#zenyuki-festival

[zenyuki-festival]

ZenYuki Week 2024

ZenYuki Week 2024 will be June 9th through June 15th! This year, we went with more of a flower theme, to which you may create things inspired off of the flower meanings or inspired in any way off the flowers for each day! We also decided to do something new this year and add audience participation prompts! Anyone can participate with the audience participation prompts, even if you created something already for that day or are not creating something for any reason. It is just an added fun way you can participate! The bonus audience prompt is either for the day after the event or for answering any day of the event you would like to.

The prompts are down below, and the audience prompts are at the bottom of the post.

Day 1: Rose

Day 2: Lily

Day 3: Chrysanthemum

Day 4: Yura Shigure

Day 5: Phostyrias

Day 6: Wisteria

Day 7: Bouquet

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Appreciation Prompts:

Day 1: Pick a flower and its meaning that you feel most represents ZenYuki.

Day 2: What is your most favorite ZenYuki moment?

Day 3: Show us a picture of flower(s) or garden that you'd think ZenYuki would have, or show a picture of one from an anime or manga.

Day 4: What makes them work as a couple?

Day 5: What are their strengths as a couple? What are their weaknesses as a couple?

Day 6: Is there anything you would add or change about their relationship?

Day 7: If Sorata-sensei had given you the power to choose one scene or moment ZenYuki could have in a future chapter, what would it be?

Bonus: Free Day! Share anything you'd like about ZenYuki!

[nokaru]

ZenYuki Week 2024 | moodboard | Day 6: Wisteria @zenyuki-festival

[airahscorner]

Zenyuki week day 7

@zenyuki-festival

Bouquet

Zenyuki chapter 73 cover colored 🌸❣️💛💓🩵🌼

"The sky connects us" 💙🌼🏵❣️❄️🍎💚

This took me a long time like 10 hours and 7 minutes 🫨😳

I actually did this to celebrate 🥳 The announcement of a new chapter!!!!

Hope it's to your liking 😃 😁

[batgirlsay]

Shining Summer Memories

Playlist for Zenyuki Week 2023 by @zenyuki-festival

Glad my Zenyuki playlist draft had songs to fit this year’s prompts! Arranged the songs in order of the daily prompts (and surprisingly “Ordinary” was the only one that was a bit of a stretch... but I love the new orchestra version too much not to use!). Also thanks to @soya-ix for the Taylor song inspiration 😊

Shining Summer Memories

Sweet Nothing- Taylor Swift (Day One: Fireflies)  The Ballad of Laura and Mike- Matt Pond PA (Day Two: Park)  Ordinary (Revolving Doors Version)- Copeland (Day Three: Barbeque)  Snow On The Beach- Taylor Swift (Day Four: Constellations) Dancing with Our Hands Tied- Taylor Swift (Day Five: Warmth) There Cannot Be a Close Second- Copeland (Day Six: Festival/Fireworks)

Summary lyrics and daily prompts are cited after the cut:

Sweet Nothing- Taylor Swift (Day One: Fireflies)

I spy with my little tired eye Tiny as a firefly A pebble that we picked up last July Down deep inside your pocket We almost forgot it

You say, "What a mind" This happens all the time

And the voices that implore, "You should be doing more" To you, I can admit that I'm just too soft for all of it

All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing

The Ballad of Laura and Mike- Matt Pond PA (Day Two: Park)

Would you promise to try not to die? That’s the only fear of mine There could be more but I want people to hear you Singing bout the stains in the fire

I’m good at worrying When you’re gone out west The garden’s doing fine The rabbits are my friends

I think I believe in you more than I believe in myself

Ordinary- Copeland (Day Three: Barbeque- this theme is a bit of a stretch but it reminds me of them sharing everyday meals together)

Today was fine I woke up late like I always do Made work just in the nick of time And thought of you And when I returned I found you just like I always do Waiting for me like you always are

Since you came along My days are ordinary We laugh just like yesterday And I kiss you like the day before And I hold you just like ordinary Perhaps when the day is new We'll find tomorrow is just ordinary too

