#Chihaya-san’s Fine That Way

[oratokyosaigunda]

Chihaya-san wa Sono Mama de Ii series banner

#Chihaya-san wa Sono Mama de Ii #Chihaya-san's Fine That Way #Kuzushiro #SQ series banners #series banners

[mouthfulofdeadleaves]

#Chihaya-san's Fine That Way #ch 38

[cultured-dumbass]

🌷 Chihaya-san’s Fine That Way 🌷

#Chihaya-san’s Fine That Way #shoujo #pink manga #pink shoujo #pink aesthetic #pink #manga #Plus size shoujo heroine #plus size character

[gurikajis]

#mangacap #Chihaya-san's Fine that Way #Chihaya-san wa Sonomama de Ii

[stellacolletore]

title: you're so gorgeous (i can't say anything to your face)  summary: the springtime of youth has finally caught up to Chihaya-chan 

It was Chitose-neesan's fault. If she had just let Chihaya watch the movie in peace, not blurting any of the weird things she said last night, then maybe she wouldn't find it hard focusing in class today. The conversation started out casually enough.

*

“Say, Chihaya. I’ve been wondering,” Chitose uttered nonchalantly, eyes trained on the television.

Chihaya flinched when a zombie sprang onscreen. "Hm?"

"Mashima-kun's handsome, right?"

Chihaya blinked. Even though it was Chitose's habit to ask random things out of the blue, Chihaya still gets surprised sometimes. Deciding to think nothing more out of it, she replied, "Um, yeah. He's popular at school. Girls give him tons of chocolates for Valentine's Day."

"That's not what I meant." Chitose interjected. "I'm asking you. Do you find your boyfriend attractive?" 

Chihaya's eyes trailed off from the movie, connecting with her sister's. "W - what?" 

Chitose was looking at her with curiosity. "I don't know if it's because you guys know each other since you were kids, but I think you're seeing Mashima-kun as if he's still your classmate in grade school. Or your karuta playmate." 

Chihaya blanked. What is she getting at? Chitose sighed for the second time. Despite sounding resigned, her sister suggested, "All I'm saying is—you may want to take a good look at him." She proceeded to take a sip from her mug, attention returning to the film. 

"Wouldn't want to waste all that beauty in vain."

* 

"—haya-chan," Kanade's waving hand pulled Chihaya from her thoughts. "Is everything all right?" 

Chihaya surveyed the room, finding only a few of her classmates loitering around. She must’ve been lost in thought for quite a while. Turning to her concerned friend, she gave a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Kana-chan. What brings you here?" 

Kanade tilted her head. "Did you forget? We're having a group study in the library today. Everyone's already there." 

“Ah,” Chihaya remarked lamely. She really should snap out of this confusion as soon as possible. It was exam week—the absolutely worst time to be worrying about anything else besides upcoming tests. 

After cramming her notebooks and pens in her bag, Chihaya proceeded to move. “Let’s go, Kana-chan.” 

Maybe she should just try to figure out what Chitose meant right away. It shouldn’t be that hard to do, right?

*

"Quit it, Chihaya. People are staring," Taichi grumbled beside her, pretending to be absorbed in his review materials.

"One minute." Chihaya insisted.

Of course, Chihaya has enough self-awareness to know how silly she must've looked to others, sitting beside Taichi with her chin propped on one arm above the long table, eyes gazing intently on his side profile. She's heard whispers from the students seated at the other tables, collectively wondering whether Ayase Chihaya was seriously flirting in front of public eye. She knew her friends have already placed various bets among themselves, attempting to decipher what's suddenly gotten in the mind of their resident airhead captain.

But Chihaya can't afford to be flustered. She has yet to understand what Chitose meant.

Having no clue how to go about it, or what it was she should even be seeking, Chihaya decided to begin her inspection by listing out the changes that existed between grade school Taichi and high school Taichi.

There was the hair, of course. He kept it longer now, the just enough for the tips of the strands to reach past his eyebrows. It still looked well put and silky, though, and if Chihaya would extend her hand to rest on the mop of his head, she’s sure to find it soft, too. She was about to ask for his permission to do just that when she caught herself. That was a weird thing to ask, wasn’t it?

Discarding the thought, Chihaya focused again at the task at hand, taking meticulous notice of Taichi’s stature—his sharp features and porcelain skin, the trademark long lashes, striking amber eyes…

Do you find your boyfriend attractive?

As soon as her sister’s words echoed unbidden in her mind, Chihaya’s world shifted.

Literally and figuratively. “Chihaya!” She instantly registered concern in Taichi’s voice as her head struck against the table, having slipped unceremoniously off her arm. Heat pooled at her cheeks as the temperature in the room spiked, making her feel like she was suddenly shoved inside a microwave. Every pair of eyes in their table was directed at her, equal parts worried and confused. “Are you—” Taichi was about to place a hand on her forehead, meaning to check if she was running a fever, when Chihaya shrunk back, yelping, “Water!” 

A beat later she leapt to her feet, following through the first excuse she could think of, “I—I’m gonna drink some water.” Without further ado, Chihaya rushed out of the library and sprinted through the hallway, leaving everybody in the room dumbfounded in her wake.

*

“Never again,” Chihaya vowed, wiping off the water that dripped on her chin. “I won’t listen to Onee-chan ever again.” She pressed the one-liter bottle on her cheek, cooling her skin. How was she supposed to face Taichi now? It would be practically impossible to look into his eyes without bursting into flames. 

Chitose-neechan must know how to deal with this, Chihaya hoped. She should head home at once and demand answers. With a newfound resolve Chihaya stood up from her crouching position—before smacking a palm on her forehead. "Ah! My bag—" 

"—is here," a familiar voice cut from behind her. Spinning on her heels, she saw Taichi heading towards her next to the vending machine, both their bags slung on his shoulder. "T - Taichi," she said helplessly, her eyes instantly latching on his shoes. She gingerly inched closer. "G - give me that. I'm going home." 

He turned away from her, then started walking. "Let's go." 

Chihaya panicked. "Wait! I - I can go by myself. You should go back to the others. I'm fine, really." 

Taichi resumed walking. "No, you're not. You look like you're bound to walk into a pole, and Ayase-san would be mad at me if I let you." 

With you, I might do just that, Chihaya retorted. Having no other choice, she followed him towards the school gate. 

* 

Chihaya has always been grateful for her exceptional hearing, but today proved to be day unlike any other, and so she wasn't surprised upon finding herself annoyed with how her ears easily picked up the chatter around them. The train cart was packed with students, many of them being girls who were spending the better part of the ride gushing about her boyfriend. As unsettling as it was for her, she had to admit that the sight of Taichi studying his notes with a calm look on his face was nothing short of eye-catching. Although it had only taken a second to glance at him, Chihaya felt her cheeks flush nonetheless. In utter embarrassment, she covered them with her palms. 

She was determined to shield her vision for the rest of the trip when her phone buzzed. 

from: Mashima Taichi  to: Ayase Chihaya  Do you feel dizzy? 

 Chihaya's breath caught. Her fingers typed in a reply. 

from: Ayase Chihaya  to: Mashima Taichi  No  I'm ok 

She heard Taichi tapping on his phone. 

from: Mashima Taichi  to: Ayase Chihaya  Were exams hard? 

from: Ayase Chihaya  to: Mashima Taichi  Of course You didn't need to ask 

Chihaya was beginning to wonder why they're suddenly conversing through their phones when a new message stilled her thoughts. 

from: Mashima Taichi  to: Ayase Chihaya  Why aren't you looking at me? 

The next stop was still a few minutes away. There was no way she could sprint away from him again in this compartment. Taichi would easily see through her lies. She had no choice but to come clean. 

Since it was more mortifying to type it out than to simply voice her concerns, she tucked away her phone on her skirt pocket. After clearing her throat a bit, Chihaya declared with a slightly shaky voice, "B - because you look like that." 

"Like what?" Genuine cluelessness was evident in Taichi's tone. 

Chihaya buried her face in her hands again as she whispered, "Handsome. Too handsome." 

Silence stretched between them so much that Chihaya wasn't sure if Taichi had heard her. She risked taking a peek at his expression when she noticed him beet red, staring past the train window.

Chihaya wanted to cry. Chitose-neechan better know how to fix this mess she's gotten them in. 

*

In the end, Chitose wasn’t of any help. After laughing at her sister to her heart’s content, she merely commented, “My, what a problem you have there, Chihaya.” She threatened to boycott her sister’s next magazine release as payback.

Grasping at straws, Chihaya then dialed Kanade’s and Sumire’s numbers. As soon as all the amused reactions winded down, Kanade stated, “Although I don’t have any useful advice to deal with what you’re experiencing, I think avoiding Mashima-kun is the last thing you should be doing right now. We’ll be entering university soon, and it’ll be harder to meet each other then. You wouldn’t want to regret that, ne, Chihaya-chan?”

Chihaya sighed. “I don’t.”

“Ayase-senpai,” Sumire chimed in. In a tone reminiscent of the time she guided them confidently through making Valentine’s chocolates to cheer up Taichi, Sumire announced, “There’s only one way to fix this. You have to build immunity.”

‘Building immunity’ apparently meant weathering through all the blushing and the rapid heartbeats until she got used to them. It may be a tall order, but there weren’t any alternatives and Chihaya had been worried about making Taichi worry about her. Putting her faith on Sumire’s reputation on matters concerning love, Chihaya found herself waiting anxiously on the train platform the next morning.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you this early.” Taichi stood next to her and she grounded her feet, desperately willing her face not to redden. Glancing at him, she stuttered, “O - ohayou, Taichi.”

Small talk passed between them until their train arrived. Settling on the empty seats, Taichi regarded her with mild surprise. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be seeing you at all for the rest of the week.” Chihaya clasped her hands. “W - well, Kana-chan said hiding isn’t a good idea.” She struggled to make eye contact, “A - and I want to be immune as soon as possible.”

Taichi looked at her blankly for a full three seconds. Then he broke into laughter, face lighting up so brilliantly that Chihaya had to avert her eyes.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.

Chihaya can’t find it in herself to sincerely complain, though.

#Chihayafuru #ayase chihaya #mashima taichi #taichihaya #let me know if you liked the fic!

[circumference-pie]

Yuletide 2021 Letter

Chihayafuru, Qihun, Elana Series, Nirvana in Fire

Hi Mystery Writer! Thank you for writing for me, you are amazing! I am sure I’ll like whatever you create. But in case you wanted more inspiration, here are some words:

AO3 name: circumference

General likes: angst, fluff, character introspection, worldbuilding, identity shenanigans, canon or canon divergence universe, in-world artifacts (e.g. a historical document, a news article, the script of a TV advertisement, an in-universe movie review, etc).

General DNWs: coffeeshop/high school/roommate AU, crossovers, pregnancy, porn without plot, non-canon dubcon.

Chihayafuru

Characters requested: Any (Ayase Chihaya, Harada Hideo, Komano Tsutomu, Mashima Taichi, Ooe Kanade, Suou Hisashi, Wakamiya Shinobu, Wataya Arata, Wataya Hajime)

Fandom-specific likes: character exploration and introspection, gen fics and fics focused on deep platonic relationships. My favorite characters are Shinobu and Arata. Romantic ships I like include Sudou (I know he's not in the tagset, *cry*)/Anybody, Chihaya/Arata/Taichi, Arata/Taichi, Shinobu/Happiness, and Taichi/Self-Actualization.

Fandom-specific DNWs: I'd rather not have any Chihaya/Taichi without underlying Chihaya/Taichi/Arata. (Sorry, it’s a ship I used to like, but fandom discourse rubbed me the wrong way.) Standalone Chihaya/Arata is fine, but please no Taichi-bashing.

I am up-to-date on the manga.

Optional prompts/ideas

The manga keeps reiterating that Shinobu is lonely -- but she does have people who care about her! Chihaya, Arata, Suou, her mother, Ise-san (in his own way -- I personally think he regrets isolating her). I want them to roll her up in a blanket and hug her (metaphorically, but literally is okay too).

I would also be interested for her to meet Kana. I think they might have things to talk about.

Again, I know Sudou's not in the tagset, but I'd love to see a day in his life. Other characters can come too.

I think Sudou interacting with Kana would be particularly fun; she’s unwilling to take bullshit, but can be flustered. Which buttons will Sadistic Sudou hit? (As a sidenote to this prompt and the previous one, I am pretty neutral towards Kana/Tsutomu and would be fine with Kana paired with other characters.)

We know playing Wataya Hajime affected Harada-sensei for the rest of his life, but what about Wataya-sensei? Harada has inspired a lot of people; did he leave a lasting impression on the Eternal Meijin? I don't necessarily mean this as a shippy prompt, although if that's how you're inspired, go for it.

