#to be honest. really want to read megumis most recent fights

[uraniumglassgirl]

jjk related i wonder when theyll stock volume 17 because. i kind of want to buy it too. it was weird bc the only manga they had was jjk and they only had volume 16. and. i guess it sort of makes sense because a lot of super popular manga ended recently and i think literally. by volume sales jjk is the most popular manga ever rn. but yea i wanna snatch volume 17 whenever they stock it. iirc volume 17 is kind of really awesome because thats when we get maki/mai’s arcs and stuff.

[bonsai62]

I just realized something... I was talking to this person one time on a post before and as I was typing that’s when i realized something:

This is for my fellow Nobamaki & Itafushi shippers! If you guys don’t ship it then it’s okay! This is just like a small analysis in my eyes and the way I read things! I can be wrong or just love reaching on a shit ton of things but this is all for fun and I love sharing with you guys!

Let’s get started! Also, this contains spoilers!

Do you guys realize that Nobamaki/Itafushi actually parallel to each other? Let me explain in shitty English and basic grammar and vocabulary lol:

As I watch and read Jujutsu Kaisen I see a lot of parallels between characters; Gojo with Megumi or Yuji, Getou with Megumi and Yuji or Nobara and Maki... but what I want to parallel between characters is:

Yuji & Maki

1. Raw strength:

Both are hella fucking strong and for people who don’t have cursed techniques, they know how to kick fucking ass. What made me realize that both of them are the same is honestly during the baseball game. I like how we were able to see Maki and Yuji making a home run... okay well Momo fucked up Maki’s groove! Haha! But during the Tokyo vs Kyoto event, Maki and Yuji go ham on their enemy.

Yes, Maki used weapons but still, we can’t deny she got good speed and strength that is similar to Yuji’s. That’s why I wish I can see them both doing a bad ass duo fight together.

I have a small headcanon that Yuji actually enjoys training with Maki the most because I feel like he can understand someone who shares similarity in natural raw strength and speed. And Maki feels the same way and it’s a good excuse to bully Yuji as a joke. I would honestly love to see that! Lol!

2. Their story:

Yuji and Maki honestly have it bad. Yuji loosing his only family member (his abuelo) and becoming Sukuna’s vessel which leads him to a future execution. For Maki is the fact that her family treated her like garbage and having to leave her sister behind and eventually her sister dying.

Both Maki and Yuji share that same pain when it comes to loosing someone. We saw Yuji with Junpei and in the Shibuya Arc with Nanamin and Noabra. Again, Maki the same with Mai.

I think what made me even realize it MORE on how alike and how they parallel with each other are these images right here and how they worded their final saying:

In the Shibuya Arc, Yuji lost it. He lost it with Nanamin and Nobara (but luckily for Todo, he was able to pick his feet back up).

If I was Yuji, I would’ve reacted the same way because imagine having the idea you want to save people no matter what but people keeps dying around you or by you? It’s tiring and I would’ve had a mental breakdown too.

After kicking Mahito’s ass, Yuji says there is no reason anymore. For me, when Maki’s arc came it really reminded me of this:

When Mai died and was killed by her own dad. Her dad took away someone who was precious to Maki no matter how much they didn’t get along. Maki really wanted to create the Zenin clan just for Mai to be safe and free.

Again, same with Maki, I would’ve killed the whole clan too because of how in general the Zenin clan is and how they treat people.

3. Having a “curse”:

Nanamin to Yuji: “You’ve got it from here”

Mai to Maki: “destroy everything”

I don’t necessarily mean a curse curse but it’s more like final words that someone important to them said before dying.

For Yuji, he won’t die because Nanamin believes that Yuji can move forward and save the world.

As for Maki, Mai tells her to destroy everything in order for things to change (I might be wrong). It’s for the Zenin clan to start fresh. That is another way I kinda Interpreted (again, I can be wrong). Maki still isn’t done with destroying things plus she is going to move forward just like Yuji. 

I have a thing that if the higher ups find out about Maki, she would be on the verge of being executed as well. So imagine both Maki and Yuji together being executed.

Now on to the next pair!

Megumi & Nobara

Again, this is just me analyzing. But if you ship Itafushi and Nobamaki, you can actually see another pair that parallels to each other but so far I haven’t seen anyone compare them yet, or it’s just me lol!

1. No rivalries:

I think what I love about these ships so damn much is that there is NO RIVALRIES. Even if you don’t ship them you have to admit it is amazing seeing a m/m or f/f getting along without being damn rivals. I’m glad Gege decided not to do that especially towards the women because it does get so tiring that two women don’t like each other for no damn reason or fighting over the main guy or other main guy. At least when Nobara didn’t like Mai or Momo, she had a reason for not liking them.

And don’t get me started with Megumi and Yuji. I was so happy to finally see two boys be friends instead of the usual, boring rivalries. I’m a be honest with you, I was pretty shocked that Gege was able to make Megumi and Yuji be so close and trust each other as friends. It’s a breath of fresh air for the two ships like omg I was happy not seeing the basic shonen bullshit with the f/f and m/m relationship.

2. Hyping up their pairs:

What I mean by hyping them up, I’m talking about the potential that Maki and Yuji has that Nobara and Megumi sees from them. Nobara since the start acknowledge that Maki is strong and vice versa with Megumi with Yuji. What made me see that Nobara knows that Maki is just amazing and strong was during the baseball when Maki was able to hit almost a home run. Nobara just knew that Maki would be able to make that home run but again Momo ruined her moment! Lol!

As for Megumi, we see while the Tokyo students came up with a strategy to win against the Kyoto students, we see him saying that Yuji can actually beat all their asses without curse energy or energy(one of those). Megumi reassures to people that Yuji can take care of himself and is very useful. Another time Megumi reassured that Yuji is strong is when he was in his bed healing from Hanami’s attacks and when they fought tiger against that one dude (forgot his name)

3. Thinking about them/defending them:

Now… this is really what made me think why Nobara and Megumi parallel with each other

It’s becasue I feel like they’re the ones who are more attached and over protective with Yuji and Maki than how Maki and Yuji are with them.

Now, I’m not saying it’s vice verse with Maki and Yuji. But I’m talking about how Nobara and Megumi expresses it. Let me explain:

While reading and watching JJK, we see how Nobara is with Maki compared to anyone else. And no, I’m not saying that Nobara isn’t overprotective with Megumi or Yuji but just the way she is towards Maki. I would honest love to see how these girls got along and how they became close!

Ever since Maki and Nobara had that deep conversation about why Maki choose to be a sorcerer, that is when I actually started shipping them because of how much respect Nobara has towards Maki and it continues to develop more and more with the two of them. We saw how Nobara got super defensive when she fought against Mai (First time) and started dissing Mai. The second time was with Momo, when she was straight up talking shit about Maki.

I love how when Nobara was talking about Maki and Yuji when fighting against Momo. However, I felt a different vibe towards it as well. What I mean by that is that I got more of a “big sister vibe” toward Yuji and a “I love and respect Maki”

But again, I feel like Nobara had some sort of feeling and attachment toward Maki ever since that fight with Momo and more than anyone else too. However, that is just me though! You do t have to agree with my reaching!

For Megumi and Yuji… First of all… Megumi would not hesitate to pull a trigger if anyone is trying to harm Yuji. What made me see that was against Kamo and the Kyoto students. I swear that day Megumi was literally about to commit murder.

Yeah, Nobara got pissed but she went easy on them, but Megumi didn’t. Oh no, he was about to commit a felony. He wanted all the smoke. He wanted that curse. I swear I even felt how pissed he was. I just feel like every time and separates, shit goes down the wrong way and everything goes wrong.

For me, shipping Megumi and Yuji is a whole ass different post but I won’t do that lmao same with Nobamaki because I can write a whole ass essay why I love how compatibly/perfect for each other lol

Bonus:

But guess what… during the Kyoto and Tokyo event, same shit happened with Megumi like Nobara: Megumi was thinking of Tsumiki and Yuji. And again, I felt like it was still different when Megumi was thinking of Tsumiki and Yuji. I find it crazy how Nobara and Megumi were thinking about two people during that event:

Nobara: Maki & Yuji Megumi: Yuji & Tsumiki

This is my personal favorite image of Nobara and Megumi. *wink wink* it’s basically the same image on who is important to to them.

