#shiori just says this stuff

[incorrectvtuberquotes]

Ollie:

[rogueolight]

[hamspamandjamsandwich]

Kurama is such a complex character, god love him. The way I see him is: I mean he’s literally actually only Yoko Kurama.

“Oh he’s here. He’s me.”

So we have three personas here: Kurama, Yoko Kurama, and Shuuichi Minamino. While he has these three identities, he doesn’t have three personalities. That is to say, he’s one being, two different pieces that merged.

That’s where shit gets really interesting. My interpretation of this is that the merger came packaged with a human soul and body, and that the human parts are what gives him a conscience and a heart and a moral compass, and things such as. I doubt this is an original idea I just wanted to muse lol.

Shuuichi doesn’t bring a different personality. I think Shuuichi provided the things that make us human and a body. Those things are part of the human soul. Empathy, guilt, love. Yoko was always still himself, it’s how Kurama remembers everything, it’s literally just him. He’s simply changed as a person due to being plagued with humanity.

And that’s such a fun idea to me. Yoko Kurama, the legendary bandit, king of thieves—having personality rehab via the human experience. I think it just changed him the way anyone can change, sorta. He begins to feel pretty shitty about the things he’s done and feels guilty about everything with regards to his mother. All this comes together and makes him…a better version of himself? A better person? And I like that.

there is no Shuuichi outside of an adopted persona/identity for Kurama—like I don’t think he brought anything outside of what comes with nature, genetics, and a human soul (which I personally don’t think is the sum of someone’s personality, just what gives them spiritual life? If that makes sense).

But man, it makes me love Kurama so much more when I don’t think of Yoko as a different self or something that can be abandoned, it’s simply a previous version of himself. The past. So I think his 15 years as semi-human simply gave Yoko some insane character development.

Experiencing being unconditionally loved—the very idea that a relationship need not be transactional—being loved beyond what you can do for them. Being loved for existing, and nothing else. I truly think that his humanity responded well to being loved during the “early childhood development” stage and it gives him a way more stable sense of self than he should have tbh

And much like actual prison (or maybe more accurately rehab or inpatient etc), he has nothing but time and passes it by taking up interests and hobbies. He got to find stuff he enjoys about being human and ningenkai. He already liked plants obviously, but it’s so sweet to imagine him really developing an interest in botany and gardening and keeping houseplants etc. Learning to cook with Shiori and actually really liking it—I mean hey he gets to use some of those plants he’s been growing.

Big reader, obviously. He wants to know everything, and he knows so much already, yet humans keep inventing new shit to learn about, so that works out well. School and education get to be competitive sports that he’s the best at, again obviously. All manner of puzzles, games (tabletop and video of course), mystery books and films; if you can analyze it or crack a code somehow, he’s good with it. A real people-watcher, the disdain for humanity begins to fade over time and observation—they’re not so bad after all.

I like that he grows very comfortable in his human form. He’s pretty and appears to really own that (he lucked out there, huh? Incubated in a human that will be so attractive in the future lol), and I think that being raised by his mother (and perhaps this is some of that aforementioned Shuuichi nature) has him “in touch with his feminine side.” So I imagine he doesn’t miss his Yoko body too much, until he suddenly gets it back for a moment and is reminded of how good it felt to be himself. Good in a sinful, hedonistic way, that is. He clearly doesn’t want to be that way, but 1000+ year old habits die hard, right?

Idk I love Yoko Kurama that’s all folks that’s one of my headcanons or maybe it’s actually canon who knows. I just wanted to muse about my favorite kitsune.

[skrunksthatwunk]

kinda thinking about how the women who serve as maternal figures/raise kids in yyh are never quite ready for it. genkai's an arguable exception, but like.. atsuko had yusuke at 15, shizuru's basically in charge of kazuma full time in her early 20s/late teens (depending on version) with very very absent parents, and even shiori is given a kid she wasn't expecting, in the form of an old, old demon rather than like. a regular, blank slate ass human baby. and although shiori seems to do quite well with kurama, kurama can never be honest with shiori about who he is, or much of what he's seen. if he was, it'd probably make things far more complicated and overwhelming. atsuko, no matter how much she cares for yusuke, Could Not Have Been and thus wasn't ready to have him at 15. her attempts to make the most of that situation have had middling success at best. shizuru has also been placed into a parental role. we don't really know how long she's been raising kuwabara, but that's.. probably still parentification anyway. she shouldn't have to do that, and she shouldn't have to do that so young. and i think some of her coarseness with kuwa is out of frustration with her own inexperience + inadequacy + uncertainty, his not cooperating, and their parents for putting this on her in the first place. the ones who know the full extent of their situation grow desperate and it squeaks out in unpleasant ways, and the one who seems unbothered by it is the only one who has no idea that she's in way over her head. and i mean. ok. gonna preface this by saying keiko is NOT yusuke's mom in any sense of the word. but she does take care of him in a way atsuko couldn't manage to. she's often looking after him and cleaning up after his messes and stuff. she takes him on as a responsibility, and that is, in a way, a caretaker role. not to say that it SHOULD be her responsibility, but it's how she ends up being.

and when the stress of trying to make someone take care of themselves or be kind or good or Whatever goes awry, again, the violence and arguing and distance and ugliness of caring for someone reveals itself.

and i wonder about that. for a series dedicated to physical fighting as a form of communication, what does it say that this extends to the complicated, quietly desperate situations of so many of the women/girls it depicts, whom our more central characters were shaped and raised by?

hell, even hiei touches on this, because hina loved hiei, but there was no way she was prepared for him, obviously, nor for the pain of losing him. rui (whom i also see as a sort of caretaker figure to hiei, inasmuch as either of them were caretakers) literally throws him off a cliff because she couldn't face down the village elders, and out of some mixture of care for hina and, likely, fear for her own survival. and the guilt and pain of that killed hina and deeply wounded rui.

it's like motherhood, this thing that's so often treated as sacred and beautiful, is a kind of stitched up, painful, eggshell-walking thing that hurts parent and child and it's just. oughh

[hpowellsmith]

It's really cute that you and fay play each others' games - couple goals fr 😭 Who did you romance in your wife's games and who did she romance in yours?

Awwww

The first time I played Asteroid Run, I romanced Oscar. But the most recent time I played it, I romanced Shiori and also had a fling with Victor on the side. (My wife says Shiori would be OK with it becoming a full-on affair in the future, it's fine lmao)

I can't remember who I romanced when I first played Heart of Battle, but last time I played, I romanced Eryx and Remi polyamorously.

The first time I played Heart of the Mountain, I romanced Felician. The most recent time I played, I romanced Eleri. When she finishes the draft, I will probably romance them polyamorously.

I'm pretty sure Fay romanced Nico in Blood Money, but I think she also did a playthrough where she didn't romance anyone but was very good friends with and aligned with Silvian.

She romanced Hartmann on her first Creme de la Creme playthrough, and when she did a post-release playthrough she got engaged to Rosario (which she was very proud about because it's not that easy to do!).

She romanced everyone in Noblesse Oblige because it's shorter to play, but she felt most emotionally connected with Rys.

She romanced Beaumont and Trevelyan on her first playthrough, then Beaumont at some point, and on her most recent one she romanced Asher. I'm pretty sure on the most recent one she became close friends with Javi.

When she most recently playtested the full Honor Bound game, she romanced Savarel and Denario, but she was SO slowburn and emotionally restrained with Savarel that she triggered a bug where the romance didn't get fully switched on when it should have, so she had a not-very-romantic late-game time lmao. (this resulted in me doing a massive shakedown of all the slowburn romance triggers just before the beta testing started!) (it also resulted in me adding a bunch of final-chapter stuff for people who are romancing those two 💖)

[transmascutena]

finding a good reaction series for any anime is so hard, and then trying to find one for utena is like trying to find a needle in a very small haystack, i think i've only found like one or two??? that have actually been pretty enjoyable?? and by that i mean, like, where the reactors actually take the show seriously and try to analyze and understand all of the symbolism/meaning/commentaries on society instead of being just like 'woahhh that was weird ig, oh well' and just moving on. although one of the ones i enjoyed also completely missed that juri was in love with shiori in her first episode but honestly i found that more hilarious than frustrating considering how good they were at picking up other small details and how blatantly it was spelt out hfsiuacjk. suffice to say, they figured it out later.

but like when I found the other good reactor to utena it was SOOO nice. like. i don't need the reactor to be absolutely correct on everything and catch every single detail, i just need somebody WILLING to actually engage with the show, and have the ability to look deeper than surface level. i've watched this reactor regularly for a while and i figured utena was the type of weird symbolic stuff he would really enjoy, but when I was proven right and he loved the show and loved the characters and created well-reasoned theories and predictions it was SOOOO satsifying. and i can probably never recommend him to anyone in good faith because he can make some tasteless jokes that i've been pretty desensitized to over the years because he says them more as a bit, but it's still to the extent that I can't tell how other people would take it if they were to watch him for the first time. but when it came to the utena and akio stuff he immediately understood that the show was depicting grooming and abuse and treated it as such in his commentary even before episode 33. and i know like that's probably a low bar, but after seeing people think it was a legit romance, it was so gratifying to see the actions of akio being responded with immediate disgust. he said that utena was probably in his favorite shows of all time at the end of the series, and he was so excited at almost every twist of the plot, so altogether my favorite reactor.

