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seravphs · 5 months

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ੈ♡˳·˖✶ — WOLFWOOD x FEM READER

You thought you'd be the one taking care of the stray you picked up off the streets, not the other way around.

wc — 3.6k

tags — fluff, dog boy/werewolf/shapeshifter au I guess, whatever you want to call it, “you become responsible forever for what you have tamed” but it goes both ways, animal abuse mention (non graphic and not from reader), shoujo manga vibes, title from runaway by Aurora

There’s a mangy old stray on your block. You’ve seen the kids chase him off with sticks too many times not to want to do something about it, no matter how your mother used to scold you for your bleeding heart.

“It’ll get you hurt someday,” echoes now in your ears as the cashier rings up your dog food, both wet and dry. You’re not sure which he’d - it seems like a he - would prefer.

$12.97 is your total. Not a bad price to pay for a life.

Only a gentle kind of revolt, more teasing than genuinely angry, remains in your mind as the first drops of rain land on your face. It was a light mist, barely enough to dampen the sweet smelling air. The wet haze pulled blurry rainbows across the clear summer sky, enough to put a hop in your step as you hurried back to your apartment.

There are no children today, and the neighborhood is quiet. A half dug hole by the adjacent apartment’s peonies tells you that your target is either nearby or at least recently in town. You unpack your bag, setting out a trap in the form of a can of wet food.

Something skulks in the periphery of your vision. Trying not to startle him, you peek at the shadow out of the corner of your eye. You didn’t know dogs grew to be this big.

When you really look at him, your stray seems more wolf than dog. He’d be nearly as large as as a human if he stood up on his back paws. Hiding beneath the trees where he thinks you can’t see him, he’s tense and untrusting.

It’s strange for you to think of yourself as capable of making anyone nervous, much less someone as big as he is. You take a step back.

He edges forward, then flees into the shadows again. He’s hesitant. His paws skitter across the grass, beating a fast and unsteady tempo that reveals how nervous he is. It’s obvious that he won’t come out to eat as long as you’re here. That’s fine.

Trust can be earned.

From your apartment’s windows, you watch him gulp down the food. He’s so clearly famished that he doesn’t even pause to breathe between bites, leaving you almost afraid that he’ll choke. When he’s finished, he lies down by his bowl, his eyes glittering.

He’s not asleep - he’s too wary a creature for that, but it’s relieving to see him relaxed and sated. He dozes like that for a minute or two before he lifts himself back up on weary paws to trot back into the woods.

You’ve tried to make it a routine to feed him after work, stopping by the pet store to pick up different flavors you think he’d like to try. Neon stickers pop out at you from various tags on the shelves, promising to boost muscle growth or improve bone strength.

In the end, you get them all. When all you do is work, you don’t worry about blowing your money on things like this. You have nothing else to spend it on - might as well spoil him. It’s nice to be able to take care of someone else.

It might be all in your head, but you think he’s starting to warm up to you. He still waits until you’re gone to eat, but it’s easier to keep tabs on him now. You don’t think it’s an accident.

Sneaking a glance out of the corner of your eye, you can spot the telltale signs that he was waiting. Sometimes you even find him waiting for your car to pull in.

Today, you find him at the end of your driveway, his tail thumping against the pavement. He’s in a good mood, it seems. When you park, he even gives a short howl.

He still retreats when you climb out of the driver’s side, only inching forward when you rustle your plastic bag of groceries at him. You crack the lid and set it down slightly in front of you to wait it out.

You’ve been trying to get him used to your presence so you can take him to the vet. It’s a slow process - some days he’s more amenable to your presence than others.

It takes a minute or two for him to consider if it’s worth it, if you’ll hurt him. Eventually, he slinks forward, his body low to the ground.

You smile at him encouragingly as you wait, crouched down to be on the same level as him. He’s a big dog, probably almost the same height as you sitting down. He pauses in front of the food and sniffs cautiously. Then, he passes it.

Your heart drops. Maybe he didn’t like it. Had you picked wrong? He’s eaten everything you gave him before - you didn’t think he was picky.

He comes right up to you, his hot breath gusting over your hand. Suddenly you realize that this is a predator. He might be feral or have rabies. After everything, you realize you don’t really know him.

Animals aren’t like humans. You’ve assigned a wild beast your own moral complications and assumptions. Perhaps it’s hungry enough to want to eat you.

He’s close enough that you can feel the warm weight of his body against your shins. Something fuzzy bumps into your hand insistently until you lift it. You realize that he’s asking to be pet and with trembling fingers, you do.

Your fingers stroke over his head and ears, growing surer with the way he’s pushing back against you. It tickles just a little, enough to make you giggle until he shoves his snout right into your palm. His nose is cold and wet.

“Go on,” you encourage, trying to nudge him towards the bowl. No matter how nice his fur feels, there’s something heartbreaking about watching him choose love over food.

“You need to eat,” you scold. He sneezes in a way that makes him shake all over. If he wasn’t a dog, you’d think he was smiling at you. He only takes a mouthful when you reach out to resume petting him. He seems to like it when you scratch right behind his ears.

You almost feel like you’ve formed a bond until he stops right at the boundary of your home and refuses to walk any further. You had thought you were getting along so well, too.

“Come on,” you coax. “Here, boy. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

He skitters back anyways, circling your property with a low, mournful howl before he trots back towards the perimeter.

Progress is progress, you try to remind yourself, however disappointed you are.

Sometimes, it feels like you’re not making any at all. There are days where you can’t even watch him eat, not knowing if he’s alright until the next time you find an empty bowl. Your fears are only alleviated by the moments where he lets you pet him or waits for you, a reminder that you are earning his trust.

It may be a slow process, but he is becoming more comfortable with you, little by little.

Now it worries you when you can’t find him sitting in his usual spot, wary but excited. He doesn’t come even when you peel back the lid of the can noisily, the metal crumpling easily in your hand. You can’t help your anxieties from multiplying, though logically you know that he’s probably just off doing whatever dogs do in their free time.

You’re already halfway up the walkway to your house when you turn back. You can’t go inside without knowing he’s safe. A quick lap around the neighborhood reveals nothing. You’re checking behind bushes and cars when you hear the first faint whimper.

Frantically, you push the leaves aside until you find him huddling in the center of a rose bush. He’s curled up on himself, as small as he could possibly be. His tail is tucked under his nose.

Your hands are pricked with thousands of little needles as you keep digging for him. You can’t imagine how much worse it would be for him. This could only have been his last resort. Something worse had chased him here.

He wags his tail when he sees you, barely able to lift his head. Seeing him struggle, you can’t help yourself. You push the branches aside to help him drag himself out, his body battered. Those kids again.

“Come on, baby,” you coo, stroking his matted fur as you pick him up in your arms. He’s not as heavy as he should be, starved as he is. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of you.”

It was settled before you could decide it for yourself. He’s your responsibility now. There was never a choice in it.

Dr. Rem’s assistant comes out to fetch you less than five minutes into the check up. “I think you should stay,” he says, his tone just cool enough to sound a touch annoyed.

Your overgrown puppy won’t submit to her ministrations unless you’re in the room with him, stroking his ears and promising that everything will be alright. He must’ve been a pet at some point, to know what needles are and have such a reaction to them. To know that despite the initial pinch, it’s okay as long as you’re being pet.

When it’s finally over, both of you are exhausted, but Dr. Rem is as professional as ever as she walks you through the care routine for his treatments. “Honestly,” she says, shaking her head. “I don’t understand how some people can be so cruel.”

You don’t either, but it doesn’t matter. He’s yours now, and you’ll never let anything touch him again.

“Does he have a name?” Dr. Rem’s incredibly blonde assistant asks as he’s filling out your release forms.

“I’ve just been calling him dog,” you admit bashfully.

He doesn’t need to speak. His expression says it all. Unbelievable.

You take a look at the creature you’ve decided to bring home. He does look more like a wolf than a dog. You’ve always thought so. “Wolfwood?”

“What a weird - ahem, interesting - name for a dog,” Nai, from his name tag, says.

By your feet, Wolfwood wags his tail in agreement.

“Wolfie?”

His tail wags harder. He pauses. It wags again. He turns around and nips at it, like he’s trying to hide the fact that he might like the nickname.

When you try to carry him from the car into your home, he clambers stiffly to his feet like an old man. You have to hide your laugh behind a couch. For some reason, he seems more human than animal. You’ve caught him noticing things no normal dog would, and you’re sure his pride would be injured.

The sound his nails clicking across the floor is strangely comforting, like ASMR. You’ve heard that dogs are naturally helpful to lower cortisol and reduce stress, but you’ve never thought you’d experience those effects. You lean down to stroke a hand over his furry coat, carefully avoiding the spots where he’s still hurt.

When it’s bedtime, you’ve resolved to give him the comfort of your bed and take the couch, but he’s not having any of that. His jaw snaps around the hem of your shirt, teeth digging into the fabric to prevent you from leaving. Immediately, you stop moving, afraid to hurt him worse.

“Calm down,” you say gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He barks in discontent. He really does seem human, as if he understood you.

Out of options, you resign yourself to curling up on the bed next to him, hoping you won’t accidentally roll over him in your sleep. Maybe you should invest in one of those bed dividers they use for small children. It’s the last thought in your head before you drift off.

A deep, reverberating sound wakes you up. You roll over with the pillow shoved on top of your head to try to get some peace, but it continues. Fed up, you finally rise out of your comfortable sheets, ready to give whichever neighbor that’s decided sunrise was a great time to mow their lawn a piece of your mind.

Instead, you’re greeted with a strange man in your bed. Your scream is cut short by his hand clapping over your mouth as soon as you start.

“Oops.” He says. “My bad.”

Your eyes grow wider in terror.

“Hey, hey,” he says soothingly, like that’s going to help when there’s a random man in your bed. “None of that. I’m a friend.”

You scream louder. In a spark of inspiration, you try to bite him. He winces. That’s when you start noticing the ears and the tail. The faint resemblances to someone else you know. The bandages wrapped around his torso.

“That’s right,” he says, noticing you look. “Recognize me now? Would this help?”

The tail flicks back and forth in a familiar motion. Someone else used to do that to show his happiness.

“Wolfie?”

“That’s a stupid name,” he laughs.

“I think I’m going to pass out.”

“Don’t do that,” he says, but it’s too late. You’re going back to bed.

You’re not sure why you’re not more surprised that the stray you picked up is actually a human, but after your initial reaction, you find yourself remarkably open to the idea. Part of you feels privately that you’ve always expected Wolfie to be special. He seemed so smart.

You’re in too deep to kick him out now, human or not, but that also might be an excuse. Having him around is nice, you have to admit. Whether he’s a human or a dog, having someone to come home to has changed your life.

