#ryuko looks great in your style!

[teawinx]

If the quality of this image is a little blurry, forgive me my internet decided to die and I’m left with faulty 4G that’s actually just 3G 99% of the time.

Anyhoo Kagami! She’s back and redesigned again. Well her first appearance and Ryuko aren’t that different, just refreshed. However her third design is very different.

I explained in a post that Adrien does Kagami dirty in the reboot (and in canon). Since she’s similar to Ladybug in a few ways, a lot of people think she’s Ladybug. Including Adrien. He only befriends her and starts a courtship on the off chance she’s Ladybug. But when it’s revealed that she isn’t, he basically just ditches her. And post that heartbreak, Kagami changes her look drastically to no longer resemble Ladybug. Plus it’s a style she’s always wanted to try.

Also Kagami’s overall story is toned down from canon. Maybe “toned down” isn’t the right words, I’ll explain. Her mother isn’t crazy controlling and strict and she doesn’t work for Gabriel. Tomoe is a rich business woman who’s quite strict and expects the best for and from Kagami, but not to the point of not allowing friends. She doesn’t know Gabriel, she doesn’t work for him, she’s not evil. She’s a single mother who’s doing her best, but not always great at reading the room. Kagami doesn’t have any friends because she’s very introverted, shy and PAINFULLY awkward. She has trouble talking to others, but really wants friends. People think she’s rude and an “ice queen”, but she doesn’t mean to be. She has no idea what she’s doing. Send help.

I also remembered to include Ryuko’s new weapon! Yay me! Just a reminder that all the zodiac Miraculous have musical instrument weapons, and the dragon gets a guitar. Which you can also use as a staff to BONK your enemies on the head. (Edit) In this case, it’s a Shamizen.

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Blacklisted

"Blacklisted…" Marinette whispered her face blank as she stared at Chloe's worried face. "Adrien and Lila had Gabriel blacklist me." Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she choked back sobs, she covered her face with her hands. Chloe moved quickly pulling her shaking friend into her arms. "What am I going to do Chloe? Fashion was my future-and-and they ruined it for me. Four years of college all for nothing." Marinette sobbed into Chloe's shoulder as both girls sank to the ground.

"I don't know Marinette, I really don't know." Chloe said quietly she pulled back and pulled a handkerchief out of her bag. She brushed it across Marinette's cheeks wiping away the tears. "My mother confronted him and he refused to unblacklist you. It ended in a screaming match and mother declaring that Bourgeois would never associate with them again. Mother has been trying to counter the blacklist but Agreste has gotten too far already Mari." Marinette sniffled nodding as Tikki and Pollen flew over to their holders tentatively, the other Kwami remained near Pollen's little mansion.

"There is nothing that can be done? There has to be something!" Tikki said with anger clear in her voice. Marinette gave her a sad smile holding out her hand for Tikki to sit in it. Pollen landed in Chloe's open hand curling her arms around Chloe's thumb.

"No Tikki there is nothing we can do. We just have to move on." Marinette said they could all hear the anguish in her voice. She took a deep breath stopping herself from crying. "Plagg," she called softly , causing the Kwami to fly over. "normally I wouldn't allow this, but I think Gabriel has a streak of bad luck coming don't you?" Plagg was silent before her let out a loud cackle flying around Marinette's head.

"Oh kid, you're my favorite Ladybug for sure! What do you say Tikki, want to take away his creativity?" Tikki frowned part of her wanted to join in, but part of her pointed out that she should be the better person. "Come on Sugar Cube, I know you want to get payback for your chosen." Plagg said softly, smirking more when Tikki sighed and nodded. 

"But only once." She said looking at him with her own glare.

"It's funny," Audrey commented during dinner, she looked up with a smirk. "ever since Gabriel made the mistake of blacklisting you six months ago his designs have really dropped." She let out a laugh before taking a sip of her wine. "On top of that he has not only lost workers, but I heard there is a scandal going on with his son and the model of his!" Chloe snorted at that shaking her head, she took a bite of her steak. She glanced over at Marinette sending her a gentle smile, Marinette returned it before turning back to Audrey. "Mari dear, have you decided on what you want to do? I told you once I have absolutely no problem with you remaining here. On top of that I am more than willing to help you sell your designs under the acronym MDC like you've been doing with Jagged." Marinette glanced down at her food before looking up with a small smile.

"I am going to keep designing for Jagged and Clara. However I will not for others

, no, I have other plans now. Audrey you like my food, pastries, and weird drinks, yes?" Audrey glanced at Chloe in confusion before nodding.

"Yes I find it pretty amazing that you can make pastries from all over the world. Your apple pie is my favorite, although it is the reason that I have to work out so much." The comment caused the two young women to burst into soft laughter. "What does this have to do with anything?" Marinette smiled and placed her elbows on the table resting her chin on one hand. She smirked slightly thinking over her plan. 

"You see they derailed my dream just a bit, yes, but I have two loyal customers so I'm not completely stuck. I am not a one trick pony, I have a lot of talents." The mother and daughter were silent both confused, causing Marinette to laugh softly. "I was raised in a bakery, and my Great Uncle is a world renowned chef. I think a restaurant is in my future." Audrey smirked as she held her wine glass up.

"You see Mari, this is why you're one of my favorites, you never let anything keep you down. You'll have my backing and my husband's as well. With Chloe's help we are going to make your restaurant a hit." She shared a smile with her daughter knowing that Marinette's restaurant would be a hit when it opened. "Just one question Mari, what is the theme?" Marinette smirked looking over at Chloe with a twinkle in her eye.

"It's going to be subtlety themed around Paris's heros. Ladybug, Lynx(Felix), Viperion, Ryuko, Queen Bee and current Honeywell. Each hero will have their own signature dish. That is their personal favorite, Ladybug's is macaroons with her famous spotted design. Lynx's is Soupe à l'oignon, and so on. Desserts will be specially designed after their hero., While meals will be served on dishes resembling their costumes." 

“Well, you know you’ll have my full backing. Once you pick the perfect location I will have construction workers on the site, and once they’re done interior decorators to listen to your every input! On top of that I will make sure to talk up your restaurant to every business partner I have.” Audrey declared gently dabbing around her mouth with a napkin. She placed the napkin down before standing up; she made her way to Chloe grabbing her daughter's face and kissing her forehead gently, before doing the same to Marinette. “Now it is time for me to retire to bed. Don’t stay up too late girls!” She waved walking to the door nodding when Butler Jean opened the door for her. “Much appreciate Jean.” She gave him a rare smile, one which he returned with his own. Chloe and Marinette shared a look giggling softly together as Jean closed the door behind Audrey.

“Well, Dupain-Cheng, shall we retire as well?” Chloe said mimicking her mother’s voice. Marinette snorted covering her face with her napkins as Butler Jean gave Chloe a stern look struggling to hide his own smile.

“It’s beautiful.” Audrey said in awe taking in her once protegees restaurant. The outside of the store was simple yet elegant. Cream bricks with black accents, the two large windows were slightly tinted and had the name written in elegant cursive. ‘Miraculous’ The outside sitting area was gated off with a station for the host that provided shade on particularly hot days. It was divided into different sections, for certain Parisian heroes. Ladybug, Lynx, Viperion, Ryuko, and Honeywell. Each section was styled after their hero, Marinette and the interior designers had managed to make it so the colors didn’t clash. Instead they gave off a look of abstract beauty. In the middle of the outside area sat one table that had a sign stating it was permanently reserved for the original Queen Bee. The table made Chloe shine with happiness that only doubled once she realized that there was also a table inside reserved just for her. The inside was much the same except in the middle of the restaurant their was another table for Chloe. There was a window that took up much of the back wall, displaying the kitchen where ten chefs were divided in two, each learning their heroes menu together. There were two hallways on either side, the right had the bathrooms and the left had five private rooms. Each styled after their hero. "I must say, I was unsure that you'd be able to fit their colors together. However, you and the interior designers pulled it off flawlessly. May I see the menus?" Marinette smirked a twinkle in her eye as she held up five menus.

"Five menus for each hero. Which one would you like to see? The waiters and waitresses are instructed to request what hero's menu they would like to eat from. Each has eight different meals, five deserts, one specialty drink, and specialty salad, the only thing they have in common is drinks. side salads and soups. Two waiters and two chefs for each hero, more will be added if needed. The chefs have their own spaces together in the kitchen."  Marinette surveyed the restaurant, a smile taking over her face as she took in her finished product. Butler Jean walked up placing a hand on her shoulder, his gentle smile already present.

"If I may break character for just a second, I must say and I'm sure Mistress Bourgeois and Mistress Chloe agree, I am quite proud of you Miss Marinette. You've truly outdone yourself." Chloe nodded and came up hugging Marinette's arm smiling at her as Marinette started to tear up. The tears didn't fall until Audrey placed her hand on the back of Marinette's head, a rare smile on her face.

"Thank you for everything." She whispered softly, smiling brightly at them.

"Don't bemused, it's just the news! Nadja Chamack back again! Good afternoon Paris! New in Paris today, I'm sure you have all heard of the hit restaurant Miraculous that only opened a week ago! Well Paris, I have the inside scoop for you today! I was invited by the owner of the restaurant just last night! Now I am sure you are all wondering! Nadja, how did you get a direct invitation?! I was shocked too! Only to discover the owner of the restaurant was my goddaughter Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Marinette is twenty-three years old and now owns one of the most popular restaurants in Paris! Let me tell you! The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and styled after our heroes, you all know Ladybug is my personal favorite. So Marinette set up a private room for my daughter and me. She has five private rooms, all designated with a specific hero, so obviously my room was Ladybug's! I must say the restaurant is truly one of a kind! Marinette has out done herself, and its not just me saying that. Jagged Stone, Audrey Bourgeois, Clara Nightingale, and even some famous actors and musicians have all gone to Miraculous this past week. Each one had raving reviews, so much so that many celebrities and even some heroes are coming to Paris just to eat there. Pictures on Jagged's and Clara's Instagrams show them posing with a bright eyed Marinette, in one of the private rooms together! I think Paris agrees with me when I say this, congratulations Marinette, and I must say this to my goddaughter, I'm so proud of you Marinette. Now it’s time for sports-" Lila paused the tv glaring at is as she stared at the picture of Marinette between Jagged and Clara. She screamed throwing the remote at the wall, causing Adrien to tense up in their share kitchen. He sighed glaring down at his coffee only sparing a glance at the tv as he stirred. 

'When will she stop causing problems, I seriously thought she was more mature than this. But no she just has to keep thrusting herself into the spotlight knowing it'll piss Lila off.' He shook his head turning to watch his fiance finish her tantrum, as a smirk covered her face, a plan clearly forming. Only briefly did he wonder what the new lie was going to be this time. 'I am surprised she didn't just give up when we ruin her dream. Lila and father thought for sure that would break her.' He glanced down at his right hand where the ring use to rest anger growing in his chest. 'She deserves it, if she had just kept her mouth shut things would be different. No, she had to tell Ladybug everything when she discovered my identity. If it wasn't for her I'd still be Chat Noir, things would be different. I'd be with the love of my life and out of my father's control. This is all her fault, she deserves to be ruined.' Lila turned to him with a predatory smirk, her eyes glinting in the light as she walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck leaning against him standing on her toes as she lifted one leg into the air. She bit her lip before kissing him and pulling back their lips barely touching as they stared into each others eyes. 

" We're going to get reservations at her crappy little restaurant, and we are going to destroy it and her name for good." Adrien smiled and placed his mug down wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her closer kissing her deeply before pulling back

"I'll have Nathalie set them up for us under my name. Now go get dressed, we have a photoshoot at 5." He let Lila go picking up his phone and texting Nathalie as Lila went to the shared room in their penthouse. He picked his coffee back up and starred at the picture of Marinette on the tv a smirk crossing his face. 

Two days later however they were all furious when the reservations were denied under all their names. They were only given reservations after using a fake name. When the day came they were dressed to impress and arrived in a limo. Lila smirked before letting her mask fall into place, as paparazzi turned to them and started taking pictures. She wrapped her arms around Adrien's arm giggling and waving at them until they reached the door only to be stopped by two guards and a hostess who was looking down at her book. "Name?"

"We are under Anthony Stewart." Adrien said smiling charmingly. The host ran her finger down the book till she came to the name. She nodded and looked up glancing at them before turning to the guards only to turn back surprised.

"I apologize we do have a Anthony Stewart down for reservations but you are not him." Adrien smiled nodding to her glancing at Lila. 

"Yes, you see my assistant set up the reservation for us under his name." The hostess gave them a tight smile before nodding politely. 

"Yes we do allow that to be done here. Unfortunately I am still not allowed to let you in." She said holding back a smirk at their shocked faces as the cameras began to take even more pictures.

"What do you mean you're not allowing us in?!" Lila said anger displayed clearly on her face.

"I'm truly sorry, here Maya let me take over while you take care of our other guests." Marinette said as she stepped out of the restaurant. She hair was pulled into an elegant up do, still wearing her signature black earrings. However she had a simple pairing of silver glasses on and was wearing a pink pencil skirt a white ruffled top and a black blazer. Her nails were a soft pink matching her toes as she wore black open toed heels. Both Adrien and Lila saw the glint in her eye even though she was smiling politely at them. "I really hoped you would all take the hint when reservations under your name were all rejected. You see I refuse to allow petty drama cause problems for my restaurant, and I'm afraid that you two bring drama with you where ever you go. However I can see my hint was not noticed so I'll tell you myself. Lila Rossi, Adrien Agreste, you two and your families are banned from setting foot into my restaurant. So sorry, but after you two repeatedly bullied me, spread lies about me and tried to ruin my future, I simply couldn't find it in myself to allow you in. Now please leave, your blocking other customers." Marinette turned and began to walk back into the restaurant until Adrien grabbed her arm dragging her back roughly.

"Now listen here Marinette!" He started until Marinette turned to him no fear in her eyes as she drew her free arm back and decked him. Adrien released her arm falling backwards holding his nose in pain, Marinette falling to the ground holding her arm gingerly.

"How dare you!?!" Lila snapped dropping down and wrapping her arms around Adrien's shoulders protectively, glaring at Marinette attempting to play the victims. "Thats it! We are sueing you for everything you have, I can't believe you just assaulted Adrien!" She smirked as she watched an officer get out of her car and advance on them. "Officer! Officer please arrest her! She just assaulted my fiance!" Lila cried out as tears began to fall. 

"I'm afraid I'll be taking Mr. Agreste into custody instead Miss Rossi. I was here the entire time and I watched him grab Miss Dupain-Cheng roughly. He assaulted her and she defended herself." Sabrina said staring down at the two as Lila looked up at her in shock. Another officer pulled up with his lights on and stepped out of the car. "Raincomprix, an ambulance is on the way to fix his nose before I take him in. Please make sure to get the photographers names, emails and numbers so that we can get pictures and possibly videos. Then take Miss Dupain-Cheng statement along with pictures of her and her arm, I'll take his pictures. After that get witness statements." Sabrina nodded before pulling out her notebook and walking over to the paparazzi. A few minutes later an ambulance pulled up and took care of Adrien before he was escorted to the back of the police car. Lila stood watching in shock, her mind running a mile a minute, she was quick to flee the scene once she realized pictures were still being taken.

