#baji keisuke

[manymangomochis]

very random question, but what type of fics do you like to read?? like au, angst, hurt/comfort, smut, chatfic, etc. etc.?

and like any specific types of aus you enjoy?? like timeskips, coffee shop au, omegaverse, etc. etc.??

Hi Evelyn! Thanku for the question this lowkey gives me a segue into talking abt Koko&Inupi fanfic and my favorite Baji fanfic of all time (🗣️🗣️🗣️), but typically when it comes to reading, I loveeee character studies written within the context of canon. Like "what's going on in ur head rn? What's ur logic/thought process on how u interpret this character and etc. etc." In the end, I've noticed I tend to be very analysis-oriented in that respect.

I usually gravitate more towards "canon x canon" as opposed to "canon x reader" or "OC x canon". Whether it's canon-compliant or canon-diverse it doesn't really matter to me but I love fics that are 1) accurate to canon established characterization through my own lens of personal interpretation and 2) stocked to the brim with well-thought-out detail; and I'm usually super impressed when the author brings attention to an aspect of the character that I've either never noticed, or never really thought of before in that manner.

That being said, I don't typically read chatfics or fics that specifically center around fluff without plot. I can handle fluff, but usually I find (non-miscommunication!!) character-oriented drama to be more interesting. I love conflict that arises from the way that these characters are and how they play off each other instead of through miscommunication because I frankly find miscommunication as a trope to be contrived and stressful.

Side note there are pairings where I don’t necessarily mind having that kind of thing in their fanfiction because their source material really writes miscommunication well (namely with TakaYujin and InuKoko/Kokonui.)

(Abt to go on a side ramble abt Inupi&Koko rq but I like how their miscommunication stems from the grief of Akane’s death. It’s really important to me to emphasize that they are BOTH unintentionally objectifying each other in ways that they are insecure abt. Not just abt Inupi thinking how Koko only follows him/values him bc of Akane, but also how Koko hates how other people only value him for the money they could squeeze out of him; bc the thing is. Koko actually hates money. He hates being attached to money, but through his own perspective the only thing people ever value him for, which includes Inupi.)

(Through each other’s eyes, they think the other is removing them of their personhood — when that’s not? Actually happening? At least from my POV — and I think that unspoken resentment is really interesting. It’s not really petty contrivance, it’s more so originating how these characters just. Are. And how they think. And that’s the kind of stuff I like.)

If we're talking specific fanfic tropes I like, I loveeee hurt/comfort, fake-dating and jealousy fics. Like those are 100% my guilty pleasure lmao. Also, more relevant information for what kind of fanfics I like but my bookmarks on ao3 look like this:

The way I listed half of these right off the top of my head is crazy lmao but yes I’m quite fond of fanfiction with pre-established relationships, but I also do love reading slowburns when I want longer stuff.

For other fandoms besides TR I’m really fond of reading ABO, college, coffee shop AUs and the like, depending on how flexible it is to remove the characters from their initial settings while still maintaining their original characterization.

(Unironically it’s why I personally find it difficult to find AU Inupi content that appeals to me, considering how his character is so stuck on reviving Black Dragon because he wants to retrieve that same sense of belonging that the original gang provided to him during a time where he feasibly had no support. This goes for the majority of TR characters, but so much of their characterization is heavily informed by the context that the story is happening specifically in a gang environment, so that makes it ngl hard to maintain the qualities that I loved abt these characters beneath a different context without gangs.)

But yeah I believe I've mentioned this offhandedly before, but I'm actually super duper stiff and picky when it comes to fanfic that I enjoy, which is, ngl, 100% a me thing since I'm looking for specific qualities that I liked abt certain characters and their dynamics bc of my own personal interpretation and blah blah blah blah blah.

However!! I'd love to take this opportunity to talk abt my absolute favorite Baji fanfic of all time🗣️🗣️🗣️!!, which is this one 14k word fic titled "Yesterday was better" by MicrowavingMyths. It was initially posted publicly but I checked it again just now and unfortunately found out that the author changed to availability to ao3 users only, so. Hm ._.).

Anyways, I'd still like to talk abt it! So, it's essentially a nonlinear narrative tackling "what if original timeline Baji was transported over to the main timeline of canon"!!

The whole fic was so in-character it was crazyyy, and it brought attention to so many aspects that I hadn't even thought of before I had read the fic — like just how isolated this version of Baji is in comparison to the main timeline version of him, how he's the only one grieving over Mikey's death when he's still alive (and how he seeks out Sanzu because of it), how the dyed ends of his hair actually resembles the way that the tips of Mikey's hair is drawn, and etc. It had a lot of really thoughtful characterization with Emma, and how Baji felt like he couldn't help her in a way that mattered, so he doesn't interfere when she chooses to run away; and how Baji may set things on fire because the destruction is one of the few ways he can exert some sense of control over his life.

Anyways if u ever get an ao3 acc I heavily recommend it because the characterization was incredibly thoughtful, and ngl it's just 14k words of Baji straight up suffering lmao as a thorough explanation of his character within the context of the original timeline.

[manymangomochis]

Sometimes I think abt how Baji would be most closely aligned with the integrity soul virtue from Undertale, considering how he was the only one out of the remaining founding members that consistently remained true to his principles — and the very reason why Toman was founded in the first place (iirc the dialogue right off the top of my head: “I want a gang where we can sacrifice our lives for each other; each and every one of us” or smth like that) — after Pah got arrested.

He really saw Kisaki being sketchy asf and when Mikey still wanted to bring him into the fold he went: “no. That’s a bad idea. Fuck that.” — and I love him for that. One of my mutuals wrote a really good explanation furthering this line of thought since ngl they worded that particular sentiment in a much more eloquent manner than I did, but I’ll have to find the post first so I can reblog it if they still have it up…

Anyways. Quoting a fanmade quiz that I found earlier but smth smth “despite the pressure to change I stayed true to myself” bc I think that’s especially true in the context of Baji’s character, and idk.

I just think it’s funny how they also happen to have coinciding official colors. But yeah that’s it that’s the thought. I’ll probably elaborate more on Baji’s character in the context of the integrity later, because it is definitely a quality I’d use to describe his personality besides “loyal to a fault” and “self sacrificial” and “self-inflicted responsibility” and all that.

Like yeah, ur in fact, so true to ur principles that u would literally die for them and beat the shit out of other people for them before ever accepting the notion of help from the support system that’s trying to help u. Congratulations lmao

[iadoremik3y]

sillies

[chifuyu] : “you’re stupid”

[baji] : “no I’m not”

[Chifuyu] : “what’s 9 + 10?”

[baji] : “21”

[Chifuyu] : “you’re stupid.”

[Baji] : “Bit rude…”

[Chifuyu] : “Bit stupid…”

[manymangomochis]

Low effort BajiMai(/p) shitposting to motivate me into daily six hour studying session or smth.

[manymangomochis]

Ngl I always thought I would be one of those fans that would get super competitive abt liking their favorite characters in online spaces, but then whenever someone actually mentions either Baji or Kazutora to me in my general vicinity I’m just like “YAYAYAYAYYY:DDDD!!!” super loudly and excitedly, and I remember I’m like. The least competitive person ever. I do not particularly care abt competition; I’m just happy I have someone to blog back and forth with in my spare time lmao

[manymangomochis]

I could write a whole essay abt ts, but one of my favorite things about Baji’s story in TR (and why imo the Valhalla arc is better when consumed blind) is how the details of his character are revealed like the layers of a matryoshka doll.

I like how the story is structured around him being a liar. Whether it’s by omission of important details or by the way he actively twists the narrative with half truths and full lies and whatnot, he really does present himself as this horrible, awful person — and I think it’s interesting how the actions of his character contribute to one of the reasons why the Valhalla arc has so much rewatch value imo.

Hm. Initially planned to leave this post at that, but I’m just going to go on the whole side ramble bc I can’t help myself, and I’m percolating more over this line of thought — but anecdotally, I’ve noticed a whole lot of complaints that Baji was an active participant in the story for way too short a time.

Tbf, I don’t think this criticism is unfounded whatsoever. I genuinely believe that Wakui lowkey engineered a character that would die so that Takemichi could take their place as first division captain — just like how Kazutora’s character was written to be a foil to Mikey to make him snap — but the author also ended up making Baji too likable in a sense.

I actually think that part of the tragedy of his character is that he was gone too soon, but I’ve also seen that as a point of contention for people that came in later into the fandom that expected him to be around for longer. Essentially, the argument is that he died before they could get properly attached.

Anyways, whether u like the guy or u hate the guy, he still continues to be a persistent story element past his death since he haunts the narrative so heavy-handedly, but in the context of the wider story of TR, his screentime as an actual character is super short.

After all, he quite literally dies in the same exact arc that he gets properly introduced. I’ve mentioned this in passing before, but I had a really hard time understanding the appeal of his character at first — because when I first read the story, it really felt like he was there, then he was gone, and then the whole fandom just fawned all over him lmao (😭😭). He was a really popular character, esp in 2021, to the point where I had heard abt him and his death, even though media-wise I tend to live underneath a proverbial rock.

Like: “there’s this guy that killed himself? Okay. I mean, that’s actually pretty sad.” Followed by: “HE’S 14?????😦😦”

The thing abt fandom is that it highkey spoils stuff for u as a new viewer, which isn’t anyone’s fault tbh since people actively want to discuss the details abt the things they like, y’know? However, in terms of the telling of Baji’s story I don’t really think that played in his favor for me personally, or anecdotally with people I’ve talked to in person when it was still popular, or on Reddit (another example I found btw but with better explanations) or other online forums, etc.

Tbh the constant glaze from his fans abt how cool and amazing he was did not really help, esp since it was essentially like trying to overhype smth that u already don’t see the appeal of. Yes, I thought he was intelligent. Yes, I thought he was a competent fighter, but it was never really outside the realm of reason, and I couldn’t really find an exact answer as to why people liked him besides the notions of “oh he’s just really good at fighting and he saw through Kisaki’s plan and he’s the goat and he’s etc. etc.”

(That, or the explanations given basically boiled down to liking his character for aesthetic reasons, which is fine, but not really an important part of determining why I find characters to be appealing.)

The thing is abt me — and this still holds true — is that I will literally never glaze Baji for being strong or just glaze him in any respect whatsoever. This is primarily since I personally prefer the message of storytelling over powerscaling, because in the end the author always decides who’s going to win. What matters more in my book is the clash of ideals behind the fights as opposed to the feats performed in the fights themselves.

Did I think he was overrated when I first read the story for myself? Yeah(💀💀💀), and I won’t lie about that. Not to say that the reasons above are not good reasons to like a character, but I just thought that there would be more to it than that, esp since Baji (generally) is so universally loved.

I don’t think it was until I began engaging with TR on my own outside the lens of the fandom that I really came to appreciate the way he was written; because the aforementioned massive thing abt Baji is how that kid is a liar.

Whether it’s the omission of what his actual words were to Kazutora the night that they committed involuntary manslaughter, or the way the story doesn’t unveil its hand with how he and Chifuyu first met, he just hides that shit from the audience(😭😭😭). It’s not until the end of the arc that the scope of everything going on is revealed.

— and tbh I think I would have liked Baji more off-rip without having any expectations of him being a secretly nice person (esp to Chifuyu); because, as I’ve mentioned before offhandedly in a previous post, many of the (nicer, kinder, more caring and more loyal) aspects of Baji’s character are presented as the last minute twist rather than the way he has been acting this entire time throughout the story.

[manymangomochis]

One of my favorite things about the official Baji merchandise is that they on god cannot decide on how long his hair is supposed to be. Does it just reach his shoulders? Does it run all the way down his back? Idk, that shit’s just supposed to be long, just make smth up fr.