#tsurumi was. also there. for some reason

[piduai]

tokyo love story had 0 plot relevance and yet noda gave it to us anyway when he didn't have to. i just love that arc so much, it's my favorite, and those 5 weeks when it was coming out were just so delightful thank you so much king

[zorionbbq]

oueghhhgh story with the eyebrows of all time

[windywhispers]

i probably say this a lot but !! i just love falling in love with the places in genshin !! i feel like i dont fall in love w places v much in games in general, but genshin seems to do it so easily because of how much lore they put into certain places to make you understand what its seen AND exploring those places becomes all the more exciting !!

[tsurumiau]

GOLDEN KAMUY x MARIO KART 8 DELUXE

a silly little post about what racer they'd choose if they played mario kart 8 deluxe (+ some headcanons)

SUGIMOTO

he'd 100% choose baby luigi . he thinks luigi is MUCH cooler than mario and he chose him as a baby because he thinks he'll go faster if tiny. he also always chooses the jet bike as the vehicle (what can i say it just looks like it goes very fast)

SHIRAISHI

HE WOULD ABSOLUTELY CHOOSE ROY . i mean look at his sunglasses he's clearly the coolest. shiraishi always gets the WORST items and when he finally gets a mushroom he ends up crashing against a wall or falling off the map

ASIRPA

king boo . she LOVES choosing king boo and screaming BOOOOOO SUGIMOTO IM GONNA EAT YOU when she's behind him (she really does it with everyone but sugimoto is the one who gets scared the most because he genuinely thinks king boo can eat other racers). she just loves feeling like a menace and hitting other racers all the time

OGATA

WHAT CAN I SAY they have the same black void eyes and i think ogata relates to him in a very deep way. ogata SUCKS at drifting but he throws bananas, bombs and green shells like a pro (doesn't matter if the other racer is behind or ahead of him)

TANIGAKI

tanooki mario because inkarmat told him tanooki mario reminds her of him. he always ends up being the last one because he absolutely SUCKS at mario kart

INKARMAT

100000% CAT PEACH . she's matching with tanigaki. she always drives extremely well and therefore ends up being one of the last ones with tanigaki (but theyre in the bottom 3 together)

KOITO

BABY PEACH . he thinks peach is an absolute GIRLBOSS and like sugimoto he thinks she'll go faster as a baby. he can NEVER win against ogata because ogata somehow always has shells or bananas or bombs and throws most of them at koito no matter if he's behind or ahead of ogata

TSUKISHIMA

toad . he didn't really know who to choose but koito INSISTED toad reminded him of toad and he thought choosing toad would be better than choosing the random option. he does NOT know what he's doing and tries to avoid the item boxes because he thinks they're obstacles for some reason. he sometimes ends up going THE OPPOSITE way but still manages to be in 11th place (just because tanigaki is worse)

TSURUMI

this man has his own mii (i made a mii just for him btw) . hes the kinda guy that has studied every object in the game and know how they all work and how to use them to win ... not a menace because hes a violent racer but because he just knows how to play

USHIYAMA

HE'S DEFINITELY DAISY . my man ushiyama chooses the prettiest girl and THAT'S DAISY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i think he's a pretty average mario kart player but sometimes he stops the vehicle because he accidentally pushes the backwards button (his fingers are too big, he thinks someone threw him a mysterious item that somehow stops the vehicle and he doesn't even notice he's the one doing it)

HIJIKATA

he thinks THE GAME gave him the character and he can't change it (he seriously believes he's stuck with mario but no one tells him because they all think he chose mario himself). despite that he's surprisingly good, not because he's a good racer but because he always gets triple red shells and annoys everyone with them

NIKAIDOU

his brother played wario (he will bite ANYONE who tries to pick wario) . he screams WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH in every jump or gliding part. he goes feral when he gets a superstar and starts hitting all the people he can

KIRORANKE

YOSHI !!!!!!!!!!! ironically he SUCKS at throwing bombs and ends up hitting himself with them (he HATES when they're playing battle mode and it's Bob-omb Blast time). he's VERY bad at first but gets better after playing a few times if you ignore him hitting himself with his own items

WILK

DRY BONES . hes a silly guy and picks the silliest guy !!!! a pretty average player methinks ... definitely laughs at every single person that gets hit with a shell but gets mad when hes the one that gets hit

[ramenrescue]

do you any headcanons/aus/thoughts on usao/ousa ? loved your analysis of ogata/asirpa

Oh boy, I might have too many thoughts about Usami and Ogata so this may have to come in parts, especially the AUs. I have started writing a modern day reincarnation fic for them because I am just very feral about these two at the moment, so if I ever finish that and feel compelled to put it out to the world I'll let you know. The thing about writing fic or manga is like -- I can write little snippets but to piece them together into one coherent story is very difficult.

Anyway, your ask came at such a prompt time because I managed to buy the Japanese volumes on Bookwalker for almost 50% off and I specifically reread the main parts with Usami, so they are quite fresh in my mind. I think I agree with other analyses I have read about Usami in that he is a direct foil to Ogata. And this can be seen in their superficial traits: Ogata has many square-shaped, angular, sharp motifs on his face, like his square-shaped eyes, square shaped iris, squared eyebrows, square jawline, square hairline, while Usami has rounded tips on his eyelashes, round moles on his cheeks, rounded lips (cupid's bow), concentric circles for his pupil/iris, and rounded brows. Usami excels at close-range combat, while Ogata excels at long-range combat. Usami grew up amongst a large family with many siblings, while Ogata grew up practically an only child.

But here's the weird part -- I actually don't think they are complete opposites -- I think they have some things in common. <- more on this later.

It is interesting how in Usami's backstory (Chapter 227), Tsurumi (in conversation with the dojo owner) refers to Usami as a "dog among sheep" and a "born soldier who is highly loyal, combative, and is able to kill without remorse or regret". Then, it cuts to Usami in present day saying he predicts the serial killer in Sapporo will return to the scene of the crime and masturbate while reminiscing of their crimes because he understands that sentiment on a personal level. Usami here appears to show understanding that he possesses an innate capacity for violence.

Ogata was always wondering about the whole nature vs nurture question -- like whether lacking remorse for the act of killing is something one is born with or a product of one's environment (ex. bad childhood, war). Usami is a shining example that humans can in fact kill without remorse, and everyone except Ogata knows Usami is an exception to the rule. Usami is well aware this is what makes him special and this is one of the reasons why Tsurumi values him so much as a subordinate.

