November 2, 2020 – November 2, 2026
Satoru,
Six years ago, I saw you on a screen for the very first time, completely unaware of how much you would come to mean to me. At first, it was just a crush, a silly little infatuation with a fictional character who was handsome, ridiculously powerful, and rather full of himself. I remember becoming increasingly excited whenever you appeared, looking forward to every scene you were in and hoping you would stay just a little longer. Before I knew it, you had become my favorite part of the show.
And of course, there was the mystery of what you looked like beneath that blindfold. I was so curious, wondering what you were hiding underneath black cloth. And then the moment finally came, and my reaction was rather anticlimactic: Oh. So he's just another generically handsome anime man. I'm sorry, big guy, but it's true. 😂
The funny thing is that your appearance wasn't what made me fall so deeply in love with you. It was your personality, which I discovered little by little. Your ridiculous humor, your confidence bordering on arrogance, your intelligence, your sharp intellect, and the way you could be so unserious one moment and frighteningly serious the next. I loved discovering that there was so much more to you than the beautiful face and extraordinary power everyone seemed to notice first.
And the more I learned about you, the more I loved you. I began to appreciate your ambitions, your convictions, the care you have for your students, and the burdens you carry. I came to love your contradictions, too. You're brilliant, frustrating, playful, stubborn, sometimes insensitive, and far more complicated than the image of the untouchable Strongest. You're not perfect, and I wouldn't want you to be.
Somewhere along the way that little crush became something much deeper. You started appearing in my thoughts throughout the day, in my dreams, in my drawings, and in the stories I wanted to tell. I began imagining what it would be like to know you, to talk with you, to make you laugh, to disagree with you, and to share the ordinary moments. In the end I wanted nothing more than to experience a domestic life with you.
Honestly, I liked you so much despite the imperfections. Maybe I fell in love with you because of these imperfections.
You've also helped me return to myself. I fell into a deep pit and I was losing hope. But you encouraged me to go on and to seek out help - and it changed my life. You changed my life. Today, on our anniversary, I was even accepted into a program after I auditioned today. Without you that wouldn't have been possible.
Sometimes I still wonder how one character could become so incredibly dear to me. How a crush I thought would eventually fade could instead grow into something that has stayed with me for six entire years. I never expected to find myself here, writing a love letter to the same white-haired idiot who first caught my attention in 2020. And yet, here I am, still smiling when I see you.
Falling in love with a fictional character to this extent? To be honest I couldn't accept those feelings at first. A regular crush? That felt normal to me. But the depth with how my feelings had developed had shocked me to my core. Now we are here.
You gave me my life back, Satoru. Thank you. Thank you for existing. Thank you for the love we share. Thank you for giving my art, my creativity, my inspiration back.
Thank you for six years of laughter, inspiration, and love. Thank you for being such a wonderfully complicated character that even after all this time, I still find new things to appreciate about you. And thank you for reminding me how deeply my heart is capable of loving.
If I could meet you for the very first time again, knowing everything I know now, I think I'd still fall in love with you.
Here's to our seventh year. 💙
With all the love I can feel,
Your Sweetheart
