#so sorry Hirano </3

[sunnfish]

[ID: A digital illustration of Monkey King/Sun Wukong from Lego Monkie Kid. He sits crouched, balancing on his staff, with a confident smile on his face. His phoenix feather cap and red cape flare out behind him, and his tail curls beneath him. The background is a light blue with a slight cloud motif and a big yellow sunburst shape centered around his head. The artist’s signature “sunnfish 2023” is written on the flap of his cape. /End ID]

Woe, lego monkie kid be upon ye

Alternate versions under the cut ^_^

[ID: Two versions of the same image as above; in each, the color main color layer is turned to a different blending mode, changing the colors and allowing the background colors to bleed through. The first changes it to brighter colors, while the second changes it to darker colors. /End ID]

[thenon-fictiondays]

Hirano to Kagiura light novel translation 4-1

Chapter 4: Fall.

Part 1

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It might be September by now, but the sun’s rays know no bounds.

Heat from the weather aside, the schoolhouse on the coattails of summer break is permeated with the fervor of the students.

Among all those in the athletic clubs who have undergone away games and training camps, there are many who have deepened both their tans and their virility. The sense of achievement characteristic of those who kept up with their exercise lives within their growth spurts.

Hirano’s roommate is, once again, one of them.

Kagiura, who’s gotten a bit taller, has gotten used to high school, completely devoid of the anxiety he’d seemed to have around the time he’d started school.

Since they’d met up over the summer, he’s become more and more relaxed, and Hirano can’t help but think of him as a beloved younger brother.

Wait, but younger brothers don’t do things like give you earrings, do they?

Hirano isn’t really in a position to judge, with no siblings of his own.

He’d found his original earrings while organizing his luggage after returning from Kagiura’s countryside home. They’d fallen into his school bag and hidden themselves beneath the stiff bottom plate.

What should I do about it? he’d wondered, but figured well, whatever, and didn’t bother switching out his new ones. He’ll keep them in the dorm just in case, but ultimately plans to keep using the ones Kagiura gave him.

As soon as the new term starts, preparations for the Cultural Festival are full speed ahead. Even the first years, who aren’t used to running events without the guidance of a faculty member, are gradually gaining opportunities to build character. The Executive Committee members have so many responsibilities that it has become difficult to carry out their studies without the cooperation of their classmates.

Kagiura also has the situation of being part of the ‘Sports Recommendation Squad’, and his grades are not up to snuff. It would be good if they don’t take a hit from his extracurricular responsibilities, but that will come down to his own efforts.

It’s not just the Executive Committee members who are swamped. The students in the culture clubs are also at their busiest, and with the autumn tournament right around the corner, there’s no way the athletics clubs can cut back on practices.

The sweltering nights have yet to abate; yet despite these conditions which could even be called cruel, most of the students are eagerly awaiting the Cultural Festival. You might even get away with saying all of them.

Because, after all, girls come to visit the cultural festival. 

And even without that element, a festival is still a festival. 

This is a time when the whole student body is restless, so the Disciplinary Committee will be on top of keeping everyone in line—or such is their public stance, but they won’t be too strict about moderating uniforms and hair styles.

In any case, a high proportion of the students will be in costumes on the day of the festival. 

There's also at least one class cross-dressing every year. 

This year, that’s right, it's the class that Hirano is unfortunately a part of. More specifically, it's been decided that Hirano will be one of the ones in drag. 

Oiwa-san—a famous spirit who makes an appearance in the Yotsuya Kaidan.¹

There are many variations of the famous ghost story, in which Oiwa, the deceased wife, holding a grudge over the betrayal of her husband, Iemon, slaughters every last person involved. Apparently, they will be basing the makeup off of Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan², which is popular among Hirano’s classmates.

He’d been shown reference images of the ghost, her face half disfigured and inflamed by poison, but the picture was nightmare fuel when viewed in the dark.

Supposedly it’s a style of Halloween makeup that’s been popular in recent years, but the trial makeup that had been applied to his arm after school in order to match the shade to his face had been truly grotesque.

This information is to be kept top secret until the last possible minute on the day of, in the interests of building hype.

While Hirano is putting away his homework, the door opens with a click.

His roommate is home.

It’s still bright outside, but the dining hall is just about to open for dinner.

“Hirano-san, I’m home!”

“Welcome home, Kagi-kun.”

These days, Kagiura usually gets a bit bashful in reply to Hirano’s greeting, seemingly tickled. So naive and innocent he must be, making such an expression with no fear of being misunderstood.

There were days they’d spent together, but summer vacation had been long.

There’s an air of a different kind of newness from the one there’d been in the period before they’d gotten used to sharing a dorm—Kagiura probably feels it too. At least, Hirano thinks so.

He feels closer to Kagiura compared to before. After all, he’s met his immediate and extended family, so of course they’d feel more intimate. It’s as if the part of himself that had been on guard while thinking about how to act as a senpai in his second year in the dorms has been absolved.

After Hirano had filled out his print-outs as if in competition with Kagiura, who’d spread out his homework in a frenzy, they’d headed to the dining hall a little later than usual.

It always takes him about 3 or 4 days to get back into the swing of dorm life.

Speaking of which, he thinks.

Before Kagiura moved into the dorms, Hirano had been quite nervous.

He’d talked to Hanzawa about it one time when the Disciplinary Committee had a meeting, and they’d brainstormed strategies to avoid scaring Kagiura off.

He’d also felt it would be a waste of his efforts if he was only friendly at the beginning of their time spent living together; thus, they’d come to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be too far out of Hirano’s depths to give him a nickname and use “-kun”.

Oh yeah, that’s right. At the beginning I called him Kagiura-kun.

He’s been calling his name every day, enough that he’d ended up shortening it, thinking it’s too long and clunky.

Kagiura has morning practice tomorrow, too, so there's no way he can let him oversleep.

Hirano got that, but there was something on his mind that just wouldn’t go away, so he asked before shutting off the lights. 

".....Hey, um. I know you're working hard, so I don't wanna rain on your parade, but are your studies going all right? I haven't heard how your proficiency test went yet."

As the words leave his mouth, he thinks, what am I, a private tutor? and laughs drily to himself.

For the results of the test held right after summer break, a list ranking every student in their grade and the standard score were passed out to each person, the same as for the periodic exams.

For first years, they can be used as nothing more than a reference, but due to the breadth of the material covered, in some cases they might be used to determine which schools to apply to when compared to results from previous cram schools.

“...I just barely passed.”

“What’s the damage?”

“The teacher said, ‘You didn’t do badly enough that I need to pull you aside, but keep working hard’...”

“I see.”

Which is bad in and of itself, really.

Kagiura hangs his head dejectedly, and Hirano’s tempted to comfort him all the more for having seen the extent of his efforts, but his lack of preparation is unmistakable.

“Kagi-kun, after the cultural festival is over, you gotta step it up. If you miss some of the notes, get someone to show you theirs before the next day. Don’t let them build up. If you end up with a backlog of notes to take, you’re not gonna be able to understand them.”

Hirano knows deep down he’s probably worrying too much, but he keeps the expression on his face stern. The beginning is the key to everything. Among his classmates in the ‘Sports Recommendation Squad’ who, like Kagiura, are bad students, there are many whose grades plummeted after going on to their second year.

Who knew he’d become this much of a worrywort after becoming someone’s senpai?

“Yeah…Hirano-san, will you teach me again?”

“Sure. But you better bring back good grades.”

“I will! …By the way, can I ask you something?”

He ducks his head as he asks the question, a gesture with all the charm one would expect from someone as cute as him.

“What’s up?”

“When you were a first year, did the senpai you roomed with teach you how to study, too?”

“Nah, no way.”

“Hm…did you not get along?”

“It’s not that we didn’t get along, we just weren’t really that close. I wasn’t nearly as friendly a kouhai as you are.”

This is usually the case for dorm students. Hanzawa, contemptuous of homosexual relations, has a reputation in certain circles for having a finely-tuned gaydar and showing up to cockblock any time he senses anyone getting a little too close.³

His distaste isn’t unwarranted; apparently it has to do with his family, so even Hirano feels bad for him.

