#{ itsuki is too cute ugh }

[lanawrx]

Takumi Fujiwara with an Overly Complimentive Crush

a/n: Ugh I totally wanna get Takumi all flustered and tell him how cute and pretty he is omggg <3

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Takumi had always been a quiet, unassuming guy. He wasn’t the type to seek attention or brag about his skills, especially when it came to his incredible driving ability. Most of his classmates knew him as the reserved kid who worked at his dad’s tofu shop.

That was, until you came along.

You, the new girl in town who instantly gravitated towards him since the teacher sat you next to him in class, had called him cute. To his face.

He normally didn't care for his classmates other than Itsuki and maybe Mogi, but you had a way of grabbing his attention.

You were very pretty, with your bright eyes and gloss-coated lips that always smiled so sweetly at him.

He couldn't help but look away, unable to meet your gaze with how flustered you made him.

You were the bright, lively presence that had somehow found a way into Takumi’s everyday routine. From the moment you met, you had a knack for making him blush with your constant compliments.

“Hey, Takumi!” you called out as you spotted him near the school lockers. Your voice was always full of energy, like a ray of sunshine bursting through the morning haze.

Takumi turned, a bit startled, and gave a small, shy wave. “Oh, hey…”

“You look so cool today!” you gushed, eyes sparkling as you looked him up and down. “I swear, you could be a model with that effortless style of yours.”

Takumi felt his face flush, his usual calm demeanor cracking under your praise. “Uh, it’s just my uniform…”

You laughed, clearly enjoying how flustered he was. “Doesn’t matter what you wear; you always manage to look good! Seriously, you're such a pretty boy.”

Takumi scratched the back of his head, trying to hide how embarrassed he felt, but he knew his warm cheeks gave him away. “P-pretty…?”

You nodded enthusiastically, your smile never faltering. "Absolutely! And don't even get me started on how talented you are. The way you handle that 86...You're amazing, Takumi! Like, how do you do it?"

Takumi looked surprised. "You've...seen me race?"

He had no idea you've been showing up to every challenge he's had since you first overheard his friend Itsuki bragging about Takumi to all the guys in class.

Of course, you only had to ask the guy for him to basically ask you out to each race.

(You would always politely decline, but didn't let him know you would be showing up anyways.)

"Yup! The last one with the White Comet of Akagi was insanely tense! I was so happy when you won!" You beamed, cutely raising your arm as a cheer.

Takumi looked away, trying to keep his cool, but your overall adorableness was seriously getting to him. "I mean, I just... drive. It's nothing special."

You shook your head, stepping closer to him. "It's not 'just' driving. You're incredible. I’ve seen you race, and you make it look so easy. You’ve got real talent, Takumi."

He glanced up, meeting your eyes for a brief moment before looking away again, his heart racing. "Thanks," he mumbled, his voice barely audible. "But I'm really not that great."

You laughed softly, the sound like music to his ears. "You're way too humble. But that's one of the things I like about you. You're always so modest, even though you're amazing at what you do."

Takumi didn’t know how to respond. Your constant praise made him feel shy, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but appreciate how genuine you were. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention, but he found himself looking forward to your compliments, even if they left him blushing every time.

You squealed, resisting the urge to reach over and smooch his bright red cheek. "I'm totally in love with you, Takumi! Seriously, if anyone else liked you, I'd be totally jealous!"

Takumi, flushed and speechless, didn't have time to process your blatant confession before it was time for class.

You gave him a wave before turning around and skipping away to your next class, leaving him absolutely flabbergasted.

He reached up and covered his face, turning to hide his face in the wall.

What were you doing to him...?

A few days later, you were waiting outside Takumi's classroom, your usual spot after school. It had become something of a routine for you to wait for him so you could walk home together. You were flipping through a manga, humming to yourself, when you felt someone approach.

"Hey there," a voice said, drawing your attention. You looked up to see an upperclassman you've never talked to before standing in front of you, a confident grin on his face. "Waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, just a friend," you replied with a polite smile, not wanting to be rude.

"Friend, huh? Must be lucky to have a girl like you waiting for him," he said, his tone turning a bit more flirtatious. "So, what are you up to this weekend? Maybe we could hang out?"

You were about to respond when you saw Takumi walking out of the classroom, his expression shifting the moment he spotted the guy talking to you. His usually calm demeanor darkened slightly as he took in the scene, his steps slowing as he approached.

You noticed Takumi's change in expression and immediately felt a bit worried, but also excited. You knew how shy and reserved he was, and seeing this total switch in his personality made your heart race.

Especially since it was so obvious he was jealous.

"Actually, I’ve got plans," you said, your voice hiking in pitch as you watched Takumi get closer.

"Really? What kind of plans?" the guy pressed, clearly not taking the hint.

Before you could answer, Takumi stepped up beside you, his presence making your face turn red.

"Hey," he said, his voice calm but carrying an edge. "Ready to go?"

The guy blinked, taken aback by Takumi’s sudden appearance. "Oh, hey, Fujiwara. I didn’t realize you two were, you know…" His voice trailed off, his flirtatious demeanor faltering.

"Yeah, we’re close," Takumi said, his tone neutral but his gaze steady. He wasn’t one to pick fights, but the way this guy had been talking to you had gotten under his skin.

You could sense the tension, and quickly stepped in, smiling up at Takumi. "Yup, we were just about to head out. Thanks for waiting, Takumi."

The guy hesitated, clearly not wanting to push further. "Alright, well, see you around," he said, trying to play it off casually before walking away.

As soon as he was out of sight, you turned to Takumi, a sly smile curled on your lips.

"Takumi," you sang, stepping closer to him. "Were you jea-lous?" You teased, wiggling your eyebrows.

The brunette pursed his lips and looked away, refusing to look you in the eyes as his cheeks pinkened. "..."

You gasped and practically had stars in your eyes. "Really?! Ohmygosh, that makes me so so happy!" You squealed, jumping in place with excitement.

You heard Takumi sigh before feeling someone grasp your hand. You stopped jumped and looked down, surprised to see his hand holding yours.

You looked up, only to see Takumi's flustered face as he furrowed his brows.

"Calm down, you're being embarrassing..." he mumbled before beginning to walk down the hall, tugging on your hand. "Well? Let's go. I'll buy you something from the convenience store on the way home."

You stood in shock for a moment before utter joy spread across your face.

"O-kay!" You chirped, a skip in your step as you began to walk alongside him, interlocking your fingers together.

"You're so cute when you're jealous!"

"...Whatever"

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡ Thanks for Reading! ˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆

[emeraldbabygirl]

In High & Low the movie when Murayama refers to Cobra as “Little Cobra” 🥺🥺🥺 but Murayama is the little one he’s so cute wtf Murayama is such a cute lil bean and Fujio is so cute and silly omg and I love Tetz he’s so cute too my babieee sksksksks and Cobra and Yamato and Todoroki are so sexy and Smoky is sexy and my Kyan and the Amamiya brothers and TSUKASA AKA HOKUTO YOSHINO IS SO LITTLE AND SO CUTE 🥺 I WANNA HOLD HIM IN MY ARMS AND SHOVE HIS HEAD IN MY ENTIRE TIDDY BRES 😩 AND GIVE HIM HEADPATS UGH HES SO FUCKING CUTE LIL BLONDE BABE 😍😍😍 AND ODEJIMA IS PAPI SKSKSKKS AND OF COURSE ITSUKI IS DADDY AND HASEGAWA IS PAPI AND THE GANDHI GUY IS SCARY BUT ALSO SEXCCC UGH AND MURAYAMA’S TALL BOYFIE IS CUTE CUTE TOO! Why is everyone so cute omg and the rest of Golden Bomber teehee 🤭 but it’s so odd to see Kenji without his makeup

[loveregrown]

SHU FS2 CAME OUT. He looks balder than ever. I am not surprised nor entirely disappointed at his outfit being nothing to me, though it is a little saddening he’s following the same exact clothing trend he’s had in all his last cards. I like the unbloomed when it’s moving more but I like his little finger on head and his croissants naturally. Ugh, everytime I look at it, I strangely like it more. Why does this happen to me with cards! But also, why do the unbloomeds often eat up the bloomeds…?

The rose concept was already used on Hiyori you silly goose. Alas, they can share. But neither will be happy about it; he considered burning his shirt simply because Wataru said theirs matched.

I definitely like the fit more in 3DMV than in live2d, but it seems to often be the case with me so it’s only natural. But it doesn’t Always happen. Perhaps I was simply hating before. Or I am simply conditioning myself to it. The blue accents is very cute I love that shade so much. I like the coloured button-up a loooottttt & the red in the scr is so nice & I just I really like this outfit I do! & I like light colours so despite it being the same as his wedding tour 3⭐️ and his 4⭐️ in the wet Sena scout, it is pleasant nonetheless! It really is not awful, despite thinking he could have something far more unique, it was to be expected from how this round of feature scouts was going, where there seemed to be at most two categories of fashion, if not 3.

One thing I've been hating is the STUPID RANDOM STRIP OF FABRIC THEY KEEP GIVING THE 3DMV OUTFITS WHICH LIKE I GET BECAUSE IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DRAW THE EYES TO THE MOVEMENT OF IT A LOT OF THE OUTFITS SEEM DESIGNED WITH THIS PURPOSE BUT IT JUST LOOKS FUCKING STUPID SOMETIMES. LIKE. TOILET PAPER ROLL TUCKED INTO THEIR CLOTHES OR LIKE A STRANGE CURTAIN FOR THEIR ASS. OR SOMETHING. IT'S NOT RIGHT. But... well I suppose it works here. Especially since the cut of his suit is not at all a novelty but it's okay. But I was reminded of it seeing it in action in his spp... it is just nothing to me. The stupid piece of fabric I mean. it could be removed and I would not miss it. But I Understand It's Purpose therefore I do not despise it I just get find it silly.

What was the meaning of this. What’s wrong with you? Was there a need for roses on your flat arse. Embroidery on your behind. Though this sort of thing is awesome and cunty when done on like, jeans. And such.

He has a nice SCR… I like it a lot actually. SCRS aren’t always good & I never Purposefully get SCRS but it’s such a win to me when they are good because then I look at them & I smile. ☺️

Bwuh… I’m pretty sure Nito’s hair ribbon changes colour in scr to red too… maybe they both do… not okay. They look so, so good next to each other I should just die. I should just die.

It will never have the brilliance his FS1 holds, with it’s interesting silhouette which almost looks like a dress, and really fun boots, and the classic, stupid, gay, yet ever so fun Itsuki Shuu trademark hat on his head! But I am growing fonder of it the more I look at it. At least, everything ASIDE FROM THE BLOOMED. Which I don’t like. On the lower end of FS2s for me regarding bloomed illustration but points for everything else. You win this time despite objectively not being that good. I like the side of Shu it shows too. Even if his face looks stupid.

I don’t like his FS1 bloomed much specifically when it comes to his silly face & pose, but the outfit makes up for it. Do you notice how this is a pattern. But, either way, many parts of it are so dope, such as the spiral staircase, the dramatic element of the back of his outfit flaring up like that, the paintings on the wall and the chandelier. It’s all very grand. & if anyone deserves and should be expected to be grand, it is him. There’s a lot one can say about it really.

However, I like the lightness of his FS2. The romantic elements such as the shades used, the red roses, his ring. There’s a lot to be enjoyed here.

I haven’t looked at the full illustration for his FS2 yet but I am excited to witness it since often they coax me into liking the card more than when it is cropped/in actual card form. But his face in the bloomed, is stupid and gay. That is all. Otherwise, it’s Perce approved, all things considered. :-) but to be honest. It really does look like something you’d find at a mall. The outfit, I mean.

[kaitoshu]

☆☆Otori Senpai!!!!! I missed him! And he has short hair now! Is this show trying to kill me?!?!?!?!☆☆

[ran-orimoto]

You are mixing two ships I adore! Jenki x Junizumi! The fanchildren are very cute. I hope you will give us more of them, ship wise too eh eh. Junpei and Jenrya co parents in law😳.

