#i mean she pretty much Says as much to shirayuki

[hakiarleon]

me when a minor female character

#shes so PRETTY can we please get more haki content #and from the crumbs of characterisation we got she sounds so FUN #makiri automatically telling her off when hes been embarrassed by izana u just know she would be laughing so hard if izana wasnt there #i mean she pretty much Says as much to shirayuki #also whenevr i think of haki i think of that comment on the wiki saying shes Not Nice Enough to shirayuki like 😭 #bestie sincerely what the fuck #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #haki arleon #mangacap #pics or it didnt happen

[metalandmagi]

Romance Anime Starter List

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of seeing “Top ___ Best Anime of All Time” lists that are nothing but shounen. So, with "My Happy Marriage" getting a little attention from the anime community, I wanted to put together a list of some romance anime that I consider good “starters” for the genre. Because if I were just now becoming an anime fan, I’d think all there was to offer was shounen action series.

And by “starters” I mean basic stuff that’s not too…out there, and actually involves the characters getting together instead of just harems or using romance as a side plot (sorry Ouran High School Host Club and My Next Life as a Villainess). 

So if you’re new to anime and want stuff that’s not just guys beating the shit out of each other (which is also fun, don’t get me wrong), here are some basics.

Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale- When the pessimistic Tamahiko Shima loses all function in his right arm, his family sends him away to live in the mountains with the cheerful, hard working Yuzuki Tachibana…who was purchased by the Shima family to pay off her family’s debts and basically act as a caretaker/future bride for Tamahiko so they’d never have to deal with him again. It’s a more cheerful version of My Happy Marriage (without the supernatural stuff), except in this one, the guy is the one who has massive self-esteem issues and an abusive family. There are still very serious themes, but ultimately it’s not meant to make you cry every episode. I swear it’s so good, but nobody watched it!

Horimiya- A slice of life in which pretty and popular high school queen bee Hori, finds out her quiet, unassuming classmate Miyamura is hiding piercings and tattoos that could get him expelled. The two gradually find out more about each other and get together in the most realistic way I’ve seen depicted in an anime. It’s also fucking hysterical and genuinely emotional.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie- Another slice of life that focuses on two adults who meet in an MMO game without realizing they also know each other in real life. I don’t want to say much more than that. It’s adorable, and the main character is so relatable it hurts.

Love with Yamada-kun at Level 999- Speaking of MMOs, this is a newer series about Akane Kinoshita, a college first year who’s reeling from a bad break up. In an attempt to get back at her ex, she winds up meeting Akito Yamada, a popular gamer who happens to be in her guild in the MMO they both play at an IRL meetup. The two go from acquaintances to something more as they keep running into each other. Even more relatable main characters and just wholesome relationships all around.

Snow White With The Red Hair- A fantasy in which an apothecary named Shirayuki (meaning, you guessed it, “snow white”) runs away from her home in order to escape becoming the concubine of her town’s prince. While fleeing, she is rescued by Zen, the prince of a neighboring country, and she ends up becoming an herbalist to repay him. It's super cute with some genuinely swoon worthy moments and a couple that just works so well together. I have a habit of comparing this to Akatsuki no Yona, even though the two aren’t really that alike. This is more romance driven while Akatsuki no Yona is more of a serious historical fantasy with romance elements (Yona manga is amazing, but the anime barely scratches the surface, so that’s why I didn’t include it).

Sasaki to Miyano- When the shy, easily flustered Miyano meets Sasaki, a cool “delinquent” upperclassmen, the two end up bonding over manga…specifically BL manga. That’s right, Miyano is a fudanshi, but due to his small stature and somewhat feminine appearance, he’s constantly trying to convince others that he’s not interested in having his own love story where he’d be reduced to a stereotypical doe-eyed uke. But as Sasaki and Miyano spend more time together, they realize that what they have is more than friendship, and they have to come to terms with their own perception of gay relationships. This is my favorite romance of all time. It’s a slow burn, but boy is it worth it. Their relationship is so natural and realistic, just like Horimiya. Just two people hanging out and bonding over things the way people do in real life!

Given: The story of some boys in a band with trauma. Enough said. It's great. Go watch it.

Bloom Into You- Yuu Koito is a high school girl who’s been waiting her whole life for her own perfect romance to start…but when she receives a confession, she realizes she doesn’t know how to respond when she’s just not into the guy. And then she gets another confession…this time from the cool student council president Touko Nanami, who basically jumpstarts her lesbian awakening. Very cute story about how we perceive the concept of love vs actually feeling it. Also has a canonically aro/ace side character, so that’s a win for me. Another show like this is Adachi to Shimamura (but I honestly don’t remember much about it. It just didn’t stick with me as much).

Ore Monogatari- Takeo Gouda is a tall, bulky high school first year with a sensitive heart of gold. He wants nothing more than to find his own true love, but most girls are intimidated by his enormous stature, and they end up falling for his conventionally attractive friend instead. That is, until he meets the tiny, adorable Rinko Yamato. He falls in love instantly, but he’s sure she’s interested in his best friend like everyone else, so he vows to help get them together, even though his heart is breaking. Peak himbo behavior. Pure of heart, dumb of ass.

Yuri on Ice- Yes it’s the gay figure skating anime everyone knows. And yes it’s a fucking romance, okay? I will die on this hill. The romance between Viktor and Yuri is just as important as the plot!

Kaguya-sama Love Is War- Two insanely smart high school students both have a crush on the other, but since they’re…you know…high schoolers, neither of them wants to admit it first. So they come up with increasingly convoluted plans to get the other to confess first. This will go down as one of the best of all time. It’s a hilarious yet poignant modern classic.

Fruits Basket- I’ve talked about it before and I’ll talk about it again. A romance “comedy” that slowly morphs into a drama about a girl named Tohru who finds herself living with the mysterious Sohma family after her mother dies. Little does she know, the Sohmas are the victims of a  (somewhat silly, but ultimately tragic) curse that she must fight to break. Even though I’m more into it for the family drama, the romance is still top tier and plays an important role in the story. This is my second favorite anime of all time, and it’s a classic for a reason. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet, GO WATCH IT! IT WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!

And now for some honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the regular list:

Ride Your Wave- A movie about a surfer who falls in love with a firefighter……and I’m not going to say any more than that. Go into it blind. If you like stuff like Your Name, this is a good one to watch.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun- A comedy about a high school girl who finds out the upperclassman she has a crush on is actually a shoujo manga artist, and no matter how she tries to confess to him, he just never gets it.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague- A slow burn slice of life that focuses on a guy with ice powers who has a crush on his coworker. That’s it. That’s the show. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. It’s perfectly cute and fluffy, but my god does it take forever to get anywhere with these two.

Skip to Loafer- A high strung, small town girl decides to go to high school in Tokyo, where she meets a variety of classmates, including the laid back Sousuke Shima. The unlikely pair become friends, and soon enough, she starts to feel something more than friendship. The only reason I didn’t include it in the main list is because they don’t get together by the end of the first season, but it’s still really cute (also canonically trans character for the win!?)

So that’s my starter list. And no, I didn’t include Toradora, even though it’s a classic. I know it’s blasphemous, but I like it more as a comedy than a romance. It kinda lost me with the ending. But anyway, maybe someone will find something they like. Or maybe you'll just want to roast me and my picks 😅

#yuri on ice #kaguya sama: love is war #fruits basket #ore monogatari #bloom into you #sasaki to miyano #snow white with the red hair #yamada kun to lv999 no koi wo suru #horimiya #recovery of an mmo junkie #taisho maiden fairy tale #skip to loafer #unfortunately not much bl or gl since a lot that I've seen is too...out there for this list... #now bl manga on the other hand... #why did i make this lol? #because i finally got to the confession scene in akatsuki no yona of course and now i'm dead #I kinda want to include doukyuusei too but it's just a little bit steamier than what I was going for with this 😅

[claudeng80]

Caught (Childhood Friends/Pokemon AU)

The sun is just coming up, the castle spires of Tanbarun casting long shadows across the river. Nanaki yawns, because it was not his idea to be up this early, but Cubone has enough energy for the both of them. He chases Oddish in circles, over and under a fallen log in a game Nanaki is far too sleepy to make sense of.

There’s a flat spot on the log just big enough for him, and there’s plenty of time for a nap- 

“Are you going to help me or not?” The princess is too buried in a plant to put her hands on her hips, but the position is implied in the tone. He's heard it more than enough, before and after he left home, to mistake it for any other.

“You said I didn’t have to dig in the dirt, but you didn’t tell me what to do,” he says. “Guess that means I get to take a nap…” He pretends to close his eyes, watching her through his lashes as she wriggles back out of the bush.

“Please!” It’s not often she begs for help, and it startles his eyes right back open, gold meeting green for just a second before her gaze skitters away. He gets a great view of the stick tangled in her hair, more dirt than red at the moment, and Shirayuki points up into a tree. “The fruit. Up there. I need some for this recipe.”

“Potions aren’t that expensive at the store. I don’t see why you don’t like them.”

“It’s not that I don’t like them-” She avoids his eyes again. “It’s just good to have options and save money for emergencies. And maybe if I keep studying, I can make something even better-”

“Like a max-potion?”

“Nanaki…” He tries not to grin, but she is too cute when she whines. “Will you get me the fruit already?”

The tree’s barely even a challenge. He swings up to the first branch, easy as climbing stairs, and sticks the first one he can reach into his pocket. “You could have just climbed up here yourself. You’re taller than you were when you got here.”

Her voice is a little muffled as she dives back into her plant, looking for something underground. “Um, I don’t know how to climb trees.”

***

The night is quiet, not even the rustle of a leaf breaking the stillness. Obi adjusts the scarf around his face and watches the light from the fire die down to nothing. If the redheaded girl doesn’t get her gym badge, she’s going to stay here when the others move on. She’s stubborn; nobody who makes it this far isn’t.

But without her pokemon, there won’t be much she can do.

The prince, the source of all the problems, sleeps closest to the fire. He’s got a sword laid across the grass at his fingertips; it would bring a pretty penny too, if Obi had enough hands for it. But he’s here for a particular job, and sum he’s owed for it will cover that and more.

The older grass-haired boy and the blonde girl don’t twitch as Obi sneaks past them. The noble who hired him insisted they were guards, keeping harm from coming to the prince, but so far he’s not very impressed with their vigilance. He can’t resist a little dance step, right there in the middle of their camp, and nobody is awake to notice.

Immediately he feels a bit silly. He should get this over with and get out of here. He’ll drop off her pokemon at some center where she’ll never think to look. They’ll be taken care of, then either get adopted or released, whatever’s best for them. Nobody’s going to get hurt and he’s going to be rich.

The girl might have gone to sleep holding the strap of her bag, but her hand’s drifted away to the edge of her blanket. He just needs to support the bag so the balls don’t rattle and that will be that, she can’t possibly go on without any of her companions. Silently he pulls on the strap to slide the bag away from her grip, then gently starts to lift it from the grass-

“ODD!” Beyond the first circle of light, a tiny patch of leaves waggles in alarm. He’s been careless not to check, because of course the four of them could only sleep with a nocturnal pokemon left on night watch.

Her eyes fly open with alarm, and he has to wonder if her Oddish hit him with a Charm without him noticing. Surely he would have known all along if it were her. If he’d known-

No, he doesn’t lie to himself. perhaps he suspected all along, but hunger is a powerful persuasion. He could never forget her. But he has to eat. He tightens his hand on the strap and yanks the whole bag up, no longer worrying about the noise. With Oddish shouting its leaves off, all he has left in his favor is their confusion. He’s got to run for it.

“Wait!” she shouts and flails, missing his fleeing heels by a mile. She never was fast, trailing along behind him. She’d get there long after he did, but she never gave up. It doesn’t help her here. “Oddish! Use Sweet Scent!”

He was always much better at the catching than at the training, himself. He’s still several steps from the cover of the forest before there’s a giant blow to his back, sending him tumbling into the leaves. Pokeballs fly everywhere.

Down in the leaves, Obi’s held down, then forcibly flipped. He’s outnumbered, there’s no getting around that, and they’re far better prepared than he was counting on. He lets himself go limp, and a hand tears off his scarf. A pale face snarls down at him, the prince too eager to let his guards do his dirty work. “Who are you?”

Obi doesn’t answer right away. He watches Shirayuki’s face, waiting for the moment she realizes what depths he’s sunk to, how her childhood friend she’d looked up to once is a fraud at heart. But she looks at him with no more than curiosity, and he doesn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that a few inches of height and a few years of hunger are enough to make him someone new. Apparently never intending to quit lasted her no longer than it did him.

Or perhaps he never meant as much to her as she did to him. “Nobody important,” he says, forcing a grin onto his face.

#obiyukibingo23 #fanfic #childhood friends au

[midnightactual]

After watching episode 7 of the new anime something has been bothering me. In the past you have talked about Ichigo's relationship with Yoruichi and from a realistic stand point she's not even his sensei let alone romantic or familial they're just mere acquaintances from a realistic stand point to which I agree fans over blow their bond. So then what's the deal with soul society then? Ichigo (realistically) has even LESS acquaintance with them then the urahara gang minus renji and rukia yet the man acts like soul society is equal to his family. I never understood this love affair Ichigo has with the shinigami. It's so forced that it has always taken away from the plot and made Ichigo's motivations for fighting in the war hollow it even feels like he declares allegiance to them in the soul kings palace rather then humanity. Technically Ichigo has more of a bond with Urahara or Yoruichi yet treats THEM more like acquaintances then his "friends from soul society." Why do you think that is? Thanks

I think it's three things?

The first thing is that it's made pretty clear early on in Bleach (like the first 50 chapters) that as much as they bicker, Ichigo really vibes with Rukia's ethos on a deeply personal level. They also care for each other a lot, in whatever way one wants to imagine that is manifested, which is why both the live action and the musical heavily focused on their interactions and feelings, as does Kubo's own poetry and art (like the "I will pass through even 100 million blades!" spread).

Rukia is the archetypal Shinigami to Ichigo. He even wields Sode no Shirayuki until Byakuya breaks it. (Yes, his first sword is just an oversized Sode no Shirayuki; he's using Rukia's powers and her zanpakutō.) This is interesting because Rukia's mindset is very atypical for Shinigami as a whole, but Ichigo essentially acts like Rukia vouches for everyone else in the Gotei 13. They're good enough for her, so they're good enough for him.

The second thing is that Ichigo has this whole combat empathy character ability thing going on where he bonds with people through fighting them. He claims to be terrible at remembering names and faces but he easily remembers and acts super familiar with every Shinigami he fights (Renji, Ikkaku, Byakuya, and Kenpachi). He feels sympathy for Aizen at the end on that basis. He acts very casually with Ganju and Kisuke. Perhaps most notably, he identifies with Uryū a lot more than Orihime and Chad, because he only comes into more direct conflict with Uryū.

The exceptions are Yumichika, Rangiku, and Tōshirō, whom he's ostensibly familiar with from the week spent in Soul Society after Aizen flees, as he doesn't interact with them much (or at all for the latter two) during SS arc. The two he only sort of tussles with are Gin and Yoruichi, and unsurprisingly, his attitude is still fairly guarded around both of them.

Basically the result of this seems to be that he feels he gets the Shinigami in a deeper way than his human peers. Ichigo is not really particularly good at identifying with people his own age no matter how much shared experience he has with them (like Tatsuki).

The third thing is, like Karin, he hates feeling like a burden or imposition. That means keeping his human friends in the dark, because they can't do anything. That means not bothering Kisuke, because he's presumably working on big brain answers. That means not bothering Yoruichi, because she just radiates intense adult energy. (See also: Ikumi lecturing him on relying on adults.) This means not bothering Isshin. And so on, and so forth. The various Shinigami, he views as "peers" whom he isn't burdening, because they can more or less keep up, and yet they don't really register as authority figure adults to him. It seems like in his mind, they're his battle bros.

Between these three things, I don't think he does have more of a bond with Yoruichi or Kisuke than the Gotei 13 members he kinda knows. He says stuff like, "I'm not one of you, I am a Shinigami!" to Shinji because he really does feel that way. They're just his people as far as he's concerned. He vibes with them.

#Out Of Character #Asks #anonymous

[sabraeal]

Nomans an Island

[Read on AO3]

Written for the delightful @another-miracle for her birthday! Last year Yixin asked for a very specific prompt: the WFB version of the Tanbarun Tree Scene...and then I tempted her with something else entirely. But today she is finally getting what she asked for 🤣

Whatever Shirayuki expected to be at the end of this four hour tour of the New England coastline, it’s certainly not this: a derelict marina in the middle of the water, big enough to make the yacht look less like a mountain and more like some molehill. And yet it’s empty; both the pilings and the island itself, a wasteland of rusted out sheds and overgrown shrubs.

“Here it is.” Dad claps a hand over her shoulder, grip just a hair too tight. “Home sweet home.”

She blinks, watching his men scurry down the ship’s side, yelling out to each other as they set about mooring them to the dock. “This is where you live?”

Her father’s reticent right hand finally grunts. “No.”

“Ah.” A meaty hand rubs at his neck, right where it’s gone ruddy. Shirayuki recognizes that bashful smile, even if it’s just from pictures. “More of a home away from home.”

There’s a part of her that wants to ask where home is, or at least where home has been. It’s the same part that wants him to account for every moment he wasn’t with her being the dad he should have been, spooling out the conversation he’d been so willing to have up in that cozy crow’s nest of his and she...hadn’t. Not when she still had so much else to say.

“Can’t really stay at the Seiran,” Dad says, managing half a shrug. “Uncle Sam takes that whole desertion thing pretty serious. Gotta get creative.”

The government isn’t so fond of treason either the last time Shirayuki checked, but mentioning it felt like might be belaboring a point she isn’t even interested in making. “Where are we?”

“Nomans Land,” Kazuki chirps, appearing suddenly beside her elbow. She’s only known him a few days-- and most of them spent in some leaky cabin while the waves lapped menacingly against their porthole-- but she doesn’t startle. No, it feels natural to have him beside her, an extension to her own presence, the way Oma and Opa had. “Navy used to use it as testing ground. Whole place is filled with cool stuff, ‘long as you’re careful about it.”

“As long as you stick to the marked safe areas, you mean,” Dad says, every word clipped to a point.

Kazuki loses a few inches to his slouch. “Yeah, yeah, I hear ya, Old Man.”

Dad’s breath catches, the way Opa’s always did before he took her to task, but Shirayuki’s quick to head him off. “So you decided to avoid the US government by...squatting on their island?”

“Well...” He coughs, boots shuffling on the deck. “You know what they say, hiding under noses and such. Besides, it’s not like they come out here to check more than a few times a week.”

“And all Pops has to do is slip the coastguard a few Cubans and they forget all about us!” Kazuki chimes in, so helpful.

“Man.” Her father’s pale shadow unfurls from his side, shaking his head. “You really don’t know when to quit.”

“Whaddya mean by--?”

“Gangway’s down.” Dad looms over Kazuki, pointed. “Looks like you boys better make yourselves scarce.”

Kazuki deflates. “Aw, but I didn’t even do--”

“Dinner isn’t going to cook itself.” It wasn’t Dad who raised her, but shadows of her childhood cling to the way he folds his arms and in the angle he tilts his head. Oma used to look at her like that, that phrase worn down to that exact same pitch. “Get a mosey on.”

Maybe he’s as good as a stranger to her, but they’d been raised by the same parents. It’d been his initials she’d stared at every night in her cozy attic room, carved into a rafter she’d never been able to reach; his stash of Hardy Boys novels she’d found behind a panel in the wall and read beneath the blankets that summer. He’s her father, but her childhood shares as much with his as a sibling’s.

Weirdly, that makes this all...easier.

“I’m going down too.” She leans over the rail to watch his men swarm down the gangway like ants on a trail. “I’d like to look around.”

Dad grunts, every furrow on his brow reluctant. These past few hours have taught her he’s a slow speaker, a careful one, but he hesitates a bit too long. Long enough that she’s tempted to remind him she’s not asking for permission, but before she can suck in a breath, he says, “Be careful.”

