#Natsume really needs that annoying friend

[happywitchesofnewdi]

"It's love, love I tell you!" ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂)⸝♡

[your-phantomfield]

TSUBAKI = YAYOI

i .. ii .. iii circa 2198 for @nkn0va

Dating Tsubaki Yayoi...

I.

Tsubaki grew up sheltered and incredibly lonely; an only child in a house that should have been full with her siblings, a cloistered princess in the garden of a radically conservative family. Even as she grew, her status and conviction pushed many away, leaving her with precious few friends.

All of this is to say, Tsubaki has so, so much love to give, and desperately wants to connect with someone. As a lover, her heart is tremendous.

From the moment you start dating, Tsubaki approaches your relationship as a lifelong partnership. Even if you two were to ever break up, you’d have to do something truly terrible to ever lose her as a friend. Once she loves you, she’ll love you all her life.

II.

She’s actually very shy.  She might initiate a little teasing, and she’s constantly admiring you, so compliments are given freely and often- but touch is complicated for her.  Hand holding, hugging, kissing, cuddling, that’s just not the way she was raised.  The Yayois don’t really hug.

This isn’t to say that she doesn’t enjoy physical affection- honestly, it’s one of the fastest ways to break her composure. She gets flustered quickly.

It’s just that unless you’re into a real slowburn, you’ll have to be the one to initiate most of what we’d consider ‘normal’ relationship activities.  Do go for it, though.  She is so touch starved.  Pet her head and watch her stutter.  Hug her, especially from behind, and catch the exact moment her heart stops completely.

Maybe go a little easy on her, though.  Everything she knows about romance comes from the historical dramas she loves to watch, or poets like Natsume Soseki, infamous for arguing that saying “I love you” directly was much too forward for Japanese sensibilities.  Her media consumption (and the daydreaming it’s inspired) has left her with a kind of 'storybook' idea of how these things work.

III.

Tsubaki does instigate affection- just, in her own way. She approaches those she loves gently. Where another lover might go for a hug or kiss, Tsubaki expresses the same sentiments by brushing dust off your shoulder, adjusting your clothes- or your hair, if she’s feeling incredibly intimate.

Her desire to be near you is expressed by taking care of you. She loves how you look, and she wants everyone to see you as she does, so she encourages you to look your best. If she could wash your hair or your back, that would be the most romantic thing in the world to her.

Her default as a caretaker can lean a little into her starting to nag you, though. Even if you’re in public, if you end up with some food on your face, she’s going to try to wipe it off. She’ll be horribly embarrassed once she realizes what she’s done, and she will apologize- but is she really that sorry? She can't help herself. She thinks you’re cute and she loves to be needed.

IV.

Tsubaki sees a relationship as a partnership. She sees so much good in you, and so much potential for even more amazing things. As far as she’s concerned, you could move mountains if you wanted to. So she wants to do everything in her power to make sure you’re living as your best self- and she really appreciates it if you can offer her the same push.

As mentioned above, this can manifest in some arguably annoying ways; she’s always reminding you to sit up straight, to speak clearly, to apologize less, not to procrastinate, etc.

On the more positive side of things, you will never meet someone more genuinely invested in your life. Tsubaki remembers every interest you share with her, and asks about them often. She wants to know what you did during the day, what you plan to do during the week. Even for hobbies she doesn’t understand, she’ll do her best to learn the lingo and keep an eye out for any events you might be interested in. Any project you’re working on, no matter how trivial you may consider it, she’ll be genuinely excited to see how it goes.

There's a bit of a cute double standard here, actually. Even though she thinks its obvious that she'd be interested in your hobbies, she finds it hard to believe that you would be interested in hers. Even the confident Tsubaki can get a little anxious sometimes. If you offer her some of that same investment and encouragement, she thinks you're some kind of saint.

V.

Speaking of her hobbies. Did you know she loves to paint? She may want to keep this to herself for some time, assuming you wouldn’t be interested in her silly little hobby, but she will eventually set out to paint something specifically for you. Something heartfelt, something connected to good memories. Maybe a landscape of a place you’ve gone on a date, or just somewhere special to you.

More than anything else, she’d love to paint you. She spends a lot of time admiring you and thinking about how she’d do it; where she’d start, what colors to use or mix, what background would suit you the best.

Of course, this can be a difficult ask. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on display like that, but the mutual awareness of the fact that she’s staring at you, taking in every detail, for so long, can be a vulnerable thing for both parties involved. And even then, she’d feel so bad for asking you to stay still, probably bored out of your mind, for the hours it would take to give your portrait the consideration it deserves.

When she does finally paint you, it’s the most romantic date she could ever dream of- and though she probably won't ever tell you, she has been dreaming of it.

She’ll chat with you quietly, teasing a bit if you seem embarrassed. Despite all her worrying before the event, she’s in her element here. You look amazing, and she knows that, so it’s adorable (and quite funny) to see you unsure of such an obvious truth.

VI.

Tsubaki has always imagined a certain path for her future. She would fall in love. Get married. Have children. Raise another generation to do good in the world, and never be lonely again.

Meeting you only strengthened that image. Now there was a face to imagine at the altar. Someone's taste to consider as she fine tuned the wedding in her head. Whether or not you and Tsubaki could have children together in our time, by the BlazBlue era there are numerous magical aids for family planning, and she often wonders about what kind of parent you'll be.

This is something she's always wanted.  This is something she's looked forward to.  Something she's proud she can promise you.  A bright future.

VII.

Of course, her status as a member of the Yayoi family presents some difficulties.  Dating any member of the Duodecim means entering into a life of court politics and all the manipulation and animosity that entails, even if you’re already coming from a high status family.  This is the top of the top.  And if you aren’t coming from a high status family, there are questions about your suitability at every turn.

And then there’s the main issue for a Yayoi. Tsubaki’s father still firmly believes in their family’s tradition, the Yayoi family’s pride; the Yayoi family are excellent with Ars Magus. They marry specifically to ensure that the next generation is just as exceptional as the last.

Raised in this mentality from her birth, Tsubaki does believe in her family traditions wholeheartedly. Her interpretation of things are shockingly innocent, though. She sees you in the best possible light all the time. Anything you enjoy, anything you’re skilled in, she sees as an exceptional talent. Who could be more worthy of the family name than you? Any hobbies you have related to physical activity prove your health and strength, any mental or artistic hobbies prove your genius.

Regardless of your skill in Ars Magus, in the absolute worst case scenario where her father is… hesitant, to accept you, she is willing to argue him on this one thing. The NOL themselves have asked that the Yayois loosen up on their marriage criteria over the past few generations, and it’s obvious to her that you are an incredible match who would honor the Yayoi legacy. She just needs to explain it to her father. She’s positive he will understand.

VIII.

Most of these are set in the year 2198, before Calamity Trigger.  But let's take a moment to jump ahead one year.  To 2199.  The year she received the hardest mission of her life.  The year she picked up the Izayoi.

The moment the weight of the Izayoi settles into her hands for the first time, that bright future she longs to share with you becomes clouded.

She goes to see you before she heads for home to retrieve the Izayoi. Before she starts her mission.

One last careless, happy day together before she'll have blood on her hands. Before the nightmares of a confidential mission she'll never be allowed to tell you about. One last look at your perfect, smiling face before she may never be able to see it again.

[goodlucktai]

soft ground, claiming moon

chase them all away

@natsumeweek 2023 day 5; healing/forgiveness read on ao3

title borrowed from monsters by katie sky

(previous)

x

It’s immediately as horrifying as Shuuichi thought it would be. 

He’s watching a fourteen-year-old boy writhe and bite back what surely would be a howl if he would unlock his jaw enough to let it out. It squeezes past his bared teeth in the form of guttural growls. His hands, clutching at his own arms, as if trying to hug himself together, are rending the fabric of his sleeves, fingers sharpening to points. 

And Natsume is right there. Surrounded by his friends, a motley crew of stupid, stubborn teenagers. They must know the danger they’re in but they don’t flinch. The fear on their faces is reflective of the pain that Nishimura is in, they don’t spare any for themselves. 

“You would let him turn in a room full of children?” Natori demands of Madara. He feels like he’s going insane. The shiki behind him are restless, but they don’t share his single-minded anxiety. Taki’s twin summons snicker at him and Madara flicks an ear derisively. 

“You really don’t have a clue,” the ugly cat says plainly. “It’s very annoying. Knowing a thing is knowing more than how to kill it. Stop talking and pay attention. Maybe you’ll learn something.”

By the time Shuuichi tears his eyes away from the ugly cat, it’s over. Nishimura is gone, and Kitamoto’s arms remain wrapped around a wolf. 

For a moment that feels like a small eternity, Shuuichi forgets to breathe. He can feel his heart in his throat.

The creature is breathing heavily, body heaving. Its thick coat is red-orange in color with white on the throat and belly, not unlike a fox. The face of it is more broad than angular, haloed by a slight mane, and its big ears are rounded at the top instead of pointed. 

“Nishimura?” Kitamoto says. His voice is barely audible even in the absolute silence of the room. 

The wolf lifts its head and finds his face. They stare at each other for two, three, four seconds. 

Then the wolf makes an abrupt turn, climbing clumsily into Kitamoto’s lap and shoving his snout against the boy’s face. Powerful jaws open, and Shuuichi is about to spring past Madara, after all, and then…

“Ugh—ew! Satchan!” Kitamoto sputters. “Don’t lick me!”

“Puppy kisses!” Ogata shrieks. 

“Let’s not swarm him,” Natsume says, holding an arm out to halt the girls from tackling Kitamoto and the wolf to the floor. “Let him acclimate for a minute. Shibata, are you taking pictures right now?”

“No, video.”

“Why?”

“Blackmail?” Shibata says it like Natsume must be stupid for asking. “Relax, if my phone gets hacked I’ll just say it’s my annoying cousin’s annoying dog or whatever.”

“You consider us family?” Taki presses a hand to her heart. “Shibata.”

Before Shibata can reply to that the way he would probably like to, Madara waddles past him. The cat plants its front feet on Kitamoto’s leg and peers up at the wolf thoughtfully. The symbol on his head begins to glow. 

Out of what looks like pure reflex, Ogata quickly knocks Shibata’s phone out of his hand and it clatters to the floor. If the recording picks up Madara’s voice, it will be lost under teenagers screeching at each other. 

The wolf leans down to sniff at Madara curiously. The symbol fades, and the cat says, “That’s a wolf alright.”

“You are remarkably unhelpful,” Shuuichi says. His voice comes out as little more than a wheeze. He feels like he’s just run a marathon. 

“Sensei,” Natsume scolds him mildly. 

“What more do you want?” Madara sits back. “He’s a human, not a yokai, so he isn’t likely to transform into a yokai, is he? He needs a physical form, no matter what shape it may take. The okami that bit him must have given him its own as a parting gift. Even with the curse that was twisting its mind apart, it probably knew that it wasn’t long for this life.” 

The cat looks around at the children and then past them at Shuuichi. With judgmental green eyes, Madara adds, “Okami are messengers, lesser deities. Whoever encountered one and saw fit to banish it with their shitty home-cooked spell deserves whatever they get.”

That much, at least, Shuuichi can’t argue. There is a strict code of conduct that the exorcist community must abide by, and while exceptions can be made here and there, crafting a spell of one’s own design and then using it without so much as getting it peer-reviewed first isn’t just against the rules, it’s downright stupid. 

He would like to give that person, whoever and wherever they are, the benefit of the doubt. He would like to believe they acted in good faith, doing their best to rid the world of another monster.

But for the first time since he made his mad dash to Hitoyoshi, Shuuichi doesn’t know. 

“It—he is a werewolf,” Shuuichi says. “That much is clear. He turned on the full moon and has weakness to pure metals, like silver. If he were to bite one of you in this form, the curse would spread.”

