#which would have made no sense why they would chose a manga to read

[lurensa]

they shouldn't be teaching romeo and juliet in schools, it should be yulma

[karingu]

inukag's conversation in ch 176... yea that one

This scene at the well in Ch 176, when Kagome asks to stay by Inuyasha, meant a lot to me… so I decided to do a whole ass formal translation for myself (which you can read at the way bottom, but it's probably not too different from what's already out there.)

While translating, I came across 3 details from the original text that I felt were super important 🤧

①　Everyone knows Inuyasha said that he must "give Kikyo his life" in the official Viz translation. Yes, in the original text, Inuyasha says:

命懸けで応えなくちゃならねえ。 In return, I must stake my life for Kikyo.

But that bolded part implies that staking his life for Kikyo is not something he necessarily wants to do out of his own free will, but something that he must do beyond his own will, if that makes sense. Right here, Inuyasha conveys clearly how he feels about the matter.

If he meant to say that he chose this out of his own volition, he would've said something like "...なくちゃいけない" which implies a will out of choice... But no, he said ならない, which implies it's "out of his control", so that gives clear insight to his feelings. He's not doing this because he wants to. He wants to stay with Kagome if he could, but he thinks his duty binds his fate to Kikyo, so therefore, this must be so.

+

②　Usually, Kagome is translated saying (to Inuyasha) "I want you to live." But I noticed something. She says:

"生きててほしい" ....not just "生きてほしい".

You might think, "Wha? That extra little word changes things?" HAHA well, if you care to know why... yes... bc she's using the present progressive form of that verb. So, I feel there's something missing in that translation.

Kagome doesn't just want Inuyasha to live (as in "be alive"), she wants him to keep on living. She wants to see him live past his trauma, to not give up his life. So, this is a bit of an interpretation, but I personally would translate what she's saying as "I want you to live on." Like when we wish for a friend going through hard times to not succumb to darkness :(

③　Finally, Sunrise had Kagome say something different in her final monologue (wow, what a surprise). (Note, Viz actually did translate this appropriately in the manga.)

In the anime, she just says...

楽しんでほしい。 I want you to be happy.

It's cute, but in the manga, she says...

楽しいことがあってもいい。 -> literally: It's okay to have happiness. -> It's okay (for you) to feel happy.

She's reassuring Inuyasha that it's alright to feel happiness, presumably despite his survivor's guilt. He told her at the start of their conversation, "But… to feel happy, to laugh, I shouldn't be doing these things." This is a response to that. It's so sweet.

+++

THAT'S IT!! There was A LOT of weight to this scene. It made me ugly cry until my eyes got swollen lol...

(if you'd like to read my full translation of their conversation, it is right here below~)

Note: I tried to translate as close to the original nuance of the Japanese text, so the sentence structure may sound unnatural at times.

(SFX: refreshing breeze)

Inuyasha: Kagome...

(Kagome sees him and begins to speak.)

Kagome: I thought about this the whole time I was back home. About you, Kikyo, and me…

Inuyasha: Kagome… I…

Kagome: I know. I know what your feelings are; that's why… I thought I can't be here anymore.

Inuyasha: Kagome… until I met you, I couldn't trust anyone. But you cried for my sake, you were always by my side. When I'm with you, Kagome, I feel happy. My heart is at ease. But… to feel happy, to laugh, I shouldn't be doing these things.

Inuyasha: Kikyo… she followed after me in death. In return, I must stake my life for Kikyo.

Kagome: I understand. I can't compete against her... because I still live.

Kagome: I thought about her a whole lot too. Kikyo and I, we're so completely different. Even with all this stuff about how I'm her reincarnation… well, anyway, I'm not Kikyo. My heart is my own.

Kagome: But you see, there is one thing. How Kikyo is feeling... I get it. I feel the same. We both want to see you, Inuyasha, one more time.

Kagome: You know, somehow, when I thought, "Don't Kikyo and I share the same feelings?", I became a little more at ease. Like, our feelings of wanting to see you are the same, aren't they... So, I gathered up the courage, and came to see you.

Inuyasha: Kagome… As for me, I wanted to see you too. But…

Kagome: I want to be with you*, Inuyasha. To forget about you, I can't do it.

(*T/N: She does not mean "be with you" in a romantic sense. She means to literally be near him, to exist by him, etc.)

Inuyasha: Kagome… what's the best way for me to respond to you?

Kagome: Inuyasha, let me ask you just one thing?

Inuyasha: Yeah…

Kagome: Is it okay if I stay with you?

(SFX: surprise...)

Inuyasha: You'll… stay for me?

Kagome: Yeah… (she smiles.)

Inuyasha and Kikyo's bond absolutely cannot be severed. That... I understand. But you know, Inuyasha? I thought about it… Our meeting was not just a coincidence either.

I want you to live on, Inuyasha.

Kagome: Let's go, Inuyasha.

Inuyasha: O-Oh, yeah, okay...

It's okay to feel happiness. I want you to laugh a lot. I don't know what I can do for you, but…

I will always be by your side.

[i-heart-hxh]

Hey! Hope you’re doing well, I’m sorry I haven’t responded to that last question of mine you answered but I absolutely loved it! Your answers are always super insightful. Today though I want to ask about another scene that I believe has big Killugon implications, but I have yet to see a single person really cover so far. I noticed it as I was re-reading the manga and instantly I knew something was up (oh and apologies in advance for the image quality but I had to take them off of my physical manga copies with my phone lol):

Now for context this scene takes place in the direct lead up to the palace invasion, which each character having a short inner monologue about how they feel in the lead up to the fight. In the case of Shoot he chooses to focus on Killua and how he has changed since they’re fight, noting how Killua look very sad every “once in a while”.

Now when I first got to this panel I was a little caught off guard as I feel most readers would be, the reason being that prior to this scene we haven’t had any indication that Killua was sad at all. After all this is post-needle Killua after his big emotional fight with a Rammot, he hadn’t shown any signs of further sadness since then and, as Shoot says, was a lot more confident in himself and his abilities. So why would Togashi deliberately choose to draw attention to Killua’s feelings this way, and why now when there was no prior indication that he was feeling bad at all?

Well, I think the reason lies in a pair of scenes that happen prior to this revelation by Shoot, the first of which is this:

Again, this is in the lead up to the palace invasion where the gang is working out their final plan of attack, while Palm is already enacting her part of the plan in the palace by herself.

Now this scene is interesting to me for a few reasons:

1. Togashi is using all this space (almost two and a half pages of it) to convey to make it clear to us how worried Gon obviously is about Palm since there’s a high chance she could die or already has at this point.

2. Togashi chose Killua specifically to be the one to explain this part of the plan to Gon, even when the more obvious choice would have been Knuckle or Shoot since they were with Morel and Knov when the plan was first made.

3. Killua is very clearly annoyed/dismissive/generally just put off by Gon’s worry about Palm, and is so harsh to Gon in the way he handles it that BOTH Knuckle and Meleoron call him out on it. Clearly there’s something more going on with Killua that Togashi wishes to highlight here, to the point where a scene about Gon’s feelings and worries about Palm quickly turns into a scene about KILLUA’S feelings about Gon’s feelings and worries about Palm!

But that’s not all! There’s also this science which takes place directly before we get Shoot’s reflection on Killua’s feelings:

Again we see Gon ask about Palm the second he has the opportunity and is once more clearly upset by the fact that there is still no word from her.

So why do I bring these two scenes up? Well because when Shoot says that “once in a while” he sees Killua get very sad, we as readers have to then ask the question of when he would have the opportunity to be around Killua enough to gauge his emotions this way, as prior to this the gang has been very much speedster from one another for awhile.

In fact, some of the only scenes we see Killua and Shoot even in the same location are both instances where Gon asks about Palm, which would logically imply that it was some point during those interactions where Shoot came to this conclusion about Killua’s feelings. And considering how Killua’s reaction to Gon’s worries about Palm, it only makes sense that this is what Shoot saw. Killua getting visibly sad when Gon shows concern for Palm.

So essentially, I believe that what Togashi was trying to get the reader to understand in this scene was something like this: shoot comments on how sad Killua is. “Sad? Why would he be sad?” The reader thinks, “he didn’t seem sad at all prior to this, what is he sad about?” They then think back to how annoyed Killua was when Gon was talking about Palm and think “well he must be sad about that then, but he’s never liked Palm, why would he be sad that Gon cares about… OH, maybe he’s just jealous!”

And THAT I think is the point of this scene, or at the very least to keep Killua’s sadness in the back of the reader’s mind for later where it’ll come to fruition.

Now, obviously anyone who knows the story knows that Killua has his big emotional scene with Palm where he confesses that he thinks Gon cares more about her than him, and how heartbreaking that is for him to feel. When you first read that though it may seem to come a little bit out of nowhere and a bit delusional on Killua’s part if you take it on it’s own. However, in the context of this scene with shoot and Gon’s earlier vocal worry about Palm, it all starts to make sense. Killua sees this play out and gets jealous because he thinks Gon cares more about Palm, whom Killua still would think is Gon’s romantic partner because Gon never showed interest to him in stopping his date with her and they never officially called off their “relationship”. So to Killua Palm means more to Gon because she’s romantically involved with him (in his eyes) and he gets sad and… well… jealous honestly whenever he’s reminded of that fact. I don’t really see any other way to explain why Killua would think Palm is more important to Gon than him keeping the context of these scenes in mind.