Tomorrow came and my shadow it was growing long I came home to find you singing songs Just the same And today it seems You're smiling like you always are Everyday it's the same old thing

Snow On The Beach- Taylor Swift (Day Four: Constellations)

One night, a few moons ago I saw flecks of what could've been lights But it might just have been you Passing by unbeknownst to me

Flying in a dream, stars by the pocketful You wanting me tonight feels impossible But it's comin' down, no sound, it's all around Like snow on the beach

My smile is like I won a contest And to hide that would be so dishonest And it's fine to fake it 'til you make it 'Til you do, 'til it's true

Dancing with Our Hands Tied- Taylor Swift (Day Five: Warmth)

I loved you in secret First sight, yeah, we love without reason

My love had been frozen Deep blue, but you painted me golden Oh, and you held me close

Oh, how was I to know that I could've spent forever with your hands in my pockets Picture of your face in an invisible locket You said there was nothing in the world that could stop it

I loved you in spite of Deep fears that the world would divide us So, baby, can we dance Oh, through an avalanche?

Oh, 'cause it's gravity Oh, keeping you with me

There Cannot Be a Close Second- Copeland (Day Six: Festival/Fireworks)

You've got an extra special heart A perfect light that shines through And it seems the hardest part Is shining back at you

So forgive me 'Cause I don't know what to do

When you look at me There can be no hesitation There cannot be a close second to you

[traditional-with-a-twist]

@zenyuki-festival-2021

Day 6: Inspiration

[randowwriter]

Slipping Out To Go On An Adventure Together

@zenyuki-festival My fic for today of ZenYuki Week 2023! I promised fluff, so here is some fluff! <3 <3 <3  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14240678/1/Slipping-Out-To-Go-On-An-Adventure-Together

[noctusfury]

First off, this fits ZenYuki so well. Second, excellent choice of lyrics. Evynne and Peter Hollens are GREAT! XD 

This is superb fanart! And it’s amazing to see some ZenYuki content finally! Can’t wait to see what the next days give us! ^_^

@zenyuki-festival-2021

Beginning

“We were strangers starting out on a journey, never dreaming what we’d have to go through. Now here we are and I’m suddenly standing at the beginning with you. No one told me I was going to find you, unexpected what you did to my heart. When I lost hope, you were there to remind me: This is the start.” - “At the Beginning” preformed by Evynne and Peter Hollens

[manikas-whims]

“i fell deeper..

..in the time we were apart”

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for @zenyuki-festival-2021 , June 3, Day 15: Distance

[zenyuki-festival]

Happy New Year, fellow ZenYuki fans!! Hope you have a wonderful and blessed 2024!!

[nokaru]

ZenYuki in flower language

Zenyuki Week 2024 Appreciation Post @zenyuki-festival

Day 1: Pick a flower and its meaning that you feel most represents ZenYuki.

Okay, so this is an impossible task - I simply can't pink only ONE flower that represents Zenyuki for me. So I'll make a bouquet! mind you all of these together is a mess but I love it nonetheless

Firstly, I would pick typical red carnations; literally meaning "My Heart Aches For You", admiration, deep romantic love, and passion. When I think of ZenYuki I automatically think of deep devotion and admiration from both sides so carnations are perfect for them. *also zenyuki owns every cheesy romantic line ever so*

Next, bluebells! Their meanings are loyalty, constancy, and humility. These are all traits I associate with ZenYuki both as a couple and as individuals. There's steadiness in Shirayuki and Zen, especially when they are together.

Another flower that just screams ZenYuki to me is the azalea. I like this one for them visually a lot - I think it matches their vibe a lot, there's this softness about ZenYuki and azaleas uknow. Azaleas mean "Take Care of Yourself for Me" and if that isn't the cutest thing ever idk what is. It plays nicely into their long-distance relationship.

Similar to bluebells, bellflowers are so ZenYuki coded. I like to imagine ZenYuki being all noble and castle-vibey but simple wild flowers suit them so much too! Bellflowers mean unwavering love and a constant heart - I will simply die it's so them AAAA DO YOU SEE MY VISION!!?? It naturally goes hand in hand with meaning of gratitude which I associate with Shirayuki's gratitude towards everyone she met in Clarines and Zen's gratitude towards his closest friends/found family (also his gratitude to being a prince as well??!! hes so grateful he can be of service to Clarines)

This is my ZenYuki bouquet that is all over the place! Loved picking these and ofc there are way more flowers I associate with ZenYuki but I couldn't fit them all here ://

also honorable mentions:

Daffodils (regard, "You're the Only One", "The Sun is Always Shining When I'm with You")

Dandelions (overcoming hardship; faithfulness)

Blue Violets (watchfulness, "I'll always be true")

Wisteria (im cheesy) (new beginnings, transformation, passage of time)

[airahscorner]

Zenyuki week day 5

@zenyuki-festival

Phostyrias

Zenyuki mood board

✨️🧡🏵💛🌼❣️🌸💚🌺🩵✨️

Inspired by photyrias......

[sincerelytruly]

Reasons for Why I Believe Obiyuki could be the “Romance that Cuts through Fate” referenced in the Manga:

In college, I took two amazing courses--scratch that I took one amazing course and one semi-disappointing sub-par course--Fairytales and Graphic Narratives, respectively. And until right this very minute, I believed them to be an utterly, though fascinating, waste of my time and tuition though they made me smile. Okay, it was college so they didn’t always make me smile because finals are the worst but I digress the point I am trying to make is this: 

I HAVE AN EPIPHANY CONCERNING MY BELOVED SHIP OBIYUKI DUE TO MY TEACHINGS!!   

So, first and foremost the birth of my epiphany came from thinking back to my class on Fairytales when we studied Snow White! (Graphic Narratives didn’t really teach me much other than how to think more critically about...Graphic Narratives, so I guess it really doesn’t deserve any cred for this post TBH, lol.)

But like I said we studied Snow White. 

Not this one:

Or whatever this one was supposed to be (sorry not sorry):

But, the original one. There are two versions (maybe there are more but I forgot them if there are) of the Grimm’s version of Snow White. In the very most original version, everything pretty much happens as we all remember it minus the singing: Snow White makes Queen step-trash jealous by her beauty, Queen step-trash tries to have her killed, due to her amazing beauty Hunstman is a wuss and lets her live because he’s weak to a beautiful damsel, Snow White plays Goldilocks and breaks into a dwarven settlement, the dwarves also wuss out and take pity on her because she is pretty and can cook/clean for them, then step-trash gets angry realizing she is, in fact, alive and goes out to kill her herself. Now, this is where everything diverges from what we know. In the original version step-trash has to try several times to kill her. Once with a bodice/corset torture device that basically suffocates her until the dwarves get home and cut her out of it, twice with an evil hair comb that kills her until the dwarves pull it out of her hair, and then thrice with the age-old apple trick. The poisoned magic apple gets lodged in her throat and she becomes a stone statue for all intents and purposes, so what do the dwarves do? What any logical group of men would do with a beautiful woman who isn’t decaying but still dead in their eyes, lock her in a gorgeous crystal casket so that they can still gaze upon her beauty on the daily! From here on there are two different endings to the Snow White saga. The very, very, first one published states that the Prince comes along says, “ooooooooh pretty, let me take her home with me and put her on display” and sits around gazing at her all the time until someone in the castle gets pissed off and hits Snow White’s corpse which dislodges the apple finally and wakes her up. What an awkward way to wake up yeah? And then the poor girl gets married to the Prince--ta-da! The second version makes it a lot better ending for poor Snow White. Someone trips while hauling the casket to the palace and dislodges the apple and then the Prince sweeps Snow White off her feet and yay happy ending they get married and now the Prince doesn’t seem as creepy just staring at a dead person all day long pissing off his staff. 

(Whooo that was a lot of background info, sorry, and also I know that I could also do a huge comparison post on the tales of Snow White versus our Shirayuki tale, but that is for another day!!!)

Depending on what you want to go with there are so many ways you can analyze the story of Snow White--all of them, old, less old, new, even our beloved Shirayuki’s story--but one of the things that stick out in my mind is how in every single version of Snow White she is always a trophy of some sort. The Prince is always going to get his trophy wife in the end. Even in Shirayuki’s case, if she does end up with Zen (which I’ll die if she does) she will be nothing but a trophy wife. Even though Zen is precious and certainly not a bad guy by any means, he is a  Prince, therefore their relationship will not be the same as normal couples have. She won’t be allowed to be an Herbalist and tend to the sick who may infect her and kill her before she can provide an heir. And poor Zen will still be stuck behind a pile of paperwork and responsibility to his Kingdom that he dearly loves.  

But, hey who knows, maybe Sorata will go against the entire universe she has built in her storytelling and let Shirayuki be wild and free and a Prince’s wife...

I think this is where “A Romance that Cuts through Fate” comes in to play. Hopefully, if you’ve made it this far in my post (bless you if you have) you’re thinking what I’m thinking. Or maybe you’re thinking I’m a lunatic.

ANYWHO, IF EVERY SINGLE SNOW WHITE ENDS UP WITH THE PRINCE THEN REALLY HOW IS ZENYUKI A ROMANCE THAT CUTS THROUGH FATE?

It's not. It absolutely is not a story of a romance that cuts through fate. In fact, there are far too many stories out there where a beautiful, nice, happy, girl gets with a Prince way beyond her social status for this to be something un-fateful. Or unheard of or whatever. Every fairytale and most romantic comedies out in the world follow the same old rhyme. 

Which is why I am proposing that Obiyuki is the endgame for real. 

***WARNING IF YOU’RE NOT CAUGHT UP WITH THE MANGA AND DON’T WANT SPOILED THEN YOU PROBS DON’T WANT TO READ ANY FURTHER!!!***

I feel as though since the moment Obi and Shirayuki were separated by the Bergat house situation, Shirayuki has been more aware of what Obi means to her. 

Look at her reaction and even Obi says later on:

That she seemed to be concerned even for him. Now don’t get me wrong I am completely aware that Shirayuki has been plenty concerned for Obi in a platonic sort of way! I’m not a completely foolish fangirl here. 

But then that happens. That is something new with Shirayuki. Never is she shown to react that way about what anyone says. Sure she blushes over her lovey-dovey stuff with Zen all the time, but that is something else. 

And then that is too. She sees Obi’s reaction--possibly the first time she’s seen him this way (or at least I can’t remember another time) and there’s a look on her face that says, was he being serious maybe? YES SHIRAYUKI HE WAS DAMMIT IN HIS PLAYFUL STUPID BOY WAY YES. 

And then this happens--look at that face--I don’t need to say a damn thing on that one. I mean I know she doesn’t love-love him yet (or maybe she does but doesn’t know it) but this is definitely progress, right?

And then the boys get in a tie showing off their masculinity--which I feel really does foreshadow their inevitable head-to-head. I mean ever since the festival with the play of the Knight fighting the Prince for the Princess, I’ve felt that way, but then there is their slight competition for her attention all the time and this arm wrestling and even the fight they had when Obi wanted to be her bodyguard! 

These faces, well, I feel as though she is kind of realizing Obi’s worth. I don’t know how else to put it. She is obviously affected by Obi’s marriage meeting and later on when Obi is saying how he is rejecting people even though he knows he attracts people, her face is so loving! Of course that may just be because her friends are there and she is about to pledge her loyalty to everyone or whatever, but I’d like to think it still has a bit to do with what Obi is saying as his statement that he was with her during the dinner party, therefore not flirting with other girls, is in the same panel as the face she is making. Hopefully, that makes sense. 

This was a big moment because again I feel as though this is foreshadowing, why else would the author do this?

Then I noticed that Shirayuki starts noticing Obi! Above she notices how his eyes have rounded recently, which to my understanding is an idea that a person is happier. (Idk my Dad has a book on Oriental health practices and whatnot and it talks about eye shape in it and basically how its a window to the state of your being/soul/chi, etc. so this is why I believe this I may be completely off base but the context seems to suggest I’m right!) However, on a side note on Obi’s part I think he is going through the motions of accepting that his fate when it comes to Shirayuki when he says, “I’m seeing more clearly.” 

This looks like some flirtation to me on Shirayuki’s part, but also I find it an interesting conversation especially since in the next chapter (below panels) she talks about how she needs to be able to speak about how she wants to live in the future. And also, I feel as though the author loves giving us these panels where they’re reaching for each other but not quite willing or able to touch one another yet, its sweet torture isn’t it?

The panels above show again how she has finally taken notice of Obi and thanked him for all he has done for her. I know it’s not a declaration of love, and she probably plans on talking to Izana about living her future with Zen, but I think this is a step in the right direction because in what world is this conversation with Izana going to go well? I mean, Izana, though I believe he likes Shirayuki, is not going to change the rules for her as it comes to the Royal family. So, I think we may soon see some development in Shirayuki’s relationships with both Zen and Obi. I tend to think that she has really put some thought into how she wants to live her life now, and I also think that she is strong enough of a person now to reject anything other than what she deserves. 

I also find it interesting how Obi keeps his cool when Shirayuki compliments him on his looks and then awkwardly says:

What does interesting mean, Obi?! 

But anyway, that brings us up to date with the manga and my reasons for believing that the “Romance that Cuts through Fate” applies to Obiyuki NOT Zenyuki. I hope I was able to coherently share my thoughts and feelings on this and not completely bore whoever may have been strong enough to make it to the end of my rambles. 

[traditional-with-a-twist]

@zenyuki-festival-2021

Day 7: Spontaneity

[randowwriter]

With The Night Sky Above Us

@zenyuki-festival Here’s my Day Four fic; I heard fluff was on the menu, I guess, for today. So, here you go! <3 <3 <3  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14241815/1/With-The-Night-Sky-Above-Us

[akagami-no-rae]

Zenyuki Week 2017

Day 5: Dance

Folk dancing at a kingdom festival 

[purpledragon57]

Zenyuki with "Festival Night"?

Hey so this is from LAST YEAR (in response to a fic prompt) and I actually went and wrote something for it but got stuck on the ending and finally I made myself actually go and finish it so uhhhh here’s that! Sorry for the delay so bad you probably forgot you sent this in but better late than never??

(Modern AU, Rich Kid Edition)

Ao3

The festival was starting to get into full swing. Music mingled with the chatter of the gathering crowds. Zen turned up the volume on his phone as he strained to hear Shirayuki’s voice over the noise.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m standing under the gate. If yo-” Zen caught a glimpse of red hair in the crowd. “Wait, I can see you.”

He slipped his mask off and waved it at her. Shirayuki’s face lit up as she finally spotted him. Zen hung up and stuck his phone back in his pocket as she approached.

“Hey.”

“What’s with the mask?” laughed Shirayuki.

Zen grinned. “I thought it’d be more festive than a hoodie.”

There was a moment of comfortable silence as they looked at each other. Shirayuki seemed to glow in the lantern light. Her deep red yukata was printed with sprays of ornate golden flowers. Part of her short red hair was braided and pinned in place with more flowers.

“You look beautiful,” said Zen.

Shirayuki blushed and glanced down, fiddling with her obi.

“I found it in my Grandma’s things. I think it used to belong to my  mother.”

“I didn’t just mean the clothes.” Now they were both blushing. Zen stuck his mask back over his face and gestured at the festival behind them.

“We should probably catch up with the others. I think Obi’s planning on winning every game in the place.”

She smiled and held out her hand. He took it and they walked into the festival together.