“...Does that make me special, then?”

“Why are you so happy about that?”

At Hirano’s jests of what are you, a dog? Kagiura breaks into a grin.

“Yeah. You know, I’m glad I’m your roommate, Hirano-san.”

Hirano smiles wryly; Kagiura’s got him wrapped around his little finger without a hint of insincerity.

With Kagiura cozying up to him like this, he doesn’t stand a chance.

*****

T/N: (1) Not sure I need to add more info on this to the story, but it's pretty interesting, so you can read more about it here.

(2) A movie based on the story made in 1959.

(3) Yall....idek what to say about this. I tried to keep the tone lighthearted but the original text literally says 'gay-hating Hanzawa' and describes his feelings as disgust. Idk why the writer put this but our boy is NOT like that 😭 I actually broke my vow of not looking at the official TL just to see how they handled this bit and they completely watered it down lmao. and tbh, yall know my dedication to accuracy but I WAS TEMPTED. While going back and forth about what I should do, I told my sister about it, and she suggested that Hanzawa doesn't actually hate gays, he just hates gay sex and will stand for none of it in his dorm so...we're going with that interpretation 💀🙃💀🙃

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Special shoutout to @jeizet, @jujupanic, @massyworld, @umbreonwolfy, and @acidsuzanne-blog for sponsoring these updates 🙌

[milkyluxe]

Just for tonight

My entry for day 4 of KagiHira week 2023 Prompt: needy Please be considerate with me, It's been literally over a decade since I last wrote a fanfic, but what can I say? these boys got me down BAD So this is basically Hirano being needy. Set in the winter where Kagi is a 2nd year and Hirano is about to graduate. He's stressed and anxious. Enjoy! :) Also a biiiig thanks to my bestie @cutiesaur for being my beta reader. She really helped a lot! <3

Just for tonight

Physics. Yes, he should study physics a bit more…make sure he knows all of the formula variations there could ever be. Perhaps, he should go over all the problems again? Or  maybe it was a better idea to study maths? Just a bit more wouldn’t hurt to make sure he was on top of every problem he could need to solve. Maybe he should eat. When was the last time he stood up?...How long had he been in this trance? Ugh, he should tidy up his desk. All the mess inside his head couldn’t…or shouldn’t be also present in the physical world. Taiga Hirano grunted. Goddamit, why can’t days be 36 hours, right? 

“Hirano-san”, his roommate's voice snapped him out of his clustered focus mode, “are you gonna stay up late again?”. Akira Kagiura was already laying on his bed, pretending to read a fashion magazine, but in reality he hadn’t turned the pages in over thirty minutes. He had spent the whole time staring at Hirano, not because he was oh so in love with him, but because the blonde hadn’t moved a muscle in hours; no, in days. 

College entrance exams were just around the corner. Kagi had always known how much of a dedicated student Hirano was, he admired him for it, but these past days he had the impression his senior was pushing himself way too hard. It had been a little over a week since he had started ignoring the “lights out” time and kept studying on his desk with a little desk lamp that couldn’t be good for his eyes. He went down to the dining hall just to mindlessly shove food down his throat the fastest he physically could. Kagiura was  sure he wasn’t chewing  properly. “Sorry… I really need to go back up and study”, Hirano had been  excusing himself, but did he really need to study that much?

It’s just the last spurt. That’s what Hirano thought. 

“Uh -Yes, I- …Yes, I think so”, he finally answered with his head clearly still in his notes. “Is the light too bright? Does it make it hard for you to fall asleep?"

“If I say yes, will you stop studying and go to sleep too?” Kagi asked. He  somewhat regretted the tone in which that sentence came out, more annoyed about the light and less worried about his beloved; the latter being how he truthfully felt. Hirano turned on his chair and looked at the brunette for a while, or at least what felt like a while to Kagi. Hirano had a similar gaze in his eyes as the one he had had when Kagi first met him. “No” he said plainly. 

Now Kagiura was mad. The man he loved was so smart and reasonable, yet this attitude was self-destructive. Yeah, okay, the blonde had said countless times how his priorities were and always had been his studies, but putting them even over his health? It was irritating and it seemed like he knew and just didn’t care. All that was in Hirano’s mind was being as ready as he could be for those exams. 

“You’ve been doing this the whole week. Your body can’t possibly handle this treatment  much longer. You know…Tomorrow is sunday, you can catch some sleep today and tomorrow  you can keep studying if you want-” 

“If I want?!?!” Kagi was sort of cut off by Hirano’s sudden outburst. “Do you think I’m doing this for fun? My whole future and everything I’ve been working for in these past years depend on me scoring a high enough grade on the entrance exams next week!” Hirano hissed. He was incensed, he wasn’t being himself. 

Kagi kept silent for a bit, he limited himself to  stare at Hirano with those deep brown eyes of his. Hirano seemed as  if  he was holding his breath. He had raised his voice to Kagi, his precious roommate, and that didn’t happen often. “You are  the first person to tell me that taking breaks is something healthy, that I cannot strain my body  so that  it exceeds its limits all the time, yet that’s what you’ve been doing. All these past days and nights, it’s like there’s a magnet on your desk” the younger man said firmly. “You are  better than this, Hirano. I know that you know better than to-” 

“I’m scared” Hirano’s gaze was down, his body tensed up on the chair. He had verbalised that so fast, Kagiura even doubted if he had heard him  right. “You’re scared?” asked Kagiura to make sure he had heard correctly. “Every minute I’m not studying I feel like I’m wasting time. My head gets flooded with horrible scenarios… What if I can’t answer something I thought I knew perfectly… Should I have studied more? What if I don’t make it? What am I supposed to do then?” his voice was starting to crack.

Upon hearing that faint change of tone in Hirano’s voice, Kagi jumped out from his bed as quickly as he could and kneeled in front of Hirano to meet his gaze. He looked up at him, a silent way of saying “I’m listening to you”. Inside his mind, Kagi was fighting the urge to take his beloved blonde into his arms and console him, alas Kagi knew that, in this state, the other would only retaliate. Instead, he gently placed one of his hands on Hirano’s knee to encourage him to vent some more. 

Brows furrowed, Hirano raised his hands to his forehead, then his temples. He was extremely tense and he knew it, he was only realising this now that he didn’t remember being not tense for the last few days. “I can’t stop,” he said in a tiny voice. “I’m sorry I snapped at you… It’s just that… I feel like I’m drowning”, he stated with one hand partially covering his face. He looked at Kagiura, who was still on his knees looking at him. He didn’t need to say anything, his very expressive eyes spoke for him. Hirano was always glad for how Kagiura kept him grounded without him  knowing it. He felt as if he gave him some sort of sense of purpose and direction. He was a pillar to him. Though he still hadn’t been able to name what he felt for his junior, he was certain they were all positive things, even if he had been ignoring him these past days. He recalled what Kagi said earlier, he was right, he needed to take a break. He was burnt out, exhausted, and anxious, but seeing his roommate’s face brought him some comfort. “You’re probably not even retaining anything anymore, like, your brain is lacking nutrients” Kagiura stated as if he was a hundred percent sure that’s what was happening. Hirano chuckled. “You’re so stupid”, he teased him with a faint smile on his face. He took the hand that was resting on his knee, held it and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you, Kagi. You’re absolutely right, I should stop…that is for today at least”. Kagiura smiled and squeezed his hand back. He got up, not letting go of Hirano’s hand, “I have no doubts that you’re going to make it, Hirano-san, but you really have to get some rest. You always look very beautiful to me, but those dark circles aren't flattering around your pretty blue eyes”. “Ugh” Hirano took his hand away and hid his very much blushed face. “Okay, whatever, let’s sleep then, it is past lights out time anyway” It had been a little over a year since Kagiura confessed, and they had been through so much, but Hirano still wasn’t sure how to react when the other one blurted out his thoughts and feelings like that. But as he had told him himself once: Kagi went straight for the throat with his words and, once again, he had to be thankful for it. “I’m not gonna turn off the lights until I’m completely sure you’re tucked in your bed” Kagiura said as he stood waiting for Hirano to crawl into his bed and lay on it the same way you would stare at a pet that got caught in the middle of  mischief and got  scolded for it. “Are you gonna do it yourself, then?” The blonde immediately regretted his words. With any other person, that would’ve come off as a goofy little threat-joke; but, given the current state of his relationship with Kagiura and how the sleepy brat tended to take things literally...He had positioned himself in a dangerous situation . He cleared his throat and blushed. Again. Kagiura blushed too because the amount of times he had dreamt of taking Hirano to bed was insane. 

After some awkward seconds, the youngest said “I don’t think you should set an alarm for tomorrow. You should really sleep as much as your body needs. If I wake up first, I’ll be sure to be as quiet as possible. Oh! But I’ll wake you up if breakfast time is running out, you must  eat properly too, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you want, I can get you some of the snacks I eat before training if you want to feel more energised-” at this point Kagiura realised Hirano was staring at him with a joyous look on his face, the kind gaze  that made Kagi think Hirano was also in love with him. “Right, sorry, I’ll shut up” Hirano snickered, he got into his bed, bundling up under his covers. “Thank you, Kagi… I mean it” he said as he rested  his head on the pillow. Kagiura turned off the lights.

_______

Taiga Hirano envied and admired a lot of things about his roommate, one of those things being his ability to fall asleep immediately, and virtually anywhere. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Kagi had turned off the lights, but he felt as if he had been shuffling around on his bed for hours. Had  it been of any worth  that Kagiura had managed to get him off the desk relatively early if he was still awake, thrashing around thinking about the exams? Oh no, here it comes again, the feeling of wasting time. He felt irate at himself. Why couldn't he just fall asleep quickly? He wished he could just switch his body off, like an electronic device. He couldn’t help himself to keep ruminating on those thoughts of worry and inadequacy… Oh! And, on top of that, he had also made poor sweet Kagi worry about him. This wasn’t good. His chest felt tight, his thoughts were rushing on his mind and felt as if they were surrounded by thorns, he couldn’t find a position where his body didn’t feel itchy. He wasn’t foolish enough to get up and start studying now, he knew he needed to rest, but this was  useless, he needed his mind to wander somewhere else. He sat up and glanced to his left towards the direction where Kagi’s bed was. He appeared to be sleeping profoundly. 

Aah, fuck it. 

“Kagi” Hirano whispered, hoping it would be enough to wake up Mr. Sleeping Beauty. He knew from experience that it hardly would be, though, so he sat at the bed of the other boy and shook him  lightly, “Kagi” he repeated .

“..hmmh?” a very dazed and sleepy Kagiura mumbled, one eye opened. “Scoot over” Hirano said with a calmness in his voice that was proportional to the knot of nerves he felt inside. It’s not like he hadn’t slept with Kagiura before, they had fallen asleep on the floor sometimes in their study sessions,  they had also leant on each other on long bus rides if they took a trip somewhere… but actually getting in his bed was… different. Hirano felt a bit guilty. Was he taking advantage of him? He knew he wouldn’t refuse. Was he being selfish? He still remembered that time when Kagi couldn’t sleep well because he was too self-conscious of sharing a room with the person he had a crush on…that was a long time ago though, and they were way past that stage. 

Also, Kagiura himself had told him he wanted him to be needy, and this was what he wanted right now. Without fully understanding what was happening, mainly because he was pretty much with one foot in reality and consciousness and the other one on Morpheus’ realm, Kagiura  squirmed towards the side of the wall, and the next thing he knew was that he had Hirano between his arms. Now he was fully awake. “Hirano-san, what happened? Are you okay?” Kagi asked, concerned. “...It's just… I can’t sleep,” Hirano answered, the sound  partially lost as he had buried his face in Kagi’s chest.  It was his way of saying “I don’t want to talk anymore”, the blonde tugged at Kagi’s pajamas and squeezed him into a hug. Kagi understood. He shifted his body a bit more so that Hirano could lay more comfortably on him… well, at least as comfortable as those miniscule  single beds would allow them. He held his beloved senior in his arms. Hirano had his head on Kagiura’s chest-shoulder-arm. One of his arms was folded awkwardly between their bodies and the other one was around his junior, holding him tightly. He could hear Kagi’s heartbeat, which he had expected to raise up, but it didn’t. Wasn’t he disrupted by the fact that his crush had just barged into his bed? Maybe this was wrong and he shouldn’t have made his way into his junior’s bed. Doing something as intimate as sharing a bed was…risky, giving he was also still not sure he felt the same way. Then again, whatever impulse made him want to sleep with him had been right, he already felt a little bit better. The night was cold, it was winter after all, and Kagiura was very, very warm. Hirano was somewhat glad these beds were so narrow, they forced him to cling extremely close to Kagi; it was his only option. Whatever thoughts that were making him feel bad about giving Kagiura mixed signals were now redirected at himself, accusing his own actions  for quite possibly turning a  blind eye on his very own feelings for his roommate. 

He had willingly approached his roommate to lay between his arms after all, and, by god, it was everything he had hoped it would be and more. After a short while, he felt Kagi’s fingers caress his hair lightly, softly, cautiously. Hirano got angry at the thought that maybe Kagi was taking this as the pointless ten second thing they used to do. He shouldn’t hesitate to touch him, for heaven’s sake! So, as a way to reassure that physical contact between them was more than okay now, Hirano snuggled more into Kagi’s chest and leaned his head into his hand as he caressed his hair,  just like when a cat wants to be petted. It was working. His head was being drained from all of the overwhelming thoughts and worries of the exams and instead, thoughts of his beloved Akira Kagiura were starting to sprout. Hirano was thinking of Kagi’s body, which was now extremely close to him, and how it barely fit in the bed, lengthwise. He was thinking about the fact that Kagi felt broader than what he looked; it was funny how the brunette was always so eager to touch him yet he was so reluctant to show off his muscles. Those muscles… Now Hirano could feel them, and it was doing things to his mind. He decided it was not the time to pay too much attention to those thoughts… not now. Kagiura’s other hand had found its way to Hirano’s back, and it was gently caressing him there too, with a small linear motion with his thumb. This felt extremely relaxing and Hirano was delighted; either he would fall asleep, which was what he much wanted and needed, or he would remain enjoying all of the sensations his roommate was making him feel, which were a bunch of fuzzy warm emotions. 

He didn’t want to think much of when he would ever get the chance to share a bed with Kagiura again, or even if he would. Perhaps going over what his feelings for Kagi actually were wasn’t the best idea now. Hirano was just grateful there was someone in his life he could depend on and lean on when he felt as if the ground wasn’t there anymore, like he was losing himself. The mere action of laying down and cuddling with Kagiura made everything else seem so inconsequential. It was just them, their bodies now very intertwined, as  Kagi had locked their legs together at some point, both of their breaths now in sync, and Kagi’s soothing heartbeat which made Hirano calm down drastically. The petting on the head stopped, and Hirano took this as a sign that his dear Kagi was definitely falling back to sleep. The older boy moved his head a bit to look at his source of bliss. Kagiura had rested his head to almost lay on top of Hirano’s, and because of the sudden movement, he got alerted and opened his eyes. Blue met brown. 

They held their gazes for a while. Kagiura appeared to be waiting for Hirano to say something, and Hirano seemed to be waiting for Kagiura to do something. 

Kagi smiled softly and asked “are you comfortable?”; his voice was low and raspy, he had bedhead and, from up this close, Hirano could see just how handsome he really, truly was. He got overwhelmed, but in a good way, because he understood the sheer amount of self-control Kagi must have been exerting right there to place his needs first. It was  like he understood everything, all at once. The raw, intense, intrinsic love Kagi felt for him, he was really feeling it now, it was like being struck by thunder. Hirano wished this sensation was eternal. If he had done it a little harder, Hirano would’ve practically headbutted Kagiura on his chest when he leant down on him again, squeezing him tight. “Very much so” Hirano answered, but again his voice was partially lost in the fabric of Kagiura’s hoodie. He felt Kagi also snug him closer, take a deep breath and then he was pretty sure he felt faint kisses on the top of his head. He  probably didn’t mind it at this time, all this cuddling was the perfect sleeping pill after all. 

