#they both join the third division at the same time

[guardianlioness]

Watching Kafka and Reno’s interactions at the beginning of the Kaiju No.8 anime hits differently after catching up with the manga.

Reno protesting Kafka’s carelessness with his Kaiju form is a fun gag early on in the story, and his decision to stick with Kafka during the exam is endearing—but it’s amplified and almost sad in retrospect.

Manga spoilers from chapter 101 onward below the cut.

We learn in Ch. 101 that Reno has suffered a huge amount of loss in his life.

He lost his parents and brother. He lost the familiarity and daily routine of attending his existing school. He lost emotional security, witnessing his grandmother’s struggle with their mutual grief. He lost faith in the idea that someone might help.

Only for Kafka to trip headlong into correcting that belief.

Despite Reno’s disrespect, Kafka fully embodies his senpai title by teaching him the tricks of the trade. He looks out for and helps him without hesitation, and he brushes off any jabs or insults with a quick, internal wince.

And then Kafka absolutely shatters his core beliefs by shoving him out of a Kaiju’s path.

This guy—a guy Reno barely knows, a guy that he insulted seconds into their first meeting—is willing to die for him without hesitation.

Is it any surprise that Reno really would rather not lose him?

All of those reminders and all of that fussing is to keep Reno’s only hero from being scrapped for literal parts.

For the first time since the death of his family, someone steps between Reno and tragedy. Of course he’s going to do everything in his power to keep that savior alive.

[adventuringblind]

Don't leave me

Max Verstappen x reader, platonic Oscar piastri/Lando norris/ Charles Leclerc x reader

Genre: angst

Request: Yes, and I'm litterally in love with this piece

Summary: they are basically her brothers. They would do anything for each other. Max, even more so after realizing he loves her. He'd take a bullet for her if it meant keeping her safe. Too bad she beats him to it.

Warnings: graphic description of injuries and gunshot wounds. Blood, panic, live shooter.

Notes: written in third person

Masterlist

It's funny in this sport how friendships work. Your closest bonds are with your rivals. You grow up together racing if your trying to get noticed.

That's how the five of you were able to get close. Charles and Max met early on. They're pratically the same age, only a month separating them. She met them at several races, and things with them just stuck. Lando and her are the closest in age, meaning they were often in the same division for Karting. He, however, was able to get his spot in formula 1 faster than her. Leaving her in formula two for a year longer until she could join the three boys at the top. Oscar was a mystery. It helped that she and him were teammates for a season in formula 2. They got close during that time.

Now they are all together in Formula 1. Racing side by side. Making bets about who will win each race. Though nobody bets now because it's always Max. His domination insane so far this season.

They had created their own little dysfunctional family. She kept the boys in line, and they were definitely willing to fight anyone who touches her.

Max was a wildcard. She crushed on him growing up and never expected he would like her back. He had tired just confessing to her with words. His attempt went sideways quickly. Then he'd kissed her. After their last race of her rookie season.

He wasn't expecting her to kiss back and was pleasantly surprised when she did.

Both Charles and Lando were not surprised. However, they still sat him down like overprotective fathers and lectured him about how they wanted him to treat her properly.

And he has. It's been wonderful.

Oscar joining your small family this year added to the fun. Him and Lando get on well and the other three are just glad his calm aura can get the Brit to tone down if need be.

Max is now a two-time world champion and well on his way to a third. She couldn't be prouder of him, and the rest of her boys for that matter.

This race specifically, she's charing the podium with them. Max first, Lando with a shocking second, and her ending in third.

Charles owes her dinner now. He didn't think the McLaren upgrades would be so drastic.

The trophies are now being handed out. hers first. She lifts it up and smiles at the crowd.

She notices something odd, though. Some of the crowd is ducking and running away from the podium. Specifically from someone clad in black with a firearm aimed at Max.

Her body reacts quicker than she can think her actions through. Her legs are scaling the podium, throwing her body in front of Max to get him out of the way.

The shot rings out as they tumble to the ground together. A mess of limbs on the top step. She spots Lando dropping to the floor at the noise, and for a minute, she thinks it was him who was hit.

Her ears are ringing, and her breath is heavy. The faint sounds of yelling can be heard in the background. Max is saying something to her that she can't make out. Her only concern being that he's okay.

Questions about his safety and eyes scanning over his body to assess the damage. A brief moment of relief settles over her as she sees nothing wrong with him.

Max looks concerned, though. He's saying things to her she can't hear. Lando is next to him in seconds.

Then, the burning registers. Max's hands pull away from the side of her chest, and they are covered in glossy crimson. Coughs wrack through her. Uncontrollable and painful. The taste of copper filling in over her tongue.

Max is trying to keep her awake. He's begging her to keep her eyes open. Lando is shoving his hands over the wound. She can see tears running down his cheeks.

"I'm glad you're okay." Are the last words she manages before the pain gets too much. Black spots dance across her vision. She tries her best to focus on Max. Her lovers eyes refusing to leave hers.

She slips away into the blissful, pain-free feeling of unconsciousness.

~

Max is screaming in Dutch now. The crowd running away or being escorted out beneath him. Lando is next to putting pressure over the gaping hole in her chest.

The shot was meant for him.

He tries not to think about it as he attempts to keep himself grounded and his lover coherent.

Charles and Oscar are working to fight their way up to them. Their team and security held them back and haul them away to somewhere safe. Max can perfectly make out their shouts of protest.

Lando is next to try and get him off the bleeding female. Paramedics are now here to do their job, but he can't let go. Lando is forcing him his hands away, his hands keeping Max firmly placed on the ground as they haul her away.

He's screaming now. Both boys are covered in blood that isn't their own.

Oscar and Charles are finally freed and they are sprinting to the podium. The two arrivals attempting to console their friends.

~

The wait in the hospital is long and anxiety ridden. Max can feel the guilt eating him alive.

Him and Lando have long since cleaned their hands. The nurses let them wash themselves when they got to the hospital.

Charles has been attempting to console max. Reminding him that it isn't his fault and that she'll pull through. Their girl is a fighter.

Oscar has been attempting the same for his teammate. The Brit having gotten sick from the image replaying in his head.

It's hours until they are allowed to see her.

Even then it’s not much help. She’s breathing, but she’s not awake.

Max stays with her for days before Charles finally convinces him to go shower and eat a proper meal. Promising to watch her for him and let him know if anything changes.

He's grateful for Charles and is greatfull for the McLaren boys who have been dealing with the press.

He feels refreshed when he comes back, but the guilt is still there. It should be him lying in her place. It should have been him moving her out of the way.

It's the way Charles is trying to get his attention as he sits there crying. The Monegasque tapping his shoulder repeatedly. Yet Max can't bring himself to look at him.

It's been weeks now. The FIA had just announced they'd be racing again next weekend. The security is apparently being much better now. He resents them for not having sorted it out earlier and allowing someone with a gun into the race.

Charles is tapping more furiously now. His hand is now gripping Max's shoulder. Frustration boils up inside of him. He snaps his head towards the Ferrari driver but is met with your open eyes when he does so.

"I'm going to get a doctor." Whispers Charles.

The girl in the bed is disoriented but still trying to say his name. He can see the pain in her eyes. She is trying to hide it and put on a brave face, but it's obvious to him.

Max doesn't hold his tears back any longer. He sobs as he places gentle kisses to her knuckles. "I thought I lost you." He chokes.

The face that she can smile right now is a testament to her strength. She's being strong for him, and he knows it.

She moves closer to him despite the pain and wipes his tears away. "No need to cry, you're not losing me so easily."

[forwntrx]

GIRLS LIKE GIRLS ┊͙˚. 13. THE JEALOUS TYPE

𑁍┊how i met you (written flashback)

sweat stuck to your forehead. the higher ups of sm entertainment judged you with sharp, razor focused eyes. they looked at your curves. your thighs. they noted your attitude. your flow. your stability. they only wanted the best of the best.

out of the six in the room, you knew you had a spot on this team.

it wasn’t arrogance. you just knew. you heard it in the upper offices, in overheard meetings with shareholders, this girl group was made for you.

it was just a matter of keeping up with their word—proving yourself over and over, so they’d never have a doubt in your mind. that you wanted this. and you did. more than you had ever wanted to breathe, eat, or drink anything.

the song came to an end. the six of you are in the final poses. you turned around to the representatives at the back of the room. white nametags stuck to your clothes with a number.

you’re number one. the representatives call you out by name. you come forward, and this time they will give you a one word response. pass or fail.

this was the final cut. the final decision on who would be in the group and who wouldn’t.

you’re called first. they looked at you for what could be the final time. they’ve studied you for years.

each one of them nodded their head. internally, you breathed out in relief. not because you thought you wouldn’t make it, but because now you could live without constantly looking over your shoulder. you moved to the other side of the room. who would be next?

the other girls’ in the room, some of them you’ve known for a long time, looked terrified. you held your fingers together, wishing for good results for jimin and yizhuo. luckily, jimin is called second and yizhuo third. the rest of the girls looked ready to vomit, except for one. it’s like the more time went on, the calmer she got. and then you saw why.

you had barely talked to her. she had joined the same time as jimin and yizhuo. they were both her friends. you thought at first she had hated you based on the way she avoided you. but jimin assured you that she was just shy.

but this was not shy behavior. she was confident, assured, even more so as her name was said.

“kim minjeong. pass.”

jimin and yizhuo cheered. the two girls left broke out into tears. you felt the sting. one of the representatives lifted up, and rubbed both of their shoulders.

good luck next time, the representative said.

the four of you bow to them and it finally set in. you were teammates now. no longer did you have to compete and compare.

now, you could be real friends.

jimin offered to treat for the meal out in celebration. you shared millions of laughs and hugs. but still, your eyes only gloss over minjeongs (you hope you are remembering her name correctly). you have no idea what to do—or what to talk about?

how come you always knew what to say except for right now? jimin and yizhou seem to notice the division between you two. as you both finish up eating, yizhou offered to head for ice cream, being the youngest she nominated you to buy. you rolled your eyes before agreeing.

“whoever’s there last is a rotten egg!!” yizhou winked to you, before grabbing jimin and running down the street.

you knew what she was doing; you weren’t gonna run after them, and it seemed like minjeong wasn’t doing that shit either.

you both laugh together for a moment, because yizhou is unbelievable. but then the laughter ended.

there’s an awkward silence that settles between you two. you can feel her eyes on you for a moment. then, you look at her—properly that is. she didn’t wear much makeup, if any at all. her hair is long, and shiny, and her face is oddly..cute? that’s the only way you describe it. you wanted to hug her until she got tired of you and threw you off.

you really wanted to be her friend.

so you smiled at her. “i’m yn. you’re minjeong right?”

minjeong smiled back, then nodded. “that’s me. i think i’ve met you somewhere, no?”

you hum and tap your chin like your in deep thought. “maybe in a mall somewhere?”

“i thought i saw you at that one spa?” minjeong asked with a furrowed eyebrow. there’s a certain glimmer in her eye. like she saw something in you that you didn’t understand.

you will see it more and more over the years.

you both fell into laughter. you shook your head and pointed to the ice cream shop only a bit away.

“how about we race and see who gets there first?”

she rolled her eyes. “i’m winning.”

you grinned. “wanna bet?”

years later, she’d turn into your best friend. aeri would join the group after this. aespa, the name of your group, would debut and soon become something more than just friends.

