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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 7 months

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SCREECHiNG

WAKE UP HON WE GOT NEW OFFICIAL ROLLO CONTENT (thanks to curekibouka for the translation!) 😭 (Bless him, he came home so quickly at only 40 rolls…)

***Rollo profile, Groovy, vignettes, and chibi spoilers below the cut!!***

As you can see in the card art shown above, it looks like his official English name will be "Rollo Flamme", not some other variation.

His coffin icon has a bell on it! Very fitting.

Yes, he’s triple fire magic and has a Duo with Grim.

… LMAO his Buddies are Malleus, Idia, and Azul 🤡

He's a third-year student at Noble Bell College, Student Council President, (but we already knew this) and 18 years old

His birthday is Feb 2nd! (There was a mistake in the initial launch of the Rollo card and profile in which his birthday was incorrectly stated as Feb 4th, which is Cater's birthday. Man was so mad when he realized he shared a birthday with a NRC boy so he redid his birth certificate/j)

(Here are screenshots of before and after the change; I happened to take a picture before the update:)

178 cm tall (LMAO I guess he doesn't meet a certain Ghost Bride’s standards)

Right-handed

Comes from the Shaftlands (again, we already knew this)

HE'S IN THE HAND BELL CLUB????? TF... HE JUST STANDS THERE AND RINGS HIS LITTLE HAND BELL????? ? ???? ?? ???

Best subject is Potionology

His hobby is cleaning malewife trait

He obviously hates magic 😂

Favorite food is not, in fact, croissants; it's actually grapes

Least favorite food is savarin, which is a ring-shaped cake soaked in flavored syrup and then garnished with cream and fruit

HIS SPECIAL SKILL IS GARDENING WHICH MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD... considering what he used that skill for... 🤡

His official description in the profile states that Rollo is admired by his classmates for his seriousness and no-nonsense attitude, but he also has a tendency to be… neurotic 💀 gee, ya think

His vignettes are set at NBC, not Night Raven College. They seem to be set prior to the events of Glorious Masquerade.

It's said that the reason he is at NRC now is because he is there temporarily to study.

We see Rollo going about his daily routine. He tends to the Bell of Salvation and the gargoyles early in the morning when the sky is still dark which probably explains the dark eyebags. He’s able to witness the sun rising as he does his cleaning. Rollo finds the dawn peaceful! and loves listening to the bell ring.

OMG the gargoyles are so excited when he pays attention to them 😭 They hop around like excited little puppies… NOT ROLLO WANTING TO GET RID OF THEM

Rollo also has his duties as a regular student. I believe he discusses grades with his vice president. He thinks his classmates are stupid 😂 and finds it ironic that these people look up to him and see him as a top student and a great magician…

Rollo eats his lunches alone because he finds people noisy. Bruh, he has 2 croissants, 16 grapes and 1 cup of cafe au lait (coffee with milk) for lunch every day of the year…

He shops in the City of Flowers and has a routine of buying a plain letter set, only all white paper and envelopes—even if there is a better deal on other sets. If Rollo is one thing (besides angry), he’s consistent and likes to stick to a routine and to things that are certain!

LMAO Rollo hates the City of Flowers because it’s flowers blossom because of magic ✨

Rollo runs into some trouble when a community goat wants to chomp on rhe letter set he bought in town 😂 He’s calm at first but then gets mad because he considers the goat unsanitary and it’s trying to eat his robes…

I want to stress that this boy is suppressing his rage and disgust the entire time 🤡 He’s trying so hard to pass as well-adjusted… Man’s literally going to send this goat flying but stops because he realizes there are too many witnesses…

At the end, Rollo writes a letter to his parents to let them know he is doing fine. Apparently, they’ve been worrying about him ever since “that” incident 😔 The letter reads as very formal and stiff, as though he’s writing to strangers. Maybe he has emotionally distanced himself from his parents (perhaps as a result of “that” incident), although he isn’t outright rude about it.

HIS LITTLE EVIL SMIRK... IT'S EVEN MORE FUNNY WHEN PAIRED WITH HIS VOICE BECAUSE IT'S SO SOFT AND CALM, THE KIND OF VOICE YOU'D NORMALLY HEAR IN LIKE AN ASMR VIDEO 😭

The fact that he writes with a feather quill instead of a magical pen………… ….. ….. … … . .. . … … . . . . .. . … .. . . .

Also the fact that he's by default in his big, bulky uniform with tons of extra material that would make it TERRIBLE for P.E. 💀 and has nothing else to change into... The last screenshot of the group above also looks like Sebek has leaned over to Rollo's ear to spread the GOOD WORD of WAKASAMA and Rollo is trying to do his very best to ignore him...

P.S. I want everyone to know that he does THIS whenever he has a Perfect in Magic History... ROLLO'S LITERALLY A CARTOON VILLAIN PLOTTING REVENGE AGAINST HIS CLASSMATES.... .. . .......... . .. . . . . . . . . . yes, I stuck him in a class with Malleus, Idia, and Azul :))

AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HIS GROOVY...

WHY DOES iT MAKE ME WANT TO BULLY HIM INTO THE DIRT 😭 jUST Lo0OKK AT HIM, HE'S tryING sO HaRD THAT I T HAS THE OPPOSITE INTEndeD EFFECT AND HE COMES oFF AS A MOREN SKRUNGLY L0SEr INSTEAqd 2reqrbhyygo13ogyt68p9egflbagj;jlg.DIHOBbyOFSYSvtdDOVFEILBcsnkmg2myoeqofadnm,vd..go0i424ph13nifIUSFVsofsgotfFIUOFOVUEWVOQEGYVbiypfpb OTL

I'M SO NOT GOING TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS, I'M SO NOT GOING TO BE NORMAL

I aM SO ASPoRRY fOR THE PERsON I Am AbOUT To BecOME 🤡

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland #Rollo Flamme #Rollo Flamm #notes from the writing raven #gacha salt #spoilers #Sebek Zigvolt #Malleus Draconia #Idia Shroud #Azul Ashengrotto #Cater Diamond #Ghost Bride #Eliza #Rollo rot #Grim

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larz-barz · 1 month

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Updated Milo info post

Here’s what she looks like as a child!^^

As a chibi! (art by @tokito-dulya20)

And teen (regular) Milo!

