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fucking-zawa-sensei · 6 years

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Gracious Gratitude

Title: Gracious Gratitude

WC: 4k+

Rating: Mature

Notes: Yet another birthday! This time it’s the incomparable @bethhankel who I have just been overjoyed to have met this year and who makes me smile and laugh and stay up until ridiculous hours of the morning playing video games. I love this crazy talented woman and am so happy to have her as a friend. I have so much fun sharing headcanons with her and building stories and worlds and being continuously inspired by her wonderful art. This particular fic was inspired by a dumb conversation about Thanksgiving and stuffing innuendos, as well as a picture of a wedding dress. Take from that what you will, haha. Happy Birthday, Beth.

Read it on AO3 here

Gracious Gratitude

Shouta knew that being married to Hizashi would mean pushing his boundaries, challenging himself to do things he’d never have considered on his own. He knew the blond would throw out wild idea after wild idea and because his heart clenched every time the other man breathed, he would say yes.

He just never thought any of those crazy plans would include him with the sleeve of his nicest sweater rolled up to his elbow, his entire forearm stuck up inside the carcass of a dead bird, as Hizashi put his English speaking skills to the test, translating instructions to the recipe for a perfectly cooked Thanksgiving turkey back to him.

This one request, remarkably, was one Shouta had talked Hizashi out of for a number of years, always promising that one day they’d try their hand at the traditional American feast Hizashi had been lusting after for decades, but never actually going through with it. That was, not until now, anyway.

The day to make due on his promises had arrived.

Shouta didn’t understand Hizashi’s obsession. He didn’t care about the actual holiday at all, it had nothing to do with Japan after all, but every time the blond saw any of the typical ingredients, in anything, he’d sigh and say “I wonder what it tastes like.” Oddly, Nemuri had offered Hizashi half of a granola bar with cranberries in it and that, of all things, had been what did it this year.

Hizashi had bitten into the crumbly treat and said, “Will we ever have our Thanksgiving feast, Shouta?”

It was well into Winter when he’d asked, long past the American holiday, but that part had never mattered anyway. So, shutting the folder he’d been working in, Shouta turned to Hizashi and said.

“Yes, this weekend.”

He was being sarcastic. There was no way they could get their house ready, invite a bunch of people over, and learn to cook things they’d never touched before in just a few days. The twitch in Hizashi’s lip clearly indicated that he understood that, but the devilish grin that spread across his face immediately after sealed Shouta’s coffin.

Hizashi pushed out of his desk chair and shouted into the teacher’s lounge, “Shouta and I are having a dinner party this weekend! You’re all invited!”

Not surprisingly, Nemuri had agreed immediately with a, “Woop!”

More surprisingly, though, Thirteen, Snipe, Kan, and Toshinori had eagerly accepted as well.

Hizashi immediately texted Tensei, who said he’d join without question, and now Shouta was hosting a party and had his hand in a turkey, all just so his husband could know what the feast he’d seen so many times in movies and TV actually tasted like.

Shouta sighs, pulling his hand out of the turkey and wiping it off on the third towel they’d had to get out so far today just to clean themselves and their work spaces up.

“Alright, what’s next?” he says.

Hizashi squints at his phone and scrolls down.

“Oh you should be good at this part,” he says. “We have to stuff it.”

Shouta raises a brow.

“Or maybe I should do the filling, hmmmm?” Hizashi hums, winking as he grins. Shouta rolls his eyes at the dumb innuendo, quickly turning around to rinse his hands at the sink to hide his blush.

He barely hears Hizashi moving closer, just catching a whiff of cinnamon still lingering from when they’d cooked the pie earlier and Hizashi had spilled some on his shirt, and then he feels the blond press up against his back. Hizashi sets his phone down on the counter beside the sink and wraps his arms around Shouta’s stomach, rubbing affectionately as he tucks his chin over Shouta’s shoulder.

Shouta continues rinsing off his hands, trying not to pay too much mind to the way Hizashi has turned his head and is now kissing his neck. As Hizashi’s hips slowly grind into his ass, though, Shouta can’t resist letting out a small gasp before shutting off the water and nudging Hizashi away.

“Come on, do you want to finish this before everyone shows up or do you want to fuck on the countertop?” Shouta says.

“I mean, can we do both?” Hizashi laughs, winking.

Shouta rolls his eyes and gives the blond a light push to his chest, but he’s smiling too. He’d always enjoyed cooking with Hizashi, the act somehow always bringing out the flirtier sides of both of them, while also being a rather peaceful and relaxing way to spend time in each other’s company.

“Later,” Shouta promises, walking back over to the island and sliding the bowl of stuffing they’d made closer to the bird. “Now come over here and show me just how good you are at filling things up, hmm?”

Hizashi lets out a little pleasure filled groan and adds an extra saunter to his step, shaking his hips excessively, and Shouta thinks it will be a miracle if they actually pull this off.

---

They’d both had to change shirts by the time all the food is done and set out on the long table, adorned with a freshly bought tablecloth and candles. Shouta tugs at his deep amber turtleneck and stares down at the spread, worrying if maybe they need to cover up the various serving dishes somehow so they don’t lose heat. Hizashi had been very stern with their friends about the time to arrive, though, and nobody liked to disappoint Hizashi.

He reaches down to take a sip from his water glass, and in that moment, he hears Hizashi coming down the hall. He turns to see the other man has slipped on a white button down and a sweater vest. Shouta snorts, never having expected Hizashi to commit this hard to the Thanksgiving aesthetic, but also realizing he should have known the blond would. Somehow, the garment isn’t atrocious, a light blue color overall, with a gradient of lighter and dark hues in an argyle pattern.

Hizashi opens his mouth to say something, but several knocks at the door have the blond turning around. He shoots Shouta a smile over his shoulder before going to answer the door. Miraculously, everyone arrives at once, having carpooled apparently, and Toshinori and Thirteen even brought desserts.

Nemuri walks in with a tall, glittery bag that undoubtedly contains some form of wine, and whistles at the table.

“Wow, you guys really went all out, huh?”

They take coats and slip off shoes and before he knows it, they’re all sat around the table and ready to dig in. Shouta has to admit that the food all smells delicious and he’s not really into the usual rich, fatty flavors that come with comfort dishes. They pass around the various sides, filling up their plates, and Hizashi fumbles through a rushed speech about how thankful he is for all their friends and how hard they’d worked on the food so even if you don’t like it, don’t share your opinion.

It gets a good laugh, but not five minutes later, Shouta is watching as Hizashi himself is the one making disgruntled faces as he shovels a forkful of stuffing into his mouth, having also insisted they use Western utensils for their meal.

With another bite, Hizashi’s face falls further, and Shouta watches in amusement as the blond begins to pout around his fork. When he’s done chewing, Shouta props his chin on his palm and squeezes the hand he has resting on Hizashi’s knee.

“What’s the matter? Not to your liking?”

“I thought it would taste better than this,” Hizashi complains, disappointed.

