#//God complex + severe repressed issues is fun

[oceanxveiined]

She’d be the kind of person to be screaming something like ‘I’m a fucking GOD’ while simultaneously having a moderate to severe emotional breakdown tbh

[coaxionunlimited]

NanaGo Fic Recs (1/2)

* for fics under 300 kudos (go and give them some love) 

Genre #1: Gojo is a horrible little bastard man

My mind is restless with the thought of you, all the things you do* by CursedHoneyB - Teenage!Gojo gets to be a soft variety of bastard man, though he still very much earns his spot on this list. At least this time Nanami gets to have some of that hurt/comfort. I like this one because it has well-done cuddles and literally sleeping together and awkward teenagers trying to figure out this crush thing. I also very much like the segment from Gojo’s POV where he gets to be both soft and also a bastard man, it strikes the balance very nicely. Covers a single incident, in which Nanami is having trouble sleeping.

lovers that were not meant to be* series by Anonymous - This is PWP, be warned, and mind the tags on this one. If the things that are here are, in fact, YOUR thing, then this little series is fantastic. I like it because it takes all of Gojo’s ego and god complex issues and sets them on a collision course Nanami’s denial and stiff outer shell. Gojo is an unstoppable force, and Nanami is not quite as much of an immovable object as he wants to be. Covers two explicit encounters. 

moxibustion by shcherbatskayas - A seminal work in the horrible Gojo genre, I believe, wherein Nanami is unfortunately in love with a man whose god complex is severe enough and justified enough that this fic probably should be tagged for psychological horror. I love it. This take on Gojo has a terrible gravity to him, you can absolutely understand how Nanami got sucked into his orbit and is never quite able to get himself out of it. Covers two time periods - just before Nanami leaves the jujutsu world and just after he comes back.

Heart Laid Bare by athena_crikey - Gojo gets to play a more manchild flavored bastard man in this fic, irresponsible and mouthy and not quite able to take care of himself. Which is where Nanami comes in, the only person Gojo will accept some nice hurt/comfort from. There are so many lines to read between in this one - I love reading Nanami’s POV when he’s on like twelve layers of denial and repression. Makes my day. Covers a single incident, in which Gojo forgets to take care of himself while out on a mission.

Genre #2: SAD (i.e. canon-typical Major Character Death) 

in this life and the next* by keouil - I’m extremely surprised that keouil’s stuff doesn’t get more attention, the writing is good and they have such a variety of interesting aus. Check out more stuff by this author if you like the style on this one! Speaking of interesting aus, in this one Nanami is the grim reaper and Gojo is very literally flirting with death. Anything more I say will spoil it, but oh boy is this a fun little snippet of a tragedy. Covers one specific incident, and I can say no more. 

Limitless Scraps* by coudric - Nanami, and Gojo, and the ghost of SatoSugu, hanging out in the corner. I love anything that characterizes Nanami as an unreliable narrator, and watching him try and sort out his feelings in this fic is just SO much fun. Covers the development of Nanami and Gojo, from Nanami leaving up until the very end. 

oh, the sacred things you do by iwaoiks - hurglighglurgh it’s softtt and it has Nanami handling Gojo’s issues soooo well, and getting through his walls for the first time, and all that just makes the inevitable ending so much worse. Covers the development of Gojo and Nanami’s relationship from beginning to end.

Genre #3: Teenagers being tragic (i.e. set in NanaGo school days)  renaissance* by aschente - If you only read one fic on this list, make it this one. It’s incomplete (1/3 chapters, but the first one stands pretty well on its own) but it’s already my favorite NanaGo fic in the fandom. It just does the complexities and the awkwardness and the rough edges of teenage romance so, so well. I also love the handling of Geto and Haibara, and the way aschente characterizes Gojo and Ieri. You just know that this one is going to get worse before it gets better and I am ALL for it. 

