#i'm discouraged to read my older stuff because it might be embarrassing

[what-the-stories-have-foretold]

uwahhh congrats on 200💜💜💜 I'm here for a tbna match up!! (i hope this is on anonymous! im going to use 🥝anon because I don't know how long the limit is)

I'm a bit shy and reserved; I have no qualms about speaking to people or in a group but presenting in front of a class of people around my age and older a bit hard, for example. I also get embarrassed about my interests easily. Not to say I don't enjoy going out and talking to others in moderation-- all in all I think I thrive within my small group of friends, and I talk a lot one on one I find. I also can get fairly excited over my passions easily.

I really love children, and education has always been a passion of mine. I also am really good with them. I am not so good with animals but I love them too. I enjoy cooking as well. I think I enjoy doing a lot for others when I'm feeling bad or stressed (and not procrastinating) as it makes me feel useful and needed.

as for faults, I think im really bad at confrontation. it's an infuriating trait, bit I'd rather much just shut down and not bring up anything over address anything thats bothered me. if I am the one at fault, I'll apologize but when it is an equal issue I have a lot of trouble taking initiative to apologize first. though I am trying now, I still find myself getting anxious and chickening out from ever bringing up anything to others.

I'm not sure if this information is enough, but here is what I've come up with so far. thanks you kindly!

Hey 🥝, thank you so much for the match-up request. 😊 (also, I can relate to the majority of what you wrote. 😅) . I turned it into little headcanons, I hope you don't mind 💕

This was really tough actually. At first I thought Oruggio or Estheath, then when you spoke of education i thought Quiffrey, but in the end I believe Estheath/Ysheath/Esthies (however you spell his name) would be the best fit! It was a really close call though 😅.

I think he is a very patient and overall very calm person. If you have to present something, for example, he would look at you intensely, in a way that tells you: "calm down, I know you can do this"

Proud boyfriend

He would also realise quickly when you don't speak about your interests etc much and subtly make you talk again. He absolutely loves listening to you rambling, and he listens intently! In the beginning his silence might be discouraging, but after a while you'd know he is just giving you his undivided attention

(He'd think you're the cutest)

He, as well, is introverted. He doesn't have many friends (also, I think he would call his team members collegues, even though Utowin and the others are most definitely his friends)

So, I mentioned before that I think he likes or at least respects children, as a few scenes suggest that. So here too, you are both similar

I think he adores everything domestic, bc I think he doesn't really do pda (unless you want to hold hands or something else lowkey), because "his collegues" would annoy/tease him about it later. He also simply prefers loving you in private.

So, as he likes domestic stuff, cooking with you or watching you cook

👌

Regarding animals, I think he has pretty similar thoughts as well. He himself enjoys watching them, but that's about it.

As for the last bit: He is very patient and he can read you like a book. This means that he either calmly talks about the issue that might exist between you both (He is very understanding and empathetic and fights with him would rarely if ever feel like fights, but exchanges of opinions and the search for a solution), or he'll speak to whoever is bothering you/tell someone to stop doing whatever it is that is bothering you

Overall 10/10 boyfriend in my humble opinion ☺

[chamomilehoneytea]

I recently read through Kimi Ni Todoke and I'm embarrassingly invested in Ayapin, and now I'm so impatient waiting for more! I was wondering since it seems like you have good taste and read a lot of stuff, is there anything you can recommend that might tide me over until more KNT comes out? Are there any manga you know of with pairings that are kinda similar? I'm seriously in love with their dynamic but I'm embarrassed to ask other friends, romantic stuff is kind of a guilty pleasure for me...

Hi @mobstersought! Thank you for your message, and welcome to the ayapin life! It’s a majestic existence, full of waiting, swooning, daydreaming about big hands and hoping! :)

But mostly waiting lol - I feel your pain!

While nothing I’ve read quite fills the huge ayapin shaped hole in my heart, there are a few series that help tide me over during the long waits. Ayane and Pin have a very special dynamic that I haven’t seen anywhere else, but I’ll try to recommend some series that are kind of similar. This is a pretty long answer, so let’s continue under the cut…

1) Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii by Fujita

This is a great romantic comedy series about an otaku couple: a mid-20s gamer and a fujoshi artist who work at the same company. Their relationship is really fun and cute, but I think you might enjoy the “side” couple even more. Tarou Kabakura and Hanako Koyanagi are both in their late 20s and are also otaku, but they have a playful love / hate dynamic (see the hate side above). They give each other a hard time, but at the end of the day they’re really in love with each other. 

The series is a fairly realistic portrayal of otaku relationships (more or less haha), and there’s a great balance between the comedy and romance. It’s hilarious and really sweet!

