#Take a shot every time i say ritsu here
Text
i gotta tell you how i feel about you
rating: general audiences
archive warning: no archive warnings apply
fandom: ensemble stars
relationships: harukawa sora/suou tsukasa, narukami arashi & sakuma ritsu & sena izumi & suou tsukasa & tsukinaga leo
additional tags: fluff, love confessions, pining, meddling, i love that that's a tag, anyway the other knights give tsukasa advice, and then spy very badly
words: 2,645
published: 2023-07-10
summary: he exhales slowly and feels some of the worries leave him. if his seniors had faith in him, then so did he. and how hard could saying i like you, harukawa-kun really be?
for sorakasa week day 1: confessions
here on ao3
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tsukasa can’t remember the last time he was this nervous.
he’s standing outside the entrance of café cinnamon, a few minutes before he’s set to meet sora for their scheduled meeting. instead of looking forward to this as he normally does, his heart is racing and his hands are clammy. realistically, tsukasa doesn’t have anything to worry about in the first place, and that would be true now too if he didn’t decide earlier that week that today would be the day he confesses his feelings to sora.
though it’s not exactly fair to her, tsukasa would like to say that arashi is to blame for this.
a month or so ago, she’d said that his little excursions with sora — the ones where they meet to eat together and then return to the dorms to play whichever game sora has picked out for them — sounded like dates. and, after some careful consideration, tsukasa came to realize that he wouldn’t really mind if they were dates.
the only issue with knowing that is how to tell sora as much.
at first, tsukasa debated with himself on whether or not he was going to tell sora, but there’s only so many times he can think about holding his friend’s hand in a non-platonic way, daydreams of being the one to lace their fingers together before it getting to him.
he’d been trying to tell sora for a few weeks now, yet all of those failed since every time he’d gathered the courage to tell sora, the two of them would be interrupted or something would come up and his words would stay stuck in his throat. at least tsukasa knows sora well enough to know that they wouldn’t stop being friends if he were to confess, which does make him feel a little more confident.
tsukasa takes a deep breath.
he’d spent a little longer than he’d like to admit in the mirror this morning practicing confessing to his reflection while shinobu and souma were out of the room. it had helped then, but glancing at his watch every few minutes as time ticked down to their meeting time wiped away any calm he had.
somewhat reluctantly and not entirely up to him, he consulted the other knights prior to coming to the café and their support had somewhat made him feel better.
it’d started when leo interrupted him mid sentence while tsukasa was discussing business matters, having called a proper knights meeting to talk about their budget as well as the potential of a live in the coming weeks.
“suo, what’re you so antsy for?” leo asked.
tsukasa looked up from the papers in front of him. “leo-san, it’s rude to interrupt someone while they’re talking, we’ve gone over this. and i don’t know what you’re referring to. i’m perfectly calm.”
leo shot him a disbelieving look. “then why do you keep checking the time?”
tsukasa mentally cursed leo for being so perceptive at the worst of times. “i have a meeting with someone later,” he explained. then, feeling a little self conscious, he’d added, “and i don’t ‘keep checking the time.’ i’ve only looked twice.”
at the same time leo said, “three times,” arashi cut in by asking, maybe a little too excitedly, “is it one of your little dates with sora-chan?”
tsukasa sighed. “i told you before, they aren’t dates.”
“that’s not a no, suuchan,” ritsu pointed out.
“why are you all so interested in my plans for later?”
“naru-kun’s just interested because she can’t get a date,” izumi said, earning an offended gasp in response from arashi.
“that’s so not true,” arashi defended.
tsukasa rubbed his temple. “it’s not a date,” he repeated. then he paused.
as much as he dreades bringing any topic regarding his time with sora up with them — he knew that his seniors would tease him about this for who knows how long — tsukasa could use some advice or at least someone to hear him out.
“but,” tsukasa started only to trail off. he wasn’t sure what was more nervewracking, the thought of confessing to someone he likes a lot or admitting to some of the people he holds the closest that he has a crush.
“but you want it to be,” ritsu finished for him, a sly, knowing smile coloring his words.
tsukasa bit the inside of his cheek. his face felt hot and he was all too aware of the fact that they were waiting for some kind of response, so he avoided their stares and instead looked at the table as he nodded. there was a beat of silence and then another. it was more unnerving than he would like to admit.
“ah, sena! our son’s all grown up!” leo yelled.
tsukasa thought he preferred the silence.
as izumi grumbled out some response, tsukasa looked over to see arashi miming wiping a tear from her eye. “oh, they grow up so fast,” she said.
“narukami-senpai,” he deadpanned. “i’m a month younger than you.”
she, of course, ignored this. arashi reached across the table and took his hands in hers. “let onee-chan help you.”
her eyes were so bright and hopeful that he found himself saying, “very well,” without much hesitation.
arashi perked up and somehow brightened with his response. maybe agreeing was a bad idea, but tsukasa held the four of them highly, trusted them enough to know that she truly wanted to help if not also gossip a little bit.
“naru’s really good with love advice,” leo sagely added. arashi preened at the compliment.
tsukasa felt himself flushing again. acknowledging he likes sora is one thing, but calling it love felt like a little too much.
“tsukasa-chan,” arashi said, “tell me everything.”
“we’d be here all day if you have him do that,” izumi pointed out.
“nacchan, just help him with his date,” ritsu said. “than you can ask him all you want later.”
arashi looked a little disappointed, but she agreed nonetheless with a small nod. “okay, tsukasa-chan, tell onee-chan about this date of yours.”
the urge to deny its status as a date sat on his tongue, but he didn’t say it that time. it seemed a little hypocritical by that point. tsukasa gave a little shrug. “harukawa-kun and i meet sometimes to have a meal. then he chooses a game for us to play once we return to the dorms.” he considered his options briefly before adding, “i am… planning on telling him about my feelings today.”
arashi squealed which made tsukasa feel even more embarrassed about sharing that aloud with them. she squeezed his hands between hers as she said, “you are? tsukasa-chan, you’re so cute. how are you gonna do it?”
tsukasa pretended he didn’t notice the other three being just as attentive as arashi even with them not saying anything. “is there a way i should do it? i was just going to tell him outright. i don’t want to complicate things.”
“tell him with a song!” leo piped up.
“leo-san, i’m not going to sing to him in the middle of café cinnamon.”
“boo, your loss. a song would work, i’m telling you. there’s no way it wouldn’t.”
“not everyone is like you, leo-kun,” izumi said, sounding like they’d had similar conversations before. “no one just has a song ready for every occasion, you know.”
“i do,” leo replied. “sort of.”
leaving the two of them to bicker on their own, ritsu said, “i don’t think it has to be anything extravagant, right, nacchan?”
she nodded. “as long as you get your feelings across, that’s all that matters. don’t overthink it, okay?”
now, a little over an hour after that conversation, tsukasa finds himself overthinking it all.
he exhales slowly and feels some of the worries leave him. if his seniors had faith in him, then so did he. and how hard could saying i like you, harukawa-kun really be? so, with a somewhat clear mind, tsukasa heads into café cinnamon only to stop dead in his tracks a few steps inside.
the last thing he expected to see there is all four of his seniors sitting at a table off in the corner, all donning sunglasses as if that hides who they are at all. as soon as tsukasa pauses, clearly staring at them, they all lift their menus and act as if they don’t see him.
he sighs heavily. he shouldn’t have told them anything.
seeing as they’re intending on spying, tsukasa decides to ignore them for the time being. he spots sora a second later, sitting at the table they tend to frequent on their not-dates.
“ah, tsuka-chan! hello!” sora greets as he nears.
as tsukasa pulls out his chair and sits, he says, “ good afternoon, harukawa-kun. were you waiting long?”
sora shakes his head. “no, but sora doesn’t mind waiting. he was busy looking at people’s colors.”
“i see.” that’s reassuring at least.
“oh, sora ordered for us. he wasn’t sure what to get you, so he just got the parfait you had when we were here last.”
tsukasa gets a strange little rush of warmth from that. they haven’t been able to meet up all too often recently, so for sora to remember when he’d gotten when they’d last been together makes tsukasa feel special. “thank you. that was what i was going to order.”
sora nods along, slowly slightly as he looks past tsukasa. “leo-san and the others are here.”
tsukasa internally groans. so much for that moment. “just ignore them,” he says.
sora smiles and waves, which makes tsukasa turn to see both arashi and izumi yanking down leo’s arm as he waves back to sora. while there’s a hushed argument playing out behind him, tsukasa sighs again.
“my sincerest apologies for them,” he says as if that would make up for anything. “they’re just here to meddle, so it’s better to pretend they’re not even here.”
it hits tsukasa when sora tilts his head slightly and asks, “meddling with what?” that maybe he didn’t think that one through before saying it.
“um…” tsukasa finds himself clamming up. he wasn’t planning on telling sora here in the café of all places, partially worrying about any unwanted listeners as well as him thinking that he’d rather have that conversation be something between the two of them. it doesn’t feel proper to confess his feelings here of all places, especially with his seniors very poorly spying on them. “i…”
sora patiently waits for him to continue. tsukasa would normally appreciate it, but this time, it only makes him feel put on the spot. despite having been trying to prepare himself for this moment for a few weeks at this point, it feels like all of that preparation flew out of the window at the last minute.
luckily, before it gets to be too long of an awkward pause of him trying to come up with something, what sora had ordered for them arrives at the table. tsukasa thanks the waiter, who he thankfully doesn’t recognize, before deciding to keep his gaze on his parfait as a distraction.
tsukasa acts like he doesn’t feel eyes on his back as he says, “i will tell you later.”
sora accepts this easily, humming to himself as he begins to eat whatever he’d gotten for himself. tsukasa refuses to look at him, working on calming his nerves as he picks up his spoon and begins to eat as well.
it doesn’t take long for his phone to buzz in his pocket. at first, tsukasa doesn’t think much of it — and it would be rude to check it when he’s with sora anyway — but then it buzzes two more times in quick succession. he slides his phone out of his pocket to see the messages are coming from the knights group chat, mostly along the lines of asking him how it’s going. his phone buzzes once more in his hand; a message from arashi asking if he’s told sora yet.
rather than responding to any of them, tsukasa shuts his phone off and puts it back in his pocket. he doesn’t need any more input from them currently. after all, he has enough to think about since he’d already said too much and essentially promised to tell sora why the others are there.
either way, he can’t let this go on forever; tsukasa knows he’ll have to tell sora sooner or later and he’d already told himself that today was the day. he’s not one for giving into cowardice, but when tsukasa looks up and sees sora staring at him, eyes questioning as he asks, “is everything alright, tsuka-chan? your colors are all over the place right now,” tsukasa thinks maybe he could let this whole confessing thing go for another day.
however, his mouth doesn’t seem to be on the same wavelength as his brain as tsukasa blurts out, “i like you.”
the two of them stare at each other and in that moment, tsukasa thinks he might know some peace today if the earth swallowed him whole. he’d been intending to tell sora at the right time — whatever that meant — and not now. he feels more nervous now than he had before at just the thought of saying those words to sora.
tsukasa’s spiraling is put on pause when sora giggles. his cheeks are tinted a soft pink and his eyes are sparkling in a way tsukasa knows will stick in his head for a while. “sora likes you too, tsuka-chan.” with that, sora makes a happy little noise and goes back to eating his own parfait.
huh.
was it really that easy this whole time?
“you do?” tsukasa asks. he feels warm again and he’s very happily ignoring the whispered chatter behind him.
“mmhm! sora was waiting for you to say something.”
that makes tsukasa freeze. “you knew how i felt ?”
to that, sora looks a little sheepish. “mm, well… sora had an idea since your colors would get brighter around him, but sora didn’t want to say anything until you did.”
tsukasa isn’t sure what’s worse, that sora’s been aware to some extent of his feelings this whole time or that his seniors are still sitting there watching this all happen. “i… see.” he isn’t sure what else to say. he’d much rather hide his face in his hands until he stops feeling so warm and jittery.
“you don’t have to worry about sora telling anyone else, though, he promises.”
“thank you for that at least,” tsukasa replies.
does he have to fill the others in as promised if they’d been sat there watching the whole time? at least arashi was right, he didn’t have to overthink it so much.
he picks his spoon back up and continues eating his parfait. sora is content to leave the rest of their meal silent, so tsukasa takes the time to think. he certainly feels less tense now, the adrenaline of the confession wearing off a little to make him feel slightly more calm about the whole situation. he supposes any further conversation about this could be done away from the prying eyes of the other knights.
the building nerves have settled into something more of a pleasant giddiness. tsukasa’s lips pull into a little smile as he finishes his parfait. sora must notice because when tsukasa glances up at him, sora is smiling back at him, cheeks still a faint rosy hue. tsukasa wonders if he looks the same.
against better judgment, tsukasa glances back at his seniors. as soon as they notice he’s looking, ritsu and leo give him thumbs up and arashi is quick to follow. tsukasa stares blankly at the four of them for a second as ritsu tries to get izumi to follow in suit before turning back to sora. now seems like as good a time as any to ditch them.
end notes:
i just think. knights would join together to look out for (read: spy on) their youngest lsdkgh know that the sorakasa sillies held hands on the way back to the dorms (i couldn't figure out how to add this in)
everyone say thank you to the ao3 volunteers who have been working on getting the site running
title from satellite pls listen to it, i think it's a cute song (plus esc propaganda askhdg)
#sorakasa#for sorakasaweek on twt#don't mind the fact that it took me like. a week to write this#but do know that the whole part of knights sitting at the table w sunglasses on was one of the first thoughts i had for this whole thing#found family but if found family meant showing up unannounced for your maybe going to be a date to just make sure everything goes well#knights are just so silly to me#my fics
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Top 3 Mob Psycho 100 arcs and why?
Firstly, I apologise in advance because I think this has got a real wordcount now. I tried so hard not to tangent, okay. I failed.
Okay, so most of these are closer to the end of the manga/anime and this could be recency bias in action, but tbh I think what it basically is is that the earlier arcs set up the characters such that by the time you reach these arcs that you as the audience have the investment to really get them?
Confession/???% arc
Separation arc
Divine Tree arc
Reasoning (and tangents) below the cut:
Confession arc
So this arc brings closure for pretty much every character. the only one I feel a bit iffy about in terms of that is Shou and I have seen some possible explanations as for why he says he won't use his powers anymore as a good thing but I can't help but feel that his arc is basically lagging behind everyone else? it's not a dealbreaker and he's clearly in a better place as of the epilogue but that's the only one that feels weird to me. I was also a bit wary about Dimple's return but have since swung myself around to accepting it rather than just "letting it pass"
Anyway,
teru part - all the callbacks to his intro arc, the mirroring but the roles are reversed.
touichiro - finally gets that 'redemption = death' would be an escape route for him rather than him actually owning up responsibility and living with his mistakes. him deciding to 'run away' saves both him and shou and leaves it open for them. both touichiro and shou are basically learning the lessons mob learnt on a delayed timetable
ritsu - there are definitely more intelligent things I could say here but the part of his confrontation I liked the most was how he recognised ???% as mob and accurately pinned down a load of what mob himself was going through before mob himself did
mob internal !!!. yeah !!! is all I got here. it's my favourite part of the entire arc bar maybe the reigen-mob parts so I really struggle to put words to it
reigen - mob. resolves both of their arcs in one shot and brings to light the parallels that honestly had not been shown the limelight previously?
The brief answer here is: closure for character arcs and bringing subtext to the text. I will say the anime dropped the ball a bit on the latter though with them deliberately missing some lines that made intentions clearer (Ritsu's plan to get himself hurt to snap Mob out of it; ???% calling out Mob disowning his powers so he didn't have to take responsibility for them; Ritsu realising that Mob didn't harm him at all). Still, the majority of it got through even if only by implication so I'm still happy with it, just overall prefer the manga for this arc.
(That said, I do like how several of the anime choices in the first episode of this arc (pre-truck-kun) deliberately call back to shots from the very first arc of the series to show how Mob has grown. He can actually receive a football now, run without immediately collapsing, when he goes to people it's to ask them for advice not because they need something from him)
Separation arc
-First thing, up until this point we actually have no idea of Reigen's life outside of Spirits and Such. This arc lets us peek behind the curtain and what we see there is grim. It also lays down groundwork for confession arc re: Reigen's 'hidden' side.
- okay so the thing is, Reigen doesn't need mob for psychic powers necessarily. in this arc, he's doing great as a 'psychic' up until the live show and Reigen successfully figures out that the 'victim' is faking it. by all accords just has to follow the script and get home free, but because he previously humiliated Jodo it was all a setup. I really didn't appreciate this until a recent rewatch, but the way in which Reigen is tricked would still work even if Reigen were a true psychic. either way, he knew the 'victim' was faking and acted as expected on a supposedly scripted tv show. Reigen also got by fine before Mob came along and could probably just avoid taking on clients who may actually be haunted. My point is, in terms of powers? that may have been the reason why he first 'hired' Mob, but that's not the full reason he keeps him around now.
- Anyway, Reigen is just miserable the entire time he's away from Mob this arc, both before and after the fame trip. Even the fame trip parts where he's ostensibly doing great read as almost... manic? In how he's trying to prove just how well he's doing. There are also the Mogami references with the bugs when Reigen hits rock bottom which just really emphasise how Reigen could easily have gone down another path
- And! this all happens over his birthday. which, yikes, but also it means when we see his next birthday in the epilogue and he's surrounded by people trying not to cry it's just that much sweeter
- also I've mainly zoned in on the reigen aspects of this ep, but the thing that kick starts the arc after reigen is way too harsh is mob setting his foot down. there's no way he would have done that in s1, but because he's grown over the course of the series (and as I saw another post point out recently, as he's just come from mogamiland where he was constantly belittled by others) he decides to walk away. and honestly, that was the healthiest thing for both of them at that point? this arc does come to a really good conclusion imo but first it shows the toxicity in the mob-reigen relationship and starts the process of mending some of it. mob's answer when reigen asks him if he knows (he's not a real psychic) is sweet, but ultimately a sidestep from answering fully. so whilst on first watch you may think it's all resolved, some of the threads laid down here return in confession arc.
- it may not seem it from what I've written above, but reigen does genuinely hurt mob. if you had to assign who of mob and reigen were the most toxic element in their dynamic it would be reigen hands down. mob's main flaw in terms of their relationship comes down to being too passive (and him breaking out of this is literally what triggers this arc) and his refusal to confront reigen's lies head on. meanwhile reigen full on claims mob doesn't have friends and lowkey encourages mob to keep him as his priority when mob considers branching out (the entire thing about him saying mob shouldn't join any clubs especially. it could be argued there was some genuine concern in there mob was being taken advantage of by the telepathy club but the reason reigen considers that so fast is because that's what he himself is doing). reigen keeps insisting that mob will return to him because he hasn't got anyone else. like, if that happens in a real life friendship/relationship, it would be a huge red flag, you know?
- Reigen absolutely lashes out like this and tries to cling to Mob as his lifeline as a defence mechanism. it's not spelt out until waaay down the line, but reigen does believe he is inherently unlovable if he shares his full self. and until the very last arc, if asked to choose between pushing someone away or letting them in properly and truly, I sincerely believe he would choose the former. and yet, he does absolutely want to have that connection as this arc shows. he's just too scared to be the one to reach out. It doesn't excuse his actions in any way but added to everything else (estranged family, closest he has to ‘friends’ are bar acquaintances) it paints the picture of a lonely, lonely man.
Divine Tree arc
- it's about faith as a concept but largely divorced from any specific real life religion. cults! return to teru's entire pedestally thing. another image of mob as an image of god! so fun thematically.
- I really really liked how the anime adapted the horror aspects of this arc. There was one specific episode that was directed so differently from anything in the other episodes and it was so so unsettling. I loved it.