It also doesn’t help that Gon basically confirmed it by pushing Killua away after he expressed so much outward worry for Palm so yeah. Oof. It makes sense why Killua thinks the way he does and this whole scene is Togashi hinting at that early on. That’s why he orders these scenes the way he does and why he brings Killua’s feelings to light there for the reader to notice.

But honestly what REALLY got to me about this scene, and what inspired me to write this whole long ass ramble on the first place, was one key detail. Togashi chose an objective character like Shoot (who’s about as objective as objective can be in this situation) to clearly highlight Killua’s deeper feelings for the reader in a way Killua himself can’t.

Sound familiar? Well it should because there is one other VERY important scene where Togashi does the exact same thing, and it happens a bit later on:

(I had to cut out the first page for the sake of image number limits, but we both know what scene this is lol)

Isn’t it funny that Togashi would parallel Shoot’s revelations about Killua’s feelings here in the most romantically coded scene in the entire manga, with an equally objective character in Meleoron pointing out the same thing?

It’s hard to articulate this part but I hope you see what I’m getting at here.

It’s a very curious choice by Togashi indeed, to frame those hidden feelings that Meleoron sees explicitly around romantically love, and parallel that with Shoot’s earlier revelation about Killua being very sad even prior to Gon pushing him away… very curious indeed.

Anyway, wow this went on for longer than I thought but I needed to get this out of my head. If you have any insight I’d love to hear about it because I haven’t heard anyone talk about this scene and I need to know I’m not just crazy with what I see lol. To me, it’s just another case of that subtle, genius storytelling g by Togashi, but let me know what you think. Thanks!

Wow, this is a wonderful piece of meta, thank you so much for writing it all up and submitting it to me!! I had noticed/considered how snappy Killua gets to Gon when Gon is worrying over Palm, but this is a very carefully considered argument that the jealousy over Palm is an important part of Killua's sadness and uncertainty about his place in Gon's life going into the palace invasion. I had mostly read Killua's sadness here as Gon being distant prior and Killua picking up on that, Killua just generally being worried about the outcome, plus being hurt that Gon wants to fight Pitou on his own. I think those are all factors, too, but it's true that Killua is very focused and worried specifically about whether Gon considers him just a teammate or a friend.

I've always thought this whole dilemma comes off as "odd" in the sense that it wasn't long ago that Gon openly stated that Killua is his best friend in the whole world, under no uncertain terms. Why would Killua doubt his friendship with Gon? Plus there's the whole theme of not having to "qualify" to be a friend (an attitude towards friendship that Killua later passes on to Ikalgo). It's worth noting he's worrying about this prior to Gon's breakdown in front of Pitou and the "It's none of your business" (essentially) line that breaks Killua's heart. This happens just a bit before they confront Pitou.

I'm having a hard time explaining this because it's more of a feeling I have about this scene than something I can concretely prove, but I feel like from a purely friendship standpoint, it's strange for Killua to be so fixated on whether they're friends or not when Gon has stated his friendship with Killua over and over again. Even if Gon has been more distant and insists on fighting Pitou alone (which is definitely part of the problem here), it's not as though there's some clear reason presented that shows Killua has been demoted and Gon no longer considers him a friend.

EXCEPT...Killua is so devoted to Gon that he has it in his mind that he and Gon might do a lovers' suicide if worst comes to worst. If Gon cares more about Palm than him, where does that put him? This whole struggle Killua is having of friendship vs teammates makes so much more sense when you consider Killua having romantic feelings for Gon, whether or not he's aware that that's what they are. And it especially makes sense tying in with the argument you're making, that the whole situation with Palm is a big piece of what's bothering and hurting Killua and causing him to doubt his standing with Gon. It is also a logical build up between the date with Palm and the ultimate climax of this subplot, where Palm assures Killua that he's the one means the most to Gon, and the only one who has any hope of saving him.

I think this whole friendship vs teammate thing is Togashi code for what Killua is really struggling with, which is the strong romantic feelings he has for Gon and his concern that they're not requited. Of course it's improbable Jump would allow Togashi to state this outright so of course he has to frame it differently, but as usual he makes it clear what he's really saying in a number of ways for those of us who look into it deeply, while also not alienating readers who aren't interested in viewing it in that light.

What you're pointing out here makes this whole subplot more clear and understandable, and also further cements the romantic reading of Killua in Chimera Ant Arc--bravo for pointing it out! I think you're totally right on your reading of this, it ties so much together, and it seems like carefully laid puzzle pieces all arranged in a meaningful order.

This is why I love discussing HxH with people--even after all the times I've watched and read the series, all the meta I've read through the years, there's always some new way to see things or something I hadn't considered yet. Togashi is truly a genius storyteller, and it's an absolute blast pulling apart his writing because it's so rich and filled with intention. Even tiny scenes and little snippets of dialogue that don't seem that important in the big picture can have so much meaning once you make connections like this.

Thanks again for sending this in, it was enlightening to me and I'm sure it will be for lots of other people as well! Feel free to send more observations any time!

[blooxorsista]

Blue Exorcist - 3x09: Rin, Izumo, & the Rescue Scene

Okay, I was reading the comments under the latest episode (3x09), and I wanted to type something out, but it ended up being pretty long and I decided I'd just post here instead.

Basically, this post will address Rin and Izumo's character development in this arc, and the importance of the rescue scene in the most recent episode.

I've already mentioned that this arc is probably my favorite in the whole manga (although I'm not currently caught up), but the scene where Izumo cries for help and Rin comes to her rescue is probably one of my absolute favorite scenes in the series.

The scene was just so impactful to me as a reader, which I wrote about in my analysis from when Chapter 60 came out.

So needless to say, I was SO excited to finally see this scene animated! I was also especially excited to see the Nine Tails dance from Izumo, and was slightly disappointed that they may have adapted it too faithfully to the manga, with still shots instead of a moving dance. Maybe they didn't want to assume what it looked like and chose to play it safe. (It's fine, not a deal breaker!)

It wasn't totally apparent in the anime episode, but manga readers know that Rin noticed Izumo crying from the vent. That's why we saw his wide eyes right before he exploded through the ceiling. It was seeing Izumo that caused him to move into action.

It may be easy to overlook since it moved so quickly in the anime, but that scene is extremely important for both Rin and Izumo's characters. Up until that moment, Rin had been struggling internally about fighting humans. When he's trapped inside the giant zombie, he can hear the voices of the humans that were inside (in the same way he could hear Kuro). That's why he was having a bit of a mental breakdown, asking his father what he should do.

He KNOWS that he has to cause harm to humans in order to succeed in this mission. But it's easier said than done for him, because as someone who has been constantly demonized and struggled with his sense of self, he has drawn himself a red line in his own personal code of ethics. To him, the zombies ARE human. And hearing their voices just confirms that for him. They are still conscious inside of their experimented bodies. So in order to fight them, he would have to harm these humans who were essentially innocent victims of this organization.

For Izumo, she finally accepts her true feelings about others, and asks for help. Up until this point, she's put up a strong front, thinking she had to handle everything on her own and couldn't trust anyone. Now she lets all her walls come down and accepts her vulnerabilities.

And it's exactly in this moment that both Rin and Izumo have a synchronous realization. For Rin, seeing Izumo crying, asking for help, in her most vulnerable state -- it's the catalyst for him to resolve his own inner conflict.

In an instant, he has made his decision and strengthened his resolve (either consciously or subconsciously) to harm humans because all he cares about in that moment is to save Izumo.

It's enough to snap him into action. And that's HUGE development for his character. We even see him hesitate slightly at the end of the episode when the zombies fill the room, before ultimately slashing through them with his sword, because he knows that that is what's needed to save Izumo and her mom. In fact, I'd probably argue that this hesitation is due to Rin having to consciously decide to attack them, meaning that when he moved to save Izumo, he reacted subconsciously.

I just felt the need to point this out after seeing so many comments complaining about Rin and Izumo's actions and character development this season. In truth, their actions and motivations align.

Another common complaint I saw was about how Izumo should have taken Rin's offer for help the first time (on the bridge). I'd like to point out that running away wouldn't solve Izumo's problems. Even if she were to be rescued and escape with Rin and the others, Gedouin still has her mother and has already threatened to use her little sister if Izumo refused. In her mind, staying was the only solution, because her goal was to protect her family at all costs.

Despite what we know of the Nine Tails, Izumo believes that she can take control and use the possession to her advantage and destroy her enemies. That way she wouldn't have to worry about them coming after her or her loved ones again.

And for Rin, he's coming to learn that "good" and "bad" are not so easily distinguished. His view of the world has been turned upside down after realizing that not all of the "bad guys" are demons.

And as a side note, I also want to mention the animation style. I know it's been a bit of a controversial topic this season, since the style is so different from seasons 1 and 2, and that a lot of people have complained about some of the episodes. However, I had a feeling that the animation team was just prioritizing the more important scenes over the others (after all, there is a limited amount of time and budget, so it would make sense to spend more time on the biggest scenes, if you have to choose).