Family (biological)

Mother: Unnamed (dead)

Father: Unnamed (dead)

Aunt: Unnamed (dead)

Aunt: Aika Shineeza (alive) (father’s and Haruki’s sister) @uponthefantasy

Uncle: Haruki Suzuki (alive) (husband of unnamed aunt and father’s brother)

Brother: Michio Suzuki (alive)

Great great etc. grandmother: Hatsu Tsugikuni (demon) (married to Kokushibo)

Great great etc. grandmother: Kawa Suzumi (Hatsu’s daughter)

Family (adoptive)

Mother: Yuna Handa (alive) (dies in an au) @kimetsu-chan

Father: Giyuu Tomioka (alive)

Cousin: Shiina Suzuki (alive) (dies in an au) @nothingtoseehere1-2-3

Bother: Zeno Arakawa (alive) (not actually adoptive, they act like siblings tho) @kimetsu-chan

Aunt: Asai Fujiwarma @night-mince0

Uncle: Tengen Uzui

Aunt: Hinatsuru Uzui

Aunt: Makio Uzui

Aunt: Suma Uzui

Sister: Ames @donkeybro

Sister: Hikari Sano @ta-ni-ya

Brother: Hikaru Sano @ta-ni-ya

Brother: Hikaru Eritora (dies in canon and demon au) @risingscorchingsuns

Step great great etc. father: Kokushibo

Father: Hiroto Ichiga @night-mince0

Brother: Gideon Azulyss @ackie-slays

Backstory

tw: abuse, murder, attempted murder

Milo and Michio were raised by Haruki since he killed their parents after Milo was born.

One day, when Milo was 3 and Michio was 6, their aunt Aika tried to take both of them in, but Haruki only let Aika take Michio.

Before leaving, Michio gave Milo her purple bow that she’s always wearing.

Haruki is very abusive towards Milo, and only Milo.

This is because of Milo being a yokai.

When Milo was about 6 years old Haruki attempted to drown Milo which led to her fear of water.

Shiina was adopted by Haruki when Milo was 9 years old and Shiina did everything she could to keep Milo safe.

Also, Milo was forced to live in poverty despite her uncle being rich since he wouldn’t spend any of his money on her.

One day, when Milo was 10 she was digging around in a closet and found various scrolls and letters from her father, who was the starlight hashira when he was alive.

She used those to teach herself the starlight breathing style and how to do total concentration breathing constantly.

She did the final selection with her future adoptive mother, Muichiro, and Aoi at 11 years old then became the starlight hashira at 12 years old.

Personality

Milo is a very kind and selfless girl.

She’s very shy and sweet.

She’ll do anything to protect the people around her no matter the consequences.

She’s very introverted and submissive.

If someone is being rude to her she’s not going to do anything about it.

She’s always willing to help anyone.

Fun facts

Her favorite food is chicken udon.

The first time she met someone who didn’t mistreat her she was stunned to tears.

In Kimetsu academy her best subject is chemistry.

She doesn’t think she deserves to be treated with kindness.

She’s deathly allergic to garlic.

She made her haori herself!

She loves cooking and sewing.

She often has really bad nightmares.

(TW: S/A) Her uncle has s/aed her before.

When she and Michio reunited they both cried together for an hour and they hugged the whole time.

Milo’s birthday is February 3rd and she’s 14! (14 in the show and 15 irl-)

She doesn’t like peppermint.

She’s also deathly allergic to onions.

She has 3 powers: Turning into a cat, shrinking, and healing.

In her small form she is about 2’2

Tagging: @kimetsu-chan @demonslayerdoodles

#random posts from larz #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #teehee #meow #milo suzuki #larz talks #larz draws

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kaeyachi · 5 months

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SON

PRIDE IS NOT THE WORD IM LOOKING FOR. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE INSIDE ME NOW.

KAEYA, YOU OUTSHINE THE MORNING SUN, MY SON.

Kaeya's birthday letter is very sweet! Diluc giving him a seasonal brew for his birthday melted my heart. I bet Diluc collected those ingredients and created the new drink himself (just like how Crepus specially made a new drink for Kaeya named Cider Lake when he was younger hehe)

(unfortunately, i didnt get to finish the actual birthday art for this year due to my job being very VERY time consuming this year, but please have this chibi kaeya i drew!)

(and and just the top half of big bro alhaitham au kaeya design!)

#kaeyachi randoms #kaeya #kaeya alberich #HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY CHILD #special thanks to diluc this year!!#fairly sure ive seen several people beg diluc to do something for kaeya thanks to the first 2 letters #so here you go besties!

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lazypanartist · 2 years

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Tried to post this yesterday but it CRASHED, but I'm not crying this time, so at least I can see the letters. So now I'm back for round 2 with the Void™

TW: pet death mentions

Anyone that looked at my SUPER early posts probably saw my kitten, Wesley. He loved being in bags, his little teddy bear, and his people. Loudest purr I've ever heard a cat have, all from this little kitty here!

He was a birthday gift from my family when I was turning thirteen; I'd wanted a cat for so long, my life had just fallen apart, and I finally got a kitty of my own!

Unfortunately, while I turned seventeen this year, he didn't get to make it to four. He passed the sixth of this year (day before school started)

It was the first time I had experienced loss, and I had no real coping mechanisms. So I did what I do any other time I'm upset and inspired: I made art.

I love Animal Crossing; it's very much my comfort game, especially with it's art style. I love drawing characters as little Chibis ^-^ So, I turned Wesley into a villager.