Again, for Nobara and Yuji’s relationship, I just love the way it is. She gives me “big sister” energy towards Yuji and vice verse. Yuji and Nobara are those chaotic siblings that are the hyper ones while Megumi and Maki are the chill ones that can actually keep them down. There has been one occasion where both Megumi and Maki calms Yuji and Nobara down because of how they were acting and I’m not gonna lie it’s kinda cute lmao:

4. Not leaving them:

During the Shibuya Arc, Maki and Nobara separates but at one panel, Nanamin was telling Nobara and Nitta that he was going to join the Zenins. Nobara quickly picked her head up and suggested that she wanted to join him in order for her to be with Maki (this is a stretch but hey Iike being dramatic) however, Nanamin quickly declines her and tells her that it’s too dangerous. I think she was disappointed that she couldn’t go, but hey, Nanamin is a gentleman and he knows when a child is gonna end up getting hurt. I thought it was cute that she was super worried about Maki and just doesn’t care and wanting to join her.

Now, up the recent chapters, Megumi really shows us that he doesn’t want Yuji leaving him or he wants to stay by his side. Those few chapters really made my heart feel some type of way because it just the way Megumi is for Yuji and I can honestly feel how much he cares for him. As I mentioned above, I feel like everything goes to shit when those two aren’t together and I hope that they develop more and more. There has been two more occasions where Fushi doesn’t want Yuji to be left behind; one during when they were in prison and the second during the fight against Hanamin. The eyes that Fushiguro gives Yuji is full of trauma and careness.

In conclusion, I can’t wait for Nobamaki and Itafushi to develop more and more in future chapters. Again, you guys don’t have to agree with me on this. This is just for fun and sharing is fun too! If I’m overreaching then I’m sorry I just can’t help it :(!!

I hope you guys enjoyed my lil analysis! I’m sorry for the bad writing, I’m not very good at translating my feelings as I’m typing because my brain goes all over the place lol! But please, feel free to comment or give me an ask! I’ll be happy to elaborate more for you guys!

Stay safe y’all! And good night or morning!

[roscgcld]

HEADCANON + VARIOUS || after a mission

pronouns: them/they

note: besides Yuji and Nanami, everyone else’s storyline is going to happen AFTER Yuij ‘dies’ in the Cursed Womb Arch.

ITADORI YUJI 

feels like he’d just want to be wrapped up in your arms the moment he sees you after a long day away 

enjoys feeling you fuss over his wounds even after ieiri heals them up; how your fingers will caress them lightly as you tell him to be more careful when he’s on missions

ordering takeout for sure - he takes takeout as a reward after a successful mission, so you two will order the most unhealthy food you two are craving

along with all the snacks you two want - you’d get in house delivery of all the chips, candies, and soda cans you two want to have for the night

you two shower together - nothing sexual, he just wants you to baby him by helping him wash his hair whilst his hands just rest on your hips, feeling the warm skin under his rough hands whilst your hands washed off the sweat and grime off of him

 enjoys it when you’d towel dry his hair or blow dry it with your hair dryer; your fingers carding through the soft strands whilst he sat you down in his lap, smiling up at you like a love sick puppy

eventually sukuna would pop up and demand you give him some attention to, to which you just smile and stroke underneath his eye carefully with one hand whilst the other blow dried Yuji’s hair with the other hand

when the food arrives, you two will probably just curl up underneath his bed and watch a few movies on his computer while stuffing your face with the food

you’d end up feeding a few bites to sukuna as well, feeding the mouth on the side of yuji’s cheek and wiping his mouth for him - cause let’s be honest, sukuna wanna be babied too

after the meal, you two will go through the snacks slowly. or more so yuji going through it slowly; because let’s be real, boys got a huge appetite

you know better than to ask him about what happened earlier today - knowing that he was definitely fighting with his internal demons right now

well - unless he was fighting with sukuna; to that he would most likely just whine at you to talk to the cursed spirit until he shuts up. since sukuna, surprisingly enough, ‘tolerates’ you and listens to you when you tell him something or asks him to do something

after awhile you’d suggest to go to bed, to which you’ll gather him up in your arms and just cuddle him close; giving him all the affection he needs to try and clear his head

baby tries to not tell you everything that happened, since he didn’t want to become a burden. no matter how much you tell him to let you in, it takes him a lot of time to really let go of this habit - but all he needs is to feel your arms around him and everything just feels right 

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI

will probably mull over what happened in silence, looking like he was on an entire different planet and not noticing when things happen around him

sometimes he stays up, even if his body was sore from the full day of fighting curses, staring out the window with a faraway look on his face

you’d wrap your arms around him from behind and rest your head on his shoulder; with your legs either folded beneath you or placed on either side of him and just hold him quietly

wouldn’t let go until you feel him lean into your touch before you’d reach your hand up play with his soft hair

if you press kisses along the side of his face and jaw? mans will melt against you and just closes his eyes as he accepts the warm and love you shower onto him

slowly you’d coax him to go and take a bath, quietly sitting behind him to wash his hair whilst he just pulls you between his legs, face buried into your neck without saying anything

afterwards you’d probably end up cooking for him whilst he just stands behind you; maybe even helping you stir the food in the pan whilst you reached up the small cabinets that came in the kitchenette to grab the different spices, or while you grabbed the plates for you two 

you two would quietly eat, with him probably pushing his food around a lot since he was lost in his thoughts still

eventually you’d finish your plate and feed him quietly, making sure to keep your voice soft and loving as you coax him to eat

once the food was done and the dishes were put into the sink to wash tomorrow; you two will find yourselves wrapped up in each other’s arms, resting underneath his warm sheets

whispering soft nothings into his ear whilst you run your fingers through his hair gently, a gesture he always associates with you and with safety 

sometimes he’d ask you to tell him about your day, or read him a few chapters of the book you are currently reading; just so he can hear you talk

he doesn’t make any other sound, nor does he cry - he just sorts of lay there, warming his cold body as much as he can as he tries not to let his mind wonder far

all he needs is some reassurance, that you’re right here with him and that everything is going to slowly become alright once more. and even if they aren’t, he is not going to be alone to face it

soft whispers of ‘i love you’s and quiet words of praises are all he needs to feel the fear and tension leaving him in waves

KUGISAKI NOBARA

since she was at the hospital to treat her wounds, you basically dropped whatever you were doing and just ran straight towards the hospital with ieiri by your side

at first you let ieiri heal her up before you walk to her bedside, grabbing her hand in his before you press a soft kiss against her knuckles while you waited for her to wake up

when she finally did, and was caught up with everything, she fell into shock. she hadn’t expect to wake up after a mission only to find out that your classmate had basically been murdered by the cursed spirit that was leeching off of him

she would go silent, which was concerning to you since she enjoys to blab her little heart out - so this definitely get you concerned

when she is allow to go home for the evening, you made sure to stay by her side, talking to her in a soft and reassuring tone whilst she just nodded mutely

after awhile she’d try to put up this indifferent and strong front, forcing herself to try and act like nothing happened - trying to be her loud and cheerful self

but once the doors of her room was closed, her eyes watered once more as she slapped a hand over her mouth; her entire body shaking with the sobs she was trying to hold back

you’d just wrap her up your arms, letting her cry into your shoulder and cling onto you tightly; running your fingers through her hair as you whisper words of reassurance that you are right by her side

eventually you’d sit her down on the toilet seat, helping her wipe up since she can’t take normal baths until her wounds have healed up - making sure to keep your touch light and careful as you run the soapy sponge against her body

put her in your clothes, she had always said that being in your clothes and wrap her up in a blanket; before sitting her in your lap; running your hands along her arm soothingly

you’d probably end up cooking some ramen and dumplings, comfort food at its finest - and once the food was done, you’d serve both of you on the small dining table in the room

once the food was done and the dishes were washed, you’d put on some quiet music to play in the background; your lap definitely occupied by her once more

staying up until late of the night just talking about the most random of things - a new manga that appeared on shonen jump, some scandals that your favourite social media personalities get into, a new episode of an anime that you’ve recently watch 

even though she tries to put up a strong front with everyone, she is definitely hurting a lot more than she’s letting on. she just needs someone to be by her side, reassuring her that she did all she could, and that she wasn’t weak. it may be small, but your words and reassurance definitely makes her feel more relaxed and help her slowly close the wounds once more

GOJO SATORU

feel like you rarely see gojo that affected by a mission, or after hearing that one of his co workers have died on the line of duty. but this was different - this was his student, someone he vouched for and brought under his wing when the world is against him

for once he’d be silent, not making any jokes of comments as he just sat in the couch in your living room whilst you went about cooking a meal for the both of you 

eventually he’d admit that the ‘old farts’ got one step ahead of him, sending the students on a mission that they knew none of them would have stood a chance against