Arata/Taichi, maybe with underlying OT3. I would be happy with any story featuring this pair, but I think a lot about the implicit pressure Taichi’s under to just not be gay, to marry a woman and be a respectable doctor and have perfect offspring, just -- ugh. I want Taichi to be able to go buckwild. Preferably for Arata.

Crack: The T-shirts in this canon are top-notch. Where does the cast get their shirts from? Is there a specific shop that sells clothing with pithy and absurd English on them? What is their process for deciding what gets printed on what? IS NIKUMAN’S SISTER INVOLVED???

More crack: I would love to know more about the Snowmaru and Daddy Bear franchises.

Qihun (Hikaru no Go)

Characters requested: Chu Ying

Fandom-specific likes: all the character interactions on this show are adorable. As for shipping, I’m partial to canon-typical Shi Guang/Yu Liang.

Optional prompts/ideas

There must be so much mischief you can get up to with an invisible friend, besides learning Go and cheating on tests. You can impress and confound your friends with your "mind reading" skills and apparent eyes in the back of your head. You could "pay attention" to two movies at once. You'd be invincible at hide-and-seek (at least once, before your invisble friend refuses to help you cheat again). Maybe Mom praises you for noticing things that you didn't notice before, thanks to Friend pointing them out. I'm curious about ways Shi Guang and Chu Ying could have leveraged their situation to do some interesting things. Bonus: Yu Liang watching from the sidelines, growing increasingly bamboozled.

It frustrates me SO MUCH that Chu Ying just disappeared. Was he able to go back home and live out his life? Did he become starstuff? What happennnnnnnned.

Any missing scenes between Shi Guang and Yu Liang. If you choose this prompt, Chu Ying doesn’t have to be in it. (But it’d also be funny if he showed up to tease Shi Guang about it!)

Chu Ying meets Yu Liang. I don't know how it happens, but it does.

Elana Series

Characters requested: any (Elana, Kari, Randil, Evrek)

Fandom-specific likes: worldbuilding, backstory

Optional prompts/ideas

I've always been dissatisfied with the way Kari needs to stay ignorant and on her planet. What if she pursued this case to the ends of the earth? What if she found traces of the universe beyond? What if she was also able to take to the stars?

Elana, in her waning years, takes a self-indulgent visit to Andreica to observe what became of it.

I want to know Evrek's take on the events of Enchantress.

What does the Federation file on our planet look like?

If you’re wondering what this somewhat obscure series is, it’s two short novels; The first, Enchantress from the Stars, is a YA book that asks the question, “what if we had knights and dragons and sorceresses, but the magic is just technology, and the sorceress is from a far-advanced civilization?” -- and tells it from the advanced civilization’s point of view. It’s great fun. 

The second book, The Far Side of Evil, features the same main character all grown up, and is considerably more adult, and grapples with themes of morality and human nature. It is very much a product of the author wrestling with the existential questions of the Cold War. For what it’s worth, I actually like this one more.

Both are available as e-books.

Nirvana in Fire

I’ve been crying over this show since 2018

Characters requested: any (Consort Jing, Fei Liu, Gong Yu, Grand Princess Liyang, Lin Chen, Lin Shu | Mei Changsu | Su Zhe, Meng Zhi, Mu Nihuang, Mu Qing, Princess Xuanji, Qin Banruo, Xia Dong , Xiao Jinghuan, Xiao Jingrui, Xiao Jingyan, Yan Que, Yan Yujin)

Fandom-specific likes: I really like explorations of character and identity in this fandom. I adore the Jiangzuo crew and their interactions with MCS. I am ALSO weak for the tension between Jingyan and Mei Changsu (his best friend! In more ways than one!). Prefer gen, but really could roll with any ship.

Optional prompts/ideas

The invasions of Ep 54 don’t happen, but MCS is still dying. Without the springboard of the invasions to let him reassume Lin Shu’s identity, how does he cope? Does he reconcile with Jingyan instead of keeping himself apart? Does he tell Nihuang the truth? Does he just run away to the jianghu after all? Does he stay in the capital and angst? How does he deal with the question of Fei Liu? Does he con the Bingxu pill out of Lin Chen in the end? You can surprise-save him at the end if you like, but I would like to see him resolve his self-deceptions and hurt he’s caused other people without the crutch of knowing he’s going to live after all. Also posted to NiF plotbunny farm here: https://nirvana-in-fire.dreamwidth.org/12917.html?thread=79989#cmt79989

It’s been six years since Lin Chen and his father rescued that foolish ingrate Mei Changsu, who also happens to be Lin Chen’s best friend. And the way Changsu is going, he won’t see another six years. Lin Chen devises a plan to stop Changsu from working away his depleted health: “That person you keep talking about? The emperor’s seventh son? Write to him.” Can be canon-compliant or canon-divergent. Also prompted in the Nirvana in Fire Exchange 2019.

I know he's not part of the tagset, but I find Gao Zhan fascinating. What was the Chiyan massacre through his eyes? How did he feel about MCS's plotting? How much did he know at various points? What tipped him off that there was scheming going on in Prince Jing's name?

Lin Shu, oh Lin Shu. The shadow he casts is so interesting. Anything about who Lin Shu was before Meiling. What aspects of Mei Changsu’s current brattiness/trollishness were present in his past life, what aspects of it came from... later influences (*cough* Lin Chen *cough*)? How much are Jingyan and Nihuang editorializing when they characterize Lin Shu as the best and brightest and most loyal and...?

I’d also like to see the problematic sides of Lin Shu (and by extension, possibly Lin Xie and Prince Qi too). I think the present hero-worship is very much a product of don’t-speak-ill-of-the-dead, but they must have had faults. The Hua genocide was too easily swept under the rug, for instance.

I would love character introspection/missing moments/more backstory for one of the more minor characters: Yan Que, Gong Yu, Banruo, Mu Qing, Liyang.

(Am I participating in the NiF Exchange this year? Yes. Do I want even more NiF fic? Also yes.)

#yuletide #yuletide letter

[margarethelstone]

Our Sleeves Were Wet With Tears | Chapter 8

Chapter 8 / Read on AO3!

It was the first Thursday of May when Chihaya ran to Taichi’s cram school to deliver her speech.

It was the second Tuesday when the thoughts of her reappeared, making him walk into Hanano and then forget to visit the library.

It was the second Friday of May now.

And things were not going well.

Excuses again, he scolded himself for what must have been a thousandth time in the course of the past week as he entered his classroom after the lunch break. You know what you're supposed to be doing, you're just too lazy to execute it. So snap out of it and stop whining, or all of this work will have been for nothing.

He made his way towards his seat, which this semester happened to be at the very back of the classroom. Never the one to try and escape his teacher’s attention, he was grateful for the arrangement this time, as it at least meant fewer people actively watching the change in his posture and the inattentiveness he succumbed to so easily these days. The fact that Komano was seated on the exact other side was unfortunate of course; but then again, Taichi certainly felt safer without his former club mate observing him in such a close proximity.

Though on the other hand, the additional supervision might have been helpful in getting him to focus again.

Just stay concentrated on the lesson and it will be fine, he told himself, taking out his notebook and pencil. It's science, so it shouldn't be too difficult, since that's actually connected to med school. Plus, nobody in their right mind would try to zone out in Taeko-sensei's class.

Fortunately for Taichi, it was that very moment when his teacher chose to enter the classroom, effectively calling his attention before he succumbed to the musing of a certain fair-haired girl he knew that did dare to space out. A tail of tardy students was following right behind her – their shouts and laughter still loud despite the time and closeness to the presumably severe teacher. He saw Taeko turn around and glare at them, but all it did was cause another chuckle from the students, answered in turn by Taeko's sigh and an impatient wave of her hand.

Just what might have been expected from the members of the tennis club and their long-time advisor and coach.

Taichi couldn't help but smile at the sight.

It really wasn't far off from what her relationship with the karuta club was right now.

The commotion they all made upon coming was neither particularly grand or exceptional, yet just as the new seat arrangement, it certainly brought some peace into Taichi's mind. The more was happening around him, the smaller was the chance of anyone paying attention to him – and seeing how easily he switched from one mood to another these days, having people ignoring him was the best he could hope for.

Just imagine his classmates seeing him – him, Mashima Taichi, the always cool and composed top student in their year! – murmuring to himself angrily, or banging his head against the desk like he'd done at home!

He might have been done pretending, but it certainly didn't mean he felt like making a spectacle of himself.

Still, it looked like he was safe now. Even after the initial commotion had quieted down and the lesson commenced, there was nothing that might bring  unwanted interest to him. He followed his teacher's orders; he listened to his classmates' questions and answers and replied succinctly whenever he himself was asked. He made notes, marked the important parts, wrote down the list of his homework tasks. There was nothing extraordinary about his behaviour or the lesson itself, save perhaps for the few instances of Taeko-sensei glaring and reprimanding which, in all honesty, had pretty much become a tradition by now.

And if Taichi felt that she was watching him more closely than the rest of the class, then well, there was nothing he could do about it.

The rest of the day seemed to go by the same formula. The English class was uneventful; Maths bordered on dull. His classmates were cheerful and noisy, though somehow managing not to go too far, to the point where their teachers only raised their voices when reminding them of how close the exams were and how important it was for them to make studying their priority now, as if they hadn't been hearing that phrase for more than a month now.

Even the PE lesson somehow managed to end without anything worth speaking of happening, despite the third-years being nearly notorious in regards to various accidents happening during that particular class.

Well, he had recently experienced enough drama to last him a lifetime; he certainly wasn't going to complain about having some peace around.

Now, back in his uniform, Taichi was finally free to leave the school grounds, only to remember that he was supposed to stop by the teacher's room to pick up some science-oriented magazines from Taeko-sensei.

"For future reference," she had said when she'd caught him going to the gym, though what exactly she'd meant, Taichi was not sure. He hardly understood why she should wait all that time instead of simply letting him know after their own lesson, either, but chose not to think too much about it. She was clearly trying to help – even if it was her concern for him that sparked it, who was he to reject the offer she'd made?

At this point in time, he was ready to accept all academic aid that was offered to him.

And so he turned around and changed his aim, walking briskly towards the main building, with every intention of taking care of this current business as swiftly and straightforwardly as possible. After all, Fridays were one of his busiest days, especially now that it meant adding practice with Master Suo to his already lengthy cram school hours – not that he was complaining about that particular exercise – and therefore, every quarter seemed to be of significance to him.

He was grateful for the workload; still, there was only so much he could pack into his schedule at this point.

Funny how he'd once believed he'd have more time for himself after leaving the club.

Although, now that he thought of it, he did. In a way, at least. Not only because focusing on his grades and exams rather than tournaments was seen as a wise way of investing in his own, personal future, but because he was finally starting to feel like it was something he himself had chosen to commit to. The bright vision also seemed to appear a little more real every time he turned his thoughts to it – a little more desirable – a little more worthwhile.

For the sake of clarity: he wasn't suddenly overjoyed by the prospect of doing so. He hadn't miraculously found his vocation, nor had he changed his views on it overnight. He was well aware that the choice had never really been his, that the most probable reason why he had come to accept it was the way his parents had planned it over the years. Their never-ending talks, the way they would always brag about his achievements to their friends and family, never failing to mention the bright career that clearly was the only possible one they foresaw for him.

And for the longest time, Taichi had been perfectly fine with that. He knew that it was more than ambition that made his parents wish for that particular path for him, that this was their way of looking out for him, as imperfect as it certainly was. He didn't hate the idea either and with time, he'd even begun to think of it as satisfying.

One could say he'd resigned himself to it.

He was content enough about it.

Not every man's job must be his passion, after all.

And yet, the past weeks, and especially his most recent breakdown had got him thinking. It wasn't even that he was suddenly having second thoughts, or that he was seriously considering giving up on the medical school. He'd met enough doctors in his life (Dr. Harada being a prime, albeit eccentric, example) to know that one could be a good one without necessarily dreaming of it since they learned how to walk. He'd seen devotees, ready to sacrifice their sleep and family life in order to serve their community; he'd come across ones that looked like they were bored by their patients' visits while in truth they were simply awaiting a nice evening spent in the company of their wives.

Of course, he had also met those who clearly hated their job, and only stuck around because the pay-check was high enough – those, however, hadn't yet managed to shake his confidence effectively.

So yes, that part hadn't changed. He was still going to attend the cram school and he definitely wasn't going to take it easy while preparing for his exams. The alteration wasn't in his goal.

Just like his struggle for bravery, however, the goal itself no longer seemed to suffice.

It seemed empty instead.

Was it really surprising that he wished to fill it up?