The problem with Ogata is that because he appears to have very little personal connections outside of Usami during the war (which is... kind of cute in a pitiable way?), he misconstrues that people like Usami are the majority. Usami agrees with all of Ogata's skewed interpretations and analyses that "all (majority of) people do not feel remorse in the act of killing" and in doing that, he is straight up lying. Usami knows people like himself are in the minority -- and because his analysis of Ogata's character was so spot on -- I'll go as far to say Usami knows Ogata is "normal" -- because if Ogata were truly a "born soldier" like Usami, he would not be ruminating about the philosophy of guilt and killing and questioning himself and bouncing his ideas off of another person -- he would just simply, be. Usami receives further confirmation that Ogata is simply, "just a guy", when he overhears Ogata calling Yusaku's name in his sleep. Usami also calls Ogata a snot-nosed brat quite a number of times, and I think that is alluding to Usami knowing that Ogata is just a sheep wearing wolf's skin.

It's interesting that Ogata entrusted the inner workings of his mind to Usami. I thought about this and I came to the conclusion that maybe he saw his own mother in Usami -- which I know, it's kind of insane, but I'm going somewhere with this! In Chapter 304, when Ogata is reminiscing about his mother, it appears she has a prominent cupid's bow -- a physical characteristic possessed by Usami. His mother likely called Ogata by his first name, and Usami is shown to be THE only person in present day who calls Ogata by his first name. Ogata's mom was head over heels over a man in a position of power with a wife who never returned the same level of love, while Usami is head over heels over a "promiscuous" man in a position of power who will likely never return the same level of affection that he's outputting. Another interesting side note: Usami chides Ogata for being the illegitimate son of an escort* and back in the Edo period, women in the business would chop off their pinkie as a sign of loyalty to their patron. Although Ogata likely did not have a good vantage point (nor did he care) to observe Usami's final moments, I think it's still worth mentioning that Usami getting his pinkie chomped off by Tsurumi resembles an escort chopping off her finger as a sign of ultimate devotion to her customer, lol. Anyway, I think because Ogata drew parallels between Yusaku and Asirpa, it is not so far fetched that he saw his mother in Usami -- and ultimately his projection made him trust Usami more than one ever should. There is one more important evidence that Ogata saw his mother in Usami -- in that he killed both of them with similar intent. He killed his mom not out of hatred, but because he wanted to put her out of her misery -- and he thought that if his father came to her funeral, she would be happy. Before he shoots Usami, he says something like "if you're so worried about being Tsurumi's cheapest pawn, why don't you see what his face looks like at your funeral," and in a way, he is putting Usami out of his miserable state of feeling inadequate. Ogata killed his mother with conviction that the positive outcome would happen, while he kills Usami with more of a neutral outlook -- and interestingly, Ogata, by killing Usami, gave Usami the thing he wanted most in life -- a reaffirmation from Tsurumi that he was his one and only (which, whether Tsurumi was telling the truth or not is dubious from a reader's POV, but alas, we are happy for Usami).

So here we return to my earlier point -- that they are crafted to be very different from each other, but they do possess similarities. One obvious one is that they both yearn for affection from Tsurumi -- which highlights another difference in that, yes they both yearn for love, but the love they seek are different. Usami yearns for love from one person and one person only, while Ogata is more agnostic and yearns for love from pretty much anyone who is willing to give him attention. But here's the thing -- I think Ogata's yearning for affection is a product of his environment -- and I think Usami's yearning to be someone's one and only, is also a product of his environment! I think that because he grew up in a large family, the love from his parents was dispersed amongst all of their children***, fostering an environment ripe for someone like Tsurumi to sweep him off his feet and pour "love" into this near-empty vessel. Usami felt intoxicated by the notion of being someone's one and only, that his jealousy-filled-rage led him to murder. I'd argue that without the addition of Tsurumi, there would be no Usami. Tsurumi compared Usami not to a wolf or a bear -- but a domesticated dog -- which is not, by itself, likely to commit acts of violence**. A soldier becomes a soldier only when commanded -- STEERED in the right direction, much like a dog will become violent when raised to do so. Therefore, a version of Usami who never met a sweet-talker like Tsurumi in his formative years, would likely not grow up to be an ultra-loyal killing-machine. To sum, I believe Usami's capacity for violence is an innate quality that can only be harnessed by the right environment.

Thank you for the question! One thing I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around is how after Ogata shoots Usami, he says "thank you, Usami, your death has completed me as a sniper." Okay??? What does he mean by that! I don't know! So if you or anyone reading this has any thoughts I'd love to know!

--

*=note that 商売女can include prostitutes and geisha, and the lines between geisha and prostitution was a lot blurrier back then so I'm just calling them an "escort" although Ogata's mom is officially known to be a former geisha

**=note that this is a sweeping generalization and I am aware different dog breeds do display varying levels of unpredictable, aggressive behavior

***=I just want to point out that Usami's parents are portrayed as being in love with each other, so they may have had that many kids as a result of lack of contraception. There's a scene in Vagabond with a couple who are having sex despite their many children crying out of hunger, and it kind of reminds me of that...

[gumbaigumbai]

Ramblings on Modern AU Ogata

Modern AU Ogata has so much potential when it comes to the different ways his mental instability could be displayed, along with his living situation as well.. so I'll write down some thoughts I've had/collected below (& I'm well aware Noda mentioned he'd be a dentist but I wanna explore other possibilities)

^ to preface I've read a couple works on ao3 abt this as well so some ideas are heavily inspired

Work: I think a job as a photographer would translate over his sniper skills very well, links such as steady hands and a good eye, staying still in a required position, "shooting", and freelance of course.. Though I don't think this would pay well enough for him to maintain a decent living, so he would primarily work as a morgue attendant for a couple reasons; respect given when needed, no customer interactions (or if so, very few), most talking is between co-workers which I don't imagine there's plenty of, he wouldn't be opposed to being in the space w. all the corpses, it could worsen his mental state (🤤), to an extent links back to his "canon" modern job via medical field

As for the home life; small apartment, can't imagine him caring about upkeeping the place or getting "fashionable" furniture so most items inside are just necessities. while he was only doing photography he used to sleep on a mattress but after the attendant job he upgraded to a simple bed. Definitely has a computer setup that he saved up for, used for editing/organizing his pictures and doom scrolling. I like to think he has some interest that he researches in his spare time, could be really into the history & different types of guns, or if we want to be less on-the-nose he'd enjoy deep sea creatures - just reading up on them or watching videos, maybe those informational documentaries. Also has a small amount of fondness towards Hello Kitty (bc ofc I have to add this), though it's something he's embarrassed to admit (Usami found this out & never let him hear the end of it)

Relationship w. ppl

I think he'd be pretty good at coming off as collected while working (outside of home) but when he's not required to talk with others he's contrived in public, says the bare minimum and leaves. He'd keep in touch with Usami and Tsukishima - they always have to reach out first but in his better moods sometimes he starts talking w. Usami. He used to have some sort of relationship with Tsurumi (relationship not used in a romantic sense here) but they fell out and he doesn't have contact with him anymore. Yuusaku has his # and tries inviting him over for the holidays but he declines most of the time, another instance where you must catch him while he's prone to social gatherings..

