#american beasts spoilers sorta kinda

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

[ reunion ] a longing kiss shared after being apart for a while -> your choice of ship <3

Thank you so much for the prompt! This one is actually a bit of a spoiler for near the end of American Beasts, but here you go, have some Kit and Jacob!

He watched as the soldiers of Eden’s Gate stumbled back to the safety of the Project’s compound. Their numbers cut down and bloodied, even less would be making it into the bunkers to see New Eden, the herd culled by the ingrates who called themselves the Resistance. The hollow men who’d seen war, now as tainted by it as he was, moved like shadows past him – but she was nowhere to be seen, his eyes trained to search out that red hair and those pale blue eyes in a crowd. His heart raced in his chest, his brow furrowed as he just kept searching the faces. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, let them see the fear that was steadily creeping up his spine. 

Where the fuck are you, Kitty?

The last stragglers of the army passed through the gates, a slow trickle of souls. His jaw clenched tight, a cold glare landing on each one of them, some part of him questioning how they survived, but somehow she didn’t. She wasn’t there. He hadn’t even received a final radio call. No warning at all. She was out there somewhere gasping her last breath, dying, alone, surrounded by the weak. He was of the mind to march out there and find her, pick up a gun and fight till the last breath in his body was spent, even if it meant he’d end up rotting in the ground beside her. It was better than the future he had without her. The future without promise, without hope – only sacrifice. 

Rounds fired into the night broke the darkness that started to swallow his thoughts, and Jacob’s gaze focused on the treeline. Raised voices screamed out slurs at their people, only to be hushed, met with utter silence as if blanketed in a fog that dampened sound, the same that creeped across the ground at his feet. Gunshots rang out once more, the trees bending and swaying, parting to make room for her. She dragged another of their people along with her, limping forward, more blood and broken bones than a man but like a good soldier she’d leave no one behind, having made a promise to Joseph as their Lion. 

Jacob motioned for followers to come forward and collect the man in her arms. Picking off the last few members of the Resistance who’d chased them that far with his rifle. She stood before him unburdened, silent and staring. He had no idea if she was injured herself. She didn’t seem to care. Frozen like a deer in the headlights, he was afraid to touch her. Was she just some ghost, another figment of his imagination? As if the moment he touched her she’d turn to sand and blow away in the wind. 

She gazed up at him, her face dotted with blood spray, strands of red hair blowing around her face and shoulders in the breeze, braid falling loose down her back. Her breath plumed out in a cloud of fog with each heavy exhale, stare unwavering as she clung to the dogtags that hung around her neck.

“Please tell me this is real. That this isn't some sorta goddamn dream,” he husked. 

“I’m here.” Her voice was hoarse, worn down from shouting out orders. 

Without wasting a single moment or another thought, he reached out in an instant reflex and cupped her face in his hands, thumbs stroking over the peaks of her cheeks as his mouth crashed down against hers. The briny scent of her sweat mixed with the smoke of fire and gunpowder, tinged with the metallic tang of blood. It was her, she was real, and he was absolutely enveloped by her. His lips devouring her, hungry and aching, starving for the future he'd thought he lost.

He brushed his fingers through her hair, knotting them up in her tresses, only to be gripped in return, her hands digging into his back, proving she was going nowhere, that she'd always come back home. The dog tags he gave her clanked between them, ringing out in the dark with each desperate meeting of his lips with hers. He hated to think that he might have ever been given the opportunity to forget how she tasted. 

His forehead pressed to hers, frozen stare taking in her angel face streaked with the remnants of violence, he couldn't believe he could be this fucking lucky to have here there, alive. “Look at me.”

Her eyes fluttered open, a gaze as cold and icy as his own meeting him, but in them he saw none of the deep seething anger that others witnessed with fear, he just saw light. He saw hope, and for a minute, he thought he could believe it, despite what the rest of the world had shown him. 

Pale eyes focused on her, hardened by a life that had never been easy. “I thought I'd lost ya.”

“I'm not that easy to kill.”

“Just you and the cockroaches.”

Her soft caress against his jaw was almost too much to bear. Something gentle despite the brutality he knew those hands were all too capable of.

“I'm always going to come back to you. Always.”

#kiss prompts #ship: the wolf and the wildcat #american beasts spoilers sorta kinda #jacob seed #oc: kit cross #thanks for the prompt!

