#I know this is kind of a weird place to start with misao BUT I swear this song is relevant to her character jsjsj

[iohourtime]

Kiokuya (The Memory Eraser) Review - With Spoilers

Since I read the book, sort of followed the filming progress, and read a bunch of interviews (that all sounded the same after a while), I should finish off by writing a review for the movie itself! 

Thanks to the pandemic, I was stuck at home watching Netflix for 7 months, so I’ve watched all sorts of movies & TV; sadly most are in the average to crappy category. To me, Kiokuya was probably in the average to slightly above average category. In other words, there are elements I like and there are things I feel the movie can improve on.

The review is a bit long since apparently I have a lot of thoughts about the script.😅 I pretty much summed up my thoughts in the “theme” section. If you are interested in the book / movie differences & things from the DVD visual commentary, I included those in the script & characters section. (Movie Walker included highlights from the visual commentary here.) . If you want to discuss the movie but don’t want to put spoilers on Twitter, leave me a message.

Theme:

The movie’s main theme is obviously about memory. If a memory is making your life miserable, or even stopping you from living, is it better to erase it? Or do all memories, even bad ones, shape you as a human? If someone’s memory of you is gone, are you killed in their minds? If you think someone is better off forgetting you, do you have the right to ask Kiokuya to erase their memories of you? Are the memories gone forever? If you have the power to erase someone’s memory, what are your responsibilities? And to some extent, what are the criteria to evaluate each request and what due diligence should you do before you accept this task? These were the questions the movie wanted you to ask. You know because the movie kept hitting you on the head through the dialogue! That’s probably my main complaint about the movie.

I didn’t study film so I don’t know the theories, but I think being heavy handed at telling you what you should be thinking is like listening to a textbook; it robs the audience of the chance to experience and internalize what they saw, and as a result, they are less able to connect emotionally to the film. That’s not to say people are not moved by the movie and empathize with the characters. I feel that it had more to do with the actors than the script though.

I think the cinematography was generally nice. I liked how they used the drone shots to film the beautiful Hiroshima scenery. The sunset scene was beautiful. The music did not seem intrusive. Other than that, I’m not sure I have more to say. (Fine. Yamada looked good in the plaid shirts and his hair was on point.)

Script vs Book: (Spoiler alert from here on!)

Kiokuya, the movie, was an adaptation of a “horror” novel of the same name. Although there were horror elements, mostly because Kiokuya was kind of a shadowy figure, even the novel itself was focused more on humanity. The original story was divided into 4 parts; the first 3 parts were really 3 separate short stories that explored different reasons people have for wanting their memories erased. The final part was about Kiokuya herself. The Ryoichi character simply served as a bridge between the stories. Here’s a brief description:

Kyoko - A while ago, she was attacked in a dark alley but was saved at the last minute. Even though she was unharmed, she developed a crippling phobia of the dark, so she locked herself inside her home at night and was not able to live a normal life. She and Ryoichi were kinda but not really dating, and Ryoichi, being a typical guy, figured he could fix her. Kyoko tried everything but as a last resort, she asked Kiokuya to erase her memory of the attack. Since her relation with Ryoichi was based almost entirely on overcoming the phobia, she forgot him too. Through this incident, Ryoichi remembered how Maki had her memory erased when she was 5 or 6 - she saw her mom confessing to her dad that she had an affair with her uncle. Kiokuya might have erased Maki’s memory a second time when she was 10-12. Finally, he realized he “forgot” about his year-long investigation of Kiokuya with Takahara & others. It seemed like he was doggedly pursuing Kiokuya because he felt violated more than his undying love for Kyoko. In his own words, he didn’t try to rebuild his relationship with Kyoko again after she forgot about him. There was nothing stopping him, so his feelings towards Kyoko were not that deep.

Takahara - He was a 30 year old ikemen lawyer, though like the movie, he was dying. The chapter focused on his touching friendship with his assistant. Takahara was also close with Nanami, a suicidal, 17-year-old daughter of a client who became very attached to him. When Takahara found out Nanami planned to kill herself after he died, he asked Kiokuya to erase her memory of him so that she would live on.

Misao & Kaname - They were childhood friends and Misao started crushing on Kaname. She confessed and was rejected, but after that, they were not able to be friends like before. She figured if she erased everything about Kaname, they may be able to start over and become friends again without the awkward feelings.

Maki - Ryoichi thought Maki was looking for Kiokuya to erase some unpleasant memories. Then he found out she was Kiokuya, who inherited her ability from her grandfather. In the end, Maki confessed to the burden of being Kiokuya and Ryoichi told her he would support her and that she didn’t have to do it alone. Maki decided to erase anything Kiokuya related in his memory, but their friendship remained intact. Oh, Maki was 17 in the book and also had a crush on Ryoichi. She erased his memories many times before. Like in the movie, she also would like Ryoichi to love her just once, although he never ever saw her as anyone other than his annoying little sister. 😅

The director of the movie, Hirakawa Yuichi, also wrote or co-wrote the script. While the movie stuck to the themes of the novel, the motivations were completely different. Kyoko and Misao were both rape victims, Takahara now wanted to protect his young daughter from the sadness of his death, and Maki was herself kidnapped by a psychopath when she was a kid. I guess Hirakawa needed to pump up the drama and felt the stakes were not high enough for a 2 hour movie? There is always some uneasiness with using rape and trauma to move the story along. I guess there is a difference between this and the usual example of “fridging a female character”, i.e. kill a love interest of the hero to motivate him on some journey. Ryoichi was motivated by being erased and he actually gradually realized he should not push for restoring Kyoko’s memories if it was her wish. He only found out what happened to her at the end of the movie. Considering their relationship in the movie was a lot more serious, they couldn’t really use the phobia of darkness reason. However, it would also take something really big for Kyoko to want her memory erased while not talking to Ryoichi beforehand. Anyway, I really don’t see a way out of this.

For Misao though, I didn’t think they needed to make her a victim of the same serial rapist, especially when they use the same reason as the book for erasing Kaname. I suppose they need to explain why Nanami (and later Ryoichi) was looking into them? But they could just have the doctor referred the case (who appeared to be breaking doctor-patient confidentiality?! Just me?) In fact, the whole Misao / Kaname storyline didn’t really do much other than allowing Ryoichi to find out from Kaname that Kiokuya was a young girl.

Maki’s childhood trauma was also a bit excessive. I can’t see it as anything other than to get Ryoichi out to Hiroshima to talk to Grandpa. While finding out mom was “dealing with” uncle would be traumatic for a young child, it might not be dramatic enough for a movie.

Ryoichi & Maki’s origins were also changed. They were now raised in Hiroshima and moved to Tokyo to attend university. The only reason was to place Grandpa-Kiokuya in Hiroshima after the bombing. While I liked the grandpa scene, was it necessary? They already covered the “Kiokuya after WWII” with the interview with the elderly woman. I think they could still keep Grandpa, since he was Kiokuya (and ironically suffering from Alzheimer’s) but maybe just skip the elderly woman part and use those minutes to build Ryoichi & Kyoko’s relationship! 

Upgrading Ryoichi & Kyoko’s relationship to being engaged gave him more incentive to look for Kiokuya, but all we got to see was 1 proposal scene and some snapshots, which made it harder for us to understand the loss Ryoichi experienced when Kyoko forgot him. Ultimately, I feel that more time should be given to the “before” times. They don’t even need that much. If done effectively like the movie Searching with John Cho, 5 minutes or so of clips would be enough to get us to care more. I’m not saying people won’t care, but it’s true that there are people who didn’t quite feel it. Yamada basically had to sell it with longing looks at Renbutsu, so how deeply you feel for them depends on whether you buy it or not.

Takahara’s story might have been changed because of who they cast. Also, Takahara & Nanami’s relationship in the book was kinda weird, considering Nanami actually loved him and she was 17 while he was 30. I definitely cannot agree with how Movie Takahara wanted to erase his daughter’s memory to spare her the pain of losing him. It reminded me of that Black Mirror episode where the mom put in a blocker to shield her daughter from bad things. It ended up messing up the girl & broke their relationship. Young children are resilient and the sadness would eventually change into something else, which would shape their characters. Also, just because she forgot her birth father didn’t mean she would suddenly get along with her stepfather. I won’t even get into the whole consent thing. It was a good thing Maki did not follow through.

Less good was what Movie Maki did to Ryoichi & Kyoko though. When I found out Movie Ryoichi & Kyoko were engaged instead of “pre-dating” like in the book, I was quite worried they would have Movie Maki erase Ryoichi from Kyoko’s mind for selfish reasons. I was hoping that maybe he got erased by mistake, but unfortunately, the script did go with the jealousy angle, which made Maki extremely unsympathetic.

In the visual commentary, they said they rewrote the ending because it didn’t fit. Maki erased her entire existence from Ryoichi's mind as penance for what she did. (I think initially, they were going with the book ending where Maki just erased Kiokuya from his head.) In the end, the actual cut used in the movie was more ambiguous - they “left it to the audience” to decide how much Maki erased and whether Ryoichi & Kyoko got a second chance at happiness. (The director said it ended on a hopeful note. Take it how you want.)

It’s unclear if Movie Maki erased Ryoichi’s memories more than once, but Book Maki had done it many times. Even though Book Maki seemed more responsible with her powers and didn’t slip up like Movie Maki, she did wipe part of Ryoichi’s memories without his consent. Ryoichi said that she didn’t have to do this alone and she could lean on him, so why didn’t she? Also, losing all that memory got to have some long term effect on him, right? In the movie, it was worse because Maki took the “easy” way out by erasing herself. Yes, she was punishing herself, but shouldn’t the more courageous thing to do was to own up to what she had done and work for Ryoichi’s (& Kyoko’s) forgiveness?

Speaking of Ryoichi’s forgiveness, I actually saw some viewers calling Ryoichi a cad for telling Maki that he would always protect her and be by her side to protect her. Apparently they seemed to think he was in love with Maki and forgot all about Kyoko. Well, I think in that moment, there were 3 things going on: 1) Takahara told him that it was better to forgive and that there will be justice in other ways, 2) he understood why it was devastating to Kyoko to remember what happened and 3) Maki was like his little sister. His immediate desire to comfort his friend overrode the anger and betrayal he might have felt. Had Maki not erased his memory around 2 minutes after, who knew if they would have a more substantial talk? He didn’t even have a chance to talk to Kyoko. (I suspect Maki would have tried to “spare him” by erasing his relationship with Kyoko as well. He still ended up at the cafe because he could remember physically going there a lot.)

Overall, I think the movie was a bit unfocused due to some extraneous storylines and having too much exposition, which was a disservice to some of the characters. It failed to show how their relationships build, like Ryoichi & Takahara became buddies over what seemed like a week! I wish they trimmed a couple of the minor stories and used that time to go deeper on the main lines.

Characters / Actors:

Yoshimura Ryoichi (Yamada Ryosuke)

I was watching the movie and halfway through when it hit me… Yamada’s Ryoichi was… normal? I mean obviously quite good looking in the boy-next-door kind of way, but Ryoichi was a regular, run-of-the-mill university student, who was normally an optimistic and forgiving but happened to be dealing with heartbreak at the moment. Seriously, if you’ve watched Yamada’s other works, his characters are usually kind of comedic, sort of pathetic, occasionally brilliant, psychotic, or… non-human. (Very odd roles for a Johnny’s actor.) He probably has not been this normal since the 24Hr drama. He still cried a lot, so that’s familiar.

OK, let’s get back on topic. Since Book Ryoichi functioned more as a character that connects the short stories rather than a real character, I didn’t have hopes for the movie version. Surprisingly, Movie Ryoichi came across as a real person and I did care what happened to him. While we didn’t get to see how Ryoichi & Kyoko were in happier times, he was able to convey the longing and slight awkwardness in their interaction when he tried to talk to her after. Similarly, in the scene where he learned of Takahara’s death, you could tell what was going through his mind even though he said nothing. Same with the final “confrontation” with Maki. Even though he didn’t say much, his eyes conveyed the emotions subtly: the longing, shock, confusion, etc. Overall, he was quite subtle and natural. As the articles say, he managed to “suppress his aura” and played an average guy. I hope he can play more of these subtle types of roles in future. (It is unfortunate that a lot of people have preconceived notions about Johnny’s actors, to put it politely. It’s like the reverse of the “fan blinder” that we sometimes get accused of having.)

Now there are some discussions as to whether he overacted in the crying scenes. The main “crying” scenes were probably 1) confession to grandpa in Hiroshima, 2) in the rain, and 3) reading the letter. I’ve seen people say he overacted in either 1) or 2).

When I first watched the Hiroshima scene, I did feel that his crying may have been a bit much because I was watching the movie with just Japanese subtitles, so I missed an important detail: Ryoichi told his mom he was going to Hiroshima to confront his past. When you consider that Ryoichi had been carrying the guilt for “causing” Maki’s kidnapping for 15 years, it was totally reasonable for him to prostrate himself in front of Grandpa. He would also be relieved when Grandpa told him the statute of limitation was over and he should forgive himself. As an aside, according to the director in the visual commentary, Yamada cried in the first take of the scene. Hirakawa said “Aren’t you crying too much?” Yamada said “OK, I’ll do another take without crying.” However, when the Director was cutting the movie together, he suddenly saw Ryoichi’s mental journey and ended up using the first take because it was the logical conclusion to the closure he got.

In the rain scene, he just learned about Kyoko’s attack. Knowing how much hurt she endured and how he did nothing to support and comfort her, he was still in a state of shock when he got knocked down. Then the dam burst and he cried hysterically. That seemed quite reasonable to me. I was more shocked that nobody checked on the guy who fell on the pavement and was crying. Pedestrians were cold! So I don’t really understand the objection to that scene. Maybe they thought this was something that happened a while ago and/or he didn’t love Kyoko that much, so he wouldn’t be that emotional?

I don’t think people have issues with the letter scene? Narratively, it made the most sense since he was close with Takahara, who was literally speaking to him from the grave via the letter. Oh, they talked about filming the letter scene in the visual commentary. Yamada was just reading the letter in silence and they added in Takahara’s narration in post production. Since he wanted to save the emotional outburst for the real take, he did not dare to look at the letter during the rehearsal.