A smile parts her mouth before she can think twice about it, and once she does, she lets it widen. “Are you going to tell me not to do anything you wouldn’t, too?”

He huffs, mouth twitching. “That one’s no good. Dad may have never done a stupid thing in his life, but, kiddo, I’m made of ‘em.” Softer, he adds. “You lookin’ for someone?”

It’s not until he says it that she realizes she’s been searching the gangway since it dropped, looking for a smudge against the deck.

“Yeah.” The wind picks up, too cold, spraying her hair against her mouth. Still, she smiles. “After all, the Orphan Club never eats alone.”

Intellectually, Shirayuki knows that the yacht is, well, big. She hadn’t gotten a good count on the number of men he kept on it-- however much it is, Kiki assures her it wasn’t anywhere near the actual count of soldiers on the Mountain Lion payroll-- but it’s more than could fit on some millionaire’s pleasure cruise. Three decks and then some, with storage enough to fit the houseboat plus a few more speedy option. It’s huge.

She just didn’t think there’s be so many stairs. And of course they can’t be right next to each other either; oh no, she goes down one to sprint across the deck to another, on and on until Shirayuki isn’t certain of any direction besides up and down, and she was proving pretty terrible at doing the latter.

Her hand grips the rail, steadying her as she leans over. There’s only one deck below now, the gangway jutting out from its side to lean on the dock. And of course, there’s no stairs in sight. She might even need to go back inside to find them.

Shirayuki sighs, settling her hip against the rail. If she were Obi, she could swing herself down from here; he’d done it often enough from one of the balconies at the frat, using a bit of roof to hop off to the ground. It made her stomach seize every time she watched him, but standing here, out of breath and sweat freezing against her neck, she gets it.

With a weary huff, she makes for the stairwell-- or at least, its most likely location-- only to realize the shadow peeling away from the ship is a person, a large one, and he--

He stops, just in front of her. “You’re looking for that friend of yours?”

Her mouth works, soundless until she manages, “I have a lot of friends.”

Ah, well. That wasn’t exactly what she meant.

“Saw a stray cat stroll down the gangway while we were talking. Headed for the forest over there.” Itoya nods toward a stand of trees not far inland. A sad excuse for a forest in her opinion, but maybe after a few months at sea, every copse looked like a canopy. “Probably could catch him if he wanted you to.”

That would be the problem, wouldn’t it? He’d barely said a word to her after the coast guard took Umihebi’s boat, just a fumbled, “Doc,” before Zen had rushed in, arms wide. It’d been chaotic after that, getting passed between boats like a game of hot potato, but still, she’d been sure Obi would find her when it all died down. It’s been hours, and--

She shakes herself. Things she can worry about later. “Thank you. I’ll do that.”

“If he lets you.”

There’s nothing to say to that, nor to the heavy look her father’s right hand lays on her, so she just turns back to the stairwell. One foot’s poised to go through the door when he calls out, “Careful out there. Stick to the paths.”

A laugh huffs out of her. “I know my sense of direction isn’t the best, but I’m pretty sure I won’t get lost.”

“Not about getting lost.” He leans back against the deck, shadows swallowing him whole. “Gotta watch out for live ordnance.”

Her head swings over her shoulder. “W-what?”

“Like the kid said.” His teeth flash in the dying light. “Navy testing grounds. Whole bunch of bombs that haven’t gone boom. Make sure you don’t get a front row seat.”

Shirayuki hasn’t precisely lived a safe life. Farmlands might seem idyllic to cityfolk, but there’s animals to contend with-- not just foxes stealing chickens, but wild cats, wolves, even coyotes when the winters got lean enough. Oma swatted one of them on the behind thinking it was Ms Kino’s too friendly husky out for a ramble, and Animal Control said it was only the surprise that kept her from losing that hand. Bears came around too, though Shirayuki had only seen one once, digging through the garbage after they’d had a particularly full house.

Even barring all her recent excitement, Shirayuki’s no stranger to sticking her head into the lion’s mouth. She didn’t much truck with the kids who would jump trains and play chicken with combines, but she’d sure put fingers where they didn’t belong and was lucky to keep them. The machines had all been off, of course, but just thinking about it now made her shiver with what could have been.

But she has to admit, there’s something a little different about walking through a forest in the dying December light, knowing there’s bombs out there. “O-obi?”

The wind whips through the trees, buffeting her hair all around her. Most of it end up in her mouth. With delicate fingers, she picks it out, untangling a few hairs from her tongue before she calls out again, “Obi!”

Her nerves nearly get to her-- it’s going to be full dark soon, on an island with a population best termed as temporary, and one step off this path could run her into a warhead older than she is. An ‘exercise in stupidity’ has never felt so literal as it does now.

Still, she waits. Longer than someone sensible would, she suspects, but she can’t leave, not when she’s so sure he’s here, that if she waits just one more minute he’ll come sauntering around a tree trunk the way he always does. Really know how to ruin a party, he might tell her, but he’d be there at least, safe.

But she can’t stay out here forever. A cold wind rushes right through the jacket Dad tossed on her, no matter how tight she wraps her arms around herself and--

And there it is. The softest rustle above her. A breath, maybe, and a sigh, and suddenly Obi drops down. It must be eight feet from the nearest branch, but he does it casually, like he’s hopping down the science building’s steps.

“There you are,” she breathes, and oh, her worry hit her all at once, nearly taking her knees out beneath her. But she keeps herself standing, even if it takes every ounce of self-control not to faint from relief. “I hadn’t seen you since we got on the boat. You didn’t really--” look like yourself-- “ah, feel good. It seemed. Is everything--?”

“I’m sorry.”

Every muscle is braced where he stands, and at first that seems normal. A drop like that would make anyone’s knees remind them of their own mortality, no matter how well prepared. But--

But his head is wrenched to the side, eyes clenched in anticipation, and all of it is so foreign a reaction that it takes a full minute for the thought to coalesce in her head: he expects her to hit him. Or well, yell maybe. Something besides just being happy that he’s safe.

“I...” She blinks. “It didn’t take that long. To find you, I mean.”

It’s too dark to see more detail than his eyes opening, neck swiveling until she’s right in his sights. “Not for that. For...”

It’s hard to watch him struggle, his mouth pressed tight even as the muscles of his throat strain to vocalize something, anything. In the end, he settles for a shrug.

“Ah,” she hums, the sound nearly lost in the howl of the wind. “So you’re not okay.”

“Me? Are you?” he snaps, the way he never does at her, breath misting as he carefully doesn’t move. “I was supposed to have your back. I told Zen that I would--” his teeth grit down, and she’s seen this before, with animals back into a corner, wounded and half feral-- “I was supposed to take care of you. And I fucked up.”

“Obi.” She inches closer, just a shuffle of feet across the path, but his flinch stops her cold. “Zen never would have thought that something like this would...”

Happen. It would be easy to say. But even as she tests it on her own tongue, it feels sour, wrong. It’s not like this is the first time someone’s tried to take her off the street.

“You were here for moral support,” she says instead, a truer thing. “Not muscle. No one expected you to throw any punches.”

Really? he’s supposed to say, mouth pulling into one of those Cheshire Cat grins. You think bossman didn’t want me to give that Shenezard prick a good what for?

Instead he’s silent, a statue against the darkening night.

“Obi,” she breathes, wishing she could do something, anything, to get close to him. “Itoya and Kazuki are trained soldiers. No one could expect you to deal with them. No normal person could--”

“That’s the thing though,” he grits out, teeth stark in the dim. “I’m not some normal guy. You don’t even know--” his teeth bite down with a clack-- “just...never mind. I should have been able to handle it.”

“I think you’re being way too hard on--”

It’s impossible to finish that thought, not when he’s standing right here, hand clapped over her mouth. “It doesn’t matter what you think.”

There’s a sick seed a fear that’s planted in her belly for moments like this, for those few seconds in any encounter where she remembers that even though the physical superiority of the male form is a faulty understanding of statistics and body science, she is still small and they are still big and she could very easily be in over her head.

And yet, that’s not what shivers in her stomach as she stands there, shoulders squared as she stares over his hand. No, that’s a flicker of frustration, ready to kindle. Her breath huffs out of her, skittering over his knuckles, and she’s just...aware of him.

There’s calluses on his palm, a few at the knuckles and even more settled on the mounts. His skin smells like sap and salt and nothing like the sandalwood he’d been wearing at the river. Despite the kitten grip he has on her jaw, he’s standing far enough away Ryuu and a friend could probably stand between them with room to spare.

Something shifts; the sun in the sky, maybe, or just the wind, and the hard glint of gold peeks through his eyelashes, meeting her stare. And for a single moment, she’s filled with the perverse impulse to lick his hand.

He saves her the trouble. His breath hitches, and quick as a blink, he’s stepped back, cold air rushing over her lips.

“Oh shit.” His hand flexes at his side. “I didn’t mean-- I’m sorry. That’s not what I wanted to...”

“It’s fine--”

“It’s not fine!” He shakes his head, making a visible effort to lower his voice when he says, “Doc, I appreciate that you wanna let me off the hook, I do, but that’s because to you I’m just, I don’t know, some guy.”

“Obi, you’re not just-- just some guy,” she says, “you’re my friend, and--”

“That’s the problem.” He spits out the words, like they’re sour in his mouth. “You’re cool with me fucking up because you think that’s all I can do, not because it’s actually what I can do, and those are-- they’re two different things, Doc. They are.”

“I don’t think you’re a-- a--”

“Doc, please,” he sighs, scrubbing at the back of his neck. “Believe when I say I could have hosed that guy. Easy. Hell, I did hose that guy.”

Shirayuki stares. “What was that?”

“Er...” Obi grimaces. “Long story. Suffice to say, if I’d been actually doing my job, and not--” he shakes his head-- “never mind. Just...none of this would have happened if it weren’t for me, so...”

His shoulders twitch, the barest suggestion of a shrug. Not his usual lazy lift, designed to drive Zen up a wall, criticism rolling off him like water off a duck’s back. No, this time he cares too much; too afraid of getting hurt to let down his guard even an inch.

“So what you’re saying,” she begins, slowly. “Is that you want to be mad at yourself.”

He hunches, hanging low, all the fight gone out of him. “No, I want you to be mad at me. Because you would be, if you knew.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen.” Her mouth curves. “Unless you want to tell me that what I think doesn’t matter again.:

Obi grimaces. “Ah, I swear, that wasn’t supposed to come out like that...”

“I hope not. I’m no soldier, but my Oma did teach me how to throw a mean right hook.” At least, so Mihaya said, though she has a feeling if she trots that name out here, he’ll be on the first boat back to Connecticut to give him a piece of his mind. “If you really feel you need to make it up to me...”

Obi glances up at her with such hope in his eyes, she can’t bear to add, which you don’t. As he said, her opinion on the matter doesn’t count. He might not have meant it, not the way it came out, but it’s clear-- it’s Obi who can’t forgive himself, not her.

Her shoulders tighten as she admits, “There is something I could use your help with.”

“Really?” He squints, like her forgiveness comes with fine print and he’s trying to read between the lines. “You still...you still want me to...?”

“I already told you, I’m not mad.” A wind blows through, and she tugs her jacket tighter. “You never lost my trust, Obi. Not for a second.”

There’s no spark of belief in his eyes, no hopeful glimmer of relief. Only a shuddering breath as he pulls himself together, piecing together his jester’s mask one shard at a time.

“Well, then I’m your guy, Doc.” He grins, and oh, it would be so easy to believe it was real if she hasn’t just watched him forge it from scraps in front of her. “What do you need done? Got something on a high shelf? Need a guy to get his shit kicked in--?”

“Please, don’t get ahead of yourself.” She waves a hand, as if that might help lower his expectations. “It’s not anything, er, fun.”

“Well,” he hums, brows furrowing. “Color me intrigued. What is it?”

“It’s...” It would be easy to warn him, to tell him just what terrible thing she needs him for but no matter which words she tries, none of them come close. “I have a storage unit that needs cleaning out. From when my grandparents died. It’s got...stuff.”

“Ah.” He nods, solemn, stepping up beside her. “Stuff. Well, lucky for you, Doc, it just so happens I’m great at getting rid of shit.”

#obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #The Wide Florida Bay #my fic #modern au #college AU #ans #there was going to be a whole scene with Mukaze explaining himself #but i realized i wanted to have SO much more of the tanbarun arc written before i wrangled with that #esp since it involves quite a bit of modern american history #and i gotta commit to it if that's where i'm going #so first I gotta like...do other stuff. with the plot here #and then mukaze can give some answers

[dedahblog]

I know that the ichiiruki fandom likes to ship Ichigo and Rukia's zanpakto together but honestly I don't think Zangetsu and Sode no Shirayuki can get along.

As far as the anime portrayal is concerned, Sode no Shirayuki is basically a tsundere and who's between Ichigo and Zangestu is the tsundere ?

I think you get where I'm going. Silly drabble under the cut about Ichigo x Sode no Shirayuki brotp potentials

Ichigo : ...

Sode no Shirayuki : ...

Ichigo : Nice weather, right?

S n S : ...

Ichigo: So ! Chappy told me you're the only all white zanpaktou.

S n S : ...

Ichigo : and the most beautiful one ever created

S n S : You lowly human, are you trying to court me ?

Ichigo : We've been silently staring at each other for 2 hours waiting for Zangetsu and Rukia to come back. I'm just trying to make small talks and what was that gross thing you just said right now ?! Don't even joke about it, idiot.

S n S : All that talk about being the most beautiful zanpakto is meaningless. What does a sword get from being beautiful ? If anything the beauty of the zanpakto is the reflection of the soul of its weilder.

Ichigo (scratching the back of his neck slightly smiling) Ha... Rukia admires you a lot. I'm happy you feel the same.

S n S : W-what are you talking about ? Who feels the sa- I'm just stating facts ! It's not like I'm writing poems about Rukia sama in my spare time or anything !

Ichigo : Hey ! Hey ! What's wrong with writing po- I-I mean who cares about that ! It's not like Rukia is that pretty pretty pretty

S n S : How dare you badmouth Rukia sama you lowly-

Ichigo : I never said Rukia isn't pretty pretty ! I'm saying she's just pretty pretty pretty. See ! You're the one denying your feelings for her !

S n S : Well, I never said she's pretty pretty. I'm just saying if you want to call her pretty pretty pretty you should at least call her pr-

That's when, Rukia and Zangetsu came back from the bunny theme festival.

...

Three days ago, Ichigo was willing to go with Rukia and was actually excited despite his "Hmm, I guess I have no other choice."

It was until he saw the tv ad, that he swore he would never go to "this childish festival" "Like who do you think I am ?? I have a reputation ! Your creepy rabbit obse- aarg" **Rukia's violence on Ichigo**

Of course, this was only an excuse.

The real reason was that he saw someone dressed as a bunny in the tv ad with a similar outfit to the one from a horror manga he watched when he was 6.

A movie that traumatized him ever since.

He didn't even have to ask Zangetsu to go instead of him because the latter was already aware of Ichigo's trauma.

As a part of his soul, he also watched that movie simultaneously and was also freaked out when he saw that tv ad.

However, he thought that if he let Ichigo go to that festival, all his inner world would filled with creepy serial killer bunny and Zangestu wouldn't be able to rest even one eyelid.

That's why he went.

Aside from the fact Rukia insisted on having a photo with that bunny in particular, the festival wasn't that disastrous experience. Althought the cheesy cuteness of the chappy dance was too much for him to handle, Rukia's company made it worth it

To sum up, Zangetsu was glad it was over until he saw Ichigo and Sode no Shirayuki yelling at each other.

Rukia,on the other hand, was deeply concerned. She had never seen the calm and collected Sode no Shirayuki so heated up. But seeing her indulging Ichigo's idiocies warmed her heart "She's an idiot after all. I'm glad they get along, right Zangetsu ? "

However, Zangetsu wasn't impressed at all. He said to himself "King has found someone who's going to fuel his tsundere behavior even more". Him being the first victim of Ichigo's emotional constipation and inner frustrations, he braces himself for the dark future awaiting for him.

Zangestu : Let's go back do that tummy bunny dance challenge.

Rukia : I thought you said on the name of murder and blood lust, you would never do it

Zangetsu : Well, I need something to stop reminding me of some dark upcoming events and this dumb challenge is the only thing that can help me right now.

Rukia : (too concerned to notice he insulted chappy) ... do you need to talk about it ?

Zangetsu: I wish I could tell you.

#blech au #yes I made a Hiichiruki story where they are having a normal interaction #the audacity ... #I'm projecting my fear of clowns on Ichigo

[traditional-with-a-twist]

xliii. Beauty and Her Beast

@the-pompous-potato awwww <3 I feel you, feeling for them!! wish I could say that things will be looking up, but, um, well, there's a ways to go

@claudeng80 they're in a disaster somewhat of their own making, it must be admitted

@bubblesthemonsterartist XD ruining the moment, indeed *nod*nod* that pretty much sums it up! very true about fears - Shirayuki does much better with specifics

<<Previous || first arc || second arc || Next>>

Then the door swings wide, and she realizes her mistake.

He is tall — too tall — and bundled in scarves and heavy weaves. The dull colors fade to dust in the starlight.

A band sits low over his eyes, obscuring them but for a predatory gleam.

...

She has never seen him before. This man is a stranger to her.

Dirty-blonde hair in rough, matted braids; a furtive smile with crooked teeth — he is tall, but round shouldered, his head held low and forward as if to scent the air.

The intruder grins at her expression. “Surprise.”

...

Tonight was his lucky night.

He had given Nanaki the slip several hours back, aided by the thick blanket of snow.

Then it was child’s play to follow a hunch right here.

...

Sources had suggested to him that the usually elusive shadow seemed tied to the area. 

He thought Nanaki might have a little nest somewhere, but he had never guessed it would be so easy to find, shining like a beacon in the night. 

Nor would he have dreamed of finding such a pretty bird in it.

...

He ran his eyes over her, savoring the moment as fear rose like a tangible thing in the air between them.

She had great big eyes and hair like a robin’s feathers. A puff of wind might have carried her away, slip of a thing as she was. 

His grin widened. “Waiting for someone?”

...

He was testing her, teasing the edges of her endurance.

Would she try to run, with him standing between her and the only door? 

Would she try to scream, with nothing but the dark night to hear her?

...

Shirayuki backs away. She is not thinking just then - it is only her body moving, with the instincts of cornered prey. 

She has woken from her dream so violently, so abruptly, that her thoughts wheel in shards, incoherent fragments. 

It is not until she feels the heat of the fire at her back that she stops. 

...

The intruder watches her, eyes glittering below the band as they track her motions. 

He makes no move to follow.

Unhurried, assured of his game, he spins out the moment as he waits for her fear to betray her. 

...

When Shirayuki looks at him, she sees a parade of menacing figures, every shape and size that has crossed her path from Raj’s sneering soldiers to the lady pirate with the red smile.

They carry swords, sticks, and whips; they lash out with their fists and their tongues. 

From the outside, they are powerful, dangerous, but on the inside every one of them is a wretched, mean-spirited thing. 

...

With the flames dancing at her back, Shirayuki’s spirit kindles. 

This is her home. She will not allow him to force his way inside, stain it with the darkness of his soul.

Reaching out, her hand closes on the fire poker.

...

It’s heavy in her hands. She drags it from its stand and thrusts it between them, more a warning than a threat.

She needs both arms to hold it aloft, but the heavy iron dwindles against the crooked figure outlined in her front door. 

The freezing wind hisses around the edges of him, and he looms tall as a pine tree, but with the quickness of a rat.

... 

He laughs when he sees her defense - a delighted laugh, as if she has offered him a gift as a token of her hospitality.

“Is it going to be a fight then?” he asks, his voice rough with anticipation. 

“You’re not welcome here,” Shirayuki says. 

Her voice does not shake. 

She holds the bar of iron between them and imagines what she must do if he comes closer. 

...

He takes his time about it.