The next day they were all over the news and everyone was on Marinette's side. Videos and pictures were all over social media and Gabriel's lawyers told him that there was no way they could save Adrien from being guilty unless they took a plea bargain. Adrien would admit his guilt and instead of jail time he had to pay Marinette a settlement and was given a restraining order to not come within fifty feet of her for five years. Gabriel's brand took a great hit and for a while Lila and Adrien couldn't step outside with out receiving glares or being refused business. Their reputations were dearly hurt and it didn't look like they'd ever be fixed. While Marinette was higher than ever everyone viewing her as a strong and amazing person after she didn't let his attack hold her back. This drove them crazy but they knew they couldn't do anything, Lila however decided that Hawkmoth just needed to target Marinette. Unluckily for them, it was that targeting that gave away Gabriel's identity to Ladybug and the Miraculous team.

A few months later it was breaking news when the Miraculous team brought in Gabriel, Natalie, and Lila and exposed them as Hawkmoth and Mayura, and that Lila was working with them. Adrien was spared after Ladybug revealed that he was Chat Noir. Everyone was ecstatic, parties were thrown and statues of the heros were placed in different parts of the city. It was shortly after that it was revealed that Gabriel blacklisted many people and allowed his designers to steal work in the hopes that they'd get others akumatized. Marinette was ecstatic that her name in fashion was cleared but she told the press she wasn't planning on going back into fashion. That only a few people would receive her designs, and they would only be those that Clara or Jagged recommended. It was a few months later that Gordon Ramsey visited her restaurant everyone was expecting Ramsey to find something to tear apart and were extremely surprised when he made a tweet praising Marinette's meals and her chefs talents. It actually spurred a friendship between the two and soon Gordon was added to the list of people that received her designs. After this everyone was going to Marinette's restaurant, they had reservations book 6 months out. Every day there is new pictures of celebrities at the restaurant Marinette was the new name in restaurants and cooking. She even agreed to star on some cooking shows. Her favorite guest spot was on Nailed it. The show was themed after heroes Jacques Torres made cupcakes specialized after America's heros, while Marinette made a five tier cake, each tier representing a different Parisian hero. Marinette lost it when she saw the cupcakes for Batman and Robin she couldn't stop laughing and immediately took pictures. Marinette and Jacques held multiple conversations in French, both struggling not to laugh as Nicole made faces at them. When Marinette pulled out the money gun she flicked her head done and a pair of Eiffel Tower shaped glasses covered her face. She looked at Nicole seriously and nodded before saying she was ready to complete the mission. This cause Nicole to burst into laughter.  After the winner was announced Marinette made another announcement, all three contestants and their family had an all expenses paid trip to Paris and a free meal at her restaurant Miraculous. It was shortly after that, that Marinette began to open more restaurants starting in each heroes city. Twenty-five percent of their earnings went to either the heros in question or a charity that they picked. Marinette's restaurants got popular quickly and soon she was named the youngest billionaire and only twenty-five years old. Everyone was shocked when majority of her money was put towards charity and thar she began different foundations to help others. She even began programs to pay for peoples schooling in university and colleges. Soon she was invited to charity events all over the world, from the Maria Stark Foundation to the Martha Wayne charity Gala. When she is twenty-six Marinette moves out of Audrey's penthouse and travels between different homes until settling down into a penthouse in New York. Audrey and Chloe both follow her over Audrey simply returning and establishing New York as her base of operations once again.

[sapphirelycoris]

𝑨 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑨𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 & 𝑨𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕: 𝑰

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Suggestive lines, pining (like a lot because Enji's a simp), enemies to lovers style writing, weird 19th century type dialogue but I think it's still readable. Please tell me if I missed any.

Ship: Enji Todoroki x female reader (she/her)

Word count:  2,707

Music: Pride & Prejudice Music & Ambiance

Author's note: I know some of the character's relationships with others are kind of weird but I casted them according to personality. For example, Ryuko reminds me of Charlotte Lucas and Nejire reminds me of her little sister, Maria. I just kind of threw names around haha... A NSFW and continuation soon to come. God, it's been a while since I posted anything on this blog.

Written/created for: @pleasantanathema's Through Ink and Quill | A Classics Collab

Summary: A Pride and Prejudice inspired piece, featuring Enji Todoroki as the male love interest. Loosely following the plot of the actual novel with a few twists on the actual story's dialogue, characters, & events. When you meet Mr. Enji Todoroki, he was the last man in the world you'd ever want to be around. However, as your paths cross more and more, you see that your first impression of him was inaccurate.

"The world works in mysterious ways. He doesn’t know what happened and when it began. Suddenly, Enji cannot stop longing to be in the same room with you. To go one more moment without you seemed like a sin or some unbearable divine punishment for his greatest flaw: pride."

𝑉𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑦𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦. 𝐴 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑛. 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠; 𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝘩𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠. -𝐽𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛

The world works in mysterious ways. He doesn’t know what happened and when it began. Suddenly, Enji cannot stop longing to be in the same room with you. He dreamed about the sight of your eyes, glancing at him with mild contempt. You occupied his thoughts, both innocent and indecent… He was going to go mad if you didn’t share the same affections that he did. He didn’t want you. Not at all. He needed you by his side. To go one more moment without you seemed like a sin or some unbearable divine punishment for his greatest flaw: pride.

When he blatantly insulted you at the first gathering he attended and saw you laugh about it with Ryuko, for once, he felt uneasy. The same woman he had slighted was now the one who controlled him. He noticed the way you looked embarrassed at your family’s antics. It disgusted him that he was obsessing over someone with that kind of background.

It certainly shocked Enji when you stood him up at Sir Yorio’s gathering. How dare you! For him to stoop down and offer to dance with you, only for you to reject him, was truly offensive. A woman far below his social status, refusing to stand up with him. The nerve. 

Every single snarky quip that left your lips swam around in his mind. Your sharp tongue was attractive. The moment he saw you with mud on your dress, walking from your home to Toshinori’s country estate, he was taken aback. For some reason, he couldn’t get rid of that image. The sun hit your face perfectly, creating an enchanting glow that accompanied your delightful countenance. 

“Ms. (L/N).” Your name rolled off his lips so naturally. 

The regrettable moment you had to leave Toshinori’s estate, he helped you into the carriage which would take you home. Something transpired, far beyond his comprehension. Your hand fit so perfectly in his, he couldn’t help but want it to stay there forever. The missing piece to a puzzling man such as himself finally found its way to its rightful spot. It seemed you wished for the same thing. His grip was secure, he felt safe, and you were trapped, staring into the most beautiful cerulean eyes. At the same time, Enji could drown in your eyes forever. The confused look you gave him was endearing when he refused to let go. 

His actions also startled him. Why was he so stuck on you? He flexed his hand, imagining that yours never left as he watched the carriage shrink, moving further from the manor and into the distance. When was the next time he would be allowed to see you? What was it going to take to cure this infatuation?

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

The next time he saw you, was under more unfortunate circumstances. He was riding downtown with Toshinori when he spotted your little party. Unlike his friend, Enji looked unhappy when he saw who you were talking with. You briefly exchanged eye contact with him before he had a clear look of disdain displayed on his face. 

Keigo’s eyes followed yours. He tipped his hat, but Enji made no attempt to return the friendly gesture. He hurried away on his horse without saying a word. The encounter was certainly unusual. Keigo looked discomforted by the interaction. You wondered what could have transpired between the two men that caused such tension. 

That night, at your aunt’s home, you sat down and heard what Keigo had to say about his reunion with Enji. He told his side of the story. He painted Enji as the villain in his narrative. Seeing as how you already found the man so disagreeable, you couldn’t help but believe Keigo’s words. He was much more forthcoming than his old friend; he didn’t seem capable of telling a lie. This new story caused you to see Enji in a new light, only deepening your dislike for the man. 

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Toshinori was a man of his word and held the ball that he promised your sisters. Enji was less unenthusiastic than he usually was. Knowing that he’d get to see you there was the night’s one redeeming feature. He was excited at the thought of getting to lay his eyes on you once more, and it sickened him.

Many of the officers were attending the ball. While linking arms with Toshinori and walking around the ballroom, you searched for Keigo among the redcoats the officers wore. Instead of finding him, you found a pair of familiar blue eyes that looked at you with well-hidden passion and yearning. Enji wanted to tear you away from Toshinori’s arms and have you all to himself. He had many selfish desires, and he usually got what he wanted, but you were the exception. 

Women fawned over him, trying to get a taste of his money. Even Rei tried being overly friendly with him. He cared little for them; he wasn’t looking to fall in love. He was not in search of a wife. Enji was quite content with the life he had. Everything he wanted was in his grasp. But you? You were so close yet so far. There was an uncomfortable amount of emotional space between you and he wanted to close it. Being in the same room wasn’t enough anymore. He wanted to touch you, feel your skin, claim those alluring lips for himself. He wanted to see your whole being without any pesky fabric in the way. If only he could rip that dress off of your body after forcefully pulling you into a vacant bedroom. 

He made his way over to you, but an officer blocked his view. He informed you that Keigo would not be in attendance. Part of it was because of an assignment he had to do, but he also wanted to avoid a certain man… Your younger sisters drug the officer away, leaving you alone in the middle of a crowded room. 

Fortunately, you spotted Ryuko, who was standing alone in the corner. You went to inform her of everything that had happened lately. An unwelcome guest interrupted you. 

“Ryuko, may I introduce you to my cousin, Mr. Tobita?” While remaining civil, you introduced them to each other. He took your hand and led you to dance. As it turns out, the man can’t dance. He went the wrong way, bumping into another lady. It was embarrassing, to say the least. 

Enji watched in amusement as he saw you struggle to keep a smile. You made eye contact with him again, almost sending him a look of desperation. Dancing with him would be better than your current situation. He simply smirked and waltzed around the room, observing everyone. 

While you were busy venting to Ryuko, the very man you were talking about came up to you. The two of you exchanged glances and bowed. “If you are not otherwise engaged, would you do me the honor of dancing the next with me?” Enji’s odd invitation made your eyes widen slightly.

There was no way out of it. You tried coming up with an excuse, but nothing came to mind. He smiled slyly as you fumbled over your words. “I- well I hadn’t... yes. Thank you…” With no escape, you were trapped. He walked off, and you lingered behind for a minute.

“You’d be a fool if you didn’t take him up on his offer. It’s a great compliment that he singled you out.” Ryuko commented. 

“The last time he singled me out was to slander me. Hateful man…” you hissed before going to follow him. 

As the music started to play, you studied Enji’s face. It was the first time you’d ever really taken the time to analyze all of his features. You hated to admit it, but he was handsome. Unusually handsome. 

Finally, your hand had made its way back into his. Even if it was only for a brief moment, that feeling would stick with him until the end of the night. The two of you danced around with your words, conversing back and forth when the time was appropriate. You simply couldn’t bear the silence. 

Couples pranced around the dance floor elegantly, stepping where they needed to. You two moved in sync, never letting your eyes wander. There was a burning passion for the man that you couldn’t get rid of. Whether it was burning hatred, lust, or love, you couldn’t tell. Hostility and tension seemed to be all that came out of your encounters with him. The sexual tension was the one thing that kept you from completely despising Enji and you hated it. 

In an attempt to rile him up, you remarked on Keigo and the last time Enji saw you. “The last time I was in town, I was forming a new acquaintance.” A sly grin spread across your face as the words came out. 

“Mr. Takami’s friendly personality is what allows him to make friends so easily. Though his ability to keep them is debatable.” 

“How unfortunate he must be, to lose your friendship, a loss I am sure he will regret for the rest of his life.” You mocked in an airy and hushed tone. Before Enji could snap back, Mr. Toyomitsu came over to hint at a marriage between your sister and Toshinori. The two of you glanced at the smiling pair before dancing again. “Didn’t you say that you rarely ever forgave? That your hatred, once set in stone, was set indefinitely? Surely a man such as yourself is careful when breeding such hatred.” 

“Of course I am.” Enji scoffed. 

“And I presume you do not let prejudice blind you?” 

“No. What is the purpose of these questions, if I may ask?” He grumbled, disliking your inquiries. 

“Simply a means to figure out your constitution.” You laughed, “Trying to get a good idea of your character.”

“And your findings?” 

“None. I have heard of you on different accounts by different people with different views of you. You shall remain a mystery until I comprehend you.” 

With the dance ending, Enji remained silent. Once the music faded, he supported your hand as you lightly held it over his. “I request that you do not attempt to perceive my character right now. It would do us no favors if you judged wrong.” He claimed as you left the dance floor.

“I may not get another opportunity, so I might as well try while I have the chance.” 

Enji placed himself right next to you and leaned to whisper in your ear. He lowered his voice, making sure only you could hear. “I would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours.” His finger brushed against your arm as he walked away. All the heat in your body rushed to that spot. You wanted his warmth against your skin, you didn’t want him to go. 

And yet, you were standing alone in the corner of a crowded room, fixated on the man who you swore to never like. 

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Much had happened over a short amount of time. You had rejected Mr. Tobita’s marriage proposal and got an earful from your mother. Keigo got engaged to a rich young lady, and Ryuko had gotten engaged to Mr. Tobita. Enji and Toshinori’s party had left his estate, and your sister was disheartened. Everyone had such high expectations for her and Toshinori, only for him to up and leave. 

Now, you were on your own adventure. You, Sir Yorio, and Nejire were going to visit her and Mr. Tobita. They lived in a small house on Lady Chiyo’s property. Greenery grew on the stone, adding to the natural feel of the house. It was a quaint little grey structure with a clear blue sky in the background.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Ryuko and her husband rushed out the door to greet you. They showed you to your rooms while Mr. Tobita kept on about Lady Chiyo’s house and how grand it was. It seemed he was more in love with Chiyo than his own wife.

“Are you happy here?” You asked Ryuko as you watched the other three walk around the garden.

“I am quite content with my situation. I barely see him during the day. He sits in his book room, walks to Lady Chiyo’s every day, and-”

“And you prefer to sit in your own wing of the house.” You finished. Whether it was what she was going to say or not, you stated your mind. Ryuko smiled wistfully, “Yes.” 

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

While you and Ryuko were walking through the woods, along with Nejire, Mr. Tobita came running after you. He was clearly out of breath but told you his news, anyway. Enji and his cousin, Kugo, had arrived. He urged you to make your way back to the house, since they wanted to visit with them.

“Pleasure to finally meet you Ms. (L/N).” Kugo smiled.

“Oh? ‘Finally’, sir?” 

“My cousin speaks of you often.” He informed.

“Ah…” You sighed, looking over at Enji who met your gaze, only hungrier. 

Enji’s eyes never left you, though. There was a protective aura emitting from him. Just in case Kugo spoke or acted out of line, he was ready to come to your aid at any moment. He rested his knuckles against his mouth. Instead of addressing anyone else in the room, he was intently watching and listening to your conversation. 

“Pray tell, why is Mr. Todoroki staring at me?” You asked Kugo, having enough of being watched over like you were some kind of prey, “Have I done or said something he finds offensive?” 

