#no. i can't do that. i can't think about natsume takashi all the time or i will collapse in on myself | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

captainkirkk · 11 months

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✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

Natsume Yuujinchou

the smallest things by taizi

In which Takashi comes into the Fujiwaras' lives much earlier on.

Untamed

Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark (+ podfic)

(In order to make Wei Wuxian feel welcome at the Cloud Recesses, and to make sure people give him the respect he deserves (and definitely not to get into his pants), Lan Wangji hires him to be his advisor.)

“Lan Zhan, did you hire me just so you could punish people for disrespecting me?”

“No,” Lan Wangji said. “It is a side benefit.”

“Why did you hire me?”

“Because you are knowledgeable and skilled,” Lan Wangji said, “and I trust you to assist me in my work.”

Because everything is easier with you around and because I feel like a part of me is missing without you and because you can say things I can’t and because I need you he did not say.

“And you secretly like being a bitch to people,” Wei Wuxian added, with a sly grin.

Clone Wars

The Past Remains by otherhawk

The war drags on leaving trauma and destruction in its wake. After a bereaved Master is accused of harming his padawan, Obi-Wan is sent to talk to her, dredging up memories of his own past.

Betting by Proxy by kotekenobii

Newly transferred to the 212th Attack Battalion, Proxy finds himself cornered and given a secret mission by none other than THE Marshal Commander Cody.

Hic Sunt Lodices by handdrawnisopach, SniperAnon (The_Big_Reveal)

"..... Why do you live in a cave?"

Obi-Wan smiles, careful not to show his sharp teeth. "It's peaceful up here. The long climb means most people don't bother me, and no one might try to take my things. Also, maintaining a cave gives me plenty of space for my research without the expense and fuss of maintaining an estate."

He pulls out one of the large cushions so he can sit comfortably across from Cody. "I research magic," he explains. "Can't do it myself, but I have a good line in alchemy, chemistry, and pharmacy. I enjoy studying the more theoretical aspects too. So time and peace to do my reading and writing are important to me."

Cody nods slowly, his eyes sharper, more alert as he scans over the lair and the eclectic collection of items. Then his golden brown eyes drift to Obi-Wan. "Are you a dragon?" He asks, voice rough from exhaustion.

"Ah." Obi-Wan grips the hem of his skirt. "A bit? A bit dragony. Yes. That's fair."

Learned Men by Trixree

It becomes the Question—the one every vod is talking about from the bridge of the Negotiator to her dark bowels where the laundry rooms churn and chug along: who takes care of the General?

In which Obi-Wan is touch starved and his men take notice.

Trust fall by Ididloveyou_once

'Drake?’

Tim felt like he was choking. His throat was tight. He couldn’t swallow.

‘Damian?’ He managed.

Damian was… here. At Kent Farm. Dressed in the too-big Batman pajamas that Dick had bought him last Christmas as a joke. And- And-

Tim was wearing Kon’s t-shirt and his hair was messy and his lips were swollen and- He wasn’t ready for this- He wasn’t- He couldn’t-

How had he been so stupid?

Or: Tim comes out to Damian and prepares for the entire family to know by morning. It just so happens that Damian can keep a secret. Multiple, actually.

Wedding Album by Ididloveyou_once

'Let’s elope,’ Tim said, a little desperation leaking into his voice, ‘we could be on our way to Thailand by the end of the day.’

‘Actually,’ Conner’s amused eyes flickered toward Tim's family gathered at the dining table, ‘I think we’re going to Greece now.’

Or: Tim and Conner are getting married and everyone wants to be involved (snapshots of wedding planning very loosely connected by the creation of a wedding album).

#i've been procrastinating making this for like 2 weeks straight #it's winter in australia and i'm SO sleepy #fic recs #my posts #weekly fic round up #dc recs #sw recs #untamed recs #ny recs

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msperfectsheep-posts · 2 months

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Natsume's Book of Friends Reaction Blog - Episode 1

(Below the cut as to not destroy my followers' feeds)

My pure unfiltered thoughts, in chronological order, for Episode 1:

[DISCLAIMER]

oh great we're starting off by calling women despicable--i see how it is, show /j

"just think of all the babes and bikinis you'll meet" what an odd sentence

ooh i love natsume's eyes

they're like a bronzey copper

"is everything okay with you? since you're, like, covered in dirt" "i'm good. anyway--" natsume my friend you were just running from something that called you a despicable woman

"what's weirder: the weather, or natsume" my man is running for his life don't bully him too

nevermind natsume is yokaiphobic. kill him girls

RIP bozo he didn't even make it to a shrine

well that was a short anime

ARE YOU DEADNAMING HIM?

