desi percy jackson realism

any pronouns! call me bloom or tara

[iminye]

just a boy and his round cat

[ladyloveandjustice]

OK but that trivia about Natsume liking street punk fashion has me thinking again..AND WHAT IF THAT’S INHERITED.

I mean Reiko did NOT distance herself from the delinquent image. We never see her out of uniform but I absolutely believe she was all about the punk life, going for the full sukeban aesthetic.

So imagine, the day Natsume is finally able to visit a place where Reiko lived and find some of her other things…what if he finds this punk-ish oversized leather jacket deal with like, patches sewn on and all that, that belonged to Reiko and is like “aAAAaaaaaAAAAA!!!” and just rhapsodizes over it until Nyanko sensei gets sick of it and snaps “JUST TRY IT ON ALREADY” 

And he does after some coaxing and it FITS! And he’s at home and the Fujiwaras are interested in seeing what he found at his grandmother’s and he pulls out the coat all shyly and  they see how much he likes it and are like “you know you can wear that if you want to, right?” “REALLY??? I CAN?”

And so he starts wearing it all the time and proudly says “THANKS IT WAS MY GRANDMOTHER’S” every time someone compliments him on it, and Nyanko sensei is like “you know even more yokai are gonna mistake you for her now” and Natsume’s like “I DON’T CARE ALL MY IDENTITY WOES HAVE BEEN CURED BY THIS COOL JACKET”

AND SO MUCH LIKE REIKO INDIRECTLY GAVE HIM THE MEANS TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUKAI, SHE INDIRECTLY GIVES HIM THE PUSH HE NEEDS TO FOLLOW HIS FASHION DREAMS. It’s beautiful.

[skygemspeaks]

You know what we don’t talk enough about.

The, frankly heartbreaking, fact that Reiko called the collection of youkai contracts she got by force as her Book of Friends.

She was??? So lonely??? And dear lord, I hope the father of her baby loved her as much as she deserved.

[missnihihi]

It’s a bit of a theme. At the start Reiko’s confident, powerful, kind of mean and with little care for the opinions and feelings of those around her but as we get to know her it becomes more and more apparent that she’s a kind, lonely soul searching for companionship and honest care, who lashes out at her surroundings when her attempts to help and connect fail (or fail as far as she can tell).

It has been mentioned in the series that Takashi isn’t like her at all, but I honestly believe that that opinion is incorrect. She is in truth very similar to Takashi not just in power and appearance but in personality. She acts as a counterpoint to Takashi, showing us what he would have become if he hadn’t managed to connect with people. Reiko was exactly like her grandson, then loneliness warped her into the bully she is seen as in the beginning of the series.

She deserved better. She deserved to know that so many would remember her, that so many would wait for her. She deserved to know that the friend who disappeared after learning her name came back as soon as she could. She deserved to know that one day another lonely child would continuously ask about her and regret never getting the opportunity to meet her. She deserved to know she was loved. She deserved better.

[karasuitachi]

this thing

[narutouzumakiarchive]

Aside from Naruto being moved by Sasuke referring to him as one of his precious comrades in this particular scene, this entire moment also marked Sasuke giving Naruto what he most desired in a fight: trust. Before, Naruto consistently rejected Sasuke's coddling.

And further, both Naruto and the narrative rejected the act of running away. It was referred to as an act of cowardice. To someone like Naruto, who wanted to have his capabilities acknowledged, most of all by Sasuke, being told to sit on the sidelines was nearly an insult.

In the battle against Gaara, while Sasuke made it clear that he desired to protect Naruto (uniquely and as a precious comrade), he extended more responsibility to Naruto than he had since after the Haku fight. Which brings me to the next point: the narrative rendered both Naruto and Sasuke as culpable for Sasuke's lack of trust. Sasuke had been more than willing to rely on Naruto earlier but had been "let down" (in a sense) by Naruto's brash recklessness. So part of their relationship arc was Naruto growing and becoming someone Sasuke could rely on, while Sasuke acknowledged Naruto's efforts even more (he'd already believed in Naruto's potential). That's also why Sasuke telling Naruto that he wanted to fight him was so meaningful.

That said, the fight was also laced with a great tragedy. Naruto and Sasuke didn't get to fight as equals. Instead, there was a role reversal where Sasuke was left to watch the back of someone he'd wanted to get stronger alongside. The poetic irony of the situation is that both in this fight and in general, Naruto wouldn't have gotten stronger without Sasuke to begin with. There's so much complexity to unpack.

[sasukekys]

[apolocelot]

My gift for @caljudai for @natsume-ss exchange! I hope you like it!!

[hiithink802]

Destroyed, I am destroyed. Midorikawa why don't you just gut me and step on my heart?

We finally get the origin of the Book of Friends and it's 100 times sadder than one can imagine. It wasn't born purely out of Reiko's desire to play around like little kid. It was Reiko's response to feeling abandoned and resigning herself to loneliness. When she retreats back to her safe space: being alone.

Now we know why she never called upon or came back to hang out with ayakashi whose names she took. Fear of vulnerability. Fear of abandonment. Acceptance of grief.

When she said: "It doesn't matter who I'm with because a pretty thing is pretty whether you are alone or with someone" 🥹🥹🥹

Maybe she did consider them friends. And maybe that's just how she thinks friends are.

[saeweedbrains]

u know.. we know that natsume's mother was illegitimate and reiko had her young but we don't know how young. and that reiko died before her daughter could remember her. sooo, let's hypothesise and hc that reiko was a teen mom. i think it adds to her tragedy.

and not only does her tragedy stop there but it continues further when reiko gives birth to her unnamed daughter, being referred to as stranger than before.

it's literally so sad to think abt the natsume family and how they've been known as strange. when her daughter was born, others would've considered her a boon and not a cause for celebration. and illegitimate children, especially for women, were basically seen as such a stain as it still is now, but in japan back then moreso, although it's lessened over time. and her relatives wouldn't have been happy for reiko, they probably would've considered her daughter a burden, especially as another natsume and how dare reiko procreate and cause another natsume to be born—not being the one to end her bloodline.

i wonder what happened to make it seem like reiko was even stranger than before when takashi’s mom was born. could i hypothesise it as postpartum depression? it can be highly likely. it wasn't as well known or considered as it is now, and women were (still are) considered hysterical and crazy, especially if u add in reiko and how she grew and she was already considered unstable. it’s not like that would change, she'd be considered such after pregnancy too, especially with postpartum depression. even worse, if she also had postpartum psychosis on top of it and no one to help her. that would’ve isolated her even further from society and made her more of a freak of nature.

how awful must it be for all the members of your family to die so young. barely even adults and they’re already gone, and so you don’t know them and there’s no one to tell you their stories or carry on their memories and you’re left with this chasm of grief. and how awful must it be that everyone has no good things to say abt ur family so you’ve never asked bc they won’t be kind without even considering ur a kid of that family.

he was sent to an orphanage and even they kicked him out. it’s saddening enough that he was sent to an orphanage by a family who couldn’t or didn’t want to take care of and handle him, but the place where orphaned kids are taken care of and provided for and meant to be a means of solace—even they rejected him. he’s been rejected his entire life

never hearing abt ur mother or grandmother in a good light. never knowing them and what’s true or not true about them. and everyone u meet have nothing good to say so ur scared to ask bc u don’t want to hear them in a negative light but u already know the answer ur gonna get……

oughhhhh the natsume family makes me so sad, especially takashi and the women.

GOOD GODDDD the inherent tragedy of the natsume family…someone hold me im inconsolable in grief

[asianredfox]

I've always wondered what reiko felt when she found out that she was pregnant. From all the hints I've concluded that she might have got pregnant during her last year of high school or right after high school.

[sateessa]

Here's a Haikyuu x Natsume's Book of Friends crossover no one asked for, enjoy :D

I was questioning all my life choices while working on it (because it took me forever to finish), but powered through thinking "if I don't draw it, no one will". Please let me know what you think, as I have very little experience working on longer format comics like this. I'm torn between drawing more comics when I have some new ideas or never touching this format ever again 😅 Please also consider supporting me on Ko-Fi (๑•́ω•̀๑)

[jamjoob]

@crowwkui 's butch Bruce Wayne 😋

[finalfantasyvii]

[ma0chi77]

wipp

[ep1d0r0thea]

[rainske]

Tehe

[havannanocaute]

A poco no?