𑁍┊i’ve waited years

you were tolerating the situation. just one more day. then things would go back to normal. that’s what you kept telling yourself.

the van felt tighter somehow. even though minjeong was right next to you, you two couldn’t be more far apart.

schedules felt long and boring without you two laughing and giggling the whole time. your fingers were cold. your lips were blue. your heart was angry. it was barely december and seoul’s weather still had your teeth helplessly chattering, fingers shaking inside the pockets of your fur jacket. you want to hold her hands, they were always warm like baskets of oven-baked bread, but she was so cold now.

you were good at pretending for others, but you had little luck when it came to minjeong. it’s hard to act like you don’t feel her eyes on you.

her glare never eased up.

it was at practice when you messed up a dance move. at interviews when you laughed and smiled. at schedules when you greeted other groups. at twelve hour flights fresh out the airport.

she wouldn’t say anything. wouldn’t even open her mouth to let you know what was going on. she would just blink and look at you with those big pretty eyes of hers.

you hated the way she frowned when you spoke. you wanted her to smile. somehow, you made her feel this way, and you had no idea how.

you tried to touch her, hold onto her, hold onto some part of her she had now locked away from you; and become confused when she just..pushes you away. like you meant nothing.

you kept trying. everytime, she’d brush you off with a timid, half-assed laugh.

at first it hurt.

then it started to annoy the shit out of you. it was breaking you. there was only so much you could take.

now, it’s the second week of schedules. as of today, minjeong has ignored you for a solid five days. you asked jimin about it, and she just shook her head. then, you asked ning ning. she wore that guilty look on her face like she knew.

last, you went to aeri. they all knew what was going on, but no one wanted to be the one to break the truth. aeri is the only one who’ll tell you a little portion of it.

she’s mad, she told you. yeah, you already knew that. so you asked why. she shrugged, and said, when isn’t she? and you rolled your eyes.

you finally understood at a particularly late practice. in three weeks time, your group would be releasing a single for sm station. a remake of a popular girl group song. you liked your parts. you and minjeong went toe-for-toe with drawn-out high notes, and she sounded beautiful.

the legendary boa was mentoring you all, making sure everything being worked on was crisp, pristine, and neat. you’ve been worked this hard before, but that didn’t make it less tiring.

you knew the dance well. you had picked it up the fastest. five minutes. but that didn’t mean you were a robot. in the middle of the song, you collapse. the whole room rumbled in annoyance.

you breathed hardly, and made something of an apology. aeri instantly dropped to your side and rubbed your back.

“don’t worry about it, yn. you’ve been going hard this whole time. calm down,” she smiled, trying to make the tense air lighter.

though no one said anything about it, everyone was tired and wanted to go home. your inability to keep going was only making things worse. you wish you could pull it together, but the pain in your abs from hours and hours of hardwork begged you to rest.

beside you, minjeong whispered. “how many times are you gonna mess up the same part?” you almost snapped. it took everything in you to close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

not in front of boa. not right now. you opened your eyes and glared up at her. she looked away in surprise. yeah, i definitely heard you.

“all right,” boa said, her eyes flickering from you to minjeong in confusion. “someone get her some water, and we’ll go over this tomorrow i think. i’m gettin’ a little tired. yn?”

everyone let out a little noise in relief. ten hours of practice, and now, they were granted with a couple hours of sleep.

you looked up to boa. “i’m sorry. i don’t know what’s up with me today.”

boa shook her head. “you’re fine. you’re a phenomenal dancer. one of the best i’ve met. that’s not what i want you to worry about.”

jimin ran to grab you some water and once she had your bottle, kneeled beside you and carefully held the drink to your lips. you gulp it down in five seconds. she pulled it away from your lips and nodded. aeri, still beside you, continued to rub your back supportively. though everyone was tired, they still would always make sure you were good. minjeong, even with how things were with you two, was looking down at you worriedly.

“you okay?” she asked. “i’m sorry for my comment. i let my tiredness get the best of me.”

you wiped away the excess water from the corner of your lips. “it’s whatever.” you’re cold. she winced. yeah, you can do it too.

boa made a face at your communication. you can tell by her face what she’ll say next. you want to wince next. fuck.

“i can tell you both know it well, but yn, i want you to work with minjeong for a short while on the part you two have together. there seems to be a little bit of tension here. for it to have the best look, you have to work together.”

easier said than done.

the others waste little to no time on getting out the room. your manager peaked his head inside, said he’d back for you two later, and ushered the others out the building. you groaned as the door shut behind him. now there was no telling when he’d be back. ‘a short while’ could be another two hours.

you weren’t fond of picking up others messes. to you, this was a mess that wasn’t your responsibility to fix. minjeong was mad. okay? you had already asked her five million times what was wrong. it was her choice to sit there, mope, and glare at you instead of helping you fix the issue.

jimin is the last to leave the room. she gave you both a look and whispered to you. fix it. why was it always your responsibility?

you loved minjeong. you did. but you weren’t doing shit until she said something.

the practice room is eerily quiet. you noticed her small movements. she walked across the sleek wood, rummaged through her bag, drunk some water, closed the cap, and took her position at the mirror. you turn to look at her, head to toe—messy hair, grey sweatpants, loose grey t-shirt, bare face. you loved her like this. she looked so new. not like winter, but like minjeong.

you wished she would look back at you.

instead, she spoke.

“let’s just do the part so we can go home and sleep.” she said.

“yeah, sure.” you slowly nodded your head. you hated the way her words lingered in the air. you lean forward to a long table on the left side of the mirrors. there’s some cds on the table and a music player. you press down on the familiar track, and quickly get into position before it began. an electronic beat entered your ears. you count down.

jimin opened the song, then ning ning, then you.

you mumbled the lyrics, expertly and skillfully dancing on the beat. minjeong followed after you with small little moves, only going all out when her parts come on. her voice is strong, powerful, and feminine. she had gotten her lines down in two takes. if there was one thing minjeong could do, it was sing her ass off.

you tried your hardest to just focus on your own body in the mirror, how it moves and flows from years of practice and natural talent. but minjeong is distracting. there’s something about her dancing. it’s not unique or jaw-breaking. but it’s sharp, and steady, and focused. she knew what she was doing. she loved what she was doing.

you missed your part. you blinked. fuck. she was distracting. you quickly tried to match up your footwork with hers but you’re a beat behind. minjeong let out an exasperated sigh.

she paused the song and quickly spun around to you with arms folded against her chest. “what’s up with you?”

you have to stop yourself from screaming. why is she making this your fault? why is she acting like YOU did this?

“what’s up with me? what’s up with you!” you didn’t know why your voice was so loud. it’s been years since you’ve spoken like this to her. you didn’t raise your voice much, it wasn’t in your personality but you couldn’t help it. minjeong pushed your buttons and now she took it too far.

“what?” she asked, playing dumb.

“don’t WHAT me! you’ve been avoiding me for days. in real life, in texts, at work! it’s exhausting!”

her eyes narrowed and her bottom lip quivered with anger. you both took steps. breaking the gap between you two. you got the closest you have gotten in days. you could smell her easily. sweat, amber, and vanilla. you could almost taste her.

“i’m exhausting?” she asked, her voice growing louder.

“you know that’s not what i meant!” you’re almost yelling. she is too.

“sure it is! you’ve stopped making time for me!started hanging out with other people! stopped texting when you go out! what am i suppose to think, yn?”

you laughed in a slightly condescending way. she recoiled. “i’m not your girlfriend, minjeong! i don’t need to constantly update you on my whereabouts!”

her face flashed with hurt, before it quickly went away. “you disappeared, yn! you can’t do that. you could’ve been hurt, or dead, or something—i don’t know! you don’t just abandon your friends!”

you stared at her for a moment. she’s talking about after the show. when you snuck off with yunjin. she’s still upset over it.

both of you are breathing hard. her chest rose and fell. the room was quiet. you hyper-focus on the sound of fast cars zooming through seoul, the energetic chatter of people on the streets, the sizzling pans of street vendors. the faint violin strings from another practice room. she surveyed your face, searching for any type of an answer.

“you sound jealous of yunjin.” you said. it made perfect sense. you had friends, but none of them were as important to you as minjeong. she never had to deal with competition before.

how she saw it, yunjin was competition. you didn’t see it the same way. you could admit you had messed up in this situation, as everyone was saying. but you can tell that’s not the only thing she’s upset over. minjeong won’t admit it, but you knew it was yunjin.

minjeong is shocked. she shook her head. “i’m not!” she yelled again.

“yunjin is my friend, you’re my friend!” now you’re yelling again. minjeong is quick to cut you off.

“please,” she’s exasperated. she’s close. your eyes widened, but you don’t take a step back, “don’t lie to me. i know you.”

you paused. you didn’t think of it much—the possibility of your feelings for yunjin. you liked her company, you thought she was cute. maybe pretty. no, honestly, she was beautiful. but feelings? that was something big, that was something too tangible for someone like you. that was real. you didn’t do real. not like that.

you loved your career. your band mates. your fans. your friends. you didn’t have room in your life for a relationship. for something so new.

“i don’t have feelings for yunjin!” do you mean it? you don’t know. this is all new. and it might be real.

minjeong wanted to believe you did. “yn—“

this time, you cut her off. “be honest with me! for once, minjeong. tell me the truth.”

you’re high off the tension, off the senseless anger. you closed the space, whatever is left, between you two. her eyes widened next and for some reason, they flicker down and then back up to your eyes. what?

she swallowed. it’s quiet again. she couldn’t deflect now.

“if it’s not yunjin, then i’m seriously confused. i just want to fix things, okay—” you tried to continue, but minjeong groaned.

“fuck it.” minjeong’s fingers grabbed onto your waist, jutting you forward. you gasped.

she scrambled your brain into soup. your skin felt like it was on fire. your eyes fell onto her lips. they’re so pink. you’ve never seen them this close—her breath fanned against your lips—this barely made sense. you can’t form a sentence, or even think, because none of this made sense.

“m..minjeong..” you are able to whisper out.

minjeong is in another world. she’s usually shy, non-confrontational, always in her own head, but now she’s present. here with you.

“would you be surprised if i told you i’ve wanted to kiss you since i met you?”

you’re lightheaded. what? you tried to make a sentence, but it just came out in a gibberish mess. she laughed a little.

“you’re always so cute when you’re confused.”

you want to say something, anything, but then she asked you a question.

“can i kiss you?”

and you swear you can hear your heartbeat in your ears. this is real. too real. and you should say no, but she’s too pretty like this—and something deep inside of you wanted this—and then you’re nodding your head—but then she’s talking again.

“i need to hear you say it.”

you knew that a kiss would change everything—your relationship would never be the same—are you ready for that? are you ready for this? but then her lips parted slightly, and you lost all train of thought, and for some reason you’re whispering—“kiss me,” so gently you thought she didn’t hear you.

but she did. she’s just taking it in. like she had been waiting for this. you realize that she had. and then her lips were pressing onto yours.

her fingers cupped your cheek, and you leaned into the touch. her scent of amber and vanilla is overpowering you, but you couldn’t get enough.

the kiss was careful, scared—and you start to panic—you’ve never done this before, with minjeong and—you thought of yunjin.

no. no. no. you pulled away before you could overthink even more.

minjeong realized instantly that second. you regretted it. her cheeks’ fled red. “i’m sorry, yn. so sorry. i—i’m sorry.”

you hated the way she hid from you. you wanted to tell her, you don’t regret her. it. but you don’t know what you’re feeling right now. but still, you reach out to her, but she’s already running from you.

running from her emotions, again. running from communication, again.

“wait, minjeong—”

but she’s already gone, and the door of the practice room slammed after her.

you stood alone. confused. you took the ride back to the dorms by yourself.

yunjin called you later that night.

you declined it.

𑁍┊masterlist －previous — next

and that’s act one

i enjoyed this throughouly

don’t worry yunyn agenda you will have a comeback!!! ;)

𑁍┊ a/n: i’m sorry, i’m really putting y’all through it 😭😭😭

𑁍┊ taglist: open :) @runawaymazola @wintersgff @winieter @luvjanexx @justme-idle @sewiouslyz @lcv3lies @yerisdumbass @nasyu-kookies @kchwnsgf @jeindall777 @dr-wholehearted @thoughtfulqueenlady @yunalvrrr @juhyunsthirdwife @haerinfangs @awkwardtoafault @idk-idc-rn @unforgiven-000-hotline @dream-chasers-things @pandafuriosa60 @1r3n31ty

[kyokutsu-sama]

Request-How would be if shunsui notice a quiet reader who also helped GOTEI 13 in their battles and decide to talk to her.

