#i love sousuke with my whole heart

[mapoeggplant]

skip to loafer anime countdown - 6 part fic

hello everyone ✨

if you're part of the STL fandom on twitter, you must know we made a little event to celebrate the first episode of the anime (that airs today!!!!!). I was one of the people who had the pleasure to participate in such even, writing one fic to each prompt. and so, here they are (if you are interested in reading one of the chapters, just click on the countdown number that it will take directly to it):

countdown: 5 days left

mukai and his stubborn preconceptions

countdown: 4 days left

fumi and the pain of saying goodbye

countdown: 3 days left

this is not the future nao thought it would be possible: it's better

countdown: 2 days left

yuzuki could make a habit out of observing the one she loved

countdown: 1 day left

iwakura tomoka had to prematurely learn how to say goodbye

countdown: no more waiting

sousuke finally met his new challenger as soon as he step on the beach.

if you ever decide to read even just one chapter: thank you, that means the world to me. thank you for supporting me and my creations!!! and now, let's celebrate together the arrival of such beautiful anime 🌸👞

[rubyarerosies]

First Day

dad!suguru x fem!reader

“He’ll do fine,” You assure. His coat was crumpled, Suguru knows he left it on the closet floor on purpose to stall time. You’ve taken the role in helping him look presentable. An intimate moment with you he needs to ground himself.

The clock ticks tauntingly above his head. His fist fidget at his sides to ease the squeeze of his chest, smothering the urge to pull it down out of disdain.

It’s your sons first day at preschool. Time was never really on Suguru’s side. The feeling of it all pinches his skin with a reminder that his boy won’t stay small forever.

You’ve reassured him throughout the week multiple times that the worry will come and go throughout the process. However, Suguru doubts. He always does. He’s had many occasions when it becomes overwhelming, and he’s dealt with them. But this, he can’t deal with. He’s delayed his sons first day at preschool long enough.

You’ve seen the distance in his eyes before, a dark memory consumes you. It hurts your chest thinking about it. But you’re past that now, you both are. And you’re both happy at where it all has come to.

A soothing kiss against his forehead pulled him through his dullness. It was relieving to see him surface from his waves of discomfort.

“I hate you for this,” he mutters. You straighten the rest of his collar, a knowing hum following his sarcastic retort.

“I really do,” a dismissive eyebrow lift.

“With my whole heart,” a small smile of acknowledgment.

“—You love me,” Before he could continue to elongate his time at home, your lips softly pecked his. He wanted to go for more, but something seemed to capture your attention.

“My cute boy,” Suguru froze when he saw his son dressed up in his uniform, a simple school bag in his hand. Suguru had to inhale a deep breath so the sorrow in his system could be washed out. It didn’t, but his boy looked so adorable. He wanted to hide him so he could stay one more day.

The pout on your sons lip was removed once he saw your smile, something Suguru admired about you ever since you became a mom. Your boy always seems to calm down once your lips give him a loving grin, Suguru finds that something he has in common with his son.

Your sons school tie seemed to be fumbled into place, it must have fallen out whilst he was alone in the living room. You acknowledged that an upcoming task for you to teach him the proper way to tie it next time. You wouldn’t lie and say that didn’t make you feel despondent, a faltering sigh leaving your lips. You saw your husband raise his eyebrow at you.

Before you could do your sons tie, your husband stepped in, his hand softly removing yours whilst he bent down to fix it instead. You figured it’d be a nice moment for the two to have some privacy. Prior to when you left, you had taken another look over your shoulder. Suguru was quiet, and so was your son. The atmosphere felt detached, but you could tell both were contempt in each others presence.

Suguru eased the fabric into a suitable tie, keeping his head down to focus. Not only on the tie, but the sensitivity of his heart. His breathing stammered slightly, his son was yet to notice it.

“Daddy?”

Suguru hummed in response.

“Is it—Is school scary?”

Suguru smiled, at his sons concerns and at the neatly set tie. His sons eyes were wavering in scared emotions, Suguru could tell because of the added pout.

A sooting hand was placed on your sons head, soft rubbing in motion. “Nah,” your son didn’t seem so pleased with that brief answer.

“It’s nothing to be afraid of, baby. Me and mama will be with you for a bit, meet your teacher and classmates, who knows maybe a future girlfriend is waiting for you in there,”

Your sons worried expression became bashful, a sense of shyness at the thought of a girlfriend. He’s seen Ponyo, he knows the kids are around his age, so if Sousuke can bag a girlfriend at that age, he can— which ultimately made his shyness tenfold because of the possibility his dad is right.

“Stop it,” you sons head hung low, a smile to his face was present though.

“And then me and mama will have to go,” You sons head shot up at that, the once worried expression finding its place again. “But we’ll pick you up at 3:30, on the dot,”

Again, his sons expressing seemed unsure. Suguru felt the same. His son wasn’t ready, but you are a very adamant woman that he does not want to piss off.

“I promise, baby. You’ll always come back to me and mama ok?”

You son hesitated and then nodded. Suguru pulled him in for a hug, a few kisses here and there to brush off what was left on the anxiety his son was feeling.

You watched from behind them, a soft smile on your face. A crazy thought of letting Suguru get you pregnant again scared off the sentiment. Great.

The car ride was silent. Everyone must be feeling upset. Your anxiousness was evident, nails tapping on the console out of nowhere. Suguru saw and brought your hand to the center console, “I’m telling you, we can turn this car aroun—”

As much as you quietly debated the thought, your son needs to finally learn what’s outside of his family and home.

“Suguru,” he became quiet after that.

“Mama,” You turned around, letting your full attention wander to your son.

“Are you going to stay?” Your smile became tight, so did your lungs. Another defeated sigh escaped your lips.

“Only for a while, my love. But me and dadda will be there for you after school, ok?”

He hesitated again, his nod looking unsure as before. You had to reassure him one more time just to ease him a little more.

Your hand let go of Suguru’s, who seemed to be listening intently. You grabbed your sons thigh, softly rubbing it to keep him steady. “You’ll always come back to us, ok? No need to worry, we won’t go anywhere, my love,”

Suguru saw his son smile in the rear view mirror. He looked over at you and smiled as well, “eavesdropper,”

Your son sat amongst the class of kids. You and Suguru with the rest of the parents at the back.

The teacher was talking, but your son seemed to take it in one ear and let it out through the other. His head turned to the crowd of parents, a worried look plastered on his face.

The face alone caused a few unnatural beats towards Suguru’s heart. More hurried beats come forward once he saw his son quietly cry when he heard his teacher telling everyone to say their goodbyes.

“Go to him, Suguru,” he listened.

His sons eyes were covered with his fists. Suguru pursed his lips, he really didn’t want his son to cry, but he knew it was inevitable.

“Turn around, baby,”

His sons eyes were closed, his chest heaving up and down as his sobs were hiccuped. Suguru placed his hands on his sons shoulders, comforting him with that touch. “You’re ok, baby, you’re ok,”

“I—I do-don’t want you and-and mama to go,” Suguru could feel his emotional turmoil already in action, but his sons concerns are what he takes into account first.

“It won’t be for long, baby, we’ll be back before you know it,” his son was still unsure, his eyes wandering on his fathers calm face.

“Look around, my love, everything looks fun right?” His son hummed shakily, whispering ‘mama’ when he saw you wave at him.

“Look there, a Ponyo poster,” Suguru lifted his finger to show him, his sons breathing seemed to calm down, finally finding something familiar in here.

“See, baby, it’s not so bad in here,” Suguru saw how his son still trembled a bit when he saw other parents start leaving behind you. He lifted his arms, a plea to hug his dad one more time before he goes.

“I love you,” Suguru whispered, satisfied with how his son has quietly calmed down. “We’ll be here before you know it,”

You looked on, beaming at the scene with a full heart and less worries. You love Suguru, and you love how great of a dad he was. Too bad your sentiment was brushed off again when the thought of Suguru getting you pregnant again crossed your mind.

Before a kiss to his forehead, Suguru urged his son to go tune in on the iceberg his teacher was conducting. Less reluctant than before, his son went off and joined the circle. Suguru couldn’t help the smirk on his face when he saw how his son was partnered up with a girl, he hopes time is slower so that no greetings to a future daughter-in-law comes as quick as this day.

On the walk to the car, Suguru’s hand in yours, he had to look back just to see his son once more before the agonizing day without him comes along. His son was up and joining the class in a game, a bright smile on his face, one that reminds Suguru of you.

A light chuckle was heard to his left, your hand coming up to his chest to give him a soft pat, “you did good,”

He smiled, pressing a kiss to your lips, “yeah, never again, I hated that. I already miss my boy,”

You giggled and walked around the other side of the car, “damn, I was really hoping to have another, but I guess not,”

“Y/N.”

[musicalmoritz]

Hey uh ,,, do you have any songs that reminds you of tbhk? Like specific characters or relationships ?? (Also I plan on updating my mitsukou playlist I have for coping reasons so some recommendations on that would be nice) ( little cat ^. . ^ / )

OKAY so a little bit embarrassing but the way I listen to music 99% of the time is by imagining my hyperfixations with whatever I’m listening to so I am the perfect person to ask this question. Fair warning tho my music taste does dabble in basic territory. This is gonna be looooooong so fasten your seatbelts

• Using You by Mars Ago is such an AoiAoi song to me. There’s always one specific ship in a fandom that fits this song perfectly and for TBHK that is 100% AoiAoi

• Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana gives me HakuSumi and Sakuhiko vibes. I lean more towards HakuSumi tho bcuz…well…those of you who know the meaning of this song will get it LOL

• Soooooo many Beetlejuice musical songs remind me of TBHK. I started to make like a whole playlist that told the plot of TBHK through musical theatre songs but I gave up after the Mitsuba arc and it never made it to Spotify. Maybe someday…

• Say My Name from Beetlejuice is obviously very HanaNene coded. And The Whole “Being Dead” Thing is giving Hanako coded. Dead Mom is very Kouded

• I Know It’s Today from the Shrek musical always makes me think of Nene

• Drift Away from Steven Universe…very Yako. Her waiting for Misaki every day before learning he died…oof

• Dear Theodosia from Hamilton Remind’s me of the Minamoto Siblings. With Teru as Burr singing abt Kou and then Kou as Hamilton singing abt Tiara

• Beautiful Boy by John Lennon reminds me of Teru and Kou

• On a similar note, I Wanna Hold Your Hand by The Beatles is soooooooo NeneMei coded. Yes I’m talking abt that scene where Nene asked Mei to hold her hand to trick her in an escape attempt. I think about it often

• Townie by Mitski makes me think of Teru. “I am not gonna be what my daddy wants me to be” yeah…

• Ever since I heard HISS by Megan Thee Stallion it has made me think of Teru. I feel like he would be her biggest fan