Awwwwwwwwwww💕💕💕💕💕💕💕. I’m so happy to hear ahahahah.

Are you talking about Kou and Itsuki??? I drew more of them, not like a shipping but I will deliver something soon if I feel in the mood.

Ugh, those were stupid headcanons I won’t pollute Tumblr with, but I wanted to continue my project of the kids x their parents’ Digimon.

Gargomon…Helping Itsuki in the kitchen. Kou………….Kou having to deal with Fairymon; that’s it. She’s inheritated maternal instincts from Izumi maybe🤣🤣🤣.

🤣Ops.

I’m not sure if they are my endgame. In truth I’m not sure if there in any endgame in my mind, but the idea of Jenrya and Junpei linking their families together kills me.

Jenrya, so calm and collected. Junpei, so 🤬🤬🤬🤬😡😡. Ah, but Jen is used to Ruki🤣, isn’t he?

[mako-neexu]

Waaaaaaait are we talking about croco wani - Crocodile Tears? Who draws romanixguda as well as obeguda? Who has this absolutly lovely and dreamy art style?

the one and only!! Her artstyle is something I love ^^ Not to sound like a stalker, but every time she posts a video on twitter where it shows how she draws? I always melt!

Honestly, I simp for her RomaGuda because not only is Romani cute, Ritsuka-chan is very adorable as well!!😭 I love their dynamic in her works! I haven't seen lots of ObeGuda as an illust or comi but as soon as I get the chance to order Cinderella Celebration and Bitter to Death, Sweet to Death, I will definitely have a chance to like Wani-san's obeguda! 😊

When it comes to Romani and/or Guda artists (i confess... oberon artists too haha), I try to follow and keep track of everyone's works? XD Especially artists like umino,wada,doro,maroyaka,amachi,wasabi,tome,natsu,bi,redrop ofcourse,dotama,nyo,woobi,nano,bayasi,udon,baemoon,itsuki,fawawa,kamino,kazekiri,cocoro,hanam,pakameso,sesuna,daiyon,ankoro,aoi lightning, aoi fgo,ayu, fueki,ino, rouge,matsuri,onigiri,KYOUHI (or is it kyoubi...), ANTICE TOO, karashi ugh love them,rune, ruoyinn,amaotoo, ameco, UMIN!!!!! I LOVE UMIN-SAN!!! WAKA IS MY FAVORITE TOO, HAVE I MENTIONED TOMOE-SAN, ohh kaihuku is awesome as well!! reko, ekina (her guda is adorable imo XD), hanui, rokko is one of the coolest romani artists too!! TAKUMIKOOOOOOOO, tenoteno, noeru (noel), NETSUYUMI-SAN, saiba, haruhide, SYATEY ONE OF THE GREATEST, HOW CAN I FORGET IMACROWN-

i must stop now because the list is endless haha... but as you can see, these are some of the artists i love that i can remember right now...

hope you have a great day, anon! (sorry for unleashing my artist fangirling XD)

[4kominato]

𝔻𝕒𝕪 𝟚: ℭ𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔪𝔞𝔰 𝔈𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔢

A/N: oh my gosh im so late posting this 🙃🙃🙃 anyways its Christmas Eve yaay. sorry if ya'll aren't into pokemon... Eevee is a pokemon lmao but idk i just thought itd be cute bc Christmas Eve... even though its a bad pun ... im sorry -kuri

ℙ𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘: Tadano Itsuki x GN!Reader

𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕖: Fluff

𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕕 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 1,012

You awoke to an empty bed, the wintery weather outside leaving the bedroom feeling extra empty and cold. Maybe he wanted to squeeze in some practice time with Mei in the early morning hours before fulfilling the Christmas Eve plans he’d made with you, you thought. So in the meantime, you decided to make some breakfast and coffee so he’d have something to eat once he got back.

“Tadaima! (ただいま: I’m home)” The voice of your lover sounded from the front door just as you finished plating the food.

“Okaeri (おかえり: welcome home),” you greeted, popping your head out of the kitchen to see Itsuki holding a huge Christmas gift bag with green and red tissue covering the top. “What’s that? Where’d you go? I thought maybe you went to practice with Mei-san.”

“I went to pick up your Christmas present,” he answered, holding the bag out to you, “Merry Christmas! You have to open it now.”

“Wait what?” you questioned with a puzzled look on your face as you took the bag from him, “Shit, it’s heavy… why do I need to open it now?”

“Because you have to. I have more stuff in the car, but you have to open this one first.”

“…But why?”

“Just open it,” he whined, helping you to carefully put the bag down on the living room floor.

“Fine, fine,” you finally gave in, seating yourself in front of the gift and yanking out the tissue. Peering into the bag, see a plain white cardboard box with a handle, so you pull it out of the gift bag to see holes punched out around the top half or the box and the name of your local animal shelter printed on the sides. “No… you didn’t!” you gasped, placing the box back onto the floor and fumbling to quickly open it up, “Oh my god, Itsuki!”

At the bottom of the box laid a fluffy, orange tabby kitten that was fast asleep, curled comfortably into a little ball. Reaching inside, you cupped the little ball of fur into your palms and carefully lifted it out before cradling it into your arms. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Boy.”

“I’m gonna name him Eevee,” you announced, scratching him lightly behind the ears with your index.

“Eevee?” Itsuki ridiculed, “Eevee doesn’t have stripes. His name is Tora (とら/虎: tiger).”

“Tora?! Tigers aren’t fluffy,” you snapped back.

“Yeah, but he has stripes,” he puffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“He’s my gift! So I’m naming him Eevee, because he came home on Christmas Eve, and because he’s fluffy like Eevee.”

“Ugh, fine!” Itsuki groaned, finally giving up on the names as he stood up to grab the other things from the car that he’d mentioned earlier. He’d bought a litter box, cat tree, food and water bowls, a little hut, kitten food, and some toys, so you helped him with carrying everything into the house and setting it up.

You’d left Eevee on the couch to sleep while the two of you set everything up, but just as you finished, you noticed him stretching out of the corner of your eye, so you decided to check up on him and maybe if his energy was up, you’d play with him a little bit too.

“Eevee,” you called in a high pitched voice as you crouched down in front of the couch where he’d been sleeping. He gave you a little meow in response and curiously approached you to sniff your fingers before rubbing his cheek up against them.

“Okay, what about Fluffy?” Itsuki suggested, crouching down next to you.

“You’re still on about the names?” you groaned, “I already told you I like Eevee.”

“How about Ginger?”

“No.”

“Pumpkin?”

“No!”

“Milo?”

“Why are you so against the name Eevee?!”

“Because he doesn’t look like Eevee!”

“So what!? He’s Eevee because it’s Christmas Eve I said…” You pouted as you continued to pet him.

Noticing your depleted mood, Itsuki started to feel bad that he had made such a huge deal over something as small as the name of your own kitten. There wasn’t really much point in arguing anyways because ultimately, since he’s your cat, you had the final say in what his name would be.. “I’m sorry,” he spoke shyly, but still, he scooted closer to you and slung a comforting arm over your shoulders, “You’re right. He’s your cat, so if you want him to be called Eevee, he can be Eevee. I shouldn’t have prodded so much, I’m sorry.”

Staying mad at him was tempting, but you honestly appreciated everything else about his gift; it was the best you’d get this year for sure, so on the inside, you knew it wouldn’t be worth it to hold a grudge over such a frivolous thing. “It’s okay… let’s just forget our dumb little argument and move on, okay?” you offered, turning to face him with a small smile.

Leaning in, Itsuki pressed a soft peck to your lips before returning your smile. “I like that idea.”

“So… we’re calling him Eevee,” you stated as you reverted your attention back to your new furry friend, who seemed to be growing livelier by the second. A silence followed to which you frowned momentarily until you turned to see that Itsuki had gotten up to grab some of the cat toys he’d purchased earlier that morning.

“Eevee!” he called as he brought them over, shaking one of them over his head. Eevee’s eyes dilated at the sight of the frilly strings flailing above him, and so he started to jump and reach at them in an attempt to catch them. It warmed your heart to see your two babies playing happily together, and you were extra grateful that Itsuki had finally accepted “Eevee” as the name of choice for your new family addition. Despite being named after a pokemon, “Eevee” would always be a reminder to you of the special day that he brought light to your little family of now, three, on one fine Christmas Eve.

[starlightspecters-vs-alleycatz]

Drama Track: Sake & Soda Pop pt. 1

As a chance to get to know one another, the Harajuku Division joins Kyoto’s team for a chance at friendship.

[Lana’s apartment in Kyoto]

Itsuki: “What time are they supposed to be over here again?”

Lana: “Uhhhh any minute now I think.”

-Itsuki sighed-

Itsuki: “I don’t think it’s a good idea to have another fucking division come over for drinks...aren’t two out of three of them still underage?”

Lana: “Oh relax will ya! We have plenty of things other than booze in this god damn apartment!”

Itsuki: “Yeah yeah I know I know, besides I highly doubt you’d be able to drink a whole bunch of this stuff on your own. It’s not like Kanade can exactly drink with you since she’s still underage.”

Lana: “I don’t think Kanade can stand the smell sometimes.”

Itsuki: “Oh?”

Lana: “Long story...speaking of Kanade, where did she run off to?”

-the girl in question was waiting by the door excited that there were people coming over-

Itsuki: “By the door, hey I’m gonna go out to the balcony and have a smoke”

-Itsuki searches through his pockets only to find out...he forgot his lighter, he still had his cigarettes though-

Itsuki: “Fuck I forgot my lighter!”

Lana:“You can borrow mine”

Itsuki:“Thanks!”

-Lana tosses him the lighter and Itsuki goes out to the balcony to smoke, Lana heads over to Kanade and ruffles her hair gently-

Kanade:“Gah! onee-san your gonna mess up my hair!”

-literally hours earlier Kanade had gotten out of another performance at a more small time theater, she opted to ditch her makeup and keep her hair up in some fancy braid they made her wear-

Lana:“Heh sorry Kana.”

Kanade:“It’s ok.”

-Eventually Lana goes back to making sure everything is ready for the visitors when they arrive-

[rhythmic knocking]

???: Lana-neeee! You in there!

???: Uh I don’t think you should be yelling here Emiko. 😓 This place looks kinda sketchy.

???: Come now she’s just excited, I don’t see any harm in it.

???: It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Lana, it’ll be fun! Oh, but remember no fighting you guys.

-a thunk could be heard as Kanade ran into the wall somehow while trying to get the door open-

Kanade:“Owwww.”

-Lana ended up back at the front door opening it up while Kanade got up off the ground-

Lana:“Why hello there everyone so great to see you! Come in come in!”

Kanade:“Hello!”

Emiko: Suprise!! ~ ☆

Hiroshi: [bows] Thank you so much for having us.

Seiichi: . . Yea. . thanks. . .

Hiroshi: *sighs* Do try to be polite Seiichi.

[they walk in]

Emiko: Lana Lana! [glomps her] We brought you guys stuff!

Emiko: I’m not old enough to drink just yet but I lookie! Look! I brought orange juice!! ~ ☆

[holds bottle like a trophy over her head]

-Lana chuckles trying to catch Emiko when she tackle hugs her, turning her attention to the other two she smiles-

Lana:“Thanks for showing up! Glad y’all brought stuff. We also have drinks and stuff here I think.”

Kanade:“Oh I think we have snack cakes! Let me go get them!”

-Kanade scurries off to the kitchen, around that time Itsuki finally steps back inside tucking his cigarettes back in his pocket and handing the lighter back to Lana-

Itsuki:“Oh hello it’s nice to meet you all, I’m Itsuki.”

Emiko: Aaaaah~ there’s cake! 🤩 I want soooome. ~ 🤤

[she tries to rush to the kitchen but Hiroshi gently grabs her]

Hiroshi: Are you paying attention m’lady?

