War and Snowflakes: A Mecha Monogatari Novella is a Slice of Life science-fiction novella written by S Douglas Johnson, set in the same world as Stone King. On a winter day, Ordinary High-School Student Tsuruhara Iori must deal with a region-wide evacuation order and find shelter in an underground bunker. She finds herself in the company of one of her schoolmates, Aragaki Koji, who has a secret connection to one of the legendary titan pilots who have been deployed to defend their hometown.
A sequel, War and Cherry Blossoms, picks up a few months later, with Iori staying overnight at a remote vacation house with some friends, when she is awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of a battle nearby. A mecha crashes outside the house, and Iori, thinking it is a Japanese titan, goes out to see if its pilot needs any assistance. But it isn't a Japanese titan...
War and Snowflakes and War and Cherry Blossoms provide examples of the following tropes:
- Deer in the Headlights: Aragaki Koji, when the titan suddenly opens fire with its 58mm cannon
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: in a running gag, Iori utters variations of this phrase many times, along with a few instances of Aragaki Koji using the "she is not my girlfriend" variant.
- Informed Ability: Iori is a practitioner of kendo, but does not actually use this skill set during War and Snowflakes. However, in War and Cherry Blossoms, we finally get to see her participating in her kendo club, sparring with her teammates.
- Red Baron: the titled pilots Tetsuro and Kodora and Kadenokoji Soichiro, otherwise known as the Wolf of Calabarzon.