• Mine by Taylor Swift works so well for any Aoi ship but specifically Aoinene or AoiAoi. “You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter” I mean c’mon her fears surrounding love all stem from her father abandoning her so yeah

• Okay you specifically asked for Mitsukou so I should probably talk abt them

• To me they are so Lana Del Rey core…Video Games…Ultraviolence…the Diet Mountain Dew demo…Summertime Sadness…Yes I know I’m making her most popular songs, hush

• Line Without A Hook by Ricky Montgomery. It’s extra gut-wrenching when it’s from Mitsuba’s pov imo but it works both ways

• Waving Through A Window from Dear Evan Hansen is so Sousuke core

• All of Taylor Swift’s Red album reminds me of them but specifically All Too Well (both versions), Red, Sad Beautiful Tragic, Stay Stay Stay, Begin Again, Better Man, Come Back…Be Here, The Very First Night, and…yeah basically all of Red (Taylor’s Version)

• Northern Downpour by Panic! At the Disco also makes me think of them, this is embarrassingly my favorite song of all time I can’t lie

• Lacy by Olivia Rodrigo is so Aoinene core, yes I have written a fic abt them with that title (a lot of these come from my fic titles ngl)

• Tainted Love by Soft Cell gives me strong Terukane vibes from Akane’s pov

• I Wanna Dance With Somebody and So Emotional by Whitney Houston both remind me of Aoinene as well, basically all of her album Whitney does ngl

• Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks makes me think of Natsuhiko

• Bernadette by IAMX reminds me of Sakuhiko

• She Liked A Boy by Nxdia is very Aoinene coded

• Stupid With Love from the Mean Girls musical makes me think of MeiAoi, specifically the version with No.4 Mei

• Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera is canonically Hanako coded like c’mon we have a whole au for this

• In addition, Think Of Mei is very Nene coded, All I Ask Of You is Mitsukouded, Notes is v Terukane coded, and the title song is so HanaNene

• Valley Of The Dolls by Marina is lowkey Aoi core with the whole “pick a personality” line and the concept of losing your identity as a woman due to the boxes society puts us in

• Gemini Moon by Reneé Rapp reminds me of Kou or Akane (mainly bcuz of the “I could never pick a side” line…bi kings)

• Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra makes me think of HanaNene (any old music does tbh, I have a whole playlist for it)

• Me and My Husband by Mitski is, like, THE Hakusumi song

• There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out by The Smiths is so Mitsukou like “to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die” ?? C’mon

• Violently shaking trying not to name every Fall Out Boy song in existence

• The Pros and Cons of Breathing is SO Aoinene guys (“wish that I was as invisible as you make me feel”)

• Hum Hallelujah could theoretically be Kou

• HOT TO GO! by Chappell Roan is the vibe I have assigned to Minami and Himari

• Stacy’s Mom for Mitsuba’s mother. No elaboration needed.

• You’re On Your Own, Kid by Taylor Swift makes me think of Teru :(

• Lithium by Nirvana reminds me of Akane but also every Nirvana song ever reminds me of Akane, I have assigned Akane to Nirvana

• Whitney Houston’s iconic cover of I Will Always Love You for HanaNene…yes indeed

• Taste by Sabrina Carpenter with Terukaneaoi (Teru sings it to Akane so instead it’s “you’ll just have to taste me while SHE’S kissing you”)

• I have assigned Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts album to HanaNene and Sour to Mitsukou

• Bcuz c’mon, Deja Vu is such a Mitsukou/Soukou song

• Maneater by Daryl Hall & John Oates is Ghost Hotel au Kou and then Maneater by Nelly Furtado is main universe Mitsuba (get it? bcuz cannibalism but also they’re gay-)

• I like the concept of a “maneater” being a gay man and a “womanizer” being a lesbian. Therefore Womanizer by Britney Spears is Mei’s song

• Oops! I Did It Again by Britney Spears is Aoi with AoiAoi

• Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter is Aoimei with OG Mei, Bad Chem is HakuSumi, and Please Please Please is Sakuhiko

• Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler is a Natsuteru song I have dubbed it that way

• Landslide by Stevie Nicks is so Aoinene it hurts… “well I’ve been afraid of changing ‘cuz I built my life around you”

• Every Breath You Take by The Police reminds me of Mitsukou from Kou’s pov…my boy can get a little obsessive

• Obsessed by Olivia Rodrigo is THE Sakunene song, especially since Nene thought Sakura was Hanako’s girlfriend when they first met

• Honorable Mention by Fall Out Boy is lowkey Mitsuba like hear me out…or maybe more-so Sousuke

• Their song Pretty In Punk reminds me of both Mitsukou and Hanamitsu

• Two Player Game from Be More Chill is HanaKou and then A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into is Mitsukou

• Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid makes me think of Nene and then Poor Unfortunate Souls is Sakura (or Tsukasa). Kiss The Girl is HanaNene or Aoinene

• Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer is Terunene, I’m sorry Ik a lot of ppl hate it but I adore them

• On that note of overhated ships I love, Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield reminds me of TeruAoi

• Ooooh and Uptown Girl by Billy Joel is a MeiAoi song

• My Girlfriend Is A Witch by October Country is so Aoimei and Sakuhiko core

• I Fall In Love Too Easily by Chet Baker makes me think of Nene

• I could make a whole separate post abt TBHK and Taylor Swift songs so I’m trying not to yap abt her too much but When Emma Falls In Love also reminds me of Nene. And The Archer is Hanako. And Mirrorball is Akane. And The Lucky One is Aoi. And-

• The Masochism Tango by Tom Lehrer is so Mitsukou but specifically the way I write them, you guys have to see the vision (Natsuteru as well)

• Miss You Much by Janet Jackson is lowkey AoiAoi core, ngl I just wanted an excuse to bring up Janet Jackson

• And Escapade by Janet Jackson is Aoinene so real so true

• I have seen ppl attribute Picture You by Chappell Roan to Meinene and I agree. I will add that Casual is Sakuhiko core from Natsuhiko’s pov

• Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide by David Bowie reminds me of Terukane, both as individual characters and as a ship

• I Know You by Faye Webster is like THE AoiAoi/Terukaneaoi song to me

• Paper Bag by Fiona Apple is Mitsuba to me, trust I will be writing a fic that uses a line from this song as the title (unless it’s already been done before…it’s a very popular song so like that’s possible…)

• Lonely Hearts Club by Marina makes me think of TeruAoi

• Animal Cannibal from Possibly in Michigan fits both Sumire and Mitsuba imo

• No Surprises by Radiohead makes me think of both Teru and Kou

• Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths also makes me think of Kou

• Our Last Summer by ABBA reminds me of the Severance arc in a very bittersweet way, specifically the ending

• Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac fits like so many ships. Hakusumi, Mitsukou, HanaNene…

• Killing Me Softly With His Song by Fugees and Ms. Lauryn Hill makes me think of Sumire/Hakusumi

• I Put A Spell On You by Nina Simone is very Sakura core to me

• Heart Of Glass by Blondie with Mitsuba hear me out hear me out

• Smooth Criminal by Micheal Jackson with Aoi and the amount of times she’s almost died lol

• The Boys Of Summer by Don Henley with Hanako and Kou, or Kou/Yokoo/Satou

• Moon River with HanaNene. Now cry.

• Romeo And Juliet by the Indigo Girls with Aoimei

• Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads with Tsukasa

• And circling back to the musical songs. A Lovely Night from La La Land with MeiAoi

• Fight For Me from Heathers with Mitsukou. Candy Store with Terukaneaoi. Seventeen with HanaNene. Meant To Be Yours with any ship tbh these guys are all insane. Lifeboat with Aoi. Much to think about

• Stars from Les Misérables with Teru. Let me repeat. STARS FROM LES MISÉRABLES WITH TERU. He is so Javert coded Javert my babygirl from my favorite piece of media of all time that literally shaped who I am as a person

• Right Where You Left Me by Taylor Swift with Sumire

• Also all of the Sweeney Todd musical gives me TBHK vibes with all the cannibalism, I could make a whole au

• Camisado by Panic! At the Disco with Teru

• No Good Deed from Wicked with Hakubo snapping after Sumire’s death…Hakubo my beloved

• Popular from Wicked with Aoinene, What Is This Feeling? with Terukane

• The Confrontation from Jekyll & Hyde with the Yugi twins

• Don’t Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl with Nene

• Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop Of Horrors with Aoinene, AoiAoi, Mitsukou, or HanaNene

• I like to imagine Unlikely Lovers from Falsettos with Aoinene and Terukane

• Two Wuv by Tally Hall with Teruaoinene

• American Beauty/American Psycho by Fall Out Boy with AoiAoi

Okay I’m cutting myself off because the music + hyperfixation brainrot will never end. I hope this was somewhat enjoyable to ya’ll lol ty for giving me the chance to yap abt this

[catlover-multifandom]

(in a free mood again here we gooooo)

Free canon moments I think about a lot

Rin writing “fuck” in the elementary school yard

mecha salmon roe

the mr steal yo mako face (you know the one.)

Steve the cat existing

Haru and nagisa working at wcdonald’s or whatever it’s called in the freeverse

romio mentioning florida

haru makoto asahi and kisumi having a hangout in asahi’s apartment (at least I think it was his, it was in a df episode)

tomadoburiranchinburiranti!

makkou the dog

🎶 tabidachi no asa ni miageru sora ni 🎶

Haru and seijuro being friends

Haru’s mascot obsession (relatable im also obsessed with yuru kyara now)

Rei in the novelization

“Nagisa’s mermaid” video and then it got booed when they accidentally played baby videos of haru and makoto lol

Nagisa’s sister’s sketch friend that isn’t quite her boyfriend

Kaede coming back from the concept art grave in s3

the high of s3 in general because I remember counting down the days for it to come out and oh boyyyyyyy summer 2018 has such a special place in my heart. pure euphoria!!