Like Real People Do* by gyokuken - This one’s also incomplete, at 2/7 chapters, and very technically it’s still Nanami & Gojo rather than NanaGo. But even so, I love the dynamic this sets up. The flirting in this one is top tier, some of the best I’ve read in ANY fandom (even though Nanami’s not quite admitting to himself that’s what they’re doing just yet). I also really love what gyokuken has done with Nanami’s backstory so far, and I’m super excited to see where the story takes it in the future. 

Nothing Fades Like the Light* by GrimyLittleTrickster - Yes, it’s still incomplete. At 4/7 chapters this time. Someone had to write the NanaGo fic where Nanami is the unfortunate kouhai pining for his terrible senpai and I am pleased to announce that GrimyLittleTrickster DELIVERS. Gojo gets to be terrible, chaotic, and indecisive, Nanami gets to be super done, Haibara gets to be hilarious and the best friend Nanami deserves, and they all get to be the dysfunctional teenagers they deserve to be. I love it. 

[rafaelisms]

► ( LORENZO ZURZOLO & CIS MALE ) according to the school’s records, RAFAEL THOMAS is a 20-YEAR-OLD JUNIOR studying BIOCHEMISTRY, and HE lives over in BOHN.  HE IS a CANCER, so that must be why others describe HIM as COMPASSIONATE, HARDWORKING, DRAMATIC and UPTIGHT.  when i see HIM, i’m reminded of LONG HAND LOVE LETTERS, THE ANXIETY INHERENT IN A PERFECTLY ORGANIZED ROOM, SCARS LINING YOUR HANDS LIKE LIGHTNING BOLTS.  ( ALLY, 22, SHE/HER, EST ) ◄

no preamble we die like men. 

statistics. 

name. rafael attaviano thomas (nee quaranta) age. twenty date of birth. july 10, 2000 place of birth. paz bernina, switzerland gender & pronouns. cis male, he/him orientation. bisexual occupation. student

faceclaim. lorenzo zurzolo height. 5'11 weight. 155 lbs hair color. light brown eye color. blue tattoos. none scars. plenty, but most notably a bunch of nasty scars down his left hand

jung type. infj enneatype. type one, the reformer moral alignment. lawful good temperament. melancholic intelligence type. linguistic schemata. emotional inhibition, approval seeking/recognition seeking, unrelenting standards/hypercriticalness, deterioration. the desire to have integrity (deteriorates into critical perfectionism) neurodivergences. ptsd

in-depth.

homeboy thinks he’s some byronic or shakespearean lead but really he’s just schmidt from new girl 

very anal, very uptight, but he’s slowly loosening up bc his therapist is like “for the love of fucking god relax”. 

has some pretty great expectations tbh. major daddy issues, wants to impress the guy at all costs. he wants to become a surgeon. woe is him. 

crazy smart, though, and extremely hardworking. 

only problem is that his left hand is a little fucked up. got scars all up and down and also healed funny, pretty severe tendon damage. he’s been doing physical therapy since he came to the states at age twelve, but he’s slowly coming to realize he’ll never have full mobility and strength in his hand. he’s ambidextrous, but his left hand is gonna have to be used for something, surely. and surgeries can last up to ten hours, so... but no. he can do it. he has to. 

how did his hand get fucked up? its nbd but this is Also where all the tws in the tags come in. so like basically raf was born into the quarantas, this family of italian assassins funded during the fucking roman empire, and he’s been surrounded by death since like day one. all the trauma all the abuse etc. anyways his grandfather, the head of the family, made him murder his beloved violin teacher when he was eleven and then smashed the shit out of his left hand as punishment for crying. his mom helped him escape the complex at paz bernina later that night; she died the next morning a traitor, but raf lived to find his father in the states. 

he was. none too pleased. to see him. The Bastard. so enter daddy issues. 

also a hopeless fucking romantic, kind of thinks he lives in a bronte novel. 

he did ballet all throughout school; it took all the physical parts of fighting but made it art instead of battle. it’s the same with medicine; taking all of raf’s knowledge of the human body and using it to heal instead of harm. 

anyways he’s a dancer so you’ll definitely find him in the corner of the library doing the fucking splits while taking organic chem notes. 

