#one punch man chapter 151

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 151: The Times, They Are A-Changin’

The next day, Ren got a text from Ryuji.

Ryuji: Sup?

Ryuji: You hungry?

Ren: Yes?

Ryuji: Great!

Ryuji: Let’s meet up at the usual ramen place!

Ryuji: I’m paying!

Ren: Wow. You’re certainly excited.

Ryuji: Heh heh. Just you wait!

Ren: I’ll be over ASAP.

Ren put her phone away, and then got herself ready.

Once she got there, she saw Ryuji at the counter. He waved her down, and she took a seat next to him. “Glad you could make it!” He turned to the server. “Two please!” They nodded and got started.

Ren chuckled. “So, what’s the occasion?”

“Heh heh,” Ryuji laughed. “I heard from the track team that Yamauchi finally got the boot!”

“Really?!” Ren asked.

Ryuji nodded excitedly. “Yeah. It was sort of touch and go, what with the principal dying, but Takeshi’s mom spearheaded the operation at the latest PTA meeting. They had no CHOICE but to remove Yamauchi, and bring the old coach on as the head!”

“Well, that’s really great!” Ren said.

“Totally!” Ryuji replied. Their ramen showed up. “I figured you’d want to celebrate.”

“Of course!” Ren said. They chuckled and started eating their ramen.

After his first slurp, Ryuji said “AH!” and then looked into his bowl. “I guess it’s because we did good, but the ramen here has never tasted better.”

Ren giggled. “Of course. Don’t you think the food we eat after a successful mission always tastes better?”

“Huh,” Ryuji reacted. “You know, now that you mention it, yeah. It tastes better. Huh. You know, it also tasted like this whenever we won a meet. Boy, those were the times. Er, not that now isn’t good, but…”

Ren snickered. “It’s OK, I get it.” Ryuji sighed, relieved. “I remember a time before everything came crashing down for me. No one hated me, or treated me different. It was nice. And moments like this feel nice too. But it’s a bit dragged down by the constant torment I endured, but it also makes it sweeter in a way. Cause I know that it’s not all bad.”

“Hm,” Ryuji moaned, listening along. He looked down at his knee. “I…think I get what you mean. When Kamoshida fought back after I punched him, it hurt to walk. Still does from time to time, but it’s mostly healed. It’s not the same, but it still is good. It’s one of those things where, of course I don’t wish it happened, but it’s not the end of the world, you know?”

Ren nodded. “I do know.”

“I always felt like I had to prove my own strength,” Ryuji continued. “That I had to act tough in order not to be pushed around. That I didn’t need anyone but myself. But that’s not what strength is. Sometimes strength is knowing when you need help. Knowing when you’ve messed up and accepting it.

Jerks like Kamoshida never wanted to admit their shortcomings. And when Eris corrupts people, they start to think that they alone can fix things. That's why we’ve been able to win every time. Because we’re a team. We help each other.

And you know, the track team kinda learned that too. They were stubborn, but once they admitted their shortcomings, they could start to rebuild. It seems so obvious, but I don’t know why it can be so hard to see sometimes.”

Ren finished her bowl. “Ah! Can I get another?” The server nodded, and started working on another bowl. Ryuji was shocked. He looked and still had a full bowl. “Aw man!” He took another slurp. “Woah! Still hot! But still tasty.” He continued eating.

Ren chuckled. “Sorry. I was listening. And to answer your question, I think it can be hard to see because too often people get divided against their will. So they have to try to make it on their own, afraid that admitting any weakness will just further divide them.”

“Huh,” Ryuji said with a mouth full of ramen. He finished eating. “Ah! Can I get another as well?” The server began preparing his order. Ryuji turned back to Ren. “I was listening too. And I think you’re right.” He chuckled. “You know, this was supposed to be more celebratory, but it’s getting very introspective. Not that I mind, but…”

Ren’s second bowl came. She glanced at it, and then at Ryuji. “Well, why don’t we liven things up?”

Ryuji was curious. “How so?”

“Ramen race?” Ren suggested.

“Heh! You think you can beat me?!”

“Only one way to find out.”

Ryuji’s second bowl came. “Heh! You’re on!” They got themselves ready. “3…2…1…GO!” They began their ramen race. It was close, but Ryuji won. “HELL YEAH!” he shouted.

Ren finished her last strands. “Well, I should have known. But I’ll get you next time!”

“Heh! You’re on!” Ryuji declared. He smiled. “You know, I think I needed this.”

“The ramen race?” Ren questioned.

“No,” Ryuji said. “Well, I mean, maybe that too. But the conversation. I’ve just had so much on my mind, and I didn’t know how to straighten it all out until we started talking.”

“Well, what are friends for?” Ren asked.

“Heh. Totally,” Ryuji replied. After a pause, Ryuji added “Thanks.”

Chariot-Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 9.

Soon after, Ren got a phone call. She checked it. “It’s my dad.”

Ryuji smiled. “Take it. My mom and I have plans soon anyway.”

“You sure?” Ren asked.

Ryuji nodded. He started walking off. “Seeya!” He left.

Ren answered her phone. “Hey dad.”

“Hey sweetie,” Jun answered. “I have some news for you.”

“Oh?”

“You know that there’s going to be an election by the end of the year for the Diet?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Hm. Well, I’ve decided I’m going to throw my hat in the ring.”

Ren got excited. “Really?!”

“Yup!”

“Well that’s great!” Ren responded.”Do you need any help, or…?”

“I’ll be alright,” Jun said. “The most important thing you can do is stay safe for me, OK?”

“I…I think I can do that,” Ren said.

“Hm,” Jun responded. “Listen, I know things have changed. A lot. And I know you’re not my little girl anymore. But I’ll always be your father. Which means I always want what’s best for you.”

Ren was stunned. She didn’t know how to respond at first. She then mustered “Me too. I want what’s best for you as well.”

“The best thing for me is making sure you're OK,”Jun replied.

“Daaaaad,” Ren groaned.

Jun chuckled. “Well, it’s true. … I love you sweetie.”

“Love you too dad,” Ren responded. “I hope you win.”

“Me too,” Jun said. He hung up and sighed. Ren also sighed once the call was over, and then made her way back to Leblanc.

Later that evening, Ren got a message from Yoshida.

Yoshida: I’m having another rally today. Would you mind coming to help out?

Ren: Of course. You know I’m always willing to help.

Yoshida: Of course. But before the rally, there is something I'd like to talk about.

Ren: What is it?

Yoshida: I think it’s better to discuss this in person.

Ren: Oh…OK…

Yoshida: See you soon.

Ren: See you soon.

Ren was a little concerned, but this was Yoshida. She was sure it wouldn’t be too bad. She took a deep breath, and then headed out.

She arrived earlier than she usually did. “Hey there,” she greeted Yoshida.

“Oh, Amamiya-chan!” Yoshida said, a little surprised. “You’re here early.”

“Well, you said you wanted to talk,” Ren said. “Is everything alright?”

Yoshida was stunned, but then smiled. He nodded. “Yes. Everything is fine. But in a way, that’s the issue.” Ren was confused. “It’s probably better this way.” He sighed heavily. “As much as I hate to admit it, I’m afraid this will probably be the last time I ask for your assistance.”

Ren was gobsmacked. “Wha…What?! But the election isn’t for another few months.”

“I know,” Yoshida said. “Believe me, this isn’t easy for me either.”

“Then why?” Ren wondered. “After…everything…”

Yoshida sighed. “I feel like life is taking us down two different paths. For me, it’s as a politician. For you, it’s as a Phantom Thief.”

Ren was even more surprised. “Wha-What?! Me? A Phantom Thief?”

“It’s just a hunch,” Yoshida said. “There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest it. From your school, to your demeanor, to your willingness to help. But the thing that seals the deal for me is that you’ve helped me change my heart like you’ve changed the hearts of others.”

“But…your heart wasn’t corrupt,” Ren said.

“Right, but not in that way,” Yoshida said. “Because of The Phantom Thieves people are starting to hope more. They’re starting to ask for better things. They’re improving themselves because they can see that the circumstances of the now aren’t the limits. You’ve changed your fair share of black hearts, but that’s not the limit of your power.”

Ren was still a bit shaken by all of this. “I appreciate your help,” Yoshida continued. “Really, I do. But I think you have better things to work on than a silly little campaign.” He chuckled.

“Yo…Your campaign isn’t silly,” Ren protested. Yoshida was a little surprised. “It means something. It’s not a waste of time. If I’ve been able to help before with everything going on, I can still help. Besides, it’s not like I don’t get something out of this. Because of you, I’ve become more confident and understanding about myself. Because of you, I became a better leader. I…I…”

Yoshida remained surprised. He composed himself. “I apologize. I used the wrong words, heh heh. I don’t mean to diminish myself. What I mean to say is things are changing. We’ve both learned a lot from each other. But I think now is the time to put our noses to the grindstone and really work on what we need to do.

I've been reading the news. It seems like things are getting a bit hectic for the Phantom Thieves. The amount of support now matches roughly the amount of vitriol. I can’t imagine things will be smooth sailing from here on. At the same time, people like me have to give it our all too. And I can’t do that when I’m worried about you. You may not see it as a burden, but I’d be worried.”

Ren slightly pouted. Yoshida recognized her disappointment. “I know this is difficult. But don’t think of it as the end, but a new beginning.” Ren was stunned into curiosity. “I mean, if I get elected, that would mark the end of my campaign, but the beginning of something else. But the feelings would remain.

This isn’t the end of our friendship. Heck, this isn’t even the end of helping each other. But I feel like the best way we can help each other for right now is going down our own paths and showing everyone what we’ve taken from each other. Of course, you’re always free to come by and help, but this will be the last time I ask.”

Ren was processing what Yoshida had said. He was a great speaker and thinker. He wouldn’t say anything he didn’t believe in. Even though this was a separation of sorts, she knew he believed that this was the best course of action for them. And she knew he was right. She nodded, then sighed. “Very well.”

Yoshida smiled, while a single tear fell. “I’m glad. I’ll miss our conversations too, but I feel like this is for the best. Are you ready?” Ren nodded. “Then let’s go.”

“Yes sir,” Ren replied. She went to grab the sign. It read “Tonight’s Topic: Connections”

Ren and Yoshida got into position in front of the crowd. It was a sizable crowd; probably the biggest Yoshida had amassed. Yoshida cleared his throat and began to speak. “People of Tokyo! Tonight, I want to talk about something very important: The connections we make. As much as we hate to admit it, people come into our lives, and people leave. However, just because someone is gone, doesn’t mean that the idea of them is abandoned entirely.

Recently, I’ve met someone who has transformed me and my understanding of the world. And because of them, I am more confident than ever that I will help as many people as I can if elected. However, the two of us must go our separate ways for the time being. However, everything they’ve taught me will stick with me, and vice versa.

The truth is this applies to every connection we make. No one gets to where they are by themselves. While people come and people go, their impact lasts for as long as you allow it. A connection never goes away on its own, unless you break it.

A politician’s job is to think about other people. However, I suggest we all start doing that more. Think about all of the people who have been there for you; Those who you have lost, and those who have lost you. I promise you that the connections you’ve made remain strong. And as your representative, I will do nothing but amplify the bonds between us. For when we stand together, there is nothing we can’t do.” The crowd erupted into a cheer, while a tear fell from Ren’s eye.

Meeting up after the speech, Ren wiped her eye and said “Wonderful speech, as always.”

Yoshida nodded. “Why thank you.”

Ren looked down. “...I’m going to miss this.”

“Well, like I said, you’re free to come on your own,” Yoshida said.

“Right…” Ren said. “But you’re right. There are other things I need to do. Other people I need to help.”

Yoshida smiled. “And I’m sure you’ll help them all.”

“You think so?” Ren said, looking up.

Yoshida nodded. “You’ve helped me so much. If you help someone even one-one hundredth as much as you’ve helped me, you’ll give them something they’ll never forget.”

Ren teared up again. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Yoshida said. He started tearing up. “I knew this would be difficult, but I didn’t expect it to hit me this hard.”

“Well, as they say, parting is such sweet sorrow,” Ren retorted.

“Bah ha! Of course!” Yoshida laughed. They looked at each other. “Thank you.”