HIS NAME IS NOT REIKO!!!

oh god we have an evil advisor yokai edition

everyone keeps misgendering my man natsume this is so sad

AND they're misogynistic towards him

unbelievable

my poor man

"lets tear out her tongue so she can't utter a word" MY MAN CAN'T EVEN SAY HIS PRONOUNS?

KICK TO THE EYEBALL RUN RUN RUN

oh god this kid has been seeing The Horrors

Takashi Natsume... we have his first name, folks

this poor fucking guy

he gets misgendered and misnamed several times

he gets slammed against a tree and probably breaks several ribs

he's threatened to have his tongue cut out

he has been seeing yokai since he was a kid and was labelled mentally ill and attention seeking for it

he just tripped over a giant rope and landed on said probably broken ribs

THE TRIP JUST UNLEASHED A DEMON

AND INSTEAD OF DOING ANYTHING HE JUST LOOKS IN FEAR AND SAYS "ah. here we go"

THAT CAT DEMON IS SO FAT??????

the smug fat cat demon: "are you not afraid?"

takashi, clearly dissociating: "i'm just used to it, that's all"

HIS NAME IS NOT REIKO!!!!!!!!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!

my god the entire yokai world is trying to either deadname or convince him he's a transwoman named reiko

oh that makes more sense. his grandma is reiko. but now this just says more about reiko if her grandson looks practically identical to her???

"unlike humans, we do not concern ourselves with things as inconsequential as gender" based???????

DAMN THIS CAT DEMON REALLY DID JUST CALL HIM A LONELY BITCH

oop cat's gone

"i'm fit as a fiddle, honest!" (had all the experiences above)(takashi you are either Lying or very out of touch with what it means to be fit)

oh AND he's an orphan too

leave the cat in the wall

GIVING A CAT WATERMELON???

> calls it the book of friends

> is a roster of every yokai his grandmother took down in combat

AND THEIR NAMES BEING WRITTEN DOWN BOUND THE LOSERS TO HER FOR LIFE

BASED GRANNY

EVIL ADVISOR DUDE IS BACK

TAKASHI MY MAN HE JUST TRIED TO EAT YOU

oh wait he actually listened to me

the way takashi takes physical pain/damage is so concerning to me. he is constantly falling/running/getting squeezed to death and he just brushes it off afterwards but it isn't in a plot armor-feeling way. it's in a way where it feels like he's just not processing the pain and that's Worse

"and if i happen to die in the process, then so be it" TAKASHI PLEASE

CHOMP HIM

Super interesting first episode!!

Other thoughts now that the episode is done:

I love the animation--I'm by no means someone who can really tell good animation from bad animation because all animation is really cool in my opinion and it's hard for me to usually distinguish what's stylistic and what isn't, but NBoF's animation is so simple but pretty to me??? Like I love the way Takashi is drawn and how he's so deeply expressive with micro-expressions that are usually hard to make on anime faces without being super exaggerated. It has a cozy slice-of-life look but then it hits you with what i saw above and I'm like????? curious to see if it goes further with "Takashi Natsume experiences the horrors in a nice setting" or if it cools down and becomes much more chill with time. I'll have to see but I literally have NO clue

And because you specifically requested this, @versaphile! Hope you enjoy :)

#anna watches nbof #natsume's book of friends #natsume yuujinchou

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schrodingersauthorii · 2 years

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I think I have forced Natsume Yuujincho and Jujutsu Kaisen into a coherent crossover.

Since Curses/Cursed Energy are explicitly stated to originate from *human emotions*, all the Natsume Yuujincho yokai stuff could technically be happening over in the *non-human* corners of the world at the same time without impacting anything in Jujutsu Kaisen.

In fact, if nature energy and cursed energy are opposites- as some schools of thought hold human industry and the natural world to be- perhaps the two can't usually interact at all. If you've got yokai around, there's too much nature energy for Curses to flourish and vice versa.

