#and carries your extremely concussed self back to your girlfriend

[pocketramblr]

I am also thinking about when Izuku saved Shindo and carried him around. That was so funny.

[yurimother]

Top Yuri Anime Poll Results

Whether it is subtext or explicit, cute or sexy, school love or gay action thrillers I love yuri anime. These series either focus on or contain elements of female same-sex relationships. Pride month is the perfect time to look back and reflect on the best of this genre. I teamed up with OG Man of The Yuri Nation (yurination[dot] wordpress[dot] com/) and together we put out a poll asking what you thought the top yuri anime series were and over 1000 of you responded submitting almost 5000 different entries. We spent hours combing through the data, analyzing and commenting on the results and we would like to share our thoughts with all of you. Enjoy the reflections of me the yuri critic and OG the dedicated yuri fan!

These are the Top 20 Yuri Anime as voted by you

1. Bloom Into You - 692 Votes

OG: Be it East or West the YagaKimi took the world by storm. Citrus and BiY once again taking the top two spots remains unsurprising.There is something undeniably fascinating about our leading ladies consisting of an asexual slowly coming to love her senpai back but restraining herself for various reasons. The biggest one being said senpai having a deep case of self-loathing and a fear of romantic reciprocation, also for various reasons. She is like “I love you but please do not love me back”. Then there is one of the most popular “cursed” lesbians of all time in Sayaka, the fantastic adult side-couple (The world needs an anime starring lesbian adults/mothers) and the various other characters who have their own interesting tales to tell. The series absolutely deserves a spot in the Top 10 though it would not be in my personal Top 3. Oh and as Yurimother said the presentation was fantastic.Visually stunning from start to finish in my opinion. Special mention goes to the criminally underused first-person “camera”. So cool.

YuriMother: I agree with this series deserving a spot in the top ten even if not the number one slot. For me, it was good but not great. Moments such as the aforementioned adult couple as well as stellar art and a phenomenal score made this series enjoyable but they were not enough to overshine the problems of the narrative. For the love of the Yuri Goddess, this series is crying out for asexual representation but insists on carrying on with its confused romance. Enough complaining though, many people love Bloom Into You despite its faults and I agree. The characters are interesting and lovable and it manages to tell a yuri story more real and complex than the typical fluffy girl meets girl narratives.

2. Citrus - 452 Votes

YuriMother: The presence of Citrus and Bloom Into You prove two things to me, the importance of recency, as both anime aired only last year, and the sheer popularity of these series. Both had established and extremely successful manga runs which were adapted into English by the publishing masters of yuri, Seven Seas. Citrus is a contentious series, to say the least, as it includes elements of (non-blood related) incest and non-consensual actions as part of Mei and Yuzu’s “relationship.” However, if you possess the magical power to turn off the part of your brain screaming at you that those aspects are deeply problematic or if you seek a different interpretation then Citrus can be downright WONDERFUL. I actually loved this anime series for its characters, amazing animation, and salaciousness. As OG said, it is an operatic concussion of emotion (seriously everyone in the series needs therapy) but my is it fun to watch. The Citrus anime also holds a special place in my heart, as the first serious piece I ever wrote was a review for it over on Okazu (nice plug)! Citrus is certainly not for everyone but those that stuck with it and overlooked some of the problems ended up loving it.

OG: Here we are again with Citrus at #2. My thoughts on the series remains the same as in the previous two lists I discussed (the Akiba Research and goo Ranking Japan lists), overrated. Good soap opera/telenovela-esque series but my feelings on the cast are mixed (which I imagine was the writer’s intent). My main issue has always been the obstacles repeatedly challenging Yuzu and Mei’s feelings for each other instead of it focusing on “Hey. We like each other but our parents got married. What do we do? Can we keep our desires for each other in check?”. Instead it is one newcomer after another who want to eat either Yuzu or Mei and Yuzu repeatedly asking herself if she really wants robo-stepsister patties? I will give the anime adaptation credit. The story was easier to enjoy animated than drawn. It also helped that I grew up in a telenovela loving family. The characters’ actions, reactions and emotions were depicted better in the anime. I still consider the show’s greatest accomplishment being the humanization of Mei-Tron. In the manga it took a post-epilogue continuation to show readers “Hey everyone. Mei-Tron was human all along.” whereas in the anime I sensed the small bit of humanity quicker than in the manga where I continued seeing her as a block of wood with a brain up to the point where I dropped it. Harumin though is the greatest regardless of anime or manga adaptation. Bless her. Regardless of how I feel about the series I get its massive popularity. After all, were the rest of the story to get an animated continuation I would gladly pick it up...Not the manga though.

3. Sakura Trick - 342 Votes

OG: There are fans who understandably would disagree with Sakura Trick’s praise but I will always defend it and the anime as one of the very best in the genre. First off it aired at a time where animated on-screen close up kisses (specifically consensual ones) between ladies were rare. Haruka X Yuu’s relationship was believable for the most part. Even their season finale resolution, them not getting what being “in love” meant at the time, made sense though I get why it left some scratching their heads. Probably not the best “manga lure/bait” end I suppose. On the bright side Kotone X Shizuku’s story definitely did not have the two doubting their true feelings for each other. I do hope Kaede X Yuzu eventually hooked up in the manga as they too had potential to be a lovely couple.

YuriMother: Sakura Trick has no real narrative, no great insight, and offers little intellectually. As a teacher, it makes me furious, as a fan of yuri, elated. The anime is beloved for its plentiful soft service, presenting a plethora of kisses, cuddles, and awkward thigh shots (ew). However, it was one of the first anime to include this much explicit yuri service without being pornographic. All the characters were cute and fun, even if there was little in the way of development or complexity, it worked for the series. If you want something to make you think or to learn about yuri, pass over this one. But, if you want a cute and meaningless anime definitely watch it.

4. Yuru Yuri - 337 Votes

YuriMother: OG may not be a fan of Yuru Yuri but I certainly am, which is fairly obvious to anyone who observes that a solid 20% of my communications occur in the form of gifs from this series. It is hilarious, cute, and playful. Just like Sakura Trick, this anime is an easy watch with ultimately little substance. However, the part of me that is not rolling of the floor laughing every time I watch Yuru Yuri lives in a state of pained existence with the knowledge that this work of all things ended up being so popular when people are telling interesting stories about queer women and people in actual relationship that manage to still be funny and adorable while having something to say.

OG: The undisputed most mainstream friendly yuri series there is. It is also one of the funniest. My one gripe is that excluding a select few the main draw of the show besides the comedy and yuri is the ship wars, meaning (almost any girl can be shipped with each other). Not a fan of that but hey, it brought Namori the big bucks so who am I to judge? In any case not much else to add. It deserves all the adulation it gets but the free for all shipping irks me. Reminds me of how they botched Chika X Riko in the Love Live! Sunshine!! Anime. If you were going down the Riko X Yohane route from the start then why give us Chika X Riko in the first half? Ship wars yo. Tch. Hopefully I properly explained myself..

5. Kase-san and Morning Glories (Asagao to Kase-san) - 289 Votes

OG: Still wish this got a 12-13 episode anime. The glorious movie showed how much it deserves one. Whether it will happen or not remains to be seen. In any case the beauty of Kase-san X Yamada is how simple their romance is. No strings attached whatsoever. It is as straightforward as a self-proclaimed “ordinary” cutie, Yamada, having a crush on the super cool school beauty Kase-san. Said beauty is revealed to be just as “adorkable” as Yamada. The other highlight is their story not ending once they officially started dating (as is the case with many romance stories) but that being only the beginning, like real life. From then on, side-stories aside, the two biggest challenges for the two is Yamada accepting that it is okay for someone as “ordinary” as her to be the “cool babe”s girlfriend and Kase-san finding different ways to express her love/hunger for the cutie. As for the OVA, cramming the second part of the first series in an hour definitely had the downside of excluding some important moments, yes, but it at least covered some of the best moments in the manga. The first half of the story was summarized in a five-minute music video. One last thing. The animation, though a bit too brought for some, was glorious. It also had some long pauses which were effective (The bus stop scene being the most infamous) but while I did not mind them at all even I will admit some pauses went a bit too long. A small nitpick all things considered. Fingers crossed one day we either get that 12-13 episode anime for the first series, the sequel or both. That is one of my dreams.

YuriMother: At last, an anime that I do not have to react cynically to! Kase-san is one of the single greatest works of yuri animation to ever to be created and its glory is rivaled only by the manga from which it originated. Despite being only a one hour long OVA this adaption told such an engaging and realistic (finally) story of romance and personal growth. We get to skip the meatless girl meets girls arcs and get into the depth and complexity as Yamada and Kase work to further their relationship. They struggle with the fact that they are two different people who want different things out of life and love and have to actually work on their partnership. Kase-san also includes signs of physical affection and love that are never lewd, immature, or gross, I do not even think I could refer to them as “service”. However, for me, Kase-san’s greatest victory (both the anime and manga) is in its escape from school romance, which in this genre is often a shelter from reality, allowing for women to be in relationships without actually being queer. Kase and Yamada instead make an effort to continue their romance and build a life that includes their relationship once they graduate in a triumphant final act. This anime is a slap in the face to the class S stories and sloppily sexualized works which proliferate the yuri genre. Asagao to Kase-san shines as a holy beacon for the greatness that this genre can achieve.

6. Puella Magi Madoka Magica - 286 Votes

YuriMother: Hurray!! For two entries in a row, I get to talk about series that I wholeheartedly adore without having to constantly attach caveats. Puella Magi Madoka Magica is not considered by all to be yuri, and that is certainly not what it is best known for. PMMM is however famous for twisting the tropes of the magical girl genre and creating one of the most cohesive and thoughtful narratives ever put to screen. This series summoned a new era for the magical girl genre (what OG humorously referred to as the “Moepocalypse”) but no other title managed to top Madoka Magica’s runaway success. Every aspect of this work is highly polished including character designs, a phenomenal soundtrack, and superb writing. This is not only the definitive work of its genre but of all postmodern anime. Whether or not one is a fan of yuri every anime fan should give Madoka Magica a watch.

OG: Meduka Meguca. Its impact in the “Moepocalypse” (Shows where cute and sexy girls consistently suffering physically and emotionally. These are usually dark magical girl shows.) genre and legacy are undeniable. It deserves all the praise it gets. It scarred many unfortunate souls, Homura is a legend in yuridom, Kyouko X Sayaka are glorious (Especially in Rebellion), Meduka’s Mom Junko is a Top Tier Sexy Mama, Charlotte the Witch is a very strange girlfriend and of course Hitomi is a walking anti-fun meme. The animation, especially the creepy doodle like monsters known as Witches are memorable. However, it is not my favorite Moepocalypse show. That honor goes to Yuki Yuna is a Hero.

7. Strawberry Panic - 224 Votes

OG: Like it or not Strawberry Panic is a yuri classic. I have a strong feeling that like many readers around my age (31 during this writing) this was their first 100% yuri anime. The cheese is real but it is the yummy kind of cheese and I loved almost every minute of it, except Amane X Hikari. That was the weakest of the love stories going on. Poor Yaya trying too hard (Not saying this in condescending way. She literally tried too hard). It is like a young adult lesbian novel but more fun. I mean Nagisa X Shizuma might as well be “Lesbian Twilight but not crappy”. Let us be honest, Shizuma is a vampire. Chikaru is an undisputed goddess and Kagome is the cutest.

Oh and I will repeat this statement till my last breath…

#TamaoWasRobbed.

YuriMother: I may be almost a decade younger than OG but even for me Strawberry Panic was my first yuri and it more than earns its nickname as the “gateway yuri,” although last year’s Citrus and Bloom Into You may be presenting serious contenders for this title. If for no other reason than nostalgia, Strawberry Panic remains my favorite yuri works but this ridiculous soap-opera of an anime does deserve a fair amount of recognition. I see Strawberry Panic as the culmination of the S subgenre revived by Maria Watches Over Us. However, this work succeeds at both parodying many of the tropes of S and yuri while breaking a few. However, its greatest accomplishment is introducing many of the young western fans of yuri to the genre. Strawberry Panic, you are an overly dramatic mess but thank you for all you have done.

8. Revolutionary Girl Utena - 176 Votes

YuriMother: Another gem of the yuri genre, actually scratch that, if works like Kase-san are gems then Utena is the minerals from which gems form. I think that is how it works, I am not a geologist. My poor analogies and subtle nods to Steven Universe aside, Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of the single most important works of yuri anime, possibly even more so than Sailor Moon. These two works were the dawn of the current age of yuri, an era spurn on by social progress and the internet into a place where more yuri works featuring honest depictions of homosexuality are flourishing. Utena laid the groundwork for queer representation in anime and for that I remain forever grateful to this masterpiece.

OG: I must confess. While I saw the movie long ago and thought it was cool I have yet to sit down and finish watching the main series. I cannot say much about this show other than it is another yuri classic. Possibly one of the biggest. I think I will leave this to Her Holiness because even if I had seen it I do not consider myself someone who possesses the sufficient intellect to properly explain why this is a legendary show.

9. Flip Flappers - 132 Votes

OG: I would need an essay to explain why this show is legendary. Let me see. It is a story of a girl who discovered her gayness thanks to her growing attraction to a lovable idiot/genki. There are references to Western media, dimension hopping (including Class S Hell), self-discovery, a sexual orientation journey, a tree, armored wedding gowns, crazy third wheels, Ku Klux Klan stand-ins…You know what? Just watch Flip Flappers. It is a hot mess of random, crazy, creative and thought provoking awesomeness with a wonderful dose of gayness. Glory be to PapiCoco. However, as Her Holiness mentioned this is essentially Ikuhara-san levels of weirdness (though not as complicated I feel) but as the plot thickens it all (sort of) starts making sense...eventually. That tree yo.

YuriMother: Flip Flappers was almost too strange and abstract even for me, and that is saying something. However, upon further examination, one of the most interesting works of yuri is revealed. This heavily stylized anime delves deep into the sexual maturation of its protagonist while examining the yuri genre and representation in media. Flip Flappers is the perfect marriage of heavy visual style and intellectual substance. Definitely give them one a.. err better make that three watches, as you will want to be sure to get everything out of this beautiful series as possible.

10. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid - 131 Votes

YuriMother: This series is the closest anime fans have to a lesbian couple having a family that we have, and that is a shame. I LOVE family narratives, outside of the yuri genre Usagi Drop is my favorite anime. To me, seeing women balance life, a relationship, and children is some of the best queer representation there is. However, for every point in Kobayashi’s favor, there is also a glaring fault. Kobayashi is a modern woman in the workforce providing for herself and her “family,” but is borderline abusive to Tohru. Kanna is an inquisitive child being raising by two women, but there are weirdly sexual scenes featuring her. As previously mentioned on this list, if one can silence the reasonable part of the brain this work becomes enjoyable, hilarious, and adorable. Unfortunately, its faults prevent it from being more than an amusement and I seriously doubt that they will fade in the second season. But hey, it sells a ton of figures so… YAY!

OG: This series is one of the closest yuri fans have to a series starring a lesbian couple with a daughter and it is wonderful. Is the tale of an eternally grateful dragon who wanted to repay the human who saved her life, albeit drunk, by becoming her live-in maid. Tohru being a dragon girl had incredible power and could easily crush everyone in sight but preferred to try and understand humanity so she could live in peace with the woman she loved. It of course was hard at times but thanks to Miss Kobayashi slowly growing to accept her back (romantically she had a ways to go) and the two raising the adorable bundle of mighty puff known as Kanna they became a happy family. How long this relationship will last and whether Miss Kobayashi would come to fully love Tohru back romantically remains to be seen. I have high hopes it can and will happen. Kanna X Riko is precious (Yes. Even that scene). We even have a potential BL couple, which is nice. Not a fan of Lucoa X Shouta the shota. Not because of the age gap but it not being my kind of romantic comedy. It is the same reason I have a hard time buying Tsubame X Misha from UzaMaid. Mya-Nee X Hana from Wataten...maybe. At least Mya-Nee showed she is patient. Back to Dragon Maid. Great series. Naughty of course but great.

11. Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana) - 119 Votes

OG: Megane girl falls for a cutie but has a hard time confessing to her to the point she gives a relationship with another girl a try. Said other girl has troubles of her own courtesy of her own views on what love. Do not get me started on the OTHER girl who likes megane’s girlfriend. I did not even mention megane girl’s first love interest who she herself eventually begins questioning her feelings for the glasses wearing maiden. While this is well known throughout the history of yuri anime Aoi Hana made it clearer than ever that Yuri + Classical Music go hand in hand. Plus the show is quite pretty. Ultimately enjoyment of this series depends heavily on viewers’ patience.

YuriMother: Aoi Hana was ahead of its time in many regards. Most yuri during the early twenty-first century was unrealistic and melodramatic, especially with the revival of S stories. Aoi Hana instead presents a calm and realistic story that we still rarely see in yuri anime today. Instead of relying on tricks like service or comedy Aoi Hana presents a serene and character-driven story which is matched by equally calming scenery. It is certainly not the most thrilling watch, but a slow and beautiful slice of real life that remains one of the all-time strongest yuri works.

12. Yurikuma Arashi - 99 Votes

YuriMother: Yurikuma Arashi is strange, to say the least, but this is not out of the ordinary for legendary director Ikuhara, who also directed Utena. Parallels are easily drawn between this work and Flip Flappers, as they are both complex and encoded with enough symbolism to drown a bear. Yurikuma is one of my favorite works in the yuri genre and I have had more than a few heated discussions about interpretations of the work, including one memorable occasion when I was visiting a college professor and we ended up in a shouting match in the middle of the hall. However, while Flip Flappers holds a high degree of polish the same can, unfortunately, not be said here. Yurikuma Arashi has more than a few scenes of fanservice many of which overly fetishize the characters and relationship and some of the symbols, particularly lily flowers and the word “yuri” are practically beaten to death with an object I refuse to come up with because I am starting to have my fill of symbolism. However, despite some of its sloppiness, Yurikuma is one of the single most interesting and well-formed anime out there and analyzing it is practically a right of passage for seasoned yuri fans.

OG: Yurikuma Arashi is my favorite of Ikuhara-san’s series. To me it was the least complicated of his works but even so I needed help to understand the show. Luckily I had plenty of assistance. The meat of the story is more complicated but put simply it is about a war between a group of bear girls (and some human girls) who want to freely express their love and/or desire/hunger for each other and another group that amounts to Right to Censor from WWF. Like I said it is far more complex than that but that is the gist. The anime is quite ecchi and it has good reason for it. Again the gay bears are the more liberated of the groups and them getting more sexy scenes is meant to showcase that. Our heroine has good reason to be grumpy and a divine entity was introduced alongside a certain someone from a certain dark anime we already discussed.

In the end it is a show starring lesbian bear girls. I love love stories between women and i love bears. It was obvious I would end up enjoying this one. Like other complex stories it is not for everyone. Shows like Flip Flappers, Utena and Yurikuma have something of a learning people will have to get accustomed to in order to enjoy them.

13. Whispered Words (Sasameki Koto) - 88 Votes

OG: To me Aoi Hana and Sasameki Koto were always connected despite the former being a drama and the latter a comedy. Both star a female protagonist struggling with how to best tell the girl she likes her true feelings whereas their love interest for one reason or another makes it all the more challenging to get their feelings across. Both shows aired during a time yuri was not as popular of a genre as it would become over time. Perhaps if they had come out a little later when yuri was becoming more popular in the mainstream they would have fared better…Then again they may have helped set the groundwork for future yuri shows so it’s just as well they came out when they did. In any case both good shows worthy of “best of yuri” lists. SK has the dynamic of the megane in love and her somewhat airheaded love interest who specifically likes “cute girls”. Poor megane has a hard time figuring out what the airhead defines as “cute”. The show also features an amusing side-couple of an ojou-sama and her tsundere girlfriend. Not to mention the somewhat controversial side-girl who plays a more prominent role in the 2nd half of the anime. Heck, even Mr Crossdresser himself is cool. Let us not forget Miss “Ha Ha Ha!” Another really good show that I would love to see the rest of the manga get animated someday but considering most anime are essentially manga commercials and the SK manga ended the odds of a 2nd season are close to 0.

YuriMother: 2009 was a great year for yuri anime, with both Sasameki Koto and Aoi Hana, among other works, airing. But while Aoi Hana sought to resist many of the common tropes of the genre and tell a simple grounded story Sasameki Koto appears to have looked a the list of every convention possible and say “yeah I can do that.” It has melodrama, comedy, one-sided love, friend love stories, I worship this genre but even I think there is a limit. However, Sasameki Koto is one of the most competent yuri anime works of the current era. While all the tropes are present most of the problematic aspects of the genre are not. The story is well written, characters enjoyable, and art that is really well done for the time. I enjoy every watch and if I ever want to quickly download the genre’s tropes into another person's head I need only duct tape them to a chair and throw on Sasameki Koto.

14. Riddle Story of Devil (Akuma no Riddle) - 77 Votes

YuriMother: Akuma no Riddle was highly anticipated back in 2014, sporting a premise of student assassins that, while certainly not unique, was outside the norms for the yuri genre. It promised a dark and thrilling take on the yuri genre that would not become popular until the yuri horror trend a few years later. At first, it looked like this would be successful with an excellent setup and some pretty compelling characters but ultimately Akuma no Riddle fell flat and became more derailed as it continued. The monster of the week style of episodes left little room for complex plots and plans or proper character development, which is a shame because of how engaging so many of the assassins were upon original presentation. However, this show still has some of the best action in the yuri genre, placing it alongside series like Cannan and Utena despite its flawed storytelling. If nothing else, the anime may compel one to read the manga, which expands the story and characters more than the show was given time to.

OG: Professional assassins secretly gathered at an academy in an attempt to take the life of a seemingly innocent cutie to win the ultimate prize, one of whom wishes to protect the adorable redhead. Yes the manga, which is pretty much a Director’s Cut, is better and the anime would have benefited from having 20+ episodes instead of 12 and a delightful beach OVA but the show did a good job of showing viewers what each assassin was like, their motivations (though many of their origin stories were summarized in written biographies during commercial breaks viewers needed to pause to read) were clear enough and the duels, as brief as some of them were, had enough spicy goodness in them to be memorable, especially the ones in the latter half of the show. Oh, and although the manga wrapped up after the anime it had a very similar ending.

15. Revue Starlight - 72 Votes

OG: Gay theater girls who strive to become the top star, meaning the best actress or lead actor of the cast. How do they do it? By working hard and overcoming their personal hardships? Yes. That. What makes this show so wonderful despite being almost a year old as of this writing is not only do the ladies all have interesting stories to tell but so does the stage. Every song, prop, movement, dance, gesture etc. It is like the performers and performances are united. It is like in Spongebob where not only does the person in the boots tell a story but the boots as well.

Oh yes. I almost forgot to mention the mysterious underground theater and talking giraffe. Never forget the talking giraffe from Hell. #Wakarimasu.

Super cool and super gay.

YuriMother: Bushiroad continuously gets better at what they do, creating media franchises of cute girls filled with music and making mountains of cash from smartphone games. Inspired by the likes of Love Live, they created BanG Dream and last year Revue Starlight. However, where these franchises fell short Revue Starlight success. It never twists its characters to tell a story but rather creates compelling arcs around them. I thoroughly enjoyed and agree with its place on this list.

16. Konohana Kitan - 68 Votes

YuriMother: I know of Konohana Kitan for its constant presence at yuri events more so than the anime or even the manga. It is adorable, relaxing, simple, and fun. While it does not add anything super substantial to the genre it does not take anything either or present any objectionable material. The “plot” is nonexistent but that does not matter, as it is not trying to tell a story or make commentary, just be fluffy and simple.

OG: Konohana Kitan to me is a Girls Club (Cute girls doing cute things) and iyashikei hybrid anime. It is visually stunning as it is relaxing with Yuzu pretty much one of the cutest demigoddesses in existence. She of course is a chick magnet but her heart will forever belong to Satsuki.

17. Destiny of the Shrine Maiden (Kannazuki no Miko) - 65 Votes

OG: The other stuff on the show is still not that great but ChiMeko will forever stand the test of time as far as I’m concerned. Top 10 for their love story alone. Yes. I know THAT ONE SCENE continues being controversial and talked about every time curious new yuri fans witness greatness…but I will forever defend Chikane because I get where she was coming from. Would I have done something different? Yes. The thing is you need to put yourself in her shoes and understand what she wanted to accomplish and how far she would go to get it done. Kotoha is best side-character and Souma Ogami is real man’s man who does not deserve the hate. He was an honorable warrior to the end. He fought well and accepted defeat like a man. Plus his yell is inspirational.

YuriMother: My feelings on Kannazuki no Miko are incredibly mixed. It has many of the worst facets of early current era yuri anime, tropes include S, rape and… am I reading this correctly, demon mechs? Worst of all it presents a cycle, a never-ending loop that haunts the characters in the overarching plot and it does not resolve it. If a work ever presents such an element, like Puella Magi did, it must be overcome or confronted at least. Its presence makes the already cringy story feels cheap and lazy. However, I love the two female leads and their difficult relationship. I love the music, especially the hauntingly beautiful ending theme, and the final moments of episode 11 are some of the greatest seconds I have ever seen in an anime. I cannot wrap my mind around my view of this series but at the end of the day, I understand it. I do not believe that work like it would ever be warmly accepted today but for its time it does stand as a breakout piece of yuri anime.

18. Princess Principal - 61 Votes

YuriMother: Princess Principal is one of the best anime of the past few years. It had everything, an interesting premise, great characters, an incredible soundtrack. Alongside all this is the sharp writing and thrilling story. Princess Principal did everything Akuma no Riddle wanted to with an intriguing and action-packed story featuring strong characters. On top of all this, the animation is top notch. A six-part movie sequel is planned which has me somewhat concerned, but I am glad to see that it is being continued as the ending to the series was one of its weakest aspects. Now if you will excuse me, I need to listen to some jazz.

OG: Cute and sexy gay spies in a dramatic British Steampunk setting. What more do readers need? Allow Her Holiness to elaborate a bit further. Currently waiting for the multi-part cinematic continuation.

19. Izetta: The Last Witch - 60 Votes

OG: I am known for loving shows people do not think as highly of. Izetta: The Last Witch is no different. I love this show so much. Besides how certain events transpired some complained about the depiction of WW2. Basically think about people ranting about storylines and content featured in certain Call of Duty and Battlefield games. Here however, it is clearly a fictional great war inspired by WW2. I was invested in the following:

-The cute and sexy ladies.

-Seeing two badass lesbians lead an army against an evil empire.

-FiZetta’s romance. This of course being the major highlight. I love FiZetta so much. My sexy lesbian babies and Anne X Grea’s mentors. They taught them everything they know after all.

It is similar to how I felt watching Kannazuki no Miko where my focus was primarily on the leading ladies’ developing romance. The difference is that unlike Kannazuki I was also somewhat entertained by our heroines’ enemies along with their allies. Basically viewers’ enjoyment of the show depends on how seriously they take their history and are willing to overlook the liberties this story takes with its depictions of the weapons, military and the familiar evil empire. FiZetta are one of my favorite lesbian couples of all time.

By the way, in that famous scene, yes they did. Viewers just have to squint their eyes to see “it”.

YuriMother: Another show that I consider to have squandered its potential. I know that lots of people enjoyed this one, including OG but I could not bring myself to finish this constantly mediocre series. Perhaps I am tired of alternative light-fantasy European-war inspired plots. Trying to stand out in this bloated genre is difficult and Izetta fails. Izetta started strong and hooked many viewers with its amazing visual and auditory polish but this was quickly lost in the plot which, while set up well, struggle to gain any ground of pay off what had been established. On the yuri side, it did not really do anything interesting or satisfying, with plenty of scenes feature the character’s standing next to each other looking cute and one or two moments of actual yuri. I am glad that some of you were able to enjoy this one more than me at least.

20. Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru) - 57 Votes

OG: Like Strawberry Panic this is a “Like it or not” classic. Despite being a Class S show it did its own thing and became a pioneer for . It’s also responsible for the many yuri jokes related to all-girl schools in anime.Shimako X Noriko best Grande and Petite Souer! Yumiko X Sachiko were great too as the two grew to better understand each other. Most memorable scene for me was the panda costume. Even Sei is a sleeper icon in all yuridom. Yoshino X Rei had a very interesting dynamic. I actually think they are the real pioneers of relationships between cousins. Thank you YoshiRei. HaruKana, Kaede X Sara and several others owe you two much appreciation.

YuriMother: Another great and significant series, Maria Watches Over Us, took the tropes of early yuri works, Catholic schools, a lack of men, piano scenes, and emotional relationship rather than physical ones and turned the dial up to 11. For better or worse, it single-handedly revived the Class S genre and was copied (and parodied) endlessly for over a decade. However much I complain about S I actually do not think that we would have the current age of yuri without its popularity and proliferation at the beginning of the century so I owe a big thank you to Maria Watches Over Us for that. Ignoring its historical importance and literary significance the anime still presents an engaging plot with wonderful characters and more butchered French than my last trip to Europe. It is certainly worth a watch and worthy of a place on this list.

What do you think should be on this list?:

YuriMother: As I previously said, this is a pretty perfect list. As far as missing titles I can think of the following.

Simoun - not the greatest in terms of plot or animation but it had cute service and a fun action-packed plot.

Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl - This series may be strange and present the dreaded love triangle but it did its best to tell a transgender narrative in 2006, naturally this involved aliens, and I applaud it for its attempts.

Cannan - This series is light on the yuri but heavy on the suspense, action, and amazing character designs. The terrorist plot is exciting and the final train fight featured in the series is one of the greatest action spectacles in anime that somehow manages to remain grounded.

OG:

-Harukana Receive: Best all-female sports anime ever made. Plus the gayness is not subtle at all.

-Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku: Eruna Ichinomiya is an underrated yuri icon. While not the first of her kind (That honor, I think, goes to Galaxy Fraulein Yuna) she set the standard of cool and inspirational badass lesbian protagonists who are proud of who they are and...also happen to be super perverts. Eruna made it cool to be such a protagonist. It is nice seeing a lesbian lead who does not care what anyone else thinks. She is hungry for cute girl booties. While she often loses her control in the presence of pure beauty she, as an inspiration for others like her, has enough self-control to not go overboard (most of the time).

-Symphogear: Symphogear is love, Symphogear is life. Hopefully Season 5 will keep up the good work.

-Rinne no Lagrange: My favorite mecha anime and the reason I embrace OT3s when the signs are there. Not the greatest but man was it fun. Plus Madoka Kyouno is still sexy.

-Yuki Yuna wa Yuusha de Aru: My favorite Moepocalypse anime of all time. Yuna X Togo taught me to love and trust some people outside my closest family again.

-Mouretsu Pirates: If someone were to ask me “Hey OG. What to you is the perfect anime?”. I would tell them Mouretsu/Bodacious Space Pirates.

-Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl. Thanks to the first fan commenting and reminding me of it. Definitely worthy of a spot. #HazumuWasAlwaysFemale

Final Thoughts:

OG: Pretty good list and close to what mine would look like were I to make one. Reason I have yet to do so is because I do not feel confident enough to pick a favorite yuri anime of all time. Favorite yuri manga and couples? That I can do, but anime always seems to give me a hard time choosing my absolute favorites. Like I said though, a potential yuri list of mine would look something like this. I also found it interesting how similar the Top 10 are among both our respective fanbases and visitors to the poll conducted by the Akiba Research Institute.

YuriMother: I may have done most the complaining and left the praise to OG but I actually and really happy with this list. I think that every title presented is a worthy addition and while I would certainly move some higher or lower than their current placing I do not believe that these are too far off from my own opinions, which is surprising for a popularity poll. More than anything I am thrilled to see that works I dislike that I thought to be popular did not make this list. Perhaps I should have more faith in people and their opinions. Everyone did such a wonderful job voting and I am so grateful!

Thank you so much everyone for reading and for voting in the top yuri anime poll. To see the full results of the poll and to support yuri news, reviews, and content, check out the YuriMother Patreon. Happy Pride Month

[imyourliquor-youremypoison]

Off Limits (Skam - Chris x OC) Part 19

Pairing: Chris x OC

Synopsis: Mara Magnusson has always had everything she ever wanted in her life, except for one thing. The boyish charm of her brother’s childhood friend had wrecked her poor heart and ruined her for any other guy – you can trust her, she has tried. She could see the way he looked at her, though she knew there were rules about not hitting on your best friend’s little sister. Luckily for her, there were no restrictions when it was the other way around.

Word count: 4.3k

A/N: I already apologize plenty of times because it took time to write this chapter, and I’m doing it once again: I’m sorry. I had a crazy busy last couple weeks and I really wanted it to be a quality chapter (which I’m not even sure I achieved in the end) but here you go anyway. It’s not the end. It’s the longest part so far with 4.3K words.

MASTERLIST

 Part 18 <<< >>> Part 20

           Chris wanted to ask her again if she meant what she told her brother, but the next day everything seemed to move in fast motion from the moment Mara woke up to that when they arrived at the apartment. Not one second of privacy presented itself and Chris was resigned to not get an answer anytime soon since he highly doubted William would leave Mara out of his sight until she was fully recovered.

“I feel great!” She assured them both when they gave her a suspicious look upon hearing her tell the nurse her headache was gone.

           So what you have to understand by 'until she was fully recovered' is 'until William decides she's fully recovered'. Chris kept his mouth shut and didn't voice his disagreement with William's way of handling the situation – he couldn't risk causing yet another fight with his best friend right after they reconciled.

           The moment Mara sat on the edge of her bed and stood up to go change in the bathroom, William extended his arms for her to lean on him in case she felt dizzy, and Chris repressed a snort when he saw the way she sighed and rolled her eyes at her brother's over protective behavior. She wasn't exactly a cry baby, Mara wasn't one to complain about anything unless it was extremely serious or it was happening to someone she cared about. If Chris gets a split lip it's the end of the world, but she could be coughing up blood and she would still crack a joke and claim everything was peachy. This made her simultaneously brave and unreliable when it came to self-care.

“I don't need you to get dressed,” she huffed and walked past William as though he was merely an annoying child trying to get her attention.

           She did look great - Chris had to give her that – but then again, he always thought she looked great. His state of utter awe of his girlfriend backfired since he didn't decipher the symptoms of her unwellness until it was too late. However, they both went through some tough times and getting up and going to school was the closest they got to being fine in weeks, therefore Chris wasn't being too strict with himself.

           Besides, he was still pumped by what he overheard the day before – it kept him awake most of the night – and he couldn't wait to finally have a moment of privacy with Mara to question her about it. Frankly, he couldn't picture Mara saying something like this lightly, which both thrilled him and scared him to fucking death. Somewhere, deep down, he knew that she meant it but he still needed to hear the words from her mouth.

           Somehow he thought he was – or became – better at reader her reactions than her very own brother. William disregarded her attempts at doing things by herself and carried her bag, opened the doors for her and even went as far as to fill in her the hospital papers for her – all of which annoyed her to no end. Not that she didn't enjoy the treatment, she merely disapproved the reason behind it.

“I hope you don't think your sudden change of behavior regarding Chris and I will make me forget how much of a douche you've been for the past weeks. Almost two weeks of giving me the cold shoulder won't go away with a little kindness, I demand an explanation and it better be a good one – with introduction, development and conclusion,” Mara warned William who fought back the urge to smile at that and accepted the challenge.

“It's not a joke man,” Chris told him when Mara was out of earshot. “She's pissed, you have no idea.”

           William wanted to object that he did have an idea, but even he knew that he couldn't be sure about it and therefore may be wrong. Mara was pissed, that was for sure. The question was: to what extend? She was pretty nice to him yesterday – mainly due to her attempt to sooth his worries and her concussion – but now that she was back in shape, who knew what she would make him endure to redeem himself?

“And you're not?” Will asked eventually, turning to his friend as he signed the papers to leave the hospital – he hated this place.

“Oh I am, believe me. But I'm not nearly as imaginative as her when it comes to finding original ways to punish you for being an ass and hiding stuff from us.” At that, William cocked a brow. “I mean- we did too, but it didn't have any consequences, at least, not like this.”

           At that, William looked down at his feet. Mara interrupted their conversation and told them to hurry up, gesturing them to walk faster – she probably hated this place even more than William. Since William came in the ambulance with Mara, the three of them drove back to the siblings' apartment in Chris' car, in an rather awkward silence, until finally they stepped inside and Mara began to blurt out hundreds of questions. Except that William didn't answer any of them until he decided she was safe and sound. Chris played a small role in the whole thing, though Mara still felt like they were being dramatic about the situation. The boys kept looking after her as though she were a poor, fragile little thing that needed to be handled gently and taken care of.

“Guys, would you please stop babysitting me? I'm perfectly fine! If you're just trying to postpone this conversation William, you'r-” Mara began but she was interrupted mid-sentence.

“You hear what the nurse said: you're too stressed. Why don't you just relax for today? We can't still talk about it tomorrow, I'm not going anywhere,” William said in this scolding brotherly tone that caused Mara to once again roll her eyes into the next dimension.

           Chris still didn't budge or say anything, but he shot him a surprised glance. Was he chickening out of this? It's not like it could be any worse at this point, Mara's opinion of her brother could only improve if he came clean – though she was most definitely going to smack him upside the head a few times and yell a bit before coming around.

“This is me being extremely relaxed Will, now if you want to see a not-so-chill version of me, you just keep up that attitude and we'll get there in no time.”

           His eyes darted toward Chris, begging for help but the latter simply raised his hands and said, “That's your mess to clean up!” He took place next to Mara on the couch and leaned his elbows on his knees before joining his hands, patiently waiting for William to start speaking.

           If they let Mara do, she would be pacing around the living room like a caged lion, but instead she was tucked in a blanket.

“Listen,” she started, first looking at Chris then shifting her gaze back to William. “I'm sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, surrounded by pillows. I couldn't even hurt myself if I tried and I'm feeling fine, you can't use my health as an excuse not to tell me. So now you sit down, and spill your guts before I lose my cool.”

           In a rather mechanical movement, William sat down on the couch facing Mara and Chris. They weren't touching in any way, they weren't looking at each other, yet he could sense how close they were – they moved according to each other, their body language spoke volumes right now. They were like two magnets and he felt dumb for never noticing before – unless it was new? There was no way to know now.

           Mara really wasn't as threatening as she would have liked to be at the moment, wrapped in her blanket like a burrito. Nevertheless, her fiery glare finished to convince William that Chris was right: she was beyond pissed, and he needed to talk – now. Chris was infinitely grateful not to be on the receiving end of Mara's death glare – for once. Her patience had clearly worn out somewhere between the first time she asked her brother to explain himself and the hundredth time.

“I don't even know where to start,” William eventually said, gulping down thickly.

“The beginning,” Mara said in a click of her tongue as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Then I should probably start with an apology. I owe you both one, especially to you Chris,” William said and turned to his friend. “When I told Mara that none of my friends were good enough for her, I didn't mean it in a malicious way, I only wanted to keep her from getting hurt but it was shitty nonetheless. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry-” he continued, turning to Mara again. “-for my reaction when you told me you were dating. I realize it was exaggerated but it came as such a shock, it was a serious blow to the trust I placed in you both. I'm not saying it was justified, I just want you to know why I reacted the way I did. I understand why you kept it from me, even if I don't like it. Again, I'm sorry.”

“Thank you,” Mara said with a nod, gracefully accepting the apology but not answering with the usual “it's okay”, because it wasn't.

“I didn't only come to this conclusion yesterday though. As soon as I realized you had sneaked out through your window and left with Chris I knew I had fucked up. Very badly.”

           Chris snorted and looked away. He leaned back against the couch and it drew Mara's attention to him. Whatever he wanted to say he must have swallowed back because he remained quiet and silently enjoined Will to resume.

“If you had taken your phone with you, I think this whole thing would have turned out differently, but since I had no way to contact you apart from directly going to Chris' place, I decided to give you time to calm down and the next morning, I had an idea. An idea which involved not speaking to either of you for a while,” William finished and waited for a reaction.

“That doesn't make sense,” Mara scoffed, bringing her curled fingers to her mouth in a thoughtful position. “What made you change you mind? Had an epiphany in your dreams?” She asked in a conceited tone.

“I didn't even sleep at all during that night. I was so mad, at you two yeah, but mostly at those bastards the Yakuza. It was all my fault, I knew it before you even told me. The bottle I smashed on of my the guys' head was the reason for my little sister and my best friend to get beaten up, it was unacceptable. They wanted me, and they kind of hit exactly where it hurt most: they attacked the two people I care most about to reach me.”

“Still doesn't explain anything,” Mara snapped at him, growing impatience.

           Chris' hand came to rest on her forearm and it seemed to be enough to make her simmer down a bit and stop being so harsh toward her brother. It was stupendous how they interacted. Mara quickly uncrossed her arms and laced her fingers with his before William continued his explaining, hardly managing to detach his eyes from their joined hands.

“I thought – and I know now it was a flawed strategy – that if they thought you weren't in y good graces anymore, then there wouldn't be any reason for them to hurt you again until I found a solution.”

“Now you're just stretching it out to create suspense,” Mara said, rolling her eyes. “Spit it out, Will. You told Chris, right? Then why can't you simply tell me. Be concise.”

“You asked for the whole story, stop being so impatient!” He protested.

           The two siblings smiled a little at that, as though they had missed their playful banter.

“I push you away because I wanted it to become public. I needed everyone to know – to think – that I turned my back on you. It was the quickest and easiest way I found to make sure you would be spared from whatever shit storm was coming. I planned a fight with the Yakuza to settle our issues once and for good, I was hoping they'd became over confident since they thought I was upset because I just lost my two best friends, I wanted to use it at our advantage. I know I was harsh on you, but I thought it was for the best, I couldn't have either of you involved in this, not after what happened at your date.”

“Your plan didn't even work and you ended up dragging Chris into a fight he wasn't ready for, was it worth letting us think you never wanted to have anything to do with us anymore?” Mara asked, biting her tongue to not say something she would regret. He was so fucking stupid, how could they even be related? A few weeks ago she never would have thought her brother capable of such a thoughtless decision. “You could have told us. We could have played along if that was what you wanted, but instead you made everything a mess!”

“I was still mad okay?!” Will snapped. “I wanted you safe, but I still felt betrayed and I didn't exactly feel obliged to share this with you after what I had just discovered about you two.”

“You were still mad, that you're excuse? Is that why you dragged Chris in the second fight? Because you were mad?” Mara almost spat out, squeezing tight on Chris' hand to help her calm down.

“I'm fine now, there's no need to discuss this fight anymore,” Chris tried to interject to make them both settle down a bit. “I forced his hand, I refused to give way and leave when he not so subtly told me to fuck off.”

“I was rude because I needed you to be pissed enough to leave,” Will sighed as though he had already explained this a thousand times and was tired of saying it. “But you and your obstinate mind got in the way of my plan. If I knew you were still hurt from last week I never would have carried it out, but you seemed fine until-” William paused and Mara finished for him.

“Until he wasn't.”

“Yeah. Until he wasn't. I told Elias to get you home and make sure you were okay, at least until Mara came back.”

“The harm was done I think,” Chris replied. “And he didn't stay, he just dropped me off and waited until I was inside to drive away.”

“I'm sorry for what happened, man,” Will apologized once more. “I knew something was wrong, especially when neither of you showed up at school the next day, but when I tried to call you to explain-”

           The rest of the sentence was left unsaid but they all knew what happened then. Mara and Chris dived their head in the sand and ignored William's persistent calls or texts, Mara even went as far as to punch him when he eventually gave up on trying to reach them on their phone and showed up on their doorstep.

“I was so worried but at least Noora had some good news to give me. Since when are you friends?” Will suddenly asked Mara.

           She shrugged and pouted.

“Not long,” she said. “She's nice, we hit it off at school.”

           A fond smile replaced William's stern expression at that.

“It was horrible to lie to her,” he told her. “But I knew she would react the same way as you and call me dumb before demanding I get my shit straight and talk to you, so I didn't tell her my plan. She was genuinely trying to make things better between us whenever she told me about how she saw you that day and you told her about Chris and you and she thought it was endearing. I had the hardest time keeping it together.”

“Good,” Chris and Mara said at the same time and smiled at each other.

“Why were you arguing with Chris yesterday? You just said you realized your mistake after the fight, then why argue again as soon as we come back to school?” Mara questioned, obviously determined not to leave any unanswered questions.

“That's my fault,” Chris said to her utmost surprise. He looked at their joined hands and only met her insistent stare after a few seconds. “William was trying to explain all of this to me, and I completely flipped and it escalated quickly. It's my fault if you-”

“-don't even say it,” she cut him off. “It was nobody's fault, it was a deadly combination of exhaustion and stress that led to this.”

           And certainly not Chris. He had stood by her no matter what during the last months, whether it be before or after William found out – could it be only ten days ago? - he put up with her shit and more, he loved her for it.

“William,” Mara then called his name and focused back on him. “You tell Noora the truth.”

“I will,” he promised, raising his right hand.

“And no more keeping things from us on the ground that it's for our own good,” she added.”It was fucking stupid.”

           At some point, she had crossed her arms again, as if she needed to physically manifest how mad she was through a defiant stance accompanied by a hard stare. William had seen her eyes shift to Chris several times throughout his explanation. It's not like she could help it, she wanted to see his reaction too – a little part of her was scared that Will's revelations might upset Chris and that they would be back to square one, all mad at each other. But he didn't budge. There was no reaction to gauge because he was expressionless. It was the same story William must have served him the day before after all, but he was still impressively impassible. Actually, it didn't even seem like he was listening to his friend, he eyes were trained either ahead of him or on Mara in this unsettling and intense manner.

“You're a goddamn cretin, William,” Mara declared. “There are so many different ways you could have handled this!”

“That's more or less what I told him yesterday,” Chris said, agreeing with her and chuckling faintly.

“I know I am,” William admitted. “I didn't mean any harm though, it- it all got out of my control real quick and I was in too deep to turn around. The fight happened and I knew I had to tell you everything but you wouldn't listen – understandably so-”

“You should have told us.” Chris shook his head. “Mara's right, we would have agreed to play along, we could have pretended to fight, but this- this,” he stammered and Mara came to his rescue when the words wouldn't come out anymore.

“This was a catastrophe! I'm never letting you make plans on your own again, and once you tell Noora I'm sure she'll agree with me,” Mara laughed bitterly.

“Listen, I know it was a complete failure. But believe me, I thought about other way to deal with this, and my conclusion was that I couldn't both be honest and keep you safe so I made a choice – a bad one, I get it now, but a conscious choice. It wasn't my most brilliant idea but if there was a chance of you not being involved in this whole thing, I had to take it. If I had told you what I had in mind, there would have been no way for me to keep Chris out of the second fight, you know it.”

           Mara brought her lips into a thin line and Chris guiltily stared at the floor.

“The priority was to make sure you were far away if things went downhill,” William concluded.

“It went downhill anyway,” Chris felt the need to point out. “I never thought I'd experience the expression 'beaten to a pulp'.”

“You're not helping bro,” William whined.

“I'm not supposed to help you man, I'm the one you're apologizing to too. Mara looks fine as hell, but I'm still wearing a flippin' black eye and a gash, I look like Scarface in the not cool sense of it.”

“I know, I know, I'm sorry,” William said yet again.

“Alright, alright, I think there's been plenty of apologizing today. All this woke up my damn headache,” Mara suddenly said. “But just so you know, we're far from even. I'll make you regret this for the rest of your life, big brother,” she warned William. “And from now on, I'm officially the decision maker of the Magnusson household.”

“I second that,” Chris laughed.

“That's not fair, you're biased!” Will complained. “Give me a break, it's the first time I fuck up this bad.”

“Last year you forgot to pay the water bill and it cut off while I was in the shower,” Mara said. “And once, you thought it would be cool to surprise mom with a kitten for her birthday, and then it turned out she was allerg-”

“Okay, I get it, you make decisions from now on,” he grumbled and leaned back in the couch.

“Oh wait a sec',” Chris said. “I never heard that shower story before, I want to know what happened next!”

“She mostly screamed at me until I went out to buy water bottles so she could rinse out,” William snickered at the memory. “It only happened once!” He argued when he saw Mara squint her eyes at him.

“Rest assured that from now on if I need anything while I'm in the shower, I'll call Chris.”

           She smirked as she told him that and while Chris' expression mirrored hers; William only made a face between utter disgust and fondness and stood up, pretending to be grossed out and leaving them alone for a little while so they could process all the information he dumped on them.

“That’s bit too much to take in all at once,” Mara said as soon as she was alone with Chris.

“Once you reach rock bottom you can only climb up,” Chris philosophized and smiled. “At least now we’re good with William.”

“He’s still a dick and I’ll get back to him,” she scoffed. “I’m tired, I think I’ll take a nap. You two should go back to class, it’s almost noon and you can’t keep this up or you’ll get expelled.”

“I’m not leav-“

“I’ll be fine, Chris. I’ll stay here and sleep, nothing’ll happen to me,” Mara promised. “We’ll see each other tomorrow at school.”

“I don’t care if I get kicked out, I’m not leaving your vicinity until I’m sure you’re fine,” Chris objected, his stance shifting to a more defensive one. “You can’t make me go.”

“I can’t, but he can,” Mara replied, pointing toward the far end of the room.

           Sure enough Chris’ eyes fell on William, standing cross legged and leaning against the wall, his backpack already swung over his shoulder in a casual manner.

“He can try,” Chris challenged William, leaning back in the couch and crossing his arms on his chest.

His brows flew up, as if he were waiting for Will to make a move and physically drag him away from his sister and out the door. Mara wanted to roll her eyes – she seemed to be doing that a lot more lately – when she saw Chris’ stance. He was sitting in this typically manly fashion, taking more room than necessary on the couch with his spread legs and looking pissed at William for siding with her.

“C’mon,” Mara said and stood up, offering her hand to Chris. “Don’t be a grump, now.”

“I’ll wait by the car,” William told them before exiting.

“It’s my car and you can walk, man, I’m not driving you!” Chris shouted after him, though he was already out of earshot.

           He tore his eyes from the closed door and focused back on Mara whose hands she placed against his chest, effectively making him calm down. But Chris simply frowned and looked down at her.

“Don’t give me that look,” he said. Mara’s doe eyes remained trained on him, knowing exactly what she was doing. “Mara-“ Chris continued with a warning tone, merely causing the small smile on her face to stretch a bit. “This is manipulation.”

“Is it working?” She asked, gently running her hands up his chest to his shoulders, pretending to be smoothing out the folds of his sweater.

           A sound between a groan and a sigh fell from his lips and he visibly relaxed under her touch. She tried not to give in to the triumphant smile that threatening to split her face in two. Her hands once again moved up to his neck before cupping his face in her palms.

“It’s weird to have you back here, the house’ll feel empty,” he blurted out, puzzling her. “I guess we’ll have to go back to not sharing a bed every night and living apart. It’s just weird,” he repeated, as if it was a fact he had trouble coming to terms with.

They had never planned on making it last anyway, but now that things slowly returned to what they used to be, they found themselves sad to part, no matter how short the separation.

“Getting all sappy on me?” Mara teased him.

“If you tell anyone I’ll deny it,” he dead panned. “How long is it acceptable to make William wait in the street?” He wondered out loud.

           The young Magnusson giggled and stood on her tiptoes to gently place her lips against his, finally enjoying the little moment of intimacy they were allowed today. She pulled back just long enough to say, “I think he can wait two more minutes.” Chris smirked against her skin and captured her lips again, eagerly returning the kiss, as though he had been starved of her for far too long a time and he was now determined to make up for it – even if it meant leaving William to wait in the cold.

A/N: If you haven’t guessed yet I’m trying to postpone finishing this story and I stretch the scenes to no end just to spend a little more time with my characters before telling them goodbye. Two more parts planned minimum, and this doesn’t include the epilogue. Bear with me. Love you all <3 (Also I haven’t proof read this, I feel the uncontrollable urge to post my chapters as soon as I finish them)

[mythicvelocity]

Mercy76 Week Day 3 “Family”

Hello! So for this day I have an original fic actually! I found some time in my busy life to write something new! I am IN LOVE with the idea of Soldier 76 being like a dad figure to D.Va, and that is what inspired me to write this fic. Anyways, enjoy!❤😀 

Oh, the good ol’ after mission mayhem. Mercy never missed the insanity that ensued after the arrival of the dropship after a certain dangerous operation or a mission gone wrong. If she wasn’t dealing with medical emergencies in the heat of battle and attempting to keep everyone alive on the front lines, she was waiting for everyone to return where she would play the role of doctor and hero after the fact.

At the present moment she was sitting enjoying some lemonade and a book on a balcony overlooking the sea, but she found herself looking at her watch frequently in anticipation. The dropship’s ETA was 15:30, and it was currently 15:00. She was always extremely antsy leading up to the arrival of the team who went out on the mission. They were her family, and she hated to see them sad, sick or injured. She was always doting on them even when they weren’t injured, and she had earned herself the title “Mama Mercy” because of her behavior. It didn’t help that her boyfriend was the commander of the group, and because of his father-like leadership, he was affectionately (and sarcastically) called “Dad”.

Dog-earing her book page, she decided to get up and make her way towards the hangar. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to see if she had received any texts from Jack. There were none. That could either be a great sign, or a bad one. Sighing, she stopped by the kitchen to deposit her glass in the dishwasher, and continued on her way to greet the returning agents.

She had waited a mere 5 minutes before the dropship arrived.

“They are early.” she thought to herself after checking her watch.

Again, this could be very good, or very bad.

The second the dropship touched the ground the door flew open and everyone who had been on the mission piled out. By the looks on their faces and the fact that everyone was huddled around what looked to be a makeshift stretcher, she knew something hadn’t gone right. She quickly made her way over to see who everyone was huddled around, and her heart dropped when she saw their bloodied and bruised form. It was Hana.

Something about the young Korean girl evoked a strong motherly instinct in her. Sure, she cared about everyone on the Overwatch team like they were her own family, but something about Hana awoke something inside her. Maybe it was because she was young, or maybe it was because she also knew what it was like to be raised on a war torn world full of destruction. Regardless of the reason, she felt like she saw the face of a child of her own on the stretcher in front of her.

The first thing to snap her out of her moment of shock was a strong hand placed on her shoulder. Pulled out of her trance, she turned around quickly to meet the blue eyes of someone she desperately needed the comfort of at the moment. She could tell by his expression he was just as worried as she was.

Like herself, Jack had taken a fatherly role in the young girl’s life. Just like she had watched him step up to be a fatherly figure to Lena and Fareeha, she saw him become a rock and a supporter to Hana. He always made sure she was well prepared before missions, and always helped her out with something she needed (sometimes even if it involved pranking someone). The infectious happiness and giggles that came from the gamer was good for him, and Angela was glad that the two had become close.

“She took quite the blow from an enemy explosive.” he said gruffly. Behind his serious facade Angela saw he was worried. She knew him better than anyone else.

“Hurry.” she said plainly, attempting not to let any emotion seep into her voice. “Let’s get her into the Med Bay as quickly as we can.”

As soon as she finished her thought, the group set off racing towards the Med Bay. Reinhardt helped Jack carry the stretcher while Mercy hurried ahead of them. While she was scared for Hana’s well being, she was also slightly angry. She new that what happened on a mission was most of the time unpredictable, but she found part of herself blaming others for Hana getting put in this condition. As she opened the door leading to the Med Bay, she tried her hardest to push her feelings out of the way. The worst thing to happen as a doctor is to let emotions affect your work.

As soon as Reinhardt and Jack set Hana’s small, limp form on the table, she began to get to work. After checking her vital signs (which looked surprisingly good other than a slightly elevated heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure, which is to be expected from someone with blood loss), she started assessing her wounds. By peeling off her battle worn jumpsuit, she discovered she had one, if not a few, broken ribs. The broken ribs had not punctured her lungs, which was fortunate. An X-ray would have to be conducted to reveal the extent of the damage to the bones, but for now, there were other things to worry about. Any other injuries she found littered across her body were just minor cuts, scrapes and bruises; nothing that would require more than cleaning and some antibacterial ointment. What concerned her the most was the bleeding coming from Hana’s head.

The blast from the explosion must have caused her to hit her head on something, because there was a large gash on the back of her head that was bleeding. The blast hadn’t totally crushed her skull, but could very well have fractured it. She would suffer from a concussion for sure. Mercy began cleaning the blood from her hair, and disinfected the wound. The gash looked like it would require a few stitches, so she began to get to work.

The whole time Angela was working on Hana, Jack was pacing the hallway outside the Med Bay. Hana was like a daughter to him, although he probably wouldn’t outwardly admit it to anyone. She was so young, so cheerful, and had so much more of a life ahead of her. He always felt guilty if she got injured, even if it was just a small cut, because he felt like he was supposed to look after her. This was the first time she had gotten injured more than just a scrape or a sprained ankle on a mission, and he felt like it was totally his fault.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he heard the door open to reveal a tired-looking doctor. He quickly made his way into the room to see Hana’s condition. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw her blood free, laying on a bed, chest slowly rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern.

“She’s lucky it didn’t turn out any worse.” he heard Angela say from behind him. “All the cuts and bruises on the outside made it look much worse than it actually was.”

“What’s the real damage?” he asked.

“Well, she has two broken ribs. Luckily both of them are nothing more than bad fractures that won’t need surgery to heal correctly. Her head took most of the damage. She has nine stitches in her head to close up the cut that was bleeding and she definitely has a concussion. She is lucky her skull didn’t fracture as well. Besides not being able to play video games for a few weeks because of the concussion, she will definitely be ok. She’s tough and young. She’ll bounce back in no time. She should be awake soon”

The tone of her voice was filled with alleviation, and Jack knew she had been just as worried as he had been. He let out another sigh of relief. She was going to be ok. Not happy, because not being able to play Starcraft makes for a grouchy D.Va, but she was going to be alright. Turning around, he wrapped the small frame of his girlfriend into a hug. He could tell she was surprised at first, but she quickly melted into her embrace.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep her out of harm’s way Angel. I really try to keep my eye on her at all times, but it’s not always easy. She has a mind of her own and you know how Hana get’s when she sets her mind to something. I always try to return her in one piece but this time I didn’t. I know you care about her a lot and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to keep her safe.”

Angela just shook her head and rubbed her hand along his toned back. “It’s alright Jack. I know it’s not easy because you really care about her too, but we all know the risks when we load up onto that dropship. Both of you know the risks involved in fighting for what’s right and you do it anyway. Things like this happen, and even though it’s hard to witness, especially when it is someone who you love like your own child, it is a price that sometimes has to be paid to do what is right.”

Jack smiled and kissed the crown of her head, smiling into her platinum blonde hair. “I don’t know how I’d do it without you Ang. It takes so much out of me keeping tabs on these crazy kids.”

Angela just laughed brightly and brushed her fingertips against his jawline. “Oh don’t give me all the credit. Sure I keep them alive, but you have to get them to do what they are supposed to do. It’s like herding cats!”

The both of them shared a laugh before Jack leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. She smiled into the kiss, happy she shared her life with such an amazing man and incredible groups of “kids”. The loving moment between the two didn’t last long before a high pitched voice killed it.

“Ewwww!” Hana said from her spot on her bed. “Get a room you two!”

The couple couldn’t help but laugh. After being blasted by an explosive and hitting her head, Hana was still her same joking self. “How are you feeling honey?” Angela asked. “You suffered some pretty serious trauma to your head, how is it feeling.”

Hana proceeded to tell her that her head hurt, and she gave her some painkillers to help. She then asked her some questions about where she was, what happened, what day it was and who she was to gauge the severity of her concussion. Luckily she answered all the questions correctly. After telling her what she would have to do to allow her brain to heal (and dealing with the tantrum that ensued after telling her no video games for two weeks minimum), she stepped back and allowed her her to nap. “We are going to get something to eat real quick. We will be back in a little bit.” Angela said, referring to her and Jack, who was still with her. Both of them were hungry and exhausted.

Hana just nodded. Taking off her lab coat and draping it over the chair at her desk, she grabbed Jack’s hand and made her way to the door. Before she reached the door, Hana called out, “Hey! I’m thirsty!”

Angela could see the corners of her boyfriend’s mouth twitch into a smile, and she rolled her eyes. She could see this coming from a mile away.

“Hi Thirsty,” he said, “I’m dad.”

The look on Hana’s face was priceless. Angela laughed and shook her head. “I will go get you a bottle of water.” she smiled, barely able to speak through her laughter.

“Thanks mom! Looks like you are good for something other than bad jokes like Mr. Blondie over here.” she rolled her eyes, gesturing at Jack, who still had a satisfied grin on his face.

Giggling again, she made her way down to the kitchen with Jack, beaming. Her little family was going to be ok.

[vikachuuniverse]

My last adventure was Iceland.  I found a cheap ticket from Paris to Reykjavik, and another cheap(ish) ticket from Reykjavik to Phoenix.  It cost me about $600 for both, which was a pretty good deal.  I booked them on a whim halfway through studying abroad, and I must admit I was a bit nervous about the whole thing.  All my plans for getting home revolved around spending the holidays with my girlfriend, and if we broke up I’d not only be sad to lose her but I’d be stranded in Europe.  My money was nearly gone, and I certainly wouldn’t be able to absorb the financial hit of re-booking a whole other flight back to the US.

Luckily, everything went according to plan, and on the morning of January 6th I was on the train to the Charles de Gaulle airport.  My flight to Reykjavik (which means “Smoky Bay” in Icelandic) was about three hours and went smoothly.  I was a little worried about my wardrobe mostly because I didn’t have my snow boots with me, and before I even got on the plane I slipped in a puddle of water in the airport bathroom and wiped out.  If I was going to be that clumsy in non-icy conditions, I could only imagine the trouble I’d encounter in a country that literally has “ice” in its name.

That morning I struggled to get all my luggage (which was so heavy I was afraid they’d charge me for an over-sized bag) on and off the train by myself.  You had to leave the bags in a designated luggage area before you took your seat, and I wasn’t even worried about it being stolen.  If I could barely lift it, I doubted a thief would be determined enough to steal it.  It made me nervous that the train only stopped for a few minutes at each platform.  What if the doors started to close before I could drag my stuff out of the car?  I was thankful that I only had one big suitcase.  Between that, my backpack, my carry on, and two big plastic shopping bags full of souvenirs, I had more than I could handle.

The plastic shopping bags worried me as well, because what if the flight attendants counted that as carry on baggage and told me I had too much to take on the plane?  Never in my life had I seen anyone get denied their right to board on account of too much luggage.  Sometimes it would’ve made sense for passengers to get pulled aside and informed that no, three carry on bags per person is not allowed.  Even in these instances, all of the people I’d witnessed who were obviously bringing too much with them only got side-eyed by displeased airline personnel as they wrestled with their luggage.

This time it was the same, and I boarded my plane with (relative) ease.  In three hours we were touching down on a tarmac only a few minutes away from beautiful exotic-looking black sand beaches.  I’d never seen anything like it.  I couldn’t wait to explore the next day.

The express buses from the airport to Reykjavik were the most expensive airport transportation I’d taken thus far (excluding the cab I took in Venice, Italy of course).  It was nearly $40 for a round trip.  Actually, everything in Iceland was ridiculously expensive.  I ate at Subway for lunch one day, and a 6-inch spicy Italian sub with a bottle of water cost me almost $15.

I guess technically, it was a bottle of flavored fizzy water, but you get my point.  I asked for a bottle of water and that’s what the cashier handed me.  You’re encouraged not to pay for water in Iceland because its just as pure straight out of the tap, but I mostly just bought it for the container.  Oh, fun fact: the hot water smells like sulfur.  After I took a shower my hair smelled really funky.

By some incredible stroke of luck, my Airbnb happened to be right across the street from the Grayline bus station.  I hauled my giant suitcase through a veritable snowstorm before arriving at the correct apartment building.  I texted my host and tried to cool off.  It was freezing and snowing but the amount of effort it took to move my stuff made my coat into a suffocating furnace.

“Hey!”

I looked around, confused.

“Up here!  Come up!”

A woman was leaning out the window of the fourth floor.

“It’s open, come in!”

My heart sank as I opened the door and looked at the stairs.  One by one, I took my suitcase, my carry on, and my shopping bags up each flight.  By the time I got to the top, my arms felt like they’d been ripped out of their sockets.

The host was very nice and welcoming.  I especially appreciated it when she gave me three bus tickets that had been left behind by previous travelers.  I was worried that I’d have to buy a whole book of them for another $40 because online I couldn’t find a single ride option.

Her cat, Lolli, was friendly and always wanted to cuddle.  I shared the bed with him one night, and he made it so warm that I had a hard time falling asleep!  My room in Iceland was warmer than my room in Spain.  Go figure.

I booked two tours of the island during the two full days I was there.  I wasn’t about to try to rent a car in the treacherous winter weather, and definitely not while I was by myself.  I did both through Arctic Adventures, and both were by bus.  I wanted to see as much as possible while spending as little as possible, so I selected a Golden Circle express afternoon tour and an all-day tour of several waterfalls and a black sand beach.

For the first tour, I had a guide who was born and raised in Iceland.  He was an upbeat, self-proclaimed “Viking” whose name I can’t remember.  Apparently he had the same name as Game of Thrones character, and in English it translated to “hairy pants.”  The weather was bad, and as soon as we passed the city limits of Reykjavik the world turned pure white.  Visibility was terrible, but the guide said that he was more than accustomed to driving in such weather.

Right after he gave a long lecture about the dangers of driving through snowstorms if you didn���t have much experience with snow, we passed a van that was on its side in a snow bank.  We stopped and someone kicked open the back door of the van and crawled out to talk to our guide.  Thankfully, everyone involved in the wreck was all right and a tow truck was on its way.  Shortly after that encounter, we passed a billboard with two mangled cars on top.  It displayed a count of the number of people killed in car accidents that year.  With it being only January 7th, the count was currently at one.  I shivered thinking about how the count could’ve jumped up a few more if those people in the van weren’t so fortunate.

That day we visited the site of the oldest Parliament in Europe, the partially frozen waterfall Gulfoss, and the geyser Geysir.  Not surprisingly, the English word “geyser” is derived from Geysir.

I decided to save $12 on renting hiking boots and take the risk of wearing my Nike’s again.  That morning, I walked all the way from my Airbnb to the bus pickup location in downtown Reykjavik, which took over an hour.  It was icy and the roads were full of puddles that soaked through the shoes and three pairs of socks I’d put on for good measure.  Still, I was able to make it all the way there without slipping.  The Nike’s were fine once I got into the heart of downtown; they must have had heated sidewalks or some sort of maintenance, because the difference between downtown and the area around my Airbnb was like night and day.

Here are some photos from my trek downtown:

“The best way is to follow your heart”

If you look closely, you can see the bay at the end of the street, and then a mountain on the other side of the bay,

A mural found in down town Reykjavik.

Only when I’d made it to the bus and we started picking everyone else up did I realize that there was a pickup point located at the Grayline station right next to my Airbnb.

I didn’t use a bus ticket because I had booked two tours, and both of the pickup points were at the same place downtown.  I figured that I’d have to walk once, and when I did it might as well be during the day.  Thank goodness I did, because at night there was no chance of me getting to downtown without a few nasty bruises and possibly a concussion.

This was what a bus ticket looked like.  It was so small; if I had to use them often I’d be sure to lose them.

Anyways, I was wearing my Nike’s on the tour, and despite the ice and bone-chilling high winds, I shuffled through with no issues.  The Parliament site had some pretty views, but the wind made it hard to walk without getting pushed around.  It really did feel like someone was shoving you with a moderate amount of force.

Even underneath my hat, my hair was going crazy.

A gorge next to the Parliament site.

To me, Gullfoss was more exciting.  Unfortunately the path to get closer to the waterfall had been roped off due to icy conditions, but the view I had was breathtaking nonetheless.  I’d never seen so many shades of white and blue in my life.  The light was already fading (the sun started to rise around 10:30 am and by 4 pm) and it made everything seem like a landscape in a fantasy world.  I half expected an ice dragon to crawl out of the misty waters.

The blue was as brilliant in person as it is in this photo.

This picture shows how dark it was at 10:20 am.

By the time we got to Geysir, it was almost dark.  Everything smelled of sulfur and each pool of crystal clear water burbled quietly in the twilight.  Only one geyser was actually erupting, and did so quite frequently.  We were warned not to touch the water because it was extremely hot.  I thought that was kind of self explanatory, and I wondered how many tourists got nasty burns because they thought it’d be a good idea to warm up their hands.

The darker it got, the worse my photos were.

On the way to Geysir, we got to meet some Icelandic horses.  Don’t call them ponies; the locals will be offended.

On our way back to town, our guide told us that there was a rigorous process for civilians to buy and own firearms in Iceland.  Even the police don’t carry guns while on duty.  After the terrorist attack in Manchester, the police started carrying guns and the public outcry was so intense that this security measure was abandoned.  The only places that have armed security, said the guide, is the American embassy and maybe the Chinese embassy.

The number of gun deaths in Icelandic history?  One.  Just some food for thought.

The next day, I splurged on a hiking boot rental for my all-day tour.  At 7 am sharp, I left the Airbnb and trudged through slush over to the (way more convenient) Grayline pickup point.  This time, my guide was a Greek man who split his time between Italy and Iceland.

I was mostly excited about visiting a black sand beach on this tour, and I wasn’t disappointed.  After dropping off some tourists who’d purchased the glacier hiking package, we drove to the beach.  When we arrived the sun had not yet risen, so we mingled around the shore in the soft dawn light.  The waves seemed to push thick ribbons of sea foam onto the sand rather than water, and I marveled at how if you touched the foam, your hand came out soaking wet as if you’d just plunged it into the sea.  Which, I guess you had, but the foam was just so light and airy that it surprised me every time.

This picture really shows the foam.

Our guide warned us to be careful and to avoid venturing past a rocky cliff because the waves were wild and unpredictable today.  He told the story of how one day, a girl who was sitting in the parking lot got hit by a massive wave, and the parking lot’s a whole five minute walk from the shore.  Past that cliff there were huge rocks that made the beach a lot smaller, and therefore you had a bigger chance of getting swept up by a rogue wave.  Apparently people die on that beach every year.

I was keeping an eye on the waves during this picture.

Sure enough, one man on our tour got a little too close to the ocean while taking pictures, and when a particularly large wave rushed onto the sand he turned to run away and tripped, getting drenched in the process.  He wasn’t hurt except for his pride, maybe, and his camera didn’t do so well either.  Soaked and sullen, he didn’t get out of the warm bus for the rest of the stops we made that day.

We visited a small town that didn’t have much to offer save for a church on a hill and a restaurant, we returned to the glacier to pick up the rest of our group, and we hit two waterfalls on the way back.  They both had names I’ll probably never be able to pronounce.  Each were partially frozen and one you could walk right up to the pool of water at the base.  If you’d wanted to, you could’ve gone swimming.  Several people almost did as they scooted out on the ice to get a good picture.  I hiked up to the top of one waterfall and my phone shut down as I was taking a photo because it was so cold.

The small town

The beach by the small town

Skógafoss

Skógafoss

Skógafoss

Top of Skógafoss

Seljalandsfoss

Seljalandsfoss

The water was so clear

Surprisingly, the cold didn’t really bother me while I was in Iceland.  I wore a lot of socks and a lot of layers along with a hat and scarf and I did just fine.  The bus I was in was warm, and the stops we made were never more than an hour long.  Usually by the time I was back in the bus my hands were starting to go numb, but it didn’t bother me too much.  My hands are always cold anyways.

I didn’t do a northern lights tour.  I really wanted to, but it was cloudy and stormy for the few nights that I was there and I figured it wouldn’t be worth it.  I’d hoped that I’d see the lights while exploring the downtown area at night, or maybe even from my bedroom window, but I had no such luck.

I lived off of instant noodles and Belvita biscuits while I was there.  The food was so expensive that I just couldn’t bring myself to buy anything.  For dinner one night I scarfed down two Icelandic hot dogs from the famous Baejarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog stand for $5 each.  They were by far the cheapest food I’d seen, and they were amazing.  As I ordered, I noticed a photo of Bill Clinton (I think that’s who it was, but now that I think about it, it could’ve been George Bush) holding a hot dog.

Photo from downtown Reykjavik

Photo from downtown Reykjavik

Photo from downtown Reykjavik

My time in Iceland was great, and I headed to the airport really early on the day of my departure to the US.  My flight was supposed to leave around 4, but almost as soon as I arrived at the airport I got an email that said my flight would be delayed two hours.  This was irritating but fine, except I now I had less than an hour to catch my flight.  I sat down, worried, and got yet another email delaying my flight even more.  There was no way I’d be able to make my connecting flight to Phoenix.

I went to the customer support desk and argued with them for a while.  The woman insisted that I would be able to make my flight and it took me a minute to make her understand that no, I would arrive well after my connecting flight was supposed to be in the air.

I was switched to a later connecting flight that gave me about one hour to get to my gate.

The wait at the airport was excruciating.  My flight was delayed by two hours and 55 minutes, just five minutes short of getting a free meal ticket.  European flights, if delayed by three hours or more, are required by law to give passengers free meals.  I was tired and hungry and anxious.  I had someone who would be waiting for me at the airport, so if I didn’t get there on time they would be left stranded.

Finally, we were called to board.  We were already late.  Slowly, we scanned our passes and were forced to wait in a hallway.  Then we were slowly loaded into buses that sat on the tarmac in front of the plane for who knows how long before they finally allowed us to get on the plane.  We sat in our seats for an hour before the doors even closed.  I spent the whole flight sobbing because I knew that I had no chance of making my connecting flight.  Concerned flight attendants kept kneeling beside me to ask what was wrong, but I’m pretty sure they were more concerned that I was scared of planes than anything else.

During the long flight, I didn’t sleep at all.  My anxiety kept me awake as I tracked our flight through the air.  We managed to make up some time, and when we landed in Seattle I’d accumulated an hour gap between the landing and my next flight.  After consulting with the flight attendants, they simply gave me the decidedly not-helpful advice of, “Run, and see what happens.”

And so I did, I ran.  I ran through the passport checkpoint, I ran through customs (which was an absolute joke) after waiting 15 minutes to reclaim my bag, and I ran to the airport metro.

I was doomed from the start.

Seattle is a huge airport, and even though the flight attendants assured me that I wouldn’t have to go through airport security again, that’s exactly what I had to do.  I couldn’t afford the 20 minutes it took to wait in line, kick off my shoes, and hastily dump everything out of my bag.  When I arrived at my gate, I was disappointed but not surprised to see “gate closed” on the monitor.

It was 9 pm but to me it felt like 5 am, I was jet-lagged, exhausted, and starving.  When I saw “gate closed,” I knew that I’d have no choice but to stay in the airport overnight.

I dramatically collapsed on the ground in front of my gate, inches from a seat but too lazy to make the extra effort to sit in one.  Sobbing loudly, I hunched over my carry on and took off my glasses.  I’m sure everyone heard, but no one cared except for this sweet Middle Eastern lady in a hijab.

“Are you okay?  Hey!  Are you all right, dear?”

I looked up with red, puffy eyes and sniffled.

“What happened?  You miss your flight?”  She sat next to me and patted me on the back.  “Everyone is so mean in this country, they are all so cold!  They all walk by but they don’t say anything to someone who cries.”

I hiccuped a bit and she directed me over to the front desk for my airline.  I was grateful for her kindness, but nothing could really make me feel better.  The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck in an airport over night.

The women at the front desk were irritating as could be, but I was too drained to say much to them.  I simply shoved my ticket and passport over to them and mumbled something about Phoenix.  They talked among themselves in stage whispers so loud it was almost comical.

“How old is she?  If she’s a minor…”

“She’s… 20, so no…”

“Isn’t there another flight to Phoenix?  Sometimes they do a late one…”

“Next one is at 6 am…”

“Too early to put her up in a hotel…”

I wondered to myself how a 6 am flight was too early to put me up in a hotel when it wasn’t even 10 pm yet, but I didn’t have the energy to argue.

After breaking out of their huddle, one asked me if I was hungry.

“Yes…” I said in a pitiful, congested voice.

“Do you have money to buy something to eat?

I shook my head.

“Come on, Rhonda, give at least give her a meal ticket or something!”

Rhonda was a tiny woman who looked like she’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

“A meal ticket?  There’s nothing open at this time of night, it’s not worth it to give her a meal ticket.”

“Oh come on,” said the other lady, who I now consider my guardian angel along with the Middle Eastern lady.  “Let me do it.”

I was sent on my way with another boarding pass for a 6 am flight to Phoenix, a meal ticket, and a snack ticket.  After having a chicken walnut salad from one of the few places that were open I felt considerably better.  At least, I felt better until I tried to find my way back to my gate and ended up in baggage claim, which forced me to go through security for a third time that day.  At long last, I was at my gate and I tried to sleep with no success.  The airport was freezing and what sounded like a fire alarm went off for a whole hour.  I stayed in my seat, eye squeezed shut, and decided that if I was going to die in a fire that night, so be it.

My friend was forced to get a hotel for the night since I obviously wasn’t going to be able to meet her at the airport.

Finally, finally, 5:30 rolled around and I boarded my last flight.  (Well, last flight for a few months.)

In three hours, I was back in Phoenix, and that concluded my study abroad experience.

Thanks for reading,

V

Iceland My last adventure was Iceland.  I found a cheap ticket from Paris to Reykjavik, and another cheap(ish) ticket from Reykjavik to Phoenix. 

[bookwalmartav]

#like. imagine you're a sophomore/junior and you kinda mess with this little freshman for a laugh before a test#since they're a freshman and from a fancy school and you're seventeen so of course you do#and then less than a year later#you almost get murdered by a guy that aforementioned freshman defeated BEFORE you ever met or messed with him#and the kid shows back up#saves your life#and carries your extremely concussed self back to your girlfriend#what a day

I am also thinking about when Izuku saved Shindo and carried him around. That was so funny.