anyways, all that's to say, do you have any reaction series recommendations for utena that you think were a good watch? thanks for your time and all of your great utena posting!

only utena reaction series i remember liking pretty much all the way through was the one by semblance of sanity. there were probably things they missed or whatever as there will always be on a first viewing, and some of the things they said about the final episode in particular were a bit odd (though i've forgotten what exactly it was), but generally it was very enjoyable to me. you could tell they liked the show a lot and wanted to understand it and i think it also helped that they were two people who could bounce ideas and theories off each other. most reactors do it alone which can in my opinion get a bit stale at times. it was really just one of those things where i was looking forward to the new episode from them every single week (maybe helped too that it was only my own second or third rewatch and i was looking for new stuff myself still). i even subscribed to their patreon for a month towards the end so i could view the full uncut reactions, meaning i effectively watched the whole thing twice, but i don't think that was the smartest use of my money or my time lol

[docholligay]

I just want to say, I understand all your warnings about stuff you're watching... and I was sure "that would never be me"... but you're truly right, Fullmetal has a weird effect where I just keep wanting to spill all the info I've been arguing on the internet over the years... this is a warning, maybe, no one is immune to fandom wank

There are so many things I could see myself really liking about FMA, but BOY does the Fandom struggle with chill. I hope most people will be cool and stay their hands, because I don't want to be turned off to the things that could be really fascinating and fun about the show because I darest complain about the things that are silly or contradictory.

I guess I don't get it because I complain about sailor moon more than any other fan. If sailor moon has 100 haters who are huge fans, I'm one of them, etc.

But I mean, how many arguments did I get into about stuff with utena? Not liking Nanami, utena absolutely not wearing the boys uniform, shiori being an asshole and not the saddest blorbo alive. So, the show can survive it, if the audience is more fun than not fun.

But yeah, it's important to remember: this is my first contact. I genuinely cannot remember if Ed's first name is Edward or Edmund. Yall have 20 odd years of nostalgia about a cartoon you probably discovered in formative years. I don't! I'm a 37 year old married lesbian. Whatever I come to, I would appreciate being allowed to come to. Try and remember what it is to know nothing about something you know too much about.

Good for you for looking in the mirror and going, "I want to get into an argument with another adult about a 20 year old cartoon" I occasionally also must do this. It's clarifying.

[nijigasakilove]

You know, people have complained about Gimai Seikatsu being slow or the build up taking too long and I’ll never understand it. It’s this methodical pace that separates it from every other generic incest bait romance. These are actual people coming together for the first time and slowly moving past prior trauma, falling in love and not knowing how to handle that and no episode has done a better job than this one. Absolute masterclass from start to finish and so much I loved about it

For starters, the diary entry sequence was just amazing. We truly saw the most intimate and vulnerable thing imaginable, Saki’s deepest and most sincere thoughts laid bare. Her insecurities about Shiori, her conflicted emotions about falling for Yuta, her appreciation for how he notices the smallest of details and treats her so well, etc. Saw some people say the diary stuff is boring before, but this is lowkey the best part of the series! Characterises Saki so well.

That’s contrasted with Yuta realising his feelings for Saki which while a shorter scene, is just as sweet. I don’t blame him either. The way Saki was looking so radiant at that swim park.. I’d have folded as well. Too bad Saki went and literally sis zoned herself by calling him Niisan for the first time lmao. It also hurt hearing Yuta talk about his parents situation as one of the main reasons he hasn’t fallen in love before, very valid 💔

Saki cutting her hair at the end of the episode symbolises a couple of things. Obviously the whole usual trope about girls cutting their hair to start a new phase in their life and moving on from a breakup or rejection, but also going back to her routes like the short hair pic her mom showed Yuta.. as well as letting go of the insecurity she feels towards Shiori which is great for her tbh. I can’t wait to see how their relationship continues to develop

[heartslobbf]

Hm.

Nanami and Juri are girl princes. Maybe Kozoue too... Shiroi maybe?

Saionji and Miki are boy princesses.

more complicated than this imho but thats just because im weird and transsexual. i have rambled underneath about my feelings about boy-princess- and girl-prince-isms, and the general bullshit of ohtori’s rigid categorisation because it’s something that compels me to no end.

juri is a girl prince but everyone forgets that she's a girl until she actually tries to act like a boy, and then they punish her for it. nanami is like a calf-shaped prince. ive said this before, but it's genuinely how i feel. she's not a girl, she's a farm animal (to ohtori; and admittedly, there isn't much difference in ohtori, but it's explicitly said about nanami when it isnt for other girls).

now. ive never really got the 'miki is a boy princess' thing because like.... sure miki is a 13 year old androgynous little boy with short hair and he doesnt exactly ooze masculinity in everyones eyes but um. two things. one is that he actually commands more respect than saionji as a male and therefore princely figure (saionji isnt princely whatsoever and never tries to be bc his ideas about masculinity are in contradiction with akio's all-american bullshit) and the other is that he is, hilariously in my opinion, the only character other than akio shown to drive the car in the series. like, it's a dream sequence/projector illusion (?) but the fact that we see miki in the driver's seat, hands on the wheel, is kind of a huge deal for the show where they loveeeeeee to refuse to show you stuff that destabilises ohtori's artifice. miki has a very conventional and straightforward desire to be a prince to anthy (you know, if you ignore everything with kozue; but arguably his displacement and warping of his feelings in that way is typically ohtori) and he could totally pull that off imho. he's just a little too young for the moment, and unwilling to manipulate and coerce others like, say, touga is. this isn't to say there's no gender fuckery going on with miki because there 100% is, as there is with all rgu characters, i just wouldnt describe him as a boy princess.

anyway <3 kozue deffo has princely qualities but i would probably box hers in with anthy's. they are both princes repackaged as witches because their genders destabilise the ideal of the prince and its artifice. this is something that happens to all of ohtori's little sisters, because they demonstrate utmostly princeliness towards their brothers, but nanami gets special calf-shaped prince privileges because i have kiryuu sibling brain worms. anthy and kozue are very conscious of their witchification as they are conscious of their sexuality, and how that impacts their relationships with their brothers. nanami is not.

shiori is also an interesting case because she and ruka are. well. theyre just fucking bonkers arent they. everything they say about each other is also equally applicable to themselves. i think that out of our three roles (prince, princess, witch/rose bride), some combination of witch and princess seems most fitting? like shiori is 100% a witch, and ruka was the perfect prince until he got sock-puppeted by akio in such a way that. well ruka's complicated and frankly i dont have time to get into it right now (know, however, that i hate his reanimated guts). shiori wants to be a princess and she wants to be pursued hopelessly but in having that desire, she is a witch. there is perhaps a perverse princeliness to her desire, but id argue that that's just what being a witch is. slayyyyyyy

now in regards to saionji. he's a boy princess but also it's complicated. saionji doesnt want to be a prince and saionji doesnt have any interest in princehood because, fundamentally, he doesnt care for it. princehood is built upon these americanised ideals and aesthetics that dont resonate with his very traditionally japanese understanding and performance of masculinity, and he just feels kind of disillusioned and defensive and all-around miserable that he's being 'left behind' in this 'old world' without any fucking chevys in it. like he doesnt want a chevy but everyone else has massive hardons for chevys and all his male peers think thats the only way to attain true masculinity and it makes him sooooooo mad, and frankly, even though he's a misogynist freak, i get that. maybe i am just an american car hater, who knows.

anyway saionji's inclination to the princess role (it's a bit more of a bride role than a princess role, but these distinctions are muddy; i'd argue a princess is entirely passive, but a bride actively wills the outcome of a duel) is deeply sad to me because it's just like this guy has absolutely no idea what the hell he's supposed to do to have a place in this world, attain specialness, command respect and attention. like he was repeatedly mocked for and excluded from attempting masculinity and he certainly cant be a princess (wow isnt this an interesting idea i wonder if it relates to the transfem reading haha what) and he doesnt feel any inclination towards either gender presentation particularly. he likes woodcarving and cooking, is artistic and earnest and expressive, but he's also a devoted kendoka whose sense of masculinity is closely tied to that practice. his gender is, by ohtori's rules, desperately confused and inconclusive. thus he forms part of the trifecta that is himself, utena and nanami, or as i like to call them: transgender freaks and cowgirl. good lord have they slipped through the cracks of this evil bastard system and attempted to fit all the same, understanding absolutely nothing about the impossible spaces they try to fill.

