#and souichi was one of my

[ner0ticmemories]

me : proudly stalking @cursedyou page because souichi and ashley . that's it . plain and simple .

[lunnyhasunohana]

3 crazy people 😍

[eeefroggyeee]

Haven’t posted something in forever. Here’s my horrible, no good, rotten, demonic kids again

[whosyourfavevoicedby-polls]

[sysig]

I did some Souichi studies because I’m love he <3 (Patreon)

Bonus:

Here are the Studies compared to their Originals btw :3

So like, not a joke, not an exaggeration, I’m pretty sure this is my favourite panel in the entire Challengers/KoiBo continuity (and I decided to draw it first lol - it’s ‘cause I have such big feelings about it!!) It just hhhhhh, it so perfectly encapsulates everything he’s feeling in that moment; disbelief, betrayal, uncertainty, distrust, conflict - every moment of love he’s built up to that point has been thrown into immediate relief to what he’s been told and it’s all there, right on his face, it’s such a masterfully done expression ;; <3 I legit cry every time I reread, that whole scene is just so good, I could actually talk forever about his relationship with Morinaga in that one moment

The rest aren’t nearly so intense lol, mostly just grabbed from moments when I thought he was being especially cute <3 Concerned lad! His hair is so swoopy in Challengers hehe <3 <3 It’s actually even fluffier in his super early-on appearances, which are also excellent >:3c But I still like his KoiBo look best ♪ You can also see it’s a bit of a challenge to make his face as slim as he actually is, just thicken the lines inward until it almost looks right! Lol

I love this panel haha, everyone so silly chibi’d out. You can also really get a good look at how ridiculous his hair is, look at how the tuft that’s tucked behind his ear joins up with the tie! How does he tie it up like that, consistently?? How is he allowed in labs like that!! He’s ridiculous <3

Confused and blushy Souichi ft. Morinaga, I just kind of filled in the details he was covering lol. I love Souichi being dumb and having no self-awareness <3 He’s actually quite intelligent and emotionally aware a surprising majority of the time! But his blind spots leave big gaps haha

I love when he has his eyebrows in a relatively neutral position, he’s normally so grumpy! He looks so friendly even with just a neutral expression :D Plus his hair!! The way it’s communicated to be thin and feathery by being able to “see through it” to his lab coat, ah <3 Handsomest

Shy boy <3 I also really love the way his hands and wrists are shaped, such cool lines ah

I could’ve sworn he and Morinaga were like, almost the same size in Challengers... I guess Morinaga did have a second growth spurt, but still! It’s just an excuse to see him being cute!! Oh noooooo (lol)

Grump man <3 Beauty boy <3 His hair flows so beautifully!

It’s also fun to see a younger Souichi in a flashback, rather than in the Challengers style haha. He was a mess by himself, he’d hate to hear it but he really only does well with others haha. I also love how this scene is from the POV of one of his admirers, Momo is such a good girl and she’s so right <3

He’s being such a meanie to his sister in this scene lol, he’s the worst! <3 I was going to leave it at that, but adding his little frameless-glasses stem holes really made it look like Spamton’s googly eyes and I about lost it lol

[bgsdraws]

I watched the new netflix junji ito adaptation

I like this little guy a lot

[charliesinfern0]

check out the custom themes I made for my ds! :D

[thathashtagnamaste]

Sometimes I just think about this panel from challengers, and then I remember koisuru boukun and I ...

[fizzycarbon]

Expanding on my previous post

This AU is a fantasy world. Basically where monsters exist and you gotta fight them off for loot and that stuff.

You start off as a playable character which is Souichi. In one timeline, you start out as his child self where he's a low level mage. You later work your way up to becoming a sorcerer by taking quests from his grandmother, casting beginner curses, etc. Timeline skips and you get a cutscene where his grandmother mysteriously disappears. He doesn't know how or why, but he demands to know why. Souichi then begins to work his way up the magic ladder. You control him as he fights demonic monsters, takes on more tougher quests, etc. Although he is stronger than before, he isn't fine with just himself (which he doesn't like) so these are the defeated characters that become unlocked as members of your team!

Some gore ahead

Chizumi's character:

She's a little demon that Souichi stumbles upon in a forest. He was there to perform some practice but got found by Chizumi, and boy was she hungry.

She's not a high level boss. Mostly considering that she's the first soon-to-be playable character added to your team.