“guess in a way it was my fault too - since i did approve of it thinking that they are able to survive it.” gojo admitted with a tired sigh as he takes another bite of the food before him, causing you to glance over at him in concern. he rarely ever admits defeat like this

quietly he’d help with the dishes and the locking up of your shared home, which was freaking you out more and more since he is being so out of character right now

eventually you’ll ask if he wanted to take a shower together; which he agreed after a few seconds - so that’s how you fond yourself seated in a bathtub, quietly running your fingers through his soft white hair whilst he just rests his forehead against yours; bright blue eyes downcast the entire time 

when the water got cold you’d just coax him out of the bath before you two got dress, where you’d drag him to your shared bed where you just open your arms up for him 

wrap your arms and legs around him, letting him rest his head on your shoulder whilst you rest your cheek against his head softly, just letting him be babied for the night

running your fingers through his slightly damp hair after you tossed the blanket of your bed over him, asking him a few questions about his newest mission out of the country 

sometimes he’d entertain your questions, but his answers were definitely short and sometimes he’d even trail off half way in the middle; but you’d just hum and entertain his answers with a soft smile 

other times he just shakes his head softly and curl up closer into him, to which you just smile softly and told him that you two didn’t have to say anything; basking in the silence of your shared home

tracing soft shapes on his back, he finds that it makes him relax faster and make him sleepy as well; curling up closer to you like a child as for once, he slowly starts to fall asleep

even though he tries to act indifferent about it, you know that this mission that itadori’s sudden death rocked him to the core. it might even knock down his ego a little at the idea that he can’t protect the young boy that he had started to grow on him - but you’re there to just hold him and remind him that sometimes you can’t save everyone, no matter how hard you try

NANAMI KENTO

imagine when you hear your boyfriend taking his shoes off at the genkan at your home, turning the corner just to see your boyfriend walking into your shared home in a bloodied shirt

“what happened?!” you gasped in shock as you put the basket of freshly done laundry done, rushing towards him and carefully running your fingers over the bandage

“work injury.” he said simply before catching your wrists in his hands, giving you a loving but soft smile before he presses a soft kiss against your knuckles. “i’m fine, darling. nothing i can’t handle.”

you’d frown in concern but nod softly, letting him go to the bathroom to take a quick shower, since he wanted to wash off all the work grime off of him

you’d try to return to your task at hand, but you were clearly distracted and worried out of your mind - which is why eventually he found you in the laundry room and helped you with the rest of the folding when he realised you’re overthinking again

he’d suggest you two to order something instead of cooking, knowing that it was an excuse for you to cuddle him on the couch while you two wait for the meal

you took up the offer, and after placing your order in you curled up in his arms and asked him about everything that happened; to which he just told you about mahito and about the battle truthfully

you’d be worried and start to fuss over him once more, causing him to smile softly at how cute you looked whenever he gets hurt - no matter how big or small the wound is

after a simple meal you might offer to give him a massage, knowing that he enjoys one after a long day of work - so you’d ask him to lay down on your shared bed whilst you straddled the back of his thighs, starting to massage the kinks out of his body

he’d sigh in relief, letting you work your magic on him; occasioanlly asking you to use more force, guiding you where he felt stiff at, and letting out a groan when you press down on the point just right

when you’re down you’d let him turn around before you cuddle into his chest, just soaking in his familiar warmth and scent whilst he holds you close

usually he’s the one reassuring you, since he knows you are worried about his safety every time his phone rings

soft kisses are pressed on every patch of skin that can be reached - it doesn’t lead to anything, but nanami always lets out soft sighs whenever you’d pepper his face in kisses

all in all, many times you’d be the one who needs reassurance, since you are always worried about his wellbeing after he decided to return to the jujutsu world. but he reassures you that he’s alright, and makes sure to show you that he is not going anywhere, anytime soon

© roscgcld — all rights reserved to me, rose, the author and creator of these works. do not repost/translate/claim my work as yours on any platform

[linkspooky]

Can you make an analysis on Yuji please?

Sure, non-non-non. Have you ever noticed that Yuji is just a little bit crazy? By that I mean, he has no mentally healthy way of dealing with his emotions so he just represses all of them. The thing about Gojo is, he tends to have a good read on people, he knew Geto was self-righteous right away, and one of the first things he says about Yuji as early back as chapter four is that there’s something not right about Yuji. I’ve seen a lot of commentary on who Yuji is on the surface, but rarely do they dig deep, so let’s dig a little bit deeper. 

1. Suicidal Ideation

So, to set up in the first chapter Yuji has a really bad day. His only living relative dies leaving him practically an orphan, and on top of that he finds out he’s going to be executed. A normal person would be devastated by so much at once, but, Yuji doesn’t really react normally, he never really shows his sadness or the pain of his loss on the surface it shows in his actions instead. I mean, a few hours after his grandpa dies, Yuji’s first instinct is to throw himself into danger, fearlessly, against a terrifying monster.

Ever since his grandpa’s death Yuji thinks constantly of death, especially trying to save other people from what he thinks is a cruel and unusual death and giving them a natural death instead, however he doesn’t ever show the same regard for his own life. Once again in the first chapter, Megumi comments this.

You just seem like you wanna die anyway!!

Constant thoughts of death, a passive longing to die, that’s termed suicidal ideation. I think it’s clear here, Yuji is all smiles on the surface, while at the same time dealing with thoughts of suicide in his head. It’s just he’s not actively trying to kill himself, but throwing himself into dangerous situations with no regard for his life, that’s an easy way to get himself killed. Rather than active, it’s passive, a wish to die, or at least, an unhealthy disregard for your own life. Thoughts like, if I die it’s fine, it doesn’t matter. 

Which is why it’s actually kind of messedup Yuji just swallows wth finger without thinking of the cosnequences at all. 

If you think of Yuji’s life before this point it was kind of empty as well. He was in the occult club, not because he cared about the occult but because he felt needed there. The only thing he did after school was kill time, until he went to visit his grandpa in the hospital. He doesn’t really seem to have any close friends from his previous life, even though he gets along with others just fine. He was an amazing athlete, but he didn’t feel like joining the sports teams. It’s like, he has all this talent, but he doesn’t really want to try hard at anything, Yuji is a super friendly guy, and yet he doesn’t really act close to anyone. Yuji gives off the impression of someone idling through life, with no particular investment in anything or anyone. 

Then suddenly, he’s given a purpose in life to swallow the fingers of Sukuna and die, and Yuji leaps at the chance. He says he doesn’t want to get executed and he’s upset about that, but if he is, all those feelings are repressed because he doesn’t show them on the surface. Yuji is almost, overeager, to fight and die for this cause the second it’s been dropped in his lap. That’s something that Yaga even says to him in the third chapter. It’s odd how unconcerned Yuji is with the details, he’s way too nonchalant, is he doing something he truly wants to do - or is he looking for some excuse to die. 

This is also something brought up again in curse womb must die, despite thinking about death all the time, Yuji doesn’t really face those emotions. Things like panic, fear, he runs away from. When pushed to the edge and when he’s about to die, Yuji starts reacting like a normal person for once. 

All of this suggests that Yuji functions, by repressing all of his negative feelings, just all the time and only letts the positive ones showing on the surface. For someone constantly thinking about death and how he’s going to die, he doesn’t seem like someone dealing with something so heavy, and that’s because he rarely lets others glimpse what he’s truly thinking about. 

2. A Seriously Repressed Dude

Yuji has a pattern with how he deals with his emotions. He bottles everything up, explodes, and then goes right back to bottling them. Repressing your emotions is an unhealthy tactic for dealing with more negative feelings, because rather than facing them and working through them it revolves around the idea of simply ignoring them and pretending they are not there. Here is Yuji’s pattern in action, repress everything until you’re forced to snap. 

Then, after he cools back down he goes right back to bottling. We know Yuji changed from his interactions with Junpei, from being unable to save Junpei, and yet right in the next arc, Yuji just seems like the exact same Yuji as before. 

Yuji puts a great amount of effort into not letting other people see when there’s a anything wrong with him. He’ll even try to hide things, which only those observant people like Megumi can notice.

This even repeats in a scene in the next arc, where Yuji decides to keep a secret from Megumi because he doesn’t want Megumi to feel guilty for the choice of saving him. 

Yuji’s strategies for dealing with complicated emotions all revolve around avoidance rather than confrontation. Especially in regards to his close friends, Yuji is in no doubt a friendly guy but do you notice while he trusts his friends to fight alongside, he never really confides in them or tells them what’s going on in his life? He encourages Fushigoro to be more open but rarely does the same. If Yuji and Megumi were open and honest with one another, there wouldn’t be a long drawn out chapter where they both decide to keep secrets from each other. 

Yuji deals with his emotions by repressing them until he can’t. It’s a scene that repeats three times. First in the fight against the cursed womb, then in the fight against Mahito after losing Junpei, and finally in the second fight against Mahito.

Yuji hits his limit, and then represses himself and keeps going forward even when that’s not working. We see that’s even his resolve at the end of the Mahito fight, he’s just going to keep mechanically forcing himself onwards even though we’ve shown time after time, this never works. Yuji just represses himself until he explodes again.

