#none of izetta

[conflagrate]

Autumn 2016 Anime Season

Man summer season was a wash-out thanks to my Hokkaido trip. Ah well, it helped to weed out the chaff I guess?

Wrap-Up God Tier: none Great: 91days, Orange, Arslan Senki S2, Amaama to Inazuma, Rinne 2, Active Raid Good: Mononokean, New Game, Planetarian, Fudanshi, ReLife, Monstrike, Cheer Danshi Middling: Shokugeki no Soma S2, Bananya, Taboo Tattoo, Goma-chan, Amanchu, Battery, Tsukiuta. Godawful shite: Masou Gakuen, D.Gray-man Hallow Dropped: Re:zero, Pazudora, Berserk Still plodding along: Zestiria (& contemplating Time Travel Shojo)

Total completed: 20 + 2 possibles (+2 ongoing)

Wait, I still ended up finishing more shows than I did last season…!! What the fuggery! Oh yes I’m also the only person who doesn’t give two hoots about Re:zero. Well it’s not bad or anything but eh, Subaru is an insufferable little bitch and I didn’t like any of the other characters either…..

Autumn pickings Already watching: Nyanbo, Kaiju Girls [2] Must-watch: Natsume Yujincho 5, 3gatsu no Lion, 12sai S2, Ajin S2, Bungo Stray Dogs S2, Bubuki Buranki S2, Yuri on Ice, Haikyuu!! S3, Fune o Amu, Teekyuu S8, Watashi ga motete dosunda, Wixoss, Luger Code 1951 (1-ep special) [13] Likely yes: WWW.Working, Udon no Kuni, Shumatsu no izetta, Okusama ga Seitokaicho 2, Keijo!!!!!!, Drifters, Ameiro Cocoa S3 (so I can bitch weekly), Maho Shojo nante mo ii desukara S2, Kiitaro Shonen no Yokai Enikki [9] Try first: All Out, Trickster, ClassicaLoid, Token Ranbu, Maho Shojo Ikusei Keikaku, Stella no Maho, Nanbaka, Soshin Shojo Matoi, Nobunaga no Shinobi, Long Riders, Time Bokan 24, Flip Flappers, Girlish Number, Shakunetsu no Takkyu Musume, Occultic;Nine, Barnard-jou Iwaku, Ao Oni, Cheating Craft, Hagane Orchestra, Nobunaga no Shinobi, To be Hero, Sengoku Choju Giga, Bloodivores, Nazotokine Hell no: Brave Witches, Euphonium S2, Pokemon Sun & Moon, Vivid Strike, Idol Memories, Gundam Tekketsu 2, Utapri 4, Koneko no Chi, Monster Hunter Stories, Show by Rock!! 2, Tiger Mask W, Ani Tore S2 (just whyyyy), Magic Kyun, Digimon, Cardfight Vanguard G Next, Heybot (I hated it), Dream Festival (wow ep1 was shit), Kaito Joker 4, fugly Glass no Kamen, Crane Game Girls, Gakuen Handsome, Girlfriend (♪), Regalia, Soul Buster Continuing shows: Monster Strike [backlogged], Jakusansei Million Arthur [backlogged], Goma-chan

#misc

[bluestmoons]

   Happy Father’s Day, I cannot recall a single piece of information for any father on this blog at all 💖

#[ the exception being Leonie's father who was just. There. and she's my OC so I came up with that #I cannot remember a father being mentioned canonically with ANY character on this blog at ALL #like what the FUCK #no mention of finis' parents #no mention of koizumi's parents ( yet... i haven't finished reading :c ) #none of izetta #or the nases. or ursula. #or serra or erk #OH ELSA AND ERIC. THEY BOTH HAD FATHERS. #Eric's father was sick and Elsa's father was........ ......... ha ha.... #I don't really write either of them anymore though... tears.... #Mirai's father was never mentioned either!!! AH ] #( out of dreams. ) #father's day tw #father's day /

[undecidedpersonality]

Writer’s Month 2020 Day Twenty-Three: Poison

Title: “The Royal Murderer”

By: Nalijah Daniels

Word Count: 1874

Genre: Fiction - Fantasy

CW: murder, death, public execution, sacrifice, 

I might as well have been a lab rat under bright-white observation lights. The beige uniform was baggy on my thinning body and made it uncomfortable to sleep. All it did was twist around my body, yanking me out of my dreamless sleep to struggle with it until it was back in place. Every night was like that. Just like every day was the same.

The blinding lights turn on at exactly 8 a.m. I flip onto my stomach and push my face into the thin pillow, trying to make the space behind my closed eyes as dark as possible. The heavy door on the opposite wall slides open, activated by the fingerprint of my security guard, Manuel. He used to be nice to me until I was caught halfway through my only possible escape plan and put his job on the line. I always smile at him when he forces me to sit up on the bed and hauls me out of the room, gripping around my arm just below the armpit. He hasn’t smiled back in 167 days. I know this because I’ve been counting on the wall with a tiny piece of chalk left here from who knows what. I’ve been here for 378 days in total. I marked the day Manuel stopped smiling with a small ‘x’ at the top. Day 211.

Once we’re through the door of my cell, we turn left, a long curve of concrete walls stretch ahead of us. There’s no other doors until we get to the bathroom. This is the only positive part about my prisoner gig; I’m allowed showers every other day. When I was younger, rumors spread around town that royal prisoners were only allowed to shower once a month. Apparently the hygiene of a criminal doesn’t matter. Don’t even get me started on their rumored food schedules. I imagine they let me shower this often because when they finally get to show off my dead body to the public––they’re gonna want to do that––it would be off-putting to see grime on the beautiful young body and face of a twenty-year-old girl, no matter how dangerous I was.

The water shoots out of the rusted head high on the wall at first with a sputter, then a steady stream, pelting my body with near scalding water. The smooth water beads rolling over my body has been the only positive touch I’ve gotten in over a year. I glance over my shoulder to Manuel standing in the opposite corner of the square room, his eyes trained on the wall across from him, hands clasped behind his back. I put an innocent smile on my face and whistle, trying to catch his attention. I’m never getting out of here alive, and he already hates me, so I might as well have as much fun playing mind games as I can. I begin to ramble about anything that I think might draw his eyes towards me. Why I hate the new Duke. My longing for the touches of my pre-imprisonment lovers. My yearning to step under the night sky and not see it through a small barred window five feet above my head. I even begin to sway my bare hips and sing an old lullaby about marriage. I don’t even get a muscle spasm in response.

I roll my eyes when he continues to ignore me and drop the act to focus my mind on something else. Just like every other dull moment, my mind manages to drift to why I’m here. I sacrificed myself for my younger brother, who was almost imprisoned for keeping my identity a secret. Even though they knew my real name, Izetta Llewellyn, they had called me The Royal Murderer around town. The townies whispered around me in the shopping center when I snuck through in disguise, none of them knowing I was right there.

Once, I was the right hand woman of the Duchess, happily waiting on her hand and foot as soon as I turned fifteen. Despite our ten-year age gap, we were the best of friends, the sister I never had. She made sure that my position as her young lady-in-waiting wasn’t taken too seriously so that I could still have “good ol’ teenage fun.” She trusted me with all of her secrets, including how the Duke berates her while throwing her around in their private residence. I helped undo her dress the evening she told me and saw the lightening bruises across her sides and stomach. He told her that he’s only going to stop abusing her because she’s pregnant, but that he wasn’t afraid to punish her again if she messed up just bad enough. I was eighteen then. I wasn’t going to let that possibility happen.

Being young and trusted meant I had a lot of access to the kingdom. I was  never seen as a threat. The tapestries of rich color and stitching that hung down over the charcoal gray stone walls familiar to me in every hallway but one. The one that I walked down that fatal day had paintings with details of greens, golds, and white. The Duke’s favorite color scheme. They were the colors he adorned himself in to attend his most important events. I rapped on the doorframe to his open study and stood with my hands folded in front of me, waiting for him to look up.

He greeted me kindly, like I truly was the little sister-in-law he never had. He often ruffled my hair when seeing me, telling me just how much the Duchess adored me. As if I didn’t know. I put a small smile on my face to appear to be that same honorable, innocent, young girl. When he invited me into the room, I didn’t let much time pass. I would need as much time as possible to get out from the kingdom walls and off the grounds in order to not be caught. They would know it was me. The cameras caught and kept everything they weren’t told to delete.

When I plunged the dagger into his stomach, a true smile, honest and wide, spread on my face as I stared into his angry and scared eyes. They were hard set on mine, yet darting to figure out how to help himself as I whispered into his ear everything that I knew, telling him how happy I was that he would never be able to do them again. 

I’m still not sorry.

I learned I was immune to poison when they caught me. My older brother had been hiding me for a year when royal guard’s found out he was The Royal Killer’s accomplice. They dragged him into town square, pushing him onto his knees on the bottom step of the dais the royal family sat on for public events, like execution. Knowing what this would do to my mother and father––knowing that would be my fault for my brother’s conviction––I wasted no time revealing myself. I pulled the dark cloak’s hood from my head as I stepped out of a shadowed corner, declaring that they could take my life in exchange for my brother’s safe return home. My brother looked at me with wide eyes––bewilderment, terror, and rage dancing across his face–– because I wouldn’t let them take him. He wanted me to be safe from them, but there was no extra time wasted as I got dragged to his place.

The kingdom was never one for mutilating people, no matter how bad their crime, so they could keep their status to their citizens as classy and not blood hungry. Public murders were cold and emotionless instead, making everyone watch the person’s life disappear behind their eyes after forcing them to swallow a vile of poison. The toxin levels were what made the punishment. Some simply fainted in mere seconds and were gone. Others, like the one intended for me, would seize the person’s body for multiple minutes, leaving them writhing and screaming in agony on the ground, unable to pull themselves up and away from the pain. When I was younger watching these events, I had always imagined the toxins feeling like fires burning your body from the inside out, your bones snapping under the pressure of heat until you were nothing but a sack of flesh laying on the ground. None of that happened to me.

After sitting on my knees, waiting for the pain to seize me––nothing. The crowd murmured and the royal family, sitting at the top of the dais the whole time, began to stir. Before I could attempt to run off, I was hauled up by four guards to be taken to the cell I’ve been in ever since. As they marched me past, I saw the Duchess who was already staring at me. Her knuckles were white as they gripped the arms of her chair but her face was soft, one tear falling down her left cheek before I could no longer see her.

The shower water shuts off. My fifteen minutes of warmth finished. I’m hauled back the same way I came after toweling off and putting on a fresh uniform. Now for my first meal of the day.

They never give me much, just enough to put what they hope is the right dose of this and that chemical mixture to end me once and for all. This time it’s a muffin, banana nut. I hate banana nut muffins, but I have no choice but to consume it. Manuel would force it into my mouth if he had to like the first couple of days that I was here.

I lower my head to the plate to stiff it. I expected to be solely repulsed by the sweet banana smell but a wave of nausea washes over me instead. This other thing, I don’t actually smell, but its toxic makeup sends warning signals to my brain right away. I’ve never experienced this before, this sickness. When I look up at Manuel, his eyes burn into mine and he smiles, cruel and excited, breaking the streak.

Letting out a slow breath, I try to swallow but the tightness in my throat makes it nearly impossible. For the first time in 378 days, I am scared. I lift my hands from resting in my lap and they feel heavy, the muffin making them even heavier as I cup it in my hands. My breathing becomes more ragged as I close my eyes and lift the muffin to my mouth. My lips begin to tingle just from touching the muffin to my lips. I try once to open my mouth to take a bite and can’t bring myself to do it. My final bite. I know it will be. Opening my eyes, the white lights and everything it encompasses is blurry and shakes. I don’t know when I started crying. My mouth is finally able to open wide enough to sink my teeth into just one edge of the buttery pastry. The sweet and salty taste seizes my heart before I’m able to swallow and I gasp for air that isn’t there anymore.

This time they found my kryptonite. This time I die.

#writersmonth2020 #writer #new writers on tumblr #poison #prompt fill #writing prompt #the royal murderer #fiction #fantasy #my ocs #original writing #original content #original character #the duke #the duchess #lady in waiting

[sbslink]

I was inspired by @izasbjdphoto and wanted to post some of my group shots through the years as my collection has changed a lot.

Even though I started in the hobby in 2008 the first actual group shot I have is from 2010. The dolls in the picture are my first girl DZ Shoyo, I have since given her to my mother as I couldn’t get myself to sell her. My second doll was a MNF Shiwoo girl, which I sold eventually. The other two are DIM Ace (I since learned that boys are not for me) and Pukifee Zoe (which wasn’t the right size for me at the time) All of these dolls are not in my collection anymore

The second shot was from 2014 and still features a lot of the same dolls only Pukifee Zoe was sold and some others were added (DZ Moon, DZ Elsa and Luts Yul elf) This features Isis as the only one who is still around and therefore the doll I have owned the longest.

The next one is from 2016, lots has happened there in a short while as I learned that finding my own style wasn’t a bad thing and I didn’t have to cling to dolls because I once liked them. One of my characters went through a sculpt change and I sold some of the others. This first features Vlindrel my DZ Scorpio and also MNF Juri13 and tan MNF Mio.

The last one is from 2018 and has my current collection besides Rinne who came in after I took that one. Vlindrel (DZ Scorpio), Isis the Rose mage (DZ Moon), Fio (Daydream Grace) and Briala Izetta (Fairyland Realfee Pano)

The other characters that are gone are Ymara (DZ Shoyo and MNF Juri13), Xandria (MNF Shiwoo), Quam (DIM Ace), Pyxel (Pukifee Zoe), Flora (DZ Elsa) and Moira (Luts Yul and tan MNF Mio) none of these are coming back although I might repurpose one of the names as a different character.