Mental state 😻

Okay this is where I take a lot of liberty so I apologize if ppl don't like this… I think he would definitely be depressed to some extent, falling into episodes where he's more of an active suicide risk, but it's not often enough to become debilitating to carry on normally. He wouldn't reach out for help, and would over time get much worse before he ever gets better (I'd like to think in the modern world he'd have a real chance at reformation though). Usami would unintentionally worsen Ogata's mental state by affirming his negative thoughts, though as an avid Usao shipper I have to give myself a treat and pretend Usami would take care of him during his worst times… And wouldn't make fun of his attempt at getting better if he ever enters therapy (delusion works in mysterious ways). Ogata would engage in self-destructive behavior; taking light drugs at a younger age but as he got older he resorted to sh. The first step towards rehab however would be a holiday dinner with Yuu where he actually showed up, and they entered a genuine conversation over his issues after Yuu grilled him enough about his worries.

Anyway, sorry this was so long & I didn't include many other characters, & if you just don't really see this as plausible for him - I like to play with him like a Lalaloopsy in my head

[torgawl]

continuing my crepus posting, can we just talk about his delusion for a second? because even dottore thought it was unique. dottore was surprised for seeing someone wielding a delusion, sure, i assume it's not everyday you see that especially in that situation. that's normal, but saying specifically that it piqued his interest, calling it "perfect and utterly peerless", encouraging diluc to grow stronger and saying "i can see a bright future ahead of you"? a bit weird. so this got me thinking, what if this delusion is different than other delusions?

as we can see from the webtoon panel of crepus wielding it, there's two things about the delusion that we haven't seen associated to any others so far: chains and what seems like an alchemy circle. this delusion doesn't just hold elemental power, it can create something (or transform/manifest the power into something physical). we read somewhere someone referring to the delusion fire as "black flames" so probably the chains are embued in that power but the chains themselves don't look like fire. another curious detail about crepus' delusion is the way it interacts with ursa the drake, besides being the only thing able to drive the dragon away, it changed its eye colour from yellow to red! when the delusion finally backfired onto crepus, we can see that the air and diluc's hands after touching his father seem to fill with black dust. and maybe this is nothing, i mean, fire burns and what is burnt generally releases ashes but dust can also be tracked down to alchemy, more specifically the art of khemia (an advanced form of alchemy that sustained the underground kingdom of khaenri'ah). and do you know what's also different in crepus' delusion specifically? the symbol that appears on the orb.

unlike other delusions, it isn't the fatui symbol (or the elemental symbol, like the one visions have) but instead a big circle with a small circle inside it. that's literally the symbol that appears in alchemy tables!!! if you look at it attentively, it looks like a big circle was parted into three and they go around it like orbits. and is it a coincidence that three is a constant number appearing in genshin, including associated to three beings that are always drawn with similar symbols everywhere across the game, three moon sisters - a representation of the moon?

because there's other instances of circles within a circle drawn in the game. it reminds me of an eclipse like the one shown in abyssal moon spire (easily connected to the eclipse dynasty of khaenri'ah where the crimson moon was replaced by a black sun), the moon depicted in tsurumi island (that from what i understand got its hole after kapatcir descended) and the crimson moon that became an eye in perinheri (book about the crimson dynasty in khaenri'ah - the one that preceded the eclipse dynasty). khaenri'ah and alchemy possibly being tied to crepus' delusion doesn't sound so crazy anymore, right?

the insistence that crepus was a "mere businessman" by eroch and that being the reason they couldn't let the people know he saved everyone from ursa the drake (which led to diluc's resignation) also sounds like the perfect little detail to throw for some sort of plot-twist. yes, this is mostly my wishful thinking but also, what if crepus really wasn't just a business man? diluc got his "red dead of night" outfit from his father who had a ceremonial uniform tailored for diluc in advance and diluc modified it for battle. maybe that's where the resemblances with the fatui come from, as a way to go unnoticed or mix in during his time hunting the fatui. at least it's easy to discard it as something deeper that way. but i don't think it's such a crazy idea anymore to think of something crazier when we consider the ragnvindr's connections to the hexenzirkel (the teapots and diluc's jacket patterns being the same as the ones in the hexenzirkel cutscenes) and the fact kaeya was left purposefully at dawn's winery. again, maybe it could just be because the ragnvindr are a prestiged family but also, what if there's something else here? is it that impossible?

[stardoc676]

Wow.. Just wow

Ogata really went from being "I have no attachments/people." "Why would I care if somebody's dead? Guilt is not real." " Going through the path of less resistance. If killing someone puts me in a better situation then I'll do it. There are no exceptions. This is the most efficient way to live."Everyone thinks like this. People are faking empathy. Which is unnecessary." and so many other things

To Ogata having several emotions towards ONE unlucky person deciding to keep that person locked up for reasons. if said person dies under his care, he then holds on to said body until people start noticing the smell.

(Ogata probably thinks this is a normal human behavior too) (( Finally, Ogata figures out gooey feelings/ love are real, and people are not lying. He experiences what he thinks could be those gooey feelings / love, then proceeds to do everything wrong in most insane way possible.))((( anyways I'm not studying in psychology like you so im probably wrong about my assessment of this man but this is what i'm getting)))

Ogata yandere AU!

Omg I love this type of comments! I like your way of thinking ♡

I'll try to explain this as simple as I can and I'd like to clarify that I'm gonna translate some things (because my psychology disorder text book is in Spanis, I don't know the English name for some of them)

First of all, the psychopath or sociopath terms are not use because they are a mixture of other symptoms and disorders. The most prominent one is the Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD for shorts) and it comes form the personality disorder (PD) scheme. in here there are a lots of other stuff like Obsessive-compulsive Disorder and narcissist behavior. So basically there is not such thing like one only archetype of psychopath.

Patients with APD have the following things in common: lack of empathy and little to no empathy (or only when they are caught). Something like that happens to Ogata in the manga at the finale, when he recognized his guilty feeling by the situation he is in, and when his plan uncovers by Tsurumi.