Rin giving Sousuke a koala shirt

MATCHING FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS

everyone pointing out that Rin has cleavage

“no chips at the pool” **SHOTS FIRED**

Makoto’s mixer nightmare

Rei getting drunk on chocolate

the fact that makoto haru Nagisa and rei would have sleepovers together and haru gets so happy to be with them and he fell asleep early HES SO CUTE

Haru and asahi getting worried thinking makoto would fall for mlm scams in Tokyo

Haru’s profile picture being Iwatobi chan

the squid festival drama cd track and Rei’s puns from s1 that everyone ignored

Haru and Albert’s friendship happening because they just like the same fish and they don’t need words to eat mackerel together

Rin crying over the rat movie

shizuru’s existence in general. he’s so funny and silly and he looks like makoharu had a child

the mackerel body pillow that makoto gave haru for his birthday

continuing off the last one: the team thinking haru turned into a mackerel and nagisa telling makoto he has to kiss him to make him back to normal 💀

the scene in s1e1 where Nagisa kicks the can to scare makoto

Rei being uptight and serious and very professional man™ and then gradually loosening up and being less guarded and being his genuine silly smart self and having fun and you can see how much love he has for everyone as the show goes on… and the love and genuine affection he has for his friends keeps increasing even when you thought his heart was already the biggest it could get. it gets so much bigger. and the fact that he learned to swim and got to nationals for an individual event in 3 years. Rei I love you no one could ever make me dislike you you’re a beautiful butterfly

the general babygirlification of rin matsuoka as the series progresses

free mastering the “character that is a jerk at first but the second they’re forgiven/not a jerk you absolutely love them to pieces” archetype (rin, sousuke, hiyori!)

haru being an old man when it comes to technology: “sorry I haven’t looked at my phone in 2 weeks”

perfect body

haru almost dying like 10 times throughout the series

haru giving makoto his gold medal in that one artwork AAAAAAGGGHHHHWJFJEDJEKS

more of a fandom thing, but the whole makoto train scare back when fs1 came out

in df when ryuji is trying to teach haru and makoto translates it to haruspeak, they show you makoto smiling when haru turns around and half his face is cut off from the screen because he’s shorter than makoto lololol

Haru trying to escape the premises the second he sees kisumi

the scene of haru driving in Tokyo and makoto freaks out the entire time… guys I think they somehow got actual footage of me driving when my mom is in the passenger seat

the reigisa montage before their races at nationals in df. MY HEART

the entire show honestly… if there’s one thing you got from this post, it’s that I will never be free of free (I’m perfectly happy to keep it that way)

[yntaro]

Let’s talk about Romance Mangas!

My say to those I have read and loved: (not ranked)

1. This Manga hurts my heart. I read it while on high school and it kinda hit me with how lonely I am because I never had an Ayane-chan and Chizuru-chan, and Kazehaya-kun to downright change my life to better. But I did enjoy those time because I had romance manga to begin with. Kimi Ni Todoke might be the one that get me into read romance mangas. I liked it because I somewhat relate to Sawako, being outcasted and all. I grew to love their story, and found myself hoping that maybe love will come to me too.

Kimi Ni Todoke (From Me to You)

2. In this spin off featuring Kurumizawa Ume (a character from Kimi Ni Todoke) and Sawako’s cousin Eiji Akahoshi, my hope for meeting love blooms even greater. They were soulmates as the title suggests so they were literally speed, but then I haven’t read the latest chapters yet because I can’t find them (if anyone know, pls let me know). As I was saying, they literally skipped the slow burn but still works because we can now root for the former second leads. (Yes, Eiji is from another romance manga from the same author: Crazy for Love)

Kimi Ni Todoke: Soulmate

3. What do you do when you accidentally married a man twice your age?? Some may not want age gap romance, especially when the age gap is 20 years, but you might change your mind reading this manga. It’s wholesome and you can actually find yourself smiling and rooting for their relationship to work. This manga has been going on the internet, it’s popular so you may had heard of it, it’s where I heard of it, so I think I don’t have to had any say except I enjoyed it and I am finding or accepting manga recs similar to this.

Gomashio to Pudding (Sesame Salt and Pudding)

4. WHOLESOME IS THE WORD. This manga is fresh breath of air. I’m pretty sure most of you guys have heard of it as it’s one of this month’s anime. I just love how cute they are in each chapter, even the other couples. And I thoroughly enjoy Himuro’s monologue. :)) If you guys were bothered by random pacings, you should watch the anime instead. They swept up the plot.

Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi (The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague)

5. Wahhhh this is really addictive, I can’t stop myself from thinking that the whole time I am reading. A combination of slice of life, comedy, and romance genre, huh. Who knows it will all work beautifully as in this masterpiece. (Also, Sousuke Shima’s character design reminds me a bit of Miura Kento from Kimi Ni Todoke)

Skip and Loafer

6. HOT. I have no other words. Some may misunderstand though. But it’s what I think of it, like will you look at them!!! They’re attacking me. I hope we got to see how their relationship progress soon. Btw, I’m all in for Ichi, I’m sorry dear Oji.

Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki (In the Clear Moonlit Dusk)

Aaaand I just rumbled my thoughts on the last part. I may edit it for a more serious discussion later. Thanks! :)))

[mari-lair]

What’s your opinion on the newest chapter bc that ending caught me tf off guard (if ykyk)

I love this chapter it’s so cool! I like that Mitsuba is helping Kou, and that Hanako the leader of the ghosts, was scared of the middle schooler’s haunted house. I also appreciate that everyone was together instead of the usual mitsukou/hananene split up. (They did split up by the end of the chapter again...but I’ll take what I can get.)

This part was nice too.

I wasn’t expecting it, but it makes sense Mitsuba wants to push Kou to be with Nene considering this is his mentality recently.

MY AWFUL TRIO IS HERE TOO!

Aoi has a herbs tea stand! LOOK AT HER! I forgot there are more people in the gardening club besides her uiyguyg

AND AKANE USED A HEART IN HIS SPEECH BUBBLE?? This boy really is down bad, he gets rejected when he already knows Aoi likes him back but he keep looking at the bright side (he is so genuinely happy thinking about how cute she is when she’s shy. He is adorable.)

He cried a river when he was rejected what a loser, and Aoi is so blushy when she turns him down, she looks almost troubled?? Is she angry she can’t bring herself to agree? Is she troubled she already agreed to go with Teru? Idk but she is adorable. They are so stupid, they make my heart melt.

SPEAKING OF TERU, I love how he happily (threatened) invited Aoi on a date while confident Akane will be there. My bars are very low I am absolutely counting this as a terukaneaoi date LET’S GOO

Love how Aoi is scared and nervous but the idea Akane will be there too calm her down. She had fun the last time they hung out as a trio so I am excited!

(I won’t be surprised if the broadcasting club scheming makes it so they end up not having this tour, but my disappointment will be immeasurable.)

Teru was amazing this chapter on his own too, look at this bastard. He got an ego.

Not that I can blame him, any 17 year old would reach this conclusion when their class consistently worship him as a prince and made A WHOLE SUCCESSFUL VENUE?? WITH MERCHANDISE TOO?? HELP?? He is so chill about it “oh I was surprised when they suggested” BUT NO PROTESTS? Akane is right, he is a shameless guy.

(I wonder if Teru gets money out of it...? Since they are selling his image/’brand’. I hope he does. Can you imagine Teru  telling his dad “oh yeah, half of my fortune comes from exorcism, half comes from my venue.” )

And hey, Tiara and kunishide are here!  That’s nice, love to see them again! :D

You know who else is here? Sousuke’s mom! THE QUEEN IS HERE! LET HER THROUGH!!! I DID NOT EXPECT TO EVER SEE HER AGAIN, MY BELOVED!

I’m interested in how Mitsuba will deal with a ‘mom’ he never had. He no longer seems obsessed with Sousuke, the manga itself treats Sousuke as a thing of the past (Kou even fully accepted his death in chapter 74) so her presence is BIG.

I wonder if the mom will be able to see Mitsuba, and bring more info on Sousuke, or explore both her and Mitsuba’s characters. Mitsuba does feel like he has no ‘family’ after all. And Sousuke’s mom, who lost her son and husband, also has no family, but unlike Mitsuba, she used to have. Add in Mitsuba’s relationship with his own identity and I am definitively intrigued by what her role in this arc will be.

The ending caught me off guard too, I thought the broadcasting club wanted to control time not destroy it, even if it does make sense, considering their end goal is every yorishiro's destruction.

And this part made me realize we never saw Natsuhiko bleed before, and it explains how he consistently gets out of dangerous or tricky situations that while not deadly for an immortal would have been very hard to escape if his power was merely 'durability'.

He can’t lose, even a supernatural’s ‘victory’ where he gets eaten will result in them being corroded from the inside out. Since Natsuhiko can’t die, blood loss isn’t a problem either, he is a neverending poison machine. Love that for him.

[anobodysposts]

Stolen Hoodie [Sousuke/Makoto] [Day 7 of Flufftober]

For @flufftober day 7 prompt: Hoodie weather.

Fandom: Free!

Rated: T. Words: 300.

Summary: When he saw Makoto wearing his hoodie, he almost lost it.

AO3 Link.

If he had known that the weather would change that bad, from the morning to the evening, he would have taken a hoodie or a jacket with him. He took a deep breath, if he ran to his apartment, he wouldn’t feel the cold. Right?

Though, there was another reason he was in a rush to go back to his place. He hadn’t seen Makoto the whole day. 

“I’m home,” Sousuke announced, as he was leaving his shoes at the entrance. 

“Welcome back!” Makoto got out of the bedroom, after changing his work clothes. 

At first, Sousuke didn’t notice it. Well, with those green eyes staring back at him, it would be hard to take his eyes away from them. However, when he placed his hand on Makoto’s back, to bring him closer to him, he touched a very familiar fabric to him.

“Wait, let me look at you,” Sousuke said. 

“It was cold, and my hoodie has mysteriously disappeared,” Makoto was more amused than anything. 

Sousuke ignored that accusation. The hoodie definitely looked better on his partner. How come it was the first time he was wearing it? Or maybe, just the first time wearing it in front of him. Whichever the case was, he absolutely found Makoto very attractive with it. 

“You look amazing,” Sousuke whispered. 

Each day, Sousuke managed to find reasons to fall in love with Makoto. There was always something that he did or said that made his heart surrender to him. 

A smile crossed Makoto’s face. “Did you get cold on your way? I think I have an idea, or two, to keep you warm?”

“You are not taking that hoodie off, “Sousuke warned him, before going to the bedroom  holding Makot’s hand. 

Maybe the arrival of the cold winds wasn’t bad at all. 

[letterstoear]

My favorite letters~ Top five! Part 1

As this is the month of love, I wanted to focus on self-love today and talk about my favorite letters I’ve written. This is all my personal opinion, and I would love to know what your favorite letters are! 

Again, these letters are my personal favorites. In part 2 I’ll be doing letters where I think I did the best in terms of writing and character.

#5 Kageyama’s confession: Letters to Ear : THAT MALLEUS LETTER GOT ME FED UP WHAT DID I JUST... (tumblr.com)

I never would have thought Kageyama would be here. I wrote this letter as a fun response to the ask. It started out as a drabble then blossomed into what it is today. This letter is fun and feels very fluffy which is the intended purpose. There’s not much else I can say, it just really is a Kageyama like confession.  

#4 Kenma’s confession: Letters to Ear : A confession from Kenma (tumblr.com)

This letter in particular is what started my whole business, so without this one I never would have gotten this far. It really nails Kenma’s character in a way I don’t see done often. Or maybe it’s just me being biased. 