“The stuffing came from a box, Hizashi, how good could it be?”

“You made boxed stuffing?” Nemuri asks, incredulous, from across the table. She grimaces at her plate.

“What?!” Hizashi asks, throwing up his hands. “Do you know how long it took to make everything? We didn’t have time to chop up bread into freaking cubes!”

“Laziness is unbecoming,” Toshinori quips from beside Snipe, a soft smile on his face.

Shouta laughs as Hizashi huffs out an angry sigh and crosses his arms like a petulant child. He pats the blond’s thigh reassuringly.

“Have you tried the turkey?” he asks. “It’s pretty good.”

Hizashi keeps his bottom lip poking out as he lifts his fork back up to stab a piece of the main component of the meal, something Shouta was surprised he didn’t go for first. Nemuri leans forward in her seat, chuckling a bit as Hizashi slowly brings the piece of meat to his mouth. Shouta shakes his head at the way the entire table is watching his husband taste turkey, but he’s just as amused as they are. This whole banquet had been built around Hizashi’s unending desire to experience the Americans’ most extravagant feast, it would be a little too sad to see the blond’s efforts come to nothing.

As Hizashi chews, his sad expression melts away, replaced with happy nodding and excited pointing to his mouth as he turns toward Shouta with a closed-mouth grin. Shouta snorts and nods once in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” he says. Hizashi swallows and puts down his fork.

“No, it’s great! We did it! We made a good turkey!” Hizashi exclaims. Their guests all laugh and smile and Shouta begins feeling a little more comfortable with hosting the dinner, a little lighter.

Hizashi was happy with their efforts, not so much with the boxed stuffing, but they hadn’t actually made that anyway. The rest was loudly approved by the voice hero, and as conversation breaks out across the table, among happy noises of people enjoying their food, Shouta starts to realize there might be a bit more to all of this than just a nice dinner. He starts to think he’s rather happy he finally gave in, finally decided to get up at dawn and spend a fortune on foreign imports, spend an entire morning and afternoon sweating in the kitchen until his feet ached from standing. It was worth it.

It was all worth it for this, for the flush across Hizashi’s cheeks, for the dimples framing his smile that only ever seemed to come out when he was at his happiest, for the extra warmth across Shouta’s chest, not from the sweater Hizashi insisted he’d wear, but by the company surrounding him.

He was rather grateful for them all.

Though most of all, he was grateful for the man beside him, glowing under the candlelight, as he turns to look at Shouta and lean in close to his ear and say, “Thank you, Sho. I love you.”

Shouta isn’t big on getting intimate around their friends, especially not the coworkers they spent less time with outside of work, but he slides his hand up to Hizashi’s shirt to pull him into a quick kiss anyway.

He pulls back and whispers, “I love you too,” and ignores Nemuri and Tensei’s loud, exuberant shouts from the other side of the table.

---

The living room grows loud with the sound of friends chatting and dishes clattering as they are lifted from the dining table and passed to the kitchen, where Hizashi, Tensei, and Toshinori are working hard at packing away leftovers and cleaning up. Shouta carries in a stack of plates and sets them down carefully on the counter beside the sink.

“Sho, can you pull up my sleeve a bit more?” Hizashi asks, shaking the arm where his shirt sleeve is slowly falling back down and approaching his wet, soapy hands and wrists. Shouta reaches out and tugs the fabric back up to bunch around his elbow. Hizashi leans in to give him a peck on the cheek and whisper a thank you as he pulls back.

“Will you put on some music?” he asks.

“What album?”

Hizashi shrugs, turning back to the dishes and starting to scrub.

“Anything you want.”

Shouta groans, saying, “Come on, you know I can’t pick.”

Hizashi laughs as Tensei scoots between them to set down a few utensils they no longer need where he and Toshinori are dividing portions at the island.

“We’ve been together long enough that you should know a few of my favorites, no?”

Shouta pouts.

“I guess so.”

“Oh?”

“You can’t be mad at what I choose.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Shouta snorts and flicks Hizashi’s arm, earning him another burst of laughter from the blond.

“I think the only way you’d stop critiquing music is if they cut out your tongue.”

Hizashi smiles and sticks said tongue out.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he says. “Now shoo, go entertain our guests!”

Shouta tucks a strand of hair behind Hizashi’s ear and dodges the dripping hand that swishes towards him when he playfully gives the apron strings behind Hizashi’s back a little pull.

On his way into the living room, Kan gives him a wave, ushering him over to where he, Nemuri, and Snipe are all talking by the large glass doors to the balcony. He gives them a nod and points toward the stereo on the bookshelf. He thumbs through the large number of CDs and mix tapes taking up the majority of the shelves, looking for any of Hizashi’s most used selections. Finding a well-loved CD, signs of that affection obvious in the cracked case and faded booklet, flipped through many times as Hizashi followed along to the foreign lyrics until he knew them by heart, he pops it into the old stereo.

As his fingers move away from the knob, adjusting the volume to something a little quieter that Hizashi’s preferred settings, his eyes trail toward the elegant silver frame on the shelf beside the stereo controls, sitting in front of several large books they rarely took down. A “freshly fallen leaves” scented candle sits beside the photo, uncapped, waiting to be lit. It was up all year round, distinctly chosen to accompany the image.

“Ah, your anniversary just passed didn’t it?” Nemuri asks as she sidles up next to Shouta, taking a sip of her wine. She reaches out to pick up the photo, bringing it closer, running her thumb over the twisting vines of the metal frame. She smiles down at the two figures and then turns to look at him.

“Yeah, a couple weeks ago,” Shouta responds, taking the frame as she hands it to him. He looks down again, the image always drawing him in.

It was breathtaking, but it would never compare to the actual day, their wedding day.

Inside the small rectangle was Shouta’s favorite photo from their fall ceremony. Hizashi always said he didn’t know why Shouta chose this one, when they each selected a picture for both of the bookcases, Hizashi’s own being on the other side. The blond had gone with one from their first dance, with his head resting on Shouta’s chest, eyes closed, and a soft smile on his lips as Shouta kissed the hair on the top of his head. It was beautiful, and Shouta loved that one as well, but not nearly as much as this.

Nemuri brings her hand up to pat his shoulder, before letting it slide down his sweater and back to her side, saying, “You’ll have to tell me all about what you guys did later,” and walking away.

Shouta nods, mumbles an agreement, but he’s hardly paying attention, his eyes still focused on the wedding photo as he sets it back on the shelf.

It’s a candid image, one their photographer took during the reception, before their first dance. In the background, a little blurred, are the gorgeous, vibrant red Japanese maple trees, and the orange glow of the slowly setting sun beyond them. Shouta is in the mid-ground, more in focus, dressed in his grey and navy tuxedo, hair pulled back away from his face into a half-bun. He remembers Nemuri’s skilled fingers sliding a single white Japanese Anemone flower into the gathering of hair at the back of his head. The added flower wasn’t visible in the picture, but Hizashi had been delighted to see the surprise addition that night.

