#reverse harem anime list

[animeyanderelover]

I love Anime, don’t get me wrong but sometimes I absolutely hate the fans. I am literally unable to read comment sections anymore because someone always, always has to end up hating on other stuff, especially if the post or video revolves around more than one show. It’s not a fucking competition, dude! I don’t care who from the Big 3 is the best! My favorite from them is Bleach and if it’s yours that’s cool and if it isn’t that’s fine too! As long as you’re respectful about it we’re good but why do fans online constantly have to be at each other’s throats😭

Also, I think that powerscaling and shipping are two of the worst aspects that can befall a fandom. I guess it makes sense if you at least keep it within the same show but why the fuck do you have to pair up characters from different verses and then ask who the strongest is?? Why are we comparing school girls with magical powers from Sailor Moon against pirates from One Piece?? What even is the meaning?? Sometimes it legitimately sounds to me like people try to argue that their show is better than other ones because they have the strongest characters. I don’t give a shit!! All that matters to me is which show I like more!!

Don’t even get me started on shipping. Seriously, is your life so sad and meaningless that you cling desperately to a fictional couple and literally send death threats to the mangaka just because you want them to end up being together?? I don’t give a rat’s ass if Ichigo should have ended up with Rukia instead of Orihime, if Dazai and Chuuya have a thing for each other or if Suguru and Satoru were just best friends or secretly in love with each other. If the genre doesn’t specifically state that it’s romance, harem, reverse harem, Yuri or Yaoi the main focus shouldn’t even be on who might end up with whom.

I don’t mind if you ship as long as you are normal about it! Why is it so hard to do that?? Why do you have to present me with abominations like this??

This is apparently a list of favorite ships in Japan from Jjk and I wish that I could unsee this!!!

[rikan-oo]

So I was thinking about creating a loose list of recs for ORV fans or, in other words, "If you liked ORV, you also may like this." I decided to add things less obvious because I think people already read works like Trash of Count's Family, etc.

Princess Tutu

“The beginning of a story is a sudden event; the start, a happy accident, the end, the fate for which it's meant. A story that never ends is a sad fate.”

Let's start with Princess Tutu (PT), anime, not manga because they're different. I watched it about a week before ORV and after finishing both, I can't help but notice their similarities. However, meanwhile, ORV is about the relationship between the reader, the author, and the protagonist, and PT is more about the relationship between the author and their creation: the story and its characters. Don't let the name fool you, don't be like me. It's much darker than I expected from this style and genre. Be ready for angst.

Plot: Ahiru is a small duck in a pond. One day she notices a dancing boy with a very sad gaze. Boy every day goes to dance near the pond and the little duck is completely mesmerized by him. She can't help but notice sadness and loneliness in his dance. She wants to make this boy smile and at that moment a writer Droselmeir appears. He tells her that she could do this by collecting shards of his broken heart but under some conditions. He gives her a magic pendant that can transform her, first into an ordinary human girl, then into the graceful ballerina Princess Tutu, a fictional character from the tale that was doomed for tragedy in the original story.

Later we find out that this city is kinda enchanted by Droselmeir's tale (reverse isekai before it became mainstream) and some characters broke out of the tale like the boy by the lake - Mytho or Raven - the villain of this tale. Tale elements blend interestingly in the city and its residents.

Also, I have no idea wtf is happening with the main characters' dynamic in this complicated rectangle, but there is no straight explanation for this.

I can't help but see some parallels between Mytho - KDJ, Fakir - both YJH & HSY, Ru - HSY, and Droselmeir - Dokkaebi. I love how the story describes characters doomed by narrative and the struggles of being a writer. Also, all of these subtle references to fairytales at the beginning of the episode? Love it. I bet there are more references for the ballet part, but I probably didn't get it. I gently encourage you to check it out. (Definitely not gently, I'm as desperate as Kim Dokja trying to advertise TWSA to other people)

“May those who accept their fate be granted Happiness, may those who defy their fate be granted Glory.”

Miss not Sidekick

It's a much simpler read, just to chill and have fun while laughing at Mc shenanigans. Plot: Typical isekai story, where Mc is a fan of the internet novel of the reverse harem genre. When isekaied decided to invent popcorn and enjoy full time 4d immersion in the story.

There are not so many similarities in themes like with Princess Tutu, but more the role of MC – Latte as reader. I liked how she continued to behave like a spectator of a story inside Isekai world, treating it like she's inside a special 4D theater, not existing in this world as a part of it, until she couldn't.

Until her 4th wall is shattered (*badabums* it's a bad pun, she doesn't have it like kdj) and she realizes she could actually die, (quite shocking I know). Also, MC invents BL for this world and converts other people into it. Overall, the art style is different from other isekai romfant and it's something you need time to get used to, but after a while, you understand it suits perfectly for the narrative and silly tone of the comic.

Inso's Law or My Life as an Internet Novel

I feel like it's more reverse isekai similar to orv, where the story becomes part of your life. But if in KDJ's case, this transition is obvious and life-crashing, then in MC's situation is really creepy. It blends seamlessly into her regular life making her feel insane because everything remains the same except having a whole new friend who behaves like your bestie and a different school, where everything starts to feel like a romantic novel full of clichés. MC like KDJ is also unreliable in her perception of others here and thinks her knowledge of clichés like a reader-outsider makes her more omnipotent than she really is. Too bad they used 3 person POV, so it's really obvious, but funny nevertheless. (One of the cases where she thinks one of her classmates is a girl pretending to be a boy cause of some kind of cliché family drama, when in fact it's just a boy and I find it funny how this classmate looks like Jang Hayoung twin and have similar fate, poor souls) guess she also has similarities in her character to pre-scenario or regular life KDJ. They both seem to have this introverted avoidance type of personality. I'm curious about supernatural events happening in manhwa and I hope we'll get some explanation for it.

Pandora Hearts

Nice little thing with funny and cute tea parties that everyone would enjoy. 😍

SHHH, nothing about the plot. Let it be a small surprise for you.

It's all vibes and similar tropes now, folks.

Like dynamic between the main trio: Gilbert - Oz - Alice YJH - KDJ - HSY. Also this time loop thing? Daddy issues? Self-sacrifice as a form of love? Ugh. (Also, I need this scene with Oz and Brake "Where in the world are you?" But with KDJ. Maybe I even draw it).

It's all for now, maybe I'll write more. Please share the recs if you have them!

[arataka-reigen]

hello!! i saw the tags on your pinned post abt how shoujo wasn't just romance and it got me curious bc i've read some nice shoujo but really dislike romance-heavy plots. are there any shoujos you like that don't have much or any romance in them? ty and i hope you have a good day! 💛

Oh, there are lots of mangas that are classified as shoujo and don't have romance!!

I am just now beginning my journey through shoujo as well, so I don't have a lot of recommendations for stuff I actually read, but the ones I did read or watch so far are:

Natsume Yuujinchou and basically anything else by its author, Yuki Midorikawa. Sometimes, her works do include romance, but the focus is almost always in the interpersonal relationships and the difficulties her characters go through in life. NatsuYuu is about an orphan boy who can see yokai, and for that reason he acts in "weird" ways and his foster families dislike him, so he keeps going from family to family. The story is about how he finds a good family who accepts and loves him, makes friends, and learns to make friends even with yokais.

There are currently 6 anime seasons out, and a 7th season is on its way, so you can either read the manga or watch the anime.

Akatsuki no Yona - i mean, this one does include romance, but i'll still put it on the list because as far as the anime went the focus is heavy on Yona's actual journey to gather the dragons of legend to be able to recover the kingdom that was stolen from her. It shows how Yona goes from a sheltered spoiled girl to a person befitting the title of dragon king.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom - this one is the og villainess isekai and it truly deserves the hype. It is about a girl who wakes up in the child body of the villainess of her favorite otome game. She remembers that the villainess' fate in the game was always either death or exile, so she tries her hardest to change her fate. This one is classified as a reverse harem, but the main character is pretty oblivious and worries more about farming and eating sweets and generally being the best girl ever than actually worrying about romance. Aro ace queen tbh. And her harem is just happy to be with her and be dragged along for her stupid adventures. Plus, the female members of her harem are taken seriously as well, Mary is a raging lesbian and it is not subtext. I mean, it is a shoujo, so of course the female characters would be important lol.

Usagi Drop - listen to me. You will absolutely not look for anything related to this manga. If you like the premise you can watch the anime. But, please, do not look for the manga. You will only be extremely disappointed by it. That being said, I recommend the anime. It is about a man who returns home for his grandfather's funeral and then finds out his grandfather had an illegitimate daughter who has now become an orphan. He ends up having to take care of her because the rest of the family considers her a shame to the family.

Now, for the stuff I havent seen yet, I'll just write some that are on my "plan to read" list and put their genres next to their names so you can check it out if you think the genre's sound interesting:

7 Seeds (drama, horror, psychological, sci fi, survival)

Requiem of the Rose King (drama, historical, supernatural, gender identity)

Basara (drama, fantasy, adventure) (i think this one has romance, but from what i've heard, the main character's story is a lot deeper as she takes her brother's identity in order to fight against the king who killed her brother, it is pretty famous and considered a classic)

Ghost Hunt (horror, mystery, psychological, supernatural)

Helter Skelter (horror, psychological)

My Stepmother and Stepsisters aren't Wicked (comedy, historical, slice of life)

Ikoku Nikki (drama) (this one is the one i'm currently most interested on, i hear it's about a distant woman who's never had a good relationship with her sister and now has to take care of her teenage niece because her sister died)

Itsuwari no Freya (crossdressing, historical)

Limit (drama, psychological, school) (this one sounds incredible tbh, on a field trip their bus gets into an accident and only 5 girls remain, having to learn to survive and trying to assert themselves over one another because they hate each other.)

Machida-kun no sekai (school)

Mitarai-ke, Enjou suru (drama) (the main character wants to infiltrate the household of the family who blamed her mother for a fire, in order to prove her mother's innocence)

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You (comedy)

Uramichi Oniisan (comedy, showbiz, workplace)

Usotoki Rhetoric (mystery, historical)

Don't Call It Mystery (mystery)

If anyone has more things to recommend I would also love to hear about it!!

[hwsamecanweek]

AmeCan Week 2024 Prompt List

Wow, I'm really cutting it close I say, posting this on 6/29. Sorry y'all, I've been very busy but here's this year's prompt list!

Each day will have 4 completely optional prompts and then a few examples that relate. Please remember that you do not have to use the prompts so long as it relates (even vaguely) to the theme of the day.

As a reminder, tag this blog or use the tag #hwsamecanweek2024 or #amecanweek2024 so I can see and share what you make!

Theme: Media

Day One: Anime - Filler Episodes (Beach Day, Body Swap, Lost) - Dungeons (Dungeon Meshi) - Isekai/Reincarnation (Villainess, Chosen One) - Harem/Reverse Harem (Ouran High School Host Club)

Day Two: Video Games - Visual Novel/Dating Sim (Ex: A Date with Death, Sucker for Love) - Cozy/Rpg (Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Coral Island) - MMORPG (World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV) - Open World Adventure (Genshin Impact, Red Dead Redemption)

Day Three: Movies - Horror (Alien, Silence of the Lambs, The Ring) - Superheroes (Spiderman, Birds of Prey) - Western (Cowboys, Rango) - Spies/Hitmen (Mission Impossible, John Wick)

Day Four: Books - Apocalypse (The Forest of Hands & Teeth, Hunger Games) - Science Fiction (Frankenstein, Jurassic Park) - Fantasy (The Hobbit, The Last Unicorn) - Short Stories (The Yellow Wallpaper, Masque of the Red Death)

Day Five: Shows - Paranormal (Ghost Hunters, Ghost Whisperer, Supernatural) - K-Drama (Alchemy of Souls, All of Us are Dead) - Crimes (Criminal Minds, NCIS) - Fairy Tales (Once Upon a Time, Merlin)

Day Six: Fanfic/Fanart Tropes - Only One Bed - Soulmates/Fated Mates - Monsters/Vampires & Werewolves - Enemies to Lovers

Day Seven: Free Day - Anything you want!

[starcrossed591]

CDrama Year in Review 2023

I'm still very much a CDrama beginner--I just started watching them in the summer of 2022--but since this is the first year I got into them in earnest, I figured I might as well do a year in review a la @dangermousie (whose lists I have found incredibly helpful in deciding which CDramas I really, really need to go back and watch as part of my CDrama education--so thank you!). So, without further adieu, here is my ranking of 2023 CDramas, in order of least enjoyed to most enjoyed*.