anyway whatevs. now im gonna talk about anthy and touga because my blog is the anthytouga show in my mind despite rarely talking about them and mainly just reblogging deranged art (affectionate) of them. anthy and touga are bonkers to me because they ARE the norm, but also no they arent. and that's the whole thing. like they embody the ideal so perfectly (prince and princess respectively), but anthy's also a witch, and the rose bride, and touga isn't really a prince. theyre unable to join as a prince and princess should, unable to be virtuous and perfect due to their knowledge and awareness. like, theyre both aware of the artifice of their existences and performances, but neither of them can really artiulate that awareness because doing so would jepoardise the positions theyre currently in. for touga, that's a very valuable one that has him close to 'escaping' (read: getting the key to the birdcage and holding it over everyone else's heads). for anthy, it's also valuable but not for herself, not really. it's valuable because it's a position from which she can help akio, and akio needs her, and she is indebted to akio and obliged to sacrifice herself eternally for him. etc etc etc. god i hate this man. you get what im saying with this. it’s about the precarious position that you are placed in as a victim, the power dynamics of it all. you have the knowledge that could crack the world’s shell easily, but you have been caught in such a way that you believe sharing it would kill you (again). it wouldn’t be worth anything. all it does is highlight how disgusting and awful you really are, and you can’t let anyone know that (the objective truth) because then they will stop loving the idealised you you’ve been performing and see the real you (evil and monstrous). ohhhhh what’s that Judith herman quote about being filled with black slime that pours out of your mouth when you open it. anthytouga hours (i am inconsolable rn)

sorry about this rant! i simply have too much to say about this goddamn show and merely wish to discourage people from 'girl prince' and 'boy princess'-ing characters into boxes. you know, utena's whole girl prince thing is actively critiqued by the show because there's nothing revolutionary about assimilation. every character in this show's cast is androgynous and it's up to us to determine what we think those unique expressions of androgyny mean. there are certainly girl prince-isms and boy princess-isms to characters, some more so than others, but you know. the ambiguity and freedom of the transsexual or whatever

[allegorism]

🔥 on any topic, you may also share several unpopular opinions if you feel like it 👀

- dunmeshi: why are people even speaking about ships, why are we speaking of ships. like it's fine, i like them too and it's fun stuff, it's the bonus to a good story, but the way this fandom make some ships seem like a central part of the plot is so disappointing AND even misleading. also, where the HELL do some ships come from. chilshi?????

- rgu: i'm always saying this, but the way shiori is treated by the fandom is so 💀. i once made a post about how people will talk about toxic yuri, but when they get the real toxic yuri, they screech. people will talk of how nuanced characters are, but they straight up treat shiori as plainly evil. like, you don't have to like the girl, but the way the fandom is able to engage with characters like toga and saionji, but oh no. shiori is just evil, off the limits. i see how it is

- on the same note, when people on tumblr say "i want evil women", i think they actually mean "slightly mean women who are mean to the Right Prople, have the same ideals as me and who don't have any real problematic behaviour". people want nuanced writing and stuff with depth, but the moment they find a really nuanced character or situation, they go back to the black and white mentality

[crescentmoonrider]

so a fun fact about me i dont think many ppl know is that i used to do fan translation work, specifically of vocaloid stuff

(mostly songs on a french blog, and then later i started translating the shuuen no shiori novels into french on tumblr but uh. look im sorry idk what to say, this project aint getting revived orz)

anyway back in the days i based my translations on existing english translations, but now that im getting somewhat better at japanese ive been finding myself mentally correcting/adjusting translations i read more and more

im also reading a lot more comics on pixiv these days and sharing them with friends, and it just. it reminded me of my translating debut haha

bc back in the days i started translating so i could share songs with one of my friends, and only later started a dedicated blog, and now im sort of doing the same (half-assedly tho)

idk where im going with this. i guess ive been contemplating translating short pixiv comics properly ? albeit informally. basically doing typesetting and cleaning too, but idk if id want to share it publicly, so i guess it would be like. only between friends or sth

i dont really have a plan, or even a point with this post, i just. idk. felt like sharing some thoughts ive been having

i just miss translation i guess sdfsgdgfhg

[sepyana]

Some thoughts about RGU: Blooming Rose of Deepest Black

I've been an Utena fan for a while but I just watched the musicals and I love them, I need to talk to people about it I'm gonna explode

All my thoughts are under the cut. We'll go character by character analysing the differences between their TV and Musical counterparts.

Utena

She and Anthy take the backseat a lil bit. She is great as always though.

Ami Noujo is quite popular, I can definitely see why. She is funny, incredibly charming and sweet. She was recast from the last musical like all the others.

She tries to set up Anthy and Miki together. Miki is less creepy about his crush so it does come off as kinda wholesome.

I absolutely adore the cheesy ass friendship song she has with Wakaba.

Her most iconic scene is definitely the one at the very end where she hugs Anthy in an almost possessive manner, saying she is here for her. And Anthy just looks like she is dying inside haha. The ominous bells and Akio in the back don't really help things either.

Not really much to say about her, she is the same as her show self.

Anthy

Yuka Yamauchi is, again, great. Anthy is somewhat different from her show version. Not worse, just different.

Musical Anthy is generally nicer(i think.??). Whenever Show Anthy is alone with Utena, she seems disinterested in the people around her. Musical Anthy compliments Miki on his piano skills, for example.

She comforts Juri during the Shiori duel. I genuinely can't tell if this is wholesome or eerie.

In the show, she doesn't care about the black rose duelists (other than telling Mikage he is cruel for making Tsuwabuki duel.) She feels guilt about the whole situation here.

She still has her laugh from the first musical! Giving her this almost condescending laugh is a fun take on her character. She almost dies of laughter when Utena asks if the projector is her brother. I love her so much it's unreal. I will talk about her a lot more if I do a white bud post.

Akio

Speaking of her brother, Akio is also here.

Yu Yoshioka is definitely a standout. His mannerisms and posture show Akio's character brilliantly. It's pretty exaggerated, that's expected from a stage play. I think he is my favourite in the musical.

Akio acts really disinterested in what's happening. He has an air of superiority around him. He carries this vibe for the whole musical.

He is always slouching a bit. He walks slowly, he has one of his hands at his pocket at all times. It really gives him this aloof vibe. There is more but. Someone else can analyze Akio's body language way better than I can.

One thing he does is push people in and out of scenes. Mikage and Mamiya also do this. It shows them being "puppeteers" really well. The most unsettling one is after the first song, as characters are leaving, when he forcefully holds Utena's arm so she can start her scene.

He holds Tokiko's head almost forcefully has he kisses her. Really unsettling.

He also always seems to be standing a bit too close. His scenes with Utena are the best examples of this. Anthy (and Mamiya) also has some scenes like that.

This Akio is less friendly then the one we know. They also toned down the incest stuff. Interesting changes for sure. This musical is mostly for people who have already watched the show, so they have decided to show Akio's actual nature earlier.

Akio sometimes says a character's line with them. It's a cool way to show how he is the puppet master of the story.

Wakaba

Yume Takeuchi absolutely crushed it in the first musical. She continues to be amazing here. I cannot stress enough how much I love Wakaba in this.

She seems sadder in the musical. Almost like she knows her moment od being special will not last long...

Her black rose duel is absolutely heart wrenching. The student council and the school body taunting her during the battle is horrible. My girl doesn't deserve this. Crying and shaking.

Her after the duel scenes are expanded upon. After the battle she goes missing for a few days. During that time, she was making stew for Utena but couldn't perfect it so she took a few days off. I'm sure she is really tired (both mentally and physically) even though she doesn't remember what happened.

And then they have this cheesy song I mentioned before. You could argue it doesn't fit Utena but I enjoyed it. Wakaba even makes Anthy join in too.

It's a minor scene but, I find it absolutely hilarious how she screams upon seeing the exam schedule so hard Utena thinks something happened to her. If I saw English and Math were in the same day I'd scream too. This is right after Mamiya stabs Kozue btw.

They have the prince giving Utena the rose ring and Saionji giving Wakaba the hair clip at the same time. Wow they really did that.

Her elevator scene is my favourite. She is letting it all out. Screaming and crying and the venom in her voice whilte talking about Anthy and Saionji. It's so much.

Saionji

The most pathetic cringefail man in all of Ohtori. I like Tsubasa Yoshizawa's performance overall.

I didn't pay much attention to him. They don't really change anything about his scenes. (Except for the Wakaba duel)

I will give him this, he is pretty funny. His scenes are funny but also seeing saionjeans dancing in ensambles is just. so fucking hilarious to me.

Kozue

Marina Tanoue's acting was okay. Good stuff.

She comes off as a bit more awkward here. Which makes a lot of sense imo. She is messing around with boys a lot but she is only 13. Her awkwardness show up in her hookup scenes too. The boys are a lot more touchy with her.

They toned down the incest in favor of Kozue just wanting to protect Miki. Incest is still there but their relationship is not the same.

She is our first black rose duelist instead of Kanae. Kanae is not that well written in the show so this was for the best.

Miki

Bit of an unpopular opinion, I liked Natsuki Osaki's performance in the first musical. Yuta Higuchi's performance is better but I also like the first Miki too. I am not the biggest Miki fan but the musical definitely made me warm up to him more.

Wow the pedo teacher is so much more creepy here. Seeing real people play these scenes makes them feel even worse. He is a lot more touchy here and Miki actually reacts to him.

I like the part where he is playing music on the side during Nanami's song it's kinda cute.

Nanami

I can't believe they casted the actual Nanami Kiryuu to play herself. Ok fr real tho, Arisa Suzuki is amazing in this.