I bring up his “just keep moving forward” logic because 1) it doesn’t work, and 2) for the most recent arc it’s a clear parallel to Yuta. Yuta’s most defining character trait being that, just like Yuji he’s a person who seems like a good guy on the surface, who seems timid, passive, but otherwise approachable, soft nice guy. Only to completlely flip out. 

Now Yuji’s craziness is probably going to reflect in Yuta who is hunting him down, because they both have this same tendency. They’re both so unhealthy at handling they’re emotions, they just bottle it all up until they explode. Except this time, rather than fighting a clear enemy, like Geto, or Mahito, they might be pointed at each other. Yuji’s unhealthy habit of resorting to violent anger when someone he loves gets hurts, is now reflected in Yuta who is angry with Yuji for cutting off the arm of Inumaki and hurting his loved one. 

[tardytothepardy]

Fruits Basket - Vol 17

I am,,, confused. Thoroughly. Did I read this too fast? Am I misunderstanding? This book felt like a series of "What? Huh? What? Huh? What? Whuhh?? Huhhhhh?????" and I am kinda bewildered.

So let's talk about it,,, somehow.

It starts with Shigure and Hatori talking about Akito's meltdown at New Year's, and how apparently Shigure tried to comfort Akito, but Akito was having none of it. The topic of Kureno came up, and how he just seems off, disconnected, in a sense, and also how Akito seems to have chosen Kureno above all the other Juunishi.

Panning over to Kureno, in the previous book Momiji gave him the CD of the play, "Sorta Cinderella". He seemed pretty affected by the things that Uotani said, but they also reminded him of moments with Akito, when he was younger. He calls Shigure later, asking for Tohru, which Shigure finds odd. What business would the two of them have? But it turns out that later, Tohru does run into Kureno, on her way to the store. She was squatting next to a bunch of birds, and when he showed up, they flew away. This is important at all, because that isn't what usually happens to the animals that the Juunishi share a spirit with (agh how to phrase things), in fact it's the opposite. Tohru asks Kureno about this, and then he solidifies any questions by hugging her and,,,, nothing happens. Somehow, he isn't affected by the curse. It has no hold on him, he won't turn into a bird (I suppose a rooster, specifically, which is kinda sad bc I was looking forward to that, in a little way. It'd be funny, if nothing else) if he gets really weak or sick, or if he hugs someone of the opposite sex.

Tohru asks him how this happened, and when, but Kureno doesn't really know. It happened randomly one day, a while back, but he has no idea was triggered it. It's just that, one day, he was vibin, doing his thing, and it just happened. No one else in the family knows, he's just been pretending that he's still a Juunishi. Kureno also said that he can't be with Uotani, that the CD was a wasted attempt, because he's promised to be with and take care of another person, that person being Akito. Kureno makes it clear, though, that he still does care for Uotani, but he just can't be with her. This whole time, it's been switching between the current interaction between Kureno and Tohru, and flashing back to when Kureno first realized that the curse broke for him, and Akito was just fucking losing his mind, screaming and shit. He begged for Kureno to stay, regardless of the curse (btw, at this point, Kureno's a teenager, and Akito's still a little kid, so it was a little while ago), and Kureno said that he would promise to stay with Akito, stay by his side, pretend that he's still a Juunishi, etc.

And then, at the end of the chapter, something is revealed: apparently Akito's a girl. To be honest, I'm not really sure what to do with this information. As far as I can remember, it doesn't really have much to do with anything. Why has he (she? fuck. I have no idea.) been presenting as a boy this whole time? Because his mom forced him, since he was born. Why did she do that? I don't know, it didn't say in this book. Hopefully it fucking clarifies later on, because I'm just getting vibes from that one Insidious movie, with that ghost/demon person. Wasn't that their deal? Something like that. Reversed, but something like that. Idk, I was too busy being scared shitless to think about the intricacies of the plot.

Anyway, so Akito's apparently a girl, but has been raised as a boy. Four of the Juunishi know this: Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and Kureno, because they were all kids when Akito was born. Apparently, when Akito's mom (her name is Ren) was pregnant with Akito, they all came to her and were crying and shit, acting super weird. Like, they all just knew that Akito would be the God.

As a fun side note, Ren and Akito fucking hate each other. Just,, so much. Is there a person in the Sohma family that doesn't have familial issues, because it just seems like there are a lot of people who do. I think maybe Kagura doesn't? I haven't seen anything saying she has issues. Nothing much has been said about Shigure's, Hatori's, or Kureno's families, so maybe they're okay? I dunno, but one of the things that specifically shows up between Ren and Akito, is that Ren does not believe in the "bond" that Akito and the rest of the Juunishi have, saying that it's a fake love, that, if given the choice, the Juunishi would not behave or treat Akito the way they do, which is kinda true. From what I read about when Yuki first met Akito, there were a lot of conflicting feelings, ranging from "I hate you but also I never want to be away from you" to "This is hell on earth just being near this person but also to be away from this person is agony", and like, whoa. That's a lot. I doubt it's like that at all anymore, but there has been some mentions that Akito does have some higher hold on the Juunishi than other people do.

All this said and done, I still want to know more. I am heavily curious. I'd like to know more about Akito's whole situation. I'm glad he's not just a one-dimensional "bad guy", but dang, some of this stuff, it just feels like it's coming out of left field. (Is that a baseball thing? That sounds like a baseball thing. Idioms are weird.)

By the time that Kureno leaves, Tohru's a wreck. She's crying, and confused, and just,,, yikes. (I kinda was too, but just the confused part.) And so who comes to the rescue than Hanajima, and also Hanajima, but the small one. (I realized recently that most of these people are referred to by their first names, except for like, Uotani and Hanajima, which makes sense. A massive swath of these characters would all be "Sohma". It'd be confusing as fuck. But still. Idk) Hanajima felt Tohru's sheer confusion and despair, and Megumi tagged along because why not, y'know?

Hanajima decided that Tohru would stay with her for the night, so that she and Tohru and Uotani could all talk stuff out about what Tohru was upset about. Unfortunately for Shigure, Yuki and possibly Kyo? I don't think he was home at the time but maybe??, that meant that Tohru wasn't making dinner. So Yuki potentially gave Shigure and himself food poisoning, but hey, it's better than takeout, right? (Seriously, Tohru's back must be tired from cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, and dealing with everyone's emotional baggage, she's doing so much. And she still has her own personal shit that she does, like,,, how hasn't she lost her shit yet??)

Tohru says that Kureno was kind, in that he was looking out for other people's feelings and wellfare before his own, and Hanajima says that she (Tohru) does the same thing (which is what Uotani first saw in Kureno, and why she thought that he was like Tohru), but Hanajima worries that the more that Tohru does that, the more that she carries the worries and troubles of other people, it could end up hurting her. (We love a caring friend that cares) In the end, Uotani tells Tohru that it's okay, that she cares more about the relationships she has now than whatever she might have had with Kureno, which was nice.

Moving onwards, the school is making preparations for graduation! I don't think Tohru and Co. are graduating quite yet (maybe they are idk), but there are these paper flowers that they're making, and for some reason, shenanigans ensue. Like, a group of girls just nabbing a bunch of flowers that Kyo made?? Why? That's really weird of you to do. Stop that. (They were tracked down and forced to make up for all the flowers they stole, because for some reason they wouldn't give back the flowers they stole.) It's kinda weird, I forgot that Kyo is also kinda popular with girls, because usually we only hear from the girls that fawn over Yuki. But yeah, that's a thing for Kyo, as well. Weird, either way.

Now we are at the last chunk of the book, hooray! This isn't as long as the previous one 😬. So, Shigure and Akito got something weird going on. I'm not really sure what to think of it, honestly. Apparently Shigure slept with Ren, and Akito kicked him out of the main house as a punishment, which Shigure did not fight back at all. (wow that was not a large section at all i totally didn't just lose steam and stop right there at all nope not me i don't do that not at all)

I'll admit that part of me is still kinda,, squeamish? I guess? about people in the Sohma household being in relationships, it's just that they all have "Sohma", that is probably messing me up. Idk. It's definitely not a healthy relationship. All kinds of weird tensions and miscommunication abound. It's not a good time.

[rebeccathewinterqueen]

Awakening: Megumi-chan

Title: Awakening (The Samaya Court Book 1)

Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon

Characters: Yuugi Mutou, Jounouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, Miho Nosaka, Anzu Mazaki, Sugoroku Mutou, Kimiko Mutou (Yuugi’s mother), Eevee

A/N: No, the manga mentioned here isn’t Pokemon Adventures. I have a plan for that later in the series, but not for a while. Also, trying to lengthen the chapters a bit so every episode doesn’t end up three parts, though this was a lot longer than I originally intended. Do you guys prefer longer chapters?