And I was glad that this seems to be holding true up until now. I was happy with the quality of the scenes that featured Izumo this episode (much like how I thought her backstory episode was high quality), and especially the rescue scene. And I loved that we finally got to see posessed!Izumo colored and animated!

I'm also curious as to how the next episode will be adapted. I was reading through an old rant of mine from when the corresponding manga chapter came out, so I'll be curious to see if I feel the same way after watching the next scenes play out.

All in all, I'm still enjoying this season and getting to experience the manga come to life with animation and voice acting!

[simpingforcreamsoda]

On Dragona Joestar

and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s inability to handle its content privileges.

For those unaware, this is Dragona Joestar. They are the deuteragonist of The Jojolands, the 9th part in the manga anthology series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The series has been long running, and for a long time had fallen under the Shounen genre— manga aimed at teenagers, arguably young boys specifically but that’s somewhat besides the point. Under this label, there was plenty of violent and shocking content to be found in JoJo, from implications of vampires eating children alive to many characters meeting gruesome ends from punches driving through their stomachs. Character backstories tackled themes like parental abuse, drug addiction, juvenile delinquency, rape, and even featured an on screen depiction of a KKK lynch mob. The series particularly became known for a somewhat dark meme— that the author (Araki) would often demonstrate that a villain was evil by having them kill a dog. So, with all that in mind, why do I only now have a problem with how JoJo chooses to handle mature themes?

In 2005, Part 7 of JoJo was soon to begin as a new, fresh take on the series. It took place in a different continuity than the first six parts, and came with another important distinction— JoJo was no longer a Shounen. It was now a Seinen, a manga category that for all intents and purposes could get away with publishing far more “adult” themes and visual depictions. The effect was immediately noticeable.

At the end of part 7, there is an elongated attempt of rape. This is by no means an exaggeration: the main villain pursues a fourteen year own girl with attempt to assault her in a prolonged horror sequence in which her breasts are exposed in several panels. As a reader, this was surprising, but tolerable to consume. Lucy’s attempts to flee directly result in her summoning a stand ability in self defense, putting an end to the attempt and furthering the narrative along. Because I will almost certainly bring this point up later, yes, this could have been done in ways other than SA. Valentine could easily have been trying to murder Lucy, and the narrative effect would have been the same, but I can understand the intent behind the angle they chose. It’s a direct assault on Valentine’s self proclaimed righteousness, and presents him in a more grounded sense of horror that we had not quite seen in the series prior.

Cut to part 8. Nudity is back— the first fight has a woman entirely nude. I read this in a public space, thank you Araki, lmao. That’s irrelevant to what I have to say, just thought it was funny how quickly jojolion throws tits at the reader.

But part 8 brings something else to the table— Yasuho. She’s a beloved fan favorite, the deuteragonist of part 8, and… is CONSTANTLY sexually harassed as a plot point. Joshu, a character meant to be extraordinarily dislikable, stalks her with unwanted attention and on at least two instances attempts to force himself on her. Tsurugi, a child character of moral ambiguity constantly tries to lick and grope her legs. Even the final villain of the part, Tooru, is revealed to have groomed her from a young age. Aside from Yasuho, other characters are put through situations that are particularly sexually vulnerable in order to demonstrate the horror of an enemy. Lucy’s occasional brushes with SA in part 7 between Valentine, Scarlett, and in High Voltage have become more than a pattern, they’re the default device. Araki has made it clear that when he wants to truly make a villain villainous, he is past killing dogs. Sexual assault and abuse is the new manner of proving the mark of a villain, and while it may be “realistic”, it’s dreadful to read. It’s sickening to watch fan favorite characters be put through an endless loop of suffering, just for a shock value attempt to ramp up stakes. Hell, Lucy even shows up in a flashback, and she gets her clothes ripped off. There’s no end to it for her, even over a real life decade later.

And now we’ve reached part 9.

Dragona Joestar is an interesting character. Here are some fun facts:

They appear feminine but have male genitals and (presumably) male pronouns, but I will use they out of caution.

Their favorite fruit is no longer watermelon that got changed to papaya I think?

They are sexually assaulted twice across the first 13 chapters

It is remarkably unpleasant. The part OPENS on Dragona having their penis groped by a policeman, and later in a flashback we see school kids cornering them in the back of a bus, before tearing off their clothes and trying to carve scars into their skin with a potato peeler.

And I’ve fucking had it. I don’t care if this contributes to their nihilistic worldview, this is fucking sickening! I don’t care if it’s no more violent and realistic than parental abuse or medical abandonment in a hospital— no other “adult” topic in JoJo has been handled this poorly. No other topic has been so constant, so expected, and so specifically targeted at the same characters over and over. Part 9 has taken it a step further— in each instance, it has been very specifically because of Dragona’s non typical gender presentation. Their being is constantly made into a sexual object of lust for villains, and this lust is consistently presented in sequences where physical contact is presented gratuitously to the reader.

When I’ve tried to express my specific disgust for this, I’ve made the poor choice of saying this is breaching a line that feels akin to a twisted fetish one might find on 4chan, but no matter how many times I emphasize that I don’t believe Araki intends this, people misinterpret me. So I’ll be clearer now: I do not believe Araki has intended anything more than pure shock value. What I DO believe is that he ONLY thinks of it as shock value, and in doing so has lost sight of what it truly means. He’s become completely careless with such a theme, and has used it in places where other topics could easily be interchangable— and the shock of SA has lost its purpose. It is no longer something that makes me fear a character— it has made me despise the story. It’s turned into a semi monthly event, one at such a rate and manner of depiction that I do not believe JoJo is mature enough to handle it.

i dont know. I’m tired of writing about this. I might edit with clarification later.

I’m just dreading what’s to come for a series I love so much.

[catchyhuh]

i bet you were insufferable as a child

and since we know this about lupin and jigen for a fact we’re actually just gonna focus on the other three for now! yippee!! the "tms forgot i exist" special lineup!

fujiko:

i know she was a weird girl. i KNOW this bitch had a gigantic bookshelf filled with all the standard cute, girly beginner chapter books, but also those big fucking scholastic book fair pretend spy kits and shit. i don’t think she was ever the “play in the dirt and come home covered in grass stains and mud” type of kid, mostly because it just felt gross to her, but i DO think she was completely unhinged in an indoors sense. the kind of child who just starts talking your ear off acting like they know everything there is to know about frogs because they read one book so OBVIOUSLY they know ALL about FROGS!! 

absolutely adored those cheap horrible nail polish sets where the brush is the size of a q-tip swab. she also chewed on her nails though, so imagine the standard tiny hand with thin, watery, glittery purple polish on just the roundest, bluntest nails possible. that same hand is also thinking really hard about how to best pocket your coin purse though so like,

i think she had siblings. she was in the perfect spot where she wasn’t in the league with the older, more achieved kids, but wasn’t young enough to be babied and spoiled like the little ones. which takes quite a strange toll on you growing up. it’s why her demeanor now tends to go between taking advantage of the fact a lot of people don’t expect anything from her, to “why are you ignoring me?! what’s that about!!”

fujiko def developed her evil selfgaining tendencies before she even left the fifth grade. if you think she’s difficult to bargain with NOW, imagine what she was like in middle school when [pogs/pokemon cards/silly bandz/insert era appropriate cafeteria currency here] was big. she went through the school system curating personal black markets. it would be impressive if she wasn’t so terrifyingly cutthroat about it

in the nicest way possible, if the stars had aligned, and by some miracle all five of them were the same exact age and met in kindergarten, she… would not have been friends with any of them. well, partially. there’s a very sharp gender divide when you’re first starting school, so i think she kind of “made friends” with nice enough girls, but she absolutely thought lupin was obnoxious, she thought goemon didn’t like her because he rarely spoke to her, jigen thought it was hilarious to antagonize her, and zenigata was just kind of whatever, like he wasn’t a jerk, but he wasn’t exceedingly nice. like he gave her a colored pencil to borrow and that was the extent of that. at best, if goemon was forced to really socialize, she and goemon would get along well enough, but that’s also because she’s bossy as HELL and goemon just goes along with whatever, even now, so ESPECIALLY back when he was an impressionable child!