This is hardly what makes the photo so special, though. No, it’s the expression on his own face, the happiest he can ever remember being, smiling sweetly at his husband as he reaches out his hand, palm facing up, beckoning Hizashi toward him. It’s the stunning image of his newlywed in the foreground, which always takes Shouta’s breath away.

In the picture, only Hizashi’s back is visible, from about the waist up, but Shouta prefers it this way. In that moment, all their guests were seated behind them, waiting for their first dance. Waiting for Hizashi to take Shouta’s hand and begin the twirling, choreographed masterpiece the two of them had worked so hard on, practiced for months, only to have it end in a gentle joining of their bodies, as they drew each other closer, arms wrapped around one another, Shouta’s lips to Hizashi’s head, as they were in Hizashi’s favorite photo.

Before that, though, there was this. There was Shouta, reaching out for his husband, and Hizashi answering that call. There was a face that only Shouta got to see, that only Shouta would ever see, even now, even in the image that had sat on their bookshelf year after year. No one but him could say they saw Hizashi’s face in that moment, saw the beauty, the glistening film of tears the blond was trying to stave off, the slight tremble to his lips as he smiled wider than his mouth could bear. No one else but Shouta had this memory.

All they saw was what was in the photo, though this too was gorgeous. Hizashi’s hair had been twisted into loose, long curls. The sides were braided back and gathered into a small, sparkling hair clip shaped like two leaves in the middle of his head. His hair cascaded down past his shoulders, but had been, for once in his life, actually cut a little shorter with the purpose of showing off Hizashi’s magnificent outfit. Shouta hadn’t had the chance to see Hizashi’s selected ensemble until their wedding day, and while he had expected something extravagant, he had not expected this. A sheer, delicate long sleeved jacket, with lace patterns running up his arms and across his back, up and down his spine. The jacket had marvelous, layered coat tails, which fell past Hizashi’s hips and down to the middle of his thighs. He wore an ivory, strapless shirt underneath, which matched his long, ivory dress pants. Shouta had been particularly fond of the little pearl buttons up the spine of the jacket, mimicking what one might see on a wedding dress. It flattered every single part of Hizashi’s body. It was marvelous.

It was front and center in the photo, and was perhaps what Hizashi might have thought was the reason Shouta had chosen it. After all, it had simply been too hard to say, “No, it’s because of your face” when Hizashi’s face wasn’t even in it.

Shouta supposes it could have just been as easy to say it was the memory that he loved so much.

It was the image of Hizashi, so happy he could barely contain it within himself, that came to Shouta’s mind each time he saw it, that made him want it to be there every day.

“Reminiscing?”

Shouta jumps a bit, as the noises of his friends chatting and laughing fill his ears again. He turns away from the bookcase to see Hizashi has finished cleaning up and is now standing beside him, smiling softly as he holds out a cup of cinnamon, ginger tea. Shouta takes the mug and whispers a thank you, sipping the hot liquid, letting the steam bring him fully back to the present.

“A bit,” he answers.

Hizashi brings his hand up to stroke Shouta’s cheek, then slides it around the back of his head to pull him forward a bit. Shouta goes happily, following both the physical tug, as well as the one that is always there, heavy in the air between them, constantly calling him back to Hizashi like the tide always returns to the sea. He closes his eyes before pressing his lips to Hizashi’s, feeling the comfortable warmth that always settles over his heart with each kiss they share. It’s brief, only a quick peck, neither of them wanting to get too involved in front of their guests, but it’s still as perfect and pleasant as every other one they’d had.

Hizashi turns his head to look at the picture again, reaching out a finger and trailing it down his counterpart’s back, over the little buttons on his jacket.

“Sometimes I want to put it on again,” he admits. “Just for fun, you know? It was expensive.”

“Do it.”

Hizashi’s eyebrows raise and he looks back toward Shouta.

“What?”

Shouta shrugs.

“I said do it, why not? You paid for it. Why let it sit in the closet, doing nothing?”

Hizashi laughs, his hand falling away from the picture.

“Where would I wear it?”

“Here,” Shouta says, stepping a little closer to the blond. “With me.”

Slowly, Hizashi’s eyelids slide down a bit, a smirk developing on his lips.

“Oh? Are you saying you don’t want anyone else to see? I hate to break it to you, but most of the people in this room already got a glimpse.”

Shouta sets the mug down on the bookcase and wraps his arms around Hizashi’s hips.

“Yes, well, I think that was quite enough for them, don’t you think?” he asks, lowering his voice so their guests can’t hear. He checks over Hizashi’s shoulder to see that they’re all enraptured by some story Snipe is telling, his hands moving nearly as quickly as Hizashi’s do when the blond is excited about something. Snipe was relatively calm most of the time, but when he got a few drinks in him, he had a tendency to fire off stories just as fast as his guns.

Hizashi reads his face, apparently seeing that Shouta has assessed none of their friends are paying them any mind, because the blond’s hand sneaks behind Shouta’s back and then down to his ass, giving a slight squeeze to the plump cheek.

“Well then, it sounds like we have some plans for when this party is over,” Hizashi whispers, leaning into Shouta’s ear.

Shouta turns his head, following Hizashi’s voice.

“Are you going to fuck me like you did on our wedding night?”

He feels Hizashi’s soft exhale across the skin of his neck and it sends a slight shiver down his spine.

“Oh I’ll do more than that,” the blond promises, turning his head to kiss Shouta’s throat before pulling away. He winks and then removes himself from Shouta’s arms, turning around to walk over to their guests, throwing a bit of extra swing in his hips as he goes.

Shouta knows Hizashi meant it to be sexy, and really, it was, but his heart is somewhere else tonight, and Hizashi’s back does nothing more than bring him into the past once again, to that unforgettable night below the descending autumn sun, surrounded by the maple leaves, promising his life to someone else.

Promising to give everything to someone who’d already had it, since the moment they’d met, when he’d made some sarcastic remark he could hardly even remember now, and Hizashi had laughed, throwing his head back, before leaning forward and saying, “Aizawa, I think I’m really going to like you.”

#erasermic #erasermic fanfiction #maizawa #eraserhead #present mic #yamada hizashi #aizawa shouta #bnha #mha

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linelpisffxiv · 5 years

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WoL!Lin’s canonical FFXIV Timeline

(Always up for debate, but this is how it works as of 5.01) These are the ages Lin is at the time, the part after the . is the number of months after her nameday.)

26.1: Approximately 5 years after the Calamity, an adventurer from La Noscea by the name of A’lin Gra’eme arrives in Gridania. Wide eyed after helping a woman since her initial departure. She does some odd jobs, and ends up meeting two odd travelers. She also finds a deep blue crystal and has a vision of a mounain made of crystal floating in a sea of nothingness.

26.2: Continued odd jobs around Gridania. Part MSQ part Archer quests from 1-30, and maybe just some goofing around. Whatever happens happens.