This is my journey of over 10 years in this wonderful doll hobby. All these dolls are legit!

#abjd #dolls #mydolls #groupshots

[izettareactions]

Finé and Izetta reacting to their first kiss, or first date?

[[Thank you for this ask anon! And I apologize for the utterly abysmal wait time. I hope you all like this! I’d love to help keep this fandom going.]]

The sun hadn’t quite risen yet. Fog, rather than people, filled the streets, a fact which hardly caught Finé by surprise–the early autumn wind seemed to effortlessly pass through her several layers and chill her right to the bone. The fact that she was walking probably helped, but…

“I’m fine,” Izetta said with a laugh. She turned back to look at Finé, who could feel heat rising to her cheeks–her attempt to check on Izetta unnoticed had clearly failed. She was leaning to the side, obviously trying to look around Izetta to make sure all of the blankets on her lap were intact, and that none had been caught in the spokes of the wheelchair.

“If you say so. I won’t hesitate to lend you my coat, though.” Izetta’s singsong giggle rang through the air once more. “I’m serious!” retorted Finé with false indignance, though she could hardly be angry with such a sweet sound in her ears.

The morning’s silence resumed; aside from the rare chirping bird, the only sound was Izetta’s wheelchair rolling across the cobblestones. Bianca and Adele were surely nearby as well, but the royal guards’ presence was easy to forget–their silence was a honed skill, after all, and there was no lack of hiding places.

The heart of Landsbruck boasted establishments of all sorts: tailors, inns, restaurants, concert halls, art galleries… Of course, at this hour, the shop windows functioned better as mirrors, what with their interiors dark and empty.

Elvira had made all sorts of suggestions before they’d set out this morning. What to wear, where to go, what to eat, who to see… but this time, Finé simply refused with a smile, recalling how her tutor’s involvement made Izetta uncomfortable before. She appreciated Elvira’s enthusiasm, of course, but Finé was sure that she could take care of their plans. This time, it wasn’t about Eylstadt, it wasn’t about Ortfiné Fredericka or the White Witch Reborn. Today was about Finé and Izetta, two girls in love.

“Tell me if you see anything you like,” Finé said softly.

“Now? I’m not sure if that's…”

“We might–we’ll be back soon enough.”

“Right!” Izetta responded, apparently ignoring the implications of the other girl’s mistake.

Finé breathed a small sigh of relief at Izetta’s cheerful tone. She wanted today to be perfect, or as close to perfect as was possible, and she cursed herself for nearly ruining everything before the day had even begun. They would be back. Together. She would make sure of it. They would be back, in broad daylight, enjoying themselves like any other couple in Eylstadt, with no more pressing worries than which shops to visit or what desserts to eat.

However convenient it might have been, Finé would not have Izetta hidden away for the rest of her life. The war had made their circumstances difficult–the world thought Izetta was dead, but… It would work, damn it–they would work. Finé would make sure of it. Izetta, of all people, deserved that much. She would do anything to keep Izetta safe, but nothing could convince Finé that keeping her love hidden was the only way.

“Finé? It’ll be alright.”

Izetta was looking back at Finé, her brow furrowed with concern. A part of her regretted making Izetta worry, but her gratitude far outweighed the guilt. It might have come across as empty reassurances from anyone else, but with those few words, Finé’s heart began to slow. She breathed deeply, crisp air filling her lungs, and felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she watched her breath turn to fog in the cold. Only around Izetta could she truly let her guard down, could she truly confess her fears, her insecurities… for all the time she spent years ago calling her “princess”, Izetta never seemed to care about whatever title Finé possessed at the time.

“Um, also, we sort of… passed Kirsch Baum…”

“What?!” Finé turned around, and sure enough, the bakery was a dozen paces behind them. But when she looked back at Izetta, her apology died on her lips. She was greeted with the most wonderful sight–a smile she knew well and loved dearly. A smile that she knew from experience was infectious. She couldn’t help but grin as she turned Izetta around, their laughter filling the desolate street.

—

It had been ages since she’d seen the gardens–and never had she been there during autumn. There weren’t quite so many flowers as usual, but the changing leaves were every bit as colorful. The trees along their path looked to be ablaze, every leaf a more vibrant hue than the last.

But no matter how beautiful the foliage, it hardly compared to her present company.

Izetta and Finé had stopped in a pavilion of sorts, illuminated by the ardent rays of the setting sun. No roof hid the sky from view, but intricate trellises had been arranged in a circle, forming a wall of flora broken only by the small gap from which they’d entered. At its center stood a small table with a single chair at the far end.

Izetta didn’t recognize the table. It wasn’t as if she’d memorized every piece of furniture in the palace–there was far too much–but she thought this particular piece might have been made with her in mind. It was a bit lower than one might expect, but its height allowed her to remain situated in her wheelchair, hence the single chair for Finé. Even that was a bit more stout than others she’d seen.

Once the pair settled in, Izetta found herself smiling.

“It’s a lovely view, isn’t it?” Finé asked with a smile of her own.

“Well…” Finé cocked her head to the side. Izetta felt heat rising to her cheeks. “I was just… thinking about how nice it is to see you like this. I usually have to look up.” Her smile grew wider, seemingly of its own accord. “I guess I was appreciating the view, after all.”

Finé’s short laugh was as contagious as ever. After a moment, though, her expression darkened. “Does it bother you? I had the table made to fit your chair, I never even… I hadn’t realized–”

“Whenever we’re together–whenever I have the chance to see you–I’m far too happy to be bothered by something like that.”

With that, Finé’s smile returned… but this sort of smile was usually reserved for others–heads of state, visiting dignitaries, even trusted advisors. An elegant curve of the lips, nothing more. Izetta knew that that wasn’t what happiness looked like on Finé. Her eyes didn’t sparkle, for one. Her nose didn’t wrinkle–even the tips of Finé’s ears had turned red once she realized that Izetta noticed, having mistaken Izetta’s delighted giggle for anything but adoration. The early days of their relationship had been full of moments like that–learning the little things about each other, since a war looming overhead had robbed them of such opportunities before. A war with consequences for which Finé still clearly blamed herself, even though Izetta had fought willingly.

“Fighting for Eylstadt gave me a purpose, you know.” Finé frowned and bowed her head, looking anywhere but at Izetta. “After Grandma died, I was always running, and then I was captured, and…” she took a deep breath, reaching across the table to take Finé’s hands into her own. Finally their gazes met once again. “A lot of bad things happened, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I was happier than I’d ever been since the day we met.”

This wasn’t the first time she’d said something like this, and so Finé’s response was little more than an echo–unchanging, hollow, quieter and less certain each time. “But you didn’t deserve to be hurt. You deserved better than this, and I…”

This time the echo was cut short by a long breath as Finé closed her eyes.

“And I will not burden you with this yet again." She let out a heavy sigh as she stood, and made her way around the table until she stood right before Izetta. "It may be selfish of me, but I'm just glad you're alive. I... I don't know what I would do without you. I think I'll always carry that guilt with me, but no price is too great if it means you'll be here." She knelt down, apparently caring not at all for the dirt underfoot that would surely soil her dress, and wrapped her arms softly around Izetta, resting her head against the other girl's chest.

Izetta wrapped her arms around Finé in turn, and she could not have said how long they stayed like that. It would have been paradise, she thought, to simply remain that way forever--holding Finé in her arms, breathing in the scent of her soft, golden hair, slowly stroking her back and merely existing with the one she loved most in this world. The use of her legs, she thought silently, was a small price to pay for this happiness that had once been completely unknown to her.

After a blissful stretch of time, they disentangled themselves with all the haste of a billowy cloud creeping its way across a midsummer sky. Finé looked up at her, still crouching, their faces a hair's breadth apart.

“Do you mind if I…” Finé trailed off, her words carried away by the cool autumn breeze.

It was a rare thing indeed to see the Archduchess of Eylstadt lose her nerve.

She moved backward and started to stand, but before she could pull away further, Izetta brought her hand up to Finé’s cheek, catching a few golden locks in the process. The world itself seemed to stop in that moment–purple eyes widened to meet Izetta’s, matching her own surprise. They’d shared a kiss once, on the eve of her battle with Sophie–a single happy night in the midst of war–but it seemed like eons ago. For all the happiness it had brought her at the time, the memory now brought with it pain as well. That kiss had been a farewell to the girl she loved so dearly. She had been so sure that she would never return…

Izetta brought her lips to Finé’s. They were soft, just like before, and warm, just like before, and sweeter than any pie in the world, just like before. But now there were no tears welling in her eyes; she did not ache with the strain of the Magic Stone. Now she felt light, and giddy, and with a start she realized that this was the closest thing to magic she’d ever felt since giving up her power.

When she finally leaned back, she opened her eyes to see Finé staring, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Finé caught her intentions even before she’d uttered a word.

“You’re braver than I am.” Though tears had begun to roll down her cheeks, Finé laughed. “I know you hate to make me cry–oh, Izetta,” she sighed, bringing a hand up to cup Izetta’s face, “don’t worry. Right now, I’m happier than I can ever remember,” she sniffed, wiping her tears with her other hand. “You’re here, and you’re safe, and–”

“And I love you,” Izetta blurted out, “Finé.”

“And I love you, Izetta.” Finé’s kiss was shorter, but just as heartfelt. She wrapped her arms around Izetta, the same way she had in another life, on a frigid mountaintop beneath the moon. This time, Izetta thought, she wasn’t sure Finé would ever let go–but this time, she’d never need to. “Always.”

#shuumatsu no izetta #izetta: the last witch #ortfiné fredericka von eylstadt #fizetta #finetta #izefine

[d-dumais-blog]

Keijo!!!!!!!! Review: I Like Big Butts & I Can Not Lie

Keijo is awesome! It’s insanely stupid and yet, somehow it succeeds at nearly everything it attempts. Keijo’s success is quite honestly an anomaly.  A quick glance at premise, studio, and staff would suggest this show should have been forgotten before it even finished airing, and yet somehow it stuck around and resonated with fans, particularly in the West, in a way that no one involved saw coming.  Its success in the West isn’t only a surprise to me, it appears to be a surprise to license holder Funimation that currently has NO merchandise available for purchase. No posters, no key chains, no announced bluray release.  So let’s talk about why it works and why I love it so damn much.

Let’s start with the basics; this show is not for everyone.  Keijo is a show about girls fighting each other in bathing suits using only their boobs and butts atop a variety of floats in an Olympic sized pool. Yes it is as dumb as it sounds. Yes there is an obscene amount of fan service focusing primarily on the girls’ butts.  I completely understand why some people might be turned off by its objectification of the women portrayed.  You might consider the show sexist, and you might consider me sexist for my enjoyment. A quick note on that, I’m a fan of all fan service both male and female.  I’m a straight male with a particular affinity for the female rear end, check the title of this review, but you bet I appreciate some well drawn men in various states of undress.  Anime has the opportunity to unrealistically portray human sexuality and I think artists are free to draw all manner of people however they’d like.  I hope this helps you to understand why I won’t be talking about the sexism debate that surrounded this show.

 Keijo’s fan service is excellent, and a show so focused on fan service would never succeed unless it was good, really good.  The show focuses on a few girls, but has a great ensemble cast full of all sorts of girls of varying shapes, sizes, age, and color.  Two points of clarification, there are very few different colored women, none of which are black, and that’s a bummer, and two while they vary in age all girls in the series are over eighteen years of age which we’ll discuss further down this post.  Back to the subject at hand, how to properly handle “tasteless fan service.” Keijo’s fan service is omnipresent, leaking into every scene.  This means it’s not a major shock when a butt fully envelopes the screen, it’s expected and not even that distracting.  This differs from a majority of shows that feel the need to randomly insert their characters in compromising positions so that the viewer gets a better look at their body.  It’s low hanging fruit but let’s compare this to Sword Art Online, it makes an easy comparison because pretty much everyone has seen it and most know its flaws.  SAO II episode one while introducing new female protagonist Xion pans up her body while she lays down in a sniper position.  The camera literally stops and does a quick zoom on her ass before finishing the shot.  It’s disgusting, it’s distracting, and it feels completely out of place in a show that intends to be about technology and coping with grief.  

The other most important thing about the fan service, aside from the age, is the fact that all of the girls are complicit in the fan service.  They might be shy, and a bit embarrassed, but they are never forced into a compromising situation against their will.  There seems to be this prevailing idea in anime that anime characters are cuter if they are pure, but we also need to see them without clothes on because of course we do.  This results in a number of horrible tropes that need to stop, the most prevalent, light novel guy walks in on light novel girl changing.  It’s almost always the establishing shot for their relationship over the series and I just hate it.  The other trope is somehow even worse, girls in fan service shows need to stop being raped! People generally consider Asuna’s rape scene in the second arc of Sword Art to be the beginning of the decline which is absurd considering Silica was sexually assaulted by a plant in the first twelve episodes and no one seemed to care.  It’s so gross and so often over looked.  There’s nothing wrong with a girl being okay showing her body, and if an anime character is going to be undressed, I hope that character is willfully undressed. This goes a long way to help make your characters actual characters and not simply objects.  I think the girls are surely still being objectified, but there’s a difference between looking at a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and looking at leaked celebrity nude photos.  The context matters and Keijo gets the context right.  Our secondary protagonist Miyata even admits that she started Keijo because she wanted a cute swimsuit made custom for her and I think that’s something all of the viewers would also like!

 This show did far better in the west than in Japan, and that’s largely thanks to the way it was adapted. Xebec isn’t exactly known for its great adaptations; in fact I’d argue they generally suck.  Their best known for To Love Ru and Shaman King; two shows that don’t do a lot to improve upon their source material.  Most recently they were responsible for the horribly bad Clockwork Planet.  Apparently that’s actually a pretty good light novel, which should be no surprise considering it’s written by Kamiya Yuu, the celebrated author of No Game No Life. I can’t speak to the actual quality of the Clockwork Planet books because the first episode of the show turned me off of anything that has to do with it.  Point being adaptation is not a strength of Xebec, hell Xebec doesn’t honestly have a ton of strengths aside from their willingness to get smuttier than other studios if that’s your thing.  

This is entirely different in Keijo, the adaptation is immaculate, and makes it far more appealing to a western audience.  For starters, the anime skips the entire first arc where our two female leads are still in high school and under the age of 18.  The girls first appear in their bathing suits in the anime after entering the Keijo training school.  In the manga there are multiple battles that take place before this while the girls are learning Keijo for the first time at the stadium event shown at the start of the first episode.  This arc is also gross for western fans for a number of reasons on top of age.  For some reason at this point in the manga guys are allowed to compete in these non official Keijo matches.  Guys of course only compete for the opportunity to rub up against girls in swimwear.  Girls who, I’ll reiterate again because it’s important, at this point are underage.  There’s also a ton of guys in this manga, which is weird considering there’s really only one in the anime and he’s less of a creep more of a sports fan.  The men in the Keijo manga come to watch and gamble on Keijo and are depicted as perverse onlookers.  Nozomi’s teacher is one such male who has a gambling addiction and comments on his underage student’s physique more than once. The anime made the right decision removing him from the series.  This first arc also has an extremely uncomfortable and short lived love interest in the form of Nozomi’s brother.  They might actually be cousins, the translation I read wasn’t exactly clear on that, but still something western audiences always frown upon.  His feelings are never reciprocated by our star Nozomi, but the whole situation is uncomfortable, especially since he’s eager to jump in and battle her in her first mock Keijo match.  There’s also more preliminary try outs the anime totally skips and that’s to the show’s benefit because again the girls are underage, and it cuts out a plethora of characters that don’t matter at all.  The adaptation also does a great job with its references, choosing series that are particularly popular in western fandom. Attack on Titan and Fate/Stay Night are popular around the world, but really struck a chord in the states and Keijo very obviously references these shows multiple times to great effect. Other references to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, One Piece, and Dragon Ball are all also greatly appreciated and largely absent from the manga.  

Keijo performed very well in weekly viewership numbers, both legally and illegally, but was quickly written off by most.  Everyone who watched it seemed to enjoy it, but wrote it off as “just another fan service show” and that’s unfair.  It stands out among its peers, and should be celebrated as such.  It was ranked the fifth most popular show according to Myanimelist, beating out shows with more popular appeal in pedigree like Occultic;Nine, Izetta the Last Witch, and season 2 of Ajin.  It also beat out several truly spectacular shows in Sound Euphonium season 2, Flip Flappers, and the fifth season of Natsume’s Book of Friends. This wouldn’t have happened if it was “just another fan service show.” If you’re still in need of proof that season had just another an service show, it was Brave Witches, a fairly tasteless follow up to a reasonably successful show about young flying military girls who don’t wear pants for some unknown reason.  People talk about Keijo as if it’s like Brave Witches, and no one talks about Brave Witches because no one cares.  It might be easy to right it off if you don’t watch a lot of fan service shows, but let me tell you Keijo is special.  I’ve lived in Trash Mountain for some time and am an expert in awful anime fan service, please don’t compare Keijo to that garbage; it’s far too good for that. Keijo is excellent! End of statement, no caveats no excuses, it’s really great.  The show is easily the best thing director Takahashi Hideya has ever helmed. It’s arguably the best series Xebec has ever produced solo, inarguably the best this decade.  I love Keijo, and I hope someday fans look back on it with the respect it earned.  

 8.5/10

#keijo #keijo!!!!!!!! #anime #fan service

[hanasaku-shijin]

Ours

A/N: Finally, I've had the time to edit and post the final chapter! It was a long time coming, but I would say it's worth the wait. Thank you for your patience and support!

Previously: || The Things She Gives You || Come What May || The Light At Her Side || Half Her Strength || A Place Of Refuge || From Dawn To Dusk || Whatever It Takes || The Greatest Magic || Your Name And Hers || When Morning Comes ||

Read on FFnet!

|| Patreon || Commission info ||

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

Ours

Even though Finé had told you the details of her plan in advance, it had still been incredible, exciting, and a little nerve-wracking to live through it all as it came true at the time.

Palace guards had gathered your belongings in addition to extra previsions and necessities, and carried them to the cabin in the night to avoid detection or suspicion of any kind. They'd cleaned and refurbished the place in preparation for your eventual arrival, ensuring every inch of the place was intact and functioning properly.

Finé had warned them that if there was so much as a draft, she would be disappointed.

By the time Lotte, Finé, and yourself had ventured out into the forests and made your way to the cabin, the place had been absolutely immaculate. Every light, every pipe, every piece of it in general worked perfectly.

You can still remember that day very clearly.

How you'd first gazed upon the little place from the outside, and taken in the arrangement of things inside for the very first time.

How you'd thought you might never get used to living here, no matter how hard you tried.

Never knowing you'd soon know this place better than the back of your own hand.

You'd be able to make your way around, even without Lotte's help most of the time.

You'd be able to do so many things you'd never expected you could still do without the use of your legs.

You'd soon learn how to help prepare meals, how to clean the place up, how to play with Dorotheé.

You'd learn there was so much you could do here, so much more than you'd ever imagined there could be.

But you'd known none of this at the time, on that very first night.

The three of you had made dinner that night, despite how Lotte had insisted Finé not trouble herself. But she'd eagerly helped out anyway, declaring she wanted a hand in preparing your first meal here.

She'd stayed with you for supper that first night, to ensure the atmosphere was comfortable and familiar. But in the end, she'd needed to go.

Saying goodbye to her that first time had been difficult, and even until this day has never gotten easier.

You can still remember exactly how she'd done it, how she'd knelt down before you, cupped your cheek, gazed into your eyes, and promised to return as soon as possible. She'd sealed that promise with a kiss and a gentle embrace, one you'd held onto for far longer than necessary, but she hadn't seemed to mind.

And then she'd left you.

You'd had no idea how many more times you'd have to watch her go after that.

But you still vividly remember each and every one.

It's been three years since then.

Three years, twelve seasons - every time you think about it a little differently.

So much has happened over those three years.

As Finé had planned, Lotte had started taking you into town, under a disguise of course. A large sunhat, veil, or scarf would cover your notable red hair, depending on the season. Lotte would always be sure to change her clothes and hair style to remain unrecognizable as well.

Just as Finé had planned, you'd both been in the marketplace on the day the most exciting news had started going around.

You can still remember how people had started gasping and talking so quickly about the fact that their White Witch Izetta had finally awoken from her coma, how she deeply and greatly appreciated and enjoyed the gifts they'd left for her.

But also too, how she'd made her declaration that she needed to go somewhere far beyond human reach.

Being in the middle of it all, you'd been scared of how the people would react.

Some were angry and upset with the witch, going so far as to accuse you of abandoning them. But they were few and far between.

Overwhelming numbers more seemed to accept your decision.

They'd talked about how magic was too powerful, too destructive, too threatening in the wrong hands. They'd been endlessly thankful for your assistance to them during the war, but felt it best to agree with your decision to leave.

You can still remember the relief you'd felt living in the moment Finé had described to you.

The photograph you'd taken together with her to prove you'd truly woken up had been printed on the front page of every newspaper. And seeing it had made your heart sing much more than ache.

Because even though the words on the page had proclaimed you'd said your bitter farewell to her, you'd seen her again for supper that night.

And many more to come.

Just as she'd promised, she came by to see you every possible chance she got.

Sometimes, she'd run breathlessly through the forests, only to see you for no longer than a minute, before hurrying back. Those were always nice little surprises.

But your favorite times she's visited are, and have always been, the times she's stayed extensively.

When her work was all finished, she'd stay for the afternoon, rain or shine.

You always found something to do together, whether it was tending to the gardens in the summertime, going for a stroll around the lake during the spring and fall, or simply cozying up by the fire inside during the winter.

When the colder months in particular rolled around, she always went out of her way to get you to the palace more nights than the cabin. You'd enjoyed many feasts there with her and the others, just as you always had. The warm, amiable atmosphere and the scents and tastes of delicious food never failed to delight you.

But by far, your favorite part was always retreating to bed with her, curling up at her side beneath the layers of blankets, and falling asleep to the sound of her heart.

Despite the amount of time that has passed since that first day, you firmly believe there have been more nights that you've been together with Finé than not.

She'd often come spend the night with you in the cabin. Even though the bed was a bit smaller, it was still palace-quality, and very comfortable. You'd even deemed it acceptable for a princess to sleep on.

Having her there beside you on the first night she'd stayed had been almost surreal - having her still be such an intimate part of this life that had been so foreign to you at the time.

You'd never wanted her to stop being a part of it.

And she hadn't.

Not ever for longer than she could help.

There had been times when she'd had to go away, or even travel overseas for business and politics. Those weeks without her had been the longest of your life.

Though she'd always promise to return, you'd always cling to her for longer than necessary, and savor the feeling of her last kiss for as many days as it took until she came back to replace it with a fresh one.

Even when she was away, the press told you what she was doing, and it was always something incredible. You were always happy to support her from where you were, but your favorite part of her travels was always when she came back home.

She'd made it a habit from the start to spend those nights with you in particular.

If she arrived back in Eylstadt at night, she'd go to you before anywhere else, and climb into bed alongside you, sometimes without so much as a word. If you didn't wake up at the time of her entrance to hug her and welcome her back, then you'd be pleasantly surprised in the morning when you found her beside you, even though you'd fallen asleep alone.

If she returned during the day time, she was always certain to spend the rest of the afternoon with you, and wouldn't leave until the next morning.

Within the first few months, you'd gotten into the routine of this new way of life.

And it truly had been just like she'd promised.

For the most part, you believed you saw her just about as often as you always had, and in some cases, you saw her even more.

You can still remember every time you've been with her.

Sometimes, she'd just sit inside with you and talk.

Sometimes, she'd come outside to look at the garden you'd been growing, or help you tend to it.

Sometimes, she'd bring you around the lake, so you both might admire the sparkling blue water, and on warmer days, dip your feet in.

Sometimes, she'd wake up with you in the middle of the night and open the windows so you may look at the stars together.

You loved all of those moments.

Each and every one of them was a precious treasure, and a piece of your life.

But there was – and even to this day, remains to be – a fear at the very bottom of your heart.

The fear that one day, she might get tired of all this, consider it a hassle.

The fear that one day, she might have the chance to see you, and she'll just decide against it.

But that fear has never come true. Not once.

If you didn't see her running here yourself, you'd hear it from the palace workers the next time you went there. They always talked about how Finé would get all of her work done and then hurry off to see you, though of course she never let the quality of her work suffer.

And you'd also heard about the times when she'd been planning to see you, but ultimately, she'd needed to get something else done. Evidently, when that happened, she'd resolve herself to her work and get it done properly, but once it was finished, she'd always go to bed hiding a pout.

And whenever she did finally see you again, there was always an extra excited sparkle in her eyes.

All of that, and so much more, helped to dash your fears that she might one day get tired of all this – of you.

You'd always hated this feeling, because you know you're only doubting her feelings for you, and you know she'd never doubt yours.

But you just can't help it.

It is an innate fear. It is a human fear.

But every day, for three whole years, she's relentlessly cut away at that fear a little more, bit by bit.

Every day she's come by, every afternoon snack she's shared with you, every night you've lain together, has helped chip away at that fear.

With each passing time you've seen her, it's dwindled away more and more.

She never once grew tired of you.

There had been a few times when she'd come to you, the very picture of exhaustion, and you timidly asked her if it was because of you.

And you can still remember how she'd gasp, more from horror than from offense, and adamantly deny it had anything to do with you. She'd ramble on about why she looked as tired as she did, and there was always a valid, work-related issue behind it.

She'd kiss you a few extra times those nights, hold you a little more tightly. She'd do absolutely anything it took in order for you to feel better.

Those were some of the nights when you'd cry together.

With the war long-since over, those emotional nights had been fewer, but when they did arise, they'd been just as poignant as ever.

She'd still break down sometimes, and you'd still get nightmares.

Those nights had always been difficult, and there had been a few times when you'd both had to spend them alone.

But for the most part, you'd been together, and you'd both always felt better by morning.

There had also been far more peaceful, kinder nights to enjoy.

Every once in a while, her more spontaneous side would surface, and she'd ask if you'd like to go for a midnight walk with her. You'd never once refused her.

She'd help you into your wheelchair and into any other clothes if necessary.

On the cool springtime nights, you'd both put on a shawl. On the warm summer nights, you'd stay only in your nightgowns and bare feet. On the chillier autumn nights, you'd put on coats and scarves. And on the coldest winter nights, you'd bundle up in everything you had.

But no matter the season, no matter the night, whenever you'd gone out together like that, the destination had always been the same.

The lake always glowed, even if there was no moonlight to shine down upon it. Some nights it reflected the sea of shimmering stars above. Others, it was dark and mysterious, wispy like the clouds.

She'd take you around it, however far you'd want to go.

Sometimes, you'd stop and stare for a while.

Sometimes, she'd crouch beside you, and kiss you for only the water below and stars above to see.