goemon:

god. you know the kid that sits on the edge of the playground that the teachers all go “aw, bless his heart. just a little old soul.” poor baby goemon

i don’t really think there was as much pressure on goemon to live up to his legacy the way there was for lupin. i’ve mentioned it before, but goemon’s relationship with the original goemon is very different from lup’s relationship with his grandpa, or even dad, and it’s not just because of the time gap. goemon CHOSE to emulate his nakesake’s abilities and talents, where lupin kind of had no choice. and because of this, goemon’s transition into his current lifestyle was much more gradual. i’d say he probably only started making an effort to BE “goemonlike” when he reached his mid-to-late teens. i know hes like 17 in the og manga so if any of this contradicts that Shh no it doesn’t

his quietness wasn’t entirely the result of being shy either. he just didn’t really know what to say at most points? he was (and still is) pretty blunt, and realized pretty quickly and very naturally that people outside of his immediate family didn’t know what to make of him when he answered rhetorical questions completely honestly and sincerely. so he kinda just. retreated inward a bit. he started to get a bit more talkative as he grew, but then he committed to his training and learned the importance of “meaning every word you say” so then he started getting quiet AGAIN

you would think he would be the easiest kid to look after. uh no. even in a pre-slashy slashy era he’s very naturally destructive, which is insane given how tenderly he treats certain stuff within the house. you go “ok goemon this is my dog’s favorite food bowl. it belonged to HER mom so that’s very old for dogs.” and he gives you this exceedingly serious nod and uses both hands to slowly set it down on the ground for the dog to eat out of. but then you go “goemon is that your great great great grandfather’s handmade teapot?” and he goes “is it?” and just in the process of him setting it on the counter it has shattered in two. little man is devastated but hey nobody was drinking out of that thing anyway so just krazy glue that fucker and the tears will subside

zenigata:

is there anything at all funnier than an angry 6yo. yeah. an angry 2yo. and even funnier than that, an angry infant. he didn’t even have anything to actually be pissed about, that’s just naturally how his eyebrows sit and HAVE been his entire life. i would give up my pinky just to see even a glimpse of the absolute comedy jackpot known as his baby pictures

not a revolutionary take by any means but he was definitely the “YOU CAN’T DO THAT WE’RE GONNA GET IN TROUBLE!!” kid. however he was absolutely not even REMOTELY the “didn’t we have homework?” kid because you know damn well he never remembered to do that shit. unless he knew a kid he didn’t like ALSO didn’t do the homework, then yeah, he’d absolutely go down with the ship just to get back at the little bastard. 

in that same vein he would absolutely be the easiest to babysit. “but his demeanor--” shh you are thinking too far ahead. this guy has no obligations. this guy has personal beef with like two random kids in his neighborhood. he has yet to grow a taste for calling superiors idiots who don’t know what they’re talking about. so as long as you actually tell him in plain terms “please do x” or “don’t do y because z” he’ll be fine. you tell this kid to set the table and he’s tripping over his feet putting the spoons and forks in the wrong places. also you’re just having chicken nuggets so i don’t even know why he did that. he didn’t grab plates.

do not mistake the above for him being a “good” kid because this just means he was unfortunately one of those horrible kids who are very polite in front of certain people and absolute monsters in front of those he doesn’t like. does that sound contradictory to the above bullet points? that’s just how children are. he was not a bully at any point in his life but he was so extreme with his ANTI bullying shit that he ended up in the principal’s office just as much, covered in bruises and star wars bandaids. all throughout his school years. he was still doing this shit in high school he’d overhear somebody being a douchebag and just push them off the bleachers. let ‘em fall 10 feet it builds character.

[generouskittensong]

Hi guys, I'm ranting a bit. It's sad that the SK fandom can't even be called a fandom anymore. I don't think that there are 20 people left are SK fans. Compared to the other couples there are only two couples that make sense. One is Sasuke and Karin and Tsunade and Dan.

Kishimoto made fun of every other couple especially spit on SS faces with Gaiden because let's face it Kishimoto detests SS and he showed us a lot through the manga, Gaiden and even made fun of SS in interviews, he has even said that he wants to divorce them because they are not compatible with each other.

Do you guys have Twitter?

I also have Twitter. I don't particularly like Twitter because of those nasty, trashy Sakura stans. One of the worst fans in the world are Sakura stans, and don't even get me started. How on earth do men like this garbage? For me it will always be wild. Sakura Stans are always thirsty, self-insert, middle-aged women who aren't good looking but want a hot guy like Sasuke and who have never accomplished anything in their lives. I swear I hate these people so much I want to throw up.

I hate this garbage character so much, I get even more annoyed when I have to read stupid comments about whether I like Sakura or Karin ON MY KARIN INSTAGRAM PAGE. Can you read? The account is called Karin! How the hell are you asking me this question? Or if I post other characters. The account is called KARIN!! I hate Hinata and Sakura. Both pointless, useless characters who accomplished nothing in the entire series. Both deserve to be cannon fodder. I also hate Team 7. A toxic team. Sasuke is not happy with Naruto and Sakura. He should have traveled the world with Taka, unlike T7, Taka is loyal to Sasuke. Taka didn't force Sasuke to do anything, they accepted him as he is while T7 wanted to create their own version of Sasuke for themselves in order to be accepted by him. Sasuke chose Taka for himself while T7 was chosen for him. That alone is the difference. Sasuke, who developed a new power for Karin and later told Tobirama that the Sharingan only reacts when the user develops "deep feelings" for the person, talks a lot about Sasuke's feelings for Karin. Just “biting someone to heal” is so sexual.

Biting is sexual and of all the possible techniques, Kishimoto chose this one for Sasuke and Karin. We've never seen Sasuke as intimate with anyone as he is in this moment and Karin is the only girl who made Sasuke laugh. After the genocide, Sasuke never laughs, only at Karin in the 2nd Chuunin Exam in the forest. really this smile is the biggest proof already. who ever imagine that part I sasuke would have a soft smile like Karin has developed a power for sasuke. Kishimoto knew exactly what he was doing. Same with Sasuke's reaction when he found out that Karin was an Uzumaki or that he only apologized to Karin WHILE a few panels before he told Konoha 11 clearly and clearly that he doesn't apologize to ANYONE. And his apology wasn't just "sorry." He chose a form of apology in Japanese that is used in two variants. Summanakata which is used by Japanese boyfriends to say sorry to their girlfriends. Kishimoto knows exactly why he chose this form for Sasuke. SK is the only couple that has a base in the series. I'm anti T7 but pro Taka/Hebi. I am anti-Itachi, anti Konoha, anti Naruto but pro Sasuke and his revolution. Pro change.

Sasuke is the best character in the entire series. No, I don't like Hinata. I don't like slave owners. Neji was right about everything. Sasuke, Pain/Nagato, Madara, they were all right. I'm also anti-Minato but pro-Kushina because she was the victim but I also don't like Kushina who called her murdered clan members "savages". In my opinion, Kishimoto is the best author who has brought so much politics into a story for teenagers that I find it funny how the majority didn't understand a story for pubescent boys. I like Karin as the only woman besides Konan in the entire story. You can throw the rest of the women in the trash can.

The manga just hints that Sasuke and Karin have already had sex. That's what Suigetsu meant twice and Kishimoto also talked about it in a databook in which he insisted on continuing to read the manga because it clarified what "exactly happened between Karin and Sasuke". There are "hints" here and there that indicate that this couple was already a couple before we saw Karin for the first time in the manga. The side text that talks about Karin how Sasuke was the only one who "recognized her" and in Sasuke's eyes "Karin is the strongest kunochi" says a lot about their relationship, not forgetting that Sasuke has not recognized anyone from Team 7 and Naruto until fights for the final battle for Sasuke's attention while Karin has already officially received it from Sasuke. There's a lot to say but I'll leave it at that. Likewise, I'm on the side of the "antagonists" because they had everything right compared to the fascist system called Konoha and the other 4 nations.

Sasuke at least saved Karin from the bear in the Forest of Death and she had a reason to immediately appreciate him. When Sakura was first interested in him, it was not based on any personal interaction or knowledge -- only that he was the aloof, cool genius who all the other girls fancied. I always felt Karin's flashback (so late in her story) was to reinforce her parallel to Sakura. She's the anti-Sakura. She is not Sakura 2.0. But oh well, now I stop my ranting :) Thanks for reading if you read so far.

[sneezemonster15]

Sorry to ask this but there's no one out here as good at analysing as you. So, I need your help. Why SK stans thinks Sasuke gives a stranger (karin) the most gentle smile he has ever given anyone in the manga so far?? And he was not disappointed in (not found the scroll he was looking for) because he gives a smile?? They says that kishi made it obvious and meaningful by adding a white leaf background in the panel?? If that was the case then the first thing that pop out of my mind is Gaara and Sasuke staring at each other in that white leaf background panel 😂. And there are more such panels. But the first thing irks me the most was they comparing this smile to ch 641 smiling. Why couldn't they clearly read the situation he was in before pointing out his facial expressions??

Lol. So they compare the smile Sasuke gave to Karin with the one in chapter 641? Lol, shoot the context anon. It's obviously useless to these silly shippers.

Because of course Karin is more important to Sasuke than Naruto. Because he was planning to die at the end but he lived for Naruto. As opposed to when Danzo tried to use Karin as bait, Sasuke without hesitation attacked him skewering Karin in the process, obviously ready to kill her. Or when he said Naruto was his precious, one and only, his closest friend, the one who reminded him of his family. As opposed to Karin whom he ordered Sakura to kill just so she could prove her loyalty to him. And I would like to go on but his interaction with Karin is so limited as compared to his interaction with Naruto. Lol.

Yep, those two people are totally equal for Sasuke. What comprehension! What underanstanding! Just lovely. :)

Anon, SK are as deluded as SS, NrSk and SS. If not as toxic. Thankfully.