As said before, he had the LOUDEST purr, hence the catchphrase. And he loved naps with his people, so he's a lazy villager. (He also enjoyed going on long walks in the woods.. I can't remember the last time I walked in the woods.)

The shirt I drew him in is the one I was wearing the last time I held him; he came up purring like usual, meowing to get picked up. When I finally did, he kinda. Put his paws over my shoulders, like he was giving me a goodbye hug... I've heard that pets or people can tell when their time is coming, so maybe he just wanted to get one more cuddle in that day before he left.

Damn, I'm crying again.. I still miss him tons, even though it's been a month. IDK how long people usually mourn pets.. or people, for that matter.

I named him after one of my OCs. One of the twins mentioned in my earlier vent post; the energetic, outgoing one. Wesley the human didn't have a set hair color until I got my kitty, then he became a redhead.

I still don't know how to end normal posts, much less a rant like this, so.. idk. I'll be posting more stuff once I've got my ass in gear. Thanks for reading this far, love y'all, Ciao.

#kana's chats #vent #vent post #tw pet death #tw mentions of death #animal crossing #animal crossing oc #animal crossing art #art #oc

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animehajimemashou · 2 years

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Reasons why we love Baji Keisuke in this household 😌

In no particular order,

(1) Baji has a black belt in martial arts. To get a black belt, you have to consistently attend trainings and take tests to be promoted. Also, he has been going to the Sano dojo since he was a kid. That takes a large amount of self-discipline and motivation. (Reference: That flashback chapter and his room as per the character profile)

(2) Baji values hard work. Remember his first meeting with Kazutora when his game progress was lost since his video game was accidentally unplugged? The other kid just wanted to brush it off and give him money (courtesy of Kazutora) but his focal concern was what would happen to his hard work. When he was held back a year, he was trying to study diligently with all those thick books and what not. If you think about it, Baji could afford to bully other kids to do his homework for him and pass but he didn’t. Lastly, remember when he first met Mikey? He asked Mikey to spar with him so he could get better at martial arts. When Mikey refused because he does not want to be sweaty and only goes to the dojo to be admired, Baji’s reaction was “What’s with this kid?” (Reference: That episode when he met Chifuyu, those flashback episodes, and the TokRev booklet)

(3) Baji values friendship. He is literally Kazutora’s ride or die. Additionally, when Kazutora was in juvie, he was writing letters to him. Although it is peak comedy that he cannot write Kazutora’s name (Tora = tiger), we cannot discount the fact that this is a testament of great friendship. The ones who did the same thing were Peh and Draken when Pah was in juvie. (Reference: Those flashbacks episode, the episode after Pah was detained, and that Chibi Revengers episode)

(4) Baji knows how to be gentle. Despite his intimidating demeanor and his tendency to punch first then ask later, his dream is to have his own pet shop. Not to own or teach at a dojo where brute force and techniques are superior, but a pet shop owner — a line of work that requires people to be gentle when handling animals. Stray cats come to him, and he has picture books of animals in his room. He also values those picture books because he was annoyed that Mikey ruined it 😂 (Reference: His character profile, and that official Wakui art for the monthly meeting of Mikey’s victims) Additionally, when Kazutora killed Shinichiro accidentally, remember that Baji hugged him and assured him after his initial shock (Reference: That TokRev manga chapter/anime episode)

(5) Baji knows how to make deep connections, and could change other people. He met Kazutora when it was the latter’s supposed crappiest birthday, but he managed to turn it around. He also changed Kazutora’s view of friendship — that is, one without any interest. He met Chifuyu and made him learn how to respect his senpai (although they are of the same year) without doing anything to him. Moreover, Chifuyu wanted to be a pilot but eventually became a pet shop owner with Kazutora as his employee. Just imagine the amount of influence Baji has for his closest friends to still do things to honor him despite being adults. (Reference: The TokRev booklets, and those manga chapters)

(6) Baji never loses sight of what is important. Toman was his treasure and that is why he did everything in his power to protect it, even at the cost of his own life. The MopEd was important to Mikey and he literally put his body on the line just so it will not get any scratches. Also, it was important to not cause further conflict between Mikey and Kazutora’s father and that is why he was in deep bow, apologizing to the latter when it was Mikey’s fault in the first place. (Reference: Those flashback chapters, and the TokRev booklets)

He really is a great guy.

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers baji #baji keisuke #keisuke baji #toman #tokyo manji gang

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stickers-on-a-laptop · 3 years

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we don't love each other any more (why not)

May, 1998

“Class, I have some exciting news for you!”

Eight year old Adachi Kiyoshi sat up straighter in his seat, wondering what the news could be.

“Our class is going to be writing letters with a class in Tokyo, and I already have the letters from your pen pal of the year!”

The class “oohed”, intrigued by pen pals from the big city.

“Since our class is smaller than theirs, some of you will have two pen pals. Your pen pals were chosen at random, so no complaining, okay? We’ll spend the morning reading our letters and responding to them.”

Adachi nodded with the rest of the class. Hanamoto-sensei started passing out the letters, and Adachi wondered what kind of pen pal he’d have.

“Here you go, Adachi-kun,” Hanamoto-sensei said.

“Thank you, sensei,” Adachi said as he took the letter from her. Hanamoto-sensei smiled at him before giving his seat partner her letters.

Adachi stared at the letter for a few seconds, admiring his pen pal’s writing on the envelope before opening it.

Hi Adachi Kiyoshi!

My name is Kurosawa Yuichi and I like baseball, baksetball, and swimming! My birthday is february 22nd and my blood type is B. I live with my big sister Yumiko, my parents, and a cat named Chibi. Do you have any pets? What do you like to do? When is your birthday? I’m watching Seijuu Sentai Gingaman , do you watch it too? Aneki says I shouldn’t sing the theme song but what does she know. My favorite subject is history, what bout you? Sensei says you live in the country side, what do you guys do for fun? Here we go to the arcade and stuff. Oops, we’re running out of time. Can’t wait to hear from you!