I'm gonna get burned at the stake for this but I don't like most of the Nanami episodes. I actually really like Nanami being the comic relief, the jokes just don't land for me... But I did actually like the cowbell song she has. She has a cowbell song. She has a co-

I personally found her talking to Juri and Miki part more funny.

There is a scene where she takes Miki's watch and accidentally stops all three of them in time so Wakaba can have her part talking to Saionji. Laughed out loud at that part.

She is exclusively comic relief here. There isn't much she can do outside of that anyways. Touga is not in this and her story line so dependent on him.

Juri

Riona Tatemichi please take my hand in marriage thank you

Juri is the same personality wise as her TV version, other than being slightly gayer. This is a musical after all.

There is a scene where is imagining dancing with Shiori (Shiori also has a scene similar to this).

Juri and Shiori actually kiss??!? It's pretty brief because Utena and Dios slashes their kneecaps. Oh, yeah, during the duels whoever's sword the duelist is using shows up.

I love that instead of working together they end up knocking off each other's roses. That's so in character for them. Also hilarious.

Shiori

Fuyuna Asakura. She might be the best actor in the musical. Because wow, wow. She is a sickeningly sweet type of character. One that turns out to be horrible.

She is way more cartoonish but I don't think that's a bad thing! It's so fun watching her on the stage do her thing. People who didn't like TV Shiori might like this version more. Shiori is one of my faves, I was already primed to like this version of her too.

Each black rose duelist has a scene where they are stabbed by the black rose. Strangely, Shiori is the only person to not scream during it. It just goes to show how little of a push she needed.

She is a lot more shocked about learning she is Juri's crush. The whole situation feels even more tense than the TV version.

My favourite moments of Shiori are in the Akio arc. I don't like Ruka's character, I think he made Juri's story line worse... Buuut I liked watching his dynamic with Shiori. Hopefully we'll get to see Fuyuna Asakura again if another musical happens.

I loved how they handled the Juri/Shiori story line. It's one of my favourite side plots.

And that leaves us with the boys of the black rose. I am gonna talk about them the longest:

Mamiya

I think Mamiya is underrated as hell in this. I haven't heard people talk about the musical but when they do they don't mention him all that much. Yohdi Kondo works so well as him.

He is a lot more active compared to his TV counterpart, If that's the right way to put it. We see him do stuff. He stabs the black rose duelists. He and Mikage work together to make plans more compared to the anime. He is the one responsible for putting Juri's locket in the vase. I appreciate them being more like a duo.

He comes off as a lot more intimidating here too. Him not looking like a 13yo plays a big part, but his mannerisms play a role too. The Kozue scene shows this really well.

What I most like about him though, is how they show Anthy and Mamiya being the same person. They replace each other from scene to scene constantly. My favourite example is when he takes her place when she is playing the piano. Mamiya is behind her when they're both on stage. They circle around each other at the start too.

He moves around in a similar way to Anthy. He is a lil bit scary in the same way Anthy is. Anthy is my favourite character so i definitely enjoy this a lot.

Also have I mentioned the fact that Akio and Tokiko fuck on his bed. While Mamiya is talking to Mikage in the rose garden, we see the shadows of Akio and Tokiko in a loving embrace on top of his bed. I hope that is not literal. Because if they actually fucked on that bed that would be insane. There are a few ways to interpret this.

There is a theory about how Mikage seeing those two is preceded by Mamiya's death. I think it's true because it doesn't make sense to me how that was enough for Mikage go set the fire. We know Mamiya is dead by this point. He is completely codependent on those two emotionally, he would not take seeing Tokiko with a man right after (maybe a month? Who knows) Mamiya's death well. Merging the imagery together makes a lot of sense.

I didn't think of this at all before but the "Imagine me & Utena" podcast (It's a pretty good podcast!) pointed this out: this is suppose to hint at Mikage and Mamiya's relationship. The sexual/romantic side of their relationship is sort of hinted in the anime and the musical. I could see this being true. This is a really important moment for Mikage. In the anime, we see the cursor point at the leaf during it. You can't have that in the musical. You could have this though.

I also found it funny how Akio's shadow wakes up Mamiya lol.

Mikage

He is the closest thing the musical has to a protagonist. He is in most of the scenes, directly or indirectly. So we spend a lot of time with Hidenori Tokuyama, and I am really torn on him. I'm not really sure if it's his fault either. Mikage is a really subtle character, it's always the little things with this guy. That kind of personality is hard to translate onto stage. You can't see his change in expression when he sees Tokiko and Mamiya talk. You can't see he has a picture of Mamiya on his desk etc etc.

He gets better as we get to the end. Mikage gets a lot more unhinged towards the end, less "subtle" if you get what I mean. Don't get me wrong. I like Hidenori Tokuyama a lot. I just can't connect with him all that much.

There are some notable changes done to him. Mikage as a character always stood out to me from the other men in the show. His much shorter stature is the obvious thing (I don't care about that being represented tbh, he is shorter than Akio and Saionji, that's all you need) but another thing is how he is not violently misogynistic like them. He still is misogynistic, he uses the internalized misogyny of the girls to make them hate Anthy instead of the man in their lives. He would not be able to do what he did without exploiting the harmful systems of Ohtori. He could definitely be interpreted incel-like with his relationship to Tokiko and Mamiya. I guess he is just not as obvious about it? He doesn't show interest in any of the girls. He is obsessed with Tokiko but doesn't even realize she is walking past him. This is pretty noticeably changed in the musical.

He straight up hits on Utena. It's incredibly uncomfortable (as it was meant to be). With Tsuwabuki gone, all of his victims are women. His crush on Tokiko is shown a lot more. It's a lot more sus. I don't see this as a negative change. I like Anime Mikage more but I see the value in making him feel closer to how the other men are.

There are some more minor differences.

Sometimes when he says his lines, Akio says it along with him. For example during his talk with Saionji,

Saionji:  And what do you want from me in return?

Mikage:  Good question...

Mikage:  There's one item that I want from you.

Mikage:  A trifle, really...

There is more of this in the exact same scene btw.

His mannerisms are a bit different too. In the anime, he is approachable but you can tell there is something weird with him. In the Musical, you can tell he is obviously trying to manipulate you. He isn't as charismatic as his TV version. And I kinda like that honestly. It makes it easier for me to connect Nemuro and Mikage in my mind.

[tetsunabouquet]

Basic Instinct Chapter 21

A/N: Some angst from Reader-Chan's side as she talks with Akashi's grandma, so heads up! You know the associated warnings at this point. Masterpost

After dinner, Akashi's grandmother had invited you to the drawing room, so the two of you could have a chat about your mother. A topic that always left you feeling sick with anxiety. You didn't knew how she was respond, what she would do. Having been used to an unstable life, you were always extremely hypervigilant about the topic, and you could feel the tension between your shoulder blades. You sat down in front of her, trying not to feel like you were going to throw up. "There is no need to look so frightened, I will not do anything against your will. Seijuro tells me your mother has Borderline Personality Disorder, and from what I've heard about it I can imagine your mother to be quite controlling. That is not my intention and I will not cross any of your boundaries. It's safe." There was something about her saying it was safe that triggered you as you could feel the burning sensation of tears in your eyes. You didn't want to cry in front of Akashi's grandmother without even having said a word about it, you didn't want to break down so easily. You didn't want to seem weak. "Yes, that is true." You managed to say, holding back your tears. "My mom has BPD." Rima nodded calmly, "Has she ever received psychiatric help before?" You inhaled, "Yeah. When she was pregnant she thought it was important, so she could become a better mom." "And did she stop thinking it was important?" You bit your lip as tears leaked from your eyes. You nodded, being unable to respond in words. "When did she stop therapy?" "When I was small, s-she relapsed wh-when I was about n-nine," you hiccuped. Rima looked at you, and couldn't help but feel sorry, for you had lost the mother that you knew at such a tender age. 'She was even younger than Sei-Chan when Shiori passed away. It must be such a painful loss'. "Where's your father?" "On a bussines trip overseas, he is most of the ti-time. I feel like he's just t-trying to escape her." You looked like such an unloved child, it broke Rima's heart in a maternal way. "Does your mother at least take some medication?" You shook your head, as more tears rolled down your face. "Now, I'll see to it what I can do, but I do need to know the grounds of which I can operate. You don't seem to be hiding any bruises, but what about emotional abuse, neglect?" You gritted your teeth. "When she's mad at me, she'll c-call me names and say mean s-stuff." You wiped your face with your sleeve. "L-like," you took a deep breath, trying to say the following sentences without hiccuping over your words, "I'm a parasite that suck away her happiness." Whilst you got the sentence out, the words triggered a new wave of tears, and Rima stood up so she could come over and hold you close. You cried in the elderly lady's warm arms, as she patted the back of your head. "It's alright, it must be so hard for you. Does she take proper care of your needs?" You shook your head. "For a couple of yea-years now she ref-refuses to cook dinner when she d-doesn't feel like it. For e-example." Rima sighed, and she continued patting your head. After a while, when you started calming down, she said, "How about you meet up with Seijuro before going to bed. You should allow yourself to be loved." Your lips trembled, but you did as she said after thanking her.