You hadn’t realized how lonely you were until you came home to Wolfwood preparing dinner, the apron you bought for him wrapped around his waist. It reads ‘kiss the chef’ in bright pink letters.

Although you’re the one who took him in, you feel like you’re the one being taken care of.

It’s not just you. Even your coworkers have commented on the way you rush home now instead of staying up until the very last minute. You can’t keep up with your bad habits anymore. There’s someone waiting for you now.

When you open the door, the delicious fragrance of something savory drifts to your nose, spiced and warm. “I’m home,” you call.

There’s no need. He’s already waiting at the door. It’s a comical sight. He tries to make it casual, leaning against the wall with an oh-so-nonchalant air, but he’s there every single time you walk through the entrance without fail.

It’s too easy to get used to his presence.

Having someone to come home to makes you quicker to turn down overtime requests and more hesitant to take on additional duties. You thought this would hurt your work report, and you were willing to take the hit. Some things are worth it.

Instead, your productivity spikes. Even your manager notices, doling out rare and surprised praise on one of your last projects. The change in you is palpable.

“Did you get a boyfriend?” Meryl asks. “You seem happier lately.”

Everyone notices the way you seem brighter, more easygoing. You’ve started bringing homemade lunch boxes instead of eating out. Your good mood has translated into a better work product than any amount of indifferent hours you put in before.

It’s still a surprise when you receive your promotion at the end of the quarter. Something you’ve been working towards for months drops right in your lap. Lately, it feels like everything has been falling into place.

Good things arrive on the heels of even better things, all because you’ve felt more personally fulfilled than you have in years. You though taking Wolfwood in would slow you down, but it’s done the opposite.

You have more time now that you have someone looking after you. It also motivates you to have someone of your own to care for.

When you present the news to him, you can’t stop yourself from crying out of happiness, though it’s embarrassing. Wolfwood licks at the small tears rolling down your cheeks.

“What are you doing?” You laugh, trying to push his face away with no real effort behind it.

“Kisses,” he replies. “For doing a good job.”

Not like that, you try to remind yourself. He doesn’t mean it like that.

“Why is your heart beating faster?”

Stupid dog senses.

There are other ways in which his dog nature comes in handy. He’s more sensitive to nature than you are. You’ve come to rely on him instead of the forecast as he sends you off every morning, his nose scenting the ozone and petrichor in the air.

“Don’t forget to take an umbrella!”

“I’m already running late, bye!”

You should’ve listened. Now you’re forced to trudge through the damp muck, soaked to the bone. Your sneeze is so strong it rattles through your bones, making you feel achey and weak as you sniffle through the last leg of your journey. By the time you finally reach the front door, you feel as pathetic as you must look, like a half drowned rat.

Wolfwood is waiting for you again, but you barely register it. You nearly stumble over a cabinet leg as you try to make your way to the couch through the dizziness, collapsing on it. Wolfwood pads over to you, making a low grumbling noise of concern.

“Shh,” you murmur as you feel his cold nose shove into your palm. “Not right now, Wolfie. I’m tired.”

He puts his head across your thigh and whines discontentedly. Your breathing is coming a little hard. Still, you try to reassure him. “I’m okay. Just had a long day.”

There’s human hands against your forehead now, nice and cool. You turn your head so you can nuzzle into it, the gentle pressure relieving your headache just a little.

Someone’s holding you now, arms around your back and sides. “Come on, sweetheart, you gotta sit up. Eat something.”

Almost like a dog yourself, you whine and pout, turning your face away. The idea of food is turning your stomach right now. Everything seems too rich for your weak stomach.

“This is why I told you to take that umbrella this morning.” Wolfwood’s voice is stern, but his hands are kind as he props you up.

“One sip, alright? For me.”

Weakly, you part your lips so he can slide the spoon between your teeth. It’s a mild broth, barely any flavor to it, but it’s the only thing you can bear at the moment. The hot soup feels incredible, warming you from the inside out.

“There we go,” he says. “Good job, sweetheart.”

With his help, you finish the whole bowl. He wraps the blanket tighter around you before he takes the dirty dishes. Even when he leaves your side, you can hear him bustling around the room, so you’re not worried. This is nice. Even feverish, you feel pleasant.

When Wolfwood returns to the couch, his dog ears are peeking out of his hair. He kneels by you to check your temperature. Spotting your chance, you scratch at the base of his ears, listening for the satisfying thump of his tail hitting his thigh when you get the spot he really likes.

“What a good boy,” you coo, forgetting yourself.

He laughs at you, watching you fluster. “Did you forget I’m not a real dog?”

Your face is hot, but not from the fever.

A few months into the strange miracle of having someone else to care for, and someone to care for you, Wolfwood asks you for an unusual favor.

“Can you get me a collar?”

Your gaze sweeps over him, considering. “I don’t know how I’d feel about that now that I know you’re a man.”

“Honest, aren’t you?” When he smiles, you can see his fangs. It’s strangely charming, the wink of white bone in the corner of his mouth.

“Why do you even want one?”

“I dunno, instinct? It just feels nice.” He braces his hand against his throat, testing the way it’d feel. “Yeah. It feels like something’s missing.”

“That’s strange. I thought you’d prefer to be free.”

He stretches out, lifting his arms. You can see the muscle lining his back beneath his thin, nearly transparent white tee. “Freedom is relative. Everyone is tied to something, you know. No use in pretending otherwise.”

You tap his nose playfully. With a mischievous look in his eyes, he lunges forward and snaps his teeth over your finger.

“You can be wise for a puppy,” you say teasingly.

“Like I keep telling you, I’m a man,” he says, roughly pulling you towards him so he can punish you by messing with your hair. You shriek in protest, trying to push him off, but the request sticks inside your head.

On the weekend, you take a few leashes from the right section and sneak into a quieter corridor in the pet store. Even though you’ve agreed to this for Wolfwood’s sake, it’s still embarrassing. You have your pride, and it’d be hard to explain to anyone what your actual situation is.

Perhaps understanding your plight, Wolfwood doesn’t mess with you as he usually does. Or maybe he’s just pliant at the thought of getting what he wants as you clip the leather around his neck.

It looks good on him, you have to admit. He looks almost like a punk rock star, transforming it from dog collar to statement necklace.

You flick the tag on his neck, watching the silver circle twinkle with your name and number. It’s meant for him to wear when he chooses to go on walks himself as a dog. “Now it’ll be okay even if you do get lost,” you tell him, satisfied.

“I’d be fine either way,” he says. “I know the way home.”

For some reason, that makes you feel as owned as he looks, even though you’re not the one with a collar around your neck.

#wolfwood x reader #trigun x reader #Nicholas Wolfwood X reader #sera writes

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dragonclaw29 · 1 year

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Top Ten Manga

It’s been a minute since I last uploaded a top ten of any kind, Grad school will do that to you. However, now with my studies almost over I thought I would revisit my top ten manga and see what new titles have amazed me!

-Note I am not including Webcomics so if you want Manhwa and the like let me know and I will make a separate list.

10. Sakamoto Days

Starting off with a bang we have Sakamoto Days. In a world of assassins even a mild mannered fat store clerk could be a tough challenge. That is definitely true for Sakamoto the former top assassin in Japan. Watch as Sakamoto is targeted by Esper's, Triad members, and old friends as he battles to protect his home and his daughter. It’s a fantastic read and great for the action lover and comedian a like.

9. Claymore

Claymore tells the tale of an elite class of women tasked to fight off monsters who plague the land. Clair the last member of this group must protect the peace, her new friend Rakka, and her self. However, dark secrets lurk in this world and the shadowy organization that dispatches the Claymores may not be as kind as they appear.

8. A Story about a Droid

I debated about including this because it is such a short read. But it is also a very good and cute read. This story is about a droid who finds a baby and decides to take care of him. In order to care for the child the droid puts on a human disguise. The story follows the droid and her child as she raises him in a post apocalyptic world.

7. Berserk

RIP Muria I will always be heartbroken that you passed before finishing this wonder of a story. This manga has always been one of my favorites and for good reason. The art is fantastic, the story is gripping, and the characters are dynamic. However, this manga is shocking, cruel, and depressing- not for the faint of heart.

6. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun

Monthly Girls Nozaki is the tale of a girl in love. Chiyo has been in love with Nozaki for a while and she finally decides that she has had enough. Working up the courage she confesses to him, only for him to give her an autograph. Turns out her class mate is world famous in the realm of shoujo manga and has never been in love. Chiyo’s confession goes right over his head leaving her dumbfounded but not hopeless. This manga is a great romantic comedy including some of my favorite characters in fiction. Definitely worth a read if you want to laugh a night away.

5. Dungeon Meshi

Have you ever been playing DnD and been like “hmmm I wonder what a Mimic tastes like?” If so I have the manga for you! Dungeon Meshi or delicious in dungeon follows a group of adventures as they venture into a dungeon to save the main character Laos’s sister. However, with no supplies they are forced to eat their way through to survive, much to the disdain of the party except for Laos he loves it.

4. Sousou No Frienen

We all know elves live a long time but sometimes it doesn’t hit an elf until they have seen their old comrades fade away. Frenen is old even and has wandered the world in search of rare magic, and I mean rare not necessarily useful. Only after being recruited to aid the hero’s party and defeating the demon king does she come to realize that human relationships are complex and that time is fleeting. This is a great fantasy manga with great magic and quirky characters as I write this I am rereading the manga for the fourth time.

3. Yotsubato!

Man aren’t five year old's hectic little animals?! Yotsuba is a young girl in a new neighborhood who isn’t afraid to wander off, get into trouble, or of anything except for maybe scary statues. This manga follows her life with her dad living every day to the fullest. If you are feeling down this is a great pick me up. I reread during finals and it really helped.

2. Tongari Boss/ Witch Hat Alter

Witches are born with the ability to use magic and normal people aren’t. At least that’s what they say but what happens when a young girl gets a glimpse at the secret of magic. What if the reason magic is solely for witches because of the great danger magic can place not only yourself but the world in. Witch hat alter is one of the best fantasy manga out there right now and I want the next chapter to come out already!!!

1. Chainsaw Man

I remember the conversation that led me to read chainsaw man years ago. It went something like

“Hey dude you should totally read this manga it’s badass!”

“Really? What’s it about?”

Insert a few seconds of silence

“Well.. It’s about a dude who turns into a chainsaw and kills devils”

“That’s insane”

“Trust me it’s sooo good you have to try it! It has a section where he rides a shark into battle while on fire!”

And with that fateful line I decided to give it a read. All I can say is thank you for telling me to read it because I love this manga. It is so funny, and crazy, and sad, and mind bending, and so many other things. I never thought a story about a dude who literally has a chainsaw growing out of his face would make me cry but life works in funny ways.

