schrodingersauthorii

[schrodingersauthorii]

Ugh, was having a great time mocking my recently imprisoned rival when I noticed the camera positioning makes it so that I appear behind the bars, thus framing me as trapped in a metaphorical prison of the narrative, now my whole day is ruined. Fuck.

[schrodingersauthorii]

Since I’m posting screenshots:

I am about 7,000 words into the deaged Matoba AU, and this is DEFINITELY going to be mentioned. Why does 15 yo Matoba look like Tanuma’s shorter, skinnier cousin? ARE they actually cousins?

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends #matoba seiji #tanuma kaname

[schrodingersauthorii]

No, seriously: you’re a garden variety high school delinquent shaking kids down for their lunch money and THIS GUY-

Pulls some of THIS SHIT-

Absolute surreal nightmare. There is no coming back from it after Matoba beats the crap out of them, and everyone (including Matoba) tells the teacher that he did it but the adults don’t believe it because Matoba doesn’t have so much as a lasting bruise.

Shuuichi thinks Seji was friendless in high school because he is an unabashed Freak (tm.) This *would* be true, but Matoba “Fuck around and find out? Bet.” Seji already terrified his classmates in a completely different way by beating up every would be bully who stepped a toe out of line. Who cares about witchcraft? He’s got two hands and absolutely no fear and that’s a far more immediate threat.

(I will die on the hill that exorcists are stronger and MUCH more resilient than ordinary people. Blunt force trauma and strangulation kill.)

It’s a thankless job, protecting plebes who turn around and yell at you for being “rude and insensitive” after you just saved them, but that’s just good practice clan headmanship.

#matoba seiji #natsume yuujinchou

[schrodingersauthorii]

Natori: I need to Be My Own Man and stand on my own two feet

Matoba: Fantastic! But you’re kind of punching above your weight, and you’re Not Allowed to Die. Please let me make sure that you survive.

Natori: I must be an island unto myself, if I am ever to prove my worth.

Matoba: Okay- you don’t want any help, but you are *really* Not Allowed to Die.

Matoba: My final compromise is that you don’t see me helping unless it is absolutely necessary. Natori: I feel so patronized.

Matoba: Unfortunate. Still not letting you die.

I’d always been sooo confused about wtf Matoba was doing back in the very end of the That Which Is Not Human arc, but it’s actually really simple: he was waiting to see if Natori and Natsume could seal the yokai themselves. He was intentionally lurking, probably like he ALWAYS does for Natori, because Natori doesn’t want his help but sometimes actually does need it. So Matoba pretends to leave, maybe makes an excuse to Nanase, goes back, and waits. If they’d been successful, he’d have just left unseen.

(But maybe Nanase knows- maybe Matoba doesn’t even disguise his intentions. Maybe Natori knows that she knows- and doesn’t that add a little zing to their interactions?)

No wonder they’re both batshit. Their early canon relationship is just…

Matoba doing his best in his own way to respect Natori’s wishes to do things himself but creating this messed up stalker dynamic because he Can’t Be Normal. Natori slowly going insane because Matoba is always lurking in the shadows, ready to swoop in and remind him that he’ll Never Be Good Enough. And the Matoba clan hires Natori for exorcisms, so what does Natori think of that? Does he see it as charity he can’t refuse? A way for Matoba to keep a closer eye on him? An indication that he’s good, just not Good Enough?

All the exorcists are throwing up a little when they see the two of them. Some of Natori’s assassination attempts aren’t because he’s a Natori, but because everyone but him knows he has Incredible Influence he could use if he ever got his head out of his ass. How are they not beating yokai that feed off negative emotions off with a stick.

(They are- they’re just exorcists, and think that it’s normal. It is not.)

