#time and time again when kanade thinks about being happy and being loved its when her mom was alive

[arolesbianism]

Impulsively read the most recent Kanade story and oh boy. Hooo boy. Thoughts and feelings

[honakito]

Heya! Just stumbled upon this account and I just wanted to say that I already adore your writings!!(even if it's just two(?) so far-) So I decided to make a request:D It's a bit of a silly one, but Kanade and Mizuki(separate please!) x reader hcs playing UNO with them, like, the card game wahahjsha This is mostly random, but I'll be glad if you'll be able to do it! Just don't rush yourself, please..(^^;)

⠀⠀ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏⠀⠀ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏⠀⠀ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏ ͏͏͏uno. . ? like the card deck game ? ?

UNO! - prod. honakito

posted as : request

chars. : a. mizuki , y. kanade

type : x g/n ! reader

scenario : playing uno with them ( headcanons )

taglist : @finanah ( ask to be added )

notes : first of all ignore the header second of all i love this idea so much i had to immediately do it since my brain was like a tornado of ideas what the hell,,, and i still have a request to do that is probably older than my account (not really its from 2 days ago i just like taking my sweet time) + a recent one ,, still, thank you for requesting a different character! enjoyy ^_^

notes 2 : i was thinking of, once im done with the requests, posting analysis of different pjsk characters and card sets? i already have two ideas of this type of posts, and i think i have enough time, since i skipped school today, will skip tomorrow and wednesday is a free day thats awesome

date : 21 / 01 / 24 - 22 / 01 / 24

a. mizuki

literal uno expert.

they get competitive so quickly. i can feel it.

theyre also the definition of a ‘ its only okay when i do it ‘ person. like , for example , if you played a +4 card , they’d mockingly let out a loud whine for giggles. but if they have a +4 or +2 too , get ready to see a mischievous grin paint their face. theyd take this as a competition they have to win.

i feel like theyd trick you with their facial expressions and actions. lets say , you switch the color to one they have lots of cards of. theyd let out a surprised gasp while laying down on you a reverse card, two skip cards and a +4 card. 

half of it , they’re determined to win. if theyre feeling nice tho , mizuki will play easy for you. that lasts the total of maximum 2 rounds tho , they have a streak to maintain.

most of the time , you cant win for your dear life. if you do get lucky tho , they will jokingly get upset , but is actually pleasantly surprised! guess their talent sticked off to you.

i kind of imagine mizuki remaking the whole decks design when bored. like your own version of uno. the jirai keified version. like those making [thing] coquette.

about how frequently you’ll play tho? i think atleast once a month. even more , if you ask. they mostly play whenever theyre feeling sad tho , one game of uno with you lifts their spirits up and boosts their ego for the day higher than an americans appetite.

‘ heh heh heh… i won again! ‘ , , , ‘ i get it mizuki , i get it. ‘

y. kanade

genuinely never played uno before.

ok , that’s exaggerating now , isnt it?

kanade surely played uno before with nightcord in empty sekai. it being , ofcourse , mizukis idea. its not like shes an absolute pro at it tho.

but shes not incapable of not understanding the rules , either. she’d take a strategy and maximum beat you 3 times. maximum. i feel like you’d be the better one.

i feel like you wouldnt play so frequently , only when you so happen to be over while kanades taking a break from composing. so things wouldnt get awkward , you always bring a card deck of uno with you.

if your relationship is established after the ‘ saying goodbye to my masked self ‘ event , mafuyu would oftenly join your game by kanades invitation. if youre lucky enough to catch honami unoccupied , dont be shy to call her too! the more the merrier.

even so , she does not care about the winner at all. kanades just happy to spend some quality time with you, even if its over uno. which leads me to think you’d let her win on purpose sometimes. her eyes sparkle a bit whenever she does get the victory over you , it is a scenery you cannot get enough of.

‘ hm? i won… ‘ , , , ‘ great job, kanade! ‘

i love hashtag skipping school ALSO please read notes 2 ok thanks ,,

dividers arent mine ; credits to the rightful owners on TUMBLR

[dailyhonakana]

HI admin 🎼 here for day 4!! almost forgot to post this today, but i wrote it yesterday while having thoughts about them in the kitchen. this card image isnt entirely accurate, but i couldnt find any other images of them in the kitchen together, so it works i guess! heres a drabble (which turned out slightly longer than id wanted it to!) about kanade being a lesbian

—

Tapping her pen against the table, Kanade can’t concentrate. She can’t think at all, even when she knows the rest of her group is already full of ideas for their next song. She could blame it on the sunlight streaming in through the kitchen window, which she normally doesn’t open the blinds of, but that’s not bothering her all that much, and Honami seems to like it better that way (especially with how lovely the tone of the sky’s light becomes at dusk — Honami had pointed that out to her, and she can’t believe she hadn’t noticed it before). She could blame it on the fact she’s outside at all and not holed up in her bedroom, but Honami (ever-politely) insisted she come outside to do her work, and she doesn’t mind it; she does like making Honami happy, too. Maybe she’s not meant to be writing her ideas down on a notepad? No, probably not — that was Honami’s idea as well. Kanade’s been using the pen and the notepad since Honami gave them to her two months ago. They’ve served her well so far. So has everything else Honami has suggested, or gently pushed her to do, or brought to her home with a shy smile and a reminder that if she doesn’t like it it’s okay and she can give it back, even though she never does.

She glances at the pretty set of plates, neatly laid out on the table, that she’d found in her cupboard months before; the new towel that always smells faintly like apple pie, from Honami’s home, where it was no longer in use; the open blinds in front of Honami. Kanade stares at her, and briefly, she wonders how Honami must look to someone not tragically forced to only stare at her back. Strands of light shining on her softly smiling face as she hums, chopping something, as though it’s the only thing in the world she needs to do…

Kanade blinks, and quickly looks down at her blank notepad. The stray, traitorous thought that her one distraction is right in front of her passes through her mind. She shoves it down with the nagging thought that she needs to do her work. Then, she looks back up at her housekeeper, wondering how strong her arms must be. Stronger than hers, strong enough to chop carrots, although that probably wasn’t a high bar. But they were certainly strong from years of playing the drums-

Honami suddenly turns to face her, brows furrowed in worry, and Kanade flinches a little. She doesn’t notice. “Ms. Yoisaki,” she says hurriedly, “you do like carrots, right? I’m sorry, I only just remembered to ask you if you did, I know I should have beforehand, but I’ve already chopped almost all these…”

Oddly, Kanade feels a smile trying to make its way onto her face. She tries her best to force it away. “No,” she says. “I like them.”

“Oh.” Honami smiles in relief. “I’m glad,” she says, before turning around again to chop the last carrot. Kanade rests her head on her palm and just watches her for the little time she has before she’s done cooking.

[yomiurinikei]

hibiki for the ask meme (annie)

I TYPED ALL THIS UP FOREVER AGO THEN. never uploaded it. it’s just been in my drafts.

cw for mentions of the god awful ship (not /pos and it’s not brought up by name) + brief mentions of her canon trauma and my desire for it to be handled differently (not in depth/explicit)

everything after this read more was written forever ago i don’t even really recall what’s there i just skimmed it for cws

hi annie!!!!! we have the same brain huh (both asked for biki..)

my identity hc for them

just a little girl. uhhhh ya okay. obligatory 'this is an au where things were. not good but Better' disclaimer, im gonna handle this whole post under the context of. i do what i want and what i want is for hibiki to be okay. she's still a system just because of abuse at the hands of her parents which was exacerbated by kanade being toxic. not uh. yeah.

aaaanyways. she's very nonbinary to me!!! i think she likes like.. all the labels. nonbinary trans genderqueer and one hundred million thousand microlabels. she prolly rbs a ton of incoherent "i am like if a bead rolled underneath a industrial refrigerator before eventually being sucked up into a vacuum, slipped out of the garbage onto the ground where it slowly sunk into the earth was a girl but also not a girl" posts.

also i think she's questioning her sexuality/how she experiences attraction but she like. loves loves having qpps. to her its like... a great sign of friendship but also she wants to signify that shes very close with a lot of people. its a high honor but not a rare one to receive. her relationship with it is just like. i have someone who is very dear to me but without any sort of romantic or familial connotations how lovely and cool this is, how happy it makes me <3. she's just chilling!!!

Thoughts on their home life/family

ooogh. okay. actually i never included this in the ask meme. mm,,, how do i want to handle this. hm. i thiiink.. hibiki and kanade deserve some time to be estranged from each other. obvi this is again, within how i choose to write them. so i dont think this will be a relatable take. buuuut yeah. sometimes the best thing for siblings is to not be siblings for a bit. if anyone asks they just share a last name but have no relation. i think that would be good

i have a very normal relationship with my siblings (<- only child who used to be a younger sibling. that is what i am choosing.)

