I Am Amazed

rip dabert you would’ve loved Charli XCX

Reading Storming Bringer, and the phrase in this quote's got me thinking

'That was when Chuuya noticed Verlaine's lingering gravity was absorbing the metallic particles'

But, at this point in the story, Verlaine was unconscious until a few seconds ago and he's not coherent when he wakes up and the narration doesn't mention him specifically activating his ability in relation to whats happening to him.

Just his 'lingering gravity'.

And a little before this, there's this quote:

'The battle was over, but the remnants of the gravitational waves were still rumbling through the woodlands'

Again more lingering effects of Verlaine's ability, this time affecting the landscape where he used his ability.

So like, what if, when Chuuya or Verlaine use their abilities an excessive amount, their person and/or the space they used it in gets distorted for a while.

Imagine Chuuya almost having a magnetic pull for a bit. He reaches for his mug and as his hand gets closer it slides towards him. He's walking down the street in autumn and the leaves keep sticking to him like he's full of friction.

Or sometimes it's a push and objects keep sliding away from him. Someone bumps into him in the hallway and they get pushed back. Chuuya has to try and explain he didn't just shove them. His pen keeps rolling away from him on his desk when he goes to note something down.

What if, for a while the gravity was just messed up in Suribachi City and anywhere else Chuuya activated Corruption??

Imagine if there was a myth that the centre of Suribachi was heavier than the outer circle, that you couldn't jump as high, that if you carried a crate towards he centre of the city you would literally feel it increasing in weight. The older houses all lean towards the centre, some people say it's the terrible craftsmanship of cheap houses, other say it the strange pull of Suribachi city. Rumours that you could never really leave the city because you would feel the heart of it pulling you right back.

Imagine the forest where he fought Lovecraft being literally scarred as the trees all seem lean into the clearing, their branches all stretching in and down towards the centre. The animals instinctively avoiding that space because they know something is off and they don't like it. If the birds fly too close to the ground they get confused.

People tell stories of the monster that appeared in the alley way one day and ate half the street. When they tried to rebuild houses there, accidents kept happening on the construction site, nobody could explain it, but the air just felt dense. As if the creature that ate the street did not want humans to reclaim it.

Just Chuuya unintentionally being the cause of many "supernatural" sites in Yokohama.

i have so many thoughts on why it seems like kevin's experience after leaving the nest was different. my main thought being that we just don't get to see it. neil joins the foxes months after kevin does and in the beginning he only interacts with kevin during practice, so that explains part of it.

in son nefes we only see kevin as he relates to exy or andrew (lmao). but also kevin spent his first month or so with wymack, so whatever might have been there we simply don't get to see. the extra content says that he only took his coat and wallet when he left the nest, and that in his first few months he struggled with missing his team, his inability to play, and with doubting his decision to leave.

kevin also spent longer than jean in the nest, timeline-wise it seems to have been closer to a decade, and if 5 years was enough to make jean forget the previous 14... sure, kevin was afforded slightly more decencies than jean - he had a car (who knows how often he got to use it), he had to travel for press reasons, and he had more clothes i guess. but taking it all into account we have no reason to assume it was easy for him.

but we just don't see a lot of kevin's struggles period. we don't see his thoughts we don't see all the ways in which his trauma manifests we don't see what other coping mechanisms he has besides drinking. the night training could partially be that but again. we don't know.

kevin is so alecto tlt coded………. what if i (riko) made you perfect and irreproachable like a barbie doll but knew there was something inherently wrong and violent about how i created you….. whattttt if i took and took and took from you and you still loved me. what if i created you from my rib to make sure someone else is there to shoulder the burden of having massacred everything that would since become you…… many horrible such cases. what if i had to lock and chain you in a tomb to make sure no one remembers what i did to you

kaiser and isagi decided to get along for 5 mins and they've already trash talked the whole pxg team AND bastard munchen too. IN SYNC. they're insufferable I love them

Sorry to bother you but I’ve been getting into BSD and Chuuya’s my fave, but I’ve been seeing some contradictory things in fanfic so…

Does Chuuya actually have a god sealed inside him? I thought it was just like his power without limitations and was dubious of those takes, but since eldritch beings can apparently be a thing (and not an ability), I think it could be plausible either way.

Though even if it’s not I can see why people would use that route for some good angst.

This is not a bother at all! This is something I very much like to talk about

if you're really new I do recommend you go read both "Dazai, Chuuya, Fifteen Years Old" and "STORM BRINGER" light novels (but SB especially), not only are they great books with Chuuya as the focal point but they will help answer your question in depth (you can buy the English translations but I can help you find the translation online if that's what you need, just message me again)

The short version is that Arahabaki being an actual god, a separate entity from Chuuya that has a personality/a voice/desires, is a common fanon trope, but not a canon fact. The truth is more complex and much more fun, lore-wise, in my opinion

And now the long version, because I'm passionate about this and this is my excuse to deep dive into it (spoilers for Fifteen)

In Fifteen, Chuuya says this:

Chuuya himself presents "Arahabaki" as nothing more than pure power. No thoughts, no personality, but powerful for sure.

That phrasing in Fifteen created a lot of confusion I think, talking about gods as real but also not:

But I think it's more of a symbolic reference, talking about immense power that seem out of this world. Because in practice, as Chuuya said before, "Arahabaki" is simply raw power, not an entity. You can't pray to it, it can't understand you, it can't perform miracles (which is why he knew the Old Boss couldn't have been brought back by Arahabaki and it was all nonsense from the start)

I'm also putting part of the blame on the anime, where they decided (while not being exactly wrong either, out of context it's weird) to illustrate Chuuya "floating in a bluish-black darkness, surrounded by a transparent seal" and being pulled out by a hand:

like this:

When, if you actually reread that part in the novel with knowledge about Storm Bringer, it's actually this moment that was being referred to:

Which brings us to Storm Bringer! (heavy spoilers I'm serious)

"Project Arahabaki" was the Japanese government's attempt to create an ability weapon from an individual. They wanted to craft a singularity that could be used multiple times, thus granting them access to power that should not be accessible normally. They based their research on what France had discovered through Verlaine. The objective is to create a massive energy output through a self-contradicting ability, for which you need a vessel:

Chuuya is the device. "Arahabaki" is the massive energy. That massive energy can control gravity to the point of being able to create localized black holes! N implied that part of the lab's work for the Arahabaki Project was to modify Chuuya's body to be able to withstand the constant gravity effects on it so he doesn't just die. Chuuya's normal use of his ability doesn't seem to have any drastic effects on him, and his physical resilience (to getting hit, stabbed, poisoned, shot, electrocuted, to going through a black hole) does seem to imply they did succeed at least in part.

And this bit here explains why "Arahabaki" was the chosen name for the project; unexplained phenomena across History that can be linked to an ability going haywire, but were attributed to god-like interventions at the time. So you're a funny little mad scientist, you read research papers from another mad scientist that named their own creation after a mythological monster, and you decide to do the same with your own local folklore.

But!

There's still something to be said about how "Arahabaki" is a singularity, and therefore, has its own set of rules. Chuuya does loose control, Chuuya does regress to a sort of destructive instinct while under Corruption. But "Arahabaki" is still no more than an ability singularity. Here's what is said about Guivre and Arahabaki:

They are both singularity life-forms. They exist because they are singularities; outside of it, they are nothing. The inner workings of abilities are still mysterious, but most of them have a link to their wielder's desires. For example, Atsushi's Tiger is there to protect him, a mirror to his will to live no matter what. Verlaine's Guivre is similar:

Guivre was a beast born out of Verlaine's loneliness and resulting hatred. He felt deeply alone in not feeling/being human, and through Pan's (his "creator") special "programming" of Verlaine's ability, N was able to trigger the true form of his singularity with that flare gun and metal powder, which took the form of Guivre. It's what the hat was supposed to prevent, but Verlaine had already lost it by then.