Skills:

Maul

She's more hands on compared to Souichi. She can lunge at the enemy and maul them to death which gives her XP to which her other skills get unlocked.

Teleportation

This makes her boss fight to be a pain in the ass. Not because she's strong, but because she keeps teleporting which makes it take longer than necessary to defeat her. She can only teleport small distances in battles. Nothing crazy like the next town over.

Strength

I need like- something else other than Maul as her defense, so why not have her grip strength to be crazy enough that she's able to snap bones?

Cutscene:

Chizumi is sitting in the living room of an abandoned house she and Souichi broke into to look for loot. A low level demon was spawned, but she easily lunged at it with the right timing, and distraction from Souichi. She sits on the floor, she snaps the arms, and eats the flesh.

Souichi walks in, coming from the basement where he found a bag of gold coins.

"Gross.." He says, as Chizumi aggressively makes a mess.

End

The two travel together, occasionally fight and banter, get along, and stuff as they set trail. They both enter a town and decide to take on a bounty. This 'Pretty Boy' seems to be driving the town folk mad. The reward for him is quite high. Cha-ching! He's located at an empty Intersection which many tourists and wannabe-heros gravitate towards.

Skills:

Hallucination

He can make any species hallucinate into despair. They go absolutely mad. Insane to the point they'll gouge their eyes out. -But! He needs some more XP in the battle to do that. His early XP hallucinations make the player see several of him which 'Pretty Boy' blends into, making it harder to strike him.

Possesion

This is coming from his paranormal abilities. For a couple seconds, he can possess a teammate, or you into getting closer to him, which allows him to attack close up. It makes a character do like a zombie walk to him, showing that they aren't controlling their own body.

Fog

A more melee style of attacking yet it also reaches far range. Up close, especially when using 'Hallucination', 'Pretty Boy' can shift the fog that he emits into sword like blades. He does a short wind up motion (warning the player) and can swing his forearm in a motion as to where the fog hits. If it's longer distance, the winding up is slightly longer, and the fog can keep travelling until it hits someone or an object/wall.

Cutscene:

Rain falls heavy, wetting the pages of Souichi's spell book. It's not looking good so far. They are barely reaching halfway on 'Pretty Boy's' health and he's already being rendered useless.

While Chizumi uses her teleport to get closer to maul at him, Souichi stands there, still. Can he feel despair without 'Pretty Boy' using a direct hallucination on him..?

Chizumi gets more injured. Her arm is heavily wounded, and bleeding heavy. That makes it harder for her to lunge. Refusing to be weak, Souichi stretches out his arms, and spread his fingers. The sound of the harsh rain helps him concentrate.

Grandmother used to love the rain.

A purple light starts to flicker at the center of his palms. Squinting his eyes, he aims for the chest of the poltergeist. 'Pretty Boy's' heart begins to glow purple.

Souichi lets go of the breath he was holding which triggered a curse to strike at the heart of the poltergeist. The wind shrieks as his health goes down heavily.

Chizumi flinches, but gains her feral composure quickly. She dashes at 'Pretty Boy', jaw stretching open, ready for a bite.

End

To make possible confusion clear, 'Pretty Boy' takes form of being semi humanlike in the aspect that he has a body. He can just phase in and out, and fog appears around him. If his guard isn't up, then he starts to fade in opaque, showing that he's back to having a penetrable body.

After defeating him, 'Pretty Boy' tags along with them since the town folk had finally managed to put up some talismans to ward him off. The gold coins Chizumi and Souichi were rewarded helped them stay at an Inn for the time being.

Tomie's character:

She's definitely a godlike character. I don't want to have her be such an OP character when playing as her, so she definitely gets a bit nerfed.

Skills:

Cloning

Her clones are one of her skills obviously. She could summon them to fight alongside battles, but when placing one hit, they disappear. Multiple could be summoned at once.

Regeneration

This is like a huge part of her. She can regenerate limbs, but not just the normal amount for a woman, but multiple arms, heads, etc. She becomes this monster form which installs Fear into your characters, making them more vulnerable to ambushes of her clones.

Fear

Her terrifying appearance and aura make the team heighten their fear, causing their vision to be only black a couple feet ahead of them, and making it difficult to see Tomie. Their blocked vision helps her clones take them by surprise and slash at them.