First of all, that whole memory where Karin thinks of Sasuke saving her from the bear is retconned. I am sure Kishi might have earlier thought of establishing why Karin feels this way for Sasuke. (And it's quite funny because he didn't give Sakura any reason, said it would have looked contrived but he did give Karin a reason to like Sasuke, lol). But he obviously wasn't decided on how he would show it when he first wrote Karin. So how did he fix it? By showing her getting rescued by Sasuke during the forest of death arc. Now we know, because we have already read that arc, there was no mention of Karin. None at all. No indication he met someone. And where else could Kishi have written their first meeting if not forest of death arc which would make narrative sense? Where else could he have met a fellow shinobi in grave danger not from his village? Certainly not during Sasuke retrieval arc. Or land of waves arc. Or one on one chuunin battle arc. I doubt Kishi had even conceived her character around this time. There would have been no reason to. Now it's totally believable that Sasuke might have chosen not to say anything about it even if he had met her, it would be in his character, but the point is we only get this extra information about Karin meeting Sasuke at a very crucial moment, when she is about to die (or at least thinks so), at the hands of Sasuke when the reason she liked him in the first place was because he rescued her from a potentially lethal situation.

Kishi chose this moment to underline the irony of the situation that she was ultimately going to get killed by the same person who rescued her once. He rescued her because of his kind heart. But after killing Danzo, Sasuke is filled with such bitterness, his chakra has become dark and Karin can feel that he, from what she perceives, is almost not the same person. Even Sakura notices it. He is definitely seething, vengeful and deeply hurt. Which is why she wants to see him smile, like before. One last time. Before dying. This is why Kishi placed those panels side by side, one with Sasuke smiling and another with Sasuke darkly bent on killing her. To underline the difference of attitude in Sasuke towards her.

All these Naruto het shippers of the ships mentioned above are the same. The moment a boy is just nice or civil is taken out of context and considered a romantic moment. Tell me anon, would it have been in character for Sasuke to see a young and helpless shinobi about to get painfully slashed open by a wild animal and do absolutely nothing? Would it have been in character for him to be scared or intimidated by the said animal? Or would it have been in character for him to save her, given that he always protects his team mates in battles? All of them? This boy who wouldn't even kill the practice shinobis/fodder ninjas that Oro brings him to train with, who Oro brings him for exactly that purpose? This is why I find het shippers in this fandom very embarrassing. Like they are so thirsty for this 'supposed' romance, they would jump at the most neutral of action but simply forget or dismiss the rest. Who cares about context and characterisation or narrative? Sasuke is in love with Karin because he smiled at her once. But everything blatantly flirtatious, devotional, romantic, intimate thing he does for Naruto or with Naruto is just what? Plot holes? Must be if they think Sasuke loves Karin. Lol. And smiling? Really? Bah. Can him smiling at Karin compare with this?

And these are not even all the panels where he smiles for or with or because of Naruto. I just got tired. Lol.

Okay but seriously, can they compare with THIS?

And honestly, I am a little embarrassed even comparing the two because it's just so silly. It's like comparing apples and the oceanic system. Where Karin was never anything more than a team mate for Sasuke, Naruto was his reason to live. This is what he felt for Karin, when he was about to kill her.

A hostage. As opposed to Naruto, whom he needed to kill because he is his one and only. Someone he needs to kill so that he could carry out his goals because seeing Naruto makes him weak. Because bonds of love renders one weak. Because Naruto was the only one who made him feel not alone. And he needed to be alone for his objectives.

And another thing, which SK stans conveniently dismiss, are the two panels where Sasuke says later, one of which includes him smiling to Karin, both these panels are Karin's point of view shots. So the leaves flying in the white background is how SHE sees Sasuke, and we already know she likes him by this point.

Another thing, like you already mentioned, leaves flying in white background. The one with Gaara and Sasuke portrays that they are sizing each other up. It means different things in different contexts. In Karin's pov, it means a beautiful, divine intervention. Her damsel in distress was one second away from being violently killed and Sasuke was her saviour. Her knight in shining armor.

Abstract backgrounds like this one are used to highlight an emotion that the mangaka wants to convey, to add to the atmospheric weight of the scene.

This background is used in many contexts, and the following are certainly not romantic.

Romantic or no? Heh. This background here represents Sakura's shock after being rejected by Sasuke. The shot of Sasuke is her pov. Look at her face, the expression is clearly emphasized as shock.

How about this one? Would SK say Sasuke and Dosu have romantic feelings for each other? Lol. The context here means there is barely suppressed anticipation, which is emphasized by the following ten thousand panels of the audience watching the match, all waiting with baited breath to see what will happen next.

How about this? The context is that Chiyo had sacrificed her life for Gaara and died. So the meaning of the background is sadness and grief. For both Sakura and Chiyo's brother.

And well, let me add one last panel which is actually supposed to be romantic.

Hehehe. Sasuke is flirting with Naruto. He is finally acknowledging Naruto's strength after their adventures together in the forest of death. Where they fought with each other. Fought for each other. Where Sasuke and Naruto both saved each other. Where it became clear that they know each other deeply, their mannerisms, motivations, strengths and weaknesses. And Naruto is taken aback. He finally has what he had always wanted. Sasuke's stamp of approval, his friendship, his respect. As we would see, how much he cherished this moment later in the manga. This is one of the defining moments in their relationship.

Anon, just go by this adage. Feel free to dismiss whatever these shippers claim in order to validate the rOManCe of their ship. They will always be wrong about it. Always.

[onigiri-dorkk]

Hi I'm new to the fandom and not gonna lie for a long time I was confused about why would anyone ship Rivamika because it always seemed like Levi was barely aware of Mikasa and Mikasa hated Levi or disliked him. I started reading the manga last week and I'm honestly surprised by how little changes made a huge different. WIT always made it seem like Mikasa didn't care about anyone other than Ereh and I believe they are the reason why everyone makes fun of Mikasa for being obsessed. I genuinely thought "I love her but she's very ungrateful and rude sometimes, their strongest soldier hurt his ankle when they needed him the most because of her and all she cared about is Ereh" but it's not like that in the manga. She actually feels guilty and responsible which is a great panel to show how character development. A 3 seconds scene would do so much good to Mikasa's character but WIT somehow didn't want to include that scene. Even in S3 it seemed like they would like to keep them apart and don't let them interact even though there was a huge reveal about them. And I think it's not only WIT. Even Isayama himself is almost afraid to let them interact and I'm not talking about shipping here. Imagine finding out that someone experienced the same things as you did, have this weird mysterious power thing going on and that person is your Captain whom you made it clear that you trust and respect now. It's crazy to me that they don't even talk and compare their experiences etc???? Again, it's not even about shipping, it pisse me off because it feels like Mikasa isn't allowed to have anything of her own, the reason why Mikasa ships aren't popular isn't because she's not loved, it's because Isayama, WIT and even Mappa didn't let her have many meaningful interactions. Hell, even with Armin (they are supposed to be a trio) it sometimes feel like they were just hanging out for Eren. Ughhh they could at least let Mikasa have Ackermans for her own. She could interact more with Levi and even with Kenny for a sec. So disappointing :(

Wow!! Anon, welcome to the fandom and thanks for sending this! I never get asks and it’s always exciting 😂 We’re glad you’re here!

The “I didn’t get how people shipped rivamika” thing is common tbh, don’t worry! I was on that train too until I stopped to think about everything implied between the lines—most of it being in the manga, as you said. I know people say things like we ‘grasp at straws’ but there is realistically fantastic depth we can assume from their closeness as comrades alone. The magic of Rivamika as a ship is it takes more deep knowledge of the characters to understand why it WORKS so well. And when you get it, gosh, it’s amazing!

We definitely agree too, that WIT cut such crucial scenes to Mikasa’s character. I will never understand their choices… And I’ll forever grieve it 😭 That scene of self-reflection and guilt over Levi’s injury/absence is important because it’s the first time she finally thought outside of her tunnel vision of Eren. Ultimately, she learns to care about what happens to others as a result of her actions, which quite literally starts with Levi.

I also agree, it seems like Yams started the Ackerman reveal + arc but decided midway not to commit to it or develop it. It explained their strength, but that was it. It’s strange that even in the anime they chose not to explain that Ackerman’s are Titan DNA hybrids. That seems like a crucial piece but I wonder why they didn’t think it was important. Because then the whole “Ackerman’s are immune to x and x” has no narrative proof at all.

I like to think Ackertalk happened behind the scenes. I like reading everyone’s versions of it—but always a shame we never got that in canon. It’s even strange because they both lost their entire families, so finding out you’re from the same people should at least create a sense of bonding or they’d take on a slightly familial role, or SOMETHING. (Though I’m glad it didn’t go that route because people would REALLY think they’re cOuSiNs lol) But it’s just strange Yams introduced these things that ended up really having not much purpose, or none at all. (Don’t get me started on the Azumabito shit)

I still hope and manifest for some sort of Ackerman spin off that explores this. Can you imagine? Levi and Mikasa (the cash cows of AOT, we say!) venturing off post-war to discover more about the Ackerman’s? Or to retrace and find surviving Ackerman’s outside the world?

[yandere-romanticaa]

I meant it less as you shouldnt be writing Dazai x reader fics and moreso that it doesnt make sense. Like...let me see if I can figure out how to word this. Its like if I didnt find video games enjoyable, but still chose to put time into making one. Youre free to do what you want, Im more so confused as to why you choose to (or why it would be enjoyable) if it contradicts the entire mindset you have about Dazai and relationships

Mmmm this is where it gets interesting.