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends #matoba seiji #natori shuuichi

[schrodingersauthorii]

I’d always been sooo confused about wtf Matoba was doing back in the very end of the That Which Is Not Human arc, but it’s actually really simple: he was waiting to see if Natori and Natsume could seal the yokai themselves. He was intentionally lurking, probably like he ALWAYS does for Natori, because Natori doesn’t want his help but sometimes actually does need it. So Matoba pretends to leave, maybe makes an excuse to Nanase, goes back, and waits. If they’d been successful, he’d have just left unseen.

(But maybe Nanase knows- maybe Matoba doesn’t even disguise his intentions. Maybe Natori knows that she knows- and doesn’t that add a little zing to their interactions?)

No wonder they’re both batshit. Their early canon relationship is just…

Matoba doing his best in his own way to respect Natori’s wishes to do things himself but creating this messed up stalker dynamic because he Can’t Be Normal. Natori slowly going insane because Matoba is always lurking in the shadows, ready to swoop in and remind him that he’ll Never Be Good Enough. And the Matoba clan hires Natori for exorcisms, so what does Natori think of that? Does he see it as charity he can’t refuse? A way for Matoba to keep a closer eye on him? An indication that he’s good, just not Good Enough?

All the exorcists are throwing up a little when they see the two of them. Some of Natori’s assassination attempts aren’t because he’s a Natori, but because everyone but him knows he has Incredible Influence he could use if he ever got his head out of his ass. How are they not beating yokai that feed off negative emotions off with a stick.

(They are- they’re just exorcists, and think that it’s normal. It is not.)

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends #matoba seiji #natori shuuichi

[schrodingersauthorii]

[schrodingersauthorii]

You see. It’s actually very easy for me to contrive a way for Seji to loose The Eye (it’s not even specialist knowledge after all the eye drop recalls in 2022 and 2023.) But the bigger question is: why? What does this actually change? He can’t possibly have a Happy Ending as Matoba clan head… but does loosing that position actually change that?

I think the answer is no. Matoba Seji is still Matoba Seji, quasi-actively looking for opportunities to commit suicide via good of the clan. Now there’s just different clan politics. We could leave things at that, but that’s no fun. What *would* it take to dislodge this man from the path of sacrificial annihilation? Probably something even Worse.

I don’t really have anything concrete, but there IS precedent for yokai replacing body parts in canon. Something to keep in mind if Ms. Midorikawa ever elaborates on what the hell’s going on with Yorishima’s arm.

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends #matoba seiji #fanfiction prompts #yorishima

[schrodingersauthorii]

Having an absolutely galaxy brain take on the Mitsuru Is Real AU: Shuuichi’s unstable sense of identity as a major character flaw vs Mitsuru’s adaptability as a strength. Shuuichi using masks as coping strategy vs Mitsuru code switching; Shuuichi not recognizing his emotions vs Mitsuru setting them aside. No shit, Sherlock, I know, but *she is his foil.*

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends #fanfiction #fanfiction prompts #natori shuuichi #Natori mitsuru #Mitsuru is real AU

[schrodingersauthorii]

Honestly? Natsume Yujincho fandom is almost the perfect size for fanfiction writing. Not fanfiction *reading* necessarily, but being at least slightly unsatisfied with the current availability is almost a prerequisite to writing yourself. There’s enough people writing to sustain an ongoing interest, but not enough that you can be super picky, and more individual writers actually stick in your head. So you end up going “blorbo from my AO3 is going to LOVE/HATE this” even if you’re not purposely trying to interact with anyone.

It’s a far more satisfying parasocial relationship environment than you get in the big fandoms: you can’t even remember anyone but the biggest names or your personal favorites there. Here, it’s like… seeing people at work or school. Just waving as we pass each other in the hallway.

Also, you know EXACTLY which post causes someone to finally follow you. You can’t really tell if there’s too much activity on your dash (like if you’re posting in a popular fandom), which is a shame because it’s such a specific serotonin boost.

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends

[schrodingersauthorii]

I’m going to loose it if Natsume and Matoba end up being second cousins. (The portrait of Natsume Reiko was Seji’s father’s favorite painting because it belonged to Seji’s grandfather. Reiko and the Seji’s grandfather couldn’t marry for obvious reasons.)

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends #matoba seiji #natsume takashi

[schrodingersauthorii]

All the Amazon job posts be in #funny because they’re a joke. Reported as spam and blocked.

[schrodingersauthorii]

[schrodingersauthorii]

Genuinely, unironically believe that Topimax being a first line therapy for seizures and migraine is fat phobia. A *dangerous* expression of fat phobia. Me and amitriptyline have our issues, but I will take photosensitivity and probably slight weight gain over kidney stones, potentially life threatening electrolyte imbalance, and brain fog any day. I would have to have actual chronic migraine (headaches at least fifteen days of the month) before I would even consider taking Topimax again.

I feel so bad for all the kids who have the choice of either Topimax or cognitive behavioral therapy for migraine prevention. I am “verapamil for pediatric migraine” years old, and that medication sucks but not as much as Topimax. (You can look up reviews on drugs.com: this is subjective but by no means personal opinion.)

Please see a neurologist the *instant* you become an adult: I promise you, even if you can’t get the expensive new GOOD drugs, you’ll probably find something that works better for you than Topimax and CBT.

(Also: tinted glasses for photosensitivity work wonders. There’s no clinical trials for it yet, but investing in a pair of anti-glare FL-41 tinted glasses will be worth every cent.

[schrodingersauthorii]

I’d forgotten the sheer joy of, as the poets of old said, going to the thrift store with twenty dollars in my pocket. I now have: a Disney movie on DVD; butterfly wings and matching leggings for my niece; 96% cotton pants (specifically the material I wanted); a digital picture frame; and a CD rack. For $20, that will now go to local charities. You can’t live off of thrifted items alone (at least in my area, with my lifestyle), but the circular economy is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

[schrodingersauthorii]

Going insane, this was a deliberate choice, she literally wrote a perfectly normal thing (22 yo+ 60 years, yeah, it’s perfectly reasonable for Matoba to think he won’t be clan head or even alive at 82 years old), thought about it for a few months, and said “No, actually Matoba Seji, unengaged clan head at 22 with no immediate family save an estranged sister, does not expect to be involved in this ritual again at 52.”

And I’d really expect a powerful exorcist to still participate in a ritual like that even if he were demoted.

There is literally two choices here: either Matoba clan heads in general don’t remain clan heads by middle age, or Seji in particular doesn’t expect to live that long.

Takashi doesn’t react in the chapter because the original bit wasn’t Worrying (tm), but now he gets to have a Realization later on once he does the mental math.

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #natsume yūjin chō #natsume yujincho #natsumes book of friends #natsume takashi #matoba seiji

[schrodingersauthorii]

Diary update 2: [clan associated with rabbits and hares] was nearly destroyed by a [horrible snake yokai]. Fortunately, Natsume somehow freed their guardian hare deity who’d been sealed in the form of an ordinary hare (?!).

I wonder who could possibly be behind this. Perhaps, maybe… the snake magic clan with a known grudge against them? Results of the investigation will start arriving soon.

My second best idea to nekomata! Matoba is definitely clairvoyant! Matoba. “I hate fortune telling,” becomes infinitely funnier if it’s because he has to interpret stupid-ass dream symbolism every night, and then the prophetic dream symbolism tells him absolutely nothing he couldn’t have deduced through purely logical means. Like, totally useless clairvoyance that he’s so annoyed at having. “Something bad’s going to happen,” no shit Sherlock: something bad’s *always* happening when you’re Matoba clan head. But he’s reckless as hell because he goes “I don’t see how the current danger relates to an eagle with a snake in its talons flying over a mountain, so it’s probably fine.”

And you can stick this in any fic because it has zero plot relevance until you decide to implement The One Time It’s Useful.

#natsume yuujinchou

[schrodingersauthorii]

Women with their 20+ years older husbands once they hit middle age.

(WHY? AUNT [REDACTED]?! HE ISN’t EVEN RICH!)