Shunsui x quiet reader|Fluff

____________________________________________

You never thought your life could change overnight since you found out who you really are. A shinigami. Your personality ended up changing a little and you became more closed off and isolated. You met the soul society that received you with respect. You could never imagine that such a place existed, a place beyond the death. You met the captains of Gotei 13 and had great respect and admiration for them. You weren't in a special division yet but although you didn't belong to any divisions, you used to stay in Soul Society most of the time.

One day you were walking through the streets of Seireitei and you heard someone calling your name and you looked back to see who it was. It was Kyoraku Shunsui, captain of the 8th division. He came over to talk to you.

"Kyoraku-taichou, can I help you?"

"I just wanted to talk to you for a bit, if you don't mind"

"No, no problem, I'll listen to you sir"

"Thanks"

He accompanied you on the way and talked with you.

"Y/n-chan, I noticed that you are very quiet and have almost no friends and I thought it would be a good idea to keep you company so you don't feel so alone"

"But I'm fine captain, don't worry about me"- you said giving him a slight smile

"I'm glad to hear you're okay, but tell me something. Do you have any family or friends in the human world?"

"No" - you said looking down

"I see. So, why don't you think about starting to bond with us a little more? The society of souls is not just about receiving souls or killing enemies that try to harm us, we also have feelings and we have friends, we are a family . We all need a family to hug or a good friend to have fun with and you deserve a friend"

You felt your heart clench at those words, even after losing everything you still had a "family", the society of souls. You had wonderful people, like Shunsui, available to help you whenever you needed it.

"Thanks captain, you really helped me feeling better.

"We all need a friendly word and I have to tell you that I found you an interesting girl with fantastic combat skills"

"Thanks for the compliment"

He smiled and then hugged you. You were a little confused by the act and even your face turned extremely red, you had been a bit embarrassed but ended up also putting your arms around him to hug him. You thought maybe it might be bold of you but you let that pass.

"Do you want to come have a sake with me?"- He asked pulling away from the hug

"But captain, I don't like sake"

"If you don't like it, it's because you've never tasted quality sake"

"Then show me a quality Sake"- You said smiling at him

"Come with me to meet my division" - He reached out his hand to take yours

You grabbed his hand he took you there.You two spent the whole afternoon together tasting the sake he had given you. At first you thought it was a little bad but then you started drinking with him while you laughed at each other

"Here you are" - said Jushiro entering the room

"My great friend Jushiro, I'm glad you showed up, come join us" - Said Shunsui offering his best friend a drink.

"Hi Y/n, how are you?"- He asked when he saw you

"Im fine"

You felt a little strange being in the presence of the two oldest captains in the gotei 13 but at the same time you felt welcomed and special and they also enjoyed your company. You helped them a lot too so that was a way to return the favor. Jushiro was Shunsui's best friend since their academy days and they were trained by Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Hours passed and you were still there listening to the stories of both. Jushiro had already left and now it's just you and Shunsui who were already at the end of the third bottle of Sake.

"Feeling better Y/n?"

"Yes. After all, you were right about the Sake. This one is good."

"I told you so"- He said laughing.

"Now that I'm here with you and after the moments I've lived here in Seireitei, I'm starting to see who I really want by my side and who my real family is. I know that I'm very closed and I seem cold but I also recognize who makes me well and thank you very much for having received me with so much consideration "

"You don't have to thank us. Whenever you need, we'll be here, I'll be there", he said, winking at you.

You smiled at him and he returned the act. The family that filled your heart with the emptiness of before was there, right in front of you.

.

.

.

[xaeyrnofnbe]

i kind of love how chip jay and gillion’s individual inner conflicts can all be boiled down to dome variation of an an obligational loyalty to an original family versus the loyalty earned by a found family. (found family being the riptide pirate crew)(i’ve been writing this for a while and my initial statement is not so much the focus of this post anymore as i have begun to ramble about chip. do please read though, as i have words i’d like to share about chip and how his story differs from his co-captains and where i hope it’s heading.)

but they all are undergoing this conflict differently!! chip grew up with the black rose pirates, he idolizes them. he looks up to them and respects them because they’re the first ones who actually gave him a family. and in trying to get that old family back, he’s accidentally built himself a NEW family, one which he has loyalty to out of shared experience and bonding over the present day! and now he’s faced with a divide (mostly in his own head, since some of his old family is literally a part of his new one) between his old family, and his current one.

jay’s version is maybe the most literal and straightforward. her birth family, the ones who raised her, did so to shape her in a particular way. she loves her old family, but in attempting to right a wrong within it, she has forged a family on the opposite side of an entire war. both sides want the other gone and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, but both are her family. this is understandably a very difficult thing for her

and gillion, he actually has a pretty similar that going on, albeit with a few more complications. he loves his old family (the undersea as a whole, since he never really got to be with his birth family) entirely out of obligation. they were cruel to him, but as their weapon he is meant to protect them. he grew up under the notion that those in the oversea are evil, that humans are nothing more than greedy and malicious. he’s seen that this is not the case, however, as he immediately found himself scooped up out of the ocean by a new family, one that encourages him to be his own person, rather than just a tool. his two families conflict not directly in real life (yet) but rather entirely in his own mid and perception of where his loyalties should lie.

jay and gillion have both stood up for themselves against their old family in some capacity, while still remaining loyal to some individuals. gillion denounced his ties to the elders that governed him, but still seeks out his older sister, edyn. and jay stood up to her father (one of the highest ranked individuals of the navy) in pure and violent defiance, while still loving and standing with her mother.

chip hasn’t really gotten to choose just yet. he’s declared loyalty to the riptide pirates and to his co-captains, but he’s still looking for arlin. he’s announced his decision, but he hasn’t come to face his choice head-on. captain rose and chey are dead, numerous individuals have been all but forgotten, drey and finn have joined the riptide pirates but aren’t the same as he remembers, and roofus, though an important figure in chips life, isn’t the ultimatum chip has yet to face. because arlin is still out there, beneath the black sea.

chip is chasing this ultimatum but i don’t think he’s going to find it, even if arlin is somehow miraculously alive down there, even despite representing this choice in chip’s eyes i don’t think he’s going to provide it. i doubt they’ll have much time together, if any.

chip won’t get to make this choice because there is no longer a choice to be made. there are no two sides to choose from, there’s just family. one family. the old and the new are now one and the same. but still there is arlin. the embodiment of an imaginary division. a nonexistent choice that drives this third of the story.

my best guess currently is that if the crew manages to find arlin, it will be in his last moments before he succumbs to the same fate as his beloved late captain. and i really, REALLY hope chip is the one who has to take what’s left of arlin down. because then he’d have finally come to terms with the truth of his life and his family. he will have made a choice without choosing between the people he loves, because on one side is his family, and on the other, all that’s left is an inky, dripping, gurgling, violent remnant of chip’s idolized past.

the choice would be hard for him, but there really is only one side left to choose.

[alexiethymia]

realization

summary: [Post-TYBW] Momo falls in love. It’s messy business.

[read on ao3]

part 1 / part 2

Renji was having a strange night.

It started with an innocent enough invitation, to come drink with the fifth division lieutenant. Now, Rukia might call him an emotional blockhead enough times, but he was confident that he was nowhere as bad as Kuchiki-taichou. So he had enough ‘sensitivity’ to note that it wasn’t so much the invitation that was strange considering who it came from, but the activity proposed, considering who it came from.

He joined Hinamori once or twice to some ikebana classes she’d invited him to, but he wasn’t such as insensitive buffoon that he wouldn’t understand that wasn’t exactly the best option now (he did listen to that second voice inside his head sometimes - and if it had the same voice as his wife, well that was no one’s business but his own). Even so, drinking wasn’t exactly Hinamori’s first choice of activity, neither was it her second or third, so he guesses that this must have been Rangiku-san’s idea, maybe another one of those informal lieutenant get-togethers.

Imagine his surprise at the scene he finds when he ducks down the low awning of the local izakaya Hinamori invited him to. It’s not that he’s surprised to find Hinamori there – tucking her hair behind her ear and taking delicate sips of her glass of water – since the invitation came from her after all, but rather he’s surprised at who he doesn’t find.

Hinamori sits alone at the table, surrounded by boisterous drunkards enjoying the end of a working day. It’s an incongruous sight, and though Renji knows that as a seated officer Hinamori could beat anyone in the room, it’s still jarring to see the normally sweet and demure girl in a place like this one. He rubs his hand through his hair sheepishly. Rukia would probably hit him for that thought. Rangiku-san is nowhere to be found; neither is Kira which is weird if this was supposed to be some sort of reunion.

Strange doesn’t mean unpleasant, and it’s been a while since Renji talked to Hinamori last, so with a wide wave, he catches her attention, “Oi, Hinamori!”

-

Renji’s night continues to become even stranger.

It’s not so much that Hinamori wrings her hands (which in retrospect he should have recognized as her habit when she was anxious about something), as she asks him, “Are you really sure Kuchiki-san won’t mind?”

Renji snorts. In the privacy of his mind, he remembers Rukia lecturing him about making sure “to take care of Hinamori fuku-taichou” before he left. He was miffed, “I get it already. Why’re ya so worried?”

“Baka Renji! It’s you I’m worried about.”

At that, Renji’s eyes softened. “You have nothing to worry about, Rukia. You know Hinamori and I are just friends…”

Rukia’s eyes widened before she laughed with tears in her eyes. Clutching her hands to her stomach, she chortled, “I’m not talking about that!” His eyebrow twitched. See if he was ever going to reassure his wife again after that.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes she stood up from her bowed position, still chuckling. She then fixed him with a serious and solemn gaze. “I’m serious, Renji. If anything happens to Hinamori fuku-taichou while she’s with you, drinking,” she emphasized while grinning, but then she paused and looked at him with a hum. “Well, your tolerance to cold has always been good. Maybe you’ll be just fine.”

Remembering Rukia’s mischievous gaze, Renji shivers in the present. That better not be a premonition. “Yeah, Rukia wouldn’t mind,” he mutters.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing, just talking to myself.” He says to reassure the other girl. Swinging himself onto the seat, he orders sake for the both of them. Once he pours out a cup for Hinamori, and she does the same for him, they kanpai and he asks her how she’s been doing.

“Oh, we’ve been doing great,” she chirps, comfortable now and a slight flush on her cheeks after just a few sips of sake. She’s always been a lightweight, Renji thinks bemused. “All the paperwork’s done. Hirako-taichou’s really outdone himself this time. I even had enough time to visit the fourth division, Kira-kun, Nanao-san, Rangiku-san, and…”

“Hm?” He wondered why she suddenly trailed off, and at the sudden red that seemed to be creeping up her cheeks that seemed too much for a cup of sake no matter how much of a lightweight she was. She squeaked and covered her mouth with both hands, as if trying to prevent words from coming out, “Never mind,” she laughed, although it didn’t sound like her usual carefree laugh to Renji. Eyes growing softer, she asked him, “How about you, Abarai-kun? How have you and Kuchiki-san been since the wedding?”

It was Renji’s turn to blush. He told her about how they had started settling in the Kuchiki manor, but mostly how it was just the same old, same old. Her eyes seemed to be watery as she listened to him riveted.

“Oi, don’t cry on me now, Hinamori.”

“Sorry, sorry,” she sniffled, “I’m just…I’m so happy for you,” she exclaimed, voice full of sincerity.

He grinned at her. “So, what’s up? I thought this was one of Rangiku-san’s drinking sessions. What’d I do to deserve the honor of receiving one of your rare – previously unheard of – invitation to drink?” He was joking, but also more than a bit curious.

Hinamori grew even redder as she whispered, “As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t invite Rangiku-san.”

Worried at that statement, he was about to ask if Hinamori really was in some sort of serious trouble when she suddenly said, “I wanted to ask your advice, Abarai-kun.”

And man did that feel good to hear. Worry abated for now, he grins at her. “Of course. What can I help you with?” He remembered old days. Usually, both of them would turn to Kira for their studies. Both she and Kira were great at kido, but he’d usually ask her for advice since he remembers feeling that competitive spirit towards Kira back then. In a way, she was also more patient.

