#animetrashfire

The dominoes started in 1998 when a friend remarked he liked Sailor Moon. I hadn't gotten into anime yet but I respected his opinions and art talent so I gave it a try. It was horrible! The first episode I saw was the theme park one where Serena and Rei are competing over Darien and it just seemed so ridiculous and juvenile. But boredom and afternoons spent with Cartoon Network brought me back to the show and the shenanigans eventually hooked me. I was also into the image songs and hollered along to the Kid Rhino CD.

At that time I was a Junior in high school (11th grade), and one year into a deep crush with the violin prodigy in my honors classes. My oh moment literally snuck up on me the year before in the art class we shared, while "All I Want for Christmas" was playing. Instead of "is You" my brain whispered "is Crush's Name" and my world came to a grinding halt as I froze then looked over at his table and went Oh Noes.

I had it bad. But like Marinette, I couldn't bring it up to him, I didn't have the guts. And when I found out he had a long distance girlfriend, I tried to backburner my feelings. But Fate kept throwing us together. We had all the same classes together except foreign language. We both had ADHD and had seriously chaotic ene-rivals-almost-friends energy together. We were born on the same day. In every math class our seating was right next to each other, despite taking place in two different rooms, being non-alphabetical, and changing up mid year. The universe was making sure this guy stayed stuck in my head, but I was too dang slow to make a move when he ended up single again. I'd had a love letter written in wingdings ready to attach to his locker with some chocolates for Valentines and I chickened out. Then he started dating The Most Perfect Girl (seriously she was amazing. Beautiful, Top Grades, Honor Society, Track Star, and Genuinely Nice). So I backburnered again. We graduated and went to separate colleges and I've only seen him once since, but he was still in my brain rent free until 2001.

Meanwhile I was also Adrien because it took me a damn decade or two to retroactively realize all the times a guy or girl was interested in me back then. I blame being a social outcast nerd and my inability to read social cues coupled with being conditioned to never trust anyone being nice (because it was usually a trick to go Ha Ha she fell for it).

I did finally date some in 1999 but it didn't pan out. My next relationship was in 2000 online, part of the Sailor Moon dominoes.

College in 1999 gave me Ethernet and SenshiTV.dhs, which had all of Sailor Moon from S3 onward subtitled in two part downloads. That meant I could watch Part A as Part B downloaded, then watch the second half of the ep while downloading the next Part A. I spent many nights not sleeping due to this, no regrets. I discovered the original soundtrack and supplemental image songs and fell in love with them. This transferred to the Ronin Warriors and Gundam Wing soundtracks, too. Finding music that wasn't a midi was trickier back then, til community College in 2000 when a guy pointed me to AudioGalaxy, a peer sharing site for any and all music.

Each genre or artist had its own message board, and I settled into the Gundam Wing Message Board where I met a lot of people I'm still friends with today, including @absentlyabbie and my Hub. The message board was a text based RP hub, a hodgepodge of fantasy and sci-fi from various popular anime at the time plus Just Plain Random. I ended up cyber dating one of my RP partners, and our character pairing was a popular one on the main non-Gundam RP. But after we met in person we just didn't work out, and I couldn't find any peace when I logged in to RP or join the board or AIM chats because our friend group kept bemoaning how OTP we were.

So... I made another login, complete with new AIM name, so that I could still hang out but be left to my own devices as I swore off men. Of course, as soon as I did, I was hit with another Oh moment with one of my friends in the RP group.

We were on AIM doing something and he used his lightning ability. My secondary character, Eve, went something weebish like "ooo, inazuma no karada". Then I realized I hadn't picked quite the right words, so I had my original account, Kitz, laugh at me and call me out for talking about Storm's naked lightning body.

Somehow after that we ended up together as Storm and Eve, both in RP and out, while I wingmanned for myself as his other friend Kitz (he was one of my supports and confidante after the breakup). We spent Thanksgiving together in 2003 when I was visiting my Aunt in his home state, then he moved in with me in 2005. We got married a bit later and have two kids together.

As an aside, our RP characters had twins, then months later his RL sister got pregnant with twins. A few years later our characters had another child... and so did she. We decided our characters were done having kids then, lol.

But yeah... because I watched Sailor Moon after randomly overhearing a friend mention it, I ended up overcoming my not-so-fated crush and have had a wonderful 20 year relationship with my best friend (we spent years watching the same shows together over the telephone).

“Yes, G- Akoya?” Arima answered, glancing up from the tea he was preparing, a question in his eyes.

Akoya had only been in the student council for a few weeks, but he appreciated how conscientious Arima was about using his given name instead of his family name. Given that care, he felt sure that his question would at least be graciously received, so he continued on, “Do you… ever get the sense that there’s something bothering President? Beyond the general student populace and problems of course. Something specific?” He kept his gaze focused on the papers at hand, aware that he looked utterly unconcerned, a style he had perfected over the years.

“Ah, I’m not really sure.” Arima smiled pleasantly, but Akoya got the sense that there was something he wasn’t yet willing to share. “In any case,” Arima went on, carefully steeping the tea leaves, “He’ll be here soon, and it would be terribly awkward if he were to catch us talking about him.”

“Of course. Thank you, Arima.” Akoya continued filing papers. Sure enough, a few moments later, President Kusatsu entered the room, greeting them both formally. He took the cup of tea Arima offered him, then sat down at his own desk to start on his duties. Akoya considered him out of the corner of his eye, trying to place a name to the sense of disorder President gave off, but he couldn’t quite do so. Well, it had only been a few weeks. With time, perhaps…

Akoya had adjusted quickly to his role in the student council, deeply appreciative of the power and prestige that came with being a member, along with the beautiful white uniforms they wore. Kusatsu and Arima were hard working, and Akoya had been learning much from them about what it took to keep the school running smoothly. As the weeks passed, he had also learned that Arima had an unfailing devotion to the president that seemed to stem from nowhere, and that President Kusatsu had some particular issue with the lackabouts who occupied the old ‘Earth Defense Club’ room.

Akoya wasn’t particularly fond of them either, he reflected as he prepared yet another notice for them about official recognition of their ‘club’. They needed at least one more member, an advisor, and a purpose if they wanted to continue to use the room that they hung out in. Personally, he wouldn’t be upset to see them go. That Yufuin was admittedly beautiful enough, but he was always lazing about, and while Kinugawa seemed nice enough, he enabled the lout’s shameless behaviour. Naruko was alright, but he was constantly with Zaou, the one person at Binan High who could really get under Akoya’s skin. Together, the four of them were a purposeless mess.

“Akoya, that’s a rather unappealing scowl you have on your face.”

At Arima’s comment, Akoya relaxed his face, tossing his hair as he said, “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Arima chuckled but said nothing more. A few minutes later, Akoya finished up his duties for the day and announced to the president that he would like to go check up on the various clubs. “Of course,” Kusatsu said. “Take Arima with you, and make sure you deliver those forms to the groups we still need registrationfrom.”

Dutifully, Akoya stacked up the papers and exited the room close behind Arima. Their first stop was the old ‘Earth Defense Club’ room, where they knocked politely on the door. Kinugawa answered, pushing up his glasses as Akoya extended the form. “You need to register your club,” he said haughtily, twirling his hair around his finger. “Or you won’t be able to use this room anymore.”

“Right, thank you,” Kinugawa answered distractedly, “Kin’s always been picky about propriety.” Then he shut the door in their faces.

Akoya blinked in surprise. “Arima, did you hear what he called President?” But as he turned to the other boy, he was surprised to find him already halfway down the stairs. Avoiding the issue for sure…

Akoya caught up to him, and they chatted lightly as they made their way around to the various groups, handing forms off to the manga club (a questionable venture, Arima said) and the calligraphy club (a shoo-in for President’s approval). Akoya shot him a sideways glance at that comment, determining that today seemed as good a chance as any to try and get some more information out of Arima.

Akoya didn’t think he could call Arima and Kusatsu his friends, but he was spending every day with them, and well, he simply liked to know everything about everyone around him. You never knew when something might be useful.

All was well until they approached the baseball fields. The baseball team manager, a first year, almost ran them down in his hurry to bring the bats to the team. Akoya huffed. As they drew nearer, the boys on the team began calling out obnoxiously, asking them if they would play, or if they were too afraid to get their bright white uniforms dirty. Arima sighed, just barely, but it was still a reaction.

Akoya found himself fuming. “Who do they think they are, insulting the student council like that?”

Arima shrugged, a genial expression on his face, “I don’t really know.”

Akoya, still painfully aware of the jeers of the baseball team, squared his shoulders. “Well, I don’t suppose we have to stand here and let them, do we?”

He strode over to the edge of the field, standing with one hand on his hip as he raised his voice in reply, “We don’t have any interest in your sport, we just came to see how everything is going. We’re so pleased that you registered your club in a timely fashion, it really was lovely of you.” Akoya’s voice dripped with a sickening sweetness, and the hollers from the baseball team quieted as he continued, “I do hope you have everything you need. It would be such a shame to see any poor behaviour hindering your club activities.” One or two of the first years opened their mouths to retort, but their upperclassmen elbowed them in the sides, noting the fire in Akoya’s eyes.

It was the manager who spoke, “Oh, no, Gero, we have everything we need, thank you.”

Sniggers broke out as the manager used his name, and Akoya breathed deep. “It’s Megawa, isn’t it?” He flashed a radiant smile as the first year quailed.

“Yes, sir.”

“Please, do call me Akoya. I hope all goes well with your team.”

Megawa gulped, but a timid smile crossed his lips as he said, “Thank you, A-Akoya.”

Akoya tossed his hair as he turned to leave, saying to Arima, “Alright, let’s go see about the swim club.”

From behind them, a dull murmur swept up from the baseball club. Snickers and the sounds of croaking, and then retching, began to sound from behind them. Akoya gritted his teeth and came to a halt.

Arima walked a few paces, then glanced back when he realised Akoya wasn’t with him any longer. “Is something the matter?”

Akoya forced a grin, “Oh, it’s nothing.” His voice was slightly strained, and Arima tilted his head as he considered the boy in front of him, shoulders just slightly raised, fists clenched.

“Nothing, hmm?” A dark shadow passed behind Arima’s eyes and he advanced on the baseball team. A hush settled over them as he came to a stop just a few steps from them, glaring down at them. He really was quite tall, towering over most of the team.

“Akoya is a valued member of the student council. He works diligently to ensure that you all have a club to enjoy. I would suggest you treat him with respect.”

Without waiting for a response, Arima turned abruptly and stalked away, catching up to Akoya quickly. Akoya fell into step next to him, and they continued away from the baseball diamond. Akoya couldn’t remember the last time someone had stood up for him.

“Thank you.”

Arima smiled, and Akoya caught a flash of kindness in his eyes as he answered, “You’re welcome.”

Akoya couldn’t help but toss in a barb, “And here I thought you reserved that kind of loyalty for President.”

Arima chuckled and pushed a hand through his hair, “Do I now? I can’t really say… President is special, but you’re one of us. And you really did put them in their place brilliantly. It was the least I could do to have your back.”

“If I may ask, what is it that’s so special about President?” Akoya chose his words carefully, but he had a sense that Arima would answer him.

“Hmmm…” Arima tilted his head in thought as they neared the swimming pool. “Well, we met when we were children. I thought it was going to be another awful forced playdate while our parents did business, but he and Kinugawa were nothing but kind to me. The way Kusatsu smiled- it was so welcoming, warm like a sunrise. And when we met again, here at Binan, I couldn’t help but remember it. He doesn’t smile like that anymore… and I felt like I could help him, almost like I had to. Whatever President asks of me, I’ll do it.”

Akoya was trying to process this veritable speech from Arima, which was almost more words than he usually said in one day. There was also that confusing bit about Kinugawa. “So you’ve always been friends, then.”

Akoya phrased it as a statement more than a question, and he was surprised when Arima said, “No, he doesn’t remember me actually. But we only met a few times as children, and we hadn’t seen each other in several years before high school.”

“Oh. And Kinugawa… they were friends? I’ve gotten the impression that President doesn’t like him all that much.” Akoya and Arima paused by the fence around the swimming pool, watching the swim club practice.

“I’m not really sure what happened between them, but…. I don’t think it’s easy on President.”

“Ah.” Akoya had a feeling that was as much as he was going to get, but it was already a lot to process. “Thank you for telling me this, Arima.”

Arima turned to continue making their rounds. A few moments later, he replied, “Thank you for listening, Akoya. It’s… nice to have someone to talk to.” His smile turned almost devilish as he asked, “And can I count on you to always have our backs?”

Akoya tossed his hair, “Of course. What do you take me for?”