How i feel about their canonical writing/handling

mmmm,, she is so so so fucking system and i really wish she belonged to anyone but linuj. do u guys remember when i said hm maybe the otono twins were abused by their parents and thats why kanade took control of the situation by hurting the one person she could who would always have to be around her? and then a few months later linuj was like oh kanade is just born evil shes inherently bad because i think thats fun and cool^^ ? i remember. i remember very well.

i think,, hibiki was just ultimately underused. and like. it sucks and was bullshit what happened but also i Understand it within what it did narratively. even if i think linuj kinda dicked up the way it couldve affected the tone of the game. buuut. really the largest disservice that happened was like. the way she ultimately had no agency. according to linuj, no matter what, kanade would be Like That, and hibiki would get hurt, and the end. im not saying what happened to her was her fault, thats not what i mean when i say she has no agency, i mean. there was no in universe reason for what happened, not at the end of the day. she was doomed from conception in and out of universe and it just sucks and makes her feel flat because u cant even go what if not without completely ignoring the way linuj writes a wholeass character. hoping that all makes sense?

buuut yeah. tldr. she couldve been vv well written and handled well, even with her ultimate fate staying the same. but by admitting there's absolutely no way hibiki could have made it out okay, not even a "well, the cards would never line up like this, but if x had happened, and then y, then kanade would've fucked off", but making it that no matter what, kanade is gonna do what she did. it just kinda leaves a bad taste about things

The one thing i’d want to make canon about them

she actually is a person who exists outside of what kanade did <3. yes she has that puppet state sure whatever but also she's part of a system and has alters and one of them is "puppet state" but the others have hopes and desires and likes and etc etc.

My number one favorite ship for them

going off earlier, just assume all these ships are qpps <3! her and setsuka have a really fun relationship. cop out answer but ya know

…Now everyone else i ship with them

i like sora and hibiki!

The thing i will NEVER ship

ignoring the Obvi. i can’t think of anyone? again using ships here to mean like. hibiki having bestie-isms, i think she’s p shippable. she’s fun and friend shaped!

a dynamic/relationship i wish was explored more (in canon, or in fandom)

uhhh i agree w/you she and nikei would be silly. they deserve to be character who is like :D but is then like D:< together.

thoughts on their design (appearance-wise)

hair so pretty eyes so pretty. kinda weird colors

A music-related thought- a song that reminds me of them, or what their music taste is, etc

dreamin chuchu always makes me think of her i cannot explain why

[stellacolletore]

08.21.2020

though i would hide it, in my face it still appears (it is true i love) anime: chihayafuru characters: oe kanade, mashima taichi/ayase chihaya summary: with a love like theirs, Kanade’s sure Taichi and Chihaya will be alright. note: covers the events from season 1 (had to rewatch a looot, taichi/kana brotp still the best), seasons 2&3, and my post-queen’s match headcanon (see 7 wonders of mizusawa for details)

i.

President Mashima swipes block over the stalker’s number, and suddenly, Kanade feels things fall into place.

He’s in love with Chihaya-chan.

There isn’t enough room for celebrating her newfound discovery as she laments over the fact that she’s the only one around with eyes that see this. Ergo, she’s the only one who would be knowingly standing along the sidelines, watching wherever the depths of love would take two of her dearest friends. Surely, there’s nothing more frustrating for a lovestruck girl than that.

Chihaya-chan gapes at her phone, totally lost on the purpose behind Prez’s gesture. Kanade sighs.

This love will really take its sweet time, won’t it? 

ii.

He’s just won his most important match to date and still, they find him only thinking of her.

“Chihaya, get up. Let’s go,” Prez is tugging Chihaya-chan’s limp arm, voice tinged with unusual urgency. Dazed at the turn of events, Kanade’s mind is unable to make sense of what’s happening in front of her. The match had gone most unexpectedlyーopening with Prez effectively losing the unnerving level of concentration that has kept him unbeatable throughout four straight games, continuing with the tension (and fault)-filled Class B finals that kept her, Chihaya-chan, and Hanano-san on edge until the last card, and ending with him donning a worried expression in place of a happy one after reaching the long-elusive Class A title.

Her inner voice spells the situation out for her. 

He’s taking her to Wataya-san. Prez thinks Chihaya-chan’s been watching the wrong match, the wrong boy, all along.

That certainly explains the oddly messy game he played with Yamamoto-san. 

But that’s not right.

Kanade’s about to shake him out of his self-sacrificing behavior when Chihaya-chan beats her to it.

“Omedetou, Taichi. Y-You’re Class A now. Congratulations.”

Like mirror, President Mashima’s eyes reflect Chihaya-chan’s glassy ones. Euphoria washes over him as he finally acknowledges his achievement. Kanade wishes she could capture the moment like a photograph, could mark it in long-lasting verses of poetry.

See, Prez? She cares for you just as much. It’s Wataya-san’s big match, too, but she’s only thought of you.

iii.

Prez is playing the game with his heart on the line, and finally, she’s looking at him.

Hanano-san sees this, too. Beside her, Kanade once again admires her kouhai’s pure love, steadfast in the face of heartbreak. It bears the same signature as the President’s, and a twinge of bittersweet feeling swirls in Kanade’s heart. She prays for Hanano-san’s own happiness before bringing back her attention towards the final and most personal match of the Yoshino tournament, sincerely hoping.

Please keep looking, Chihaya-chan. He’s there because of you. President Mashima’s made it there because he loves you.

iv. 

When President Mashima leaves the club, he takes a part of Chihaya-chan with him.

Kanade’s well-aware of what it is, and so she picks up the fallen microphone on the ground, abandoned in the wake of Chihaya-chan rushing out after him. Even though she’s equally left in the dark about Prez’s decision, she understands. That is why, with tears brimming in her eyes, Kanade holds the microphone to her lips, wills her voice not to waver.

You can leave this to us, she thinks, it’ll be alright. 

Needless to say, things are the opposite of alright after that, and soon enough, Chihaya-chan parted ways with the club as well.

Doubt, fear, and helplessness cloud over the remaining members of the Mizusawa Karuta Club now that their sun and moon are missing. Still, Kanade learns to find comfort in the fact that the string of fate tied between President Mashima and Chihaya-chan won’t easily give way. 

A wave of loneliness sweeps her with the chilly night air on the road home. Kanade draws warmth from a poem that sympathizes with her deepest hope of the moment:

Swift waters Parted by jagged rocks Are joined By the river’s end.

v.

Chihaya-chan is a formidable force, poise unbent and passion blazing just as strongly, even in the middle of unmet promises and a missing loved one. 

She pulls them in the classic team huddle. And talks about the fear and the hope she’s been avoiding since he walked out on the club and out of her life. 

“Mashima Taichi, a person who made the karuta club with me, quit the team, but… I believe he will be back someday, maybe years later, or tens of years later. In the meantime, I will become the queen. And...while I wait for him, I will make Mizusawa into a karuta powerhouse like Hokuo Academy…”

The karuta she plays against Wataya-san is one they’ve never seen before, but feels inexplicably familiar. 

It takes Kanade a remainder of the match to realize why. 

Poem 16. 

vi.

President Mashima comes back to fight for the place closest to Chihaya-chan.

In the end, the match went in Wataya-san's favor; leaving everybody in tears at President Mashima’s defeat and Wataya-san’s sincere display of gratitude at the Prez’s valiant effort in playing karuta. 

Kanade just dried her own tears off when she turned towards Chihaya-chan. “P-President Mashima gave it his all, did he not, Chihaya-ch…”

At the sight of the girl before her weeping with strong, bitter tears, Kanade’s thoughts come to a halting stop, untilー

If her tears are indeed for President Mashima,

Then he may just have reached the place closest to Chihaya-chan after all.

vii.

Nobody could believe it.

Chihaya-chan is going for the win, as if she hadn’t been on the brink of losing two matches ago. Taking Wataya-san’s advice of entering her own “arena”, Chihaya-chan played the third and fourth games as Mizusawa’s Ace, pushing the limits of her hard-earned skills and natural talents to get cards for her team. Kanade feels honored to be a part of Chihaya-chan’s strength.

Chihaya-chan swipes the last card at Wakamiya-san’s formation, and just like that, they’re down on the luck of the draw.

Kanade checks the two remaining cards on Chihaya-chan’s side. 

No way. 

There are a hundred cards in karuta, a hundred poems in Hyakunin Isshu, and yet those two cards remained. If this isn’t fate, Kanade doesn’t know what it is.

Kanade looks over at Wataya-san, watching Chihaya-chan’s match after claiming the Meijin title a game ago, and her suspicion is confirmed. The se card belongs to Wataya-san. 

And, of course, the tachi card is Mashima-kun’s.

This is more than sending a card, Kanade realizes. 

Fate is asking Chihaya-chan to choose.

She remembers a strategy Chihaya-chan has always followed as Harada-sensei’s star pupil. 

“Since I’m an offensive karuta player, I would send my special cards to my opponent, and it’s because I want to get some things badly that I would part with them. And I would go into the fight with the resolve to get them no matter what.” 

Chihaya-chan moves to pick up a card.

“Challenger Ayase-san sends ‘tachi wakare’...”

viii. 