uhhhhhhh he’s on keto he’s hella catholic he has a slight italian accent and he loves cats that’s basically it. 

wanted connections. 

crush/romantic interest. just someone for him to leave anonymous flowers for and write poetry about like this is fucking jane austen. 

academic rival. raf will glare at you from across the room during labs. it’s more fun than it sounds trust me. 

study partner. raf likes them. they don’t probe or ask too many questions. probably his best friend tbh. 

unlikely friend. someone to get him out of his shell pLEASE. possibly also a bad influence.

good influence. he is to somebody else. or.... tries to be. he just wants to be liked ok.

church friend. idk they go to sunday service together and are also extra and repressed, like all catholics 

anything im just spitballin here and this wc stuff is more of a moodboard. also here’s a tag thats pure chaos. 

[otdderamin]

Analysis: The hidden pain of Jester and Scanlan – CR C2 Ep76 and CR C1 Ep85

Spoilers for Campaign 1 through episode 85 and Campaign 2 through episode 76

One thing I really love about Critical Role from both campaigns is the way they show that the seemingly happy, jokey, funny, delightful people are really using that as a mask for a lot of pain and insecurity that they're either hiding or repressing and that can't last forever.

Scanlan was hurt and angry that no one asked about his issues seriously or asked what he needed, but he also buried everything and deflected when they did ask about him. He wanted to be seen and understood, but all he gave them was a facade of being fine. Until he broke.

Jester's playing with the same idea in a different way. She learned being seen is bad and her purpose is making other people happy. Her own desires aren't really important. She's afraid she'll disappoint everyone if she admits she's not okay (even to herself), so she buries it.

Both The Mighty Nein and a lot of the audience are kind of infantilizing her, largely ignoring her pain and complexity. Laura does not get enough credit for her roleplaying because I think that's the impression Jester is intentionally cultivating out of deep insecurity.

Misogyny is also a factor. She leans into a lot of ditzy, simple, girly tropes that are largely written off by men and many women as shallow. Laura is really playing with them to show there actually is a lot of depth there. But you have to be willing to deconstruct her to see it.

Jester wants to actively bring joy to people's lives because she's afraid that she won't be wanted if she doesn't. So, she's cultivated this happy, mischievous mask to hide behind and she's trapped herself behind it. She doesn't even want to see herself without it.

Just as much as Fjord trapped himself behind the faux-Vandran mask until he had a breakdown. Or Beau trapped herself behind the no-fucks-given mask she's been working really hard to set aside. Or Caleb trapped himself behind his bandages and bum disguise until his cover was blown.

But Jester's mask is harder to see around. She seems open and carefree and happy. Almost everyone in the Mighty Nein wants to feel that way and they're invested in the aspirational illusion. They really want one of them to be okay because maybe then they could learn, too.

 T: Full scene from Campaign 1 Episode 45

2:30:57 Vax: "How do you do it? You're risking your life as much as anyone in this group. You're almost dying every day. You're fucking smiling all the time. How do you do it?"

Liam: "I'm kind of asking as Liam to Sam, as well. But mostly as Vax to Scanlan."

Vax: "How do you do it? You almost died yesterday, as well. Or two days ago, fuck. Why do you do it?"

Scanlan, as if it's obvious: "Vax, I… I don't know. I mean, I just… I like you people okay. Everything before this was not as good. This is better, that's why. It's very simple. You had a shitty childhood, didn't you?"

Vax: "Yeah."

Scanlan: "You and the sister."

Vax: "Yeah."

Scanlan: "I think Grog had some troubles. We've all had our share of shit, before we all met. Now we're together. We're a family. This is better, that's how I smile. It's better than it was before. That's it."

Vax: "We're probably going to die in the next month."

Scanlan: "Yes, but it's fun while it lasts."

Vax looks at him in disbelief and bewilderment.

Scanlan gives a contented sigh.

Vax, dubiously: "Alright. I thought I might…"

Scanlan: "Glean some wisdom?"

Vax: "Yeah, but I'm just as confused as before."