And thus you rested your head against Seijuro's shoulder. The two of you were allowed to hang out in his new bedroom, and you were curled up against him, using his bed as an improvised couch as he had been going through a photo album of his mom's childhood whilst you had been talking with his grandmother. You looked at the album, but you didn't really see it. Your mind was in a distant place, the softness of the matrass, silk sheets and Akashi's hand that was rubbing soft, comforting circles on your back was soothing you and you were too emotionally exhausted not to give in and space out. "You know, you should go to sleep and take some care of yourself. I'll be here, in the same house as you for the next couple of days. We'll enjoy ourselves plenty tomorrow, okay?" You looked at him and he kissed your forehead. Smiling lazily, you said, "It really was nice to see you before going to bed." "Perhaps someday we'll be sleeping in the same bed, and you can relax as you listen to me breathe." Akashi teased. "You shouldn't let your grandmother hear that!" You giggled and got off the bed. "Can't wait for that day though, goodnight." "Goodnight my love."

[shewasverynice]

Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

Rating: Explicit 

Major Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Non-Consensual Drug Use

Additional Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence, Blood and Injury, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Use

Categories: F/M, Multi 

Relationships: Takami Keigo | Hawks/Original Female Character(s), Original Character/Other(s) 

Major Characters: Original Characters, Takami Keigo | Hawks, Hero Public Safety Commission, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead

. . . . . ╰──╮꒰ Halcyon - Part 7꒱ ╭──╯ . . . . .

Hawks slumped in his seat, letting out a deep sigh. He glanced at the stack of applications before shifting his gaze to Owl, who was diligently reviewing some of them. Sorting through countless applications for positions at Nest was definitely not what Hawks had anticipated with an agency, but he should have seen it coming. His rapidly rising approval rating was nothing to scoff at, and his name was spreading fast.

"Well, I've narrowed it down to who I believe would be our best fits," Owl said, setting down a stack of papers, "I do agree that letting in more than solely bird-like heroes is the right call, but are we sure we still need the restriction for wings?"

"I guess we really don't need to do that," Hawks said with a lazy wave of his hand, "Just felt like we should stick to something with birds."

"Well, what if it was anything that lives in a Nest?" Kiwi suggested, "Like... Uhhh... Squirrels and stuff?"

"I mean..." Hawks narrowed his eyes, staring up at the lights above on the ceiling, "I dunno. I'm not really all that picky really. Let's just fill up the slots with whoever seems best. We really just need to have enough coverage so a restriction is kind of silly anyway."

"Alright," Owl agreed, "Then I will--"

"Actually," Hawks pushed himself up in his chair and pointed at Owl, "How about you handle this? You're good at this kind of thing, yeah?"

Owl chuckled, "I suppose in a way, yes," he raised his eyebrow as Hawks got to his feet, his bright wings stretching as the younger man glanced at his phone, "I'll take care of this. I'm sure you're eager to work on Halcyon's case."

Hawks grinned and asked with more than a hint of sarcasm, "Whaaat? Why would you say that?"

"What else needs to be done before we can bring her home?" Kiwi asked as she glanced over a few of the rejected applications.

"We have all the evidence we need and Eraser's support," Hawks explained, "I've got to go shake up the police for their reports today. That should be plenty to get her put on parole with us."

"Ugh," Kiwi scoffed, "Well tell them off again while you're there. They're half-assing their response times down town again. Guess they thought we wouldn't find out."

Hawks grit his teeth, "I'm so sick of this shit. Why can't they just get it together?" Picking up his headset, he placed it around his neck while heading towards the door, "I'm over it with that police chief. This is his last chance. We'll drop the bomb on him if he doesn't take this warning seriously."

"I think you should just do it," Kiwi said, pointing at Hawks, "He's such an asshole. Why bother giving him another chance?"

Hawks gave a nonchalant shrug, a relaxed grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I'd like to believe he's got a soft spot in there somewhere."

"Well you're way more optimistic than me," Kiwi huffed, "I'd have that man outta there so fast."

With one last wave, Hawks headed out. Towards the main doors, he passed by the secretary desk, and tried to give a genuine smile but the shiver down his spine probably made him look insane. The four armed woman, Ms. Shiori as he'd come to learn, was staying on permanently as the head secretary as a reward from the HPSC.

She was honestly incredible and had already assembled a small team that was organizing past records and updating whatever Halcyon had been doing before. However, Hawks couldn't help but feel unnerved when he saw her. Her thin black eyes always stared through his soul like a knife and she just down right didn't seem to like him.

"I'll be back in a little while, Miss Shiori," he said with his pleasant PR smile.

"Yes, sir." She replied tersley, then returned to her business at the desk without another word.

He shuddered as soon as he got outside, the shiver running all the way through to the tips of his feathers. That woman was an unbreakable fortress specifically equipped to deter any kind of polite conversation. Most older women loved how charming he was, so why not her?

"Must be how tight that bun is pulling her face," he muttered himself as he took off.

The police station had a similar stance on Hawks as Miss Shiori did, as he could see the disdain in their eyes through the windows when he landed outside. Despite this, he didn't let it bother him. It was obvious that these people needed to get their act together, and everything hinged on his mercy. Nest had gathered more than enough evidence of their neglect and abuse to justify a complete overhaul of the station, and Hawks was the only one willing to give them a second chance.

"Afternoon, folks!" He said brightly, his wing folding flat against his back as he strutted into the station, "How's it goin'?"

"Ah... Yes. Hello again, Hawks sir," An officer said, his eyes looking literally anywhere but Hawks, "Good. Things have been good, but a little busy."

Hawks pushed his aviator glasses up to his forehead, his golden eyes piercing right into the officer's. The man was a partial heteromorph, kind of like a centaur with only two horse legs. Didn't make him any faster, but the legs looked powerful and certainly wouldn't get tired like human legs.

"Well, that's good," Hawks said with a smile and his hand landing on the counter, "Glad to hear that the last few calls were just you all feeling tired, hmm?"

The officer gulped, "Y-yes. Of course, sir."

"Great!" Hawks grinned with a thumbs up, "So, anyway where's Akiyama-san? He's got the reports I asked for, yeah?"

The officer nodded, "Yeah, he does. Just head on into his office, he just got in recently."

Slapping the countertop once Hawks gave the officer a little wave before turning to head into the office of Police Chief Akiyama. Instinctually he scanned the area with his feathers, just to ease his mind. He could hear the whispers, some good some bad, but that's what he expected. The majority of the officers did mean well, even if they'd let themselves fall to the wrong side.

"Akiyama-san!" He called cheerfully, pushing the door open without even a knock.

The man sighed, pushing up his glasses before he looked up at Hawks. He was older, probably around Owl's age if Hawks were to make a guess. His quirk allowed him to create waves in solid matter, kind of like shaking a sheet of aluminum. Pretty useful stuff for a cop. Good for knocking down fleeing criminals or something.

"Hello, Hawks," Akiyama sighed, "I'm assuming you're here for Halcyon's papers?"

"Yup!" Hawks said, his wings fluttered as he put on that winning smile, "And hey, everything going alright? I've heard y'all have been busy around here?"

"Uh, yes," Akiyama cleared his throat, "Yes, it's been quite busy."

"Well, that's good in a way, yeah? Makes the day go by fast!" Hawks chuckled, placing his palm on the desk, "There's a lot to make up for, after all."

"Yes. Yes of course," he muttered. Turning his chair, he slid it across the floor behind him and opened up a filing cabinet. He plucked a large binder out, then rolled back over and placed it into Hawks waiting hands. "This is everything we've been reporting on for Halcyon," he said, "Good and bad, it's all here."

"Cool, man. I appreciate it," Hawks nodded, flipping through the binder. His wings extended for a moment, and he grinned again, "Yeah, this is perfect! Thanks for your hard work!"

Akiyama stared at him and sighed, "Yeah. Sure, no problem."

Hawks strutted back out of the station, flipping through the binder still. His feathers pushed the door open, his eyes not even leaving the papers inside for a moment. The reports were through for sure, although they were certainly biased. Comparing them to the accounts he'd gotten from the citizens, it was clear the Police were itching for a reason to arrest Halcyon.

"Assholes," he muttered, closing the binder and tucking it under his arm.

In a few days the legal team from the HPSC would be presenting all the information they'd gathered to have Halcyon placed at Nest. They'd assured him that it would all work out, although part of him was concerned that they may decide to use Halcyon the way they used him. If that happened, at least they'd have each other right?

It was probably better not to think about that right now.

Back at Nest, Owl had already left four neat stacks of applications on Hawks' desk. He sighed, his wings dropping and dragging on the floor as he threw himself into his chair. It would be best for him to at least look at them before he signed off. Owl probably chose well, but he definitely didn't want to do that. That's pretty lazy even for him.

It was a good selection of heroes, lots of folks with wings. A couple without which would probably make Kiwi feel better. She never said it out loud, but Hawks was pretty sure she was sensitive about her wings being too small to fly. The sidekicks were good too, one that caught his eye was some kind of guy with dragonfly wings. That would be interesting for sure! Hovering was a useful skill!

