#one of her major lines of thought throughout the manga is 'i need to get more guns we need to rob those soldiers camp for more guns' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

readingrobin · 10 months

Text

Hoo, July was a real busy month. Came and went like it was nothing. Still being in the throes of summer reading, I was able to get through a good chunk of reading material, especially some new graphic novels and manga. It seemed to be a bit of a middling month, with titles I really enjoyed, and others that really came up short. Still, this is the most I've been able to reading in a single month in a while.

Total Books Read: 24

Total Pages Read: 6,070

Books Read:

West by Edith Pattou (1.5/5) - When I heard that there was a sequel to East, a book I devoured and treasured in high school, I was excited, but a little surprised. East was a fairly open and shut book, being a wonderfully immersive retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I wonder if, after 15 years, the author wanted to jump on the "what happens after happily ever after?" train to try and broaden the relationship between Rose and Charles. It, uh....it doesn't go well.

I don't think I've ever read a more unnecessary book. It feels like a retread of the first, especially the third act in particular, as Rose goes off to save Charles from the clutches of the Troll Queen, only now it's their child and for some reason Charles has amnesia. This latter bit was probably the worst aspect of the book for me. Throughout the majority of the story, we don't get the couple we grew to love in East. We don't get to see how their relationship has matured or who they are around each other after three years and a child. It's back to square one, with Charles having as little agency as he had before.

I didn't really care for most of the new characters, except maybe Sib, but only because her involvement gives a little bit more insight into the magic of this world. Estelle was, I have no idea, just a child to tag along and give additional perspective. None of them grew on me like the original cast did. I will say the Morae are a big highlight of the book, with the weaving of the three cloaks scene being the closest this ever comes to feeling like the first book.

If you liked East, I can't say that you should pick this book up as a continuation. At the best of times, which is rare, it does feel like that magical tale of a woman going up against insurmountable odds to save the people she loves, but at the worst, it feels like nothing.

Angels of Death Vol. 1 by Kudan Naduka (3/5) - Picked this manga up because I had seen some snippets of the anime and was interested to see what exactly the plot line is. It's always difficult to give your thoughts on a manga's first volume since it's pretty much an introduction and set up to the story, but this volume was sufficiently creepy enough to get my attention. I'm interested to see what exactly the outcome to all this will be, whether it's some kind of social experiment thing or something more nihilistic. Either way, you just know it's going to end in tears.

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World Vol. 1 by Asaya Miyanaga (3.5/5) - This series has such a charming art style, like something you would see from older, more whimsical children's books. Each chapter focuses on Nicola's wandering with the devil salesman Simon, going from your typical "you find yourself in a tavern" beginnings to staying in a creepy, ghost-infested hotel. Each story has some good laughs, great artwork, and the right amount of fluff to make it an enjoyable read. Can't wait to see more of this world with Nicola!

Crumbs by Danie Stirling (2.5/5) - While this graphic novel has stellar emotional storytelling, it came off as a bit meh to me. I know people who would absolutely adore this story and relate to the characters, but I'm wondering if I read it at a time where I wasn't in the mood for a more romantic plot. I do appreciate the wonderful balancing of Ray and Laurie's journeys, with her struggling with her internship and what she wants to do in life and him striving to become a musician, yet always prioritizing others' needs before his own, needing to always be the "fixer" in a situation. The highs and lows of their relationship are meaningful, yet I never really felt moved by it.

The worldbuilding takes a backseat to the romance and I think it sort of suffers as a result. I never got a good sense of what the Council did. I guess deal with magical goings on? Helping people? Just doing magic stuff? It was all a little unclear. But this is one of those stories where the backdrop is only meant to be just that and nothing more, which is fine, but not really my thing.

Also, some of the panels are incredibly blurry, at least in the print edition I got. I'm not sure if this is simply an issue of enlarging webcomic panels to full blown pages, but it became a little distracting. It's a shame because the art could be really beautiful at times.

Spider-Punk: Battle of the Banned by Cody Ziglar (4/5) - Spiderpunk (Hobie Brown) and his amazing Spider band are just non stop anarchic fun from beginning to end. Hobie brings the classic Spidey snark, heart, and tenacity that makes the character so lovable and seeing characters like Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, Riri Williams, etc. get a punk makeover just makes the comic that much cooler. Sure, I was afraid at the beginning that the story would incorporate a more commercialized, mass consumable depiction of punk beliefs, but I think by the end the story respects those ideals and follows through on them. And come on, who doesn't love a comic where Spiderman kicks the crap out of fascists?

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer (4/5) - This book has such enormous value, whether towards its significance as a way to interweave cultural practices and understandings with scientific study, to reflect on the state of the natural world and how we as a society interact with it, or just to feed our spirit. It's easy to dismiss what we take for granted: plants, animals, resources, especially when many are living in an age of abundance. Kimmerer imparts such knowledge on how to truly appreciate the gifts nature gives us, yet also stresses the need for us to give back in some way.

Her explanation of a reciprocal relationship with nature is such a needed one, especially when most are used to a commodity culture, where things are bought and sold through monetary means without a true understanding of where they come from. It takes action on top of understanding to make up what we get from nature, yet so many are willing to turn to ambivalence.

This was my second time reading this book and it was just as impactful the second time around. Since I had to read it for a class the first time around, I was glad that I could take my time to really read and reflect on Kimmerer's perspective. I think this is a book everyone should try reading if they have a love for nature and conversation and are searching for meaningful ways to cherish the world they live in.

The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman (4.5/5) - Neil Gaiman is insightful as ever in this collection of his essays, addresses, articles, and other nonfiction works from over the years. I like the varied nature of the collected material, with topics like music, comics, reading, interesting people he has met, introductions to books, etc. I will say, the final piece on Terry Pratchett did get me a little misty-eyed and knew from the moment he mentioned his name that I was a goner.

I am glad I chose to pick up this book on audio. I could listen to Neil reading tax forms and still be mesmerized by his natural storyteller's cadence. There were pieces that I had no context for, whether that be the music of Lou Reed or books and authors I had never heard of, but I still found the material so fascinating, because Gaiman has a genuine enthusiasm for each topic. It's like having a teacher that enjoys what they teach, so the class becomes that much more interesting instead of being a total slog.

Gaiman puts his intellect, wit, and heart in everything that he writes, even in the most day to day pieces. He has a mind made for writing.

Bone: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith (4/5) - I took a big gap in between reading the first Bone volume and this one, but I had not trouble finding my footing and settling back into this world. The world of Bone is so charming and funny, like a Sunday newspaper comic strip given a bit more plot and page length. I can't remember if I laughed out loud at any time during the first volume, but it did happen in this one once or twice.

All around, great character interactions, lively art style, and the beginnings of a deeper plot at work.

Dinosaur Sanctuary Vol. 1 by Itaru Kinoshita (4/5) - This manga is simply "What if Jurassic Park actually worked" and I love that about it. The informational pieces at the end of each chapter, provided by a dinosaur research consultant, were really accessible and engaging. They're a great way to insert some dinosaur facts and theories into the manga without it feeling too much like a research paper. The dinosaurs are treated like any other wild animal, with respect and care, but still an awareness that they can be dangerous. They have quirks and personalities and are not just mindless monsters that only think about their next meal. They have some great characterization, especially through their expressive designs.

The tone is really laid back, but the first volume gives a few hints of mystery, which makes you want to stick around to see what's next.

A top pick for anyone that had a rampant dinosaur phase as a kid or are still in the throes of it.

Nicola Traveling Around the Demons' World Vol. 2 by Asaya Miyanaga (3.5/5)- The demon's world continues to be an absolute delight, with Nicola's and Simon's dynamic being as sweet as ever. Nicola is so fierce and determined when it comes to helping her friend, always going to great lengths to help him. This appears to rub off on Simon, as he's seen being a little softer towards her in return.

For a world inhabited by demon's, it certainly is a cozy place.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (4/5) - There's so much going on here: slews of nihilism, both the usefulness and uselessness of religion, the moral irresponsibility and selfishness of those in power, the dangers of handing scientific progress to those that treat apocalypse-causing objects like toys and bargaining tools. This isn't a book that ends positively, for good reason. Like many sci-fi stories, it serves as a warning, so that we don't actually get to this point.

It's a bit light on plot, but very heavy on its messaging and implications. It's more like Vonnegut had a few ideas and needed some vessels to espouse them, which means that the story and characters may feel a bit empty at times. Still, what he had to say was insightful and thought-provoking. This was my first time reading Vonnegut, so I'm unsure if this approach is his usual style or something he did a little differently.

I'm still deciding on what this books means to me, with all its themes and viewpoints. There's a large case of religion somehow being both necessary as a lens for us to view life, even if it is a religion based on lies, and being entirely useless because of this. Bokonism is more a series of guiding principles, instead of devoting yourself to a single ethereal entity. Life is what you make of it, you decide your own life instead of using it to serve the interests of and sating an ethereal being that may or may not be real. It's a very inward-looking faith and yeah, it seems more appealing than a lot of religions I've come into contact with. Funny that.

There's also a hint of how nationalism can blind people to certain dangers that come from within their own country. I'm reminded of the moment where pictures of various dictators and foreign enemies of the US are being used as targets, with them being described as "every enemy that freedom ever had out there." And yet, there wasn't one American in that group, despite the doomsday object being an American creation, not just ice 9, but also the atomic bomb. What bigger enemy of freedom is there than a death weapon that can decimate literally every living thing? There is the ever enduring American thought that America is the hero, that there is nothing wrong with how the country operates, and to insinuate that there should be change, that America should try to be something else, is decidedly un-American. If the country is seen as perfect, then why should anyone take notice when something truly harmful and nefarious is going on?

Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World Vol. 1 by Keiichi Sigsawa (4/5) - This manga has a marvelous set up that makes it simple to tread any kind of territory, as KIno goes out to explore the world beyond her own land and learn the customs and ways of other people. I love the sense of freedom and reflection the manga carries, as well as the observant, non-judgemental nature of Kino. There are moments of reflection, but it feels like the reader is allowed to come to their own conclusions about the people Kino meets and their ways of life. Kino is merely a vessel in which the audience can view this world, but she still holds a good amount of character.

Children of the Whales Vol. 1 by Abi Umeda (3/5) - This is one of those first volume manga that absolutely leaves you hanging at the end, where you're practically desperate to get to the next volume to get either answers or to see the fallout of the ending. The world of the manga is intriguing, taking place on a moving island amidst a sea of sand, inhabited by people who are able to wield magic powered by their emotions. It's a mystery as to how they got on this island, one that the manga will eventually explore, which is introduced very compellingly.

Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky (2.5/5) - While the art style is absolutely gorgeous, I felt like the story was a little too jumbled to enjoy. Some plot threads start and stop so abruptly, like "eh, tired of that direction we're going in so let's do a bit of a turn in the middle of the story." At some points it feels like the plot is just sort of going on without doing much, only to make a sudden lurch towards the end. Given some development, I think Lelek and Sanja could have been stronger characters, but they just seem there. Lelek's desire to learn to defend herself with Sanja as her teacher peters out during near the third act of the comic, which almost makes the inciting incident of her kidnapping Sanja somewhat pointless. Some character motivations either come out of nowhere or are so muddled that it's hard to get a sense of what they truly want in the narrative. I wonder if the author was going for a more vague form of storytelling, more abstract, but, in this case, it only led to more confusion than enjoyment.

The Binding by Bridget Collins (4/5) - What would you do if you had the opportunity to forget every bad thing that happened to you? To forget your past misdeeds, or even coerce those you had wronged to give up any memory they have of being mistreated by you? All to be contained in a book, these memories would either sit on the shelves of voyeurs, or be locked away forever. The Binding brings up these sorts of ethical questions, never completely examining them beyond their surface level, but maybe that's meant to be more of the reader's journey than the characters.' Around the halfway mark, the story shifts from being an alternative history/slight dystopian focusing on Emmett's apprenticeship as a binder to a romance story. I didn't really mind this change, as I liked the somewhat vague worldbuilding, and it puts the first half of the book in a completely new context. It also places Emmett in the interesting position of an unreliable narrator that has no idea of his unreliability.

Though I was satisfied to where the story went, it felt like this book could have done a more coherent job of tying together all its narrative threads. This books contains three parts, one told in Emmett's POV in the present, the second in the past, and the third following the present from another character's POV. With the binding being a more prevalent aspect in the first part, and the romance in the second, it would be natural to tie the two together in that third act, but one clearly has more time devoted to it than the other. It makes the theming somewhat unbalanced. We do get a better idea of how the binding process affects society and certain economic classes, while also getting a bit more of the morality and consequences of it, but not a whole lot more that what we've already been given.

The romance is at least pretty sweet. I can definitely see the chemistry between the two characters and I do ultimately want them to get together. How much you enjoy this book will depend on which aspect you want more out of the story. It's a dark, emotional, bittersweet read, one that will immediately suck you in with all its moral complexities and mysteries.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Vol. 1 by Hirohiko Araki (2/5) - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure has been the source for a bunch of meme material and has made quite a comeback with its anime adaptation, so I was interested in checking out the original manga, just to see what it was like. I have to say, I hadn't expected quite that much dark content, but I suppose that came from me not really knowing what JoJo was about other than buff anime men looking very intimidating but goofy at the same time. I'm not exactly a fan of the art style, where muscles appear larger than some characters' heads, but it's definitely a classic 80s style that I think other people would enjoy.

I don't think I'll be continuing with this series, as, while the mystery aspect is interesting, none of the characters really grabbed my attention. Dio is painted as a jerk you love to hate, whereas I just straight up disliked him, and JoJo seems so bland as a main character. I know that the story hops around different generations and time periods, but I don't know if those will fare any better.

Nimona by Nate Stevenson (5/5) - Did a reread right after I watched the movie and seeing them side by side really is an experience. Stevenson's graphic novel might be a little more pessimistic than its movie counterpart, but there is still a small amount of hope within the rage. It feels like a necessary, justified anger towards ignorance, corruption, and those that uphold a skewed status quo. I wish I had more characters like Nimona as a kid, but there's still a great comfort in having her now.

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones (3.5/5) - Sometimes I'm utterly blind-sided by the underlying aspects of colonialism, racism, and xenophobia in 20th century British children's fantasy. I feel like it's unfair to fault Jones' entirely, due to the environment in which she wrote and how our understanding of these elements has grown in the past few decades, but it doesn't make the content easier to digest at times.

It feels so out of place in what is yet another engaging Jones fantasy. I had similar feelings when I read Castle in the Air, so I imagine it's only going to be a reoccurring thing when Jones focuses on any nonwhite civilization or people. Again, a product of its time, but it doesn't exactly make it age well.

That aside, it's a classic fantasy about a boy coming into his power, kicking and screaming all the way. He's a reluctant hero in the most bratty way possible, without even fully realizing how much of a terror he is to other people. There's a bit of humor in when he realizes this and tries to be better, much to the relief of the castle staff.

This book is great for those that also feel between places most of the time, that find strength in discovering things on their own while also coming from a broken upbringing. While Christopher's innocence and loyalty is turned against him, it never leads him to betray those that matter most to him, only to realize there are better people to ally yourselves with than those who want you for only what you can give them.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber (3/5) - Revisited this book on audiobook to see if I still wanted to continue with the series. Originally, I felt that Scarlet hasn't lost anything to make any of the stakes brought up in the book worth it. She gets what she wants at no cost, other than some very heightened emotions in the moment that go away once things are resolved in her favor. While I still believe that to be true, it didn't bother me as much upon a second retread.

I still have no idea why the father was so abusive for no reason. It seemed like there should be some explanation of why he's willing to go to such great lengths to harm one sister for the other disobeying. He was just an uninteresting antagonist without much to him. I get that Scarlet and Donatella needed to be in a situation that had to be dire enough to run away completely from, but he was getting to mustache curling cartoon villain levels of wickedry. I fully believe this man is capable of tying someone to some railroad tracks if need be.

I also mentioned the lack of worldbuilding, but I have seen that the world is expanded upon in later books, so maybe I will continue for that reason. Also, I had forgotten how clever Tella was. For a moment, I found her insufferable, but once the end comes through that all changed. Since the sequels focus a bit more on her, that's also a reason to keep going.

I don't think I'll change my rating. Three stars seems a fair rating for a book I found passable, but didn't get immediately swept away with.

Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron (4/5) - (Review)

Darkly She Goes by Hubert (3/5) - I really appreciate the dark fantasy feel of this graphic novel. It gave me Snow, Glass, Apples vibes at times, telling of a woman that is more that what she appears, and what lies beneath the surface is something monstrous. The art has a way of overshadowing the story, as I was more swept away by the fantastical, nature landscapes, and the characters really didn't do much for me. It's a standard fantasy story with the standard cast of characters: a disgraced knight, a naive princess, a scheming stepmother, malevolent crones, an inept squire, etc. There's nothing wrong with a tried and true archetype, but it didn't feel like these characters and their journeys were being explored in a captivating or nuanced way. It's definitely dramatic enough to tell a capable story, but perhaps I've been spoiled and wanted something more out of a monster princess narrative.