It’s not just that though. He remembers confiding in her about things he thought he’d locked away, an ease that could only be felt in talking to a female friend, since back then he was still foolish about keeping up a tough façade and what was expected of him as a man. Before, he would have just talked to Rukia, but he couldn’t exactly do that in the after, and when the topic in conversation was the girl in question.

“Trust me, Abarai-kun! I’m sure she’ll love it.”

Renji had scratched his head in confusion. “I don’t know about this, Hinamori. Y’see Rukia’s not exactly a sweet girl like you. She’s tomboyish and brash. She’s the type to just kick your head in when she gets annoyed.” Even so, he still held the bouquet of snowdrops Hinamori helped him pick out for her birthday, adorned with a ribbon patterned with rabbits which Hinamori insisted that he have. “She’d probably ask what the heck I was doing.” He wasn’t exactly the type of person to give flowers.

Momo sighed deeply. Boys. “It’s exactly because she won’t be expecting it that she’ll find it sweet of you to do.” A private smile curves her lips as she remembers a younger boy than her classmate, certainly much shorter, with mud on his knees as he presented her with a scraggly sunflower he scrounged up from somewhere. It is with a scowl and reasons that he had no money to buy anything that he presented the bedraggled flower. It looked like it went through an ordeal, with the stem rough in some places and leaves fallen off, but the bloom itself had been bright and yellow like a lion’s mane. She couldn’t help the joy that bubbled out as she tackled her friend to the ground in a tight hug even as she was careful not to crush the beautiful gift.  

Maybe Renji had seen something in that secret smile because it is with courage renewed that he resolved to give his gift to Rukia. That is until he saw the high-class silks being carried into the Kuchiki estate. One was even patterned with snowdrops. Forlorn, he looked at his meager gift. It is with understanding in her gaze that Hinamori decides to keep the flowers placed sadly in her hands.

The Renji from back then probably wouldn’t believe the life he led now. He was lucky enough to be surrounded by friends, new and old, and to have his best friend back again, with him, in more ways than one. If he could help one of those friends out, then he’d do whatever he could.

Hinamori wrung her hands again. “I don’t know who else to ask,” she bites her lip, “No, that’s wrong. It’s actually because you’re the best person to ask.” Renji raises a brow as he waits for her to continue.

Taking a deep breath, Hinamori suddenly says in a rush, “I just wanted to ask, how did you deal with falling in love with Kuchiki-san!”

Renji blinks. Once. Twice. And blushes as red as his hair. “Wha-“

Hinamori gasps as if remembering herself. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for!”

There were so many things Renji could say. Renji didn’t actually “deal” with it, as Hinamori would very well know. She, along with Kira, Ikkaku-san, and Yumichika-san, sat on the front row seats watching him cope and avoid during those aimless days. He doesn’t know himself when he fell in love. Does anyone, really? It could have been one moment. It could have been all moments. He could say all of those things, but instead, he turns around Hinamori’s question in his mind. Unlike Hinamori who seems to be gulping her sake like water, he still has his wits about him. As if a figurative lightbulb pings, he asks, shocked, “Wait, Hinamori, you’re in love with someone?”

Renji winces, realizing a second too late that that tactless statement did indeed come from him. He must not have been holding his alcohol as well as he thought. (Rukia would have hit him twice over for that stunt if she were here). It is however a second too late for regrets as Hinamori suddenly burst into tears.

In panic mode, Renji gathers all the napkins he can find and shoves them to her as he reassures the curious patrons suddenly looking over at their table, “It’s fine, it’s fine, just getting a bit emotional is all.”

Her sobs slow as she hiccups but Renji is far from relieved. She had always been a crying sort of drunk. Perhaps it was a good thing Kira wasn’t here else he’d have to console two crying drunks.

Wait, she said he was the best person to ask, probably because he fell in love with an old friend. If so, that means Hinamori had fallen in love with an old friend too. Inwardly he cheered, pointing at imaginary chibi figures of his wife and Ichigo. Take that, he thought, he could connect the dots well enough on his own. (Enough to say, Renji must have been drunker than he thought.)

Before he could feel preemptive delight on behalf of their common friend, he pauses, thinks. Old friend, huh? “Er…who exactly are you in love with Hinamori?”

Hinamori, sniffles, completely red now and Renji can’t tell if it’s the alcohol or the embarrassment. “Won’t tell,” she pouts childishly.

Seeing as she’s a bit calmer now, Renji decided to poke fun. Hinamori was fiery and sassy in her own right, though he rarely got to see it, so this was a rare chance. With a toothy grin, he prods, “Ha, serves you right for being so oblivious all these years. Now you’ll understand the agony of love just like the rest of us mere mortals.” Because this was a happier night in a happier time, neither of them dared acknowledge former captains. Betrayals had no place in a lighthearted moment between old friends.

Affronted, Momo firmly placed both her hands on the table with a bang. Hmmm, their table seemed to be a bit wobbly. “Oblivious?! Since when have I ever been oblivious?”

If Abarai-kun’s eyebrows went any higher, they’d disappear beyond his hairline and take all his tattoos with them. She laughs uncontrollably at the thought.

Renji looks at her weirdly and decides not to point out the obvious. One because he doesn’t betray the secrets of good friends, and two because he doesn’t want frostbitten fingers. He decides to list out other examples instead, “Hinamori, you’ve always been oblivious. Those kouhai? They weren’t just crowding around you because you were such a ‘good’ senpai,” at the pout he sees on her face, he amends, “Well yes, you were a good senpai, but it wasn’t only because of that.”

Hinamori still doesn’t look convinced. “I don’t believe you. I’m nothing like Rangiku-san. And anyway, no one said anything.”

“No one is like Rangiku-san,” Renji says solemnly in lieu of what he actually wanted to say which was to the effect of, none of our kouhai said anything probably because of another kouhai of ours, who funnily enough, ended up being our superior.

Ha, funny indeed.

He remembers when he first met Hitsugaya-taichou, or the kid who would become Hitsugaya-taichou anyway. He’d only been Hinamori’s ‘Shiro-chan’ back then.

She’d introduced them because Hinamori was the type of person who liked it when her friends got along. At hearing the nickname, he snorted and didn’t even try to stifle the laugh that came out.

It was like they were in their own little world as the newer student reminded her to stop calling him that nickname already!

At hearing him laugh though, the other boy fixed him with a cool stare. He took it as a challenge, “You wanna go, kid?”

He raised one white brow, unimpressed.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Abarai-kun…” Kira muttered off to the side. He turned away at the same time Hinamori was scolding the younger boy about using violence, who went back to fully ignoring the both of them to argue with his childhood friend. Genius or no, that kid really needed to respect his elders. And Kira didn’t have to warn him. It’s not as if he’d seriously beat on a kouhai.

Later on, he realizes that Kira hadn’t been warning him about being too rough on the other boy, but rather it was the other way around. This realization is stark as he lays down defeated in a practice match with the boy genius.

It was during that period that he lost touch – no that’s not correct, cut off his ties – with Rukia. So even if he was Hinamori’s precious childhood friend, with all that natural talent and genius, it was easy for Renji who was scraping at the bottom just to reach that lofty moon, to resent him. Geniuses could never understand the struggles of ordinary people.

It made him feel a bit better to know that Kira was also a bit wary of the younger boy, though it is later that Renji realizes that perhaps his friend’s reasons were a bit more complex than his own.

Once, Hinamori tells him, “No one knows just how hard he’s working. Sometimes, I worry that he’s pushing himself too much.” Not wanting to upset her, he gave a noncommittal hum. In the privacy of his mind, he scoffed. What did a boy genius like him ever need to work hard for?

He gets his answer, years later, in the worst of ways. Through a kido spell, through a hospital visit, through broken recollections from a common friend, as Kira gasped with tears in his eyes that Hitsugaya-taichou was cut down - bankai unleashed in a fit of rage at seeing her lifeless body, and ultimately rendered useless – trying to protect her, while she was hurt again because of him, the worst, he was the worst.

Although he tries to comfort Kira with alcohol, he also remembers the phantom weight of Rukia in his arms, there and gone again, helpless to stop her from being taken away.

He had been unfair to the Captain, only seeing what he wanted to see, a person with natural talent with everything handed to him on a silver platter - everything Renji couldn’t have for himself. They were as far apart as could be.

But as he sees Hinamori all wrapped up in bandages, and breathing on life support, as he feels the remnant of a chill signifying the presence of one who had been here before him, he realizes that he had more in common with that young Captain than he had thought.

He shakes his head to rid himself of memories and focuses back on the girl in front of him. Her eyes are drooping as if she was ready to fall asleep at any moment. Really, for Renji, there could only be two candidates in mind, and though Renji remembers old days, of forcefully nudging his classmate to finally make a move already (those had been simpler times after all), he also cannot help the odd sense of camaraderie he feels with the ice-cold Captain. He, better than anyone, understands the bond between childhood friends.

“So, what’re you so worried about?” At the very least if it was the issue of reciprocation, Hinamori had nothing to worry about on that score. One would probably die of shock if she confessed. The other had already proven he would die (and kill) for her. Sheesh, he doesn’t think he gets that intense when it comes to Rukia.

“I’m just...I’m worried everything will change,” she says softly.

Renji sighed, “Everything changes Hinamori. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

“It’s not like I plan to confess.” Wait, what? Renji double-takes at that. She smiles ruefully at him. “I want us to stay friends. I don’t want anything to change, but it’s like I can’t control myself.”

“Would it be so bad, to confess?” Renji has it on good authority that she’d have a good success rate no matter who it was she was talking about.

She laughs, most certainly drunk now. “Like I told you, Abarai-kun. I’m nothing like Rangiku-san,” a silly smile crosses her face as Renji once again looks at her confused, wondering what that had to do with anything, “I’m not good enough.” Her smile becomes more strained, and before Renji can berate her for that self-mocking display, she raises both her hands all of a sudden, “Ahhhh, it’s such a shame. Rangiku-san would be the best person to talk to about this. But, for the same reason, she’s also the worst person to talk to about this.” Well, that tells him nothing.

Deciding to act on a hunch, he suggests, “Well, maybe you can try asking Hitsugaya-taichou’s older brother?”

Hinamori narrows her eyes at him. She’s actually looking a bit crossed-eyed like that. Maybe it was a sign that he’d caught her out? “Silly, Abarai-kun,” he was expecting she’d say something like how could I talk to my crush’s brother, because honestly he understood the feeling, never mind that his briother-in-law and captain were the same person (at least now he’d know for certain who she was talking about), “Shiro-chan doesn’t have a brother!” And with that as a parting statement, she unceremoniously conks out and promptly falls asleep.

Wait, what?

“Oi, Hinamori!”

-

Renji hopes that this is the last of it, but the night is still long, and for some reason, he has a premonition that his night is about to take a turn from strange to bad.

It may have something to do with the whispers around him that he tries to tune out. He doesn’t blame them much as it may be concerning to see a man carrying an unconscious woman in the middle of the night. But he was a gentleman, damn it! He couldn’t leave a friend, much less a girl, dead drunk and alone. If Kira was here, the both of them could have carried her, but even after all that he still wasn’t sure who she was talking about so that was a definite no. He’d normally have called Rangiku-san, but Hinamori seemed to be avoiding her for some reason, so he’d respect her wishes, and anyway the fifth wasn’t that far from the sixth.

It may have to do something with how Hinamori kept muttering about how hot it was in his arms. Rukia always said that Renji tended to run hotter than most (and in her sweeter moments she’d say that was why she was perfect for him), and with Hinamori more or less the same, he imagines it would be doubly uncomfortable for her.

Or it may have something to do with how Hinamori was currently trying to remove one arm from the sleeve of her shihakusho because “Iwazz too hot!” while Renji frantically tried to stop her with one arm. Scratch that, Kira would be more of a hindrance than a help here. Why were his friends such outrageous drunks? “Nooooooo, Hinamori. You don’t want to do that. That is a bad idea.”

