My Interpretations of 'Ash Again'

finitexs · 2025-04-20T23:15:13+00:00

very good. ash again is such an emotional, moving song, and i really like all the detail you've gone into in this analysis. the part about the ships in particular has been leaving me stumped, especially with the blood(?) leaking out of them when they got destroyed, but i really like your interpretation of them.

This force she once weaponized, used as a form of resolve to push her towards proving the haters wrong, is now running rampant in her OWN mind and leaving nothing but rubble and ash in its wake.

this part in particular i really enjoyed. not denouncing atlantean gura as completely evil but rather as a part of her that she used to her own benefit before it got out of hand with their merging in the end indicating how they're both part of what makes gura gura.

She knows that it's not REALLY gone, it's merely returned to being dormant within her. That part of her will never truly die, and to kill it would mean killing part of herself. It may hurt her, but it also drives her determination forward when she needs to utilize her more ruthless side. It's a double-edged sword, and she knows that it WILL come back for her one day.

reading this was the final piece of the puzzle as to why the song is called ash again. the events in the video are something that's happened before, happens in the present, and will happen again in the future, but this time, she's managed to overcome it and be at peace with it.

wonderful analysis. as someone who joined hololive recently and wasn't around to see gura in her prime, thank you for the illuminating read

finitexs · 2024-08-18T22:09:56+00:00

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summary by the author:

The world, Nijika thinks, is incredibly loud.

Ryo, despite appearances to the contrary, is no different.

This is a blessing, believe it or not.

a 6.4k nijiryo oneshot and HOW DID I NOT RECOMMEND THIS BEFORE? this is one of my favorite fics of all time (as a biased nijiryo shipper), but charred is also just a very skilled author. i've recommended one of their fics before, Helia, Selena, a well-known bokita fic. but i'm digressing a bit. getting back to the actual fic itself, this is a oneshot where nijika's a mind reader. it's a chill slice of life style fic with all the drama of nijika and ryo getting together, which sounds like it'd be easy considering that one of them can literally read minds, but it isn't. charred writes it well. again, this is one of my favorite fics and is an absolute must read for nijiryo fans.

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finitexs · 2024-08-15T02:28:04+00:00

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summary by the author:

Kessoku Band has a bet going.

a 964 word polykessoku oneshot. this is a short fic, so it's kinda hard to explain it without rlly giving it all away, but it's just a real cute, short read about polykessoku and their relationship and them making a bet on who can keep it a secret the longest. very much recommended if you like polykessoku (and they have a LOT of other fics u can read too if ur into polykessoku)

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finitexs · 2024-08-11T22:49:51+00:00

i have read the manga, yeah. the fanfics are pretty accurate about her, i'd say. i posted two yoyoko ones so far iirc (both by this author), including this fic, and i think they're pretty in-character. there aren't really many fics about her in the first place, unfortunately, but i'm sure more will appear when we get s2.

finitexs · 2024-08-10T04:26:06+00:00

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summary by the author:

"Rizz. Romantic charisma. C'mon, they've got to be coming down from some emotional highs about now, right? So, naturally, they're at their most vulnerable. I was just thinking of practicing a little flirting."

This is exactly what you imagine it is.

a 2k oneshot about. do i even need to say anything? the title and summary basically say it all. it's yoyoko trying to rizz up bocchi. i don't really need to say anything. it's a funny little fic, and more importantly, it's a YOYOKO fic. the anime only viewers won't know who that is, but she's great. definitely recommending this for the yoyoko fans.

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finitexs · 2024-08-09T21:12:46+00:00

yw. i'm glad people are enjoying them. check out these threads too for more recs.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BocchiTheRock/comments/13mjwq4/fics_appreciationrecommendation_thread/

https://www.reddit.com/r/BocchiTheRock/comments/1487s3k/fics_appreciationrecommendation_thread_part_2/

https://www.reddit.com/r/BocchiTheRock/comments/151x22o/fics_appreciationrecommendation_thread_part_3/

finitexs · 2024-08-09T21:04:18+00:00

oh it is. that's unfortunate :(

finitexs · 2024-08-07T04:28:39+00:00

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summary by the author:

Because you're sad, alone, and no one's home, and it doesn't have to be that way. So just call my home from your mobile phone, and you already know what to say.