Begone the Raggedy Witches by Celine Kiernan (3/5) - I'm not a fan of books that immediately thrust their characters into danger before we really know them, so the first third of it seemed like I was looking through all these events through a clouded pane of glass. By the halfway point it became more engrossing as we start to see more of the land beyond the border and Mup's burgeoning magical talent. It felt odd that the story didn't focus a lot around Stella, Mup's mother and the apparent heir to the kingdom across the border, who was taken from her tyrannical mother by her aunt long ago. I think I've been conditioned by the standard fantasy tropes and that's why I felt that way, but it kind of contributed to the uneven feeling of the story. Still, Mup was a great main character, full of heart, kindness, and resolve that any kid would love reading about. Will probably take on the sequel just to see what happens next.

A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan (4/5) - Such a resonating story for librarians and those that have found safe havens in their local libraries. This book does an excellent job of showing young readers the value and importance of libraries within their communities and how they serve people at various levels. Seeing Jamie's growth over the course of the book was so impactful, as she goes from resenting and being embarrassed at having to spend her summer volunteering at the library to finding a new outlook and sense of self because of it. I'm always a sucker for a coming-of-age, summer of reinvention kind of story.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (4/5) - An absolute must read for fans of Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series. Seriously, I have no idea whether Sage and Gen would either be good friends or constantly be at each other's throats. I have a weakness for protagonists that always seem to try their luck with a bit of snark or cleverness, ultimately getting themselves into trouble that they always somehow know how to get out of. Sage perfectly falls into that category, being the bane of almost everyone around him. And yet, he is a character you can admire for his resourcefulness and ability to think ten steps ahead. His narration immediately comes off as unreliable, though that only makes his every action all the more interesting.

I was surprised to see this book labeled as a young adult, due to the simplistic, yet accessible writing style which gives it a very middle grade sort of vibe. I suppose it's mainly due to Sage being fifteen, but it think it has enough appeal for both age groups.

Average Rating: 3.5/5

1 note · View note

bakugouxall · 11 months

Text

So I'm going to start rewatching MHA because I stopped halfway season 4. This is a way to make myself power through because I do want to get caught up.

Every Friday, I'm going to try to watch at least one episode and comment my thoughts about it.

I started with season 2, episode 14 because while season 1 was cute, personally, I find it mostly boring till we get to the USJ attack.

Instead, I'm going to start with the Sport’s Festival, which was the reason I even got into MHA.

(Also, I've been keeping up with the manga, so I know what's currently going on. While there will be no manga spoilers, I will talk about stuff that happens in the anime later down the line.)

Anways, here are some thoughts on episode 14: That’s The Idea, Ochako:

I forgot what babies they were! They're so cute. And it's so nice to see Hori- and the anime's- style change over time

Especially Iida though! I forgot about his mannerisms and how played up they were

It's interesting how thick they lay on how much pressure Midoriya- and later, All Might- puts on himself about how he has to be the one to take over for All Might. All Might directly tells him that he does not have much time so Midoriya needs to hurry up and learn how to control OfA.

It makes me wonder how All Might was trained

Aizawa!! I forgot he came straight out of the hospital. He cares so much about them.

He's also a giant loser, take care of yourself man!

Bakugou telling Mineta to grow some balls, ahdhkak, I love him

I love Jirou bullying Kaminari

Ashido leaning back in her chair, she's so cute

I LOVE Uraraka!! And I love her firey determination

Todoroki listening on Iida and Urakara’s conversation, XD i love him and Bakugou's eavesdropping asses

Something big I want to talk about for this episode: Uraraka's goal

So there are a couple of interesting ideas that Hori lays out throughout the series, that he doesn’t really have a character make a big grand speech about but are evident anyways. One being that teamwork and working together are what make better heroes- something I'll talk about later because I believe it comes up in the next episode or the one after. Another about leadership.

But this episode lays the foundation for a rebuttal against Stain. While Stain has not shown up yet, his politics and ideas play a heavy role this season and beyond, considering he’s the one to get more villains interested in Shigaraki. And there are many rebuttals also spread out, but this one I think isn't brought up that often.

Stain would have hated Uraraka. He would have listened to one second of her goals and deemed her not fit to be a hero.

But Uraraka is a perfect example of why Stain's ideal version of a perfect Hero society would never happen- not without major changes to society as a whole.

Uraraka has a great quirk. She can and will help people. But she also grew up poor and watched her family struggle, so of course her motivations are going to be money related. That's what being poor does to a person- you worry about survival, you worry about your future, you grow up doing everything you can to change your situation.

Uraraka isn't a selfish person for wanting money for being a hero. And demanding that Heroes go without being paid means that a lot of would be Heroes that would be amazing at the job would be turned away. Considering Hori is a big fan of American comics, I wonder if he looked at how hard superheroes like Spider-Man have it, broke and trying to work a second job while also being a hero, and decided to kind of lay out why that wouldn't work in his world.

Anyways, I love Ochako Uraraka <333

And because I'm such a big multishipper, some cute shipping moments:

Of course, Jirou and Kaminari. I forgot how much she bullies him, I love it

Iida and Uraraka!! I see the vision now, they're so cute and both so supportive of each other

I do like Uraraka and Midoriya, little babies

Ojirou constantly trying to lift Hagakure up, we love a supportive boyfriend

My Ashido/Uraraka heart! The ending sequence is so cute in general but Ashido looking at Uraraka??? I love it

#my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero acedamia #listen i love Uraraka and I love seeing her grow #also i forgot what babies they were!#so cute and no idea what terrible things are coming #AJ watches MHA

0 notes

captnjacksparrow · 3 years

Note

Hey, really liked your analysis of Hinata. I feel almost the same way about her. Even though generally I dislike female characters who are naturally meek, subservient and pointless with no character arc in any type of media, what made me absolutely hate her character was how she treated Neji. If Kishi wanted to show her arc being developed organically, instead of proposing to Naruto that removes her stuttering and gives her new found confidence (because girls only get confident when proposing to guys 🙄), Kishi could have shown her talking to Neji after he literally told his bitter story on the chuunin exam grounds in front of everyone. She is shown like she is sympathetic but didn't do anything about it. She didn't even talk to him after he was hospitalized. She knew exactly why he was the way he was, and yet she fights him as if it was his fault. She, an heir of the clan, could have asked her father to support Neji, she had some clout. But nope. In fact, it was Neji who apologizes to her in a way, he is the one who trains her and help create a new jutsu for her. What did she ever do for him exactly? And Neji didn't have to help her. She was in the best position to help and understand Neji but what did she do? A lot of fans like her character because she is reserved but kind and sympathetic. She is reserved but a coward. She was not kind towards Neji. He died for her when he didn't deserve to, he had dreams and goals that were much bigger than Hinata's entire existence. She couldn't even see her own cousin's pain and she claims to understand Naruto?? Really??

Even Kishi said she was a pitiful character who only watches from a distance. He deliberately made her that way, no goal, no backbone and no lines. And I think she sucks the most after Danzo.

WoooW!!!! Thanks for the ask, Anon.

[[Hinata and Sakura fans!!!! Please stay away and don't interact. I fucking tagged them properly]].

Even though generally I dislike female characters who are naturally meek, subservient and pointless with no character arc in any type of media, what made me absolutely hate her character was how she treated Neji.

We definitely share the same thoughts on this one, Anon.

I am really tired on most of the media for their poor treatment of female characters.

The last time I was amused by a female character was from 'Game of Thrones', I loved Cersei Lannister, who is an absolute biashhh and Sansa Stark, started out as an annoying rose tinted princess but ended up winning everyone's heart. Both are non-combative, soft spoken and somewhat powerless women in a world dominated by men. But they just didn't let the inconveniences stop them and instead they learned how to fuck that world back and take control. Both are similar and yet very different.

After seeing, such well-developed characters..... For me girls in Naruto series, is blehhhhh..... Nothing to get inspired from them. And I knew it by episode 3 itself. I have no idea how can girls, in real life, treat Sakura as some feminist icon, which makes my skin crawl for number of reasons. If you point her mistakes out in any discussions, they will pull the misogynist card to your face. When in reality, I am also a girl and my world views are entirely different from Sakura or Hinata. There is no way a 12 year old girl would want to look at the Duck of another boy.

And the problem is, They form the majority, I mean people who can connect with Sakura or Hinata. So, as long as girls like them exists, we really should suffer from these crap portrayal I guess.

That's why I advise people that If you want to see a good woman character, Narutoverse is not the place.

Having said that, I find Temari, Konan, Tsunade were better (I mean inside the Narutoverse). Though their motivations or reason to achieve a goal revolve around their men, I find their attitude relieving. Unlike Sakura or Hinata, they don't wet themselves on the sight of the men they love.

What irritates me was, Kishimoto could've easily put a character like Temari or TenTen or Tsunade into Team 7. It would've made my viewing experience a lot better. If he doesn't want the strong girls to take over the attention from his boys, then he should've introduced a meek character like Rin Nohara. She is silent and cute but atleast she was willing to die for the Village and never wetted herself over Kakashi, though she loved him. And she treated Obito like her best friend. But he deliberately made Sakura hateful and he never stopped.

Sakura and Hinata were the lowest of the low, compared to any other side characters. And, in the end, they got the main Character's Ducks without actively doing anything. For me this tells me three things

He was using these girls as a shield to close the hetero normative mouths while in reality hiding those boys true feelings under that shield.

He really hated these kind of girls and constantly showing his hatred on them at every given chance and never redeemed them back.

He knew the target audience’ mindset and he simply caters them by giving them what they need and at the same time writing the important arcs according to his wish.

I think, it’s the combination of all three.

Just to give you an example.

There is this delusional SS shipper Who justifies Sasuke was acting Tsundere throughout the war arc. I mean, come on!!!!

I came across this post because, the Original Poster was an idiot who comes into the anti SS tag and reblogged my content and saying I was wrong... So, I don’t mind sharing that person’s content.

So I don’t know where this delusion comes from... It's truly pathetic.

There are millions of idiots who believe in this kind of shit and Kishi is deliberately feeding them with bits and crumbs while making his boys go out and save the world.

These delusional mindset tells us they don’t give a single shit about the story as a whole. They watch it purely for the pretty faces and getting high over them. In this case, Sasuke.

It’s as clear as day that Sasuke didn’t care about anyone other than Naruto when fighting the war. You don’t have to be a shipper but even a non-shipper can point this out. I mean Sasuke wouldn’t have saved Jugo either, if he didn’t come to Sasuke and advice him. Do you think Sasuke would’ve tried to look for Jugo and saved him at all cost???? It’s just that he came to Sasuke and he helps him back. But Sasuke would’ve saved Naruto from the bomb blast even if he was standing a mile away.

So, if these delusions reflects the mindset of the majority of the women audience, then the creator will never try to give anything better but instead give us some low-life characters like Sakura and Hinata.

So, Anon, your expectation for Hinata’s character could’ve been developed much better is just a wishful thinking. Because, Hinata is a character for these kind of people and not for us. And the author deliberately did it.

She was in the best position to help and understand Neji but what did she do? A lot of fans like her character because she is reserved but kind and sympathetic. She is reserved but a coward. She was not kind towards Neji. He died for her when he didn't deserve to, he had dreams and goals that were much bigger than Hinata's entire existence. She couldn't even see her own cousin's pain and she claims to understand Naruto?? Really??

For me, this also irked me a lot.

Hinata could’ve tried to talk to Neji about his problems even when he was a child. But she was simply playing innocent when in reality, she is just a coward. Even after the Chunin Exams, there was no apologies from her side, like you said. Because she is from the Main Branch. That hierarchy never changed. If she had the gall, she could’ve easily broken that hierarchy by saying, ��I want Neji Nii-San to take over our Clan, He is the best candidate for this and I can gladly help him with all my efforts’. A single line and just 2 or 3 panels, it all takes.

For me killing Neji is where Kishi asking us silently,

Do you really want these pair to happen despite having a blood stain of another character???

Most people said, ‘Yes!!!’, because they don’t give two shits about Neji. As long as Hinata gets Naruto, the main character’s Duck, that’s all there is to it. It doesn’t matter who dies, who lives.

That's why Kishi is shitting on them by making her as a non-existent woman in the Boruto Manga.

Even in real life, there are many hopeless foolish little girls who would do anything for the man she loves. I've seen them and I always stay 2 miles away from them. I mean, they even ditch their own friends and spends her entire time with him and when he dumps her later, she will come back to her friends for consolation. I think Sansa Stark is the best example for this. She started out much similar to Sakura and Hinata, believing in Princes and shit, she even naively betrayed her father for the man she had crush on. But the author made her to learn her lesson in a much painful way and later she came out as a Queen who no longer needed any man at the end. I think, this is called Development.

At the end of the day, Romance and Sex is all that matters. The author knew it. So, he is feeding these girls with some low quality cookies and they are very glad to take and eat it.

#ask #anti naruhina #anti hinata #anti sakura #anti sasusaku #anti nh #anti ss #naruto analysis #sasunaru #sasunarusasu #sns #antisasusaku #antiss #antisakura

98 notes · View notes

huayno · 3 years

Photo

from neon genesis evangelion, vol. 12

The Mysterious Stranger

The Anime, the Manga, and the Mark Twain Novella

"God will provide for this kitten." "What makes you think so?" Ursula's eyes snapped with anger. "Because I know it!" she said. "Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His seeing it." "But it falls, just the same. What good is seeing it fall?"

—from The Mysterious Stranger

There is a short novel by Mark Twain, written near the end of his life and published posthumously, entitled The Mysterious Stranger. The tale is set in a small village in 16th century Austria, where three boys one day meet a young man different from themselves: "he had new and good clothes on, and was handsome and had a winning face and a pleasant voice, and was easy and graceful and unembarrassed, not slouchy and awkward and diffident, like other boys."

The mysterious stranger starts to do small but amazing tricks for them—causing water to turn to ice; conjuring grapes and bread out of air; even making birds that can fly out of clay. At last one boy, the story's narrator, works up the courage to ask the stranger who he is:

"'An angel,' he said, quite simply, and set another bird free and clapped his hands and made it flyaway."

The angel then proceeds to really impress them by making an entire toy castle, complete with five hundred miniature soldiers and workmen that move around by themselves. Naturally the boys get involved with this ultimate playset, making their own knights and cannon and cavalry, and although they get rather nervous again when the angel reveals his name is Satan, he assures them he is not that Satan, but only named after the fallen one.

"We others are still ignorant of sin; we are not able to commit it; we are without blemish, and we shall abide in that estate always." Distracted by two of the miniature workmen, "Satan reached out his hand and crushed the life out of them with his fingers... and went on talking where he had left off: 'We cannot do wrong; neither have we any disposition to do it, for we do not know what it is." Horrified as the other boys are, "he made us drunk with the joy of being with him and of looking into the heaven of his eyes, and of feeling the ecstasy that thrilled along our veins from the touch of his hand.'"

Yes, Kaworu Nagisa made quite an impression on the fans of Neon Genesis Evange/ion, despite the fact that, in the original broadcast version of the TV show (before it got all director's-cutted, box-setted, special-editioned, and platinum-lined) he shows up for only slightly less than thirteen minutes of total screen time, the climax of which being an entire minute where nothing happens at all.

That's what being a beautiful angel will do for you, especially when you make the most of your thirteen minutes on Earth by having a Whirlwind romance with the main character that ends in a lover's quarrel with Prog Knives and finally a voluntary martyrdom at the hand of your boy here. Relationships don't come any more tragic than that of Kaworu Nagisa and Shinji Ikari, and when fans (including this one) first saw it on TV, the affair was so brief and shocking the story logic of it didn't click in until much later.

In the anime, Kaworu is acknowledged as the Final Messenger, and, of all the Angels Shinji has to fight, this is the most ruthless battle, won at the highest possible cost to himself. It took even longer for me to realize that the showdown in episode 24 had also taken us full circle from Shinji's first fight in episodes 1 and 2, which emphasized his personal helplessness against the looming Angel Sachiel. Against Kaworu, it is the Angel who becomes the small, helpless figure, while Shinji is represented only by the gargantuan, frightful helm and arm of his Eva Unit-O1. We never see Shinji's human face once throughout the whole final minute of decision.