But really, it probably had something to do with the deathly chill he felt behind his back. He wondered what this must look like to an observer, Hinamori unconscious and one arm bare, while he held the sleeve of her shihakusho as he carried her in his arms. He closed his eyes and prayed to whoever would listen that it was his wife. He’d take a beating from her any day, as opposed to the alternative…But when he sees Hinamori calm and settle down at the breeze that caresses her face, Renji sighs in resignation as he turns and faces his doom.

A million paranoid thoughts run through his mind – did the patrons back at the bar report a crying girl and it reached him, did he have a tracker developed by the twelfth stuck on her by any chance, was he just that scarily attuned to the reiatsu of the sleeping girl in his arms because he sure appeared around her ‘coincidentally’ an awful lot- all to distract him from meeting an irate and frosty gaze.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Ah, shit. Renji was never drinking again.

[hadesisqueer]

The way I know that if she's nominated again against literally anyone Chiara is the one leaving because people hate her for some reason and I don't even care anymore because I've already kinda lived through this before and I know how it's gonna end.

See, I was a fan of Natalia Lacunza and Alba Reche back in OT2018 (those two and Julia Medina were my faves). Back in the day, they shared a fandom, similar to how Chiara and Violeta share their fandom now too; actually, it's the basically the same one (Violeta was part of that same fandom once too lmao I wonder how she feels now that she's the protagonist), it's the same fans. And I remember that people started hating on them as well. The thing is that, if I recall-- neither Alba or Natalia were ever nominated. They were among the best and worked their asses off more than anyone else, and they basically impossible to nominate-- and if they weren't nominated then they couldn't be kicked out, which made some people even more pissed off (lmao). Both became finalists without much trouble. What happened then is that there was vote division (again, shared fandom, this is what's gonna happen to Juanjo and Martin fans too if they both get to the finals, just wait). And that people who disliked them decided to join forces to make Famous the winner, so Alba ended up in second place and Natalia ended up in third place (I will never forget Alba's face when Natalia ended up in third place; she, just like me, thought she was gonna be the winner lmao she deserved it the most).

Now, I liked Famous, he had a great voice and I thought he definitely deserved to be a finalist from the moment I heard him sing for the first time. But he also passed by the contest being-- ignored, practically. And after winning, people basically ignored him again. Barely anyone went to his album signature events, for example. Nowadays, the guy still works in musicals and is fine and all, but when we talk about being relevant, he didn't really become relevant: Natalia and Alba are the ones who are remembered the most from that edition and the ones who still make the most numbers. And this is what's gonna happen with Chiara and Violeta: some people hate them and insult them, but then Violeta gets out and-- she is treated like a winner, fans go see her everywhere and she literally spends six hours signing autographs on her second day out, along with being followed and loved by some of the most relevant influencers or singers of the country (including Natalia herself, and Julia Medina, and most of the 2018 edition, along with Chenoa who is one of the most iconic people from this contest—OT1 everyone—saying she sees a lot of herself in her and that she knows she'll have a great career). And Chiara's more of the same, she is also very loved already by many people just like Violeta is, no matter how many unjustified hate she gets lmao. She and Violeta are the only ones who've already got over 200k followers on Instagram (230k for Violeta and 225k for Chiara I think??) and they are among the ones with most listeners on Spotify. So, yeah, keep hating on Chiara all you want and saying you'd all vote this random contestant over her because you don't like her; everyone in the industry likes her, is one of the only ones with a proper fanbase, she has thrice as many followers as that does, and his most listened song is the one he sang with Chiara-- which is also Chiara's least listened one. I'm sure she'll be fine. Lmao.

[dutchforstrangers]

Loyal. Brave. And true.

@taioraweek 2022 Day 2. Disney AU / Determination / Whirlwind

List of headcanons / an outline. Music lyrics from Mulan I and Mulan II

Takenouchi Sora is a girl from a small village. She was born in a wealthy family where she was traditionally raised be her mother -providing ornaments (e.g. flower arrangements) for the imperial empire’s palaces- and her father -an important general in war. Sora never liked the traditions that much, but she had always had this strong sense of loyalty and honor, especially towards her family.

All dressed up, Sora meets her fiancé for the third time. Her family has arranged a marriage between herself and this young man, but all she knows is that she doesn’t love this man, neither will she ever be able to do so. However, needing to be loyal to her family and honoring their traditions, she goes through with it.

The evening after her final meeting before marriage, she comes home and looks in the mirror, seeing her own face all painted and her body all dressed up. It’s not her. She wants to be someone else and somewhere else, but she doesn’t know who or where yet. She wonders whether she’s able to speak her mind, if someone will understand her wish to go on a journey to find herself. And even though it’s tough and she doesn’t want to upset or dishonor him, she comes to term with her father being that one person who might actually understand her.

Sora goes to one of her friends, Koushiro, who’s a master in faking official documents. They talk and figure out there is only one way for Sora to speak to her father: by going to war and meet him there. To do so, she needs an invitation for war which Koushiro fakes for her. She then cuts her hair short, binds her chest, puts on old armor of her father and writes a letter for her mother and fiancé, not telling where she exactly she goes to.

Once arrived at war, she figures out this is not the division her father is at. A bit disappointed, she finds a spot to sit and watches fighting training from afar. She’s drawn to it immediately, looks at the letter in her hand and remembers that she can still join the army, learn how to fight and eventually find a way to switch division to be able to meet her father. For the first time since long, she feels alive, like she’s finding a piece of herself.

She gets in and meets different new soldiers. Among them there’s a guy who looks familiar. When he takes of his helmet, it’s obvious: Yagami Taichi. They had once lived in the same village, were really good friends, until his parents moved from their village to another and they lost contact. Vice versa, Taichi recognizes Sora, but he can’t really put a finger on it either. Sora just hopes he doesn’t recognize her, as well as the other men don’t recognize her being a girl.  

The feeling of doing something wrong by learning how to fight as a woman, knowing that this way she dishonors her family and the century old traditions, gets to her. It results in her not being able to concentrate and do well in training camp. The camp’s trainer eventually tells her she has to stop training, pack her bags and leave back home. She has two days.

But Taichi doesn’t buy it. In the middle of the night, he goes to Sora and asks her if he can help her train. She tells him she doesn’t know, though he in return tells her that he can see her potential, that he feels they can be a really good team and that that might be a way to show that trainer he was wrong all along. Sora agrees Taichi helping her and they train together all night, finding out they indeed are a strong team. On the day Sora is supposed to leave, they show Sora’s newfound fighting skills and their teamwork and the trainer is impressed, resulting in Sora staying at camp. From there on, due to Taichi’s friend-/partnership, Sora finds a calm and joy within herself and she becomes one of the best fighting soldiers.

The best soldiers are sent to go to another division to go to war, among them are both Taichi and Sora. There’s new equipment they need to fit. That’s where she sees Taichi in armor for the first time and she feels a weird tingling in her chest and stomach when she sees it. She tries to quickly calm it, telling herself it’s probably nothing. Taichi in his turn is really impressed with the way Sora looks in armor. An old flashback of him and his childhood female friend with the same auburn hair playing with their dads’ armors passes his mind. They are alike and he wonders if that guy really is a guy…

On the last evening before they leave, a few guys and Sora sit down and have boyish small talk, talking about girls and marriage. Sora awkwardly says she would like a woman who speaks her mind and all the guys look at her with raised eyebrows and laugh. Everyone, except for Taichi. He smiles, seeing right through her and straight up says: “Yeah, I’d like that too. If only she would speak and tell the truth…”. Sora swallows, blushing madly.

When they arrive at the new division, Sora finds out it is the division her father is at. Her father, general Haruhiko, immediately recognizes her by name and look. He’s furious with her, so he takes her apart (making sure no one is around) and tells her this is not her place and that she should go back home or else she dishonors the army, the Japanese traditions, their family, but especially him. It stabs Sora right through her heart, so greatly frustrated and immensely disappointed, she turns back home. Taichi, however, doesn’t agree with his decision, gathers all of his courage and goes to him. He tells the general that in order to defeat the enemy, they do need Sora, because she’s one of the best soldiers. But Haruhiko doesn’t listen, puts Taichi in his place and tells him he can’t have Sora here, because they have to go to war and he can’t loose her. Besides, she should know her place. Taichi then asks: “Then tell me what exactly is her place if it’s not here?” And Haruhiko answers: “Don’t you want to come home to a wife and family?”

A week or two later, they are in battle and the men are losing. Haruhiko doesn’t know what to do anymore, but Taichi has an idea. He risks it all and speaks up to Haruhiko once again, telling him his strategy. Haruhiko is impressed and sees a change for this to be a success. That’s where Taichi says: “But for this to succeed, I need someone who isn’t here”. Taichi tells him he needs Sora to be here and Haruhiko at first tells him no. Then Taichi gets backed up by basically all of the other soldiers and Haruhiko, being super desperate, has to give in. Still having problems with it all, he says: “You’ve got to understand, no one will ever want to marry my daughter.” Taichi: “That’s not true. Because I will marry her.”

Taichi goes to pick up Sora himself, but he finds out she’s already on her way to the altar. He rudely interrupts the wedding. “We need you. He needs you. I… I need you.” Sora leaves with Taichi …

[lonestarbattleship]

"USS Arkansas (BB-33) seen from HMS Queen Elizabeth while the British ship's band plays, probably around the time of the High Seas Fleet internment on November 21, 1918. Arkansas was the last dreadnought to join BatDiv9, operating as the 6th Battle Squadron within the Grand Fleet. She replaced Delaware (BB-28) beginning at the end of July 1918; Delaware was one of the original four dreadnoughts sent overseas to serve with the Grand Fleet, and had arrived in British waters in December 1917. As the oldest ship of the division, Delaware was ultimately outmoded by the ballistics of her guns. The British practice of concentration firing, or pairing ships up to overwhelm a single enemy target, created a discrepancy in the 6th BS after Texas (BB-35) joined the division in February 1918. Though Texas brought the total squadron strength up to the requisite five ships, it left Wyoming (BB-32) as the third most powerful ship behind Texas and the flagship, New York (BB-34), but without a gunnery partner since the remaining ships, Delaware and Florida (BB-30), both carried the same older 12"/45. Arkansas was requested to rectify this scenario, and thus Delaware was no longer needed.

Florida, though not much newer than Delaware, was essentially the spare ship intended to keep the squadron at four-ship strength while allowing one ship at a time to undergo refit."

Caption is exclusive to Haze Grey History Facebook page (link) and was shared with the permission of Evan Dwyer. Click this link to read more of his works. Photo is from the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Agence Rol 52450. 

[laurarolla]

Sure, why not.  Some of my general thoughts on some Gundam works I like (part 1 of Ɐ basically)

Something I often find annoying in some modern Gundam stories is the concerted effort to either absolve one side or another of their various atrocities, or to pile on with war crime after war crime to make it clear either who the real bad guys are, or to balance the scales for the audience.  Anyone with some pretty basic media literacy can figure out that the Federation and Zeon are both pretty awful, but perhaps the idea that even the elderly man who wanted his society to be better choosing to exploit children as weapons didn’t make it clear how deep the rot really was.  You don’t need to add really overt uses of child soldiers in Thunderbolt to accentuate how garbage the Federation is, especially not if it comes at the cost of trying to humanize the ruthless sociopath that is Io Fleming.

Anyway, this post is about something of an exception to my general attitude in the case of MS Igloo, a 6 episode OVA using poorly aged CGI that was made specifically for IMAX screens. As a small note, the 3 episode sequel will not be showing up in future posts about things I like.