Because of this, I feel like yandere Dazai could work. He starts to idolize you in a sense, he starts to see you as his only reason to live and take another breath or step on this hollow Earth. Regular Dazai would just stop there and calmly progress on his own at his own pace with you by his side helping him out on occasion along with the rest of the agency members, Kunikida in particular.

But yandere Dazai?

I remember a scene in the second season (this is when he was still in the Port Mafia) he says that whenever he thinks something is even worth obtaining it is immediately lost which is often true in his sad life, just look at what happened to Oda for example. Oda was everything to him and if Oda wasn't in his life Dazai would be a totally different person and this feels even more true since I read the Beast manga.

I won't spoil the manga because it honestly really is quite short but it's totally worth the read, the ending made me tear up a little. He did all of that so he could see and be with Oda again, just imagine how he would be with a lover .... Oh the possibilities, my poor heart cannot control itself!!! He would do everything, absolutely everything to keep you safe, no matter the cost. This is why I'm low key bummed how some people think that Dazai would be a pure sadist who takes pleasure in your pain. While that element is certainly there (ESPECIALLY Port Mafia Dazai!!!) I just think he wants to love you and be loved in return, even if his methods usually involve heavily manipulating you in every sense of the word.

It's the idea that someone who is willing to destroy the whole world and rebuild it anew just for the sake of his twisted love that's so attractive to me.

[crazylittlejester]

DAILY BRAINROT DELIVERY

I'm a bit late because I got sidetracked earlier, and technically I'm supposed to be writing a paper for class, but I think I have enough time, and I'm not going to be able to focus until after the brainrot delivery anyway, so here we go.

I'm still not completely sure what to do about Sun in LU EAH AU, but it just occurred to me that I will be replacing the Master Sword with the Vorpal Sword. Personally, I think Vorpal Sword sounds cooler than Master Sword anyway, so it's fine.

The thing is, I forgot about Fi and Ghirahim until now. Fi is still going to be a sword spirit, but to keep with the cautionary tale theme of fairytales, her origin story is going to have to be modified a little bit, I think. (To be honest, this AU is turning into a "how mean can Gryphon be to the characters" challenge.)

The idea behind the sword spirits is that they're a consciousness that's inside a sword (presumably to make it very powerful). More or less the equivalent of a human/hylian soul.

I haven't ever read the comic/manga about what happens prior to Skyward Sword, but I know that the general agreement tends to be that Hylia was in love with the original version of Link and that that's why she chose to be reincarnated with him.

So I need to fact-check that at some point just to clear things up, but I think it would be really cool to have Fi be a soul that sacrificed herself for one reason or another to be remade into a blank slate to power the Vorpal Sword and also act as a GPS/personal assistant to the wielder of the sword.

Fi wouldn't even have to be Hylia's lover, she could have an unrequited crush, be her best friend, or even the deity equivalent of a sibling or child. (Maybe the Fierce Deity is actually Fi's younger brother or cousin.) I think Fi could very easily be aromantic, asexual, and/or a lesbian, all of which are excellent options in my opinion.

I think it would allow for some interesting possibilities regarding types of love and devotion, especially if Ghirahim had a parallel origin story, except his sacrifice wasn't made out of a pure love and that's why he's so creepy and evil. I think it would make sense for him to be infatuated with Demise (although the feeling is not mutual) and thus taken advantage of and turned into what he currently is.

I don't really think most of this backstory would ever be in the main story, but it would make a good side story because I am now very invested. If there is interest in it, I might actually go ahead and write out a couple thousand words of plot around it.

HELL YEAH HELL YEAH DAILY BRAINROT!! I get so excited when I see these

(I wish you luck on your paper, you got this)

OUGH AN UNREQUITED CRUSH OH MY GOD. Lesbian Fi would be so cool, but also so would any of those other options YOU ARE COOKING AS USUAL DUDE

IM SO SO SO INVESTED IN THIS, IF YOU EVER HAVE TIME TO WRITE IT ID ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO READ IT

thank you so much for the daily brainrot I look forward to the next one :)

[vinillain]

About the tags on your last post: please can we talk about s3 and how it’s had like, so much potential and how the last two villains of wakfu, nox and Qilby were so cool and bad ass and well written and OROPO IS JUST,,,, STRAIGHT? Like Oropo’s thing is kill god and get into a weird love triangle with god and god’s crush? Idk, I wanna hear your opinions on s3!

// Major s3 spoilers and for the entire series, massive infodump, apologies in advance 🤡

Season 3 had a lot of potential. It had a good idea and terrible execution. I’m not saying Wakfu doesn’t have its flaws but S3 makes me so sad. Oropo could have been set up to be this big reveal of the final major Villain- but there wasn’t enough set up, and the pay off was just disappointing. Hopefully the Oropo OVA will fix some of the problems, the biggest to me being how underdeveloped the characters were, unlike first two seasons which biggest complaints were that there was too much filler, season three has none. Which is good but now it feels like it was more rushed rushed, anyone who doesn’t read the mangas doesn’t understand the history of the brotherhood of the forgotten and won’t be as attached or feel for their characters as much. (This might be me but a little filler of getting to know these characters more would have helped)

Another thing was Adamai and Amalia. Like, what did they do to them?? 😭 They felt so out of character, Adamaï has been gone for three years, revealed to be convinced by Oropo to join him reappears, has a bizzare appearance (I think because maybe the eliatrope dofus? Which I’m saying had the effect on his personality as well-) working for the main antagonist, and that would have been OKAY if they showed how he became that way, because he just shows up in first two eps and then is kind of just, in the background until the finale. And that makes me mad because they could have had this good charecter arc and story for him about feeling like he lives in Yugo’s shadow, because my dude lived on an island in isolation from twelvians for 12 years, then his brother shows up, and the person he’s considered a father dies shortly after. They rush to save the world, fails and then time is rewound-

And you can see Adamaï’s frustrations, because he wants to find their people, because he cares and because he wants to complete the mission Grugaloragram told him he would do. He is still a child, with all these thoughts and a need to complete his goal. And unintentionally in doing so releases a madman who manipulates them and almost destroys the world. The one he looked up to, the one who he thought would help him betrays his trust, the one who would help him find said people. And they could have expanded on the theme of being left behind by Yugo again while he goes to adventure. It’s not intentional, but it makes him feel like he doesn’t matter, like he is only his twins shadow. And for a child who is 12, only had ever been on his island, a few other places with barely any contact and is now in Sadida, without the brother he needs to help him he probably does have feelings of resentment. And Qilby uses this to deceive him into leaving, not realizing his true intentions before it’s to late.

There could have been this story, one that made more sense to why he left, after not being heard and ”left behind” by Yugo once again he went with Echo, this person who was correct, a figure of someone to rely on, .the one who gave him this new path like Qilby did to help their people and achieve his goals. He does feel betrayed, that Yugo would chose his friend over him. Dragons are emotional creatures. And Echo (later likely Oropo) uses this fact to get him to join their cause. Oropo knows this, and he knows all too well how it feels to live inside someone else’s shadow. To feel like a copy, a fake. And it’s just HSJSJSH

They say Oropo is this god, a genius, a good person who convinced them all (manipulated them all) into joining him. For his cause. And I wish they would have shown that, because they don’t show it in the series, some only in the manga which most ENG fans can’t read as it’s not translated. I wish they would have shown no just why but HOW they joined. Maybe through each level the BoT find out how the demigods joined Oropo, how he found them. How they were convinced. At the beginning we do see some of his manipulation, going into the BoT minds and revealing their darkest deserts and guilty fears. He gives these people, lost, angry, alone and confused a place of peace. To fight for something bigger then themselves, to achieve their own goals. Adamai himself doesn’t even seem convinced this plan will work, often doubting Oropo to his face. Oropo has this hidden agenda and overarching plan and I think because it’s just revealed all last minute in such a rushed and badly written way that it was so disappointing.

There was also the potential after he absorbed Yugo, giving him power to fight all these demi gods, to become god. (Still mad that they were all mostly out of commission for the whole fight, it would have been a cool scene to have them fight and get beaten down one by one by the one they believed in, that would have been a great way to show as Oropo slowly feels guilt, remembering all the times he had with them, that they were his family, and how he lost sight of his original goals and thousands of years went on, no even realizing what a hypocrite he had become, blind to his own rage, trauma and jealousy of living in someone else’s shadow.)

He has all of his memories, he knows Yugo’s desires, the one to find and give a home to his people, to reconcile with Adamai, etc etc. Instead of him just fighting Qilby and Nox and talking with younger Adamai it could have been this entire trip of Yugo fighting in Oropo’s mind, and his own memories. The fight with Nox, and Qilby- the trauma he gained. Yelling at things he knows deep down are fake. The burden of being a child, now a king with all these orphaned kids waiting on him to rule them. For him to give them a home. Adamai leaving him, those long three years of searching, wondering where he gone, the pain of his other half never returning.