But other things in the APD scheme are that they tend to seek validation and have internal fights with their contrary emotions. By this, they could do things to harm others for their own pleasure or even be submissive in some escenarios to feel accepted by others.

In this AU, I like to think that his behavior is like this towards this person because he is seeking validation (one that he never had from his family) in an extreme way (harming others) because that's what it feels right to him and since he have this lack of empathy he doesn't know how to reach this feeling by a more healthy way. He is desperate to be in control of the one person he needs validation from in a strict way, one that couldn't be achieved if he didn't kidnapped them.

The "keeping his corpse thing" goes like this. Patients with Obessive-compulsive behavior have an intense desire to be organized or have everything the way they like. When things aren't like that, they have breakdowns in different ways. But sometimes, they keep things they no longer need. And something interesting about this is that they usually have a close mind setting about moral and ethics or tend to be really scrupulous about them.

Another thing I'd like to clarify is that Ogata is having this obsession just because. This happens to Stalkers that usually doesn't have a valid reason to do what they do. They just need someone to hold onto.

That is my analysis. And thanks a lot for your comment. I really like this topic ♡ and also, I'm just a psychology student by now. There are a lot of things that I couldn't know or be misinterpreted. Don't take this way to seriously.

[musicfranchisetournament]

propaganda under the cut !!

ensemble girls :

OKAY predecessor to enstars. while they only have 2 or so songs themselves (Let's Make★Ensemble and Sacred Gods Above, Droplet of a Black Moon) which you should listen to they're still so intertwined with enstars i think it counts. the song for ring.a.bell in enstars was adapted from a poem ruka wrote about suzu. several characters (namely ruka and chizuru) have made appearances in enstars stories. a lot of enstars characters were based on engirls characters (tsukasa = botan+yako, mao = mai, etc). more enstars characters are implied to have met other engirls characters (ibara and yuzuru having met tsubasa, leo having met ruri & ruka being his sister, eichi having met seira, etc) and also anzu is there. yeah. not getting into this further or propaganda will be a mile long

submitting again to add on more propaganda :3 the main story is about the new transfer student (anzu from enstars' stepbrother) getting pulled into student council elections! the original stuco president stepped down, so they had to re-elect — transfer student, gets dragged in by himari tsurumi and has to help her win ! they go through all of the competition — hajime kodama, the school's "living god". she doesn't want to run, but she was elected. she's not a living god, but they think she is. ayame kusaka, dubbed "the overlord". she's just a smart girl who likes cute things, but is a bit creepy. think mayoi from enstars. suzu kuromori, "the fallen angel". anzu's best friend. she's running to plunge the school into chaos, as she's mad at everyone for making anzu have to transfer. she thinks that if it's all chaos, anzu will come back. :( she leads the rock band club, too, and they're her biggest supporters! mitsuru yomo, the school's "prince". she doesn't want to be president, and is the current vice president. the school idolizes her for her masculinity, but she just wants to wear cute things :( she's pretty chill and reika enjouji, "her majesty". former student council president who dropped out. for some reason she was running again. she's kinda rude and just. princessy. after all of this, himari gets elected, blah blah. then there's silly events after that :3

jem and the holograms :

THE OG 2D MUSIC FRANCHISE. Jem was out here being a fictional idol with a glittery transformation sequence all the way back in 1985. Original music videos from the bands in every episode. Nobody does it like Jem. Also in the 2015 comic reboot they made a bunch of the characters wlw we love to see it

[goldenkamuyhunting]

I wonder if you still will answer an ask / question. My ask is Do you personally think / feel there is some character that's like ended up a waste ( in term development ) or just.. didn't need to exist / continue into the next chapter at some point ? Like example, in your analysis Ogata should just died in vol 19 something like that I think.. I suddenly think like.. Vasily is a big waste or maybe he shouldn't continue to be Ogata's rival because I personally dont see it, sometimes i really think he's just like a fan service character ? Vasily went to take revenge on Ogata and go as for to Japan for that, that sound kinda romantic or something someone said that and i really dont see that ( I think Vasily fans gonna hate me ). I think Tsukishima & Koito prolly the same case at the end how they ended up breaking their loyalty to Tsurumi. I'm sorry if it's wrong the end of chapter kinda confuse me a lot.

Yes, I do still answer, even if sometimes I'm really slow about it.

Should I warn everyone that this isn't a Noda apprecciation post and that the back button in this case might be your best friend?

I hope people will be intuitive enough to figure it out on their own so without further ado let's dig into this.

Do I personally think / feel there is some character that's like ended up a waste ( in term development ) or just.. didn't need to exist / continue into the next chapter at some point ?

Oh yes. I feel quite a lot got wasted and this doesn't include just characters but also plot points actually.

Before someone will say something, I'll clear up a couple of things about what I mean.

First of all, this is my personal opinion. It's not The Truth. It's just how I feel.

Second, for me a story has to fit with Anton Chekhov's advice: If it's not essential, don't include it in the story. Especially, I'll add, if you want to write only 31 volumes and then you'll end up rushing things to fit everything in them.

So, let's start.

Let's cut from the story Sugimoto's feelings for Umeko which go nowhere and supposedly ended when Kikuta told him he should let Umeko go. He could be just in the story to help a friend's wife. After all that's why he's in the story in the anime, which completely cut Umeko's role and, anyway, it seems that's what Noda wanted since Sugimoto supposedly wanted to marry Umeko solely because Toraji told him so.

Q: Sugimoto’s main motivation to participate in the gold hunt was to heal Umeko, the girl who was his childhood friend and whom he loved. However, in the last chapter, he gives his share of the gold to Umeko’s son, since her eyes were already healed. Why did you do that?

Noda: If Umeko had not remarried and her eyes weren’t healed, the story would have needed a few more chapters, which, considering that it was post-climax, would have made it drag on needlessly.

The reason for that is Toraji told Sugimoto to get together with Umeko before dying, and he is not the kind of guy who could have ignored that and return to Hokkaido with Asirpa. [Noda’s interview for Yomiuri online paper]

Actually also let's cut her eye problems. Let's send Sugimoto to get money for Toraji's son, so he can go to school. If the whole thing with Umeko becomes a bother that needs to be solved offscreen without Sugimoto's intervention, let's just not include it.

The same goes for Ogata's feelings for his grandmother. We are told that Ogata didn't kill Tanigaki because he was a grandmother's boy and so he didn't want to murder Huci even though not killing Tanigaki causes him plenty of troubles and then... it turns out in an interview he probably poisoned his grandparents and they're no more discussed in the story.