26.3: A’lin protects one of Gridania’s trees from an Ixal attempt to scar it, along with facing down an Ascian. As thanks, she is given a role in a celebration. As words are spoken, she suffers another vision. That of the Calamity from the point of view of the heads of the Alliance. Because of this, Kan-e-senna decides it is time to reform it, and has Lin be the one in charge of the deliveries.

26.4: A’lin meets Rakka as she goes around helping out the states with some little problems. They get along well. Rakka ends up getting the attention of a Free Company by the name of “The Marchers of Eorzea,” while Lin herself gets notice of a group that is an open secret among those who know enough.The Scions of the Seventh Dawn. They help her understand the odd visions she has from time to time. She also reunites with her uncle A’aba, both overjoyed to see the other again. During their talks, A’aba learns there’s something wrong with her. While she has all the same memories as before, and seems to be the same girl who disappeared before the calamity, her reactions to certain memories are wrong. While he loves her all the same, it does make him question just what cosmic entities changed her.

During this month, she also gets sent on something that she thought was little more than a fun test of her skills, but ends up felling a primal, and finding an orange crystal that connects with her in the same way.

26.5 This is where the Sylph filler (And crystal) and Little Ala Mhigo filler fit in. Rakka and two other Marchers, Ikarus and Eterna, help her with these dungeons.

26.6 30-50 BRD quests. Titan. Another Crystal. And the attack on the Waking sands. The death of her uncle being what drives her away ultimately as she helps out a man named Marquez at a church.

26.7 Alphinaud showing up again. Meeting Haurchefant (And sleeping with him, and the beginnings of their mutual crushes) Stone Vigil (Again with her friends), The fifth crystal. Garuda and the final one.

26.8 Operation Archon, though this takes up little more than a week. The Marchers officially make her one of them, even though she’s a bit different. A’lin decides to make up an excuse to see Haurchefant again, given her growing crush. Meeting Estinien, him briefly losing the fight to Nidhogg.

26.9 The Crystal Tower. She meets an excitable Miqo’te scholar two years her junior, and deals with some lingering aftermath of what came before. In the end, the Miqo’te Archon locks himself in the Tower to keep everyone safe from the issues that lie within.

26.10--27.1: The Seventh Astral Era Quests. Ending with the Bloody Banquet and arriving in Camp Dragonhead. An earlier promise during 2.4 deciding to come to fruition after everything that happened. Marriage. The beginnings of HW, with about a week devoted to each of the branching paths at the beginning.

27.2: The parlay, the raid on the vault, Haurchefant’s death, and then she disappears for a week, struggling with her anger at everything when the one person who seemed to never ask anything of her is gone. (The 30-50 DRK quest)

27.3: The rest of HW 3.0 MSQ. Her testing herself as she continues with both the bow and greatsword (50-60 Job quests for both).

27.4: Alexander with the Marchers, and probably the Mhachi raids and Warring Triad.

27.5: 3.1, and she’s given two gifts, a replica of her husband’s shield and a mammet made by a family friend. The mammet has some eccentricities a few people notice, but all dismiss as something to do with her Echo The truth is that Haurchefant’s soul is there. Lin is convinced that the voice she and only she hears is just some form of madness, but enjoys herself and decides to give in to the eccentricities. 3.2 and 3.3 follow soon after, though this probably follows into 27.6

27.6-27.9: With Nidhogg finally excised, Lin disappears again. She did not win without scars, and hearing about a journey of remembrance, she sets off with just her mammet and greatsword. During this time, she meets an odd man by the name of M”yrr Sohl. While he appears vaguely Miqo’te, with a tail, he wears a mask and hood. She calls out that his name is not a proper Seeker one, and in her haste, discovers he’s a Griffon-like race from Gyr Abania. One she thought was only myth. They somehow end up as friends, and she points him to the Marchers. He departs after she sleeps, but delivers a message to Haurchefant, that A’lin will only believe that his soul has returned when she loses the last of her hope in herself.

27.10: The post-dragonsong MSQ finishes up this month.

27.10-28.0: Stormblood’s launch MSQ. As M’yrr said, Lin does not believe Haurchefant is anything more than her own madness and grief until she nearly throws herself off the Royal Menagerie and he calls out to her, his voice from her Alliance linkpearl, as Alphie and Aymeric talk about how the mammet is glitching and trying to attack their ears. The Marchers (now with M’yrr), help her fell Shinryu, but when everyone cheers her on, Lin is lost.

28.1: The DRK quest first. Myste is not just her, but a prison for Haurchefant’s soul. After the fight, Haurchefant’s soul is returned to the mammet (Which was put under his father’s care), while it seems others are now aware of him, Lin and Haurchefant have a long talk where she says that her inability to let go must have been in part due to what went on. Together, they agree it’s better for him to return to the Aethereal Sea, though he promises that should she ever need him again, she need only keep the mammet close and he’ll be there. Then over a week, she helps out Sanson and Guydelot in the honeymoon, I mean, with an idiot who wants to start another war. Also, this is the beginning of the Omega quests.

28.2 Omega quests continue, with maybe some breaks for the Ivalice raids. Both are done with the Marchers, and she’s in better spirits after all this, so she returns and says she’s the Warrior of Light no longer to the Scions, so while she’ll help them, she’s not a weapon and needs a title with her name. They agree on Lin of the Dawn.

28.3-28.4 The Post-stormblood stuff. The Four Lords questline does not happen, given it needs to start after a certain point in 4.2, and the time between patches feels too tight to really include it.

28.5 Shadowbringers MSQ. While it technically takes place over 2 months from Lin’s point of view, when she returns to the source, only one week has passed.

Hm... I feel like I could tighten this some, even though on first past I noticed I skipped a month. I know it was intended as more time for that, but it doesn’t fit as well.

#About Lin #Lin Facts #ShB Spoilers #5.0 Spoilers #Okay not super realy but given the time I spent on CT kinda...

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madelineelleramst3570-blog · 6 years

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Curatorial Statement

Although it is often thought that videogames are a shallow form of entertainment, I chose these pieces to prove otherwise. Each of these videogames is a piece of art expressing a philosophical lesson or question. I was especially focused on how the player relates to these videogames. For my gallery I selected Passage by Jason Rohrer, To The Moon by Kan Gao, Undertale by Toby Fox, Creatures Such As We by Lynnea Glasser and The Beginner’s Guide by Davey Wreden.

It is true that some games have no substantial message, but if one does, is it then considered to be a piece of art? I found differing opinions on the subject in Games Can Never Be Art by Roger Ebert and Perspectives on Videogames as Art by Jeroen Bourgonjon, Geert Vandermeersche and Kris Rutten. Roger Ebert argues, as the title indicates, that games can never be art. In Ebert’s piece there is a quotation which is applied to videogames, "Art is the process of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions” (Ebert). Ebert finds issues with this definition, as well as others, finding there to be exception almost everything. In the end he does correct himself though, saying, "No one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets" (Ebert). But I have to disagree with him. As he writes, based on conversations with an advocate for games as art, it is possible that art should be judged within their own time period, to truly be able to distinguish what was genius and what was not, during the time. But I would counter that many artists only became critically acclaimed after they passed. In this case, when does the art become real art? Simply when enough people like it? No, I believe that anything which is intended to carry a message to the viewer or player is a form of art, regardless of how many people like it.