The main entrance finally came into his view, bringing Taichi's attention to his surroundings once more, as well as the task he was fulfilling. Shaking his head vigorously as if to get rid of the remaining traces of his daydream, he picked up his pace, remembering his earlier resolution not to waste his time unnecessarily.

Focus, Taichi, he commanded himself. Get the materials. Go to the cram school. Meet Master Suo and then go home. Study.

And then you may think of why you're actually doing it.

He had almost reached the door when he was suddenly stopped mid-step, as he heard someone call out to him. Taken aback, he turned around instinctively, only to be surprised even further by the sight of Oe Kanade sprinting towards him. The encounter would have been unexpected enough if she had been walking peacefully; now, with the speed she had approached him with as well as the heavy volumes he noticed in her arms, it was downright astonishing.

Really, what was it with his schoolmates constantly carrying their books in their hands and not inside their bags?

"Ma-shi-ma-SAN!" she cried out as soon as she came near him, her breath ragged and her voice raspy. "I'm so happy you heard me, I thought that you wouldn't!"

A thought of game sense and hearing appeared in his mind, but Taichi chose to disregard it.

"You weren't that far off, I'm sure you'd catch up to me even if I hadn't," he replied instead, a small though sincere smile showing on his face. "I'm still glad that I did. And I'm very glad to see you again, too."

Kanade returned the smile, even though it was clear she had yet to calm down completely. "So am I. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Taichi's response came in the form of a soft hum and a gentle nod of his head. Curious as well as delighted with this sudden encounter, he eyed his friend for a while, half expecting a question or a news to be thrown at him as soon as she regained some control over her respiratory system. She had seemed rather determined to get to him – the only rational conclusion was that there was something specific that she wanted to talk to him about.

No words came however, and (of that Taichi was sure) it was not only due to his companion's condition.

"Do you need help with these?" he asked eventually, his eyes stopping at the thick books she was holding again, determined to maintain the conversation, even if only for a short while. Noticing the school bag Kanade was carrying with her as well, he could only feel glad he had proposed his aid. "They look pretty heavy to me. I'm going inside, I can come with you and deliver them wherever you need me to."

In an instant, Kanade's eyes were on him again.

"No!" she exclaimed, unexpectedly, and one might say, much too zealously.

Taichi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her.

"No?"

"No. I mean – I mean, no, thank you. I'll manage to do it on my own," she explained hurriedly, clearly aware of the little blunder she'd made. "I appreciate the offer, of course, but if you could just hold the door for me, it would be more than enough."

"No need to ask for that," Taichi muttered in response. His lips were still curled up in a smile, the amusement caused by her actions still surpassing the concern that appeared in his mind as soon as he fully comprehended her reaction. Yet, he was concerned. Not worried, not distressed.

But he certainly wished to know why she reacted the way she did and whether it had anything to do with him, as he supposed it did.

Maybe he was becoming paranoid but heck, did he wish people had stopped worrying so much about what they were saying in his presence.

It kind of hurts more that way.

He opened the door for her in what he hoped was a nonchalant, casual way. Kana stepped over the threshold eagerly, a grateful expression taking place of the abashment that could have been seen on her countenance earlier. Taichi followed right behind.

"Thank you for that. I'd stay to chat but I really need to get to the library before the practice starts," the girl said apologetically as soon as their eyes met again.

"Everyone seems to be in a rush these days," Taichi replied simply, recalling his last meeting with another karuta club member. "I was actually wondering why you were going this way though, when the clubroom is in the exact opposite direction. This kind of explains it, I suppose. Though then again..."

"Yes?"

"Why run to it now instead of simply coming after the practice is done? It's not like you'll be playing until after the library is closed, is it?"

He expected her to be surprised by the question. He thought she'd look away and fix her eyes on the floor or that she at least would tighten her grip on the books sheepishly, in the same fashion Hanano had done last week. Given her earlier exclamations, Taichi felt like his assumptions were well-grounded – and yet, like so many times before, he turned out to be completely, perfectly wrong.

For Kanade didn't turn away.

"I need to give those to Chihaya-chan," she said simply instead, indicating the volumes she held.

It was such a plain thing to say and yet, Taichi couldn't help but think that she'd needed to harness all of her strength to utter that supposedly banal statement.

His eyes widened when he realised the full implication of her words. The rush she'd been in; the clear, heavy suggestion that became apparent the moment it was combined with what she'd just said. The possibility – the idea – that had entered his mind and would have given explanation to everything if only he had dared to accept it, but at the same time, one that was just too ridiculous to be taken for anything more than just another product of his overly active imagination.

He really needed to pull himself together.

"The way you say it, someone might think she was skipping practice for studying," he replied a bit hastily, forcing a cheerful, almost playful tone once more. "You’ve only just said that there is practice today, haven’t you?”

Kanade nodded.

"Then why run all the way to the library now instead of just waiting for her in the clubroom?"

Now she looked away from him. However, it still wasn't anything like his encounter with Hanano had gone. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't charged with energy. Kana wasn't stumbling over her words the way their younger friend had, simply because she wasn't speaking at all – and the more time had passed, the heavier and more uncomfortable the silence became.

It was unsettling, though why exactly, he couldn't yet know.

After all, it wasn't like his stupid guess from a moment ago could have been anywhere near being true, was it?

"You don't know, do you, Prez?" he heard her ask quietly, the old nickname slipping in regardless of her will. Still, as focused as he was on her words, Taichi hardly paid any attention to it, either. "She didn't tell you?"

Once again, he froze in his place.

Was he right?

"Tell me what?" he answered with a question of his own, intentionally ignoring the absolutely incomprehensible quickening of his pulse. "What is it that I don't know again?"

She didn't say a word. A second passed, then another, and one more. Those few seconds then became one full moment, turning into a long or even lengthy while, and even then, Taichi still had not received a reply to his inquiry, regardless of the intensity with which he was boring into his companion's face. He saw a glint of hesitation flashing in her eye, a barely perceptible quivering of her lip. An almost non-existent twitch of her head, as if she had wanted to turn towards him again, but changed her mind before she could act on it.

Not a word, however. Not a sound.

Just what possibly could she have to say that it might cause such reluctance on her part?

"Chihaya-chan has left the club," she said eventually; Taichi felt the air leave his lungs from the shock, the occurrence probably being the only reason why he didn't interrupt her on the spot. "Two or three weeks ago, she resigned. She said that she needed to focus on her grades more this year and that she couldn't reconcile studying and karuta practice at the same time; not for now, anyway. Nishida-kun and Komano-kun were so shocked, they tried to convince her to stay, but she just wouldn't listen. Even when we offered to help her study, even after Takeo-sensei interfered... Chihaya-chan would not give up."

She made a short pause, as if she was remembering something – or rather as if she was wondering whether or not she should voice the next thought that came to her mind. If Taichi had enough comprehension left in his paralysed brain, he would have seen the indecision in her eyes intensify, and maybe even urged her to speak up with a gaze of his own.

Being as he was now, however, he could do little more than stare.

"She did what?" he managed to stammer eventually. "No, wait, I must've misunderstood. Or did you really just say that Chihaya had left the karuta club?”

The look Kanade gave him was as sad as it was understanding.

#Our Sleeves Were Wet With Tears #chihayafuru #taichihaya #mashima taichi #ayase chihaya #sorry for the wait guys i didn't managed to finish the art last week #but now it's here so please enjoy #also gosh this chapter is so dramatic for no reason at all but there's no way i'm going to rewrite it again

[icedmo]

Oh, i finally caught up with the chihayafuru manga yesterday so i’ll be talking about it here! Keep scrolling lol i’m just talking to myself.

Tl;dr? Peak fiction. Please, please watch and read it.

More detailed thoughts?

The most striking thing about chihayafuru is the love flowing out of the pages and screen; the way you can tell how much love has been poured into this series, how much love has been put into these characters, into every page, into each sentence - dialogue or simple text. I can’t tell you how rare it is to get this feeling whilst consuming media. It’s just so clear how much love this has been crafted with. Beyond compelling, really.

It’s the way chihayafuru isn’t afraid of making it’s characters lose. It’s the way chihayafuru makes it’s characters lose right when they’ve been set up to win, when any other series would give them the win, when you’re so hyped only to be met with a loss. Again to my first point, how much love has been poured into these characters and plot. It’s bold, it’s great. It’s realistic. Chihayafuru isn’t afraid at all to make it’s main cast, specifically Chihaya, lose.

And to talk about character growth in chihayafuru... characters like Shinobu and Arata, initially presented at the top of their lot, almost god like. Untouchable. Already honed to perfection, you look at them and go ‘how is it possible for them to grow?’ They exclude the energy of ever stable characters, unmoving finish lines. That’s how you view them. But then chihayafuru excels beyond your expectations. Genuinely, it would’ve worked fine to keep these characters as those near-deities, but it doesn’t. Chiahyafuru makes characters first painted as perfection grow and its amazing how it manages this.

Seriously, it’s such a simple concept, but it’s mind boggling. The writing in chihayafuru is simply top notch and i’m here repeating myself about the love poured into all it’s characters so evident. Shinobu and Arata’s growth wouldn’t have been possible if there wasn’t so much love poured into them. Example, Arata’s strength coming from how he always visualised himself playing in his old apartment, playing karuta with Taichi and Chihaya. That strength turned into a weakness, almost. Something that actually prevented his growth. And Shinobu? I could talk about her all day. But I won’t, because it’s 4am, and if you’ve read chihayafuru i am certain you know how amazing of a character she is, LOL.

Character growth, character growth... can i mention Chihaya and Inokuma’s first match? I genuinely was blown away watching it, jaw on the ground. The way it so clearly showed how much Chihaya grown, putting all her development on full blast, on full display. It was so amazing, i can’t even explain it. I mean, during season one you saw Chihaya as some amazing player - but whilst watching her play Inokuma you can’t help but think that season one Chihaya, who you previously saw as amazing, was... so weak, so unrefined. The match was short yet was such an amazing accumulation of all her development and showcasing it to you. No - Inokuma isn’t weak, not one bit. Chihaya is just stronger, she’s amazing, she’s worked so hard and you’ve watched her get to this point.

Chihayafuru being about a sport where gender and age don’t matter does so, so much for it. It has something any other shounen or sports series could never reach thematically. Harada-sensei, Inokuma, Sakurazawa-san.... the thematic game age-wise is phenomenal. Sure, objectively you may reach your peak as a young adult. But is it really that simple? No. Once you start aging you don’t just roll over and succumb to being a worker slave, focus on your kids. Only you get to decide when you’re our of your “prime.” It’s inspiring, seriously. How it shows your life isn’t going to end when you reach 30, you can indulge in niche hobbies. It’s something so simple, but it’s just such a great and rare message.

Scrap that, the entire thematic game is amazing. Strength is being free, age doesn’t limit your passion, you have to do what you don’t want in order to do what you do want. Keeping feelings inside is detrimental, hurting is inevitable. Understand the deeper meanings to everything around you, it’ll expand your world-view. When you’re lost, build something up - humans strive on a sense of purpose.

God, and can I talk about the feel of the series in general? How flowery it is, it’s so shoujou-y, LOL, but it can be so, so gorgeous at times.

Yup? Yup. Exactly.

Chihayafuru is so unbelievably stunning. It’s use of visuals to tell a story is completely top notch, what do i say. Pitch black karuta cards? Snow? Flowers? Barren wastelands, dreamscapes? It’s a beautiful series. So striking visually. And the poems, the poems... how Chihayafuru connects them to situations is superb, a prime example being after Chihaya rejects Taichi, he leaves the club, she breaks down in front of Fukasaku-sensei in the hallway and Chihaya talks about how she was the rock breaking apart all of Taichi’s built up emotions this entire time. It was amazing. And don’t even get me started on some of Kana’s monologues.

The pacing in Chihayafuru is snappy, but it’s so well done. It doesn’t feel lacklustre, but it doesn’t stall. This is thanks to how much development happens during matches - and can i mention quickly how well it develops a multitude of characters simultaneously? Again, how much love is in every nook and cranny of this series.

I’m gonna cut it off here since i don’t know how to include an ‘under the cut’ so i had to torment all 100 of my followers who, frankly, do not care, to scrolling through this utter wall of text.

Overall, i don’t have a preference between taichihaya and chihayarata - if anything, whilst i was first watching i couldn’t help but think about how strongly they were set up as a poly relationship? (Obviously my personal view, but if you were to watch it thinking about them as an ot3 it makes so much sense.)

I gotta say.... my favourite ship is sumire x kana 🥺 i just think they could be something so soft....! Shinobu x chihaya is amazing too, like c’mon... the whole ‘i’ve been dreaming of shinobu-chan’, their blatant, blatant yearning, shinobu never being showed to have interest in anybody apart from chihaya and momo-chan (arata obviously as strictly a rival, sensei has teased or set up nothing romantically between them.) i’d like to say my favourite character is chihaya but i have formed a very? Odd attachment to Rion which came out of... nowhere? LMAO. I adore sumire too. Wow this got long and it very messy and i have so so so much more to say but i simply.... peak fiction.... that’s all...