Q17: Are Ogata’s grandparents still alive? If not, how did they die? Noda: They both disappeared before Ogata enlisted. There was half-eaten food left on the table. [Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook]

Honestly I would cut also Tanigaki's tragic backstory with his sister because... it goes nowhere in the end. He completely forgets he was meant to go back home and tell his father how his sister died, he actually goes back home because he has Inkarmat and Tsurumi is hunting him.

And since we're at it, let's cut the whole "Huci might die of worry for Asirpa", since Huci gets all better as soon as they hand her a baby.

Note that those plot points were all things I liked when I assumed they would go somewhere... instead they are just brushed off, forgotten or solved offscreen. They didn't really serve to the story, Ogata could have not killed Tanigaki because too many in the village saw him entering in Huci's house and might attack him if he were to shoot at her, and Tanigaki could have gone after Asirpa because she saved his life.

Then we've characters like Svetlana, who served zero purpose, Ogata and Vasily that were kept alive for no reason at all after Vol 19, the whole subplot with Central that went nowhere along with Wada's murder, since Tsurumi has the support of Yodogawa and could have gotten the weapons from him instead than doing it from behind Wada's back and then killing him.

To have Wilk include, among the tattooed convicts, a well known child murderer and who cares if that guy would go on murdering children once free (even though murdering children is generally considered one of the most disgusting crimes even by criminals) and his daughter is also a child, makes a huge disservice to Wilk as a supposedly good father.

Saving Tsurumi was unneeded, and the same goes for the whole Tsukishima-Koito-Tsurumi plot that goes nowhere.

Sofia shouldn't have known she had no part in Tsurumi's daughter's death if, afterward, she was meant to die thinking solely at how regretful she felt for it, and not at how her men died because she thought trying to fulfil Wilk and Kiro's dream was a good plan.

And since Jack the Ripper was clearly so poorly researched about, Noda could have just turned him into some Japanese mad slasher, no need to toss in the story another murderer who kills because he's a Christian with warped beliefs like Sekiya... and talking about warped belief and psychological problems already seen, we've Heita who has warped Ainu religion beliefs and hears voices like Edogai... okay, he's actually worse than Edogai but still close enough.

And what about the fake skins plot? Noda even forgot one of those fake skins at a certain point and solved the plot abruptly.

Ariko didn't need to 'die' to be resurrected short after and then STAY OUT OF THE STORY and not even help Asirpa, despite his father being the one who triggered the Ainu massacre falling for Tsurumi's manipulation. Not that the guy knows so this too was unneeded.

And actually the story would have probably benefitted by having Inkarmat die due to her wound and Ienaga be killed once she saved Sugimoto.

And should we dig into Tsukishima's tragic backstory which also go nowhere?

Or the rather terrible story of the raped white bear?

The extra story of the roasted little bird?

The whole "Wakayama was the one behind the skin in Barato" plot with annexed the whole "searching for the skins is useless" which gets forgotten with a shrug?

And let's not forget the whole Central plot that goes nowhere. Tsurumi knew already of the gold, Ogata got involved by Central for unclear reasons (why pick him?) and Kikuta got in the game too late and contributed too little all for Central to do basically nothing in the story.

And, since we're at it, the whole Noboribetsu thing was also handled poorly.

I guess I could add more but that's what came to my mind as of now. I fear it's already way too much...

Now, I've basically rushed up through everything and I realize this instead would need to be expanded to be more understandable, as some plot points/characters might seem of relevance... when actually could have been solved way more quickly and efficently... especially since at the end Noda rushed through the story because he wanted to end at vol 31.

If one has a set a specific volume for the ending he should do well his math and not add extra that merely dilute the story for no real purpose.

If it's not essential, don't include it in the story.

But whatever, if you or someone else now feels the need for clarifications of why some plot points/characters felt useless/didn't deserve to live that long, you can write me.

If you or someone else feel they actually were important, okay, that's your opinion, I'm not saying you've to change it, just don't try to change mine. I prefer not to argue about things I didn't like of GK, it makes happy no one and feels rather boring.

Sorry if this wasn't what you were hoping for and thank you for your ask!

[ghostbunny-mars]

I can't think of anything smart to say so more soc AU bullshit

Ienaga is a Healer, that's what she studied, but also mostly self-taught herself to be a Tailor. She runs a mildy suspicious hotel somewhere in Ketterdam, but she is also called upon by whatever gang she currently allies herself with as an emergency doctor, when actual professionals cant be contacted. Shes not unwilling to use her tailor powers on others either. She'll take you to a suspicious side room in her hotel, but desperate times call for desperate measures right? (Mfs will do anything for gender affirmation) She probably continues to be a cannibal.

Edogai is a durast who works in taxidermy. He uses his abilities to make his works better in more efficient ways. He works for the 7th, and in exchange they give him a supply of... materials. Though he would work for them purely because of Tsurumi, no other return needed. Since false skins wouldn't be super important here, he can probably make an assortment of other chemicals and materials as a durast. So he's the one making all the inventions like Wylan.

Yuusaku I think would have been a grisha. What type of grisha isn't too important because he still wouldn't have killed, but I think he would be an inferni for the sake of symbolism. I don't know if there are flag bearers in the second or first army so the fire I think would be a nice way to keep the symbolism of being a guiding light in battle except more literally now. The second army and the first don't really like each other but I think it's fun if Yuusaku is some sort of exception, or at least very well liked by the other grisha.

Mishima I for some reason really like, even though he had like 4 seconds of screentime. He is not grisha, but he is an excellent tracker. I think it would be funny if he was treated a bit like a K-9 in Ketterdam. He can track down people very easily and knows many shortcuts to use in a chase.

But Usami is the actual attack dog in the form of being the most brutal. I think he's definitely one of the most feared members because of how cruel he can be. He's the one who takes the most dirty jobs, and he enjoys them.