- my favourite part is where dimple is trying to do his villain monologue and it becomes more and more apparent that he's actually just doing this to try and cling onto some purpose. he hasn't wanted to really "rule the world" or anything like that for some time, but if he faces that then what reason has he left to exist? And it may be okay for humans to just trundle along with no purpose but a spirit with no reason to exist? a spirit with no reason to exist cannot exist.
- which is why confession arc when it's revealed that mob's faith in dimple kept him around it works. the one person dimple didn't try to overpower to worship him is the one person who actually believed in him? in confession arc itself I kinda give the return a pass because I don't like it when sacrifices get retrospectively cheapened, but with the context of the whole of divine tree it... actually works? (and there are some more reasons why it has to be both dimple and reigen to reach mob but that's a tangent here)
#girlwhodeceivesfate#ask meme#mp100#mp100 spoilers#mob psycho 100#please don't ask me about the concept of grammar and punctuation. I gave up midway and just tried to make it readable
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WOLF GAME
THE WOLF GAME - PART 2
━
ME : Wh-What's going on here? I was definitely talking to a girl just now...
I checked every nook and cranny of the room, but there was no sign of the girl from earlier.
ME : What the hell is going on...? A-Anyway, I gotta get outta here.
Letting out a shaky breath I refocus on the task at hand. Mustering up all my courage, I reach for the doorknob and attempt to turn it.
"Click. Click."
ME : Shit! It's locked! ...Huh? What's this...?
Upon closer inspection, I noticed something was scribbled across the door. "Only in the bright light, the key to escape this room is apparent."
ME : What does that mean? The key is in a bright part of the room? I guess all I can do is look around.
-
ME : Huh? Is there something taped to the light fixture...?
ME : Is this...A key? Why would that be here? I guess I should try it on the door...
ME : The key unlocked it...Now I can finally get out...
Swallowing hard, I turned the knob & slowly pushed the door open. Terrified about what could be on the other side.
MISAKI MORI : Ah! Another one showed up!
CHIE KOMIYA : Th-This is the last door, right...? N-Now they've all been opened...
This room was considerably larger than the previous, and there were several more people scattered about.
MAKI TAKAYAMA : Were you also brought here against your will?
ME : Y-Yes...
KOU NIIMURA : Then it would seem we're all in the exact same situation.
ME : Um...What the hell is going on here?
RITSU KAMIKI : That's what we'd like to know!
RINTAROU IIDA : We all found ourselves here suddenly♪
At that moment, an eerie voice echoed throughout the room.
EERIE VOICE : Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen~! Welcome to the Wolf Game! Please, hurry and take your seats! Each of you should have a chair with your name on it!
Despite the instructions from the eerie voice, we all remained stood in place. Looking around at each other. Wondering where the voice was coming from.
EERIE VOICE : Hey, come on guys! Listen to what I'm saying!
TAKEO KOJIMA : Just get us the hell outta here! I'm a police officer!
EERIE VOICE : Even if you belong to the police force, you can't leave!
KOU NIIMURA : In that case, how CAN we get out?
EERIE VOICE : Geez! If you guys don't listen, you'll have to face the consequences! I will only wait 10 seconds! If you aren't in the chairs by then you will be punished!
EERIE VOICE : 10...9...8...
RITSU KAMIKI : Oh god, I can't deal with this anymore...!!
EERIE VOICE : 7...6...5...
MISAKI MORI : Shouldn't we at least consider doing what it says?
EERIE VOICE : 4...3...2...
CHIE KOMIYA : Wh-What if something terrible happens!?
EERIE VOICE : 1...0...
EERIE VOICE : You have broken the rules! Time for punishment!
TAKUYA TSUCHIYA : Oh God, what’s that weird beeping noise!?
In the next moment, a sharp searing pain shot through my body.
TAKEO KOJIMA : Oh fuck! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
RITSU KAMIKI : What is happening!? IT HURTS!!
MISAKI MORI : AHHHH!!!
SATORU YONEMORI : Make it stop! Make it stop!!
MAKI TAKAYAMA : Hurry!! Stop it!!
#Wolf Game#Wolf Game Another#Wolf Game translation#Wolf Game another translation#狼ゲーム#狼ゲームtranslation#Zetsubou Prison#絶望プリズン#Zetsubou Prison translation#絶望プリズン translation#Wolfpart2
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Ok since you obviously love Ritsu so much (honestly who doesn’t), could you please tell me how you think he feels about the other Sohma’s? I really wanna hear what you think about the character dynamics there because that’s what really drew me into loving the series. I love what you’ve written about fruits basket, keep up the good work and have a lovey day!
omg this is such a good ask, im excited to dive into this
i am going to use they/them pronouns for ritsu so that its the most neutral lol i know some people prefer he/him, some prefer she/her, and i respect all those preferences for ritsu so ill use they/them as a middle thing lol
I honestly think that ritsu probably doesnt think they have the right to dislike any of the sohmas. Even akito. Ritsu probably feels absolute dread regarding non-zodiaca outside of their parents, but when it comes to the zodiacs, i think ritsu has a pure empathetic soul that could never just not get along with someone. but let’s go thru the zodiacs (as i think their dynamics is what you wanted to hear about right? lol)
the main 4 (yes, tohru is a sohma in my head): as we have seen- shigure and ritsu have a very brother/sibling relationship. Where shigure is the older brother and ritsu is the trouble making and naive younger sibling that are a bit distant but respect each other. shigure teases the poor monkey and ritsu thinks highly of the man. Its honestly kind of a cute relationship to me even though shigure is such an ass lmaooo as for kyo, i would have loved to see ritsu lean on his shoulder or trample him like their mother did LOL kyo’s reaction would be priceless. And yuki......i feel like yuki associates ritsu with ayame and just ignores ajdjsj but ritsu doesnt seem to mind and still loves him. TOHRU AND RITSU THOUGH 💕💕💕🥺🥺😊😊 the sweetest babies!!!! absolute angels- i think they learn a lot from each other where tohru gains a deeper understanding of the sohmas and ritsu learns its okay to want to live for someone and to want a purpose in life.
Now as for kagura: i absolutely adore kagura and ritsus relationship. Afterall, kagura let ritsu wear her dresses growing up and helped them feel comfortable while figuring out their identity. I wish we would have seen them as adults interacting!! i just know kagura would be like “i just KNOW that guy looked at you wrong, you want me to key his car? stab his tires? take out his engine? what do you want me to do” and ritsu is like “UUUHhhHHHHH PLEASE DONT”
momiji and hatsuharu: i feel like momiji would be really sweet with ritsu.....like “hey ritsu, i like your kimono :-)” and ritsu would instantly cry. Hatsuharu is really respectful and also a bby so hed probably offer some of rins clothes to borrow LOL
hatori and ayame: hatori DEFINITELY knows ritsu probably the best- other than kagura and ayame maybe. hatori is very empathetic and tries to be patient with ritsu and probably does his best to keep ritsu out of akito’s mind. Now, i headcanon that ritsu eventually starts working under ayame and ventures into fashion and clothing design, and ayame would teach them how to gain confidence. I believe ayame would be the only person to never lose his temper with ritsu’s breakdowns. He would just simply override it with his own dramatics but ritsu respects and admires him so much that they’d be like “you’re right cousin ayame........” and Mine would just be like “can you guys not do this around customers PLEASE”
for rin, kisa, and hiro: post-canon rin would be supportive of ritsu and actually hang out with them! imagine tohru dragging rin along to hang out with ritsu and kagura 🥺🥺🥺 I also feel like hiro would talk mad shit to ritsu and when they get older kisa would scold him definitely. BUT remember the fanart of ritsu helping hiro put on his traditional wear? i just KNOW that they get along and ritsu loves and cares for hiro a lot like a brother. but we definitely have haru or kyo who probably smacks him when he’s rude to them LOL. Also imagine kisa braiding ritsu’s hair or doing it to match her’s 🥺
lets seee who is left. kureno! honestly have they even met?
akito: ugh ritsu is irritating me again
kureno: ........whom?
AJDJS im jk but i feel like they would actually be the sweetest together. Kureno shares many personality traits with tohru, so it’d just be kureno being his angel self and ritsu trying not to explode cuz someone is nice to them
Thank you for sending this ask! i hope i answered it well lol tbh all i think about is ritsu interacting with the sohmas and i really had to shorten some of these haha im always down to gush about ritsu!!!
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Day 6: Takaritsu Day/Confession
I can't believe @takaritsuweek is almost over 😭 please enjoy this one shot ❤
***
Ritsu was starting to become convinced that the universe was trying to tell him that he and Masamune shouldn't be together. Every time Ritsu attempted to confess something went wrong and prevented him from doing so.
First it was the dinner disaster (the first of many dinner disasters, in fact). Ritsu had attempted to prepare a nice dinner for he and Masamune to share, but when Masamune came over what he found was Ritsu in a complete mess of a kitchen. The two of them spent their time cleaning everything up instead of eating as Ritsu apologized profusely for the trouble. It had taken so much courage for Ritsu to even ask Masamune over and then Ritsu had gone and ruined it all. It took everything in Ritsu not to cry, but Masamune managed to distract him with the suggestion of ordering in and watching a few movies. Somehow it ended up being at least a little bit fun, but Ritsu still felt bad for messing everything up.
Then there was the flower failure. Ritsu had thought that maybe a different romantic gesture would be good. When he had left his home to go get a bouquet the sky had been an ominous gray, but he hadn't brought an umbrella. He had only just managed to avoid the rain as he rushed into the shop. After purchasing his flowers he had hung around the shop to wait for the rain to pass. Luckily it was a short, though intense burst and Ritsu didn't have to wait for too terribly long. He left hurriedly after the rain stopped, but he wasn't able to stay dry for long as a car sped past him and totally soaked him with dirty street water. And had soaked the bouquet as well. Ritsu locked himself in his apartment for the rest of the day to sulk and Masamune had never learned of Ritsu's plan to surprise him.
The list went on and on: the chocolate calamity, the botched beach day, the festival fiasco, and not to mention the repeating ringtone. The repeating ringtone, as the name suggested, was a repeat offender. Masamune and Ritsu seemed to just not know how to turn their stupid phones off and every time Ritsu is about to open his mouth and say those three little words, one of their phones ring to interrupt him.
Ritsu was at his wits end. He couldn't even think about confessing at this point without getting extremely frustrated or just wanting to cry. At this rate he would never be able to confess. Maybe it really is the world trying to tell me it's not a good idea, Ritsu lamented. How many times could his confession go wrong before Ritsu finally took it as a sign?
Ritsu's pessimism was growing with every failed confession and eventually it started to become noticeable to Masamune. It was difficult for Ritsu to look Masamune in the eye and spend time with him outside of work when it was just a reminder that he was never going to be able to properly communicate his feelings because for some reason fate had a vendetta against him.
Masamune didn't understand why Ritsu was suddenly starting to avoid him after the two of them seemed to be making progress. Why was Ritsu suddenly only speaking to him at work? Why wouldn't Ritsu maintain eye contact with him for long? Why couldn't Masamune make Ritsu blush as easily as he used to? He was becoming seriously concerned and if he had to corner Ritsu to get answers then he would.
That's why Masamune was currently standing in front of Ritsu's apartment, knocking on his door insistently. When his knocks didn't get a response he then started to call Ritsu over and over again. Masamune knew how to be annoying and damn it he would annoy the hell out of Ritsu until he couldn't possibly ignore him anymore.
It took a while, but eventually Ritsu's door slowly creaked open. Ritsu narrowed his eyes at Masamune as he rejected what must have been Masamune's twentieth call. "What do you want Takano-san?" He asked. Well, Masamune had definitely succeeded in annoying Ritsu.
"I'm coming in." Masamune said instead of answering, managing to push past Ritsu and into the apartment.
"Takano-san!" Ritsu exclaimed in protest, but Masamune ignored him as he took off his shoes. "You can't just come in here whenever you want!"
"It's cleaner than usual. Is that why you've been avoiding me? You've been spending your time cleaning instead?"
"What? A-avoiding you? I haven't been avoiding you." Ritsu said as he averted his eyes, not able to look at Masamune as he lied.
"Are you angry with me?" Masamune asked. "Did I do something?" He stepped closer to Ritsu, invading his space as he so often did.
"No-I'm not-" Ritsu backed up, pressing himself against the door as he shook his head. "You didn't do anything, but I'm a little busy, so if you could please show yourself out." He huffed, managing to get past Masamune and walk deeper into his apartment. He should've known that Masamune would follow.
"How am I supposed to apologize if you won't talk to me?" Masamune pressed.
"I already told you, you didn't do anything." Ritsu repeated. "Other than letting yourself into my apartment!" He added. "So, please, just go-"
"Ritsu, whatever I did, I'm sorr-"
"It's not you!" Ritsu insisted, his frustrations beginning to build up inside him rapidly from every push from Masamune.
"Then why won't you even look at me?" Masamune frowned, stepping closer to take Ritsu's hand, but the brunette quickly snatched it away.
"Because...because looking at you makes me think of how much I'm screwing this all up!" Ritsu covered his face with a hand, humiliated.
"What? Ritsu, what are you talking about?" Masamune asked, reaching out to put his hands on Ritsu's shoulders.
Ritsu refused to look Masamune in the face, even with Masamune attempting to coax him to do so. "Every time I try to plan something nice, it all goes wrong! How you're not sick of all this nonsense yet I'll never understand."
"Ritsu, I still don't know what you're talking about." Masamune frowned. Just what the hell was Ritsu going on about?
"I just want things to be perfect and they never go the way I plan: I either almost explode my kitchen or forget to bring sunscreen to the beach or get sick after too many festival foods or have a stupid author emergency that interrupts everything! You don't even know how many plans I've had that never even got off the ground! Everything just gets messed up every single time!" Ritsu was getting more and more worked up as his eyes started to water.
"Ritsu..." Masamune stared, feeling a little useless in this situation.
"I'm sorry." Ritsu apologized. "I'm a pretty crummy boyfriend, huh?" He laughed humorlessly.
Boyfriend? Boyfriend? Had Ritsu just willingly referred to himself as Masamune's boyfriend?!
"Are you an idiot?" Masamune squeezed his shoulders.
"H-Huh?"
"So what that things go wrong sometimes? Do you think that's what I remember?" Masamune asked. "I remember having fun at the beach because you had fun. Yeah, we got a little sunburnt, but having a red back was worth spending time together. I loved watching you get all excited at the festival, even if your excitement went a little overboard, and I always want to be there to feel that kind of excitement with you. And yes, you've probably destroyed your kitchen more times than either of us can count, but I like having an excuse to just sit on the couch and cuddle while waiting for takeout. Ritsu, I don't care what we do or what happens, what I care about is that we're doing it together." Masamune hoped he was at least helping a little bit, but it seemed his words only made Ritsu's tears spill over.
"T-Takano-san..." Ritsu managed in a wobbly voice.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Masamune and Ritsu both stared at each other for a good while as Ritsu's words sunk in.
"Wait!" Ritsu shouted, throwing his hands up and waving them frantically. "No, no! I wasn't supposed to say that! This wasn't how it was supposed to go! It was supposed to be special! Please ignore-!"
Masamune crushed Ritsu to his body, kissing him so hard that his lips would probably bruise, but he didn't care.
Ritsu tensed at first, his face flushing red at the sudden kiss. Slowly, he relaxed in Masamune's hold, wrapping his arms around his neck as he shyly started to return the affection.
"Your room, now." Masamune started to pull a stunned Ritsu in the direction of his bedroom.
"H-h-huh?"
"You didn't think you could say something like that without consequences, did you?"
"But..." Ritsu blinked a few times, slowly getting his thoughts back in order. "I told you it would be perfect." He frowned.
Masamune stared for a moment before sighing, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" He asked, making Ritsu frown. "It was always going to be perfect. Because it's coming from you."
Ritsu tried to stop himself from tearing up again. How can he be such an asshole but also so heartfelt? It was Ritsu's turn to kiss Masamune entirely too hard and the brunette didn't resist when Masamune led him to the bedroom.
How could he possibly think he isn't perfect? Masamune wondered as he kissed Ritsu passionately on his bed, the brunette laying on his back and clinging on to Masamune tightly.
Masamune was just about to run his hands up Ritsu's shirt when a familiar ringtone buzzed from Ritsu's pants pocket.
"Pft." Masamune was attempting (and failing) to hold back a laugh.
"Its not funny." Ritsu scowled as he fished his phone out and promptly turned it off, not even bothering to check who was calling.
Masamune smiled at the sight of Ritsu's haughty expression as he shoved his phone into his nightstand's drawer.
"Yours too." Ritsu said, holding his hand out. Masamune didn't argue, forking his phone over and letting Ritsu put it away before pouncing on him again.
"I love you." Masamune said between pressing kisses to Ritsu's neck.
Ritsu flushed, the red reaching the tips of his ears as he tightly screwed his fingers into the back of Masamune's shirt. He hoped Masamune couldn't feel his frantic pulse against his lips (Masamune definitely could as he gave that spot extra attention).
"I love you too."
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FRUITS BASKET S3 EPISODE 1 + 2 RECAP!
Yayyy! Season 3! Finally! I’m hoping this season will make me understand/sympathise with Akito and maybe even Shigure a little bit more because... honestly? My opinions on episode 2?... I might get some flack for my opinions on them... 😬
But, first: I’d like to appreciate how on the Funimation app we got a little interview/message from a few of the english dub VAs! Specifically Colleen Clinkenbeard, Jerry Jewell, Eric Vale, Ian Sinclair and Brina Palencia (Akito, Kyo, Yuki, Kureno and Isuzu). And it was nice seeing some of their opinions of the characters they play and how much they’re emotionally invested in the story. (Ian’s such a nerd ‘I wanna see giant mechs later this season’ 😂 - I lowkey stan him lol)
You should definitely check it out if you’re interested in what they would have to say!
ANYWAYS, let’s get into it...
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EPISODE 1
I really love this depiction of the original zodiac and how you can just tell from the tone of the scene how desperately the God of the Zodiac was clinging on to these connections that they had with the participants in the banquet. How much they clung on to and loved the cat... Also, interesting how Tohru’s narrating this scene... almost like she can relate to the desperation of wanting to keep things the same... but we’ll get to that later. But also, Tohru is a God
This new opening is beautiful, I love the way that camera moves around the still illustrations and how the general tone just hammers down that... this season is gonna be some real shit lol (which makes me nervous for the opening for the second half 😳). It’s so warped and the general blue, grey and black tone that follows around every Akito scene we get in the anime has bled into every scene in this opening concerning the rest of the zodiac. Almost... like something is decaying. It’s great, it’s just very sad lol. I love the song tho, issa bop.
One of my favourite things in stories is when we get a bigger villain than the ‘pronounced’ villain of the story. Ren’s introduction through a manicured outstretched hand towards Kureno and Hatori is so weirdly gross in what it insinuates (especially when you apply her connection with Shigure) but again... I wanna know why she’s such an asshole to Akito specifically besides the bad mental health management within the Sohma compound. I have an inkling of what it is through memory of the manga, but like Akito and Shigure... I just wanna understand why.
Also, Ren is gorgeous and I’m sorry for simping.
I mean... she’s kinda got a point? She just didn’t need to be so mean about it lol. It’s pretty clear that the connection the zodiac have to each other is real and something they cannot control. BUT, wouldn’t it be easier if this connection wasn’t perpetuated by outer circles of the family and if Akito herself wasn’t so cruel about it? But, I guess Akito - through her relationship with her mother - kinda doesn’t know how to genuinely show love and affection. (Which brings me into my thoughts of how the manga ends and how I kinda... have a few problems with it which I will get to... when that comes lol)
Lol - weeeeeeeee! (flashes back to Tohru being yeeted into the river). Is this a part of Akito’s god-like powers?!
Again. She’s got a point! They’ve both got a point. But, they’re both the source of the problem. It’s really painful to see two mentally ill people duke it out. This whole institution is just rotten.