#chihayafuru #mo’s brainmush #the parts of the story with dementia were super hard for me to watch #that’s the only negative thing ive ever felt whilst consuming this series #simply because its something personal to me! #it woulda been nice if i was just warned beforehand 😭

[yusuke-of-valla]

like rats fleeing a sinking ship, pt. 3

intermission i

A/N: “intermission,” basically just means I couldn’t get a Whumptober prompt in there.

TW: mentions of being shot

<-Previous Next->

AO3

After a bit of arguing, Akira gives his bag to Haru with Morgana inside it, and takes Akechi with him to Crossroads. If given the choice, Akira would have preferred leaving Akechi at Takemi’s apartment to rest, but over the last three days since the notice for the Phantom Thieves’ arrest went out, Akechi has proven that he will refuse to sit still even if it’s for his own health, so he’s coming with Akira.

Akira lets Akechi get a seat on the train and stands up, watching the people on the train mutter amongst themselves. The news bulletin is giving updates about the “dangerous thieves at large.”

“...my aunt had a change of heart before she collapsed...”

“I heard they’ve given mental shutdowns to children too...”

“...put her name on the PhanSite. I hope Shido catches those thieves before something happens to her. She may be a bitch but I don’t want her to die.”

“So quick to turn on their supposed heroes,” Akechi mutters.

Akira hums.

Crossroads is empty when they arrive, save for Ohya and Lala, as usual.

When the door opens, Ohya perks up, her eyes going from Akira, then quickly settling on Akechi. “What’s he doing here?”

“He’s on our side,” Akira says. “Shido doesn’t like him either.”

“Sweet. The enemy of my enemy and all that.”

“I suppose you boys aren’t here for a social visit?” Lala asks, pouring them each a glass of water.

“I’d really like this to be, but we can’t.”

Ohya sits up. “Right. It’s not great.”

“Sources don’t have a lot of info?”

“It’s not that. The ones I can get in touch with are happy to talk about how their search for the Phantom Thieves won’t rest until they’re dealt with and explaining some of their procedures like setting up checkpoints in and out of the city. They’re also teaming up with some tech company to monitor phones and texts.”

“Lovely,” Akechi says, “things we could’ve already deduced. Do you have anything that isn’t coming from propagandists?”

“You can tell a lot from what people don’t say as much as what they do. They’re talking a big game, but only have Sakura-san’s arrest to back it up so it’s safe to say they haven’t gotten anyone else. They’re focused on the major areas, the subway, Central Street. Stuff like that. And they’re being flooded with tips, so even though people are happy to turn you in, they also don’t have time to go over everything.”

“So the mob’s working against them,” Akira says.

“Right,” Ohya winks. Then she gives Akechi a pointed look. “And I still have some inside info. Like apparently Shido’s been fighting with this one government agency for awhile now, blocking funding and access for them. They’re called the “Shadow Ops,” and Shido is putting a lot of effort into getting them out of the way.”

“And how is that helpful to us now?" Goro asks.

“Enemy of my enemy,” Akira suggests.

“Well if we can figure out how to get in touch with them that’ll be fine, but it’s still more trouble than it’s worth.”

“What is your problem?" Akira snaps.

“My problem is we’re wasting time! You’re supposed to be the leader yet you can’t conceive of the bigger picture.”

“Akechi you’ve been shot.”

“Stop pretending you’re holding back for my sake,” Akechi says, rolling his eyes. “We could go into the Metaverse right now and get this healed. You just can’t do anything without your ragtag bunch of misfits around to sing your praises.”

“Then why don’t you go.” Akira asks. “Why haven’t you left? Is it because after we played you like a damn fiddle and you were betrayed by your boss you realized you might not be as strong or as clever as you thought?”

Akechi crosses his arms and glares at Akira. “Fine. You’ve got me. I don’t think I can take Shido on my own. I could use your help. Yours. But the others are superfluous, we don’t need them.”

“The others have saved my life on more than one occasion, and they’ve saved yours before too. One week, and we go in and fight like hell, but since you need me and you kinda owe me for that little ‘attempted murder incident’, we’re doing it on my terms when we’ve found as many members of my team as we can.”

“Does the thought cross your mind that gathering them all in one place might just be putting them in more danger?”

“I have to know they’re safe.”

They stare daggers at each other.

Akechi gives in first, getting up with a huff. “If you have any useful information, Ohya-san then please let me know. Until then I’ll be waiting outside.” He strides out the door, and lets it slam shut behind him.

“I’m sorry about that,” Akira says to Ohya and Lala, who he’s just realized heard that entire conversation.

“No problem. You okay, kid?”

“I’m fine. Any other news?”

“Not really. I can tell you that the police have the big public areas covered, but I doubt you’ll be going to any concerts any time soon.”

“Nah. But seriously thank you, this’ll help us plan our movements.”

“Stop by tomorrow, I’ll see if I have anything new for you.”

“Actually, do you mind if one of my friends does it? She’s closer at the moment.”

“Sure, just tell me what to look for.”

Akira gives Haru’s description, thanks Lala again, then heads out.

“Are we done?” Akechi asks.

“One more stop in Shinjuku.” Akira leads Akechi a few blocks down to Chihaya’s booth.

“Akira! It’s good to see you!” Chihaya says.

“Hey Chihaya. We’re here for a reading.”

“Do you know everyone in this city?” Akechi mutters.

Chihaya lays out the cards in front of them. “Do you need a specific reading?”

“Can you give me a reading that’ll tell me where my friends are?”

“I’ll do my best!” Chihaya says. She flips the cards over one by one, and there’s a familiar sensation like something snapping. Even Akechi seems caught off guard by it. Chihaya looks at the spread and frowns. “Hesitation will be your undoing, but don’t be reckless. And I’m not sure about the nine of swords, something to do with Gemini?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Akira sees the way Akechi’s eyes widen at that, then he quickly cools his expression again.

“That’s all I can see,” Chihaya says.

“Thank you.” Akira says, getting up.

Akechi walks back towards the train station quickly, and Akira trails behind. He pauses at the sight of a familiar blue prison door.

“Hey inmate!” Caroline says. “You wanna go in?”

Akira considers it, but shakes his head. He doesn’t want to see Igor right now. “Hey, Caroline, how much do you know about stuff that’s going on. You obviously know more than I do.”

“Well duh! How’re we supposed to help with your rehabilitation if we’re as clueless as you?”

“Then do you know where my friends are?”

Caroline’s grin fades. “W-we couldn’t tell you that even if we did know!”

“Alright, thanks.”

“What are you waiting for?” Akechi calls.

Akira waves at Caroline, and runs to catch up with Akechi.

~_~_~_~

After parting ways with Akira and Akechi, Haru at least takes a little joy in the familiar weight of Morgana in her bag. When they arrive in Aoyama-Itchome, Haru hangs back in an alleyway as Morgana pops his head out of the bag.

“Alright, wait until there aren’t as many students leaving, then slip around the back way there.” Morgana says, helping Haru slip in the same way Akira had been getting up to the roof to meet her while he’s presumed dead.

Her first stop is her vegetable garden. Despite everything, her babies have been growing pretty well.

“It’s too bad we can’t bring the whole thing,” she says picking the tomatoes and pulling up the carrots.

“We can see about starting a garden at Takemi’s,” Morgana offers. “There’s one windowsill that gets a lot of really nice sunlight, even in the winter. I like to take naps there, but I’m willing to give it up for your vegetables.”

“Aw, thank you Mona-chan,” Haru gives him a pat on the head before bagging up the rest of her vegetables. “You’re up next.”

Haru slips out the back and heads back to the alley, watching the school until Morgana comes out, Kawakami trailing behind him.

“Hey, slow down kitty, I’,- Okumura?” Kawakami stares at Haru taking in her new hair and clothes. “So that is Kurusu’s cat?”

Haru smiles and picks Morgana up, helping him back into the bag. “Yeah, he’s a very smart little guy.”

“So does that mean Kurusu’s alright, at least?”

“Yes. But we still need to find the others.”

“Any way I can help?”

“Do you have Shiho Suzui’s address?”

Kawakami’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, then she seems to understand. “Oh yes, I suppose that makes sense. I should be able to get it. Hold on.”

Kawakami walks back into the school, and ten minutes later comes out with a sheet of paper. One has an address on it, the other has a phone number.

“Here you go. And if you need anything, give that number a call and ask for Becky. I’ll know it’s you and be right over.”

“I can’t ask you to get more involved in this,” Haru says.

Kawakami laughs. “I’m already neck deep in the Phantom Thieves business. You’ve helped me and so many others, and more importantly, you’re my students. It’s my job to make sure you’re all safe.”

Haru holds the sheet of paper to her chest. “Thank you. Your support means more than you know.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

Haru grabs a tourist map from the train station and follows the address Kawakami gave them. The Suzui residence is a nice small house near one of the smaller parks.

“Ready to go Haru?”

“Yep.”

Haru knocks on the door, and a middle aged man opens it. “Hello, who are you?”

“I’m here to return your cat!” Haru says, holding Morgana up to the man’s face.

“We don’t ha-” Morgana leaps out of Haru’s arms and runs into the house.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Haru says.

The man curses. “Stay here,” he says, running after Morgana.

There are more voices, and then…

“Morgana?”

“Lady Ann! So you are here!”

“Ann!” Haru calls, running in the direction of the voices. She finds an open door leading downstairs, and the man from earlier is there, along with Ann, Morgana, and a girl who must be Suzui, who immediately steps in front of Ann protectively.

“Who are you,” Suzui demands.

“Shiho! It’s fine, this is Haru,” Ann says, “she’s part of the team.”

“Haru Okumura?” the man— Suzui’s father, probably— asks.

“Yes, we’re so sorry for the disturbance,” Haru says.

Mr. Suzui waves her off, and then pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s fine, I guess. Would you like some tea Okumura-san? You and Ann probably have a lot to catch up on.”

“That’d be great, thanks!” Ann says. Haru nods as well, and Mr. Suzui heads back upstairs. Once he’s gone, Shiho shuts the door and Ann gives Haru a hug. “Good to see you! I thought you booked it for the countryside!”

“A little misdirection on my part. It’s a bit of a story.”

“We have so much to tell you!” Morgana says.

“I’m sure.” Ann says, picking him up.

“So, I’m guessing this is the famous Morgana?” Suzui asks.

Morgana perks up. “Oh? You told her about me?”

“How could I not,” Ann laughs, “I mean you’re kinda important to the whole story.”

“I’m important!”

“Wow, you can really understand him?” Suzui asks, stepping closer.

Haru nods. “Yes. How much has Ann told you?”

“Everything, pretty much,” Ann says. She and Suzui share a look, before Suzui pulls up some bean bag chairs.

“C’mon, sit. I’m sure things must have been crazy for you guys.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement,” Haru laughs. “But do you want to tell your story first?”

Ann nods.

#alto writes #on the run au #wordcount: 2000-2500 #persona 5 #goro akechi #akira kurusu #haru okumura #morgana #ann takamaki #shiho suzui #ichiko ohya #chihaya mifune

[seirity]

Part 3: The aftermath

I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long write this post. Originally, I was just going to write this post about the aftermath and then another one regarding Taichi’s character development, but in the end, after much deliberation, I decided to combine the two posts into one. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

This is the third part of my post regarding episode 23 of Chihayafuru 3. If you would like to read the first two parts of this series, you can find them here and here.

So, it’s been at least a few days since Taichi’s confession and there’s clearly some tension between the two. We aren’t explicitly told how much time has passed exactly, but it seems at least five days have passed based off of the number of times their clothes have changed. It’s surprisingly how no one has made a comment about it, since Chihaya and Taichi are clearly not talking to each other.

It’s interesting to see how Suetsugu-sensei makes this evident by covering both Chihaya and Taichi’s eyes.

Suetsugu-sensei has also done this before in episode 21 when Chihaya was trying to figure out why Taichi always has to do things by himself.

I’ve noticed it before, but there is such a clear focus on eyes in Chihayafuru. Suetsugu-sensei uses them for a variety of purposes. She uses them to inform us when Chihaya is serious about her match and is going to play without holding back. She also uses them to tell when there’s going to be a change of pace within a match or when Chihaya is having pivotal moments during her self-reflections.  