Cutscene:

Souichi can hear his own breathing in his head. He's scared out of his mind as if he were a little child again. He hates that. It's so dark that he can't even see the main body of- what's this damned monsters name?!

He hears the faintest step before he feels the skin on his shoulder blade open. He hisses, clenching his teeth. Whipping his head and body around, he sees nothing.

A pained cry comes from his far left.

Chizumi.

She stumbles into Souichi's view, limping, and gripping her shoulder which has been dislocated.

Running to her aid, he casts a small forcefield around them as he gives her a potion that mends her flesh back together, and snaps her arm back in place.

'Pretty Boy' was across from them, hidden by the Fear around them. He casts a Fog to make the clones stagger.

Sensing a gloomy presence, he slides to the right, narrowly avoiding an attack from a left over clone that snuck up behind him.

Forming the fog he emits into sword blades, 'Pretty Boy' forces them to pierce the body of the replica.

As he runs forward, Tomie comes into view. Her back is turned on him, but the extra heads on her nine foot body spot him and shrill.

Black goopy liquid spreads on the ground, forming more clones.

Chizumi runs up, better than her previous state, and begins to make her way towards Tomie, the main body. Souichi runs opposite to her side. He readies up a curse that will temporarily blind the monster, making her eyes bleed in the process. He shoots out the purple light, successfully causing damage. It buys time for Chizumi to snap the extra arms, and bite at the extra faces.

Tomie's health is low now. They spent too long fighting her that she's one heavy blow away.

'Pretty Boy' casts Hallucination, making the main body scratch at her skin with her claws, furthering her health down bit by bit until she causes her own demise.

Tomie bleeds out into the ground, but it's not log until she is regenerated. It's a disgusting sight to behold. Her bones snap in place, flesh sows itself together, nails grow from her fingertips too fast, and her eyes roll as they get placed correctly.

It's somewhat like Souichi's 'healing' potion.

'Pretty Boy' throws up behind a tree while Chizumi salivates at the blood.

Finally, Souichi's turn for his skill showcase.

Summary: He's a human yet a strong sorcerer. He's practiced since he can remember which gave him an upper hand on starting out early.

Skills:

Heart's Curse

With the palm of his hand, Souichi can link the enemy's heart to his spell. The curse contains of sharp ritual daggers, stabbing into the heart.

'Healing' Potion

From a recipe book his grandmother gifted him. It's a grueling spell in a form of a liquid. Drinking it at a wounded state will heal you, but with a cost. Your injured bones? Snapped back in place. A gash in your leg? Your flesh slowly mends together. In the short aftermath, your body will feel lightweight and sore.

Forcefield

A bubble made of purple glasslike gloss spreads around him. It lasts quite a bit. He can extend it to a degree, place it close, or far.

Thanks for coming to my hyperfixation tedtalk.

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Round 1 Matchups!

Side A

L Lawliet (Death Note) VS Muichirou Tokito (Demon Slayer)

Gohan (Dragon Ball Z) VS Kiibo/K1-B0 Idabashi (Danganronpa)

Haruka Sakurai (Milgram) VS Seishirou Nagi (Blue Lock)

Satoru Gojou (Jujutsu Kaisen) VS Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Umetarou Nozaki (Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun) VS Tamaki Suoh (Ouran High School Host Club)

Gin Gagamaru (Blue Lock) VS Taisei Yoshida (Assassination Classroom)

Itona Horibe (Assassination Classroom) VS Souichi Tanuma (Those Snow White Notes)

Light Yagami (Death Note) VS Tenma Matsukaze (Inazuma Eleven)

Shouto Todoroki (My Hero Academia) VS Sunny (Omori)

Broly (Dragon Ball Super) VS Kaworu Nagisa (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Yu Narukami/Souji Seta (Persona 4) VS Sechs (XBlaze)

Kiyotaka Ishimaru (Danganronpa) VS Kento Nanami (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Nate River/Near (Death Note) VS Kyouya Ootori (Ouran High School Host Club)

Mash Burnedead (Mashle: Magic and Muscles) VS Noiz (DRAMAtical Murder)

Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) VS Kabuto Yakushi (Naruto)

Lan Wangji (Mo Dao Zu Shi) VS Rui Kamishiro (Project Sekai)

James (Pokémon) VS Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

Yuusuke Kitagawa (Persona 5) VS Tsubasa Yuunagi (Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure)

Hitoshi-san (Nyan~ Neko Sugar Girls) VS Illumi Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

Mikazuki Augus (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) VS Wakatoshi Ushijima (Haikyuu!!)