In the letter we see how Kenma’s whole love started to bloom towards the reader. It’s such a sweet letter. The character growth is what sells this letter in a way I don’t normally do. I should do more of it though, it seems to work well. 

#3 Chuuya’s letter: Letters to Ear : Wow, a letter from Chuuya~ (tumblr.com)

I love my man Chuuya and this letter was a spur of the moment letter out of frustration. I actually wrote this letter when I was doing research on Dazai, but I took a break and wrote for Chuuya instead. I tend to come back to letter as a casual pick me up because of how smooth everything flows. 

I don’t know how I did it, but the transitions between each letter come out so smoothly. Like it really flows well, which is a highlight of the letter. I think to write Chuuya well you need to get his timing done. Also, the casually sprinkles of little remarks about love makes me kick my feet in the air and scream into my pillow. 

Read this letter if you want some casual pick me up. 

#2 Lilia Vanrouge’s Letter of Acceptance: Letters to Ear : A letter of acceptance from Lilia Vanrouge (tumblr.com) 

We have our first and only Twisted Wonderland character letter here! Which is a little strange now that I think about it. I’ve written a ton of Twst letters, but this is the first one to be seen on my list. I should improve on that. 

This letter is so special to me because of how it tells the story of Lilia’s view on love. I wanted to enchant the reader with Lilia’s pure feelings and insight. It’s not an overly fluffy or romantic letter, but it’s bittersweet. I think it easily shows how even though Lilia is in love, he’s not going to force his feelings onto the reader. In fact, a small part of him has already given up. 

What can I say I love a pinch of angst. 

Towards the end of the letter, we get Lilia’s promises for his lover. I think it’s a very sweet action he does, and I can really see him making these vows. Each time I read this letter it squeezes my heart. 

If you like Lilia, I’m pretty certain you’ll love the letter. 

#1 Ikuya Kirishima’s After the Race letter: Letters to Ear : After the race (tumblr.com)

Let me just say, I wrote this letter for myself, so of course I’m going to love it the most. This letter is the definition of fanfiction. It’s not written to impress nor is it made out of self-loathing or hate. All this letter is to have something fluffy to read from one of my all-time favorite characters. 

When I read this letter time and time again, I actually forget I was the one who wrote it because it’s that special. The letter captures the spirit of how Ikuya feels after winning the relay race with Haru, Rin, and Sousuke. It’s meant to feel like a warm hug, one you would feel after someone did a big accomplishment. 

More than that it goes over Ikuya’s character arc, which I love to add into my letters. Plus, Ikuya reminisces about the relations he has with the reader in their established relationship. 

If you’re like me and you’re a fan of Ikuya from Free! I highly recommend you check out this letter. Read it! 

[ladyodaskonpeito]

Day 7: The Future

Fandom: Free!

Pairing: Yamazaki Sousuke x Tachibana Makoto

Wordcount: 761

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

Makoto and Sousuke chose to hold their bachelor parties inside private bars that were adjacent to each other in the following year. Haru said that the idea was disgusting, but they proceeded anyway.

“Nagisa, I already told you that Ran and Ren were the ones pestering me to get married,” Makoto reasoned for the umpteenth time. “They can’t wait to officially have another onii-chan in the form of a brother-in-law, is what they say. I did not get married for the sole sake of trying to one-up you and Haru, or however it is you put it.”

“Nagisa, lay off the teasing already,” even Haru stepped in at this point, for which Makoto is thankful. “I know him the best. Makoto will not admit it even if what you’re saying is absolutely correct.”

“Haru! You’re supposed to side me in this!”

Nagisa snickered. “It’s true, Mako-chan. How else did you two go from idiots who can’t admit they recognised each other to fiancés who are getting married tomorrow in the span of seven months?”

Makoto signed after taking a sip of his martini. “I regret how I encouraged Kisumi to attend the party next door. Why is he so close to both Sousuke and Rin again? He would have been on my side if he was here.”

“The party next door must have been a lot less fun with all the goody-two-shoes on their side. Aren’t you glad you get to hang out with the nurses instead, my boo?” Nagisa turned to his boyfriend.

“Actually, thinking about this logically, I’ve come to the conclusion that I belong with the rest of the doctors next door,” said Rei.

“I forgot you’re a goody-two-shoes yourself, Rei-chan.”

“I mean, think about it: Haru-senpai betrayed us by being in a secret relationship with Rin-senpai that started even before ours did, meanwhile Makoto-senpai betrayed us with Sousuke-senpai by getting married before we could. As a result, we are now no longer the iconic couple of TUH!”

“Oh, cry me a river,” Makoto must have had too much to drink, but Haru glanced at him for that and for a moment he looked like he was proud.

Haru then took a sip of his water—he was the designated driver—before clearing his throat and turning to Makoto. “I’m surprised you didn’t drop the idea of adjacent bachelor parties.”

“Me too, Mako-chan used to listen to everything Haru-chan said!”

“It’s great that you no longer do. Looks like Sousuke has been a good influence,” Haru had a small smile on his face as he said this, and Makoto could tell he meant it with his whole heart.

“And a bad influence at the same time! I never thought Mako-chan would be the type to marry someone so quickly,” Nagisa added. “But I’m so glad, because it must mean that he makes you so incredibly happy.”

It made Makoto all warm and fuzzy inside knowing that his closest friends were happy for him. “Well, he and I missed out on all those years we could have after all… Our relationship has been so steady and Sousuke is a reliable presence in my life, someone I can trust everything with. So, I thought why not? I genuinely can see myself being happy in a marriage with him, even ten years down the line.”

“Awwww, that’s so cute!” Rei giggled and was the one who actually had too much to drink. “Let’s do a toast, to Makoto-senpai and his future with Sousuke-senpai! Let’s do a group hug too!”

So they raised their glasses and Rei huddled everyone together in a tight embrace after they downed their drinks. For a brief moment, Makoto was on top of the world. To love and to be loved by the most important people in his life, there was nothing more he’d ask for.

He got teary-eyed and had a blocked nose then, before their moment was interrupted by the door being thrown open.

Nitori, still clad in his uniform, rushed in while panting, “I finally finished my shift!” He then realised that the team was having a moment without him, and instead of feeling bad about walking in at a bad time, he whined, “Hey, don’t leave me out just because I got off late! I am important too for making Makoto-senpai the fake patient during Dr Yamazaki’s birthday.”

Makoto would say that they’d end up together either way thanks to Kisumi, but he chose to just pull Nitori in to join in on the group hug.

There, everybody would be satisfied with the happy ending.

The End

If you've read this far, thank you for coming along on this ride! I apologise for the mistakes that are bound to be scattered throughout this series😅I'm glad I managed to post on all seven days of soumako week nonetheless, as it was a good practice to keep myself accountable. Much love to @soumako-week and see y'all next year should it come back again! 💕

[malaierba]

List of characters I haven't been normal about through the years

Kykio (Inuyasha) (me fighting her haters in the playground for two years straight ksjfk)

Ino Yamanaka (Naruto)

Konan (Naruto)

Hidan (Naruto)

Prussia (HETALIA)

France (HETALIA)

Denmark (HETALIA)

Belarus (HETALIA)

Mongolia (HETALIA) (admittedly because of friends/fanon but I liked that he wore glasses and how weird they made him about being an ex-empire. abnormal mfer kdjfkd)

South Korea (Hetalia) (the way he annoyed everyone fnjfjf PLEASE)

Cuba (Hetalia)

Pitch Black / Lord General Kozmotis (Rise Of The Guardians)

Sousuke (Free!) (Before him it was Makoto but ngl Sousuke did something to my brain. Came in like a wrecking ball)

Kisumi Shigino (Free! Admittedly because of fans going ballistic with the crumbs of content we got of him lol)

Tanaka Ryūnosuke (Haikyuu)

Toudou Shinpachi (Yowapeda)

Koga KimITAKA MY SON MY LOVE my missunderstood man (Yowapeda)

My awful awful daughter Natsuo Ishido (Teppuu)

S-sanae Sawamura..... Falls to the floor clutching my chest (Teppuu)

I'm not normal about Teppuu in general. Best sports manga in the world ever. It was so good the genre was never the same for me and I couldn't ever get into anything else because it wasn't as Made For Me as Teppuu was.

Cleopatra (Clone High)

Minthe (Lore Olympus)

I hate Lore Olympus with a passion because it was such a sanitised pseudo-feminist usamerican retelling of such an important tale to ancient Greek women BUT Minthe was AN AMAZING CHARACTER and I know in my heart of hearts that it was ENTIRELY ACCIDENTAL Rachel Smyth gave her realistic class trauma and realistic, disruptive mental illnesses that actually hindered her ability to form healthy relationships by accident, but I still loved arguing with my whole chest about how fans didn't understand her and how she WAS justified in some of her actions on Instagram lmfao

Too bad her arch finished lazily like that though. I'm still hate reading Lore Olympus on the side (Artemis is getting interesting) but the writing is just so bad. God it's so bad.

Julian Devorak (The Arcana)

Stolas Goethia (Helluva Boss)

And finally Karamatsu & Jyushimatsu (Osomatsu-san)

[itsavgbltpta]

Should You Watch Skip & Loafer?

(English title: Skip & Loafer)

(Japanese title: Skip to Loafer - or Sukippu to Roofaa)

A Brief Summary

Mitsumi comes from a super small town, but she has big ambitions.  Her plan is to attend school in the big city (Tokyo) in order to become a government official and make things better for her very small hometown.  She’s so dedicated to this goal, that she doesn’t realize other people may not have the same kind of mindset and would rather loaf around.  Enter Sousuke, a fellow classmate she meets after getting lost on the way to her first day of school in the maze that is Tokyo.  Sousuke likes to take things at his own pace (slow) and not get himself deeply involved into anything or with anyone.

The pair are almost complete opposites, but they become friends anyhow and learn a bit more about the world and themselves throughout their freshman year in high school.

So, should you watch the anime?  

Definitely yes, unless you absolutely can’t stand slice of life anime.

I looked forward to watching Skip & Loafer every week as it gave me a warm, squishy dose of wholesome goodness.  It’s just so gosh-dang nice.  My heart could barely handle the genuine feelings in some episodes.

Skip & Loafer is also a funny show, but funny in a friendly way.  It’s not slapstick violence, but instead shows off how goofy things can be when high school kids interact with each other.  But to be fair, the show has its serious moments too.  High school isn’t all laughs, after all.  Each of the characters have darker bits to them, as do all people.  The way the show explores how the characters grow is… well, I used the word before, but honestly, “wholesome” is the best description for Skip & Loafer.  Because even when some darker moments happen, things end up okay in the end.

