie, steal, cheat for the sake of themselves. However, Kaede saw you as the only good thing in this world, so she had to have you.

✧Saihara Shuichi✧

Unlike ingame Shuichi, this man is extremely delusional. Everything you do or say will be taken into consideration for all the wrong reasons. The moment you either give him the time of day or show a similar interest in Danganronpa, he's immediately hooked. Everything that you considered private is now at the palm of his hand. He's memorized your schedule, taken into account what your likes and dislikes are, drawn up various topics the two of you can have conversations about, and especially mapped out wherever you go (including where you live)! It's nothing to fret about. Your deepest darkest secrets are safe with him and he doesn't judge you at all! He loves you so much to ever hate you! Talking to you brings so much joy in his life (and other feelings...) even when he can't say much in your company due to nerves.

Shuichi is the type to make excuses in order to have your time. Be it through purposely getting hurt so you could coddle him or downright say whatever comes to mind that'll catch your attention. To him, being around you is addicting and without his daily dose of serotonin from hanging off of every word you speak, he gets irritable. His mood is all grumpy until he finally has you at his side. It's apparent that he's unhealthy dependent/attached. He also has the tendency to push everything to the side in favor of his interests, which right now are you and Danganronpa. He neglects himself because you're considered a higher priority. If you call him out on such, he revels in this new discovery that you also snap your attention on him for this reason. He promises to get better. It's half a lie, but he loves being doted on like this.

Rivals irk him to no end. Shuichi deems them as pests, scum, and dirt under his feet. He makes extra sure that he's right next to you when you're talking to either friends or people who've got their eye on you. What's a little unsettling is how quiet he is. Shuichi only talks when you ask him a question or your voice is directed to him. Your friends will probably think he's weird or creepy, and he hopes that's the case. He wants them to back off because they're uncomfortable around him. If they can't deal with him, they don't deserve you. Overall, Shuichi hates sharing you.

Being persistent only leads them to meeting an unfortunate fate. It's difficult to fully confront them, but working behind the scenes is what Shuichi does best. He's got enough of them to ruin their lives. As an alternative, which is much better in his opinion, he can just erase their entire existence off the face of the earth. Some people can never learn unless they're faced with true fear.

✧Ouma Kokichi✧

Kokichi here is probably the least yandere to worry about out of the four, as well as the most tame. On a scale of aware to delusional when it comes to his behavior, he's somewhat aware but sometimes he just ignores the gnawing feeling that something is amiss. It's not like he's hurting anyone or you, so why bother? To narrow everything down, Kokichi is a clingy and manipulative yandere. He's anxious sometimes when you're not around but lowkey feels like a burden to you. The crippling fear of being alone is much greater though. Despite all that, he isn't afraid to tell you of his suspicions about a person you're interacting with. Even if what he's saying about them is not entirely true. It's only out of dreadful feeling that one someone will be more interesting to you and he will be left in the dust. Kokichi can't let that happen.

He plays victim as much as he can; it's literally something he is extremely talented at.This is where the manipulative tendencies come in. In your eyes, Kokichi is a person who people take joy in tormenting due to his shorter than average stature and how passive he acts. He always comes to you to vent about how awful life is towards him. In reality, he is a rather mediocre to some and would sometimes get bullied or used. Other than that, most don't bat an eyelash when it comes to him. So, it's easy for him to stick labels on himself when it comes to your perception of him. If anyone who he suspects is trying to take you away, he runs to you with tears in his eyes. Someone apparently shoved him to the pavement and now his knees and palms are all scraped up. Trust me, he has evidence.

Calling him out on his behavior, if you ever catch on, results in him getting defensive. He's not mad. That's the worst part of it. Kokichi tears up as he questions why you're accusing him of something so heinous. Don't you trust him? He's been good to you, why are you acting like this? Every single thing you point out, he jabs back with a very airtight excuse for such. Now you look like the bad guy in this situation and you feel awful. To put more salt on those feelings, Kokichi forgives you... Because he loves you. After the two of you make up, his mind is reeling to find out just what bastard made you think of such things about him. He has to know, so it's assured that you'll never ever trust their judgement again. I mean, their so called words of advice made you look like an asshole so why ever believe them after that?

Bringing up his awareness again, it gets really bad done the line. Sure, he is somewhat aware but over time Kokichi will make excuses for himself for the things he's doing. Everyone is out to get him and any shred of happiness he could achieve. You have been such a good thing in life, so it makes sense that the universe would try to rip that away from him with people vying for your attention or someone planting misinformed into your mind. There's no way in hell that he will ever let you go.

✧Momota Kaito✧

The absolute worst to put it plain and simple. Kaito is a sadistic and possessive yandere who is all take and no give. It is highly advised to stay far away from him when he gains this unhealthy obsession towards you. Because the moment he figures it out, your life will not be the same. Kaito does not care about whether or not what he's feeling is the normal or twisted. One thing is for sure, you're not getting away from him. He finds it amusing to see you in a state of panic, knowing how he treats you. Every single day he comes around to make sure you're on your best behavior. Meaning you are not doing anything that can piss him off like try to make friends, tell anyone about what he's doing, or god forbid catching feelings for someone. Kaito intends to have full control over you and whatever threatens that has to deal with him. That includes you, which is something you absolutely don't want.

Kaito gets right to the point on the subject of rivals; either beating them black and blue or killing them. No in between. Even worse is if you're around when this happens, he will not care. He's glad you saw since this is just another reason why you shouldn't defy him. Also, how f.ucking dare you instigate this? No matter where you stood in these circumstances, Kaito will find any reason to blame it on you. Then of course a fitting punishment is in order. Every single one just leaves you pathetic and helpless since this man is cruel. He'll deprive you of things, isolate you, heavily degrade you, or force himself on you. Speaking of such, he's horrible due to the fact that whenever he's in the mood, it doesn't matter if you want it or not. It's all about what he wants.

He will occasionally roughly grab you by the wrist and drag you to a semi secluded area. Doesn't waste anytime as his actions are hasty and abrasive. Even outside of that, Kaito is always has his hands somewhere on you. Don't complain or whine, unless you want him to be unhappy. It's absolutely suffocating as he forces you to go with him or do things you'd never do. Again, there's no room for protesting. Do what you're told.

Overall, Kaito is an incredibly selfish human being to deal with as a yandere. No one, not even you, are safe from him. He's someone who sees something he likes and decides it'll be his. No matter what. You would even question if he loves you or not. It's just... He has an exceedingly cruel way of showing it and genuine believes that having you on a tight leash will ensure you never leave. He always tells you during a punishment that he could have had anyone he wanted, but he ultimately chose you. So that amounts to something, correct? Don't be so picky.

#yandere danganronpa #yandere danganronpa x reader #yandere pregame kaede #yandere pregame shuichi #yandere pregame kokichi #yandere pregame kaito #yandere danganronpa v3 #yandere kaede akamatsu #yandere shuichi saihara #yandere kokichi ouma #yandere kaito momota #yandere imagines #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere female #male yandere

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mydysfunctionalvampirefamily · 3 days

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Wow status really gives you nice accommodation. Wait they're together? Interesting.

Miles focusing on the bed, to step away from his fucking emotions again.

Miles is bloodbonded to his sire, right?

Wynn is really doing her best to get through to Miles. I think she really got the only angle that might work. Speaking to his protective side, but at the same time it could trigger his oh yes wanna bet?

Oh Wynn, sweet baby. They're doing a good job sussing things out though.

Wait what??? Is Miles suggesting Wynn gets bloodbonded to him??

Miles being a shit to Wynn is kind of comforting.

For fuck sake, fucking Jan Pieterszoon. I dislike him he just feels like such a wimpy guy. He looks ashamed??? What is happening??? Is this real???

Pieterszoon didn't know Miles wasnt given his own room???

Pieterszoon, you're so behind the times. You're telling them stuff they have been knowing for a long time.

I think it's very naive to think you can just de-escalate the sabat thing.

Omg omg his sire is actually telling him they're going to destroy him!!

"I can't let them all die." 😭😭😭 He cares!!!! See Wynn!!!

Wait he is just doing smth useful for the first time, and now he's going to flee?!?!

A new sword? 👀 "hopefully it's deserving of its prince." that is very sweet!

Johnny, you're encouraging Neil a little too much? He's going to lose his mind.