MS Igloo tells the story of the 603rd Technical Division through the eyes of Oliver May, an engineer who believes his work holds the key to Zeon’s victory of the oppressive Federation forces.  The story, framed entirely from Oliver’s perspective and attitudes, shows Zeon struggling to find something that could have the chance of turning the tide.  The first episode features the 603rd getting an already abandoned weapon dumped on them, and that will end up being the case for the entire first half of the series.  From the big useless space gun to the horrifically flawed Zudah mobile suit, the team is used by their superiors for propaganda at best and as a dumping ground for wasted resources at worst, leading up to the eventual introduction of Zeon’s ultimate desperation weapon: the Oggo, an armed space construction machine intended to be piloted by children. In spite of seeing his superiors send him doomed projects and war crimes for him to legitimize through his “research,” Oliver ends the series still completely enthralled by the illusion of Zeon that he was fed from before the day he even joined the military.  This results in MS Igloo having a vibe not unlike “Triumph of the Will,” where while watching it, you can feel the mechanisms that would convince those of the era to support the atrocities of the Third Reich while the knowledge of history creates a sickening twist inside you.  We watch someone so completely indoctrinated that even his superiors telling him TO HIS FACE that the Zabi Regime is full of shit does nothing to change his attitude.  The exploitation of children and the death of his comrade’s younger brother under his command do nothing to make him step back.  When it’s all said and done, Oliver is too far gone.  MS Igloo is a tragedy wrapped in the coat of a triumph.

The most unfortunate thing about MS Igloo to me, however, is that I can’t tell if that was on purpose.  MS Igloo has an aesthetic that feels reminiscent of 0083, a series that felt at times a bit too... reverential of its WWII inspirations.  Most of the 603rd’s projects have Germanic names, and the outfits go pretty Hugo Boss if you catch my meaning.  This makes sense due to them having the same director, Takashi Imanishi.  I’m left conflicted on the works he’s created in the Universal Century due to the aesthetic choices that keep showing up, but I am drawn to a few of the projects he has worked on over the years.  I am therefore left wondering if my internal conflicted feelings are perhaps the point after all.

[andiessoccerblog]

Group F Breakdown

Expected to move on: France, Brazil

Expected to exit in group stage: Jamaica, Panama

France

FIFA Ranking: 5

Reputation:

France is one of the rising European powerhouses, but they’ve never fully...risen. They can hang with the best, but they’ve never finished better than 4th place in a World Cup and 5th in the Olympics. Their style of play is very European--smooth and skilled--but they are also known for their vengeful fouls, especially against rival teams Germany and USA. The players mostly play  together in the French league Division 1 Féminine, with about half the squad playing on the same team: Paris Saint-Germain, a total powerhouse in European and International Club football. 

Player Pool: 

Captain Wendie Renard is a 6’2” defender, who is known for headers at both ends of the pitch–she has 44 goals scored for France, despite her position at centerback. However, it was a question if she would even play in the World Cup, as she heavily protested the previous French coach Diacre. The only other player with more caps and goals than Renard is forward Eugenie Le Sommer, who will manage the offensive line, including Kadidiatou Diani, Viviane Asseyi, and Grace Geyoro.

2019 WWC performance: 

France dominated group play in an impressive fashion, and plowed through a not-so-easy  round of sixteen game against Brazil before being eliminated by the eventual champions, USA. They were unfortunate to come up against the USA as early in the knockout round as they did; many people believed it would come down to USA v FRA in the finals. As it was, the game against the USA was a very close match, and through the whole tournament, they showed they were one of the more dominant teams in the tournament.  Wendie Renard, a defender, led the French team in goals and led the defense, but also scored an own goal that almost sank the French team.

Brazil

FIFA Ranking: 9

Reputation: 

I will stand in front of the world and defend women's soccer as less theatrical than men's. However, Brazil makes that hard. They are dirty and aggressive players, but they go down like a toothpick at the gentlest touch.  That's not to say they are not supremely talented, as many of them are, and they are one of the few countries where their  women's team is as fearfully imposing as their men's. The ladies of Brazil can dance around their opponents, but also can shoot balls so hard they break wrists. They are known as a team that is consistently difficult to beat, and have successfully integrated talented young players with their more veteran standouts to maintain their high level of play.

Players:

 There is one player on Earth who has won the FIFA world player of the year five times, and it's not Lionel Messi. Keep an eye on Marta, a fantastic all around player in her fifth World Cup, who I would like more if she flopped less. If anyone can fill her shoes post-retirement, it is Debinha, a crafty midfielder with a killer shot. The aforementioned youngsters of the team, Bruninha (20), Geyse (24), and Kerolin (23), might start, but can also provide a spark off the bench after the veteran players have worn down opponents.

2019 WWC performance:

Not bad! They played strongly, and although there was a lot of individual brilliance and skill, they couldn't come together as a team in the most important moments. They made it through to the knockout round, but didn't progress past the first round, falling to host France.

Jamaica

FIFA Ranking: 43

Reputation:

After their first World Cup in 2019, Jamaica confidently qualified for their second by beating Haiti, Mexico, and Costa Rica to finish third behind the USA and Canada in the qualifying tournament. They have really been building on their 2019 experience, and have climbed ten points in the FIFA rankings since then. Many key players that were in college in the 2019 World Cup have graduated and joined professional teams in the USA, England, and France, gaining even more experience in top-level soccer. 

Player Pool:

This team is made up of super talented college students, with one or two 30 year olds thrown in for good measure. Their qualifying run was made possible by their goalie, 19 year old Sydney Schneider, and scoring machine Khadija (Bunny) Shaw. Joining the team for this World Cup is Drew Spence, a midfielder who had made senior appearances for England, then took a period of mandatory leave from the international game so she could join the Jamaican side. 

2019 WWC performance:

For their first World Cup, not a ton was expected of them. They gave it their all and got valuable experience to build on moving forward. They pretty much got run over in the group stage, ending with a three game goal differential of -11. Still, it gives the nation something to build on and be proud of.  

Panama

FIFA Ranking: 52

Reputation: 

This is the first World Cup for Las Canaleras (The Canal Girls), who finally qualified after narrowly losing a spot in the 2019 World Cup to Jamaica, their rival in this group. Panama hasn’t played many games against world-up level teams since the 2022 qualifications, but played Colombia in June just before the cup, earning one loss and one tie . With a very young team, it will be difficult for them to get out of the group stage. Teams like Panama are the exact reason why the World Cup expanded to 32 teams–so that more lower-ranked squads can get experience and make the game more competitive on the whole.

Player Pool:

Goalkeeper Yenith Bailey splashed onto the scene, winning Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper at the 2018 Concacaf tournament, only one year after she switched from a midfielder to goalkeeper. It has been six years since then, and other goalkeepers have joined the squad, but Bailey has the most experience. For goalscoring, Las Canaleras will look to midfielder Marta Cox, and Riley Tanner, a young offensive player that is the only woman playing professionally in the USA.

2019 WWC performance:

Did Not Qualify

[wrestlingisfake]

Best of the Super Jr. Day 1 preview

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mike Bailey - This is an A Block match in the Best of the Super Jr. tournament, with 2 points at stake--two for the winner, zero for the loser, or one apiece if it goes to the 30-minute time limit. After the last A Block matches on May 23, the two wrestlers with the most points will square off on May 26 to determine the block winner, who will meet the B Block winner in the tournament final on May 28.

Takahashi is the IWGP junior heavyweight champion, but no championships are at stake during the tournament. The tournament winner will presumably challenge Hiromu for the belt, probably on June 4. Unless, that is, Takahashi wins the tournament himself, in which case he can name his next challenger. Hiromu has won four of the last five BOSJ tournaments, and he only missed 2019's edition due to a neck injury. So he's clearly the man to beat in this thing.

Bailey is best known as a key name on Impact Wrestling and the US indies. This is his first tour in Japan since April 2020, and although he was a regular in DDT back in the day, he's only worked a handful of NJPW shows in the US. I'm surprised it took this long to get him booked for BOSJ, and to get him in the ring with Hiromu. He's just the sort of new blood this tournament has needed for a few years.

New Japan likes having major upsets in the early going of its big tournaments. So I could certainly see Bailey winning to make a statement in his debut, set up a title match down the line, and put Hiromu under pressure to recover. But there are other places you could do a big upset on this card, so I'll go with Takahashi to win.

El Desperado vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru - This is a B Block match, again with 2 points on the line. Same deal as the A Block, but the last B matches will be on May 24. The top two scorers will face off on the 26th to decide who goes to the final on the 28th.

From 2016 to 2022, Despy and Nobu often represented Suzuki-gun as a tag team, capturing the IWGP junior tag title four times. But after Suzuki-gun amicably disbanded, Kanemaru aligned with Taichi's Just 5 Guys group, and Desperado's been teaming with Minoru Suzuki and Ren Narita. This is the first time these former teammates have been pitted against one another since the breakup; in fact, I think it's the first time all year that any former Suzuki-gun members have squared off.

The outcome isn't in much doubt. Despy was the BOSJ runner-up in 2022 and 2020, and he made third place in 2021. Kanemaru has always been an also-ran in the tournament, and at 46 years old he's probably not about to change all that with a sudden hot streak. Look for Despy to win here and finish with at least five or six wins; Nobu will be lucky if he can get four victories.

Titan vs. TJP - This is an A Block match. Titan is the CMLL world welterweight champion; again, titles aren't at stake here. TJP is fresh off losing the IWGP junior tag title and sustaining a nasty cut in the process. It's not clear if TJP will continue in the tag division with Francesco Akira or pursue a singles run; his performance in this tournament may shed some light on that. As for Titan, he joined Los Ingobernables de Japon about six months ago mostly so BUSHI would have a tag partner in Super Jr. Tag League. I keep forgetting he's in the group, so it'd be nice if this tournament gave me a reason to care. I think this one could go either way.

YOH vs. Robbie Eagles - Two points in B Block are on the line. Yoh and Robbie had both been in the same faction--Kazuchika Okada's CHAOS--but Eagles recently joined his fellow Australians in TMDK. I don't think that makes him a heel, but he and Yoh sure aren't going to be friends in this one. Both men recently came up short challenging for the junior singles title, so they need to finish the block with at least a winning record to stay relevant in the division. Robbie is always coming up short for some reason, so I guess I'll pick him to lose here too.

Lio Rush vs. SHO - Another A Block match. Sho was best known for being in Roppongi 3K until he viciously betrayed his tag partner Yoh. Recently Yoh has bounced back in a new tag team with Lio Rush. Other than that these two haven't had much to do with one another, so expect Yoh to be a big part of the story on commentary. Since aligning with the House of Torture Sho's whole act is to try to clobber his opponent with a wrench, so I don't think this will be very good. I'd like to see Lio do well in the tournament, but I suspect he'll be fed to Sho to build up heel heat.

Francesco Akira vs. Master Wato - More B Block action. As noted, Akira's run with TJP as junior tag champs just ended. I'm a little more interested in seeing Akira make a run for the singles title than TJP, so I hope he at least goes 5-4 in the block. Wato has been going nowhere fast for years, and I'd be open to seeing him get a push but New Japan seems determined to not let him get an ounce of momentum. Akira will likely win.

KUSHIDA vs. DOUKI - A Block again. Kushida is one of the IWGP junior heavyweight tag team champions, but more to the point he was the ace of this division before he jumped to NXT in 2019. When he returned last year I thought he'd go on a tear through the singles division but that never got off the ground. Now he's got a big chance to show he's still got it.

But I think the bigger story here could be Douki. In Suzuki-gun he was always kind of the job guy, but now with Just 5 Guys there's a sense that he's on the cusp of breaking out into something bigger. There's bound to be a big upset on this show, and I think this is it. A Douki win establishes that he's for real, it gives him something to crow about even if he finishes 4-5, it sets up a tag title program for him and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and it gives Kushida the big "does he still have it" storyline. I'll take a Kushida win but I'm ready for Douki to shine.

BUSHI vs. Dan Moloney - This is a B Block match. Bushi isn't a nobody but he's never going to be the top junior in Los Ingobernables de Japon, so I don't figure he'll do much better than 8 points in this tournament. Moloney is the real story here. I've literally never heard of the guy, probably because I don't follow the UK scene and that's where he's spent most of his career. I read that he tries to bring as much heavyweight style and power as you can put into a junior heavyweight body, so that should be a good change of pace from the usual flippy stuff. My preference would be for him to debut with a win, but that's not assured in New Japan.