- I am super curious about what Akira’s relationship was like with the zodiac and if it was just as dark. I’m gonna assume it slightly already was, as the exclusion and degradation of the cat curse is already dark in itself but maybe the rest of the zodiac were just fine with how things were? I dunno if we actually will get the full backstory of Akira and his zodiac but I’m definitely intrigued
Ok, but if four crying children came up to me after I’d just consummated with my partner to reach out at my stomach chanting ‘we’ve been waiting for you’. That would disturb me and scar me for a while too so... 😂. I know it’s supposed to be ethereal and spiritual but... dude, wtf lol
...I don’t like how much I’m into Ren being such a Villain™ 😅
- Akito being seen as a crying child by the older zodiac members has always been interesting to me because yes, they could see her as that through mainly the age gap, general empathy and the way she sometimes irrationally acts out. But, also the depiction of Gods being seen as children having tantrums has being reflected in many different beliefs and myths (especially Greek Mythology) and I just like the fact that this all powerful, all knowing being would be compared to a child. It gives you a different perspective on power.
- Is the paper note in the CD case that Kureno gave back to Tohru an extra addition or was it always there?...
Mannnn... I really wanted Isuzu to fuck shit up after seeing Tohru so upset but... *le sigh* (outfit’s still on point)
But, I’m so glad we get an equal Ethereal Goddess to save Tohru! HANAJIMA! We love her, we stan her. <3
- ‘Tohru will be in my custody’ 🤣 I personally think Hana’s bluntness was a kindness in her conversation with Yuki because if I found Tohru upset? I’d automatically start firing metaphorical shots at everyone in that house
- Shigure fearing Hana makes me sleep better at night <3
Hana’s just like ‘hmm... sounds like someone I know... 👀’ I’m here for this parallel between Tohru and Kureno in the hopes that Tohru doesn’t ever get in as bad a situation as Kureno. Ahhh... Kureno... (Also, Laura Bailey was killing it in this scene as always)
- Hmmm... there’s something terribly poetic about Kyo saving Tohru’s scarf from oncoming traffic... but also, Kyo can’t help himself aha
KWEEEN! I love this look for Uo, it’s very Kyoko. I already said this in Season 1 but I STILL need to get wool-lined jacket. Outfit Appreciation goes to her - 3.5 stars.
<3<3<3 Friendship is magic!
- Megumi is such a good egg as always! From him going to get Uo to him being so wise with his outlook on love and how it takes time to really flourish. The best!
- This whole episode ends really nicely from Tohru’s return home and Kyo washing and returning Tohru’s scarf and Yuki being happy to see Tohru and Shigure being somewhat decent. It was nice to get a bit of relief after the tornado of emotions
Also, this was a nice screencap! Even Kyo is smiling!!! :))))
EPISODE 2
*takes sip of wine* ...ok.
👀... later lol
This scene really highlighted how Tohru is starting to see Shigure and the whole zodiac curse in a new and darker way. For the first time, it felt like Tohru was a little bit more guarded around Shigure and I hope they delve more into this season. Her description of her feeling around the curse being like a ‘dark well with no bottom in sight’ is pretty spot on. Ugh.
Aw! Is this the last we’re getting of Small!Momiji?! I love them :3 (Momiji’s shorts look a little shorter too, like he’s growing out of them ahaha)
- I haven’t found the Yuki fan club funny since their first scene in the anime but their poor disguises made me chuckle
- Yayyy! Kyo has an obsessive fan club too? ...Yay?? 😅 haha
- ‘I won’t kill them but they can go to hell’ why is Kyo speaking like me?! 😂
The fact that we got a scene of Yuki kinda admirably looking at a group of friends (boys and girls) playfully physically interacting and he unconsciously reaches out to Machi almost like he forgot about the curse? Heart eyes... 🥰
Again. Relatable. 😂 God, Yuki. You really are an airhead. Bless your soul. <3
And that look says it all. Damn. Kyo’s sense of hopelessness is heartbreaking but I still stand by it being understandable considering his circumstances.
Kyo freaking out about Tohru being visually upset was super cute but I couldn’t even appreciate the fluff because the whole scene had such a morbid tone to it, despite it being so visually romantic:
KYO’S FACE!!! 💔 Ahhh, my emotions!!!! Also, that shot from Tohru’s perspective under her bangs is great.
- Poor Mitsuru, I’d ask for extra pay just for dealing with Shigure’s ass.
Hahah - what a great metaphor!
- Now that Shigure’s ‘true form’, so to speak, has been fully exposed all his comments that are supposed to be teasing come off so much more awful. Him insinuating Mitsuru wasn’t ‘upper class’ enough for Ritsu was awful
COLLLDDDD. AS. IIIIIIICE. But seriously, Shigure this whole episode was cold in many different ways but I definitely felt this personally since I’ve been told something like this by a family member before... 😕 Also, it’s just gross how both Shigure and Akito are taking their own personal issues and mistrust of each other out on to other people. The curse and the institution behind the curse complicates a lot of feelings for sure, but there’s a difference between wrong and right and I get the general feeling that they both are just using the muddy waters to their advantage. Although, I feel like Shigure is taking more advantage of this than Akito but I’ll get into that in a bit.
- There’s also something about this episode that made me sympathise a lot more with Kureno in a more understandable way. But, it also makes me question the ending of this whole story and the resolutions that happen and what life for the whole Sohma institution/family looks like after the curse has broken.. I guess, I should read ‘Fruits Basket Another’ after this, huh?
😳... Shigure is so petty, man. Really?!
So...
I hate this relationship. I’m sorry. I know there are loads of people who like this relationship. And I’m still giving myself space for the show and the story to convince me why it’s worth it. But... I really don’t like this relationship. It’s so toxic. In so many ways. And in a weird way, this scene made me feel a LITTLE bit more for Akito than Shigure. It feels like Shigure gaslights everyone in his life but none no more than Akito, herself. I hate the fact that he keeps saying he loves her while hurting her or disregarding her. You know, almost like he’s treating her like a child. But on the other hand, I hate the fact that Akito has lowkey gaslighted herself into thinking she can treat people however she wants because she is ‘God’. I understand this is part of the way she was brought up and it seems like life in the Sohma compound has been very isolating for her so there’s been no one really to show her better (or have the confidence to show her better). But, at least I can be a little bit more sympathetic on her side than Shigure’s. I dunno... it’s just all very ugly and toxic and I’m hoping that it’ll turn around somehow.
I just hope it’s not one of those relationships that are ‘so good cos it’s so bad’.
...I’ll briefly talk about the ending theme to end this on a good note lol:
I really like this ending! I dunno if they’re gonna have two endings and two openings for this season but this ending definitely feels like it should’ve gone in the second half as it’s almost spoiler-y? But, then again what anime opening and ending isn’t packed with spoilers lol
All the illustrations are gorgeous, I’m assuming they were drawn by Takaya-sensei herself as it seems very much in her current style of artistry but my favourite illustrations are definitely the ones shown above! <3
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Ahhh! Fin! Sorry, about this one being super long and you probably having to scroll past a whole lot on your dash 😝 As usual, I had a lot to say. I’m open to hearing from people who actually like Shigure and Akito’s relationship btw, it’s just that everything before and episode 2 just really didn’t sail the ship for me, personally. I do want to understand! Haha
See you soooon!
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Sorting AssClass characters into Tower of God team positions
Only because I thought that Gakushuu would make a perfect Light Bearer lol.
(Warning: Very long post)
Tower of God's lore is a bit too wide and complicated for me to explain its world-building for those who haven't read it (or watched it). But since I'm only going to talk about team battle positions, I can just breeze through everything lol.
In order to climb the Inner Tower as a Regular, individuals with potential from the Residential (outer) District of the Tower must be selected by the Administrator of the 1st floor and approved by the Empire that was ruling the Tower.
Regulars must take series of tests every time they climb a floor. Taking a test requires a lot of points (money) and the difficulty increases the higher they climb.
Shinsu exists everywhere inside the Tower, essential to all living beings and thus enabling their survival in multiple ways. Shinsu is normally not visible to the naked eye like air, unless it is highly concentrated, manifested in large amounts or is manipulated using a Shinsu Technique or item.
Basic Positions
The battles in the Tower are mostly fought as teams and the Position of an individual is the role they play in a team. Of course it's possible to battle without dividing into specific Positions, but it's more efficient to utilize Positions.
** Note that one person is not limited to just only one position. The adults are expected to be able to handle any position despite having their own assigned one as they should be strong and experienced enough to do so.
There are five basic positions in a common team: Fisherman, Spear Bearer, Scout, Light Bearer, and Wave Controller.
Fisherman
Fishermen are the less technical job, they fight with destructive power, till death. They must be fearless, aggressive and have good stamina. In an army, they are the infantry. On the front line, they are the massive strength aimed at the enemy. They need be able to hold their ground because they are in the same way the first line of defence of the army.
Ryoma Terasaka (with Spear Bearer equipment)
Taisei Yoshida (can also be a Defender)
Takuya Muramatsu
Hinata Okano (with Scout characteristics)
Kaede Kayano (can potentially become a wave controller)
Hiroto Maehara (can potentially become a Spear Bearer)
Yuuma Isogai (can operate a Lighthouse)
Tomoya Seo
Tadaomi Karasuma
Akira Takaoka (can operate a Lighthouse)
Grip
Spear Bearer
Spear Bearers act like snipers for the team, throwing their spears with deadly accuracy, but they can also serve a purpose similar to the Fisherman's by using their spear like a staff for close-combat. Technically speaking, they take all long-range matters into their own hands.
Ryuunosuke Chiba (can operate a Lighthouse)
Rinka Hayami
Gastro
Red Eye
Scout
Scouts are tasked with reconnaissance, which usually involves running ahead and investigating enemy forces for information, then returning and delivering the intel to the Light Bearers. Additionally, they can help the Fishermen with offense if necessary.
They must be extremely fast to rapidly cover long distances and come back when needed to help the Fishermen fight, by flanking attacks
Kouki Mimura
Yuzuki Fuwa (can operate a Lighthouse)
Tomohito Sugino (with Fisherman tendencies)
Taiga Okajima
Justice Kimura
Teppei Araki
Light Bearer
Light Bearers are usually the most support-oriented position, using cube-shaped exploring devices called Lighthouses to gain information on the battle or the surroundings. They can switch to being a rear-type and a frontal type.
Rear-type Light Bearers are specialists in analyzing information that they and the Scouts gather. They then makes plans to get the upper hand in the battle. It's a pure strategist role, the leader of the battle.
Frontal-type Light Bearers bring light in dark places and help the other fighters by enhancing their capabilities (giving Spear Bearers further range and more precise shots), like engineers and tacticians.
** Light Bearers must have enough combat training in order to defend themselves and the Lighthouse in case an enemy sneaks up on them.
Gakushuu Asano
Karma Akabane (with Fisherman tendencies)
Megu Kataoka
Kaho Tsuchiya
Itona Horibe (with Scout characteristics)
Rio Nakamura
Touka Yada
Sousuke Sugaya (assists the Spear Bearers)
Irina Jelavić
Gakuho Asano
Wave Controller
Wave Controllers are the directors of the battle, aiding their comrades by healing their wounds, annihilating enemy forces or subtly changing the tide of the battle, all through the use of Shinsu.
There are many variations of this Position: blasting waves like cannons, preventing an enemy from moving by compressing Shinsu, suffocating an enemy by depriving Shinsu around them, and etc.
Nagisa Shiota
Yukiko Kanzaki
Ritsu (can operate a Lighthouse)
Ren Sakakibara
Koro-sensei
Special Positions
Guide
The Guide is considered a Special Position, but it plays no specific role in combat. Guides lead the way for the team, usually with their ability to see into the future and excellent analysis skills. It is a very rare Position and they are considered "blessed" by The Tower.
Kirara Hazama (also Wave Controller)
Koutarou Takebayashi (also Light Bearer)
Manami Okuda (also Scout)
Natsuhiko Koyama
Anima
An Anima controls living beings. It seems it's more a talent than a technique, as one cannot just become an Anima through learning.
Hinano Kurahashi (also Scout)
Sumire Hara (also Defender)
Defender
A special position. A Defender defends. The Light Bearers are those who are much more useful in analyzing and planning the battle strategy than participating in combat themselves. The latter must be freed from the preoccupation of being attacked if they want to complete a strategy. The Defender gives them this freedom. They can also defend Spear Bearers.
There might be slight inaccuracies with some characters when sorting them, as their original roles in AssClass were a bit too special to translate it to a more simplistic team battle position. But I hope it wasn't too bad 😅
I put Kaho as a Light Bearer as she seems someone who can plan, make decisions on a whim, and have them executed successfully (though her methods tend to be more risky, I would say).
Now sorting them, with their current positions, into a team is a whole different matter and realistically speaking, the original groups sadly cannot be applied here.
#assassination classroom#ansatsu kyoushitsu#assclass#assassination classroom x tower of god#tower of god × assassination classroom#class 3e#class 3a#3e teachers#assclass headcanon#assclass headcanons#my headcanon#self indulgence time#hehe#long post
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All right, so now that I finally digested the final a little I have some random messy thoughts about Fruits Basket 2019. It got really long lol, but this has been stuck in my head for a while so I needed to get it out!
Honestly, it was a very good adaptation and I’m still in awe I was able able to see the whole manga animated. Fruits Basket is pretty important to me, as I read it for the first time when I was around twelve and it was definitely one of the series that impacted me the most — the way it tackles themes of cycle of abuse, loneliness, grief and moving forward still feel very special to me even now (I briefly wrote a post about it months ago after rereading the manga), so of course I was delighted upon hearing the reboot announced and for the most part, it didn’t disappoint. I’d never truly thought I’d be able to see characters like Rin or Machi actually move on screen in my lifetime so in a way it still feel surreal lmao (RIP to Komaki though). It was really refreshing to revisit the story in that way, especially given amusingly enough I am myself in the middle of some big changes in my life where I have to leave things behind so it felt sort of... well, I won’t say empowering per se, but quite encouraging and satisfying to watch Furuba, and especially its final, at this timing, in a way. It wasn’t perfect, there are certainly a lot of flawed directive choices that I question and unfortunately quite some important cut contents — but even at its lowest it stayed all in all good. I’m genuinely a bit stunned there are people who thinks the entire thing is worthless or a failure, because man, I have seen what a bad anime adaptation looks like, and Fruits Basket 2019 definitely isn’t one. Natsuki Takaya herself was clearly very invested and satisfied in that adaptation — I mean, just the fact she drew arts for every single episodes or for the season 3 ending really shows that I think. And while there’s a part of me who will always have a soft spot for the 2001 anime, there’s no contest that the 2019 one is the superior one and more representative of the original manga as a whole.
I believe some people really don’t realize how... uncommon it is to get such a consistently good-looking and complete anime adaptation for a shojo manga? Shojo really aren’t lucky in that prospect usually; they rarely get animated, and when they do they’re usually very bland or outright bad, or they get one short season of like 13 episodes that never receive any follow-ups — even shojo considered like classics tend to get poor treatment, unless they’re Sailor Moon of course or a long-running magical girls franchise like Precure (and even then we could have a discussion about the way Sailor Moon’s treated compared to say Dragon Ball for example, but that’s another topic entirely). So yeah it is quite awesome we were able to get this kind of anime adaptation that covers the full manga with good quality from start to finish, and I am so, so glad it exists and that it managed to revive and makes the series so popular again. (Hopefully its success means we’ll be able to get more good anime adaptation of shojo manga from now on!)
But yeah, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t problems with it and I also understand why some of the manga fans had issues. We were kind of hyped with the fact this would be a complete adaptation and in the end we only got a... sort-of-complete one lol. The art and animation stayed fine during the run (there certainly were some episodes that were uhhh, lacking in that sense, but that’s just how it is sometimes with productions and budget), but I admit I was a bit letdown regarding the direction, where it often seemed… a bit uncreative or heavy-handed. There was some very beautiful and smart shots here and there, but on the whole I really had an issue with the adaptation failing to actually take more ambitious decisions on its visual aspect, especially compared to the pretty pannelling of the manga — and when it did take these decisions it just was… kind of obnoxious and in-your-face, like the show is trying to hold the watcher’s hand (with unnecessary things like Kyo’s father record player derailing or the whole big ropes symbolizing the curse that often slapped you all over the screen, which usually just made me want to roll my eyes because of how annoying it felt.) Multiple people also pointed out the overdramatization of some scenes like the Kyo and Tohru’s confrontation at the end of season 1 or Akito and Ren’s fight which was, indeed, not very good and a weird choice. Fruits Basket is already a pretty dramatic show and these scenes are already intense, there was no need for such over-the-top theatrical display of emotions that only made them comes off as comedic. I’m probably nitpicking here but it also bothered me some characters’ expressions didn’t feel properly retranscribed (Shigure especially, whose characterization depends a lot on that, really suffered from this), or that odd habit of making some big panorama plans instead of focusing on the faces and bodies, which particularly sucks during emotional scenes (like the backgrounds were pretty I guess, but that’s not what was important here lmao).
Also that might be just a personal thing, but can I point out that the openings were pretty disappointing to me... They're not bad, but they all looked so... bland. The songs are fine but the rest feel so uninspired and it's kind of sad... I dunno, I wasn't asking for much but I just think they could've done more than just scrolling each character looking vaguely melancholic or making them walk randomly one after another :/ The endings have at least pretty illustrations and I'm okay with them (I liked what they did with Kyoko’s photo in season 3 too), but the OPs kind of feel as if they ran out of budget and ideas for them or something. I kind of feel the same with the OST as well, where they’re generally fine but were a bit lackluster, and sometimes… they were kind of played at bad times? I remember the Rin episode in season 2 were the music felt a bit out of place and took me out of the immersion, which is a shame cause it was otherwise a pretty good episode. But that might just be a me-thing here lol. The voice actors were awesome though! (The Japanese ones, at least, I didn’t watch any other dubs). I’ve said it before but special kudos to Maaya Sakamoto cause damn she’s so perfect as Akito, and Shimazaki as Yuki and Toyosaki as Rin truly delivered too. I didn’t know Manaka Iwami at all but I was really impressed by her Tohru, especially in season 3 — she really was good at capturing her character’s subtle emotional turmoils (I think she makes a better Tohru than Yui Horie too, although I admit I missed Horie a little lol.)
Anyway, on the topic of lack of ambition, that might be an unpopular opinion but there’s also the fact that I’m sad they didn’t actually... try to change or add more original scenes. By which I mean, obviously we had some changes, but not ones that were really interesting (when they’re not actively detrimental to the story). For example, I was really hoping that we’d be able to get at least one original episode focused on Ritsu (and Mitsuru too why not) in season 2 or 3, or on Kagura or Kisa; I dunno, it would’ve been a good occasion to give something more to the characters that got sidelined in the original manga, or add some moments that would’ve been nice to develop like about Akito post-cliff confrontation, but we never got that. And well, that makes sense now that we know they seemingly had an episode restriction (at least on season 3), but, yeah, that’s still a shame. Honestly in the end Ritsu’s character made even less sense in the anime, because like, it was nice they tried to adapt his introduction episode so that it feels less “you have to adapt to gender norms to feel better about yourself,” (the gender non-confirmity is definitely one of the bits that aged the less well in FB) but then they still made him cut off his hair and give his feminine clothes to Kagura at the end so why lol. (And speaking of his episode introduction, I dislike that they cut off his conversation with Tohru after the suicide attempt, not only for Ritsu but also for Tohru cause it is one of the small instances bringing up her issues that is set up early on and that is crucial to her, but I’ll come back to this later.)