Neil confessing his greatest fear is facing the end of the world all alone. 🥺

William Biltmore?? Isn't he the one that Neil stole a book for?? Johnny is quite famed?? And neat? Lmao I don't think anyone has described Johnny as neat before.

Lmao just all kinds of malkavians in this room with Neil and Johnny just being so confused. 😂

Astral projections too???? Lmaooooo

Noooooo not Quinten😂

Johnny just sitting there like what the fuck?!?!

Neil is doing a good job though talking about gehenna.

Johnny just having no idea what is really going on.

Wait what? Pieterszoon and Vicose? I'm as confused or more as Johnny.

What is Miles planning?? 👀

Consequences? When has Miles ever considered those? He is above them.

Wow, he's going to pass on this? For now? Damn that's impressive. Wynn, good job! You got through to him.

Wait what??? Oh this is good? A bloodbound sword?

So does Neil get the vision of the dragon to prevent it from escaping or to fight it?

Neil loves Wynn so much. 🥺

I'm glad they're figuring it out with Wynn and Miles.

Conversation???? That's what we're calling it now??

Maria is such a bitch omg. Such strong you might be his latest fleeting fancy, but he comes home to me and I take care of him energy.

Oops Maria, seems you're wrong again! Baaaaiiiii bitch!!!

Okay but we have now see 2 ghouls that have hated Britta for what she meant to their idk what you call it dominor? Is that what Lex said?

Of course Britta has sympathy for Maria, she is so sweet.

What????. Oh my God. Pendragon!!!! Showing your cards about Britta to the fucking justicar, because you want her safe?! That is... Wild? Unhinged? Insane?

You're asking her to move in with you?!?!

Okay I'm sorry, you you talked to this woman 5 times? Threatened her life 4 times, got rejected by he once and made out with her for a bit. You're just ready to put your whole life and all on the line? What the fuck. I mean not that Britta is not worth it but this doesn't make any sense? Is this me being ace-adjacent(acejacent if you will)

Show me you're a fucking elder vampire who hasn't had to feel human connection in probably hundreds of years who doesn't seem to have any empathy and isn't used to anyone disagreeing with him and saying it out loud without telling me. "I will send 10 kindred, more experienced than you, in your place, if you're simply worried about them getting the help that they need." No bitch, she wants to be with her fucking family!!!

Please PUHLEASE don't act like you're doing this selflessly for Britta, a gift to her! You're doing this for yourself because you want to keep her!!!

He's gonna make Miles make Britta stay behind. Damn that would be cold and fucked up.

He killed someone for the Ventrue for Britta? Why is that kind of hot???. I hate this. I do not want to think of this fuck like that. 😂 Fuck you Pendragon.

Lmao "Neil never mattered at all." 😂 Okay he earns some points there, that's funny.

Lmao Pendragon is not used to not getting his way, but lbr that is also why he likes Britta.

"you will not have this opportunity again" LIE like you're just gonna let her go. No one believes that.

Britta is just the sweetest most loyal lil bean there is. 🥺

'everyone who cares for you' including you 😏

He said please?!?! Damn. This is serious.

WHAT?!?! Britta you're gonna let this insane man just put his hand on your neck while you basically spit in his face again and reject him?!?! Okay not rejecting because she wants to spend time with him. Yes disobedience Lex that's a good word.

He almost straight up choked her yo. I mean she wouldn't have diednor well he squeezes her head off I guess?? That's messed up. But he did stop himself that has for to mean something.

Wow. Damn, who thought he could say actually say something romantic. Like not scary romantic, or creepy, or manipulative, but just normal romantic. "On every occasion that our paths have crossed, politics, war and secrets have interrupted us. What if just this once we don't let them."

#path of night podcast #pon liveblogging #season 3 #Episode 85

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gaspardcaderousse · 7 months

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Hi Alex. J/olysui for the ask game. Dont hold back

ohhhhh god dude i cannot STAND that shit

like i don't think every j/olysui shipper is a Bad Person. i think a large portion of ppl read it as girlboss/malewife, which, like, fine, you do you, i won't give ppl shit for it. but that just isn't real. anasui's ass is NOT a malewife, this dude literally murdered his girlfriend

as for my ACTUAL thoughts... i just think it's bad all-around.

first of all, anasui is just really weird to jolyne. let us not forget that f.f. outright calls what he's doing sexual harassment. in no world does that make me think "oh what a cute ship!" like. brother that's awful. his repeated pursuit of her just comes off as creepy, especially considering, like i said, this guy MURDERED HIS GIRLFRIEND? when has a guy who murdered his girlfriend for cheating on him ever NOT been a huge misogynist. like. anasui needs to stay away from women forever, or at least until he changes as a person. i see people argue that none of that matters since jolyne is strong and wouldn't let herself get victimized by that, but like... that doesn't mean she deserves to have to deal with it. someone being strong doesn't mean it's cute or romantic for them to be sexually harassed by a guy who has a clear record of violence against the women he dates. it's still fucked up.

also, i just don't think anasui understands jolyne. he claims to love her for her strength and resolve, and i think that's part of why people ship them, but when anasui first says this, he's never even spoken to her. later, when jolyne asks anasui to save f.f., he explicitly says no, because he only cares about jolyne - but f.f. is someone who jolyne cares about, whose friendship makes jolyne happy. in fact, her bonds with her family and friends are part of what jolyne strong in the first place. if anasui really understood jolyne, he would know that, and if he really loved her for who she was, he would try to help her friend. but he doesn't try to save them, because he doesn't really understand her or love her for who she is. how could he? he barely knows her. it's the idea of jolyne that he loves. that makes for what would be miserable hypothetical romance - and makes their actual relationship feel even more creepy.

on jolyne's end, she just clearly is not interested in him at all. there are lots of scenes where her rejection of anasui is kind of accidental and unknowing, but there are also some where she clearly knows what's going on and isn't humoring it. she ignores his advances extremely pointedly and doesn't give any indication that she'd be willing to enter a relationship with him until the very end of the part - and even then, i tend to interpret her encouraging anasui to confess as less of a "ask me to marry you because i'll say yes" and more "ask me to marry you because i want you to forthrightly put yourself out there for the sake of your own development as a person." like, i don't think she hates or even really dislikes him, but she's not into him, either.

also, it just... doesn't make since to me for jolyne's character arc. jolyne starts part 6 in a relationship with a man who throws her under the bus to save his own ass, and she spends a large chunk of the part surrounded by and bonding with people who aren't men. i think there's something to be said about jolyne finding strength that way and realizing she doesn't really need to date a man to be happy - at least, i like to read it that way. having her end up with anasui feels really reductive in that sense - and i have issues with irene and annakiss for that reason. i honestly feel like araki pulled that because he wanted to end the part on a somewhat optimistic note, and Boy And Girl End Up Dating means the ending is optimistic, right...? but i also think it's worth noting that jolyne both begins and ends the story of part 6 riding in the car with a boyfriend, and we all know how her and romeo's romance ended up...

anyways. i don't even dislike anasui tbh. i think he's a fun character at times, and also he's pink and transgender so that's cool. but his interactions with jolyne make me uncomfortable and i think she deserves way better. they're not even unhealthy in an interesting way! every aspect of j/olysui is fundamentally opposed to everything i like in a ship. LEAVE HER ALONE GET A JOB

#asks #jjba #anonymous

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vacantgodling · 1 year

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SOBEK “BEKI” CHOMISH

27, she/he, identifies as butch, sapphic, black

drummer (she’s got killer arms)

energetic, takes no shit, compassionate, bleeding heart, funny as FUCK, passionate

younger sister of tyson chomish, both children to famous architect noel chomish.

has been best friends with crispin orman & rill stephens since middle school! ride or die for anyone she deems worthy but especially them.

BACKSTORY

the younger sister of TYSON CHOMISH, beki met NIX ZABALA when he started to crash on his couch. the two instantly hit it off, but that’s not uncommon with beki. she’s a bright spark, a firecracker, and in your face about how she feels, positive or negative. when nix asked her to become his first official band member she accepted with open arms and immediately set about honing her drumming skills to an even higher level. she posted a lot of drum covers to songs on youtube, gaining a small following of her own—many of which became the first fans of what would eventually turn into LUKEWARM REJECTION.

crispin and rill are her two closest friends in the whole world, since middle school, and she quickly integrates the two of them into her newfound friend circle. overall, she’s gung ho about building an awesome career with awesome people and things were looking great until, after things fell through and leia stepped back from singing, nix brought on MAVERICK LOVERDE. beki hasn’t liked him from day one, and has made her complaints about him known since early on, however after a certain point she chalked up how she felt to paranoia and tried to get along with maverick better for the sake of the band. he definitely didn’t make it easy—he pretty much immediately disliked her too.

when di enters the group, surprising everyone, she befriends him quickly, proving only maverick is the cause of her ire and not “her dislike of change” as he always tried to chalk her dislike up to. it’s hilarious because maverick is dead wrong, beki loves change because it’s freedom—something she can tell this “boyfriend” of his desperately needs. amazingly perceptive, beki was also the first one to pick up on something not being right about di and maverick’s relationship, but for the sake of the others she again held her tongue.

her irritation was distracted by a budding infatuation with amiya, which she’s kept extremely private as she doesn’t like drawing attention to herself and her love life. there’s a reason why… but not even crispin and rill know the full extent of it.

when things come to a head at the concert with maverick walking out on them and breaking up with di, beki was the first to rage, the first to say i TOLD you so and the first to suggest setting his car on fire. that was thrown out with the bath water, but she does feel horrible about not sticking to her guns and saying something before things got to this point.

(also, she)

#i’ll give y’all what you want damn lol #here’s the butch :)#s: lukewarm rejection #character intro #ren art

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dwellordream · 2 years

Note

THE EMPEROR Upright for Queen Tywin and Aerys?

Tya knows the Queen dislikes her, but Betha Blackwood can hardly hide her relief when they are done questioning the septon. No, he was not some drunken sot they found in a brothel.

It is not difficult, especially in the days of Aegon V, who very publicly broke a betrothal to his own sister to marry his true love, to find septons willing to publicly oppose the practice of sibling-marriage.

It was nearly as easy to find a fervent believer as it would have been to find a wastrel willing to marry them for a few coppers. Septon Reynald is steadfast. Yes, he was entirely sober, knew that his actions were counter to Prince Jaehaerys' will for his son, but believed 'twould be a greater sin to force Prince Aerys into marriage to his own sister, a match he did not consent to.

The Faith has outlawed forced marriage, after all, and has since the early days of the Andals. That does not mean it does not still happen, but in theory, both bride and groom are supposed to be willing.

High Septon after High Septon has affirmed that it is a grievous sin to force a man or woman into an unwanted match purely for the sake of material greed or mortal lust. Or even for supposed prophecy.

Seeing that the septon will not be intimidated into recanting or denying his actions- even sporting a few cuts and bruises from the Kingsguard, Prince Jaehaerys has stormed out in a fury. Princess Shaera is less wrathful but distraught over the shame this will bring upon Rhaella, rejected by her own brother.

"I cannot help but think this a boon for Rhaella," her mother snaps at her at one point, and that is when Tya knows they have won.

Aerys is doing a passable job of looking grim and sober, the duty-bound boy, but when the King throws up his hands and says he cannot repudiate the match, and they must write Lord Tytos immediately, he breaks into a giddy grin.

Tya keeps her composure- if she sits there smirking and preening, it will go badly for her, for the Queen thinks she is an arrogant, hard-faced little schemer who thinks only of her own advancement. But apparently she still prefers that to a dreaded match between her grandchildren.

Septon Reynald is still being punished, of course- sent off to some remote place to serve a godless community with hard labor- but he seems thrilled to have set some new precedent for defying the old ways of Valyria. Doubtless this is the first chapter in an illustrious career. Tya, meanwhile, manages to keep it all in until she and Aerys finally have a moment alone. She is sixteen; Aerys fourteen. While she likes Aerys, likes his fits of wild temper and silly, useless ambition, likes his gaudy manner of dress and his fierce dreams and his cruel streak, she does not actually believe herself in love.

She doesn't think she could ever love him the way a prince is meant to be loved. But in a few years, she supposes she might find him physically appealing. For now he is a slight, somewhat jittery boy, crushing her in an embrace which ignores the fact that she is three inches taller.

"We did it," he says. "We did it. Fuck!" He lets go of her and wheels around the room, his arms swinging at his sides. "Did you see the look on my father's stupid face? Gods! I'd give anything to have it painted on."

When he is dead, Tya thinks, that can be arranged. Jaehaerys has always been of fragile health. It's well-known. His children, however, are the picture of vitality. Doubtless half the realm will be scrambling for the chance to wed Rhaella, now that she is unattached.

Tya's money is on Steffon Baratheon; perhaps a cousin-marriage will console Jaehaerys and Shaera. Or perhaps they'll go for Hoster Tully instead. It was his aunt who Jaehaerys scorned for his own sister. Or maybe the Martell princeling.

Tya is decidedly ambivalent about Aerys' sister as a person- Rhaella has the personality of a cup of warm milk, in her opinion- but she does care who her goodsister weds. Deeply. She'd propose Kevan, but of course, she's not that stupid. Now her priority is breaking her sister's idiotic betrothal to the Frey.

"You were so brave," she says, though she's never been good at playing the gushing maiden, and Aerys knows it. He pretends that's what he wants, some insipid little wallflower hanging on his every word, but really, he likes a touch of frost.

He can't seem to decide if she's teasing him or not; he kisses her instead, which is, again, passable. A small burden to bear for his victory.

#tywin lannister #aerys targaryen #prompt fill

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mangaka-neko-chan · 7 months

Note

If everyone wants Neh'edi, who does she want?

Interesting question, Anon, interesting question. Though I think I know what you mean (probably "want" as in "desire" so romantically or sexually) it is still a broad question so I will take it as such and give you somewhat three answers. Who does Neh'edi want in terms of as by desire, romantically and as a person.

But before I answer your question, let me add that not everybody wants Neh'edi, tho everything around her appearing like that comes very naturally to her hahaha. Her origin is being rejected by her home so bad she went into exile while still being punished to be serving her home that doesn't want her back. And in her life's journey, Neh'edi got rejected quite often. Aside from basic stuff like people refusing to join her fleet, friendly or unfriendly, there is also much disdain and jealousy from rivals and outsiders. Neh'edi is very amicable but being a pirate threat and a very opulent and successful one as well attracts as many admires as it attracts hostility. Neh'edi is at this point torn between mourning the loss of potential great friendships or alliances and low-key enjoying flaunting her glory before those that oppose her, sometimes changing their mind, sometimes not. (She would very much be amused and enjoy you saying sth like that tho.)

Now onto your question:

In terms of desire, Neh'edi has no preference other than she must like one and one must like her as well. It's not like she sleeps around an insane ammount but charm and charisma is her strongest forte and she is not being opposed to a little fun every now and then. As much as the Aeldari Corsair lifestyle in 40k would allow one anyway, without Slaanesh constantly after one's ass, but it's Neh'edi's life-work and goal to improve protection against chaos' grasp on her fleet and herself anyway.

Romantically or intimately there were certainly some she "wanted" but it either didn't work out or they didn't want her. Within her fleet unfortunately her status and role puts her above the people close to her. The only exception within the fleet could be the position as Baron but the current two at her side she does not want romantically but as friends and comrades (and Eli'ara and Aeriden have their own romantic pursuits in each other anyway). It's rare for her to meet someone who she can consider "her equal" and Neh'edi highly dislikes using status to achieve an romantic relationship. So currently, yes there was and is want but without a future for now.

As for people, Neh'edi wants those who align with her values and ideals. People she can trust. People who have the drive of freedom or a vision. People she can build a strong fleet with. People she can call her comrades, her friends, her family. Though it seems like that, Neh'edi doesn't just recruit anyone. If she sees that spark in you and she likes you, you get a chance to prove your loyalty and a true place to call home. If she REALLY likes you she will be quite insistent but she knows to be realistic for the sake of others. Neh'edi is aware that many like her for what she stands for or the things she possesses but above all she charishes connections that are true so she will care for every little person as much as they care for her simply because she wants them around.

In conclusion you would have to be more specific or I simply can't give you a clear answer. Regardless, I hope you are happy with it, otherwise more asks are always welcome~

#I feel like this is related to the last illustration of hers?#good taste #ask me anything #oc #oc neh'edi

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godkilller · 9 months

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THE BLACK LACQUER BOX────its sleek, obsidian surface inlaid with a vibrant design of gold filigree sunflowers────promises that Gin is allowed to keep and use even after having finished with its contents, and it has enough heft to it, that Izuru offers to hold it for his captain as he opens it. Inside, an unlabeled bottle of a sweet-looking, amber-colored liquid is carefully cradled in satin lining.

❝ I made this wine from the persimmons, ❞ Izuru informs, the shyness reaching his eyes and a thumb idly tracing the stem of a sunflower. The Kira family, with its roots in rice-farming, produces its own quality sake enjoyed by the Seireitei's wealth and those who like to splurge, but Izuru kept their seal off of this particular batch. It would feel a little tasteless otherwise, no? And its not much, in the way of gifts────this wine, this hand-painted box. He thought that the personal touches would be nice, but now it doesn't feel like it should be enough. He'd give Gin so much more, if the man was less the subdued sort.

❝ ...If you and Rangiku would like to make plans for your birthday, I would be happy to watch Keiko for you. And, I insist you let me pay for your special evening. ❞

gin's birthday asks! open from sept. 9 - 16th.

THE LIEUTENANT WAS EVER-READY TO LEND GIN A HELPING HAND, EVEN IF IT WAS TO SIMPLY UNBOX A GIFT. The bottle residing within was sizeable, enough so that Gin let out an audible 'ooh' at its unveiling.

❝ I'm gonna haveta hide this from Rangiku, ain't I? ❞ Came a light tease whilst Gin let Izuru take credit where it was due; this was an exceptional gift, and he needn't worry so much about it being considered small or insignificant. Gin loved persimmons, and he knew how much Izuru disliked them -- so that fact alone made the work put into this gift worth tenfold the typical amount. How'd Izuru manage to endure that process? The smell alone was likely enough to make him want to scrunch his nose on a good day, right? He knew his lieutenant well enough that every offering of his persimmons from the tree he regrew on the Third's grounds was often met with reluctance if not downright rejection, albeit sheepish. This was cute, truly, and thoughtful of Izuru.

❝ Thank you, Izuru, I'll enjoy every last drop of this. ❞ With a slight bow of his head, Gin meant what he said. This gift would be savored. However, the additional offering of babysitting services made Gin chuckle out a low noise of amusement, his smile bright.

❝ No need to offer payin', y'know. But Keiko-chan sure does like hangin' out with ya. ❞ The truth, regardless of whether or not Rangiku had plans of hauling him off for a nice dinner or something else -- Izuru was always welcomed as part of the family simply based on just how much Keiko enjoyed his company.

The girl was a handful to anyone else, but with Izuru Gin supposed she felt some sense of worry over making the poor lieutenant more stressed out than he already was as a baseline. She respected him, too, and thought he was the 'coolest lieutenant besides mom' last Gin heard. She'd probably insist on showing him the latest tech she snagged from Urahara Kisuke or the Twelfth Division, though Gin hardly understood most of that. The phones were certainly beyond him, but maybe Izuru could keep up with her babbling about apps.

#[ roleplay ] predator; murder on his mind & hymns on his tongue #[ verse: new generation ] we deserve a soft epilogue; a peaceful beginning #gin's 2k23 birthday celebration #[ dynamic: gin and rangiku ] grow from the sorrow in me; the winter in us #;w; aw IZURUUUUUU.#also keiko being a menace but always behaving with izuru gives me life.#is she still a handful? and a lil brat? yeah.#but keiko doesn't want izuru to worry himself to death so she tries not to stress him out.#only comical moments --

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2n2n · 2 years

Text

what kind of reason could justify hurting someone this badly?

Ahhhh... a really beautiful chapter, to close out on.... Sumire and Hakubo do so much for this story, while also saving our central protagonists from having to lay out these concepts themselves.... things can be so extreme... without the burden of needing to persist for the plot. A more tight, contained mini-narrative... it's hard for me to imagine not being very invested in them, because everything about humans and kaii, and the bizarre outliers of any kind, is here. Hakubo and Sumire's self-conceptualization... their natures, the expectations placed on them.... and their unconventional love... I get such an impression of them really being something precious to Aida and Iro, it feels like all of their favorite things rolled into one ultimate bomb. It's very generous to give these characters so much prominence in laying out the world's paradigms. They are just so integral to thinking harder about every other relationship here.

Sumire and Hakubo's story is really inspiring, from a writing perspective I feel like it's doing everything I could ever want. It's tragic, miserable, funny, sweet, romantic, touching, beautiful, scary! It's incredible AidaIro can thread all of that together. Their appreciation for one another's innate quirks is so sincere... at times it really what it feels like to be a couple, to be like, "ah, that thing you do... lol...." except with wild fantasy extremes....

This is another one of those relationships that nobody outside of it could understand. It wouldn't look like anything but a monster and a poor girl to outsiders. It's only for Sumire and Hakubo, themselves, to understand, to be satisfied by. They could never be understood by anyone, anyone else. How lucky we are as an audience to get to understand their entire story.

But ah... this chapter is making me also think about this... through line for individuals, kaii or human, to feel like love just isn't possible for them-- because they can't 'give' the person loving them the normative relationship they 'deserve'.

In Picture Perfect... I can always painfully feel how these words hit Hanako.

Everything Yashiro is dreaming of and wishing for, is explicitly something he cannot ever provide. Graduating... going to college... getting married. This moment forces a realignment of Hanako’s priorities.

...it hurts.... it’s like screaming at Hanako, “YOU’RE NOT HUMAN! YOU CAN’T MAKE A HUMAN GIRL HAPPY! YOU CAN’T EVER! YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING FOR YASHIRO BUT IMPRISON HER FOR YOUR OWN SAKE! YOUR GESTURE IS MEANINGLESS! SHE WANTS THINGS YOU’LL NEVER, EVER, EVER BE ABLE TO DO!! YOU NEED TO CUT YOURSELF OUT! ‘REAL LIFE’ IS SOMETHING YOU DON’T HAVE THE LUXURY OF SHARING!” processing that Yashiro’s very nature is so ambitious and beautiful, Hanako has to submit to.... ‘giving up’ Yashiro to that real life. A ‘real life’, something Hanako can’t have, as a kaii, whose life is over.

when you think about what it means to be a kaii.... a living human girl talking about her dreams of marriage and college, is her dreaming of a life without you. Hanako can’t be a part of her 'future’. He is the definition of ‘no future’. This scene is received by Hanako like a rejection, and like a wake-up call. He’s been living in this fantasy of keeping Yashiro somewhere frozen... just like him, in a way. It’s finally time to give that up earnestly.

....but you don’t have to be a kaii to feel this-- to feel like-- “what you want, I’ll never be able to be. You’ll be disappointed in me.”

Aoi feels it too. She can’t relate to kind, warm-hearted people who will do anything for others, as she’s a distant, aloof, bitter individual who dislikes anyone getting close to her, or getting close to anyone else. Aoi is so ‘different’.... she feels like a different species. And like Hanako, she feels it’s merciful to reject the person pursuing her, as it’s kinder to make them move on, and go find something else, something which can make them meaningfully happy. Hanako feels he cannot provide a life for Yashiro, and Aoi feels she cannot do justice to Akane’s heartfelt nature.

both Aoi and Hanako feel like only naive ignorance could lead their partners to loving them. Akane and Yashiro, they are fools, in a sweet way, and you think they just haven’t really thought about it in a practical way. Akane’s idea of their future... Yashiro’s idea of her future.... how incongruous they are, with what Hanako or Aoi can realistically do. Whether the limit is more emotional or physical, we see these lines being drawn....

For Hakubo, there is a similar grief.

As an Oni, he doesn’t feel he can provide the sort of beautiful and passionate emotions humans naturally exude.

how beautiful and poetic is it, for Hakubo to say this, while his boundary itself sobs?

So to him, Sumire was always begging him for something completely nonsensical, antithetical to his entire being. Funny, even, childish, to ask him for. His regrets explored fully, aren’t only that he didn’t save her... but a hopelessness behind that, that he couldn’t do anything for her at all, in any way, as an Oni.

Hakubo grew up outside of his own culture, steeped in humanity’s relationships and society, while being fundamentally ‘outside’ of it, never existing as an equal. He’s watched human relationships... he knows what they are, what love is meant to look like, act like. Like Aoi, he spectates society, but can only feel alien to it, and pity the person wishing for more of him, though Hakubo goes a step further, and pines for the inaccessible life.... something Hanako does, too.

you wish you didn’t have to disappoint the person who loves you so purely.

...but for Sumire and Hakubo.... Sumire is not a normal girl. What she wanted... as a controlling, twisted, violent person.... was actually perfectly achievable for an Oni.....!

This isn’t a tragic or bittersweet ending... it’s perfect compatibility between an Oni and a human, despite everything. An extremely unusual Oni... and an extremely unusual human. Hakubo for once in his life... finally follows his own nature, his own desire, rather than appeasing another, submits at last to his urges to consume Sumire,

and it’s an action innately pleasing for her, who wanted Hakubo to fall into hell all in her honor, to be ruined by her influence and impact. What could ever be more hellish than watching yourself kill the girl you’ve spent hundreds of years regretting let die? I also just love us referring to the Yorishiro shrine as a private hell, has fun implications for Tsukasa. For an Oni who longs to be human, what could be worse, than submitting to your actual self?

This... isn’t an unhappy ending! This is everything Sumire wanted! We can’t project conventional human desires onto a girl who knew what she wanted, who stated it plainly, that she wanted her to drive someone insane, to the pits of hell.

to be so bewitching and charming, that it haunts and inflicts like a curse. That’s what Sumire wants!! It’s a sick desire coming from a person who had no other life laid out for her... so maybe we, as onlookers, can pretend something better, with the fullness of time and limitless imagination. But within the confines of this story, this is all she ever wanted, and she’s fulfilled.

And....! For our story, it’s... wonderful, it’s beautiful, that an Oni and a human girl could, in their miserable lives, somehow completely satisfy one another. Hakubo doesn’t have to imitate a human.... he needs not be anything but the Oni he is. He doesn’t have to ‘let her go’ to marry a normal man, or something, either. He doesn’t need to change who, what, he is. Sumire is in love with an Oni, and everything that entails... from his charming bluntness, to his bloodlust. Every single aspect of Hakubo is precious to Sumire, just like every single aspect of Sumire is charming to Hakubo. Of course, between a passive Oni and a violent human, you have something perfectly meeting in the middle.... kaii and humans are capable of experiencing this kind of unity. What an uplifting thing.

They can actually satisfy one another to a profound degree. Hakubo did not fail to love Sumire.... he loved Sumire, in his own way.

..... this situation meanwhile, isn’t it similar in motivations to a shinjuu? A murder-suicide between lovers.... a willing and consensual departure, as she is his Yorishiro, and Hakubo has been substantially weakened before this. This will harm them both. There is of course, somebody else who believed himself unable to make his beloved happy....

I wonder how that ended? Maybe, like Akane and Aoi, there was a little period of ‘testing’ the logical boundaries and limits of that love.... after all, how good are you for them? How could you ever make them happy? Isn’t it better for them to give up, to move on, to achieve finer dreams? Going to the moon, perhaps? Shouldn’t Akane go find a nice girl... doesn’t Sumire deserve a nice, human husband?

just what reason could there be, to endure pain, or to deliver pain unto another?

HMMM... what reason could justify hurting someone so badly......? may-beeeee.....

love?

Even if Akane is so kind, that he surely deserves a sweeter girl,

and even if Sumire was a poor unfortunate girl trapped with an Oni, who surely deserved a normal life,

and even if Yashiro surely deserves her whole human lifespan lived out to its fullest,

none of these people want to live without their soulmate.

Akane will love Aoi through her nature of isolation, even as she stabs through him,

Sumire will love Hakubo, even as his Oni nature means everything that it must,

Yashiro will love Hanako, even as he kills her best friend,

aaand maybe, Amane loved Tsukasa, even throughout whatever he did, and Tsukasa loves Amane, even through what he did.

#avvy's JSHK #large JSHK thought

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notimeliketoday · 2 years

Text

Exploration on Two Shots, Maya Kitajima & Togashi’s Possible Intent Behind The Story’s Relationships. (2)

PART I

Once again thank you @yyh4ever for your translations and help!

So what about the OVA?

*The first part is a must read to understand the context here.

I actually watched it first because I figured it doesn't matter how it shows things. It's just going to animate this side chapter.

Boy, I couldn't be more wrong.

It didn't set Maya up as this gullible girl drawn to Shuichi, while getting a subtle jab from her classmate. It also made Kurama more open to her both in body language and his tone of voice. Not to mention, it only has him say that her spiritual sense heightened because of him (and therefore implying she had said ability without his influence) so she's treated a bit better as a potential love interest (at least if this translation is to be believed. The other was Kurama thinking his close proximity to others, not just her, is what heightens it). It makes it a point to make it as though it wasn't just her feelings which need to be aired for their sake (but again still have her assuming his feelings). It also gave more prominence to Kurama's fondness for her but he pushed it away for her sake.

Did it actually make her likable though?

I watched it with the expectation of a potential new pairing (while bracing my heart for this same development since I already have one for Kurama) and the girl to be similar to Keiko thanks to fics.

I guess she is similar to her in some ways - just much more unlikable.

Shockingly enough, the reason why I dislike her is because I saw the OVA first and didn't like how she acted there. It's precisely because I got the impression that she only befriended him because of his mystique. His uniqueness and "cool powers", that she was looking for, was what had drawn her to him in the first place.

Like you mean to tell me she wouldn't bother befriending him if she didn't feel his spiritual powers and her attraction to it isn't there?

Her friends don't care about Shuichi at all, and the only reason they bother to pay attention to him was Maya's crush on him. That they're supposed to be a sample of how his interactions with his classmates flow, aside from those who wanted him for their club or his fangirls in the anime, doesn't paint a good image of how she could be to him if her attraction was erased from the picture.

She didn't have the implied struggle because of her chuunibyou tendencies with her friends so there's no excuse why that is the most important aspect of him to focus on for her to notice him, nor is she introverted to use that as a means to get out of her shell to form friendships.

She's merely just a girl with interest in the occult.

The implications of how she was never mentioned or shown after her memory loss may vary, including that she simply never appeared again in the continuity, but it also includes a grim scenario that they didn't stay friends due to this.

There's also the way she thought as though a mutual attraction between them is a foregone conclusion and confessed her feelings with the expectation that he already felt the same. That's why she initially felt confident prodding how he feels about her and why she can say wholeheartedly that she's prepared for his answer. This is why the rejection stung her so deeply more than it did her manga counterpart. She set up such a high expectation and got a humiliating answer instead.

She assumed that since he's special and she's also special, it's only natural that they would be drawn to each other. It doesn't help that her hurt at his refusal is something that cannot be mistaken as anything less than a romantic aspiration so it really did feel like she's forcing her feelings on him.

Scratch that: she really DID force her feelings on him and pressured him for his own confession at the same time.

I'll give her this: to an extent, she was right. However, Kurama secretly wanted someone to be his confidante in general. His ease with opening up to Hiei at their first cordial conversation is proof of this.

Though thanks to the OVA altering some of their lines, everything here can actually easily pass as romantic. Yet it can still be questioned since there are some parts of it that aren't rectified, even the conversation between Hedoki and Yatsude over her is erased. It fully conveys that her capture is nothing more than a result of pure bad luck and not because of revenge.

Pity that its trade off is her much worse butchered character making her so unlikable that she honestly isn't one of the reasons why the OVA is so popular.

The only good thing was she got the sense to quietly back off after her rejection.

So she came across as a shallow, cocky and just plain annoying shoujo heroine stuck in a shounen manga.

I suppose the little bit of kindness people claimed she got was when she was concerned that her weight may be a bother to Shuichi. That, and the aforementioned quiet acceptance of his rejection. However, given that it didn't sink in to her that they were in danger with Hiei's sudden attack, it could also only mean she was merely self-conscious getting carried by her crush who rejected her only a few seconds ago. It doesn't help that it's been shrugged off as "not the problem right now" like in the manga. There's also that the only way to retain a piece of her dignity after the humiliating experience was to act like she did. That's really the only salvageable thing I could say about her.

Or perhaps because she cared to notice a loner when the rest of the class ignored him for whatever her reasons were.

I'll cut her some slack in that Kurama also noticed her for the same reason she noticed him, and his disregard with their classmates not extending to her is just the opposite spectrum of his dynamic with the rest of them.

Still not a good look.

I'm more than aware that my interpretation is too cynical against Maya. I already admit that I dislike her but I'm not simply being cynical for the sake of it.

A naturally friendly person will try to form a friendship without an incentive compelling them to do so. That's my problem with her, especially since she's said to be a kind girl by some Japanese fans I've followed on twitter.

Manga!Maya vs OVA!Maya: Which one is better?

The manga made her more rounded with a possible inner struggle as a person, but at the same time made her a joke. She's much less annoying due to this, and it's really thanks to my repetitive reading and a lot better understanding of her character that I mellowed out to her.

The OVA removed whatever depth she had and butchered her writing way worse than in the manga. No amount of repetitive binge on the show can get me to like her even just a bit more.

A few months ago I would've said "Choose your fighter" but thanks to a new observation popping up just this 3rd week of January, it tipped the scale to Manga!Maya. The reason is though both are ruined by their romantic feelings popping at the most inopportune and critical moment, as well as poor handling in some areas, Manga!Maya's writing is much easier to salvage from the dregs it fell into.

She's clearly just an adolescent trying her best to find someone who can relate to her and somewhere she can belong to without any judgement from her peers.

Her counterpart on the other hand is an atrocious example of a shoujo heroine (perhaps even the female leads in many shounen) that an author who needs a love interest has created for the sake of the romance and plot device without giving her justice as a character.

Now what if they met again post-series?

It depends on which ending. The manga showed that Kurama was merely biding his time to go back to Makai again even as he worked for his stepfather, while the anime showed him working for his stepfather with the resolve of leaving behind everything about Youko Kurama.

This chapter already hammered home that Kurama couldn't form a bond with any normal human if he doesn't want to risk their lives. This also gets solidified further when Yomi used his mother, and Shachi his stepbrother, against him. Need I mention Roto? There's also no other indication of bonds outside the gang which meant that after Maya he never bothered to bond with any of his classmates and Kaito. But that's only because circumstances forced it to.

If anything, his mother served the role normally given to love interests.

Another thing, if she was meant to be more than just a plot device, she would've been one of the characters who got stronger because of the opening of the hole between Makai and Ningenkai alongside Kaito and co. There would've been a reunion between her and Shuichi with the added development of her knowing his true identity and conflict and her eventual official love interest status like Keiko.

If we go by the manga route, it's impossible for him to do so, especially since the opportunity he's so long wanted can finally be obtained and he can leave Ningenkai. "Kurama" affecting "Shuichi's" biorhythm still remains unresolved (and leaning more towards Kurama), there's no way he'll do otherwise, though it's hinted that it will only happen the moment his mother dies.

The anime is a bit tricky, yet this one may have an open possibility he could rekindle his lost path with her. He could have a family with her and stay for the rest of her life since he made it a point to forsake his Youko side. That was, had the anime made an effort to at least make a reference to her in DT, it would be plausible. It would've been too, due to the alterations in the OVA that frames Maya as a real potential love interest instead of the treatment she got in the manga, and had said OVA was animated during its original airing period. Actually, if she was present in the original anime continuity at all.

The reason I can say that anime!Kurama has the possibility to end up with her is because of the differing development his character had compared to his manga counterpart.

This may seem like a small difference but it greatly altered his growth. I've read the manga many times and nowhere was it shown that he rejects his demon side. If anything, he's slowly getting integrated into his past life!

Of course, this is assuming Tasaka didn't jump at the chance to make her like him after she lost her memories. The possibilities are many.

Point, if Togashi bothered showing her any when in the series but most especially when the barrier between Makai and Ningenkai is gone and demons could now roam on Earth. That would've been the time when she'd be the safest in reigniting the possibility that both she and Shuichi lost that fateful incident.

With his berserk reaction debunked and out of the equation, is there any other way to know how deeply Kurama cares about someone?

Why, of course there is.

Critically, the moment Kurama decided to erase her memories and her feelings for him was when he decided she wasn't worth the risk.

His mother's situation can definitely serve as a basis. He was more than ready to abandon her by the time he turned ten but changed his mind after an incident injured her for his sake. Yet we've seen the lengths he went for her, had been threatened twice over her and enslaved himself to a former partner he once betrayed, and even attempted to sacrifice his life just so she's safe.

We've also seen the lengths other characters go for their significant others.

Yusuke stated it's not worth returning to life if Keiko dies. He also rejected his ancestral inheritance in Makai for her.

Raizen stopped eating humans at the cost of his own life for the sake of the woman he fell in love with.

Itsuki, as toxic as his love was, stayed by Sensui's side even after his death.

Just some examples but you get the drift.

So it all goes down to how strongly he felt for her that he will risk anything to get her to stay by his side.

Unfortunately, this means whatever feelings he had for Maya were not strong enough for this kind of hurdle.

Should they meet again, it'll be more likely as just a meeting of former classmates at best.

Maya could have been more useful than Keiko!

I'm sorry, but if Shizuru, who was at one point stated and shown to be more spiritually aware than her brother (and therefore a lot stronger than Maya) didn't get explored by Togashi, I doubt she would have been treated better. We are only given an explanation in her brother's "interview" with Botan that she didn't care about getting stronger as a reason for this.

If Botan, who was supernatural (and hinted as one of those he likes) and could've been a lot more help than just briefing for their assignments, assist their search with her tools and that bit of healing she did, didn't get such an expansion on her abilities and potential, what makes y'all think Maya would get special treatment from Togashi at all?

Yukina is also already there and just as easily good for helping the boys aside from her healing powers. Her ice is just waiting to be tapped into! Do I also need to mention her telepathic communication with Kuwabara during her rescue?

KEIKO herself should've gotten her own powers awakened because of her much greater degree of exposure to Makai and demons than even Kaito and co.

We got bits and pieces like these in the manga:

If only Togashi just bothered to expand them at all. Ladies who are more on the spotlight and are much more involved with the events than Maya herself.

No human female psychics' abilities gets explored aside from Genkai and that's only because she's an active part of the plot through Yusuke and younger Toguro. Kuroko herself only got a mention that hints at her considerable spiritual energy but no peep about what her skills are.

As I see it, she would've been even more useless than her. At least Keiko was needed as Yusuke's emotional crutch. We never saw Kurama depending on anyone to help ground him during tough times due to his reliance on his sharp mind. What could Maya offer him if she couldn't even be the shoulder he leans on?

Cheer for him in the background?

He didn't even tell his friends about his personal conflicts; how would she be able to support him in something he wouldn't let her know about?

He's already grown in power and he could protect her!

Better question: Was there any indication she made his mark on him at all for him to care to reunite with her?

Manga-wise, she's merely a space filler - positioned down, shoved to the side, and a portion of her profile cut out unlike the rest. Young Shuichi cutting down a demon's head got drawn more completely in comparison. It is merely a callback to his past. Who else should be added to the picture aside from his mother and his meeting with Hiei? With how limited the number of people were in Kurama's past, it's a given she'd be present.

It would actually be pretty disheartening (if you're her fan) to see how she was included. That is if you care more about getting justice for her placement, otherwise this is a shipping crumb worth rejoicing. It's obvious she got sidelined than the others.

I would have given it the benefit of doubt but…

….It's as if Togashi is forced to add her there.

(The kid holding the woman's hand is not her by the way. Whoever claimed that it was her in Kurama's wiki page needs to remove it. That's actually Kurama with his mom.)

Forget the original anime. As far as it's concerned, her ties with him ended when he erased her memories and he didn't care enough to reminisce about her.

The memory erasure including her feelings for him also doesn't do it any favours at all.

Whatever possibility she opened was filled by the gang and Kurama got no intent to change it anytime soon.

In my opinion, Two Shots is the beginning and ending of Kurama's relationships both in the literal and symbolic sense.

Kurama cut off whatever close connection Maya, an ordinary human albeit with above average spiritual sense, tried to form with him while beginning his own path to friendship with Hiei, a demon who knows and stands on the same level as him. One shot fails while the second shot works out. It's the reason the ending narration states their relationship ended before it began.

(The title is also likely a reference to the idiom "to have a shot at something" with the meaning "to make an attempt", which will give this interpretation more credence. Probably.)

It's why I don't see him retracting that decision and suddenly form a bond with any ordinary human post series just because things were different and more lax. It is simply a matter of his preference in forming connections leaning more towards those deep in the supernatural (perhaps even supernatural themselves) which he already attested to work better for himself, that work against it.

As Togashi hinted, Kurama's type is someone who is already aware of who both sides of himself are, someone who he need not hide the truth about himself for fear of endangering them and who knows what they are in for should they decide to pursue a relationship with him.

Someone who understands him in every sense.

Bonus points if they are also a demon like him, or even just entities who live as long as him. His pragmatism would be the driving force if he ever decides to choose a partner, and I have no doubt this will be one of the potential lover's qualification that will help him choose that partner in question.

This sadly means that for all that set up, Maya never stands a chance in his affection to last for the long term as far as the manga is concerned. It could have a chance if he somehow reveals himself to her should they get together post series.

His track record of keeping secrets doesn't make this plausible though. As much as possible, he will cling to his secrets until the end because that's what he thinks is best and that's what he's already been doing. If his mother never knew the whole truth, one can expect his potential human romantic partner won't be given special treatment above her, if only for the sake of not endangering her.

Oh, and the rationale that his mother and his theoretical human lover have no business getting into demon affairs.

Basically the reason why he removed Maya's feelings for him to begin with.

Back to square one then.

Him using his demon name when in the presence of people who are involved in the supernatural affairs and the gang itself while using his human name with ordinary peers should be the biggest hint how separate he treats his human and demonic lifestyles.

Lack of communication is one of the factors that kill relationships.

In their case, it already did!

Yusuke himself was not above trying to do the same with Keiko, and it was only thanks to Botan caving in from the pressure of hiding the truth after she and Shizuru tag teamed on her that they got to keep their friendship intact that allowed it to evolve further.

Shuichi and Maya had no such middleman to do it, that's why their relationship didn't go anywhere.

But that's what fanfics are for anyway.

Don't get me wrong. In any other situation (and depending on your own personal opinion) Kurama and Maya's interactions could count as shipping material, especially the opposites attract, star-crossed lovers and the "what could have been" scenario. That is, had Togashi made it more substantial rather than simply a plot device for Kurama and Hiei's beginning.

Or like me, regardless of how the author framed the whole thing, will push for the sake of my ship. (Don't ship Kurama/Maya though).

(I mean, my shipping heart was already happy when Togashi made Botan "interview" the boys and he, for some reason, chose Youko to answer her queries for the Kurama portion.

Guess which pairing I like.)

Through the Eyes of Shipping Goggles.

Kurama solely interacts with this human girl while ignoring everyone else. She's the only one with spiritual powers strengthened (or awakened) thanks to his presence. He tries to keep her out, while inwardly desiring a closer bond, thanks to the potential threats. The thought of her death is enough to send him to a reckless rage he never repeated afterwards. He looks wistful removing her memories and she's a part of his past during his first revert to Youko.

In other words, if things were handled like in the OVA from the beginning it would've been undeniably romantic. No ifs or buts about it.

How was it done there?

It altered many scenes in such a way that clearly shows Shuichi's side as romantic, albeit not clear enough that skeptics would not question it. It removed the poor comparison between Maya and her female friend to her friends ribbing each other about their naivety. It changed his dull-eyed look to an intense one heavily focusing on her through a close-up shot of his eyes. It removed her telling Shuichi she possessed reiki where he spent ignoring her to them having an off-screen moment that Tasaka disturbed with the eraser. Shuichi focusing more on the eraser was not given as much attention, only as the distraction it was. Tasaka jealously asking if they were together when she failed to arrive home. Kurama's line to Hiei when he decided to work with the latter acknowledged her part over his decision.

It altered the ending narration with the two of them unable to express their feelings (which is odd because only Shuichi didn't express his) and their relationship ended rather than their relationship ending before it began. (*I've seen another translation merely saying she forgot her feelings for him though, so I dunno which is more accurate.*) It even went so far as to match Maya's clothes into a uniform to match Shuichi from the casual clothes she donned like the rest of their classmates to highlight her as the heroine of that portion of the story.

For something that was said to be romantic in nature, it sure needed a lot of alterations to make it apparent to the casual viewers.

I just summed up my observations because going through all of them one by one will just make this blog longer, and quite honestly a pain to both my phone storage and time needed for it. This already took me a year to make as it was.

It could also easily fit with the other pairings involving human/supernatural like Yusuke/Keiko, Raizen/Lady Doctor and even Sensui/Itsuki.

It's already a shipping haven especially for non-canon and rare pairs. I know it can count as sort-of canon and that's why it makes sense for Togashi to leave their relationship status to fan interpretation.

The Romantic vs Platonic: Which one has more weight?

On one hand, she's important enough to be included in Kurama's reverting back to Youko. On the other hand, it also showed the disposable accomplice Gouki and even tiny Kurama beheading a demon, rendering her place not that special.

His rage and reckless attack against Yatsude shows the depth of her loss. But it's the only hostage scenario where he experienced failure before he could do anything so it's debatable on how much stemmed from his personal feelings towards her and from his rage at losing control of the situation. Every hostage taking afterwards gets his default rage at the situation. So anger is always his reaction to it first and not solely a "Maya only" exclusivity. It was given the treatment as if he's rescuing just any girl as well.

The reckless part is admittedly only in hers. But refer to my part one point for that.

If we go by the kitsune lore in Japanese legends (at least from what little I read; correct me if I'm wrong), they can be faithful friends, wives and lovers to humans.

But Togashi wrote Kurama's development in such a way that it's near impossible for him to get attached to ordinary humans outside his friends, almost overusing the hostage-taking against him to balance his strength and intelligence and serving as his weak point.

She was not shown in Kurama's part in the databook about his past, only Hiei's involvement was included during this portion of the story and was only alluded to as "his female classmate".

Yet she was shown in his "Persons Concerned" profile as his "first love (?)".

The way Togashi alters the extent of Maya's significance in Kurama's history in differing instances (like the databook and the character relationship profile) feels more like a coin toss where the face determines if she plays a huge role or none at all.

It leaves the impression that he couldn't make up his mind on what she really was for Kurama.

That's also the overall effect I got from how he wrote her, at least in the manga.

I mean, he tried so hard to push the romance to the point he created another probable way of awakening and strengthening a person's spiritual power for her to connect with him. It's also quite as clear his heart wasn't in it because said built up is not supported later through Keiko, and Atsuko in the manga, obtaining high spiritual powers due to their much greater exposure. Of course, let's not forget how easily torn down it was, even before Hiei appeared.

The seamless way the "platonic or ambiguous feelings of Kurama" angle fits the flow of the story much better than him outright reciprocating Maya's feelings is quite telling on how he personally thinks of this relationship actually.

He even made sure there's a not-so-unnamed potential partner for Maya (Tasaka) should her affection for Kurama get erased. It is something that's ignored or missed, especially by the shippers, but yet another indication of where she stands as far as his estimation of their potential romance is, as her female friend curiously didn't get a name as well.

Taking also into consideration how he personally thought of Keiko who's got actual story importance in comparison, Maya's chances don't look good considering she'd be a Keiko plus spiritual awareness had he proceeded with pairing her with Kurama. As tragic as it is, her inclusion will only make Keiko look better. He probably would've thought even less about her than the former, ironically despite her potential to be more powerful. It explains why his indecision bleeds so strongly in writing.

In all likelihood, with how disrespected her character is, I would say he doesn't like her. If he had cared enough, he would've made it absolutely certain she's his first love, no question marks about it. He could've also added a reunion during the series proper for them to reconnect with each other, but he didn't.

There are so many things Togashi could've done better if he wanted to propel this pairing into a much more obvious romantic light but didn't.

One could also say Togashi created her as the type of girl Kurama would date the way he created Mukuro for Hiei regardless of how the relationship panned out or did not.

It may even hold a little more weight if the rumor of her being based on the heroine of Glass Mask, whose love interest was also associated with roses, was true.

But with how his state of mind went on drawing this one-shot (man couldn't even give it a proper title but TWO SHOTS of all things), it's highly unlikely.

It's more plausible to say he wrote her with the idea of what girl he thinks will fit Kurama best, but the girl in question need not be Maya herself.

(This would be more reasonable to assume when one considers how he handled Kurama's and Botan's dynamic later on in the manga).

It's apparent enough with how uninspired he was with designing her.

She looks like the random girl who is the crush of the boy Yusuke once helped. Her design is just Togashi's template for school girls for schoolboy crushes. No effort made at all.

He also doesn't want redundancy in his story that he chose to end the series when he couldn't explore the characters and the plot without falling into it. Pairing Shuichi and Maya will yet be another example of the already existent human x demon pairs. It definitely would either overshadow or be overshadowed by Yusuke x Keiko in the show (more likely be the latter). Keiko got a haircut with the same length as Maya's hairstyle during the earliest chapters which adds even more to the similarity. It is not surprising he nipped it before it could go anywhere.

They even got the "lack of communication" hurdle to overcome.

So on the nose that in simplest terms they are basically Yusuke x Keiko that didn't get realized!

There's a clear pattern in the relationships in the series that Togashi hooked up or currently unrequited but that has a potential to develop in a long-term bond.

They almost all have the same formula:

Demon x demon.

Human x human

Spirit x Spirit

The mixed couples are the ones that end up failing. The only exceptions are the main pairing itself - Yusuke and Keiko - which was because they already bonded when the former was still human, and the Kuwabara x Yukina couple.

Mukuro and Hiei in some ways broke out from the mold only because they subverted the usual standard in their own way.

I posit that he based his own preference regarding real life relationships and applied it to potential couples he believes may work out in the long run (as he met his future wife only years after the series itself ended).

If a pairing can break that mold, the characters within that pair must be the main characters. For this reason alone is why Kuwabara x Yukina is the best example for the exception to the mold of ships.

This same reason, I believe, is why Togashi actually gives an effort in a subtle ship tease for a particular girl (who is not Maya) to synchronize with Kurama in the manga.

Now I'm not saying this is set in stone. I already did some alternate interpretations above side by side with my own thoughts. One thing is for certain: Togashi himself making an effort to leave it up to interpretation whatever Maya's true link is to Kurama in his profile points that everyone is free to their own opinions.

He also makes it perfectly clear: Maya is NOT Kurama's girlfriend. He has no girlfriend in the show nor link to anyone else. This is one undisputed fact.

I dunno why people insist she is.

All in all, the manga leans more on the platonic side for Kurama while the OVA is the (questionable) romantic viewpoint for this pairing.

This is just my take of the whole thing.

#yu yu hakusho #two shots #kurama #hiei #maya kitajima #yoshihiro togashi #shuichi minamino

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we-pay-for-everything · 2 years

Text

Can’t believe I’m making another Lancelot Du Lac post but...

Things I liked about the episode:

The acting! Angel gave it her fucking all - when her voice broke as she tearfully told Arthur “You mean everything to me”, I died a little inside... Give that woman an Oscar. Women are always doing the best with the bare minimum they’re given. Bradley did well in their scene together too, though not nearly as well as Angel WBK. She was phenomenal but together they were explosive too.

Some of the dialogue - the part where Arthur confronts Gwen is very well-written. I only disliked the part where Gwen asks where she’ll go and Arthur just apologizes. Overall, though, it was good angst. It was convincing and it hurt, but in a good way.

Some of Arthur’s characterization: The way he treated Gwen was, for the most part, quite fair, especially considering the times and his position as King. Him telling Merlin that he loved Gwen with all his heart, so he would eventually forgive her, but could never trust her again, shows how pure his love and heart are (and that he knows, deep down, that Gwen is a good person who wouldnt have hurt him). Not many people would forgive a cheater. Also, he told Merlin to give Lancelot a proper burial, which was undoubtly kind of him - he could’ve not said anything at all.

Gwen’s characterization: Obviously, I hate what they did to Gwen, but I haven’t seen people praise Gwen for her strength and love for Arthur in the episode. Morgana’s magic is powerful, and the bracelet was supposed to reawaken - nay, fabricate - Gwen’s feelings for Lancelot, yet, it’s clear it did a lot more than that - as we know, even if Gwen had found herself drawn to Lancelot, she’d never have acted on it of her own volition. The bracelet worked the same way the love spell placed on Arthur had worked - the magic was such that the characters couldn’t not act upon their fabricated feelings. However, Gwen’s feelings for Arthur were strong enough to break though the enchantment. She did cheat on Lancelot, but she also rejected Lancelot. When she saw Arthur’s fury and pain she came back to herself. She saved Lancelot from being killed by Arthur, but we’ve seen how people under a love spell behave - she should’ve thrown herself at Lancelot, called for him as he was being dragged away from her, etc. She did quite the opposite, however. Once she was imprisoned, she threw the bracelet away, forcefully flung it off her wrist. She didn’t know the bracelet was enchanted, but it represented her feelings for Lancelot, which had caused her and Arthur so much pain. She chose to turn her back on Lancelot and on her feelings for him, because she loved Arthur. That bracelet was very powerful to make Gwen act so out of character, but Gwen’s real feelings were powerful enough to break through without Merlin or anyone else’s help.

The idea behind the episode: Arwen is not a super dynamic ship, which I actually enjoy - they’re happy together, they believe in, and trust, each other, Arthur listens to Gwen and values her, their love is selfless, etc. I like that they’re on the subtle side. However, I think they needed to shake things up between them (if only to give Gwen more screentime), so, in theory, this episode was very well done. However, the issue isn’t so much the plot itself as it is the way they handled it. It would’ve been fine, and an opportunity for Arthur and Gwen to prove their love, had the issue with the bracelet been cleared up in the end. As it was, it ended up being a disservice to the ship and the characters who fully believed Gwen had really cheated on Arthur.

Things I didn’t like:

Lancelot - this one’s obvious, he deserved far better than the ending he was given, but he was honestly the only man for the job...

Arthur, Elyan, and to a certain extent, Merlin’s characterization - Arthur is easily swayed by public opinion, but I believe he would’ve protected Gwen more had his characterization not been sacrificed for the sake of sending Gwen away. The Arthur I know would’ve had Gwen followed and provided with everything she needed... Regarding her brother, when Gwen was on her knees in the throne room, she looked at Elyan as he was leaving and the look he gave her was so cold. Is he really the type of man who’d scorn his sister and leave her to die? And Merlin, he was a good friend to Gwen, and defended her to Arthur, but he should’ve offered her his help too. He watched her go without talking to her, comforting her, asking about her plans, giving her council and perhaps money, food, supplies, or medicine for the journey. But Merlin simply... watched her go. He didn’t even question Gwen’s behavior - did he really believe she would’ve cheated on Arthur? He’s smarter than that. He knew magic had been involved, so he should’ve known Gwen had been a victim of it too. These men would not have behaved this way under normal circumstances. Furthermore, I get Arthur not attending Lancelot’s “funeral”, but the other Knights couldn’t even do this much for Lancelot? Despite his actions he had still fought alongside them...

Arthur’s proposal - someone said the writers were always cutting corners with Arwen, and that is very evident in Arthur’s proposal. Sure, it was all very romantic, with the blindfold and the candles, but Morgana’s voice-over made things decidedly less romantic, and Arthur’s proposal being a curt “Will you marry me” was not in character for Arthur at all. Normal Arthur would’ve for sure babbled with nerves and professed his undying love and admiration for Gwen before actually proposing. It’s also a shame we saw none of the wedding preparations. Imo, the episode should’ve had two parts, with the first part being the proposal and wedding preparations, ending with Morgana raising Lancelot from the dead. As it was, everything felt so rushed; the wedding was clearly not important - only the cheating drama... Arwen deserved better.

The aftermath - as I mentioned before, Gwen never learning she was under an enchantment ruined her relationship with Arthur and her faith in herself. She, and Arthur, deserved much better.

Overall, I’m happy that we got a Gwen centric episode, but at what cost? Some parts were so good, but the ending... This episode could’ve been great had it ended with Arwen realizing Agravaine and Morgana were behind the attack and that Gwen was innocent. Why didn’t Gwen fight for herself? Surely she must’ve known her actions weren’t in character for her. Arthur should’ve known too, but, well, he’s an obtuse idiot who got the shock of his life. Again, the characterization... *sigh*.

#bbc merlin #bbc arwen #arwen #bbc arthur #arthur pendragon #bbc gwen #gwen #bbc lancelot

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