When she realizes she’ll have to figure out why Taichi does what he does after the tournament:

When she wonders whether or not this will be the start of something new for herself after witnessing Shinobu-chan fall apart emotionally only to pick herself up again, Harada-sensei’s passion, Suou-san’s strength, Arata’s determination, and Taichi throwing down the gauntlet:

When she realizes Taichi had created a placement just to play against her:

When she realizes that Taichi loved her all this time:

These are just a few examples that come to mind when I think of Suetsugu-sensei’s inclination of focusing on eyes to get the audience to focus on certain key pivotal moments or emotions the characters are feeling at that point in time.

It’s so iconic that even the live-action uses this framing technique.

But I digress.

It’s not until the start of the new year that something actually happens: Taichi quits the karuta club.

Only Nikuman-kun and Tsukue-kun are aware that this is going to happen. None of the girls in the club know. Funny enough, it’s Chihaya who realizes something is amiss when Taichi is no where to be seen before it’s her turn to introduce the karuta club.

Interesting, huh?

It’s only when Miyauchi-sensei comes to make a revision to Chihaya’s script that all the girls realize what has happened.

The framing used here is beautiful and once again Chihaya’s eye is visible.

The sound effects in this particular scene gave me the chills. I loved how the fact that Madhouse suddenly made the introductions from the other clubs and the accompanying applause audible. I could literally feel my heart drop during this scene.

I also liked how they added an animation to make the image drop, since you could also visually see the moment when Chihaya’s heart just drops.

While this particular scene isn’t in the actual manga, I feel like this addition definitely had an impact. It’s almost as if you can see the wheels turning in Chihaya’s mind as she’s processing this sudden change.

Once again, eyes anyone?

It’s only after she’s vocalized how many members are in the club that she’s finally processed what has happened. The audience can feel time stop and my heart just breaks. I felt myself tearing up as tears began to well up in Chihaya’s eyes.

As tragic as this scene is, it is also done really well. Madhouse timed everything perfectly. From the moment where she stops to the poignant climax the soundtrack comes to when tears well up in Chihaya’s eyes, and even when she finally drops the microphone. The animation for this scene is amazing, and even though my heart breaks, it’s still one of my favorite scenes in this episode because of how well it was executed.

Chihaya rushes off to catch up to Taichi as he leaves school and tells him that she doesn’t want him to quit the club. She’s desperate and completely distraught over the fact that he’s quitting the club. She can’t even comprehend him not being a part of the club anymore.

Chihaya’s reaction to the news is not a surprise when we consider how selfish and self-centered she can be. What’s different here is the desperation you can hear in her voice and the way she basically throws herself at him to make him stop walking away.

Now we’ve reached the second most controversial part of this episode: the kiss.

The scene is so powerful all on it’s own that they simply chose to have nothing in the background, except for Chihaya’s crying. It’s only when Taichi takes a hold of her sleeve and brings her face closer to him that you hear a chime-like sound effect, almost like an eureka moment of sorts. The only difference is this time Chihaya is actually realizing how Taichi is not as calm as he has seemed to be since his confession.

I love the use of silence here and to be honest simplicity is best in these kinds of situations.

As controversial as this scene is, I think the fact that Taichi starts to kiss her, but stops himself from completely doing so is extremely significant.

While on one hand, Chihaya did technically earn a kiss as a prize for winning the tournament on Taichi’s birthday, I’m sure this wasn’t really what she had in mind when this happened.

Eyes!

As funny and ironic as this may seem, I digress.

For me, this kiss is NOT something that Taichi TRIES to force on Chihaya, but something that happened in the spur of the moment. He’s at the end of his rope and seeing Chihaya absolutely devastated because of him is something that’s never happened.

From Taichi’s point of view, it only looks like Arata has the power to sway Chihaya’s heart or to have an impact on her. Taichi always thinks he is insignificant and that she will be fine without him.

There’s only so much someone can take before they reach their limit and realize that they need to just focus on themselves. It’s why he asks Chihaya this particular question:

Taichi is only human. He can only take so much and it hurts for him to be near her so shortly after his confession.

As conflicted as he may feel, Taichi’s eyes here are animated in such a manner where you can feel the intensity of his gaze. His eyes appear to be burning here with how intense his feelings are and the audience is naturally drawn to them.

Other than being something that he did in the spur of the moment, a part of me also feels like Taichi almost kissed her to get Chihaya to actually realize what him loving her means. Or in other words: to make her realize that even though he is a gentleman, he is STILL a man. In general, Chihaya has little to no qualms about invading someone’s personal space. In Taichi’s case, she has no concept of what personal space is for him, especially since they are childhood friends. As a result, I feel like the kiss is his self-control finally breaking and he suddenly has the urge to kiss her because she is so close to him. However, Taichi’s resolve returns before he can completely kiss her, hence why he stops midway. He stops because he knows it’s wrong and that once he crosses that line, he can never go back. It’s the point of no return.

Once again his eyes are covered and the audience is unable to see his true emotions.

The inner-turmoil that he feels is apparent here by how he clenches Chihaya’s shoulder, but suddenly let’s go of her.

And tells her that all 100 cards are completely pitch black to him.

These screen shots don’t do this scene justice, but I love how the flashbacks that are used in the background are ALL crucial moments of Taichi’s life where karuta was involved.

By saying the cards are completely pitch black to him, Suetsugu-sensei is letting the audience know how devastated Taichi is after confessing to Chihaya.

In English, we often say the world looks a little brighter when you’re in love. In Japanese culture, there is a similar saying that can literally be translated along the lines of “adding color to one’s world.” I can’t remember where I’ve read this, but I did see it somewhere that in Asian culture “dyeing/adding color” to someone else’s or one’s world also has a sexual connotation. For me, this makes a lot of sense since I always hear lines like 「世界に色が付く」 (literally: to add color to the world) or  「貴方が私の心を朝焼けに染めた」 (You’ve dyed my heart with morning glow/You’ve dyed my heart red like the sky as the sun rises) in Japanese love songs whether they’re happy or sad ones.  As a result, no matter what culture you come from, the fact that love is often associated with colors is universal.

Thus, Taichi saying the cards are completely pitch black to him now is the equivalent of saying he feels like he’s lost the one thing that played a key role behind his motivation to play karuta: his love for Chihaya.

This isn’t to say that he doesn’t love her anymore, but more the fact that his heart is broken, which makes it feel as if his love for her is completely gone.

Notice that I’m NOT saying his love for Chihaya was the sole reason why he plays/played karuta. While Chihaya was definitely the reason why Taichi started and was one of the reasons as to why he worked so hard at karuta, she is not the sole reason why he played.

At this point in time, he just doesn’t know it.

DISCLAIMER: this includes spoilers for those who only watch the anime, so please proceed at your own risk.

There are scenes in the manga that allude to how Taichi has come to enjoy playing karuta over the years. Despite the fact that all 100 cards look completely pitch black to him, he continues to play with Suou-san after quitting the club. If his sole motivation to play karuta was Chihaya, then why play karuta without her at all? He has to enjoy playing it on some level, even if he himself doesn’t realize it or is in complete denial.

Yes, I know there is a huge scene where Sudou essentially calls Taichi out on the fact that Taichi always looks like he’s ready to throw in the towel and quit playing karuta forever, but then why continue to try to get better after leaving the club?

The answer lies in a scene that happens long before Taichi has that match with Sudou at the Queen/Meijin qualifying matches of Taichi’s senior year. This particular scene is when Suou-san tells Taichi that it was admirable how Taichi continued to play karuta and tried so hard at it, despite not liking it. That he loved those who played karuta so much that he continued to play, while essentially sacrificing his own happiness and enduring such hardships for their sake. Taichi himself even acknowledges the fact that he doesn’t like karuta, but could never say that because he wouldn’t be able to stay by their side anymore. Instead of just leaving things as they are and essentially admitting that Harada-sensei’s words and the days he spent with the Mizusawa karuta club turned into a curse, he refuses to continue believing that everything was for naught. For me, this is the moment where Taichi starts playing karuta, not for Chihaya or for all the people he loves, but honestly for himself. It’s unclear what actually happens after this sudden realization, but I have a feeling he runs after and catches up with Suou-san. 

But, I digress.

END SPOILERS

Anyways, the symbolism here is just beautiful.

As Chihaya realizes what Taichi is truly saying, her eyes widen and the second half of poem #46 flashes across the screen.

‘Where, over the deep of love, The end lies, I do not know “

行く方もしらぬ 恋の道かな

This scene isn’t in the manga, but I love how the animators did this since it just reiterates what happened: Despite not knowing where this love would lead him, Taichi look the chance and told her how he felt anyways.

Episode 23 ends with this haunting scene: Taichi walking away from Chihaya as she stands there in complete shock in the background while the black cards flutter in the foreground.

To be honest, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Taichi to force himself to stay in the club until the start of the new school year. It’s tortuous: Wanting to be near here because he’s in love with her, but at the same time wanting to run away from her because it’s a reminder of what happened/what he thinks he’s lost.

Yet, it’s almost as if him not being first in his class was the excuse he needed to quit the club and end this long, endless cycle of suffering. My heart bleeds for him. He put himself out there to tell Chihaya how he felt, even when he wasn’t really sure how it would turn out.

Confessing to Chihaya is very significant to Taichi’s character for two reasons. The first is by doing so, he is no longer a coward. He’s put his feelings out there and he’s stopped taking the easy way out. It’s easier for him to be a coward and simply maintain the status quo by not confessing to Chihaya. Not telling her how he feels would allow him to stay by her side, but he would be forever making himself the martyr. He would never truly be able to be happy, especially if she ends up with Arata because he never took a chance to see what would happen if he told her how he felt.

It’s only with Sumire’s confession and her plead for Taichi to tell Chihaya how he feels that Taichi is finally able to take that leap of faith and muster up the courage to finally do it.

However, by confessing to her, he’s made the declaration that he doesn’t want to be a coward and take the easy way out, which is to simply maintain the status quo.  He confessed to Chihaya because it was something that he had to do in order to become someone who wasn’t a coward.

"It doesn’t matter how this looks to other people. If this is something that you got to do, then you do it." (Geraldine Hughes)

There are people who would argue that Taichi confessing to Chihaya now is simply because he’s being selfish and that he’s only doing it because he doesn’t want to stay her friend. It is really selfish if we are simply doing something because we don’t want to live with regret of what could have been if we had done what we wanted to do? Perhaps it is on some level, but haven’t we all felt this way before? If you must condemn Taichi for confessing to Chihaya because of this, then you too must face the same fate for doing something that you want to do because you didn’t want to live with regrets for the rest of your life.

Honestly, this same logic can be applied to Arata’s confession in the sense that wanting Chihaya to see him as something more than a friend is also selfish. Just the act of confessing your feelings and watching someone else to see you as more than a friend is fundamentally selfish on some level.

The second reason is that by confessing to Chihaya, Taichi is now living for himself. This sounds very similar to the first point I’ve made, but there is a very subtle, but crucial difference: he’s no longer putting his needs on the back burner and he’s prioritizing himself over others, especially Chihaya. This is also why it makes sense for him to leave the club and to focus on his studies. He has to start thinking about his own future and needs to stop focusing on Chihaya. Not to mention the fact that seeing her right now is completely painful for him. Up to this point, Taichi has managed to flawlessly maintain his grades, support the Mizusawa karuta club, and be there for Chihaya in whatever capacity she needed him to be.

I will probably get around to doing a post regarding Taichihaya in the most recent chapters of the manga. There’s still quite a bit I wanted to say, but I feel this is a good place to end things.

Anyways, that was an extremely long post. I hope it all made sense! Thank you to everyone who have read this entire series of posts! As always, please let me know your thoughts!

#chihayafuru #ayase chihaya #mashima taichi #taichihaya #taichi x chihaya #chihaya x taichi

[natsumi-no-hotaru]

Chihayafuru #32: The Meeting Hill

AKA. It’s amazing to see Oe-san the salesperson in action! 

[Previously: super doki-doki, super thrilling revenge finale between Hokuo and Mizusawa!!!]

“Precision. Pin-point precision! I’m not going to waste that loss! I’m going to surpass Shinobu-chan!”

- Chitose is such a biatch. Does she even have one nice thing to say to her sister? Can she even get her head out of her ass and be less self-centered for once? Chihaya’s karuta may not amount to much in her future but at least it makes her a much more mature and better person, unlike Chitose’s modeling. 

- Chihaya’s offer to share the clubroom with the Band Club so that they can use it for storage: “innocent” or “calculating”? It’s all for karuta anyway.

- Tsukuba hoping to share in the joy of karuta with Sumire: d’awww. Even if Sumire is not ready to be truthful to herself yet. She may be following the rules of courting by pursuing karuta but she enjoys herself too much for something she claims to be only a means to an end. I find it always easier to lie to others than lie to yourself. 

