#and I respect them bringing over lots of yuri titles

[nakamina]

How similar are Hanyu Yuzuru and Katsuki Yuri? - The Never Ending Debate

Hi all,

Nakamina here again with a long blog post. Now before ya’ll get triggered from this title please read the following.

So about a year ago I made a Yuzu fan video (which you can find below) and I have received many comments since comparing him to Yuri from the anime ‘Yuri!!! on ICE’ (YOI) which is a figure skating themed anime that aired in the fall of 2016.

The kind of comments being:

“Yuzu is the real Yuri!“ (<- pretty much got about 10+ of these)

“He is the inspiration of Yuri”

“He looks so much like Yuri”

“He reminds me of Yuri”

“Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernandes look like Yuri and Viktor!”

Now, this is really no surprise since I used the anime’s opening song ‘History Maker’ for this video, although the video itself really does not make any reference to the anime. But it got me thinking…how similar/different are they actually??

DISCLAIMER: I would just like to say that this comparison is purely for fun and I am not here to put down Yuzuru Hanyu nor YOI. I became a fan of Yuzu long before YOI came out and I am also a massive anime otaku. So obviously, I support both fandoms and am not here to discredit one or the other. I thought this would be something interesting since so many people point it out and I genuinely want to nut out their differences and similarities in a neutral and unbiased manner for once, since this topic seems to only ever bring in a cat fight between the figure skating fandom and anime fandom… Let’s change that!

Yuzuru Hanyu vs Katsuki Yuri

SIMILARITIES

Race and Cultural Background

I guess this is an inevitable similarity since they come from the same country and culture. Yes, they are both Japanese and have black hair, black eyes, wears glasses…etc the list goes on. I mean Yuzu probably also likes Katsu-don too (maybe). These similarities are applicable to most Japanese men really, and hence why I think this is the main aspect that a lot of people tend to focus and highlight on.

Idolising a Russian Skater

What a lot of the people also point are the two’s idolisation towards a Russian skater. This is also no surprise. When I first saw YOI I too thought that this was very reminiscent of Yuzu’s idolisation towards Evgeni Plushenko. They both grew up watching their Russian idols on TV and consider them as their ultimate inspiration. Yuzu also has formed quite a friendly relationship with Plushenko since, and has even gone far as to use one of his iconic pieces for his 2018-2019 free program - ‘Tribute to Nijinsky’. Much like how Yuri skates to Viktor’s choice of music and choreography, and wears one of his previous costumes for his short program in the anime. 

Hometown Support

This is probably a less obvious one but in YOI there is a decent sense of “Jimoto ai” - hometown love. There are a number of scenes where it depicts the support Yuri receives from his home town. As many would know Yuzu also receives a lot of support from his hometown in Sendai/Miyagi, and Yuzu himself has also raised many funds for the recovery from the 2011 earthquake. They are both from different prefectures, but their love for their hometown are quite alike.

Relationship with Family

With all that being said, I think the most noteworthy thing the two have in common is their family bond. Yuri is shown to have a strong relationship with his family, and from what I know Yuzu also does with his family, notably his mother. Family & love is a reoccurring theme in YOI. Yuri’s quote from ep 4: “...my family never treated me like a weakling. They all had faith that I’d keep growing as a person, and they never stepped over the line.”.  Yuzu has also stated in an interview after his second Olympic win that the people he feels the most gratitude towards is his family, for their unconditional support throughout his whole skating career. I personally think this is the most significant alikeness between the two that a lot of people seem to undermine. Yuri’s family has unconditionally loved and believed in him (as quoted from the anime), which I think is very similar to that of Yuzu’s relationship with his family.

DIFFERENCES

Track Record

In terms of track record, the two are quite different. Yes, the two are Japan National Champions but when speaking at an international level the differences are apparent. Yuri is more of a late bloomer as a competitive skater while Yuzu is very much an early bloomer. Yuri first medalled at the GPF at age 24 (Re YOI ep12), whereas Yuzu first medalled at the GPF at the age of 17. Also, Yuri first qualified for the GPF at age 23 (Re YOI ep1) while Yuzu first qualified for the GPF at age 16. By the age of 23 Yuzu has also won numerous other international titles such as 2x World Championship golds, 4x GPF golds and 2x Olympic golds. So there are some stark differences in terms of their career progression. Now I know the Olympics and Worlds were not mentioned in the anime; however, judging from the whole tone of the anime and what was heard from Yuri’s monologues, the likelihood of him winning one of these titles in the past is very low. Although I would say Yuri winning the 4CC (Four Continents Championships) is a possibility.  

Side note: Actually looking into their track records has made me realise how rapid and incredible Yuzu’s achievements were… no wonder he is called a living legend. Yuri’s track record by all means is very impressive as well, as it is a lot more than what most figure skaters can ever achieve in their life time.

Personality

Another major difference is their personality. Yes, they are both very competitive and hate to lose, but from what I have seen Yuri easily gets anxious and lacks confidence. We can see that from the way he desperately avoids to even listen to the other performances in episode 7 in order to calm his nerves. Of course this gradually changes in Yuri, and we see that he learns to handle the pressure better in competitions. As for Yuzu, he lives off pressure and gets motivated the more his competitors do well. Yuzu has stated that his “ideal” way of winning is for him to defeat the other competitors when they are are at their best. 

Skating skills/style

Yuzu, at this point in time, can jump the quad salchow, quad toe-loop, quad loop & quad lutz. Yuri is able to do the quad salchow, quad toe loop and…the quad flip, which just happens to be the one quadruple jump (excluding the axel) that Yuzu cannot do. Interesting aye? 

Also, Yuzu is very much an all rounded skater, and has been for the majority of his senior career. He is well renowned for possessing great artistry and technical skills that are on par with each other. Whereas Yuri’s strength leans more towards the components/artistic side of skating (Refer to YOI ep 4). Yuri is very expressive in the way that he performs and interprets music quite well, but he has the tendency to flop when it comes to his jumps. However, this too gradually changes following Viktor’s coaching as he starts to polish up Yuri’s skills in other areas too. 

New York Times Article on Yuzuru Hanyu:

Body Type, Physical Condition   

Yuri, in the anime, is very susceptible to binge eat and gains weight easily. His love for food, especially Katsu-don, is clearly depicted in the anime, and it’s apparent that the act of eating brings him joy. Yuzu on the other hand really has no interest in eating, and suffers from the total opposite concern of being unable to gain weight. 

Another stark difference is their stamina. Yuri’s stamina has always been one of his strengths; whereas Yuzu suffers from asthma and has struggled with stamina especially during his early senior years. 

Final Verdict/Thoughts

So I think we can see that Yuzu and Yuri are somewhat similar in terms of race, background and upbringing, but are quite different in terms of personality, skating skills/style and track record.

I like to actually think that bits of Yuzu’s traits are shown through not just Yuri but multiple characters in YOI. He has the charisma of Viktor, drive of Yurio and love/affection of Yuri. Just like how we see bits of Yuzu in lot of these characters, the character of Yuri was inspired by various iconic skaters; noteworthy ones being Machida Tatsuki and Takahashi Daisuke.

Many people worked hard to create this anime, just like how Yuzu has worked his butt off to get to where he is now. I think it is okay for people to compare the two, just as long as you respect and acknowledge the fact that Yuri is his own character and Yuzu is his own person. I think it is great that a lot of people found out about Yuzu and Figure Skating through this anime. I’m also sure that there are people who got into YOI as they were initially part of the figure skating fandom or were Yuzu fans (like myself!). 

I sincerely hope people have not been offended by this blog. I tried being objective as possible. Adios until my next post! 

[nomadicism]

I read that one posts. I agree with Sol. I think it's more likely that Dreamworks crunched the numbers, figured it wouldn't be profitable and just canned the project than them cancelling it because of a very small section of the internet. p1

“p2 Mecha is just a dying genre as a whole. Even in Japan, isekai has taken it's place and there are hardly any new mechas outside of Gundam. That's in Japan! In the west, mecha is even more niche of an interest and general audiences don't gravitate towards it. I don't think that any mecha movie wouldn't do well at the box office. I'm even worried about that Gundam movie bombing at the box office.”

Hi Anon, thank you for the Ask!

Yeah, I agree with Sol too—and at risk of repeating what I’ve said in other posts about the movie thing—it’s really hard to convey just how incredibly unlikely a property like Voltron or Robotech will ever be made into a live-action movie. It really is about the numbers, as it always has been. Since the 80s, there’s this whole persistent and stupid element of the cartoon industry that continues to delude itself that promises or interest from Hollywood will ever pan out. There are so many scripts sitting in production limbo, that it’s almost criminal.

No one wants to risk money on a live-action movie based on children’s media IP that won’t bring in rated PG-13 or R dollars from adults, and no one wants to risk repeating the 80s He-Man film. The exceptions are live-action films made from children’s media IP that are fully owned by the company paying to produce the movie. I’ve got more to say about the complexities of royalties, but that’s awfully long-winded when I get into it, and I’d rather be long-winded about giant robots. (◕ᴗ◕✿)

The topic of mecha genre dying out is what really interests me here. It’s a topic that I think about a lot, as the beginnings of the mecha genre had a lot of deep cultural time-and-place stuff behind it, even if the stories were just kids and teen boys hopping into a giant robot to beat up other giant robots and monsters, in what were essentially 30 minute long toy commercials.

Isekai will come-and-go as all genres do. It’s not a new genre, but right now the types of themes driving the isekai stories being made speaks to a lot of interesting things happening in the youth of Japan’s relationship with digital gaming and role-play escapism. It’s fascinating, even though the focus of the genre as it’s done today hasn’t really grabbed me in the same way that isekai of the 80s-90s did.

Mecha isekai exists, and it’s only a matter of time before someone either remakes Vision of Escaflowne, or does a more mecha-focused isekai story similar to Magic Knight Rayearth. I doubt anyone would revisit Aura Battler Dunbine, or Super Dimension Century Orguss, but an otaku can dream.

Before we can say the mecha genre is dying, let’s briefly skim over the genre trends of the past +40 years. Every decade or era of mecha anime has a trend that reflects cultural concerns built into it, in a way that I don’t think any other genre of animation can touch (until now, with Digital/Virtual/Fantasy RPG World Isekai).

Late 60s-70s was: Super Robot smashes monsters and alien robots

Mid-70s – early 80s was: Combining Mecha Sentai Team Super Robot smashes monsters and alien robots

80s was: Real Robot + “how many sci-fi/fantasy settings can we put a robot into?” + the death-throes of Super Robot (e.g. Dairugger XV, Golion, Baldios, Godmars)

Also 80s: What the hell was Super Dimension Fortress Macross about? Cold war tensions of escalating end-the-world arms race meets an alien species whose only culture is fighting. Where songs about love, and the culture of love, are what win the day, not just transforming robots and big guns. Macross is deeper than it lets on.

Fun 80s: GoShogun happened. The first parody-satire mecha anime that still feels more serious than they intended, but is actually hilarious once you get past the dated gender roles humor (which was also kind of intentional satire).

WTF 80s: Space Runaway Ideon broke everyone’s minds.

Still not done with 80s: Gunbuster happened. The first angst-driven parody-satire mecha anime that blew everyone’s minds.

Late 80s-early 90s OVA mecha was a mix of Serious Cyberpunk-influenced Real Robot for older teens and adults + Mecha with Tits & Tentacles for Adults (see also space elf lesbians).

90s was: The Franchises Will Survive With Prettier Pilots, and Super Angst-Bot That Was Way More Influenced By Drugs And Ideon’s Ending Than Anyone Wants To Admit (aka Neon Genesis Evangelion) + “Since Gunbuster was a success, how many parodies of Super Robot and Real Robot can we do?”

Mid 90s isekai gems: Magic Knight Rayearth and Vision of Escaflowne

Late 90s: Brain-Powerd (not a typo) happened and it’s a shame no one remembers it. I’ve seen it’s influence come up in the 2000s – 2010s.

The 00s seem to be filled with a lot of re-treading of everything that came before but with different cross-genre influences and some of it really damn good but hard to remember because it all kind of blends together.

The 2010s-today: I have no idea what’s happening now b/c I can’t keep up with anything that isn’t Gundam. And why bother when there has been a flood of classic 70s-80s mecha releases—many for the first time in the US—to binge watch?

Knights of Sidonia was cool.

Since I haven’t kept up, I can’t speak to what new mecha anime is like, or why it's less popular (though I have an educated guess). It was gonna happen eventually, and I suspect that the kinds of post-nuclear and Cold War existential dread that informed mecha anime of the 60s-80s has moved on as target audiences grew up. Those lates 80s OVAs, where the stories could be more adult, reflect that growing up (and also Blade Runner’s influence).

I see the 90s as very transitional, includes reactions to the prior eras, but also reflects a lot of angst by Japanese teens and young adults caught up in the after-effects of 80s stagnation, and the constant test-studying to get into the best school to get the best job (if it exists) and figure it all out before you’re 14 so you can pick the best school to test into. Also, salary-man dad works 120 hours a week and is never home. Get in the Angst-bot Shinji.

Excluding the stand-out brands that survived their respective eras: Gundam, Macross, Braves series, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Evangelion; there’s not much other ground that can be covered right now that would warrant a series. The franchise mecha shows are grounded in their respective niches. It’s kind of odd that there isn’t an isekai mecha franchise, b/c that’s a niche that hasn’t been owned in the way that the other niches have (unless maybe Machine Hero Wataru is still a Thing?)

It’s worth mentioning that Sport Anime has really been having a moment for almost a decade now, and that’s super interesting to compare against isekai. Isekai about dungeon slimes or whatever vs literal horse-girls racing each other like high-school track. Thanks Japan, are y’all all right over there?

A few last things:

The success of Super Robot Wars tells me that mecha genre isn’t dying. Consider the ages of players. How many of them actually grew up watching Yuusha Raideen (aka Yūsha Raideen / Raideen the Brave)? There is an SRW manga anthology series, and loads of gachapon and collector’s grade mecha figures from old mecha anime get released with regularity. Someone’s buying that all that shit.

SRW is nearly 20 years old now, and they are still making video games that do one thing really well: rotate a 40 year old cast of everyone’s favorite robots into a battle strategy game held together by a duct-tape plot that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The games are fun, and it’s cool to put all these mecha into the same field. It’s really great to see older shows that will never be remade have little cut scenes in a newer animation style that still feels like the originals.

There’s also the old staple that started it all: the tokusatsu genre of live-action Super Sentai shows (e.g. Power Rangers). They’ve been making the Super Sentai Series since 1975, and there’s still fun to be had watching color-coded warriors use special powers/tech to summon forth some combining mecha to do battle with rubber suit monsters from outer-space. The effects are much better these days, but it’s the same formula, year after year and people still love it.

So with respect to mecha, I think what’s died or dying, is that people are afraid to have shameless child-like fun with giant robots. The genre got too serious and too angsty (and too horny without the grown-up edge of 80s OVA Tits & Tentacles mecha). The franchises carved their niches and aren’t going anywhere, while the genre survives in video games and collectables.

A lot of that shameless fun has moved into other genres, because nothing else explains a title like: “Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girl’s In The Dungeon?” or the nearly-ecchi concept behind the sports anime “Keijo!!!!!”. But that kind of fun is less child-like and more self-deprecating or pervy-humor. Both sports and isekai anime have their serious side, but seem to be dominated by stories that don’t take themselves too seriously, or like Yuri on Ice, aren’t afraid to take a concept that no one ever saw coming, and shape it into a good story.

I eagerly await a mecha sports anime (wait, no, I think that already happened), and I’d love to see a knock-out isekai mecha anime again. I think it will happen eventually, but probably not from Toei or Sunrise. If Tatsunoko could get beyond Moe Idols In Space, then the Macross franchise already has everything it needs to do a isekai series. That would be rad.

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on manga stuff from the rest of Anime Expo under the cut

Stuff from Vertical [not much to say so may as well do it first]:

-I’m INCREDIBLY excited to see Moteki get an English release. I’d thought it might happen since Yuri on Ice is so popular and they might want to bring over an earlier work of Kubo’s, but it’s still great to see. Apparently Moteki is/was really popular in Japan so I’m curious to see how I feel about it. Thankfully it’s only gonna be two volumes long [hopefully they include volume 4.5 with the second one] in omnibus form, so it won’t be a huge commitment, and the first volume is apparently coming out in October so I don’t even have to wait that long. I’d love to see someone pick up Again, but that’s way longer. Maybe Kodansha can pull through and at least pick it up digitally.

-[Which reminds me that Kodansha really didn’t have much to show off print-wise. Which is a bit surprising. I guess they really are focusing mostly on getting new digital licenses. Hopefully some of their digital stuff gets proper English releases eventually. Anyway, the only things they showed off print-wise I’m interested in are the Cardcaptor Sakura sequel, and the Sailor Moon Eternal Edition. But I need to get Dark Horse’s CCS omnibuses before I get the sequel, of course. I sure hope those don’t suddenly go out of stock.]

-Nothing much to say about City or My Boy, other than that I have vague plans to eventually get Keiichi Arawi’s stuff in general so it’s nice to see them pick up more. Not sure how I feel about My Boy given that the synopsis’ whole thing of ‘are this 30 year old woman’s feelings for this 12-year old boy just maternal or are they something more?’ is putting me off so goddamn hard. YIKES. Also for a minute there when I saw it, I got confused and thought they’d licensed My Girl by Sahara Mizu [who drew the Voices of a Distant Star manga they’re putting out next year which I kinda wanna get] and I got excited about the idea of another manga of hers getting licensed. Oh well.

-Oh yeah and they technically officially announced their license of Strangulation Romanticist but we’ve all known about that for ages now and I’ve already made a post about it. So not a whole lot to say, other than that, once again, I REALLY hope they complete the series since it’s unclear if Shaft will adapt beyond the first book. I’m also interested by them saying it’ll have ‘brand new cover art’. Is it . . . not just going to be a slightly edited version of the newer JP cover, like what they did for Kubikiri Cycle? I’m really concerned. On the one hand, new art by take is super appealing as a concept, but I’m already annoyed enough at how inconsistent design-wise their release of the Monogatari series is, so I’d hate to see this suffer a similar fate. I just don’t want it to look too different to Kubikiri, especially in terms of the spine. I’m still reeling over how drastically different Nisemonogatari 1′s spine [and front cover] looks to the rest of the series.