In their paper, Jeroen Bourgonjon, Geert Vandermeersche and Kris Rutten enforce this belief, but also reveal an important aspect of the current gaming world. Recently game developers have become more aware of the familiar tropes that videogames have always followed: shooters, racers, fliers and builders. They believed that videogames were not really art when they took these forms. The games lacked depth and were only for entertainment purposes, not to make the player think (Bourgonjon, et al.). But now, with this awareness, developers have begun to branch out into different genres. Many of these developers are, in fact, indie. Perhaps this can be explained by a lack of corporate or social influence on these companies.

But how do game developers relate to the people who play their games? And how do players relate to the games that developers make? Shall we play a game?: The performative interactivity of video games has some of the answers, but really, these questions are still being figured out. The author, Micheal J. Beck, emphasizes the players place in the relationship. He explains that people in videogames will closely associate the avatar with themselves. They can do this even to the extent that is a level of cognitive dissonance in cases where the player needs to act unlike themselves within a game (Beck). However, he explains that this may be more likely in games where the player makes choices in order to arrive at a certain ending. They have greater control over their avatar, increasing the connection to their character and to the game (Beck).

This brings us to our first game, The Beginner’s Guide. The Beginner’s Guide was created by Davey Wreden. The entire game is a narration by Wreden of his relationship with another developer named Coda. Through a series of puzzles the player discovers that the narrator may not be trustworthy. The two developers co-developed a game and Wreden began to show it off without Coda’s permission. This causes Coda to separate himself from the relationship. Wreden begins to pick apart all of Coda’s work, looking for clues on his friend’s mental state. Based on what you/he finds, he determines that Coda is actually depressed and unhappy with his own work. Coda believes that Wreden’s act of projecting his own beliefs onto the games takes away from them. It appears to violate the line between game developer, game and player. Perhaps intended, Wreden creates the same effect in his own game. He provokes players to project their own thoughts onto the game. Patrick Klepeck makes some great points in his paper The Controversy Over A Video Game's Suggestion Of A Crime, where he evaluates The Beginner’s Guide. Today, because Wreden has chosen to be silent on the matter, people are still developing theories about whether or not this was a work of fiction or nonfiction. They also debate whether this means that the work Wreden shared was actually technically stolen by being distributed without the consent of Coda. This game addresses deep philosophical questions about what artists consent to when they have produced something (Klepeck). Should their intentions be taken into account? Can the player project, like Wreden, their own assumptions onto the games’ maker? Should they? How much of themselves should developers place in their games? Wreden is clearly trying to provoke these questions, by using his own name to insinuate himself into his game. It appears that the game creates the same effect that Beck was speaking about, referenced earlier, a feeling of cognitive dissonance. Beck writes that that, “The Beginner’s Guide disturbed me. It felt invasive—predatory, even. The mere possibility that Wreden had repurposed Coda’s work for his own, selfish purposes was uncomfortable to consider” (Beck).

The next game I found is Creatures Such As We, made by Lynnea Glasser. It is a game that follows the same structure of Depressions Quest, allowing the player to have control over the main characters choices. In this game the main character is a tour guide on the moon. In her off time this character plays videogames but ends up being upset by the game’s unsatisfactory ending. Luckily, her next tour group consists of the people who made that very game. The game begins to take on a dating-sim feeling, as the character decides whether to romance certain characters in the tour group or to stay strictly professional. The really fascinating part of the game, though, is the commentary on the relationship between the game and the player. The game addresses whether or not developers actually owe positive endings to players. Players often go into a game thinking that by the end, their character will have reached a satisfactory outcome. When this doesn’t happen, the player feels betrayed by the developer, often deciding that they do not like the game and it is bad. Game developers often walk a fine line between pleasing players and satisfying their own intentions. The great thing about these new, small indie games is that they do not necessarily need to cater to players desires. They are allowing a new front in games that is working to combine entertainment with important messages.

The third game I found was To The Moon, a videogame created by Kan Gao of Freebird Games. The game is based in the future, where people have figured out how to manipulate memories. In this case, they are manipulating them to give dying people their last wishes. Two scientists go to perform this job on a man named Johnny, who is on his death bed. Johnny has false memories, creating the need for the two scientists, controlled by the player, to look around for clues outside and inside Johnny’s head. All they know is that his last wish is to go to the moon. It is found that Johnny had a wife, and that she had a sort of low-functioning form of Asperger’s. Because she could not directly tell Johnny, she kept leaving hints about something Johnny had forgotten from when they were kids. He doesn’t understand her, and he falls ill while feeling this guilt. In the end of the game it is revealed that he couldn’t keep the promise because of a tragic loss and a consequent issue that causes him to lose some memory (Gao). This game is incredibly emotional and sentimental, with very beautiful imagery and narration. It is meant to provoke strong feelings in the player and make them think about their own lives. It touches on topics like guilt, loss and death. I think, most of all, that this game is a message to the player, telling them to resolve problems with the people important to them in life. Life is fleeting and unfortunately, in this age, we don’t have the technology to grant last wishes.

The fourth game I looked at is Undertale. This game was developed almost solely by Toby Fox, including most of the score and art. In this game the player plays as a young child who has fallen down a hole and into the world of the Underground. In the Underground the character is taken in by a motherly goat-like monster but decide the player decides that they need to get back to the human world. To get there, the player needs to go through the entire underground but they have choices to make. When players encounter monsters, they can choose to either use mercy on the monsters or fight them in order to defeat and progress. This, and other interactions with NPC’s, will determine the ending that the player receives. If the player chooses to never harm a monster, then there is a great ending where the player and all of the monsters, who also want to be free, escape to the human world. Along the way the player encounters funny characters, pun-filled dialogue and the mystery behind the main antagonist, an odd little flower named Flowey. This game is interesting because it really gives players the opportunity to depart from the typical trope of violence common in videogames. It gives players the option, if they really want to use violence, to do so, but gives another option that I think is just as entertaining. I think this game is a clear comment on the amount of violence in the gaming industry and in society. Toby Fox used the structure of a dungeon crawler, where fighting is the expected action, intentionally. Undertale is actually advertised as, “an rpg where you don’t have to destroy anyone” on its official website (Fox). What Undertale lacks in combat (if you do the pacifist route) it makes up for in humor, heart and story.