“‘Let’s play karuta forever, Taichi’ーSince when?! Ayase-senpai, since when did you like Mashima-senpai? What do you just mean by ‘play’? Is it play, play or play as in let’s date and get married and live happily everーhmhm, mph!” Kanade cuts off Hanano-san’s tirade, noting Chihaya-chan���s rapidly reddening cheeks and startled eyes. “Hanano-san, shouldn’t you congratulate your senpai before anything else?” 

Hanano-san recovers quickly enough, her own cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and says, “Omedetou, Ayase-senpai. You’re incredible.” 

Chihaya-chan merely blinks at them in reply, and Kanade’s instantly worried that her brain has gone haywire after being cornered with Hanano-san’s frank questions. She lays a comforting hand on Chihaya-chan’s arm, thinking about what to say to divert her attention. “Chihaya-chan, Harada-san’s waiting at the break room for you. Shiranami Society’s already throwing a party there, why don’t we goー”

“I just don’t want him to disappear again.” Chihaya-chan’s looking straight at Hanano-san, a mixture of desperation and determination swirling in her eyes. “Apart from chiha, the card that I won’t absolutely let go of is tachi. I want to show him how much I want to get to him by sending and getting the card butー” her eyes start to glisten, her voice shaky, “ーbut he didn’t see me, didn’t he? He’s not here, he’sー”

“Chihaya-chan,” Kanade tries to conjure a warm, reassuring tone. “Don’t worry. If he hadn’t seen youーwhich I highly doubtーthen you’ve just got to show him again, right? You’re an offensive player, Chihaya-chan, I’m sure you won’t give up without a fight.”

Thankfully, those words are enough to quell Chihaya-chan’s despair. She fixes her posture, her resolve following suit, and her eyes twinkle with a newfound passion. She smiles, “Thank you, Kana-chan, Sumire-chan.” 

Kanade beams. President Mashima might have been MIA as of the moment, and Wataya-san is fast approaching with a look that tells he’s about to have a long, overdue talk with Chihaya-chan, but it’s all right. 

With a love like theirs, Kanade’s sure Taichi and Chihaya will be alright.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/30/20

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 6 | By Reai and Suki Umemiya | Seven Seas – Another series down to “once a year” release—I had to jog my memory at the start to recall what had been happening. Many things are going wrong for our heroine, who is trying to be strong and tough but is also starting to break down, and I felt that the scenes with her and Dean struck just the right balance of comforting and letting the heroine cry without making her seem weaker. This sets the stage for her comeback, which is extraordinary. (And also has a corrupt Church, a constant in Japanese light novels, though at least here there are also honest and good religious people in it.) That said, eventually Dean’s identity will come out, and I do wonder how this very good “villainess” isekai will handle it. – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files, Vol. 1 | By Yu Godai, Mako Oikawa, and Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – A faerie switched at birth for a human child, Jack never fit in in either world. Only in the mortal realm could she earn money for anime collectibles, however, so she decided to make herself into a tough, capable woman like her literary heroes and set up shop as a detective. Together with her fellow changeling, Larry the werewolf, Jack takes on supernatural cases in New York City. In this volume, Lindel tasks them with tracking down a missing dragon egg. I liked the resources Jack uses to obtain information, which include a dapper theatre ghost and a spell with components of rat whiskers and taxi tires because “Nobody out there knows this city better than them.” I still found this a bit hard to get into, though, especially the parts involving a perpetually tearful off-off-off-off-Broadway actress and her pickpocket boyfriend. Still, I will check out volume two! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 22 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – At long last, this interminable arc comes to an end. I enjoyed a lot of it, but I cannot deny it should have been about two volumes shorter. Most of the book is taken up by shonen battles, with the villain being nigh unkillable, the heroes almost breaking themselves to stop him, etc. Fortunately, the day is saved, and even the Wizard King turns out to be… sort of alive again? Shota fans should be happy. Asta fans perhaps less so—the sheer amount of damage done to the kingdom in this arc means someone has to be blamed, and give Asta has the “dark evil magic” it’s gonna be him, especially when he takes the incredibly obvious bait they use to get him to fight. Oh well, if Asta were smart, this wouldn’t be Black Clover. – Sean Gaffney

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 3 | By Nanashi | Vertical Comics – Part of the problem with titles like this and the other teasing works (Takagi-san less so as Nishikata doesn’t fall into the category) is that they are, at heart, the classic “extroverted girl acts overtly extroverted to bring introverted guy out of their shell,” and that’s not really a plot that feels comfortable in the Gen Z days, where you’re more likely to say “why doesn’t she just let him be in his quiet, safe space?” And by she I mean they, as Nagatoro’s two friends appear far more often here, which offers some good two-way teasing action, as they clearly see her crush on him, if not why. It’s still sort of hard to read, but if you pretend he’s more OK with it than he actually is, this is cute. – Sean Gaffney

Failed Princesses, Vol. 1 | By Ajiichi | Seven Seas – The concept of “popular girl meets unpopular girl” is a common one in yuri manga, and we do indeed hit several of its tropes in this first volume. The amusing thing is that Kanade, the shy outcast girl, is perfectly aware of how things are supposed to go, and keeps pulling back a bit to try to save Nanaki from, well, making herself an outcast by associating with the wrong people. The best part of the volume is that Nanaki really doesn’t give two shits about any of that, and seems set on making Kanade her best friend… and also making her over, which backfires a bit as Kanade cleans up nicely. I hear this gets a bit dramatic later, but for the moment it’s a cute and fluffy proto-yuri story. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 12 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The first story in this volume is another “Rikka tries to make people understand Kotoko is an evil Machiavellian schemer,” this time with one of her ex-classmates, but again the response seems to be “we know she’s a manipulative bitch, but she’s a good person anyway.” The larger story, which will continue into the next book, seems to be a chance to write Kuro and Kotoko as an actual romance, as the man we meet here and his relationship with a yuki-onna… as well as his penchant for attracting misfortune… very much parallel them. That said, they’re very cute together, which is why I hope he avoids the murder charge he’s now being investigated for. Still a favorite. – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 8 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – The author knows what people want to see, but also knows that the best way to get readers is to drive them crazy by not showing it. We finally get what we’ve been begging for here, as Tetsuo asks Sakie out on a date. (This is after rejecting Kyouko’s love confession, both because she’s his student and also, as he is forced to admit, as he likes Sakie.) The stage is set for the date… and the rest of the book is thus spent with the three main student girls going to Kyouko’s for a fireworks viewing and meeting her family. They’re good chapters, and I really liked showing how difficult Kyouko has it as a dullahan in terms of everyday life, but GOD, please get back to the teachers, I beg you! – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 16 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The series has gotten to the point where the more rewarding chapters are the ones as part of a larger arc. Not that the one-shot chapters are bad—though Maki’s journey to India may be the most pointless thing in this entire series to date, we do get Chika’s iconic “shut up or I’ll kill you” here. But the larger arcs, featuring Miyuki and Kaguya attempting to date without interruptions, and setting up Ishigami and Iino for a romance—though given the number of limbs broken in this book, and Iino’s own horrible lack of self-awareness, it may be a ways out—are better. This series is still hilarious, but we’ve come to read it more for the heartwarming moments. Heck, there’s even some serious drama here. Very good. – Sean Gaffney

Nineteen | By Ancco | Drawn & Quarterly – Although it was translated and released second in English, Nineteen is a precursor to Ancco’s internationally award-winning manhwa Bad Friends. The volume collects thirteen short comics originally published in Korea over a decade ago which absolutely remain relevant to today’s world. While understandably not as polished as some of Ancco’s later work—one can observe her style evolving and growing over the course of the collection (which is fascinating)—the comics still carry significant emotional weight and impact. Nineteen includes diary comics, which tend to be more lighthearted, as well as harder-hitting fictional stories, many of which also have autobiographical inspiration. As a whole, the collection explores themes of young adulthood, growing up, and complicated family relationships. In particular, there is a compelling focus on the relationships among daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. Some of the narratives can be rather bleak, but a resigned sense of humor threads through Nineteen, too. – Ash Brown

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 8 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Shoujo manga that has couples getting together BEFORE the end of the series is inevitably going to have an arc dealing with how far the lead couple should go now that they’re dating, and this is Ran’s turn, as she and Akira and their friends go to a beach house Ran’s family owns and have some beach fun. Unfortunately, the cast gets winnowed down one by one until it’s just the two of them… and her overprotective father, who arrives in time to provide the cliffhanger and no doubt ensure that nookie does not ensue. Not that I think it should—these two kids are even purer than the couple from Kimi ni Todoke, and I think they should mature a bit more before going further. Plus, watching them blush and kiss is wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Having spent our first volume establishing that our found family can really come to love each other deep down, this volume shows off how they are also, at heart, fundamentally awkward and unable to socialize normally. This is unsurprising—hints of Loid’s life we’ve seen show him as a war orphan, Yor is a contract killer, and Anya basically grew up being experimented on by bad guys. As the school soon finds, this leads to issues. The second half of the book introduces Yor’s sister-obsessed little brother Yuri, who turns out to be a torture expert for Loid’s enemies. As always, half the fun is that everyone except Anya has no idea who their real selves are, and the cliffhanger tells us we’re in for some hilarious family fun. I love this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media – After a brief spell atop the waiting list, Anya officially makes it into Eden Academy. Loid is anxious to progress to the next stage of his mission and, believing there’s not much chance in turning Anya into an elite scholar like his agency wants, focuses instead on having her befriend the younger son of his target. It does not go to plan, of course. Anya is very cute in this volume, and I also really appreciated how Loid genuinely listens to Yor and values her input. The arrival of Yor’s brother, a member of the secret police, is going to be a fun complication, and another cast member with a secret, but my favorite part of this series is probably always going to be how much love these three are already feeling for each other. So unique and good! – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 6 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – The weakness of this manga is the same as always—it’s written to tie into the games, and features several characters I just don’t recognize, which can be a problem given this is the big final let’s-save-the-world ending. That said, this is still a decent SAO title. Kirito gets to be cool and badass, but because this isn’t written just by Kawahara others do as well, and it’s a nice balanced effort that focuses on heroine Premiere. I also really liked the point where all the NPCs are worried when everyone has to log out for several days for maintenance. While I’ll still remember this as the “SAO only everyone is alive” manga, I enjoyed reading it, when I wasn’t confused. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

[cantusecho-archive]

(Okay, episode 3 shizz.