And now about the biggest problem to me being, the cut content and episodes rearangement. So, just so we’re clear, I definitely don’t think an anime adaptation needs to be a page-by-page adaptation of the manga to be good. Every decent adaptation needs to have changes, and the ones that tries to just follow the source material without any heart often tend to get pretty bad. So changes are good! Cut content are needed sometimes. But in Furuba 19, it really... wasn’t the case.
And the most unfortunate thing being that the one suffering the most from this is the show’s main character herself, Tohru.
So, obviously other characters also got done dirty by this; Yuki and Machi’s relationship was so incredibly shifted in the background and rushed it’s almost funny. I’m one of the people who thinks that, while I do think they’re cute, I definitely agree on the fact their relationship was a bit underdeveloped in the manga — and that Machi’s character especially suffered as a result by being a bit reduced to just "Yuki’s love interest" when she was a character with so much more to offer (and as a whole I also tend to agree with the fact that Yuki probably didn’t need a romance at all and that his arc is more meaningful while focusing on his platonic relationships, but that’s another topic entirely) — but man, if the manga already underdevelopped them, then ohhh boy, the anime just completely dropped the ball. It feels very odd because to me it seemed like season 2 was taking their time with setting them up, so if they knew they had only 13 episodes for season 3 then they should’ve started the changes there; instead we got 1 nice Yuki/Machi/Kakeru episode, and then it’s like "Yep, they’re in love, just trust me." (It does makes me wonder if season 3 wasn’t originally supposed to be longer but then got restrained because of budget or covid or something…) Kakeru also very much suffered because of them cutting off his girlfriend and his complicated relationship with Tohru… Now, to be honest, I’ve always found the Kakeru/Komaki/Tohru subplot pretty... contrived and useless, and Komaki’s not so much a character more than a device for Kakeru’s development, but it does have some good moments relevant to the story’s themes (I like the ‘‘you can’t play suffering olympics with people’s pain’’morale) and it is important to his character (and Komaki is cute, I admit), so it was still sad they shafted it entirely. (Also I kind of like the tense relationship between Tohru and Kakeru. The fact they both seem to not appreciate each other even afterwards feel sort of refreshing even if it’s never explored unfortunately orz.) I was still surprised they didn’t actually try to make a Komaki cameo at the end? Cause I think it would’ve fitted and Kakeru’s girlfriend had already been mentioned in season 2 but... for some reason they... didn’t. (Mayyybe we’ll get an OAV like with Kyoko and Katsuya? Who knows.)
One scene that was skipped/rearranged that I’m very bitter over is the whole Tohru/Kagura confrontation and Kagura/Rin scene — it might not seem like much, but the moment of Tohru refusing to forgive Kagura is very important, and I was pretty annoyed they turned Rin’s trauma response to Kagura’s violence and her subsequent apology/hug to a gag, it legit felt tasteless. The Tohrin scene they removed at the very end too was frustating; it was great they managed to fit in the "Rin doesn’t want to forgive Akito" bit at least (I was afraid they’d cut it off entirely), but it was so essential for her to say to Tohru, not to Haru and Momiji (plus the way they put it in felt very random and awkwardly placed there, when they were initially talking about Tohru before orz). OH AND the Akito/Hana friendship too! Yeah I know it’s not a Big deal but I absolutely love the little glimpses of their friendship and it’s very important to me so I’m disappointed over them not including the ‘Ah-chan’ scene… (It was kind of weird that the show sort-of implied Hana and Kazuma got together too cause that’s… not the vibe at all from the manga… oh well.)
Most people I’ve seen generally only bring up season 3 regarding the cuts/rearangement because it’s the most obvious and the biggest offender, but I personally think there were already problems with season 2 and 1. At first glance I didn’t have much issue with some of the rearrangement, because early Furuba can indeed be pretty episodic, but thinking back on it as a whole I think it might’ve been better to leave some stuff, like Hana and Uo’s episodes for example, to season 2 (I do wonder if they did this specifically so the reboot would offer original content and differ from 2001 early on...) and cut off other not-so-important things from S1 & S2 — because as a result season 2 kind of suffer a bit by being The Yuki Season, which, for as much as I love Yuki, did end up being a bit annoying and made his development feel less natural and gradual, as well as the fact it sidelined the other characters a little and left them with not much conclusion in its final. So this added to how much they ended up cutting in season 3, it makes the show as a whole feels really unequal. I think they did overall a good job in season 3 with what they had, and they really nailed some of the dramatic and Kyoru moments (the sheets scene, cliff confrontation and post-hospital confession were practically perfect), but it is a shame that it ended up as an extremely marathoned emotional roller-caster rather than a more well-paced watch that we would’ve had if it had been 20 or so episodes. (I know others argued that season 3 was what it was because there wasn’t enough content left to cover for 22 or 24 episodes, but I disagree and even if there weren’t, it would’ve been the perfect occasion to add original episodes then. But I think it was more of a budget and Covid issue personally.)
But anyway, all of this isn’t actually what I’m the most annoyed with (and YES that’s a already a lot lmao), those are stuff I can live with, but like I said earlier the most problematic is what they cut off from Tohru’s character. And that indeed includes her parents’ backstory.
So, just so I get this out of the way; yes, I do understand why people were relieved to not see Kyoko and Katsuya’s relationship play out on screen, and yes the age gap and teacher-student thing is creepy and I do kind of wish it hadn’t been written that way. (Though I was a bit amused by people who thought we didn’t get the backstory because of the questionable age gap when, uh... you know I very much doubt the anime industry has an issue with that. Like, to start with, we wouldn’t have had Uo and Kureno’s romance if that was the case (even if Uo and Kureno is less problematic, it’s still the same basis of a underage high school girl/20+ adult man relationship), and second there was a literal romcom anime about a high school girl and an adult man that was broadcasted at the same time as Furuba season 3 lmao. So nah, it wasn’t there the problem to them, it was just time and episode restriction, which was pretty much confirmed with the announcement of the OAV focused on them.)
So, Kyoko and Katsuya is definitely Problematic and I agree on their relationship being uncomfortable; however, I’m a bit baffled that people were literally cheering on not having that part in the show, because it is... it is not just like a small bit of family trivia, it is Extremely important and actively essential to Tohru’s character and Fruits Basket’s themes and narrative as a whole. It’s very important to understand Kyoko’s character, of course; to humanize her and finally present her as a very flawed person and not just the idealized mother that Tohru project upon her, and it is extremely important simply to understand Tohru herself as well; to understand where her way of thinking, her trauma and attitude stems from, and this in a way that just isn’t possible to see with the little fragments of that flashback we got or the bits of Kyo and Kyoko’s interactions.
See, Tohru’s character is principally constructed around two things; her grief over her mother and her almost-pathological selflesness and people-pleaser needs that comes from her abandonment issues and loneliness, and her arc is very much about letting go of both of these things and finally moving forward and letting her life change. There’s this perception of Tohru I see sometimes that she’s not a very interesting character especially compared to others like Yuki or Kyo, or that she ‘‘stays the same kindhearted, naive girl from start to finish,’’ and while I deeply disagree with this I know where it comes from. The thing with Tohru is that she is firstly an extremely emotionally repressed character, and so a lot of her depth and development is made through small, gradual details scattered throughout the manga. It’s done in such a way that except for some obvious scenes those small, apparently insignificant moments are easy to miss or disregarded, and unfortunately it is a lot of these details that the 2019 anime cut, or rearanged in a way that feel less impactful or makes less sense; such as, like I pointed out earlier, her conversation with Ritsu after his suicide attempt. As I’ve seen others point out, this result in altering Tohru’s portrayal and rendering her character mostly about her romance, undercutting and downplaying all of her small, subtle character moments and developments, and miss a bit the second part of the story where the narrative actively challenge the ‘savior/therapist/mom’ that other characters and Tohru herself projected upon her.
And as a result it also means undermining things like her parallel and relationship to Akito, which idealistically should’ve been slowly built up throughout the last season but because of how rushed season 3 was in the end felt a little flat. (Akito’s character in general had some issues also because of the unequal pacing and rearranged scenes, though admittedly I think this was also an issue present in the original manga.) Kyo’s character and his romance with Tohru is the one element that managed to get out of this mostly unscathed (although Kyo also does suffer a bit from it), but because of what was removed from Tohru’s character it still inevitably impacted them by making their characters as individuals lacking. It’s not like it is a complete failure, mind you; I think the anime at least did a decent job at showing Tohru is Not Okay even at the beginning in season 1 (they certainly did a better job at it than the 2001 one lol) and managed to roughly portray her issues well enough overall, but it is just… lacking in the subtlety and nuances that, to me, makes her character and writing really special and unique.
(This post explains what I’ve tried to say here in a much more eloquent and better way that I ever could, and this all put into perspective what I basically love so much about Tohru and Fruits Basket in general.)
And, you know, it would’ve been sad but comprehensible with any other character, but here we’re talking about the story’s literal protagonist, which is why it is the part of the adaptation that makes me feel the most bitter. Tohru and her story is truly amazing and well-written, the thing I was looking forward to the most with this reboot — and while I do understand the episode restriction and I do believe they still did their best with what they had — her arc still deserved to receive a full proper adaptation, not a kind-of-half one.
So, yes, I am at least glad they’ll adapt Kyoko and Katsuya’s story in OAV, but the fact that it will never be included in the actual main narrative is still actively detrimental to it, and it will never have the same effect that if it had been played out before the Kyoru sheets scene where it should’ve been. (I hope they also won’t cut the fact that their story is narrated by Kyo, because that is also a very important detail for both Kyo and the story, but I have the feeling they will…)
Welp, that was quite a long, messy rambling. Not sure if anyone will actually read all of it but if you did then congrats lol. I feel in the end I’ve been really harsh and negative with the reboot… I do love it a lot! If someone asked me I would wholeheartedly recommend it (though I guess I would still argue to read the manga first if you really want to experience the story in all its nuances). I think they truly did an impressive job — even with season 3, which a lot of its episodes were beautifully done and did make me tear up a few times lol. I’m just sad it couldn’t actually offer a better, more nuanced delivery of the story’s depths and of one of my favorite manga protagonists that means a lot to me. But that’s an adaptation that so many fans wanted for years and I’m happy and grateful it’s here cause Fruits Basket deserved at least that much!
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chapter 84 is the best chapter of fruits basket and you can’t change my mind
chapter 84 is the chapter where we finally get the full story on yuki’s childhood. at this point in the story, yuki is doing better; he was able to admit to himself that he will “open the lid,” but that he doesn’t have to push the issue, and that he loves tohru and feels safe confiding in her. this is relevant to chap 84 because of its framing device: yuki confiding in kakeru. immediately before this yuki gets trapped in a storage closet and knocks over a bucket of paint, causing a flashback that triggers a panic attack. the fact that yuki feels comfortable and validated talking to tohru makes him feel like he can talk to kakeru as well, which is a big step for yuki, who, up until now, has been extremely private.
this is, hands down, my favorite chapter of fruits basket. it is artistically stunning, emotionally poignant, and an unbelievable insight into yuki’s character and the effects that neglect and emotional abuse can have on a person. now join me as i analyze......nearly every single page in this chapter :)
the third page of this chapter indicates something very important: that we are in yuki’s head. not just that the chapter is yuki’s point of view, which was indicated on the first page through narration, but that we are literally seeing from his eyes. the angle of the servant’s hand and the wideshot of akito are both from his sightline. in this chapter we are yuki, without the bias of kyo, akito, or ayame, the lenses we have experienced yuki’s childhood through so far.
fruits basket’s costume design is impeccable in general, but i especially love the choices in this chapter. i love the juxtaposition of akito wearing a kimono against yuki’s western suit. i wouldn’t say fruits basket is a story about east vs west, but i would say it highlights traditional values clashing with modern ones. yuki is going from his mother’s world, a character who we only see wearing western-style clothing and living in a fairly western-style house (for a sohma, anyway) to an uber-traditional setting that, for yuki, becomes a cage. it’s worth noting that the very next time we see yuki, he is wearing a formal kimono.
(akito, shigure, and ritsu are the only characters we see wearing kimono in everyday life. from a functionality standpoint, it’s because kimono are expensive, cumbersome, and in modern japan, very formal. that being said, yuki would have grown up during the lost decade, where showing off signs of wealth was frowned upon. akito seems to be the only one who wears kimono regularly during the height of the lost decade, though japan was still struggling economically into the early 2000s, when the majority of fruits basket takes place)
this little scene is one of my favorite scenes in all of fruits basket. it’s gorgeously drawn, and encapsulates what it meant to be yuki sohma before meeting tohru better than anything else in the manga.
i don’t think it’s a mistake that yuki is wearing western-style clothing here; in the page right before this one, he witnesses some servants speaking distastefully of kyo, and i doubt this is the first time he’s heard someone speak of kyo this way. even as young as he is, i think he knows that talking to kyo is taboo, especially for the rat. yuki has never been accepting of his role in sohma family’s traditions, and speaking to kyo in it of itself is a small act of rebellion. he is stepping out of line in the only ways he knows how.
the fact that kyo is an outsider is not just a metaphor here; he is physically standing outside akito’s room, excluded from the new year’s celebration inside. yuki, who in the pages previous had just had it established to him that he is not wanted by his mother,
his brother,
or the other zodiacs,
thinks maybe, maybe, this other boy who has also been thrown out and rejected by his own family could understand him.
the next page takes us out of yuki’s head for a moment to show us his reaction to kyo’s words. the low angle highlights yuki’s defensive position, shoulders slumped and hands pulled into his chest, versus kyo’s solid stance, feet shoulder width apart and hands balled into fists at his side.
in kyo’s first close-up, he is silent, just another wide-eyed child. but here, he has become the cat, pupils slitted and teeth bared, screaming the exact words yuki does not want to hear. kyo’s humanity is conditional to the other zodiacs, and for kyo, the same goes for yuki.
i am never not impressed by takaya’s ability to show emotion. it reminds me of how those big, fat, overwhelming ghibli tears look the way crying feels; that is what this expression is to me. hands curled protectively over his front, flushed and wide-eyed and at a loss for words—i know exactly what that expression feels like on the inside. it’s so intimate and immediate, and we are instantly pulled out of it by the jarring slap from his mother, a panel with no color grading, backgrounds, or faces.
yuki himself is so shocked by this that we are abruptly pulled out of his point of view, looking at his mother’s angry face through a medium shot, yuki’s own reaction obscured by her jagged dialogue.
i think kyo’s outburst makes yuki desperate; if even the cat can’t accept him, then his own estranged brother must be the only option.
the first shot on this page is from yuki’s sightline, looking up at his tall, bright brother, followed by ayame’s view of a much smaller, shadowed yuki that is partially obscured by his own panel. takaya loves using negative space, and i think it is especially poignant in this panel. the majority of this shot is negative space, the gap between yuki’s hand and ayame’s arm swallowed by the rest of the empty background.
i want to go back a few pages to talk about these panels in conjunction with the ayame page. this is the first we see of ayame in this chapter, and if you put the two pages next to each other, it is as if he is completing the action of looking over his shoulder at yuki, revealing his entire face, and then hiding it again. i also think it’s interesting that shigure is looking at yuki dead in the eyes, looking somewhat bored and somewhat amused. in a previous chapter, though, shigure does say this to ayame:
i do like that shigure seems to be the only one paying attention to what is going on with yuki at this time but also chooses to do nothing about it, instead using it as a jab at ayame.
and then, after yuki’s classmates approach him, there’s a pretty big change in tone; shojo sparkles, the silhouette of children playing against a big, wide sky, sun-dappled buildings and smiling faces. up until now the outside world has been featureless and empty; now it is detailed and nostalgic, and yuki’s face is clear and unobstructed. then:
yuki’s carefully impassive face gets cut off gradually by the panel borders
until we can’t see it at all.
the next three pages proceed the same way, his face obscured by the angle, his hair, or borders.
until, finally, we are allowed to see yuki’s face, after being rejected any form of human kindness or affection from literally any person in his life, fading into the darkness of the sohma estate, trapped inside the proverbial sliding door.
#fruits basket#yuki sohma#fruits basket meta#fruits basket spoilers#takes a huge bong rip#takes a HUGE FUCKIN BONG RIP#meta???
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World’s Greatest First Love: Chapter 12
Summary: Dan Howell wanted a clean break from his father’s publishing company. It was why he applied for a different company in London: to stop the ridicule of his coworkers for riding on his ‘daddy’s coat tails’. But he wasn’t expecting to suddenly be going from a literature editor, to a graphic novel editor. And he certainly wasn’t expecting to come face first with his first love who broke his heart from when he was a teenager: who just happens to be his new editor-in-chief.
Based on the Anime and Manga “The World’s Greatest First Love: The Case of Ritsu Onodera” aka Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 2.6k (this chapter)
Warnings: mentioned of smut
Beta Read by: @phanandpenguins
Updates Every Saturday at 1pm EST
READ ON AO3 -- LONG AUTHORS NOTE ON AO3. PLEASE VIEW IT THERE
A/N: This chapter is split between Dan and Phil’s POV’s. Phil is first half of chapter, Dan is second half.
“Aye, Damien! Did you happen to look over those papers that I gave you?”
Damien looked up at where Phil was standing in the doorway of the meeting room. The weekly sales meeting has just passed and now it was just Damien and Phil standing back. Phil had given Damien Dan’s proposal for his next book from his author and he was concerned that Damien wasn’t taking Dan’s work seriously.
He really wanted to speak to him about it now that he’s gotten serious with Dan.
It was true that he and Damien had a past. There was no use trying to deny that and hurt feelings further. They did try to date in university and it never happened because Phil never saw Damien as more than just a good friend.
But he always knew Damien felt otherwise and that did put a bit of a strain on their friendship even though Phil tried to not let it show. But ever since Dan came back into the picture, it was hard to ignore the signs any longer.
Although Damien has backed off recently when it comes to Dan, there were still many indications that Damien’s pursuit for Phil was not gone. And Phil really needed to set some boundaries.
“The proposal from Dan?” Damien asked, fingering through the manilla folder he was holding in his hands, “Yeah, I looked it over already.”
The last person that shuffled out of the room shut the door and they were definitely alone now, making Phil straighten up and just come out with it, “You know I’m with Dan, right?”
Damien looked up from his paperwork and cocked his head, “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I’m dating Dan,” Phil says, his voice trembling a bit, “I thought that you should know that.”
Damien’s demeanor shifted and Phil watched his shoulders rose and then fell.
“Why are you telling me this?” Damien asked, his voice a little tense now.
Phil stuttered, crossing his arms over his chest, “Because you’re my best friend, Damien. And I wanted to tell you that I was in a relationship with Dan again to get us on the same page.”
Damien shuffled back so his behind was resting against the meeting table. He was hunched over, looking down at the ground in front of him. Phil instinctively looked down too just to see if Damien was staring at anything in particular.
“Why?”
Phil was caught off guard by the sudden question, “Why what?”
“Why did you go back to him?” Damien asked, his voice growing higher in pitch, “He did nothing but break your heart and you still crawled back to him.”
“That’s not fair to say that!” Phil exclaimed.
“So you’re going to ignore that you spent your entire university years drowning in alcohol and sex to try and forget the boy that broke your heart?” Damien asks, picking his head up to look at Phil, “And then he waltzed back into your life and you are acting like you weren’t hurt by him all of those…”
“He wasn’t the only reason why I was hurting,” Phil says. “You don’t know the half of why I was hurting. My parents had just divorced. I had just learnt that the man I called my father wasn’t actually my biological father. And on top of that, I was heartbroken by Dan. But that’s all changed.”
Damien looked around the room and that’s when Phil realized that Damien’s eyes were turned like glass. He looked about ready to cry but the flush in his cheeks and the slight heave in his chest showed Phil that he was holding back.
“You’re stuck in the past,” Damien says. “You’re so stuck in the past that you crawled back to the man who just…”
“I’m not stuck in the past!” Phil countered.
Damien suddenly began to laugh and Phil watched as a stray tear leaked down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away.