One last thing, Yamada and Yoshine spoke in Hiroshima-ben when they were talking amongst each other. I have horrible listening skills and while I think he used some slang or phrasing, his accent still seemed mostly Kanto. It’s like if I call a bunch of people “wankers” with a Canadian accent; it doesn’t make me sound English. Maybe someone can tell me just how well (or not) he did.

Kawai Maki (Yoshine Kyoko)

I have only watched Yoshine in the drama Stay Tuned and I liked her there. She played this airhead character who could be super annoying if the balance was off, yet she came across as likeable. I think she portrayed Maki very well in this movie. Of course, I knew she was Kiokuya going in, so even at the beginning, you could see some of her subtle reactions to the Kiokuya discussions. I really liked her chemistry with Yamada - they felt like they could have been lifelong friends. While she played the annoying little sister part quite well, you could also see the pain she felt when she had to make difficult choices like erasing Nanami’s memory. Throughout the movie, you could sense her regret for what she did to Ryoichi. Her emotions in the final scene were also very raw. While Maki’s characterization was problematic, Yoshine was really good at playing that character and you might even be sympathetic towards her. Also, I feel that her Hiroshima-ben might be more on point? Some people didn’t buy that she was in love with Ryoichi the whole time. I thought the flashbacks made it pretty clear but I’ve also read the book, so there’s that.

In the visual commentary, they were talking about their various acting styles. Yoshine said she carried her emotions with her even after the director shouted cut. So when she was shooting the last scene, she was still crying furiously afterwards. Yamada said she was like an acting monster - she could get right into the emotions even during the table read. It was funny how different she is from Yamada and Renbutsu. They are the flip-the-switch type - when the director yells cut, it was like they woke up from a dream into a different world. She also apologized to Yamada when they were watching the scene where she confessed to selfishly erasing Kyoko’s memory of Ryoichi.😅

Takahara Tomoaki (Sasaki Kuranosuke)

I have not seen Sasaki’s other projects, so I had no idea what to expect. His Takahara came  across as pretty charming, easy going, and playful, though you could feel his love for his daughter and the hard decision he had to make. He also had a natural chemistry with the other cast and was very believable. While I disagree with what Takahara wanted, Sasaki’s acting as Takahara made sense. I don’t know what more to say. It is probably expected since he is a veteran and is generally well regarded as an actor.

Sawada Kyoko (Renbutsu Misako)

I have only seen Renbutsu in Hagaren. I liked her character there. I also liked how Yamada decided to break the ice with her back then by asking if she has any friends. (She had more friends than him. 😅) To be honest, there wasn’t much for her to do in this movie, although I think she was believable as the very confused Kyoko. She was apprehensive about Ryoichi in the “after” scenes, who was honestly coming across too strong. I don’t think Ryoichi & Kyoko really had crackling sexual chemistry based on the proposal scene, but they seemed like a cute couple. They were pretty cute together in the behind-the-scenes featurette when they took the “dating photos”. I wish those dates were included in the movie.

Conclusion:

As you can see above, I have some general issues about the script but I think the actors elevated the story. The movie could have been better if it streamlined some of the storylines. Right now, it was trying to go for a deeper message but the stories themselves were a bit too superficial to accomplish that. I suppose the problem was that the original novel was more like an anthology of short stories dealing with memory, so it was hard to create a through line for a movie.

#Kiokuya #anata ha wasurenai #yamada ryosuke #yoshine kyoko #sasaki kuranosuke #renbutsu misako #review #spoilers #the memory eraser

[roots-game]

(I feel weird and dumb asking for scenes with the ROs but I just love how you write and please take care of yourself and don't get overworked) How would the ROs react to finding a panicked/just through a panic attack MC? I always thought that the way you calmed others is a mirror of how you calm yourself...

Thank you so much for your kind words anon <3. I’ve been taking a little bit of a hiatus, but I really do want to start getting back into the swing of things.  Now onto your ask: Misao: “Tell me what you need,” Misao’s voice is gentle though laced with concern. The room seems to spin in front of you. You grab onto the kitsune’s arm, unable to say anything. Your chest feels too heavy and head feeling much too light.  “You don’t have to say anything,” The kitsune wraps their arms around you, “I’ll be here for as long as you need me.”  Anela: She leads you towards a couch, gingerly rubbing your back. You gulp in air at a rapid pace, your eyes feel dewey but you refuse to let your tears spill. “Please,” Anela says gingerly placing a hand on your cheek, “Look at me.” You want to look away, ashamed but she asks again. Slowly your turn your head towards her. Your breaths gradually go from its frenzied pace to slow and purposefully even. “It’s okay.” She says, “It’s just me and you.” Louis: He’s never seen you like this before and he isn’t quite sure what to do. You’re pacing, as you do when you’re upset. You walk in aimless tight little circles, words you don’t even register pouring out of your mouth. “Hey,” he smiles uneasily. He’s scared but more than anything he wants to help. He’s about to crack some sort of joke, hoping it will make you laugh. To make you smile again. But when you pause and look at him with hot watery tears still streaking down your face, his false bravado crumbles easily under your gaze. He wants to help you. To make it right. But he doesn’t know how.

#misao #anela #louis #Anonymous #im out here givin u the 1 AM drabble as is tradition

[kagami190]

“Death & Rebirth” Chapter 2: Rebirth

Chapter 2: Rebirth

-1-

Immediately after getting out of bed, Kagami had invited her high school classmate Misao Kusakabe out to the shopping district and rushed out of the house. Kagami felt guilty leaving her twin sister in the dust so early in the day, but she was in dire need of a confidant who wasn't a family member.

Misao was certainly a loyal friend and made for good company - especially in as much as she probably wouldn't notice how mentally preoccupied Kagami was.

"I mean, ya think about it, it doesn't make any sense!" Misao said, her cute little snaggletooth showing amidst every word out of her mouth.

Kagami didn't know what Misao was talking about, she didn't necessarily care either. She just nodded. Misao was wearing a new shirt and a skirt Kagami had never seen before - which wasn't surprising considering she was just getting used to not seeing her friends in their uniformed colors every day.

She wasn't depressed, just lost in thought. She didn't want to be alone, she didn't know what she would do. She needed to be around someone so she didn't do anything crazy. Which is why she made the decision to call Misao as soon as she had woken up. She didn't want this to get around to her more immediate group of friends. Most especially her sister and loud-mouthed Konata.

Misao on the other hand, it was all the same to her. Kagami assumed she would talk to a wall if another person wasn't around.

She couldn't keep this up forever though. She'd have to face the music at some point.

As beautiful people walked by - regardless of whether they were male or female - Kagami would sexualize them. Sometimes feeling her nipples harden at the excitement of a beautiful woman or the natural smell of a handsome man jogging past. She didn't know how people could do it. How can they walk around like this and pay attention to anything else?

Kagami blushed, lost in her naughty thoughts, and felt a tingling, her panties moistened a little. 

"... Right?!" Misao's voice came back into focus, "What do you think, Hiiragi?"

Kagami snapped back into reality.

"Uhh.." Kagami said, "Sure."

"Heyyyy!" Misao observed immediately, switching tracks without a beat and pointing at Kagami "You're all red-faced!"

She blushed brighter red.

"What's the big deal?" Misao was confused. "You sick or somethin' Hiiragi?" "I haven't really felt like myself lately, no," Kagami admitted. Misao took a second to process this, "Soooo... Does that mean your sick?"

Kagami laughed a little, the first small feeling of happiness since last night, "No Misao, I'm not sick."

"Ya sure?" Misao confirmed.

"I'm sure," Kagami said.

"Then is it a boy?" Misao asked.

The blood rushed to Kagami's face again. She wore her emotions right on her sleeve. She'd always known this.

"So is that what all the red faceyness was about?" Misao said, grinning, "Saw something you liked, Hiiragi?"

"No! I mean..." Kagami started.

"I saw some hotties walkin' down these streets." Misao said, "Don't think I didn't catch you turning your head"

Kagami gasped, "You saw that?"

Misao giggled, "Nah, I was yappin' too much to notice stuff like that. You definitely threw yourself under the bus on that one."

Kagami sighed, annoyed, "Thanks for that."

"There's the Hiiragi I know!" Misao said, "Now come on, what boy do you have on your mind? Did he go to school with us? It wasn't 'Sebastian' was it?"

"It's..." Kagami paused, "Complicated."

Misao frowned a little, "Aw, come on Hiiragi. I mean, I know we didn't hang out much outside of school, but I'm tryin' to be a good friend here."

"You're right," Kagami grinned, "Sorry."

Misao looked to their right as they passed by a Taiwanese restaurant, a quaint establishment that had two giant posters in its window. One said, "DAILY SPECIALS!" the other, "BOBA TEA!"

"I know!" She said, stopping right in front of it.

"Huh?" Kagami said, realizing Misao was no longer walking beside her.

"Boba Tea!" Misao said, "Awesome stuff!"

Kagami backtracked a few steps to catch up with Misao "Oh. The Taiwanese bubble tea with the huge tapioca balls at the bottom."

"Um, yeah! The best drink to have deep conversations over!" Misao smiled as she grabbed Kagami by the hand, dragging her into the restaurant.

Kagami slightly resisted but allowed Misao to pull her in. "Aren't you thinking about coffee? Besides, the convo I want to have is a little personal..."

"Nah, coffee sucks," Misao said, walking up to the front counter, "Boba tea is where it's at!"

"Hello! Welcome!" They heard, the clerk calling to them as they walked up to the counter.

"Hi, nice to meet ya!" Misao said, "Just two for the bar please, we're just gonna get some boba tea."

The man nodded, "Boba tea is the reason this place stays open." He smiled and gestured for the girls to come toward him. "Boba tea is a relatively young, but very profitable Taiwanese tradition."

"Young?" Kagami asked as she and Misao followed behind him.

"It's a staple of Taiwanese culture and it hasn't even been around 40 years!" The man said, leading Kagami and Misao to the bar, pulling the tall chairs out for them.

Misao sat down, "Hehe... This is kinda cool. Feel like a big girl sitting on this stool chair." "What kind of boba tea would you girls like?" The man smiled.

"I'll have coconut with passion fruit boba!" Misao said proudly.

"Of course." The man said, "And for you?"

"Um..." Kagami started, "I'll have what she's having."

"Very good." The man said, scurrying away.

"That guy sure was happy about the significance of boba tea," Kagami said.

"Like my Dad says the only way to stay afloat is to love what life deals you." Misao said, "This guy's really invested in his job, but maybe that's because it's all he has."

"Sounds like settling to me," Kagami said dryly, "They pay him so he probably just fakes it."

Misao shook her head, "Always the depressing logic from you, Hiiragi."

Kagami sighed, putting her head on the bar, "I'm just so confused," She whined out loud.

"Oh, that's right!" Misao said, "I got so excited about the boba that I forgot what we were coming in here for. Your boy troubles! Okay, tell me all about it!"

"It's..." Kagami said, "It's not a boy." "Oh?" "It's..." Kagami thought for a second, "It's like..." "Take your time Hiiragi, don't bust a blood vessel. " "I'm just trying to think of how to word it!" Kagami snapped. "Okay, okay!" Misao laughed, "So it's like?" "Well... have you ever been through a life-changing experience?" Kagami asked. "What?" Misao replied, " Like someone dying?"

"Not really..." Kagami said, taking a second to remember how last night felt like the death of her innocence. Who knew death could feel so good.

"Becoming a millionaire?" Misao guessed again, "If you're a millionaire, you should loan me some money."

"No, not a millionaire," Kagami rolled her eyes, "Like... you ever heard of people who find religion? People, who say they're saved?"

"Like those reborn again people?" Misao said, "You a holy roller now? I always knew your family was religious but you never seemed all that bought-in."

"Not that," Kagami said, "But something just as earth-shattering changed who I thought I was..."

Misao, usually full of smiles and always talking fell silent, and in her bright brown eyes you could see immediate worry for her friend.

"Hey, Kagami..." Misao started Kagami felt a slight startle at Misao calling her by her given name. "You know I'm here for ya," Misao said, "Whatever it is, I want to help okay?"

There was a small silence as Kagami decided whether or not to fully confide in Misao. Could she keep such a weird secret? Were they close enough so that she wouldn't be totally creeped out and run away?

Before she could think about it more, the man from earlier returned, with as much gusto as ever, cups and big straws in hand. He sat down their boba teas in front of them.

"Two coconut and passion fruit for the pretty young ladies!" He announced cheerfully, "Enjoy! If you want to order anything the menu is right in front of you."

"Thanks." The girls said, and he walked away leaving them once again to their own devices.

"His happiness definitely seems genuine," Misao said after he had left, "I don't think he's faking or settling."

After a small beat, Kagami finally spoke. "Misao, have you ever had a boyfriend?" Kagami asked.

Misao wasn't expecting that and this time it was her face that flushed a little bit, "Well... I mean... Not, like, anything official or nothin' like that."

"Neither have I." Kagami said, "I think I need one in my life. I'm craving something more lately..."

Misao thought she knew where this was going, "Love?"

Kagami took a deep breath as her heart raced. It was now or never, "Sex."

Misao's big amber-brown eyes widened, her pupils shrinking as the light hit them. "Umm..."

"Please," Kagami immediately said, "Don't hate me or think I'm weird. I swear I just wanted to tell someone and I thought..."

"Hiiragi, it's okay," Misao said recoiling, "Calm down, I don't hate you. And it's not weird that a teenage girl is interested in sex."

"Is it weird that I got off to a hentai anime?" Kagami immediately followed up.

Misao, obviously taken aback again by how much Kagami had to get off her chest, after a few moments said, "Well... I've definitely heard weirder."

That didn't really make Kagami feel much better, but at least Misao wasn't running away.

"I gotta tell you Hiiragi," Misao grinned suggestively, "You're the last person in the world I expected to be a nymphomaniac."

"I'm not a nympho!" She said defensively, "I just have this new feeling and I'm confused." "Confused about?" Kagami blushed, "Wanting...to feel pleasure... I guess." "So you ARE a nympho!" Misao laughed.

"I am NOT!" Kagami shot back. "I'm..." "So you're not sex-starved," Misao said.

