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outfit design sheets from the volumes

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Mermay 2025 - The Little Mermaid (Zenyuki)

Wanted to do a prompt for MerMay this year, and what could be better than finally getting to do a piece for my Little Mermaid Zenyuki AU. I was inspired by this ref. It just felt so perfect.

Just imagining Shirayuki as Ariel, going up to the human world not only for her beloved but getting to explore humans but more importantly getting to see more herbs than she ever got to under the sea, also picturing Zen would be like Eric from the remake collecting sea trinkets- Ahh my beloveds—

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The most human thing a character can do is contradict themselves.

The cynic who still carries a childhood stuffed animal.

The liar who craves honesty.

The overthinker who makes reckless decisions.

The heartbreaker who believes in soulmates.

The pacifist who holds lifelong grudges.

The tough guy who cries during old movies.

The thrill-seeker who's terrified of commitment.

The grump who’s unfailingly polite to waitstaff.

People aren’t consistent. Your characters shouldn’t be either.

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Tomo!! I asked @nokaru this as well, but I'm curious of your answer - if you had to list your top five AnS characters, ranked, who would they be and why? ^^

Hitting it out of the park with the banger questions as usual, @meefy! It goes:

Kiki

Hisame

Zen

Tariga

Mitsuhide

As for why, Kiki has always been my favorite in the main group. I actually didn't get very far in AnS the first time I tried to watch / read it (it's just not the type of series I generally followed back then). But even then I really liked Kiki. Then, I heard something unusual happens in her character arc, was curious to know more. And then I fell in love with her again and then Hisame by association (it especially works for me in Hisame's case, because he admires her just like I do so I can understand his perspective very well. Also I tend to relate to all the second child's in the family (so this applies to Zen & Tariga as well)).

When it comes to position 1 & 2, it's kind of interchangeable but Kiki wins just by having a lot more content in the series, being a main character. Meanwhile, I think I just relate to Hisame's way of thinking more.

Position 3 & 4 are interchangeable, but Zen again wins due to having way more content. That being said, I'm really loving the Tariga content in the series lately. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

With regards to why I like Zen, I love how he watches out for the people under his wing, and tries to understand everyone he meets and put them in places that match their potential. That's the sort of leader I aspire to be too. I love how he cares for not just Shirayuki, but all his friends. His bond with all his friends are uniquely special.

With Tariga, as a person with an older sibling who I am very close to, I relate to him a lot. I also relate to his awkwardness. Also, more superficially, I LOVE his design and his braid.

Mitsuhide is a character who is so complex, I can't help but love him more a little more every time I do a reread. He could easily be my no. 4. I love how he takes care of everyone but especially Zen. Zen wouldn't be the same person if it weren't for Mitsuhide (Zen might not even be alive, tbh). I really admire his dedication towards Zen but also how steadfast he is in his beliefs, even when people he loves don't fully understand, he stands by it and shows them why it's so important. I just love that about him.

Sounds like I basically like Zen and all his sword-wielding aides the most, haha. Hisame is an honorary aide.

Thanks for the ask, I loved thinking about this!

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obizenyuki, chapter 95

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I'm so normal about this I'm so normal about this I'm so normal about this I'm so normal about this I'm so normal about this I'm so normal-

og twt lala post

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I'm a big fan of Obi's hat ✨️

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puffy

some of my older ans art, idk how tumblr works but i'm trying my best shsskdhd

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All the ZenYuki LaLa covers 🍎🗡️

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Proof that I can draw other characters besides Lata! A little gift for the lovely @sabishi-tomo aka Official Hisame Expert™ 🤭

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Hey tomo! So you said Hisame jokes about things that are important to him. Do you think that's also the case with his family? How important do you think his family is to him? And how do you envision his relationships with his family members (his brother, especially)? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!💖

I think Hisame's family was important to him at one point, for sure, since he goes out of his way to talk about how he wants to marry into a different Count's family (i.e. Seiran) and doesn't want to be under his older brother's thumb. Like I don't you can develop that level of contempt without being hurt, and you can't be hurt like that unless it's important to you.

Some other details that are relevant: Hisame still has a measure of pride when he mentions the Lugis family during the Bergatt arc (talking about how since they are one of the old established families, even the Bergatt clan couldn't take them lightly). Hisame and Amakize seem to know each other quite well and know how to get under each other's skin. Probably in the way only siblings know how to. It's possible they were genuinely close at one point, or maybe it's just due to proximity and growing up in the same household.

It's not really clear if Hisame's disdain for his family comes from his father or brother or simply from being the second son. Could be some combination. It could also be that his brother annoyed him by being more of the forthright/knightly type (Count Seiran and Kiki both genuinely seem to like Amakize, and Count Seiran seemed to actually prefer him over Hisame as a match for Kiki, saying Hisame was too much like his father, who is also Count Seiran's old friend.

I think it's totally up to interpretation if the feud between Hisame and Amakize is more lighthearted or has actual real beef behind it. I think even if it's more lighthearted there's some real resentment that Hisame has towards him and the rest of the Lugis family. There's always some truth behind the jokes.

Thanks for the ask 🥰.

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the way akagami no shirayukihime handles relationships between everyone despite how different they are is so so so so SOOOOOO good. it's about how zen loves shirayuki and shirayuki loves zen and they both love obi and obi loves them both. how kiki and mitsuhide wouldn't be complete without each other, regardless of romance. how zen wants to stand by izana's side and how izana is bringing up zen to be able to do that. how ryuu relies on shirayuki just as much as shirayuki relies on him. how zen infinitely trusts kiki and mitsuhide to the point where he never has to look over his shoulder because they always have his back, and how kiki and mitsuhide will follow zen for as long as he'll let them. how everyone is constantly thanking each other for existing, for being in their lives, for being so full of love and light and loyalty. how each connection brings them a step forward. how it's always "if you have somewhere you cannot go alone, i will be there with you". akagami no shirayukihime really said that all the connections you have are valuable and important and are never lesser than the other, regardless of their intentions, and that's SOOOOOOOO important to me!!!!

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do the obizen "power dynamic" decriers know that obi invented that dynamic. do they know he started calling zen master unprovoked from their first meeting. do they know he's the one who chose to come back to zen when he let him leave. do they know the only one thinking of him as a servant in this dynamic is only obi himself and everyone else is just waiting for him to catch on to the fact that zen has never once looked down on him that way. do they know obi entrusted his reins in zen's hands not expecting anything in return but zen decided to take hold of those reins, make him one of his people, trust him unconditionally and love him and want him in his future. do they know,

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Thank you ever so much! You're always so kind to share your thoughts and help explain things.🥺

I totally agree the points you made about Hisame - his snarky personality, motives for keeping up the masquerade, and what he truly feels deep inside.

What I wanted to say was, your analysis made me realize that for me what's interesting about him is –

I'm very sure I have a soft spot for genuinity. I like people and characters who are sincere, forthright, and consciously stay true to themselves and to others. Hisame, apparently, can appear to be the exact opposite sometimes (due to the reasons you've mentioned).

That said, I find his "pretentious" personality surprisingly attractive – it's just fun when he's being snarky. He puts on quite a show when he's "acting". And I desperately need someone like him to roast Mitsuhide hehe.

And then, what truly amuses me is how he is "two-faced" in a positive way. Generally, a two-faced person is someone who plays nice in a hypocritical manner. But in Hisame's case, he's "playing bad", while his true self secretly yearns for candidness and genuine bonding. The contrast between who he chose and believed himself to be (a worse version of himself😂) and who he truly is is just fun to watch. He tries to deny his true self and cravings, because he's afraid he'll never get what he wants, and he's so insecure and unsure of himself (?) that he feels ashamed to admit he wants to be upright, sincere, and feel connected like the trio. But eventually he still learned to be honest with himself and others. Love the character growth here.💗🤌

Hisame Lugis. He's contentious, aggressive, nonchalant, cynical, pretentious, snarky, scheming, and eccentric. But he's also vulnerable, insecure, envious, altruistic, genuine, candid, principled, and "knightly" in his own way.

I'm obsessed with this mixed personality. And having seen his changes, I actually look forward to how he'll find a balance between the two sides of himself. I don't think he'll still refrain from his truest feelings anymore, but I also don't think he'll completely abandon his camouflage personality – the mask has become part of who he is, if you ask me. I think apart from using it as a disguise, he enjoys it somehow, and honestly I do too. XD

Finally, let me just wrap up once again with a Taylor Swift quote – And I swear, I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian 'cause I care.

Tomo! Out of all the AnS characters I have always found Hisame the hardest to read or connect with. My first impression of him was as someone who jokes to hide his true feelings or simply doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. I have a difficult time telling when he is serious or not! But do you think that's an accurate analysis of his character? Why or why not? ^^

Helloo! That's spot on, I would say. I think he's someone who hides his vulnerability under light-hearted and snarky comments, probably because he's never had people who he trusts to have his back prior to getting close to Zen and his aides. It's also hinted (in the manga and the drama CD he was featured in) that he was kind of envious of the bond Zen-Kiki-Mitsuhide had, but I think he hides that he actually admires their bond and their forthrightness through his snark because it's too close to who he truly is (this is also alluded to in the HisaKiki special chapter. With him being more candid with Kiki in recent chapters, he admits that he's always admired the steadfastness of Zen-Mitsuhide-Kiki trio).

Basically I feel like he's someone who likes to keep people guessing about his real motives just because it's fun, but he's actually a lot more loyal than he pretends to be (which we see through his actions). He is the type to go out of the way for people he likes (even if he's not altruistic naturally) which includes Kiki, Zen, and grudgingly Mitsuhide. And I think he admires how naturally altruism comes to Zen and his aides.

Thanks for this ask, @meefy. As you know I love talking about Hisame and it's really fun for me to get into his head.

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Tomo! Out of all the AnS characters I have always found Hisame the hardest to read or connect with. My first impression of him was as someone who jokes to hide his true feelings or simply doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. I have a difficult time telling when he is serious or not! But do you think that's an accurate analysis of his character? Why or why not? ^^

Helloo! That's spot on, I would say. I think he's someone who hides his vulnerability under light-hearted and snarky comments, probably because he's never had people who he trusts to have his back prior to getting close to Zen and his aides. It's also hinted (in the manga and the drama CD he was featured in) that he was kind of envious of the bond Zen-Kiki-Mitsuhide had, but I think he hides that he actually admires their bond and their forthrightness through his snark because it's too close to who he truly is (this is also alluded to in the HisaKiki special chapter. With him being more candid with Kiki in recent chapters, he admits that he's always admired the steadfastness of Zen-Mitsuhide-Kiki trio).

Basically I feel like he's someone who likes to keep people guessing about his real motives just because it's fun, but he's actually a lot more loyal than he pretends to be (which we see through his actions). He is the type to go out of the way for people he likes (even if he's not altruistic naturally) which includes Kiki, Zen, and grudgingly Mitsuhide. And I think he admires how naturally altruism comes to Zen and his aides.

Thanks for this ask, @meefy. As you know I love talking about Hisame and it's really fun for me to get into his head.

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🌱

In another life, you still would've turned my head.

🌸

August slipped away into a moment in time. ​​​

🍁

'Til we were gone and buried in autumn leaves. ​​​

❄️

In this city's barren cold

I still remember the first fall of snow

And how she glistened as she fell

I remember it all too well ​​ ​​​

🎨Commish Artist: baobao@mihuashi

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Newtype Magazine March 2016 Poster illustrated by character designer Kumiko Takahashi