Scanlan: "Listen, I'm older than you."

Vax: "How much older?"

Scanlan: "A bit. I've seen more than you have, and… it's all shitty, so it just depends on how you look at it. You can dwell on the shit, or you can just leave it behind in people's beds and keep going."

 But of course, Scanlan couldn't do it forever. He couldn't actually just leave all that shit behind him. He couldn't laugh all of it off. He reached the tipping point where he was too scared and hurt and angry to keep going.

Beau's started to see Jester's cracks and say something, most notably in episode 45 (4:55:48) and 46 (1:25:15), but she doesn't seem know how to address it without Jester pushing the concern away and deflecting, and I think she's scared Jester will pull away from her if she presses the matter. Beau might have the best chance, though.

Caleb tried to talk to her In episode 42 (1:08:49), but the conversation derailed almost instantly. She did express her fear she would never see her mother again, and that she was unsure about her feelings towards Fjord or his towards her, but again the conversation turned to other things fairly quickly. Still, it was more than she'd really shared before.

Jester actually showed her vulnerability and insecurity to Fjord in episode 72. but he was too up his own butt focused on his own rapidly spiraling break down to really notice or address it. Hopefully he keeps it in mind and circles back now that he's pulled through it.

 Campaign 2 Episode 72

2:49:51 Fjord: "I just feel like there's more out there. It's always more. Even Port Demali and before that, my world just got bigger and bigger and bigger, and more time goes on the more you realize there is and the more that we affect and the more we can be affected. And there's a part of me that wants to leave it all behind..."

Jester: "And just somewhere quiet and disappear, and hope that it never bothers you again?"

Fjord: "Yeah."

Jester: "yeah, I understand that."

Fjord: "I just don't think it will let me."

 Caduceus might be able to help if he understood, but Jester is baffling to him.

 Talks Machina for Campaign 2 Episode 50

0:51:24 Taliesin: "[Caduceus] hasn't figured out that Jester is an adult yet. He doesn't regard her as an adult. I mean, which is, he kind of, his whole thing with her is very childish and playful and is not really... [...] He hasn't figured out that she's probably got-- I mean, he's aware that there's other stuff going on, but he hasn't really gone looking for it yet, so... He's like, 'Aw, she's happy and fine. Good. Thank god somebody is.' And obviously that's not true. And he should know better, but he hasn't gone looking for it."

Dani: "He has bigger fish to fry at the moment."

Taliesin: "I mean, the angsty boys are very angsty, and they currently have one emo girl to deal with as well."

It appears from the last episode that Caduceus has finally figured out there's more going on with Jester and is trying to make up for what he didn't see before. He let her know he saw through her sadness. Maybe he'll be able to be someone she can come to when she's ready to talk.

Campaign 2 Episode 76

4:44:05 Caduceus: "You okay?"

Jester: "Me?"

Caduceus: "Yeah you."

Jester: "Oh yeah. I'm fine. I'm always fine."

Caduceus: "Well…"

Jester: "That's a lie."

Caduceus: "Nobody's always fine."

Jester: "That's a lie, Caduceus."

Caduceus: "You do a lot."

Jester: "Yeah."

Caduceus: "And I don't think you necessarily get as much credit as you deserve, as often as you should. You deserve… more pastries."

Jester, laughing: "Everybody deserves more pastries."

Caduceus: "Yeah, but you do."

Jester smiles sadly: "Thanks, Caduceus."

Caduceus: "Well, we'll be figuring out your Traveler Con soon enough, I'm sure."

Jester: "Yeah. We're gonna work- that's gonna be really cool, right?"

Caduceus: "You got a good crew for it, so…"

Jester: "Yeah."

Caduceus: "We're here for you."

Jester: "Thank you."

Caduceus: "Thank you. You've done… I don't even know how to tell you what this has meant."

Jester has been ignored in part because she seemed… not fine, but less of an immediate and impending disaster than the others. Now that things are settling down with everyone else, I think they're trying to do right by her and support her better. Time will tell if she lets them in.

