#i love izumi shes one of my favorites so far

[rui-drawsbox]

remembering the most memorable mc's (with canon appearences) from the otomes i played

all of them are phone games btw. and looong rambling about the games after the cut!

Mystic messenger has been in my radar since i was in elementary school but i played it for the first time after the spanish traslation came out (2017 i think?) Seven shaped my type in such a specific way that im not really sure why loved him so much (it was the whole "he loves you in every route" stuff). I like a lot the default mc, most of the fandom did and that was enough to won me over

Rosa is top tier protagonist tbh, Tears of Themis has really good story and characters (as far i played, not a lot but i enjoyed it) The reason i'm not that much of a fan is bc the game is expensive asf and not very free to play friendly. You're either lucky or have a big wallet with the gacha

i miss my wife man(Marius)

Ephemeral has to be one of the best free to play otomes i've played tbh (if my memories aren't tricking me, it's been years) Good artwork, good storyline, good characters and as far i remember you can unlock one chapter of the character route per day (mabye two days, idk) and the mc's background has an important role in every route (she's a zombie! she's pretty now but eventually will fall apart, aaaaand her story gets expanded in one of the routes!) ((shes also adorable)) There's also a sequel, if you wanted more of the boys! never finished it but i'd recommend it

Honorable mentions! Huellitas Mágicas is a great game! has a really good cast with well fleshed arcs for all the characters, even the scondary ones! The game shines more for the development of *all* the characters rather than just the protagonist/ml. The main theme is overcoming insecurities! Each love interest has a different way of helping our (very insecure) protagonist and helping different characters with their own struggles :DD

10/10 i recommend this game if you want something cute and can be finished in a few hours, if i remember right. It also has a sequel! with like- 12 new love interests, also never finished it bc i didnt found a guide that worked for me but ñek

A3! is my canon event as a gacha player. Discovered the english/global server, tried it and got bored, left it for a few months, tried it again and fell in love, noticed the game was going to shut down bc low sales -HAHA :(-. This is not a otome btw, this is here bc Izumi has to be one of my favorite protagonists in gacha games ever

last but not least! Obey me! Shall we date? oh dear, what have they done to you :(. The original had intense powercreep to force you to pull cards -multiple times bc that makes them stronger- and even now, the company showed a lot of favoritism to some characters, leaving others to dust bc they don't make the same money. Not to say, they released a new game with the same cast and new main story (ignoring all what happend before). And let me say: THEY LITERALLY WANTED TO KILL THE ORIGINAL GAME.

Nightbringer might be a decent game but i don't trust the devs anymore, i still remember what happend with Asmo's birthday right after the release, and honestly i don't want to sit there watching how they disrespect my favorite characters again and again and again. Loved the characters hated the devs. 5/10 you can play it if you want but i don't recommend spending money on it, it's not worth it, just search #obey me here in tumblr and enjoy the amazing fanworks that i can assure you have a lot more love than the game itself

i miss my wife man (mammon and levi)

[littleragondin]

5, 8, and 18

Thank you for asking (*´︶`*)

5. Second Chance Romance

I can think of a few very good examples (A Breeze of Love recently, which was lovely), but my favorite is probably Kang Seojoon and Han Jiwoo in To My Star 2. I'm a HEA kind of person, I like to imagine that when the couple is endgame they are forever, but still at the end of season 1 a lot of the issues those two have felt barely touched upon and ground for trouble. And, well...

I like how the fact that they had quite a significant history together (they moved together!) and knew each other so well played into the way they hurt and chased each other. You never forget that they shared something far more than a teenage crush or a little flirt, and there is so much work left to do for them to address their issues. It hurt me a lot but I do like it immensely.

8. May/December

Hmm that's a harder one... I can't think of any relationship that would fully fit in the BL I have seen outside of the second leads in MODC ... If I go with an age gap that put significant weight on the age difference/question (even if it's by Nozue himself) it would probably be Nozue and Togawa from Old Fashion Cupcake. I especially like that it centers in part around the way Nozue burdens himself with what a man his age should or shouldn't do, and how Togawa slowly helps him remember that, you know, age is just a number etc. and that you can be a serious man in a beige three-piece and still go on a strawberry crepe date with your handsome employee =3

(also I think Izumi and Kikunosuke in Ossan's Love Returns work for this category so let me plug it in because whatever the hell is going on with them, I am 100% behind please and thank you (also the added bonus of Izumi grieving Kikunosuke's friend?? fantastic))

18. Slow Burn

This one easily goes to an ongoing burn, and it's Nomoto and Kasuga from She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat. This show is taking it's time with Nomoto slowly discovering her feelings and coming to term with it (and hopefully, acting on it by the end of the season). It's a quiet, soft show that I think actually handle its leisurely pace really well - never boring nor repetitive, but just like Nomoto it gives itself time to bloom into itself. I love them, and I am so so happy to have them back (´꒳`)♡

BL Romance Trope ask Game ~ Ask Me!

[ilovepannacotta]

Hello!!! (This is Kat lol, I can't send my from secondary blog, sigh.) Totally hijacking the Ling talk, but that train scene with Ed getting all frustrated over Ling being taller than him is a fucking HOOT. 10/10 fav. On another note on the manga... I might be supremely biased against Brotherhood cuz I'm an 03 girlie, but I have to agree about the manga being better than brotherhood too. I esp prefer the Elrics' and Izumi's relationship in the manga. They have all these little moments together that show she's more than just a teacher to them. Like, one of my FAVORITE moments is when Ed and Al start bragging to Izumi, as a child does to their mother, how they've been following her teachings of "to train the mind, train the body," and the panel then cuts to Izumi smiling proudly at them. It's fucking EVERYTHING to me.

Omg hello!!! Sorry to answer this late 😔

YES, completely agree with you! I love that scene, it just wkdhejfbsjsakandjaa how Ed was about to kill everyone and then himself while Ling was just so happy to be there. They are so stupid!!! I love them jdjfbakdnhjna.

Talking about fma03, I need to be honest and said I used to be a die-hard hater because I'm a Ling Yao fanboy sorry Im guilty BUT few months ago I began to become very fond of it and to understand that there really is nothing wrong with it being so far from the original story. I'm a new person now, a fma03 defender and fmab hater 🗣️ But I am glad that we all agree with the manga being top.

I'm dying to read the Dublith arc!! I want to see more of the Elrics and Izumi because if I remember right, in fma03 they feel more like a family than just teacher-student and I miss that. I want to see the moment you are talking about!!! It sounds so 😭😭😭 they are just kids who want a mom 🥲

Thank you so much, it's always a pleasure to talk with you!!

[ga-yuu]

Pregnancy stories - When Yoshino was pregnant with Izumi

Few days before Izumi was born...

Yoshino: "So...?"

Kurama: *touching her belly* "Ah. Baby feels healthy."

Yoshino: "Really! Thank god!....*rubs her belly* I can't wait to meet you."

Kurama: "You look happier than before."

Yoshino: "Of course I am. It's my first being a mom. I wonder how it's going to feel like. I'm really looking forward to it."

Kurama: "I see."

Yoshino: "Also thank you Kurama. You and all the Rebel members have been taking good care of me for the past 9 months. Thank you." *kisses his cheek*

Kurama: "For handling all your mood swings, I deserve more than a kiss on the cheek."

Yoshino: "Mm...." *kisses his lips*

Kurama: "Still...I don't understand, why those guys are excited more than me. I'm the father of the baby, yet they all are acting like it's their baby."

Yoshino: "Fufu...they're just excited about the fact that they're going to be uncles."

Yoshino: *looks at her belly* "You're so lucky. You're going to have some many people who's going to love you."

Kurama: "..........."

Kurama: "Yoshino."

Yoshino: "Hm?"

Kurama: "Why.....do you look so beautiful today?"

Yoshino: *blushing*

They both move close to kiss each other.

Yoichi: "Dinner's ready!"

Kurama and Yoshino: "Ah!" *moves away*

Sueharu: "I hope we didn't interrupt you guys."

Kurama: *glares*

Benkei: "Looks like we did."

Yoshitsune: "Yoshino, how are you feeling?"

Yoshino: "I'm doing fine Yoshitsune-sama, thank you."

Benkei: "Today, I made you your favorite Yoshino. Can you eat? Tell me if you need anything else."

Yoshino: "No no no. It's fine. I already feel bad for harassing you all with my mood swings for the past 9 months."

Yoshitsune: "Don't worry about that. We understand how hard it is for a woman who is going through this phase."

Sueharu: "That was really an experience. But it was fun."

Yoichi: "Yeah, we got to see so many fun things. Especially, angry Yoshino."

Yoshino: *blushing* "Please don't remind me that..."

Yoichi: "Do you remember that day, when Kurama asked Yoshino to peel oranges for him? And Yoshino was like 'You lazy-ass, do it yourself! How about for once, take ownership for what you did to me and feed me oranges!' "

Yoshino: *blushing* "Hey, I didn't go that far."

Kurama: "Yeah you did."

Yoshino: "Kurama!" *blushing*

Sueharu: "Yeah. And Kurama never asked again. From then on, he was the one feeding Yoshino oranges."

Kurama: "Because the doctor told me that Yoshino's body was weak and she needed a lot of food to stay healthy."

Benkei: "Yeah, and you were only feeding her oranges. "

Kurama: "What's wrong with oranges?"

Benkei: *sighs* "Nothing, but she needed to have more healthy food to survive the labor."

Yoshitsune: "Yes. That's why I also helped Kurama to make rice cakes."

Yoichi: "Yeah and you two burned the entire kitchen."

Kurama: "I thought if I increased the flames, it would cook fast."

Yoshitsune: "I'm sorry Benkei.....I made a mess."

Benkei: "It's fine Yoshitsune-sama! You were only trying to help."

Yoichi: "Hey that's so unfair! Why is Yoshitsune-sama forgiven so easily while I and Sueharu was punished to clean the entire kitchen?"

Sueharu: "Yeah, that's unfair."

Benkei: "Because when you two were cooking, you burned the rice so much that it was stuck to the pot. Do you know how annoying it is to clean?"

Kurama: *picks up the Yoshino's dinner and starts feeding her*

Yoshino: "Ah! Kurama, it's fine. I can eat myself now."

Kurama: *glares* "Don't tell me what to do. Now, open your mouth."

Yoshino: "Aaahh...Mmph...Mm...This is actually yummy."

Benkei: "Isn't it? We all made it together for you."

Yoshino: *angelic smile* "Thank you, everyone."

Yoshino finishes her food.

Kurama: "Here have this orange."

Yoshino: "No, Kurama. I think I'm full----!!"

Everyone: "!?"

Yoshino: "Ah!"

Kurama: "What's wrong!? Is the baby coming out!?"

Yoshino: "It kicked."

Everyone: "!!"

Yoshino: "It kicked! The baby just kicked!!"

Yoichi: "Hahaha...looks like the baby really wants oranges."

Benkei: "Oh my god, is there going to be another Kurama who's only going to eat oranges for the rest of their life?"

Yoshitsune: "I guess so." *smiles*

Sueharu: "I wonder if it's going to be a boy or a girl. I'm curious."

Yoichi: "I bet it's girl. It would be cute to see a junior Yoshino running around here."

Sueharu: "Yep! I can't wait to bring her so many cute dresses to wear."

Benkei: "And cook her so many delicious food."

