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musubiblog · 4 years

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It all started in Qingqing city, China.

An illuminating baby was born

Since then, powers have been discovered.

Before we knew it, paranormal became normal and dreams became reality.

Now with 80% of the world's population having a special trait, it's a superhuman society. In this chaotic world, the job that everyone dreamed of came into light.

•••••••••••••••

Somewhere in Miyagi Japan, near the coastal area. Four kids playing tags in the park while using their own quirks.The passers-by stared at the scene with interest when they saw how beautiful these generation quirks are. One girl has Fairy like wings, glitters fall from her body as she floats, she look like she came out from a fairytale book with a quirk like hers. A boy placed both hands in the ground and seeds started sprouting from his area.

(E/c) hues watch in awe at the scene in front of her, eyes wide open with dilated pupils and lips slightly parted when she saw another kid's hand glowed. Even watching from a far, their quirks are indeed beautiful. As she kept staring longer, she felt something inside of her. Envy, she wondered what its like having a quirk of her own, maybe she'll join the fun instead of watching,she'll have more friends and people would praise her.

Mouth corners turned down looking at the kids her age with a sad expression. She felt like tearing up but before it could fell in her cheeks, a bright voice called out her name.

"(y/n)!" She turned to the right to see her older brother by 3 years running towards her. "I was looking all over for you! Mom will kick me in the butt if she found out I lost you-" The older boy said while catching his breathe. From the looks of it, he went to check the whole park to find her. "What are you doing here?"

The 4 year old didn't respond, instead she turned back to where she was looking at a second ago. The older boy's eyebrow furrowed in confusion and turned to check whats gotten his sister's interest. His gaze then travels back to the girl beside her, he knew that her sister felt sad about this, He knew just by looking at her eyes.

"Geez why are they using their quirks here, they're not suppose to use it in public anyway" he sigh, closing his eyes and scratching the back of his neck. "What a show off" he scoff. He then grab his sisters attention by grabbing her hands gently, smiling he said "lets get out of here, okay?" The little girl only nods before walking besides him.

The 7 year old took her to a none occupied place in the park, (y/n) observe that it's an abandoned playground surrounded by old trees, the slides and seesaw is slightly rusted and ivy plants surrounds it. She look at her brother with confusion, demanding him to tell her why of all place.

"Don't give me that look sis, this place will help take your mind off things" he said while walking towards the sand box, sitting on it without hesitation "Join me, it's safe, no insects are gonna crawl on you" he reassures her.

(Y/n) only nods and sat beside her brother. The place was peaceful, the sound of nature surrounds them and the air was cooling, tall trees shielding them from the sunlight. Turning to her brother and ask "Is this you're favorite part of the park?"

"Hmm? Oh this, nah. I just found it today while I was looking for you" he said, the girl only let out a soft 'oh' and start looking around. There's another silent, it's not awkward but she's eager to have a conversation with her brother.

"Did you want to have a quirk Toru nii-san?" Toru smiled at her question, as if he knew that she'll ask him that. "Well, I mean...every kids have dreamed about it" he started. "So I would say my answer is yes, but I'm pass my quirk manifesting age already and I'm not depress about it" He said. Being quirkless isn't a big deal for Toru, he knew that being born in a quirkless family has a 95% percent of not getting a quirk.

"I'm at the age of 4 nii-san, and I haven't gotten my quirk yet..." The girl look down and grip her the hem of her skirt tightly "What if I'm quirkless?"

Toru didn't want to say something that could possibly hurt her feelings like 'Yes, your going to be quirkless forever like me' but he didn't want to sugar coat as well. He doesnt give false hope, knowing that its impossible for their genes to manifest one.

Instead he asked "Hey, what makes you want to own a quirk (y/n)?"

"Well, I think they make people look cool and powerful and strong! They are treated different from the quirkless, they get praise and have lots of friends! Also, they can be a real hero like from the comic books and save peoples life!" She excitedly exclaimed, Toru can see her eyes sparkling as she rambling cutely aboyt whats great about having quirk.

"And what's makes you the quirkless people is any different?" This question got (y/n) off guard. "Umm...it's because they're the opposite of that?" She said unsure of how she'll respond.

"No silly, quirkless people can be those things to" This cause (y/n) to tilt her head. Toru smiled because of her cuteness and gave her head pats.

"Just because we're quirkless doesnt mean we're powerless, we can be just as cool as them, we dont need quirks to impress them and we can definitely make many friends. Those who thinks being quirkless suck and should be treated wrongly are the low minded person who thinks highly of themselves. Also, you don't need capes and costume to be a hero, you just need to care" He explained.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be a hero as well?" Toru blinked twice at the question. "Ha!? I never said that. I said I want to be more than that" smiling widely with pride. "I want to be someone who help the hero instead, just like dad!"

(Y/n) tilted her head "like dad?" Toru nods spreading his arms "Yup! I want to be a scientist slash inventor like him, he makes really good weapon and gadgets that helps the hero with their mission!"

Toru's mood always change when he talks about his interest, he likes talking about machines and experimenting, he's also obsess with aliens and would like to meet one someday and experiment it.

"And if its possible, I can make an iron suit built for battle that can turn quirkless people into heroes" Toru said. The little girl smiled widely, imaginary glitters surrounds her as she looked at him with astonishment.

"That's cool Toru nii-san! You're going to be an amazing scientist when you grow up!" Her soft voice said with excitement, head pushed forward. The brother blushed a little from the praise, smiling shyly and scratching his nape.

The little girl suddenly stood from the ground, one arm placed on her hips and the other one is raised in the raise, looking down at his brother. "If you're going to follow Dad's footstep then I'll follow Mom's. I can be a doctor that saves patience life like a hero without a cape would do!

"That's great (y/n), mom will be so happy when she hears this." Toru smiled at the sight of her happy sister. He loves seeing her this happy since he deeply cares for her and doesnt want to see her sad"See, you don't need a quirk to save and help other people, just do you and you'll be great. Now, always smile more okay? You're fifth birthday is coming closer" He said standing up, patting the dirt away from his body.

"Mm! And I want (f/f) ( = Favorite flavor) cake! And Pizza and Pasta for my birthday please! Ooh and (f/f) Ice cream too!" The 4 year old girl started listing various of foods that she wanted for her birthday. Toru held out a hand "sure, lets go home and tell Mom, I bet their looking for us now"

The girl held his brothers hand and continued their conversation while walking.

•••••••••••••

(y/n)'s special day had finally come, her eyes shining with excitement seeing her favorite foods placed on the table. Standing in the chair because she's too short for the tall table, mouth watering at the sight of the beautiful decorated(f/f) cake with five candles above it.

She extend her little fingers about to ruin the icing, hoping to get a little taste but was stopped by her mother holding a lighter. "Now now, we have to wait for your father to arrive, birthday girl"

She pouted at the older female, she then received a gentle pinch in her cheek, "you're so cute sweetie, I cant believe my little (y/n) is growing up" Her mother Akari said sweetly almost tearing up at the thought of her daughter growing up.

More guest continued to come inside their house, greeting the birthday girl and giving their presents. The girl didn't recognize half of the guest, since they're only a co-workers of her parents. Her other relatives also came and cousins that she have never met before. She invited her classmates but only five to seven came, she didn't really care who attended. She only cares about the foods and the gift.

She continued observing the guest who we're being entertained by her mother until a hand covered her eyes, The one who's covering her eyes didn't spoke a word but guessing by their action,they wanted her to guess who it is.

She smiled because she already knew who it was from the beginning "Toru nii-san I know it's you!" Finally, the hand covering her eyes was remove.

"Aww, how did you know?"

"Of all the guest here, you're the only one who would do that" She said.

"Hehe" Toru only let out a short laugh before remembering something "Oh yeah, here is my present for you" he pick up the well wrapped birthday present from the ground and hand it to the birthday girl who gladly accept it.

"I sacrificed my money from not buying tools to buy you a present, it's not that special I guess- you have a lot of it in your room so-" He stop when he saw (y/n) already tearing up the perfectly wrapped present.

"Wha-what are you doing! You're not suppose to open that yet, a-a-atleast do it somewhere without me" He panicked but quickly calm down at the girl's face.

She stared at the present with sparkling eyes, smiling happily at her brothers gift. "It's the latest Crimson riot action figure and its a limited addition! Omg, and it have a holographic projector too!" She pressed on the button and showed a hologram of one of Crimson riot's interview.

The two siblings watched the interviewer asking the hero a question about experiencing fear as a hero, The girl listened attentively as Crimson reveals that he isn't a hero that simply never experiences fear, noting that when he enters into a battle against super villains, he does fear for his life.

"Woah, He's so cool! Crimson Riot is so cool! His word can inspire a lot of people who's having trouble facing their fears" She continued praising her all time favorite hero, she would have easily chosen All might the number one hero like everyone does but her heart is set on another, and likes manly people like Crimson Riot.

"Thank you so much nii-san! I'll treasure this!" She jump on her brother and wrapped her arms around the boys waist tightly, the boy wasn't prepared for a surprise hug, almost falling out of balance, but was supported by stepping one foot backward.

"You're welcome (y/n)" His smiled sweetly hugging back his sister. They stayed like this for a while before releasing when they heard a familiar deep voice from the door.

"Where's my birthday girl!?" The two siblings faces lit up when they saw their dad. He just came back from work after 2 months just to attend his daughters birthday.

The girl ran towards the older male and Toru followed. Their father, Kozu kneeled down his daughter's level and hug her tightly but make sure she can breathe. "I miss you sweetie" he kiss her forehead. "Hehe, I miss you too Dad" (y/n) giggled.

Kozu look up to see his son standing next to them, he ruffled his hair too hard causing the boy to complaint "Ah Dad! Stop it, you're ruining my hair" Kozu only laugh at his son's reaction. "Sorry sorry, I miss you too much, I cant help my self" he said standing up.

"Honey you're late" The older male perks up to see his lovely wife walking towards them. "Better late than never" he said, while grabbing his wife's waist and kissing her all over her face and whispering sweet nothings to her ear.

The two siblings only watch in disgust. "Ew! Stop it Daddy, Im the birthday girl, I'm the one who should get all the affection"

"We have guests here, you should be ashame of yourself!" The boy crossed his arms and looks away from the couple.

Their parents laugh at their reaction, the kids aren't use to them being all cuddly but like to tease them to see their cute reactions.

The (L/n) family, A family of four. Their parents is known at their town for having a successful job. Kozu who works at the I-island as a scientist and inventor and Akari who's a professional doctor, a surgeon in fact. Have two kids named (y/n) and an inspiring scientist named Toru, despite being quirkless they are happy without it.

The family lives in a coastal area, the beach is only a 5 minute walk from their house. They're like living in their own private forest because their surrounded by large trees and small hills. They prefer living with the nature than the other neighborhoods.

"Lets light up the candles so we can start eating" Akari said pulling out the lighter from her pocket. The four went to the table and guest gathered around it.

(Y/n) who is now five years old stood at the chair once again. As soon as her mother lit up the candle, they all sang the birthday song.

She bobs her head up and down waiting patiently for the song to finish.

"Happy birthday to you~" Her family and the guest cheers once the song finished.

"C'mon sis, make a wish and blow your candle" Toru whispered.

A wish? She haven't thought about that. She close her eyes and thought carefully, Opening her eyes she wished silently in her head

'Even if I'm quirkless, I wish to experience exciting adventures and be like Crimson Riot, no matter how scary the situation he's in. He'll face it!

••••••••••••••••

2 years later, In Miyagi Japan. A six- year-old female and a nine-year-old male is having trouble getting home because of a heavy rain. The sky is covered in black clouds making the area dark enough troubling the two from seeing the path to their home, the rain falls in crazy chaotic drop, their whole body soak in water making the umbrella useless at this point.

"Toru nii-san, I'm cold" (Y/n) said, hugging her shivering form with one arm while the other hand is holding the umbrella with struggle. Toru quickly held his sister close to him as they walk.

"We are almost there (y/n). Hold on" he tried to comfort her, clicking his tongue he said "Tch, No one said anything about rain storm" The weather reporter said it himself that today is going to be a sunny day, but somehow his report gave a false information.

But this isn't the first time it happened. There's no sign of rain coming but suddenly water started pouring down, strong winds came from nowhere. Somehow the weather became fuck up.

"Ah! The umbrella's broken" Toru look at the broken umbrella in frustration. The downside of living in a forest like area.

They decided to stop and stood under a large trees, it has a lot strong branches and leaves so it shielded them from the rain. "Why did we only decided to stop now?" (y/n) deadpanned waiting for her brother to respond.

After a minute of silence, they laugh at each other. "I dont know, you're the one who's eager to go home" He said out loud.

"Cause I dont want to get stuck in the rain! I want to go home and shower and eat Mom's hot delicious soup" She said while imagining herself eating the soup in her pajama, watching the rain pour down on their window. This only cause her stomach to growl hungrily. "Yep I want to go home~" She whined. "What do you think is happening with our weather system here, it happened 3 times all ready"

"I don't know, but I'm sure the researcher and hero's is dealing with it" Toru said, while fixing his umbrella.

"It must be someone with a weather quirk or something" she muttered and Toru only hum in respond. He was too busy fixing the umbrella he didnt bother replying with words.

"Or the world is about to end because the weather is all mess up" She said.

"The world isn't going to end (y/n) dont think that far ahead, I still have to achieved my dream of becoming a scientist and marry a beautiful woman" He said. Few moments later of being drenched in water, shivering. A voice yelled out their names.

"Toru! (Y/n) where are you?!" The voice of their Dad was heard in the distance. This cause them to yell as well. "Dad,Were over here! Come get us!"

••••••••••••••••••

Akari walked back and forth, worriedly thinking if her children is safe out in the rain, The rain poured down without any warnings. She send her husband to look for them in the woods, her mother instinct said that they're stuck out there.

She stopped walking when hearing a familiar tune on the TV, She walk closer to the television seeing the commercial is over, the news was on the screen again.

"This just in, there have been reports about strange looking creatures across the whole world-"

"What?"

The door opened and Kazu and two kids stepped inside the room soaking wet, leaving the wet umbrella outside and taking the kids bag from their back, he went and grab two large towels and wrapped it around the kids.

"Go find your Mom, she'll warm you up" He said. The two nod before walking down the halls to the livingroom to find their mother. Getting closer to the living room, she heard the sound of the tv and saw her mothers figure watching the Tv.

Running towards her she said "Mom! Mom! Can I have chicken soup for dinner-" she stop in her track when she saw her mothers unreadable expression, her eyes was focus in the screen. Standing on her spot like she had seen something frightening.

"Mom, what happened?" Toru asked beside her. Akari came back to reality when she heard his son's voice. She let out a relief sigh and ran closer to the both of them, "Thank goodness you're both safe, BUT your all wet! Quick go take a shower before you catch a cold" she said, rubbing (y/n)'s hair with her towel.

"What did the news say Mom?" Toru asked with curiosity. "Well its-" she was interrupted by the Tv.

"These Monsters like creatures are spotted roaming in all places, in the water, land and air. It had said to be attacking humans and eating crops, it appears these strange looking creatures have quirks. Many believe it's a doing of a villains, The scientists and pro heroes are still finding out more plausible excuse for such sightings. For now, these creatures are believe to be a threat to humans"

In the screen, they showed pictures of the creatures some are blurred and not taken properly. She look closely to see a dark purple creature with roundish body is standing in between the trees, its eyes glowed red and its appear it has a wide creepy smile.

Another photo was shown. A picture of a narrowed street with more monsters standing in the corner, Bunch of photos is shown in the screen and (Y/n) notice that they're in different shape and sizes. Their backs facing the camera, staring in disbelief she saw a walking blue turtle.

The last photo, is located in a farm with pumpkins that was being eaten by a bunch of rat however if you look closely it doesn't look like a normal rat.

"If they're going to show pics, they should have given us a more clear picture than a blurred one, who knows it might be photoshopped or

An illusion from someones quirk" Her brother complained. Only to be shushed by their mother "This is serious Toru! These creatures might be real and...dangerous!"