“You need to stop interfering with my feelings,” Phil says as calmly as he can. “I don’t love the Dan I knew in the past,” Damien looks up at Phil and Phil opens his mouth and says, “Because I love the Dan I know now.”
The room drew awkward, and nothing more was said. Phil just watched the occasional movement of Damien as he fidgeted around. Eventually, Damien straightened himself up, smoothed down his shirt, and exited the room with no other words.
Phil remained back, rubbing his face with his hands as he pulls out the chair from the table and sits down. He needs a minute to figure out what had just happened. There is a lot to process there.
When he gathers his composure, he makes his way back out to the office and he can hear the murmurs around him.
Damien seemed really upset?
Was his face always that red?
His eyes looked a little blood shot. Hopefully he’s not sick!
Phil did his best to ignore all of the part timers gossiping at Damien as he made his way back to his desk. He knew that Damien was well known at the company and always was the topic of discussion for various reasonings but this time, Phil ignored them. Most of the time he did egg them on but he couldn’t today.
Phil sat down at his desk and began to open his laptop when he looked up and noticed Dan was at his usual desk. He looked around the room because sometimes Dan had to go to the copier or the printer for whatever reasoning.
But he was no where to be seen.
“Hey, Mitch?” Phil asks and Mitch turns his head to his command, “Where is Dan?”
“He left about a half an hour ago. He said he was feeling a bit under the weather and needed go home for the night. He did look a bit more pale than usual. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was running a fever with the way he’s running himself ragged.”
Phil bit his lip and nodded at Mitch. He felt like he should leave and go make sure Dan is okay, but he can’t afford to leave work with how much he needs to do.
He opts out for working on as much as he can before he closes his laptop and wishes everyone a goodnight on his way out.
When Phil exits the company building, the colds are rolling in fast, bringing a darkness with them. He couldn’t remember that the weather had called for rain on the forecast today but suddenly it was clear that rain was coming soon.
Just as the first drop hit his forehead, the monsoon came not long after so he rushed into the first cafe that he saw and stepped inside trying to dry off. There is no way he can make his way home in this so he decides to just get a drink and have some dinner here instead while he waits for the storm to pass.
“Phil?”
Phil follows the voice to see Dan sitting at an empty table directly behind him, rain dripping from his curls and falling down his forehead. Phil flashes him a smile, and sits down on the opposite side of him.
The rain had come out of nowhere and had completely blindsided Dan after he left the library. He lied to the other editors that he was going home because he wasn’t feeling well, but he really just wanted an afternoon to himself again because…
Well, he overheard what Phil had said to Damien in the meeting room. He hadn’t meant to, he swears that. But he was walking by the meeting room and happened to hear Phil’s loud voice coming through the small crack between the door and the moulding. He had stopped for a moment, and listened a bit because of curiosity. But as soon as he heard Phil say that he loved him, he bolted and said to the others he needed to leave.
He spent the rest of the time at the library where he caught up on old manuscripts and filled out a new form for a second printing on his book.
Dan was on his way home when the rain hit and he bustled into the closest restaurant to him to take shelter. It was mere seconds after he sat down when Phil came through the door.
It was almost like fate...if Dan actually believed in any of that.
“You left work early?” Dan asked, shucking off his soaked jacket over the back of his chair.
Phil shimmied his own off, “Could say the same for you.”
Dan blushed, “Yeah...wasn’t feeling good.”
“Do you need to go to a doctor?” Phil asked him, his voice laced with seriousness.
Dan shook his head and opened his mouth to say he was fine when a waitress came over and asked if they would like something to drink. Phil asked for a coffee and Dan asked for a hot chocolate to warm themselves up.
“I talked with Damien,” Phil says.
Dan looked up him, searching Phil’s expression because Dan wasn’t expecting at all to have Phil confess that to him.
“Oh really?”
“He blamed you for a lot of stuff,” Phil says and Dan remains silent. “Apparently he thought that you were the main reason for my hurting in university.”
“Oh?”
“My parents divorced not long after you left,” Phil says, “But it wasn’t unexpected. They’d been having problems for years so it wasn’t like they were ever really emotionally involved with the other.” Phil scratched his arm and Dan had an inclination to reach out and put his hand on Phil’s stop him from doing that, “But not long after, I had a health scare and they found out that my father wasn’t actually my father.”
Dan’s eyes widened. He couldn’t imagine the pain of knowing that you went your entire life thinking your dad was your dad and he turned out that he actually wasn’t.
“Turns out that my mum’s affairs were happening from way before I was born. It was just a normal occurrence. But it still blindsided me.”
“I’m so sorry, Phil.”
“I tried searching for you,” Phil says with a laugh. “When you left for America, I tried searching for you on Facebook and other social media but I never found you.”
Phil searched for me? Dan sat dumbfounded as he looked at Phil across the table and Phil just continued his solemn expression, “Was your parents divorce hard too?”
Now it was Dan’s turn to be completely confused. He shook his head and quickly cleared it up, “Oh, no? My parents are still married.”
Phil’s eyes widened and his mouth open and closed, “But you have a different last name too?”
“No, I don’t?”
Phil sat back in his chair, “Your last name was James, not Howell.”
Dan suddenly choked on air and coughed out as he sputtered a quick response out. Dan had completely forgot that when he signed out the same books as Phil in high school, he put his name as Daniel James because he didn’t want Phil to know his actual name and really see him a stalker and a creep.
“Oh, Phil, no...I used my middle name as my last name when we were in school because I was afraid of looking like a creep when I got out the same books as you.”
Phil’s expression suddenly changed and Dan could no longer read how he felt.
“I went... ten years not even knowing your last name?” Phil exclaimed with a laugh.
Dan just blushed and shrugged as Phil began to laugh.
“I’m sorry?”
“If I didn’t love you, I might have been inclined to say that I actually hated you right now.”
Hearing Phil say the words love you did something in Dan’s heart and he bit his lip, trying to hide the feeling that it gave him.
They remained at the cafe until the rain let up, and on the way back to their apartments, they held hands and for the first time since reuniting with Phil, Dan genuinely felt in love with Phil.
So as they get to their apartments and Dan has half a mind to say goodnight to Phil and part ways, he suddenly turns to Phil and just says it, “I love you.”
Phil’s mouth falls open and then he’s gathering Dan in his arms, swinging him around as Dan laughs and presses his face into Phil’s neck, “I love you so much, Dan.”
“I love you too,” Dan repeats, the words getting caught by the skin of Phil’s collarbone.
They make their way into Dan’s apartment, not letting go of each other as they make their way into Dan’s bedroom. Dan smiles into the kisses, letting the awkwardness of the tear clicking happen because he was so damn happy right now.
They fall onto Dan’s bed and as Phil sits back and begins to take his shirt off, Dan just reaches up and pulls Phil back down for another kiss.
He could get used to this.
The next morning Dan leaves for work before Phil is even awake beside him in bed. He needs to finish up the rest of his work that he didn’t get a chance to finish the day before due to everything that happened. So he needed to utilize the time before all of the other editors came to the office.
Dan thought for sure he was going to be alone, but as he got onto the elevator at the building, a hand shoots out and stops the elevator as the doors begin to close and on steps dark haired Damien.
He’s the last person Dan wants to see at this moment...or ever really. He never really wants to see Damien if he’s being honest.
“Good morning,” Dan says, trying to be civil.
But Damien doesn’t answer and as the elevator dings one floor at a time, Damien gets off and doesn’t say another word.
Dan makes his way into the office and sits down at his desk, digging into his small stack of paperwork.
By midmorning, Phil has arrived and Dan is nearly done with his late work and is busy finishing up one final thing. He’s typing away on his laptop as Phil walks over to him and comes up behind him, wrapped his arms around Dan’s neck and leaning his chin on the top of Dan’s head.
“What are you doing? We’re at work?” Dan mutters, confused by the sudden affection.
“Well, I have some news for you,” Phil says, pressing a quick kiss into Dan’s hair.
“What is it?”
“So you know that proposal you gave to the sales department yesterday morning?” Dan nods and Phil presses a few more kisses into his hair, “It’s a total reject.”
Dan suddenly whips around, knocking Phil off from him, “What the fuck?”
“Yeah, sales department rejected it and I agree with their reasonings,” Phil says with a shrug, “We need a new proposal by noon today or else the author isn’t getting a book deal.”
Dan sits stunned as Phil walks off down the hall towards the breakroom.
Dan is still a bit stunned with the way his life has turned out, and it’s moments like this where... just a little bit, he wishes he went to the literature department.
But as Phil walks back to the office with a mug of coffee in his hand, Dan’s reminded of the real reason he’s here... and Phil is just a plus.
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If you're up for it, #4 from the caretaker prompts with Reigen and Teru?
(Prompts from here)
Thank you so much for the ask! Hope you enjoy :D
“Okane Toshi,” the announcer’s voice called.
Teru shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and reajusted his cap for the hundredth time in a row.
He knew he should be happy.
Why shouldn’t he be happy?
He’d finally made it through highschool, after many long years of hard work. He’d managed to pass all his classes with A’s, become the best player on the soccer team, and was even elected as a member of the student body council, all without ever needing to rely on his psychic powers.
“Yamabe Takaaki,” came the voice again, this time accompanied by the cheers of a family that sat not far behind him.
He should be proud of himself. He knew he should.
Then why didn’t he feel proud?
“Shiraishi Junji.”
He snapped back into reality at the nudge of the person sitting to his left.
He realized at that moment that his row had already stood up, and was joining the line of students leading to the stage.
He adjusted his cap again, and stood up to join the others.
“Gushiken Kazuyuki.”
Standing, he now had a better view of the room around him, and the people that were in it.
There were rows upon rows of chairs around him. The front half of the auditorium was packed with students in bright blue gowns and caps. Behind the rows of students sat rows of people, most of whom were family members and friends of those graduating.
“Isayama Mio.”
Teru spotted white-haired heads of grandparents, whose eyes were brimming with tears. There were young children scattered around, squirming anxiously in the laps of their parents. Moms and Dads across the room held up their phones to snap pictures. He even saw several homemade signs poking out from among the crowd.
“Futaki Setsuko.”
His eyes trailed over to the left side of the room.
There he saw two empty seats, with paper signs bearing the words “Hanazawa” draped over them.
He hadn’t been surprised when they’d told him. Not in the least. He’d known from the beginning that they weren’t going to come. In all honesty, he would have been surprised if they had.
It would have been nice, at least, if they’d bothered to give him an actual call.
“Iwamoto Haru.”
He was approaching the front of the room now. He straightened his shoulders and tried to readjust his cap.
“Yoshigahara Kura.”
He was only a few people away now.
“Umon Tsuki.”
He felt his eyes stinging.
Not here. Not now, he hissed to himself.
“Nishizaka Hikosaburo.”
He made one final readjustment to his cap, and stepped up onto the stage.
“Hanazawa Teruki.”
He made a step forward.
Suddenly, cheering erupted from the back of the auditorium. Teru almost stumbled at the sudden roar of noise.
He didn’t dare turn his head to see where the sound was coming from. He had to focus on not tripping on himself again as he stepped up to shake the school president’s hand.
He felt his hands trembling as he shook the man’s hand.
“Domoto Imari.”
Teru shuffled off of the platform as quickly as he could, now clutching his diploma in his hands. The moment he was off the stage, he turned to the crowd to see where the noise had come from.
It took him a minute, but there, at the very back of the auditorium, he finally spotted them.
Reigen-san, Serizawa-san, Kageyama-kun, his little brother, and Suzuki-kun were all holding onto a large cardboard sign with the words, “CONGRATULATIONS TERU” written on it in black sharpie. Teru could see that there had been an effort to add glitter to the sign from the mess of blue and pink splotches all over the sign. Dimple, who was hovering around Kageyama’s head, had some pink glitter stuck to his ectoplasmic forehead.
Reigen, realizing that Teru could see him, began bouncing up and down and holding his corner of the sign up as high as he could. Ritsu shot a glare at Reigen as he tried to pull the sign back down.
Serizawa, who was looking at him through an old video recorder, gave a shy wave in his direction. Next to him stood Shigeo, holding onto a corner of the sign, and smiling at him brightly.
A sudden warmth exploded in his chest. Teru bit the bottom of his lips, trying to push away the heat that was rising in his face.
He gave his friends a small wave as he headed back for his seat.
—
“Hanazawa-kun!”
“Teru!”
“Kid!”
Teru barely had enough time to pull off his cap before the bombardment began.
“Congratulations!” Serizawa shouted.
“Did you see our sign?” Shigeo asked.
“Yes I-”
“I was the one who added the glitter!” Shou interrupted, a proud smirk spread across his face. Teru could spot flecks of pink in his fiery red hair.
“Yes, I can tell-”
“You look absolutely ridiculous in that gown you know.” Dimple added, “And what’s that on your head? It looks like a mushroom.”
“HEY,” Kageyama’s brother snapped at Dimple.
“Now now everyone!” Reigen said, “Let’s give him some room to breath, please.”
The others backed away at the man’s wave. Teru looked up at Reigen, and was greeted with broad smile.
“Now then,” he said, clapping his hands together, “Dinner’s on me! Where do you want to go kid? Sushi? Or something else?”
Teru blinked. “I- dinner?”
“Say curry!” Suzuki interjected. Ritsu elbowed him.
“I- I don’t mean to be a bother. I’ve got dinner at home…”
“Are you kidding me?” Reien said, “This is your graduation. You can’t just pop some leftovers in the microwave and call that a day. This deserves a celebration!”
Teru went to open his mouth, but found no words came out.
Food? What food did he like? What was an acceptable place to eat on this sort of occasion? Did Reigen even have the money to take them all out?”
Reigen noticed Teru struggling.
“You,” He said, pointing his finger at him, “like meat, correct? There’s a Yakiniku place just down the street that just opened up recently. Sound good?”
Teru nodded. He was afraid that speaking out loud might cause his voice to crack.
“Sounds like a plan then! Alright everyone, follow Serizawa, he knows the way out.”
Teru turned to follow the others, but stopped when he felt a firm grip on his arm.
Teru looked back up at Reigen, who was staring blankly ahead at the backs of the others. He waited until they were a good distance away before speaking.
“Ah, I just wanted to say… um…”
“You really don’t have to do this you know,” Teru said. “I would have been fine on my own.”
“I know. But you shouldn’t have to be.”
Teru felt a redness creeping up into his face. He turned to walk away, but Reigen’s grip on his arm only tightened.
“Look at me.”
His tone was unusually firm. Teru turned around, his eyes meeting Reigen’s.
“I’m so proud of you.”
Teru’s face started to burn. Reigen’s voice was so… sincere. Teru found himself once again unable to open his mouth to speak, and the edge of his vision went blurry.
“You’ve done a fantastic job these past few years, you know. Mob tells me about all the stuff you do. I mean, straight A’s? I was never really more than a B student myself, I have no idea how you manage it. And you’ve made it on the student council! That’s not an easy feat you know.”
Teru looked down at his shoes. No matter how hard he bit his lip, he couldn’t get the tears to stop forming in his eyes.
“You’re really quite the hardworker. And- uh, you’ve- you’ve really grown up. Not-not in height, I don’t mean.”
“Why are you saying this?”
Teru cursed himself for the crack in his voice. A tear spilled out from his face. He didn’t dare wipe it away.
“I-I just… figured I should say that.” Reigen placed his hand on Teru’s shoulder, “I, I don’t think anyone else’s said that to you today.”
Teru shook his head, fearing that if he spoke, his voice would crack again.
“Well, now I’ve said it. And it’s true, you know? You really are a good kid.”
Reigen gave Teru a hearty slap to the back.
“Come’on, why don’t we get you something to eat. Okay?”
Teru rubbed his face into the sleeve of his gown.
The warmth in his chest had spread, reaching every corner of his body. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
“Sounds like a wonderful idea.”
#Mooky's Asks#prompts#fic#mp100#mob psycho 100#i was hoping someone would ask me for number four!!!#tbh this didn't turn out as nice as i wanted#but hope you enjoy anyways!!#dad reigen
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Day 5 - @takaritsuweek
Work
By the time Monday rolled around Ristu was rubbing at his back trying to ease the ache. It had been a long time since he’d suffered with this particular problem but… he had such a good time with Takano-san when they went on their date that he’d actually been the one to bumble through a sort of seduction of the elder male. It had consisted mostly of his blushing so hard he was sure he’d actually give himself blisters and a sort of feebly motioning towards his bedroom while unable to look at the other in the eye and stammering some form of query that somewhat sounded like ‘You wanna?’ while he thought for sure that he was dying from the embarrassment on the inside. By that point he’ truly been a nervous wreck when Takano had taken pity on him and finally decided to help him out and take control of the situation.
Takano had been exceedingly careful and tender with him, taking things so slowly that it wasn’t as frightening, ‘getting back in the saddle’ so to speak. So after a nearly month long dry spell they’d started to work past that hurdle in what Ritsu was finally starting to consider a real relationship. Not that he’d admitted how he felt or what he thought about their ‘status’ yet, there were still a couple things that were wearing heavily on the young man’s mind.
Firstly, he had a serious issue with dating a person that was also his boss. He’d tried to explain this to Takano several times but even a hint of the discussion seemed to upset the man. They needed to really sit down and talk about it, he had to make Takano understand that while he really did love his position as an editor for Emerald, he was starting to realize that he maybe, sort of, possibly loved Takano a bit more than that. He just didn’t want the headache of anyone thinking that he was getting special treatment in his job because of what was going on between him and his boss. While he knew that Takano could be professional, the editor knew that people outside the department may not be so understanding and would most likely start spreading rumors about pair of them and that could be a risk to both of their jobs. Takano didn’t seem to think it was an issue, but to Ritsu it was a very big deal and it had kept him awake many nights with worry.
That was one issue, the other was that he wanted to at least raise one of his authors to a higher position in the rankings. He’d been dealing with the disappointment and self doubt about his own abilities. It hadn’t ever been this bad when he was working with literature, at least there he had better than average idea of what was good and what would sell. With Shoujo manga, it wasn’t so easy for him. Even with nearly a year’s experience he still felt as if he were running blind half the time. That’s why every month he waited anxiously for the rankings to be released. Gnawing on his bottom lip he took a peek towards the entrance to their department, the rankings would be here any minute he was sure of it. With these thoughts racing through his mind he was nearly startled out of his chair by the booming voice of his boss.
“Stop daydreaming Onodera! If you don’t have enough work to keep that brain of yours occupied I have plenty of extra assignments that should keep you busy!”
Snapping a glare at Takano-san, he didn’t even deign to give that threat a reply, well not too loudly, “I’m not the one that falls behind every month with my authors Mr. Big Shot Boss.” grumbling under his breath but Kisa-san heard him and started to snicker and snort.
“Oi! What was that?!” Takano glared from his end of the room.
Ritsu smiled sweetly at him in a totally fake manner that was more likely to convey annoyance than even the slightest hint of joy, “Nothing Takano-san, just going over this month’s coordination schedule and oh, what’s this?!” he lifted up his notes, “it seems that I haven’t heard back from you about the progress of Ichinose-sensei’s manuscript? Has she gotten back to you yet or has she suddenly gone on another trip to the other side of Japan?” he was still smiling in that sacarin way as Takano looked as if he was about chuck a heavy object at him, when one of the girls from sales walked in with the announcement, “This month’s tallies are in…” she’d made a slight squeaking noise as Ritsu was on her and snatching the paper, “Thanks!” a true smile on his lips this time as he turned back to the others on his team.
The room went silent as Ritsu stood there, staring down at the paper with emerald eyes that got wider and wider. Was this right? Could it be right?! He started to sputter a ‘T’ sound over and over while his brain stalled at last month’s rankings. Hands shaking as he read over the names again and again.