-OK this section ended up longer than I thought it’d be lol.

Seven Seas stuff:

-OK just to get it out of the way right from the start, they didn’t license Shimanami Tasogare, and now I just want Seven Seas to bury me when I die so they can let me down one last time. OK I’m MOSTLY kidding, but I’m also still kinda genuinely bitter about this even though I totally expected it. Ugh. They obviously might just license it later down the track, and it’s not a huge deal since I’m even planning to import the JP volumes anyway, but STILL. Maybe Viz will pull through and pick it up eventually. They seem to be getting better at getting manga with LGBT representation recently. I guess I’ll just keep suggesting it each month to them until SOMEONE picks it up.

-I’m probably gonna eventually pick up the entire Orange series since I loved the anime and I’m buying their release of Dreamin’ Sun, but man, why are they doing v6 as a single volume release? We know there’s going to be a seventh volume, so they could have just waited until that came out so they could do an omnibus release to match their release of the main series. Now it’s going to be really weird and inconsistent and it’s making me feel disinclined to buy it. Ugh.

-Definitely excited for Made in Abyss. I figured that’d get licensed soon enough. I’ll see if I like the anime first, though.

-I’m happy to see Seven Seas get more into LNs in general, even if I’m not terribly interested in any of them.

-Hoo boy RANT TIME INCOMING.

-I might get Nanashi no Asterism, at least since it looks like it might have an m/m sub-plot, which is nice.

-I had a whole multi-paragraph rant about Seven Seas, and to a lesser extent other mainstream publishers, and how they seem to oh so conveniently be licensing pretty much exclusively yuri manga while casually ignoring stuff about/including queer male characters, but ugh I’d probably rather not put THAT much bitterness in this sorta post lol. But if there’s one rant-y thing I’ll let myself say here, it’s that a few weeks ago Seven Seas advertised their Fudanshi manga by posting a tweet saying ‘What’s a guy gotta do to get some BL around here?’, and my response to that is just ‘I don’t know, Seven Seas, what DOES a guy gotta do to get some BL around here? I keep looking at your website but all I see is over 20 yuri titles and 0 BL titles’. I still stand by the fact that that tweet was tone-deaf as fuck, even if I’m not gonna send them hate or anything about it. I’m just gonna side-eye it privately on my blog lol. OK, rant over.

-But seriously I still might get Nanashi no Asterism if it has SOME element of m/m romance in it since that’s at least SOMETHING, and I’d like to support it. Which is part of why I’m gonna eventually buy their Zestiria manga since that has a gay male protagonist even if I’m 99% sure that they as a company are aware of that. You can’t make me buy their Fudanshi manga, though. I’m not even just basing that off of a surface-level glance at the synopsis or whatever. I watched the entire anime adaptation of it as it aired and I basically hated every minute of it. So I KNOW it’s not for me and I want no part of it.

[deltaengineering]

Summer Anime 2018 Part 1: Nurupo

I feel bad for calling last season weak now, since that turned out okay, what with Megalobox, Hinamatsuri and Rokuhoudou (the best show you didn’t watch). Maybe this is a lesson to not be so negative, but all the positivity in the world can’t make this season look good. To balance it out, I’ll be bringing along some hot opinions from people getting paid to see the bright side this time.

P.S. Part 2 is here.

Island

What: A very Frontwing version of When They Cry, apparently. Awesome McCooldude wakes up on an island full of pliant girls and/or dark secrets.

✅  looks alright

❌ story is tryhard mystery nonsense based on convenient amnesia, very unlikely to deliver

❌❌ an absolutely terrible cast of generic VN characters, enjoy your common route hijinks with them

❌❌ Frontwing being Frontwing, please see picture.

ANN sez: “This episode accomplishes the two things that it absolutely must for the series to have a chance of succeeding: it makes the main trio of girls endearing enough and layers on some intriguing mysteries.”

Hanebad!

What: Some girls take badminton very seriously. Somewhere between genocide and extinction level event seriously.

✅  well animated and directed

✅  there appears to be more to the characters than nothing at all, so the overbearing presence of the drama llama might actually pay off

❌ has a tendency to wallow in ostentatious KyoAni-style presentational kitsch

❌ speaking of which, making the cast of Euphonium look like a bunch of carefree slackers by comparison is not a good thing

ANN sez: “From the lush colors of their school's flowers to the alienating saturation and long shots of their gym hallways, every mood HANEBADO strives for is captured perfectly through its visual storytelling, and solidified through fundamentally sturdy dialogue and plotting.”

Senjuushi

What: Touken Ranbu with firearms.

❌ This is a cute boys doing cute things anime set against a backdrop of global thermonuclear war and combining the ultra seriousness of ufotable TR with the slice of life tone of Doga Kobo TR makes for a very, let’s say, “uneven” experience. 

❌  Unsurprisingly, it has the production values of neither of the above and looks like crap instead.

❌❌ The localized title is “The Thousand Musketeers” and given the reckless pace in which it introduces pointless characters, it might actually hit that number in 12 episodes.

❌❌ Mobile game character designs must be stopped, for fuck’s sake

ANN sez: “The story itself has some promise, especially if you're a fan of antique guns.“

Shichisei no Subaru

What: VRMMO light novel garbage about MMO newtypes.

❌ High tier light novel tropes like “u die in the game u die 4 real”, grade schooler magical girlfriends and demigod abilities

❌ Yes, the characters start as grade schoolers and then there’s a timeskip where they become high schoolers. They don’t change at all, which is either cutting commentary on arrested development or an indication of how good this show’s writing is.

❌ Ideas like permadeath in an MMO and giving good players a stake in the game company are hilariously stupid even by this genre’s standards.

❌ You’ve seen this exact cast of characters before, likely in better shows.

❌❌ There’s really no single egregiously bad aspect, but the stank of mediocrity is so overwhelming as to deserve a double minus all of its own.

ANN sez: “This episode banks heavily on the appeal of its mysteries, but those mysteries actually are pretty appealing, and I ultimately respect this episode's choice to introduce so much of its world and characters before getting to the real conceit.”

Banana Fish

What: A well regarded classic manga about New York’s seedy gang underbelly of drugs and violence. And BL.

✅ ✅   Looks good. Like actually, legitimately good. Animation, character design, directing, this show is quality.

❌ Updating the setting to contemporary times seems like a not so great idea since everything about this is deeply steeped in the mid-80s gang violence and drugs panic, no matter how many smartphones get used.

♎ The pacing is ultra fast. While I will admit that I’ll take that over a snoozefest (especially in a seasonal rundown), if this wants to be a legitimate high tier anime it needs to let the atmosphere breathe more. 24 episodes isn’t much for a 19-volume manga.

❌ I’ve praised MAPPA for promising first episodes before, and then I got the likes of Yuri on Ice and Virgin Soul out of it. This is not an anime original so it will be harder to fuck up, but life finds a way - especially given the need for condensing the story as noted above.

❌ Ultimately, just being a classy production with proven writing isn’t the be-all-end-all; quality aside, I still have to like what it does, and I’m not sure what amounts to a homoerotic 80s crime B-thriller is exactly in my wheelhouse.

✅ What else are you gonna watch this season?

ANN sez: “The one negative I can foresee is that one character is portrayed as a fairly stereotypical gay sexual predator, and this story pitches itself consistently as a seedier exploration of its boys' love subject matter, so it's reasonable to expect these kinds of details going forward.”

Yume Oukoku to Nemureru 100-nin no Ouji-sama

What: Girls get their wish-fulfilment isekai nonsense too, it’s just a pretty pointless definition when you can just say “basic otome harem” instead. But sure, nondescript girl wakes up in fantasy dream universe where she has a magical trait that makes a large number of princes desire her. Call it what you like.

♎ Successfully avoids the most obnoxious otome harem and isekai tropes, but that just makes it even more bland

❌ lots of exposition about an universe that is hardly complicated and transparently an excuse anyway

❌ Main character is agreeable but exceptionally boring

❌ The princes are all generically princely and very little else

❌❌ combine that with sluggish pacing and this might be the most boring show so far, which is not an easy feat

ANN sez: “There were also some neat details here and there that I particularly appreciated, like the fact that our heroine is actually a working adult, as well as the idea that rather than being “trapped in a new world” she's in truth been returned to her home.”

Back Street Girls

What: A trio of yakuza thugs get a forced sex change because their boss wants to be an idol producer. It’s funny, laugh.

❌ This is not the warm, fuzzy trans acceptance anime you’ve been looking for, to put it mildly. I am not easily offended, but it would have to be pretty darn good to outrun this premise. Yeah, about that...

❌❌ runs its one joke (idols are not supposed to be thugs, like, at all!) into the ground before it exceeds a 3-minute short runtime; is actually 24 minutes long anyway. Hope you really like that joke.

❌❌ the execution of said joke is the pits of anime comedy, nothing but reaction faces and shouting

❌❌ production values are basically non-existent, at most you can say that they took the time to color in those manga panels

❌ learning that Chiaki Kon is directing this pile is just sad, put THAT in your auteur pipe and smoke it.

ANN sez: Nothing, since western licensors mysteriously chose to skip this one. Really a shame because I was looking forward to the outrage.

Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu

What: It has “Isekai” and “Maou” in the title so what do you fucking think. What it doesn’t tell you is that it’s also about an MMO, for the full LN shitter nuclear triad.

❌❌ It’s about a loser otaku who gets trapped in his MMO wherein he has the mostest hax, complete with complementary slave pettan catgirl and slave oppai elf

❌❌ This is meant to be funny because he’s too much of a dweeb to put his penis where his mouth is.

❌ Technically better executed than Death March or Isekai Smartphone, so it gets one single minus for effort.

ANN sez: “The idea that Takuma is so insecure about talking to other people that he can only comfortably speak in the voice of his demon lord character is ingenious in a dramatic sense and endearing in a personal one, while Takuma's clear understanding of his personal failings makes him far more sympathetic than the genre's usual snarky protagonists.”

Satsuriku no Tenshi

What: Early teen girl checks herself into Silent Hill General Hospital for grief counselling.

✅  Atmosphere works reasonably well; it’s creepy where it needs to be, which is everywhere and all the time.

❌ The girl is a nonfactor blob and the tough guy she gets paired up with is an annoying chuuni edgelord (it is called 𝔄𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔩𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 after all), which is not promising for the long run

❌ So obviously based on a run-of-the-mill spoopy RPGmaker freeware game you can practically see the floor tiles.

❌❌ 24 solid minutes of Getting Cornered By A Rape Metaphor quickly goes from unsettling to incredibly tedious.

❌❌ There’s really nowhere for this to go, given how unoriginal everything is; at best it’s going to be “it was all a dream”, at worst “everyone was dead all along, please feel sad now”.

ANN sez: “The design of the facility is one of those fanciful every-level-is-a-different-setting worlds, but the artistic effort strongly pushes the creepiness factor with a design aesthetic that suggests age, decay, and neglect.“

Harukana Receive

What: Girls play beach volleyball in scenic Okinawa, some light sports drama seems to be on the horizon.

✅  Looks just good enough

✅  Girls are just cute and likeable enough

❌ the sports aspect is weak; maybe I’m just spoiled on Emiya-san’s incredible beach volleyball scene right now, but even when not compared to a top tier studio ostentatiously flaunting the budget of their fucking cooking short the match here isn’t very compelling.

♎ where Hanebad has a bad case of the cereals, this may have the opposite problem of being too cotton candy to be worth it

✅  “good enough” is not a ringing endorsement, but counts for something when being just okay will net you a third or possibly second place of the season.

ANN sez: “This is, of course, all just conjecture right now. ”

Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro

What: We took Nichijou and replaced the surrealism with video game references and the production values with donkey dung. Let’s see if delta notices!

❌❌ Production values are not optional when you want to be Nichijou; it being astoundingly over the top and imbued with impeccable timing is a (or even the) main part of Nichijou’s appeal. Without them you’re left with basic reactionface manzai over awkward situations, the king of comedy.

❌❌ Suffice it to say, this show is 100% trying to be funny, while also 100% not succeeding at being funny.

❌Asscreed is a more original tentpole to rotate your first episode around than the usual Dragon Quest, but not by much.

♎ neurotic nerd main character that is little more than a bundle of social anxieties will be #relatable to anime professionals, observe:

ANN sez: “Chio's overthinking in this situation is both hilarious and painfully true-to-life, with her furious strategizing coming across as both absurd and very familiar to anyone who's not comfortable in conversation.”

Planet With

Wat: Appears to be a tokusatsu/crypto-mecha show aimed at the younger set, with the gimmick being that our protagonist is (initially?) on the side of the villains(?).

✅  Pretty wacky, actually. It definitely doesn’t neatly fit in your square notions of what an anime is, man (unless you’ve watched FLCL).

❌ It seems very uncertain whether the wackiness is in service of anything. It might be To Be Heroine, or it might just be Heybot with fewer fart jokes.

♎ Furthermore, it wants to be intriguing and sort of is, but merely being intriguing is not that hard - you just make no sense and hope for the best. This has the not making sense part down, do you feel lucky?

❌ tries to build up characters by immediately going for the sad flashbacks, which I never like, especially if the rest of the show is eIDLIVE-level nonsense.

❌ Looks mostly fiiiiiine, but is also full of subpar CG

ANN sez: “So if the heroes are fighting against someone who just wants peace, then what does that make them? And more importantly, if they find out that the bears aren't evil, will they stop?”

Hataraku Saibou

What: A cutesy educational comedy about the workings of a human body.

✅  Well made, characters are cute, topic is interesting.

❌ Educational aspect can get in the way; I’m not suddenly giving heavy exposition a pass just because it’s trying to teach me something, especially if it’s things I basically already know.

♎ Will have to show if it can keep coming up with good scenarios. The lung infection in episode 1 was alright and so will probably be the skin cut in the preview, but beyond that I’m not sure what’s left for red and white blood cells to do. I’m not expecting a show with this tone to tackle things like retroviruses, if you know what I mean.

♎ An actual storyline seems like too much to expect, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but not a positive either.

✅  Doesn’t rock my socks off but is an easily watchable show with a fine idea and high production values, which again is hard to say no to right now.

ANN sez: “But since it culminates in one of my favorite scenes from the manga, visualizing sneezing as shooting a torpedo out your nose, I can forgive the random gendering of cells.”

Ongaku Shoujo

What: DEEN are getting in on the idol mobile game anime biz too.

✅  The main character’s gimmick is that apart from being A Honk, she can’t sing for shit; this is moderately funny.

❌ It might have counted for more if that hadn’t come out seconds before the episode ended. Even if it isn’t a momentous twist, it was more of a point of interest than the incredibly bland leadup to it had.

❌  Yeah, “Ongaku Shoujo” is an entirely indicative name of how generic this show is: Music + girls, indeed. I assume “Idols” was taken.

❌ I’m still not sure what the ideal cast size of a show like this is, but 12 idols is Idolmaster turf and as such too many. They have personalities? I think?

❌ a very small handful of cuts aside, woeful production quality; I know picking on DEEN is 2ez but this is not their finest work. Animation snobs can feel proud that there’s no CG dancing here, for the rest of us it’s an object lesson on why CG is the lesser of two evils.

✅  Tumbling SR cards in the ED (which is probably actually the OP) made me laugh; this show can’t even afford URs.

❌❌ Overall, just another idol show. Large cast plus presence of a P-san marks it as Im@s-type – but if you're in the market for an Idolmaster clone with bad looks, I would recommend Wake Up Girls instead because that’s at least pretty real at points.

ANN sez: They’re out for the weekend, ask again later. I suspect it’s nothing funny.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Reading Log - January 2019

A summary of all the light novel volumes I read this month - along with my thoughts on them. I bought all of these volumes from BookWalker. Most of these series will not be available in English but I’ll try to point it out when I know if one of this series has received an official translation.

Note that, obviously, the following text is just my own opinion so please respect that and if you see anything that I got completely wrong (i.e. I accidentally refer to a character with incorrect pronouns), let me know. I will avoid posting spoilers as much as possible but let me know if I accidentally slip up.

Gamers! 1 by Sekina Aoi (Light Novel):

It was a fairly enjoyable read for the most part but, by the time I had reached the second half, I had lost interest and just wanted it to end. The chapters felt so long and dull and I think shorter chapters would have worked better. The other thing that stuck out to me is that the art is very simplistic and sometimes did not match the text for the scene it was for. I didn’t feel like the art added anything to the volume though I suppose it would have been jarring without it, given the genre of the story. That being said, I liked the characters a lot, including the protagonist and I enjoyed it enough that I’ll probably check out the second volume in the future though I’ll probably watch the anime beforehand to make sure that the story doesn’t go in a direction I don’t like.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 1 by Fumiaki Maruto (Light Novel):

After finishing the Koisuru Metronome spin-off manga last month (which I loved, btw), I finally had motivation to read the light novel. It is really good. The pacing is excellent, there are a lot of funny moments and I love Maruto’s writing style. I do think that this series really needs to give the reader more insight on Katou. I get that part of the charm of the first volume is reliant on Tomoya having no interest in Katou but I want to know about her family and friends (because she must have some that she hung out with before meeting Tomoya) and I want to know what she’s like with them. I watched the anime alongside reading this and I think the events flow smoother in that and there is a lot of really interestingly directed parts (I love the café scene in episode 2) but it loses a bit of funny dialogue which is a shame. I have volume 2 already but I’ll probably wait a bit to read it so that I don’t get burnt out on the series.

Monku no Tsukeyou ga Nai Love Comedy 3 by Daisuke Suzuki (Light Novel):

In my mind, this series has two main charm points: the fun dialogue and the relationship between its’ two leads and it’s the latter that is on full display in this volume. Outside of that, it’s a pretty unremarkable yet enjoyable volume from a pretty unremarkable yet enjoyable series. I have to say that the side story that came with the volume on BookWalker is adorable though. As an aside, I recommend this series for people who are learning Japanese. It’s pretty easy since most of it is just dialogue and there aren’t many places that can trip you up.

Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shiteshimatta... 2 by Satoru Yamaguchi (light Novel):

This volume is just as entertaining and hilarious as the first but it also surprised me. While the first volume could’ve been described as ‘predictable yet fun’, this volume had quite a few events that I didn’t see coming and, more than that, it was interesting. When I got to the main chapter, I couldn’t stop reading. It was that good. Katarina continues to be an amazing protagonist and the rest of the characters are just as enjoyable. In particular, this volume introduces to new characters and I won’t talk much about the second because spoilers but I loved Maria and I ship her with Katarina so much. I will warn that this series suffers from originally being a web novel will little editing been done during the conversion to being a light novel series in that most of the chapters are  episodic so, when you get to the main chapter, it feels disconnected from the rest of the volume and is way longer than any of the other chapters.

J-Novel Club is currently releasing the volumes in English under the title of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! so please pick it up if the series interests you.

Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shiteshimatta... 3 by Satoru Yamaguchi (light Novel):

Welp, I suppose it was about time that this series had a volume that I didn’t love. The first chapter was pretty good but there wasn’t a whole lot in the later chapters that I liked. The new characters introduced this volume were interesting enough but I’d have rather have spent time with the characters I already love. Plus, I would’ve been fine with this series ending in the previous volume though admittedly the series probably wouldn’t have been as popular if it had and I might not have read it in the first place. I’m not really a fan of romance series and I feel like this volume is trying to steer the series into becoming more of one and I hope that the following volumes bring back the things that make me enjoy this series and I love the cover for vol. 4 so I’m sure it will (Katarina, charging while Jeord and Sora are all ‘slow down, dumbass!’).

Thinking about, if Katarina ends up with anyone, I want it to be Maria. They definitely have the sweetest and cutest interactions but, if I’m being realistic because it almost impossible for this series to go the yuri route, I’d prefer Nicole over the other guys. He won me over in the first volume when he gave Katarina a necklace modelled after one that a character in a book had and he’s been consistently good since then. He really cares for Katarina and I think she’d be happiest with him. Keith and Alan are also good options but I don’t get the appeal of Jeord.

Monku no Tsukeyou ga Nai Love Comedy 4 by Daisuke Suzuki (light Novel):

Sekai doesn’t actually have a whole lot of scenes in this volume which made is boring since her relationship with Yuuki really is the stand-out of the series and Kurumi and Haruko are pretty dull. The last chapter was interesting though.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 2 by Fumiaki Maruto (Light Novel):

This volume seemed to drag on longer than the first but I did really enjoy the climactic scenes with Utaha and I loved the short dialogue-only interaction between Katou and Eriri. There’s a lot that I want to say about this series but I’m waiting and hoping that the series will prove me wrong before I do so. For now, I’m just wanting for this series to show more interactions between the characters without Tomoya. I will say that I think the anime is slightly better than the light novel series so far. It has it’s problems, like it has a lot of times where a male gaze-y perspective is used and it’s unpleasant but I think it succeeds in the most important way: it makes me forget about Katou’s existence. It’s hard to make Katou forgettable in a dialouge-focused text-based series and the manga doesn’t even try to do it but the anime takes advantage of it’s format and successfully uses certain camera angles to make Katou less noticeable.

Monku no Tsukeyou ga Nai Love Comedy 5 by Daisuke Suzuki (light Novel)

Easily the most entertaining volume of the series so far, to the point where I wanted to immediately buy vol. 6 when I finished it (I didn’t because I like to wait for sales but the temptation was there). I can’t talk about this series a lot because the first volume has a twist that most readers won’t see coming so I don’t want to spoil it for them but I will say that I usually find the characters who aren’t Sekai or Yuuji to be boring but I actually liked them in this volume, probably because they interacted with Sekai while usually they just interact with Yuuji. I will also say that I think the structure of this series would have worked better in a eroge or galge. The structure actually reminds me of Asairo’s structure more than anything else and it kind of works in light novel format but it feels like it was meant for a route structure.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 3 by Fumiaki Maruto (Light Novel):

My favorite thing about this volume is that Tomoya was never insulted or shamed for liking otome games. He also gets to cry a bit near the end of the volume and male protagonists showing emotions other than anger is always nice (note that the anime down-playes this and I’m super bitter about it. He hardly cries in the anime but in the light novel, he full on bawls to the point where he has trouble speaking) . Eriri got the bulk of development this time around and I think it was well done. I really liked the scene with her and Tomoya at the end. A new heroine, Izumi, is introduced in this volume and I think she has the potential to be an interesting character. She’s, unfortunately, used to generate boob physics in the anime and the manga (to be clear, the manga is much worse than the anime in this regard) and she’s a middle schooler so that’s… uncomfortable, to say the least. I hope she uses her earnings from Comiket to buy a decent bra... I didn’t care much for Iori in the volume but I thought he was hilarious in the anime adaptation and I kinda ship him with Tomoya tbh.

[aikasacolle]

Origins of Mizuchi - Creator’s Inspiration

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/134638137/mizuchi-visual-novel

Hello, Roxie here. The team is extremely pleased the alpha demo was released and overall well received by players. However, there is some confusion about the game’s setting that needs to be addressed from first impressions. It was somewhat explained on my very first post discussing character designs. Which you can find here: Mizuchi 白蛇心傳 Character Designs

If you would like to know “why” I made the decisions as I did, read on. I will bring up some backstory as to why Mizuchi was created as well. There’s also some spoilers if you haven’t played the demo.

Demo Here: https://aikasacolle.itch.io/mizuchi

You have been warned. Now please bear with me in the below ramble.

Aikasa Collective is a team with a majority of us being of Asian descent. I’ll mention those that make up the general character design and setting. I am Vietnamese-American, Moonsta (Artist) is Taiwanese, and NatalieAO (Colorist) is from Hong Kong. We were all familiar with the Legend of the White Snake 白蛇傳 in our own way as it is that famous.

Character Design Set-Up

I hand over the character profile and country to Moon, advising her to do her own interpretation of the traditional design since it’s a “fantasy”. She did her own research and after a few drafts we settled on the lineart only. Natalie was found after the first artist could no longer commit. I gave her the same profile, and gave her free reign with colors and patterns. She gave multiple color combinations, some internal voting and voila, the characters were completed. I believe some of the designs are wonderful derivatives, but they are only tributes to their traditional outfit.

I will need to sidetrack a little bit now.

Why was Mizuchi  白蛇心傳 made?

As an avid yuri fan and a bi/pan woman, I really wanted to tell a yuri focused story. I wanted a “pretty” visual novel that had a gritty vibe in order to challenge myself writing things that made me uncomfortable. The story of the White Snake left a memorable impression on me when I was less than 10 years old. I remember going to a friend’s house, watching bits of it in Vietnamese dub (oh yes childhood). It was such a tragic story it affected me still as the image is seared in my memory. Reading up on it, I realized there has been many variations of the legend, but none with a yuri version ;D (that I’m aware of...). I’ve avoided watching any recent iterations of the legend to avoid being influenced as I’m encroaching on much different themes.

So... is there any resemblance to the original tale in Mizuchi?

There is a main character that helps the “snake woman,” they fall in love, and the monk character plays a role. The monk’s role has changed through iterations as well, evil jealous villain to man who must save the MC’s soul. In my case I wanted to make a very kind and responsible nun. Jinhai was influenced by the Buddhist nuns who lived in my bedroom once I left to college. (Long story). I’m sure my “former nun now traveler” being a love interest was a very atypical choice. Is the game religious? Not at all. I love folklores, and I wanted to combine them also within this story :D I’ll give you a rough idea.

1) Legend of White Snake (Viet dubs, yep...)

2) Secret - Small Asian Tale (Dad taught me this one first, Puns)

3) Secret - Not really a tale (But I’ll use them...)

4) Beauty and the Beast (Subconscious I swear)

Where is Mizuchi taking place?

“Ancient Asia fantasy land”. Linh is from the “south”, Jinhai from the “north”, and Ai from ... (you play you learn).

But the house looks Japanese!

Yes, I really think Japanese homes would be a culture shock to someone like Linh, it’s intentional. Tatami mats for example is not common in areas that have a high humidity levels. It’s much harder to maintain.

So where are they exactly?

You will find out in the main game. There is a (silly) explanation as to the house itself.

Why did you pick Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese stuff in your game?

Vietnamese - It’s what I wanted to see, but I’m still American so I’m sure I didn’t capture anything right. Even the dress isn’t quite right... on purpose of course. After all, I wore it for every Tết growing up. I played off the timelines a little bit just to make things stand out more, or a bit of symbolism as one may see later.

Chinese - I married into a chinese culture and learned the language. I even studied abroad too.

Japanese - This particular culture also has a large role with my in-laws, and I learned this language first during college. Languages play a role in this game.

No country is ever named in the story. I didn’t want to misrepresent any culture, so I thought providing deliberate differences from the source, it would be a more respectable gesture. I’ve also merged material from other cultures around the world within this story. Why? Well... I think it’s worth noting that some things (such as being stoned to death) still happens in real life somewhere, and that is a real type of fear that some people face. Visual novels have the ability to give you an opportunity to see things from someone else’s perspective. If you gain some level of empathy, worry, or understanding of what Linh and others may have gone through, that would be my greatest accomplishment with this game.

Tell me about the game title. (Spoiler-ish below)

We considered before having the game made in multiple languages, including Japanese and Chinese. Skilled translators are VERY expensive. Roughly it’s 10 cents per word: 5 cents for translating, and 5 cents for making it sound good in that language. If I hit the wordcount I was hoping for, it would cost more than the entire game budget for just one language! (This is why bigger companies can afford this for their games). It’s also a lot of work to put it all together... so we decided against it at this time. We also originally wanted to translate the Chinese title 白蛇心傳, which is roughly “The White Snake Love Story.” But “snakes” carry a mixed meaning/stigma across different cultures. It’s also pretty long for a title. So a short Japanese name felt like a better fit considering what we wanted at the time, and it stuck. It worked for Inuyasha and Naruto haha.

You have Japanese text in the demo, why?

It plays a small role. We wanted English-reading players to be as confused as Linh was. If you do manage to understand the Japanese, it will only add to the mystery (not much is lost). Don’t worry, everyone will understand it one way or the other in the full story :D If the game was ever in Japanese, the text would have been in Chinese instead. It was suppose to be interchangeable either way.

I believe that is all I have left to share. Sorry again for the rambling! I hope you found some of it interesting at least... some details will be found in the full game and artbook commentary.

We are still running a Kickstarter campaign for Mizuchi to be made :D As you can tell, I put a “lot” of thought into everything about the game. I am confident with what I want to accomplish with the story, and have been fortunate to have very reliable and consistent teammates! I really want to share a lot of neat things with you, so I’d love your help and support for the game!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/134638137/mizuchi-visual-novel

See you again!

- Roxie

[askthedespairkids]

Hey I really like the 79-B kids when they're around but since we dont know a lot about them could we get some info on them????

//Like all of them…? Uh, sure. I’ll put it under the cut for ya’ll since this’ll be a long post.

Sora Nagata - Ultimate Riddle Solver

Gender: Male

Height: 5′8″

Birthday: February 14th

Likes: Long naps

Dislikes: Stressful situations

Was captured by: Masaru

Sora Nagata is a lazy smartass in every sense of the phrase. With something to say, he easily ends up arguing with people, especially annoying them with his inability to do anything for himself unless he has no other choice. He will try to find a way to get out of anything so he doesn’t stress himself out. On the flip-side, he has a high IQ with great problem solving abilities which was recognised by Hope’s Peak when his brother forced him into a mystery solving contest, being able to solve the mysteries in mere minutes or even seconds earned him his title of Ultimate Riddle Solver, even if he thinks “school and exams are just a pain in the ass���

Mamoru Fukao - Ultimate Assistant

Gender: Male

Height: 5′9″

Birthday: September 18th

Likes: Organised lists

Dislikes: Truancy

Was captured by: Nobody

Mamoru Fukao is a usually level-headed boy that makes sure that works to make sure everyone is able to complete tasks by lightening the load for them. As the student council vice-president at his old high school, word spread quickly about his organisation in and out of school, being able to help other people manage businesses by managing paperwork and such. Despite usually being able to hold his composure well, his childhood friend, Sora, easily manages to set him off in a nearly unquenchable rage due to Sora’s disrespectful nature and taunts.

Denbe Katayama - Ultimate Sniper

Gender: Male

Height: 5′6″

Birthday: October 4th

Likes: Rock music

Dislikes: Interviews

Was captured by: Nobody

Denbe was a member of a special sniper unit in the mercenary group, Fenrir. Due to a belief in the unit that said “snipers should never be able to speak”, his tongue was cut out at a young age as an initiation into the group, leaving him mute. On the battlefield, he has an intense bloodlust and unbelievable accuracy that let him take out over 100 enemies in his first year of being on the battlefield. However, off the battlefield, he transforms into a shy but friendly boy who just wants to be able to make friends with the people around him, though his past and mute state makes it hard.

Ryokai Araki - Ultimate Exorcist

Gender: Male

Height 5′6″

Birthday: October 31st

Likes: Salt

Dislikes: Doctors

Was captured by: Yuuko

Ryokai was subjected to brutal tests by his father and his father’s friends who wished to use science to prove ghosts and the paranormal existed, in doing so, the experiments gave Ryokai the ability to fight said paranormal entities. Despite his plain appearance, he can use special charms to exorcise the demons from people and places with intense powers. He has a phobia of doctors due to the experiments, and has a series stutter that he can’t control. Along with a heavy guilty conscious of knowing that he wasn’t the only test subject at the labs, he feels as though he doesn’t deserve kindness from those around him after feeling like he abandoned people who called him things like “Aniki” and “Kyoudai”, so when he introduces himself somethings he says “Kyoudai Aniki” instead of Ryokai Araki.

Kotone Okuda - Ultimate Bounty Hunter

Gender: Female

Height: 5′11″

Birthday: December 2nd

Likes: Leather jackets

Dislikes: Assassins

Was Captured by: Mike

When Kotone was young, she witnessed her father, Yuri Okuda, getting murdered by an assassin. Every since then, she’s had an intense hatred against criminals, specifically killers. She became a bounty hunter to bring down criminals and prevent any further misery happening to innocent people, but she refused to ever kill them. Around people, she’s a loud and proud person who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and tell people how it is, also having an affinity for “cute girls”. When she’s not socialising, she’s training for the day she meets her dad’s killer and putting an end to the misery he caused to people throughout the years…

Akiko Sugiyama - Ultimate Songwriter

Gender: Female

Height: 5′7″

Birthday: April 14th

Likes: Tea Cakes

Dislikes: Plagiarism

Was captured by: Yuuko

Throughout her childhood, Akiko could always be seen writing down random words and phrases in her diary. At age 5 she began to learn the piano, and then began composing chord progressions, and thus her songwriting began. Though, due to anxiety issues, she is unable to perform her songs unless nobody is around so she sold her song to a new idol which gave the idol her first no.1 in the charts. Ever since, Akiko had a reputation for her way with words and has been asked by stars all over the world to write songs for them. A simple personality, though easily angered if people talk about her appearance, especially her commonly described “large forehead”. However, she’s an easy person to talk to who anyone can be friends with.

Yumiko Hashimoto - Ultimate Reporter

Gender: Female

Height: 5′5″

Birthday: January 26th

Likes: Sensible outfits

Dislikes: Messy people

Was captured by: Celes

Starting off as an intern at her local news station, and working at her school’s newspaper club, Yumiko didn’t have much in the way of experience with reporting until the news station’s field reporter was off sick and Yumiko was forced into the position instead. Thinking it would be a one-off, Yumiko took her chance and made the most of it and reported the news as best as she could. That same day, social media showed that many people were complimenting the way the ‘pretty blonde girl’ reported the stories that day. Yumiko, due to this, ended up becoming a part-time reporter where she would report the news with a bright and cheery attitude, that caused teens to watch the news more in admiration of someone their age being a reporter. Though she has a warm and kind personality on camera, off camera she becomes a different person, acting more coldly and harshly to those around her which can come as a surprise to her fans. However, if you ever want someone to report, Yumiko is the one to call.

Chieko Arishima - Ultimate Shrine Maiden

Gender: Female

Height: 5′2″

Birthday: June 1st

Likes: Bells

Dislikes: Litter

Was captured by: Natsumi

A small a extremely shy girl who is scared to socialise and express her opinions, Chieko has always had trouble trying to make friends with those around her. Her sensitive heart makes it easy for her to burst into tears. However, when working at the shrine her family maintains, she becomes a responsible young woman who carries out her duties with precision and can organise the shrine festivals by herself. Living her life to respect the shrine gods, she does her best to always be kind to people.

Fumio Numajiri - Ultimate Judge

Gender: Male

Height: 5′10″

Birthday: August 8th

Likes: Board games

Dislikes: Injustice

Was captured by: Nagisa

Fumio’s abilities were first noticed when his home was robbed and he accused his neighbour with only a “gut feeling”, as he described it. It took time, but his parents eventually decided to investigate the neighbour’s home and found some of the missing items. His father, who was also a judge, decided to test him further in order to gauge the extent of his son’s abilities. When he was satisfied, he had Fumio take the exam to become a judge in courts, making him the youngest judge in history. He has a cool demeanour in serious situation, though he has trouble with his emotions, from getting flustered easily, to being easily angered, even worrying far to much for his own good, but you can always trust in him to tell if there’s good in someone.

Robyn Hutchison - Ultimate Nudes Artist

Gender: Female

Height: 5′8″

Birthday: September 1st

Likes: Abs

Dislikes: Makeup 

Was captured by: Jataro

The bespectacled ginger Scottish beauty, Robyn defies all expectations with her talent alone. Having an undeniably beautiful art style comes with it’s own downsides: Robyn is only able to become inspired by muscular male bodies. Despite this being her only muse, if she goes too long without drawing, she gets cranky and can lash out so she is always on the lookout for muscular boys to draw (of age, of course). When she’s calm, she has a fun personality and likes to take playful jabs at her friends, never truly meaning any offence, though the difference in cultural humour sometimes gets her in trouble, and she can get words wrong on occasion when speaking. She describes her art as “tasteful nudes” and loathes it when someone calls it “porn”.