Let me get one thing out the way; I’m very glad that Shirabe and Kirika are getting more screentime. These two have been teaming up and beating the villains two episodes in a row with their combos. It’s fantastic.

That happens later in the episode but I just...love it haha.

But okay! This episode was calmer than last week. Technically, last week was calm right up until the VERY end so I guess I should say there wasn’t a huge huge shocker at the end (at least to me...though there is a reveal).

What they start on is, surprisingly, the indirect mention of Hibiki’s parents. I didn’t think they’d be mentioned again but guess it makes sense in hindsight. And for those that don’t know, I simply headcanoned that Hibiki’s parents didn’t live together because literally trying to piece together a family that had issues unspoken for YEARS can’t suddenly just be a happy family again. With no real answers after the end of GX (which was basically four years ago), this is why I came up with it.

And that’s what Hibiki confirms, much to my relief.

(note: these are fansubs. The ones done by Crunchyroll say “Sometimes they’re together. Most of the time they’re not.” Basically the same thing.)

Her saying this has relieved me so much that it’s hard to explain. However, it’s actually really sad that she sees this with her parents, and yet the obvious parallel between her and Miku shows heavily in this scene too, just with a simple response.

It’s a lot. But I’d be here all day if I spoke about my feelings on this small scene, haha.

Also, with Tsubasa.  She seems to be fine physically, but her mind/brain waves has been showing to be irregular after the concert. Understandably so. But I can’t help but wonder if it has anything to do with Millaarc’s “Seal Invasion” technique because it must do something to the brain.

Millaarc actually attempts to do it on Hibiki this episode but it doesn’t work. All it does is stun her.

But in terms of Tsubasa, she caught her VERY off guard, which I assume caused the full effect of the skill/ability on her. But there’s no telling what it does exactly since we haven’t seen it yet.

Everyone is reasonably worried about Tsubasa, even more so once Fudou shows up and practically shuts Tsubasa down.

Just in case the pictures don’t show up properly, here’s the whole conversation in text because I find the entire thing important:

Tsubasa: Sorry for making you worry. But everything is fine now.

Fudou: What do you mean exactly by “everything is fine”? I will not allow you to say that you have forgotten about how you permitted barbarians to trample our country, Tsubasa!

Tsubasa: Of course I haven’t forgotten. The scene of such a tragedy is a weight that I must bear for the mistakes I have made.

Fudou: For an ineffectual Sentinel such as yourself, protecting everyone is nothing more than a dream beyond a dream.

Tsubasa: I can’t protect anyone...as I am now...?

Fudou: I’m telling you that your songs will never protect the world.

Tsubasa: I can’t protect the world...with my songs...

Fudou: I still hold high expectations for you, given the blood that flows through you.

Hibiki: Tsubasa-san...

Tsubasa: Worry not, Tachibana. A tempered sword will not break so easily.

For him to straight up tell her to her face that songs won’t help people, and that she herself can’t protect anyone, feels like a double blow after seeing so many people die at the concert, especially watching that girl being killed in front of her. It’s almost like, Tsubasa not being able to protect that girl like Kanade managed to save Hibiki back at the Zwei Wing concert. It was already clear enough that Tsubasa would put blame on herself and this makes it worse (and we don’t know how Millaarc’s ability will effect her to add onto it). Now the reveal at the end makes me even more annoyed at him about this but I’ll mention that later.

So, it seems that Millaarc and Elsa need a specific type of rare blood in order to either keep themselves alive, or able to fight. With them being failed experiments (their backgrounds were revealed in keywords this week, and they’re pretty intense as we would expect) I can see this making sense.

(Side note: Elsa, Vanessa and Millaarc are all based off of ancient monsters. Millaarc is already a anagram for Carmilla, basically an ancient vampire in fiction. Elsa is to signify werewolves while Vanessa signifies Frankenstein. This shows in the opening.)

Elsa

Full name: Elsa Bete.

She hails from Lozère, France. After many of her relatives fell victim to assaults and kidnappings, the Bavarian Illuminati took her in for use in experiments.

As well as having undergone surgery to increase the sensitivity of her nerves, she was also augmented to allow faster reaction times and parallel information processing.

She uses her inhuman speed and manipulator devices known as "tail attachments" in combat.

In order to reduce the physical strain of such abilities, she was implanted with the DNA of several different beasts and as a result expresses some feral taint on her body.

Compared to Vanessa and Millaarc, she may be lacking in raw power but makes up for it in strategy, tactics, quick-wittedness, and flexibility.

Millaarc

Full name: Millaarc Cranstoun.

She hails from Styria, Austria. On a trip to Slovakia, she was kidnapped by an elite hunting club. At some point, she was sold off to a remote branch of the Bavarian Illuminati to be used in experiments.

One particular experiment entailed an attempt to use genetic manipulation to create monsters seen only in myth and legend. However, this experiment failed and she was unable become a true "vampire."

Despite this, she still hides herself in a bio-booster cloak known as a "chiroptera." This grants her the ability to fly as well as augment the strength of her arms and legs. If you look closely, she has a number of traits that reveal the original intention to create a vampire.

It is thought that her "stained glance" also has its origins in vampire legend.

(Note: Translations vary because I’ve seen mentions of Elsa actually being held captive by relatives in a abusive way? As well as Millaarc being taken in by a specific torture group of people in Slovakia).

There’s nothing on Vanessa yet but we may get a keyword for her next week, not sure. But regardless, it makes Millaarc’s comment to Tsubasa about being “weak” last episode all the more obvious. These villains are clearly weaker than the Gears so they use various other schemes and tricks to gain the upper hand. I find this interesting honestly, I’m glad they’re not overly powerful like Carol and Saint-Germain and her crew were like. It makes for a more interesting dynamic, at least to me.

Makes me all the more curious what they may possibly do in order to fulfill their goals.

As mentioned prior, Kirika and Shirabe end up taking on Millaarc and basically owning her with their combo attack. It takes Vanessa, who has been oddly quiet and “not doing anything” to stop the attack by shutting down the power, basically forcing Kirika and Shirabe to chose between fighting them or saving the hospital patients. So in turn, this allows Vanessa and her group to get away again.

Now at the very end of the episode before the credits, it’s shown that Fudou himself is working with Vanessa and them just to get the relic that was on that Custodian/Annunaki’s body in the previous episodes (named Shem-Ha. As for details on this, I can’t find anything as I research but there will more than likely be a keyword for it next week so I’ll wait until then). This, in my opinion, doesn’t come as a shocker mainly because he’s said that he wanted that Divine Power for Japan (and basically himself) at the end of AXZ. And this pretty much confirms it.

But what’s messed up about this is that he KNOWS what Millaarc has done to Tsubasa, and all those people at the concert. Surely he HAS to know, and the damage it has done to Tsubasa. It almost feels like, if we’re looking back at his comments to Tsubasa, he’s using it as a way to prove to her that songs are useless. Almost like she should give up on her dream of singing and basically become his sword for the family. Almost like “forget this silly dream of songs, it doesn’t save anyone. You becoming my sword for the family is truly what will protect people.” 

And that’s the type of mindset that Tsubasa’s been stuck in for YEARS. It took her meeting Hibiki and the others to finally, and slowly, break free from that harmful way of thinking (since she only considered herself a blade and had no regards for her own health or happiness). So, after what happened last week with her thinking that she can never protect anyone/anything, and THEN have Fudou rub it in her face (and us knowing that he’s working with the people that caused the chaos in the first place) is really...something.

Again, him doing this isn’t a surprise. Fudou is an asshole, probably the worst “dad” in this entire show lmao. He has no regards for his own family, all he wants is power and his own goal.

So it will be interesting where this leads and how this makes Tsubasa’s situation even more complicated, as the cast members pointed out.

Some random things that I enjoyed in the episode that aren’t related plot wise;

Kirika and Shirabe just remain to be far too adorable and dumb for their own good.

