#and i feel like in other situations there would definitely be a moment when chiyo hesitates and doubts herself

[quietlyblooms]

a possessive kiss that is meant to stake a claim .

kiss & tell | oooh @ofurizen wants chiyo soooo bad ≖‿≖

" 'm sorry i didn't listen. "

the words are tired and spoken between rasped breaths as chiyo holsters her pistols. her arms and legs feel like jello -- a side effect of nearly meeting her end at the gruesome hands of a hulking demon. but there isn't a drop of concern for herself in the pools of brown gazing at v. it's all for him. she'd watched as the creature trampled over shadow, barreling towards the man with such ferocity, and as griffon snatched v out of harm's way, chiyo fired without a second thought. her onslaught drew the demon's attention to her, as she wished, but she didn't have an avian companion to save her from being squashed.

she didn't need one. a well-placed bullet ( read: lucky shot ) sent the demon tumbling to the ground, giving nightmare enough time to manifest and v to finish the job. and thank god.

as v's hair turns from white to black again, chiyo worries she's made him angry. at the very least, she expects to be reprimanded after her reckless display. she's only human. a fragile thing like her shouldn't take risks that aren't in her favor, particularly when she was told to stay back.

green eyes finally meet her own, and chiyo shifts uncomfortably beneath the intensity of v's stare. the need to justify her actions rises in her chest, forces words out that aren't as careful as they typically might be. she cares too deeply to hide it very well anymore. " but that thing wasn't gonna give you a break. i couldn't just stand there. what if you got hurt? " the distance between them is rapidly closing with v's long strides. like she always has, chiyo stands her ground and does not move, brow furrowing and mouth twisting into a frown.

but it is not an argument that v wants. he enters her space not to intimidate her but to pull her closer, eliciting a gasp as his gloved hand grasps her jaw and arm wraps around her. he wants her. the realization winds chiyo, steals the breath from her lungs seconds before v has the chance to, and it's almost embarrassing how easily she melts and molds into his touch then, how readily she stands on her tiptoes so that he doesn't have to bend down quite so far. if he wants her, he'll have her.

his kiss is a hungry, greedy thing, and chiyo is nothing but willing to feed it. he need not tilt her head for a better angle because she does it for him, presses closer without the encouragement of a tighter embrace, though she does relish in it. he need not be insistent for she wants him, too; he must understand that when she is so eager to surrender to his touch. take what you want, her body sighs. one hand slides up tattooed skin to rest delicately at the base of v's throat while the other tangles itself in dark strands and doesn't let go. her mind grows fuzzy, unable to think clearly even as their lips part for air, and chiyo meets v's gaze with half-lidded eyes. she feels the rise and fall of his chest, wonders if his heart beats as fast as hers does.

yours. all yours, her eyes seem to say as she takes hold of the hand that held her jaw and turns her head to press a kiss to his thumb, tilt her face into his palm. a smile tugs at her mouth, bashful and teasing all at once.

" maybe i'm not so sorry. "

[oatmealcrisp-freak]

wild take honestly speaking as far as the girls go in the show 

I think Chiyo is actually the best match for Kusuo.

Among the girls she’s the one most interested in romance. She fantasizes about RAISING a family with Kaidou, not about making one with him. Mikoto’s and Imu’s interest in intimate relations (shown by Mikoto’s, well, being Mikoto and Imu’s imagining Kokomi naked imo) repulse Kusuo. And I’ve already said why I think Kokomi and Kusuo are incompatible.

Kusuo has also been shown to ship his friends and help out specifically in Chiyo’s romantic pursuits. He also gets highly invested in romance to the point that he spoils a series of thrillers for himself just to follow the trials and tribulations of the couple who’d read it before him. And of course so is Chiyo, this is well known.

The only big difference is that Kusuo prefers not to be involved in romance himself whereas Chiyo very ardently wants to be involved in it. Kusuo’s, I think (as is known) is due to his trauma and his powers - a relationship involves too much vulnerability and intimacy and he’s shown to be soft toward letting the secret slip if he allows himself to acknowledge people are friends such as with Touma and the entire friend group. 

Likewise Chiyo’s imagine spots with Kusuo are severely ooc but they’re always VERY corny-romance, never corny-sexy. They involve Kusuo complimenting her and looking cute and holding hands. She craves attention and flattery and affection. However she’s also probably the character who gets the least amount of screen time but experiences the most amount of growth. She’s the only one to actually confess her feelings to anyone by the end of the series and when she does get together with Kaidou, it becomes a learning opportunity for her instead of a negative character arc. I think the moment that she comes to understand someone's love language, if its compatible with hers, she’d be over the moon at any little gesture.

Gestures of caring are something Kusuo often performs unthinkingly. See how many times he saves his friends or gets rallied into stuff he’s not interested in or ends up compromising because he cares. 

I really think Chiyo and Kusuo are both asexual, key difference is Kusuo is sex-repulsed and Chiyo is sex-favourable (I think this is likely given her crush on Kaidou starts the second he blushes when he sees her in her swimsuit - again, she likes positive attention). I think if they had some realizations about themselves, each other, and were put into a situation where anything might develop (and where Kusuo wasn’t feeling hunted), something pretty comfortable and long lasting might actually develop there.

And honestly speaking, Chiyo’s fascination with romance and dating and her try-hard efforts, while definitely in part genuine, may also be part of her compensating for a lack of sexual attraction. I know when I was young and in denial (hell I was in denial last year still LOL) I compensated in some pretty wild ways that I see in her too. So I’m inclined to think her desperation may very well be part of that. Chiyo craves approval, she’ll absolutely try-hard to receive it. I think Kusuo would be good for her there tbh, because he’s way more concerned with meeting his own standards over anyone else’s (which granted are impossibly high), and he could maybe teach her to mellow out there a bit.

[ghost1643]

The disastrous like of a Aromantic psychic

Saiki has never felt romantic attraction ever. Sure, it might seem odd to normal people but, this was Saiki, and Saiki wasn't like normal people. Oh no he was a very power psychic. One who almost always knew when anything happened. Mainly resulting in him knowing he was an anime character. Thus why he knew it was a fan fiction he was currently in.

Yet, even in this fanfic he was 'forced', (as he would word it), to help people and avoid getting attention.

He sighed listening to Nendo go on and on about this girl he saw in the hall with his other classmate, Shun Kēido. Both of which had refused to leave him alone for years now and considered themselves his friends. He usually could put up with them, but not today.

Not after this morning.

Saiki had Nendo fall down the stairs onto of him which hurt and was hard to tell was coming since his mind was told small to be read. Then Shin had spilt his drink all over him this morning. From there things just spiralled. Everyone he hung out with had either done something that could physically hurt him, done something to annoy him or damaged his property.

Yet, he would have ignored it. He would have ignored it all if it wasn't for what was just about to happen.

He was tuning his friends out, just as Teruhashi's thought came into his mind speaking over the rest. He quickly picked up his books just in time to save them as she slammed her hands down on the table but, he had been to distracted by the two males blabbering on to save his desert.

His beloved rice pudding dropped to the floor spilling all over.

Teruhashi jumped back apologizing and cleaning the mess. Then she threw it out like it was nothing. Then she proceeded to try and get him to talk to her. It was like nothing happene.

....and that was the moment Saiki broke. Years of putting up with these people. Years of putting with their stupid thoughts. Years of saving them from themselves and convincing himself that their fates would affect him. Risking possible damage to himself for these people. Heck, even saving a few of them from death and this was how he was relayed.

By losing the one thing that mattered most to him.

He felt the colour leave his face as his mind snapped. He just looked up at Teruhashi who was jus smiling, trying to flirt with him. After all it had been three years of talking to his body without him replying.

"I'm just saying we could totally hang out sometime. I mean all three of us can go to Karoke athis Friday-"

"IM DONE!" Saiki snapped standing up. He didn't seem to notice everyone staring at him. He didn't notice the tears in his eyes. He worked so hard and for what? The one thing he loved the most was being ignored.

"Wha-"

And then he did it before she could say another word. He came out in front of the whole school.

"I can't take the flirting anymore! I've tried to give you every hing I could! I'm aromatic okay?! I don't wanna date anyone! I-I can't do it anymore!" He snapped at god knows who anymore before racing off down the hall. He didn't hear anyone rushing after him.

So he rushed to the bathroom and opening a window in there. Once he opened it, he teleported back him seeming to forget all about his school shoes. 

Once he got home he sighed taking off his school clothes. Then slowly he headed upstairs to rest in his room. When he laid back in his bed, he found himself smiling.

He had done it! He had finally freed himself of the chaos!! He had finally freed himself of those dumb asses!

No more teruhashi trying to go out with him! No more moments of Shin pretending he was an anime character! No more moments of Nendo being the dumbest creature alive! No more of Chio trying to flirt with him! No more Moments of Kashi trying to get him to work out so often! No more moments of Reita's stupidness!

How did he know he would be freed from these people? Well to put it simply Japan just wasn't as accepting of a place as people thought. If anything being part of the LGBTQ+, was a social death sentence in any situation. If it wasn't then..well people would start avoiding them.

So it was the perfect way to fix his problems! No more dealing with peoples problems! No more fixing things! From now on it was all about him and his little bubble.

Yet, if that was try then why did he feel so...upset?

He didn't know why but, his chest ached a bit as he buried himself under his sheets. He had no idea why though. It's not like he would miss his so called 'friends'. Instead he was now free from them. Yet, he felt so....so odd.

~time skip~

Two days later and Saiki was in bed every moment of that weekend that he could.He came home on Thursday night after coming out and hid in his room. And that's what he did for the rets of the weekend so far.

He missed school on Friday which had never happened before. Yet, he just felt more numb than usual. He didn't know why though. He didn't even feel good enough to eat rice pudding which definitely wasn't good.

This continued for all the next morning. Heck he even spent time in bed the entire afternoon. Maybe it was because he used so much of his powers Thursday. Like enough to make him feel so crappy. Yet, he knew that wasn't true.

As much as he hated to admit it, he realized he missed his classmates. Their interactions at least gave him something new to expect. They have him something to do other than study. Now he had nothing to do.

Nothing but miss them and eat rice pudding.

The power of rice pudding had motivated him to visit his favourite cafe. The one that served the best rife cakes. It was what he did every Saturday night, usually with one of his classmates as of recently, but today he was all alone. And that would be the way it would stay.

Saiki guessed he shouldn't be so emotional anymore. After all this was what he choose. If he didn't want to be alone, well then he shouldn't have come out. He sighed thinking to himself that it didn't matter anyways. He was graduating in six months. He would have been all alone again in a collage on the other side of town anyways.

He just sighed standing outside the cafe door. His thoughts filled his mind somehow being louder than all the other voices he heard around him. In fact he seemed to just tune out all of reality. Thus resulting in the conclusion he refused to admit.

His classmates were his friends. They had spent years getting to know each other while doing their little cycle of madness. Thus also getting closer together. In fact dare he even imply, sometimes his friends made him happy. He even dared to say he liked hanging out with them at times.

Yet, he had thrown that away over his own selfishness. And now he had nothing and no one. No one except his beloved desert food.

Just as he came to this conclusion h had his hand on the door. His mind seemed to calm down with it's own thoughts at this point as he slowly opened the door. He should have waited thought. Why? Cause the second he opened the door he caught the single thought that should have clued him to turn away.

"I hope I picked the right hiding spot."

The second he heard that thought, he had opened the door. The lights were out playing feeling so nervous. He assumed someone was there to attack him as he walked in. So he began getting ready to defend himself. If only he could focus his mind on relaxing. Maybe then he could hear more thoughts, but now his mind was thinking of his own worries.

However he took a step in the building the lights came back on. As they did his classmates jumped up screaming surprised as confetti and balloons were thrown over the room. He jumped a foot in the air as everyone smiled to him.

Every corner of the cafe was decorated with the A romantic flag colours. Heck there was even a flag over a table. Yet, what he focused more on was his mains group of friends. He moan friends were inches away from him smiling, as if they were seeing him for the first time in years.