1. Saitou
2. Yoshikawa
3. Ichinose
4. Mutou
5. Yamada
The list went on but he was just staring in shock at the number one position, still stuttering that ‘T’ sound before he suddenly gave a loud whoop and glomped on to Kisa in utter joy, spinning across the floor with the youthful looking editor that had come to him to try to snap him out of it. Kisa squealed in shock as Takano started to shout for Onodera calm down and put Kisa down while he was at it.
Ritsu didn’t care, hugging on to Kisa and jumping up and down, thoroughly rattling the older man’s bones, “She did it! She did it! YES!” releasing a dizzy Kisa that promptly plopped down on his hind end. Ritsu fist pumped and then thrust the results under Takano’s bespeckled nose. As soon as the elder took it Ritsu let go and started to wiggle dance his way through his co-workers in his own happy celebration. Picking up a phone and dialing his top rated mangaka and bouncing on the balls of his feet while it rang, “Hello, Saitou-sensei? You gloriously brilliant lady! Guess what? You ranked first this month!” there was a piercing shriek of excitement on the other side of the line as he jerked the phone away from his ear and gave a laugh, ‘are you serious?!’ could be heard from the excited young woman, Ritsu answered her with a laugh, “of course I am, all that build up was worth it, you did it! Congratulations Sensei! Good Job!” he spoke with her for a few more minutes as the area seemed to calm down after the initial shock of seeing Onodera Ritsu in a state of pure joy. He was spinning about in his chair, much like Kisa did whenever the mood struck him. Some weren’t sure whether or not to be afraid to be honest, usually the guy was such a growly grump that it was unheard of to see him in such a mood.
Sighing happily as he got off the phone and finally seemed to notice that he was the center of attention, not only in his own department but in the neighboring Sapphire as well. The girls looked at him with stars in their eyes as he beamed his devastating smile at them before he turned it on the guys in his own area, Kisa leaned back a bit as he was hit by a brilliance that blinded nearly as bad as Kou’s. “Drinks are sooooo on me tonight!.” Okay, that got most of the team on his side, finally turning that smile on Takano who was looking at him with wide eyes, it would be nice if the guy said something in congratulations to him.
“Don’t get so full of yourself Onodera, it’s just one month’s results.” though he did have a slight smile on his face, barely there but Ritsu noticed it.
“Nope! Not even you can bring me down today Demon! Ah, I’m going to get a coffee, anyone want something from the break room?” he got a chorus of no’s and of course a yes from Kisa that wanted his red bean drink. “Kay, be back in a bit guys!” he left the room and heard Kisa say something about the likelihood of a blizzard in Tokyo. Ritsu couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face but did give a yelp as he was drug into the men’s room as he was passing it.
Feeling himself spun about and crushed to a solid chest that was far too familiar, hearing that deep voice rumbling into his soft hair, “So proud of you Ritsu, good job.”
Ritsu felt his cheeks heat up to the tips of his ears at the praise, “It was mostly sensei,” though he had done all the corrections and suggestions for this installment so he did indeed feel rather proud of himself and could feel the glow in his chest at the praise that he’d gotten from the hard to please Demon Editor-in-Chief, “but… thank you. It means a lot…” he tilted his head up and rose up to the tips of his toes, Takano meeting him halfway in a kiss.
Suddenly the door to the men’s room burst open and there was Isaka-san in all his showman’s glory, “No office romance!” God, he loved doing this to his victi…. Erm, employees. Catching them in various degrees of compromising positions. This one was actually rather mild and sweet, ah, how boring. That was until Ritsu shrieked like a little girl and fainted dead away in Takano’s arms at the sight of the company President standing in the doorway. “Uwah! That boy is far too high strung!” the President chuckled darkly as Takano-san clung to Ritsu and looked with murderous intent at his own boss that sauntered up to the sink to fill his palms with cold water and dumped the contents of his cupped hands straight onto Onodera’s face.
With a wild gasp he came to, clutching to Takano-san and blathering, “It’s not what you think!!” to which Isaka just chuckled and shook his head, “Suuuure it’s not Nanahikari.” whistling as he left the room, leaving Takano to deal with the panicking young man.
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The Swan Princess: Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka x reader
A/N: If this is your first time reading a x reader FanFiction then I hope you enjoy it
(Y/N): Your name
(E/C): Eye color
(H/C): Hair color
(H/l): Hair length.
Chapter 1:
Once upon a time, there was a king named Tamaki Suoh who ruled a very large kingdom. But he was sad, for he was growing old and had no child to the throne. Then happily, a daughter was born and was given the name (y/n). Many kings and queens gathered from all over to offer gifts to the princess, and among them was the widowed queen Renge and her young son, Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka.
Mori walked up to the crib where (y/n) lay with a gold heart locket with a picture with a swan in flight in his hand. He dangled it into the crib where (y/n) tried to reach out for it and touched his hand. He was startled by this gesture, but he went along with it because (y/n) was merely an infant and was curious. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful her eyes were.
As Tamaki and Renge were watching their two children, they suddenly had a shared idea: If they could bring Mori and (y/n) together every summer, they might just fall in love and their kingdoms would be joined forever.
Unknown to all was a plan to destroy Tamaki Suoh's kingdom. The evil Chizuru Maihara was scheming to take everything Tamaki had away. Chizuru had been promised the right to the throne if Tamaki and Haruhi were childless. And she intended to keep it that way.
She had cursed the queen to lose her children every time she bared them and it mystified her that this one child had survived. But at a price; the queen lost her life giving birth to the girl and it made her curious as to what was so special about her. As curious as she was about her, she didn't pay much heed as she thought that the girl would perish along with her father when she made her assault with her magic. Before she could, Tamaki's forces attacked and plunged her powers into the darkness.
Despite calls for her death, the enchanters were merely banished from Tamaki's kingdom. But not before an ominous warning.
"When I get my power back, I promise you: Everything you own, everything you love, will be mine."
Many thought that King Tamaki was too kind. In time, the threat was forgotten. And all hopes turned to that not-too-distant summer when Mori and (y/n) would meet.
~Time skip~
"They're here! They're here! They're-" WHAM! Mitsukuni Haninozuka, the page, was a little too excited when he saw King Tamaki arrive with his men. He was spinning around the flagpole and when the King was in sight, he turned into the flagpole face first and was knocked to his back. "Oh, hehe hehe. A little too excited there." He cleared his throat as he stood up to salute and sounded his trumpet to greet the king.
(y/n) looked up to find the source of the trumpet and she was amazed at how tall everything was. It was much bigger than at home. She turned her head curiously around her father when she saw that they were leaving without their knights.
"Father, why aren't the knights coming with us?" (y/n) asked.
"We're going to meet with the queen and her little boy Mori. We don't want to scare him off now, do we?" He smiled and winked at his daughter in which she tried to wink back with not much success. She ended up blinking back at her father then had to hold one eye open and blinked with the other with earned her a laugh from her father.
Soon a woman and a boy were in sight as Tamaki and (y/n) stepped through an ivory stone arch. The woman had golden-brown hair that look kind of clothes to Tamaki hair and her green dress matched her vibrant kind eyes. And behind her was a grumpy looking boy that had short black hair and sky dark grey eyes.
"Ah, Queen Renge. As lovely as ever." Tamaki smiled as he greeted them. "And this strapping young lad must be Prince Mori."
"Welcome to our fair humble kingdom, dear Tamaki. And to you, young Princess (y/n)." Renge smiled at (y/n) as Tamaki lifted her off the saddle in front of him. (y/n) put her hands behind her shyly and looked up at her father. He smiled comfortingly at her and gave her a little nudge to move forward to say hello which she hesitantly followed.
Renge nudged mori in which he stubbornly didn't move and glared at his mother unwilling to meet (y/n). "Mother." He whined.
She glared back at him and he hung his head as he went up to meet her.
"Hello, Princess (y/n)." He turned his head away and scowled. "I'm very pleased to meet you."
"Please to meet you, Prince Mori," (y/n) said happily as she raised her skirt high as she curtsied. Mori went back to his mother when (y/n)'s head was halfway to the ground. Renge pointed back to (y/n) just before Mori came back and he went back to her quickly and grabbed her hand.
(y/n) scowled at him as Mori cringed when he was raising her hand to his lips. He gave (y/n)'s hand a quick kiss and wiped his mouth in distaste. He folded his arms and glared at her.
``I can't believe I'm stuck with her all summer, I bet she doesn't even wrestle, hunt or box.' (y/n) put her fists up as if she were about to fight him which made him flinch. (y/n) lowered one and glared at Mori.
'He looks conceited.' She thought.
'What a total bummer.' Mori huffed as he crossed his arms. The children looked back to their parents who were silently urging them to continue talking and they got the message.
'If I get lucky I'll get chickenpox.' They both prayed.
"So happy you could come." Mori forced a smile on his face.
"So happy to be here." (y/n) bowed slightly with a small forced smile on her face as well.
'How I'd like to run!'
"This is not my idea…" (y/n) said quietly. "This isn't my idea of fun." The children turned their backs to each other and folded their arms. Later Mori and (y/n) were playing a game of knights with wooden toy swords on a set of stairs. (y/n) tripped Mori as he chased after her landing on his butt at the bottom of the stairs and (y/n) took the opportunity to pounce on him and beat him up. However, Mori wasn't going to let her. They were rolling together, giving and taking beatings and took turns being throttled.
()()()()()()()()()()()
"The children seem to get along quite nicely." Renge mused as she was walking with Tamaki. The children continued their fight out in the gardens until sunset and were not too far behind their parents.
"We'll join our lands if this arrangement clicks." Tamaki happily exclaimed.
"My dear King Tamaki, that's my point, precisely." She laughed as she walked to fingers on his shoulder.
"It's such good parenting."
"And politics. So happy we agree."
"I think we've got a deal." Tamaki shook hands with her and shared her smile.
"Mori's quite a catch.~" She chimed.
"This is my idea…"
"This is MY idea of a match!" The children stumbled upon their parents and were within striking distance of each other but Renge held back (y/n) and Tamaki held back mori while the children were both struggling to try to hit the other. Mori escaped Tamaki's grip but Tamaki was too quick and was able to hold him back.
Renge giggled at the two children. "They're so adorable together."
()()()()()()()
A few years had gone by and another dreaded summer was approaching. 11-year-old (y/n) watched from her balcony as her father's knights were packing up her belongings for the trip to meet Prince Mori. She folded her arms and scowled. WHY must she meet with that obnoxious brat every year?
"Good heavens child," Tamaki called her. "Don't dawdle. We can't keep Mori waiting."
"I haven't packed or washed my hair and father, I get seasick."
()()()()()()()()()
"They soon will be arriving." Renge came into Mori room to see him shoot arrows at a poorly drawn portrait of (y/n). "In that respect, you're showing?" She glared at him and tapped her foot.
"You make me kiss her hand again, I swear I'm gonna be sick."
()()()()()()()()()
King Tamaki immediately greeted queen Renge once the ship arrived but (y/n) stayed on the ship, sulking and not even looking at Mori. She didn't turn around until Mori's friend, Ritsu Kasanoda shot a tomato at her with a slingshot.
Later, (y/n), Mori, and Kasanoda were sliding down the banister in the castle like a slide.
'We tried all summer but we just can't lose her.' Mori wished that (y/n) would just stay away from them like she did when she just arrived at the beginning of the summer but now she won't leave them alone. He didn't quite understand why.
"Hey, wait up!" (y/n) called. She was trying to slow down because she was uneasy about going down the banister as fast as the boys.
"Quick, put on some speed!" Kasanoda whispered loudly to Mori as they leaned forward to slide faster. They jumped off at the perfect time at the bottom leaving poor (y/n) spinning around the post before she could get off.
()()()()()()()()
"When picking teams," Mori and Kasanoda went to their treehouse and pulled up their rope ladder before (y/n) could follow.
"For friends." Ritsu sniggered.
"I never choose her."
"You think she'd take a hint and learn to read." He pulled out a piece of paper outside the window that said 'NO GIRLS' which made her frown and stomp her foot.
"This isn't fair."
"We really couldn't care." The boys said in unison.
"Boys, it's all or none." She kicked the stand that was holding the treehouse up out of frustration and accidentally sent the whole thing down which earned her and the boys a few broken limbs and a black eye each.
"This is not my idea…" (y/n) sighed.
"This isn't my idea of fun." The boys said.
()()()()()()()()()()
The villagers were chatting vibrantly as (y/n), King Tamaki and the knights rode past them. They watched as (y/n) was riding her horse with a cast and most of them shook their heads knowing that this was yet again another unpleasant summer. They knew the agreement that King Tamaki and Queen Renge made a long time ago and they couldn't help but recall it in almost vivid detail.
Long before they met, Mori and (y/n) were destined to be wedded. However, anyone could see the only point on which they didn't disagree was that the very thought of summertime was dreaded. The peasants did support the idea of the kingdoms uniting but at the rate (y/n) and Mori were going at liking each other were not very high and they couldn't help but pity them. They would rather not have a forced marriage and an unhappy couple as King and Queen.
()()()()()()()()
Another few summers pass and like always, the greetings did not go well. Mori had climbed up a tree and his mother couldn't get him to come down with her nagging and (y/n) had anchored herself in her carriage and Tamaki was trying to pull her out by her ankles.
'She talks me into playing Dress Up,'
But after a while, they were able to play some games with (y/n)'s choice of Dress Up where she was a queen and Mori came in with a monster mask that made her flinch and swing at him with the scepter that she was holding.
'She's always flirting with the castle guards.'Later Mori and Kasanoda saw her having a lively conversation with Kaoru Hitachiin, the captain of Mori's knights. Mori scowled as Kaoru laughed and Mori's face was starting to turn red.
"Ahahaha! I think you're starting to like her, 'fess up." Kasanoda elbowed Mori teasingly. "Why else would you be jealous?"
"I am NOT jealous! But I would like her better if she loses at cards." Kasanoda was putting up two fingers then five while pointing down at (y/n)'s hand of cards.
Mori grinned smugly as he lay his hand down on the table. "Four sevens and a ten."
"Not so fast, I win again.~" (y/n) layout four aces and Mori stared at her in disbelief. He looked up at Kasanoda who shrugged. Mori made a mental note not to ask for his help with cards again.
"This is my idea…" (y/n) smiled at Mori as she rested her head in her hands.
"This isn't my idea of fun." Mori sank back in his chair.
()()()()()()()()()
Mori and (y/n) rode around in a carriage around town as per their parents' request. As (y/n) was waving kindly to the peasants as they passed by, Mori put up two fingers behind her head when her back was turned and when she turned to face him, he moved to the far side of the seat and started whistling.
"We need a royal wedding, I'd love to be invited." A few maidens sighed as the prince and princess rode by.
"At least we'll get a holiday to rest our plows and axes." A couple of farmers said.
"Someday, these two will marry." The maidens sang as Tamaki and (y/n) were boarding their ship. Renge was waving cheerfully at them while Mori was sulking and refused to look at them until (y/n) shot a tomato at him with a slingshot then threw it in the water as she was heading up the plank.
"Two lands will be united. And with some luck, their marriage may result in lower taxes."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Tamaki wrote to Renge expressing his doubts during the winter. (y/n) has displayed some interest in Mori but not enough to keep her attention. He noticed that a few other men have been captivated by her as she was growing more beautiful by the year.
'What if (y/n) doesn't go for the merger?'
'URGE her!' Renge replied.
~ Time skip ~
A few more summers pass, with (y/n) now 18 and Mori 21, and they still dread their meetings with each other. But they would do their duties and meet each other anyway, however painful it was.
'For as long as I can remember, we've been told we'd someday wed. Every June until September…'
"All their pushing and annoying hints…" Mori grumbled as his mother pushed him towards his castle's ballroom.
"I've got bruises with their fingerprints." (y/n) sighed as she was being carried to the castle by Tamaki and Kyoya Ootori, the castle's musician.
"I can do much better, I am sure," Mori said as his mother pushed him into the ballroom and locked the door.
"He's so immature." (y/n) had her shawl taken away before being pushed through the other ballroom door with her back turned from Mori.
Mori heard the door shut and he turned to see who it was, with some luck it was one of his servants, and he couldn't believe his eyes. (y/n) had turned to meet his gaze and he couldn't believe this beautiful girl, this goddess, was (y/n). He couldn't help but smile genuinely. Seeing Mori's real smile made (y/n)'s heart melt and feel warm
'I see him smiling and my knees start buckling. I see inside him and my doubts are gone.'
'She started as an ugly duckling. And somehow suddenly became a swan.' They started to walk towards each other, smiling at each other and never breaking their gaze on each other. They bowed and curtsied to each other before taking each other's hands.
"So happy to be here…" (y/n) said.
"'Til now I never knew…"Mori whispered as they were drawn closer to each other.
'It was you I've been dreaming of…'
'This is my idea…'
'This is my idea…'
"What a good idea, such a charming and romantic notion." Tamaki and Renge burst into the ballroom in a tango like formation along with other servants in a celebration that Mori and (y/n) were finally falling in love with. Kyoya even got his band to start playing a piece of festive music as the servants started to come in, all eyes on Mori and (y/n) who had tuned them out and only saw each other. They started waltzing to their beat under the illuminated scene that was focused on them.
"This is my idea…" Mori and (y/n) sang softly in unison as they were drawn together for a kiss. "Of…" Their lips met each other as (y/n) placed one hand on Mori's chest.
"Love…" That one little word chimed throughout the ballroom and it felt so magical.
Mori took (y/n)'s hand and they faced their parents.
"Arrange the marriage." He announced proudly. Renge squealed in joy when Mori said that. Applause broke out in the hall and when (y/n) looked around, more people came in at some point. They were all nobles but they were delighted that Mori and (y/n) were finally in love.
(y/n) thought that this might be a little too quick. They've never really liked each other until now and Mori wanted to go with the marriage. Kyoya started playing music and (y/n) stopped the noise when she said "Wait!" and turned to Mori.
There was a tense atmosphere and everyone was holding their breath. They finally got them together like this but they were so nervous that this could all fall apart.
"What?" Mori turned to her. "You're all I've ever wanted. You're beautiful." Mori smiled at her.
"Thank you. But what else?" (y/n) tilted her head.
"What else?" Mori repeated, not expecting that and darting his eyes around the room nervously.
"Is beauty all that matters to you? (y/n) stared at him with her (e/c) eyes" Tamaki cleared his throat and shook his head for his daughter not to continue which she ignored. She was hoping Mori would be able to tell her honestly because the timing was a little too peculiar for him to finally love her.
"Mori," Renge spoke up. "What else?"
Mori looked back and forth between his mother and (y/n), unsure of what to say. He didn't know what kind of answer she was expecting and he didn't want to embarrass himself by not saying anything. "I-um… Uh… What else is there?"
Kyoya gave him a thumb down and made a buzzing sound. Renge gripped her hair in horror and started whimpering. (y/n)'s heart sank to her stomach as her worst fear was confirmed. Mori only loves her beauty.
()()()()()()()()
(y/n) and her father were just about ready to leave through the ivory stone arch for the last time.
"Well, we tried, dear Renge. We can't say we didn't try." Tamaki said as he was on his horse. (y/n)'s horse was next to his, not facing Mori. Renge's lip was quivering as she was trying her hardest not to cry. Mori stood beside her with his arms folded and his head turned away with remorse.
"Say goodbye, (y/n)."
"Goodbye." She said without turning around. She felt like she was going to cry her heart out if she saw Mori again.
"Goodbye?"
"Goodbye prince Takashi." She slightly turned her head and looked at him for the last time with her (e/c) eyes, and (h/l) (h/c) hair.
Renge elbowed Mori and hissed at him.
"Goodbye, Princess." He gritted his teeth as (y/n) rode off.
She spared one last glance before they vanished into the woods, meeting Mori's eyes once more before Mori broke their contact.