Chuuya's Arahabaki is probably similar. Its first apparition was when Rimbaud tried to absorb him and use his ability for himself, and any subsequent use is linked to grief and survival. Basically, if they're their own entities, they are still born in a specific context and deeply linked to the original ability user's character. And Arahabaki? Only exists if Chuuya uses his activation phrase to get rid of the limitations put into place to prevent him from exploding:

More about about Corruption: SB is kind enough to give us an explanation on how the nullification process works, right here:

Chuuya's self-contradicting ability makes him able to control gravity through the sheer amount of energy it creates by permanently interacting with itself. It is kept under control through the use of an activation phrase, O grantors of dark disgrace, do not wake me again, which, after being either said or thought by Chuuya, will open his "Gate" (which I'm interpreting as a blocker put in place by the lab so the singularity doesn't just kill him, like those poor people they mentioned existed through History), and by opening it, "free Arahabaki's true power" (aka Corruption). When Dazai uses his ability on him, the base self-contradicting ability is nullified, which cancels out the singularity taking place, which stops Corruption and allows that "Gate" to close again. The red markings are there because they're cool and fun.

To conclude, I'll let Dazai do the honors:

bonus: what does that mean for Chuuya's ability?

bons 2: Perceived timeline of Chuuya's past and what happened to to create confusion around his humanity

Kevin Day pov fic rec list that no one asked for but I’m gonna make cuz I’ve been really feeling the Kevin Day brainrot lately

Canon and post-canon:

how will i know (when it’s gonna come back round?) by nebulousviolet

Neil says something to Andrew – Kevin doesn’t catch it, too busy gathering his things, but what he does catch is the look Allison gives Matt, and the way Matt’s eyebrows knit together in response.

And Neil – Neil doesn’t say anything to Kevin. Later, Kevin will wonder why. Later, Kevin will wonder if there was even anything to say.

The 1st half of Baltimore from Kevin’s pov

biting down by pipe_dream

kevin learns that in order to understand something, you have to allow yourself to learn, and talks to andrew about neil.

Good Kevin and Andrew friendship content

Proof of Life by mostly_maudlin/ @mostlymaudlin

Realistically, Kevin knows he is safe now. No one is after him anymore. No one is plotting to drag him down into the hole he’s clawed out of. He has people who will fight to keep it this way.

A morning in the life of Kevin Day, 10/10 characterization all around here

202607 by abramdeath/ @abramdeath

The Olympics and his life collide into one. Kevin is just trying to win gold with the people he trusts most in the world.

(or, a roulette of dreaming with your eyes open, loving too hard, and winning.)

Kevin has a sports anime flashback moment at the Olympics

Au:

Signs Of Life by moonix/ @annawrites

In which Kevin works the graveyard shift, Andrew is the witching hour cryptid, and Neil guards the ice-cream freezer.

Kevin works at a convenience store and gets befriended by his two strangest customers

Fuck Riko: The Musical by justwhatialwayswanted/ @birlwrites

“Okay, but we still need a show,” Dan says. “A very cheap one.”

“Andrew,” Aaron says.

“No,” Andrew says.

“You didn’t even wait for me to ask my question.”

“I know what you’re going to ask, and it’s a stupid idea.”

Neil looks back and forth between them and says, “But it would make Riko so mad. You could write him out of the show.”

“Fuck.” Andrew sighs. “I don’t know anything about music.”

“I do,” Jean says, so quietly that for a second Kevin thinks he’s imagined it.

“Just to be totally clear,” Nicky says. “Are we talking about Andrew and Jean writing us a musical?”

*

or: What happens if you piss off every other theater kid in your very insular theater kid friend group?

If you’re Riko Moriyama, they write and perform an entire musical as revenge.

Absolutely unhinged theater kid au

Dabi’s Self Suicide

I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but Dabi is someone who has a tendency to make things about himself. In the League of Villains which is identifiably a group dynamic, Dabi takes every available opportunity to insist that he is alone, he is just along for the ride. A single man, with a single conviction, should be enough to change the world. He has a tendency to act like he’s the most important one here, he’s the one whose going to bring an end to hero society all on his own and yet at the same time he has no sense of identity. He has no self. He doens’t even have a name. Hawks asks him his name and he literally responds with [redacted]. I think this paradox of Dabi’s is at the core of figuring out who he is, and who he is not. 

Keep reading

there must be more than blood by car seat headrest is a touya song btw. nervous like a wild dog waiting for the attack. you go back to the old house but you've been locked out and it wasn't for love that you went back home. they had all of your life to get it right they had all of that time just to change their minds. how could they treat you like a forgotten card? dear dad, I'm sorry thank you very much. what difference does it make when they throw you away?

this is like 9/11 to me

Blue Lock Nutrition Deep Dive

It’s common knowledge the food situation in Blue Lock is… not the best.  Well I made the glorious decision to do a deep dive on it and see just how bad the nutrition situation may have been.  I wanted to see just how much of a deficit everyone was getting put in, how much everyone is growing in spite of the horrid nutrition.  

Disclaimers because I feel the need to be thorough: 

Since I did some quantitative shenanigans, many assumptions and guesses had to be made for missing information.  I’m focusing on Isagi for simplicity. Some extrapolation can be done from there.  

I do try to be up to date on the basics, but I’m no nutrition expert.  These are just my thoughts from what I read and have learned over years in sports.  

I go into calories, macro and micronutrients, and other underfueling stuff that can get touchy.  Please read at your own discretion.

Okay let’s dive in! 

Early on, we learn everyone gets rice and miso plus one main for every meal, Isagi’s being natto.  Using general info in a food logging database and eyeballing quantities, we get this: 

Rice (~200g) and miso soup (~250g) : 336 calories (11g protein, 64g carbs, 4g fat, 2g fiber)

Natto (~50g): 118 calories (10g protein, 6g carbs, 6g fat, 3g fiber)

So every meal Isagi has is 454 calories (21g protein, 71g carbs, 10g fat, 5g fiber)

As a preworkout meal/ snack this would be relatively reasonable as it’s higher carb with moderate protein, lower fat, and lower fiber.  

Seeing Isagi eating this and only this 3 times a day means his daily macros look like this: 

1,362 calories (63g protein, 213g carbs, 30g fat, 15g fiber)

Already doesn’t look like much.  Let’s estimate Isagi’s needs for performance.  

I decided to use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to determine Isagi’s basal metabolic rate (BMR).  BMR is basically the bare minimum your body needs to just exist (think pumping blood, beathing, etc. at rest).  From the BMR you multiply by a coefficient to estimate the rest of the calories needed to live your life (TEF, EAT, NEAT)

This equation uses both height and weight in its calculations.  SInce we don’t have Isagi’s weight I did a little googling and found an analysis of height/ weight of athlete’s at the 2018 world cup (source).  Isagi is reported as 179 cm, which is extremely close to the reported average height for a midfielder.  The average reported weight for a midfielder is 74kg so I’m using that to estimate.  Using this info, we now can estimate Isagi’s BMR is 1,760 calories.  Since Isagi is in Blue Lock, we will use the coefficient associated with a highly active lifestyle (1.9) and estimate Isagi needs 3,344 calories/ day.  

For estimating macros, I estimated 2.16g protein/kg (falls in a recommended range for athletes), 25% total calories from fat (common range for performance is 20-30%), and the rest as carbs, giving a macro distribution of 160g protein, 466g carbs, 93g fat.  (As a hyper generalized quick reference: protein is important for building and maintaining muscle, carbs are usually the preferred fuel source, and fats are important for hormone production and regulation.)  

I’m going to add another disclaimer here.  Equations and things are great for getting a ballpark of needs, but nutrition is dynamic and individualized.  Needs can vary a LOT. Also Isagi is still a youth athlete so he could very much still be growing and have even higher needs.  

Now that we have something to compare against, I’m going to reiterate numbers: 

Blue Lock day of eating: 1,362 calories; 63g protein, 213g carbs, 30g fat

Isagi’s needs: 3,344 calories (BMR 1,760 calories); 160g protein, 466g carbs, 93g fat

So Isagi isn’t even hitting his BMR.  He’s getting less than HALF the calories he needs, just over a third of the protein he needs and LESS THAN A THIRD of the fat he needs.  