-your friend, Kurosawa Yuichi

Adachi smiled at the letter. He liked this person. He pulled out a piece of paper and started writing back.

Hello Kurosawa Yuichi

I’m Adachi Kiyoshi, and I like drawing and origami. My birthday is October 1st, and I’ll have to ask my mom my bloodtype. I forgot. I live with my parents and my little brother Kazuya, but everyone calls him “Kiba”. I don’t have any pets, but I see my grandma a lot and she has dogs. I watch that show too! The blue one is my fovarite favorite. I like art best. We just play around, there’s stuff to explore. How much older is your sister? Kiba is two years younger, so he’s six. Are you good at the sports you mentioned? What’s it like in the city? I want to hear from you too.

-Adachi Kiyoshi Adachi drew little Super Sentais around his letter before putting it carefully into an envelope, carefully putting Kurosawa’s name on it.

“Everyone done with your letters? Pass them forward, please. We’ll be doing this once or twice a month, for the rest of the year,” Hanamoto-sensei said.

The class cheered.

March 1999

Ki-tan, I can’t believe this is the last letter I’ll be sending you! Actually, this is my address, cause I want to keep talking to you.

〒XXX-XXX

XXXXXXXXXXXX X-X-X

黒沢優一

Please write me even though it’s not required anymore!

-Yuichi

Adachi felt happiness flicker in him. While not hated or bullied, he was mostly left alone by the majority of his classmates. He had a few friends, but he was quiet and not good at socializing.

Yucchan, my address is

〒XXX-XXX

XXXXXXXXXXXX X-X-X

安逹清

I’ll look forward to your letters!

-Kiyoshi

April 1999

Ki-tan, my sister said that if you fold 1,000 paper stars, you can make a wish and it will come true. So I’m going to send 10 stars a letter and then I’ll wish to meet you! Also since we don’t have to wait for our teachers anymore, we can send more letters! And on different paper! My sister has a lot of stationary, and she’s letting me borrow it. But I have to do her chores. Oh well. Worth it.

-Yuichi

Adachi poured out the stars from the envelope, some of them a little squashed. He felt like making something to keep track of them, to see if Yucchan’s wish would come true. He got out graph paper and started sectioning it off with markers, making a ten by ten grid, with room to write dates on one side. He glued the stars into their respective spots, liking how it came out. But something was bothering him. He had learned something a little different.

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yes Kiyoshi?”

“Isn’t the myth that if you fold 1,000 paper cranes , your wish will come true? Yucchan said it was stars and sent some to me..”

Adachi’s father ruffled his hair. “Was that what you were working on? How bout you send him cranes and see which one works? It can’t hurt to try.”

Adachi considered his father’s words before nodding. He got out his origami paper and cut it into four, to make the cranes smaller.

Yucchan, I was taught it was 1,000 cranes for a wish, so I’ll send you ten cranes with my letters, and I’ll wish to meet you too. That would be cool! We could watch shows together and do other fun things.

-Kiyoshi

The years passed, and Adachi filled up ten grids of 100, but Yucchan kept sending stars, so he filled one of the jars his mother used for pickling vegetables. He kept sending cranes, as well. Yucchan’s letters were always on different stationary, and sometimes Adachi felt bad for usually using regular lined paper, with the occasional variety. However, Yucchan never minded. Adachi really liked all the different prints that his pen pal was able to send. Their talks turned to Kamen Riders, and animes they liked, and they would send each other music recommendations. There would be the occasional talk of friends, but never love. Adachi was too shy to ask anyone at his school out, and Yucchan never mentioned anyone. He figured Yucchan was like him, not too worried about it, even though it seemed like everyone was starting to talk about it once they hit fourteen. They never sent pictures, although Adachi was curious, and telephoning was too expensive for Adachi to consider it.

June 2005

The year Adachi turned fifteen, the letters from Yucchan abruptly stopped. He tried sending letters to find out what happened, but they got returned. Confused and upset, Adachi put all the letters into a box, along with the grids and the jar of stars. He figured it had finally happened, Yucchan had outgrown him. Some selfish part had hoped that he wouldn’t, but since it happened with all his friends, he wasn’t too surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised.

October 2006

Adachi turned seventeen, and his father died, making him change his plans of maybe becoming an art teacher to going into business, so he could support his mother. He applied for college in Tokyo, and got in. He became friends with Tsuge Masato, who was a lot like him. Adachi thought maybe they would actually continue being friends after college, which ended up happening even when Tsuge became a published author.

April 2013

He entered the working world when he got hired by Toyokawa, a stationary company. Despite not having talked to Kurosawa in years (he couldn’t quite think of him as Yucchan anymore), the stationary he had always sent left an impact on Adachi. He was hired with several other people, including a Kurosawa Yuichi, which had sent him into a slight panic before he remembered that 1) Tokyo was huge and 2) Kurosawa was a common name. It helped that this Kurosawa was in sales, where Adachi wouldn’t have to deal with him, especially considering how handsome the man was. A blinding smile, really.

He settled into a routine pretty easily, finding that it was a fairly relaxed workplace. His senpai was a bit loud, and prone to pushing work off himself, but good-natured. He ate his meals quietly, and alone, unsure how to make office friendships. He worked with other people, behind the scenes, never presenting in meetings, not really noticed, but good with his work. In the evenings, he could draw to his heart’s content, making enough money to buy the supplies he always wanted.

One afternoon, Adachi was done with his lunch, but not quite ready to go back to work. He still had about ten minutes left, anyways. He pulled out the small notebook he kept in his pocket and tore out a page, neatly making it into a square and turning it into a crane. He pulled out a pen and started coloring it, wanting it to look a bit different.

“Oh, Adachi-kun, I didn’t know you were into origami! Kurosawa-kun, from sales, is good at making the stars, you know with the long strips?” Fujisaki-san, who worked in his department and was about two years older, startled Adachi out of his coloring. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said in her gentle voice.