Ayame Ichimonji - Ultimate Gardener

Gender: Female

Height: 5′6″

Birthday: July 10th

Likes: Marigolds

Dislikes: Rafflesia

Was captured by: Nagito

A soft-spoken girl who always has a smile plastered on her face, Ayame is the ideal friend to have if you want to have a nice conversation over tea. Growing up as a homeless orphan, she was taken in by a kind old lady who taught her what she now knows about gardening. Ayame’s abilities allow her to make any garden flourish, even creating her own special mulch. Though occasionally suspected of having some kind of dark secret, she brushes off any such accusation, simply stating that she wishes to repay the kindness she was given by the old lady who helped her.

Takashi Hayashi - Ultimate Archaeologist 

Gender: Male

Height: 5′1″

Birthday: May 19th

Likes: His oversized trench coat

Dislikes: Broccoli

Was captured by: Kazuichi

Takashi is energy in human form. He is never not excited and loves to jump around and hug people, which can come across as irritating to some. Takashi loves to help people, and goes along with other people’s antics without any, or very little, argument. Despite his very youthful look, he is actually the oldest in his class, actually being 19 years old, but started school late, which is why he’s so many years older than his class members. Takashi became an archaeologist after he escaped a kidnapping attempt and wandered onto a digging site. Ever since he found his first set of bones, he’s loved archaeology. Though, he never talks about it, he’s sad that he was separated from his parents and younger brother, and uses archaeology to take his mind off it, which isn’t always a bad thing. He needs to put all that energy somewhere.

Shin Tamuro - Ultimate Spy

Gender: Male

Height: 6′1″

Birthday: ???

Likes: Hair dye

Dislikes: Failure

Was captured by: Maverick

As an experiment, several children of government officials were taken in to raise as spies. Shin was one of these children. He was trained in combat and counterespionage from age 5, given the belief that the mission was important above all else.Shin ended up at the top of this group in all areas and was made an official spy. Whilst this does mean he has developed superior strength, reflexes, and intelligence, he has lost the ability to feel most emotions and it has become extremely rare for him to ever react or lose his composure. He has incredible acting abilities though, for when he is undercover, so it can be hard to tell if he is truly indifferent or not to situations. However, he is not shy in admitting that he has some family issues, never forgiving his parents for forcing him into this life.

Haruhi Matsushima - Ultimate Occultist

Gender: Female

Height: 5′5″

Birthday: October 13th

Likes: Ghost stories

Dislikes: Squid

Was Captured by: Monaca

Having a cousin who was interested in the occult, Haruhi was exposed to the occult life in her very early life. Whenever she’d go to her cousin’s house, she’d listen intently to the stories he had, and Haruhi would read all the books on the occult that she could get her hands on, managing to learn different topics on hexes and curses, on demons, and all things occult. A fiery personality, where she’s quick to threaten people with curses with rather odd effects such as “needing to go to the bathroom more often” or “your shoelaces will always come undone no matter how tightly you tie them”, she can come across wrongly. Deep down, Haruhi wants to be able to get along with people, however her obsession with the abnormal makes it hard for her.

Hiroaki Yamahata - Ultimate Daredevil

Gender: Male

Height: 6′0″

Birthday: March 27th

Likes: Flames

Dislikes: Boring environments

Was captured by: Mike

A rambunctious teen who lives for the death-defying lifestyle, Hiroaki can and will find a way to live each day like its his last! As soon as his legs were long enough to control it, Hiroaki would steal his brother’s motorcycle and set up different situations which usually would result in a trip to A&E, however it would take more than that to deter him from the thrill! His hot-blooded personality gets him into trouble with authorities who want him to stop his stunts, however, he finds himself unable to contain the excitement at these situations. Due to the numerous amount of stunts he’s done, he’s gained a cult following online which is how Hope’s Peak learned of him. Loud, proud, and ready to take any and all dangers, Hiroaki lives a life without fear of death.

Etsuko Hanabusa - Ultimate Choreographer

Gender: Female

Height: 5′7″

Birthday: April 20th

Likes: Lyrical dances

Dislikes: Natural talent

Was captured by: Kotoko

With a cold glare, and sharp tongue, Etsuko Hanabusa is a choreographer who strikes fear into the hearts of dancers all around the country. With a zero-nonsense policy, she won’t take attitude from anybody. Once a talented dancer, she fell victim to an accident where she needed surgery on her legs, leaving her unable to continue dancing. However, she didn’t want to leave her passion, and took it in a different direction: thus she became the choreographer at the dance studio. Using her knowledge, she created beautiful dance one after the other, earning her a golden reputation in the dance community, even choreographing full musicals. However, if you ever try to say she has a natural talent as a choreographer, she will passionately deny it and say she worked hard to get to where she is and that natural talent is an unnecessary shortcut people use to undermine her talent that she honed herself.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 11/28/17

It’s a cornucopia of briefs!

Ace of the Diamond, Vol. 6 | By Yuji Terjima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Training camp continues, and the coach has arranged for some practice games right afterwards, the better to gauge how well the first years play when exhausted. For Furuya, the answer is initially “not well,” but he never loses his determination, and once he swallows his pride and asks Miyuki for advice, finally internalizes the truth that, at Seido, he’s got teammates who are going to back him up, even if the batter does manage to get a hit. Eijun’s fun and everything, but Furuya is not your typical shounen protagonist, and I’m pleased that he’s getting his share of attention. I also liked that the boys hang out some with varsity teammates we’ve barely glimpsed, and we learn how awesome the captain is. I am already relishing the thought of future marathon rereads of this series. It’s a keeper for sure. – Michelle Smith

Cells at Work!, Vol. 5 | By Akane Shimizu | Kodansha Comics – Once again, Red Blood Cell is absent from this volume except a brief cameo. This allows us to focus our attention on the ‘normal cell’ from prior volumes, who still has a tendency to do dumb things on impulse. Fortunately, the cute adorable bacteria he’s harboring in his room are the GOOD kind of bacteria. Unfortunately, his attempt to get them to where they can do good is thwarted by a host of crises from which White Blood Cell and company must rescue him, most notably the return of Cancer Cell, who brings back the ethical ambiguity to the series as he asks essentially “are the needs of the many less important than the needs of the one?” The one being the body. This was a lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 3 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – The cast expands a bit in this third volume. We see one of our team’s old comrades, who left them due to actually wanting to get paid, and the complicated relationship she has with them, particularly Marcille, and it’s made clear she’s not a bad guy—everyone has their own needs and drives. As for Marcille, we also get a flashback to her school days, which shows how she met Laios’ sister (still being digested by a dragon, if you recall), which is rather cute. And of course more ridiculously gross yet amusing monster recipes. And plenty of humor, as it turns out tentacles can be peeled sort of like bananas. Still good, though I’d like to get the sister rescued or declare her dead. – Sean Gaffney

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 6 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – It was inevitable that Mikuri and Hiramasa would discover that they are in love with each other, but I am still kind of surprised that it actually happened. It’s lovely to see him grinning like a doofus at the office after an evening of fooling around, but I appreciate that the transition into a real marriage isn’t exactly going to be smooth. Mikuri is worried, for example, that she’ll be expected to do the same amount of work for free, while Hiramasa worries about his waning sex drive. Somehow I doubt we’ll ever see the latter issue addressed Everyone’s Getting Married! I also really enjoyed the scenes where Mikuri’s aunt and Kazami get to know each other better—I wholeheartedly approve of them hooking up! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 17 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – And so our heroes pull it off, and get to advance, while Aoba Johsai has to suffer an ignominious defeat. This is done in the best possible shonen way, with lots of noble tears and resolve to get even stronger. The cliches don’t FEEL like cliches—the author is adept at making this feel fresh even when you know where every plot beat is going to be. And so it’s on to the finals, and I suspect this game may drag on a while, as it’s a best 3-sets-of-5 game. Their opponent is Shiratorizawa, who I’m sure we’ll find out more about as we move on, but who clearly have one player who’s REALLY good, and the volume ends with our heroes down by quite a bit. I think they’ll come back, though. Just a hunch. – Sean Gaffney

Hana & Hina After School, Vol. 3 | By Milk Morinaga | Seven Seas – This turns out to be the final volume, and honestly you get the sense it was cut a bit short—the last half feels rushed. Of course, considering all we were getting before that was a slow-burning pile of angst, it might be best that it got the push. Morinaga Milk has always been better at fluffy than angsty, so it comes as something of a relief when our two heroines finally get over the whole “is it just me? Did she mean it when she said she’s not that way?” drama and get together (in all respects—as with previous MM titles, there’s a brief, not-that-explicit sex scene here). In the end, this was a cute read, but I’ve seen better yuri from this author. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 9 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – Horimiya has always tried to be at least slightly more realistic than a lot of romance manga, and thus watching Yuki’s ongoing angst regarding her lies and deceit and how it’s impacting other people is particularly painful. I’m not really all that sure I want her to win here, even though the alternative will also suck. On the bright side, Hori and Morimiya are doing better than ever, and as Hori is forced to think about her future—something which she seemed to have given not a single thought to—but she realizes here that no matter what she does, she wants to be with Miyamura. This leads to a sort of adorable reverse proposal, which fits the general characterization. Still good, but I hope it’s wrapping up soon. – Sean Gaffney

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 5 | By Hirohiko Araki | Viz Media And so, finally, JoJo’s has run up against my ability to get 500+ words out of each volume. Yes, this is the first volume to get a Brief rather than a full review, and I put the blame entirely on the rambling Road To Cairo plot that Araki has chosen to use this time around. Individual moments are as striking as ever—I felt the killer baby was more interesting as a killer within dreams than in the real world, and the surprise non-death of a character feels a bit cheap. But JoJo’s still has its bizarre visuals and grotesque violence, and as long as it keeps that up it should stay interesting, even if Jotaru continues to be the dullest Jo we’ve had to date. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 4 | By Canno | Yen Press – Most sports manga fail to show the heroes moving on to a professional career, with a few exceptions like Captain Tsubasa. In reality, a lot of sports careers end just the way we see Mizuki’s end here—she comes close to the Nationals, but doesn’t make it, and realizes that this is it, she has to stop doing track and decide on an actual career. There’s also her relationship with Moe, which may actually be hindering her for a spell—it’s gotten to the point where she forgets running was fun—but eventually proves stronger than both thought, and we get a proposal (of sorts) and a kiss. This is a bit stronger than Hana & Hina, even if it’s just as fluffy, and I’m pleased to see it continue. – Sean Gaffney

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 7 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – The comedy is kept to a minimum here, as we get the more dramatic parts of the third and fourth novel, intermixed with how it’s affecting the West Wind Brigade. Kawara’s on the cover, and we get a bit more insight into her character—basically, she’s an instinctual fighter but a bit of an idiot who got into the game because she wanted to be a shonen hero, and the West Wind Brigade was the only one that would take her in. It does also show off her strengths as well, though. That said, easily the most interesting part is the ending, where we get a surprise appearance by a seemingly insane Nureha, who’s met by a battle-crazy Soujiro. I want to see how this battle turns out. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 10 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – I appreciate that Horikoshi is willing to let Bakugo be a completely unlikable jerk, driven by rage and jealousy and every single negative emotion, and yet still show that he realizes the difference between good and evil—that he’s decided that he wants to be a HERO rather than a villain, even if that means going against what comes more naturally. It’s a terrific scene that really made me like him. On the flip side, the disguises used to infiltrate Evil HQ are hilarious, particularly Deku and Momo. The humor is needed, as this is something of a grim arc, especially with the arrival of a Bigger Bad towards the end. This volume shows off everything that has made this the hot new Jump title. – Sean Gaffney

Nisekoi: False Love, Vol. 24 | By Naoshi Komi | Viz Media – Even though it’s obvious Onodera’s going to lose, give credit to the author for not making it easy. She and Raku have really developed a close relationship, and even if it’s not romantic I hope they can stay friends. More to the point, the fact that Onodera is willing to help Raku track down Chitoge by FLYING TO AMERICA with him (because Chitoge has, like many tsundere heroines in denial, literally run halfway across the Earth to escape her love issues) shows off her truly ridiculous kindness. There’s the last popularity poll in this book, and Chitoge and Onodera are separated by barely 100 votes. That’s impressive for a harem title. In any case, it wraps up next time, so keep reading. – Sean Gaffney

One Piece, Vol. 84 | By Eiichiro Oda | VIZ Media – It’s been a while since we had a volume that focused on further sad backstory for one of the Straw Hat crew, but that’s what we get here, with many hard-to-read scenes about Sanji’s abuse at the hands of his family, intercut with a silly fight in which Luffy defeats a bunch of cracker soldiers by eating them. Because Big Mom is threatening to kill Chef Zeff if he doesn’t comply, Sanji is forced to both insult and attack Luffy in an attempt to get him to abort the rescue, but of course this doesn’t work. In addition to this riveting drama, there’s also the question of whether Pudding (Sanji’s seemingly sympathetic bride-to-be) can actually be trusted, more information about the ponegliffs (yay!), and a glimpse at the unintended consequences of toppling Doflamingo. Plus, Brook actually gets something important to do! This series is still excellent. – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith

[sunnysidewrites]

11 Questions Tag Pt 1

tagged by my luv @kakaotaeks​ in september iM SO SORRY B but i finally got motivation to do it bc the tag resurfaced earlier today and now i have 3 more rip!!! 

Rules: answer the questions of the person who tagged you, then make up your own 11 questions for the people you tag to answer!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

1. Favorite K-ballad?

coming from someone whose favorite genre is ballad that is a real toughie hmm i will never have an absolute favorite bc i love listening to them but i will say yall have to check out B1A4 - Good Love it’s absolutely breathtaking and b1a4 is probably the only group out there that has never produced a bad song ever. it’s one of the infinite reasons why I love them and hold so much respect for them they’re seriously kings of kpop and can do any and all concepts 

2. Best K-pop song to get hype to?

another very difficult question!!! ok im just gonna say that for alll my answers bc ya girl can’t choose to save her life LOL im gonna promote (Loona) Odd Eye Circle - Girl Front that is a banger!!!!!! i’m not ready for the rest of the mems when i’m already ruined by 1/3 + oec

3. Ultimate bias group and how did you get into them?

b1a4 aS IF YALL DIDNT KNOWWWW I was on youtube one day and “what’s going on” mv was in my suggested and i was like ok why not!!! 3 minutes and 23 seconds later i was digging up all their title songs and i’ve already deemed them as one of my top fav groups!!! at the time it was cnblue and then it was both cnblue and b1a4!!! (cnblue is still my favorite band but they are not in my ults) i also have a fun story about a later time period but we’ll save that for another time ;)

4. First bias ever?

when i got into girls generation i at first casually liked yuri idk if it can be considered so much of a bias bc it wasnt quite at that level i would say i officially biased taeyeon as my first!

5. How did you get into K-pop?

technically speaking my sis showed me taeyang’s wedding dress so that was my first exposure but i didnt even know it was kpop until a looot later i would say that my friend who was into kpop introduced me to a lot of big bang songs and the rest is history!!

6. Favorite non-korean song?

if you asked me this 5 years ago i would have said a one direction song ngl but now hmm…. i have to really think about this one i don’t listen to too many american songs anymore but my fav rn is probably little mix - no more sad songs!!!! WHAT QUEENS!!!!

7. If you were stranded on an island (but knew you would eventually be saved), what group/idol/ would you bring with you for company and why?

ok im trying to think of who’s resourceful LOL i would bring sf9′s youngbin or rowoon bc they’re the dad/mom which already says a lot about them and rowoon can cook so i’ll be good LOL

8. K-pop song you can listen to over and over without getting sick of it?

any b1a4 song heehee my ult fav song b1a4 - fooool!!!!

9. Favorite girl group?

girls generation!!!

10. Most underrated group that you stan?

um everyone is underrated???? besides svt??? like literally everyone else :( probably knk/snuper/romeo/halo the list goes on 

11. Favorite K-drama?

ok i’ve had this talk sO many times i do not have a favorite one at all but She Was Pretty and My Love From Another Star are up there for sure!!!!

i’ll be making up just 11 qs + tag people on my last tag post that i’ll spam yall with!!! so yes here is a lil slice of me that No One Asked For LOL ok well the ppl who tagged me did but anyways get ready for more spam!!!

[copperbadge]

Happy Tuesday.

I’m calling it “Yurio Catches Puberty” as a working title. (PG for swearing and puberty.) (Warning for body image stuff, very minor.) 

***

"WHEN WILL THIS BE OVER?"

The scream of anguish from the rink's locker room shower made Yuuri look up sharply. He'd only arrived in St. Petersburg yesterday, but this couldn't be normal, even if nobody else seemed to be paying the slightest attention.

"AUGH!"

It was definitely Yurio.

"Yurio?" he started to ask, but Georgi clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't engage," he hissed.

Yuuri looked at him, wide-eyed.

"What's going on?" he whispered, as Yurio began a steady, at least quieter stream of cursing in Russian, then English, then Japanese that Yuuri definitely hadn't taught him.

"Puberty," Georgi said.

Yuuri blinked. "Puberty?" he asked.

Georgi gave him a disgusted look. "Of course," he mumbled to himself. "The golden boy didn't suffer puberty..."

He wandered off, now also cursing, and Yuuri had ten seconds of silence before Yurio kicked the shower door open and strode out, towel around his waist.

(There is a readmore below! Read more!)

"Look at this!" he yelled, pointing at his foot. "None of my skates fit! They fit yesterday! None of them fit now! AND THIS!" he added, shoving his arm under Yuuri's nose.

"Your arm?" Yuuri asked.

"MY BICEP. LOOK AT IT. I HAVE MUSCLES, this is TERRIBLE," Yurio roared. His voice cracked. Yuuri stared at him. "Nothing fits! None of my clothes. None of Victor's costumes!"