So as Col. Trautman would have said instead of Major Katsuragi, "It's over, Shinji! IT'S OVER!" Kaworu v. Shinji (or Kaworu x Shinji, in the doujinshi) was the big final showdown between humanity and the Angels. And with the outcome leaving Shinji at his most wretched ever, wouldn't it be nice if everyone just died—your wish being Eva's command, as it turns out that fortunately humanity hardly ever needed the Angels to slaughter itself.

"I am perishing already—I am failing—I am passing away. In a little while you will be alone in shoreless space, to wander its limitless solitudes without friend or comrade forever...But I, your poor servant, have revealed you to yourself and set you free. Dream other dreams, and better!"

—from The Mysterious Stranger

Satan's words near the end of Mark Twain's story also uncannily prefigure the end of the world and the Instrumentality project, both of which follow his death in the TV show in such quick order you picture Anno as a hairnetted fry cook dinging the counter bell. By now you see Sadamoto's handling of Kaworu, and perhaps nothing illustrates the different experiences of the manga and the anime better than his handling of this critical character.

No longer the last Angel to be fought, Kaworu actually becomes an active Eva pilot and fights an Angel—the dude even has the nerve to observe the fight is fixed, based on his knowledge of SEELE's prophecies. Sadamoto of course introduces him at an earlier point in the narrative—at the equivalent of episode 19's end—and then sends him to NERV near the equivalent of episode 22's beginning—before certain important events, to put it mildly, can occur. When one notes this kind of thing, of course, it's important to restate that the Evangelion manga has always been a separate but equal "official" version of Eva, with no particular obligation to align itself with the anime, and indeed it was with Book Five, the first released after The End of Evangelion, that Sadamoto began to truly seem free to go in his own direction.

Nevertheless, as the "other" official version of the Eva story, it is reasonable for fans to view it as an "alternate history" relative to the anime, and the way Kaworu has been introduced makes us realize the manga may end very differently indeed. Despite the fact we know here that Kaworu is an Angel from the very beginning, he appears destined to at least hang around long enough to pick up a few paychecks. It's not clear when your health benefits kick in at NERV, although if Ritsuko is your primary caregiver it might be best to forego them.

Sadamoto's remarks upon visiting the U.S. in 2003 indicated that the Eva manga might (might) be planned as a twelve-volume series in all. There is still plenty of room for speculation, as the slow working pace to which the artist himself often refers has of late become almost relativistic—as of this writing, it has been eight months since Sadamoto has drawn a new installment of Eva in Japan, and hence a Volume Ten is nowhere in sight. It may be small comfort, but those of you reading this are pretty much in the same drifting boat as the Japanese fans.

"An angel's love is sublime, adorable, divine, beyond the imagination of man—infinitely beyond it! But it is limited to his own august order. If it fell upon one of your race for only an instant, it would consume its object to ashes. No, we cannot love men but we can be harmlessly indifferent to them; we can also like them, sometimes."

—from The Mysterious Stranger

And with Book Nine we see the most staggering difference thus far between the manga and the anime; Sadamoto's Shinji doesn't even like Kaworu, much less love him. Of course, you could say the less-ethereal Kaworu of the manga is harder to love. I can't believe Sadamoto had him tell Rei he thought she'd be "heftier." And yet he did.

I don't think any A.T. Fields actually got penetrated in the anime; while I do think Shinji felt sexually attracted to Kaworu, and that you the audience are supposed to feel that he felt it, what Kaworu himself thought was a very different matter. Like Rei, I believe Kaworu to be innocent—coyly, he appears not to be so, because while Rei needed to be reached out to, Kaworu has come to reach out; whereas Rei has spent her existence being observed; Kaworu has come to observe.

Indeed, in the manga, Shinji's irritation about Kaworu's invasion of his personal space seems almost a parody of his attitude in the anime. In the TV show, when Kaworu put his hand on Shinji's, he flinched but did not pull away; whereas in the manga it's easy to imagine Shinji slugging him. Instead he goes to run after Rei, hoping to get closer to her again.

I hardly think the change reflects any phobia on Sadamoto's part (after all, we even get to see Shinji's "Unit One" in the manga), but the fact the manga Shinji is less emotionally bleak and empty, and hence less vulnerable. Shinji's just as negative in the manga, of course, but it's an active variety, rather than the passive negative creep (in the best Nirvana song sense) we know from the anime. We don't have to imagine him slugging Gendo; from the look of surprise on Dad's face in Book Seven he would have smacked the beard off his face if Kaji hadn't stopped him.

Neither is Shinji in a positive emotional situation where we leave him here, either; indeed at this point in the manga there's arguably no one he can turn to—the more brutal fate that befell Toji has cut him off from his school friends, Rei has become hesitant, Kaji is dead, and his perennial self-esteem booster Asuka is going to need to rebuild her internal supply before she can even get back to calling him a loser and idiot.

So, like Misato trying to put her own hand on Shinji's, all I can do for now while we wait for Sadamoto-sensei is to recommend for your winter vacation reading list The Mysterious Stranger, which I can almost guarantee will give you new angles to think about Kaworu, and may even earn you class credit besides. A quick look at the novel's comments on Amazon list a teacher who says fundamentalist students walked out of his class when he taught it; another compares it to The Matrix; those who dislike it call it "sick," "bitter," and "twisted." Sounds like good old Evangelion to me!

—Carl Gustav Horn

[a drawing of Kaworu holding a kitten]

Although The Mysterious Stranger can also be found in a number of print editions, including The Portable Mark Twain from Penguin (haw haw), the story, being from the days when mp3s came on shellacked cylinders, is legally available online at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/TwaMyst.html. The same site has a book called The Holy Bible, King James Version, which fans of Evangelion might also enjoy, although it's technically "Editor's Choice."

#eva #kaworu nagisa #idec if twain didn't write that shit #i'm all over this

30 notes · View notes

traumatictouch · 4 years

Text

tomura & stain

we all know stain was a major influence on tomura and his character development early in the series, so id like to take a closer look at why stain was so important to tomura (and why i sincerely believe tomura had an implicitly-canon crush on him.)

this is actually pretty glaring when you watch all of tomura's season 2 scenes all together. i think the reason it slipped by so many people (including me) is because the villains side of the story was so broken up by the sports festival and kids internships. (and, tomura was a relatively new character to the audience at the time - we didn't know yet that that is very much not how tomura behaves around most people.)

and before i get started, i just wanna say that this post isnt about shipping, i just think this is an overlooked part of tomuras character. i also need to establish this reading of their dynamic to further support another meta post i’m planning on writing in the future regarding tomura and afo.

I'll link a season 2 tomura compilation video in the notes so you can see what im talking about yourselves, but for now, here are my impressions. (all white subtitles in screenshots are tomura’s dialogue.)

we start with tomura admiring stain from pictures and videos. like… his eyes are literally sparkling. pretty sure he's never looked at anyone except afo with so much non-hostile intensity and interest.

ive talked a little bit about this before, but i get the feeling that tomura just genuinely doesnt expect to be understood by anyone at all. not civilains, not other villains, and certainly not heroes. since all tomura really knew about stain and his motivations at this point was that he was "the hero killer", he probably thought he'd finally found another person who shared his hatred for hero society with the same passion - someone who could understand him. no wonder he was so excited.

when face-to-face, tomura openly admits stain has more experience than him, and calls him “dai-senpai” (translated as “sir” below); this is used for people who have MUCH more experience than you in your field. starting strong with the flattery! (esp considering im pretty sure they both have roughly the same amount of experience, technically.)

(also, aren’t most crushes in these shows directed towards someones “senpai”?)

when he makes a truly terrible first impression and gets stabbed for his efforts, tomura just... laughs awkwardly. tomura has a general tendency to smile and laugh when hes in pain, but the sheer nervous awkwardness of it is what makes it significant here. i dont think he would have responded this way if it had been, say, dabi or toga who attacked him during recruiting instead.

when stain rejects his offer and monologues about why he doesnt like people like tomura, tomura responds in a clearly offended and hurt way. in other, similar encounters throughout the manga, tomura is much more level-headed than he is here. i dont think hes ever taken someones opinion of him so hard at any other point in the series, which is pretty notable considering the sheer amount of other times he gets insulted to his face.

...and yet, he remains civil during their conversation on the rooftops afterwards, even when stain makes another dig at him. (also, correct me if im wrong, but is the first line below not literally a romance trope...?)

after stain leaves (and only after,) tomura starts poking fun at him, despite having been the one to try to recruit him in the first place. makes sense that he's trying to point out all his 'flaws', sort of like hes trying to talk himself out of his previous admiration for him after being so thoroughly rejected. and, considering tomura had to later question how he and stain were different at all, these criticisms seem a little bit hollow in hindsight.

coping with heartbreak by seeking (indirect!) revenge. of course his idea of revenge involves making stain feel like everyone has forgotten about him. acting like you were never interested in someone is a pretty common trope for this kind of thing, isnt it? that they meant so little to you (or anyone else) that you dont even remember the rejection! and of course, tomuras trying to make stain feel as humiliated as he did.

also worth mentioning: i think this is the only time where tomura wanted to end up in the news for a reason unrelated to making people question justice and hero society. releasing the nomus didn't seem to be about making people doubt the heroes ability to protect, it was just to outshine stain.

tomura isn't really the kind of person who… gets that worked up over losses? So the fact that hes so agitated about it is significant. even at usj when he lashed out at kurogiri for letting iida escape, he pretty quickly bounced back and accepted that they had to retreat for the time being. still, it must hurt seeing the guy who so harshly rejected you get talked about nonstop, especially in a positive light.

(honey, you're the one hung up on stain.)

This leads to - as user palbabor-writes pointed out in her character analysis of tomura - tomura's worst outburst in the series. isnt it interesting that stain was responsible for that, in a character who is otherwise relatively calm and collected? that suggests some pretty strong feelings attached.

of course, losing his nomus and being insulted by some strangers certainly lended to that outburst, but those were both just salt in the wound that stain had already created.

then he literally dons his Sadness Hoodie (seriously, we only see him wear it while sulking at the mall and after afo is arrested) and goes off to wonder why he and stain were too different to work out. and he lingers on that for a long time. why were they too different? what went wrong? why didn't stain accept him?

this doesnt just seem to be about how society perceives the two of them, because the thoughts are "directed" at stain, rather than society as a whole. he wants to understand it from stain's perspective before anyone elses. (plus, everyone thought stain was a part of the LoV, so as far as society is concerned, he and stain are the same.)

...and hes so torn up about this that he goes as far as venting to and consulting a teenager on the matter.

i don't know. romantic feelings and tropes in media aren't my strong suit, but i hope you understand what im getting at!!

like i said at the beginning, i'll reblog this with a link to the season 2 tomura comp so you can kind of see it for yourselves. theres also some things from supplemental material for bnha that further supports this theory, but since thats only dubious canon, i'll put those in a follow-up post!

#tomura shigaraki #shigaraki tomura #tenko shimura #akaguro chizome #stain bnha #bnha #boku no hero academia #long post #ooc #meta #please be nice im kind of embarrassed to post this LMAO

166 notes · View notes

mikanyuzu-26 · 3 years

Text

Is Chapter 139 of Attack on Titan being messed up deliberately?

*Views are my own. I barely post anything on social media but I feel the need to express my thoughts as a long-term AOT fan.

You need to be a genius in getting everything wrong. As a reader who has been following the series for 8 years, the frustration and disappointment the recent chapters brought me are beyond words. The series Attack on Titan has long been known for its well written plotline, with pieces of hints eventually leading to the reveal of mysteries, ranging from the identity of enemies to the origin of titan. Isayama the author is more than capable in building a story, as evidenced by the carefully arranged setups and successful characterization in 130+ chapters. Probably echoed by other readers, the story surprisingly went downhill since Chapter 124 (aka the alliance arc) when pacing becomes slow with no major progress in overall plot. Eren who is the supposedly main protagonist is nowhere to be found in most of the chapters, let alone his inner thought. The conclusion in Chapter 139 is even more confusing, showing clear disconnection with previous chapters and major characters being OOC. There are fans who are kind enough to summarize the inconsistencies.

Chinese netizens’ comment on the story quality

I would interpret the bad writing in Chapter 139 as intentional, with two possible reasons, or both: 1). To betray and hurt the readers as expressed in his interview. He is free! 2). To passively protest against a plot change by his editorial team

“I was a big fan of Game of Thrones, so I can relate to the feelings of those fans who were disappointed with how the series ended. But when I’m drawing, I’m expressing my own feelings, and I think as long as I’m doing that, my fans will be able to accept whatever ending I come up with for them”. The question is – was Isayama hinting at a GOT-like ending that expressed his true feeling? Looking at his response at this point of time, was he foreshadowing a disappointment?

Personally I am a believer of (2) – the plot was hijacked. I see the pacing issue starting from Chapter 124 as Isayama and the editorial team trying to buy time in reconstructing the plot. This is the period when multiple minor subplots (e.g. Connie’s mom, Aruani, conflicts with Yeagerists like Daz, formation of Alliance, Reiner’s mom & Annie’s dad) are introduced and closed off shortly after, while Eren is nowhere to be found.

Also note that Isayama did not even show up in the interview/live stream after the end of the manga in on Apr 10 and Apr 14, 2021. The editor represented him instead. It was also revealed in the most recent live stream that the editorial team had quite a lot of influence over the plot, in which they changed the last few pages of Chapter 139.

As many of you have already raised, early chapters already mentioned the “only way to put a final end to the cycle of revenge” is to do a full rumbling. I believe this is the first draft of the ending of the story as this idea has been expressed more than once directly out of the mouth of Eren.

The other possible change is the way of how Ymir is being freed. In earlier chapter, Eren clearly understands what Ymir has been waiting for 2000 years in Chapter 122, and this is also the reason why Eren is able to start the rumbling in the first place. The possibility of Mikasa freeing Ymir is not being introduced until Chapter 138 (or 139), and certainly comes out of nowhere as the only people outside of path who have seen Ymir are Armin and Ramzi.

How is Chapter 139 being intentionally messed up? The inconsistencies above suggest that at least two plot twists are only being decided at the very late stage of the story. • Eren’s true intention (Eren Requiem vs. full rumbling) and the reasons behind • What Ymir wants

Throughout Chapter 139, there are definitely better choice of words which even average Reddit/Twitter/Tumblr users were able to re-write in the past few days. However Isayama just somehow chose the worst way in presenting the story as if it is a shoutout to readers. The presentation also makes Chapter 139 memorable, though not in a way most have expected.

“Why Mikasa?” “Well…only Ymir knows that one…” When I reread Chapter 139, it seems to me that Isayama is not trying to shy away from admitting the plot change. The disbelief from Armin’s way of saying “Huh? Did you just say Mikasa?” is an analogy to the readers’ reaction due to the lack of interaction between Ymir and Mikasa before the last panel of Chapter 138. Eren is also drawn with a resigned expression. If this is an over interpretation of the frame, Eren’s next response “Well…only Ymir knows that one…” directly points out how the statement lacks a clear and sound reasoning. You can translate it into “Well…only [the company/my editor] knows that one…” or “Nothing I just want to throw this in”. Isayama clearly knows what he is writing and indeed “only Ymir knows that one” becomes a meme.

Also to add that prior to Chapter 139, Ymir has always been a parallel of Historia/Krista, not Mikasa, even as early as Chapter 51, but this plot was just somehow nowhere to be found eventually.

Why Rumbling? The most disastrous consequence of a plot change, from wiping all history and civilization (that has been repeated in his conversation with Historia in Chapter 130 and his internal monologue in Chapter 131) to an Eren Requiem, is that it takes away all the justification and rationale for Eren to eliminate 80% of the population in the first place. Whether or not Eren executes the rumbling and dies willingly, the world will still be in conflict and future generation will remain in the forest. If the plan is to free Ymir, a better way is probably just asking Mikasa to chop his head off. That saves humanity (Ymir likes drama, after all!).

Isayama could have easily used phrases like “I just want to move forward” but he put “I don’t know why, but…I wanted to do that…I had to”. This is also Isayama speaking from the Eren – he does not know why Eren is doing rumbling just to achieve the 80% plan. He just “had to” draw it.

“10 Years, At least!” This is probably the most debatable and dramatic part of the chapter. Eren expresses his love to Mikasa but the scene is presented in a way as if it is a kid throwing a tantrum. In addition to that there is Armin’s comment “Oh ok…I didn’t expect something that pathetic..” as if it is again, the readers’ comment. The scene is portrayed in an unbelievably comedic way, especially when you compare it with Eren’s conversation with Ramzi in Chapter 131, which is supposed to serve the same purpose in showing Eren’s human/soft side. Most importantly, freedom has always been Eren’s core value throughout the series. The outright contradiction this line shows only makes the whole idea of this panel questionable.

Character Regression Needless to say, characters’ behaviours surprisingly regress back to the first arc, wiping out all developments throughout the series. The worst thing is it even kills the hype of re-reading the manga as you know the characters never grow, after all the sufferings and hearts sacrificed. Examples include: • Eren is still a crybaby • Mikasa remains trapped by her relationship with Eren and the scarf • Historia is not living proudly for herself after the Uprising arc • Reiner sniffs Historia’s letter after going through depression and wars (there is even a petition online asking Isayama to change this! You see how problematic this is.) • Jean and the horse joke

Almost everything that could possibly go wrong is wrong in 1 chapter These are written by the man who have been writing good chapters in the past 10 years. Can you believe it is just a lack of sense?

• “Thank you. You became a mass murderer for our sake.” • The “poop” that Armin gives Eren (Isayama likes using meme right? :P) • Eren’s face when he is punched

Is this the High School AU style?

Compared to Chapter 112...You can tell the difference.

The way how the fandom views Chapter 139 is certainly very divided, but even amongst those who like it, most still think “things could have done better” (source: SNK Chapter 139 Poll), showing how awkward the style is compared to previous chapters. The inconsistencies in character portrayal and plot are too hard to ignore. It pains me to see a well-constructed and reputable series, one step away from legend even just with an average ending, closed with a chapter that almost defeats the purpose of the rest. Trust in Isayama – while he can build a legend in 10 years, he can also take it down with 1 chapter.

By the way, Levi is one of the few characters who isn’t ruined. Probably also a conscious choice.

#snk 139 #aot 139 #aot spoilers #aot analysis #attack on titan #isayama #shingeki no kyojin #eren #snk spoilers #hajime isayama #snk analysis

32 notes · View notes

ravelights · 3 years

Text

Is Inko Midoriya abusive?

I've seen this argument get tossed around a lot, and I'll admit some people have very convincing arguments, but I think most people can agree that there always something off about those claims.

So if I can add my two cents into the whole: "Inko not doing something about Izuku bulling" Or "Inko is abusive/neglectful because she wasn't there for Izuku" ect, argument, here it is:

Inko Not Abusive, She Underwritten.

I just want to preference this by saying: Inko isn't and is not meant to be an abusive parent/character. She's not an antagonist of the story, and she's not someone that Izuku must either get away from, or do whatever's going on with the Todoroki fam. I'm sorry, but if people are seeing her as an abusive parent in the story, they are not reading it right.

What she is, is a realistic parent, that has been underwritten.

I think the problem when it comes to these debates, about whether or not Inko is a good parent, people tend to think of it in the story context. This is fair, especially when we start talking about Fanfic and Meta-analyses, people would want a in story explanation for her actions.

What the audience sees is that Izuku got bullied for several years and Inko did apparently nothing, but the confusing thing is that this doesn’t line up with her as a character. We seen that she’s more than ready to go up against All Might of all people and pull Izuku out of school because he kept getting hurt.

We also know that even though she not completely on board with Izuku being a hero, she still gives her all to support her son, even when attempting to pull him out of UA she said that Izuku was allowed to go to another hero school. She just didn’t want her son at UA (which seem justifiable, given several events)

We also see that despite her worries she still protects her son, and they have a good relationship, in no way has Izuku ever been resentful towards her, which you would think he would be, if Inko was abusive/neglectful in the story. Izuku is a good person but he’s not a pushover, if Inko was abusive in anyway Izuku would make it clear that he doesn’t like her.

The worst we seen Izuku act towards his mother was disappointed about one moment when he was four, when she apologised for him being quirkless. Which we later see her apologising for when she gives Izuku his first costume, which he wore and even when given the opportunity to change designs, he doesn’t.

Most of the time it pretty much typical teen “Mum, I’m fine” response to a nagging/worried parent, which is pretty realistic because I think most people sometimes get annoyed by their parent, especially when they are teens. And I’m curtain everyone has one moment with their parent when we felt as if they didn’t handle the situation as best as the could have.

So, what’s going on, we have a character who apparently did something (or nothing in this case) that could been seen as abusive/neglectful, but it seems like the exact opposite of what Inko would do as a character. Realistically if Inko was a good parent she would have done something about the bullying.

In the real world, yes.

But MHA is a story, not real life.

I think people need to step away from the Story perspective and start looking at it from a Writing perspective.

Let me explain, Inko is a side character in the story, but she in a very unique position because she is the protagonist mother, which in most Shonen’s is pretty damn rare, most of the time they are dead or missing. But she still a side character, and on top of that she is a female. As much as I love Hori writing, world building and character arcs, his biggest weakness is how he treats his female characters. Although he has gotten a lot better in the recent arcs, and is better than some anime out there, he still has room for improvement.

And Inko is very justifiable, underwritten, she had about one and a half major moment in the whole of MHA. That being when All Might beg her to intrust her son to UA and when Izuku was diagnosed quirkless, that’s about it, everything else has been moments with her that really don’t last more than a couple of pages, at best.

But Inko's Izuku mother, shouldn’t Hori at least show she tried to do something? Hypothetically yes, but the truth is he hasn’t, and it’s probably because he has just not thought about it, or it’s going to be brought up later. There are a million different things happening in MHA right now, with way more central characters and plot points, and the bullying thing happened all the way back in chapter one to about three.

Also, there is also the whole Izuku being bullied throughout middle school. Because it’s barely mentioned throughout the whole manga. We have moment where it’s been mentioned but it’s sort of been forgotten by Izuku and the Manga. It just starting to pick up again now and it more with Bakugou arc, because Bakugou was the bully, and is trying to atone for what he did, it doesn’t really involve Inko at all.

Because Inko is a side character, who purpose is to show that Izuku is still just a kid, that has a worrywart mum. That was literally said by Hori himself in an interview:

(Mama Midoriya Is the GOAT (greatest of all time), You can’t pick a favourite character in My Hero Academia because everyone loves them all. However, everyone loves Inko Midoriya. What was the inspiration behind her character?

KH: Well, first and foremost, I wanted Deku to be like any other kid. Not like every man, but every kid. So, I wanted him to have a kind of worry wart mum. And my own mother is a bit of a worry wart.)

Also, Izuku had to have an underdog story, meaning he had to have a rough beginning at least, him being bullied at school and being quirkless was his rough beginning. It was to show his progress to where he is now, aka someone with a powerful quirk and friends.

I saw this with Rei as well when a lot of people got kind of mad that Shoto ended up apologise to her when she the one that threw boiling water on his face. But then as we got deeper into her background of the event, we see that Rei was horrified by her actions, apologising and trying to cool Shoto burns, and people perspective on her changed.

We might get more about Inko when Hisashi eventually shows up, especially if it turns out he's All For One. But for now, she just plainly underwritten, with like three basic character traits.

So Tl;DR: Inko isn’t an abusive person in the story, she underwritten character that has been given little thought to when it comes to major events in the story. Because of that people have filled in the gaps of what it must be, AKA abusive/neglectful, when in reality she just written as a realistic mother in the beginning and then basically getting next to nothing afterwards.

#Bnha #bnha meta #inko midoriya #izuku mydoria #mha #rei todoroki #kohei horikoshi #Bnha Writting #hisashi midoriya

44 notes · View notes

butterflymar · 4 years

Text

DAY 2: FAVORITE BL DRAMA

I have quite a few... I can’t choose just one so bare with me lol

Life Senjou No Bokura

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: One day after school, the serious Ito and the child-like Nishi meet by chance, as each endeavors to remain walking on the sidewalk`s white line. As time goes by, Ito recognizes he is drawn to Nishi in a way that is new to him. Nishi, for his part, is frustrated that they only get to meet on the sidewalk. Ito decides to act upon his feelings and kisses a surprised Nishi, who agrees they need to walk side by side for a change. The sparks between them are undeniable as their relationship blossoms in high school, survives the college years, and matures into adulthood. A deeply moving work that bears witness to loving partners, whose unchanging feelings must co-exist within a world of changing realities.

My Personal Thoughts: I already wrote a review for this so I am going to re-share some of those thoughts here. This is one that I have watched countless times already. They went by the manga for mostly all of the episodes and I appreciated seeing that. They gave more context for certain details that may have been lost while reading the manga and translated it to screen. I think they depicted the age gaps well too. For 4 episodes only, I feel that they did a great job including the most important aspects. Actually now that I think of it, I would have loved to see more of them in their early 20s depicted on screen because that was like one of there honeymoon phases and I’m a hopeless romantic lol but that’s just a personal preference not complaining. Also, the show stopped at age 40 and they could have gone on throughout there entire lives but I understand why they chose not too. The manga is great as well!!! I think that the main actors depicted beautiful true love very well. They had amazing chemistry. Japanese BL’s have that special spark about them that I love. I also loved that it showed there relationship from high school till there later years. I don’t see that a lot with BL’s. They usually just stick to one time period. The aspect about them being connected by a line in relation to there love was a nice touch as well. I am glad that it has a happy ending as well. This is a pretty quick one to watch and a great one at that!!! If you haven’t watched it yet, I would highly recommend it!!!

I Told Sunset About You

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: Teh and Oh-aew were best friends until a boyhood line of reasoning turned them into rivals. Years later as they're preparing for university admissions, both pursuing interests in the field of Communication Arts, the two meet in a Chinese language class. Their reunion awakens complicated and unstable feelings.

My Personal Thoughts: Same as above, I already wrote a review for this so I am going to re-share some of those thoughts here. This is DEFINITELY one of my top BL shows of the year 2020. This is such a beautiful masterpiece of a show!!! I remember when the preview trailer first came out… I was already hooked!!! I was on the lookout for it and it did not disappoint me one bit when it finally started. I looked forward to seeing it every week. It made me feel all of the emotions. I was up here sitting in my room crying over everything. I don’t think any other BL has made me this emotional before in my life. The two lead actors really DELIVERED!!! I could feel every single stare, every single body movement, and every single touch. You could cut the TENSION with a knife!!! No one couldn’t tell me that there wasn’t a magnetic true love between these two. I know this sounds cliche but it's like they were destined to be together from when they were childhood friends. Also, I would love to see them in future projects!!! The cinematography in this show is TOP FREAKIN NOTCH!!! Every single scene is just so beautifully shot. The cinematography alone makes me want to cry lol I saw somewhere that someone said the filming of the show reminded them of an indie film and I totally agree!!! The writing and directing on this show was impeccable to me!!! No cringy dialogue and every single line served its purpose well. This is movie grade writing. I also wanted to quickly just say that I loved the attention and callback to details throughout like with the tutoring book that Teh made for Oh-aew that was left empty by the end of episode 4, the flower that was supposed to be colored the same as Tan’s garment but Teh colored it red because he was thinking of Oh-aew, the rubbing of Oh-aew’s back when he sniffles, the references to Teh’s favorite actor, and the use of Chinese phrases to get meaning across. I could go on and on but wow I just loved how they really connected all of the details throughout. I can’t wait for Season 2!!!

Theory of Love

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: Third is a filmology major and a member of the Savage Team along with his best friends Two, Bone, and Khai, but he has a secret. Third has been secretly in love with Khai for years. For three years, he has kept his secret love in his heart, silently supporting and loving Khai while knowing there is absolutely no future between them since Khai is as straight as a streetlight pole and also an absolute player. To make matters worse, Khai has a "no dating friends" policy. How long can Third love Khai silently while watching Khai bring a different girl home every night? Third has tried to see Khai as just a friend. But has failed time and time again. Because as easy as it is to fall in love, to stop is just as hard. Maybe even harder. That is until Third learns a secret that breaks his heart completely. But when Third decides to stop, Khai decides to start.

My Personal Thoughts: As sad as this show can make me feel at times, I love rewatching it. I still to this day think that it is one of the most well written BL’s that I have seen. Everything flows nicely and everything connects. Your not left wondering how you got from point A to point B. I thought the show had great character development especially when it came to Khai’s character towards the end of series. I know a lot of people had mixed feelings about his character due to how careless and dare I say stupid he acted at times but if he can make the audience hate him that much as a character... I would say he is doing something right!!! Gun’s acting never fails to amaze me!!! He really is one of the best actors I have seen. I know he had to be drained from all of that crying that he did throughout the show though lol It just goes to show that when you truly love someone you can’t just stop what you are feeling inside that easily no matter how the other person feels about you or treats you. As the old saying goes, love is blind. I also loved the friend group as well and Two and Bones side stories with the teacher and crush from school. They added to the shows greatness and didn’t take away from it. The friendship dynamics throughout the show was I feel something that really kept me engaged. The cast acted well together. There was no awkwardness or hesitation. I feel everyone bought there best for this drama. They incorporated the movie references so cleverly and I love how the title of each episode was the title of a real romance film. Just the overall theme of film was very intriguing to me. This drama left me filled with heartache and a rollercoaster of emotions but the ending is worth it!!!

HIStory3: Make Our Days Count

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: At first glance, high schoolers Xiang Hao Ting and Yu Xi Gu appear to be polar opposites: While Xiang Hao Ting is an outgoing, hot-headed extravert and some-time bully, Yu Xi Gu prefers to keep a low profile and focus on his schoolwork. They seem bound for totally different futures – the bookish Yu Xi Gu looks destined for academic success, while life is just a long popularity contest for Xiang Hao Ting. But a quirk of fate – and a crucial intervention by a female schoolmate – results in the two young men’s paths crossing. But there is more to both young men than first meets the eye. Xiang Hao Ting was not always this way. He started out as a perfect student until he discovered the joys of going off the rails. And Yu Xi Gu has a reason for being so aloof and studious: His parents died in a traffic accident while he was younger, and he is being fostered by his aunt. As such, he works hard to get good grades in an effort to win a scholarship and ease the financial burden on his relatives. Yu Xi Gu also works part-time at a convenience store, where his manager Liu Zhi Gang has developed a crush on a man he has met at the gym. Back at school, meanwhile, Yu Xi Gu and Xiang Hao Ting find themselves drawn together, and passions ignite. The former notices that he has the unique ability to bring Yu Xi Gu out of his shell – and becomes intent on melting his cold-as-ice exterior. What will happen when their two worlds collide? And can love be the catalyst that helps bring these two unlikely students together – as their high school days draw to a close?

My Personal Thoughts: I will stand by this notion for all of my days but this show is one of the best shows I have seen PERIOD!!! Not even best BL shows I have seen but just in general. It highkey saddens me that it is rated at an 8.1 right now on MyDramaList due to how it ended when other than that... it’s a top notch show. This was one that I watched as it was airing and I would get excited to see it every week. My clown self should have known by the title “Make Our Days Count” that some mess was about to occur but I didn’t pick up on it. Now, I just disregard the last episode (WE DON’T KNOW HER!!!). You can just tell that they had a great budget for this series. The production was on point. It had great cinematography, great storylines, and it felt realistic too. The main couples acting was OFF THE CHARTS AMAZING. I loved the whole opposites attract thing going on. Although the show was set in high school... it almost didn’t feel like it nor did it have those typical clichés going on. I liked how it dealt with topic of LGBTQ+ acceptance as well. I wasn’t so sure about the side couples relationship at first but I grew to love them as time went on. One last thing I wanted to point out was that even though I am always looking for a happy ending... I learned from this show that not everyone can get a happy ending. That’s not how life works sadly. In real life, there have been a lot of people who were truly in love and lost there partners tragically. Although it may be hard to accept the outcome, it is something that happens in real life. This is a drama that you appreciate even more as time goes on. It truly is a gem of a series!!!

TharnType

Synopsis According to MyDramaList: Type Thiwat is a handsome freshman with a passion for football and spicy food. Although he’s a friendly boy, he hates gay people because, in his childhood, he was molested by a man. His life turns upside down when the new academic year of college brings along a charismatic roommate, Tharn Kirigun. Tharn is a gorgeous, compassionate music major, who is also openly gay. When Type learns this, he is determined to make Tharn leave the dorm, as he won't live with a gay person. Tharn is equally determined not to give into Type's homophobic tantrums. With a gay guy and a homophobic guy that have to share a small space together for the rest of the year — what can possibly be the outcome of their story? Hatred? Or maybe love?

My Personal Thoughts: *Goes to hide in a corner* I know this drama is problematic and controversial as hell but it’s like a train wreck that you can’t turn away from. What truly carries the show I feel is the chemistry between MewGulf. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the series as much if other actors were cast in those roles. They just exude confidence, passion, love, and lust. In terms of the storyline, I found it to be a chaotic occurrence of situations where I just had to know what was going to go on next. Everything that occurred had me intrigued for the next episode and so on and so forth. I loved Type’s character development. One quick thing I want to touch on was I know there were a lot of problematic things that happened which I will touch on at a later date but one thing I wish people were more understanding of was Type’s outbursts, thoughts, and feelings in certain situations. He was a victim of sexual assault so I felt the way he handled certain things was in response to what he had gone through as child and I think some viewers kind of missed that and were almost too harsh on him. Everyone processes and deals with trauma differently. This show went through so many twists and turns and I honestly lived for it especially the shocker towards the end of the series. I didn’t see that one coming at all!!! Despite all of its flaws, this show still holds a special place in my heart.

Honorable Mention:

Cherry Magic: As of today, this show has 4 episodes left and I think I am just going to come out and say that THIS IS MY FAVORITE BL OF THE YEAR!!! It’s a beautiful Japanese BL and I rewatch the old episodes while I wait for new ones to come out alot. It’s such a fluffy, heartwarming, and precious Bl series!!! I love it to pieces!!!

68 notes · View notes

duhragonball · 3 years

Text

Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 35-40

This is the one-part “Xanado”, and the five-part “Final Fantasy”.

So last time, we saw a Millennium team led by Rip Van Winkle take control of a British aircraft carrier, which forced Hellsing to send Alucard to deal with the situation. He accomplished his mission, but now he’s stuck on the boat by himself, because vampires can’t cross running water. I suppose Hellsing would have arranged a second aircraft to pick him up, but they’ve got bigger problems on their hands. Just as Alucard finishes off Winkle, reports come in of communication breakdowns all over Great Britain. Military, intelligence, police, all out of reach. Integra recognizes this as Millennium’s next move. By taking out the communications networks, they ensure a clear shot for their invasion force to move in. But how did they pull this off?

Simple, they did it the same way they arranged all those vampire attacks during the summer, and the Valentine assault on Hellsing Manor, and the Brazillian Police raid on Alucard’s hotel suite, and Lt. Winkle’s takeover of the H.M.S Eagle. They convinced a bunch of Brits to betray their country in exchange for being turned into vampires. The only real surprise here is the sheer breadth of treachery this time around, as Millennium must have created dozens of sleeper agents throughout the country, each tasked with hijacking or sabotaging key defense systems. And Vice-Admiral Penwood’s command is no exception. Those a-holes who gave Integra a hard time earlier? Turns out they were in the tank for Millennium all along, and now that the invasion force has arrived, they’ve revealed their true colors. At first, they’re pretty thrilled to have captured Integra Hellsing herself, but she calmly informs them that they’re minor league vampires at best, and they’ve foolishly revealed themselves in the presence of expert vampire hunters.

And Walter calmly slices them all up with his magic wire powers. Cool.

But that’s not going to stop the one thousand vampire soldiers currently heading into British airspace. I think the most striking visual in this part of the story are the expressions of sheer excitement on these guys’ faces. They’re just so thrilled for what’s about to happen, and when you consider how long they’ve waited, it only makes sense. It’s almost infectious, until you recall just what it is they’ve come here to do.

Meanwhile, Alexander Anderson watches the Millennium blimps roll in. Oh, right, I forgot about him. Back in chapter 25 he was still in Brazil, trying to locate Millennium’s HQ, but all he found were human agents trying to stop him, which he found rather insulting. Then Maxwell contacted him to explain what he learned from the summit with Hellsing, and he ordered Maxwell to come to London in preparation for a great crusade. But unlike the Crusads of old, their enemy is not Allah, but Mars, since Millennium is so devoted to war. Anyway, Anderson’s here and ready to rock.

Meanwhile, the people of London finally spot these blimps rolling in, and it’s pretty horrifying stuff. We’ve already seen the carnage that can be wrought by a few vampires, and now it’s a thousand vampires, and they’re all Nazi soldiers to boot. The sense of dread here is just palpable.

Aboard the flagship (flagblimp?) the Major starts giving his men their orders, and they even have a stupid invasion handbook for the occasion. Warrant Officer Schrodinger lost his and has to share with the Captain. I suppose this is intended to alleviate the tension, except, no, it really doesn’t. These guys are all horrible monsters in every sense of the word, and they’re about to do awful, unspeakable things. Schrodinger’s comic relief moments only make it worse.

The Major gives an extra-long speech for the occasion, basically outlining all the buildings and people in London that he wants his men to destroy (tl;dr: “all of them”). He then assigns Lt. Zorin Blitz to take one of the blimps with a contingent of men and head for the Hellsing mansion on the outskirts of town. She figures that’ll be an easy gig, since Alucard is away, but the Major warns her not to underestimate Integra Hellsing or Seras Victoria. He doesn’t exactly explain his concerns about Seras, but the mere fact that she’s Alucard’s servant is probably reason enough to be mindful, and Integra is Alucard’s master, and she comes from a long line of vampire hunters, so the Major considers them both to be archenemies on the same level as Al himself, despite their inexperience.

So the Major explicitly orders Zorin to go to the mansion but not to attack. Her task is to observe an wait for the Major’s order. This will be important later.

Then the Major orders a bunch of V-1 and V-2 rockets launched at London. I mean, geez, were the hundreds of vampire soldiers not enough? Did he think he needed to soften the city up first?

Then the troops jump out of the blimp to begin their assault. They look like they’re parachuting down, but I don’t think any of them are wearing parachutes, since they shouldn’t need them. It’s almost pathetic the way they talk to each other with all of this professional military talk and congratulating each other on a successful landing. London is virtually defenseless and this is a slaughter, not a battle, but they’ve been psyched up for this for 55 years.

Back at Penwood’s base, Integra warns him to flee before the main invasion force arrives, but Penwood insists on remaining at his post. He confesses that he’s completely incompetent, and he only has this position because of his inherited title, but he refuses to abandon his duty, since that’s the only honorable thing he can do. Integra leaves him a gun with silver bullets and wishes him well as she heads for her own duty. Penwood orders his men to evacuate, but they refuse, since Penwood can’t actually operate any of the equipment here.

So now we get an extended sequence of Milennium marching through London, basically sacking the city and slaughtering anyone they meet. This is accompanied by the lyrics to “Akuma Stocking” which I think was used in the anime adaptation as well. There’s a lot of gory scenes here, but the three main visuals that stuck with me in the anime are these:

First, this motherfucker eating a baby.

Second, all the Londinian civilians they bite end up rising up and transforming into ghouls, who then join in the slaughter. It’s easy to forget about ghouls at this point, but Millennium never forgot. Their artificial vampires can’t turn virgins into new vampires, and I think that may be by design. They were counting on their victims rising up to compound the horror.

Third, just a lot of bayonet-usage going on here. You’d think they’d be content to bite and shoot people, but these guys seem to enjoy hoisting up their prey to show them off. It’s a horrific nightmare and there’s no end in sight.

Integra and Walter speed home as fast as they can, but they stop to take out a Millennium soldier in a shootout with London police. She can’t save the cops, but she does avenge them.

Back at the Naval base, Penwood sends out a final transmission as he expects the enemy to enter his post at any moment. His men are all dead, with the last one shooting himself to avoid becoming a ghoul. He tells anyone who can hear him to resist and do their duty. Then he recalls his first meeting with the young Sir Integra. Back then, he found it ridiculous that a 12 year old should be in charge of Hellsing, but she quickly puts him in his place, and established that she would be asking him for favors from then on.

But Penwood won’t be granting any favors to the Kraut bastards who storm his post. Instead he sets off the explosives they set up earlier and I guess they all die together. I wouldn’t have thought an explosion would kill these vampires, but they are a lot less formidable than Dandyman or the Valentines. Luke couldn’t regenerate his foot, for example.

When Integra shot that one vampire, she gave away her position, and now Millennium is on her trail. Just when it seems they have a clear shot at escape, someone blocks their path, and Walter tells Integra to take the wheel and find another route. He’s going to stay behind to fight this guy, but he doesn’t think he can hold him off for long.

Integra does as he asks, but orders him to return alive “at all costs.” Hmm.

Walter uses his wire power, but it turns out this is the Captain, and he’s apparently powerful enough to foil his attack. Walter recognizes him, presumably from when he and Alucard fought the proto-Millennium in the 1940s.

And then the Major flies along in his blimp and confirms it.

Meanwhile, Integra gives the Last Battalion a merry chase, but eventually she crashes the car and seems to be cornered. One asshole tries to get closer to finish her off, but she decapitates him with her sword.

His comrades accuse her of being a “sore loser” and tell her to give up, but she mocks them all for being cowards who surrendered their humanity. She’s hardcore, she’s hardcore.

But before she can fight all these vampires alone, somebody comes along and throws a bunch of blessed bayonets at them. These did a number on Alucard and Seras, but they didn’t cause any lasting harm. Seras was even able to pull them out without too much trouble. But this shithead just disintigrates on the spot. Remember, the Last Battalion’s main advantage is their number. Individually, they’re not terribly impressive, at least as vampires go.

But yeah, it’s Alexander Anderson, along with his two sidekicks, Heinkel Wolfe and Yumiko Takagi, the stars of Kouta Hirano’s earlier manga, “Cross-Fire”. We’ve seen Heinkel in Hellsing before, but I think this is Yumie’s debut here. They chastise Anderson for interfering, since they were only sent to observe, but Anderson is too fired up by Integra’s fighting spirit, and he wants to kill some vampires, dammit.

Turns out there’s quite a few of these Iscariot guys here, maybe all of them, but Anderson starts doing a whole routine with them, as they chant all this stuff about how they’re assassins in the tradition of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Christ. I’m not sure I get much of this, but it’s nice that Hirano put some thought into Section XIII as the super-secret death squad of this fantasy version of the Vatican.

And that’s all we have for now.

#2021 hellsingliveblog #hellsing #sir integra hellsing #alexander anderson #walter c dornez #seras victoria #sir shelby penwood #the major #the doctor #warrant officer shrodinger #the captain #zorin blitz #heinkel wolfe #yumiko takagi

20 notes · View notes

one-leaf-grimoire · 3 years

Text

“triad”

Chapter 16: the lengthening shadow

Oh boy. This is where the story takes a very dark turn. Let me know what you think and any theories you might have!!!! A lot happens here... MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS GOING FORWARD!

AO3 LINK

“Surprise!”

“What?! Hey- guys-” I couldn’t help but let out a little scoff of a laugh as I crossed my arms. “I told you, you can’t just sneak into the base! Remember what happened last time?”

“Yeah yeah, your whole squad attacked us. But this is worth it.” Yami gestured to William, who was beaming behind his mask and holding up a bottle of wine. “We got ya a gift.”

“Huh? What for?” I eyed the bottle suspiciously, wondering if this was a little prank. According to the label, this was some expensive liquor, and must have cost them a lot of money. It looks sealed, ruling out the theory that they just funneled some cheaper wine into an empty bottle.

“Well, you’re leaving tomorrow morning, right?” William asked. “You’ll be gone for your birthday, so we thought you’d like a token of our friendship before you go.”

A token of our friendship.

Slowly, I reach out and take the bottle. “Guys… thank you.” I can’t stop myself from grinning as I looked up at my two strange yet dear friends. Maybe we were on two different squads, but it was just like Yami said before: The three of us are the strangest members of the magic knights. A foreigner, a man with a tacky mask and a girl with a creepy mark. The three of us… we were meant to stick together. We had each other’s backs.

Had each other’s backs.

“We can’t drink it tonight, though, I have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Well-” Yami smirked and clapped me on the shoulder while William kept smiling. “I guess we’ll have to drink it when you get home.”

….

“We never did end up drinking it together, did we?”

That bottle of wine… it was in my room when the royal guard came for me. After the trial and my rank was stripped, I found it smashed to pieces on the floor, the contents staining the ground like blood.

And now…

I hold a bottle of a considerably more potent liquid in my hand now. My grip is shaky; my fingertips cold. My mouth is dry, screaming for a taste. The only thing keeping me back from downing it all is the faint kicks in my belly.

Yami… William…

It’s late. No light comes in through the window.

Please… stay alive…

If I lose them… I’ve lost the last good memory I have.

“Hey… hey!”

Someone suddenly comes up behind me, their arms reaching around me. I don’t move or even react as they pry away the bottle, stepping back when it’s been removed. Slowly, I let out a sigh through my nose, then turn to look at Marx. His worry is etched all over his face, the lines around his eyes deepening as if he’s aged 15 years. None of us have slept since the news.

“Seriously… right when we need you the most. And the baby! That stuff will hurt them.”

His voice is just as scolding as ever, and in a weird way, it comforts me.

“Julius! What on earth are the two of you doing?”

“Honestly, you need to help me get him to do his job, not hinder me!”

“Maybe I’ll let you have a day off… but only if you can force him to finish those reports!”

Years and years of memories are within those eyes, within those words. But they’re clipped with anxiety, with a tenseness that makes my heart sink.

The good old days… they really are over, aren’t they? Marx… you don’t see me as the person I was six months ago. I was a girl, someone eager to prove themselves and be of use to the kingdom. But now, I wear a heavy crown on my head, my body wilting underneath it. Do you think… I will let this Kingdom wilt with me?

There’s nothing I want more than to tell him that I won’t be a problem for him for much longer. But… I can’t.

“I… wasn’t actually going to drink it.” I shake my head a little, conjuring up a strained smile before turning to walk past him and towards the door. “I was just thinking about it.” I pause for a moment to glance back at him. “Everyone is here, then?”

Marx stares at me quietly, contemplatively, before clearing his throat to answer. “Yeah… everyone but Nacht. I haven’t heard from him yet.”

Of course he’ll be late… I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t show up at all, I think. Nacht is probably far away, unable to reach us. A pity, because his intell would be crucial right now. Well, we have to go off what we have… Yuno and the others were present for the fights, and even heard about the Dark Triad’s plan.

“I see. We’ll start without him.”

Eight captains rise to their feet as I enter the room. Among them is Yuno, his tall, thin frame weighted down by the battle he had been forced to witness. I catch his eye for just a moment before he looks away. They’re dull, their golden glint completely gone. Many of his comrades are dead, the Golden Dawn absolutely decimated. My heart clenches at the thought.

God… if only I were there… if only I could have fought…

Of course, that would have been impossible. Even just walking to the head of the room is taxing on my unwieldy body, and I have to hold Marx’s arm as I move. I can feel the captains’ eyes burning into me, all of them fixated on the baby I carry. Ever since I broke the news to them, their reactions were the same: they wanted to protect me, because I carried something more precious than they could have ever imagined. The child of Julius Novachrono… the child of two wizard kings, a child of two worlds.

Will this baby even be human?

Or will it have black eyes and a cursed mark, just like me?

I finally sit down, the chair creaking slightly underneath me. A little embarrassed, I clear my throat as I pull my robe around myself to hide my frame. “So… let’s begin.” The other captains sit down, most of them blank in the face. Nervously, I pick up the papers on the table before me and give them a quick once-over. “So… according to the reports of the Black Bulls, the goal of the Dark Triad is to open up a gate to the underworld… the world of Devils.” A shiver runs down my spine. “This gate is called the Tree of Qliphoth, and the requirements to construct it are the powers of a Dark magic mage and a World Tree magic mage…” My hand clenches slightly on the paper, crumpling the corner. “That would be Yami and William.”

“Those two… they really got abducted?” Rill asks, his eyes wide. “Are the Dark Triad really that powerful?”

“Or maybe they were just incompetent,” Charlotte answers for me, her eyes hardened, unreadable. I stare at her a moment longer. I’ve known her for years now, her crush on Yami is obvious. But today, her face betrays none of the fear I know swirls inside her.

“Trust me…” Yuno’s voice picks up, his words monotonous and tired. “They are more powerful than a captain. The one that defeated us…”

“Keh Keh, I bet you just got in the way-” Jack’s harsh laugh cuts the boy off. “You’re just scared… that’s your first mistake-”

He cuts himself off when he realizes how Fuegoleon is looking at him. “Jack… even William couldn’t defeat him. And now, our world may be connected with the next. It’s best that we make a plan and move quickly.”

“Yami and William may already be dead-”

“Do NOT assume the worst,” Charlotte cuts in over Rill once again.

“This is ridiculous! None of us will agree on a plan of action anyway.” Jack suddenly rises to his full height, his wing-like cloak glimmering in the candlelight as he turns to leave. “I’m gonna go protect my own squad for now-”

“Jack.” Nozel is the one who speaks this time. “If you go do anything on your own-”

Jack looks back to give him the evil eye. “Who said I was? That’s a dumb idea, even I know that-”

“None of us are doing anything on our own!” Charlotte speaks up. “Yami… I want to help him! And William too! We can’t just sit here and argue about it!”

Nozel glares at Jack. “Don’t think you’re the only one who wants this. I will finish that foreigner off with my own powers-”

“Enough!” Flames dance dramatically around Fuegoleon as he rises to his feet, his presence swelling throughout the whole room. It’s warm now, like a blazing bonfire, and I can’t help but smile a little to myself. Just like that, everyone is silenced… Fuegoleon, I was right to choose you as my successor.

“It seems like you all have a desire to act… but…”

Cold seeps into the room as fast as it was warmed. All of the captains reel around towards the source of the new voice. I raise an eyebrow, electing to stay silent for now as a figure rises out of the shadows. Under one cloaked arm, he carries a small, muscular boy. Asta.

“I can’t stand people who can’t even hold a proper meeting.”

Nacht… it’s been years. I’ll let you take it from here.

“W-Who-”

Of course, all at once, the captains’ hostility is turned onto the new, unfamiliar man in the room, who happens to be standing a little too close to their King. “Intruder! Stand down!” Charlotte orders, shooting her briars at him. The others are queuing up spells as well.

“... oh, you don’t recognize me?”

Suddenly, four dark figures appear in the room, their limbs reaching out to hold each of the captains in place. They freeze where they stand. Devils? I watch silently with Marx as the creatures float above us menacingly.

“Who are you?” Fuegoleon asks again, his eyes widening at Nacht’s power.

Nacht just laughs quietly, letting Asta down to stand on the floor beside him. “Someone who’s just as qualified to attend this meeting as you are.”

“This is Nacht Faust,” I finally say, glancing up at the back of his head. “He’s the vice captain of the Black Bulls… I called him back from his undercover position in the Spade Kingdom. Although…” I frown up at him as he finally turns to look me in the eye. “I… didn’t know you were also a devil host?”

His lips are curled into a cold smile as he stares down at me. “Oh you… I didn’t want to believe that you were actually Wizard King now. And while pregnant, too-” His eyes flicker down to my stomach then back to my indignant face. “There’s much to fill you in on… which is why I’m here.”

He throws something on my desk; a diagram of a tree with ten circles on it. Is this Qliphoth? Nacht answers my question immediately. “The ritual of the Qliphoth will be underway any moment now. Yami and William will be used as the catalyst, and over the next seven days, seven gates will be opened.”

I pick up the paper, gulping nervously. The Qliphoth tree… It’s been opened before, hasn’t it? Thousands of years ago… the Simulcian history didn’t begin until afterwords, if I remember correctly. I clench my fist, resolve filling me.

Simulcia… you were the one who ended its destruction last time, weren’t you?

“Ten devils are matched with its branches. Each one more powerful than the last. And once the final devil, Lucifero, emerges…”

Nacht’s icy gaze sweeps across the captains’ faces, his smile still in place.

“This world will end.”

A chill runs through the room along with his eyes. Nacht smiles again, unfazed. “And Yami and William will die once their magic is no longer needed. So… seven days from now. If that.”

“The end of the world…” Rill shudders. “Why would they try to bring that about?”

“Who knows?” Nacht shrugs, but his gaze hardens. “They are evil… pure, unadulterated evil.”

Evil…

I look up at the back of Nacht’s head again. This man, who spent his life living in the heart of the Spade Kingdom… claims to have seen a pure evil. The evil required to end the world…

But… they aren’t really ending the world are they? They’re creating it… they want a world where only the strong can survive. Why? Maybe for fun…

Is it really so evil… to want to recreate the world?

Because… isn’t that exactly what I once wanted to do?

“We will have to move quickly. There’s not much time, for our world or Yami and Vangeance.” Nacht gestures to the others. “Asta…” his hand lands on the boy’s shoulder. “He will be our ultimate warrior. His anti magic will be a trump card against the Dark Triad. Around him, we will build a force of those with the potential to defeat the devils, and assault Spade Castle before it is too late.”

I see… I nod along, smiling a little at the thought. Together… we can strike. We can stop the Dark Triad!

“The members of the Dark Triad must be taken down…” Nacht continues. “Each of them has dual attributes. Zenon is the one with Bone and Spatial magic. Vanica has Curse and Blood magic. And Dante Zogratis… he has Body magic-”

Dual attributes? None of those sound too bad-

“-and Gravity magic.”

Static fills my brain.

Gravity magic….

“There is no gravity mage strong enough to achieve my goal.”

Dante Zogratis… who wields the magic of a devil, and gravity magic…

Nacht is still talking with the others, but his words are slurred and blurry. I nod along silently, completely confined within my own mind.

Gravity magic… gravity magic…

My hands shake. Adrenaline pumps through my weary heart.

Gravity magic…

I part my lips, letting out a quiet, small gasp.

I… I…

A spark of hope flares up within my soul.

I can do it… if I can take that magic…

A hand lands on my shoulder, jarring me from my thoughts. I look up to see that it’s Marx’s hand. “You alright? Everyone’s leaving…”

“Oh… yeah…” I shake my head, my heart still pounding. Temptation is calling, stronger than ever before. Who knew that a man, miles and miles away, would be the answer to my problem.

No… wait… didn’t I promise-

“What was the plan again?”

“Three days. We depart for the Spade Kingdom.” I look up to see that Nacht is still with us in the empty room, an amused look on his face. I bristle a little. He’s laughing at me… he thinks I’m a proper invalid now, right? I’ll show you… “I’m in charge of creating the squad.”

“...right.” I’m not exactly happy with how he just… took over, but after all he’s the spy with all the intell. “Good…” Slowly, with a helping hand from Marx, I rise to my feet and start to walk off towards the door. “I want a team of capable people around me… I trust you can do that.”

“You? Around you?” Nacht chuckles, causing me to stop in my tracks. “You’re not going.”

“What?” I turn back around to give him a confused look. “I’m the Wizard King… It’s my job to lead them-”

“Don’t joke with me, your majesty. You might wear the crown, but I know that you’re massively out of your depth.” Nacht smirks as he steps towards me. “Not just the fact that you’re pregnant… but also…”

My blood freezes as he comes to a stop ahead of me. Nacht… what did you learn…

“And I’m not the only one who knows… the Spade Kingdom figured it out, too. They know what you are.”

His eyes glint cruelly.

“You’re a monster, aren’t you? A monster who’s dying-”

“Nacht-” I finally speak up to overwhelm his whisper before Marx can hear too much. “You’ve made your point… but this is my fight, too.”

“If you say so… but I won’t let you.” Nacht steps away, his black cloak sweeping around his body. “Your… state will prevent you from fighting properly. You’ll be nothing but dead weight. And if you have the misfortune of facing Dante…” He reaches out to the doorknob, glancing back at me one more time. “Gravity slows down time. It’s basic relativity. So good luck getting close to him.”

With that last stinger, he turns and disappears into the shadows once again. Asta scurries after him, glancing up at me once before mouthing “sorry” and leaving too. The door shuts, leaving Marx and me alone once again.

“He… he has a point.” Marx starts to say. “If anything happened to the baby-”

“Who cares about the baby.”

He freezes as the frustrated whisper leaves my lips. I bite down on the inside of my mouth, instantly drawing blood. I clench my fist under my robe, to keep my hands from shaking.

Nacht… you’re right… I can’t fight. Or even win…

But…

I have to fight. I know I can’t win, but if I can’t even fight… then I’ll die as useless as I was born.

I can’t just die. I have to be a martyr. I have to be the Wizard King who sacrificed herself for the Kingdom. Just like Julius did.

Two things have to happen…

Maybe I don’t have to die. Not in the way I intended. Maybe I can still carry out the plan.

I’m already useless, aren’t I? I let my two best friends get taken, and now the whole world might end because of my blunder. I failed… and sacrificing myself might not be enough to atone for it. The least I can do is fix the mess at the source.

But to do that… I need to defeat a Gravity Magic user. Nacht is right, Adeline told me this same thing long ego. Time is vulnerable to Gravity… so what do I need to use to defeat it?

I already know. I’ve known all along that it would come down to this.

And then… I need to be able to move. This baby…

“Where are you going?”

“Don’t follow me.”

I leave the room, and walk down the hallway on my own. My knees ache, my back burns, but I keep walking towards the perimeter of the castle.

This is going to be tough to get right… but I guess this is the best I can do. If this baby dies, it doesn’t matter. It will be born again, after all.

My fingertips are cold.

But I still want to do my best… I only have three days.

“Oh? What’s going on? Why are you here?”

Owen and the other doctors watch in shock as I just walk on into the hospital, breezing past them on my way up the stairs.

“I’ll be in room 12. Leave me alone for five minutes, though,” is all I tell them, not sparing a glance back. I ascend the staircase, making my way through the dark hall until I reach room 12. I quickly enter and shut the door behind me. With a heavy sigh, I reach up, undoing the chain that keeps my robe secured. It drops to the ground, and I step out of it and towards the bed. I kick off my shoes, then finally reach up, lifting the crown off of my head. It’s heavy in my hands, just as heavy as it was on my head, and I carefully place it on the bedside table.

Then, I crawl onto the bed, crossing my legs and letting my hands rest upon my knees. With one last deep breath, I let my eyes close.

Here goes nothing… but this has to be done.

My magic activates, and my body suddenly starts to glow.

Time magic… Chrono Accelerationem.

Magic warps around my body, centered around my stomach. I grip my knees at the strange feeling, my nails digging through the fabric of my tights and into the skin below.

More… MORE.

It’s farther than I’ve ever gone. I had hoped the end wouldn’t come so soon, but here it is. Somehow, someway, I will give birth to this child today. Dead or alive.

I need to fight… I NEED TO FIX EVERYTHING.

Then, the water breaks.

With a gasp, I collapse backwards as pain shoots through my body, centered in my core. Something is kicking, screaming, desperate to be let out. T-That’s a baby, alright- I open my mouth, silently crying out. Ow… OW! I clench again, and sound finally escapes my throat: a dry, loud shriek that rips me apart from the inside.

Please….

The pain intensifies, and I hear footsteps thundering into the room.

“She’s gone into labor!! Get everyone you’ve got!”

Owen’s voice is fuzzy.

Owen… Marx… Adeline… and… you.

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

This is my first step…

A blue moth flits across my vision, closer and closer.

...Towards my fate.

Darkness descends through my mind. It goes cold, the last flame of hope flickering away. The hope that I could live up to everything he was. Because now… I know for sure that I am selfish.

I’m sorry, Julius… but… I’ve made my choice.

There is no such thing as evil on this earth.

Someone is yelling at me to push.

The pain is worse.

A soft hand clutches mine, a soft voice floating through the cold.

No such thing… but me.

….

…

Light flows in through the window. Beautiful, golden dawn.

Light.

Something cold and wet rests upon my forehead. I blink my eyes open, squinting slightly in the light. Slowly, I reach up to feel a damp cloth on my face.

What happened… where am I?

Someone snores.

I turn my head, spotting a figure sitting in the chair by my bed.

...Julius?

I blink, and their face comes into focus. It’s Adeline, slumped over with my robe wrapped around her shoulders for warmth. Her eyes are red and puffy, but she looks… peaceful.

She was crying…

I reach down, smoothing my hand over my lower stomach. The bump is gone, the only remnants being the soft pads of fat that once sheltered a precious life.

The baby… where is it?

I sit up, letting the towel slip off my face and onto the pillow. I look around, seeing that Adeline and I are completely alone.

Oh… so… did it survive?

Maybe… maybe it’s for the best that I don’t know. I have another job to do, after all.

Slowly, I stand up, a little weak on my feet but stable enough to get dressed. I fasten my belt, then slip into my shoes. My clothes were folded carefully on the dresser. My mark pulses with pain as I move, as if it’s willing me to lay down and go back to sleep again. Maybe forever.

Soon… be patient. I’ll let you die soon. But not until I see him again…

Before I leave, I look back at Adeline’s sleeping form.

I…

If everything goes according to plan… me and her… the love we shared.

I’m sorry. I have to break our promise. I hope I made you happy…

But I know it’s a lie. I know I’ve only been a source of sadness for her… and perhaps she will never know why she dies.

Goodbye… Adeline.

Blinking wetness out of the corner of my eye, I finally turn to leave, closing the door behind me. Now, it’s time for the next section of my plan. Theoretically, it should be easy. I’ll be doing something I’ve fantasized about doing since my first day in office. But somehow, I know it won’t be easy in the slightest.

“OH MY GOODNESS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

I freeze, then look up to see Marx thundering down the steps, a livid look on his face. “You’re out and about?! Absolutely not!!! You need to get back in bed RIGHT NOW! HONESTLY-” He looks more mad and scared than I’ve ever seen him. “You just gave birth… and-”

“The baby-” I cut him off. “... did it-”

“The baby is getting bathed while you’re supposed to be resting!”

For a split second, relief fills me.

It survived…

But it’s short lived. Marx keeps talking. “Honestly… if you want to see her-”

My eyes suddenly widen.

H-Her-

“MARX-” I suddenly yell, silencing him immediately. He stands there, frozen in place, as I stagger forward. My eyes are wide, almost crazed, and a faint spark of true anger suddenly flashes through the pitch black irises.

“Don’t you dare… tell me anything about that baby.”

He opens and closes his mouth, gasping out just one word.

“W-Why?”

I straighten up, then take a deep breath through my nose.

I can’t know… I don’t need to. Because, in just a couple of days…

“Because I said so.” I open my eyes again, and they are as empty as ever. Marx stares into them, fear within his own gaze. “There’s just one thing I want to know…”

I’ve thrown everything away. Friendships, humanity.... And my chance at life. I will throw away more, if I have to.

“Marx… tell me…”

And now… this next step…

The thought of carrying it out is delightful. I let my mouth split into a mirthless smile.

“Where is Patri?”

NEXT TIME! Chapter 17: the waning light. Judgement finally falls upon an enemy.

#black clover #fic #bc oc #oc: lisa #triad

12 notes · View notes

ijiness · 4 years

Text

YashaHime Episode 5 Iji Ramble

What I thought was just going to be a “Queen Kags got shoved into Kikyou’s shadow :|” two para turned into a bit of a ramble so.. incoherent rambling under cut.

Will Kagome ever not have her worth be directly tied into the fact she’s a reincarnation of a GREAT PRIESTESS KIKYO? How about, I don’t know, Moroha was born from the great priestess who traveled through time, tamed the wild InuYasha, destroyed the Shikon no Tama and saved the world versus being likely corrupted by it like ANOTHER PRIESTESS WE KNOW? Am I the only one who noticed this?

Why are our kids being stepped over for Taisho and Kikyou as far as recognition? Wat? WAT?

And the rouge of Moroha’s. I don’t remember that being a thing in the Manga, but I thought InuYasha gave that rouge to Kikyou in the Anime series as a show of affection to her, saying it was one of the last remnants of what he had of his mother, Izayoi. And I remember Naraku showing that he had the rouge and crushing it in his hand as InuYasha to drive home his betrayal to her.

I’m HOPING if it was restored that it was by Kaede and she gave it to Moroha after InuYasha and Kagome poofed for reasons still strangely unexplained because she knew it had been InuYasha’s, which is still a little odd that she’d give a gift he gave her mother’s essential rival as a show of devotion, but it’d be even more strange, imho, for InuYasha to have either given it to Kagome or Moroha after he’d given it to Kikyou.

“Here you go, Kagome, Love of my life, bringer of my peace, completion of my world - Here is rouge that is the last remaining remnant of my human mother that I cherished so much I was nearly drowned over if you hadn’t stopped me from falling into the trap of her image.” “It looks used?” “Yeah, that’s probably from when I gave this to Kikyou, love of my life, bringer of my peace, completion of my world who I nearly tortured you with the thoughts that I would abandon you for her at the end of our journey and let her drag me to hell because of residual feelings for her and personal guilt. Just ignore those :)”

And, again, I’m probably thinking too much here but I’m so confused as to why Kags who fought so hard to be known in her own right and to be considered powerful outside of Kikyou’s shadow is nowhere being given her dues. Moroha’s blood having more taste of Taisho’s and the rouge being able to make her taste moreso like it? When her dad’s, his son didn’t taste as good or as alike to him? Is Kagome’s blood doing that? How does that even work? I know it’s magic and demons and all fantasy but this basic stuff MAKES NO SENSE!? HOW DOES BLOOD TASTE SKIP GENERATIONS? TELL ME SUNRISE, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!

Setsuna and Towa are the same as they always have been to me. I think even if I was a SessRin shipper I’d be pretty meh about these two. Towa, the fighting fiend, wanting to just apologize to a literal monster who sucks out the bones of living men and animals alike? Just apologize and move on? What? Even Kagome didn’t think like that and she was pretty pacifistic. Setsuna is everything about Sesshoumaru I didn’t enjoy so that’s a no brainer that I’m waiting for their scenes to be over so we can get on with the plot. ‘I’m not so weak I need to uproot my life to get the ability to sleep back. Leave me alone, annoying sister who came to the warring states era to essentially just help me with that one task.’