“It’s okay, I’m just...easily startled,” Adachi explained as her words sank in. “Wait, stars?”

“Mhm, Mimura-san asked him if he was trying to make a wish because he kept making them, and he said he already made his wish. She tried to ask him what it was but he wouldn’t answer. I wish the other women in the office would leave him alone,” she sighed.

Adachi sat frozen before he remembered that practically everyone knew how to make stars. He got up to go back to work, politely telling Fujisaki-san goodbye. However, no matter how much he reminded himself that the odds were extremely low that his childhood pen pal was in the same office , his concentration was shot. He ended up needing to stay later than he wanted, and the office slowly emptied around him. Eventually, it was only him and one other person, who he could hear quietly typing. He didn’t know who it was, though, since they were behind him.

A ringing phone interrupted his thoughts, loud in the silence of the room.

“Ah, sorry...Adachi, right? Do you mind if I answer this?”

“Go ahead,” Adachi answered, turning around and finding...Kurosawa, who looked a little frozen on realizing it was Adachi.

“On second thought, I’ll go to the hall.”

Adachi just nodded. He finished his work and was on his way out when he heard Kurosawa, who was trying to whisper but failing, distinctly say “No, Aneki, I couldn’t! Not if it’s actually Ki-tan!” He turned around and found Adachi, who felt frozen to the spot.

“Ki- Adachi?”

“Ki-tan?” Adachi whispered.

Kurosawa looked like he was trying to figure out where to start, a look Adachi had never seen on him since they started. Kurosawa was always full of confidence, knowing exactly what to say.

“Are you Adachi Kiyoshi from Hanamoto-sensei’s class?” Kurosawa finally asked, his eyes more intense than Adachi ever recalled seeing.

Adachi had had a long and stressful day, and finding out that this Kurosawa Yuichi was, indeed, Yucchan , was the icing on the cake. “And what if I am?” he snapped.

Kurosawa looked taken aback. “Well, that would mean you’re Ki-tan…”

“No offense, Kurosawa- san , you lost the right to call me Ki-tan when you stopped responding to my letters over seven years ago. No explanation, no goodbye, just poof! Gone. Like I hadn’t told you I enjoyed your letters more than whatever anime we were watching, like I hadn’t spent so much of my allowance on stamps, like it all meant nothing . I’ve gone through my fair share of friendships not working out, but that one took the CAKE. You want to know the saddest part, though? I chose this company because of you , because I couldn’t forget all the stationary YOU sent!” Adachi didn’t know he had been so frustrated about the entire thing until he realized that he had been shouting.

Kurosawa looked shell-shocked, and Adachi took the opportunity to leave, feeling too keyed-up for the elevator and instead running down ten flights of stairs.

The adrenaline lasted until he got to his apartment, where he realized he had given Kurosawa exactly zero chances to explain himself. He flopped onto the bed and buried his face into the pillow, feeling ashamed. His phone pinged. He looked at it and saw that Kurosawa had made use of the time they had exchanged Lines when they had been in a group together.

Kurosawa Yuichi

I guess I deserved that. But can I explain tomorrow?

Adachi Kiyoshi

You deserve a chance to explain.

Adachi rolled over and looked at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure how he was going to face Kurosawa, but knew that what he had done wasn’t really excusable.

Kurosawa Yuichi

Meet me in the park near work before we clock in, then?

Adachi Kiyoshi

Eight o’clock?

Kurosawa Yuichi

I’m sorry, I clock in at that time, can we do 7:30? Unless

you want to wait till after work.

Adachi Kiyoshi

7:30 is fine, I’ll see you there

He groaned. This meant getting up earlier, but he couldn’t wait until after work if he wanted to get anything done. Despite not having changed or anything, he set his alarm for forty-five minutes earlier and went to sleep.

Adachi got to the park fifteen minutes early, only to find Kurosawa already there.

“Ah,good morning, Ki--Adachi,” Kurosawa said.

“Good morning, Kurosawa,” Adachi replied. They stood in slightly awkward silence before Kurosawa motioned for Adachi to sit at a bench. He stayed standing, and Adachi saw that he looked nervous . Kurosawa stood in front of the Section Chief all the time, but he looked nervous in front of Adachi . He didn’t get it.

“Where to begin...I guess the beginning. In 1998, we got randomly picked to be pen pals. We sent letters to each other for about seven years, when I suddenly disappeared. It was not my choice. My father decided that he didn’t want me to be writing to anyone that wasn’t a good ‘connection.’ He forbade the maids from giving me your letters, instructing them to send them back. I think his plan was to make you think we had moved or something. He also threw away all the things you had sent, to make a point.”

“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t send a letter explaining what was going on,” Adachi said, although he hadn’t realized Kurosawa’s parents were so strict. He vaguely remembered Kurosawa talking more about his sister than any other family members, rarely mentioning his parents, while Adachi freely told him about things he had done with his parents.

“Adachi...I’m a coward. I didn’t want to risk him finding out that I had sent a letter, so I never did. By the time I moved out at eighteen, I figured you never wanted to talk to me again. And…” Kurosawa looked like he was fighting himself.

“And…?”

“And I did the stupidest thing possible.”

Adachi was lost. “Which was…”

Kurosawa looked miserable. “I fell in love with my pen pal, who I had never seen, and stopped talking to. I think my parents suspected...When I found out there was an Adachi Kiyoshi in the office, I thought it had to be a fluke. But Fujisaki-san mentioned that you liked doing origami, and I started paying attention. And...I saw the boy I talked through in letters. Your kindness, your love for stationary….all of it.”

Adachi felt like he couldn’t breathe. It was a lot to take in. He had gone nearly twenty-three years without so much as a glance from anyone and now his childhood pen pal was confessing his love to him.

“Adachi, I don’t expect you to return these feelings. But you deserved to know, especially after I disappeared from your life without a word. You can pretend I never said anything, and if you want to just be co-workers, I will respect that. Ki-tan and Yucchan can be people we knew in the past, not people we know now. We’re just two new hires, working at the same company.”