"I mean, it's hard to explain," Kagami started, "Konata lent Tsukasa an anime DVD. She didn't have time to watch it, so I asked if I could. She mistakingly lent her a hentai DVD."

"Mistakingly?" Misao asked, "Wouldn't put it past that girl to do it on purpose as some kinda pervy joke."

Kagami hadn't thought about that. She was surprised she hadn't.

"So you watched it and liked it huh?" Misao said.

"More than liked it," Kagami said, "I got... I got really warm and... I mean, so, I like..."

"Did ya diddle yourself, Hiiragi?" Misao said smiling.

"Ya know," Kagami said, annoyance bubbling, "For this being a moment where I spill my darkest secret you're not being very sensitive.

"Darkest secret?" Misao said, more amused, "Hiiragi if all you did was touch yourself..."

Kagami looked around worriedly, "Not so loud! This isn't really the most appropriate place for this conversation."

"I'm no sex researcher scientist person," Misao said, "But I'd say that it's very likely that most every person masturbates at least once."

"Have you..." Kagami's voice lowered to a whisper, "Ya know... Did what I did? To yourself?" "Uhh..." Misao stammered, "Well..."

"We're being honest with each other, right?" Kagami said, "Only the two of us have to know anything about this conversation."

"Yeah," Misao looked at the ground as her skin flushed, then looked back to Kagami, finding it hard to keep eye contact, "I have."

Kagami turned in her barstool to face Misao, "Oh, my God really?" Kagami grabbed her hand, "I'm not the only one?"

Misao raised an eyebrow and eased her hand free, "I told ya. Everyone does it at one point."

"What made you do it?" Kagami asked.

"Woah, Hiiragi..." Misao scratched the back of her head, "I knew we were gonna come in here for girl talk but didn't know it was really gonna be, like, girl talk. On second thought this might not be the best place to talk about stuff like that."

Kagami threw her an evil glare, "That's what I heavily alluded to before you decided to sit down in a public place for a drink, Misao."

"Well!" Misao defended, "That was before you wanted to go into detail about how we diddle ourselves."

"Would you stop calling it that?" Kagami pleaded tiredly.

"Okay, how we touch ourselves." Misao corrected

Kagami blushed a slight pink again, "Right. That." She said, looking at the ground embarrassingly.

"Okay, let's drink our boba tea!" Misao said cheerfully, "There's plenty of time for that other stuff later!"

"Right," Kagami said, smiling and feeling much more at ease, "We'll save that subject for later."

Kagami looked down at the drink in front of her, which she had yet to touch. It didn't look very much like any tea she'd ever drunk. It was cold first of all - and it had an off-white color to the liquid. At the bottom were things that looked like bubbles - the signature look of boba tea. The bubbles at the bottom of her cup were orange. Besides that, it was served in a plastic cup with a circular plastic seal covering the top of the cup. Accompanied by the sealed cup was a big, silly- looking straw still in its wrapper.

"How do I drink this thing?" Kagami asked, surveying how excessively big the straw was.

"Oh," Misao said, "Stab the straw through its wrapper to open it, then break the seal with the straw. Thrust the straw in the center of the plastic film on the cup."

Kagami did so. "Now you can drink the tea and suck the balls!" Misao said happily. "Uh..." Kagami said, "Suck the..."

There was a small beat of silence as the girls looked over at each other, noticing the presence of the double entendres. Then silently realizing that it was they who made the connection, making it clear they both were concentrating on the concept of sex.

They stared blankly at their boba teas and straws, taking a second to focus on the giant tapioca balls.

"I'm not really feelin' the boba tea," Kagami said. "Me neither." Misao said, "Still, those are pretty huge balls huh?"

Kagami turned to wave someone down, "Check, please."

-2-

On the way into Misao's home, Kagami had taken a quick glance at the front room of the house. It was pretty cluttered, at least for a Japanese home. It definitely fit Misao's personality. It was very quiet too. She wondered where the rest of Misao's family was.

"Make yourself at home, Hiiragi." Misao said, "Want anything?" "Do you have tea?" Kagami asked, "Not that Boba nonsense. Normal tea?" Misao smiled, "Sure. I was thinking the same thing. One sec."

Misao left the room for a few moments, leaving Kagami by herself in the room. Kagami was glad too, she's needed a few minutes of alone time. Telling someone your deepest darkest secret the day after it had happened was emotionally tiring and she wanted some silent time to recover. Silent time didn't happen with Misao.

She smiled slightly. Misao had definitely come through for her in a very vulnerable period and she knew that Misao would keep her secret. Even if her counseling was a little quirky, she could tell every word was filled with warmth and conviction. She was constantly making Kagami laugh, making up for the dark self-loathing place she had been it for the last day.

She was always laughing too, such a cutie. She was very cute.

Through the day, Kagami definitely felt kinship growing for Misao, sure that they would be closer than they had ever been considering Misao's open-mind and support. She had noticed that Misao looked even cuter when she smiled. That little sharp tooth of hers peaking out of her mouth was oddly endearing today. It gave her the cute and silly character that Kagami knew she could count on. It was clear she had always taken their friendship for granted. But she wouldn't any longer.

Misao returned with two cups of tea on a tray, setting them down on the small table in the center of her room.

"Two cups of normal tea, a la mode!" Misao said cheerfully. "Uh," Kagami said, "You do know that "a la mode" means "served with ice cream" right?"

"Oh," Misao said, sitting on the ground, "Sorry. It sounded cool though right?" She grinned a little embarrassed.

Kagami giggled and shook her head and took a seat next to Misao, "Misao, you're definitely one of a kind."

"Aw, thanks Hiiragi." Misao said, "You too." "I really appreciate you taking me under your wing today," Kagami said, "I was a big mess."

"Nah, don't mention it. And you weren't a big mess, we already established that. Just some tingling in the nether regions that's all."

"Put so eloquently." Kagami said sarcastically, but then noticed how quiet it was, "Hey, where is your family? I noticed it was all dark and cluttered when I came in."

"All off doing something for the summer," Misao said, "Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa went on some sort of lazy boat cruise. Big brother is off traveling with his band of college bro-types."

"And you're alone?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, just for a couple weeks. I guess they figure I'm graduated now so I'm old enough to fend for myself." Misao said, "But I'm kinda messy so I should probably clean up before they get back. Grandma likes to keep the place all shiny - always on my case about it."

"I'd imagine so." Kagami said nodding, "Well hey, in return for helping me today how about I help you clean up the place before they get back?"

"That'd be cool!" Misao said, "We can make a day of it! Hang out and stuff."

"Sounds like a plan," Kagami smiled. She picked up her tea and took a sip, "Ah, that hits the spot."

"Oh! Speaking of hitting the spot, we still have the stuff to talk about!" Misao declared, "Safe from the judging ears of a public restaurant."

"Right." Kagami's cheeks took on light pink.

"It was the cheerleader squad." Misao casually blurted, sipping her own tea noisily.

"What was?"

"What inspired me to do it." Misao said, "What made me diddle - I mean, you know, touch myself. I saw them practicing after school and I guess the mental image really stuck with me."

"The... Cheerleading squad?"

"I figured if we were being honest with each other," Misao said, "I would tell you something personal. I've never really been that attracted to boys."

"Are you..." Kagami said carefully, "Coming out to me?"

Misao shrugged, "Not particularly. I mean, I think boys are kinda sorta cute, but girls are so much prettier, softer. Not as sweaty ya know? It's just not something I advertise, not like I've actually been with either one."

"And so you saw the cheerleader squad and... Uh, did the thing where you touched yourself." Kagami said.

"Yeah, Hiiragi," Misao rolled her eyes, "I masturbated at home while thinking if the cute little cheerleaders."

"Okay, wow... super embarrassing, but, um... right." Kagami flushed, "Masturbated." "I felt pretty creepy about it. Like a pervy old man." Misao said. "I've been feeling the same way all day," Kagami sighed. "Ya know what I think your solution is, Hiiragi?" Misao asked.

"What's that?" "I think you need to stop hating yourself for what you feel." Misao said, "It's not like you're doing

anything wrong." "It feels incredibly wrong," Kagami frowned.

"That's natural, in most walks of life people are taught to be ashamed of desires," Misao said, her voice now sounding intellectual, channeling her inner college student, "I mean, think about it: have you touched anyone that didn't want to be touched?"

"No..."

"Are you getting off to something that would hurt people or something illegal?"

"No..."

"So it just sounds like you're a normal person discovering herself," Misao smiled, "Like I said, love your life for what it is. It felt good didn't it?"

Kagami blushed more, "Yeah... It did."

Misao shrugged, "Who's to say you shouldn't keep on doing it? Better than sleeping with strangers to quell your appetite."

Kagami finally saw a light at the end of this tunnel. Misao was right. She was feeling excessive pangs of guilt that was a staple of any culture for females - girls who want sex should be ashamed why? Men don't get flack for masturbating... so why should she?

"There's no reason to beat yourself up about it Hiiragi," Misao said warmly, "Here's one girl who'll never judge you. You can trust me with this stuff."

Kagami smiled warmly and scooted herself a little closer to Misao, resting her head on her shoulder, "Life after high school sure is crazy..."

Misao's cheeks started to take on a light shade of pink too, "Yep! Pretty crazy..." She said, laughing and trying to hide her sudden nervousness.

When laughing, Misao exposed her little fang again, causing Kagami to stifle a giggle. "What?" Misao said, "Got something on my face?" "Your tooth." Kagami said, "The little sharp one." "Good Ol' pointy." Misao said, "Always been there."

"I know," Kagami said, "I've always liked it." Misao cocked an eyebrow, "My tooth?" "It fits with your character." Kagami said, "I've always thought it was really cute." "Yeah?" Misao said, a little flattered, "I always thought it made me look weird." Kagami lifted her head from her shoulder to meet Misao face-to-face. "Nope. Total cutie pie."

The girls stared at each other, nose to nose for a couple of seconds. Kagami took on a finger and pressed it underneath Misao's tooth, "It's not that sharp."

"Well," Misao said awkwardly, "Hopefully I don't have to rip apart an animal carcass with my teeth anytime soon."

Kagami, using the hand that was nearest to Misao's face, brushed her brown hair behind her ear, "Too cute." Kagami said, letting her hand linger on her cheek after tucking back Misao's hair.

"Hiiragi..." Misao started, looking up into her eyes.

Kagami's blue eyes locked with Misao's hazel eyes and their faces instinctively drifted towards each other, their eyes closing and lips meeting for a soft, sensual little kiss.

The two girls let their foreheads rest against one another after the kiss. Misao's heart was beating so fast Kagami could hear it.

"You're hearts going pretty fast there," Kagami said playfully.

"What are we doin' Hiiragi?" Misao asked softly, her voice frail.

"Nothing we should be ashamed of, right?" Kagami said, "And no one is here."

"Conveniently." Misao said, "Funny how that always works out, isn't it? Almost like we're in a story."

"Yeah, it really is," Kagami admitted.

There was a beat of silence, which was filled by the beat of Misao's thumping heart.

"Still," Kagami said, "Don't you want to? I mean... go just a bit further?"

"I..." Misao started but was cut off.

"Haven't you even thinking about it all day?" Kagami asked, "Don't you think I'm cute?"

Misao opened her eyes to look at Kagami.

"Always have," Misao said, as Kagami opened her eyes to meet her gaze once again.

Immediately, Misao's eyes darted to the side in embarrassment.

Kagami put a hand on Misao's cheek and caressed it, pulling her face close for a long, passionate kiss - Misao let out a small moan in Kagami's mouth.

"I knew you wanted to." Kagami smiled warmly and kissed Misao quickly again.

"This is a completely different side of you, Hiiragi," Misao said.

"Yeah," Kagami said, "It's different."

"I like it a lot though," Misao said, leaning in for another kiss - this time slowly working her tongue into Kagami's mouth.

Kagami took a cue from this and let her tongue into Misao's mouth continuing to caress her face. The two girls softly swirled their tongues in each other's mouths both letting out small high-pitched sighs every so often as they kissed.

Kagami took her hand and slid it to Misao's back, lifting up her tee-shirt and immediately going for

her bra. "Woah!" Misao exclaimed, "You really don't waste time."

"Take these off." Kagami said softly, still playfully fingering the back of her bra, "I want to see your cute naked body."

Misao blushed, "Well, my boobs are a little small so... I mean, don't expect much."

Kagami rolled her eyes, "Please. You're talking to another girl with a petite body. Take off your bra and your shirt."

"If you say so..." Misao lifted up her shirt over her head, her small breasts encased in her plain white bra.

"Your tits," Kagami said, "So cute..." "Tits." Misao said, giggling "You're a dirty talker too." "Apparently," Kagami said, slipping off one of Misao's bra straps. Misao looked down, feigning surprised, "Hiiragi..."

Kagami reached into Misao's bra and pulled out one of her small breasts and massaged it. It fit perfectly in Kagami's hand and she could feel her nipples, which were small and beautifully natural, harden.

Kagami took one finger and pressed her hard nipple in lightly, it softened but Misao let out a loud pleasurable moan.

"Ah!" Misao sighed quietly, "That feels really good..."

After massaging her breast again for a few more seconds Kagami stopped to get a full view of Misao's budding chest, still holding her hand over the one she was massaging. Kagami looked up at her, "Can I lick it?"

"Sure." Misao's face flushed again.

Kagami took Misao's small breast in her hand again and stared at her puffy little nipple.

"Here I go," Kagami said, and slowly licked Misao's nipple before putting it in her mouth slowly.

"Oh, man!" Misao moaned as she held Kagami's head and pushed it against her chest, "Don't stop, don't stop!"

"You have such beautiful little tits, Misao..." Kagami said, continuing to lick her hardened yet still soft teenage nipples. "I love licking them."

Misao moaned again, "No Hiiragi that's embarrassing!" "What, that you have a sexy little body?" Kagami said, grinning, "it's meant to be a compliment." Misao looked Kagami up and down and her body became warm. "I want I see your body, Hiiragi." Misao said, looking into her eyes, "Kagami-chan."

"Kagami-chan, huh?" Kagami said, "So we're that close now?"

"I think once you're about to get to second base with someone, it's okay to be casual," Misao said.

"Fair enough." Kagami said, giggling, "Misa-chan."

