CITRUS ~ A Long Way From Home / Trust

-**INTERMISSION**-

HEY GUYS!!!

I'm taking a little time to say to everyone how much I really appreciate all the support and comments I've been getting on this story so far. Ever since I started it last year, it's taking a lot of my creative energies to try to tell the best story I can from beginning to end... and I haven't even reached the end yet... 

But while I'm doing that, I've been thinking that before the next chapter comes out, I tell people a little about myself, what drew me to the Citrus anime and manga, and what inspired me to write the story. I'm sure Yuzu and Mei won't mind...

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Simply put, I am a 50+yo straight man, married to a very beautiful woman. We've been together for going on 20 years. It's just the two of us, living our lives together the best we can.

I basically grew up a nerd/geek. Too much Star Trek and A-Team I guess. But I do enjoy Star Wars, all the Marvel films, LOTR & Hobbit films, Gilligan's Island and older episodes of Law & Order (too much TV I guess).

And if course, I love Anime and Manga. I grew up with the old Speed Racer and Star Blazers, then the American version of Robotech. I've been going to Anime Expo every year for the past 15 years. It's so much fun.

My wife grew up with so much anime over the years she can't keep count, but she loves the original Fruit Basket. And we're big fans of Inuyasha.

But we're both big fans of newer anime's too. Attack on Titan is what we're both waiting on right now, as well as the Inuyasha spin-off "Yashahime".

I'm really the only one between us that reads mangas, but I'll admit I didn't get into them until maybe 10-12 years ago. I'm a huge fan of the artworks and storytelling's of many types of mangas.

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The very first manga I fell in love with was called "Blood Alone". It's a story where a young girl was turned into a vampire at 10yo, who is living with a 25yo young man who's her guardian and treats her like his little sister.

It'll take too long to explain the whole story (it's very dramatic), but I will say that it's a very strong character driven story. They're extremely close and care/worry about one another, and their bond is real. But what I love about that series was that these two characters love each other as family, but THEY'RE NOT LOVERS! It never crosses that line. They get close to each other, but never THAT close.

Their love for each other is based on trust (not sex), something that I love about characters in any story.

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And that's what I loved about reading the CITRUS manga. The characters of Mei and Yuzu grew to love one another. And it turned into real love at the end of the series. I grew to love these characters and couldn't wait to see what else would happen to them.

I found myself waiting excitedly for the final book, watching Yuzu searching for Mei. And towards the end where Mei broke down with tears, trying to tell Yuzu how much she "hates" her because she can't stop thinking of her. Only to see that she kept her ring around her neck, showing that Yuzu was always in her heart.

And at the end, Mei finally admits that she loves Yuzu.

I'm very thankful for finding this series and reading it to the end. And with the new CITRUS+ series to continue their story, it's very cool. I only wished that the anime went as far as the manga, but I still love it too.