While I mentioned this is slice-of-life-esque, there is a hint of romance throughout as well.  But romance isn’t the main focus, it’s just part of the high school experience - which is what the focus of Skip & Loafer really is.  Kids figuring themselves out a little at a time with some bonus shenanigans thrown in.  You know, your classic school festivals and sports day fun.  Throw in the whole “country hick in the big city discovering new things” vibe, and you’ve got yourself this anime.

And I mean that in the best way.  Though my high school days are long past, so maybe my opinion is slightly tinted by nostalgia’s rosy color.

The art design and animation add to the wholesome feeling the show gives off.  The character design is pretty simple, but they do a lot with faces and expressions.  I love some of the derpy faces Mitsumi makes, and the little blush marks characters get when embarrassed or nervous are very cute.  While I don’t know much about fashion, the clothes Mitsumi and her friends wear seem fairly realistic to what you could find normal Japanese teenagers wearing today.  I do enjoy extreme and weird outfits, but in a slice-of-life style anime, regular fashion is a nice touch.

The plot is mostly about the day to day life and ambitions of high school students.  We learn a bit about the group and how their childhood experiences (such as being a child star, being made fun of, etc) have shaped them, but also how they can still keep changing.  Like I said, freaking wholesome.

Besides Mitsumi and Sousuke’s developing friendship, you’ll get to peek into the lives of some of Mitsumi’s other friends and family, such as:

A tsundere classmate who wants Sousuke’s attention and has the same bangs as Misato from Evangelion (Mika).

A blonde bombshell super-model type that wants friends who don’t care about her looks or fame (Yuzuki).

A classic nerdy introverted girl with twin braids and glasses who thinks good looking people are jerks (Makoto).

The ultimate bestie from back home that is the most supportive person on earth (Fumi).

The epitome of OCD and the type who would probably plan out every bathroom break on a trip (Takamine).

A passionately dedicated drama club student who will do anything for the sake of their art (Kanechika).

And a cool aunt with a bit of an adam’s apple that helps out with good fashion tips and a place for Mitsumi to stay in Tokyo (Nao).

**Disclaimer here that I am not trans, but in my opinion, I think Nao’s inclusion in the story was very tastefully done.  Pronouns were used correctly, and no big deal was ever made of Mitsumi’s aunt formerly being an uncle.  She mentions it to her friends once when they are going to stay they night in case it bothers anyone.  But it doesn’t.  And I really like that.**

Plus even more friends and family!  There are quite a few minor characters that still make a big impact, and some I’d like to know more about.  As Skip & Loafer was a manga before it was an anime, I assume we do get more, so yay!  But even if you just watch the anime only, the story ends at a good stopping point. 

Where does it rate on my personal scale?

S: I will buy it at full price (unless it’s released by Aniplex USA, because fuck their pricing).

->A: I will buy it on sale sometime down the line.

B: I had fun watching it, but don’t need to own it.

C: It’s not my cup of tea, but wasn’t awful.

D: Dropped it.

X: Finished it out of spite, but did not enjoy it.

Skip & Loafer ranks at a solid A.  It was one of my favorite shows of the season and I would like to have the chance to watch it again even if streaming services die.  I’m also tempted to check out the manga to get more of my wholesome fix.

[marshmallowloves]

DAY 4 (SELF LOVE) - honorable mentions

So I actually listed a few other F/Os in my plans to write for this day… but I couldn't really get around to doing a whole post about them all in time (plus some of them…aren't nearly as fleshed out as others fkshfj) so I'm just gonna list some short points about them here

Nico

💖 Nico's whole thing is loving all of her just as she is. Not only would he not mind, he'd probably find it endearing. Every sound from her is like music to him because he’s clinging to every fragment of warmth and human connection that he can grasp in the dark.

ZEN

💖 Hyun adores every part of his beloved, and that includes even the things she’s embarrassed about like her tics. There's even a line he says in game that I've specifically taken wildly out of context to apply it to her tics and how he adores her for it jdfhg: “What was it like seeing me in person? Did I meet your expectations? It was better than I thought for me. I cherished everything about you. Every one of your gestures just made my heart jump…” 💖 sometimes I kick around an idea where she’s worried about Hyun (or herself) receiving unwanted media attention or coming under fire (cough echo girl cough) for her tics, and Hyun reassuring her that everyone can answer to him because he loves his girlfriend wholeheartedly, she’s the sun and the moon and the stars and if they have a problem with it then they can kiss the firmest part of his ass (but y’know…he says it a lot nicer than that dkfjg)

Sousuke

💖 Sousuke would tease her about it just a tiny bit, and in the most benign way (“...Plus, the way you even peep in your sleep is just–ahh, cute~!” // “Oh, come on, don't be so embarrassed! I bet I could get you to make other sounds too~) Also he's just a sunshiney guy, he'd be so purely supportive and absolutely chew out his friends or classmates if they picked on her fkdhg

Sans

💖 Man humans are weird. But they're kind of fascinating too. Sans has never met a human with something like this before, but it's kind of endearing. And when it gets to a point where she's comfortable about it with him, it's easy for him to crack a joke or two about it - but only if she cracks one about herself first.

[hobbitunderthemountain]

u guys.....ponyo is........ so pure.........

[divetothefandom]

Getting a Kiss on the Cheek by his Crush | Several

Haru:

After a whole day together at the pool with his crush, Haru is over the moon. Not that he shows because 😐

"Thank you, Haru... I had fun today" and chuik!💋

He is awful at handling affection.

So the exact second your lips come in contact with his skin, he freezes.

He has no idea what to do. Don't get him wrong, he likes it, given this is his crush we're talking about. But my god, he's stupid.

He malfunctions.

Which could give you the wrong idea, so probably he will panic when he sees you all discouraged.

You're leaving but... NO, he doesn't want you to leave!

So he has to be quick, and call your name... A bit louder than he intended.

"I... I liked it too..."

His face says it all, the shy pouty face he does when he's embarrassed and his cheeks just a nice shade of pink.

It's impossible not to smile at that.

"We should do it more often" and he gets another kiss. And these times, he returns the gesture.

"Yeah... we should" and he finally lets you see that lovely smile of his.

Makoto:

Makoto is really shy, he's friendly and lovely, but he has no idea how to approach his crush.

You hang out as friends and everyone (for argument’s sake I'll say you're part of the swimmer group of friends, whether as a swimmer or like Kisumi) can tell you both like each other but the two of you.

To the point where they ditch you both, so you spend a day together as an unexpected date of sorts. Like in a festival or something, and you're both left to be together-

He is really nervous at first, especially if he is made aware what's going on:

"Nagisa: We're not arriving, Mako-chan, enjoy your date lol"

He starts off very stiff and awkward because he likes you a lot and why are you so beautiful and why are his hands sweating-

But again, one of the things he likes about you is that you're friends, and you make him laugh.

So it doesn't take long for him to honestly just have a good time.

You guys laugh and joke and spend all your designed money on games and snacks.

It's a lot of fun, but Makoto is really swooning.

So by the end of the night, you stand on your tip-toes to what he assumes it's a hug.

But he just feels the light flutter along with a soft chuik! 💋

He can't stop his heart from racing. His face is red, his palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy, mom's spaghetti. He is absolutely flustered.

But unlike Haru, you can tell in his eyes that went to heaven. He even does the tilt head smile.

It's not official until a while after, but dates likes this became a common thing immediately.

Rin:

Oh my god, he's so CUTE

He invites you over to a competition, and he does great, as usual.

And to celebrate, you all go to a karaoke. Which Rin's canonically awful at, LOL

But anyway, Sousuke and Haru pressure him into signing in front of everyone.

Which he does.

And it sucks.

Look, before an angry crowd comes to get me, I don't think he's a bad singer, at all. He probably just gets nervous and mumbly.

But the song ends and everyone is laughing and teasing.

He does this pout bad boy thing he does when he's embarrassed, looking down, frowning, and turning his voice deeper to be scary.

"The mic's wrong... and I don't even know the song that well..."

So you take the chance to whisper in his ear, "I think you did great" and peck his cheek. 💋

He goes red in a second.

Of course, everyone else notices, obviously.

And he wouldn't be so embarrassed if you weren't laughing about it too.

And it's hilarious, he will be buried next Saturday-

Just kidding.

Somehow, that whole number got him a date with you... But he wasn't the one that had the guts to ask 😉

I feel like he would be really upset that you beat him to it... But really happy to know you return his feelings, and he, being as competitive as he is, has determined that he will be the one asking you out on your next date.

Sousuke:

Sousuke is a very chill person, he doesn't get shaken much by emotions, right?

Hahahaha. WRONG!

He's what 10 years of anime slang have led me to classify as a kuudere, like Haru and Ikuya... sort of. But better because (sorry Haru and Ikuya, but at least) he does express emotions, he's just generally calm and well-mannered.

He would even be a very good flirt, given how in control of his emotions he is. Like sure, he can take a smartsy comment and shoot one back, this verbal love battle is something he has on the bag.

BUT GODDAMMIT, IF THESE BOYS AREN'T EASY TO FLUSTER, MAY I BE STRUCK BY A LIGHTNING BOLT RIGHT NOW.

I feel Sousuke would be especially flustered by casual PDA.

Like, he went to buy drinks and got one for you because... he be crushing badly and in general loves to do stuff for you.

He thinks he has his feelings under control, he's just being nice because he likes to be nice to you.

Right?

Well, he wouldn't even see it coming.

Just a casual "thanks" and an absentminded kiss on the cheek 💋, and he's done for.

Given the naturality of the situation, he wouldn't make a huge fuss. But oh boy does that little kiss keep you on his mind more than usual. That cute lil' "I don't stay up all night thinking about them" later that night, up thinking about you... "Uh oh".

It was just a little thing, but you did it like it was just engraved in your soul to do so. And it felt so good that he just knew that he wanted one of those every day for the rest of his life.

Definitely, the last push he needed to officially ask you out.

Asahi:

Oh boy, look. Let's get the cat out of the bag and start of saying... it's gonna be dramatic... and very loud.

WHICH IS NOT A BAD THING! It's not a bad thing.

That's just who Asahi is. He's very vocal about his feelings... and noisy...

Honestly, it's for the best. That way there's no room for doubt and (cue author's toxic relationship flashbacks that I didn't delete because I find it funny) anxiety because you don't know how he really feels about you, and having to ask over and over what he's thinking... And long discussions over the same thing so nothing gets fixed and relationship slowly dying, and cheating and...

Wait, what was I saying? Oh, right.

Asahi would be AT LEAST very obvious about his feelings for you... if he doesn't just straight up say it to your face.

Like, not the second he suspects he likes you, obviously.

He do be taking his time to analyze if it's just "do I just think they're pretty and cool, funny and them being around makes my day a thousand times better, or is this an actual crush?"