Well that’s my list. I hope you find some of these recommendations helpful. If you have any questions, or want more let me know!! Have a great Summer!

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304blur · 11 months

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i love you. (even if i lose you.)

channel 2: a hot flame put out by its' own melted wax.

wc: 1.4k+

warning(s): swearing, mentions of being burnt out, crazy ass dude jumps from a balcony, and you wanting to jump off a bridge

back to masterlist - previous channel

oh.

it seems like they were busy, you were hearing what soobin usually talk about with you. anime, manga and others. you only have interest in those things because of him, so you look pretty dumb compared to alice, so before class ends, you try and join the conversation, with a funny video.

"i heard you were talking about jujutsu kaisen! i like it too, i've see this video and i want you to watch it since it's really funny."

'great introduction. that was awkward, ugh, i wanna jump off a bridge right about now.' your own voice in your head reacts to your actions, you feel really stupid, but you show them a video about gojo satoru being trapped in the cube, and someone cosplaying him, on vacation with the caption, 'pov: gojo in that cube'

"haha! that's so funny, but no spoilers! maybe someone that hadn't read as far would hear."

alice giggles, you could feel a stare burning a hole into your back, so you ignored it. maybe it was one of the girls who were obsessed with soobin, or something. your conversation ends with you and soobin exchanging numbers with alice. you had made a friend today, like you always did. you returned to your seat, next to a sleeping beomgyu, his eyes shut, his breathing slow, and his messed up hair shines in the sunlight. in this angle, anyone could fall for him. if you hadn't met soobin first, you would've liked beomgyu.

'what kind of thoughts am i thinking? snap out of it.'

you shook your head side to side, as if it would get the thought out of your head. the class ends with all four of you walking home, it turns out, alice lived near soobin, so they had to walk together, you were sad that you four couldn't even walk home together, since alice was so nice.

"you done ignoring me for a day?"

beomgyu ruffles your hair so hard, it hurt your hair's roots.

"your hair is so funny-looking, if i look at you, i might get a brain aneurysm because i'm laughing so hard."

you turn away to chuckle a little, then beomgyu stops, and puts his hand on your shoulder and turns you around.

"look at me."

you look at him, his hair, his face, his matured figure. he's grown so much. you hated how handsome he grew up to be, how you can't even laugh at some of his jokes because his smile is so blinding. it felt as if you were cheating on soobin, but your crush on him isn't gonna stop you from hanging out with beomgyu.

".. i'm looking..?"

you look confused, tilting your head, but beomgyu just grabs your hand, and drags you to your house.

"just.. forget it."

he heads to his own home, completely forgetting that you two are neighbors, so he hurriedly enters his house once you make eye contact from his front yard.

'.. weirdo.' he was being a little weird today..

you closed your front door, and turned on all the lights. it was quiet, only the buzzing of the lightbulbs and the air conditioning can be heard, your mom left you a note on the dining table's vase that reads,

'your dad and i are staying overtime at work. we're not coming home until tomorrow, and there's rice in the rice cooker, and instant noodles in the cupboards.

love, mom.'

well, you're home alone now. you head upstairs, the dark hallways of the upstairs used to scare you, you always thought someone watched you, so you ran quickly to your room. your life is not what it used to be, actually. you imagine it to be a fun shoujo-slice of life manga, just so you could escape the reality. your house, that used to be a home, is almost always empty, with only you inhabiting it. your 'popularity'? gone like the winter. nothing lasts forever, and those happy times ended for you.

it's as if heaven has abandoned you.

you went to your room, skipping dinner to read more online novels and manga. your only paradise, you've been so immersed in this colorful, but black and white world, with tacky fonts and careful strokes of an ink pen. it's wonderful. and you wished you could live in it.

you hear a tap at your balcony's sliding glass doors.

you opened the curtains, to see beomgyu, on his own room's balcony, right in front of your own, throwing tiny pebbles at the glass.

"dude, stop, you're gonna break it."

you sigh, as you crossed your arms and looked at him with a blank look, while he has a smug smile on his face, his sliding door was open, and the night's wind flows into his room, making the curtains float, and the bright light from his computer monitor shows that he just got off a game.

"i just stopped."

he leans his elbow on the railing, and leans his cheek on his palm, as he looks directly at you. the moonlight shines on his shittily dyed hair, and on his smooth skin.

"i know. and what's going on? what possessed you to throw rocks at my glass doors?"

you put your hands on your hips, raising one eyebrow, intentionally looking goofy, so it doesn't get awkward. he responds, sort of muffled due to him leaning his cheek on his hand.

"you looked sad. and lonely. can i come over?"

he looked at you with a sarcastic cute pout and puppy eyes.

"of course you can, you can just jump from your balcony to mine. i'm kidding, of course you can'—"

you were absolutely fucking wrong. he jumped.

and landed. on your balcony.

quite a success, you would admit.

"god fucking damn it, choi beomgyu!"

you punch his shoulder, when he got up. your heart almost jumped out of its' position and to your throat. he really is a crazy idiot.

your night ends with you being lulled to sleep by beomgyu's crappy lullaby.

six months pass. half a year in third year, alice was your good ol' buddy for makeup and skincare tips, you've grown close, like siblings. beomgyu's grades improved from line of 8 to line of 9. soobin was happy that his friend group had one more member, and he looked more handsome when he smiled, so you barely felt jealous of him and alice's nerdy conversations. you? nothing changed. you may have gotten a little more good-looking and brighter thanks to alice, but nothing else has changed. but you four have been walking to school very often!

but as we know, not everything lasts forever.

"i think like soobin, (yn)."

alice was sitting next to you for lunch, the boys were absent, soobin was taking care of a sick beomgyu, and got sick too, so it's just you and alice. you opened your carton of chocolate milk, and placed your tray on the canteen table. students, walking to and from the canteen's food stall, the students enjoying their meals, and some gossiping.. it was an ordinary day for everyone. but for you...?

"oh.. congrats! i'll cheer for you."

you smiled. you knew this would happen, but you completely forgot that alice can like whoever she wanted. your heart broke into tiny pieces, but you picked the shattered pieces and put it back together again, and you managed to smile for alice. you're a bad friend if you bring your friend down, right?

... even if you get hurt, you still want her to be happy.. right?

the school day ends, you sloppily walk home, alone. even though alice offered you a walk home, you saved her the trouble of walking you home, since her house is already far enough.

you slammed your front door shut, the house still empty and dark and you're still skipping dinner, as usual. you go to your room, drop your bag on the floor, and just sob. sob like your neighbors and beomgyu didn't hear you. you didn't care if someone sent a noise complaint, you just wanted to cry. you slept with your school uniform on that night.

you woke up. eyelids puffy, and you were late to school. it was 11:30 am, almost lunch time. you made yourself some egg and toast. you managed to brush your hair to be not as messy and stuffed the disgustingly plain breakfast down your throat, and ran to school, your hair messed up again.

you pat down your hair, as you walked into your classroom, your uniform a mess, there were whispers in the classroom, people asked what was wrong, and the teacher just lets you sit down and continues the lesson. you sigh.

you're not actually the you in your daydreams. your life isn't perfect, no one cared about you, you weren't actually the sun to their earth, you were just a speck of dust on an unidentified planet.

your life isn't as well played out as it used to be.

a burnt out candle, its' hot flame put out by its' own melted wax.

- channel 2 unavailable. -

channel 3 (end) - masterlist

notes:

that's crazy bro. writing this feels like my entire phone is on fire

#txt x reader #soobin x reader #txt #txt imagines #soobin fluff #soobintheestallion #txt fluff #txt angst #beomgyu ff #beomgyu angst #beomgyu imagines #beomgyu x reader #beomgyu #am i tagging this right #soobin angst #i love choi soobin #soobin

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allthefujoshiunite · 5 months

Note

Thanks Nora, because of you I followed Overtake. And it's so good, I almost missed it.

Have you seen anime called, "My New Boss is Goofy (Atarashii Joushi wa do Tennen) "? At first I thought it was BL, but atcually it's shoujo. There are so many cute moments between mc (male) with his boss (also male). Also there are "Apothechary Diaries" & "I'm in love with the Villainese" ..... I think this fall 2023 is the best anime season.....

UGHHHH OVERTAKE IS THE BEST THING HAPPENED TO ME RECENTLY!! So you liked it toooo TvT I never thought I'd be this invested in an F4 anime but I'm literally obsessed. Shipping Haruka and Madoka doesn't help my case either..... :,) I love age gap and normally prefer when both of them are of age, but I just can't get enough of these two!

I'm also watching the three animes you mentioned (and many others) weekly! My New Boss is Goofy is so relaxing and despite the cuteness, it actually does a great job of portraying Momose's traumatic experience in his old workplace. I wish him the best (✿◡‿◡)

I'm also looking forward to The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons each week. Another series that lured me in with the cuteness and I tear up at least once every episode... How dare they make me sad?!

#allthefujoshiunite answers #overtake!#the yuzuki family's four sons #my new boss is goofy

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bbnibini · 5 months

Note

apothecary diaries anon here again! yeeees, the amount of times i've thought 'this would make a great icon/meme' while reading the manga is amazing! pretty sure most of them are of maomao too haha. (very tempted to edit her and jinshi into the 'woman screaming at cat in restaurant' meme lol) aaaa, don't get me started on how female friendships are treated in fiction; a story app i play keeps on having so many 'rivalries' or 'pretended to be your friend but isn't' plots, but it's almost always with women! like, no, can't i just befriend the characters??? have lovely friendship scenes??? i cry

unfortunately, i haven't had a chance to watch the anime of apothecary yet, i've just seen gifs and screencaps of it. instead, i binged over 10 chapters of the manga when i first messaged you, then another 10 the day after lol. i think i know the triggering plot point you're talking about though; like you say, it's amazing how they put all these dark details in the story, but handle the topic well and sprinkle it into the world building/character backstories. i'm at chap 26 rn, and i'm super interested in a certain character who just showed up + their motivations. (ooh, i'll check out ascendance of a bookworm too; sounds like my cup of tea!)

ah, as for the light novels, i looked it up on amazon (the only place i know where to buy light novels in the uk) and there's a physical release date for next year! i understand what you mean abt LN vs manga collecting; i like having a physical book in my hand for novels, but having digital copies for manga.

thank you for your reply before; it was fun to read!