The last game I explored is Passage. It was developed by Jason Rohrer, a Cornell graduate who began to ponder life and death when a childhood friend passed away. In the beginning of the game you start at the far left of the screen, only able to move right. The game is purposely designed to be narrow, to create the idea of this timeline. As time progresses and you keep going to the right and the center shifts to the right. You begin creeping towards the other side of the screen. As you do your character becomes older, until he eventually passes away and becomes a tombstone. While you progress through the beginning of life to the end you can make several decisions that will affect game play. You have the opportunity to have a wife, however, taking a wife limits what you are able to do. There is treasure that cannot be reached if you choose to have a wife. I think this is addressing how having a life partner can limit options in life but can also make your life happier. Although you now cannot reach as much treasure, the creator himself says that having companion is more enjoyable (Rohrer). Throughout the game, either way, your goal is to collect treasure and walk around obstacles. Having a wife reduces the treasure you can get but when you die, your wife is buried with you. I also found this game to address materialism. Although you can gather treasure with or without a partner, no matter how much you get your avatar will die in the end. Perhaps it is a somewhat melancholy message, but I look at it as advice to live life to the fullest without obsessing over material things.

In conclusion, these games all have substantial messages that the game developers have intended to impart to the player. Or at least, that is what I would like to conclude. However, I think it is interesting to ponder the philosophical questions brought up by Davey Wreden regarding videogames. Although I know for a fact that Passage and Undertale were created for the reasons I stated, it is difficult to say whether or not I have projected my own world views onto the remaining games. It could be that I, as the player, am merely seeing what I want to see. It is an interesting question, but either way, each of these games stands apart from the standard games that exist today. These games are often not as popular as the mainstream first person shooters but have substantial messages that players can interpret in their own ways. After all, this is the definition of art. Who is to say what Leonardo Da Vinci intended people to think when they viewed the Mona Lisa and who is to say what a game developer has intended someone to view in their game? I think one of the most interesting lines I found in curating this gallery was on Jason Rohrer’s site. Before giving an account of his game he wrote right at the top, “Your interpretation of the game is more important than my intentions. Please play the game before you read this” (Rohrer).

Bibliography

Beck, M. J. (2014). Shall we play a game?: The performative interactivity of video games (Order No. 1601221). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1719513722). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/docview/1719513722?accountid=14518.

Bourgonjon, Jeroen, et al. "Perspectives on Video Games as Art." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, vol. 19, no. 4, 2017. Literature Resource Center, http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA529046139&v=2.1&u=22516&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w#. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.

Ebert, Roger. "Video Games Can Never Be Art." Roger Ebert's Journal (2010): https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/video-games-can-never-be-art. (This source was used in an academic journal and is peer-reviewed).

Fox, Toby. Undertale. Undertale, 2015. PC, https://undertale.com/about/.

Gao, Kan. To The Moon. Steam, 2011. PC, http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/.

Glasser, Lynnea. Creatures Such as We. Choice of Games, 2014. PC, https://www.choiceofgames.com/creatures-such-as-we/.

Klepek, Patrick. The Controversy Over A Video Game's Suggestion Of A Crime. Kotaku, 2015, https://kotaku.com/the-controversy-over-a-video-games-suggestion-of-a-crim-1749448664.

Rohrer, Jason. Passage. Sourceforge, 2007. PC, http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/.

Rohrer, Jason. What I Was Trying To Do With Passage. Sourceforge, 2007, http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/statement.html.

Wreden, Davey. The Beginner’s Guide. Steam, 2015. PC, https://store.steampowered.com/app/303210/The_Beginners_Guide/.

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dylawa · 4 years

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Having Lived and Loved: The Playlist (Part 2)

Here is Part 2 to my HLAL Playlist description series! The purpose of this post is to put all the important songs in one place, as well as add descriptions for where they fit in, and my reasoning as such. I’ll put it all under a Read More of course.

Again, this is Part 2 since I can only share five videos per post, so expect more to come, and know you’re entering in media-res if you haven’t read the first post! I will also mention, there will be more songs in the playlist than there are directly mentioned in this series of posts. That is because the playlist will include all songs related to the chapters’ titles, not just the ones that have significance character/story-line wise. Links to all parts and the full playlist are at the bottom of the post!

Onwards!

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“Oh man, Dylawa, Rush again?” Yes, my friend, Rush again. Specifically, “The Anarchist”. We have a very different mood to set here from our last Rush selection, though! Take a look at these lyric excerpts and, based on the chapter it’s from (yes, the chapter is titled “The Anarchist”), see if you can guess who this is for:

A voice so silent for so long For all those years I had to get along, they told me I was wrong I never wanted to belong - I was so strong

In all your science of the mind, seeking blind through flesh and bone Find the blood inside this stone What I know, I've never shown, what I feel, I've always known I plan my vengeance on my own - and I was always alone

The lenses inside of me that paint the world black The pools of poison, the scarlet mist, that spill over into rage The things I've always been denied An early promise that somehow died A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage

Have an idea yet? We’ve moved on from focusing on Comet and All Might here: This is about Ironwill.

I purposefully wrote Ironwill to be a reflection of Comet-- or, at least, my rendition of Comet. Remember, Comet is meant to be a character you can project onto and change and warp to your heart’s content! The main reason I write her with specific details about her past is because, well, it’d be difficult to write a compelling protagonist without some baggage and the like. Feel free to discard anything in your own Comet interpretations, or add your own details! Anyways, that point aside, as I was saying, Ironwill is meant to be a reflection of Comet; both had distance or abusive parents, and both were told their powers were not suited for the dreams they had. Both lived isolated childhoods due to their oppression and personal beliefs differing from those around them, and both ultimately decided to go against everything they were told to the best of their ability anyways. However, their more personal choices on that last bit of similarity lead them down ultimately different paths.

Ironwill justified his actions by saying they were for the betterment of mankind; he wanted to save people, but believed the only way to do as such was to do exactly as he was told as a child; to fit everyone into neat, safe little qualifying boxes that, should anyone attempt to step out of, would face dire consequences. It’s for their own good, after all! What’s a little government tyranny if it means saving your life?

I understand the title of this piece means the very opposite of what Ironwill is striving for, but his actions certainly go against the government in many ways. Think of it as temporary anarchy to bring about a new rule.

Wow, that was a lot! Moving on to the next song: “Prime Mover” by... Rush. I know, I’m sorry, this is the last Rush song for now, and we won’t spend as long on it!

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Basic elemental instinct to survive Stirs the higher passions Thrill to be alive Alternating currents in a tidewater surge Rational resistance to an unwise urge Anything can happen...

So this is it. The evil is defeated, the hero returns to the familiar, but they have been forever changed by the hardships they have endured, and the treasure they have gained along their journey. Comet has started on a path of finding herself, thanks to the help of All Might, alongside coming to her own difficult conclusions about herself. At this point, she’s riding high on the wings of victory, but not every bird can fly forever. For now, though, she’s found her strength, and the world is at her fingertips. Further growth will come later; after all, such an ordeal is never linear. It comes and goes in waves, and for now, Comet has won the right to be proud of herself, and have high hopes for the future. Not to mention, with All Might as her newfound friend...