Moroha’s ingenuity still gets me and has me grin. The purification salt in her mouth for the demon was pretty awesome as far as smarts. Would like to know what her debt is about. Her silliness gets ramped up a little too much sometimes. I think they want her to fill too many roles to keep the trio interesting; smart and expositiony, aggressive and foolhardy, and a hint comic relief. Sometimes it works, but this episode I was kind of meh for me. She felt a little flat until the fight, but they all kind of did so I think maybe that was just an issue with an episode for me?

Hearing her belt out InuYasha’s attacks was total fanservice and I was there for it, tbh.

I hadn’t intended this to be a full blown rant about the episode, especially given that for all of the balls it rolled into motion it didn’t really feel like a lot at any given point. It moved at a breakneck pace, like they all have, as if they’re playing catch up to something and yet every episode really doesn’t have -that- much happen to it. It all gets crammed into the second half and is done quickly. I don’t remember the episodes of IY feeling like this, but maybe that’s just nostalgia goggles. I remember thinking as I was watching “This kind of a fight, if it’s part of such a big aspect of the coming plot, feels like it should have had an episode or two of build up and a few touch and goes with the enemy to signal its significance to the over arching plot.” Kind of like how some of Naraku’s minions would have an episode or three arc of a grand scheme that moved the team closer to their end goal or a revelation before being shooed off or how a major development/fight between Sesshoumaru and InuYasha would have an episode or two building up to them running into each other.

InuYasha has always beaten you over the head with concepts but you could still get completely blindsided by something or they’d say JUST ENOUGH to get you interested or curious. Here, stuff that seems important isn’t given much time or energy narratively, stuff that doesn’t seem important is given a bunch of attention (Setsuna learning how to play violin really had to happen in 3 days? She couldn’t have had that been a developmental thing throughout and something to grow with?) and we’re getting bombarded with exposition about things but nobody seems to be talking about anything... interesting?

I can see them not necessarily ‘dancing around’ the subject of the inu tachi, if they all know why they’re gone and they’ve been gone for years then they wouldn’t be talking about it because it’s common knowledge; that’s natural. Narratively for the audience, though.. Why would that be obvious not to talk about but Moroha’s blood and lineage need attention? That’s where the logic breaks me. We already know Moroha is a 1/3 demon. We know who her parents are (We can’t go long anymore without someone comparing her to one of them anymore, which is getting old and repetitive.). They know who her parents are. Why do we need to spend a half of an episode of Myoga expositing about -who- her family line is and less about their being missing? Myoga talking about how she tastes better than her father, but no mention of ‘I miss him’ or ‘Poor Lord InuYasha, I wish I knew where he was’ or ‘He was gone from us too soon, Lady Moroha. You would have loved him.’ or anything like he used to go on about Taisho to his sons? He clearly was endeared enough to either InuYasha or Moroha to be hanging with her to the point he didn’t meet up with Setsuna to determine she was Sesshoumaru’s kid before now.

The same thing goes for how Kohaku and Miroku and Sango’s boy (I can not remember his name for the life of me) Didn’t know about Sesshoumaru and his daughters or that Setsuna was related to him and, for all intents and purposes, Rin - who Kohaku had traveled with for some time? The lack of details or discussion around these things is feeling more contrived than natural at this point seeing as they clearly remember these people, they’ve interacted with them as adults (Setsuna’s memory of Miroku now confirmed) so the memory wipe thing seems... odd. Unless it’s a situation where they’re all enchanted to remember their existence but placated as to not to go seeking them out. Or maybe they searched and didn’t find anything but again.. Miroku talking to Setsuna and her not knowing who he was despite growing up in the same village they settled down in? Was that just an illusion? What is up with this timeline?

I kind of hope we’re not going to get our fix of the old group through sequences like Kohaku and Sango’s son where each character hits a milestone or a type of demon and someone who knew the original group gives a “Oh, when your Mom/Dad fought that during their journey they learned/defeated it by doing this!” InuYasha got it a few times, but often that was because he was having to learn a new skill via Tetsusaiga, or Kagome needing to learn to do something Kikyou once did, but it was always handled with an almost sense of reverence and feeling of a new challenge, not so much ‘Here’s a clip that the audience would remember that this character will likely shrug off or seem weird learning because they don’t really care about people they don’t remember (All three) or even like (Setsuna).’

Final note: Where are the damned twins? I hope they have a boy crazy streak. Miroku was cringe at times with his groping but the girls being the flirty ones would be an adorable change of pace.

#Kagome #YashaHime spoilers #InuYasha #miroku #Sango #Towa #Setsuna #Moroha #Myoga

15 notes · View notes

cringeyvanillamilk · 4 years

Note

Hello! I just wanted to ask, are you caught up with the manga for BC and do you like asks on your thoughts on what's happening or is it not really your thing?

Ohh!! I don’t mind being asked about my thoughts on what’s going in the manga! I don’t think I had the opportunity to properly say about a chapter, so I’m glad to have a place to dump all my thoughts into lmao. Warning: I just spilled my thoughts into this so it’s a bit messy!

Regarding the most recent chapters (~Chapter 262), it was a slow descend to despair for me. I had this expectation that their 6 month training and power ups would give them at least some sort of chance to get the upper hand on the spade kingdom, but man, was I wrong! Just when we felt a glimpse of hope when characters got the upper hand, Tabata punched us with the reality that these characters aren’t ready yet. 6 months aren’t enough and he knows that!!

It was a literal whiplash where one second I was cheering on Yami and Asta because finally we had a solid win, and the other, I was shaken up that Yami, of all people, got kidnapped right before our eyes. And for a while, I was pretty down after that chapter because Tabata did a great job showcasing everyone’s desperation and despair! It was kind of hard to read because you can tell each black bull tried their best into saving Yami, but even after all their hard work, they failed. This is the lowest they’ve ever been and it shows. Everything seemed so hopeless, until Nacht finally showed up!

I’m gonna have to thank Tabata for creating Nacht’s personality the way it is because it does help lighten the mood. It’s honestly better than wallowing in sorrow for a few more chapters or meeting a new serious character! We need an emotional break!

Now, Nacht is a very interesting character and for many reasons. From what we know so far, he’s devil-possessed, uses (possibly) shadow magic, has a physical devil (Guimero), infiltrated the Spade Kingdom, hated Yami, and has a very harsh and blunt personality. He’s also the Vice-captain of the black bulls. That’s a lot to take in! He seems to know what’s going on with Yami and so I’m very excited to know what other information Nacht has in store! He was an undercover spy for a long time so I’m sure we’ll get more information in the next chapter! Well, I hope. We might visit the heart kingdom and get an update on the others or we might see Zenon with Yami and William. Either choice is juicy af!!

Random notes/questions:

‘Nacht’, german for ‘night’, how fitting!

Could it be possible that the reason Yami pestered Nacht to join his squad was because they share the same type of magic (dark = shadow)? And possibly the same frank personality? Nacht has no symbol on his grimoire so could it be that he’s an outsider? Were these factors the reason why Yami was drawn towards Nacht because they have a lot in common? Hmmm.

Also did Nacht say those harsh words about Yami in front of Asta to not only talk trash because he hates Yami, but to test Asta’s loyalty and will? Does he do this to everyone he meets? Did his sharp tongue get him in trouble? Hmmm.

Also ‘Guimero’ doesn’t have an exact translation, but it’s similar to the word ‘Guillermo’, meaning ‘Resolute protector’. Is this devil different? This one seems more chill in comparison to the other devils we know so far. Guimero seems like the type of devil you’d have a nice beer with. ‘How’s your day, Jimmy?’ ‘Been pretty great, Guimero! I just had a raise!’ ‘Ayy, cheers to that!’

But regarding the captain's reaction to William and Yami’s kidnapping? I was honestly waiting for this moment! I was curious on how each of the captains would react and possibly find out what their current thoughts/relationship with Yami are! And I was pleasantly surprised!

My notes/thoughts: (On major Characters)

Charlotte- Of course she wouldn't openly show her concern over Yami! Nice use of humor during a very tense meeting. People may find this inappropriate but I think it's greatly needed to not make this chapter too heavy! As a captain, it's good that she's keeping her emotions in check. I also liked how she was ready to go with Jack to go save Yami.

Jack- Oh now Jack was my favorite in this chapter. Even though he was harsh towards Yuno, a very young Vice Captain, I think that's his way of treating Yuno fairly for his rank. He's a vice captain, one rank under William and so he needs to take accountability. Although what he said was a bit too insensitive, I do think Jack is more harsh because his rival just got kidnapped! I'm actually surprised at how much Yami's absence affected him! He was ready to go after his boi and save his ass despite the odds. His character ended up making me fired up!! Which is better than being in despair! I want action already!!

Nozel - I was actually shook?? I don't know if Nozel is aware of Noelle's situation but Nozel reacted pretty badly (by his standards) to Yami's kidnapping!! Imagined if he found out about Noelle's situation! He might actually snap! I think it's a nice change that Nozel felt anger towards Zenon because that means there was a slight change in his and Yami's relationship. I'm going to keep an eye on how Nozel addresses Yami. Would he still use "foreigner"? I feel like Nozel's character development might start out subtle so next chapter I'll be ready to look for these details! I want more blatant character development from this guy though!

Fuegoleon- I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes Wizard King soon. He took the news calmly and had a lot of authority despite Julius being there. With Julius being a child, I think it's fitting that he'd be the next one in line. Fuegoleon's character helped ground the characters as well as myself! As each captain became more anxious over the situation, Fuegoleon was strong throughout!

Dorothy + Rill- The needed humor. Dorothy didn’t say a thing, but visually it was hilarious that she was asleep the entire time. Rill was hilarious overall! We need these light-hearted moments!! They both did their part pretty well! I like how Rill voiced how much of an impact Yami’s absence was in the meeting! It shows their close bond with Yami!!

Kaiser- Kaiser’s not as close to Yami than with the other, so it makes sense that he wasn’t that affected. He was sweating though so that means he’s at least sympathetic!

Julius- Julius was straight up silent throughout this chapter. William and Yami were very dear to him and saw them growing up, but now he’s not in the best state to help them. I’m not sure if he’s as powerful as he was before as a child, which would suck because that means he can’t fight in the front lines. It has to hurt knowing that you might not be able to save the ones you love with your own hands. At this point, he can only lead the others. RIP.

Yuno- Yuno’s feeling things right now. He didn’t say anything, but honestly I don’t blame him. He was supposed to be a reliable Vice Captain and he couldn’t do anything to save William. He’s still so young and I feel like he has too much on his table! I feel like Yuno’s gonna go through some major development. I can just feel it. How will Yuno deal with this despair? Will he be cooperative or would he try and do things alone? Hmmmm. I wonder what his reaction is going to be when he notices Asta’s arm. He would probably understand the risk Asta was willing to take to save Yami. But he’d probably still be worried…

I’m curious to see where things go from here! We now know what’s been going on in the Clover Kingdom, but I’d like to see how Noelle and Leopold are doing-! Not gonna lie, I’m actually enjoying all of this drama asdlkfjas. Things keep stacking up which makes this a lot more enjoyable to me! I’m so excited for next week’s chapter!!

Wow, I rambled a lot-! I should just stick to bullet points-! lmao

#black clover #spoilers #answered #my thoughts #I see people using bullets to show their thoughts so I'll do that next time if anybody asks me about my thoughts on a chapter-!#I tend to ramble a lot through text-#BUT AHHHH #I WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER ALREADY!!#TABATA JUST HIT ME UP WITH THE NEW CHAPTERS #LEMME GET THAT EARLY ACCESS-#ALDKSFJS

8 notes · View notes

4dorks-1windmage-1shadow · 4 years

Text

The Links as D&D Characters Part 1: Green Link

I started writing this as a reblog of a question that @hauntinghyrule got on his blog, but then it was getting WAY too long and all I had written was just about Green. D&D is one of my favorite subjects/games since I got into it in 2017, courtesy of a couple of very good DMs and the weird camaraderie that comes from sharing a dorm floor with a bunch of gaming majors. My thoughts on what classes the characters of Four Swords and the Minish Cap would be have definitely evolved since then and I think I’m in a good position to try to answer the question: What character class would each of the boys be in Dungeons and Dragons?

@atinybitweird drew her interpretation of D&D Green! You can find it here

Red / Blue / Vio / Shadow / Vaati / FS Zelda

As a preface, there won’t be any doubles on classes except in the case of dual-classing, and in those cases the first class I talk about my justifications for will be the primary class (i.e. the class they would have chosen at level one). My choices will be based on the character theming and personalities, even though at a base level it would be easy to say “they’re all paladins, duh” because of the implied “holy knight chosen by the gods to eradicate evil” concept. That being said. . .

Green’s class is Paladin- specifically the Oath of Devotion subclass. Paladin is a high Strength, high Charisma based class, which actually fits Green fairly well- as Link, he was training as a knight for presumably a good amount of his childhood and seeing as in the first chapter of the manga he’s seen kicking the ass of a grown man, I would assume he has higher strength and dexterity so a class that values that would fit best.

You could ask: why not make him a Ranger? or a Barbarian? or a Fighter? Those are all strength based classes, right? In order, my answers are: Rangers are usually more dexterity based, since most ranger PCs opt for ranged weapons like bows. While I don’t doubt that Green has high dexterity, and we DO see him using a ranged weapon (the boomerang), I think the tenets of the Oath of Devotion Paladin fit him better (more on that later though.) Barbarian isn’t a great fit either, because that class hinges on the Rage ability that Barbs are known for, and Green is rarely shown being truly angry at anything, even in his arguments with Blue. Fighter would actually be my secondary choice for him, but there’s more emphasis on combat mastery with that class, and less emphasis on the Charisma. Green is not the most charismatic of the Links- that honor goes to Red. However, he is the de facto leader of the group. He shows himself to be kind and helpful, and is pretty much always the first to rally the group around a common goal, and while that’s not necessarily what Paladins are known for, the features of the class lend itself well to that. You get to choose two skills from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion, and three of those have to do with interacting with people (Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion). Green in this case, would have Persuasion and Athletics. On top of that, the class features contribute greatly to team play: high-level paladins have Aura of Protection-which gives a bonus to allies within 10 feet (expanding to 30 feet later on) that helps them evade harmful effects- and Aura of Courage, which makes it so that allies within 10 feet (later 30 feet) can’t be frightened as long as you’re still conscious. Paladins also can sense the locations of celestials, fiends and undead creatures, can do extra radiant damage with their weapons against fiends and undead, and have a healing pool that they can expend on their self or an ally to keep them from dying too hard in battle. They also become immune to disease so that’s useful as well, and they get limited spellcasting- which means Green gets access to stuff like Compelled Duel, Zone of Truth, Revivify. He doesn’t even need to be dual-classed because Paladin pretty much covers every conceivable asset of his character- protective, diplomatic, a leader in his own right. But there’s more: Paladin sub-classes, called Sacred Oaths, are the paths that a paladin is bound to at 3rd level. Oath of Devotion in particular strikes me as fitting for Green’s character. While he’s not devoted to any particular god or goddess (unless you really want to read into Zelda being a reincarnated form of Hylia), he is devoted to Princess Zelda, to his father, to the safety of Hyrule and the people within it. The Tenets of Devotion seem very much like a knight’s code of honor, which would be something ingrained into Green while he was Link. The Tenets of Devotion are: Honesty (Don’t lie or cheat. Let your word be your promise); Courage (Never fear to act, though caution is wise); Compassion (Aid others, protect the weak, and punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to your foes, but temper it with wisdom); Honor (Treat others with fairness, and let your honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as much good as possible while causing the least amount of harm), and Duty (Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.). All of these tenets are traits that Green shows throughout the manga (with some exceptions) and the only thing setting him apart from a regular knight is the fact that he wields a magical holy sword (which by the way, he gets to empower as a paladin using one of the Devotion Channel Divinity features). It fits his strong sense of justice and all around just makes sense for his character and even his story arc throughout the manga. Paladins are a tank class, but they can only take so much damage before they’re forced to rely on other classes to back them up (that Lay on Hands HP pool doesn’t last forever); Green’s arc (as the character most closely associated with Link,) is about learning the power of teamwork while also coming into his own power as a hero. And also saving the Princess from an evil demon, which is like the perfect D&D story line for a paladin.

#four swords #dungeons and dragons #green link #character analysis #kaenith i got real fucking excited about this #next will be red #then blue #vio and shadow #princess zelda #and vaati #stay tuned

33 notes · View notes

d-n-battle · 4 years

Text

You know... it’s not so much that I hate Naruhina and Sasusaku...

It’s more like I just really don’t get how anyone can really like these pairings?? Like I really just don’t understand the appeal???

Like did I really watch the same series as all you Naruhina and Sasusaku shippers????

Y’all: aaawww look at all of these Naruto and Hinata scenes, he clearly loves her sooo much <3 <3 <3🥰😍😌

Me: bitch where????😂😂😂

(Literally, I could make the exact same joke about Sasusaku)

Like, is it just me, or are these two ships literally just about the girls’ feelings???

I mean I’d be totally fine with these two couples, if they didn’t put this emphasis on the girls, and completely ignore the guys...

I mean ok - serious time now - can the Sasusaku shippers and Naruhina shippers show me any evidence from the anime (or manga if you’re a reader) of Naruto and Sasuke returning Hinata and Sakura’s feelings respectively???

Again, I want to reiterate that this is a genuine request, I’m not trying to poke fun with this one. I’m just genuinely curious as to what you guys can dig up. (But also, side note - please refrain from using the films or Boruto as I haven’t watched them yet. I honestly don’t think I’m even gonna watch Boruto, cause I’m not a big fan of like spin off series, so yeah...But anything from the 720 anime episodes, or any of the manga chapters is fine.)

Anyway, back to my point.

Relationships are about two or more people coming together because they recognise that they have romantic feelings towards each other.

Which is exactly why I, like I’ve said already, don’t understand how Naruhina and Sasusaku are supposed to work???

Like yeah, Sakura and Hinata both like/love Sasuke and Naruto.

But when have Sasuka and Naruto expressed that they like them back in that way???

I mean as a whole the show was never even about romance, sure there were hints at possible relationships throughout, but that was never the point of the show.

I mean I feel like this all harkens back to some points I’ve already seen made by other people, but like why is romance necessary in this situation???

.....siiiiiigh.....😒

Because what else are female characters for??? If not to fawn over the male character then really what are they for??? I mean it’s not like they’re meant to represent real life people just like the male characters right??? It’s not like they’re meant to actually have well fleshed out characters with goals that don’t revolve around getting the guy of their dreams to notice them right??? Nooo, of course not, don’t be ridiculous....

I am seriously just soooo done with this bullshit. Like I’ll be the first to admit that Hinata and Sakura are not my favourite characters, but I mean it’s not like that’s really their fault now is it??? I mean they honestly both had a lot of potential. Like, seriously, soooooo much potential. I’m being completely honest here, I was well and truly so disappointed by how these two girls’ character potential was squandered 😔😔😔

And all for the sake of fullfilling their ‘true’ purpose in the show....

And don’t even try to give me the excuse that because Naruto is a shounen anime aimed at a primarily male audience, female characters can’t be feutured as anything besides the love interst. Like what kind of shit is that - so guys can’t even enjoy female characters unless they’re lusting after the male characters they like to insert themselves into???? I mean if you really think that then you must really hate guys.

Like I’m sorry but that just makes men sound like shit. It makes them sound like they only view women as people who belong to them, and are only relevant when it comes to how they are connected to men.

Women are their own goddamm people!!! They don’t exist solely to appease men!!!

As I woman, I have had to put up with this shit for years, and I am so done with it. If guys get to have characters that represent them in almost every piece of media out there, then why don’t women get to have the same treatment??? We make up a whole half of the entire goddamn population!!!

Honeslty, a bitch is soooooo mad about this 😡😡😡(thag bitch being me of course)

And what I’m also super mad about is that these two relationships imply that the guys feelings are completely irrelevant. Like I’m sorry but no amount of Sakura liking/loving Sasuke makes it okay for her to end up with him - if he doesn’t feel anywhere near the same amount of love or appreciation for her. And the same can be applied to Hinata and Naruto.

This outcome also forces everyone to just completely ignore/forget the fact that Naruto and Sasuke are completely unready to be in a relationship with anyone.

Like, yeah I’m gonna admit here that I am indeed a Narusasu shipper, but I’ll also admit that I dead ass don’t think they’d even be ready for a relationship with each other.

I mean the war and everything else just completely messed them both up, so they would both probably need some time to heal. And knowing those two, it would most likely take quite a while before they’re anywhere near healed enough to date - let alone fucking marry - anyone.

And, also (so that I’m not accused of favouritism towards the boys) - what about Sakura and Himata and the shit that they themselves experienced??? I mean Hinata had to watch her cousin die in front of her - that’s gotta mess you up. And Sakura was a medic - there’s no imagining the shit she must have seen.

War messes people up for a long time, and bassed off of what I’ve heard of Boruto - the timeline implies that these two couples got married and had kids pretty soon after the war.

That. Does. Not. Add. Up. Sis!!!!!

Honestly, the series should have just had what I like to call an ‘open ending’. This is where pretty much everything is left (you guessed it) out in the open. By everything I mean like the final relationships and stuff like the minutiae of the story. Unless, your story is a romance story in which case the romance is the most important thing, but as we’ve established- this is not the case with Naruto.

If you don’t explicitly state that characters X and Y are married with 2.5 kids, everyone who would dislike that as an outcome is free to think that they didn’t.

Like seriously, the whole point of using the line “and they lived happily ever after”, is so that you can leave the ending open to the interpretation of the audience. That’s why I’ve never liked being told how they lived happily ever after.

Because, ultimately everyone has different ideas of what happy looks like.

Some people want to get married because that’s what would make them happy, and for some marriage would achieve the opposite. It’s the same case with having children. Or what job you wanna have.

I mean really, there is soooo many different ideas of what happy looks like.

So why limit yourself and more importantly your audience/readers????

I mean think about it like this. The purpose of a main character is basically to give us a point of view of the story through which we can be influenced. That’s why a lot of the time they don’t really have distinct personality traits - so that the reader can project their own onto them. That way the reader/audience member is able to immerse themselves in the story. We are allowed to image that the main character is us. That’s why we get angry when they do something we don’t like, our first thought is - “well, I wouldn’t have done that...”. So image how disconnected you would feel, from a character who makes a big decision that you don’t agree with. Like say, getting married, when you yourself can’t imagine yourself getting married??? Or say, getting married to someone who you yourself wouldn’t want to get married to???

I think that’s the real issues in case of Naruhina and Sasusake. The majority of us - who are clearly of sound minds - would not want to marry Hinata, Sakura, or even Naruto and Sasuke. Most likely because their characters often times feel like caricatures of people, instead of real life people. They feel somehow unfinished, and so we have a harder time seing the bigger picture, and how these big decisions they have made are supposed to make sense.

Okay, I feel like I’ve rambled enough. I leave you with this -

I don’t mean to offend anyone with this post, and so I hope I haven’t/didn’t/won’t. I’m truly just stating my opinion here. If you don’t agree with anything I’ve said here, please do let me know; I’ll always appreciate constructive criticism.

I will always love Naruto. But in order to truly love something you have to also recognise it as flawed. And this was simply me pointing out some of the things which I perceive as flaws of the show/manga.

Please, don’t think of this post, or any others which I might make in the future, as hate posts. As I’ve said, I do love the show/manga - but that doesn’t make me unwilling to crique it.

Alrighty, this is where I actually end the rant.

Thanks for coming y’all,

Love,

Danny

#boy this took a while #almost as long as it’s taking me to re-watch Naruto #this really isn’t an anti post #please dont hate me #sasusaku #naruhina #sasunarusasu #I really do love this show ya know???

18 notes · View notes

onepdumpsterfire · 4 years

Text

Disclaimer: These stories are based ‘loosely’ on the game Obey me shall we date. The major stuff will be the same, but here and there the story will be changed or embellished. It is just an AU and I do not own the game the characters, from both One Piece or Obey Me, nor do I own One Piece in general. It would be cool though…

Warning: The characters will mostly be ooc and for the most part will not have the same background as in the anime/manga. The reader’s age will be above consent; the exact number is up to you.

Greed’s Pact

Devildom!AU

(pt2/?)

Various Characters X Reader

The room you’re shoved into is dark, littered with papers and books on every surface available. Most of them are medical books, others are novels and comic books. The ones that caught your eye were a series of books on a bookshelf on the wall opposite the door. They were the main attraction. The first thing anyone would see when coming in. “I see you’ve noticed my collection.” As if he hadn’t put them front and center on purpose. It seems like he’d take any opportunity to talk about them. “It’s a not so well known series.” walking up to them, he takes one off the shelf. “They’re about pirates. They are on a great journey across the sea to get a treasure. The One Piece, hence the name.” He turns the book so you can see the cover. In big bold letters, it says ‘One Piece: A Great Tale Lost To Time’. “As much as I’d like to talk about them, these aren’t why I brought you here.”

“I’m Trafalgar Law, most call me Law.” He puts the book back in its place, his back to you. “Call me Trafalgar. I’m the avatar of envy.” Law spins around, now facing you, “You’re gonna do something for me.” He leaves no room for protests. It’s a demand. Law won’t take no for an answer. “You’re gonna make a pact with Kid and get my money back.” A pact? Law noted the uncertainty on your face. “You really don’t know anything, huh?” He sighs, annoyed by your ignorance. “A pact is when a human and a demon have an agreeance. The human gives the demon something they want, and the demon lends the human their power.” Law walks over to his large wooden desk, it’s array with papers stacked up high and a half-open laptop in the center. Sitting on his chair, he swivels it around to look at you. “You may not have any power, but at the very least once you have his pact you can order him to give me back my money. And some extra for some books he ruined a while back.” It feels uncomfortable under his stare. You feel unprotected like if you made any move he’d jump up and kill you. “I know how you could get his favor.” Law motions for you to come closer, and with shaky legs you oblige. Stopping a foot away from him, Law continues. “Sabo took his credit card awhile ago. Get that and you’ll have him in the palm of your hand.” He grabs your arm, yanking you down to his eye level. “You’ll have to find it and make the pact. You will not refuse me, Y/n.” His tone is dark and menacing, it makes shivers travel down your spine. It’s the first time he’s said your name since he dragged you in here. He must have heard it from Sabo. “I’ll skin you alive and blend you into a soup if you do.” There’s no doubt in your mind he’d do just that if you refused to do as he said. Hesitantly, you nod your head in agreement, but he won’t let go of your arm. His grasp on you is firm, he’s waiting for you to say your acceptance. “O-okay.” You wince in his tight clasp. “Okay, what?”

“Okay, Tra-Trafulgar.” Law rolls his eyes at your mispronunciation. “Close enough. Now get out.”

The next day at school you are being harassed by two demons who were passing by. “Let’s just eat her.” The first demon said to the other. “No, we can’t. Sabo would throw a fit if we did.” Looking left and right you look for an escape but to no avail, they have you cornered. “I’m sure we could take a bite and he wouldn’t mind.” Suddenly, they are both thrown against the wall. A red-headed woman walks up to them. She’s emanating power. You couldn’t see it per se, but you could feel it. “Shouldn’t you guys be in class.” She raises her hand at them, a ball of light in her palm. You may not know what it is, but its intensity radiates all throughout the room. “Now go!” Both daemons scramble to get up, tripping over each other as they run away from where you two were. “I was looking for you,” The woman says putting her hand down. The immense power you felt before, dissipates. “I saw you drop your phone so I came to give it back.” She hands you the small device. “Weird that we get reception here, isn’t it?” She smiles wide at you, happy to be in your presence. That’s a first. Since you’ve got here all the demons seem to hate your guts. “My name’s Nami. I’m human like you.” That makes more sense.

“How did you do that?” you ask, dumbfounded by what she’s done. “I’m also a witch. Some humans have the power to summon inner magic that most of us have.” Nami scans your body up and down, having a thought to herself. “You don’t seem to have any. I’m surprised they let you down here. It’s dangerous.” You feel scrutinized, but this is something you already knew. The other demons have reminded you of this fact since you got here. “I went ahead and put my number in. Give me a call if you need anything.” Nami gives you a wink before heading out. “You should get to class, Sabo roams the halls to see if anyone is skipping.”

“Hey, you!” What now? You turn to face Sabo, instantly pulling a face. How you wish you could disintegrate right now. “Y/n, what are you doing out here? You should be in class.” He’s in front of you now. Looking down at you, his eyes look judgmental. “Well, since it’s your first day I suppose it’s okay,” calling over his shoulder he begins to lead you to where your class should be. It’s now or never, you should find out where the card is. “…Hey….Sabo.” He keeps looking straight ahead, not slowing his pace for you. “Where do the students keep their valuables?” He hums, thinking. “I suppose their room. In yours, there’s a desk with a drawer that has a lock. I suppose you can use that.”

“What about you guys?” Abruptly, Sabo stops. “Us? Why? Did one of them pique your interest.” Scrambling for any other excuse you think that it’d be easier to take the one he gave you. Swallowing your own pride, you relent. “Y-yes. Kid. He seems like a uh…real character.” Sabo knows what you’re doing, but he won’t let you see that. Do as you please, Kid wouldn’t be so hot-headed to make a pact with you. Sabo keeps walking, a slower pace than before. Prolonging the way to your class. “What Kid finds most valuable is money. He’s always spending it on gadgets and trinkets. Even scrap for his own projects.” Kid makes things? That must be what he meant when he ran off to finish a project the first time you met Law. “Though I have to put a limit on him. Every now and then I have to freeze his spending.” He stops in front of a door, “we’re here. Have a good day, Y/n. Don’t be late again.”

Back in the house of lamentation, you told Law about what Sabo had said. Now you two stood in the kitchen. When Sabo said he had to freeze Kid’s spendings, Law took it seriously. He made you dig through the freezer in search of Kid’s card. “This is ridiculous, why would he have put it in he-” Pulling out, you hold a block of ice in your hand. in the center of it sat a frozen stiff credit card. “You’re joking.” Law snatched it from you, which is fine. The ice was starting to burn your hand anyway. “This is one place Kid would never look for it.” Smirking, Law begins to break off chunks of ice. “Let’s wait until it melts, if we chip away at it we risk ruining it.” Rolling his eyes at you, Law continues what he’s doing. “I know, but less ice means less waiting.” He turns to you, “why don’t you do something useful? Like calling Kid over here.” What bug crawled up his ass and died? You leave the room in search of the red-head. Where to look first… You settled on starting from the first floor and making your way up. Hopefully, you’ll run into him somewhere in between.

Finishing the first floor you move on to the second. Up here is mostly the rooms of the demons. You start off in Kid’s room he’s more than likely to be there. You’ve tried knocking over and over again, but he refuses to come out. He only shouts at you to leave him the hell alone, he’s busy. Deciding to take another approach to it, you pull out your phone. Sabo had put their numbers in your phone in case you needed them. You didn’t think you would need to use them considering the brothers avoided you like the plague. Yet here you were, calling Kid. He didn’t pick up the few first times, but finally on the fourth try, “What is it?!”

“Don’t yell. I have something you want.” It was best to be quick about this. He might hang up on you if you weren’t. “What do you mean?” There was a rustling from the other end. “Your credit card.” The door slammed open, there was no need to keep him on the line anymore. He’d oh so graciously granted you his presence. Note the sarcasm. “What’d you say?” Hanging up your phone you put it away. “Traful… Truffle… Law has it in the kitchen.” Kid didn’t even give you time to finish, already running towards the kitchen.

There was arguing. A clatter of pots as they fell to the floor. Law and Kid were screaming at each other. Then Law spotted you, throwing the half-frozen card your way. “She has it and will give it to you. In one condition.” Law made his way to you, making you stand behind him. “Go on.” He may be ‘protecting’ you right now, but it’s all for the card. Taking a breath in, you bargained with Kid. “Y-yes, I have it. And if you want it, make a pact with me.” Kid is pissed at the both of you. Fumes practically coming out of his ears. “Is that what this is about? I could crush you and take it.”

“You can’t,” Law interjected, “Sabo would punish you if you did anything to mess with the exchange program.” His anger burning into furry, Kid could only hold his tongue against you. He can’t take it, Law will start a fight. It’ll create much more destruction than if it was just you and him. “Fine, now hand it over.” Law lets you step in front of him, handing the card over. You now have his pact and can make him do as you want. “Now do as I told you, Y/n.”

“Why should I? You said it yourself, Sabo would be pissed and from what I’m hearing he’s the boss around here.” Law pushes you against a counter. Letting out a whimper, your eyes are trained on him. The corner digs into your skin as he pushes you harder into it, making you submit. Kid only watched from the sidelines, still fuming. “Don’t presume to think that you are worth more than you are. If you died, I’d be in trouble because Sabo is a devoted and prideful man. He wouldn’t care if you died. The punishment will pass.” He pulls you back off the counter, “so what’s it gonna be? Are you gonna keep defying me?” Shaking your head, you turn to Kid. It’d be better if you listened to him and NEVER did that again. “G-give Law his money back, a-and repay him for the books you damaged. That’s an order.”

“That’s what you want, really? Fine, whatever!”

#one piece #one piece imagines #one piece sabo #one piece law #one piece kid #eustass kid #trafalgar d. water law #trafalgar law #eustass captain kid #one piece nami #cat burglar nami #devildom #obey me #obey me shall we date

16 notes · View notes