Emiko: Eh? Oh! I-I’m sorry! It’s nice to meet you! I’m Emiko Akaibara, at your service everyone! ~ ♡ *giggles*

Hiroshi: Hiroshi Sakura, it’s a pleasure. 😉 I wasn’t sure of everyone’s preference but since two of you are adults I bought some sake.

Seiichi: . . .

Emiko: C’mon Seiichi, your turn to say hello.

Seiichi: . . . .

Emiko: Seiichiiiii, please! 🥺🙏

Seiichi: . . . Yo. . . . . I brought soda. . . [pulls his hood over his head]

Emiko: Eh he he 😅 Ok, I’ll take it. Don’t worry, we’ll all have fun together, promise! ~ ☆

Lana:“ooo sake~ I like your style Hiroshi!”

-Itsuki chuckles watching Lana interact with everyone. Turning his attention to Seiichi he flashed him a smile-

Itsuki:“Seiichi is it? No need to be nervous”

Seiichi: U-Um. . . yea I. . . . yea, sure. .

-a thud could be heard from the kitchen followed by a low groan-

Emiko: Lana Lana! [raises her hand] Can I go help Kanade now?

Lana:“Ah sure you can Emiko...uh it seems like she can really use it.”

Emiko: ‘Kay! ~ ☆ I’m coming to save you Kanade!

-Kanade was currently on the floor in the kitchen having been knocked down by a bag of flour-

Emiko: Kanadeee, you need some help—Ah! Oh my gosh! Are you ok! [puts the juice on the counter] Here let me help y—EEP!

[Emiko slips on some flour and falls too]

Emiko: OWIE!! That. . .really hurt. [her eyes start to water]

Kanade:“Oh no Emiko are you ok!?”

-Kanade tries to stand up but falls over once more-

Emiko: *sniff* N-No I’m o-ok, pfffffft! [wipes her tears as she giggles] I-I’m sorry, but you have flour all over you! Here! *sniff* I’ll help you for sure this time!

Kanade:“Owwww...I’m ok”

-Kanade rubs her head-

Lana:“Oh lord what happened!?”

-Lana had found the two of them in the kitchen with flour EVERYWHERE, she could hardly contain her laughter...the scene was honestly quite funny to her-

Kanade:“O-Onee-San! I was trying to get the box of cakes up in one of the cabinets...I climbed on top of the counter to reach them...and the bag fell over and then Emiko fell over and...”

-Lana sighed gently shaking her head, a large grin plastered on her face-

Lana: “You should have had me do it, I’m pretty sure I’m the tallest one here! Cmon let’s get this cleaned up”

Seiichi: Hey, Emiko? You two ok in h—Oh my gosh! What happened in here!

Emiko: He he, hi you guys. 😅

Hiroshi: We heard a crash, are y—Oh! Are you ladies alright? [pulls both of them up] Here let me see.

Emiko: Yea, I’m ok Hiroshi. 😅 My face hurts though, he he he.

[Kanade’s face flushes but Emiko doesn’t notice as she hands over a kitchen rag]

Emiko: You ok Kanade? You’re all red? Oh is it because your makeup got ruined! I can fix it for you if you want. ~ ♡

Kanade:“Y-Yeah sounds good.”

Lana:“Go get cleaned up you two I’ll take care of the mess”

-Lana goes to find a broom while Kanade goes to her room to go fix her makeup, Itsuki turns to Hiroshi and Seiichi-

Itsuki:“This is normal I swear”

Hiroshi: Is it now? 😅 Well I suppose it not that different from our usual antics.

Seiichi: At least you can’t blame me for anything this time. Here. [hands him a broom]

Hiroshi: Tch. Ingrate.

Lana:“Apparently I’M the trouble maker of this group” -Lana says helping sweep up the mess-

Itsuki:“You and my sister are a match made in heaven Lana I swear to god.”

-Lana chuckles-

[in the other room, Emiko’s pouring cups while waiting for the others]

Emiko: You like to use dark colors right Kanade? I feel like you fit that aesthetic really well. Or Lana-nee said your in a band right? That’s so cool! ~ ☆

Kanade:“Yeah I usually do use darker colors.”

-she said digging around in her makeup bag-

Kanade: “I do a lot of things involving stage performances...singing, acting you name it.” -she shrugs- “Hell I was a part time shrine maiden at one point!”

Emiko: Whoa! Really!! That’s so cool! ~ ♡ So you’ve pretty much done all kinds of things huh? I’ve always wanted to try stuff like that, [digging through her purse] but I just stuck with makeup!

Emiko: Don’t get me wrong it makes me happy! But, it was kind of hard. . . trying to get around back then. . . O-Oh! Y’know! 😅

-Kanade let out a small chuckle-

Kanade:“I guess it’s just...something that makes me happy...granted it is stressful at times but usually it’s all worth it in the end, to see people in awe of the show your able to put on...to make people happy..it’s one of the only reasons why I even keep fighting.”

Kanade:“Makeup is something that does sound interesting to me...I’m no professional with it though.”

Emiko: [smiles warmly] Well, that’s ok. Besides I think you’re super pretty!

Emiko: Now just watch the master at work! ✨ [poses cutely with her brushes] A true makeup artist is always prepared! Everyone’s gonna be starstruck once I’m done with you! ✨

Kanade: -giggling- “Alright...I trust you��

[meanwhile in the now clean kitchen] Lana:“Alright we should be good”

Hiroshi: That seems about it. Now, would you two mind if I poured some sake? I’d hate for it to go to waste.

Seiichi: No thanks old man. [cracks open a soda can] I’m good—UGH!

Seiichi: *coughs* Jeez! What the hell did I buy?! Eh? Matcha soda?!

Hiroshi: That’s what you get. Besides, I wasn’t asking you. 😑 You’re far too young.

Lana:“Sake sounds great right now!”

Itsuki:“I’ll take some to if you don’t mind, I’m gonna step outside on the balcony for a moment can I borrow your lighter again Lana?”

Lana:“Sure!” -she tosses him her lighter-

Itsuki:“Thanks!” -catching the lighter he steps outside onto the balcony-

Hiroshi: Hmm, I’ll have to join him later. [grabs cups & opens the bottle]

-Lana puts the broom away before turning her attention back to Seiichi and Hiroshi with a smile-

Lana:“Oh you don’t like the soda you got Seiichi? I’m pretty sure I have some Ramune in the fridge if you want that instead”

Seiichi: O-oh, are you sure? I did buy it after all, I just got the wrong ones. 😑

Lana:“Of course I’m sure! What kinda host would I be if I didn’t offer drinks to my guests?”

-Lanas phone rings and she goes pale-

Lana:“Ah uh excuse me...I’ll be right back”

Hiroshi: Of course, take your time dear.

-As Lana steps out onto the balcony itsuki steps back inside, seeing Lanas expression he goes stiff for a moment before shaking his head-

Itsuki:“I’m back, sorry about that I had to go take a smoke break.”

Seiichi: No don’t worry, it is your place after all. Also, would you mind opening this please? [hands Itsuki a ramune]

Hiroshi: If you don’t mind me asking Itsuki, I’d like to join you on another smoke break. I carry my own lighter so you needn’t ask.

-Itsuki nods taking the ramune and opening it before handing it back to Seiichi, he then turns his attention back to Hiroshi-

Itsuki:“Oh sure, I didn’t know you smoked Hiroshi, I would have offered you a cigarette earlier if I’d known...Lana has a no smoking in the apartment rule since the smell of cigarette smoke is hard to get out of things, same thing with my older sister Yumi.”

-a quick glance out the sliding glass door of the balcony and one could see that Lana herself was smoking a cigarette while rocking back and forth looking stressed out of her mind, she was still on the phone with someone-

Itsuki:“As you can see here most of the adults do smoke...I’m more inclined to think that everyone’s favorite onee-san is a stress smoker.”

Hiroshi: Oh, I see.

Hiroshi: Lana Alarie, a former member of the Darling Divas. I’ve heard word of them only once before, but I never thought I’d be meeting her in the flesh. . . Surely Emiko has realized this by now, but I doubt she’ll pay any mind.

Hiroshi: After all. . .we’re criminals too.

—To Be Continued—

[reversingxtime-blog]

“Ah believe in ye, sis.”

Four Word . Prompts

     “ Aw, thanks, Kiddo, ” Max grins, reaching over to lightly ruffle her     hair. Sometimes it was hard to believe that she could do anything     right, but it was always nice to hear those words of encouragement.     “ It’s nice to know that someone does. ”          // @rollingsnowsmasher

[highly-opinionated-ramblings]

Kyon walked into the club room after school on a warm Monday afternoon to find Haruhi already there, sitting at the table, staring out the window, apparently lost in thought.

“Hey,” he said, and she jumped at the sound of his voice. “Where is everyone?”

“Oh...they’ll be here. Itsuki has class duty, and Yuki’s in the library returning a book. Mikuru just texted me saying she has an errand to run, but that she’ll be here.”

“Oh. Ok.” Thank god. The last thing he wanted is a whole afternoon spent alone with just Haruhi, especially when she was in this kind of mood.

He sat down across from her, and the two of them waited in silence for a few moments.

“Soooo, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“I dunno.”

“You don’t have any plans at all?”

“Not really...”

“What’s gotten into you? You’re not acting like yourself.”

“It’s nothing! Mind your own business!”

“Alright, jeez! I was just trying to be nice.”

Another few moments passed, during which Haruhi appeared to grow more and more agitated.

“I kissed Mikuru,” she eventually blurted out, apparently unable to contain it any more. “The other night, when I slept over at her place.”

Kyon froze, jaw hanging open. Had he...had he heard that right?

“Well?” Haruhi muttered, blushing furiously, but staring him down nonetheless. “Say something, will you?”

“What...do you want me to say...?”

“I don’t know! Just, something! Anything!”

“Well, tough, because I don’t have anything to say!”

“Oh, come on. We both know that’s not true. I know you like her.”

“Oh. Well. Yeah, I...I do.”

There was an awkward pause. Haruhi put her hands over her face and shook her head. Kyon swallowed hard, past the weird lump forming in his throat.

“W-what...what was it like?”

Haruhi lifted her head and turned to stare at him with a look that was a peculiar mix of confusion, relief, and disgust.

“That’s what you want to talk about? Seriously?”

“Well, not if you’re gonna be like that about it.”

“I swear to god, boys are the worst! The absolute worst! A plague upon socie-”

“Stop, stop!” Kyon interrupted, before she could speak any magic boy-be-gone scheme into existence. “Forget it, forget I asked.”

“Seriously. The worst.”

“I said forget it.”

“...It was...nice. Really warm.”

Kyon’s heart beat a little bit faster, in spite of himself, imagining Haruhi and Mikuru kissing. “Soft?”

“Oh yeah, definitely soft. And she smelled really good. Ugh, this is so embarrassing!”

“Sorry.”

“Making me say all this stuff out loud...I hope you’re happy now, you jerk.”

“Suzumiya...”

“Yeah? What?”

“It’s not just you, you know. I...I kissed Itsuki.”

“What?!”

“Or rather, he kissed me. But, like, I didn’t...stop him...”

“Oh my gooood, Kyon...”

Kyon shrugged irritably, his traitorous heart beating even faster at the memory of Itsuki’s lips on his. Haruhi was right, being a boy was the absolute worst.

“So?”

“So what?”

“So, what was it like?!”

“I don’t know! It was...wet.”

“Wet! Wet!”

“Because it was raining, you perv!”

“What the hell were you two doing?”

“Sharing an umbrella,” Kyon grumbled, face burning. “He forgot his, so I was walking him home.”

“Aw, how chivalrous. I’d have kissed you too.”

“Shut up!”

“You know, I’m actually a little bit jealous. Itsuki’s really handsome, in his own way.”

“I guess?”

“And Mikuru and Yuki are both really pretty. I get jealous of them, sometimes, too.”

Kyon frowned. “Suzumiya, you...you don’t think you’re pretty?”

“Not really. It doesn’t really bother me, though,” she lied, shrugging. Kyon could always tell when she was lying.

“I think you’re pretty,” he said. As long as he was digging his own grave, might as well make sure it was deep enough that he’d never be able to climb back out, right?

Haruhi blinked, surprised. “Oh. Uh...thanks. I think you’re...well, maybe not handsome-”

“Gee, thanks!”

“-but you’re smart! And funny, sometimes. And really reliable. And, if you wanted, I think...I think you’d have a decent shot. With Mikuru.”

“Oh...”

“Or Itsuki, I guess. Whoever you want.”

“It’s not like that...I mean...I just want all five of us to stay the way we are, when we’re together in club! You know what I mean?”

Suddenly there came a loud sound from outside their door, making both of them jump. Haruhi scrambled up and over to the door, Kyon following just behind her.

They threw open the club room door, to find the other members of their club outside in the hallway- Mikuru leaning back against the far wall, her face buried in her hands, Itsuki on the floor, hugging his knees up to his chest, hiding his face, and Yuki standing in the midst of it all, looking vaguely perplexed.

“What on earth is going on out here!”

“Mikuru and Itsuki insisted on letting the two of you finish your conversation,” Yuki explained, “but they got overwhelmed, because you were being too cute.”

“Too cute! Too cute! We’re not- we were not being cute!”

“Yes you were.”

“Not you too, Nagato...”

“Anyway, I share your sentiment, Kyon. I hope we will all always be happy together as a club.”

Itsuki made a strangled sound from the floor, and Mikuru’s shoulders shook, like she was trying to hold back a laugh, or a sob, or both.

Kyon threw his hands up in exasperation. “I hate all of you.”

“No you don’t,” Yuki said simply, walking past him into the club room. “Anyway. What shall we do today?”

[imitranslates]

Fukigen na Mononokean Ch. 73

A surprise meeting for the boys this month...

Please remember to check out the official English release when it comes out, preferably on Crunchyroll if you’re able to!

The newest chapter can be read on the official website by clicking the yellow button labeled 読む!

Fukigen na Mononokean Chapter 73 - Tearful Audience

Page 1

Aoi: You can see me off from here.

Aoi: My body won't be able to move in a few more days.

Page 2

Aoi: When I become nourishment for the parasitic shrub, and my spiritual power is weakened,

Aoi: The one I nominated as my successor will be appointed as a new guardian of the door to the Underworld.

Aoi: That means the moment you are able to call the door to the Underworld, "Abeno Haruitsuki" will become the master of the Mononokean.

Aoi: Do everything for the sake of the demons.

Page 3

Aoi: See you... Itsuki.

Page 4

Abeno: Good morning.

Mononokean: Mornin'~!

Mononokean: Hm?

Mononokean: Don't you have school today? Are you planning to go in those clothes?

Abeno: That's not it.

Abeno: I want to visit Newt Lake first.

Abeno: I want to report to the Legislator about Yahiko's case as soon as possible.

Page 5

Mononokean: Then, I'll connect a door to Newt Lake.

Abeno: Good morning.

Legislator: I don't want to start working right after getting up... Can't you come back after I've slept some more?

Page 6

Legislator: ...I see.

Legislator: It's just as you thought, Itsuki.

Legislator: The true identity of that fox spirit is Prince Mioya-hiko.

Legislator: But we didn't expect the Princess's poor condition to have an effect on Prince Mioya-hiko, too.

I'll share the information about this matter with everyone.

Abeno: I'd be grateful.

Abeno: With that, I'll be...

Legislator: Hey, wait a moment.

Legislator: There's one more thing you need to report.

Abeno: ?

Page 7

Legislator: The Underworld Princess said, "I'd like to meet the second master of the Mononokean."

Abeno: Me?

Legislator: When we talked about Aoi's remains, she was very interested.

Legislator: Isn't this your chance for an audience?

Page 8

Legislator: It's a special occasion, so why not bring your employee along to introduce him and go answer her questions?

Abeno: Ah?!

Legislator: Since it's like that...

Legislator: All members of the Mononokean must go to visit the Underworld Princess.

That's a "rule."

(Ashiya: GYAAAAAH!)

Page 9

(Ashiya: Gyaaaaah!!)

(Abeno: Shut up.)

Justice: Ashiya-kun, we've arrived.

Ashiya: Nn...

Page 10

Justice: Through here is how you get to the Princess's throne.

Ashiya: Golden flames...

Ashiya: The entrance sure is flaming, so how are we supposed to get in?

Justice: Just like this.

Ashiya:  Eh?!

Justice: Don't worry, it only burns if you've got negative intentions toward the Underworld Princess.

Ashiya: You're right... It's not hot.

Page 11

Abeno&Ashiya: !?

Ashiya: Now there are four entrances...

Abeno: Which one do we take?

Justice: For the audience chamber... This time it's the left-most one.

(Ashiya: Mr. Justice... You can let me down, you know?)

(Justice: I'm not gonna...)

Abeno: "This time" means there are more of those crossroads?

Justice: That's right, Itsuki. There's enough branching paths in this place to be a maze.

Ashiya: This time there's three hallways!

Page 12

Abeno: Even if an intruder managed to slip past those flames earlier,

They wouldn't be able to reach the Princess's throne with this kind of layout...

Justice: Some halls have traps set in 'em, too.

Be sure not to get lost.

Justice: ...Hm?

Justice: Ah... damn. Got it wrong...

Ashiya: Wha?!

Abeno: Ah?

Page 13

Foxes: Kon!

Abeno&Ashiya: ......

Abeno: ...Fox spirits?

Ashiya: How cute... (There's three of them...)

Justice: Itsuki. We're gonna run, so get on my back.

Abeno: !

Abeno: You mean... one of the "traps" is...

Fox: Koooon!

Page 14

Ashiya: Woah... Those are some huge hands...

Fox: Konn!!

(Ashiya: Uwaaaah!!)

Page 15

(Ashiya: Uwaaaah!)

Justice: Mmm... They're gonna keep chasing us... What a pain.

Abeno: Justice, we're reading another branched path.

Justice: This time, the way to go is this one.

Justice: Next is over here.

Justice: And then.... this one, I guess?

(Ashiya: Aaaaaahhh!!)

Abeno: !?

Ashiya: Uwah!?

Page 16

Princess: Release them.

Princess: They are not intruders.

Fox: Kon!?

Ashiya: !

Princess: The servants of the throne have treated you roughly.

Princess: Allow me to welcome you, master of the Mononokean, Abeno Haruitsuki, and employees of the Mononokean, Ashiya Hanae and Hairball.

Page 17

[Could this voice be the Underworld Princess...?!]

Fox: Kon.

Ashiya: Wah!

Justice: They did nothing wrong. I ended up picking the wrong hall...

Princess: So that's what it was... How unfortunate.

Princess: Justice. You must be tired from acting as a guide until now.

Princess: Please relax in the antechamber while I finish speaking with the Mononokean.

Justice: Even if you say that, I can't.

While Ashiya-kun is in the Underworld, I gotta watch him.

Unless it's somewhere I can keep an eye on him, then...

Page 18

Princess: I wish to speak with them alone.

Princess: Please, Justice...

Justice: !

Justice: ......

Justice: ...Well, if it's a request from the Princess.

Justice: Please take your time.

Page 19

Abeno: Divinity of the Underworld, Princess Kamo-wakeikazuchi-hime... This is the first time I've made your acquaintance.

Princess: Cough...

Princess: Cough...

Princess: ...I have heard of the Mononokean's activities from the Legislator.

Page 20

Princess: You all are human, however,

The devoted work you do to support demons is worthy of my confidence.

Abeno: Your words are too kind...

Princess: ...And...

About Mioya-hiko...

Abeno&Ashiya: !

Princess: ...How bad is Yahiko's condition?

Abeno: His symptoms are similar to yours, Princess, but he still has a healthy appetite and has enough energy to move around as he likes.

I delivered some of Kiyakudo's medicine to him, so as long as he continues taking it, he should recover soon....

Page 21

Abeno&Ashiya: (As long as he takes it properly everyday...)

Abeno: ...

Ashiya: ...

Yahiko: Ugh?! It's bitter!! And stinks!! It's horrible!! I hate medicine!!

Ashiya: Uwah?! He's spitting it out!?

Abeno: Force it in your mouth again and drink it.

Princess: If so, that's good, but...

Cough...

Princess: Cough,

Cough...

Abeno: Please don't push yourself if your body isn't feeling well...

Princess: (Cough...) I am alright...

I don't have a fever today, so... If the medicine is effective, I'll stop coughing as well...

Page 22

[Her condition does seem better, but

She still seems like a sick person...]

Princess: Cough...

Princess: (Cough..) Inari group one...

Can you retrieve my box of medicine?

Fox: Kon!

Ashiya: (They vanished.)

Abeno: Princess, is Koura absent?

Princess: Cough...

Princess: ...I let her return to Kiyakudo today.

I heard that you were coming to visit the throne...

Ashiya: ...?

[She had the Justice leave, too. It seems like she doesn't want anyone else besides us around...

Just why is that---]

Page 23

Abeno: If there is something you would like to speak about in secrecy, we promise that we shall not to reveal it.

Abeno: Not even to the three officials.

Princess: ...

Cough...

Princess: ...

Princess: .............

Princess: ...Abeno Haruitsuki.

There is something I must ask you.

Page 24

Princess: Do you think that Aoi is alive, even now?

Ashiya: ...!?

Abeno: No.

Princess: ...!?

Page 25

Abeno: Upon being possessed by the parasitic shrub, Aoi was infested by the curse and entered the forest.

Abeno: I don't think there's any possibility that they're still alive.

Princess: ......

Princess: ...That's true...

Abeno: ...It's just that, when thinking about it over and over again...

Abeno: Until their body is found, I would rather gamble on them being alive.

Page 26

Princess: The Legislator told me...

That only when Aoi's remains are confirmed, would you be able to accept it.

Princess: In other words, even now,

Princess: You won't give up on Aoi's survival.

Princess: ...I feel the same as you do.

Princess: There is no way to save demons that have been cursed by the parasitic shrub...

I realize that Aoi has to have passed away that same way.

Page 27

Princess: ...But... Somewhere deep down...

Princess: I cannot help but wish that they are still alive...!!

Princess: I had once prepared myself for their death, to respect that child's will, but...

Without anyone to take the throne if I collapse, I realize the magnitude of what was lost each day...

Princess: Aoi was... cough... a prodigy essential to the Underworld!

(And that child was also...)

(The only friend I could talk to, who didn't treat me as the Underworld Princess.)

Page 28

(Making other demons go into the forests in order to find Aoi,

Would be making them take a mission to risk their lives, with the threat of the curse.)

(...But humans can't be cursed.)

Princess: ....

Princess: I want Aoi to come back...!

Princess: Please, would you go to the forests to look for Aoi?

[nanininni235]

feelings

There’s no possible way for me to describe how much I love shipping Itsuki and Maki. I know everyone else is ranting they rather ship Maki with Touma or even Yu, but I’d rather just stick with my own thing. Like can no one else see how much potential this ship has??? It’s just too cute and I just....ugh I love them too much to explain....

[miyako-no-prince]

70 MasaMei and 95 SawaItsuRai ❤💛

thanks for the lovely prompts ❤💛 

the MasaMei got so much longer than I intended these prompts to be, so I’ll do the SawaItsuRai in a separate post

AO3

“After everythingwe’ve been through, you still don’t think that I love you?”

The silence thatfollowed was deafening. Mei didn’t even look at him, stubbornly avoiding hisgaze. It said everything, but Masatoshi was determined to make him talk anyway.Maybe if he said it out loud, he’d realize how ridiculous it was. How stupid andunnecessary this whole situation was.

“Answer me, Mei.”

More silence.Masatoshi resisted the urge to sigh, or alternatively shake Mei until he had nochoice but to finally say what he really thought.

As the silencecontinued, Masatoshi wondered if this really had been worth it.