Hibiki and Chris teamwork is AWESOME. Plus those cool shots of Chris when she’s shooting the Alca-Noise.

Hibiki basically getting into an arm-wrestling match with Millaarc lol.

Elsa having a long braid/hair? (She’s adorable).

And another bonus Elsa:

Okay, that’s it. Lol.)

[princessnowvie14]

My Top Romance Anime

I made a new set of list of my fave romance anime series since I guess i deleted my post accidentally w/c i always update ( i dont wanna talk about it i'm still in shock lol) so here it is i made it as simple as possible, no long description. Just my collection of anime that caught my heart while watching it. 

1. InuYasha

InuYasha follows Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old girl whose normal life ends when a demon drags her into a cursed well on the grounds of her family's Shinto shrine. Instead of hitting the bottom of the well, Kagome ends up 500 years in the past during Japan's violent Sengoku period with the demon's true target, a wish-granting jewel called the Shikon Jewel, reborn inside of her.

Inuyasha has always been my fave since childhood. I love the love and hate relationship they have. Inuyasha being stubborn but ever since he met Kagome he learned a lot of being a good person. I just hate their love triangle with kikyo nevertheless I love how it ends. It's really worth it after so many years of watching and waiting for it.

2. Kamisama Kiss

 Nanami immerses herself in her divine duties. But if she must keep things running smoothly, she will need the help of a certain hot-headed fox. In her fumbling attempt to seek out Tomoe, she lands in trouble and ends up sealing a contract with him. 

I’ve never been so satisfied in my life until after watching all the episodes of this anime, the twist is amazing . It ends well. My heart was happy.

3. Wolf Girl and Black Prince

 Erika Shinohara has taken to lying about her romantic exploits to earn the respect of her new friends. So when they ask for a picture of her "boyfriend," she hastily snaps a photo of a handsome stranger, whom her friends recognize as the popular and kind-hearted Kyouya Sata.

This is the first time i tried to watch anime series continously, i mean i never wanted to stand up while watching it haha it was good . I love how Kyouya manage to be so mean while everybody thinks he's a perfect prince, but i fell in love with this couple, theyre so perfect. 

4. Noragami

Just as things seem to be looking grim for the god, his fortune changes when a middle school girl, Hiyori Iki, supposedly saves Yato from a car accident, taking the hit for him. Remarkably, she survives, but the event has caused her soul to become loose and hence able to leave her body. Hiyori demands that Yato return her to normal, but upon learning that he needs a new partner to do so, reluctantly agrees to help him find one.

aahh yatori makes my heart crave for more haha i mean dont expect a lot of romance on this, it highlights friendship . Yato being so childish and Hiyori is such a good girl, i cry whenever she loses her memory. The story is fun and I hope for the next season they will give exposure for my fave couple.

5. Inu X Boku SS

But Ririchiyo's troubles have only just begun. As a requirement of staying in her new home, she must be accompanied by a Secret Service agent. Ririchiyo's new partner, Soushi Miketsukami, is handsome, quiet... but ridiculously clingy and creepily submissive.

I love the twist, i dont mind watching this all over again. Their personalities is quite interesting, the story is cute with mix of mystery.

6. My little Monster

Shizuku Mizutani is apathetic towards her classmates, only caring about her grades. However, her cold view of life begins to change when she meets Haru Yoshida, a violent troublemaker who stopped attending class after getting into a fight early in the school year. He is not much different from her, though—he too understands little about human nature and does not have any friends.

oposite attracts haha Haru is so adorable. And their relationship is quite bumpy and unsure. But i think their feelings for each other are genuine.

7. Hatsukoi Monster

After meeting her rescuer yet again and discovering that his name is Kanade Takahashi, she confesses her love to him. Kanade says he would like for them to be a couple, but that Kaho may not want to date him after she finds out his secret. To her shock, Kaho discovers the startling truth: Kanade is a fifth grader!

 Hatsukoi Monster follows Kaho's first steps into love with Kanade, her immature, yet kind, fifth grade boyfriend.

Age doesn't really matter lol. Its kinda weird as it may seems but who cares as long as you love each other then jump and take a risk. You can wait for the right time anyway haha. This anime is funny and i love how their friendship show. Accepting the situation and learn how to deal with differences is the lesson.

8. Guomin Laogong Dai Huijia

Lu Jin Nian and Qiao An Hao were not married by choice. On the first day of their wedding night, Qiao An Hao made three rules regarding their marriage. One, you are not allowed to touch me. Two, you are not allowed to announce publicly that I'm your wife. Three, you are not allowed to say that we are living together.

I've watch only the first two seasons. and i loved it. Its like a prequel to the story but i dont know why im satisfied with it haha, the truth is i dont have the strength to watch the season 3 and i dont even wanna know how it ends. haha while watching i was desperate and frustrated them to be together, i want a happy ending. But all I can see was barriers and situation wont let them be happy together. I hope they will make a movie based on this. All i know is it was too depressing but definitely has a good story line.

9. Red Data Girl

Izumiko begins by cutting her bangs, which shocks both her classmates and protectors. And that's only the start! Her guardian, Yukimasa Sagara, forces his son, Miyuki, to come to the mountain shrine and become Izumiko's lifelong servant and protector. Too bad Izumiko and Miyuki cannot stand each other. They have known each other since they were children, and Miyuki bullied her terribly.  Will Izumiko and Miyuki work past their differences? Is she actually a literal goddess? Find out in RDG: Red Data Girl!

This anime left me hanging and didn’t give me the ending i crave for, i hope they gonna make a next season. but i enjoyed it so much, i love the main characters and the vibe it gives me. It's a serious mystery and a little bit of romance but not much. anyway i love this, never regret watching it.

10.  Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka?

Willem takes refuge on the floating islands in the sky, living in fear of the Beasts below. One day, he is tasked with being a weapon storehouse caretaker. Thinking nothing of it, Willem accepts, but he soon realizes that these weapons are actually a group of young Leprechauns. Though they bear every resemblance to humans, they have no regard for their own lives, identifying themselves as mere weapons of war. Among them is Chtholly Nota Seniorious, who is more than willing to sacrifice herself if it means defeating the Beasts and ensuring peace. 

Not every story has good ending but im glad i watched this. The couple reminds me of kaname and sagara of full metal panic but in different way. Their personalities are so perfect for each other. I wasnt really into anime girls with different hair colors but Ctholly change my point of view, she's exactly one of my fave girls now, her being childish, jealous and innocent around Willem caught me. Funny moments will be present too and their feelings for each other blooms slowly every episodes that you just wanna watch more. I wish the last episode ended the way I wanted, anyway, I still dont get why Willem is involved into two different girls in the past, i guess it wasnt explained that much, i just hate the flashback how he remember the girl while he's with Ctholly,. Well all in all, i enjoy much I just hope they add new season, but i dont know how it will start haha. Im just happy to meet and add this perfect couple in my list.

 So that’s it, i’m still in search of finding good anime romance. I hope i wont let my foolish hand delete this post again lol. Im definitely gonna edit this and add more . Hope you enjoy reading. :)

[optimistic-royal]

Surface Imperfection

snippet from fate/hiraeth, fate/zero (stretching to fate/stay night) fanfic. a bit recent but discontinued. unpublished. warning: a little canon-deviation but there’s not much difference. kid!OC.

Lily saw someone in the dream.

An ugly man working tirelessly on his own. Isolated from the rest of the world, he will always wallow in his work diligently—for he had no choice but do it as it became his passion. If someone had to enlighten his labor to the other people, it would be equivalent to a lover. He would never leave despite being advised to rest—he would never leave his desire to waste and would always work untiringly.

The discovery of his passion was quite a simple event. He discovered a pearl inside of a shell during his childhood, admiring its beauty as he became curious how it was made and wishes to recreate it on his own hand. In his hard work and diligence—many years had passed, he finally recreate one except it was made of gold—glimmering in its magnificence. He was not aware that years had passed away and had aged into a young man in his teens, indulging himself in a curiosity of just a single pearl he discovered in a seaside.

The following years, he crafted many things on his own before he was called and recognized by others. Greatly amazed by his brilliant craft despite his young age, he was invited by the higher ups to their realm, wishing for him to craft in their presence. He agreed in their request and bowed to their presence. In their company, his eyes was captured by a woman who were with them. The moment he saw her in his gaze unto him, he glared—as he himself aware of the identity of the woman.

His mother glared at him with an accusing eyes directed to him. When he saw her look locked towards him, a sliver of madness came to him, thinking of a fitting revenge for his mother for throwing him away. Complying with their wishes by crafting in their presence, he built a magnificent throne made with yellow gold and silver adamantium. Everyone in the room fumbled and looked at his craft in admiration, impressed at his handiwork. Seeing their reaction, he humbly requested his mother to sit on it which she complied, oblivious of his intention as she stared at the brilliant chair and naively sat.

It all happened in an instant. In a second, she was trapped at the chair. Chains claiming her every inch of her body, restricting her movements as her hands were trapped in the handset. When everyone saw this, there were shocked. But a few moments later, it transition to a loud laughs, pointing at her miserable state being stuck in the throne.