- And no, please don’t treat Taichi’s love for karuta so cheaply. It may have started out that way but gawd, you would have to be blind to not see how much heart he put in the game itself. Even when he stopped playing karuta in secondary school, it was out of his inferiority complex toward Arata, not because he was not able to chase after Chi-chan.

- Harada-sensei: “Don’t worry. I’ll start with 40 cards as handicap.”

LOL, I’m so reminded of Touya-meijin in Hikaru no Go, 

- Tsukuba: “Hanano-san is such an open book... But you’ve already gotten hooked on karuta.”

- Chi-chan’s mom: “Do you realize how generous Oe-san has been to lend you those beautiful kimonos?”

Chi-chan’s kaa-san is so thoughtful! But it is a two-way relationship - Oe-san get Chi-chan to model her clothes and free publicity too.

LOL.

OMG, wait what, Chi-chan’s own hakama??? YES!!!

It’s awesome to see Chi-chan’s parent showing explicit support for Chi-chan’s karuta - “it’s our job as parents to provide”. No more favoritism for the elder sis!

*dab at tears* Chi-chan is so accomplished.

“... even if she had the fifth lowest grades in her class...” LMAO

“... even if she didn’t give any thought to her future...” wow, that got depressing fast.

“... she would do just fine.” d’aww, it’s true though Chi-chan is very determined to succeed.

“It’s taken me to this long to buy her a hakama. I felt bad about ignoring her all this time.” .... right. I appreciate this very much - it’s good to see the anime addressing certain hard-to-speak-of issues in such a head-on manner. 

And how rare is it to see 2 moms sharing their experience of raising kids and sympathising with one another in a shoujo/teenage anime? It’s so, so, precious.

Oops. There is the matter of food, lodging and travel for the Nationals... 

- Kana-chan breaking the 4th wall: LMAO

“What about frenzied?”

“We’re already in 2nd season and she still doesn’t know what the title means?”

“I thought decorative words have no meaning.” 

Gawd, the level of illiteracy is intense here. Even Nishida added to it.

- Time for Oe-sensei to give a guest lecture:

“Both words are used to refer to the power of gods. Frenzied refers to power used for wrong...”

“Both words are used to describe intensity, but their contexts are completely different. Frenzied would be used to describe a shaky spinning top...”

“It almost looks like it’s completely still, focusing its power in perfect balance, with no lean in any direction.”

- SURPRISE!!!

Like woooowwww. Chi-chan’s bet paid off beautifully, ne?

Gosh, so heartwarming!!! All of the well-wishes too!

“I’ve never received support from anyone who wasn’t involved in karuta.” 

Gawd, Nishida, hitting the nail a little too precise man.

D’awwww. Chi-chan was so moved.

“They sent us a good wave, and their rendition of the school anthem was very impassionate. We’ll ride on the wave they pushed us on...”

- So much for that investment LMAO

- To the Nationals!!!!

This was a fun episode (albeit its filler vibe) but I’m glad that certain thorny issues have been satisfactorily laid to rest. Onward to OMI JINGU!!!

... 

Oh wait, it’s not the end yet. 

“Hanano-san, are you going to sleep with your makeup on?

Yes, since you never know what might happen. 

Nothing’s going to happen!”

The poor girl getting scolded by the Empress, LOL.

Sumire is... kinda adorable when she throws a tantrum? LOL, she looks just like Chihiro in Spirited Away with that hairdo.

OH WOW. 

“Is there anyone you think about when you’re alone at night, wishing you could see them and wondering what they are doing?”

Gawd, this girl and her obsession with Shi-chan. Wonder if they would meet again at the individual tournament....

Is there anything crueler than Taichi overhearing Chi-chan’s phone conversation with Arata as he dropped by?

*hug my sad bebe*

After learning about Arata’s plan to only participate in the individual tournament and not the team one, Chi-chan’s mind flashed to a time when they played as a team. Perhaps there is some hope, after all.

And, finally!!! Omi Jingu, here we go!!

Until the next time, folks! (still encountering issues with saving draft. Possibly it’s my internet acting up...)

#Chihayafuru #chihayafuru anime #chihayafuru season 2 #chihayafuru marathon #natsumi talks #natsumi watches #karuta

[it-will-not-last-the-night]

Blegh

In terms of Persona 5 I’d been riding high mostly since P5D. I’d been positive mostly over it because P5D and fan-generated content had been lovely overall and really engaging and enjoyable. It had helped me forget that the main game itself seriously does upset me at times and I have a less than ideal opinion of it.

*Sigh*

Now I’m starting to feel like that again. Both announcements of today have left brought back to mind some of my biggest problems with Persona 5 and the way Atlus writes in general. What are they? A bit of a lesson then in me;

For myself there are three events in Persona 5 that I really REALLY just consider outright despicable. In no order they are; 1) Two homosexual adult males being negatively stereotyped as child molesters targeting Ryuji 2) Ryuji’s friends responding to one of the greatest acts of selflessness in the entire story by physically abusing Ryuji and 3) The Valentine’s Day event making Canon that Akira/Ren is horrible, Sojiro is horrible and that Atlus thinks all the girls are vapid idiots. 

‘Magical Valentine’ raises an issue I’ve always had but makes it even more forceful. You see in the game the Valentine’s Event is only ‘optionally’ canon. You can play a canonical run-through and not have it occur. So you can, legitimately, without needing headcanon or fanon, just have your own canon playthrough in which the girls are not vapid idiots. The anime however, now, makes it that, for the Animation, it is canon that Akira/Ren is an awful person and that the girls are vapid idiots. Oh and that Sojiro is just literally the worst like...like he is scum in this event. As bas as Akira/Ren is (and he’s bad in this version!) the bigger problem I think a LOT of people forget about the Valentine’s Harem Route is that it literally casts Sojiro as a Guardian of Futaba who would lie to conceal her boyfriend’s infidelities...even when said infidelities LITERALLY CAUSE FUTABA TO CRY! 

So the animation is now making it canon that; 1) Akira/Ren sees no reason he has to be honest or forthright with any females in his life 2) Sojiro holds such low regard for his daughter he will aide Akira/Ren in an ongoing deception and emotional manipulation of her RIGHT AFTER SHE OVERCAME A SUICIDAL PHASE OF HER LIFE and 3) That Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Takemi, Kawakami, Ohya, Hifumi and Chihaya all fall in love with the exact same person and are literally when confronted with incontervertible evidence of his infedilities not only tricked into instantly accepting that them all bringing him chocolate on Valentine’s Day was a ‘misunderstanding’ but, in the case of the Phantom Thieves members, this has so little impact on them that mere days later they have no reaction.

AKA the ending Valentine’s Harem Route basically says: “Akira/Ren successfully cheated on all the girls in his life, and is free to continue to do so since they are so stupid that they could be convinced to assume it was a ‘misunderstanding’ even under the most blatantly false of pretext,” the ending basically gives carte blanche to say that Akira/Ren will probably keep cheating on the women in his life because, well, they’re so stupid that even if they all end up right in front of him, confessing their love for him to each other’s faces...they somehow think this was a ‘misunderstanding’?

That’s gonna be canon now for the animation. Not ‘optional’ canon, just...just outright canon. Literally everything in the Canon is soured now. Did you like Ren’s bond with Ann in the foregoing episodes? Well bad news; Ren literally is willing to commit to an intimate relationship with her and then emotionally cheat on her with several different women at once. Did you like how Ren played a pivotal role in building Futaba’s character and helping her grow out of her emotional turmoil? Well sucks for you cause Ren is literally willing to lie to this girl’s face and tell her he loves her whilst carrying on behind her back with numerous other women.

It sort of goes without saying that this kinda wrecks P5A completely since, canonically, Akira/Ren is now just an irredeemable asshole and the female characters are reduced to stock harem-style idiot love interests with basically 0 individuality because everyone has to love the Protagonist (self-insert!).

But when you think about it even in the original game...this was a problem. Sure you could choose not to do it...but you could also choose to do it. This means, technically, as far as Atlus’ writing is concerned, canonically Akira/Ren has it in him to be a complete asshole with no respect for women or his friends...and the females in the game are all vapid idiots. That’s technically canon since that’s required for the Valentine’s Route to work.

Oh, also, that Sojiro is the worst. The worst.

The Valentine’s Harem Event, like the Ryuji abusing event post Shido’s Palace. does irrevocable damage to the characters and the content itself, kinda ruining it since for it to be canon...well it means the characters are terrible people or stupid. Why I sort of have to choose to ignore them to actually like the story.

Of course what does all this writing have in common? It’s a JOKE! Haha! Ryuji’s being abused, isn’t this funny? Haha! The girls are all vapid idiots and Joker’s such a chick magnet they have no varying tastes in partner at all! Haha! Gay men want to force Ryuji to undress for them! 

Isn’t this funny? I mean, no, of course not. In almost all these cases the ‘humour’ is...someone suffering. A common retort I then see is; it’s not canon, its just for a joke.

But the problem is it is, all, strictly canon. I could definitely understand if these things were packaged as clear ‘not canon’ events. 

Here’s an example; the Blazblue game series has ‘joke’ endings which are explicitly not canon but usually feature bizarre or ‘funny’ scenes. One of said scenes is a reoccuring bit in which the protagonist Ragna is made to wear glasses that causes the female cast to all fall in love with him. Putting aside the fact for the moment that, to me, this still isn’t funny since its treating the Mind Rape of the entire female cast as a ‘joke’ the fact remains that it is, however, not canon. The creators make sure that nothing that happens here technically infringes on or diminished the canon character content by making it explicitly non-canon.

Persona 5, both the game and now the Animation, take no such efforts. There are no efforts to make clear that Ryuji being beaten up is a ‘comedic non-canon overreaction’ or that Akira/Ren being a womanizing prick and Sojiro being the WORST are just ‘comedic non-canon skits’ all these are played as explicitly, irrefutably, canon. That is how the characters are, as far as Atlus is concerned. That is their opinions, their beliefs etc.

Is it weird that P5 Dancing has the best, most wholesome, most healthy characterization of the entire Persona 5 Franchise? I suppose maybe the mangas are good to, I must admit I’ve never read any of them since from what I can tell Ryuji is basically ignored in all of them in favour of focus on the girls.

Atlus has a writing problem and that problem is centered I fear on a simple fact; the protagonist is a self-insert who is assumed to be a self-insert for a very specific formula; a young male who sees female characters as things he wishes to collect for himself and wants to feel adored by. Almost all of the major writing problems stem from this; Girls seem exploited or turned into vapid haremettes? Well, obviously, gotta appeal to that ‘chick magnet’ fantasy. Homosexuality is cast as negative or frightning? Well, obviously, the fantasy being appealed to is explicitly heterosexual in nature, everything else is ‘icky’. Other males seem to constantly be the butt of a joke or consistently shown up compared to the protagonist? Naturally since the fantasy is about making the player feel like ‘the man’ and all other men are simply lame by comparison so that the girls will only love the protagonist (the self-insert).

What really bums me out about all of this is that Atlus can write such amazing scenes as Ryuji’s ‘the place I belong is next to you,’ but then in that same game or anime have the Valentine’s Event and the Ship scene. I imagine in part this is due to it being a game first, story second, so they feel there are ‘beats’ that need to be there (the loser must be made fun of, the protagonist must get all the girls) even if, from a storyboarding point of view...it just makes the characters look A) Very inconsistent in personality and attitude (Ren’s infamous standing up for a stranger being assaulted but then instantly refusing to step in to help Ryuji in Shinjuku) or B) Like massive asshats (The entire Valentine’s Event from Ren and Sojiro’s perspectives.

It is just...its sad. I want to like this story because there is legitimately good characters and writing but...in the name of appealing to the lowest common denominator it gets weighted down by stuff which is explicitly canon and makes the characters awful. 

It really makes it tough to like it at times.

*Sigh*

At the end of the day I don’t know how to handle this. Accepting its canon makes a lot of people awful or stupid. Headcanoning it away is fine but...then I gotta accept I don’t like Persona 5 per say, I like what I, or other fans, create from Persona 5.

Also can we please just be able to date Ryuji. Please Atlus. We don’t need another female character to be another fangirl for Joker, to be another vapid idiot who can be duped by the WORST Sojiro, please Atlus, please. Please. There are ENOUGH love interests Atlus, please try perhaps instead stop treating women like little toys for a protagonist to effortlessly collect and dupe. 

Watching all the Persona 5 Girls (sans Sae) in the Valentine’s Event is painful. They are characters I like, many of them have good writing...and then they are reduced to props to make a player feel “Oh yeah! Such a chick magnet! They all want me! Women are simply a commodity by which I inflate my own sense of self-worth since having multiple of them attracted to me and betrayed by me makes me feel as if this is a positive development and not a negative one!”