Ren felt an even more powerful surge inside her.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of the Sun, granting thee infinite power…

Sun-Toranosuke Yoshida: Rank 10

Yoshida checked his watch. “Well, the night is still a little young. What say we go grab a beef bowl. For old time’s sake.” Ren nodded. The two of them went to grab dinner, and head their separate ways; certain to cross again at some point.

[opmedits]

"Oh shit shit shit shit! What the hell am I doing?!”

One Punch Man 151

[chrsa]

totally get him

[airgearcloudroad]

[demifiendrsa]

One Punch Man chapter 151 cover page

[povery]

“Ok.”

Maki from the last chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen, ch.151. He knocked out Naoya with one punch. The homage to Saitama from One Punch Man was a must.

Thanks to @anomia-sama for the idea.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 151

This chapter has been one that I have been dying to write for a while. I was worried that @baelpenrose would resist the idea, but he very much thought it was hilarious. As always, his input and riffing on this chapter has very much made it better and better.

However, it also made the chapter longer, lol. But there is just no way to trim it down without losing something that makes it all work, so this week is nearly double my normal length... break everyone’s heart, right? ;)

“I don’t like these numbers,” Parvati grumbled - as much as she was capable of grumbling - as she scrolled through the final counts of approval ratings on her and Hannah’s inaugural Food Festival.

The statistics had been dropped into our inboxes that morning, in the static of about a thousand other notifications now that Derek had finished the stress-test. Also included were the results of the last three invasion-prep drills, which I was in the process of scanning over.

“How bad are they?” I asked, half listening for a number. The drills were trending better, which was a good sign that the moves were effective.

Dismissing her display with a gesture of disgust, she sighed. “Seventy-four percent approval rating.”

I arched a brow and glanced over. “Did you adjust for those who did not attend?”

The glare she sent me wasn’t seen so much as felt. “Of course I did. First thing I ran…”

“Are you filtering by the day the comments came in?”

“I -” Bingo. She huffed. “No! These are intended to be ratings for the entirety of the event!”

I started scrolling through my own statistics. “Chart them out by the date the ratings came in, filtering out everyone who didn’t actually attend.”

A pause. “Oh… Oh! It’s showing ninety-three-point-four now!”

“Et voila,” I murmured. Louder, I clarified, “People like to weigh in early, and those who object in general tend to speak first.”

“I see that… how’s it going over there?” she asked, smoothing her braid over her shoulder as she turned to look at me directly.

“We are improving with every drill, marked upticks since the relocations. Arthur should be here in about - “ I glanced at a clock, “Seven minutes to go over next steps.”

Alistair breezed over to swap my empty bulb of cold coffee for a fresh one of water. “The appointment is in fifteen minutes.”

Parvati beat me to the punch.  “He is also compulsively early, meaning…. Six minutes now.”

He rolled his eyes hard enough that I wanted to giggle. “He doesn’t even have the decency to be fashionably late. Appalling.”

Surely enough, Arthur paged at the entrance - out of some sort of manners I accidentally instilled in him - exactly five minutes prior to our scheduled appointment. As he breezed into my office, he managed a half-assed glare at Alistair for abruptly turning away and focusing on my schedule rather than his usual tendency to get a beverage for any newcomers. “Okay, updated data on drills isn’t what I want it to be.”

I laughed. “You’re joking, right? Your team and Michael’s haven’t gotten past deck four by more than three percent in the last seven exercises.”

“Any percent above zero is unacceptable,” he grumbled. I chalked it up to the indignity of being forced to get his own tea from the console.

Almost as though to spite Arthur, Alistair made a point to set a refreshed water bulb in front of everyone except the professor. “There are guards on the other levels for a reason,” he suggested drily.

“And I would rather those guards be idle, thank you,” Arthur threw back in a near-venomous tone.

“Us guards would rather be prepared for any eventuality, which you may do well to plan for in your petty drills.”

I didn’t even try to intervene. Clearly there was some blatantly disagreement between my  admin and my friend, and I was exhausted from trying to make them cooperate.

“If I’m doing my job, you should be so grateful as to be idle,” Arthur drawled.

Alistair scoffed. “As if being left to rest and get fatter than a Christmas goose is a blessing…”

“You’ll live longer!”

“And get lax in my duties, which I will not stand for!”

“Get fat! Get lazy! LIVE! I don’t care! I’m not going to be lax in my duties to allow you the opportunity of getting practice at fighting.” Standing, Arthur buried both hands in his hair, but it looked less like he was running his fingers through it than pulling on it. “Are we really discussing this when we are training to fight in living body condoms?”

“I need to defend the Archives!”

“And Michael and I need to defend everyone! Us doing our job means you don’t need to do yours.”

My neck snapped back at the vehemence in his tone. This wasn’t their normal sparring… they may have never truly gotten along, but even in the beginning it was never so vicious.

To my further alarm, Alistair took a long stride forward and stared down his nose at Arthur. “We both know that she - “ his hand flung out to point at me “is either the luckiest or unluckiest person in existence. You can’t really believe that, in an actual assault on this ship, that she won’t be in danger. Which will place Tyche, the Archives, Derek Okafor, and Samuel Richardson in equal danger. You aren’t an idiot, you know this.” The hand pointing toward me turned, and time seemed to slow down as he stabbed Arthur in the sternum with it, punctuating each of his next words. “Stop lying to yourself.”

“Poke me again, and the finger comes off.”

“I would dearly love to see you try.”

Hannah and Parvati had jumped to their feet when Alistair approached Arthur, but were now slowly moving around to my position, safely behind my desk. Hannah hissed at me through clenched teeth, “You had to tell them to fight it out.”

“I thought they would use a gym, not the damned office,” I hissed back.

Before she could respond, Alistair spoke again. “You aren’t the only one on the Ark who wants to protect everyone. You need to trust us to do our bloody jobs.”

“The last time I trusted anyone else to protect people, I lost fourteen students,” came the ground out response. “I’m not backing down on this.”

“You will, or I will sedate you and strap you to a medical berth for the next four months.” Alistair stepped back and crossed his arms with finality.

A trickle of nerves ran down my spine as I watched Arthur clench his fists and release them. “You think the solution to everything is to tie it up, I swear.”

“Stop changing the topic. I am deadly serious, Farro.”

Arthur turned away from him, waving him off. “Try something else, you would never just sedate me for months on end.” Before we could stop anything, Alistair leapt forward and put Arthur in a headlock, only to be immediately flipped over the other man’s shoulder and onto the table. “Tch. Sloppy. I know you can do better.”

“I thought you wanted me to get fat and lazy,” Alistair grunted as he sucker-punched Arthur in the stomach and rolled for the other side.  Once on his feet, he eyed Arthur carefully as he circled the table. “You stubborn ass, you know I am right.  You are putting everyone in the lower levels at risk by not running preparedness drills with them, because you don’t want to factor in the fact that one of the offensive teams could fail.”

“We don’t have the luxury of failing, so no. If we do our jobs correctly, everyone who matters will be safe at the other end of the Ark.”

They didn’t seem to be at each other’s throats anymore, but the arguing wasn’t getting anywhere. “Guys - “ I tried.

Both men turned and practically screamed at me with their glares to stop talking.  Oookay. I held up my hands in surrender and decided to let them sort it out their way.

Damned if the console wasn’t on the other side of them, though. I couldn’t even get popcorn and a drink.

Alistair blew a harsh breath through his nose. “If you won’t include the lower decks in your drills, I will start sparring with Jokul.”

“He would kill you,” Arthur barked in the most miserable laugh I’ve ever heard.

“God forbid,” Alistair mocked. “If I were gone, who would make your tea in the morning.”

“The same person who picks up the socks that magically appear all over my quarters every day, obviously. Worthington, I’m serious, he could really hurt you. He has really hurt me. And Charly.”

That last part was dismissed with a wave. “Madam Charles the First put the fear of herself into him.”

“And you haven’t. He could kill you by accident, and he’d never forgive himself.”

“Maybe that wouldn’t be the case if you would let me train more!”

Arthur groaned and ran a hand down his face. “You are an adult, we’ve talked about this. Train all you want, with whoever you want - Charly, Sophia, Tyche… hell, train with Evan or Michael, I don’t care. Just, not Jokul.”

When did they talk about this? I wondered. It had to be during a sparring session or something, because it definitely wasn’t in my office during one of our meetings. A glance at Hannah showed she was watching everything unfold like it was the most riveting show she had ever seen, and Parvati’s squint of consideration wasn’t much better.

“As you said, I’m an adult. Perhaps I should take your advice, and train with Charly - “

“See - “

“- and Jokul. She will make sure I don’t get hurt.”

Arthur flung his hands up in frustration. “You are so stubborn, I swear!” Growling, he paced in a circle. “Fine! Train with Charly and Jokul. IN the bivouac suit, though! And I don’t want to hear a word when you end up confined in a med bay yourself.”

Alistair’s smug grin showed just how much he seemed to care. “At least I would be spared of picking up the trail of dishes that seem to follow you around.”

“For the love of - they are my quarters! Mine! And I don’t want to hear about it when your bloody socks are constantly getting lost behind my sofa!”

Oh. Oh no. Nonononononono.

“My socks can go wherever they fucking want to, when I am constantly cleaning your disgusting whiskers out of the sink!”

“You know what would fix you having to clean whiskers out of the sink? I could just stop shaving altogether. How about...that…” Arthur trailed off and very slowly turned toward the three of us behind my desk with a look of dawning horror.

And I tried. I really, really tried not to laugh.  I could feel my face reddening, my chest aching with the effort of holding it in.  

Hannah’s snort was my undoing. As soon as that tiny noise escaped her, all three of us erupted into hysterical, stomach-cramping, tearful laughter.  I felt stabbing in my arm as Parvati dug her nails in, trying desperately not to fall.  Unfortunately for her, Hannah grabbed me at the same time and all three of us toppled to the floor. The sight of Arthur rolling his eyes and crossing his arms only made me escalate from laughing to shrieking in hysterics and relief.

I couldn’t speak for the other two ladies, but I thought the two men were going to end up killing each other… At no point did I think they took the other option when I told them to either fight it out or….

I gasped for breath, trying to get myself under control. Wobbling to my feet with the help of my trusty desk and a couple yanks to free my shirt from Parvati’s desperate clutching, I pointed between them. “This… how long? Can’t believe… didn’t figure it out.”

“Not everyone is as… public… as you, Conor, and Maverick are,” Arthur snarked at me. “You know, private lives should be private and all that?”

“Must be for you,” I confided in Alistair’s direction, where he had turned his back to our fit.  “He’s never not told me when he was dating someone. Or thinking of dating someone. Or potentially interested in seeing if he was interested in dating someone… Best friend privileges and all that.”  While I waited for Alistair to respond, my mind whirled through all the things I had brushed off before but were very obvious in retrospect.

Glancing at Arthur for a hint yielded nothing but a flat stare that all but declared in flashing lights You Aren’t Stupid.

I tilted my head at that, and kept thinking. There had been genuine animosity on Alistair’s side in the beginning, and not a small amount of needling on Arthur’s.  So I knew it wasn’t something that had always been going on. My mind came to a screeching halt, however, when I remembered something - the day Alistair, Tyche, and I decided that, when I vacated my position on the Council, they would vacate roles as well to leave behind a ‘clean slate’. “Four years, holy shit,” I gasped. “Four years!?”

Finally, Alistair moved. His back was still to us, but his arms went limp by his sides, and his head dropped down toward the floor. “It would be unseemly to have the new Councilor of Education in a relationship with the attache to the Councilor for Resources and Engagement. Or formerly in a relationship, should things not end well.”

“And since he won’t be taking his position until we are on Von,” I put together, “You are okay to serve out the rest of my term, just not Hannah’s or Parvati’s.”

“Correct.”

“Huh. That makes sense,” I admitted before hopping up to sit on my desk, the chair being a lost cause on the other side of two women who were still sniffling and giggling on the floor. “I learned a lot today.”

“Uh huh,” Arthur confirmed drily. “And it had better stay in this office.”

“What?” I managed a pretty convincing confused face before pretending to realize what he meant. “Oh! The relationship thing. Yeah, cool, whatever. That’s not what I was talking about, but you’re good.”

“Dare I even ask what you meant?” Alistair ventured, finally turning around so that he could give me a warning look.