🐱🍃 - (emojis that remind me of maomao)

Aniwkwkdkdk I REALLY NEED TO READ THE MANGAAAA maybe I should go the same route as you and just buy manga digitally and novels physically cause there were some manga I bought that I kinda regret buying physicals of. 🥲 (By that I mean I don't reread them as much and it feels awkward to read manga physically? Is it just me?? Maybe I got used to longscrolling in manhwa lol)

Right?? I can't judge the manga cause I haven't read it but in the anime, the tone is wonderfully executed and it's the right balance of exposition and pacing. WAIT WHAT REALLY?? OMG next year fr?!?!? if that's the case I'm gonna continue gatekeeping my digital copies and wait for the physicals! 😭 Thank you for this info!! (I only use my digital copies for annotating and for reading in bed. Idk ik I'm weird. If I really like the series I buy the soft copy and hardcopy wkjdkdkdkdk).

Honestly it's why I got tired of shoujo isekai. They always pit women against each other over some guy. It's so hard to find good series in that genre anymore cause they almost all have the same formula. I want my female MCs but I don't want any of the unnecessary catfighting. I just really hate how that side of the community has blatant misogyny cause you know fr they won't treat a morally ambiguous and handsome male character in that way. :/

Let 👏 women. Support women! 👏 (The emojis are really cute! ;v; <3 I just realised her name sounds like a cat's meow! That's so cute omg)

#ask #kusuriya no hitorigoto #the apothecary diaries #and sorry if i sound weird in my typing i haven't gotten any sleep yet. work is rough lol #hope you enjoy ascendance of a bookworm! the anime...exists (i don't really recommend starting with it)#the manga and especially the LN is wayyyy better

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animehouse-moe · 1 year

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Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers Episode 1: Rage Against Akihabara

So, how can you explain Magical Destroyers? A critical parody and mocking of conformism, religion, and even Otaku culture? Maybe it's as simple as leaving it at the fact that it's Jun Inagawa's vision extrapolated to an anime. But is it worth watching? Well, do you like it when things are made fun of? When at every turn expectations are upended and pushed to the side to make room for something totally different? Do you like things that are just the right amount of insane or unhinged? If so, then you'll like Magical Destroyers for quite a few reasons, though it's not a series without caveats.

So let's get the bad out of the way, it's restricted. Bibury isn't a masterclass studio that can make something out of thin air. I mean, counting Magical Destroyers they have a total of 5 anime that have aired so far. They're.... not good, to say the least. Not necessarily in terms of story or anything, but they're very limited in what they can do in regards to animation. That in and of itself is pretty apparent in this first episode through quite a few conservative scenes and ample use of slapdash CGI, like this almost comically out of place log.

As long as you're aware of the limitations, I think the better moments really do shine quite well. The environment art can be really stellar sometimes, the visual comedy is rock solid, and there's still a good share of Sakuga in it too.

So what about the story? For those that read my breakdown on the opening, I think it's rather self-evident about the core of what Magical Destroyers is about, but I probably should give a proper explanation.

So, the whole idea is that the government of Japan have been rounding up all of its Otaku under the guise of "protection". Putting them in jails, taking all otaku product with them, effectively eliminating them from the Japanese public. In a single week in 2008 the majority of Otaku were rounded up for "protection", aside from a handful that center around Otaku Hero. Since that day, Otaku Hero with the aid of Magical Girls and fellow Otaku has waged war in a resistance against his forceful "protection", and that's where we find ourselves now.

Essentially, up shit creek without a paddle. Though you'd nearly be a fool to take that sentiment at face value as first and foremost this is a farce. It's a story that's incredibly campy as it continually pokes fun at almost anything and everything, while mixing in moments so serious that they come off almost comical.

It screams of the writing skills of a first timer that thinks they can write a story for the ages because they're "not like other writers out there", and in the context of Inagawa's history it's a hilarious and well thought out approach that punctuates the already ridiculous setup and story.

The part that is clearly the most honed though is the comedy. It's well timed, expressed wonderfully through character acting, and is perfectly situational and unique to the characters that act it out.

There's a lot more that I feel I could get into, like the storyboards or overall direction to help sell that campy feeling, but I think it's pretty self-explanatory and not really anything out of this world. Magical Destroyers it Jun Inagawa's vision, simple as that. If you love the idea of acting out, of raging against the machine to preserve your individuality and right to existence as you are, then you'll like this show.

#mahou shoujo magical destroyers #magical destroyers #magical mad #mahou shoujo mad #Anarchy-chan #Otaku hero #otakuhero #anime recommendation #anime review #anime original #anime and manga #anime

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the-chihayafuru-landslide · 2 years

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[ 1 ] Chihayafuru Parallels: Blushing and Hakamas

Welcome to my first Chihayafuru analysis essay? Think piece? Dellusional rant? Idk you decide what this is lmao.

It’s actually wild to think wild that in such a short amount of time (I started watching the anime first in December of 2021?) that this story has literally been on my mind almost 24/7. Chihayafuru started out really good and I was enjoying myself a lot but what actually was the moment that I “cracked” and switched from passive watcher to obsessive fan was Taichi’s infamous “spoon scene”.

The single image that launched a thousand ships.

All Taichihaya fans know this scene like the back of our hand. It is ingrained in our collective subconscious. Pretty sure, when the fandom were all listing our favourite moments, this made it onto everyone’s list. When I die, this scene will be the last thing I think of. When I go to the pearly gates I will ask for just one moment to think of it before I go down to heck. Yeah it’s something.

Y’all boring b*tches who think this is cringe don’t know how to live vicariously through media. B/c yeah if I man did this to me irl sure I’d be grossed out but here I’m like Chihaya is the world’s strongest solider b/c I would have folded immediately.

Anyways, there is something so poignant about this scene. Let’s look back on my initial tweets and see some of my completely normal thoughts I had on my first watch through:

Things of note: I predicted my own downfall and also it’s so funny that I forgot Arata’s name and also felt no need to look it up kjcdjkcajkadk

There is something inherently… spicy (it is spicy but in an intimate kind of way) about the way that Taichi and Chihaya simply stare into each other’s eyes after he pulls his sneaky little “indirect kissing” (a shoujo staple) stunt. However immediately afterwards Taichi shows her the text message and we see… Well we see what kind of thing get’s Chihaya’s eyes sparkling and her cheeks flushed. An indirect birthday message from the glasses guy. The bar is in hell people. Is Chihaya in love with one and completely indifferent to the other? It’s left kind of ambiguous… Though clearly as a viewer we are meant to believe that she likes Arata more based on Chihaya’s visceral reaction vs. THE EMPTY LOOK OF VAGUE CONFUSION SHE GAVE TAICHI. Taichi rip lil buddy but you’re firmly in the Karuta zone.

However thinking a bit deeper it’s actually funny because even Arata’s birthday message is framed as something Taichi “gives” to Chihaya (again we never fking know how Arata had Taichi’s number and not Chihaya’s but I digress). If he was truly a careless jealous shit (which he definitely is at times) he would have just closed his damn phone and said anyways weird Arata didn’t call for your birthday wonder why? I even planned you a big birthday bash and paid for him to attend but he never came… lol. But no, Taichi’s built different. He still shows her the message because he knows how much it means to her that Arata still cares (cares enough to text Taichi anyways lol). Taichi must have expected Chihaya to react like she had just received a message from her dead soulmate… but he still did it. I like in the anime where afterwards Taichi just kinda… Turns away and stares at the river pensively thinking to himself “maybe I should just jump”.

He just like me fr

Anyways I brought up this whole scene because I think it is the pinnacle of the Taichihaya Chiharata debate: If Chihaya was in love with Taichi, why are the sparkle eyes and blushes for Arata? If she FELL IN LOVE WITH TAICHI LATER, why did Chihaya never develop sparkle eye blush syndrome for Taichi? Well friends I have some thoughts!! (You should know, I always have a lot of them).

The thing about Suetsugu’s writing is she fking loves parallels. We as a viewer are meant to compare and contrast Taichi’s and Arata’s relationships with Chihaya. You were never supposed to just see one and say “OH SO SHE LIKES HIM.. DONE!!”… Though some did (rip fallen Chiharata comrades). Though I was confident what I saw in Taichi and Chihaya’s relationship was love, I was never arrogant enough to say that the crush (and yes it was a crush) Chihaya had for Arata couldn’t stick through to the end.

But at the same time to quote @miss-coverly (who is a Kyoru lover like me and has impeccable taste)

IN WHAT WORLD IS IT UNREASONABLE OR WEIRD FOR A TEENAGE GIRL TO NOT STAY IN LOVE WITH THE SAME PERSON THAT SHE LIKED AT 16 FOREVERJDJDJDJJS

Not saying it doesn’t or couldn’t happen… just… it is rare people. We change so much in our formative high school years and what we want out of a relationship changes too. Like you never stopped to think that maybe maybe it would amount to nothing more than what it was at the start? All the Chiharata fans waited so patiently for an epic conclusion that just never came and ik it feels bad man. Some wanted a time-skip to give them the development the sparkle eyes had promised. TBH I emphasize with their pain, I really do. I’d be feeling like dirt if all of Taichi and Chihaya’s relationship development ended in an epic high-five. But, I never had to wish for a hug because Taichi and Chihaya had plenty ;) KDJNJKDSANKDJDKJSA I NEED TO BE STOPPED B/C PEOPLE ARE STILL IN MOURNING BUT I CAN’T.

Anyways back to the topic at hand. I do try to keep an open mind to what the Chiharata fans saw in their relationship that made them think that it would be love. One moment that got mentioned a lot was the two times where Arata compliments Chihaya’s Hakama. Interestingly enough, both these Chiharata moments serve as a parallel to show how Chihaya and Arata’s relationship hasn’t really progressed from the start of the manga and to the end. However, the craziest thing is there is even a Taichihaya parallel. Was it Taichi commenting on Chihaya in a Hakama? No. Just wait friends… It’s such a blink and you’ll miss it moment but the fact it happens in between these two Chiharata moments is VERY INTERESTING VERY INTERESTING INDEED.

[ 1 ] Chiharata Hakama Compliment - The Blushing Karuta Bakas

Chapter 98

Before I get into it, let’s set up the context of this moment. It’s now the Yoshino Tournament one of the few times where people are organized into ranks and not by gender so finally our trio can be forced to play against each other in official matches. Of course Taichi and Chihaya show up looking fly in their Hakamas even though they really didn’t need to. That’s when Chihaya by runs into Arata by chance in the hallway before the matches start…

I WILL NEVER BE OVER HER EXPRESSION HERE SHE’S LIKE DID Y’ALL SAY SOMETHIN

She couldn’t quite make out what Arata said (and to be honest who knows what he really said under his breath). But she puts him on the spot to repeat what he said about her. It’s also funny because Chihaya in her competitive Karuta nature believes that he might be badmouthing her as her opponent LMAO. Again because individual matches are team matches and her and Arata are not on the same team. It also shows how Karuta focused Chihaya is that her CRUSH might be badmouthing her under his breath… LMAO.

When put on the spot Arata admits, while blushing a deep crimson and looking away, that he was saying how her Hakama’s pretty.