Glancing first around the cottage to assure himself there are no hidden entrances, he steps over the threshold. 

Then fixing his gaze on her again, he reaches behind him and shuts the door. 

...

Shirayuki breathes out steadily. 

All the heat has leached from the room. A shiver creeps down her.

Watching her face, the intruder finds the latch with his quick fingers and drops it into place.

Only then does he step towards her.

...

Perhaps she knows how to use that stick of hers — her grip on it is firm. 

He’ll give it due caution then, wouldn’t want to lose an eye over this game. 

If she lunges for him, she’ll have a split second advantage, slight as she is, from the extended reach and the wicked end of the poker, plunging at his face. 

...

Then he will be too close, and the difference in their weights will tell. 

A bat of his hand will send her weapon spinning to the floor. He’ll get hold of her little arm, and she will be his. 

His fingers flexed as he advanced, anticipating, even as he prepared to negotiate that tricky space when she would have her one chance at him. 

...

He was halfway across the room to her now; she was watching him with an almost unnerving calmness, given her position. 

One step — watch that poker.

Two steps and — 

...

The window exploded.

...

A hurricane entered the room. It spun across the floor, lifted the intruder off his feet, and slammed him against the opposite wall.

The crack of bone on wood sounded like broken ice.

He sank dazed, a jumble of limbs and scarves.

...

The whirlwind paused long enough to resolve itself into Obi.

His face is almost unrecognizable — lips drawn back in a snarl, eyes wild — but then he looks at Shirayuki.

The gesture is so familiar — that split second examination, checking her proximity, assessing her from head to toe, judging her safety — that she can see him there.

For a moment, he is himself.

...

Then the fierce mask sets again.

The stranger has recovered himself. He rises with a hiss, one fist gripping a hunting knife.

Obi blurs into motion, landing a series of blows that drive the man away from the wall, away from Shirayuki, back towards the door.

...

The knife spins away, disarmed in a strike too fast to follow.

Its owner yanks a cord from his belt and lunges in a last-ditch effort to undermine the  relentless attack.

He has seen Nanaki fight before, but never like this. Fear dogs him, biting the edges of the mounting pain.

If he can get the wire around Nanaki’s neck, lethal as he is, he will crush the breath from him.

...

A fist slams into his stomach, driving up and under the ribs.

He sees a face like death, the eyes darkened to black.

Then he sees no more.

...

The intruder crashes to the ground, collapsing in on himself.

Obi stands over him, mantling like the wings of a hawk.

Then he lifts the ragged bundle as if it weighed no more than a rabbit, and heaves it out into the snow.

...

“Obi!” Shirayuki cries, the moment he turns to her. “Are you hurt?”

He stares at her, his hand on the latch, his eyes flat and empty like they belong to someone else.

They rove around the room, checking again, then return to her face.

Her hand lifts and stretches towards him.

...

Suddenly he is in front of her.

Shirayuki doesn’t have time to examine him, to search out whatever hurts he may have collected in his time away.

His arms are around her, and he seizes her with a force he has never let her feel before.

...

Beneath the pressure, she feels fear.

Obi’s fingers dig into her skin, gripping her as if he is afraid she will melt away. He is shaking, his breathing low and fast.

She doesn’t know how to reassure him, but she has to do something.

...

Shirayuki wrests a hand free and tugs his face down to hers.

She tries to hold his gaze, but his pupils are dilated and unseeing.

He needs to know that she is here, that she is safe.

...

She kisses his mouth.

His lips part, and she kisses him again.

Obi draws in a deep breath, as if to inhale her.

...

She fastens her arms around his neck and knots her fingers in his hair, holding him as close as she can.

He lifts her from the floor.

Shirayuki wraps herself around him, arms and legs, fitting herself into all the spaces between them.

He buries his face in her neck, his breathing ragged.

...

Then he carries her to their room.

#Akagami no Shirayukihime #obiyuki #Beauty and Her Beast #PurePassion #home intruder #fight scene #not a fake-out fight this time #promise

[another-miracle]

Nobody actually told Obi what exactly happened to make Shirayuki leave Tanbarun (now on AO3)

Leave it to Sarah to know the exact “right to the good part” scenario I needed to scratch my writing itch. This one’s for you @claudeng80 :) Set before Eisetsu arc when Shirayuki, Obi and Ryuu are still travelling on the road together.

Dinner starts off as a simple affair. Miss cooks up half the dishes while Obi settles the other half in the in-built kitchen of a decidedly-not-small room they’ve found themselves in (wonders what accommodation one affords with all that sweet Wisteria cash; they are delegates after all). A trade-off that they’d agreed on so that they could cook and have dinner in the same space they would reside for the night - instead of going down to the common area. Ryuu sets the table as best he can.

Eventually, they settle down to eat. The conversation steers towards Miss’ early days in the pharmacy - Ryuu still a boy who hid under tables, a fact present-Ryuu did not appreciate being brought up - and Miss still desperately trying to find her footing in a foreign land. It’s new to Obi, to hear of their endeavours before his arrival to Clarines, and he finds himself enjoying the journey down memory lane. That is, until Miss drops a wayward comment that catches the both of them off guard.

So casual, she says, “It’s so funny. And to think I’d almost had to live my life as Raj’s concubine.”

Ryuu freezes and his eyes dart over to Obi. Similarly, Obi’s glass has paused over his lips. It feels like the air in the room has been abruptly sucked out. The word ‘concubine’ rings in his ears as Miss continues to laugh between bites.

“What do you mean concubine?” Obi asks carefully. He’d thought she’d been invited to the palace to be a princess, or perhaps a lady-in-waiting. To be seen, not...

“Oh yes,” Miss shares, something almost fond lining her lips. “Raj and Sakaki-san had pretty wild ideas back then. Sent me poisoned apples and everything.”

“Miss-what?”

Shirayuki looks up, only now noticing Obi’s tone. Next to him, Ryuu lowers his utensils down and places them on either side of his plate. Obi immediately fixates on Miss’ form. His eyes dart down to her arms, searching for any scars, mind desperately rifling through memories of when they first met, whether she had been constantly wearing long sleeves. She’d worn leggings all this while hasn’t she? Obi resists the urge to bend down to look under the table.

“Oh,” Miss starts again, startling Obi’s gaze back to hers. “Oh! He didn’t get to me- I mean, he did. It’s a funny story actually- Zen ended up being the one eating said apple and getting poisoned. I’d only followed to get the antidote, but thankfully-” she glances at Ryuu, “Zen has had quite a resistance against most poisons, and he was fine.”

The sentence is met with tense silence. Ryuu seems to be staring at his plate as if the peas could conjure up a response. A part of Obi wants to shake the boy and tell him not to worry, to crack a joke to diffuse the air. The other part is blinded by red hot anger. The urge to retrieve his knives and march right up to Tanbarun to commit regicide thrums wildly in his temples.

Friend of the Crown? What on earth was Master thinking - working with someone like that. What on earth was he thinking? He’d spent every afternoon for a month, watching, not knowing, as the two - kidnapper and concubine-to-be - traipsed through the gardens of Tanbarun castle, sat next to each other for hours in the libraries. He’d carried the man on his fucking shoulders.

A touch to his hands and his eyes fly open. Miss’s hand is placed on his, on both of their hands. A small smile plays at her lips. Obi turns to Ryuu. The boy looks frustrated enough to cry.

Miss gives a small laugh. “Hey, it’s over alright? I didn’t bring it up to see you guys upset. It was just in passing. And look, we’re all here now. Royal delegates, serving the Wisteria Crown for the greater good of her people!”

Miss glances up at him, then flicks her gaze at Ryuu. Obi suddenly remembers how distraught Ryuu was when they returned to Clarines after their visit to Tanbarun, having only received news that Miss had been kidnapped. He also remembers the fear in his eyes when both he and Shirayuki succumbed to the then-Lyrias disease.

Obi sighs.

His hand reaches out to ruffle Ryuu’s hair. “Yeah,” Obi says, “Miss wouldn’t let something like that get her down. She’s strong, isn’t she, Little Ryuu?”

Ryuu stares up at him, unshed tears, his gaze darting between the both of them. Obi gives him his best reassuring smile; he knows Miss does too, even if he doesn’t look at her.

The boy sniffs. “Yeah- she is. Yeah.”

--------

Later when the plates are cleared and Ryuu has fallen asleep, exhausted from the additional emotional tirade he had earlier, Obi finds Miss by the window. She sits with her feet propped on the sill, arms wrapped around her knees, gaze focused on the distant horizon. The moon is out, deciding to grace Miss in all the splendour and glow her countenance deserves. If Miss thinks he looks good by the firelight, then it should be of no consequence for him to say-

“You look good in the moonlight, Miss,” Obi tells her, holding out a cup of tea and sitting down by her. Miss accepts the drink with a smile before looking out again. She is quiet - more so than usual. Obi sips his tea and waits.

She thumbs at the rim of the cup, looks down, then up at him. With a sheepish smile, she says, “I wonder if that’s something I might have heard from...men...if…”

She trails off, bringing the cup to her lips, the picture of grace and relief. Obi, on the other hand, is struck frozen for the second time this evening. That’s not what he meant. That’s not what he meant.

“Miss-”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Miss rushes out. “That wasn’t fair- it’s just- it’s my fault, I’d brought it up. I don’t mean to say that you’re like any of them- I don’t-”

Miss breathes, a shaky exhale. Obi watches as she struggles with something bigger than her, bigger than the both of them. It’s something more immense than even the distance between two countries, if he’s honest. His heart pulls toward her; the burden she has been carrying for almost two years - the shame, the fear - feelings he has no way of possibly understanding in this lifetime. He aches to reach out for her, but he’s not sure- in that moment, he rehashes every single touch between the two of them. Belatedly, he also finally understands why she’d run when Master kissed her.

“It’s alright,” he murmurs, an assurance that falls flat in the space between them. Miss hums in response, forcing out a smile at him in apology. And- Obi doesn’t want that. How many smiles has she hidden behind? Sweet words that fall from her lips - not just to him, but to the very people who’d wanted to kidnap her, to turn her into an object of possession, to reduce her brilliant mind and her wonderful soul and the endlessly faith-bearing light in her eyes into a mere ornament to be gawked at, prodded until nothing is left. What has he been doing? What have they all been doing?

Obi places his mug down on the table before sidling up to the sill, back to the scenery, hands clasped in front of him. He notices Miss is looking at him curiously. Obi sets his gaze on the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the concrete. He doesn’t do this- doesn’t offer more than platitudes to soothe, doesn’t give others more than he should, more than he can spare another human being. But- he thinks of the broken smile on Miss’ face-

“I’d almost lost my life once,” Obi tells the ceiling. “Thought myself hot shit and went around accepting jobs that were clearly beyond my pay grade. Risked my life because I’d thought it a resource to be utilized when needed - as long as it puts bread on the table, money in my pocket.”

Obi turns down and gives Miss a wan smile. “And it’s funny, because that was me when I met you. You, with all your incredible courage, this red-haired girl who’d walked forward in face of an arrow shot at her. Who’d saved an entire colony in face of a disease no one knew. Who’d jumped off a tower. Who’d walked straight back into the place she’d been running from, head held high, into the den of the very person who’d deigned her an object.

Miss flinches at this. And Obi aches.

“And-” Obi pauses. Breathes. “So much of me just wants to ride down the South back to Tanbarun, go up to Raj’s door and wrangle his neck - him and Sakaki both. But beyond that, Miss-”

Obi stares at her, willing the words, “You are beyond what anyone says of you, beyond whatever value anyone places on you. You’re not some object that someone just picks up and calls their own. Because whatever that’s in there,” Obi jabs his thumb against his chest, “it’s not something that can be assigned by anyone else. You are your own person, Miss. You belong to you. And it’s this you who has toppled boundaries, created antidotes, you and your brilliant mind, and your wonderful soul and everything that is you.

“And-” Obi wrenches his gaze from her, hand coming up to push down on his shoulder. “I can’t imagine myself without you. I’ve changed, because of you. Myself and many other people you’ve met in Clarines - Little Ryuu, too. So please-

“Don’t think you are anything less than who you have made yourself to be. Don’t let anything cause that- not Raj, not Master, not Izana, not even me. You are yours, Miss.”

Obi says it quietly, a whisper taken by the wind into the meadows ahead of them. But he knows Miss hears it all the same. Obi lets the words take up the silence, let them take root. He hopes, desperately, that in between the awkward cadence and messy phrasing, Miss may find some comfort in them. An unspoken assurance that he is on her side - always have, and always will be.

Sneaking a glance at her, Obi is startled to find Miss’ head buried in her knees, shoulder shaking.

He jumps up and immediately frets. “M-miss, ahh- I didn’t mean to make you upset! I’m sorr-”

In an instant, Obi’s hand is enclosed between both of hers, warmth effusing through skin. A warbled laugh escapes her and she looks up from her knees up at him. Arrested by the tears in her eyes, Obi watches as she smiles that broken smile again - only this time, he knows it isn’t forced. She brings his hand close to her, and places the back of it against her forehead. Obi’s hand twitches, almost aching to cup her face and rub the tears trickling down - but clearly Miss is having a moment as she closes her eyes and breathes.

“Thank you, Obi,” Miss tells him, words entangling around his fingers. “It never gets easier- I don’t think it will, but-”

She takes his hand and cups it against her cheek anyway, collapsing all his walls. “You, being here. You remind me that I’m worth more.”

He can’t resist his fingers running across the apples of her cheekbones. He wipes away every tear that falls and bends down close, leaning his forehead against hers. There are no words to describe the monument of a woman before him now, and as he draws strength from this little form of comfort he’s offered, he only hopes she receives the same.

It will not be easy, probably never will, as Miss says.

But Obi will be damned if she ever faces it alone again.

#obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #this has to be one of the most emotionally exhausting fics i’ve ever written #yixin’s fic

[windwardrose]

a purveyor of worst-case scenarios watches Snow White with the Red Hair

Prince Zen, dramatically in the candlelit stairway: go up into the fortress, the guards are there! But... we have a fight to finish :|

Me: yeah Shirayuki, save up your spells slots, you're the cleric! Wait, just an herbalist. Save up your... herbs.

*

Prince Zen, arriving in a swirl of cloak and gleaming-eyed determination: Sea Claw, will you accept my challenge?

Me: oooOOOOOOoooh DRAMA it's a DUEL she's got a RANGED WEAPON buddy be careful...

(Series of epic fight stills)

Me: oh

*

Shirayuki, dramatically wiping tears in the sunset over the ocean, surrounded by guards, waiting for her friends to return from battle: oh no, where are they...

Kiki and the boys: [appear, mildly scuffed]

Shirayuki: ah there you are! ...where's Obi?

Zen: oh, downstairs...

(camera cuts to Obi lookin smug and fine as usual)

Me: YOU GUYS ARE SO LUCKY YOU'RE IN A SHOUJO ANIME, you didn't even NEED your cleric!

Folks and gentlefolks, we have Chekov's herbalist, here to deal with peoples' sprained ankles and bruises for two seasons... Anybody even going to get a poisoned arrow wound? Anybody???

All kidding aside I do love this show. It's so cute and good, and full of cooperation and growth and clear communication and pretty outfits.

Now if only somebody would get stabbed.

[...someone may say: but Windward! You're literally unironically reading Black Butler! Isn't that enough doom for you? Ah but see, that's too MUCH doom and the wrong kind. It has to matter, they have to care about each other and it has to mean something when the edge of night comes near, because they have love and promises and light that they're fighting for. You know the way of it. Also #somebodysaveCiel.]

#story #windward's two cents #things i get up to #shirayuki #okay there are a few episodes left so if I get my words served to me on a platter #I'll come back and report #akagami no shirayukime

[bubblesthemonsterartist]

(don’t) wake me up

Hold Me Close (and never let me go) Masterlist

Shirayuki never did wake easily.

That’s what her grandparents always told her, voices fond and smiles baffled as she bounced off walls and stumbled her way to her bowl of froot loops in the hours before nine. Earlier bedtimes did not mean earlier risers, the film of sleep lingering until she was loaded down with her books and binders and bundled onboard her school bus. Not even the allure of a perfect attendance sticker was enough to pry her to full consciousness until after the morning school announcements were done and everyone had taken their seats.

College had been a blessing, any classes scheduled before 10am something everyone mourned. Sleep dazed students piling into their lecture halls wearing a unicorn onesie after lunch didn’t even cause her professors to bat an eye. “Everyone is tired,” Yuuha scoffed, bent over his laptop while downing an espresso with a redbull chaser. 

This was fine, she thought. It was the ROTC crowd that were the odd ones; Mitsuhide showering off the sweat of morning PT and downing a plate full of protein before her first alarm of the day had even sounded.

It wasn’t until she was in medical school memorizing the symptoms of sleep disorders that she realized maybe her mornings were not… neurologically normal. But no graduate advisor was going to sign off for the time off needed for a sleep study and she had lived long enough like this, why not hold off a few years more?

Part of her wishes that she had done the tests back then; sacrificed a few perfect grades for the possibility of a well rested morning.

But considering her current predicament, perhaps she saved herself both time and money by not.

“Miss.”

A soft laugh and gentle pressure on her shoulder stops her cold. Blinking blearily, she stares at the whirls of gold paint dancing up a purple wall, the crinkled blue fabric covering the window beside it.

“Ah,” she breathes, rubbing at her crusty eyes. “I thought you weren’t supposed to do that.”

Another laugh, not unkind, filters through the haze. “Do what?”

Shirayuki turns where she stands - Oh, it’s a hallway. They’re in a hallway now. When did they do that? - and says, “Touch me without asking first.”

In the dim of the establishment's lighting, she can barely make out the color of his eyes, but she remembers. Gold. His eyes were… somehow gold.

No, that couldn’t be right.

“There are exceptions to every rule, Miss,” Obi says quietly, but his hands fall through the air, landing harmlessly at his side, and through the soft fuzz wrapping her brain, Shirayuki feels a paign of regret. 

“Are you going to be alright?” he asks, his voice just as soft as they had been when the both of them had been wrapped in fresh, clean smelling sheets. “Do I need to call you a Lyft?”

It’s like turning over a flooded engine. She’s cranking the gas, keys turning in the ignition, the starter screaming-- “Oh!” Shirayuki shakes her head, scrubbing at her face again. God, she can’t remember the last time a conversation was this hard. It’s almost as if- as if she just woke up. Or something. “Oh, no. I came with a friend. She’s taking me home.”

In the dim half lighting, his eyes spark with humor and- and she thinks his eyes really are gold. Somehow. Either that or sleep deprivation has caused her to start processing the color yellow inappropriately, in which case, she really should schedule an appointment with a neurolo--

“Good to know, Miss,” he says, gesturing towards the door to the reception area. “I’m sure she’s waiting for you. We went a little over time.”

Shirayuki could not say this with complete certainty, but she was pretty sure she’d never been late to anything in her life. “Huh? Why?”

Obi glances up at the ceiling, scratching at the non-existent stubble at his chin. “You were… rather insistent that you wanted to stay in bed.”

Mortification floods her face with heat and she can only hope that the lighting is dim enough to hide it. She must have- she must have actually slep--

“I’m so sorry,” she blurts. Her grandparents had recorded it one time to show her; grandpa snickering behind their new camcorder as grandma wrangled Shirayuki’s floppy limbs out of bed and to standing. She had flopped right back onto the mattress, spooling the covers around her before grandma could catch her. Twice. To her knowledge, she had never outgrown it. “I’ve never woken up easily.”

His shoulders shake. “It was flattering, Miss, truly. Never have I seen a more satisfied customer.”

Now she wants to ask. But she might melt right through the floorboards first out of sheer embarrassment first. “I can’t believe I just made you lay there for an hour while I slept.”

“Professional hazard,” he quips with a wink. “You wouldn’t be the first lady to fall asleep on me.”

“That somehow doesn’t feel like something you should be bragging about,” she claps back, only to slap her hands over her mouth. Inside thoughts, Shirayuki. Inside thoughts.