"Wh-" he was cut off by Nēndo rushed over hugging him. His eye got bigger as his other friends held him close as well. He blushed before feeling the entire class hugging him which seemed to calm him down to hear all their thoughts. As he did he almost cried.

They were all about him. They were all thinking about him.

"How on earth am I gonna tell Saiki I'm sorry I've been forcing my feelings on him? I mean any way I word it makes it sound like it's all about me but, he's been there for me through so much. How am I gonna avoid hurting him." It was the only time he heard Teruhashi think about anyone other than herself.

"Saiki I'm so sorry I haven't reached out to you for so long. I hope you still wanna be friends even though I haven't been helping you as much as I can be." Reita thought smiling. Being the only one who knew he could do read minds, well, his words seemed more comforting than others.

"I can't believe I push everyone to drive for a happy life when I made Saiki feel bad enough that he ran away. I promise from now on Saiki I'm gonna give you as much as I can." Kineshi Hairo, always thought about how to motivate others. It was normal. Yet, it some how made the world to Saiki.

"You supported me through so much man! How am I gonna support you?!" Shun Kaidō always was full of thoughts about how he must be like a hero. Why on earth would he be thinking about anything else?

"Oh my. What can I do for you?! I mean you already payed for me to go on a school trip and help support my part time job here every week by visiting here. I mean I already got you some pudding for free today but, I suppose I could also offer you some time to just hang out when I get a free moment." Chisato Mera, has so many jobs but, this was her favourite. It was true Saiki came here for rice cakes every week, but something about her thought made him what to come every day.

"Oh gosh I'm gonna cry. I missed Saiki so much. I thought he just gave up. What would I do without a friend like him....No! No Chiyo! This isn't about you. Don't you dare start crying. Instead just focus on how Saiki and how to make him happy." Chiyo Yumehara, usually thought about how to woo men. Somehow this made him more happy than anything anyone else could say to him.

And that would have been it. He was being overwhelmed by his friends thoughts followed by other classmates thoughts about how much he had helped him and how they wanted to repay him. It was enough to touch his heart as he was lead to a table to sit down.

As he was, Nēndo explained it was a coming out party. One where they celebrated how brave Saiki has been for coming out. It was so odd to say the least, but it made him smile. It just made Saiki be overwhelmed by his emotions. So much so that he didn't lie when he was asked about why he didn't go to school.

"Well I figured you guys wouldn't wanna be stuck hanging around a someone like me." He admitted before finally eating his pudding. Just as he did he looked up to see guilty faces and hear guilty thoughts. Ones he was bound to hear again and had heard before.

That is Exocet for the one he heard at the end.

The only thought he ever heard from Nēndo.

"I made him feel like that?...why on earth would I abandon a best buddy like him? I mean what on earth would I do if he never existed."

Something about the guilty look and thought of gratitude finally broke him. Saiki was in tears. Like actual tears as he looked back down, eating a bit of his food. As soon as he did he felt his best friend Nēndo hug him again.

"It's okay. I'm always gonna be here for you." Nēndo smiled.

Without a second thought Saiki hugged him back.

The two just smiled clinging onto each other for support before everyone else slowly joined in. Each hugging and giving their support aloud for him. Each word just made him feel even more better.

Maybe standing out wasn't so bad.

If it meant he had friends like this and could be who he was, then he didn't mind standing out for once.

(The end)

[evartandadam]

Hello! I’ve read some of your analysis on the akatsuki and i really love how in depth you go into their characters! It really makes me appreciate them more! So that’s why I wanted to ask (sorry if you answered something like this already) but who out of the akatsuki do you think is the most mentally unstable/stable and who is more mentally guarded and who isn’t?

What a great question! I will take mental stability to mean lack of turbulence and a ground on reality.

Mentally Unstable:

1) Obito

Obito is definitely the most mentally unstable. It is never made clear what Obito’s issues actually are- How much of him was Madara and Tobi, and how much was himself?

Tobi is never really addressed much, but I assume it’s a result of the White Zetsu in his body. Tobi is a very goofy personality, and if Obito was even partially in control of himself during this time, he has a disorder.

Practically mult-personality disorder, except he remembers everything he does as both Madara and Tobi. So it’s more like he gets wayyyy too invested in pretending to be what’s he’s not. I mean, the personality shifts are crazy.

I really wish more was explained with Obito’s mental state, because it was very interesting and not much was done :/ But there is definitely something wrong. Obito has some serious issues with accepting reality, and doesn’t cope with trauma AT ALL. Therefore, I think he is the most mentally unstable.

Also, Obito really didn’t have the emotional capacity to be a ninja in war (especially at that age). A perfect contrast to Kakashi, who is great at handling trauma and moving past it, Obito simply could not handle trauma this well. This is fine- it’s doesn’t make him wrong or a bad person. It’s like when Might Guy tried to join the Anbu to be there for Kakashi- it didn’t suit him at all. And Gai is awesome! But some jobs go against a person’s sensibilities, and I don’t think Obito had the mental and emotional constitution to deal with war trauma. This is shown in how Kakashi and Obito deal with Rin’s death. Kakashi holds steady with his core beliefs, but Obito totally loses it. This is because they are different, and have different reactions. Anyway, my point is that Obito was less suited to being in a war as a kid than Kakashi, but he was put into this situation anyway, and it really screwed him up. Like, really bad. I don’t think I need to really make my case here, I think everyone can agree Obito is a little… excessive.

2) Sasori

This guy replaced people with puppets to give him the love he desires. He takes people apart and makes them into puppets. Classic sociopath, but extra screwed up because of the added puppet aspect. Sasori can come across as very normal in conversation, due to his intellect, but he is living a lie. Obsessed with death and collecting people… We can all agree he is messed up. And I have written a lot on him! Here and here are some rants!

3) Nagato

Nagato can be tied with Sasori. Nagato has a full on god complex. He completely goes berserk after Yahiko’s death. You can basically pin point the second he snaps. Nagato uses his best friend’s corpse to walk and talk in, and… that’s not something a stable person would do. It is likely a strange way of “honoring” him, keeping him involved in their plans. But he is not considerate of Konan, who has to watch her lover’s corpse move around everyday, animated by her best friend.

Nagato believes he is better than everyone else- he knows best. And he has no problem mowing through innocents right and left to obtain his goals. He is an extreme person, and takes things way too far, much like Obito. He is a narcissist- and is therefore manipulated by Obito with ease. This dude is seriously unhinged.

4) Hidan

Hidan is mentally unstable but doesn’t think he is. To be what he is, he has to be a little off. People who join cults are vulnerable and looking for a place to belong- Hidan was this type of person. Hidan values strength over all else, and blindly accepted whatever this cult had to offer him. So he’s not the most mentally stable person. But he is very sure in himself, and is not turbulent in any sense. He has a very consistent, stable persona. So he’s not nearly as unstable as Obito. And he isn’t in denial about death, so he doesn’t live in rationalization like Sasori.

Stable:

Itachi, Kisame, and Konan are pretty mentally stable. They are consistent in the way they think and know how the world works. Deidara has bursts of crazy ideas, but part of that could be contributed to his age. Deidara still blends in with “normal” people (watch Naruto SD and see how cute he is with Team Gai). Kakuzu is also pretty stable, other than his anger issues. All of these characters would fit into a semi-normal category. You by how they interact with others. They are capable of reading others, and responding accordingly. (Sasori can interact with others well if he makes an effort but it doesn’t come naturally to him. Same with Hidan, who oversteps boundaries). 

Emotionally Guarded:

As for who is the most emotionally guarded, that would be Konan, Itachi, Sasori and Kakuzu. (in no particular order)

1) Konan

Konan is all about obliterating her emotions and protecting herself from others. Konan lives with guilt from a traumatic past, and to cope, she makes sure no one else gets in. It would take A LOT to make Konan trust another. She is very careful, and suspicious of other people. She views herself as a tool for Nagato, and is willing to do anything for him. But she is not like this at all with others. Nagato is familiar, and they share the same burdens. She also feels guilty for Yahiko’s death. Essentially, Konan is filled with regret, and has no interest in allowing more harm to come to her emotionally. She is a great example of an emotionally guarded person.

2) Itachi

Itachi is living a lie, and pretending to be everything he hates. In order to even begin to deal with the emotional toll of this, he would have to essentially disconnect himself from others. Itachi doesn’t want other people to get to know him or understand him, in fear that they will find out too much. He also lives with tremendous guilt, and “preserves” himself just so Sasuke can kill him someday. He lives his everyday life not actually living- in his mind, he is already dead, and awaiting the moment his destiny is made real. Itachi is the most emotionally guarded out of all of them, since it is a conscious effort. Itachi is emotionally guarded both unconsciously and consciously. Trying to get him to open up his feelings to another person is like trying to talk to a brick wall.

3) Sasori

Sasori claims he has no emotions, but that is very untrue. Sasori admits to Sakura and Chiyo that he failed- he is neither dead nor alive, and he is an incomplete puppet. He’s referring to his inability to completely eradicate his humanity. But he only admits this at the end. Sasori is extremely stubborn, and his entire life philosophy is centered around a fallacy- that he doesn’t need others, and he can live forever. Sasori seeks to fix the emptiness he feels, and thinks the solution is to get rid of emotions completely and become a higher being. After all, emotions have never done him any good. So Sasori is very deluded, and it’s a delusion he crafted around himself, one brick at a time. He is extremely emotionally guarded, even against himself.

4) Kakuzu

I would say Kakuzu is also emotionally guarded from living a long, harsh life, and would like to avoid caring for others as much as possible. Kakuzu was burned by the people he cared for most- his village. And they betrayed his trust. After this is probably when he became cynical about humanity and relied on something material and emotionless- money. I remember replying to an ask on how Kakuzu would fall in love, and I said Kakuzu would be very tricky to catch feelings. He takes his job seriously and caring for others isn’t on his priority list. He probably did this to protect himself and decades later, it’s just natural to him to block others out.

Most Unguarded:

All of the Akatsuki are emotionally guarded, in a way. But Kisame seems to still enjoy talking to others and cares for people He is very loyal and thoughtful. Deidara, despite his philosophy that nothing lasts forever (including happiness with others), always seeks out comradeship and is willing to talk about himself. Hidan is an open book. Like wow. He would probably tell you anything just to have someone to talk to. (Hidan can still be guarded on some topics if he doesn’t trust you, but I think to a normal degree.) Nagato is more open with himself than Konan is, since he was willing to talk to Naruto about his problems. Tobi/Obito is not as open as Nagato, but does love to talk when it’s appropriate. He isn’t too guarded with his feelings- he’s just tactful with them.

[jonghostation]

Dews of Twilight (Part 2)

Ship: Pirate!Jongho x Mermaid!Reader

Genre: Fantasy AU

Word Count: 2,4k

Author’s word: Finally done with part 2, and it is definitely longer than the first one. Please enjoy, or if you have some criticism in your feedback, feel free to message me or leave it in my asks! Thank you!

While it had been predicted so, still you became frustrated at the situation as you had been admonished to bits by your circle of friends. Although frankly, most of which had been forgotten. 

---

The minute you arrived, a wave of relentless admonishment surrounded you by every single one of your friends. Annie and Tessa looked worried sick with Allie pointing at you accusingly - albeit gently, Darlene was shouting as if she witnessed a murder, while Chiyo seemed eagerly ready of the spectacle that was about to happen. The noise of it all made you cover your finned ears. Since none of you were in imminent danger anymore, there wasn’t any need for telepathic communication. However, at that moment, you wished you still were doing so as your friends continued to vocally reprimand you for getting too close to the human.

Naddy silenced the group with a raise of her first. Her expression had the ability to murder one with a single glance. She then turned her focus towards you, as she lowly growled in staccato,” What.Were.You.Thinking?”

You rubbed your elbow with your eyes looking anywhere but her. Even though she did know of your endeavours, you didn’t exactly tell her you were going to get that near from the human. However, there was no point in hiding the truth at that point, so you sighed silently and started with an apology,” I’m sorry, Naddy. I shouldn’t have made you worry like that.”