It’s honestly a cute moment! Arata is very shy softie whispering his feelings to himself… He wasn’t even going to tell her. Nor can he can’t say directly that he thinks Chihaya is attractive (even though we as the audience know he does we saw him ogling and imagining her in a bikini earlier) so he settles on complimenting her Hakama. Essentially saying (indirectly) “you look pretty today Chihaya”.

Now let’s look at Chihaya’s reaction?

Chihaya looks at him wide-eyed mouth agape with a blush on her face then she scrumples her face and blinks hard so she can regain her focus.

She quickly bottles up whatever emotions she felt for Arata’s compliment because what comes first and foremost is Karuta. She cannot be distracted by cutesy compliments from that little shy boy in the glasses she has a tournaments to win. SEE YA LATER WHEN I MOP THE FLOOR WITH YOU IN THIS HAKAMA.

Now I actually think this moment reveals a bit more than just wow Chihaya is so much in love with Arata and they are flirting. In Yoshino the Hakama is actually a very important to Chihaya (she told him that directly afterwards). When she wins the whole tournament she clutches her Hakama in her hands and said that he one desire was to win while wearing it. The Hakama is essentially Chihaya’s “battle armour”. So while we as the audience can see what Arata was doing… I don’t necessarily Chihaya understood. She thought to herself wow the guy I like complimented my Hakama!

The next time Arata compliments Chihaya’s Hakama happens much much later and we can see how much of their dynamic stays the same / changes.

[ 2 ] Chiharata Hakama Compliment - Thanks my Sister brought it for Me!

Chapter 221

So now we’re nearly at the end of the manga and during the Meijin and Queen matches. Chihaya has finally received the Hakama that Chitose raced all night to get to her. Arata sees her sitting down in front of the cards and just looks at her… It’s pretty evident by the way that he looks at her that he’s still carrying some feelings for her.

He’s still got the shoujo eye sparkle syndrome

But while he points at Chihaya she just kind of sits there wide eyed as he blushes to try and get the words out to tell her how he feels.

:( I feel kinda bad for Arata… Like before, he is still unable to pay Chihaya a simple and direct compliment. We know that’s not what he really wanted to say as he laments it directly afterwards.

Instead he opted to mention that her Kimono’s different… It almost feels like even more of a downgrade from his first indirect compliment. Different doesn’t necessarily even mean pretty rip. BUT let’s see how Chihaya reacted?!

NOOO SHE’S BLUSHING AGAIN!! DRAT, I HAVE BEEN DEFEATED EVERYONE WAS RIGHT SHE IS STILL IN LOVE WITH ARATA… Except not really. I think unlike before where she was caught completely off guard by Arata’s comment on her Hakama, she now had an inclining of what might be coming when he was looking at her that way (hence her wide eyes). When she realized that he was just commenting on how her Hakama was different, she was happy! She’s like yes that’s right it is new and it’s because my sister brought it for me. Just like before the Hakama that Chihaya wears is very important. It has also been used to represent the support that people have given you (think of Ooe’s comments to Taichi). This Hakama is probably the most special one Chihaya has ever worn because the person who brought it for Chihaya was Chitose… She put Chihaya’s ambition above her own :(

When you look at these two moments the little progress Chihaya and Arata have made in their relationship becomes really apparent. Arata while he was bold and was the first one to confess that he was in love, has kept most of his feelings towards Chihaya deep down inside. Maybe Arata was a coward at least when it came to love because when Taichi confessed he held nothing back he was like “I love your smile, your hair, your laugh, your gimp toe, I love when you droll a bit when you take notes in class and the way you thought the River Thames was in France”. But in instances of love, vulnerability is an important foundation. Taichi’s confession (at least at the time) epically backfired and then he was left completely empty. So perhaps Arata was keeping more of his feelings close to his heart was in a way to protect himself since he always thought he would lose to Taichi… There’s also the problem that Arata simply doesn’t know Chihaya as well as Taichi to make such a grandiose statement about her. Or that he doesn’t know the words to say it. Maybe I relate to Arata more than I thought b/c same dude same. The other thing is you should look at the page layout. Now the Chiharata fans might want my neck for this but… What I am saying makes sense. When Arata was looking at Chihaya without her noticing the page was white and airy. When Chihaya noticed him staring the page was the page was black. It’s a purposeful shift.

I almost think at this point Chihaya didn’t want to receive a compliment about her Hakama from him even though her heart used to flutter by it. That’s why I believe that the blush was also partially relief. Oh, he just noticed that it’s different! Thanks buddy o’ pal. Again I feel like people might not agree with me here but you do you lil rockstar you do you. It sucks because we really only know Arata’s feelings we don’t know Chihaya’s so we have to read between the lines a lot.

Looking back I can sorta understand why Chiharata fans felt hopeful by this. The panel where Arata mentions he had more to say it almost looks like there’s autumn leaves in the background. Y’know that “red passion” they always talked about. However, it’s a clever misdirect. It’s supposed to be ambiguous to the end. Maybe Arata’s passion for her would have swayed her had he only had the courage to do it. But… He never did. Similarly nobody really thought about what Chihaya’s reaction must meant. The assumption that Chihaya’s feelings remained the same throughout was all of our downfalls.

But anyways moving on:

[ 3 ] Taichihaya Hakama Moment - Why does Chihaya have to Come?

Chapter 193

So sandwiched in between these moments is an interesting moment with Chihaya that was very much overlooked (not by me though I was reading with a firm Taichihaya bias LMAO). In this scene it is right before the qualifier matches and Taichi has to go on his own to get a new Hakama. Now, of course he gathers the MIZUSAWA besties to come but then Kanade (our Taichihaya solider in the trenches till the bitter end) suggests that maybe Chihaya should come too!

Taichi blushing over the fact he doesn’t want to go Hakama shopping alone… he is baby you have done nothing wrong ever

Taichi asks why Chihaya needs to come and Chihaya just looks at him surprised pikachu face with a slight blush on her face.

But quick can we also just talk about the way that Taichi and Chihaya look at each other. I SIMPLY CANNOT DESCRIBE IT BUT IT JUST HITS. Taichi looks vaguely disappointed that she’s actually not coming… Even after he just complained about it moments ago. Dkjsnajkdnks YOU TWO WERE NEARLY THE DEATH OF ME I HOPE YOU KNOW.

She rejects the proposition because of course Karuta must come first but that doesn’t mean that she didn’t want to go… In fact she REALLY wanted to go actually. Suetsugu wanted the audience to see that Chihaya really was putting up a front in this moment.

It isn’t until Komano conveniently “forgets to tell Chihaya something” that we realize that Chihaya (when nobody could see her) was blushing hard… It wasn’t a blush that she could blink away either. She is lamenting twirling feelings around in her head and getting upset. What is she thinking about? The fact she won’t be there to support Taichi? The fact Taichi didn’t want her there? A missed Mizusawa hangout? The thought of Taichi wearing a new Hakama? Taichi getting fitted? It’s left ambiguous. But what’s not ambiguous is that it all revolves all around Taichi.

The way Chihaya just looks back at him in frustration as they each go their own way. Connected only by the fact they are both working to prepare for the qualifiers. Taichi probably seemed rather indifferent to Chihaya being someone to support him and that probably frustrated her. That’s why Komano (after seeing this and so many other instances) was like Chihaya if you don’t tell this mf how you feel about him it really will be the end for you.

Is it a direct parallel to the Chiharata? No. It’s not like Chihaya complimented Taichi’s Hakama. She was too busy having a breakdown over his haircut.

Me when my bestie gets a terrible new haircut and I hate it. Now I know why Chihaya waited to confess.

How interesting: Chihaya blushes at Arata’s feelings (that he is attracted to her) but the feelings she has about wanting to be near to Taichi makes herself blush uncontrollably. It’s almost like… It was purposeful somehow. If this made sense, great! If you disagree, good for you. However, I am a human and sometimes I make mistakes especially because this manga is fairly new so if I missed anything feel free to jump into the asks or if you want to add your own thoughts I’d love to hear them. THANKS FOR READING!! Charles out-y

#Chihayafuru #chihayafuru spoilers #chihayafuru theory #Chihayafuru parallel #Taichihaya #chihaya ayase #taichi mashima #Charles rant

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thefloatingstone · 8 months

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Tbh, I often cringe when watching live adaptations of SHONEN manga, where they try to recreate impossible things, and then the show looks ridiculous because it's just not believable. I'm not talking about dragons here, but it always feels like cheap cosplay. But live adaptations of SHOJO manga? Absolutely amazing. They feel real. These girls are treated like actual characters, instead of cosplayers that should look exactly like they do on paper.

I generally don't watch live action adaptations because like.... why would I, right?

I think the only live action adaptation I even have in my "to watch" list is the live actions version of "Erased" which is anyway based on a novel so you can't even really say it's an anime adaptation (although I am sure it will follow a lot of the anime's cues). But Erased as a crime mystery with some time travel thrown in. So of course being recreated in live actions isn't a giant jump.

I think also you're talking more about the sad state that shoujo has devolved into in modern time where it essentially means "high school love story". But I can't imagine a lot of classic shoujo working in live action. I cannot even FATHOM what Terra E would look like if they tried to do it with real people. Even Rose of Versailles which easily COULD work in live action only has one film which is generally considered to not be very good, and then is almost exclusively kept to Takarazuka Revue for its live action version. And I think it works because it's a stage play. But Terra E? yeah no way.

It's weird but it makes me think how Sentai shows don't really work in animation which is a weird thought. Because really, sentai shows SHOULD be great for animation and there HAVE been animated versions of sentai. But all that makes sentai what it is was born from the limitation of the live action medium. From the way the monsters look to how the fights play out. So trying to present it authentically in animation makes it look awkward and weird.

(although that being said I am super fucking excited for Monster No.8 but that's it's own thing)

That being said makes me realise I am actually wrong, I HAVE seen a live action adaptation of an anime and it's the sentai show of Sailor Moon. Which looks exactly like its $5 budget would make you think, but it's saved by fantastic writing and taking interesting and brand new steps with the source material. And again, because it's a sentai it somehow works by leaning into the aesthetics of other sentai shows, rather than trying to reflect the original manga or anime.

And also it's AGGRESSIVELY early 2000s which is really charming.

Anyway I'm rambling.

I'm genuinely trying to think of a single live action shounen show I have ever seen which I think actually work but I am drawing a blank.

#c-puff answers

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animebw · 7 months

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Re-Watching: Kimi ni Todoke Season 2

In which my opinion has flipped so completely on its head that I'm un-retiring for a single post to talk about it.

Return of the King

It's been almost two years since I've made a post like this.

