i think they shouldve taken me on a polar expedition not because i would be useful or especially resilient but because my preexisting mental health conditions would have made me an interesting wildcard
RIP Genya Shinazugawa you would have loved The Offspring, mosh pits, bisexuality, the Competitive Eater LA Beast’s YouTube series where he sees how much rotten milk he can drink before he pukes and/or cactuses he can eat before he has to go to the ER, karaoke, tongue piercings, the Nintendo Switch, shirts with random English words on them, and metal covers of ABBA songs amen
I love seeing my mutuals in my notes because it confirms they’re not mad at me. yet
something something just my luck
genyaposting…@dave-bimmel
In honour of the birthday of Giyuu Tomioka the best character in demon slayer (to ME), I will use my free will to rant about the best Giyuu panels in the manga:
1.
Peak. Best of the best. Magnum opus of Demon Slayer manga. This specific moment is when my emotions reach the climax every single time I read the fight.
Giyuu and Tanjirou, one arm each, holding on to one sword, focus on the Rengoku sword hilt. Tanjirou being guided once again by the two hashiras he looks up to the most.
Once again, right after this, Tanjirou pushes Giyuu back and saves his life. A full circle, the lowest of the low for Giyuu, the highest of the highs of striking Muzan together.
Notice that Giyuu unlocked the red blade TWICE, once with Sanemi, his foil among the hashiras, and now with Tanjirou, the one he cherishes the most. Giyuu - always defined by his relationships. Giyuu as an individual character in a vacuum has very little to show. It's just another backstory, a traumatized hashira, just like the other demon slayers. Giyuu stands out in Demon Slayer because he is constantly present, he has developing relationships. The red blade is just another show for that. This panel does this theme of Giyuu justice too.
And, lore aside, the absolute HYPE of this scene. The long drawn fight, the hashiras with lost limbs all down, Sanemi and Obanai come in to attack Muzan and save Tanjirou, but oh-- where's Giyuu again? RIGHT HEREEEEE!!!!!!! LENDING A HAND TO TANJIROU, LITERALLY, AS HE ALWAYS HAS.
2.
Pretty self explanatory. Absolute badass, putting himself between an Uppermoon and someone he cares about, Tanjirou.
It goes into Giyuu's biggest theme of protection. He hates being protected, he wants to protect the people he loves (just like Akaza). He did not want to be a 'useless komainu' to Tanjirou. I don't know if it's stated explicitly but its obvious that Dead Calm was created so he would be able to protect himself without needing the help of others. His fight against Rui was a simpler version of this: protecting Tanjirou (though at the time he didn't recognize him), against Rui, whose whole theme was about wanting to be protected by a family, with elders fulfilling their role of protection.
Here Giyuu and Tanjirou were, dealing with the same theme again, and Giyuu going all out with wanting Tanjirou to survive. It's not that he's been silent about his love for Tanjirou, but this is where he explicitly declares wanting to protect him, in his own words (do NOT take a shot everytime you see the word "protect").
3.
Debating between this or the 4th panel, I chose this as the 3rd because this is MY post and I want to make top 3 posts all about him and Tanjirou.
And boyyyyyy is it about him and Tanjirou. He cant even sit up. Is it not insane to see him being THIS vulnerable?? in public???? Add to the fact that he knows Tanjirou's closer friends are right there in the same battlefield, and yet it was him who couldn't help but want to stay physically close to Tanjirou. If Tanjirou's death had been true, he'd be back at square 1, being useless, never strong enough (quite a recurring theme in Demon Slayer I must say).
Like, look, he's sobbing, he cried like three times during this whole DKT and death deal. When the inevitable Sunrise Countdown movie comes out, I personally would like to close my eyes and ears during this scene.
4.
I admit this could and should have been number 3. But that aside, the coolest panel in the manga award goes to... (to be fair, that can be debated, other panels are just as cool if not cooler for sure.)
Sanemi and Giyuu, peak relationship in Demon Slayer. This moment is the climax to all of the buildup since !!Sanemi's first appearance!! (you see how Giyuu was giving him a whole lot of side eye that scene?)
In a way Sanemi and Giyuu bring out some ~interesting~ emotions in eachother. Who else would Giyuu call a simpleton? Who else would Sanemi pick a fight with, simultaneously trying to understand them? When you go to the AU territory, that's a pretty hefty magnetic pull of a relationship, isn't it?
And this moment - as I said earlier, one of the red blades Giyuu achieved, it's with Sanemi! Sanemi trusted Giyuu with equal strength (as Kanao said that was necessary for a red blade strike), and we've seen them draw before, and that's the ONLY hashira vs hashira we saw! (well, ufotable added a whole bunch, and I'm thankful for that, but I do regard Gotouge's compact and limited version of the story higher. Gotouge thought that Sanemi vs Giyuu was the most important hashira sparring for the audience out of all of them, and for obvious reasons).
All of that, AND the panel calls back to that one picture of Sabito flying over Giyuu. Two of the rough dudes Giyuu has been associated with, which is a nice touch.
And heyyy that's the sword that Sanemi threw at Giyuu!! Which was a pretty important moment right before Giyuu explicitly called himself a hashira (contrasting with Tanjirou, where he stood merely as the protector, the senior, with no regard to their posts and hierarchies). Sanemi gave Giyuu some real good push this fight. Would have loved to see them on a mission together, but alas, Demon Slayer manga is pretty limited with what it shows.
5.
I don't have much to say. It's just cute, alright? Look at him all teeny tiny smiling about the prospect of being friends with Sanemi. What the hell. Why are you so cute. Look at Tanjirou sharing the same dumbass braincell. What's up with these two
Unranked honorary mentions:
10/10. More of 21 trio stupidness, please. And look at Giyuu's stupid face as if he didn't just insult Sanemi in front of everyone. OBANAI, HE DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING TO YOU-
His crow he's so attached to :,(. I would personally die for you Kanzaburou. And yeah, absolutely, Kanzaburou mistaking Tanjirou for Giyuu. They have the same essence I guess
MURATAAAAAAA and yes, while I do love this because of the whole Murata celebrity crush on Giyuu thing and all, I love how desperate Giyuu was the entire time to save Tanjirou, even in the middle of his own fight again MUZAN HIMSELF. And who better to take care of Tanjirou than Murata, someone who took care of him back when Sabito died? Connected bonds, alright. Sabito already helped Tanjirou with his journey back in Mt. Sagiri, he could also use someone else from Giyuu's past.
Post canon, all of it. The light in his eyes, his journey, he deserves all of the love and peace.
If I see that cowboy flesh hat and one more goddamn time
the beginning
double deku!!
+a bonus comic (manga spoilers)
a/n: I just can't get the idea out of my head that Daemon is an incredibly sweet & loving father & honestly really needed to write this for comfort. when I started I thought it would be a little oneshot/imagine, but I ended up having a lot more to say than I anticipated so this is going to be multiple parts! if you, like me, are in need of wholesome soft! daemon who would do anything for you & be an amazing father, I hope this helps đź’•
summary: a recounting of the day you were born & daemon's first moments with you
cw: difficult birth (but it all ends happily!), fem reader, mostly comfort & fluff
~~~~~~~
-The day you were born was one of the happiest days of Daemon Targaryen's life.
-He didn't know quite what to expect of fatherhood and in truth, there was more than a small part of him that dreaded the idea, even feared it. He didn't think himself terribly well-suited to a life of domesticity, seemingly so tedious and dull. Of course, everything changed the moment he saw you.
-It was a difficult birth, but not once did he leave your mother's side. His hands would be covered in bruises for days to come from the way she squeezed, but every single patch of blue and purple was worth it.
-You weren't ready to leave your mother's womb just yet, and after much struggle, one of the Maesters pulled your father aside and told him another method may be required to successfully deliver you. But when informed of the sacrifice it would require, Daemon gave the old man such a glower that the midwives thought the Prince would slay him where he stood.
-Daemon composed himself and simply said that both you and your mother would be happy and healthy by the end of the day. The threat was clear as the summer skies and from that moment forward, though one hand continued to be squeezed by your mother's, the other rested firmly on the hilt of Dark Sister. Daemon would do anything to protect his family.
-He was never a man of the Faith, but in those trying hours he prayed to the Old Gods and the New. He prayed to the Many Faced God and the Lord of Light. He prayed to anything and everything that might be listening, that might possibly hold some power. He didn't think he deserved to be spared pain or loss, but he knew for a fact that you and your mother deserved all the goodness this life had to offer.
-When your mother began to lose hope and panic started to set in, he wiped her brow and kissed her forehead, whispering, "This world is not yet done with you, my darling."
-He likes to think you heard his voice, for despite the hours spent by the Maesters and midwives doing everything they could, it was only after he spoke those words that you decided you were ready to join the world.
-Of course, he let your mother hold you first, and though she desperately wanted to spend the rest of the day with you in her arms, she needed her rest. After a few minutes and many more assurances that you were healthy as could be, you were passed to a midwife and then, for the first time, to your father.
-You had come into this world screaming and crying, and even in your mother's arms, you wouldn't quite settle. But the moment you found yourself in Daemon's embrace, the whole world turned soft and warm. Everything was kind and good. Everything was love.
-And he was in love from the moment he held you in his arms, the moment you looked in his eyes. He saw so much of your mother in those eyes, but what surprised him was how much he saw of himself. You were the most gentle mirror, only reflecting the good. You were half of him, but you had his whole heart.
-He pressed his lips softly against the center of your forehead. "Tala," he murmured, tears in his eyes. Daughter.
-As soon as he uttered the word, he knew you would be one of the few people in his life to speak High Valyrian. He would teach you the language of your ancestors and delight in every word you spoke. No victory would be small. Everything would be celebrated.
-He imagined who you might be and what he might pass onto you. He wondered if you'd be a dragonrider. He hoped you would like Caraxes (he knew Caraxes would love you). He secretly dreamt of teaching you how to fight and, when you were old enough, letting you hold Dark Sister. Maybe even wield her. He was incredibly possessive over his Valyrian steel sword, and rightfully so. Very few were worthy of her. But he knew that even fewer would be worthy of you, and at the thought of you wielding her, his heart swelled with pride.
-But he knew he would love you just as much if you preferred the graces and arts to battles. Perhaps you would have a voice to enchant the realm, or a sharp wit to rival any Maester.
-Anyone else might have worried. So many parents expected their child to be the best they could possibly be, but that wasn't Daemon. He loved you as you were. No matter who you would become, no matter your accomplishments, you would always be his world. You would always have his heart. He would always be proud to be your Kepa.
-He smiled as you wrapped your hand around his finger, cooing as you looked up in awe. Daemon Targaryen was many things. He was the unruly, chaotic brother of the King. He was the second son, former heir to the Iron Throne. He was the Prince of the City, Lord Flea Bottom, King of the Narrow Sea, and, first and foremost, the Rogue Prince. But he never expected that his favourite title would be born of love instead of war. He never expected a title so gentle, so beautiful.
-He never expected it, but he was so grateful to be your father.
-Your Kepa.