Exorcists never see Curses due to their high nature energy, Jujutsu sorcerers never see yokai due to their high Cursed energy, and lay people are probably only going to be affected by one or the other depending on where they live.

But there are some sick bastard Curses, so *of course* at least one of those sickos is going to ~experiment~ when they figure out there's a whole group of people who're typically out of reach.

I don't know all that much about Jujutsu Kaisen, but apparently it is A Thing for people to become Curses after death, at least under specific circumstances. And Natsume Yuujincho has an incredibly important deceased character.

So. A Curse killed Natsume Reiko and made her a Curse too because of her spiritual power.

This does not work out very well. Because of the nature energy/ Cursed energy mismatch, she's basically just chilling unconscious in her tree until her grandson finds it and wakes her up.

Because of their blood relation, Natsume Takashi is ~the literal only person~ Natsume Reiko could possibly possess. And because of the janky energy thing, she can't even really*do* anything else after.

Not that she wants to. Not until the sorcerers show up to exorcise her and kill her vessel.

But in the end, they're spared because Natsume squared spiritual energy is enough to deplete an area's Cursed energy at an *insane* rate. They can essentially exorcise a Curse just by standing close to it long enough.

They can't do anything *else* because nature energy can't effect Curses, but it's still a terrifying, game-breaking ability on the Cursed side of things.

And because I *love* meshing anime! Natsume and manga! Natsume's appearances together with Plot, Natsume Reiko and Takashi change from blonde hair/ brown eyes to silver hair/ green eyes because of the Curse, and Takashi gets shorter every time they use Cursed energy because they're using HP instead of mana because of the janky energy mismatch.

But whoever said that Natsume Takashi would not thrive in a Shonen environment is absolutely correct, and he is 100% the Living MacGuffin. Natsume Reiko may or may not buy into the constant Shonen power quest, but Takashi is not having any of that bullshit.

No, Takashi's introducing all the Jujutsu Kaisen characters to Shojo conventions of Relationships And Their Consequences.

Unlike Itadori Yuiji, Natsume Takashi has living guardians to care about his well-being. And close friends. And yokai. And exorcists.

Oh yeah, the sorcerers have a *storm coming* trying to just disappear Natsume Takashi.

#natsume yūjin chō #natsume's book of friends #jujutsu kaisen

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redxblueihateloveyou · 2 years

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Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime, books, movies or tv series)? Thanks....

Holy shit that is such a tough question haha. I was really like trying to remember all the stuff I've read and watched ever and my brain short circuted for a moment lol this is in no particular order and from original sources (no offense to any adaptations, even if I like them).

Richard Cypher (I mean Terry Goodkind's 12+4 books), Cara (/Kara, also from there), Wu Xie (DMBJ), Zhang Qiling (DMBJ), Lan Zhan (MDZS), Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf), Akashi Seijuro (KNB), Natsume Takashi (Natsume Yuujinchou), Haruka Nanase (Free!), Steve Rogers (you know that one xD).

Fun fact, not to be dramatic or anything, but I really want to say special thanks for Richard & Wu Xie. The way they go about life in general and their incredible trait of finding ways out of seemingly impossible situations without falling into depression and genuinely finding joy in tiny things in some godforsaken ugly ass situations, their adventures and way of thinking got me through some of the toughest shit of my short but hella weird life. Like I've been raised good ofc and got exteremely lucky with my family and I'm saying it without trying to make anyone go like "oh poor you" (I mean you know I never share anything here, I genuinely feel like that won't help anyone really, nor me focusing on that also here, nor anyone with their own problems reading this, thats why I just take breaks and come back when I can), but things of last years like... packing medical document while there's blood everywhere cause my elder sister almost cut off her tongue and dad is in shock, mom in the hospital with internal stomach bleeding, my weird spine operation where doctors for some reason refused to even answer what it was, camping in the hospital while little sister close to diabetic coma at age of 5, putting my cat to sleep bc of the painful neck cancer, grandpa dying twice in one day, finding weird bump in my chest and for 2 months of awful tests thinking "oh hell that might be it" fairly recently... etc lol (I'm not even counting like "world things" here).

I would go down if it wasn't for their way of thinking 😂. Like if I had other mentality, not enough brains and humor sometimes too and went wrong ways about these things, I would drown istg.