(See also: KDrama Year in Review 2023)

*Disclaimer: *not* a measure of objective quality

10. Royal Rumours: This drama was not great? Meng Zi Yi and Jeremy Tsui were fun, but the story started out messy and got messier. For some reason I still finished it, I think because I had a lingering cold and it was all my brain could handle at the time *shrug*

9. Gone with the Rain: I actually really enjoyed this one! The pacing was inconsistent, but Zhang Nan was fun as the irreverent Mo Xi, and we love a grizzled general. Special shout to the teacher who was not actually evil, just a sad lesbian whose gf disappeared on her

8. Love You Seven Times: Intriguing concept, not a strong enough FL to carry it through. The reincarnation stuff really worked for me at first, especially in their first mortal tribulation (as people, not CGI animals), but I got tired of it pretty quickly. I admit, the gifs of Ding Yu Xi as a sexy cat demon *did* pull me back in, but not enough for me to actually finish the thing, alas

7. Destined/Chang Feng Du: Started out really strong, and then stalled out on me. I think I only got up to about episode 22 or so, after their epic desert crossing and new start in a new state--they lost all narrative momentum for me there. I stopped watching and then just...didn't start again. I do, however, remain a big Bai Jing Ting fan, and will be keeping on eye out for whatever he does next

6. Hidden Love: (Contemporary) Age gap romances are hit or miss for me, but Zhao Lu Si absolutely stole/carried the show for me in this one. Although more fun imo when the main couple are in the the will-they-won't-they phase than in the family melodrama after they get together, still the only contemporary CDrama to get me to give it a go this year--and I'm glad I did

5. My Journey to You: Featuring my favorite murder girlies Esther Yu as Yun Wei Shan and Lu Yu Xiao as Shanguan Qian! Gorgeous costumes and sets, sweeping cinematography, and plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. Full disclosure, I have not actually watched the last two episodes because I got busy and then saw weird chatter about them, so I have no comment on the allegedly weird ending

4. Till the End of the Moon: Look, I know the ending wasn't ideal, but for the majority of its run, this drama owned my entire soul. It also introduced me to Bai Lu as Li Su Su, who inspired my first actual tumblr post (that wasn't a reblog) because I was so obsessed with her. And everyone knows that Tantai Jin is the CDrama ML of the year. 10/10, no regrets at letting it take over my life (and the OST my Spotify) from April to May of this year

3. The Story of Kunning Palace: More Bai Lu is always a good thing, and she's extra fun here as the transmigrated former evil empress and totally-over-your-nonsense Xiang Xue Ning here. The reverse haremness of it all totally shows why Bai Lu is the chemistry queen, especially with the princess (Liu Xie Ning) and cranky, morally grey, would-fail-gym-class strategist Xie Wie (Zhang Ling He). So glad this drama made it out of the CDrama vault and didn't languish indefinitely in censorship hell

2. A Journey to Love: Finished this one two days ago as of this writing and am still not normal about it. Ren Ruyi (Liu Shi Shi) and Ning Yuan Zhou (Liu Yu Ning) lead an exceptionally strong ensemble cast in this wuxia that explores the complicated relationships between love, duty, loyalty, loneliness, and companionship. Ruyi and Yuan Zhou are far and away one of my fave OTPs of the year, but just as compelling are the relationships between friends/brothers/fellow assassins Yu Shisan, Yuan Lu (ugh my heart), Qian Zhou, and Sun Lang. This drama definitely has one of the strongest ensemble casts of the year. And the character growth of Yang Ying from little princess abandoned in the cold palace to who she becomes by the end will stick with me for a long time. Plus another 10/10 OST!

1. Lost You Forever S1: I'm not normally a reverse harem girl, but the longing, loss, and hard resolve portrayed to perfection by Yang Zi as Xiao Yao really did it for me here. This whole drama struck an emotional chord for me, and where TTEOTM consumed my soul, LYF took over my heart. Xiao Yao's relationships with her power hungry, overprotective cousin Cang Xuan; hot snake demon Xiang Liu/playboy archery shufu Feng Feng Bei; and perfectly devoted Tushan Jing are all equally compelling to me, and while I may know who she ends up with in the end, who I *think* she should be with changes based on who's on screen at any given time. And A'Nian, my favorite bratty princess who really just needs some strong parenting, holds a special place in my heart. I know we may never get S2, and even if we do, censorship means it probably won't be what the drama makers are capable of, but I'm so glad for this little piece of absolute perfection. And, again, a top notch OST!

Fave Drama: Lost You Forever, by just a hair over A Journey to Love. See above.

Least Fave Drama: Royal Rumours--truly why did I finish this, what was past me thinking

Biggest Disappointment: 2023 is also the year I read Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir, my very first CNovel! But then I didn't even bother checking out its adaptation, Romance of a Twin Flower, because it got rid of everything that made the novel such an addicting read, including a brilliant, strategic, ice cold FL and an ML who actually kind of sucked at the beginning, only to grow on you very, very slowly over time. I'm grateful that the chatter around the drama is what brought the novel to my attention, but other than that, hard pass.

Favorite Male Character: Lots of good ones this year, but I'm gonna go with Cang Xuan (Zhang Wan Yi) from Lost You Forever. The conflict he faces between getting enough power to protect the people he loves the most and that power making him incompatible with those loved ones is so compelling, and his yearning for Xiao Yao even when she's right in front of him is wrenching. Full disclosure, I also just really love the sound of his voice

Favorite Female Character: This could easily have gone to Li Susu (TTEOTM), Xiao Yao (LYF), or Ren Ruyi (AJTL), but I'm gonna go with Bai Lu's Xiang Xue Ning in The Story of Kunning Palace. Something I really loved about this character was just how jaded Xue Ning really was, even in her second go round at life. Yeah, she wants to make amends for the harm done in her previous rise to power, but that has hardly turned her into a good--or even pleasant--person. Instead, she's incredibly skeptical and still plays most things ice cold, especially with her family. As a bonus, we got plenty of Bai Lu's fantastic side eye as she basically had to do high school all over again when she gets called into the palace despite her very best efforts not to be.

Favorite Ship: Ren Ruyi and Yuan Zhao from A Journey to Love have got to be it. They balance each other out so well, and over the course of the drama, learn to communicate effectively with each other whenever they have a problem. They also recognize that not all problems can be solved by ~love~, which makes their relationship even more compelling when they decide to prioritize each other in a way that respects what the other wants from life.

Favorite Secondary Ship: Little princess Yang Ying and Yuan Lu absolutely broke stole my heart in A Journey to Love. Doomed love even more than the main OTP, these two's youthful romance was such much fun to watch, especially as they egged their respective mentors on in their own romance. Yang Ying's recognition that her first love did not have to be her only love is also something I always love to see, even as it broke my heart that (spoiler) she and Yuan Lu never really had a chance at an HEA. Their relationship really exemplified a key theme of this drama: that you should love the people you love while they're still with you because tomorrow is never promised.

Non-2023 Dramas that I Watched: Two non-2023 dramas I watched that deserve a special shout out are Love and Redemption and The Sword and the Brocade. Love and Redemption prepared me to really appreciate the big swings that Till the End of the Moon took, and The Sword and the Brocade went a little way to filling the Story of Ming Lan shaped hole in my heart. The Sword and the Brocade also had absolutely searing critique of the concubine system, even as it featured one of the most genuinely good-hearted FLs I've seen. Would recommend both!

Most Looking Forward To: Yes, I'm a sucker and the censors (not to mention the characters) will probably break my heart, but I'm still crossing my fingers that Lost You Forever S2 will live up to the promise of part one. See above: still a CDrama beginner, have not yet had all the optimism knocked out of me. Sue me.

[20forty9]

I Didn't Mean To Haunt You

Chapter I - From Me, To You

Summary : You just wanted to understand what it felt like to be human, but instead ran into a cruel fate. After being cursed, you must revisit your past to find how to break the pattern, all while moving forward. It was supposed to be a one-man job, but why do you suddenly seem to be surrounded by so many people that you cherish? Why are you having second thoughts about this? Maybe things don't have to end this way. But maybe they do.

Word Count : 12k

Warnings : Suicidal ideation/attempt

Pairings : Gojo Satoru/Reader, Geto Suguru/Reader, Everyone/Reader (Reverse Harem)

Cross-posted on Ao3

A/N: I honestly don't care about Tumblr formatting as much as I do Ao3, so take this. If it looks funky, mb but idgaf LMFAO. All characters are depicted as 18+.

There are different kinds of curiosity: one comes from self-interest, which makes us want to know everything that may be profitable to us; another from pride, which comes from a desire to know what others are ignorant of. ~ Francois De La Rochefoucauld

Curiosity is an innate characteristic of being human. Existing in one from birth; a flame that, once lit, is impossible to extinguish. It burns bright until the one holding the candle passes on. 

If curiosity is so human, then why does a spirit, sworn to its duties, experience it?

And so violently, too. 

It feels like all the questions it wants answered are trying to tear themselves out of its skin, keeping its mind racing every moment it finds itself unoccupied. What is a pure companionship? What does a handmade meal taste like, made with care and patience? What does hatred feel like? What does it mean to feel alive, to live your life to the fullest? What is loneliness? 

What is hurt?

What is love?

Hundreds of unanswered questions, an unending list that grows more and more each day, until it can’t take it anymore. 

All the things it liked to do in the past to bring itself entertainment feel dull. There isn’t a rush of satisfaction after playing a trick on another fellow spirit or even a curse; the feeling of a smug victory after being yelled at for causing yet another mess in the realm is missing; the bathhouse is full of greedy spirits desperate to wash mankind’s pollution from their very being, pushing against each other and fighting – it’s disheartening. 

It has had enough. 

It ventures to the outskirts of the sacred forest, the air surrounding it unusually heavy and suffocating; oppressive . There’s not a single bird singing – not that it would be able to hear them, in the first place, but there are no telltale signs of branches rustling that move along with the birds. There’s no breeze, either, it notices. This is strange. 

It feels dead leaves crunching underneath the sole of its bare feet, rocks digging into its heels and small sticks poking its toes. Undeterred, it continues along the natural pathway carved into the forest floor – indented from frequent use by humans, spirits and animals alike. 

There’s a presence nearby, the spirit can tell. It’s an indescribable feeling that it feels often, almost as if it's being watched, hairs on the back of its neck rising as it snaps its head to the right, presumably in the general direction of the presence. 

Squinting its eyes, its keen vision picks up the person’s cursed energy long before they enter its field of sight. There, through the forest thicket, a woman dressed in royal red robes takes careful steps, mindful not to catch herself on any loose branches or stones. Her light blonde hair cascades over her shoulders; long, flowing, looking silky and smooth to the touch. She keeps her hands hidden behind the long sleeves of her robes. Her porcelain skin contrasts against the deep red lipstick adorning her lips, a gold pendant resting around her delicate neck and dipping into her neckline. The spirit’s eyes trace every enchanting feature of this mysterious woman, feeling its gaze quickly snap back up to her face as they trail too far past her neckline. 

The woman stops a few short feet away from the spirit, not facing it, but obviously not oblivious to its presence. They are both acutely aware of each other, letting the dead quiet of the forest envelop them both. 

Her lips move to form words, but the spirit is too distracted by the shiny layer of gloss that accentuates the deep red painting them. It subtly pinches itself to shake it out of its reverie, focusing on telling the words apart instead of getting lost in the alluring siren standing before it. 

“What are you?” She asks it, tilting her head to look at it in its eyes. “You’re beyond human… I can feel it.” 

Instead of replying, it nods slightly. 

“Not much of a talker, are you?” The woman chuckles, it can tell by the repetitive rise and fall of her chest, eyes crinkling closed – the smile does not reach her eyes. So strange. “The least you could do is introduce yourself.” 

It quietly replies with its name. It cringes, nose scrunching in awkwardness, knowing its voice is off – a few syllables missing, maybe, or its voice pitching in different tones. “My name. You?” 

“Oh my,” she giggles again, this time a clothed hand coming to cover her mouth. It drops back down once she calms herself down. “You talk in such a peculiar way… but, your voice…” 

She steps closer to it, raising her hand to trail a finger along its bicep. “You can’t hear, can you?” 

It shakes its head to confirm her suspicions, breath hitching lightly at the close proximity. 

“Let me describe your voice to you, then.” The hand touching the spirit’s bicep moves to its chest, pressing down lightly to force it to sit down on a fallen tree log. The woman quickly hikes one leg over its thigh, plopping herself down on its lap, making herself comfortable. Skin peeks through the slit of her robes, the supple, soft skin of her thigh calling out to the spirit to place a hand there, and it does so, albeit after an awkward pause. 

The blonde raises her hands to gently hold its face, tracing its jawline, eyes boring into its mismatched ones. Her eyes are a deep grey, the spirit notices; a tempermental cloud, the reflection of light in her orbs akin to the strike of lightning. 

It's suddenly aware of her chest pressing against its own, trying to get her body as close as possible. 

“ Seductive ,” Her lips form the words, it feels the rumble of her voice verberating against itself. “Deep, and low. It’s beautiful, a shame you can’t hear yourself speak.”

“You could bring nations down to their knees with a voice like that,” she says, sending a shiver down its spine. 

What is this feeling? The spirit thinks to itself. It feels like a knot in my stomach, a burning sensation. It's not sure if it likes it. 

“I can see so many questions in your eyes, spirit,” the woman continues. “Know that with me, you will have potential. A curious thing like you can’t go to waste, can you?” 

What is going on? Blood feels like it's rushing away from its head, the warmth in its stomach spreading throughout its entire body, making its fingertips tingle. 

“Come with me,” her hands trail to its back, digging her nails into its shoulder blades, muscles rippling underneath her touch. “I’ll make you discover amazing things. A powerful future awaits you.” 