No one in Campaign 2 is playing an easy character. No one is playing someone who's well adjusted and fine. No one has their shit figured out. At best they've learned pieces or ways of learning how to be more okay with the tumult. Jester is far come complex than she tries to appear.

Her arc is coming up soon and whatever happens will come with big growth and change for her. The big difference (or similarities) in how the stories of these two characters will play out will come down to how well their friends see behind the mask. Vox Machina didn't until it was too late. The Might Nein might be beginning to, and if they keep at it, that will make all the difference.

----------

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[rangergirl3]

Spine realignment: It’s great when it works! :D

See below the cut for details (short version: I’m doing really good today, but cptsd is a total bitch when it acts up)

Yesterday, after I saw the chiropractor, I had something of a prolonged crying spell/had to spend some time processing negative emotions and severe feelings of depression.

Because this time, my neck was really, really stiff, and when it got realigned, there were some significantly loud snapping or cracking sounds.

Which is not, in and of itself, very frightening - it’s happened at other appointments

But when the sounds bring up memories of when some asshole tried to break your neck when you were four?

It’s not exactly fun.

Short version: My parents and I are not on speaking terms - mostly because they can’t handle the truth (movie quotation intentional). About two years ago, I uncovered some pretty ugly repressed memories that included being a rape survivor (at least twice) before the age of 6. 

As time goes on, I’ve managed to recall more details (which is not fun) but yes, it would seem that when I was four, I sat back up and cracked my neck back into place after the asshole tried to kill me. (Doctors have told me that it’s actually incredibly difficult to break someone’s neck and kill them, and that it was possible for me to move my neck back into place - but like, only just barely). For what it’s worth my success at coming back from near-death took the jackass by complete surprise, and his subsequent attempts immediately after were unsuccessful (obviously, as I’m here typing this now). He ended up telling me that if I told anyone, he’d kill my family.

The second attack was worse for a lot of reasons, but that attacker (It was a different asshole) tried to smother me as a grand finale to that nightmare. From what I can remember, I played dead convincingly enough where he left without actually accomplishing that goal (again, sort of obvious, since I’m here at my computer).

*insert a weak attempt at humor here as a hard-core processing/defense mechanism*

Wheeeee. I’m a badass. (I don’t feel like a badass. I really don’t. About 95% of the time when this all hits me at once, I just want to throw up/hide under blankets/cry until I fall asleep.)

But on some level, I knew what had occurred. There were certain things that scared me that shouldn’t have, words and phrases I never used (they’re crude and vile and honest-to-god-evil) but kept hearing in the back of my mind, and most of all, I’ve felt worthless, repulsive, and frightened for most of my life. 

Unsurprisingly, I repressed the above memories right afterwards (apparently it’s a survival instinct). But growing up with a narcissist for a dad and a mother who loathed me because I looked like her younger self (aka geez did she have unaddressed issues of her own), I didn’t have a safe support system where I could even process the memories, much less fullly realize what had happened. My parents were/are abusive assholes (physically, mentally, emotionally), so that was its’ own thing to live through/realize was abuse/then take action to get away from them and become a healthier individual. 

Oi.

Oh, and if anyone tells you that the brain ‘cant’t bury it for that long’, I give to you the following situation: When I was 20 years old, I was walking down a hallway and something in my head said: ‘You know what that neighbor did.” I stopped walking, put my hands up to head, pressed down on my temples, and chanted: ‘Forget. Forget. Forget. Forget.’ Until. I. Did. And then I kept walking down the hallway, to get to class on time.

So that’s a thing.

On the good side I’m in a much better place now (though to be honest, that’s not a difficult standard to beat). I’m married to an absolutely awesome guy who’s just as nerdy as me, and we have an absolutely gorgeous baby girl who just turned three months old today.) 

But holy shit. Yesterday it felt like a bus just up and hit me - and then backed up and hit me again.

As I said, I’ve taken distinct and emphatic steps to distance myself from the abusers in my past, and to start addressing the (numerous) aspects of myself that need healing. I’m on meds and in therapy for complex ptsd, and even though it’s been difficult, it’s also been really, really good. <3

And the really weird thing is that today, I’m feeling so much better! Then again, yesterday I did have a good cry and then I watched some more of Stargate (SG-1) with my husband and daughter. And now we’re just hanging out and listening to Disney songs while I bake apple pie. <3 So yeah - life is good. It just took awhile to get here. It’s totally worth it, though :-)

I’m on and off Tumblr, but if you’d like to PM me, I’d love to talk to you ;-)

Thanks again for reading. It means a lot that I can post stuff on here. <3

[boredstudent-blog]

May Smut Monday: RPG...Teacher/Student?

This is an idea I have had a couple of times reading different fanfics involving Kakashi x Sakura and the whole teacher/student relationship. This fanfiction is an AU, which takes place in the modern time. In it, Kakashi and Sakura have a longstanding relationship, and Sakura is trying to spice things up in the bedroom…

“Did I do something wrong, Mr. Hatake?” Sakura asked seductively, sitting down on the edge of Kakashi’s desk, the bottom of her extremely short skirt “accidentally” catching on the corner and riding up. Kakashi looked up at her passively, calmly, cool. Underneath, Kakashi was sweating, and felt nervous, more nervous than when he had to present his dissertation on dog behavior when he was in graduate school. Here he was, in his home office with his doctor girlfriend in a hot, sexy schoolgirl’s outfit. Sakura was playing her role to the hilt, first pretending she had gotten caught cheating on a test and was in for detention, then trying to play innocent little sweetie to get out of it. Next was the innocent turned slutty, when the student tries to seduce the teacher. What was he supposed to say again?

“Uh… well, I … I’m disappointed in you, Miss Haruno. You’re a smart, beautiful girl. You should have studied, and you know that.”

“It was just one test… not that big of a deal,” Sakura folded her arms under her breasts, forcing them up against the already straining buttons of the too-small blouse. “Isn’t there some way I could make it up to you?”

“Uh… Miss Haruno, you can make it up to me by getting back to your desk and finishing the extra work I gave you. You should count yourself lucky: school policy states that you are suspended for cheating, but I’m willing to give you a lesser punishment and a second chance.” Kakashi could feel his heart beat hard against his ribcage, a nervous shuddering with every breath. What was wrong with him? His beautiful, sexy girlfriend was playing the role a thousand other men would pay or beg to see. He should be drooling on the floor, struggling not to touch her hot body, encouraging her with every move… but the whole thing was just fucking weird!

It wasn’t like Kakashi was against roleplaying. Some people liked it, and he cognitively understood the appeal of dressing up and pretending to be someone else to get off. In practice, Kakashi was not as interested: he didn’t really get turned on by the idea of making something so pure and awesome as lovemaking so damn complicated. He loved the idea of using sweet treats or maybe even some light BDSM, but roleplaying just seemed confusing and too complex. Still, Sakura wanted to try it, and he didn’t want to let her down or hurt her feelings.

“Oh, come on. I could make it up to you in another way, I’m sure of it.” Sakura began unbuttoning the blouse, exposing the lacy, see-through bra underneath. Kakashi could see how hard and tight her nipples were, and he could feel his pants starting to tighten as he stared at them.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Miss Haruno. Now, please, go back to your desk and finish your work. We’ll talk about the issue when you’ve finished.”

“Why don’t we talk after you finish?” Sakura said, hopping off the desk and making her boobs bounce slightly. She dropped to her knees and unbuttoned his slacks, pulling his hardening cock out of the confines.

“Miss—Sa —ah!” Kakashi threw his head back as she squeezed his cock while running her tongue over the head, all thoughts of roleplay and the teacher role he was supposed to take on out the window with the rest of his brain. Sakura reached into his pants with one hand, gently cupping the scrotum whilst stroking his shaft with the other hand and sucking on his cockhead firmly. Kakashi gripped the arms of the desk chair he sat in as Sakura began sucking on his cock, slowly moving her hand up and down his shaft and was taking more of his cock into her hot, wet mouth. She began hollowing her cheeks around his cock, not bothering to try and repress the slurping and light moans coming from her mouth.