There wasn’t any response from the group’s all-mother, so you decided to continue,” I just wanted to see what he was like. There was a boulder right at the shallows so I thought I could hide there and-“

“Enough.” Naddy’s voice suddenly boomed across the perimeter, “ You almost jeopardised the safety of all mermaids from what you did, do you understand that?” Her harsh tone made you flinch a little, and the rest as well. So all you did was nod in agreement. And then, with another heavy sigh, Naddy proclaimed,

“As punishment, you are NOT to leave your room until the light shines on the coral tomorrow. Understood?”

---

The damage had been done, ultimately resulting in your arrest inside your quarters for the rest of the night. And as the waters turned darker and your bio-fluorescent mode of vision activated, you watched as the many merpeople swam past your now barred window. You couldn’t believe how fast they had taken action; this was your punishment, for merely getting closer to a human.

A deep sigh released from your lips,‘I cannot believe this is happening.’ You thought to yourself as the water around you heat up to match your increasing body temperature, out of sheer vexation. For the fact that Naddy deemed it necessary to ground you like a child was absolutely absurd. You swam back and forth like how a human paces in one’s room, desperately trying to search of an idea. With all the dizzying thoughts that swirl in your mind, you placed your hands on your temples. It didn’t help that within those dizzying thoughts of yours, that human man reins supreme; a visual so vivid that it began to override your rational capacity. 

You sighed as you spoke to yourself,‘ I need to get out of here. I can’t stand it.’ Becoming more determined than ever. 

Looking around your room like a mad dog, you somehow found a broken stick at the corner. As you examined it, you hoped it would be sharp enough and strong enough to break through the bars of dense rock. A plan suddenly formed, and with your impatience, it granted no time for the details to be considered.

You stepped back to the farthest end of your room, with the stick ready in your hands. After you took a deep breath, hopeful of your not-so-thought out plan, you lunged forward, flipping your fins to the fastest you have gone. 

BAM! 

It was clear that there apparent sounds of damage, but with your eyes that had suddenly closed at the last minute, you were too afraid to look at the outcome until a few moments passed. Slowly squinting open your eyes, relief and triumph washed over you. Despite the stick receiving more injury on its sharp end, the bars of which encaged you for hours had been broken; leaving an opening large enough for your body to pass through. 

There was not a moment to waste. You carefully swam through, with enough caution to prevent yourself from getting hurt but quick enough to make a run for it. Once your tail passed through, you immediately hid behind every object imaginable to avoid being seen by your fellow people, including and especially your friends.

It took a considerable amount of time but you were able to find yourself at a cove, only different from the one earlier in the afternoon. This particular one was located at only a few yards away from the beach, practically residing right beside it. If it was thought that the previous cove led your group to be paranoid enough in being seen, then how frantic they must be if it had been this one. The thought of the latter made you chuckle silently, when all of a sudden, a rustle of dried seaweed was heard. You were able to hear this because despite still being underwater, your proximity to the surface was so close, it could be considered worrying. So you took safety into some aquatic grass that were conveniently abundant enough to cover you. 

As you waited for another sound to come, what you saw made your heart stop. Through the increasingly rowdy chatter that you hear from below, you saw two figures darkened as silhouettes. Hiding deeper into the grass, you feared they would notice your presence as per chance of your glowing purple eyes from your bio-fluorescent vision. 

The two figures were sitting on some flat rock, with one’s shoulder entangled in the other’s arms. They conversed almost inaudibly, but you were able to decipher their words.

However, it did take more effort when one of shorter height spoke with a strange, slurred accent,“Shome island, huh?” before giggling like a fool.

“Yeah..” The other replied, thankfully with more clarity.

Somehow, you felt more familiar to the voice of the second figure, so you squinted your eyes hard to make more out of his silhouette. That outline of his arms, the shortness of his hair which contrasted to the first figure’s longer one, that faint glow that illuminated from his droopy eyes..

You then realised. You had been inches away from your favourite human that entire time. 

Widening your eyes, your mouth opened ajar in shock. The utter joy you felt afterwards could have been similar to the time when you first bonded with your friend group. He appeared to be so much more alluring as he got closer, causing you to sigh. 

The human beside your favourite one suddenly stood up and spoke as he started to stumble away from the cove,

“I’m goin back, BUT! In the morning, check the sailsh, yeah? Shee if there’s any patching that we need ta do. Ohkayh, Jongho?” To which the latter responded with a short nod as he was about to help him back. The drunk one, however, stopped him, claiming that he could walk back on his own for he is the captain, or something.

From all that was said, only one thing stuck on your mind against the rest. ‘Jongho’ You repeated. Is that what he’s called? You smile unknowingly, for you thought it was a beautiful name, fititng for someone of his brawn and serious nature. Returning to him, Jongho remained in his seat, propping his knee up to hold it as a heavy sigh was released from him. His eyes became sad, looking at the dark and calming waters below him.

After seeing him make that melancholic expression once again, you decided to stay a little longer. Magnetic wasn’t enough to describe how much you wanted to comfort him, you felt an obligatory NEED to comfort him. 

Without a second thought, you decided to raise your head out of the water. The moment Jongho caught sight of another creature emerging from the water, he jolted and crawled back, his instinct telling him to scream. Panicked, you immediately lifted a finger to your lips to prevent him from doing so.

You started to put your hands out in assurance, “Please, don’t fret! I do not intend to hurt you, Jongho.” You blurted his name in plea. There was a split second that you regretted letting him know of how you knew his name but you didn’t think it was important at that moment. 

The man was still shaking in terror, with only confusion increasing into the mix. He stood up and stepped closer to the edge of the rock with utmost caution, making sure he wasn’t hallucinating, despite not having a drop of alcohol prior to the encounter. 

He took a while before he asked with apparent alertness in his otherwise quivering voice,” Wh-who are you and h-how do you know m-my name?”

Softening your expression, you heeded not of his questions but instead whispered soothingly,” Let’s calm down first. Alright?”

Jongho perplexedly furrowed his eyebrows, but oddly he obeyed, sitting back down quietly and civilly. You floated towards the edge of the flat rock, making the human flinch still. That was the signal that caused you to stop in your tracks, with just enough distance between you two for conversation.

Even as you swam toward him, you both kept your eyes on each other, holding eager interests of varying kinds. The silence was almost as palpable as the tension around the cove, so you decided to break the ice,” So, Jongho, you couldn’t see me hiding in the water?” Attempting to maintain a lighthearted tone as you always did before.

And however embarrassing you felt your icebreaker was, you heard a chuckle of the smallest volume from Jongho, who replied with another question in the same frequency of tone,” How can I when I was taking care of Sir Tipsy from earlier?” 

The quip registered itself so comfortably in your ears that you had no choice but to laugh, silently of course. His response gave you the impression that he had finally calmed down, considerably enough for you to explain some things. You had only waited for a few more minutes until he asked again of who you are, what you are and how you knew his name.

After giving it some thought, you looked up at the handsome man whose face had reflected light from the water and asked foremost,” You mustn’t tell anyone about this, promise?” 

Jongho nodded in response. You gave him another look, as if to confirm his authenticity of an answer.

Understanding so, the man drew an invisible X with his pinky finger on the left side of his chest only before saying,”Cross my heart.” 

Confused of the gesture, you tilted your head to the side, leading Jongho to realise that mermaids probably don’t know the ways of humans and their customs. So after he explained what it was to you, you smiled in enlightenment,

“That is fascinating!” You excitedly whispered. This made Jongho’s lips tug at its very corners.  As you took a deep breath, you finally stated,” I am Y/N, and as you can probably see, I am a mermaid.” Being proud of your kind, your shoulders rolled back a little.

You then continued to answer his final question,” And how do I know your name, you might ask?” As Jongho nodded, you giggled,” Because the man with the funny looking hair called you so, do you not remember?”

“Ahhh” Jongho made a sound of realisation; It had been his captain who gave away his identity some time before he could introduce himself to this enchanting specimen, of which he thought had only existed in tall tales and stories. 

“Well at least allow me to fully introduce myself; I am Jongho, a pirate of the beautiful Treasure ship. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He stood up to do a dramatic bow and wave, making you chuckle once again.

‘Is this human humour? It’s cute’, you thought to yourself as Jongho returns back to his seat. The two of you exchanged glances of undeniable benevolence towards each other; as if you both had an indescribable feeling to not be afraid of the other. 

As you continued to make conversation almost effortlessly, a voice called out to Jongho, leading you both to snap your heads towards the source. You felt a wave of panic in your chest, and as you returned your gazes on each other, you whispered frantically,”Please remember our promise,” His gaze remained unmoved, so you asked again,”Will you, Jongho?”

The latter blinked, then nodded sharply,”Your secret is safe with me. Don’t worry.” 

The unfamiliar male voice continued to call on his missing friend, and it only took a moment for you to realise that he is walking towards the cove in his search. Taking action, you directed Jongho to leave, waving your hands in a shooing motion. 

What he replied to you may seem nothing but a simple question, but its insinuation made you stop entirely whatever you were doing, for your heart started skipping a beat and your fins fluttered in reaction.

” Will I ever see you again, Y/N?”

“ I-” “JONGHO!” 

That voice suddenly felt closer than before, and in a moment of absolute fright, you dipped your head down and started to swim deeper down into the waters, leaving Jongho hanging onto your answer. 

As you looked up at the surface, the man who had been calling Jongho came into view, wrapping an arm around him like an old friend. You examined some more to see whether or not he would keep the promise he made. In the few moments of idle chatter with the unknown pirate, there hadn’t been a single change in Jongho’s facial expression that could have shown that he had exposed your existence. 

Sighing in relief, you watched as they leave the cove together, before you swam back to your room, awaiting for the worst. Within your anxiety, however, there was a hint of elation from what just happened. You have finally made contact with the human of your dreams, and it was safe to say; That you have found a new friend.

[recentanimenews]

Let's Celebrate The Fifth Anniversary Of 2014's Funniest Anime, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun

Do you remember what you were doing five years ago on July 7th, 2014? Maybe you were out with friends or you had to work or you were trying to keep cool from the summer heat. Or perhaps you were in front of a screen watching the debut episode of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. One of the best series to come out of 2014 has reached its five year anniversary, and the way it showed some of the ins and outs of how manga is created and its excellent use of comedy has led it to becoming a series that’s on regular rewatch rotation for me and countless others. 

  Yet, five years later, there’s been zero indication that there will ever be a second season, even though the manga is still going. So, how did Nozaki-kun manage to wow people with its first season, and what could a second season give us if it ever came to be?

    From the beginning, Nozaki-kun lays out what it’s about by showcasing how it blends the trappings of romance with the outrageousness of its brand of comedy. Chiyo musters up the courage to confess to Nozaki, but due to his obliviousness, Nozaki misconstrues it as Chiyo being a fan and gives her his autograph. It not only sets up the relationship between the two, but also the expectations for how the series will do comedy. There’s nothing offensive or explicit, it’s just absurd people getting caught up in ludicrous situations and that extends to not only Chiyo and Nozaki, but their friends as well.

  All of the main characters have some form of expectation that is quickly undercut within their debut episode or soon after. For example, Mikoto is seen as an outgoing, confident, ladies' man due to how he can easily spout off smooth one-liners to his classmates. Yet, as soon as he says those comments, he’s incredibly embarrassed by what he’s just said. Then there’s the twist that comes up when Chiyo realizes that she’s the basis behind Mamiko, the main heroine of Nozoki’s shoujo manga. Each character has a good amount of depth and layers to them, so they’re not all one-dimensional.

    Since this is also a show about romance, it fits that each of the potential pairings also exhibit the same kinds of layers. As already mentioned, Chiyo and Nozaki have their bizarre beginning, but that doesn’t deter Chiyo, even if Nozaki remains oblivious throughout the rest of the anime. Wakamatsu/Seo and Kashima/Hori are the other two major partners that go through a similar type of goofiness that Chiyo and Nozaki do. Yet, it’s not the same when it comes to all three groups. But whether it’s a director/actor relationship or one person having a surprising side that the other person inadvertently falls for, Nozaki-kun knows how to hit the right marks for people who enjoy shoujo, because it’s one itself.