The trapped woman screamed, struggling as she commanded her son to release her. He obeyed and released her from the throne. As she was released, she started to point at him in accusation. He just merely smiled at her, saying that crafting artifacts is not all he can create—his skills ranges in many ways. And after he stated that, he added:

"I respectfully apologize for making you trapped in the throne, mother. I was merely jesting."

He apologized, mockingly bowing to her, mischievousness and cunningness apparent to his voice. There was a mild reaction from the others of the revelation, which in his case, he was not surprised because gods tend to have questionable relationship with mortals and other beings, which conceived a tragic results in existence.

A myth of his life.

He mindlessly worked in his temple, a hammer in hand constantly brought down, making a loud 'clang!' sound echoing in his workshop. He's currently working at the recent request that just came from a river goddess. An armor, she said. It would be a greatest gift from him for her son, she said. He scoffed.

Greatest gift? Unbelievable, is she saying that his past gift are not the greatest gift? All of it was created from his hard work alone—of course it is his greatest gift. They should be thankful that he exist that he contributed a lot in their lives while he does their work alone.

Ah, the loneliness... Caster, are you not aware of this?

He worked—and worked—and worked alone. Almost trapped in his temple located near the volcanic fires, always work alone for his so-called passion. His blood and sweat carved in his works, whether it be a temple or a weapon—for it is his love—he would sacrifice for its perfection. His pride and tears was engraved on his effort of his craft that wasn't created for his own sake but other's will for him to create.

Caster... you always do it for others, what about yourself?

No, the happiness of the others is more important than my wretched self. I was abandoned—just for my appearance—by my own mother. When I realized that because of my face—of why she abandoned me and threw me away, I understood. My anger for my mother dissipates in this realization and wallowed myself in disappointment.

I understand. Yes, I understand, mother. Why you threw me away, why you hated me, why you won't look in my way—it was because you were distressed, right? Imagine, you—my dearest mother—who had the most beautiful appearance of all realms, produced an ugly son while you expect a beautiful creature created by your effort.

I know, I understand, mother, why you think like that. I mean, I would be displease too if I produced a work that wasn't up to my expectation. That's right, I understand, mother. I understand all of it.

Caster, stop that. You don't have to go that far for your mother to understand her actions to abandon you. Kanade-san told me that if you were abandoned, that person doesn't love you anymore.

Ha! Look the one who's talking! Aren't you abandoned by this Kanade who abandoned you for death?!

She gasped awake from her dream. She panted, blinking as her unknown dream scared her for strangest reason she doesn't know. She can feel her sweat rolling from her forehead. She raised her hand to wipe it but a bandaged elbow came to her view. Still dazed, she can stare at it for a while before a roll of flashbacks came to her mind.

"You have our thanks, little girl. With the Servant you summoned, the Holy Grail will be ours!"

She forced her body to sit up from the bed as she remembered that night came flashing in her mind. She looked everywhere in the room, looking for Caster.

"C-caster?"

She called out for him, hoping for a response. There was no answer. But rather, she was met with silence and stillness in the air. Nervously, she got up from the bed and walked around the room.

"Caster?"

She called again, her nerves slowly rising in her head. She walked towards the door, reaching for the knob. When she reached it, she was reminded of the missing arms as she caught the sight of her bandaged elbow. She stopped at the realization, backing away from the door. She stared at the door with a woeful expression before she went back to her bed and sat. She shifted her attention to the window, seeing the bright day outside of her room.

Ah, it's day. Her stomach growled. I'm hungry.

She was about to lie down to her bed to sleep her hunger but stopped herself when she heard a whirring sound within room. She cautious looked around, hearing her heartbeat pulsing in her ear as she mutely looked around the room.

Since her room was as big as a living room, she silence her footsteps—tip-toeing while the whirring sound still lingered in the room. When she got closer to the source, she stared at it—unamused for her stupidity. For a whole time, it was right in front of her but her short attention span and her hearing betrayed her, thinking that there was an intruder lurking in the distance.

She tried to hit herself in the head but winced when excruciating throbbing racked in her elbow, biting her to prevent herself to scream from the pain. She started to sweat heavily, panting while gritting her teeth at the pain as she collapsed at the floor. Unable to bear the pain in her arm, she unceremoniously lied at the floor, writhing in pain as she silently prayed for comfort—crying in agony.

Still in distress, she entered the dream without notice.

___

She saw someone in the dream.

—and it was him, again.

It was him doing his usual work. The diligent man working his passion, bringing down his hammer at the hot iron—the miserable blacksmith is on it again. Indulging himself to his work—his endless labor was quite a boring thing to watch. But she, as a spectator, has no right to think like that. For someone like her who still haven't discovered her passion—has no right to mock him in every way when she haven't experience it herself.

Clang, clang, clang!

The ugly blacksmith is at it again. His endless labor was quite repetitive to watch. But she, as a spectator, has no right to think like that. For she, who lived homeless as far as she can know, has never experienced repetitiveness in her life. Every day, she had live with a positive outlook, and thinks that garbage collecting is just one of a kind adventure.

Clang, clang, clang!

The lame blacksmith is at it again. His endless labor was quite pitiful to watch. But she, as a spectator, had no right to think like that. For she, never experience loneliness and sadness in her life. She had Kanade with her side, acting like her mother and lived with a joyous smile.

Clang, clang, clang!

The lone blacksmith is at it again. His endless labor was quite sad to watch—reflecting his passion to his creation of his loneliness. But she, as a spectator, had no right to think like that. For she, still young compared to him, never created something on her own—lacking the talent to do. Instead, she was taught how to survive on her own instead to craft something for others.

Clang, clang, clang!

He's at it again. Bringing his hammer down to create a craft that was never for himself but for others.

Clang! He crafted his sadness.

Clang! He created a disappointment.

Clang! He reflected his anger to his labor.

Clang! He worked his loneliness to forget.

Clang! But she, as a spectator, had no right to think like that.

Clang! For she, never experience what he had suffered, could only watch him in his labor—wallowing himself to his endless work.

Clang!

She just watched.

Clang! Watching—

Clang! Watching—

Clang! Watching—

CLANG!—

as he drowned in volcanic fires.....

.....Why?

She wonders.

Why does he do it for the sake of others?

—but not for himself?

Don't worry, my wandering ______s.

She hears a voice in a memory.

Hopefully soon—we will meet again.

The familiar voice fades in the darkness as she fades away in the memory of a person that she knows who comforted her despite what he looks.

___

In the darkness, she woke up. She lifted up from the floor, getting up from the awkward position as she walked towards her bed and sat. She contemplated, pondering of her dream. It was a memory, that's what came to her. A memory of a certain someone that she doesn't know.

But is it really someone she doesn't know? She thought. A memory of experience—a myth—that was shown to her dream was vivid, almost realistic. In there, she was a spectator—an audience—as she was forced to see that man's life in a form of a dream.

Caster—she realized. Her servant—it was his memory of past. A lone artist working in isolation from others to grant his passion. Coped up in his temple, he worked endlessly for the sake of creation of his passion. Caster—a craftsman of beauty, forging disasters in his solitude.

It was his memory. A memory she doesn't need to see but nevertheless was shown to her. A bond of trust—between the genius one and the little one—was crafted with no alert from neither. She found herself melancholic, remembering the dream as he lived isolated from the rest of the world.

She found herself looking at her surroundings. The moon illuminating the room from the windows, giving a subtle glow of peace, the bugs chirping outside in their own and the spacious room she's currently occupying.

She had no luxury to look around further in the room because her injury was holding her back to do so. Being a child with curiosities, she mellowed it down for the sake of healing her body and mind. Being taught by her mother-figure to control her urges—or rather, the reflection of her urges—she sat behave of her bed, staring in daze in front of her.

The silent atmosphere surrounded her. It was peaceful and serene. For her, she was used to it. She always preferred silence than clamors because it gave her an absolute tranquility of her being. Kanade, her mother-figure, will always taught her many things she doesn't know, including the truth of her birth.

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

That's what she remembered the most she had with her. She can remember being enamored what she said as she curiously asked what it meant. Isolation can be good but continuing to do so is a bad thing—she remembered her saying. We, humans, are curious by nature—we are vulnerable to the concept of change, it's unavoidable. But, for those who chose to live in stagnant state, it's inevitable that they will not change—becoming close-minded to their surroundings.

Being unwanted by others is a terrible feeling. You felt unloved, thinking that you are not worth by others—causing them to think that they don't deserve to live on. But it's not all about being unwanted, rather, it was a failure of understanding of the pedestal they've been through.

It's common to happen like this to celebrities, she vividly remembered. They were expected to satisfy their audience—giving them the service what they want—as they expect nothing but fawns and smiles. They were an idol destined to be never understood by the masses as they looked up to them at the top.

It was the same thing in her dream. He was only sought out by others when they wanted something for him to create, which he will always accepts with no complaints. As a spectator of that memory (dream), she felt that she wanted to change his outlook of his life, at least seeing him smile genuinely for once.