___

When he opened his eyes, Hirano felt plenty confused: he saw his own bed, but he wasn’t on it. “Oh my god, did I die out of stress? Am I a spirit now?” He began to freak out, but was eventually distracted by how overly warm his back felt, and how his duvet felt heavier than usual. It felt as if it was almost wrapped around him… and it also smelt a lot like his roommate. Oh. Right.

They must have shifted during the night (as one normally does) because now Kagiura was spooning Hirano, who needed a few seconds after waking up to finish the puzzle on his mind and remember all that had happened last night. Carefully, as to not wake the other up, who, unsurprisingly, was still asleep, Hirano reached out for the alarm clock Kagi kept on the headrest of his bed, the one he had gifted him on his past birthday. It was a little past 9 a.m. Way later than the time they usually got up, but still not too late to have breakfast. Hirano sat up on the bed and woke Kagi up. After all, if they weren’t out of the room soon, Hanzawa was probably going to knock on their door out of suspicion and, for once, he would’ve been right. 

With a hand lightly shaking Kagiura’s torso, the blonde called for his junior’s name in a soft voice. When Kagiura opened his eyes, he was greeted with a view so dazzling he also thought  he had died and gone to heaven: the morning sun rays were leaking from their window, and the ones that didn’t reach him directly, were being blocked by Hirano, with his golden hair, his fair skin, his shining blue eyes, the morning sun creating a halo around his figure. His brain malfunctioned and, all he managed to say after some babbling, was “...what?” 

Hirano giggled, Kagi genuinely seemed absent-minded. “Don’t you “what” me, get up!” he said as he gave a quick spank to Kagi’s hip. Kagiura was sure he was now dead because there was no way Hirano just did that; but on the other hand, he was happy, because Hirano had a completely different look on his face: he looked rested, refreshed, lively. 

“Good morning, Hirano-san” Kagi finally managed to say, and smiled.

[animemusicbrackets]

HERES THE BRACKET. FINALLY. GOD.

sorry for the wait u_u

(Text version, with dates under the cut below)

For franchises that had more than one submission, I grouped them together so that after round 2, there will only be one contestant per franchise. to try to be fair or whatever, so that a small number of franchises dont dominate the bracket

yes i know mdzs and tgcf arent anime but its my poll tourney and i do what i want godbless

this might be too much to ask but please watch the videos if you can and vote based on that! idc how much you like or dislike the anime, how much do you like the OPENING. obviously this is for fun so you can do whatever but if possible i dont rly want this to be a popularity poll :')

propaganda welcome :)

Tag List: round 1 round 2 round 3 quarterfinals semifinals finals third place round propaganda bracket updates matches (the actual polls, not including any reblogs)

ROUND 1

PART A (5/6 12:00pm ET)

Match 1: "Peace Sign" - Kenshi Yonezu (My Hero Academia) {VS} "Hitamuki" - SUPER BEAVER (My Hero Academia) Match 2: "THE DAY" - Porno Graffitti (My Hero Academia) {VS} "H. T. [Humanoid Typhoon]" - Tsuneo Imahori (Trigun 1998) Match 3: "Kaen" - QUEEN BEE (Dororo 2019) {VS} "Naru" - PON (Tsurune: Kazemai High School Kyudo Club) Match 4: "DANZEN! Futari wa Pretty Cure" - Gojo Mayumi (Futari wa Pretty Cure) {VS} "Bye Bye" - 7!! (Kimi To Boku) Match 5: "Hikariare" - BURNOUT SYNDROMES (Haikyuu!!) {VS} "FLY HIGH!!" - BURNOUT SYNDROMES (Haikyuu!!) Match 6: "Gun's & Roses" - Paradise Lunch (Baccano!) {VS} "Flyers" - BRADIO (Death Parade) Match 7: "MAN HUMAN" - Denki Groove (Devilman Crybaby) {VS} "Goya no Machiawase" - Hello Sleepwalkers (Noragami) Match 8: "Maji LOVE 1000%" - STARISH (Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000%) {VS} "KICK BACK" - Kenshi Yonezu (Chainsaw Man)

PART B (5/8 12:00pm ET)

Match 9: "Papermoon" - Tommy heavenly6 (Soul Eater) {VS} "Resonance" - T.M. Revolution (Soul Eater) Match 10: "Hyadain no Kakakata☆Kataomoi-C" - Maeyamada Kenichi (Nichijou) {VS} "Parallel Hearts" - FictionJunction (Pandora Hearts) Match 11: "Easy Breezy" - chelmico (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!) {VS} "Bara wa Utsukushiku Chiru" - Koji Makaino (Rose of Versailles) Match 12: "Tank!" - The Seatbelts (Cowboy Bebop) {VS} "COLORS" - FLOW (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion) Match 13: "Melissa" - Porno Graffitti (Fullmetal Alchemist 2003) {VS} "Golden Time Lover" - Sukima Switch (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) Match 14: "Rain" - SID (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) {VS} "Again" - YUI (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) Match 15: "Monochrome Kiss" - SID (Black Butler) {VS} "Brand New World" - D-51 (One Piece) Match 16: "Smile Bomb" - Mawatari Matsuko (Yu Yu Hakusho) {VS} "Dream Island Obsessional Park" - Susumu Hirasawa (Paranoia Agent)

PART C (5/10 12:00pm ET)

Match 17: "R★O★C★K★S" - Hound Dog (Naruto) {VS} "Lovers" - 7!! (Naruto: Shippuden) Match 18: "Far Away" - Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Naruto) {VS} "Blue Bird" - Ikimonogakari (Naruto: Shippuden) Match 19: "Hero's Come Back" - Nobodyknows (Naruto: Shippuden) {VS} "BLOODY STREAM" - Coda (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) Match 20: "Aoi Hana" - Kikukodan (Sweet Blue Flowers) {VS} "Unravel" - TK (Tokyo Ghoul) Match 21: "Setsuna no Ai" - GRANRODEO (Bungo Stray Dogs) {VS} "Gurenge" - LiSA (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) Match 22: "Scar" - Tatsuya Kitani (Bleach) {VS} "Eternal Blaze" - Nana Mizuki (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's) Match 23: "Sono Saki e" - RIRIKO (Children of the Whales) {VS} "Rondo-Revolution" - Masami Okui (Revolutionary Girl Utena) Match 24: "Motteke! Sailor Fuku" - Aya Hirano, Emiri Katou, Kaori Fukuhara, and Aya Endo (Lucky☆Star) {VS} "Moonlight Densetsu" - Dali, Moon Lips (Sailor Moon)

PART D (5/12 12:00pm ET)

Match 25: "99.9" - MOB CHOIR feat. sajou no hana (Mob Psycho 100) {VS} "1" - MOB CHOIR (Mob Psycho 100) Match 26: "99" - MOB CHOIR (Mob Psycho 100) {VS} "Kibou no Uta" - Ultra Tower (Food Wars) Match 27: "Departure!" - Masatoshi Ono (Hunter x Hunter) {VS} "Sakura Kiss" - Chieko Kawabe (Ouran High School Host Club) Match 28: "History Maker" - Dean Fujioka (Yuri!!! On ICE) {VS} "Kaikai Kitan" - Eve (Jujutsu Kaisen) Match 29: "Drunken Dreams of the Past" - Lin Zhixuan (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) {VS} "Connect" - ClariS (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) Match 30: "No Parting" - Jeff Chang (Heaven Official's Blessing) {VS} "Delicate ni Suki Shite" - Ota Takako (Mahou no Tenshi Creamy Mami) Match 31: "Kiss Me" - Celeina Ann and Nai Br.XX (Carole & Tuesday) {VS} "Sudachi no Uta" - Anemoneria (Wonder Egg Priority) Match 32: "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" - Yoko Takahashi (Neon Genesis Evangelion) {VS} "Shinzou wo Sasageyo" - Linked Horizon (Attack on Titan)

[sunnnfish]

I’m so sorry shirahama, makimura, eimi, kuresawa’s girlfriend (I think she has a name by now but I forgor </3), ichinose, dorm manager, yashiro, and every sibling/parent

[neonscandal]

A Fever in Spring

Chapter 3: An Impossibly Warm Front

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Pairing(s): Sasaki x Miyano, Kagiura x Hirano

Genre: Fluff

Chapter Word Count: 1.1K+

Status: Ongoing

Chapter Summary: Things unexpectedly begin to heat up as Sasaki leaves no room to question where he stands in his feelings for Miyano. Kagiura learns the only reward for good work... is more work.