For those of you who've only joined me after my semi-retirement on the tail end of 2021, The Anime Binge-Watcher used to be one of the most extensive anime analysis projects I've ever seen in Western fandom. I would consume anime at ridiculous rates and blog my thoughts in chunks of 3 or 4 episodes, piecing together all my observations and opinions in nice structured paragraphs like the ones you're reading now. In my glory days, I could get through two, three, even four posts a day. Heck, when I first watched Kimi ni Todoke five years ago, I tore through all twelve episodes of season 2 in a single day, writing no less than five separate analyses of my developing thoughts along the way. My long-term readers can attest to what a wild and wonderful journey it was, and even though I've since transitioned into a much looser and low-key blogging style, I still miss those days when I could spill countless words about the countless stories I consumed.

But of course, life moves on, and there was only so long I could dedicate that much of my free time to a hobby when real life was knocking at the door. I started this project as a college freshman with way too much free time on his hands; I'm an actual adult now, overseas job and everything. Not to mention all the other hobbies and creative pursuits taking up my attention. I just don't have enough time anymore to spend on truly in-depth analytical writing like I used to. And that's okay; the three-and-a-half years I dedicated to The Anime Binge-Watcher in its true form were more than enough to say everything I needed to about this medium and my relationship to it. This project is as complete as it could ever meaningfully be. So while I certainly miss those days, I'm more than happy to let this be my casual anime watching blog from now on.

But I'm making an exception today.

Because re-watching the second season of Kimi ni Todoke has so thoroughly upended my opinion on it that I have no choice but break my thoughts down just as extensively and in-depth as I used to do on a regular basis to explain why.

God, it's so fucking good to be back.

Sympathy for the Devil

So, since it's been... god, it really has been half a decade at this point, huh? Since it's been five years since I first watched and blogged about Kimi ni Todoke, here's a quick rundown of my thoughts for the countless among you who weren't around for it: I fucking love this show so much. Not only is it one of the most achingly sweet shoujo rom-coms out there, but the protagonist Sawako Kuronoma so perfectly captures my experience of teenage awkwardness and uncertainty that I swear the author was taking notes from my life. It's a story about growing up on the spectrum, whether it realizes it or not, about the difficulty of communication when you can't grasp the norms everyone else takes for granted. But it's also about how those seeming walls between you and everyone else barely exist at all, and as long as you have the courage to reach out, you'll forge connections wherever you go. It's a feel-good masterpiece the likes of which we so rarely see, and I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in anime.

And when I first watched the second season all those years ago, I absolutely hated it.

Okay, to be clear, what I hated was the first half of season 2. I hated the miscommunications, I hated the contrived misunderstandings, I hated how the very fabric of the show seemed to be conspiring to force Kazehaya and Sawako apart. By the time we reached the point where they both confess to each other and yet somehow think the other only means "I like you" as a friend, I wanted to rip my hair out of my skull. Mercifully, the second half won me back by finally letting them get together as a couple and indulge in adorable puppy love awkwardness so mind-numbingly sweet I needed an industrial warehouse full of epi pens to make it through unscathed. And I'm not exaggerating, god the final stretch here is some of the cutest shit I've ever seen. But it was really rough going to reach that point through what felt like the absolute nadir of forced misunderstanding plotlines. Nothing but contrivance after contrivance piled on top of each other to force the couple apart long past the point they should have gotten together for the sake of dragging out the will-they-won't-they as long as it could possibly be milked.

And yet, as I got to re-watching this show in preparation for its shockingly announced third season (my excitement is through the goddamn room), dreading the moment I reached season 2 and would have to suffer through this bullshit again, something truly remarkable happened when I finally reached this point: I didn't hate it.

And then something even more remarkable happened: I started to like it.

And then something truly impossible happened: by the time it was over, I couldn't imagine this show without this arc anymore.

Readers, I have never turned around on a show like this. I've had shows I disliked but softened on as time went by, sure, shows I liked but came to love more and more as they lingered in my mind. But this is the first time I've returned to a story arc I actually hated only to end up loving it by the end. And that's the reason I'm returning to my old in-depth analysis blogging to talk about it. Because there's no way to discuss the 180 I've done on Kimi ni Todoke season 2 without breaking it down in as much detail as humanly possible. I don't just want to write a couple paragraphs and be done with it: I want to memorialize this moment. I want to really, truly express why I came around on this arc and why I think it's so meaningful now. Because there's a real conversation to be had here about the the power of storytelling in general and the power of this story in particular. And for a show that's meant so much to me for so long, I can't think of any other way to do it justice.

So let's dive in. Because good god there's a lot to talk about.

Right on Time

So the first question I want to ask right off the bat is: was I wrong to hate this arc the first time around?

Well, I'm not gonna tell you it's free of contrivance. Kazehaya and Sawako's building misunderstanding requires so many different people to misinterpret so many different things in so many carefully staged situations. Not just the lovebirds themselves, but Kent's ill-informed meddling, Kurumi's intentional sabotage, and especially Chizuru's completely oblivious worsening of Kazehaya's insecurities at a critical moment. And that dual-misinterpreted confession scene is still some buuuuuuuuullshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. There's a reason this arc gets so much shit from me and others; you can practically taste the hand of the author as it shoves all the pieces around to keep this misunderstanding growing well past the point someone should have realized things were getting out of control and stepped in to clear the air. And when you're as anxious as me for these two dorks to just ask each other out already, it's hard to see this as anything but cheap, forced drama from an author desperately trying to stave off the inevitable.

But here's the thing: what if there's an actual point being made here?

See, this arc is such a frustrating experience your first time through that it kind of shuts down any attempts to analyze it on a deeper level. You're so pissed off at being denied the confession that's dangling right in front of your face that you write off the whole thing as nothing but empty delay tactics. And yet, Kazehaya and Sawako get together literally right after this. If this was just a case of dragging out the will-they-won't-they, this misunderstanding would have lasted much longer and done much more damage. But no! They confess properly, they clear everything up, and they're officially going out mere episodes after you're left fuming at their double misinterpretation of each other's "I like you." So while it feels like nothing more than cheap delay tactics in the moment, a full view of the story's trajectory rejects that theory pretty firmly.

And that's the big thing that changed in this re-watch: I already knew this wasn't going to last. This wasn't going to force them apart forever, it was going to get fixed, I didn't have to worry about this relationship I loved so much getting screwed over by coincidence. And without that worry of endless delays, I was able to do what I couldn't my first time through: actually think about what this arc was trying to say. What was the point being made by this part of the story? What was it trying to communicate about Sawako and Kazeyaha's relationship by putting them through the wringer? Was there, in fact, a reason things needed to play out this way?

And believe it or not, the answer turned out to be yes.

End of the Fairy Tale

Sawako and Kazehaya's relationship starts like something out of a fairy tale. Sawako, the lonely rejected girl who can't connect with people and scares off everyone she tries to get close to. Kazehaya, the ever-cheerful prince who sees her plight and reaches out a hand to pull her into the light. And with his endless support and supportive charm, she's able to find her place in the world with friends who love her and a handsome admirer who will always stand by her side. It's every lonely girl's romantic fantasy brought to life in dazzling colors, fully earned by how human the characters feel and how well-realized their growth is. Small wonder we all got so swept up in it we fully bought into the fantasy ourselves.

But people aren't princes and princesses. We're not perfect fairy tale archetypes. We're people; flawed, imperfect people who make mistakes and don't always see things clearly. And as impatient as I was for Kazehaya and Sawako to just get together already, what re-watching season 2 made me realize is that as of season 1, they were not yet in a place where getting together would be a good idea. Season 2 isn't delaying for the sake of delaying, it's holding up a spotlight to these lovebirds' biggest flaws and pointing out that if they don't find a way to overcome these weaknesses, any relationship they start is doomed to failure. It's pulling the curtain down on the fairy tale and forcing you to realize that this sparkly, shiny portrait of two young lovers actually has some deeply unhealthy undercurrents that would shatter their attempts at a happy life together if left untreated. And all the drama and misunderstandings that spring up as a result of those undercurrents are what force Kazehaya and Sawako to truly confront those issues head-on, move past them, and grow into stronger, more self-assured people who can actually be with each other without messing it all up.

Girl in the Gutter

To start with Sawako, because she's much simpler to understand, her problem is the same problem she's had from the start: a complete lack of confidence in herself. As much progress as she's made, she still sees herself as inferior to the people she loves, someone who has to earn their affection by proving she's worthy of it. A life lived isolated from her peers has left her incapable of seeing herself as part of them; they're all so much smarter and kinder and braver than her. How can she consider herself their equal when they're clearly not? And because of that inferiority complex, she's completely incapable of considering the fact that other people might care about her just as passionately as she cares about them. Not just Kazehaya, but Yano and Yoshida as well. She can't picture a world where the people she loves return that love with no caveats or expectations; how can she, when he doesn't consider herself on equal footing with them?

And in Yoshida's beautiful rant to Sawako in episode 6, we see just how painful it is to be on the opposite end of that self-loathing. Sawako isn't just hurting herself by putting herself down, she's hurting everyone who loves her by implying their love is, in some way, untrue. Imagine how it must feel to care so deeply for someone, to devote so much of yourself to them because they mean the world to you, only for them to assume you can't possibly care that much because they don't deserve it. It's legitimately gut-wrenching. And if Sawako had tried to start a relationship with Kazehaya still under that impression, it would've been a disaster. She would've spent the whole time thinking he was just doing her a favor, being nice and helpful like always, hating herself for forcing him to become someone he didn't want to be just for her sake. And Kazehaya would've spent the whole time hurt and frustrated that she would think so little of the feelings he's cultivated for so long. They would've lasted a couple months at most, and it's a genuine question whether they'd even be able to talk to each other anymore when it was over.

In short, Sawako could never be in a healthy relationship with Kazehaya, or anyone, really, until she finally got it through her thick skull that she is exactly as worthy of love as the people around her. Only after Yoshida's rant does she finally realize how much she's been putting everyone else on a pedestal, that the only one who considers her lesser is, well, herself. Kazehaya is no god, Yano and Yoshida are no angels; they're people exactly the same as her, flaws and fears and wants and all. And there is nothing Sawako can give them that she doesn't deserve back from them in return. Then, at last, she's able to truly accept that Kazehaya might love her just as she loves him- and more importantly, accept that it's okay for someone like her to be a part of his life. Because this glittering boy who seemed to stand so far above her was, in the end, just as normal as her. And if someone as wonderful as him was just an ordinary person like any other... than maybe she could be just as wonderful.