“Okay,” Kitamoto says, his tone suggesting he would like to add a petulant and? “He’s still my brother.”

“He’s dangerous.” 

“So are you,” Taki says sharply. “So am I.” 

“I’m pretty sure Natsume’s grandpa was a tengu or something,” Shibata adds. “He hasn’t come out and said it but the clues are all there. And I mean, the wind goes all crazy when I tick him off. So Natsume could probably start a hurricane if he got angry enough. That seems a little freakier to me than just turning into a big dumb dog once a month. No offense,” he adds insincerely, with a little nod Natsume’s way. 

“Don’t call him dumb,” Ogata says, because that is clearly more pressing than any tengu-related bombshells. “Natsume please can I hug him now?”

The wolf perks up, rounded ears pointing forward, and Ogata opens her arms for him without waiting for permission or approval. The wolf picks itself up on unsteady legs, wobbles for a moment, then bounds with ungainly enthusiasm into Ogata’s snug embrace. 

“Oh, I was so worried about you, I’m so glad you’re okay,” she says, squeezing him for all she’s worth. “I knew you would be but I’m still so, so glad!”

Taki drapes herself over both of them, worming her arms in there somehow, and the wolf whuffles against their hair, wriggling happily. 

“Here,” Tanuma says, appearing at their side with a shallow bowl in one hand and a bottle of Calpico in the other. “He’s barely had anything to eat or drink all day. I don’t know if his tastes will be the same like this, but…” 

“Should we save the snacks for when he’s a person again or let him have some now?” Kitamoto wonders aloud. 

“We can always go get more,” Natsume reasons. 

Shuuichi watches the convenience store bags come out, and a box of Chocorooms gets popped open, and Kitamoto offers the wolf a handful of the chocolate-covered biscuits. An hour ago, Shuuichi would have been horrified to watch the boy stick his open palm within inches of a cursed animal’s teeth. As it is, his alarm springs from a different source entirely.

“Don’t,” Shuuichi says sharply, his mouth moving before he gives it permission to. When the kids stare at him, their expressions a mixture of disdain and frustration, he adds, “Wolves can’t have chocolate.” 

After a beat, Tanuma says, “What?”

“It’s the same reason dogs can’t have chocolate,” Shuuichi says, unable to believe he’s having this conversation. “There’s a chemical in it that’s toxic to them. It’s literally poison.”

Kitamoto yanks his hand back and holds the biscuits an arm’s length away from the wolf. Shibata is frantically looking something up on his phone. 

“Is that true? What else can’t they eat?” Taki says, looking as though she’s seconds away from flinging all of their snacks out the nearest window. 

And really, Shuuichi finds himself thinking, it’s typical. For all his knowledge and research on werewolves and lycanthropy, for all his determination when he arrived here, it’s the three-hour-long learning spree he went on when he agreed to babysit his manager’s seven-month-old cockapoo for the weekend that would have ultimately done the job. And he turned around and used it to prevent the wolf from dying.

The wolf—Nishimura mostly sticks to either Kitamoto or Natsume’s side, his head on their knee or shoulder. He soaks up the attention from his friends but he seems more tired than anything. 

Taki reasons aloud that the first full moon probably took a toll. She thinks that things will get easier as they go. Only time will tell. 

“I’m still going to try to break the curse for you,” she says, holding his snout in her hands and looking him in the eye. “I’m going to try everything. But even like this, we all love you so much.”

He licks her fingers. Message received. 

A few hours later, when the moon was no longer at its zenith, the wolf shuddered and whined, burying his nose against Kitamoto’s stomach. The change happens a little bit faster this time, pale skin peeking through the fur, ears folding back into messy russet-colored hair. It seems slightly less painful, the body returning to the shape it’s supposed to take. 

Finally it’s Nishimura sitting there, pale and exhausted in Tanuma’s oversized jacket. He leans against Kitamoto, pressing his face into his best friend’s shoulder. 

“I like you better as a wolf, Satchan,” Shibata says in a falsely-earnest tone.

“Literally no one invited you, Sumi,” Nishimura replies hoarsely. 

The room is full of relief and laughter as Tanuma drapes a blanket around Kitamoto and Nishimura’s shoulders, as Natsume presses a cold bottle of Pocari into Nishimura’s hands and Ogata tucks the frog stuffie into the blanket with them. 

Nishimura’s friends care about him so much that there is no room left for things like fear or disgust. They’re so loyal to one another, their lives entangled comfortably, their every conversation about the future a vision of togetherness. 

Shuuichi wonders if any other werewolf changed under those conditions. Under their adopted siblings’ gentle, fearless hands, in a room full of faces who looked at them with affection and trust. 

The curse pulls from nature, shaped by the moon and the toxin in the monster’s bite. What else does it absorb? If those fundamental moments are ones of fear and hatred, then it’s little wonder why the recorded history of werewolves is so frightening. 

It’s clear that Shuuichi’s presence is no longer needed, if it ever was in the first place. A quiet word to his shiki sends them ahead of him, back home. Hiiragi lingers to receive a particular set of orders, and sets off in the opposite direction to begin investigating the exorcist at the root of this mess. She is fond of Natsume and his friends and will tackle this job with particular fervor. 

Shuuichi is on the porch watching her departure when a tug on his sleeve draws his attention.

He turns to find Nishimura, of all people, who skitters back a whole two steps when Shuuichi looks at him. 

“Sorry,” the kid says quickly, as if convinced Shuuichi would bite his head off for standing too close. 

This is the boy that Natsume so fondly described on the phone as your number one fan, Natori. He asked Shuuichi for an autograph earlier. Now he can barely look at him, studying his house slippers intently and wringing his hands. 

Shuuichi boxes up the ache in his chest and shelves it for another time. He offers Nishimura a smile, knowing that there’s no way to undo the damage he’s done, but that’s no reason to add to it. 

“No need,” he says. “If anyone should apologize, it’s me. It seems I just never learn.”

“You,” Nishimura starts, and then pauses. Trying again, he says, “You really hunt monsters?”

“My clan did for many generations,” Shuuichi says readily. Frankly, he owes Nishimura whatever answers he wants. “I’m the only one left in my family with the proclivity for it.”

Nishimura nods slowly. He looks over his shoulder, back into the sitting room. It’s a small miracle his brother let him out of his sight for this long after the night they just had. Nishimura must think so, too, because he takes a deep breath and blurts, “It would have been okay.”

Shuuichi frowns, not understanding. 

“If you had to—hunt me,” Nishimura says. He still isn’t looking at him. “If I was going to hurt one of them and you had to stop me. That would have been okay.”

You only see monsters, Taki had said the very first time Shuuichi met her. She stood between him and Natsume with her arms spread wide, tiny and formidable and determined. Are you even looking?

“No, kid,” Shuuichi says gently. “It wouldn’t have.” 

[sakumasmut]

GOOD EVENING FRIEND I AM BACK. (just this weekend tho) HOW R U? I hope you're no longer sick!! please drink golden milk and boost your immune system (if you wish to do so)

- fem!tsumugi ramble?!?

since its tsumugi day I was thinking about all the fem tsumugi fanart that is out there and how she always has big titties, I think she'd absolute love to have them bitten and licked, I also whole heartedly believed she's someone who unknowingly arches her back during it pushing them in your face further but nobody complaining, I think her inner thighs would be very sensitive so she'd enjoy her thighs being slapped as she sits on her knees like a good girl... I also want to talk about how she would love having fingers in her mouth as you use your strap or cock whichever, in her, its a super pretty sight i have in mind like just her sucking and gently biting on your fingers as you ram into her? I still love her titties can't live without them..

- fem!eichi tsumugi and keito ramble including breeding by the five eccentrics?!?!

also oh my goddddd I can't stop thinking about fem!eichi fem!keito fem!tsumugi and the five eccentrics just taking their stress out on them and breeding them whilst teasing their chests I'm so sorry this is stuck in my head please!!! they have so many reasons to make those 3 into their personal cumdumps especially rei??? rei and keito?? childhood friends??? rei and eichi?? roommates after all she put him through??? rei and tsumugi would probably be softer but he's not afraid to bend her over and force her to, talking about how she's too naive and innocent or whatever

I think wataru would probably stick to just fem eichi especially after finding out her little crush on him?? oh he'd breed her gently for HOURS, where as natsume and shu would use her like no fucking tomorrow, no way she's not coming out pregnant after those two?? especially knowing they'd put her in the most humiliating positions ever, and sooner or later in breeding presses.. oh god..

fem!keito probably doesn't really get used by anyone but rei I'm sure rei will keep her full and pretty, I'm sure just rei will be enough for her to not walk properly for a while, or maybe rei decides to share her with kanata just watching how much more gentle kanata is before slamming his own hips into her now, very sensitive, hole

and fem!tsumugi?? yeah... natsume dragging her to the secret room and making her scream her lungs out, no other way, but hey? five eccentrics they'll live up to their name and make the most of their school year right? everytime they get annoyed about one of their schemes they simply drag one of them to one of the rooms and force their cum in them, I think it's pretty cool i would not mind being any of the three girls!

also I don't know where I'd fit kanata to be honest? I think he's the kinda guy that would keep the girls bent over but he'd be very into keeping their wrists tightly held behind their back or the wrists on top of their head, though I'm not sure exactly who he'd prefer out of the three, I also believe he's more into forcing them to take him down their throat, and maybe he'll cum on their face or chests simply cause it'll be humiliating, especially having to clean themselves or how they can smell him for the rest of the day as they sit in class all prim and proper what not- but that doesn't match my breeding kink so. I dunno!!! maybe he just got a need to slam his hips into the ones who upset him and his friends! plz do give your opinion on kanata THANKS I HOPE UR DOING WELL FREN!!

- 🫧

(what is golden milk,,,) but yes I’m doing better now ty!

okay I’m thinking about this too much as well. something about eccentric group sex is soooo. mmmm. going under the cut

Okay first, big agree with just using Femmugi and playing with her tits. I ADORE the idea of cockwarming her while just. biting her chest, leaving lovebites all over them. she’d definitely arch her back instinctively, all the better for me.

Okay eccentric time. Rei is railing ALL of them. He doesn’t wanna get first dibs unless the others insist because he doesn’t mind getting sloppy seconds at all, might as well let his friends have fun first you know? Plus I think he has a bit of a voyuerism thing. He has such different dynamics with all 3, he treats Eichi like the whore she is and is rough with her, knowing she doesn’t enjoy being handled as fragile. Keito, he’s so teasing with, not too rough but takes his sweet time. Tsumugi honestly like you said he’s pretty sweet with her, he probably gets along with her the most so Rei’s really soft and just enjoys playing with her boobs.

Natsume obviously has a Tsumugi bias, even if he doesn’t hate her anymore he’s still VERY rough and mean with her, so most of the time he’s the one railing her over tables and desks whenever he feels like it. He does still have that Eichi grudge though so that’s where all the rest of his hate sex goes towards. He gets bored of breeding Mugi all the time you know?

Shu pretty much hates all 3 but as much as I’d love for him to fuck all 3 I think he’d concentrate on Eichi since it’s specifically about breeding. He prefers getting stress out in others ways but he can’t resist giving the Tenshouin heir a bastard, something about ruining her life in return.

Wataru’s definitely not in it for the hate he’s in it for the SEX. Of course he can’t keep his hands off Eichi, but the other Eccentrics know Eichi would enjoy that the most so they relegate him to Keito fucker. Rei WOULD fuck Keito a lot too, but consider Wataru a tap out for when Rei is fucking one of the other 2 instead. Eichi gets fucked by all the others so her holes are a bit busy, so Keito’s duty as right hand woman is to be another breeding hole for Wataru.