Kakashi felt her other hand move from inside his pants, then felt her shift on her knees, one joint brushing his foot. What was she doing now? He opened his eyes and looked down. Sakura was pulling her mouth off Kakashi, looking down so she could pull her panties down just enough to get her hand into the front of them without stretching them. Gods, was she really that turned on by this roleplay stuff? He would have to try and get more into this kink, if she liked it so much.

“Something wrong up there?” Sakura said, her head turning up until his eyes met hers.

“No. You’re just so hot.”

“Good. Relax, now,” Sakura said, turning her attention back to his hard on.  She opened her mouth wide and took his cock deep into her mouth, almost to her throat. Kakashi’s knees tensed as he tried desperately not to thrust upwards and accidentally give Sakura an unpleasant surprise. Sakura began moving her mouth up and down Kakashi’s cock-shaft rapidly, hollowing her cheeks with every retreat and blowing them out with every advance, making the suctioned feeling recede and rise rapidly. Kakashi moaned, eyes rolling back in his head, winding his hands into Sakura’s hair and massaging her scalp in encouragement. After several long moments, Kakashi came, ears popping with the white-hot release.

“Ah! Damn, Sakura… how are you so good at that? Fuck…” Kakashi gasped as his orgasm subsided. He sat up slightly and looked down, blushing slightly as he watched her swallow the last of his cum.

“Thank you,” Sakura replied, smiling up at him. “I aim to please… Mr. Hatake.”

“Ah, right. Um…”

The couple sat in silence for a moment, Kakashi desperately trying to figure out what he should say next.

“Did I do something wrong, Kakashi?” Sakura asked quietly, looking worried.

“No… Sakura, I’m sorry. You look so hot in that outfit, and it’s not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but… I’m just not into roleplaying.”

“Oh! Okay.”

“Sakura, why did you want to try this? Is it something you heard about or have done before? I can try harder if you want me to.”

“No,” Sakura said. “Honestly, I felt a bit bored with this whole thing, and I hated acting like a dishonest little shit.”

Kakashi laughed. “Then why would you want to try roleplaying?”

“Well, it’s something I never tried before, and I was a bit worried about things going stale in the bedroom, so…” Sakura’s explanation trailed off as she looked up at Kakashi, watching for his reaction.

“Oh. Well, if you want to spice things up in the bedroom, we can always try something new now and again. Maybe chocolate sauce?”

“Ooh, that sounds so fun!” Sakura replied, eyes brightening up as she stood.

“Excellent. Let me see if I have any, okay?”

The End

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 7/25/17

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 2 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – First of all, I get what the author is trying to do with Zen, and yes I know there are guys like that in real life, but oh my God I want him OUT OUT OUT of this manga, he is making me very unhappy. Aside from that, this was a decent second volume, mostly focusing on Shimana’s burgeoning love, though there are signs of a larger plot, mostly involving Taiga, who remains the only adult in the room (which is sort of sad, given I’m sure we haven’t even begun to dig into his own issues). Shimana herself can be hard to take, but she grows on me as the book goes along. You can tell this came out before orange, which is stronger, but this is still quite a decent book. Only lose the moments of Zen. – Sean Gaffney

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 4 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) –Mikuri and Hiramasa make incremental progress toward genuine couplehood in this volume, particularly when Mikuri’s aunt gives them a voucher for a night’s stay at a swanky premium inn. I am always delighted to see that, beneath Hiramasa’s stoic exterior, there exists an inner spaz with the hots for Mikuri. At one point, it gets the better of him and he plants a smooch on her, which he’s then incapable of explaining. Meanwhile, Mikuri has realized that she loves him, but while he’s reining himself in lest he drive her away, she worries she’s just forcing her desires on him. After the kiss, there may be hope, but she’s just too scared to admit her feelings. In less capable hands, their failure to communicate and just get together already would be supremely frustrating, but somehow Umino provides just enough payoff to make it work. Looking forward to volume five! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 13 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – We’re still in the middle of the qualifiers, and our heroes are taking on a team that likes to have FUN when they play. I was honestly expecting them to get curbstomped, but this isn’t that kind of manga (or sport, really) and once again Karasuno has to work hard and try new things in order to break through and beat them. We see how other teams can try to use their own moves against them (though I doubt they’ll be trying Hinata’s wall-jumping anytime soon). Then we go up against a normal, good team who’s simply well-disciplined and OK in all aspects—as noted by everyone, a bad draw for the eccentric Karasuno students. Will they win? And how injured is Daichi? Excellent shonen sports. – Sean Gaffney