They starteddating a few months ago, and Masatoshi had actually been happy with theirrelationship. They tended to have small fights a lot, but they were alwaysresolved easily enough, never weighing on his mind too much. It was just… everysingle one of them had been resolved by him apologizing, with Mei maybeapologizing back if he felt particularly guilty.

This just wasn’tan accurate representation of who’d caused those fights. 90% - the mostgenerous assumption Masatoshi was willing to make – were purely caused by Meibeing purposefully contrarian, lazy, or annoying.

Masatoshi knew Meiwas prideful and had trouble apologizing, even if he recognized he was atfault. Still, he’d thought wanting Mei to get over his pride just once, forsomething minor at that, wouldn’t be too much to ask. If he insisted just once,and Mei realized this was important to Masatoshi and just said sorry, then hecould shut up the tiny nagging voice that told him Mei wasn’t as committed orin love as he was.

Not wanting torisk any trouble to the team, he’d waited until after summer koushien to gothrough with his plan, and it turned out to be a good choice. Even though thefight had been stupid, and entirely Mei’s fault, and could’ve been entirelyinconsequential, Mei flat-out refused to apologize. Even at the threat thatMasatoshi wouldn’t talk to him until he did. Even at the threat that Masatoshi wouldbreak up with him if he didn’t. Mei just yelled at him and ran away.

At first, Masatoshihad thought Mei would just need some time to realize what happened, and then he’dcome to apologize. But nothing of the sort happened. They didn’t have topractice together anymore, and Mei made sure they interacted as little aspossible.

After a month,Masatoshi had simply assumed that was it, Mei really hadn’t cared much aboutwhat they had. It hurt, but there was nothing he could do.

He’d been resoluteabout staying away and just getting over it, until one night Tadano had knockedon his door, tears streaming down his face as he’d tried to convey the angerand despair he was currently feeling because of Mei. Masatoshi had known Meiwasn’t exactly business as usual at practice, but he hadn’t known just how badit was.

It simply wasn’tfair to let Tadano suffer on his own because Mei couldn’t deal with hisemotions any other way. None of this had anything to do with him. He was justthe easiest target. There was nothing he could do to make Mei behave like adecent human being towards him.

Masatoshi, on theother hand, could at least try. He didn’t know how much sway he still had withMei at this point, but it was certainly more than Tadano.

He’d really intendedto keep their talk focused on Mei’s behaviour toward Tadano, but Mei wasn’thaving it. He interrupted Masatoshi before he even had a chance to finisheverything he’d meant to say.

“Oh, I see, so youcan just use your kouhai who also happens to be your battery partner as you seefit and it’s all fine, but when I do it, it’s bad and I should feel bad? Forgetit. I don’t give a shit about Itsuki, but at least I don’t lie to him and tellhim I love him.”

Which ledMasatoshi to the realization that Mei was absolutely convinced he didn’t lovehim, even if he currently refused to say it directly.

“Mei,” he triedagain, “I’m not leaving until you answer me.”

“Fine,” Meipressed out between gritted teeth, “I know you don’t love me and I knew it fromthe start. Now you can just admit it and then we can be done with this.”

The absolutecertainty in his voice cut straight into Masatoshi’s heart. Mei wasn’t joking,exaggerating, or being dramatic. He believed it. Despite everything, all theirshared moments, movie nights, intimate touches, practice hours, wins andlosses, despite it all, Mei had never fully trusted his love. And Masatoshinever noticed. Never even considered the possibility.

But then, whywould he? He’d told Mei he loved him. Multiple times. Dated him for months. Didhis best to make it work. Mei had never expressed any kind of insecurityeither. In fact, Masatoshi had been under the impression that Mei knew way toowell how loved he was.

Maybe he should’vesaid that out loud, but instead, he asked “Are you an idiot?”

Which maybe wasn’tthe smartest way to go about this. Masatoshi realized it immediately, at least,and added “Why do you think I dated you, then?”

It calmed the furyin Mei’s eyes, at least a little. He shrugged. “I’m cute.” Masatoshi had toagree on that, but in any other situation, he would’ve scolded Mei for sayingit about himself. “You liked the sex.” Also true. But how shallow did Mei thinkhe was? “And I was the one who asked you out. If you told me no or broke up withme, it might’ve affected my performance, and thus your chance at winningkoushien. So you just strung me along until you retired, and I was useless toyou. Didn’t even wait a week.”

So Mei had actuallypicked up on the fact that he’d waited with this until after koushien. He justtotally got it wrong.

“I told you, whatI wanted was just an apology from you. I did wait out koushien on purpose,because you’re right, I didn’t want to ruin our chances, but I didn’texpect you to be this stubborn about it.”

“Bullshit! You cansay what you want, you never cared before if I didn’t apologize over littlethings! You were just trying to find a reason to break up over, and I for surewasn’t going to make it harder for you by actually saying sorry, because unlikewhatever you think, I’m not actually stupid!”

“Yes, you are! Whyis it so hard to understand that I just wanted you to swallow your pride forthe sake of our relationship a single time? It always annoyed me that I have tobe the one to apologize to you even if you were the one starting the fight! Butyou could’ve just fixed that, and we’d have been just fine.”

“No, we wouldn’t!What kind of relationship is it when you’re just annoyed with me all the time,huh? Is that love to you? You wanna get married someday and see your spousecome up to you and say their vows and you think ‘ugh how annoying I wish they’djust shut up’? Is that what you dream of?”

Mei had gotteninto his face at some point, and now that he was talking about marriage forsome reason, a part of Masatoshi’s brain wanted to grab him and kiss him, holdhim close and tell him how much he missed that kind of thing over the pastmonth, but thankfully there was still a larger part of his brain that told himto listen instead, and to respond, so he could figure out exactly what Mei wasthinking. What his actual problem was. And fix it.

“What, so you’remad that I was annoyed when you purposefully tried to annoy me?”

“No! I’m mad thatyou’re annoyed whether I try to annoy you or not! Even when I’m trying to benice! You can’t even tell the difference! All you ever say is ‘Shut up, Mei’!It doesn’t matter if I tell you about something I care about or just try tomake the most annoying noise possible, it’s all the same to you. I don’t knowif you actually think you love me, but I know you already noticed that I just amannoying. Down to my core, it’s who I am. That’s why you don’t enjoy spendingtime with me. Nobody does. Sooner or later, you’ll realize it’s too much, it’sjust not worth it, just like everyone else. I think you already did.”

What started as anoutburst turned quiet toward the end. There were tears glistening in Mei’seyes, and he slowly backed away again.

Panic spreadthrough Masatoshi’s chest. Mei was right here, so close to him, but Masatoshiwas losing him, and he just knew if he didn’t cross the distance right now, he’dnever manage to get a hold of him again.

And he couldn’t finda way to close the metaphorical distance, but his body reacted faster than hismind did, grabbing Mei by the shoulders and holding him in place whileMasatoshi struggled to figure out what to say. Not an easy task when he stillwasn’t sure he properly understood exactly what Mei meant.

“What are you eventalking about?” Masatoshi settled on when the silence was starting to stretchlong enough to be uncomfortable. “You can’t just go and decide these things forother people. Even assuming I don’t actually love you romantically doesn’t meanI don’t like being around you. And what’s with that ‘everyone’? You have plentyof friends, right? Everyone on the team, and your classmates… I’m sure theylike having you around.”

But Mei simplyshook his head. “No. I have people who tolerate and placate me because theyneed my baseball skills, and people who admire me because they don’t actuallyknow me. And I guess I have Kazuya, who’d rather be annoyed than alone. That’sit.”

Masatoshi couldn’thelp but feel a pang of annoyance that Miyuki Kazuya of all people got an extraspot in this listing, while he was presumably lumped in with the rest of theteam in the first category. But he swallowed it down.

“What about yourfamily?”

This time, theresponse was a shrug. “My mom and sisters are all just as annoying as me, so Iguess we can all just comfortably annoy each other. I honestly don’t know whymy dad is still happily married to my mom, I guess he must be some kind ofmasochist.”

“Well, maybe I’m amasochist. You don’t know that.”

While… this wasn’texactly what he’d planned to say – in fact he’d never thought about thisbefore and he was sure he’d found better ways to express what he meant if he’dthought about it for more than a millisecond – it did make Mei look at him forreal for the first time since he’d entered his room.

“What?”

Even if it was alook that was trying to figure out if he had gone completely nuts.

“Um, I mean, inall seriousness, I missed you, Mei.” Yes, that sounded much better, much morelike a normal person. “I honestly missed being around you, and even beingannoyed by you on a daily basis during the past month.”

“I guess thatkinda does make you a masochist.”

“Thanks.”

His voice was dry,but it was actually hard to maintain. He could see the edges of a smile tuggingat Mei’s lips as their bickering progressed naturally as it had so many timesbefore. It was a feeling like coming home, and it automatically made Masatoshihope, even if they still hadn’t really found a resolution to the problem athand. But they were getting there.

In the end, perhapspredictably, Masatoshi simply relented. He pulled Mei into his arms, and didthe one thing he promised he wouldn’t do this time. “I’m sorry.”

“But you said-”

“I know. And I’mnot sorry about anything concerning the small fight we had that led to all ofthis. That was your fault. But I hurt you. I didn’t mean to, I had no idea whatI’d cause, but I hurt you. I still don’t quite understand how you came to yourconclusions or how you feel, but none of that really matters. I’m just sorry,and I need you to know that.”

“I’m sorry, too,”Mei mumbled into his chest, “I was extra annoying because I was trying to seeif you’d keep me around when you didn’t need me anymore. Guess I got exactly whatI asked for…”

The apology fellfrom Mei’s lips so easily, with such a sense of relief, and finally it occurredto Masatoshi that maybe it hadn’t been pride – or at least not pride alone –that had kept Mei from apologizing first for so long. If he really saw beingannoying as part of himself, then of course apologizing felt like apologizingfor who he was, rather than a small one-time thing. And it always carried therisk of getting told the apology wasn’t good enough, that maybe Mei just wasn’tgood enough.

It didn’t exactlysolve Masatoshi’s initial issue, all it really did was complicate finding asolution they’d both be happy with, but Masatoshi figured it would be muchbetter to look for one together than stay apart out of misplaced anger, prideand hurt.

“Mei, I’ll alwayswant to keep you around, as long as you want me by your side as well. Let’sjust… talk, okay? We’ll figure something out, together. So we won’t ever bothbe sad and lonely for a whole month for no reason again.”

Mei nodded againsthis chest. “Okay. Yeah, that sounds good. But, before we do that, can I kissyou?”

“You missed that,huh?”

“Oh, you have noidea.”

“I’m pretty sure Ido.”

Before Mei couldfigure out his next retort, Masatoshi bent down, gently tilting up Mei’s chinwith his hand, and pressed their lips together.

They practicallymelted together, and finally, after a month of everything feeling out of place,the world was right again.

 Bonus

They ended upcuddling on Mei’s bed and talking way into the night, about their feelings andissues and experiences all the way to their perception of the world, and it waspossibly the closest Masatoshi had ever felt to someone in his whole life.

Just when theywere both about to fall asleep though, he remembered why he’d chosen to go toMei in the first place.

“I almost forgot,but you really have to stop treating Tadano as bad as you did. I know you wereupset, but he has nothing to do with this.”

Mei groaned. “Iknow. I was just trying to get him to hate me. He looked like he was admiringme when I was just feeling shitty about myself and it pissed me off. I wantedto disappoint him in the worst way possible.”

“Well, I don’tthink it worked anyway. He was totally desperate, but he kept asking how hecould get along with you, or how to make you acknowledge him, how he could getgood enough to be your partner. Even when from what I heard, I’d be at thepoint where I’d be asking my senpai for ways to kill you without gettingcaught.”

“What the fuck. Hemust be a masochist for real.”

“Maybe that’s onyou. You attract us.”

“Oh, shut up,Masa-san.”

[hiraethstill]

THIS WEEK AND LAST WEEK ON DAIYA NO ACE (7/16 and 7/23)

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!

7/16 LIVEBLOG:

IMMEDIATE assault by eijun's handsome face

and his DETERMINATION

every time the OP comes on im like where are the babies? THERE THEY ARE @ firsties

the way i GASPED

THIS IS HOW WE FELL IN LOVE WITH EIJUN I TELL YOU

haha poor audience member doesnt know sawamura is mostly good at swinging from the bunt stance

eijun... you have every right to be frustrated

ugh... the way he looks when he was a doormat to the ace... i feel this too much my chest hurts

"if i had pitched like furuya did today i wouldve been subbed out" TOO TRUE AND OUCH

HE HITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

THE BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGENDDD

AND JUST LOOK AT ASADA AND KUKI'S F A C E S

DOUBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

lmao did eijun learn to run bases from mochi? now i want this

uhhh the announcer was wrong? the STANDS were all cheering and happy, it was mostly the dugout that was surprised

bc this is level of trust he gets from first string sigh

sorry all my frustration is here

HAHA OKAY BUT why does this look gayalso sawamura's little "na!" with the pew pew is so cute wtf

his lil cheeky face in the corner im hashjdlkdgj

haruichi and toujou in that shot look like they'd been helping him practice batting and it paid off 

hslkhg eijun and his "hips!" i cant

KANEMARUUUUUUUUU

HELL YEAH TAKUMI NICE SHOULDER

nice eijun is safe

haha i never know who to root for bc i love all the bois

okay but

has anyone ever talked about how cool amahisa's eyes are???

i mean

look at this

so cool

yoooo wtf amahisa's voice in this part is really appealing??? damnn

so... kanemaru's a capable batter even if he's not top tier, why you gotta keep making him bunt

oh well, i like that face you're making kanemaru

noooooooooooo

it's okay kanemaru you did your best

cmon mochi bring him home!!!!!!!!!!

EIJUN ENOUGH WITH THE HIPS LMAO

yeah thats right mochi + other batters, give him the run support he deserves

AMAHISA THE DISASTER BI IM

"did he shave his eyebrows? he looks like a strong fighter" are you just checking him out

you'd want him to do those jump kicks amahisa

moon-face?????

omg i feel the tinglings... of a rarepair... amakura.....................

what was i saying about his EYES??

come the fuck ON dont leave eijun stranded on second!!!!!!

H

HHHHH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MY BOISSSSSSSSSSS

SHOW ME YOUR FACEEE

(and u rite yall amahisa is yabai)

THERE BE YOUR FACEEEE

IM SO EMOTIONAL

AND HIS VOICE

FUCKLE

AND HIMSTDVEEE

whoaaa that slowmo pitching sequence!

HARUCCHIII

oh hello eijun upping the tempo and looking great doing it

wow this super HD sparkle miyuki

EIJUN IS BEAUTIFULLLL and lowkey this looks like the OP

ASADA AND KUKI MY SONS I WOULD DIE FOR YOUUUUUUUUUUUU

BEING SO EXCITED ABOUT THE CUTTER KAI AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I ALSO LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

HLKDHFS AURA

okay sun we gettin a lil cap happy

another pretty eijun shottttt

WHOA 3D BALL

3D SLOWMO BALL

N* H* TT * R

i feel like i jinxed him sorry eijun

also i LOVE when the stands yell OSH OSH OSH back

wow toujou's voice was. so cute??

noriiiii i love you so much and thank you

furuya silently reflecting huh?

YO WTF IN THE MANGA NORI'S CAP COVERS FURUYA'S NUMBER WTF ANIMATORS ITS ICONIC

awww theyre all patting him i wanna pat eijun too

NORIIIIII YOU ARE SO PRECIOUS

kanemaru's eyes are gray??

kousei-san.......... mayhaps i have.......... Feelings about this

"gureato" man tahara is great

HLJSKDFHKGSFJGKFHDGLDF BLONDE AMAHISA

THIS IS JUST FUELING MY AMAKURA LMAOOO

WHY IS BLONDE HAIR IN MIDDLE SCHOOL A RUNNING JOKE IN ANIME

kuramochi, amahisa, hyuuga from knb, alla dem yankees

oh my god is that suddenly shaved head amahisa still in first year he's so smol

wow kousei is so eccentric haha i love it

YESSS BRINGING BACK MANAKA-BOY

omg yakushi cameo!!

wow this is so pleasant to look at and idk why??

his eyeeesss

and this too omgg

I SEE NISHINO

omgggg are they who i think they are

YES THEY AREANIMATORS REALLY BE FEEDING ME TODAY

sorry mimei that was too much tension in a single glance not to be homoerotic

go shirasu-senpai!

wellll shit, rip zono and rip seidou

142 pitches???????? are they throwing out amahisa's arm imma fight

YO OKAY BUT DOES THIS MEAN INAJITSU VS ICHIDAI

"that wouldnt be any fun" uh you do realize you're talking about a person's physical health right audience member???

the. ace. is. not. the. only. player.

its okay this is the peanut gallery they dont matter in the long run

omg are the first years wearing their school uniform slacks

AWWWW TAKU OFFERED TO CARRY SAWAMURA'S BAG

taku always worried about everyone and sawamura looking rather nice actually

HLJSKFDHGD AMAHISA'S FACE LIGHTING UP AT EIJUN

omg was that a little bow eijun made at amahisa before moving on?

"something i want to ask you" are you boutta ask him out amahisa

im sorry i love eyes too much

and also! eijun getting the recognition he deserves!! buuuut from another team rip

cmon eijun he's trying to be nice tbh

lmao koushuu and shirakawa should meet... resting bitch face club 

"i've never seen kousei-san take interest in another pitcher" THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO UNPACK IN THIS STATEMENT

LMAO HE DID HE DID ASK FOR HIS LINE

my sonsssss

yes asada and kuki, be free! go move around!

asdkfh i just squee every time taku

and these lines on koushuu look so nice??

intense son

scremmm

he's so happy and fired up to see koushuu fired up im

wholeass Sons™

lmao koushuu getting mad for sawamura

my inexperience... yes kataoka

teito and inajitsu coaches lmao

500K rivals to fwb to lovers

ive always thought kunitomo's neck crack is so funny

UHHHHH CARLOSHIRA REALLY TOYING WITH MY HEART HERE

THIS IS NOT OKAY

IM NOT OKAY

mochi looking mighty fine in this shot

aw... ejun sitting alone....

just wanna say oda and kuroki very lesbian in the ED

preview

ooh mei batting

sawamura and furuya watching so intently!!

INUI KENGOOOOOO

aw... eijun turning to harucchi for support

oh man third years...

SUMMARY (7/16):

eijun DOUBLES!! 

rip seidou tho 

amahisa's eyes??? pretty??? 

ATTACC BY INAJITSU CAMEO 

taku offering to carry eijun's bag + serious senpai face 

careful amahisa your gay is showing 

koushuu mad on eijun's behalf lmao

inajitsu vs teito next!

7/23 LIVEBLOG:

ah yes, that tension-filled mimei look

CAN THEY STOP TESTING ME WITH CARLOSHIRA SCREENS

ooh this parallel of mei and mukai #1s

why does mei look so young at bat lmao

rather nice shot of mukai tbh

omg that tiny background akamatsu is adorable

WOW i love this shot

hell yeah mei kicking ass and taking names

boi... what you doin

KANETOU RIGHTS

kuraharu rights too!!

wow mochi's voice, never over it

BOI ARE THEY JUST SHOWING SHIPS LOOK AT MINORI

lookit mochi bein a good senpai

ooh eijun finally said no huh

mochi and harucchi look so concerned tbh i am too

mm and miyuki and furuya too huh

WHAT IS THIS BLEP STAHP

oowada always cracks me up lmao

esp when mine is so grave next to her

oh so mukai likes gambling? im not surprised lmaooo

INUI-SANNN I LOVE YOUUU

THE BOIIII

HE

H E

H I M S T

omg the way tetsu says carlos sounds all proud and im soft

PRETTY BOIS DOIN J O B S

GETTIN THAT BREAD

omg two RBIs too good job shirakawa!!!

omg im so glad mei encouraged itsuki

have i ever mentioned

inui x mukai RIGHTS

ESP THIS SEQUENCE OF MUKAI (AND INUI) PRACTICING

BOIIII

that toujou face... some toujou and mukai art i saw comes to mind

DAMN THE IMAGE WHEN INUI HITS IM WOW

also is carlos actually wearing his compression undershirt holy wow

he didnt used to at least

ANYWAY INUI DINGERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

HELL YAHHH

omg was that a little tiger next to inui SO CUTE

oh my god "mei-san mei-san" too cute

LMAO TOO LONG

MEI I SWEAR

yoo mei you okay there

SLOW MO BALL

okay why does he look so good please

OKAY WHY DOES HE LOOK SO GOOD PLEASE

do you know how many times i had to rewind for this screenshot

shirakawa also looks good frustrated fuckle

mei stop shakin off signs dammit

ooh nice akamatsu shot

seidou shares one (1) brain cell in this screen

much too short a game damn...

ive heard we were robbed of itsuki's blush??? cause hello i need catcher catcher goodness with him and inui

omg... they're literal children

SSLKDFHLSKDHGSSTOPPPPPPPPP

IM WEAK OKAY

I KNOW IT

I ACCEPT IT

HOW DAREMSTDVE

AND HIS V O I C E

WTFFFFFFFFFFFFF

hahaha anyway im just laughing at carlos being a momentary harada

"mei-san" !!!

mei x mukai... so chaotic

wow amahisa looks so nice???

lmao they really didnt HAVE to put harucchi in the bg when miyuki's talking to furuya but they DID

miyuki... looking at mei too long not to be homo there

eijun :c

oh man

that really hurt

the face of a SON tho

"so you are human after all" so many things i want to say about this

sawamura... doesn't seem to hold a grudge against furuya at all and honestly wow...

tho its def not furuya's fault i think thats a mark of him being pretty mature!

anyway im glad furuya wants to watch the video too

also nabe!!!!! i wonder how close eijun and nabe are and how many times eijun has bothered him for the videos haha

ochiai, a backup catcher... interesting

"he must overcome this on his own" do you know how many problems there are with this statement

yeah it wasnt fair

"for better or for worse" are you kidding

oh furusawa lmaoo

and nabe just patient over there

oh hello masayui and kanetou

anime fist clench

koushuu!!!

oh man miyuki introspection......... i know where this is going.........

appreciating sawamura's hard work and optimism!!!!!

HE IS READY DAMMIT

how many more times does he have to prove it to you

loveLY but also reused?

WOW IM EMOTIONAL ALL THESE MEMORIES...

ALSO THIS IS PRETTY DAMN GAY...

and the shadow of miyuki in the background... WOW

three months............. until the third years retire...........................................

im not okA Y............................

all the things this smile hides

preview

BOI YOU ALREADY PITCH THAT WELL

wow too many sons

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

BABY TAKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

AND BABY KOUSHUU

END CARD WITH MANAGERS AAA CUTE

SUMMARY (7/26):

mei kicking ass and taking names 

mukai and his fooken BLEP 

PRETTY INAJITSU BOIS DOIN JOBS 

INUI DINGERRR 

inui/mukai rights 

mei + mukai actual CHILDREN 

carloshira stop attaccing sun challenge f a iled 

eijun @ harucchi :c 

three months... 

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! 

[myanime2go]

15 Anime Like Dr. Stone [Recommendations]

I am ten billion percent sure you have been compelled by the power of science and you’re looking for more anime like Dr. Stone. Well, you have come to the right place!

And for readers who have not watched Dr. Stone yet. Dr. Stone was one of the most popular anime of the Summer 2019 anime season, and for good reason. It was a fascinating show with a unique premise, interesting main cast, educational, insightful and fascinating to watch. Summary One fateful day, all of humanity was petrified by a blinding flash of light. After several millennia, high schooler Taiju awakens and finds himself lost in a world of statues. However, he's not alone! His science-loving friend Senku's been up and running for a few months and he's got a grand plan in mind—to kickstart civilization with the power of science! By resetting the world, animes like Dr. Stone really allow us to explore human nature and the future of society. Can we be better? Is it possible to restore technological advances to what it is now? It's definitely a fun topic to watch.

let's get started!

Anime Similar to Dr. Stone

15. Planetes

Studios: SunriseEpisodes: 26Aired: Fall 2003  If what you loved most about Dr. Stone was its commitment to scientific accuracy, you should give Planetes a try, it can be slow-paced but for your patience, it rewards you with amazing character development that sets Planetes apart from other anime. Summary Haunted by a space flight accident that claimed the life of his beloved wife, Yuri finds himself six years later as part of a team of debris cleaners on a vessel called the Toy Box charged with clearing space junk from space flight paths. The team consists of Hachimaki, a hotshot debris-man with a sailor’s affinity for the orbital ocean; Fee, a chain-smoking tomboy beauty with an abrasive edge; and Pops, a veteran orbital mechanic whose avuncular presence soothes the stress of the job. https://youtu.be/IzfiI1jIGi8 Planetes features distinct realism in its storytelling, relatable characters, a genuine sense of humour and motivational dreams. 14. Are You Lost? (Sounan Desu ka?)

Studios: EzόlaEpisodes: 12Aired: Summer 2019 Dr. Stone and Are You Lost? both have characters that must survive the peril they are kept in and characters that know a lot and come up with ideas to help survive. Summary Four girls are stranded on a deserted island after surviving a plane crash. How can they survive? Because of a plane crash … starting today, we're spending the springtime of our lives on a desert island!! There's nothing here, so we have to make everything!! And eat everything!! (Ugh!) Check out our high-school-girl survival story of courage and knowledge. We're actually doing pretty well! https://youtu.be/wwP8TQE2P0c Are You Lost? doesn't take itself too seriously, it is a little more light-hearted, funny, fan service fueled and filled with cute girl anime. while with some of the same themes as Dr. Stone, Are You Lost? maybe a good choice.  13. Space Brothers

Studios: A-1 PicturesEpisodes: 99Aired: Spring 2012 Space Brothers and Dr. Stone are both animes about science and engineering. Both characters also dream of going to space and both plots are rooted in real science. Summary One night in 2006, when they were young, the two brothers Mutta (born 1993) and Hibito (born 1996) saw what appeared to be a UFO heading for the moon. They decided that night to both become astronauts and travel out into space. In 2025, Hibito has become an astronaut, and he’s going to go to the moon. Mutta ended up following a more traditional career path with an auto development company. However, Mutta just ruined his career through a violent altercation with his boss. Now, not only has he lost his job, he appears to be blacklisted in the entire industry. Maybe this is a rare opportunity for Mutta to once again chase his childhood dream and become an astronaut like his little brother! https://youtu.be/ciS3fDqT1Vw Space Brothers is a well-constructed anime that mixes a heartwarming story with delightful comedy and relatable characters to show the audience just how difficult it is to become an astronaut. 12. Moyashimon

Studios: Telecom Animation Film, ShirogumiEpisodes: 11Aired: Fall 2007 Moyashimon like Dr. Stone is very educational and entertaining. It may not be survival based like Dr. Stone but most of the skills learnt in it, will be needed by Senku and Taiju if they are going to survive and kick start civilisation. Summary Meet Sawaki Tadayasu, second son of yeast preparation suppliers, who is forced to go to an agricultural university and continue the family business. He has the unique ability to see and communicate with microbes, and so he and his friend, Kei, are taken as students to the fermentation-process obsessed Itsuki-sensei. This anime follows Sawaki as he tries to make his way through university as discreetly as possible…which is pretty impossible if you’re as talented as he is. https://youtu.be/CzKecuRFICw Every now and again an anime comes along that is quirky, odd, and oftentimes underrated, Moyashimon is just such an anime. 11. Steins;Gate

Studios: White FoxEpisodes: 24Aired: Spring 2011 Steins;Gate like Dr.Stone is a science fiction anime that anyone who loves this genre should be sure to give it a try. Summary The story of Steins;Gate takes place in Akihabara and is about a group of friends who have managed to customize their microwave into a device that can send text messages to the past. As they perform different experiments, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down and now the characters have to find a way to avoid being captured by them. https://youtu.be/27OZc-ku6is Steins;Gate was one of those animes that made me laugh, cry and really connect with our characters. It also made me think, and it rewarded my thoughts by having closure and clarity. 10. 7 Seeds

Studios: GonzoEpisodes: 12Aired: Spring 2019 After watching Dr. Stone you are probably now into series that depict people trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic future. Well, 7 Seeds is a much more realistic take on this narrative, with ordinary people trying to come to terms with the idea of everyone they knew and loved being dead while trying to survive in the wilderness. Summary Scientists had predicted this disaster, and in response, the leaders of every country met to develop a plan for human survival before the meteor hit. The Seven Seeds project was developed out of this meeting. Each country froze a number of young healthy people, which allowed them to survive the meteor. After the computer determined that Earth was once again safe for human life, it released them into the world. The Japanese government created five groups of survivors: Winter group, Spring group, Summer group A, Summer group B, and Fall group. Each group consisted of seven members and one guide. The guide carried small tubes of poison on their necks to allow them to end their lives if their situation became unbearable. The Japanese government prepared seven "Fuji" as refuges for the groups. In each Fuji, the group would find seeds and numerous books instructing them on survival in the wilderness. https://youtu.be/7iCWs2HigSw Much like Dr. Stone, 7 Seeds is all about learning to prevail in the wilderness without the benefits of modern technology. And it's definitely can be seen has a more realistic, less comedic take of Dr. Stone's end-of-humanity plot. 9. The Promised Neverland (Yakusoku no Neverland)

Studios: CloverWorksEpisodes: 12Aired: Winter 2019 The Promised Neverland like Dr. Stone is a survival anime though not completely the same, but with its psychological thriller element it keeps us at the edge of our seats. Summary Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing. https://youtu.be/JIcjo7XVlOY The Promised Neverland starts off cute and harmless but it turns out there is more than meets the eye in this anime, with its cliffhangers, extremely suspenseful, tense and heart-rending moments. It's definitely a must-watch. 8. No Game, No Life

Studios: MadhouseEpisodes: 12Aired: Spring 2014 No Game, No Life is a beautifully colourful world, filled with wonder and brilliance. And like Dr. Stone, there is a lot of tactical thinking used by the characters which are very exciting to watch. Summary The internet is full of rumours about the Neet and Hikikomori genius gamer siblings Sora and Shiro. The two go as far as to refer to the world as a “shit game“, but then one day a young man calling himself “God“ summons them to a parallel universe. There, God has forbidden war, and “everything is to be settled with games“. Yes, even the national borders. Driven into a corner by other species, the ’human species’ is down to its last city. Can Sora and Shiro, these related failures of society, become the saviours of humankind in this parallel world? https://youtu.be/fV7nGIUuyzA No Game No Life is a brilliantly exciting masterpiece that challenges and excites viewers all at once. And just like Dr. Stone, you will find yourself needing to binge-watch the whole series if you decide to give it a try. 7. Cells at Work! (Hataraku Saibou)

Studios: David ProductionEpisodes: 13Aired: Summer 2018 After watching Dr. Stone, if you’re curious about science and biology, Cells at Work! Is definitely the show for you, it will satisfy and entertain you to no end, with its educational substance, comedic take and like Dr. Stone, it is an exciting take on the 'science is fun' trope. Summary Within the human body there is said to be approximately 60 million cells. White blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, macrophages, memory cells, killer T cells, natural killer cells, B cells, mast cells and many more! All these different cells work tirelessly within the body, never resting for a moment, at any time willing to resist invading foreign entities like germs and viruses to the bitter end! From Akane Shimizu, winner of Shounen Sirius’ Rookie Award, comes an informative tale about anthropomorthized cells! https://youtu.be/HMXWvvjAJek Cells at Work! is definitely different from a lot of anime shows, I mean how many shows are set inside the human body, humanizing all the cells and microscopic organisms within. It's definitely a must-watch if you liked Dr. Stone. 6. Astra Lost in Space (Kanata no Astra)

Studios: LercheEpisodes: 12Aired: Summer 2019 Kanata no Astra is definitely an underrated anime, looks can be deceiving and that's how this anime feels at first glance but it's a real gem and like Dr. Stone is a whole new breath of fresh air. Summary The year is 2061 when space travel is now possible and commercially viable, and the students of Caird High School embark on their Planet Camp. But soon after Group B5 arrived at their planetary campsite, a mysterious and unforeseen sentient light sphere warps its 9 members into outer space, stranding them 5012 light-years away from their home planet. With the discovery of an old, unmanned spaceship nearby, the students must stay strong, manage their limited resources and remain united in the darkness of space, so that all of them can survive their long and likely perilous trek back home aboard the Astra. https://youtu.be/wD9o_8UjOvg Kanata no Astra is a really decent anime, with a lot of mystery, logic and survival. Each element is done in a reasonable and accurate way like Dr. Stone, even the humour and drama aspects are well balanced and perfectly timed. 5. From the New World (Shinsekai Yori)

Studios: A-1 Pictures Episodes: 25Aired: Fall 2012 From the New World is like Dr. Stone just a lot darker and with a more serious tone, looking at how humanity has survived its destruction and rebuilt society. Asking the big questions what is yourself? society? and the importance of humanity? Summary The story is set in Japan a millennium from now. Five children — the protagonist Saki, Satoru, Maria, Mamoru, and Shun — have been born and raised in a tranquil town that can be described as a utopia, overflowing with water and green foliage. The world is ruled by people who have the “cursed power“ or the “gods’ power“ of telekinesis. After a certain incident, Saki and the others come to realize the true nature of their world. Before long, they learn everything, including the bloody history that brought humanity to this state. The five throw themselves into life-threatening adventure, fighting to protect friends and a world on the brink of collapse. https://youtu.be/hJn3FNPoY5A From the New World is a slow-paced anime but if you are patient with it, it's an amazing and thought-provoking anime that you will be glad you watched. 4. Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji)

Studios: A-1 PicturesEpisodes: 11Aired: Summer 2012 When I started watching Silver Spoon, like Dr. Stone I had my reservations thinking it would just be another fun little slice of life anime but it was much more. Summary Yugo Hachiken aspires to live separated from his family, so he takes the initiative by enrolling in an agriculture school. He thinks, with his talent in studying, no problems will arise no matter what kind of school he attends. He is quickly proven wrong. Raised as a city boy, he is forced to uncover the inconvenient truth about agricultural life. Enjoy the story of Hachiken, as he tries to keep up with his new friends, farmers’ heirs, who are already accustomed to the harsh world of farming. The story of a sweat, tear, and mud-stained youth begins! https://youtu.be/b-yCzcYqH5E Silver Spoon like Dr. Stone is the perfect example of an anime that encourages us to believe in our abilities to set our own path and with hard work and teamwork, we can overcome hardship. 3. Death Note

Studios: MadhouseEpisodes: 37Aired: Fall 2006 When Tsukasa Shishiou reveals his intention to revive only the young, destroy the petrified adults and leave society in the Stone Age, Dr. Stone started to remind me a lot of Death Note. With the strong rivalry between our protagonist and rival, the way they used their intellect to get things done, outsmarting the rest of the cast or just the lengths they went to achieve their dreams. Summary An overachieving 12th grader, Yagami Light is an aspiring young man who seems destined for success. Unfortunately, his daily habits bore his incredible intelligence. So when a strange black notebook falls from the heavens during his class, it isn’t long before he takes it for himself. In his room, he finds, to his horror/fascination, that the Death Note is real, and owned by Ryuk, a Shinigami (Death God). Any person’s name written in the Death Note will die in 40 seconds.... without fail. With this supposed gift of God, Light swears upon his grave that he will ’cleanse’ the world of the evil and needless people that inhabit it, thus creating a utopia for all. With the world’s greatest detective, L, hot on his tail, will Light’s ideals prove too fantastic to realize, or will he succeed bringing justice? https://youtu.be/Vt_3c8BgxV4 Death Note is definitely one of the best anime series of all time. 2. Ascendance of a Bookworm

