#jintae scenarios

[lurkingshan]

Cherry Magic Episode 3

THAT’S RIGHT BESTIES, WE ARE FUCKING BACK!!

First of all, let me pause to share the good news for anyone who hasn’t heard: GMMTV decided to give a hearty fuck you to Square Enix by putting English subs on the episodes airing on Viu. All you need is a VPN set to Thailand and a free Viu account and you can continue watching Achi and Karan and friends. Cheers to GMMTV for making sure their international fans didn’t get totally fucked over by this mess.

Now onto the episode: ANOTHER BANGER. If I could, I would ask for this episode’s hand in marriage. A few important points:

This is all new material that is NOT in the jbl (but presumably some of it at least is sourced in the manga, I’m no expert so manga readers hmu if you know)

It all felt so so very Thai—a field trip! a street fight! new side stories!—in the best way

They are using much of the extra time to deepen Achi and Karan’s characterizations and add more heft to their getting to know you arc, which is basically my dream scenario for this adaptation

This episode is all about Achi learning to see past his own insecurities to see the humanity in others, even people like Karan who seem perfect on the surface, and recognizing that he also makes real contributions to his community that people see and appreciate. I loved the arc of this episode and the way they let Achi work through his emotions until he arrived at a place where he could be the one to reach out to Karan and offer him some reciprocation for his kindness. It was so beautifully done and well earned.

I also really liked what this episode did with the side characters—Pai in this version is clearly different from Fujisaki in the Japanese live action, but there were some clever nods to a possible aroace read on Pai in this plot about her ex (Papang!). Rock growing to appreciate both Pai and Achi more was also very sweet, and Min and Jinta bonding over the kitty was just adorable. This show is so much fun and I’m thrilled we can continue to watch it.

[ultraericthered]

One Villainous Scene: Not Alright

[Feel I should start doing these types of posts at least once a month.]

In this case, the scene and character in question aren't "villainous" in the purest, most traditional sense of how you'd define that, but it comes off the heels of an antagonistic character acting in a very antagonistic way that makes him the closest thing to a villain this story has got despite him also being one of the six main characters. I'm of course referring to Atsumu Matsuyuki, AKA Yukiatsu, from the 11 episode anime Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.

For context, Yukiatsu was...more than a little bothered by hearing that his childhood ex-friend Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi, who he'd long been envious and resentful of, was allegedly able to see and communicate with the ghost of their deceased childhood friend, Meiko "Menma" Honma. We'd also been shown that Yukiatsu might have some skeletons in (literally) his closet. Then a few days back, Poppo caught a glimpse of Menma in the woods near the six friends old Secret Base, meaning Jintan isn't so special in this regard. And then Yukiatsu said he'd communicated with Menma too, but the actual Menma protests that Yukiatsu is lying. Now, at the end of Episode 4 and the start of Episode 5, we get the truth: the "Menma" that Poppo saw earlier who has been stalking around the forest and casting doubt on Jintan's claims about Menma...is, in fact, Yukiatsu with shaved legs and wearing a wig and dress in order to ressemble his deceased childhood sweetheart. Who could've seen that coming?

And that brings us to this scene, the moment where Yukiatsu finally shows us who he really is. Jintan tries to keep calm as he asks his old friend "are you alright?" And Yukiatsu. Mcfreaking. SNAPS, thrusting Jintan to the ground and putting a stranglehold on his neck, furiously asking "Do I seem alright to you?" More disturbingly, he proceeds to ask, in total seriousness, "Do I look like her? 'Cause you can SEE Menma, isn't that right? Say it! Do I look like Menma? Yes or no?", all with a completely unhinged look on his face. Once he's no longer strangling Jintan and is just holding him up by his shirt, Yukiatsu begins to break down in tears as he finally expresses why he finds Jintan's claims about ghost Menma so impossible to believe - he is convinced that if Menma's spirit rose from the grave and came back to the Earth, the person she'd want to visit, interact with, haunt or even curse would be him. Because according to Yukiatsu, it was his actions and something he'd said to Menma on that last day all six friends were together that directly led to Menma's following death. In his own words, he killed Menma. For years, Yukiatsu was racked with guilt over this and had a secret yearning for Menma to return to him, to make him face some divine punishment for it which would also serve as closure for him. But no matter how hard he hoped for it, he's never been able to see Menma, not even in his dreams. He seems far more hung up on the late Menma than Jintan ever was or could ever be, so to him it makes no sense why it'd be Jintan and not him that Menma would opt to appear to. By now, he's a weeping wreck.

There are, however, two good reasons why Menma went to Jintan and not to Yukiatsu. One is plot-based and revealed later on (has to do with Jintan's dead mother), but the other is left implicit: Yukiatsu has never been truly hung up on Menma, but on himself in direct relation to Menma. Every sentence out of Yukiatsu's mouth during this breakdown just oozes with self-absorption, self-obsession, and entitlement. His mind cannot fathom, cannot comprehend a scenario in which he is not made the center of his deceased friend's attention, in which he is not considered by the girl herself to be the friend who'd made the greatest impact on her and was the most crucial figure in her life, even if in a negative way that reflects poorly on him. He does not want to process the possibility that after death, Menma has rejected him in favor of Jinta Yadomi, just as he'd feared she'd do in life when they were children. Jintan remembers Menma for who she was, valued who she was, cares even now for who she was and is. Yukiatsu has been and remains fixated on Menma for what she was to him; his would-be trophy GF. An extension of his sense of self.

It's my belief that Yukiatsu is a psychopath, or close enough to one, as he hits off many boxes of the psychopathy checklist. He'd loved Menma as dearly as he could ever love someone, and deeply regrets his percieved part in her death with the most remorse he's capable of, as he is still only human. But not only do his consistent thinking and behavior showcase an inability to empathize with others and put their own feelings and individual personhoods on a level equal to his own, his actions in later episodes serve to undermine the purity of his feelings that this scene brings to the forefront, partcularly when he cajoles Anaru into getting the five living friends to re-enact the last time they were all together, right in front of Menma who he for 100% certainty knows is in there with them watching it all, mainly as a way to hurt Jintan. Such cruelty comes all too easy to him, and even when re-connected with his oldest friends, he seems to process life itself through the filter of "how does or can this relate to me?"

Yet the writing never simply makes him out to be a complete lost cause either, and that's also showcased beautifully in this scene. As he continues to weep, Menma walks over to Jintan and softly tells him something, prompting Jintan to announce out loud what she's saying to him. At first, Yukiatsu is getting aghast that even now, Jintan would mock him by "pretending" to see and hear Menma while he and none of the others can, but when Jintan mentions "that pretty hair clip", something that was only between Yukiatsu and Menma that Jintan could not possibly know of unless he heard it directly from Menma herself, he stands in shock, his tears dry, and he just...walks away. Like he needs to get back home and rethink everything. Even at his most deranged, Yukiatsu's heart can be reached, and his mind made to see reason and clarity, even if he is still a creep about it all.

Aside from the presence of the ghostly Menma as a supernatural occurance, Anohana is typically a very grounded and very believable anime, so this plot turn of a crazed, cross-dressing Yukiatsu so easily could've thrown it off for me. But as I watched it dubbed, what really saves and sells this moment for me is Ray Chase. He is astonishing with his voice acting for Yukiatsu and he holds nothing back in the character's bouts of madness. This man is so mad talented and so committed to his voice acting roles that his take on Yukiatsu elevates the character into almost a horror villain, which fits when you know that Chase would later provide the voice for an actual horror villain! This character, and this scene especially, really do belong to him, and so they linger in my memory, haunting me like Menma herself.

[write-this-way-please]

Reunion

Reunion [Professor!Verbal Jint│Going with him to his high school reunion]

“Come with me…” Jintae purred against the shell of your ear. “Come on…Please?” he kissed your soft skin.

You sighed glancing at him and shaking your head. “Oh no, you don’t. You don’t get to seduce me into agreeing with you” you smirked, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Who do you think you are? Me”

He chuckled cupping your bottom through your dress. “Come now...It won’t be that bad.” He brushed his lips against yours softly, tugging on your lower lip teasingly. “We’ll have plenty of time to be alone...It’ll be romantic.”

“It’s a high school reunion. It’s not that romantic. Besides...We can’t exactly hide this…” you vaguely gestured between the two of you.

“I don’t wanna hide this” he grinned. “And you’re graduating too. You’re not going to be my student any longer.”

You raked your hand through his hair. “Mmm… You have a point...But it’ll still be weird. Like what are you going to say? Hey guys, this is my much too young girlfriend? Oh, better-This is my former student that I slept with.”

“What do you want to be called?” he laughed at your outrageous introductions. “Girlfriend?”

“...Hmmm sounds too midlife crisis-y” you huffed. “I don’t need your former lady classmates thinking you’re just sowing your wild oats.” you rolled your eyes. “I can feel it now….”

“Is that bad?”

“Yes! Because if they think I’m an oat, they’re going to think you just need someone you’re own age to take care of you after you get tired of your little toy.” you huffed. “And I’ll be damned if I lose you to some judgy old lady”

He chuckled “Don’t get too scrappy over hypotheticals” he smoothed down your hair. “Well, you’re not a toy. How about Lover?” he pecked your forehead as his hands moved up to rest on the small of your back.