“Uh, isn’t it obvious?” I asked, shaking my head and spreading my hands, palms up. When they both just stared at me, I finally broke and grinned. “Dude. You two are freaking slobs.”

The squeaking noises coming from the vicinity of my feet told me that no further work would be getting done for the rest of the day.

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[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Fluffy Fridays—Chapter 164: Black Friday, pt. 2

Fluffy Fridays—Chapter 164: Black Friday, pt. 2

Pairing:  Captain Swan

Summary:   A series of unrelated, fluffy one shots featuring Killian Jones and  Emma Swan and the relationship that makes us all swoon. Will contain  both canon and AU stories. My contribution to Operation Rainbow Kisses  and Unicorn Stickers (aka, my attempt to drown out the season 4 finale  angst with ridiculous levels of fluff.)

Other Chapters: ( 1) (2)  ( 3) ( 4) ( 5) (6) ( 7) ( 8) ( 9) ( 10) ( 11) ( 12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31) (32) (33) (34) (35) (36) (37) (38) (39) (40) (41) (42) (43) (44) (45) (46) (47) (48) (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) (54) (55) (56) (57) (58) (59) (60) (61) (62) (63) (64) (65) (66) (67) (68) (69) (70) (71) (72) (73) (74) (75) (76) (77) (78) (79) (80) (81) (82) (83) (84) (85) (86) (87) (88) (89) (90) (91) (92) (93) (94) (95) (96) (97) (98) (99) (100) (101) (102) (103) (104) (105) (106) (107) (108) (109) (110) (111) (112) (113) (114) (115) (116) (117) (118) (119) (120) (121) (122) (123) (124) (125) (126) (127) (128) (129) (130) (131) (132) (133) (134) (135) (136) (137) (138) (139) (140) (141) (142) (143) (144) (145) (146) (147) (148) (149) (150) (151) (152) (153) (154) (155) (156)  (157) (158) (159) (160) (161) (162) (163) (165) (166) (167) (168) (169) (170) (171) (172) (173) (174)

(ao3) (ff.net)

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“Um excuse me,” Emma said with a frown, “this book is mine.”

The person standing before her didn’t relinquish the book in question, and Emma glanced up at him…and then promptly wished she hadn’t.  This guy was hot.  Like middle-of-summer in Phoenix hot.  Like compared-to-him-the-sun-was-kind-of-warm hot.  No one had a right to look that damn good this early in the morning.  She should just arrest him and haul him off to jail for that alone.

Very much against her will, her heart swooped and her breath caught at his very proximity.  She saw the exact moment he noticed her reaction.  A sly, maddening, delighted (sexy) grin came over his face.  Emma frowned thunderously up at him, as angry with herself at her reaction as she was at him for his…well, his very existence.

“Much as I hate to contradict a lady,” he drawled (Oh gods, even his voice and accent were hot.  She was in serious, serious trouble), “I believe this book, in fact belongs to me.  I was here first.”

Her frown deepened.  “I don’t think so.  Give me my item before I punch you in the face.”

He chuckled, leaning forward and crowding her space. (Her stupid, traiterous heart picked up yet again.)  “Oh Darling, I can think of some far, far more pleasant ways we can spar than a bout of fisticuffs.”

Was it suddenly hot in here?  

“Look, I don’t have time for this,” she said with a sigh, her voice beginning to raise.  “Just stop being a jackass and give me the book.”

Suddenly a small man with a brown beard, a grumpy look on his face, and a hat that read “security” stepped forward.  “There a problem here folks?”

“None I can’t handle,” Emma gritted out.  “Soon as this guy admits I got here first and gives me my merchandise I’ll get out of your hair.”

“On the contrary,” the man said.  “I was the first one to claim this particular prize.”

The security guard, who wore the name tag “Leroy”, glanced back and forth between the two of them for a moment, and then shrugged.  “Look, I won’t have any fighting in this store.  Work it out among yourselves, or I’m kicking you both out.  Then neither one of you gets the stupid book.”

For a moment Emma merely glared at the man, and he looked back at her, a look of steely determination on his face.  Finally he sighed.

“Look, love, the security guard’s right,” he said. “While quite enjoyable, our standoff will get us nowhere.”

Was the (hot as hell) guy going to actually be reasonable and give in?

“So here’s what I propose,” he said.  “We purchase the book and then adjourn elsewhere to discuss the particulars of whose prize it will be.  Perhaps you’ll allow me to buy you a cup of coffee at Granny’s?”

She crossed her arms across her chest.  “Are you seriously asking me out right now?”

He chuckled, and the sound did things to her, things that brought the color to her cheeks and stole her breath clean from her lungs.  He leaned even closer, so close she could feel his minty-fresh breath against her cheek.  “Sadly no.  I was merely proposing a parlay of sorts, a chance for us to settle our differences like adults.  However, if you’re hoping for a romantic evening out on another occasion, I could certainly accommodate you.”

“In your dreams!”

He wiggled his eyebrows.  Actually wiggled them!  “Perhaps.”

Emma growled.  “Are you kidding me right now?  It’s too early for this!”

He seemed to sense he’d pushed her as far as was prudent, and he sighed.  “I vow to be the perfect gentleman.  IIf we at least secure the item, we can then decide later who is the victor.”

She gave him a quick look and could see the sincerity in his eyes.  She was good at spotting when someone was lying, after all.  Finally she sighed.  “Fine.  But we both buy it–split the cost fifty-fifty.  That way neither one of us can claim ownership of the book before we get everything ironed out.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Here you are folks,” the perky brunette waitress said half an hour later.  “One black coffee and one hot cocoa with cinnamon.

Killian heard the waitress lean whisper “Emma, he’s hot” to the woman on the other side of the booth.

She growled and whispered “Ruby, shut it!” back.

He chuckled.  This was turning into one of the most delightful mornings he’d had in ages.  When the waitress had flitted over to another set of customers, Killian leaned back and grinned at his companion.  “She’s right, you know,” he said.  ‘I have been called devilishly handsome.”

“I’ll give you the devilish part,” she said with a wry quirk of her brow.  “Look…what did you say your name was?”

“Did I fail to introduce myself?  How very rude of me.  Killian Jones, at your service,” he said with a bow.  Her cheeks colored alluringly at his formality, and Killian was delighted at her reaction to him.

She was utterly captivating, and the truth was, he hadn’t been so quickly, completely and charmingly smitten with anyone since Milah.  Though he very much wanted to attain the fairy tale book for his Alice, he couldn’t say he regretted the complications this morning had brought.

He didn’t know what possessed him to ask this woman to coffee.  All he knew as they stood facing off in the bookstore was that he did not want their time together to be at an end anytime soon.

“Emma Swan,” she muttered.

A fit of pure devilishness came over him, and he reached over, took her hand and brought it to her lips.  “Enchanted.” he whispered.

Her quick, indrawn breath made his grin widen, and she quickly pulled her hand back and busied herself with taking a sip of her beverage.

“So, Killian Jones,” she said, her voice not quite steady, “what are we going to do about this book?  I don’t mean to be a jerk about it, but I really need this book.  My son…well, this is the only thing he’s asked for, and it’s been a rough year for him.  I just…I just want to be able to give him this one thing so maybe I don’t feel like such a failure as a parent.”

His heart turned over.  He could tell she’d said more than she’d intended.  Emma Swan didn’t strike him as someone who let her walls down quickly or shared her feelings of inadequacy with strangers.

“As a single parent myself, I can relate to the feelings, love,” he said, “but I’ve no doubt book or no book, you’re hardly a failure as a parent.”

“Yeah, well,” she said, glancing uncomfortably aside.  “I feel like it.”

Killian was silent for a long moment, taking a sip of his coffee.  If it weren’t for Alice, he’d give up his claim on the book in a moment, but it was for Alice.  Was there any way they could both get what they wanted?

“I don’t wish to be intransigent either,” he said finally, “and my behavior today is not a matter of mere stubbornness.  My daughter also has her heart set on this particular book.”

Her eyes softened at his statement, acknowledging their dueling claims as parents wanting the best for their respective children.  “Yeah, I get it, so that brings me back to my original question.  How do we decide who gets the book?”

Suddenly an idea struck him.  It was unorthodox to say the least, unorthodox to the point of being downright bizarre, but it did have it’s merits–namely the fact that, should she agree to it, they’d be forced to see each other again on a fairly regular basis.

“I do have an idea,” he said slowly, “but it may sound positively daft.”

She gave him an assessing look, taking another dainty sip of her cocoa.  “Okay, I’m listening.”

“What if we share the book?” he blurted out.

“Share it?  What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he said, “what if we trade off?  Your lad gets the book one week, and then my Alice gets it the next, and so on.”

Her brow furrowed.  “You mean like…joint custody…of a book.”

He shrugged with a grin.  “I told you it would sound daft.”

Killian was encouraged by the fact that Emma didn’t outright shoot down his (odd) idea.  She seemed to consider it, staring into space for several moments, before briefly nodding.  “It is a weird solution, but I think it might be the best way we can both get what we want.  Can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have a deal.”

 Notes:  Merry week before Christmas!  Sorry it’s taken me several weeks to get back to this story, but as always, it’s a busy time of year.  I was hoping to get this story finished in this installment, but these two just wouldn’t stop flirting and being all sexual tension-y long enough for me to finish the story, so surprise!  You’ll get a part 3 next week!  (I do promise to finish it in a week this time!)

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[breaniebree]

A Second Chance

For those who have been asking... this is my master list once more:

ASC Chapter Titles as If They Were Friends Episodes

Part One: Harry’s First Year With His Dads (Chapters 1-49)

1. The One Where They Were Dead 2. The One Where the Rat Is Out of the Bag  3. The One Where James and Lily Die  4. The One Where Moony and Padfoot Make Up  5. The One Where Harry Meets Padfoot  6. The One Where Sirius Kidnaps Harry  7. The One Where Sirius Punches Vernon Dursley  8. The One Where Harry Meets Remus  9. The One Where Sirius and Harry Make Grilled Cheese  10. The One With Thea  11. The One Where Harry Asks What a Kiss Is  12. The One With the Library Card  13. The One Where They Remember the Past  14. The One With the Tonkses’  15. The One With Harry’s First Nightmare  16. The One With Professor Moony  17. The One With The Puppy  18. The One With the Second Best Day Ever  19. The One Where Harry Meets An Excellent Secret Keeper and Her Brother  20. The One Where Sirius Learns What He Missed in Azkaban  21. The One With the Brownies 22. The One With the Date  23. The One With the Weasleys  24. The One With the Bad Dreams  25. The One Where Sirius Learns the Key to Moony's Secret Pranking Success  26. The One With Operation Prank the Piss Out of Harry Potter  27. The One With the Wolfsbane Fight  28. The One Where the Marauders Discover A Wolf  29. The One With the Spanking  30. The One With the House Rules and Where Sirius and Ted Build a Treehouse 31. The One With the Wolf  32. The One Where Remus Tells Sirius To Deal with the Blacks  33. The One Where Harry Asks About Boobies  34. The One With the Locket  35. The One With Blackbird  36. The One With the Birthday Orgasms  37. The One With the Three Brothers  38. The One With Godric’s Hollow  39. The One Where Sirius Speaks French 40. The One With the First Christmas  41. The One With the Pensieve  42. The One With the Memories Part I  43. The One With the Memories Part II  44. The One When Padfoot and Prongs Become Blood Brothers  45. The One Where Harry Has A Sleepover  46. The One With the Tickle War  47. The One With the Viscount of Falmouth  48. The One With Roni  49. The One With the Birthday Planning 

Part Two: Harry Growing Up With A Family, Ages 7-11 (Chapters 50-61)

50. The One With the Best Birthday Ever  51. The One Where Padfoot and Moony Know Nothing About Sick Kids  52. The One Where Remus Slaps Sirius  53. The One With the Giant Cheese Fort 54. The One With Operation Get Lily Evans to Fall in Love With Prongs  55. The One Where Remus Thinks He’s a Very Bad Man  56. The One Where Harry Asks About Sex  57. The One Where Tonks Turns 17  58. The One Where Remus Feels Like He’s Robbing the Cradle  59. The One Where Remus Learns He Has A Mate  60. The One Where Sirius Shags the Realtor 61. The One With the Letter 

Part Three: First Year (Chapters 62-73)