Taiji Ishimori vs. Ryusuke Taguchi - Back to A Block. Ishimori has been a face in the crowd amid the goings-on with Bullet Club. If he's going to be credible threat to the singles title this year, he should have no difficulty beating a comedy guy like Taguchi. But Taguchi is known for turning it up during BOSJ, and this might be one of those nights. Either of these guys could finish near the top of the block, but Ishimori is that one who belongs there.

Kevin Knight vs. Clark Connors - The opener is a B Block match. Knight is one of the IWGP junior tag champions, alongside Kushida. Connors joined Bullet Club last month, and this should be our first chance to see whatever new look he has, now that he's ditched the "wild rhino" gimmick. Both guys are still finding their footing after graduating from the dojo, but Connors needs this win just a little more than Knight does.

[uraharashouten]

Urahara Kisuke’s Career Timeline, Part I

It’s taken some time for me to put a time frame around when Kisuke did what, such as achieving bankai, joining Second Division, and becoming commanding officer of the Onmitsukidou’s Third Division, 檻理隊 or Detention Unit (Viz: Management Force), but I think I’ve found an answer to that.

According to Spirits Are Forever With You, Book I, as found here:

One hundred years + several decades ago | Soukyoku Hill, underground training grounds 

URAHARA shows his new Divine Transfer Body doll to Yoruichi. It’s a human-shaped doll that can materialise a zanpakutô when stabbed with said zanpakutô — a training tool. His current model can only do it for 30 minutes, but the finished one should last 3 days. URAHARA is about to test it out with his own Benihime, but the doll starts to change before he has even drawn his zanpakutô. It turns into a lively woman, whose eyes are covered by a leather obi. She laughs, "Kihahaha! I wanted to see you, Kisuke-chan! Did you miss me? Or were you too busy with Yoruichi-san, forgetting me?! Kihahaha!" But URAHARA doesn’t know her. She introduces herself, she’s Urozakuro. They’ve never met before, but she knows everything about them. Kihahaha! Yoruichi wasn’t captain yet at this point in time, but she was part of the Covert Operations.

Spirits Are Forever With You is set during the seventeen months following the defeat of Sōsuke Aizen, around 2003. So, one hundred years plus several decades before that, this happens:

Several is an ambiguous word, but my understanding of Japanese context is that it can be fairly broad; in this case, more than two and fewer than ten decades, or else it would have simply been stated as two centuries. So:

Between 190-120 years prior, Kisuke was working on the Tenshintai and still had not yet achieved bankai.  (I doubt it would have taken him longer than a year or two to finish the Tenshintai, though, or the cheat becomes more time-consuming than the legitimate process.)

In that same time frame, Yoruichi was not yet captain of Second Division.

We also know from a later passage, in which she mentions that she reported that incident to the head of the Onmitsukidō at the time, that she was not yet Sōshireikan, either.

We know from the flashback in Chapter 130 that when they began their careers, Kisuke joined the Gotei, while Yorucihi joined the Onmitsukidō.

From Chapter 315.3, we also know this about the Onmitsukidō:

It was not originally affiliated with the thirteen court guard companies. However, members of the Shihoin family, one of the four great noble families possessing soul reaper powers, have served as its directors for generations. When the director is also appointed a captain of one of the thirteen court guard companies, the ties between the two groups become extremely close. Now that Yoruichi Shihoin is both the director and a captain... Second Company is essentially running the secret remote squad. The agency’s five divisions are now commanded by officers of Second Company... including Kisuke Urahara at one time.

The ties between Second Division and the Onmitsukidō are not historical, and while they may have been similarly associated at points in the past, this current configuration began within the last century and change under Yoruichi.  Now, Kisuke could have been serving in Second Division prior to Yoruichi assuming captaincy, and that’s as valid a supposition as any. However, it’s always felt more likely to me that she transferred him under her command once she became captain, which would have taken some time as she wasn’t yet even director of the Onmitsukidō. It’s implied that she attained that rank prior to becoming a Gotei captain. In that case, Kisuke’s career as a prison warden and fugitive task force unit leader would have begun more recently than the Urokazuro event.

So, the order of events would be:

Kisuke demonstrates the Tenshintai

Kisuke achieves bankai

Yoruichi becomes Sōshireikan

Yoruichi becomes Captain of Second Division

Yoruichi transfers Kisuke to Second Divison, makes him her Third Seat, and assigns him command of the Detention Unit/Management Force of the Onmitsukidō

And all of this, as I’m inclined to interpret “several” decades as about five, would have taken place around 150 years prior to 2003.

So, for purposes of my main verse, because it helps me to imagine actual real-world dates, here’s what I’m going with:

1845: Kisuke and Yoruichi encounter Urozakuro, Azashiro’s zanpakutō spirit, while Kisuke is demonstrating the Tenshintai

1847: Kisuke uses the Tenshintai to achieve bankai

1865: Yoruichi transfers Kisuke to 2nd Division, assigns him to the Detention Unit of the Onmitsukidō

[ledenews]

ON THE NAIL! - Toledo Game Postponed, Saturday vs. Cincy Moved to Sunday

The Nailers took care of business in their only game last weekend, beating Indy at home. How did Wheeling get the victory? Well, talk about just what the doctor ordered. The Nailers took care of business against a team they have struggled with to that point this season, going just 2-6-2 against the Fuel coming into the game. They not only earned the points for themselves, but by winning in regulation, it essentially became a four-point game (by keeping any points from going Indy’s way). It allowed Wheeling to get that much closer to the team directly ahead of them in the standings, and they did it in ways that haven’t been very common for them this year. Right from the opening faceoff, the game had a playoff-type atmosphere, as the Nailers knew their performance in this game and the one rescheduled for Wednesday (that we’ll talk about shortly) could make or break their chances of getting in.  Unfortunately for Wheeling, Indy found a way to hit the net first just four and a half minutes in, putting the Nailers in an early hole. In their 68 games heading into this one, Wheeling scored first in the game 37 times.  So, 55% of the time, the Nailers would get the lead, and quite often it would happen within the first five minutes of the game, so to face a deficit that early was a real change of pace. From there, Wheeling was able to turn up the pressure and earned a power play just before the midpoint of the period and were able to cash in, something that would become the theme of the night, this time off the stick of Isaac Belliveau. Just over three minutes after the goal, Indy would take another penalty, and yet again the Nailers took advantage thanks to the team-leading 32nd goal of the season from Jordan Martel to give Wheeling the 2-1 lead, which held to the horn. The second period was a little more back and forth, with both teams getting 10 shots on goal each in the frame.  The score held steady until, with less than five minutes remaining, the Fuel were able to deposit a shot behind Jaxon Castor to pull even with the Nailers.  Wheeling came out after the goal and tried to get their advantage back before the end of the period, but to no avail, and the game was tied heading to the final period.  On the season, the Nailers were 6-9-2 when tied after two periods coming in, while the Fuel were 5-3-2 in the same situation, so there was a chance this could go either way. Luckily for the Nailers, Jared Westcott, one of the players who joined the team over the last couple weeks, came out ready for the third period.  About seven minutes into the period, Westcott scored his second of the season as a member of the Nailers to give Wheeling their lead again, then after another penalty call on Indy, Westcott found the back of the net to give Wheeling their third power play goal of the game (on exactly three chances) and gave the team their first two-goal advantage of the evening.  The Fuel did manage to get one goal back with just over two minutes to play, but with their goaltender pulled, they couldn’t manage to keep Wheeling from getting one more, as Tanner Laderoute restored the two-goal advantage with under a minute to go, and the Nailers held on for a huge 5-3 victory. The Nailers made up their game against the Komets on Wednesday, beating the division rivals and staying ahead of them in the standings.  What did they do to come away with the crucial two points? If Sunday’s game was important, Wednesday’s game against Fort Wayne was quite possibly the most necessary win the Nailers could have this season.  And just like on Sunday, by winning in regulation, they not only assured themselves two points and the opportunity to stay in third place in the division, but the Nailers also managed to keep the Komets from getting any points, which knocked them out of the playoff picture for the time being.  When you’re in a division that’s as close as the Central Division is this year, every point can make or break your chances of making the playoffs. Unlike on Sunday, it was the Nailers who were able to jump out early and give themselves the advantage.  Isaac Belliveau delivered a strong pass to David Jankowski, who was able to find the net behind the Fort Wayne goalie just six minutes into the contest to give Wheeling the lead.  After that, both teams clamped down a little and played a tight checking period.  Each team had a couple chances, but neither was able to take advantage, and the 1-0 Wheeling lead held until the horn sounded. The second period was much more lopsided in favor of the visitors, as Fort Wayne outshot Wheeling in the period 19-8.  But out of those eight shots on goal in the frame, two were able to find the net.  Jordan Martel was able to earn yet another goal just over three minutes into the period to double the Nailers advantage.  Then, 22 seconds after a penalty call against the Komets, Tanner Laderoute scored yet another power play marker, and when the period ended, the Nailers looked up to see a 3-0 advantage heading into the third. The third period started quickly, with Fort Wayne finally managing to get a puck in behind Jaxon Castor to cut it back to a two-goal lead just over a minute into the period.  However, four minutes after that goal, Jordan Frasca netted another power play marker for Wheeling, and neither team really managed to get much offense after that, with the two teams only combining for nine shots on goal in the entire period.  When the final horn sounded, the Nailers skated away with the all-important points and sent the Komets home to lick their wounds. The Nailers are down to their last two games in the regular season, with Toledo and Cincinnati visiting this weekend.  What do they need to do to maximize their points to hopefully make it to the postseason? Two games.  That’s all that sits between this Nailers team and either another trip to the postseason or another early trip home.  If these boys aren’t excited for these games and ready to put everything on the line to stay in the position they’re in (or possibly move up), then they’re in the wrong line of business.  It’s games like these that every athlete dreams of being the hero of, and this is the chance for these guys to do just that and propel the Nailers into the postseason next week. First up on Friday - AT 6 P.M. INSTEAD OF 7 P.M. - is the hated Toledo Walleye, who have already clinched the Central Division championship but won’t be backing down against a rival. Toledo comes to town on a 12-game winning streak, and they have one of the most potent offenses in the league, having scored the third most goals in the ECHL this season (behind only Kansas City and Idaho). Their offense is led by former Nailer Brandon Hawkins, who leads the league in goals with 40, points with 92, and shots on goal with 335. Finding a way to shut him down will go a long way towards helping the Nailers slow down the Walleye attack. One thing the Nailers might need to take advantage of is the Walleye penalty kill.  Their shorthanded group has a success rate on the road this season of 79.2%, good for 16th in the league.  Add in how well the Wheeling power play has been performing recently, going 5-for-6 in their last two games combined, and maybe the Nailers can use those chances to get on top of Toledo.  Another note of interest is just how poorly the Walleye have played early in games this season, with only a +4 goal differential in the first period (69 goals for, 65 goals against).  If Wheeling can do what they’ve done a number of times this year and score early, they can put Toledo’s backs against the wall and keep the pressure on the visitors. Then on Sunday - INSTEAD OF SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. - at a time not yet determined, WEheeling will end its regular season by welcoming a Cincinnati Cyclones team to town that they’ve had a good amount of success against this season to the tune of a 5-3-1 record.  Cincinnati has already been eliminated from playoff contention, but that doesn’t mean they won’t want to come out and potentially play spoiler for a Wheeling team hoping to make the postseason themselves.  The Cyclones have a record on the road this season of 13-19-3, with just the game this weekend left to play in their season. When looking at their season to figure out what went wrong for Cincy and see where Wheeling might be able to take advantage, a few things stand out.  Their penalty kill on the road is abysmal, sitting 26th in the 27-team league with a 73.4% success rate (only Utah is worse, with a 67.6% success rate).  Just like with Toledo the night before, if the Nailers man advantage group (which is 13th in the league at home with a 19.8% success rate, and 10th overall in the league) can play as well as they did against Indy and Fort Wayne, they can definitely use that against the Cyclones.  Another area Wheeling can work with is the fact that the second period has been Cincy’s worst period all season, with a -14 goal differential (85 goals for, 99 goals against), whereas the second period has been Wheeling’s strongest all year, where they enjoy a +26 goal differential (90 goals for, 64 goals against).  If the Nailers can continue that trend, they should be able to earn enough points this weekend to continue playing beyond these last two games. When this weekend ends, the Nailers could be anywhere between second in the division to out of the playoffs.  What will it take to make sure Wheeling is a part of the second season? As it currently stands, Indy, Wheeling, and Kalamazoo all have two games remaining in their season, while Fort Wayne has an additional game to play beyond that.  The Fuel currently sit in second place with 82 standings points, while the Nailers occupy third place with 79 points, the Wings are holding on to fourth place with 77 points, and the Komets are on the outside looking in with 76 points.  At this point, the most points Wheeling could end the season with, if they should win both of their last two games, is 83 points, which would be enough to guarantee themselves a spot in the Kelly Cup playoffs. If that does happen, and Indy manages to lose their last two contests (at Fort Wayne Friday followed by home against Kalamazoo on Saturday), the Nailers would leapfrog the Fuel into second place and start the playoffs at home.  Should Indy win either of the last two, they would be guaranteed second place, and the Nailers will start on the road in the playoffs, should they qualify. Of course, Wheeling can still find their way into the postseason even if they should lose one (or both) of the games this weekend, but they would need some help.  The real kicker is the fact that the Komets have an extra game still left to play.  In addition to their game against the Fuel, Fort Wayne has a home and home left with Toledo, who don’t really have much left to play for at this point.  With three wins, the Komets would end the season with 82 points, while the K-Wings can only achieve 81 points with their remaining games, so Fort Wayne would make the postseason if both teams won out, and Kalamazoo would need help from Wheeling to make it. At this point, the Nailers really do control their own destiny.  It’s a situation where you win out and you’re in, most likely as the three seed and going on the road to begin the postseason against Indy.  If they trip up, it’s not the end of the world, but they will definitely need at least one of Kalamazoo or Fort Wayne to have some struggles as well (or both hopefully).  I really do feel, based on what I’ve seen out of this team recently, they have the inside track to getting into the playoffs, and once you get in, everyone’s records reset to 0-0 and anything can happen at that point. After having over 75,000 fans in attendance in Wheeling last season, the Nailers will go over 80,000 for the 2023-24 season.  What does that attendance number tell you about community interest in this hockey team? Last season showed that the Ohio Valley was still invested in Wheeling Nailers hockey after they only had 60,000 fans in the building the season before that.  By having the attendance number continue to climb, it shows that last year wasn’t a fluke and people still want to come be a part of what this franchise is building.  Obviously, it helps that they have been putting a winning product on the ice, but even when things got rough a few times this year, the fans still continued to come to the arena and try to will the team to perform and get those wins.  It also helps that the Nailers have put on a number of fun promotions again this year to engage the crowd, but the fans have been there even without those events. But now isn’t the time to sit back and be happy with what has already happened.  With only two games left in the building for sure, now is the time for even more fans to show up in droves.  Now is the time to be there for these young men who have been out there trying to get this team to this point.  According to the reports from the ECHL, the Nailers have welcomed 79,579 fans into the arena already to this point, and they still have two more chances to get that number to balloon.  I’d love to see us surpass last year’s number by 10,000.  In order to do that, we need about 3,000 fans at each of these remaining contests.  If you want to be there for them and give them that energy to feed off of to lay the smack down on Toledo and Cincinnati and prepare for the postseason, get your tickets now and get to the arena.  I really hope to see you there for these games. Read the full article