“Even worst. Doesn’t even sound like we’re dating” your pout deepened as he kissed the side of your mouth.

“Partner?”

“Too vague”

“Companion?” he pressed a kiss against your nose bridge.

“Don’t like it” you pouted. “Makes it sound like you’re on a quest and I’m just your little helper.”

“Hmmm, I’ve got one.” He grabbed your hand and kissed the ring. “Fiance’...” It was from his little proposal months ago from your pregnancy scare. You never really considered it a real engagement, just a promise ring. The circumstances changed but you didn’t think it felt right to take it off.

You blushed looking down at the ring. “Jintae…You don’t think that’s too much…?”

“I don’t like that I’m wasting time trying to find a label just to introduce you to people that barely mean anything to me.” he lifted you up, setting you on the bed. “You’re my everything...my entire world...my stars and my air… Whatever you want me to call you I’ll do it...I just want you by my side.”

“Fine… I’ll go.” you pressed your lips against his hungrily, smiling into him. He laid you down onto the mattress and released a relieved sigh.

“God, I love you.” he laughed, running his hands up your thighs.

The first time the two of you traveled together you were hyper aware of the looks you’d get. Younger couples judging you, elders staring at you like you were a floozy and he was some sort of pervert. And you weren’t sure if you just became numb to the looks or if they stopped altogether but it was the farthest thing from your mind.

“Oppa, if you went to school in Seoul do you care to explain to me why we’re up in the mountains?” Yongpyong was almost a twelve-hour drive away from the city.

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and kissing the top of your head. “Well since this is our second reunion the class president wanted something a little more exciting.”

“Well your class president is pretty damn extra”

That weekend you two found yourself in Yongpyong at the ski resort. You shivered, holding onto Jintae’s arm as he checked inside the lodge. “I’m freezing.”

“It’s a ski resort Jagi” he smiled kissing the top of your forehead.

“I get that, I just didn’t think it was all that cold” you looked up at him and grinned “Since your first thing with your class isn’t until tonight…” you chewed on your bottom lip. “Wanna go to the hot spring?”

He looked down at you with hooded eyes seeing that playful glint. “Mmm… you know it’s an open hot spring right?”

“I know… I’ll behave”

“I doubt that somehow” as he traced your lower lip with his ring finger, your tongue lashed out against him, taking his finger into your mouth. “Behave” he whispered, eyes darkening. You grinned lacing your fingers with his.

“I’ll try”

It didn’t take too long to get settled into the hotel room, and you two were immediately off to the hot spring. On your way down, you smiled happily, leaning against his arm. “You know you were right. This does feel like a vacation.”

“See~ You should trust me more.”

“I’ll think about it” you laughed, hooking your arm with his. On your way to the hot spring you, two passed a few women, one of them stopping and staring. A smile graced her lips as she called Jintae’s name.

He stopped and gave her a bright smile “Mi Hyeon? Is that you?”

“I can’t believe it, you actually came” she walked over to hug him, and you tried to not and pout over the fact that he had to let go of his arm to hug her.

“Of course I did, Jiwon would’ve killed me if I didn’t” he chuckled “You look good. How’ve you been?”

She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear “You look good yourself” Her hand brushed against his shoulder and you couldn’t help but scoff. How can she not even acknowledge you yet? More importantly, how can he not introduce you? For the first time, it felt like you got a glimpse of what Jintae was back in high school. He actually looked embarrassed.

Rolling your eyes you just slipped away. You were kind of conflicted as to what you were supposed to do? Did you have the right to stake your claim? You were his girlfriend...weren’t you? This was exactly why you didn’t want to go.

You set your robe and towel down before sinking into the steaming hot water. A pout prominent on your face. Placing a damp, cool washcloth on your head you closed your eyes; Basking in the warmth.

“There you are” Jintae took a seat beside you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder “Mmmm...How come you wandered off?”

“I’m surprised you noticed” you huffed, turning away from him.

“Are you mad?”

“No” you grumbled.

“Don’t be mad.” he moved to kiss your hair but you moved across the hot spring. “Jagi-”

“Don’t you Jagi me.” you crossed your arms over your chest.

“Are you mad I didn’t introduce you?” seeing your frown deepen, he moved closer to you. “I wanted to do it tonight. In front of everyone” he nuzzled your hair.

“You two seemed close….She your ex?”

He laughed shaking his head. “Not quite...She’s a…”

“The one who got away?” your voice was barely a whisper.

“Not in so many words...But…”

“She’s pretty…”

“You’re prettier…” he pecked your lips.

“Maybe you two will rekindle your relationship.” you whispered spitefully.

“I’m spoken for.” he deepened his kiss, his lips molding against yours lovingly. His teeth biting down and your lower lip, enticing a moan. The moment your mouth opened, his tongue made his way inside, rolling against yours, leaving you breathless. “Very spoken for…”

“You’re distracting me…”

“Mhmm…” he tucked your hair behind your ear, brushing his lips against your jaw. “You liked my distractions…”

“I do…But you’re not being fair...” As you leaned against him, your hand began to wander down his body, teasingly brushing against his swim trunks.

He cleared his throat as you got dangerously close. “I thought I told you to behave” he growl against your ear.

“Mmm… I thought about it and decided against it.”

“What am I going to do with you…?” he licked his lips, letting his hand drift down your back.

“I could think of a couple things….”

To be continued…

It’s part one of twoooooooo~ Let me know if you liked it :3

[unohanadaydreams]

Could you ever write some hc's if kisuke urahara had an energetic/fun daughter who was good friends with nemu and momo (basically mayuri and shinji's daughters!)? I think it would be really sweet!!

Aaah this is adorable! I definitely feel that any daughter of Urahara’s would be a pure being of chaos lmao.

Kisuke Urahara’s Daughter HCs:

Naturally, Mayuri can not stand her. She is the upbeat, airy, problem side-stepping prodigy of the man who he can not surpass--she’s also bolstered by an unshakeable moral fiber compliments of Tessai, Yoruichi, and the Karakura Gang that puts her at incredible odds to Mayuri’s (very broken) compass.

Shinji thinks she’s great fun and it takes only a mention for Shunsui to be convinced that Kisuke’s daughter would make a wonderful intern to Momo (paid of course). Nanao ensures there’s a solid curriculum (That Kisuke’s daughter bends and Momo starts learning to enjoy the rebellious independence).

She attempts a sleep over in Soul Society weekly. The Kurosaki twins often tag along, Momo looks forward to them, and Nemu is spirited away by a handful of young women with the chaotic glee that only comes pounds of sugar and contagious laughter. (Akon sabotages the majority of Mayuri’s fail safes and traps because he’s not completely feral like his captain)

I think she would be pretty conflicted on what path she wants for her life, especially as she matures. As a child, teenager, and young adult, she would most likely view the Soul Society as an escape from her everyday life in Japan. Her training with Yoruichi, Tessai, and her father are full of fantastical elements from television shows, while her karate classes are more rooted in the world she’s familiar with, while still being fulfilling. Her internship with Momo and her schooling on Earth give her the same conflicting feelings once she starts aging. Mayuri Kurotsuchi is no longer a silly scientist who threatens to blow her up and trades witty blows as fun and games, but a morally corrupt man who puts science before everything, who by all means is incredibly abusive to one of her best friends. I think the transition of her shedding the rose colored glasses of her youth will be fraught with drama and indecision. (She’d finally start asking ‘why does my father and the people who raised me not want to go back to Soul Society’ and ‘Is it possible for me to change SS for the better? Do I even want to?’)

She enjoys sparring, but I don’t think she’d enjoy actual fighting. The feeling of repetition or friendly competition is highly enjoyable and a way of bonding with people she’s close to that might have a hard time bonding otherwise (people like Yoruichi and Uryu, for example).

She really enjoys working behind the scenes in theater! Not only does working with lighting and microphones provided by a school budget spur her to improve and tinker for the first time in a real way (”yes, father, this does warrant me using your lab”), the sense of camaraderie and coordination needed to pull off successful set changes makes her a bit teary eyed from how satisfying it is. She might also dabble in performing but she has a hard time committing to overly serious/dramatic scenes and isn’t the best singer.

Her middle name is matchmaker. Momo is crushing on someone? She’s already planned five fairly ridiculous and one reasonable approach to pushing them together. Nemu even BLINKS in someone’s direction? She’s absolutely rabid with thoughts of romantic delegation. This obviously gets her into a bit of trouble from those who don’t appreciate the meddling, like when Ichigo finds out she’s attempting to hook one of his sisters with a shinigami old enough to have lived at least two lives. (Orihime often gives her extremely silly but cute tips. Rukia, the sappy gremlin that she is, also takes part. Tatsuki tells her it’s weird she’s so invested in other people’s romance and to read a shoujo manga.)

Yoruichi and Tessai are just as much her parents as Kisuke is and she LOVES her family. She is incredibly close to them. There isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for them and her siblings (Ururu and Jinta), either. Kisuke Urahara isn’t the most trustworthy or reliable man, but he has cultivated a loving home in Karakura town and his daughter has flourished for it.

I think she would come off as very spacey and disrespectful, but she just has a LOT going on in her brain at any given second and she’s prone to speaking her mind before manners. This would lend well to her friends Momo and Nemu, who are often laser focused and polite/subservient to a fault.