“Well.” His hand lands on the door handle, huffing out a sound halfway to a laugh. “It depends on who you are talking to.”

All things considered, she may firmly be in the satisfied customers camp, so it really wasn’t fair of her to tease. Actually, now that she’s thinking about it, if she actually did sleep-- “Can I take you home with me?”

Fingers blanch on the door handle and- oh yes, those eyes were definitely, definitely, gold. “Uhm.”

“I mean!” Shirayuki’s hands slap against her cheeks this time. That- that didn’t come out right at all. “Do you have a business card? Or something?”

Obi just stares at her, and it may be her imagination, what with the lighting and all, but his cheeks seemed a little… darker than before.

“It’s just-” Oh, if only she had been blessed with even an ounce of tact. “I slept so well.”

Rubbing awkwardly at his neck, Obi huffs, “It was just a nap, Miss.” But he reaches behind her, plucking a card off of a wall rack covered in adverts from massage therapists and yoga instructors and, goodness, Shirayuki may have visited half of these establishments. “But any time you feel like drooling on my arm again, feel free to give me a call.”

She wants to tell him that it was more than a nap. It was the first time in months that there hadn’t been dreams. “Thank you.”

“I, ah-” Obi coughs into his fist, staring at the door. “I do have overnight rates.”

It’s Shirayuki’s turn to be speechless.

He tilts his chin towards the bit of cardstock in her hand. “Info on the back.”

Her tongue twists in her mouth, staring up at him, but he pulls on the handle and--

“Oh there you are!”

In the reception area, Yuzuri bounds to her feet, ushering her out of Obi’s shadow and into her arms. She already has her phone out. “I was beginning to wonder if you left or something. C’mon, let’s go get lunch at that little crepe place before things start getting busy.”

Shirayuki casts a wide eye look behind her, only catching the profile of Obi’s face as the door is pulled shut behind him.

“Okay!” Yuzuri bubbles, holding her phone between them as she leads them outside. She is not prepared for the cold blast of early spring air, but she’s even less prepared for the woman smiling up at her from Yuzuri’s phone. Pixelated leafs that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Geocities era flutter across a soft focus headshot, the tinkle of piano keys emerging from underneath the sounds of passing cars. “So this is the reiki lady Kazaha swears by. She’s booked out for months, but he said he was able to get us a slot-”

“Yuzuri-” Shirayuki tries softly.

“-and, yes, I know how you feel about energy work, but her yelp reviews are really good and-”

“Yuzuri, I slept.”

Carefully swept up curls, freshly tied back into a high ponytail stop swinging, and Shirayuki almost bumps into her. Someone does bump into Shirayuki, though, then swears as Shirayuki collapses into Yuzuri’s back.

“Sorry-” Shirayuki begins, glancing behind her, but all that gets her is a dirty look as an old man swings around her, grumbling something about not stopping in the middle of the sidewalk-

Yuzuri takes hold of her arm, shuffling them to a display window. “Did you say,” she begins slowly, staring at her with wide eyes. “That you slept?”

Shirayuki nods, still unable to believe it herself. “And no dreams.”

Yuzuri takes a breath. Then another one. “Do you think… you could seep… some more?”

Any time Shirayuki closes her eyes, they burn, but she does it again and this time, her body goes momentarily weightless with the promise of unconsciousness. “Yea.”

“Okay, okay,” Yuzuri breathes, taking Shirayuki’s arm in hers once more. “Okay, yea, let’s- let’s get you home, then.”

~ ~ ~

“If I had known that this is what you needed, I would have done it ages ago.”

Shirayuki stares at the far wall. It was so much easier back there on the street, still sleep warm and a little bleary, to say that she would sleep. To say that she could. “Mm.”

Yuzuri’s arm wraps tighter about her waist, cold nose brushing against her neck. “Not that I haven’t enjoyed our little outings,” she continues. “I’ve always wanted to try that stuff.”

While Shirayuki doesn’t precisely agree, she’s not going to pretend that it hasn’t been an, ah, experience. “Mm.”

“I wonder why the professional cuddler worked but not the massage therapist?” Yuzuri hums. “If it was physical contact you needed, I would’ve thought--”

Shirayuki sighs, loud enough that Yuzuri stops talking. “It’s not coming.”

Propping herself up on her elbow, Yuzuri pulls at her shoulder, rolling Shirayuki until she’s flat on her back. Brain as heavy as a sack of beans, she watches Yuzuri frown at her still open eyes, confirming that Shirayuki was, indeed, not asleep, and then sighs.

With a plop, Yuzuri collapses back onto the mattress next to her once more, arm wrapping about her middle. It’s nice. Warm. She misses warm.

“Well, we just laid down, maybe you need some more time,” Yuzuri mumbles into her hair, and maybe- maybe she’s right. This is the closest she’s felt to sleep in her own bed in a long time. At least without heavy medication. “And maybe I should stop talking.”

That’s an idea. But it never used to bother her. Grandma could be on the phone right next to her for hours while she napped on the couch, and grandpa’s poker buddies could caw until the wee morning hours outside her bedroom window and Shirayuki would never stir. Even Zen, with his countless 2am business calls with Hong Kong, didn’t bother her--

“What sort of music were you listening to?” Yuzuri asks, flopping onto her back and digging out her phone. “We had some pretty windchimes.”

“Whales.” Shirayuki murmurs, without thinking. “We were listening to whales.”

She hadn’t liked them - they had sounded like drowning puppies - but maybe there was something to the experience that had made her relax enough. She remembers reading about it in a journal once. The researcher had said something about frequencies and brain waves and music therapists having moderate success with the method, but it’s buried under the mounds of more… established papers that she had given more time to.

Yuzuri props her phone up on the nightstand, soft cetacean whines filling the room. Settling back down next to her, Shirayuki’s eyes flutter shut at the sensation of fingers gently winding through her hair. It’s nice. Comforting, even. But not-

“It is working?” Yuzuri whispers.

“Mm.” Shirayuki doesn’t dare move. Not when she’s so close to the edge like this. “A little bit.”

“Maybe the smell is wrong,” she muses, thumb brushing against Shirayuki’s temple in soothing strokes. “Sorry, my hair product can be a little strong.”

Honestly, Shirayuki hadn’t even noticed. “It’s okay.”

“I’ll get you some tea tree oil tomorrow,” she says absently. “I think that’s what they had in their diffusers. I’ve seen the good stuff for sale at the organic grocer down the street from me.”

One by one, her muscles unwind, the pressure on her brain easing. She can’t find the energy to respond, her thoughts winking out one by one--

Buzz buzz buzzzzzzzzzzzz

Shirayuki’s eyes spring open.

“First mistake,” Yuzuri groans. “Leaving your phone in the bedroom.”

Shirayuki just might cry. With a whine, she shifts onto her side, moving to grab for her purse dumped at the side of her bed-

A firm hand stops her midroll, Yuzuri staring down at her with her mouth pressed into a thin line. “Second mistake,” she frowns. “Checking it.”

She’s very likely right, but- “It might be the hospital,” she counters.

“Then it’s low priority,” Yuzuri claps back. “You have a pager for a reason.”

“I don’t like making people wait.” Shirayuki squirms out of Yuzuri’s hold, fishing her phone out of her purse. “If it’s small, then it’ll just be a minute.”

“When you’re done, I’m taking that from you and putting it in the kitchen,” Yuzuri grumps. “And putting it on silent.”

“Deal.” Shirayuki smiles, swiping her thumb over the blank screen. Blue swirls fill the screen, a single message notification block blaring across the center that says,

IZANA WISTERIA

“Whelp.” Yuzuri’s chin digs into Shirayuki’s shoulder. “You’re never going back to sleep now.”

With a wince and a familiar churn of the gut, Shirayuki carefully rearranges her face before even attempting to cast her friend an apologetic smile.

“Sorry,” she sighs. “You might as well go home. I know Suzu must be missing you.”

“That telephone pole was probably looking forward to a night without me starfishing all over the bed,” Yuzuri grumps, pushing herself up. “But you’re right. I don’t want to be dragged into whatever overtime horror project Wisteria is pulling you in on.”

Shirayuki frowns, watching Yuzuri sweeping up the mess of her hair. “It’s not like that.”

That earns her the rise of an eyebrow. “Then what, pray tell, is it like?” Yuzuri challenges back, pinning her bun into place.

Shirayuki doesn’t know how to answer that question. Doesn’t know how to explain that things are complicated, and not in a Bumble sort of way. That the incident created a strange world where only her and Izana lived, and well… 

Well she doesn’t think that Izana would appreciate her talking to anyone about it, even if that someone was her best friend. To be frank, she doesn’t even know how to begin describing the odd dynamic between the two of them.

She struggles for a response for too long and Yuzuri sighs, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and stuffing it in her coat pocket. “Call me if you need anything,” she says, like she always does. “I’ll be over with tea tree-everything in the morning.”

From the comfort of her blankets, Shirayuki smiles. “Thanks, Yuzuri.”

“Mm.” With a lazy wave over her shoulder, she calls. “Don’t stay up too late!”

From down the hall, Shirayuki hears the front door latch shut, her apartment once again falling into stillness. Unnatural silence. And even under her down feather duvet, Shirayuki feels a chill. Maybe she should have asked Yuzuri to turn up the thermostat before she left. Or maybe she should just take the plunge and get herself a cat. They’re warm.

Taking a deep breath, the smell of her single, empty apartment filling her lungs, Shirayuki looks back at her phone. And, with a resigned sigh, clicks Read.

#bubbleswrites #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #obiyuki #professional cuddler au #TAG JEN YOU'RE IT

[stargazer-sims]

Journal Entry #16 (part two)

Victor

The Festival of Snow is about... snow.

I mean, that probably seems kind of obvious, and maybe even a silly thing to celebrate when you consider that anyone living in Mt. Komorebi can pretty much see snow three hundred and sixty-five days of the year if they want to. But, we get a lot of tourists from all over the world, and some of them have never seen snow before. I'll bet my friends Kalani and Alana, who I met on Sulani, have never seen snow in their lives. I'd never seen snow in the summertime before I came here. The part of Canada where I'm from is cold in the winter and spring, but it doesn't have the elevation for summer and autumn snow.

Anyway, I love snow! The Festival of Snow has every kind of snow-related activity you can imagine, including sled races for kids, ski races for adults, snow sculptures, snow person contests, and lots of free winter sport lessons. There's also food, music, games, and a fireworks display at night.

Mom and I entered the snow person contest. Needless to say, we aren't artists. Our snow person looked like she'd had a very bad day.

We didn't win a prize, but we had fun, and it made me think of winters back home, when we'd make funny-looking snow sculptures of ourselves and our dogs in the back yard.

One of the weird, fun things about Mt. Komorebi is our town mascot, Yama-chan. Her image is everywhere in town, and there's even a statue of her in the public square at the foot of Yukimatsu. She comes out for all the festivals, and sometimes she greets tourists and townspeople alike in the public square even when there isn't a special event going on. One of the big traditions is to take a picture with Yama-chan and ask her to bring you safety and good luck on the slopes.

After the snow person contest, Mom and I headed back to the square to catch up with Yuri. We'd run into his little sister Shirayuki and some of her friends just before the contest, and they'd dragged him off to play games.

The last I'd seen him, Yuki and another little girl were pulling him by the hands, while a third girl was running ahead of them and shouting at them to hurry.

I'm not sure Yuri was in any shape to hurry, to be honest. After the whole rock-climbing thing yesterday, I was impressed that he could even get out of bed this morning. Judging by the way he’d been moving, and by the massive bruise on his hip that I’d seen when we were in the shower, I guessed he was probably running on caffeine, pain meds and willpower.

My prediction was, tomorrow would be when he'd really feel the results of our nonstop weekend, and that my Monday would be spent taking care of him. Luckily, I only work four days a week at the moment, Tuesday to Friday, so at least I’d be around when he needed me.

As he'd disappeared into the crowd with Yuki and her friends, I could hear Yuki chattering excitedly to him about how she was trying to talk their parents into letting her get a puppy, and she hoped to meet Yama-chan and ask for some extra good luck. It's a good thing Yama-chan is magical, because I think it'll probably take some serious wizardry to convince Kenji and Rei Okamoto to adopt a dog.

Mom and I encountered Yama-chan on our way back to the square, so naturally we had to stop so Mom could take a picture. I wished for luck for Yuki in her quest to get a puppy, and strength for Yuri so he could make it through the rest of the day and manage to have a little fun.

The square was decorated with all kinds of banners and paper lanterns, and it looked super festive. Around the outside, people who were much better at art than me and my mom had constructed these enormous snow sculptures. There was even a gigantic sculpture of Yama-chan.

At night, they light the sculptures with different coloured floodlights, and it looks awesome. I'll show you pictures of that a bit later.

We found Yuri sitting on a bench with his little sister. They had their arms around each other, and it looked to me like Yuki might’ve been holding him up. He looked absolutely done.

“Hey!” I called out as soon as Mom and I got close enough. “Did you lose your fan club?”

“They went off to a free skiing lesson,” Yuri said.

“You didn’t want to ski, Shirayuki?”

“Nope,” she said. “I wanted to hang out with my favourite big brother.”

“I’m your only big brother,” Yuri pointed out. He looked up at me. “How was the snow person contest?”

I grinned. “Fun, but we’re terrible at it.”

“Victor’s only terrible,” Mom said. “I’m utterly hopeless at it.”

“You’ll have to take me over there to see all the entries later, so I can judge for myself,” Yuri said. “I doubt either of you are as bad as you think.”

“No, we definitely are,” Mom said. She sat down next to Yuri on the bench. “You look cold.”

“A little,” he admitted. “I could use a hot drink.”

"Shirayuki," I said. "Why don't you come with me, and we’ll see if we can find something nice for Yuri? Hot chocolate or tea or something.”

"Okay," she said. She jumped off the end of the bench and straight into my arms. "You can carry me, Victor. Yuri isn't strong enough to do it."

"I think he's strong enough," I said. "He's just really tired today and needs to rest. Right, Yuri?"

Yuri gave me a grateful look. "Yuki, maybe if you ask Victor nicely, he'll get you some hot chocolate."

"Sure," I said. “Is hot chocolate what you want, too?”

"I really want sage green tea," he said.

"Got it. Mom, do you want anything?"

"Hot chocolate sounds great," Mom said. "If you're going for hot drinks, I'll stay here and keep Yuri company until you come back."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "Ready, Shirayuki? If I carry you over to where the vendors are, then you have to return the favour by helping me carry the drinks back here. Think you can do that?”

“Yeah,” she said. “That sounds fair. And you can just call me Yuki, you know. You're family."

I'm glad at least somebody from your house thinks so, is what I almost said, but quickly decided Yuki really didn't need to be burdened with her parents' prejudices or her sister's jealousy. She's a sweet, pure soul just like her brother, and I have almost the same instinct to protect her as I have to protect him from anything bad or hurtful. Yuki might not understand why her parents don't like me, or maybe she would, but I didn't want her to have to think about it.

Instead, I said, "Thanks. I always imagined my little sister would be just like you."

My little sister. Caroline would be twenty-one now, if she were alive, and I wondered if she really would have been like Yuki when she was a child. I would've loved to have someone at home to play with growing up. I tried to imagine us playing soccer and climbing trees and running around with our dogs. The Caroline in my imagination was vibrant and kind and beautiful, and she had Dad's reddish-brown hair, luckily missing out on the weird genetic defect that’d turned mine completely silver like an old man's by the time I was thirteen. Caroline would be in university now, or maybe travelling the world and falling in love. Trying to find her way, just like me.

Of course, all of that was wishful thinking. The last time I'd ever laid eyes on Caroline, she was waving at me and Mom from her booster seat in the backseat of Dad's car, auburn hair in messy pigtails, purple plush elephant clutched in the hand that wasn't waving.

Be safe, Thomas, my mom had said to my dad. She’d blown a kiss to him, and I blew one to Caroline because I thought that’s how you were supposed to say goodbye to people you loved. I hadn’t known then that it would be our very last goodbye. To this moment, I’m thankful my dad and sister knew they were loved on their last day.

I pulled my thoughts back to the present when I realized Yuki was poking me. "Victor! Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. We're supposed to be getting hot chocolate, remember?”

"Right," I said. "Mind if I put you down for a second? You're too heavy for me to carry in my arms all the way over to the food stands, but I can give you a piggyback ride, if you want."

"Yes, please!" she said. "Piggyback rides are my favourite thing. I already asked Yuri, but he said he couldn't."

"I know," I said. "I'm sure it's not because he didn't want to, though. You know he can't always do everything he'd like to do."

"I know," Yuki said.

"Maybe he'll be able to another day."

"Know what I think?" Yuki said, once she was settled comfortably on my back and we were trotting off in the direction of the vendors. "About Yuri, I mean."

"I can't even guess. What do you think?"

"I think he's really brave."

"You know what? I think so too," I said. "What makes you think he's brave?"

"Because he doesn't feel sorry for himself when he can't do stuff. I think a lot of people would just give up because it's too hard, and they'd be all sad and depressed about it, but Yuri isn't like that."

"Sometimes he does get sad and depressed when he can't do stuff. It’d be surprising if he didn't. But, he doesn't let himself stay that way."

"Yeah, and I know why," Yuki said.

"Oh?"

"Maybe not the whole reason, but I think it's because of you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He used to be a lot more sick before you came, or... maybe not more sick, but like, he didn't care as much about getting better whenever he didn't feel good. I don't know. It’s like how all the trees in the valley look dead and gross in the spring, and you think they might not come back to life, but then it stops snowing and the sun comes out.” She paused, as if giving all of that time to sink in, and then concluded, “Yuri is the tree and you’re the sun.”

“That’s…” I began, and then had to pause for a moment myself. “That’s pretty insightful, Yuki.”

“I know,” she said. “Mama says I’m perceptive. That means I notice stuff about people.”

“You’re right, and you know what? You’re just like your brother that way. Yuri notices stuff about people, too. That’s why he’s the sun to my winter tree.”

“You really love Yuri a lot, don’t you?”

“I love him more than anyone else in the whole world,” I said.

“Are you going to marry him? Because, if you do, I want to be in your wedding and wear my princess dress.”

I laughed. “No, we’re not getting married. We’ve already got exactly what we need, and a wedding or an official piece of paper from the government wouldn’t change a single thing. But,” I added, “If you want to wear your princess dress, bring it over to our house sometime. Yuri and I will dress up with you, and we can have a fancy banquet and ball in the dining room.”

“Can we really do that? When I’m staying at your house while Mama and Papa are away in the city, I’ll remember to bring my dress.”

That was news.

I did my best not to sound like I’d been caught off-guard. “Did Mama and Papa already talk to Yuri about you staying with us?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Mama said I was going to. I can, right?”

“Of course you can,” I said. “But your parents have to ask us first. That’s the rule.”

I told myself that I’d definitely have to discuss this with Yuri later. Today hadn’t been the calmest day of our lives, but I felt like this was something Yuri wouldn't neglect to mention to me. That made me think he knew even less about it than I did. I was sure he wouldn’t say no to Yuki staying with us, but I was equally certain that he would not be at all impressed by his parents blithely assuming they could impose on us like that.

Yuki, like most kids, didn't stay on the same topic for long. By the time we bought hot chocolate and tea and found our way back to where Mom and Yuri were waiting, she'd already told me about her plans for the upcoming school year, her favourite bands, and all about the previously mentioned puppy.

Yuki sat on Mom's lap and Yuri sat on mine while we enjoyed our hot drinks. I caught Yuki glancing at Yuri and me every so often and smiling like she knew a secret we didn't. She is one seriously cute kid, and I was hoping her parents would do the responsible thing and ask us if she could stay, because I really, really wanted her to. I could already imagine how fun it was going to be.

Yuri seemed to perk up a bit after cuddles and hot tea, and he suggested to Mom that they go look at the festival art exhibit, since it was indoors and therefore in a warmer location. I'm not really all that into art, so I opted to go with Yuki and play in the snow instead.