Homare Arisugawa (A3!) VS Kamille Bidan (Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam)

Subaru Mikazuki (My Roommate is a Cat) VS Atsushi Murasakibara (Kuroko no Basket)

Tanaka (Tanaka-kun is Always Listless) VS Natural Harmonia Gropius (Pokémon)

Haru (Tsuritama) VS Giorno Giovanna (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Floyd Leech (Twisted Wonderland) VS Laios Touden (Dungeon Meshi)

Touma Akechi (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.) VS Trafalgar D. Water Law (One Piece)

Lotte “Roy” Carmine (BlazBlue) VS Gon Freecss (Hunter x Hunter)

Nahoya “Smiley” Kawata (Tokyo Revengers) VS Senkuu Ishigami (Dr. Stone)

Ash Ketchum (Pokémon) VS Mafuyu Satou (Given)

Alhaitham (Genshin Impact) VS Shichirou Balam (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun)

Shintarou Kisaragi (Kagerou Project) VS Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)

Toshinari Seki (Tonari no Seki-kun) VS Takashi Natsume (Natsume’s Book of Friends)

Side B

Haruka Nanase (Free!) VS Tsukasa Tenma (Project Sekai)

Takeo Gouda (My Love Story!!) VS Karna (Fate)

Shintarou Midorima (Kuroko no Basket) VS Kim Dokja (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint)

Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) VS Junpei Tenmyouji (Zero Escape)

Sig (Puyo Puyo) VS Kanata Shinkai (Ensemble Stars)

Kyoujurou Rengoku (Demon Slayer) VS Yugi Mutou (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Legoshi (Beastars) VS Gaien "Enkidu" Enkidou (Under Night In-birth)

Doppo Kunikida (Bungou Stray Dogs) VS Hiroshi Odokawa (Odd Taxi)

Kusuo Saiki (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.) VS Katsuya Serizawa (Mob Psycho 100)

Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa) VS Haruhito Yano (Odd Taxi)

Yotasuke Takahashi (Blue Period) VS Manjirou "Mikey" Sano (Tokyo Revengers)

Kyouya Onodera (Talentless Nana) VS Misumi Ikaruga (A3!)

Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) VS Shu Itsuki (Ensemble Stars)

Meguru Bachira (Blue Lock) VS Ren Mihashi (Big Windup!)

Ranpo Edogawa (Bungou Stray Dogs) VS Kaito (Vocaloid)

Zero (Puyo Puyo) VS Masayoshi Hazama (Samurai Flamenco)

Genos (One Punch Man) VS Jotaro Kujo (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

Vivia Twilight (Master Detective Archives: Raincode) VS Sora Harukawa (Ensemble Stars)

Satori Tendou (Haikyuu!!) VS Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic X)

Houtarou Oreki (Hyouka) VS Kabane Kusaka (Kemono Jihen)

Ghiaccio (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) VS Tenya Iida (My Hero Academia)

Malleus Draconia (Twisted Wonderland) VS Tetsuya Kuroko (Kuroko no Basket)

Kensuke Aida (Neon Genesis Evangelion) VS Goku (Dragon Ball)

Shinichi Kudou/Conan Edogawa (Detective Conan) VS Toya Aoyagi (Project Sekai)

Rei Suwa (Buddy Daddies) VS Gin Ibushi (Your Turn to Die)

Jade Leech (Twisted Wonderland) VS Akihiko Sanada (Persona 3)

Xiao (Genshin Impact) VS Loid Forger (Spy x Family)

Souya "Angry" Kawata (Tokyo Revengers) VS Sabro Sabnock (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun)

Apollo Justice (Ace Attorney) VS Tobio Kageyama (Haikyuu!!)

Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter) VS Saitama (One Punch Man)

Sol Badguy (Guilty Gear) VS Langa Hasegawa (Sk8 the Infinity)

Subaru Natsuki (Re: Zero) VS Yusei Fudo (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

[eeefroggyeee]

They could be best friends my god please. Souichi and Chizumi bestie realness

[spiraphobia]

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023)

From the mind of horror manga maestro Junji Ito comes a spine-tingling selection of some of his most bizarre, disturbing and terrifying tales.