She will annoy anyone into loving her with her persistent affection. She can not stand to see people self-isolate and suffer alone. (Her respect of boundaries, as you’ve guessed by now, is not strong. But look at who raised her.)

She wants to enjoy life, but also wants purpose bordering divine. She is surrounded by people who have done amazing things and beaten down incredible evils. Her goals are hefty and probably seem silly to some.

One of her favorite memories is tricking Mayuri into completing a DDR song by rigging it to a doorway that he assumed she was hiding Nemu behind. (He instead found a bombastic party headed by Rangiku). She has been unsuccessful replicating the results with Just Dance, but Shinji doing it willingly while drunk is tiding her over.

[halcyon-writings]

I'm crawling from the pits of hell to ask....

But, I beg (ask kindly) of thee,

Can you write urahara some fluff hcs? Like naps or dorky stuff? Or shopping scenarios?

(off topic but i high key feel like he's the type of person to push you down the street when you're sitting in a buggy and watch you roll down the parking lot just to turn you sharply before car comes.)

it’s him,,, the scrunkly wunkly,,, random fluff hcs we go !!

nav.

he is definitely a silly man, gets up to mischief, perhaps even a little malarkey, if you will. you, him, and yoruichi would definitely give tessai white hairs (someone save him. please.)

with an s/o, I think his favorite thing to do is find ways to make them smile or laugh, whether it's through his antics of training bothering ichigo, to experiments that nearly singe off his eyebrows. he would probably wear some kind of science pun on a t-shirt, and has you chose from his assortment of hats for him that wears to match. you pick a shirt and hat that coordinate color wise and he gets all cute like "omg babe that's so sweet." i wanna kick him, and kiss him, man...

and speaking of naps, as i feel kisuke is the type to not get as much sleep if he's working on any particular experiment or project that has him really focused, he definitely takes a lot of them. because i know that man does not have a real sleep schedule while he tells jinta and ururu that they need their 8 hours.

but anyway, i just know he's a fiend for naps and would pull you away from what you're doing (if it's something that you can easily step away from that is), and use you as a source of body heat and a pillow. good luck getting out of that though, not because he'll keep you in his arms or anything but he's a light sleeper so you move, he wakes up, he can and will cling and whine about it.

"s/o is... evil? s/o is unyielding? s/o is incapable of love? i am running away, i am packing my little rucksack and going to explore the world as a lone vagabond. I can no longer thrive in this household." - kisuke when you have to get up and stop cuddling him, probably.

just give him a forehead kiss because he's that touch starved, it'll stun him into silence and you can make your escape to get things done. otherwise you both will be lounging around and nothing will get done. and once again you both will be the source of any white hairs that may grow on tessai's head.

more sillier hcs, like the one mentioned above, happen quite a bit too. although sometimes (read: most of the time) kisuke likes to sit in that giant part of the shopping cart while you steer as he reads off of the list of groceries that you need to get. make sure to have your own copy because he might read off random things in order to mess with you. no you do not need to buy him a personal sized cake along with groceries for dinner, that's just his self-indulgent side talking.

you half consider leaving him in the cart because hilariously enough he can get inside the cart fine but he can't get out without help. you just see the half-betrayed look when you grab only the groceries.

kisuke can be found at 3am in the kitchen toasting bread and getting a jar of jam out only to almost drop it when he turns back and you're sitting on the counter watching him, but jokes on you, he has some toast ready for you already, it's the little things, like snack sharing.

okay but going back to the cart thing, he does get you back when you're in the cart and just lets it roll down for a second before stopping it so you don't crash into smth. you both are insane i think, very corny but it is cute so ig yall can get a pass.

[perryhedge]

Media Log October 202

Anime

I was pretty productive (?) on the anime-watching side of things this month, due to not reading as much. I tried a lot, not all of it stuck but it is what it is.

Seasonals

Cool Doji Danshi - Cute. Love the funky OP and ED. Pretty funny. Looks great. Idk what else to tell you it’s Cool Doji Danshi, the episodes are 10 minutes long just watch it.

Bocchi The Rock - A lot of anime can claim to have an amazing looking first episode and fall off afterwards. But Bocchi the Rock may well have one of the most outstanding second episodes of any anime I’ve seen, and I think that says a lot. The entire team is just going sicko mode cramming every single layout with life and details and creative ideas, every scene is brimming with motion in such minute detail that it made me a bit dizzy. For this show on top of looking that stratospherically good to also have cute character designs and actually hilarious gags at the quick pace it manages to sustain is just unbelievable to me. Truly an epoch defining Kirara adaptation for the 2020s, can’t wait to see where this goes. Ep 1 thoughts here.

Digimon Ghost Game - I wrote a little about the production and themes here. Overall, I am really liking this show around 30 episodes in. There are some duds but most episodes are appropriately horrifying and just fun to watch. The OP is a banger, and lately there’s a streak of episodes with sakuga like, consistently, which is a bit puzzling to me how that’s possible but I’m not complaining.

Non Seasonals

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 - Watched with a friend, did not like this at all. Complete lack of an emotional core coupled with an aesthetic I’m just completely bored of (this is now the “prestige anime adaptation” look and I don’t need to see any more of it). Doesn’t help that the music was terrible and that honestly, it didn’t look much better than the TV anime it was based on.

Kira Kira Precure - Some thoughts here. Lost me in the middle bits due to the boring villains, darker tone and focus on the "plot" instead of humor and interesting scenarios with the characters. Still, this series has a lot going for it, and I loved the first chunk introducing all the characters, the Pikario arc is pretty good and his return is great, the last Yukari episode, the end, just a lot of great episodes throughout. And of course, great music, wonderful old school storybook aesthetic, amazing character designs. Definitely not a perfect series but when it was good it was really good.

Anohana - Coming back to this as an adult was at first, pretty disappointing, but I still cried at the last episode. It still works. What's great about this show hasn't changed even coming back to it 10 years later. The animation is incredible, the warm colors and lighting and calming backgrounds are as immersive and nostalgic. The music is great, with the OP perfectly conveying what the show is going for even better than the show itself, and a heartfelt and catchy ED that is deserving of its classic status. There's plenty of great directing. The character designs are pretty great, and for someone like me all these years later to remember characters' names is impressive (I just remembered Jinta and Menma though). And of course, the catharsis of the last episode, though built up to with some pretty amateurish drama, still pretty much works on the strength of the voice acting and music alone.

SSSS.Dynazenon - Some thoughts here. Gridman may have been a disappointment but Dynazenon absolutely was not. Clever, unorthodox, constantly interesting and surprising. One of the most forward-thinking anime I've seen in a while in the ways it pushes forward the medium by playing with its constraints. Incredible animation, storyboarding, character designs, pretty good music, amazing dialogue and voice acting, interesting themes, brilliant overall. If Gridman felt the need to over-explain and over-compensate due to its self consciousness with respect to its place in the lineage of mecha (Eva, Gurren Lagann), Dyna instead is interested in doing its own thing and moving forward with the unique style developed in the prequel and adapting it to a completely new kind of story.

Bee and Puppycat - I don’t know why I waited so long to watch this. Adorable, funny, love the pastel color palette and lofi hiphop beats soundtrack, love the characters and character designs, love the irreverent tone and this brand of whimsical creativity. Pure fucking cotton candy

Tsuredure Children - What a cute little show, really had a good time with this one. I really like most of the cute romantic moments, but I think my favorite bits were the over the top gags, especially in the middle part of the show. I kind of think it was too short, but on the other hand by the end some storylines were dragging a bit, really I just think some priorities could have been shifted around and the ending could have been a bit more concrete. Overall, a fun and light watch.

Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi - Way too many thoughts here. Cute, easy to watch, fun characters, and I don’t like to use this word because it’s overused but yeah, wholesome is what this is.

Yesterday o Utatte - All my thoughts here. Adult romance that is unconventional especially for anime, doesn’t always hit but captures certain “realistic” aspects of human relationships in an interesting way.

Aoi Hana - Thoughts here. I’d like to write more about this show but I just keep forgetting to think while just being absorbed in the sheer bliss of its atmosphere and music, it’s just a very sweet and warm experience that I treasured quite a bit.

Manga

Seiyuu Ka - Read 1 volume so far. I love the over the top gags in this, leading hopefully to the kind of overdramatic shoujo story I really like, after Penguin Brothers completely fried my dopamine receptors this month.

Mix - I love Adachi art, it’s very clean and elegant. I don’t know where the story is going, but it sure is slow since this is 19 volumes long. I’ll probably read more of it at some point, but I might instead watch the anime which is easily pirate-able to know if I want to follow a story that long. But there are also a number of long, completed Adachi stories in both formats that I know people will vouch for so, I don’t know.

Penguin Brothers - I don’t even know what to say about this, I binged this so fucking fast. Just a roller coaster of emotions, comedy, the most classic of classic 2000s shoujo character designs. This manga went places I never would have expected and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Probably will be able to be more coherent about this at some point, but for now I’ll just say this manga has a very special place in my heart. The protagonist earned a spot in one of my favorite animanga characters of all time too, pretty easily.