Anything can happen...

... And while that concludes “if i could be half of what you think of me,” we’ve still got “wondering when i’m coming back” to cover! Let’s get started on diving into that right now, because why not?

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I love “In Love With A Ghost”! Great music! Wish they would actually make some!

Ahem, sorry, salty moment there. This song is called “i know it’s not easy but you’re not alone anymore.”

This skips pretty far into the WWICB storyline, as this is the title for the sixth chapter, where Comet and All Might enjoy the Tanabata festival after a not-so-pleasant run-in with Endeavor. At this point, it has become apparent that something is still wrong with Comet’s power; while she has the aid of her eye drops, her power continues to diminish dramatically. I didn’t make this as clear in the story as I wanted to, but the reason for this is her emotions-- anyone who isn’t at their mental best would suffer in performing their duties in, well, any aspect of life. So, essentially, she pulls an Elsa and decides to conceal, don’t feel. That will end well!

But, I digress. What I like about the selection of this song for this chapter is, it’s not really clear who this is meant to be directed at. Is this Comet thinking about Yagi, or vice-versa? It also doesn’t help that, ahem, feelings are beginning to become apparent for both parties (well, apparent to the reader, at least; Comet is clueless!)

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Ah, man... To The Moon. Brilliant game. Old, a little outdated, not the best representation of Autism, but still brilliant, and is a huge inspiration for how I try to write as a whole, both in direct dialogue, and in emotion. If any of you have played this game and read the Having Lived and Loved series, now that I’ve pointed it out, I hope you can see some connection!

Anyways, Kan R. Gao is the creator of the game and its soundtrack, and this piece, “Once Upon A Memory,” doesn’t quite fit the overall theme of Chapter 12 of WWICB. However, a moment alone between our two darling heroes is deserving of a track that feels intimate and close, even if the upbeat nature isn’t quite the same as the circumstances our heroes currently find themselves in. Plus, the characters in To The Moon are stargazing when this piece plays, and at this point of time, so are All Might and Comet. So there’s... some connection, I suppose?

That being said, the songs don’t always necessarily fit the chapters they’re assigned to. Sometimes, just the name itself is fitting enough and gets a spot that way, but that being said, most songs at least fit the aesthetic of the All Might/Comet relationship. This one is no different, even if not placed in the most opportune spot.

I really want to go into “The Body Electric” as my next song, but that is, unfortunately, another Rush song, and I promised you guys no more Rush! So I’ll just abbreviate really quickly before moving on to the next piece; it’s 45T3R01D’s song. It will be present in the playlist, of course! So with that, we’ll end this post on...

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“You Can Be A Hero,” from the My Hero Academia Soundtrack.

“Now, wait a minute: This is the title of the last chapter, and you only covered three songs from WWICB, and Comet already knows she can be a hero! What gives?!”

There is a really easy answer to that: The other songs aren’t super worth going into detail for (but feel free to ask about any other titles you may be curious about!), and more importantly, this is the song I had in mind for when All Might and Comet share their first kiss.

That little pause at the 1:30 mark is absolutely the perfect moment for a breath, and for All Might to sweep in for that kiss I spent a week writing and perfecting.

For a second, his hands dance in the air, before one settles on your lower back, while the other brushes your hair back from your forehead. The touch is… different, from everything you’ve shared before.

It’s intimate.

You open your mouth to speak, to comment, to question. But all you have time to do is take a breath.

For Yagi makes it impossible to breathe, when his lips connect with yours.

It’s quick, but it’s not a crash. It’s eager, but not desperate. It’s not gentle, but it’s not bruising either. Whatever you can think of to describe it, it isn’t quite that; no matter what, it remains something in between, something indescribable, something… something that must be for you.

... Yeah, I made myself breathless a couple times writing that part.

So, for this song, it’s not so much about the title and the song’s meaning, and more about the feeling it evokes. Once again, Comet has overcome overwhelming odds to emerge the victor, only this time, the tables on the surprise kiss trope are turned! At least, I think it is: usually I see girls initiating the surprise kisses in most forms of media. I like to think this is a welcome breath of fresh air in that regard!

Well, that’s five videos again! Next post, we’ll be going over individual character songs!

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Full Playlist]

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putschki1969 · 7 years

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Welcome to “Book Concierge” Hikaru’s home! Vol. 1 📚

Note: Here’s the third section I translated, it’s time for Hikaru’s part. Sorry, this took longer than expected >_< Manga/anime related stuff is so hard for me to translate T_T Oh well... Without further ado, enjoy! 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Hikaru’s love for reading is well known, she always ends up recommending various mangas according to certain themes. To commemorate the first issue of this magazine she shall introduce us to some works with the theme of “summer” in accordance with the current season. Maybe you will discover something you find really interesting? Something you will come to love?!

Speaking of summer, the following works come to mind: Natsume's Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa Colette Decided to Die by Alto Yukimura xxxHOLIC by CLAMP Re-Kan! by Hinako Seta

I tried choosing works with refreshing world views that will hopefully make you forget the humidity and heat in the midst of summer.

1. To start things off, my first recommended work is 「Natsume’s Book of Friends」 by Yuki Midorikawa It is a story about a boy who has the ability to see spirits. I watched the anime adaptation but this is originally a manga series which is still ongoing. My first encounter with this work happened when I watched the sixth season of the anime which aired this spring, 「Natsume's Book of Friends Six」. Originally I was a little worried, I thought the topic of “spirits and ghosts” might be too scary, also, since I would have to start at the very beginning of this super long series I was worried whether I would be able to catch up with everything. But then a staff member from our label told me that the stories in each volume get wrapped up nicely so you can start reading wherever you please. That’s when I first got into it...It was really intriguing! Spirits, ghosts, things that you cannot touch, they can be truly scary but after reading this manga I realised that there were lots of kind and gentle spirits, that there was a reason for them being here. You are just not scared of them anymore. I started watching the anime during its sixth season and I am now in the midst of reading the orginal work, that’s where I am currently at *laughs* As for the characters, aside from the protagonist Takashi Natsume-kun, there are lots of other great characters and spirits, Natsume-kun’s self-proclaimed bodyguard Nyanko-sensei is super cool! Then there’s Tanuma-kun who is also a great character, he is the son of a shrine priest and he is always there to help out Natsume-kun, he is very kind-hearted and sensitive. He cannot see spirits but he has the ability to sense them, that makes him one of the few people who can actually understand Natsume-kun. He is always at Natsume-kun’s side and wants to protect him. Always concerned, a very nice boy indeed! In this work, both humans and spirits have very complex characters and they are each dealing with a multitude of difficult situations. I feel like one of the highlights of this work is that each character that appears is very likable. Certain parts will unexpectedly move you to tears and others will make you feel all warm and fluffy. If you are like me and are slightly intimidated by ghosts, please don’t worry, this work won’t scare you. That’s it for this manga.

2. My second recommendation is 「Colette Decided to Die」 by Alto Yukimura This work is currently being serialised in the monthly magazine 「Hana to Yume」, I guess the genre is fantasy. The heroine Colette is a young docter who unexpectedly ends up in the realm of the dead...there she meets Lord Hades, the king of the Underworld, due to many other encounters she matures and becomes a proper adult. The story feels very fresh as Colette continues to travel back and forth between the world of the living and the dead. Many strange incidents occur in the town she lives in as well as in the Underworld so she is very busy trying to find solutions for them. Colette is the kind of girl who will give her all, no matter what, I really admire that kind of attitude. Many different characters can be found in the Underworld, first of all there’s Lord Hades, then there are many skeletons and various other beings that are completely different from humans but Colette treats them all equally, she doesn’t discriminate against any of them. She has love for both Lord Hades as well as the skeletons, she treasures them all. Just because they are different, she won’t reject them. In his position as the king of the Underworld Lord Hades pretends not to care about anything in heaven or hell but Colette quickly realises tha he is actually very kind. There is some friction between Colette and Lord Hades but this story is ultimately about the two of them respecting each other and making each other a better person, I can really recommend it.

3. The third work is a manga by CLAMP! 「xxxHOLIC」「xxxHOLIC・Rei」 by CLAMP! Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without CLAMP! This story is almost like a character study based on the premise that there exists a shop for people in need where all wishes will be granted for a certain price. Many of the customers visiting that shop have darkness in their hearts. Most chapters are dedicated to purifying that darkness, within these stories you’ll get to dicover emotions that you have never felt before, you will start thinking differently than what you are used to from your every day life. There are many scenes that will make you tremble with emotion. This work has a great educational value, you can learn a lot from it, it makes you question whether it is really necessary to have your wishes granted, it showcases and reveals the innermost thoughts of human beings such as jealousy, love, hate or obsession. For the most part the world in this work can be seen as an occult fantasy but there is also a lot of realism in it. You can get truly absorbed in this manga I love all the characters in 「xxxHOLIC」 but above all, I really like Yūko-san. She is a witch with the strong ability to change destiny, she will do crazy things on a whim, she will joke around and she is very selfish, she will always play around with the main character Watanuki-kun *laughs* However, underneath all of that, she is hiding a caring nature, she is very determined and always gets things done...I admire her. Midway through the story, Watanuki-kun takes over the shop from Yūko-san but by all means, I’d love it if you started reading 「xxxHOLIC」 from the very beginning.

4. And now the final manga, 「Re-Kan!」 by Hinako Seta Lastly, a work about souls and spirits *laughs*. 2-3 years ago I watched the TV anime based on a four panel manga which is still being serialised, I found the anime really interesting so I started reading the manga. It is a story that depicts the interactions between Hibiki Amami-chan, a high school student with the ability to see ghosts, and her family, friends as well as many ghosts. I’d say that more than half of the main characters are ghosts, there really are quite a lot of them. However, since this is a comedy, the ghosts aren’t depicted in a scary manner *laughs* The ghost of a samurai, the ghost of an old man bound to the place where he died, the ghost of a hip teen-age girl, the ghost of a cat, they are all completely different. Hibiki-chan is very kind and polite to everyone, no matter if it’s a human being or a ghost so all the ghosts end up flocking to her. Many interesting incidents occur involving Hibiki-chan’s friends who cannot see ghosts, due to these events they become much closer. For the most part the genre is comedy but once in while there will be stories with heavy content, stories that will move you a lot, those are really great too! One of my favourite stories is in Vol.1, it’s about Hibiki-chan’s friend who goes to the park and gets to play with some ghost kids. That friend doesn’t have the ability to see ghosts but in that very moment she is able to see them and play together with them. That story was great!

That’s it! Four recommended summer lectures by Hikaru! I tried choosing works that have everything, stories that take place in an ordinary setting, ones that take place in a completely different or even slightly occult setting, stories that depict spirits, ghosts, beings of the underworld, the darkness within a human heart, worlds in different dimensions. Each of these works will leave a gentle feeling within your heart once you get immersed in them. It would make me very happy if I managed to make you curious about any of these works, even just a little.

Works that will restore your power (some extra content!) Here are 4 titles overflowing with power to fight off the summer heat fatigue 「Haikyū!!」 by Haruichi Furudate 「Chihayafuru」 by Yuki Suetsugu 「A Perfect Day for Love Letters」 by George Asakura 「Tanaka-kun is Always Listless」 by Nozomi Uda

◆ 「Haikyū!!」 by Haruichi Furudate I first got hooked after watching the anime and then I started reading the manga it was based on. This manga which is bursting with fighting spirit tells the story of members of a high school volleyball team and their growth into adulthood. It can be enjoyed both by students of the same age as the protagonists as well as by grown-ups. In this story, none of the characters are perfect in the beginning, they all have a long way to go. The main character, the team mates, the rival team members, the teachers, the coaches, they all overcome their hurdles, one by one...They all get stronger, both as individuals and as a team. Each character has unique traits and each team has a certain charm that makes you want to root for it. While you are reading through the manga it makes you feel like you also wanna do your very best

◆ 「Chihayafuru」 by Yuki Suetsugu This story full of fighting spirit takes place in the world of a handful of young competetive “Karuta” players. There are many scenes depicting the joys and sorrows of love, it’s really great! Not only the heroine’s life is shown in detail, the conflicts and love lives of the surrounding characters are shown as well. As a reader you gain strength seeing how everyone is trying their very best to reach their goals.

◆ 「A Perfect Day for Love Letters」 by George Asakura I really love George Asakura-san’s works! The first manga I read by her was 「Piece of Cake」. Her style is very edgy and many of her works deal with quite serious subjects so it’s somewhat hard to easily recommend anything but among all of her works, 「A Perfect Day for Love Letters」 is a comparatively easy read. It’s a collection of short stories so it’s easy to get into it and you can just start reading wherever you want, this also makes it very easy to recommend it to everyone *laughs*. George Asakura-san’s work is so powerful because her art conveys so much energy, it’s amazing! Give 「A Perfect Day for Love Letters」 a try and see if you enjoy her unique literary style and art, if you do I’d be happy if you joined me on my journey into her realm. I can really recommend this work as an introduction to George Askakura-san’s world.

◆ 「Tanaka-kun is Always Listless」 by Nozomi Uda This work really stayed in my mind because I could totally relate to the attitude of the main character, “How long can I get away with being utterly listless?” He doesn’t want anyone to talk to him, he just wants to preserve his lazy lifestyle. It’s not like he is the type that won’t study for a test but he also won’t aim to get the best results, he is the kind of person who will study to get an average result *laughs*. However, in a way he is a real professional. When it comes to things he strongly believes in he will throw himself into it and do anything within his power to achieve it. It’s a manga that conveys such devotion.

#kalafina #my translations #harmony magazine #hikaru #manga #anime

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