[piduai]

i think that for tsurumi it was tsukishima > edogaikun > usami >>> koito > nikaido >>>>>>>>> ogata >>> kikuta as far as his disposition went

tsukishima: love that dude he's like a loyal eldest child, so open and vulnerable to abuse. will do anything, won't ask many questions, won't create trouble, owes me his life forever so i can do whatever i want to him. nice

edogaikun: exceptionally malleable and easy to manipulate, didn't have anyone besides me and inexistent agenda also. very talented and obedient. a visionary. loved him gone too soon rip

usami: loves me and will do whatever i want him to and has literally no morals so there's no limit to what extents i can push him to. points deducted because he's a weird little freak, and unlike tsukishima requires some sort of personal coddling and attention to keep him on edge

koito: never liked him. spoiled little brat. but he's in love with me and i don't really gaf about him anyway, it's his dad and his ships i care about and i got a life debt in my pocket here too. but anyway can be used if needed and doesn't cost me much after the initial investment

nikaido: whatever. tried to betray me so not a top choice, but now that there's something obviously wrong with him he's easy to keep around. fills the need for ordinary soldiers

ogata: hate that little freak, horrible vibes, being around him is mentally exhausting, requires more personal attention than the rest of them combined, eyes bigger than his stomach, hated his ugly dad too glad he's dead, do not want to go around that creature ever again, thank god he fucking left and freed me from having to deal with his sensitive insane ass

kikuta: DISGUSTING. useless old slob. always knew there's something fundamentally wrong with him and will always resent HQ for putting that thang on my ass. there's a reason i left him to warm up his fat bottom at noboribetsu and never wanted him around much. he's a spy also and he reeks of cigarettes. i will not rest until i get to put a bullet between his eyes fr

[ereana]

Kazuha/Heizou - in a rush of adrenaline

The pieces click into place. After nearly two months of non-stop searching and investigating, Heizou has found his culprit. More than that he has the evidence to ensure that she will never be able to harm innocent people ever again. 

Konda Momiji was going to spend the rest of her life behind bars, at least if Heizou had anything to say about it. Which he did, a great deal actually. Hopefully, Madam Kujou would let him lead the interrogation. This was his case after all and he is determined to see it through to the end.

Already his mind starts to spin with questions. Some he already knows the answer to, some he does not. He wonders if she’ll confess the reason why a wealthy woman from a minor noble family became the head of one of Inazmua’s most prolific human trafficking rings.

It won’t matter in the end but Heizou is curious. What excuse will he hear this time? Will she give one or simply stay silent. He rather doubts she’ll be able to keep her mouth shut. By all accounts Momiji was incredibly proud and prone to boasting. It had been one little outburst in the presence of a servant which had sealed her fate.

All questions for later.

For now Heizou lets himself laugh in relief sinking backwards into his chair. His office at the Tenryou commission hadn’t been big enough for all the evidence so he’d relocated to his home study instead. It’s an absolute mess; papers strewn everywhere, various clues haphazardly lying amongst the files. He’s pretty sure he’s sitting on a stack of invoices showing the culprit’s recent purchases at Netsuke no Gen Crafts. The amount spent hadn’t been suspicious enough given her family's wealth but still enough to raise eyebrows when taken in consideration with her other recent acquisitions.

Heizou would move them elsewhere but the only space in the room not covered with paper is the chair next to him which is also currently in use.

Kazuha watches him fondly, an easy smile on his face as he takes in Heizou’s giddiness.

“It’s done then?” He asks, setting down the collection of photos he’d been flicking through. “You have your evidence?”

Heizou turns to Kazuha with a gleeful grin. He’s exhausted and he knows his body will punish him for the last few days of really pushing himself but none of that matters. 

Because he’s solved the case.

Because this woman isn’t going to be in a position of power to hurt others for much longer.

He laughs again.

“It’s done. Man alive, that was intense!” Heizou drags a hand over his eyes. “I thought we were in real trouble after that little ambush on Tsurumi Island.” He opens the finger to look pointedly at Kazuha. “And don’t think I didn’t notice that you haven’t had that wound looked at by a proper medic yet.”

Kazuha coughs and shifts his gaze to the desk, or at least the shape of one buried underneath the mountain of files. 

“I’m fine, it’ll take more than a little scratch to keep me down. Besides, you bandaged me up quite nicely.”

Heizou falls silent before shaking his head. This isn’t a fight he will win today, nor does he want to spoil the euphoric mood of victory that bubbles in his veins.

He’s done it. They’ve done it.

“We did it.” He murmurs, sitting up straight and moving his chair closer to his reliable partner. Heizou has a few theories as to why Kazuha always agrees to help him out but he’s yet to actually ask his friend why. Whatever the reason-

“I couldn’t have done this without you, you know?” The last few days they’d spent tracking the group across all of Inazuma in the middle of storm season would have been impossible without Kazuha’s keen senses.

Kazuha huffs and pokes him in the forehead.

“Nonsense, you would have solved it eventually. You’re too determined and too good to let this go cold. I merely sped things up.”

Heizou chuckles and bats the finger away. “Sped things up and prevented more people ending up in her clutches.”

They smile at each other with equal parts pride and relief.

“We did it Kazuha.” Heizou repeats himself as the triumphant rush starts to overtake him once more. “We’ve got her. It’s done!”

“It is.” Kazuha agrees, and maybe if Heizou hadn’t been so caught up in his elation he would have seen the soft affection in his friend’s face as he watches the detective celebrate.

“We got her!” Heizou suddenly leans forward, as if he doesn’t think Kazuha will truly understand the import unless he speaks it directly into his face. “We got her!”

Heizou looks beautiful like this.

Victorious. Satisfied. Vindication of his extraordinary skills and ability that have impressed Kazuha from the beginning. 

And that bright, beaming smile of his outshines even the most radiant jewel.

Perhaps this reckless giddiness is contagious. It’s the only excuse Kazuha can think of as he shortens the scant distances between them to kiss the smile from Heizou’s face. There is a split second of regret, when Heizou freezes against him and Kazuha wonders if he’s ruined one of the most precious relationships in his life.

A wonder that is soon answered when Heizou relaxes and kisses him back. He winds slender fingers through Kazuha’s hair to pull him closer. The samurai goes willingly, content to be trapped for however briefly by the eye of the storm.

[pikespendragon67]

With a Resounding "Yes", It's Time for Paranormasight VA Headcanons!

I'm going to be an oddball and switch between Japanese & English VAs when I find it relevant. Also my order's gonna be based on how strongly I think the headcanon works. I'll also try to provide examples for the angle I'm going for

let's a go

Tetsuo Tsutsumi Japanese: Option 1 - Akio Otsuka (Executioner from Akudama Drive). Option 2 - Jouji Nakata (Osvald from Octopath Traveler 2) English: Option 1 - Jamieson Price (Malik Caesar from Tales of Graces F). Option 2 - Jason Douglas (Kishibe from Chainsaw Man)

Middle aged men characters are my specialty so really it depends on the delivery you want. Richard Epcar (Ace from 999) could also work for English as well as Bill Butts (Ciocolotta from Jojo part 5)

Makoto Ashimiya/Fumichika Nejima Japanese: Kenjiro Tsuda (Ogata from Golden Kamuy...and also Kishibe from Chainsaw Man). Katsuyuki Konishi could also be a good example but I can't really think of an old man character. I guess Takehito Koyasu could also work? But like this is THE most TsudaKen looking motherfucker I've ever seen English: Joe J. Thomas (Nobunaga Hazama from Hunter x Hunter). His "So I did" line really cemented this casting choice tbh.