Some thoughts ahead:

When this anime adaptation came out, I wasn't particularly excited knowing it was from the same studio that gave us Junji Ito Collection. And honestly, I'm disappointed that they didn't even bother to step up their game from the last series. Once again, they kick things off with The Strange Hikizuri Siblings as the first episode, just like they did with Souichi in JIC. If I were launching a horror series, I wouldn’t start with these kind of stories - they're practically a guarantee to give viewers the wrong impression of the entire anthology.

Really, I wish there had been more effort put into the details and the overall mood. You don't have to perfectly replicate Junji Ito's art style, but the dread and atmosphere should be there - those are some of his greatest strengths. And when I say that, maybe they could have used thicker lines, deeper shadows, or more unsettling sound design. The pacing could also be slowed down to build tension, letting the horror linger just a bit longer before revealing the unsettling visuals. Take The Bully, for instance. That manga panel had me seriously freaked out, but in the anime, it just feels flat and almost laughable—why does she look like a clown? Ugh.

Now we have viewers thinking, "What's so scary about these weird stories? There's nothing special about this author." I don't believe his works can't translate into anime - even Yami Shibai manages to nail the dread with nothing but cut-out pictures.

A few things did stick with me, though. They threw in a little revenge scene at the end of The Long Hair in the Attic, and I have to admit, that was brutal but oddly satisfying.

Also, The Mold wasn’t one of my favorite stories, but in the anime, it grossed me out enough to become my favorite episode in the whole series. This really confirms that the use of black and white suits Ito’s atmospheric works best.

Would I recommend it? If you're a die-hard Junji Ito fan, you might still want to check it out for the sake of seeing his stories in animated form. However, if you're new to his work or looking for something truly chilling, this adaptation might not deliver the atmosphere and dread that makes his manga so compelling. I'd give it a 6/10 - it's not a total miss, but it doesn't do justice to the source material. But hey, the opening and closing music are truly bangers though no lie.

[jayden-killer]

DREAMS ARE MY REALITY. (pt. 4)

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

What would happen if your favourite fictional character appeared in your bed...?

A/N: oh boy. This is 1000% certificated angst. *cries hard* ALSO ITS BEEN ALMOST ONE YEAR OMG I'm back!!!

Taglist (write me down in the comments if you want to be added!): @strxngegirl @d1lf-loverrr @laysmt @musicalhistorical @souichi-sbitch

☆

Miguel and I didn't have much to do that day. My boss had let me take a few days off, and I was somewhat relieved. The possibility of not going to work in those days turned into an opportunity to strengthen the bond with Miguel. Now he lived in my house until his Gizmo adjusted and he was able to get through to Lyla. I didn't mind his presence, because I had always considered him as my friend, or maybe more than a friend, even before I knew he was real.. But that didn't matter. Miguel was going to leave sooner or later. And this would also lead to a void in my heart. I decided to chase those thoughts away and suggest that he take a walk in the city park near my house that morning. He agreed.

°☆°

The humidity was gone, and I remember him blowing a light cool breeze that ruffled our hair and clothes. On our way to the park, we didn't talk much. I had guessed that Miguel was a man of few words, but I still hoped that he had something to say. Anything.

"Here we are" I let my face adorn itself with a smile "A little fresh air won't hurt you. Lately you've always been locked up in my studio trying to find a solution to get back into your dimension".

"Indeed" he agreed, looking around "But it's not a situation to be underestimated. I'm afraid Lyla is broken"

"I'm sure you'll find the right solution, but it's not good for you to be stuck indoors 24/7. Even I go out once in a while!" I replied, joking. There seemed to be a small smile on his face. "Maybe yes..."

My gaze fell on a café, never seen before, which had probably recently opened. I figured a coffee or something might help miguel relax even more. I met his eyes, tired and thoughtful. "Would you like a coffee?" I proposed.

"Okay. No sugar, but milk...and medium"

"Wow, the big boy is thirsty this morning!"

“Whatever, get in line, since there's a lot of them.” He rolled his eyes annoyed. "Okay, you stay here, I think it won't take me long. The queue is flowing" With that, I left Miguel for a few minutes, hoping that nothing had happened, nothing strange or bad. But maybe I was wrong. And I could not have foreseen it.

Miguel remained silent, watching his friend leave. He took a deep breath and looked around for the third time, then sat down on a nearby bench. He admired the children's play area for a while (at least, it seemed to him a while) and tried not to think about it at all. But it was not easy for him not to think of his beloved Gabriella. Her beloved, perfect child. Every time her face came back to him, the memories resurfaced and he always ended up in a difficult situation, in which he either cried or was forced to repress that sadness. And the second option today was the one he would have chosen. Crying in public, at his age... "You're a grown-up adult, O'Hara, act like one! Gabriel wouldn't be happy about that, so don't try to cry-"

"Excuse me, sir, but can you get the ball out of those bushes? It's too high".

That voice managed to bring Miguel back to reality and he noticed a pretty, little girl in soccer gear and her face slightly covered in mud. Miguel's eyes widened, his heart rate accelerated considerably and he seemed to forget what was around him. He almost forgot even the little girl's ball. He was too busy watching the girl smile politely at him, patiently waiting for him to give her the ball back. Nodding weakly, he got up off the bench, plucking the ball from the branches with ease. The little girl jumped with happiness and took back the ball that Miguel handed her, to then give him an even bigger smile.

"Thank you very much, sir!"

"Gabriella..."

His words flew out of her mouth without a second thought. "Is that you, Gabriella?"

"Thank you". Smiles to the bartender, carrying in hand the two glasses full of coffee. On one of them there was written "Miguel :)". I specifically asked the bartender to draw a smiley face, because I thought it was cute. But as I was walking to the place where I had left Miguel a few minutes ago, I almost dropped my coffee by the hand. My mouth opened with surprise. I never expected to find Miguel chatting happily, inches away, with a little girl. His tail was high and he was wearing sportswear, while he was swinging his legs with a football on his legs. That little girl had a very familiar face. I thought I saw her somewhere. It was at that moment that I realized: it was the carbon copy of Gabriella, Miguel’s daughter. But what was she doing there? Why was she there?

My legs moved by themselves, getting closer and closer to eavesdropping on the scene. And so Miguel noticed me: he looked up from the child’s eyes and, unexpectedly, smiled at me. I never thought I’d see Miguel smiling. He radiated a warm, warm smile that made my heart cliff. Gabriella really had a strong influence on him.

"I... I brought you your coffee," I said without a second thought, and I stretched my arm, passing the glass. He nodded, and took it. She opened and closed her mouth when she finally spoke. "She is Gabriella"

"Great pleasure!" The girl gave me a bright smile and waved at me, so I waved back.

"My pleasure. W-Wha..?" My head moved towards Miguel's direction, visibly confused. "What is happening?"

"She, huh... I pulled a football out of a hedge. And now she’s telling me that she had auditioned for a major soccer team" Miguel explained. I had the distinct feeling that he was almost justifying himself as if it was wrong for him to talk to a shameless copy of his daughter. I never thought there was one on this Earth. Where did she come from? All that was missing were anomalies that appeared outside of multidimensional portals and began to disrupt the city. I shuddered at the thought. Maybe not.

"Oh" I sighed, and smiled embarrassed. "Anyway... cool!"

"Yeah," Miguel smiled even more when his eyes fell on Gabriella’s adorable face. "Can I see some dribble? I bet you’re really good"

"Sure, sir!" Gabriella got up from the bench with speed and, without wasting time, showed us some dribble she made with her foot. The ball held its balance on the tip of her foot, and Gabriella took on a real concentrated expression, frowning her eyebrows. At the end of that, she smiled all satisfied, and asked, "Was I good?"

I clapped my hands, clearly surprised by his performance and showed a big smile. Miguel joined too, clapping more than me. He leaned over her and messed up her tied hair. "You were great, mija".

Mija.

He had unknowingly called her mija.

In my heart, I hoped that Gabriella did not know Spanish. But she didn’t say anything, on the contrary, she smiled even more at his praise. That little girl was special to Miguel, I could read his face. " Now I have to go. Bye, sir!" She waved at him, and we did the same, watching her running away and returning to the park area. That's when I decided to finally sit beside Miguel, coffee still in my hand. I didn't want to look up at him. I could sense he had a look full of sorrow, and decided to keep looking at my coffee.

"She's great".

"Huh?".

"I mean, she's... Great." It was his time to sigh now, shooking his head and chuckling. "I didn't know there was one of her here".

"Neither did I".

Our brief conversation ended in an awkward silence. This was until Miguel decided to keep talking to me. "I'm not saying it's your fault. Of course, it's not, you couldn't know. I'm just saying...I miss her".

Oh. I didn't expect that confession. Miguel wasn't one to express to another person his feelings, and maybe this was the perfect occasion to him to show that he really missed Gabriella.

I couldn’t imagine how he felt devastated to see a variant of his daughter here when he didn’t see it coming. It was the last thing on his mind. All those memories that he tried to repress, all the emotions that he felt for his daughter, now surfaced. Maybe I was stupid to take him out that sunny afternoon. Maybe it was better if we both stayed home. But still, as he said, how could I know?

I glanced at Miguel, who was smiling faintly. Nom had still touched his coffee. " Don’t worry. I know you really miss her".

"My precious girl...".

His voice broke and I saw him shaking. He was...crying. Holding tightly his coffee, he shook and put a hand on his face. He didn't hold himself. Oh, god. No, I couldn't see him crying. This broke my heart. Miguel... was crying. He looked like a scared baby. A baby in a man's body.

I gently took his arm and brought him close to me, placing his head on my shoulder. He buried it more and uncontrollably sobbed. "It's okay, Miguel". With one hand I rubbed his back. "None of this it's your fault. It's okay. You're going to be okay". I softly said, almost like a mother comforting his child. But in reality, I didn't know he was going to be okay. I just hoped he would be, someday.

[sysig]

Huh?? Whuh??? Okay (Patreon)

[doctorbunny]

Kazui's armband from Cat

Last night someone in a discord server came in dejected they were unable to read the armband Kazui and Hinako wore during cat, they couldn't get a good angle to screenshot it

So on a whim I looked some stuff up in my dictionary and typed "警察腕章" (Keisatsu wanshou/police armband)

This was the first result and it looks pretty close, the text is 捜査 (sousa) meaning search, its specifically a word used more in criminal investigation than say looking for your missing sock, but whilst the left kanji is promising there isn't any sign of the right one in the original screenshot so back to google

This is more like it! 捜一 Souichi, a word that is not in my dictionary and one of the first results for searching it is 読み方 (how to read)... Good news people who want to specifically cosplay Kazui and/or Hinako in their cop uniforms for some reason, because there's a lot of the above armband for sale online on amazon, mercari and probably anywhere else that sells stuff under 撮影用 (satsuei you/use in filming/photography) I also kept getting search results for actors/police dramas so I briefly considered the possibility Kazui and Hinako weren't real cops at all, but I don't think that's the case

It seems 捜一 is a shortened form of 捜査一課 (sousa ichi ka) Roughly translating to 'Investigation Department 1' [note, 捜査一課 can also be written as 捜査1課, the version with kanji vs arabic numeral seems interchangable, just for additional confusion]

To oversimply an entire system. Japan's police tend to be split into 4 main departments 捜査○○課 Department 1/捜査一課 deals with murder, robbery, assault, abduction/kidnapping, false imprisonment, sex crimes and arson Department 2/捜査二課 deals with economic fraud Department 3/捜査三課 is also robbery but like smaller stuff like purse snatching Department 4/捜査四課 deals with organised crime Basically when it comes to the case of 10 people being abducted and held in a prison outside of Japanese law for several years under threat of execution That's a job for Kazui and his wife's department!

Bonus fact idk if its relavent, but the 'kazu' in Kazui (一威) is spelt with the kanji for 1 "一" ... I guess his parents knew which department they wanted him working in lol

[xythlia]

tysm for the tag max 🩷

hmmm 8 shows to get to know me better...

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Ghost Stories (dubbed bc the english va's were literally allowed to say whatever tf they wanted)

Stiens Gate only bc I quote the "dr pepper the drink of intellectuals" line almost daily but it's also good w/out that

HELLSING

Bleach

All of Junji Itos shorts/collections

Mob Psycho 100

Hell Girl

tagging: @cremedelabrulee @bunnyspins @belphesnore (if ur not ok w being tagged in stuff lmk! <3)

Thanks for the tag Nyusa @artemiida

8 shows to get to know me

1. Bungou Stray Dogs

2. Mob Psycho 100

3. Violet Evergarden

4. Blue Period

5. Children of the Whales

6. Moriarty the Patriot

7. Yuri on Ice

8. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

tagging @snowbits @voidcat @circinuus @planetxiao and anyone who wants to join