It's mostly from them I got all the whining and pitying yourself isn't an option, don't focus on the bad no matter how bad it is find a solution instead, always be happy about you have right now, don't blame anything on others and don't think anyone owes you anything, the first person who can help you is you, those who love you most important what others think doesn't matter, no matter how bad it is move your butt, idiots be idiots move on (esp thoughts of 6th SOT book and Restart is what keeps me breathing when I genuinely think that I won't be able to survive the pure idiocity of the crowd and be like its okay), if you truly can't change anything and did everything possible then just adapt to that and learn how to thrive with what you got etc.

Richard was there for me for a while (like 7 years or smth I think), Wu Xie came recently (but already been tremendous help to me haha). I just think if if wasn't for these series, I'd for sure be sitting somewhere pitying myself about how "life is unfair" instead of being happy. And thats a gift really.

I know half of it coming from the fact that there were times my family didn't have much, so its probably why I can be so happy with so little, but finding positivite things in some complete ass is for sure coming from these guys haha. I remember first time Richard pulled off this thing with anderith ppl my jaw was literally on the floor, I was so impressed with this book, I really was like "I wanna be like that" lmao. It was like... stripped of fucking everything, forced to be surrounded by most idiotic brain-washed haters (they were also extra religious.. which is a special pain for a person like me), separated from the dying and suffering love of your life, just the whole absolute horrid of the whole situation (I can't even describe it, but Istg it was painful to read for me, I was so pissed, I was reading like " jfc how is he even gathering himself? I wouldn't be able to handle even 2 mins of that"), but he not only fucking found ways without even teeny tiny histeric, he managed to come out a fucking winner too. I'm still to this day don't think any character ever shook me like that. And I've read and watched TOO much stuff.

I mean, with recent events also, last weeks I don't even wanna start on what we did and what happened and what ppl around me got like about many things. If it wasn't for Wu Xie's life motto I'd be along with many into the pit of "why", instead of actually you know.. doing things you gotta do. So they hold a special place in my heart in their own way, where you go like "oh damn this fiction character changed my life" not just cause they're your type and certain traits that attract you, you know lmao ;)

#answered #elaine2895 #anime #books #movies #<3 #and I know some of them prob don't make sense considering all he stuff I've read lol #but I have personal reasons for those trust me haha

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mysticdragon3md3 · 3 years

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I find it endlessly amusing how after 10 years, my OTPs have circled back onto the same type. lol

I realize the Blue Lions have Dedue, and Ashe used to be a commoner. But Ashe got adopted into a higher class. Meanwhile, the Golden Deer has 3 commoners who stay commoners.

And Yukimura probably had commoners serving under him, but Sengoku Basara (2009) takes a lot of time to emphasize that Masamune's commoner associates are named, get screentime, voice his effect on them, and spent time closely serving under him. Meanwhile, Yukimura's only named subordinates seem to also be lords or ninja, more than basic commoners.

When referring to "self-doubt & a phase of failing as a commander", I'm specifally referring to Sengoku Basara (2009) season 2 for Yukimura. That's pretty much most of what he does that season. And he made a critical decision error as a commander that got one of his major subordinates killed and probably also unnecessarily killed some of his other soldiers. Though I am vaguely aware that in one of the videogames, Yukimura similary spent most of the story in self-doubt, after thinking Takeda was dying, and I think he ran his army around doing actions without enough thought.

And of course, with Dimitri, I'm referring to his post-time-skip phase wherein he went full "boar" and refused to properly lead his army. Though after regaining more mental stability and becoming a proper general, he still gets haunted by self-doubts for the rest of his life.

When I spell "Strength" with a capital "S", I'm usually shortening my term "True Strength" and referring to both a mental and emotional fortitude, resilience, and frequently an iron resolve in Compassion. That's just my personal philosophy in defining "True Strength". Personally, I see 2 definitions of "strength" that both converge at Compassion, to define "True Strength". 1) In an amoral sense, strength is resilience in maintaining one's own "soul pattern"/emotions/resolve, without being swayed or influenced by outside forces to change. 2) In terms of defining strength as the ability to do what is most difficult, in my opinion, Compassion is the most difficult. Not only do acts of Compassion often cost a range of efforts from some to exorbitant, but it can also require the enacter to put themselves into a vulnerable position. So it is often something only the strong can afford, or survive, or disregard fears of being vulnerable or taken advantage of. Therefore, in my personal opinion, converging the 2 definitions into an unwavering resolve in Compassion, is my personal definition of "True Strength".