Read Chapter 3: Furious Battle pt 3 here

A few days after discovering Eevee in his room, and Yuugi still hadn’t told his grandfather. He just didn’t know how to tell the older man. How does one go about telling someone a creature from a game is actually real? Yuugi wondered, poking listlessly at his breakfast.

“Well, isn’t this interesting,” Sugoroku murmured, laying the morning’s newspaper on the table. “Yuugi, have you seen this article? That game you like is being featured.” He abandoned breakfast and scooted around the table to see what his grandfather was talking about.

INDUSTRIAL ILLUSIONS GAME BROUGHT TO LIFE?

Yuugi frowned, skimming quickly over the paragraphs. According to the article, real life Pokemon had been spotted around all of Kanto over the last few days. The journalist questioned if it was merely an elaborate prank, or if Industrial Illusions, the company that created the Pokemon card game, had created mechanical versions of the monsters as a promotion for their upcoming expansion pack.

This was the best opportunity he was going to get, he decided. He took a breath. “Jii-chan?”

“Yes, Yuugi?”

“Do you think this article is real?”

“I should hope not,” Kimiko said briskly, bustling in with her own breakfast. Yuugi flinched; he had thought she would be gone for the day already. In addition to keeping the books for the shop, his mother also did payroll for a few other small businesses in the area, and today was a day she normally did her rounds. “I’ve seen those cards. Normal animals are messy enough, let alone having ones running around spitting fire.” She grimaced.

“It might not be so bad,” Sugoroku said thoughtfully. He scratched his chin. “Some of them are pretty cute.”

“In the manga they’re friendly,” Yuugi offered quietly. They had started releasing volumes every month since last September. After Eevee’s appearance he had looked through his cards and the few chapters that had been released for just a little information on his new friend. There wasn’t much.

The card had only recently been released as part of the Jungle expansion and mentioned eevee having an irregular genetic code that could be influenced by radiation from elemental stones. The listed attacks were Tail Wag and Quick Attack. The former kept the opponent from attacking eevee on their next turn and the latter was a simple attack that might do more damage if the player managed to flip heads. And the manga had only mentioned an eevee once in passing.

The manga was cute and fun, but if Yuugi was honest, if it hadn’t been related to his favorite card game he probably wouldn’t have bothered with it. It was pretty basic.

“Cats and dogs are friendly,” Kimiko pointed out, “but they still make a mess. Yuugi, you should finish getting ready for school, dear. You’ll need to leave soon.”

“Right.” He shoved another few bites in his mouth and stood. “Thanks for breakfast!” He took his dishes to the sink and headed back upstairs to grab his school bag, managing to sneak his portion fish in a napkin up with him.

“I hope he’s not going to start asking for a pet,” his mother grumbled as he rounded the corner to the stairs.

“Maybe you should let him have one,” his grandfather suggested mildly. “Something small, like a cat, maybe.”

“One more thing for me to clean up.”

Yuugi shook his head and went upstairs. He didn’t blame his mother for not wanting to clean up after an animal when she already did so much around the house, plus her bookkeeping. He had been trying to do better with keeping his room clean for the last few days so his mother wouldn’t have to search around for laundry—the less searching she had to do, the better Eevee could hide.

The Pokemon was sleeping in his windowsill when he opened the door. She cracked her eyes open and made a quiet noise before closing them again. She didn’t even uncurl or move around. He set the fish on the desk and petted her gently before heading out. He wasn’t worried; she had managed to hide this long without his interference, so he knew her hearing must be as sharp as any cat or dog’s.

He should take her out, he decided as he headed down the stairs. He managed to sneak her outside in the evenings to do her business, but she really needed to run around and play. He hadn’t before because he hadn’t found a secluded enough spot, but if the newspaper article was right, he might not even need to because other Pokemon were popping up all over the place.

“I’m headed out,” he called, barely listening to his mother and grandfather wish him a good day. The park would probably be fine, he decided. He would just stay away from the road. Maybe after school. His mother would be gone until sometime this evening, so he would have a couple hours to let her run around. They might even see another Pokemon, he thought with a grin.

“Well, don’t you look happy today,” Anzu teased, walking up next to him. “Good news at home?”

Yuugi shook his head. “Not particularly. But I saw a really cool news article.”

“What, the thing about the Pokemon sightings?” Yuugi nodded. “Yeah, that was kinda cool to see,” Anzu admitted. “Surprised it was the headliner, though. Did you see the article about the prison break?”

“There was a prison break?” Yuugi asked.

Anzu nodded. “Some guy called Jiro the Jorogumo. Apparently he’s really good at disguises and he got put away for robbery.”

“Guess I should make sure Jii-chan knows.” Domino was a small city and not without it’s crime, but they lived in a relatively quiet area. They still locked their doors, but it might be a good idea to lock up the more valuable merchandise until they caught the guy again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

“No, I swear I saw a caterpie hanging around Kaa-san’s Oran bushes!”

Another girl snorted. “Probably just a caterpillar, that’s what it’s based on, right?”

“Caterpillars don’t get that big,” her friend insisted. She held her hands about a foot apart. “Like that!”

“It’s just a hoax,” her friend insisted. She held the other girl’s hand. “I know you really like Pokemon and butterfree’s like, your favorite, but—”

The girl pulled away, scowling. “But nothing! I didn’t imagine it, it wasn’t a trick, it was real!” Her face grew stormier with every word. “You think I’m lying?”

Yuugi dropped into his seat and set his bag on his desk’s hook. The news article was the most popular topic of conversation that morning. He didn’t know either girl very well, but they had always been friends. He had never heard them argue before.

Jounouchi took the seat in front of him, Honda and Miho not too far behind. “What are those two fighting about?”

“Um, remember the card game? Pokemon?” Yuugi kept his voice down, trying not to draw the attention of the arguing girls. Jounouchi nodded. “Did you see the newspaper this morning?”

“No.” Jou frowned at him. “Why, what’s that got to do with it?”

“Oh, I saw it,” Honda said, nodding. “Seems like some kind of elaborate prank to me.”

“There have been sightings of real life Pokemon all around Kanto,” Yuugi elaborated. “People seeing them all over the place.”

“That would be super cool,” Jou said with a grin. “Can you imagine having a charmander?”

“Some people just have way too much time on their hands,” Honda muttered. “Seriously, who has the time to do a prank like this? It completely took over the front page.”

“Well, what if it was real?” Yuugi asked nervously. His palms started to sweat a little, and he discreetly wiped them off. “What if we could have a Pokemon?”

“What, like, pick them up off the street?” Anzu wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I could handle a feral cat, let alone a monster from a card game.”

“The manga makes them look pretty sweet,” Miho said, biting her lip. “I don’t think they’d be very feral. It would be really cool to have a vulpix, too.” She clapped her hands together and smiled. “They’re so adorable!”

“I…didn’t know you read the manga, Miho-chan,” Honda said weakly, looking torn. Yuugi knew Honda—as the president of the beautification club he worked hard to be seen as sensible and make the school as presentable as possible, and these Pokemon sightings weren’t sensible at all. But Miho was clearly interested and thought they would be cool, and he had such a huge crush on her he tended to agree with everything she said.

Miho nodded, oblivious to the internal conflict Yuugi could see brewing in Honda’s eyes. “Oh yes. It’s really cute. I like the game, too. There’s not as many cute Pokemon cards as I would like, but the upcoming expansion is supposed to change that.”

“I have a deck, too,” Anzu confessed, “though I haven’t played very much.”

“Yep, me three,” Jou said, nodding along. “And I’ve seen Yuugi’s deck, so I know he’s into it too.”

Yuugi nodded enthusiastically. “I started playing not long after it came out.” He smiled at Honda. “If you want, I could bring you some of my extra cards. You can build a deck and we can all play together.”

Miho bounced slightly on her toes. “That sounds like so much fun! Hey, maybe we could meet up after school? We’ll get Honda-kun started, and then we could all play each other.”

“That sounds fun,” Anzu agreed happily. “Should we go to Yuugi’s after school?”

Yuugi froze, his smile becoming fixed. If they came over to his house, they would see Eevee, and he still hadn’t told them about her. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”

Jou frowned. “Why not?”

“Um…” The bell rang, saving him from having to answer, and his friends were forced to go to their seats. He sighed quietly as the homeroom teacher walked in and they rose in greeting.

Maybe he should just tell them? But what if they didn’t believe him? It would be great to show them, but would it be a good idea to crowd everyone into his room for it? What if Eevee didn’t like crowds?

A trip to the park was sounding better and better. Maybe they could hang out there? That way he could introduce them without Eevee feeling like she was trapped, and then they could play cards together after. He perked up. It would be great, he was sure. They would all love Eevee—she was small and cute and most assuredly not a robot or a puppet. He would tell them at lunch he wanted to go to park.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

By the end of the day Yuugi thought he was going to throw up. What if his friends were mad at him for waiting to tell them? He knew he hadn’t known Jou, Honda, or Miho for very long, but he had known Anzu since elementary school and he really should have told her sooner. She was always honest and straightforward with him—it was one of the things he liked best about her.

Well, he thought, he would just have to make it up to her. He marched home—alone for the first time in the last few days. Anzu had always been on-and-off about whether she could walk home with him or not, or if he could walk with her, but Jou had been stuck to his side like glue ever since they had become friends. It felt odd that he wasn’t there now.

“Jii-chan, I’m home,” Yuugi called, walking in the front door of the game shop.

“Welcome home,” Sugoroku responded cheerfully. He set down the magazine he had been reading, the pages revealing a colorful two-page spread about the upcoming Pokemon expansion. “How was school?”

“Pretty boring,” Yuugi confessed. He cracked a smile. “Mostly everyone talked about the news.”

“The Pokemon article? I imagine everyone would have been excited about that one.”

“Yeah, mostly that and the breakout.”

“Oh, yes, I saw that article too.” Sugoroku frowned thoughtfully. “I guess I should keep some of the pricier merchandise in the stock room overnight. I can’t imagine what that man would try to steal here—I remember his case, and he always targeted places like jewelry stores—but I suppose if he was desperate enough…”

“I guess so.” Yuugi stepped over to the side door that led to the house and kicked off his shoes. “I’m just going to grab my cards, then I’m hanging out at the park with my friends. We’re going to see if we can get Honda started on a deck.”

“Go on, then,” the older man said, waving him on with a smile. “And make sure you’re home by dinner.”

“Okay!”

Eevee was waiting for him when he opened his bedroom door, lying on his bed on her back, paws in the air as she wriggled. She rolled over onto her stomach, ears pricked. “Vee?”

Yuugi quickly emptied his bag. “We’re going to the park today,” he said, keeping his voice low. He scratched her ears. “I want to introduce you to my friends.”

“Eevee!” She jumped to her feet, tail wagging and eyes shining. She hopped onto the floor and raced over to him, jumping at his chest. He caught her reflexively, giggling helplessly when she licked his cheek.

“Alright, alright!” He felt even guiltier now. He should have found a way to take her out sooner. “Let me get my cards and then we’ll go. Are you okay being in my bag?” She looked at it critically, then barked her agreement. “Let’s go, then.”

His extra cards didn’t take up too much space, thankfully. He picked them up from his desk. They mostly stayed in a small flat box, the inside separated into three slots for Pokemon, trainer cards, and energy cards. He set it on the bottom of the bag and let Eevee jump in after. He zipped the bag most of the way, leaving the top slightly open so she could breathe and wouldn’t feel too claustrophobic.

“Just keep your head down, okay?” he whispered, carefully putting the backpack on. He felt Eevee scrunch down against his back, then went back downstairs, much slower than he normally was.

“Jii-chan, I’m going now,” he called through the doorway. He hastily slid his shoes back on, trying to get out the door before his grandfather could see him.

“You must have more cards than I thought,” Sugoroku commented, looking up from his magazine. “Have fun with your friends, Yuugi.”

Yuugi froze for a moment, shoulders tensed. He forcibly relaxed them. “I will!”

He sighed in relief as the door closed behind him. That was way too close for comfort. He was just glad his grandfather thought he was carrying a lot of cards and didn’t notice the shape of the bump was too round to be his card box.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Yuugi had hoped to be the first one to arrive at the park. He had wanted to pick a more secluded spot so he could introduce Eevee, maybe let her out beforehand so she could look around too. Unfortunately, by the time he got there Honda and Jou were already sitting at the pavilion, a covered area with several picnic benches. Jou had a Ziploc of cards sitting on the table, but neither of them were looking at them and their faces were uncharacteristically grim.

Jou smiled and waved when he saw him, though, erasing the dark look entirely. It was almost enough to make Yuugi think he had made a mistake, but Honda wasn’t nearly as good at hiding his face.

“Hey Jounouchi-kun, Honda-kun,” Yuugi greeted. He carefully shrugged out of his backpack and set it on the table. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah, man.” Jounouchi leaned back with an easy smile, hands locked behind his head. Honda stayed quiet, face still serious. “Everything’s good. What all do you have in the bag? You can’t tell me it’s all cards.”

“It’s not all cards,” Yuugi admitted. He winked. “But I’m not telling until the girls get here.”

“They shouldn’t be too long, should they?” Jou leaned forward, reaching for the bag. “Nothing wrong with a little peek, right?”

Yuugi pulled the bag to his chest, hugging it tightly. Eevee shifted slightly, but Jou and Honda didn’t seem to notice. “No peeking!”

Jou sat up with a pout, arms crossed. “Fine, no peeking.” He gave Yuugi his best rendition of puppy dog eyes. “At least a hint?”

“Okay.” Yuugi thought for a minute. What kind of hint could Yuugi give that wouldn’t give the whole thing away? If he referenced the news article they would get it immediately. “It…it has to do with the game,” he finally said, feeling his way slowly through the words. “And Miho will really like it.”

“Y-you brought Miho a present?” Honda gave him a despairing look.

Yuugi winced. “Um, not a present for her. It’s mine. I just think it’s something she’ll happen to like.”

This didn’t seem to help. Honda stood, hands planted on the table. “Why not bring her a present? Miho’s beauty and kindness put even the most perfect rose to shame, she deserves—!”

“Easy, Honda,” Jou sighed. He grabbed his friend’s arm and tugged him back down. “Relax, will you?”

Maybe he should have picked a better hint, Yuugi thought. Invoking Miho was a sure-shot way of getting Honda all worked up.

“Hey guys!” Yuugi looked over to see Anzu waving at them, Miho walking next to her with a huge pink binder. The girls joined them, Anzu sitting next to Yuugi and Miho placing her binder carefully on the table before sitting next to her. “Sorry we took so long. Miho hid her cards too well.”

“My cards are very important,” the other girl huffed, nose in the air. “I don’t want anyone to steal them. Especially with that escaped thief running around.”

Anzu pulled a small deck builder box from her school bag and set it on the table next to the binder. “Miho, I don’t think that guy’s interested in stealing game cards.”

“Well, he could be! Didn’t you hear about that collector in Unova? Someone killed him, and the only thing missing was his Mew card!”

“I remember hearing about that,” Yuugi said, frowning thoughtfully. “It was a really rare promotional card from when the game first released. Only four were ever released, put into random card packs. They’re worth at least 300,000 yen.”

“And our cards won’t compare to that,” Anzu finished. She patted Miho’s hand. “You’re a really good player, but your cards aren’t that rare. Which you should be glad about.”

Miho deflated and sighed. “I guess so.”

“Cheer up, Miho!” Honda grabbed her hand with both of his. “Yuugi brought something with him that he said you’ll like!”

“A present? For me?” Miho blinked and turned to Yuugi with a bright smile. “You didn’t have to bring me anything, Yuugi!”

Yuugi almost smacked himself in the forehead. He leaned onto the table, face cradled in one hand, but the landing was still pretty hard. “It isn’t a present,” he muttered. “I just wanted to introduce you guys, jeez…”

Jou blinked. “What, like, a pet or something? You carried a pet all the way in your school bag?”

“Yuugi,” Anzu groaned. “What if it made a mess?”

“She didn’t make a mess,” Yuugi protested, waving his hands. He took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll just…” He unzipped his bag. “Eevee, you can come out now.”

“Veeeee~.” He ignored his friends looks—from the confused looks Honda and Jou sported to Miho’s excitement and Anzu’s unease—they weren’t what mattered right then. Eevee stood with a luxurious stretch, her back arched much like a cat’s, but since she was in the backpack all his friends could see was a set of ears and a fluffy tail. Then she jumped out, using Yuugi’s arm as a brief launching pad to get to the picnic table.

“This is Eevee,” Yuugi said, petting her head gently. “Eevee, these are my friends. Anzu, Miho-chan, Jounouchi-kun, and Honda-kun.” He pointed to each of them in turn, letting Eevee focus on them briefly before moving on. The manga showed Pokemon as very willing to battle and occasionally more than a little protective, and he didn’t want her to mistake his friends’ joking and playing as “attacking” him.

“She’s so adorable!” Miho exclaimed, hands clasped over her heart. She scooped Eevee up, cuddling her close.

“That’s an Eevee,” Jou said slowly, face blank.