Boy on a Pedestal

And speaking of Kazehaya, something else this re-watch made clear was that I did not understand his character the first time around. I remember being so annoyed my first time through by how much he started waffling on his feelings in season 2 when he seemed to clear-eyed before. You're a sparkly shoujo pretty boy, what business do you have getting all angsty out of nowhere? But going through it again, no, Kazehaya was fully justified in his concerns. His seemingly effortless cheer is just as much a social mask as Kurumi's pretty popular girl shtick; he just does a much better job of turning it on naturally. But underneath that cheery exterior lies a boy who's riddled with sharp edges. He's impulsive, he's quick to anger, he gets jealous easily, and he's got a genuine possessive streak that flares up basically whenever he thinks there's even a chance Sawako might be in the sights of another guy. The boy is as sweet as they come, but there's a real darkness to him that I didn't really pick up on my first time through because that sweetness was so incredibly blinding.

So when they move into their second year classes and Sawako starts forging new connections well outside her comfort zone? Kazehaya feels that darkness gnawing at him stronger than ever, and it scares him. It scares him to think he might lash out and hurt Sawako with the force of his feelings for her. More than that, though, he's scared of the thought that her lack of feelings for him (by his own thoughts) will only make that possibility an eventuality in time. She's making so many friends and finding so many connections beyond him, and as much as he wants to be proud of her, he also feels like he's losing something precious, something that used to be just between him and her. Something that Kent touches on early in the season is that Kazehaya can't leave people alone when he thinks they're in trouble; he swoops in and lends a helping hand because it's the right thing to do. But there's a world of difference between helping someone in trouble and building a life with them. And the more Sawako finds connections outside of him, the more jealous and uncomfortable he becomes... which only makes him all the more concerned that his gestures of kindness were little more than an attempt to bind her to him like a baby chick to its mother.

The fact of the matter is, Kazehaya and Sawako's relationship as of the start of season 2 is incredibly unbalanced. He's essentially been something like a teacher throughout her first awkward high school year as she began to develop her sense of self, and he's been a wonderful guiding light. But because of that, she puts incredible amounts of trust in him... trust that would be painfully easy for a less well-intentioned person to abuse. Sawako thinks so little of herself, and so highly of Kazehaya, that he could probably ask her to do anything and she would do it, no matter what it would mean for her. And because Kazehaya is so aware of his own demons, he's also aware of how easy it would be for his jealousy to spike out of control and hurt her. He's torn between wanting to hold her fast and never let go and wanting her to leave him behind. Wouldn't it be better for her to stop being so dependent on him, to find happiness in a broader community of people? Wouldn't she be happier- safer- if she could carry her happiness as far away from him as possible?

Golden Goose

Of course, the problem with Kazehaya's perspective is that he's making exactly the same false assumption as Sawako; thinking there's no way they'll be able to see eye to eye because he puts her on too high a pedestal. He's so consumed with thoughts of how much he could hurt her that he's incapable of seeing how much good he brings to her life. There's a great moment where Pin calls him out for this kind of selfish thinking; for all his claims of wanting to do the best for her, his own feelings are the only things he's really taking into account. He's so obsessed with his own way of seeing things that he never stopped to consider what Sawako thought of their relationship, never considered that someone as honest and straightforward as her might also have feelings she was too scared to talk about. So while Sawako needed to realize she was just as worthy of love as everyone else, Kazehaya needed to come to terms with the fact that everyone else is just as flawed as him in their own ways. Everyone else has doubts, hidden desires, questions on how to move forward with no easy answers. But just because you can't be sure of everything is no excuse not to try.

On that subject, something else I really came to appreciate on this re-watch is how Kent serves as a foil for Kazehaya. He's essentially the person Kazehaya is afraid of becoming: someone who does good deeds and helps people not out of a genuine love for the people he cares about, but as an ego-boost to fuel his sense of self-importance. Yes, maybe Kent has good intentions, and he certainly did some good for Sawako helping her settle into her new class, but when push came to shove, his sense of self-righteousness won out over his desire to do the right thing, and thanks to his own misinterpretation of Kazehaya's feelings, he meddled in ways that almost drove Sawako and Kazehaya apart for good. He was so convinced his perspective on what was happening was correct that he never stopped to wonder if he was doing more harm than good until he'd almost ruined everything forever. And Kazehaya is so terrified of becoming that kind of person- or the thought that maybe he already is- that he pulls farther and farther away from her rather than try and fix things upright. It's only when he finds the courage to be as honest and straightforward as Sawako, doubts be damned, that he's able to meet her on equal footing, see her clearly for the first time, and embrace the love he was so scared of losing with all his heart.

Hearts Wide Open

And it's that incredible catharsis that officially turned me around on season 2. Seeing that incredible confession scene and all the sugar-bomb adorableness afterwards not as an apology for a season wasted on delay tactics, but the culmination of a genuinely beautiful coming-of-age for both of them, made me realize just how damn important this arc I thought I hated was. Kimi ni Todoke needed to let its characters face their flaws like this. It needed to confront their worst aspects to they could grow beyond them. It's only now that they're truly self-assured people, confident in themselves and each other, that their relationship is able to be so unspeakably, unfathomably delightful. And while there's definitely more than a little narrative railroading to force them into that situation, the payoff is so spectacular than I genuinely don't mind anymore.

So I guess, if you, like me, found yourself groaning throughout Kimi ni Todoke season 2 the first time you watched it, rolling your eyes at the contrivances, yelling at the screen as they kept misunderstanding each other and hating the writers for putting you through such bullshit... give it another look. See it for what it is. I can't promise it'll win you over as fully as it did me, but with the benefit of hindsight, you may just find yourself a new light in what you thought was the darkest corner of the sun.

And with all that said, I'm bumping my season 2 score up from 6.5/10 to:

9/10

God, I'm so fucking happy I decided to rewatch this show. To my old fans, I hope you enjoyed this nostalgic return to form. To my new fans, I hope this was a fun change of pace! If you want to see more writing I've done like this, I've got an enormous backlog of shows I've analyzed like this, so feel free to check them out! And now, let's all wait with fingers crossed that season 3 is just as wonderful as what's come before...

#anime #the anime binge watcher #tabw #kimi ni todoke #from me to you

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kaeyazuha · 2 years

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𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚

❝ Omg i just saw the albedo dentist post please please please make a fic I am begging you ❞

(In which Albedo gets his wisdom tooth removed)

; Here's the long awaited fic! I'm not usually good at pure fluff/comedy so let's see how this goes-

; 8/2/22

; Pure Fluff

; CW: anesthesia, physical touch, light cursing

✧ Albedo’s not a clingy guy. He finds enough comfort in your presence alone, and often finds himself too busy to cling to you as much as he wants you. However, after a simple procedure to remove his wisdom teeth, by the archons you could not get him off of you. He’s leaning on you for support, clinging onto your arm, practically wrapping himself around you, and slumping all of his weight atop of you. The nurse, who helped you escort him outside the building as he stumbled around, couldn’t help but remark how sweet the two of you looked with him acting so lovesick around you. It’s rare for him to verbally or physically show affection as he prefers to show things through actions, which is already nice, but to see him like this is a whole other blessing.

✧ The aftercare is fairly simple. Since he trusts you with everything he is, he’ll happily take the painkillers and keep the gauze taut to the injury, and doesn’t move from the bed so that the anesthesia can wear off (though he occasionally asks for his sketchbook, mentioning how pretty you look many times over). However, there is one thing he simply doesn’t tolerate- you moving within five feet of him. He could be laying down while you work, or you could be sitting beside him, but he has some kind of sensor for when you leave. It’s almost annoying if it hadn’t been so cute to watch him stare up at you with tired yet entranced eyes, an irked pout on his face while he gripped your arm and tugged you back to him.

✧ He’s still mostly silent throughout all this, mostly due to his puffy and swollen cheeks as well as the gauze stuffing his mouth, and it’s almost a shame since you were hoping he’d say some embarrassing things. However, you soon realize that wouldn’t happen anyway since he’s impossibly open with you. So long as you’re willing to listen, he tells you everything. Secrets are usually tiresome and only end up hurting the other person in a relationship, so he does his best to be open with you. That, and he simply loves letting you into his life, despite how hard it was at first. And it makes you so happy to see how far he’s come- he just bit your arm. You’re appalled, watching in horror as he nibbles at the skin of your arm with half-lidded eyes. Albedo, wh--

- ✧ -

“--What,” You start, mouth gaping open like a fish out of water.

“The hell,” He smiles mischievously against your arm.

“Are you doing??” You’re sure that you look rather foolish right now as your face remains transfixed in a bewildered expression, and he tilts his head to rest his cheek on your arm. You sat in the back of the carriage with him leaning on your arm, your hand cupping the side of his head to keep him steady on the bumpy road. Albedo hummed sleepily, staring at you with a gaze that made it look like he was under a spell; half-lidded eyes, a hazy film over the crystal blue, the corners of his eyes droopy and relaxed. You smiled inwardly when he nuzzled into you, purely elated yet confused at the strange behavior from the stoic boy. “Are you alright?” Leaning down a bit, you adjusted the gauze sticking out from between his lips.

His body weight leaned atop yours caused you to lean against him further, but he took that as an invitation to wrap his arms around you and lay his head down in your lap. He thought nothing of it, simply finding this a comfortable place to rest and ease his pounding headache. You, however, felt like a teenager in a shoujo anime. Cheeks heated and eyes wide, your hands hovered by your face out of pure shock. “Mmn…” Albedo shuffled around until he looked up at you (the best he could, at least, everything was still a bit fuzzy), and he reached upwards and blindly grabbed at the air until he cupped your cheek. “Have th’you alwayth been thith pretthy? Like the brighteth sthar amidsth the night sky…” Before you could react to the nonchalant compliment, though you didn’t really know how to, he spoke once more. “I wan' almon' thofu.” His face was completely serious as he said this, as if he were reading his alchemy notes, and you snorted at this.

“Well, I’ll see what I can do when I get back. I’m sure I can whip something up for you! Ah,” You paused, leaning your head back against the headrest. “I don’t think you can eat solid foods for a little bit though…how does a smoothie sound?” An uncharacteristic groan came from your boyfriend, but he settled down a moment later while turning his head into your abdomen.

He mumbled this against your clothing, finding comfort in your scent. “...S’tho long ath you’re the one making it, I sth’pose that’ll be alright. Thank thyou. ” It was hard to understand him through the gauze, but what you did understand brought the widest of smiles to your face, and you found yourself raking your fingers through his soft locs while admiring his pretty (albeit slightly swollen) face. Being as loopy as he was, he simply smiled and leaned into your touch like a sunflower leaning into the sunlight. The ride home was quiet, yet comforting with him sleeping in your lap, curled up in the back of the carriage. You silently chided yourself for not bringing a kamera to capture just how sweet he was without a filter, and you couldn’t help but wonder if this was his true nature or a side to him that takes a bit of convincing to show.

‘Yeah,’ You looked down at the sleeping boy with a swollen cheek and sleepy smile with a lovesick grin and watched as he huddled ever closer to you and tightened his grip around your waist,

‘I’m so telling Kaeya about this.’