Adachi wondered if Kurosawa knew how sad his face looked.

“Well, that was the explanation. I’m sorry it wasn’t very happy and I’m sorry that I’m a coward. But forget it happened, you’ll be much happier that way,” Kurosawa said softly before taking his briefcase and walking towards their work.

Adachi watched him go, wondering what on Earth had just happened.

“He likes you? The one who disappeared on you?” Tsuge asked.

“Apparently! My life feels like a drama. What happened to this being a boring office job,” Adachi sulked over the izakaya table.

“Do you like him back?” Tsuge asked mildly.

Adachi considered Tsuge’s words. Since finding out that Kurosawa was Yucchan , he had been watching Kurosawa more. And while he thought people in the office saw him as the great new hire, he could see the Yucchan he wrote to almost weekly. The Yucchan that disliked most sweets, except for caramel; the Yucchan that sometimes made things too complicated for no reason, just like his mother; the Yucchan that was used to being only his face.

“...maybe?” Adachi hadn’t really considered who , exactly, he liked in school.

“It’s a start,” Tsuge replied. “You should tell me how it ends up.”

“I would say no, because you’ll use it for a book, but who else would I tell,” Adachi grumbled, glaring at Tsuge.

Tsuge just smiled.

Hello Kurosawa Yuichi,

I’m Adachi Kiyoshi, and I like drawing and origami. My birthday is October 1st, 1990, blood type B. I live in Tokyo, in a small apartment. I don’t have any pets, but I like cats. I like the manga Ragna Crimson, and I don’t have a favorite subject. I do have a favorite cafe. Do you still play baseball, basketball, or do swimming? Do you have a favorite place in the city? I would like to hear from you.

-your friend, Adachi Kiyoshi

P.S. Did you know that if you fold 1,000 origami stars or cranes, your wish will come true?

#cherry magic #cherry magic! thirty years of virginity can make you a wizard?!#written on like an hour of sleep

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edorazzi · 5 years

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Well, here we are again! Twitter said yes to a review post for a Miraculous magazine that suddenly showed up in my local area. ‘Tis the season after all, and by that I mean someone bought it for me as a joke birthday gift and I was way too happy about that.

I’ve done previous reviews of the Miraculous Christmas calendar, Easter egg set, superhero fashion dolls and action figures, so let’s dive into the unknown world of merchandising yet again!

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4 FREE GIFTS! PACKED WITH ACTIVITIES! MEET THE KWAMIS! PRANKS & LOLS! CUT-OUT MEMES! FANGIRL ALERT! NAIL ART! 100% OFFICIAL! I’m overwhelmed! It feels like I’m having a seizure just from the packaging!!!

I should preface this by saying I haven’t bought a magazine like this in years. Possibly ever. I read things like the Beano, Animals & You and the odd Disney Princess zine when I was a kid but I have no idea what to expect from a free-gift-packed kiddie magazine in 2019. If the outside is anything to go by we’re in for a wild ride.

I’m noticing that it says “Miraculous #20″ on the back. Does this mean I’ve missed 19 previous issues? I’m genuinely a little upset by that. My local area is a complete dry zone for Miraculous so I haven’t had the chance to pick these up.

First step: let’s separate everything out and get a look at these freeeee giftssss. Except they aren’t free, because this magazine was like £3.99. This does seem to be the current trend - it’s kinda rare to see any kids’ zines without the excess packaging crammed with ‘free’ stuff. Is it really too expensive to just produce the magazine? Probably, in this economy.

Chat Noir is revealed on the cover! He was on the back of the plastic jacket, but it’s still nice to see the kids as a front-cover duo. Apparently we’re going to learn to draw Pollen, too, which sounds fun. I’m actually liking the look of the gifts as well, but we’ll get into those in a minute.

This hairbrush............. is adorable. Oh my god. It’s pretty cheap and flimsy but it functions the way it’s supposed to, and the Ladybug design has been taken into account in a better way than “it’s red/black, that counts” (lest we forget the UTTER BULLSHIT of the Christmas calendar, and YES I’m still mad about that). I don’t know how well I expect the outer sticker to last, but if it can take a bit of wear and tear this would be an adorable little travel brush. Nicely done, lads!

These nail stickers? Also adorable. They remind me of the kiddie makeup sets I had when I was little, back in the early 00s when plastic stick-on nails and decals were all the rage. Are they still a thing? That’s nice to know.

There are 13 designs (that I can count) - a Queen Bee mask, Chat Noir pawprint cake, macaron, cupcake, heart-print cookie, Ladybug stud, flower, lightning bolt, love heart, Marinette heart, bee, fox tail and star. The majority are directly related to the show and that makes them feel special. No Carapace though? :(

I’ve put a little Marinette heart on my furthest finger. At the time of typing this up (about a day later) it’s still firmly in place. I haven’t really knocked it around, granted, but it’s not flimsy enough to fall off after five minutes either. It’s also really cute to look at. Guess I’m still a decal-loving 2004 girl at heart......

These stickers though!!! Wow! They’re those holographic and slightly-puffy kind and they feel like pretty good quality, and the designs are so cute! I can’t fault these, they’re absolutely adorable. I immediately want to stick them everywhere.

So I’ve stuck them everywhere. I’m especially proud of the light switch pun. My room looks GREAT.

I saved these “mystery stickers” for last because I’m weak for the thrill of mystery bags, and there wasn’t anything on the packaging to indicate what kind of designs to expect. And OH!!!! OH, IT’S MY BOY!!!! Look at him!!!!

I made jokes with the Christmas calendar about all the Chat Noir items being stolen ahead of time, but that’s definitely NOT the case with this magazine. I have been SPOILED with the presence of my cat son.