Renge started to walk back to the castle crying her eyes out. "All these years of planning… WASTED!" Her last word echoed off the stone walls.
Later that night, a horrible thunderstorm was approaching and Mori decided to play a game of chess with Kasanoda to pass the time. Unfortunately, Kyoya was there lecturing him as well.
"You are a fool! What else is there?" He mocked Mori's original tone while hitting himself in the head. "She says, 'Is beauty all that matters to you?' and all you can say 'What else is there?'" Mori turned his head to Kyoya to give a hesitant reply. While his head was turned, Kasanoda took the opportunity to swipe Mori's knight.
"I-I don't know… It came on too fast, what was I supposed to say? There should've been a manual or something if that question came up. It was dumb, I know."
"How about you write one?" Kyoya sneered. " 'How to Insult Women in Five Syllables or Less'. Sounds like a good start."
"Your turn, Prince Mori," Kasanoda smirked. Mori moved a chess piece and Kasanoda used his bishop and held Mori's queen between his fingers.
"You lost your queen, Mori." He smirked.
"That's twice in one day." Mori sighed.
"Think, boy. You must see something other than (y/n)'s beauty." Kyoya said.
"Of course I do, Kyoya. She's like… You know… How about… And then… Am I right?"
Kyoya raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'll prove it to her." Mori declared as he turned back to Kasanoda. "I'll prove my love to her. I'll show her that I care about more than her looks. Checkmate!" He slammed the chess piece onto the table which stupefied Kasanoda.
()()()()()()()()()()
Another clash of thunder sent a shudder down (y/n)'s spine. Even though the rain and the wind were drowning out the noises outside, she swore that she heard an eerie voice. "Today's the day, Tamaki Suoh. Everything you own, everything you love, will be MINE." (y/n) heard that voice faintly before… In a dream. And cold blue eyes were watching her and it frightened her. But it was all just a bad dream.
"I-I just don't understand…" Tamaki said. "What else did you want him to say?"
"Father… I need to know that he loves me, for just being me." (y/n) looked at her father with her (e/c) eyes that glistened with tears in her eyes, as she looked back at the window with sad look on her face ashy side quietly.
The carriage suddenly stopped and Tamaki stepped opened the door to see what was the matter. A hooded figure was in the middle of the path in the distance. He squinted and he realized in horror who that figure was.
"Father, what is it?" (y/n) was about to come out too but Tamaki pushed her back in.
"Stay inside, (y/n)." He hissed.
There was a flash of orange light like fire and (y/n) heard a roar. It frightened her, even more, to see her father terrified. He slammed the door shut and she could see his silhouette being pressed against the door. The horses were neighing and the knights were screaming in terror. Something attacked Tamaki and he tried to hold it back. (y/n) heard him drawing his sword and swinging at the thing. Whatever it was, was so powerful that it tipped the carriage over on its side.
(y/n) hit her head slightly as it fell over and she heard her father screamed her name. The door opened and she saw a creature with those blue eyes from that dream. It bared its teeth at her as if it were grinning. Its long claws grabbed her as it wrapped her within its wings and that was the last thing she saw.
()()()()()()
The doors of Mori's castle suddenly burst open as Kaoru, the captain of her guard stumbled through, struggling to stand up.
"King Tamaki's captain!" Mori rushed to his side and sat him up.
"Prince Mori, we were attacked." Mori's eyes widened when he heard that and his jaw dropped. "A great animal."
"(y/n)!" He ran out of the castle and mounted the nearest horse and ran to the woods as fast as he could. What he found were the bodies of the knights, the carriage trashed and left empty and several weapons lying around.
"(y/n)!" He cried her name. Something gold caught his eye on the ground and it was the golden locket with the swan he gave her when she was a baby. Just lying there in a puddle and covered with mud. He took it tenderly in his fingers as he whipped his head around. He found Tamaki on the ground, bloody and his clothes torn and gasping for air.
"King Tamaki!" Mori knelt next to him.
"Mori."
"Who did this?" He asked hoarsely.
"It came so quickly. A great… animal… My daughter… It took my little girl…" Tamaki coughed. He grasped Mori's shirt. "Listen to me, it's not… What it seems… It's not what it seems. Please…" His breathing was slowing down as he was tightening his grip as best as he could. "Save her… Take care of her… Tell her… I love her." His grip loosened as his body went. Tamaki's eyes looked to the skies.
“Haruhi "…" He uttered before he breathed his last. Mori cringed as tears were pouring out of his eyes. He stood up, took a few steps before collapsing to his knees and burst out into sobs.
"(y/n)!"
#the swan princess#Takashi Mori Morinozuka x reader#mori x reader#ouran high school host club fanfiction#Fanfiction#x reader love story#X reader#ouran high school host club#Ouran High School Host Club x reader
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Mob Psycho Fic Recs Part 3
Here we go again! I’ve racked up another 10 bookmarks to share. As always, if you are the author of any of these wonderful fics and want to have your tumblr tagged just let me know!
Parental Supervision
Author: piperita
Rating: G
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: In Progress
Tags: dad reigen, good parent reigen, protective reigen, found family
Summary: Reigen finds out that Teruki lives alone. No parents, foster parents, or even a hired caretaker. He doesn't know exactly what he's going to do with this information, but it's certainly not 'nothing'. Or: Reigen's awkward, messy, and backwards guide to adopting psychic children.
My Notes: Just a nice cute fic about Reigen looking out for and helping take care of Teru after finding out that he lives on his own. It’s cute and very sweet how Reigen takes a kind of backwards approach to helping out Teru, since Teru is way too stubborn to allow himself to be completely cared for by someone else. I really love Reigen and Teru’s dynamic in this fic so far and I’m excited to see more!
aquarium
Author: amaranthinecanicular
Rating: G
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: Complete
Tags: ritshou, mermaid au, background terumob
Summary: It was just a fairytale. One of those bedtime stories parents tell their kids to make them wary of the surface. Merfolk didn’t fall in love with humans, they didn’t fall for the sweet words of seawitches and they didn’t fall out of the ocean with legs only to fall back as seafoam. It was just a fairytale. It was supposed to be a fairytale.
My Notes: One of my all-time favorite ritshou fics, I go back and reread it all the time! I’m such a sucker for mermaid fics and this one is super beautifully written. It’s poetic and flows so so well, it wraps you in from the very beginning with its gorgeous prose and mysterious story. It’s definitely been an inspiration to me in pursuing a more descriptive and flowery writing style for certain fics. The budding friendship between Shou and Ritsu is endearing and believable and very in character, and the little mermaid inspiration brings a familiarity to the story as well that makes it easy to follow and understand what’s going on behind the scenes. I absolutely adore how the author writes Ritsu’s point of view, it’s just a really really solid and fun fic that I’ll continue to go back to after this.
Out of Body
Author: bobmoss
Rating: M
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: In Progress
Tags: serirei, slow burn, mental health issues, recovery, case fic, hurt/comfort
Summary: Serizawa's recovery seems to be going so well, but then he suddenly develops a habit of accidental out of body experiences during panic attacks.
My Notes: A very sweet, emotional exploration of Serizawa and Reigen’s budding relationship post-world domination arc. I absolutely love the way the author writes these two as friends who know and understand each other, and how that leads into an eventual romance. It has some really heart-stoppingly scary dramatic moments, too, for being such a character-centered story, which took me pleasantly by surprise. I really look forward to what the author has planned for the future of this fic!
Night Terrors
Author: futuresoon
Rating: T
Archive Warnings: Unspecified (there’s some blood/injury and horror elements, but nothing too extreme)
Completion Status: Complete
Tags: Yomawari: Midnight Shadows fusion (no knowledge needed to read), horror, angst, alternate universe
Summary: Ritsu wants psychic powers more than he wants almost anything. But he didn’t expect them to only be good for seeing spirits, and he didn’t expect them to only appear after his brother walks into the forest and doesn’t come back. Now the town is full of monsters, and all Ritsu can do is search for his brother--but even powerful children are still children, and the night is not always kind.
My Notes: This fic really took me by surprise, since I had never played Yomawari and knew nothing about it before reading this. It’s dark and relatively scary as far as my usual taste in fics go, but it’s written really well. The author is really good at displaying the hopeless aura of the situation without making it seem like all is lost, and the atmosphere and constantly moving story make it really easy to get lost in this dark alternate reality. It’s not really a happy fic, though, and the ending is rather bittersweet, so be aware if you decide to read this one.
The Accelerated Velocity of Terminological Inexactitude
Author: LogicalBookThief
Rating: G
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: Complete
Tags: terumob, fake dating au, slow build/slow burn, crushes, pining, holding hands, slight angst, mentions of mogami arc
Summary: Teru offers to fake date Mob in order to gain Tsubomi's attention. His own crush on Mob makes this plan somewhat problematic.
My Notes: Teru has a big ol crush on Mob and takes advantage of his crush on Tsubomi to become his fake boyfriend for a time, except it really does more harm to himself than to anyone else. The fake dating AU we all know and love, now with added mogami arc angst (just a little) and the slow realization that their fake relationship might have more truth behind it than either of them are intending. It’s a super sweet fic and a relatively quick read if you’re looking for something with meat that isn’t 100k words long. It brought quite a few smiles to my face and a couple of excited squeals as well.
Grow as we Go
Author: lesboba
Rating: T
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: In Progress
Tags: terumob, fluff, character study, hurt/comfort, dad reigen, established relationship, good person teru, post-canon, kissing, panic attacks
Summary: Teru's still working on himself, but he has time and the right people with him now.
My Notes: This fic is so so good and sweet, it focuses on Teru coming into his own and figuring out how to be a good person post-canon. It’s so endearing seeing him interacting with the whole Kageyama family, especially Shigeo, who he’s dating in secret, and his parents, who treat him like their own son and it’s great. It’s so nice to see Teru’s struggle to remind himself that he can change and become better from inside his own head, since in canon we only get brief mentions of what that must be like. It’s also super soft, just very very soft, and it makes me feel nice every time I go back to refresh myself on it.
Blind Eye
Author: NewWorldFool
Rating: G
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: Complete
Tags: ritshou, pining, fluff, mutual pining, john mulaney references
Summary: “Yo, Ritsu!” Shou says with a nonchalant wave as he walks through the doorway, entering the threshold of the student council room. The boy in question sighs, but not unkindly. “Shou,” he says in lieu of a greeting. Shou showing up to the student council meetings has become a somewhat common occurrence even though he doesn’t even attend the school. He won’t admit the exact reason why, but Ritsu deduced it was probably to mess with him. Normally he’d be annoyed, but today? Ritsu is grateful for the interruption. (Basically a ritshou fic where they're dating but not really dating and Ritsu gets an epiphany)
My Notes: This is a super sweet, super cute one-shot about how Ritsu and Shou act like they’re a couple long before they actually start dating and I love it. Shou showing up at Ritsu’s school and house out of the blue is one of my favorite fanon interpretations of him and it’s played out really well in this fic. I also love the idea of the two of them just being unabashedly affectionate when it’s just the two of them, they have such a cute relationship in this interpretation!
Cinderella-Esque
Author: beanpots and Floral Fancies (lovelycoris)
Rating: T
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: Complete
Tags: ritshou, terumob, cinderella au, curses
Summary: Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom that was peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Tucked away in the corner of town lies a charming little stone house that's absolutely smothered by flowers of impeccable beauty. But the life around the Kageyama house belies the bane plaguing them - Ritsu Kageyama will do anything to lift the curse from his older brother. Even if it costs him a glass shoe.
My Notes: This might be my favorite mob psycho fic like.. ever. I remember staying up into the early hours of the morning to read it all in one sitting because I just had to know what happened next. It’s beautifully written and leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering what might happen next, and the fantasy/cinderella vibes are so so fun to read. This art also comes with the amazing added bonus of having beautiful chapter cover art and even some mini comics slotted into the fic itself, which is such a treat to come across every single time. I highly recommend this fic to anyone who likes ritshou and terumob even a little, it’s so well-written and the characterization, specifically for Ritsu and Shigeo, is really solid.
first day
Author: shcherbatskayas
Rating: T
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: Complete
Tags: ritshou, school nonsense, hugs, undiagnosed dyslexia, lunch sharing, mutual pining, trauma
Summary: Ritsu can't stop himself from being excited about it: Shou's first day in his class. He can't stop himself from being nervous, either.
My Notes: post-canon, Shou starts attending Salt middle school and ends up in Ritsu’s class. Shou’s not really cut out for school, unsurprisingly, but Ritsu’s there to keep him company and reassure him that he’ll end up alright. Ritsu makes a pro vs con list of what it’s like to have Shou as a classmate (and to have a friend in his class who he actually likes). It’s a really sweet, nice, fluffy fic and I love the way the author writes Ritsu and Shou’s friendship and how they support each other, I just really love all of the author’s ritshou fics actually. This one was particularly nice to read though, their interpretation of Ritsu and Shou’s relationship is really nice to read and comes across very natural and close.
It’s Hard to Read When You’re Fast Asleep
Author: Squishy360
Rating: G
Archive Warnings: None
Completion Status: Complete
Tags: good brother ritsu, family fluff, ???% as a character
Summary: Mob passes out. ???% wakes up. Ritsu helps his brother take care of himself in the meantime.
My Notes: This fic caught me by surprise in the best way. It’s short and tame and is such a fun and interesting take on ???%’s relationship with Ritsu, how he still recognizes Ritsu as his brother and has that sort of instinctual caring attitude toward him. It’s surprisingly wholesome and comes across almost like a crack fic but it just leaves you feeling warm and happy in the end. Ritsu’s initial fear of ???% and his slow realization that he’s not going to get hurt this time is so nice to read and very cathartic overall. I really love this idea and the author executes on it really really well!
#mob psycho 100#mp100#fanfiction#fanfic#rec list#fanfiction recommendations#fanfic rec#fic rec#tumblr got rid of insertable line breaks so have this nonstop list i guess#tumblr be more user friendly please#i need those dividers
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Complementary
Shou, having grown up messing with psychic powers, figured out how to leave his body. The obvious next step is trying to take over another.
Started this like a year ago, based on this post I stumbled upon by @hydrachea, and finally got around to finishing it! Just some rowdy espers being teen boys.
(On AO3 too! Link in a reblog because I never know if external links are functional)
Ritsu narrowed his eyes, the question he was just given running through his head for a third and fourth time. Sitting on his bed, staring ahead, he tried for a fifth pass to work out what he could possibly say next. Mmm…nope. “You’re going to have to say that…one more time.”
Seated on the ground in the center of his room, legs crossed, back straight (a bit unusual for the rowdy teen), and a barely contained smirk on his lips, Shou drummed his hands on his ankles. “I asked,” he repeated, carefully, “if I could perhaps…for a little bit…borrow…your body.”
Ritsu ran a hand down his face. “Yeah. Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought you said.”
“I know what you’re thinking, dude: It’s not something you hear every day—”
“No, it’s really not!”
His hands changed their rhythm, quickening into a drumroll before finding their pattern. “So. To give you some backstory—”
“That would be great, thanks.”
“—some lore, now, okay.” Pata-tata pata-tata pata-tata. “So my dad used to know this one psychic in town. Or not know him; he kept tabs on every esper around, so I would steal copies of his records to see what powers people had, because if some rando can do it, why can’t I? And so this guy, his specialty was astral projection, but he like, leapt from his body just to spy on people or watch his neighbor’s Netflix or some shit. Anyway, didn’t take long to figure out. You could probably pick it up, too. Your brother is probably doing it right now, watching from above, oooo….” He tapped out a light decrescendo, leaning forward for effect.
Ritsu quirked his eyebrows. It was just a joke, but he still wondered. What would Shigeo even use it for?
With one final beat, Shou swung his hands to the floor behind him, leaning back on his propped arms. “It got me thinking: What am I when I astral project? It’s still me, but not in my body, so am I a ghost? Am I like a spirit? And since regular spirits can possess people, then….” As if going over it again knocked his confidence down a peg, he flashed a sheepish smile.
His friend did not react. “You want to possess me,” he said.
“I want to see if it’s possible!” Shou corrected. “And if it is, then would I get—would we have double the power? Would you look different at all, like some sign that it wasn’t all you in there? Will you be awake at all? Just think of the possibilities! The pranks!”
Ritsu’s stomach turned. This is crazy. This doesn’t just happen. Your friend doesn’t just saunter into your house unannounced, steal a soda from the fridge, make light banter with your family, and then body snatch you. It doesn’t happen!
…but…what if...?
He closed his eyes, head shaking back and forth. “This is insane,” he grumbled. “People ask to borrow phone chargers and cups of sugar, not....” He waved a hand towards his head before letting it drop to his blankets.
Shou took a swig of his soda. It was already almost empty. “I get it, I’ve been sitting on this for like, weeks, but I’m not just gonna go possess some poor bastard off the street; I do have some morals. And who else am I supposed to ask, a non-esper? My old man? Your brother?”
Process of elimination, that made logical sense, but it didn’t do much to quell his concerns. It’s not like he didn’t trust Shou. His close friend Shou Suzuki was different from the enigmatic threat Shou Suzuki that burned down his house on their second meeting. Now, that didn’t mean he would trust Shou with everything. Maybe to return a loaned book. Maybe not with the care and well-being of a life. His life in this case.
But it’s not like he would be unsupervised. Probably. When Dimple possessed him, not only was he awake, but in control, too, so there was a chance Shou wouldn’t even be able to do anything. And Dimple did help his powers develop astonishingly quickly. Maybe….
Ritsu grumbled, falling back on the bed. God damn it, he was curious to see what would happen, but just the thought of it made his skin crawl. It was enough of a tough decision when it was a weak little smart-aleck of a ghost whom he could use solely as a mean to a desperate end. This, however, was his friend. His living human friend that he saw on a regular basis, in his own living human body. They hadn’t ever hugged before, and now Shou would be using his arms, existing within his head—oh god, would he be able to hear Shou’s thoughts?
“You overthinking things with that big brain of yours again?” The empty can clattered onto Ritsu’s desk. “It’s not like I’m going to steal your life and go on a heist spree. It’ll be a few minutes, maybe more if something cool happens. A day max.”
“A day?!”
“A couple hours, absolute max, it’s up to you. I’d offer to do your homework while I’m you, too, but we both know I don’t know shit about school and no one would want that.”
That earned a half-smile from Ritsu. If Shou went to class as him, he felt his grades would instantly drop a letter as soon as he walked through the door. Student Council would fall into shambles. Shigeo would try to exorcise him.
The mattress tossed him an inch into the air when Shou flopped on his stomach to Ritsu’s left. “So…?” he asked, looking over with one of his trademarked trickster teen grins.
It’d be an experiment. Had this ever been done before? Few people seem to be as versatile in the psychic arts as Shou and the other espers of Seasoning City. And even if it had, he doubted it was documented in any way, so the previous query was really a moot point. But would it actually combine their powers into an unstoppable force? Should another threat ever come to this magnet of a town, it would be useful to have a trump card like that. A trump card like…having control of himself wrest from his grasp from a being within his own skin….
Ritsu folded his hands over his midriff, tapping a finger against his knuckle. “None of this seems just the least bit…wrong to you?” he asked, pointedly looking at the ceiling.
“What, hanging out over the weekend to possess my best friend?”
He pursed his lips. “Yes, that.”
“Uncommon, yeah, but it’s only wrong based on your definition of it.” Shou tried to make wise and erudite gestures like pointing and tapping his head even though lying face-down restricted his movement. “Spirits do it all the time, it’s just how they are, but we only question their intentions, not the action itself.”
“But you’re not a spirit! You’re alive, you have your own body, and this isn’t natural at all, intentions or otherwise.”
“You can say none of these powers are ‘natural’ in the first place, but we’re stuck with ‘em anyway.” He mimed air quotes a couple times more.
Ritsu didn’t have an argument for that. It was a good point. A year ago, bending spoons wouldn’t have seemed natural to him, either; it was just an anomalous habit of his anomalous brother.