Yoshitsune: "And play with her."

Yoshino: "Fufu...you all are excited even more now. Kurama what do you think? Is it going to be a boy or a girl?"

Kurama: "Does the gender matter?"

Yoshino: "No...but it wouldn't hurt to take a guess, right?"

Kurama: "............" *closes his eyes*

Everyone else: *waits eagerly*

Yoshino: "Kurama?"

Kurama: "......I think it's a boy."

[tare-anime]

Fullmetal Alchemist

Welp, finally I read this manga.

So very late, yes I know, but this and that happened and I've finally able to binge read this amazing 10 years work (2001-2010) in a little more than a week.

Tbh, the first book was mostly world building and kind of slow paced, but starting from the last half of second book.... I can't stop reading.

Wow. Just wow.

As a reader who usually has to wait a week or two between each chapter, being able to read a series from start to finish in a week is quite a different experience, tbh 🤣🤣 I need two days to take a breath and comprehend the story. There must be details that I missed that I need to reread.

Overall, the highlight of this series is the impecabble characterizations and the growth of each character, and character dynamics.

And not only Ed and Al as protagonists, or Winry, Roy, Izumi as the closest support characters but also the people around them up until the minorest characters. I love Scar, Barry the Chopper, the Homonculus, and even the main antagonist Shadow in the flask.

All of them get their moments to shine. All of them got their share of development, and most important, all of them got to do something in the plot!

The world building and plot also been done amazingly. From the current timeline, up until events in the past, and all loose ends being tied up in the end that give me the most satisfactory endings. It is still an open ending, but at the same time the epilogue feels enough.

And of course, this manga contains so many amazing female characters, and each one of them is so badass. They have their strength and weakness and impact to the people around them.

My favorites mommies.... Izumi Curtiz and Olivier Armstrong.

OmG!!!! Especially in these badass moments??? 🛐🛐🛐🛐 My Queeeennn!

Of course, I will always love black haired beauty with knives. LanFan my beloved 💖💖💖💖

And last but not least, Granny Pinnako!

I mean, this person has been there, and will always be there through sweet moments and sorrows. Supporting Trisha and Hohenheim, Ed and Al, Winry. She stands strong for them. She is there when these people needs some strong hands to steady their wobbly legs. And pushes them to carry on with their life.

That is.... one amazing woman right there!!

As far as pairing ships, being a TwiYor fan I am, I've always been bombarded with Royai fanarts (and I'm not complaining). Yes, I noticed the tragic pasts, the relationship, and how supportive Royai can be (and it is quite similar to TwiYor in a way), but I think for FMA, I lean more to Ed and Winry ship.

Don't get me wrong, I love both ships.

But seeing Ed and Winry grow from little boy and girls, do their share of hardships, realize their feelings, and finally voice their awkward proposal. Auugghhh!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰

My favorite moments for these ships are:

Yes yes, I will still love angst and hurt/comfort whenever I go 🤣🤣🤣

Oh, other ships that I like: LanFan and Lin, Izumi and Sig, May and Alphonse, Mr and Mrs. Hughes.

All in all, what an amazing series. I'm glad I finally able to read this 🥰🥰🥰🥰 and will do a reread while waiting for the next spy x family chapter.

[jujumin-translates]

Event | 5th Anniversary: The Way Back Home | EP 2: The Way Back Home Under the Starry Sky

*Contains spoilers for Act 12 - eternal moment*

Izumi: --Ah, it’s already this late, huh?

Sakyo: I think it’s time to call it a night.

Sakuya: Well then, one last thing-- We have something for you, Director.

Izumi: ?

Tsumugi: Here’s a share of our memories.

Izumi: An album?

Izumi: Uwaah…! The sky is so full of stars! It’s so pretty!

Tsumugi: Actually, before we went to our training camps, we all discussed this together.

Banri: You couldn’t come with us this time, but we’ve all made it this far because of you. You’ve always been by our sides, looking at the same view as us, Director-chan.

Tenma: Each of us decided to take our favorite pictures from our trips and give it to you as a gift.

Sakuya: But when we brought them together, they were all just pictures of the starry sky…

Banri: It was kinda a nice coincidence.

Tenma: Even though we were in different places, we were all under the same sky, looking up at the stars in the exact same way.

Tsumugi: We were happy to see that we were still connected even when separated, so we decided to use it as it was.

Sakuya: Director, as always, thank you so much!

Tenma: We’ve got twenty-four people in MANKAI Company, but we’re nothing without you, Director.

Banri: I think the reason we can always try new things is because you’re always watchin’ us, Director-chan.

Tsumugi: Let’s continue to put on the greatest plays together.

Izumi: --I’m the one who should be thanking all of you.

Izumi: Today, I once again realized that MANKAI Company is loved and supported by so many people.

Izumi: We all can’t help but call what happened here a miracle, and it’s a sign that we’ll keep on walking together even while worrying and lost.

Izumi: It’s thanks to all of you that I’m able to see so many wonderful views like this. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Izumi: …But things aren’t over just yet. There’s still views we haven’t seen.

Izumi: Let’s all look beyond just this place where we’re standing now.

Sakuya: Yeah!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Azuma: It’s a bit cold out.

Guy: It’s perfect for sobering everyone up a bit.

Misumi: Uwaaaah!

Izumi: ?

Misumi: Look, the stars!

Izumi: --.

Tenma: It’s rare to see so many stars out around here.

Kumon: It’s like we brought the stars with us!

Citron: The stars are celebrating our award and the success of today’s performance!

Muku: Waah, it’s so romantic!

Yuki: Cold…

Tasuku: It’s probably because it’s been raining a lot lately and there hasn’t been a lot of daylight.

Hisoka: You’re being too logical…

Homare: That’s our dear Tasuku-kun.

Tsumugi: But they really are pretty.

Kazunari: With the stars like this, maybe we’ll even see a shooting star?

Sakyo: That’d be too easy.

Citron: We just need to think of wishes, just in case!

Taichi: Let’s chant three times, the shorter the better!

Hisoka: Marshmallows, marshmallows, marshmallows

Manager: Money, money, money!

Tsuzuru: You’re all hopeless.

Izumi: Wish… wishes, huh…?

Izumi: (I guess there’s that, but…)

Misumi: Ah-- a shooting star!

Izumi: I hope we can see many more beautiful views just like this starry sky--.

Izumi: …

Masumi: Stare…

Izumi: W-What?

Masumi: I was just wondering what you wished for.

Azami: You were wishing so seriously.

Itaru: Was it something with curry?

Chikage: Maybe she wished for new spices.

Hisoka: That’s probably what you wished for, Chikage.

Izumi: It’s a secret.

Izumi: Alright, let’s go home!

[ ⇠ Previous Part ]

[canarymemories]

hi finally compiling the thread i made the other day on twt abt the first chapter of recital so. welcome to me having far too much to say about my big bang fic skgh

chapter titling is similar to symphony (leo day fic) but instead of music terms, it's ballet terms. i'm nowhere near as used to ballet terms as i am w music terms so they won't have a deeper meaning (at least not on purpose lmao) like some of the symphony chapter titles do, but that's part of why there's nine chapters

a small aside: there is a specific structure i have in mind for the fic. there will be three arcs (if u want to call them that), the first three chapters is the first arc and then there will be an intermission chapter (up to this point is as far as i've confidently planned out so past this point, i can't guarantee anything but. nine chapters is the goal adkgsh). so then chapter 4 and 5 are arc two followed up by another intermission, then the final arc will be chapters 8 and 9. the plan is to stay mostly canon compliant until i don't agree w akira (or kinosei aslkhg), so i'll pretty much be sticking to the canon timeline

please listen to the playlist akdhg most of the songs do correspond to specific things/chapters so it's tied to the story itself plus i've listened to it too many times so. please tell me i'm so right about it 😔 the song i used in the summary of the first chapter is more of a chapter 2 song but i felt like it fit for the first chapter so adkgh (i have. So Many songs for checkmate so. can't wait for that one lmao) (chapter 1 songs are the first four in the playlist, the 5th one could go either way between ch 1 and 2) once more is posted, then i might actually sit here and go on abt why each of these songs is specifically here

writing choices 🎉 the one i want to talk about so so so so bad is the using nicknames in the narration bc if you've read literally anything else i've posted, you'd see that i don't do that, but bc recital is so close to izumi as the narrator, and this chapter is focused on his childhood, i thought it was fitting. there are a few instances of this changing throughout the chapter, such as makoto going from yuukun to makoto in the one flashback section and then staying as makoto when izumi is older, naru eventually changes to arashi.

and the one i really want to bring up,,, izumi's parents are always referred to as mama and papa but there is one singular instance where that's changed and that's during the argument at the end of the chapter.

and then she's referred to as mama again a few paragraphs later and this just goes into the point that i think izumi has a very complicated relationship with his parents. on one hand, they don't support him as an idol and have quite literally told him to his face that he's not successful enough to make it on his own as a model (next door), have treated him more like a doll than their child and they couldn't be bothered to actually ask him what he was interested in, but he still cares about them. he gets offended on their behalf more than once (in ! era at least), but it's just,, complicated. i feel like i can't really properly explain my thoughts here but i have Thoughts. but this is where the vaguely toxic parenting warning comes in from this chapter because the thing is, i don't think his parents were planning for him to feel the way he does about their parenting, they do love him and they do want to have him succeed just. maybe not for the right reasons, yk? ofc that doesn't justify their treatment of him or anything like that, there's just more to it than outright toxic parenting hence why it's subtle here.

what's a little less subtle is izumi's mom living vicariously through him, it's a bit more obvious with the modeling bit than the dance classes but idk it makes sense to me for her to have done them as a child too

baby modelgumi,,, they get their own point here bc i think those might've been my favorite bits to write and genuinely, the baby arashi bit is my favorite part of the whole chapter. they're just so alsdkgh oeugh cute i want to squeeze them in my hands 🥺🥺🥺. my note for this on my list of things to talk about is literally "baby modelgumi :pleading:" they hold a special place in my head and i hope in urs too

i was going to list stories reference but i might wait until i have more done and posted for that (plus i can't remember what story it is that arashi mentions izumi pushed her mouth into a smile as kids) but. portrait and canary hall mentions 🎉🎉

the argument. it's implied a few times in ! that izumi's parents don't really agree with him being an idol (leo says izumi was having isses at home around checkmate/war era). given that they put so much time and effort into having izumi model, i suppose that wouldn't be too surprising, but i think it's important to have some kind of breaking point like the argument scene bc in next door, izumi talks about how his parents treated him growing up and that just makes me think that he probably didn't have much say in his own life and there's just something about being an idol being his first big decision that idk hits a little different and there is more to an extent on this concept in the next chapter in comparing himself to leo and just kind of being like ,, huh...

last thing, so aside from the ending of the beginning section of the chapter, i feel so smart about the ending line of this chapter bc mama's pancakes come up in portrait and there's even a baby izumi homescreen line about it and it's meant to serve as an apology rather than her actually apologizing but i feel like u could take it a few ways but akhg felt so smart when i came up w the ending of the chapter. and i felt the same way when i thought of the first chapter ending and u guys will not like me for that one btu aksdgh <33

baby's first friendship next time 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[nightofsky101]

Top 20 Animes of 2022

Sorry I skipped last year. Trust me I was watching I just didn’t feel motivated to make another list. However this time I am, but little longer. That’s right it’s 20 now. Plus I added my reasons too. Enjoy.