His mind wandered to Hummingbird, her time would probably be up soon. She'd be on parole just like Halcyon, although it was a lot easier to get that sentencing for her. He chuckled, knowing Hummingbird would absolutely hate to have anything in common with Halcyon. That was certainly going to be a fun conversation.

The other two stacks were for a few other auxiliary staff members like a few people to repair gadgets and tools, some cleaning staff of course, and various other positions. It was amazing what just five people had managed to keep the place running for almost five years since Kingfisher retired.

Flicking his wrist, four feathers separated from his wings. He guided them to float in front of him, tucking a pen into the quills of each one. Leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head, he used them to start signing away while he lazily stared up at the ceiling.

Paperwork was the worst.

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

Hawks waited outside the parole office a week later, his wings fluttering impatiently. He was genuinely excited to see Halcyon again, and now she was a newly approved parolee! She would be joining his agency and everything, just as they'd hoped! He'd knew she was a bit rough around the edges, but he was determined to see the best in her.

As Halcyon stepped out, she immediately scowled at the sight of Hawks' bright, cheerful demeanor. "Great, my bird-brain babysitter is here," she muttered under her breath.

Hawks, completely undeterred, spread his wings and arms wide in a grand, welcoming gesture. "Halcyon! Welcome back to freedom! I've got big plans for us!" He said brightly, completely brushing over her statement.

Halcyon raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms, "Big plans? You mean like cleaning up your messes?"

"Well, messes are part of the job," Hawks said with a grin as he pointed at her, his feathers ruffling playfully. "But think of it as a new adventure. And, hey, I brought snacks!" He pulled out a bag of pastries, offering them to her.

She took one reluctantly, biting into it with a sigh, "This better be good."

Hawks' wings drooped slightly as he tried to keep the conversation light, "Oh, it's amazing. Trust me, things are so much better now. And you'll get to use your skills for good!"

Halcyon's eyes narrowed, "Yeah? Like I was doing until you had me arrested for being "too aggressive"?"

Hawks chuckled, his wings flapping in amusement, "Hey, every hero has their quirks. Yours just make you unique! Besides, I’m not exactly known for following the rules to the letter myself."

Halcyon snorted, despite herself, "Unique, huh?"

"Absolutely!" Hawks exclaimed, his wings fanning out enthusiastically, "Unique and awesome. Now, how about we head to the agency and get you settled in? I promise, you'll have a blast."

One awkward and silent car ride later, and they were back at Nest. As they walked into the bustling agency, Halcyon couldn't help but notice the influx of new heroes. "Wow, looks like you let anyone in these days," she remarked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Hawks' wings twitched slightly, but he kept his smile intact, "Yep, it's been growing a lot. More heroes mean more help for the city, right?"

Halcyon's gaze landed on Miss Shiori, the secretary who had given her a hard time back when she was disguised as Chickadee. A smirk formed on her lips as she approached the desk, "Well, if it isn't Miss Perfect herself. Still here causing trouble?"

Before Miss Shiori could respond, Hawks swiftly stepped in between them, his wings spreading out as if to shield both parties, "Hey, Halcyon, how about I give you a tour of the new set-up first? Lots of cool new things to see!"

Miss Shiori glared at Halcyon, but Hawks quickly led her away, trying to diffuse the situation. His feathers fluffed up nervously, and he struggled to maintain his upbeat demeanor, "So, uh, the training area is this way. We've got some amazing new equipment you'll love."

Halcyon rolled her eyes but followed him, "You really think you can handle me, Birdy?"

Hawks' smile faltered for a second, but he quickly recovered, "Of course! We’re a team now, after all. And teams stick together, even if some members are a bit... spicy."

Halcyon chuckled, though it was more of a scoff, "Spicy, huh? You really are something, Birdy."

Hawks held back his groan. Birdy. He hated that nickname. It's not that he minded being referred to as a bird, hell he did it himself pretty often. It was just... somehow that particular one got on his nerves. His wings twitched with every mention of that nickname, but he forced a smile, trying to keep up appearances.

"Alright, Birdy, show me where I'm supposed to live now," Halcyon said, barely concealing her disdain.

Hawks led her to her room and gestured grandly, "Here you go! It's just the same as when you left it when you were still Chickadee. We didn't touch anything since we knew you'd be back."

Halcyon scoffed, crossing her arms. "I never actually lived in here, Birdy. I used to sneak back out to my old place. It was more comfortable," she said, tilting her head.

Hawks blinked in confusion. "Oh. Well, uh, you have to stay at Nest now per your parole. But I'll gladly help you get your things," he nodded enthusiastically, "With two of us it won't take--"

Halcyon rolled her eyes, "I don't need your help. I can manage on my own, like I always have."

Hawks' feathers ruffled in frustration, and for the first time, his patience wore thin. He sighed, "Look, Halcyon, I'm just trying to make this transition easier for you. We're a team now, remember? And part of being a team is helping each other out."

Halcyon met his gaze, her eyes steely, "I don't need your pity, Birdy."

Hawks sighed, his wings drooping slightly, "Fine. But remember, we're stuck with each other now. The sooner you accept that, the better it'll be for both of us."

As Halcyon made a beeline for the exit, Hawks suddenly remembered an important detail. "Wait, Halcyon!" he called, quickly catching up to her, "You need to wear this tracking bracelet."

Halcyon turned to him, her eyes narrowing, "A tracking bracelet? Seriously?"

"Yep," Hawks replied, trying to stay patient despite her attitude. He gently placed the bracelet on her wrist and locked it, typing in a specific code to the little screen. "You have to stay within a mile radius of Nest when you're not on duty, and on duty you have to stay within the city limits. If you try go beyond that without me, it'll set off an alarm, and you'll have to be reprimanded," he explained.

Halcyon laughed, a mocking edge to her voice while she put her hand on her hip and smirked at him, "Reprimanded? What are you gonna do, Birdy? Put me over your knee or something?"

Hawks' face turned crimson, and his wings fluttered nervously and he waved his hands a little frantically, "N-no! Nothing like that. Just... don't make things harder than they need to be, okay?"

She smirked at his flustered state, "Relax, Birdy. I'll play nice... for now."

Hawks sighed, trying to regain his composure, "Thanks. Let's just get through this together, alright?"

With a final roll of her eyes, Halcyon walked back to her room, leaving him to wonder just how long he could keep his cool around her. Hawks sighed deeply, feeling the weight of the day already. He'd really hoped that getting her freedom again might make Halcyon a little less... tough. But then he was joined by Kiwi, who was of course excited to see Halcyon again. She barely greeted him as she bounced down the hall excitedly.

"Hey, Kiwi, wait—" Hawks began, but Kiwi had already brushed past him, eager to visit her friend.

"Hey!" Halcyon said with a grin, "Kiwi! Long time no see, girlie! I missed you!"

"Aww!" Kiwi cooed, wrapping her large muscled arms around Halcyon, "I missed you too, Hal! I thought for sure you'd look completely different! Like you'd turn out to have another form or something!"

Halcyon chuckled, "Nah, my transformations only work for my four forms. I can't actually shape shift the rest of me."

Kiwi nodded, releasing Halcyon from her grip and setting her back on the ground, "Oh! I had no idea!"

"Well, there's a lot of things you don't know about me," Halcyon said with a shrug, "Well, at least who I really am anyway."

"What's your non-vigilante name, by the way? You can still call me Ava, you know. You're not the girl we knew anymore, but you're still my little Chickadee so I don't mind," Kiwi asked, her little brown wings fluttering on her back.

Halcyon fell quiet for a moment before she admitted, "Toni and Kingfisher have always called me Sera when I'm not Halcyon. I guess that's fine if you want to use that."

Hawks stood in the doorway, his eyes narrowed and wings slightly drooped in confusion. "So, you're nice to Kiwi but not to me?" he muttered under his breath, feeling a bit left out.

Halcyon glanced at him, a small smirk playing on her lips, "Well, Birdy, she didn't have me arrested or slap a tracking bracelet on me."

Kiwi laughed, oblivious to Hawks' frustration, "It's good to have you back, Sera. And don't worry, we'll make sure "Birdy" here doesn't ruffle your feathers too much."

"No... Not you too..." He whined under his breath.

"Well, it's kind of good to be back," Halcyon shrugged, "Better than prison for sure."

Hawks managed a weak smile, realizing this was going to be a much bigger challenge than he initially thought, "Yeah, welcome back, Sera. Let's make this work, okay?"

A few hours later, after reconnecting with Heron and Owl, Halcyon made her way to Hawks, who was in the middle of a conversation with some of the newer heroes at Nest. She pushed past them with no regard for their discussion, placing her hands on her hips and clearing her throat loudly. He tried to ignore her, choosing to finish his conversation but clearly she felt she didn't have time for that.

"Hawks," she said, her voice cutting through the chatter, "I need to go get my stuff, so you need to come with me."