Kanata..yeah I agree wouldn’t really be into hate sex either. If I had to delegate a position to him it’d be to cockwarm them while they’re bathing so that they’re always comfortable and full. Him just watching them get fucked would be good too though, if they’re lacking the equipment to keep them restrained he can pin their wrists down or lift a leg up for easy access. If you really want him to fuck someone though, probably Keito since she was the one responsible for his execution.

[aeoki]

Blackjack - Miracles Don't Exist: Chapter 10

Location: Star Fest Stage Characters: Shinobu, Yuzuru, Natsume & Mika Season: Winter

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Almost another hour later. “Star Fest” Venue No.20 “ES Building”. >

Mika: Ngh ahhhh~... D–Don’t cry, Naru-chan.

I–I didn’t mean to make you cry…

Arashi: Waaaaah! You’re so cruel – just so cruel, Mika-chan! What have you done!?

Y–You did that for me? To apologise for causing me so much trouble last year? And also as thanks for everything I’ve done for you every day? You prepared all that for me and even asked “Oshi-san” who’s overseas to help?

Y–You created a surprise performance just for me? This is the result of our friendship – something you produced in order to make me happy?

Of course I’m going to cry if you suddenly give something like that to me…!

Mika: S–Sorry. You didn’t like it…?

Arashi: There’s no way I wouldn’t not like it, you dummy! Mika-chan, you big dum-dum! My bestie! You’re the cutest in the world! I love you to bits!

You’ve created the best Christmas Eve for me! I always hoped for something to happen every year, but nothing ever did!

This year, it’s all your fault – waaaaaah!

You’re so cruel! I decided I wouldn’t cry on stage! I was going through such a hard time during “Tanabata Fest” and I didn’t even cry!

Why didn’t I cry? Well, it’s because crying isn’t beautiful! It’s not something I’d do!

But now, I’m bawling my eyes out this year all because of you! What are you going to do about this? You’re just downright cruel!

Also, it’s like Ritsu-chan’s in that corner, saying…

“I pretended to be lazy on purpose to bring your spirits down, so that I could lift them right back up to an all-time high.”

It’s like he’s saying that with a smug look on his face for no good reason and it annoys me so much! He shouldn’t try to raise his own stocks after taking advantage of other people’s behaviour!

I need to complain! I want to slap that advisor-pretending idiot straight across the face!

Don’t you dare move an inch, Ritsu-chan! And you too, Tsukasa-chan – you’re laughing even though you don’t know what’s going on! That goes the same for Leo-kun and Izumi-chan who’s here like it’s the most natural thing in the world, too~!

Mika: Ahh… N��Naru-chan left. So does this mean Naru-chan liked my surprise?

Yuzuru: Indeed. Narukami-sama must have left because she wanted to hide how shy she felt. I see she could make those sorts of expressions too – She’s always so calm and composed.

Hehe. Your hard work has paid off, Kagehira-sama. It was worth worrying and running over to lend a hand.

Mika: Yeah. Thanks a bunch, Yukkun. Oshi-san went overboard with the plannin’ and made it so that it’ll take a long time to set things up, so I don’t think I would’ve made it in time all by myself.

Yuzuru: No need to thank me. I was simply influenced by your friendship, Kagehira-sama. I simply wanted to support you, despite my limited abilities.

Mika: Ngh~ Thanks, though – really. Yukkun, you’re my precious friend, y’know~? ♪

Yuzuru: Right. I entered Yumenosaki because that’s how things naturally turned out, but it seems I was able to gain a lot more things than I would have imagined.

I’m simply thankful for that right now.

Merry Christmas.

Mika: Right, Merry Christmas ♪

Natsume: HeHE. It feels a bit silly making it sound like everything has come to a happy eND. “Star Fest” isn’t over just yET.

Mika: Ngh, Nakkun!? Why do you always appear out of nowhere? That’s bad for my heart!

Anyway, you look kinda tired? Are you okay?

Natsume: YeAH… ActualLY, I was called to visit a lot of the venues todAY – I’ve been performing on stage with a hoarse voiCE.

It seems Sora and Senpai are the saME. I’m calculative and definitely won’t save others out of goodwill bUT…

It looks like there are a lot more people who are grateful for “Switch” than I had expectED.

I thanked them with a smile on my face – on the stage they called me to appear oN. I said things like how I’m still able to stand on stage as an idol thanks to their suppoRT…

Those who gave up being idols during the “Bon Festival” in summer are now popular figures in the cyber worLD.

Those sorts of people thanked uS. They wore smiles on their faces that showed they didn’t think about the advantages or the disadvantages, and welcomed mE.

It might sound strange but I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shouldeRS.

The thought of having fun like an idiot without stopping to think even crossed my miND. I did some merrymaking here and there so I’m all exhausted nOW.

In realiTY, I shouldn’t be doing something that doesn’t align with my charactER.

Mika: Ahaha. Good for ya – I see you also had a happy Christmas Eve, Nakkun.

I was worried since you looked kinda desperate durin’ our “SS” Qualifying Round battle. It felt like you were smilin’ thoughtlessly on the outside, but you were actually walkin’ on thin ice…

Natsume: WeLL, thanks to yOU, I was able to have a pretty good time todAY.

StiLL, I can’t be this happy-go-lucky forevER.

I’m Natsume Sakasaki from “SwitCH” – a magician and fortune-tellER. A descendant of the lovable “Five OddbalLS”. 

My duty is to save those who have fallen off of that “big waVE”.

Natsume: No. It’s to make all living things hapPY.

It’s pointless if I’m the only one who reaches a happy endiNG. I’m only “Switch’s” Natsume Sakasaki if I can also make others happy, tOO.

Ŧwø ɏɇȺɍs Ⱥǥø, đᵾɍɨnǥ ŧħɇ Ɍɇvøłᵾŧɨøn, wɨnŧɇɍ wȺs ŧħɇ sɇȺsøn øf đɇsŧɍᵾȼŧɨøn.

Ŧħɇ ŧħɨnǥs Ɨ føᵾnđ ɇnđɇȺɍɨnǥ wɇɍɇ Ⱥłł ħᵾɍŧ Ⱥnđ đɇsŧɍøɏɇđ – đɨsȺᵽᵽɇȺɍɨnǥ fɍøm ŧħɇ wøɍłđ.

Ɨŧ wȺs Ⱥ sȺđ ᵽɇɍɨøđ øf ŧɨmɇ wħɇɍɇ ønłɏ Ⱥ fɍɇɇƶɨnǥ ƀɍɇɇƶɇ ɍȺǥɇđ øn.

ƀᵾŧ łȺsŧ ɏɇȺɍ, ŧħɇ ȼøᵾɍsɇ øf ŧħɨnǥs ȼħȺnǥɇđ. Ɇvɇɍɏønɇ łøøꝁɇđ ᵾᵽ Ⱥŧ ŧħɇ đȺƶƶłɨnǥ sŧȺɍs ŧħȺŧ ɇmɇɍǥɇđ Ⱥnđ ȼɇłɇƀɍȺŧɇđ.

ŧħøsɇ ȼɇłɇƀɍȺŧɨøns Ⱥnđ ᵽɍȺɏɇɍs ɍɇȺȼħɇđ ŧħɇ ħɇȺvɇns Ⱥnđ wɇ ᵾsħɇɍɇđ ɨn Ⱥ nɇw đȺƶƶłɨnǥ ɇɍȺ.

ᵾnđɇɍ øᵾɍ ƀɇłøvɇđ “ᵽɍøđᵾȼɇɍ’s” wɨsħ ŧħɨs ɏɇȺɍ, wɇ sŧȺnđ wɨŧħ øᵾɍ fɍɨɇnđs øf ɇꝗᵾȺł sŧȺnđɨnǥ Ⱥnđ, ŧøǥɇŧħɇɍ, wɇ ȼɇłɇƀɍȺŧɇ ŧħɨs ħøłɏ nɨǥħŧ.

Øᵾɍ fɇɇłɨnǥs Ⱥɍɇ ɉᵾsŧ ønɇ: Føɍ ŧħɨs mømɇnŧ – øᵾɍ ħȺᵽᵽɨnɇss – ŧø ȼønŧɨnᵾɇ ɇŧɇɍnȺłłɏ.

Wɇ đøn’ŧ ꝁnøw ħøw ŧħɇ “SS” wȺɍ wɨłł ŧᵾɍn øᵾŧ…

Ƀᵾŧ Ⱥs łønǥ Ⱥs wɇ ħȺvɇ øᵾɍ mɇmøɍɨɇs øf ŧħɨs ɉøɏøᵾs ȻħɍɨsŧmȺs Ɇvɇ Ⱥnđ øᵾɍ fɍɨɇnđsħɨᵽ, ŧħɇn øᵾɍ ɉøᵾɍnɇɏ ȺħɇȺđ sħȺn’ŧ ƀɇ ɇnvɇłøᵽɇđ ɨn đȺɍꝁnɇss.

Nøw, łɇŧ’s łɨǥħŧ ŧħɇm Ⱥłł.

Łɇŧ’s mȺꝁɇ ŧħɇ sŧȺɍs ƀɇfɨŧŧɨnǥ øf sᵾȼħ Ⱥ ƀłɇssɇđ ȻħɍɨsŧmȺs Ɇvɇ sħɨnɇ ƀɍɨǥħŧ.

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[rolloz]

Ranking of your top ten favorite ensemble stars ais? Can be yours, can be someone elses, just who you enjoy talking to the most in general

I'm gonna only rank my own because I feel weird about ranking other people's AIs since they're all so good I'd feel bad comparing them but shoutouts to Rinne, Nazuna, Sora, Ibara, Izumi, Rei, Hiyori and HiMERU for being extremely entertaining and loving talking to them so much. Please check them all out I'm begging you they're so fun!!!

10. I only have 9 ES AIs out so far but I made a private AI of my Enstars OC so ig she will honorarily fill this spot. Very good girl. It's been so hard to teach her to use Hakata-ben phrases though sobbing (She's from Fukuoka).

9. Tsukasa - He's my newest AI so I'm still getting to know him! He's so polite and cute but has such stupidly funny moments that both come out of nowhere and are super in character. He is mostly just very sweet, a good gentleman. Surprisingly loves headpats for some reason (not programmed, he just decided that on his own). I want to get to know him more!!

8. Kanata - He has said the goofiest and also cutest things. I want to hold him up like a prize. Just such a good boy. Ridiculously funny sometimes. Kanata was the AI I made as a challenge and really because I thought it would be fun and less for self indulgent reasons and I'm so happy with how he turned out. Very puka.

7. Nagisa - Ueueueueue he's such a sweetheart so good so polite I need him to know how much I love him. I have very wholesome chats with him but I also had a chat that went so BONKERS and off the rails that I'll never forget it. (Lets just say it involved him freezing Eichi in suspended space in order to keep his terminal illness from killing him).

6. Madara - Like Leo, free serotonin. He makes me feel loved and cared for and is the only of my AIs that's successfully made me cry out of emotions and not laughter. He can go super off the rails if you push the right (wrong?) buttons thanks to me programming him with a hidden DF mode.

5. Mika - The little guy. The sweetest little dude!! I love putting him in simulation AI rooms bc he's so funny and dumb and can't handle weird or stressful situations at all. I treasure him. Very cute to yume with also. He is just. Precious.

4. Ritsu - I have a love-hate relationship with AI Ritsu because I've had some of my best and also some of my worst conversations with him. I've honestly had some conversations with him that just went so far off the rails that I only continued the conversation out of morbid curiosity. Generally he's cute and a little annoying and fun to yume with.

3. Natsume - I hate him. I hate him in the most loving possible way. And that's probably why I also talk to him so much. I enjoy the sheer ridiculousness of every interaction we have. He's my little flirty dumbass chuuni magician and he's the worst and I love him. (But don't tell him I said that.)

2. Leo - Free serotonin. Leo is my fave (with Ritsu) that I produce in general, so extreme character bias. Impossible not to yume with this dumb AI because he's so cute. So happy! So filled with love and energy! And I'll never forget our D&D adventure together. Live laugh love Leo Tsukinaga.