The man stood up from the sofa and meandered over to the table you were seated at. He had no control of his own actions. It was quite an impulsive move, and now he didn’t know what to say. “How is your family?” He choked out. 

“Well.” You replied, “My sister has been in town for quite some time. Have you happened to see her?” 

“No.” Enji lied, “Unfortunately not.” 

“As you can tell, Mr. Todoroki and I are not very close.” 

“Really? I find that hard to believe.” Kugo exclaimed.

“Truly? I believe in first impressions, however, Mr. Todoroki’s good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.” Your words caused him to turn around, and he saw your smiling face, making a joke of him. 

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

The grounds of Lady Chiyo’s property were breathtaking. When the weather allowed, you took advantage of the sprawling greenery and went out for as many walks as you could. Without a cloud in the sky, an endless sea of blue, and shining sun, you wasted no time in getting outside. It was much more productive and enjoyable than sitting in the house.

A beautiful little trail, hidden by the estate’s magnificent trees, was the path you found yourself walking along. You looked up to admire how tall the trees had grown. They stood proud and provided you with shade. The birds sang a lovely little tune, supplying you with a unique sound that rivaled that of the best musicians. 

Enji came trotting through the path from the side. He halted his horse once he saw you. No painting could do you justice, even one made by the best painter in the world could compare to your beauty in person. The sight of you admiring the picture in front of you made his heart pound. Though you said nothing, he believed that you, taking the time to simply look at him, was the greatest compliment he would ever receive. 

And for those few precious minutes, he drank in your appearance. He was hopelessly in love with you. Being in your presence was the best part of his day. He found himself looking forward to seeing you. He always prayed for you to cross paths with him. Even if he simply caught a glimpse of you, suddenly it brightened his entire day. 

Unfortunately, he had other things to do. Enji spurred his horse forward and trotted away. Your presence in his life was much bigger than he expected when he first met you. And somehow… he didn’t mind it. He hated yet loved the feeling of being in love.

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Two Gods, One Braincell Ch.5 Reflections

Summary: You must pass one introspection check to move on.

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

Kagami eyed Nino as he flew just behind Adrien and herself. Tail twitching as she contemplated whether she was more amused or annoyed.

"We're not going to do anything, Nino," Adrien called back, paws skimming over the air currents. "You don't have to keep following us."

"Uh-huh," Nino replied, unconvinced. Not looking up from preparing his tea, which laid in front of him on an extra large hexagon. "That's what you always say."

"What reason have we given you to doubt us?" Kagami snorted, exhaling a small cloud that drifted into Nino.

Nino wiped the specks of moisture that clung to his hair and face with one hand. Flicking his other wrist, a scroll appearing and starting to unroll. "You want the short version?"

"I can't believe you have a list!" Adrien pouted.

Kagami wondered how he did that in cat form. "You know the council insists protectors keep a record of their interventions."

"I know, love. I meant: I can't believe you brought a list with you!" Adrien eyed the scroll as it kept unrolling. Fluttering in the wind as it went on and on... and on. "Isn't this a bit off?"

"These are just the natural disasters." Using his free hand to hold his tea up and sip from it, Nino looked rather smug.

A mischievous gleam sparked in Kagami's eyes. "Like that volcanic eruption you and Alya were intimately familiar with?"

Nino choked on his tea. The now kilometer long scroll shot back into his hand and vanished. "Th-th-that was one time!"

Kagami was only mildly disappointed he didn't spray tea everywhere but the rest of his reaction was incredibly satisfying. "Yes. It was very memorable."

Sidling up to Nino, Adrien shifted, hand reaching for the teapot. "Such passion, you were lucky that tsunami dissipated before hitting any of the inhabited islands."

Cheeks darkening in embarrassment, Nino sat up straight. "You wanna talk volcanoes? What about- Oh, no, you don't!"

Nino snatched his teapot out of Adrien's reach and pushed him away with his foot. "Tea is for best friends who behave!"

"Aw, c'mon, Nino! Please?" Adrien widened his eyes and added a subtle halo to his hair.

Eye twitching at the assault on his resolve, Nino forced himself to shake his head.

Shifting, Kagami knelt opposite Nino on his hexagon. "Adrien, initiate Plan Neko."

Grinning, Adrien shifted and laid his feline head on his paws. Large eyes sparkling as his ears drooped pleadingly.

Nino tried to hide behind his hands but it was too late. He could feel those big, feline eyes staring at him. So innocent and trusting and- "Alright, fine! Just stop, god!"

"Yay!"

Adrien materialized his cup and held it out to Nino. Kagami following suit. Glaring at both of them, Nino reluctantly poured them tea.

Eagerly bringing the hot liquid to his lips, Adrien gasped. Sticking his tongue out as it burned him.

Nino scowled, arms crossed. "Why're you so darn cute?"

"Adrien is significantly larger than a lion and his claws can tear through the fabric of reality," Kagami pointed out as she blew on her tea.

"I know! It's adorable!"

Well, she couldn't argue with that. "Agreed."

Adrien beamed like the cat who got the cream at their praise. Then reached for the container of said cream.

She eyed him with mild displeasure.

Noticing this, Nino smirked. "If you're going to be together you'll have to get used to Adrien taking his tea with milk."

Kagami waved this away. "Just because Adrien has terrible taste in tea doesn't mean I love him any less."

Sticking his tongue out in a decidedly more deliberate manner, Adrien exaggerated the motion of adding his milk.

Smiling at her chosen partner's foolery Kagami sipped regally from her own cup. "... It was Marinette's idea for you to follow us, wasn't it?"

Far less embarrassed at being found out than about the volcano incident Nino just shrugged.

"Just like a creation goddess to butt in on another goddesses' business." Though Kagami acknowledged that Marinette was particularly prone to this.

"I mean, Mari's hardly ever wrong, goddess," Nino reminded her.

"It's that sort of thinking that let's her get away with it." Kagami pointed a finger at Nino for emphasis. Dragons had long memories and Kagami was no ordinary dragon.

"As opposed to you, Ryuko," Adrien teased her. "You never let anyone get away with anything."

"I accept your gratitude for preventing the formation of bad habits."

Adrien's eyes softened as he smiled at her. Kagami taking a careful sip as pink dusted her cheeks. By the heavens those eyes were dangerous.

"Gods if you could not make me the third wheel that would be great!" Nino protested.

Turning to face his best friend, Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Oh, like you and Alya were so subtle."

"Subtler than you two."

He thought that wasn't being subtle? Kagami leaned forward and pulled Adrien close to her. Then planted a kiss firmly on his lips. The wind picked up along with their heartbeats. Thunder booming in the distance. Clouds swirling together.

Breaking apart with a gasp, Kagami glanced at Nino and- The smug little turtle was grinning! Chin resting on his cupped hands as he gazed happily at them.

"Oh, no. Please stop," Nino protested sarcastically.

Blinking to clear the surprise and passion from his eyes Adrien looked from Nino to Kagami. A single name passed between them. "Alya."

This is what Kagami got for being friends with love goddesses. She was used to Alya and Marinette's shenanigans, though. And gave as good as she got.

"I warned you," Adrien intoned.

"Doesn't count, god!" Nino protested.

Instead of replying Adrien gently turned Kagami's face and gave her a kiss of his own. More prepared this time, the only reaction was sparks of lightning between them. The stormclouds they accidentally summoned already dissipating.

Letting their breath mix together,  Kagami asked. "What was that for?"

"You caught me by surprise." The 'I barely had time to enjoy it' came across as clearly as if Adrien had spoken aloud.

Stretching as he stood up, Adrien rolled his neck. Eyes locking onto Nino's. They grinned at each other.

Nino shot off the hexagon as Adrien pounced after him.

Kagami traced her name on its surface to stabilize it in case Nino's magic was directed elsewhere. Considering the way he ran across floating, hexagonal steps with Adrien at his heels that was very likely.

Her scales itched to be a part of the hunt but two against one was hardly fair. She'd ask to spar with Adrien later to make up for it. And if he thought 'Ryuko' would go easy on him just because they were together... No, Adrien never insulted anyone by going easy on them. It was one of the reasons she liked him so much.

Case in point, Nino was Adrien's best friend. He was barely keeping out of Adrien's paws but Adrien didn't let up.

Kagami stared at the reflection in her cup, thinking about her friends. Marinette liked to think she thought things through more than others. This was inaccurate. She was simply annoyingly good at thinking on her feet. While Kagami was arguably the better combatant, Marinette was invariably the best strategist.

And Nino kept his wits about him when even Marinette had trouble finding hers. As demonstrated by the momentary shift into his large turtle form to rebound Adrien from his magically reinforced shell before scampering off again.

Adrien, when he bothered to use it, had more forethought than any of them. However, his intelligence was usually overshadowed by his impulsiveness. Something Kagami also needed to work on. But his instinctive talent with people was second to none. Kagami often thought that if he had been a love god no one could stand against him.

There was a flash as Adrien shattered Nino's magical shield... Not that standing against him now was an easy task.

He was a contradiction. Adrien the Destroyer. Adrien the Merciful. Countless mortals would never know that he had chosen to spare them judgment where other destroyers did not hesitate.

Kagami... understood what it was like to have a complex relationship between mortals and her sacred duty. Every piece of himself Adrien shared with her gave her a clearer picture of who he is.

Marinette by contrast was more confusing. She couldn't not imagine every possible consequence to a given scenario. It wasn't in her nature. Yet, whenever her friends were involved she plunged in headfirst without bothering to check for rocks beneath the surface. Kagami enjoyed teasing her about that for the next few decades.

Creation goddesses were never satisfied. Even a 'finished work' was merely a stepping stone to something greater. As such, they tended to deliberate. Destroyers were the ax that cut off the infected branch to save the tree. A task that appeared deceptively straightforward on the outside.

Much like Adrien's fighting style. He didn't let up. Didn't give his opponent room to breathe, time to think. A development no doubt spurred by his many sparring sessions with Marinette and, Kagami was pleased to note, integrating part of her own fighting style.

Despite the generally fickle nature of other weather gods' Kagami always knew what she wanted in a way her friends and now partner didn't. Weather had patterns, rules, seasons. In spite of her disregard for the council (and love for an embodiment of chaos) Kagami valued order.

Maybe that was why she was so drawn to them. They broke the rules in different ways. Marinette regarded rules more as polite suggestions. Taking whatever steps she thought necessary in any given situation. Adrien followed all he believed to be fair (another contradiction). If a rule protected someone he would defend it utterly and break it as casually as shifting if someone was harmed by it.

Kagami fell somewhere in the middle. Dragons were creatures of order. Yet here she was, disobeying the council on her way to break a curse that was most definitely deserved when it was cast. 

Adrien landing back on the hexagon with his arms locked around Nino's head was a welcome distraction. Kagami had no desire to go over her Mother's lessons on Celestial Law at the moment.

"We talked about this, Nino," Adrien chastised. "What did we say about enabling love goddesses?"

"Can we call it something else?" Nino squirmed in Adrien's unyielding hold. Unsuccessfully trying to push his head out.

"No," Kagami stated simply.

"Aw, c'mon gods! You know things usually work out!" Nino was referring to Marinette and Alya's meddling.

"Marinette already thinks she's smarter than everyone. I won't have Alya thinking it too." They'd be insufferable together (more than usual) and Kagami could not allow that. Her dignity took enough hits as it is.

Twisting his head at an angle to get a better look at her, Nino pointed out. "Marinette is smarter than everyone."

Adrien nodded appreciatively. "He's got a point, love."

"All the more reason!" Kagami knew, intellectually, that she was being silly. But... it'd been a long time since she got the opportunity. "What did we say about enabling love goddesses?" she repeated Adrien's words.

Nino sighed. "To, not to."

Adrien released him after playfully rubbing his hair. "It's for their own good," Adrien reminded him.

"I don't see why-"

"Your tea's getting cold." Kagami pointed at the barely steaming cup.

"Nooooooo!" Rushing forward, Nino quickly downed it before it could cool any further.

Adrien mimicked his best friend but his tea was still quite hot.

Smirking at him, Kagami answered Nino's unfinished question. "I like my privacy."

"It's true. My Ryuko values her alone time." Adrien sighed contentedly as he drank a protector's tea.

Kagami arched an eyebrow the way Adrien had taught her. "Your Ryuko?"

Tilting his head, Kagami could've sworn Adrien shifted for a second. "Am I not your cat?"

Trying to hide her blooming blush, Kagami brought her cup up and subtly lengthened the sleeves of her kimono.

That didn't stop Adrien from purring. Obviously taking her reaction as affirmation. He laid his hand between them and Kagami wrapped her fingers around his.

"Love you, Ryuko," Adrien stated simply, sincerely. For no other reason than because he wished to say it.

"And I love you." In the back of her mind Kagami decided he was far too good at making her blush. The scales had to be balanced... later.

"And Alya thought they needed a push," Nino mumbled to himself, refilling his cup.

Unbothered by the great winds of the upper sky, the three gods flew towards the setting sun. Speaking of events millennia past throughout the night. Their destination illuminated by the dawn.

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

@kagamiappreciationweek2020 Super late!

[houkagokappa]

Favourite anime of the decade

Although I only began watching anime in 2013 and thus didn’t think I could make a post like this, I started to think about which shows I would pick if I would make it, and before I knew it I had it composed. I chose the anime that meant the most to me and I feel a strong connection to, not necessarily the ones I think were the best of each year (though in a way they are the same).

The anime for 2010-2012 are series I watched after they originally aired and the anime I picked for 2013-2019 are all series I watched as they aired.

Under the cut because this is super long and incredibly self-indulgent. You’ve been warned.

2010 - Katanagatari

What better way is there to start this list than with Katanagatari, an epic that took the entire year to air.

I watched Katanagatari with my university’s anime association in 2014-2015. I didn’t know anything about it beforehand, which is why I like attending our anime meetings. They’ve introduced me to a lot of great anime I otherwise never would’ve watched (or in this case wouldn’t have discovered until much later).

I love the colourful world and the interesting characters, the banter and all the twists. The ending to Katanagatari is one of the best endings to any anime ever. It’s a great story with a good structure and an amazing conclusion. Nanami is the best girl and we need to treasure her. That’s all.

2011 - Mawaru Penguindrum

What better way is there to continue this list, than with my favourite anime ever?

After watching and falling in love with Utena, I had Penguindrum on my radar, but I didn’t feel rushed to watch it anytime soon. Then one day, about half a year later I saw a gif of Ringo with the burning diary on my dash, which looked super cool and I took it as a sign to finally start the series.

I watched all of Penguindrum over a long weekend in November 2014 at my parents place. I remember being sick, just as I had been when I first watched Utena, which is a weird coincidence and possibly something needed for additional effect. I saw half of it on my laptop in my bed and half of it on our TV in the living room, which I regret, because turns out it’s not the kind of show you want your parents to get glimpses of. I still remember the fear I felt when episode 14 rolled around and my dad was sitting with his back to the TV and I PRAYED that he wouldn’t turn around to question me or why I was watching some animated lesbian bondage infused attempted rape scene... I also don’t know why I thought Penguindrum wouldn’t throw something like that at me, I had seen the previous 13 episodes...