[purpleswans1]

My Favorite Hidden Anime Gems

I’ve been watching Anime for several years now, and I’ve watched a lot of really good series (and a couple of bad ones). Among them are some series that are a lot of great series that I believe don’t get the attention and following they deserve. Some of them may be more popular than I realize, or they were popular a while ago and just faded over time. But all of them are, in my personal opinion, definitely worth a watch.

Quick note: I tried to put down why I believe some of these shows aren’t as popular. More than one of them is because the original material comes form Light Novels, which aren’t a readily available to the western fans as manga and anime, which alienates those fans since they believe they are missing some of the story.

Now, on with the list:

1. Kemono no Souja Erin (Beast Player Erin)

I can’t express to you how much I love this show. The best way I can summarize it without giving to many spoilers is that it’s a coming of age story about a girl who wants to be a beast-veterinarian like her mother, and follows her as she grows up That doesn’t really go into the juicy bits though. It has strong women in positions of power and male-dominated fields, brilliant world building, and the main focus is on the relationship between mothers and their children. It’s very refreshing, and I think tumblr would love this.

Now this one actually has a lot of reasons why it is less known. First of all, the original source is a light novel. In addition, the anime’s art style is much more simplistic than most anime a fans are used to. Finally, although the plot is entertaining for all ages, the show is actually geared towards kids. As anyone who’s watched Gravity Falls or Steven Universe will tell you, this doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. This does mean though, that the audience that it’s intended for doesn’t have easy access to it. That being said, I definitely suggest that people watch this.

2. Saiunkoku Monogatari (The Story of Saiunkoku)

This one is a court romance, and a really great one at that. The story begins about a sensible girl who is asked to turn the king of her country into a decent ruler by becoming his wife, but the story grows into something greater, focusing on politics, the magic of the kingdom’s origin, and the girl’s dream of becoming a court official. There are several well-done female characters, some who take on traditional feminine roles and some who want to be in male-dominated fields. There’s a little bit of a reverse harem situation going on, but the main character is well-rounded and most of the boys are just supporting from a distance. the main focus ends up being on the political drama rather than just the romance.

The animation is a little old, and the original story is from a light novel. In addition, I suspect that the second season ends before the ending of the light novels so we still have some unresolved business that we’d have to track down the light novels to find out. One of these days I’m going to find and read them. Still, this is definitely worth it!

3. Zetsuen no Tempest (The Civilization Blaster, Blast of Tempest)

Okay, I’ll admit that this one is a little weird, and completely shifts narratives halfway through (which, now that I think about it, happens in several anime I know) but is still worth the watch. I swear the two main guys are kind of psychopaths, but they’re also very real and their relationship is a very interesting take on friendship and complex relationships. The story is set in a world where everything in civilization starts being devoured and people are dying, but these two guys get roped into helping a witch trapped on an island save the world because she promised to help them get revenge for the one guy’s sister. It’s also full of dialogue and plot references to William Shakespeare’s works (especially “Hamlet” and “The Tempest”) and who doesn’t love a good reference to the bard?

I… really don’t know why this anime isn’t that popular. Other than the narrative being a little confusing at times and some of the characterizations being incredibly unique (i.e. not cliches) It’s a really good anime, and you guys should check it out.

4. Guilty Crown

Okay guys, I’ll be honest with you: the first time I discovered this anime (back when my experience consisted mostly of Inuyasha and Code Geass) I described it as a Code Geass fanfic with a slightly altered preface. Which… really isn’t what it is at all. There are still some similarities though. The actual story is about a world where japan was decimated by an Apocalypse virus and has become entirely dependent on foreign aid, making it into a kind of military state. People are oppressed, so a terrorist group forms and a certain socially awkward boy gets a special power that was intended for the terrorist, and he gets roped into joining them. It has a lot of interesting characters and characterization, since part of the boy’s power is to reveal people’s hearts in physical form.

I’m not sure why this one isn’t very popular, other than having several troupes that are in other shows. If I had to guess, it might be related to how he narrative changes halfway, and how I swear the thing must have been funded by the band Egoist considering how much they are referenced in the show.

5. Seirei no Moribito

Oh man, this one… *deep breath* The main character is a spear wielding woman bodyguard in her 30s. She is tasked with protecting an adolescent prince, who after being infected with a magic egg (more significant than it sounds) is being attacked by his own country. They end up forming a mother/son bond over the course of the story and that is the main relationship focus. Oh, and the woman has a love interest who’s basically a healer with some mystic abilities, and they are so not subtle about the reversed gender roles.

The story is based on a light novel series by the same author as Kemono no Souja Erin. However, it only tells the story of the first book, so we end up with a well put-together story and maybe potential for season 2? someday? *goes and cries in a corner because that would be amazing*

6. Shiki

Kudos to @quasiplatonickarinhina for introducing me to this.

Okay, so you know how Twilight spurred a rise in popularity for vampire stories? Only, instead of being the Anne Rice and Bram Stoker bloodsucking-monster variety, they became excessively romantic good guys? Yeah, this isn’t like those neo-vampire stories.

By any chance, does anyone remember the first season of Supernatural? You know, back before it became a cult-followed soap-opera, and instead was basically a series of rural American horror stories crammed into an hour a week? THAT is what this story is like.

The preface is that a mysterious family moved into a small rural town, and gradually people start dropping dead mysteriously. Things gradually escalate, and the story dives into a lot of heavy psychology with some statements on humanity in desperate situations thrown in. If you like Tokyo Ghoul for the psychological horror, you’ll love this.

The series has a very slow build-up before the climax, so that might be the main reason why it isn’t very popular.

7. Shounen Omnyouji

You know that Abe no Seimei guys that will pop up occasionally in exorcist or historical anime? Well, this is about his grandson, who has resolved to surpass his grandfather as an Omnyouji and finally get out of his shadow.

I should also note that this is probably one of the only shounen protagonists I know of that actually shows respect to his elders and superiors (which probably says a lot more for the general trend of shounen protagonists than anything else, but it’s still refreshing.) Seriously, one of the biggest running gags is that he’s in his room yelling about his grandfather expecting him to do the impossible or having to big of shoes to fill, but he’s still very respectful when he’s actually around the guy.

Also, his love interest is… not annoying? Sorry she’s not really that awesome of a character, but she manages to be a traditional princess and not painful to watch. Which is unusual.

Oh, and there are all these super-powered Shikigami who gradually develop respect for the MC and have their own issues with one another. That’s always cool.

This series was originally a light novel series, and to be honest even I wouldn’t know about it if I hadn’t been looking for a different Omnyouji series. I should warn you though, this one has a kind-of-cliffhanger ending, and I don’t see much indication of a season 2. You can always hunt down the light novels though.

8. Arslan Senki

Not sure whether this anime is unknown enough to be here… No, it does. It hasn’t gotten the following it deserves. The light novel series has been going on for decades and that might part of the reason why the fandom has faded, but the most recent manga adaptation is by the Mangaka behind FMA, and apparently she’s done some changes to the original story. Which is cool.

Also, the whole thing clearly has some thematic and stylistic roots in the Crusades, and that’s got to appeal to western audiences right?

9. Tokyo Ravens

You remember those exorcist anime I mentioned a while ago? Well this is one of them. The short explanation of this series that that it’s about a bunch of high school students studying to be Omnyouji. Which makes it sound a lot like a Japanese Harry Potter, which admittedly it kinda is. Only not. There’s a lot of plot derived from the reincarnation thing and some family politics crossing actual politics.

This is another one where the original source material is a light novel series. It also ends in a sorta-cliffhanger, but I have a bit more hope for a season 2 for this one.

10. Rurouni Kenshin

Okay, this one probably doesn’t need to be on this list since it is still popular, just really OLD so the hype has simmered down, but It needs to come back because WE HAVE A NEW MANGA ARC!!!!! (Can you tell how happy I am?)

Now I could go on and on about how much significance this series has for me personally (I literally discovered online scanlations and the dark web for this series guys) but I’ll spare you the hour-long monologue. Elevator pitch: This is a historical fighting manga with a lot of interesting characters and themes and quite honestly a classic. I’ll admit that there are some issues with the story that weren’t as troubling to high-school-aged me, but overall it’s still a wonderful tale. I mean, the manga inspired a long anime series and 3 live action movies, so that should say something (I feel no urge to watch the OVAs, so let’s not mention them)

11. Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji)

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that i usually am not attracted to slice of life stories. But a friend recommended this series to me and mentioned it was one of Arakawa’s mangas, so I decided to check it out. A decision I do not regret. The basic plot has to do with a city boy who decided to go to an agriculture high school. Its chock full of culture shock, interesting characters, and a realistic take on the agricultural industry. I identify with this story on a personal level, both because i grew up in a rural area and know how some of the agriculture stuff works and also because the MC is searching for a direction after loosing his “dream.”

Like I said, this series is a slice of life, which generally doesn’t get as much attention as the action-adventure stories.

Got any other animes you think deserve a larger following than they currently have? Feel free to recommend them to me!

#I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE THIS #I go distracted #and have been getting settled in the new apartement #anime #recommended