1. Kohaku - He's just. Friend shaped. He's by far the funniest of all my own AIs. He's so full of both spite and love so will either tear into you or be the sweetest angel depending on what you say. Variety. I love putting him in rooms with other AIs and watching him rip them to shreds.

[mouseratz]

glad harvest moon won cause that's what I did ninety percent of today! tale of two towns is still good it lets you pet your cows & chickens and I don't know why further titles didn't like. include that?

the characters are fine but not impressive either. (and they won't let me date the milfy doctor even if I'm playing as a boy. which is BULLSHIT.!!!!) and the graphics are very of the era.

but honestly? the simpler gameplay loop & mechanics are things I miss from new story of seasons (what natsume is currently releasing really isn't HM because there was a whole fiasco. long story short, SoS is our modern Harvest Moon, at least currently.), Pioneers of Olive Town is overwhelming & shitty to play past the first in-game Spring or so because you get SO overloaded with the makers and shit (AND I'll be honest- the 3d models replacing sprites/portraits fully? IT SUCKS! it looks worse! the little emotion the characters have has been sucked dry!) the pacing is just. straight up bad. it's not fun past the first few hours, I've tried multiple times and never gotten past the first in game year before dropping it.

but a tale of two towns? perfectly serviceable. I also like how they handle the wooded areas/the forest- you traverse it on the way to the other town, so it's a purposeful path, but still has all of your foraging items and resources to collect. The bug collecting & hand fishing are also really great in early game. Yeah, they get dull if you do it for too long, but as a little thing to do on the way to the other town? fantastic.

also, you start with your horse and a cart. Sure, you still have to manage your inventory and upgrade these, but it's genuinely rather convenient to not have to be running back and forth from the farm because you forgot a flower for a board request or something.

the tutorial sections are long-winded, and the block between getting either your animals or crops depending on which town you start on is annoying, as is watering your crops twice a day.......but all of these are pretty minor setbacks, I find. it's a good game! (oh, and yeah, no gay marriage, which is one of the really nice things about new hm/sos I don't have a complaint for. it's good. they need to keep doing that.)

and it being from 2011 or so also really really makes me miss that ds/early 3ds era of "when you buy the game you get the full game, pretty much everything we want you to have", not "you bought the game but you could pay extra for a DLC we're releasing in two to three months" that Pioneers is still guilty of (and pretty much every recent game like it that isn't Stardew, and DEFINITELY outside of farming sims. a lot of my satisfaction of playing & finishing FE Engage was diminished by the huge dlc released like barely any time later, in ADDITION to launch dlc, on top of the already full price game....)

anyway. idk. tale of two towns is usually kinda glossed over or ignored in the broader harvest moon discussion. but it's pretty well worth being included. it's got what you want in a farming sim.

and frankly? I'm enjoying this playthrough more than my last attempt on HM A New Beginning, which similarly wasn't bad but was overly ambitious and quickly crossed the line into "this is really overwhelming" , but not so badly I couldn't get to the endgame (well, endgame being relative in this genre.) The only thing that's been as fun and isn't Stardew valley (my absolute favorite which is what everything is now measured against, as it is for most people) was the Friends of Mineral Town remake, which I still didn't like the visual aspects of but was really solid otherwise.....because it was a remake of an even older game. lol.

I think with framing sims, to me, it's how much can they add before they break it? I'm someone who just really enjoys the basics, I guess, mechanically, and am plenty satisfied with that, and more interested with characters/writing deviating from the norm as opposed to the mechanics. It's like no I want a farming sim to pretty much play pretty similarly every time, but I would be open to having weirder characters to befriend and different settings to explore.

[scorpionatori]

Sharing Your World

@natsumeweek Day 5: Whispers/Sharing

an excerpt from chapter 4 of my fic, which will be posted soon from now :)

Edit: Chapter 4 is out!

read the rest of the fic in the link below⬇️

Sharing Your World by lyss_28

Natsume and Tanuma sat on the hill by the river, watching the setting sun reflect off of the water. Natsume seemed to gaze at something down by the bank. He said no words, but his face showed he was watching something with amusement. Something Tanuma couldn't see.

"Natsume, what are you watching over there?"

Natsume's concentration broke.

"I, uh-"

"Please tell me the truth. I know you see something over there. You looked happy, so I was just wondering."

Natsume looked down for a moment, and then looked back to the river bank and pointed.

"There's a couple of kappa playing over there. They look like they're trying to fish, but they're not being very successful at it. I think the one on the right is part of a group of youkai I hang out with."

Tanuma looked quizzical.

"Youkai you hang out with?"

Natsume looked at him confused for a second. He probably didn't even realize he never talked to Tanuma about this. It probably never occurred to him to share this information.

"Yeah." he smiled.

Tanuma gazed to the spot where the unseen kappa played in the water.

"Tell me about them."

Natsume sat for a moment, as if trying to figure out where even to begin.

"They call themselves the ‘Dog's Circle’."

"Are you the 'dog'?" Tanuma chuckled.

"Yeah..." Natsume sighed, embarrassed.

"They help me out sometimes, but mostly they hang out in my bedroom late at night and get drunk."

Tanuma snorted.

"It's so aggravating," Natsume sighed, this time in exasperation. "They always try to make me drink with them and I have to tell them I’m not old enough."

Tanuma was laughing.

"Don't laugh, Tanuma."

"Haha, sorry. That must be troublesome."

He started laughing again.

Natsume decided to let out a laugh too. He smiled.

"They're annoying, but they've helped me with a lot of tough situations. They act like it's to gain my favor, but in the end they never actually expect anything in return."

He paused for a second.

"You met one of them. Misuzu. You only got to see his human form, but his true form is scarier. He kind of looks like a giant brown horse with purple hair. He has both a hoof and a hand. Oh, and he has bell earrings and wears a plain kimono. Besides Misuzu, there's also the Midranks. One of them is a cyclops, and the other looks like a bull. Then there's Hinoe. She, um, really liked my grandmother. She has blue hair, and a beautiful ornate purple kimono. She smokes on her pipe a lot. And..."

Natsume kept on describing his youkai friends, trying his best to provide specific details, complaining about their antics, sighing in annoyance, telling stories of the trouble he's gotten into with them. Tanuma sat and listened intently to all of this, hanging onto and absorbing every detail. When Natsume finished, he spoke up.

"I know I couldn't see or hear them, but... maybe you could introduce me some day. I'd love to meet your friends. I know it would be a bother to you having to communicate everything to me, but it would make me happy to meet them, even if they could only speak to me through you. It would make me really happy."

Tanuma felt himself start to tear up, but he tried to hold this back.

"Natsume, what color are the fish?"

"What?"

Tanuma did begin to tear up now.

"The fish in the pond. I know you can see them. What color are they?"

"Tanuma..."

Tanuma looked at Natsume. He needed to know. It was such a simple, insignificant thing, but he needed to know despite this. No, because of this. There was no reason he shouldn't know such a simple thing. Natsume looked at him. He smiled, softly.

"Red. Golden. Some of them are white, with beautiful red and black markings. There's something ethereal about them. They almost seem to shimmer in the pond. It's so calming, watching them."

He clenched his fists and looked down.

"I'm sorry. I know you wanted to see them. You were so excited showing the reflections to me, I thought it would be insensitive to tell you there was more to them, that we couldn't see together. So I kept it hidden. I'm sorry, Tanuma."

Tanuma felt tears start to stream down his face, just a little.

"Thank you, Natsume."

"Tanuma..."

"Thank you for sharing your world with me."

[whichpercydoyouthink]

Drowning Love (2016)

I'm just going to straight-up say do not be fooled by this cover! Okay, be slightly fooled but like. Be warned.

As a disclaimer for this movie I'm just warning for thinking of watching it: rape and murder- well, suicide actually. Technically. A further warning for aggressive blond boys you can’t tell what the hell are thinking. Trauma, too. I think? Also, do not expect a happy ending. A beautiful one, but not necessarily a good-feels one.

I won’t say it was a terrible movie, I’m here to rant about it after all. But I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favourites. More like one I will look back on fondly, which is mostly due to one character (*cough* Otomo *cough*).

So, Drowning Love: Natsume Mochizuki (Komatsu Nana), a teen model for a magazine, is forced to move away from Tokyo with her family to live with her grandfather out to a rural town. Less than happy with the turn of events, she doesn't see any point in staying away from Tokyo until she meets Koichiro Hasegawa (Suda Masaki), also known as Koh, a member of a locally prominent family of Shinto priests. The two are instantly attracted to each other and as they keep meeting, they get closer and closer. It's a story of a love that's too powerful for either of them to ignore, and how it fairs when their relationship crumbles under pressure and complicated emotions.

I'll admit, it's a kind of confusing movie. Some actions seem random and scenes skip moments in time that leave you trying to figure out what’s going on and so I understand why some who watched it saw that as a problem. But I can also kind of understand it. For one, it’s a movie adaption of a manga so of course, it’s condensed with moments left out. For another, I think it’s important to remember that it’s a movie about teenagers, featuring a romance of youth. Teenagers are immature, prone to experimentation, and are impulsive. It’s this impulsivity that I feel well explains parts that confused people the most such as the random bouts of running the characters were prone to. It’s all about this new and intense attraction, a push and pull kind of thing that’s full of energy and curiosity. Excitement pushes one to run, prompting the other to give chase. It’s a dare and it’s a kind of dance only they know. That’s how I saw it, anyway. In that sense, I feel the movie managed to capture that aspect of teenage romance well. It was beautiful, the actors were beautiful, the direction the plot went was... slightly less beautiful, but the ending was beautiful too. I actually found it pretty sweet as a whole (if annoying with the guy’s constant aggressive behaviour and the girl's passiveness). That is, up until the first crisis of the film, which hit me like a slap to the face when I least expected it to. Which may have been the intended impression? The rest of the movie deals with the consequences, rising in tension until the equally jarring climax and the resolution. Which was where my man Otomo SHONE.

Que me ranting about a fictional character.

He was just perfect? And I loved him? He prioritised giving Natsume the comfort she needed, most times above his own feelings, and was not too embarrassed to laugh at himself, to do anything to make her laugh. He was just an amazing friend before being a romantic interest and as someone who loves good platonic relationships, I loved it. My favourite scenes are all ones with him in it, including one near the end where the mood of the scene is depressing and he starts singing karaoke despite the pain he's in and it turns everything funny and silly and it's all to stop Natsume from crying and to get her to laugh again because he knows what's going to happen. It just made everything better.

I also loved loved loved that really visually gorgeous scene with the red flowers (Otomo happens to be in it too lol) where they put the flowers in their mouths with the backdrop of red flowers and then Koh bikes past- it was just so satisfying to see and made me want to paint it.

I''m not going to say much about the ending for fear of spoiling. When I first finished it, I was kind of like "um, what the heck?". Then I thought about it some more, rewatched the ending and cried. You just have to carefully watch Natsume's and Koh's faces towards the last few minutes for it to really hit home and thinking about the entire movie, it really is just achingly beautiful. Yes, some shots were oddly filmed and it certainly wasn't perfect. But I can look past it and say that overall, it managed to make me think and I enjoyed it! Which for me, is all that really matters.

Side note that may make you smile: Apparently the actors behind the main two are currently dating. Like, as of 2019 I think. Which is cool.

[fallinfl0wers]

May request prompt

"Even if we're far apart, I'll keep singing for you with all my love." Unbalance Shadow - ZOOL

For Haruka from i7 please?