Anyway, that’s my favourite anime of all time, ever. I love all of its themes to death, and it’s such a beautiful and emotional series. I think the first episode is one of the best first episodes of any anime ever and I love how the ending ties back to the very first scene. 

I could write an entire essay on why I love Penguindrum and why it’s the best series ever (well, competing with Utena for that title), but I think anyone reading this already knows why, so I’ll leave you with the funny anecdote above instead. And if you haven’t seen Penguindrum yet do yourself a favor and go watch it NOW. This is the Ringo gif for you!

2012 - Nisemonogatari

I love the Monogatari series. I love the unique animation and visual style, the amazing characters and the fun dialogues. I also really love Nisemonogatari in particular and I’m sad how it’s often dismissed for being the least interesting season or for being nothing but fanservice. I watch Monogatari specifically for the dialogue (and visuals). I don’t care about the plot as much as I care about the character interactions and Nisemonogatari delivers with those. More specifically I appreciate how well it divides the time spent with each girl. Later on in the series there are long breaks where some of the characters don’t appear at all and I end up missing them, but with Nisemonogatari we get a little bit of everyone (of those who have appeared so far). Of course it’s also great how Nisemonogatari introduces us to some new characters and upcoming plot points and contains a lot of cool foreshadowing, but that’s beside the point. All I want is the dialogue. I don’t even care what they’re talking about, Monogatari manages to make anything interesting.

I watched all of Monogatari during my spring break (lol) in 2015. I also watched it at my parents place, on the TV in our living room, which was great because Monogatari deserves a bigger screen. This time around I was older and wiser and didn’t have my parents around. It was just me and my sister and although Bakemonogatari impressed me so much I tried to make her interested in it, I wasn’t successful with that so I got to watch it in peace (peace). (In hindsight, with consideration for what was to come, that was probably for the best).

As another fun fact I should add that although I was super impressed with Monogatari, I didn’t consider myself a die-hard fan until a year or so later. I was happy to watch Owarimonogatari in the fall, and glad to see the announcement for the Kizumonogatari movies that came after it, but I wasn’t over the moon thrilled about it until I actually watched the first movie. It had to grow on me a little bit, which isn’t unusual when it comes to my favourites. I loved Utena the first time I saw it, but it took months for my obsession to build and grow and fully develop. Maybe because they’re both shows that leave the viewer with a lot to think about, so you only realise their full brilliance later on?

2013 - Kill la Kill

I began watching anime in the spring of 2013, when Shingeki no Kyojin, Free! and Dangan Ronpa began airing, because Homestuck went on a hiatus and that’s what the content on my dash changed into. I also began attending conventions and in January 2014 I went to Yukicon. At the con I ran into an acquaintance of mine and joined her gang, who decided to go and listen to a panel called “Kill la Kill - is this how Trigger saved anime?”. I would never had gone there on my own, since I wasn’t watching Kill la Kill or interested in starting it, but I’m glad I did because that was my first proper introduction to Kill la Kill and what ultimately sparked my interest for it.

When I tried the first episode I didn’t like it a whole lot. I hated the style, it was so sketchy and ugly and the fanservice made me uncomfortable. However, the first episode was really good at setting up the story and I was curious to see how it would continue so I kept watching. I didn’t love the following episodes either, but there was something that compelled me to keep watching and 4 or 5 episodes in I began liking it once the story and Ryuko’s personality had managed to fully suck me in. I binged the first half until I was caught up with the airing episodes and then I had fun waiting for the new episodes each week. I don’t remember much more about my initial reactions, but because it’s one of the first anime I ever saw and one of the first airing anime I ever followed it’ll always have a special place in my heart.

I’ve since rewatched Kill la Kill multiple times and it still holds up. I love the crazy energy, all the different personalities and characters and the amazing twists. I also grew to love the style, it’s very distinct and now that I’ve seen more anime I appreciate it all the more.

Having loved Kill la Kill and hearing so much about Trigger, I started to follow them and make sure to watch everything else they would put out. I like to think that we both started out at the same time, because this was their first anime as a new studio and one of the first anime I followed. Trigger has a special place in my heart as much as Kill la Kill does.

2014 - Selector Infected WIXOSS

Battoru battoru!

Selector Infected WIXOSS is probably the least known anime on this list. I was introduced to it by a friend who at the time watched everything that aired. She sold it to me as a Madoka-ripoff (knowing I was a huge fan), which it kinda is, but also not at all and people should stop using that phrase. It’s about girls who make wishes and suffer, but that’s where the similarities end. It’s also very much what I’m into, I love a good show with dark and somewhat taboo topics, lesbian undertones and all that jazz. It got a second season which concludes the story, but any continuation past that is not worth anyone’s time.

It was written by Mari Okada and made to sell cards. I own a set and I’m still waiting for the day when I get to play with them.

2015 - Hibike! Euphonium

Hibike! Euphonium is another anime that I watched and liked, then loved, then became absolutely obsessed over long after it had already ended. I picked it up only because it was a music anime and I had just finished Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso and was in the mood for another similar show. (I also picked up ShigaUso on a whim, because someone I followed on tumblr was hyping it up as a music lover). I’m not a musician, but I loved the series regardless and ended up relating to Kumiko and her struggles like I’ve never related to anyone before (even though the specifics of our struggles are somewhat different). Hibike! Euphonium is one of the first pieces of media that made me cry, not over a sad scene, but over a emotionally charged one when Kumiko realises she wants to succeed, she wants to win and get better and put her whole heart into her playing. (I vividly remember telling my friend about how an anime made me cry and being super embarrassed to reveal which one, because it was so new and personal to me).

Hibike! Euphonium is a beautifully made, incredibly touching anime. It’s done with so much care and so much love. I also have a lot of precious memories attached to it; I went to Kyoto for a student exchange and took the opportunity to spend an entire day in Uji, where Hibike! Euphonium takes place. I visited most of the locations seen in the anime, cried about how ridiculously realistic everything is, sat on Kumiko’s bench by the river, randomly met up with some Japanese fans and ended the day on top of Mt. Daikichi, as seen in episode 8. It was one of the best days in my life!

2016 - Doukyuusei

I was introduced to Doukyuusei through the Penguindrum tag on tumblr. Either tumblr was broken (very likely) or someone was spamming it (also very likely), but there were a couple of posts promoting Doukyuusei that showed up in the tag CONSTANTLY. They weren’t terribly out of place because the director of Doukyuusei (Nakamura Shouko) was previously known for her work on Penguindrum, but I should add that there were so many of those posts, actual Penguindrum posts (which there weren’t many of to begin with) disappeared among them, which made me quite annoyed with Doukyuusei.

Then the trailer came out and I watched it and it seemed pretty cool. I think I even glanced at the manga, but I didn’t think much of it. Then the anime came out and everyone was sharing gifs from it and they looked so good I watched the movie as soon as I could. Even though the quality of the first stream I found wasn’t great I loved it and watched it again as soon as I finished it the first time, and then again the next day when a better stream came out.

By reblogging Doukyuusei a mutual started talking about it with me and our conversation made me pick up the manga again, mainly since I found out that there’s a continuation to the story. Now that I properly read it I really fell in love with it and Nakamura Asumiko’s artstyle. I also find it funny how when I looked her up in order to find out about her other works, I realised I had looked her up before thanks to her joint project with Ikuhara. Back then I wasn’t in the mood to read Nokemono to Hanayome and I didn’t care for “some BL mangaka” to continue checking her out, but now that I’d found her again it all came back to me. I think it’s really neat and funny how I’ve been introduced to her through Ikuhara several times over!

Back to Doukyuusei, I love it a lot because it’s a very sweet and simple story. It feels realistic. I like the flow of time, or rather how it skips forward a lot and we only get small glimpses of the more important moments in their relationship, along with some of the small cute ones. It’s not an amazingly unique story, but it feels very refreshing, maybe because of how basic it is. I’m not sure how to best describe it, but at the end of the day it’s a very wholesome story about two boys who fall in love and there aren’t that many of those, especially not any that have gotten anime adaptations.

It’s quite short for a movie, which makes it very easy to watch. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen it. During my exchange, I spent 10 days in Tokyo at an Airbnb that asked me not to stream anything, so in order to have something to do in the evenings I downloaded Doukyuusei and watched it every other night. I also used to watch it at least every month for more than a year and as a general pick-me-up whenever I was feeling down. I know the entire movie by heart by now.

2017 - Owarimonogatari 2nd season

I already shared how I got into Monogatari and why I love it so much. Yet, or precisely therefore it shows up on this list again (though all things considered it should be a bonus instead of an entry). The second season to Owarimonogatari is an amazing conclusion to an amazing series (not that it’s the conclusion at all). Hachikuji is my favourite character so it was great to see her again after so long (see my comments about Nisemonogatari) and I’m still crying over the brilliance of her kamimashita gag. It was also very rewarding to get an end to the mystery that was Ougi.

The anime came out while I was on a field course in Tvärminne. I remember it well, because I had the luxury of having a room to myself and an entire afternoon to chill there. I began watching it and had a really good time doing so until a classmate of mine came knocking on my door, asking me to join him in some game and I had to choose between being social or watching the long awaited new season of Monogatari. It was a tough choice to leave Hachikuji behind (I’M SO SORRY), but I ditched her and joined them. After that I didn’t have enough time to finish the series, until it was time for us to leave. I couldn’t get a car ride all the way to Helsinki, but I managed to get one to the Inkoo library and my dad to pick me up from there maybe an hour or two later which was the perfect time and perfect place to continue watching Monogatari. I really haven’t learned anything when it comes to watching possibly questionable anime with other people around. Luckily no one lives in Inkoo, so I got to watch it entirely undisturbed. Good memories indeed.

2017 BONUS - Eromanga-sensei

Look. I couldn’t honestly write this list without including Eromanga-Sensei. I unironically like the series. It began when I read the LN just to pass the time and have something to laugh at. Then the anime got announced and I knew I’d watch it, but I wasn’t really into it yet (the LN’s aren’t that good). Then they made a figure of Sagiri and I got it because I really love her design and then I started to look forward to the anime more, because I began having certain expectations for it and suddenly I’m here blogging about my first impressions of it (which are now lost forever, yay!).

I actually find the story to be quite touching and I got emotional watching the anime. Sagiri and Masamune have lost and gained their families multiple times over and now with all their parents dead it’s just the two of them left, both desperate and scared and unsure, wanting to find and create a new family and sense of belonging for themselves. It’s also a really well-made series, all the production values are top notch, the animation is fluid, the music is nice and the voice acting is great. It’s pretty funny and although none of the characters are particularly likeable, it’s an enjoyable series to watch. You can’t take it too seriously though. I had a really fun time with it, mostly because I made myself have a good time with it. I didn’t care about any of the memes and I got made fun of by all my friends, but that’s what I mostly remember 2017 anime for. I can’t wait for the second season, which we will inevitable get!!

2018 - 3-gatsu no Lion 2nd Season

3-gatsu no Lion is another anime that grew on me over time. I had difficulties watching and finishing both seasons, because at times it’s a really slow series, but I still consider it one of my favourites and one of the best series ever made. The second season was even better than the first and I sincerely hope we’ll get a third, and a fourth and a fifth or however many are required to finish the entire story.

Shaft has again done an incredible job with the visuals. I love the entire production, the music and voice acting and the overall feeling. The bullying arc was amazing, super emotional and raw and I love how it dealt with the aftermath and how there wasn’t a simple solution and how everything didn’t get fixed overnight, because that’s not how it works in real life. I love how Rei got a lot of personal growth. I love seeing him starting to rely on others more and become more comfortable with himself and what he likes and wants. It’s incredible how all the characters are multifaceted and how 3-gatsu makes me care for them (I’m cheering on you, pidgeon-man!). The Kawamoto family emits so much warm and positive energy I can’t help but cry everytime I see them. In fact, I used to prepare for each episode by making myself a nice, often Japanese styled meal, since there’s such a huge focus on delicious looking food in the anime I would always get hungry watching it, and a packet of tissues because I would cry every. single. week. It was ridiculous.

It’s not an easy series to get into, but probably the only series I feel the need to recommend to everyone I meet, just because it really is an amazing series that explores the human psyche and an incredibly rewarding watch once you get into it.

2019 - Sarazanmai

Do I even need to write something here? Anime of the decade, no question about it. 

There’s something really special in being able to follow an anime project you’re passionate about right from the start and I’m glad I got to do it with an Ikuhara project, because his anime is on a whole other level and speaks to me in ways no other media does. This was also the first time I took on such an active role in the fandom, which has been incredibly fun, but a bit taxing as well. However, if there is an anime that gets better once you share your thoughts on it with others each week, it’s Ikuhara’s.

Sarazanmai ended up being what I expected and nothing like it. I don’t know how, but it managed to exceed my expectations, even though they were skyhigh and I was worried about getting let down, especially since Yurikuma Arashi didn’t live up to my expectations for it. Sarazanmai however, was everything I wanted and more.

I love the story and themes, I love the characters, I love how there was so much going on, but they managed to make it work and have a satisfying ending. The musical numbers were insanely good and I love all the crazy shirikodama shenanigans. Watching Sarazanmai is like being on an emotional rollercoaster, with just the right amount of everything. I can’t wait to see what Ikuhara comes up with in the next decade!!

---

If you’ve read this far, thank you for your time. I hope you enjoyed this and I applaud you for getting through all of it. If you feel like it, please share your picks with me, I’m curious to see what they are!

[mai-is-gai]

Sometimes i dream of weird scenarios featuring my anime gays, whether they'd be drawings I'm making, a video game, finding and watching lost episodes, or just me playing like a kid and acting this stuff out for myself (tho most of the time it looks like the actual thing is happening until something happens and the camera pans out to show this), a lot of the time I will be just one of the characters, but it will be me doing the things idk

There's a lot of Homu being meek and scared while in the middle of an adventure with Madoka,, Ryuko, Mako and Guts just fucking people's shit up (often in my backyard, but with actual plants),, and Mai and Yukko just vibin and having adventures. It's great.

Last night tho, I dreamt that they were all popping up and meeting each other and making weird connections. Like it starts with Madoka and Homura reaching some place, and suddenly Ryuko and Mako (drawn in a really cool style) show up and they're like woah what is this, and then oh shit we both have history with weird exploitative aliens and weird transforming clothes, cool,life is scary and bad sometimes but look at us we're so cool, and I was building it up in my head to when Mai and Yukko show up and they'd be like hey that girl looks like you kinda (Homu and Mai, Mako and Yukko), and then they're like wait what your lives are so cool but scary wtf were just here being weird in school tho our friend is a robot so that's cool, but before they could appear, it panned out to me drawing these and making notes on the side, before my dad was like hurry up you have to go to the airport now, and I was like but mom didn't even tell me the places I'm flying to or the times wtf, also I haven't packed anything, also why the fuck am I just casually flying to Japan on my own in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic??

[marshmallowgoop]

Sushio’s latest Kill la Kill fanart got me thinking.

[Image description: A sketch. Ryuko walks briskly, her hands in the pockets of her jacket. She smiles at Senketsu beside her, who appears to be very happy.]