The new heroes looked at each other, surprised by her boldness. Hawks turned to her, trying to maintain his composure. "Uh, sure, Halcyon, but can we—"

She cut him off, smirking. "Come on, Birdy. I don't want to break the rules and get a spanking, right? Unless you're into--"

Hawks' face turned bright red, his wings extending with embarrassment. "I never said I'd do anything like that!" he stammered, glancing at the newer heroes who were now barely suppressing their laughter.

Halcyon just grinned, clearly enjoying his discomfort. "Hurry up, then. We don't have all day."

With a sigh, Hawks excused himself from the group, following Halcyon out the door. As they left, he couldn't help but mutter, "You really know how to make an entrance, don't you?"

Halcyon just grinned, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I aim to please, Birdy. Now, let's get this over with."

Hawks followed Halcyon, just as he expected, to the slums. There was a long, awkward silence between them before he steeled himself. He just had to find a way to get through to her somehow. Trying to make conversation, he asked, "So, how was your stay in prison?"

She grunted, "It sucked."

"Smooth, Hawks," he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair.

He tried again after another few minutes of walking. "You know, it might help to talk about it. I—"

She stopped abruptly, turning to face him. Her head was tipped back defiantly when she hissed out, "I don't want to be friends, Birdy. Okay? I still don't like pro heroes, and I never will."

Hawks paused, trying to remain patient. "Look, I talked to Kingfisher, and I understand what happened to you—"

Halcyon quickly cut him off, her eyes flashing with anger, "You have no idea what happened to me. So butt out of my business."

Hawks sighed, his wings drooping slightly, "I'm just trying to help, Sera."

"Well, don't," she snapped, before continuing to walk, leaving Hawks to trail behind her, wondering how he was going to bridge the gap between them.

Halcyon led Hawks through the winding alleys of the slums, eventually stopping in front of what appeared to be a collapsing building. She pushed aside a heavy stack of boards with surprising ease and squeezed inside through a narrow gap. Hawks followed, having to separate his feathers from his wings temporarily to fit through the tight space.

Once inside, Hawks was surprised to see a whole setup. There was a hammock strung up in one corner, a worn-out old armchair that looked like it had seen many nights of use, and a few other mismatched chairs and even an old stained carpet. A junky, beat-up table was strewn with used medical supplies, some of which were stained with what Hawks realized was probably Halcyon's blood.

"How did you manage to hide all this as Chickadee?" Hawks asked, genuinely impressed and a bit concerned. He ran his gloved hand over some of the stains, wondering if her wounds had even healed properly.

Halcyon shrugged nonchalantly, "People aren't always as observant when you play dumb and cute. They see what they want to see."

Hawks ran a hand through his hair, his wings twitching slightly, "You've got quite the setup here. It's, uh, cozy."

Halcyon smirked, "Cozy, huh? Yeah, that's one way to put it."

Hawks took in the surroundings, noting the resourcefulness and grit it must have taken to survive in such conditions, "Well, I guess it's time to upgrade your digs. The agency will be much better. A lot more... Uh... Stable?"

Halcyon eyed him skeptically. "Better than my cozy hole in the wall? We'll see about that, Birdy."

Hawks helped Halcyon gather her few important belongings, noting a small blue feather that probably belonged to a kingfisher and a few small trinkets she quickly shoved into a box. She slung a backpack over her shoulder with her few clothes and grabbed a bottle of tequila off the floor.

"Is that everything?" Hawks asked, glancing around. His hands had found their way to his pockets, his wings tucked in close.

"Probably," Halcyon said, taking a last look around, "I don't really have all that much."

Hawks' found his gaze land back on her and he was surprised to see the sadness in her eyes. Her hand was gripped tightly on the backpack strap on her shoulder, an almost imperceptible tremble in her fingers. She tried to mask it with a nonchalant shrug, and turned to leave the building.

"We can get some help to get the furniture and stuff if it would make you more comfortable?" Hawks suggested softly, "I mean it. Whatever you need, Hal."

"Tsk," she glanced over her shoulder at him, "Don't try to make me feel better. This is your fault."

Back at Nest, she quickly left him behind and closed her door behind her. Without wanting to press the matter further, Hawks let her be for now.

"She'll warm up," he mumbled, "She just... Needs time to adjust."

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

The city streets were a blur of motion as the group of villains fled, weaving through alleys and causing chaos. Halcyon transformed into her Tiger, his long flowing white hair and white striped fur making him an impressive sight as usual. He sprinted with incredible speed, his bare feet leaving burning scars on the concrete.

Hawks flew overhead, his keen eyes tracking the villains' movements. "Halcyon, they're heading for the docks! Cut them off at the intersection!"

"No need to state the obvious, Birdy," Halcyon shot back, his voice a growl as he leapt onto a building, his claws digging into the brick for leverage. He darted through the rooftops, his speed unmatched, and dropped down into the alley ahead of the villains, blocking their path.

"Nice move, Tiger!" Hawks called out, diving from above to intercept the villains who were forced to change direction.

"Don't get cocky," Halcyon retorted, his eyes narrowing as she lunged at one of the villains, swiping with his claws and knocking him down, "You still have to keep up."

Hawks grinned, his wings flaring out as he used his feathers to pin another villain to the ground, "Keeping up? I think I'm doing just fine."

As they continued the chase, the villains split up, trying to lose their pursuers in the maze-like streets. "I'll take the left!" Hawks shouted, veering off.

"Figures you'd take the easy ones," Halcyon muttered, speeding after the right group. He caught up quickly, his agility allowing him to outmaneuver them and drive them back towards Hawks.

With a synchronized effort, Hawks and Halcyon funneled the villains into a corner, leaving them with no escape. Hawks landed gracefully beside Halcyon, his wings folding in. "Nice work. See? We make a great team."

Halcyon huffed, though a hint of a smile tugged at his lips, "Yeah, yeah. Just don't let it go to your head."

"Too late," Hawks quipped, giving her a playful nudge with his wing.

Hawks swiftly pinned down the remaining villains with his feathers, immobilizing them with precision. As the chaos settled, Halcyon transformed back into her normal self, her Tiger form giving way to her human appearance. She adjusted her simple white stretchy leotard, which she'd chosen for its practicality during transformations, but its minimal coverage left her looking oddly nude in a way.

Hawks couldn't help but glance at her as she moved to lean against the wall, her curves drawing his eyes despite his best efforts to stay professional. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his focus on the task at hand, "Good job, Halcyon. We got them all."

Halcyon rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of satisfaction in her expression, "Yeah, yeah. Just doing my job."

As they waited for the police to arrive, Hawks found himself stealing glances at her, struggling to keep his mind on their victory. Halcyon caught him looking and raised an eyebrow, "What? Never seen a leotard before?"

Hawks chuckled nervously, his wings twitching. "Just making sure you're okay. You were pretty impressive out there," he said, looking at his phone for a beat.

Halcyon smirked, crossing her arms, "Impressive? From you, that's almost a compliment."

Hawks grinned, trying to play it cool, "Take it as one. We made a good team today."

The sound of approaching sirens broke the moment, and Hawks turned his attention back to the captured villains, "Looks like they're here."

Halcyon stood up, stretching her arms as she meandered towards the corner of the building and glanced down the alley. She pointed down the way then asked, "Mind if I go grab a snack or something?"

Hawks nodded, "Nah, go ahead. I'll take care of this part."

As the police arrived, Halcyon glanced at Hawks, a hint of discomfort in her eyes, "You handle this."

Hawks nodded, understanding her unease, "Sure thing. Take your time."

As she walked away, Hawks shivered slightly at a chill in the air, wondering if Halcyon was warm enough in her minimal leotard. It would be winter soon and he was really hoping she had something in mind that wouldn't be so... revealing. He focused on the task at hand, helping the police secure and arrest the villains. He explained the situation, detailing their pursuit and capture.

Once the police had everything under control, Hawks took a moment to compose himself before heading to the convenience store to find Halcyon. He spotted her near the snack aisle, casually browsing through the options.

"Find anything good?" Hawks asked, his wings giving a little twitch as he approached.

Halcyon looked up, holding a bag of chips and a soda. "Yeah. Everything go smoothly with the cops?"

Hawks nodded, "Yeah, all taken care of. Thanks for letting me handle that part."

She shrugged, opening the bag of chips, "Whatever. Just figured you'd be better at talking to them."

Hawks smiled, "No problem. Ready to get back on the route?"

Halcyon nodded, munching on her snack as they walked back onto the street. Despite the chilly air, she seemed unbothered, her tough exterior holding strong.

"So like," he dared to ask, "Do you have a... Coat or something for your winter costume or...?"

"Pfft," she scoffed, "No. I'll just stay as Tiger or Phoenix."

"Can you just do that indefinitely?" Hawks asked curiously, "You don't have a limit?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," Halcyon scoffed.

"How is that a stupid question?" Hawks rolled his eyes, "You won't tell me the details of your quirk so I gotta figure it out somehow."

"Why does it matter? You know what I can do. Isn't that enough?" she asked, dumping the crumbs into her mouth.

"It would be helpful," Hawks sighed, "It would be a lot easier to make plans if I knew--"

"Just don't make plans then," Halcyon chuckled, "It's easier not to think too much about it."

Hawks watched her crunch up the empty chip bag, tossing it into a nearby trashcan. She was obstinate and frustrating, but at least they worked well together. He couldn't ask for more than that.