1. Dance Dance Danseur

Captivating characters, beautiful animation and intriguing story. I really fell in love with this one I went far as to read the manga translation AFTER episode one and continued while the anime was airing. I love how Jumpei over came the toxic masculinity to pursue ballet. His love for ballet really is inspiring. You can see the joy in his eyes. Plus I love Jumpei and Natsuki’s chemistry there’s more of them in the manga. I really do wish the manga would get serialized here in the USA and for Mappa to do another season.

2. Sasaki and Miyano

Cute sweet wholesome BL love story I LOVE MY BABIES. If I had to pick a favorite couple of the year it would be Sasaki and Miyano. AAAHHH I couldn’t stop smiling watching this anime it’s good for the soul. Even if you’re not into BL this is the most safest to watch. The anime version of Heartstoppers.

3. My Dress Up Darling

Cute fun wholesome and sweet romance blooming in front of you. Marine is such a joy no doubt my best girl. Goujo’s passion for hinadoll is inspiring. The animation is so pretty especially when they smile. This really did made me proud to be an anime fan. I can’t wait for more of Marine and Goujo.

4. Blue Lock

Out of the ordinary sports anime with some wild and intense animation. Forget about friendship and team work. It’s all about being an egoist survival of the best striker. I really love the characters. BTW I was watching this before the World Cup started and during it really was life imitating anime. Until Japan lost to Croatia. Root for them next World Cup. I can’t wait for more I probably will reading the manga.

5. Demon Slayer Season 2

I laughed cried and screamed. This season was full of emotions plus I felt like I was watching a movie. I love Tanjiro’s growth this season, Uzui was a badass he really is so cool. Nezuko was amazing. Daki and Gyutaro got me heartbroken. Zenitsu and Inosuke were unstoppable everyone really had a fantastic moment.

6. My Hero Academia Season 6

A whole lot better than season 5. A few nip picks here, but it didn’t bother me too much. I really did enjoy this first half. The voice acting was phenomenal and I was just so happy to see my favorite parts of the manga finally animated. Deku is a beast, Bakugou got me screaming, Shouto I want to hug him. I super excited for the next arc.

7. Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie

Cute and funny anime to watch. The moments with Shikimori, Izumi and their friends made me love this anime more. Who said a girl can’t be cute and handsome. BTW Hachimitsu is my spirit animal I love her.

8. Raven of the Inner Palace

The magic in this anime was pretty. The characters were fascinating, I love the Chines setting. Shouxue bring peace to the dead was uplifting. Plus I love Shouxue development she deserves the friends she has made.

9. Urusei Yatsura

The return of the original waifu Lum. I only watch a few episodes of the original anime they were pretty funny and the remake so far is fun to watch. I can see why Lum is so lovable.

10. Love Live Superstar Season 2

Between this one and Nijigasaki I like Superstar’s story more. Plus the series has broken some Love Live traditions. Liella really is a group you should be watching. Magaret and Lanzhu from Nijigasaki are queens. Love Live keeps on innovating new barriers.

11. Attack on Titan Final Part 3

Had me on the edge of my seat. Eren is a freaking beast I couldn’t believe this season it was shock after shock. I can’t imagine how this is going to end. I can’t handle anymore deaths.

12. Kaguya sama Love is War Season 3

Cute and super funny season. Ishigami had me proud like a mama. Miyuki and Chika’s rap was the best. Kaguya finally admitting to herself she loves Miyuki was so sweet.

13. Tokyo Mew Mew New

Another well done remake. I did watch a few episodes of the original anime when I was a kid. So this was kind of nostalgic to me. The girls are so cute I can’t wait to see more of the remake.

14. Mob Psycho 100 Final

A great ending to Mob. After 3 season it really was a joy and emotional journey to watch Mob Psycho 100. I will miss the crazy animation and deep story so much. Thank you Mob for everything a classic that will always be remembered.

15. More than a married couple, but not lovers

To me this was the vanilla version of Domestic Girlfriends. No step sisters, just a love triangle between a guy, his childhood friend and his marriage partner. So many funny and sweet moments. I do ship Jirou and Akari more.

16. Chainsaw Man

Wild and crazy anime to watch. It felt like I was watching a fever dream. I will be honest it didn’t get me hyped as the manga fans expected. But it was great to watch. It’s only the beginning though I do hope it gets another season.

17. Spy x Family

Funny cute and little suspenseful. It did felt like the Loid and Anya show though I do wish we got to see more of Yor’s assassin work too. The heart warming family moments really did touch my hear. Again family doesn’t always have to mean by blood.

18. Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting

Another cute and wholesome anime. Kirishima acted more like a big brother to Yaeka who knew a killer yakuza could have a heart. Family doesn’t always have to mean blood.

19. I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss

Another otome isekai, but it did felt rushed I wished it was more slowed paced. I love Aileen and Claude’s relationship they are so cute. At least they had a happy ending.

20. Shine Post

Such an underrated idol anime. Probably because Love Live was airing around the same time. Love seeing each girl’s reason for being an idol and how much they want to achieve their dream. BTW Rio has the best voice.

HAPPY NEW YEAR SEE YOU IN 2023 !!!!!

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 27

I can't believe I've actually reached the first quarter of the series.

Last chapter, Dorchet was the butt of the joke in the goon squad. This chapter, it's Martel.

Tons of big reveals and answers to questions this chapter.

Starting off, we learn the goons are all human-based chimeras created by military researchers. I'm surprised this never comes up, but there already being successful creations of this kind makes the Shou Tucker incident even worse. Not only did Tucker use his wife and daughter for his experiments, but actual research had advanced far past that point making his atrocities pointless.

If anything, I'd guess he only got his license so the military could hide how far they've advanced in their chimera research. Tucker's incapability would paint chimera research as novel, impractical, and pointless; while hiding how far the military has gone into researching human-chimera weapons.

Greed shows up and pretty much reveals everything about himself and the others. He's a homunculus and while he's able to regenerate, he's not actually immortal. He also mentions being 200 years old. He knows the other people with the Ouroboros tattoo, but his motives and actions imply that he is not with them.

One thing I find interesting in this scene is how Greed's body collapsed after Loa smashed his dead off, but then he got back up before his head regenerated. So while Greed does have a brain which is used to control his body, his brain doesn't actually need to be intact for him to operate. It's always possible he slumped over dead for dramatic effect as well, but it would make sense if destroying the brain might make him need a second to start regenerating.

Moving onto Ed, a day has passed at this point and he's in South HQ. He meets Alex Louis Armstrong who is escorting Fuhrer President King Bradley on an inspection. Bradley immediately passes Ed's assessment and then learns about Ed's teacher.

I absolutely adore Armstrong's expression when he sees Ed. He's making the same face one might make in the presence of a cute kitten or puppy.

Back in Dublith, Izumi learns about what happened to Al and she and Sig go after him. I feel like giving a special shoutout to Ulchi for being the only minor goon with a name.

I wish we got this guy's name cause he was my favorite goon.

Izumi is not mad that Al got kidnapped. She's mad Al let himself get kidnapped. And she declares herself to be a housewife. It's a joke, but to her, being in a loving married relation is more important than flaunting her skill in a highly technical field.

back

Spoiler Discussion

I wonder how much of a coincidence it is that Wrath is in South HQ. The villains likely knew Ed was traveling south, but maybe not what city or for what reason. As far as we know, Gluttony is still in the east, while Lust and Envy are at Central.

We learn later that Lust is dating Havoc to try getting information about Mustang, meanwhile Envy is probably too much of a loose cannon to be trusted for a long-term tailing mission, despite having powers that make them perfectly suited to the task. So Wrath is the only one who'd have the ability to track Ed inconspicuously.

Whether or not it's a coincidence Wrath is there, I'd argue Armstrong also being there is not a coincidence. He is privy to some of the details of the grand conspiracy, so Wrath is keeping him on a short leash. Armstrong would probably try to investigate it on his own if he could and wouldn't involve others. Plus, he's a capable alchemist and his family has served the military for generations, so he could still be a potential asset who just needs to be kept busy so he can't snoop around where he shouldn't.

How lucky for Father that Ed happened to bump into Bradley and mentioned his teacher. Now they'll have a new Sacrifice candidate.

And of course Bradley passed Ed immediately. Ed's a human sacrifice. They need to keep tabs on him.

Also, the guy standing behind Bradley is the guy who will give Hawkeye her transfer orders to be Bradley's secretary.

[mayonakano-archive]

Whoaa much enstars lore... and ruri is adorable wait ... also are there canon aliens in enstars??

Tell me more about leo's depression travel arc/alien abduction if you'd like ? I'm fascinated, he's just. He's justa. Liddle guy<3

OH YEAH RURI IS IMPLIED TO BE AN ALIEN AND THE ONE THAT PUT ENGIRLS INTO A TIMELOOP (Uhm, hold on *shuffling papers* okay! Strap in Kippy beloved, this is gonna take a bit!)

Okay. let me explain that whole "EnGirl is a timeloop thing". actually that's about all i know. Ruri (I think?) is implied to A) be an Alien and B) Have put the EnGirls timeline into a loop so it never ends. Why? Idk. I don't know much about EnGirls. Also EnGirls takes place at the same time as Enstars !!-Era so some people speculate !! is also stuck in a timeloop by virtue of that, since the two DO cross over with Ruka/Leo and Suzu/Mika being related.

Anyway! Onto the shut-in Leo arc aka my favorite Leo arc bc he's SUCH a fucked up little guy. So! So!!!! Okay. Okay. I don't know your baseline knowledge so I'm gonna assume you know Nothing and explain it all. Ummmm. Readmore'd for the sake of everyone's sanity bc I go Insane(tm) about Leo. Sorry for the essay kippy i love him so much

OKAY. A story in Three Parts. Part 1: i don't actually have a name for this part its just prelude and talking about the War mostly. I go on "tangents" throughout here that mostly just add extra context to certain things. IMPORTANT NOTES: There's mentions of ANIMAL ABUSE and BLOOD. Also just a lot of SAD STUFF. Thought I'd warn you!

So! Leo! Leader of the Mega unit - [TANGENT 1: MEGA UNITS. Before Units were split up into the 2-5 (Mama is an exception) that they are now, Units were MASSIVE and guild-like. There could be hundreds of people in one unit. One of the side effects of the War was the dissolution of Mega-units] - Chess, also known as "Backgammon" or "Orthello", but when Leo was put in charge he changed it back to Chess. It's heavily implied that Eichi was behind the former leader before Leo getting ousted from his position, allowing Leo to step into the leadership position.

NOW! This is where it gets MESSY. Leo, as you might well know, is a character who loves far too hard, far too fast, and far too much. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it contributes to his downfall. Once he's put into this leadership position, it's revealed that Chess is coming apart at the seams, more or less. Many members just ride off of Chess' good name, and slack on actually being an idol. [TANGENT 2: WHO'S PART OF CHESS (That we care about)? Primarily Ritsu, Leo and Izumi! Tsukasa has NOT entered Yumenosaki yet, Ritsu slacked a lot but still did occasionally go to practice, and Arashi... Tbh I'm wishy-washy on her position but she generally doesn't go to practice or doesn't care much about the unit so while she might be part of it, I don't tend to count her at this stage. Leo is the leader, and Izumi acts as his right-hand man and protector.] So, Leo is kind of also fraying apart at the seams because Chess is falling apart and threatening to splinter into sub-units, especially once Eichi introduces the new Live system; but Leo's ultimately incapable of holding them together and they fragment. Many of these sub-units take names inspired by Chess pieces - Knight was already taken, so Izumi suggests Knights. Leo and Izumi are the founding members of Knights. Sometime around here Leo talks to one of the splinter units he's meant to fight, and offers them a deal. They can be his friend, but never use his songs again; OR they can use his songs all they'd like, but they'd throw away any chance of friendship with him they add. Everyone chose to use his songs. So. After Knights is formed, Eichi starts using Leo (and his friendship with Leo) to destroy units he doesn't care for, and to eliminate the sub-units of Chess. Under the stress of destroying people he once cared for, realizing the members of Chess - who Leo'd do anything for and loved dearly - were only using him for his songs, and his relationship with Izumi getting messy, Leo cracks.

[TANGENT 3: LEO AND EICHI. Leo and Eichi met in the hospital. Leo had broken his arm protecting the cat Little John, who resides in the archery range. Delinquents often hung out in the archery range as it was far from the school, and once day decided to terrorize Little John by shooting her with arrows and trying to burn her. Leo protects her by picking her up and running around the range to keep her away from them, but this leads to him slipping, falling, protecting Little John, and breaking his arm. It's implied the break was bad, as Madara finds him via Little John's meowing in a pool of his own blood, composing with his blood, and saying the pain gave him inspiration as he's "Never felt such pain before" (A REAL QUOTE.) - Also Leo calls Eichi "Tenshi".]

PART 2: SHUT-IN ERA

So. Under all the weight of crushing people's dreams, Izumi's pressure on him, and everything else, Leo breaks and disappears. He becomes a shut-in, forcing himself to compose because he doesn't think anyone will love him if he can't compose. It's implied that he bites his hands till they bleed when he can't compose, and he generally just stops taking care of himself. In Lionheart Izumi visits the Tsukinaga household, and Ruka ends up crying while begging Izumi to talk to Leo, which prompts Leo to come out of his room to tell Izumi off for "making Ruka cry". It's noted by Izumi at this point that Leo can barely stand and looks terrible.

[TANGENT 4: LEO AND IZUMI. Leo and Izumi have been friends for A While, I don't really know how long tbh? Since they were first years, I think? And they're extremely close. Izumi is. Not A Great Person during this whole thing, and while Leo's giving Izumi nothing but love and praise Izumi scolds him and tells him to do better. Izumi himself notes that he made a mistake by being so harsh on Leo. Izumi's actually really hard on himself for his part in Leo breaking, but Leo constantly forgives him and even says during Next Door that "[Izumi] is the only one who thinks he did anything wrong." (Might not be the exact quote, but close enough) So. Leo's entirely forgiven him and thinks him blameless.]

So. Leo just kind of... Shuts himself away. Composes, or, tries to compose. He often says that he can hear melodies in his head, and during this era especially they've disappeared, which only add to his slump. Sometime during this, Madara decides enough is enough and sends Leo travelling. It's never outright stated where Leo goes, or what he does, but he was gone for most of his Second Year, between disappearing and shutting himself in his house. It's important to note that nobody but Madara knows what happened to Leo when he disappeared. (iirc) Madara does bring Leo back to the stage at one point in Concerto, where he manages to get Leo to perform with him. Izumi, I believe, says that Madara "saved Leo" but that Knights "brought him back to the sage" but. Zuzu. Bestie. He performed with Madara first before he rejoined Knights??? Anyway.

Leo shows up again around the start of his third year, sneaking around the school and trying to get a feel for Tsukasa. Tbh I forget exactly when Ritsu properly started joining in but I think that was during the War Era, and Arashi joined in around then, too? So Knights was a 3-person, then 4-person unit for a while. Izumi, Ritsu, Arashi, and Tsukasa. Leo then challenges them to a duel - Judgement. To determine if Knights is worthy of still existing. During Judgement Leo teams up with Eichi, Nazuna, and Kuro to form a temporary unit called "Knights Killers" while Knights is made up of the aforementioned members. Knights manages to tie the Judgement, and Leo realizes that he can't dissolve Knights, as they belong to the others just as much as their his unit. So. Leo rejoins Knights. Huzzah!

PART 3: WHAT'S HE DOIN NOW?

Leo Duels Tsukasa to see if he's worthy of the crown and title of ousama when he graduates. I'm gonna be real I don't remember a lot of this story but Tsukasa does get Leo's approval in the end. So. Leo and Izumi graduate, and Tsukasa takes over as the leader of Knights. Leo and Izumi live together in Italy (after Izumi says that he needs to keep an eye on Leo) and Izumi works as Leo's "manager" to make sure he's not spreading himself too thin.

[TANGENT 5: THAT WHOLE THING. In The DF debut event that I haven't read, Leo's revealed to be taking on a bunch of solo work and spreading himself super thin. The only reason Mama gets involved is because he's concerned about Leo. After this, in Next Door, Izumi says he needs to keep an eye on Leo and make sure he's not spreading himself too thin, hence letting Leo stay with him in Italy, and becoming his 'manager'.]

[hellcatinnc]

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 1 Anime Review

Does Include Spoilers....

Ok so I started watching Bungo Stray Dogs and like most I started because of Dazai. He was sexy and even with his wish for suicide he just got to me. Then I watched the first season and was so happy I did it pulled me in fast. Dazai quickly lost the main reason for the show for me it honestly became my favorite character in first season being Atsushi Nakajima. He had so much heart and compassion that the rest lost so long ago. He made me feel as he learned who he was and who he could help. I grew a strong liking to the character and even shipped him with Kyōka Izumi the way he saved her and even the fact he took her on a date they were just too adorable not to love. Ranpo Edogawa caught my interest mainly cause the voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya who played Baldr Hringhorni in Kamigami No Asobi. I was really surprised that Doppo Kunikida even grew on me and his comedian side to him of how he was with Dazai and always knocking the crap out of him but I could tell he was a good man. Anyways Kunikida's power is pretty cool "The Matchless Poet". I love how he can throw the cards out and whatever it is appears. I also think him and Dazai work so great together.

Now don't get me wrong Osamu Dazai is still a big part of the show and I found it funny how he was about the whole suicide with a beautiful woman. It left me wondering why he wanted to die so much but I know its shown as the seasons go on cause I started season 2 already and already starting to understand but I will leave that in season 2 review of it. So the relationship between Jun'ichirō Tanizaki & Naomi Tanizaki was so weird at first but fuck it I didn't even care they were siblings because not only do you easily forget but they don't look alike at all I feel like maybe there is like an adoption kinda story to them maybe. Anyways you know early on their is not only a relationship with them but its also sexual. However when she almost gets killed the way he responds to losing her and later as well he doesn't get even as a brother he gets even as a lover so I'm gonna treat them just as that fuck it, its not like sibling loves bother me much in anime/otome world. Plus not gonna lie Jun'ichiro his power "Light Snow" is pretty damn neat.

Yukichi Fukuzawa seems like a stickler in the beginning but you find he truly believes in his team and he grew on me. I felt like he cares about each and everyone of them and will fight for them at any cost. He is practically Daddy to them all and I think they would fall apart sometimes if he wasn't the lead of it all. Chūya Nakahara seems to be a cool character but of course I feel like he isn't really a main in the first season however I find him actually pretty attractive as well but I swear its how he dresses more than anything its so damn sharp looking. He gives me that true mafia/yakuza feel to how he looks and dresses. He seems to have anger issues but I love his banter between him and Dazai however I don't see this romance so many want and like. I will pass for now both men are hot and I would gladly be in between these men could make a very interesting smut story thats for sure... lol.

Michizō Tachihara seems like a crazy fuck but still pretty cool character so far based on the first season at least, look forward to seeing him more later he has my attention at least. Even though Ryūnosuke Akutagawa is an asshole in the first season he has one of the coolest powers by far his Rashōmon power like a dragon like creature that he can cut people down easily with. I feel bad for Ichiyō Higuchi because you find fast she is so damn in love with that man and he treats her like pure crap however doesn't stop her from taking on the enemies to bring him back when he is captured. The one sentimental moment where he grabs her hand after she saves him I really wanted after he told her he was sorry I wanted her to tell him she loved him I wonder if it would have changed. I feel like his issue is he doesn't even see her following to him is because she loves him. However its a very toxic relationship at least first season, I just hope it gets better because I think they would be good together plus bad guy or not he is fuckin hot too. Speaking of Ichiyō Higuchi honestly girl has some balls and she will do anything even die for that man I can respect her because she probably could have gotten out from what you get from her but she refuses to leave his side. Gin Akutagawa I still don't know much about him but still seems mysterious and attractive cause of that.

After breaking down the people that all made it interesting for me, yes I know there is more these just happen to be my list of favorites. Still amazes me a show with alot of hot bad guys kinda reminds me of Piofiore in that sense. Anyways I feel like it brings a decent amount of action however every part doesn't have to have it which I really like since I normally don't watch ones that are too heavy on it. I love Dazai's power and how he can hush any of the others with his power practically neutralizing even some of the worst bad guys. I still don't see anyone being gay and I will stand by that and I'm ok because seriously too many hot guys for me to even think about them together I would rather think about them being straight makes it easier to fantasize about them then. Overall I would gladly recommend this to anyone whether your into otome and shoujo the most I think you could still like this if nothing but the comedy side of things. I look forward to the next upcoming seasons as I catch up I will write my review on each season.

[beigepillow]

Use mechanical translation. I like Izumi-san, too.My favorite character is Yashiro, and I don't think Yashiro and Izumi can't be friends. Yashiro's sense of distance from women stems from his childhood and Yakuza's toxic male atmosphere,Caring too much about Doumeki also leads to this.But the truth is, given Izumi's work, I think she's someone who can really connect with Yashiro (not necessarily in words) , like Doumeki's sister.Yashiro's jealousy did not cause him to show malice toward Izumi,I think he also thought Izumi was a kind woman (more suitable for Doumeki than he was). I don't think there's "something" going on between Izumi and Doumeki,It's not because Doumeki can't(He can).That's because when it comes to love, Doumeki and Yashiro are both very (even crazy) loyal people, and their differences lie in sex.To put it bluntly, they are simply not interested in other people. Neither Yashiro nor doumeki is particularly interested in“Falling in love”; they have other relationships (close or not). I think Doumeki needs some reason to do things alone,and a yakuza who doesn't care about women, money, or status is suspicious.Doumeki can protect Izumi and help with her work,Izumi can also provide cover for Doumeki.My opinion is not necessarily right, but I think they are a partnership. Izumi could not simply clarify their relationship.But if Izumi realized that Yashiro was someone Doumeki cared about, she might tell Yashiro. Both Yashiro and Doumeki felt insecure about Inami/Izumi,But they both need that relationship.and of course, Yashiro's behavior, was more devastating, almost an overuse of painkillers.

I don’t think there is something going on between Izumi and Doumeki. I was saying that I wouldn’t mind something going on but why I still understand if others are completely against it. I think that there is a mutually beneficial relationship between them. I went into it before on one of my posts but I think Izumi gives Doumeki information and in return Doumeki protects her. I am not sure if Yashiro can be friends with her or not since they had one interaction so far but maybe once Doumeki clarifies their relationship they can be friendly. I agree that Yashiro never gets malicious in his jealousy but I am not sure how he will handle it once he does get jealous again. I don’t see him going off in search of violent sex since it seems (for now) that having sex with Doumeki again was a turning point but Yashiro also can’t hold back on his emotions with Doumeki. I am looking forward to seeing all 3 of them interact.

[brainyxbat]

My Fave Venus Wisteria Ship Candidates (Song Lists)

Changes are subject to be made.

6. Giovanni (Sakaki)

Term: ?

A complete, total crack shipping, that I can’t get enough of.

Songs:

Government Hooker, by Lady Gaga

Positions, by Ariana Grande

5. Petrel (Lambda)

Term: KiLashipping

The newest candidate for my girl. I think they would have the biggest age difference; 5 years at most? Maybe.

As for their dynamic, they would be like Shenny (The Big Bang Theory) more than anyone else; they drive each other crazy, but still care.

Songs for KiLa Feels:

My Life Would Suck Without You, by Kelly Clarkson

True Love, by P!nk

Hot n’ Cold, by Katy Perry

I Won’t Say (I’m in Love), from Disney’s Hercules

Don’t Stop Believing, by Journey, S1 Glee

Children: Penelope “Penny”

4. James (Kojiro)

Term: Lavendershipping

Venus’ first potential LI! I think James would give Venus a lot of kindness, and compassion; something she never got from her “family”. Not to mention his grandparents nannies would love her, like hers hadn’t.

Songs for Lavender Feels:

Open Arms, by Journey

She Will Be Loved, by Maroon 5

Sparks Fly, by Taylor Swift

Rewrite the Stars, from “The Greatest Showman”

Children: None so far

3. Jubei

Term: PurpleTeamShipping

Venus’ longest-lasting training partner (other than Zubat), before she struck out for a brief solo stint. During training, after he falls in love with her, he has to watch as she pines over Butch, but wants only for her to be happy.

Not to mention they would be a good shipmate (⬅ TV Trope there) for Rocket and Neo. Nobody has to be alone. 🥰

Songs for PurpleTeam Feels:

If Only, from Descendants

Why Don’t You Love Me, by Hot Chelle Rae ft. Demi Lovato

Perfect, by Travis Garland

Darlin’, by The Beach Boys

I Wish, by One Direction

You Belong with Me, by Taylor Swift

Children: None so far

2. Shelly (Izumi)

Term: ?

The first woman I’ve paired Venus with, is now my second favorite coupling for her.

Songs:

I Kissed a Girl, by Katy Perry

Kiss, covered by The Gold Standard ft. K.Emeline

Children: None so far

1. Butch (Kosaburo)

Term: Hisuishipping

The second candidate to chronologically come, and the best one. He may not be the nicest guy in the world, but Venus would bring out his caring side; and he would let hers shine as well. He would not hesitate to throw hands at anyone who dares hurt her.

Songs for Hisui Feels:

Faithfully, by Journey

Me, by Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie

Airplanes, by Hayley Williams (no rapping)

Soldier, by Gavin DeGraw

Bad Romance, by Lady Gaga

Everytime We Touch, by Cascada

Halo, by Beyonce

I was Made for Lovin’ You, by KISS

I’m Yours, by Alessia Cara

Children: Twins- Mitchell “Mitch” and Jadelyn “Jadey”

Song for for pretty much all Venus pairings:

You’re so Dark, by Arctic Monkeys

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, by Daniel Padilla ft Morissette

Love Again, by Dua Lipa

All You Need to Know, by Gryffin & Slander

Together Forever, by Rick Astley

You and I, by Ingrid Michaelson

You Don’t Know Me, from Victorious

Accidentally in Love, by Counting Crows

[thoughts-about-robots]

Thoughts About the Second Hour

Yesterday I finally finished up my play-through of the Switch version and yes I cried during the very final cutscene lol

But then I went back to my new PS4 save and continued on...

Here we are starting to get into the longer prologues... I was able to blast through three of them + tutorial battles in the first hour, here we slow down a little

I'm not sure why exactly the English localization was unable to use H.G. Wells's name in-game but the whole "that one author" thing is awkward as hell, especially with the JP voice track on. when I said in my last thoughts post that the localization was dodgy, well... this is kinda what I mean lmao. I figure this is some copyright-based limitation but it's still silly, especially when the allusions to The War of the Worlds are so explicit otherwise

that said I find it interesting that the world of 13 Sentinels has stand-in fake names for movies from our own, but The War of the Worlds (and its author) is explicitly name-dropped. I just find this interesting because you know what movies they're "not" talking about otherwise (Godzilla, E.T., Terminator, etc.). this may perhaps be due to something we find out later

I love Minami, honestly... this game has really great female characters. I think most of the guys are actually kinda boring (their scenarios are much more interesting than they themselves are, let's put it that way) but the girls are all *chef's kiss*

I also love BJ... you can tell, after he gets oriented, that he thinks Minami is kind of A LOT

I was playing this and going through the last part of Minami's prologue thinking, wow I just love all of this... honestly the end with the Hi-Quads looming in the background (and the one suddenly standing up to look at her on the ridge) is one of the best moments of the early game

this isn't the first time Lonely Struggle is played but I really love this track and its use here... the whole soundtrack is pretty great but sometimes it's easy to forget it's a game soundtrack. Lonely Struggle in particular sounds like it came straight out of a Godzilla movie

Ogata showed up before in Hijiyama's prologue and I didn't like him there, either lmao

finally getting to the battle tutorial section... out of all the sentinels, the 2nd gen and 3rd gen are the ones where I'm reminded, oh yeah, these things are basically walking tanks. 3rd gen in particular are slow as fuck for most of the main campaign

I'll talk about Miura more when I get to his prologue but I think he is actually one of the better-written guys in the game... out of all of the boys I think he has the most nuance, unfortunately on the surface he's kinda boring lmao

another blink and you'll miss it bit of foreshadowing: "this was his last gift to me"

then we get to Yakushiji's prologue, which has to be my favorite in the entire game... all the scenes are really well put-together and memorable, from Kurabe showing up in the sentinel right up to the "contract" scene with Fluffy

another thing we are shown very casually: Kisaragi comes from the same "time" as Yakushiji

I remember this being the first part of the game where I was really truly disoriented... you go from 2024 (hmm) to 1985 (hmmmm) with a flashback to 2025 (hmmmmmm) and I was like wow there's just something kinda cray cray about this. the time traveling seemed very significant when it was shown in Hijiyama's and Minami's prologues but here it's happened so casually and without comment lmao so when the talking cat shows up it doesn't even seem that weird tbqh

when I said the game doesn't spoon feed you information, this is all what I'm kind of talking about... you already got shown that there's something up with Kurabe in his prologue (the documents in Morimura's office), but here we find out three things: he's a time traveler (and from very, very far into the future), he actually was Juro Izumi, and he's suffering memory loss. Kisaragi is also from Yakushiji's time period but we know she's also in 1985 at the same time, as shown in Fuyusaka's prologue. time travel was introduced in Hijiyama's prologue and now everyone can apparently do it lmao. the game does eventually provide explanations for all this but the explanations are usually only stated once and never brought up again

I love the scene with Fluffy, he's honestly a great character. once you know who he actually is all of this is very funny and also note that he never once lies to Yakushiji lmao

do note that no matter what you pick during the "choice" Yakushiji actually refuses to make a contract with Fluffy... she either sarcastically "accepts" or just straight up says no

two great pieces of music play in this prologue, Impending Doom (which was first played in Kurabe's prologue) and A Clause with Claws, one of my favorite tracks in the story sections

finally, the battle segment... we're introduced to sentinel recovery here but during my first play through, I never used it. I forgot it was even a thing to be quite honest until I was browsing YT comment sections and someone mentioned how they almost got a game over in one part of the game... and I was like "oh yeah :o"

I don't like Ogata but I do think he and Kisaragi are a good couple lmao

little tangent: if I ever harp on about how I forgot some significant detail in the tutorial section it's because... the second time I picked this up I believe I played up to a certain point and then put it down for a couple weeks . as much as I love this game, for me it didn't really pick up until a certain series of events several hours into it. the early game is equal parts entertaining, confusing, and honestly kinda boring (which is why I didn't zip through it when it launched, and even back in 2020 I only got about 8 hours into it before I stopped playing). but on a repeat play through you can see just how tight and well-written the narrative actually is. it's just the game is really really invested in getting you to think it's about one thing when it's actually about something else entirely :v

Miscellanea:

I really love the little drone icon on BJ's projected screen.... bless

[actiaslunaris]

Regina ‘live-watches’ Last Man: Zenmou no Sousakan S01E04.

This time, a man collapses -- apparent victim of a bee sting -- but examining the sting reveals something more sinister.

The preview for this one looked exciting and so far it's delivering.

I'm a simp for Fukuyama Masaharu so seeing his hair flopping on his forehead so attractively while he's running really does things for my good humor.

As is the way with a lot of J-dramas, we get more humor at the beginning, before dramatic events kick in. It's fun seeing Godo being teased by Izumi. It's less fun understanding that it's tit-for-tat on romantic relationships. Izumi has a thing for Agatsuma and he's been jealous about her since the first episode, which revealed that there was some pre-existing admiration on her part for Minami.

So Izumi being called on that by his uncle Shintaro and then giving as good as he got by asking when Godo will get married demonstrates the familial relatioship in an efficient way, but it also, in my opinion, points out that Godo doesn't seem interested in pursuing relationships at this particular point in time.

It's all very heteronormative! And a bit frustrating. I mean, if this show wanted to go the yaoi way, it's laying ground very well, but if not, I find the 'so why haven't you gotten married, why aren't you in a relationship, etc.' just a bit annoying.

The concept for the crime committed here is truly clever, as is the method of delivering poison. I'm impressed.

I love that this one is focusing on Agatsuma.  Of course, personal experience will tend to bias.

That's tv justice for you. That dude deserved being lied to by the police.

I noticed that! (The perpetrator printed off a piece of important information rather quickly.) Ah, finally, a clue based on something normal that can be overlooked, but is suspiciously off by a small amount.

Oh no, Agatsuma has been been poisoned. (She recovers, yay!)

This is the first time I've ever seen a police baton used in action on a police procedural from Japan, to the best of my recollection. Cool.

Vigilante action is bad when it turns you into a murderer could be the takeaway from this episode, but what I am enjoying about this show is that it does present its concepts in a way that allows the viewer to make their own judgments and also examine what their own principles might be in response to them.

Ah, my heart. A profile on Minami's work in the FBI inspired Agatsuma to send him a letter, and he remembered her.

This wins over Izumi, who had been told that by his father that he needed to monitor his uncle's relationship with Minami. Hilarious and wonderful. I gather that one of the goals of the show is having each of the team in opposition to Minami's involvement earn respect of him.

This is my favorite episode so far. Excellent in addressing a problem that exists in Japan's law, excellent for the character interactions, and excellent in delivering a message that provokes thought.

(This episode has its flaws, of course, one of which was leaning a bit hard on Minami's development of other senses to help solve the case. Sometimes it's fair, other times it tips into not being believable, but I'm a firm believer in handwaving away quibbles like that. They're doing a good job over all, I think.)

[legacy-by-darkryuu]

Remaster: Step Toward the Future, Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Discovery

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harvest Moon.

Rating: M/Adult

Also available on Archive of Our Own

2023 Notes: Cliff most definitely would not be like this in game. My boy has issues off the wazoo here. Also, my first what we old ones call ‘flame’ was over the personification of the well-loved Mary here. As I’ve aged, I have less problems with her and Ann who also was a way more antagonist in the old version. Neither are my favorite bachelorette by any means but they’re still a little antagonistic here.

XXX

Jill, after having slept on it, figured that Cliff had been something of a figment of her imagination. Either that or some random person passing through. No one like that could survive in this environment, this…country town. She sighed as she finished her cereal. Oh well, probably for the best. She pulled her black overalls and a Tool shirt with a baggy hoodie on before heading out to get to the chores.

She stood over her field and gaped some. How did boulders get there? Was there some kind of...land slide? She shook her head and started to shove them around, seeing as she couldn’t really do anything else with them. After this, she was going to be ready for a very long nap...but there were just those branches and tree stumps. Their poor great-grandpa had been in bad shape for a few years so this must have been the result. She groaned. What had she gotten herself into?

“Mm, nothing like a good day of work” said a friendly voice.

She turned in shock and there, sure enough, stood Izumi Cliff. This time he was attired in a red shirt with crazy black designs. It was odd, everyone seemed to dress like they were in a time warp but him and anyone within maybe three years of their age. He smiled and tilted his head.

“What’s wrong? Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She gulped and shook her head rapidly, “I just...thought you were a...traveler.”

He brightened, “Oh, generally I am. I’m just posted up here for a while.”

She chuckled, “Oh.”

He sat on a tree trunk and looked around before whistling in awe, “Man, I don’t even think an army of giants would take this on. You could build a whole neighborhood in this field.”

She sighed, “I know. I don’t see why my family wants to save it in the first place.”

As the story went, this was her mom’s grandfather’s land. He vacationed here by himself prior to marrying into his wife’s family and always intended to come back. Of course, her mom’s grandmother and continuing spawn were probably pure evil. When he was able to provide two male heirs and two daughters, his wife kicked him to the curb. He’d been here ever since and, as far as Jill knew, they were the only portion of his family that associated with him. Still, it…it was kind of a sad story, him dying here alone. Maybe it’d be better to let it go.

Cliff seemed to study her face carefully before he smiled reassuringly, “Well, c’mon. Don’t they want to build an amusement park here? There’s like all of two kids and a bunch of stuck up adults. It’d be a waste of nature.”

She nodded slowly, “I suppose.”

“Aww, you just got here. Don’t get discouraged so easily. You’re just what this morgue of a town needs. A breath of fresh air.”

She blushed, embarrassed about this compliment, especially since she wasn’t used to getting them often from men, “I’m far from...a breath of fresh air.”

“Sure you are! You and me, we’ll turn this town upside down. Now, how about lunch? You look hungry.”

She accepted gratefully and she followed behind him, wondering exactly what he meant by ‘turning the town upside down’...

XXX

Almost two months passed and, confusingly, she had to say those were some of the two best months of her life.

Cliff came by every day and hung out or took her places. On rare occasions, he’d even help her with the farm work. Cliff had quite a mischievous streak, often dragging her off to play pranks or loiter in the supermarket, really about the extent of the trouble they could actually make there. But, all the same, they were deemed the two troublemakers. And she loved it. And most of all, she liked being around Cliff. She liked having made a friend in this place. And a hot one too.

One day in early April, at 5 a.m., she heard a knock at the door. Groggy and disoriented, she stumbled to answer, swinging it open sleepily. It was, of course, Cliff. She stared at him, confused.

“Cliff? Wha’ are you doing here so early?” she mumbled.

“Aww, I’m loving the bunny pajamas” he grinned, commenting about her black pajamas with cute white bunnies all over it.

She smirked at him, rubbing her eyes. He shooed her inside and closed the door behind him.

“Get dressed. We only have an hour” he said quickly.

“Come again?” she grumbled.

“You’ll see, get dressed!” he exclaimed.

She shook her head and pulled on her normal clothes, wondering what his deranged mind was plotting up now. And why she had to be up at five in the freakin’ morning for it, even with farm work she got one more hour...

When she came out, he grabbed her arm and dragged her from the farm. She was just letting him drag her along before she snapped out of her daze. They were at Duke’s house. Oh dear. “Cliff…” she said wearily.

He pressed his finger to her lips and pointed to a flag on top of Duke’s house.

“We’re taking that and replacing it...” he started.

Then he pulled another flag out that read ‘Supermarket’ and smiled pleasantly.

“With this one.”

She raised an eyebrow, “...Um.”

“Hey, these people love to start rumors. Just wait, they’ll have some about Duke and Sasha having an affair or Jeff and Manna or they’ve become one huge super store because Karen’s in debt to the winery because she’s supposedly an alcoholic. We’d be doing these people a favor, giving them stuff to talk about” he informed.

She chuckled, “I guess? But why am I here?”

He looked up, “Well, I’m not ten feet tall...”

She flinched back, “Oh my God, no.”

He hugged her waist, whining cutely. “Aww, pwease? You’re the only one here for these types of things.”

She blushed but sighed, relenting. He grinned happily then lifted her up by the waist. She yelped and hugged his head, startled by the sudden movement.

“U-Uh…” he commented after a moment.

She looked down and gasped in horror. His head was pressed against her chest pretty hard. Her face lit up completely and he smiled, embarrassed himself. “Don’t fret. Here.”

He rested her on his shoulders and she bit her lip, her heart beating heavily. If Duke caught them, well, he’d…yell. But still. She switched the flag out and Cliff whispered.

“Hold on.”

She was confused until he started running down the street toward the store. She gasped and clenched his head, resisting the need to scream in terror. But they arrived safely and she placed the winery flag on the grocery store. They were home free until they heard Duke screaming and cursing. She squealed and he grabbed her hand, racing down through the square past Barley’s Farm before ending up at ‘Lillia’s Chicken Farm’. She gasped and clutched her chest and Cliff wiped his forehead of sweat.

“Whoo...”

She shoved him, “Ugh! Next time you come up with some crazy plan like that, tell me first! This is a violation of property!”

He hugged her, sighing, “I’m sorry.”

She sighed and rested her head on his chest, basking in the feeling. She couldn’t really be mad at him for whatever reason. This was her brother’s territory, just doing reckless things for a swift giggle but, right now, it felt fun because it was with him. She flushed and wondered why she was feeling this way about someone she really just met…

A moment later, she felt someone was behind them. She gazed around and jumped, fearful. Cliff looked over his shoulder and jumped a bit too before he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Jeez, Popuri, God, you scared the living crap out of me.”

Jill inhaled sharply. Popuri? The Popuri?

She had straight pink hair and scarlet eyes which were embellished with black mascara and black eyeliner. She had on a white blouse with a black lace-up corset, a red ruffled skirt that came to her knees, and black leather boots. Around her neck was… a black leather necklace with a half a heart.

Jill rubbed her arm, smiling awkwardly as she looked down. Oh boy. This was going to be tough. Popuri had a smile on her face as she clucked her tongue. “More trouble?”

Cliff smiled back, “Of course. We’re the troublemakers.”

Popuri blinked at Jill, “Oh?”

“Oh, you two haven’t met? This is Yamachi Popuri. Pu, this is Yagami Jill.”

...Pu?

“Hi! I’m the one who harbors this fugitive when he’s running from the law” Popuri said happily.

Jill had to laugh some, “I guess someone would have to, as much trouble as he gets in to all the time.”

Cliff pouted, “I’m not in trouble that much.”

Popuri smirked, “Uh huh.”

Suddenly, Cliff slung his arms around both of their shoulders. “Well, this has been a fun morning. I mean, well, it’s only 6. Why don’t I get you ladies breakfast, eh?”

Popuri chuckled, “You sure it’s not too early for you to show your face?”

He grinned, “It was a clean crime, no one saw us!”

A ‘clean crime’. The crime part was the issue. Jill warily looked at Popuri, a little confused. Why…why was she still wearing the necklace though? Did…did she still think about him? What had he seen if Popuri still wore it?

Cliff led them off to the Inn where they were just starting to open up. Cliff went up to the counter after they had gotten a table and Jill stared after him. She blinked when she saw a girl had caught his attention. Jill frowned and stared over the apparent waitress. She had orange, reddish hair wrapped in a white ribbon, wearing a yellow tank top and a pair of overalls. She looked exactly like her little brother’s best friend, Ann, except that Ann had beautiful freckles. Jill raised an eyebrow at her and Popuri sighed. “That’s Ann.”

How even? Jill turned to Popuri who had made the comment, mystified how Annaliese Robins had…or was a doppelganger to another woman not an hour from where she lived with the exact same name. Popuri groaned. “She’s a little stuck up. But...”

She stopped for a moment, then glanced at Cliff. Jill glanced at her then to him. He was still looking at Ann...

“I guess he likes that in a woman. He swears that’s the love of his life.”

XXX

 It wasn’t like she meant to avoid Cliff after hearing this little bit of info on his love life but it just kind of happened that way. In some fashion of irony, Popuri hung out with her more and when she finally seemed to figure out Jill’s growing infatuation with Cliff, she was apologizing every moment of the day.

“I’m so sorry!”

Jill laughed despite herself, “Popuri, really, I’m over it!”

Popuri sighed, “I know but it’s difficult. You want to be supportive but when you have feelings, it’s just not easy.”

They were walking to Jill’s house after doing some shopping. Popuri smoothed her red skirt and sighed once again. Jill smiled softly. Popuri would definitely be on the counter-culture side of things outside of Mineral Town. Peppy but a little on the ‘dark side’. Koji and Popuri even liked somewhat similar music. Jill wanted to call her older brother to be nosy but…it pretty much changed him over entirely. She just wished she could ask what the deal with the necklace was.

“You should talk to him though!” said Popuri.

“I will, I will. I just need a little time away from him, tis’ all.”

“I see...”

Jill sighed, changing the subject, “Wanna watch a movie tonight?”

Popuri nodded, “Sure, sounds cool.”

Then she suddenly clapped, “How about a sleep over?”

Jill blinked. It had been a while. Most of her girlfriends from school generally had sleepovers with their boyfriends after they hit fifteen. Her family would spit fire first. But Popuri was a little older than her so she figured she’d be over that sort of thing too.

“Um...sure.”

Popuri seemed excited and broke off away from Jill to her house, yelling. “I’ll come at 7!”

“Okay!”

Yea, she was up to something.

XX

Jill stretched out on her bed, eating popcorn, as Popuri sat cross-legged, pointing poignantly, “Truth or dare?”

Jill laughed, “You should just take out the ‘dare’.”

Popuri grabbed her soda, “So I take that’s ‘truth’?”

“Yup” said Jill, sipping her drink.

“Have you had a lot of boyfriends? I feel like you’d have to knock ‘em back with a shovel.”

“Ha!” Jill snorted, grabbing a slice of pizza, “No freakin’ way. I have—well, I have a lot of brothers and they are overprotective as hell. And my dad pretends he’s not but he is too. I’m the only daughter and I guess ‘big bad men’ are scary. I’ve only gotten to even entertain two boyfriends and they almost pissed themselves thinking my brothers were around the corner so they broke up with me.” Popuri groaned, “I guess that is one thing about my brother: He doesn’t care about what I do. I don’t know what he cares about though.” “O-Oh. Well, um, I turn the question back on you. Have you had a lot of boyfriends?” “Eh, more like ‘beaus’. I was seeing this guy when I was fifteen, sixteen. He was only here for a year but we weren’t serious. None of them around here are” she shrugged. “O-Oh” Jill smiled anxiously. So…should she tell him…? Popuri suddenly grinned, “So since it’s just ‘truth’, let me ask this next: have you ever--” A timid, soft knock came at Jill’s front door and she stood, grinning as well. “Maybe it’s fate you didn’t finish that question, eh?”

Popuri winked and Jill left her bedroom to answer the door. Opening it slowly, her eyes widened when she saw a demure Cliff standing at her door, his arms behind his back and staring at his feet.

“Hey, Jill...”

She felt her heart pounding but she said calmly. “Hi, Cliff.”

He coughed softly, “Um...I dunno what I did but...I’m sorry. I-It probably was that crazy flag stunt, right?”

She laughed nervously, “You didn’t do anything! What would give you that idea?”

He frowned, “Haven’t you been...you know, avoiding me?”

She shook her head, lying. There was no way she could tell him that she was jealous…that she liked him. Juvenile at best. “I’ve just been busy, that’s all.”

“Oh...”

She frowned when she saw he was upset. How could she say that? That she was too busy for him…“Um, but I’m free now! You wanna hang out with me and Popuri?”

He looked up, a hopeful glint in his eyes. “Really?”

“Of course, silly. Come in” she smiled.

He blushed cutely for a second and handed her some daisies he had behind his back.

“Um, just in case you were mad at me” he said sheepishly. She blushed, not used to non-relatives giving her flowers. Her boyfriends didn’t want to leave evidence, after all. “T-Thanks...but I’m not.”

“Oh well” he said happily.

She let him in and he followed behind her into her bedroom. He looked a bit freaked out when he came to her door. “Um, should I? We’re not discussing our feelings and boys, are we?”

She shoved him, laughing, “Just go in!”

Popuri waved to Cliff, looking smug. Yea, she probably set this up. “Hi, Cliff!”

“Hi!” he waved back.

He sat on the floor and then looked a bit scared. “Oh my God, this is one of those girly things.”

Popuri giggled, “Of course!”

Jill watched with amusement as Popuri put Cliff’s hair up into pigtails with two big pink ribbons. He even let her put blue eye shadow on him. Jill laughed, leaning back against the bed. “Oh my God.”

He walked to the mirror and his eyes widened, “Wow...”

Popuri giggled, “I’m jealous, Cliff, you make a better-looking woman than I do.”

He chuckled, “I’ll attempt to take that as a compliment though hardly. I look like a very masculine ‘Oops, I Did It Again’ era Britney Spears.”

Then he went into an off-tune, improvised version of “I’m a Slave 4 U”, sending them into hysterical laughter. Jill chuckled when Popuri looked through her albums, gasping when she would recognize a song she hadn’t heard in a while. She started to sing A.D.I.D.A.S by Korn. Yes, the more time she spent with Popuri, she was starting to feel like maybe she was very much Koji’s type...

Jill’s cheeks were red from consistent laughing with the variety of karaoke the two went through. Her high school friends had all went to college or abroad and, while she still kept up with two of them, for the most part she got left behind after high school graduation. She…did miss this. When she took the dishes to the kitchen, she glanced at her clock and her mouth fell open in shock. 4 a.m.? She winced. She’d lost track of time and there was no way she could wake up in two hours to start farm work. She sighed and headed to her bedroom and Cliff noticed her stressed look. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s already 4 and I have to wake up at 6” she groaned.

“Oh, well, don’t worry! I’ll help you in the morning” said Cliff brightly.

“Me too!” Popuri added. Jill smiled, touched. “Really? You guys are the best...ready to sleep?”

Cliff frowned and fidgeted, uncomfortable, “Um, I guess I should--”

Jill glared, “I am not letting you walk to the inn at 4 in the morning! Here, sleep. We promise we won’t do anything to you.”

Popuri giggled at the priceless look of astonishment on Cliff’s face. She went and pulled out a futon she had brought when she hadn’t known the house would be fully furnished. She set it on the floor for him and he looked relieved.

“Oh, I thought you wanted me to sleep with you.”

She pushed him, hiding her extreme embarrassment, and Popuri laughed, climbing into one of the twin beds that was in the room for some reason along with Jill’s big bed which she hadn’t moved yet, maybe originally for a child. Jill climbed in and smiled.

“Night, guys.”

“Night...” yawned Cliff sleepily.

“Night...” sighed Popuri.

Jill fell asleep for a moment, then woke up to stare at the sleeping Cliff. He looked so sweet. She’d missed him. So perhaps in the end...his friendship meant a lot more to her.

XXX

“So, who the fuck have you met?” “Koji Yagami.” Jill rolled her eyes as they sat around the table, waiting for hotpot at the restaurant. Yagami Shaun, the baby of the family, graduated from high school, currently May. She had gotten her work done early today to venture home to Hondo. It was…a bit surreal already, weirdly enough. Their mother glowered at her older brother who had made the remark at the celebration dinner, the surly fellow a bit tipsy on sake. Koji looked nonplussed. “I just wanted to ask if she had met anyone in her new location.” …It wasn’t like they were anything. In fact, Cliff didn’t even seem slightly interested in her. That ‘oh, I thought you wanted me to sleep with you’ relief solidified it to her, in fact. But, well…she wasn’t certain SHE could talk about Cliff without making it sound like it wasn’t something. The icing on the cake was that Izumi deal she hadn’t looked any further into but, boy, would it be ironic. Opening her mouth, she was about to announce she was good friends with the infamous Popuri. Alas, she paused. Of course, Koji…might not like THAT either. Staring, she drawled, “…The mayor wears a top hat?” “Uh, what?” With a giggle, the pink haired woman seated beside her swatted her arm, “Unless he’s a cute man with a top hat, Jill, I’m not sure that’s what interests the crowd.” Jill snickered, “Nee-san, he is the most INTERESTING thing about that sorry town.” Yagami Lyla sighed, “Oh, that’s a shame.” “Is it?” leered Shin in response to his wife. Shaun pouted, “Hey, I graduated today! Stop grilling nee-san about nonexistent boyfriends.” “Thanks, Shaun…I think” Jill drawled. Nelly snorted, readjusting the buttons of his dress shirt, “We already know all about you, punk. You’re going to fucking Keio University and are renting a house in the Azabu district because that’s where SAILOR MOON was set.” Biting her lip as Shaun beamed about this, Jill stammered, “A-And Ann is going with you, right?” “Yep!” Ann…really, Jill imagined the two had to be related, they were both blue-eyed redheads. Shaun’s good high school friend though, her name was Annaliese Robins and was mostly American and European. As far as she could tell, Ann in Mineral Town was Japanese alone but…her dad was named Doug so maybe not? She…couldn’t see being on good enough terms with her to ask. Koji stared at her absently before sighing, reaching into his pocket, “…Anyway, Jill, my school is pretty close to one of the docks near Mineral Town so, if you ever need to stop by or something, here’s a key.” Jill frowned as he handed her a spare to his apartment. “Oh, all right. Thank you, nii-san. You should be done this Summer, right?” “Probably Autumn” Koji yawned, “Just a few classes, I was a bit behind.” She saw out of the corner of her eye the way Shin looked a bit dismayed. Oh. Koji had to take time off to help him, the plan was a full year early. Lyla rubbed Shin’s arm, smiling, “Well, that’s still a full semester early, Koji, that’s great.” “Yea, overachiever” sulked Nelly at his twin. Koji was unbothered, “Yea, yea. I…I’m a little torn on some things but I guess I’ll hit that road when I come to it.” Hmm? Their mama smiled, waving toward the door, “Yama!” Her dad briefly had to run to the hospital to manage some things right after Shaun’s ceremony, greeting everyone with a smile as he approached, “Hello, everyone.” “Hey, pops. Jill’s got some dude with a top hat.” The hell. While she meant to be angry at Koji, she was honestly more amused by the look on her father’s face which was most likely more the reason the idiot made the comment: to get a reaction. “Who wears a top hat??” “Dad” Jill giggled, “It’s the mayor. The MAYOR. He’s old and he’s short, you have nothing to be concerned about. He might be involved with some guy from Wasaba named Kano too.” “Kano?” Yamada echoed, sitting beside his wife, “Kano…” Dana smirked at her husband, pouring him a drink, “Dear, I don’t think you have to have known EVERYONE in Wasaba.” “He’s a photographer” Jill added. Yamada tapped Dana’s shoulder with the back of his hand lightly, his eyes brightening, “The Photographer.” “God, we knew everyone in Wasaba” Dana groaned heavily. ‘The Photographer’? Nelly laughed, rubbing his hands together when the pots of broth were brought over with trays of meats and veggies to cook, “That’s a very uncreative street name. What was yours again, dad?” Shrugging, Yamada sighed, “Something stupid, I’m sure, if I even had one.” “Hey, sorry I’m late, I HAD to finish that stupid exam.” Her twin sauntered up, at last, also having been present at the graduation but taking off to take an exam in class. He settled between Shaun and her. Dana smiled, “You’re just in time, dear.” “Yea, we were talking about how Jill only thought to mention some old man in a top hat with a boyfriend” Koji teased. She stuck out her tongue at him as she gathered chicken and nabe in her basket. Tony snorted, starting to build his portion, “Isn’t that a good thing?” “Like, how do you KNOW the guy is his boyfriend? Maybe he just needs a place to crash. Me and Ann are gonna live together” Shaun replied. Generally everyone paused, looking to him slowly. “…Um, what now? ANN is going to live with you?” Nelly droned. Shaun nodded emphatically, “She only gets money for tuition for school, she wouldn’t have enough for a place so she’s going to pay our utilities while I pay the rent at our place.” “…Are you sure her…dad is okay with that, dude?” Koji questioned slowly. “Eh? Why wouldn’t he be?” Dana leered, “They are FRIENDS. I think it’s fine.” Their dad gave her a strange ‘seriously?’ look. Bleh, they sucked, that’s what was wrong with them anyway. No one of opposite genders could POSSIBLY just be ‘friends’. Sure, Lyla and Shin were ‘friends’ at one point too and were now married and so were their parents but that didn’t mean EVERYONE. …Of course, Jill…slightly saw the ‘concern’, Shaun was obliviously smitten with Ann to a degree. Just Ann didn’t see him that way! So, it was fine. Jill…could commiserate.

 Cliff and Jill were walking from the river after a long day of fishing. It was just one of those boring days where she’d finished up early and Cliff had nothing to do...which was just about every day. She glanced at him as it seemed his eyes were locked to his feet. She raised an eyebrow. Cliff and distant were two words that never went together. Finally, after a couple minutes, he asked quietly. “So, who ya’ going to the Goddess Festival with?”

She blinked, “The ‘what’ festival?”

He looked up, that vibrant look she was more used to appearing on his face. “You don’t know!”

She shook her head and he turned around, grinning. “It’s this huge shindig where all the girls of the village get together and learn to dance this whacked out 16th century dance but it’s, like, tradition. They dress up in these pink gowns and wear these flower veils and stuff--”

“Sounds like hell!” she exclaimed.