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✧˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Word Count: 1104

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✧˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

- Ky♡♡

𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧; 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻!

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@storytravelled ; @irethepotato ; @euphoric-author ; @lordbugs ; @straymoon96 ; @hoshikistarlette ; @lianglee11 ; @sup-zfam ; @myaaki ; @roriver ; @rizakari ; @httpshaolvr ; @leena-shii ; @kaerui-kaisen ; @akaiyuki ; @marigold-petals ; @frenchtoaf ; @nejibot ; @fijispritee ; @kissventii ; @ethereal-moonglow

#kywrites #albedo headcanons #albedo hcs #albedo kreideprinz #albedo x you #albedo fluff #albedo x gn reader #albedo x gender neutral reader #albedo x y/n #albedo fanfic #genshin fluff #genshin scenarios #genshin imagines #genshin impact #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin x you #genshin x reader #genshin albedo

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spacevixenmusic · 1 year

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Another new anime I started this week: Yuri Is My Job!

(probably better known as "Façade: The Anime", lmao)

The best way to sum up this show is that there are a bunch of girls working at a themed cafe where everyone is playing the role of a schoolgirl in a Shoujo/Yuri manga. The reality is that everyone's relationship outside of their "sisterly" characters is very different, and everyone must put on a façade to keep the customers (who are apparently hyper-invested in the story the cafe is creating) entertained and paying to see more.

The whole thing seems like it's wrapped in several layers of irony and trope deconstruction (almost like the anime itself is putting on a façade!), so I have a feeling I know how this series will turn out, unfortunately. Nonetheless, I am curious to see where it will go, as the premise has some good potential for comedy and I like the visual gags for the main character's inner thoughts. Also yes, I'm still a sucker for schoolgirl romance stories, bite me.

Anyway, here's hoping this anime hits me better than the last façade-laden anime I tried watching! (The Eminence In Shadow) If it goes well, I'm sure you'll see more posts from me anyway!

#yuri is my job!#watashi no yuri wa oshigoto desu!#hime shiraki #seriously I have never seen an anime use the word façade so many times in a single episode #I haven't heard the word façade spoken that many times in a 22-minute sitting since the last Mother 3 LP I watched #but anyway #it looks like it has some potential but I'm keeping my expectations low #after all I've definitely sat through worse shows in the past!#spring 2023 anime

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vampkitty66 · 10 months

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2023 Spring Anime Review: Skip And Loafer

These are my opinions!!

So awhile back I made a spring anime post where I gave my thoughts regarding some of the shows I had started watching. Since most of the shows I had given little reviews on have ended or are going to be ending within the next week, I thought Id do an overall review. Unlike my other post, I will be separating the reviews and doing separate posts. Anyways lets get into it!

Skip and loafer just ended today and honestly I loved everything about this show. I will state that I have not read the manga so I cannot compare the manga to the actual show ( although i’ve heard from a lot of the manga readers and they seemed to love the adaptation.) I thought the pacing of the show was good and all the characters are well thought out, even the characters you seem to dislike at first you start to warm up to. I love the trans representation aswell, I thought it was wonderful how the show portrayed that because I’ve seen a lot of animes ( lets be more specific... Shoujos ) where there's a cute character and they turn out to be a male physically and everyone is all weird about it?? I don’t know, I just thought that Iwakura’s aunt was great and I loved how supportive everyone was towards her and how supportive she was to everyone else too. I related a lot with pretty much all the characters one way or another, they all had something they struggled with but were able to try and work it out. One of my favourite developments was Egashira, she wanted to fit in, she wanted the guy she liked to notice her. Egashira constantly was comparing herself to others and she ended up being kind of bitter. I relate to her a little bit, when I was beginning high school I wanted to fit in, and even though I wasn’t bitter, I still envied a lot of people in my own way. I was myself but at the same time I kind of felt like I was doing things to please other people. That's where I relate to Shima a lot. Shima is one of my favourite characters, he chooses to please others rather than himself, watching todays episode almost brought tears to my eyes. When he was talking about people having goals and how he’s anxious that he feels attacked when he sees people who are passionate about something, it struck a chord. It’s the fact that he’s neither good or bad, he is envious and insecure. He’s slowly allowing himself to open up but I think he still has a long way to go. Everyone learns from Iwakura, most of everyone's development stems a little bit from her one way or another. Iwakura’s not perfect though and she goes through struggles of her own, she tries so hard for everything to be perfect and she takes on way too much sometimes but she is a strong character and she’s always able to get up when she falls and keep going; very admirable. I also want to point out the animation, I thought it was great and I think my favourite scene in the entire series has to be in episode 9 where she is eating the watermelon. It gave me this feeling that I can’t quite describe, almost reminded me of a studio ghibli scene. I felt like it truly captured that small town countryside vibe. Iwakura is always overworking herself and trying her best in her Tokyo school, but when she’s back home, she can relax and forget about her troubles for a little while.

Overall, this might be the best slice of life and coming of age anime I’ve seen, the writing of the characters is just so crazy good and I can’t wait for another season ( we better get one )

10/10

#anime #anime review #anime recommendation #spring anime 2023 #skip and loafer #mitsumi iwakura #shima sousuke

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ridley-was-a-cat · 1 year

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Fall 2022 Anime Roundup

Somehow yet another season has completed, and this one was a doozy. Not only were there multiple sequels to major franchises like Mob Psycho and My Hero Academia, we got a sequel to Bleach 10+ years after the last season ended. On top of that, there was the highly anticipated debut season of Chainsaw Man, and four adaptations of shoujosei works, which is more than we usually get in an entire year. There was just a ton of stuff on offer this season, and almost all of it was good.

Completed

Anime of the Season: Mob Psycho 100 III

In a season as packed as this one, choosing a favorite was no easy task, and I went back and forth between this and Raven of the Inner Palace. As good as they both were, I'm going to have to give this the edge for pairing its moving story about adolescent turbulence with an absolute spectacle of art and animation. I really can't say enough good things about how Mob steadfastly rejects violence or subjugation as displays of strength or power. The show never gets preachy about it, Mob just sees people's appeals to use his power in destructive ways as pointless and unappealing. ONE said that he set out to write something kind when he wrote Mob Psycho, and I have to say that he definitely succeeded in writing one of the best examples I've seen of positive, non-toxic masculinity. 9/10

First Runner Up: Raven of the Inner Palace

I didn't really know what to expect when I added this to my schedule for the season, and basically only watched it because it had a shoujo label, and I reflexively support shoujosei anime. What I ended up with was a fantastic drama that used one to two episode-long vignettes about various people and spirits around the imperial court to tell a larger story about who the main characters are, and how the events of the past affect them today. The slow development of the relationship between the Raven Consort and the Emperor was extremely satisfying to watch, as was seeing her learn to open up to the people around her. Many of the characters' backstories were tragic or traumatic, and the show handled them with the right amount of thoughtfulness. 9/10

Second Runner Up: Akiba Maid War

I nearly dropped this halfway through the first episode thinking that it was going to be just another P.A.Works original about humbling an idealistic young woman at her first job, and then a gang war broke out. A committed and affectionate parody of gangster movies with enough heart to avoid becoming a cheap joke. 8/10

Bocchi the Rock! - I didn't plan to watch this because the manga runs in one of those lolicon magazines that skeeve me out, but luckily the hype got to me, and I didn't miss out on this spectacularly animated and directed comedy about an introverted girl chasing her rock and roll dreams. 8/10

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss - This tried to squeeze three light novel volumes into twelve episodes, making episodes 4, 8, and 12 into arc-concluding speed runs, but our villainess was so charmingly spunky and her demon lord boo was so damn fine that I was having too much fun to care about its flaws. 8/10

Spy x Family Part 2 - I kept waiting for the plot to kick back in before finally accepting that this series apparently is more of an episodic comedy than the first cour let on, but it's still plenty entertaining. 8/10

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - I liked, but didn't love, Bleach's original run, and this sequel retains many of the story writing traits I didn't care for, but the visuals got a major upgrade, everyone is smoking hot, and they played "Number One" at the end of the last episode, so I can't help but feel the hype. 8/10

Chainsaw Man - I can both see how skillfully directed and animated this was, and how the characters and story would be appealing to a lot of people, while also disliking the decision to mimic live-action movies, and acknowledging that this story full of misery is just not for me. 7/10

Do It Yourself!! - A cute girls doing cute things show that broke through my exhaustion with the genre by having an unusual activity like carpentry, and mixing it with distinctive character designs and lively animation. 7/10

The Little Lies We All Tell - The visuals for this didn't appeal to me so I didn't pick it up until the season was almost over, but it ended up being a really charming little comedy about four friends with bizarre secrets. 7/10

My Master Has No Tail - The rakugo performances left a little to be desired, but the character interactions in this light comedy about a tanuki taking up rakugo in Meiji era Osaka kept things entertaining. 7/10

Reincarnated as a Sword - If this wasn't a light novel adaptation, and it didn't have so much monologuing from the sword, blah visuals, or mediocre shot composition, this would make a pretty fun story despite the goofy sounding concept. 6/10

Bibliophile Princess - I've read the manga adaptation, so I was really looking forward to this, but some combination of poor animation, questionable story adaptation choices, and an annoying tendency to rehash the same conflict made this a bit of a slog to finish. 6/10

Ongoing

Golden Kamuy S4 - I'm definitely looking forward to watching this when it comes back from hiatus in the spring, as the action was really starting to get interesting, with our competing gangs of charismatic scoundrels about to get back on their bullshit. 8/10

IDOLiSH7 Third BEAT! Part 2 - This part continues with the corporate drama instigated by the extremely hateable villain, while completing Trigger's transformation from antagonist to loveable underdog, and giving some very satisfying character development moments. Looking forward to the concluding four episodes in February. 8/10

One Piece - While I'm definitely still enjoying myself, and this really is the best One Piece has looked during its run, I'm kind of ready to be done with Wano already. 8/10

Play It Cool, Guys - You've heard of cute girls doing cute things, now get ready for the new hotness: cute guys doing airhead things. Just pure, unadulterated fluff that brightens my day. 8/10

My Hero Academia S6 - On the one hand, this was kind of an exhausting anime season for seeing the good guys get the stuffing beat out of them, but on the other hand, seeing Mirko rip a monster's head off with her thighs was some peak content. 7/10

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun S3 - This season still has most of its charm, and I still love all the characters, but this contest arc is really dragging. 7/10

Dropped

The Eminence in Shadow - This was sold to me as a satirical take on power fantasy isekai, but it was playing all the tropes pretty straight, and the atrocious fanservice in episode 10 made me decide I had better things to do. 6/10

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