These stickers are similar to the sticker sheet (and the Chillin’ Out design is reprinted), but they’re puffier and non-holographic. I’m deeply allured by the “decorate your phone or tablet” suggestion on the packet, but I’m going to see how the previous stickers withstand the wear-and-tear of my laptop lid before adding any more. If I damage these beautiful Adrien stickers I’ll be devastated.

Those are our free gifts! They’re actually very fun and cute, I’m really happy with them! I guess now it’s time to get into the magazine itself...........

I genuinely almost forgot the magazine was the main part of this package. I figured I was done, but we’ve barely even started! Here’s a splash page of the kwami. Kwami with a capital K? Kwamis? I still feel like it should be singular-lower-case-k-kwami. I’ve never been happy about this “miraculouses” business either.

But is that--

It IS!!!! It’s Nino!!!

I guess this is the new flavour of Miraculous tie-ins. Now they’ve broadened out to a full team we’re seeing a lot more of Adrien alongside the girls, and Nino is the elusive hero who shows up once in a blue moon. At least this time his name isn’t in the title of the gotdam show.......

Anyway, I can see I’m supposed to draw my “fave Kwami”. Better get to it.

Felix just wants a break. Just one break. But not in this magazine.

Speaking of seeing more of Adrien (and, tragically, less of Nino), this is the kind of splash page I want to see! Both kids are here! The banner themed with Marinette’s signature flowers is a nice touch too; that’s associated with her arts ‘n’ crafts in the show already and it makes sense to apply it to the creative portion of this magazine too.

I LOVE the promotion of Chat Noir nails as something the little girls buying this magazine will definitely want to try. I’d expect them to do Marinette vs Ladybug nails, but instead we get a boyish option! Hell yeah!

I’m a little confused by the Queen Bee masks apparently going on the Chat Noir nails though. I guess they’re friends? Is this secret AdriChlo confirmation? Watch out, Marinette, Kagami’s not the one to be worried about.

SURE WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOME TURTLE STICKERS FOR AN ALL-BOYS THEME BUT I GUESS NOT HUH

Next up is a short merch catalogue (why would you put the big bold arrow pointing right to the underoos.....). Would those Chat Noir socks come in my size? Asking for me.

Then there’s......... this page. FANGIRL ALERT. God. It’s like the Ladyblog, if only the Ladyblog ever gave a heck about reporting what Chat Noir’s up to.

THE SPELL WAS BROKEN AND THE FANDOM IMPLODED WITH JOY.

I really have to wonder what age range this is meant for. Do kids know what a “fandom” is? Do little girls consider themselves “fangirls”? I guess most kids have enough internet access to figure it out these days (all the hashtags and LOLs and memes speak volumes), but I can’t imagine being young enough to fit the target range of this magazine while also knowing these terms. I dunno.

(Also, the definition of ‘implosion’ is ‘an instance of something collapsing violently inwards’, so I’m not sure that’s the word they’re looking for. Unless the return to the status quo in Dark Cupid and the continuing stagnation of the love square was enough to make people quit in frustration? Probably.)

I’m filling it in, of course. Because I must.

I gave up on the pre-approved ratings system pretty much right away, but I think this is an accurate rating of my LadyNoir opinions.

I might be kinda cynical about it here, but I am actually pretty fond of how this magazine sells Ladybug and Chat Noir as a couple. The show’s portraying it as very onesided lately, with Chat pining over Ladybug who has absolutely no interest in him (Glaciator was a TERRIBLE episode and I’m still hurting from it), but reading this zine I’d guess they were already dating. It’s cheesy, but in a nice way.

I have to laugh at “the most amazing thing about this super duo is that they always look out for and protect each other” though. Chat’s usually pretty focused on LB, sure, but there are endless instances of LB using Chat as cannon fodder and just generally abandoning him to get mauled by akuma while she carries out her personal private plan to save the day. Maybe we’re just focusing on the better-written episodes, huh?

Moving ahead. I’ve been dreading this page since reading “Plaggs Pranks & LOLs” on the back of the packaging. I feel hatred in my very bones just looking at it.

I like that there’s ONE instance of the term “ladybird” in the joke column. This is a UK-based magazine and that IS the word we tend to use over here - “ladybug” is an Americanism - but it’s like they’re worried kids could have got to the middle of this magazine about a superhero named Ladybug and then not understand the bug jokes. Maybe whoever was writing this page slipped up?

OH NOOOOO. MARINETTE, NOOOOOOOOOO.

THIS IS WHY FELIX GOT RID OF YOU, PLAGG. THESE ARE ADRIEN’S PROBLEMS NOW.

(mmm whatcha saaaaay)

I mean........... YEAH, I guess, but we absolutely did see Plagg destroy Felix with an entire shelf of heavy books. I guess he’s nicer with Adrien. It’s all fun and games until someone has a nervous breakdown in the library.

I do love the concept of Tikki getting glitter-bombed by Plagg through the mail. She just curiously opens up the little letter which got slipped into Marinette’s purse, and-- WOOSH. One entire wall of Mari’s room is glittery except for a little Tikki-shaped silhouette.

Next up is a two-page comic which is absolutely adorable! Look at those little chibis! The warm and soft colour palette! This is nicer than most of the official Miraculous comic book art I’ve seen, I hope they keep giving this artist work.

Nino’s here too (and he looks great!), and I like the touch of Marinette and Adrien playing as each other’s superhero characters. Adrien even wins the match, though I guess there’s something to be said about Ladybug beating Chat Noir (again)......

It does raise the question yet again of where this tie-in merchandise is coming from! They’ve had action figures, a movie, music video features, now an arcade game... Who’s getting the royalties here? Who’s profiting? Is this how Fu can afford to buy all those rare ingredients for the magic potions?

Over the page we have an activity to Design your Secret Lair! Right away I love the Marinette theme of the page, the soft pink and flowers, and the drawing space looking like a page in a binder with marker tabs and everything.

I have to design my secret lair, of course:

What do you think? I’m very creative. I’ll need an adult to send in the drawing of my hideout but I think I’ve really got a shot at those unicorn headphones.