Honey So Sweet, Vol. 7 | By Amu Meguro | Viz Media – How much you enjoy this volume will, I believe, depend on how much you sympathize and see yourself in Miyabi, who has absolutely no idea what to do with the feelings she now has and is also filled with social anxiety, leading to several bad choices throughout this book. I felt bad for her despite her being aggressive about trying to steal Taiga, because we know she has no hope whatsoever. Meanwhile, Nao is noticing what Miyabi is doing but is repressing her own feelings, which fortunately she gets told quickly is the WRONG thing to do. What follows manages to be sweet and cute, even if it’s about a girl trying to break up an already established couple. Nothing is fluffier than this series. – Sean Gaffney

Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Vol. 5 | By Natsuki Takaya | Yen Press – Sometimes it is hard not to read this series and see echoes of Fruits Basket in it, particularly in this volume, as Vergue is acting an awful lot like Kyo. Fortunately instead of Liselotte, his interaction is with Anna, who gets to show off more of her true self and browbeat him into thinking about his circumstances. It’s probably the scene I liked best in the volume. Liselotte is not having an easier time of it; she’s traumatized at seeing her brother at the festival she’s trying to quietly spy on, and she finally meets up with the Woglinde, who magically gives Liselotte back her hair but I have no doubt is likely going to be more of an antagonist than anything else. Save up, as we’re caught up with Japan, but still good. – Sean Gaffney

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Vol. 9 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – Again, so much of the humor in Nichijou is about things simply being strange and bizarre for their own sake—you may let out a laugh at the bizarre goings-on, but this is the type of manga to inspire headtilts and chuckles more than tears of laughter. We get a flashback to Yukko and Mai meeting Mio, who is starting at a new school and is not prepared for it to be as super weird as it is, and also flashforwards to the future, where the Professor is going to school, Nano is keeping house, and strangely Nakamura is living with them. Oh yes, and in separate chapters, Yukko and Mio almost die. If you love Nichijou, you’ll love this. If you don’t, well, you likely dropped it long ago. – Sean Gaffney

Princess Jellyfish, Vol. 5 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics – It’d been a while since I read any Princess Jellyfish and I’d kind of forgotten how wonderfully unique it is. I haven’t read a story where a bunch of otaku work so hard at a real-world challenge, but they’re really trying to make a go of this clothing line. Meanwhile, Kuranosuke, who’s been the voice of encouragement this far, is getting a dose of reality on the state of the apparel business. I also love how Tsukimi has begun to change (and even to date!) and that Jiji, too, is getting out into the world and rediscovering some practical skills. I hope this series ends happily, but I appreciate how much detail we’re getting on the complexities of what they’re attempting, even if it means success is unlikely. Very highly recommended. – Michelle Smith

The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 2 | By Rei Toma | Viz Media – Not quite as disturbing as the first volume, but this is still a very dark and dramatic manga. We learn that Asahi is not the first person to have been spirited away to this world, and that the one she finds out about (a female doctor) never returned home and is buried there. Not the sort of thing you want to find out if you’re missing your mom and dad. As for the Water Dragon, he’s as annoyingly petulant as ever, making sure Asahi is not killed off, drowned, etc. but also treating her like an annoying pest, to the amusement of his fellow gods. I expect more romance in future books, as we end with the ever popular “10 years later,” showing us Asahi all grown up. Solid. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith