Fujino and Yuuki
As some (many? idk) already know, ikka goes for this more than Yuuki and Kuga - never saw the appeal of, or was interested in, the latter. I admit to having completely no inkling as to why there are so many people who like/ship that. It probably stemmed from Kuga comparing Yuuki and herself. My point of view, roughly speaking, is like this - if Fujino could fall in love with Kuga, what's stopping her from being attracted to someone that's a lot like the one she loves?

"Are you an idiot? Love, attraction, affection...the only person you can trust is yourself!"

But not Viola and Zhang, because that takes far more mental acrobatics, despite the fact that they look exactly the same as their AU counterparts. aslkdljf

Reiri and Riza
Yeah, the natural enemies thing. Who was it that first came up with that idea? I don't know why I like this vampire-werewolf pair so much as compared to the 9387524 others out there. Maybe it has to do with how ikka is also a Riza fan. And volume 4, oh volume 4. I think I started seeing the possibility of these two together from then on. There are plenty of moments scattered here and there that can be used to construct a subtext-filled argument as well.

"Would you believe it? I've been banished from vampire society because of you, Riza."

Kaguya and Mokou
In ikka's mind, this works out more as Kaguya→Mokou, lol. Forgot who it was that brought up a point I agree with totally - Mokou stands out because she sees Kaguya as Kaguya, rather than a pretty object to be claimed (as in the suitors who'd wanted her hand in marriage in Taketori Monogatari) or a princess (as in...basically the whole of Eientei?) - Muffin-san, iirc? That also explains why NEET-hime would even step out of her manor just to provoke and fight somebody that she can never kill. Note, of course, that the opposite also applies, and Mokou has obsessed about a grudge that, as many fans have pointed out, should have been gotten over long ago. My interpretation of Cage in Lunatic Runagate 4 is that Kaguya had been her raison d'être for over a millennium already...how else would she even have made it?

"For the first three hundred years, other people hated me, and I was a sad creature who only caused trouble to myself and those around me if I didn't stay in hiding.

The next three hundred years I spent harboring a grudge against this world, and was able to preserve the faintest sense of identity by immediately dispatching anything that crossed my path, youkai or otherwise.

For the next three hundred years the youkai in the area couldn't hold my interest anymore, and I lost all motivation towards anything, living out a boring existence.

But during the next three hundred years, I was finally reunited with my immortal archrival, and we discovered the joys of killing each other over and over."

Just a rough sketch. There's a bit of background behind this image, but that'll be another story for another post.

Coloring/inking ETA unknown, though I do plan to work on it.



Now to go eat.