EXCERPT

Hirano’s sharp blue eyes blinked open with a start, shocked to not only be face-to-face with his wide eyed kohai but also to be keenly aware of the heat emanating from his hand which hung right before him. A heat that must have been contagious from the way it burned across Hirano’s nose and cheeks.

A/N: I made an outline for this series before I started writing it but, when I got to this chapter, I couldn’t figure out where to nestle it in the cadence of the “Hirano to Kagiura” storyline since the winding path of their relationship progressed so differently from poor Sasaki and Miyano’s. Ultimately, their timelines sync up somewhere before episode 5 of "Sasaki and Miyano" and just after Chapter 18 of "Hirano to Kagiura" so I just had to wait for that chapter to drop! Patience is a virtue and allat.

You don't need to have read "Hirano to Kagiura" for this chapter to make sense as enough is explained satisfactorily... hopefully. But read it anyway because it's delightful.

TL;DNR: Sorry for the wait, I’m awkward and indecisive but you can pretend I had a much more interesting excuse for the delay if you want to.

The white noise of rain filled the space between Hirano and Kagiura who lay huddled closely around a laptop. The movie had long since ended and the soft glow of the monitor displayed a drifting DVD logo. Kagiura, in the hushed quiet, hoped the sound of the heart pounding in his chest wasn’t disturbing Hirano. Unlike his stern senpai, he found the proximal space they presently shared to be entirely too overwhelming to drift serenely to sleep.

Through the shaggy cut of his bangs, his reticent eyes washed over the glowing contour of Hirano’s face, transfixed by the way the flickering light bounced off the apple of his decidedly high cheekbone. Rebelliously blonde hair spilled across his forehead and pooled beneath a pierced ear.

While his face was long and narrow, his features were far from delicate. To Kagiura, Hirano’s face was more mature than his own which still had a boyish roundness despite his otherwise hulking frame.

In many ways, Kagiura admired Hirano. He was intelligent and disciplined with a surprisingly sharp tongue. His disposition seemed to rest upon a razor’s edge when outside of the dorm, at least when it came to his peers. But, to Kagiura, he was also incredibly kind and thoughtful. He put a lot of thought into his appearance, a clever guise for how studious and by the book he was. But, if you didn’t know him, it’d be hard to appreciate or even recognize this dissonance. So, Kagiura counted himself, thankfully, among those who knew Hirano well.

On a whim, he dragged an arm from beneath the blanket they shared, resting his hand beneath his chin. “Have we ever.. been this close?” he pondered. They’d spent months living together before Kagiura became aware of his feelings for his roommate. Back then, it was a lot more effortless, the casual way they spent time together, hung over one another. But now, everything felt like it held meaning, hope even. Moreso after Kagiura confessed.. once, then twice, then the tens of times after that…

But Hirano never staunchly rejected him. Rather, he met each confession rationally with an unbothered indifference. Initially, that dismissal was almost more crushing than an outright refusal, like Kagiura’s feelings weren’t even registering on his radar. Plus, without Hirano for guidance, Kagiura’s support system to deal with such a heartbreak was either the jocks on his basketball team (who were great when it came to refining his jump shot but not so much matters of the heart) or his classmate Niibashi who was thankfully extremely patient in his counseling and supportively nonjudgmental… mostly. If it hadn’t been for Niibashi’s investment in this budding... whatever it was, Kagiura doubted he’d have gotten this far. “Wait ‘til he hears about this…” he smiled to himself, a disbelieving huff of air pushed through his nose forcefully.

Together, the roommates navigated the awkwardness of Kagiura’s confession, finding some semblance of normalcy, Kagiura’s difficulty in properly explaining his thoughts to Hirano, and, most recently, took on the threat of being split up as roommates.

Lately, they’d put countless hours towards studying to make sure that Kagiura could make the leap from 171st in his class to, at least, the 50th to lock in their dorm arrangement for the next year. Elated that Hirano would still push for them to room together a second year in light of his romantic feelings, Kagiura pressed forward unrelentingly. In the back of his mind, on occasion, but only when he thought he was losing steam studying… he’d allow himself the luxury of questioning whether Hirano wasn’t secretly in love with him, too. Especially, as he became more susceptible to compromising with Kagiura.

Pushing the boundaries between being roommates and doing as lovers do… even if it was only a solitary touch for ten seconds a day. Ultimately, he knew Hirano was just giving into Kagiura’s neediness along with his own need to spoil and pamper but it still made him think he had a chance. Now they lay, squished into one bed for a movie night, a reprieve and reward for Kagiura’s unprecedented commitment to his studies.

Something in the bewitching twilight gave Kagiura the impression that this was what it could be all the time. The thought sent a fresh wave of blood on a victory lap around his cheeks. He withdrew his other hand from the warm comfort between them and scrunched the hem of Hirano’s blanket tightly to his face, as if it could provide adequate camouflage for the feelings that continued to well within him. He took in the light fragrance of detergent and the ever present scent of Hirano’s body wash, something he always marveled he hadn’t become insensitive to. It brought a sense of relaxation, one he found most readily within the privacy of their room and under Hirano’s care.

Perhaps that could be to blame for the long spindly fingers that suddenly found themselves lingering over Hirano’s sleeping face. Apprehensive but intentional in hovering mere millimeters away, an outstretched pointer finger tentatively answered the call of temptation. “What am I doing? That could ruin this…” Kagiura winced ruefully. He’d decided long ago not to break the covenant of their daily ten seconds. Hoping that Hirano would somehow begin to miss the absence of his skin upon him. As if depriving him of a ten second handhold would trick his body into craving Kagiura’s touch the same way he found himself craving Hirano’s. It was not a well thought out plan but… he was winging it, after all.

“Maybe… just this once.” Kagiura sighed through his nose, thoughts still waging war as to whether it was worth the first time he felt Hirano’s lips to be something obscenely stolen by his fingertips in the dead of night. But it wasn’t quite the dead of night anymore, a fact he realized all too late just as the first crescendo of Hirano’s alarm began to sound.

Hirano’s sharp blue eyes blinked open with a start, shocked to not only be face-to-face with his wide eyed kohai but also to be keenly aware of the heat emanating from his hand which hung right before him. A heat that must have been contagious from the way it burned across Hirano’s nose and cheeks.

--

Miyano rolled over in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. His sleep had been sparse and wracked with anxiety and a feverish post-nasal drip that felt like swallowing razors. Sasaki had done it, put his confession out into the open. There were no if’s, and’s or but’s about his feelings anymore and, while that gave Miyano’s imagination a rest, he now had an entirely new problem to solve. How exactly was he meant to respond?

“Ughh…” he croaked, wondering if his worries could have made himself sick. “If only I hadn’t run in the rain. Better yet, if I hadn’t stayed after school late at all. Maybe Sasaki-senpai wouldn’t have-” his thoughts began spiraling. “I guess I’m staying home today… crap.”

[malachiexists13]

Hello, I recently started playing MeChat (thats a lie. I played the game like a year ago but then got bored) and so I figured that it might be fun to do something similar to my "would I slap this character?" posts but with MeChat instead. Because fuck it, I do whatever the hell I want. But instead of slapping, its "would I date this character?" But only the ones I've "swiped right" on because there is way too fucking many. So let's get into it!

Key:

❤ - I would date them

💔 - I woule NOT date them

❓ - Unsure/Don't know enough about them

PHOTOS DO NOT BELONG TO ME! THEY BELONG TO THE CREATORS OF MECHAT!

1.) Kai Winters

- I literally only matched him because his name is the same as the one I use on the game. And all I remember is that he's a vampire and when his storyline "ends", he leaves the player for his ex or something. Bitch ain't loyal so... 💔

2.) Oliver Ortiz

- I matched with Oliver for the dog. I dont even really like dogs. Im 80% sure he dumps the player because his scholarship is more important, but I respect that 💔

3.) Evan Mills

- I genuinely don't remember anything about him or why his storyline "ends." But he's cute? 💔

4.) Noel Moulin

- Literally one of my favorites. Noel is like- the perfect man?? Incredible boyfriend and friend material?? His story is so sweet and engaging, with just the right amount of drama sprinkled in ;). I hope his story is continued soon, gotta know whether Jason's dead or not. ❤

5.) James Berrybell

- Im so in love with his design. The pierings, the long dyed hair, the tattoos, the nails, his fashion, ugh just take me 😍 I'm not really into the whole fuckbuddies or friends with benefits deal, but I'll take anything he's willing to offer. Especially because his story is so intriguing, and the sex scene in the alley was kinda hot. Silently hoping that MC is not AFAB or is at least on birth control with the amount of times James came inside 😅

The real downside to his story is that he lets shit go to his head after he starts gaining attention with his music. I really hope James fucking opens his eyes because I really do like him and want a happy ending there. ❤

6.) Eichi Hirano

- If you're looking for a sugar daddy, here he is. Rich businessman Eichi will spoil you as long as you're down to relieve his stress. Literally, first date and he already fucked MC into the mattress. Lost count of how many times I've disappointed him with my refusal to indulge in toys lol. He's cute, but I wouldn't date him 💔

7.) Gray Grimshaw

- Literally so gorgeous?? And he's a blind artist who advocates for disabled people and is really kind? Take me, please. I'm disabled myself, in more ways than one, so I always love some good representation ❤ And I'm genuinely enjoying Gray's storyline.

8.) Eddie Odonnell

- The slowburn hurts. Eddie's so pretty and he's so kind, sweet, and fun to be with that this slowburn romance hurts. He's either obliviously dense or trying to let MC off easy, I don't know which. Leaning towards dense because he admits to having no romantic experience ❤

9.) Martin Dixon

- The amount of drama here?? Like, I'm sorry. Love the non binary representation, a bit iffy on the field sex, not interested in dating a criminal. Am interested in seeing their story continued. I originally wrote a long rant about how I hated the sprite because some of them, very few, look like they breathe and I thought Martin was one of them. I was wrong 😅💔

10.) Joel Troy

- So sweet and cute, omfg. Not a fan of adrenaline myself but I can appreciate an adventrous man. He's also very understanding so like- perfect boyfriend material??? Making out on a first date is a bit iffy for me but then agajn, I've never been on a date or kissed anyone. Yes, I've been in two relationships but never went on a date or kissed them. I had my reasons-

This is not all of the characters that I've personally matched with. The list grows everyday 😅 But I can only do 10 photos per post so there'll be more soon! And yes, I do intend on doing a "would I slap this character?" for MeChat and a "would I date this character?" for ikemen series, but have patience. I'll get to it when I get to it.

[sillyboypersonasixconcept]

An Addition to the first concept I posted

The main thing is filling in the other Arcana Spots so that is what the meat and potatoes of this post is NEW CONFIDANTS:

Katsuko Hirano Arcana: The Devil "A sad girl, at a glance at least. She lived a good 15 years of her life in the hospital thanks to something that she won't disclose. She has this weird thing with spacing out and talking about weird subjects, but it's no worry."

Seiko Nakabayashi Arcana: The High Priestess "An author who has a lot of ideas but nowhere to go with them, she's got it good in one category, but she wants to expand her horizons. She's quite scary in appearance but that's half the fun."

Eiko Haramitsu Arcana: The Emperor "A guy with a passion for jazz and a bigger passion for seeing people happy, he's a total charmer. He sees Mafuyu like a younger sister, so he tries to make sure she's doing alright from time to time."

Ryunosuke "Calico" Haraguchi Arcana: The Wheel of Fortune (or just "Fortune if you need to shorten it) "A super cat-like guy, he's quite skilled within one thing. That being breaking the law, of course. He pickpockets strangers and causes a ruckus all for the sake of his wonderful cat life fantasy."

Junko Hirano Arcana: The Empress "A teacher at Takarano Highschool, Junko wishes for more in life. She doesn't have much and she doesn't have much passion for the job she's in as a PE teacher. She'll get there one day.. she hopes"

Mitsuki Inoue Arcana: Temperance "A guy with a fair bit to give, Mitsuki doesn't really conform to his gender. Nor does he care about people staring for his dark fashion choices. He doesn't care much for his future."

Aiko Kurumada Arcana: The Hermit "An overachiever with a hopefully bright future in medicine, Aiko wants nothing more than to help her brother and bring good things to the world. Although, she spends all her time studying inside or at school. She thinks that being out and having fun will distract her."

NOTES:

More hitspots might come up! Mostly because I want that year time limit to be as tight as possible, which means having more hitspots could be cool to help build that pressure.

The AO3 fanfic has been cancelled but I will be posting details about the story to here! Sorry to disappoint but I couldn't get much done and I hate AO3's layout for writing.

Hopefully, I can get more stuff done soon! Sorry for suddenly being gone for AGES, I lost motivation to post stuff here :3

[dykecadence]

i was tagged by my bestie @tothechaos to do this music challenge!

rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. put your playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 people. no skipping!

im a heathen who uses liked songs as my basic playlist so this is gonna be hell for all of us

1. death valley by fall out boy

2. young lore by night riots

3. river and roads by the head and the heart

4. pacific rim by ramin djawadi

5. we don't talk about bruno - instrumental 😭

6. the mandalorian by ludwig goransson

7. (a song from hunter x hunter w a title in kanji i can't read) by yoshihisa hirano

8. line without a hook by ricky montgomery

9. candy by the blasting company (absolute banger)

10. carpet diamonds by modern space

this is a mess which is unsurprising coming from a playlist of literally anything ive liked in the past 8 years. you can really see why scorecore is always my top genre

onto the tagging! 10 people is a lot i dont have that many friends (and sorry if youve already been tagged by someone else) @pdfbabe @helloangrydestiny @mycactusandi @rosedapple @highgaylowgpa

[einsamerhund]

I gotta know so I'm just. Gonna drop 3 here and hope I don't overlap if somebody has already asked. 😂

♧ Any part of their canon portrayal you dislike?

♢ What's your opinion on different interpretations of your muse?

✎ What do you wish the author would reveal/had revealed about your muse?

Sorry, hon’, gonna have to just answer one, here ^^;

Pencil:

FUCK YOU HIRANO, WHAT WAS THIS MAN’S PAST LIKE?!

I know this is a massive blanket statement that can be asked of literally EVERY Hellsing character, but not even a little monologue from Major whilst they pan across Hans or some shit? That could have easily been the most cost-effective method and it’s a shame that he very much is just there. It’s such a shame, too, considering the Dawn places him as an equal threat to Alucard due to his apprehension to fight Hans after a near-effortless obliteration of his body. He’s the only other “true monster” in the franchise with a very weak delivery.

[popolovely]

Did new chapter of "Hirano to Kagiura" got released this month? (Sorry for my bad English)

Sorry I didn’t see this before. And I’m not sure what chapter you were asking about. But Hirano to Kagiura has changed its schedule from one chapter a month to one chapter every 3-4 months now, according to an announcement in the magazine. So its gonna be a while till the next chapter comes out.

[kagiura-akira]

4, 9, 11, 20 for the fic writer ask game :)

4. Link your three favorite fics right now.

I'm assuming this is of all time, so I chose the top 3 that came to mind that I've read a few times over the course of all the fandoms I've been in. The first is T rated I think (since it's just the first part of the kghr hypnosis AU it was tamer but I love the whole series, especially Rest and Relaxation which is pretty explicit) but be warned the following two are explicit.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

Since we (kghr victims) are a smaller subfandom I wouldn't say they're unknown just cause if you keep up with the hrkg AO3 tag you'll see their works a decent amount but I chose a few I like that don't have quite as many hits/kudos/comments that I think deserve more

(sorry I don't mean to leave anyone out I literally scanned the first few pages of the most recent that I've read and liked a lot that were less popular fics)

11. How do you come up with your fic titles?

I scavenge the depths of the ocean for these motherfuckers

Song titles and lyrics mostly. It's a torturous process deciding, but it's inspiring to say the least. I love listening to all the songs that fit the vibes I'm going for while I'm working on something.

20. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Writing that one scene that you started the whole thing for. I mean I tend to start there but writing the one thing that encaptures everything you wanted to express in the fic is so satisfying especially when you've had it planned for ages and don't end up writing it till later on.

Fanfic writing game

[thenon-fictiondays]

Hirano to Kagiura light novel translation 4-3

Chapter 4: Fall.

Part 3

Prev || Next

The cultural festival is 10 days away.

The deadline for ordering materials and ingredients has passed, and they have finally reached the peak of making sign boards and interior decorations.

At this time of year alone, many students come to school on the weekends. They should hope to finish preparing by today or tomorrow after school, but they can’t take time away from club activities.

Cultural clubs also have opportunities to present their club activities, and athletic clubs have long practices throughout the year. Making the most of one’s time in the midst of all this is in line with the school’s culture of valuing independence—or so one might think, but this tight schedule is the reason why each and every one of the executive committee members’ grades are allegedly dropping.

Midterm exams themself are next month, but they’re going to cover a lot of material. The contrast with the first semester, which had two rounds of exams in a short cycle, has even Hirano letting out a sigh.

At any rate, high school is much more challenging as a whole compared to middle school. Their teachers tell them to go visit their dream schools’ open campus days and school fairs, and in the same breath warn them that their comprehension level here will reflect in their scores on the national practice exam.

Autumn tends to be a hectic time, for second years and first years alike.

“Hirano-san, apparently there’s gonna be another typhoon in our area the day after tomorrow.”

His kouhai had come home looking restless; lately his mood has been going from sunny to rainy and back again in perfect tandem with the weather report.

Even Kagiura, who has been in a rush of busyness come second semester, has taken on a certain air of dignity in Hirano’s eyes, but right now it’s like he’s a child again. It’s as if every day is just before a field trip.

“That figures, at this time of year.”

“I wonder if next weekend will be okay…” His sigh is punctuated with a dry cough, and he fishes a lozenge out of his pocket. Maybe his throat is bothering him.

“Who knows? Well, there’s a backup day in case the festival day gets rained out.”

“Was last year okay?”

A clacking sound comes from Kagiura’s mouth, as if the lozenge knocked against his teeth.

“Hmm, how was it…I don’t remember, so prob’ly nothing happened.”

“The teacher did say it’ll only be canceled in case of heavy rain, so it seems like we’ll use the space below the gym or something, but I feel like we all might not fit…”

“Oh, right. So that’s what the courtyard booths are gonna do, huh? Sorry, I dunno.”

“I gotcha. Thanks anyway!”

“Speaking of which, have you guys worked out the schedule for your shifts yet? If I’m gonna go, I might as well go when you’re gonna be there.”

“We have, but…if we’re gonna coordinate, then I want to go around the festival with you.”

“Me?”

“I know this is last-minute, so if you already have someone else to go with, I’m cool with it.”

Yeah, that’s definitely the face of someone who’d be cool with it.

His kouhai’s expression has immediately gotten pouty, and Hirano isn’t sure if he’s going to give up quickly or dig his heels in.

“Maybe in the morning, then. All the stalls that have food are gonna be pretty crowded around noon, so I wanna get something to tide me over before then. Scout out where you wanna go ahead of time. I’ll keep an eye out, too.”

“Sure!”

Hirano opens a question packet so he doesn’t disturb Kagiura, who’d sat at his desk after declaring then I’m gonna do homework until dinnertime! The pauses between the sounds of the mechanical pencil scratching haltingly over the paper are punctuated with the occasional cough.

Like raindrops dripping on a rainy day, the slow moment stretches on, until he’s almost in a trance.

When Hirano, who’s gotten a bit worried, strains to listen, it seems like Kagiura’s drinking a lot more water than normal.

That’s understandable, he thinks.

The summer heat is still going strong; this kind of weather makes you want to jump in a pool during the daytime, while the days that turn into chilly nights are growing more frequent. 

Kagiura may be physically fit, but this can’t be an easy time for him, what with him bustling around for the festival executive committee and working up a sweat at morning and evening practices.

At the moment, it might just be a sore throat, but he’s the type that doesn’t know his own limits, so he needs to take care of himself before it turns into a full-on cold.

He’s probably stupidly resilient, though.

*****

Prev || Next

As always, huge thank you to reading list members @jeizet, @jujupanic, @massyworld, @umbreonwolfy, @acidsuzanne-blog, @neoday, @lary-the-lizard, @tsmginc 💖 you guys rock also sorry for tagging you in a post I immediately deleted lmao

[goldenteaset]

Hinamori Citadel Sword Timeline (in-game)

...For posterity. I could just do this with images, I know, but I couldn't actually see the dates that way. Wound up bolding the swords that became important to the Citadel's canon (and swords not in bold might become important later). After awhile the memories came flooding back, so there's random bits of Citadel history/headcanon notes too! (I often made choices Airi would be too cautious to attempt, heh.)

Assume that the Government swords/Munechika are still important in the grand scheme of the Citadel history even if they're not in bold, by the way!

The long list is under the cut~

First Day: 8/26/2021

Starter Sword: Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

First Tantou: Sayo Saimonji

First Smith: Akita Toushirou

Battlefield Tantou:

-Midare Toushirou (Airi's BFF and wingman)

-Yagen Toushirou

-Aizen Kunitoshi

-Maeda Toushirou

-Hirano Toushirou

Results of First Day Smithing (figured I'd wing it):

-Nikkari Aoi

-Yamatonokami Yasusada

-Yamanbagiri Kunihiro

-Nakigitsune

-Kasen Kanesada

-Okurikara

-Kashuu Kiyomitsu

-Souza Saimonji

-Tsurumaru Kuninaga (First Tachi)

-Shishio

-Nagasone Kotetsu

-Urashima Kotetsu

Day 2: 8/27/2021

Smithing results:

-Horikawa Kunihiro

-Doudanuki Masakuni

-Yamabushi Kunihiro

-Sengo Muramasa (Airi's soulmate is discovered! Becomes Unit 1 Captain into perpetuity)

Battlefield Tantou:

-Shinano Toushirou (the first sword I decided would pine for Airi, still unsure if it would go anywhere)

-Gokotai

First breaking: Akita Toushirou. Horrified, I decide to forge stronger swords to protect everyone while furiously grinding for Akita.

Stronger Sword Plan Results are as follows:

-Izuminokami Kanesada

-Heshikiri Hasebe

-Shokudaikiri Mitsutada (Got on the pining train before Hasebe, haha)

-Azuki Nagamitsu (his Dad Energy is so powerful he gracefully exits the harem and joins Sayo and Mitsutada in kitchen duty)

-Ichigo Hitofuri

-Hizamaru and Higekiri (back-to-back! They become fixtures in the Citadel rather than on the battlefield)

Day 3: 8/28/2021

Battle Tantou: Akita Toushirou (this felt like weeks)

I took a "break" until the Underground Treasure Chest on 9/1/2021. After this, counting days becomes very difficult ^^;

UTC Swords 9/1/2021:

-Honebami Toushirou

-Imanotsurugi

9/4/2021:

Arrived in the mail:

-Mikazuki Munechika

9/5/2021:

Smithing Results:

-Juzumaru Tsunetsugu (Airi's second BFF! He goes on Unit 1 and stays there almost in perpetuity)

9/9/2021:

UTC Results:

-Namazuo Toushirou

9/10/2021:

UTC Results:

-Atsushi Toushirou

-Houchou Toushirou (one of Airi's adopted sons now like Sayo and Akita)

-Hotarumaru

-Gotou Toushirou

Somewhere around here, I obtain a copy of Hakata Toushirou. Which leads to...

Second breaking: Hakata Toushirou (via boulder to the head ;_;)

9/11/2021:

UTC Results:

-Ishikirimaru

-Taroutachi

9/12/2021:

UTC Results (or possibly smithing? Things get blurry)

-Tomoegata Nanigata

-Monoyoshi Sadamune

-Taikogane Sadamune (is taller than Airi and grows to really, really like that. Biggest "Will They, Won't They?" of the cast so far, sorry bud...)

9/22/2021

-Hakata Toushirou

10/3/2021:

-Mouri Toushirou

-Tonbokiri (after many Tantou copies. Hasn't appeared in fic yet!)

10/4/2021:

-Otegine

10/9/2021:

-Kikkou Sadamune (Airi's third harem member is established immediately)

10/11/2021: (I believe there was a Training Event here?)

-Uguisumaru (Airi's third BFF)

10/17/2021:

-Akashi Kuniyuki

10/18/2021:

-Kogitsunemaru

10/20/2021:

-Jiroutachi

10/22/2021:

-Nenekirimaru (Hinamori Citadel's resident himbo/problem-solver re: The Move)

10/27/2021:

-Koryuu Kagemitsu (Airi is "in danger" and Mutsunokami watches him for any Casanova shenanigans)

11/1/2021:

-Iwatooshi

11/4/2021:

-Nansen Ichimonji

11/6/2021

-Nikkou Ichimonji

Somewhere between here I beat the Ikedaya Inn in World 6!

Third Breaking: Fudou Yukimitsu, who breaks in the aforementioned attempt on that accursed bridge.

11/17/2021:

-Shizukagata Nanigata

November-December 2021 In General: "The Winter of Kiwame".

-Sayo Saimonji

-Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

-Sengo Muramasa

-Akita Toushirou

-Kikkou Sadamune

12/4/2021: (Hanafuda event for sure)

-Kotegiri Gou

12/5/2021:

-Kuwana Gou

12/7/2021:

-Buzen Gou

12/9/2021:

-Matsui Gou

12/11/2021:

-Samidare Gou (Poetry Club, assemble!)

12/17/2021

-Murakumo Gou

12/24/2021

-Fudou Yukimitsu

Regimental Clash happens with Fukushima Mitsutada, fourth love of Airi's life. For various reasons, he does not come home and I'm despondent about it.

2022 In General: There are so many Kiwame that I don't remember the exact dates of (same with 2023) that they needed their own post [will link here]

1/14/2022:

New Year's Stamp Collection:

-Kokindenju-no-Tachi, who I actually started the game for

1/16/2022:

-Oodenta Mitsuyo

1/26/2022:

-Kenshin Kagemitsu (Airi overprotects him, much to his chagrin)

2/17/2022:

-Nihongou

3/2022 in general: The Great Invasion occurs, bringing with it a sense of truly global scale I had never encountered in a game before. Everyone fights to protect their Citadels, and in Hinamori Citadel Mutsunokami sets out to save Munechika's life and prove his story's worth.

Led by Sengo Muramasa as Unit 1 Captain, Hinamori Citadel does its meager but worthwhile part in the fight to protect everyone's histories.

3/8/2022:

-Hyuuga Masamune (arrives with supplies /half-joking)

In between these two dates, Kashuu Kiyomitsu goes on Kiwame and helps turn the tide. Munechika returns as well, and with Mutsunokami's help Hinamori Citadel is saved.

3/23/2022:

-Hakusan Yoshimitsu (Hinamori Citadel's final reward for their Great Invasion efforts)

5/20/2022: (Edo Castle)

-Kogarasumaru

In Hinamori Citadel canon, Fukushima Mitsutada arrives 6/18/2022. In reality it takes a much longer time for me.

July 2022:

-Mitsutada goes on Kiwame, resuming his on-again off-again flirting status.

-Fudou Yukimitsu also goes on Kiwame, and much for the better. ;v;

7/14/2022:

Juurakutei Special Investigation Event tests everyone's mettle and Airi's temper, thanks to...

-Yamanbagiri Chougi

7/22/2022:

-Chiganemaru

7/27/2022:

-Chatan Nakiri

7/28/2022:

-Okanehira (appears out of the sand and will become the next Kiwame a few weeks later)

7/30/2022:

-Chiyoganemaru

7/31/2022:

-Sasanuki (gains the honor of Airi's first dubcon boyfriend)

8/18/2022: (Mutsunokami's Special Investigation)

-Hizen Tadahiro

8/19/2022:

-Nankaitaro Chouson

In late August, Taikogane Sadamune goes on Kiwame and flusters Airi terribly with his "groupies" line.

9/23/2022:

-Minamoto Kiyomaro

-Suishinshi Masahide

10/16/2022:

-Inaba Gou

10/21/2022: (Kasen's Special Investigation)

-Jizo Yukihira

November 2022 in general:

Fourth and Fifth Breakings: Higekiri and Hizamaru in their first time in battle during Training Camp. It's a tragic blow for Hinamori Citadel. Forgings are immediately attempted for a week straight, until...

11/10/2022:

-Hizamaru

11/13/2022:

-Hanjin

11/18/2022: (Kashu's Special Investigation)

-Ichimonji Norimune (Dangerously attractive??)

12/15/2022:

-Higekiri (after Hizamaru as always)

12/23/2022:

-Daihannya Nagamitsu (I finally decide Airi's an "Osafune Saniwa" after all, because goodness)

2023 Kiwame: There are less this time, but still a lot [here]

1/1/2023:

-Ningen Mukotsu (the first successful Winter Regimental Clash for Hinamori Citadel! Poetry Club is now even more powerful)

1/4/2023:

-Nukemaru

1/6/2023:

-Sanchomou

1/14/2023:

New Year's Stamp Pick:

-Onimaru Kunitsuna

Shortly after, in forging:

-Hacchou Nenbutsu

2/19/2023:

-Taiko Saimonji (the whole Saimonji family is reunited!)

3/6/2023:

-Himetsuru Ichimonji

6/27/2023:

-Jikkyuu Mitsutada, the last new sword in Hinamori Citadel

-Fukushima Mitsutada, officially home at last

The Last Kiwames (in the days before EoS):

-Daihannya Nagamitsu

-Higekiri

-Akashi Kuniyuki

-Hyuuga Masamune

[sunnnfish]

Sorry not sorry I’m thinking about this entire extra tonight again and I need to plague everybody with it. It makes me need to explode. Not to say everything that’s already been said about it but like. What’s they’re relationship. Hiranos entire look. Hirano “man I’m tired I sure would like to meet up with Kagi rn” taiga. Hirano “I wanted to see your face as a pick me up” taiga. Hirano with a Fucking. RING. God. Hell. Head in my hands. What happened man. What happened between them I know you know Harusono shou let me know please god please. I need to EXPLODE RIGHT NOW!!! Christ alive. God. Inarticulate rn. Just repetitions and rotations in my brain. Thinking about lots of Hirano things. It makes me feel rude assigning romantic feelings to his thoughts and actions but god what else is it in a goddamn romance manga. I need to explode. Man that sun is dazzling. He helps me do my best. The Kagi I’m fond of is the one who’s in love with me. I want you to lean on me. I’m already leaning on you more than I realize. HELL. Everything swirling in my head. Once again. It always is. I’ve said it somewhere before but I hope Hiranos realization (because there has to be a realization) is like a supernova. Hirano explodes and collapses in regards to his emotions about Kagi—he dances around his real feelings until Kagi keeps asking and asking until what do you know, I like seeing you happy with what I do, why don’t you want to be needy with me anymore (I like you being needy with me). I kind of hope he realizes in the middle of another stupid argument—not even consciously he just says it in the heat of the moment after Kagi keeps asking and asking and asking and—what do you know. I love you. This has gotten so seriously out of hand. Every time I think about kagihira it’s like this in my brain but worse bc there’s like three different threads going at once. I was thinking about the extra and then just. Hirano taiga and then reverence and i was going to get into that here but I decided to make a new post about it <3 anyways uhhhh sorry not sorry for this indecipherable wall of text. If you read it all then I’m proud of you soldier. Goodbye I am going to write my messy reverence post

[rollingaroundin-bread]

Whoops haven’t drawn anything in a while, better make it something incredibly niche!!!!

Anyways here’s something from two weeks ago that I just got around to finishing today!! Good news though I’ve drawn things that are NOT on sticky notes just haven’t had the time to finish them ‘cause school and all