We made snow angels, and then we went to get cotton candy — white and blue like Yukimatsu — and after that we decided to try our hand at some of the games.

My favourite game was one where we had to throw snowballs and hit a target. Yuki was delighted by how good I was at it, especially when the prize for hitting three targets in a row was a stuffed animal. Thanks to my good aim, Yuki ended up with a blue plush dragon, and after managing to land a snowball on five targets in a row, I also won a plush calico cat that was almost as big as Yuki. She couldn't stop giggling when I told her I was going to give it to Yuri.

By the time we were done making our rounds of the game booths, it was beginning to get dark, and the festival was starting to come alive with lights. Yuki and I wandered around, admiring the snow sculptures. We both agreed this dinosaur one was our favourite.

We were gazing at the illuminated Yama-chan sculpture when Yuki's parents turned up. To say they looked unhappy to discover their daughter with me would've been the understatement of the year. If looks could kill, I would've been super extra dead under Kenji Okamoto's glare.

Yuki, as perceptive as she is, seemed totally oblivious to her father's mood. She ran toward her parents, holding out her dragon. "Mama, Papa, look! Victor won this for me!"

Mrs. Okamoto smiled, but the expression didn't go any further than her lips. "I hope you thanked him."

"I did," Yuki said. "And guess what? He said that when I stay with him and Yuri, we're going to dress up in fancy clothes and pretend we're at a ball."

"I might even teach her to dance," I said.

"I don't think that would be appropriate," said Mr. Okomoto. He was looking at Mrs. Okamoto, not at me, and I got the distinct impression that he and his wife did not agree at all on where Yuki should stay while they were away.

Yuki was spinning around as if she were already on a dance floor. "You may call me Your Royal Highness, Princess Shirayuki."

Mrs. Okamoto caught her daughter as she twirled past. "It's time for us to go home, Princess Shirayuki. Please say goodbye to your friend."

"Bye, Victor," Yuki said. "I can hardly wait for my dancing lesson."

"See you later, Your Royal Highness," I said. "The two princes at the castle will be awaiting your arrival."

"Nonsense," muttered Mr. Okamoto. "Yuki, we'll be discussing our travel plans later. I'm still not convinced that we shouldn't bring you with us."

"But, Papa, the city is boring!" Yuki said. "I always have to stay in the hotel, and there's nothing to do. And you already said I was going to Yuri's house, and—"

"We will talk about this later," he said. "Let's go."

I watched them walk away with a sinking feeling in my stomach, hoping that Mr. Okamoto wouldn't really punish his daughter by making her go on their business trip with them, just to prove some ridiculous point. I couldn't help wondering if he always behaved this way toward Yuki. If he did, I felt sorry for her. It hurt to think that anybody's parent would treat them like that, and it was especially painful to know that not one, but two people I love have to endure Kenji Okamoto’s particular brand of parenting.

As much as it made my heart ache to watch Yuki with her parents, it also made me infinitely grateful for my amazing, compassionate, generous mom. Things hadn't been easy for us when I was growing up, but I never had to worry about whether or not I was loved and valued. I always knew I mattered and that I was important to her.

You matter too, Yuki, I wanted to tell that sweet little girl. If your parents won't show you, then Yuri and I will make sure you know how loved and important you are. I promise.

#ts4 #sims 4 #eagames #snowy escape #victorandyuri #Shirayuki Okamoto #Grace Nelson #stargazersims #victorsworldadventures

[nicotinemaiden]

Such Great Heights

I am thinking it's a sign That the freckles in our eyes Are mirror images And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned

And I have to speculate That God Himself did make Us into corresponding shapes Like puzzle pieces from the clay

And true it may seem like a stretch But it's thoughts like this that catch My troubled head when you're away A nd when I am missing you to death

[ The Postal Service ]

[Chapter 3 of Mistake Series dedicated to @ccprovolomies for proposing the beautiful song that inspired me to write it. Thank you so much!!]

Read on AO3  →

The third, a proclamation.

The blood felt warm on his skin, at the corner of his mouth, dripping down his lower lip. That last hit had come close. Not as close as the open wound in his stomach but close enough to crack his lip in two. He lifted his hand to wipe the iron liquid from his face, as much as it was possible, and kept looking ahead, towards the hooded figure that looked at him in return holding a silver dagger in his left hand and several injuries along his legs and arms. He moved slowly to the side, limping yet still more graceful than normal people. The sunset started to vanish slowly behind him, making the shadows of the trees creeping on them a little bit more unsettling.

He could hear footsteps running towards him. It won’t be long until he wasn’t alone anymore, he just had to wait, to lose time, to slow him down as much as possible. His left hand pushed against the wound begging it to stop bleeding even for a moment, to stop making him so freaking dizzy and just let him throw the knife at the right place. Breathing deeply, he decided that his condition wasn’t as important as his mission and, whatever happened, he had to stop him long enough for the other knights to come. He couldn’t let go of this person, this trained assassin that knew where his target was and had no intention of missing this chance.

He hadn’t said a word but Obi didn’t really need any kind of confirmation about it. He could see the desperation in his eyes, the willingness to do anything to complete his task. And that was the problem. The most deadly people are the ones with nothing to lose and a lot to gain. So he fixed his golden gaze on the one ahead and dashed towards it.

Her eyes were still green and bright - not so bright as they had been these last couple of weeks but bright enough for someone who knew her well to know that there was something different about her - happiness that wasn’t there before and now consumed her almost entirely. Her comb slid through her hair as it would do through threads of silk, leaving it on top of her shoulders. It had grown so long since that fateful night when she had to cut it to save her freedom that sometimes the memory seemed more like a dream. She could almost believe it.

But looking at herself in the mirror she was… glad it happened. The consequences of that night brought her here. And she smiled at her reflection, searching for the girl from that night in her expression, in her eyes, in her hair. She was the same yet completely different - stronger, more confident, more knowledgeable.

She remembered Obi’s face on top of hers the night before, the look on his eyes as they travelled down her body once again for so long he might as well have painted it, and, with a blush taking hold of her face, thought that maybe she was more beautiful, more mature, more attractive.

She was no longer the young eighteen-year-old girl that ran from her home with hopes of not being discovered. She was an official pharmacist for the kingdom, she was a friend for the people who cared about her and, lately, she was a girlfriend and a lover, she was cared for, she was loved in return.

Shirayuki always thought stupid the concept that love changes people. Yes, maybe she was braver before because she had a goal - to prove herself, not only to other people but to herself. And she’d done it time after time and she was comfortable with things as they were. But until now she hadn’t really grasped the meaning of that phrase, the way your world fills with colors that you didn’t even know existed, the pressure on your heart every time something reminds you of that person and the extreme satisfaction and happiness of knowing that that person feels the same way.

Even knowing that Zen was at the mansion and he could be here at the pharmacy at any moment her smile grew brighter as she distanced herself from the small mirror and returned to the office. This time it was a planned visit, everything legal with documents and paperwork, and as such, he had to make an official entrance with official tea and conversation. Only thinking about it tired her out. The only thing that she could do was wait while working. If only she could have Obi with her to listen to his comments and gossip.

“Mitsuhide!”

Kiki’s voice distracted him but not enough to fail this time. His kick landed perfectly on the back of the head of the assassin in front of him, knocking him out. As quickly as his body allowed him he moved to his companions, blocking a dagger centimetres from his face and looking back only a second. Miss Kiki had moved to the side of Mister, who was unconscious on the floor, blood pouring from his head. A blunt hit. He inspected the new opponent - besides his dagger he had a sword on his other hand, the handle bathed in blood. Not only was he agile but he was strong too.

He narrowed his eyes, their blades still crashing, and jumped back, rotating the knife in his hand for a moment. He needed to get out of here. Not only because of his own wounds but because of Mister. He didn’t know how severe his injury was but he needed to get him to his Miss as soon as possible so this had to be quick. He wasn’t the only one thinking this because, the next moment, the other man started running.

“Oh, no, you don’t.”

He recognized his own smile, only one corner of his mouth lifting, sharing with the world a part of him that had been well hidden most of the time but that he couldn’t simply ignore in the middle of a fight. That strange thirst for blood that told that the only thing he ever knew before being here had been shadows, war and murder. Accepting that part of him for the moment and forgetting about his own pain he ran after him. He could hear Kiki shouting for him, her footsteps quick behind but not enough to catch after them. It wasn’t long before Obi surrounded the man, surprising him at his front and before he could react he was pinning his opponent to the floor, a knife to his throat. He wanted to sink it on him so badly, to watch him bleed to death as payment for what he did to Mister. He pushed harder until the first drops of blood tinted his weapon and he saw his own eyes reflected on it. He wasn’t this way. He may have been once because he didn’t know anything else but now…

He closed his eyes. Now he had people to protect, not kill. He wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t take that burden, even when his body was pleading him to do it. In another situation, maybe, but his opponent wasn’t doing much anymore, no one's life was in danger - or so he hoped. He didn’t have the right to choose to kill him just because he was angry. He smiled thinking that so much time with Shirayuki was rubbing on him more than he was aware of. What would she have said? Probably she would have offered to heal the man, even knowing he was an enemy. She was just that good. So he decided he needed to be a little good too. For her.

“You’re coming with me.”

She was nervous, impatient, anxious. She couldn’t get herself to read, to study, to stay put. She kept pacing up and down the office. She asked a guard about the whereabouts of her knight and, apparently, they’d had a problem with some letter being intercepted on the way and part of the rebellion knew that the Second Prince was here so it was necessary to send him along with Zen’s personal knights - or Kiki and Mitsuhide to her - because they saw suspicious people in the forest. So now the conversation with Zen was pretty low on her list of priorities. First, she needed to make sure everyone was alright.

No one would let her leave the mansion and she tried three different exits without success. So she stomped on her chair only to get up immediately. Doing nothing wasn’t for her. She knew if they really encountered someone out there she wouldn’t be much help but still, she could do something. She had different plant concoctions that could be used as smoke, she did it before, she could do it again. And she was a good healer - or so she liked to believe - so she could treat injuries on the spot. Yet there she was again, completely useless with the only action of ‘worry’ on her vocabulary for the moment.

A white mane of hair appeared at the door, knocking softly on the frame. Surprised, she jumped and turned to see Zen smiling at her while walking into the room. He was… exactly as she remembered him. It wasn’t so long since the last time they saw each other yet she expected everything to be different. She expected to see an ugly guy with cold eyes and maybe a sign pointing to him that said ‘you don’t love him anymore’ as if the fact of admitting being in love with someone else would somehow change who Zen was. But everything was normal. Well, almost everything.

“Shirayuki, you’re as beautiful as ever.”

Damn. That was so not normal. She was so not ready for this at the moment. She blushed without thinking and tried to return the smile. That phrase was so not Zen that it made her skin tickle, and not in a good way, so she had to say it. Because when has she just stayed shut when she had something to say?

“Now you sound like Obi.”

He lifted a hand to the back of his neck, embarrassed, the red starting to show at the tip of his ears.

“That obvious, uh? He gave me some pointers some time ago so I just wanted to try it. For the record, you really are beautiful.”

He wasn’t looking at her now, more like searching for something at the side. She felt herself chuckle. She really loved Zen. She loved him like a really good friend, that was the problem.

“Thank you and please don’t do that again. I have enough with one Obi in my life.”

She hoped her blush wasn’t as evident as it seemed because the things that crossed her mind when she said that weren't exactly just teasing and flirting. Her mind wandered there for a second and then moved to the start of this conversation. How different she felt whenever it was her knight who crossed that door. With Zen, she always had been nervous whenever he was around as if she could break their relationship by saying something wrong or - when she wasn't worried about that - as if she was going to bore him to death.

That was something that never happened with Obi. Whatever the conversation, even the ones that would be boring to every person on the planet except her, he was always listening, making comments here and there and contributing ideas. Lately, she thought he just didn’t want to miss anything she could say even if it was utterly irreverent. And she realized it was the same for her. She was happy just listening to him. And the thought brought an honest smile to his lips, her gaze fixed on nothing, looking without looking to the door behind the prince.

“I’m sorry, I’m just… nervous.”

He hugged her suddenly, leaning his cheek against her temple and her arms pinned between their bodies. For a second she was tense, stiff, expecting more from him, waiting for his face to search hers like it had done many times before. But then she just relaxed in his arms rested her head under his chin and smiled.

“It’s still me, you know? You don’t have to be.”

“I know. That's why I am. I’ve missed you.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to say that she did too because part of her did. But she had thought so little of him lately, the only times being the ones where she dreaded the moment she had to talk to him. Actually talk to him about everything that happened, everything that has changed. So she went completely still, not knowing what to add to the conversation.

He realized, it seemed, because he took her by her arms and moved her enough to look at her. His eyes were so warm, full of love and understanding, a small shadow on them that could have been pain or even disappointment. It just made her feel worse and she forced her eyes to the floor. It hurt to look at him.

“I know you have something to tell me. I also can guess what it is but I imagine you would like to tell me yourself instead of leaving me with guesses. I won’t force you to say anything, just know that I’m willing to listen and… I would never think less of you and would always care about you.”

Every word made it a bit easier. She was so glad to have found someone like Zen. Someone that even without completely understanding her accepted and cared for her. Someone that wouldn’t pressure her into anything and that would always worry first about other people instead of themselves. Slowly her gaze returned to the blue one and she nodded. There was one thing he said that caught her interest. She looked at him questioningly.

“You can guess what I wanted to tell you? Is it really that obvious?”

The prince chuckled, using his fist to hide part of his smile. That was almost enough of an answer but he spoke anyway.

“You’ll have to tell me first for me to answer that but there are certain things that have been painfully obvious for a while.”

Something in his voice told her that he really had tried to ignore it, to convince himself that he was imagining things, but he seemed to have accepted it. So she was about to basically confirm his suspicions, because after that conversation she had no doubt he already knew, when rushed footsteps sounded from the hall. They stopped just at the door and they both turned to see who it was.

“Lady Shirayuki!”

Shuu caught his breath for a moment, leaning on the frame of the door and sparing a look at Zen.

“Your Highness.”

He breathed as a greeting before turning his attention to her completely.

“Follow me.”

He started almost running again and they followed right behind, looking at each other for a moment, a worried look on both of them.

“They are in really bad condition. Both of them. Mister Ryuu is with them, so I’m a little less worried but still, everyone agreed it was necessary for you to be there.”

They rounded a corner while he was talking and she could feel her stomach turn one and time again. She wished he could be more specific and at the same time, she wished he just stopped talking and they just reached the place they were going towards.

“We have apprehended one of the men that caused this and the other one is tied up in the forest. Our men are currently in the process of bringing him here.”

Another set of halls, another corner, and she started to understand why Shuu was without breath when he arrived at her assigned office.

“Here, please hurry.”

He opened the door in front of them and moved to the side, allowing them to practically jump inside, taking in everything that was happening. The first thing she noticed was Kiki sitting on a chair beside Ryuu who was working on the back of Mitsuhide's head. She was gripping his hand to the point her knuckles were white but he wasn’t conscious. For the place of the injury it was clear he would be out of it for a while plus Ryuu would have given him something before working on it. She breathed a bit, glad that even if in bad shape he was alive.

After that, she noticed the corner and that breathing stopped completely. Her hand moved to her lips to stop the silent scream that wanted to leave her. She ran to it and kneeled just in front of the chair, in front of blooded legs and ragged clothing. Obi’s head rested against the wall at his side, his lip red and a bit swollen, a deep cut on one side that seemed to have stopped bleeding.

He was shirtless, almost the entirety of his lower chest and stomach were bathed in blood. His skin was so much paler than his usual tanner one, a sick blue starting to show. It was so so little that maybe someone else wouldn’t have noticed but she did. Stomach wounds weren’t usually lethal but the blood loss was. And the pain… She could feel her eyes sting just thinking about what he just endured. She placed one hand over his to get him to move and was terrified of the cold it was. She wanted to scream at him. Why?! Why this?! And why now?! Why put his life in danger now that she had him? It was childish and selfish and she forced herself to think another way. It was his job. A noble job. He helped people, saved them.

A bag of healing provisions landed beside her and she looked in the direction it came. Ryuu was already back at work but he answered her unspoken question anyway.

“He insisted that Mister Mitsuhide would be treated first. He wouldn’t even let me look at his wound. To be honest, he probably saved his life. This was… really bad. Worst that it seemed at first.”

The sharp intake of breath of Kiki could have as well been hers. Yes, she had no right to be angry at him. No real motive. She was just… selfish sometimes. And terribly afraid. Afraid of losing everything they had right now. Afraid of everything changing again, this time for the worst. So she had to heal him, save him, no matter what.

He could hear voices and rustling. He could also hear his own thoughts without them being blurry, thank the universe. He wanted to touch his head because it hurt, not as much as before yet enough to make him want to put pressure on it. Someone stopped him, a soft hand keeping his hand in place on top of his leg. He opened his eyes slowly and closed the second a flash of light reached them. He tried again and, this time, his Miss was looking at him, kneeling in front of him. He blinked a couple of times and was about to say something cheeky when she moved her hand with a small cloth to his wound and he almost screamed, forcing his head to the wall behind and looking at the ceiling.

“Now that was just punishment, Miss.”

“Should I know how much time you have been running around with that wound?”

Her voice was cold and angry yet warm and soft. How she managed the combination was something that he would really like to know. He looked at her and her eyes were exactly the same. He realized he didn’t feel the stench of blood, not the pain of his lip and he smiled brightly.

“Long enough to see you again.”

There was a light chuckle somewhere in the room and he realized they were not alone. A pained grunt came to him. He wanted to kiss her so badly, to thank her properly for healing him, probably saving him because he felt he was about to die when they reached the mansion. The only reason he kept going instead of falling to the floor was the fact that he was almost carrying Mitsuhide, dragging his legs between the two of them. And, on the other side, a tied enemy of the Kingdom that he dragged completely because his strength was already failing and couldn’t simply toss it on top of his shoulder. So yes, she possibly saved his life. As she did the moment he met her and decided to stay by her side.

She looked at him with so much warmth and love that he forgot the rest of the people again and smiled only for her. She got up, picking up the clothes off the floor to leave them in a basket, and he followed as it was customary for them. His injury hurt, more so than when he was sitting, but he made no movement to show it. The rest of the room was almost as he left it. Ryuu had moved his chair closer to them and was now resting on it. Something told him that he had been helping Shirayuki with him once he’d done all he could for Mitsuhide. Kiki was still holding his hand but looked at them and, when their eyes crashed she smiled softly. A look of gratitude that he was sure he was mirroring. They saved each other.

At the side of the door in a small cushion was Zen, his shoulder and jaw - that were visibly tensed - relaxed when they looked at each other and both smiled. They were alive and together and he couldn’t ask for anything more. They had a lot of work to do ahead of them, probably a lot of situations like this to come, yet for the moment this was enough.

“Allow me to accompany you to your rooms, Mister Obi. We will prepare something to eat while you rest.”

He was so accustomed to hiding… Well, almost everything, that he almost turned the offer down with some lame excuse as to how he was fine and he didn’t really feel the need to rest. He had just been unconscious for a while after all. But Shirayuki’s voice was almost an order, even when she said it so gently.

“Please go to the room and rest. I will go see how it’s going the moment I’m finished here.”

He looked at her and really, how could he say no to her? She could ask him to go get lost in the middle of hell and he would do it. It was almost scary how one person could have so much power over him. So he nodded and moved painfully to the door, trying to mask his limping under his usually graceful movements and standing there for a second while watching her follow him. His eyes playfully looked at her, a lopsided smile and an arched brow. He didn’t have to say anything more to see the thrown off look on her face and the red on the tip of her ears. He was glad she had a ponytail right now because it was extremely cute and otherwise he wouldn’t have seen it.

What he really didn’t see coming was her reaction. Shirayuki got up on her toes, brought her hand to the back of his neck and kissed him. And it wasn’t a soft kiss either. He could swear he heard some gasps around the room but he wasn’t paying attention. His arm surrounded her waist and brought her towards him, just a bit more, just enough to feel her without touching his stomach. It was desperate, as if both of them realized how close they’ve been to lose each other. How the small kiss with which they parted that morning could have been the last. His other hand cupped her face, slowing the kiss until they were far enough to look at each other. There were so many things they wanted to say that neither of them wanted to break the silence.

"You're the worst and I hate you."

She said, at last, her words so different to what her eyes said that he laughed without thinking, a small flinch taking hold of his body. He was starting to think that he really shouldn’t be up yet but that wasn’t about to stop the mix of happiness and shock that he was feeling. He was almost as shocked as the first time she kissed him because… they were in public. Yes, they flirted and touched sometimes and most people in the mansion believed them to be a couple since before they really were but they never confirmed it so clearly. And, of course, his Master was in the room, looking at them.

It felt weird. It felt right. It felt all kinds of liberating, as if breaking invisible chains that were there since the moment he realized he was falling for her. Part of them broke at their first kiss, at their first night together, yet the rest had been still there, wondering if she would change her mind, if they would always have to hide what they had, what they felt. If it wasn’t from the piercing pain he could have started floating with how light he felt, how free of all weight. So he kissed her again. And again. And again. Small kisses that slowly brought back her smile, mirroring his. Real smiles, both of them.

"If that's what hate feels like, I welcome it."

She was almost laughing at that point, her cheeks a bit more colorful, the small chuckles so funny, so happy he had to catch one of them kissing her one more time before letting go. Her hand lingered on his chest a moment longer after that, almost afraid that their happiness would vanish if they stopped at that point. But she used that same hand to give him a little push in the arm, rushing him to the hall behind them where Shuu was waiting.

“Now off you go. You should be laying down and sleeping. I would wake you up to change the bandages and see how it’s going.”

There was a glint in his eyes. A playful glint said that he was still not ready to end the conversation after that. He couldn’t see most of the people inside or their reactions but he could see Kiki with a knowing smile and an approving look in her eyes and maybe that was enough. Maybe he didn’t even need that. Feeling a bit braver after the scene they made he grinned and added:

“Just because I can’t wait for you to touch me again.”

She rolled her eyes, actually rolled her eyes, but was brightly smiling while she closed the door in front of him, forcing her knight to leave even when she didn’t want to say goodbye, not for a moment. But she knew that he was fine - not in perfect condition but fine enough - and that she still had to talk to Zen.

She looked at him at the side of the door and was surprised to see him exchanging looks with Kiki, both of them containing their laugh as best as they could. The prince even had a hand over his mouth and she gifted him with a ‘really?’ look. This was what she was nervous for? Kissing Obi in front of them had been a lot more terrifying than jumping off a tower. She didn’t want to be seen as… as the things people usually called women that played with men. But she wasn’t playing. She just changed over the years. Her feelings changed. Could she really have been blamed for it?

“For a moment there I thought you just did it because damn, he almost died and you were relieved but that was not a first kiss. So… when did that happen?”

Kiki had calmed herself and now was clearly out for answers. Sitting here for hours just worrying must have made her need to take her mind out of that problem a lot bigger. Sighing she moved to sit beside the prince, who also had stopped almost laughing and was looking at her with a smile and a warm and questioning look that supported the knight’s question. Surprisingly, Ryuu also moved his chair closer, visibly interested. She inhaled deeply before starting.

“I can’t say exactly when it started for me. I can’t even say when I started to realize that it was happening. One night a couple of weeks ago I just… It was too much. I needed to be closer to him. So I kissed him.”

She looked away, embarrassed. It was her fault they were in this situation, to begin with. She didn’t exactly know why she felt bad talking about it, as if she were betraying them by being honest with herself.

“Mitsuhide owes us now.”

Zen was looking at the blond knight with an amused expression after hearing her words and he nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

“I told him that Obi would never be the one to shatter that wall. He’s been in this situation for years after all. And he’s always been trying to push us together.”

He shook his head, a bit of sadness in his eyes when he spoke again. There was that tone on his voice again, the one that said that he only understood everything now and that he was better off before.

“Honestly I don’t know how he could.”

Shirayuki was looking at them as if suddenly their hair was the same color as hers. She was confused and felt left out of the conversation. They knew? Or at least they knew about his feelings. Since when? She remembered him telling her something about how long he’d loved her but she didn’t think it was so much that their friends in Clarines already knew and, by the looks of it, they’ve known for a long time.

“W-wait, wait. Did you all know?”

One by one the three people that were with her - and conscious - nodded. She shook her head in an automatic movement. She should have seen it coming. He was extremely honest most of the time - the only times he really wasn’t were when he was pretending to be fine, hiding a wound or an illness. And she knew he just didn’t want to worry her. Luckily for her, those moments have been fewer and fewer lately.

Ryuu looked at them thoughtfully, wanting to add something but thinking carefully about exactly what. When he spoke his voice was a bit deeper than usual, his tone a lot more lively than when he had been working before.

“He never told me directly and I didn’t really need confirmation but… one day I asked him: Why don’t you tell her? His answer… I didn’t push after that. He had his reasons and, honestly, they were good ones. But I’m glad it worked out in the end.”

He smiled at her and she reciprocated it. She wondered what would have been her reaction if he’d told her before, if it hadn’t been her who did something but him. Part of her thought that she would have rejected him and all their relationship would have changed suddenly. The other part of her, the one that was completely sure about her feelings, said that she would have kissed him back, that something would have clicked in her head the same way it did a couple of weeks ago and she would have realized sooner that he was the one. The real one for her.

It would have been a gamble the same way it had been when she kissed him. Yet something told her they would be in the same situation now because… she couldn't imagine a life beside Zen anymore. Not as his partner, not as his princess, not as his wife. If she was honest with herself she stopped imagining something like that so long ago she forgot about forgetting it.

When Shirayuki looked at the prince he was looking at her, almost admiring her deep-in-thought look.

“You know? I’m glad too. I thought, still do sometimes, that we could have worked. But I’ve heard what people say, I’ve seen it in both of you every time we’re together. That kind of connection… I can’t understand it, I can only see it from outside. And you deserve someone like him. I should have told him long ago.”

There was a sad chuckle in his voice that would have broken her were it not for the way his eyes were bright and honest. He really was happy about it.

“Every time he told me that I deserved you and that only I could make you happy… I already knew it wasn’t true. Yet he didn’t seem to realize that the times when you were really smiling and laughing were always with him. So…”

He picked up her hand between his, caressing her skin slowly with his fingers.

“I still care about you and I know you understand that my feelings are not just going to float away suddenly but I’m really happy for you both and you would always have my support and my friendship if you still want it.”

Her eyes filled with hot liquid and her lip started trembling. It was exactly what she wanted to hear. Word by word. At the corner of her eye, she could see Kiki nodding emphatically, possibly wanting to say that she would be there for her too. Ryuu was blushing and also nodding, his hand pulling from his clothes until his mouth was almost hidden. That was an Obi gesture and her heart warmed to see it replicated on the young boy. He was starting to imitate - unknowingly or not - various behaviours of her knight. She had yet to decide if that was a good thing or not.

Returning her gaze to Zen after the quick inspection and now that she had blocked her tears she launched at him, practically jumping into his lap, and hugged him. How was she so lucky? What did she do to deserve such wonderful people in her life? Kiki joined the hug from the other side of the cushion and Ryuu wasn’t much for hugs yet moved a hand to her shoulder and squeezed a bit to let her know he was there too.

She couldn’t stop them anymore. She started crying, surrounded by people who cared and loved her and all the tension, the jitters, the almost-lost-someone-today feeling disappeared slowly with every intake of breath. That was it. They were free to pursue their feelings, they were still loved, they still had their friends, the ones that made both of them stay in the first place.

They still were a family.

#hello there! #mistake series chapter 3 here #i hope you really like it #as always if you read it on ao3 you can find a couple of emphasized words in italic therest is the same #this has been a new experience for me because my zen is usually pretty ooc and this time i'm really happy how it came out #i love my ooc zen but i love this too #balance is the key i guess #as always you can suggest songs #promts #etc #im really grateful to those who do and hope you like this work as much as i do #enjoy! #one more thing #italic = obi normal = shirayuki #:D #mistakeseries #mistake series #obiyuki #fanfic #mywork #isfhs

[lys-lilac]

Romance MD: Always on Call - Detailed Summary - Toshiki Kasumi

This section contains heavy spoilers! If you want to read and relish the story, go ahead! But if you haven’t and don’t want to, it’s okay. You can go to this link for the character analysis for now-  here

Go through the plot, laugh, cry in every episode and then come back to this section for reading my thoughts and inspiration it gave me! But, I am telling you, this is a wonderful story and you will not regret it... Alright, let’s get started.

Each chapter is carved out with such precision that it directly hits the heart. In one, I was laughing, in the next, crying, and yet in the other, appreciating the progress. It actually felt as if the player is MC itself and everything is happening in real. Honestly, this is amazing. 

There are many key-factors of the story which is different from the genre of otome games, and which fulfills many lost points in the general trend. This is what interested me the most. As I stated in the analysis post (linked in the upper description), the prologue itself satisfied the fact that there is something hidden which needs to be sorted out. 

Let’s discuss about our lives. Anyone’s behavior is based on the environment in which he/she is grown. If someone is bubbly, then that could be due to his/her cheerful environment or maybe, some situation which has nurtured him/her like this. The same goes for strict/cold ones. This piqued my interest. (Leave aside my craze for Medical science, haha...)

Now, which are the things which inspired me the most? Here are those points-

1. The knowledge the story gives- I have never gone through a story which goes through such detail in the field of surgery and medical science. I truly appreciate the amount of knowledge and the terms they provided in each chapter. Along with that, the value of relationships, family, friends is greatly shown in the work, which is so important for character development.

2. Hardwork and diligence- Can I just take one second to praise the amount of hours the surgeons are working? I am impressed to such an extent that it is beyond words to express. And this cardiovascular genius. He doesn’t even sleep...?! There are several instances for this in the story. 

  First, they hold study sessions all night and go back to work without even resting for an hour. Second, when MC brings Kasumi back from England, he straight gets to work. Third, when Kasumi had fever, he just rested for a few hours and again back to his work. He even tells MC to go back to rest, but he doesn’t (or sometimes.)...

This is just fantastic. Whenever you are just about to give up, just come to this section and read this part, I am sure you will be motivated enough to resume back. Can you believe he wrote his first medical paper on how to save a plant when he was in middle school? If he can do, then why not you? 

The same thing goes for MC. If Kasumi decided to be her mentor, that’s because she is excellent in her studies, has an good past record and praises from her previous teachers. She has this zeal to pursue surgery and ace in it. Perfectly. No compromises.

3. She loves herself- I had read a post where one player mentioned that MC was arrogant. I can understand. But, what’s the point of acting sweet and not doing anything? Instead, if you have achieved what you want to be, then you should be confident, and believe in yourself. 

I wanted to make another sub-point, but I think this point will also fit in this section. MC here is unique from other MCs in appearance. In general, the MCs that I have seen so far are extremely beautiful, with long hair, fair skin, bla bla bla. I have also read some views from other players about this. Some games should be designed in the way that they cater to the needs that the players want. Everyone is pretty, as we are the beautiful creation of God. Outer appearance doesn’t matter. What matters the most is your inner quality. Kasumi didn’t love MC because of how she looks, but because she reached out to him when he was about to get crumpled by his emotions. 

What’s more, MC doesn’t take this as consideration. Instead of overthinking about this, she appreciates the beauty of her friends, Asuka and Shirayuki. Thus, their friendship is also strongly bonded.

Okay, no more blabbering. Let’s get straight into the summary-

The story starts with MC being selected as a protege by Kasumi.

Viewpoint of MC- he doesn’t listen to her at all.

The reason why he took her as a student in cardiovascular surgery? That’s because with the developing period, technology is advancing and Kasumi wanted someone to take the department after him. Also, there was shortage of students. More, he was impressed by her high reviews in internship.

Of course, after some reluctance by her, he transfers her to the Orthopedic unit. But, after getting to know that her favorite doctor is moving on to research, she had no choice but to return back to EICU.

The guys celebrate her joining in the Pen. 

 Kasumi and MC were just about to return to the hospital, when they see a building engulfed in flames on the road.

MC is haunted by her previous memories, where a patient commits suicide by burning himself after being saved by the doctors. Meanwhile, both of them rush to the spot for treatment. 

They come back after saving a life, and MC makes Kasumi to talk to him.

Kasumi gives her support by asking her to move forward and leave her painful memories behind. All these facts, and a embrace from him make her decide to study heart.

The following morning, the dark prince assigns her more work (following the CG). Thankfully, Asuka and Shirayuki are there for support.

To gain more experience, Kasumi sends her off to Thailand.

There, she meets Theo, Kasumi’s acquaintance, and starts learning about several cases. Meanwhile, our prince also accompanies her afterwards. (I knew it...)

MC discovers a book of him which is a book of flowers. (This has major importance afterwards, so remember this.) 

Kasumi comes back and MC stays further for two weeks for gaining knowledge.

After coming back, they successfully, perform a CABG (Coronary artery Bypass Surgery). In the night, she gets a text from Kaisei, her friend during the internship. Following Sat., she meets him and his family. (and also Kasumi and Matsunaga... talk of a pure coincidence).

The next day, they have an emergency, and surprisingly, it’s Kaisei and Sora, his son. In spite of desperate efforts, Sora couldn’t be saved. This breaks MC. She couldn’t gather courage to tell that to her friend. Kasumi goes in her stead. The next day, the same scene replays in her mind and she couldn’t perform surgery. 

At last, not able to get control of her emotions, she decides to quit cardiovascular surgery.

She again goes for Ortho. But, things don’t go smooth. A patient, whom MC treated recently, collapses due to heart attack. After being turned down by the cardiovascular department, she had no choice left but to contact Kasumi.

Even if it was his day off, he agrees to come... (And the bgm when he says her not to worry... T_T)

They perform the operation successfully.

Later that night, Kaisei tells her about the frequent visits by Kasumi and how he was shaking when he declared Sora’s death to him.

Along with some push by her favorite doctor the next day, she gets determined again to return to the EICU.

Later, Kasumi invites her to watch the Belt of Venus.

Things get sorted out gradually. With more energy to do work, they decide to have a study session at Kasumi’s house. (Believe me, the before banter was hilarious! @miss-alien-pixel​ has posted it, so feel free to drop by for reference).

The next day, Dr. Neil comes back from England. With many more operations coming up, they all become busy. A case from Mrs. Kitahama also comes, where her family was reluctant for the operation, but both MC and Kasumi agree to the old lady’s wish, and perform the surgery.

 Some days later, while MC was talking to Neil, he suddenly collapses. It was only an attack, but it confirmed aortic stenosis, for which, a surgery was required.

With pressure intensifying, MC does her best to support him. She goes home with Kyogoku that day, and finds out about his late brother, the person whom Kasumi held dear to. (Please go through that part, it has so much things about him there...) 

Things get hectic later on, and there’s the part where MC has a talk with Matsunaga. (the part which was in the intro). There’s so much why Kasumi became like this. If he loved someone, he would do whatever it means to cover for them. And he let all the blame on himself, alone. 

Get ready now, a bombshell is about to drop. Dr. Kurimata returns to the hospital (who had a grudge against Kasumi for who knows how long, just because he took the surgery of Prime Minister’s wife off him. But he did that for building up Ped dept. in the hospital.)

Meanwhile, Mrs. Kitahama catches pneumonia, and after long efforts by both MC and Kasumi, she gets to have a talk with her son before passing away). Kasumi offers MC to go home to mentally recover, but she stays with him. Bad talks about him increase day by day. MC is not able to withstand that, and covers his ears, leaving him surprised. She tells her not to listen to that anymore. Hearing that, Kasumi comes closer, closer aand.... he falls asleep over her as he had fever. (cue the CG)

Bad timing, Kyogoku comes over at the same time. (and we know the volcano is about to burst now...) 

But, as if it was an illusion, Kasumi comes back to ICU after some rest. And Dr. Tsuchiya invites her out. But our dark prince saves her, saying he has plans with her later. (Pbbfft..)

Okay, so it was viewing Belt of Venus... yay!

But, an accident occurs. A speeding truck was just about to hit MC, but she gets shielded by Kasumi. Although on asking, he confirmed no injuries, but something major had occurred, to his hand. 

 As a result, he is not able to even hold a scalpel, let alone surgery. It occurs for almost 15 days. For that, he even hands over the surgery he had been working so long to Dr. Kurimata.

He doesn’t disclose this to anyone, and the other surgeries go on smoothly. He returns to the OR some days after.

MC talks with Neil about Kasumi’s study under him. 

In the meantime, Dr. Kurimata comes by and says that he is overtaking Neil’s surgery. (Speak of the devil now... Grrr)

She and Kyogoku find time to talk to Kurimata and find out the reason why all that was happening. 

And I just can’t process, it’s not Kasumi’s fault at all. Why was that doctor pestering like he was the reason!

He even says that he is using MC to get him kicked out of the case. (Enough!!) And yet, this guy was there, protecting her like anything...

This turns into an argument between Kyogoku and Kasumi. And later, MC also agrees with the former to prioritize himself first, and not love her anymore. (It was a punch to the heart, but that’s what needed to be done at that point).

she runs to the rooftop, and her tears couldn’t stop. After some time, (a huge misunderstanding is going to be here now...) Dr. Tsuchiya comes. They talk for a while about how she was about to be transferred to the cardiovascular department if something occurs.

For Kasumi’s sake, she leaves the EICU and gets under the supervision of Dr. Kurimata.

Again the rooftop. Morning. Dr. Tsuchiya and MC. (Misunderstanding is just about to occur!!)

MC probably is dizzy and was about to fall when Tsuchiya catches him. And he doesn’t let go. He confesses there. Aaand...... Kasumi arrives at that time. (GOSH! NO!)

Seeing the position, he turns on his heel and goes. 

MC at this point has confirmed already that she loves Kasumi, and she couldn’t do anything that could hurt him.

Even after so many awkward moments, I absolutely love how Kasumi is normal with her every time in the talk... 

He tells that he is going to attend a symposium in England. (Doesn’t it sound fishy...?)

Before leaving, he visits Neil during night, praying to stay with him. MC doesn’t interrupt and leaves quietly.

With Kasumi now not there, MC takes the responsibility of Neil’s surgery. It is a success. They further talk about Kasumi after some days. Neil unveils that the flower book was an artwork by Kasumi’s mother. 

The flower snowdrop has a great importance here. This flower is the symbol of hope, but whoever have it, like his mother and Mitsuharu, instead of getting better, left him. And he had come to believe that this flower had an omen of death. That his love caused them to suffer more and die. (That flashback... I am unable to stop my tears even now as I am typing...)

As this dawns on MC, she waits for him eagerly to come back, so that she could sort out everything that happened. But he never returns.

MC sets out to bring him back. After a long search, she finds him in the same park that he had mentioned earlier, talking to a flower... (ugh...)

He is normal, but a little cold this time. MC hugs him from behind and says how worried everyone was. But he just asks to let go of him. (I really thought that he was hurt to such an extent that he decided to leave...)

MC confesses there, and let go of him, when he turns around, and with a pathetic look on his face says,

(That face. Oh my God.)

Cue the third CG. MC hugs him back and comforts him.

After they come back to Japan, things go on as normal. Until one day, Neil requires an immediate surgery due to getting hit on the chest.

All the doctors, join in for the operation. Kurimata lashes out at Kasumi for the death of Mitsuharu. 

MC steps in forward, and says that Kasumi will not let Neil die. They all conduct a successful operation.

The EICU guys gather during the night at Pen to celebrate the returning of Kasumi and MC. 

Kasumi suddenly pulls MC somewhere. And it’s for watching the Belt of Venus. They share a sweet moment there, where Kasumi confesses, asks her to stay with him as she was his only hope, and the story ends, WITH ME CRYING LIKE CRAZY.

(Sweeter than honey, sugar...)

Final Thoughts:

This character!!! God! I am in cloud nine now!!! He went to that extent to protect MC. He was unable to share his hidden feelings with anyone, and now, he could do that. I became very happy when he hugged MC, crying. It symbolized that he was already relying on her, trusting her. Both are genius doctors, both save lives, and both helped each other at times. Along with that, the other doctors’ support was so precious. Their little banters, feeding time, sweet lines Kasumi says and so on, every moment was perfect. The writers did a fantastic job over this one. Overall, a 1000% recommendation! 

If you have reached upto here, first of all, thank you so much for going through my blabbering, and I couldn’t help that. As my hands were unable to stop thinking about this beautiful masterpiece. This will remain my no.1 romance story, no. 1 otome game with my most favorite male and female protagonist!

Thanks for reading! Have a productive week ahead!

Bonus: I just had this in my mind... 

Yui: Uh... What is it, Dr. Kasumi?

Yui: You could expect that after my constant gluing to this article for a while now... Well, did I do a good job? 

Yui: (...how come his smiles are so pure?)

Yui: ...Guardian angel, I did mistakes right? That’s why you are laughing till now... :(

Yui: ! ( I am so happy!)

Yui: Let’s hope people also like it, okay? after all, I poured my heart into it!

Kasumi: mm-hmm.

~Lys

#romance md #Romance MD Always on Call #love 365 #lys's thoughts #surprisingly #my hands are not hurting... #MC I have your powers now! #munechika takado #tetsuya hosho #sentaro kyogoku #kaede ekuni #dean matsunaga #toshiki kasumi #100恋+ #100シーンの恋+ #voltage inc.

[sabraeal]

And Spring Became the Summer

[Read on AO3]

The very last of my follower fics for the 700 Followers gifts! This one was the bonus for making it to 750 before December, and I’m so glad I’ve FINALLY gotten this done...so I can do it all over again this year 🤣

The last term paper Mitsuhide writes for his undergraduate career he slips into a glossy plastic portfolio-- double-spaced and double-sided, graphs printed in full color-- and turns in personally.

It’s a wide-eyed TA that takes it, seated behind a desk that’s far too big for her. Or well, she’s not wide-eyed at first; instead she’s bent over her work, only glancing up absently to make sure she has it in hand. But a second one turns absence to alarm, eyes fixing to where he grips the plastic, and suddenly he’s all-too aware how easily how just one of his hands could swallow both of hers.

So is she; her eyes pulse wide, and then she’s tracing the line of his arm up and up doggedly, like as long as she just keeps going, she might hit the end of him. When she finally does, he offers her a sheepish smile, shoulders hunched lessen the blow.

She shrinks back, a mousey brown head peeking above an oversized university sweatshirt. So much for that.

“You could have emailed this,” she squeaks, plucking the plastic sleeve from his grip. “I mean, not that you can’t hand it in. It’s just, er...”

“No one does,” another adds, rolling across the floor with a level of curiosity that he’s pretty sure an in-person paper doesn’t warrant. When she measures him with her gaze, she enjoys every inch. “Pretty old fashioned, if you ask me.”

He recognizes both of them; their names had been on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester. He’d found them both on the department website, Amanda wearing the same Clarines sweatshirt she had on today, and Holly’s clearly from some beach vacation, cropped from the shoulders up.

(“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a stalker,” Obi says, hanging upside down from the armchair.

“I’m-- I’m not!” Mitsuhide sputters, heat creeping up his neck. One day, Obi would slip up and say these things in front of someone who mattered, someone with a much more rigid sense of humor than Professor Gazelt, or didn’t know to take every word of his with an ocean of salt like Dean Haruka, and then it would be him that got seated in front of a disciplinary committee. The last thing he needed to do before even finishing law school applications was explain his brother’s poor taste in jokes on the record. “It’s just...”

“That you’re compelled to look at cute girls on the university website?” he offers, so casual. “I could think of hotter majors, if you wanted. Psych seems like it’s the sort of place real tens might hand out, right? Maybe, uh, Education? Kindergarten teachers always are cute--”

“It’s polite,” Mitsuhide grits out, shoulders hunched up by his ears. “You should know everyone on staff in your department, just the way you should know everyone you work with. It’s the proper way to network.”

Obi watches him with wide eyes, like he’s some kind of zoo animal or-- or one of those really bad cooks on TV, the kind who tries to pan fry a chicken whole. “God, you don’t actually do that, do you?”

“It’s the secret to good business.” At least, that’s what his parents always told him.

“You must be...” Obi savors the moment, looking positively euphoric as he says, “Really fucking creepy at the department Christmas party.”)

“No one did,” says the first-- Amanda, graduate summa cum laude from Columbia-- tone aimed to shush. “I’m, uh, happy to take that, though.”

He gives her his most gracious smile. “Thank you.”

“No,” Holly-- Penn State, no honors-- mutters, casting him a speculative glance from the corner of her eyes. Hers go up and up too, but seem to come to a much more amicable conclusion. “Thank you.”

“Stop.” Amanda’s hands flex on the thin plastic; she has soft hands, a callus only on the knuckle of her middle finger, where a pen might rest. Like Shirayuki, only without the thousand nicks and cuts that dot her fingers, battle wounds from wrangling recalcitrant plants.

Her chin pulls up, set in a determined line as she says, “Congratulations on graduating.”

“Ah...” It’s a kind thought, and meant well, but knowing he’s about to spend the next three years earning the degree that counts softens the blow. “Thank you. I hope you have a nice, um, summer?”

“Definitely will be nicer not to grade papers,” Holly offers, immune to Amanda’s shushing. “Do you have pl--?”

“We should get back to grading,” Amanda says, just to the left of too loud. “Have a nice summer.”

Never repeat yourself, Mama always told him, it weakens your position.

You can never be too polite. That’s what Papa would say, when he thanked the cashier for a third time.

Mitsuhide winces; he’s always hated this, being stuck between his parents. It’s clearly time to leave. “Right. Bon été, Amanda.”

“Was that French,” he hears hissed the moment he’s stepped out the door; the same moment another voice says, “Did I tell him my name?”

He should have just emailed it. Mitsuhide can make any number of excuses about the joys of collating and color printing, about face-time and networking, but at the end of the day, he has to call a spade a spade: this has all been an excuse. A thin one too, to keep him out of the house. To put off what he knows need doing.

Mitsuhide steps into the cool air of the foyer, shivering as it catches the sweat that beaded at his hairline on the walk. His courage peaks as he stands there, right next to the shoe mat, grand stair stretching up before him, still in his oxfords--

And immediately effervesces when he catches sight of smooth, bare legs on the coffee table, fuzzy slippers worth more than his phone perched up on the mahogany. This is it, the moment of truth, fight or flight, and he-- he doesn’t know which way to run.

So he doesn’t. He’s drawn there with inexorable motion, a magnet to a lodestone, the hard soles of his shoes clacking against the wood the only thing keeping him grounded. It takes only a few steps before long, tanned legs lead up to sleep shorts; not the clingy kind that curve and cup, but the ones that hang like boxers around the tops of her thighs, rucking up as she moves. After that it’s a hoodie, worn loose and baggy, like it’s supposed to fit someone twice her size, its hood drawn tight against her face. Nothing...sexy, not the way Obi might say, with far too much eyebrows involved. But still, his mouth runs dry, tongue heavy behind his teeth.

How on earth is he going to do this?

“Kiki.” He speaks before he thinks, sinking down on the table. It creaks beneath him, ominous. “I owe you a date.”

“Oh shit.” Obi flops over on the recliner, wide gold eyes peeking over the arm. “Check out the balls on this kid.”

This is a terrible idea. He should have known not to do this in a-- a common room, one where other brothers might be hiding.

“Sorry,” he creaks, levering himself up. “I didn’t realize-- you’re clearly busy--”

“No.” Kiki’s lays her feet right on his thighs, pushing him down with a thump. “You were saying something important.”

He darts a glance to the shadow squirming obnoxiously on soft leather. “But Obi--”

“Obi,” she informs him, as imperious as any C-suite member, “can leave.”

Obi doesn’t so much bark out a laugh as honks it. “Not unless I got time to make popcorn.”

Her head doesn’t move an inch from where she’s got it, chin tilted up to meet his own gaze. Her eyes though, those slide pointedly away, fixed at their corners, radiating malice. Kiki is slow to speak, deliberate when she does, but her eyes-- well, there’s a wealth of words in every look, and right now they’re reading Obi the riot act.

It would have worked better if Obi wasn’t already so used hearing it.

“Ignore him,” Kiki decides, attention snapping back to him. “He’s furniture.”

“Oh, Ms Kiki,” Obi drawls, barreling towards a mistake, “you could sit on me any--”

“You were saying?” she says, every word iron. Obi takes the hint, for once.

“I, uh...well, you paid for a date,” Mitsuhide manages lamely, darting a worried look to where Obi lounges on the chair. “I mean, you paid a lot for a date. And I understand that you may have just wanted to donate to the frat, but if you wanted to--”

“I told you,” Kiki says, dry, toes flexing firmly on his knee. “I expect you to make it worth my while.”

“Ah, y-yeah.” Her saying that while looking at him like she did-- well, his brain had that queued up every time he blinks his eyes. Sometimes it changed venues, and there were some, uh, costume changes at times, but if he shut his eyes right now it’d spool up with perfect fidelity. “I thought it might, um, d-distract you if we tried before finals, but since you’ve finished-- we’ve finished--”

“As of twenty minutes ago,” Obi adds, so helpful.

“--I thought it might be a fun way to relax.” He’s honestly never felt less relaxed in his life just sitting here, contemplating it. Half of it he can chalk up to Obi, curled over the recliner like a gremlin, waiting to wreak his version of chaos the second he can weasel his fingers in, but the other--

Well, it’s hard to ask someone on a date when you know they’ve already got someone in mind for the position. Even if it’s just-- this. As friends.

His heart’s in his throat. At least, that’s what he thinks until Kiki’s mouth curves; then he knows it’s never been in his possession at all, but always utterly hers. “Sounds like fun.”

Tension rushes out of him on a sigh. “Ah, great. I though we might, er, go to Boston? You know,” he hurries to spit out, before any words can fall from her parted lips, “since there’s not much out here we haven’t seen.”

She hesitates. Of course she does. Boston’s practically her hometown, and he’s sitting here, thinking it’ll impress her. Like she hasn’t seen everything that’s worth seeing there twice over and in private. That she hasn’t just told him no outright is a testament to how well Mr Seiran’s raise her, and--

“Let’s make a day of it.”

Mitsuhide startles, nearly tipping off the table’s edge before he glances up, right into her row of perfectly straight teeth. Her mom’s smile, she always told him, but he’s only ever seen it on her. “I-- yes. That’s..good.”

Her lips curl, hiding her teeth. “Let me handle the accommodations.”

“Ah, no.” His head sweeps through big, nervous back-and-forths. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to--”

“You’re not,” Kiki informs him. “I’m telling you. I’ll handle accommodations. You’re seeing to the rest of the weekend, correct?”

“Y-yes.” He tries to fold his arms across his lap, but with her feet right on his thighs, it ends up with his hands covering her ankles. He expects her to move them, but instead her legs still, tendons relaxing under his palms. “That’s the plan, but, really--”

“It’s the least I can do.” She shifts her macbook off the couch’s arm, fingers already flying across the keyboard. “One night?”

“I...” He should decline. He should tell her that if she can drop a whole K on a date with him, he can shell out for one night at a hotel with a higher rating than a Holiday Inn.

But this is Kiki Seiran, heir to Seiran International. She’s not just used to five stars but the penthouse suite. He could book four star cheap on Hotwire, but imagining her in one of those suites, the sheets starched and thread count insufficient--

“Yeah,” he grunts, “one night’s fine.”

“Perfect.” Her teeth snap around the word. “Leave it to me.”

“So,” Obi starts before Mitsuhide’s even hit the last step. “We have a bet going on.”

He grimaces, shifting the duffel over his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”

‘Pretty sure’ turns to ‘certain’ once he catches Obi’s grin. “It’s about whether you’ll get your dick wet.”

“Sorry, not interested.” He heaves the bag beside the front door, brushing off his shorts. “Isn’t it too early for you to be up? I thought you didn’t know about the hours before ten.”

“I had motivation,” Obi assures him, slinking up beside him with a grin a mile wide. “You know, Shiira says that you won’t on the grounds that you’re a gentleman.”

More like the lady isn’t interested. “I already said I wasn’t--”

“Kai says you will,” he continues blithely, “and you’ll come back on time. Shuuka agrees, except that he thinks you’ll miss check out with all the boning down and won’t make it back until evening.”

“Isn’t this breaking the bylaws?” Mitsuhide grunts, slipping on his sneakers. “Don’t we have something about betting...?”

“For money,” Obi agrees. “Zen still wouldn’t put a bet down though.”

That’s assuring at least. “Of course n--”

“Shiira already took his.” Obi shakes his head. “And we wouldn’t allow him to say the same thing except that he thinks it’s because you’re and idiot.”

Well, that’s a little rich, coming from Zen. Mitsuhide was loath to remind anyone that besides Obi, he is the most experienced, but-- some people should be taking that into account. Even if nothing is going to happen.

“Don’t worry, Big Guy.” Obi claps him on the shoulder, smile somehow drifting towards kindly. “I gave you until Monday.”

“Obi--”

“And Kiki will walk in with a limp.”

“Obi, you know that’s not...” His breath hisses between his teeth. “That’s not what me and Kiki are like.”

“You keep thinking that, Big Guy, but--” he leans in, cupping a hand around his mouth-- “my original bet was gonna be Tuesday. Too bad Kiki had already taken it.”

Mitsuhide stares at him, slack-jawed. “W-what did you just--?”

“I should have known, you’re already here.”

His head jerks up, right to the top of the grand stair, the beginning of a quick glance-- but it’s no use. There’s no possible way he could make his eyes focus anywhere but on Kiki, not when she’s wearing-- when she’s--

“Ooh.” Obi’s mouth curls, matching Kiki’s knowing smirk. “Is that a skirt?”

It is. And not-- not her field hockey kit, mid-thigh with shorts beneath, but and actual skirt, one that floats just above her knees, gauzy and floral. A single flash of leg tells him there’s nothing else beneath. Ah, well, besides the obvious. Mitsuhide swallows hard, mouth dry.

She raises a brow, hand trailing sinuously down the banister beside her. “It is a date, isn’t it?”

Her heels clack when she takes the last step into the foyer, clack because it’s the cork of her wedges that hits the floor first, because-- nom de Dieu-- she’s wearing shoes that tilt her a few inches close to him. Close enough that he could just bend at the neck and--

“Ah,” he coughs, fingers clenching in his shirt. “You might be a little overdressed. At least for this first part.”

Both her brows raise now. “Am I?”

“God,” Obi mutters at his shoulder, head buried in his hands. “You could at least say she looks nice.”

Well, when he’s right, he’s right.

“You look, ah, great though,” Mitsuhide hurries to add. “Beautiful.”

Kiki, to his surprise, beams. “Well, I brought a few outfits. I’ll change at the hotel.”

“Ah, sure.” He scoops up his duffel, holding out a hand for her bag as she passes. “You’re ready to go?”

Her mouth quirks at a corner. “As I’ll ever be.”

He hums, uncertain, suddenly left-footed with her so close. They should leave, but that involves a number a movements he’s suddenly stymied by.

Thankfully, Obi opens the door, practically shoving him onto the porch. “All right kids, be safe now.”

“Obi...”

“Don’t worry,” Kiki drawls, sashaying over the threshold. “I packed plenty of condoms.”

The door cuts off Obi’s laugh, but Mitsuhide can’t escape the pounding of his heart.

“You know,” he sighs, trailing after her, “you’re only encouraging him when you say things like that.”

“Oh that’s too bad,” she hums, floating past. “I was trying to encourage you.”

#mitsukiki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #The Wide Florida Bay #my fic #ans #THESE ARE FINALLY FINISHED #and this little side jaunt is barely started 🤣 #i wanted to do the whole date...then convinced myself half... #and now i just have the lead up #but lbr #it's better this way #since we get more chaos agent Obi #which only makes Obi's sensitive feelings about his OWN date funnier #buddy you bought and paid for the shit you're getting #and NOW you don't want it? no wonder Kiki gives you crap

[dlamp-dictator]

Good, Unused Operators Allen X Recommends Leveling

Welp, 7-16 is kicking my tail at the moment because of the goddamn Herald spam... Jeez, five Heralds than increase mortar attack speed. This game can be a real pain sometimes, I swear.

Anyway, while I’m agonizing over how I now have to power level Cliffheart for this latest map, I’ve been thinking a lot about certain operators. With this limited banner going on and the regrettable amounts of whaling I did for W I’ve had some time to ask myself about all the operators I have and some of their utility. A lot of gacha games tend to be pretty cruel with their pull rates and meta, and Arknights is probably one of the few games that's decent with both. Due to the way maps work, most meta picks are only for about 60% of maps and supply maps, there’s still some strategy involved. The Blaze-Weedy-Saria trifecta can’t conquer everything, thankfully.

So I wanted to take some time to discuss the lesser used and off-meta Operators of this game and explain some of their utilities.

Zima

I only feels fitting to start this out with a Vanguard, and Zima has pulled in clutch for a lot of these chapter 7 maps. Kit-wise Zima has Scavenger’s attack boost plus DP on kill with her S2, making her a machine of DP on certain chokepoints. Not only that, she actually pretty tanky for a vanguard, matching up to some low level defenders in terms of defense. Where Texas would crumble like the glass cannon she is, Zima stands tall and can give a beating as well as she takes one. Not only that, but her personal talent at E2 lets her lower the DP cost of all Vanguard operators, meaning you can jet out Myrtle very quickly and maybe have some DP to spare to quickly drop Zima afterwards. However... it takes quite a while for her S2 to get ready, so it’s best to keep her on maps that don’t need the attack boost immediately. 

Perfumer

I admittedly don’t use Perfumer since I have Angelina and Ptilopsis, but her passive healing talent means characters like Vulcan, Hellagur, and Utage can have reliable, passive healing for free, which is always nice if you don’t have Sora or Angelina. Something I think a lot of people look over with 4-stars is that they’re cheap to promote. You don’t need insane 5th tier resources or a lot of chips and LMD to promote them. And while AoE healers aren’t meta, they’re helpful at times.

Shirayuki

Shirayuki is another cheap 4-star to upgrade, but her kit is actually really good. An AoE sniper who’s S2 gives her arts damage. And anything in this game that gives a character arts damage tends to be a tier higher than they would be otherwise, as very few enemies have heavy arts resistance with the exception of certain bosses. And again, she’s a cheap unit to promote, so if you don’t have Meteorite or Sesa, Shirayuki is a good pick. This woman carried a lot of my Annihilation runs before I got Sesa, so don’t under estimate her.

Waai Fu

Waai Fu is a fast-redeploy operator that can silence enemies and keep those exploding spiders at bay. She can outdo Red and even Lappland in some regards depending on the map. She does good damage if you level her up enough and her base skills are great in the workshops. She’s one of the many unexpected MVPs of my Contingency Contracts runs, saving my tail more than I care to admit.

Gummi

She’s a cheap Saria who’s S1 is extremely reliable. I’d honestly recommend her over Saria in some cases thanks to her lower DP cost. I don’t get much use out of her S2, so I can’t say much there. She’s worth promoting though, especially if you don’t have Saria.

Cutter

This is a blind recommendation since I haven’t used her much, but she’s essentially a cheaper Ch’en with more spammable skills. And while I already have Ch’en, she’s next on the list of Four Stars I want to level.

Broca

As much as I clown on Infall for simping him, and as much as I will continue to clown on Infall for simping him, any guard that can do arts damage is instantly more valuable than most, especially how clustered these Chapter 7 maps are getting. And Broca is an AoE Guard with access to arts damage. And while his S2 makes him stunned and block 0, Specter’s S2 has a similar drawback, and she’s in the meta. This is also another blind recommendation, but one I feel very comfortable making, as his S2 increases his attack range and you can just place him in front of a Defender to solve this problem.