Richter Kai Japanese: Shiniciro Miki (Kisuke Urahara from Bleach) English: For this, it depends again on the delivery you want. I originally wanted Doug Erholz (maybe not like Vega from Street Fighter), but upon closer inspection, Ray Chase (Uzui Tengen from Demon Slayer) might be a better pick.

Harue Shigima English: Laura Post (Empress from A Hat in Time) Japanese: Kikuko Inoue (Rhea from Fire Emblem Three Houses)

It just works, it just works~

Shogo Okiie English: Chris Hackney (Yuito from Scarlet Nexus) Japanese: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Noctis from Final Fantasy 15)

Standard older protagonist

Jun Erio Japanese: Kaito Ishikawa (Noe from Case Study of Vanitas or Iida from My Hero Academia) English: Griffin Burns (Doppio from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure). Zeno Robinson (Akira from Zom 100) would also work great!

An excitable character that I think can work great with the right delivery.

Takumi Yumioka Japanese: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Yoshikage Kira from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) English: Ben Lepley (Gouto from 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim)

I feel like a flat delivery that still has an air of intimidation would work best for him.

Mayu Chozawa English: Option 1 - Tara Sands (Sonya from Fire Emblem Echoes); Option 2 - Cristina Vee (Velvet from Tales of Berseria). Amanda C. Miller (Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon) is also a good pick along with Heather Gonzalez (Cherche from Fire Emblem Heroes) Japanese: Miyuki Sawashiro (Kyoko Honda from Fruits Basket). Nana Mizuki could also work, though I sadly can't think of a role off the top of my head

Going for the woman who grew up a punk vibe

Yutaro Namigaki Japanese: Jun Fukuyama (Draluc from Vampire Dies in No Time) English: It's tempting to put Xander Mobus for the total Joker Persona 5 duology but ehhhhh. It depends on the delivery again. Brian Beacock (Luthier from Fire Emblem Echoes) or Steve Staley (Hubert from Tales of Graces F) could also work tbh. Maybe Lucien Dodge (Waver Velvet from Fate/Zero)

Ayame Touno English: Faye Mata (Amame from AI: The Somnium Files) Japanese: Rie Kugimiya (Rise from Persona 4)

The voices contrast each other, but I think each one compliments the kind of character Ayame is.

Storyteller Japanese: Hochu Otsuka (Tsurumi from Golden Kamuy) English: TBD

Here's where I'm starting to think about 1 solid casting and kinda improvising for the second one. I think the Storyteller changes voices depending on the mask they wear, so for this old man mask, an old man they shall sound like.

Michiyo Shiraishi English: Xanthe Huynh (Marianne from Fire Emblem Three Houses) Japanese: Aya Endo (Miyuki from Lucky Star)

Few lines for such a sweet gal

Yakko Sakazaki English: Abby Trott (Older Annette from Fire Emblem Three Houses). For some reason I also pictured Cassandra Lee Morris (Tomi Kisaragi from 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim) Japanese: Marina Inoue (Female Protagonist from Persona 3 Portable)

Spunky young lady, ain't she?

Mio Kurosuzu English: Amber Connor (Faye from Fire Emblem Echoes) Japanese: Rie Murakawa (Est from Fire Emblem Echoes)

Young but calm & sweet

Yoko Fukunaga English: Cherami Leigh (Patty from Soul Eater) Japanese: Saori Hayami (Yor from Spy x Family)

Not related to casting but I think she and Ayame would be weird girl besties and I love that for them

Hideiki Araishi English: Patrick Seitz (there's a specific role in mind that sounds similar to Mama from AI: The Somnium Files but naaah that doesn't sound right) Japanese: Tomokazu Sugita (sadly can't think of a role off the top of my head)

He's a bit of a snob so something a bit arrogant works best

Kohei Jounichi Japanese: Here's where I think Katsuyki Konishi would fit best (Koito from Golden Kamuy comes to mind, oddly). Makoto Furukawa (why did I think Ronaldo from Vampire Dies in No Time??) could also work English: I think this will depend on the delivery. Do you want him more cowardly? I kinda see David Vincent tbh (Henri from Iruma-kun)

Hajime Yoshimi English: He could be another potential Patrick Seitz role, but I want to avoid double casting as much as possible. Japanese: Subaru Kimura (Todo from Jujutsu Kaisen)

Hitomi Okuda Japanese: Ai Farouz (Jolyne Kujo from JJBA) English: Option 1 - Laura Stahl (Alear from Fire Emblem Engage); Option 2 - Erica Mendez (can't think of a role off the top of my head)

Once again going for toughness, but from a younger angle

aaaand I think that's all the voiced characters! Some roles I had to think up of on the spot, so I might come back and revisit this, but I'm open for suggestions as well!

[eyedelater]

koito otonoshin speaks in satsuma or kagoshima dialect, which the story itself tells you is notoriously difficult for even other japanese people to understand. and it turns out noda-sensei himself didn't have a perfect grasp of it, because he went back and changed a bunch of dialectical grammar in otonoshin's dialogue in between the magazine version and the release of the volume.

here's an example when he's talking to tsurumi about his brother:

it's hard to get much out of this if you can't read japanese whatsoever, but my point is to show you how much of the text has changed. despite that, none of the meaning of the text changed! only the grammar was changed to make it more accurate to the actual dialect. (to someone who can only [sorta] read "standard" japanese, it became much harder to understand.) for example, noda-sensei changes otonoshin's first-person pronoun from "oi" (informal, i think along the lines of "ore") to "atai" (formal, clearly analogous to "watashi") when he's talking to tsurumi. because otonoshin is trying to be polite. he also adds a little furigana to let you know that otonoshin does not pronounce 一度 as the usual "ichido" but rather as "iddo."

it's probably that noda-sensei wrote the lines in what he thought of as satsuma dialect, and then some astute magazine readers (or maybe his own editors) were like, "hey, you wouldn't say it like that." so he fixed a bunch of it. i bet he got an old person from the kagoshima region to help him out.