Kagami lifted her shirt, revealing her slightly smaller breasts with her pink bra covering them.

"You've got some cute tits too, Hiiragi," Misao said, "I want to do what you did to me. I wanna lick and suck yours too."

Kagami smiled, "Why don't we go to your bed?"

Kagami got up and walked over to Misao's bed, sitting down, pulling one bra strap off of her shoulder innocently.

"Wow, Hiiragi are you trying to seduce me?" Misao asked. "Not trying." Kagami said matter-of-factly, "Just did." "You think you're smooth, Hiiragi?" Misao said, making her way to the bed to sit next to Kagami. "What happened to Kagami-chan?" Kagami asked. " I'll call ya whatever I want," Misao said bravely. "Haha, that's awful defiant," Kagami said teasingly. "Shut up and get naked, Hiiragi," Misao said turning to face Kagami

Kagami did the same, turning to face Misao as well. They locked lips passionately. Misao took one hand and messaged one of Kagami's breasts, still encased in the pink bra. Kagami began to lean back and Misao took this chance to slightly but somewhat aggressively push her down to lay on the bed.

Misao laid on top of Kagami, kissing upwards from her stomach to her small tits. She kissed around Kagami's cleavage and slightly kissed the outside part of her breast. "Take it off," Misao whispered.

Kagami reached behind herself and unhooked her bra, sliding down her other strap and letting it fall in front of her as she bore her naked chest.

Misao followed suit, unhooking her bra and completely revealing both of her small natural breasts. Misao immediately leaned forward and kissed Kagami's pink nipple.

"Ah..." Kagami sighed.

Misao took her tongue and licked Kagami's nipple using her entire tongue - almost like she was licking an ice cream cone. She continued to lick Kagami's nipples lapping faster and faster.

"Oh God Misao..." Kagami held Misao's head to her chest just as she had done her, "More... More, it feels so good."

Misao took her tongue and gave it a little pressure - using it to push the top of Kagami's nipple inward.

"Haaaaaaaah..." Kagami moaned as relaxing pleasure shot through her upper body, she pushed Misao's head firmer into her chest, feeling the moisture in her panties as Misao continuously licked her breasts softly.

Misao stopped and looked up at Kagami, who was continuing to moan while catching her breath at the same time even after Misao had stopped licking. She was still audible as she sat up to survey the familiar damp spot under her. Even with her panties on.

"Sorry," Kagami said, "That's really embarrassing."

"Don't worry 'bout it," Misao said, ignoring the comment altogether and wrapping her arms around Kagami. She pressed herself against Kagami's body as she gave her another long kiss.

The girls intertwined their tongues once again and Kagami pulled herself closer to Misao and deeper into the kiss. They both felt a light, tingly pleasure as their nipples and breasts pressed against each other.

Misao looked at the wet spot on the bed again, "You're like a river there, Hiiragi." Misao laughed. "Don't laugh," Kagami flushed, "It's so embarrassing." "Just means I'm doin' a good job, that's all!" Misao said proudly. "I want to do good for you too," Kagami said.

"What'd ya have in mind?" Misao asked suggestively.

Kagami put her hand on Misao's bare chest and slid it in between her breasts, softly down her stomach and in between her legs inching up her skirt and softly rubbing against her cotton panties.

Misao sighed surprisingly and let out a light moan, "Kagami..." She said, "I've never... No one's ever, like..."

"Don't forget it's my first time too," Kagami said, "I've done it to myself... I just want to see if it all works the same. And if it makes you feel good, all the better."

"It felt so intense..." Misao said, "And you were just touching on the outside." "Can I keep going?" Kagami asked, inching closer.

A few moments later, Kagami was looking at Misao's cute panties as she slipped off her skirt. Cotton white with a tiny pink bow at the top. There was a long wet spot right in the middle as her juices automatically flowed out Kagami took two fingers and rubbed them against the wet spot.

"Oh my God..." Misao moaned, "Aaaahhhh!" Kagami took her hand rubbing against Misao and worked her way slowly to remove her panties. Misao grabbed Kagami's hand to stop her, "I'm gonna pee! "It just feels that way at first." Kagami soothed her, "Just relax." "You promise?" Misao said, her voice shaking. Kagami put one hand on Misao's face and caressed her cheek, "Misao, it's okay. I promise."

Misao's body relaxed as she accepted that the sensation was an intense pleasure. She decided she was better off basking in it, no matter what the outcome.

Kagami once again lifted the small elastic of Misao's panties and began to slip them off.

"Hiiragi, please... Please be gentle, I'm so scared." Misao said, her voice more helpless and frail than Kagami had ever heard before.

"Tell me if you don't want to," Kagami said worriedly, "I don't want you to feel like you have to because you're in the moment. I might be newly curious but I'm not a rapist."

"I do want to," Misao blurted, "I feel safe with you. But at least give me this, it doesn't matter who your first sexcapade is with... it's still nerve-racking."

"You got a point there," Kagami said, taking her hand and inching under Misao's skirt, stopping just short of her bare pussy.

Misao gasped, her eyes widening. Her mouth was left agape as she processed what was about to happen.

"Should I keep going?" Kagami asked. "Yes, Hiiragi." Misao said, "Touch me down there... Please."

Kagami took her hand and rubbed it slightly against Misao's wet vagina. While rubbing she could already feel Misao's clitoris protruding. It was bigger than hers. Misao let out a high-pitched moan as Kagami's fingers brushed over her clit.

"You thought I was a river?" Kagami smirked. "Shut up!" Misao said, flushing, "Jerk."

Kagami leaned forward for another small kiss as she continued to rub Misao's clitoris. Misao let out another moan into Kagami's mouth.

Kagami leaned back from the kiss and began to kiss down Misao's neck, down her shoulder blades to her petite breasts, and took her left nipple into her mouth, suckling a bit. Misao messaged her own right breast as she did so, intensifying the pleasure in her upper body, she felt more of her juices flow out, almost like a geyser in slow motion.

Kagami continued to kiss and lick down Misao's flat stomach, stopping as she got to her skirt. Misao took the cue and slipped off the skirt, revealing her small shaved vagina. Kagami kissed around it gently.

"You okay?" Kagami said. "Sure." Misao's voice shook slightly. "I'm going to lick you." Kagami said, "Okay?" "Please," Misao said, "It feels so good... I... I don't know where to put all of this pleasure." "Relax," Kagami soothed and slowly took her tongue and lapped it across Misao's clit. "Oh my..." Misao shrieked, "Fuck! Oh my God, Hiiragi lick me more, please lick me more!" Kagami licked up and down Misao's pussy, flicking her clitoris with her tongue. Misao convulsed

and gasped for air as she moaned.

Kagami took one finger and rubbed Misao's clit softly in a circular motion. Misao's body shook as she gyrated slightly, rubbing her juices on the sheets of her bed.

The bed was soaking wet.

Kagami licked up and down Misao's pussy slit for a minute before stopping and speaking softly, "Misao..."

"Kagami it feels so good, don't stop, please don't stop I'll go crazy!" Misao screamed. "I want to try something." Kagami said, "With my finger."

"Whatever you want," Misao said, catching her breath, "Just keep licking my pussy while you do it."

"You sure?" Kagami said. "Oh my God, whatever Hiiragi!" Misao said frustrated, "Fingers, whatever, just keep going!" Misao pushed Kagami's head back in between her legs.

Kagami slowly brought out her tongue again, picking up where she had left off. She started from the bottom of Misao's vagina and licked upwards, finally flicking her clit softly with her tongue over and over when she got to the top. Misao thrust her pelvis once more, sinking Kagami's face into her wet pussy.

Kagami pulled back and took her hand, playfully rubbing up and down Misao's wetness. She rubbed her clit softly before finally making her way down and feeling for a small opening she knew would be there. Rubbing her finger up and down Misao's pussy, she finally found it and lightly pushed her finger in.

"Haaaaaaaaaah!" Misao moaned, feeling a different type of pleasure than when Kagami rubbed her clitoris. Not as intense but somehow more... fulfilling. But it stretched her a little and she worried it might hurt.

"Be gentle, ok?" Misao said, "I think it'll hurt..."

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you." Kagami said.

"No, I know it'll feel good and I want it," Misao explained, "But it will probably hurt too."

Kagami kissed Misao and this time took her finger and slowly slipped it into Misao's tight pussy, which immediately clamped down upon Kagami's finger.

"Ooooooh my...ahhhh!" Misao moaned, screaming at the same time, "Holy hell!"

Kagami pulled out her finger and reinserted it - a little faster this time. Misao whimpered as Kagami's finger was thrust in and out of her tight entrance.

Kagami continued, now inserting her finger and twirling it around lightly.

Misao quietly moaned in the background, her voice intermittently getting stuck in her throat as pleasure spread from Kagami's gentle fingering throughout her entire body Kagami could feel the texture of Misao's wet vaginal walls go from smooth and slippery to a little

more ruffled - a little stiffer. Misao's moans grew more audible as she felt the texture of the walls harden more and more as she messaged them with her finger - moving her finger in a slight "come here" motion as she messaged the roof of Misao's tight pink walls.

"Does it hurt?" Kagami asked, continuing to finger Misao.

Misao caught her breath to answer, letting out a light moan before she had a chance to speak, "A little, but I definitely want more. I never want this feeling to go away Hiiragi." Kagami kept on, staring at Misao's smooth pussy, "I won't stop this time."

Kagami lowered her head as she continued to lightly finger Misao's tight entrance - now simultaneously using her finger to massage her ripple-textured walls and her tongue to lick her clitoris.

"Hiiragi, it's inside me!" Misao moaned, "Your finger is inside and it feels so good!"

Kagami buried her head in between Misao's legs and sucked on her clit, using her tongue to push it back and forth out of her mouth.

"I'm going to explode!" Misao screamed, "Hiiragi is finger fucking me in my room!" She exclaimed out loud.

"I love making you feel good, Misao.." Kagami said in between licks, thrusting her finger a little faster now, "Your juices keep flowing more and more... Means I'm doing a good job right?"

"Kagami, I'm..." Misao said suddenly. Her entire body shook in sensual tremors, "I don't know what's happening! My pussy is gonna explode!"

"You're coming, Misao," Kagami said, turning herself on with her teacher-esque tone "Let it happen, it feels so good."

"Oh my God, it does!" Misao moaned again, "I'm coming! I'm coming! Oh, my G..." Her pelvis again shot up into the air, Kagami didn't stop as Misao orgasmed into her mouth. "Goddddd!" Misao gasped for air, "Oh my God, oh my God!"

She pulled Kagami's face into her wet vagina one last time as the bottom half of her body hung in mid-air and she let out a scream so high pitched that it was almost inaudible and ended as a whimper.

Her first orgasm was beyond anything she could have comprehended beforehand.

The two teenage girls laid beside each other on top of Misao's now drenched bed sheets, both gasping for air. Misao from the intense nature of her first orgasm... and Kagami from the intense nature of Misao's first orgasm.

"Whew!" Kagami said, wiping her mouth, "Almost suffocated me there." "Sorry." Misao rubbed the back of her head, "It was just..." "I know," Kagami grinned, "I understand."

"Hiiragi, I don't know what to do with myself.." Misao said, "I want to do this again and again with you."

"Preachin' to the choir," Kagami said, looking over again at Misao's sweating, naked body.

"I want to make you come." Misao said, "I just... Would you guide me? Like, tell me what to do?"

Kagami raised an eyebrow, "Ummm... The same exact thing?"

"C'mon, just walk me through it!" Misao pleaded, "Don't you want to come too?"

"I do. But maybe..." Kagami sighed, still catching her breath "We should take a little rest first."

Misao smiled, "Good idea, Hiiragi." Misao turned on her side and gave Kagami another kiss, "Thank you... So much."

"Don't mention it." Kagami said, lowering her voice to a sensual whisper, "I love the way you taste."

Misao blushed, "That's a heck of a thing to say." She said, "This was amazing but definitely super weird. Completely out of character for both of us."

"Believe me," Kagami said, "I've made peace with that."

Misao cuddled against Kagami from behind, letting her breasts push softly on her back.

"I'm glad it was you," Misao said.

"Me too." Kagami said, her eyes getting heavier, "Me too..."

Slowly but surely the girls fell asleep in each other's arms.

Misao didn't get around to helping Kagami finish again that afternoon.

But all the same, Kagami felt more like her normal self than she had since viewing that damn DVD.

As the two girls dozed off, Misao thought to herself, not sure what the future really held with this newfound hobby. She hoped it wouldn't change her friendship with Kagami. But she was also hopeful and full of butterflies. Ultimately, all she knew was that it felt good.

It felt really, really good.

#anime #lucky star #lemon #female homosexuality #female friendship #protagonist female #relationships #misao kusakabe #first lesbian experience

[mahkaria]

Of novelists and stray dogs - CHAPTER 4

Inferno 

In a dark alleyway, not too far away from the shopping district, a crowd had started to form. Most of them were men in their twenties. Dark tattoos covered their arms and their neck, as if they took pleasure in looking like stereotypical villains. They didn’t say anything.

Finally, a woman taller than the other arrived. A deep, unpleasant smirk almost cut her face in two and as she moved forward, her subordinates parted to let her pass.

No respect could be seen on their face. Only fear and regret. This woman : Katou Misao, but she was more often called The Puppeteer ; the leader of The Black Warriors .

“Boss, one of our men managed to find the list.”

“Well? Don’t make me wait and give it to me.”  She ordered.

A small book was given to her. On it, the list of all the businesses under Port Mafia’s protection.

“Perfect.” She purred. “Hana, I believe you can take care of it?” She asked to one her lieutenants.

“Of course, boss.”

“Then get to it.”

The teenager took it. Who would have thought she would use her ability this way?

His whole body hurt. He could feel his muscles contract and relax at regular intervals as they pressured his bones.

Atsushi groaned.

The mornings after a transformation were never a pleasant experience. Never.

Good thing he had finally sent his most recent short story. He didn’t want to move even a finger away from his futon..

His phone rang.

A new groan from Atsushi.

He stood up as slowly as he could his whole body cursing him for this decision. He picked up.

“Hello, Atsushi-kun. How are you?”

“Good morning, Tanaka-san. I’m fine and you?”

“I wanted to talk about your new work.” He explained.

“It’s not good enough, is it ?”

“Of course it is. I told you not to worry about it. Just, my superior read it and wanted me to pass a message.”

It’s never good when a sentence starts like that.

“He finds your style extremely dynamic and thinks it would be better for you if you were to - how do I put it? - write about different themes.”

“What? But -”

“It would sell better and be more attractive to new readers, don’t you think?”

Atsushi didn’t know what to answer.

It was thanks to the said editor in chief he had been able to find this apartment. A friend of his had agreed to lend him the place as long as he kept working for them. He was a nice forty-nine years old who had greatly encouraged Atsushi. He owed him more than he could ever pay back.

If that’s what he wants I can’t go against him but -

“I’m sorry I -”

“Atsushi-kun, you do want to keep having a job, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then, you should do what I say. Stories about mythology and historical events are fine but they get boring with time. You won’t keep earning a lot if you only focus on this.”

“Yes but-”

“I’m your editor, don’t you trust me?” Tanaka asked.

“Of course I do !”

“Then do as I say. Write about more modern subjects. I know you’re a kid and can’t totally understand it but I’m only here to advise you. Listen to me or you could really regret it.”

“I see, thank you very much.”

“Glad we understand each other. I’ll wait for you next story then. I’m sure you’ll do great, it won’t be too hard for you to change, right?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Cool, have a nice day.”

“Good bye.” Atsushi stuttered.

A soft bip and the young boy was alone with his thoughts. All hopes of a peaceful morning had vanished with one conversation.

What does writing about more modern subject even mean? He wondered.

Until now, Kunikida, his grandmother and Sensei had always praised his writings. Did they only do it by mere politeness? No, they weren’t this kind of people. Kunikida was as blunt as an uppercut; a trait he shared with his caretaker.

Sensei firmly valued honesty and had never hesitated at criticizing Atsushi when it was needed. He wouldn’t lie.

He trusted them more than anyone but at the same time…

Maybe he should go to a bookshop see which were the best sellers?

He fell on his futon once again.

I’ll do it later.

As his eyes were about to close once again, another ringing disturbed him. From his door this time.

He didn’t expect anyone. It would either be publicity or one of his neighbours. They could wait. Atsushi threw his pillow over his head. Only a hurricane would prevent him from resting.

After a moment, no sound came.

One minute

Two minutes

Three minutes

They had probably left.

“At - su - shi - kun ~” A giggling voice whispered next to his ear.

A deep shriek shook the whole building.

“Wow, so energetic when you just woke up? I’m envious !”

“Da- Dazai-san?”

“Yo! Atsushi-kun ! How are you in this fine day?”

The said boy looked left and right. Then left and right once more. No, there was no mistake on his part. It was indeed still his apartment. So it only meant one thing.

“Dazai-san, please stop picking my lock !” He screamed.

“But you weren’t answering.”

“I could have been absent.” Atsushi protested.

“You only go out in the afternoon. In the morning, you just work.”

“How do you know that?”

“That’s a secret!”

I haven’t seen him in three days and I already can’t deal with him anymore.  Atsushi sighed.

“Ca- Can I help you?”

“Odasaku and I are going to explore the city.”

“Have fun, then.”

“Want to come with us?”

“My apologies but I really can’t come with you right now.”

“Do you have something to do?”

“No, but -”

“Then, there is no problem. Come on!”

A hand sneaked inside his warm bed covers.  Its temperature could compare to an iceberg’s. Not something pleasant to come upon when you wanted to relax.

Before he could screech in outrage, he felt it pull him away from the comfort of his futon. Atsushi clawed at his futon in the hope to stay protected but in vain. For such a thin person, Dazai had more strength than it first appeared. Stubbornness too since no matter how hard Atsushi’s other foot kicked him, he refused to let go.

“Good fighting spirit but I won’t lose !” Dazai proclaimed.

And with one final push Atsushi’s face met the hard floor.

“Now, get ready, Atsushi-kun, for we are going on a great adventure !”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“No, you don’t.”

Dazai’s smile had widened so much he could have passed for the Cheshire Cat. He patted Atsushi’s hair softly and with one more smile he went out of the room but added before :

“Get dressed, Atsushi-kun. Stimulating your mind from time to time is a good thing.”

Once fully clothed, he found Oda outside. The older man sent him a sorry smile as Dazai complained about how long he had taken to get ready.

“I’m sorry if it sounds rude but shouldn’t you be at work?” Atsushi wondered.

“He is working.” Dazai said while pointing at the cast around his arm. “Odasaku is my bodyguard for the day.”

Once again, he felt shivers run through his body. Few jobs necessitated to have this kind of protection.

Without wanting to, he had fallen into quite a troublesome situation.

“Now, gentlemen, let’s go.” Dazai cheerfully said.

“Are you sure it is safe to bring him here?” Odasaku whispered as they walked toward the shopping district.

“It will be fine, nothing should happen.”

His friend nodded as the worry in his eyes faded.

You shouldn’t trust me this much, Odasaku. I’ll end up disappointing you.

A hand caught his arm. His head rose up and met an intense stare from his friend.

“I know you’re planning something.” He said. “But I also know you’re not actively trying to hurt Nakajima. Don’t worry, Dazai.”

“I’m the epitome of calmness, Odasaku.”

Nakajima Atsushi was a strange kid, Dazai quickly realized (again).

As they travelled through the city, he would often stop and write in his notebook as he stared with wonder at whatever was in front of him. When he had looked over his shoulder, he had seen nothing but gibberish which didn’t make any sense.

It didn’t seem to faze Odasaku. When Atsushi had done it for the first time he had merely watched and hadn’t said anything as if it was perfectly normal.

Was it some weird habit of writers he couldn’t understand?

Another strange habit was how he had tried to escape when Odasaku had proposed to buy him a drink. Why would someone react so violently because of a bottle of green tea?

This, associated to what he had discovered at the orphanage told him enough about the kid than he needed. Only one last information and he would have enough datas.

As they entered a bookshop he saw Atsushi stiffen.

“Is there anything wrong, Nakajima?”

“No, not at all. Do you mind if I take a look around?”

“Of course not, we have time.”

Odasaku followed him. Protectiveness or curiosity about his favorite author? Good question.

Dazai looked at his best friend as he talked with the kid about literature. It had been a while since he had looked so happy.

Romance. Thriller. Pseudo Psychology.

Nothing which went well with his style or which really interested him. Great.

Atsushi forced himself to read the summary of the best seller of the week, a book titled : A mysterious Girl . He had read a few books of this particular writer. They always followed the same pattern which after a while destroyed the novelist’s style. Solid writing was important but remained superficial if the plot didn’t follow.

I’ll never be able to write something like that.

He liked thriller, even loved it sometimes but he didn’t want to write them. Romance by itself was often boring (apart from a few exceptions) and psychology, well…

At twelve years old, how was he supposed to give life advice? He didn’t know enough to really help this way.

“I didn’t know you liked this kind of story.” Oda commented behind him.

“They are not my cup of tea.” He admitted. “But it’s never too late to broaden your horizon, right?”

The uncertain look he got perfectly mirrored his own thoughts.

He didn’t like those books or even worse, he was indifferent toward them. Yet, Tanaka wanted him to write something like those?

“You don’t seem well.” Oda said.

“I feel-”

As he was about to keep talking, a smell interrupted him. It reminded him of a dying fire, when the last sparks of red faded away in the dark. A mix of smoke and burnt wood.

He turned around. Where did it come from?

A few meters away, a young woman was busy reading a poetry collection. Tears came down her face as she closed it and put it away.

For a moment, their eyes met. She -

“Nakajima?”

“Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts.”

“That’s okay. Are you going to buy it?”

“Y- Yes, I am.”

They came out after this. Oda had bought a book from Robert Louis Stevenson. Atsushi wasn’t drooling over it. Not at all.

“I’ll lend it to you once I am done.” The older said.

“Thank you.”

Outside, an unexpected awaited them. Dazai kept jumping from right to left as a red haired young man kept trying to kick him.

“Will you remain still, you damn bastard?”

“Chuuya is getting slower. Must be old age.” Dazai singsonged as he avoided a nasty strike which would have robbed him from his front teeth.

“I’m going to show you “old age”, you fucking jerk.”

Passerbys watched them with a mix of amusement and displeasure as the two young men kept wreaking havoc in the street.

“Is Dazai-san okay?”

“Don’t worry, they’re always like that.”

It didn’t really make him feel better.

The newcomer jumped forward and barely missed Dazai. HIs fist met a wall. When he took it away : a hole as big as a football.

“He didn’t forget to hold back this time.” Oda commented.

That’s holding back?

“I said stop moving !”

“Oda-san, why is he so angry?”

“I don’t know. Probably because of something Dazai said.”

“You’re my dog ! You shouldn’t be trying to hit me every time.” The young executive whined.

“I’d rather die.” Another wall fell victim to his fury.

Some people had started to film the whole fight. Did they not see it wasn’t a joke?

Dazai burst into laughter.

Okay, he understood why no one was taking the situation seriously.

“They’re attracting a lot of attention.” Oda noticed.

“Is it bad?”

“It’s not something Dazai would do without a plan.” He conceded.

Instinctively, his body moved toward Atsushi so the boy would be closer. If something was to happen, he would need protection.

After a moment, the two teenagers calmed down and came toward them. A deep flush of exasperation could still be seen on Chuuya’s face.

“Nakahara.” He saluted.

“Oda. Still dealing with the mackerel’s bullshit?”.

“Well, someone has to.” He said lightly.

No teasing could have sounded fonder. It was another proof of how much Dazai and Oda shared a strong bond. As Dazai’s fake hurt exploded, Chuuya and Oda exchanged a silent conversation. Atsushi would have been unable to interpret it.

That’s when the new boy noticed him. Scrutinizing azure eyes fixed him. If seeing him fight was terrifying, it was nothing in comparaison of having his whole attention.

“Who are you?”

“Na-Nakajima Atsushi. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Nakahara Chuuya. You took another charity case?” He grumbled to his partner.

You would have had to be deaf in order not to hear Dazai’s laughters.  

“Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“Soon, you’ll regret your words and I’m waiting for this moment.”

“You make even less sense than usual. Congrats, I guess.”

However, discomfort and suspicion had appeared. Dazai often liked to provoc him without any reason. Seeing Chuuya worry about nothing had some kind of interest he could quite fathom. But, it seemed different right now.

Suddenly, his conversation with Prof Specs came back to his mind.

"for such a young kid to be a writer"

“Please, tell me I’m wrong.”

“You know I’ll never lie to you, Chuu-ya ~”

“I hate you so fucking damn much.”

The two last days, the two of them had had to deal with a rival gang. It would have been easy had they not put their hands on high level weapons. A dozen of their subordinates had been killed. Dazai got a broken arm and Chuuya a very strong need to hit the wall with his head.

He had collapsed and had been woken up by an annoying buzz from his phone. The text received was the following :

Hello, little hatrack ! How is the weather down there?

Have you faded out of existence yet? If you haven’t, go to this address [position] as soon as possible !!! You’ll see something interesting. No I’m not talking about poor quality hats. Get your mind out of the gutter. Something really interesting !!!

If you have indeed faded out of existence well… see you in hell! I’ll be allowed to annoy you for the rest of eternity. Can’t wait (ᗒᗨᗕ)(＾▽＾)(◕⍸ ◕✿)

In his exhaustion, Chuuya had written a very eloquent answer :

Fuck you. Seriously how can you be so fucking annoying?

Dazai, always the same, had replied :

(∩^o^)⊃━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

Killing him would be too nice of a punishment. Chuuya had a ten pages long list of things he would do to him before achieving him.

Despite his foul mood, he had exited his room and went to the place indicated. They were partners but didn’t communicate more than needed. If Dazai had written to him, it was important.

Right now, as he stared at a too thin and scared kid, he wondered if he hadn’t done it just for this to happen. If he hadn’t woken up so early he would have never been so rough and Dazai knew it. The jerk.

Words refused to get out of his mouth.

“Chuuya looks like a fish.” Dazai snickered.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.”

Oda and Atsushi were still watching them. The older had a small almost invisible amused light in his eyes. Of course he would find the situation funny, he wasn’t friend with the bastard for nothing.

“Listen…” God, those scared purple eyes. Hello, guilt, nice to see you again. “Hum…”

“Wow, you’re terrible at it.” Dazai commented as Oda nodded.

“You, shut the trash hole you call a mouth !” Chuuya tsked.

“Rude. What is Atsushi-kun going to think?”

At this moment, Chuuya realized two things :

Firstly, he’d never be able to have a real conversation with the author if Dazai was still here.

Secondly, he had always been more focused on action rather than thoughts. He wouldn’t change today. Brawn instead of brain.

He put Atsushi on his shoulder and ran.

Mad cackles shook Dazai’s whole body. Oda waited for his friend to calm down and then asked:

“You knew this would happen?”

“Well, of course ! Chibi’s actions aren’t exactly hard to anticipate. When in a strenuous situation he’ll either attack or run away. Since Atsushi-kun was here he couldn’t allow himself to traumatize him even more since he respects him.”

“You wanted Nakahara to meet him.”

“Maybe.”

“It’s nice of you.”

“Why?”

“Well, thanks to you he met someone he admires.”

“Do I look like such a kind person?” He wondered aloud.

“You do, why?”

Warmth invaded his face but he managed to hide it.

Seriously Odasaku, don’t say this kind of thing…

“Because what just happened is only a part of my plan.”

Chuuya ran until they reached the central place. In its middle, a fountain stood surrounded by multi coloured flowers. It would have calming had he not been on someone he barely knew’s shoulder.

Why is it my life?

He was put down carefully which allowed him to have a better view of his kidnapper (?). His azure eyes didn’t look at him, his embarrassment obvious.

“Sorry for that.”

“T-That’s alright.”

“Stop looking as if I’m going to murder you. I just wanted to talk.” He ordered before sighing. “God, this stupid mackerel is right I’m terrible at this.” Then : “Don’t tell him I said that.”

“I won’t.”

A moment of silence. This whole situation couldn’t have been more awkward. Chuuya had never lived worse and he had once gotten his hair dyed by Dazai. Having almost rainbow hair for two months had been a nightmare. No enemy took you seriously when you looked like a cartoon character.