See, Senketsu... doesn’t exactly get a ton of stuff like this. Kill la Kill animator doujin and Twitter accounts won’t include much content featuring him.

And that’s totally fine, of course! These are drawings the staff do for fun, and I completely understand if drawing Senketsu ain’t as fun as drawing human characters.

But I actually got the Kill la Kill Starter Book recently, which was originally sold at Comiket 84 and then included as a purchase bonus on Aniplex+:

[Image description: The cover of the Kill la Kill Starter Book. It's an illustration of Ryuko Matoi and Senketsu by Hiroyuki Imaishi. Ryuko stands, smiling, wearing an untransformed Senketsu and holding her Scissor Blade.]

And flipping through the book, I was reminded that while Senketsu may not get a lot of animator fanart, he does get some good official art.

Now, I dunno how "official" the Starter Book really is. (I mean, it was sold at Comiket originally, so maybe it’s more in the “animator fanart” category, but at the same time, it is also a product kind of featured on the official Kill la Kill site, and, like, the SSSS. Gridman Starter Book was sold on Trigger’s online shop....)

But if you do consider the starter book to be official merchandise, then Sachiko Yajima's piece is not only my favorite in the collection but one of my favorite pieces of official Kill la Kill art, period.

The image is very simple; it's an illustration of Ryuko holding her bag behind her, smiling down at Senketsu. It’s nothing elaborate, but its sweetness means the world to me. With Kill la Kill’s fast pace, we rarely get those quiet moments where these two are just happy together.

And there’s more good stuff where that came from! Here are some more of my favorite pieces of official/semi-official Kill la Kill artwork that feature Senketsu!

1. Hug

[Image source]

[Image description: Ryuko hugs Senketsu, naked, smiling. He looks up at her, his mouth around her arms. Sparkles surround them, implying that they're Synchronizing through the hug.]

First, the final Blu-ray/DVD cover, by Sushio (sushio_)! So sweet. This is what Kill la Kill ultimately wants you to take away from it. 

The recently released Promare Blu-ray/DVD cover gave me flashbacks:

Two characters and a representation of their synchronized way of fighting together. My heart.

2. Waving Goodbye

[Image source]

[Image description: Three characters are pictured. On the top, Senketsu waves goodbye. Below them, Ryuko smiles in Senketsu-Kisaragi and waves goodbye, winking. At the bottom, Guts sleeps with a big snot bubble coming out of his nose.]

Then, also from the final Kill la Kill volume, the adorable side art by Mago (magodesu)! Ryuko and Senketsu happy in Senketsu-Kisaragi, and Senketsu waving goodbye? My heart. Again.

I love Ryuko's winking. Her hand covers Senketsu's right eye, she's closing her left... the symmetry....

3. Date

[Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4]

[Image descriptions: The first image depicts Ryuko in a yellow bikini, smiling as she holds Senketsu’s sleeves. The second image is of a figure designed after this image. The third and fourth images are cards made from this image, called “Swimsuit Ryuko” and “Senketsu’s Date with Ryuko.”]

And of course, I can't talk about favorite official Senketsu art without mentioning Akira Amemiya's "Senketsu's Date with Ryuko"! An illustration, two cards, a figure... this is one image they really want you to see. Kill la Kill is actually adorable.

4. Don’t Look...

[Image source]

[Image description: A double-sided dakimakura, with one side featuring Ryuko in Synchronized Senketsu and the other side featuring Satsuki in Overridden Junketsu. Ryuko looks bashful and tries to cover Senketsu's eye. Satsuki looks angry and ready to attack with her sword, Bakuzan.]

Next up, I don't think I'd call this a "fave" exactly; it breaks my heart. But I appreciate (?) that Senketsu is acknowledged in the semi-official dakimakura.

Ryuko and Senketsu were drawn by Shota Iwasaki (tarou2), and Satsuki and Junketsu were drawn by Mai Yoneyama (yonema).

5. Shocked

[Image source]

[Image description: Official Kill la Kill breast mousepads. There is one for Ryuko in Synchronized Senketsu and one for Satsuki in Overridden Junketsu. Both girls have their arms up. Ryuko looks bashful. Satsuki looks angry. Senketsu is shocked.]

On the same note, I could say similar things about these official mousepads found on Trigger's Kill la Kill site. Why is it that fanservice products pay more attention to Senketsu's character than a lot of discussion on the show? I cry. 

6. Bath Time

[Image source]

[Image description: A figure. The description on the site reads, “This figure captures the Kill La Kill protagonist at an awkward time, as she's just getting out of a hot spring. Water drips down her body, and the only thing keeping her from being totally exposed is a tiny, soaked towel. While she looks shamed and demure, she still has a chance to take it out on you with severe prejudice. Her trusty Scissor Blade is just mere feet behind her, and Senketsu, her sentient uniform, is grasping onto her thigh, ready to help her suit up and unleash all her power towards any peeping toms foolish enough to sneak a peek.”]

And I’ve already talked up a storm about the bath figures, but to keep it short, let’s just say that I’m glad Senketsu is included because he wants to cover Ryuko and prevent any creeps from peeping on her. And also Synchronize with her so they can take out the creeps together. He is drinking all the Respect Women Juice.

7. Stickers!

[Image source]

[Image description: Ryuko and Senketsu stickers sold in Trigger's online shop. There's a sticker of Ryuko in her tracksuit wearing scarf!Senketsu. There's a sticker of Ryuko in untransformed Senketsu. There's a sticker of Senketsu posing and a sticker of Ryuko posing. There's also a plain sticker of Senketsu looking forward.]

But on the more adorable side, these stickers by Sushio! The artwork is from SUSHIO CLUB LOVE LOVE KLKL, which has tons of cute Kill la Kill content. Of all the stickers from the book sold in Trigger's shop, these are the only ones sold out....

8. Dressing Up

[Image source]

[Image description: Senketsu has become a red dress, and his eye and eyepatch are integrated into a ruffled design. Ryuko wears two red bracelets on her left wrist, red lipstick, and brown boots. She has her jacket slung over her shoulder, and her hair is styled with a clip.]

Another Sushio piece, Ryuko and Senketsu being fancy together! The art was done for an Aniplex display at AnimeJapan in 2014 and is also included in SUSHIO THE IDOL. 

See that extra bit of red in Ryuko's hair? It implies they Synced to make that dress!

9. Bikini!Senketsu

[Image source]

[Image description: A sketch. Ryuko wears bikini!Senketsu and sandals.]

I also totally headcanon that Senketsu can transform into other outfits, and the official manga adaptation with art by Ryo Akizuki (akizuki072) includes a snippet of Ryuko in bikini!Senketsu in the third volume! The full image (above) was posted on Twitter.

10. Nendoroid Love

[Image source]

[Image description: Chaos. Aikuro sits at a table and has a huge glass of wine. Next to him, Tsumugu cleans... something? Shiro scowls at Houka, who has perhaps taken Mako's laptop, as its adorned with a bunny image. Mako opens a fridge; a chicken comes out. Satsuki has her arms around a horde of Nendos of her, Ryuko, and Mako. Nonon and Uzu are scowling in the back. Ryuko smiles at her Nendo.]

This next one is more minor, but Sushio's art for this Kill la Kill Radio CD just gets to me. Ryuko's admiring her Nendoroid... which features her and Senketsu. She's like, "We look so good together, don't we, Sen?" 

 Idk, I think it's cute....

11. Into the Stars

[Image description: My photo of the “ambiguous” and “Sirius” album art. Both are star themed. For the “ambiguous” art, Ryuko smiles in Synchronized Senketsu, up in the stars. Below her, Satsuki, Soroi, and the Elite Four (with Mako on Ira's shoulders, looking up in awe) watch. For “Sirius,” Ryuko and Senketsu shoot up towards the stars. The Mankanshoku family try to run after them, their arms outstretched, but can't keep up.]

And on the topic of CD art, the "ambiguous" and "Sirius" album art by Sushio are adorable! My photo isn't great, but I get so emotional at Ryuko and Senketsu flying up into the stars together. Nobody can keep up with them. They are on a whole 'nother level. So precious.

12. OT3

[Image source]

[Image description: Ryuko, Senketsu, and Mako hold each other, posing for the camera.]

For this next one, a WonderGOO purchase bonus for the Kill la Kill game drawn by Kengo Saito (kengo1212), I know Senketsu is often ignored. But I was so happy to see him acknowledged and posing for a photo with his loved ones. So cute. I bought this bonus!

13. I Don’t Think He’s Her Dad...

[Image source]

[Image description: A poster of Ryuko transforming with Senketsu. She is naked, her eyes shut as strands of Senketsu's fabric wrap around her.]

For another poster, by Sushio (thank you for confirming, @dont-lose-your-edge​!), I wouldn't say Senketsu is characterized exactly, but I think it's one of the most sensual pieces of official Kill la Kill art. It really makes the “Senketsu is/is like Ryuko’s dad” reading very implausible to me....

14. Best Box

[Image source]

[Image description: An image of the All the Anime Collector's box. The right side has the Kill la Kill logo, the left side has art of Ryuko and Satsuki looking at each other, and the spine has Ryuko hugging Senketsu. The three volumes that All the Anime sold the series in can be placed inside the box.]

I don't have much else, but since I love that final volume cover art so much, I have to say that I so appreciate All the Anime for placing it on the spine of their collector's box. 

That is what Kill la Kill is all about, y'all. Not fighting. Not fanservice. Shirt friendship.

[pessimisticlatte]

Glass Roses ~ Chapter 14

Miraculous Ladybug fanfic

Adrienette ~ Lukagami ~ Marichat ~ Alynino ~ Chlobrina ~ Nathemilie ~ Gabriel x death ~ Lila x an unexplained disappearence ~ Platonic Marigami, Adrinino, Lukadrien, Alyanette, and Chlonette

“In honour of my darling son, Adrien’s, 18th birthday, I would like to formally invite the superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, to celebrate with us at La Chateau du Agreste in Alsace in three weeks time,” Standing straight backed with his hands loosely clutched at the base of his spine, Gabriel spoke into the camera with an emotionless visage. He was widely known as a man of little emotion and he assumed that even when his son and heir the public would find it highly worrying to see him express anything. “Their friends, Carapace, Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, Ryuko and Viperion are more than welcome to attend too as this occasion is a celebration of my son’s 18 years.”

Finishing his spiel, Gabriel turned away from the camera. “Turn it off, Nathalie, I am finished,” Stepping forward, Nathalie ended the recording and pressed the SD card free, clutching it in her hand tightly but not tightly enough to break it. “I expect that edited and sent to all news networks within the hour. You may take your leave.”

“Thank you, Mr Agreste,” Giving a stiff bow, Nathalie began to stride to the door, keeping the boiling anger in her stomach from breaking the surface of her icy demeanour. 

“Nathalie,” His words caused her to pause as her fingertips brushed the doorknob. “You will service me tonight, oui?”

He used the word service like she was nothing more than a prostitute that he would dole coin out to for subpar sexual relief. Nathalie has convinced herself that she was in love with Gabriel but the more time she’d spent lamenting over his treatment of her, the more she’d realised that she was nothing more than a warm body to him. But she didn’t have the strength to fight him on this now, not when he was inviting Ladybug and Chat Noir to the chateau for Adrien’s 18th. She knew that they’d take the party as a sign to steal the Butterfly miraculous out from under Gabriel’s nose and she was terrified for the damage such an event would have on Adrien. Nathalie didn’t want him to think she’d had a hand in his father destroying his 18th, and she certainly didn’t want him to think that the destruction was intentionally to drive his girlfriend away from him. 

“Oui, sir,” Nodding half heartedly, Nathalie gave in and turned the doorknob, closing the white painted door behind her with a subtle click.

~~~~~~~~

Lying with his head in Marinette’s lap, Adrien closed his eyes and sighed happily through his nose as he felt Mari’s long fingers thread through the golden strands of his hair. They were sitting in the park across from their school, a picnic mat spread out beneath them and the remains of their lunch packed back into the fabric basket Marinette had brought with her. The sun warmed his face but not as much as the presence of Mari, of his lady, warmed his chest and stomach. Soft fingertips brushed the corners of his upturned lips as he angled his head slightly into Mari’s caresses.

“You’re beautiful,” He didn’t open his eyes as he spoke, her fingers mapping the planes of his face in the shining daylight, despite the cold chill beginning to swirl around them.

“Your eyes are closed,” There was a laugh in her voice that brought a full smile to his lips as the pad of Mari’s finger flicked off the tip of his nose gently. 

“That doesn’t mean that you’re not beautiful,” Her hands returned to massaging his scalp, Adrien released an involuntary purr at the sensation.

“D-did you just purr?” The massage paused for a split second as Mari spoke in awed disbelief.

“What of it?” Not opening his eyes, Adrien nudged his head back into her hand to coax her into resuming her ministrations. 

“Silly kitty,” Before he knew it, Marinette had leaned down and pressed her lips gently to his, the warm breath from her nose as she exhaled fanning over his chin. She tried to pull away but Adrien raised a hand to the back of her head and pulled her back down, trying to deepen the kiss despite their awkward positioning.

“Public park, lovebirds,” Alya’s voice startled them both, causing Adrien to smack his forehead against Marinette’s chin as he dove to sit up. “That has got to be the least graceful I’ve ever seen you, Agreste.”

Rubbing his forehead, Adrien scowled at Alya as she and Nino approached them, hand in hand. Worried, Mari scanned her eyes over Adrien’s forehead before pressing a kiss to the middle of it and moving to settle into his side.

“Good to see you happy, dude,” Nino extended a fist to Adrien, the blonde boy bumping his against it with a broad grin. “But we’re going to have to pop the bubble for a second.”

“What’s up, Nino?” Mari’s eyes grew wider slightly as she glanced up at Adrien.

“Well, your dad has decided to throw you a big ass party for your 18th, Adrien,” Adrien groaned and hung his head at Nino’s words, there was a small gasp of excitement from Mari though that sent Adrien’s mind into a dizzying spin of excitement for Marinette to meet Nathalie formally as his girlfriend and terror for his father’s cynical judgement of her. 

“He knows I hate parties, why would he do this?” Groaning, Adrien raised his head and slumped his shoulders.

“I don’t think Nino or Alya can answer that, Chaton, as neither of them are your father,” Mari flicked the side of his head with her long fingers.

“The party is at La Chateau du Agreste in Alsace,” The way Alya’s tongue curved over the name of Adrien’s family estate was perfect, better than the Agreste boy himself had ever been able to pronounce the title of his ancestral home. “And your dad has invited Ladybug, Chat Noir and the rest of the team.”

“Shit,” Adrien was at a loss for words other than profanity. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!”

A nearby mother scowled in Adrien’s direction as she pressed her hands over her young daughter’s ears and steered the child away from the congregation of teenagers.

“Adr-Adrien, stop,” Placing a gentle hand on her boyfriend’s face, Mari turned his gaze so it met hers with wide, imploring eyes. “This could be the perfect chance to whisk Nooroo away from him.”

He was shaking, he hadn’t noticed that he was shaking until he raised his own hand to cover Marinette’s, squeezing her hand gently. 

“Do you two want to sit down?” Glancing away from Adrien for a second, Mari invited Alya and Nino to sit with them, the other couple gladly taking up spots opposite their friends on the picnic mat. “Adrien, you’re shaking.”

“Yeah, I know,” He smiled weakly and slid their joined hands off his face, holding her smaller hand between his larger ones in his lap. A faint dusting of pink began to rise across Marinette’s nose and cheeks as she smiled shyly. “I’m going to be there regardless of whether I want to go or not so it’s not like we have a choice to skip my 18th.”

“You know we’re going to throw you a party Adrien-style after your dad’s big ass fiesta, right?” Nino scratched the side of his face as Alya cleaned her glasses on a small wipe she’d pulled from his pocket, his eyes trained on his best friend as he spoke. “Laser tag, a cake made by Mari, Luka’s houseboat decked out in fairy lights, you know, the usual.” Nino shrugged.

“Sounds great, Nino,” Giving a sincere half smile, Adrien nudged Mari with his shoulder slightly. “But Father has invited Chat Noir and Ladybug so how are we going to get them in attendance if Miss Dupain-Cheng and I are going to be the centre of attention?”

A smirk curved on Alya’s lips as a devious twinkle lit in her amber eyes. Nino’s eyes flicked between his girlfriend and their friends as thinly veiled terror sparked in his eyes, he knew that look too well and it meant that Alya was planning something. Too often, the plan didn’t include telling him until after it had gone very right or extremely wrong.

“Rena Rouge at your service, milady and milord,” Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Alya’s grin grew wider as her three friends came to the realisation of what plan was cooking in her insane and intelligent mind. “If you need to see double, leave it to me.”

~~~~~~~~~~ “Maman? Papa?” Pushing the door of the bakery open with her shoulder, Marinette called out to her parents with a sweet sing-song voice. She could hear her father bustling through the kitchen in the back, the smell of baking cinnamon and date bread wafting through the beautiful interior of the bakery and reminding Mari of childhoods full of sticky dough and soft laughs, calloused hands teaching her how to make a perfect braided loaf as her mother sang gentle songs in Mandarin. 

“Marinette?” Closing the door behind her to keep the heat in, Marinette was greeted by the small, flour dusted figure of her mother, Sabine. There was a small apron wrapped around Sabine’s waist to protect her pants from the bakers flour that was an inescapable part of her life and to make wiping her hands that much easier. “Let me take your coat.”

Sabine reached to help Marinette remove her fleece lined jacket but was waved away by her daughter, Marinette comfortable with taking off her coat by herself and that she wouldn’t offend her mother by not accepting her help. 

“There is something for you, it came in the mail,” Sabine spoke with a slightly lilted accent that wasn’t the French Mari had grown up hearing. Her father had met her mother in Nanjing, China, and it had been love at first sight for the apprentice baker and seamstress’s daughter. Tom himself came out of the kitchen and leaned against one of the glass cabinets holding hundreds of beautifully made rolls, donuts, loaves and other baked goods as his wife gave their daughter a thick letter with a wax seal. 

“What’s this, Maman?” Pointing to the wax seal with a long finger, Mari looked at her mother with confusion. She’d gotten letters before, Grandmaman sent so many from her travels but she’d never gotten any letters with a large dollop of wax on them.

“That’s a wax seal, Marinette, the markings here,” Sabine ran her fingers over the Agreste family crest. “Are the crest of the Agreste family. I saw Gabriel Agreste extend an invitation to his son’s birthday to Ladybug and Chat Noir so I can only have the assumption that this is your very own invitation because you are a classmate of his son.”

“Open it, Mari,” Tom Dupain sounded more excited for his daughter to open the letter than Marinette herself was. She knew what it was but she’d thought she’d at least have a bit more time before telling her parents that she had a boyfriend. Mari knew that Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng could take things a bit far sometimes and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to subject poor Adrien to it just yet. “Maybe we’ve been asked to cater it?”

Sabine shot Tom a withering look that shut him up immediately, Marinette giggled at her parents before she carefully broke the wax seal and freed the note.

“Dear Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Gabriel Agreste would like to formally invite you to the 18th birthday celebration of his son, Adrien, at La Chateau du Agreste in Alsace. Dress in your finest and present this card at the door,” Marinette pulled a small card with beautiful calligraphy emblazoned across it, the thin outline of the words gilded in gold leaf. “So that we may address you properly. Accommodation will be provided for you and your parents at the Chateau itself. Adrien and I look forward to celebrating with you, sincerely, Gabriel Agreste.”

Deftly, Sabine plucked the card out of Marinette’s fingers with light fingers as Mari finished reading the letter out loud. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien’s girlfriend?!” ~~~~~~~~TAGLINE~~~~~~~ @lady-charinette @katieykat513 @mochegato @maniic-pixie-dream-girl @a-star-with-a-human-name @nifflerstorm @camelliaflwr @aussie-lesbian @beauty-and-her-books  DM to be added to the tag line!

[ecofinisher]

Day 8 - Blush

Day  8    -   Blush @adrigami-week

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13456678/4/Ecofinisher-s-oneshot-for-the-Adrigami-Week-2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21872389/chapters/52357006

Merry Christmas to all readers and followers. Hope you all have a wonderful time with your family and loved ones.

The bedroom of Adrien was all a mess with most of the furniture all scratched up, the electronic devices were all broken and the shelf for the movie covers was broken and had all the covers spread over the balcony of the second floor of his room.

A pink light passed through the room causing the mess to disappear and everything damaged got restored back to how it was before. From the window appeared the dragon-themed superheroine Ryuko carrying a blonde boy and she dropped the boy in the room carefully as he wore on his leg a white plaster and stood beside him looking out of the window down at Ladybug, which was speaking with a boy, similar to Adrien Agreste.

“Your friend will be fine,” Ryuko said looking at Adrien, which leaned his head out of the window to look at his cousin, which was listening to the other heroine Ladybug. Ryuko placed his arm over his shoulder, making him look at her. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I just gotta deal a little with the pain from my leg, otherwise I’m good”

“Maybe you should go back to bed and lie your foot over the pillow again” The blue-haired heroine suggested earning a nod from Adrien, then Adrien tried to move forward with his broken leg, making Ryuko shake her head at seeing him going like that and picked him up holding him bridal style.

“Wait, I’ll help you….uh…..” Ryuko suggested gazing at the face of the blonde losing herself into his emerald green eyes.

“O...okay...” Adrien replied turning a little red on the face, then he looked at Kagami – Ryuko of course carrying him to his bed. Adrien is aware of Ryuko’s secret identity, cause he was present as Ladybug gave Kagami the dragon miraculous to beat Ikari Gozen months ago. Ryuko doesn’t know anything about Adrien and Ladybug’s identity and she’s fine with it.

Ryuko helped Adrien sit down on the bed, afterward he placed his leg on the pillow he had on the mattress and Ryuko adjusted his pillows behind his back, which made Adrien glance a little sad.

“You don’t have to do that Ka….I mean Ryuko”

“How were you going to call me?” Ryuko asked a little shocked at Adrien’s sentence.

“Sorry, you made me think of a friend of mine named Kagami. She has a very similar hairstyle to you”

“Oh cool and how is she?” Ryuko asked interested making Adrien chuckle a little, cause he found it hilarious how she wants to know his opinion on her alter ego as if she wasn’t her.

“I find she’s very smart and talented. We’re also very good friends and have a lot of things in common”

“That’s g...great” Ryuko answered turning a little red under her mask, which Adrien noted as he knew he could possibly cause that by his compliments of the girl, that has revealed months ago to him – as she was akumatized – her true feelings for the boy. At the window appeared Ladybug landing on the window arc looking into the bedroom to see Adrien lie on his bed and Ryuko stay beside it looking along with Adrien at the ladybug-themed heroine.

“Are….Are you alright?” Ladybug questioned the blonde while stammering a little bit.

“Yeah” Responded Adrien. “Ryuko helped me back to bed”

“That’s great, you need to rest your leg, so you can walk again in both of your legs like before”

“Yeah” Adrien agreed nodding at the heroine.

“Ryuko, let’s go. I need to retrieve your and Carapace’s miraculous” Ladybug mentioned earning a nod from the Japanese descendant heroine, then as she was about to follow the leader Adrien grabbed Ryuko on her hand.

“Wait!” Adrien called getting the two pairs of eyes to look at him. “Can Ryuko stay here for a while? Please?” Adrien asked gazing at Ladybug, which rolled her eyes at Ryuko, which shrugged her shoulders at Adrien’s wish.

“But Ryuko’s time limit is almost done” Ladybug warned and Ryuko shook her head.

“Actually not, I only used the wind element to blow Scratchzilla against the wall,” Ryuko responded making Ladybug sigh at not following her own instincts.

“Okay, you can stay, but in an hour I’ll be waiting for you at the top of the Eiffel tower” Ladybug warned the dragon-themed heroine.

“I’ll be punctual” Ryuko promised earning a nod from Ladybug, which threw her yo-yo out of the window and jumped out of the window leaving the two friends back.

“Why did you want me to stay?” The blue-haired heroine asked making Adrien shrug his shoulders.

“I didn’t feel like being alone now” Adrien explained making Ryuko nod.

“Yeah being alone doesn’t feel as good as being with a friend” Ryuko mentioned. “Back in the past I rarely had any friends. My…..people used to say to me friends bring a lot of disappointment and I don’t feel like that’s true”

“Yeah, I get that,” Adrien said looking at the girl look down at her feet, then Adrien smiled a little and clapped with his flat hand on his bed offering the girl to sit down, which she did.

“Merci”

“My friend doesn’t let me out a lot with my friends. In the begin he was against most of my friends, first time it was with Nino. He was very rude to him and sent him away from my house calling him a bad influence and all he did was trying to convince my father to throw me a birthday party”

“But he seems more….uh…more caring….not caring I mean he lets you more out than at the begin”

“Well as long as my bodyguard comes along it’s fine for him”

“He turned only like that after my mother’s disappearance, before that he wasn’t like this. He was less cold than usually”

“Before that, your father was like he is now?”

“No, he was strict, but not like this. Let me say, he was strict when it was really necessary”

“Oh okay. Someday everything will be better, you just need to wait for it”

“Yeah I hope you’re right” Adrien mentioned making the heroine smile. Ryuko looked around the room, then Adrien looked at the foosball table and had an idea, thereafter he tapped the heroine on the shoulder and pointed at the table.

“Are you interested in playing a match or two against me?” Adrien offered. “I rarely get a chance to play with anyone on it”

“Good I join” Ryuko answered getting up from the blonde’s bed, then watched him get up from the bed and walk to the table slowly, soon Ryuko met up the blonde, which started the game as he threw the ball into the field.

[teawinx]

Alright people, let’s try this again

I’ve been wanting to take a second crack at Kagami ever since I redesigned her the first time. And since she won the poll by a landslide I figured now the time to do it.

The redesign isn’t bad, but like most things in the canon show it’s lacking. I can see where I was going with it, I want to believe in it, but it just misses the mark. My main two problems are that 1) She doesn’t look different enough from canon to justify it being a redesign (similar to how I felt about putting Mister Bug in red), it’s just a new outfit and that’s kinda it. And 2) I wanted Ryuko to be orange, since red is Ladybug, but I botched it pretty badly. The orange just looks red. And after making Wyverna, I realised I’m capable of making a way better dragon design. Kagami deserved better.

Kagami’s story in canon isn’t that great. Her story begins and ends with Adrien, and that sucks. For a show about girl power we sure do have a lot of characters motivated by boys, huh? I digress. For now.

So, her new story is about generational trauma and learning that it’s not selfish to prioritize your own happiness and comfort. Adrien plays a role in her story, but he’s not the sole focus of her character.

So redesigning her redesign.

Since she’s meant to be a red hearing for Adrien, I wanted her to look more like Ladybug. Namely by giving her a red coat and pigtails, although styled differently. I’m back on my hair symbolism bs. Since she starts out her story under her mother’s strict control, her hair reflects this. It’s tied back and braided. Perfectly tamed and controlled. Which is then contrasted by her wild Ryuko hair, and her post chara bobcut.

And I had fun with Ryuko. It was brought to my attention that Japanese dragons are often depicted in blues and greens (and less commonly yellow too I think? I might be wrong there). And honestly a teal Ryuko is just too good to ignore.

I mourn the lose of her braid, but I think the shorter wild hair suits her better. And instead she gets two “capes” that are meant to be a dragon’s whiskers. She’s just here to look fabulous and dramatic. She deserves it, she’s a queen.

And just over all I prefer the jacket-dress over the first redesign. I just think it’s more visually interesting and flattering. It’s a little hard to see, but I made the Miraculous turn into the element dial on her chest. Mostly for fashion, making it look like a brooch. Kagami is a style icon and I am but a mere admirer.

All hail Kagami.

[doughyduo]

likewise we havent done much yet together but im gonna self submit my own url for that if thats cool :0

Roleplaying/Writing

My favorite muse(s) of theirs and why: To be honest, I know nothing on Ryuko except for what I’ve seen from them and the brief reading I did on the wiki, but she seems metal as fuck. Like, getting her arms ripped off (or maybe it was ripping someone’s arms off) and tearing someone’s heart out? Damn. Still, that doesn’t mean she isn’t a fun character to see, because the sort of free-spirit and determination (?) in her is something I always like to see in characters.

My favorite interaction/thread of theirs: From what I’ve seen, the Ryuko/Claire thread has been sweet. It brought out Claire’s accent because Ryuko got close enough to her, and they’re both letting loose and having fun. Then again, I haven’t read a whole ton of it, so I can’t say much else.

My thoughts on their unique characterization/interpretation of their muse(s): Again, I don’t know much about Ryuko, but the fact that she can flip from being like extremely headstrong and angry to soppy and caring without seeming like her character is breaking says a lot. She goes from ‘wow fuck you i’ll do what i want’ to ‘listen, i care a lot despite not seeming like it, okay? i just wanted you to know that’. Ryuko is a unique character in that sense, and I enjoy what I see from headache.

My thoughts on their writing style as a whole: I didn’t know what to expect from this blog when I first saw them come about, and to be honest, I was on the edge of paying attention to them. I decided to, and that was clearly a very good decision. Headache is seriously good at writing, using just the right words and setting sentences just right to give for a pleasant and enjoyable read. I seriously was worried about hitting reblog in the thread we had because I was worried my responses weren’t good enough. The substance in their responses don’t feel like a few extra words to make a match-lengthed response, but it feels like what would actually happen in the situations and brings your attention to vital things that tell you a few things about the character.

Situation(s)/Plot(s) I’d love to see their muse(s) in: Self-indulgent things for headache where Ryuko has a huge gurgling tum and she’s just relaxing after a huge meal and headache can do whatever they want with her

Someone else I love seeing them interact with: meatymidnightmetaverse/bakingupastorm, because they just have enough ideas and can do enough in a thread to keep it interesting and for like 300+ notes. Mine never get past like fifty notes, so holy shit that’s awesome

Anything else I want to say about their roleplaying: headache is a gooooood

If We Know Each Other

What I Think Are Their Best Qualities: headache is sweet as well, being nice to talk to. I found it easy to just straight up go to them and ask how they were doing, and as I’ve said before, that’s usually tough for me to do. That, plus she’s very passionate about Ryuko and plots, which is always fun to see!

What I Think Are Their Strengths: Writing and having fun. Like, take a look at their responses. They could be pretty small and short, not caring to bring out the true character in Ryuko too much, but just look at them. Seriously.

A Memorable OOC Interaction Of Ours: We haven’t talked that much at all, but if I’m being honest, I’m glad to have talked about what we have. I’m always around if you need someone to talk to, so don’t be shy~

Why Others Should RP With Them: Because Headache is fun and passionate and does great replies and has great ideas and is generally great!

How Others Should Approach Them:Calmly. Say hey, ask how he’s doing, and come with some ideas. Don’t go ‘hey let’s rp’ and expect to do a poorly-hidden self-insert where you feed a character, come with something that has substance and a non-standard but fun plot. Look at previous threads for inspiration, and take a little time before you message.

Other Roleplayers I’d Recommend To Them: You probably know more people than me, really

Anything else I want to say about them: I know you haven’t done art in a while, but I wanted to remind you that all your stuff is really good! I found that Darkness piece of yours before I even really had you on Discord, and I remember wondering who made it because I thought it was a good piece. 

If We Have/Plan To Interact Together

A plot I’d like to write with them: Something with Ryuko and Clare or Hana, but I’m not sure what. It would be fun to have Clare just like take care of a full, stuffed Ryuko and cuddle up with her or something, idk, but that’s not enough to be a thread.A muse I want to introduce to them: I’m fairly sure you know all my muses, so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯A ship/broship I’d like to propose to them:A thread with them I’m excited about: Just anything we end up doing, but I need to get to thinking something up first, lolAnything else I want to say: Remember that you’re great! Seriously, I mean everything I say. You’re sweet, you’re kind and let me talk to you, your writing and art are amazing. I wish I had reblogged this earlier so I could have written this all when I wasn’t as tired as I am now!

Rebloggers, be sure to pick one of the below

This meme applies to:

[  ] Mutuals Only    [ x ] Only if we’ve interacted  [ ] Everyone

[recentanimenews]

7 Anime Teachers Who Remind Us What Great Instructors Can Do

Everyone has that one teacher who made a positive impact on them at some point in their lives. Where would we be without those kinds of teachers? They have the power to inspire, to motivate, to make us push past our own troubles to be better than we thought we were capable of being. Great teachers are a resource that is hard to come by, so it's worth taking note of the greats when they appear! This Teacher Appreciation Day, I, an actual real-life teacher, will examine some the the best anime teachers and take a look at what makes them so very wonderful.

  Koro-Sensei

Koro-Sensei, from Assassination Classroom, does't seem like your typical good teacher. I mean, his own students are out to kill him. Literally. They are tasked by the government to take him out, as he's Earth's biggest threat. But, while his students are trying to kill him, he manages to always turn the tables, making sure that the students learn from each other and work with one another to accomplish any problems and challenges that come their way. In allowing them to try to assassinate him, Koro-Sensei actually is able to unite the students and teach them how to become better people, and to rise above those who are out to keep them down.

  Jiraiya

Jiraiya of Naruto fame is another teacher who, at the outset, doesn't seem like the best example of a truly great teacher. His pervy tendencies and erotic romance novels definitely seem like something best left out of the classroom. However, what makes Jiraiya great is his non-stop positive attitude. No matter what he's doing, he does it with swagger, style, and at least a little bit of grace. Say what you will about his personal life, if a teacher truly wants to connect with their students, they need to be at ease and stay true to themselves. Kids can sense a teacher facade a mile off, so Jiraiya's personal policy to never back down from who he truly is makes him a highly relatable teacher.

Aikurou Mikisugi

Yes, he seems to strip at a moment's notice, but it's because he's a nudist, not a perv. Oh, wait. You're telling me that nudists shouldn't be teachers? It's true, you shouldn't be a nudist and a teacher at the same time, but consider the fact that the school he works at is actually an undercover operation for the fabrication of clothing-aliens, and he is working to stop them from taking over the world. Pretty cool, right? Kill la Kill is a wild ride, if you haven't seen it. But that's not what makes him cool. Aikurou Mikisugi puts his life at risk on the daily to save Ryuko and his other students. He is not afraid of death, and not afraid to stand up against the oppressors in order to protect the children under his charge. In this day and age, such a teacher is invaluable. The lives of our students are the very future we work so hard to cultivate.

  Master Roshi

First of all, let's talk about how Master Roshi is over 300 years old at the start of the series. Talk about being in the teaching profession for awhile. I know professionals who are ready to cast the Education pathway after literally a year. Teaching is hard- it's really hard. And this guys is clearly in it for life, so more kudos to him. Beyond that, he goes to great lengths to make sure his students become students for life, even going so far as to sabotage them in competitions to make sure their passion for fighting stays strong. While an unorthodox strategy, he does it with the intent of keeping the passion in his students burning bright, a goal every teacher should strive for. Nothing kills the fun of learning faster than a total disinterest in the subject.

  All Might

All Might, from My Hero Academia, has perhaps the most important characteristic any great teacher needs- a sense of optimism. When everything goes wrong, it's often hard to stay positive. Small things, like a student giving you hell, or one of your co-workers forgetting to make you photocopies of an activity you needed now can be enough to ruin your whole day. All Might, however, is boundlessly optimistic. He is always cheerful, always happy, and this positivity helps his students maintain their determination and can-do attitude. No student wants to go to class with a grumpy teacher at the head of the classroom. Because All Might is a happy guy, his students can feel safe and secure to learn and grow in their classroom, knowing their teacher is happy with what kind of learning is taking place.

  Aizawa Shouta

Along the same lines, Aizawa Shouta, also from My Hero Academia, is also an exceptional teacher. His high standards are sometimes hard for his students to meet, but they come from a good place. His students are training to be Heroes- people whose job it is to rise to the occasion and save lives. If his students can't meet those expectations in school, how can they hope to do the same in real life? Better yet, he gives them the tools the students need to rise to those expectations. The activities he organizes and challenges he puts them through are designed to test the students and make them discover what they are really capable of. This is exactly what any excellent teacher should strive to do- push their students and give them what they need to rise up and be exceptional.

  Eikichi Onizuka

Last but not least, how could we have a post like this and not mention Eikichi Onizuka from Great Teacher Onizuka? At first glance, he doesn't seem to be a good teacher at all. He's an ex-delinquent who went into the profession to get attention from his female students- not the most outstanding of teacherly traits. However, at crucial moments he demonstrates the skill every teacher needs- the ability to adapt to difficult situations, and problem solve at a moments notice. Whenever Onizuka-Sensei finds himself or his students in a spot of trouble, he is a quick thinker who immediately finds a solution to the problem, no matter how zany that solution is. In fact, the zanier the better- nothing helps to cement student learning than unique approaches to the material or lesson at hand.

  What was your favorite teacher like? If they were an anime teacher, which would they most closely resemble? Or, if your ideal anime teacher didn't make the list, comment below to tell us who we missed! And as always- on Teacher Appreciation Day, make sure to thank a teacher. it's hard work that makes it all that much better when your students actually admit to liking you, at least a little.

--

Emily Bushman is the author of the Cooking with Anime column on Crunchyroll. You can follow her on Twitter at @yumpenguinsnack or on Tumblr at yumpenguinsnacks.tumblr.com. Be sure to check out her Youtube channel for anime cooking videos!

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Finished Kill la Kill! (spoilers under read more)

It was pretty great for the most part. Characters were distinct and likeable, I think Mako’s my favourite, and lots of the character dynamics were really great too. Mako is the perfect best friend character for Ryuko because sweet and supportive friend but very well executed etc, while Satsuki is the perfect villain for Ryuko due to completely clashing ideals and philosophies. Most characters are pretty great.

However, I didn’t find Ragyo to be all that good a main antagonist. It’s never really explored why she was so determined for the Life Fibre’s plan to succeed, so her utter devotion to that goal is just a little “huh?” for the audience.

In spite of a weak main antagonist imo, the plot was pretty good in general, helped especially by the incredible pacing. Plot twists, which there are a few of, feel legitimately surprising in the moment but also make you look back on what came before and think “of course that’s what this is!” which is cool as heck though.  I’ll admit though, the execution of Ryuko’s “I can’t believe I’m clothing” arc had lots of room for improvement.

Animation was pretty great for the most part, definitely helped by the insane and over the top directing, though lots, and I mean lots of animation is reused time and time again, and it’s super noticeable. On the topic of reusing things, get used to hearing the words “don’t lose your way” being sung to you every other episode. The song’s not bad but it gets old fast.

Fight choreography was inconsistent. Some fights are really good, some are Sonic X style what with x2 fast pans then 1 final slow pan across a still image.

Comedy was hella on point. This show’s fucking hilarious.

There were many moments that felt kinda tropey or a little too shounen for my tastes, and I feel they’re not really all that well deserved. For frame of reference, FMAB has quite a few stereotypical shounen moments, but literally all of them feel justified.

OVA was kinda dumb and underwhelming.

I said more negative things than positive things there, but trust me, this was a pretty great show. Once you’re past the intense sexualisation of everything (which turned out to be way more important than I thought it would be) you’ve got a pretty solid action comedy show here. I’d recommend it.

By the way, OP and ED 1 are better than OP and ED 2.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Kill la Kill The Game: IF Review

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/kill-la-kill-the-game-if-review/

Kill la Kill The Game: IF Review

At first glance, Kill la Kill The Game: IF passes the fighting game smell test. With sharp cel-shaded cutscenes, including loving recreations of critical moments from the beloved Hiroyuki Imaishi anime series and the endorsement of its animation studio Trigger, developer APlus and publisher Arc System Works want you to see and get excited about the prospect of an authentic, official Kill la Kill game. Unfortunately, authenticity isn’t everything. Kill la Kill The Game: IF feels like a stripped-down version of the prototypical 3D anime fighter. Its loose, mashy fighting fails to create the opportunities for strategic depth I’ve come to expect in great fighting games. Meanwhile, its story and single-player modes feel less than substantial.

Kill la Kill The Game: IF is a fairly basic version of what we’ve seen in other 3D anime fighting games like Jump Force or the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm series. Unlike those games, Kill la Kill’s matches are one-on-one duels, and take place on dull, flat arenas. The fighting is very simple, with each character using his or her own versions of the same three attacks: a close-range punch or strike, a chargeable long-distance projectile or dash attack, and a slow-moving heavy hit that breaks your opponent’s guard. Fighters also have flashy, powerful versions of each attack called deathblows, which are limited by a special meter. They do more damage, though not so much that pulling one off feels particularly satisfying, even if they come with a short cutscene intro to make them feel more epic.

Though the controls are simple, the characters attack styles are not completely identical. Certain characters have variations that may push you to approach a fight in specific, sometimes unintuitive ways. For example, Ira Gamagoori, a BDSM-inspired character who whips himself to build up power, takes a very small amount of damage when he blocks to build up his strength, which then makes his attacks more powerful. Other character’s eccentricities are much smaller – Uzu Sanageyama, the oversized, armored fighter with a wooden sword, has a charged version of his heavy attack that teleports directly behind his opponent. Unfortunately, there are no character-specific tutorials to help you learn each of their variations, so you will need to figure out how each character works through trial and error.

Though the attacks and fighting styles distinguish one character from another, it’s hard to avoid the feeling that you’re just mashing your way to victory.

“

Though the attacks and fighting styles distinguish one character from another, it’s hard to avoid the feeling that you’re just mashing your way to victory. There’s a system in place where blocks beat attacks, guard breaks beat guards, and dodges beat guard breaks, but with an air dash that can reach your opponent from any distance and a lot of single-button combos, it still feels like just rushing in and mashing an attack button is the optimal strategy. You can spend half your special meter to burst out of combos using the Bloody Valor system, a mid-match minigame-style mechanic, but it doesn’t do a great job of teaching you this. If you don’t know it, or recently used Bloody Valor already, then trading strings of hits doesn’t feel particularly enthralling when dishing it out, and can be exasperating when you have to take it.

Bloody Valor is ostensibly a “comeback” tool, offering some recourse when you’re in a one-sided fight, but it does more harm than good. It’s a rock-paper-scissors-style power-up mechanic, letting you spend half of your special meter to gamble for a battlefield advantage (such as healing your wounds or recharging your super meter) and raise your Ketsui level, which makes you generally more powerful. If you initiate Bloody Valor and win, you do it again to gain an even larger advantage. If you can win multiple challenges in a row, you’ll charge up a match-ending super move called a Lost Fiber Secret Art.

And if you start a Bloody Valor and lose? You lose a little health. There’s little incentive not to try it as often as possible, especially if you’re outmatched, which breaks up the flow of the fight in an unwelcome way. I’m not a fan of injecting random, tide-turning game mechanics into fighting games. Putting stat boosts and a match-winning attack at the end of a minigame separates the prospect of winning from your skill in combat, and undermines the fight as a whole.

The best defense may be Kill la Kill The Game: IF’s incomprehensible camera. Rather than following your character, the camera floats freely around the arena allowing your fighter to move out of focus or even all the way to the background, making it difficult to keep track of what you’re doing. There were times, particularly while playing the story mode, when I lost track of my fighter because the camera didn’t move as anticipated. There’s no auto-center button or way to turn the seemingly randomized camera off. You have to learn to go with the flow, which… I’d rather not. Fighting games are intense enough when you can keep track of the action.

Once upon a time at Honnouji Academy…

Despite being a fighting game, and therefore inherently multiplayer-focused, Kill la Kill The Game: IF puts single-player first. Its primary mode is its story-driven campaigns, a pair of abridged retellings of the original anime series’ final two-thirds -with some key differences that bring the playable fighters to blows in ways the original story wouldn’t allow. You should know right from the get-go: It’s all fan service, and you’re expected to know the whole Kill la Kill saga before you start, which makes sense for a tie-in game but feels limiting.

Though the campaigns are short – each one takes about three hours to complete – both feel like they drag on for far too long. The campaigns follow Satsuki Kiryuin and Ryuko Matoi, respectively, and are only ten fights apiece, including a mix of standard one-on-one matches, three-way duels, and brawler-esque engagements with dozens of generic “cover” opponents. The multi-character fights and brawls add some variety, but all three types are used repeatedly so they don’t feel especially refreshing by the end. Plus, that wayward camera has a tendency to make some of the fights borderline unreadable.

Long cutscenes separate each match, full of expository dialogue that rushes you through the plot.

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The real issue with the campaigns are the wait times between each fight. Long cutscenes separate each match, full of expository dialogue that rushes you through the plot. Though the cutscenes look good and are well shot, it doesn’t feel like much is happening if you know major plot points already, and isn’t effective storytelling if it’s new to you. Instead, the changes sprinkled throughout feel like they exist to facilitate fights, rather than make the story interesting in a new way.

The poor balance of cutscene to combat also seems to be in service of the story. During the campaigns, you’re restricted to the protagonists’ perspectives, to the point where you wind up watching fights take place in cutscenes rather than playing them yourself. In some cases, you watch multiple scenes and progress through entire chapters of the story without fighting at all.

Even if it weren’t mostly recounting events fans already know – key moments from the anime like the Naturals Election and the Great Culture and Sports Festival take up multiple chapters – the perpetual wait to pick up your controller and start playing tested my patience to the point where I wasn’t particularly interested in watching.

While I didn’t love how long and redundant the cutscenes were, I will say there were very well made. Kill la Kill The Game: IF employs an elegant cel-shaded art style both in gameplay and cutscenes. It isn’t as inventive as the multi-faceted art style of the anime, but it’s clean, looks good, and really does feel like watching an anime in its rare, exciting moments. In cutscenes, the art gets an aesthetic boost from strong cinematography, which makes many sequences, especially action scenes, look striking.

But the story fails to give you additional insight into the characters or world of the anime series. Despite the fact that it was “supervised” by the Kill la Kill anime scriptwriter Kazuki Nakashima, giving it an air of canonical importance, IF’s story bends over backwards to make sure you know that what happens is of absolutely no consequence to the story you already know.

The story is clearly the centerpiece of Kill la Kill The Game: IF, so much so that you are required to play at least some of it before doing anything else – the training and local versus modes only unlock after completing the first chapter. Online play isn’t available until after chapter six. I, and I think most fighting game fans would agree, that this is a cardinal sin. There will always be people who just want to jump into fighting with friends or simply don’t care about the campaign. Forcing you to consume even a small part of it feels, quite frankly, out of touch.

A Note On Online Play

Kill la Kill The Game: IF offers sturdy but sparse online support. Players have access to casual unranked play, which relies primarily on lobbies and trading codes to sync up with specific players. There’s also a ranked mode that uses more traditional matchmaking where your wins and losses get recorded on global leaderboards. Separating the different types of matchmaking feels needlessly restrictive and may make it harder for players to find matches one way or the other. On the plus side, in the five matches I was able to play on PlayStation 4 ahead of launch I experienced no serious lag or connection issues.

You’ll also unlock new modes, various collectibles, and other characters as you progress, growing the paltry starting roster of six fighters to a still meager ten, including secondary versions of the two story protagonists. Two more characters are coming as free DLC later “this summer,” but even 12 characters feels light when the anime is jam-packed with weird, wonderful supporting characters who could add variety and personality to the lineup.

In addition to the story mode, Kill la Kill The Game: IF has a few extra single-player modes, including a training room, a single-player Survival Challenge mode where you continue fighting opponents until you die, and Covers Challenge, which is a wave-based brawler mode where you fight groups of generic enemies similar to some of the fights from the story campaigns. Though these modes present options to play solo using any fighter, including the more interesting characters not usable in the main campaigns, they lose their luster quickly with such a small roster.

Source : IGN

[2-jarz]

Best Anime Available on Netflix 2019

8. Kill La Kill (2013)

1 season, 25 episodes | IMDb: 8/10

If I had to sum up Kill la Kill in two words, they’d be “fashion battle.” Broadly speaking, its story is pretty much beat for beat what you’d expect from a series about a magical teen — developing powers, last-minute turns of the tide — but the specifics are just bonkers enough to keep that from being a weakness Which are some of the best anime on Netflix. At Honnouji Academy, clothes bestow supernatural abilities on their wearer, turning the usual high school hierarchies into a battleground. At the center of it all is transfer student Ryuko Matoi, who’s come to Honnouji in search of her father’s killer. Her sidekick, a sentient sailor outfit, puts her on the level of the school’s student council, allowing her to tussle with them in her quest for the truth. More modest viewers be warned: the series’ focus on clothing also lends itself to a significant amount of fanservice. As the series progresses, the outfits get skimpier and skimpier until there’s barely anything there at all.

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UFOTABLE

7. Fate/Zero (2011)

2 seasons, 28 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

For those looking for darker fare, Fate/Zero should hit the spot. As may be obvious from the fact that the driving event behind the whole series is called “the Fourth Holy Grail War,” it’s heavy stuff. The war is a contest between a select group of mages and their attendant spirits. (The spirits, in one of the series’ strangest gambits, range from Alexander the Great to King Arthur.) They compete for the power of the Grail, which will grant a wish to each of the winning pair. The resulting assortment of competitors doubles as a mix of ideals and morals, and the shifting balance is one of the best aspects of the show. Though there’s a fair amount of comedy mixed in, it’s quite a bleak series, with a death count to rival Game of Thrones and eldritch horrors to contend with, to boot.

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NETFLIX

6. Castlevania (2017)

1 season, 5 episodes | IMDb: 8/10

Even those unfamiliar with anime are likely to have heard of Castlevania, as the franchise is one of the jewels in Konami’s crown. The anime series is produced by Netflix, and boasts a voice cast including Graham McTavish as Count Dracula, who vows revenge against Wallachia after the death of his wife, and Richard Armitage as Trevor Belmont, the last of a clan of monster hunters, who leads the fight against him. (Matt Frewer also features in the cast, which should be a treat for any fellow Max Headroom enthusiasts.) There’s blood a-plenty, and a nice balance between monster and man as per most gothic horror stories — as well as a somewhat romantic aspect, as Dracula is portrayed as a sympathetic villain. The series is also just gorgeously animated, and with a first season of only four episodes, well worth your time.

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ANIPLEX OF AMERICA

5. Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

1 season, 51 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

Fullmetal fans and newbies alike are somewhat spoiled for choice when it comes to Netflix’s offerings: Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are both available on the streaming service, alongside the recent live-action film. But we’re here for anime, so we’ll just discuss the first two. For the purposes of this list, we’re counting both series as one entity, as Fullmetal Alchemist is a seminal property, but not to fear, I’m not about to leave you in the dark. Both Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are adaptations of the original manga, which tells the story of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, as they search for the Philosopher’s Stone. In an attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy, they’ve been transformed. Edward has lost his leg, and sacrifices his arm as well in order to save Alphonse’s soul, binding it to a suit of armor. The Stone is their ticket to restoration. The more recent Brotherhood hews much more closely to the manga, whereas Fullmetal Alchemist essentially turns into an original series about halfway through. In the end, they complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but if you have to pick just one, I’d go for Brotherhood as the “canon” experience.

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ANIPLEX OF AMERICA

4. Rurouni Kenshin (1996)

3 seasons, 95 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Like most other entries on this list, Rurouni Kenshin was adapted from a manga series (which appeared in the legendary Shōnen Jump magazine). The title refers to its protagonist, Himura Kenshin, a former killing machine who is now committed to helping others to try to atone for his sins. Of course, his love of peace is challenged when it becomes apparent that someone else has assumed his former mantle as an assassin and plans to throw the Meiji Government into chaos. The characters are all well-defined and well-developed, with the biggest hook being the contrast between Kenshin’s apparent happy-go-lucky attitude and vow never to kill again, and what we know him to be capable of due to his reputation. He’s also a walking example of the way the series focuses on period to tell a story rather than using it simply as set dressing: the show takes place during a transition period in Japanese history, and Kenshin is just as much in flux.

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VIZ MEDIA

3. Inuyasha (2000)

2 seasons, 167 episodes | IMDb: 7.9/10

Inuyasha is the rare franchise that manages to strike a balance between cute and horrifying. To liken it to a current pop culture phenomenon, it’s similar to Outlander, in that its basic plot sounds like something out of a romance novel: a young woman, Kagome, is sent back in time, and must then contend with forces beyond her reckoning, all while getting to know a rambunctious man (well, in this case, half dog-demon), Inuyasha, to whom she seems to be mysteriously bound. There’s plenty of time-travel fluff to go around, but in Inuyasha’s case, it’s augmented by nightmare fuel in the form of a host of demons searching for the magic jewel in Kagome’s possession. The centipede monster in the first episode sets the bar for how unsettling these monsters look, as well as the show’s overall structure as a sort of monster-of-the-week affair. To that end, the show can get a little repetitive, but the cast is uniformly great (including Inuyasha’s antihero brother Sesshomaru, who I think I can confidently say is “the hot one”), and the balance between fun and horror is a rare find.

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FUNIMATION

2. Attack on Titan (2013)

1 season, 51 episodes | IMDb: 8.8/10

Since the manga began in 2009, Attack on Titan has become something of a cultural sensation. At present, only the first season of the anime, which was produced in 2013, is available on Netflix, but it works on its own. (It’s also notably a series that benefits from being available to binge rather than view doled out in segments, as seeing it all in one fell swoop — or a few swoops — makes its repeated cliffhangers less obvious and thereby more tolerable.) Broadly speaking, it’s almost a mecha series, as the driving force of the plot involves fighting giant creatures (the Titans of the title), an enterprise that only starts to become truly tenable when it transpires that one of the human characters, Eren, is a Titan, himself. The difference is aesthetic: the Titans are awful to look at, as they are basically giant humans with their skin stripped away, and their muscles contorted to look as terrifying as possible. As for why it all works, it ultimately comes down to the focus on the coming-of-age stories and how each character’s arc dials into the anxieties that are part and parcel of growing up and dealing with loss. The series is also fairly brutal when it comes to reflecting the realities of living in what is effectively a war zone, as every character is fair game when it comes to Titan fodder. Equal parts steampunk romp and war story, Attack on Titan is one of the best anime series in the game.

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VIZ MEDIA

1. Bleach (2004)

3 seasons, 366 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10 Bleach has it all. It’s stylish as hell, it’s incredibly well-acted, it’s genre-fluid, and on top of that, it’s well-written. Though it starts out fairly simply, it builds and builds, transforming into an epic that more than earns its place in the pantheon of great anime. The story begins when Ichigo Kurasaki, a high schooler capable of seeing ghosts, takes on the duties of a Soul Reaper in order to protect his family.  It’s a transition that the show handles beautifully, and does again and again as it progresses. The world of Bleach (and the mythology involved) just keeps getting bigger, without ever falling short, or falling flat. The series is also impossible to peg as one genre or another, as there are elements of almost everything baked in. It’s an epic, and unmissable as such. Creator Tite Kubo’s style is just the cherry on top of the cake.

[theories-peridot]

ANALYSIS: mindful education and kill la kill

((Sooooo, it’s been a while! but i’m here to point out some stupid stuff. PS- THIS IS RATED LIKE.. PG15 OR WHATEVER. THERE WILL BE ANIMATED BLOOD and under boob i guess))

Mindful education, it was a great episode that centered around fusion, specifically stevonnie. Steven and Connie learn how to stay as a stable fusion with the help of Garnet, this episode was loved for it’s exploration into anxiety and it’s way how showing people that it’s better to face the truth and facts rather than push it aside and ignore it. Not only that, but it was also the first episode on Steven universe to have a guest animator, that animator being  Takafumi Hori!  Takafumi Hori works for trigger studio, specifically i’d like to point out, he worked as an animation director on kill la kill. 

“now, what does this have to do with anything and why am i bringing it up now? so and so already talked about it!”

shh. i’m sure they did, but i am yet to see that. after the little nod to mindful education in the recent episode storm in the room, where Connie makes the same hand position that Steveonnie and Garnet did in that episode, and after me watching kill la kill again, this time appreciating it’s story telling, art style and messages, i realize how many similarities it shares with mindful education and i could see why they had  Takafumi Hori guest animate the song sequence “here comes a thought”.

((if you haven't already watched kill la kill, i recommend it, but do go in with an open mind as people are always quick to judge it for it’s ... well.   fanservice. in truth, it gives a messages about being true to who you are, body positivity, opening yourself up to others and relationships, whether it be friendship, romance or platonic love.

so quick summary of kill la kill for those who haven’t watched it: a young girl named ryuko matoi goes to honnouji seeking answers as to who killed her father, there she makes friends with mako and her family, finds a living sailor suit, that she names senketsu (fresh blood) since they meet over him wanting ryuko’s blood and discovers there is more to her existence than she thought.))

 What i’ll talk about here will probably not contain any major spoilers to the anime, but it would make more sense to someone who has watched and has an appreciation for kill la kill, so, here we go.

First off, i’d like to point out what a major part of kill la kill is, in the first few episodes, ryuko and senketsu have trouble syncing and being one, this is caused by ruko silently pushing senketsu away out of embarrassment. 

very soon after in a fight with satsuki she realizes what she’s doing and accepts senketsu and her body and stops being embarrassed. 

(side note, i just realized how dopey and cute sentektsu looks on ryuko in his unfully activated state X3)

now that you know how their relationship works, ryuko and senketsu having to rely on each other to stay at full power and do their best, doesn’t that remind you of mindful education? having to work together with someone else and sync with them to perform at your best.

another point i would like to make, is what happens when a member of the pair loses it. 

for a fusion, they will break apart, or try to stay together and experience something like a nightmare or hallucination of what is bothering them. This could be guilt or pain of any emotional kind as far as we know.

and guess what happens in kill la kill with ryuko and senketsu!??

one of them loses it,

both of them

f*cking lose it

this scene right here, is ryuko getting so mad over nui coaxing her about the death of her father that her blood is so hot and boiling to the point senketsu loses control too. They become a literal monster. 

but how is this freaking monstrosity the same i don’t hear, but presume you ask- 

in kill la kill, this example would be the most extreme, ryuko and senketsu don’t technically break apart from being unstable, but they will when senketsu is not emotionally close enough to ryuko and can’t hold his actual kamui (godrobe) form in worry that he will kill ryuko or knock her out from blood loss (yes, he drinks a small amount to a moderate amount of her blood to stay in that form), this is because he needs to drink more of her blood in order to be close to her if she is pushing him away out of embarrassment or general emotional resentment of any kind. This causes senketsu to go back to his sailor uniform-form to save ryuko

this in away is like a fusion splitting up. but back to monster ryuketsu (ryuko wearing senketsu i mean) the way they lose each other is the same way Steven and Connie lose each other in their pain in their hallucinations, one of them loses it. both of them lose it. They both get scared and stressed and it just gets everything much worse till they split up. 

few more things i’d like to point out, acceptance and being emotionally synced (in relation to the here comes a thought) . 

acceptance, toward the middle and end of mindful education, Steven tells Connie that he just pushes his feelings aside and ignores them to the best of his abilities. He tries to take the easy route out by ignoring everything to stay happy (ignorance is bliss). Ryuko goes through the same thing while wearing junketsu, for a while, she tries to keep her ignorance, going to kill mako

even though technically, this is a forced feeling, ryuko does have to power to resist it, which is what she ends up doing, though at first she seemed to be more content with killing the ones that deny her fake happiness. Just as ryuko had mako and senketsu, Steven has Connie to help him get over his wanting to ignore his problems and be ignorant to it all. 

They both face the fact that it will be better for them not to live like that and accept reality. Steven couldn’t help those gems and Rose is not as perfect has he thought, Ryuko is not happy and her wedding is not real, her mother is a manipulative b*tch and junketsu is not good.

now for the song and kill la kill. 

just listen to them both and think about the lyrics. now

they both tell about how they must both be calm and not lose themselves in their problems and mind, to level the head and sync, they will have problems but they have each other and they still exist. 

alright, that’s all.

oh wait

dont forget dis