Games

Digital Monsters D Project - Fulfilled a childhood dream by finally playing an untranslated Digimon monster raising game on the Wonderswan. Thoughts here.

Hazelnut Hex - pastel pixel pop punk cartoon network scott pilgrim bullet hell great game would play again

Muse Dash - anime lookin rhythm game with an amazing color palette. Thoughts here

Celeste - perfect platformer but probably too hard for me. Don’t want to be alone with my thoughts long enough to beat the B sides, so tentatively shelved at 3B. Thoughts here.

Cat Quest - I barely wrote about this game but here

Dark Souls - I don’t really like it

Dropped:

Kamen Rider Geats - Watched one ep which was nonstop action. It was pretty cool but also very disorienting. I think I’d rather start with a more laid back Kamen Rider.

DIY - Looked nice, quirky OST is nice, but characters were frankly too weak to uphold any humor. What is left is healing vibe, but…dropped after a repeated animal abuse gag which obviously killed that vibe. Thoughts on episode 1 here.

Shadowverse Flame - I’ll probably come back to this later, I dropped this when the dueling started cause I just could not understand how the rules worked (lol that’s what I get for turning the subtitles off). Love the character designs, music and OP are pretty cool. The setting is pretty much just Yugioh and that’s what I like about it. I guess I like the setup too. Bank animations are super cool also.

Aikatsu - I’ll probably come back to this one later, too. Love the weird futuristic setting. The character designs are extremely cute and just the general vibe of the show is relaxing and fun. A low stakes and uplifting, consistent looking kids anime is something I could always usein my life, I think. That said it’s a billion episodes long and I just wasn’t really in the mood for that quite yet. Soon.

Horimiya - Made it 8 episodes of this. Animation is great, though that kind of clashes with what an understated and conventional story this is. I guess the twist is that it moves faster then you'd think? I guess? It's not too outstanding other than that, and I couldn't get attached to the characters unfortunately, dialogue is kind of boring since it doesn't go all the way with humor or drama, jumping between them. Feels like watching every other episode of a 26 episode anime. OP is good. I like the colored hair character designs too, plus the chill synthy electronic OST and a few other aspects of the aesthetic. But overall I feel like this would work better in manga format so I will be checking that out.

Kokoro Connect - Made it 1 episode in. Actually didn’t really dislike this show or anything, and I can see it going interesting places. I wasn’t too attached too the characters or premise, but again I would give it more of a shot. But it’s just that the characters all talk really fast, which you wouldn’t necessarily notice if you watch with subtitles, but I definitely did without lmao.

Akebi's Sailor Uniform - I know it's pretty tired to say this at this point but yeah I just could not get over the fetish stuff in this one, despite the honestly breathtaking animation and great OST. But, yeah, I don't know what it is. I can stomach a lot of stuff I like to think, but the toenail clipper sniffing scene was just too much for me. I just can't do it.

Love Live School Idol Project - 1 episode. I generally like to find the value in everything I watch but this is probably actually the worst first episode of any anime I’ve ever seen, I am only now realizing. The characters are paper thin which I expect of an idol series, but the worst part is they are barely distinguishable, with some of the blandest template character designs I have ever seen. The music is extremely forgettable too. The aesthetic experience of this show is everything that is wrong with 2010s anime, there’s this horrible plasticky shiny look to everything with these blown out desaturated colors, I mean it just looks terrible. I don’t know what people would like about this, but I can sort of imagine maybe there just wasn’t that much idol stuff back then? But no, that’s not true. I am begging you to instead watch Idolmaster, a show that actually looks amazing. Why would you watch this??

Bandori - I watched 1 or 2 episodes. I didn’t dislike it, it was cute and fun to watch. The music didn’t really hook me, but it definitely caught my ear more than typical idol music would. I probably will watch this later.

Next month the plan is to read lots of manga and then maybe start some new series!

[uraharashouten]

adelha-mathilde​:

Adelha looks quite amused at Jinta’s antics. Reaching a gloved hand out to oh so gently tug on one of his ears in a gesture of scolding. “Naughty of you to assume you would get such a thing this early in the day. Even if the best time to drink whiskey to taste it is late morning. The day you know how to politely ask for such will be the day you get to try some, Jinta~”

Aqua wanders over to Takara to give the older cat face kisses. Which Takara seems completely fine with as she stays laying in her nap corner. Adelha moving to get out a tea kettle and tin of peach tea. A basket of peaches soon set upon the counter for Adelha to turn to the sink. Removing her gloves to start washing her hands. Turning to begin slicing up a few peaches. Both Tessai and Jinta seeing the old burn on her left hand and arm as she works. “Considering this is your first time in my home, I have several ideas on what we may have for lunch. From venison stew to perhaps some salmon sandwiches. I also have shrimp to make shrimp scampi. Or we may have lasagna.”

Takara gives an audible meow at the word ‘shrimp’ to have Adelha smirk a little. The lady looking amused as she continues to slice peaches for the brewing tea. A hint of humor in her words. “Alas, the felines do not get a vote on what we have for lunch. But perhaps you both would tell me what some of your favorite foods are. Besides potato chips and popcorn, Jinta~ I already found out that you do not like pickles from my information network.”

Aqua decides to roll over and play with Tessai’s foot. Happy purrs escaping the ball of fluff as Aqua valiantly bats both front paws at Tessai’s foot and ankle.

Jinta flinches, shoulders scrunching, at the tug on his ear, but he musters the dignity not to yell in protest as his younger self might’ve done. The lessons from both his elders are taken in stride; it’s nothing he hasn’t heard before. Sue him for having poor impulse control. Sometimes he wonders about that, whether it was part of the plan, or a mistake. Other people don’t get to question their maker directly. He has, it’s just that the man’s so damned evasive. ‘I’ll tell you when you’re older’ — bullshit. Does ‘older’ mean, like, 500 to a shinigami? ...yeah, probably.  So he sits, brooding, until Adelha starts listing lunch options, which is more than enough to get him out of his funk. “It’s all good. Bring it on!” he chimes in, enthusiastically. 

“And it’s just Tessai’s pickles I don’t like. I bet yours are bomb!”

“Such choices!” Tessai adds, ignoring Jinta’s dig. “Please, Adelha-dono, prepare whatever is most convenient for you, and most suitable for lunch. I imagine both stew and lasagna would require far more effort and time, and in addition be rather heavy for the middle of the day.” Tessai will leave it to his hostess to choose between the other two options, both of which seem lightest in terms of preparation and digestion. His brows lift at the sensation of tiny pinpricks: it seems kitten claws have captured his foot. With a bit of concentration, he directs his reiatsu to the area, fortifying the flesh with a shield to mitigate it and thus allow Aqua to tackle the appendage with impunity. He wiggles his toes as bait, watching her attempt to sink her teeth into the impervious digits.

His gaze, meanwhile, has been trained on Adelha's preparation of peaches. He clears his throat, begging pardon for the question he is about to ask. “Forgive me, Adelha-dono, for calling attention to it, but I have been curious... how and when did you acquire that scar?”

Jinta stares at him in disbelief. He’d have been put in a chokehold for asking a  question like that! Since when does Tessai get a pass?!

[scribble-dee-doo]

Ichigo doesn't speak. Sign is easy enough to teach, or Ichigo is an unusual learner for his age group, and they establish communication soon enough. Ichigo still doesn't talk much, but at least now they can ask whether he's sick or just not hungry and sometimes get an answer.

It isn't until returning to school enters discussions that he realizes that Onmitsukido sign is rather less that useless in modern Japan and bothers to teach himself and his charge JSL. Ichigo ends up using a mash of both and some entirely new signs, either at whim, combining both forms, or for filling in lacking vocabulary, but humans explained away what was in front of them often enough that it wasn't high on his list of worries.

From the boxes of mod souls in the basement he makes Jinta and Ururu – a sister, for familiarity, a brother, for progress. He considers memory modification to make their presence less of a shock, but it's finicky at best and dangerous at worst and the goal is mental stability.Ichigo doesn't react much to their sudden appearance anyway. Probably worrying to someone who knows things about children. Still the best case scenario within reason.

Ururu (empathy, connection, in-group) quickly picks up Ichigo's dead-eyed blank-faced doll impression and gets worryingly listless before Kisuke takes her aside and explains that Ichigo's sick and lists the negative behaviors as symptoms.

Explains, doesn't reprogram. He can't allow himself to see anything child-shaped as experimental, not when his current experiment is raising a child. He knows how to manipulate people, but anything that comes entirely from his labs won't be a person.

She seems to absorb it well enough, and though she remains almost entirely silent and blank-faced she returns to more normal energy levels and her basic behaviors.

Jinta (challenge, change, chaos) immediately becomes the most vocal and disruptive soul Kisuke had ever had the displeasure of ignoring, except it gets far enough that all other work grinds to a halt as they try to reign him in and Kisuke can't afford to ignorehim. The frustration does wonders for his acuity, stagnating after months of unfamiliar territory and increasingly wild theoreticals and in dire need of an encounter with the sheer unpredictability of the real world, but after forty-five hours Tessai takes over the last stretch of Jinta calculating himself to a more reasonable level of chaos lest Kisuke's control slips.

He goes searching for unfamiliar power. He'd long derided Soul Society for stagnation, shortsighted pride, sheer foolishness, and then he came to the human world and assumed that he understood everything there was to understand, that watching signs of his home plane would tell him everything he needed to keep safe amidst the foreignness of the Human World. Deluded and disastrous. Something had bound Masaki, barred her from protecting her child, something he hadn't predicted and still couldn't find record of.

[m3kuroshirt]

House of Assassins Part Five

Links to Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

Word count: 2632

Warnings: coarse language, family disagreements/fighting

The darkness was warm…heavy…firm. Ichigo didn’t want to leave it. But even as he struggled to stay in the comfort of the shadowy realm of sleep, his eyelids fluttered open, beckoned by the day light. With a low groan, Ichigo tried to move. He was unsuccessful. Something was stopping him, wrapped around him, holding him down. His eyes widened and he tensed, completely awake and alert now, ready to face whatever threat he needed to. Scenarios whirled through his head: how to get untied, how to get out from under a crushing weight, who was after him? Was it Aizen??? Did he find out about the assassination plan already?!

Ichigo’s eyes locked on what, or rather, who, was weighing him down. Blue hair was the first thing he saw, short locks splayed across his own chest. A strong jawline. Broad shoulders, with biceps emphasized by the lack of sleeves from the tank top their owner wore. Ichigo blinked once, twice. Then his face erupted in warmth, blood rushing to his cheeks. Grimmjow is on top of me?! When?! How???? Is this a dream????? Ichigo swallowed nervously and shifted. The arms around him loosened and a low grumble came from his companion as he slowly blinked awake. Ichigo just watched with wide eyes. Grimmjow pulled back a bit, his weight shifting uncomfortably onto Ichigo’s midsection, making Ichigo grunt. Grimmjow paused and looked Ichigo up and down, seemingly unsurprised by their position.

“Sleep well?” he asked. Ichigo felt his cheeks flush more. An odd look came across Grimmjow’s face; one that could be described as someone analyzing the pieces of a puzzle.

“M…more or less,” Ichigo managed to get out, shifting uncomfortably. He was acutely aware of every inch of his body that was in contact with Grimmjow’s. And while he didn’t hate the sensation, he wasn’t sure how his friend would react to his feelings. He swallowed. “Um…why…why are you on top of me?” he mumbled. Grimmjow tilted his head.

“Oh. Yeah.” He looked a bit embarrassed now, as he crawled off of Ichigo completely. Ichigo drew his legs up to his chest and the two of them sat on the couch, facing each other. “I was helping you to the couch last night, but when we got here you grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let go. So…I ended up sleeping here. With you.”

Ichigo groaned and closed his eyes. He rested his forehead on his knees. “I’m so sorry,” he replied. He could feel the blush spreading down his neck. He prayed Grimmjow only thought it was from acting out in his sleep and not the fact that he secretly enjoyed having the other man on top of him.

“Don’t worry about it,” Grimmjow replied. “It’s not like you did it on purpose.” Ichigo looked up at him a little glumly but nodded along. Grimmjow shifted awkwardly, eyes shifting toward the kitchen, then back to Ichigo. “Uh. Breakfast?” As if on cue, Ichigo’s stomach growled. He hunched in on himself even more.

“Please,” he agreed. Grimmjow nodded and stood. He walked straight to the kitchen without looking back. Ichigo slowly slid off the couch and followed after him. The mugs from the night before were still out on the table. Grimmjow grabbed them as he passed and casually put them in the dishwasher. He walked over to the fridge.

“What do you wanna eat?” Grimmjow asked over his shoulder. Ichigo shrugged, then realized the other man couldn’t see him.

“Uh, whatever is fine,” Ichigo mumbled. Grimmjow did look at him then, eyebrow raised and expression slightly exasperated. “Ok…uh, eggs?” Ichigo amended.

“Ok.” Grimmjow turned back to the fridge and grabbed a carton of eggs. He started bustling around the kitchen, grabbing a frying pan, various seasonings, and some butter. Ichigo stood awkwardly in the kitchen entrance and just watched. He enjoyed seeing the way Grimmjow’s body moved, confident and strong. The tank top allowed a nice view of his arms and shoulders, and Ichigo couldn’t help remembering that those very arms had been wrapped around him this morning. His blue hair was messy and tangled, and Ichigo flexed his hands, resisting the urge to walk over and comb his fingers through it. It looked soft.

“Good morning!” A soft, sing-song voice called. Ichigo jolted and looked behind him to see a pretty girl with long green hair.

“Oh…hi Nel,” he answered. “Uh. Good morning.” Nel smiled brightly at him.

“It’s nice to see you, Ichigo! I missed you,” she declared, not even questioning why he was there so early. Ichigo was not quite sure what to think of that. He gave her an awkward smile, while Grimmjow huffed.

“We live next door to him, you can literally go and see him any time. The hell do you mean you ‘missed him’,” he muttered. Nel just smiled wider, though her brother couldn’t see, and stepped past Ichigo into the kitchen.

“Ehhhh, Grimmy, are you making us eggs this morning?” she asked as she bumped shoulders with him. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at her.

“I’m making Ichigo and myself eggs. You are on your own,” he retorted. Nel pouted at him. Grimmjow met her gaze and the two of them stared for a long moment. Finally, Grimmjow sighed and cracked another egg into the pan. “Fine. Whatever. You’re making lunch, then,” he grumbled. Nel cheered and threw her arms around Grimmjow in a hug. Ichigo couldn’t help but smile at the exchange. Then, seemingly satisfied that she’d gotten what she wanted from her brother, Nel whirled around and strode over to Ichigo. She grabbed his hands and led him to the table.

“Come on, Ichi! While Grimmy makes breakfast we can talk! It feels like we haven’t talked in foreeeeveeeer!” Nel all but shoved Ichigo into a chair, and then perched herself in the one directly opposite him. “How have you been? Still busy? How are Rukia and Orihime? Do you know if they’re free anytime soon? I want to go shopping! You would have to come, too, and we could bring Grimmy and make it a day for the group of us! Oh, and there’s a cute little cupcake place I found, that I really, really want to try, but Grimmy won’t go with me, but he’d probably go if you came and…” Ichigo just blinked and nodded along as Nel babbled on and on. He couldn’t quite keep up with every leap her train of thought seemed to make, but he did his best. Her enthusiasm and bright attitude made him feel more at ease, and he really did enjoy spending time around her.

It seemed to be in no time at all that Grimmjow placed the eggs on the table, along with a plate full of toast. Ichigo didn’t even know when he’d prepared that, too caught up in listening to Nel to even realize what the other man was cooking. He ate gratefully and assisted with clean up afterward. Nel gave him a very enthusiastic hug as he left and Ichigo patted her shoulders awkwardly. He did a half wave to Grimmjow, who only grunted and nodded. Then, Ichigo was on his way over to his own home. He braced himself at the door before opening it and stepping inside, tensing at the thought of the comments he knew would be coming his way.

He expected teasing. Jibes. Smirks and grins. Suggestive comments, even.

What Ichigo did not expect was chaos.

“Listen here, if I find out you did anything. Anything to him. If one single hair on his head is out of line, I will fucking end you. Do you hear me, Shunsui?!” Kisuke’s voice was the first thing he heard. It was odd, though, strained and erratic, almost panicky. Ichigo blinked. What’s going on? Who is he talking about? What happened? He wondered. He wandered to the kitchen cautiously.

A map was spread out on the table, held down by various make-shift paperweights; a shoe, a few books, and a…knife? What? Ichigo frowned. Around the map stood Rukia and Yoruichi. “Retsu said there’s a store here and here under Hueco Mundo Pharmaceuticals,” Yoruichi was saying as she pointed to two different places. “And then they have a warehouse where they deal with shipping here.” She pointed to another location. Rukia nodded.

“My brother said he can loan us a few bodyguards…we can have them help as drivers so we can split up and take all the places at once,” she stated matter-of-factly. Yoruichi purse her lips.

“Does he really want his name attached to this? When we go in, it won’t be a quiet operation,” she pointed out. Rukia gave her a firm look.

“This is more important. To me, and to him,” she replied. Ichigo opened his mouth to ask what was going on but was interrupted by a loud thud.

The door to the basement banged open and Jinta entered the kitchen with a large box marked ‘Dangerous: Explosives’. “I’ve got enough here to blow all of the town away,” he announced. “Tell me who needs ‘em.” Ururu followed from behind him, carrying another box, this one unmarked.

She said something, but Ichigo lost it in the sudden outburst from Kisuke.

“I don’t care what time you said he was there! You’re the last one who fucking saw him. That means that as far as I know, you’re next on the list if he’s not with that bastard!” he shouted. Footsteps pounded on the stairs and Ichigo barely turned in time to see Renji race down them, dressed completely in work gear, hair yanked back in a ponytail. He was followed by Chad, who was wolfing down some food as he ran into the kitchen.

“Chad and I are ready!” Renji announced. “’Hime! Where are the first aid kits!” Orihime was in a corner with Tessai, three first aid kits open in front of them on the counter.

“Here! Almost finished, we’re just making sure they’re all fully stocked!” she called, her usual bright tone now direct and sharp. Ururu carried her box over to her, and Orihime said something, but it was lost as more commotion arose.

“I’m ready to go, and I’m not waiting,” Uryuu announced as he ran down the stairs. He took a brief glance at the map on the table. “I’ll be at the warehouse. There’s an apartment complex right next to it; it’s a prime spot to set up my equipment.”

“The first aid kit!” Rukia protested. Uryuu turned away from her.

“I’ve got my own personal one,” he shouted over his shoulder. He almost smacked right into Ichigo as he turned around, and he flinched and stepped around him. “Move out of the way, Ichigo! We need to go find Ichigo!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a pause. Silence descended on the household. Ichigo blinked. He glanced at each member of his household, before looking back at Uryuu.

“Find…me? I’m right here?” he stated finally. Everyone stared at him. Ichigo shifted nervously from foot to foot. “Uh. Is…is everything ok?” No one answered.

“Crisis averted,” Kisuke muttered into the phone, presumably to Shunsui, before he hung up. He pocketed his phone and walked over to Ichigo. He stopped right in front of him and crossed his arms. “So. Where were you?”

Ichigo swallowed. He glanced around at everyone nervously, before answering. “Uh. I was…next door…” Kisuke raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t wearing his hat and his hair looked a complete mess, as if he’d been running his hands through it and tugging at it.

“Next door. This whole time?”

Ichigo shrugged. “Um. Yeah? Since Shunsui dropped me off last night. Grimmjow was up and he…invited me over?”

Yoruichi frowned, hands on her hips. “And you didn’t think to send someone a message? Or at least answer your phone this morning?! We called you at least six times!”

“Wait, so you’re saying that while we were all worried you were fucking found out already and kidnapped by that fucking pharmacy, you were just over there getting laid?!” Renji demanded. Ichigo felt his cheeks heat up.

“What does ‘getting laid’ mean?” Jinta asked. Ichigo’s face reddened even more.

“No one answer that,” he snapped. Rukia glared at him.

“Oh no, you don’t get to make any rules right now,” she told him. Renji opened his mouth, but Rukia turned to him. “And you! You won’t answer Jinta right now, because I said so.” Renji shut his mouth.

“You should have answered your phone,” Chad stated, seemingly the calmest one in the household. Ichigo shook his head.

“It didn’t ring? I would have woken up if it did,” he replied as he fished his phone out of his pocket. “See…” his voice trailed off as he tried, unsuccessfully, to turn it on. “Oh. I…I guess it died.”

“Well, we can’t fault you for that,” Orihime tried to smooth the situation over, but Renji interrupted her. He shoved past Kisuke, grabbed Ichigo by the shoulder and shoved him against the wall. Uryuu protested, but Renji ignored him, focused entirely on Ichigo.

“Are you stupid? Do you just regularly go out on jobs without your phone fully charged? And why the hell would you not come home?! It’s right next door! It’s not like it’s that hard!” he shouted. Ichigo glared at him and shoved him off of himself. He stepped forward, bracing himself, muscles tensed and ready to fight.

“Am I stupid?! Me?! What about you all?!!! You were ready to go in, guns blazing, to destroy our cover, completely wreck our credibility, ruin the entire business we have going, because I was a little late in coming home?!” Ichigo snapped.

“As if you wouldn’t do the exact same thing!” Rukia shot back. She strode over to stand beside Renji, arms crossed.

Ichigo tensed his jaw. “That’s…different…”

“How, exactly?” Uryuu demanded now. Ichigo was starting to feel cornered. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and his eyes darted around, scanning for an exit route.

“I think we all need to calm down,” Yoruichi began. Next to her, Ururu was trembling. She placed a calm hand on the girl’s shoulder and stepped in front of her. “We should talk…”

Uryu ignored her and prompted Ichigo again. “How is it different?”

Ichigo was beyond listening. “Just! Shut up! It’s just different!”

“You can’t keep treating your life like it’s disposable!” Renji shouted at him. He took a step forward into Ichigo’s space again. Ichigo leaned forward and hollered back.

“Shut up! I’m fine!”

A hand slammed against Ichigo’s chest, and one against Renji’s, shoving them both backward two steps and effectively separating them. Between them now stood Yoruichi, eyes blazing.

“I said, calm the fuck down,” she ordered. Her voice was not a decibel above her normal volume, yet the silence that took over the household let her voice carry as if she was in the center of the colosseum. A few seconds passed. No one dared move a muscle. Yoruichi turned her gaze to Ichigo. “Ichigo: go upstairs and take a shower, cool off, then come back to the kitchen. We have some talking to do. I did not like what I was hearing just now.” She turned to Renji. “Renji, go have a glass of water or something. Get your hot head under control. Charging and aggression will get us nowhere.” Renji glared for a moment longer, before turning on his heel and heading to the cupboards. Ichigo thought about defying. He really did. But one look at Yoruichi’s fiery golden eyes told him that wasn’t even an option. With a huff, he stepped back and made his way upstairs. He didn’t look at anyone as he passed by, eyes firmly on his feet, face still heated in anger.

[hyunpic]

Saw this floating around and thought it’d be funny to do : Assign your moots with a fanfiction trope and a member?

i read fanfics now and then but tbh im not sure what the tropes are so im going to just give scenarios to these people. there’s so many people i would like to do this to but i just can’t think of anything else right now lmao. also pls don’t take this seriously 😭😭😂 edit: I added rest of the members and tagged few more people because this was fun

@jiminswn @flipthatjacketjiminie you and jimin are decorating the christmas tree and suddenly jimin grabs you by your waist. you think he is lifting you to put up the star on the top but instead he throws you to the couch and you see him lifting up jungkook instead to put up the star. you just accept your faith to be the third wheel while you pass out because you hit your head

@kimchitae @taemaknae @taesjpg @flowerkth someone has been blowing up your phone with snapchats of their toes and you have found out it’s your classmate taehyung. it’s getting really annoying to you since the pictures aren’t even that good quality. you confront him in your next class about it. he tolds you off and you get flustered - you didn’t expect it. you promise him you would send him feet pics in return.

@r-m @flytomyjoon @himbojoon you are on a walk and it’s very sunny day. someone’s dog runs to you and before you even notice it pees on your shoes. you are frustrated. but that’s not all. you don’t have the time to get away when someone drives towards you with a bike and hits you. its namjoon who had just lost his dog. he thinks you have stolen his dog and yells at you. you are now enemies. turns out namjoon is your new neighbor... what will happen is you fall in love with him eventually but then you become enemies again because his dog keeps peeing on you.

@yoongistics @vjimin @daechwitamv you wake up and look around. you are not in your room. what is this place? you think to yourself. you start to panic but suddenly a person appears from the dark. it’s yoongi. he tells you you can’t leave. he has kidnapped you, you realize. but what is the motive? you are just a simple tangerine farmer. surely no one would want anything from you. yoongi then tells you to hand over the tangerine farm or else you die. you just can’t do anything else than obey him.

@seonghw-a you are engaged to wooyoung. you are planning your wedding with him and his best friend san who is also his best man. the wedding day comes and you start to walk down the aisle. someone opens the church doors. “STOP THIS NONSENSE NOW” it’s san yelling from the doors. everyone’s shocked. turns out san can’t accept you and woo getting married. he then runs and takes wooyoung with him. you never hear from them again 💔

@jeongookie @blueandgrcy you are at the gym. you thought to yourself the hot girl summer is coming up so why not try some working out stuff. you spot someone with a sleeve of tattoos and dark hair - that’s jungkook. he takes your breath away when he flashes you a smile. the weight you were lifting drops on you and and the last thing you remember is the hot guy coming to you being worried. you wake up at the hospital from coma. “wow was all of that a dream” it wasn’t - you notice the same person is next you and he looks so beautiful your heart stops.... tragic love story that never got to properly start

@jinsmin @jintae @sukunass you and your boyfriend jin had been dating for a while but never done anything more than kissing. one day you start to get morning sickness, it worries you. surely you can’t be..... pregnant? you take the test and it’s positive. how could this be? you thought to yourself. you hadn’t cheated on him either. you tell the news to jin. he isn’t surprised and he confesses to you “i am the son of god.... jinsus”

@hobeah @bisexualhobi you were sad all the time... you just couldn’t see the bright colors in your life anymore. until one day you saw an advertisement from a guy called j-hope. “have you lost your hope? don’t worry come to the hope world” you thought to yourself what’s there to loose so you went. you met the owner j-hope and started your sessions with him. the mantra he used was simple “i am your hope, your my hope, im j-hope” and before you noticed... he brainwashed you. only thing in your life that mattered was that he was your hope and you would do anything to make all the people in the world to join you so you two could make the whole world to be the hope world. it was better that way... the world should be ruled by this man with you on his side

[serotaejin]

rules: post your lock screen, the last song you listened to, and the last photo you took!

tagged by @sugacutie and @dinamitae !! thank you angels 🥰

i had hobi as my lockscreen for so long i swore i wouldn't change it and then jk posted this selfie and i HAD to. whenever he posts a selfie, something in me awakens fkfj

oh i heard love scenario for the first time a couple of days ago and it sounded v familiar??? also like a really cute song?? i still haven't looked up the lyrics (my favourite part!) but it's been on repeat

i felt cute today 🤪 (fun fact; i change my pc's based on who i bias that week. it's been joon for a while now 🥰)

tagging; @jimimon @taejinnies @gimbapchefs @namjoonsbicycle @blueandtaes @jiminswn @kimtaegis @rosebowl @rmftjin @jintae @loverjimin @userjiminie @hoseosk @yoobijin @taehyungq @taehkims @bibillyhillsbaby

[keikakudori]

👫 idr if i sent u this or not lu but i gotta cover my bases u know // shikzue

Send a 👫and I’ll write four headcanons I have about our muse’s relationship | NOT ACCEPTING

1. aizen and kisuke are absolutely a pair of men who are polite to each other's faces but if you read between the lines, it's very clear that aizen dislikes kisuke immensely. this has been a proponent of their relationship from the first time that aizen laid eyes on him and from the night that he heard shinji giving him advice of a kind that was meant for both of them in a fashion. however, aizen did not take the lesson the way shinji likely meant for it to. it was, after all, a lesson not tailored for him -- yet he heard it all the same. does he want to choke the man out for some things? oh yes.

2. truthfully, at his core, aizen despises kisuke in any canon-compliant verse with a passion bordering on a hatred so pure it's holy. why would he hate him so much -- ? because kisuke stood back and watched aizen burning until he showed himself there before the other shinigami. now, aizen doesn't tend to care what people think of him, but his loathing of kisuke is cemented in the fact that he knows kisuke was there, watching. he knows that kisuke maintained that distant study of what was ensuing. it means that urahara kisuke was there and did not lift a single hand in order to provide aid and assistance towards gin. kisuke allowed gin to die and aizen will never forgive him for that. he will never forgive him for standing back and being passive and allowing gin to die. why should his gin have perished when hiyori, who was bisected, LIVED? because of this, aizen will not hesitate to try and rip kisuke apart in any way that he can accomplish.

3. though aizen hates kisuke with all of his soul, there is an ability to choke down his anger and work with him on things if it is required of him. he knows full and well how dangerous kisuke is; he confirmed it for himself on the night he broke the soul of not just his own captain but others who were swept up into collateral damage. what happened that night was aimed entirely at shinji and everyone else just got swept up in it. yet aizen has seen first hand how intelligent kisuke is ( it's rather galling in a sense. ) and knows what he's done. aizen found kisuke's research in the archives, after all, and got inspired into pursuing it. but if push comes to shove and the situation calls for it, there is little doubt that they can work well together. kisuke will never be able to read aizen the way gin can, but he and aizen are both intelligent enough that any scenario that means they must join forces will likely wind up with them winning that situation.

4. if, for any reason, kisuke decides to free aizen from his confines in muken after the blood war and smuggle him back to the world of the living? he's going to find himself dealing with a broken man. muken has done aizen no favors and kisuke will be forced to look into the face of the man he's bound day in and day out. muken has left aizen broken in many ways but perhaps kisuke might be the one person who aizen would make great pains to hide the fact that he is haunted from as well. aizen does not mind being stationed at the shop overly much, because ururu and jinta are there and aizen does not mind ururu's nearness. she's quiet and doesn't pester him. but he does make a point of keeping his distance from people as much as possible but with enough time and effort, it might be possible for kisuke to get aizen to stir from his apathy and begin speaking again. that's one of the few scenarios in which aizen might find any tolerance for kisuke within himself.

/ @shikzue

[misc-headcanons]

Congrats on 1100 followers!! May I request headcanons for Kisuke and Kenpachi trying to flirt with a clueless crush? My Bleach phase is coming back with a vengeance 👀👀

Kisuke

Kisuke finds his crush's clueless reactions to his flirtings kind of adorable in a way, even if he's at his wits end trying to get across his true feelings to them. Yeah, it's a bit soul-crushing when he realizes that his offer of a "handsome/beautiful customer" discount falls flat, but that just makes it more of a challenge to successfully flirt with them.

He's attracted to people who, even if they are incredibly smart, can sometimes be a bit ditzy or dense (sort of how he appears to be at the start of the series). So he enjoys it just a little when his flirtations fly over his crush's head. He'd try to make a game out of it, to see just how blatant he can get without just taking them by the shoulders and going "I HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU, DAMMIT".

He'll start small, with casual things like that aforementioned "beautiful/handsome customer discount" and then add more little discounts onto that: a free package of candy whenever they buy something as "an offer just for sweethearts like you"; a few flowers he genetically messed with to never wilt as a bonus gift to "his favorite flower--____!"...none of these things clue his crush in. 

Jinta gets so grossed out by the old man's blatant flirting that he just stops ____ outside the store and bluntly tells them that Kisuke has a crush on them. If they expressed any surprise, Jinta would just sigh and tell them to either let Kisuke know they like him back or let him down easy, because these friggin' "discounts" are cutting into his free candy quota for the month (he and Ururu get to eat whatever isn't sold after a while, but now Kisuke's just throwing it away for free!? Unacceptable).

Kisuke was a bit disappointed that he'd been found out before he got the chance to give ____ a new discounted item: it's a set of small fireworks that, when lit, spell out a message in bright colored sparks so that even ____ could understand: "Hey ____, would you want to go out on a date with me? ♡ Kisuke". Still, he got his date in the end, and many more to come!

Kenpachi

Kenpachi Zaraki has the subtlety of a train crash on a boat, and then that boat crashing into an island and exploding. So you would think that he would be the most blatant person ever when it comes to flirting with someone. The thing is...Kenpachi hasn't ever really "flirted" before. I mean he's had some one night stands and might have had something going on with Unohana, but those are both very different to this kind of situation. 

He stares intently at his crush a lot, and assumes that's what you do when you show someone you're interested in them. I mean, he wouldn't look this intensely at someone he didn't care about, right? Unfortunately, this just unnerves his crush since Kenny staring intently at them is less heart-melting and more fucking terrifying. They think they've done something to anger him or that he wants to fight them, so they wind up avoiding him as much as possible.

Yachiru catches on to Kenny's feelings pretty quickly, and she offers to help. Kenpachi accepts, since he realizes that his idea didn't work out well. Yachiru's only exposure to romance is through manga and books and whatnot (mainly stuff she's stolen from Yumichika and read--the dude loves beautifully drawn shojo romance manga) So at her advice, Kenny writes his crush a note. Yachiru said to write straight from the heart, so he tries his best to do that. 

Unfortunately, Kenny's handwriting is atrocious and his message from the heart is...unnerving. Not what you'd read in a romance story, but more typical of a horror one. His crush finds the note under a small rock on their doorstep the next day, scrawled in dark ink and with a few bloodstains on it (Kenny was eating steak at the time he wrote it, you see): "I like watching you. You're soft, but not in a way that pisses me off. You're damn good in a fight, and I love watching you sweat in the heat of a battle; you look even prettier than usual."

Yumichika and Ikkaku would be quietly observing their superiors bumble their way through this whole "confessing a crush" scenario and decide to help their captain and lieutenant. Yumichika would slyly chat with ____ and ask if they knew who had a thing for them, and ____ would be shocked that anyone had a crush on them. When Yumichika said that "someone" was Kenpachi, ____ would assume that this was some kind of prank. But when Yumichika and Ikkaku explained the letter and the staring thing, they managed to get through ____'s obliviousness and offer to help set them up so ____ could find out for themselves. 

Ikkaku just marches ____ up to Kenpachi and asks his captain if he wrote a note to them, and Kenny would bluntly say yes. And when Ikkaku asked (on ____'s behalf) if it was supposed to be threatening, Kenpachi would get confused--and a bit pissed at Ikkaku for prying into his business--and then haul ____ off to talk to them privately about why he wrote them that letter. 

Yumichika made a big show of pulling Ikkaku away so their captain could have privacy, but the two of them listened in on the whole conversation; when ____ said that they actually liked him back, Yumichika and Ikkaku had to clamp their hands over each other's mouths to keep from cheering for their captain.

"HE'S GOT A S/O! AAAAAAH, I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THE DAY! They look so cute together...well, I could never call Captain Zaraki 'cute' but...aaah, I can't believe it!"

"I know! Man, and he's with such a looker, too. Of course someone as badass as him would wind up with a knockout, right? Luckyyyy~!"

[unohanadaydreams]

Master + Character List

If there are no links corresponding with a character’s name, it means there is no content currently written for that character. That said: ALL characters on this list are ones I’m willing to write for.

NOTE: If you don’t see a character you’d like to send in an ask for here, feel free to message me if I would be willing to!

HC = Headcanon

Scene = Scenario

TP = Thirst Post

note: many of these feature writing from other blogs either somewhat or heavily and I HIGHLY recommend you follow them.

All Gotei Divisions HCs

5th Division HCs

8th Division HCs

Izuru Kira as new Yachiru AU

No Aizen AU

Retsu Unohana’s motivations for forming Gotei 13 theories

Chikane Iba theories + analysis

Royal Guard general theories + HCs

CFYW novel info theory + HC (Mayuri + Urahara)

Bleach characters in Narutoverse AU

Ulquiorra dragon symbolism analysis/theory

Mayuri Kurotsuchi character/zanpakuto analysis/theory

Mayuri Kurotsuchi character analysis/theory

(nsfw) who fucks and who doesn't among the captains HCs

note: the following is solely my writing and features only imagine + request content

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Gotei 13 (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

Shunsui Kyoraku

React to falling in love HC

Shipped with Jushiro relationship HCs

(nsfw) Fan of squirting HC

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) Threesome w/reader + Jushiro Ukitake TP

Nanao Ise

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Soi Fon

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

What does she bring to the lake HC

Marechiyo Omaeda

Gin Ichimaru

Reader left behind after Gin’s death HCs

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Edging as punishment TP

Izuru Kira

(nsfw) Fan of squirting HC

Izuru in the 11th Division Scene

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Falling in love and flirting HCs

Retsu Unohana

Relationship HCs

React to reader getting lost HC

 (nsfw) Doctor w/reader patient meme HCs

(nsfw) ties reader up TP

general + analytical HCs

Isane Kotetsu

React to falling in love HC

Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Hanataro Yamada

Sosuke Aizen

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader + Shinji Hirako meme HCs

(nsfw) Doctor w/reader patient meme HCs

Momo Hinamori

Byakuya Kuchiki

React to falling in love HC

(nsfw) Relationship HCs

React to reader getting lost HC

Falls for shy reader HCS

(nsfw) Shipped with Jushiro relationship HCs

Reader has overprotective brothers HCs

First time seeing reader dressed up Scene

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Quarantine w/ MALE reader meme HCs

Being a father to a son HCs

Renji Abarai

Reader angry their brother is hurt HCs

Realizes he’s in love with reader Scene

Reaction to reader being a quincy HCs

Finds out reader cheated on him HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Doctor w/patient!reader meme HCs

Sajin Komamura

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) fem!reader begs him to breed her TP

(nsfw) Who in the Seireitei is a werewolf fucker?

Tetsuzaemon Iba

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

Kaname Tosen

React to reader getting lost HC

Shuhei Hisagi

(nsfw) kinktober choking reader Scene

Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Angry sex TP

Toshiro Hitsugaya

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

summer ficlet + fireflies + fluff

Rangiku Matsumoto

(nsfw) Fan of squirting HC

Kenpachi Zaraki

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

Reader angry their brother is hurt HCs

Falling for a badass reader HCs

(nsfw) Relationship w/reader HCs

Dealing with Yachiru being “gone” HCs

First kiss w/reader + how he kisses HCs

React to reader dying HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Predator w/reader prey TP

(nsfw) eating pussy w/fem!reader TP

summer ficlet + watermelon + fluff

Yachiru Kusajishi

Dealing with being “gone” HCs

Ikkaku Madarame

(nsfw) Relationship w/reader + Yumichika HCs

Yumichika Ayasegawa

(nsfw) Relationship w/reader + Ikkaku HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Mayuri Kurotsuchi

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) Getting first blowjob from reader Scene

First kiss w/reader Scene + how he kisses HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

*dubcon/unhealthy relationship* relationship w/reader TP

Nemu Kurotsuchi

Akon

Cowokers meme him HC

Falls in love w/bubbly reader HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Jushiro Ukitake

Shipped with Shunsui relationship HCs

React to reader getting lost HC

(nsfw) Shipped with Byakuya relationship HCs

React to having twin boys + one is bedridden HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Threesome w/reader + Shunsui Kyoraku TP

hurt & comfort w/fem!reader scene

Kaien Shiba

Rukia Kuchiki

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

What does she bring to the lake HC

Kiyone Kotetsu

Sentaro Kotsubaki

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Royal Guard (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

Tenjiro Kirinji

(nsfw) Bullies fem!reader TP

Kirio Hikifune

Oetsu Nimaiya

Senjumaru Shutara

Ichibe Hyosube

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Visoreds (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

Shinji Hirako

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

Reaction to reader being a quincy HCs

Reaction to seeing reader after 100 years in Karakura Town HCs

Catching up with reader after 100 years HCs

Reader comforting his hurt Scene

React to reader dating Aizen after he “died” HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader + Sosuke Aizen meme HCs

(nsfw) Doctor w/patient!reader meme HCs

Rose Otoribashi

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

Reaction to seeing reader after 100 years in Karakura Town HCs

What kind of BF to reader is he HC

Sweet reunion with past love reader Scene

Kensei Muguruma

React to falling in love HC

React to reader getting lost HC

Reaction to reader being a quincy HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Relationship with shy/flustered reader HCs

Love Aikawa

Hiyori Sarugaki

Lisa Yadomaru

React to falling in love HC

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

React to reader getting lost HC

Mashiro Kuna

(nsfw) Fan of squirting HC

Hachigen Ushoda

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Urahara Shoten + Rukongai Rebels (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

Kisuke Urahara

React to reader getting lost HC

His daughter HCs

Yoruichi Shihoin

React to reader getting lost HC

What does she bring to the lake HC

Yushiro Shihoin Tessai Tsukabishi Jinta Hanakari Ururu Tsumugiya Kukaku Shiba Ganju Shiba

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Karakura Gang + Humans (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

Ichigo Kurosaki

Friends w/ Uryuu pre-arrancar arc Scene

 (nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Hichigo pleasures reader TP

(nsfw) Doctor w/patient!reader meme HCs

Relationship with shy/flustered reader HCs

Orihime Inoue

BROTP w/ Chad HCs

Uryu Ishida

Reaction to reader being a quincy HCs

Friends w/ Ichigo pre-arrancar arc Scene

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Sado Chad Yasutora

Reaction to reader being a quincy HCs

BROTP w/ Orihime HCs

First kiss w/ reader Scene + general kisses HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Doctor w/reader patient meme HCs

 Yandere w/reader HCs

(nsfw) Sweet but Wild in bed TP

Kon

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Ryuken Ishida

(nsfw) Doctor w/reader patient meme HCs

Isshin Kurosaki

(nsfw) eating pussy w/fem!reader TP

Yuzu Kurosaki Karin Kurosaki Tatsuki Arisawa Keigo Asano Mizuho Asano Mizuiro Kojima Chizuru Honsho

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Arrancar (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

       Espada:

Yammy Llargo Coyote Starrk

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Lilynette Gingerbuck Baraggan Louisenbairn Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck Tier Harribel

(nsfw) Fan of squirting HC

Ulquiorra Cifer/Schiffer Nnoitra Gilga

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Luppi Antenor Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

(nsfw) Fan of squirting HC

Reader angry their brother is hurt HCs

Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

(nsfw) summer ficlet + moon + sweet smut

Zommari Rureaux Szayelaporro Granz Aaroniero Arruruerie

       Fraccion + Other:

Wonderweiss Margela Ggio Vega Tesra Lindocruz Emilou Apacci Cyan Sung-Sun Franceska Mila Rose Yylfordt Granz Di Roy Rinker

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Fullbringer (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

Kugo Ginjo

General HCs

Shukuro Tsukishima Riruka Dokugamine Girko Kutsuzawa Moe Shishigawara Yukio Hans Vorarlberna Jackie Tristan

(∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั ) Quincy (∞ ❛ั ⊝❛ั )

Yhwach Jugram Haschwalth

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Bazz B Kang Du Candice Catnipp Bambietta Basterbine Giselle Gewelle

(nsfw) Quarantine w/reader meme HCs

Liltotto Lamperd Meninas McAllon As Nodt Gremmy Thoumeaux Askin Nakk Le Vaar Quilge Opie Lille Barro BG9

[tigers-lost-stripes]

Seokjin: Has anyone seen Taehyung it's his turn to wash the dishes and I can't find him anywhere?!?

Jungkook: hyung, don't worry Nochu got chu *clears throat* No one told me life was gonna be this way~!

*muffed from inside a cupboard* 👏👏👏👏

Taehyung: ...well fuck!

[uraharashouten]

@amaranthineoni​ said:

How would Kisuke fare if he were to witness Yoruichis's death? Would he mourn? Would he recover?

“...”

“I suggest you find a more productive line of thought.”

---------------

Unlikely. So unlikely that his thousand scenarios only ever included it as an outside chance, at best. Still, he’s confronted with the ‘reality;’ still, some part of him remains convinced that this is the Universe with the bad ending, and there must be countless others... Perhaps if he rejects reality strongly enough, his will can influence it? He knows two others who can. They appear to be of no help here, and he knows he must find it in himself to forgive them. Strange, how everyone around is able to accept the impossible....

For some time after forgets himself. He becomes more of a ghost than he was already; as though he could will himself into non-existence. He throws himself into his projects and keeps up a pleasant face toward those who who look in on him with pitying concern: Tessai, Ururu, Jinta; even Shinji and Hiyori pay a visit or two. He greets them cheerfully and waves them off, but he grows thinner, if such a thing were possible, and nobody dares come too close, since it’s been awhile since he showered or changed his clothes. That’s just as well. He’s stopped shaving as well, but his beard never seems to grow any thicker. Perhaps shaving, even infrequently as he did, was merely a vain illusion. Perhaps it all was. He stops going through the motions; all of them.

Winter passes. Then spring. And one day, the sun is out, and it feels good upon his shoulders. He is sitting on his roof, and he remembers that seasons pass and he is still here. He holds the sadness and the joy in open palms under the empty sky, embraces her absence with a bittersweet nostalgic gratitude. And life goes on. He doesn’t know that it must, but it certainly does.

BONUS.