Studios: Ajia-DoEpisodes: 14Aired: Fall 2019 Ascendance of a Bookworm starts off like Dr. Stone the main character is removed from her world and brought back to a world that is primitive to her own. Using science and history knowledge from her time period to adapt and influence the new world and its native inhabitants. Summary Reino, a book-loving college student who just got her Librarian certification and was just hired to be the librarian of a large university library. Just before graduating and entering the job of her dreams, she was killed by a massive earthquake crushing her underneath a pile of her own books. Wishing for reincarnation in order to read evermore, where she got reincarnated to was a world with a low literacy rate and very few books, limited only to the nobility of the world. As she reincarnated as the daughter of a lowly soldier, no matter how much she wants to read there is no way there are any books around. If there are no books then what do you do? Why you make them yourself of course. What her goal is, to become the librarian of a library! In order to live a life surrounded by books, she starts with making books. https://youtu.be/KfPyxG-ZbFM Ascendance of a Bookworm is Dr. Stone for viewers who want a slow-paced plot, that explores more of the ordinary life of a bookworm. It's a beautiful isekai anime I recommend you give a try. Honourable Mentions Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Studios: Bones, Kinema CitrusEpisodes: 11Aired: Summer 2009 Uninhabited Planet Survive! (Mujin Wakusei Survive)

Studios: Madhouse, Telecom Animation FilmEpisodes: 52Aired: Fall 2003 Kemurikusa

Studios: YaoyorozuEpisodes: 12Aired: Winter 2019 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Studios: Studio Hibari, TopcraftEpisodes: 1Aired: Winter 1984 The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Studios: J.C.Staff, Egg FirmEpisodes: 120Aired: Summer 2016 Jyu-Oh-Sei: Planet of the Beast King

Studios: BonesEpisodes: 11Aired: Spring 2006 1. Girl’s Last Tour

Studios: White FoxEpisodes: 12Aired: Fall 2017 Girl’s Last Tour is quite similar to Dr. Stone in both plots happen in an apocalyptic world, where our characters survive the day-to-day hostilities of their environments. Summary Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they're sucking down their fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing, the experiences and feelings the two shares give them something to live for… https://youtu.be/SuVVs4giZrI Girls’ Last Tour is lighthearted and emotionally; it excels through simplicity and thoughtfulness. Making it one Of best shows of its year.

science!!!!! Well, that's my list. Do you think there is any anime I missed let me know in the comments section below? Till next time stay safe. Read the full article

[recentanimenews]

Raphtalia and Filo’s Voice Actors Discuss Shield Hero’s Pivotal Moments

This piece was originally published on WebNewtype and is republished on Crunchyroll News with permission from KADOKAWA.

  From The Rising of the Shield Hero

©2019 Aneko Yusagi, KADOKAWA/Shield Hero production committee

  The Rising of the Shield Hero is a currently airing popular TV anime series. Here we’ll be presenting an interview with Asami Seto, who voices Raphtalia, and Rina Hidaka, who voices Filo. In the first part we’ll talk to the voice actors about the story up until the turning point that occurs in Episode 4 and about the appeal of Raphtalia’s character.

  Let’s look back at the beginning of the first half of the series, I’d like to ask specifically about the story as it revolves around Raphtalia. First, what were your impressions of Episode 1?

  Hidaka: Filo doesn’t appear in those episodes, so I think I looked at it the same way as the viewers thinking, “So this is how Naofumi’s personality was from the beginning,” and “Wow, Myne is awful!”

  Seto: You just can’t help but feel sorry for Naofumi.

  Hidaka: I was really surprised by Myne and the other heroes, it’s rare for characters to be that infuriating (laughs).

  Seto: Yeah, it makes your heart hurt because Naofumi was just looking forward to adventuring in this other world; why does he have to have so many awful things happen to him like this?

  Hidaka: In my line of work I get to be involved with a lot of different anime, but there are very few where you’re surrounded by enemies to such a degree. However, there is the word “rising” in the title of the anime, so I look forward to seeing how Naofumi will prove himself to everyone.

  Raphtalia appears at the end of Episode 1 and in Episode 2 she becomes Naofumi’s partner and we get to see her maturing.

  Seto: At first Raphtalia is such a young girl and it wasn’t the type of role that I do very often, so when it finally came time to watch it on air I felt kind of embarrassed (laughs). But I was relieved after the staff told me that the show was receiving positive feedback.

  Hidaka: Raphtalia was so cute! By the time I entered postrecording she’d already grown up into this cool, reliable old sister figure, so seeing her injured, weak and experiencing trauma was very sad but also a totally different experience.

  Seto: That’s true, in Episode 2 Raphtalia has a lot of scenes where she’s scared, and I wondered to myself why does this girl have to go through such awful things?

  Hidaka: But for all she suffered, it just made her look that much cuter when she started eating her kids’ meal and wiggling her tail.

  Seto: I love that scene! Not just Raphtalia, Naofumi is great in that scene too. He doesn’t just feed her, he also gives her a ball too, it made me feel like despite the fact that his heart is dark and closed off, he still has kindness left and it gave me hope for their future.

Actually, in the script of the scene where she’s eating the kids’ meal there were stage directions that said, “Say it very cutely.” It was where Raphtalia was asked, “Does it taste good?” And she answers back, “Yes!”

  Hidaka: This series really raises the bar, doesn’t it?

  Seto: I remember feeling an incredible amount of pressure.

    Was there anything in particular you had in mind when you were acting as the outwardly grown-up Raphtalia?

  Seto: When she matures and her relationship with Naofumi deepens, she has this particularly overbearing motherlike quality that comes out. At first Naofumi was the one saving her all the time, but now she’s the one prioritizing him over herself. I wanted to make sure and maintain that motherly aspect.

  Once she matures, her and Naofumi grow really close to one another, don’t they?

  Seto: Of course she still has those scars and moments of anxiety left from when she was younger, but her feelings of love and loyalty toward Naofumi steadily grow stronger. That isn’t distinctly expressed in the character’s lines, so I hoped to demonstrate her level of affection and attachment by being conscious of the distance between them and the pacing of their conversations.

  Hidaka: You’re really amazing, Seto-chan. The same goes for Kaito Ishikawa as well, but when words like “Yes” appear in the script you don’t just act them as-is, you personally ask the staff and make your own proposals like, “What’s the character’s intention as they’re saying this line?” “Can I try doing it this way?” Seeing both of you do that was very inspiring for me.

  On that note, was there something that particularly stood out to you in your interactions with the staff?

  Hidaka: Raphtalia’s reaction toward Naofumi, right?

  Seto: That’s right! After Naofumi says something to her Raphtalia reacts with an “?” and I couldn’t figure out if she was responding that way because she understood what he meant, or if she was responding that way because she didn’t.

  Hidaka: For the most part actors just take those lines for granted and perform them. Seto-chan, however, would suddenly ask, “Is Raphtalia reacting this way because she understands?” The director’s answer was something we would’ve never even have thought of, so we were glad she asked.

  Seto: Ultimately, Naofumi used words that don’t exist in this other world, so I did Raphtalia’s reaction in a way that was like, “What is Naofumi saying?”

  Hidaka: It’s still the same line but the feelings going into it are different, and I thought to myself, “Seto is as amazing as ever!”

  Seto: The staff have to keep an eye on a bunch of different characters, whereas we basically only have to deal with one of them. In which case, I think it’s natural that the staff wouldn’t realize some aspects, so I think it’s important for us to respect each other as we exchange opinions during the creation of the series.

    Alright then, so how was the climax in the first part during Episodes 3 and 4?

  Seto: I was happy to see Raphtalia grow so much more than she did at first, but as you know from Episode 4, Naofumi didn’t actually realize she had matured until then and that was shocking. It made me realize just how much he’d closed his heart off.

  Hidaka: I was surprised at the way Raphtalia matured. Not just her outer appearance, but emotionally she’d become stronger too. I was happy to see that such a frail girl had become so strong-willed.

  Seto: But there is one mistake I’ve noticed. I meant to voice Raphtalia as being frail, but right from the start she had this unwavering quality to her, more so than I intended.

  Hidaka: Personally, it looked very well-balanced to me. It was true that after Naofumi took her into his care she was immediately terrified all the time, but I think from the beginning she was distinct and had this latent potential to be a very strong-willed girl, so it actually felt natural to me.

  Seto: I’m so happy to hear that! It’s true that when her father was holding her on his lap, telling her the story of the Shield Hero, she readily expressed her own feelings. That aspect of her personality might be connected to her motherliness (laughs).

  How was the duel in episode 4?

  Seto: Ugh… Motoyasu.

  Hidaka: Yeah, it was absolutely awful!

  Seto: Because he believed everything that Myne said.

  Hidaka: At least realize that Myne was using magic!

  (laughs) You both seem to have really hated it.

  Seto: I’m going to be frank and just come out and say it, it got under my skin (laughs). Ren and Itsuki acknowledged the cheating, but Motoyasu couldn’t completely bring himself to believe it.

  Hidaka: I thought he seemed like such a child.

  Seto: I could understand if he was still in his teens, but Motoyasu was the oldest at 21 years-old. It made me think, “Okay, now you” (laughs).

  Hidaka: It was really unfortunate (laughs). The character’s doing this because he has a strong sense of justice, so it’s not like he wants to show contempt for anyone, he’s not a bad person. As a result, there’s this staggering sense of disappointment!

  Seto: But gradually even the unfortunate aspects of Motoyasu start to grow on you.

  Hidaka: Right! There are parts of him that you start to find adorable.

  Seto: That’s why [Makoto Takahashi] looked so cute during postrecording when he was acting out his character.

  Hidaka: He was trying his utmost to become his character.

    Seto-san, you sing the insert song in Episode 4 called Falling Through Starlight, yes?

  Seto: I was so happy that they used the song for such an emotional scene. Although it was played for a pretty long time at a fairly loud volume, so it was a little embarrassing for me.

  Hidaka: It was amazing!

  Seto: It’s not a character song, but the emotions I put into the song were meant to be representative of Raphtalia’s feelings.

  Hidaka: It’s incredible that you were able to sing English lyrics so masterfully.

  Seto: I’ve never really challenged myself to sing English songs before, and I heard it was going to be used in a really pivotal scene, so I wanted to be as accurate as possible. That’s why, before we went into recording, I made requests and had them give me extra practice and rehearsal days. On top of that, I had someone who could speak English give me a lecture before we started the recording. On the day of recording we had the song’s creator, Kevin [Penkin], on Skype giving me direction, so I was able to go into it completely prepared.

  Hidaka: The music in this series is incredible, the opening theme song and ending theme song included, so I’d love for viewers to give it a listen.

  In the next part of this interview we’ll talk about Filo and the events that happen from Episode 5 onward!

  Interview / Article by Daisuke Iwakura

  TV Anime The Rising of the Shield Hero

Staff: Original - Yusagi Aneko (MF Books The Rising of the Shield Hero / Published by KADOKAWA) / Original Artist - Seira Minami / Director - Takao Abo / Series Composition - Keigo Koyanagi / Character Design & Chief Animation Director - Masahiro Suwa / Animation Production - Cinema Citrus / Cast - Kaito Ishikawa as Naofumi Iwatani / Asami Seto as Raphtalia / Rina Hidaka as Filo / Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Ren Amaki / Makoto Takahashi as Motoyasu Kitamura / Yoshitaka Yamaya as Itsuki Kawasumi / Maaya Uchida as Melty

  The Rising of the Shield Hero Anime Official Website

Official Twitter

  Buy the Original Light Novel of The Rising of the Shield Hero at the Crunchyroll Store.

  Watch The Rising of the Shield Hero on Crunchyroll

  See the original article at WebNewtype.

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com