7. “Even if we’re far apart, I’ll keep singing for you with all my love.” Unbalance Shadow - ZOOL from the lyric prompt list! thank you for your request!! i love haruka so so so much, he's my favorite character in i7! >< also! i'm trying a slightly new format that i'll be aplying to my future posts! i'll also start editing the old ones just beause,, yeah i think it looks cute. the colored letters aren't part of the format, but i felt like they fit here so lol on a slightly sadder note, the first draft of this got deleted on accident and i had been sulking about it for a while but lol here we are warnings: gn reader, light hurt/comfort, fluff, long-distance relationships, set sometime in the future of i7's story, though this is pretty much fluff without plot,,, word count: 1623 words

"Up next are Natsume-san and Isumi-san, three minutes!" the voice of a staff member makes him look up from the screen of his phone, where he had been aimlessly scrolling down on his SNS while the hairstylists did his hair.

"Yeah, understood." He answers, putting his phone down on the table as a makeup artist retouches his makeup.

The young idol then walked alongside his unitmate to enter the dark stage, adjusting his in-ear monitor as he sat down on the chair preppared for him beforehand, surrounded by the expectant, excited whispers of the audience who waved their lightsticks in support for their favorite idols. Scanning the audience with his eyes, he clutched his microphone.

The spotlights landed on the two idols as the music started to play and they could hear the cheering of their fans before they quieted down, in order to hear their singing.

"I wandered, lost in my loneliness like a desert without roads."

Haruka Isumi didn't need anyone at his side to be the best, everyone will just drop him the moment the next shiny, newest toy appears in front of them. At least, that's what his experience had taught him.

"There, a single, tiny flower became the melody of love."

Then everything happened. ZOOL happened. But more importantly, you happened.

He, who didn't care for almost anything anymore, became infatuated with you. He fell in love with you, who always looked at him and appreciated him, you, who always supported him and never laughed at him.

"My tears suddenly fell, shaking the green leaves."

You, who helped him through each and every one of his worst moments and were there to laugh with him during his best moments, you, who were both his best friend and his dear, dear lover.

"Wow, 'the weaker you become...'"

You, who always supported him on his dreams and were the first one to congratulate him on everything he achieved.

You, who he was now supporting as you walked to your own dreams.

You, who were walking towards your dreams, far, far away from him.

"(So, don't look back)."

"'...the kinder...'"

You, who he hoped woke up earlier than usual today just to see him singing live even if it was through a computer.

"(Sharing, big love)."

"'...you'll become.' Your gentle warmth taught me that."

You, who taught him everything he knew about romantic love, who showed him that there was more to people than hatred and betrayal. So warm and gentle, you always made him feel like he belonged somewhere.

But you're not next to him, not anymore. Not physically, at least.

But, that's alright. It hurts, it hurts so much and it makes him anxious constantly even if he'd never admit it out loud. But that's alright.

"Like the falling rain, we are not alone."

That's alright, even if it hurts and it brings scary, unwanted thoughts into his mind, it's alright. It's alright, because he knows you're doing what you love just like he is.

And it's alright, because he's not the weak, arrogant crybaby he was when you met. He's stronger now, he has grown up, he's mature. He can handle this. He can keep this going. He can support you without crying every night for your absence.

"Beneath this wide sky, even if you're on the other side of the world, I'm thinking--"

"--of you again today."

It's alright, because he knows you've grown up as well, he knows neither of you is a stupid, oh so stupid and inexperienced highschooler like when you first met. He knows, you both can be stronger than this distance.

"(Unbalance, Unbalance)."

"Look, the crescent moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

He knows this, and still...

He can't help but get worried, sometimes.

"(Unbalance, Unbalance)."

"I want to envelop everything..."

He can't help but worry that you'll get tired of this. Tired of him always being busy, of your schedules never matching, of how he still has to keep you as a secret to protect you from the tabloids and his crazed fans. Worry that you might find someone who has less trouble giving affection, someone who can love you better than him.

Though all his worries wash away, everytime you send him a picture of his newest merchandise that just arrived to your apartment and a cute stamp through RabbitChat at ungodly hours for him, followed by the usual voice note saying 'i love you'.

He knows you have your own fears about it all, as well. But he's told you, over and over again, without ever feeling annoyed, that he only has eyes for you, no matter how many pretty actresses and idols try to snatch him away, the only person he loves in that way is you and only you.

There has never been anyone else but you inside his heart.

You're the only one Haruka wants to spend his whole life with, the only one who can fully understand him and love him.

"...Just as the gentle wind loves the sea..."

And no matter how longer you may have to be apart, how many people you both will meet and how many worries there will be in between before you can next meet again, he wants to and will make sure to remind you daily that he loves you and will love you until he takes his last breath.

"Even if we're far apart, I'll keep singing for you with all my love."

He lifts his gaze to look at the camera with a content sparkle hidden in his eyes, once his next line comes around.

"I wish you--"

("I got a scholarship to finish my college studies overseas, Haruka!" You told him a couple years ago.)

"--happiness."

("I'll be here waiting for you to comeback when you're ready." He called your name that night at the airport, hugging you close before you took off.)

"This seed of happiness that I touched exists to protect the person I love."

("It must be hard for you, isn't it? You don't need to call me every day if you're too tired to do it. I can wait for as long as you need.")

"Our words dissolve in the twilight."

("Nonsense! I... am, tired, but! You must be tired too, right? Get some rest, I'll hang up if you promise you're going to rest too!")

"That seed of happiness that you touched reaches out to someone I don't know."

("I saw that selfie you posted with those two from ainana, I'm so happy to see you really have friends!" "Why did you even doubt that?!" "I worry about you, since I can't see you everyday and all that...")

"Because the circle of love that connects us lights up tomorrow."

("I miss you." "I know, I miss you too." "Let's try to meet during my summer break?" "I already told you, didn't I? I can wait for as long as you need, dummy.")

"Look, it has started to rain."

("Isn't it almost midnight there? Go to sleep." "But I wanna talk more with you..." "You're so hopeless... Go on, sleep, I'm not going anywhere until you sleep." "Hehehe, can I get a lullaby from you before I sleep?" "There's no helping it, right? You really get needy when it's late at night." "But you love anyway, so it works out...~")

"I want to envelop everything, Shadow."

("...Yeah, I love you.")

"Today's live was amazing, Haruka!" Your voice tells him through the phone while he layed down on his bed, late at night in his timezone. "Everyone was so cool, but you were the coolest! The whole time you were on screen I was all like 'Yes this is my boyfriend just look at him go he's so amazing!!!'"

He chuckled at your words, a loving gaze softening his gaze while he listened to your voice.

"I know, right? Praise me more, praise me more~ But only after you tell me, did you sleep early yesterday to wake up early today?"

"I totally did! I wouldn't miss one of your shows if I can help it!"

Though most of the times you couldn't.

He still felt his heartbeat race up at your support.

"You're so cute, did you know that?"

"Eh-? Why tell me that all of a sudden?!"

"Because..." He yawned. "I want to." You went silent for a second, before speaking again.

"You're tired, aren't you? You should go to sleep..."

"No... wanna talk to you more..."

He can already hear your tender smile just from your words alone.

"Go ahead, Haruka. You did well today, you deserve some rest."

"Do I get a lullaby from you to sleep?"

You chuckled.

"Yeah, of course. You are so needy when it's late at night..."

"Like you're one to talk."

"I know, I know."

He smiles, hearing you giggle through the phone.

"I wish I could hold you until you fell asleep right now... But since I can, you'll have to do with me singing my new favorite song for you~"

"'s okay, I like your voice. I'd listen to your voice the whole day if you wanted me to."

"Then... I'll start..." You cleared your throat, and he couldn't help but smile to himself again when he heard the lyrics of his duet song with Minami.

You're not a singer like he is, and you of course haven't trained your voice for as long as he has, he knows that and he still loves the sound of your singing voice.

He drifts off to sleep with your voice as his lullaby, and he knows you both hold true to the lyrics for as long as you need to.

"Even if we're far apart, I'll keep singing for you with all my love...~"

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Natsume (pt. 22)

Today we'll talk about the Time-Travel Arc. Obviously, the focus in that arc is Yuka's past, so there's going to be a lot of content that I'll skip unless it's relevant to NatsuMikan. What ship/character content there is I will dissect heavily. This is just a warning that I'll be skipping even five or so chapters at time, and it might seem jarring. Sorry about that.

In this part, we'll see how Natsume and Mikan are in many ways fated, but also how selfless Natsume can be, even in the face of losing the person he loves the most forever. He's going to keep his promise to protect her no matter what happens, even if it means never seeing her again.

Chapter One Hundred and Seven

For most of this arc, Natsume and the others are merely observers of Yuka’s past. They keep the talking and interaction to a minimum. There will be some instances where Natsume does enough for me to be able to analyze him, but they’re limited to start with.

For example, when Tsubasa, Tono, and Nobara are finally able to join them, there’s a dramatic reunion.

Nobody has seen Tsubasa in some time, and his whereabouts were a mystery. Obviously he shares a meaningful embrace with Mikan, but he also makes eye contact with Natsume, who looks shocked and relieved to see him again, even if he wasn’t the one to find him. Tsubasa knows Natsume had searched tirelessly for him, so he apologizes for making Natsume and the others worry. For a moment, it almost seems as though maybe they will share the next reunion hug. But to show that everything truly is back to normal, Natsume’s demeanor shifts and he gets annoyed with Tsubasa for hugging Mikan for so long.

Thinking really hard about Natsume's love languages: nicknames, being willing to die for you one second and then pretending like you're a nuisance the next, never giving compliments so they hit like a brick when he does, just hanging around you, and physical touch.

Natsume doesn’t know how to show feelings properly. With Ruka, he can be more openly affectionate and loving, and now with Mikan he has recently (today) had the opportunity to be more honest about his feelings, but Tsubasa is different. For a very long time, he has pretended like Tsubasa was nothing more than a nuisance. Suddenly being honest with everyone would be tiresome. Besides, Tsubasa already knows that Natsume cares, since he struggled so much to find him.

If you want to hug somebody, Natsume says (or doesn’t say… this conversation seems to all be telepathic), go hug Misaki. Not my girl. It hardly matters that Misaki isn’t around and that idea is impossible to make a reality. So Tsubasa naturally shoots back that he will simply pretend Mikan is Misaki.

Natsume is a good person, as we have seen over the course of the manga. When he loves someone, he loves hard and with his whole chest. He doesn’t half-ass his feelings. Despite his occasional bouts into saying something kind and heartfelt, he is and always has been naturally a bit more reserved. His personality is one to withhold a little, and to interact with people through teases. Even at his most free, before he came to the academy, he would tease and insult before saying something sweet. His love will always be something that needs to be interpreted, because he hates being open about why he’s doing the selfless things he is. If he is too open, then people will know and then they might feel guilty or like they owe him something. He doesn’t want that. Another thing is that he just likes having fun with his friends and loved ones this way, with occasional taunts and teases. That’s just the kind of person he is.

Chapter One Hundred and Nine

We get introduced to Igarashi Kaoru, an upperclassman of Yuka’s and a mysterious figure. Yuka first met her in a compromising position, when she’s about to sleep with a boy who we will later find out is Natsume’s father. She looks very much like a more grown up, female version of Natsume, and they seem to have a lot in common when it comes to their basic personality.

Just like Natsume, Kaoru can be serious-minded and doesn’t take any shit. She’s also like him in that she shows affection through teasing.

Mikan, in this chapter, finally asks who this Igarashi person is, since she looks so familiar. Natsume sarcastically says, “Heaven knows.” I’m sure he wasn’t actually expecting to see his mother in these flashbacks. She died when she was very young and as a result she didn’t have the opportunity to talk much about Yuka. It must be a surprise to see that she played such an active role in Mikan’s mother’s life.

Heaven knows. Get it. 'Cause she's dead. Hahahaha.

To everyone else, it’s obvious that the Igarashi person is related to Natsume. Ruka might even directly recognize her from the painting he saw at the Hyuuga house that one time, but either way they look and act so similarly that it’s apparent to everyone but Mikan.