He never thought he'd be wishing for this time back.

⤶ Prev Main Next ↪

[septusuki]

"Senpai," Yumeoji Shiori's pyjamas were so, so tight. The little button-up she wore on her top-half resembled a misfortunate, mismatched pillowcase. Puffed up with fat, so much so that the waistline's stitching was starting to tear. Shiori herself was an obese pillow, and anything she wore was simply forced to accommodate all that mass. Between each button was an entire pinchful of tummy, bulging up between the little white spots like baking bread. Between the unfortunate end of her top, and the desperate start of her trousers was an invincible, absolute territory of butter, poking through between the gap with enough force to blow anyone's mind — to say nothing of her actual outfit. "Senpai, do you think I'm... Getting fat?" Shiori mewled, plapping pathetically at the outwardly swelling fat she had packed under her skin, as if she could just push it back in.

Yachiyo had her own weight problem, of course, but for now, her biggest issue was how she just couldn't take her eyes off of Shiori. Whilst Tsuruhime Yachiyo had her own donut of dough coalescing on top of her hips, Shiori had blossomed into an entire dumpling of the stuff. "Well, you've heard of relationship weight, right?" Yachiyo teased, crossing her legs as she relaxed on Shiori's bed, trying not to make her belly-fat too rucked and rolled up. "We've been going on so many dates, I guess it's buttered you up!" The chubby senpai chuckled, her eyes still locked in on Shiori's exposed belly-button.

"So..." Shiori pouted, letting her hands roam down to the bottom of her belly. Her top was so stretched that it was creased in the middle, were the structing was entirely blown apart by belly-fat. Above the crease was Shiori's actual gut; a hardworking, heaving furnace of fat — and below, was nought but it's runoff; a blob of dough, sloshing and hanging over Shiori's hips like a bag, full of evidence of her own gluttony. "So you do think I'm fat!" She squeaked, her fingers reaching the base of her belly and holding the huge hang she found there. Her belly had only started hanging a few weeks ago, after Shiori had awoken from a 'nightmare' — that'd mostly revolved around food. Shiori had jolted up in the middle of the night, and gotten out of bed for a drink of water. When she'd stood, though, Shiori had found herself in an all new nightmare. One of her own making, where her tummy sloughed off of her hips and drooped over the front of her panties.

"It's not like you can hide it, Shiori-chan!" Yachiyo teased, flicking one of the crisps she was snacking on at her girlfriend. It slapped against the girl's chest, and dropped to the floor. "You might aswell own it, right?" Swallowing her own arousal, Yachiyo fought the urge to do that again. The little jiggle of Shiori's cranium-sized boobs had been irresistable; those things were so large that Shiori couldn't button her top up above the third button down. Wide, and flabby enough to droop in every direction, it was a miracle she'd found a sports-bra stretchy enough to try to contain them. "Before I catch up!" Throwing her own embarassment to the wayside, Yachiyo grabbed as much of her belly as she could, and gave it a generous wobbling. Still, nowhere near as big as Shiori's ocean of fat, but big enough to call herself chubby. Fluffy. Fatso.

Shiori thought for a moment, mulling over the choices available to her, and her fat body. Hefting her heaviness again, her hands pressed into the fabric of her tight trousers, Shiori made her decision. She couldn't hide it. "I—I can't hide it, can I?" There was no hope for her. Her relationship with her senpai had turned her into this fat cow, and now there was absolutely no hiding it. No hiding the fact that she was a glutton for sweets, and for love. No hiding the fact that she was strapped into a rollercoaster — one that only ended in one way; in utter immobility. "I'm fat!" Shiori said to herself, letting her belly sag as her hands moved, slowly, around the incredible circumference of her hips. So round, and still overflowing. "I'm—ulk—I'm obese!" Shivering with shame, now, Shiori decided there was only one thing left to do; stop sucking it all in.

"Yeah, you're a wha—!" Yachiyo was about to gladly join Shiori in her verbal abuse of herself. Instead, she was pelted in the face by a button. Two buttons. "Huh?!" Yachiyo spluttered as she recovered, watching in adoration as Shiori just expanded in front of her face. The few inches of fat between Shiori's top and bottom swelled, rolling outwards until it almost fell out of her pants. For just a second, Yachiyo could've sworn she'd seen those tight elastic panties, and almost burst a vein from the mere suggestion of it. "You..." She gasped, her voice almost a whisper as the true size of Yumeoji Shiori was exposed to her. Ninety kilos of fat kouhai, and only getting fatter. "You are a whale..." It wasn't her proudest moment, but Yachiyo couldn't help it; she'd already begun drooling.

[aspiring-holistic-otaku]

Season 2 Ramble#7 - All About Art

As the title suggests and as you probably guessed, this month's episode is all about art. I'm talking dancing, singing, modeling, drawing, whatever. You name it and surprisingly enough there's probably a manga for it. You can listen in with the link above or check the link in my bio for your preferred platform 🥂

Given the ever growing forms of art, its heavily subjective nature + my very limited perception and so on, I invite my friend Jen onto the show so I don't pigeonhole you all into my views and preferences via my reads.

So how this episode goes down is that the first segment is the usual listicle type beat, alternating between me and Jen, with the usual split of stuff read this month and stuff read before but since it's the two of us I thought I'd save y'all the long talking and have us only give details on the top 1s and kinda just summarize the other stuff we mention. Then for the second segment we'll have a little back and forth interview type beat in place of the usual rambles and then some outtakes from our test calls leading up to the episode to wrap up the whole thing.

Things read this month:

Top 1(me)

Shiori Experience(story & art by Yuuko Osada, ongoing with 66 chapters)

The main premise is that plain Jane highschool teacher Shiori, gets her life flip twisted upside down, when one day she's possessed by the ghost of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Pretty sweet deal tbh, especially if you're a music fan, which she is, but ofc there's a catch. If she doesn't become a legend before 27 she dies.

Great cast, pretty solid story and the two intersect really well as the main plot is driven by her trying to scrounge up and then develop a band. So it's been pretty balanced so far in that as different members join we get to see them develop individually as well together as a band. Pretty solid story as I said, it draws a pretty good range of emotions out of you but what pushed it to number 1 was definitely the phenomenal art, specifically their illustration of sound. Going from a gentle wave, to an explosive eruption it's really cool to see the different sounds of different bands or even the different songs of the same band. Cannot recommend this manga enough, it truly is an amazing experience.

Two Honourable Mentions:

Blue Giant

Basically this kid wants to be the greatest jazz player in the world, he plays a mean sax and you can maybe kinda think of it as equal but opposite to the movie whiplash. As in yh they both have dudes trying to do the virtually impossible, both facing their fair share of hardships and so on but blue giant just has this super contagious uplifting vibe, especially the main character dai. he's a real one fr.

Smile Down The Runway

This is about fashion and the story revolves around 2 folks, chiyuki a model that's too short and ikuto, a designer that's too broke. Both have dreams of one day making it to the Paris fashion week runway (which starts next month irl btw). Read this pretty late in the month but it was so good I pretty much just blazed through it. Won't say much but the art was amazing and the designs were actually flames.

a manga that was surprisingly good:

Wandance

As the name suggests it's about dancing, largely of the hip hop based variety, they make a lot of cool references to modern artists from dj cream to Freddy Gibbs to Kendrick and basically it's about a dude who finds it hard to speak finding joy in being able to express himself through dance. On that note I gotta mention this month apparently makes 50 years of hip hop, shout out the genre and its offshoots fr but let the record show it all started right here in Jamaica. (It was surprising because for me the art style reminded me of a ton of manga I just didn't like)

a manga I didn't get to but looks cool:

Paradise Kiss

Another fashion manga and that's all I can say

[unfortunately Jen had a lot of emergencies at work and didn't type up anything so I had to just summarize her stuff but you can listen in to hear what she had to say in detail]

Top 1(Jen) - Blue period

Two Honourable Mentions - Sounds of life and PPPPPP

Things read before this month:

Top 1(me)

Blue Period (story & art by tsubasa yamaguchi, ongoing with 61 chapters out in English)

Highschool delinquent yatora makes the last minute and arguably terrible career choice to become an artist. can't fight him though as clinging to a long life unable to be authentic to yourself reeks of misery. In any case the story so far follows him from high school to college, and we take a pretty indepth look at art, what it is and what it means to be good at it. Pretty bold move of the author to be honest.

Also want to mention the author has a self titled 4 chapter collection of short stories that you can check out as well, literally just found out and read earlier today, pretty neat read

Two Honourable Mentions:

Bakuman

Spoke on this last episode so I won't say much but it's a manga about making manga and it was the top one of its section last month

Akane Banashi

Something that was an honourable mention last month, really really good and would have been top 1 in its section of not for bakuman. It's about a traditional Japanese art called rakugo which is basically a one man play, because it's in the honourable mention slot I don't speak much on it but honestly really really really good

[Jen hadn't really read much art stuff before this month but she did mention Barakamon and Rakugo Shinjuu ]

Thanks for listening/reading so far and you can listen in for the little interview and outtakes 🍻