He laughed, “Maybe to you but it’s still kind of fun because after you finish your little dance, you get to eat then dance by yourself. It’s like a high school dance.”

“...Oh.”

“So, who ya’ going with?” he said suddenly.

“Going with?”

“Yeah” he said slowly.

“I guess no one. I don’t know if I’d even want to go” she frowned.

He looked mortified and grabbed her hands. She blinked up at him and he said happily.

“No way! Come with me!”

“Um, sure, if you want...”

“Really? Sweet!”

He released her hands and hummed happily. She raised an eyebrow, not understanding why he was so pleased. When they came to her door, he winked. “Hey, you know this is kind of considered a date, right?”

Her heart leapt and she gaped at him as he grinned.

“See ya’ Saturday. Might wanna see Pu on the details on dance practice” he said as he walked away, leaving her gawking at him.

She clasped her heart and blushed. A date?

XXX

“That Cliff. Such a romantic” sighed Popuri.

Jill lied on Popuri’s bed, staring at the wooden ceiling, still astonished, “I guess...” Popuri smiled, “Got your dress?”

Jill pulled the packet out of her bag and unfolded it. “Haven’t looked at it--”

Her mouth fell open in horror as it unraveled. It was a pink…frock. “What the hell is this?! I wouldn’t wear this to my own funeral!”

Popuri laughed, “They aren’t very creative, are they?”

Being that her mother was now a world-famous designer, she expected a certain level of…quality. This was not the quality of Yagada so she was probably being a little snooty.

“Well, in all the years I’ve done it, you can add little things. I wouldn’t go making it a tube top or anything unless you know what you’re doing.”

Jill walked to Popuri’s desk and cut the sleeves off with a mischievous grin. “I have to know what I’m doing with who my mother is, Popuri.” Popuri snickered, “Yea, I’ll leave that fancy stuff to you. I usually just add some flowers. I make this thing a tube top, the girls are busting out to party too.” Laughing, Jill folded the dress back up, “Oh no, I understand. You have a lot more to account for than I do.” She was quite busty. Like, very busty. Popuri was curved like an absolute hourglass too. It was crazy how much she was Jill’s brother’s type. It was just…unnatural. Somehow, she hadn’t had the heart to ask if Popuri…actually remembered though.

“Well, you’re not that flat. I’m sure Cliff will love it” Popuri teased.

Jill blushed and glowered at her, pouting. Cliff…he’d seemed rather depressed when he thought she had a date to this thing and then he’d been so happy to ask her. What did it all mean?

Did Cliff…somehow feel the same way she did?

XXX

Popuri came and practiced the dance with her all day that week up until the day before. On Saturday, Jill woke up extra early to get her chores done so she’d have extra time to get ready. She pulled on her dress, pleased with the sewing and extra embroidering she did to make the top more like an empire style. Maybe even her mama would be impressed.

She placed flowers through her hair before staring at herself in the mirror and chuckling. She should take a picture and send it to her brothers to freak them out.

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts and she rushed to get it. Her eyes widened.

Cliff stood there wearing a black dress shirt and a pair of dark colored jeans that didn’t look like he’d just thrown them on. His hair was down and his neck was accented by a leather necklace with a tribal symbol. So, Cliff could look hotter. He ran his fingers through his hair before he looked down. His eyes widened. “O-Oh.”

She smiled shyly, “I look okay?”

“Okay...?”

She stared at him in confusion before a large smile crossed his face, “Okay isn’t good enough. But you should know that.”

He grabbed her hand and winked playfully. “Ready to go stir up some trouble?”

“Oh no...” she groaned.

“I don’t mean that kind of trouble, silly.”

...Oh no.

XXX

The traditional dance went over well enough. She kind of became the center of attention, unwittingly, which angered some of the other girls. It wasn’t intentional. Oh well, the important part was…time to party!

Both her and Popuri were grinding against Cliff, who at first was a bit sheepish but lightened up, of course. What she liked most about him, really. The older adults scolded their little spectacle out on the dance floor but it wasn’t like their kids weren’t doing similar. She guessed that was kind of the issue with local events: everyone was present.

Jill’s eyes caught Ann’s, who was giving her a rather strange expression. What? Popuri giggled suddenly, leaving from behind Cliff. Jill blinked at her then noticed a slow song had come on. She blushed and Cliff took her hand.

“Come on. You’re not shy, are ya’?” he teased lightly.

“Of course not” she scoffed, still blushing.

He placed an arm around her waist and she fought back blushing more. She carefully put her arm around his waist. It was one of those magical moments she hadn’t believed in up until that second. She rested her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes as she listened to his heart. She felt his chin on the top of her head.

At that moment, she was sure she couldn’t get any happier.

XX

Popuri watched the two happily as they danced, sipping some of the punch. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ann and Mary, standing close enough for her to hear them.

”Look at that” scowled Mary.

“Hmph” muttered Ann.

“Why are you letting her steal your man?” questioned Mary.

“My man? You know best I’m not interested in Cliff though” said Ann, cutting her eyes at Mary.

Popuri was relieved. That just meant that Jill could pursue now that Cliff was interested too. Mary rolled her eyes toward her own mother, Manna, who was chatting in the corner.

“…But, just for the hell of it.”

Eh? Popuri watched in shock as Ann started to walk toward Cliff and Jill. Alarmed, Popuri started to go after Ann when Mary stopped her.

“Now shouldn’t you be getting home? I wouldn’t want Rick to worry.”

Popuri gaped at her, knowing she couldn’t really smack the woman out of the way in this crowd, but…she gritted her teeth. Damn.

It was all too perfect. Jill wanted it to stay like this forever, if…it were allowed. For once, her brothers weren’t…here to just shut this down, to terrorize. Yes, they would find out there were far more interesting things here than a man in a top hat, but…she wanted to be allowed to have something too. And…if it were with Cliff, if…he wanted her too…

“Cliff?” she murmured softly.

“Hmm?” he said, his voice calm.

“What do you t--”

Her question was cut off by a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, sort of expecting Popuri, but instead…Ann? Ann pretended to smile at them, the gesture almost too fake.

“Hi, Cliff” she said, completely ignoring Jill.

“Um, he-hey, Ann. Wh-What’s up?” he faltered.

“Oh, nothing. Just a little confused, usually you ask me to dance” she pouted. “O-Oh yea, th-that’s true.”

Jill glanced at him as he got all shy with Ann who was literally just smiling at him. She gulped and blurted, “Um, why don’t you two dance? I’ll...I’ll just go home. I have work to do and I have to get up early, so...um, you can have him.”

She winced at her own words and Ann smiled, “Why, how generous of you.”

“Jill--” started Cliff.

She rushed off, not wanting to hear anything he had to say. She wasn’t mad at him. He hadn’t asked her to give him up to Ann. She panicked. She…she wasn’t used to opposition, especially when the opposition could get him tongue-tied. She blinked back tears and ran as quickly as she could from the square. No, Jill, it…wasn’t even opposition. She guessed they were just friends.

She ran blindly past Barley’s farm and Popuri’s home, taking a shortcut to avoid people, just wanting to get back to her farm and never leave, absolutely embarrassed. Following that intention alone, she ran right into what felt like a brick wall. She gasped and started to fall back. Heels weren’t good for maintaining balance.

Arms reached out and wrapped around her waist, catching her. She winced and touched whomever it was’ chest. She gasped.

“I’m...I’m sorry!” she apologized.

She looked up and breathed, startled. He had warm, tanned skin with chocolate eyes, wearing a purple bandana around black curly bangs that hung randomly on his forehead. Dressed in a white t-shirt, a pair of blue violet cargo shorts, and flip flops, he looked like a lifeguard. He tilted his head and stared down at her.

“It’s cool. You good?”

She straightened up and patted at her dress, mostly because she was embarrassed. Her cheeks were flushed and she mumbled. “A-Ah, yes. I’m sorry...”

“Jill!”

She didn’t turn her head to even glance at the owner of the voice. Cliff... she felt his presence behind her and felt him huffing for breath.

“Jill, wha...why’d ya’ leave?” he wheezed.

“Dunno, don’t you want to be with Ann?” she said, more sardonic than she meant to be.

“What?? No! I-I mean, not-not really--”

He stopped and she finally turned to glance at him. She was surprised by the look on his face. It was a mixture between irritation and...territorial? The expression was rather disturbing as it went directly against what she understood about him. She backed away slowly. The guy behind her laughed.

“What an idiot. Letting your date run off so you can be with that chick that doesn’t give a fuck about you. This one is way hotter than Ann too.”

She blushed some at his comment, turning to glance at him and suddenly wondering exactly who he was as she hadn’t seen him around before. Cliff growled.

“Shut up and mind your own business, Kai.”

Kai, she guessed was his name, waved his hands, “Well, excuse me! If you did let her bounce for Ann, that is an injustice. But I’ll stay out of it.”

He continued back up the route in the direction she came and winked. “If you want a man with eyes and common sense, miss, I live on the beach during the summer. Drop by some time.”

Jill just kind of stared at his back in shock. Wow. A sound beside her interrupted her thoughts and she turned to glance at the source. Cliff’s eye was twitching. She gulped and turned away from him. She started to feel extremely uncomfortable. Who was this? This wasn’t Cliff, was it? His angry features melted suddenly then he turned and gave her a serious look. “Stay away from him.”

Her eyes widened before they narrowed and she stepped closer to him, staring directly into his face. “Who are you to tell me who to stay away from?”

He frowned and shook his head, “Just listen to me! He’s a bad guy! I’m trying to protect you!”

Oh, hell no. She had FIVE of those back home. “And who asked you to protect me?”

She stomped past him and he followed her quickly. “Where are you going?”

“Home” she grumbled in response.

He caught her elbow and at her current level of stress, that was not a smart move. She swung around and slapped his hand away. His eyes widened, startled. All her senses told her to beg for forgiveness. She didn’t mean to. He released her, rubbing the back of his hand.

”What’s even going on, Jill? What’s the problem?” he asked slowly.

She gulped. “Problem…?”

She felt tears sting her eyes. At least this much was a little too new to her. Even the two boyfriends she’d had were more basic than this. They just passed a note asking her to be their girlfriend, really. Here, she didn’t know if she was supposed to confess to him her feelings or wait for him to do so. If she confessed, she knew he wouldn’t feel the same. He liked Ann. But, of course, if he did like Ann, he wouldn’t ever confess to her. It was a lose-lose situation. She turned on her heel, walking away. Cliff stopped following her and finally murmured. “Jill...”

She stopped and glanced back at him, not knowing what to expect. She hoped…

“...Really. Stay away from him.”

Her mouth fell open, shocked. She turned her head back forward, biting back the stinging tears of heartbreak, and ran off again, screaming, “Go to hell!”

That was the beginning of Summer and the end of the best Spring of her life.

XXX

End Notes

 Aww, they are so eighteen/nineteen year olds.

 So there’s this band from the 90s, they fell under this category called ‘nu-metal’. Very screamy, very heavy in guitar—not the hardest but harder than, say, most current popular rock. They’re called ‘Korn’ and they have a song called ‘A.D.I.D.A.S’ which stands for ‘All day I dream about sex’, not the shoe. Popuri sang that one.

I don't own Britney Spears 'Slave 4 U', which, uh, seems like a bit of a touchy name now, I guess? But I was a jam when it came out, believe me.