The offer is enticing; maybe this is what it has been waiting for, the opportunity to finally answer those questions constantly running through its mind. The spirit isn’t entirely stupid; it knows that this woman wants something in return. No human ventures through this forest without having a plan to come across whatever unfortunate spirit’s path and asking for a blessing after providing an offering. Maybe if it plays its cards right, it can trick her to work this out in its own favour, without it having to sacrifice much in return. 

The spirit moves its hand away from the woman’s thigh, pointing at her wordlessly. 

“I’m a simple being,” she sighs, immediately understanding its wordless question. Tucking  a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes flick over to the scenery surrounding the two of them. “I want what any other person would like to have.” 

It tilts its head to the side in confusion, not completely catching onto what she meant. 

“Power,” she starts, “fame, fortune, all the men in the world tumbling down to their knees to worship the ground which I walk upon… and immortality, of course.” 

Ah, the age-old request. The spirit frowns, eyebrows knitting together and lips slightly downcast. How typical, how boring – and to think the spirit was starting to become entertained by this unknown woman. 

She notices the change in behaviour, and simply gives a light pat to the spirit’s cheek before resting her hands on its shoulders. 

“Oh, don’t give me that look. I’m different,” she reassures it, declaring it with the utmost conviction. “I will change the shaman world as we know it.” 

Shamans. Now, that is a familiar word. Whispers of shamans, sorcerers, wizards & witches and what-have-you passed through the bathhouse on the daily. Normal spirits aren’t too worried, but there’s word that cursed spirits are being wiped out one by one, trying to make the world a safer place , in the shamans’ words. 

“It’s rotten out there, you know,” the woman says. “People are so selfish, greedy and impulsive.” Like you? The spirit thinks to itself, raising an eyebrow. “Violent and angry.” 

It doesn’t understand those words; yes, it has heard of those emotions, but it has never experienced them. So it continues to blankly stare at the woman, waiting for her to continue with her spiel. 

“Their hatred is what keeps us shamans alive.” 

Her grip tightens on its shoulders. 

“One day, someone will try to take over and become the most powerful shaman in history. That person will be me . I’ll change our society. But…”

…

“...It’s not enough. I want more,” she continues, “I need more. But I require more firepower for that, more time, and there are countless other goals I want to achieve –  will achieve, no matter the price. Nobody understands me, not like a spirit would.” 

This… could actually pan out for the spirit, if the odds are in its favour. This woman is obviously obsessed with her self-centered desires. A binding vow is a binding vow, even non-humans face its negative repercussions, but there are always loopholes, especially for a spirit as cunning as itself. A life free of its original duties, in exchange for the curse that is immortality. A fair trade, indeed. 

The resolution must show in its eyes, because the woman gets up from its lap to stand on her feet, taking a few steps back to let it stand up as well. She extends her left hand, strangely enough, but the spirit shrugs it off as an unusual quirk of hers. It extends its own left hand in reciprocation, their fingertips grazing before their hands finally clasp together. Their eyes never leave each other as they shake on it. 

The woman brings her right hand up to her face, holding her pointer and middle finger up and nearly touching her nose with them, mumbling incoherent words that the spirit cannot lipread. Suddenly, dark purple wisps emerge from her left arm, forming tendrils that slowly wiggle as if they have a mind of their own, crawling away from her and onto the spirit’s arm. It frantically tries to unclasp her hand, attempting to tug its arm away but to no avail; it’s like their hands are glued together. 

The tendrils make contact with the spirit’s bare skin along its arm, and it feels like acid is sinking deep into its bones, a burning feeling spreading all throughout its body. It’s agonizing. It’s painful.

It hurts. 

It looks from the tendrils back at the woman’s face, a deranged look in her eyes as her smile stretches wickedly, the corners of her lips nearly touching her ears as she shows off all her unnaturally pearly white teeth. Her body heaves – this is clearly not an easy task for her – but she is somehow successfully draining incredible amounts of energy from the spirit. 

“I imagine it must feel strange being overpowered by a weak human, am I right?” She cackles as she lets the cancerous tendrils do their work, eyes unnaturally wide and sunken-in. The ache in its bones spreads to its spine, sending unpleasant shivers running down its back, making its legs weak. 

With its right hand, the spirit snaps its fingers, sending a large swoosh of fire, targeting the woman, but the lack of energy makes the attack more inaccurate. Just as the flames flicker too closely to her, black tendrils appear from the ground and easily block the fire before it can touch her; this must be a part of her technique. 

Spots start to appear in the peripheral of the spirit’s vision, a wave of nausea and dizziness overcoming it. Another snap of its right hand, but the small explosion rumbles the ground too far off to have been anywhere near its opponent. At this point, she blurs in with the background, royal red robes blending with the rich green of the trees, and the spirit feels its knees buckle before it falls to the ground face-first. 

Finally, it feels the woman let go of its left arm, letting it follow the rest of its body, falling limply to the ground. It gathers just enough strength to turn its head to the right, squinting its eyes as a last-ditch attempt to make out her features. 

“I’m glad we were able to come to an agreement, spirit,” it can just barely make out what she’s saying. “And to answer your question from earlier…” 

“...I am Madame Suliman.” 

And finally, its vision completely fails, body going completely limp as it falls unconscious. 

 

It’s a clear night, the stars shine brightly in the sky, not a single cloud to obstruct them. If you squint your eyes just right, you can see a plane’s lights blink on and off, slowly moving through the dark expanse. 

The long sleeves of your ragged sweatshirt scratch at your skin, reminding you of your current situation. Cheeks sunken in, dried scabs and unhealed cuts litter your arms. Your ripped running shoes are covered in mud and speckled with your own blood. Your stomach rumbles loudly, sides cramping angrily at the lack of food over the past few days – or was it weeks? Experiencing hunger in the way only a human could was not new to you, but it was just as uncomfortable and strange as the first time you had felt it. However, things would change soon, you think to yourself. Things will change. 

You walk along a tall bridge that looks over a river whose water flows quickly, slamming against exposed rocks and sending waves crashing against each other. If you tried to reach out, you would feel the energy and life from the river, coursing through your veins. But you don’t. 

Matted hair falls in front of your face as you take a peek over the edge of the bridge. It’s so dark out that the flowing water looks like a void, the stars reflected in it making it look like the sky never ends and the horizon never stops, blending seamlessly and wrapping around you entirely. 

Is this what peace feels like? 

You don't feel anything other than the cramping in your stomach, hands coming up to clutch and squeeze your sides to try and give your body at least a second of reprieve. 

This is not peace, you decide. 

You close your eyes, moving your arms to grasp the railing of the bridge. Your foot blindly seeks out to find a small ledge to heave yourself up further over the railing, too weak to use your arms to lift up your entire body. 

Just as you feel your foot catch onto a small step, there’s a flash of light beyond your eyelids, making you snap your eyes open. There, to your right, down on the riverbank; a gaggle of kids messing around with each other, watching the eldest of the group light another firework. There’s a small straight line of light that shoots straight up before a sudden burst of colour explodes in your vision. 

Blues, purples, reds and greens flow into a thousand sparks, and you can nearly feel the sound verberate through your chest. 

The kids all have large grins spread across their faces, one exclaiming in surprise and pointing out to a bright red firework going off. The smell of gunpowder tingles your nostrils, leftover smoke covering the reflection of the stars in the glimmering water. 

Not here. 

You take your foot off the ledge, taking a step back, but your hands remain firmly planted on the railing of the bridge. It was so close, yet so far. The cramps seem to pulse in discomfort tenfold this time, making you hunch over yourself until your forehead presses against the cool metal where your hands rest. 

When can this all be over? 

Clearly, not soon enough. This isn’t the place… 

Tomorrow, then. 

A sudden and quick tap on your right shoulder makes you turn your head slightly, smooshing your cheek against the railing to see who would be bothering you at this time of night. A man in a black sports jacket and dark grey jeans stands next to you. His buzz-cut is clearly done by himself, some hair sticking out at random angles that he had missed in the mirror when he shaved his hair off. His moustache is recently shaved, but it looks like he’s trying to grow a beard; the hair on his chin is left untouched. His shoes are well-worn – clearly this man does regular exercise, which is probably why he was out at this hour. There’s a serious look in his dark brown eyes as he looks at you. 

The man’s lips move, and you suspect that this guy is asking you if you’re alright. You give a weak nod in reply, raising your left hand to your ear and then making an ‘x’ as you bring your right hand up to cross both of them with each other. Hopefully it gets your point across pretty easily without the latter knowing sign language. I can’t hear. 

The man nods, taking out his flip phone from his jacket’s pocket, large thumbs moving awkwardly against the small keypad before he turns the screen to you. You squint your eyes, trying to adjust them to the sudden harsh light. 

- Need food? YES or NO. 

Surprised, you nod awkwardly. Is this guy serious ? The man turns the phone back towards himself, typing again. 

- U have place to stay? Y / N? 

You shake your head this time. No, you ran from the only place that dared to house you, if it could even be called a home . It was the furthest thing from it. 

The man closes his flip phone, motioning to you to follow. If you were in any other state of mind, you would maybe think twice instead of blindly following this man, but your hunger and exhaustion take over. The potential idea of having even just a single bite of food and maybe a soft pillow to rest your head on is too promising of an opportunity to pass up. You don't feel any weird aura from the man, either – but maybe that’s just your senses being dulled by everything else going on right now. 

…What were you just doing, anyways? Where did you come from again…? 

Your movements are sluggish as you take a step towards the man, disregarding your own worried thoughts about forgotten plans from just mere moments ago. Your right knee buckles slightly underneath your weight, but you heed it no mind; not until you take another step and your vision starts to spot at the edges, creating a warped tunnel in front of you. You collapse, feeling yourself fall into a pair of strong arms before everything goes completely black, enveloping you completely and taking your consciousness away with it. 

 

The years pass by in a muddled mess, and now you look at yourself in the mirror. Your hand holds your chin as you stare at the jagged scar that runs from the top of your right eyebrow, along the bridge of your (currently broken) nose, down to your left cheek. Another smaller scar sits right next to the bigger one in your eyebrow, almost looking like a claw mark. 

Your eyebrows furrow in distaste at the ugly scars, nose wrinkling before you hiss at the pain that pangs throughout your face. The bandage currently resting along the bridge of it feels like it’s barely doing its job at holding the broken bone in place, and to distract yourself from the persistent ache, you look up into your mismatched eyes. Your right eye is its original colour, but your left eye is a deep, vibrant magenta that you still aren't used to seeing. There’s a distinct lack of light that should normally be reflected in your eyes – instead, they look empty. Worn out. Cold. 

Your gaze trails down to your left arm, which is left uncovered by a black sleeveless compression shirt. The curse mark looks back at you, an ugly dark purple with a lighter, thick burgundy outline. It’s in the shape of the tendrils that once crawled along your skin, leaving their permanent mark deep within your bones. It covers nearly your entire forearm, looking like a messed-up tattoo. The pain is constant, only slightly dulled with whatever concoction of medicine Yaga tends to give you. Never in a thousand years did anyone think a spirit could ever experience chronic pain, yet here this one stands, insomnia riddled nights keeping you awake and acutely aware of the never-ending throbbing. The dark bags underneath your eyes speak for themselves. 

Your hair hasn’t been cut since Yaga took you in, and you style it the way you usually like it, making sure that there’s enough hair that covers your ears completely. 

Besides the curse mark, the purple eye and the broken nose, everything else seems to be in place as it normally should be. 

Your knit-picking of yourself gets interrupted by a presence on the other side of the bathroom door. You can tell someone is knocking by the way that the old handle shakes and the door slightly bounces back and forth in its frame. 

Sighing through your nose, you open the door to reveal a familiar man. Yaga’s buzzcut is what greets you first as the teacher seems to be looking down, fumbling with something in his hands. Oh, the elastic bandages. Your left hand goes to grab it, distracting Yaga from his awkward struggle and grabbing his attention. 

The man seems to be saying something unintelligible as he drops the wraps into your awaiting hands. 

“ Here you go, ” Yaga signs to you once he realized that you couldn’t understand him, “ they’re clean bandages. Do you still have the dirty ones in here ?” 

You turn to the sink where the discarded bandages lay. There’s dried blood and dirt littered all over the fabric, wordlessly telling Yaga everything he needs to know about what happened. The teacher quietly watches as you unfurl the clean wraps before enveloping your left arm with the bandages, just enough to cover the mark of the curse. One-handed, you struggle with tucking the wrap properly so it doesn’t fall off, so Yaga swats your right hand away to do it himself. 

Finally secured properly, you take a step back to create a bit of distance between the two to take another look in the mirror. You nod your head, approving of the placement of the bandage. No sign of the curse mark underneath it. 

“ Now that you’re all fixed up, there’s something I want to discuss with you,” Yaga signs to you again. “ Do you mind reading my lips? ” 

You shake your head. Thankfully, Yaga’s beard isn’t too obstructive to his lips, so it’s easier to understand him compared to others. 

“Thank you for understanding,” he seems a bit sheepish, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “My sign language is still rusty at best, but the classes are paying off. I can understand you better now.” 