So when I categorize Date Masamune as having Strength, I mean he is unwavering in his resolve towards Compassion. Sengoku Basara 2009 takes a lot of instances to reiterate that Masamune cannot be swayed, his Resolve is unquestioning, no one can stop him, slow him, or change his mind. His catch phase is "pressing onward" (translated as "full speed ahead"). One of his first scenes is charging ahead, disregarding Katakura's warnings for caution. (Notice that in Judge End, this is framed as foolish brashness, but in Sengoku Basara 2009, Katakura smiles and continues following without worry, because he completely trusts Masamune's instincts and decision-making. Because everyone trusts Masamune 2009 to always make decisions based in the best ideals/Compassion.) This is reiterated throughout season 2, when Masamune makes allies and each of them ask him to change directions, but the most they can do is temporarily slow him down, because he doesn't stop moving forward. This Strength directed in outward Compassion towards others is almost unexpected after considering Masamune's historical backstory. One would think that someone betrayed by his mother would become disillusioned and spiteful towards the world. It's a basic supervillain backstory to be betrayed by a trusted figure, especially during fundamental development. But instead, Masamune seems to want only to protect others and bring the whole country under his command, so that the whole country of people can be under his umbrella of protection. The 2009 series only mentions his regret from one of his early battles where lots of his soldiers died, being his major motivation in protecting others, specifically his soldiers. But I've headcanon'ed a lot that can be extrapolated from his historical backstory, that when in conjunction to his actions in Sengoku Basara 2009, portrays a Masamune who has dedicated himself towards Compassion, despite his tragic backstory.

Similarly, Claude's backstory is tragic, yet he emerges with True Strength. I've heard criticisms within the fandom that Claude growing up experiencing so much bullying and discrimination against his being biracial, could not believably yield a person dedicated towards Compassion. But I think that's just brainwashing from too many supervillain tropes telling us that traumatized and mentally ill people invariably become villains. I've heard it's more realistic that people who have experienced trauma, tragedy, or some kind of pain, actually are more likely to increase their ability to empathize/sympathize with others, consequently becoming more compassionate. (Mentioned in https://youtu.be/bHe2seINnE0 at 2:03/9:09; https://youtu.be/zaZYDK1RcEU) Claude experienced descrimination and bullying; he explicitly explains in FE3H canon that he wants to create a world where no one else has to experience that same pain. I really don't see why this can be an unbelievable characterization to some people, when most of the world admires Batman for literally that same reason. And I think that characters, like Claude, who react to trauma and hardship with altruism, demonstrate a True Strength in their characters. They haven't been broken by their trauma. They not only survive, but survive as people who still want to care for others. (Also why I love Natsume Takashi.)

I was tempted to include Dimitri in the category of "Emerged from tragic backstory with Strength and vowing to make world where no one will experience same pain". But he didn't emerge with the same level of flawless Strength that Masamune and Claude did. Dimitri certainly did resolve to protect others from ever experiencing the pain that he felt, after the Tragedy of Duscur. But he was also not as mentally stable. He was so repressed and internally conflicted (concerning his feelings of vengence, or sadness that didn't know how to be expressed as anything but anger, lest he break), that he didn't integrate his "boar" impulses/emotions until much later in his post-time-skip. I didn't feel that Dimitri was a fully reconcilled version of himself, until after he had accepted his "boar" emotions, stopped repressing his unresolved anger, and learned to express them more appropriately or at more appropriate times. After he became more mentally/emotionally stable, I have no doubt that he still can have episodes of rage, anti-social moods, or crippling survivor's guilt, but I think he no longer allows those feelings/episodes to push away the people he cares about or disregard his true personal desires to be kind/protective towards others. He knows how to deal with those feelings now. But he spent a long time not yet at that stable level, until much later. Until then, he was frankly wavering, conflicting with his personal resolve, denying his own ideals, and allowing his survivor's guilt manifesting as ghosts to sway him away from his true desires/motivations/values of Compassion. Dimitri was Weak for a time. So I can't say that he was in the same category of Strength as Masamune and Claude.

Dimitri's backstory of his father's death and idolizing Rodrigue, after he took him in, is information he canonically tells the player.