And I do mean that seriously. Look at most content or statements around the Valentine’s Event. They frame it positively. The ‘harem’ ending, Joker is such a ‘chick magnet’ and so ‘alpha’ etc. etc. 

Terrible emotional betrayal? Deep seated trust issues? Sojiro treating his own daughter like garbage? Ignored because ‘Joker is a PLAYER! WOOO!” And this is overall seen as a positive development. 

By now I’ve rambled on ridiculously long but if I must have a conclusion it is thus; Please give us a Female Protagonist who can date the other boys and stop selling this sexist approach where non-protagonist males and all females serve the same purpose; inflating the ego of the player character. 

#persona 5 #p5 #persona 5 the animation #p5a #akira kusuru #kusuru akira #ren amamiya #amamiya ren #joker #phantom thieves of heart #phantom thieves #sojiro sakura #sakura sojiro #sojiro

[thechillicount]

"Eastside" Part 1/2 (Ichiro×OC fanfic)

Word count: 2,2K

Inspired by: benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside

Could also work as Ichiro x Reader if you like. It's okay if you don't care about my fic! I just wanted to finally write down some of my fantasies before I feel like not to. This part mostly serves as a little backstory and a character introduction. And of course I had to include Kuko who wasn't in the original draft. But I love him to the Sun and back now so, he's here. Sorry if it's sloppy, I'm still sick plus I can't proof read even if my life depended on it. *shrug* I have a handful of other x OC stories I'd like to write. My top one definitely being Jiro x my OC as I'm actually quite proud of their little love story. Top two would have to go to Samatoki as I made that story kinda spicy. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Anyway, enjoy the first part of this fic!

________________________

"Ah, I gotta go. TDD's got a meeting today." Ichiro stood up from his sitting spot with a clank of a soda bottle that's been lying next to him. He fixed his appearance by brushing off the dust and dirt settled on his clothes. He also tightened the bandana wrapped around his right arm before waving goodbye to the other two currently splattered on the ground under a wall full of graffiti. The art, mostly consisted of random characters and symbols, except for the big, bold lettered name in the middle reading 'Naughty Busters'. It was meant to show other groups whose favorite spot this was. No one quite dared to steal it.

"Sure bro. Just make sure to return home before the Sun goes down." The redhead's words made Ichiro roll his eyes. The monk then laughed his signature laugh into the soda bottle that he's had in his mouth at the time. The other person sitting by the wall, a girl their age with caramel eyes and rose blonde mid length hair, only waved back at the young Yamada without saying a word. Ichiro could tell that her movement was somehow sloppier than usual, less energetic. He unfortunately didn't have time to listen to her possible worries. Although it wasn't the first time this week that he's seen her like this. Right after the dark haired teen left the hang out spot Kuko bumped the girl right into her ribs using his elbow. She winced in pain and covered the spot on her rib cage with her hands. Her now furrowed caramel eyes landed on the boy to her right who's trashed another bottle of soda.

"Not my fault you're dressed like that."

Kuko's comment was meant to point the fact that she was wearing a typical sailor uniform that didn't really cover her stomach and her lower rib cage. The girl clicked her tongue and brought her knees closer to her chest to somehow cover her lower torso, while hooking her arms under her knees.

"Still doesn't explain why you had to assault me." She could assault him back just as well if not for the fact that her mood was as sour as an umeboshi right now.

"You got somethin' on your mind, don't ya?" The girl cursed Kuko's demon ability to see right into people's souls. Not that she didn't need someone to vent off to, but the redhead was the worst idea at the moment. Due to many reasons she'd rather he not know.

"Maybe not somethin' but rather...someone~?"

"WHAT ELSE DO YOU KNOW ASSHOLE?!"

That's it, she couldn't take it any longer. One more tease from the devil and she'd make the worst decision in her life yet.

"Chill Chihaya! I haven't said shit yet! Damn."

The blonde puffed out her cheeks, trying to calm her sudden nerves while Kuko kept on slapping her back slightly. She swatted his hand away soon after and took a deep breath. Her eyes were suddenly on the monk peering into his insides and sending a shiver down his spine.

"You haven't told him, have you?" That was indeed the most important question right now. Chihaya could easily kill Kuko if it turned out that he's told Ichiro about his interesting discovery.

"I don't know, have I? I talk a lot of shit, ya know?"

"Kukoooo..."

"I didn't, okay? Why don't you trust me woman?"

"You just said that you talk a lot of shit. Monk my ass."

Even though her heart was all over the place and her nerves haven't calmed down one bit, Chihaya felt a sudden ease. She knew Kuko wouldn't give out her secret like that. He may be an ass, but he's a loyal friend. Without consulting her first and making sure that his assumptions are right, he wouldn't even dare squeak a word about her crush to Ichiro.

"We both know that even if I told him he'd be too dumb to understand. I actually once asked him what would he say if you liked him. Guess what that dumb dumb said?"

"I like her too, she's a great friend?"

Kuko's yellow eyes widened before closing due to his extensive laugh. Chihaya started poking him with her elbow just like he did before until he stopped his circus idiot moment. While he was wiping the tears that left his eyes Chihaya stood up and got ready to leave being completely exhausted from the conversation. She dusted off her skirt turning her behind away from her friend.

"Doesn't matter as I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."

Kuko swiftly moved up too and trashed the rest of the bottles. His eyebrows rose before he realized what the girl meant.

"Ah, right. You getting taken by that woman, huh?"

"Good thing I'm at least leaving the orphanage."

Even though she's said that, there was only a drop of truth to her words. As much as she hated the place since birth, she loved the kids in there. It wasn't their fault they ended up in that dump. There were two kids that she loved more than anything. Those two who she's considered her little brothers ever since they arrived. She's seen their ups and downs, their successes and failures. Even though she'd be leaving the place next year anyway, she wanted to spend more time with them. Cherish it before they grow too old to be treated like kids. Although she knew they'd never grow too old to be called her little brothers. Kuko looked at her as she softly smiled with a worry in his eyes. He knew it better than anyone that it wasn't good to keep your emotions in. He's always been expressing his own ones no matter what others thought of him. He's been using his emotions in his raps and from the start it has shown that those were a great way to express himself to people, to show all of your being to others. So seeing his friend block all of her feelings because of his other friend made his eyebrow twitch and his blood boil. What a great thing to be in the middle of it all. Not that he could do anything about it. Chihaya's feelings were her own. There was no place for him to meddle in them. No place to tell her how she should act or what she should do.

"I'm going back. I only have one day to say what I want to say and do what I want to do." The girl fixed the upper part of her uniform and brushed her hair back with her hand getting ready to leave as soon as she heard some kind of goodbye from Kuko, knowing that he has nothing else to say to her.

"Make sure the dumb dumb comes back home."

Chihaya waved the back of her hand at Kuko and made her way to that hated by her building. She didn't even look back as her head was getting filled with tons of ideas on how she could spend the next day. Most of the options included Ichiro so she quickly made up her mind. The main part of tomorrow's activities are going to be with him, no matter if her heart jumps out of her chest or not.

When she arrived back at the orphanage, it was getting dark already. As she opened the door her eyes were assaulted with the warm and bright light coming from the main area. She didn't take off her shoes and went straight for the backyard knowing who she's going to meet there. Some kids welcomed her back as if she was their own sister, hugging her before she could say that she wants to go meet someone. All of them were understanding, nodding their heads cutely and obediently. She knew why they were acting like that. The news of her leaving in less than 48 hours made its way around in this corrupt place. She also knew why some kids that would usually tackle her as soon as she got back were quiet today. They were so sad as if they were grieving, as if she's bound to die that day. After taking care of the children and promising them spending time together to play or study, Chihaya slid open the door leading to the backyard and closed it right behind her with a bang. The only person that could be outside at this hour was indeed there. She smiled to herself, actually forcing the smile for the time being not to scare the boy in front of her.

"You're gonna need even stronger glasses if you keep on playing soccer at this time."

The sound of a soccer ball died down as the boy quickly ran up to Chihaya leaving the round entertainment behind.

"I'm gonna be fine nee-san!"

The girl reached her hand up and ruffled the boy's dark hair, making his eyes close on their own. She suddenly remembered the time when she had to bend over to do that. Now the same boy was taller than her. Her fake forced smile changed into a genuine one as she saw his own lips curved upwards. Though as she remembered the real reason she came out here, her features got a little bit more serious. Her hand stopped the nice head massage and a pair of eyes opened up. The boy realized that there was a sudden change in his big sister's emotion and his heterochromic eyes focused completely on her.

"Can we talk for a bit Jiro?"

He somehow knew that it was going to be a serious conversation this time. Not the usual one they always have where he talks about unimportant things and Chihaya pesters him to study more. The mood around her was different this time. He thought that maybe it was because she had to leave. Leave him and his brothers behind. Jiro knew very well how much she treasured the three of them. The feeling being obviously mutual on the brothers' side.

Chihaya sat on a nearby swing, Jiro following her movements and sitting on the other swing sideways to somehow see her face through the darkness. Her caramel eyes shined thanks to the appearing moon as she grabbed onto the ropes to keep her hands occupied during a stressful for her talk.

"I'm going to tell you something about your brother."

She's finished the talk rather quickly surprised at herself for not taking forever with it. She took a glance at Jiro's hands, which were now holding the swing bench rather forcefully, his head hung low, his teeth biting his lip. He wasn't mad though, that much she could tell.

"Why didn't he tell us himself...?"

Chihaya opened her mouth waiting for some words to come out. But none would come out without her forcing them to. She inhaled and exhaled sharply turning her head at the second oldest Yamada.

"Some of his jobs...weren't exactly fantastic. He's said that he hates them many times. He didn't want you guys to be influenced."

"But! But...if he were to tell us to come with him in a few months...we'd just say no to him. We were both ready to completely cut him off! I was ready to label him the same as d-!!"

Before Jiro could finish his thought, Chihaya abruptly stopped him by putting her hand on his cheek and forcing his head upwards. Her thumb drew soft circles, sometimes going over the mole under his eye. The boy only gripped the swing harder and shut his eyes tightly. When she told him to breathe, he did so. Soft breaths were now the only thing heard in the dimly lit garden. The only source of light coming from the windows of the orphanage and one weak street light nearby. Chihaya couldn't possibly read Jiro's expression well. Not in that environment. Calming him down was the best idea.

"I'm not gonna tell Saa-chan as I told you. Even if he's smart enough to understand, I don't want to put extra pressure on him before I leave."

She then extracted her hand and looked at the boy next to her. His already opened eyes now holding a sad glimmer in them. But he understood why she wouldn't want to talk to Saburo about it. He knew that his younger brother probably saw Chihaya as an older sister even stronger than any other kid in the orphanage did. He knew they had a special bond as she was holding Saburo in her arms since he was only two years old. The youngest Yamada definitely thought of her strongly as a sister. He was already devastated when he heard that she's leaving. There was no need to push his twelve year old mind to its mental limit.

"Will you talk with him after my leave?"

Jiro nodded his head excessively making the older sister let out a soft chuckle. Her caramel eyes sparkling as she looked up at the stars. Her idea for tomorrow was finished at this point. She knew exactly where she wanted to go with Ichiro. The only obstacle now being the fact that she had to ask him, see if he even has time to hang out with her. Or rather, go on a date as she's made it up in her imagination. Although she knew full well that it's going to be just a hang out for the boy. As long as he comes, she'd be fine with just that.

#ichiro x oc #ichiro yamada x oc #original character #ichiro x reader #ichiro yamada x reader #yamada ichiro x oc #yamada ichiro x reader #yamada ichiro #ichiro yamada #harai kuko #kuko harai #yamada jiro #jiro yamada #fanfiction #oc fanfiction

[gurikajis]

#mangacap #Chihaya-san wa Sonomama de Ii #Chihaya-san's Fine That Way

[stellacolletore]

i know this much (you will never be enough) summary: Mashima Reiko is crazy, and rich, and the mother of the person she loves. note: title and blurb inspired by the film ‘crazy rich asians’ because reiko is basically eleanor

“If you’re not doing it, I will.”  

Chihaya didn’t dare breath. A single move from her and she knew—she knew Sumire will see through her threat. Her thumb was perilously close to pressing the dial button. Should Chihaya say the wrong thing, she might end up having to answer to Mrs. Pressure without any mental preparation at all.

“Wait!” She pleaded. “I’ll call tonight. Promise.”

Sumire narrowed her eyes. Assured that Chihaya was completely serious about her resolution, Sumire handed the phone back to her.

Everyone in the club room exhaled. No bomb was unnecessarily detonated this afternoon, fortunately. “Man, you’re almost as scary as Mashima-san just now, Hanano-san.” Nishida remarked, finally able to swallow the pork bun in his hand.