"You do seem...taller," Yuuri ventured.

"Don't remind me! My fucking CENTER OF BALANCE," Yurio growled. "You know what I can't do? A FUCKING QUAD. Because I no longer HAVE a center of balance!"

"Everyone has a center of balance," Yuuri said reasonably. "Yours has just...moved."

"Yeah, like a fucking bouncy ball," Yurio said, in his best sulking-about-Victor voice. Figured he could also use it to sulk about puberty. "Is it here today? Here?" Yurio pointed to his bellybutton, then his chest, then his dick. "No, let me tell you, it's very often here! I didn't need a sex drive!"

"Nobody needs one. They just sometimes happen," Yuuri said. He felt he was being very sensible and was drastically being ignored, a common feeling around Yurio.

"Well, why'd it have to happen to me?" Yurio demanded, as if he thought Yuuri might actually know.

Yuuri considered how Victor might answer this question, rejected that because he couldn't imagine it going well, and finally said solemnly, "Some trials are too great for our understanding."

He felt he did very well not laughing about this until after Yurio had grabbed his workout clothes and stormed out of the locker room to try and find some skates that fit.

***

He was only meant to be in St. Petersburg for a few days; he'd come to scout out a place to stay, to see Victor, and to bring some of his gear ahead. Officially he wouldn't be back to stay for another month. It was almost worse to see Victor and get to spend a few days with him and then have to go again, but once he was back for good he'd see Victor every day and probably be very tired of his coaching very soon, which was how he consoled himself.

He didn't get on the ice much after that first day, too tied up with finding an apartment, learning his way around the city, and evenings with Victor to do more than a perfunctory hour or two of practice, usually in the afternoon while he waited for Victor to be done. Yurio was in classes in the afternoons, and he didn't see much of him until the last day before he was supposed to leave.

Mostly what Yurio did on the ice was fall down. 

It was painful to watch, especially with the others watching as well, some of them making fun of his gangly new body. Yurio had always been all arms and legs, but he was bulking out with muscle, and what had once looked lithe and graceful now looked like it had been assembled by someone who didn't have the instructions in the right language.

Out of a sort of respect, Yuuri didn't do any quads during his skate. Still, he caught Yurio glaring at him after his last fall, before he stomped off the ice and into the locker room.

"Oh, leave him alone, he's probably rage-jerking again," Mila said.

"That's not very kind," Yuuri replied over his shoulder.

"Tell him that, I'm not the one who keeps kicking people because they happen to notice he's got a boner in spandex," she retorted.

Yurio wasn't doing anything indecent in the locker room when Yuuri walked in, at least. He was sitting on one of the benches, skates off, arms around his waist. The look of pure misery he gave Yuuri was heartbreaking.

"It's difficult," Yuuri said, avoiding the obvious hard joke.

"Yeah thanks for noticing," Yurio spat.

"More so when everyone around you is staring," Yuuri added.

"Do you have a point?" Yurio demanded.

"I don't know, I just thought you should know I understand. Remember season before last? When you called me a pig and a loser?"

"So now you come to kick me when I'm down? Go fuck yourself," Yurio managed, turning away.

"Humiliation in front of your friends -- "

"They're not my friends, I don't have friends!"

"Fine, your competition, it's worse, I know," Yuuri said. He saw Victor lurking in the doorway and shook his head; Victor nodded, squinted, and vanished.

"Did you fall a lot when you were growing?" Yurio asked.

Well, no, he hadn't. Puberty had touched him, of course, but he'd never felt awkward in his body, too used to having to fight it anyway; Yurio struggled with his body like they all did, but until now it had been to push it to its limits, not just to survive living in it. And Yuuri'd had pimples and inconvenient sex drive and a cracking voice, but those hadn't really bothered him. And he hadn't had them right after winning Senior Worlds.

"I fall a lot now," he said, which was the wrong thing to say.

"WHAT IF IT NEVER ENDS?" Yurio wailed. "What if I'm stuck like you forever?"

Yuuri bit down on his temper. He was 24; he could afford to be magnanimous to a miserable teenager. Who had only beaten him by a fraction of a point, something he would remind him of at a later date, and probably for the rest of their lives.

"Victor didn't start winning his consecutive championships until he was 22," he pointed out. "And he was very awkward in his last year at Juniors. It'll settle down, you're just in a growth spurt."

"Victor can blow me," Yurio said.

Yuuri's lips quirked. "Not without getting in a lot of trouble with me, he can't."

"Don't be gross."

"You started it," Yuuri said, thinking that being around Victor right now, confident, graceful, endlessly cheerful Victor, must be agony for the kid.

And that was when the Idea came to him. It was beautiful and terrible and it would ruin his month, but Yuuri knew all too well that he was his own worst enemy anyway, and he might as well let Evil Yuuri win sometimes.

"What if you had somewhere private to practice? At least that way you could fall in peace," he said.

***

Yuuri returned to Hasetsu with Russian nesting dolls for his mother, weird Russian snack food for his father, Russian booze for nearly everyone else, and a sullen Russian manchild trailing behind him. (Victor was looking after Potya, who betrayed Yurio immediately by curling up to sleep on top of Makkachin as soon as he arrived.)

"Yurio's going to stay with us," Yuuri announced, as Yurio inhaled a bowl of katsudon. "He's going to do his initial choreography at the Ice Castle. Then he'll come back with me to St. Petersburg."

"Aren't you growing like a weed!" his father said. Yurio growled ferally. Dad just beamed at him.

Thus began the many trials of Yuuri Katsuki. They included, but were not limited to:

Yuri's Angel's Hasetsu Local Branch: Co-Presidents Axel, Lutz, and Loop The Ballet Lesson Of Doom (singular) I Can Eat Three Bowls Of Katsudon, Just Watch Me The Only Time Yuri Plisetsky Ever Apologized To Anyone (Yuuri filmed it) The Ballet Lessons Of Doom (post-apology) Figure Skater Speed Skate Challenge!! Yurio Mortally Offends A Ninja But It Has A Tiger On It, Yuuri

And perhaps the greatest trial of all:

Otabek Found Out I Was Here And He's Naked In The Onsen, My Life Is Over.

[dropintomanga]

Visiting Crunchyroll Expo - A Glimpse of Otaku Culture’s Future in the Bay Area

After disappearing from the fan convention scene for a year, I decided to make my return to anime conventions by going all the way across the country for the debut con from North America’s premier anime streaming service. Crunchyroll Expo was touted as a convention that would spice things up, compared to most anime conventions. Although it felt like a regular anime convention and I didn’t notice any subtleties that made the con stand out, CR Expo got me back into the game in good fashion.

The first thing I liked when going there was how the crowds weren’t too bad on the 1st day. There was foot traffic, but it wasn’t hectic. Walking around was smooth. The convention center it was held at, the Santa Clara Convention Center, was enough for the event. The area outside the convention was absolutely gorgeous. It was hot, but being in California has a funny way of making you appreciate nature.

I got to check out only 1 panel on the 1st day, “But Have You Read the Manga?” The panelists, Anime News Network’s Mike Toole, Anime News Network’s Jacob Chapman, and voice actor/Youtuber ProZD all spoke about various anime adaptations of their favorite manga series. They mentioned notable series like A Silent Voice, Parasyte, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Mob Psycho 100, and Fruits Basket. All 3 praised and criticized what medium was better for certain series. But as some fans may tell you, there was a huge elephant in the room - Fullmetal Alchemist. The panel suddenly become a friendly war about which version of FMA (manga, Brotherhood, 2003 anime series) was better. All the panelists noted FMA’s status as perhaps THE manga that sparks fans to tell other fans to read the manga because it’s “better.” They encouraged manga fans to be friendly but not demanding when recommending the original source material to their friends.

As someone who prefers manga to anime with few exceptions, I learned that maybe if people just want to watch the anime, then just let them. I don’t need to be a total hipster or elitist about it, even though I do wish people read more comics in general.

On the 2nd day, I got to check out my first CRX Chat, which is basically a 15-minute presentation on any topic related to Japanese pop culture. The CRX Chat I attended was “Why Manga Matters” by Dallas Middaugh, Crunchyroll’s head of content management who used to work for Viz Media, Kodansha Comics, and Seven Seas Entertainment. He went over briefly about the history of comics and then to the early 20th century. Dallas also made a point about how a psychiatrist blamed American comics for ruining the lives of children, which stalled the growth of American comics. In Japan, no such thing happened. It was basically a matter of time allowance that made manga a force in creating anime that fans love.

Boy, am I glad I’m on the right side in terms of psychology for once. It just sucked that 15 minutes was the limit for such a chat because Dallas knows A LOT about manga publishing. I spoke to him afterwards and he said he was amazed he kept the presentation in such a small time frame.

I checked out the “Manga Publishing 101″ panel afterwards. It was a basic panel featuring Crunchyroll Manga, Japanime/Manga University, VIZ Media, and Dark Horse Comics, but I still learned a bit about the thought process from how the  U.S. manga publishers did things. They did make a note that an anime adaptation of a manga doesn’t always mean success for the manga in question. Some described success stories for titles (Princess Jellyfish, Goodnight Punpun, Attack on Titan) they couldn’t have predicted. What sort of surprised me was the publishers stating that they don’t make as much money when compared to the bookstores and distributors. It reminded me of the saying, “The ones digging for gold aren’t the ones getting rich; it’s the ones selling the shovels.”

I did ask a question about Golden Kamuy, a title that Viz Media licensed and one that’s gotten the attention of a lot of internet users, because the Viz representative mentioned how historical manga don’t seem to sell well in the U.S. when talking about what series manga publishers won’t bring over stateside. Her answer was basically personal tastes and memes, which pretty much describes the series in a nutshell. 

I later went to CR Expo’s Main Stage for 3 of its biggest guests, Johnny Weir, Kore Yamazaki, and Yoshitaka Amano, to end my day. Weir was an interesting guest, as his association with anime was tied to being a fan of Yuri on Ice!! He talked about his life and career. The fan Q&A segment was unique as almost all the fans asked questions about figure skating. Only the last question was related to anime, as it was about which other anime Weir liked.

Afterwards, Kore Yamazaki the creator of The Ancient Magus Bride, came out, along with her editor. This was a fun panel because Yamazaki drew 1 page of Chapter 41 on stage and fans got to witness light banter between a mangaka and their respective editor. There was a cute moment where Yamazaki’s editor praised her in front of everyone by telling her that she makes amazing manga. I want to see more of mangaka & editors together working on ongoing manga (if possible) in future cons honestly. You don’t really get to see this a whole lot, so it was refreshing to see.

Yoshitaka Amano drew an easel on stage in his panel and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. He had an art exhibit of his works in Vampire Hunter D and Final Fantasy. I regret not seeing him when he was in New York Comic-Con for several years. Amano is a boss.

On the last day, I only attended 1 CRX Chat, “Action as Storytelling” by Crunchyroll’s Nate Ming. It was pretty informative as he went into what makes action effective. He listed several movies and anime that use action well to tell the story the author wanted. Nate praised Rock Lee as a character who helps provide transition to bigger moments or showcase how powerful certain characters. Lee’s an important placeholder whose losses matter a lot. What Nate said about Lee earned brownie points from me. He listed his action series recommendations, which included Hajime no Ippo, Haikyuu!!, Gintama, and My Hero Academia.

Speaking of My Hero Academia, that was the most popular cosplay at the con. I thought it was about time since the 1st season didn’t have much to generate a huge fan reaction. We finally have our new Naruto.

Overall, I felt Crunchyroll Expo had a solid debut. The Bay Area needed a grand anime convention that can rival the likes of Anime Expo. Hey, it’s more interesting if a NorCal vs. SoCal battle happened for anime cons. I do like the idea of CRX Chats as they aren’t as intense as panels. You also don’t have to deal with awkward questions from fans. The staff did a great job in making sure things were organized. 

I think the only major concern I have was regarding the lack of manga on sale at the con. I overheard someone saying they wanted to buy copies of The Ancient Magus Bride at the con, but no vendor at CR Expo was selling them. The obligatory Kinokuniya Bookstore booth didn’t have any manga on sale. This felt like such a lost opportunity. I get that Crunchyroll’s main focus is on anime, but If there was a short talk about why manga matters, then show it. If manga publishers have officially stated in San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that there’s a growing demand for manga in conventions, why not have more of it next year and beyond? Dark Horse did have a panel at CR Expo this year and I figured the US manga publishers were exhausted due to all the summer conventions that happened, so I’ll give them a break.

I do want to go to CR Expo next year and contribute to a growing manga presence if I can. Even though I had to balance con commitments with family commitments, CR Expo was a fun experience where I got to see old friends, met new people, had good food, and remembered how much fun being a observant of fandom was. I’ve been lucky to be able to go to a gorgeous state like California. I treat Northern California as my 2nd home now.

This experience was a mini training arc for what perhaps will be an intense yet interesting time where “content wars” will have a grand effect on anime/manga fandom. 

For the Guts in me who finds some peace in despair, I say bring it on. 

Here are some pictures of cosplayers from CR Expo I enjoyed seeing.

[rainsdollies]

Phichimetti Week! YAAAAY!

So happy to be able to participate a little in this.  I planned these ahead so I could be sure to have enough time to write.  This is for Day #1.  I hope you enjoy it.  I think it’s a little too short to share on AO3 for the moment, but if I have several I might post there as well.

Title: First Brush of Gold

Pairing: Christophe/Phichit

Prompt: First Times (First Gold Medal)

The GPF was one of those major titles that you wanted.  Right next to World Champion and Olympic Medalist.  It was one of the first stepping stones that Phichit wanted to reach more than anything.  He spent the last couple of years bringing a love of ice skating to Thailand.  Now he was preparing for his free skate where he had his first very serious chance for success.

Otabek and Yuri were battling it out with him for that top spot.  Phichit was currently just under Yuri going into the Free.  There was just a ten point difference between the three of them and they had all altered their programs appropriately.  

Celestino repeated all of the same information they had been reviewing for the last few weeks.  Otabek was reaching his end pose and Phichit was mentally reviewing the Kazakh’s score based on his performance.  He needed something more and he frowned.  

“You can bright out that new combination,” Christophe said, from his side.  It sounded like an offhanded comment.  He shrugged as if he didn’t care one way or another.

Phichit grinned and looked up at his partner.  “Maybe?”

“I mean if you want to take my advice and finally put that little Russian Fairy in his place,” Christophe grinned right back.  

Celestino laughed at them both and patted them each on a shoulder.  “Get out there and show them how it’s done.”

***

A new personal best.  A new personal best that was beyond even his previous Worlds Free score.  His score was scraping at the heels of Yuuri’s world record, but not quite reaching it.  Phichit was practically dancing in the Kiss and Cry...well he would be if he wasn’t trying to look at least a little professional.  Celestino sat beside him while they watched Yuri perform.  The Russian was good, and it was enough to get his adrenaline pumping again.  He hadn’t quite appreciated how good it felt to be competing against someone that was really good.  

It was all of those skaters that Phichit respected, admired and became friends with that helped him reach this point in his career.  He skated to his favorite songs and told his favorite stories, but he learned from all of them what would help him grow.  He would never be any of them exactly, but the challenge taught him what he could do to become a true champion on the ice.  He danced a lot when he was off the ice and increased his range and flexibility.  He strengthened his body to give his jumps and spins more power.  His step sequences took on a new challenging flare as he found new ways to do what should have been tired and old.  

Yuri’s skate was coming to a close and it was...hard to tell.  Phichit had pushed himself and now it was just a matter of a few moments before they would know.  They headed out of the Kiss and Cry so that Yuri could take over his spot.  Phichit felt like he was winding tighter and tighter.  He couldn’t stop moving, pacing back and forth a bit until Christophe grabbed him by the shoulders and held him tightly.  The nervous excitement just continued to vibrate in him as the seconds ticked and the scores were prepared to be announced.  

Wait…

Wait…

Wait…

And then there was the momentary hush that comes with realization.  That pause where the world stops and you’re not breathing and it just stretches on and on and on.

Until everything explodes and Phichit burst from Christophe’s grasp and he was jumping all over the place and rushed over to the Kiss and Cry to hug Yuri.  “Thank you!  You were amazing,” he babbled over and over again.  

The usually feisty teen just laughed and patted him for a moment before shoving him off.  “Leave me alone!  You’re not supposed to beat me!”

Phichit laughed and didn’t push his luck again, instead rushing back to Celestino to hug him.  He had done it.  He really did it!  Everything he had worked so hard for, it finally happened!  There were cameras on him suddenly and reporters asking him all kinds of questions.  Phichit was smooth and happy and ready to spread all of his praise to his other friends and competitors.  

It blurred into a mass of joy and speeches and national anthems until Phichit was finally reaching the end.  He stepped off the podium and back to the locker rooms for a brief moment of peace where Christophe was waiting for him.  

“Look at that gold, bon homme,” Christophe purred happily, reaching out to take hold of the medal.  

“I can’t believe I did it,” Phichit said.  He felt weightless and like he was glowing.  He wasn’t, of course, that was hardly natural, but it felt so good.  

“I knew it was waiting for you,” Christophe said, looking into his eyes with no small amount of pride.  It was intense falling under his gaze and Phichit felt a blush hitting his cheeks.   “You worked so hard and you deserve this.”

“Christophe…”

The taller man leaned in and cupped his cheeks in his hands.  “Petit...I’m so proud of you,” he said before pressing his lips to Phichit’s sweetly.  

How was this even better than the medal?  Phichit brought his arms up around Christophe’s neck and melted into him.  For just a few moments they were pressed together tenderly and Phichit couldn’t have been happier.  

“There’s just a short while longer until the exhibition skate.  Let’s get you back to change and be ready for the big show,” Christophe said, finally pulling away.  

“Do you think everyone will like my surprise?”

“You are going to stun everyone.”

[shiratorizawaheadcanons-blog]

Sen? Study topic! Why is Haikyuu so good in comparison to other sports anime?