On those warmer nights, you'd sometimes asked her to help you out of your chair, so you may sit in the grass beside her.

Four times, you still remember, you'd both fallen asleep there, and had caused Lotte great panic in the morning.

Finé truly had spent every moment possible with you over those three years.

Sometimes, she'd go to town in disguise with you and Lotte, which was always an adventure. You'd eaten pie together many times with no one else being any the wiser.

Sometimes, she'd help you garden the vegetables in the plot beside the cabin.

Sometimes, she'd wheel you around the forests and the palace property on extended, peaceful walks.

She'd take you through grassy spring meadows, alongside colorful autumn lakes, and inside dusty winter barns.

In the summertime, she'd dance with you. Though she tended to do most of it herself, she'd always give your chair a little turn or tug, and before long, you'd always feel like you were up there, pressed close against her.

She'd started every shared morning and ended every shared evening with a hug and a kiss.

Every troubling farewell, every heartfelt reunion, and even every normal day in between had been the same way. There was never a time when you'd see one another that didn't involve a hug and a kiss, and on most occasions, many more than just one.

You'd always been sure to remind her of your love.

And she'd always been sure to show you hers.

You'd always feared that one or both of you might get tired of this way of living.

But on the contrary, it's always been surprising you both, delighting and enticing you, making you eager for more. You've always gone to bed wondering what kind of surprises tomorrow may bring.

Twelve seasons have passed by in this manner.

She's surprised you many times, and on occasion, you've surprised her.

But it is now, after three long years - when you believe she's already done all she possibly can to surprise you - when she proves you wrong yet again.

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It is the fourth springtime since you've come to take residency in the cabin.

Just yesterday, Lotte had taken you to see the doctor once again, as was routine.

It has taken this long, but your legs are finally beginning to get some semblance of feeling back.

The prediction is that it may take several more years of treatment before you're able to walk again. Or the contrary that things could regress, and you might be restrained to the chair for life. You've come to realize you're perfectly fine with either outcome.

You've gotten used to life this way. There is nothing that hinders or saddens you about being unable to walk. The people around you make sure to tell you every day how useful and wonderful you are, no matter what.

So, while the idea of possibly being able to stand and walk and dance again entices you, you don't anticipate such a future being set in stone. And that's all right.

This morning, you've just finished a pleasant breakfast with Lotte. The warm taste of biscuits and tea is still in your mouth, while your stomach is comfortably full. But there's still a bit of a knot to it, the kind that's always there whenever Finé is away.

She's been on one of her longer trips, five days now, and there's still been no word of her return.

By now, you've lost count of how many times you've gone through this, but it truly never seems to get any easier. You're still just as worried about her as the first time she'd left.

There's always a blanket of anxiety covering you while she's out of the country, despite the fact that she's always promised to come back to you, and has never once broken that promise.

She'd told you the same thing before she'd left last week, and she'd kissed you, same as ever.

She'd told you she didn't anticipate this trip taking longer than five days.

So naturally, now was when you started to worry.

Needing to distract yourself, you call out to Lotte in the kitchen, informing her you're going to bring yourself around the lake. When you hear the chirp of confirmation, you set off.

Lotte has grown quite a bit over the years, and she's gotten very strong, as well. She's now strong enough to lift you in and out of your chair with ease. But she also respects you greatly, and knows the degree to which you can take care of yourself.

She won't confine you to the house or forbid you from going out alone. She trusts you'll call if you need her, and you've sworn that you will.

You wheel yourself down the wooden ramp and into the flat level of short-cut grass. Dorotheé has been napping in the shade beneath the porch until now, but upon your arrival she stirs. The little old dog has lasted longer than anyone's ever anticipated, and there's still a lively spark in her eyes to this day. She waddles over, giving herself a shake, and you invitingly pat your lap.

"Good girl. Come here."

She pauses, bunches herself up, and jumps. She can only make it as far up as your knees, but you're ready. You grab her with perfect timing, then carefully pull her up the rest of the way. She whimpers happily, licks your hand, then curls up over the shawl in your lap.

As you continue on your way, you make sure to pause in your wheeling every once in a while to pet her.

Over time, you've come around the lake so often that a bit of a path has been beaten into the earth. Wheel marks of a thousand previous journeys are etched into the soil here, and even now, the wheelchair falls perfectly into them.

The water is calm and quiet today, only rippling slightly when a breeze passes through the forest. It calms your nerves a bit, makes you forget your worries for a while.

You can see little fish with their shimmering silver bellies darting about beneath the surface. Frogs croak a few times, then jump in. Turtles sunbathe on little rocks and logs.

You feel you can identify every creature that lives in or around this pond, considering how often you come here to watch it.

You stay out here for a while, until you decide it's about time for Lotte to begin worrying.

With a sigh, you turn away from the lake, and the worries start bubbling back up. Slowly, you make your way back to the cabin on the far shore.

You decide not to trouble Lotte with gardening today. You both did quite a lot yesterday, and today she seems focused on cleaning every little inch of the place.

So you settle in the kitchen with Dorotheé at your feet, and pass the time knitting. It's something Lotte introduced to you a few years back, something you'd gotten the hang of rather quickly. You've knitted scarves and hats for Finé, gifting them to her in the winter months, particularly when she'd need to travel. It's just one of the few little things you can do in return for all she's done for you.

You concentrate on the green materials in your hands for a while. Lotte has turned on the little radio as she always does on days you don't have company or plans to go out. The music helps you relax a little more, and when a song you know comes on, you hum along.

Dorotheé naps, Lotte cleans, and you knit, until noontime has long-since passed.

Presently, Lotte comes into the kitchen, satisfied with her cleaning job, and washes her hands in the sink.

"I'll start making lunch now. Is there anything in particular you'd like today, Izetta-san?"

You don't tear your eyes away from the work in your lap, but you hum a reply.

"Mm, not really. Please make whatever you'd like, Lotte."

"Yes, ma'am!"

As she gets to work, silence ensues once again, save for the music. You try to focus on the words, because sometimes listening to music allows your mind to transport to another world. Sometimes it lets you forget...

A bit of motion catches your eye just then. Dorotheé stirs from her nap, lifting her head as her ears perk up tall. She looks straight to the door and gives a rumbly little bark.

A gasp slips out of your mouth before you can stop it.

With the way Dorotheé is acting, you know it only means one thing. She never does this when Bianca or the doctor are coming to visit.

In a fluster, you put your craft aside on the kitchen table and hastily call out.

"Lotte! Please..."

The girl turns around, and it takes her a second, but she soon realizes what's happening.

"Oh! Yes, of course!"

She quickly removes her cooking mittens and hurries over to you, wheeling you across the house to the open front door. Just as she's bringing you onto the porch, you look out into the green forest to see whatever you can.

A young woman is approaching with a suitcase in-hand. She's wearing a flowing white dress, one that resembles one of her nightgowns – you know them all by heart – rather than something she wears for travel.

Her face is shielded by a large white sunhat, but even from this distance, you can make out her smile. Her long, luscious, golden hair carries out on the breeze behind her as she makes her way along the path her own two feet have engraved into the earth here.

The knot in your stomach untangles instantly, and instead you are flooded with a wonderful sense of relief and joy.

It is always upsetting to watch her go, but no feeling is better than the excitement of seeing her return.

When she realizes she's been detected, she knows there's no use in walking any longer. If she can't surprise you as planned by walking, then she might as well run.

So she does, all the way down the rest of the path until she reaches the edge of the house. She drops her suitcase there and hurries up the inclined ramp-

-and straight to you.

She falls to her knees, her dress and hair fluttering up all around her as she wraps you in her arms and pulls you close. You return the hug instantly as your heart starts to soar in time with hers.

"Surprise!" she whispers. "Though I guess you both found me out first."

"Welcome back, Finé!"

You nuzzle into her hair, sighing her name in the utmost relief as a few tears make their way down. She leans in closer to you, stroking through your hair with affection.

"I'm home, Izetta."

There's no greater feeling than this, than having her back in your arms at long last, and to be safe and warm in hers.

The fact that she's brought a suitcase along with her this time tells you she intends to stay with you for a few nights, so that gives you all the more reason to be exuberant.

You hold her for a long moment, savoring the way her heart thumps quickly against your chest. In all the years you've known her, there's so much that's never changed...

At last, when you're both ready, you ease back. She kisses your lips sweetly, briefly, then stands to greet Lotte.

"How did you know I was coming? I was trying to be quieter this time!"

"Dorotheé told us," Lotte smiled. "She's still as sharp as ever!"

"Oh, that little sentry of yours. Let me see her."

From there, Lotte goes to fetch the suitcase while Finé apologizes for dropping it in her haste. The three of you then make your way back inside, where Dorotheé is waiting eagerly for her mistress. Finé kneels down and scoops her up, coddling her to no end.

Lotte returns to the food and begins setting it at the table.

"You're just in time for lunch, Princess! Please join us!"

"I would love to. In fact, if it's not too much trouble, I think I'd like to stay over for a night or two. Would that be all right?"

"Hmmm..." Lotte taps her foot and puts on a contemplative expression. "Gee, I don't know. What do you think, Izetta-san? Should we let her stay?"

You can't help but laugh.

"I think we can allow it."

You and Lotte share a brief giggle, while Finé pouts a bit.

"Now it's you two who are teasing me."

You apologize light-heartedly and invite her to her seat at the table. Unfortunately, you'd forgotten about the new green scarf you'd left there, and she finds it.

"Oh, is this your newest one?" she inquires, picking it up. "It's so soft!"

"Yes. I found some new material in one of the shops in town. I thought you might like this one better."

"I love it! Well, you know I love everything you've made for me-"

"I know." You smile, stopping her before she can get too flustered. "I'm glad to make them for you, Finé."

She reflects the smile, then bends down to wrap her arm around your shoulders in a partial embrace.

From there, the three of you enjoy lunch together as she tells you about her travels.

It's taken this long, but it sounds as though everything is finally beginning to quiet down. All of the arrangements with foreign policies and treaties have finally been passed and come into effect. She's flown out to see all the people she's needed to see, she's said all she's needed to say, and done all she's needed to do.

"In fact," she says after a sip from her water glass. "This meeting was the last one. Starting from today onwards, I can finally settle down here in Eylstadt and lead properly."

You're so shocked by her revelation that you have to cough into your napkin a little bit.

You can't possibly recall just how long it is you've been waiting to hear those words.

As you compose yourself, you turn wide, incredulous ruby eyes upon her proud lilac ones.

"Finé... does... does that mean...?"

She smiles, but even that simple action causes her tears to drip down.

"Yes, Izetta. It means... I'm finally through with all of this traveling. I don't have to leave Eylstadt anymore. At least, not quite as frequently." She reaches out to you under the table, finding your hands.

You're already sniffling before you know it.

"S-So, that means..." Swallowing thickly, you try to blink the tears back, but they only drip forward. "Y-You... don't have to leave anymore...?"

And she nods.

"That's right. Maybe every few months or so, but not like I have been for these past few years. I won't have to go every week, or even every month. People aren't going to visit the palace as often, either. Which is why..." Here, she turns her face, looking to Lotte as well. "I'd like to finally... finally invite the two of you back to the palace. Permanently."

Lotte's reaction is to gasp, both hands flying up to her lips.

"R-Really, Princess? Is it finally time?"

"Yes." She dips her head. "I believe so, as do my associates. It will be safe for you both to come back. There won't be so much activity anymore. With the treaty I signed yesterday, it ensures none of the other countries' ambassadors will need to come to see me for a while now. I'm confident you two can permanently come back to the palace whenever you're ready."

Lotte is overjoyed, that much is clear.

But you can't even bring yourself to smile.

You're just... in shock.

Again, you'd never thought you would hear those words. You'd always just thought you'd be staying here for the rest of your life, seeing her every few days or every few weeks, sleeping beside her every other night if you were lucky.

Finé is happy about Lotte's reaction, but when she looks back to you, she is troubled.

"Izetta? Are you all right?" She moves her chair close to yours, keeping a firm hold on your hands as she settles beside you. "I'm sorry. I know this must be a lot to take in. I was so excited to tell you, I just did it right away without really thinking. Perhaps I should've waited-"

"N-No..." You shake your head vigorously, dislodging tears across the table in the process. So many emotions are swirling in your chest, you can't even name them all. "F-Finé... I... I..."

Slowly, you lift your tearful eyes once more to meet hers. Your voice wavers, and becomes almost inaudibly soft. "Do you... really mean it...? May I... come back with you...?"

This time, it is she who is rendered temporarily speechless. Her jaw drops a little before she manages to close it and find her words again.

"Izetta... of course I mean it. Of course..." She pulls you into her arms once again, letting you hug her shoulders as tightly as you dare. "Izetta. I'd promised you from the beginning that I wouldn't make you stay here forever, didn't I?

"I know three years has... been a long time. I'm sorry I've had to make you wait this long. But things were just so hectic for so many months. I didn't think you'd be safe at the palace until everything was finished..."

She cradles your head against her shoulder, her palms pressing to your back and the nape of your neck to keep you close. "And now it is. It's all over, Izetta. I'm sorry it's taken so long."

It takes you until now to realize she's apologizing for something she has no reason to apologize for.

She's right. She had told you years ago that she wouldn't let you stay here forever. You've always known that.

It's just that over the years, you've gotten used to this style of life, and you'd begun to think it might always be this way.

You were truly foolish to think she'd forget about her promise. Everything she's done up until now has been for your sake. To keep you safe.

You can imagine this must've been eating away at her for just as long as it's been troubling you.

She'd never wanted to send you away here. She'd had to.

And now, she doesn't have to bring you back to the palace. She wants to.

Your voice tumbles out in whimpers of her name as you squeeze her fervently.

"Finé... F-Finé..."

She brings you as close to her as possible, until you're more or less sitting in her lap.

The two of you have been like this before, years earlier, atop a broomstick, only now your positions are reversed.

"Oh, Izetta..." she breathes against your neck. "I'm so sorry it's taken this long... long enough for you to forget what I'd promised you... long enough for you to believe I wouldn't keep it..."

"N-No..." you sniffle again. "I-I'm sorry for... for forgetting... I should never have forgotten your promise to me. I should never have doubted you... Can you forgive me?"

"Izetta..." You feel a kiss at the shell of your ear, then one on your temple. "There is nothing to forgive. You've done nothing wrong."

"Then... neither have you."

As you both ease back enough, you can see her eyes again. You watch the guilt fade from her gaze just as easily as you can feel it leaving your own. Her trembling lips somehow make their way back up into a smile, as do yours.

"Izetta...?" she whispers. "Will you... will you come back with me...?"

And you've never nodded more quickly before in your life.

"Yes!" you cry. "Y-Yes, Finé! I-I want to come back with you!"

Joyfully, she pulls you back into her arms.

"Thank you... Yes, please come back with me."

"I will," you promise her. "I will."

Lotte has excused herself from the room by now, allowing you and Finé to have privacy. Once you've both found breath and composure enough to stop crying, your lips find hers for a long, much-needed welcome-home kiss.

And it's wonderful to know you won't have to kiss her goodbye quite so often anymore.

After a moment, the two of you finally part. She rests her forehead against yours as you both catch your breath, each reaching up to wipe the other's tears. She cups the side of your face with one hand, and you lean lovingly into her palm. She kisses your nose softly.

"Izetta? Before you and Lotte come back to the palace, would it be all right if I spent a few nights here with you first?"

"O-Of course! You don't need to ask! You'll always be welcome here, Finé!"

"Thank you." She dips her head. "I just wanted to be sure. Even though you'll be able to come back with me, it might take a few days to get everything arranged. I'm having people clean things up a bit and make some preparations. But I didn't think you'd mind your last few nights here if I was with you."

"Absolutely," you sigh. "So that means last night was the last one I'd have to spend alone here... That's kind of nice to know now."

"Right." She kisses the bridge of you nose. "You won't be alone anymore, Izetta. I promise."

It sounds like a bit of a strange promise. After all, she's said she'd still need to travel in the future, just not quite so often. But you know she means she won't ever truly be gone, even when she isn't here beside you.

But thankfully, she will be beside you much, much more frequently from now on.

It is now you realize these will be the last few days and nights you spend in this house. Suddenly, it feels like there is so much to do. Three years' worth of living here has resulted in a lot of accomplishment on your part, and Lotte's too.

Finé must sense your tension, because she clears it away with gentle words and even gentler lips.

"We don't have to rush things," she assures you. "We'll take our time, Izetta. If you find you'd like to stay a bit longer, then stay. I'll stay with you. I'll be with you wherever you decided to go, so long as you'll have me."

"F-Finé..." You wail softly. "Y-You don't need to say the last part. I'll always want to have you beside me. You know that."

You hear her chuckle, and that too, is a little strange. It sounds like she's been waiting for your confirmation on such a thing.

"You're right. I know that. Still, thank you, Izetta."

You remain there in her arms, with her in yours, until you feel you're about to fall asleep.

By now, it's early evening. The warm sunlight is slanting through the trees, dyeing the walls and furniture in soft gold. Finé murmurs for you to brace yourself, and you cling to her shoulders as she stands and lifts you up. She carries you to the bedroom, one where you've spent so many nights alone, but just as many with her over the past three years.

And now, you'll be spending one of the last with her.

She retrieves a change of clothes from her suitcase. She helps you change into your nightgown first, then slips into her own. Somehow you've managed to wear a matching set, those lavender pieces you've adorned many times together before.

Lotte comes by then to take your laundry. Finé thanks her, and pulls her into and embrace as well, thanking her for all she's done over the years.

"I really can't thank you enough, Lotte," she murmurs. "There's no one else who could've taken such good care of Izetta and stayed by her side. You've done so much for us both with so little in return."

You watch from your spot on the bed as Lotte's face scrunches up and she begins to cry.

"P-Princess... you don't need to thank me... These past three years have been some of the best of my life! I love Izetta-san, and I love you! I'll always be so thankful to serve you."

Finé doesn't let her go just yet.

"You're such a good friend, Lotte. To all of us. Bianca's told me you've helped her stay calm many times over the years when I was gone without her. Thank you so much for all you've done." She gives her another squeeze, then lets her go. "But from now on, I plan to be the one taking care of Izetta more often than not. Would you be all right with that?"

Her declaration surprises you just as much as it does Lotte. But the girl soon wipes her eyes, and presents her princess with a grand smile.

"Of course, Princess. It's been an honor being with Izetta-san all this time. But I know everything will be much more wonderful this way. You two deserve to finally be together as much as you're able to be."

Finé thanks her again. Lotte enters the room only briefly, just so she may come and pull you into a hug as well. You feel it's only right to thank her as well.

"Lotte... you've done so much for me, and for Finé... for everyone. I can't ever thank you enough. Really... Thank you for everything."

"Izetta-san..." She giggles and sniffles at the same time. "It's been my pleasure. An honor, really. It might be difficult for me not to come see you every day and help the princess out anyways!"

"I don't think any of us would mind that!"

"She's right," Finé agrees. "Of course, you're still more than welcome to help show me the ropes. I just meant that I'd be her primary caretaker when I can from now on. But if anything comes up, you'll be the first person I call for."

"Right!" Lotte pulls back, wishes you both goodnight, and respectfully takes her leave from the bedroom.

You can tell Finé is as relieved as you are. She'd never wanted to upset Lotte by relieving her, or make her think she wasn't needed any longer. It will certainly be nice to have Finé by your side from now on, but it's also nice to know you won't really be saying goodbye to Lotte either.

Once she's left you both, Finé closes the door and makes her way back to you. She flicks off the bedside lamp, allowing the silver moonlight to take precedence in lighting up the room.

You watch as she makes her way over to her side of the mattress, the pulls the covers down. She helps support you as you slide underneath, then joins you.

Even before she's laid down, you've already got your arms around her, bringing her the rest of the way down onto the mattress as you rest your weight against her. She chuckles and clings to your back, pulling the real blankets up over you as she uses you as her own. Your fingers find their way to her loose, silken hair, as you remember just how perfectly your bodies fit together.

Over the years, you've been sculpted to the curves and contours of one another's bodies, regardless of whatever position you find yourselves in. Of course, there have been nights when you've explored certain intimate activities with her on occasion, but you've found that this is by far your favorite.

Just lying with her, feeling her warmth, listening to her breathe.

She's running her fingers through your hair as well, rubbing her palms up and down your spine, over your ribs, keeping every inch of you warm and safe.

So much is different.

And yet, none of this has ever changed.

Her pulse beats with a welcome familiarity against your collar as you begin trailing light little kisses along her hair line. In return, she kisses your cheeks and temples.

Your hand finds its way to the hidden scar on her side, as it often does. She mirrors the motion, and finds the old wound on the same place on your body. You still fully believe her touch helps to heal it, just a little more each time. Which is also why you're so determined to lay your hand over hers.

That night, you share your love for one another without telling of it out loud. It's a quiet, wordless display, but one each of you can read, even with your eyes closed.

Eventually, you slip off to one side of her and turn onto your side to face her, curling into her embrace. She lulls you to sleep with the soft pull of her fingers through your hair, and the steady beat of her heart beneath your ear.

It's one of the last nights you'll be here.

But far from the last night you'll be together.

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

When morning comes, it brings with it a day of warmth, brightness, and promise.

You wake better-rested than you can ever recall being. There is an air of excitement about you, wafting off of you in powerful, eager waves.

You admire Finé as she sleeps for a while longer, knowing she must be exhausted from her final trip yesterday. After all, you've got more than enough to do to content yourself, even when she sleeps.

Sitting yourself up, you being to pet through her hair, smoothing it out as gently as possible, without so much as tugging on a single strand. You listen to her breathing, which still hasn't changed. She's still taking in less than she gives, and seems more than happy to do so.

A few moments pass, as you trace the outline of her body with your eyes and your fingertips. Although three long years have passed, she really hasn't changed much at all, be it physically, mentally, or otherwise.

Eventually, you decide to carefully lift her torso, bringing her head to rest on your lap rather than the pillow. You busy yourself with combing through her hair even more, moving her bangs out of her face so you may admire her expression while she sleeps.

You can't help but lean down and kiss her cheeks, her temples, her forehead. Gradually, you make your way to her lips.

After all, there is only one proper way to wake a princess.

She lets out a small murmur, one you can detect traces of your name in. As you pull away, she opens her eyes, and there's already a smile on her lips.

"Izetta..."

"Good morning, Finé."

She lifts up her arms to loosely loop her hands around the back of your head, bringing you down for another lopsided kiss.

At last, you part, and begin to sit up and stretch yourselves out. The room is bathed in milky morning light, and a warm breeze slips in through the window that's ajar.

Finé helps you into your wheelchair, then diligently makes the bed.

You've yet to mentioned to her how your legs seem to be getting their feeling back just a little more each day. You plan to keep that a secret, so that one day, if they are ever function-able again, you might surprise her.

She helps you get to the bathroom, where Lotte has already left clean clothes. Finé slips back into the same white sundress from yesterday, though now it smells fresh and like lavender. She slips you into a blouse, shawl, and skirt, then brushes your hair for you as you clean your face and teeth.

After she's done the same, you express how badly you'd like to brush her hair for her as well, and she happily agrees. She kneels down in front of you, with her back facing you, and you set to work on one of your favorite tasks of tending to her.

A short while later, just as you finish with her hair, Lotte gives a call for breakfast.

During the meal, as the three of you sit around the table with Doroteé at your ankles, you discuss the plans for today. Bianca and a few others from the palace will be coming down soon, and Lotte plans to help them begin packing and carrying things.

By the sound of it, you'll be back inside the palace by tonight.

It's a little bittersweet to think how last night was the final one you'd get to spend with Finé here. But you're already looking forward to falling asleep beside her again tonight, in her room.

After breakfast, Finé declares there's a bit of time left before everything starts happening, therefore she opts to take you outside for one last walk. She puts on her sunhat and gets behind your chair to start pushing, taking you outside into the bright, colorful day. As you head down to the lake, you start to babble with how excited you are, and can't stop yourself from gabbing.

"I really can't believe it. Tonight, I'll be back to sleeping in your room again with you."

"Are you excited?"

"Yes! Absolutely! I can't wait!"

"Me neither. Though, there is one last thing I'd... like to do before we leave here."

You can't quite put your finger on it, but there's something hesitant in her voice now, something uncertain.

"What is it?" you wonder, tilting your head back.

But she looks to the side instead, out at the blue surface of the lake.

"It's... well..."

You can tell right away now that she's troubled. This is the kind of voice she uses when she's got too much on her mind and in her heart to handle all at once.

So you decide to alleviate the burden as much as you can. Reaching up and back, your hand manages to find hers on the handle bar.

"Finé. Come with me."

Surprised, she looks down at you again, and you return her gaze with a warm smile.

"There's something I still want to show you."

From there, you give her directions on where to push your chair. You guide her gradually away from the lake, and into the little forests. There's a bit of a path here as well, one only Lotte has ever pushed you along before. You encourage Finé to keep going, until you can see the change of lighting up ahead.

"There," you tell her. "There's a little clearing."

She nods and continues taking you there.

Your heart starts to pound in anticipation. You clutch your hands together in your lap and squeeze them to stop from fidgeting.

Finally, she brings you into a place that's so very familiar to you, one you know she's never seen before.

The trees give way to a small clearing, just as you've indicated. The sunlight that's choppy and dappled elsewhere in the forest floods down unobstructed here. It glows golden in the air and against the trunks, highlighting little particles of dust that rise up like long-lost magics.

The leaves are vibrant and green here, but it's what's on the ground that is most dazzling.

Flowers.

Hundreds of them.

All different kinds and different colors.

They decorate every inch where the sunlight touches, with their petals open fully, reaching out toward the blue sky above.

You feel yourself come to an abrupt halt, and hear a small, bewildered gasp come from behind you.

You wait in silence and anticipation as she takes it all in, admiring every colored petal, every breath of scented air, every speck of light.

Slowly, she pushes you forward once again, step by step, until you're amongst the flowers. By the sounds of it, she's still in absolute wonder, gazing up at the trees and sky above, then down at the lively buds below.

It takes her a long while to find her voice, which is one of many indications of how much she's enjoying this.

"Izetta... did you... make this...?"

"Yes. Every time Lotte and I went to the market, we'd buy seeds. We'd found this spot on one of our very first walks together, and decided it was perfect for a garden. She helped me with the organization and things like that, but for the most part, I wanted to make this place myself."

"Izetta... it's absolutely wonderful. It's beautiful..." Again, she tapers off in favor of admiring the place. "How... did you keep it alive for so long?"

Here, you shrug a little.

"I couldn't always. I've watched it die a few times in the winter. It was always sad... but then in the spring, many of the flowers came back on their own! It was really incredible and empowering to see. So every year I'd replant what couldn't come back on its own."

"Why did you continue replanting it for so many years?"

"Because... it was a present. For you, Finé."

She stops, and both of you find yourselves right in the center of the garden.

"For... for me?" she blurts out.

"Yes. I never knew when would be a good time to show it to you. I wanted to make sure it was in full bloom at the time. Over the years, there were a few times when I wanted to bring you here, but it just never felt right. So I kept replanting the flowers as many times as I needed to. Until now."

By this point, she's moved a few steps away, and you can see her clearly. "I'm glad I waited. Today was definitely the right day to show you. I... hope you like it, Finé."

"Like it? Izetta... I love it!"

She gives a twirl, and her white sundress and hat flutter from the motion. The petals sway at her ankles as a breeze pushes through them, causing them to dance.

Seeing her bathed in a swathe of sunlight like this, dressed in white that's now highlighted with gold, you can't help but think she looks like a nymph, a fairy. Which could be appropriate, since you yourself were once a witch.

You watch as she opens her arms wide and spins around, her merry laughter filling the air of this secret place. She never steps on a single flower, only on the grass in between them. Your heart lifts higher and higher by the second as you watch her, and tears rise up to your eyes.

Finally, after all this time, all this work, you've shown it to her.

You'd wanted to give her a gift unlike any she'd ever received before, one she'd never expect, and it's clear now that you've done just that.

She enjoys herself for a time, admiring every flower, leaning down to touch a few of them and smell others. The air here is pleasant to just about every sense; wonderful scents, sights, colors, and birdsong.

You're just happy to watch her. Now that she's been the leader of her country for so long, it's wonderful to see her throw her inhibitions to the wind for a moment, and once again be drawn into that fleeting childlike innocence that is so hard to relive these days. No matter how many years of your life you may have lost due to using so much magic in the past, you're certain that seeing her like this adds twice as many back.

At last, she makes her way back to you. There's a new brightness in her eyes, along with something else. Any trace of hesitance or uncertainty, like those you'd heard in her voice earlier, are now nowhere to be found.

"Thank you, Izetta. This is the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me. But..." She smiles, and looks down to hide her expression. "I wonder if... if you could give me... just one more thing. The last I'll ever ask from you."

Your heart freezes for a second, and your back goes tense.

"O-Of course, Finé! W-Whatever it is, please name it! I-I'll do my best!"

"I know you will," she chuckles. "I know you will."

She makes her way closer, one more step, until she's standing right in front of you. You crane your neck up to watch her, curious, attentive, patient.

A bit of the hesitance comes back for a moment as she struggles to find the strength to look up into your eyes. But she pulls through eventually, draws in a deep, steady breath, and resolves herself.

"Izetta... we've been through so much together. More than anyone else in the world, quite possibly. From the very first day I met you, I was drawn to you. And it wasn't just because of your magics.

Yes, I've always loved that you were a witch, that you were so special and gifted. But there was so much more that I loved about you, too. You were always so kind, so hardworking, so righteous. I was never prouder than the times when you stood beside me, and fought for my country. I put you through so much..."

Here, you can see her eyes glaze over a bit, and her lips begin to tremble. Wordlessly, you wheel yourself forward and inch, then lean close to reach for her hand. She perks up at your touch, wipes her eyes, then continues.

"We've been through a lot together. So much heartbreak, so many hardships. Some might say we've been through more than our fair share of those things. You've been hurt, and you've made so many sacrifices. You've given me so much already. I almost feel greedy for... asking one more thing of you. But I assure you it will be the last. Because you've already given me everything else, Izetta."

"Finé..."

Your chest is suddenly tight, and you're finding it difficult to breathe. You don't know what she's talking about, but it sounds so... final. It scares you.

She must realize as much, because her eyes soften in contrast to the steadying grip she puts on your hand.

"But for all those hardships we've endured together over the years, there have been so many more wonderful times. I'll never forget how you woke on that plane, and saved me. That first time we met, and our hands touched after so many years...

"I'll never forget all of the times you fought and won for me. The times we danced together, the times we laughed... Even the normal days were wonderful when I spent them with you. We'd sneak out in disguise to visit the town, eat pie together, talk to the citizens as though we were normal village girls. Those days are just as precious to me as the victories we've shared, and the promises we've made.

"I'll never forget... that first and last time you took me for a flight, those wonderful, magical nights... I'll never forget coming here to see you all these years, and you coming to see me. I'll never forget... just how much you love me, Izetta. And I... I want to make sure you never forget how much I love you."

"I... I already know that... Finé..." you whimper. You can feel the tears struggling to force their way out, but you fight them back. You want to see her clearly, and hear her request. "S-So what is it... that I can still do for you? Please... anything..."

She squeezes your hand again and threads your fingers together.

"Only if you think you can. I'll be asking a lot of you, Izetta. More than ever before..."

With that, she guides your hand back into your lap and releases it.

You're quite literally on the edge of your seat by now, desperately fighting to keep the tears at bay so you might hear out her final request.

She reaches up and removes the white sunhat, revealing her angelic face. You hadn't noticed until now, but there are already tears streaming down her cheeks, glinting in the light.

Before you can speak so much as another word, in a flutter of white fabric, she drops down to one knee.

Time all but stops.

Suddenly, you're aware of every beat of your heart, hard and powerful, and you know hers must be doing the same. You watch as she puts the hat aside and slips her hand into her dress pocket.

Your mind and your heart feel empty and full at the same time.

You want to tell her to stand up, that she'll dirty her pretty dress like this. A princess should never have to touch the ground; that's something you've always believed in.

But right now... she doesn't seem to mind at all.

"Izetta..."

Your name always has meaning on her lips.

"Eylstadt's former White Witch..."

You draw in a tight breath-

"And forever savior..."

-and let it out.

"My very best and closest friend..."

Your eyes follow her hand.

"And the love of my life..."

She pulls out a small, velvety box, and opens it.

"Would you... do me the utmost honor..."

Something sparkles more brightly than the surface of the lake, and almost as beautifully as her eyes.

"Of granting my final request to you..."

She presents the ring to you, unmistakable.

"And become my wife?"

Time stops along with your heart.

You can't remember how to speak.

You can't remember how to move.

All you can remember is how to cry.

You crumple before her, hiding your face in your hands, sobbing harder than you ever have before. But it's never been for a better reason.

It's... indescribable. This feeling. This overwhelming feeling of love.

All those years of waiting, hoping, wishing...

All those sacrifices, all those victories...

All the pain and the sorrow.

You've both got the scars to show for them.

But then there's the comfort and the reassurance, the love and the warmth...

Everything – years' and years' worth of life itself – all comes together in a single moment.

Here.

And now.

She's waiting for you.

So you lift your face, more proudly than ever before. Tears are spilling in rivulets down your cheeks and neck, seeping into your lap. She's trembling just as much, though she's doing her utmost best not to cry or make a sound until she's heard your answer.

She waits.

And you know it must be agony for her, suspended in this moment.

It's rude to keep a princess waiting.

And she's waited long enough.

You both have.

Finally... you find your voice-

"Yes..."

-and give it to her.

"Yes..."

You grant her her final request-

"Yes... Finé!"

-and the rest of your life.

She doesn't have to wait a second longer. She lifts herself up onto her knees and throws her arms around you, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably into your shoulder.

"Izetta...!"

"Finé...!"

You've cried so much over the years. So much. You never thought you'd be able to cry this much ever again.

But the tears are unstoppable now. You've both got no choice other than to let them fall.

You cling to her, pulling her up as close as you possibly can, but even then, it doesn't feel close enough. Eventually, you push out of the wheelchair, and with her support, ease yourself down into the flowers.

Here, in the dirt, where a princess and her fiancée should never be.

Here is where you've never felt more like you belong.

She keeps you close - closer than anyone else has ever been, or ever will be.

And you know you'll never let anyone else take that place. It is yours, and you'll never relinquish it. Not for as long as you may live, or for any amount of time afterward.

This is your place. Your purpose.

To be at her side, now and forever.

To be her support, her confidence, her strength.

And to be her comfort, her haven, her shoulder to cry on.

You know she plans to be all of those things for you as well.

And there's no one else you'd rather have.

You lose track of time. It doesn't matter here. You simply sob in her arms, as she weeps in yours.

There is no time. Only air, sunlight, flowers...

Only her heartbeat against yours.

Only her arms around you.

Only joy, warmth, happiness...

And love.

You cry with her, until the soil is saturated enough to give life to new flowers, flowers born of the proof of your love.

Eventually, you both manage to loosen your hold on one another, until you can ease back enough to let ruby and lilac meet once again.

And just seeing each other's eyes, filled with such unbridled, unhindered affection, and a lifetime's worth of magic and love...

You can't help but break down all over again.

There's only one thing you can bring yourself to say. Your only prayer, your only miracle.

"Finé... Finé...!"

And she returns it with hers.

"Izetta..."

Once again, the sounds of your tearful mirth fill the air for a while. But it soon becomes clear there is more she longs to say, so you are sure to listen.

"We'll go back..." she whispers. "Not to my palace... but to ours. Tonight, we'll sleep beside each other... not in my bedroom... but in ours. Tomorrow... we'll tell the world you've returned, that we're to be wed in the summer... and that we plan to lead Eylstadt... not my country... but to ours. Together. For the rest of our lives..."

With each word she says, you give another nod of affirmation.

"Y-Yes! Finé... Finé! M-My Finé..."

She keeps her hold on you, firm and strong.

"Izetta... my White Witch... my best friend... my bride-to-be..."

You half-sob, half-squeak. Her saying it again makes it all the more real.

"Finé..." You sit back again, wanting to look into her eyes this time when you say it. "My... my..."

"Go ahead," she chuckles. "Please say it."

You choke back another sob, wipe more of the tears away, then try out the new word.

"My... wife..."

"Oh...!"

This time, it is she who breaks down first, just a second before you do. She pulls you in, laughing and crying into your neck.

"Oh, Izetta..."

Her heart beats fervently in time with yours, a lively, excited rhythm you'll never forget, or have to live without.

This moment paints itself into your heart, into your very soul.

All these years...

All of these emotions...

The fear, the confusion, the anxiety...

The surprise, the humility, the tranquility...

The merriment, the elation, the love...

She's given you so many things.

Only when her shaking hands manage to find yours does she give you one last one.

She kisses the back of your left hand, then carefully slips the ring into place.

It fits almost as perfectly on your finger as you do in her arms.

You've got to bring your hands to your face again, to sob into your palms and attempt to wipe your tears. But when you next look to her, you find she's holding out her upturned palm, where a second, matching ring rests. With a gasp, you realize what you must do.

Your hand is shaking so much you miss taking it the first time, but she waits, patiently and expectantly. You manage to pick it up, handling it with great care, and then find her left hand as well.

You take in a deep breath, and steady your fingers as much as possible. Mirroring her actions, you slide the ring onto her finger.

This time, it is her turn to squeal.

You sob once again, and throw your arms around her, and she's ready to catch you.

Now, with this, she's given you everything. And you've given her just as much.

You've given each other your past, present, and future selves, and all that comes with them.

It feels like many chapters of your life have just come to an end.

But a brand new story has just begun.

There is so much more to come.

You can hardly wait.

But for now, you let this precious moment last for as long as it can. You'll treasure it, always, just as fondly as you'll treasure her.

The next time you pull apart, it's only for long enough to gaze lovingly into each other's eyes.

She is no longer just your princess. She is now your fiancée.

And one day, come summer, she will be your wife.

And you will be hers.

"Finé..."

"Izetta..."

Your names are spoken separately, but what comes next is in unison.

"I love you."

You seal it with a kiss, one that follows many, and precedes many more.

It is a fact you've always known, a vow you've always understood, and a promise you'll always keep.

It lights a fire in your hearts, one that's always been there, but now shines more brightly than ever.

It reminds you that summer is on its way, but you'll never forget the spring, nor any other season you've spent with her.

There are so many things to remember, and so many memories yet to make.

And you can't wait to spend every second with her, for the rest of your lives.

The final chapter ends.

But a new story begins.

It will continue on through many more seasons.

And it starts now.

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

[The End]

A/N: Ahh wow I can't believe it's finally over! When I first started watching Shuumatsu no Izetta, I only intended to write a few fics. I never thought it would become this! But it was so enjoyable to write and experience! I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I have!

Thank you for reading until the end!

#Shuumatsu no Izetta #Fine #Izetta #Finetta #my writing #aahhhh it is finally over ;;w;; #thank you so much to my few readers!!! #gosh i worked... really hard on this entire fic wowowow #i feel so accomplished~

[lia-nikiforov]

Fall 2016 Anime: Last impressions

What, me? Posting something that’s not Yuri on Ice? Did I wander to the wrong blog? Oh right, this isn’t supposed to be a Yuri on Ice blog to begin with, oops.

After a very shitty semester and my Mom’s and sister’s vacations messing up with my anime watching schedule (plus a shitty vicious cycle of not watching anime to work on thesis-not working on thesis because stressed from not watching anime), I finally finished catching up with Fall anime, barely on time before Winter begins (I know some winter shows have premiered already, but none that interest me. Rakugo’s on today though!!!!). So here’s a rundown of the best and worst of this most fruitful Fall season. If there’s a gif it means I forgot to take a screenshot of the last episode whoops.  (worst to best my dears, you know how this goes)

Dropped:

Shuumatsu no Izetta: I really tried. Even after the stupidity of episode 4 put me to sleep, I tried to give it a second shot, but episode 6 was literally everything that is wrong with modern anime and ugh, please release me from this hell. Of course having a strong female character was too progressive for a yuribait show, you just had to make her have insecurities about her normal-sized boobs (vs everyone’s ginormous) and dedicate 25 entire minutes to show that she’s actually a real girly girl that likes pie. Ugh. And I didn’t even mention how stupid the “Izetta’s secret might be revealed” plot element was. That was some garbage writing if I ever saw one. Most of what I’ve read after dropping it seems to indicate it was the best choice

3gatsu no Lion: I’m confused with this show. The production values make it very attractive to watch. There is a harsh and interesting story and character drama happening. Episode 5 was particularly great, and some of the storytelling devices are implemented brilliantly. But for some reason I can’t bring myself to care? I don’t know. The more I see the three sisters, the more the scenes with them bore me to death. I found the idea of watching episode 6 terribly not-compelling so I decided to put it in the back burner and wait out. Maybe I’m just incompatible with this mangaka (I really hate HachiKuro). People seem to be loving it, so maybe I’ll give it another shot at a later date.

Touken Ranbu Hanamaru: This was my biggest disappointment of the season because episode 2 was so good. It tickled all my rekijo bones in the best way. But then it just… nothing ever happened? Also the way all the sword boys gush about how much they love the (invisible but obviously audience-proxy) “Master” is way too transparent and took me out of whatever little interesting character dynamics might be going on. What could be an interesting theme –the swordboys having regrets about not protecting their past owners and being tempted to fix it- is wasted in a “it’s okay, I have a new master now!”. Even with my fujoshi goggles there was little of interest because the boys were so infatuated with the Master I couldn’t even enjoy any of it. Held out until episode 9 and just couldn’t be arsed for more. Maybe the more serious ufotable show will be better?

Nanbaka: I don’t know what went wrong with this mangaka that suddenly decided to turn a perfectly fine comedy into a Very Serious battle shonen thing? Especially mid-arc? The New Year tournament had revitalized the show, I was having a load of fun with it, but then it suddenly turned all dark and serious and nonsensical? The only thing tempting me to go back for the last three episodes is Hajime, he’s a champ. But yeah, the shift in tone was too drastic and kind of spoiled the show for me because I was loving it exactly as it was. It didn’t need the drama. Some people seem to be liking the new direction but ehhhh… idk. If I have time.

The worst:

17. DAYS: It was hard to choose which of these two was gonna be the poop prize winner, but in the end, given how much I struggled to even sit through the last couple of episodes, I guess DAYS takes it. Honestly seldom have I seen a show so infuriatingly ruined by “protagonist no jutsu” i.e. things just happen because a dude is the main character. Kimishita scored three completely bananas goals in that game (bless his heart I love him), but Tsukushi gets all the credit for earning the free kicks and second balls and shit and he’s the one credited as the “hero” of the game. It’s amazing that such an insufferable protagonist is part of a show with an otherwise endearing supporting cast. Now will my love for Mizuki and Kimishita be enough to pull me into watching season 2? Tune in some time next year to find out! (spoiler: most likely no unless it comes out on a boring season)

16.Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku: I called this show the winner of the “Showed its cards too early Award” since episode one, but boy I didn’t expect it to continue doing the exact same thing over and over through its entire run. At some point it became a very unsurprising formula of showing a character’s tragic backstory at the start of the episode to fabricate last minute sympathy to make up for lack of proper characterization, only to have the character in question murdered in increasingly distasteful ways. I always knew best girl Top Speed wasn’t long for this world, but the way they handled it was gratuitously vicious. Couple that with a barrage of villains, none of which were remotely compelling or had any interesting motivations, a poor man’s Kyubey, a protagonist that is even more infuriatingly passive than Madoka herself (at least in this aspect, MahoIku surpassed its intellectual mother), and a resolution that basically says this whole thing served no purpose whatsoever and you’re left with just a feeling that you could’ve done something better with your life. I never expected grandeur from this show, and in fact I guess it turned out to be about as bad as I could’ve expected it to be, but that doesn’t really erase how terribly dissatisfying the ending was. I guess that’s one weakness that Dark Magical Girl shows have yet to overcome. 

Normally a “the meh” section would be here, but I dropped all those shows for lack of entertainment and time, so we’re skipping straight to

The okay

(I liked these shows but none of them changed my life and I was severely tempted to drop them at least once)

15.Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: I have rather complicated feelings about this show. The writing has improved immensely since the second half of S1 and they’re doing a fascinating job at working the different shades of moral grey. Mika’s sick relationship with Orga continues to keep me on my toes. But with only 12 episodes left I’m still not entirely sure of where this is going, and most importantly, it stinks of tragedy and there seems to be a general lack of joy in both characters and story, so I always go to watch it with little enthusiasm and maybe a bit of anxiety.

14.Girlish Number:  This one turned out way better than I expected it to be, although perhaps for different reasons than most. Usually when I hatewatch something, it’s for the pleasant schadenfreude I get out of seeing something continue to fail miserably week after week (see Sailor Moon Crystal or Mayoiga). In that sense, I wasn’t hatewatching Girlish Number but boy was I getting schadenfreude about seeing the exploitative producer go on a downwards spiral and the shitty LN anime adaptation turning up a complete failure. But because this was the source of my enjoyment, the finale was, to say the least, dissatisfying. If the show had ended with Chitose getting a proper comeuppance and landing different jobs (in non-shitty-LN-anime) that forced her to climb her way back up instead of trying to have  sudden fabricated popularity, while Kuzu got his ass fired that would’ve been cool. But the “Oh I ended loving this production” ending was ehhhh. It felt the show ended going milquetoast on its criticism of the industry. Criticized the seiyuu idol units but still had the seiyuu sing the OP and ED criticized the cheap swimsuit fanservice but still had a swimsuit episode etc. I mean they went really damn hard on the industry, so it was weird and a little frustrating that they didn’t go the whole way, given how they’d already guaranteed to lose the buying audience anyway.

13.Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari: It’s hard to explain what went wrong with this one because, if you asked me, I’d say I really liked it overall. But the key problem is perhaps that I adored the first two episodes so deeply and then somewhere in the middle it kind of floundered and went in a different direction than what I expected –which isn’t inherently bad, mind you- but it’s weird that there’s so little actual udon in the show when they’re in the title. The finale was good in idea, but I feel it failed to make the emotional landing, and that they capped it off to be a sort of commercial for Kagawa prefecture was just… weird. So uh, it was a good show but definitely didn’t live up to the promise of the first few episodes.

12.Uta no Prince-sama Legend Star:  For me, this and Magikyun are basically tied, because, although I have more love for Utapri due to how long it’s been around and how I’ve grown so endeared to the characters, I can’t say Magikyun did anything worse or better. But anyway Utapri! Revolutions had me losing a little of my love for the franchise, but Legend Star was really great! The music improved drastically and we got some truly neat character arcs. The Otoya arc was surprisingly good. It’s sad to see they’ve fully committed to shitty CG dancing though ): But oh well, the Quartet Night song was great and there’s even more anime coming because Broccoli does like printing money after all. Almost forgot to mention it, but Haruka is hardly relevant this season and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but I’ll also say I didn’t particularly miss her.

11.Magic-Kyun Renaissance:  I’ll say this about Magikyun, it was less dumb than I expected given the title. I mean it was super dumb, but it could’ve been dumber. It was also a lot of fun, had neat visuals and surprisingly good songs? I feel it could’ve ended in episode 9 because it doesn’t feel like the new resolution in ep 13 actually added anything of note to the story or the characters, but it was okay. It’s harmless dumb entertainment and that’s what I wanted it to be. 

The good

10.Flip Flappers:  It’s always great to see passion projects like this, even if they don’t always stick the landing. In the gayest anime season, FliFla gave us a lesbian visual spectacle that was among the best animated experiences of the year. While narratively it blooped a little in the last third and became a weird Eva-ish nightmare, it sorta kinda worked out at the end, although definitely didn’t live up to its initial dreamy potential. And it was very lesbian, although I feel it was lowkey creepy lesbian since Papika is somehow an adult??? I think they explained some things too much and left others glaringly unexplained. Some weird things happened in that production that hindered its potential, but it’s still a fascinating series to look at, even if you don’t dig the character dynamics (which are adorable but in the end didn’t do much for me). Could’ve done with 100% less creepy robot though     

9.Classicaloid: I’d call Classicaloid the Bungo Stray Dogs (season 1) of the Fall because while it wasn’t what I wanted or expected, it managed to grow on me. I was on the edge of dropping it because the wacky one-note humor wasn’t working for me at all, but with the introduction of Schubert and the slow drip of answers to our questions of what is even happening in this show, it became notoriously more fun. Definitely the strongest moments of the show are when we get to see the Classicaloids having flash backs to their past lives (the episode about Beethoven and his loss of hearing was particularly brilliant) and while I still mostly have no idea of where this is going at all, they’ve definitely got me hooked wanting to know what Bach is even planning.

8.Drifters: This might have gone even higher up the ranks if not for all the homophobic and sexist jokes ugh. But I guess it’s a testament to how entertaining it is that I watched it all through and would still watch the upcoming second season (or maybe it’s a testament to what a good job it did in tickling my very specific rekijo bone). The characterization of Nobunaga in particular is absolutely brilliant, and the little nuances in the interactions between characters of different time periods are fantastic. Cool action sequences and interesting strategizing and politicking. But I reckon this isn’t something that’s gonna sway the non-history buffs. Also ew the sexist and homophobic jokes. The show has great comedy without that, please don’t be so gross Hirano.

7.ALL OUT!!: It had a bit of a slow start, but once it started picking up with the practice matches and developing the team, it’s just gotten exponentially better! Especially since the addition of the coach. DAYS could learn a thing or two about how it isn’t necessary to make the inexperienced main character the sudden “hero” of the team to make for a compelling sports story. That said I still do not understand about 75% of how rugby works at all, but the endearing cast and the passionate games make up for it. Also the horrible hair. Definitely looking forward to where these kids will go in the second half.

The excellent

6.Fune wo Amu: This is a case of me one-sidedly having expectations that a show can’t live up to and thus I don’t enjoy it as much as I could. Which is no fault of the show itself and it is in fact one of the best anime of the season (arguably the year). It does fail on the entertainment department, but compensates with beautiful craftsmanship and a wonderful portrayal of human feelings and relationships. While it wounded up being Very Heterosexual (and the main couple develops in a rather cold and questionable manner, but hey, the wife wasn’t forced to give up her dreams to become a housewife. A+ for progress! ) the portrayal of Majime’s camaraderie with Nishioka (and Nishioka’s very great relationship with his gf!) was really the heart of the show, and just for that it’s absolutely worth the watch.

5.Natsume Yuujinchou Go: I think it’s rather telling to the quality of the season overall that Natsume Yuujinchou somehow fell just slightly above the middle of the pack. I do feel this season of Natsume was weaker than the previous ones, but to be honest I can’t quite pinpoint why. Maybe it didn’t feel like we reached a new milestone in Natsume’s development or in learning about Reiko –in fact, it feels we learned conspicuously little about Reiko this season-, although the final episode and the Touko episode were notable highlights. With a sixth season already in the works, I have little else to say other than, even when it’s not in top form, this is still among the best one could ever hope to get from anime

4.Bungo Stray Dogs 2: Remember how season 1 was good but not what I wanted it to be? Well, season 2 wasn’t exactly what I’d originally hope BSD would be about but it sure as fuck was fantastic! Starting with the flashback episodes to Dazai’s time in the Port Mafia and the story of Oda Sakunosuke, to the introduction of the American writers and the follow-up with Kyouka and Atsushi’s arcs as well as Akutagawa (!!!!) it was a genuinely amazing season that completely justifies watching the first one even if you weren’t entirely convinced about it at first. My only gripe is the lack of Kunikida, but this season showed that Dazai is the lynchpin of this series and he fulfills that role to perfection. I loved loved loved this season and I hope we get more of this series.

3.Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable: While it floundered a little in the second cour (seriously I was happy Shigechi died, he was an awful character), it picked itself right back up in the third and the battle against Kira –who is an astonishingly amazing villain- was just week after week of blood-pumping excitement and fun. Not every episode was perfect, but the package as a whole is fantastic. At moments it felt more like Kishibe Rohan’s Bizarre Adventure, but even that was okay because every member of the cast was so great. You can see the passion David Production has for this franchise, and I’m hoping they’ll continue adapting it. While Joseph is still Best JoJo, I think part 4, with its incredibly strong cast and creative set up might be my favorite arc so far.

2.Haikyuu 3: vicky’s probably gonna hate me for this but If I’m honest, the Shiratorizawa match wasn’t my favorite in the manga. I love the development Tsukki got through it and I commend Furudate for how brilliantly he’s been working in making these characters grow in such satisfying ways. But Shiratorizawa, and Ushijima specially, is the epitome of OP rival and that’s something that’s never really worked for me. It felt like the Rakuzan game in Kurobas, there were moments in which it felt that it just never ended. And I was worried about how they were going to work it into ten episodes. I think it’s a testament to the anime team that they managed to make it not actually feel like 10 episodes, and that they’ve made this one of the most exciting matches to watch in all of Haikyuu. It was truly spectacular and I can’t wait for S4

THE BEST

1.Yuri!!! on ICE: Joke’s on you, this was a Yuri on Ice post all along!! Even if my conflicted feelings about the ending had been sourer and heavier, I would have no doubt that this is the best show of the season (and the year). It’s taken me a while, but after having chewed on my feelings for a couple of days (while fighting the denialists with all my might) I’m even more confident about it. I don’t even know what more praise I can rain on this beautiful, beautiful show that has literally saved me so many times during this really difficult trimester and I am ever so grateful to its creators for giving us such a beautiful gift in such dark times. Now please end our suffering and confirm a season 2, because just like Victor and Yuuri can’t live without each other (canon!) I can’t live without them anymore ;---;

What a strong season this was! A high note to end an otherwise shitty year! Thanks everyone for following this nonsense blog and I hope this new year brings us all more beautiful anime (and less menstrual cramps for me). Winter shows I’m watching premiere literally today so I’ll skip the “anticipation” rundown and go straight to my watchlist in a couple of weeks.  As always, I’ll be happy to hear which were your favorite and least favorite shows of the season, but I know y’all never answer to my questions ;----;

#fall anime #final impressions #season review #yuri on ice #haikyuu!! #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #bungo stray dogs #natsume yuujinchou #fune wo amu #all out!! #drifters #classicaloid #magic-kyun renaissance #uta no prince legend star #udon no kuni no kiniro kemari #girlish number #mahou shoujo ikusei keikaku #days anime #gundam iron blooded orphans #flip flappers #touken ranbu hanamaru #nanbaka #3 gatsu no lion #shuumatsu no izetta

[kissus]

Fine and Izetta ridiculous fantasy-inspired wedding dress text moodboard; none of these fit the time period but i adamantly don’t care, i want these:

the overall concept of these dresses, but in shades of white

i like the spring green one for Izetta as a regular ballgown too like damn it’d make her hair color pop

the second row especially is a good Fine aesthetic

climbing white roses and thorns, diamonds everywhere like drops of dew, absolute clouds of lace and ruffles

this particular dress ? still not over it even 2 years later

for a more historical-inspired look there’s this dress but in stark white+silver, for Fine

v neck for Fine and sweetheart bodice for Izetta

this designer’s dresses are so damn good holy shit but this is the set i was thinking of in particular

third down is the ruffles i’m talking about + want on both their dresses

also these ones! are so good! but in white ofc

first one is a Fine dress

fourth is Izetta’s, it’s perfect

the ballgown from Labyrinth but amped up to 500

the entire aesthetic of the Empress from Neverending Story, honestly,

i love these gloves

T I A R A S all the pretty diamond+emerald tiaras for Izetta, please and thanks

Fine commissions a tiara for Izetta as part of her wedding present

it’s not super elaborate bc Fine knows Izetta doesn’t really care about looks (also Eylstadt is broke after the war, so)

they absolutely exchange rings at the ceremony but also...they put the crown/tiara on each other’s heads, thanks

‘that’s not how a coronation works-’ frankly i don’t give a damn

FINE’S HAAAIR; she wears it loose/unstyled for the private ceremony...i’m crying real tears thinking abt this okay i think i need to stop

#kissus.txt #i know i said 'high fantasy' but i can't find the pics i'm thinking of #'rose these are just your personal preferences' n-no they're not...they're not #(they are i'm sorry)

[madamzelds]

Tagged by: @knowerofuselessfacts @sincerely-imagines (aka my angel and my tiny goober) Rules: I don’t follow rules, so none!

Relationship status: I am a smol single bean 
Favorite color: Burgundy/Purple
 Last song you listened to: The Birds pt. 1 by The Weeknd
Favorite tv show: Um rn it’s Izetta the Last Witch 
Books I’m currently reading: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur Tags! @elizabetholsne @spiderdrews @seancasidy or anyone else who wants to?

#tagged #hannah speaks

[cabeswxter]

thanks @artemxis for tagging me u bitch

im tagging @electraheartbreak, @okaypigaphint, @xrisapotter-blog, @wells-the-fangirl, @de-la-folie

rules: complete the survey and say who tagged you in the beginning. when you’re finished, tag people to do this survey. have fun and enjoy! 1: are you named after someone? yes, my mom’s best friend when she was pregnant with @artemxis, Anne. 2: when was the last time you cried? The 100 trailer. that shot of Bellamy got me lying down on the floor crying. you think im joking, im not. 3: do you like your handwriting? sometimes, depends on the day. 4: what is your favourite lunch meat? turkey i guess??? 5: do you have kids? yes i have two cats 6: if you were another person, would you be friends with you? i dont think so. I hate myself too much. 7: do you use sarcasm?

all the time man

8: do you still have your tonsils?

yep 

9: would you bungee jump? nope. im afraid of heights 10: what is your favourite kind of cereal? I HATE CEREAL SO FUCKING MUCH DONT GET ME STARTED ITS ALL MUSHY AND SHIT AND OVERLY SWEET 11: do you untie your shoes when you take them off? no thats a waste of time bitch 12: do you think you’re a strong person? im a gemini, so really depends on who u r and how my self-esteem is doin that day 13: what is your favourite ice cream flavour? sweet cream with a waffle cone  14: what is the first thing you notice about people? if i like their hair or not. is that weird? yes? im being honest here  16: what is the least favourite physical thing you like about yourself? my thighs and my acne. its starting to go away bc im getting older but its painful man 17: what colour pants and shoes are you wearing now? purple leggings and black socks 19: what are you listening to right now? my shitty sister @artemxis 20: if you were a crayon, what colour would you be? yellow.  21: favourite smell?   sea island cotton by bath and body works  22: who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?

my mom

23: favourite sport to watch? none? cheerleading? 24: hair color? red. 25: eye colour? blue. 26: do you wear contacts? nope cant get them in and out of my eyeballs. i like my glasses anyway 27: favourite food to eat? edamame 28: scary movies or comedy? comedy all da way bc shitty special effects just dont do it for me man 29: last movie you watched? ”kill your darlings” i didnt rly like it tho bc the story line relied on drugs and violence 30: what colour of shirt are you wearing? navy blue

31: summer or winter? winter bc i get to wear leggings everyday and not die from heat 32: hugs or kisses? never kissed anyone so hugs 33: what book are you currently reading? i just finished The Glass Managerie by Tennessee Williams. im still reading Crooked Kingdom bc school man 34: who do you miss right now? my dance camp friends  35: what is on your mouse pad? i dont have one 36: what is the last tv program you watched?

Izetta the Last Witch

37: what is the best sound? rain.  38: rolling stones or the beatles? beatles  39: what is the furthest you have ever traveled? england 40: do you have a special talent? being stupid 41: where were you born? california i dont live there any more tho... too hot

#taggity tags #about me

[akinari-kashihara]

1) Just wanted to a add another handful of examples to your list of lgbt representation, because I agree that putting YOI/victuuri on a pedestal is ridiculous, when there's been so many blatant examples of representation already. So, here we go: Haruka/Michiru and Hotaru/Chibi Usa from Sailor Moon, Utena/Anthy from Revolutionary Girl Utena, Chris/Akari from Battle Athletes, Melda/Akira from Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Ayaka/Yayoi from Stellvia of the Universe, Aeru/Neviril (and many others)

Ok before I include every part, I will state I originally kept wlw characters out of the post incase people went “OH BUT ITS NOT GAY MEN” but this is such a fantastic list im definitely happy to share all these.  I also kept manga out of it because the argument was anime but once again, absolutely fantastic list and I’ll say here to add to it.  Syal from Mother Keeper is a lesbian.

from Simoun, Shizuru/Natsuki from Mai-Hime, Kouya/Yamato from Loveless, Jura,Barnette (and others) from Vandread, Zakuro/Mint from Tokyo Mew Mew, Ymir/Historia from Shingeki no Kyojin, Shion/Yayoi from Psycho-Pass, Tokaku/Haru from Akuma no Riddle, Madoka/Homura and Kyouko/Sayaka from Puella Magi Madoka, Magica, Lynn/Jenny from Mouretsu Pirates, Keiko/Akemi from Inari Kon Kon Koi Iroha, Hibiki/Miku (and others) from Symphogear, Retoree/Cyan from Show by Rock!!, Ryuuko/Mako from Kill la Kill, Mari/Moe from Samurai Flamenco, Maki/Ruru from Kiznaiver and a few of very recent recent examples that aired alongside YOI or a season before: Izetta/Fine (from Shuumatsu no Izetta), Papika/Cocona from Flip Flappers, Shima/Kae from Watashi go Motete Dousunda, Winterprison/Sister Nana from Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku, Amu/Luna from Cardfight!! Vanguard, Chika/Riko (and others) from Love Live!, Pikari/Teko from Amanchu!, Kou/Rin from New Game!, Hime/Hotaru from Qualidea Code and Makina/Reina from Macross Delta and those are only the examples of the F/F representation from the top of my head; I'm sure I still forgot some. Now for the M/M representation, Shino/Yamagi from Gundam IBO, Lockon/Tieria from Gundam 00, Schneizel/Kanon from Code Geass, Cayenne/Shrade from Aquarion Evol, Soushi/Kazuki from Soukyuu no Fafner, Yuuri/Wolfram fom Kyou Kara Maou!, Jou/Sugane from Gatchaman Crowds, Kanda/Alma from D Gray-man, and probably lots of others that are not explicitly canon, but have tons of subtext (and I don't mean a sports anime level of subtext, but the actual subtext; I know well enough that none of the fanon couples in sports anime are actually meant to be read that way), like Shin/Bon from Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Sentarou/Kaoru from Sakamichi no Apollon, Nero/Avilio from 91 Days, just about anything from Trickster or Ranpo Kitan, etc. So yeah, sorry for spamming your inbox, but the YOI fandom really needs to chill. Victuuri is FAR from being the first.

Like holy fucking shit anon thats a good ass list look at them go.

#Anonymous

[thornheartcat]

Quarantine Anime Binge Reviews! Part 2

Aw yeah guess who is still spending her time binging anime instead of doing anything actually productive it’s me well anyway here we go

All of WIXOSS: This is one I’ve been kind of intrigued by for a while, because it’s a card game anime, but all the main characters and their cards are like, cute girls, which is not typical for the genre, and it’s written by Mari Okada, whomst we stan, so I figured it was worth a shot and it turns out to be sort of like what if Yu-Gi-Oh! was also Madoka, but also way better than that sounds. If that sounds even remotely interesting, I’d say it’s worth your time. For the record, the order is selector infected WIXOSS, selector spread WIXOSS, selector destructed WIXOSS (a movie that is just enough recap that people who watched the show will be kinda bored for those parts but not quite recap enough that you can watch it without having seen the show without being confused, but also with just enough new footage that I can’t recommend skipping it), (okay also there’s a manga, selector infected WIXOSS -peeping analyze- that goes into a side character’s whole deal and it won’t be relevant until later but I recommend reading it at this point), Lostorage incited WIXOSS, and Lostorage conflated WIXOSS, with another series scheduled for later this year, though if that’s still happening is obviously uncertain AND I’m extremely curious as to how exactly another season will even WORK because conflated ends p definitively and happily and pls Okada-sensei just let my children live ;_;

Youjo Senki/Young Girl’s War Chronicles/Saga of Tanya the Evil Movie: aw yeah that’s the good shit. Could also be titled “Tanya Learns the Hard Way that Russia’s Greatest Strategic Advantages are That It’s Cold AF and That They Have a Seemingly Limitless Supply of Cannon Fodder”. If you haven’t already watched Youjo Senki, I actually highly recommend it: an isekai about a sociopathic salaryman trapped in the body of an adorable little girl fighting for the not Germans in magic WW1 to spite the God that did this to her. It is a fantastic show and if that description was not enough to convince you then just know that one of the major new characters in this film is literally a girl named Mary Sue (first name Mary last name Sue) and yes she is named that on purpose, it’s the best. The movie is a great continuation and ends with what I hope is leading into a season 2 (or at least another movie) eventually.

Märchen Mädchen: Hoo boy this is one of the greatest anime tragedies of the last few years. So, like, six years ago or some shit, this guy came up with this idea for a LN called Märchen Mädchen, but unfortunately he didn’t get to write it because like four years ago he fucking died, but luckily he’d started this company and he’d left notes so people working for that company wrote some books of it based on his notes in his honor and shit, and it was planned to be kind of a multimedia thing, and get an anime and shit, but well... a lot of things happened... and the results are just depressing. It seems the failure of the anime may have led to the novels being cut short, which is a damn shame, because while none of the series is super great, none of it is super TERRIBLE either (save for the animation quality as documented in the post linked above). The characters are fine and likable enough, the story is a bit by the numbers but it’s executed well enough, and there’s a lot of interesting ideas under the surface and some good themes. This could’ve gone a different way, I can see an alternate universe where the anime is good and this shit gets like, a gacha game and shit, and more books, and we get to learn more about all these background characters who barely speak let alone do anything, and the world and how it works, and I wish I lived in that world. As is, watching the Blu-Ray version isn’t the biggest waste of your time or anything, but ultimately you’ll likely still end up sighing, left with the bitter taste of what could’ve been.

Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine/Royal Tutor Heine (and its movie): This one’s fun! A fairly light comedy about a short genius man who is constantly mistaken for a child despite being a fully grown adult trying to tutor four pure of heart dumb of ass princes of 19th-century Not-Austria: Prince This Is Just My Face, Prince All Books No Brains, Prince No Thoughts Head Empty, and Prince Horny Bastard Man. To tell if this is a series for you, please watch the live action version of the ending theme where the seiyuu all dress up like their characters and dance around, and if this appeals to you, watch the show. Also the long haired one is played by Shouta Aoi, whomst we stan, god bless.

Shuumatsu no Izetta/Izetta of the End/Izetta: The Last Witch/Izetta, Die Letzte Hexe: Very good, the world’s last witch vows to use her power to protect Lichtenstein Eylstadt from the Nazis Germanians in AU WW2 for her princess GF. This show adapts BUNBUN’s character designs to animation better than anything else I’ve seen and has a banger OP. If you’re a fan of say, Youjo Senki/Saga of Tanya the Evil and enjoy the tactical magical World War aspect, you’ll probably enjoy this, and if you’ve seen Symphogear you’ll spend it with Finé in the back of your mind at all times for reasons that will be very clear very quickly if you watch.

Well this post is long enough so see you next time y’all