At this, you give him a grin. “ I really appreciate you taking those classes. Most people wouldn’t bother.” You sign to him, making sure to move your hands more slowly than usual so he can understand. 

“Well, we have to communicate somehow, don’t we? And anyways, it’s an important skill to have,” the brunette brings a closed fist to in front of his mouth momentarily, probably to clear his throat, you surmise. “Moving on…”

Yaga leads you to exit the bathroom, walking out into the small dorm that you currently occupy, unbeknownst to the other students living at the school. 

You both sit down on your respective mats laid out on the floor, sitting across from each other with a small coffee table in between the two of you. Normally, you would prepare green tea for yourself and him, but it looks like Yaga has something on his mind, so you let him take the lead. He folds his hands together, resting them on the tabletop before he starts speaking. 

“I’d like to have you join the Jujutsu society, officially,” he says. “No more hiding. You’d be training with others, and have an official rank.” 

You can’t help the way your jaw drops quickly, eyes widening. Immediately, your hands start to move frantically as you lean over the coffee table excitedly. 

“ Seriously?! You’re not joking??? I could be out there again? But what about the higher-ups?! You know Gakuganji hates my guts! ” 

Yaga lets a small smile grace his usually stoic face at your excitement, though he quickly gets nervous, as the speed at which you sign is not something he’s used to. Who knew someone could ramble so efficiently with sign language? “Hold your horses – first off, he doesn’t hate you, he’s just a traditionalist. A spirit working amongst us, no less a cursed one, is probably the highest form of blasphemy for him. I’m surprised he hasn’t had a heart attack already, truthfully.” 

You sit back on your mat, huffing out longingly, lazily tilting your head side to side as you slump over and pout. “ He acts as if I murdered his entire family. ” 

Yaga says nothing to that, simply nodding along. “As I said, it’s nothing personal… the higher-ups weren’t happy with my proposal, but I can’t keep you locked in here. You’ve proven yourself time and time again that I can trust you. It’s due time that you discover our world properly.” 

You bristle at that, back straightening. Similar words were spoken to you decades ago, hiding a sinister truth behind them. Yaga isn’t her, you remind yourself. Things have changed... though not everything. Funnily enough, your body hasn’t aged a day since your creation – constantly stuck in the body of a young adult. However, the things you have seen and experienced are enough to last for a thousand lifetimes. 

“I’ve trained you underneath me for some time now, but you should learn to work in a team,” Yaga continues. “I have very promising students this year, you’ll be a good match for them.” 

“ They won’t take kindly to me being a cursed spirit, ” you frown. “ I’m not entirely sure that’s a good idea.” 

“We won’t know until we try, will we?” He raises an eyebrow in question, which you return mockingly. “Don’t give me that. You’ve always been an optimist, prove yourself to me.” 

You sigh dramatically. “ Lots of pressure you’re putting on me, old man…” You lay your head on the coffee table, eyes still on Yaga’s lips to read them properly. 

“Run that by me again?” The teacher asks, and suddenly it feels like a heavy weight has appeared in the room. You immediately sit up straight, eyes growing the size of saucers as you grin nervously. 

“ I mean, you look as young as ever!” You shake your hands out in front of yourself defensively, sweating profusely. “ You haven’t aged since I’ve known you!” 

“...That’s what I thought.” You breathe out in relief. 

“ So when would I be meeting your students? ” 

“I was hoping for our first class of the day today. It’d be good to get you involved as soon as possible,” Yaga says. 

His timing is reasonable – today is the first day back to school after summer break, so it’d make sense for you to be introduced then, instead of halfway through a random semester. It would feel invasive if he did otherwise. The prospect of being introduced to a class that already knows each other well makes you a bit nervous, but the excitement to meet new people and no longer having to hide your presence overshadows your anxiety. 

You take a look at the digital clock on your nightstand, seeing it is approximately twenty minutes before class starts. 

“We should get going, then,” Yaga states as he follows your eyes to the time, tapping the table with his pointer finger to get your attention. Your head snaps to the teacher’s fingers, who points behind him to the door of your dorm with his thumb. 

You both get up, and you quickly dust off your dark brown cargo pants before you follow behind Yaga, the familiar feeling of the knob locking signaling that you closed up your door properly. You make your way down the hallways of the dormitory, stepping outside to walk along campus towards the school itself. 

It’s a beautiful morning; the sun shines brightly, only a few clouds can be seen in the light blue sky. Birds fly back and forth between the trees, and you are sure that they must be chirping (a noise that Yaga had tried - and failed - to explain to you, but at least you know what the word is). The day still holds a bit of the overnight chill, though it’ll soon dissipate into the oppressive heat that summer usually holds as it ends. 

You step into the school, and you make your way to Yaga’s classroom, sliding the door open. The wooden desks with white tabletops are holding up stacked chairs, and on Yaga’s desk sits a pencil holder and sharpener with a chunky laptop placed on top of a few stacked papers. 

You tap the man’s shoulder, grabbing his attention. 

“ I see you went all-out with your decorations, ” you joke. 

“Ha ha ,” and you know that’s a sarcastic laugh because Yaga’s eyebrow twitches like it usually does when there’s sarcasm laced in his tone. “There’s only three of them, plus my two first-years. It feels ridiculous to have a classroom of this size for just a few brats. Take a seat, one of them should be here shortly.” 

You obediently take a seat at one of the desks in the middle at the very front, plopping yourself in the chair and leaning back to make room to rest your legs on the top of the desk, crossing one over the other. At least in this seat, you’ll be able to read Yaga’s lips with little to no issue.

“ One? ” You sign with a simple motion, raising an eyebrow questionably. 

“Yeah, the two others are always late no matter what.” Yaga seems exasperated as he says it, rolling his eyes, followed by his fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose as if a headache is already forming when class hasn’t even started yet. Then, Yaga signs a word that you are incredibly familiar with. “ Morons. ” 

That makes you laugh without a sound. “ Are you even allowed to say that about your own students? ” 

The teacher nods his head fervently, and it’s enough to tell you all you need to know about the people you’ll be introduced to shortly. Speaking of which, you take a look up at the clock on the wall above the chalkboard. Oh, they should be here right about…

You notice movement in the corner of your eye, and someone takes a step through the doorway and into the classroom. 

…Now. 

A girl with dark brown hair cut in a bob holds a pack of cigarettes in her hand, doing a poor job of concealing it in front of her teacher. Her bangs are swept to the left, and it looks like the length of it is annoying her, as she blows air to get some loose strands out of her eyes. She dons a long-sleeved shirt in Jujutsu High’s typical dark blue colour with a skirt to match it, black tights underneath and brown sandals on her feet. The features that stand out the most to you is the mole right underneath her right eye, accompanied by the tired look in her chocolate brown eyes. 

She fusses with the pack of cigarettes, trying to slip it into a pocket of her skirt, and is discussing something back and forth with Yaga, completely oblivious to the other presence in the room until he jabs a finger in your direction. 

“...Oh,” you read on her lips. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.” 

You wave back politely, signing good morning to her with a smile on your face. She tilts her head in question, not understanding the movements you did with your hands. 

“ Ohh. ” The girl drags the word out. She brings her right hand up to her forehead, pinching her thumb and forefinger to make something similar to an ‘OK’ sign, hand tilting sideways, then flattens out her hand vertically and brings it down. ‘ I’m sorry’ in sign language. “I don’t know much sign… besides ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’,” she says as she turns to her teacher. 

You’re surprised that she knows how to say sorry in sign language in the first place, and it makes your grin stretch even wider. It’s still something. 

“They’re very good at reading lips, if it’s any consolation. I’ve been learning for the past few months but I’m still a novice,” Yaga tells the girl before he rummages through a drawer in his desk. He pulls out an empty notebook and then takes one of the pens in his pencil holder, handing it to the girl. “You should introduce yourself.” 

You try to take a peek at the notebook, sitting upright as the brunette hunches over, writing away. Finally, she turns the paper to you, letting you read it properly. 

- My name is Ieri Shoko, sorry I don’t know or understand JSL. 

You stick your left hand out, right one pointing to the pen in her hand. She hands it to you wordlessly, moving to stand over your shoulder and look down as you write away. 

- Nice to meet you, Shoko! 

You write down your name on the paper to introduce yourself, leaning your head over so she can read it before you continue again. 

- It’s okay. I’m fine with reading lips or writing in this notebook. I’m completely deaf and mute, so if it’s not too much trouble, face me when you’re talking or else I won’t understand you. I apologize. 

Shoko waves her hand around nonchalantly, as if saying it’s no problem. She grabs the pen from you to write again. 

- No need to apologize. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine. 

You smile at her, and she sends you a lazy one of her own in return, setting the pen down on the desk. 

“Where are those two runts?” Yaga looks towards the doorway, waiting for the rest of his students. 

“Probably setting the microwave on fire, I think it’s a biweekly ritual of theirs,” Shoko says as she grabs a seat at the desk to your right. “Either that or terrorizing the staff again.” 

Yaga mumbles incoherently to himself, rubbing his temples, annoyed. “I swear…” 

A movement out of the corner of your eye catches his attention. Shoko is writing something down again, making sure that you can see the notepad. 

- What happened to your nose?

You cringe slightly to himself, brows furrowing in annoyance. 

- Bad run in with a curse. 

“Literally,” Yaga makes sure to mention to her. “They ran into a wall while chasing it down.” 

You wave your hands back and forth, as if trying to cut him off while glaring at the man. She doesn’t need to know that! All dignity is thrown out the window when you realize Shoko is chuckling. It’s so over, you slump back into your chair, dramatically sighing. 

There’s a thumping that vibrates the floorboards on the other side of the doorway. Multiple, actually. Curious, you look over to your right and through the windows of the classroom, seeing two figures blur as they run down the hallway and rush into Yaga’s room. 

Two men stand there, both wiping sweat off of their foreheads as they catch their breath. 

The first that catches your eye has black hair tied back into a bun, letting his bangs stay loose on the left side of his face. His eyes are dark brown, and he has black gauges pierced in his ears. He’s tall and slim, but you can tell that his arms are muscled underneath the long-sleeved uniform shirt. He wears extremely baggy pants and dark black sandals. 

The other has stunning pure white hair that sticks up at random angles – he obviously doesn’t care too much to brush his hair in the mornings – and he wears a black hoodie with the hood flipped up, covering most of his head. His eyes are an electric blue, almost seemingly glowing. He wears the school’s uniform pants with expensive-looking shoes. He looks a little taller than the other one by a couple of inches, too. 

“Sorry we’re late…” The dark-haired one says after catching his breath. The other seems to have his gaze locked onto you, slapping his friend’s arm to grab his attention and pointing to the new addition in the class. Uncomfortable at the intense eye contact, you avert your gaze to his friend’s earrings. 

There’s a certain indescribable aura that emanates from the mysterious stranger sitting at the desk, setting off warning bells in both of the boys’ minds. They take a defensive stance, ready to attack at any moment.

“There’s no mistaking that…” The black-haired guy mumbles, fists raised.

“It must be a cursed spirit.” The other one finishes. 

Shoko seems surprised, but doesn’t make a move to make any distance between her and you. 

“Calm down, you two,” Yaga steps forward slightly. “They’re joining you.” 

“Huh? What do you mean?” The white-haired one asks. 

“This is your new teammate, or your babysitter, depending on how you look at it, Gojo,” Yaga answers. You presume Gojo is the one with the striking blue eyes. 

You quickly grab the notebook in front of you, holding it up so they can read the introduction you wrote to Shoko a minute prior. 

The two friends look at each other, apprehensive. Obviously, they aren’t too keen on you being in their proximity, which is exactly what you feared in the first place. You can’t blame them for their initial reaction, though it didn’t make it hurt any less. 

“Are you being for real?” Gojo asks his teacher. “This thing is joining us?” 

“That thing can read your lips. It’s a complicated story,” he says. “It’d take too long to explain. However, I can assure you that they’re perfectly safe. They’re not a curse.” 

A pen being thrown in their general direction grabs their attention, the three men’s gazes trailing to you, holding your notebook up again.

- Don’t talk about me as if I’m not in the same room as you. 

Yaga signs an apology, but Gojo crosses his arms and frowns at you. 

“So what, you’re joining us on missions and training?” He asks. 

“That’s the idea,” Yaga says. “So play nice. That goes to you too,” he says your name. 

Your point to yourself, pouting. “ Such offensive accusations. I’m an angel. ”

“Huh? What’d they say?” The black-haired one tilts his head in confusion. 

“They’re a bit of a trickster as well, been a pain in my ass for the past few years. Not unlike you three…” the teacher pauses for a moment. “ Goddamn , I just realized – introducing you all to each other is probably the worst thing I could’ve done to myself.” 

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, now…” Gojo mumbles before looking dead-ahead at you and addressing you. “Satoru Gojo.” 

Despite his attitude, you move your hands together to sign ‘ Nice to meet you. ’ His last name seems familiar, but you can’t quite place why. The lack of recognition in your mismatched eyes must be obvious to the white-haired man, who’s eyebrows raise at the lack of reaction. 