[pollyssecretlibrary]

“Dreams of Fire”, by Shauna Lawless

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 - 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟒𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a novella no lover of the “Gael Song” series would want to miss and the same could be said of those who want to join us in the world of men and races of old in Ireland, for this can be read as a book to introduce them to this world. Some of us who have read the previously published books were curious about the backstory or rather Fódla’s backstory, before she even had a child, before her sister needed to be protected. This sister’s name is Ronnat and we had been given very little of her story and how she came to be who she is. This book can answer those questions. Dreams of Fire can be read as a prequel… of sorts.

The book starts with the two sisters living with her father apart from their people, the Tuatha dé Danann. This people is one of the two oldest and most magical races in old Ireland, the other one being the people of fire, the Fomorian. The enmity between them can be traced, perhaps, to the early days of the Emerald Island. But tensions can be found everywhere, and in Ronnat’s tale we find the seeds to the complex issues that might divide her own people in two factions. This division is yet to be told, or not. As it happens, there is one big battle and around that time Ronnat realizes that perhaps she is not a witch but a foreseer, when she concludes that her dreams are premonitions of what is likely to happen in the future. She can already see some people seeking power and glory and the possible consequences. But what worries her is that her own sister’s future is one of sorrow and pain and so, she swears to protect her at all cost Ronnat tells her story in the first person, but she manages to make us fight with her, although we are also given the perspectives of other characters here and there. Intentionally or not, the fact that they all tell their truth makes them unreliable narrators so it’s up to us to decide who is closer to the truth, I might perhaps be biased by my love for the two sisters and believe them to be looking for the end of all the senseless deaths and hatred. They both are in their stories running away from being manipulated by men. Perhaps they may look naïve and innocent, powerless even, but let’s not forget that they are incredibly young for their race, they are women and they are alone. I cannot tell in a few words how much I enjoy Shauna Lawless’ storytelling. She follows the Irish tradition of storytelling, a powerful gift that engages the readers, captures them and binds them to her books. She can conjure images of old warriors, druids and kings in my head and I can see both Ronnat and Fódla quite vividly, their joys and their desperation. Their compassion and gentleness but their ruthless honesty too. I cannot wait to read the third installment of the series and the novellas that are going to be published this year. I can’t even wait to read about the next generation!

[spacenutspod]

Laser communications, an ever so important factor for the future of space exploration, has seen some important steps forward recently. Two test missions are on the way to provide important information, and a third one is planned for next year. The Integrated LCRD LEO User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T), which flew to the International Space Station (ISS) by CRS-29 on Nov. 9, has been successfully installed at the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility. After check-outs were performed for nearly a month, the first data exchange was made between ILLUMA-T and NASA´s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) satellite on Dec. 5. The Psyche spacecraft was launched at the beginning of October to the asteroid of the same name, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. It is fitted with the DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications) system and exchanged data with the ground for the first time from a distance of nearly 10 million miles (16 million kilometers) away on Nov. 14 – the farthest-ever demonstration of optical communications thus far. The upcoming Artemis II mission, expected to launch at the end of 2024, will carry the Optical Communications System (O2O) in the Orion spacecraft. If successful, the crew, led by Commander Reid Wiseman, will be able to transmit live footage from cis-lunar space like never before.   Illustration showing ILLUMA-T communicating with LCRD. (Credit: NASA/Dave Ryan) Until now, space communication has relied on radio waves in low-Earth orbit, mainly through Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, and the Deep Space Network. But with the rising number of missions and the amount of data needed to be transferred, both networks are reaching their capacity limits or sometimes overloaded. During Artemis I, for example, a lot of data transfer from robotic missions and deep space probes had to be radically reduced to make room for the needs of the Orion spacecraft. See AlsoLCRD UpdatesIn-Space Hardware SectionNSF StoreClick here to Join L2 The new near-infrared laser communication experiment also uses electromagnetic waves for data transmission but with a much higher capacity thanks to significantly shorter wavelengths, which allows ground stations to receive more data. NASA assumes a 10 to 100-fold increase in data volume with new laser communication systems. This, in turn, will help with future human and robotic missions and allow scientific instruments to feature components that perform measurements in higher resolutions. ILLUMA-T can transmit more than 1.2 gigabytes per second, which is excellent, especially compared to higher home internet rates on Earth. “Future missions have potentially exceptionally large data needs, and so we have to think about how we’re going to meet those needs,” said Dr. Jason Mitchell, director of the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies division within NASA´s Space Communications and Navigation program at NASA Headquarters, which funds ILLUMA-T and all the other new optical communication programs. According to acting ILLUMA-T project manager Glenn Jackson at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, laser systems are smaller, more lightweight, and use less power than radio systems. The smaller size frees up more room for instruments, reduces launch costs, and results in less drain on spacecraft batteries. Infographic showing NASA’s current laser communications missions/demonstrations. (Credit: NASA/Dave Ryan) ILLUMA-T is participating in a technology demonstration to provide high data-transmission rates from the ISS to NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) satellite in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and ultimately to ground stations on Earth, and also from the ground back up to the ISS. LCRD launched in December 2021 and has been waiting for ILLUMA-T’s installation ever since. After receiving ISS data, LCRD beams it to optical ground stations in Haleakala, Hawaii, and Table Mountain, California. Once the data reaches these ground stations, it will be sent to the LCRD Mission Operations Center at NASA’s White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After this, the data will be sent to the ILLUMA-T ground operations teams at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The “heart” of the system, designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, is called MAScOT (for Modular, Agile, Scalable Optical Terminal), which will also be used for O2O on Artemis II. It is comprised of a telescope and a two-axis gimbal, which allows the pointing and tracking of LCRD in geosynchronous orbit. The optical module is about the size of a microwave. Together with a modem, it forms ILLUMA-T, which is connected via ethernet to the ISS local area network, which computers and other experiments plug into. This allows ILLUMA-T to send various kinds of data from the ISS, such as scientific measurements and system health and status indicators. With all the advantages of the new technology, integrating it into an already-existing complex system like the ISS is an additional challenge. Manish Khatri, Chief of NASA’s Flight Operations Safety Office, highlighted this when he mentioned that laser communications could not be upheld at all times at the ISS. Gigabit speeds for the ISS! And it'll be a proving ground for the Orion Optical Communications system. https://t.co/qsciPKIkrm pic.twitter.com/7nSm9Wvg3h — Manish Khatri (@SpaceManish) October 29, 2023 The system might interfere with approaching or departing vehicles’ navigation sensors, and he and his team had worked intensively to determine when it has to be switched off to prevent any risk of a collision. The DSOC experiment on Psyche does not have to worry about this, but as the first demonstration of optical communication from deep space, it is facing different challenges. In its first contact, it sent data to the Hale Telescope from a distance of about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth to the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. Recently, contact was made from even 79 times the distance to the moon (0.2 astronomical units). Like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away, aiming a laser beam over millions of miles requires extremely precise “pointing.” So, the transceiver must be isolated from the spacecraft vibrations, which would otherwise nudge the laser beam off target. The demonstration also needs to compensate for the time it takes for light to travel from the spacecraft to Earth over vast distances. In the first DSOC test, the near-infrared photons took about 50 seconds to travel from the probe to Earth. Once the probe arrives at the asteroid, the transmission time will be extended to 20 minutes. In that time, both the spacecraft and the planet will have moved, and the uplink and downlink lasers will have to be adjusted accordingly. The receiving Hale Telescope is also specially equipped for laser communications. Integrated into it is a cryogenically cooled superconducting nanowire photon-counting array receiver developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. High-speed electronics can record the arrival time of single photons so that the signal can be decoded. The DSOC team even developed new signal-processing techniques to squeeze information out of the weak laser signals that will have been transmitted over tens to hundreds to millions of miles. The DSOC’s first contact was a highlight for the whole team. “Achieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months, paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars,” said Trudy Kortes, director of Technology Demonstrations for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. For Dr. Jason Mitchell, DSOC is an essential part of the planned Moon to Mars architecture: “If we want to be able to really think about exploring more, we have to make sure that we understand what it’s going to take to have high-rate capability.” Not only for data but also for humans: “If we’re going to have humans, humans have to be connected to home, right?” Dr. Mitchell feels that this point is sometimes glossed over or not discussed. But it’s absolutely necessary to ensure that ground teams and astronaut crews can react if there is an issue onboard the spacecraft with the crew: “Maybe they have a portable small X-ray or CT scan capability. That’s a lot of data you’ve got to get back, and you have to have that pipe to do it. But you also want to make sure that you can send them a lot of data because you like to make sure that they remain connected to home, feel connected to home, and don’t feel isolated during that long journey.” (Lead image: Artist’s illustration showing the LCRD mission. Credit: NASA) The post Laser communication: the future of communicating in space appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.