Anzu reached over to carefully run her hand down the length of Eevee’s back, burying her fingers in the luxurious fur. “It’s real! Yuugi, how…?”

“She,” he corrected her gently. “And I’m not sure.” He wrapped his hand around the Puzzle. “Well, I think I have a theory, but you might think it’s silly…”

“We won’t laugh,” Anzu promised. She glared at the boys. “Right?”

Honda and Jou shrank back. “Right.”

“Well,” Yuugi said, “remember how I completed the Millennium Puzzle a few days ago?” His friends nodded. “It…well, it started glowing, and then Eevee was there the next day. I woke up, and she was asleep on the bed.”

“So you think solving the Puzzle made it—sorry, her,” Jou corrected hurriedly, raising his hands. Eevee had twisted to glare at him, and Yuugi struggled to keep a straight face when Jou backed off, acting the same way he did when Anzu was upset. “Sorry. You think solving it made her appear?”

Yuugi nodded jerkily. Eevee wriggled in Miho’s arms until the girl let her go, then stood in front of Yuugi, snuggling against his face happily. He hugged her back.

“That kind of makes sense,” Anzu said thoughtfully. She tapped her cheek with one finger. “Yeah, I can see how you might come to that conclusion. You solve the Millennium Puzzle, and then Eevee appears, so the Puzzle must be why.”

“But you don’t think it’s true,” Yuugi said softly. He looked down at Eevee and petted her.

“Sorry, no,” Anzu said, shaking her head. “I mean, the Puzzle is really small, it’s not like she could fit in there. And the other Pokemon wouldn’t, either, assuming they’re not a hoax.”

“Jii-chan said it was a magical artifact,” Yuugi pointed out. “I don’t think they would have been physically trapped in the Puzzle. Maybe…maybe it just unlocked something?”

“…I think maybe Yuugi’s right,” Miho said, smiling. “What other explanation is there?”

“Well…” Honda said slowly. Yuugi wondered how hard it was for him to disagree with anything Miho said. “There’s a rumor Kaiba Corp partnered with Industrial Illusions for a video game. You’ve heard it, right? Maybe they’re robots! Or maybe they were grown in a lab somewhere. Plus the release of the new card expansion is right around the corner. They could have released their creations as a promotion.” Honda looked at Jounouchi, who was sitting with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. “Right, Jou?”

“I don’t think even Kaiba Corp has the technology to make an entirely new biological creature,” Jou said. He cracked one eye open to look at the girls. “And did she feel like a robot to you?” Miho shook her head rapidly, and after a moment, Anzu followed suit. “Then I think Yuugi’s idea has the most merit.” Yuugi looked up, staring at Jou with wide eyes.

“Magic?” Honda asked dryly. Jou nodded. “…magic?”

Jou twitched. “Makes more sense than Kaiba Corp growing her in a lab,” he growled. “They aren’t even involved in medicine, they’re a tech company!”

This devolved into Jou and Honda arguing. Anzu and Miho scooted closer to Yuugi.

“…do you really think the Puzzle is why Eevee is here?” Anzu asked softly. Yuugi nodded, his stomach knotting up. “Well…I guess unlocking something makes more sense than her coming from the Puzzle directly…”

“Maybe we should ask your grandfather,” Miho said softly, scritching Eevee on top of her head. Yuugi froze.

He hadn’t told Jii-chan.

He had been so focused on hiding Eevee he had forgotten Jii-chan. He could have said something before he left! It would have been the perfect time, too, because Kaa-san hadn’t come back yet. And Jii-chan might have been able to help him convince Kaa-san.

“You didn’t tell him?” Anzu hissed, taking in the look on his face with wide eyes. “Yuugi!”

“I forgot,” he wailed. Eevee licked his cheek, but it didn’t do much to distract him. “I was trying to think of a name and I wanted to get her to the park and I forgot!” Honda and Jou stopped arguing to look at him, their faces alarmed.

“Well, damn,” Jou muttered. “What are you going to do? I can’t take her home for you, pal. Sorry.”

“I can’t either,” Anzu murmured. Miho shook her head.

“I’ll tell Jii-chan,” Yuugi assured them. He bit his lip. “Next time Kaa-san’s out…I can hide her in my room until then…”

Understanding dawned on Anzu’s face. “That’s right, I forgot. Your mom doesn’t like pets.”

“My parents work in Celadon,” Honda said, licking his lips. “Maybe…I mean, they won’t be back until the weekend, so she could stay with me a couple days, you know? Until you get the opportunity to tell your grandfather.”

“Really? You would do that for me, Honda-kun?” Yuugi asked, vision blurring slightly. He blinked rapidly.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Honda assured him. “Just let me know when you want to pick her up. And you can come see her any time.”

“Thank you!” He half-launched himself over the table and grabbed Honda around the neck, pulling him into a hug. Honda yelped, then patted him on the back. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou—”

Miho giggled. “Yuugi, smothering Honda-kun isn’t a good way to show gratitude.”

Yuugi flushed and let him go. “Sorry, Honda-kun.”

“It’s fine.” Honda rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we come up with a name for Eevee-chan? That’ll make introducing her to Mutou-san much easier.”

“That’s a great idea,” Jou said enthusiastically. “But, uh…why don’t we find a place to get a drink? It’s a little warm out today.”

Yuugi nodded. It was a little warmer than normal, and he was sure Eevee had it worse because of her fur. “There’s a new restaurant that just opened up,” he suggested. “BurgerWorld. I’ve been meaning to try there.”

“Yeah, they already have a pretty good reputation,” Anzu said thoughtfully. “I heard they have a Pecha smoothie that’s to die for.”

“Sounds like it’s settled, then,” Jou said. They stood to go, and Yuugi let Eevee down to walk next to them.

They were silent as they walked, until Miho broke it was a soft hum. “Hey Yuugi…Eevee’s a pretty rare card, right? What about Takara? With the kanji for ‘treasure’.”

Eevee made a face, and Yuugi giggled helplessly. She looked like she had just swallowed a mouthful of vinegar. “Not that one, I guess…hey, if you want to evolve into Vaporeon, we could name you Yoko! We could write it as ‘ocean child’.” Eevee shook her head. “Alright…”

“Well, it’s spring time,” Jou pointed out. “What about Sakiko? For ‘flower child’.” Eevee tilted her head, as if considering it, but ultimately shook it, tail twitching.

Honda was the next to speak up, after a few more minutes of silent walking. “Akemi can be written as ‘bright and beautiful’. That’s an auspicious name.” She almost seemed happy with that one, but shook her head eventually. “I guess you’re more cute, anyway…” Eevee yipped at him, and he held his hands up. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way!”

“Hey, what about Megumi?” Anzu asked. She smiled at Eevee and Yuugi. “It can be written to mean ‘love and affection’. I think that fits her really well.”

Yuugi looked down at Eevee. “What do you think?”

Eevee seemed to think it over for a minute. Then she wagged her tail once, ears pricked. “Vee!”

“I think she approves.” Yuugi smiled brightly. “Thanks, Anzu.”

“It’s no problem!” She reached down and rubbed the newly-named Megumi’s ears. “I’m just glad Megumi-chan likes her new name.”

“Awesome!” Jou cheered. “Good timing too—we’re here! Let’s celebrate!”

[polar-stars]

Can I just say...? #2 - About Chapter 278

So....EU agreed on Article 13 today and I am pretty bummed. I honestly don’t know anymore, but I might not be able to produce any content for the fandom anymore. 

Again, I really don’t know how this’ll actually work and if it will have an affect on fanfiction and fan art, everyone is saying something different. But...there is possibility so to speak. I think I’ll surely not be able to make edits anymore though. 

WHATEVER, I’ll use these last seconds of freedom from the Upload Filter to talk about a topic that has been on my heart since last Thursday now. 

What am I talking about? Chapter 278 of Shokugeki no Soma. Or rather....The reactions to it. 

So let’s start off right away after all my rambling about EU-Stuff: I did not like Chapter 278 and I don’t like the current arc as a whole as it is now. 

Before you click away; may I give my explanation why? 

Warning this is going to be all over the place as usual as I am basically just rambling off a ton of thoughts that have been on my mind most recently. 

What I am going to say now is probably going to sound outrageous to many of you and I’m pretty sure I’ll not be a in a good place after the following statement, but I am just going to say it now: 

The current arc feels like designed for a certain fanbase. And here’s the thing, if you’re not part of this fanbase....there is basically nothing to enjoy about this arc. 

You have to absolutely love the couple of Soma and Erina to enjoy this arc. Their relationship has to be at least 60% of the reason why you’re even reading the manga. 

And that’s my problem: Soma’s and Erina’s relationship is not my priority in this manga. Frankly, I never truly cared all that much with who Soma is going to end up with to be honest. My preference had always been Erina and I do love these two together, but I would be fine if it would be Megumi or heck, even Mayumi. Because, simply put, I do not read Shokugeki no Soma to see Soma and Erina end up together. 

Now I know that not everyone thinks that way and by all means, I don’t want to shove my point of view down other people’s throat. If the relationship of two of the main characters has a huge impact on your enjoyment on the manga and your reasoning for reading it, then that’s fine by me honestly. I just want to offer a different viewpoint. 

Because, people who enjoy the current arc, really take a look into it and maybe try to put yourself into the position of a person that doesn’t even has to necessarily hate Sorina or something, they are just not overly excited about it perhaps or don’t care about shipping in general, and try to find anything that is enjoyable about this arc aside from Soma’s and Erina’s moments. Anything.

To go a bit further, I’d like to explain what my main issue is at the moment. 

You see, I personally read Shokugeki mostly because of it’s cast, all of their colorful personalities and their fun interactions with each other. And to people like me this arc is more than frustrating. 

I want to get two things out of the way immediately. 

1. The saying goes around that “The side characters get no attention” is an argument used by salty SouMegu shipper who just want to disguise their real reasoning for hating this arc, which would be: “This arc is all about my NOTP”. And this is one of the problems this fandom has: You’re all so caught up in shipping that some of you fail to realize that the sidelining of the rest of the cast is a real issue. I’m going to explain why in a second. But really: Not everything has to be about ships alright. Also, I am not a hardcore SouMegu shipper. I don’t mind SouMegu, but I always preferred Sorina. So no, I am not a salty SouMegu shipper who wants to disguise her real reasoning. And believe me, some of the people you’re accusing for that are not doing it either. Again, the sidelining of the characters is a real issue. 

2. No this is also not about me being bitchy because “!! My favorite characters (The Polar Star Dormitory Students) don’t get any screentiiiiiime!! Now I am mad!!”. Believe it or not, but I am actually quite advanced in having side characters as my favorite characters and I am perfectly fine with seeing them on the side because I am aware of their role in the story. I was also able to enjoy the Autumn Election Arc and the Stagiares and the Moon Banquet Festival. While I would not mind a little bit of development at all. Also Tsukuda has dropped hints that there could happen some development with Shun Ibusaki at least but...People just forget I think. I would be fine if it didn’t happen at this point. 

The big problem is that most of the cast has barely gotten any development since Central Arc started. 

While Central was still happening within school, they were at least around but most of them didn’t do anything of much significance. 

Then half of the cast was expelled and doomed to stay in the shadows doing nothing for over a year. While the cast that was allowed to stay received garbage treatment, except for Soma and Erina. 

Now the cast is basically dead. Some of the girls are allowed to have little cameos here, but we rarely see anyone these days and we have basically no idea what’s happening in the life of the other people. 

And this is my issue. I am going to be brutally honest now, excuse me, but Soma and Erina are just simply not very interesting to me right now. Easy as that. 

Why? 

A. They’re, again, not my main reason for reading this manga. 

B. They are the ones who received a ton of screen time and a ton of development most recently. 

I do realize that they’re the main characters but is it that hard to let them take the backseat for a bit, to leave some room for the characters that really do need development right now? It’s my humble opinion that Erina’s and Soma’s romance can be saved for later. 

Let’s talk about how undeveloped most of the cast is: 

1. Alice - Back in the Autumn Elections, Alice’s problem was that she was way too focused on making the dish as spectacular as possible that she lost a little bit of sight of the actual topic. Now, normally you’d show that she had learned from that mistake and is now a better chef than back then. But did we see any of that? No. So she can still be further developed. 

2. Hisako - Could still be a lot more ambitious and actually try to fight her way to the top. 

3. Ryo - For Ryo having so much focus time during the AE, we still know very little about him. How the hell did he end up in a pub in Denmark while having a Japanese surname? What happened. 

4. Takumi - Still didn’t had a Shokugeki with Soma, despite it being the first thing he mentioned when appearing. Still no Mezzaluna. 7th Seat even though he participated in the RDC. 

5. Ikumi - Has sadly become very irrelevant in these days and is almost a carbon copy of her former self. It’s like she is only defined by her crush for Soma nowadays and is just there to make fun of. 

6. Isami - Basically still stands in the shadows of his brother. 

7. PSD + Nao and Miyoko - Nothing since the AE premlins. 

A good example of how badly the cast is treated right now is the Neo Elite Ten: We basically know nothing about how this seating even happened. Why was Subaru kicked out, despite participating in the RDC? 

Also. 

How exactly did Nene and Eizan end up there?

Nene at least showed hints of a change of heart throughout RDC (but then again, would be nice to see if she actually changed from her match with Soma and is now not as tradition-focused as back then) but Eizan?!

Like excuse me if I am missing something here, but this character was pretty much a horrible person throughout the manga. He was a major antagonist. 

Like don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with him redeeming himself (cause I actually like Eizan, believe it or not) but come on, you can’t tell that this is in any way good writing: “Yeah, I am just going to take one of the biggest assholes and just make him join the good guys out of the sudden. No one will notice!” Like, I am not asking for an immediate, detailed explanation on how in the world Eizan redeemed himself but.....some exposition would be nice??! Am I really the only person who sees the glossing over the redemption of a major antagonist as a problem?

Basically: There is so much else we could be focusing on right now (There is also this “Handpicked Jewels Thing”....Yeah remember that one?) but what are we focusing on? Introducing another villain character (even though the first one was not the most well-received one), making him eat up a ton of screen time and giving the rest of the screen time to Soma and Erina, even though we just had a year-long arc (only counting the RDC mind you) that gave them a ton of screen time and put the side characters into the shadows. And for what: A love triangle story. 

And yeah, I guess if you love Sorina to death you can look over these issues and still have a great time. I admit that their balcony moment was cute. But my problem still remains, I don’t care that much about it. 

I could be a lot more forgiving if the plot was actually good, but it’s not in my opinion. So I just can’t enjoy it. I am sorry. 

“Tsukuda is still the author he can do whatever he wants.”

Yeah. 

I know that this post is not going to change Tsukuda’s writing. But people, Tsukuda is still an author. Authors do get criticism. All the time. Just as movie directors do and artists and actors etc. etc. 

And yeah he can do whatever he wants, doesn’t mean that I have to like it. 

“Well if you don’t like it, don’t read it.”

//sighs.

Okay listen, I could have said the exact same thing to all the people who were ranting over and over back when the Hot Spring Arc was happening. They were equally as frustrated as some of us are now. 

Why didn’t they stop reading?

Maybe you should consider why we are frustrated and why we do not like this arc instead of just feeling personally attacked because we’re criticizing an arc that happens to push your OTP a lot. 

Most of us do care a lot about Shokugeki no Soma. Watching through the anime back then is still a wonderful, enchanting memory to me that I am very fond of to be honest. I support it in any way that is possible to me. I buy the German edition of the manga, I bought the German edition of the anime + it’s absolutely wonderful German dub. I bought a little bit of merchandise already and plan to buy more. 

I love this manga and it’s characters with all my heart and seeing it going so downhill is actually quite hurtful okay. And I mostly shut up about it because I hate to mess with people and I hate raining on other people’s parades. 

But seeing how many excuses are made up to defend this arc and everything is immediately linked to shipping and people who happen to not like this arc are immediately “Megumi/SouMegu”-Fans who are just bitter is getting exhausting. 

Because again. There is literally nothing in this arc except Sorina. The side characters are dead, the exam was glossed over, we don’t even know what has changed on Totsuki now that Erina is headmaster except for the fact that everyone is on a challenge-spree and I find it....almost a little bit unfair to the readership that picked up this manga for it’s food, it’s wide cast, it’s interesting battles, it’s light-heartedness...y’know the things that the manga was about back in the days. It was perfectly functioning fine without much romance. 

And yeah, romance was inevitable. But what’s currently going on is not exactly very well-written and the bitterness also comes from general tiredness from the last arc already. 

Enjoy it all you want! I am not blaming you okay. But stop acting like all criticism is invalid because it’s because of shipping bias.

Take the shipping goggles off for a second and stop seeing everything black and white. 

That’s all I have to say on that matter. 

I am sorry if I sounded a little harsh at some points and I really did not intend to attack anyone in particular. I am just tired of seeing valid, negative opinions about the current chapter being brushed off as invalid. 

In the end we all have our own opinions and the right to enjoy whatever we like.

And hey, on a positive note: Maybe Erina’s kindapping will lead to an Elite 10 Battle against Azami’s crew so maybe at least a little bit of development will happen. 

Have a good day/night and treat yourself right.