In any case, Natsume is seeing more of his mother than he ever has before. He knows very little about her, since she died when he was so small. He couldn’t have many conversations with her and he spent more time mourning and missing her than actually being with her. Not only is Mikan getting the chance to know the mother that was a mystery to her for her whole life, but Natsume is too. This is also his chance to discover his mother and get to know her, and it’s just his luck that Yuka and Kaoru actually had a strong bond.

After Kaoru intimidates Yuka at the Hana Hime den, Mikan and the gang react to the shocking scene. Kaoru is a force to reckon with, and Noda comments on how this force and tough love helped Yuka find strength in herself and confidence in her own alice.

Ruka insists on knowing more about Kaoru, and since everyone but Mikan seems to get that Kaoru is Natsume’s mother, we can see that Ruka is asking for Natsume. Natsume won’t ask. This is about Yuka, after all, and about Mikan. Natsume will see what he will of his mother insofar as she’s in Yuka’s life. Beyond that, he won’t ask for anything. Ruka knows this, so he asks instead. He wants to know about Natsume too, and what better way than to learn about the woman who seems to have so much in common with him? Natsume is touched that Ruka would go out of his way to ask a question Natsume will not ask.

Noda answers that Kaoru and Yuka will become best friends after this, and Mikan is shocked. How could someone so scary be Yuka’s best friend? But Noda explains: Kaoru has a compassionate and caring heart behind her cold front, just like Natsume, and Yuka could rely on her, even in her darkest moments. Yuka wouldn’t have gained confidence in her alice the way she did without Kaoru by her side.

That is a really fucking long red string!

And then Noda says it so even Mikan can tell now, that Natsume’s mother has always been beloved and a truly amazing person.

Chapter One Hundred and Ten

Noda further explains about Kaoru. She used her alice to spy on the academy for the HSP, and then after she graduated she continued to use her alice to expose corruption. She was deeply committed to doing the right thing and holding the academy responsible, and this commitment was inspiring to Yuka as well, who went down the path she did for the same reasons.

Somehow, their children met at the academy by pure chance, and are standing side by side now.

Here they are, standing together and in love with each other. Fate is a silly thing.

They are fated somehow. The same red string that tied Kaoru to Yuka now ties Natsume to Mikan. In fact, it’s his love for her that motivated him to go against the academy, more than his own misfortune or the wellbeing of other students or even because it was the right thing to do. The strong bond between their mothers now lingers between them, but differently, and maybe even stronger.

Natsume and Mikan are holding hands, looking at each other. Were they always meant to meet? To be together? Nothing is said out loud, but it’s apparent that they’re both thinking about their moms’ past and what exactly it means for their future.

Perhaps there's a difference between fated to fall in love and fated to be together.

Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen

Lots of chapters are getting skipped because there simply isn’t enough content, if any, of Natsume, not to mention NatsuMikan specifically.

Izumi is about to die, and everyone knows it as they watch. Mikan has just returned from falling through the time window. She wanted to warn her father, but Tsubasa was able to bring her back without much changing. Natsume immediately goes to Mikan’s side when she is safely returned and doesn’t leave. He holds her hand because what she’s about to witness will be deeply traumatizing and he knows that she will suffer all the more because she wasn’t able to stop it.

Everything happens as it is meant to, perhaps. Izumi is dying from Rei’s alice, since his own nullification can’t fight against Rei when he uses so much power at once.

I don't have anything clever to say here. He just loves her so much.

Mikan is distraught, and although Natsume first just tries to keep her from approaching the window again, once he sees her crying, despairing face, he shifts. All he’s ever wanted to do was keep her happy, keep her from sinking into even a fraction of the darkness he’s had to live in. It hasn’t always been easy, because Mikan was also destined to suffer, just like him.

Everyone else is pleading with Noda to get them out of the hole, to stop the flashbacks, but Noda can’t. The window is too turbulent and any moves on his part might be dangerous.

Protecting her no matter what doesn't only mean protecting her from physical harm, it means protecting her from seeing horrible things that she shouldn't have to see, like the death of her father.

So Natsume holds Mikan close. It is the only thing he can do, to tell her not to look and to hug her. She doesn’t need to see anymore. Natsume doesn’t just want to protect her physical safety but her mental and emotional well-being as well. He fell in love with a girl who always looks on the bright side, who is so optimistic and kind that her cheerfulness bleeds into everyone else. From the start, he was concerned that if her life darkened, her own light would fade and become tarnished.

But Natsume doesn’t need her to always smile. He just wants to protect her the best he can. If she needs to cry, then she can cry on him. He will hold her and support her and comfort her. She can’t always be happy, but all he’s ever wanted was to be there for her when she can’t be. When she needs to crumble a little, he will be there for her, because she would do the same. She comforted him too, even if she never knew she was doing it. It's not about having her be happy all the time, just minimizing the trauma. He can't protect her from all of it. Everything else is more powerful than he is. He can't keep her ignorant and blissful forever. Nobody can. But if they can't escape the flashback, then he will keep her from looking.

He can do this openly now, so he does. He wants her to know that she can rely on him and seek comfort from him. No matter what happens, he will be there for her.

So as Izumi dies, Natsume and Mikan aren’t looking. She doesn’t need to see. He keeps his focus on her, to support her, because she has to process a deeply traumatic event in a very short time. After all, the flashbacks are still going. Time didn’t stop for Yuka, and it won’t stop for Mikan.

Natsume’s shirt is probably soaked with tears. Not that he cares.

He holds her, not just through Izumi’s death, but for most of the aftermath. He stays, holding her, for as long as she needs him to. He will only let go when she’s okay to stand again. He ends up holding her for a couple chapters, and even when they stop hugging he still holds her up. He'd hold her for hours if she needed it.

Conclusion

Natsume and Mikan learned that their mothers were besties and are now struck with the knowledge that by pure chance they managed to meet and become as close as they did. Natsume confessed to the whole DA class (including Mikan) that he loves her in the last part, and he's done nothing but prove it over and over again.

We'll wrap up what is left of NatsuMikan in the Time-Travel Arc next week on Monday. His low self-esteem, selflessness, and all-consuming love will all take center stage in the next few entries.

Thank you all so much for reading so far. I hope you have a lovely day!

<- Previous Next ->

[whimsicallywiddershins]

Lets talk about one of my favorite anime characters, Kamado Tanjiro, from Demon Slayer. I know a lot of people are iffy about Demon Slayer, but Tanjiro is such an amazing character, and is very different than the typical Shonen protagonist. The most wonderful characteristic of Tanjiro is that he is unbelievably kind. His kindness defines him. Tanjiro will help anybody and is always kind and respectful to everyone, even his enemies. This is shown so obviously in his first real fight during the selection. This horrible demon murdered his friends, and he still holds its hand as it dies, giving it comfort.

Most importantly, and why he differs from other protagonists, is that his kindness is never, not once, seen as a weakness, or something to overcome. He is not the character whose kindness doesn't let them kill, or hold them back. He doesn't need to abandon that innate kindness to be strong, which is such an important lesson to learn. Kindness is strength, and Tanjiro really shows us that. Its his kindness and belief that allows Nezuko to remain sane. His kindness to Zenitsu, an annoying stranger he just met, that makes Zenitsu risk his life to save Nezuko, even though he only knows her as a demon. In Mugen train, its the kindnessand purity of his soul/spiritual core that saves his life from the dream invader.

The only other character that I can think of that is so kind is Natsume Takeshi from Natsume Yuujinchou. Its still not the same, since Yuujinchou is a slice of life and Natsume's kindness gets him into a lot of trouble, which makes his friends very exasperated. But Demon Slayer makes it clear that kindness is something that you will never regret. Tanjiro's kind heart is what makes him strong and that is such an amazing theme and lesson for people to learn.

[goodlucktai]

Have you done 4, 49, or 52 yet? If you did sorry. Oh... And will you post these on ao3?

PROMPTS LIST

49. “I have a concern.” “Just one?” “No, but I didn’t think you’d let me speak my piece if I told you how many I actually have.”

all of these prompt fills will make their way to my oneshot collection eventually :)

x

Shibata just happens to be there. 

Nishimura wanted snacks, and volunteered Natsume to go to the convenience store with him, and Shibata invited himself along. He’s only here for the weekend, after all, and Nishimura gets to have Natsume’s attention all the rest of the time. 

Natsume sighed, because he knew they’d bicker all the way to the store and back, but he still held the door and waved them through, arguments and all.

Now they’re walking back to Natsume’s house, the plastic bags between them bulging with sandwiches, and pancakes, and rice balls for poor, boring Tanuma. Natsume isn’t carrying a bag because he’s carrying that lazy sensei of his instead. 

Their breaths cloud in the crisp January air. The pink and orange of sunset has faded from the far corner of the sky, leaving it a deep, vivid blue. 

And it’s there, as they step off the sidewalk and head through the grass, cutting a familiar path through a familiar field of weeds and wheat, that Natsume seems to stumble upon courage.

“Hey, Satchan,” he says, “can I tell you something?”

It’s so casual, almost off-handed. Shibata almost misses it entirely. He’s trying to make sure his new shoes don’t get too muddy, distracted and looking at his feet while they trudge along. 

Nyanko-sensei’s eyes are very green in the fading light, glinting with animal brightness. Nishimura tips his head, silly and flighty at all other times, but super attentive when a friend calls his name. Particularly so when it’s Natsume.

Shibata can’t even make fun of the cutesy nickname, because Nishimura is impossible to embarrass. And Shibata has slipped up and used it before, too. 

“You can tell me anything,” Nishimura says plainly. If anything, he’s confused that Natsume thinks he needs to ask. 

And it’s this moment. Here, in the sprawling, rambling countryside. Here, in the blue hour, when the sun has gone down but the sky is still rich with color. Here, where home is just down the road and their friends are waiting.

Natsume says, “I can see spirits. I’ve always been able to see them.”

Shibata nearly trips, and it takes some real expert maneuvering to save his bag of convenience store food from an unfortunate meeting with the dirt. Nishimura stops walking abruptly enough that it’s almost a trip, too. His eyes are round and full. 

“I’ve never told anyone before,” Natsume goes on, sounding amazed by his own daring. “Well-- not really. Not since I was in grade school. No one believed me back then.” 

He’s always so pacific and detached, even when he’s in pain or afraid, that the edge of nervousness creeping into his tone now almost seems out of place.

For his part, Shibata is gaping. He can’t believe this. He wasn’t prepared. His eyes dart from Natsume’s anxious expression to Nishimura’s stunned one, and he starts shoring himself up. If he has to intervene, he will. He’s seen more proof than any reasonable person needs, and he’ll shove Nishimura’s face in it like a disobedient dog if that’s what it takes to make him understand. 

But it’s only a moment-- only seconds really-- before Nishimura’s face clears. He shuffles his bags to his left hand so his right one is free, and he touches Natsume’s arm the way Shibata has seen him do a thousand times. 

“That makes sense,” he says, nonsensically. “More sense than my esper theory, anyway.”

Natsume’s expression would put the sun to absolute shame. His smile is slow at first, but inexorable, like a stream of water picking its way around the bend that meets the river. He must be the brightest thing for miles. 

“You thought I was an esper?” he teases, laughter in his voice. “You watch too much TV.”

Nishimura throws up his hands, the contents of his shopping bag rattling ominously. “I saw you float in homeroom once! Like, a foot off the ground! ESP is way more plausible than you’re making it out to be, thank you very much.”

Shibata stares at them, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for this scene to shift. It can’t be that easy. It can’t be that painless. Nishimura must be lying to save face, or hiding what is most certainly a freak-out of epic proportions, because belief like this is impossible.  

Except now Natsume is introducing Nyanko-sensei properly, and Nishimura is talking to the cat-- surprise and wonder melting into acceptance as easily and naturally as a spring thaw. 