Also the guilt of Nox’s death and Qilby being trapped, which he clearly shows much guilt of, knowing he could’t find a better solution. And if they really wanted to go all out, the guilt of the world being destroyed by the astroids he caused to fall. They showed it in the OVA but everyone seemed fine, I know they probably wouldn’t but they set it up like this would have more reprocrussions but eveyone is fine? And the fact he didn’t realize he created the Eliotropes. He didn’t know and didn’t mean to, unintentionally giving life to all these children who were forced to wonder the world hidden without a cause. Because his biggest desire deep down, was to find his people and give them a home.

And Oropo could have used this. Breaking him down in his mind of all the people he hurt unintentionally, the guilt of Nox’s death and Qilby being locked away, Adamai leaving and the fear of outliving all his loved ones. And most importantly, his desire for the eliatrope people. They mentioned it near the end as he was escaping but the “I know the pressure on your shoulders better than anyone else, let me take over and rule the eliatrope people.” Always stuck out to me, like he did with Adamai, and all those Demi gods he would try to play to his feelings. “I can help you give them a home.” The pressure of being only a child learning this and the scrutiny from twelve after Qilby made it worse for them. The guilt of all those poor orphan children, no parents all on their own, wasting away everyday. Why did you take so long? Why aren’t you trying to look, living life peacefully and then searching for your brother. Every year is a million to them. And they are all waiting on you. To convince him to give in, to join him completely so they can achieve their goals. Coming to Yugo as this becon of light after all these curls memories showed no mercy ripping him apart.

Oropo could have genuinely been this amazing finale of a villain, if he was written better and not as this hypocrite who was immediately betrayed by his followers after his intentions were revealed (dude knew they wouldn’t agree, and still acts so surprised when they are all outraged at him) and blaming all his problems and the horrors he’s committed on Yugo since they are the same, which again could have worked but instead it just came off as rushed and poorly put together. He could have been another amazing foil, of how far you will go to save/help/avenge/find your family. Nox being the most obvious with his, Qilby having those themes of his people and not being alone with his desires- And Oropo with the loss of all his kind, being the only one left, and though he started off with good intentions, slowly became the person he talked about hating. Loss after lisos slowly not caring who he went through or what sacrifice he made to achieve his goals. He wants to start it all anew, replace the people he felt betrayed by. And considering he has Yugo’s memories and feelings, has the same desire of finding the eliatrope children a home.

There’s a lot more (looks over at Amalia because holy shit they did her so dirty) things but I don’t want to write any more than I have 😭 but Season 3 could have been this really good ending point that felt rushed and butchered and had a completely different tone (which is fine) but it just didn’t feel the same. I think it’s likely because Netflix took over, because some of the writers on s3 clearly didn’t watch the show?? And Amalia being like “I know your a man deep inside.” Or “I don’t need you.” (If you know what scene I’m talking about you know) and it’s so frustrating. It had this good idea and potential and just rushed and terrible execution that makes me so sad.

Anyway TLDR: Netflix ruined s3 Wakfu, Amalia and Adamai aren’t even the same characters and Oropo had all this potential to be this grand foil for Yugo and failed miserably. Might make a pt 2.

(Also Echo and Elely were the MVP’s of s3 don’t @ me)

[depressedhatakekakashi]

1 (looking at T*birama), 3, 8, 13, 16, 21, 22 & 23 for the asking game :3

(I also chose violence today)

the character everyone gets wrong

For Tobirama i just wish people would stop acting like he doesn’t have problems. It’s fine to like a character because you think they’re cool (a lot of people like Madara as well) but let’s not act all surprised when you realize that people hate that character for very valid reason’s (making lots of jutsu’s doesn’t make up for being a ninja racist/hateful jerkwad)

Also, everything people credit him with making in the village to ‘prove he’s the best hokage’ are things that were wrong with the system or other’s made better. Chunin exam (kids fighting kids. Wrong!), acadamy (good idea but kakashi and Iruka made it better by extending it to other’s so they could learn shinobi skills without expecting to become shinobi), Police force (making one entire clan the one’s in charge of a police force is NEVER a good idea. It does not show ‘trust’ it show’s that he thought they could only be useful to the village in one area)

screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Ohhh there’s so many.

Right now i’m going to have to go with ‘Hinata didn’t care about her sister and was only on the mission because of Naruto’. Hinata love’s her sister and was trying to rescue her. She cared deeply about her sister and her being caught off guard by Naruto’s confession doesn’t wash that away. It means she was caught off guard

‘Oh but naruto said-‘

Yes, and Hinata’s not caught off guard by ‘we need to rescue hinabi’ because that’s why they’re there. She doesn’t need to be told why they’re there. She was on the moon and almost married a creep to try and get close to her sister and save her

Thinking about naruto in her dreams doesn’t damn her. We literally do not control our dreams and at this point she at least knows her sister is alive and she is actively trying to do something to save her

Stop shitting on my girl for her crush jfc

common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Kakashi didn’t care about Sakura/Didn’t teach her anything

Tell me you didn’t read the manga without telling me you didn’t read the manga. Sakura is not the main character so if she’s not in the scene her development takes a back seat to Naruto’s, but Kishi constantly writes throughout the story about how much Kakashi cares about all of his students. He notices Sakura’s skill with chakra control, he teaches her the Qi release, he protects her throughout the war arc (which is an act of PLATONIC LOVE).

worst blorboficiation

You know what, Tobirama. Since we went over this

Love your man but stop acting like he isn’t a hateful douch canoe

you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Perfect good at everything Sakura. Hate it.

But ok i’ll choose another one. Bottom Kakashi. And i choose this specificlly because i’ve had people come at me for daring to not ship him exclusively as a bottom. 1) we have no idea of Kakashi’s canon sexual preference so it’s fair game all ways. I scroll past ‘pillow princess kakashi’ content you scroll past mine and leave me tf alone 2) it is ILLIGAL to talk about what a nice ass character’s like Obito and Gai have, and then not let Kakashi fuck them. That’s rude. 3) kakashi doesn’t ‘need to let lose and let someone else be in control’. That’s not even what being a bottom is. He can be the sub and still top his partner ffs

part of canon you think is overhyped

Pein arc. Honestly the only thing i would change is have Naruto actually use Kakashi’s number one lesson to him. Team work.

Also i’d have Iruka make the sacrifice to save Naruto, not Hinata. Hinata was beautiful and her reason’s were solid, but Iruka jumping in to protect Naruto would be beautiful. He’d still get his ass kicked but Naruto losing his cool would make so much more sense because we know how important Iruka is to him.

Also, that little part where Kakashi and Sasuke face off. I think i’d want the fight to be a wee bit longer, and for Kakashi to acknowledge danzo’s death and flat out tell Sasuke he does not care. Man did not give a shit about Danzo and he was not there at all because Sasuke ‘killed the hokage’. In fact, for Kakashi that was probably a gift because he clearly didn’t respect danzo since he fucked off out of the village when it was against the law to,

your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

Ohhh that’s hard to choose.

Maybe…. Kakashi turning away from Tsunade trying to give him a mission and walking away to go try and save Naruto and Sasuke.

A lot of people like to act like Kakashi only cared about Sasuke, but he clearly was willing to ignore the Hokage for both of his students and felt responsible for what happened even though it wasn’t his fault. Like the only thing he could have done was stayed behind so the sound four never got to Sasuke, but that would also involve ignoring hokage’s order’s and not going out on a mission

Oh, also him telling Jiraiya off for teaching Naruto the rasangan and telling him to talk to him about using it against friends. People constantly get on his case about chatting with Sasuke about trying to use Chidori on Naruto, but then conveniently forget he was trying to hold jiraiya responsible (it was jiraiya’s responsibility to talk to Naruto at that point. He’d told Kakashi to let him care for Naruto’s training so it was his job to ensure Naruto wasn’t using rasangan against friends)

Oh and JIRAIYA TELLING KAKASHI TO LET HIM TAKE CARE OF TRAINING NARUTO. People act like Kakashi just chose to focus on Sasuke cuz favoritism and ignore that he was being pulled two ways (between sasuke and naruto) until Jiraiya stepped in and told him to focus on Sasuke,

ship you've unwillingly come around to

Other than Yamato and gai (which i’m still meh on) i haven’t really ‘come around’ to any ship.

[ghostwriterofthemachine]

I love ur fics! u have great taste in fandoms and I had a question about that bnha fic where aizawa reads school reports on his students? somehow I got really attached to sero hanta of all characters lol, why do u think he has a fear of medical stuff? sorry to bother! <3

omg hi!!!! Please never apologize for coming into my askbox and asking about my fics, it is literally always welcome and makes my day!!!! <3

sero :D In my experience, that genre of really chill kid usually has at least one thing which they are deeply, irrationally, will-panic-punch-someone-in-the-face-not-to-deal-with terrified of, and I made Sero's medical stuff/doctors for a couple of reasons. The first is that I think that particular fear is one a lot people develop without having one great inciting incident of trauma, if that makes sense. A lot of people are terrified of the doctor without being able to point at the exact moment they became terrified of doctors, in a way that is often not true of people who are scared of, say, dogs or drowning.

I also think it would drive Sero crazy that he is so scared of a normal, necessary thing, because he seems to have such a good head on his shoulders. I thought it would be fun to give him something he could be scared about to the point of complete avoidance, also be very annoyed that he's doing that.