Sports anime are big. In 2016, according to thefandometrics,Haikyuu was the most popular anime of the year and earned a respectable 5thplace for most manga sold in 2016 with over 6 million copies sold in Japanalone. Sports anime do not target a niche audience; you do not have to be anexpert at volleyball to enjoy this series. In an interview with Furudate, themangaka stated that he “wanted to bring to life the volleyball that was in myhead in the past.” This is a sport that is cherished by its creator and it iseasy to feel the amount of love and dedication that Furudate has put into thisseries but how exactly has it come so far? In comparison to other series, it isby far one of the most accessible series out there.

Haikyuu’s narrative is based around relatively normalhighschoolers. Although Hinata has a “freak quick”, it’s not anything specialwhen you have 17 year old Paola Egonu who recently broke the fastest serveworld record at 101kph; true a serve and spike are different, but this is onlyused as a small comparison to show that Hinata is not the most special personin the world. In addition to this, it opposes the completely terrifyingabilities that characters of Kuroko no Baske have with players who can shootfrom anywhere on the court. In comparison, all the team’s average heights arealso shorter than that of Japan’s real U19 team; Ushijima sets an imposingfigure against Hinata but he’s only a centimetre taller than Japan’s U19 teamaverage height.  Physically, there’s noimpossibility within Haikyuu… save for that one moment where Tanaka andNishinoya stopped in mid-air for comedic effect. The realism within Haikyuumeans that it is relatively easy for someone to relate to and with enoughpractice, one can eventually even surpass these characters in skill.

This sets it apart from the start of Kuroko no Basuke. Thecharacters of KnB are introduced as the best so in the eyes of the protagonistteam, their opponents become simply obstacles to overcome in comparison toHaikyuu’s characters. Hinata’s loss at the start of the series give reason anddrive from the very beginning which is not only to beat a team but to becomestronger, giving a whole montage where Hinata is shown running and trainingwith other characters. A lot of this first growth is skipped over in KnB whenSeirin first goes to their training and all that’s really focused on is them;there is no team for them to train with and they only have themselves toimprove upon; the part that I remember most from this was just Riko messing upcooking, while in Haikyuu, we see Karasuno fail time and time again against theTokyo Teams. This gives them the drive to fight because each “cog” – as Takedadescribes – is given the time to fit into place, whereas the first season ofKnB rushes over this development. The characters are already the best, withunrealistic abilities of perfect mimicry and an impossibly accurate shot, theseopponents seem flawless so Seirin’s victory seems almost inconceivable. Thegradual progression of a character makes victory seem plausible but without thebreathing time to expand upon development, a sudden victory from just jumpingreally high does not make the story flow well. However, realism should be ignoredto an extent with the presentation of superpower like effects.

Another factor that plays into why Haikyuu is a great seriesis that there is proper explanation behind it. A common thing that artists aretold to do in their work is to “show, not tell”, yet Haikyuu has a balancebetween this that does not seem forced at all. Starting from the bare bones of Yukigaoka,Hinata has to explain to his own teammates what setting and all of this is. It’sunderstandable, since these characters do not know how to deal with it.Learning is important for everyone, even with Shiratorizawa; Ushijima claimsthat he hasn’t even seen a libero set up a toss, and rightfully so, this isn’tseen much in high school volleyball at all. The coach and spectators are notjust informing players and people like Yachi and Saeko, but they inform theaudience following the story as well. In comparison to Yuri on Ice, my personalopinion is that Haikyuu is significantly better in involving the audience withthe sport that it showcases. YOI had very limited time to do things in, withonly twelve episodes to fit in a story over a year, yet Haikyuu’s Season 3 wasallowed the time to explain guess blocking etc. within those ten episodes. Nobodywithout prior ice skating knowledge would have ever known about the GOE andbase value scoring system at all, yet Haikyuu’s main aim is to showcasevolleyball rather than a couple. In this respect, Haikyuu is amazing at showingwhat true volleyball is, while YOI does not do the justice of explaining thecomplexity of ice skating.

A plethora of characters is also important to Haikyuu’sstory. While you have Nekoma as Karasuno’s ultimate rival, Seijou andShiratorizawa stand as more immediate threats. It is Karasuno’s story, not justHinata’s alone. Every single person on the team gets to develop in some way;not all of them have been explored yet but just Ennoshita’s words that he “won’tbe a bench warmer forever” lets you know that every single person on this teamis just as valuable as everyone else. Oikawa was ranked 5th in thelast popularity poll, despite not being part of Karasuno. It’s not just asimple fact of him being a good looking character, but he’s one that is wellfleshed out. The ‘whole’ fandom sees some sort of tragedy in Oikawa andIwaizumi going to different universities and pities the fact that he injuredhimself. These details could have been skipped over, yet he’s given his smalltime in the spotlight. Minor characters like Towada from Ougiminami are given astory, despite essentially being the obstacle in Karasuno’s way, showing theirdrive building up. However, Karasuno sees all of their players as respectable;Hinata cheers up Hyakuzawa and tells him that being tall is the “awesomesttalent” and still thinks that Ushijima is “so friggin’ cool” despite how heimagined that Ushijima said he has no right to live. Haikyuu’s story is soinnocent in comparison to attitudes like Aomine’s “the only person that canbeat me is me”; even Ushijima didn’t think he would lose but is still so calmand accepting of it. Each and every character is so important to the story andHaikyuu makes sure to acknowledge each character respectfully.

The whole atmosphere around Haikyuu is generally veryuplifting; even the court is brighter than that of Kuroko no Basuke’s. KnB’scourt seems dimly lit, with the audience merely a mass of shadows whereasHaikyuu constantly brings the audience into the action, recording the reactionsof the side characters in awe of what’s happening down below. In addition tothis, Haikyuu’s music makes you feel chills and goosebumps from a livelyorchestra in comparison to KnB’s heavy electronic sound that exudes pressurerather than excitement. Yuri on Ice cannot be brought into comparison due tothe fact that the action is choreographed towards the music unlike music thatis added in on top. Each of these series have different aims entirely. Yuri onIce showcases romance. Haikyuu and Kuroko no Basuke want you to be interestedin the sport but through different ways, amazement in comparison to it beingcool. Haikyuu gives you moments to laugh with slapstick and observationalcomedy but there isn’t the time to do this on the court of Kuroko no Basuke,giving it a more serious and heavy tone. As a result, Haikyuu is madeaccessible for more people as it is an anime that makes you feel good watching,rather than being pressured like on the court of KnB.

In conclusion, Haikyuu is well deserving of its title as themost popular sports anime of last year. The narrative is easily relatable to itsaudience and is relatively grounded and realistic. All characters are giventheir own development and the ins and outs of volleyball are explained wellwithout being forceful. In comparison to its other sports anime competitors,Haikyuu is considerably better in terms of characterisation and relativity tothe audience.

[i-read-good-books]

fic for victuuri week day one!

Title: i have a confession to make Rating: Teen.

Wordcount: 1.6k Summary:  

 “Yuuri,” Victor asks, his voice suspiciously cheerful. “What’s this?”

Victor is holding a poster. Not just a poster, though. The poster. The 2013 Victor Nikiforov doing a swimsuit spread for Vogue poster that he hunted for for endless months. Although he knows it’s pointless, Yuuri racks his brain for any, any possible way to explain himself that doesn’t include the sentence: “I was obsessed with you and I maybe jerked off to you when I was 15 once or ten times.”

Link to A03: here

Yuuri’s pretty sure that Victor, being one of the best figure skaters alive, is aware that most of the community, including Yuuri, worships the ground he steps on.

He’s just, um, he’s just not sure Victor knows just how much Yuuri adores him.

…

It starts one day, when Yuuri least expects it.

Victor asked him to go live in St. Petersburg with him a few days ago, still high from the silver medal, and he accepted without thinking, using the time they could’ve used to plan to instead make out as much as possible.

But moving from one country to another, moving to a new house, means packing. It means many boxes, personal effects, and more not fun stuff. So they fly to Japan once more, both of them, despite the fact that Yuuri tries to get Victor to leave for Russia directly (“I’m not leaving my fiancé for one second, now that I have him.” “...Alright.”), and start preparations.

First comes the announcing the arrangement to his family and friends here in Hasetsu. It’s hard, even though Yuuri feels a little embarrassed to admit it. He’s already 24, but he’s spent the last few years either away in Detroit or spending most of his time training, and leaving once more makes his throat close up. His parents look a little misty-eyed when he tells them, but congratulate him and Victor on their engagement, hugging them enthusiastically and yapping away about wedding preparations and what-not, to Yuuri’s horror. They just got engaged, do they have to talk about the wedding yet? Don’t they get time to… rest?

Yuuko and Takeshi get slightly more emotional (“My little Yuuri is getting married!” “Yuuko, you’re not that much older than me!” “Stop making your mother cry, Yuuri.”), and the triplets exhort an oath from Victor in which he vows to send them exclusive pictures of them in their day-to-day lives so they can post it on their Instagram. Yuuri chooses to ignore it.

The point is, that mostly goes over well. After the cheesy bits, Yuuri requests a permit so that Russia isn’t able to kick him out until he’s allowed citizenship, gets his papers ready, and finally feels like he’s really, really doing this. And that means that they have to start getting his stuff into suitcases, even if it’s just enough clothes to survive until he starts buying his own stuff in Russia.

Yuuri, innocent, forgetful Yuuri, thinks, Well, two people pack faster than one, right? and I can totally give kisses in exchange for making him lift heavy stuff, and asks Victor for some help taking care of the stuff in his room.  

Which is what brings them to the current situation:

“Yuuri,” Victor asks, his voice suspiciously cheerful. “What’s this?”

“What’s wh-?” He turns.

Victor is holding a poster. Not just a poster, though. The poster. The 2013 Victor Nikiforov doing a swimsuit spread for Vogue poster that he hunted for for endless months.

“You weren’t supposed to find that,” Yuuri says. His voice sounds very far away.

“Oh yeah,” Victor continues, smirking. “It was in a glass box. As if to be displayed. I figured it was very important to you.”

He reaches down, picking up a cardboard box. Yuuri is too stunned to move, despite the fact that he knows this is about to get worse. Much, much worse. “But not as important as the framed picture of me you have in your night table drawer. Or the life-sized poster you have of me in my grand prix outfit from two years ago.” He winks, “That one’s a signed copy.”

Although he knows it’s pointless, Yuuri racks his brain for any, any possible way to explain himself that doesn’t include the sentence: “I was obsessed with you and I maybe jerked off to you when I was 15 once or ten times.”

“...I have a confession to make,” Yuuri whimpers, not meeting Victor’s eyes.

…

“There’s one thing I don’t quite get,” Victor holds up a long white plastic bag marked in black marker. There are two words in English written on the front: VICTOR COSPLAY. “What’s this?”

Yeah, Yuuri’s deleting his Tumblr account.

“Oh, wow. My 2008 costume covered much more skin, Yuuri, you know.” He pauses. “Actually, I’m having a small problem, would you mind trying it on for me and refreshing my memory?”

…

The next level of complete and utter humiliation happens another day into their meticulous packing, after Yuuri has banned Victor to the couch indefinitely, to his parents’ worried concern (“Are things okay between you two, baby? You just got engaged…”), and it happens the second that Victor finds his short skate undies.

His short skate undies are, by the way, his custom-fitted, commissioned baby blue briefs with the front and back of Victor’s head on each side, and a cute speech bubble that says, “Hit some quads in bed for me?”

Yuuri throws Victor’s make-up set out the window in retaliation for the ten minutes he spends laughing, calming down, looking back at the briefs, and starting to laugh all over again.

…

Two days later, Yuuri opens his bedroom door to find Victor standing on the corridor proudly, hands on his hips in a Superman pose, wearing nothing but briefs with a picture of Yuuri’s face stapled to the front.

Yuuri begrudgingly removes the bed ban.

…

“You named… you named your dog after me?” Victor’s smirking now. “That’s...kinky.”

“I was ten, Victor,” Yuuri swats at him with his passport, glaring. “You can let the teasing go now.”

For a few minutes, Victor does, holding his hands up in surrender and leaning against Yuuri to press a kiss on his forehead, rubbing his cheeks with his thumbs, “Alright, alright. I just think it’s cute. Am I allowed to just ask things if I don’t make fun? I always want to know more about young Yuuri Katsuki.”

Yuuri grumbles, tilting his head up to receive more kisses as an apology.

“... Did you dress the dog up in my outfits, though? Because otherwise I think it’s a missed opportuni - “

“Stop.”

…

“Yuuri, why does your mother know my favourite song and my grandfather’s last name?”

“...There was a competition on Victor Nikiforov trivia, okay? I had to practice!”

Victor smiles, “What was the prize?”

He sighs in defeat, “A ticket to one of your exhibitions.”

His fiancé lifts him up in a hug, squeezing him tight and pressing their cheeks together, “I can’t believe you’re this precious.”

…

“Um, Yuuri, why did your sweet old neighbour tell me she’s glad that ‘I finally came to see my husband, after being so long overseas’?”

“No comment.”

…

“You know,” Victor starts the day before they have to leave for St. Petersburg, with all their bags prepared. “I was wondering if…” He hesitates, biting his lower lip.

“What?” Yuuri hums from his place on the armchair, his fingers threading through Makkacchin’s fur softly. It’s been a hectic couple of days, especially with trying to put his skating gear in his checked baggage in a way that doesn’t scream ‘terrorist’ when he has more blades inside there than any respected butcher would own.

“Well, you seem to have admired me quite a lot,” Victor touches the top of his hand gently, as if to remind him that he doesn’t mind. “I just… Did I do it?”

He frowns, “Did what?”

“Meet young Yuuri’s expectations,” Victor shrugs self-deprecatingly, a small, unsure smile on his lips, the type of one Yuuri’s never seen before. “I understand that my real self is less… glamorous and fun than what the magazines make it seem, and I’ve, uh, gotten older, so my body isn’t what it used to be before I did five quads in a program.”

For a moment, Yuuri is absolutely and completely shocked into silence.

He’s sparked into action pretty soon by the vulnerability in Victor, though, standing up from the armchair and moving until he’s sitting on the couch beside his fiancé (mentally apologizing to the poodle for ceasing the petting session), swiftly catching his hands.

“Victor,” Yuuri says, firm. “Look at me.”

Hesitantly, Victor does.

“I was a huge Victor Nikiforov fanboy, alright?” his cheeks redden, but he carries on. “I was a total stalker, and you were my idol, I’m not denying that. I’m not even denying that you might have played a small, insignificant role in my sexual awakening.”

That makes the edges of Victor’s lips twitch, just slightly.

“But that means that I was also terrified of you,” he confesses, rubbing his thumb over Victor’s wrist reassuringly, meeting his eyes again. “You were a big celebrity who charmed the pants off cameramen and who ate Grand Prix for breakfast. I couldn’t even ask you for a picture when we first met!”

“You had no problem asking me for more when you were drunk,” Victor adds, because he’s still bitter about the fact that Yuuri doesn’t remember that.

He holds up a warning finger, “We’re not discussing the banquet. What I mean is, I was really shy before I got to know you, remember?” He smiles a little, when he thinks about the first few months Victor spent at the onsen, wandering around in a lazily tied yukata and drinking his way around Hasetsu’s most touristic spots. “I only managed to actually stand close to you once I was comfortable around you, once I knew you.” He hits him on the forearm lightly, almost a little bit offended, “I fell in love with you, Victor, not my teenage wanking folder.”

“Wanking folder?” Victor just can’t let it go, can’t he?

“Oh, shut up,” he hisses. “I can’t have one conversation without - hmph!”

And well. Yuuri can take kissing on the couch.

…

Yuuri’s favourite thing about living with Victor in St. Petersburg in their cozy, warm flat filled with big rugs, is that whenever Yuri comes into the place and sees the two matching walls with Yuuri and Victor memorabilia, he turns a rather entertaining shade of green.

fin

[emeraldwaves]

Title: Soulless Chapter 4 Pairing: OtaYuri Rating: M Word Count: 6,003 AO3 Read from Beginning on AO3 or Prologue, CH1, CH2, CH3 Summary:  When Otabek Altin turns 18, his soul ritual doesn’t exactly go as planned. Two years later, Yuri Plisetsky’s doesn’t either. Together, the two set out to find a way to fix, what they believe, went wrong.

Full Fic Under Cut, Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole for beta-ing! ESPECIALLY SO FAST AGAIN OMG ILU

"You're leaving, aren't you?" his mother asked, as he made his way to the living room. Her dark eyes were filled with concern, yet Otabek could sense some level of understanding when he looked at her. He was surprised she had heard the conversation between him and Yuri, he hadn't thought they were being that loud, even if Yuri often didn't recognize the strength of his own voice.

"...Mmm," he nodded. "For a couple of days. Did you hear Yuri?"

His mother shook her head. "I had a feeling," she chuckled. "For some reason I've felt like this was something you were going to do eventually."

Otabek raised an eyebrow. "I'm not leaving forever."

"Mmm," she chuckled. "I just had a feeling someday you might not want to be here, or you'd discover a way to find some answers to questions I know you've had for quite some time."

"Yuri said there's another Soulless person," Otabek muttered, taking a seat across from his mother. "Or they used to be, and they're not anymore."

"What!?" she gasped, leaning forward. "They're not Soulless anymore!? But changing how your Soul Ritual goes is impossible," she whispered. "And you looked--you looked for situations that could help you, how did you not know of this person?"

Otabek shrugged. Those were among some of the questions he had, and really Yuri's information seemed far too good to be true. Someone who was Soulless but not anymore? Someone who had broken free of the curse. If it were true, Otabek only wanted to know how.

The word Soulless had plagued him for so long. For two, almost three, years all he had heard were whispers of how terrible it must be to be him, all he'd seen were the blank stares of people not understanding how hard it was for him to be Soulless. The word was like a poison he couldn't eradicate from his being.

And yet now, attached to the word was some strange semblance of hope. There was another person who was just like him, who had somehow changed his awful fate.

"Are you sure it's...true?" she asked.

"No idea," Otabek shrugged.

Standing, she placed her hands on her son's shoulders, letting out a gentle sigh. "I only ask because I don't want you to be disappointed," she said.