(edit: i think it's also possible that noda-sensei was having a hard time deciding if he just wanted to signal to the reader that this was being said in dialect by writing it in sorta dialect [this option would be easier for the reader] OR if he wanted to go all-out and actually write all those lines in dialect [this option would make things harder for the reader but would be more authentic], and he ended up choosing the latter because noda-sensei does not do anything half-assed when it comes to culture.)

i don't know how interesting this is to other people but i think japanese dialects are cool

(some more notes under the cut)

here's how EH scans translated this panel. it's exactly right (sheds a tear of admiration). the 一度 that he pronounces as "iddo" means "once" and it's in the sentence about his brother not getting angry. i only focused on that part because of the added furigana. anyway, even though the dialectical grammar changed a lot, the translation is still perfect, because the meaning didn't change.

however...

the viz translation cut out a bunch of stuff for no goddamn reason, as expected. bite me viz. the font size isn't even different from EH scans, and the speech bubbles look dead empty, so you can't say you had to pare it down to fit in the speech bubble and still be readable in print form. (rubs temples...)

i read the magazine version raws first and then got my hands on the volume version raws, and i noticed some of otonoshin's lines were different. so that's how i ended up making a high-level raw-to-raw comparison (which really isn't something i'd normally care about). and now i'm comparing 4 different versions. what?

for the interested, here's a transliteration of the middle line from the panel above, so you can understand how much it changed

before: "oi wa sakurajima daikon to karakattan jakedo… ichido mo okorankatta"

after: "atai wa sakurajima daikon cchi karakouta taddon… iddo mo harakakankatta"

see?? that's crazy, right? and here's what i think it would be like in "standard" japanese: "watashi wa sakurajima daikon to karakattan dakedo... ichido mo okoranakatta." so comparing that to the former, you can kinda see that noda-sensei first just slightly modified "standard" japanese to be more satsuma-ish (changing "da" to "ja," etc.)., and then he had to go back and change everything because the real dialect is just that different.

i think the implication is that young koito here can't really speak "standard" japanese at this time in his life. he listens to tsurumi speak that way, but he responds in his own dialect. however, adult second lieutenant koito otonoshin speaks in "standard" japanese with only minor bursts of dialect. so he learned to code-switch as a necessity for his career.

in the rest of the chapter and the rest of the koito otonoshin kidnapping incident, every dialect speaker's dialogue is altered in the same way as the example panel. it's quite a substantial change.

make sure to listen out for the dialect if you watch next week's episode of the anime (s4e4), because these lines will be spoken then! unless they decide not to! because if the entire koito family is speaking this heavy dialect, they will have to be captioned the whole time even for japanese viewers! (edit: they didn't caption it! never mind! but they did have all the lines in dialect like in the volume version!)

[kokomelt]

More Inazuma Eleven Genshin AU aka more of me sharing stuff without sense but a lot of passion >3<

Random headcanons with no order, no cohesion, just whatever my mind throws in the table about this, let's go!

Keep in mind we don't have all the regions yet nor lore about other races that may come with Natlan and Snezhnaya in the future.

Mainly about the Go! series because it has grown on me over time

I already said Hakuryuu being a dragon could work because both Zhongli and Neuvilette are dragons. However, both of them are centuries old, so maybe Hakuryuu is just a half-dragon just like how Yanfei is half-adeptus.

Speaking of dragons, Someoka probably would be one just like Neuvilette and Zhongli. But I feel he'd be from either Inazuma or Fontaine.

Tenma is from Mondstadt and that's about it. It's the "city of freedom" after all, it matches him.

Hikaru Kageyama has a bit of Khaenri'ahn ancestry from his uncle Reiji's side.

There are various characters that confirm yokai exist and are a race on their own (since Kirara and Sucrose don't have the same cat genetics, because Kirara is a nekomata). This has to do with the following ideas...

Mahoro and Amagi are both part-oni. Blue and Crimson respectively, following something similar to what happens between Itto and Takuya.

Kariya is either a kitsune or if we're keeping the Scaramouche parallelisms, a puppet.

The latter is even better if you think about the comparison I made between Raiden and Hiroto/Tatsuya back when I mentioned this AU.

For those who need context: Raiden created Kunikizushi/Scaramouche. He refers to her as his "mother". I'll not mention much more drama about them because that's as much as you need to understand about how I'm linking them.

This would also imply Hiroto became an Archon at some point?? But we don't need to follow the main events of Genshin word by word

But not all Gods of Teyvat are Archons (Guizhong, Nabu Malikata and so on) so no one says Tatsuya couldn't be a God himself, and just like Guizhong he was exceptionally crafty. Or ascended to Godhood somehow. But I've only heard about ascending to Archon-hood so I don't know about this really.

For the sake of the EiMiko reference, Midorikawa could also be a kitsune.

Tachimukai is like Gorou, he's half-dog. I'm totally biased and just think he deserves to be petted.

I don't know any water-like races. People usually think Kokomi is usually a sea dragon of sorts but she mentioned she's a human (Secret Summer Paradise event). Oceanids are spoiler territory but they don't matter much considering what happens in Fontaine with the Primordial Sea and the prophecy. Until Sigewinne releases, I won't comment on human-looking and/or half-human Melusines.

I mention this just to say that...I want to give Tsunami a water based species, but I'm not sure.

I could also ignore all canon content, go with the fandom's flow (I love Mermaid Kokomi even if it's not canon) and make the Merman Tsunami real in this AU, or just give him mermaid ancestry somehow >.<

I would make him have ancestry in Enkanomiya but I don't think he fits in Inazuma

Kurama's hissatsu, Sidewinder, is the only reason I have to back me up on putting him as one of King Deshret's descendants and part of the Eremites.

I feel like Hayami would either be a student from the Akademiya like Layla, or part of the alchemists from the Knights of Favonius like Sucrose.

Sangoku is half-adeptus, but I don't know which specific illuminated beast he could be. Maybe a xiezhi just like Yanfei.

Ghosts and spirits exist canonically (see Wuwang Hill, Tsurumi Island and Hu Tao's quest) so Shuu can also be here. However I feel a bit bad just leaving him as a ghost once again.

He could also be a pure-blooded illuminated beast (like Cloud Retainer/Xianyun). Assuming most if not all illuminated beasts are based on Chinese or Buddhist myths (though Xiao is implied to be based on a Hindu demigod too), Shuu could be one that hasn't yet been mentioned canonically.

But this is just me trying to give him a bit more of physical relevance, his story and what happened to his sister actually align a lot better with Tsurumi Island's lore.

By this logic, Shuu just like Ruu, could have been from the Thunderbird Civilization.

I'd also add Qiqi being was resurrected by the adepti as a zombie. Shuu being an undead just like her makes sense to me but I feel a bit too cruel if I decide to just put him as one.

These are just very few headcanons, not all of them are definitive but I'm always open to talk about it in my asks, because that way I can also archive whatever comes to my mind and tag it under the Inazuma Eleven Genshin AU to keep better track of it n.n