62. The One Where Harry Gets Hedwig  63. The One Where Harry Understands the Fear of Voldemort  64. The One With The Sorting  65. The One Where Sirius Was Almost Bitten By a Panther… And Totally Didn’t Pee His Pants  66. The One With the Youngest Seeker In Over a Century 67. The One With the Three-Headed Dog  68. The One With Zee  69. The One With Sheer Dumb Luck  70. The One Where Sirius Lets Zee Drive His Bike  71. The One Where the Weasley Boys Come Over for Christmas  72. The One Where Minnie Tells Sirius To Get A Job  73. The One Where No One Listens So Harry Has to Do Everything and His Friends Follow Him So He Doesn't Die 

Part Four: Second Year (Chapters 74-105)

74. The One Where the Whole School Knows  75. The One Where Harry is Jealous  76. The One Where Sirius Eats Crow  77. The One Where Zee Meets Minnie  78. The One With the Proud Enough to Cry Letter 79. The One Where They Realize Their New Professor is a Moron  80. The One Where Remus Gets His Shit Together  81. The One Where Harry Meets His Fanboy  82. The One Where Binns Doesn’t Put His Class to Sleep For Almost Ten Whole Minutes 83. The One Where Sirius Finds Out  84. The One When Remus Punches Lockhart  85. The One With the Mad House Elf  86. The One With the Great Shoebox Capture  87. The One Where Sirius Tells Zee About the Marauders  88. The One Where Harry is Homesick  89. The One Where Sirius Says I Love You  90. The One With the Sex Talk 91. The One With Ted Walking in on Remus Fingering Tonks… And Remus Adds Another Finger  92. The One Where Draco Comes to Christmas  93. The One Where Sirius Actually Gets a Job  94. The One Where Sirius Asks About Cursed Scars  95. The One Where Remus Tells Tonks and She says ‘Duh!’  96. The One Where Fred Hears the Name Padfoot  97. The One With Peter’s Trial Part I  98. The One With Peter’s Trial Part II  99. The One Where Ginny Tells Harry She Has A Pen-Pal  100. The One With the Eyes As Green As a Fresh Pickled Toad  101. The One Where Tonks Is Under the Desk  102. The One Where Harry Writes in the Diary  103. The One Where It’s Not Follow the Butterflies  104. The One Where Sirius Is Sent Home Without An Explanation 105. The One Where Ginny is Scared Harry Will Never Speak To Her Again 

Part Five: Third Year (Chapters 106-143)

106. The One Where Sirius and Remus Demand Answers  107. The One With Prophecies and Horcruxes  108. The One Where Harry Learns to Drive  109. The One Where Bill and Charlie Talk About the Importance of Being A Good Big Brother 110. The One Where Sirius Realizes He Wants Zee Forever But Is Too Chicken To Say It 111. The One With Operation Fuck Up Voldemort’s Plans  112. The One Where Cissy Tattles on Abraxas  113. The One Where Harry Sees More Than He Should Between His Roommates  114. The One Where Colin Tells Ginny To Get Over It  115. The One Where Theo Comes Out  116. The One Where Sirius Tells Lucius If He Fucks Up He Will Kill Him  117. The One With the FUVP Pow-Wow  118. The One Where They Return to the Chamber of Secrets  119. The One Where Harry Finds Out  120. The One Where the Marauders Prank Snape 121. The One Where Draco and Theo Make Bad Detectives  122. The One With Nyx  123. The One Where Harry Throws a Tantrum  124. The One Where They Skive Off Class Because Harry Talks 125. The One Where Harry Asks Out Cho  126. The One With Harry’s First Date  127. The One Where Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore Fuck Up  128. The One With Moody  129. The One Where Harry Gets Slapped  130. The One Where Sirius and Tonks Decide To Fuck With Snape  131. The One With Lily’s Ghost  132. The One With the Gaunt Property  133. The One With the Defence Club  134. The One With the Wizengamot  135. The One Where Harry Meets the Americans  136. The One Where They Forget to Tell Sirius  137. The One With the Insomniacs Club  138. The One Where Bellatrix Shows Up  139. The One With the Time Turner  140. The One With Umbitch's Creepy Song  141. The One With the Wolf in the Cage  142. The One Where Harry Shouts at Sirius and He Just Shouts Right Back  143. The One Where Both of Them Feel Like Shit 

Part Six: Fourth Year (Chapters 144-179)

144. The One With the Elder Wand  145. The One Where Sirius Tells Harry Not to Drink  146. The One Where Sirius Acts the Adult and Tells the Grangers  147. The One Where They Drink the Potion  148. The One Where Harry Can’t Change His Arm Back  149. The One Where Ginny Sees Harry Naked  150. The One When Harry Calls Remus a Bad Dog 151. The One Where Theo Goes to the Burrow  152. The One Where Harry Has a Fling  153. The One Where Sirius Panics Over Commitment  154. The One Where Zee Takes Harry Shopping  155. The One With the Quidditch World Cup  156. The One With Winky  157. The One With Babymort 158. The One Where Sirius Asks Zee to Move In  159. The One Where Snape Apologizes and Harry Thinks The World Ended  160. The One With the Pretty Boy, the Biggest Flirt, and the Flying House 161. The One Where Tonks Wants A Boob Job 162. The One Where Drama Queen Sirius Learns About Pens  163. The One Where Zee Just Wants A Damn Telephone But Sirius Can’t Stop Bitching 164. The One Where Girls Giggle and Ginny Looks Different 165. The One Where Harry Outflies a Dragon… Almost  166. The One Where Zee Tells The Paper to Back the Fuck Away from Her Son  167. The One Where Harry Thinks It’s the Formal Wear  168. The One Where Mr Weasley Thinks ‘Oh, Bloody Hell!' 169. The One Where Sirius Takes A Bath  170. The One Where Harry’s in Denial  171. The One Where Harry Thinks He Has Two Hostages  172. The One With the Love Potion  173. The One Where Zee Seduces Sirius in the Work Shed  174. The One With the Secret Swimming Pool  175. The One With the Bats From the Crotch 176. The One That Ends With ‘Oh Shit!’  177. The One Where Everyone Dies  178. The One With the Lullabye  179. The One Where Tonks Marks Remus 

Part Seven: Fifth Year (Chapters 180-222)

180. The One Where Remus Proposes  181. The One Where Lucius Gets Arrested  182. The One Where Remus Proposes Again and Harry Dies  183. The One With the Coconut Smell 184. The One Where Tonks Isn’t Pregnant 185. The One Where Dean Realizes He Fancies Seamus  186. The One With Baby, I Love You  187. The One Where Theo Meets Voldemort  188. The One Where Harry Calls Ginny His and Then Denies It  189. The One Where Everyone Breaks Out of Azkaban  190. The One With the War Council 191. The One Where Harry is Dumped  192. The One Where They Discuss The Size of Remus’ Package  193. The One Where Harry Learns About the Potters  194. The One Where Harry Finds the Tower Room  195. The One Where Zee’s in France  196. The One Where Harry Gets Constantly Interrupted  197. The One Where the Glacier Finally Melts  198. The One Where Harry Finally Asks  199. The One Where Sirius Cuddles and Zee Buys A Motorbike  200. The One Where Everyone Is Worried About Theo  201. The One With the Frying Pan  202. The One With the Fluke  203. The One Where Minnie Walks In  204. The One Where Remus Finds A Present Under the Tree  205. The One With Bellarosa and the Snake  206. The One Where Everyone Gets Motorbikes  207. The One Where Padfoot Suggests Pranking Umbitch to Fred and George  208. The One With the Great Escape from Umbitch  209. The One With Prince Finley and the Switching of Teacups  210. The One Where Theo is Courted and Dean Admits He's in Love  211. The One Where Hinny Says I Love You and the Fluke Continues  212. The One Where Sirius Picks Out A Star  213. The One With the Cathedral Star 214. The One Where Sirius Answers the Phone 215. The One Where George Gets the Girl  216. The One Where They Compare Proposals  217. The One Where Sirius Has the Man-Flu and Gives it to Zee  218. The One Where Ginny and Theo Are Kidnapped and Remus Hears Heartbeats  219. The One With the Thing After Learning the Thing  220. The One Where Everyone is in Shock 221. The One Where Zee Confirms  222. The One With the Will 

Part Eight: Sixth Year (Chapters 223-Present)

223. The One Where Remus Finally Lets Go  224. The One Where Hermione is Blind But Her Mum Isn’t 225. The One Where the Dragon’s in Trouble and George Snogs the New Bat 226. The One Where Ginny Tames Ebony and Theo Goes to Tara  227. The One With the Sovereign Chalice and Zee’s Dream  228. The One With the Party  229. The One Where Ginny Claims Her Man  230. The One Where Harry Has a Really Great Birthday  231. The One Where Harry Asks Remus For Sex Advice  232. The One With the Surfing  233. The One Where Harry Buys a Pgymy Puff  234. The One With the Naughty Dream  235. The One Where Harry’s Afraid of Grandpa  236. The One With the Race  237. The One Where Ron and Hermione Almost Fluke  238. The One Where Bill Gets a Headache  239. The One With Compass and Bad Puns  240. The One Where Harry Uses Parseltongue For Something New  241. The One Where Slughorn Is An Armchair  242. The One Where Its All Fluff  243. The One Where Draco Calls Blaise A Stupid Son of a Bitch  244. The One With the Patronus and the Lingerie  245. The One With Advanced Potion Making and World War One  246. The One With Luna’s Question  247. The One With All the Smut and Where Ron and Hermione Fluke Again 248. The One Where Minnie Freaks Out on Walburga  249. The One With the Fruit Basket  250. The One Where Percy Gets a Date and Remus Skives Off Work  251. The One With the Iron Blade  252. The One Where the Fairytale Ends  253. The One With the Golden Dagger  254. The One With Charlie’s Surprise  255. The One With The Bet  256. The One Where They Celebrate Christmas Without Sirius  257. The One With the Tantrum About Heels  258. The One Where Lucius Fucks Up  259. The One Where Tonks Plays Bad Auror  260. The One With the Goblin Potato 261. The One Where Fred is Scarred for Life  262. The One Where We Hear From Althea 263. The One Where Harry Is Told He Owes Theo A Fruit Basket 264. The One Where Neville Plants A Tree

[myktchp]

Top 6 Episodes of One Piece

If there's a series that attempts to test the diminishing return hypothesis, it's One Piece. The monstrous epic of Eiichiro Oda is the highest selling manga of all time, but its ridiculous duration still prohibits many people from checking it out, and that hill will only get steeper as we barrel towards its end (eventually).

The One Piece anime, which is a much greater commitment to time and does not boast the brilliant artwork of Oda as a selling point, is even more of a conundrum. Yet, for the first time, so many fans perceive the story this way and fall in love regardless... Over the course of many long binges, there is something special about cuddling up in front of a screen and getting lost in a world, and the powerful spirit that burns just below the surface, even during the not-so-hot days of the anime, still keeps us building up to a new "best" chapter. Everyone has their favorite shows, the ones they feel emotionally attached to, and we would love to share yours in the forums with you. Here are my own 6 best One Piece episodes, in chronological order (but not superlative):

Episode 19 - The Three-Sword Style's Past! Zoro and Kuina's Vow!

In the modern age, where the manga is so informative and comprehensive, it's hard to believe that there was once a period when the anime really successfully expanded on the plot. The anime version of Zoro's flashback is so amazing that it is the "true" version of the story in my heart, which comes a little later than it did in the manga. What once was a fast and blunt page is turned into a wonderful piece of sound, letting us live for an episode in the Japanese countryside as we hear the story of a young Roronoa Zoro and his original opponent, Kuina.

In its obsession with gender, this episode also ends up being easily the most empathic the show has ever gotten. It portrays Kuina, the prodigal swordsman, dissatisfied with the awareness that the gap in intensity between her and Zoro will increase drastically as they become adults. This is a moment for a young Zoro to take seriously his female rival, and in the present day, Tashigi finally takes up whatever thematic baggage is left behind by her death. This is One Piece's tender side at its finest.

Episode 119 - Secret of Powerful Swordplay! Ability to Cut Steel and the Rhythm Things Have!