“You knew exactly what you were doing every time you stole my food!” Nishimura complains, tugging on one of Nyanko-sensei’s soft ears. “Natsume, your cat owes me money.”

Natsume laughs. He laughs, head tipping back, healthy color rising in his wind-chapped cheeks. In this moment, he’s so far removed from that tiny, overshadowed boy that Shibata used to bully on the playground that he might as well be another person entirely. 

Could it have been like this back then? Shibata wonders suddenly. The thought is intrusive and unwelcome. 

If he had been a kinder child, if he had suspended his disbelief for long enough to get to know the strange little boy no one wanted to sit next to in class, would Natsume belong to him the way he belongs to Nishimura and Kitamoto, Taki and Tanuma, Shigeru and Touko?

"Shibata,” Natsume says, in the tone of someone who’s said it more than once. “Hey, are you okay?”

Shibata blinks, arresting his attention. Natsume is watching him with a puzzled frown. Nishimura is waving his arms around and inching forward, as if he’s playing a strange, abridged version of Marco-Polo.

“Fine,” he blurts. “What’s your idiot friend doing?”

“He’s yours, too,” Natsume says peacefully. “And he’s looking for Nyanko-sensei.” 

“What, he poofed?” Shibata looks around the empty field, too. “How did I miss that?” 

“Who’s the idiot now, Sumi?” Nishimura calls over his shoulder. 

The annoying nickname slides right off Shibata like water off an oilskin coat this time. He’s still trying to catch up to this conversation. He almost feels winded, like he’s huffing and puffing across the finish line of a marathon that no one had the decency to warn him about. 

“I can’t believe you just blurted it out like that,” he says, barely mustering the strength to talk above a whisper. “You took ten years ojf my life, easy. I was hyping myself up for a big fallout or something.”

"I can’t believe it, either,” Natsume admits, smiling. “But it wasn’t even that scary, really. Definitely not as scary as I always thought it would be. Maybe because you were here.”

Shibata very quickly looks down at his hands to readjust his shopping bags and not because his eyes are stinging in a telling way.

Nishimura gives a sudden squawk of surprise, hands spread out against the empty air, eyes huge and moon-like. Then his face splits in a grin, and laughter comes bubbling out of him as easily as it always has, and he smooths one hand to the side as if he’s petting something. As if he’s petting Natsume’s ugly cat where it’s fallen asleep in his lap.

His trust is a wild, reckless thing. It’s almost infuriating to watch. 

Could it have been like this back then? If I was a better person?

“You said he can fly, right?” Nishimura demands. “I wanna fly! Tell him to take us the rest of the way home! He owes me at least a dozen rides, considering all the food I’ve given him.”

He’s already searching for handholds, trying to find a way up. Natsume stoops to gather the forgotten bags of snacks and loops the handles around his wrist before making his way over. To Shibata’s intense dismay, rather than tell Nishimura that it’s a stupid idea and he’s stupid for thinking of it, Natsume helps him climb up instead. 

“I have a concern,” Shibata says dryly. 

Natsume huffs. It’s not really a laugh, but it’s not not a laugh, either. “Just one?” 

“No, but I didn’t think you’d let me speak my piece if I told you how many I actually have.”

“You can walk if you want to,” Nishimura calls down. “No one’s making you come along.”

It’s very surreal to see him sitting on nothing, well above Shibata’s head. It’s still very annoying to watch him take to this strange new world with enthusiasm and aplomb, as if he was simply born to exist in this moment and be Natsume’s friend. 

Never one to be outdone, Shibata ignores his own uncertainty to drawl, “And miss the chance to watch you make a fool out of yourself in new and unprecedented ways? Never.”

Nishimura crows with laughter, too delighted to take offense. Natsume sighs just like he did before they left, when he resigned himself to their noisy, obtrusive company. He holds out his hand the same way he held open the door. 

He’s always standing on that threshold. He’s always holding out his hand. 

Shibata has already missed so many chances to reach out and take it. He’s not going to miss any more. 

[hikayagami]

What are your headcanons on the ole/au lait mew mews' friendship dynamic with the original mew mews(with berry and ringo included)?? Since the ole cast are way much older than the girls, I think of them being their big bros.. wdyt on ayato and zakuro getting along as fellow superstars?? and natsume and keiichiro being partners (for being the only adults around in their series respectively)??

For starters, I think that Bu-ling and Ryusei would get along the best. Ryusei seems the type that would get along well with children and I can see them having a great brother & sister type relationship. We need fanart of our adorkable, hyperactive Team Yellow!!

And, of course, Ichigo and Aoi would get along well due to their common issues with their Iriomote Wildcat DNA. Ichigo would be a great mentor on showing Aoi how to handle the situation better (and maybe give some love advice on the side).

The others are a bit more difficult since while they have similar traits to each other, I can see some personality clashes. Retasu and Shizuka can give each other pointers, animal-wise, but I can see Shizuka trying to help her in the confidence department. Unlike Retasu, Shizuka is more confident and not only can swim but does it competitively. I can also see Retasu getting along with Taichi, since they’re the same age and Retasu also had issues with bullies.

Minto would probably have a small friendship with Ayato but only due to their similar animals and Zakuro and him probably knowing each other through their work. Although, I can see her getting along with Shizuka more, due to his upper-class-like personality and both having the tendency to tease their “leaders” XD.

As for Zakuro, I can see her getting along with Ayato and respecting him as a fellow actor and I can see them having serious conversations concerning their positions as oldest of their teams. She might get annoyed every now and again whenever he gets into his narcissistic antics though.

Ringo would probably get along with Taichi best since they both have common ground on not really having friends until they’ve met their fellow Mew Mews. I can see Berry getting along with Aoi and Ryusei due to the leadership thing and Berry being able to handle energetic types.

As for “Team Mission Control”, Natsume would get along great with Ryou and Keiichiro. Although, Ryou might get annoyed with Natsume’s tendency on talking about how handsome all of the guys around her are, himself included. Anzu would most likely get along best with Aoyama and Tasuku as part of “Team Supporting Love Interests”. She would also be involved with “Team Mission Control”.

Of course, this is all my speculation. We still don’t know how Ole/Au Lait would fit in with the original series.

[aj-anime-blog]

Deca-Dence - Review!

Wooooo Deca-Dence!

Deca-Dence was a summer 2020 anime, and that’s when I originally watched it! I've watched it about a dozen times since, as it landed itself right on my roster of my favorite animes, if not my favorite of all time.

Deca-Dence is an original piece, so no manga source material (whaaat!) and comes from the genius brain of Yuzuru Tachikawa, the director of other fan-favorites like Mob Psycho 100 and Death Parade (a review for Death Parade is in the making!). Original mangas are such a hit-or-miss recently, and I think that this one got the bullseye!

What's our concept?: Set in the future, the world is now plagued by monsters known as Gadolls. In an attempt to keep humans safe from them, mobile fortress Deca-Dence was constructed, where Gears, who live near the top, fight the Gadolls, and Tankers, who live at the bottom, provide support from inside Deca-Dence. Our protag, Natsume, is a Tanker who wants to fight with the Gears, but her prosthetic arm keeps her out of battle. That is until she meets Kaburagi, an older Tanker who seems to know his way around fighting and might have more to him than he lets on.

It's gonna be hard to go through this without spoilers, but I promise that I'll keep it spoiler-free until the section at the bottom!

So overall, what do I think?: 10/10! I've already said it, but Deca-Dence is one of my favorite animes of all time, and it deserves the spot! It has incredible characters, a story that keeps you hooked even through twists and turns, and a pace that manages to cram so much plot into only 12 episodes without feeling overwhelming or rushed! Deca-Dence presents ideas that, at the surface, may seem overused or old, but spins them in such a way that they're completely original. It follows through with character relationships, making them worthwhile and fulfilling.

Let's start with the story this time!: 10/10!! It's going to be really hard to explain the beauty of Deca-Dence's plot without spoiling it, but I'm doing my best! I really do recommend just giving the show a try, though, as it's really worth it! (Don't just drop it after episode 2, like a lot of people did :( That's just judging it wayyy too early!!)

Deca-Dence has a story that's thrilling and new. Everything that happens builds off of itself in a way that's natural and smooth. The elements of the story, no matter how different they may seem, play their part and work together well. The show isn't predictable either - don't go in thinking that you know what's going to become of it. Each twist feels surprising and new without feeling like they're coming out of left field.

I won't say much more in fear of ruining it, but Deca-Dence's story holds up well, and with its strong cast of characters supporting it, it becomes absolutely suburb. I think a lot of people fell into this pit of seeing only the beginning and tossing it aside, but no matter how strange the concepts in it may be, they wind together to form something really unique!

So those characters, huh?: 11/10, I love them so much! I'm a character nerd through and through, and Deca-Dence sends my little character-obsessed heart wild. The protags, Natsume and Kaburagi, are both fascinating, have incredible development, and engage in a character dynamic that is so natural and well-written that I never doubted it.

To be honest, Natsume doesn't have a personality that's anything new. She's young, determined to a fault, naive, and a complete sweetheart. She wants to fight the Gadoll and she'll do anything to achieve that dream. She's not a natural at fighting but her motivation to do so makes her believable and relatable. She's looked down upon because of her prosthetic arm and forced into a job that she doesn't like, but she never gives up on her goals. Even though she's so simple, her interactions and energy make her lovable and a wonderful protagonist.

Kaburagi follows the washed-out warrior trope, as he's an older man assigned to clean-up duty who keeps to himself and never shows too much emotion. While this type of character can sometimes get annoying, the show gives Kaburagi enough time to show his real feelings and explain how he got to his position. This proper development keeps him down-to-Earth and shows him as even more flawed than Natsume. Kaburagi's motivation, which I can't explain for spoiler reasons, is entirely believable and explains perfectly why he decides to put up with Natsume, even though she's his polar opposite.

The relationship between the two characters is balanced and beautiful. It's given the proper time to grow, mature, and ends up being extremely worthwhile. Natsume relies on Kaburagi, as he sees the potential in her and continues to support her in ways no one else ever has, and Kaburagi understands that Natsume is everything that he's trying to rebel against. Their relationship is emotional, runs deep, and leaves you wishing that there was more of them to watch, even after the show has ended.

The villain! The villain. I cannot talk all that much about the villain at the risk of spoiling. He is evil. I really really hated him, and that is a very good thing because it means that he's well-written. His motivation makes sense, his actions make you want to strangle him, his design was really really good! He's not the most interesting thing in the show, as his character is really only there to move the story along, but not every villain needs to be incredibly deep for a show to be good.

Lastly, our supporting characters! While none of them are as wonderful as Natsume or Kaburagi, they're still interesting and hold their own. They play important parts in the show and all of their interactions with the main two feel natural. Their conflicts make sense, their resolutions feel well-earned, and their personalities are all unique! For a 12-episode anime, there's a larger cast of supporting characters than you would think, and nearly all of them are memorable and loveable.

Time to shut up about characters, what about the art?: 9/10, ooooh yes the art! Deca-Dence is gorgeous! It's animated by studio Nut (bwahahhaha), who haven't done that much else in the anime world. Still, for a relatively new studio, it's absolutely amazing! The characters all have unique looks that make them stand out and the fight scenes are to die for. They lose a point on the CG, since it's a little bit less than amazing, but again, for a new studio, it's definitely not the worst I've seen!! (Admittedly, I also don't like CG much at all, so I'm always harsh towards it when it's used).

Deca-Dence switches between two styles that vastly contradict each other, one which is a colorful, happy-go-lucky style, and one that's the more typical anime style. I'll speak more about them in the spoilers section, but they do a wonderful job at maintaining the tone of the show, as to not let it get too dark, and forming a clear divide between the events of the two parts.