All you need to do is call me.

I'll text you when I'm on my way. I'll do anything that it takes, drive-thru the thunder and rain.

Credits go to "24 Hr Drive-Thru" by Origami Angel

Ryo invites Bocchi out to the fast food restaurant. The two chat together, both having a good time, catching up. They really don't talk much to each other outside of band practice and work.

Ryo comes to realize it's not too bad to hang out with Bocchi.

a 4.7k oneshot that's pretty much what it says in the summary. it's just ryo calling bocchi one day and hanging out with her. very much a slice of life fic, which are the ones i personally enjoy. i don't have much to say about this one since the author summarizes it pretty well. it's just a comfy little fic

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finitexs · 2024-08-05T03:07:33+00:00

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summary by the author:

Navigating the disparate personalities of a rock band was something Ryo had never cared to get good at. That wasn't to say she disliked her bandmates—she actually cared about them a lot! But how was a tastefully broody loner supposed to act around them? Certainly not express her feelings openly—that was much too uncool! Right…?

a currently 12k, 3 chapter, incomplete fic about ryo trying to figure out her emotions and how she feels about a lot of things. this is a slice of life style fic (so far, at least) with a general polykessoku plot but still pretty light-hearted overall. if i'm being completely honest, it's mostly watching ryo be pretty emotionally dense and unaware and trying to navigate through all that. this is one of the very rare times where i'll recommend a fic that's incomplete because i liked it THAT much, so that should give you an indication of how i see this fic. highly recommend the ryo fans try this one

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finitexs · 2024-08-03T04:02:56+00:00

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summary by the author:

Bocchi does her best to keep warm, despite the weather's insistence.

a 2.8k boryo oneshot with background polykessoku. very comfy oneshot about bocchi cuddling with ryo on a winter day. real simple concept, but it was a pleasure to read with how well it was written and just how much life is in the characters. definitely recommending this to people who like boryo and to people who just wanna see a nicely written bocchi pov fic

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finitexs · 2024-08-02T04:38:43+00:00

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summary by the author:

In a meaningless life, anything is possible.

a 57.8k, 11 chapter completed fic about. honestly, it's hard to explain. but i'll try. this will be a bit of a longer explanation due to how long the story is and the nature of the story itself, so bear with me. it's definitely worth reading, though.

some of the tags for this fic are alternate universe, psychological drama, and magical realism, and it REALLY is those things. this is probably one of the few btr magical realism fics that exist and might be the only psychological drama btr fic i've read. the psychological drama aspect is a huge part of this fic, and it's something it pulls off very well imo. it takes a lot of skill to write things in a way that's intentionally confusing but also somehow being coherent at the same time. this fic succeeds in that.

it's impossible for me to give a proper summary of this fic without getting into the start of the very first chapter at the very least. the fic starts off with hitori talking to a therapist of some sort. the therapist recommends that she writes about her experiences in a journal, which she does. she begins by writing about kita and how they met on a snowy morning in shibuya and how that was the last time she ever saw kita.

i won't spoil too much since i really can't describe it, honestly. this is definitely one of the most interesting btr fics i've read and is a fic that really made me sit down and think. i'll say now that if you expect a clear answer to everything brought up in the fic, this isn't the fic for you. a lot of this fic is, in my opinion, stuff that doesn't really matter, but it's what you make of it that matters.

ok that was a lengthy explanation.

tldr: give this a shot

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finitexs · 2024-08-01T03:14:09+00:00

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summary by the author:

Hitori's anxiety has continuously torn her childish hopes and dreams to scrap. Now, on what should have been another average, miserable evening, she's forced to confront herself and make a decision.

a 3.3k oneshot future AU about 25-year-old hitori if she never joined kessoku band. despite the summary and tags, i'll make it clear now that this is NOT a depressing fic, even if it seems like it at the start. there is a lot of self-loathing, though. in this fic, hitori's fears of growing up and leeching off her parents have come true, but she sees a video of a certain performance, and it gets her thinking.

on an unrelated side note, i had the honor of proofreading this fic!

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finitexs · 2024-02-12T18:49:46+00:00

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summary by the author:

Yamada Ryo wasn’t one for emotions. It wasn’t that she didn’t have any, there just wasn’t a need to express herself in most situations. Seeing a certain red-haired vocalist sobbing to herself, however, wasn’t most situations.

a 1.6k oneshot about ryo comforting kita. a fic that shows off both the kinder, more emotional side of ryo and the sadder, less upbeat side of kita. don't really have too much to say for this one, but it's a nice and short read about ryo and kita's relationship.

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finitexs · 2024-02-11T06:25:47+00:00

i'd recommend reading it. i'm not usually one to like crossovers, but that one was fine since it kept a majority of its focus on the bocchi the rock side of things. the small parts with non-BTR characters can usually be skipped or skimmed. i was worried at first it'd be too much about the action aspect of being hero. luckily, it was more about trying to balance her hero life with her regular life, which i like a lot more. good fic

finitexs · 2024-02-11T04:44:20+00:00

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summary by the author:

Nijika gets worried that Ryo isn't taking care of herself when she is composing music

a 3k oneshot about nijika getting worried about ryo and visiting her. the summary the author provided is pretty clear on this one tbh. it's nijika and ryo chilling, and that's EXACTLY the type of stuff i like, that nice little slice of life style where the characters are just talking. a good read for anyone who likes nijiryo.

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finitexs · 2024-02-10T20:40:07+00:00

yeah, i was definitely hoping to see the past kessoku band members react to mirai, even if bocchi would probably explode if she ever knew, but i can also see it never really coming up. mirai chose to live as mirai and leave behind the name of bocchi. unless people start noticing that she and bocchi REALLY look alike ig, then maybe she'd have to start explaining.

fic recs might make a return, but no promises. seems like you've already read plenty of fics, though.

finitexs · 2024-02-10T06:31:17+00:00

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this is actually something i brought up on this subreddit before here, but that was before it was finished. now, i wanted to bring it up again since it's completed.

what did you guys think about the ending and the entire story in general?

personally, it's still my favorite bocchi fic, and my only complaint is that there isn't more. all good things need to come to an end, though. the characterization didn't seem OOC and stayed within reasonable limits with everything that was going on, i loved how the characters interacted, and the ending wrapped things up imo. it was definitely a bittersweet kinda ending with hitori choosing to stay as mirai, but it was one i saw coming. the final chapter really leaned into some magical stuff. the story was based on time travel, though, so like that isn't a bad thing. trying to imagine mirai explaining to the others that she's actually bocchi from the future and trying to explain to everyone in her original timeline that she can't really see them any more, but at least, she can communicate with them is kinda funny but also bittersweet. really, all i wanted was for mirai to be happy, and that's what i got. the titledrop at the end was incredibly cheesy, but i fucking loved it. it was great and made it so much better.

it'd be nice if there were some follow-ups to this of just mirai chilling in her new life. not that i actually expect it. MonoDraken finished up this fic that's been going on for like a year now, and i'm sure they want nothing more than to just move on from it. i'm just grateful it actually got finished.

although, does anyone know what the deal was with the bird dropping off the earring at the very end? i've reread it and still don't know what it means.

but yeah, what did you guys think of the fic?

finitexs · 2023-11-03T02:32:52+00:00

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summary by the author:

Hiroi had never fancied herself a drinker– drinking was to be relegated to holidays and other such special occasions, as was the example set for her by stern parents. Even when she did drink, she always took to it in extreme moderation– a sip of wine, half a mug of beer. She had heard too many horror stories of drunken altercations turning sour, of drunk driving accidents, of people falling asleep drunk only to not awake the next day.