This is another fantastic episode of Zoro that places us in the middle of the Straw Hats and Baroque Works' climate war. The adversary of Zoro is Mr. 1, who really isn't a swordsman, but a man who can turn his entire body into a weapon. Not only does Dice-Dice Fruit from Mr. 1 allow for some of the anime's imagination, but this episode manages to offer one of the coolest battles in the entire series. It's bloody, it's raw, and Zoro throws a guy into a building.

Towards the end, the episode is at its best, when everything gets quiet and builds up to the final blow. It sells the show with so much conviction that I believe it's cool. I believe this is one of the series's most driven episodes, and a great example of the show's cinematic narrative eye.

Episode 278 - Say You Want to Live! We Are Your Friends!

If 151 was the episode that made me a fan, the episode that made me a lifetime fan is 278. This episode and the one before it are older examples of "one-hour specials" from the series, which are gradually split into two episodes until released on home video and streaming sites. This episode is jam-packed even as just the second half of a special, as we conclude the tragic backstory of Robin and transition into the present where the Straw Hats make their greatest gesture yet to save their friend from the greedy World Government.

One Piece can become astonishingly sad for being such a vibrant and enjoyable series, to the point that it almost competes with itself to see how unhappy it can get. If the highs were not so gosh darn consistent, these lows would become tiresome, and Straw Hats' assault on the government flag, followed by Robin's major "I want to live!" One of the most cathartic moments you'll ever find in literature is the scene. At this point in the plot, the Straw Hats are still underdogs, so their bold "never give up" attitude in the face of their greatest enemy hits particularly hard. This episode illustrates the chasms that One Piece can jump to be the saddest and happiest tale it can be, from baby Robin surviving the genocide of everyone she's ever loved to adult Robin pleading for another chance at life.

Episode 396 - The Fist Explodes! Destroy the Auction!

In One Piece, Luffy punches a Celestial Dragon so hard that he knocks the color off the screen, still one of the most frequently referenced and applauded moments. If there is one thing that One Piece is unbelievably good at, it's payoffs. It sets the pins up so that in the most bombastic way possible it can knock them down. To this day, the Celestial Dragons are the most heinous villains we've seen in One Piece, and the repercussions of (again) defying the World Government are obvious, but Luffy still has to do his thing with Luffy.

The emphasis that the show places on Luffy's pledge to Hatchan not to intervene, no matter what, is what really captures me about this moment. You get the feeling that Luffy is the kind to keep an earnest promise, but watching a hero get pushed beyond that stage is always fascinating.

Episode 574 - Back to the Present! Hordy Makes a Move!

The general opinion, as far as I can tell, is that Fishman Island is the series' worst arc. With this sentiment, I don't agree. I think it's one of the heaviest, most three-dimensional instances I've ever seen of fantasy-world-racism-as-metaphor-for-real-world-racism. Basically, the mid-arc flashback covering the plights of Fisher Tiger and Queen Otohime is a film-length drama, and it's one of the series' best flashbacks, for which there's fierce competition. It's very underestimated.

Aside from being an exceptionally pretty episode, both halves of it are extremely strong, one at the tail end of the flashback and one coming out of it. Neptune mourning the death of his wife, distraught that the difficulty of race relations implies that he can not convey his frustration, is a great scene, as is the forgiveness of Jimbei by Nami for his connection to the pirates of Arlong. The push and pull between hope, cynicism, remorse, rage, and love is what makes this arc perfect. You just ever feel like you're halfway through everything life's going to bring you through, even at its worst. As for its place in the big picture plot, this episode is a significant step in the relationship of Jimbei with the pirates of the Straw Hat, and it establishes the purpose of the Ryugu Kingdom to join the World Government and attend the Reverie, a heavily built-up political event that is due in the manga any day now.

Episode 616 - A Surprising Outcome! White Chase vs. Vergo!

This is a particular stand-out episode in the series for fighting animation, since it's so much more physical than normal. Even with the powers of Smoker and Vergo flying every way, the effect goes down to their good ole fists. The personal investment between two marines duking it out is already very intense, but it's put over the edge by the great choreography and style, and that alone would put such an episode on my radar.

That said, once Smoker vs. Vergo turns over to Vergo vs. Rule, there is a cherry on top, with the real villain of the arc, Doflamingo, listening in from a distance. The rest of the series gives too much consequence to the law defeating Vergo in such an over-the-top manner.

So those are the episodes I feel are worth revisiting the most! Obviously, I'm expected to have skipped a few or omitted incredibly significant episodes in this top six list, with a series that long. If you enjoyed this top list of mine don’t forget to leave a like and share it with your friends. If you have any suggestions for my next top list just mail it to me at ramos.rf.bsmt@gmail.com and i will feature you for my next article. Stay tuned and stay safe everyone!

[thecrenellations]

Thick as Thieves Undead-Blog, Part One | when your liveblog falls in a well then climbs out covered in flour | my notes from reading the book for the first time, Spring 2017

Expect yelling, lines that stuck out to me, and references that might only make sense in my head! Do not expect any meaningful analysis; I was simply reading this book, losing my mind, and feeling like I was falling in love. (Context provided in italics.)

Part Two

Chapters 1-5:

Ch. 1 - Kamet meets Costis and finds out about Nahuseresh’s “death” 

1. similar start to KoA and ACoK? and Thief?? feeling stupid

2. smashed bottle of remchik (amphora motif?)

RUSTICATE

oh no Nahuseresh why you’re married!

3. a new character! (Laela)

5. u look like a pomegranate

6. how old is Kamet?

8. “crooked men assume others are crooked as well” like thieves and philanderers...

10. Laela thinks Attolia is doomed?

ORNON????

“nature of world” is that what you really think?

trained as a child

11. poor eyesight

PAH COSTIS IS BACK i’m emotional

A VERY LARGE ATTOLIAN

12. THANK THE ETERNAL GODS HE WAS A CHATTY ATTOLIAN THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK

13. everyone is smart

a deep well of spite, low cunning

14. physical description of Costis?!?

he says he has so much power but he ... hides in alcoves? behind urns?

15. backward Attolia

a match made in hell (Kamet’s assessment of Gen and Irene)

K’s backstory

what does he like? does he WANT wealth and power?

16. *****“There is freedom and power” ***** (this quote was featured in some of the promotion before publication, I think, so it stuck out to me as especially important, though it probably would have anyway because it says a whole lot about Kamet’s perspective!)

oh no well there goes my wish for insight into Nahuseresh RIP (I didn’t LIKE Nahuseresh and particularly want to get to know him better, but I did go into this book hoping we’d get a more nuanced view of some of the Mede court ... turns out we absolutely DID get some serious insight into Nahuseresh despite him not appearing in person ... oof. I do still hope that RotT gives us even more Mede characters or fleshes out the other ambassadors - Akretenesh and Melheret (though we we just see them through the eyes of people like Sophos who vehemently oppose them) still seem less unique/complex/human compared to other antagonist-types like Ambiades, Sejanus, reader’s choice of baron.)

17. tears ... not for him though

 21. Shesmegah = Philia?

22. Rabbit and Lion!!!

23. Bear ... thx mwt <3 plz don’t be foreshadowing (Gen compares himself to a dancing bear ... so “there had been a white bear once, a gift from the Braelings in the north, but it had died in the heat” is pretty ominous, especially considering the animal allusions to another character on the previous page!)

24. he’s leaving the gates an enemy of king!

Ch. 2 - Kamet bumps into Immakuk and then Costis, the Anet’s Dream burns

28. how do they know who’s a slave?

clothes, chain

it’s Odin (listen. Odin and Immakuk both have one eye and show up a lot! I was totally on the right track. Shoutout to The Saga of the Volsungs ;) )

Enforcers of Imperial Peace give me a break! (i mean, in the US police are often officially called “peace officers” so, fair)

is he a god? srsly

32. the first of my many lies (“you said after noon”)

is this post-annuxing? no?

We went to the theater

34. I am a good judge of men

35. “i could evade the attolian far more easily than the palace guard” he is a palace guard <3

36. HIS ACCENT IS STILL HORRIBLE also your god’s favor

37. uhhh omg

38. omg OMG OMGOMG OMG (this was me generally losing it at Kamet’s assessment of Costis and at “he told me his name, as if he expected me to use it” I still cannot get over that line)

that’s one way to get Ornon out of your hair

39. Has C picked up the mind-reading habit

“take a seat” ... parallel to first KoA scene with Costis and Gen?

40. so certain of my place in the world

DIVESTED himself of his shirt

41. soooooooo bad bad institution (Kamet is thinking about the other slaves being executed)

42. Mercy buds (Kamet and Costis/Shesmegah and Philia)

44. more retrospect/depth in narration than Sophos, even (“I should have had more respect for his quick thinking” etc)

"i wanted to believe i steered the course of my future” no it’s Gen aka the gods

47. Story time!

friends

53. Ziggurat vs tower?

54. Costis is good in a crisis

55. what is this (Kamet’s swimming struggles)

“cooped up”

Ch. 3 - Kamet and Costis stay in Sherguz, then leave by caravan

62. making excuses to hang w Costis 4eva

who set the boat on fire?

who was the merchant on it?

68. know my secret??

wtf Costis you put a rock in your breastplate?

73. holy shit “eloquent”

lol this scene! (Costis negotiating with Roamanj)

“you are asking this because i look like your generous old uncle” his uncle is NOT generous tho

75. what is palm grease? :o 

does C really not know N is dead? what if he isn’t ....? (lol don’t give me too much credit for this thought, I quickly dismissed it)

76. sign of the idiot!

78. Aris! <3 Wish I hadn’t been spoiled for this! (by the character list absolutely crammed full of spoilers in all the new paperbacks)

79. Are these like the large caravans Eddis took?

85. around the fire interesting education vibes + romance?

I’m so proud of Costis!

Ch. 4 - Contains lions and backstory

89. Yes! (Namreen attack. I don’t know what in particular I was excited about. Possibly Costis’s comment that the guy who stabbed Kamet didn’t have his guard up? Or just everything.)

90. Wow! When u get over it, compare to Costis w/ Gen hurt!

93. “why namreen” OMG Kamet tell him!!! it’s important!

94. no one knows what my king knows

95. a herd of cats!

damn yeah issues

A LION!!! wtf 

I would LOVE to hear Costis hiss

OMG COSTIS NO

96. prayers ouch ... oxe harbrea?

98. oh my god

101. Costis is kind

105. Costis is accustomed to passing the day in silence - but he fills the silence here w/ Kamet w/ horrible jokes!

god what was K’s childhood

106. OMG sand in food

107. OMG so cute (Costis telling stories about Gen)

108. So so so! :)

110. I am aghast I continue to be aghast I’m surprised This Incident wasn’t common knowledge tho (How did you come to Ianna-Ir? I punched the king in the face.)

112. well that was a long and slightly weird story (abt Costis’s story of the above. I was channelling something Martin says in the Cabin Pressure episode “Fitton” about the sauce?)

116. Attolian slang omg

literally the main suspense/climax is when is Kamet going to call Costis by his name?!?!!!

117. [doodle of caggi conversation, see photo at top of post]

126. omg they were both in Attolia but not together

if Kamet was in the kitchen then does he know Sandy? (LJ fandom name for Brinna before we knew who she was)

127. OMG nutcakes vs Irene (“She was as beautiful as the Queen of the Night, but the Attolian nutcakes ... were even more beautiful -- and they wouldn’t kill you.”)

looks like a nutcake is actually a nutcake

looks like a nutcake could actually kill u? (I THINK ABOUT THIS CONCEPT A LOT. someday I will make a post about it)

Ch. 5 - Road trip continues, Ne Malia/Koadester

131. So proud of Costis’s acting! (losing money to sell the chain)

136. the truth? (Kamet’s backstory)

we’re just getting more (as readers)

140. IT’S ODIN (onion farmer)

143. fastener?

144. wooo (thoughts about “new authority as a free man”)

151. crack in china cup returns

153. Costis you’re sharing your king’s confidence!

154. Eugenides here to break up your empire!

lol Melheret Gen why

156. “squabbles” wars all reduced to reliable trade route!

apparently I became too engrossed to take notes as their pursuers caught up to them, because that’s all for this chapter! The journey will continue when I’ve typed up more ... let me know if anything is incomprehensible. Thanks for reading!

[opmedits]

In the midst of battle, evils awakens

One Punch Man Cover 151

[completeoveranalysis]

TRC Translation Notes Volume 20 Part 1 (Chapters 150 - 156)

Here we are again with some excellent translation notes about the first part of Volume 20, all from the wonderful @giniroangou.

Highlights Include: Tube mysteries solved!, Fai’s dramatics actually making sense, wonderful explanations of Fai’s lies, Yuuko Queen of sass, Watanuki will change the future!, a touching Lava Lamp moment, and oh god the Fai flashback gets worse?

Chapter 150

p.9 - Yuuko is still talking about a one-in-two chance here, not two-in-one. A couple of the speech bubbles are also swapped around - first she explains the body/soul separation, then the two worlds Sakura has gone to.

p.12 - Kurogane’s words to Fai are even more straight-forward in the original text. Just: “Don’t hurt anyone else with that sword. Including yourself.”

p.18 - Mokona and Yuuko aren’t talking about the store being different here, they’re saying that the inside of the tube is not in the same place as the store.

p.19 - An alternate translation for the dream world Sakura went to could be “The World of ‘Dreams’.” Once again for clarification, this is NOT in reference to Yuuko’s shop - the inside and outside of that tube are in different places.

p.20 - “My man Lantis” is BEAUTIFUL and I wouldn’t change a thing about it, but unfortunately it’s much less funny in Japanese. Eagle says “uchi no Lantis” which is basically like “our Lantis” - it’s an expression that indicates someone as part of the speaker’s in-group, so it can be used for a family member, a member of an organization, etc.

Lantis doesn’t actually say “I saw the future,” just “I had a dream,” though they would amount to the same thing.

p.24 - I would translate Fai’s line as, “Sakura-chan knew what I was lying about.” It’s not that she knew he was lying but that she knew the truth behind it.

Chapter 151

p.26 - This is a continuation of Fai’s final line from the previous chapter, so the lie Sakura knew about was that Fai knew one of her feathers was in Celes. Also, they dropped the honorific in the translation but Fai is still saying “Sakura-chan.”

p.28 - Fai is saying here that he found out at Yuuko’s shop that Sakura and Syaoran were searching for the feathers but he never told them about the one used to make Chii.

p.29 - It’s obvious from the flashback, but Syaoran is talking about what happened when they all arrived in the first world they were sent to (by Yuuko not Yukito.)

p.30 - Mokona isn’t talking in general terms, but saying specifically that from the moment she awoke at Yuuko’s shop she could sense a feather there but couldn’t tell who in the group had it.

Fai then says to Lava Lamp, “That’s why you kept your distance from me.”

Again, this is not really about Fai lying in general but about the specific lies people around him were already aware of. He’s basically saying to Yuuko, “You knew what some of my other lies were too, didn’t you?”

p.33 - Fai refers to his wish to go with the group as something that was devised/planned - it’s the same word they’ve used previously to talk about Fei Wang arranging for all of them to go on this journey, so I’d assume that’s what he’s referencing here.

p.34 - Kurogane asks why Sakura wanted to go into the tube, not why she’s living there.

p.39 - Slight adjustment: Fai’s saying he wouldn’t mind gouging out his eye if he could, but he can’t because losing all his magic along with both eyes would probably kill him and he can’t die yet.

Chapter 152

p.45 - In case it wasn’t clear, Kurogane is connecting his punch here with his line from the previous chapter about punching Sakura.

p.46 - Yuuko’s criticism of Kurogane after he says, “Hey, Witch,” is much more entertaining in the Japanese version. She says, “On top of being beyond rude, there isn’t a shred of taste in the way you address me.” Kurogane’s comeback is the ever-eloquent, “Shut up.”

p.47 - It’s not actually the meeting between Sakura and Watanuki that Yuuko says will trigger another change to the future, but Watanuki himself.

p.48 - I would change Yuuko’s line about Watanuki vanishing to, “Watanuki hasn’t vanished either” (presumably in addition to Sakura’s soul not having vanished.) Then she says that “for now” Watanuki’s identity has nothing to do with them. It’s an ongoing state that has the potential to change in the future.

p.50 - Lava Lamp says nothing about Fei Wang slicing out Sakura’s memories - he’s saying that Fei Wang wants her body with the dimensional memories etched into it. (This isn’t new information btw - Yuuko already explained it to the group back in Acid Tokyo.)

p.51 - We have another “Syaoran” with quotation marks from Mokona here.

p.52 - Let’s re-translate Lava Lamp’s lines here because they came out super awkward: “The reason I didn’t say anything despite what I knew was that Sakura… the Princess trusted you. Even if you’d lied, the Princess trusted you, lies and all.”

p.53 - Lava Lamp only speaks for himself here; he specifically says “I’m going to trust you too.”

p.57 - Again, we have “Syaoran” in quote marks, this time from Fei Wang. I’m sure everyone’s tired of me pointing these out, so just assume the quotation marks should be there from now on unless I say otherwise. And the translators are very inconsistent with this, but Lava Lamp’s relationship to Clow Reed has so far only ever been denoted with the word “chisuji”/血筋. He’s part of Clow’s lineage, but we don’t know anything beyond that.

Chapter 153

p.62 - Eagle specifically says that he’s offering the clothing as an apology for keeping silent.

p.63 - Kurogane could just be talking about Fei Wang watching them - he doesn’t specify whether it’s a single other person or multiple other people.

p.76 - More precisely, Eagle says here that Lantis lying would have come to nothing.

Yuuko says that the one Sakura saw being “stabbed” in her vision was Lava Lamp. The implication matches what Fei Wang was talking about in the previous chapter - that Sakura put herself in Lava Lamp’s place.

Chapter 154

p.84 - Lava Lamp refers to Sakura’s feathers as both her memories and her heart (“kokoro”), furthering the parallel with Syaoran.

Chapter 155

p.101 - This is actually a complete sentence in Japanese. It contains the same information as the translated version, but since pronouns aren’t necessary it stands on its own and can be assumed to mean, “You killed me.” It’s also written entirely in katakana, which can indicate stilted speech and here I think is meant to just drive home how horrific this is.

p.102-103 - I can see why the translator struggled a bit with these pages because a lot of the Valerian titles are unconventional. The twins’ father is the “teiou” written with the characters for “younger brother” and “king” (弟王), and the other ruler is the “kyouou” written with the characters for “older brother” and “king” (兄王). A little later it’s clarified that the “kyouou” is the country’s king/emperor - the reading of the word is “ou” meaning “king” but the kanji is 皇 meaning “emperor.” The twins’ mother is referred to as “okisaki,” (御妃) which can refer to an empress, a queen, or a princess consort. The twins themselves are called “koushi” (皇子), meaning “imperial prince(s).” It’s kind of hard to tell from all of this what the best representation of these terms would be in English, but I would guess that this is intended to be an imperial family, with either the younger brother next in line to inherit the throne if the older brother has no children or with dual rulers who were reduced to a single ruler once one of them died.

Whatever the case, as has already been explained, the twins’ parents both died and their fate was left in the hands of their uncle (their father’s older brother and the current ruler of the country.) Specific to the official translation, the “elder prince” refers to their uncle the kyouou, and “his majesty” who passed away is their father the teiou. The “royal consort” who killed herself is their mother.

I also want to point out that in this chapter we see the return of the term “fukou,” which we’ve seen Fai use in Acid Tokyo and Himawari use to discuss her effect on the people around her. The official translation often equates this word to unhappiness but as I’ve said before, I think it would be better represented as “misfortune.” Where this translation says that the twins’ mother committed suicide because “life held no joy anymore” I would interpret it as “because she’d brought such misfortune into the world.” Just keep in mind that generally when words like “unhappiness” and “sorrow” pop up in this part of the story, that’s what they’re translated from. Another word that gets used a few times in reference to the twins is “kyouchou” (凶兆), meaning “evil omen.”

p.104 - Though the implied concern here could be the twins taking the throne, the original text just refers to them one day surpassing their uncle’s power.

p.108 - “And the people shall be happy” isn’t necessarily saying that the people are going to be happy about this situation, just that the king believes enclosing the twins in a bubble of their own misery is going to allow the people to live happy/blessed lives. You could probably interpret the line either way though.

p.110 - The king doesn’t just say that one of the twins must die to get out of this situation, but that one must kill the other.

Chapter 156

p.136 - I had left a comment saying the king was telling the twins to pay for their sins rather than atone, but I’m taking that back! There are two words that sound the same when spoken (“aganau”), but depending on the kanji they’re written with one means “to pay for” (購う) and the other means “to atone for” (贖う). In this case, the one used is “atone.” Still horrific though!

That wraps it up for now. I am really regretting doing this by page numbers with all the black pages coming up, but otherwise thrilled to be back in the game! I hope all my babbling has been somewhat informative and as always, please remember that I can make mistakes too so I am always open to questions, suggestions, corrections, etc.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 121: New Semester

Previously on BnHA: After an intense shounen throwdown, Kacchan emerged victorious. Then All Might showed up and revealed he had been spying on them. He explained to Katsuki why he chose Deku to inherit his quirk, and told him what happened at Kamino wasn’t Katsuki’s fault. Then he gave him a mini hug, no big deal, I didn’t cry or anything. Anyway, he told Deku and Katsuki that heroes need to have Katsuki’s strength and Deku’s spirit both. And he told them that if they could recognize each other and raise each other up, they would both become the best heroes. At this point that was more than good enough for me, but then to cap it all off, Kacchan was officially inducted into the Club of People Who Know Deku’s Secret, and the circle of trust was expanded. Ugh, this whole little mini-arc has been incredible. Where do we even go from here.

Today on BnHA: All Might lets Kacchan in on The Whole Deal with All for One and all that stuff. Kacchan and Deku become Official Rivals™. Aizawa grounds them and sends them off to bed. The next morning the rest of class 1-A (i.e. the actual good kids who don’t cause trouble and don’t sneak out to beat the living shit out of each other in the middle of the night) heads off to the opening ceremony for the new term. Kacchan and Deku have an actual conversation with no shouting and no crying and no one is getting punched or dying or whatnot! It’s less than ten sentences long but MY GOD PEOPLE IT’S A START. Class 1-B shows up for two seconds to remind everyone that they still exist. Rat Principal gives a long and boring speech and mentions the word “successors” exactly once. All Might is all, “successors, eh?” and has a flashback to when he was first hired by U.A. prior to meeting Deku, and Rat Principal was all “hey we got someone for you here.” WHO COULD THIS MYSTERIOUS PERSON BE.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 151 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.) 

I wonder if I’m emotionally prepared to continue this shit. well here goes

haHA WE’RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS SCENE OMG. IT’S STILL GOING. SURE, WHY NOT. I LOVE IT, LET’S CONTINUE

All Might says he’s sorry Bakugou ended up learning his secret. not in a “why does this asshole know” way, but in a “that’s a huge burden to have been carrying” way

so basically All Might understands how heavy that was for him along with everything else, so he’s apologizing

Kacchan says it’s no big and it’s too risky to tell anyone else anyway. yeah no shit

OH MY GOD

HE’S GETTING THE SAME TREATMENT AS DEKU. THE FULL STORY ABOUT ALL MIGHT AND ALL FOR ONE

which, yeah. seeing as Kacchan actually met All for One face-to-face, he knows about that part of it even more intimately than Deku

and also if he understands the whole thing and knows how long it’s been going on, it might ease some of his lingering guilt just a bit more. because All Might’s right, it really was something that was going to happen eventually no matter what

you guys I’m just really enjoying Kacchan being part of the inner circle so much. this means he gets to be in on all important plot-related things from here on out. because you can’t very well trust him with this and then not keep him in the loop moving forward

(ETA: although I’d like them to do a better job of this! granted I’m still like 60 chapters behind, so they might have caught him up on the specific thing I’m thinking of by this point. but if not, I’m officially launching Keep Kacchan in the Loop 2019 dammit. who do I need to get in touch with. what’s Horikoshi’s email)

anyway, obviously they’re not showing the whole scene because IT WOULD TAKE SO MUCH TIME!! but please show me Kacchan’s reaction now

okay good they’re showing it

lol now that he knows, he’s even more annoyed that Deku went and blabbed to him on their second fucking day of school lmao

(ETA: to be fair, it’s only because he went and challenged Deku and practically blew him up and then had a meltdown after. on their second day. and now we have this shit happening at the start of their second term. they still have two more terms and then two more years of this. will they survive?? will we survive?! stay tuned!!)

and All Might’s telling Kacchan again -- because yeah, he already did, but this is important for him to understand -- that it wasn’t his fault

and obviously words alone can’t make that kind of feeling go away completely. but he understands it in full now and knows the whole story, and to hear All Might tell him so firmly should help a lot

and now there’s a character development moment happening! no big. it’s just Bakugou having possibly the single most important and defining moment in his life which is going to change his entire course from here on out haha. it’s cool. I’m cool

(ETA: even higher. implying that Deku is now the one to beat. the goal post. the watermark. just casually acknowledging it. “chosen one.” no bitterness, no jealousy, and no underestimating him or chalking him down as not worthy either. even as he declares that he’s going to surpass him, he simultaneously recognizes that Deku is still going to be right up there with him at the top. of course. he’s the one All Might chose. how could he not be.

yeah, don’t mind me. I’m just gonna bask in this moment for just a sec. I fucking love rivals, guys. I really, really do.)

how fucking great is this. how fucking perfect is this. they hashed everything out and it didn’t wreck their dynamic or make it stale or boring. on the contrary, it now has more potential than ever before. they’re still rivals. they’ll still push themselves to become better while setting each other as the benchmark. and thus pushing each other to become better as well. but the confusion and hostility and resentment is gone. this is healthy rivalry. they’re not going to all of a sudden become buddy-buddy, but they understand each other now, and there’s a balance there that was missing before

YOU SEE, THEY CAN STILL SQUABBLE AND ANNOY EACH OTHER. but it’s so much purer now

THANK YOU ALL MIGHT. THE REAL MVP

can I just say, in hindsight, Kacchan’s emotions were going to come bursting out of him at some point no matter what. you could see during the fight how hard he was struggling to control them and to clamp back down on them, but he kept losing that battle and breaking down. but All Might is the reason he and Deku were able to resolve things so calmly and healthily in the end. he took full advantage of the fact that they both respect him so much lol. he’s such a good dad and I want him to take both of these kids out for ice cream

-- oh my god

speaking of good dads

well actually this one’s more of a mom

children you’ve interrupted this man’s beauty sleep and I’m afraid you must pay

also

can we just stop and appreciate it for a little bit. why does his hair look better in his off hours than it fucking does at work, honestly. were you just bored and wanting a change of pace. I guess it doesn’t really matter does it

does Aizawa’s ponytail have a fanclub you guys. asking for a friend

All Might’s telling him to hold up a sec and that it was his fault! wow taking one for the team

also can we take another moment and appreciate how fucking cute lil Deku and Kacchan are, being sat down and scolded like the troublemakers they are

now we’re having a quick flashback to All Might meeting Aizawa outside

Aizawa’s telling him about the fight, and All Might is all “I think I know what’s going on, can you leave it to me?”

and yes, just a reminder that even though Aizawa always seems to know everything, and even though he’s a trustworthy guy, he doesn’t actually know about One for All (even though I’d argue that he should, since Deku is his student too)

so now he’s confused and asking what this has to do with All Might, and

I fucking love so much that Kacchan gets to be a part of these moments now omfg

good thing All Might is a smooth fucking operator

fucking look at this master at work, though? he sticks to the truth enough to keep the whole thing plausible, and manages to let Aizawa in on the fact that Bakugou’s mental health has been shaky lately, so now he knows about it too and can be on the alert for it if it becomes an issue again. and he even helps make it so the boys will hopefully be in less trouble

so Aizawa looks a bit more understanding now (but like. still Aizawa though), but he says “nonetheless, rules are rules” and that he’ll dole out an appropriate punishment

fifty points from Gryffindor. but at least he won’t fucking expel them lol

who do you fucking think

Kacchan’s owning up to it because he’s a good, honest boy who owns up to his shit and doesn’t try to weasel out

and Deku is also just such a good fucking kid because he immediately adds that he fought back. yeah, after about a whole chapter’s worth of Kacchan diving at you trying to blow you up, and only after he broke down and started fucking crying and you realized it was a therapy fight

anyways. so they’re grounded

TWELVE YEARS DUNGEON. EVERYONE, DUNGEON. SEVEN YEARS, NO TRIALS

lmao this is why he’s the mom. the strict disciplinarian these kids fucking need

I want to read Bakugou’s written statement of regret so bad

(ETA: I imagine it being a single page with giant font containing only two words: “I REGRET.” he feels it’s sufficient. Aizawa just stares for a moment after Kacchan hands it to him. and then he just shrugs and he’s like, “eh. okay.”)

Aizawa’s also yelling at them to go to the infirmary if they need to. because yeah they beat the living fuck out of each other. Bakugou’s face got folded in on itself, and he slammed Deku into the concrete from like three stories up lmao

buuut, he says to “heal your selfish injuries by yourselves” and not to bother Recovery Girl. yeah as if they want to be chewed out by anyone else tonight

what are you going to do with these kids I swear. omgggg I love this

so now it’s morning and news spreads fast

lollll I love it!! so much!! the best!

GIRL YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW. IT WAS A WHOLE THING. BUT LONG STORY SHORT, YES

Deku says... it’s hard to put into words. ffff

now Iida’s telling them off. because he also thinks he is their dad. poor BakuDeku dealing with dads scolding them left and right

Shouto’s asking Bakugou what he’s going to do about the provisional license supplementary lessons and Bakugou says it’s none of his business. sorry for caring

but really Shouto don’t worry. he just likes to go about his character development the hard way is all

so now everyone’s leaving

AND WE’RE STICKING WITH THESE GUYS

I have no idea what’s going to happen but I’m loving it so much

BAKUGOU IS INITIATING CONVERSATION!?!?!?!

(ETA: nope, Mangastream got it wrong. it should be Deku asking Kacchan what he thought of his shoot style. I would have just posted FA’s scan here instead, but then my reaction wouldn’t have made sense)

NO I DON’T KNOW, WHAT ABOUT HIS SHOOT STYLE

there’s a really long pause, which it turns out it just Bakugou not knowing how to do this without being awkward about it

nothing to see here, just Bakugou fucking Katsuki giving free advice to his rivalfriend Deku because they have a healthy rival relationship. just a little thing we like to call Character Development. it’s how we do things here in BnHA. we develop our fucking characters

so Deku’s asking him about it, and Kacchan’s like, ‘how can I make sure this is still surly’

heeeeee

:))))

(ETA: and now I am going to post the correct translation though because I love this part.

:))))))))))))

I now have a headcanon of Kacchan following through on his vow to adopt Deku’s “observe everyone else and learn from them in order to get stronger” philosophy by starting his own stalker notebook (in secret. obviously. no one can ever know). because if it works for Deku then he should at least try it, goddammit. only his notebook doesn’t work at all because his observations mostly consist of things like “fuck this asshole” and “her quirk is such bullshit” and “when he punches it pisses me off.” one day the others find it and they’re just like “holy shit Bakugou I can’t believe you have a burn book.”)

I expect we’re going to see a lot of the back of Bakugou’s head during these moments in the future lol. I don’t mind. LET HIM KEEP HIS DIGNITY

so now we’re cutting to U.A.

they’re heading to one of the training grounds and Iida is telling everyone to move swiftly and DON’T BREAK THE LINE!!!

IIDA FUCKING TENYA YOU’RE A PEACH

(ETA: he wakes up at night in a cold sweat thinking about this)

ah, interesting. Ochako says Aizawa wasn’t at the entrance ceremony either

(ETA: so far this doesn’t seem to be plot related that I can recall, so I’m going to assume he just wanted to skip out on the boring speeches and have a nap instead)

here comes Monoma. I was wondering when he would hear this news

what are the odds he failed his own damn self

lol Kirishima’s asking the same thing

but Monoma’s laughing

oh snap

oh yeah!? well! our kids had character development! so

lmao Todoroki can’t handle the shame

HE’S LET YOU ALL DOWN

oh my god finally it’s that pony girl from before! I definitely looked at those bonus pages too soon lol

she has a weird accent. it’s cause she’s American, I remember that from her bio

anyway she says that their two classes will have a class together during second semester. like a one-time thing? or like a regular class. because that’ll be nuts

(ETA: I think that maybe this is either happening right now in the manga or just wrapped up, because I feel like there was a lot of class B stuff making the rounds on tumblr over the past couple of months)

Monoma’s whispering something to her

omg

NO DON’T STOP. TEACH HER MORE

oh shit look who it is!!!

Sero says he seems a little “rougher” now. does he? idk

he should have been put in the hero course after the sports festival. and since they’re showing him again and it’s the start of a new semester, can I dare to hope that they’re about to rectify that?

so all the students are lined up for the opening ceremony, and the Rat Principal (whose name I finally memorized in spite of my best efforts. but to me he’ll always still be Rat Principal, so there, Nezu) is waving at everyone

he’s rambling on about how everyone needs proper sleep. wow what a captivating speech

this is followed by a page of All Might and Thirteen, which I’m going to post because it does a great job of showing something I was trying not to get too excited about during the BakuDeku fight

namely, the fact that All Might has finally, FINALLY started wearing clothes that actually fit him omgggg

and the fitted shirt/vest/rolled-up sleeves combo looks damn good on him, I gotta say

anyway, so yet again an authority figure is lecturing everyone about the effects of All Might’s absence and how they’re going to face great difficulties moving forward

honestly, by this point they fucking get it. we all get it. shit’s tough

he’s mentioning hero internships that the second and third-year students are engaged in, and I figured it was just more of the same that the first-years did in the previous semester. but Mina and Tsuyu are whispering to each other, and it seems like they don’t know what this is about, so that’s interesting. maybe they do longer internships in the second and third years since they have their provisional licenses by that point

Rat Principal is still talking. I’ll just post the rest of the speech so I don’t have to paraphrase it

yes, everyone is very invested in making sure the new generation of heroes is prepared for the new post-All Might society. it’s great, but we covered this exact same thing less than ten chapters ago at the end of the provisional exam arc. so this is kind of a retread now

now RP is finally stepping down from the podium and bragging about how he kept thing short and sweet. ahaha. funny. jokes

and All Might is reflecting on RP’s use of the word “successors”

and remembering what Bakugou said to Deku the previous night

and he’s flashing back to, I guess, his job interview with RP when he agreed to come teach at U.A.

flashback!RP is sliding a piece of paper toward All Might

and now All Might’s thinking that U.A. used to contact him every once in a while regarding his search for a successor

oh my god

I’m almost positive that this is the guy with wings that I’ve seen in fanart and shit. oh my god

(ETA: lmao it is not. however, now I’m for reals almost positive that I’ve been spoiled on who the wings guy is, which was bound to happen since it’s been two and a half months since I read this chapter, and I’ve only gotten 30 chapters further in that entire time. and also because once I caught up with the anime I gave in and started reading fanfic. so basically I have only myself to blame)

so Rat Principal thought this guy was worthy of being All Might’s successor, huh. well, he might not be wrong about that. in fact, even though Deku is officially the one who inherited One for All, I’m gradually becoming more and more certain that the next “Symbol of Peace” won’t be a single hero at all, but rather multiple individuals, and possibly a whole new generation. but at the very least, I envision Deku and Kacchan being at the top together, the same way Batman and Superman lead the Justice League and Iron Man and Captain America lead the Avengers. and I can just see the other students from U.A. forming a team just like that, and that team being the new Symbol of Peace that keeps evil at bay and brings hope to the world

so yeah. successors. a whole lot of them. at least I hope so

 haha and that’s the end of the chapter but I guess we have to skip the bonus content since I already posted it! Tsunotori Pony, who has horns similar to Mina and seems to have nothing to actually do with ponies whatsoever, and who is from America. and is adorable

[sparda3g]

Kimetsu no Yaiba Chapter 151 Review

No, we didn’t skip a chapter nor the official post the wrong chapter, though I once heard they made a typo, calling it “Chapter 15.” This is, in fact, the follow-up to the most intense battle of the arc so far. At the start-up, one would think, “Why a flashback all the sudden?” As much as I adore the battle and looking forward to the climax, after reading this chapter, it added more to its interest and rewards.

