ruico

I don't really read a lot of manga. I got into animanga fandoms pretty late (when I was 19), and even then, I rarely branched out and read a lot of different series, mostly keeping to the ones I was/am a fan of. Koi to Uso is far from any of the animanga fandoms I've been near before, and the only reason I learned about it is because a friend of mine randomly recced it because she was inspired by the vague idea for a fic. At the time she called it a shoujo, and I decided to give it a go.
It really wasn't long before I realised I had a few issues with it. First of all, it was clear from pretty mcuh chapter 1 that it isn't shoujo, but shounen. The style might give off some shoujo vibes, but the titty shots and ass strutting in weird angles whenever there was a chance gave me a lot more 'male gaze' vibes than shoujo ones.
Ironically, the friend who recommended me the fic actually no longer reads it -- she gave up despite her love for a certain character and because of her frustration regarding... certain other characters.
I'm still on the fence about it, partly why I wanted to make this post. I've wanted to talk about it for a while, and figured it'd be fitting considering the fact that Lili-chan is currently the only icon I have uploaded on here and also a character I really love.

The story is centered around Nejima Yukari, a young boy living in a near-future version of Japan, where the government assigns compatible partners to try and fix the country's declining birth rate (we've heard this one before, haven't we?). Nejima has always been in love with a girl from his class, Takasaki Misaki, and on the night before his 16th birthday (the day he's supposed to receive his government notice), he confesses to her, only to find out that she actually likes him back. Things happen and his government notice arrives, pairing him up with another girl, Sanada Lilina, who is very fascinated with love and wants Nisaka and Misaki to experience freely, partly so that she can also learn about it. The manga mainly explores the dynamic between the three (sometimes also Nejima's best friend, Nisaka) and how the government initiative affects them.

( don't mind some (light) spoilers? )

Day 2:
Rec at least three fanworks that you didn’t create.

I originally wanted to mix a few fandoms, but in the end I actually decided to go for Haikyuu!! since that's the fandom I've been most involved with in the last few years. Instead, I decided to recommend 3 different forms of fanworks, rather than just fanfic as I had planned originally.

Crowchildren -- a haikyuu!! au fanfic
WARNING FOR MCD - This fic will forever be one of my faves despite not even being focused on my favourite chars (and even sort of having notps in it). I remember reading it until 7am and crying for half an hour after that but in a nice, cathartic way? I've never read a fic with such a satisfying ending, and I remember literally googling things in the fic because I thought it was real mythology I didn't know about and not something the author made up (so yeah, I enjoy the worldbuilding too!). I will forever recommend this fic and it was the only one I knew I needed on this list.

Dream catchers -- A haikyuu!! au webcomic (still unfinished)
Fascinating worldbuilding and amazing art. This comic is mostly centered on Sawamura Daichi and Sugawara Koushi, but features a lot of other characters, and I fell for the unique and interesting artstyle on top of the super cool concept behind.

Hoshimirukorowosugitemo (Past the stargazing season) -- A haikyuu!! fanvid