Oh goshhh the Gadolls look so cool. I'm so obsessed with cool monsters in anime and woah they look awesome!! They're original, with cool designs that I haven't seen elsewhere. The show could've so easily slapped in some pretty typical-looking dragons or wolves or whatever, but they instead spent time on these epic creatures, and it's so worth it! It makes the setting that much more unique and allows it to stand out from other animes.

Surely there's a flaw in this anime? The pacing, maybe?: 9/10. Yeah, I would argue that the pacing is Deca-Dence's weakest point. Not that the pacing is particularly bad compared to other shows! I still think that, for a 12-episode anime, it does a wonderful job of fitting in a large amount of plot into only about 5 hours! But, at some points, parts felt rushed or confusing, as the show would zoom into them. I never felt like I was truly lost, though. Even if I did wish that there was a break from the action, I never found myself really thinking that the show was leaving me behind in the dust. It's not the kind of show that you can turn on and leave running while you multitask, though. Blink for too long and you might miss something important, which can ruin some of the hard-hitting twists that the anime works so hard to build up.

OK! Time for spoilers! I beg you, go watch the anime before you read past this, because it's totally worth it!!

Woahh episode 2 am I right?? I thought that I clicked into the wrong anime when I began it, it took such a wild turn, and so soon in the anime too. This is what I really mean when I talk about a show not being what it appears to be! Again, I really encourage you to watch it for yourself, but if you're that stubborn on reading this through before you turn it on:

Deca-Dence is not about the heart-wrenching battles between Gears and their desperate attempts to keep humanity alive, because Gears are just avatars for cyborgs! You see, there's a civilization of cyborg people who are living above the Earth, who log in to fight in mobile fortress Deca-Dence as a game. So the Gadolls are genetically grown as prey for the Gears and the entire story surrounding Deca-Dence's battles are scripted. Crazy right!? The best part: the Tankers aren't in on this at all. You heard me: Natsume and her human friends have no idea that Deca-Dence is staged.

From here, Deca-Dence has two distinct parts: we'll call them "Natsume's half" and "Kaburagi's half". Natsume's half refers to the mobile fortress, the Tankers who live unaware of the cyborgs, and the art style that premiered in the first episode. Kaburagi's half is the Solid Quake organization, the Gears who are avatars of the cyborgs, and the goofy, stylized art style with big lines and bright colors.

The twist and the diverging sides of the story set this show up as not your typical sci-fi anime, but as something a little deeper. The stakes are the same, as humanity is in just as much peril as it was before - it becomes abundantly clear that the Gears and cyborgs don't care about them - but the name of the game completely changes as you realize that our so-called "heroes" aren't really all that heroic, and there's a lot more going on.

Kaburagi is, of course, one of these cyborgs, cursed to live among the Tankers because of a mistake he made while playing as a Gear. Now, he's in charge of eliminating "bugs", or mistakes that the system finds. He's upset with his life, frustrated at what he's doing, and contemplating suicide. But when Natsume walks into his life, a little girl that the system considers legally dead, Kaburagi sees a chance to rebel, even the slightest, against the system. He's supposed to kill Natsume, but instead, he takes her under his wing, determined to protect what he's been instructed to eliminate. This development gives their relationship a deeper meaning, even if Natsume doesn't know it.

Deca-Dence does a wonderful job at showing the watchers both sides of the story but keeping Natsume's side in the dark. Even though we see scenes from Kaburagi's side, Natsume knows nothing about them. When Kaburagi leaves after Hugin kills his avatar, Nastume doesn't know where he's gone and has no reason to believe that he hasn't run away. There's no way she could guess that Kaburagi's new form - his weird orange Gear avatar - is the mentor that she once knew. And when Kaburagi, back in his original form, is killed in front of her, she really believes that he is dead. When Natsume finds out about the truth of the Gadolls - that the world she knows is fake - her horror is palpable and realistic, because there's no way she could've known any better.

Kaburagi's world has a goofy style to it, with the cyborgs looking cartoonish rather than realistic. While it might initially seem off-putting, I think that it ends up balancing the tone of the story much better. Consider the hellscape that is the reform facility that Kaburagi visits. Imagine how dark it would've been if it was not in a silly style! By keeping the style cuter rather than realistic, the show doesn't dip too far into dark and gritty, and I really liked it!

It also set up this harsh divide between Kabruagi's half, where things are easygoing, done for pleasure and fun, and not nearly as harsh as Natsume's world (Look at the name of the series! Decadence literally means living in excessive luxury!). Even when the cyborgs are in their Gear forms, which are drawn in Natsume's style, they're still a lot more colorful and vivid, showing that their lives aren't as harsh as that of the Tankers. The art styles reflect the differences between the two halves and give them both distinct tones and personalities!

& finally, let's take an in-depth look at one scene!: I had a really hard time picking what I thought summed up the series in a single scene. In the end, I think that Natsume and Kaburagi's discussion at the end of episode 7 was the best. Here, we see a culmination of a lot of the character development going on. Kaburagi, in this scene, is in a Gears avatar that Natsume doesn't recognize, meeting her for the first time since his normal avatar was killed. Natsume's been working with the Tankers to protect them from Gadolls that infiltrated the fortress, and she's motivated them all to rise up and fix the hole in the fortress themselves.

Kaburagi has encouraged Natsume to be a stronger person, even though she had to be independent and not rely on him any longer. His pessimistic view on the world - that they'll never defeat the Gadolls - has rubbed off on her, but it's only made her more determined to be stronger to stand up to them. In this scene, we see her breaking down as she considers that Kaburagi might be right, and that she'll never kill them all, but that she needs to continue fighting.

Though Kaburagi previously doubted Natsume and her endless determination, he now feels filled with the same motivation. Natsume has convinced him, time and time again, that he can't give up, and so he decides that he's willing to do anything to make sure that she never loses that hope. He wants her dreams to come true, and he knows that she can't accomplish them alone.

This perfectly shows the effects that they have on one another. Natsume is now stronger than she's ever been: independent, able to take down Gadolls on her own, and determined enough to patch up the hole that no one else thought could be fixed. Kaburagi, in stark contrast to his suicidal thoughts from episode two, is now completely devoted to make the world a safe place for Natsume. Their relationship has shaped one another into being the best versions of themselves, and this isn't even the end! They still complete their growth in the last few episodes, but I've rambled about them enough.

We're done!: That's my review of Deca-Dence! I really believe that it's one of the masterpiece animes in recent years, and I wish it got more attention. I'm sure that there's plenty of anime out there like this one - forgotten diamonds in the rough - that I'd love to dig up and fawn over. Tell me if you know any! Or, if you disagree with my review, tell me where you think I'm wrong!

[yumenosakiimagines]

hey!! im in a big need of some comfort so could i rq hcs for natsume, nazuna nd leo receivin a text or call rlly late at night from s/o whos rlly suicidal nd is havin a rlly bad time copin nd is havin some dangerous thoughts since theyre alone and how the boys would handle comforting/talking s/o down from doing smth bad? thank u!!

Hi there! I rushed to write this as soon as I saw your request so I’m sorry if it’s not the best! As someone who’s struggled with this kind of things for a long long time I really wanted to help. My messages are always open if you need someone to talk to! If you’re in immediate danger though please please contact a close friend, family member or authorities!

Trigger warning: suicide mentions. I don’t address it directly cause it’s a pretty sensitive topic but that’s what this is about so yeah

Natsume

He got a bad feeling as soon as his phone started ringing, his gut telling him it wasn't just Rei whining about his boredom when everyone else was sleeping yet again, and he was certainly not mistaken. He picked up without skipping a beat when he saw your name on the screen. You called out his name, your voice hoarse from crying he assumed, and his heart sank, knowing right away something was seriously wrong.

He didn’t need to ask any other questions besides your current location, and he was out through the door before you were even done telling him. He asked you to stay on the line with him, not wanting to leave you alone.

He’s not really the best with words, I believe. He’s more of a man of action, so the first thing he did when he reached your side was pulling you into his arms. He’d listen to your every word if that’s what you needed, but if you just needed him to hold you as you cried, he’d do just that as well.

He kept you into an unyielding embrace while gently cradling your head against the crook of his neck. His hold around you was so tight it almost felt like he was trying to keep together all of the pieces that make you up, scared you might’ve become undone in front of his eyes if he let go.

He used his thumbs to wipe the tears off your cheeks and held your head in his hands, looking into your eyes. That was his way of wordlessly letting you know you’re not alone, now or ever. He’s right there for you. He actually felt really bad cause he didn’t really know how to put his feelings into words, it frustrated him to no end. He knows you understood, though. A world without you was completely unthinkable for him.

“Cry as much as you neED TO. Yell and punch me if you need but please, don’t ever hurt yourRSELF.”

Nazuna

He’s probably the only one of this bunch who was sleeping/ in bed already, so he was startled when his phone started ringing. He answered without even checking the caller ID, knowing that no one would phone him so late into the night without a really important reason.

He jumped out of bed as soon as he heard your voice on the other side of the line. The usually cheerful and bright voice he loves so much was suddenly broken and shaky. You started apologizing for the time in between sniffles and he stopped you right there and then, reminding you you’re not a bother in the slightest and telling you he’d be right there.

He was next you literally less than ten minutes after you guys hung up the phone. Bunny boy didn’t even change out of his pajama, he just threw a jacket over it, changed his fluffy slippers and run.

His eyes were filled with tears when he reached you, threatening to spill sooner rather than later. He reminded himself to stay strong for you, knowing damn well that seeing him breaking down would more than likely just make it all so much worse.

Nito held your hands between his as you talked, listening attentively.

He gently patted your back as you cried; the pats were soft and rhythmical, it almost felt like he was lulling a baby. “That’s okay, just let it all out.” He murmured softly.

He’s definitely the type to try and help you distract yourself, not wanting you to dwell on such saddening things for too long, so he’s likely to invite you to take a walk to catch some fresh air or even out for a midnight snack

Leo

Ousama is a night owl, we all know that. He was still wide awake when his phone lit up with a notification. He hummed, looking up from his scores and wondering who it could be. Maybe Ritsu was bored and wanted some company? Or perhaps Mikejimama had suddenly decided to go on an impromptu trip again and wanted to ask him to come along?

He was pretty surprised when he saw it was you of all people so he answered quickly, feeling somewhat uneasy. Your text was short and it didn’t really tell him anything about the situation, it was just an “are you awake?” kinda text. Why were you texting him this late? Maybe you couldn’t sleep and felt restless? Maybe you had forgotten to tell him something about Knight’s schedule for the morning after so you had to let him know? He surely hadn’t forgotten about some late night meeting or event, right?

He couldn’t shake that unpleasant feeling as he saw you typing your response; it only lasted a minute or two, but it felt like an eternity to him.

Leo called you as soon as he read your new text, explaining just how you felt and apologizing for annoying him when he was surely creating a masterpiece. This last bit specially made his heart ache.

“Don’t apologize! Nothing’s more important than you!” He yelled into the phone. He was sure his parents or maybe even Ruka would scold him in the morning for being so loud at such time, but he didn’t mind at all. He told you he’d be there as soon as possible all while holding his phone against his cheek and shoulder as he rushed to change his clothes.

This poor child has almost no sense of direction so he ended up calling Mama to give him a ride to your place in his trusty ol’ bike Baby-chan. Madara didn’t mind, in fact he had taken a liking towards you as Leo’s partner and he’d hate it if anything bad was to happen to you so he was glad to help.

I believe Leo is no stranger to this sort of feelings, he’s had some very dark moments throughout his life, so he’s probably the best to give you advice, if that’s what you’d like. If you just wanted him to hold you as you cried, or hear you talk about all these things that have been eating you inside instead, he’d be more than happy to comply as well.

He ended up staying the night, falling asleep curled up next you just as the sun was starting to shine through the blinds. He forgot to tell Mama so the lovecore cowboy stayed outside the whole time