I feel like he would do the thing where he talks to the mirror to ask himself about you 🤣

But once he figures out this is serious. He would hype himself up to tell you. Even picking a flower to gift you. I feel like he would try to give you a full bouquet, but his friends would suggest starting off chill, so he doesn't overwhelm you, particularly if you happen to be a shy bean.

So he meets you by the campus gardens with the flower behind his back and just gifts it to you as he effusively tells you how he feels.

He is ready for a rejection when...

Chuik! 💋

It's the loveliest feeling ever to open his eyes and see that the sound was a sweet kiss to the cheek and his feelings returned.

He would do this cute thing some guys do of punching the air excitedly like "YES, YES, YES, YES!!!"

Ikuya:

Ikuya tries to act like Haru, but he is like a bazillion times easier to fluster.

Just like Sousuke, casual affection would be the end of him.

And at first, when you're just friends, it's fine!

He just gets a bit embarrassed that you peck his cheek when you greet him or say goodbye before parting ways. Just a snitch.

He does that thing he does when he's shy of puffing his cheeks and looking away red in the face.

Just as his base personality can't decide if he's a kuudere (like Haru and Sousuke) or a tsundere (Rin), and it's really cute. Honey, you're infatuated, that's what you are.

I feel like whether you're oblivious of his feelings or not, it's just funny and cute to see him all flustered when you're affectionate.

It's all friendly banter for now.

Until it isn't.

One day it changes, and the kiss feels different.

It's a full on kiss while you cup the other cheek, just overly gentle but definitely beyond friendly smooch 💋

It feels overly intimate and special. And he just loses it.

He stutters and covers his face, completely shy.

On one hand, he's happy because that confirms it? You like him too?!?!?! Yeah, u do. But he didn't know that.

On the other OH MY GOD THEY LIKE ME TOO.

BONUS! BECAUSE I LOVE THEM-

Rei:

He is shy, very shy, he is an absolute swooning moron.

Rei is definitely the type to try to impress you, but just makes you laugh because he never quite succeeds.

Like, you know that trope where they try to impress the love interest, but they're so bad they're actually good, and the love interest falls because "you're funny".

That's him, that's Rei.

So you're the one to make the first move and after his swim practice, you ask him out to watch a movie or something. He's thrilled!

"Okay... I'll b-be sure to pick you up at six!" his voice is cracking he's so nervous.

Cutie.

"Okay, cool" you giggle and kiss his cheek. 💋

OH, THE TEASING YOU UNLEASHED UPON THIS POOR BOY ONCE YOU LEFT

But he's thrilled because somehow he did it, somehow!

(kinda short, but as I was writing this I made a small fic I'll try to post soon)

Nagisa:

He is probably one of the few who would take this with good grace.

Nagisa would make it clear he adores you from the start.

Homeboy has no filter lmao.

Being courted by penguin angel is overwhelming ngl

He brings you food, he insist that you both should go watch a movie or something.

And when Nagisa insists... he insists, and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists... and insists...

Until you eventually you cave in.

He's through the moon.

Nagisa is the kind to talk throughout the movie making excited or happy comments, and jokes from time to time. So depsite it being a movie, the conversation is lively. RIP the other people who paid for their ticket.

It's actually quite fun, not gonna lie. He has eyes only for you, even if he chose the movie.

After movie, you go to eat something because Nagisa is always very hungry. Impressively he pays for it all, like a gentleman (I mena, sure he asks for the rest of the swim dork squad to treat him, of course he has saved up money).

Once again, he's talking the whole time trying to entertain you with funny stories of his friends regardless if you know who he's talking about.

It's actually very endearing how eager he wants you to feel integrated to his life.

At the end of the night you thank him with a soft kiss 💋

HE DOES THAT CUTE ⭐👄⭐ HE DOES WHEN HE IS VERY HAPPY AND EXCITED

And just tackles you in a hug.

Yeah, he liked the kiss. And yeah, that's only the beginning of something bigger.

Masterpost

[hoshi-y]

Hiiii!!! Hoshi!! Can I be your friend? Also can I get headcanons of Tsukasa and Mitsuba (yanderish?) with a s/o who is like Mikan from danganropa? Especially when people look at them and seek them taking to the ghost boys and don’t see anybody but seeing their happy face ❤️Please and thank you!!!(if you need her personality she’s shy has trust issues and apologizes a lot and offers to take her clothes off due to abuse and you don’t have to add that)

Happy to be with you

Genre : Fluff

Characters : Yugi Tsukasa, Mitsuba Sousuke

TW : Bullying, Murder, Kidnapping, Abuse, Foul language

A/N : AWWWW OFC!! Love making new friends LMAO and thank you for including her personality! I've already watched gameplays or some parts of the anime so I kind of forgotten how she acted HAHA

But one thing I remember, is that she always gets picked on and says sorry alot but your information helps 💗

I hope you enjoy 💗

Don't worry Love! We just had a discussion~

You were never the brightest color in the crayon box

Yet you'd often get picked on

Why though?

Is it because you're an easy target? Or is it because of your shy nature, You don't speak much maybe it's cause they took your shyness as an advantage?

Maybe it is that..

It was one of those days again

Where this 3 girls would pick on you everyday

This time, they did it INFRONT of your lover

You think Tsukasa will let that slide? Nope!

The three girls infront of you started laughing hisy "What we're you smiling about earlier freak? Awww did your imaginary friend say something funny?" One girl cackled as she left and the other followed

He saw it all unfold, Right infront of his eyes, what went from a very lovely conversation with his S/O turned into a wreck after you left, You already had enough bruises as it is yet those girls had no mercy and made sure to pepper your whole entirebody with bruises

When he followed you to hive you a bunch more kisses the scene unfolded, he wanted to do something, but for the first time he froze in his spot as he watched you get beaten up, You stood up and wiped your tears "I-i'm sorry.." Everytime you wipe your tears, new ones just kept coming

This broke Tsukasa's heart as he immediately ran to you and held you in his arms "Hey.. hey.. shhh.. It's okay, I'm here now.." Tsukasa ordered his Tseushiros to bring them to the broadcasting room, As black smoke surrounded the two of you, both of you were now in the safe zone of the broadcasting room

He held your arm to look at your bruises as you whimpered in pain, He didn't like seeing you like this. So he was gonna take matters into his own hands.

He bandaged you up and comforted you with hugs and kisses until you've finally calmed down and fell into a slumber, He laid you down in a comfortable position as he wiped the rest of your tears away, He hates seeing you like this, It breaks his heart to see you like this, He doesn't want not one scratch on your perfect skin

Tsukasa kissed your forehead as moved away strays of hair off your face "Don't worry love, I'll do something to make them stop." He ordered one of his Tseushiros to watch over you and he dissappeared somewhere.

The next day, You heard rumors that the three girls that always picked on you got injured, One went missing, the other was found dead, and the other was hospitalized.

"Its crazy... they were just doing fine yesterday"

"Who cares, they won't bother us anymore.."

You heard the rumor and the murmuring of the students, You went straight to the broadcasting room and opened the door to have Tsukasa jump on you "[F/N]!!! My lovely and dearest of S/O~" He wrapped his legs and arms around you like a koala and snuggled on you "Hi Tsu" You ruffled his hair

You two sat down, seems like Sakura and Natsuhiko weren't here yet "Where's Natsuhiko and Sakura-senpai?" You asked Tsukasa "MMMMM probably on a date~ HEY we should go on one too!!" He excitedly suggested, you didn't wanna decline him so you accepted

He was opening up the boundary when you heard muffling you turned around and saw nothing "Are you okay?" Tsukasa asked

"Mhm, I just heard something"

"Probably A rat! Come on let's go~ We have the whole day to ourselves" You held onto his hand as the two of you dissappeared to the location

The source of the sound earlier?

It was one of the girls who kept giving you the worst bruises of all. Tied up to a pole as her mouth was duct taped and blindfolded

But of course, Tsukasa didn't want you his lovely S/O to know about that right?

He doesn't.

Oh, well why do you care they went missing?

Mitsuba was your boyfriend when he was alive

He helped you escape out of your abusive household, Scare away the people that were bullying you even though he was scared himself

Or is he?

It shattered you whole when you heard he got into and accident and passed away on the arrival

You couldn't move on

Without his protection or his guidance to escape from your house

Everything just got worse

But, after 2 years

You found him again, as a ghost..

You were overjoyed and the two of you continued where you left off

You still loved him, and he still loved you even after death

But the thing that you didn't know was, you were the only one who could see hik and not other students

In their perspective, you were laughing and talking to air

"Look.. aren't they weird.. they have been talking to herself everyday.." A guy said passing by

"better clear way, we might get infected" The two of them laughed as you lowered your head

You heard what they said, but you were used to it

But not Mitsuba

"What the fuck are their problem? Can't keep your nose out of something?" He hissed

You were already having a hard time at home and yet the students here also give you a hard time, Can't they give you a break? does seeing you this vulnerable make them happy?

Mitsubas blood boiled in anger, he has witnessed EVERYTHING everytime the two of you talk in a more quiet and isolated area. Yet students just can't stop snooping around can't they?

"Mitsuba.. It's alright.."

"No. it's not." He looked at you as he held your hand "come.. I'll bring you to my boundary hm?" He said in a calm voice, he didn't wanna trigger any bad memories you had

He took you to his boundary and that's where the two of you continued your conversation

As you were doing your own thing, He excused himself and said he'll be back shortly.

When he finally came back, he had a blood stain on his cheek "A-ah! Mitsuba what happened?! did you.. Did you get hurt?.."

"No no.. I was.. Making you a uhmm.. Strawberry.. Cake!! See?" He held out a box as your eyes sparkled

This is the type of reaction he wants to see from you, The happy go lucky and free attitude you have always shown.. Yet those people took it for granted.

He wants to see you stay positive all the time while he watches over you

So he took out the negativity out of your life

One.

by

One.

I feel like I didn't portray Mikans personality right so pls educate me HAHA

[seakittens]

Feelings and Emotions about Final Stroke Volume 2

So @kudouusagi and I ventured into Mexico this weekend to check out the hopefully FINAL Free movie. And it was a wild adventure. But more importantly, the movie was probably some of the most I've enjoyed Free since Take Your Marks! I absolutely loved it! That doesn't mean it's not without flaws. But as someone who has watched every piece of Free media, read every single bit of side content and spent untold dollars on Free merch, it hit the sweet spot.

And I thought I'd share my impressions with those of you who may not see it for a very long time.