But I realize that Sengoku Basara 2009 never actually mentions a backstory like this for Yukimura. I'm actually referencing the takarazuka version of Sengoku Basara. In that play, they include a childhood backstory scene, where Yukimura's father was a subordinate of Takeda and died while protecting him. Young Yukimura blamed Takeda for his father's death and went to punch him out. Because Takeda understood that Yukimura needed catharsis and was trying to reconcile with his grief, Takeda allowed himself to be punched. But he also punched back. I think maybe to encourage Yukimura to keep going? I can't remember. But eventually, Yukimura punched out all his anger and only had energy left to finally cry, and Takeda said something that comforted him. From then on, he called Takeda "Oyakata-sama" and became completely devoted to him. This explained the origin of the running gag from the 2009 anime, wherein Takeda and Yukimura engage in fist fights as a form a bonding. (It's a shame that the video of these scenes was taken off YouTube. ;_; ) I don't know if "Sengoku Basara Sanada Yukimura-den" mentions how Yukimura's father dies, since he finally appeared in that game. So I'm referencing the takarazuka version.

There isn't really mention of Masamune's mother in the 2009 Sengoku Basara anime. The closest, was Masamune's maternal uncle appearing in the movie "The Last Party" that ended that anime series. But historically, after the real life Date Masamune survived smallpox at a young age, and lost sight in his right eye, there was a lot of dissent among the other high ranking people within his clan, concerning his continued position as the Date clan's head. A lot of this dissent was lead by his mother, who insisted that Masamune's younger brother should become the new clan leader instead. Some accounts say that to shut up accusations that Masamune was weak and that his faulty eye was just an advertised weakness that enemies would take advantage of on the battlefield, Masamune either pulled out his own right eye or ordered Katakura to do it. Apparently, that shut up everyone except his mother, who still continued to try undermining his position. I don't know if there was one instance of several, but she also tried to kill him through poisoning, to replace him with his brother. Because of this, Masamune's only choice was to kill his own little brother, which forced his mother to run back to her original clan. (I can only assume that Masamune didn't just kill his mother, because it's possible she indoctrinated his brother to ursurp him. So Masamune might have ended up eventually needing to kill his brother anyway.) Lots of us in the Sengoku Basara fandom like to headcanon that all of this happened for the Basara version of Masamune too.

It's my understanding that Cornelia implicated Dimitri's stepmother in the murder of his father and friends at the Tragedy of Duscur, but that things were still left canonically vague. Personally, the fact that Patricia was always kind to Dimitri, combined with the fact that Cornelia is proven duplicitous, I find it difficult to believe that Patricia intentionally betrayed Dimitri. The way Cornelia described it, she offered Patricia a chance to be reunited with her daughter Edelgard, Patricia confirmed that desire, then the Tragedy of Duscur happened. Given that Cornelia was already doing terrible things behind Patricia's back, like experimenting on Hapi, and Patricia being angry at Cornelia when she discovered Hapi, I doubt that Cornelia would have been fully truthful with Patricia. I imagine Cornelia tricked Patricia into opening a path or lowering some defenses to "allow a clandestine meeting with Edelgard", but then Cornelia would probably use it to sneak in enemies to kill Dimitri's father and friends. That's my headcanon theory on the Tragedy of Duscur anyway. So Dimitri was only *possibly* betrayed by his mother figure.

And that's my comparison between DateSana and DimiClaude/DMCL/ClauDimi. It continuously amazes me how similar these ships are and how my shipping has come full circle. lol

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coquelicoq · 1 year

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natsume book of friends season 4 opening sequence has got me incredibly fucked up. the lyrics. kid natsume's tiny little legs and teenage natsume watching him run. the lyrics. nyanko-sensei burrowing into his arms. did i mention the lyrics? ending frame on the fujiwara family. including natsume. because he's part of their family. as the lyrics ask him to "please [not] keep suffering alone"? somebody fucking hold me.