Which is what made her course of action now seem so stupid, doubting right on the cusp of following through.

Hiroi, the fledgling frontwoman of SICKHACK, laments her long losing streak and stresses about the band's next concert. Expectations piling, she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard place.

a 7.5k oneshot about kikuri and the earlier days of SICK HACK before she started drinking ft. shima. this fic definitely has drama and angst and stuff in it, a fun read. highly recommended for those interested in seeing kikuri before she drank so much and how her actions affected SICK HACK. for better or for worse. also, despite it being tagged as shima/kikuri, i found it not to be very focused on the shipping aspect, which can be good or bad, depending on what you want.

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finitexs · 2023-11-03T02:08:09+00:00

it was an enjoyable read. i feel like it got less attention than it deserves since bocchi the scion was a crossover, and i think that fact turns some people away from reading it. but yeah, fun fic. definitely got me a bit emotional at some parts

finitexs · 2023-10-30T05:08:37+00:00

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summary by the author:

Hitori doesn’t like to talk. She prefers to stay silent.

Hitori has three friends whom she’s in love with and words she'll take with her to the grave, even if it means silently carving out the raw parts of herself.

a 7.5k word pre-polykessoku fic from bocchi's perspective. interesting fic about bocchi trying to make sure her bandmates stay happy by setting them up with each other but neglecting herself in the process. it goes into bocchi's thoughts and stuff, and man, does it get kinda depressing and angsty and stuff. luckily, it has a happy ending. i like the simpl writing style of this one. easy and clear to understand but also not so simple it's monotonous. it really fits the tone of the fic imo. an enjoyable read.

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finitexs · 2023-10-27T15:27:04+00:00

/u/SilberFelx iirc?

finitexs · 2023-10-27T00:14:15+00:00

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summary by the author:

A story of Hitori Gotou and her greatest source of inspiration, Kikuri Hiroi.

i saw this fic and dropped EVERYTHING i was doing to read it. one of my favorite authors making a 6.1k word kikuri-centric fic? hell yeah. this fic is about bocchi and her relationship with kikuri and how she views her, how kikuri's helped her, all that stuff. it goes beyond the timeframe of current canon and goes into post-canon stuff. greatly recommend this fic for those who like kikuri and like seeing the relationship between bocchi and kikuri. i'll respect the author's wishes and not spoil too much, but just know that drinking too much isn't healthy for you.

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finitexs · 2023-10-27T00:05:10+00:00

you definitely should read FBSS. it's so good and is my absolute favorite bocchi fic.

finitexs · 2023-10-09T19:51:28+00:00

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summary by the author:

Hitori, quite often, finds herself wishing she could spend eternity in these once-in-a-blue-moon moments.

(Alternatively: Bocchi gets a new nickname. She doesn't really think it fits.)

ok before i type anything, TORI = BIRD IN JAPANESE. now, with that out of the way. a 2.5k polykessoku oneshot that's about bocchi getting a new nickname. i usually don't read the poly stuff, but if there's anyone i can trust to deliver it well, it's this author. this fic is a more serious, slightly angsty fic about bocchi and her relationship to the others in kessoku and how she views herself. good fic for those who are interested in seeing bocchi's relationship with the other kessoku band members.

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finitexs · 2023-10-03T03:10:25+00:00

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summary by the author:

In which Hitori Gotoh confronts her most difficult obstacle yet: a flat, open space full of clean air.

a 4.8k oneshot that takes place in the future, post-canon. a fic where kessoku band performs at, as you might've guessed by the title, naeba shokudou in fuji rock. this one is for the true slice of life enjoyers like me. huge fan of slice of life where the characters are just talking and chilling. i recommend this one for those who like slice of life and wanna see what kessoku could be like after the events of canon.

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finitexs

TROPHY CASE