Okay, let's get some general disclaimers out of the way. 1.) I am not going to summarize this movie. You've read the summaries, you know how the movie goes. This post is just going to be my stream of conscious RinHaru/Free fangirl babble about how the movie affected me in various scenes. It will be in mostly chronological order because that's how I remember things, but I can't guarantee perfectly accurate flow. MOST IMPORTANT I AM A RINHARU FAN AND THAT IS MY PRIMARY FOCUS. If you are not here for that, this is not the post for you! Again, you have actual summaries. This is just a feelings ramble. 2.) I am not going to focus on characters that I am not overly concerned with. Others have covered what they’re doing. 3.) I am not going to mention any dialogue, unless it's dialogue that's been covered in other summaries since my Japanese is garbo and I don't want to lead anyone astray. 4. This movie is EXTREMELY visual-based. Dialogue is kind of minimal compared to most Free content and visual storytelling is KEY. No summary is going to quite convey the same feeling as the movie because framing and visuals are so important to really APPRECIATING this movie. There is a lot that is just surreal as far as dream sequences and out of body experiences. Endless metaphors. Constant flashbacks and Best of RH screen reels. It is just A LOT. So seeing it will be your best way of truly FEELING this movie. But I will do my best to capture my feelings at least. 5.) This movie is not perfect and I will have a section for nitpicks. It's just how I roll.

ONTO THE IMPRESSIONS - HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

THE MOMENTS THAT MADE MY FANGIRL HEART FLUTTER (Or just the really cute/cool stuff) - Ikuya teasing Sousuke about being lost after Sousuke appears out of freakin' nowhere in the beginning scene. - The acoustic version of Dried Up Youthful Fame plays over a combination of the RinHaru fight in FS1 and flashbacks to basically every RH scene in existence. This works AMAZINGLY well and gives you all the emotions. ;; This is the moment when I realized this movie was even MORE RinHaru than previously advertised. It just screams THIS IS THE IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP OF THE SERIES and I love it. You see their whole evolution even as you see everything breaking down. And as you know, you get new dialogue and new angles of their reactions during the fight. Simply gorgeous. - THE PINING - PART HARU. Haru is so miserable without Rin. He's also exhausted from overworking himself but Sousuke bringing up Rin sends him into total Rin despair. Complete with RinHaru flashbacks. - Natsuya appearing in Sousuke's car after Sousuke drops Haru off. I swear to god I thought Natsuya appeared out of nowhere and must have been sleeping on the floor lol. - THE PINING - PART RIN. Rin just sounds so broken for the first section of this movie. Both in his attempting to convince himself his choice in FS1 was right, as he talks to Mikhail's closed door. And in his scene with Asahi in the laundromat, when he basically melts into the bench. It's the most depressed I've ever seen Rin, and this includes Season 1. The poor thing. The way he says "Haru" to Asahi nearly broke me. HE'S SO SAD. - Another case of a character appearing out of freakin' nowhere. Mikhail isn't in the room when Rin opens the door but somehow appears right behind him. Why does this keep happening? - Baby Haru falling in love with a video of a waterfall was too precious. All of baby Haru in the water was too precious. - Makoto watching RinHaru's greatest hits via home movies in the theater. Technically, Nagisa is here too, but this is shown to be Makoto's dream so I'm going with him dreaming about Nagisa being here. It is again just SO MUCH RINHARU. And yes, the scene with them as superheroes is hilarious. The music here is a medley of Boy in the Water, Ever Blue and Words that Changed My Life. ;; - Also Haru is having dreams about running away from the relay and crying and you can see tears in his eyes and WHY DO YOU HURT ME THIS WAY KYOANI. Also bizarre how dream him falls through the screen and tries to stop bb Haru but passes through him like a ghost~. Also bb Haru in Albert clothing was suitably creepy. XD - You really feel how badly Haru and Rin are doing without each other, just unable to reach their full potential in swimming and the coaches keep commenting on it. - Ryuuji is a tsun disaster in this movie but I absolutely love him. - I have no idea what Makoto texted Rin because when he showed up to yell at Ryuuji, he was basically ON FIRE. He was pure rage and manhandling Ryuuji and it was just really intense. Then Makoto calms him down (though dude, Makoto, this is your fault, what did you say to him??) and Ryuuji basically starts hauling Rin around with the same intensity. I swear the angle made it almost look like he had Rin by the throat when it was just his collar. And Rin looks ready to tear up. He doesn't cry but just the sheer broken emotion on his face is SO GOOD. Especially after Ryuuji says his piece about Rin telling Haru how he feels and Rin breaks away. - Makoto and Rin trying to find Haru was suitably dramatic. I love Rin beating himself for everything he's ever said to Haru and just falling and rolling in the dirt until he reaches his sakura. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW HE COULD BLOODY TELL THAT WAS HARU. I could barely tell that was Haru. All you see is the back of Haru's head. Rin must have eagle eye vision. Though the look in his eyes is so awestruck when he finds him that I guess I will forgive the surreality of it all. - Okay words cannot describe how hilarious it is that Rin called Makoto to tell him Haru was there and then waited for Makoto to show up and then the SECOND Makoto shows up and tries to walk toward Haru, Rin stops him and goes over to strip. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY RIN WAITED TO DO THIS. HOW LONG WAS HE JUST STARING AT HARU FLOATING IN THE WATER? WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS, RIN? - The night pool is another thing that can't be put into words. It's gorgeous. The softness between Rin and Haru when Rin challenges him is just amazing. The moment in their race when Rin realizes Haru is racing normally again, the expression on Rin's face, just top fucking notch. So good. Also love the lighting during their race. Even if they are basically racing to techno porno music. I LOVE LIKE A MAGNET OKAY. - Haru is so friggin soft when Rin hugs him. The whole hug scene when they're being honest with each other about their feelings, they are so soft. Just the way Haru just sort of drops his head and looks so tender. And the teasing affectionate look in his eyes. And their gentle smiles at each other. I CAN'T OKAY I CAN'T. It's so fucking intimate I feel like a voyeur watching this. DO I HAVE THEIR CONSENT TO BE VIEWING THIS? - I love them pulling Makoto into the pool without warning. Lol they are such asses. They tease Makoto about it too. I liked that for a split second Makoto looked like he did in Season 1 Episode 1. Great callback. - So we know they ask to train together. And this actually brings my FAVORITE moment of the whole movie. There's this super fast clip of Rin and Haru doing laps with each other. And they swim past each other in different lanes. And Rin does his usual grin at Haru. And Haru does the MOST AMAZING SMILE (click to see it) back at Rin. I was DYING. You have no idea how long I've waited to see Haru happy while smiling with Rin IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MOMENT. I can't even explain why it means so much to me. It just really captured how far they've come. Because it's an allusion to when Rin beat Haru in Season 1 and he had that wild grin and Haru just looked shocked. Except now Haru is DELIGHTED. And ahhhhh my heart. - Also their cute bickering at one another while everyone freaks out and Makoto just shakes his head. Haru is so tsun in that scene too. XD - I loved the Ryuuji flashback when Mikhail basically does the Rin shoulder lean on Ryuuji before Kiyo shows up. It really cements them as the original MHR trio. Even down to how tsun young Ryuuji is and how Kiyo keeps calling him chan. I loved this. It was just really sweet. - I love Kinjou in this movie in general. But I especially love when he's being tsun about Haru since he cares about Haru's condition more than anyone. I'll never get why we never SAW his redemption arc but I do love slightly more unhinged "Rin" basically. XD - I have long detested the back-walking on Sousuke's arc in Eternal Summer BUT I really like Sousuke in this movie. And I truly enjoyed his race with Rin. It was very sweet and cathartic for them both. I just love Sousuke being wholly his own person in this movie and having so many other relationships with Makoto, Natsuya, Kinjou, Hiyori and Haru. Just good stuff for the lad. Also using "Clear Blue Departure" for their race was very very good. - So there's this scene when they all qualify for Nationals and are celebrating and I could barely pay attention BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL DRESSED SO AWFUL. It's like this is the most important moment of your lives and you are an embarrassment to fashion. Anyway, the positive here is Asahi who is the purest cinnamon roll and so happy about his qualification. YOU DESERVE THE WORLD, ASAHI. ;;b - I love all the races in this movie. Haru defying Ryuuji's advice in his Kinjou race was done really well. It was super intense. And I love the music. Drag Racer indeed. - I am a sap so of course I loved Rin and Ikuya showing up with Makoto when Haru's recovering in the clinic. - As always, I love Rin and Ikuya interactions in general. They're such a great pair. They don't have as much here as FS1 but they're still precious. Them hugging each other after getting their medals MY SOUL IS LEAVING MY BODY. - I AM SO UPSET HARU DIDN'T SEE RIN WIN HIS RACE. (More on that later.) But I did love the callback of Gou wearing Rin's medal to when Tora let Rin wear his medal and told Gou she could wear it next time. MY EYES ARE LEAKING. Also Rin's mom mentioning something that Rin still has to do. Which I'm assuming is about swimming with Haru but GEEZ YOU TOLD YOUR MOM ABOUT HARU TOO, RIN? Have you at least brought him to meet her yet? Anyway, supportive Miyako ftw. - I absolutely LOVED the scene where Haru leaves Makoto in the clinic. It's framed like a relay exchange. Where Haru thanks Makoto and then grabs his hand for a moment and strides past him, as if he's diving forward (into the water). This was SUCH A GOOD symbolism for their relationship. I loved it so much. I loved the metaphor of Makoto turning the race over to Haru aaaaah. - Oh about Haru's crazy dream sequence while he's unconscious. I really liked how he manages to grab his younger self to keep him from running. It's so dramatic. And bb Haru's tears. ;; - Total chaos with the relay changeup. I loved this madness. Even if poor Asahi got screwed over again. YOU'LL GET THEM NEXT TIME, ASAHI. ;;b Oh, I’m squeezing in Ikuya’s absolutely precious smile to Hiyori just before his race. It stole my heart completely. God it was gorgeous. - I love Kinjou seeing the "sight" in his race because he's so darkly unhinged about it and it's just such a cool contrast to Season 1 Rin seeing the "sight." This was a great scene. Kinjou is awesome. What a dick. XD - Okay, the final race was insanely good. From Samezuka getting all possessive over Sousuke. To Seijurou showing up and being all intensely supportive. To the way the powerful music CUTS OFF COMPLETELY when Haru dives over Rin (cue Rin eyecatch of Haru) and only picks up again once he hits the water CHILLS. And just Haru's racing is so fucking INTENSE. I knew how this would end and I was honestly EXCITED AND ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. Free has never made me feel that way about a race because the winner never matters. But it mattered here and it WORKED. - Oh yeah, I generally loved everyone cheering for everyone. This is something that was sorely lacking since Season 1 after Eternal Summer started the teamsplit trend. And I think everyone cheering for everyone really captures the spirit of Free so this made me REALLY HAPPY. - I also like the flashing back to everyone else watching the race, including Misaki and his friend and Rin's homestay parents and Winnie. D'awww. - I admit being a RH, my hackles DID go up for a moment when bb Haru reached out to bb Albert in the same manner as Haru reaching out to Rin from Season 1 Episode 12. BUT I was relieved that Albert just grabs his hand so it's a different feeling. And I loved Haru "saving" Albert. The whole transition of the dark water around Albert to the bright beautiful water around Haru. - Speaking of Albert, they don't really let him speak that much in this movie. And it's almost entirely to Haru. But I love his lines. He's still an adorable bear. I love his rivalry with Haru so much. They're so good. - Of course I loved the final relay hug. And everyone crying with joy. Even Haru. FEELS. - It was so surreal watching Haru just DROP out of that group hug and fall on the floor. As much as I love Rin holding him on his knee after he falls, it's just such a surreal scene. It's seriously framed like Haru is dying. Bizarre. - OKAY SO HUNGARY. We know about the tracks and this creative version of a Words that Changed My Life playing against Ever Blue. But what REALLY sells this scene is the huge smirk/grin on Haru's face when he answers Rin's question about if he wants to see how the dream continues. That is one HAPPY CONFIDENT MAN. I love it! - Oh yeah, so on the final RinHaru note, I'm going to be real. The way they frame this movie, where Haru is constantly asked or asking himself questions about why he swims, why he swims competitively and what he's after... and then have Rin be his savior more or less. It really frames it that RIN and his relationship with Rin ARE those answers. Like it's not even ambiguous. You really have to SEE this framing to get what I mean. Especially with how the movie starts and ends with RinHaru's relationship. It's just stunning.