"I know." He placed a hand over her own, and gave her fingers a squeeze. "I know you're concerned. I've made my own path up until now," he said, "If I don't go, I'll wonder forever if the information was real or not, and I want you to trust I'll continue to make the right choice."

"Of course I do. You're mature, and kind, Otabek. And rather talented at making beautiful flower arrangements," she smiled.

"I learned from the best."

Pulling him into a hug, Otabek wrapped his arms around his mother. "I want it to be true, more than anything," she whispered. "I know you say it's okay, but I see the pain on your face everyday. I know it affects you more than you care to admit." She moved back, gripping his shoulders. She frowned and flicked her ears back and forth. "Still, I don't want you doing anything dangerous," she scolded.

"I know, Mother. I can handle myself," he nodded.

"I'll make sure to pack you a nice bag of supplies before you leave in the morning," she hummed, making her way towards the kitchen, her small tail flicking back and forth. Otabek could tell she was nervous.

It was true, the forest which lay between the two towns was wide, vast, and mostly unexplored. Hunters often went into the woods, searching for food, or occasionally to hunt for fun, but the regular citizens of the village usually didn't venture there. Apparently there was a path, from a time when travelers and trade were more prominent. However, in the past hundred years or so, they had mostly been self-sufficient, so the few paths there were were overgrown. His mother wasn't wrong to be concerned, but Otabek knew they could handle themselves. There were visitors from time to time. It wouldn't be more than a day's journey to the other side of the forest, maybe less if they were fast.

"I appreciate it," he nodded, heading towards the back of the house to his room.

Alone, it was easy to hear the throbbing of his heart in his ears. He was surprisingly excited, anxious too. It felt so simple, they'd find this person, he could explain what he had done to get his Soul Animal, and then Otabek could do the same, hopefully. There were a lot of things he knew could easily go wrong with this plan. But this was the closest he'd ever come to having any sort of answer.

Actually, as much as he was anticipating finding new information, there was a small part of him that was simply excited to be spending more time with with Yuri. The blond's desire to bring Otabek on this journey had been so damn pure. His green hues had burned with the passion Otabek had grown obsessed with. And to have it all directed at him, it made Otabek blush, and his heart flutter more than he had expected.

He still didn't really understand why he was so affected by Yuri so much, besides the blond's obvious beauty. His scent was constantly making Otabek's head rush, and it had only grown worse when Yuri had hit his heat. He was a Beta, so he shouldn't have had any sort of reaction, even if it was a small one Otabek had been able to control. But maybe, if he wasn't actually Soulless, it meant he wasn't actually a Beta? If he wasn't that meant...

He shook his head, and opened his closet, getting ready to pack a few different clothes for the journey, as well as a few supplies. It was foolish to think about things that may or may not be possible. He had done his best to let Yuri go when they had first started spending time together, he wasn't going to sit and think about things he knew would never happen.

~~

Yuri had a plan to sneak out of his house as early as he could. He wouldn't even tell his grandfather where he was going; he couldn't trust anyone. His father would never approve of him leaving for a few days, especially if it was to join Otabek. Yuri didn't understand why his father was so against Otabek, since the man hadn't ever talked to him, nor did he really know anything besides the fact that Otabek was Soulless. Apparently that mattered to his father, which was enough to piss Yuri off.

The Plisetskys were well off, and known for being one of the more affluent families in town, and his father, as one of the members of the town council, often had say in how the village was run. Many of the townsfolk respected them greatly, and Yuri had known it had been a big hit to his father's ego to have an Omega son. So Yuri spending time with the Soulless boy probably wasn't helping his family reputation at all.

Yuri however, didn't give a shit about anything like that. He was the only Plisetsky child, which meant he was first in line to inherit from his father, but he didn't care about being on the town council or anything like that, though he'd probably have to. His father lately had been pushing Yuri to understand the way the town worked from a more...political perspective, something Yuri didn't care about.

Needless to say, he was happy to sneak away. Hell, maybe they'd stay away forever. Yuri highly doubted that though, Otabek was too attached to his flowers and his mother, there was no way the guy would ever leave for good. Yuri supposed he'd take what he could get and just enjoy the time away. Secretly, he was hoping to discover someway to change the outcome of a Soul Ritual. Maybe if there was a way for Otabek to gain a Soul Animal, there would be a way for Yuri to change his. He wasn't holding his breath, but dreaming was nice.

He finished shoving a few shirts and pants into his pack, and he swung it over his shoulders, opening the door as quietly as he could. His palm felt sweaty against the knob as he walked quietly down the hall. His father and grandfather were heavy sleepers but his mother could've woken up to the sound of a pin.

If anyone did wake up though, they didn't check on any of the noise as Yuri slipped out of the house unnoticed, running off towards Otabek's house. If he hadn't had the bag, he would've shifted and gotten there faster, but he knew he wouldn't want to wear the same clothes for the entire few days they'd be gone.

"Beka," he called out quietly, "are you ready?" He was waiting directly behind the house, his tail flicking back and forth with excitement.

"Yeah," Otabek said, opening their back slider. He slipped his shoes on, and handed Yuri a small box tied up in a pouch. "My mother made food for both of us, this is yours."

Yuri's eyes sparkled as he stared at the box. "Awesome!" he cheered. "I didn't even think about the food thing," he admitted, and Otabek shook his head.

"She packed enough for a couple meals I think, if we're conservative," he shrugged. Stepping down off the porch.

"And she was okay with you leaving?" Yuri asked.

Otabek nodded, glancing back towards the house. "She said goodbye last night. I think she's concerned, but she understands," he admitted, turning to face forward.

"So you're ready then?" Yuri asked, and Otabek simply gave him a thumbs up.

Yuri had been prepared to walk, he knew the other town wasn't exactly close by, but he hadn't been expecting to walk as much as they already had. Thankfully, the spring weather made a warm breeze rustle the trees, and any hint of snow was gone. Walking in the cold would've been hellish.

They walked in silence for quite a bit, Otabek keeping his eyes facing forward, fixated on the path in front of them. He looked intense, his dark hues focused, and Yuri could tell there were probably many things Otabek was thinking about. It had been a little selfish of Yuri, wanting to leave so quickly, and secretly hoping this journey could help him too, still, he was happy to see Otabek looking so determined. He deserved this, finding out the truth about what it meant to be Soulless. Yuri could only imagine what Otabek was thinking about, and even so lost in thought, Yuri thought Otabek looked ridiculously handsome.

They were going out in the unknown woods, yet Yuri didn't feel nervous at all. With Otabek, he always felt calm, like an Omega would with an Alpha. He knew Otabek was a Beta, but damn, if he had been an Alpha, Yuri maybe would've been okay with being what he was.

"You know," Otabek said, breaking Yuri of his thoughts. "That's where we first met." He gestured to a large tree off to the left, in a clearing. They were standing on a small wooden bridge, which allowed them to cross the river which cut between the forest and their town. They had finally made it to the edge. Otabek had stopped for a moment, staring at the tree he had sat under when they first met.

"I...don't recall," Yuri huffed, folding his arms, his ears falling back against his head. He did recall, he preferred not to tho, as he thought about how embarrassing it was to have fallen directly into the river in front of Otabek.

"Okay," Otabek snorted. "Let me remind you. You came running by, yelling about something, and then fell into-"

"OKAY, OKAY, OKAY! I remember," Yuri yelled, waving his hands in Otabek's face to get him to stop. "It was stupid, okay?!"

"I don't think it was stupid," Otabek shrugged. He continued walking, unfazed by Yuri's outburst of anger.

"It was pretty damn stupid," he grunted. "I fell completely on my face!" he snarled, stomping his feet after Otabek.

"Mmm true. It was cute. And it was how we met, can't be too stupid," Otabek said.

Blushing, Yuri stopped walking momentarily as he stared at Otabek's back. How could he say these things so casually!?

"You're...a weird guy, Otabek," Yuri muttered, his cheeks red as he stormed past him, noting that once again, Otabek was unaffected by his outburst.

There was silence between them for awhile, but Yuri found he didn't actually mind at all. Being with Otabek was all he needed, and even if the guy embarrassed him on more than one occasion, Yuri enjoyed the presence of the other, walking next to him. Plus, Otabek smelled so damn good, his floral scent mingling with the gentle spring breeze.

"Have you ever left town before?" Otabek asked, and Yuri shook his head.

"No, there was never a reason to," Yuri shrugged, folding his arms behind his head. "My father has always been strict about what I do and how I'm supposed to act. He hates that I hang out with you."

"...Ah," Otabek replied softly, keeping his eyes off of Yuri.

"There's nothing to worry about, it's not like I care what that old man thinks!" he added quickly.

"I assume most people don't like me," Otabek admitted. "It's fine, Yura," he chuckled.

"Well it's not going to matter much longer," Yuri said, walking faster to keep up with Otabek, his feet snapping a few dead twigs as he did. "We're going to fix it."

Otabek didn't reply, but Yuri could tell from the look on his face, Otabek wasn't sure it was something that could be fixed. Admittedly, Yuri knew he would feel a little guilty if he dragged Otabek on this journey just for it to be a wild goose chase.

~~

Night began to fall faster than either of them expected, so Otabek suggested they both stop and set up the tent he had packed for them. It had been a last minute addition to his things, but he was grateful to have it now.

"Here," he said, holding a few of the rods out to Yuri. "Help me pitch this." Staring at the metal in front of him, Yuri tilted his head. Otabek could tell this was something the blond had never experienced before. "Ah, never mind," he said, placing them on the ground instead.

With some awkward help from Yuri, Otabek finished pitching the tent as night finally overtook the day. Relieved, he carried his and Yuri's bag inside, holding the flap open to let the blond in after him.

"It's not much but it'll do. We shouldn't be walking around the woods late at night, especially you Yuri, an un-mated Omega could be in danger."

The blond puffed out his cheeks, folding his legs in. "I'm not in heat, I'm sure it would be fine," he scoffed.

"You don't know what people can and can't smell," he retorted quietly. He could've used himself as an example, but it was much easier to keep his mouth shut.

Blushing, Yuri turned his face away from Otabek. "Yeah maybe."

There was an awkward silence between them, as the gentle chirps of crickets became the only noise. It was far too late to keep walking, but it was much too early for either of them to sleep.

"Ah...thank you for coming with me," Otabek said, breaking the silence. "You didn't have to."

"'Course I did!" Yuri snapped back. "I mean did you think you could do something like this alone? Hell no!" he shook his head. "Plus, I wanted to get away too."

"Because of the mating ritual?" Otabek asked softly.

Yuri nodded. "Never doing that again."

"Your heats are just going to get worse..." Otabek whispered.

"How would you know you're just-" Yuri began to snap, but stopped himself. He didn't need to finish the sentence for Otabek to know what he was going to say.

"I know."

Blushing, Yuri tucked his knees up to his chest, his ears twitching about. "I just...want to do it on my own time. And I don't get why it has to be an Alpha! I mean...if I want to be with a Beta..." he paused, flicking his green eyes towards Otabek.

Admittedly he would've killed to be Yuri's mate. When he had come to him in heat, Otabek had wanted nothing more than to hold Yuri in his arms, and keep everyone away from him. It was such an Alpha trait, but perhaps he was simply a loyal friend...that was the only explanation he could think of.

"I..I could also be with another Omega," Yuri added quickly, his tail flicking back and forth.

"I don't think...Omegas and Betas could satisfy your heat," Otabek muttered. Saying the words out loud made his heart sink even more.

"What because they don't have a knot?!" Yuri scoffed angrily. "I get it. I get it, okay!? It just sucks."

"Yeah," Otabek nodded. It did, more than he could ever admit.

Silence fell back between them, and Otabek had to try his best not to stare at Yuri. He smelled good again, like the woodland spring breeze of the forest they had just traversed through. He watched as Yuri reached back, tying his long blond hair into a small ponytail on the back of his head. Otabek could almost feel how silky it had been when he'd smoothed his hands through it.

Suddenly, Yuri jolted up, his ears perking. "Did you hear that Otabek?!" he hissed, glancing towards the flap of the tent.

"No? What?"

"I heard something," Yuri said. "Something outside of the tent." He hissed, his body contorting as he shifted down to his cat form, hiding behind Otabek immediately.

"Brave," Otabek teased, wrinkling his nose when Yuri hissed once again. "I'll go loo-Ow!" he gasped, feeling Yuri's claws dig into his lower back. "What do you want from me?" he whispered. "If I don't go check we'll never know what's out there. And if we stay in here you're going to be terrified for the rest of the night." He received another hiss for that. "You can stay here," Otabek sighed. "I'll be right back."

Instead, Yuri leaped up, wrapping his tail around Otabek's neck as he rest himself on his shoulders. There was a low grumbling in Yuri's throat and Otabek resisted the urge to chuckle. It was cute, how much Yuri wanted to protect him, though he was sure his cat form wouldn't do much damage to anything.

Stepping forward out of the small tent, Otabek glanced around. It was dark, too dark to see much, so he tried to quiet his breathing, letting his eyes adjust. Since he was only human, Otabek didn't have special eyesight or a great sense of smell, but from what he could see, there didn't seem to be anything out there.

"See?" he said, glancing towards his shoulder. "There's nothing there," he said, as a squirrel jumped out from the taller grass. "Just a squirrel-"

Yuri hissed again, and Otabek, shocked, stumbled backwards, tripping over the root of a tree. He began to fall backwards, his feet slipping against the damp grass, and he grabbed Yuri, wrapping his arms around his small cat body, as he fell to the ground, landing on his butt.

"S-Shit..." he groaned, and Yuri scurried off of him, shifting back.

"Beka!" he said, moving closer to lean over him.

"Yura..." he mumbled, staring up at his green eyes. The moon illuminated Yuri's blond hair, making his green eyes and pale skin glow under the gentle evening light. Behind him, stars twinkled and Otabek reached up, tangling his fingers into Yuri's hair. It was smooth, and shimmered as he gently stroked his head. Yuri's lips parted, gasping slightly from the contact. Oh how he wanted to sit up and kiss him, press their lips together and hold Yuri close, promising to protect him. He couldn't, he knew he couldn't, but it didn't stop him from staring. "You're beautiful," he mumbled.

Yuri's face flushed, and immediately he swallowed. "What...B-Beka, I think you hit your head too hard," he stammered, glancing away. Yuri's fingers wrapped around his own, helping him sit up. "Uh, sorry, I guess I just...heard a weird twig snap or something," Yuri muttered. "Are you okay?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Otabek blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted once more. "Yeah." Pushing himself up, Otabek held his hand out to Yuri, helping him up. "We should...really try and rest," he said, turning away back to the tent, hoping Yuri wouldn't see how flushed his face was.

"Y-Yeah. I'll try and not get...paranoid," he said, glancing around the clearing once more.

Holding the flap to the entrance open, Otabek took a seat on one side of the tent, laying down to rest his head on his backpack. His gaze stayed fixated on the top of the tent, trying to forget how beautiful Yuri had just looked silhouetted by the night sky. "Just...wake me up if you hear anything else. Even if it's a squirrel, I'll protect you."

"Right," Yuri puffed out his cheeks, as he sighed. Taking a deep breath, he shifted back into his cat form, making his way next to Otabek, and he snuggled against his side. Otabek probably should've stopped him, set boundaries for where they could sleep in the tent. But he was selfish, and was thankful from the warmth, especially when it was Yuri's warmth.

~~

Yuri awoke before Otabek, but he was reluctant to move. Otabek was warm, and comfortable. He'd slept so well when he'd curled up next to him. Still, Yuri had no desire to sleep in the woods again, so when Otabek did wake up, he immediately helped the taller take down the tent.

There was another awkward silence, especially after last night. Yuri hadn't expected Otabek to touch him in such an intimate way. It had made his heart race, and his face flush as though he were in heat. He'd felt the familiar flopping of his stomach. Otabek's hands were strong, and even though it had only been a squirrel, he'd been so quick to want to protect him.

Yuri scoffed at himself, so easily swayed by the idea of being protected. What a weak Omega trait. He snorted, handing the metal rods to Otabek.

"What's wrong, Yura?" Otabek asked, once they started back on the path.

"Hah!?" Yuri asked, whipping his head around to stare at Otabek.

"You seem frustrated. You've been making all sort of...noises," Otabek clarified.

Blinking, Yuri was surprised Otabek had noticed, he thought he had been subtle...

"I'm fine," he huffed.

"You seem annoyed. I don't think it should be too much longer to the village," Otabek said, keeping himself facing forward.

"I'm fine, Beka. Just...uh, tired," he muttered.

Smirking, Otabek nudged his shoulder. "Are you embarrassed because you were scared of a squirrel?"

"WHAT?! N-NO!" Yuri yelled, jumping back, his tail standing on end.

"It's okay," Otabek teased, walking faster away from Yuri. "I may not be any sort of animal, but I can protect you from squirrels."

"Beka!" he hissed. "I'm not scared of squirrels!" He chased after him, following him down the path. The two ran for a bit, laughing as Yuri chased after Otabek, helping Yuri to forget any of the awkwardness from the previous night. Catching him, Yuri punched at his arm. "Next time, I'll protect you from the squirrel!" he snorted.

"I don't know if you can," Otabek teased.

Walking backwards, Yuri folded his arms behind his head. "Fine, next time there's a pack of killer squirrels, you'll be left to fend for yourself. I won't help you at all."

"Since when are they killer squirrels?" Otabek snorted, watching as Yuri's tail moved back and forth happily.

"I'm just saying, if it happens, you're as good as dead," Yuri sighed.

"Mm too bad. Good thing it doesn't seem like something we'll have to worry about anytime soon," Otabek hummed, shutting his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Yuri asked, snorting. "It could happen tonight for all we know!"

"Well, for one thing, we finally made it. So we won't be sleeping in the woods," Otabek grinned.

"What!?" Yuri gasped, turning around to see a few roofs on the horizon. "We made it!" he said, smiling. "Beka we made it!"

"Yes, that's what I just-"

"C'mon!" Yuri said, grabbing Otabek's wrist as he dragged him forward.