However, while I don't think Sero knows why he has such an adverse reaction to medical stuff, on a deeper level, I chose it because I think that bnha (particularly with some recent manga revelations) has set up a world where someone whose Quirk makes their body look different would be constantly Aware of that. You're aware your body is different, you're aware of the space you take up and how it's different from other people, you're aware that people might be looking at you and Aware of these things as well at any given time. And I think that kind of awareness might lead to a fear response towards someone who is definitely very carefully observing you, and drawing conclusions/"judgements" from those observations. It pulls all that latent, subconscious, systematic-stemming fear and puts it right in the forefront in a way that makes his brain go "nope nope nope no nO" and then try to just. avoid the situation altogether.

AND!!! idk the image of Sero specifically going from "reasonably composed" to "shaking crying oh-god-don't-touch-me" when approached by a field medic after a big battle to deal with a concussion or something is. very compellingly angsty to me.

I hope this was a good explanation :D thank you so much for the ask!!! <3

[delusionaid]

Thoughts time: Alice's letter to Diluc (a ramble)

I was going to make a post about how much it hurts me to read this letter but now I also need to throw in how much it confuses me. Here goes nothing:

So, presumably Alice (Klee's mom) sent this letter to Diluc not long after Crepus died - which was on Diluc's 18th birthday. If you just go through the letter this doesn't fully make sense at every turn imo - you'll see why. However, we know what Diluc replied, so we know that it was sent back then.

"I've seen you in your tavern" - Your tavern? Considering Alice sent this post Crepus' death she must be referring to meetings that happened prior to that day. So do they mean to imply that Diluc was already working at/running the tavern at the age of 17? While also being the youngest Cavalry Captain the Knights had ever seen? Please calm down, Diluc. Admittedly it could also just mean "your family's tavern"..

This just hurts because it shows that Diluc used to be a much more cheerful and sociable person before his father's death. He was well-liked - although at this point I also like to remember the fact that the people in Mond describe Captain Kaeya as "easier to get along with than his predecessor" :)

I always imagined Diluc to have been a very lively child which was reined in a little when he grew older and took on all these responsibilities. Also Crepus may have been easier on him as a child than he was later on when Diluc was a teenager. That said I always imagined him to be stubborn and ambitious in achieving things he wanted - something that's still visible today even if it may not be as obvious as it was when he was the Knight's golden boy. Try telling Diluc not to do something he set his mind on, I triple dare you.

He's so kind 😭 This is an example where I find the timing of the letter odd. If this was prior to Crepus' death, why would Diluc be the one to deal with Klee and the mess she made? I guess one could argue that it was a minor matter and Diluc dealt with it because his father was busy, but..?

As I've learned recently, due to Klee being a long-lived species, she might be well over 20 years old, despite looking like a child. So that doesn't help placing the crystalfly incident time-wise at all.

Now this statement made more sense if it was sent NOW and not in the past. Because Diluc changed only after the incident and hasn't gone back to being the cheerful boy he was since returning to Mondstadt. Or is this just telling me that Diluc appeared very strict in certain ways? That would be in line with his current way of dealing with e.g. the Abyss Order and with the fact people found him "difficult to deal with" despite his good character. HM.

*gross sobbing*

*gross sobbing continues*

me, delusional: is this meant to super vaguely subtextily imply that Crepus did have dealings with the network in the past? me, crying: and yet Diluc chose to leave behind the knights AND his vision, the divine manifestation of what he believed to be his father's dreams and ambitions combined with his own?? **

**In his reply to Alice (see above), Diluc specifically mentions his father's will and wanting to follow it while leaving Mondstadt - which I find a little conflicting with how his story is presented in other places, specifically the vision bit. Am I reading this wrong? Is this a retcon issue or a mix of manga and game canon? Stay tuned.

Jk, don't stay tuned, I'll never get more info on this.

[nefariousrat]

chainsaw man deep dive chapter 3: arrival in tokyo

warning: this will contain spoilers for the entirety of the chainsaw man manga as this is a re-read and analysis

this chapter can be divided into three acts: the first act, leading up until the alleyway scene. the second act, which is the alleyway scene. and the third act, which is what comes after.

the first act

high off of makima's charm, denji arrives in tokyo in a daze. before we know it he's dressed in the uniform of the public safety officers and ready to meet his new partner, 3 year veteran aki hayakawa.

aki is everything denji isn't: put together, disciplined, focused, and motivated. this sets up his character in an antagonistic position against denji. how are the two going to get along together when they're so different?

well, they aren't.

as they're patrolling the streets, denji attempts to make locker room chat with aki, much to aki's annoyance. this is framed really nicely because the two dont know each other at all and grossly misunderstand each other from the moment they met. denji views aki as some random polite society working man and aki views denji as a teenage brat looking to get in on dangerous business for no real reason. we'll later learn that aki's sense of purpose is central to his character and explains why he chose to act so extremely towards denji.

having had enough of denji, aki takes him into an alleyway and begins to beat him up. knowing denji's backstory, the audience is inclined to further sympathize with him and dislikes aki, or at least view him in a more negative light. but to denji's credit, he gets up and gives aki a taste of his own medicine in the best way.

before i go on, i think its important to backtrack a bit and carefully examine the events leading up to this point.

deeper dive into the first and aecond acts of ch.3

leading up until the alley scene, it is important to note that what ticks aki off the most is denji's comments regarding makima. we learn quickly as an audience that devotion, and even blatant affection, towards makima is not an uncommon thing. aki brawling with denji further implies that his respect for makima may be more intimate than he's admitting.

while we learn after the alley scene that aki was recently put in charge of a special squad, he was not made aware of denji's role or his abilities. i suppose makima assumed they would just feel each other out before the big devil hybrid reveal. up until the alleyway, aki believes denji is a standard new recruit, one he's seen come and go (see: die) many times before. he takes denji for his word when he says this:

we all already deduced this but i think its still worth mentioning: denji is not a reliable narrator and he does not have a clear understanding of the situation he's in. maybe it was his coping mechanism, growing up under blatant and constant threat of the yakuza ending his life early that he decided the way to stay sane was to pretend the threats were not as true as they were. denji's feelings towards makima, strange and contradictory considering how similarly she treats him to his old handler (and that's what she is; a handler. a dog handler). makima threatened him with execution at the gas station. but once he submitted to her after the muscle devil's trick, did he make himself forget? i think he must have. i think denji is very, very good at choosing his own narrative. and because this self deception coexists with denji's knowledge of his own mortality, he can accept his death if makima is the embodiment of his dreams.

on a much smaller note, i think aki is a bit too shocked at the whole situation to process the information that denji is giving him; that he was wildly disadvantaged and lured into all this by makima. in the context of denji's words, it isn't very hard to come up with the conclusion that he may have been coerced into being a public devil hunter. this is significant because denji's a teenager, a minor, and chained to a government organization. and aki isn't stupid.

this is quite a harsh jab from aki considering denji just all but stated he came from a really bad situation.

even so, denji hauls the collapsed aki back to headquarters, which is actually as surprisingly nice as it is funny.

back at headquarters, denji and aki are drawn leaning on each other despite their feelings towards each other. it's safe to say they're not quite friends yet but they've managed to reach a sort of unspoken understanding from their fight.

makima now drops the big reveal; denji is a member of the new special squad aki was tasked with leading. aki discovers that denji is a human-devil hybrid, a practically mythological concept.

i think denji's reaction further proves what i said earlier about him choosing his reality. this should not be shocking to him. makima already treated him like a dog and threatened him with death. did he really think she would let him go?

denji's mind is at war with what makima is promising him and the contradictory treatment. she isn't actually hiding anything. she's truthful about what she'll give him, for the most part. it just doesn't mesh with the death threats and ownership stuff. i don't think denji is STUPID, i just think he's scrambling to hold onto his dreams in an increasingly unfamiliar and dangerous environment.

the third act

denji and aki go back onto patrol. meanwhile, denji is still struggling with his affection towards makima and what she just told him. he asks aki if makima is a good person. and aki, similarly to denji, has a hard time dissociating makima's angelicism with her ruthlessness. aki chooses to rationalize this by focusing on denji's status as part devil. interestingly, aki chooses to see makima as a good person despite all of this. that kind of goes to show what chainsaw man is all about; flawed people who oftentimes have to do bad things for the larger good. and that larger good varies from personal freedom to saving the world.

more makima observations

to end this off, i want to talk a little more about makima. i think it's easy for me to say she's one of my favorite csm characters. i love her duality and how she's shrouded in mystery. she's eerie and feminine, and an overall unique character.

makima doesn't make an effort to hide her nature. that's why the reveal that she's a devil hits so hard; it was right there and she doesn't care if you choose to acknowledge it or not. either way, she's in control. she dishes out sweetness, false as it is, in a futile effort to not only achieve her ends but to form relationships. obviously her relationships are not true. there is a big difference between admiration and understanding, as aizen sosuke (bleach) put it best. but it's the only way she knows how to reach out. this is more relevant for the later events of csm though, since she's not interested in denji in any real way.

i just think it's neat that makima knows how to navigate and manipulate the people around her not only to achieve her ends but to garner love and affection, as fake as it may be. she exudes the confidence only a person comfortable in their knowledge that they will always be adored does.

thanks for reading.