“So, you’re Tsukishiro Ren?” He asked after a moment of hesitation.

Now, that wasn’t a question he expected.

“Yes.”

“Didn’t think you would be a kid.”

“I know it is disappointing.”

“That’s not what I said. It’s just surprising, I guess. The subjects of your books made me think you were older.”

Atsushi thought about the scars adorning his back and his ribs. Decorations which wouldn’t leave him until his death.

“Experience and age aren’t as related as people like to think.”

“I won’t argue with you on that one. Can I buy you something to drink? It’ll be an apology for dragging you here.”

“There is no need to.”

“ ‘Should have known you’d say this. You look like the kind of person who won’t accept anything because they think they’ll be a burden. That’s stupid. Follow me.”

Nakahara Chuuya, Atsushi understood quickly, was like fire. He could both warm and burn but what he did he always did it with a passion no one could relate to.

As he talked to the young writer about his stories, about small details even he had started to forget, he felt joy blossoming inside of him.

Maybe I’m worth being read.

After a moment, the feared awaited question came :

“What are you currently working on?”

“Nothing for the moment. I’m still looking for ideas.”

“No inspiration?”

“My editor wants me to change what I write about.” Atsushi confessed.

“But why? Doesn’t it sell well? I checked how many of your short stories collection you sold. It’s good enough, right ?”

“For me it is, but he doesn’t seem satisfied.”

Chuuya stared at him for a moment. He bore the same bewildered expression that Atsushi had carried sooner. But more than this, pain could be read on his face. He didn’t want this to happen.

Considering his line of work, I didn’t expect him to be as affected as he is by this.

Yet, Atsushi couldn’t deny a part of him liked this turn of event. Sensei, Kunikida and his grandmother  then Oda and Chuuya.

Having people who cared was nice.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll manage somehow.”

“No way, I’m not letting you deal with it by yourselves. Don’t worry, I’ll-”

Before Chuuya could finish, a deep unpleasant smell came to his attention. Something was burning.

“Nakahara-san, we should-”

He didn’t manage to finish his warning.

The world burst into flames.

Red and oranges tongues were eating away at one of the closest building. From what remained of the front windows he could see it used to be an antiquity shop. Now, it only served as combustible for a fire which had no intention to stop.

“So interesting things are finally starting to happen.” Someone commented.

“Did you follow us?” Chuuya snarled.

“As if it was complicated. You can hardly be called discrete, chibi.” Dazai mocked.

“Is that what you wanted to see?” Oda asked as he pointed to the fire who was starting to spread to other shops.

“The boss wanted me to investigate. Some of our “associates” have found themselves in troublesome position. Most of them live around this street.”

“They should still be around. Let’s find them.”

“Is the hatrack giving orders now? How bold for someone who isn’t an executive.”

“Want me to punch you again?”

“O please, you didn’t even manage to-”

“They are going to get away if you keep fighting.” Oda commented.

“Shit, you’re right. Atsushi, you should stay here. Or maybe go- Wait, what are you doing?”

In front of them, a little girl stood. She looked lost and kept walking backward and forward.

“Are you alright?” Atsushi asked her softly. Her face was covered in tears.

“Daddy is still inside.”

Insi- O no !

It had been a few minutes since everything had started. Soon, the building would collapse, his foundations too damaged to maintain it. If he wanted to do something it had to be now.

I can’t do it. It’s impossible.

Someone like you can’t do anything.

The tiger growled.

“Mister?”

“Yes?”

“Is he gonna be okay?” She had to be around three or four years old. Maybe a little bit older.

Someone like you can’t do anything , the headmaster’s voice repeated. We’ll only know that if I try , he retorted.

Atsushi knew he didn’t have the confidence to do it but…

Many people had believed in him and in his capacities. He knew he would survive this. The tiger and he didn’t get along but the beast was still protective of him no matter what.

He could do it.

“Yes, he is.” Atsushi said to the child.

“Nakaji-”

Atsushi ran.

It felt like being inside the strange mix between a volcano and a nightmare. Everything was searing and suffocating. Around him he could see the remnants of objects which could have been beautiful before but which just looked downright terrifying at the moment. Stuffed animals and porcelain dolls didn’t look better when fire was devouring them.

Walking had never been this hard. Each step was painful. Most of the time, he didn’t even know where to put his feet in order not to get burnt.

Another problem was to find the man. Fortunately, his eyes had never betrayed him. When he opened them once again, white had turned into yellow and his human pupils became cat-like.

He is in the back shop.

His skin burnt and his lungs hated him. Smoke filled them and no matter how much he healed, it hurt. Tears fell down his face and with each of them it felt like a part of his life was leaving him.

Opening the door turned out to be a trial. When he finally managed it, his skin had taken a dark red colour. He brushed it away. He had endured worse.

“I have nothing against you, sir, but I have orders.” A soft voice whispered as he entered the back shop.

How could she be so calm at an instant like this?

Big brown eyes stared at him when she finally noticed him. It was the girl from the bookshop.

“What are you doing here?” She panicked.

He didn’t have the strength to answer back. He bent down and caught the man in front of him. Consciousness had almost left him.

“And he’s just a kid ! I can’t kill a kid ! I’m in trouble, so much trouble.” She was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t budge when he left.

He had better things to do than listen to a pyromaniac.

Carrying him would be an almost herculean task but he could manage. Slowly, he brought him to the exit.

No air in his lungs, no real path to follow which wasn’t covered by burning ruins and a heat so violent it was as if he was being cooked.

Each part of his body had been strengthened by his ability. Thanks to it, he was able to reach his goal. Relief flooded in his body. That was until he heard it.

The building will not hold for much longer.

He only had a few meters left. Only a few meters and he could see the sunlight again. Real warmth instead of this inferno. Atsushi tried to move quicker.

It wasn’t enough.

He perceived with extreme clarity the moment when the place gave up. Cracks turned into snaps and that was it.

Stones were raining on them. Had he been alone, he might have a chance to avoid it but right now?

Would his healing even work if he was crushed like an ant? It was something he was probably about to find out.

Closer and closer. Nothing could stop them. He could already feel his bones break under the stones’ weight.

Closer and closer. He still remembered the little girl’s words.

Closer and closer. Maybe it would end quickly and not be painful..

“After all, she only asked me to destroy this place. It’s not my fault if you don’t die.”

A tornado of flames went over their head and projected the debris away from them. He turned back.

The young woman was watching them. Her brown hair flew behind like an imitation of the fire she had caused.

“Leave, now or I won’t be able to protect you this time.”

“T-Thank you.” He whispered. Talking was close to impossible.

“It’s my fault if this is happening. Don’t thank me, please, and leave.”

He tried to answer but his throat refused and he decided to nod toward her instead.

The smile she gave him was one of the saddest he had ever seen.

When he finally exited and joined a cooler, less painful world, someone was waiting for them. Oda’s hair was going in all sort of different directions and a strong agitation had invaded his eyes. He went as far away as possible from the former shop, delicately put the man down and once he had checked the man was still breathing, he walked toward Oda.

“Are you alright?” Atsushi inquired.

The man opened his mouth as if he didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“You- you…”

“Maybe you should sit. You’re really pale, Oda-sa-”

A pair of arms engulfed him and stuck to a muscled chest. It didn’t feel uncomfortable. Quite the contrary but Atsushi couldn’t understand why he was doing it.

“Is something wrong?”

“You’re probably the stupidest, bravest kid I have ever met. Don’t you ever do that again.” Oda ordered.

“I can’t apologize for what I did.”

“I knew you were going to say that.” Oda chuckled.

The same strong hands were holding him as if he was an anchor. As if he didn’t want him to disappear. Fingers ran through his hair. They were shorter now, the fire had latched onto them and if the tiger hadn’t helped he probably would have faced far worse consequences.

“We need to bring you to an hospital.”

“It’s not necessary. I’m fine.”

For sole answer, Oda moved away, took Atsushi’s arm and brought it in front of his eyes. His skin had taken an almost crayfish shade. Most of his hairs had darkened and he could see a rather nasty burnt on his leg now that he paid a real attention. His lungs were also tightening painfully in his chest which didn’t predict anything good.

“Adrenaline?” He wondered.

“It’s going to start hurting soon. Someone called an ambulance. It should take too long to arrive so stay as still as you can.” Oda acquiesced.

As Atsushi was about to protest - he was fine , in a few minutes most of his wounds would have disappeared - Chuuya and Dazai joined them.

“She ran away, the bitch.” Chuuya complained.

“That’s because you were too slow, chibi.” Dazai explained. “At least now we know what she looks like.”

“Say that again, you damn bas-”

“You’re still alive, Atsushi-kun, I thought for a moment we’d have to find you a nice green spot to bury you. That’s surprising.”

“Shut up, mackerel. You alright here?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s quite the stunt you pulled here.”

“I had the ability to help.” Atsushi said, his voice oddly resolved. “So I did.”

A moment of silence and then his interlocutor’s face contorted with distaste.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Chuuya kept cursing. “You managed to find the only person more suicidal than the mackerel.”

“I am offended.” Dazai smiled as his hand started messing with Atsushi’s hair. “He behaved like the perfect suicidal maniac without any of my influence.”

Coughs climbed up and Atsushi’s whole body started protesting as he felt his whole blood boil.

It hurt. Why have I stopped healing?

The tiger was no longer present in his head. He had disappeared like flowers during winter. Only fear and panic remained. The taste of copper invaded his mouth and his mind blurred. Without the strength of the beast, he couldn’t manage to stand any longer.

“Nakajima, are you al-”

His legs gave out as his mind disconnected from reality. Falling into the dark didn’t take more than a second.

#bungou stray dogs #Dazai Osamu #atsushi nakajima #Oda Sakunosuke #Nakahara Chuuya #dazatsu

[fmpyear2projectwithfin]

Horror Game Moodboard

The best way to adapt and create new gameplay experiences is i believe to take aspects from multiple different games and adapt them to fit your agenda, here I picked a numerous amount of different style of horror games ranging from horror games to collectathons and action rpgs that could help generate ideas or features that i could use in the project. First of while discussing the project we were wondering if having a combat system could be at used, i at first wanted to have an action rpg kind of combat system where you attack and a random number generator gives you how much damage you dealt but the more we explored the idea i realized that having a combat system will really not work for a game like this, for example it would feel wrong to the story for the character to be able to just beat up a bunch of random monsters and spirits and would make the atmosphere and encounters feel like filler and not actually add any creepy factor, i do understand why a combat system could be used for example it hads to a gameplay loop and creates a fun little thing to do while traveling to other areas or allows for some fun boss battles but it honestly feels kinda lazy to do it this way, it also takes away from the game and don’t think makes you feel like a powerless weak barely surviving character which is the whole point, we are trying to emphasize the “SURVIVAL” of the horror where the main gameplay loop is just trying to keep the player alive as much as possible. The way i think we should do it is how these rpg maker horror games like AO ONI or Misao does it basically your player character is powerless and defenseless to them everything they do will cause no damage and will just get you killed, i like how those games do that since it allows for the enemy to be considered an actual threat and emphasis that the player has to actually think and strategies how they travel what items they have where to hide what are the common places these enemies go to so by making the player defenseless we are forcing the player to play in a way that is unexpected and contradictory to how they would normally and i think that's a way more unique way of playing such games and personally more memorable, The most creepy and most off putting gameplay elements i can think of is having very unnatural puzzles like in resident evil that have really unnatural ways of putting the puzzles in the mansion, like it feels like these rooms where not designed to be lived in which adds to the creppiest factor, that everything was designed for the wrong intention and within a horror game this is a perfect atmosphere for puzzles, i like the puzzles in resident evil 7 with the light statues, the player gets given a weirdly shaped statue and you have to rotate it into a more normal shape, i like this cause it takes stuff like unnatural concepts and the puzzle is try to fix this or give it a more normal reality, this is what i think horror puzzles should be, just creepy and unnatural and at first you have no idea how to complete it but the more you try the more logic and normalness you see in the puzzle and finally at the end you completely understand and with that i would want the room to be kinda like “cleansed” like it starts off uncanny but you finish the puzzle the room or area becomes a bit more familiar and friendly to you, giving the feel of actually progressing and interacting with the world. Another really crucial thing in these horror rpg games is dialogue, the dialogue will make or break the game, it has to come off as natural and how actual people in that situation would react, if they just sound really weird or trying to hard to be scary then the entire game falls apart and takes the player out of the game, so i think the dialogue should be quite simple yet detailed when it needs to be, i want the characters to be like kinda speechless like they are taking a really long time to even process this and that they know as little as the player which makes the player connect with the struggle of these characters while also intrigued to know the inner workings of these characters, I don’t know if using a simple dialogue system or multiple choice would be better, with a simple dialogue system we can write more structured and engaging conversations while pick and choose allows for choice and consequences that are really cool features for horror games that can actually effect the game world and actions.  

[italicwatches]

Animal Sentai Zyuohger vs Ninninger - Part 1

Well I suppose we’ve got to sidestep to handle this one. I’m gonna level with you, Ninninger wasn’t a series I liked a ton at the time, and my opinion hasn’t improved with time. It was just such a series of dropped opportunities that spun its wheels instead of doing anything with any of its plots, and the movies already have a tendency to, well, spin their wheels for lack of being able to do much to the actual stories.

But I’ve been wrong before. Let’s see if maybe I’m wrong again. It’s Animal Sentai Zyuohger vs Ninninger the Movie: Super Sentai’s Message from the Future from Super Sentai, part one! Here we GO!

-TOEI LOGO, with a Zyuohger animal cry.

-We begin, in fire. A shinobi boy runs into an open stadium, to see the Super Sentai heroes dead on the floor! DRAMATIC.

-Cut back to Before. The crew are off on a camping trip out by the river, and even better, it’s out in the middle of nowhere so they can let out their animal heads. They can relax, and unwind, and not give two fucks about anything…Of course, as they relax, they’re being watched…

-While Misao is still on his way, having taken his time putting together perfect bento box lunches…When that little shrimp of a shinobi barrels past him and oh god all the bento boxes spilled. Miao is in despair.

-Back at the campsite, Yamato’s ready to start cooking some food…When the zyumen suddenly get vibes. Something is coming…! And it’s, to nobody’s surprise but the cast, a series of colorful shinobi, who think these animals are demons using the power of Sentai to commit evil! …Sure. Sure you know what let’s just roll with it.

-AKA NINJA SHURIKEN. THE CHANGE! NIN NIN NIN! NIN NI NIN NIN! Shuriken Change! RED! BLUE! YELLOW! WHITE! PINK! NINJAS! The shinobi who won’t hide! Shuriken Sentai, NINNINGER!

-Instincts Awakened! The Zyuohgers block a series of gunshots with their armor, as the two teams square off…And the fight is on!

-TITLE CARD! God I swear these get more absurd with every movie…

-So Eagle goes after Aka in the sky, Lion faces Ao’s trickery, Shark and Shiro clash, Elephant and Ki are against each other, and Tiger faces Momo. As you can imagine, these fights take a certain comical absurdity…Well, until everyone gathers back up, and it’s time for WHALE! Whale fires up a vicious, charged Final shot into the ground, slamming the shinobi back. …BOOK IT!

-And thus Aka decides to scale it up. Shuriken Combination! SHURIKENJIN! …Well shit.

-Zyuoh Cube! Animal Combination! ZYUOH KING! ZYUOH WILD! Gotta get those older toys to sell somehow, right? Of course, Shurikenjin manages to hold its own against both, keeping them from surrounding him…And Aka launches Shinobimaru to produce tons of chaos when they try to put on a unified front! Leaving them to call up UFOmaru for SHURIKENJIN UFO!

-Okay, fine, time for power. WILD ZYUOH KING! The mechs combine, and Aka’s kind of fired up at this serious fight. So, finishers? Finishers!

-SHURIKENJIN! UFO BIG BANG!

-ZYUOH DYNAMIC STRIKE! Beam claaaash! Which core team will reign supreme?

-The beams just make an explosion that send both teams flying. Well that’s one way to avoid answering the question. Everyone’s injured enough to be ripped out of their armors, as Yamato finds himself landing right by Takaharu…Who still has a sword. …Shit. Which leads to another scrambling battle, as he just tries to get away from the furious armed man…

-Meanwhile, Misao is in despair when he finally gets to the campsite…And finds it bombed out and burned to a husk?! Oh god, what happened?! NINJAS happened.

-The rest of the Ninninger team get back to their place, unable to reach Takaharu…And are greeted by…

-What the fuck is this thing.

-Runrun. This thing is called Runrun. Who insists their people were wiped out by the evil demons pretending to be Super Sentai, the Zyuohgers! I call horseshit. So, everyone’s left trying to figure out a plan…Not least being the fact that they only fought five Zyuohgers, and even independent sources can verify there are six…

-Meanwhile, the rest of the crew are stuck without Yamato or Misao, and are hanging out at a courtyard with food stands trying to sort out a plan of their own…With one certain food stand being manned by a certain fellow who’s listening so very closely to this talk of zyumen and ninjas. Tusk’s immediate thought is they need to know what a ninja is capable of if they’re going to fight one…

-Which is when the shinobi cowboy of legend appears before them!

-Yamato continues to insist he’s human and doesn’t have a tail, as their fight goes to a park…When the shrimp ninja comes to stop his father! …Takaharu thinks he would remember impregnating a woman.

-Back at the cabin, Mario’s working on a frog sculpture…When Ki and Momo come to observe…And Mario throws two of his sculpting knives at their hiding point, getting some kind of sense that something had intruded on his space! It’s a very good thing that Misao announces himself when he steps in or he might die.

-And Misao is deeply concerned about what he saw and hopes the others are okay…And then as soon as Mario turns away, the shinobi snatch Misao up and drag him out into the woods for some persuasive conversation.

-And then Misao falls into depressive despair so they knock him out. And Runrun is very pleased.

-While Yamato is meeting this kid, one Igasaki Yoshiharu. Son of Takaharu, back from the future. Oh that makes sense. Takaharu believes it in two seconds because he’s dealt with all kinds of weird ninja shit, while for Yamato that’s a bit of a bridge too far. …Look I’m just glad this dumbdumb isn’t trying to kill an actually good Red.

-So the kid came back using ninpou, and Yamato just gives up trying to sort it out.

-And then Takaharu asks about his future self…And learns he suffered a fate even worse than baldness.

-He died.

-One day from now, both teams are killed in a terrible battle. Yoshiharu came back to try and prevent it…

-While resident cowboy Kinji is explaining ninjas to the zyumen. And with the sun so low in the sky, he has clearly been doing this for hours.

-Which is when Cube Rhino appears, with a letter! A ransom note. Misao’s been captured, and they’re to come peacefully and turn themselves over if they want him unharmed…And Sela is furious.

-When Kinji reveals, THE CHANGE! Shuriken Change! STAR NINJA! The colorful star, STAR NIN—

-Come here motherfucker

-Back at the cabin, Yamato, Takaharu and Yoshiharu are at the cabin, where he lays out, and this may shock you, that Runrun tricked the two teams into destroying each other. And with nobody to safely pass the torch of power, no new Super Sentai teams were able to form…That power, what we Americans would think of as the Morphing Grid, was lost. A world without heroes to fight evil…

-Takaharu is at least able to apologize deeply from the bottom of his heart, and beg forgiveness, now that he knows he was operating on false information. So who in the hell is this Runrun for real…

-Cut up to the Big Bow in a flashback. Runrun was hired by Naria, an outside consultant with skills in manipulation and hero assassination. A little independent action to make Genis’s life easier. With skilled manipulation, and a pollen that blocks all communication signals, Runrun can easily twist the situation around…

-Case in point? The other Ninningers want to interrogate Misao some more. And that mask that Runrun’s put on him to keep him from shouting, also lets him put words in Misao’s mouth and make him ‘confess’!

-In his head, the phantoms try to get through to him, you’ve got to get this mask off! But his hands are bound…He’s got to find a way to change the script…

-While back at the cabin, Takaharu and Yamato have to set this right…

-The next morning, the rest of the crew brings a bound and gagged Kinji. This is now a hostage exchange.

-Of course, transformation devices come out…Shuriken Change! Instincts Awakened! Yamato and Takaharu arrive too late to stop the fight, as things go from bad to worse…And now these damned fools have decided there’s only one way out of the situation, and that’s to win. When the duo see their respective Sixths, and free them…

-But both now have pride on the line, as it’s Shuriken Change, Instincts Awakened, and these damned idiots make it worse as they just end up fighting eachother. Oh my god you’re all dumb.

-And then Takaharu decides the only answer is to just smack everyone down and make them listen. And now Yamato’s the only one here not fighting, as he realizes something has to be up. Something’s in his head. In all their heads. Got to stay calm, focused, can’t take up arms…Got to disarm them!

-Which is about when Aka gets blasted by his own sister for getting in her way, and Takaharu slides back, at least calmed down enough to not be fighting anymore…But now neither of them have any idea how to get out of this situation…

-As both teams bring up their respective finishes, the narrators shouting all over each other! Yamato and Takaharu sprint into the center…And both nearly get shot by their teams’ respective finishing blasts, as explosions and chaos echo through the gym amidst Runrun’s laughter…

-And as the smoke clears, Yoshiharu arrives in time to see that cold open, to see both teams laid out on the ground…

-Which is where we’re going to stop for today.

Well I guess that’s it, no more Super Sentai! Tragic, really. I guess the rest of this series will just be about Genis conquering the world.

…Okay we all know I’m lying. Come back next time for the rest of the movie to see how the teams recover and team up for a big epic showdown against this teletubby-ass villain. Wait for it!

#where I watch #recap #tokusatsu #super sentai #animal sentai zyuohger

[chaosorchestrator]

RPG maker (and similar) games I recommend

rpg maker has been used to make a lot of really cool stuff and these games need some love so check them out under the cut

The Witch’s House.

alright lets start with some horror, this is one of the scariest games i know of in many parts, the pacing is great and the scares are very well executed. The puzzles can be obtuse at times, and the plot, while very solid, is somewhat simplistic, but the scares and atmosphere are definitely worth it.

Potential Triggers: gore and potentially scopophobia

jumpscares: major

Ib

Ib’s strongest points are characterization, dialogue, and creative puzzles. its branching narrative can be difficult to understand at points, and leads to different endings so expect to do multiple playthroughs. i dont personally find it scary but it does have some creepy imagery in places. Check it out if youre interested in exploring an art gallery gone very weird.

Potential Triggers: none notable that i can recall

jumpscares: minor to moderate

Mad Father

this one is another entry with very good writing and a very well developed plot and cast of characters. It has some trouble being scary but the writing is very solid. the game has an in-depth exploration of several forms of madness and is a wild ride. do note that the secret ending is very difficult to get, and has major plot elements

Potential Triggers: gore

jumpscares: moderate

Misao

this one is an interesting point of contrast with mad father actually. they were both made by the same person. this one’s subject matter is significantly darker but the execution makes it difficult to take seriously at times. the story is creative and well thought out, but the puzzles can be obtuse and the translation is very poor in places (in at least one case they say moisturize when it should really be hydrate) but its well worth  your time egardless, the failed horror moments are often unintentionally hilarious.

Potential triggers: Gore, Implied rape, severe emotional trauma

jumpscares: major but frequently funny instead of scary

Blank Dream

this one is very slow paced and introspective, there’s a lot of allegory in the gameplay, and the puzzles are tied to the story. it’s not quite as scary as the witch’s gouse but it has it’s moments, its a truly surreal adventure thar rewards exploring the narrative

Potential Triggers: Rape mention, Incest, drowning

jumpscares: minor

Mogeko Castle

ok so this one is a truly surreal horror game. it involves a girl escaping a castle full of tiny yellow creatures obsessed with high school girls and prosciutto, and along the way she meets a wide variety of entities that want to harm her in a bunch of varied but similarly horrifying ways. the game doesn’t really have much in terms of puzzles, the items serve seemingly no purpose, and the tone varies wildly from light hearted comedy, black comedy, exestential horror, and psychological introspection and everything in between. i wouldnt say this is the best rpgmake game but you certainly won’t be bored

Potential Triggers: rape, gore, incest, scopophobia, probably a bunch of others this game gets dark and weird

Jumpscares: very minor

OFF

from surreal horror to just surreal, this is the only game on this list with actual rpg mechanics. This one has a pretty substantial following a while back but its always worth recommending in case it passed some people by. This game is truly unique and has a distinctive art style that stands in contrast to many of the other games here, and most rpgmaker games in general. i wouldn’t classify this game as horror but it is creepy at times. keep in mind that the game frequently uses obscure words and odd turns of phrase so it might be challenging to someone who isn’t a native english (or french in the original) speaker. oh, and the game has some great music.

Potential Triggers: None notable that i recall

jumpscares: none

OneShot

definitely the cutest protagonist on this list. I won’t say too much about this game because it’s the kind best experienced blind, but i will say that the art is very pretty the world is well built and its relationship with the player is unique. There’s a free version available but i strongly recommend you play the steam remake instead, it’s only 10$ and it improves a lot and adds quite a bit to the story compared to the original. If you liked undertale you will definitely like this one, trust me.

Potential Triggers: none in the traditional sense, but some of the games features may be alarming to some people. Remember that it’s all part of the game.

Jumpscares: none

And thats my list that i can think of, Please feel free to add more and do let me know if i missed any triggers or anything

#rpg #rpg maker #the witch's house #blank dream #oneshot (game) #oneshot #niko (oneshot) #majou no le #ib (game) #misao (game) #mogeko castle #game recommendations #gaming #free games #pc games #free pc games #tw rape #off (game) #my post #ref

[furederiko]

We'll be heralding the arrival of the Space Rebellions tomorrow morning. But before we do that, here's a quick review of Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger as whole...

Yeah, this was supposed to go up not long after the final episode's weekly review, but well... I got a little sidetracked by my health *sigh*. It's basically under the weather (which has been unexplainably REALLY cold recently), that's why it took me a while to finish one. Don't worry though, because this post will be brief. Okay it's not.... Ahahaha. XD

Let's just get one thing out of the way: Zyuohger is just another good example, of the flaws of a long running show. The downside of having a whole-year worth of air time. The need to explore stories in around 50 episodes is indeed a challenge on its own. And frankly, I don't think the writers of this show succeeded in their task. There were great stories that focused on wonderful morale messages, but there were also episodes that felt like merely repeating the annual tropes, and even went below average standards. To put it simple, it's an uneven show. The beginning of the episode wasn't as memorable and a little on-the-nose. Which was the reason why I only gave it a 7,2. That's a stark difference to the 8,4 score of the finale. But the contrast also proved something! The show gradually built itself to become something interesting. Offering a vast amount of potentials, especially due to the cultural, and racial differences of its members. The main reason why I've decided to continue watching, despite my initial reluctance.

It's quite unfortunate, that this positive progression began to falter again halfway through. I believe this show lost its momentum when the writers decided to axe Bunglay, who was easily the most interesting and challenging antagonist the show had. If it's up to me, I think this character should've stayed to the end. I've said that I appreciate the surprise they wrote to Dethgaliens Master Genis in the end, but in many ways, Bunglay was indeed a much worthy and better 'scumbag' than Genis to be called a final boss. His obsession to Yamato Kazakiri would've worked better to explore our Red's damaged relationship with his father. Not to mention, his quest for Cube Whale, could've been linked nicely to the reveal of Immortal Azald. Instead, the show ditched him, and went even south when they gave Kubar a demise that was too early and underwhelming. Yes, the cunning and treachearous antagonist who initially rose up to be an excellent replacement to Bunglay. A villain that hid his own agenda, and never hesitated to use sleazy tricks to meet his goal, wo went off in a very unceremonious way. Thus all the build-ups, those numerous episodes spent to explore him, suddenly became pointless. No matter how praiseworthy her devotion for Genis, Naria suffered from weak writing as well. She's a character who showed promise, the potential to be deliver the 'surprise' that audience needed. But the show just treated her poorly and made her a one dimensional blank character instead. As for why Genis failed as a strong big boss? That's due to the show's habit to tell, and not show. Many times we only heard how scary Genis was, particularly from the Team Players. But it wasn't until the finale that we saw first hand how evil he could be. Something that should've been done much early on, and even better, throughout the whole run. Yeah, I get that everything was meant to lead to that big surprise in the end. But at least, audience needed actual proof that he's a sinister being instead of the overly optimistic boss depicted all the time.

The core storyline about connection between people, particularly those who are different, was admirable. It touched upon issues of discrimination, equality, and many sensitive ones that resonated strongly to the real life current condition of the world. I also appreciated how pieces of the puzzle that were seeded from very early on, became connected, and (mostly) paid off in the third arc. Problem is, even if it's a strong and delicate one, this main plot was considerably thin. And worse, the show loved to drag audience from one plot point to another, without utilizing it to explore minor subplots. The result? The Zyumans practically didn't have any significant character developments. At least, not that I could remember. This mirrored the similar negative trait of "Shuriken Sentai Ninninger", because the writings never fully explored these character's potentials. Which was too bad, since each one of them were completely different races that easily shouted 'blank canvas'. Each species could've played out more distinctly with one another, and that weren't even touched. In general, their presence felt like nothing but supporting characters for Yamato, because from start to finish, they remained who they were. And speaking of Yamato, while he did have one, it was somewhat rushed as the show's approaching the end game. A fact that annoyed me, because of how ill-timed it was. The only one who had clear character growth, was none other than Misao Mondo. This additional character grew from an awkward and meek guy, to a more confident, mature, and stronger in the end. Even moreso than Yamato, and he's not even the core cast!

This was quite disappointing, because if there's one thing that the season definitely shine, it's in the cast. Eventhough they were NOT perfect, everyone's easily likeable. Despite his 'blandness', Yamato was one of the better Reds we have in the recent years. Sure, many people were calling him the 'Jesus of the Group'. But when compared to the lousy and gratingly annoying Takaharu of previous season, the mature and nurturing Yamato obviously came on top. The other members in Ninninger were better than its Red, but I'd gladly choose the other Zyuohgers in their place. Amu was a character with the strongest and most interesting personality. Her presence was important because she's crucial to drive Yamato's plot. With that reason, I think she was the best character we got in the show. Even when he seemed standoff-ish, Tusk was the likeable smart one. His story with Misao was a great touch, and a pairing I didn't expect would be a gem. Sela was the tough girl of the group, but she's also the one who was sensitive and caring. If there's one member that I found to be annoying, it's Leo. But even I have to admit that he used to be my favorite character early on. Right until the writers dumped some bad traits on him. Seriously, he morphed from super fun, to super annoying, so it was nice that he got a little redemption near the end. These characters were not only easy on the eyes, they were fun to be with. That includes Yamato's uncle Mario Mori, Bard who became the seventh member albeit too briefly, and also the wise gorilla zyuman Larry. All three who were severely underused. My point is, what a waste of potentials indeed.

In general, it became obvious and clear that the show just didn't reach nor exercise its full potential. This somehow felt like a deliberate decision from the writers too, as many of the episodes felt more like... intended fillers. It's a good proof that the number of episodes was simply too long for the core plot. I honestly can't help but wonder, if this show would've been much stronger as a 25 episodes series? I mean, this flaw was even more apparent during the third arc. Aside from Yamato, whose substory came out way too late, the show suddenly pushed aside other character's development and focused more on action, and became a by-the-number trope showcase. If it's up to me, the whole plot from episode 1-48 that involved Genis would've been concised into the first half, while the second half would fully focus on repairing the rift between Earth and Zyuland. Dealing with discrimination and injustice that's happening in both world, while introducing a whole new enemy. A stronger and more powerful threat that threatened both worlds!

Of course, that doesn't mean that I dislike the ending that we got. I wouldn't give it a high score if I do, right? Yes, I know I did whine a lot during the final 5 episodes. But I don't regret that, because it made me appreciate the ending even more. Albeit somehow feeling like a cheat, it was still a brilliant conclusion. It caught me off guard, because I was completely ready to see a 'bad ending'. What kind? One that ended with goodbyes. Where the show's dream to create a unity between Earth and Zyuland, remained just the way it was. A dream. That the 'happy' ending would still be miles away from happening, since our heroes never actually accomplished this goal. Thankfully, we all know that's not the case, as we get a truly sweet, joyful, and satisfying closure instead. In fact, I personally think that the epilogue accomplished much more than what the entire 3rd arc offered! For real.

In the end, despite leaning to 'good', my response to Zyuohger is mixed at best. There's a massive potential and promise the show could've explored, but opted not to. The show is plagued by occasional weak writing, weird decisions, and more importantly, bad timings. There's a shadow of a much better and stronger show that could've been, but in the end, that's not the case. Not saying that it's a bad season, because many times it was plain fun and entertaining. Particularly that 2-episodes crossover with "Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger" that helped established both teams to exist in the same continuity. Zyuohger just didn't feel as 'complete' as it could've been, unlike several previous seasons that managed to successfully nailed their story elements with wonders. Interestingly, at the same time, thanks to being somewhat underdeveloped, I certainly want to see these guys again. You know why? Because the way the show ended just opened up an entire possibility for a whole new season! Where humans and zyumans struggle to coexist in the same universe. One which unfortunately, we won't be seeing. At least not until these character 'return'...

Yep, of course we haven't seen the last of this team. Customary to their tradition, TOEI has already announced a special V-Cinema that will be released on June 28. Jugding from the official plot of "Kaettekita Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger O-inochi Choudai! Chikyuu Ouja Ketteisen", I'm crossing my fingers that this IS the continuity I want to see. The show wasted the chance to explore the barriers between different races, and moreso, skipped the actual daily lives of the four Zyuman Zyuohgers in Zyuland with their family. So I hope this special sequel will deal with that unused plot. It won't be their Swan Song though. Some, if not all members would undoubtedly participate in the upcoming "Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Chou Super Hero Taisen" movie. And just like last month, they most definitely will have a crossover movie too early next year. That Versus movie will be their final official (as in, not in guest-star capacity) foray in the Super Sentai franchise. And it might be an interesting one, since the next season takes place in a distant future. That's like, a completely different world and timeline, right? Here's hoping that means we'll be getting bigger and better adventures for the Zyuohgers soon!

Overall Score: 7,84 out of 10 NOTE: Overall score was accumulated from my Weekly Review scores. You can view a graph of those reviews to find out which episodes were the highlights and also the series lows.

#tokusatsu #SuperSentai #Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger #Zyuohger #review #awesome #So disappointed #melancholymoments #inspiration

[baredmirror]

Eiko's mien turned suddenly sober. She plunked her coffee cup down with so much force that it rattled in the saucer, then looked at Misao with her face contorted into an expression that could have been the prelude to laughter or tears. Misao had been about to take a sip from her own cup, but now she put it down and waited without saying a word. 'There were voices talking on the other side of the wall,' Eiko stated in a flat, uninflected monotone. After a moment's silence she burst into laughter, then said sheepishly, 'I'm probably just being stupid about this. Don't you think I'm being foolish? I mean, there's no way I could have heard that for real, right?' Misao rubbed her lip thoughtfully. 'When you say "on the other side of the wall," what do you mean, exactly?' 'Look, like I said, I'm sure my ears were just playing tricks on me. As for the place, I think it was right around the spot where Tamao collapsed that day, after she was injured. I just got this weird feeling that I could hear voices whispering and muttering behind the wall. I didn't get any sense of what they were saying, but it sounded like a lot of people, all talking at once. I started to shiver, and I thought my hair was going to stand on end. There was something really ghastly about those voices. I mean, like, beyond dreadful.' 'How so?' 'It's kind of hard to explain. It was as if they were talking among themselves, and their voices were making a kind of rustling sound. You know how when you go to the movies, people will be chatting in hushed whispers before the show starts? It was sort of like that.'

Mariko Koike, The Graveyard Apartment (trans. Deborah Boliver Boehm)

#m #the graveyard apartment

[furederiko]

Looking back, over the yea... er, months. That's because the 44th episode of Zyuohger is nothing but your friendly neighbourhood... recap episode!

NOTE: Starting this year, I'm changing the style of my recap-view. Rather than using the usual 'pseudo-live-blogging' style like before, I'm going to exclude the actual 'Recap' part from now on, and prioritizes on my opinions/comments on plot points from an episode. It might still be quite long, but at least this one would be far concised than before. It's also faster for me to work on! LOL. I'll be doing the same with other future titles as well.

- I actually thought since we already had a clip show before (that doppleganger story on episode 27), we wouldn't get another for the New Year. I guess I was wrong. No way TOEI is gonna break their established pattern, right? So yeah, this is a pretty standard clip show, and unfortunately a rather unmemorable one too. Which easily explains why I kept on forgetting to make the review for this episode *sigh*. There IS however, an important side story concerning Azald sprinkled throughout, so if you're looking for a reason to see it, that's the part that might be worthwatching. - Our episode begins with Bard looking for Larry. Yep, I don't think it's ever explained why Bard just took off after helping Yamato and friends as Zyuoh Bird (episode 38)). Even Larry wonders about that. Bard's answer of "I'm sorry, but that will have to wait for later" basically means you need to stay tune on this show if you ever want to hear the reason. As in, "Don't quit while we only have 4 episodes left!". Am I right, TOEI? LOL. - Wow, obvious movie promotion is TOO obvious. And it doesn't even care about continuity issue too. This means Misao is already aware of the Ninningers, eventhough their Versus Movie is only set to premiere today, January 14, 2017. Or perhaps... the event has taken place before the New Year? That's certainly a possibility. Hmmm, I wonder why they aren't pairing ShiroNinger with Zyuoh Tiger? Also, the opening sequence reminded me how Ninninger is crazy about its AkaNinger. We're getting another one in this movie... Aaaargggh. - Hey, everyone is eating New Year mochi. Part of, what I believe is called, Osechi perhaps? Maaan, I would love to try one of that someday. - Mario returns and he immediately reveals his discovery of the Zyuohger's secret. Knowing how caring, helpful, and sincere this quirky uncle has been, can anyone remind me again why it's even NECESSARY to keep the truth from him? I mean, sure they are afraid he might be shocked (like self-proclaimed coward Misao), but after witnessing his considerate kindness and generosity, they really could at least tell him sooner! - Anyway, Mario wants to join the fight, as... Champion of Humanity, Zyuoh Human. UUUGGGH... now I can't get that awful image out of my head. Somehow I'm feeling super grateful that we don't have a Pink-colored member on the team... *sigh* (although a Zyuoh Pig probably would be nice) - Apparently Mario has heard about the story of Bard rescuing child Yamato, but always thought it was merely hallucination. What I like about this remind... er, part, is how Mario is smart enough to understand that there are more Zyuohgers than the number of Champion Symbols. A pretty smooth excuse to recap about what happened to Misao (episode 16). Seeing Mario comforting Misao is pretty moving, methinks. - Misao's backstory is also neatly connected to Azald, giving us the assumption (not confirmation, at least for now) that the Leader might have gone through the same process as Misao. Wait a sec, does this mean we are seeing Azald's backstory? That's BIG, considering Naria and even so-called vengeance-driven Kubar didn't even get one. But... I wonder if it's a little late in the game? - Talking about friends, turns out the Cube Animals don't want to be left out. Unlike "Engine Sentai Go-onger" that constantly showcased the members' Enjins as their individual partners, the Zyuoh Cubes only occasionally showed up to frolic around. To be honest, at this point I've even forgotten that they can solely act on their own. LOL. Quite disappointing that Mario doesn't point out about Cube Whale though, considering Yamato has asked him to make its replica before (episode 34). - Hearing all these, Mario realizes that he doesn't need to join the fight. It's sweet that Yamato reminds him that his uncle is important nonetheless, because he's the 'smile', the comfort, and the... food(eh?) that greets them everytime they arrive home. But must Leo remind us about that lame... cow-breast joke (episode 39)? UGH. Really though, Mario could've been way more than these, if he had known their secret much earlier. A missed opportunity, right there! - It only took 2 weeks and 15 minutes of runtime to get here, but the Zyuohgers can finally hand off their present for Mario. I don't really like that sweater, probably because of the color scheme, but it's a sweet scene nonetheless. Their discussion afterwards is sure hinting towards the finale, huh? Complete with that 'making oath while staring at the shooting-star together' bit. Cliche, much? - Naria scans Azald's body because he's feeling... weird, and discovers that there are 4 Zyuoh Cubes inside him. Since the core Zyuohgers are busy cozying up, Azald decides to target Bard instead. This isn't surprising. After the show wasted their potential for Kubar, there's no one left but to rely on Azald now. I mean, just look at the preview for next episode. - Oh wow, I might be wrong, but it looks like Larry's foreshadowing Bard's death at the end. This can't be good. Then again, we haven't seen much of Bard to actually care about him that deep. All these time he's been absent and acting like a lone-wolf... whoops, lone-bird who RARELY spent time with the Zyuohgers. I doubt his death will give an impact to the team. His only connection is only with Yamato so far, but even that doesn't warrant a higher emotional punch for him. I mean, it WOULD be entirely different if he turns out to be Yamato's real father, but we know that's NOT the case. Oh well, let's just wait and see...

Overall: I don't think it's a good sign for a show if its recap episode feels... forgettable. Wanted to say boring, but well, I'm being generous like Mario so... 'bland' might be a nicer word. I'm still holding out on this show, hopeful that we'll be getting a good to great finale. At the very least, a dcent payoff to everything that's been going on. But even I have to admit, that the trajectory of mine and public's interest isn't really heading to the right direction. The same thing happened with "Kamen Rider Ghost", and it sure didn't end as 'satisfying' as I would have preferred. Next week Tomorrow: Mario meets Larry. Yamato's daddy issue Part Deux. And it's finally Azald's time to shine... (who'd probably bite the dust real soon) PS: Hey, the new show has revealed its first official teaser! Gaaawd, I'm loving these 9-members team the more I see it... XD. Just look at all those personalities they emit from their unique designs! Is it rude of me to want this show to arrive as soon as possible, because that means the end of Zyuohger? Ahahaha...! By the way, this is inline with the fact that they will have a customary cameo appearance in Zyuohger vs Ninninger movie that arrives on Japanese theatres today. We can expect to hear reactions of their debut pretty soon.

Episode 44 Score: 7 out of 10

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

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