GreyThroat

I talked about GreyThroat on this blog before, but just to reiterate, GreyThroat is a weaker Exusiai, but she also has high DPS, and has an easier time getting potential and a shorter DP cost. She can melt bosses with weaker physical defenses like Frostnova and Mephisto, and you don’t have to worry about her auto-activating her skill when it isn’t needed like Exusiai. She’s a good character to promote and raise if you want a cheaper option instead of Exusiai.

Pramanix

On that end, I also said on this blog that Pramanix is kind of niche, but great at debuffing enemies. Her range is insane and her DP cost is generously small considering her utility as both debuffer and emergency caster. She’s pretty good for Contingency Contracts, but... not really viable anywhere else, not safely viable anyway. 

Sesa

Anyone with Sesa that hasn’t E2′d him yet is honestly sleeping on him. Sesa is fantastic and is probably one of the better AOE snipers. I haven’t done much with Meteorite since I got here way after promoting Sesa, but Sesa’s damage on his S2 melts chokepoints. In the right hands this man is unstoppable. He’s destroyed entire clusters of enemies in just two bombs with his S2. His only downside is that his S2 turns his bombs into timed explosives, so some enemies can just walk away from the explosion without getting hit. His targeting’s also a little weird, but in the right chokepoint everything dies.

Sora

I think ever since Aak came onto the scene people kind of forgot Sora existed. She can stun or buff enemies depending on your needs. This is great for chokepoints and she can give passive healing like Perfumer, though for units in her range only. This is a great support unit overall. Nothing I’d recommend you should bring all the time, but... she’s good regardless.

And... that’s it for now. Time to go back to 7-16 kicking my ass... 

Ugh...

Well, next time I’ll probably talk more about Arknights’ gacha and gacha elements... when I conquer this goddamn, cursed level.

#arknights #your dictator is speaking

[mrsmarymorstan]

Now Furuba S2 is over, what now?

I’m already seeing a lot of people asking for recommendations now the S2 Sub is over; so this is a list of series that I think you’ll enjoy if you like Furuba! 

All platforms listed are true for the UK, but might not be for other residences. More viewing options may be available in other territories. 

Unless specified, All Manga/Comic recs are available from regular bookstores and EBook Stores. If you’re in the UK I’ll suggest checking out Hive, which is an online store where a potion of each sale goes towards a Local Independent Bookstroe of your choice! They also have flat-rate free shipping! 

Okay, so the actual recs! (I got lazy in some places and used the official synopisis) 

Romance

Convenience Store Boyfriends Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total 

“Six high school boys hang out at a local convenience store where they talk about their daily lives. Haruki Mishima and Towa Honda are first year students looking forward to the high school experience. Alongside them, there’s Nasa Sanagi, the only member of the cooking research club. Natsu Asumi is a loner but has third year students, Mikado Nakajima and Masamune Sakurakoji, looking out for him.“

Kaguya-sama: Love is War S1 - Crunchyroll, Funimation (Sub) S2 Funimation (Sub/Dub) 24 eps - Ongoing Manga: 18/20 volumes available in English 

“Known for being both brilliant and powerful, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya lead the illustrious Shuchiin Academy as near equals. And everyone thinks they’d make a great couple. Pride and arrogance are in ample supply, so the only logical move is to trick the other into instigating a date! Who will come out on top in this psychological war where the first move is the only one that matters?”

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Netflix (Dub/Sub), Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 12/12 volumes available in English 

“High school student Chiyo Sakura has a crush on schoolmate Umetarou Nozaki. When she confesses her love to him, he mistakes her for a fan and gives her an autograph. When she says she wants to be with him, he invites her to his house and has her help on some drawings. Sakura discovers that Nozaki is actually a renowned shōjo manga artist working under the pen name Sakiko Yumeno. She agrees to be his assistant in order to get closer to him. As they work on his manga Let's Fall in Love they encounter other schoolmates, who assist them and serve as inspirations for the story.”

Snow White With the Red Hair Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 Eps Total Manga: 9/22+ volumes available in English. Anime ends Vol. 8 

“In the kingdom of Tanbarun lives an independent young pharmacist named Shirayuki. Shirayuki is a plain girl, save for her shock of beautiful apple-red hair. Her stunning mane gets her noticed by the prince, but instead of romancing her, he demands she be his concubine. Shirayuki chops off her lovely locks, and runs away to the neighboring kingdom where she befriends a handsome stranger.”

Tsuruedure Children Funimation (Dub), Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga (Ebook only) 12/12 Volumes available in English

“Short and charming comedic vignettes offer a quick glimpse into the unique and funny situations, misunderstandings, and all around confusion that can happen in a high school romance. For starters, there’s a story about a delinquent girl and the student council president, and one about a stoic boy confused about an emotional girl. Relive the charm of high school romance!”

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku Amazon Prime (Sub) 11 Eps Total Manga: 4/9 volumes available in english 

Looking for a slice of life romance but you’re an actual adult now and don’t want to read about teenagers? Try Wotakoi! It combines office romance with childhood friends-to-lovers. Narumi is a Fujoshi who doesn’t want anyone to find out the truth of her ways, Hirotaka is a Game Otaku who doesn’t care what anyone says about it, together they go about the ins-and-outs of dating as an adult. 

Coming of Age

BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt, so I’ll max out my defence Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Ongoing 

“She may be new to gaming, but Maple has found the secret to invincibility! Just put all your skill points into defense until you can't even move. That works, right? She doesn't want to experience any pain in the VRMMO game she started playing, and somehow it works better than anyone expected. Now she's got followers??”

Brand New Animal Netflix (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

“Set in a world where humanoid animals (known as beastmen) inhabit Earth, the series centers on Michiru Kagemori, a young teenage girl who one day suddenly starts turning into a tanuki beastman. Running away, she seeks refuge in Anima City, a city built for beastmen to be able to live peacefully as themselves, and ends up meeting a wolf beastman named Shirou Ogami. Together, they investigate how and why Michiru became a beastman, becoming mixed up in even stranger events in the process.”

Hyouka Funimation (Dub/Sub) 23 Eps Total 

“A worthy addition to any animation fan's collection, Hyouka is a stunning masterwork that spins a charming tale of high school romance and mystery. After disenchanted student Hotaro Oreki joins his school’s Classic Lit Club, he meets Eru Chitanda, a kindhearted and inquisitive girl with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting him caught up in all sorts of trouble.”

Koto Oto Tomara! Sounds of Life Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 Eps Total 

“Down to its last member, the koto club will accept anyone who is interested in the traditional Japanese instrument. But when a delinquent and a prodigy player sign up, finding harmony isn’t going to be easy—especially not with ensemble competitions looming around the corner. With enough time and some incredible skill at the strings, perhaps this motley crew can strike a chord with the judges.“

O Maidens in your Savage Season HIDIVE (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 7/8 volumes available in English (8th available for pre-order) 

The series follows a High School Literature club as they make their nervous first foray into the nature of sexuality. What is the difference between sexual attraction and romantic attraction? Does watching porn mean wanting to have sex? What are these strange feelings I am having down below? Why are boys so gross and girls so pretty? Each girl undergoes their own journey and finds their own destination, a brutally honest yet heart warming look at teenage female sexuality. 

CW: Sexual Assault, pedophilia (both portrayed as BAD AND TERRIBLE things) 

Our Dreams at Dusk Manga: 4/4 volumes available in English 

IF YOU ONLY CONSUME ONE THING ON THIS LIST MAKE IT THIS!!!!! The series is the VERY DEFINITION of “It Gets Better”. 

After his classmates discover some gay pornography on his phone, Tasuku Kaname contemplates committing suicide. Just as he’s about to jump, he spots a mysterious figure parkouring down a mountain. Shocked out of his moment, he decides to go and investigate what’s happening and finds an LGBT+ Drop In Centre. The series follows the lives of the people in the drop in centre, from Haruko who wishes to marry her closeted girlfriend, to Misora who is still trying to figure out what their gender is but has the threat of puberty hovering of their shoulder. 

It’s very clear that Kamatani-sensei has written this story FOR the Queer Community. It’s a truly beautiful story. Please give it your money if you can, so that Kamatani-sensei can actually earn some money, and so that Seven Seas know that there is a viable audience for these stories! So that we may get more content!

Reverse Harem 

Fruits Basket is NOT a reverse Harem, but i figure there’ll be some fan crossover. 

Kiss Him, Not Me Cruncyroll (sub) Funimation Dub available on DVD etc. 12 Eps Total Manga 14/14 volumes available in English

“Kae Serinuma believes one thing—princes belong together! As an avid boy’s love fan, she loves nothing more than fantasizing about faux relationships between the boys at her school. But when she loses weight due to the stress of her favorite anime character dying suddenly the boys want…her?! From pretty average to prettiest girl, Kae just wants these boys to date each other, not her!”

Sub uses an irritating “Silly Fat Person” voice that the Dub doesn’t. CW for Sexual Assult, though it is depicted as a BAD thing and used for Kae to question why she is so into it when reading BL, when IRL it is terrifying? 

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom Crunchyroll (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

A TRULY Bisexual harem! After bumping her head, young Katarina Claes awakens with all the memories of her past life... and promptly realises she’s been re-incarnated as the antagonist of her favourite Otome Game! Determined this time to live past the age of 17, Katarina starts to make plans to turn all her enemies into allies through the power of kindness and understanding! Throughout the series, she tries harder and harder to avoid her doom flags... without realising that she’s turned those doom flags into romance flags! 

Katarina lives out the fantasy of going to magic school and eating cake as all the pretty people fall head over heels for her. A pity she’s too dim to notice.

Ouran High School Host Club Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 eps total Manga: 18/18 volumes available in english 

Set in the high class elite private school of Ouran High, the Host Club exist to provide entertainment for the ladies of the school. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi Fujioka, stumbles across the Host Club and in their haste to leave they knock over an ¥8,000,000 vase. Now she must earn that money back by working for the Host Club, all the while disguising the fact that she’s a girl. Not that she ever felt much like a girl before hand anyway. Along the way, she gets to know better the Cool Kyoya, the flamboyant Tamaki, the Mischievous Hikaru & Kaoru, the Strong and Silent Mori-senpai and the adorable Honey-senpai. Comedic Hijinks ensue! 

Slice of Life

The Emperor and I Manga: 4/4 volumes available in English on Shonen Jump App 

One day Kaho returns home from school to find an Emperor Penguin in her fridge. He quickly becomes a beloved part of the family, but a secret to the rest of the world who would want to take him away from them. Hijinks ensue. 

Kakushigoto Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

Doting single father, Kakushi Goto, is determined to hide the fact that he writes echhi humour manga for a living. He couldn’t bare it if his daughter were to ever find out the truth, the shame of his profession only alienating her. A laugh out loud series that will suddenly cut you deep as it explores the nature of grief and familial love. 

My Brother’s Husband Manga: 2/2 volumes available in English 

“Yaichi, a stay-at-home single father, lives with his daughter Kana in suburban Tokyo. They are visited by Mike Flanagan, the widower of Yaichi's estranged twin brother Ryōji, who has traveled from his native Canada for three weeks to learn about Ryōji's past. Kana is fascinated by Mike and is immediately accepting of him, though Yaichi is hesitant to accept Mike as family.

While Yaichi is not overtly homophobic, Mike suggests that his tacit discomfort over his brother's sexuality drove a wedge between them that led to their estrangement. Mike's interactions with the family and neighborhood over the subsequent three weeks prompt Yaichi to confront his own prejudices around sex and sexuality, as his growing tolerance and eventual acceptance of Mike parallel his overcoming of his own homophobia.”

Whilst the trope of “the gay brother dies and the heterosexual brother learns not to be homophobic” might be over done in western media, the same is not true for Japan. It’s a heartfelt and honest look at grief and acceptance, as well as how the nature of family is changing all around the world... but attitudes are maybe conservative attitudes aren’t as quick to catch up. 

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life Funimation (Dub/Sub) 

So apparently everyone went “this show is undubbable! It relies too much on puns and untranslatable humour!” and then Howard Wang said “hold my beer” and did it. A bizarre comedy series set in a high school. It’s probably best known for the ongoing fight between the deer and the principal.  

Way of the Househusband Manga: 4/5+ (ongoing) volumes available in English  

After he meets and marries the career driven Miku, Tatsu AKA The Immortal Dragon decides to give up his life of crime to commit to being the worlds’ best husband. You’d be surprised at the transferable skills between a Yakuza enforcer and a house husband. From knowing how to efficiently cut up a slice of meat, to how to perfectly clean a bathroom of all evidence. Hilarious and heartwarming, Taki and Kyoko would be best bros. 

Slice of Life + Supernatural 

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K S1 Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 episodes Netflix S1 (Dub/Sub) S2 & 3 (Sub) 50 episodes total 

“Saiki Kusuo is a typical 16-year-old high school student… except he has psychic powers. He can use them to get whatever he wants, but he also knows everything that people are thinking. Everything. No surprises, no secrets, no normal human experiences. He’s kept his powers in check since childhood, but with the temptations of high school now on his mind, he’s bending the rules—and spoons.“

Sabrina The Teenage Witch (2019)

Writer Kelly Thompson wears her magical girl influences on her sleeve in this new take on the Archie Classic. Sabrina is your regular teenager, except she is also a witch and so are her aunts. Hijinks (and Card Captor Sakura References) ensue. 

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 eps total Manga 13/13 Volumes available in English 

“Kamome Academy is rumored to have many mysteries, the strangest of which involves the mischievous ghost of Hanako-kun. When occult-loving high schooler Nene Yashiro accidentally becomes bonded to him, she uncovers a hidden world of supernatural beings. Now the two of them are conspiring to keep the peace between student and supernatural—that is, if they can only stay out of trouble themselves.“

Jughead (2015) 4 Volumes total

Bought to you in various parts by the creators of Squirrel Girl, Jughead combines slice of life with spy thriller, time travel and the joy of a good burger. Hilarious and heart warming, this run holds a special place in my heart as the one where Jughead was confirmed as canonically asexual and continues to express various aro/ace moods throughout the series. There’s a REASON my friends say I’m a Real Life Jughead.... 

Weathering With You - available digitally/physically 28th Sep. 2019

In June 2021, first year high schooler Hodaka Morishima leaves Kōzu-shima in order to get to Tokyo. When his ferry to the city is hit by a rainstorm, he is saved by Keisuke Suga, who runs a small occult magazine that’s looking for an assistant. As Hodaka becomes broke and struggles to find work, he meets Hina Amano, an employee of a McDonald’s restaurant. She takes pity on him and gives him food. After agreeing to work with Suga, Hodaka learns about the legend of the “sunshine girl” who can control the weather! It turns out that the newly unemployed Hina is a sunshine girl! And with her little brother, they start up their own business to bring sunshine to the never-ending rain of Tokyo. 

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Crunchyroll (Dub/Sub) 12 Episodes Total Manga: 22/28 volumes available in English 

After tripping on the stairs, School Bad Boy Ryu Yamada and Top Student Urara Shiraishi discover they can swap bodies with a kiss! They then learn that they’re not the only ones with magic powers in the school, and with the help of the Supernatural Studies Club they begin to track down the identities of the 7 witches of Suzaku High. 

This series really stretches my limits on fan service, but at least it does proceed to get a little even in terms of gender. It’s still a really rather sweet and romantic series, once you get past the boobs and panties. 

Your Name Netflix (Dub/Sub) Spin Off Manga “Your Name: Another Side: Earthbound” - 2/2 volumes available in English 

A modern take on the Red Sting of Fate mythos, Mitsuha and Taki are two teenagers tied together. Three times a week, Mitsuha will wake up in Taki’s body and live the life of a Tokyo School boy. In turn, Taki will wake up in Mitsuha’s body and learn what it is to be a Rural Shrine Maiden. A look at the bonds that tie us, and how fate won’t let two young people fall apart before they can meet. 

Also the animation is BEAUTIFUL and it made me cry. Like a lot. There’s a spin off manga called “Your Name: Another Side” that follows the same story but from the POV of Mitsuha’s friends and family. It really brings new light to the events and made me very emotional.

Mental Health 

Green Lanterns: Rebirth (2018)

Jessica Cruz suffers from PTSD and severer anxiety, seeing her utalising her will power to overcome those problems and harness that energy to help save the universe is so incredibly powerful and moving. 

Hawkeye (2012-2015) 4 Volumes 

The Fraction/Aja/Wu/Hollingworth Hawkeye run is widely considered one of the best superhero runs of all time. Fraction and Aja perfectly capture “functional depression” at its finest, and we watch as Clint Barton slowly burns all his bridges before being forced by his friends to sort his shit out and put them back together again. There’s also a whole issue that’s primarily written in sign language too. 

My Roomate is a Cat Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 eps total 

“Mystery author Mikazuki would rather live in total isolation than deal with others. Getting a roommate is the last thing he’d ever do, until a stray cat sparks an idea for his next novel. After plucking the little killer off the streets, this four-legged muse inspires Mikazuki in ways he would have never expected. And for the street-wise cat, this human just opened the door to a whole new world.”

A Silent Voice (Manga/Movie) Movie: Netflix (Dub/Sub) 

“A former class bully reaches out to the deaf girl he’d tormented in grade school. He feels unworthy of redemption but tries to make things right.”

CW Attempted Suicide, bullying

Please watch the dub. Lexi Marman Cowden, who voices Shoko, is an ACTUAL hard-of-hearing actress. It makes for a more real and vulnerable performance that avoids the mild ableism of the Sub hiring a Hearing Actress and robot-ising her voice. 

Yuri!!! On ICE Crunchyroll (Sub) Funimation (Dub) 12 eps total 

“Yuri Katsuki makes his way to the Grand Prix ice skating competition as Japan’s top representative with his eyes on the prize. However, instead of celebrating, Yuri walks away defeated and ready to retire for good. But a run-in with champion Viktor Nikiforov and rising star Yuri Plisetsky ignites a new fire within him. With the two of them close by his side, Yuri will take to the ice once more.”

Yuri’s defeat sends him into a very relatable spiral of lack of self belief that he slowly starts to regain thanks to the help of Viktor. Part sports anime, part love story, all full of feels. 

The Dub is considered hit or miss depending on whether you like accents or not, but honestly it’s worth it for Sabat’s Christophe giacometti. Ayame walked, so Christophe could strut. 

Generic 

I’m gonna start by recommending the Shonen Jump App, it’s £1.99/month and gives you access to all their recent publications as well as their back catalogue in English! So you can read all of Boys Over Flowers, Nisekoi, Naruto, One Piece, Haikyuu, Assassination Classroom, My Hero Academia etc. for a fraction of the cost of buying the physicals! SO much manga at your finger tips! No, they don’t sponsor me but i wish they would. 

Astra Lost in Space Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 5/5 volumes available in english, available on the Shonen Jump App

A group of teenagers on a school trip become Lost In Space and quickly discover a conspiracy is a foot. Part thriller, part comedy, saying anything more about this series would count as a spoiler given the number of plot twists throughout. 

Radiant Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 42 eps total Manga: 13/13+ volumes available in english (ongoing series)

A french manga turned into a Japanese Anime.

“Seth, a sorcerer destined to find Radiant, sets his sights on Caislean Merlin for answers. He’s desperate to find out what the Knight Sorcerers know, but can he trust them? In the wake of all that is unknown, he digs deep within himself for the wisdom and confidence to control his powers. And as the world around him continues to grow with more magic and power, he gains strong new allies.”

The series has BIG Saturday Morning cartoon vibes. My 12 year-old self would have been ALL OVER this.

Batman Ninja (Netflix)  

What if a Japanese animation studio asked DC if they could make a batman movie? And then just threw a Japanese history book at it? What if there was time travel? What if the main batman villains were all feudal lords in Japan? What if everyone were Samari? What if Damian had a small animal companion he could communicate with using a flue? What if Jason’s hood was made out of wicker? What if Penguin had a penguin shaped mecha? 

A wild ride from start to finish that makes no sense but really, do you care? 

#fruits basket #anime #manga #recs #furuba #anime recs