  Part of what made Nozaki-kun such a fun series to watch five years later is that the comedy has a timeless aspect to it. It’s no secret that comedy is HIGHLY subjective. What people find funny in their past might not age well, and also people's taste in humor changes as they get older. Referential, topical comedy can also be tough to go back to since those jokes might be out of fashion by the time you watch. Nozaki-kun is able to avoid that aspect by not really relying on that style of comedy. There’s not a whole lot that dates it to 2014 and you could still watch it now and it wouldn’t really feel old. Even if there were time period specific jokes, Nozaki-kun would probably be able to make it work given that the skits themselves are still able to make you laugh even after watching them multiple times.

    A lot of the humor comes down to the nonsensical direction in which the show pushes its jokes, but at the same time, it’s not incredibly over the top like other shows in the genre. There are going to be gags that rely on your knowledge of certain aspects of Japanese media, such as one of my personal favorites, when Nozaki and Mikoto get deep into one of Mikoto’s dating simulators. While that in and of itself could be a funny set up, the show pushes it further by giving a brief look at fan-created content within a fandom and how you can read media differently than what’s originally intended as the two create a boys’ love doujinshi manga. It’s a joke that has several layers to it, but that allows different types of viewers to enjoy it whether they know the intricacies of it or not.

  It helps as well that Nozaki-kun gives viewers a way to see just how manga is made. Similar to shows like SHIROBAKO , you can really see the hard work that goes into making art. From stuff like character design and writing, to background art and inking, it’s a miracle that there are some series that can be published on a weekly basis. And before watching, I wasn’t really aware of all the ins and outs that went into creating manga, but this show was a good primer. Eventually, after reading supplementary material about creating manga (and because I really like the show) I included it in a project where I created a class about manga my last year of college.

    Now, let’s address the elephant, or maybe in this case, the tanuki in the room. We’re here celebrating the fifth anniversary of the anime series' premiere, but there’s only been one season. Let’s be real: Will there be more seasons made? There’s always a chance, so you can never say never, but with how long it’s been, the percentage gets lower and lower with each year that passes. I mean, this feature could come out and then a day later, an announcement could come. There’s definitely been enough material from the manga that they easily could do one. However, I think we’ll have to be happy with what we’ve got. Plus, that anime original ending is still good in the ways that it makes you laugh as a joke, but also hits at the right amount of angst for shoujo.

  If for whatever reason you have not watched Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun yet, get on that. Once you’ve done that, you can come back and hang with the rest of us as we ride tandem bikes and stand on boxes. Maybe one day we will be blessed with a second season, but if not, the first season of the anime is still excellent and one of the best series to come out of 2014. When we reconvene for the tenth anniversary in 2024, I’m sure we’ll still be discussing how good Nozaki-kun was.

    What were some of your favorite moments of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun and what would you like to see if they ever made a second season? Let us know in the comments below!

---

Jared Clemons is a writer and podcaster for Seasonal Anime Checkup where he can be found always wanting to talk about Love Live! Sunshine!! or whatever else he's into at the moment. He can be found on Twitter @ragbag.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[quietlyblooms-archived]

———  BASICS! ♡

NAME!  ♡ bel PRONOUNS! ♡ she/her

———  THREE  FACTS! ♡

1! ♡ over the course of at least 6 years, i’ve had about 72!!! original muses!! if i only count the ones i fleshed out to some extent. not all of them have been introduced to tumblr, and the majority of them are retired or on hold, but wow?? i’ve been a busy bee! and plan to add more  2! ♡ i use music as a source of inspiration more often than not! aside from using lyrics i love for blog and promo themes, music helps me a ton to get the words flowing; there have been times when i’ve spent a good while just trying to find the right song to match the feeling of the thread i’m writing.  3! ♡ i hoard replies and asks like a dragon hoards gold!! i’ve recently started liking replies and starters so people will KNOW i’ve actually seen it, but 9 times out of 10 i’ve seen what you’ve tagged me in and have it safely saved in my drafts. i’m only taking forever to get to it bc i’m a slow writer who takes two hours to write a paragraph if you let me uvu

———  EXPERIENCE! ♡

PLATFORMS USED! ♡ tumblr mostly! i’ve used discord before to rp and would be up for it with my mutuals! i still might be slow as a snail tho

———  MUSE  PREFERENCE! ♡

FEMALE OR MALE! ♡ from the get-go i’ve always tended to create more female than male muses, and overall, my female muses typically last longer than my male muses. there are definite exceptions, tho, who i may bring to this blog eventually bc i do!! love them so much!! but that’s just my personal preference for writing them -- i love to write opposite any gender! LEAST FAVORITE FACE(S)! ♡ there are a few faces that make me a wee bit wary bc of my own, earlier experiences in the rp community, but i don’t really dislike any faceclaims!  MULTI OR SINGLE! ♡ i’m torn on this one! i love being able to focus solely on chiyo, and in the past when i’ve had single muse blogs, i tend to make SO MUCH progress with their development, but!! i love having multi muse blogs, too, and being able to have a variety of characters available for me to write depending on my mood that day. there are pros and cons to both, i’d say, and if i know myself, i’ll likely go back and forth with the types of blogs i run.  FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡ fluff and angst are my faves! fluff is that feel good stuff we all need in our lives, and it’s nice to watch and find out how characters will treat each other to show they CARE. likewise, it’s a lot of fun to see how they’ll react to a tough situation -- my favorite kind of angst is hurt/comfort bc that’s!! the best for character/relationship development!! i want other muses to catch chiyo in a moment of self doubt and maybe?? help change her point of view, and i want chiyo to do the same for others bc while we all grow on our own, our personal growth can also be largely affected by our peers and those closest to us. for chiyo specifically, she NEEDS to have serious talks to push her in the right direction. so you could say i love fluffy angst possibly the most bc of what can come from it! and as for smut, i don’t have much of an opinion yet bc i haven’t written it really, though it’s something i’d like to eventually explore with chiyo since it IS such a big step for her in a relationship. PLOT / MEMES! ♡ i love both!! plotting can be so much fun and really helpful to figure out how two characters meet without having to actually write it out so you can jump right into developing their relationship; memes are also loads of fun and a great way to start in the middle of things or even explore “what if’s!” 

TAGGED BY! ♡ the lovely @starswrit! thanks for tagging me, dear (´∀｀)♡ TAGGING! ♡ @geometragic, @roteden, @agalere, @shctter, @withspectres, @monochrrome, @kcntin, @whoslays, and whoever else would like to do this!

[meimi-haneoka]

Interesting facts from interview with CCS Clear Card producer Chiyo Kawazoe

The most recent issue of Animage, the 12/2017 one, features one interview with the producer of the upcoming Card Captor Sakura Clear Card anime, Ms. Chiyo Kawazoe. You probably remember her because she was attending the first world screening of Sakura and the two teddy bears OAD at AX back in July 2017!

This interview turned out to be as interesting as the one with character designer Hamada in Animedia!! I was able to read it, and while I’m not doing a complete translation, I will write here some interesting tidbits about the upcoming anime, including A MAJOR SPOILER about the gender of the Mysterious Cloaked Figure. I suggest you to skip the part surrounded by asterisks if you want to keep the surprise a bit longer.

First of all I want to thank @cutesxsherry for taking pics of the magazine for me the moment she had it in her hands! The article didn’t appear anywhere else as far as I know, so she really saved the day!!

Producer Chiyo Kawazoe starts the interview recalling the excitement of the audience during the screening of the Sakura and the two teddy bears OAD back in July at Anime Expo 2017, in Los Angeles. She says the venue was full and this encouraged her and made her very happy that the OAD was well received, especially after the long wait.

The interview follows with Kawazoe recognizing that “Sakura” is still a deeply loved work even 17/18 years since the end of the old anime, and she’s heard a lot of people saying “thankfully they’re the same”, referring to the staff and cast for the new anime. The Clear Card “stage” will be the same old Tomoeda city we knew and loved in the old anime, and she will do her best according to Sakura’s motto “Everything will surely be alright!”.

When asked what kind of concept the Official PV was based upon, Kawazoe says that she wanted to make Sakura interesting to the eyes of the people seeing her for the first time, showing her normal schoolgirl life but also that she uses magic, and make them wonder “That girl is cute, what kind of girl is she?”.

The new anime will be aimed not only to the old fans, but it will try to convey the feelings of the whole staff to the girls of the same age as Sakura ( ~12 ). We will be able to understand which specific feelings those will be, after watching the whole anime. Kawazoe says that if Clear Card will stay in our hearts even after it’s over, she’ll be happy.

To Kawazoe, the highlight of Clear Card is the fact that it will be based on the original manga, with Sakura’s battle costumes and Clear Card designs done by Mokona (CLAMP). She also says that they have plans for new battle costumes that never appeared in the manga.

She proceeds to talk about Akiho Shinomoto and Yuna D. Kaito, the new characters of this arc, with Akiho being “the key character that will get the Clear Card story moving” . There’s no way to know more than that from her, though.

When asked about the apparent similarity between Sakura and Akiho’s names, Kawazoe’s teasing reply is “Oh who knows about that, I’m looking forward to what is hiding behind that (laughs)”. She’s interested about wrapped-in-mystery Kaito too.

The next question is about how much Sakura changed, now that she’s a junior high schooler. Kawazoe says “The fact that she’s a junior high schooler might deceive people (in thinking she changed a lot), but since at the end of the second movie Sakura was in 6th grade , not much time has passed since then, so there’s no big change in her, physically. It’s just that her school uniform changed from the elementary school one to the junior high school one.” The thing that will change, however, will be the technological gadgets, such as smartphones to call eachother or sending messages. This is pretty much the only thing that will change, as they didn’t want to touch  the basic core of the character [Sakura], who is a girl very dedicated to everything she does.

BEWARE SPOILERS AHEAD

******************************************************************************************

Kawazoe then says: “This time the story starts with the Sakura Cards becoming transparent , triggered by the meeting with a mysterious girl in a dream”  For completeness sake, here’s the Japanese line:  今回のストーリーは、夢で不思議な少女に出会ったことがきっかけで、[さくらカード]が透明になってしまうところから始まります NOTE: This definition was reported THREE times in the body of the article, while in the caption under the screencap from the PV, it’s used a generic “mysterious person”.

******************************************************************************************

YOU CAN SAFELY READ FROM HERE

The story will develop around Sakura trying to find the cause of the Sakura Cards becoming transparent and unravel the whole mystery, and even though there are way too many things she doesn’t understands and should be feeling anxious about, she says “I will still live my everyday’s life as I should be, and in case something happens, I’ll try my best to do what I can”. Kawazoe thinks this is a very important lesson that Sakura is trying to convey to all of us.

Kawazoe talks about Tomoyo-chan…of course her basic personality won’t change, but she mentions that her equipment to take videos of Sakura will be super up-to-date!  She will of course shoot videos of Sakura anywhere, but she will also encourage her with her words when Sakura ends up in a bad situation. She will also carefully soften the atmosphere, blowing the anxiety away, when needed.

About Syaoran…she only says that, since he will look more cool, ”Female fans, please wait for it!“. She also says that she was very surprised to hear the female audience, back in April (at the Sakura Festival), cheering for Syaoran just as much as they did for Touya and Yukito…

The interviewer asks about Sakura and Syaoran’s relationship in Clear Card. Kawazoe replies: “Although their feelings are mutual, it’s not like those two prioritize love over everything. For instance, if there’s a person in need or a problem concerning the cards, Sakura would say "I’m sorry, Syaoran-kun” and run to that. That is to say, it’s not like there isn’t the classic “sweet and sour” love atmosphere between them, but Sakura draws strength from Syaoran to her heart, and Syaoran closely watches over her and assists her. Those two make us feel a wonderful sense of space”   NOTE: About that “space”, me and @rispen-hortensie have tried to better understand what Kawazoe meant with the words  素敵な距離感 , which I translated as “nice sense of distance” at first, but here’s her input that really clarifies the meaning : “It’s like she’s saying they’ve worked out a really healthy, admirable sense of boundaries. They aren’t clingy with each other, but they aren’t in danger of drifting apart, either. It’s hard to incorporate the word "distance” here because it almost always has a negative connotation when used to describe relationships in English.”

Kero will always be the same old Kero we know, with Aya Hisakawa (Kero’s VA) mastering his Osaka dialect and his ad-lib jokes.

Akiho and Kaito’s voices were chosen following the idea of bringing some freshness to a main cast composed by all the old voice actors. This is still part of the attempt to appeal the younger generation who asked for young voice actors. So they asked CLAMP what kind of voices they imagined for those two characters, found the candidates, and decided on Minori Suzuki and Natsuki Hanae after consulting with the director Morio Asaka.

The interview ends with Kawazoe saying that Clear Card arc will be enjoyable as an indipendent work even from those who never watched the old anime series of 18 years ago, provided it’s watched by Episode 1.

At the bottom of the second page, there’s a circle were they talk about the Release! and Secure! scenes: the wand release will be based off the old animation, but with some new parts, while the Secure! animation will feature crystal fragments dancing all around! Kawazoe is sure these scenes will get us excited!

Thank you for reading this loooooong post!! 

[panjiku]

The OTP Game

Pick your 10 top OTPs without reading the questions: 1.  Mimato (Yamato Ishida × Mimi Tachikawa — Digimon Adventure) 2.  Clerith (Cloud Strife × Aerith Gainsborough — Final Fantasy VII) 3.  Zutara (Zuko × Katara — Avatar: The Last Airbender) 4.  VaniHopu (Hope Estheim × Oerba dia Vanille — Final Fantasy XIII) 5.  LuluShir (Lelouch Lamperouge × Shirley Fenette — Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch) 6.  KAIMiku (KAITO × Miku Hatsune — Vocaloid) 7.  MaouEmi (Sadao Maou × Emi Yusa — Hataraku Maou-sama!) 8.  MikoChiyo (Mikoto Mikoshiba × Chiyo Sakura — Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun) 9.  Lancaster (Jaune Arc × Ruby Rose — RWBY) 10. SasuSaku (Sasuke Uchiha × Sakura Haruno — Naruto)

Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6 (KAIMiku)? In 2011 I got curious about wtf Hatsune Miku was and watched World is Mine then Another: World is Mine and it all went downhill from there :’D

Have you ever read a FanFiction about 2 (Clerith)? Yeah, but I haven’t read any in a VERY long time. I think the last FF I read for them was somewhere between 2002 and 2005, ahaha.

Has a picture of 4 (VaniHopu) ever been your screen saver/profile picture/tumblr? No, actually.

If 7 (MaouEmi) were to suddenly break-up today, what would your reaction be? *SOBS GROSSLY*

Why is 1 (Mimato) so important? Mimato was the first fandom I ever truly was a part of when I was a teenager and then got back into when I picked up drawing again in my 20s. I made an LJ community (yamatoxmimi) and was friends with a lot of FFN writers back in it’s heyday; I keep in touch with a few oldfarts of the fandom. And it’s amazing that such a crack ship has so many supporters even to this day :> In their respective world though they’re 1/4 of the Chosen Children. As a pairing, they’re not important towards the story at all considering they only interact once in the series, bahaha... *cries softly*

Is 9 (Lancaster) a funny ship or a serious ship? More of a funny ship though they have their serious moments.

Out of all of the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry? Ahhh, it’s so hard to choose?! I’m going to say Zutara. They went from bitter enemies to trusting each other, a betrayal and then earning that trust back to eventually becoming a power duo. They’ve both had similar life experiences that they’ve bonded over and the tension between them urrghh. And they just work so well together. I’ll be honest though, Clerith probably has the best chemistry, especially since they pretty much were attracted to each other on their first meeting. But instead of having this entire post be about Clerith, I figure I’d talk about another pair, hahaha.

Out of all of your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond? CLERITH, fosho. Their love transcends death *cries* Aerith’s presence lives on in Cloud and helps him even in the Lifestream; they’re connected to each other spiritually. Though literally SasuSaku has the strongest bond. I mean Naruto as a whole is about bonds, especially within Team 7, hehe. Y’know maybe I should switch my answers for this with the last one, lmao.

How many times have you read/watched 10’s (SasuSaku) fandom? Hoo boy, going through all of Naruto is a job, but I think I’ve re-read part 1 of the manga like 2-3 times while it was still in syndication. I dropped it a little bit into part 2 then picked it back up near the end and I don’t follow Boruto at all, but I did read the Sarada side-story after the original manga ended. I’ve watched all of Naruto’s original anime once, but only about 5 episodes of Shippuden.

Which ship has lasted the longest? In real life? Clerith. In universe? SasuSaku.

How many times, if ever, has 6 (KAIMiku) broken up? Hard to say since I don’t know all of their songs. Also depends on which version of a certain song you consider your canon (i.e. From Y to Y). But that’s the beauty of Vocaloid: you can use the characters as you see fit :>

If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 (Clerith) or 8 (MikoChiyo)? LMAOO, Clerith, hands-down. I can’t even imagine Mikorin and Chiyo in a zombie situation unless it was one of Nozaki’s manga ideas xD

Did 7 (MaouEmi) ever have to hide their relationship for any reason? Yeah, as individuals they do. Emi as the Hero Emilia Justina and Maou as Demon Lord Satan. And it’s very strongly hinted that Emi harbors feelings for Maou which she denies/hides. I’d imagine if they got together they might try to hide their relationship for awhile if they were to ever return to Ente Isla but we’ll just have to wait and see since HataMaou isn’t over yet :)

Is 4 (VaniHopu) still together? QAQ noo… They’re doomeddestined to be star-crossed lovers till the end of time. In fact the last time they were together were in the original FFXIII ;^;

Is 10 (SasuSaku) canon? *flails and cheers* It’s the only pairing on my list that’s outright confirmed and shown being canon. And it still feels so good after 15+ years of shipping it.

If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win? HMMM. About half of my list is power couples so this is a toughy. BUT I think LuluShir would, if only because Lelouch would use his geass to come out on top, lmao. Though thinking about eye powers now, SasuSaku might because of Sasuke’s Rinnegan. Definitely a tough choice between those two pairs; depends on whose eye would trump the other :D

Has anybody ever tried to sabotage 5’s (LuluShir) ship? Beeeeesiiiiides the other Lulu ships…? *shields* Not really sabotage, but C.C. said it was a bad idea for Lelouch to get involved with Shirley if he wanted to pursue his dream (please excuse is this is wrong, it’s been so long since I’ve watched Code Geass. Definitely need to do a rewatch soon esp with the upcoming third season). And… oh… well, I guess Rolo >_> *cough*

Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond? Alllllll of theeeeeem~ But my OTP of all OTPs will always be Clerith, so them first and foremost.

Do you spend hours a day going through 3’s (Zutara) tumblr page? Not at all until very recently (like since a week ago). It was always a ship I idly supported until I got back into ATLA again, and now I’m hopeless :’D

If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she’d break them all forever, which ship would you sink? I… well, most of them are impossible or separated somehow anyway… but… M-Mi…mato…? Because it’s utter crack and they only interacted on-screen once (thanks to tri) so nothing would change anyway ;-; I was going to suggest MikoChiyo, but at least they have their canon friendship (which is BEAUTIFUL btw) so I gotsta pick the obv pair that has no chemistry except in fanon.

[brella]

i feel like we always ask you about books so today i wanna ask you some anime recs :)

HOW INTERESTING THAT YOU SHOULD COME TO ME NOW, JUST AFTER I FINISHED ATTEMPTING TO BRIBE A TWITTER MUTUAL WITH A PHYSICAL CAKE SO THAT SHE WOULD WATCH AN ANIME I LOVE. i am always happy to share anime recs. 

ping pong: the animation (dir. masaaki yuasa): effusive yutaka “peco” hoshino and reserved makoto “smile” tsukimoto have been best friends since day one, and both of them love to play ping pong. peco, a child prodigy at the sport, loves it with all of his soul, and is so confident in his own talent that he’s become arrogant; while smile, in spite of his natural talent, does not take ping pong seriously, seeing it as nothing more than a way to pass the time. things are shaken up for the boys by the arrival of wenge “china” kong, a chinese player sent to redeem himself in japan after being kicked off the national team, who skunks peco in their first match, sending him spiraling into crisis; meanwhile, smile catches the interest of the school’s coach, a former star player, who is determined to make sure smile does not waste his talent. also joining the cast are manabu “akuma” sakuma, peco’s belligerent rival since childhood, and ryuichi “dragon” kazama, vanguard of the elite ping pong team at kaio academy. when all is said and done, will smile and peco’s friendship—and the love of ping pong that bonds them—remain? i urge everyone to watch this anime; it is perhaps the best i’ve ever seen. a work of art, of joy, of sadness and failure and triumph—a tribute to being alive, and to what it means to love something so much you feel like there’s no point in being alive if you can’t do it. and the animation, voice acting, and score are outstanding! 11 episodes.

the tatami galaxy (dir. masaaki yuasa): an unnamed college student is perpetually dissatisfied with his life, bemoaning the fact that he can never seem to grasp that “rose-colored campus life” he was certain he would have upon attending college in kyoto. just about the only thing he has in his corner is his mischievous frenemy, ozu, who drags him into scheme after scheme that only seem to make his situation worse; and a fellow student, akashi, who the protagonist has feelings for, but can never quite seem to spit it out. after a bad break-up sends him over the edge into total cynicism, he starts to wonder if his college years would have been spent differently (i.e., better) if he had chosen to join a different club on his first day. unbeknownst to him, the desire to go back and do it over again does send him back in time—each episode is an alternate timeline based on which club he joined. no matter how things change, though, he always seems to keep running into ozu, to just miss akashi, and to get involved with a man calling himself higuchi, who claims to be a god of matrimony; a bone-headed popular senior named jougasaki; and a beautiful but intense dental hygienist named hanuki. in the protagonist’s quest for the perfect college life, however, will he miss what’s right in front of him? i really love yuasa as you can probably tell and this, just like ping pong, is beautifully animated, great fun, and unexpectedly moving. a testament to the little things, to seeing the beauty and wonder in what we have. and the opening and ending are GOD TIER. 11 episodes.

gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun (dir. mitsue yamazaki): if you somehow haven’t watched this yet, please love yourself and do it. a romantic comedy series that follows 16-year-old chiyo sakura’s attempts to woo her crush, umetarou nozaki, gsnk, contrary to the shoujo form, actually begins with her confessing to him—but he misunderstands and gives her... his autograph?! yes, it turns out nozaki moonlights as a hugely successful shoujo romance mangaka, and he’s been needing an assistant, and sakura is in the art club... convenient! this show has it all—uproarious humor, masterful comedic timing, incredibly charming characters, and just the right dose of heartfelt romance to warm any heart. other cast members include mikoto mikoshiba, nozaki’s best friend, whose flirtatious antics constantly cause him to nearly die of embarrassment; yuzuki seo, chiyo’s best friend, a brash and oblivious jock with a beautiful singing voice; hirotaka wakamatsu, a mild-mannered basketball player constantly aggrieved by seo’s bullying; yuu kashima, star of the drama club and dashing prince of the school; and masayuki hori, drama club president and kashima’s ever-frustrated director. love is in the air not just for sakura, but for a few others, as well—it’s going to be an interesting year! 12 episodes.

kids on the slope (dir. shinchiro watanabe): kaoru nishimi is a shy and depressed honor student, classically trained to play the piano, who has spent his entire life moving from town to town due to the nature of his father’s job. at the beginning of the summer of 1966, he is sent to a small coastal town in kyushu to live with relatives, and is prepared for another year of loneliness until his world is turned on its axis when he meets delinquent sentaro kawabuchi. the two develop a strange and unlikely friendship, and kaoru soon discovers that sentaro, or sen, is an avid fan of jazz, then an emergent form of music in japan, and plays the drums in the basement of a record store owned by the family of his childhood friend, ritsuko mukae, with whom kaoru immediately falls in love. when ritsuko says that she would love to hear kaoru and sen play together, kaoru begins to acquaint himself with jazz, too, and finds that it holds more magic than he expected. part classic coming-of-age drama, part love letter to the jazz genre, this series was, fun fact, directed by the man behind cowboy bebop and samurai champloo—so, like, if that isn’t a testament to its quality, i don’t know what is. it will make you cry, though. just warning you. 

silver spoon (dir. tomohiko ito): desperate to escape the pressures of his home life, beleaguered honor student yuugo hachiken foresakes his chances of attending an elite tokyo high school and applies to ezonoo agricultural school in hokkaido. at first holding himself a rung above his peers, due to his perception of them as bumpkins who have never had to work hard academically due to their security as farmers, hachiken quickly learns that there’s a lot he doesn’t know, and he’ll have to work hard if he wants to keep up with his peers. though initially withdrawn, hachiken comes to make many new friends, and soon begins to take his studies seriously, earnestly trying to learn all he can about the world of agriculture and how it affects the lives of his friends. this series is easily something i’d call “the feel-good story of the decade,” but it also has many profound and emotional moments, and a hugely relatable protagonist in hachiken. it’s definitely a comedy, but at its heart, it’s one of those special series that kind of takes your hand and smiles at you and says, “yeah. i get it. i know how you feel. but it’s all right. life’s pretty fun, even if you don’t notice.”

hyouka (dir. yasehiro takemoto): to this day i’m still a bit stunned that kyoto animation managed to come out with something as good as hyouka, since it’s so different from their other works, but the truth is there. it’s simple, with a cast of only four characters and few recurring side ones; a subdued score using mostly public domain classical pieces, a quiet high school as the backdrop, a close and intimate portrait of the four kids it brings together. the PV actually does a fine job of introducing the characters—apathetic houtarou, inquisitive eru, cheerful satoshi, and caustic mayaka—so i won’t go into that too much. essentially, houtarou is urged by his sister to sign up for the classics club after no one else does, since it will be disbanded if it does not have at least one member. much to his surprise, someone else already has signed up by the time he does—a curious girl named eru with an insatiable appetite for mysteries. though houtarou lives by a philosophy of what he calls “energy conservation,” eru has a power over him (read: he has a big, beautiful crush on her) that compels him to go along with her antics, and his penetrating intellect doesn’t help much. satoshi, houtarou’s best friend, and mayaka, a childhood... acquaintance of houtarou’s, also join the club, and hyouka chronicles all of the things that happen to them over the course of their school year. when asked about the meaning behind the title (”hyouka” means “frozen dessert”), the author of the novels said, “the colour of youth is like ice cream. its many flavours are like the spectrum of a rainbow, but no matter how it tastes, what doesn’t change is its richness and flavour. another distinguishing feature of ice cream is the short time one has to eat it, and how we must take care to avoid polluting it. it’s just like how youth is full of numerous possibilities, but its fragile and limited energy is easily challenged by the outside world.” i think that probably speaks for itself in alluding to the bittersweet tone of the series. it really is one of my favorites.

and, because my fingers are getting tired: yu yu hakusho is my favorite shounen series by a mile and one of the few for which i highly recommend the dub—it’s long though, 100+ episodes, but worth every minute. i’ll be glad to go into why yyh specifically is the best in a separate post if anyone is interested bc hoo boy. uchouten kazoku season 1 is great and one of my favorites but season 2 was kind of eh to me. if you like action and tragic romance, kyoukai no kanata is my second-fave kyoani series after hyouka, though it does have some fanservicey bits and fetishy humor that kind of date it a little bit. and if you haven’t started boku no hero academia yet—PLEASE GET ON THAT; IT’S SO MUCH FUN! 

and, of course, the anime of my heart and soul: lovely complex, a romcom about a tall girl and a short boy, and their arduous, hilarious, heart-melting journey from vitriolic best buds to lovers. hits all the right notes. no other shoujo compares. it’s a series that anyone and everyone can AND WILL enjoy. 

i hope that’s enough to get you started! :’D pls let me know what you think if you watch any 

[ourimpavidheroine]

“Please don’t cry. I can’t stand to see you cry” for Mako and Zhi?

(I changed the wording of the sentence just a bit in this story; I hope it’s okay!)

He and Chiyo had made the arrest before dawn that morning, turning over all of their case files, the culmination of several months’ worth of work. Song had clapped the both of them on the back and told them to go home, get some sleep and he’d see them in two days. He’d stopped off for some celebratory fruit tarts and had gone home to find the house empty; Qi and Wu off to some meeting, Meili in school, Sayuri at parts unknown with Lin and LoLo. Even the maids were in the other wing, doing their twice monthly dusting. He took a long and very hot shower and came out, the bed calling him. He laid down with a sigh, closing his aching eyes. A nap before everyone returned and the house exploded with noise again.

It was only then that he heard the muffled sobbing.

He hauled himself off the bed, making his way down the hall, trying to track the sound, stopping in front of Zhi’s door. It was definitely coming from there. He hesitated a moment before knocking softly. “Zhi? Is that you?”

A bit of a scramble and then the door was opened. Zhi’s eyes were red and puffy, his glasses nowhere to be seen. “Daddy! What are you doing home?” He tried to put on a smile but he’d never, even when he was a little boy, been any good at hiding his emotions.

“You want to talk about it?”

“About what?” Again with the innocent act. Spirits knew he loved this boy, but of all his children he was the one who couldn’t lie worth a damn.

“About why you’re crying?”

Zhi’s chin quavered. “Aren’t you supposed to tell me not to cry? That you can’t stand to see me cry?” Another attempt at a smile.

He sighed and put his arm around him. “I didn’t say that. And I wouldn’t say that, either. You know me better than that.” Zhi snuffled. “What happened? You get in a fight with San or something?”

Zhi shook his head. “You know we never fight.”

“Well?”

Zhi wavered and then drew him into his room. Neat, as always; Zhi had always disliked a mess. Now that he was at University Wu had redone his room, putting in a larger desk as well as a file cabinet for his papers, that sort of thing. He took a folder off the desk and handed it over.

“What’s this?”

Zhi swallowed. “My paper on the diversity and distribution of cave-dwelling arachnids in the Omashu mountain range.”

He flipped it open, gazing down. The paper had been criss-crossed with angry red lines, notes scribbled into the margins. A ridiculous and preposterous assertion was one phrase that jumped out at him as he paged through, underlined three times, the pen strokes so deep they’d nearly torn the paper. At the end he saw that the professor had failed the paper.

His first thought, of course, was that he was going to look up this professor and fry him alive. Not the most rational of thoughts, no, but one he was feeling in the moment. He glanced up at Zhi, who was, at seventeen, nearly a head taller than him.

“I see the professor didn’t like your paper.”

“He hated it, Daddy. He shouted at me in front of the class.” Zhi’s eyes started to overflow again.

He mentally counted to ten. Must not fry the professor. Must not fry the professor. Must not fry the fucking shit for brains professor. “Did he give a specific reason or was it just general shouting?”

“He told me that I was merely a boy and had no business disputing the work of my academic betters.” Zhi fumbled for his glasses on the desk and shoved them back on.

“Is that true?”

“Is what true?”

“Do you think that you have no business disputing the work of anyone else in your field?”

Zhi’s chin went up. “He was talking about the work of Professor Prasert. He wrote a book about the invertebrates of the Omashu mountains fifty years ago.”

“And?”

“And he was a good researcher for his time but he got some things dead wrong!” Zhi stabbed at the paper. “For one thing, he speculated that there were hairy-legged spider centipedes in those caves but that’s all it was, speculation! But he included it in his book without ever even seeing a single specimen!” Zhi whirled and slapped his hand on the detailed map that took up half his bedroom wall, a gift on his thirteenth birthday from Su and Baatar. “And he wouldn’t see one, anyhow, because It’s too wet in those caves! Those are desert dwellers, and the climate is completely wrong there!”

He nodded. He didn’t know a spider centipede from a hole in the ground, but he knew his son did. Zhi grabbed what he assumed was the offensive text in question and shook it before tossing it back down on the desk.

“It’s not that speculation is wrong. It has its time and place. But to include it in a definitive guide? In a textbook?” He threw his hands into the air. “That’s sloppy science. Bad science! I may only be a boy, but even I know that!”

He gazed at him for a moment, this brilliant boy on the cusp of manhood, passionate and fragile, throwing himself into everything with his heart on his sleeve. He loved him so much; he’d come to understand, over the years, why his own father had always bragged about his schoolwork, telling the neighbors or anyone else that would listen how smart his Mako was. He felt the exact same way about his Zhi. “Sounds to me like you disagree that a boy has no business disputing the work of anyone else.”

Zhi took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, fingers resting lightly on the frames of his glasses. “I do disagree, Daddy. It’s not about age. It’s about the work.” He dropped his hand. “I have the right to my theories, especially when they’re backed by rigorous fact. I won’t let him tell me otherwise.”

“Good. That’s what I want to hear.” He put his arm around him and pushed him gently towards the door. “Come on, I have something for you. Keep talking, I want to hear about this.”

Zhi told him, as they descended the stairs, how the professor had attempted to humiliate him in front of the class, reading passages of his paper aloud, ranting until one of the students, a young woman from the Southern Water Tribe had stood up in disgust, told the professor she was there for an education, not the spiteful ramblings of an old man, and had left. The professor had been so incensed at this that he’d forgotten about him until the end of class, throwing his paper at him as the students filed out.

“I don’t think I’d be brave enough to do that!”

“Well, Southern Water Tribe women are pretty feisty, take it from me.” He smiled, and nodded Zhi towards the table, taking the tarts out of the icebox and putting them on a plate. He’d bought enough for everyone, but this was an emergency situation. “Here.”

“Thanks!” Zhi took a large bite as he sat down next to him, taking one for himself. Three bites and it was gone and he was looking hopefully at the plate. Mako shoved it across to him and Zhi took a second.

“So what are you going to do about it?” He took a bite of his own.

“Do you mean the class?”

“Yep.”

Zhi chewed thoughtfully. “I don’t know.” His grin lit up his face. “If Papa knew he’d call the chancellor and demand she fire him.”

He had to chuckle at that. “You’re probably right. Your father usually goes straight for revenge.”

“I guess that’s a Hou-Ting thing.”

“Trust me.”  He finished off the rest of his tart. Zhi was on his third. “You know I only got a year of school before Grandma and Grandpa died, yeah?”

“That wasn’t your fault, though.”

“No, it wasn’t, but it is what it is. I never got any firebending training, either. Well, not the official kind, I mean. The way LoLo learned, or Korra.”

“How could you, on the streets?” Zhi looked down at the plate. “Don’t you want another one?”

He smiled. “I’m good. Help yourself.” He watched him take his fourth tart, slowing down a bit. “The point I’m trying to make is that pretty much everything I’ve learned in my life I’ve learned on my own. I’m not a scholar like you or Wu, but I can read and write, I do okay. And my firebending’s more than okay. I learned from who I could when I could and taught myself the rest.” He leaned forward, elbows on the table. “I’ve heard a lot, over the years, about how my firebending’s wrong. It’s not traditional, no. But it isn’t wrong. It does what I need it to, and I do it better than most.” A scoff. “Your sister being an exception.”

“But she’s learned from you too.”

“Also true. The thing is…I’m forty-three years old, Zhi. And there are still people telling me that I’m doing it the wrong way. All of it. I don’t fit into the nice boxes folks want to put me in. I’m a former triad member turned cop. I’m a nobody off the street that married a prince. I’m a firebending master without a master. My life pisses some people off.”

“What do you do about it?”

“I don’t do anything about it. There’s nothing to be done. I am who I am. Whether or not people approve of it or even like me is not really something I can do much about.” He leaned back in his chair to snatch at a pile of freshly pressed napkins and handed one over. “Thing is, Zhi, that not everyone you meet is going to like you. They’ll think you’re snotty because you studied at home and have a prince for a father. Or they’ll feel threatened by your smarts. Or hell, I don’t know, maybe they have something against people who are as tall as trees.” That got him a little smile. “Long and the short of it, you’d best just get used to it. Most of those people, they won’t be interested in the real you, they’ll have already made up their minds and that’s it. It’s not right and it’s not fair but it’s how the world works. I wish it wasn’t, but it is.”

Zhi thought this over, fingers absently folding and re-folding the napkin. “So what you’re saying is that I should stay in the class?”

“Does that professor have something you want to learn?”

“Well, I thought he did.”

“Then learn what you can from him and discard the rest.”

“But what if he fails me?” The napkin was getting quite a workout.

“Then he fails you. And your life will go on. And one day, sooner rather than later, knowing you, you’ll pass him up and he can choke on your dust.”

Again with that smile. “Maybe Papa’s not the only one that likes revenge.”

“Well, at least I wouldn’t stab the man in a dark alley somewhere.”

“Do you really think Qi would?” Zhi’s eyes widened.

“Son, I ask Qi no questions and Qi tells me no lies. That’s why we get along as well as we do.” One of the reasons, anyhow. He reached his hand across the table to cup Zhi’s cheek. “You think about it, okay? But whatever you decide - stay in his class or don’t - just know that I’ll support you. Either way.”

“Thanks, Daddy.” Zhi’s eyes filled up again. He stood and brought up his other hand, cradling his face and kissing his forehead, just like he had when he was little.

“You’re welcome. Now that you ate most of my tarts I’m going to go upstairs and get an hour or two of sleep before everyone comes home and starts making noise. I’ve been up for nearly twenty-four hours now, I’m about to drop. Just do me a favor and take the rest of them upstairs with you, though, because if your sisters find out you got tarts and they didn’t that’s all we’ll hear for the rest of the night.”

Zhi popped one whole in his mouth. “Only two more to go.” Crumbs sprayed. Mako just shook his head, smiling, stifling a yawn.

“Don’t let your father catch you.” Zhi caught up with him, and balancing the plate with the remaining two tarts in his hand, slung his arm around his shoulders as they walked back up the stairs.

[kuroko-on-ice]

Reunion

Hello! It's nice to see a new blog and I hope you'll do well and be happy in general! Could you do a scenario or hdc where Viktor gets back to Russia (with Yuuri ofcourse^^) he meets a friend who's been gone for few years. As in they were very close but at some point a rumor made her leave. Sorry if it's too detailed!

Thanks a lot! :3

Don’t worry, your request was perfectly fine. I hope the scenario is to your liking :)

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Pairing: [Platonic] Viktor x Reader

Words: ~ 1630

                                                                                                          ~ Chiyo

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“How come we haven’t met any of your acquaintances so far?” Yuuri asked, sitting down on a free chair in the café. They had arrived in Russia a couple of days ago. However, Viktor didn’t go to meet up with old friends like Yuuri expected him to do but instead spent time guiding him around Saint Petersburg.

“Not many people were able to endure my selfish behaviour and being neglected because I was entirely focusing on figure skating.”

“Come on, Viktor. Are you telling me in a roundabout way that you have no friends at all?” It was difficult to imagine Viktor as a lonely guy even though he attracted all kind of people.

“Turning a blind eye on the people you know, there actually was one girl I spent quite a lot time with. Because our parents used to be really close, we almost grew up like siblings.”

Yuuri listened closely, not daring to interrupt him. It was quite rare to hear Viktor talking about his early childhood days without him pestering him to do so. Though, his answers were brusquely as usual on this topic.

“Well, she was one of those few people who still treated me like a human being and kept me on the ground. In fact, she really enjoyed to make fun of me. But someday she suddenly disappeared and I’d give almost anything in the world to meet her one more time.”

The very second he voiced his wish he could feel somebody tugging his hair. Makkachin started to bark excitedly.

“Getting old, aren’t we?” A girl asked, twirling one strand of his hair between her fingers. “I’ve always been wondering when I was watching your interviews, but waved it of as one of the cameras’ faults not being able to catch your handsomeness. However, seeing you in reality I am afraid to admit that I have been mistaken. Are you going to try to do something against your hair loss?” she asked in a jokingly manner.

“_______?!” Viktor exclaimed, causing the whole café to turn their attention towards them. “Where have you been all this time?”

She frowned, not having expected such a surprised reaction. “By any chance, didn’t you read the letter I left on your desk?”

“Which letter?”

No wonder her gut told her that day she should have decided on another way to inform him about her plans. She sighed. “Apparently, you didn’t.”

Viktor gave some thought to it, putting his index finger on his lips. To which letter she was referring to?

“Forget it. Considering your forgetfulness you probably don’t even remember the date I left.”

“I do!” he objected. How he suddenly couldn’t get in touch with her, how her parents refused to give him a clue about her whereabouts – he still remembers every single moment. It has been painful to find out that he has been left behind without any kind of information, without knowing the reason. Sleepless nights were the consequence, wondering what he did wrong to make her leave. Even his training had been affected, as he had made more careless mistakes during that time than someone would have expected him to do. However, in order to calm himself down he decided at some point that she must have had a good reason and that she would return to him when the right time was right. “I really do …”

Not knowing what to say in this situation, she kept quiet, her fingers endlessly stroking through his hair. She had heard the pain in his voice, causing her heart to ache. Viktor has never been one to lose his coolness; he had always had a good handle on his temper since their childhood. But in her case, he wouldn’t need to utter even one syllable because she understood him even without words, solely reading his facial expressions or gestures to get a grip on how he feels. If she had known that her sudden disappearance would affect him so much, she would have definitely contacted him in another way.

Yuuri curiously watched the scenario. The two of them were talking way to fast in their mother language – Yuuri was only able to make out a few bits and pieces of their conversation. Yet, he was quite sure that the two of them were making up with each other in a way, nobody else would ever be able to. Though, if he hadn’t known better, he would have mistaken them as a couple …

“So, why did you leave?” Viktor questioned while poking her arms every few seconds to make sure she was the real thing after all. Albeit, seeing Makkachin happily resting her head on her lap, his worries evaporated quickly.

“You probably still remember that my kidneys don’t work properly anymore, don’t you?” She shrugged when she saw a glint of concern in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Viktor. I’m going to the hospital and getting an erythropoietin treatment for my renal anaemia on a regular basis. However, this treatment was actually the cause for my leave.”

Viktor frowned, missing the link between those two points.

“You see,” she explained, “what kind of effects does erythropoietin have?”

“Erythropoietin stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells. The resulting rise in red cells increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood,” he repeated what he often had heard in the hospital.

“Exactly, and because of that it’s often abused as a doping substance in sport.” Viktor’s face brightened, apparently he understood. “Because you often accompanied me to the hospital, you were actually quite a well-known face. My doctor and his colleagues trusted you enough to get a bottle of erythropoietin for me when the nurses were busy. One day, some people saw you carrying around a bottle and promptly assumed you would take it, given your impressive career.”

“I see your point there,” he conceded. “But why did you need that kind of drastic measure?”

“I wanted the rumours to die down as quickly as possible in order not to endanger your future. However, they were more persistent than I’ve thought. I never imagined it to be so exhausting to be friends with a celebrity.” She sighed. “Hey, don’t judge me. Afterwards, I realized that my method of handling things was quite stupid and I could have slapped myself because it would have existed so many easier ways.”

“It still doesn’t explain why I couldn’t get in touch with you any more,” Viktor kept pondering.

“My phone was stolen a few days after I arrived at my new place and due to that I lost all my contacts. I didn’t want to call my parents for help because it would have been the same as admitting defeat.”

She felt a look of disappointed being directed towards her which drew a smirk on her lips.

“Viktor, you might be my best friend but don’t expect me to memorize your phone number. Moreover, I saw you were doing fine during your interviews, so I was content. Though, I couldn’t help but think you were behaving … not like you. Nevertheless, I cannot believe that a couple of years without me were enough to make you completely lose the ability to interact with other people.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and after typing her password, she laid it down in front of Viktor. “We have to work on your interactions with people. Please save your number in my contacts,” she stole a glance towards his companion, “and while you are at it, please save this cutie’s number as well.”

Raising an eyebrow at her words, he eyed her for a couple of seconds before breaking into a smile. “He is truly adorable, isn’t he?” he commented before keeping himself busy with her phone again. It would be no surprise for her, if she would find thousands of pictures of him and his friends on her phone later.

  Not wanting to bother with Viktor any more, she turned to his friend and introduced herself in English: “Hello, how are you doing? My name is ______  ______. I’ve known Viktor since forever.”

“Hello, _______. My name is Yuuri,” he shyly responded in Russian, his voice almost inaudible due to his insecurity to speak in a foreign language – as well as the fact that Russia was known for not being really fond of homosexual relationships. It would be quite a blow, if ______, as one of Viktor’s best friends, were going to reject him. “I’m Viktor’s f … fi … fi … ancé.”

He lost himself in his nervousness, only leaving a stuttering mess behind; though, he did not fail to make her smile.

“Adorable indeed,” she giggled and moved her chair closer to him. She rested her elbows on the table, putting her face into the palms of her hand.  “If you ever get bored with Viktor, don’t hesitate to ca-”

  A loud yelp escaped her lips when she suddenly felt her head painfully throbbing. Quickly she turned around to find the culprit of her pain – Who would it dare to flick their finger against her head like that?! – only to meet a familiar pair of eyes.  Nervously, she bit her lips and desperately tried to avoid eye contact.

“You’re going around flirting again?” The girl standing at the table asked, one eyebrow critically raised. She let out a dry laugh before she spun around her heel, aiming for another table in the café. “The last time I checked, we were in a relationship. Correct me, if I am wrong.”

“I am sorry! Don’t misunderstand!” She yanked her phone out of Viktor’s hands, causing him to mutter words of protest. Hurriedly, she followed her friend, only turning around one more time to say: “Let’s keep in touch, guys!”

[royal-despair-threads]

Takuma & Izaya [Prologue]

Looking over at the blonde haired heterochromatic, Takuma couldn't help but feel a slight pity for them. They seemed like they were on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and the arguments that had flooded the room earlier certainly wouldn't have helped that. So, getting to his feet, Takuma snuck up behind the kid, who he'd admittedly forgotten the name of, and placed a hand down on their head, ruffling their hair a bit.

"How're you doing, what'syerface?" He said in an upbeat tone. "You look like you're one comment away from bawling your eyes out."

To be completely honest, they'd looked like that almost the entire time Takuma had known them, but he wouldn't tell them that.

Oh mercy. Izaya didn't even see it coming. Because it all happened behind them really. They felt their hair compress, the feeling of the hand spooked them enough, but hearing a voice from nowhere along with the mysterious hand pushed Izaya right into scream territory.

"AaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!" They yelped and spun around. Their feet got all tangled up and they fell onto their butt. Ow. They winced, looking up at Takuma. Well, at least it wasn't Petra. Didn't stop them being terrified,

"Plea-Please don't hurt me-!!!"

Well, that was certainly loud.

If years of performing and listening to loud music hadn't given him tinnitus, that screech probably did.

"Woah woah woah, calm down buddy. It's just me, your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman." Takuma spoke in a calm tone, a concerned glint to his eye. "I'm not gonna hurt you, everything is fine, relax."

"You're....Sp...Spiderman?" Izaya asked, clearly confused. Not that they knew who the heck Spiderman was anyway. They got to their feet witha  wobbily start, "I....Um.....okay." Izaya tried to fiddle with their sweatbands to calm down with they were still a little startled, "I'm Izaya....hhh.."

Giving the newly dubbed Izaya a more mischievous grin, Takuma reached out a hand to help pull them to their feet.

"I'm Takuma, nice to meet you." A slight chuckle emerged from him when Izaya began to fiddle with his wristbands. "I'm guessing you're not too good with people? No biggie, i'm not much of a people person myself if i'm being honest."

Izaya was thankful for the hand up, it definitely helped ease them a little, "No I....before this. Um. I never left......I didn't go out much...."

"Well that's no good, is it?" Takuma said, his voice taking on a goofy tone, similar to that of a certain purple dinosaur. "I guess Uncle Takuma's going to have to help you out!"

Taking a seat by Izaya, the guitarist crossed his arm, face stretching into an exaggeratedly serious expression. "Now, is there anyone here you want to introduce yourself to? Maybe a boy or girl you find cute?" He releases a gasp. "Do you have a crush on someone?"

Suddenly remembering that Izaya was anxiety in human form, he quickly backpedalled. "I'm only joking about that last bit, don't panic or anything."

"A-a-a-a cru-crush?!!? S-so soon?!?!" Izaya wheezed embarrassedly; oh god, DID they have a crush?! No, surely not?! But if Takuma brought it up there's probably SOMETHING that suggests they do-

"I-I don't think- I really don't think I have one, Takuma-san-!"

"Alright then, forget about the crush thing." Takuma said, attempting to look serious once more. "Is there anyone here you'd like to talk to, but you're too scared to approach?"

Izaya calmed down and tried to think rationally, "W-Well.....I don't really know. My goal....I mean....I want," they paused, trying to find the words, "I just, I really want to get alo-along with everyone..."

He couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose, a sigh emerging from behind his hand, not even thinking of how Izaya may interpret the action.

"...Okay, you want to get along with everyone, but you can't really do that if you don't talk to them all first. So, who haven't you talked to yet?" "...Not counting the unconscious guy." He quickly got rid of that loophole.

"U-Um...." They counted on their fingers, "S-Scary red head..." Petra, "The um, sh-shy girl with the braids.." Chiyo, "A-And um...the um, p-person in the g-greenish fancy suit..." Ethel. They tried to remember more, "Um....i d-don't remember the others y-yet, sorry..."

Giving the blonde a relaxed grin, Takuma couldn't help but giggle slightly. "It's fine, you don't need to apologise. Hell, I barely remember half the people I meet, let alone the people in here."

Thinking in his head of the trio of students Izaya had mentioned, a conclusion was quickly reached.

"Alright then, of those three, Chiyo seems the easiest for you to deal with right now." He pointed to the girl, patting the blonde lightly on the shoulder as he did so. "Now, she seems shy too, so you don't have to worry about coming off too nervous. I find that a good way to start a conversation is to make the other person laugh, so maybe try telling her a joke?"

The grin suddenly turned mischievous. "Please note that all this information will be on the test, so you may want to write it down."

Izaya. Tell a joke. Oh my god. They tried to comprehend the idea of just walking up and telling someone a joke, but the mention of the word 'test' made them feel sick to their stomach. They did grab their stomach a little, "Ugh....um, I h-hope not. Tests make me....s-super anxious.."

Giggling once more, Takuma ruffled Izaya's hair. "I was only kidding, you should take most of my random comments with a grain of salt, because they're almost always jokes." Still, looking at the anxiety they were feeling, Takuma couldn't help but pity them more.

"Alright, ixnay of the okejay. Maybe you could just go up to her and introduce yourself? She doesn't seem like the type to ignore you, or anything like that."

The hair ruffling wasn't unpleasent, though it was weirdly the one thing Izaya hadn't expected to get used to. Welp. They piped up, even raising their hand, "Q-Question?"

Pretending to put on a pair of glasses, Takuma tried to look as professional as possible.

"Yes, Izaya? What is it? I'd hate for you to be held back a year." Even his tone of voice was serious.

"U-um, w-what if she thinks I'm w-weird and never wants to t-talk to- to talk to me ever again, because," they stopped for an anxious breath, "B-Because she thinks I'm insa- insane and w-weird or m-maybe c-creepy, and what if she tells everyone else I'm weird and they s- they st-start to hate me anD-!!"

Takuma quickly put his finger to his mouth, hushing Izaya as he ruffled their hair lightly.

"Relax, deep breath in..."

"Deep breath out..."

Giving them a nervous grin, Takuma couldn't help but encourage them.

"Look, the hardest part of any situation is the wait beforehand. Your mind will come up with hundreds of over the top situations, each more ridiculous than the last. I'd know, I felt the same way going back to school for the first time." A strange sadness seemed to fill his eyes for a moment, before returning to normal. "The fact of the matter is, those things will only happen if you let them happen. If you go into the situation expecting a certain outcome, good or bad, you're more likely to get it."

"It's fine to be nervous. Hell, if you didn't get nervous, I don't think you could really be considered human. But letting your nerves control you is the worst thing you can do. You've got to acknowledge your worries, and face them head on, a smile on your face the whole time."

Taking a quick breath, Takuma went to continue, but suddenly decided to remain silent. He'd surely gotten the point across, he didn't need to say anything else.

what a hypocrite

Izaya had to admit, Takuma was makign a ton of sense. They were scared to let the worst happen, but maybe he was right; if they just tried to put aside the worst of the options, maybe only good would come of introducing themselves to the others. .....Unless unforseen circumstances kicked in and-

NO. BAD.

They took a deep breath,

"Takuma-san, um, what.....let's say things do go badly, what would I do to um....to fix it?"

Of course they'd ask that, what with their limitless anxiety.

"If things go badly, laugh it off. There's no reason to let stuff like that linger over you. Again, the worst thing you can do is let your nerves control you. If you don't just move on, it'll just make it harder to do so."

He would know.

"R-right.....Right..." Izaya didn't believe in themselves quite yet, but they began to believe in Takuma. "H-Hey um.....thank you."

"No problem kid. Oh, by the way, I never told you my talent, did I?" He pointed to himself, a cheeky grin on his face. "I'm the SHSL Acoustic Guitarist. I can play other guitars, but my acoustic music tops anything else."

"How about you? I never caught your talent."

"Oh! Th-that's pretty cool." They definitely thought Takuma suited his talent, "I make f-fireworks."

"Then i'm sure she'll be blown away by your charm." He said, the pun quite clearly intended, before hearing the gravedigger talk.

[royal-despair-threads]

Chiyo & Manobu [Prologue]

Chiyo began pulling at carpet strings in boredom. Destruction of property wasn't her usual pastime but at this point there was little less else to do in this room. She pulls lightly on the threads, wondering which threads connected to which thread.. it was pointlessly fun. She finds herself crawling around the rug, following a single thread as her director.

Suddenly she finds herself next to a white haired boy, who she recognized as the one who had been unconscious longer than the others. He still seems a bit disorientated too.

It's not her usual scene to be the first to approach people, but in this situation she thinks it's probably best to at least learn the entire playing field before making any crucial moves. She taps on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hi, is it okay if I introduce myself?" She smiles politely.

Is an introduction a crucial move? Or is it part of learning the land? Too late to back out now either way..

Another person touching him... what is it with these people? If an angel were too just bless you one day and stand before you, is your first instinct to touch him? Anyway, he resisted the urge to bat the prying individual away and turned to see who it was.

"How annoying," he states bluntly. He places a hand on his forehead, similar to how one would if they were beginning to get a headache. "At least you know you need my permission." On that note, he smiles smugly.

"Sure, Chessie. If you got a name better than the one I just gave you, I might remember it."

A, annoying?? Oh no, what did she do? And 'Chessie'? ....  Oh, it's because of her accessories, probably.. She decides to deeply contemplate these comments later. For now, she should introduce herself, b, but she can't quite stop wondering if she's doing something wrong.

"U, um.. My name is, is, Chiyo Oshiro.." She starts to fiddle with the bows in her hair. "It's nice to m, meet you.. At Hope's Peak Academy I was given the title of Ultimate Chess Player.." Oh, now she really hopes she's not being annoying....

The second he hears her stutter resulted in immediate roll of his eyes and him tensing up slightly. Once she made it through her introduction, or whatever that was, he let out a giant sigh.

"No one has time for stuttering Oshiro-san. It's annoying, useless, and the cue that a bumbling fool is both of those. Are you annoying and useless, Chiyo Oshiro?" He crosses his arms, his smile gone and his expression serious. "Stop fiddling with the bows in your hair too while you're at it. You're such a mess."

His eyes narrow on hers. "You wanna know how to become a slightly less worthless? Start with keeping your mouth shut until you're absolutely sure of what you want to say."

"W,whhhwh......"

"......." She decides to keep her mouth shut.

She holds in her breath. God, what is she supposed to do?? She didn't expect this boy to be so immediately mean. She looks to the side and tries to gather her thoughts. She keeps her hands away from her bow, but now she's fiddling with her cravat.

"......... If I may ask..." She talks slower,making sure not to stutter. "....What is your name? You are... a student at Hope's Peak Academy too, right?”

Manobu winced at the noise she made (the whhhwh). He bites his lip as he watches her eyes begin to start tearing up. It was a sight for sore eyes as far as he was concerned, so he turned his body so that three quarters of it are now facing her.

"Manobu Hasekura, recognised as the architect student of Hope's Peak." He glances back to Chiyo to see that she's still struggling. "Damn it," he growls to himself.

The architect turns back to face her and puts his hands on her shoulder in one swift motion. "Are you really having that hard of a time with not stuttering and being a nuisance? God!" Manobu moves his arms away and rubs his temples. Making people cry is something he's okay with doing... but it's not as fulfilling when it's a girl with no backbone like... yeah he'd step over her but if she'd not make herself look like such a victim it'd all be good.

"Do you want me to.... help you... not stutter?" Manobu's biting his lip again. "If you tell anyone I even said that, I'll personally see that you never talk again, got it? I'm not doing this for your sake either, I'm doing this for my own sanity."

At the physical contact Chiyo immediately shrunk away, she held her hands in front of her almost acting as a shield. The stuffiness of her face seemed to lighten up a bit as Manobu offered to help. She always tended to do better when there was someone guiding her or teaching her.

"Would.. would you really help me?" Her voice has a hint of hesitation and fear in it. If he were immediately mean.. but  also suddenly helpful, would it be a good choice to get help from him? "I'f you really help me..... I'll be sure to... to return the favor, if you'd like."

There's a good chance his eyes sparkled when he heard the phrase 'sure to return the favour' come from her mouth.

In a quick motion, Manobu straightens his back, smiles, and winks. He crosses his arms over his chest. "Didn't I just say I'd help you? As long as we keep it a secret and you hold up to your end of the bargain, consider yourself lucky. With my help, you'll be the happiest you've ever been."

"But I do need a down payment. Scratch my back, the center part where I can't reach." Manobu turns so his back was facing her. He tries to look over his shoulder as best he could just to make sure she wouldn't try anything shady.

"H, huh?" This isn't exactly what Chiyo had in mind, but it's not like she really had anything in mind in the first place. Is.. Is this something that people normally do to return favors??? She pauses for a moment before making any moves, and then hesitantly reaches out her hand. "Al......r, right..." She just kinda.. kinda starts scratching the very center of his back.

This is the most uncomfortable she's felt since coming to in this room. Outside of feeling horrible with the red-headed girl, this is definitely the most unsettling. Her face almost contorts in confusion, arcing her brows and tightening her lips.

"Nice." Manobu stretches his back once she's scratched enough. He now turns back to her. "Look at you! You got yourself an acquaintance! But don't call me that. I don't need people thinking I'm showing you any kindness." Manobu smirks.

"Were you about to stutter just then? You better not have about to."

An acquaintance? That's.. that's good at the very least. She's met people like this before but probably not to this extent. She's glad that his attitude towards her is nice enough, but she still feels strangely uncomfortable around him..

"S, sorry..." she finally says, cursing herself for stuttering again. Hm, this feels familiar actually..

Manobu stomps his foot. "What did I just tell you? Stop doing that!" He lets out a huff of annoyance. "Is there anything that makes you feel confident, even just for a moment?" He runs his hand down his face. "Do you like compliments? Do you need attention to help get you grow?"

Manobu sighs. This is going to be a long process. What did he just get himself into... oh well, it'll work out in the end.

"You have... nice hair." He says this quietly, to make sure no one besides her can hear him say that.

"!!" The compliment takes her completely off guard. She blushes before playing with it. "Thank you...." She tries her best not to stutter, but suddenly giving her a compliment wasn't giving her compliments, but rather making her feel flustered. She looks to the side. "S, sorry... I don't think I'm, um, especially appreciative of attention..." She's got enough of that from fans and people interested in her parents.