The two made their way up the path, heading for the town. It wasn't much bigger than their own village. Coming out of the forest, it was easy to see the center of town. The path split off in a few directions, but the middle path led towards a few of the larger buildings. A few larger houses stood in the middle, surrounded by circles of smaller houses, Yuri assumed the center of town was where many of the shops were.

"I can't believe we made it!" Yuri smiled, his ears twitching happily.

"Do you know where this Yuuri Katsuki lives?" Otabek asked, and Yuri froze. He hadn't exactly taken the time to ask Emil for more specific directions, but Yuri knew they were at least, in the right town.

Rubbing his forehead, Yuri's ears folded back against his head. "Uh, no. I don't know where exactly he lives, but I know he's in this town, so we're in the right place."

"Eh? You don't know where he lives?"

"Not exactly?" Yuri said, shrugging. "B-But who cares! I'm sure if we go to the town center and just ask...they can help us!"

Slapping his forehead, Otabek shook his head back and forth. "I don't know what to do with you, Yura," he chuckled, patting his head.

"Eh?! Why?! We made it here! Y-You should be thanking me!" he retorted quickly.

"I know, I know. C'mon, let's head to town, we should ask them where he lives." Walking by, Otabek continued down the path, and Yuri followed behind him. He prayed Yuuri Katsuki hadn't moved away or something like that. That would've been extremely unfortunate. Of course, they could find him wherever he had gone, but that would've called for a far longer trip than either of them had planned for.

~~

"Where to start..." Otabek heard Yuri mutter when they finally reached the town. However, Otabek had already walked away from him, approaching a man standing behind a fruit stand. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he was so determined to find it. They had come this far after all.

"Excuse me, sir," Otabek began, "I'm looking for a Yuuri Katsuki, does he live in this town?"

"Ah, Yuuri? Yes! He and his mate live up on the hill on the other side of town," the man explained. He seemed friendly, but quickly he narrowed his eyes. "What is it you want with them?" he continued. "No trouble I hope."

"Eh? No, no trouble," Otabek said, waving a hand in front of him. "I just had a few questions for him," he admitted. "I think...he could help me."

The man sighed. "Good. That boy has had enough trouble. In the past few years, he's finally been quite content with his mate. I'd hate to send any trouble his way. This town is very protective of him," the man chuckled.

Otabek stayed quiet, but nodded. "Thank you for your help."

"Yes. Tell them I said hello!" he smiled, waving. Otabek turned, walking back towards Yuri.

"He lives with his mate on the hill on the other side of town," he muttered. "Just a bit further it seems." He didn't wait for Yuri to answer, he simply kept walking. It had been so easy to find out where Yuuri Katsuki lived, and something about that bothered Otabek more than he cared to admit.

"Beka?" Yuri asked, following after him.

Otabek couldn't bring himself to answer Yuri. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts. This town was protective of Yuuri Katsuki. He silently wondered what that would've felt like. If when he had learned he was Soulless, if the town had tried to help him, instead of shunning him, whispering about him. Everyone had looked at him like he was diseased, assumed he wasn't someone worth talking to.

He wondered if Yuuri Katsuki felt the need to stay away from town? If he lived on the hill because he felt it was safer the farther away he stayed. Yet, something about the way the man talked, Otabek couldn't believe that was the reason why.

Biting down on his lip, his footsteps grew heavier as he stormed through the town. People were staring at them, but it wasn't for the usual reasons. They were strangers, strangers who were impeding on their town.

"Beka! What's wrong? We're almost there."

"Yeah," Otabek muttered finally.

"What did that guy say?" Yuri asked. "I've called your name three times and you didn't answer."

Turning around, Otabek froze looking at the concern on Yuri's face. He hadn't meant to make the blond confused, but he couldn't stop the frustration from boiling under his skin. "It's...fine," he sighed. "Sorry. Let's...let's just get there."

If someone had asked for Otabek in his hometown, would anyone have checked to see if he was in danger? Would people have even known where he lived? He always did his best to stay as hidden away to not ruin business for his mother. And yet, he was sure Yuuri Katsuki's family business probably hadn't suffered due to him being Soulless.

"Yeah," Yuri nodded, and placed a hand on Otabek's shoulder decidedly. "It's going to be awesome!"

"Yeah," Otabek agreed, continuing through the town. He felt the tension in his shoulders let up as Yuri walked next to him. This was the whole reason he had come here. Meeting Yuuri Katsuki was supposed to help him, not make him feel worse. This was going to help in the end.

The house, if you could call it that, on the hill was directly on the other side of town, and thankfully the hill wasn't very steep. It was a fairly large brown building, long, with about 3 stories, definitely not what Otabek had been expecting. The sign over the door indicated the house as a bathhouse and inn too.

"A bathhouse!?" Yuri yelled. "He lives here?!"

Otabek shrugged. "That's what they said." Stepping forward, Otabek knocked on the door.

It only took one knock for the door to swing open. "Welcome!" A man with silver hair cheered happily, his voice a happy sing-song. His eyes were shut, and his mouth was in a wide, practically heart-shaped smile. The white, pointy ears on the top of his head, twitched happily. "The Katsuki family is happy to welcome you! Will you be staying the night? Or..." he hummed, opening his bright blue eyes. "Perhaps you're only here for a relaxing bath!"

Blinking, both Yuri and Otabek were so shocked by how energized the man in front of them seemed to be.

"Uh..." Yuri began, and Otabek coughed.

"We're...actually looking for a...Yuuri Katsuki. Are you him? Or...does he live here?"

"Ah, Yuuri~!" the man hummed, placing his hands on his own cheeks. "No, no. I'm not Yuuri. That's my mate!" he chuckled. "Who might you be? I've never seen you before," he said. The silver-haired man folded his arms and leaned against the frame of the door. His cheerful demeanor was still present, though Otabek could quickly see this man was Yuuri Katsuki's Alpha. His blue eyes twinkled with a possessiveness only an Alpha could have. "If you're customers, I can also help you," he continued.

"Ah, no..." Otabek replied. He wanted to handle this delicately. He didn't need Yuuri's Alpha hating them before they even met the guy.

"We're here to talk to Yuuri about being Soulless!" Yuri blurted out. He was frowning, looking angry. Otabek sighed, unsure why he had expected this to go smoothly.

"Wow!" The man chuckled. "You're a feisty one." Yuri's ears folded against the back of his head. "But Yuuri is no longer Soulless, nor do I think it's something he enjoys talking about."

"Wait!" Yuri snapped, pointing at Otabek. "You don't understand. He's Soulless."

"Oh?" The silver-haired man's eyes widen.

"I need to talk to him," Otabek said, his dark eyes glaring at the Alpha. He was a Beta, there was no way he could actually take on an Alpha, especially one protecting his mate, but Otabek wasn't about to turn around. "I think he can help me."

"You're Soulless? Hm." The man leaned in, as if analyzing Otabek to see if his claim were true.

"I'm not lying. I'm 20, I had my Soul Ritual two years ago and never received an animal, and I'm sure you can smell my Beta status," Otabek explained bluntly.

"I can certainly tell you are a Beta…" Glancing at both of them, the man smiled once more. "Well, I'm sure Yuuri would want to help in anyway he can," the silver haired man said, stepping to the side to let them both inside of the inn.

"Thank you," Otabek said, letting out a sigh of relief as he walked inside after Yuri had.

"My name is Viktor Nikiforov. Like I said, Yuuri is my mate. Let me call for him." Stepping more inside, Viktor made his way to a door on the side. "Yuuri! There are some people here to see you!"

The inside of the inn was quaint, and warm. Decorated with red and oranges, it smelled of warm water and soup. Across the room, there was a big desk with a large cabinet behind it, and a giant book on the front counter.

Emerging from the door Viktor had called into, a shorter dark-haired boy with glasses emerged from what smelled to be the kitchen. "Oh, hello," he bowed, a gentle smile on his face. His small puppy ears flopped over as he tipped his head forward. Otabek couldn't help but stare at the small brown ears, and the small tail wagging behind him. If he really had been Soulless, it seemed it was true; Yuuri Katsuki now had a Soul Animal.

Viktor wrapped his arms around the shorter boy. "Ah my Yuuri! Lunch smells delicious!" he hummed, rubbing his cheek against Yuuri's. His white, bushy tail wagged back and forth excitedly.

"V-Viktor!" he said, chuckling. "It's almost done!"

Yuri rolled his eyes, and while he folded his arms, he cleared his throat.

"A-Ah. Sorry!" Yuuri bowed. "I'm Yuuri Katsuki, Viktor told me you were looking for me? I'm sorry but do I know you?"

"'Bout time-" Yuri snapped, but Otabek was quick to cover Yuri's mouth.

"No you don't...know us, but yes we were looking for you," Otabek explained. "My name is Otabek Altin, and this is Yuri Plisetsky. We're from the town on the other side of the forest. I'm...Soulless, and I was told you used to be."

"Ah...you're Soulless?" Yuuri asked. The look in his eyes was one of understanding, pain, but it was still gentle. Viktor's hand snaked down to Yuuri's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I...I'm sorry. I know how hard that must be."

"Yeah! It sucks," Yuri scoffed, flicking his tail back and forth.

"Yuri," Otabek scolded quietly. "We came here hoping you could explain...how you got a Soul Animal?"

Yuuri glanced towards Viktor and nodded. "I'm not sure how much help I'll be," he said stepping forward. "But...I did used to be Soulless, and I'm happy to share my experience with you."

[aeternallis]

Title: Of Alter Egos and Personas

Series: Yuri!!! on Ice Pairing: Nikiforov Viktor x Katsuki Yuuri Rating: T Summary: 'Eros only exists on the ice; outside of it, merely a figment of their imagination.'

Yuuri finds out the hard way that the fallibility of his relationship with Viktor is, perilously, but one step behind his happiness and contentment.

Post!series / One-shot / Character introspection

AO3

After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.' - Spock (Star Trek)

A couple of blocks from the Fontanka River is a handsome apartment complex that Yuuri has had his eye on for a while. The units were clean and newly renovated with polished, mahogany flooring and model heaters, a full kitchen and living room, as well as a washing machine and dryer. The rent was about 67,000 rubles every month, including all utilities, with the exception of internet. Pets were allowed, and there was a huge park right next to it where Makkachin could run around and get his daily exercise.

It wasn't too far from Viktor's home rink, and along the way, there were a lot of restaurants and eateries that Yuuri was particularly curious to try. There was also a bus stop nearby, as well as a gym, which would especially be useful for when the winter months descend on them, and he won't be able to jog outside due to the danger of slipping on black ice.

All in all, it was the perfect place for him and Viktor.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he scrolled through his phone to see the various screenshots of the available rooms, his eyes thoughtful. The living room was spacious, and the kitchen came with a new refrigerator and working stove, he observed, his mouth stretching in an uneasy smile. The bedroom window had a wonderful view of the area; the Yuletide lights will look marvelous, once they lit up the night. He couldn't ask for a better deal than this, wouldn't know if he could even find one anywhere else.

His gaze became unreadable for a moment, before he abruptly looked away from the phone, staring at the large fountain in front of him instead.

There weren't that many people in the park today, the light caress of the wind playing with his hair as he took in the scenery with heartfelt appreciation. It was September, and the leaves on the trees displayed a brilliant, orange color, and the scent of wet grass after a hearty rainfall made the landscape look like a sort of faerieland, the way the moisture made the greenery shimmer and twinkle. It was quiet, with only the birds and occasional squirrels darting about, a passerby periodically walking past him nonchalantly.

If he could, he wouldn't have minded staying in this place for awhile longer, breathing in the clean air, drifting off to sleep in soothing unconsciousness, surrounded by greenery.

It was a timely distraction, one he was utterly grateful for, if only for a moment, a chance for his mind to wander away from the grueling muck of his thoughts while his thumb hovered over his phone, unable to scroll any further, his fingers lightly shaking in apprehension, building up since the idea first presented itself. He took off his glasses and set them to the side, leaning back against the bench as he took a deep breath, lifting his head towards the drifting clouds while his eyes darkened with unease, his heart pounding in his chest.

The coffee in his hand forgotten, he dazedly placed it to the side right next to his glasses, biting his lip in contemplation.

He couldn't help but chuckle, a hint of cynicism coating his voice. Leave it to him to tarnish the admiration he'd felt; maybe tomorrow, he could actually enjoy walking around the park without getting too dramatic. But he's been pushing it off for too long now, denying himself, as he had always done, the time to mull over it, to turn the subject inside his head this way and that, inspecting every facet of the intention until he's divulged into any and all possibilities, covering all his bases. Thinking about it now, facing the truth was never the hard part, but what came after it.

It wasn't that he didn't want to live with Viktor, because on the contrary, he's never been so sure of anything else in his life, at least that's what he believed, but this. The conviction laid inside his stomach like a dead weight, sure of its place. Nevertheless, the reality was never so simple, and it's not a matter of wanting or not wanting, not anymore...or if it was ever even like that in the first place.

But it would be ridiculously cruel to himself, and though it may not be worth mentioning, to this lovely park as well, should he choose now of all times to lie to himself, the question burning in his mind, as if it were searing itself to the very confines of his memory, unable to outrun the words, glowing like a funeral pyre while he ran for his life inside his brain.

Could he live with Viktor? Does he have the strength and patience to do it?

For all the love he felt towards the man...for all the admiration and esteem and respect and reverence he felt for him...for the many years he spent idolizing him like a god, though he had always known to himself that he would eventually question whether he loved the figure on the posters more or the imperfection of him, for all of those things...could he do it?

Without warning, a dam burst inside of him, the flood waters rushing in to fill his lungs to the brim.

Viktor was lazy half the time, relying on Yuuri to make all their meals. He never takes out the garbage or cleans the bathroom, or sweeps the floors. His tastes were inexplicably grandiose, too much for him to take at times. He lived like a blockbuster celebrity, the paparazzi always hot on his trails like little chicks. He was often a tad bit too forward on those occasions when professionalism was more appropriate, and he had an annoying tendency to spout out private details about their life together to the media.

When he was drunk, he tended to fall asleep loudly, snoring the night away, which would often keep him up all night. His whining was incessant when he would catch him in a foul mood, which happened rarely, but when it does happen...

He was mercilessly blunt, even when he knew how much his words could pierce Yuuri's heart like a thousand daggers, as if it were digging into the caverns of his vitality to drain out all his blood, much more than his sometimes cold eyes ever could. For someone like him who grew up understanding that the slightest difference in a person's glance can mean either approval or disappointment, had been taught all his life how to read the social cues of a rigid, Japanese, high-context society, candor and straightforwardness were his natural enemies.

Viktor felt things too passionately at times, and it would be a lie if he didn't feel that some part of him was afraid that one day, Viktor's ardent love for him could become hate, smoldering just as intensely. And like a cycle that never ended, turning one after another at a dizzying speed, he speculated whether it would have been better to admire him from afar all that they have been through, rather than feel and know and relish that impassioned gaze on him many a time.

Of course, he wasn't without his own faults either. He was just as imperfect...hideously so.

'Would Eros care about something like this?' he asked himself, bringing a finger to his lips, his eyes narrowing at nowhere in particular. But even as he begged the question, he couldn't but shake his head internally, knowing decisively that the query that sprouted out of the oblivion inside his head had already answered itself.

Eros would care more about the persuasion--the seduction--leading to the current prospect, rather than the end result--no, no...that was the wrong word. Rather...the continuity of it, long after the initial hurdle of ensnaring the target has been achieved.

After all, Eros existed solely for the chase of his lovers...right?

Yuuri let out a long, tired sigh, hanging his head. Therein lies his problem, alas. Eros only existed on the ice; outside of it, merely a figment of their imagination.

"A penny for your thoughts?" a voice came from out of nowhere, sounding amused. Yuuri stared at the figure standing before him, while he felt something bump itself on his knee. Breaking out of his reverie, he looked down just in time to see Makkachin gazing up at him, his dark eyes filled with glee and excitement, his tongue hanging out, the perfect picture of an obedient and well-behaved dog.

Yuuri let out a small smile, ruffling the big oaf's mane, placing a small kiss on the top of the animal's head. "I feel like I would be the one owing you something if I spill my heart out right now."

Viktor laughed out loud, his voice utterly goofy. "Then in which case, this one's on the house," he replied back cheerfully, making sure to take the other man's glasses and cup of coffee and moving it away as he sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"What's on your mind?" the silver-haired man asked more gently this time, coaxing him.

"...that you can be a handful at times, for one."

Viktor snickered at the sassy tone of his lover's voice, finding his lack of hesitation in saying what's going on inside his brain refreshing...and somewhat surprising. "For someone such as myself who lives to surprise the audience, unfortunately I have some unoriginal material too."

It was Yuuri's turn to laugh at that point, bringing a hand to stifle his giggles as Makkachin wagged his tail, blissfully happy at the sight at seeing his humans delighted and content. Receiving such an answer like that, Yuuri wondered to himself how he could not at least give it a try, for its own sake. There was no harm in it, after all.

Even if the setting was all wrong; he had gained a couple of pounds (it's so hard to lose weight during the autumn months), his hair was a mess, his lips were chapped, and currently, he wore a puffy jacket and beanie hat to keep out the cold. He looked like an overstuffed rice cake, if he were honest to himself, but he was willing to summon the ice inside his mind and recreate the world Eros lived in...if only to make up for his lack of confidence.

The next words that came out of his mouth were uttered in a somewhat breathless manner, a slight lilt to it that never failed to entice anyone who heard it, like a siren hypnotizing the sailors on a ship.

"There's an apartment building I was looking at close to the river..." he began, his cheeks flushed and his eyes dilated, his voice both shy and bold at the same time. It was Eros at one of his more vulnerable moments (just the right amount of equivocation was in and of itself a weapon), but the temptation he played at was, as always, present. "I think it would be perfect for us..."

At this, Viktor couldn't help but grin widely, his eyes narrowing, intrigued...and cautious.

The other man smiled, pleased with himself. For Eros, as Yuuri knew all too well, was nevermore excited for the chase than when the potential lover's response roamed in the realm of the unknown.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!