Bonus: there’s an anime adaptation coming out in Spring 2018, and Miyuki Sawashiro (who plays Ayane in the anime version of Kimi ni Todoke) is going to play Hanako Koyanagi! 

2) Takane to Hana by Yuki Shiwasu

This series has an old-school shoujo set-up, plus a ton of amazing sass. The story begins with high schooler Hana Nonomura attending a marriage interview in her older sister’s stead. Her partner is the 26 year-old scion of a huge and successful company, Takane Saibara. Their personalities clash and the matchmaking meeting is a failure…until an “interested” Takane shows up at Hana’s school!

Takane to Hana is also a really funny series - Takane and Hana come from very different backgrounds and have very different ideas about the world, but they’re both incredibly proud and stubborn. Takane tries to provoke and impress Hana with absurdly lavish gifts, but she’s always ready to knock him down a peg.

It also has plenty of heart-pounding moments! The teasing dynamic between the characters means there’s a lot of tension and they’re slow to recognize their feelings. 

3) Shiota-sensei to Amai-chan by Kumiko Nakatoka

I recommend this manga about a student-teacher relationship because of the way it’s handled. The two main characters, Shiota-sensei and Yayoi Amai are already in a secret relationship before the start of the manga, so we don’t see a lot of drama and pining. The series is also pretty funny, and focuses on cute little episodes in their daily lives. Their dynamic isn’t like Ayane and Pin’s, but they do enjoy messing with each other. 

I will warn you though - the scanlation only covers 7 of the 27 chapters in the manga and it hasn’t been updated since 2016. I ordered and read the Japanese volumes to finish the available story (it’s still ongoing). The art is really retro and fun, and the story is also great, so I’d still recommend checking it out!

4) Dengeki Daisy by Kyousuke Motomi

Dengeki Daisy is sort of a modern day Daddy Long Legs story. Teru Kurebayashi is a high school student who lost her beloved older brother a few years ago; before he died, he gave her a cell phone so that she could communicate with his good friend, “Daisy”. She doesn’t know Daisy’s identity, but she exchanges emails with them and receives moral support and encouragement from this mysterious surrogate brother. One day, after accidentally breaking a window at school, she’s suddenly forced to work under the school’s 24 year-old janitor, Tasuku Kurosaki…who may or may not be her precious “Daisy”…

Teru’s personality is a bit more like Chizu’s from Kimi ni Todoke, but again, she and Kurosaki have a great teasing relationship. They’re also similar to ayapin in the sense that Kurosaki watches over Teru and provides her with gentle words of encouragement through his role as “Daisy”. This dual relationship causes a lot of tension as he starts to fall in love with her, and it becomes increasingly difficult to hide his secret. 

It’s a pretty touching story that explores guilt and forgiveness, in addition to the romance. There are a ton of heart-pounding scenes, but there’s more to it than that, which is what I think makes it especially great. It’s also the only series I’ve recommended that’s complete, so you’ll be able to read it from beginning to end without having to wait (I think we’re already doing enough of that as ayapin fans, right?? Lol).

I also wanted to recommend another series that I’m in love with, but that isn’t anything like Kimi ni Todoke. 

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni by Jun Mayuzuki

This is right up there with Kimi ni Todoke in terms of favorites for me. I will warn you that the subject matter is pretty problematic - however, I enjoy the complexity of the story and I think it’s beautifully done. The story centers around Akira Tachibana, a 17 year-old girl who was the ace of her high school’s track and field club, until an injury to her Achilles tendon during a practice meet left her unable to run. One day, alone and depressed, she seeks shelter from the rain in a family restaurant - while waiting for the rain to stop, the 45 year-old manager brings her a free cup of coffee and cheers her up with a magic trick. Touched by his kindness, Akira gets a job at the family restaurant to be close to him…

I can’t recommend this enough. The two main characters help and heal each other, and their relationship is really sweet, complicated, and well-done. Even when he knows how she feels, he tries very hard to discourage her and maintain boundaries, so it’s not a story about an older man taking advantage of a teenage girl. If you like unconventional friendships / romances, forbidden love, and difficult situations, this is definitely a must! The author has a very unique art style and approaches her story almost as a work of literature - it’s probably one of the best romance manga series I’ve read. Though it can be very serious, there are plenty of light comedic moments too, and all of the characters are really interesting - the series focuses on more than just the potential romance between the main characters. It’s also getting an anime adaptation in January, so that’s really exciting!

Sorry for the super long answer, but I hope these recommendations help tide you over as you wait for more ayapin!! :)