But how? She had no idea how to make him smile. She had nothing for him to make him smile in happiness. She was just a homeless girl trying to survive by the cruelty of the society, determined to see herself climbing—at least, see herself getting rich by her hard work.

An idea came to her. If he's stuck in his temple during those times, maybe they should travel the city? Ah, but he's scouting the city, so it's useless...

No! She shook her head. No! All he does is just scouting not sight-seeing. She nods. All right, it's decided. They will travel the city for him to—at least—feel happiness to himself, not just disappointment and make him smile genuinely for once.

As if by timing, the door of her room opened as Caster entered inside. She tried to hide her enthusiasm as she walk towards him.

"Caster, tomorrow you will come with me and travel the city."

"...Eh?"

Thus, the beginning of her conquest as they travel.

the Servant Caster was Hephaestus and my kid!OC is named Lily Avalon Estelle. Taken from chapter 6: interval - lily and her (great) servant.

[stellacolletore]

08.26.2020

oneechan, let’s eat! anime: chihayafuru characters: mashima rika, mashima taichi/ayase chihaya, mashima oligo, mashima reiko, oe kanade, komano tsutomu, nishida yusei, hanano sumire summary:  for Rika Mashima, meals with Chihaya-neesan is always something to look forward to. notes: zero spoilers (aka everything’s headcanon, compliant with the mizusawa series)

i.

Their first meal together is a memory she only remembers from a photograph.

She’s been staring at said photograph for a while now, initial objective in leafing through the old family photo album promptly abandoned. Accomplishing the assignment for character development class could wait; this surprise has to be dealt with first. ASAP.

Because no matter which angle she looks at it, the picture still appears like it’s taken from an alternate universe.

Admittedly, the notion sounds over-the-top for a simple snapshot of a supposedly normal lunch in the Mashima household from five years ago. Especially with their dining area remaining unchanged, pieces of chinaware retaining their meticulously-curated pattern on the cupboards. She and Taichi-niisan sitting on the same ends of the table. Truly, everything is familiar, except for one thing: Chihaya-neesan had been occupying the spot next to her older brother.

It’s not that Chihaya-neesan is a stranger to Rika that the discovery of her dining with them before is something wholly unexpected. Quite the opposite, actually―Rika adores Oniisan's then-best friend. Cheerful and always in the mood for playing whatever game Rika requests (much unlike her annoying Oniisan), Chihaya-neesan brightens his bedroom whenever she’s around.

That’s where the surprise comes from, though. In her memories, Rika has only ever seen Chihaya-neesan in that room―and for a reason both the Mashima siblings fully understand. Okasan can be intimidating. It figures that Chihaya-neesan would only breathe well once she’s well out of range of their mom’s trademark laser glare.

But this photo is solid proof that there had been a day―or were they days? ―when Okasan wasn’t Mrs. Pressure in Chihaya-neesan’s eyes. The wide-toothed smile of hers, perfectly matching Oniisan’s, reflects that well enough.

It’s also evidence that there had been a day―at least―when Chihaya-neesan wasn’t on the receiving end of her mother’s barely concealed disapproval. The corresponding serene smile on Okasan’s face in the photograph says it, too.

After snapping a picture of it, she excitedly heads upstairs to Oniisan’s room. Look, Taichi-niisan, she intends to say. Let’s have fun with Chihaya-neesan again. Don’t you miss her, too?

The doorknob is turned halfway when an unfamiliar voice from the inside cuts her motion short. “Ta-kun, when are you going to invite me to your house? It’s what normal boyfriends do, you know.”

Rika’s mind turns up blank fast enough for her to miss Taichi-niisan’s reply, before filling up with a sick sense of dread at the mental image that appears afterwards.

It’s the same one as the photograph she’s been holding minutes before, only that instead of Chihaya-neesan, it’s an unknown girl who’s smiling beside her brother.

Rika’s not in the least surprised in finding out how she doesn’t like the image. At all.

ii.

You’ll be paying for this, Taichi-niisan’s glare tells her. You’ll be thanking me for this, Rika’s playful ones reply.

The doorbell rings, and in a flash, Oniisan’s expression switches from embarrassed annoyance into embarrassed anxiety. Her mischievous expression slips, too―she’s not that sadistic, after all. Of course she’s also feeling nervous about this. But nervousness is expected, nervousness is normal, when she’s about to meet the girl who says she loves her older brother...on livestream internet. For anyone to hear, including her classmate’s sister who happens to attend Mizusawa High School.

And really, if Rika Mashima hadn’t taken it upon herself to share this information to her Dad, who a) loves a good love story and b) loves his son so much that every milestone of Oniisan is treasured by him, then wouldn’t that just be sad? And totally not fun at all?

“Ara, ara...Who could that be? Taichi, would you please answer the door?” Otosan’s eyes are already gleaming with childlike mirth. Oniisan, cheeks turning more and more crimson by the second, rushes to the doorway.

Yep, this is going to be fun.

From the kitchen Rika hears her Okasan’s chiding. “Oligo, would you please give our son a break before he and Chihaya-san skips this lunch altogether?” The plates she’s carrying make an unusual clinking sound as they meet the glass table. Huh. Even Okasan is tense about this whole ordeal.

Chihaya-neesan finally arrives, sheepish as she was confident during the Queen Matches a week ago. She stutters a greeting. “Ko-konnichiwa, M-Mashima Oligo-s-san. Mashima Re-Reiko-san. R-Rika-chan.”

Otosan sends her a warm smile, once again making Rika feel thankful that her Dad’s one of the kindest Dads in the world. “Hisashiburi, Chihaya-chan! Congratulations on your victory! But before all that―come, Reiko has prepared for us a wonderful lunch.”

Lunch is indeed wonderful, going above and beyond Okasan’s insane standards by all means. From the seat across hers, Taichi-niisan is no longer giving her threatening glares, his own metaphorical plate full with awkwardness and concern for Chihaya-neesan who looks just as helpless herself. She keeps on avoiding Okasan’s line of sight and cutting up steak without ever putting it in her mouth. Rika snickers. Chihaya-neesan hasn’t changed a bit.

Heart warm at the thought, she decides to play the adorable little sister role and throws them a lifeline.

“Chihaya-neesan, Akane-chan―my schoolmate―has a sister who also goes to Mizusawa. She says you and Oniisan are really awesome , creating a karuta club and winning tournaments immediately after! I think so, too. They’re awesome, ne, Otosan, Okasan?”

Rising to the bait, words of praise immediately follow, much to her brother and Chihaya-neesan’s continuing shyness. But somewhere in between Otosan inquires about the process that went into the club’s making, and Chihaya-neesan begins to respond more confidently, with the subject of the conversation not being her but her friends. Taichi-niisan pitches in bits of information, too, and Okasan listens with a surprising, but definitely not unwelcome, level of rapt attention.

Soon enough, they find themselves laughing at the quirky tales of Mizusawa Karuta Club (Rika’s personal favorite was the one where they went head-to-head with Chiba International School, whom they first thought were foreigners, only for Taichi-niisan to reveal that they were Japanese people who hadn’t ever been overseas…).

Amidst all the merriment, Rika finally notices something.

Chihaya-neesan is giving Taichi-niisan an inexplicably fond look whenever his own eyes aren’t meeting hers; that is, when he laughs. Rika realizes that she hasn’t heard Oniisan laugh like this for a long, long time, and, judging by that loving twinkle in Chihaya-neesan’s eyes, she feels the same and is just as grateful for Taichi-niisan’s new found happiness as Rika is.

Maybe it’s due to that look that neither Otosan nor Okasan brought up Chihaya-neesan’s post Queen Matches speech, or asked them about the status of their relationship and its implications on their future.

She’s got a feeling that those questions hold no importance anymore.

iii.

Sure, she might’ve an older brother who’s basically the stuff of shoujo mangas, but there are days when Rika wonders if she could trade him for a sister.

After all, an older brother won’t rush to your school after dismissal, begging you for a trip to the mall. (“It’s an emergency, Rika-chan! Help me!”) An older brother wouldn’t ask you about what a boyfriend would want for a first year anniversary. (To which Rika would answer, “Definitely not another set of karuta cards.”) He’s the last person you would rather be talking to about high school girl problems over coffee and cake at Starbucks. (“It’s so easy for you, Onee-chan. You’ve liked each other from the start.” “Easy?! You call all that easy?!”)

But as Rika parts ways with Chihaya-oneechan after a hectic but enjoyable day and goes home where Taichi-oniisan greets her (“I heard you went shopping with Chihaya. Did you have fun?”), she’s finally made up her mind.

It’s useless to think about trading his brother anymore. Not when she already has both.

iv.

Taichi-neesan hasn’t popped the question yet, but Komano-san―nee Kanade Oe-san―is already crying.

Waiting in a classroom like the rest of them, Nishida-san remarks, “Kana, you’re supposed to cry after Chihaya. After!”

“Well, I apologize if my tears cannot bear to wait a moment longer after having done so for fifteen years. ” Komano-san wipes her tears with a handkerchief her husband passes to her. Behind his eyeglasses, his eyes are moist, too. “I think three years in high school is already a long time. But Mashima just had to add med school years on top of that.”