THE WHAT THE FUCK MOMENTS THAT STOOD OUT - Who let Sousuke drive? Why is this man driving? Why are people in a car with him? They could have at least shown him with a GPS or something. - Rei and Ai's introductions to Ikuya's team. Compared to Nagisa. Nagisa's is a normal bouncy introduction to Kinjou's team while Rei and Ai break out into full interpretive dance. I don't even know man... - Why is Makoto having dreams of RinHaru's Greatest Hits? It's just so weird. XD Also evil goldfish always blocking him. - WHY IS NAGISA GOING AFTER PRO COMPETITIVE SWIMMING? He has so many other choices. He has never shown interest in wanting to do this forever. He just liked swimming with his friends and THAT'S FINE. He gets to competitive swim but Nao and Makoto don't? The people who ACTUALLY WANTED TO PURSUE THIS? Why? Why does freakin' everyone go into pro swimming except for Nao and Makoto? It's so STUPID. Why can't anyone have any other path? I can buy Rei and Ai since that ties into their "need to get better at swimming" arcs. BUT NAGISA NEVER EVEN IMPROVED AT SWIMMING. He has no swimming arc! They just did this because they didn't know what else to do with him. And yeah, him and Kinjou are incredibly cute but this plotline is STILL STUPID. And miserably unfair to both Nao and Makoto. - SPEAKING OF MAKOTO, we're going to talk about AN INTERESTING SCENE. So Makoto relays the story of how him and Nagisa wanted to get Haru a charm to cheer him up after him losing to older kids when they were younger. An undercurrent of this is Nagisa wants Makoto to tell Haru how he feels about him. He eventually tells him he loves his swimming and is adorably embarrassed. We got back to real life and Haru's reaction to this? HE DOESN'T FREAKIN' REMEMBER. DUDE DON'T TELL HIM THAT. SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT. THIS DUDE POURED HIS HEART OUT TO YOU IN STORY FROM AND YOU TELL HIM YOU DON'T REMEMBER THAT. i can't even. i can't. Anyway, Rin is clearly feeling bad for Makoto after Haru's usual blunt nature so he tells him that he remembers hearing about a kid who defeated a bunch of older kids. And apparently this adds another level to the growing pyramid lore of how Rin first heard about Haru. Lol. But yeah, it was just so weird to have Haru react like that to what seemed to be an important story to Makoto and something he's been trying to convey since the last movie (maybe? we'll get to that). Why? I don't get it. - While I love the scene of young Ryuuji and the others. IT BREAKS THE PKH LORE. Since young Ryuuji is tsun. Now I figured originally that tsun Ryuuji was the result of losing his friend and that's why he didn't have PKH's charming personality. But no Ryuuji was still tsun as a youngster. SO WHERE DID THAT ULTRA LADIES MAN PKH PICTURE COME FROM? He seems like a completely different person from young Ryuuji. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

- WHY THE FUCK IS EVERYONE SURPRISED THAT SOUSUKE IS SWIMMING BACK? Like the whole point of the second half of the movie is they’re all training together. But it’s this huge surprise when Sousuke competes in back and qualifies. Was Nao hosting secret swimming lessons at night ala Rin/Rei from Eternal Summer? When did this special regiment happen? Why did nobody know about it? Why was it a secret? Was it supposed to be a secret? This just completely DOES NOT WORK with their whole theme of working together toward their goal. It surprises the audience sure but it holds no logical consistency to what they established about the joint training. It’s so dumb. - I hate the Haru passing out/collapsing storyline. It's stupid and adds nothing to overall story. It just makes dumb artificial drama. Especially since he basically gets over it at the end. It also means Haru sleeps through most of the tournament. Missing BOTH Rin and Ikuya's races. Which pisses me off. Don't you think it would have done him good after being traumatized by his friends' losses in Sydney to see them win here? This just really bothered me. He doesn't see the qualifying relay team either. He loses the chance to cheer for any of his friends. :/ This was a dumb choice. F minus. - So there's a scene where Makoto and Ryuuji are discussing Haru's decision to do the relay and Ikuya and Rin are hanging outside the closed door and Ikuya asks if Rin should be in there and Rin is like "Our relationship isn't like that." And honestly, WTF. This isn't a private moment. They are literally discussing Haru doing a final tournament swim. You know the thing you've been pushing him along for YOUR ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP. You can cry on his face, hug him and pour out your heart, wake up at his bedside... But sure, listening to him discuss his swimming plans THAT'S TOO MUCH FOR YOUR RELATIONSHIP. what the actual fuck. And this comes AFTER Rin says he's going to stop playing it cool around Haru. >_< I know it's supposed to be a callback to FS1 where Rin tells Ikuya his relationship with Ikuya is "more complicated than that." But COME ON. - I don't know why anyone is in Hungary. This scene makes no sense. Are they there for a race? Why is Makoto there? Why is Makoto looking around for someone (presumably Haru) and then being shocked to find him? Why does Ryuuji know that Rin is in Hungary but Makoto has to tell Haru that? Why does Makoto have to tell Rin that Haru is there? WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING???

- I don’t think they actually really resolved Makoto’s whole thing he needed to tell Haru in FS1. They set it up as this big moment of Makoto needing to tell Haru something and have him flashback to bb Makoto chasing after Haru and being blocked by goldfish. And I guessss it’s supposed to be the backstory Makoto tells him about him and Nagisa. But this just feels very weaksauce compared to how this was set up as some BIG IMPORTANT THING in FS1. And if it IS the big important thing that Makoto was pining to tell Haru all of FS1... Haru’s blasé reaction is EVEN WORSE. orz

- Wait! I forgot to complain about the utter insanity of making Momo and Ayumu team captains. Momo has the emotional maturity of a kiwi and Ayumu CAN’T EVEN SWIM. Do they even have enough swimming members for a relay team at this point? Captains have to swim! They need to demonstrate things and be the team representative. You don’t always have to SHOW the captains, KyoAni. It’s okay sometimes for people to just mention their new captain and say they’re learning a lot. Just. SIGH.

THE HORRIBLY MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

- Nao. Just Nao. Basically they gave the recovery arc to Sousuke and forgot Nao entirely. HS sets it up so his eye operation isn't supposed to have a long recovery and he can swim again. DF sets it up so he has to keep recovering so he can swim again. WHY DOES HE NEVER SWIM WITH NATSUYA WHEN THIS IS CLEARLY SET UP AS A THING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN? Why is he doing virtually nothing this whole movie? I guess he helps training with Makoto a little but it's barely there. What a wasted character. 

- Natsuya wasn’t used that great here either, but at least he got to relay and react to Ikuya’s win. They were still cute. And yeah, at least Nao and Natsuya are cute now and then. I’m just overall disappointed with both their arcs. Especially since Ikuya got less focus in FS2 so the whole Kirishima brothers taking on the world thing lacked proper oomph. I’m not as disappointed with Ikuya since he still gets to relish his win and he is overall AROUND.

- Rei. Rei does nothing. Woo he makes some bracelets. This is a far cry to Rei's role in Season 1 and Eternal Summer. He is basically there to be cute with Nagisa and nothing else. He doesn't even qualify in Nationals so his whole learn to swim arc is ongoing I guess. He never even gets a suitably meaningful scene with Haru or Rin. Which is the MOST disappointing part of all. But he just feels really flat in this. - Albert. He just really needed more time in this. We needed to see more of his rivalry with Haru. We needed to know if he actually broke away from his mean coach. We needed to see more of his pure swimmer side. He just feels there for Haru to have a goal beyond wanting to swim with Rin. Not well executed. - Kinjou. Again, why didn't we see his redemption arc? Why did he suddenly change between FS1 and FS2? I love Kinjou in FS2 but it just feels so abrupt. And they barely resolve his issues with Hiyori or Kiyo. It's upsetting. - Asahi and Rin Connection. Come on, you had a huge scene with them. You couldn't have fit in a moment of Asahi seeing a pic of Rin's dad at the tournament and pointing out his own father in the pic. KyoAni connected every character under the sun after Eternal Summer but they couldn't even manage the ACTUAL meaningful connection between characters. No instead we get Ai and Mikhail being relatives. :/ This was so friggin' simple. Fail.

- THE FRIGGIN SAKURA TREE. I know they do this beautiful metaphor with the night pool and the way the lights are like blossoms and the colors and it’s great. But you found a way to get Albert’s friggin’ father to Iwatobi but you can’t get Rin and Haru back there to see the damn tree bloom. The thing that has been promised since Season 1, since the Eternal Summer Drama CD. It’s like YOU HAD ONE FUCKING JOB... I still can’t believe they failed this. What we got was beautiful but I can’t pretend this doesn’t irk the hell out of me. >_< - This isn't really a missed point. But dammit Asahi don't sell yourself so short. You qualified for the national team. YOU CAN DO THIS DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM. ;;b JUSTICE FOR ASAHI. He suffers the fate of butterfly swimmer. There are just too many butterfly swimmers. 8(

Overall, despite the WTFs and missed opportunities, I did truly love this movie and think it's the perfect ending to Free and the story they set up since Season 1. I'm amazed they managed to pull this off, given their need to showcase EVERY FLIPPING CHARACTER THEY EVER INTRODUCED. But it somehow worked and RinHaru's relationship shown as the centerpiece it always has been. What a ride, Free fans. What a ride.

P.S. Listen to the OST. It’s sooo good.