Wah, I'm so sorry to review so late! The truth is that I actually had written a super huge and massive review a few days ago, and when I only had a few sentences left, the hotel computer LOGGED ME OUT. And I was so angry and bummed because I had put so much thought into talking about how awesome you are. ;o;

So now I have to try again! Not that that will be difficult or anything. -winks-

Welp, of course, your stories have this strange and wonderful knack of always making me go "Aww!" at the end. And this one was no exception. You're able to make cute and adorable things without them being cheesy or too sugary and cloying...it's just like really perfect! I love the last few sentences, omg. Eiri thinking of Shuichi that way was so awesome.

There were lots and lots and lots of things I loved about this, because there is just so much to love! Your writing prowess and excellence never cease to amaze me. Your writing is so calm and elegant and beautiful and you really know what you're talking about! (Something I definitely like in a fanfic author. ;D) Eiri asking Shuichi if he wanted the radio on really did it for me. And the "Kurosawa style fantasy" - that was awesome! Ohh, and I love the image of Shuichi in Eiri's oversized clothes - so cute!

Replying to your authors notes, which are always fascinating and lovely to read, I love the anime characters with the funky hair and eye colors! It's so much fun! I cosplayed Shuichi this summer, and went a little overboard with the pink eyeliner I used for my eyebrows and it wouldn't wash off...so I had pink eyebrows for a few days and everyone made fun of me. XD;

My favorite character is Eiri. I love all his deep psychological background stuff that you get to think about, I love how he's so rude and terrible to Shuichi but deep down he really, truly cares and he can be so sweet in his own way (And he really hates celery!). But really, I just love bad boys. Tied for second are Ryu and Hiro. I love Shuichi, but he reminds me too much of myself, so I get a little bit annoyed by him. Isn't that weird?

And thank you for all the British slang lessons! A few days ago, I was doing my hair and I mentioned something to my sister about my fringe...and she was like "What?" And I was like "OMG! I spoke British! Moon-san would be so proud" And she was all confused. XD

And I definitely think that more people should be calling you way too cool. But until they do, I will be the one to tell you that! You're cooler than most industrial freezers! And thank you for your exceptional piece of writing. GOOD WORK!

I love this fic! Your Eiri is written so wonderfully, his thinking patterns and the way he responds to Shuichi. You are such an excellent writer, it's an extra joy how well everything flows. Thank you for this fic. :D

Good grief, I'm beginning to hate this site's login requirements! Seems to get crazier every time I log in. Gr...

I don't usually quote from a story because I hate to undermine the proper contextual reading, but you have one of my all time favorite descriptions of our pinkhaired darling:

"giving it a peculiar beauty in place of its more usual amiable cuteness"

That's so ... perfect. I LOVE the use of the word "peculiar." So Yuki. Poetic, but backhanded compliment.

Very sweet finish to a good short story. The sudden, rather desperate embrace is both well setup and surprising. A nice trick!

I love Shu in this piece. Small as his part is, it's hinting at the growth that takes place in him as a result of this incident, not so much the rape as the Kyoto segment. He's been swept up in Tatsuha's plan and now, he's stuck in a place that doesn't want him, having caused a near fatal collapse of the patron of his lover's family...now what does he do?

Now, I'm going back to read and enjoy it as a whole.

purple and turquoise eyes: contacts! Seeing the size of print in most Japanese books, I'm sure everyone needs to wear glasses of some sort to magnify the print! :D:D:D Might as well make them colored. :D:D:D

I actually like to think of Shu's eyes as just a really interesting brown/purple, which I think you could actually achieve genetically/physiologically with creative distribution of pigment within the eye. I've never been in a position to do a really close up and personal examination of Asian eyes, but I think it would be interesting to see how much variation is possible in the "brownness." Genetically-speaking, the islands are quite fascinating.

I'd also be interested whether a culture that has so few words differentiating colors would nonetheless discern very subtle differences in brown eye color quite clearly, as ways of noting uniqueness.

What I love is watching film of modern Tokyo and how many kids are running around the streets with, you got it, PINK and Green HAIR! :D:D:D

Thanks for a delightful read!

god what a coward! lol loved your fic!

Hah! The truth behind the story. Love this scene. I totally agree about the implied depth behind all the characters in the story, and Tats, as the youngest child in this seriously screwed up family, is decidedly one of the more interesting secondary characters. I'm hoping, someday, he'll talk to me enough for a Tats/Eiri story. I'm loving this. The "take Shu home"/"Sorry, bro, nothing doing" is a GREAT GREAT GREAT moment.

Also agree with your assessment of the English vs Japanese Eiri. Love 'em both...for different reasons...but that bored disassociation in the English dub is one of the major factors that got my attention from the moment he stepped on stage. Wasn't sure about the whole story until that moment, then, I knew we had something special.

Same is true of the English dub of Hisoka in Descendants of Darkness. What some call bad acting, I call hauntingly perfect...for much the same reasons. I think, sometimes, the actors are just tapping into a different interpretation of the character than their Japanese counterpart...much the same as we fanfic writers tap into different aspects of the characters and come up with such diverse stories.

Let's hear it for variety! :D

Hah! Your mistake there is in thinking any American teenager planning to be a rock star would say "You're a total jerk." Try "You're an asshole." :D The whole process of translating, one language to another, is dicey, and when you add to it the constraints of the censors, and the all-important sponsers' perception of the target audience, it's a wonder we get anything close to the original dialog.

As for fanfiction...heck, we're all using our own notion of "street language," just as the translators for the anime did. I think having Shu call Eiri a "total git" would be hysterical. Heck...have him pick it up from an English fan and go for it. :D:D:D Love to see Eiri's reaction.

As for the comparative range within the actors, Japanese to English...just a thought, but I believe cultural differences again come into play. I believe that the so-called "range" of the Japanese voice actors (particularly Shu) would verge, in comparison to RL Japanese dialog, on overacting-at least to the Western ear. Western drama has tended to reproduce RL rhythms and tones, while the entire history of Eastern theater tends toward a far more stylized form. Add to that the tonal aspects of Japanese, and you've got a much different concept of "vocal range" PARTICULARLY to the Western ear.

We hear the range, but we (as non-Japanese speakers) don't have the cultural context to make an honest assessment. We just hear the differences and go "wow! that's a big difference. He must really be good." One must be cautious not to assess a value judgement based on exotic input.

The whole "chibi" thing is a cultural extreme designed visually to denote childish behavior in an adult in a way which has no direct Western counterpart. In Western animation, a character is either "real" or "cartoon." The whole metamorphosis thing doesn't interface well with established English drama/acting.

Thus, the English actors are caught between the proverbial rock and a hardplace, given the task of taking an Eastern artform and translating it into something that will speak to the widest possible Western audience. I think to call the voice actors less dedicated or talented than their Japanese counterparts is to do them a gross injustice.

This is a very truncated version of what's running through my head right now, but basically I think there's a lot more to the question than "talent" and "dedication." I think you yourself made the best argument elsewhere for listening to the anime at least part of the time in the English translation, i.e. that if you're going to truly write a character, you've got to "hear" them in your head and if all you've done is listened to them in a language you don't think in (being able to make it out isn't enough...you've got to THINK in it)that's very difficult to accomplish.

Anyway...just a few thoughts to add to the pile!

Oh...liked the chapter...even if it feels a bit, er, truncated. (I seem to like that word today.) I'll wait and see where next chappie leads...

I personally think that your rendition of Tatsuha was very interesting and cute. Can't wait for the last chapter and Yuki & Shu's confrontation!XD

Sorry not have reviewed before now...busy, busy, busy. I love your story! I like to hear (read) other people's oppinions of the manga/anime. So far I have laughed and sniffled all in the same chapters. Can't wait for the next and sadly the last segment. Thanx!

I have NO idea what you just said, but nevertheless, I'm all happy and squealy. XD You are way too cool.

Okay, chapter three...so short! Not that it matters at all. The sheer power of your words still continues to knock me off my feet. You're really amazing I tell you! I'm seething with jealousy! I also adore your author's note there, what with the imaginary British Shuichi and "missing scene land", man, I was laughing so hard. XD

Chapter four. Tatsuha. Tatsuha Tatsuha Tatsuha. Is a very fun word to type. Ahem. I love him, but he seems like such a complete mystery to me as well. You're not alone! It's always been a dream of mine to write a Tatsuha-Eiri brotherly bonding type thing. Hmm. Okay! Back to you! I think you did a great job with him.

His sudden maturity was amazing, and his "but no one ever listens to me!" was so cute, at just the right time, reminding us that he is in fact a teenage boy and you pulled it off so well. And the line following that one was just perfect. ;D I love to read a Tatsuha who is something besides a perverted fanboy, and yours is one of the better ones I've seen.

"The ongoing 'what to do about Eiri' debate" - That was LOVE. I can so see Mika saying that. She's sighing, twirling her little straw thingie in her martini glass, and wearing her awesome hat. Tohma is in the background, nodding sympathetically in his awesome hat. (What in the world am I talking about...?) "You don’t know, do you...?" Also loved. I had a lot of other favorite things, but I've already rambled on way too much.

Oh! Oh, wait! I never mentioned that I absolutely adore your chapter titles. Well. I do. Rock on!

Impatiently waiting for the last installment! Keep up the exceptional work! -hugs-

I think you've got a total 'handle' on Eiri (at least the way I have always seen him) in both this story and in your author's notes. I think one of the reasons I like him so well is that he is just so totally 'human'... a complete jerk one moment yet with a tender, very gentle heart that he tries to hide, even from the one he loves. And I think that comes through in Rome Eliot's portrayal in the English dub... well, again, for me it does!

Another great chapter! You're interpretation of Shuichi's thoughts is very plausible, yet so heartbreaking...poor Shu.

My fav line:"He had wanted to rip it off him while he was still lying asleep on the bed, but had considered that after everything that happened, Shuichi would not relish the prospect of waking up naked, even in front of his lover."-This single sentence expresses just how thoughtful and sensitive Yuki truly is, even though he doesn't like to show it. Great job!;)

Wonderful chapter! Shuichi's emotion and Yuki's reaction to it really tug at the heart. Yuki telling him "it's not true" really got to me and him wanting to cry but not, also did. I love these missing scenes!

I'm being so bad, but I couldn't resist coming to check this out. Interesting take on the Shuuichi dress code. I like it. A lot. It's definitely one of those "rationalized" moments for me. He does have a few "because I'm a guy" moments and typical Shu-ish logic might well turn to cross-dressing to solve the problem, but I like this better. Aizawa's comments interfacing with an already uncertain self-image (not that I'm saying Shu sees himself as a girl, just his wondering if that wasn't part of Yuki's rejection) might well make him pull something like this.

Short chapters: don't worry about it. It helps for me at least to get reactions as the story goes along. Helps in the final edit of upcoming scenes. And as you say, the well-constructed scene becomes a mini-vignette that deserves to be savored.

One of the beauties of fanfic IMO is the individual consumers' "take" on the story and the language (i.e. the "voices" of the characters). For those of us raised outside the Japanese culture and especially those of us who don't even speak the language, (barring the occasional word/phrase) it's difficult to assume Japanese cultural-isms, whether in the language or anything else. Hints of cultural idiocyncracies is one thing, but if you try too hard for "accuracy" you lose the natural spontenaity that makes a story feel real. I think stories work best when the author lets their own, unique "inner Shu" or "inner-Yuki" loose.

Anyway...loving it! (Now...back to work...)

Oh my, now I'm really fascinated. Because I am absolutely in love with Tomokazu Seki! Wow. It's so interesting to hear who likes what in the way of sub vs. dub, and English voice actors. I was never really fond of the English Gravi, because a lot of everyone's voices sound the same so I got easily confused, but now that I think about it, I understand what you mean about Rich. His voice is cute I love Seki though.

And I really do love your British. I read with a British accent now for you. XD

Okay. On to the chapter. Lovely, as always, as expected. You're so amazing 'cause this was so short, and yet you said so much...ah! You're too cool! -sparkly eyes- Agreeing with everyone else, "missing scenes" are so fun to read because it's cool to see how every different person interprets what's going on between the scene changes. I really liked everything you said here...especially explaining how the sailor suit originally got on the floor. That was actually really awesome. (Not very eloquent this morning, forgive me!) I can really see the contempt that Eiri has for that sailor suit. And...everything that it reminds him of...-chokes up-

This is really just super-excellent. I'm too dumb this morning to say anything that will really describe how awesome you really are. But the last few paragraphs were just so gorgeous. You're really amazing.

As for me. I promise to have a new chapter up once I have my own computer back - in three weeks - if you please continue to keep up the mega-uberly incredible work here! Please! X3 Thank you! -falls over- Have a wonderful day!

Shuichi in a sailor suit. (HA HA)

That's so great, good job. So this is this taking place during the time Yuki went away to his dad's house, right? Ha ha! So during the series then? Any way, great story, update soon!