I’m used to flashback occurring in the middle of the battle. I’m also used to explanation to a sudden twist. For instance, a character pulls a stunt that shocked the opponent, leaving fans wondering, “How did that person do that?” This chapter is the combination of the two and I thought it was done in an insightful and welcomingly heartwarming way. It focuses on one of the most important life lessons with Tanjiro’s father that is now becoming the most valuable lesson today. On top of that, we do get more inside look of his father as a man himself.

Tanjiro’s father was sick at the time of the flashback, yet he presented himself as a calm and gentle with a smile to ease the concern. As interesting his father is, there are other elements that draw my attention. Hinokami Kagura or Dance of the Fire God is interesting but pretty intense tradition. For Kamado, they have to perform the dance that last from sunset to sunrise. That’s crazy. In greater detail, there are 12 routines and the amount of performance can range from hundreds to thousands or even more of time. That’s seriously crazy. That’s one way to prepare for Muzan.

Although it is challenging as hell, it is rewarding once the user mastered its art. Tanjiro thought it had weaken his father, but realistically, he’s far better than when he was a child. It’s a nice way to say, “Practice makes perfect,” with the encouraging mindset. This is where it gets interesting as it introduces a phase when a person reaches their high state of skill. What perplexed Tanjiro was the ideology behind the phrase, “clear head.” It’s due to the amount of practice to form a proper breathing and control. The idea is understanding your body thoroughly alas open all five senses.

Once you learn and adapt many things, it’s at this point where you eliminate what’s unnecessary and focus on what’s necessary. It’s equivalent to eye closing when listening; it close down a sense and its energy travels to the ear for better hearing effect. That’s pretty reasonable and somewhat relatable. Pushed to the limitation of your strength, you will enter to the domain via clearing your head. That will grant you to the Transparent World. The demonstration of its concept isn’t shown until later on, but at this point, this had me intrigued. What’s also intriguing is the charming father-son bonding moment. During the lecture, the father was also lacing up shoes out of straws for his son. No wonder Tanjiro looks up to him.

It wouldn’t be the last bonding moment here, which is nice to know, but this time, it’s a demonstration that will carry over for the rest of Tanjiro’s life. The timeline is 10 days before his father passed away, during the time where the family must protect themselves from a bear. It’s a bit saddening to see the father looking pretty ill compare to earlier, but still keeping it strong. It’s due to how caring and gentle he has shown that made me care about him, even if he is dead. Up next however is where he encounter the bear in a showdown that is pretty tensed.

Gotouge has really improved her art and here is no exception. The scope of a man and a dangerous bear is alarming and chilling. The man is sick and the bear is no pushover with its size and intimidating aura. Let’s hope the anime doesn’t animate the bear completely 3D realistic figure. Tanjiro was scared for his life for he only carries an axe not big enough to slay a huge threat. Despite all of this, the father carried forward without a sign of fear. Instead, he told Tanjiro to observe carefully and learn what means to be in Transparent World. Nice and smart father he was. What more can you ask? There’s one.

It’s weird how I know his fate yet I got chills from this encounter. I like how he is kind enough to give it a chance to back away or face death. He preferred to avoid it, but when in danger, it’s your family or theirs. The bear takes the challenge and man, the showdown is captivating. I got chills throughout its sequence. I was stunned at the end with him decapitating the bear with two swing. It sounds simple considering anime tends to go over the top, but the way how it plays out absorbed my attention. He did it all without any change to his expression. A badass father too? How cool.

It’s a lesson in which Tanjiro will never forget. It must be hard on him for fearing for his father’s safety. Gotouge did a nice work on illustrating a child’s fear. I like how the two got together again and pray for the bear. I can see where he gets that gentleness. It goes back to the present timeline, only now it has more weights to the battle. The flashback adds more necessary value with its concept of Transparent World; essentially introducing the next phase of talent, like Haki from One Piece series for instance. Not to mention, Tanjiro has more weights on him to win this battle outside of vengeance; he must carry the legacy.

I thought it was brilliant for this chapter to recap the last chapter’s sequence with an inner depth look at the moment when Tanjiro dodged the fatal blow from Akaza. In other words, this explains his power-up (if you want to call it that) as well as how did he dodge it in a satisfying manner. When he was about to take the punch, he didn’t feel fear, rather calm and focus. Even if that punch was fatal, most likely the killing blow, he wasn’t distracted. He felt that he could enter that world; the Transparent World. I am very intrigued.

This is like entering the pinnacle stage of your body; he adapted many things to enter that world. This explains how he knew where the heart of Hantengu located. It’s either because he really saw it or rather smelled it. The latter does fit his character really closely. His mind focused solely on dodge and that’s how he was able to escape death. This is such an intriguing concept that is simple yet pretty rewarding. It’s welcoming to the battle style. It doesn’t break the foundation; it adds more. Hilarious how he had to apologize to Inosuke for his silly conversation, but it turns out it meant a lot. Who knew?

Overall, this was a nice and interesting chapter that not only fulfilled to insert new details on combat, but brought the heart of the father-son relationship. The concept of Transparent World is pretty neat and reasonable. The father was really cool in many ways and I enjoyed his time with Tanjiro. The artwork is great. The explanation on that dodge made sense and added more thrills to already great battle. This is his best chance to defeat Akaza. You can do this, boy! Fight on!

[fire-dwelling]

Fire Force, Chapter 151: ‘Young Man, Assault’”

...I give up.

Ohkubo, go fuck yourself, you misogynistic hack.

Triggers if you hate a shitty mangaka perving on a 17-year-old and trying to hook her up with the older dude who keeps creeping on her.

This is the writer who gave us Maka, Crona, and so many characters--and he’s reduced to this. Seriously, someone, anyone, get Ohkubo some therapy.

Translated from Japanese to Portuguese to English to snarky translator’s notes to maintain my sanity getting through this utter depraved incoherent shit-fest of a goddamn awful manga series.

Goddamn it.

Page 6

Jonah: “Have you finished training? Training, suited to a true hero? The time has come...The bullet of flames will rise. No…”

Page 7

Jonah: “He has come.”

Narration: “Out of the darkness, he arrives: the strongest warrior, Assault!”

Page 8

Assault: (thinking: “During the fight in the Nether, I should have been a support troop and exterminated the 8th...But they had a blessed killer...Tamaki Kotatsu. Despite her innocent face, she is a shameless individual.”) “Grrr. Disgusting.” (thinking: “To defeat the 8th, I need to put an end to her. I’ve trained...Day and night, I have trained endlessly...All to deal with that vulgar, coarse woman.”)

Page 9

Assault: (thinking: “I read porn.”)

Woman: “Aaah...Oooh…”

Assault: “I examined inappropriate magazines and videos...Non-stop...I surrendered myself to those female bodies. Wait for me, Tamaki Kotatsu. I’m coming for you!”

Page 10

At the 8th Cathedral

Tamaki: “?”

The envelope says “A Challenge.”

Tamaki: “ ‘I'll be waiting in the Old Wasteland of the 2nd District.' A love letter from an admirer?”

[Translator’s note: A writer who wasn’t a misogynist prick wouldn’t write this character to be this fucking stupid looking at a note that says “Challenge.” Or the writer would have set up Tamaki as lovestruck or haughty and therefore assuming any letter to her is a love letter, hence the “challenge” is of her own making. But what do I know--I just analyze this shit for a living, and Atsushi Ohkubo is a fucking hack.]

Page 11

The sign says “Wasteland.”

Tamaki: “The Bloody Flame, Assault?!!”

Assault: “You came alone. You’re brave, Tamaki Kotatsu.”

Tamaki: “How are you…”

Assault: “There’s no need to explain to the dead. Die!!!”

Page 12

Tamaki: “AH!”

Assault: “Her panties. Carnal sensation...Damn...I cannot lose here…”

Page 13

???: “In real life, it’s different.”

Tamaki: “Ai.”

Assault: “GUAH!”

Hood 1: “Assault failed?”

Hood 2: “It seems his current opponent is powerful…”

Hood 1: “What will he do now?”

Hood 2: “He begins new training.”

Page 14

Assault: “It was absurd to think that I could overcome with just paper and images...Real life is... very different...So!!! I have come!!! I have arrived!!!”

The location is Chupa-Cabra Cabaret.

Page 15

Manager: “What’s your preference?”

Host 1: “Bring out a bottle of wine.”

Host 2: “Welcome.”

???: “Have your breasts gotten bigger?”

???: “Ahaha, you’re silly!”

???: “Saizu-san, are you crying again?”

???: “It’s just that my daughter doesn’t speak with me…”

Assault: “What kind of place is this? I’m shivering all over. But this is training.”

Page 16

Host 3: “Hi, I’m Saki! Nice to meet you.”

Assault: (thinking: “Like dynamite.”) “Ugh.”

Saki: “Huh? Hold up. What’s with the suit? You just run away from a wedding? You hardly seem like a man at all.”

Assault: “I...I don’t?”

Saki: “I would know! You’re different from other men who come here.”

Assault: “I’m not really a man...So I cannot be defeated by Tamaki Kotatsu.”

[Translator’s note: ...A clever writer would work through this idea about the really gross conception by rightwing jerk-offs who think they have to be sexually pure out of their misogyny towards women. Or a clever writer would consider how pornography addiction can debase men as they objectify women. But Atsushi Ohkubo is a fucking hack.]

Page 17

And now, Assault is Forrest Gump. This is not a box of chocolates: it’s just a box of shit.

Assault: “I didn’t think I would be able to converse so well with a woman...I may in fact be a genius. I’m coming for you, Tamaki Kotatsu.”

[Translator’s note: ...Please, for the love of God, tell me these aren’t puns.]

Tamaki: “No!!! Why?!”

Assault: “...”

[Translator’s note: ...Someone, punch Ohkubo in the dick.]

Page 18

Tamaki: “D...Don’t look…”

Assault: “That is such...an innocent, embarrassed face...It’s different when they’re young.”

[Translator’s note: JESUS FUCKING TAP-DANCING CHRIST, SHE’S 17! AND HE’S OLDER THAN DIRT! WHAT THE FUCK?!]

Page 19

Narration: “She’s strong...Very strong...Tamaki Kotatsu...I have never faced such a strong opponent...That is why I have to overcome myself...I am the killer emerging from the depths. I'm the bloodshot Assault! After my third defeat, I waited for the strong winds to blow. This moment cannot escape my vision.”

Woman: “AH! What a weird wind!”

[Translator’s note: You know how people say “I feel unclean, I need a shower”? Is there a way to substitute water with fire and just burn the unclean off of me?]

Assault: “The panties of the young...Her shame is seared into my eyes.”

[Translator’s note: SHE’S 17, YOU SICK FUCK!]

Assault: “My training is complete. There is nothing that can stop me.”

Page 20

Jonah: “So...You finally got it?”

Assault: “Yes.”

Arrow: “His arm didn’t move...He stopped my arrow with one finger…”

Jonah: “Assault...has arrived…”

Jonah: “?!”

Page 21

The note he leaves is “I’ve come!”

[Translator’s note: ...I’m leaving.]

Jonah: “Assault…”

Page 22

Set up for a dumb joke incoming.

Page 23

Tamaki: “Enough of this! What’s your problem?!”

Assault: “This time will be the last.” (thinking: “I have evolved...I can handle this, no problem.”)

Tamaki: “You’ll never get it!”

[Translator’s note: Tamaki, the dude is super violent and powerful, and you’ve come alone. Seriously, is everyone at the 8th just stupid this week? This ruins the entire fucking point of the series when you can’t hold up a barometer to know when something is truly dangerous and should be taken seriously. Akitaru would let her do this? She didn’t tell anyone? No one follows her? Just...What is this crap? What is the point? How do we go from Soul Eater to this garbage? It’s Chapter 113 all the fuck over again.]

Assault: “Oh, I know ... Like you said, I can’t.” (“I know that oh too well...I can see the result...No matter how many times I try, I can’t win because…”)

Page 24

Assault: (“It’s different when it’s someone you like.”)

[Translator’s note: … *vomits*]

Assault: “Come.”

Narration: “No matter how much you fall in love, you have a battle from which you can not escape! In the next chapter, a new arc begins! And stay tuned for the anime announcements! To be continued in Chapter 152: ‘Oze Family.’”

[Translator’s note: This entire chapter sours me on any idea of an anime: this series doesn’t deserve it. Ohkubo doesn’t deserve to be rewarded when he can’t mature as a writer. What a fucking disappointment; what a waste of a person.]