#i'm actually almost done with season 4 because i have no self-control. and every time i watch the opening i'm like #no this has only gotten more potent since the last time i watched it. we are reaching danger levels #natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #my posts #season 4 is the season of tanuma just completely destroying me on every level. why is every single character like this??#every time he learns something about natsume he's like oh so this is what it's like for natsume?#and then it happens again and he's like wait natsume ALSO has THIS OTHER THING to contend with??#and again: AND A THIRD THING?? WHY MUST THE WORLD'S BEST BOY NATSUME TAKASHI SUFFER???#he just wants to help natsume deal with stuff and i am on the fucking floor #his thought process is just #this is hard for natsume. i wish i could help him. maybe here's a way i could help him? he doesn't want me to though because it would #put me in danger. but i don't want him to be in danger either. and i'm telling him that to his face. i don't think it's really #gotten through to him but that's okay i will just keep telling him. now i'm realizing that the thing i did to help him maybe just made #things harder for him. this is hard for natsume. i wish i could help him. maybe sometimes the best way to help him is to just #respect his wishes and yet remind him that he can lean on people and that people love him as much as he loves them #the part where tanuma realized why natsume doesn't tell the fujiwaras about youkai gutted me #this kid is so emotionally astute and such a sweetheart #i just watched the episode where natsume loses his picture of his parents and his old house is getting sold and i cried. SO many tears.#tanuma putting his foot down for once like no actually you need to admit that something is bothering you this time #we can find this picture. ask us to help you do this thing that we can actually do for you. you don't need to be sad for no reason #mmm can't be coherent about it just rest assured it was extremely harmful to me and also exactly what i needed #anyway the season 4 opening song as the thing you say to your younger self who lives inside your current self because #you can't actually go back in time and be the person your younger self needed to have in their life. so all you can do is love that child #in absentia but so so so fiercely and with your whole entire heart #all you can do is give your current self all the love you have for the child you were #jesus CHRIST

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mysticdragon3md3 · 3 years

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I love series like Kimi ni Todoke, and me from a few years ago probably would have loved Komi Can't Communicate. But by now, I'm kind of tired of the "quiet protagonists who are desperate to become more social". Where are the introverts who don't need to become more social?! (And I don't mean background characters, often portrayed as the anti-social grumps of the supporting cast.)

How about where the series hook is about extroverts learning to appreciate quite evenings at home, like introverts? Sure, it happens in these series during quieter moments, but why can't it be the SERIES HOOK? I just can't relate anymore to these introverts who want to become extroverts. And sometimes these series subtly give an overall impression that introversion is something to be fixed.

These days, series premises like these feel more and more like how extroverts' view introverts, like our being quiet is something wrong with us and they can save us from, by guiding us to become more like them. And though as someone with social anxiety, I will admit that some of my quietness is a problem that needs solving---being scared all the time, too much to take care of normal responsibilities, is a problem, and I do appreciate the extroverts in my life who go with me as emotional support while taking care of errands---but this whole idea of "having more fun with an evening at home, instead of partying all night with friends" still being treated as a problem to solve is just so ridiculously outdated. That's like "1980s movies' jocks harassing nerds and dating cheerleaders" cliché. We don't need extroverts trying to make us feel guilty, wrong, or broken for having fun the way we enjoy having fun, just because extroverts need more body counts at their social gatherings to feel like they're having fun. I'm even reluctant to call spending time at home, a "quiet evening at home", because it's not quiet to us introverts who enjoy it. To us, it's full of fun and noise and even socializing, thanks to the internet. But even before the internet, back when we just read books and wrote fanfics for ourselves and had no one to show our fanart to, those activities were still full of energy and (at the very least, parasocial) interaction. And now there's even more fun to be had at home because of videogames, internet, streaming video, etc. It was never "quiet" AT ALL. It was FUN.

Once again, Natsume Yuujinchou proves to me that it deserves to stay as one of my top 3 anime/manga series. Natsume Takashi is definitely an introvert. But at the same time, he grows throughout the series to make more social connections, have friends, and spend time with those friends. But those extrovert-stand-in friends never make him feel bad for being quiet, needing to go home early, and they even apologize whenever they think they might have pushed him too hard to become more social than usual. They check in with _Takashi's_ own personal comfort zones, without imposing theirs onto him, like accepted facts of life. And on top of that, the series also includes other seemingly introverted friends for him, who also enjoy just spending time at each other's homes. No big party. No guilt over not being boisterous enough. It helps save the series from giving any impression that being an introvert is a problem to be fixed or is invalid. So I guess I already have a series about an introvert who isn't forced to become an extrovert. ^-^

#introvert problems #venting #ranting #natsume yuujinchou #cliches #tropes #Instagram

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