Sumire sighed, still exasperated. “It’s been three days since I gave Ayase-senpai Mashima-san’s number. Forgive me if I sound impatient right now, because I totally am.”

Chihaya prostrated on the tatami. “Sorry, Sumire-chan!”

“Don’t be like that, Chihaya. We understand,” Kanade patted Chihaya’s head lightly. “But Sumire is right. Mashima-kun has been sick for three days already. We’re all very worried about him, just like you are.”

Komano fixed his glasses. “And as his unofficial girlfriend, the task to check up on him falls on you.”

Chihaya exhaled in defeat. She had ran away long enough.

It was time to face the inevitable.

*

Chihaya felt like coming down with the flu herself as she searched Mashima-san's contact number on her phone directory. It was a good thing she delayed eating dinner—her stomach was in knots just thinking about finally calling Taichi's terrifying mother and asking her a favor.

"You're a Queen, Chihaya," she muttered to herself, "You can do this."

Momentarily psyched up by her pep talk, she pressed the CALL button.

Clutching her Daddy Bear to her chest, she nervously waited for the other line to pick up.

"Moshi moshi. Mashima residence."

The voice unmistakably belonged to Mashima Reiko. Chihaya instinctively froze at the recognition, failing to follow through with a greeting.

"Hello? Who's ca—"

"It's Chihaya!" she blurted. Voice slightly shaky, she chattered, "Um, this is Chihaya. Good evening, Mrs. Pre—Mashima-san."

Reiko's voice instantly turned ice cold. "Ah, Chihaya-chan. It's a pleasure to receive your call at dinnertime."

Chihaya's eyes latched on the clock. Of course she'd end up calling at an absolutely inconvenient hour. She instantly replied, "I'm so sorry! It's just—I'd like to ask if Taichi's okay..."

She could hear a disappointed sigh. "If he is still unable to message you and your friends, I believe that means he's currently unwell. Now, do you have other questions, Chihaya-chan?"

Every nerve in her body was desperately begging for her to drop the line already, but if Chihaya would back down now, she's sure Sumire would find a way to still make the request, which may make things more difficult. Steeling herself, she took the plunge. "May I come over tomorrow?"

When she was met with silence, Chihaya rambled on, "I was asked by Tsukue-kun—I mean, his classmate—to deliver the notes for the lessons he missed. And our club members bought him oranges and apples and—"

"You may come tomorrow at five. You can help me prepare dinner."

Chihaya almost choked her stuff toy. This wasn't on the plan. "Sorry?"

"I believe you have excellent hearing, Chihaya-chan. Surely I won't need to repeat myself."

Like a soldier under scrutiny by her commander, she automatically replied, "Y - yes, Ma'am."

Pacified with her answer, Reiko said, "If that is all, then I must be going back to dinner. See you tomorrow."

"Thank you for your time, Mashima-san. S - see you tomorrow."

As soon as the call disconnected, Chihaya collapsed on the bed, energy spent. A minute later she got up, exited the room, and dashed down the stairs.

"Mom! Please teach me how to cook!"

*

"Woah—is meeting Taichi's mom really that scary for you?" Nishida inquired, staring at Chihaya's bloodshot eyes. "And what happened with those?" He pointed at Chihaya's freshly bandaged fingers.

Chihaya blinked rapidly, moistening her eyes. In between yawns, she explained, "I slept late. Mrs. Pressure asked me to help her with dinner so I had to learn how to chop vegetables. Perfectly."

Nishida gave her a comforting smile, "Ganbatte, Ayase. If you survive tonight, I'll treat you with pork buns for lunch tomorrow."

Resting her head on the desk, Chihaya muttered, "Thanks, Nikuman-kun."

*

Had Chihaya been a lucid dreamer, she would've realized that the castle was simply a representation of the Mashima house, the sleeping prince was Taichi all along, and the fire breathing dragon guarding the gate was definitely Mashima Reiko. If she were, she may not have woken up with a start, embarrassing herself in the middle of Fukasaku-sensei's class.

Looking at how messed up Chihaya was, Nishida began to doubt if he'd be able to buy her pork buns the next day.

*

It's okay, Chihaya, she's not really a dragon, she inwardly declared. She pressed the doorbell with her free hand, and then sighed in relief when she found Rika peering excitedly at her from the entranceway.

"Welcome, Chihaya-chan!" Taichi's younger sister greeted. Quirking an eyebrow at her, she then questioned, "Do you want some water? You look pale."

Chihaya waved her worry away. "I'm fine."

Locating Reiko at the kitchen, Chihaya presented the basket clutched in her hand. "G - good afternoon, Mashima-san. This is from everyone in the club." She proceeded to extract Komano's papers from her bag. "And these are the notes from Tsukue-kun."

"Please extend our gratitude to them, Chihaya-chan." Reiko took the basket and began to put the fruits inside the refrigerator. "You can leave the notes on Taichi's desk later."

Chihaya's heart skipped a beat. For all the stress she had gone through in the past twenty-four hours, the prospect of actually visiting Taichi had been at the back seat on her mind, overshadowed by the daunting ordeal of dealing with Mrs. Pressure without her son's intervention. Her thoughts led her to look in the direction of Taichi's bedroom.

She had never seen Taichi this sick, and she dearly hoped she could help him recover, if only a little.

She heard Reiko clear her throat. "You may see him as soon as we finished making dinner."

Chihaya's gaze snapped back to Reiko. "H - hai."

Reiko seemed to consider something, staring at her with a surprisingly concerned expression. "Would you like to have some tea first? Your face is pale."

Chihaya slapped her cheeks in response, giving some color to them. "I'm okay!" Encouraged by the thinly-veiled worry for her wellbeing reflected in Reiko's eyes, Chihaya attempted a smile, "I'm ready."

*

Having tried her hand in kitchen work for the first time last night, Chihaya could recognize how admirable Mashima Reiko moved through the space, retrieving cooking tools from the cupboards and ingredients from the refrigerator with exceptional grace. Taichi must have inherited his poise from his mother.

Chihaya put the vegetables in the strainer and headed to the sink. "I'll wash these up, Mashima-san."

Reiko hummed in agreement. "I'll be seasoning the meat." She turned to her daughter perched on the dining table stool, happily watching over the two of them. "Go work on your homework, Rika. You have nothing to do here."

Rika started to protest. "But I wanna see—" her words were cut abruptly, and from behind her Chihaya could guess that Mrs. Pressure had given Rika her intimidating gaze.

If Mashima Reiko were karuta Queen, Chihaya was sure she'd never become a challenger. If she did, she would have to play blindfolded, just so she can avoid that look.

"Fine," Rika relented. "Ganbatte, Chihaya-chan." She proceeded to go upstairs, leaving Chihaya and Reiko alone.

Finishing her first task, Chihaya deposited the vegetables on the container next to the chopping board.

Time to show what I've practiced. She picked up a medium-sized knife and was about to slice the head of a cabbage when Reiko suddenly ordered, "Stop."

Chihaya stared at her, dumbfounded. Was she already deemed a failure? That fast?

Reiko withdrew the knife from her hands. Then she remarked. "Your fingers are hurt."

Chihaya blinked. "They're all right. I can still—"

"Take a sit over there and just watch me, Chihaya-chan," Reiko instructed, her tone clearly expressing that Chihaya have no other choice but to follow. Flustered, Chihaya merely nodded, settling on the stool Rika had previously occupied.

Reiko continued preparing the meal, making Chihaya feel more and more anxious at being utterly unhelpful each second that passed. She knew she should attempt to make small talk, but her mind can't come up with any dialogue, not even about the weather.

It was Reiko that broke the silence. "If I remember correctly, you've injured your hand once before. Was playing karuta that challenging?"

Taken aback by Reiko's recollection, Chihaya failed to filter her thoughts. "Harada-sensei trained me harder so I won't get injured like that again. I, um, got these last night chopping carrots."

As soon as the words were left hanging in the air, Chihaya bit her lip. Please don't think much about it please don't think much about it please don't—

Reiko stopped swirling the ladle in the pot. Chihaya held her breath, preparing herself for whatever it was that will come out of Mrs. Pressure's lips.

Her imagination couldn't have predicted what she had finally said. Not in a million years.

"You know, I never disliked you, Chihaya-chan." Reiko resumed her motions, "Just how early you arrived."

Even though they were merely two sentences, Chihaya couldn't begin to grasp what Mrs. Pressure was telling her.

Even without Chihaya's prompting, Reiko elaborated, "When I became a mother, I promised to myself that I will raise my child with the same standards that my parents had set for me." Having finished cooking the broth, she turned off the stove. Reaching for the box of genmaicha tea, she continued, "Fortunately, I hadn't had much trouble with Taichi. He is naturally brilliant and determined. He listens to my demands and takes on the challenges I set for him. But then one day he came home saying he wants to be good at playing this obscure game,"—Chihaya straightened up, ready for a lecture—"and it worried me, not just because it wasn't in my plans, but also because the game came from a girl that has taken more than his attention, even though he's unaware of it at the time."

Reiko poured hot water on two porcelain cups, then submerged the tea kernels in them. "Just as how my parents had given me freedom to choose the person I like, I must give the same choice to my children. But you happened to come into Taichi's life far earlier than when Oligo came into mine, and I can't help but treat you with unwarranted hostility for that." Reiko gave her a stricken smile, "But maybe it was for the better. If I had Taichi controlled for all these years, he might have been leading a broken life by now." She slid one cup towards Chihaya. "I suppose I owe you both an apology and my thanks, Chihaya-chan."

Unable to completely digest the sudden disclosure from Reiko, Chihaya could only refute her last statement. "That's not true! Taichi is the person he is right now because of your efforts, Mashima-san." Chihaya recalled a moment from way back their first team tournament as a seven-membered club. She relayed the details of the event to her, narrating how Taichi had uncharacteristically snapped at Tsukuba for arguing with the word 'but' all over his sentences, declaring that a man has no use for the word. Chihaya had then commented how Reiko's strictness with Taichi had disciplined him, allowing him to become strong in his own way.

This time it was Reiko who was rendered speechless. Chihaya sipped the tea, finding her nerves settling. After finishing her cup, she shyly ventured, "If you will, I'd like to take up Taichi's dinner with the notes now, Mashima-san."

Composing herself, Reiko nodded, then started assembling the food.

*

She found Taichi covered under layers of blankets when she entered his room. Setting the tray on the study desk, Chihay tiptoed towards his huddled figure.

She rested a hand on his arm, finding it awfully warm. "Passing Todai must've been so hard, ne, Taichi?" She swapped the dry towelette for a cool one, setting it on his forehead. Feeling the sudden chill, Taichi stirred. His amber eyes connected with Chihaya's, and he muttered weakly, "Now I'm delirious."

Chihaya chuckled, placing a hand on his cheek. "Not yet. I'm real."

Taichi sounded genuinely lost when he insisted, "You can't be. You'd have to get past my Mom to be here, and you're terrified of her."

Chihaya perked up, "About that..." she decided against telling him about her upgraded relationship with Mrs. Pressure. Taichi would be more convinced that he was hallucinating if she did. Instead, she took his hand. "Everyone was worried about you. Please get well soon, Taichi. I missed beating you in matches."

Taichi grinned mischievously, "You could leave out the beating at matches part."

Chihaya felt her face warm. "Fine, just because you're sick this time. I missed you, Taichi."

Satisfied at her admission, and perhaps still feeling very much unwell, Taichi began to drift off again. Checking her wristwatch, Chihaya noted that there was still an hour before he had to take his medicine.

Reaching up to gently caress his head, Chihaya found herself narrating, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful prince who was stuck in a castle. There was a big, fire breathing dragon at the gates and everyone in the land was afraid of her. It turns out, the dragon wasn't bad at all, and so when the princess..."

#Chihayafuru #taichihaya #Ayase Chihaya #Mashima Taichi #Mashima Reiko #Mashima Rika #Hanano Sumire #Ooe Kanade #Nishida Yuusei #Komano Tsutomu #come talk taichihaya with me!

[mangafeeds]

Chihaya-san's Fine That Way.

Alternative : 千早さんはそのままでいい ; Chihaya-san wa Sono Mama de Ii

Chihaya-san's Fine That Way summary: Chihaya-san wa Sonomama de Ii (Chihaya is Fine the way She is) follows the life of an average high school girl, Chihaya, who thinks she is overweight and wants to lose weight. Unfortunately, its impossible for her to keep her appetite in check, especially with his childhood friend, Shima constantly bombarding her with food. Can Chihaya resist her urge to eat and succeed in her diet? #MangaFeeds.com, #ReadFreeMangaOnline MangaFeeds.Com: Read manga online the latest manga comic book, updated daily: https://mangafeeds.com/post/chihaya-san-s-fine-that-way_1587921924

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