#ans mitsuhide

[mitsukiki-festival]

Start of "MitsuKiki Weekend 2024"!

Hello, everyone! Today's the start of the MitsuKiki Weekend 2024 event! It starts today on May 3rd and end on Sunday May 5th at 11:59PM CST.

Here are the prompts for you at hand if you need them! The theme for this event is RELAXATION. Have fun! 😁

If you're unable to participate during this event at this time, or if you found this post late, don't worry, since late submissions are always welcome. We'll be accepting them until the evening of July 4th, 2024.

Thank you for participating! And for those who aren't, I hope you enjoy any submissions that come out from this event!

Have fun, everyone! Thank you for joining!

— MitsuKiki Festival Mod Team

[meefy]

this is it this is their whole dynamic

[soya-ix]

Akagami no Shirayukihime Exhibit 2023 (Incomplete photo collection)

Acrylic stands

Clothes

————TBC———

[onedivinemisfit]

AnS manga panel redraw, suggested by @claudeng80 - fairy tale princess Mitsuhide strikes again~

[ansmangacaps]

[sunbloomdew]

i was feeling silly so i made this :] low effort cuz i had a bad hand day but i think it looks funny

the ogggg

ive had multiple character alternatives including: garack to ryuu and other royal pharmacists "do you want us to make like. gay medicine. what"

zen to mitsuhide, raji to sakaki and haruto to zen and izana ksjhfsjkdf

i was gonna draw all of these but then i got hit with eepies so izana and zen it is! i think it being those two makes it even funnier

[nokaru]

a normal day in the knight trio's normal life

[landofanimes]

Snow White with the Red Hair

[obizenyukii]

this scene had me on the brink of extinction

and the bonus:

[clickabletale]

I’m legit so happy, I got this folder on Mercari. I just love the detail, along with the shadows in the back of the folder.

Also, the detail with two snowflakes hovering Shirayuki and Zen?? 🥹🥹✨

[jugacolours]

[mitsukiki-festival]

MitsuKiki Weekend 2024

Day 1: Nap | Massage

Day 2: Break | Drink

Day 3: Story | Game Night

______________

Hello, everyone! Welcome to this year's event! Instead of MitsuKiki Week, which I was originally going to do, in light of the declining interest in MitsuKiki, and the upcoming ANS events that are happening this year, I have decided to change this to a Weekend event instead. So hopefully, this'll be easier for any of the participants who wish to join this event.

The theme for this event is "Relaxation". Perfect for a weekend event! 😁

Feel free to write MitsuKiki romantically, platonically, professionally, etc. I'll leave it up to you.

The event will begin on May 3 — May 5. Less than 2 months to work on your entries. Which should give you plenty of time. As usual, there is no need for you to do all of the prompts unless you want to. Also, if you can't take part in this event due to your schedule, you're free to post late submissions whenever you wish.

Remember to tag us and add #mitsukiki-festival and #mitsukiki weekend 2024 tags to your posts.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you'll take part in the event. I'm very excited. 😁

Sincerely,

— MitsuKiki Festival Mod Team

[meefy]

Some Thoughts on Mitsuhide + Aromanticism in Media and Reality

Major spoilers for Chapters 92 and onwards of the Akagami no Shirayukihime manga ahead!

When I first got into the AnS fandom, I kept hearing about some big manga!plot decision that had made some fans completely abandon the manga, so disappointed were they. I did my best to avoid spoilers so I didn't know what this event was for the longest time. Now, being caught up to that storyline and thensome, I know what that event was - and can say that I was a bit surprised when I remembered that it had upset people so badly.

Yes, Mitsuhide rejected Kiki's proposition of marriage, and she opted to marry Hisame instead. It was, apparently, clearly hinted at that Kiki and Mitsuhide were in love all this time, and it was cruel of him to reject her when she cared about him so deeply - right?

Well...maybe not.

I write this as an aro/ace person, and I'm going to be examining Mitsuhide's character through an aro/ace lens, too. I have talked plenty about how AnS has some great, positive representation in its characters, and Mitsuhide is no different. In fact, I relate to his experience quite a bit.

Mitsuhide is often teased, from the very beginning, for being "in love" with Zen. He shows no interest in anyone else other than Zen, outside of what seem like only platonic friendships, but his loyalty is solely to the Prince.

Except, it appears, for Kiki Seiran.

Their first interaction is yet another source of jokes; Mitsuhide mistakes her for a boy. And when the current story begins, the two are already always together as the Prince’s trusted aides. It's the perfect set up for a love story, even moreso when Hisame is introduced: the man initially so desperate to improve his social status and have Kiki's hand that he offers to fight her for it - and Mitsuhide steps in and saves the day. It's romantic, it's satisfying, it's...not all that it seems.

First, let me preface all this by saying that I will never go out of my way to tell others what they can and cannot "ship" or "headcanon". It is absolutely possible for this sort of plot to eventually devolve into a friends to lovers scenario.  And, had it not been for Mitsuhide's blatant "coming out" to Zen and his rejection of Kiki's proposal in Ch. 92, it might have turned into this. But to me, it would be incredibly disrespectful to Mitsuhide as a character to berate him for "not marrying Kiki" when he explictly tells Zen in Ch. 98, after chapters of soul-searching, that he is not interested in marriage - with Kiki or anyone else for that matter.

Mitsuhide turns Kiki down the first time by saying that he wants to wait till Zen himself is married and living his own path, and that as Kiki is so close to the Prince and is so trusted a friend, it would be impossible and downright strange for him to consider wedding her. It doesn't help that since Kiki is on a deadline to marry, Mitsuhide is put in a position where he must immediately choose the path he wishes to take. I definitely feel here for Kiki, who has by her own admission harboured feelings for Mitsuhide for years now (feelings he never caught onto - #justacethings!), only to be told in no uncertain terms that he cannot reciprocate them.

I empathized a great deal, as an aspec person, with Mitsuhide's first confession here. Growing up aroace in a world dominated by amatonormativity, I was told indirectly or otherwise that there was something "wrong" with me, and that my priorities - work, friendships, family, hobbies - would one day come second to an important intimate relationship. Since that never happened for me, I just assumed, as Mitsuhide did, that I was waiting for something in my life to settle down before I dated: till I was done school, for instance. Or, when my teenage relationships inevitably failed, they just "weren't the one" or it was a situation of me being "not ready". Never did it enter my mind that I could tell someone (or even myself) that I would never date or marry at all, and I wonder if this concern ever crossed Mitsuhide's mind, too, when he withheld some details from Kiki in his first conversation with her about the matter.

When Hisame and Mitsuhide speak about what transpired with Kiki in that discussion, Hisame senses that Mitsuhide was not completely honest with her about his true feelings. Although Mitsuhide is understandably angry by this accusation, he nevertheless does not deny it - and eventually speaks to Kiki again to clarify that it is not just her he is rejecting, but everyone and anyone else who may propose to him in the future. This he says in no uncertain terms; his oath is to protect and serve Prince Zen, and this he holds above all else, marriage included. At last, he is able to put his feelings on the table and be honest with others and himself: he does not want to marry, he wants to remain at Zen's side.

Those on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrum are often told, through popular media or directly by family and friends, that an intimate romantic relationship should be prioritized above all else. Relationships are all about compromise, about changing your immediate desires when it means letting your partner be happy, so that everyone "wins". This is a very amatormative way of viewing things. What happens when your priorities and values do not work when a relationship is involved?

For me, my priorities are my hobbies, my dog, volunteering, my close friends, and maintaining my health. I can think of nothing worse than having to change any of those values or even alter them to allow for another person in my life - one with whom I'd be expected to intimately share my space and time with, at that. It seems this is what Mitsuhide feels, too: marriage would interfere with his sworn duty to protect Prince Zen, and this for him is his highest priority. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that! He seems perfectly content with doing so...until, of course, he confides all this in Zen.

There is quite a humourous post on Mitsuhide's "coming out as aroace" to Zen here on Tumblr already, but on a more solemn note, this is a similar reaction (at least, the core themes) as I got when I first came out to close family. I was just "not ready to be with someone" and "hadn’t met the right person". I needed to "grow up and try harder", and "one day I would want to find someone to marry".

Although Zen’s motive for scolding Mitsuhide is rooted moreso in not wanting him to give up his life and wellbeing for Zen's own sake, there is a genuine confusion and shock in the Prince’s words to his aide: what will Mitsuhide do if he gets other proposals? Is he just waiting to see if he'll change his mind? It is very difficult at first for Zen to understand the gravity and finality of what Mitsuhide is saying, and this is often the case with many aroace people: the "you will change your mind one day" line.

But so what if I don't?

I found Zen's emotional response, and Mitsuhide's equally emotional reaction, quite moving as the two grew to understand each other's thoughts and feelings on the issue. It certainly did not help that Mitsuhide was still reeling from the trauma of the Bergatt affair, and I sense that Zen suspected Mitsuhide's reasoning and fierce desire to protect him was based on that experience. And, to some degree, it might be! But again, the idea that trauma is at the heart of someone's "choice" to be aro/ace is not an uncommon one, but it is a hurtful one, and one that undermines the feelings and values of the person who is coming out. I am not aroace because I was traumatized, I am aroace because that is who I am. Mitsuhide might be more inclined to protect Prince Zen because of his fear of being unable to do so, but that is a separate matter from his desire to never marry.

And for Kiki, who so openly admitted her true feelings and desire to be with Mitsuhide only to be turned down? As I wrote earlier, I truly feel for her; it was by no means easy for her to be rejected not once but twice, regardless of the reasons. But as hard as it may be to accept, she is not owed Mitsuhide's romantic attraction or his hand in marriage; she is owed his honesty and respect, yes, but he cannot simply "change" and fall in love with her. It cannot and does not work that way in reality.

Mitsuhide's rejection of her romantic proposal also presents a rarely-explored (and rarely well portrayed) concept: a purely platonic friendship between a man and a woman, built on love and mutual respect. Friendship of any gender is usually pushed aside in favour of romance; to see a strong, solid friendship prioritized over a forced relationship is both pleasantly surprising and deeply admirable. Everything Mitsuhide tells Kiki sounds as what one might tell a platonic friend of the same gender in any other amatormative media piece - I love you, I respect you, I enjoy working with you, but I am not in love with you.

I have always had deep respect for the way love has been portrayed in AnS, and I was so excited to see aromanticism and asexuality depicted, too. Having a character reject a relationship in favour of remaining single for its own sake and to say true to his values is almost unheard of in popular media; asexuality is typically portrayed as a condition in need of treating, or one that the "right person" can "fix". Mitsuhide, mercifully, is not portrayed in this way. Zen's initial reaction is, of course, quite heated - his shock is understandable if it is not justifiable, and even if it hurt to read, it is a fairly accurate depiction of some common misconceptions about aromanticism/asexuality.

And in the end, after all, Zen (and Kiki, and Shirayuki, and Obi) come to understand and respect Mitshuide the way he is - as it should be.

-

Amatonormativity: the assumption that everyone desires and strives for a romantic relationship.

[onedivinemisfit]

Main doodle batch from last night~

[ansmangacaps]

LaLa January 2013 Issue Calendar

[sunbloomdew]

i drew the main 5 characters from ans as kids :3 THEYRE SOOOOOOOO TINY

just a simple doodle for fun, i barely used any refs for it so don't think too hard about it ksjfhksjd

i was doing everything at a guess so that's why zen is so short lol. it's kind of adorable tho :]

i really love this story and only recently had read the entire manga. i first watched the anime when i was younger and while i liked the series it didn't stick with me for long. fast foward a couple years and now im obsessed

a bit about this doodle! first, ages: shirayuki - 12; zen - 13, kiki - 14; obi - he would be 15 but he looks closer to kiki's age so let's say he's 14. maybe his 15th bday is coming up, who knows. and lastly mitsuhide - 17. so like i guess they're not really kids kids but like from young to older teens. eh i dont care about specifics with this one

shirayuki is vibing. maybe she was sent by her grandparents to run some errands in the town which is why she has the basket. she might run into some trouble... but she is determined to enjoy her little trip

zen is in his teenage rebellion phase, as that was the case when mitsuhide became his aide. i keep looking at him and shirayuki cuz they just look so smol and cute

kiki!! i absolutely love her. i don't exactly remember how long after mitsuhide joins zen do they meet kiki with this haircut. i wasn't exactly thinking about anything i just wanted to draw her cute short hair <33

we basically know nothing about obi's childhood. i'm headcanoning he has been in his previous line of work for a loooong time, probably had to in order to survive. so we have tiny obi trying to get out of a rough situation maybe. now that i think about it i could have had him use the ripped off sleeve as a bandage instead but oh well

last but not least is mitsuhide! i'm obsessed with his cute expression, he's such a softie mother-hen. he's standing straight up and has no idea how to act with the little snarky prince

i'll definitely be drawing some more stuff!! the hyperfixation is going really strong... almost a little too strong...... 💀