“You know, like the Six Eyes? The Gojo Clan ?” He points to himself to drive his point home. 

The mention of Six Eyes rings a bell, but for some reason it still doesn’t click. You shake your head, shrugging, then pointing to the dark-haired man standing next to Gojo. 

“I’m Suguru Geto,” he introduces himself simply, shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants. “...You’re completely deaf?” 

You nod, quickly writing down in the notebook. 

- Can’t hear a single thing. 

“Shit, that sucks.” Gojo says. 

“Gojo, have some decorum, idiot,” Geto hisses to his friend, slapping the back of his head, though it has zero effect on him. 

“My bad,” The white-haired man half-heartedly apologizes. “You’re the one who asked in the first place.” 

“Can you take your hood off, Gojo?” Yaga gets the student’s attention. 

“But sensei , my head hurts again…” he complains, pulling the hood down even further to cover his eyes completely. “Everything’s so bright today.” 

“I’m guessing that’s why you were late. As usual. ” 

You tilt your head, taking the pen off of your desk and scribbling down in the notebook again. Shoko leans over to read what you’re writing, and Suguru, noticing her behaviour, does the same. 

- Does he have migraines often? 

Suguru nods in reply. “Yeah, pretty much every other day.” 

You hiss through your teeth, mouthing ‘ ouch’ and doing a thumbs-down, making Shoko chuckle lightly. 

“Anyways,” Yaga speaks to the entire group as Gojo sits on top of the desk to the left of you, “I’d like you three to take today easy and get acquainted with them. Since this is your first day back to school, I’d like for you to train for an hour. Following the next few days, we’ll get onto a regular schedule.” 

“We don’t need a babysitter, sensei,” Gojo pouts at his teacher. “We’re fine on our own.” 

“This isn’t just for you, Gojo. This is also for them,” he looks over at you. “They need to learn how things work around here so they don't get into more trouble.” 

“ Ooooh, is someone in cahoots with the higher-ups?” This time, he directs the question to you. You make a so-so motion with your hands, shrugging at the same time.

- Something like that? You write down in the notebook, giving an awkward tight-lipped smile. 

“Seems like you might fit in with us, in the end.” 

Silence stretches out for a few moments before Yaga breaks it by clapping his hands together once. 

“Well then, I’ll leave you to get to your training. After that, do what you want,” he says before he turns to you. “ Notebook O-K?” He signs. 

You nod in reply, giving him a thumbs up. With that, the teacher exits the classroom after tucking his laptop and loose papers underneath his arm, waving goodbye to your small group. 

A poke to your shoulder takes your focus away from your only friend to these strangers. Shoko gives you a lazy grin, pointing at you, then your notebook and pen. 

“So, what’re you good with?” She asks. 

- Polearms, or my fists. What do you use? 

“Ah, actually, she uses a scalpel. Shoko’s refining her Reverse Cursed Technique,” Gojo butts in. 

“I could’ve answered that myself, thank you very much, ” she hisses at him, though seeing the small grin on her face, you can tell that there is no actual bite to her words. 

Then, you point to the two men standing to your left, as if to ask what about you two ? 

There’s a small pause before Gojo breaks out into a shit-eating grin, and both Geto and Shoko shake their heads exasperatedly. 

“ Well , I’m glad you asked,” he says as he lowers the hood of his hoodie, completely uncovering his head as he splays his arms out as if he’s performing in front of a crowd. “See, I’m the strongest . I have both the Limitless and Six Eyes.” 

The look on his face is full of pride, a hint of mischief flashing in his blue eyes for the split second that you make eye contact with him. You give him another blank stare like a few minutes before, making the white-haired man clench his jaw and shove his face into his hands, irritated. By the look on Geto and Shoko’s face, he’s complaining about that, as they start laughing. 

“See, I already like you. You’re actually funny, unlike these two,” Shoko turns to address them. “You guys might have your panties in a twist, but them and I will be best friends,” she says, drawing a small smiley face and a star next to you and her’s names written in the notebook. “Right?” She asks as she looks at you. 

You tilt your head to the side, then smile, nodding along. You point to yourself, then to her before clasping both of your hands together tightly and making a small circling movement with your clasped hands. 

“What does that one mean?” She asks goodnaturedly. 

- Can we be friends? You jot down on the paper. 

The brunette repeats the motion slowly, mumbling the words to herself as if it’ll help her remember more easily. “Like that?” 

You nod, the smile never leaving your face at the small interaction. 

“Sweet!” She exclaims. “You’ll have to teach me more eventually, it’d be cool to communicate properly with you.” 

“ I’d be happy to, ” you nod again before you turn to Geto, pointing at him again. 

“Oh, right,” he says, mostly to himself. “I manipulate curses.” 

Immediately, your jaw drops before you give the raven-haired man two thumbs up. “ That’s sick!” You sign, impressed, eyebrows raised. 

“Oh come on, that’s hardly fair! Barely a blink of an eye to my insane powers, and now they’re shitting bricks over Suguru’s ability! This is crazy glazing,” Gojo whines, draping himself over the top of your desk dramatically. 

Geto gives him a full-body laugh. “I guess I’m just cooler than you, Satoru.” 

“This hardly feels fair. C’mon, I’m sick of this room. Let’s go to the training grounds!” He thumbs in the door’s direction. 

Your group gathers their things before making your way outside, not crossing by a single other staff member or student. You can tell how deadly quiet it is on the campus of the school, even without your hearing – there’s a certain lack of energy. You recall Yaga mentioning that jujutsu sorcerers were far and few between nowadays, which explains the few number of students attending. 

Now that you’re all walking next to each other, you notice how much taller the two men are compared to yourself. Shoko’s around the same height as you, but Geto is nearly an entire head taller than you, and Gojo is even taller than Geto. You feel short compared to the two of them, and it annoys you. 

The weather is still nice by the time you arrive at the training grounds, however the heat is starting to make itself known, making you cringe. You’ve never been good with the warmth that accompanies summer, usually only having a certain amount of energy before you’re knocked out for the rest of the day. You won’t be impressing any of your new acquaintances (and friend ?) today, that’s for sure… not that you wanted to, in the first place. Better to keep your power under wraps for now, especially with the heatwave. Stick to normal physical attacks instead.  

You can feel the dry dirt crunch underneath your beat up black – mostly brown, now – converse shoes. You mentally note to not make the wrong move, or else you’ll roll your ankle on the dirt. 

There’s a small shack nearby the training grounds, and Geto opens it to reveal an entire array of weapons. There’s a long wooden polearm hanging on the wall; precisely what you need. You grab it, weighing it in the palm of your hands. It’s much lighter than what you usually use, so you’ll have to adjust a bit to that. 

You take a quick glance at Geto, who’s doing stretches on the grassy part of the field, and then your eyes drift to Gojo, who stands there watching his friend, hands in his pockets. Isn’t he at least going to pick up a weapon or something? 

The latter must feel your attention focused on him, because his gaze snaps up to meet your own. You nervously divert your eyes, looking down at Gojo’s nose and lips instead in case he begins to talk. 

“Something on your mind?” He asks you. 

Multiple things, actually… you think to yourself. Setting your wooden polearm on the ground, you grab the notebook and pen you brought with yourself and scribble down a few words before turning it around to face him. 

- Aren’t you gonna grab something too? 

It seems that there’s always a stupid grin smeared across Gojo’s face that you can never wipe off. This time, instead of a dramatic display, he just crosses his arms and shakes his head. 

“You’ll see.” 

There’s an undeniable curiosity that itches at the back of your mind, so you decide to put the notebook down and pick the polearm up again, making your way closer to Gojo. You tilt your head, raising an eyebrow with a lighthearted smile playing upon your lips. 

Well, what are you waiting for?

The white-haired man immediately pulls his hood down, an aura of confidence surrounding him. There’s not a single twitch of his finger or furrow of his brow that gives a hint to any anxiety – he has complete faith in himself and his abilities. Gojo spreads his arms out like he did earlier, as if to make himself an easier target than he already was. 

You aren't stupid; you know that your opponent has something up his sleeve, so you have to be careful with your opening moves. You need Gojo to give away what his techniques are without getting caught in the middle of it. Thankfully, this is just a training exercise, so it’s not serious if you get a scratch or two; Gojo wouldn’t go all out, after all, so you wouldn’t either. 

With that reassurance, you make the first move. You take a quick step to the right, so swiftly that the air whips around you, the grass where you once stood ruffling angrily from the sudden movement. Gojo immediately reacts; he tries to put more distance between the two of you, not quite expecting the speed at which his opponent moves, but not entirely surprised either. 

Another step forward, and you’re suddenly behind him, raising your staff and bringing it down to whack him with it. However, before your weapon can touch Gojo, it gets caught mid-air by an invisible force. Furrowing your brows, you try to put more force behind the blow, but there’s still some sort of force field surrounding him. There’s no way you can land a single scratch on him with this ability activated. 

Suddenly, the polearm splits in half, sending shards of wood everywhere around the two of you. Gojo turns around, about to take his turn to attack, but your reaction time is faster, right foot immediately pressing down on the ground below you, sending you flying backwards to put enough distance between you both and landing on your feet. 

Your polearm lays pathetically broken on the ground next to Gojo, who continues to smirk at you, completely relaxed as he tugs his hood over his head again. 

Even though you had barely done any physical exertion, you already feel sweat form on your brow. You sit down on the grass, leaning back on your hands, feeling the earth refresh your bare palms for a few seconds. 

“ What was that? ” you ask him, hands moving quickly as the curiosity continues to eat away at you. 

“That was Infinity,” Gojo says, deciding to sit across from you on the grass. For a split second, you look up, and his eyes look less bright than before; it might have something to do with activating his ability, you think. “It’s a work in progress, but I’m basically untouchable with this.” 

Shoko walks up to the pair of you, Geto following close behind with your notebook and pen in hand. Grateful, you sign your thanks to him and take them from him, writing some more. 

- That’s impressive!! :D You’ll have to tell me more about your Limitless and Six Eyes, I’m curious to learn more.

“Why, so you can take over and kill us all?” Gojo asks, ignoring the flare of pride in his chest at your interest – he knows he can’t trust you that easily. 

You level him with a deadpan stare, raising your eyebrows, completely unimpressed. 

- Obviously. While I’m at it, I’ll burn the whole world too. 

“ See! ” Gojo hisses, pointing an accusatory finger at you. “I knew Yaga’s must’ve been sun-downing when he introduced us to a freaking cursed spirit to add to our team.” 

You make a ‘cuckoo’ sign, rolling your eyes and trying not to take the male’s words to heart. He’s just speaking that way because he doesn’t know the entire story – not that he should, honestly – and has only been taught to exorcise curses. 

- Jokes aside, I promise not to lay a finger on a single precious hair of yours. As Yaga said, it’s complicated when it comes to me. I’d appreciate it if you keep an open mind. I’d get killed in a split second by the higher ups if I even thought of that, anyways :/ 

“Seriously, they haven't done anything to show that they’re aggressive,” Shoko comes to your defense, though you find it hard to read her lips as your eyes unfocus; you can’t help but think that maybe Gojo isn’t completely wrong to have that mindset. 

“But what if one day they are? Not that it would be a problem for me to exorcise them, but c’mon now. It’s a threat to have them around.” 

“Satoru, I think we can trust sensei with this. If he says that they’re trustworthy, then they probably are. He’s a good judge of character,” Geto says next. He isn’t entirely convinced that you’re harmless, but Gojo is being rather harsh with his words. 

He huffs, annoyed that both his friends are on your side. “Don’t come crying to me when they finally snap.” 

“ I’m not a curse ,” you sign even though none of them know sign language. “ You wouldn’t be exorcising me. You’d be killing me. ” 

Tired from this back and forth, you get up, brushing your pants off and grabbing the notebook, tucking it underneath your arm. 

“Wait, where’re you going?” Shoko asks.

You point back to the dormitories, shrugging. There’s no point in you sticking around right now if this is going to be the team’s dynamic. 

“Don’t go, Satoru promises to behave himself,” Geto says while pinching Gojo’s ear. “Right, Gojo?” 

“Fine, fine! Jeez, I’ll stop.” He shakes himself out of his friend’s grip, soothing his now-swollen ear. “Did you have to yank it that hard, Geto ?”

“Seems to be the only way to get you to behave, so yes.”  

Shoko claps her hands, satisfied. “Perfect. Let’s go downtown to grab something to cool off, hm?” 

A refreshing drink doesn’t sound like a bad idea, you muse to yourself. After a moment, you nod in agreement, making the brunette smile widely at you. 

 

The subway is packed with people; afternoon rush hour is no joke on these trains. Shoko is uncomfortably pressed up against the windows of the doors, Geto is stuck between two people chatting away on two different business calls, you’re desperately clinging onto the railing attached to the ceiling and trying not to lose your footing as you sway back and forth, squished in between the crowd, fingers brushing against the metal pole as your arms aren’t long enough to reach it properly… and Gojo sits happily in the one free seat that was left in the compartment, sitting right behind you. 

He’s looking down at his flip phone, obviously amused at something as his body wracks with laughter. He looks up, feeling a hint of murderous intent in the air, making eye contact with Shoko, who’s current glare held towards him could kill someone. The white-haired man smiles innocently at her, sending a lighthearted wave and mouthing something – Having fun over there?

She flips him off in reply. 

Meanwhile, you and Geto share equally uncomfortable glances with each other, neither of you being able to breathe properly in this sea of people. Your view is suddenly obstructed by a tall man with bright orange hair, a large suitcase in his hand. His mouth moves quickly, too quickly for you to read his lips properly. Not only that, but you’re pretty sure that this man isn’t even speaking Japanese. 

Oh, a tourist… This isn’t good. 

Nervously, trying to keep his legs steady, you lower your hands from the too-tall ceiling railing, your left pointer finger pointing to your ear, then making an ‘X’ with your hands. Can’t hear, you mouth, shaking your head back and forth. 

Not understanding, the stranger tilts his head to the side, obviously confused, trying his hand again at communicating with you. 

What’s this guy not getting? Damn, Shoko has my notebook in her bag and she’s stuck in the corner across from me… 

You repeat the motion but it falls on deaf ears – or eyes, in this case. 

The man is starting to get irritated, lips downturned, but then his eyes widen at the same time as you feel a hand on your shoulder, making you jolt. Looking back over your shoulder, you’re surprised to see Gojo standing up, starting to talk to the tourist with an easy smile spread across his face. You’re even more surprised to see that Gojo is speaking an entirely different language, seeing as you can’t understand the way his lips are moving, unable to place a single word compared to what you’re familiar with. 

The warmth of Gojo’s hand resting on your bare shoulder makes you uncomfortable, but you can’t exactly shake him off when you’re stuck in between this many people. 

Looking back up, the conversation seems to flow easily between the two men, and by the next stop, the stranger steps off the train, lugging his heavy suitcase behind him. 

Hesitantly, you turn around to sign a thank you to Gojo, surprised he would’ve gone out of his way to take over the situation when he holds an obvious distaste towards you. The white-haired man waves you off lazily, sitting back down in his seat and flipping his phone open again, completely disregarding you. 

A few stops later, and the four of you shove your way through the train to get off. Each of you takes a deep breath of fresh air, relieved to finally get out of that cramped space. 

“It smelled musty in there, oh my god,” Shoko complains, taking a quick peek in her tote bag to make sure that everything she brought with her was left untouched. Cigarettes and lighter, check , wallet, check , phone, check, your notebook and pen, check . 

“What did that guy want, by the way?” Geto asks Gojo. “He seemed pretty intent on bothering you,” he looks at you as he speaks, “I just couldn’t get through my two entrepreneurs to help out.” 

“He wanted to know where the museum was located,” Gojo replies. “I gave him the wrong directions.” 

You choke on your spit, quietly snickering to yourself while coughing a bit, signing another thank you. 

“It’s not that serious,” Gojo waves you off again before he starts laughing. “Anyways, look at this hilarious picture I got of you trying to struggle to grab the railing!” 

The man turns his phone screen to face you, showing off a semi-blurry picture of you, your fingertips brushing against the railing while on your tip-toes, a determined look on your face (that made you look a bit constipated, if you were being honest with yourself). 

I’m either going to kill myself, you think to yourself as you glare at Gojo, who continues to cackle, or I’m going to kill him. 

“...” Shoko finds it hard to stop the grin from spreading across her face, turning to her friend. “Send me that.” 

He sends her a thumbs up, and immediately Shoko hears a ping coming from her phone that sits at the bottom of the totebag. 

“You guys are jerks, y’know that?” Geto asks, somehow the voice of reason between the three of them. “C’mon,” he says your name, “let’s ditch these two and go get bubble tea or something.” 

You immediately go to walk next to the raven-haired man, sticking your tongue out at Shoko who gives you an offended look. Even though you had only met her this morning, you felt comfortable enough joking around with her. It was a nice change of pace for once, having only known the glares of the higher-ups for the past few years. 

Shoko and Gojo immediately catch up to the two of you, your group walking down the bustling streets of Tokyo, the afternoon sun beating down on everyone. The heat is oppressive, and you find yourself thankful there’s only a few more weeks of this kind of weather before it starts to cool off. 

You all look at the different shops and restaurants, Shoko focusing on a run-down corner store. 

“After we get our drinks, I’m gonna stop here and pick up some more cigarettes,” she tells you. “I’m running low.” 

“That’s gonna develop into a problem,” Geto says. 

“As if it isn’t already?” Gojo asks rhetorically. 

“Don’t blame me, blame the principal for making me do all this shit for my reverse technique.” 

You find a nearby boba tea shop that’s relatively empty – most cafes are bustling with students who are in-between classes. It’s a comfortable little shop; there are small plants littering the shelves all around, a few people are already occupying some tables at the back, which leaves the table at the front right next to the window free. Shoko immediately claims it, dumping her bag on one of the two seats closest to the window. 

Gojo and Geto are already at the counter, ordering their own drinks, but you hang back awkwardly, looking back and forth between the menu and the brunette next to you. 

“What’s up?” She looks over at you, noticing how tense you look. 

You point at all the different drink options before shrugging; I have no clue what to pick. Unbeknownst to his group, you’ve never had boba tea before and have absolutely no idea what it tastes like, or what flavour you should be getting. 

“Ohhh, I think I get it,” Shoko says, pulling out her wallet from the tote bag. “Want me to order you something?” 

You nod in reply, handing her some pocket change to pay for your own drink. 

“I gotcha. Stay with our stuff, I’ll go order.” 

You sign your thanks, taking the seat across from her so you can people-watch in the meantime. Many businessmen frantically walk by, rushing to get to their next meetings while balancing phones next to their ears, meanwhile a mother gives a piggie-back to her young kid, both smiling and laughing. Couples hold hands, one sharing ice cream between each other and whispering inside jokes in each other’s ears. You picture how their voices must sound – are their tones different when they speak to each other? You can’t picture the specific sounds in your mind, but you imagine that there’s a difference in pitch when someone talks to the people they like, they dislike, their coworkers, customers and more. It makes you long for something you haven't known in centuries. You wonder what your new acquaintances sound like, what you sound like. You’ve forgotten your own voice. 

A flick to the forehead brings you out of your reverie. Shoko sits across from you, two drinks in hand that look exactly the same. 

“I got you what I usually get, I hope that’s okay,” she tells you, handing you one of the drinks. There are small black blobs at the bottom of the creamy-looking substance. You observe the way Shoko pierces the plastic top of the cup with the thick straw, imitating her, careful not to pierce the cup itself. Immediately, you smell vanilla and coffee with a hint of something else.

Tentatively, you take a sip and the taste of caramel touches the tip of your tongue. It tastes delicious . 

Gojo sits next to Shoko, Geto taking the seat next to you. His drink looks more fruity, with swirls of orange with whipped cream on top – he doesn’t have the black boba at the bottom, though. Gojo’s is a light blue, and he seems to have taken extra boba. 

Geto taps his pointer finger on the table, grabbing your attention. 

“Ever had this before?” He asks. You shake your head, and immediately flinch backwards when Gojo slams his hands down on the table and leans over it, a look of horror on his face. 

“Has Yaga been starving you?! He’s been hiding this from you the entire time?? I think this counts as a form of abuse!” 

“Oh my god, Satoru, quiet down - there are other people in the shop,” the raven-haired man clenches his jaw, giving a look to his friend across from him. 

“But this is tragic!” 

You huff, a small smile playing on your lips as you happily take another sip from the drink, your left leg swinging back and forth as you get lost in the taste. 

“Do you like it?” Shoko grins at you. 

You nod enthusiastically, giving her two thumbs up. 

Suddenly, another drink is pushed towards you. It’s Gojo’s blue drink. 

“Try mine,” he insists, inching it closer to you. 

All three lean on the table, curious as to what you will think of it. You look at them awkwardly, hesitantly grabbing the cup, and take a cautious sip. Your eyebrows immediately shoot up at how sweet it tastes – the coconut slush tastes delicious though, especially the coconut jelly that is mixed in with the drink. 

“Sooooo…?” Gojo awaits a reply. 

You look over at Shoko’s bag, pointing to it. She catches on quickly, handing you the notebook and pen. 

- It’s soo good and rich :D but super sweet

“Yeah, this guy has an addiction,” Geto says, handing you his drink next. “I’m curious as to what you think of mine.” 

Gojo grabs his drink again, pouting as he takes a big sip from the straw. “At least they appreciate my taste in drinks, unlike you guys.” 

Ignoring his pouting, you take a sip from Geto’s drink, catching yourself before you can hum at the taste. Passionfruit and mango – your favourite – hits your taste buds. You also taste crushed biscuits with the whipped cream. You close your eyes, content. 

“I’m guessing that was good,” you read upon Geto’s lips when you open your eyes again. 

- I really like mango, so that’s an instant winner. 

“HA! Suck it, Satoru,” he mocks his friend, smiling ear from ear. 

“When and where?” He instantly says in rebuttal, barely taking an eye off his drink, making you slap a hand over your mouth as you cough over another laugh. 

“Not in front of my drink, guys,” Shoko whines as you try to take sips of your drink to cover up your amusement. “Now I definitely need a smoke.” 

After finishing your drinks and disposing of them in the trash, you make your way back to the corner store the brunette wanted to stop at earlier. 

“You guys can wait out here if you want, I’ll be quick.” 

The three of you stand outside, Geto and Gojo talking amongst themselves while you peer into the window of the store. The sunlight shines directly into it, hitting the sunglasses display. Curious, you look more closely, an idea suddenly popping into your head as you notice something. 

When Gojo looks back to where you once stood, he notices that you’re missing, instead hearing the sound of the bell of the front door to the store opening, then closing. 

You step inside, making your way to the rack of sunglasses, looking at a specific pair of round ones. They look nearly completely blacked out, and just for fun, you try them on – sure enough, you can barely see a thing with these on. Is this even legal? You think to yourself for a moment, but…

It might make for a good peace offering. A helping hand in return for a helping hand, equivalent exchange, isn’t that what they all say? 

Looking at the price tag, they’re not necessarily cheap sunglasses, but you can afford it with the money that Yaga has given you as an allowance. You nearly scoff – you , needing an allowance ? How ridiculous is that?

You walk up to the cashier, lost in thought as you pay the worker absentmindedly. Hopefully this will work, or else you’ll look like an idiot. 

Not a moment later, you step outside again, a pair of round sunglasses in your left hand, notebook in your right. 

“What’s that for?” Gojo approaches you, eyes trained on the object. 

You point to him, holding the sunglasses out in the palm of your other hand. 

“Uh, okay…?” He feels the need to take the pair from your expecting hand, and decides to put them on. Suddenly, it’s not overwhelmingly bright outside – colours stop melding together in the corner of his eyes to make him dizzy, and he feels the constant headache gnawing at his forehead and the bridge of his nose slowly dissipate, tuning into his Six Eyes to see instead. The overload of information he was so used to is suddenly dulled, and the persistent feeling of overstimulation is gone. 

- Sunglasses could help with your migraines. Saw these ones and thought it would be good. 

Sure enough, you were right. He lowers his hood, the headache nearly non-existent by this point. 

“Whaddya know, it actually worked.” Gojo says as he looks around. He’s able to feel Geto and Shoko’s energies, as well as your rotten cursed aura, and the hundreds of people walking down the streets or driving their cars. 

“Good idea,” Geto says your name as he walks up to you both, smiling. “Not sure why resident boy-genius didn’t think of that sooner, honestly.” 

Just as Gojo is about to insult him in return, Shoko walks out with a new pack of cigarettes in hand. 

“Alright, I’m ready to head back. I need a nap,” she yawns as she speaks… which makes Gojo yawn, then Geto, then in turn, you. 

You nod in agreement, feeling your crappy mattress call out to you. 

By the time you return, the sun is just starting to set a bit, pinks starting to creep through the blue sky. You all go their separate ways once you return to the dormitories, and you immediately faceplant into your bed, barely making it in time to take off your shoes before you crash. 

As you turn your head to look at the calendar right next to your bed, smushing your cheek into your pillow, you think back to the day that you’ve had today. Meeting new people and talking to someone besides Yaga was riveting, even if it didn’t all go according to plan (you frown as you think back to Gojo’s attitude), but you definitely got somewhere. By the end of the hangout at the boba shop, there was a lighter air surrounding the four of you. You feel something burning in your chest, something you think you’ve never felt before. 

Maybe… 

Maybe things won’t be so bad, in the end. 

[harley-michaels-main]

It's been awhile since I did a tier list but I've been into shojo anime and manga recently so I'm gonna rank my top five.

#5: Ouran High School Host Club

Haruhi Fujioka is recruited to join the host club after she breaks a vase!

Ouran is probably one of the best known shojo animes there is. It's funny, light hearted, adorable, and probably is one of the first reverse harem anime to gain a large fan base. And for being made in the early 2000's, the animation still holds up today.

However, the characters do not. There are a lot of things about this show that just did not age well. While I recommend this series I also recommend taking it with a grain of salt. This was made when certain things were socially acceptable that simply are not today.

That is the only reason I would have it at number 5. Other wise, the cast is great. The plot is hilarious. The pacing is well done. Overall, it's a hilarious and feel good show for when you simply don't want to think about what you're watching.

#4 Kamisama Hajimenmashita

After being kicked out of her apartment due to her father's gambling habits, Nanami Momozono must find her place in this world. But becoming an Earth God? How the hell is she supposed to do that?!

This is the first shojo I watched knowing that it was a shojo. I immediately fell in love with the characters and their dynamics. There's complicated back stories as well for those to like to drive a bit more into characters.

Sadly, the anime was rushed to a finish and a lot of the manga was never adapted. While the anime is still great, the ending just feels wrong without having the full story. The manga is completed and I highly recommend reading it. Yet because of the cancelation, I have to put it at number 4.

#3: Yona Of The Dawn

On her 16th birthday, the sole princess of Kouka, Yona, goes to ask her father to reconsider her marriage proposal to the love of her life. Her love had other plans with her father that night.

This is arguably one of the best shojos out there. With an amazing ploy and some of the best characters ever written, your heart is sure to be captured by this.

There is only one season of this however and it sadly looks like there won't be more any time soon.

The reason for this getting third place isn't because of the anime but actually because I just like the other two more. I love the fantasy setting, but I tend to like it more in shounen than shojo.

#2: My Love Story With Yamada-Kun at level 999

After being cheated on and dumped by her boyfriend over a girl he met in a game, Akane Kinoshita sets out to get revenge! By going to an irl game event and make him realize what he's missing out on! If only her luck with shoes was better.

This is a very new shojo with the first season just wrapping up a couple weeks ago. However, the manga has been going strong since 2019 and I have loved every minute of it. Thus has some of the best characters I have ever seen and it just continues to get better. It's also the type of shojo where we get to see the couple progress their relationship as a couple which is amazing.

I will say there are some... spicier bits in the manga so beware of that if it's not your thing. (Nothing explicit is shown)

However we get to see progression from te side characters as well which is also amazing. I love every moment of this and it had me squealing and kicking my feet like a little girl.

#1: Horimiya

The queen bee and the loner realize that maybe they can be their true selves around each other.

This is my all time favorite. I read the manga, watch the og anime, watched the remake, and the missing pieces. I love this story so much.

It portrays realistic relationships and shows that both of the main characters have faults that they work through in their relationship. Not just that, but the side characters get a lot of development as well that makes you rooting for them.

This whole story is so wholesome and it's the perfect thing to unwind to.

[jewishdragon]

Ok let’s see if I can list all my favorite anime.

Feel free to reblog with your lists too

This is in no particular order

Full metal Alchemist Brotherhood (perfect plot, worldbuilding, and animation. There is little I find at fault with this anime. The philosophical themes of war, god, and morality, are also incredible)

Mushishi. (Animation is the most beautiful stuff I’ve ever seen. Ever wanted to experience The Horrors but feel immeasurably calm at the same time? Follow Ginko as he solves supernatural mysteries in a fantasy ancient rural Japan. Get your heart ripped apart in 20 minutes with this purely episodic series)

Tsuritama. (Need a 12 episode feel good fun time with fish aliens, saving the world, and making friends? Yeah. This is for you)

Soul Eater (wacky as fuck. Fun plot. Falls into the fanservice trap a few times but you know, it’s still really good. I thought so many characters would be irritating but no they are endearing instead. The script is so fucking stupid at times I love it. death the Kid and Dr Stein are my favorite characters)

So I’m A Spider So What? (My favorite isekai. I hope for more of it. Don’t watch if you can’t handle a lot of spiders. The progression of the protagonist is really cool and the world building is interesting tho the humans are boring)

Dungeon Meshi (current obsession. Autistic main that is so painfully accurate. Wholesome and it’s gonna get bonkers but stay wholesome at the same time. It’s a dnd homebrew adventure)

Madoka Mágica (if you haven’t heard of this you may live under a rock. Magical Girls but batshit world building and implications.)

Ouran High School Host Club (I mean. It’s just cute. Reverse harem? Nonbinary protag??? Rich kid politics??)

Red Line (movie. Sexy as fuck. Car racing in space!?????)

Wolf Children (movie. I hate the ending but I still cried)

Trigun (wish there was more worldbuilding. Post-apocalyptic kinda deal, humanity + weird tech = consequences. Main characters are INSURANCE AGENTS!)

(Obligatory anything ghibli. Can’t leave out the classics and the quality of it)

That’s all I can think of for now

[gluttenousgoddess]

🍄

?

I do some of them you can find on my jars because they are related to feedism. However I’ll list the ones that are in no way related to feedism here.

Vampires, this is different than monster because my interest focuses on the bite and power move aspect.

Monster(horns, fangs, angel/demon, wings, claws, bioluminescence,) this one is really for more anthro than monster.. like I’d consider Sukuna a monster if that makes sense.

Most people wouldn’t consider these kinks but I do, I have some romance tropes that 🥵🫠 like enemies to lovers, love triangle (two male one female), reverse harem, forbidden love, secrets, forced proximity

Well written stories or even rp with those tropes hit every single time.

Also I’m a Fujoshi but only in fiction like manga or manwha or anime. Fujoshi just means a girl who really like BL

:) ok hope this helpsss

[marmotish]

Ok, so we got…*squints at list*

A narcoleptic, coffee-addict

A rebellious ladies’ man related to the first guy

A cinnamon roll-for-brains sweetheart

An emotionally constipated ghost

An anonymous love-letter writer

An Italian Kiki’s Delivery Service-style Baker

and now…

A socially awkward Japanese demon

The Reverse Harem Love Story that Freyja never asked to have and that most of the guys find themselves a part of whether they like it or not.

Soon to be adapted into a Dating sim and an Anime. 🕶️✨

shhhh that’s been my intention all along (jk)

❤️Coming soon❤️

The chance to play as Freyja in the late 90s - try to get her professional and personal life back on track after the second wizarding war. Choose from an ever-increasing number of routes with a number of characters who never wanted to be part of this in the first place!

though to be honest:

Duncan is dead and stuck at 15 years old - nothings happening there

bakery dude was just a one-off joke that someone sent in

noppera-bō bro would be perfectly happy never to run into Freyja again

((but who is the anonymous love-letter writer??? i honestly can’t remember posting anything like this - i am so confused 😵‍💫))

[sailorstarr-chan4]

DISCLAIMER: I PLACED SERIES LIKE FRUITS BASKET IN A SEPARATE POLL. Reason being? While it IS a fantasy (family cursed with zodiac animal spirits), it is also very..... grounded, more "magical surrealism" than full-blown "fantasy." You can find my "non fantasy" romance poll here (and yes, Fruits Basket won lol)

Because there's a bazillion romance anime out there, especially in the fantasy category, I limited this list to only include ones I'm familiar with (even while cutting several other titles that I love, alas). But I still set some ground rules so I wouldn't make the list too complicated, mainly that romance is central to the characters, theme, and/or story.

Things I deliberately omitted to make this list simpler:

magical girls

anything by Rumiko Takahashi

any standalone movies (Studio Ghibli, Makoto Shinkai, Mamoru Hosoda, etc)

most harems/reverse harems (listen, I couldn't NOT count Fushigi Yuugi)

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hello, hello, my lovelies! Since I've gotten zero bites for asks for my other non-KHR/K fandoms, I'm going to host a little special event before my box reopens (after I finish writing fic and have posts done for all my fandoms) and I have another big event! So, this is how it's going to work!

I have exactly 42 fandoms, if I'm counting right. Below you'll find all 42 fandoms listed. Under those fandoms, you'll find a list of 42 AU's. I'll accept 1 request per fandom and one request per AU. For example, if someone requests KHR and mermaids, for example, I'll cross out both KHR and Mermaids and neither the fandom nor the AU can be requested for anymore. It's first come, first serve and I'll do my best to keep the lists up-to-date with requests. This event will close when all prompts and fandoms are taken. You can just request a fandom or you can request a specific character or group of characters from the fandom and you can request a reader insert character as well. YOU CANNOT REQUEST SCENARIO OR HEADCANONS OR HOW EXACTLY THE PROMPT WILL BE WRITTEN OR INTERPRETED, UNLESS STATED. That will be left up to the admin and what ideas I have, honestly. Any questions, feel free to inbox me! Without further ado!

FANDOMS

KHR

K PROJECT

NANBAKA

WELCOME TO DEMON SCHOOL, IRUMA-KUN!

BUNGOU STRAY DOGS

SERVAMP

SAIYUKI

MYSTIC MESSENGER

IKEREV

EYESHIELD 21

THE OUTSIDERS

RONIN WARRIORS

KEKKAISHI

GETBACKERS

BLUSH BLUSH

CLASS OF THE TITANS

DISNEY'S ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN

DOGS: BULLETS & CARNAGE

BLACK CAT

HUNTER X HUNTER

KARNEVAL

THE ROYAL TUTOR

GANGSTA.

PSYCHO-PASS

THE MIGHTY DUCKS

THE COVENANT

DATE WARP

SEDUCE ME THE OTOME

POWER RANGERS MYSTIC FORCE

POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY

POWER RANGER NINJA STORM

BLEACH

NARUTO

HARRY POTTER

AO NO EXORCIST

OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB

DEADMAN WONDERLAND

DURARARA!!!

SKY HIGH

HOLES

YU YU HAKUSHO

GINTAMA

AU'S

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

COFFEE SHOP

ROYALTY

BOARDING SCHOOL

HOGWARTS

SOULMATE (YOUR CHOICE OR LEAVE IT TO ADMIN)

VAMPIRE

WEREWOLVES

AMNESIA

ANGELS & DEMONS

ANIMAL SHELTER

DETECTIVES/BUDDY COPS

SUPERNATURAL DETECTIVE

PARANORMAL

ARRANGED MARRIAGE

RETAIL WORKERS

PARAMEDICS/DOCTORS/NURSES

MODERN DAY

SENT TO THE PAST/SET IN ANOTHER DECADE (YOUR CHOICE OR LEAVE IT TO ADMIN)

ASSASSINS/NINJAS

SUPER SPIES

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER

CHILDHOOD/ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (YOUR CHOICE)

HIGH SCHOOL

OLD AGE HOME/RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

PERCY JACKSON

BABYSITTER

BATTLE ROYALE/HUNGER GAMES

PRISON

PIRATE

CIRCUS/FREAKSHOW

DELIVERY PERSON

FAIRY TALES

PRETEND DATING

HAUNTED HOUSE

HAREM/REVERSE HAREM

MERMAID

MASTER/SLAVE

HOST CLUB

MAFIA

MAGICAL GIRL/BOY

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

[itsniquol]

Animes That Fans Are Still Waiting To See Sequels For

With the recent premiere of the second season of Clone High through HBO’s Max streaming service and Netflix’s second season of the reboot of Bastard!; long suffering fans are finally getting more of the animated shows that they have spent over ten years waiting for. Hopefully streaming services will continue to listen to the people and start doing more reboots and sequels to what fans want to see. Here’s a list of seven other anime shows that anime fans are still waiting to see:

School Rumble

School Rumble is the anime adaptation of the Slice of Life, Romantic-Comedy manga of the same name by Jin Kobayashi. This over 20 episode animated series follows the ditzy but lovable, Tenma Tsukamoto, and the former delinquent who loves her, Kenji Harima. This show was brilliantly written with amazing comedic moments surrounding the typical misunderstandings and awkward moments among teenagers, along with personal revelations. School Rumble was definitely a show that would delight many within the Shoujo or Shonen fan-base, however the ending of the series seemed unfinished and left much to be desired.

Ouran Host Club

Take Hana Kimi and mash it together with Boys Over Flowers, and you get Ouran Host Club. Based off of the 2002-2010 manga by Bisco Hatori, the genderbending reverse harem anime continues to have a dedicated fan base still aching for more episodes. This anime follows the gender non-conforming Haruhi Fujioka who attends a prestigious private school on scholarship, and is forced to pay back a debt working as a host club member. Despite being a comedy this show has compelling character arcs and emotional moments, with positive LGBT+ representation. Since the anime concluded before the manga’s completion there’s definitely still plenty of story to tell and this show could easily follow in the footsteps of FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or Hellsing Ultimate.

Kamisama Kiss

Having an original air date of 2012 this anime is based off the 25 volume long manga series by Julietta Suzuki of the same name. This show followed the recently homeless Tomoe who becomes a minor deity and gets a handsome yet short tempered fox yokai for a servant. This show had a nice concept with many lovable characters in the Supernatural genre with Romantic-Comedic elements to the story. Despite having two seasons, the story’s ending didn’t feel complete and hopefully one day fans can get more.

Utena: Revolutionary Girl

For so many people this 1997 anime was an introduction to the world of anime and manga and is highly regarded for its art style, and LGBT+ and Feminist themes. The anime is based off of the manga written by Chiho Saito of the Magical Girl, Action, and Fantasy genres. This story follows Utena Tenjou, a new girl at school who becomes involved in a secret European-style duel competition for “The Rose Bride.” The bride in question is a quiet and mysterious girl named Anthy Himemiya who is often treated more as a prop and less as a person. Utena fights frequently to defend Anthy yet is sadly betrayed by someone she considered a good friend. The anime ends with Anthy going out to search for Utena but we never know what happens after the fact. Even the anime film adaptation ends with no clear resolution so a reboot or a sequel series to settle people’s questions would be a great form of closure to the old fans while catching the interest of the new ones.

Mermaid Forest

After the success of Inuyasha, Ranma ½, and Urusei Yatsura, Rumiko Takahashi has no shortage of fans who would check out anything with her name attached. Back in the early 2000s there was an anime adaptation of her 1994 manga of the same name. In this anime the show’s two leads, Yuta and Mana, have been given immortality after consuming mermaid flesh which arguably the better of the two possible side effects. For the better part of the series the anime follows these two around during their travels until they run into another, much older immortal, who has developed an amoral personality. Towards the end we never know the fate of the older immortal nor discover if there is any possibility to reverse the side effects of the mermaid flesh. The anime just sorta of ends, so a sequel or reboot would be greatly appreciated.

Nightwalker: The Midnighter Detective

Anime fans who also enjoyed the Buffyverse spin-off Angel could easily adore the original 13 episode show. This late 90s horror-mystery anime follows the bishonen male lead, Shido Tatsuhiko, who fights to protect those from the harm or influence of terrible using vampiric abilities. One of the key figures to his past is the vampire Lord Cain who has semi-obsession with Shido and refuses to accept that he is no longer the killer he used to be and tries to get Shido to come back to him. The last episode ends with Shido experiencing the trauma of having to put down his teenage secretary, Riho Yamazaki, and being kissed by Cain who declares his love for Shido once more before fading away into darkness. This ending would’ve been fantastic as a season one finale but as a show one there just feels like so much that could be told.  

Descendants of Darkness

Based on the still on-going manga Yami no Matsuei, or Descendants of Darkness, this 2000 anime adaption is an excellent blend of mystery, dark fantasy, and supernatural with an extra helping of yaoi. The show’s lead is Asato Tsuzuki, a human turned shinigami who solves cases for the Spirit World alongside the recently murdered turned shinigami Hisoka Kurosaki. This anime did a marvelous job at keeping viewers guessing with different mysteries and entertained with action sequences. The artwork is magnificent as well. At the end of the show Hisoka pulls Asato out of a deep depression and they fight off the show’s overarching villain before concluding. However, since the manga has yet to officially end there’s still room to continue the story and there are many who would be eager to watch.  

[centrally-unplanned]

Anyway, I have been way off the wagon on anime recently - I blame Buffy - so I am catching up! First one was The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You. In this harem comedy our protagonist has accidentally been given 100 soulmates by god, who was distracted watching Laputa: Castle in the Sky while filling out his destiny sheet, and now he has to date all of them or they will die. So he just...does that, and tells them all, and one by one he adds girls to his polycule. Episodes generally alternate between "courtship" episodes where its one-on-one with the new girl, then group bonding episodes where they all hang out together. Its honestly somehow pretty good? The list:

Its very zany, meta, & irreverent. Obviously each girl is a "trope", but they have a lot of fun with them due to the premise. Because everyone instantly falls in love and gets together in one episode, the "will they won't they" tropes don't function, right? They will they'd already! So instead it pits those tropes against the intergroup polycule dynamic for silly shenanigans. Its cute!

My favourite line is when the tsundere chick start's tsun'ing over a homework assignment and one of the girls turns to her and goes "what are you even fighting against in life?" Wrecked.

It has a lot of fun "conceptual" animation bits to express ideas, breaking well outside the box to get those ideas across. If you want to communicate the awkwardness of breaking the ice with a new friend, might as well showcase it with two salarymen descending into a shonen brawl over trying to give the other their business card first, way better than shot/reverse-shot.

It does overstay its welcome on its "bits", hoping to pad length with added jokes that don't have enough to work with since nothing is happening. Like many shows, I could reduce its duration by 25% and lose little, it be that way.

Its "focus on one girl" episodes are inherently less creative, because they have essentially ditched the premise? It does a good job at the trad romantic elements, but I think it would be way more interesting to have the courtships be done by the entire group, and play off that more.

Fanservice is sometimes annoying but its almost always comedic with some payoff. You know the genre, you won't love it, but it won't bother you if you clicked on a show with this title.

For the love of the Oedipal god can the people who make modern anime learn how to draw breasts please? I swear on side profile shots it looks like gravity has been rotated 90 degrees horizontal and pulled their chests into launch position, who wants this?

A lot of the gender & sexuality in anime has been changing recently - I mark it personally to like 2015 or so. Things that were implicit are being made explicit - a lot more characters are canonically queer, increasingly you have characters who are explicitly trans, and relationships have more openly stated consummations & sexual components. All of this is good news, and as a part of that I have slowly noticed explicit polyamory creeping into shows. Harem dynamics always had this handwavy denial of their premises going on, "oh its all tension, the expectation is I will choose a girl from the menu at the end". This tee-hee plausible deniability is just extraneous in the modern era, so you see it falling off slowly. Unlike queer rep I don't think this is too much of a sign of like...growing discontent with obligate monogamy in subculture Japan? But still, its fun to see for what it is, and I do think it reflects a little bit growing openness about how alternative sexualities go beyond niche media consumption in life.

[kimium]

What are some manga you wish got more love and attention?

Thank you for the ask! I have so many manga to talk about. I'm also probably going to date myself with a few of my picks, but that's fine.

Manga that I wish got more love and attention

Phantom Tales of the Night by Matsuri

Without a doubt the first manga on this list is Phantom Tales of the Night. To sum up the story: we follow the Owner of an inn located in the spirit world. Spirits and humans who stumble into the realm of the spirits can stay. The only thing the Owner wants as payment are secrets. However, unlike Yuuko from XXXHolic who is benevolent, the Owner is not. While they aren't outright malicious, the owner is presented as a supernatural being that folktales would tell cautionary stories about. I highly recommend this story if you enjoyed XXXHolic's premise and Japanese foltakes/myths.

Our Dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

This manga is a lovely LGBTQA+ slice of life series where as main protagonist Tasuku Kaname frets over being outed as gay, he meets a mysterious owner of a shop. There, he meets other people of the LGBTQA+ community going through similar dilemmas/problems. Through experiencing and learning more about the others and his identity, Tasuku learns to grows more comfortable with himself.

While the manga can tackle a few heavy topics/experiences from the LGBTQA+ community, the overall warm, slice of life element makes this manga a delightful experience. It's also a short series with four volumes!

Grand Guignol Orchestra by Kaori Yuki

While I could sit here and name every single Kaori Yuki manga I've ever read, I'm picking this one because I think the world building is unique.

In this world, there is this mysterious illness that causes people's skin to slowly harden like porcelain. They then lose their minds and become zombie-like. The only way to counter this and protect yourself is with music. Enter the Lucille and the Grand Orchestra who travels from town to town saving people.

If you haven't read any Kaori Yuki manga, know that she usually tackles dark, almost gothic topics in her manga. While I think this series is tamer than some of her other ones (see: Angel Sanctuary, The Cain Saga/Godchild), you can double check any warnings if you're curious.

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden By Yuu Watase

If you've watched or were into late 90s early 2000s shoujo anime, then you may be familiar with Fushigi Yugi, a reverse harem isekai series. While the original series had more wide spread success, this manga is the prequel. In it, you meet Takiko, the priestess of Genbu and the first one to ever appear.

The first series is near and dear to my heart, but I enjoy Genbu more simply because I feel there is less soap-opera like drama (romantic). There certainly is romance, it is Fushigi Yugi after all, but I felt it took backstage to the challenge of Takihiko finding her seven warriors so she could summon Genbu.

As a last note, you do not need to know anything about the original series to enjoy this one, though there are many fun Easter Eggs and continuity nods present within. I want this series to have more attention so badly because I physically NEED an anime adaptation of it.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP

Now, you may be saying "But CLAMP is super popular!" and you're right. However, their most mainstream successes were Cardcaptor Sakura and Chobits (I think). Yes, Tsubasa (and its sister series XXXHolic) had anime adaptations, they didn't follow the manga/adapt long enough to get to the meat of the series. Even the OVAs only adapted some later parts of the anime and are fragmented.

I hope someday we will have a full reboot... but in the mean time I beg people to read the manga. There is nothing quite like the beautiful, fluid art of CLAMP. I adore their character designs, outfits, and the worlds present within this series. I love all the twists, turns, and characters. I still am not over the Acid Tokyo Arc and the shift in Kurogane and Fai's relationship. I want everyone to experience the full story of Tsubasa so badly it hurts me.

(I suppose in the same vein as this one, I want people to also experience XXXHolic. They are sister series and some story elements near the end assume you've read XXXHolic too.)

Dr. Stone by Riichiro Inagaki and art by Boichi

I love the anime adaptation. It's bizarrely a "comfort" anime for me and has been rewatched multiple times. I think the anime has done an amazing job adapting this series. I also think that the manga's art is stunning. I am in love with Boichi's line work: the weight, the thick/thin tapering, the panelling... it is amazing. I want more people to experience it badly.

The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai and art by Posuka Demizu

In my mind the first season adaptation of this manga is nothing short of a masterpiece. The pacing, the camera angles, the lighting/colour, the sound design are all perfect. It is a shame that the second season (that actually doesn't exist in my heart) completely botched what should have been an anime masterpiece.

If you haven't experienced the manga I cannot encourage you more to read it. The artwork is breathtaking. The pacing and the tension developed in the story left me on the edge of my seat. Some of the best story beats and arcs are locked behind the pages of the manga, waiting for you to explore it. I cannot encourage enough people to go read this manga. Maybe, we can get a reboot and give this series the justice it deserves. Until then, I highly recommend this manga.

And there you have it, friend! I hope you like my list! Let me know what you think!!!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

I don't want to sound rude and hasty but I'm not sure whether you forgot so I'm just gonna put this here. I also added one more part. This is in reference to the girls dom or sub chart.

1. Sakura's a sub? I mean, I know she said "I too have a heart of a woman" and she was legit embarrassed about being girly before but I kinda feel that Sakura was so stoic that she's neither sub or dom. She's just awesome. 2. Aoi kinda strikes me as both sub and dom. She's definitely a dom to Togami in that she's definitely not gonna let him have his way in any regard but at the same time, in terms of all encompassing general-ness, in terms of romance, Aoi is super embarrassed and shy about it. 3. I have no problem with Maki's position. But I do say she has a big soft spot when Kaito's there. 4. Peko should get a second placement just for a joke. In terms of her love of animals, especially Nyahiru, she should be a Super Dom. 5. I kinda feel Sayaka should be normal Dom cuz while I do see her being super flirty and mischievous and teasing to all of her shojo manga harem, I've definitely seen her easily uno reversed by Makoto and Kyoko and she becomes a embarrassed meek mess. Sayaka's a bit weak to sly romantic affection/teasing herself. 6. I know Narumi's a Literal Kid but you sure she's not already a bonafide Bitch? And 7. I might be wrong but I think I don't see Hiyoko on the chart.

//Okay so this is relating back to the sub/dom list I made for the characters, and the original ask you sent got buried in the box somewhere, so I’m gonna answer it here while I have the chance randomly.

Sakura is a sub WILLINGLY. I feel I should have clarified this because Sakura could absolutely be the dom of doms on this list, but it’s less to do with strength and more to do with the fact that she is (usually) a pretty gentle and sweet person. So in this sort of situation, while she COULD take the lead, she’s very much rather go at her partners pace. After all, I feel she’d be pretty used to people finding her intimidating.

This is true, but from the perspective of Hina’s relationship with Byakuya in general, not just romantically or sexually, they are both characters known for being competitive. One thing that makes their dynamic so interesting is they are competitive people, but are two very different kinds of sports. Hina is a friendly athlete who loves the thrill of the game more than the victory, and is in the scene to make friends, live life, and have fun, but Byakuya on the other hand is driven by a strong desire to be on top alone, and isn’t afraid to kick people down to get there. Put them together in this sort of situation, and the end result is…interesting to say the least.

I think it’s safe to say Kaimaki are switches. Kaito and Maki both feel like they would TRY to be doms, but they are very soft with each other, at least more than they are with other people.

I know this is a joke, but I am constantly feeling the need to remind people that Peko likes petting fluffy creatures, and the reason why she is so crazy over them is because they are usually so intimidated by her intense aura that they don’t approach her (and Nyahiru is scared of her for a very similar reason). Peko does not want to FUCK a fluffy animal. She’s a fur-lover, not a furRY.

Okay, you know what? This is fair. Giving it a bit of thought, it’s hilarious because in the Naegibowl, Sayaka is actually all three. She’s a dom for Makoto, a sub for Kyoko, and a switch for Mukuro because Mukuro is normally really shy, but if she decides to take the lead, Sayaka couldn’t fucking do ANYTHING to stop her and her ripped as hell abs.

Okay, yes she is, but I tried not to include the characters who have been stated to be young. At this point, Narumi IS 16, but I didn’t want to chance it.

I’ll have to go back and check, but in case Hiyoko isn’t there, she’s definitely a dom; at least in her current relationship.

-Mod