"If I wasn't in a short break from work, I would have get to the bottom of this" Her father said.

(Y/n) watched with interest when a video footage is played. A video of a thunderstorm, and something was flying above it. She cant distinguish what its look like but base on it's silhouette of a bird like creature, its wings and tail are a mass of spiky feathers and A large crest of spiked feathers surrounds its head.

What happened in the video was something unexpected, the creature flaps it wings and releases electricity that cause thunderstorm. "W-woah It did that?! Scary" Her brother exclaimed.

Scary? She didn't feel frightened at all, in fact she watch the video in awe. Her hearts beating with excitement when she saw a bird surround by sparks and the thunderstorm makes it even more cooler. She felt like she was watching her favorite hero except it's different. She felt interested in this monster like creatures.

'Creatures with quirks....sugoi!"

She was about to tell her brother what she feels but then a female news caster stop her from doing so.

"The Pro heroes is going to deal with these monster like creatures for now we all advise everyone to stay indoors specially childrens and be alert of your surroundings until further notice, I repeat stay indoors specially childrens and be alert of your surroundings until further no-"

The Tv suddenly black out, the light and other electronics as well. There was a power outage due to the raging storm.

I decided to post only ONE chapter of my Bnha x Reader x Pokemon crossover, I will let you know that this story is only available at Wattpad, but I dont mind sharing one of the chapter here.

MY POKEHERO written by HenceVy

#bnhaxpokemon #bnha x reader #pokemon x reader #bnha fanfiction #todoroki #midoroya #xreader #anime x reader

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hqprotectionsquad · 4 years

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Hi i really like your writing it makes me feel warm and good 💕. And since I like your writing so much I'd like to request a fluffy scenario with bokuto. The reader is a manager and is neighbors with bokuto. She's pinning over bokuto but is some how able to look calm (no blush, no stuttering, ect). One day he's running late and couldn't spike his hair up. Throughput the day she's blushing and stuttering a lot. And my dense boy doesn't understand. When they walk home he questions her about it💫-

💫-the reader isn’t looking at him at him so he tilts her chin up to meet eyes. Once he does the reader panics and blurts out her feelings. Sorry this was kinda long but I would really enjoy this if you made it.

Title: Flat HairShip: Bokuto x ReaderWord Count: 1585Summary: Never did you think you’d be graced with the presence of a flat-haired Bokuto. This much makes you reconsider everything.A/N: thank you so much for this request anonie!!! this was such an awesome request to write so i’m glad you’ve sent it in!

You’ve found that lunchtime is the most convenient time to gossip with your friends. It goes in a circle: first you gossip about the basketball team, then the baseball team, and lastly the volleyball team. You all clump tightly, almost afraid that someone might pick up on the words you let loose.

“Did you see Akaashi at their latest tournament? So hot. I’d risk it all for him,” Kaori tells the group and everyone erupts into laughter. “I’m not kidding! If I could snatch him, I would, but for now, I’m just gonna keep wearing short skirts in hopes that he’ll look underneath.”

Nobody is surprised by her statement; Akaashi is Kaori’s latest flavor but they are shocked that he’s the boy she’s talked about the most. Not that he really pays attention to anything other than volleyball, but it’s her thought that counts.

You’ve become immersed in your food. It would be nice if you had someone, but it’s not your greatest priority. “What about you, (Y/N)? When are you finally going to confess to Bokuto?”

That juice box you’ve been slurping from suddenly doesn’t taste as great, but you force it down. You’d rather it in your stomach rather than blazing purple on you and your friends. “That’s not happening,” you chuckle with a shake of your head. “If anything happened, how would I be able to live next to him and be the manager of their team? So I’m not taking any chances.”

“Yeah, but you like him so much! Though you never really see it on your face. You’re so good at faking it because you never blush at all! Whenever I see some boy from the baseball team, my face is a rose garden,” Akari chips into Kaori’s argument while she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. The things these girls would do for any boy are endless.

“That’s the exact reason: I like him so much and for so long that it stopped being a surprise. It’s kind of sad, but I’ve suppressed my feelings for so long and I think I’d rather be close friends with him than anything—”

“Hey girls! Do you think I could steal (Y/N) for a second?” Speak of the devil and he shall appear, as hot as he is. Bokuto slings an arm around your shoulders with a grin that can blind anyone. The girls nod their heads furiously, because you can’t really say no to the ace of Fukurodani.

“She’s all yours, Bokuto!” Akari exclaims with a thumbs-up.

“Thanks! She’ll be back real quick, safe and sound.”

You’ve been whisked away enough times to not think much of it. When you’re with Bokuto, even the simplest things can be romanticized, but that’s just his nature. He’s just lovely like that.

“So what’s up?” You ask once he’s stopped ten meters away from the rest of your friends. It’s been ages since you’ve trained yourself in maintaining eye contact, and if you have to say so yourself, you’re pretty much a pro now.

“Nothing much, I just have a game plan for later tonight.”

“Later tonight?” Your eyes scan across your mental calendar in confusion. “What did we plan for tonight?”

“You were going to help me with my project after practice, remember?” Bokuto’s eyebrow raises. “You never forget things, (Y/N). Are you feeling well?” He places the back of his palm to your forehead, but you swat his hand away.

“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” you assure him with a pat on his shoulder. “So what was your plan?”

“After practice, just come over to my house and keep me awake. And help me with the project of course. But mostly keep me awake.” Bokuto grins.

“Alright,” you mutter begrudgingly. “You owe me though.”

“Of course! Anything you want, just say the word and it’s yours.”

“You’ve said that every single time you owe me, and yet you still haven’t repaid me,” you bait with a small smile.

“That’s wrong! I repay you all the time!” Bokuto’s bottom lip juts out in a frown.

“Sure.” You point an eyebrow at him but laughter spills out of your mouth. “You do, I’m just joking. I’ll see you later, okay?” For once, you take the advice of your boy-crazy friends. You pivot on your toes and leave him in your dust.

“We see you, (Y/N)!” The girls squeal once Bokuto finally picks his jaw off of the ground and goes away.

“What can I say? I learned from the best.”

After practice, Bokuto treats you to coffee from the vending machines—so much for being paid back—and whenever you attempt to start a conversation, you bite on your tongue. There’s no need for you to become needy or clingy, so there’s just silence brewing between your two bodies.

The coffee’s effects were ephemeral on your systems because by the end of the night, you are just about to knock out on Bokuto’s bed. “Will you be able to finish?” You ask between yawns.

“Yeah, I should be able to. Thanks for your help, (Y/N). You mean the world to me.” Bokuto’s lips are no match to the soft bubbles of laughter flowing out.

He must be delirious from exhaustion. “I’m going to head out before I sleep on your bed. I’m leaving a thank-you note for your mom.”

“She loves those. I wish you have some to me too.” The owl doesn’t appear to be nocturnal from this image before you because it looks like he’s on the last threads of existence.

“C'mon, let’s get you into bed.” You pull on his arm and he swings back like a rag doll.

“Help me, help me,” he mutters. “(Y/N), you’re so pretty.”

You can hardly contain the bubbles in your stomach, but his words are just a mirage simply voiced out loud. “Bokuto, I won’t be able to go home if you don’t cooperate.”

His arms are loopy but he makes it underneath the covers. “Thank you, (Y/N),” he babbles as you go out on a limb and stroke his hair before you go downstairs, place your shoes on your feet, and leave into the night. The sky welcomes you into its blanket of stars when you stare at the constellations forming above your head. Something tells you, from this large expanse, that there will be more to come.

And you weren’t wrong.

“Fuck!” Bokuto’s voice is loud enough to be heard throughout the entire block. You suppose that it is an appropriate reaction, seeing as you are already at his doorstep twenty minutes before you’re supposed to be in your homeroom. Bokuto’s usually the one to be at your doorstep, but waiting ten minutes is even pushing it for someone like him, so you went over to his house.

Bokuto’s uniform and tie are disheveled and once he chokes down his piece of bread, he spits out an apology. “(Y/N)! I’m so sorry, I couldn’t wake up today because I was busy finishing the project until 2 in the morning and then I couldn’t do my hair—”

Holy mother of goodness gracious. You’ve stopped listening because the moment your eyes laid on the silver and black strands of his hair, you could barely blink and breathe.

“Are you okay? You’re getting incredibly red. I’ll get you some water if you want.”

You bury your chin into your chest. This should be absolutely illegal. For as long as you’ve been neighbors, there was not a single day where his hair wasn’t pin-straight up and defying gravity. Now, Bokuto looks like a completely different person with his hair flat against his forehead. For all the days you’ve been training yourself to be Bokuto-immune, this is the day where you crack down the middle.

“Look at me, (Y/N). You don’t look well,” he says while tilting up your chin with a knuckle and this is where you break. His eyes are so earnest and kind. How can you pretend anymore when he shows all he has?

“Bokuto, I like you a lot. I just had to say it.”

You don’t even see his reaction because you’re speed walking off of his stoop and making your way to school.

“(Y/N)! Wait up!”

Soon enough, his figure graces your presence and his strides adjust to yours—not that it’s much to adjust to your smaller figure. The sun is in your eyes but you don’t need it to know that while he’s walking, Bokuto’s also trying to look to you for some kind of signal, some kind of sign.

You stop in your tracks and let down your arms in exasperation. “God, Bokuto, we’re already late and I already said what I needed to say and I know you don’t think of me that way, so can we just get to school?” Pain pricks your eyes and your heart and your stomach, all your weak spots, just trying to stand next to him. What happened to the girl yesterday, who controlled her feelings so well? What happened to you?

“No! (Y/N), you didn’t even let me speak!” Bokuto exclaims. “Hey, you know this isn’t fair! I think you’re awesome and I like you too!” Now it’s him who can’t look you in the face. This ace, who is used to riling up a crowd after a great play, can’t look you in the eyes. Bokuto takes you by the hand and starts running. “C’mon, let’s just go to school and figure this all out later.”

#haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu writing #haikyuu oneshot #haikyuu writer #haikyuu fanfiction #bokuto #bokuto koutarou #bokuto scenario #bokuto x reader #bokuto oneshot #fukurodani #fukurodani x reader #lara's requests

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animebw · 4 years

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Binge-Watching: March Comes in Like a Lion S2, Episodes 5-7

In which Hina rages against the machine, Rei steps up to the plate in aw-dropping fashion, and the aftershocks of episode 4 continue to push this season into truly legendary status.

Hear Me Roar

Like I said in my last post, I wasn’t really bullied in school. I was lucky enough to be part of a community that mostly looked out for each other, where there was a space for everyone to fit in and feel comfortable. But even in the best circumstances, middle school and high school can still be a minefield. And the stress of Hina’s bullying is revealing all the broken, uncomfortable reasons why. There’s so much truth in Hina’s statement that there’s an invisible hierarchy to a classroom, unspoken rules dictating who gets preferential treatment. Some kids are allowed to talk louder than others. Some get to control the conversation while other are just dragged along for the ride. It’s a bitterly unfair situation, not helped by teachers and faculty more concerned with keeping a comfortable status quo than addressing any real issues among their students. And Hina’s rage towards it is the rage of every kid who ever took a look at this system from the outside and realized how unfair it was. Since when was it okay to decide that some kids are more valued than others just because? Who decided it was a good idea to rank them against each other? They’re all just human in the end; why do some of them care so much about putting others down to make themselves feel bigger? These questions all cut close to home in a way that demands an answer... but no one in a position to actually help is brave enough to give her those answers. Even Akari, as much as she wants to help Hina, could help but feel overwhelmed by the desire to avoid rocking the boat for the sake of her safety: ”I didn’t care about justice. I just wanted her to run away.” And when even someone as loving and earnest as Akari can struggle with such heartbreaking, understandably human fear, what chance does everyone else have?

It’s no wonder, then, that her reaction to all this unfairness is so steeped in anger. And great googly moogly, what anger it is. There’s a kind of righteous fury that bleeds from every bruise on her wounded body, responding to injustice by refusing to just take it on the chin. That moment where she spills her desires to Rei, talking about wanting to punish the bullies and make them understand why what they’re doing is wrong... fuck, that was rawer than a chicken with its head still on. I don’t think I’ve seen a desire for vengeance that palpable in a long-ass time, and honestly, I don’t blame her one bit. This situation is bullsht. Even when she finally forces her teacher to see what’s happening to her in the ballsiest power play imaginable- seriously, just leaving everyone’s insults up on the blackboard so there was no way she couldn’t see it had me cackling- her teacher redirects the blame back on her for rocking the boat and being “uncooperative.” For once, I finally understand why the phrase “seeing red” is used to describe anger, because in the blood-red fire of that sunset, I was ready to reach through the screen and throttle her. Hina’s seething from the pit of her stomach, seething with anger bursting forth in a blind determination to fight back, but she has no idea what she wants to accomplish. What outcome’s the right one here? How can she overcome the institutional roadblocks, do her friend justice, and ensure this madness stops happening? She doesn’t know, and it’s heartbreaking to watch. No middle school kid should have to grapple with problems this huge just because the adults in her life are too chickenshit to help.

Rei Reborn

Thank god, then, that she’s not as alone as she might otherwise be. After all, she did just get one of the most beautiful promises ever from someone determined to pay back the kindness she’d shown him. And if you thought I couldn’t love Rei Kiriyama anymore than I already did, you were as wrong as you could possibly be. Sweet buttery Christmas, my boy is on fucking fire! The aimless, shy, empty shell of a man he used to be is gone, replaced by a determined, enthusiastic, terrifyingly persistent force of nature. I spent a good chunk of these episodes just hyperventilating in awe of just how fucking driven he’s become. Every other second he’s staring into a dramatic sunset, the wind whistling by him, clenching his fist in determination and proclaiming that he is accepting nothing less from himself but all that he can give. When Akari’s doubting herself, he fucking screams to the heavens that he’ll be here for her. Remember back in season 1 when he had to run until he was alone before screaming out his problems? Now he’s just doing it in the middle of the goddamn bridge! And when asks him to be ready for the challenges on the horizon, he responds with the single most badass “Bring it on!” I think I’ve ever heard. Holy fucking shit, his growth is insane. I’ve seen shonen protagonists less driven than Rei’s become for Hina’s sake. It’s like watching the birth of God himself, so utterly gobsmacking that you can’t manage any response beyond petrified cackling.

Seriously, I cannot get over how fucking determined Rei’s become. It’s not even that he’s become a different person; it’s that he’s finally let the leash off all his inhibitions, good and bad and everything in between. So now, he’s not holding himself back from rushing headlong into the fire, taking hold of all his instincts and refusing to let himself cower before the fears that tell him to slow down. As he says to himself in a moment of particular fervor, ”Reality is tough. But that doesn’t mean I can give up!” He hasn’t just opened himself up to embracing life, he’s grabbed life by its goddamn neck and is wringing it out for all its worth. And it keeps me bouncing back and forth between awestruck, helpless with laughter, and just straight-up terrified. When he enlists Mr. Hayashida for help and brushes aside his own problems with yet another sassy glasses push (”I’m just being ignored. But never mind me, I’m a pro at that.”), I just about hacked my lungs up from laughing too hard. His dorkish determination to do right by Hina is the most hilarious fucking unironic chuuni zealotry I think I’ve ever seen. But it also scares the piss out of me that he’s pushing himself this far. He’s always had trouble looking out for his own well-being in the first place, so how ragged is he gonna run himself for Hina’s sake?

The fact is, now that Rei’s running on full steam, he’s opening himself up to messing up harder than he’s ever messed up before. He even falls into the old trap of underestimating his shogi opponents because he starts staking his entire personal narrative on winning, and unlike last time, he doesn’t recover after his first reality check. Can you imagine Rei at the start of the show bristling against an annoying opponent like he does in episode 7 (”It must be nice to behave how he wants without wondering what other people think about him.”) The spite in his inner monologue is palpable. Sure, the guy’s annoying, and Shaft does an incredible job with the soundscape on all his agitated tics to bring his unnerving presence to life, but the tunnel vision Rei exhibits in taking him down is like nothing we’ve seen from him before. This determination is driving him forward, but it’s also making him more jagged, more biting, more reckless in his willingness to take on challenges, more narrow-minded. His desire to help Hina is clouding out everything else, and it’s unleashing the streak of darkness he’s always had inside him. For the first time since I’ve met him, Rei Kiriyama feels dangerous. And I am fucking terrified for how far he could end up pushing himself.

I Want to be Needed

But as scared as I am for Rei, he’s still got one foothold keeping him from spinning off the deep end: self-awareness. He is well aware of how dangerous the path he’s walking is. There’s a truly chilling moment where he stares out into the river from his apartment, wondering how he can help Hina, and it finally clicks in his head what’s going on: he wants to be needed. The determination Hina inspired in him, the fire that spurs him onward, it’s all still based in the trauma his stepfather instilled in him all those years ago. He wants to help so badly because helping is the only way he knows how to feel valued. And he’s still rolling the significance of that realization over even as he keeps pressing forward, eyes set firmly on the horizon ahead. For the first time in his life, there’s something he wants so desperately he would kill to make it happen. And it’s not an innocent desire at all; it’s the wish of a cornered animal still fighting like its life is on the line. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, he doesn’t know. If he’s not careful, that desire could swallow him and flay him apart, scattering his guts to the four corners of the earth. But as long as that’s the fire driving him, he’s going to make the best of it he possibly can. He’s going to fight his hardest not to let his worst instincts devour him. Because the cause he’s fighting for is worth everything he could possibly give it.

Helping Hands

And honestly, as perilously close as Rei’s skirting the edge right now, it is remarkable how well he’s pulling through. If there’s one benefit of crippling selflessness, it means he has no problem taking Mr. Hayashida’s advice to heart and making sure that what Hina wants is always at the forefront of his mind. Bullying is such a complicated and difficult subject, and no two situations are gonna require the same solution. So the best thing Rei can do is focus on what’s best for Hina, being her support system in the same way she’s always been for him. And it’s fucking wonderful. He encourages her to keep practicing shogi as a way to pass the time and get her mind off things. He gives her someone she can share her thoughts too, letting her unload all the stress and terror she’s struggling with. He even gets her goddamn crush to offer to be her lunch buddy, and good fucking granola I forgot how amazing Takahashi was. He straight-up scares her tormentors off with nothing but his ridiculous pitching arm in one of the most perfect passive-aggressive smackdowns I’ve seen in a long time. Jesus wept, I could not stop laughing. But this is exactly the kind of solidarity Hina needs; not just Rei on her side, but everyone doing their best to help her out, in whatever ways they can. Like Takahashi says, just showing the school he’s not ashamed to be around her is an act of defiance all its own. It says that we’ve got allies on our side too. We aren’t as alone as the bullies and monsters try to make us feel. And if everyone in the school realizes they don’t have to feel pressured by the hierarchy set up to benefit the worst of them, they’ll have the power to come together and start repairing all the damage that’s been done.

But the single greatest thing Rei does for Hina in these episodes is also the simplest thing he does for her: he’s there. He’s there when she needs company, there when she’s struggling alone, making an active choice to be part of her life and influence it for the better. He’s no longer running scared of all the ways he might screw up; now, he’s finally willing to reach out with open arms. And sure, he’s not always the best at it; he’s so bad at not being good at shogi that she ends up consoling him not not going easy on her enough, and good fucking lord if that isn’t the most perfect fucking encapsulation of their mutually chaotic dumbassery. Never mind how he gets self-conscious of bringing Hina closer to her crush because he’s afraid everyone will just get more jealous of her hanging out with a hot dude. Or him trying to ease her embarrassment over her nosebleed before realizing that he actually hasn’t had any himself; good grief, it took a hot second for me to recover from that one. But even so, he’s making the effort. He’s committed to not letting her have to suffer this alone. And it’s just... so fucking heartwarming. Every second they’re on screen together leaves me with the biggest fucking smile on my face; just him sitting with her during her nosebleed, awkwardly making conversation while she cowers under the safety of the blanket, took my goddamn breath away with how pure it was. All the messy, difficult situations they’re dealing with, and all it takes is a simple conversation in a warm sunset to make everything seem okay.

And really, isn’t that what makes this show so fucking special? Even when dealing with the most catastrophic, terrifying problems, even when our demons grow so large and loud we feel like we can never escape them, someone’s always reaching out with a helping hand when you’re not strong enough to stand alone. Rei’s life was saved by those helping hands; even now, Akari still stubbornly refuses to let him work himself to death for her sake (and her angry shuffle when she realized how thin she was getting was just fucking adorable). Even in the midst of his most difficult crisis yet, Rei still has the best support system he could possibly ask for. And now, he has the courage to pay that kindness back. When Nikaido calls him to talk strategy, not only does Rei actually manage to laugh along with his enthusiasm, he gives Nikaido encouragement for the first time ever, accepting his friendship and pushing him to take care of himself in the same way Nikaido always pushes him. And you can hear the awe in Nikaido’s voice as he realizes how much Rei’s come to genuinely care about him. Meanwhile, when Akari voices her fears about how she’s handled Hina’s situation, wishing she could have the same strength of will Grandpa had, Rei reminds her of all the incredible things she’s already done. She’s been Hina’s surrogate mother, and even if she hasn’t done the best job, even if she doesn’t always know what she’s doing, the mere fact that she’s there is enough to make a difference. And in the afterglow of the tears that connection brings, Rei doesn’t even have to ask to stay for dinner this time. They both know, without ever having to say it, that it was a done deal from the moment he walked in the door.

That was the moment that made me cry the hardest over the course of this session. But it certainly wasn’t the only moment that made me shed tears. It wasn’t the only moment that stripped me bare and left me utterly awash in emotion. The truth is, every moment was close to that powerful for me. Whether through unbearably tender empathy at the bonds these characters share, gut-clenching tension as we wonder how far Rei’s gonna push himself, some of the most endearing comedy ever put to animation (I cannot believe Mr. Hayashida is a filthy filthy shipper), or just the simple image of Rei’s smile once again breaking through his usual frown, there was not a single moment across these episodes that left me anything less than spellbound. If episode 4 was the moment this show ascended to godhood, then these episodes prove that this level of rapturous triumph is here to stay. Sangatsu no Lion has ascended to another plane of existence, and the result is some of the best fucking Japanese television I’ve seen in my entire life. God help me, what an incredible show. Thank you all for sharing it with me.

Odds and Ends

-”Oh, she’s one of those teachers, huh?” Oh my god Mr. Hayashida THANK YOU FOR BEING SO WONDERFUL

-”Don’t take me seriously!” GRANDPA I LOVE YOU

-Momo eating cherries is so goddamn cute.

-”Slut.” Alright, I am throwing hands with a thirteen year old today.

-Seriously, though, Hina being embarrassed by her nosebleed is so pure.

-”No, I wanna stay here!” Cats, man. This show’s got them down pat.

-Honestly, go ahead. Unleash the Grandpazilla. They deserve it.

-”You’re right, for once.” “Don’t say for once!” Nikaido, I appreciate you.

-”You think the world revolves around you too, don’t you?” kdjhskdjfhskdf fucking hell I just witnessed a murder

Man, I’m gonna be so fucking sad when this show is over. Here’s looking forward to everything else it still has in store. See you next time!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #march comes in like a lion #sangatsu no lion #3-gatsu no lion

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volcanofireflame150 · 4 years

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A Soul meets another Seoul

Ch1; Ch14

Chapter 13

So we reached the school, I told both Rukia and Ichigo that I'll tell everything about my parents later, I went to my desk well I did Natsume a favor, I gave her old desk back by asking Uryu, "Is this desk to your left empty?" "Hmm, why do you want to move?" asked Uryu. I told him, "I want to give Natsume her desk back." "Um, alright, we can ask," said Uryu, got up to do just that. Then Ichigo's idiotic friend, Keigo, came to me and asked, "Are you taken?" "Yes, I am," I said, being very uncomfortable around this guy. This guy would not leave me alone, until I said, "If you don't get away from me, I won't hesitate to cut you in half!" He did not bother me, yes I have to go that far, even Ichigo knows that because I even looked at him, giving him an apologetic look then he gave me a thumbs up for standing up to his idiotic friend. I sat down where this desk has all of my stuff already, I looked up and Uryu said, "This desk was here because Ichigo went to a lot of trouble getting you settled here, you are lucky to be called his sister." I felt so happy when he said that, then I said, "That's great news just as long as that idiotic person stays away from me." "Oh, Keigo? Don't worry about him," said Uryu, "Just mention Ichigo and he will probably leave you alone." "I didn't think of Ichigo, I threatened to slice him half and Ichigo gave me a thumbs up," I said to Uryu. School started, the teacher sees me and asks, "Where were you yesterday?" "I had a very busy day the other day, I just slept and I didn't know that I slept for 24 hours," I said, "I'm sorry." "It must've been pressuring you to do that," she said. I told her, "You have no idea, I'm very glad to finally be back here." "I understand," she said, then returned to the lesson after our chat. I noticed that Asteria is in this class, Natsume is still in recovery after what just happened, the teacher notices Asteria being in Natsume's desk, she asked, "What happened to Natsume?" "She didn't make it," she said, very sad about saying it. I felt my heart sank hard, not only that but I can feel the tears forming, Ichigo and Rukia sees the pained look on my face, I don't think I could last this long. The teacher looks at me and asked, "Do you to be excused for the day?" "Can I please?" I asked, hoping that she is being truthful. Then she got out a slip, "Take this to the front of the office, Ichigo, since you were the one who enrolled her, you can lead her there so she can remember." "She's already gone," said Rukia. I gave the staff member the slip of being excused for the day, why is everyone having a soft spot for me and only me? I went inside of Ichigo's home because I was given a spare key then I saw Isshin Kurosaki, I asked, "What happened to Natsume?" "She didn't seem to wake up from what was going on," said Karin, one of Ichigo's sisters. Looks like this must be a job of a Soul Reaper to do, so I went to Ichigo's room, I got out of my Gigai so I could see what was wrong with Natsume. Then I found what was wrong, a Hollow pulled her out of her own body, I got out my scythe and shouted, "Hey! Let her go, you Hollow freak!" It dropped Natsume then I did the final blow by doing a Fire Burst on the Hollow and before the attack hit the Hollow I casted a Fire Shield around Natsume so it doesn't damage her. Once the Hollow was taken care of, I asked Natsume, "Are you going to be fine, Natsume?" She nodded, "Just put me back in my body, please." So I led her back to her body, she went into her body and the machine began to pick her pulse, I could feel a smile formed from Shadow Phoenix. I could tell that Natsume is not ready to go to the Soul Society, I went into my Gigai so I could see her walking again and hopefully be in class tomorrow or today because I only wanted to be excused so I could find out what happened to Natsume, so she came out of her hospital room, healthy as she can be, with the help of my Arctic Fox who can heal anybody, I led her back to school, the staff was shocked to seeing Natsume fine. I led her back into the classroom we have together, we only opened up the back door of the classroom, she came through the back door I came in the front, I whispered something in the teacher's ear and she knows, she didn't even point out that Natsume is back. I went to back to my desk after telling Asteria that she might need to take her seat in front of Ichigo, she looks at me, then feels Natsume's scent, she got up and went to her seat in front of Ichigo. I sat down in my desk finally, Rukia was told by Ichigo to let me copy his notes so I don't get left behind, I showed him that I was already caught up before I left, then I noticed we were on another set of notes, I copied them feeling so embarrassed by what I did. I gave them back to him, then continued from there, then we got our assignment for today, well I was considering it because it gives me something to keep me busy for a while. I know that I should slow down but I'm keeping myself away from the Soul Society for as long as I could, Ichigo sees me put 5 pieces of paper in my bag for later, he knows that I can do it fast but then he says, "She means do it now so you don't have to worry about it later, there's going to be a test by the end of this semester, Akari." "Oh, well then," I said, getting them out again and did the work already. Then Ichigo tells me, "Duck your head down for a little." I did that, and he threw a pebble at Keigo who was clearly checking me out from behind, I've never felt so wrong in my life before. Then I heard, "Psst, Akari, switch me to being that you could put me behind your ear." So I did, a miniature scythe was formed and I put it behind my right ear, having the sharp end pointing upwards towards the ceiling and not down near my ear, then Shadow Phoenix tells me, "Get him to try and touch the tip of the blade." "Mom!" I freaked out, in a whispered voice, "We are not harming him!" "Just so he knows that you are armed with a deadly weapon," she said, trying to convince. Then both me and Uryu told her, "We are not doing that!" "Fine, have it your way," she said. Then my curiosity got the best of me, I told myself, "Only one way to find out." During lunch break, Keigo was making his way to Ichigo until I stopped him by saying, "Hey, Keigo or what ever you are called." He came to me and asked, "What is it, beautiful lady?" As expected by Shadow Phoenix, his hand was near the blade, at this point Ichigo and the others were not watching, but Natsume and Asteria were, Shadow Phoenix told me, "Ask him to flatter you. I want to see on what he is going to do." "Could you, I don't know, flatter me like you always do to other girls?" I asked, blushing with embarrassment. Then Shadow Phoenix expected this to happen, Keigo was flattering me while stroking my hair and absentmindedly put his whole hand at the curve of the blade. I've never felt so shocked and surprised on how predictable mother was being, he indeed cut himself by not knowing that there was indeed a blade behind my ear. He yelped in pain so much, I could tell by the look on Asteria and Natsume's expression they were shaking their heads, while Ichigo does not look happy, I mentally asked mother, "Was he going to do that anyway?" "I knew if you didn't ask he was going to do it either way," she said. Ichigo yelled at, not me, Keigo, "What have I told you, Keigo, to leave my sister alone!" "You didn't tell me you were his sister," he said. I said, "You didn't let me say that, now go away before that gets any worse." He very well did not come near me at all, even after I switched the mini Scythe back to being a hairpin, thankfully no one noticed but Natsume and Asteria. Well, that's what I kept thinking that it was only those 2 when Ichigo asked, "What were you thinking, Akari?" "I was told by Shadow Phoenix," I said, "I couldn't believe that if I keep telling him to go away he will not leave me alone so I did what Shadow Phoenix was going to have me do, then my curiosity got the best of me and let her tell me what to do." "She was protecting Akari, Ichigo," said Rukia, "What else would she do?" "Right, Shadow Phoenix is your mother right now," said Ichigo. I nodded, "I only did so she can let him know that I can do damage to him even without the deadliest weapon." "Yeah, I remember that you really had me in pain for days," said Renji, who showed up out of nowhere. I looked at Renji, then told him, "You shouldn't called me that in the beginning." "What did Renji call you?" asked Ichigo. Renji tells him, "I called her something that I might get hit either way." After school, Natsume and Asteria were now my own 2 friends, they are really unique in their own ways, Ichigo seems to like the sudden change, Asteria asked me, "Akari, do you want to play a game with me and Natsume?" "Sure, what kind of game is it?" I asked back. Natsume said, "It's called Dungeons and Dragons, it's an Role-Playing Game." "All you need to know is that the Dungeon Master, aka the DM, tells you on what you see inside your mind," said Asteria, "You can be any race and class." "That sounds like so much fun," I said, "I can't wait to play with you girls." "If there is any one you think of that might be interested in playing the game let us know," said Natsume. Then I told them, "Well, I'm not so sure if my love interest would like to play or not." "You have someone in your life to love?" asked Asteria, "Oh, sweet, Aphrodite, you are a lucky girl to have a lucky guy." "Who is it?" asked Natsume. I shyly said, "His name is Shuhei Hisagi." "Oh my goodness, you have to bring him next time," said Asteria. I giggled, feeling like I trust them to keep my private life a secret, I looked over at where Ichigo and the others were, they were looking at the 3 of us like hawks, then I got out my Soul Page and decided to call Shuhei over because I want to continue being his girlfriend who always be friendly towards her guy. Then Shuhei, in his Gigai, came in, I see him, "Shuhei, over here!" The girls sees him and feel like they were slightly jealous that I got a hunk like Shuhei to be in my life, Asteria said, "Sweet Aphrodite, you got together with a hunk like him!" "You are so lucky," said Natsume. I asked Asteria, "Who is this Aphrodite?" "Aphrodite is the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty," said Asteria, "Remember that I'm from Greece so it's natural for me to believe in the Greek Myths." "Oh, that makes sense," I said. Shuhei walked over and asked, "So what is it, Akari?" "I was wondering if you are interested into a game called Dungeons and Dragons," I said to him, "I totally understand that if you were not interested." "Actually that does sound fun," said Shuhei. I was excited that he is going to play DnD with us girls, Asteria got out a folder and gave us 2 stack of papers, stapled, then said, "Here is everything you need to know about on how the game works. There are books out in the world for this game and I can find 2 sets of the same books but would have your names on them." "Thanks, though that might be too much for us," said Shuhei. I told her, "Give me the books, I love to know what it is about." "Great, and maybe you can get your brother and his friends to play," said Asteria. I told her, "I was hoping for it to be just us." "Oh, alright then," said Asteria. When we said our goodbyes to Asteria and Natsume, we said goodbye to each other, I met up with Ichigo and the others, Ichigo asked, "What was that all about?" "I just wanted Shuhei to be included in something that I am going to be enjoy doing," I said to him, "Besides, I want to know what it feels like to be around people that I made friends with by myself without any guidance." "So far, you are doing a great job," said Ichigo, "But we over heard you saying that you are the girlfriend of Shuhei Hisagi." "Yeah, we decided to let this relationship go on how we were doing," I said to him, "I mean, I'm not dumping him any time soon, he's perfect for me." "Yeah, though you might have to fight for him because we saw a hint of jealousy in Asteria and Natsume," said Rukia. I told her, "They told me that he wasn't their type of guy anyway so they were alright that I found someone that loves me for being true to myself." "Anyways," said Ichigo, "Can you tell us about where are your parents?" "They are the fox familiars Shuhei got me for my birthday," I said to them.

#exoxbleach #bleach anime #soul reaper #gotei13 #a soul meets another seoul #ichigo kurosaki #renji abarai #rukia kuchiki #shuhei hisagi #bleach keigo #uryu ishida #orihime inoue #asteria evarose #natsume shimo #shadow phoenix

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years

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The Great Ex-Aid Rewatch: Ex-Aid & Ghost, Part One

:grabs the popcorn:

This is gonna be hard, because I wanted to try and do this without in-movie spoilers. I mean, I’ve seen the entire show at this point, and if you’re reading my liveblogs, I’m basically assuming that so have you, so not touching on plot points is a little impossible, especially with my overbearing love for going into meta and theories.

Also, it’s going to be in multiple parts. This first post covers about twenty minutes of run-time over the course of several hours of real-time, and nine pages.

Whoops.

(links to the other parts will go here)

–––

Okay, so. In the first two minutes, we have Dr. Pac-man’s three assistants start shooting up the GenmCorp lobby, and I’m pretty sure that the muscle guy broke a guards neck. And then they go after Kuroto, with a very… glitchy Dr. Pac-Man alongside.

We’re talking ‘pre-bugvisor Graphite’ visual glitching, here. As though he doesn’t quite have enough… I dunno, cohesion to stay intact on his own.

Thing is, Kuroto seems genuinely… if not scared, then at least shocked to see him. The dude’s supposed to be very dead, after all.

And seriously, why do people keep jamming proto-gashats into their bodies?! No! Don’t do that! Stop it! I don’t care if you’re a bugster or not, it doesn’t actually help you at all, it’s just going to make you physically unstable!

–––

And here we have Tougo, victim of the day. I have to say, I’ve never liked him much. He’s… annoying. Also, I’m aware that the choice of color for his school uniform is most likely ‘because Pac-Man’, but that doesn’t change the fact that’s it’s ugly. The girls jacket is a nice dark tan, but the boys have this gaim-awful mustard.

And then the Pac-Viruses attack.

–––

Emu’s such a good guy, helping one of his young patients out in both work and as a sort of mentor-friend. Pity we’re still very early in Ex-Aid, and he’s still a horrible klutz. There’s no time to be tripping over your feet, Emu! We’ve got people to save!

–––

…oh no… It never quite clicked before, but I think Takeru had to repeat a year! He was clearly planning on going to university, if only because he and Akari are/were in the same year of school, and she’d never let him live it down if he didn’t. And here? His teacher, who’s practically mocking him for being six months behind, is asking whether he’s serious about his entry exams or not.

So. Since it’s December now, and it was early April when he came back, Takeru missed the entire last half of what was supposed to be his senior year of high school. So here, he’s probably about three months into what he missed before.

Akari, Onari, please don’t disrupt the class like this, they probably all think Takeru’s weird enough as is without him getting called out for superhero business.

–––

You know, Akari reminding Takeru to be careful, because he’s got a regular body now, implies that he hasn’t been careful. Maybe not as Ghost, but… you know, in regular exertion stuff. (And as Ghost, because there’s probably a number of times he’s had to help Alain with. Like. Less-than-satisfied court members or something over in the Ganma world.)

So, both teams are here at the outbreak site. Team Ghost, consisting of Takeru, Akari, and Onari, and team Ex-Aid, consisting of Emu and Asuna. Both of the lads put on their drivers, and simultaneously notice the other one there.

They didn’t meet outside of the suits in Ghost’s final episode, which was an epilogue to his story and a Bonus Sneak Preview Of The New Challenger, so it makes sense that the drivers – both of which are very distinct – would be how they recognize each other.

–––

Of course, that gets us into the slight issue of ‘when does Ghost ep 50 take place.’

See, it’s implied in-show that it’s not long after Takeru comes back to life, which puts it in early to mid-April. He has a line about ‘are we really going to celebrate my birthday twice from now on?’, to which the answer was a definitive yes, so it makes logical sense for it to not be on his original birthday in October.

Except for how Emu couldn’t show up for his Big Damn Heroes moment if it were in April, because he didn’t put on the Gamer Driver until October.

So, when Emu comes to try and get the Shakariki Sports gashat from Ayumu, it isn’t quite chronologically possible… unless you take into account who Ayumu is.

He’s Takeru’s son. From the future. Meaning he time-traveled to get there.

It’s not even unprecedented for the season – Takeru’s father opened the portals that brought Takeru and Shinnosuke back and forth from 2005 in the Ghost & Drive movie, after all. So, it stands to reason that the portal ability, which Ayumu also shows, is a familial power.

What I’m positing is that Emu traveled back in time, and probably didn’t even know it.

He goes to the game worlds and battle stages fairly often, and since suddenly being in a different location isn’t exactly new to him… it would only makes sense for him to not realize that he’s in a different month, too. Especially when one of the stages looks just like the forest behind Daitenkuu Temple, and he has all sorts of flashy light effects going on all the time. An eye-shaped portal could totally just be another one of the standard special effects.

Yup, nothing unusual here.

–––

Okay, that aside, nobody actually gets to transform just yet, because the whole group is swarmed by Pac-Viruses before either of them can activate their drivers, with the viruses quickly singling Takeru out and chewing into him.

He doesn’t get hit with the literal fever that everyone else they’ve done this to are suffering from. No, in Takeru’s case… the Ghost Driver disappears. He pulls out his eyecon to try again… and it clicks uselessly.

Onari suspects it might be because he ‘hasn’t transformed lately’, adding more credence to his and Emu’s encounter being more than two months ago.

Since nobody else here can… time for Ex-Aid to make an appearance.

In level one.

Cue Opening Credits.

–––

So, Emu can’t so much as dent the Pac-Viruses, and then two of Zaizen’s lackeys show up. The man, apparently named Kazushige Ryuzaki, uses the Drago Knight Hunter Z proto-gashat to turn into… (quick search of the wiki) the Doral Bugster. Since I don’t feel like typing out his name, and it’s never said in show anyway, I’m just gonna be calling him Doral from here on. Similarly with the woman, Ageha Takeda, who uses Giri Giri Chambara to become the Giril Bugster.

So, you know, of course the one with a sword is the one Takeru faces off against. Why not? Not like he’s probably got some incredibly justified trauma relating to them. Not like it’s not actually incredibly ironic that his first heroic Eyecon arms him with a sword. Why not re-open some old less-than-metaphorical wounds right off the bat?

Doral basically corners Emu into the parking garage that Takeru and the others tried to bring Tougo through. Oh, yeah, they were trying to get that guy out of the area when he collapsed. I didn’t mention it because he’s not a good character, and exists primarily to guilt-trip Emu. So, yeah. Doral and Giril knock both our heroes down, breaking Emu’s level two transformation in the process, and here comes Dr. Pac-Man, being all ominous and glitchy, saying that he’s doing this for ‘revenge on humanity’.

Suuuure, that’s how you wanna spin it. Humanity in general. It’s totally not against a few very specific humans, one of whom you’ve recently had held at machine-gun point, and the other who has no idea what’s going on.

–––

They use the scene of bringing Tougo into CR for a brief exposition dump – which is fair, both in-universe and out. Takeru’s team wouldn’t know what’s going on, and it helps just in case the parents in the audience haven’t been following what their kids have been watching. It just gives us that little bit of elaboration on the bugster virus, enough so that people aren’t completely lost.

Tougo’s – oh, wow, his ‘infection ratio’ is already at 63%. Usually when they get someone in here, they’re only in the 30% range. But, of course, there isn’t any data to define what’s going on, because this isn’t one of the normal bugsters. There’d be no reason for Pac-Man to be programmed into a Genm Corp system.

(Which actually raises the question of how they were able to see an icon for Burgermon in episode 17, since he wasn’t supposed to be a Bugster, either. Then again, he is from a game Genm Corp was developing. But I digress.)

Anyway, Emu’s justifiably confused as to why Takeru doesn’t seem to be having any of the usual symptoms of an infection. Oh, sweetie, if you only knew- :ahem: sorry, distracted.

Takeru says that no, he’s not feeling any sort of fever, he’s doing fine.

Onari reminds him that ‘he’ll only get hurt if he pushes himself’, and Akari feels his forehead to make sure he’s telling the truth.

Once again, we’re getting the implication that Takeru has developed a habit of going too far.

–––

upstairs, we’ve got a conference call with Secretary Hinata, the Official CR team, and the Ghost team. Onari bursts out laughing at Poppy’s last name – and freaks out when she hops out of the arcade cabinet.

Both of these are understandable reactions, but maybe don’t immediately declare this a supernatural phenomenon? You know, since a government official was the one to first address her.

I will always be frustrated at the reverb effect they gave Poppy’s voice in this movie. There was no reason for Toei to do that, it’s just excessive, and it’s not like they did it in any of the promo materials or shorts, to say nothing of the show itself. Actually…

–––

I wonder if some parts of this movie draw from early planning stages of Ex-Aid? Like, there’s no explaining the voice thing otherwise, and Emu was pretty close to freezing up for a long time in here… despite the setting for it being explicitly between episodes 10 and 11, at which point they’ve already faced an approaching pandemic, with what Graphite pulled in episodes 9 and 10. So, either the team just didn’t think of that, or there were aspects that got… left over.

I mean, it’s not nearly as inexplicably different as the entirety of the OOO section of OOO & W, but it’s not exactly fitting with where Emu would be even just in the first few episodes.

And yes, I’m aware that OOO & W was made when they had one whole episode of OOO to go off of, but that’s why I think there might be artifact plot elements in here.

–––

Okay, back to the film itself. Again. Emu – Genius Gamer M – uses his genre savvy to realize why he couldn’t damage the Pac-Viruses. If, like some of the other bugsters, they’re operating on the logic of their game, then the only weakness they would have would be ghosts. AKA, instead of infecting Takeru, they burned out his ability to transform into Ghost, thus removing their biggest threat.

I mean, only some bugsters use their games that heavily. Motors, for one, the bugster from Bakusou Bike, is ‘prone’ to racing, and technically speaking, Emu and Kiriya cleared the game before destroying him, by beating him in a race. And the Doremifa Beat Collabos bugster was using music just like it would have been in the game itself – if you miss the notes, you get punished. In game, that’d just be a bad score. In the real world… painful explosions. Poppy, the actual bugster from Doremifa Beat, can’t sing without a backing track. And then there’s Burgermon, who was cleared in the same method as beating a level in his game – making a burger for him.

So, yeah, the Pac-Viruses might be in that class of bugster.

Anyway, enter Dan Kuroto and Hanaya Taiga.

Taiga’s all “No, I’m totally not here to help you guys, I’m just not letting these freaks run loose.”

Kuroto tells the ensemble that they stole the ‘heavily guarded’ proto gashats.

If by ‘heavily guarded’ you mean you were clearly reading their data out in the open, in your office. Again. And by ‘stole’ you mean “They had two machine guns pointed at me, and a sword, and I’m not immortal just yet! What was I supposed to do?! Just not hand them over?!”

…Yeah, he may be an evil bastard, but he didn’t exactly have a choice even if he wasn’t trying to keep up his ‘benevolent CEO’ facade.

Taiga’s comment of ‘those gashats are very dangerous’ is not only an understatement, but also… it’s foreshadowing. We know that Kuroto’s been using Proto Mighty Action X, and that it’s slowly wearing him down – Parad told us as much in episode 8 or 9. We know that Drago Knight was actually hurting Graphite, and he’s from there.

And, although we haven’t seen it yet, Taiga also has experience using them. Proto Bang Bang Shooting is what he originally used as Snipe, back in 2011. But we don’t know that even outside of the show just yet.

This movie came out in theaters in December 2016. We found out that the proto-gashats were involved during the Snipe Episode ZERO specials… the first of which wasn’t released until April 2017.

So… here, have some foreshadowing, I guess!

Emu asks if Kuroto has any idea who the culprits could be… and Kuroto pauses before saying he doesn’t. There’s a… not a scare chord, but a ‘you should be really, really suspicious right now’ sound effect when he says that.

I can’t tell if Emu looks disappointed or suspicious.

…Disappointed. He didn’t believe Kuroto could be evil until he revealed himself, so… yeah.

–––

At the totally not sketchy base, Dr. Pac-Man and his lackies are planning something. They’re waiting for Tougo’s symptoms to break out – he was the one they were targeting, after all. I think the Pac-Viruses went after Takeru on their own. They’re also working on something called the ‘genome graph’.

Complete with a diagram of a human gene… that starts off normal, and then becomes blocky… pixellated, almost.

So that’s not sketchy at all.

–––

…oh what the heck. The next scene is the next day. How can I tell? Everyone is in different outfits. It’s not just how Takeru is noticeably no longer in his school uniform, and back to his normal wardrobe. Akari and Onari are in different outfits, too, and Emu was wearing his yellow binary shirt, but now he’s on one of his dark blue ones.

How long does this movie take place over?

(No wonder Haruto was able to show up out of the blue! It’s been at least a day, so he’s had time to find out about this!)

Anyway, Tougo (finally) wakes up, and Emu and Takeru both start questioning him as to why the people in white were after him. Well, Emu’s telling him to go lay back down, because he can barely stand for more than a few seconds without wobbling, and Takeru’s asking questions.

Tougo cares not for your platitudes and worrying about his health, he’s got school and game development to do! Both Emu and Takeru take incredibly personal offense to this attitude.

Casual reminder, both of them were 18, the same age as Tougo, when things went wrong. Well, went wrong a second time in Emu’s case, when he went and decided that he needed to focus on his studies after… well, as we find out later, doing almost exactly what Tougo’s doing. Neglecting his own well being in order to do what he loves – games.

…ohhh no Emu is same hatting really hard with this guy.

(Listen, Tougo, as long as you don’t start identifying with the primary game designer in this show, we’re set. Just accept the fanmail gracefully, and everything will go much smoother.)

But, as Hiiro points out, they technically can’t force treatment on him. But also… well. There are some pretty nasty folks after Tougo.

–––

On the roof, Takeru and Emu have a little chat. They’re both basically going ‘how on earth are you handling the Rider thing?’ to each other’s situations.

Pulling out the Ex-Aid Eyecon, Takeru says that he couldn’t have imagined that the rider that gave it to him is a doctor. He was just so incredibly neon. But the fact that ‘Doctor Emu’ is saving lives as both a doctor and as a Kamen Rider… that really impresses him.

(Please note that Takeru consistently uses “Emu-sensei” to refer to Emu both here, and in HeiGen Final. No, there’s no hero worship going on here, what are you talking about? That’s silly!)

Similarly, Emu’s incredibly impressed by Takeru’s resolve to have kept fighting after dying, and speaking as a doctor, can’t even begin to imagine what that takes.

And then here comes Kuroto, asking to see Takeru’s Ghost Eyecon to analyze it, so they can make something that will effect the Pac-Viruses.

Since Takeru agrees, it means that he’s not tied to it the way he was in the series. It’s probably a different Eyecon completely – seeing as in-show, the Ore eyecon was literally him. Technically, the Takeru we saw was almost a projection – his tangibility depended heavily on his emotional state.

(There’s a reason I occasionally joke about Ghost’s Eyecons being ‘Soul Gem Two: Spooky Boogaloo.’)

(Also, Yurusen shares a VA with Madoka, and that just drove the joke home. Turns out Meduka Meguca is the cat, after all!)

–––

Hatesate Puzzle is an Android game – you can tell, because the list of files includes four different .apk files. Also, it’s up to version 7.21.

But the programming screen? Uses the same stupid block of text that all of the programming screens use in this show. Like, it’s even more egregious this time, because it’s shown very clearly, in decent lighting, unlike in Kuroto’s assorted lairs. Also, it talks about game physics such as collision detection for the ground.

This is a match three game.

Anyway, turns out Hiiro’s idea was to allow Tougo to leave the hospital, as long as he was still being observed. There’s a hundred thousand people infected right now, and the people who did it want him. So… Tougo is bait.

Needs of the many, blah blah blah you could have at least run this by someone, Hiiro. I get not telling Emu. But Asuna should have been informed, at least.

Almost immediately after Hiiro takes his leave, letting Emu take over, we hear static as Tougo staggers backward in his seat and passes out.

–––

We come to a busy office – a busy police barracks. Team Ghost waits anxiously on a visitors couch.

“I’m glad to see you’re back.”

Enter Officer Tomari Shinnosuke: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (active duty); Kamen Rider Drive (inactive).

Takeru and co had called in a favor, and Shinnosuke was only all to willing to help cover this case. Not only is it rider business now, but they’re threatening the city. Not to mention the police squad they destroyed yesterday – handily confirming that a day has, in fact, gone by – means Shinnosuke really wants in.

Turns out the three they’ve seen the faces of were all researchers into genetic therapy with the Next Genome Institute. Doctor Pac-Man is ‘most likely’ their boss, Zaizen Michihiko. Unfortunately…

They’re all supposed to be very, very dead. They died six years ago, as a matter of fact.

Most of the institute’s data was destroyed when the facility was sealed, but there’s a bit of closed circuit footage remaining of the event. Only a few seconds, but it’s enough to show them standing over an operating table, as orange lights encase and dissolve them, squares of light patterning the floor and walls.

Squares of light eerily similar to what they just say the other day, when people were activating Gashats.

Bugster work isn’t the only sketchy thing they’ve done – there were rumors of the institute working with cloning, creating mutants… basically, as Akari says, mad scientists.

(Anyone want to place odds on them being funded by Foundation X? No? Just me? Okay then.)

–––

Emu and Asuna are with Tougo as he wakes on a bench. THey’d moved him somewhere out of the sun, and he’s… An asshole about it. He never asked for their help, and he’ll die when it’s time, anyway, so why are they bothering?

Doctor Pac-Man, still very glitchy, strolls up. “He’s right. None of you are needed here. Why not just hand him over?”

Running time!

–––

Back at the precinct, Shinnosuke promises that he’ll let team Ghost know as soon as they find where the Next Genome researchers are hiding.

Y’know, except for that part where he’s too late, and they’re already going after Tougo, and by extension, Emu.

Shinnsouke’s fired up and ready to go after them.

Y’know, except for the part where Krim locked all of the Drive tech in his depression garage the Drive Pit at the end of the season, and Shinnosuke can’t transform, which Takeru points out, saying that it’s too dangerous for Officer Tomari to go.

Of course, Onari, logically, tries to point out that Takeru’s in the same boat right now, to which Takeru hurriedly shushes him.

Takeru and his team run off to deal with the situation.

Sad music plays as Shinnosuke laments his lack of belt.

–––

And here’s where I decided I had to cut the liveblog for now! Because again, twenty-some minutes, and nine pages of text. This is going to take a while.

See you next game

#kamen rider ex aid #kamen rider ghost #sailorcressy says

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sage-thrasher · 6 years

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Extra: “Sanitize” and Sen’s Story

This is a side story for Sanitize, and it takes place after Chapter 8. It contains spoilers, and it won’t make any sense unless you’re caught up. This is more of a... what if? It has no link to the story canon. Is this actually what happened? That’s up to you. But I wanted to write it, so I did. With no further ado, here’s Decay.

Sebastian didn’t like his name. It felt like a shirt that didn’t fit, pinching under the arms, tight in the wrong places and loose in the others. He was six when he told his parents that he wanted to be called only by his nickname—Seb. It still wasn’t right. There was a sound that didn’t fit. But it was closer, much closer, and easy to ignore.

His parents indulged him. They usually did. He was a surprise baby born to an older couple who’d long given up on their dreams for children. (Seb didn’t know why being an only child made him so sad. He felt like there was a hole in his family; he always expected soft smiles and chattering and sharing things he’d never have to share.)

Seb knew he was lucky. His parents were upper-middle class, one a lawyer and the other an engineer. They loved, if not spoiled him, providing everything he’d ever needed or wanted. So why did he hate wasting food and throwing things away? Why was he so frugal, storing his allowance like it could be taken away any minute? (Why did he have these dreams?)

In school, he knew things that other kids didn’t. Seb had to learn the alphabet with the other kids, he had to read the history textbooks and study, but things came easier for him. Part of it was his parents, both who spent hours helping him learn, but some of it, he couldn’t explain. When he saw a dandelion, he didn’t want to make a wish. He didn’t admire the flower. Seb instead thought inflammation and liver problems.

Still, he was happy. Seb liked people, he liked talking to them and making friends, he liked basketball and video games and bad science fiction, and he liked to learn. He went through elementary and middle school as a gifted, social child, one who almost everybody liked.

(Sometimes, he’d pick up a printed book and marvel at how flawless it was. Sometimes, he’d look at a car or a computer and part of him would dismiss it like a normal teenager, and other times he’d stare, thinking it was magic.)

When Seb started 9th grade in a decent private school, one of the requirements was taking a foreign language. For some reason he couldn’t explain, he chose Japanese. Any of the other options—Spanish, French, Chinese, Latin—would be more practical. But something tugged at him to do it, so he did. His intuition was rarely wrong.

When Seb sat down in his first class and somehow knew the letters and words for a language he’d never heard before, he began to remember. Nothing concrete, nothing that made sense, but he remembered.

The next day, he started a garden.

The day after that, he decided to become a doctor.

Seb worked hard, in school and in his garden. He threw himself into academics with the same stubbornness he used to pull up weeds or argue with his friends. Seb was still a regular teen. He flirted with girls, went to homecoming and parties and football games. But everyone, his parents and teachers and friends, knew something was different.

He had a sense of focus, a sense of grounding and understanding that made no sense for a rich teenager to have. (Why would someone like Seb know how to splint a broken leg with a stick and a shirt without first aid training? How could he speak Japanese so well? Why did his eyes become unfocused because of the strangest things?)

In college, he majored in plant science and took all the classes he needed for medical school. When he took medicinal botany, he fell in love again, and he knew he was doing the right thing. When Seb volunteered in hospitals, shadowing and writing notes, some procedures rung a faint bell. His favorite place to observe was the ER, a place where that feeling of half-remembrance was the strongest.

He applied in his junior year and was quickly accepted into multiple programs. He picked the one with a focus on emergency medicine. Med school was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. (One of, because the dreams of holding a dying child and being unable to save her still made him wake up in cold sweats.) His fellow students joked and marveled about his steady hand in the practicals, telling him that he should become a surgeon. His professors had said so too, but Seb knew his calling.

As soon as he was able, after graduation and exams and residency, Seb joined a nonprofit and left straight to rural health clinic in the middle of nowhere.

It felt like home.

He had two colleagues: Reid, a dark-skinned Briton with Jamaican heritage, and Akari, a sharp-tongued Japanese woman. They helped him man the desk, deliver babies, conduct surgeries, drive ambulances, and everything else. The three of them had to do everything, and Seb had never felt happier or more fulfilled. Sure, the internet was spotty, he got homesick for his family, and he always had a real craving for french fries, but this was what he’d always wanted to do. It never disappointed.

The first time Seb spoke to Akari in Japanese, it had been an accident. She’d mumbled and cursed to herself after their failing ultrasound machine broke again. “Stupid piece of trash. Why do we even bother fixing it?”

“Ye, ‘tis more suited for waste heap, yet mayhap it be better than none,” he’d replied without thinking.

Startled, Akari had stared at him for several seconds, expression changing to mortification as she tried to remember all the other times she’d spoken Japanese in front of him. Her first question was then “You speak Japanese? Since when?” which was followed quickly by “You speak Japanese like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your Japanese sounds... old, like a thing from a period drama. As if you were a peasant for a samurai or lord,” she said, laughing. “But it is very good,” she quickly added. “Almost flawless. Did you learn from TV?”

He shrugged and hummed noncommittally, letting her draw her own conclusions. Akari took his agreement at face value, But, after a moment, she said, “Would you like me to teach you? How to speak more normally?”

Seb squashed down the instinctive feeling of ‘I already speak normally!’ and instead smiled. “I’d like that.”

After that, their friendship became something more. Japanese lessons became long conversations. Their brief moments of free time in the clinic were spent entirely with each other. It got to a point that their patients would giggle, asking if they should call a priest or gather flowers. Even their colleague Reid had begun to crack jokes, even complaining that the lovebirds made him homesick for his own boyfriend.

Well. They weren’t wrong. Akari and Seb did end up married, after a hopelessly long and oblivious infatuation from both sides, after fumbling dates and growing love and an even more awkward simultaneous proposal. Reid was his best man, and his speech was long and embarrassing and the funniest thing that Seb had ever heard. Everyone cried at least once, including Seb’s parents, Akari, her parents (though her father tried to hide it during his stilted speech) and Seb himself. It was one of the happiest moments of his life.

(Yet, even at the wedding, he could hear that same voice whispering: You’re twice as old as you were then. You spent twice as long on this world. Why won’t you let go?)

Akari and Seb had decided on two children. Based on the results of a coin toss, the first child would have a Japanese first name and an English middle one, and the second would have the reverse. As they flipped through page after page of baby names, scrolled through page after page, they couldn’t quite find a first name that fit both their tastes. The middle name would be Madison, for no reason besides they liked how it sounded.

It was during another session of name-searching that his wife had asked, “What do you think of Yui?”

It felt like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed it.

“Seb?”

“Yui?” he managed to say.

“Yes. I like how it flows, don’t you?”

He walked over, heart pounding, and wrapped his arms around Akari. “How is it spelled?”

“In English, it’d look like this,” she highlighted the letters on the screen, “but there are many kanji combinations that could be used for Yui.”

She scrolled down, showing him each one. One in particular caught his eye, with the symbols for only and robe. Something warm and kind and unbelievably sad enveloped him, and he could hear a voice whisper: It will be better.

He shook his head slowly. “How about this spelling?” he said, pointing at the one below it. Ties, it read. The ties that bind one person to another. One world to the next.

“I like it!” Akari grinned at him, and Seb kissed the top of her head.

When their daughter was born, when Seb sat next to his exhausted and adoring wife, when he held the little wrinkled baby who cried defiantly to the world...

“Yui,” he murmured, and he smiled through his tears.

It will be better.

And it was.

#sanitize fanfic #side #oc-insert #naruto fanfiction #extra #sanitize extra

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sheepydraws · 7 years

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I’ll Kick Your Ass, I’ll Kick My Fiancee’s Ass, I’ll Kick My Own Ass! (2/11)

Also on Ao3

Last Chapter Next Chapter

Part 2: Orientation

A slim black notebook with gilded pages. The cover is leather(ish) except for a shiny rectangle where the words “Diary” once were. However, on the inside cover is a nameplate that says, “This Diary Belongs To:” and is signed, “Akane Tendo”:

Why do I bother keeping this thing? All I do is read the entries where I’m happy and excited and figure everything will work out, and then I feel even more upset about what actually happened.

So, yeah. Dad went through with his threat-I mean, “frugality”, and made Nabiki drive down here with me and Kasumi. Nabiki was a total bitch about it so we didn’t get here till two. It’s a good thing Kasumi doesn’t look like a parent, cause she was supposed to be gone by five, but she couldn’t get out till six.

Once she was gone Nabiki went to the dining hall with me, probably just so I could ask, “Why is it so empty in here?” and she could say, “They’re probably all at their first assembly.” with a nonchalant sip of milk.

Her fucking soy milk that she isn’t even supposed to bring into the dining room.

So I scarfed my food and ran to the big arts hall, and I burst into the auditorium just in time for the sexual health and gender lecture.

They had just gotten to the part about gender identity.

I wanted to back out of the auditorium and punch myself in the face.

But I didn’t. Cause that would be even weirder than busting into an auditorium like it was prom night in an eighties movie.

So. Whatever. Great. A great way to start.

Technically nothing starts till tomorrow. Tomorrow will be better. I’ll actually meet people tomorrow, and we’ll do reading and stuff, and there won’t be any more awkward lectures about consent where everyone wants to laugh, or, at least, I want to laugh, but not laugh, but there’s a part of me that just wants to giggle every time they say sex.

It’s okay. Already it’s better than last year because everyone here is going to know me as Akane Tendo, and Ranma Fucking Saotome is two hundred miles away.

Now that is a good way to start the year.

Last Five Posts on okonomiyakimeansiloveyou.tumblr.com:

5. A big ole gooey slab of okonomiyaki spread with special sauce and mayonnaise, marbled so as to resemble the pattern usually seen on mille-feuille.

4. Fanart for Elementary.

3. Beyoncé on feminism, gif set.

2. A photo of a dorm room. Thin white curtains hang from the open window, grazing a bookcase (doubling as a bedside table) scattered with perfume, contact lens case, note book, colored pens, and an orientation flier face down. #already a mess #of course #makes it feel more like home

1. A picture of two girls sitting cross legged on a bed together. One is chubby, with her hair done up in two big buns. It’s so dark it is almost purple (or is that a trick of the light, or a botched dye job?) She’s smiling and making a peace sign with one hand, the other wrapped around the neck of a bottle of grape soda. The girl next to her looks like she was doing the same thing, but she jostled her can of ginger ale, and the photo catches her mid-jerk, hair whipping out behind her as she turns, trying to steady herself.

The next photo is the chubbier girl laughing as the other slumps against the wall, a hand over her face.

She’s smiling, though.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Dude, bro, man, pal,

I’ve got a tournament, so I won’t actually be at school till orientation’s over (I didn’t know orientation was a thing, but whatever, the dean cleared me, so it’s fine) so do whatever you want to the room. I’ll deal. Should be there sometime Sunday.

See ya!

Ranma Saotome

——Bitches ain’t shit!

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Dear Akari,

it’s almost midnight, but I really wanted to tell you that I got here okay, and it’s actually a lot nicer than you thought it would be. It’s not Oxford, but I like the view out my window. Our dorm is kind of built into a hill, so my room is on the ground floor, but there’s a story high drop right out my window, then a hill, then the woods. They’re the kind of thin, scraggly woods you get a lot in America, but I bet it’ll be amazing in a few months when all the leaves start changing color.

That��s really all there is to talk about. I haven’t even met my roommate yet because he has a martial arts tournament and won’t be here for orientation. I looked him up and he’s apparently some martial arts prodigy—if that’s a thing??? Maybe I’ll have something more interesting to write about when he does show up, but for now I just wanted to tell you I’m doing well, and I miss you, and I hope you’re okay, too.

Love, Ryoga

A fluffy pink volume with a tiny heart shaped lock you could break by jamming a switch blade in it. Although why would you want to, since Kodachi would probably repurpose it as an overwrought metaphor, thusly:

The sun rises

But the black veil of my loneliness

Will not be pierced.

I walk the balance beam with purpose

But tears slide aimless down my cheeks.

My misery fills me up. Roots my feet to the beam.

I break from gravity

Yet I cannot fly.

If twirling upside down can not change my perspective—-

How can college ever hope to manage it?

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Your receipt for transaction #34092:

1 Carton Bailey’s Farm Fresh Milk:Whole Fat

4 packs of erasers

2 Canisters Smirnoff Whipped Cream

3 Jars Bacardi Maraschino Cherries (1 without flavoring, 2 with watermelon)

Total: 167.55USD

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Your receipt for transaction #39475:

5 Cartons Snappy Ice Cream (peppermint, peach, cinnamon bun)

6 loaves of bread, Blue Ribbon Artisanal.

4 packs Dom P’s dogs

2 cartons Altoid’s Mints

Total: 443.46USD

Facebook messenger:

Shampoo: Psssst—You didn’t hear it from me, but there’s a party this weekend.

Ukyo: Who’d you hear that from?

Shampoo: Dude in my discussion group mentioned it. Said it’s a freshman only thing.

Ukyo: Sounds lame.

Shampoo: Nah, he said it would be in that four person room, in the basement of the guys dorm? It’s big and the closest TA is a floor away so…

Ukyo: What do you think freshman can even get up to?

Shampoo: Ukyo, we’re college freshman now. What can’t we get up to? ;3

Shampoo: Also dude was bragging that there would be enough booze to drown in.

Ukyo: I guess I can’t say no to bathing in bacardi ;)

Shampoo’s phone ——> Mousse’s phone

Could you tell gran that I can’t come home

this weekend?

Why don’t you do it?

You know she’s bad with texting.

She has more social . media accounts than . you do.

Restaurant stuff doesn’t count.

Still.

You could tell her if . you wanted.

She’ll just talk me out of it. Ask

me, ‘why can’t you come see

your poor ailing grandmother?’

Fine. Only because . you still fall for that . when I am literally . watching her haul a . dead pig out of the . car and gut it like a . fish.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Dear Ryoga,

I miss you so much!!!! At least once the term starts I’ll have classes to keep me busy, but for now all I do is think about you and hope America hasn’t roughed you up too much. I know it’s a small college, you wanted to be closer to your mom, etc. but I’m still a little worried about how a year abroad is going to treat you.

At least I’ll get you for Christmas. It seems so far off (121 days, if you’re bored enough to count) but I know it’ll be here in a second; some years it’s like I get out of the pool and slide right into a jumper and waffle treads.

I hope your orientation thing is going well. Are you actually doing any work, or are they just making sure you know where the washing machines are? Did I tell you that when my Aunt Jackie was doing her first term she slept in the washing machine room for a week because her roommate always had her boyfriend over? I’ve heard so many college horror stories now that I’m going there. It reminds me of my first cooking competition. It’s only after you’ve been accepted and can’t back out that everyone starts talking about that time their oven exploded or their creme fresh was trés rotten. But I’m sure we can tackle this together. <3

All my love,

Akari.

——killin’ me softly/and I’m still fallin’/Still the one I need/I will always be with you

Kodachi’s Journal:

Oh!

That I were like the sparrow!

Free to leave come the winter

And return to any nest I chose.

Trapped in this prison.

Smiling

And behind my smile

I wonder

Who here can not bear the pain of the ambiguity of their emphembral ephmenral limited existence?

Am I alone in my pain?

Perhaps I could relive myself

If only I had a true grand experience

A truly life defining moment

To write about

For this stupid assignment

Which torments my dreams.

Akane’s Diary:

He’s here.

I was in the boys dorm because Betty, (this girl I’ve been hanging out with, Bio major) wanted to grab her boyfriend for dinner. Like in the girl’s dorm, everyone’s room has a little paper square with their name on it on the door, and there it was. In smeary comic sans on door 1C: Ranma Saotome.

Fuck.

Why did I think I could ever just go somewhere and be Akane Tendo?

All I wanted was a school no one from my high school was going to. Somewhere really liberal and maybe on the small side. Somewhere where no one would know me as the guy who’s now a girl who got engaged and then threw down with his/her fiancé in the fucking parking lot.

It’s almost funny. I should have expected this out of my bad sitcom of a life. I should have realized that Ranma’s complete lack of drive, combined with his inability to let down his father, and my father’s apparent desire to ruin my life by associating me with them, would cause this to happen.

Of course he would be enrolled here.

Of course.

Why do I ever hope things will change?

No, no, no pity party. I can change this. I can set Ranma straight. I could get him expelled if I wanted. Fuck him! I am not the one who doesn’t belong here, I shouldn’t be the one to leave.

Final Orientation Assignment

Please write a narrative essay describing a life changing event. The event chosen may be big or small, but the essay must fully describe an experience that changed the way you view the world, how you choose to live your life, etc. The experience may be as personal in nature as you like. You will not have to read in front of your group, though you will be invited to.

Requirements:1,000-2,500 words in length.

Must be narrative in structure. Remember, scene not summary!

Must be an event that affected you. You may not write about another’s experience.

NOTE: Due to issues in previous years, please do not write about losing your virginity, or other sexual experiences. Coming out has been a common topic among these essays, but we ask that you refrain from explicitly sexual material.

Ukyo Kuonji Orientation Group 1 August 18th

How I Learned the Truth

Your best friend should always tell you the truth. I told my best friend that, and he told me the truth: that he had always been a boy. A few years later he told me another truth: That he liked me. Then I came out, and I believed that the truth will set your free, and every other platitude, besides. Love is friendship that has caught fire. The world is your oyster. Tuna is good for your health.

Then my boyfriend told me another truth: He was engaged.

I, the person, who would believe anything, said, “Yeah, right.” I was stupid enough to wonder if what he had said was the start of a proposal.

He stared at me, toying with the scarf around his neck. We were standing at the front gate of our high school. He’d been waiting for me there, early for once, even though it was November and was already cold enough that most people were scurrying inside as fast as they could.

The front yard was fairly empty, so Ranma’s boots scuffling on the cement became the loudest sound.

“I’m engaged to this guy.” He said.

“You don’t even like guys.” I said, forgetting that the rest of the world doesn’t know my boyfriend. Doesn’t always think of him as a boy.

“My dad, he wants me to marry this guy. He’s got this idea, you know, cause I’m going to take over the dojo.” “There isn’t a dojo to take over.” I said, forgetting that Ranma would dive into a pit of hungry cats if his father asked him to. Would gladly take over an imaginary dojo.

“His family has one. A real dojo. It’s really nice. They’re that family dad and I have dinner with on Sundays. You met them once, remember? That’s why I was so weird that day. Our dads were already talking about this.” Under his breath he added, “Making shitty innuendos, even.”

I had already forgotten the faces of the huge family who all rushed past me on their way out of Ranma’s house, but I remembered vividly how good they had smelled, one of them holding a stack of tupperware, steam condensing on the lids. Ranma had been a little weird after that, but I thought it was because we had sex for the first time about a week ago and it was that sort of, pass-me-a-chip-will-you-person-I-lost-my-virginity-to? awkwardness. Not Oh-and-by-the-way-I’m-engaged-to-someone-else-because-I-constantly-crave-my-father’s-approval awkwardness.

I didn’t even know they made that kind.

“But you love me.” I said, and that was the truth. I took Ranma’s hand and pressed it to my chest, except I was a bit overzealous and slammed it into the soft spot between my collarbone and breasts. It bruised. “If your parents are going to suggest a child marriage, why-why don’t you and I get married?”

The second worst truth I learned that day was that I would have done that. I would have skipped school, stolen my father’s car, and found a court house. I would have married Ranma. I could see him and I bursting into my house, red cheeked from the wind and happiness, clutching the marriage license between us, smiling and laughing and invulnerable.

Ranma’s hand slid from mine. Our marriage license fluttered to the ground.

“One, we’re not eighteen. Two…” Ranma held my eyes for a moment, and it was the worst moment of my life because I saw the truth: All those emotions I thought were love, they could be boxed up and pushed aside. Perhaps not without some angst, but it could be done. The truth was that love can not climb mountains. It can’t cure illness. It can’t even argue with your father.

Love is friendship that has caught fire, sure, but then it goes out and the friendship has all burned up. No love lasts. Not the love between a child and their parent, not the love between friends, not the love between lovers. Eventually all you have is a hope of love as you do everything in your power to hold on to the person who used to embody it.

The late bell rang and we both headed inside. We were walking next to each other, but not together. That was when I decided that if Ranma didn’t have to care about this, I didn’t have to either. I wasn’t going to become like him, chasing down love and trying to corner it in dark alleys. I boxed up all my feelings and tossed them down the back stairs. Along with all the shit he had ever given me or left at my house over the years. My dad watched from his chair in the living room as I found every single book, sock, and stupid trinket that I knew was his.

“I thought you two were going to prom together.” My dad said while I was rummaging under the couch. Before my mother left she told me all sorts of important things, like that I should go to therapy and that my parents lost their virginity to each other at prom. I have a feeling my father suspected that Ranma and I were going to keep up the tradition, sans ditching our real dates by the punch bowl.

“Prom’s not till next year.” I emerged from under the couch covered in dust bunnies.

“Still. I thought you two had plans.”

“We do.” They just aren’t the same ones.

My father leaned forward in his chair and put his hands on his knees. “Ukyo, I just want to know what Ranma did to upset you, and if it warrants me going down there with a gun.”

“You don’t have a gun, dad.” I kicked up the rug to see if anything had been swept under it. “And even if you did, you wouldn’t threaten a kid with it.”

“I don’t think you’re kids anymore. You can certainly hurt each other like adults.”

“He didn’t hurt me. He just doesn’t love me anymore.” Of course that was the fact that made my gut burn like there was a hot knife in it, but it was a fact. Ranma hadn’t hurt me. He told me the truth.

Genma’s phone——-> Ranma’s phone

Ranma?

Did you go to get the food? I want two breasts and coleslaw.

Ranma?

Either you’re dead in a ditch or you’re going to be.

August 20th . Orientation group 4 . Ryoga Hibiki

An Experience That Changed My Life.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

I’m in love.

Okay, okay, wait, here’s the punchline: She’s not my girlfriend. Or a friend. Or even my mom.

I just found out that I’ve never been in love before, not with any of those people. I fell in love two nights ago, when I woke up to someone screaming my roommate’s name.

It took me a second to wake up all the way, and for my brain to turn the sounds I was hearing into words, but then it was clear as day.

“Ranma Saotome! Ranma Saotome, I know you’re in there!”

I cranked the window open even further and stuck my head out to scream back, but then I saw her and I just…

She’s so beautiful. She was on the ledge where the hill behind my dorm starts. She stood straight, her fists clenched, shaking with anger. Her hair was cut sharp and short, and her eyes were huge in the strange light. Half blue moonlight, half disturbingly orange street lamp. The glow was unearthly. She was awesome—The old meaning of the word, beautiful and terrible and probably not to be touched, but magnetic all the same.

She paused for a second, then screamed

“RANMA SAOTOME!”

with her whole heart, and all her breath besides.

“He’s not here!” I yelled back.

“Shut up!” She took another breath, ready to scream all night for retribution, so I continued,

“I’m serious, he had a tournament. He won’t be here till orientation ends. He sent me an email about it. I’m his roommate.” It was probably a little garbled, because I don’t have the lung capacity that Akane does, but she understood me. She was quiet for a moment.

“Come in!” I yelled, “We can talk about it.”

“Shut up!” Someone screamed from a different floor.

“Okay!” She said, and she took off running. She was barefoot under her skirt and her legs were so long when she ran they shortened the ground beneath her.

I was watching her run when I remembered that I was in my boxers. I jumped back from the window, put on a light, turned on some pants, and hoped my room didn’t already reek of b.o.

Then she was in my room, and she was just as ethereal under the fluorescents as she had been outside. Her eyes slid from the bare mattress on one side of the room to my half. Not that there was much difference. White sheets, my yellow flannel pillow case that I’ve had since I was ten, half of my key chain collection hanging over my desk and the tiny plastic replicas of the crown jewels. There were also a few postcards and the rest of my keychain collection piled on top of my desk, waiting to be hung up properly.

“I’m Ryoga Hibki,” I said, extending my hand to shake.

“Akane Tendo.” She said, and I found out that her hands had thick calluses on them. It was surprising when I had expected soft skin, but given the smoothness when she ran maybe I shouldn’t have.

“What do you need with Ranma?” I asked. I managed to lean casually against my desk and not slip and crack my head on a varnished corner and kill myself.

“He…” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “He and I have some history we need to sort out.”

My heart plummeted, then rose so quickly I felt dizzy. What did that mean? Was it good? For me? All I knew was that I had to say something similar if she asked about Akari. Lets say she somehow intuited that I currently had a girlfriend. Let’s say. But I won’t very very soon.

“So he put a tournament over orientation and got away with it.” She muttered. “Of course.”

“Well, it’s not like it takes much orienting.” I said, “Y’know, the dorms are here, the classrooms are over there, and the vending machine is down the hall. I figured it all out on my first day.” I puffed my chest up like that was an accomplishment, and she laughed, which actually was one.

“I know. All he’s really missing out on is having to write this dumb essay thing.” (I’m sorry if that offends you, but you said we should all be as honest as possible in these essays. Actually, if that’s true, I wonder if you’re going to have a stack of essays about how stupid these essays are. Not that I think they’re stupid, but that’s just the sort of smart-ass thing a bunch of college freshman would try to get away with).

Anyway, I’ll have to skim a bit, because she said some really personal things about her, and this guy, and the not-relationship they have, even though their parents seem to be bent on getting them together, and you said we weren’t supposed to write about someone else’s experience, so I’ll let Akane write about that in her essay if she wants.

But, even if I can’t tell you exactly what she said, I think I can tell you how she said it. How she enunciates the important words very clearly, how she wiggles her hips a little bit when she’s excited, and how we talked and talked and talked for so long I almost didn’t have the time to sit down and write an entirely new essay. Not that the original one was any good(it was about coming here, and how I’m really excited to be in one place for a whole four years, but that is an experience I hope to have, not one I already did, so I knew it was bullshit from the start), and maybe this one isn’t much better. I mean, it’s just about me falling in love. I’m sure this whole thing has been done to death, but goddamn.

I never got it, you know, the endless poems, and songs, and books about love. I suppose that’s proof right there that I was never in love. I didn’t see it that way at the time. I thought, ‘Sure, love’s great, but does everyone really need to be going on about it all the time?’, but now that I’m in it, I mean sunk so deep I feel weightless, I’ve found out that love is more than worth going on and on about. I mean, I don’t know how I can keep myself from just getting up in the middle of class and saying, “Hey, this Sandra Cisneros poem is great and all, but who wants to talk about how perfect Akane’s laugh is? Like, is there a scientifically provable better sound out there? And, if so, is it even worth tracking down?”

All those cheesy things they say about love, they’re true. And when you feel them down to your bones you find that they fill you up until everything you know about love just comes pouring out.

Face book, Ranma Saotme, Latest post:

A picture of a slushie larger and more red than anything humans were ever meant to ingest in one sitting, jammed into a car cupholder.

The caption above reads: Road trip=cheat day, right? ;p

Ranma’s phone——> Genma’s phone

Just got to school. Figured I might

as well head out.

Glad you were so excited to see

Akane. But how am I supposed

to get my car back?

Seen ✓

What the fuck does that mean?

Ranma, I want my car back.

Ryoga’s phone——-> Ranma’s phone

I dunno when you’re done with

the dean or whatever

But some guys are having a

party in our dorm. You know

the basement room?

No, but I’m ready to party

Excellent.

CRAZY DRUNK FRESHMAN CAN DANCE AND DUEL??!!

A video clearly taken on a smart phone and simply thrown onto youtube, given the huge black margins. The footage is grainy, but not badly lit.

It’s hard to tell if the room is a basement or a living room, given the concrete floors. It sure looks like a house party, though, young people milling around with red cups, someone laughing obnoxiously loud just off camera.

The music that was playing unobtrusively in the background suddenly blares into the foreground as the camera is trained on a desk covered in half eaten junk food.

“Oh shit!” Someone screams, “I know this one!”

Heads turn in the direction of the voice. The camera doesn’t.

A guy lands on the cluttered table. You don’t see him leap, just land. He’s debatably handsome, and clearly drunk, though he still manages to get down with considerable skill. A bit off balance, perhaps with more booty wiggles than a sober person would allow themselves, but the boy can dance.

People are starting to crowd around the makeshift stage, and the camera is hiked higher.

“Hey!” The guy yells, breaking out of his dancing reverie to single out someone not visible from this far back. “Come on, dance with me!” He slides out of view, but a second later he jumps back onto the table, carrying a girl princess-style. She’s wearing a conservatively cut red velvet dress, like she’s at her cousin’s Christmas recital or something, but she looks appropriately confused at this sudden turn of events.

The guy sets her down on the table and starts dancing around her. Not like a bird doing a mating dance, but more like she’s a pole. A pole he finds very attractive. Hoots and whistles emanate from the crowd. The camera is jostled, and for a second whoever is holding it turns and we can see someone with a long brown ponytail and a grin taking up their entire face.

“Send me a copy of this!” They yell. “That asshole’s my ex!”

“Oh, okay,” Says our cameraman. They focus on this person for another second as they laugh, before remembering what they were supposed to be doing and the camera swings back to the main attraction.

The girl on the table has gone bright red, and seems to be trying to distract herself from the fact that half of her class is watching a guy grind on her when she yells, “So what’s your name?”

He kisses her cheek and spins her around, before dropping to one knee, “Ranma Saotome!” He says, before taking her hand and kissing it, as though this is a proper introduction from another era.

“Kodachi!” Someone screams from the back of the room. This time when heads turn the camera follows. A man stands in the open door. He’s sober and wearing a nice button up, so he’s probably not a freshman. He marches toward the table, parting his underclassman like a green sea.

“Ranma Saotome!” He yells in Ranma’s face.

Ranma is still bent over Kodachi’s hand.

“That’s me!” He replies, with a shit eating grin.

The other man seethes for a moment. You can almost see steam rising off of him like a giant boar.

“Ranma Saotome, for besmirching my sisters honor, I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall duel you.”

“What, like, at dawn?”

Tatewaki reaches up and sweeps the girl, who, now that he mentions it, does share his dark, thick hair and elegant nose, down from the table. “At dawn it shall be. I look forward to seeing you on your knees.”

“I don’t swing that way, man.” Ranma says, smacking Tatewaki good naturedly on the back from his perch.

Tatewaki bristles. “You will be begging for mercy!” He goes back the way he came, stopping at the door to adjust his sister’s weight in his arms and announce, “You and I, at dawn, on the hill behind the science compound.”

“Can it be more like six am?” Someone in the crowd yells, and after a general murmur of agreement both men decide that six will be a better time.

“Six on the dot!” Tatewaki says, probably just so he has something to yell before sweeping out dramatically.

“See ya!” Ranma calls back with a cheery wave, ruining the effect.

The video cuts out.

A flimsy, spiral bound note book, with a little tulip on the front, and the words, “MY DIARY” in a faux-childish scrawl. It spends most nights under Kuno’s pillow. Not that he’s scared of his roommate-a brother in kendo-reading it, but he believes that if he sleeps with his transcribed thoughts near him someday his body and his mind and his heart may all line up and stop vexing him with different desires. It hasn’t worked yet, but it hasn’t messed his neck up either, so he keeps at it.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Okay. Alright. I will remain calm. While this is not an auspicious start to this year, I am sure that all this can be cleared up before the end of the semester. Perhaps before September is out.

You recall, of course, how that vile creature, Ranma Saotome, assaulted my sister’s honor. So I challenged him to a duel in order to best defend it. A few students got into trouble for this sort of thing last year, but they were arguing over the Star Wars prequels, and I believe they had guns besides.

At any rate.

There we were, he and I, (and the expected crowd of onlookers) standing on the field that slopes down toward the science building, the mist rolling in, dawn greying the sky above us. It was quite a romantic setting, rather like the rolling moors of Scotland or Ireland—Wherever it is that they have rolling moors and mist in great abundance.

Nabiki Tendo was strutting around as though she had organized the event. Anything for money or attention, I suppose. That she never wishes to be an actress is a great blow to the industry (and likely robs many fine directors of one).

At any rate, there we were, my opponent and I, and he had come unarmed. Also, he was swaying rather strangely. There was no music, and he did not seem to have any headphones. It occurred to me that he may be suffering from over intoxication, but he had agreed to this duel, so it was entirely his problem if he was ill.

Still, I had not expected him to bring a weapon, so I tossed him my back up wood.

“My back up wood.” I explained as he stared quizzically at the sword he had just caught.

He turned his confused gaze to me. “As in, like, back up onto it?”

I wanted to spit at his crudity, but I am not an eye for an eye sort of man, so I managed to restrain myself.

“Draw your weapon!” I said.

He held his sword out as though he were far sighted and needed a better look at it.

“Alright!” Nabiki Tendo yelled. I shudder to recall how her voice rolled across the hill. She makes my skin crawl, and I’m sure she knows it. She winked at me. I wonder if she chalked my shivering up to the mist.

“Gentlemen, you will stand with your backs pressed against each other,” Saotome made a remark related to his earlier statement about my sword that does not bear repeating, “Walk five paces, turn, and draw.” She damned me with her smile once again. “Just to keep things equal. Alright, boys?”

It was not equal, I will say that right now. I knew that my opponent was not classically trained, but I had not expected him to throw his sword at me! I deflected it, of course, but then it was his whole body that was hurtling toward me. I was shocked that I was immediately on the defensive, but I did not intend to remain there. I not only dodged, but managed to spin him with a slight blow which knocked him much further off balance than it might a sober opponent.

He retaliated and almost wrenched the sword from my hands by bouncing off of it, but I got in an uppercut that must have bruised one of his thighs, and I would have done much worse… Oh, he should tremble at night at the thought of what I may have done to him!

But that was when I heard screaming, and the crowd watching us dispersed. It took me a moment to understand just what was happening, but then I caught sight of the back of Nabiki Tendo’s head, and, though I am not a sailor, I too understand what it means when rats flee a ship.

Now, I am a man of honor, but I am also a man who doesn’t want an expulsion on my record. I ran into the green house that adjoins the science building, wiggled through the doggy door that would get me into the science building proper, and hid in the room where they’ve been doing laser experiments. A perfectly honorable way to flee, I assure you.

At any rate, though I wish I had given Saotome an real injury to consider rather than merely the threat of one, I feel safe that my sister’s honor was as protected as it could be under the circumstances.

Kodachi’s Journal:

My darling.

Forgive me

The vile things done in the name of my honor,

I assure you my honor was not bruised, nor even beset.

The purity my brother imagines of me is not of my design.

Though,

I admit.

Never before your hands

and thighs

and rock hard ass

has another man’s touched me as yours did.

I know you will understand when I explain it to you.

I hear you did admirably in my name

Perhaps you have grasped my feelings already

We share a link unbound by the laws of time and space.

In fact, as I fell asleep last night,

I could hear your name in my chest rather than a beat.

Ran-ma

Now my life begins.

#ranma 1/2 #fanfiction #college au #episotary #rankane #chapter 2 #i'll kick your ass i'll kick my fiancees ass i'll kick my own ass #personal #text #long post #ranma saotome #kodachi kuno

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danganronpashowtime-blog · 7 years

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Mother: Biographical Movie || Chapter 2 Performance [Pt.1]

Day and night no longer feel like they used to. This place. Its atmosphere exceeds in tearing down one’s spirit. So much so, in fact, that even time itself was starting to feel wobbly, and discontinued. Had it really been weeks? Or is it closer to a month now? Several months, perhaps? You’re honestly not sure. The tiring routine of extensive training and psychological distress corrupts even the healthiest mind. You’re not sure how long it’s been: But you’re damn sure you’re not close to getting out. Sekai’s laughter creeps into your sleep, haunting you with the thought of never again leaving this place. Never seeing your loved ones again. Stuck with the same colors and shapes, and faces, and sounds, for all the remaining breaths within you. However long they may serve you.

Schedule and teamwork are the recipe for sanity, for a good chunk of you. This performance required extensive knowledge and technique of all, about all. It’s easy to get yourself lost in thought once you’ve learned something new. Even more so when your life depends on it. Piles and piles of books, hours of this hell-forsaken fortnight spent on perfecting something you previously knew close to nothing about. These “boosts”, whatever they may be, make a machine out of you. Technique, specifically: You can’t help but take in whatever knowledge you acquire. You’re like a computer, storing data, ready to use it and expand upon it, whenever you see fit. With each passing day, you feel a slight tint of coldness latch to your chest. A small, faint, breath-like void. It’s as if Oasis itself, and the buildings that contain it, are ripping the humanity out of you. Bit by bit.

You didn’t have time care about it, though. Performance day creeped in faster. Sooner rather than later, you heard Sekai’s announcement, claiming the “big day” to be no more than twenty-four hours away. However long that is in this place; And so, you gathered with your remaining classmates and you followed the director’s instruction the best you could. You watched ideas being tossed back and forth, during the filming and editing process. You did your part. You gave your best and expected the bare minimum in return. It’s a strangely familiar feeling, since last time. The expectancy. The volatile air in every room you were in. Disaster could ensue at any moment, you were made very aware. But alas, so came the time to call it. The director clapped once, only to call everyone’s attention, and claim, for certain, that “Mother” was officially done. But there was little celebration. With seven hours left until the screening, and the dawn slowly approaching: Most defaulted to a night’s sleep.

The presentation was scheduled to midday. The sun was just cresting over the skyline as you managed to close your eyes. And quickly it rose. Hours later, you’d say, you were woken, Sekai’s voice blasting through the speakers.

“Children of mine, how are you all this fine morning? This is a special day, after all. The audience is being directed towards the Movie Land Cinema as we speak! As well as a few hand-picked movie critics I happened to have the number of... And no, you cannot go there at this time. We wouldn’t want any of you scaring them away, would we now?”

She laughs to herself, fond of her diabolical scheme.

“In a few short minutes, after they all are comfortably sitting down in their chairs, then I request all of your beautiful faces to be at the Studio, no time to waste: I’ve setup a screening of our own! How nice of me. We’ll watch just as they do! Should be fun, no? So, once you hear the beep, your doors will unlock, and I’ll expect all of you to be at the Studio. Is that clear? Good. I’ll see you later, my children!”

You were numb to those words, almost. You got the memo. You tested your door: And indeed, it wouldn’t open. So, you waited. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes. Thirty-two, exactly, when the speakers boomed a loud, deafening, one-second beep. The doors promptly unlocked, and you began to make your way to the Studio, feet dragging through the pavement, as you began to coalesce into the small crowd of your classmates. Nearly all sharing the same displeased look as you. In fact, a couple try to sprint toward the Cinema, only to find the door sturdily locked. It was worth a try.

Once you’ve arrived, you were faced with twenty or so director’s chairs, each with a name assigned. Naomi’s being at the very center, and the closest to the oversized screen hanging from the ceiling, not a few feet away. Smaller than the movies, but bigger than any ordinary TV you’ve ever seen. Displayed on it, only static. It’s only when the last one of you sat down that the screen turned black. And a faint piano tune began to play.

Amidst the darkness on the screen, a hoarse, breathy female voice spoke up: And so ensued a narration, explaining Naomi’s early beginnings, which depended on little of her own volition. Even before her birth, her mother, Kamiko Ishii, an already world-renowned ballerina, badly injured her knee, tragically terminating her dancing career. Not long after, she promptly married a man whom she didn’t love, purely for this wealth and appearance. A man of no substance, a blank slate of personality. Together, over the course of a year, they made the voice narrating the very lines you were hearing. “Me”, the voice, now familiar to you spoke up, “Naomi”.

From this point onwards, the narration becomes scarcer and sprinkled throughout the film, instead of acting as its bulk. Naomi’s childhood starts being depicted: A friendless, inhospitable first couple of years. Here it starts to become clearer what the big picture is: Kamiko’s undying thrive to refine and perfect her daughter into what she was never able to be herself. The perfect version of herself, a perfect woman; and the mind, heart, and soul of ballet. Her daughter’s cries mattered not, as her passion for contemporary dancing, any and all signs of rebellion were not only silenced but severely punished. The varied abuses become commonplace, making Naomi frightened of her mother. Her calls for help to her father were promptly ignored, his blind eye was made of steel. Already absent in most moments of her life, even this crucial need of aid clearly wasn’t enough. Naomi was alone. And alone she endured this pain for many years to come.

Since a very young age, Naomi was enthralled in one of the most esteemed ballet academies in Japan, where, during years of intensive training and borderline militaristic routine, her talents truly flourished. This can mostly be attributed to a single person, a teacher in the academy by the name of Akari Handa, the one person Naomi claims to compete with her mother in terms of severity. Hand-picked, this teacher played a major in Naomi’s teachings. The movie included several scenes of their training sessions and minute improvements, from day-to-day. And even in her impressive displays of talent, even to the academy’s standards, there was always one face ready to steal the spotlight: Kiyoko Arakida, whose flair easily outshined that of Naomi.

The piling pressure to surpass Kiyoko easily got to her. She attempted to befriend her, but her mother would always disapprove, until eventually forbid the idea altogether. She was to be considered an enemy. When the situation seemed like it couldn’t get any direr, Kiyoko received the lead in the academy’s next big production play by Akari Handa herself, a role her mother specifically instructed her to acquire, no matter what. In a scene of heavy atmosphere, proceeded by the role assignments, Naomi is scolded by her mother in a back room. There, in the midst of her anger and blinded judgment, she implied it was up to her, and solely her, to figure out a way to get this role back. Whatever that takes. No matter the consequences.

In a fateful day within the academy, Naomi and Kiyoko met alone, and exchanged pleasantries, until ultimately, as Kiyoko turned to leave, beginning to head down a set of stairs, Naomi hesitantly, having her Kamiko’s works echoing within her mind, pushed her in the back. The girl tumbled forward in an especially well-crafted shot. Naomi’s reaction of terror and realization as the girl finally reaches the end step. The ballerina’s shadow cast on top of the unmoving body, now whimpering and bruised. She screamed for help, and the scene faded out. The next shot is her receiving the lead role from Handa. Sadness in the air caused by the tragic accident.

The remaining scenes are distant shots of her dancing, dubbed over by her narration. “This was all for you”, she said and paused, the applause echoing in the distance. “You, your name, your voice was the only thing in mind for the all my days and nights”, she said and paused, the applause echoed ever-so-slightly quieter, the still shot of the performance begins to fade. “Through your harshness and cruelty, through all the countless times I’ve wished for something better”, she said and paused, the applause now barely audible, the performance barely visible. “Through it all, I always thought of a way to tell you how much you’ve made me into who I am”, the applause ceases, the shot fades to black. “So, after all of this”, the background stillness continued, “This isn’t a record of my life. This wasn’t made with my story in mind. This is but a simple letter to you. And I do honestly hope you someday get to read it-”.

And so the film ends abruptly. Once the credits roll, the first thing to appear on screen is the movie’s title, in big, round calligraphy:

“Mother”.

The movie’s theme cues as the credits roll and lights inside the building turn on. Sekai’s voice immediately booming from nearby speakers.

“Wasn’t that wonderful? The audience seems pleased! We’ll have to wait a day or two for the critic review, but you shouldn’t feel too bad. I must admit… This was better than the last trash you did! If we keep going like this, maybe we’ll have something decent by the tenth performance or so. How exciting, wouldn’t you say, my children?” She laughs. “So, you’re free to go to your rooms. Rankings will be out tomorrow. As well as rewards for our esteemed Star and punishments for those who were too bothered to practice. That should be fun!”

The speakers turn off, the static echoing off of the room. The door unlocks. That sure was an experience.

#drshowtime #danganronpa #group #important #ch2 #plot #chapter 2 #performance #biographical movie #movie #tw; abuse

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rieshon · 5 years

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Fall 2018 Power Rankings

Wow, I actually finished this shit sort of on time this season.

1 Yagate Kimi ni Naru: You know a show is good when you put off finishing it just because you don't want it to end. I did that with Yagakimi this season, and not only is it my favorite show of the season, I'm pretty sure it's my favorite yuri anime of all time. It's not just that Touko and Yuu are such an adorable couple, but that the story and relationship dynamics are genuinely original for a yuri anime. You've got two heroines who are de facto dating from the outset, so no will-they won't-they bullshit like most yuri stories (lookin' at you citrus)... But only sort of, because it's complicated. You've got one heroine who doesn't want her girlfriend to fall in love with her because she has a weird identity crisis because of past trauma and is afraid to embrace her own individuality which having someone fall in love with her would validate because she's "only herself" around said girlfriend... And then you've got the other heroine who thinks she's asexual/aromantic but slowly starts to realize she's actually just gay, but only after she's promised her girlfriend she won't fall in love with her because she "can't." To say this is a weird relationship is putting it mildly. There's also some stuff you usually don't see in anime at all, like another character who actually IS aro/ace, and a live-in adult lesbian couple (one of whom is actually revealed to be bi later on) who are the Big Gay Mentors to the younger characters. There is still the requisite amount of Yuri Melodrama, of course (elevated by a beautiful soundtrack from the venerable Haketa Takefumi) but it's so much more interesting than usual here. Oh, and of course, as I mentioned above, Touko and Yuu are the most darling couple ever, perfect cinnamon rolls who must be protected. Well, okay, maybe not perfect: they got issues. But I love this story and characters so much I actually picked up the manga to read what happens next, and I basically never do that. Maybe it's not technically the "best" anime of the season, but it's the one I love the most. ★★★★☆

2 SSSS.GRIDMAN: Somehow, based Trig just keep doing it. You'd be forgiven for thinking Darling in the Franxx, the show that has "SMART ANIME FOR ADULTS" practically engraved on everything about it, would be the 'cerebral' robot anime Trigger made this year, and Gridman, a spinoff of a cheesy tokusatsu show that was itself a spinoff of Ultraman, would be little more than a fun but forgettable robot romp. You'd be totally wrong, of course: Gridman is every bit the heavyweight that previous Trigger/Gainax robot anime are, with its own flair of course. It takes a while for it to fully develop and present its themes about social anxiety and isolation, but once it does it really pops off. The dual heroines of Akane and Rikka are brilliant, not just for their lewd character designs but also for how well their stories are written. Rikka is the real hero of the show--Yuuta might be the one jumping around in a robot, but ultimately Rikka is the most important. Stellar performances from both Ueda Reina and Miyamoto Yume as Akane and Rikka, respectively, really carry the thematic weight of the show. There is, of course, some great art and animation on display, as you might expect from Trigger, who always make the most (and then some) of whatever resources they're given. Episode 9, which takes place for the most part inside of a dream, was especially visually striking. An all around great production and one that won't soon be forgotten. ★★★★☆

3 Zombie Land Saga: With all that out of the way, here's a show about some moe zombies. Ah, anime, even after all these years it still finds ways to surprise me, like a show about moe zombie idols being as genuinely moving as it is hilarious. Probably the weirdest thing about Zombie Land Saga, even as a show that features the undead filming commercials for a Saga-based fried chicken restaurant and competing in a Takeshi's Castle-style mud Olympics, is that it unironically works as an idol anime, too. All the characters (well, except for Yuugiri, who is woefully underutilized) really do grow throughout the show and it gives the idol anime aspect a really solid backbone to build off of. Of course, Zombie Land Saga is more than just another idol anime, and calling it a zombie idol anime is somehow still selling it short. From the aforementioned chicken commercials, to the unforgettably epic zombie rap battle, to the middle schooler biker gangs, to basically everything Yamada Tae does, this show was not just surprisingly moving but shockingly hilarious at times. Also, it must be noted that these zombies are fricking adorable: definitely way cuter than the undead should ever be. Especially Junko who is the best girl, once again proving the superiority of Showa idols. ★★★★☆

4 Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai: Since this is a light novel anime through and through, it seems fair to describe it in terms of light novel anime: it's basically the Monogatari series meets Oregairu. Our sardonic protagonist with a heart of gold (and impossibly hot girlfriend) meets a bunch of high school girls with weird supernatural problems and helps them solve them. That might make it sound boring or derivative, but as I always harp on, it's really all in the execution and Aobuta sticks the landing. It reminds me of those above shows not just in narrative content but also in terms of how sharp the dialogue is: it is one of those delightful shows where you could have two characters just have a conversation for 24 minutes and it would still be endlessly absorbing. The reliable Ishikawa Kaito is great as our male lead, bringing not just snappy wit to the table but also a surprising amount of emotional depth in later story arcs. The aloof, sarcastic protagonist is of course done to death in this genre (hi, Kyon!) but Sakuta is certainly an example of it done well. It helps that he's such a loving oniichan and cute boyfriend, which really endears him to the viewer. The gallery of heroines is of course stocked with plenty of cute and sexy girls--the art and animation is top notch--but what really carries the show is Sakuta's relationship with his girlfriend (and best girl) Mai, which is a continuing story throughout the series even as the focus moves to other heroines. They're just so adorable together. Ironically, the element of the show that probably matters the least is the weird sort-of-sci-fi plot hooks: you're really just here to watch these characters talk through their emotions and stumble through adolescence, and the sci-fi plot devices are basically incidental to all of it. ★★★★☆

5 Himote House: Talk about a dark horse of an anime... Himote House is the latest... thing... from the man, the myth, the legend who brought us Minarai Diva, Ishidate Koutarou, and it's great. It's half nichijou-kei anime, half just a seiyuu radio show that's animated, and it's all superb. In the scripted bits, the show can get wonderfully weird, from the episode that used the Game of Life to teach us about the lack of gay rights in Japan, to the episode that took place entirely inside of a copy machine, and I haven't even mentioned the Bitcoin episode yet, which is too bizarre to even give away in this review no one will read. The unscripted bits are also great thanks to a collection of some of the seiyuu industry's top personalities, including the always great combination of Suzakinishi, comedic genius Mimorin, and the criminally underrated Mizuhara Kaoru whose performance as Tokiyo really must be experienced: it starts over the top and just keeps going from there. Even the cheap 3DCG animation is surprisingly charming, and it's at least good enough that these girls look genuinely cute, although the show is also helped along by regularly inserting some nice hand-drawn stills in the most important moments. Almost everyone probably overlooked this show this season, but I'd give it a hearty recommendation. ★★★★☆

6 Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san: I hope Comic Cune anime are here to stay, because this was certainly the best pure nichijou-kei offering this season. It's "cute girl vampires" but, as you might expect from the source, this is the most laid-back depiction of vampires you're ever going to find in fiction. None of the human characters even seem to be remotely bothered that vampires are in their midst, the sun is an inconvenience that mostly makes it harder to go buy manga in the middle of the day, and they order their blood from Amazon. Even when a vampire hunter shows up, she's just won over by the vampire girls' cuteness. It does use vampire lore to tell some amusing jokes at times, like Sophie getting trapped outside because she had to count all the seeds in a sunflower, or Akari getting a plank put on her in bed because the vampires felt bad that her bed didn't have a lid, but mostly you're just here for the cute girls cuting, and cute they do. There's the requisite amount of soft yuri, and the character designs and animation are fantastic. Very little to complain about here--the show's only real weakness is that the jokes are occasionally kind of meh. Ellie is best girl. ★★★☆☆

7 Uchi no Meido ga Uzasugiru!: Shocking no one, the Comedy God delivered again. This show is frequently laugh out loud funny, and it's helped along by animation from Douga Koubou that is right up there with some of the best they've ever produced. The sole factor that makes this show somewhat weaker than Oota Masahiko's previous works is that with its completely absurd comedic premise it is ultimately trying to tell a very serious story--about a little girl who is terrified of having her late mother replaced by having any other adult woman enter her life--with a premise that definitely should not be telling a serious story. The show is at its best when Tsubame (voiced by Numakura Manami in some of her best-ever work) is being an irredeemable lolicon shithead, not a role model. Still, the show is pretty great most of the time, and it only gets better when ドM best girl Midorin turns up about halfway through. The Russian loli is pretty cute too I guess, but as seems to always be the case in these shows (I can't help but remember another Douga Koubou production, Mikakunin de Shinkoukei) the silliest and most perverted girls always steal the show. ★★★☆☆

8 Irozuku Sekai no Ashita Kara: It's a P.A. Works original, so that means it's time to complain about how it's not as good as other P.A. Works originals! Seriously though, although it's not the second coming of TARI TARI, this show is easy to recommend, being beautiful both artistically and narratively, with a simple and heartfelt story to tell about a girl going to a new place (well, a new time) to discover herself. Yep, you guessed it, this is one of my favorites: sentimentality anime! Girl literally learns to see the beauty in the world that she had been blind to by leaving her comfort zone and falling in love. Good shit, good shit. My main complaint is that the best girl, Kurumi, gets short shrift as best girls often do, although she at least does get one little story arc to develop her character. Ishihara Kaori is solid as the female lead, but I just loved Naobou as the snarky Kurumi so much. It's also worth noting that although the cast actually has a fairly even gender split, all the male characters are pretty much inoffensive to likable, which is all I really ask in a show like this. There's no one on the level of Wien, but Chigusa and Kurumi's relationship was pretty cute. Overall, though, this show is just about drinking in the atmosphere and the feels, and trying to avoid thinking about time paradoxes. ★★★☆☆

9 Akanesasu Shoujo: I had cautiously high expectations for this show going into the season, and although it didn't blow me away with a masterpiece, I was satisfied with what I got. The show doesn't have the best production values, but it has a solid premise that is executed well. A group of misfit high school girls in the incredibly lame Radio Club find a way to slip between alternate dimensions, have misadventures where they learn that The Real Power Was Inside Us All Along, and end up saving the universe from being consumed by some vague evilness. The story comes courtesy KID's Uchikoshi Koutarou, and definitely feels like something you might find in a science fiction visual novel. It's not afraid to be at least a little adventurous, with the various dimensions we visit being varying degrees and kinds of social commentary, and it even goes as far as killing off major characters and actually letting them stay dead! Plus, it had Kurosawa Tomoyo basically playing like three or four characters at once, which has to be worth something. If nothing else, I respected this series. ★★☆☆☆

10 Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet: Romeo and Juliet may well be the Bard's most widely popular play, so it's not surprising that now we have an anime version of it... sort of. In true anime fashion, this is not a tragedy of star-crossed lovers, but a comedy of errors about two goofball kids who fall in love at a ridiculous boarding school. Set against a backdrop of, uh, race war. Kayano Ai's blondenblu Juliet is pretty cute but as is typical in these shows the best girls never win, namely Ayaneru's Hasuki and the actual best girl, Shimamura Yuu's Chartreux. As always, the gay girls are the best. The show does have an unusually likable protagonist for one in this genre: Romio is a big dork who is singlemindedly dedicated to his cute girlfriend, and even if she's not the best girl, you definitely want to root for them. A pretty good show. ★★☆☆☆

11 Animayell!: Kirara anime are playing second fiddle to other cute girl shows again this season, but like Harukana Receive last season, this show is still decent. What it lacks in a compelling premise (sorry, not only do I come in thinking cheerleading is lame, but the show's animation isn't good enough to get it over as a cool thing) it makes up for in the most important ingredient for an anime, homosexuality. Not only is there the immaculately gay Hanawa-chan and the extremely homo Ukki, for some reason at one point theres also a completely random, out lesbian side character who asks our heroines for advice confessing to her female home tutor. But yeah, it's definitely worth it for Hanawa and Ukki at least; your mileage may vary on the rest of the actual show. ★★☆☆☆

12 Sword Art Online Alicization: I've repeatedly gone on record saying I love a slow burn, and I don't necessarily mind when nothing happens in a show if its at least giving me some good atmosphere and characters to gnaw on in the meantime... But man, is the new SAO one slow-ass show. Though I've never read the books, this really feels like a case of following the Original Way too closely. That's not to say that what is here is bad by any means; there's some truly interesting concepts, a good SAO story, and of course some stellar animation, but they probably could have cut this first cours down to like, six episodes and still accomplished the same things. I still have confidence that it will get more hype as we progress, though. There's a long way to go in this one yet, so this rating is anything but final. ★★☆☆☆

13 Debidoru!: This show is an ugly looking 3DCG abomination that was probably made in MikuMikuDance, but thankfully we now live in a post-Kemono Friends world, and so Debidoru! was still pretty great. You couldn't ask for a better trio of voices for an ad-lib stuffed comedy than Hanazawa Kana, Mimori Suzuko and Iguchi Yuka and they fill their roles with aplomb, especially Iguchi, who at one point tsukkomis so hard she clips the microphone. Like the best no-money shorts it also had some moments of true ART, like Sugahara Souta (the director) singing the moe opening song (in one uncut take) for no reason, or one of the greatest things I saw all season, episode 11, which was done (also in one take) entirely with paper cutouts of the characters in front of a camcorder. It's not really a mastapeece in the way Himote House was, but it was certainly a memorable little show. ★★☆☆☆

14 Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu Mama: I'm as surprised as anyone that this show ended up as low as it did, but by the end of the season I had a hard time convincing myself to even load up the latest episode of this one, and it's hard for me to really even say why. On the face of it it should be my jam: it's full of cute girls and pastel colors, and it's even occasionally lewd. Really, it's probably just because there's so many male characters who get a decent amount of attention in the narrative. It also doesn't help that Beelzebub (despite being a cute blondenblu voiced by Oonishi Saori) is not really a very appealing character, which makes the protagonist, who is constantly fawning over her like she's the best thing since sliced bread, come off as less likable as well. It had some good stuff too, like Sargatanas's shyness and Gocchin's needing to pee constantly, but I guess it wasn't quite enough to hold my interest. It also doesn't help that my favorite girl, Eurynome, was barely even in the show after she was introduced. We ankle fetishists gotta stick together, man! ★☆☆☆☆

15 Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken: I had exactly zero expectations for this show to begin with, so I was pleasantly surprised with it at first. Those great typographic effects, especially, really sucked me into the first episode and I was excited to see where it went for the first few weeks, especially with the promise of cute girls on the horizon. The girls have been underwhelming, though (mainly by virtue of their having nothing to do in the story) and what actually is going on in the story, I find incredibly dull. Rimuru is just such a booooring protagonist, and his very existence tends to sap the tension out of scenes since you know he's ridiculously OP and will probably just absorb whatever bad thing shows up next like he's absorbed every other bad thing up to that point. 俺TUEEEEEE isn’t even necessarily something I hate, and it can be made to work, but Rimuru isn’t cool enough of a guy or really interesting in any way that I can self-insert and live vicariously through his TUEEEEE-ness. Just give me more Shion, she is the best purple oni secretary. ★☆☆☆☆

16 Hashiritsuzukete Yokattatte: I guess I should put this down since it's technically a show I finished from this season. It's kinda boring and lame, do not recommend. The girl with the glasses never even puts them on, she just wears them on top of her head like a doofus the whole time. Might have been able to deliver some feels if it was in a longer format, but just falls flat due to the <60 minute total runtime. ☆☆☆☆☆

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