“And I do have a body, no shit, Sherlock,” he continued, “but since I can separate myself from it, it’s more like just a sweet suit with bitchin’ hair. The me that’s me is the personality and the superpowers. It doesn’t really matter to me whether that personality is in my head or yours, ‘cause I’m me either way, and you’ll still be you.”
Ritsu looked over at him, for the first time since he posited the question. Shou had dropped the grin in favor for a small, neutral frown as he picked at a loose thread he found in the blankets. “How long did you say you’ve been thinking about this…?” he asked.
The boy met his eyes, but instead of an answer, he got a smile with too many teeth. “Does that mean you’re game?”
Ritsu took a deep breath. Then he took another one. If anything, it beat doing algebra. “Sure. Fine. I don’t have to do anything besides be here, after all. But—!” He sat up and pointed a finger at his overzealous companion. “No leaving this house—no leaving this room, actually, why would you need to. No haircuts, no photos, no calls, no texts, no— just—!” He stopped himself. He did trust him. To an extent. He sighed. Instead of trying to tie up every possible loophole, he concluded with, “Just have some respect, is all.”
Shou’s burnt orange aura flared up, throwing him off the bed to stand. He snapped his feet together to attention and saluted, a giddy grin on his face and supernatural fire in his eyes. “You can count on me, Captain!”
And then his aura moved without him, whipping around at the edges before amassing over his shoulders. The energy glowed and coalesced before it darted away, a pale tangerine shape spinning in circuits up to the ceiling.
Shou’s face went slack, his eyes losing their light as they slid shut, mouth falling with the rest of his body. “Don’t—!” Ritsu swore before swooping in to catch him, half holding him up before his upper torso could hit the edge of the bed. “Don’t just do that with no warning! I didn’t think you meant right this instant!”
He kneeled to safely lower his friend to the floor. As soon as he let go, the orange form darted into view. He winced and threw up an arm on reflex, but it hung in front of him, over the body lying comatose (lifeless?) on the ground. It was Shou-shaped for the most part, if Shou were made of fog physically vibrating with excitement. Which he currently was.
Ritsu lowered his arm, as well as his instinctive psychic defenses. He sighed and turned to lean back against his bed. “Just give me more of a heads up next time,” he said before closing his eyes.
He could hear the hum of power before he felt it. A force slammed into his senses, causing a barrier to flare up before he steadied himself and dispelled it. The moment it wisped away, it was like a frozen stake shot through his brain. A telltale sign of possession, he knew, but it didn’t stop there this time. His breath caught in his throat as a chill clouded his head, sending a violent shiver down his spine, seeping into his lungs and through his skin to his fingertips. A gasp escaped him, and his eyes blinked open, before the cold stopped in its tracks, fully freezing over, encasing him in ice and locking him in place.
And then his eyes blinked again. A slow breath filled his chest that bubbled to a roll of laughter as his lips spread to bare his teeth. “Oh, Ritsu,” he sung, “you better be awake for this, ‘cause this is fucking wicked!”
Jesus, thought Ritsu, most definitely still conscious and most definitely thrown out of control. He tried to say that aloud with a grimace, neither of which his body emulated. This is disconcerting.
His head perked up. “Hey, there you are!” his voice announced. “You still sound like you in my head—our head—”
My head.
“Our head, and I sound like you, too! Double the Ritsu!” Shou cracked his borrowed neck, interlacing his fingers and pushing his palms to the sky in a stretch. “I’ve never heard you sound this happy before!”
And you still haven’t.
“Mm, that’s a debate you will lose on a technicality. And you should stretch more often, bro, it feels cramped in here.”
Because it is cramped in here!
Shou jumped to his feet, rolling his shoulders. Ritsu groaned. This was nothing like the time with Dimple. He was just hoping he wouldn’t regret this decision any more than he already did.
His eyes swept the room, his hands rotating in loose circles that cracked his wrists. “Yo, you don’t have a mirror in here?”
No.
“That’s fine, probably one in the bathroom, right?” he asked, already moving to open the door into the hallway.
Shou, what did I—!
“Chill, dude, I just wanna see how you look.” Shou cracked open the door, checked for anyone in sight, and slipped into the bathroom across the hall, closing the door behind him with a soft click. When the lights flicked on, they both gasped.
Shou stared back from the square mirror over the sink. Anyone would know it was Shou. Blue eyes were a rarity in Japan, and anyone would immediately know that what looked and sounded like Ritsu Kageyama was in reality the furthest thing from him, an impostor that replaced his dark russet eyes with stark sea blue. Ritsu did not like it one bit, oh, no no no.
“Whoa,” Shou breathed in awe. He gripped the sides of the mirror, tilting his head every which way while taking in the reflection. “This is dope! This…is a bit creepy, not gonna lie, but it could work, you could make it work! Fluff up your hair a bit, get rid of the haunting sleepless gaze, give ‘em a smile—just play it like I would! Oh, pshh. Forgot!” He cocked his head to a three-quarter view, shooting a half-smirk and wink at himself. “That won’t be hard.”
Ritsu wanted to die. His image, being perverted so. The embarrassment was unprecedented, and the fact that he physically could not look away and hide from the world made it that much worse. At least that meant his face wouldn’t show the disturbed blush. Don’t act like it’ll stay that way, he whined. It’ll go back to normal when you’re gone.
His hand held up a finger. Still talking to the reflection, Shou asked, “What if I’m not in control? Still blue?”
Ritsu would have scrunched up his nose if he still could. Damn him and his good questions.
“Now how do I do that…?” his voice muttered. His hands dropped to the sink as he finally looked away, drumming his fingers on the porcelain. “What if…I dissociate, but not project…?” He closed those foreign eyes and repeated it under his breath, slowing his tapping.
The fog seemed to clear from Ritsu's head, loosening the chill he was in, until it rushed back through his palms—the cold porcelain underhand. He was also immediately reminded that his chest had weight from the beating heart and lungs just beginning to tighten and burn without air. He took a breath, curling his toes and taking stock of everything else. Everything back under his control.
He still didn’t feel completely himself, but it was worlds better than before, when his feet were too numb to even feel grounded.
Relishing the feeling of just being able to feel his breathing again, Ritsu glanced up into the mirror. He grimaced, an action meant to distract him from the knot in his stomach. Still blue.
“I really don’t like these eyes,” he said. His voice sounded better in his cadence. “They’re...too bright.”
Nah, bro, yours are just too dark. The idea bloomed in his head, like he had imagined Shou’s voice, except that it kept going without his permission: At least now you don’t look like a zombie.
“I don’t look like a zombie,” he muttered before narrowing his eyes at his reflection. He just realized he was having a conversation with himself. Technically schizophrenia. What a day.
Ya totally do, dude, you barely sleep some days. Yo, use your powers on something!
“Hm?” Ritsu raised an eyebrow at the mirror. Right, they were testing their powers like this. He noticed the hand towel on the wall behind him and directed his focus at it. The familiar light tingle of his powers prickled his skin as his turquoise aura appeared around it, darting it around him to float over the sink. “It looks the same. Same color, same texture.”
And coming in for the pass—! His breath caught for a mere moment as the ground was snatched from under him, dropped into a dunk tank of ice water after a successful throw. His aura splashed around the towel before swirling into a glittering citrine. His fists punched the air. “Fuck yeah!”
I’m gonna be sick.
“Don’t be dramatic; not while I’m driving, you’re not.”
Ritsu groaned and dragged his hands down his face. Neither of those things actually happened.
Shou laughed, his current voice rising to the point where it could almost be called a giggle. “No, no, I get it, it’s weird as shit, but come on! It’s so rad!” The towel darted around the small room at his behest, the bright orange aura highlighting its path like a comet. “Like, I dunno if you can feel it, but my powers don’t have the same oomf to them. Your body might not have enough juice to keep ‘em running like I’m used to.”
Well, sorry we can’t all be hotshot prodigies. Ritsu skipped being offended and instead watched the towel spin in a tight circle—not like he had any choice in where his eyes went. Just in the top right of his periphery, he could still make out a bit of his reflection in the mirror. It was out of focus, but it was still enough to notice his too-light eyes. Think my powers can add to yours? he asked, bringing up one of Shou’s earlier inquiries to change the subject.
“Give it a shot, bro.”
He focused on the towel and its path, trying to help push it along, to speed it up. After a moment, he was unsure if his powers were even working, his hands too far from his senses to tell if his palms were tingling. Then something slotted into place in his head and the towel kicked into double time, instantly spinning so fast it twisted and knotted itself into a plush wad. Aquamarine swirled among the amber aura, making...an uncomfortable color, actually; blue and orange mixed together like that was rather unappealing to look at.
“Sweet!” The grin Shou had pulled onto Ritsu’s face only grew. His face was starting to get sore. “Now try the other way! I’ll throw it left, you go right, yeah?”
What, oppose each other?
“Yeah! Psychic arm wrestling! ‘Kay, in three, two, one—”
The towel ignited.
Shou beamed like a kid on Christmas. He threw his arms up fast enough to bounce his heels off the floor. “Fuck yeah! Now it’s a party!”
Out of sheer panic and adrenaline, Ritsu snatched hold of his hands, throwing them at the towel, encasing it in a bubble of energy. His breathing was quick (hey, he was breathing) as he watched the flame flicker and reflect off his aura for a few seconds before it suffocated and snuffed out. He blinked (hey!) and tried to slow his hyperventilation, gripping his shirt in an attempt to dampen the thumping of his racing heart. The towel fell into the sink, the faintest bit of smoke pluming from its singed corner. “Who the fuck did that?” he asked, a slight strain to his voice he failed to wrangle. “Because it wasn't me!”
Not me!
“Uh-huh.” Ritsu glared into the mirror, fully accusing those eyes. “Sorry, but I've come not to trust you with fire.”
Honest, man, I didn't mean to do it! Our fusion powers are probably just different now, unpredictable! Guess we just gotta get out there and practice: bend a lot of spoons or some shit, maybe go teach some thugs a lesson, go lift some rocks in Dagobah—
“Hang on, fusion? You gave it a name already?!” Ritsu twisted the tap on for a half second to douse the towel before dropping it in the trash. “Nuh-uh, that's enough. We're not going out getting into fights, not when it's my body on the line.”
Fine, we can use mine next time.
“Next time?!” Ritsu’s fuming as a defense mechanism was made even more frustrating by not having a target to direct his reproval at; blaming his reflection was just too strange. “Wha— Why— How could you—!”
The door clicked open behind him. He spun around, startled and already trying to come up with explanations, excuses. He was able to open his mouth before he was pushed out of control again, his excuses contained within his head.
Shigeo raised his eyebrows, standing in the doorway. “Oh. Hi, Suzuki.”
The grin was back on his face. Shou shifted his weight to one leg and waved a hand. “Yo, lil’ bro! What’s up?”
“I was going to ask Ritsu a question and noticed something seemed off upstairs.”
Ritsu was thanking any power up there that Shigeo was taking this so well. By this point, it shouldn’t be surprising, but still. Shou hummed. “A disturbance in the force, you say….”
“I didn’t say that—”
“Nah, nothing’s wrong. Just guys bein’ dudes, hangin’ out.”
Shigeo paused for a beat. “Why are you in my brother?”
“Just messing around, testing out some powers. Hey, you wanna be Ritsu, too? It’s fun!”
Shou, don’t just say shit like that, Ritsu protested, uncomfortable. What was he, a sampler plate?
Shigeo’s brief hesitation didn’t help his unease. “No,” he eventually answered. His expression changed, ever so slightly, so much so he doubted Shou caught it. “No, I’ve had my share of possession, I think. I’ll keep to myself.”
Ritsu’s stomach would’ve dropped if it could. What the fuck does that mean??
Turns out Shou didn’t catch it. He whistled and lightly jabbed Shigeo’s shoulder with his elbow, asking, “What’s that, a rebellious streak? Moonlighting as a spirit? Spy missions?”
Shigeo ignored him, his composure already back to normal. “Is Ritsu in there, too?”
“Mm-hm.” Shou gave him a brisk nod before pushing Ritsu to the front, all his numbed senses switching on at once. He blinked to catch his bearings before opening his mouth to actually voice his concerns over that cryptic statement. He stopped himself, though, realizing Shigeo wouldn’t answer in this situation. He’d save it for later. “Yeah,” he said instead, “I’m here.”
“Mom wants to know if Suzuki is staying for dinner.”
Ritsu smiled—a normal, content smile, not one of Shou’s manic grins. “You could’ve just asked him, you know.”
“I guess, but you’re the host, so it seemed polite to ask you.”
Despite the last half hour’s whirlpool of emotions, he couldn’t help but snicker at his brother’s word choice. “I don’t know, are you staying— Hell yeah, I am!” Shou jumped in. The last thing Ritsu clearly felt was nearly biting his tongue.
“Okay.” Shigeo watched them for a moment. “You know, Ritsu, your eyes are blue now.”
“Yeah! It’s cool, right? Ritsu doesn’t like ‘em, but I think it makes him look less tired.”
He considered it. “A little.”
What do you want from me? Ritsu muttered, as well as he could in his head. Should I start wearing contacts now?
From downstairs, he heard his mom call something; he wasn’t paying enough attention to hear what. Shigeo stepped out into the hallway and called back, “Suzuki would like to stay for dinner.”
“How is he, anyway?” she asked, probably from the base of the stairs. “He’s quieter than usual.”
“He’s just possessing Ritsu for a bit.”
“Well, tell him that while I don’t mind one less mouth to feed, he should stop soon and come down himself. Growing boys need to eat.”
Ritsu wanted to hold his face in his hands. Why is my family like this.
Shigeo turned to relay the info, but Shou waved him off, saying, “No worries, I’ll leave in a sec.” Shigeo nodded and left.
“Yo. Bro.” Shou spun back to the mirror, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. It was the look he had when he was planning to get into trouble. “Next time? We gotta go flying. With our powers combined, we could go. So fast. As long as we don’t spontaneously combust, but hey, everyone needs a bit of practice!”
Damn it. Pushed into being a passenger in his head, possessed like it was the god damn Exorcist, and here he was, being tempted by power. Again. They did seem stronger together, and Shou had a wider variety of psychic talents than him. It could be beneficial to learn from him like this. Maybe it would even be—dare he think it—fun, doing things he wouldn’t normally be able to. The blue eyes still creeped him out, though. That wouldn’t change. He’d still hate that.
Good thing there weren’t any mirrors a hundred feet in the air.
Fine, Ritsu huffed. But now, you’re getting out. Dinner first. Flying later.
“Fuck yeah!”
#Mob Psycho 100#Suzuki Shou#Kageyama Ritsu#MP100 fanfiction#My writing#getting back into the swing of things with writing#finally#the season 2 hype caught me#possession#shenanigans#and the like#I've been debating titles for 24 hours now just take it#Complementary like colors like blue and orange yeah?#*tired shrug*
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Mob Psycho 100 Spoilers (Addressing division and Animation Analyst)
l suppose I have to read the manga (which I will) to truly understand but I really did feel emotionally moved by this episode. Every little moment hit me.
It was because of the presentation. Yes it did feel pretty rushed and I wouldn’t have mind to have this whole bit be two episodes like what they did with Mob’s fight with Teru. Those two episodes had, what I would call, build up action and pay off action.
Build up action would be the first clash between Mob and Teru, where everything was established. In the newest episode’s case, it would be the first half of it. Pay off action is when Teru encounter ??? Mob and the emotions that the scenes leading up to it had. In the newest episode’s case, that would be the epic fight in the 2nd half.
Which, sadly, both of these “actions” had to be crammed into one episode. And many leave it feeling disappointed.
I, after some reflection of the episode, would have loved it to be more. Like the Teru and Mob fight. But this episode still.....hurt. Which was because of the presentation I mentioned earlier.
Loooong animation analysis,by someone who really want to tell their own stories and takes note of all these little things, under the cut.
The animation was amazing and I think it conveyed a lot. The letterboxing (the proper name for the two black bars at the top and bottom) frames the whole show in a different mood. Along with the world’s muted colors. Those two details alone already gave me a feeling of seriousness and foreboding.
How Mob looked when people were talking about how unnoticeable he is. Basically a walking punching bag.
Him getting slapped in front of the whole class and his peers whispering about him and throwing paper at him really got to me. I jumped and gasped when I first saw it, shocked.
The two guys trying to rob him and Ritsu’s icy cold stare was another moment that was a punch in the gut. Just a few episodes ago, Ritsu was ready to kill for his brother.
The lingering looks he has. (They are all sprinkled throughout the setup, I’m just using the next pic as an example)
The milk scene which serves as more public humiliation. The teacher(who I assumes was the same one who slapped him) didn’t attempt to intervene. It reminds me of passive teachers who do nothing to help a student of theirs who clearly needs help. And, before the girl pours milk on him, you can already see that Mob is going through a lot. (Also, make a note of the kanji that Bones chose to highlight. I think it also symbolizes a lot of what’s going on in a subtle way. Nature, Dream, Friendship, Darkness, are all things that are touched on in this ep.)
Mob’s room, which is usually relatively neat is disheveled. And it could be seen as alluding to Mob falling into depression. Some people with depression struggle to keep a clean room and often try to hid away. You can get a real sense of isolation even when Mogami is in the shot. While Mob sits with a vacant or stunned stare.
His room even mirrors Mogami’s when he starts talking about his life taking a turn for the worst. He’s trying to solidify the idea that he thinks that he and Mob is the same. Which I'll address Mogami’s role in all of this later on.
And one of the scenes that conveys the feeling of being pushed down and squashed by other people. How some people are just plain ugly and take everything out on people they see is beneath them is this scene right here. Screenshots can’t do it justice.
(I got this gif from @mobpsycho100 )
The fluidity and bouncyness of the animation fits the feeling of something is unhuaman. I think those who have been bullied and abused and you see the people who hurt you take delight in your pain can really feel this part. The way Minori is laughing, the way the other boys stretch and smile, all feels so sinister. The figures with all their agony adds to the disturbing atmosphere. Along with Mogami at the end. Offering to show Mob an escape. So I guess it’s time to talk about Mogami’s role.
He serves as the narrator for most of the episode. Constantly trying to draw out Mob’s emotions and powers to show that they are the same. He criticizes not only society but Mob too. He shows up as something that usually people pay no mind until they get in the way: bugs.
Always following Mob around. The VA for Mogami does a wonderful job at having this deadpan with a hint of spite or nonchalantness at certain points that really adds to the atmosphere. And that soon bleeds over to Mob after he decides to use his powers.His voice was never the most energetic but during that time it seems lifeless. It’s not really something that I can show but if you have a chance, rewatch the episode with all that in mind. (Which I recommend to do once you get done with this post. Maybe you might see this episode in a new light?)
And this part right here, the part during Mob’s breaking point, got me too.
(Gif by @jetstream-mat )
Her cruel smile says it all...
Anyways, I’m going to end it here because I only wanted to talk about the emotions of this episode leading up to Mob’s big change. I know a lot of manga readers have said that Bones didn’t do a good job of portraying the emotional impact of Mob’s 6 months in hell but I beg to differ. No, no cats died or Mob didn’t get stabbed, but I truly believe that Bones delivered in the emotions department. As someone who used to be bullied, not nearly on the level as this, this still shook me. Because I could feel how Mob would feel going through all of it. The half of the episode really did hurt. But I can understand why, even after you read all of this, Manga Readers, you still were let down. You had expectations. I just wanted to put down in words why I fount this moving and show why some might like this episode. And I don’t think the show had to be as heavy hitting as the manga to get the message across.
#mob psycho 100#mob100#mogami arc#minori asagiri#kageyama shigeo#squiddy speaks#i would write more but ooof i spent too much time on this#mob psycho 100 spoilers#i just love this a lot#thank you for reading
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