Now we’re on to puzzles and character pages. I don’t know what ol’ Gabe is doing trying to meet a 13 year old girl in the dead of night without telling anyone, you’d think if he’s got that much free time on his hands he could be spending it with his son.

I don’t know how those points in Ladybug’s power profile are awarded or what they mean, but you can tell this is a fan magazine. Official sources would have put her at a 10.

Standard House of Villains page! Most of these were good episodes but I’m deeply offended Riposte isn’t on here. Maybe her motives weren’t dramatic and cartoonish enough to be up in the ranks with Glaciator and Gorizilla?

“Cat Noir’s dad is also the evil Hawk Moth”, huh? I mean that’s not WRONG, but is it really something to put in his power profile when Adrien doesn’t even know yet??? Feels like we’re kinda jumping the gun on the poor boy. What if he picks up this magazine?

Apparently he’s one point weaker than Ladybug (seriously???), two points faster, equally as agile, one point less skilled and two points less cool. Despite all those lesses he still comes out at an equal 9, which is a relief! These kids are a team, putting either of them below the other would have been a big no.

I did the colouring page too, naturally. Je suis un artiste.

Now we’ve got a page fresh from the Ladyblog, a Miraculous quiz! Not a lot of excitement, but it’s nice to see Alya getting her own section.

I like that the qualifications of “you could be Ladybug herself!” are knowing what city Marinette lives in and what school she goes to. Well done, Mari! You’re doing your best!!!

TEACHER I AM SO HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I gotta say, I’m not so sure about decorating donuts with fondant. I’ve never tried it so I could be wrong, but it feels like rolled icing instead of frosting(?) would be too heavy for an entire donut. The texture is totally different.

I mean I guess if you’re going to load your kids up on sugar you might as well go all the way. They’re going to look like they’ve eaten something horrible with all that black fondant, but they’ll have fun. Adrien would love these.

WHERE’S NINO. THIS IS JUST UNFAIR. You’ll have four out of five heroes, then a double of Marinette and Tikki? Maybe this just goes to show how little memorable dialogue Carapace has.

Though if “Spots On!” is Marinette’s dialogue and not Ladybug’s, why are the other transformation phrases attributed to Rena Rouge and Queen Bee instead of Alya and Chloé? Surely they could have picked something better for Marinette to justify having her on this list twice instead of Nino.

The next page brings us one of those flowchart quizzes! And ouch, yet again the absence of the other heroes is obvious. I can understand not including Chloé here since she’s technically not a “friendly” character yet, but no Nino? Alya and Marinette are close friends, but Adrien doesn’t really hang out with them without Nino around. Having the three of them together just seems strange.

I do like the little fashion page! They’re all cute and affordable and easy to find on the high street here. I’d love to see how other issues of this magazine are structured; is there a different fashion spot every time? Styles to channel each individual hero would be adorable.

Moving on to a tutorial for a Ladybug notebook! I would have made this, but I didn’t have the time nor a notebook to stick it to.

Between this and the donuts, it seems weird that these designs are based on, like... an actual beetle, eyes and antennae and all. Shouldn’t it be Ladybug’s symbol? These come across more like “fun animals” arts ‘n’ crafts instead of themed after Miraculous specifically. I think if I made this (or decorated the donuts) I’d miss out the head and match the spot pattern to Ladybug’s symbol.

The hidden message design is adorable though. I can see this being a craft kids are super proud of.

Another activity page! I didn’t have a go at these but they’re pretty standard. It’s cute that the coded message designs are the same as the stickers and nail decals!

Also, apparently Ladybug’s ‘secret’ is “LB mask + heart + CN mask”, which was (somehow) stolen by Volpina. Is that the secret Hawk Moth was talking about earlier in the magazine? Is he blackmailing Ladybug with revealing she has a crush on Chat Noir? How did Volpina ‘steal’ this secret? Is LadyNoir finally reciprocated???? THIS IS A WHOLE EPISODE IN ITSELF, I NEED ANSWERS--

Next page we have an ad for another girly magazine (Quizzes! LOLs! Celebs! Cringes! Puzzles!). I think I’ll pass, no matter how appealing that giant microphone pen is.

And a “Miraculous Identity” quiz! Tikki’s apparently super fickle with her wielders, three seasons of relentlessly praising Marinette and now she’s telling us we’re the Chosen Ones. You can’t fool me with those big ol’ eyes.

My inner superhero is Marvellous Fox, by the way. Though yet again I’m noticing we don’t have turtle options...................

And on the back cover... the memes. Oh, sweet lord, the memes. They’re hashtag-SoRelatable! And I can cut them out to keep! Oh boy!!!

Is this what kids do when they have limited internet access? Cut fresh memes out of magazines and carry them around? I need to know.

That’s a very sinister Ladybug at the bottom of the page though. What’s-- What’s she going to do to me if I don’t cut out and keep these memes. Ladybug what are you going to do if I d--

Well that brings us to the end of the magazine! And yet again I’m surprised by how much time it takes to just put a bunch of photos together and write about them.

This is a neat little magazine all in all! The ‘free gifts’ are pretty nice, there’s a fair amount of content and the whole thing is pretty cute for young fans of the show. I could see myself buying this again - if it ever shows up on shelves, Miraculous is so scarce around here that I fully expect it to disappear again after this one issue - just for the free junk, but it would be interesting to see how they’d structure different issues too!

I notice we never did get that promised tutorial on how to draw Pollen; the one advertised on the cover. Was the “draw your favourite Kwami” activity supposed to cover that? I’m not sure that really counts.

If you got this far, thanks for joining me on this Miraculous journey! We’ll meet again whenever I get another piece of weird ML merch to cover. Bien joué!

#miraculous ladybug #josie talks about things #josie's art #i really should get a review tag #ANYWAY there's a bit more art in this which isn't just the header image so give it a look!#and felix features a couple of times because WHY would he not on edorazzi dot com

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