Hanano-san, already wearing a gleaming engagement ring of her own, is also on the verge of breakdown when finally, her phone rings. “T-that’s our cue, guys!”

Rika, with emotions equally unstable as her brother’s lifelong karuta friends, grips at the box of cake she and Okasan have spent all night baking to perfection. Altogether they head out of their hiding spot and towards the Mizusawa Club Room, where Oniisan has just finished asking Oneechan a question that is, indeed, fifteen years in the waiting.

As soon as they enter the room, Rika is treated with a sight that surpasses every joyful moment she’s ever encountered thus far. Chihaya-neechan, in her classic karuta get-up, surrounded by the cards she’s spent most of her life loving, crying openly on the crook of Taichi-niisan’s shoulder. Oniisan, one arm placed lovingly around Oneechan’s waist, welcomes them inside with the brightest smile she’s ever seen him wear.

Needless to say, Rika’s exhausted the limits of her handkerchief after that.

Later on, when everybody’s calmed down a bit and Oneechan is finally convinced by Komano-san that, yes, this is not a dream, Chihaya-chan, Rika hands her a slice of the gift she’s brought.

And finally, finally, gets to say the words she’s been longing to say:

“Oneechan, let’s eat!”

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/18/17

Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 1 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Combining a magical academy story with the ‘eccentric guy who ends up being a good teacher’ story that manga likes so much isn’t a bad idea, and Akashic Records does a decent job of it, though it gets off to a sluggish start. Frankly, Glenn is far too irritating to bear, and this one of the rare times where you are 100% behind the angry tsundere from the start. Of course, what he really needed was something to snap him out of his funk, and once he decides to actually turn on his brain and start teaching, things get exponentially better. It’s still a standard light novel adaptation, but I’m interested in seeing where it goes next. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 4 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – A good deal of this volume is devoted to a flashback showing us how the band In No Hurry came to be, and while a lot of the narrative points I was expecting were absent (why were they all hospitalized long-term?), the emotional beats were there. Certainly it was more entertaining than the love triangle we’re getting here. Not that it’s not well-written—in fact, the reverse may be the case. I’d rather go back to the standard shoujo cliche of having one person have it all together while the others flail. Seeing all three characters do stupid things and then immediately castigate themselves can be exhausting. On the bright side, we get more of Nino screaming, which remains the book’s high point. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 4 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – I think I may only enjoy this series when Nino is performing, because the best moment in this volume is the brief one in which she accompanies herself on Momo’s guitar. The rest of it involves romantic angst from the two boys who have appropriated Nino’s voice as their personal property, unsuccessful attempts at comedy, and some (vague and improbable) backstory about how the band came to be. I did appreciate that Nino comes to see herself as a caretaker of her bandmates’ dream, and the parallel that while Nino has been hoping that her singing would bring Momo back to her, Yuzu has been hoping that his music would do the same with her. While this volume was a little on the meh side, I do look forward to the rock festival performance coming up in volume five. – Michelle Smith

Bloom Into You, Vol. 3 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – The first half of this volume is far more light-hearted than the rest of the series to date, which is fun but may be to its detriment. When it’s relaxing and showing the characters being happy, Bloom into You is like any other yuri series. But when Touko is being so aggressively forward that you want to slug her, or when Yuu is once again reminding us that she may very well be asexual (though that does not stop her from being lonely, as someone else pointedly notes), the series takes it to the next level, albeit a very uncomfortable one. There’s also another pairing casually introduced here that startled me, but I suspect the reason for it was more to have more adult ‘mentors’ the kids can ask for advice. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Complex Age, Vol. 6 | By Yui Sakuma | Kodansha Comics – Complex Age has been pretty upsetting at times, so I confess that I totally looked at the last page to make sure Nagisa looked happy before I committed to reading this final volume. Its pace is somewhat accelerated, covering about a year after Nagisa’s meeting with her mother’s loli-loving friend as she tries to figure out what it is she loves best about cosplay and what kind of new shape it might become in her life. True, her conclusion is somewhat bittersweet, but it’s hopeful too, and I think that’s just the right combination for this series. If you were put off by the rough going in the middle volumes, take heart that this final installment remains realistic, but isn’t gloomy. I’ve really enjoyed this series. – Michelle Smith

Demon King Daimaou, Vol. 2 | By Shoutaro Mizuki and Souichi Itou | J-Novel Club – It’s finally happened: I’ve come across a light novel with so little to say about it that it’s only getting a brief. The light novel world is not exactly littered with deep, meaningful stories, but even among the fluff Demon King Daimaou is still pretty throwaway. That said, it’s not actively bad, and reads quickly—I don’t feel a need to drop it, I just feel no need to worry about what happens next. It’s at its best when at its least serious, such as Akuto’s constant desire to not seem like a villain, and the fact that he always does. (He’s desecrating hundreds of hero’s graves… but for good reasons!) As for the girls, we get a new one here, whose first scene amused me, but they’re as forgettable as anything. Only if you really liked the anime. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 6 | By Izumi Miyazono | VIZ Media – This series is in somewhat of a holding pattern, despite a few changes. Asuka keeps coming into contact with Kamiya, who keeps trying to wear her down on marrying him despite the fact that she’s told him in no uncertain terms to back off and that she isn’t interested, and Ryu continues to be troubled by this. There are a few new elements in this volume with the introduction of Asuka’s protective 18-year-old brother Kanade and the fact that she and Ryu officially move in together, but since a) Kanade puts forth Kamiya as an alternate candidate and b) oopsies, they moved into Kamiya’s building, it’s really just more of the same. Everyone’s Getting Married is still fairly entertaining, but it’s not at all surprising or exciting, even with the possibility that Ryu will be transferred overseas. – Michelle Smith

Golden Time, Vol. 8 | By Yuyuko Takemiya and Umechazuke | Seven Seas – Linda returns in this volume… though it’s more about Banri returning, as he goes with her to a class reunion. The reunion itself goes off fairly well, and doesn’t really bring back too much. Unfortunately, he does have a bit of a breakdown later on in the middle of a festival dance, which leads to disaster. (And holy crap, that festival guy yelling at the cast was appalling. I really really hated him.) As for Banri and Kouko, it seems they’re doing very well, though I suspect both are trying just a little too hard—I have a nasty suspicion the next volume will be even more dramatic, especially after the medication discovery. Golden Time is heavy-duty romantic drama, but worth the slog. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 15 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Answering the cliffhanger from last volume, we get a few chapters showing us who Karasuno will be facing in the semifinals. The actual winner is not a surprise, but the author does a good job at keeping things tense anyway. As for the main event, it’s what you’d expect from a sports manga. Our heroes have shown off that they’re not the team they were before, but their opponent also has a few tricks up their sleeves, and so things could go either way. I like the constant emphasis on how important momentum is to a game. And of course things end with Yamaguchi, on the sidelines, desperate to make up for his earlier play. Classic Jump sports manga, and you should be reading it. – Sean Gaffney

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 27 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – Credit to Pin, he is doing his best to make sure the ship with Ayano does not get further—something Ayano is tearfully aware of as well, though at least she’s started to openly admit her feelings. That said, Pin is up against the author here, and so I’m not sure how things will go. I’m not… TOTALLY against the ship, but I want it to wait till he’s not her teacher in any case. The other big news is that Kazehaya finally confronts his father, and the two learn a lot more about their similarities. They both communicate poorly, though Kazehaya has gotten better now that he’s dating Sawako. As for Sawako, after a long sweet date she admits she’s applying to the educational university, and he can how happily cheer her on. Sweet stuff. – Sean Gaffney

No Game No Life, Please!, Vol. 2 | By Kazuya Yuizaki and Yuu Kamiya | Yen Press – This is pretty much exactly what hardcore NGNL fans would want out of a spinoff manga, which means about half of it is not my cup of tea, because heavy fanservice and fetishes just don’t do much for me. I’m also not fond of the suggestion that Fi and Chlammy is a yuri pairing, and this book really loves to suggest it in unsubtle ways. It’s at its best when developing the characters, be it Steph thinking on her feet (or with her bladder) to escape a dungeon that Jibril has created, or Izuna continuing to learn from the masters—our sibling heroes—on how to both improve her gaming skills and also have more fun. Lacking a proper manga version, this is a decent alternative for those who want pictures. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 12 | By ONE and Yusuke Marata | Viz Media – The tournament is perhaps the least interesting part of this volume. In that, it’s not dissimilar to many other tournament battle manga, though those lack the deadpan blaseness of our hero. Fortunately, there’s also a slew of monsters and villains attacking outside the arena, which allows Genos to remind us he’s still really tough despite being Saitama’s self-appointed lackey. The best scenes, though, involved Blizzard and her sister Tornado, whose family issues certainly seem to be deeply seated—Blizzard’s almost jaded “don’t worry, she’ll be coming to save me anyway” is well done, and you really sympathize with her here, especially with Tornado at her most arrogant. Essential, despite the tournament. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith