#yuuko is still so cool...

[agythi]

[nonsensology]

So I've had these Grunkle Stan crackships on my mind for almost a year now. Could be interpreted as platonic, but I think there's great and fascinating potential if interpreted fully romantic. Full musings and explanations below (Warning: very disjointed and random).

Uncle Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures

Maybe Ford and Stan stumble across the Chans on one of their globe-trotting adventures. Both groups fight off the same supernatural threat and surprise each other with their ease and familiarity with the weird and fantastical.

I feel Uncle is kind of a weird in-between of Ford and Stan. He is knowledgeable but not a nerd like Ford, is generally cranky but doesn't get into trouble like Stan does, although he does have a level of disregard towards authority if it gets in the way of his goals. He's quick to do research instead of impulsively charging into a situation.

I think Uncle's dynamic with Stan would be hilarious. They would argue a lot on how to deal with a threat, but once they agree to work together, they could kick ass. Once he gets past his initial annoyance, Stan would probably enjoy Uncle's quips, even more so when he realizes that Uncle does not say them to be funny, he's just naturally snarky.

Uncle is never shown having any romantic interest or relationships, so I kind of headcanon him as ace, but I think it would be really interesting to see what kind of queerplatonic relationship he and Stan could form.

Jade and Mabel would probably hit it off immediately, and while Jade isn't as studious as Dipper, she also has an enthusiasm for the supernatural so she'd probably get along decently with him. She'd also probably think Stan and Ford are super cool, especially considering their lax attitude toward giving children weapons. Though they do still take the kids' safety very seriously.

Jackie is doubtful of Stan, much like he was with Viper, but seeing Stan look out for the kids would probably endear him a little. Ford might also help ease his worries, and maybe they both could have fun discussion about archeology.

I think Tohru and Soos could get along decently, though Tohru would find Soos' eccentric musings odd at first.

Additionally, Uncle's shop is in San Francisco, practically next door to Dipper and Mabel in Piedmont. The kids would easily visit each other every weekend.

Bruno Madrigal from Encanto

Stan has been to prison in Colombia, so I don't think he'd willingly travel there for fun, and Encanto Valley seems relatively closed off from the rest of the world, so I imagine their meeting is accidental, maybe a result of the Stans getting caught in a storm or something. They stay for a while in the valley while repairing their boat.

Stan might initially be outraged at the idea of the Madrigals not charging anyone for the use of their gifts, but perhaps lightens up when he sees how close-knit the community is. He'd still come up with ways they could show off their powers Mystery Shack style, probably butting heads with Alma in the process, lol. He might encourage Bruno to adapt a more showman-like approach to his seer abilities to make it more presentable and less intimidating.

Bruno and Stan connecting over their shared feelings of isolation from family is definitely what drew me to these two together in the first place. If they ever got serious about their relationship, I can imagine the biggest hurdle would be deciding if they should continue a long-distance relationship, since neither is keen on asking the other to be separated from their family.

Yuuko Ichihara from xxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Major spoiler alerts for both series. It's been many years since I've read them, and Tsubasa had so many plot twists that even CLAMP (the writers) admitted they were confused by the end result. I also might be misremembering some details, so bear with me. Factoring in the plotlines for both series and Gravity Falls would make for an incredible AU fanfic that I unfortunately am not qualified to write.

Due to Yuuko's shop being in Tokyo, a whole ocean away from Oregon, I like to imagine some timey-wimey space mumbo jumbo allowing Yuuko and Stan to meet in the dream realm. Maybe at some point, Yuuko's shop would obtain a door connecting it to the Mystery Shack.

Stan and Yuuko both have a mischievous side, though Yuuko is generally more reserved. They could start out as drinking buddies, though I imagine Stan would probably favor a light beer, while Yuuko loves sake.

They also both use aliases (it is never revealed what Yuuko's real name is), but Yuuko would likely be upfront about it. As their relationship progresses, Stan would probably feel comfortable telling Yuuko his real first name, even after she tells him the supernatural dangers of giving your real name.

While Stan scams his customers, he generally sells harmless entertainment and trinkets, whereas Yuuko grants wishes and operates strictly on an equivalent exchange basis. To quote the wiki, "All of Yuuko's customers must pay a price in order to grant their wishes, which can be no more or no less than the one demanded, or else harm will come to one's way. She is not one to tell the customer the most direct way to solve their problems because in the end, it can only be solved with that person's own realization and resolution to change themselves... Her abilities are not unlimited and may almost seem like a curse as it appears that she is unable to do anything for anyone or grant any gift (other than feelings) without it becoming a binding transaction." 

When Stan finds out just how powerful Yuuko is, I think he might react with a mixture of hesitation and awe, especially when she reveals she knows about his past, and Ford being lost in the multiverse. I am on the fence on whether Yuuko would use her powers to bring Ford home sooner, or let Stan continue working on the portal because he's already close to completing it and this would be significant in defeating Bill.

I found that the main villain of Tsubasa, Fei Wang Reed, surprisingly parallels Stan. Both endanger reality to bring back someone who is lost, but while Stan does it out of love and devotion to his family, Fei Wang Reed only did it in an arrogant plan to prove himself a powerful sorcerer. And in Fei's case, the person is already dead. CLAMP's universe establishes that the dead cannot be brought back to life, and Fei's wish to do so would cause the universe to be destroyed. I wonder if Bill would factor Fei as part of his plans.

Stan also surprisingly shares a lot in common with Fai D Fluorite. Both use their twin's name (Fai's real name is Yuui), and for much of the series Fai's tragic backstory regarding his twin is unknown, and he hides his trauma under a laid back exterior. I think Stan would empathize a lot with Fai, after he finds out his backstory.

Kimihiro Watanuki is revealed to have been created to fill a void left by Syaoran after the latter wished to turn back time. I remember Watanuki's character arc involved realizing that people cared about him. "Don't disappear", "Continue existing". Stan would probably take Watanuki under his wing, much like he did with Soos. Watanuki might find life with the Pines family far more chaotic than he's used to, but slowly warm up.

Yuuko is revealed to have died a long time ago and has basically been in magical stasis due to Clow Reed's unintentional wish. When time finally moves forward again, Yuuko eventually passes on. She doesn't return in the canon series, but Watanuki is stated to have also suspended his time to wait for her return. In this AU, maybe she reincarnates in the past and reunites with Stan and the Pines in the present day.

[yoificfinder]

In celebration of women, here are some fics centered around the great women of YOI! Happy international women's day! ♀️✨️

(Don't) Give a Damn by @forochel [T, 9K]

Mari, through the years,

an open door by tripcyclone [G, 8K]

Lilia never wanted children of her own, but caring for Victor gives her a glimpse into the life she chose to pass by.

and your feet will follow by @prinzenhasserin [T, 13K]

Lilia’s relationship with her fellow ballerinas wasn’t usually complicated. Usually, she knew exactly where she stood. Not so with Minako Okukawa who had disappeared from the ballet world some years ago to hide in the dance studio of a backwater town in Japan.

Lilia didn’t care about that, of course. Not at all. She just deserved a vacation, to Japan, incidentally.

another girl in another time by cityboys [G, 11K]

Wouldn’t it be cool if there really is another version of you out there?

Beautiful in Knowing by @val-creative [T, 1K]

Sara knew she was a girl, even if nobody else did or believed her.

She ordered Michele to call her "Lady Sara" from now on. He would roll his eyes and grumble, but never attempt to misgender her. She liked "Sara" — it meant "lady, princess, noblewoman". And she would never go back to her deadname.

if friends were flowers, i'd pick you by windupbirdgirl [G, 4K]

During the first two years of high school, Yuuko finds she barely has time to breathe. The sky seems very far away, the sea even more so. She hasn’t gone to the rink in months.

if love is king, who wears the crown by @crollalanzaa [G, 1K]

“Second is seen as nothing,” Christophe had derided.

“But that moment you glide onto the ice, that hush of the audience, and that expectation, isn’t that worth something?”

“You speak as if you know. You used to skate?"

Past tense. It still stung, even if it was expected.

Minako knows exactly what it's like to be at the top of your game, and she remembers the descent just as clearly.

if she wants me by renaissance [G, 6K]

Hiroko and Minako, then and now.

if the sea has any draw for you by weird_bird [E, 8K]

The first time Mila saw her dance in person, her power funneled down into elegance, the granite of her face transmogrified to marble, she almost gave her the password to her bank account, she’s that good.

kagura by night by seventhstar / @pencilwalla [T, 1K]

The world around her is like the mountains.

A mortal lifespan is narrow; mortals watch the mountain’s unchanging faces, unravaged by the same measure of time that takes a human from dust to dust, and think them immortal in comparison. But stone erodes, just as flesh decays. It just takes longer.

If she watches long enough, everything changes. Languages drift until all the words she learned before are meaningless. Technology changes until she ceases to believe in magic because human ingenuity is more infinite than the stars. What is beautiful, what is polite, what is wrong, what is right—time, given its way, reshapes all.

But Minako’s body remains as it has always been. That’s why she loves to dance, she supposes; it’s the one thing time cannot take from her.

Katsudon by @azriona [G, 8K]

Hiroko doesn’t need to see to coat pork cutlets in egg and panko. She has made this dish for her family for over thirty years; she’ll make it another thirty, if she’s lucky.

Now she makes it for Yuuri and Victor as they fly home from Barcelona, with silver around their necks and gold around their fingers.

keep me steady as we go by orphan_account [G, 3K]

When Isabella stood and crossed the room to where he sat she saw her notebook open in his lap, turned to the last page of their to-do list, all but three items crossed off with less than a month to the wedding date. License. Ceremony. Everything after. She saw the angle of his gaze, too, not on the words but straight ahead, staring blank and glassy and brittle into some invisible place she still wasn’t sure she could follow him to, yet. And yet she had been the one who’d promised to try—and to keep promising, forever and forever.

Kooks by BoxWineConfessions [G, 3K]

Mari clasps her right hand across her left hand and rests them both atop her growing stomach. “I guess you’re just lucky that your father, I mean your other father, my brother-“ Mari giggles. “God, it all sounds so weird, doesn’t it? Do you care? Do you care that we’re all so fucked up and we don’t care at all?” Mari laughs again. It’s all she can do when she hurts this much, and wants a cigarette this much, but can’t stop smiling despite the fact that her body seems to hate her so much. “Well he means the world to me. That’s why I have you.”

Living in the Maybe by @adrianners [T, 6K]

It wasn’t hard to spot a 180cm platinum blond in Fukuoka International Airport. Especially when he was the only person wearing sunglasses. Indoors. At night.

Mari picks Viktor up at the airport when he returns from Moscow. Without Yuuri there to play his usual role of interpreter, they learn to communicate around their linguistic, cultural, and personal barriers.

my better self by @spookyfoot [G, 1K]

Mila's the first friend Yuuri's made in Russia. Technically, Yuuri became friends with Yurio in Hasetsu, but he'd never say that to Yurio's face.

On his first day training in Russia, Mila stole Yuuri from the rink and showed him pictures of Victor and Georgi wearing Spice Girls t-shirts Victor had picked up at a consignment shop during Skate America in 2006, and a video of them skating a synchronized routine to "Stacy's Mom."

"Don't let anyone here intimidate you. I guarantee none of them are scarier than Yura." They watched Victor skate circles around Yuri on the ice, Mila's camera primed for blackmail material—just in case.

_________

Yuuri and some of the women in his life, through the years.

Variations on a Theme by BoxWineConfessions [M, 20K]

Mari doesn't like it when the past and the present overlap so easily. Mari knows the mischievous grin and the burn of eyes that linger too long. They're the trademark of girls who are still figuring out what they want, but want relentlessly. Mari is tired of letting people in, only to have to say goodbye when their vacation is over.

Mila has experienced this before, this knowing little smile that implies that they know something about her body that she doesn’t. It comes across as cocky, and arrogant on men, and gentle with Mari. Mari looks like she's just told her some kind of wonderful secret.

Together, they reshape their expectations.

[atsoraasayoma]

Day One: First Summer:

Story: Goodbye…For Now

Perspective: Hikari Yagami

Characters: Hikari Yagami, Takeru Takaishi, Yuuko Yagami, Natsuko Yagami

Summary: What happens when a misunderstanding reunites you with one of your best buddies from a Digimon Adventure and spirals out of control to a point where both your mom and your friend’s mom are now squaring off to battle? Hikari Yagami is about to find out!

Note: I promised myself I could write a couple paragraph story for Takari Week…Sniff* All of you are so inspiring. I’ll make it one day!

***

Goodbye…For Now.

They say once something is missing from your heart, you will try to fill it with whatever you can. At least that's what one of the soap operas her Mom had watched had explained, Hikari sitting there in her pale yellow shirt and pink shorts. She held her cheeks by her hands, a sniffle of a tear from her mom to the left and a chortle from her Dad to the right sipping on a beer. She sat in-between them, their wavelengths throwing her off.

She had been trying since that fateful day she had said goodbye to her feline digimon friend Gattomon to come up with a solution to the heartache she felt. She couldn't help but be lost in thought, a slight 'meowing' catching her ear, followed shortly by a few paw swipes.

She glanced down at her cat Miko, eager for attention. Hikari felt a bit guilty having been preoccupied with her and not giving enough love to Miko.

"Sorry," she said picking her up, staring her in the eyes, but imagining her as Tailmon for an instant. She nearly dropped her when she realized it wasn't her, Hikari's eyes leaking.

"Hikari dear, whatever's the matter?" her Mom asked.

"Come on, take a seat and tell us about it," her Dad encouraged pausing the show.

"It's nothing," she sniffed wiping her eyes. She then hurried outside the house, the concerns of her parents echoing after her.

She closed the door and leaned on the railing outside her home staring up at the sky. It was still summer. The sun had slightly less fervent heat, and the trees it seemed had started to give into a hint of lower temperature, but still a nice cool breeze felt reassuring that summer would still be here a little while.

She glanced up at the sky, a deep pain in her chest concealing her sobs. She put one clenched fist over her chest and leaned forward her tears leaking down the side.

A muffled shouting sound echoed in her ear as she dared to open her blurry eyes, a greenish clothed boy yelling and shouting towards her. He seemed panicked as if trying to catch her attention.

She listened, squinting down faintly recognizing a certain boy she had not seen for awhile.

"Wait!" the boy shouted, Hikari listening. "You have so much more to live for! Don't do it!"

Hikari realized her position pushed back against the railing with her arms and hurried down the stairs to see him.

"Takerukun?" she questioned relieved, hurrying her footsteps. The closer she got to him the more she could see his kind face, but firmly embedded in concern and a little chastisement.

"Hikarichan?" he said in amazement also running over towards the railing meeting her halfway from the top of the steps. "I had no idea!"

She noticed he seemed as much out of breath as her, the excitement of seeing him again bringing her to a stand still, both of them panting about ready to keel over.

They both sat down on the stairs, the not so blazing sun warming their faces, but for a brief moment a cloud partially gave them relief.

Hikari wanted to say something to him, but, after they all separated and their brothers sort of escorted them their separate ways it seemed a bit awkward, but around him it was still far more comfortable than inside.

She noticed Takeru glanced down at her downcast face. "Is everything all right Hikarichan?" he asked.

"I'm ok," she said swallowing a bit, wanting to conceal her emotions so she wouldn't embarrass herself being seen crying.

Takeru kicked his shoes up a little bit lightly swaying them against the stair back and forth. "You know," he said, "I've seen too many movies like that. Someone gets really sad and then they jump...and that's that," he said. "It's scary. So when I saw you like that I thought no way am I going to let that happen."

Hikari felt her tears dry up and just stared at Takeru comprehending him. He heard before from the others how much the boy would get scared easily and cry, but would do his best. Now, maybe just a little bit he had...become stronger? Maybe more grown up even though he was still the same boy.

"By the way," he said, "Why were you crying?"

Hikari clammed up upon hearing his concern, but not wanting to be vulnerable.

"Come on," Takeru's voice cooed in a soft glowing voice. "You can tell me," he smiled.

Hikari stared transfixed at his calming presence and found herself relaxing a bit more. She took a deep breath and stared up at the sky, resting her palms on the stair.

"It's so...lonely without her," She said.

"Oh? Tailmon, right?"

"Mhm," she affirmed.

Takeru also leaned back resting his head on the back of his hands. "I know what you mean," he said. "I sure miss Patamon. And Yamato won't say anything, but I can tell he really misses Gabumon."

Hikari glanced at the sun still hiding behind the cloud. Maybe Takeru would be able to help her. He seemed like he was ok after everything, though she wasn't quite sure how it might be at home for him.

"How," she hesitated, "How have you made it through these last few months without him?" she asked. "Every day when I wake up I find myself looking for her, but I can never find her."

Takeru lifted himself up and stared ahead, Hikari noticing his eyes firmly focused on the future, the glint of sunlight brightening his eyes into something she couldn't even describe.

"Hikarichan, I know how you feel," he said. He tensed up a bit himself, Hikari curious about his anxiousness. "But, to be honest, I'm...kind of used to it now. It's only because of that I'm still keeping it together."

"You're used to Patamon being gone? Already?" she said, slightly irritated with him, bothered he would say something that insensiti-

"-That's not what I mean," he said frowning looking down at part of an outline of their frames on the staircase. "Sometimes I wonder why I was chosen as the Digidestined with the Crest of Hope. But, when I look back at everything so far I've realized that's all I've had to get me through this far," he said.

"You mean like Myotismon and the Dark Masters?"

He glanced at her, a cheesy grin on his face, but it seemed a bit painful to look at.

"Not exactly," he winced. "It's more like the things I care about the most end up being pulled away from me. Like...My Dad. Yamato. Or Patamon. Or even all of you I met on our adventures in the Digital World," he explained. "And now, once again...Patamon has gone away again."

Hikari listened on, feeling his words as if she herself was experiencing all she had talked about. She placed her hand over her chest again and started to weep looking at him, Takeru with a sad smile on his face, faint tears glistening in the corner of his eyes.

She couldn't help it. Hikari had always been so vulnerable to the emotions of others. Even sometimes she was more impacted by them than her very own. It weirded out some of her classmates, sometimes annoyed her brother, and her parents could only comfort her even though they didn't quite know how.

She closed her eyes embarrassed trying to dry the tears.

"But Hikarichan," Takeru said, "I've learned something very important after all we went through," he said. "All of those goodbyes I've had to say...they weren't goodbyes," he said positively. "They were just...goodbye for now."

Hikari wiped away her tears with her hands, keeping herself together.

"Goodbye for now?" she wondered aloud. "What do you mean for now? We may never...see our partners again," she said trying to keep herself from boiling over with emotion. "So how can-"

"-Hikarichan," Takeru said reaching forward with both hands on her shoulders staring her in the eye, to a point that she couldn't look away. "If we're 'Digidestined' then we are Destined to be with our partners. I just know I'll see Patamon again," he said. "I don't know when or how, but it will happen."

"You just...know?" she asked.

"Mhm," he said. "Like you, Hikarichan"

"Like me?"

"I didn't know I would see you today. But I knew one day I would. I just had that feeling. That belief. Maybe it's because we just, I don't know, it's easy to be around you. So that's why-"

"-Takeru!" a stern voice yelled out as an older woman who Hikari had only seen one maybe twice in her life said stepping forward in a black blouse, conspicuous pearls around her neck. She looked so pretty, a fresh coating of lipstick and her short blonde hair flowing down the sides.

Takeru glanced up at her a bit bewildered. "M-mom?" he said a bit on edge.

Her heels clacked as she overshadowed him in frustration. "I went to get ice cream for the two of us and when I turned back you were gone! I was worried you were kidnapped!"

"But Mom," Takeru protested, "I-"

"I don't want to hear another word young man," she said. "I dropped the ice cream as soon as I lost sight of you. I panicked. Do you know how that made me feel? Do you Takeru?"

Takeru lowered his head, his teeth grit in frustration. Hikari noticed his hand clenched trembling, Takeru being verbally shouted down. That kind boy, with his cheerful smile was now….

...Hikari didn't want to intervene, but seeing Takeru like this, the boy whom she had come to respect, she couldn't just stand by and let this happen to him. Even if it was his own mother.

"Wait!" she shouted, Takeru's mom twitching and glancing at her. "D-don't yell at him!"

"I'm sorry," Takeru's Mom said studying her reaction, "I didn't realize that you were here. You were so quiet little girl I thought you just happened to be standing there."

Hikari stared up at the woman intimidating by her, wondering how she could coldly view other people like that-especially people she didn't know.

She swallowed heavily, remembering how brave her brother was and how brave Takeru had been for her too. In that moment, as if Gattomon was there supporting her, nodding her head, ready to go into battle she felt she could be brave too. She had to!

"I'm," she said, a bit afraid, but not wanting Takeru's mom to get her way. "I-I'm not a stranger!" she shouted. "I-I'm T-Takeru's...friend!" she shouted, her voice echoing out the whole apartment complex, even Takeru's a bit taken by surprise.

"You had a friend all the way out here Takeru?" She asked incredulously. "We moved from here awhile ago. Unless- was this one of the other children that was part of saving the world?"

Takeru seemed like he could breathe again, his voice coming back, daring to speak. "Yes, mom," he said. "That's….Hikarichan." he said, Hikari noticing a bright glint in his eye and a smile returning back to his face.

Takeru's mom seemed to study her even more bending down, her hand on her chin till she was almost level with her.

"My apologies for my rudeness," she said, even though her eyes did not appear sorry at all. "I didn't know my son knew where you lived," he said. "He never said anything before about it so it just kind of threw me off."

"But I didn't know," Takeru said speaking back. "I just saw her and-"

"-You ran away?" she snapped back. "You could have been kind enough to wait and introduce ME," she emphasized. "What would our family think if they found out you ran away just because you saw someone you knew, even though you clearly knew to wait for me. It would give the impression you are disobedient," she said. "And I never raised you to be that way. I-"

Hikari felt scared for a moment, Takeru being cornered again. She had just seen in his smile again, she couldn't let that go away! She had to summon her courage once more! Just one more time!"

She gripped her fists lowered her head and shouted. "He thought I was going to jump off the balcony!" she shouted, her voice echoing out 'jump off the balcony' louder than before, Takeru's Mom stunned by her.

Hikari breathed out heavily, her lungs giving out from all the stress of the moment. She glanced up at Takeru's Mom, Takeru concerned for her, but his Mom a bit on edge shocked by the revelation.

All of a sudden the rushing of footsteps and a shadow appeared above her head, Hikari glancing up, her mouth agape as she couldn't believe her mother had jumped off the balcony to the ground like a protagonist in an anime saving the day.

She landed in front of Hikari, her hair fashioned in a bow, an apron around her waste, Hikari at a loss for words how cool her Mom looked. She appeared headstrong, holding herself up against Takeru's mom both intimidating to look at.

It seemed like there would be a showdown, that is, until her Mom turned towards Hikari, tears leaking down her face and weeping into her shirt. "Oh Hikariiiiii!" she sobbed. "I heard your voice through the window and I thought you were so upset you were going to jump and I couldn't help myself! I'm so glad your all right!"

"M-mommy," she said touched by her emotions. It made Hikari start to get worked up a little bit more too.

"W-wow," Takeru said, Hikari noticing how impressed he was by her. "That was so cool! You're like a super hero lady!"

Hikari's mom smiled, let go of Hikari wiping her eye and walked over to Takeru patting his head. "What a nice young man!" she beamed. "I may not look it, but I was kind of a super hero back in my day. I used to be a volleyball champion!"

"Wow, really?" Takeru said enamored, but Hikari noticed his Mom seemed a bit thrown off her by her.

"And who might you just be?" she asked. "This child's mother?"

Hikari's mom seemed to respond to her just the same. "Oh, I certainly am," she said. "And, just who might you be? His Mother, right?"

"Obviously," she said, her eye judging Hikari's mom a bit, her appearance a bit ragged from being in the kitchen. She scoffed tilting her head away from her.

"Is something wrong with the way I look?" Hikari's Mom asked.

"Obviously," she said, her tone annoyed by her. "What a joke. You hear your own child is going to jump off the balcony, and, like the brutish woman you are jump off instead! This goes beyond common sense! Or any decent way to raise a child!"

"Oh?" her mom grinned with her teeth as if excited by her tone. "I think I've raised my daughter quite well," she said rolling up her shirt sleeves. "But maybe if I was seen yelling at my child in the streets like he had committed a felony, I might agree with you."

Both Hikari and Takeru glanced at their parents a bit nervously, Hikari never seeing anything like their interaction. She noticed one of her vein's pulsing as if Takeru's mom would have an aneurysm.

Her eye twitched feverishly. "You have some nerve," she said. "Do you know just who I am? Do you know what kind of influence the Takaishi family has?"

Hikari's mom grinned her eyes fervent with fighting spirit. "No idea and I don't care," she said her hands on her hips. "But I bet I could take you on."

"You what?" she growled her hand clenched like claw raised as if wanting to squeeze the life out of her.

"You heard me. If you want to go, then let's go!" she shouted, Takeru's mom immediately lashing out and smacking her brushing her cheek, her long nails having scratched her.

Both of them stared at each other, shocked, Hikari's mom grinning. "My turn," she said, her hand turning into a fist and then laying her square in the jaw, Takeru's mom glaring at her wondrously as if she had never been struck before.

"How's that?" she asked.

A bruise welled up on her cheek, Takeru and Hikari both at a loss for words their hands trying to think of ways to calm the situation, but it was useless with their mother's prideful spirit's going at it.

Takeru's mom rubbed her cheek furiously, but she still gave off an intimidating aura. They seemed ready to go at it again for round two, but Hikari with them getting ready to strike each other again if there ever was a time now would be the time to do it.

"Takerukun," Hikari said glancing at him, Takeru immediately glancing back. He looked the same way her as she did at him.

"Hikarichan," he answered back, both of them nodding their heads.

They both ran forward just as their mom's started approaching the other each of them standing in the way of their respective moms.

Hikari closed her eyes shouting stop! Takeru echoing the same words as it felt like the two opposing forces would clash, but instead she felt warmth surround her as she smelled the sweat off her mom wrap around her, her hair following over her.

"Hikari!" She shouted her body bracing for impact. She stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, but, even after all that pressure nothing happened.

Her mom placed her hands on her shoulders and stared at her so tenderly. "Are you ok, Hikari?" she asked, Hikari nodding her head. "I'm ok," she said, relieved that no one had hurt each other seriously.

She turned her head, Takeru's mom also shielding him, a look of concern and worry in her eyes as well. Takeru also seemed cheerful and smiling. The two of them glanced at each other and didn't look away. In fact, Hikari found herself forgetting about her mom for a second and walking over to Takeru both of them standing in front of each other smiling happily, their faces beaming.

The clacking of Takeru's mom's heels caught her attention as she looked at his mom come over in stride, but a bit off, Hikari's mom walking over to them as well.

"I got to say," her mom said, "That was a pretty good smack...for a stuck up snob," she said smiling through her wound.

"Well," Takeru's mom also responded, her lip curved slightly, "You punch quite well...for a barbarian."

The two of them still emitted a fighting spirit, but it seemed a bit more gentle the look in their eyes respectful of each others strengths.

"I don't think I've ever asked anyone this before, but what's your name?" Takeru's mom asked.

"Yuuko. And yours?"

"Natsuko."

They stared at each other some more, Hikari still glad they could prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.

"You know, I think we should apologize to our kids," Yuuko said. "I don't want my Hikari thinking violence is ok."

"A fine idea Yuuko," she said nodding her head.

The two of them exchanged apologies, the conflict finally over, but was it really? The air between them still seemed mutually intense.

"By the way," Yuuko said putting her arm on Takeru's shoulder. "Thank you for watching out for my daughter, Hikari. I'm glad she had you as a friend to watch over her in the Digital World."

Hikari glanced at Takeru's face turning a bit red, a bit frazzled.

"I would never let anything happen to Hikarichan Hikari's' mom!" he exclaimed. "Not even if she jumped!"

Both mothers laughed for a moment, even though the situation was not that funny to Hikari. She couldn't help but giggle with them.

"Oh yes, that's right," Natsuko said, glancing down at Takeru who did not seem so nervous now. "Takeru, I just wanted to say I'm quite proud of you. I know I can be a hard mother sometimes especially after the separation, but this was the first time you stood up to me like this. And you did it for the right reasons. I'm proud of you son."

Takeru looked shocked, but then elated, Hikari not knowing how much more she could smile.

"And I must say," Natsuko said glancing at Hikari, "I'm rather impressed with you too, Hikarichan. It takes courage to shout at someone else's mother like that to protect someone. I know I can be strict with him, but, I would much like it if you could...be my son's friend from now on?"

The look on Natsuko's dignified face softened, Hikari joyful she looked at her that way.

"What are you talking about Mom?" Takeru grinned. "Me and Hikari have already been friends for quite awhile!"

"Oh!" Yuuko said humming to herself.

"You seem so cheerful all of a sudden Yuukosan," Natsuko said.

"It's nothing," Yuuko giggled. "But, I think we should definitely keep in touch," she said. "As the Mothers of the kids who saved the world and all."

"Well, I wouldn't mind," Natsuko said. "Who knows...You might be able to make decent conversation?"

"Decent conversation huh?" Yuuko grinned. "You act all prudish, but I doubt you could hold your own with a bottle."

"A bottle?" she questioned. "You think I, a Takaishi would lose in a drinking brawl, to you Barbarian?" she questioned incredulously.

"Then how about you stop on by and visit for just oooone drink," she challenged.

"Out of the question," Natsuko replied. "For one we have our children present. And two, there is a restaurant I go to that has an excellent selection. Though I'm not quite sure it would be up to your boorish standards," she teased.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Yuuko smiled, both of them laughing confidently in their own strength.

Hikari had lost interest with what they were talking about, both her and Takeru relaxed as if they had just achieved victory against a truly evil Digimon.

"We did it Takerukun!" she said excitedly. "We got them to stop attacking each other!"

"I know! That was great Hikarichan!" he grinned from ear to ear. "Man, you were really something!"

"No, we were really something," Hikari said, not knowing where such confidence had come from. "We make a great team!"

"We make the best team!" Takeru replied back even more energetically. "Thanks, Hikarichan for today," he said calming down. "To be honest I was worried I would never see you again. I mean, I knew I would see you eventually, but I didn't think it would be for a really long time."

Hikari nodded her head. "Me too," she said. "But I know you don't live around here anymore."

"Yeah," Takeru sighed. "I've been moving around with my Mom's work. But, we decided to pay a visit to a relative who lives out here and it was great I could see you, but, at least now that our Mom's are talking we can talk to each other whenever we want!"

"Mhm!" Hikari echoed his sentiment. She felt the intimidating presence from their mothers facing each other behind them again Hikari smiling a bit nervously, but not so fearfully this time.

"Hey, Hikarichan," Takeru whispered into her ear, "Next time we go to the Digital World we should bring our moms. They could beat down even the Dark Masters!"

Hikarichan giggled, a blush appearing on her cheeks, realizing just how comfortable and confident she had become because of him.

The sun had nearly disappeared now, a pleasant soft wind blowing past her Hikari's hair towards him.

She looked at his eyes, dazzled by him. "You were right Takerukun," she said softly. "I know one day I'll see Tailmon again. And I'll see you too. Do you know why?" she asked.

Takeru grinned. "I bet I can say it before you can Hikarichan. On the count of three," he said.

Hikari nodded her head excitedly following his lips as they answered in unison:

"It's not goodbye. It's just goodbye...for now."

[harocat]

ooh, I am torn between "untitled document" and "reverseAU". Please pick one for me!

I only included untitled document because it's funny to me, so it's good you chose two.

This is the whole of untitled document. To this day I have no idea what it is.

'reverse AU' was a classic Yuri on Ice prompt that was essentially just a role reversal of canon. I really liked the way my idea played out, but I sadly never got around to finishing it.

Anyway it's a good chunk of words, and I'm pretty certain I'll never finish, so I'll just put it behind a read more. Yuri on Ice fans come get your food.

-------------------------------

Victor had slipped in after public ice time was over, after the last of the beginner skating lessons were done for the day, and kindly asked Yuuko Nishigori, the young woman who worked at the rink, if he could have some private ice time.

He was surprised when she recognized him, professing that it’s not every day a world-famous figure skater came into their rink out of the blue and asked to skate. Victor didn’t think he was particularly world famous, but he supposed, if you were a skating fan already, he might be recognizable.

“You can use the rink while we’re closing up. That should give you about forty-five minutes? If you want more ice time than that, you’ll have to schedule it with us and pay for it in advance.”

Victor nodded, pleased that the woman spoke English well, because he didn’t know more than the most basic of Japanese.

He was still feeling the effects of jet lag, so once he’d laced up his skates he spent a good ten or so minutes just skating around the rink, orienting himself with the setting and breathing in the crisp cool air of a rink well loved.

And then, he began to skate. It was a program he knew down to his very bones, better than his own programs from that year, which to be honest, considering his last experience in competition, he’d rather forget anyway.

When Yuuri Katsuki skated, it was like he made music with his body. Victor thought that, even if he went out there and skated a program with no music playing, it would hardly make a difference, would hardly diminish its beauty. Yuuri was the music itself; it flowed through him and was expelled from his fingertips, from the silver of his blades flashing and gliding across the ice.

It took Victor’s breath away, but he hardly cared. Even if Victor could no longer breathe, he was sure he could survive on Yuuri’s skating alone; on the serenity of his smile, on the grace and poise he moved with.

If Victor could skate like that, if he could skate even half as well as that, he would be happy. If he could stand on the podium with Yuuri Katsuki, know that Yuuri had watched him skate, had been impressed by it, then it would have all been worth it; the pain in his leg that occasionally still ached to this day, the years of recovery from an injury that could easily have been career ending, the biting commentary and the cynicism the media had had about him; ‘just give up, Victor Nikiforov is over’ for season upon season. The Russian skating federation would rather be done with him, he knew it. There were new stars on the rise; junior world champion Yuri Plisetsky for one. And even Georgi Popovich, his longtime rink mate, had managed a top six finish at worlds in Victor’s absence just days before.

There was no music as he began the program; Yuuri’s program, the one he’d just won his fifth world title with, his fifth grand prix final gold medal. It was the program that Victor skated every single day because he loved skating, and this was the one thing that could remind him of it.

He heard the piano in his head as he skated, listening to the sound of his blades across fresh ice, allowing it to soothe him as he ran through the elements of this ridiculously difficult program that he loved so much. His jumps were coming easily, and he breathed a sigh of relief at that. The tiny amount of pain in his leg, he knew, was because it was still stiff from the plane ride.

Victor knew that even at his best, he lacked Yuuri’s grace. He’d been told growing up, back when he was fresh from his second junior world title, back when he was on the trajectory to shake up the senior world, that he was an excellent all-around skater. But Yuuri, Yuuri was art. It could have been his ballet background, but Victor had known other skaters with a similar background, and none of them moved like Yuuri.

He let the imaginary music carry him through the second half of the program, making the decision to downgrade a quadruple loop into a triple (he’d never managed to master that jump), and closed his eyes as he launched into the step sequence, the element Yuuri was most famous for and the thing Victor was least confident in. It was almost too much for him, Yuuri moved quick as lightning during this part and Victor thought that perhaps, if the music were playing, he may have fallen behind. But…

The last jump was a quadruple flip, and Victor was still amazed at how Yuuri put it at the end of his program, but laboriously, because he was tired, and he was feeling the burn in his chest and his legs, he launched into it, landing it cleanly and with a flourish.

He ended the program, his hand over his chest and his other arm reaching out toward the edge 

of the rink.

For a moment, he closed his eyes, imagining applause, imagining that he’d successfully skated a clean program in competition, and one as difficult as this.

When he opened them, there was no applause, but there was an audience.

Yuuri Katsuki stood at the edge of the rink, his eyes wide behind blue frames and his mouth wide open.

Victor almost fell over, only narrowly stopping himself from falling on his ass in front of Yuuri Katsuki himself. Sure, he knew this was Yuuri’s hometown. That’s why he’d come here. But Yuuri didn’t live in Hasetsu, he trained in Detroit, and how was he—to show up right now, of all times? Victor breathed heavily, exhausted and winded from the skate, as Yuuri made direct eye contact with him.

“You cut your hair,” Yuuri finally spoke, and that was what he’d said? Victor touched the back of his head, feeling the freshly shorn locks. It still felt strange to him. He’d had long hair since he was a preteen, but despite it being a big change, he didn’t think it was that high on the list of things Yuuri would want to comment on at the moment.

“I—I—yes?” Victor finally managed.

Yuuri let out a short laugh, and Victor swore that his cheeks pinked, just a little. “Sorry, I was surprised so I just… said the first thing that came to mind. That was weird.”

Victor felt his nerves, which had been taut as a bow string, loosen at that. “It’s okay. I just wanted a change, I guess.”

“I get that.” Yuuri paused and cleared his throat. “Victor Nikiforov.”

Victor nodded, a smile blooming on his face, because Yuuri had said his name, knew who he was.

“That was my program.” Yuuri’s grip tightened on the edge of the rink, and did he look nervous? He dropped his eyes to the ground. “You’re in my tiny hometown, which no one ever visits, and you’re skating my program?”

Victor grimaced inwardly. When he said it like that, it did sound like Victor was a bit of a weirdo. Victor just nodded, because what could he say now?

Yuuri lifted his hands from the barrier and squeezed them together, as if trying to stop himself from fidgeting. He let out a deep breath. “It was beautiful, Victor.”

He must have imagined the way that Yuuri’s eyes were shining when he lifted his head, must have been seeing things to think they looked like they were glittering with unshed tears.

“T-thank you,” Victor finally managed, breathless. He dared to skate closer to the edge of the rink, closer to Yuuri Katsuki, who was here and real and in front of him and thought he skated beautifully.

But Yuuri’s expression quickly shifted from one of amazement to one of--- irritation; anger? 

Victor wasn’t sure, but his eyes grew wide and he skated a few steps backward.

“Why weren’t you at worlds?” Yuuri asked, and he sounded upset; angry even. It wasn’t like Yakov’s anger when he was shouting, or Yuri Plisetsky’s anger… pretty much all the time. This was something else entirely; anger edged with hurt, frustration, betrayal?

“I-I did badly at nationals and didn’t qualify,” Victor replied, confused. Why was he eliciting this reaction from Yuuri?

“If you’d gone and skated like that, you would have been on the podium!” he raised his voice. “If you’d landed the quad loop, you might have even been able to beat me.”

“I don’t think I---“

“I had no idea you could skate like that! Giacometti is good, but what you just did was,” Yuuri took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, “it was incredible.” 

Victor gulped, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry. “You think so?” he asked, and it was quiet, but there was an edge of excitement to it. 

Yuuri crossed his arms. “Sure, yeah. You would have placed above Chris and Otabek easily.”

“And you?”

Yuuri nodded, and there was something like a spark in his eye. Victor didn’t know what to think of it. “With a little bit of work, yeah.”

“You’re not just saying that because you’re underestimating yourself, are you?” Victor let out a short laugh. He knew from years of experience, of watching interview upon interview and reading every magazine that he could get his hands on, that Yuuri could be modest to a fault. He skated to the edge of the rink, closing the distance between the two of them until he was only a foot or so from Yuuri Katsuki.

It’s not as if it was the first time he’d ever seen him. They’d competed against each other several times before; at worlds, at the Grand Prix final, and at a couple of Grand Prix events throughout the years. But Yuuri was reserved, choosing to surround himself with only a few close friends, and although in general other skaters liked him and found him friendly, he wasn’t close to many of them. Victor had exchanged a few short snatches of conversation with Yuuri, but nothing lengthy, and certainly nothing like this; where it was just the two of them, alone.

“I’m not,” Yuuri replied.

Victor took a deep breath and placed his hands on the barrier of the rink, right next to Yuuri Katsuki. Their fingers were only inches apart, and Victor took a moment to imagine…

“I um, came to Hasetsu because it was your hometown,” Victor began. “After what happened at nationals, skating was difficult for me. But then… I decided to practice with your free skate from this year, and it really helped.”

Yuuri blinked, confused. The rink was so quiet, just the two of them, their breathing, and the fans that kept it cool.

Victor let out a brief shudder.  “My coach, Yakov, thought I was obsessed, but he didn’t understand that this program was what was keeping my skating alive.” His lips quirked up in a small smile. “He told me to take a vacation.”

“So you came to Hasetsu?” Yuuri leveled him a look.

“You’ve always inspired me, Yuuri, from the first time I saw you when I was a child. I thought, if I could visit the place my inspiration found his inspiration, maybe that would help me.” Victor felt his cheeks flush despite himself.

He must have imagined the way Yuuri’s cheeks pinked as well. “I inspire you that much?”

“You don’t think it’s creepy?” Victor let out a nervous laugh.

Yuuri shook his head in the negative. “No. It’s… nice, actually.”

Victor’s face brightened at that, his smile wide and beaming. “Yuuri!”

“But I didn’t expect this, that’s for certain.”

“Well I didn’t expect you to be here. I thought you lived in Detroit.”

Yuuri pushed his glasses up and brushed a stray hair out of his face. “Oh I do, but since Worlds was in Tokyo this year, I decided to come back home afterward for the off season. I just got here, and I have a key to the rink so…” He let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry, I just can’t believe you visited Hasetsu just because I’m from here.”

“And memorized your program,” Victor muttered.

“That too.”

Victor reached up, hesitant, and placed a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. “It shouldn’t be that surprising. Do you have any idea how much you’ve inspired people?”

[sebekzigv0lt]

🍮: hey Sebek, can you TRY to bring your Lord Malleus to Yuu? As he uhm made a Yuuko cried after insulting her, hence why she isn’t saying this… Also wth made Malleus be so aggressive lately?

Yuuko still in the corner

Ooc: YEEE malleus kinda lost his cool

If Lord Malleus sees fit with the words he said I don't see any problem! The human was probably annoying him!

(ooc: WTH did he say???)

[manofmanymons]

Survive cast meeting the cyber sleuth cast you know so far

I am just imagining that Shuuji would have an impossible time looking at Kyoko. He feels like the kinda guy who would feel that if he didn't hold aggressive eye contact the whole time, he would be committing a crime. She would definitely tease him for it.

Also RIP to any of these kids who has a crush on anyone while in her presence cuz she's gonna notice ToT

Repeat of that one wrathful route scene where the kids are trying to pretend that the professor's cooking is fine bc they don't wanna offend him only for Takuma be like EW but this time it's with Kyoko's coffee.

Aiba's just internally like "I haven't endured this coffee for this long for you just to come in here and shamelessly react that way wtf"

I am accusing Shuuji of being an old-person-befriender and getting along with Matayoshi

ALSO I JUST REMEMBERED I have talked with a mutual about how funny it would be to see him and Date interact. I can only imagine him being afraid of her.

Man I don't know if even Minoru can handle how energetic Nokia is. Although she and Aoi are both Defenders of Cute Things so I'm sure they'd get along even if Nokia would probably make Aoi feel a little freaked out at first. She'd get along better with the girls than the boys, that's for sure. I don't think she should be allowed near Ryo and Kaito she would just bully them ToT

Maybe Takuma would be safe.

Remembering how Survive Agumon kept picking up random things and asking if they were food, CS Agumon (and Gabumon) would insist on another food tour (while Nokia casually calls Yuuko and asks her to save her wallet).

Speaking of Yuuko. For one thing I think she would remind Saki a little of Aoi and they would totally get along. I bet Saki would INSIST on her trying Aoi's cooking (she would also help, ofc). Maybe also draft Ryo into helping. For another thing—

Yuugo 🤝 Miyuki

I'm not even gonna elaborate

I feel like I keep accusing Kaito of being a main character magnet but also you can't tell me it wouldn't be fun seeing him and Aiba hang out. The could both cause AND solve so many problems together. Also imagine

Takuma: Isn't that...illegal?

Aiba: I remember when I used to worry about those things...

I think any and all of the Survive cast would have q u e s t i o n s about what having a half-cyber body is like

*points at Miu, Minoru, and Arata* nerd gang nerd gang nerd gang

The question is can Arata cope with having these kids unironically think he's cool jsjdjrj he keeps waiting for the part where they make fun of him for being a dork or say something about his attitude but it just doesn't come and he's like "WHAT is happening right now"

(Meanwhile considering all the time they spent with Shuuji, Ryo, and Kaito, Arata's bad attitude doesn't even register to them)

Minoru @ Arata BUT ALSO Arata @ Minoru (in their heads): holy shit he's like a real life comic character

Totally random other thought but like I'm not saying that Miu would weaponize Nokia's loud nosiness to mess with her brother, but—

I think Fei and Ryo would be friends.

Just remembered Jimiken exists. Aoi would, with 0 offense intended, ask him if he's a Kiss cover band. He would take offense.

Kaito, about Suedou: so that guy definitely looks evil, yeah? And his behavior is kinda suspicious?

Everyone else: I don't know what you're talking about

Kaito: why do I even try

I know I said a similar thing about data squad too but

CS gang: whoa your partners are half of your soul?

Survive gang: whoa so many of you have more than one partner how does that even work?

Both groups I'd imagine would be really fascinated by how the other's version of digimon work. Like it would be genuinely baffling to the Survive kids how anyone could mistake a digimon for a computer program but things really are just Different. And even the cs characters who know digimon are living breathing things might still be surprised by the concept of a fated partner.

Especially Aiba and their million digimon.

(I mean I know you can recruit free digimon in survive but it's not...quite the same)

...Survive kids would totally all be on board with Nokia's digimon defense squad ksjsnd

[anarchic-miscellany]

Terrible Video Game Idea: Persona 6

Terrible Video Game Idea Part 2:

"Persona" but in a shopping mall.

You take on the role of a new employee in the upbeat, snazzy, popular shopping mall erected in the city. It's a well paying job, and you need the money! But something is afoot here, there is a terrible secret going on in the mall. And soon it falls to you to stop it and solve the mystery! Accompanied by the mysterious powers of "Persona" and a few other workers here - you must take on these demons and save the world!

It's not just teenagers, it's adults this time!

Hiro - A spry and confident man at the mobile phone shop, who fancies himself something of a ladies' man. Unfortunately, as handsome as he is, he never got into college, and is stuck in this job. He loves his parents, even though they seem unhappy with his job too, and lives in the shadow of his elder siblings, but is happy to get drunk on the weekends and hang out with his band! You can shake this party animal from his rut and fight evil with him! And with his store, you can get first pick of all the tech which comes through!

Megumi - A clerk at the food court, this was only supposed to be a temporary position to make a little extra cash for her; now the wannabe author is stuck with no prospects and being looked up to by the young student workers as "the older hand". She's not even old! But it's money, and it just about pays bills... She doesn't want to be "responsible", or a killjoy or "the old crone"; she wants to be seen as fun, which she is! But it'll take a lot to shake her out of this preconception of her... And with her store, what better place to stock up on supplies?

Kaito - The security guard was kept out of the police force by his thick glasses, so he had to settle for this. It beats working another job and is the closest he's ever going to get to "fighting injustice" and protecting the innocent like he wanted to do when he was a child, which he still is at heart. He loves walking around feeling like a sheriff in the old West, or a beat cop, and pretends to have a secret identity! But stopping the poor and protecting rich store's stock isn't exactly a noble endeavour, and the kind-hearted man may not be cut out for this... Still! You can up his confidence, help him out and in return he will be a most useful ally in combating darkness! Hell, he even has the keys to the building!

Tomoko - Easily the coolest to many here, she works at the music store! Carefully cultivating a cool, collected and snobby persona as "the classy music snob"; she is actually super-embarrassed by her family's enormous wealth and her status as an heiress to a large fortune. Complicating things further, she actually really likes dorky stuff and music seen as "trash", but must be seen to be cool and "knowledgeable" about music. Can she shake free of her image and find a way to ground herself effectively, whilst discovering who she really wants to be? With the aid of our protagonist and his friends, she probably can!

Takeshi - He used to be somebody. He used to have his own business. Now the businessman is struggling to make ends meet here in the travel agency, an industry he knows nothing about and with strict quotas he is not able to to meet. He watches as those with more money and dreams than he will ever have come in and demand that he make their dreams come true, whilst he struggles to keep his daughter in school and a roof over their heads. His marriage is on the rocks, and he needs a miracle. What he does NOT need is the power of "Persona" to awaken inside of him, but he'll do what he's always done: make fucking do. His store gives you the maps and places to travel in this evil metaverse, don't navigate without it!

Yuuko - A gold medallist in figure skating, once known as "The Golden Swan" for her beauty and grace, now working at the sporting goods store, fitting ice and roller skates to kids and couples. She's constantly noticed and it's seen as a "fall from grace", but she's happy here! There are no pressures, no trappings of celebrity, no parents and coaches pushing her further: just a job she has to do! But she feels as if she should want more, and also: do people only want to befriend her because of her fame? Because they feel sorry for her? Because they want to hook up with the "Golden Swan"? She fears that she is boring and a washout: this adventure will hopefully change that! Her store lets you access the weapons and equipment you'll need to fight evil!

Wataru - The janitor. A grizzled old badass sporting tattoos and a cool beard, rumour has it that the man is a Yakuza. But Wataru is simply one of many lost in the shuffle: a day labourer, cab driver, dock worker and all round blue collar guy; he has shifted from job to job and struggled even to get this one. He's constantly worried about two things: being seen as useless and thus replaced by somebody younger (especially since upper management don't like him; and schoolchildren keep thinking he's a creepy old man or wise old man who has been a janitor all his life as some sort of punishment from the Gods); and word getting out about his sexuality, something most improper... You can hep Wataru kick some ass and show this old dog some new tricks! Plus he's the janitor: he's been everywhere, he can get into anything, and he'll clean up the enemy nicely.

Ai - The absolutely useless and incompetent new girl in the jewellery store, Ai only got this position because her parents are incredibly rich and famous stakeholders in the mall. She comes across as common and vulgar to the customers, and the snobby staff too, and it's gotten her down. She has no idea what she's good at, and knows that everybody thinks of her as "the rich kid who'll never have to work a day in her life", something she is keenly and painfully aware of. She doesn't know what to do, but her heart is in the right place. She has no real friends here until your gang of misfit employees show up, but she's willing to learn! Time to take charge and break free of your shadow Ai! And with her wealth and influence to call upon - she's a perfect addition to your gang!

You'll meet others in your adventures, both staff members of other stores and customers who frequent the place, as you get to know your party and yourself - in the most salary-based Persona game yet!

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (14/05/23)

3 new manga this week wao, busy week for m+ (tho there were more I'm not reading) the one of most note is nue, the last of this WSJ serialization round and the one I was looking forward to the most, despite 2 of the other manga being by fujimaki and the shokugeki duo. sadly it didn't live up to my expectations but I talk about it more under there 👇

also I watched all anime episodes yesterday since mal was down for like 3 days thanks to a brainless hacker, I know I coulda just watched and updated it after it got fixed but I stubbornly like to do things a certain way tehe anyhoo

oh also there was a new chap of strike it rich but because of how comikey works I can't read it for free til there's a new chap in 2 week (yikes) so that's why it's not here, I'll be keeping a lookout for alternative sources for it but until then I'll just have to be behind ugh

green - new series/new to me

Anime

Megumin Ep6

honestly the last or this episode coulda been the last and the anime woulda prob been a lot better, dunno how they're gonna fill 6 more episodes but we'll see. it was cute seeing the backstory of megumin's cape, staff and eyepatch tho

Imas CG: U149 Ep6

very good episode, in every way, voices, character acting, like usual I know ofc ofc. it's funny seeing haru always comparing idol stuff to soccer to make it more relatable to herself while the producer plays along (as he should) while everyone else is flabbergasted. as soon as they were talking about outfits at the start I knew what the ep was gonna be about (and what the solution was) but it was still good. and let me tell you, it was extremely brained for them to have the new LiPPS song as the insert for the anime at the same time as the event for it came out in the game, it's free hype real estate baby.

Mashle Ep6

I was actually pretty impressive with how the fight looked (compared to the rest of the anime) and the addition of him and mash's reflection on the metal (wasn't in the manga I checked) was really cool. it gives me some hope for the future of the anime, not much but some hope.

Pokemon Horizons Ep6

good ep but it's weird as hell just seeing shiny ray in an anime episode. done with the roy introduction arc so things can start moving forward now, tho they still won't be getting to paldea next time. however they did tease that the bocchi voiced character is part of the ship, which is funny cause they always show the damn duck in her videos so it was right there all along, we're just blind fools

Jigokuraku Ep7

nice episode, next one is gonna be The Door and the start of quite a long stretch of action, tho it won't extend to the finale. considering where we are I have a pretty good idea where it'll end (setting off from the cave iykyk). I thought it was pretty funny how they straight up just delete the tensen's nipples instead of using god rays or stuff like that since it'd be too much of a bother during fights, and honestly I much prefer this to making the fights look worse. however they did use god rays to censor mei so that was good. also also when I was reading it I said this, and during the ep I looked it up and they do indeed all have the same seiyuu, one for the female form (kaida yuuko) and another for the male (suwabe junichi), so that's v fun, glad they actually went through with it

Manga

Nue's Exorcist Ch1

MAN, out of the 4 new series, even with fujimaki and the shokugeki duo, this was the series I was the most excited for but if I had to be honest it had the weakest ch1 out of all of them :( it's a real shame. the art is really good, very clean lines and very readable, everything stands out as it should and the designs are good. however, I don't think it did a good enough job at setting up it's premise as the other 3, rn it's basically just the mc going "I want to be strong enough to protect everyone" and I don't think that's enough. we'll see how it goes in the next few chaps, but if something of note doesn't happened in the next handful of chaps I could easily see it suffering the same fate as tokyo demon bride which would be sad. I'll try to keep my hope up anyway, I know I only feel like this cause I had such high expectations for it when I shouldn't but oh well

Blooming Love Ch1 - 3

didn't really have any expectations going in but it's pretty cute art club president meets a craftsman girl, who is trying to get better at art, and becomes captivated by how earnest she is about things art is very nice and clean and the characters are expressive, could be a nice little romance if it can last for some time

Kindergarten WARS Ch1 - 3

jump + title and first indie series to get picked up by m+ it's kinda like an alt universe sakamoto, the premise is "the safest kindergarten in the world" which is protected by criminals trying to earn their freedom it currently has around 30 chaps so it's gonna take a while to catch up even if they do 2 or 3 chaps a week anyway it's good, I was the most surprised by how good the action looks but even outside of that it's good. at the end of chap 2 I was like "I hope the formula isn't always like this or it'll get old fast" but chap 3 was completely different so that got rid of my worries. I can totally see why it's so popular in jp (over 1M views weekly) so looking forward to the extra chaps til we catch up in the coming months

Dandadan Ch105

you know, last chap I was bitching about this flashback arc being a bit too long but that ending was just great, really managed to stick the landing there

One Punch Man Ch182

damn ai strikes again to ruin everything smh but anyway, plot? in opm? what the hell is going on. it do be p interesting tho, wonder if there'll be "s rank" vs s rank hero fights 👀

Saihate Quarter Ch11

chap was nice, if nothing else just for the shounen references, otherwise was mostly just exposition from luci

Tokyo Underworld Ch40

honestly never knew that's how leonidas went so that's neat, decent chap overall anyway, finally learned some stuff about the twins' power and the leonidas fight finally moving along, tho there's still gonna be cao cao after this so still gonna be on this arc for a while

The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins Ch25

damn he really did wake up, kept waiting for it to be like "ahah it looked like he did but he didn't", at least with him up now shouldn't be too long for the end

Fabricant 100 Ch21

ok chap, not much to say, just the start of the final fight

Kill Blue Ch4

nice and action filled chap, with a sprinkling of overall plot too, well see what it does now that this little 2 parter is done but it's been pretty decent so far

Do Retry Ch2

really good ch2, art maintained it's quality, introduced new charas, progressed the plot, did it's job overall. we'll see how it goes in the next few chaps tho, still too early to see if it'll live the initial gauntlet or not

Witch Watch Ch108

god damnit I knew it was too good for it to happen so fast, still it's some progress so it's better than nothing I guess

Blue Box Ch100

I knew there was no way they were gonna meet so fast, especially after they mentioned the sky trip at the beggining but still had some hope argh. karen teasing ayame was good too tho lol, and those pages with taiki reminiscing about past moments with natsu were fitting for a chap100, overall really good chap

Cipher Academy Ch23

chap felt longer than it was, but it makes sense since it's nisio and has so much text. I was worried cause of cipher's continuously low placements, but it doesn't seem to be wrapping up yet so that gives me some hope. tho it could just end suddenly and that'd be wack but we'll see... good chap tho, iroha finally making up with toshusai's other goon and introducing the new conflict and "villains" for the upcoming arc. I really do hope it doesn't get canceled it'd be a shame to lose a nisio series

Spy x Family Ch80

continuation of the plot from last time, nice lil chap, despite how annoying yuri is, but the best part was there being a rare overarching plot related thing at the end, been a while since something like that

Tenmaku Cinema Ch5

nice chap, kurai is cute and next chap should be good too, seeing her really dive into her character and all that. I know I say this every chap but it do be nice to see how passionate and knowledgable tsukuda is about cinema

Mashle Ch155

good action chap with really crazy shots, reminded me of the headmaster fight from a while ago, tho I still think that one was cooler, so far, but hoping this one will surprass it since it's the finale

Undead Unluck Ch158

a fitting chapter for mother's day, not much to say but it was good

Sakamoto Days Ch118

it woulda already been a good chap with how cool this sakamoto scene was but the one with rion and uzuki at the end were good too, great chap. shouldn't be much longer til this flashback arc is over considering what happened at the end

The Elusive Samurai Ch109

really good chap, interested to see where we're going from here since the heroes will have to rebuild their forces quite a bit to go against takauji again I trust matsui tho

Akane-banashi Ch61

I haven't said this in a while but akane is still my favourite series on jump right now. the scene right before this cap gave me goosebumps and I KNEW what was coming that's how it was. goddddddd please, trust me, even if you think you wouldn't like rakugo, or that it's boring, or that it wouldn't fit a manga, just read it. it's so good man

[rikeijo]

Victor as Princess Aurora from The Sleeping Beauty ballet

This probably was brought up in the past, when YoI was ultra popular, but Victor story pre-Hasetsu parallels Princess Aurora's story so well, that if it wasn't intentional, Sayo or Mitsurou was surely possessed by Tchaikovsky's ghost.

In episode 1, after Yuuri met with Yuuko for the first time in 5 years, he starts reminiscing about Yuuko and the time they've spent skating together in Hasetsu. One highlight of Yuuri's memories in that scene is that it was Yuuko who showed him Victor for the first time on TV one day when he was still 11-12 year old.

The directing in that scene though...

First of all, we have a fragment of The Lilac Fairy variation as the music Victor perform his program to. The first thing that came to my mind, when I read that it is there (quite easy to miss if you don't pay too much attention) was that it is such an odd choice of music for Victor's program! It's a very monotonous piece and I'd say it would be most likely quite boring to skate to. It's like the same melody on repeat. In addition to that, Victor skates in the "Eros" costume, which is well, almost all black. Why didn't he choose something a little bit more fitting, e.g. a lilac costume for The Lilac Fairy program? If he skated to Sleeping Beauty medley type of song and the costume represented a different character, then it means the creators still decided to deliberately put The Lilac Fairy fragment in this particular scene...

The way I see it, every time when you watch YoI and there is a moment in the show when your brain goes like "huh? wait a sec..." it means that there is probably something extra hidden there.

So I started to wonder – in the scene we have Yuuko, Yuuri and Victor (Takeshi couldn't care less) and the main characters in Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty ballet are Princess Aurora, Prince Désiré and The Lilac Fairy, who is the godmother to the both of them. So... could it be intentional?

Well, I think so, because it’s just crazy how well it fits if we assume that Victor is Princess Aurora, Yuuri is Prince Désiré and Yuuko is the Lilac Fairy. The seemingly "???" choice of music also makes a lot of sense, if that's case imo, because the real focus of this scene is Yuuko (we see Yuuri's memories of her, after he met her for the first time in 5 years, and when the Lilac Fairy music plays, we are in the room with Yuuko and only see Victor on TV) and this piece, imo, symbolizes her role in the story, as Yuuri's Skating Fairy Godmother.

In the ballet version of The Sleeping Beauty, it's the Lilac Fairy, who tells the prince about a sleeping princess (Act 2. Scene 2. The Vision).

In Yuri!!!, just as the "Lilac Fairy" scene starts, Yuuko stands in front of a TV and tells Yuuri about Victor Nikiforov from Russia : “Victor Nikiforov from Russia just got a gold medal at Junior Worlds! So cool~ (ロシアのヴィクトル･ニキフォロフ世界ジュニア 歴代最高得点で金メダルだって カッコよか〜)".

Victor has just won Junior Worlds, his first international success and the first crucial step on the road to Victor's "love&life"-less life (=the curse put on Aurora) he had before meeting Yuuri. Of course, Victor himself says he has been neglecting his love and life for over 20 years, so since he was younger than 7-years-old and that means most likely since he started training figure skating. However, a prepubescent child's "love and life" and teenager/adult's "love and life" mean something very different, and the focus here is the adult love and life. In the Sleeping Beauty, Aurora was just about to meet her suitors and one of them could become her future husband, but the curse was triggered and she falls asleep without knowing adult "love and live" for 100 years, until her prince wakes her up.

The Lilac Fairy tells Prince Désiré about the Sleeping Princess.

In the ballet version, Lilac Fairy then conjures up for the prince a vision of the sleeping princess dancing, the prince falls in love with her and after the vision disappears, he decides to find her with the Lilac Fairy's help – they travel together through a forest to Aurora's castle...

In Yuri!!!, as Yuuko is gushing over Victor, about how cool he is, she starts jumping in front of the TV and the next thing we see is Yuuri's reaction as he watches a (tele)vision of Victor skating. (Interestingly, we also see Victor in this scene, just before we see how Yuuri is looking at him for the very first time and then goes "Waaa~". And Victor is... “sleeping”, or "falling asleep" perhaps while skating. It's worth keeping in mind that he really skates the Sleeping Beauty story in his program.)

Vision of the Sleeping Princess.

Yuuri, of course, instantly becomes smitten with Victor and so this scene is also the beginning of his dream to one day skate on the same ice as Victor = meet with Victor as his equal – the dream that eventually will lead to the events at the Sochi banquet.

Prince Désiré smitten with the vision of the Sleeping Princess he’s just seen.

Just as we see Prince Désiré travel together with the Lilac Fairy to the castle where Aurora sleeps, we also see Yuuri practicing skating with Yuuko. His goal - become so good at figure skating, that he can meet with Victor one day.

Prince Désiré and the Lilac Fairy on their way to the Sleeping Princess.

Yuuko is also the person who motivates him to achieve his dream. Yuuko: "You really like Victor so much, don't you~ I want to see you and Victor competing together soon." (ホントにヴィクトルのことが好きなんだね〜 勇利くんとヴィクトルが戦ってるとこ早く見たいな).

But...

Eventually Yuuko moved on from the childhood dreams to start a family. I'm sure that it was quite painful for Yuuri, because in a sense, he lost the person that understood him and his passion for skating (and Victor) the best.

Yuuri, on the other hand, didn't gave up on his dream... Eventually, he managed to achieve it: he skated on the same ice as Victor in Sochi and at the banquet he, at last, woke the princess up from the "no love and no life" sleep (...and soon after left him there alone and completely forgot that he met him. Again, it's interesting that in the Perrault's version of the Sleeping Beauty, the prince also leaves that night, after he woke Aurora up, to go back to his castle and she has to wait for his return). Victor of course doesn't just wait - eventually he travels to Hasetsu to be with his prince... Only to find out he was turned into a pig. And so begins Princess Vitya's quest to get his prince back!

No wonder that Yuuri wanted Yuuko, his Lilac Fairy and skating godmother, to see him skating in ep. 1 when he needed to once again get his motivation to skate back - she was the source of his motivation when they were younger, his only companion in this difficult quest to one day get to meet the sleeping princess.

And, yeah, there's actually an illustration of Yuuko as Yuuri's Fairy Skating Godmother in the anime:

Other interesting bits:

In Charles Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty, which is the basis for the ballet version, Aurora is "15 or 16 years old", when she falls asleep. It is very curious that when Yuuri saw Victor for the first time, he was either 15, according to the interview Yuuko has: “Even though he is only 15, he possesses both solid technical skills and artistic expression which entrances the spectators (...)” (15歳にして確かなスケーティング技術と観客を魅了する表現力を兼ね備え(...)) or 16 according to Yuuri: “When I was 12, Victor, who is 4 years older than me, has already been on top of the world.” (僕が12歳の時には４つ上のヴィクトルは世界のトップに立っていた).

The point of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale is to show, that it's better to wait (sleep for 100 years) for the right person to get married rather than get married too soon – Victor surely waited without love for over 20 years for Yuuri to come and find him (...and propose to him. Yuuri ganba–!). Supporters of Freudian psychology, like Bruno Bettelheim in The Uses of Enchantment, believe it’s not so much about marriage but about sex, on the other hand.

The very first time we see Victor in the show in real time (the very first scene in ep 1 is imo just symbolic representation of Yuuri observing Victor throughout the years) Victor is "asleep". This is also one of just two scenes, when we see Victor pre-Sochi banquet. It's hard to see in the show, but thankfully we have Mappa's Select book:

Vitya the Sleeping Beauty in ep 1.

And lastly, the Stammi Vicino program starts with a move which imo can absolutely be described as "waking up" (The first time we see the program in the show is post-banquet and the lyrics, imo, fit too nicely to not be about Sochi banquet too).

Stammi vicino – waking up motion.

Conclusions: Victor really is a Disney Princess (and Makka the cute animal sidekick).

[floorpancakes]

basically in my xxxholic splatoon au doumeki watanuki and himawari are idols but they’re also owarai/standup comedy themed kinda like how shiv from deep cut has rakugo theming.

himawari is the leader that’s a bit more of a singer and gets center privileges

whenever theres a splatfest watanuki unhinges his jaw in an attempt to maul doumeki like a dog and decides he’s the worlds worst person for not sharing his opinion on random topics (he dgaf about himas differing opinions and actually really praises them then gets caught out cause clearly he doesn’t agree with her its literally his job)

yuuko is a greedy koi fish themed ceo (and their idol manager) who replaces mr grizz as the salmon run main pop girl and has forced watanuki to be her latest recruit and put his ass on the line to get salmonid eggs but at one point after a particularly rough shift yuuko rewards him with a cute eel sidekick that can transform into a mega sized eel a la little buddy (mugetsu) to protect him

they have kind of a mix of traditional kimono and western clown themed outfits

watanuki has to rehearse extra hard for splatfest performances so he doesn’t embarrass the audience, but somehow the group have fairly equal individual popularity

watanuki has confusing and kinda enigmatic octoling related baggage and doumeki is winning the octoling idgaf war and comes from a lineage of special octolings w ancient stringer wielder lineage

hima actually has a golden salmonid pet that watanuki brought back from one of his shifts by accident and woke up to find hatched (tanpopo)

their idol group is called fishtsuzen and every single broadcast is at lunchtime so they can use it as an excuse to laze around while eating bento like high schoolers

i cant tell if I wanna do this yet but i wanna do smth cool w himas not a curse curse status like maybe she’s afflicted by fuzzy ooze and has fuzzy hair and everyone thinks it’s just kind of an aesthetic thing

doumeki still has the extra eyeliner octoling thing because its fun

their secret mission is to investigate unexplained paranormal occurrences in defunct octo territory

the mokonas take the place of the judds as the last two test rabbits on earth

yuuko has a personal investment in researching ‘the wishes of mankind’ that she’s allegedly trying to research using her power and influence

watanuki wishes he was just running the food stall but his hands are full with being a caterer for his friends LMAO

im still struggling to think of something kohane could do im not gonna lie but i feel like there’s potential

marumoro are in charge of gachapons in the lobby and yuuco respectively and are undergoing customer service training to come off as ‘less spooky’

considering having yuuko actually be a reincarnated human/yuukos soul way past human extinction which is why she’s being kinda shady and knows some shit totally separate from sea creature society

yuuco is laid out like the shop so when salmon runners go for job interviews they walk in assuming it will be a laid back swanky career choice. then they come head to head with a steel eel and minimum wage

doumeki has been asked to model for like ten different brands but he usually drags tanuki and or hima to come with because it is boring otherwise. this has basically made any prospective doumeki schedule a package deal because he is easily bored and easily entertained and ironically actually benefitted all of them in their collective rise to fame

himawari has a special interest in the darker side of stuff like the fall of humanity and the nuclear fallout partly cause she's just a bright girl into dark things and partly because shes kinda projecting

haruka turns up in watanukis dreams still but instead of a hot octoling gilf sometimes he shows up as crispy little guy with beady eyes like captain cuttlefish and it scares the shit out of him

noone knows what yuuko is actually smoking like is it crushed up salmon vape is it the blended ink of her enemies who knows!!

watanuki makes special splatfest themed snacks which are passed onto different shops to mass produce as gentei sweets but doumeki refuses to eat anything but the OGs (a classic) he once turned down a CM cause he was presented with snacks from the store and lost interest and dipped

group unofficially formed as the weird kids at high school, was put through the wringer as paranormal investigators and the whole idol activities came later (himas idea yuuko immediately sniped them)

yep that's right their Thing is splat idols is part time paranormal investigators ....the story mode would eat

yuuko has a mysterious storehouse of human artifacts and seems to be the only one that knows their original usage , usually she sells stuff she doesn't need and it gets snapped up by weapon development researchers and scrapper types, she has a long list of IOUs from various people and hands in many pots

watanuki gets agitated when he misses a spot in turf war and sometimes feels the need to clean up other teammates ink until it is tidy this is his fatal flaw sometimes he doesnt even just do this for turf war and its like rainmaker or something

he needs doumeki to not constantly die (in splatoon this time) bcs that fucker has a mean aim

doumeki watanuki dating scandal is attempted by a squid tabloid but it doesn't work cause everyone assumed they were already dating this entire time, this sends watanuki into a spiral because apparently they weren't actually dating yet but that issue is swiftly rectified 🫶

tanuki has a rly strong reaction to fuzzy ooze (uh oh) but doumeki can still counter it bcs of his lineage we love consistency

they have a big circus tent performance during splatfests and you get to go in the big tent to see them sing/banter/eat food/mess around as a treat

[meimi-haneoka]

CLAMP SPACE report – MARCH 27th, 2022

Relevant and interesting stuff they talked about today, under the cut! There's a bit of Holic, a bit of Tokyo Babylon, a bit of CCS. As usual, I'm not a native English speaker, some stuff might sound weird, blah blah blah~

The Clamp Premium Collection (CPC onwards) edition for Holic is about to reach its end and they pointed out how, ever since the story enters the Rou arc, Yuuko isn't on the cover anymore, and there's Watanuki instead. They warmly suggested to look forward to the last cover because of a "very sexy" Watanuki 🤭 Talking about Watanuki, they discussed about glasses and their shape. The round shape reminds them of Shoufukutei Tsurube II, a Japanese comedian. Round glasses also give to Nekoi the feeling of someone who wants to appear kind. It seems Nekoi had a bit of trouble drawing Watanuki's glasses and resorted to use a template in Photoshop. Regarding Clow, it seems Ohkawa gave Mokona the indication to draw him with round glasses, since it seems she had that idea after seeing a pair of round glasses reminiscent of the Showa era in a store. They commented they give him a suspicious look 🤣 Clow's glasses ended up giving him a bit of a different feel than the intellectual, artistic feel that round glasses give to Ohkawa. She commented that to her, Clow is a light, playful character, and someone who's likely to ruin himself financially for the extravagance in food 🤣

Then, they started to talk about the next work that will be featured in the CPC edition, which is going to be Tokyo Babylon! The release will be 7 volumes in total, like the original edition, and each volume will come with a bonus that will be different from that of Holic (it was a postcard). Volume 1 will feature Subaru alone. The edition will be basically the same as the old one, only with a different cover and maybe some difference in the color pages at the beginning of the chapters. Mokona said she's happy to draw again the TB characters after long time, and she's currently drawing the draft for the first cover. She can't show it to anyone, but she has discussed with Ohkawa a lot about it. Since the original covers of TB were already featuring a single color tone per cover, the old and the new edition will end up being very similar between eachother. Clamp worried a lot about whether they should get closer to the old art style or go for something more contemporary. Mokona is of the "more contemporary" opinion, since she wants to dress the characters in more "sporty" and "hip hop" contemporary outfits. Ohkawa said that the first cover will be a good example of how CLAMP think about TB right now, art-wise, and she'll be happy if the fans can still recognize the characters of the old work in it. The fans, during the Space, were diligent in reminding CLAMP of the importance of the width of Seishirou's shoulders 🤣 Mokona's current art style is more proportional, but they're aware of the "strong feel" the fans wish Seishirou to have through that shoulder width. Mokona also said that the outfits will be created with a "unisex motif" in mind, and that she wants to draw Subaru as a "bishounen" and Hokuto as a "bishoujo" 😁

Regarding the CPC covers, they want all the covers to "tell a story", mostly through the uniform colors and the characters drawn in a cool way. They only allowed the "smoke" for Holic, which is its distinctive element. For Holic's covers they had a rule: a character is featured on the cover only after they appeared in the story. So, a character that appeared in vol. 14 would be featured on the cover of vol. 15. This is where the first Space ended, but then they started a second one right after.

In the second one, the interesting bits were: The reason why Mokona chose "Mokona" as a nickname is because the child of a friend of Ohkawa used to laugh a lot at the word "mokona". It's easy to pronounce and seems like it can make you happy just by saying it. "Apapa" (former part of Mokona's nickname) came from the heroine of Blizzard Princess, a manga of the 80's by Wayu Suzumiya, who used to have the habit to finish her sentences with "apapa!". Nekoi's former "Mikku" name came instead from the cat of Asuka-chan, the main character of "Choushoujo Asuka" (manga by Shinji Wada) and not from Mick Jagger, as we all know. 🤣 Satsuki’s name came from an original character, instead.

Since last time a fan asked them what represents a moment of happiness for them, and Ohkawa in the end didn't get to reply, the same fan asked them once again the same question. Mokona says that getting under the futon with a hot water bottle feels definitely “different”, so that's probably a moment of happiness for her. Or when she feels like smiling while looking at a cute photo that she took herself, or being able to do things however she likes. Ohkawa said that she doesn't have one in particular. She's happy to meet with the other Clamp members everyday. "If my 3 princesses are happy, I am happy too" and she can tell their mood of the day by the way they call her ❤️ Nekoi said “I feel like you’re making fun of us” and Ohkawa reiterated that she was sincere 🤣🤣 She thinks when the people you love are happy, that's the best thing. She’s not a greedy person, so those rare times in which she desires something and she can't obtain it, that's a moment that makes her unhappy.

Mokona pointed out that the fans were saying that she’s very Tomoyo-like, but she was quick to deny it, saying that Tomoyo is far more “noble” than her. For being an elementary schooler and having that kind of mentality, Tomoyo is far more amazing. The way she says “I’m happy if the people I love are happy” is a bit different from Tomoyo’s. Ohkawa clearly stated that when Tomoyo says that, it doesn’t mean that she gave up on her love for Sakura. When she realized that Sakura’s “like” wasn’t the same as hers, she looked inside herself and saw that at that point in life, giving priority to Sakura’s happiness wasn’t just a noble gesture, but simply the correct answer for herself. Ohkawa said that surely, even in the future, Sakura’s “most important thing” won’t change, but Tomoyo will never try to “do something” about it (like acting in a mean way or wish for her to break up with Syaoran), she will always put Sakura’s smile first, while retaining a sense of self-worth. Ohkawa pointed out that she’s different from her, because she had no qualms in making Mokona suffer with the Tokyo Babylon ending.🤣

A fan asked if there’s a specific reason why Sakura’s birthday is on April 1st. Mokona replied to this: it seems the fact you can enter school one year in advance if you’re born on April 1st had a factor in it (since Sakura is a hayaumare baby, a child born between January 1st and April 1st), and Sakura finds herself right on that “border”. Ohkawa didn’t understand quite well so Mokona tried to explain it better. By the Japanese law, you can enroll a child to the first year of elementary school if they’re born within March 31st, and a child born on April 1st becomes legally 6 years old on the day before at midnight, so even children born on April 1st can enroll in school in advance. At that point, Ohkawa understood and recognized the hayaumare “condition” of Sakura-chan. Also, because of this, Sakura-chan doesn’t get to celebrate her birthday (supposedly at school with classmates) so this is also the reason why we never got a “birthday chapter” in the story…or so Mokona thought, but Ohkawa interrupted her, saying “No, that’s wrong, that’s not the reason why we don’t celebrate Sakura’s birthday in the story, and I would have a lot to say about it”, but apparently didn’t disclose it clearly 😅

During the second Space, a fan asked about what kind of shoes Momo (true form) wears under her dress, but since she never exposed her feet till now, Mokona hasn’t thought about it yet 😅🤣 she said that she will probably put high-heels on her when and if the moment to show them will come, so when Ohkawa will tell her to draw them, she will think about it. Sadly, they commented “there’s no anime, so there was no need to think about it”. Which is reminding us once again how there is no Season 2 in sight, since otherwise they would need to provide that kind of information to the anime staff.

Someone also mentioned the Line stickers that appear in the second ending of the Clear Card anime, and everyone agreed that it’d be good if they really existed! 😊

I remember earlier in the Space someone also pointed out that CLAMP often get told that Shori Sato of Sexy Zone looks like Syaoran 🤣

The Space ended with CLAMP (minus Satsuki, who fell asleep at the beginning of the second Space) saying that they probably won’t be doing anything special on April 1st since they’re quite busy, but there are many announcements in store for us on that day, so they hope we can look forward to them!

[bokura-no-digital-world]

Takari Week 2022 - Day 6: Shopping Date

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Title: Baby Bottles, Pacifiers and Everything in Between Characters: Takeru Takaishi, Hikari Yagami, Patamon, Tailmon, Taichi Yagami, Yamato Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Yuuko Yagami, Susumu Yagami and Natsuko Takaishi. Summary: Hikari and Takeru go buy things for their unborn baby for the first time and reveal they're expecting to their families. Note: For Takari week, I decided to do something different. All stories will be told in first person, from both Takeru and Hikari's POVs in the same story. It will be separated to make it easier, though. The cool wind breeze messed my hair as I leaned against the balcony, but I didn't mind at all. Grateful was all that I was feeling at that moment. I had my own apartment, the most amazing wife ever and a great job. I would say my life was perfect, but I'd be lying. It would be in a few months, though. "There you are." Hikari's voice echoed around me and I couldn't help but smile at the sound of it as I lowered my head a little. Then I turned around and found her standing by the door that separates our living room from our balcony. "What are you doing here?" "I was waiting for you, actually." I approached her and kissed her in the cheek, while resting my hand on her belly. "Well, I'm ready to go now." "Great." I reached for her hand and then we walked out of our apartment, with Patamon in his usual spot over my head and Tailmon right beside Hikari.

Hikari and I have been married for about two years now. We were engaged for only one year, since we didn't want to spend a long time like that. After the wedding ceremony, she decided she would grow her hair and it was already a little below her shoulders. I think she looks stunning, though I love her short hair too. She said it was the beginning of a new phase of her life and I couldn't agree more with her.

About two months ago, she told me she had something to say to me. Looking back now, I find it hard to believe she managed to stay so serious at that moment, especially because it was a moment of happiness. At first, I was alarmed because that was a side of Hikari that hardly ever comes to the surface, but then she gave me the brightest smile and I knew it was just a façade. She sat down beside me on the bed and handed me a pregnancy test. Our initial reaction was to be shocked and a little nervous and worried. Not because we didn't want to have children at some point, but it wasn't something that we were planning to so soon. But the happiness and excitement quickly replaced it and we assured each other we could do it together. And here we are now. "You seem quiet today." Her voice brought me back from my trance. "Are you sure everything is fine?" "Yes, I'm sure." I reassured her with a grin. "I was just thinking about the day you told me you were pregnant." "Oh." She looked down to her stomach, which was starting to show. "I felt so many things that day. Now I just feel… whole, complete. I don't know if it makes sense or if you feel the same, but…" "I do." I interrupted her, still smiling. "It makes total sense to me." "I'm sure you two will be great parents." Patamon spoke above me and I looked up at him. "I hope so." Hikari's tone was a little worried, so I squeezed her hand a little, in a comforting way. "I know it's scary because we don't know how to take care of a child, but we can do this." "You know what?" She smiled at me. "You're right. We will learn how to be parents together. I wouldn't want to go through this with anyone else." "Me either." I put my arm around her shoulders as we walked out of the elevator.

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[annebrontesrequiem]

As a treat, for fandom ask, how about xxxholic (or clamp in general if some questions don't fit)

Since I already did xxxHolic I'll do CLAMP this time around! And you're absolutely right, this is a treat I love all excuses to ramble on about my interests.

The first character I first fell in love with:

Like I said for the xxxHolic ask 110% Yuuko. I cannot say enough how much I absolutely adore her. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Lol. Both Kurogane and Fai (but especially Kurogane). Let me explain myself so I don't give anyone a heart attack. Basically I heard so much hype around them before I read TRC my brain went full "oh they're going to be overrated" mode. This is anyone's fault besides the people who forced me to read some terrible YA romance novels in middle school, but it's still the truth.

But oh my god I love these too idiot dads so much, there are no words! I can see why these are people's favorite characters they are just so... so! They're just so much I love I would do anything to make these idiots happy, they are the dads I wish I had and they deserve happiness and each other. Kurogane especially, his character archetype is not my favorite at all but honestly he's one of my favorite CLAMP characters.

The other person is Yue. I remember being so irritated by him when I first watched CCS I called him "an elitist bourgeois asshat" in one of my liveblogs lol. Well he may still be an elitist asshat, but he's definitely grown on me. I don't like tsunderes, but he can be a good character, as a treat. (He's also super pretty, uses a bow, and symbolizes the moon so he was going to grow on me eventually inevitably). The character everyone else loves that I don’t:

Does anyone like Clow Reed? If they do welp. Clow Reed I will fight you in the back of a Denny's parking lot and I will win out of pure rage.

Same goes for Taishakuten I will also be fighting you in the back of the Denny's parking lot. Cool motive, still murder. There is no explaining away what you did to Karyoubinga. The character I love that everyone else hates:

Are there any CLAMP characters people hate besides the creepy ones (who deserve hate looking at you teacher from CCS)?

Maybe Bishamonten from RG Veda? Look I know he has like ten lines and is a war criminal but he also simps for his wife so like... it's fine (he still pissed me off in the beginning of course just, I appreciate a man who respects his wife). The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

Kendappa. I know, I know, we love some sapphic representation, but honestly by the end of RG Veda she really grated on me. I just felt like her character motivations really fell apart, and at the end she sort of just became useful for a plot twist and nothing more. It really frustrated me, and I just found I couldn't love her as much as I did throughout the rest of the series.

Like, it's fine if she's attracted to power but then why did you do what you did with Souma? It just doesn't make sense, it felt like you could have done a much better job writing it. I'm getting heated about this again I need to move on lol. The character I would totally smooch:

Yuuko, of course. Also Hisui if Kokuyo didn't immediately murder me. The character I’d want to be like:

I would not only smooch Hisui I would ask them to teach me their ways. I wish I were as confident in what I want and as willing to let go of a constricting environment as they were. The character I’d slap:

Clow Reed, Fay Wang Reed, Taishakuten, Kendappa, all the creepy ones, the list is very long lol. A pairing that I love:

Hisui x Kokuyo is my second favorite CLAMP ship (my first is from xxxHolic and I already explained). They're just so devoted to each other, and so content despite everything going on around them. I just really love their dynamic and their backstory is dramatic and romantic and just, yeah!

Also Yukito x Touya because, I mean, how could I not?

Also Tomoyo x Sakura, let's go lesbians. A pairing that I despise:

Yasha x Ashura in a romantic sense is really weird to me. Please no.

Also I'm sorry Clow but Yuuko is in fact too good for you, and even if you are canonically in love with her and she in love with you, no <3

I hope I didn't forget anything. I'm sure this will change after reading all of CLAMP's works, but for now I think this is pretty comprehensive!

[jippy-kandi]

Digimon Adventure: 2020 – Episode 66: The Last Miracle, The Last Power (Review)

Thoughts on the sixty-sixth episode of the Digimon Adventure reboot series.

We’re finally at the penultimate episode! YAY! \o/

That close-up of Negamon’s eye opening looked like the Demogorgon’s face opening from Stranger Things, lol. (Watch that show! Nancy and Steve are uwu) Negamon/his eye is still so comical to me. :P

And . . . we’re ripping off Our War Game again (+ Apocalymon later)! Great. :P Nah, I don’t mind at all TBH, lol.

Mimi: “Papa, Mama, Grandpa . . .” Nice of Mimi to remind us that they actually have family they care about (and who, in turn, should care about them), lol. This is actually a huge gaping hole that the series has chosen to sweep aside for 99% of the time, at its own detriment . . . Where is a shot of Yuuko Yagami being a mess at her missing kids suddenly fighting in a battle for Earth? I miss when things actually felt like they mattered (more) and there were high stakes. OG Adventure is crying. ;_;

Sora: “We’ll take the tentacles!” Yamato: “We’ll . . .” Taichi: “Keep charging ahead!” In case you forgot who are the actual stars in this series - and who are just guest starring. Toei’s got you! uwu

Mimi being audibly cold when Vikemon did his Arctic Blizzard attack was nice, lol. These neat little Mimi side moments are definitely part of the highlights of this reboot. I wish all the characters had these. <3

It was nice to see all the Megas do their bit, even if it really was just the absolute bare minimum. In a perfect world, Toei would figure out how to give screentime (fairly) equally to the main cast . . . but alas. This is all we get. I still appreciated it, though.

Negamon’s evolution, Abbadomon, is . . . very underwhelming. He looks like a Pacman with film strips, lol. And when he evolved, the animation took a turn? Like it suddenly went into old black-and-white TV land. The music felt super old school, too. I kinda dug it, though? But, I must say, Abbadomon is a lot less intimidating than Millenniumon . . .

So we get all these shots of people in the real world watching the battle . . . and not a single 02 cameo, lol. Toei! COME ON! It would’ve been pretty damn neat! And super easy to do? :P They could’ve just looked similar to Ken and co., lol.

I really liked the second half where the existence of “the other four” (Sora, Mimi, Jou and Koushirou) were eaten by Abbadomon. It was so eerie and it actually had the characters, you know, talk! Damn, I miss that. I miss characters being actual people. :P

Sora: “Taichi . . . Yamato . . .” Why yes, I did appreciate this. Why? Take a wild guess. uwu

The light of hope stuff is, again, obviously inspired by the OG - and is actually fine. :P And while “the other four” are obviously not on the frontlines of the battle, I think their part was great TBH - it worked for me. I prefer these moments more than just attack, attack, attack. :P

Plus, they had a nice evolution montage thing where they all spoke with their Digimon partners. Screentime at last! uwu

There was a surprising Devimon and SkullKnightmon cameo that I dug quite a bit, lol.

And what we’ve all been waiting for - even though he appeared almost immediately at the beginning of the series: Omegamon! His evolution sequence was super cool - and, well, Omegamon himself is just a freakin’ badarse. uwu GET HYPE!

Overall, I actually quite enjoyed it. A solid penultimate episode - and honestly better than expected from this reboot, lmao. Sure, they’re borrowing heavily from the OG - but at least it was done competently. I have (almost) no qualms about this specific retelling. :P

Next episode: THE FINAL ONE! Climax and resolution in 20 minutes, lol.

But the end of this series will be very bittersweet for me . . .

See you then.

;_;

[maxiemumdamage]

And now we’re on to Episode Four!!

Yuuri: “He said I can pay his coaching fees later-“

My Mom: “you can pay him in dick!”

Y’all can imagine how horrified I was to hear my mother say that but like. She wasn’t exactly WRONG.

She got really sad at the Celestino scene, she really is invested in Yuuri’s success and happiness! She didn’t like Viktor getting possessive about it though.

She seems to like Yuuko and Yurio’s little friendship!

And she laughs about Mila’s lift shenanigans, which was definitely fun. Cause I LOVE her.

(About Yakov) “He looks like the Monster in Young Frankenstein. It bothers me.”

There is we a great deal of side eyeing at Lilia and Yurio’s conversation, but she did have a good laugh at the bit with Yakov at the end.

(About the Nishigori triplets) “Each of those little monsters has a different hair style.” “It’s so their parents can tell them apart.”

She thinks Lilia sounds like “that one lady from the Owl House, the old one.” “Eda?” “Yeah, her!”

(Kind of surprising considering we’re watching it in Japanese and she’s only heard Eda in English, but also kind of cool.)

No verbal comments, but a lot of head shaking at Viktor and Yuuri’s conversation on the beach.

My mom does know some stuff about skating, but she still seems to appreciate the explanations of scoring and competitions throughout.

She really likes the cutting-between-Yuris during the skating montage.

“But why is it his last season if he’s only 23?” “You’ll see.”

Overall she seemed to like this one — the actual skating is mostly what she’s invested in, so I think she’ll love the actual competitions. Which we’ll be starting on soon! I can’t wait for her to meet my son Minami…

Anywho. Mixed reaction, she still doesn’t seem sold on Viktuuri but DOES like the show as a whole.