That’s fucked.  And that’s dangerous.  As any human that’s dangerous.  As a trend, this is low energy availability, or LEA.  Leave that alone and it may turn into an extra fun version called RED-S, or relative energy deficiency in sports.  Both are problems and lead to increase in injury risk, trouble healing from said injuries, trouble thermoregulating, loss of menstruation if that’s applicable, increased risk of illness, GI issues, hormone issues, fatigue, it just keeps going.  Yeah, BAD.  

So total energy is bad, but how about other nutrients? Are those any better? Looking at some of the heavy hitters, here’s what Isagi is getting per day: 

Fiber: 15g  Fiber intake recs are 10-15g/ 1,000 cal, so minimum 30g for Isagi.  His poor gut health.  

Omega 3’s and 6’s: 1.26 omega 3, 8.5g omega 6 Recommended intake of omega 3s is 1.6-4g depending on the source in a 4:1 (omega 6: omega 3) ratio to omega 6’s.  These are fats that cannot be made in house and must be consumed.  They’re most famous for their roles in inflammation management.  Isagi might be okay on omega 6’s, but not omega 3’s.  

B vitamins: no B12, some of the others but not enough to worth writing out B vitamins are really important for metabolism, the brain, red blood cells, etc.  and Isagi is missing one of them completely!!!!!

Vitamins A and D: none NONE!!!!! Enough said, I don’t need to go into details for you to know how much of a problem this is.  

Vitamin C: 35mg Recommended intake is 90mg daily.  Vitamin C is famous for boosting the immune system, but that’s not the only thing it does.  

Iron: 25.8mg This one gets funky but actually looks okay.  Natto is saving Isagi’s ass with its solid iron content.  With male anatomy, 8mg/ day can be okay.  If he’s menstruating, 18mg/ day is a better target.  The big thing here, though, is we can absorb 2 types of iron: heme and nonheme.  Heme iron comes from animal sources and is significantly more bioavailable than nonheme.  For vegetarian or vegan diets, it’s recommended to increase those values by 1.8x to account for this bioavailability issue.  Here, Isagi is getting nonheme iron, so he really does need that extra iron.  I will also note, having issues storing iron is also a thing that can be connected to RED-S.  

Calcium: 576 mg Recommended minimum is 1,000mg.  The big thing calcium is best known for is bone health, which is kind of really important.  

Zinc: 8.5 mg  Recommended intake is minimum 11mg.  

Magnesium: 245mg Recommended intake is 400-420mg.  

Sodium and potassium:  These (as well as magnesium and calcium) are major electrolytes lost in sweat so needs are more individualized than I can reasonably estimate.  At the very least, the low calcium and magnesium to start with paint a not so good story here either. 

Looking at micronutrients, it’s important to note you would have to eat an obscene amount to hit 100% of all recommended daily intakes of all micronutrients. That’s part of why it is encouraged to eat a variety of different foods if you can. Isagi's Blue Lock diet dies not vary, which is part of what makes this problematic.

So what does this mean for the rest of Blue Lock? 

It's really hard to analyze main dishes that are described as "curry" or "stir fry" as closely as I did Isagi's natto, but I have some qualitative thoughts. A lot of the micronutrients could easily be boosted by letting Isagi eat some produce, so folks with more produce have a better chance of getting enough vitamins A and C, potassium, fiber, etc.  Those with no protein source, like Igaguri with his pickled radish,  are getting extra fucked on protein.  Isagi’s natto is actually a very bioavailable source of protein and is what’s giving him a LOT of his micronutrients, so switching it for things that are less calorie dense and/ or nutrients dense will hit very hard.  As my final note (for now), there are lots of characters who are much bigger than Isagi.  Bodyweight plays a huge factor in determining caloric needs, so assuming the rice and miso portions stay the same for everyone, others may be getting in even worse calorie deficits (like 188 cm high muscle mass Kunigami).  

In conclusion, shit’s BAD and Ego is just setting everyone up not only to not progress, but also to get hurt.  We knew this, but numbers are fun.  

This got REAL long so if you’re still here THANK YOU!