#[ what if hachi misses him every day but what if hachi's different now and he doesn't know how arlong would react to that

[binksbrew]

[sleepdeprivedsimp234]

Really long headcanon post for the stuff that I’ve posted on Wattpad :3

Massachusetts:

-Mans is my height, 5'6, and he hates being bullied about being the shortest of his brothers lmao

-Is twins with New Jersey, though Jersey makes fun of him cuz he's five minutes younger

-he has reddish brown shoulder-length wavy hair and hazel eyes

-mf is built like the Dwayne Johnson though he's just missing the height

-TRANSMASC MASS SUPREMACY 🛐🛐

-this man acts all tough until the cramps come along. Then he's dead.

-doctor of the statehouse, along with Texas. He deals with sickness/illness whilst Texas deals with injuries. Though he can do both cuz we love that.

-tried learning how to make flower crowns cuz NY would always make them for everyone when they were younger. He tried his best, and he's actually kinda okay at it, so him and any will just hang out and make flower crowns.

-^he has put a spell on every single flower crown that he's ever given or received so that they never shrivel up and die

-OCD, autism, and ADHD

-loves rock, metal, and punk music. Especially FFDP (THEY HAVE NO BUSINESS BEING THAT FRICKIN' GOOD LIKE WHAT-)

-friends with the OG13 (no dip Sherlock-), Maine, Texas, and Louisiana.

-REFUSES TO ADMIT HE HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR NEW YORK. EVEN IF HE'S ACTIVELY HUGGING HIM. HE WILL DENY IT TILL THE DAY HE DIES. HE WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THIS DAMN KID.

-^the moment he met New York, he was filled with the urge to take him away from England immediately. He does pick favorite brothers btw. And it's New York.

-sharp lil canines like he's a friggin vampire smh

Sippi:

-he is a squishy boy and we love that <3 it just makes him better for cuddling

-he's not short, not tall, he's only 5'8.

-he's a pathetic loser tbh but we still love him

-sippi loves stuffed animals, but his favorite is a teddy bear that was given to him by New York (fun fact, teddy bears were invented in Brooklyn, and were named after the president that refused to shoot a bear!).

-he named it Mr. Cuddles, and it is the most beat up stuffed animal that he owns (as in, its ear had to be sewn back on, one of its eyes has been replaced by a button, and it has random stitches and patches all over) but he still loves it and cherishes it to this day.

-friends with (omg he has friends????) Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New York, South Carolina and Georgia

-yes yes he is but a cuddly marshmallow. Until you hurt someone he loves. Then you're dead.

-he SCREAMS whenever there's a bug. Strangely though, he likes ants, moths, and butterflies.

-mans is colorblind

-he doesn't like his squishy-ness and has tried to starve himself on numerous occasions :(

-I think that the fact that he's been owned by 3 different countries is grounds to give him abandonment issues right? Okay.

-if it weren't for his friends just simply existing, he would've been long gone by now. (same tho- I mean what?)

-I'm not gonna say he's hurt himself before, but I'm not gonna say he hasn't either 👁️👁️

-bro thinks that anybody he gets close to is gonna leave him :[

-if he gets hurt, he's not gonna bother telling anyone cuz he doesn't wanna feel like a failure for not being able to defend himself

Texas:

-this man is T A L L- he's 6'5 (not as tall as Alaska though so HA-)

-I imagine him to be very slim and fit, but he has a tiny bit of pudge around his lower stomach and hips and thighs.

-he LOVES animals so, so much. More than humans tbh.

-he has a horse (Ranger), 5 dogs (Rosco, Daisy, Cassy, Billie, and Maria. Rosco and Cassy are German Shepherds, Daisy and Billie are heelers, and Maria is a demonic chihuahua), 3 cats (Mittens, Sassy, and Milo), and 2 snakes (Spot and Harvey).

-^thats just at the statehouse. Back home, he has an animal sanctuary where he takes care of animals, takes them in, nurses them back to health, ect... It's very adorable and I love it.

-speaking of animals, he cannot, I repeat, CANNOT keep it together if an animal dies or gets hurt in a movie. Homeward Bound? Mans was not okay. Hachi? He wasn't ballin', he was bawling 😔.

-I BELIEVE IN TRANSMASC TEXAS SUPREMACY 🛐

-he still wears a binder cuz he doesn't trust the doctors to perform top surgery on him.

-ADHD for DAYS- don't give him an energy drink unless you want a 6'5 chihuahua on cocaine to be following you around.

-ADHD, autism, ocd, depression, anxiety, and ptsd. Idk if daddy issues counts, but he has those for sure.

-this bitch has fallen off of so many things that he no longer takes fall damage

-Mexico was such an asshole to poor Texas...... I wanna skin him alive :)

-Texas CANNOT handle someone raising their hand or voice at him. He can't. He will flinch and/or cry. Which he hates. Cuz he's supposed to have this reputation as the big strong Lone Star State.

-he has SH scars on his wrists, sides, and thighs. They vary from blade marks, to cigarette burns, to even scratches.

-he hates all of his scars so, so much and sees them as nothing but a sign of his weakness and inability to defend himself.

-Texas is also kinda insecure about the little bit of pudge on his lower belly, hips, and thighs. What makes it worse is that he can't really help it. Especially the stomach pudge cuz that's just where his uterus is. Does he know this? Yes. Is he still insecure? Yes.

-he often binds too long or forgets that he has his binder on until it's too late and there is severe bruising and even minor bleeding underneath the band. Along with breathing difficulties.

-^to make the breathing difficulties thing worse, he has asthma :)

——————

[thespianinthebackcorner]

Omg omg ramble posts yes yes yes I've missed these (we used to have them every now and then in the Genshin fandom wiki but I've left since then). Essay length post inkoming

The promo kids for the game are related to the manga kids! The promo kids are about mid-20s or so by now, while the manga characters are still teenagers. This one's a big headcanon so I'm gonna use multiple dot points for my favourite parts of this

Hiro and Ocho are brothers, but Hiro hasn't been in the Splatlands for months cause he's out travelling with Veronika. They may or may not get married and Ocho is making a point out of not talking to Mitsuami because of the sheer awkwardness (Veronika and Mitsuami are also siblings.)

Gloves' team have been friends since they were kids, since Gloves' dad (Cuttlefrsh), Half-rim's parents (Kensaki and Tof-U), Clip's sister (Surume) and Straps' cousin (Kou) were besties. Gloves and Clip especially, since Cuttlefrsh and Surume are so tight.

Speaking of Half-Rim, N-Pacer is his sister, they just don't talk to each other all that much cause they're on different teams. Their teams know, albeit only because of their social butterfly of a dad occasionally coming around to make sure they're okay. Literally everyone except Half-Rim and N-Pacer loves Kensaki, Gloves especially thinks he's funny.

(While it's canon to the manga that Emperor's team met because their parents were friends, I haven't quite sorted their place here out yet. Neither have I for Hachi and the other Octolings from the Metro.)

Wireglasses and Kayoss are half-brothers. Kayoss spent the last like six months in Inkopolis for a fashion design degree and was not exactly impressed with Wire when he got back and received the lowdown on what happened. Still, he does care for his brother- Wire's trademark frames were a gift from when Kayoss first started out in Inkopolis. In return, Wire respects him a lot, taking every chance he gets to learn from him. It was Kayoss who taught Wire how to do up his tentacles in the style he has, even if Kay can't use the style himself.

Barreleye and Yarrwall are brothers and a horrifying power team to go up against. They're exactly the same. Same also goes for Hornmet and Stephanie.

Aight now that ones done, time for Coroika solo headcanons. These are mostly Best 8 and Gloves team because they're the ones I think about. These are somewhat separate to the first headcanon both in timeline and content

Straps and Clip regularly host girls night with members of other teams. At least once each night either one of them will complain about how oblivious Gloves and Half-Rim are to each other.

These usually happen a day or two after Gloves' team has movie night together, which is about as chaotic as you'd imagine.

On more than one occasion during Chill Season, Half-Rim has accidentally gotten frozen to the floor from standing still the entire time. It's become a running joke among the rest of the team and an embarrassment to Half-Rim.

Half-Rim has really good hearing, which he uses to his advantage in battle. It takes a lot less than most people think for Gloves to give him commands from halfway across the battlefield. The downside of his hypersensitive hearing, though, is that Splatfests get a little hard on him, so he generally doesn't participate. Still, it's useful having someone on the team who stays home, since the rest of Team Gloves can come over to his place for some warm food once they're done with the party.

thanks to living in the Splatlands, the ENTIRE Best 8 is extremely sensitive to the cold. The Hierarchy discovered this by making the mistake of travelling to Inkopolis during Frostyfest to see how it stacked up, and all four of them came home sick.

It's a running joke in the Best 8 that Barreleye can and will fall down stairs in any direction possible. So far he's fallen up, down, under the railings of, and even through several different flights of stairs, including that of his apartment building. (This one's based off my sibling, because they actually do this.)

And ofc for the game-related headcanons. Once again separate in timeline to the first set of headcanons.

Since discovering ORCA, Neo 3/Veronika has gone down the human history rabbit hole. She befriended ORCA and has access to most of its records, so she knows more than the average person.

ORCA talks really old-english like since the last time it was faced with cephalopod language was the very beginning of their species. It's still updating its translation book with the help of the Squid Sisters and Neo.

ORCA is also sentient like Tartar is, but took a more mellow route due to being lonely. It's fond of the NSS, though, especially Neo, and has been passing on human records to them.

The professor that owned Judd and Lil' Judd and created Tartar is also the same guy who created ORCA, and ORCA is not shy about referring to the guy as its father. (That started after the guy called ORCA his son, and although ORCA gained sentience after humanity died it still remembers those exchanges and takes it to heart.)

Promo kids time! Anemone and Calamar are twins who moved over from Inkopolis. Anemone is enby and Cal is trans male. Tof-U is actually their older sister by a couple years and helped them figure out their identities a lot. The two of them are familiar with pretty much the entire S2 group, especially Kensaki (Tof-U's bf) and Splashley (somewhat of an expert in gender confusion).

Hiro is actually from Octo Canyon, but he was taken with his older sibling when they escaped and doesn't remember a thing. They got separated and he ended up in the Splatlands on his own, eventually meeting some of the current promo group. Rn he's living with Kayoss, since his family took Hiro in.

I have a theory bubbling that works within this that Marina is actually Hiro's older sibling, but neither remember each other due to (a.) memory loss due to trauma and (b.) their lives getting so busy they didn't really think about the past. Acht remembers little Hiro, though, if only by association, and it's them asking Marina about him that they find each other again. (Yes, I am planning a fic with this concept.)

Veronika doesn't do Salmon Run anymore since adopting Little Buddy, and especially not after the Mr. Grizz incident of Alterna.

Kayoss is a very permanence-focused person- he doesn't like drastic changes. The entire group is aware of this, and because of that the rest of them are not-so-secretly planning him and Yarrwall's marriage that they know Kayoss is also hoping for. Still, he's not controlling, and he doesn't mind change. Just gotta talk it over first.

Stephanie has a ton of knowledge on random niche subjects, including but not limited to flower meanings, how to build a PC, shorthand writing, and Salmonid music. No one knows where she gets her information, she just ends up with it.

due to moving to the Splatlands on a relatively tight budget, Cal and Anemone have the most decked-out resumes due to switching between several jobs to get by. The rest of the group does their best to support them, but they don't always let the others help out of sheer stubbornness.

If you're in the hospital, talk to Cal. He's been in there enough times to know a bunch of little tips to make it a bit more comfortable.

They're all in a band! Hiro on drums, Veronika on electric guitar and/or bass, Anemone with keyboard, and Cal with a recently-acquired DJ board thanks to Stephanie. The rest of them do vocals. Thanks to Veronika's familiarity with both the Squid Sisters and Deep Cut, they've managed to cover several iconic songs from both, and gained some popularity. They've also made a couple originals.

It's a running joke that despite how much he cares about his appearance, Kayoss has a horrible fashion sense. Stephanie has attempted to fix this, but to no avail.

Yeah, Steph is semicanonically rich in case y'all didn't know. Her Splashtag says "big-money man o' wardrobe regular", so...

Back to headcanons. Stephanie gives literally everyone nicknames- 'ro, Ika, 'nemone, Cal, Kay, Wally, and Tako for each one respectively, although a good chunk of these are used collectively now. On the flipside, only Hiro, Anemone snd Steph are allowed to call Veronika "Ika". Same goes for calling Hiro 'ro and Anemone 'nemone. It's only because Steph made the names and the other three are in a polycule that they're allowed to do that...

Hiro mods his weapons. He's also not afraid to smack someone with his .96, which I came up with based on the amount of art he has where he's aiming with his shoulder and not his gun...

Cal and Steph are both ace, but Cal has the double deal of aro while Steph doesn't.

Tako relentlessly ships the others and is in fact the reason Yarrwall and Kayoss got anywhere at all.

the original group was Kayoss, Veronika, Tako and Steph. Then Hiro showed up out of seemingly nowhere, Yarrwall moved in from a country town way out in the desert, and finally Anemone and Cal made their way to the Splatlands. Each addition to the group was at least a year apart.

Oh boy this feels like too many headcanons but I have so many for these guys. It's not okay clearly, that's just the S3 group. S2 and 1 timeeee (help)

Kou has audiovisual synesthesia- they see sound. They're a pretty good musician because of this, the notes go weird colours when they're done wrong.

Yari wears really bright colours all the time because he doesn't like being forgotten. And because he really likes bright colours and generally being a visual nuisance.

i don't think I need to reiterate that Tof-U and Kensaki are dating, but they are.

I still have the theory/headcanon that Kensaki, the Squid Sisters and Toni Kensa are all cousins to the same clan. Occasionally, Kensaki gets calls from both sides either asking for favours or just checking in on their so-called baby cousin. They're eagerly awaiting the day Kensaki's tentacles go greyscaled like Callie and Marie's (and assumedly Toni's) are. They've taken bets on whether they'll go black or grey. (It's gonna be grey, but they don't know that yet.)

Getting out of my Kensaki thoughts, Splashley is gender fluid and goes either by Splashley or Splash depending on how they feel.

Surume and Cuttlefrsh are the kind of besties that you should be terrified of. Do anything to one of them and you'll get the other in full force. If Surume ever picks up those Hypnoshades it'll be Cuttlefrsh performing Tide Goes Out on that stage truck. (And yes, he's actually quite good at it. They're well known at the Shoal for their karaoke performances of Squid Sisters songs.)

After they reached the surface, Patricia and Steven were taken in by Surume and Cuttlefrsh- Captain Cuttlefish asked 4 if she had spare room for them, and she in turn asked Cuttlefrsh if he could put up Steven while she took Patricia. They're part of the gang now.

Surume is actually the model on the front of Haikarawalker. That's her.

S1 headcanons! (My skin is starting to fall apart /j)

Kaori and John are siblings and still live in the same apartment they did in S1.

Mizuho is way too good at gymnastics, an example being that one render where she backflipped off a wall in Urchin Underpass and nearly shot Rui.

Speaking of Mizuho and Rui, he is regularly distracted by her. Crush of the century right there.

Laura and Kaori are. A thing. As are Pit and John.

Yuriko is regularly underestimated for using a rapid blaster, but lord she's good with it.

CALLING ALL FUNKY MOLLUSKS!!

Dump your head canons here. Whether it be related to splatoon, coroika, or even your splatsonas or ocs, dump ‘em. No matter how “boring”, random, absurd or disturbing, DUMP THEM RIGHT NOW. RAMBLE. This is your chance to share that one headcanon you have that no one would care about. Here’s one of mine, for encouragement.

If Aloha (coroika) had a little buddy, it’s hairstyle would be this one

because it reminds him of pineapple, which fits his team’s gimmick

OK GO!!

[timedyne]

the splatsville catalogue (a splatoon mandela catalogue au)

after driving humanity to extinction (almost six world wars is an impressive feat!) gabriel and the alternates rest, figuring their work is complete. when they awake, they find that a new species have taken the place of the humans, and have managed to mimic their old society and mannerisms almost perfectly -- the only difference being their desire to play strange ink games all day. this, very obviously, makes gabriel angry, that after all of the work he did it just got undone by the rise of what he considers to be a more disgusting, slimy version of the human race.

he starts to send alternates back out, but the death rate from MAD goes from 97% to 1%. the techniques he used against the humans dont seem to ever work against these strange creatures, so he goes back to the drawing board. everyone has a breaking point, right?

(information about the characters and a B&W version under the cut)

Eve “M0N0CHR0MEANG3L” Ika (Victim One) a splatsville-born octoling who makes music under their stage name “M0N0CHR0MEANG3L”. often works shifts at grizzco to earn extra cash, but can be found participating in turf wars on the weekend with their trusty flingza roller. their friends would describe them as “weird and loud”, but if you were to only listen to their music you would think they were quiet and reserved. most of eve’s fans wouldn’t even know it was them if they bumped into them on the street. they view professor hagfish as a parental figure and role model. thinks their last name is ironic due to being an octopus, not a squid.

design wise, they are a slightly modified version of my octoling that i play as in splatoon 3

Professor Hagfish (Victim Two) a vampire squid inkling of mysterious origin. used to be the head scientist at kamabo co before it was destroyed during the events of splatoon 2: octo expansion (which in this au, tartar -- and later mr grizz as well -- was controlled by gabriel in his attempt to take out the cephalopod race quickly). now works at splatsville high school as a biology teacher. they only allow themselves to be called “professor hagfish”, and nobody knows if they have a first name. they refuse to share where they came from with anyone, but due to their strange green scars on their face and neck students have spread rumors that they worked at kamabo co and/or they are an alternate.

spoiler alert: those rumors are both correct.

design wise, they are this au’s version of my main splatoon character, who was based off of the outfit i used in splatoon 2

Captain Three (Victim Three) an inkling from inkadia and captain of the new squidbeak splatoon. rarely speaks to anyone, even her friends, but would get hit by a train if it meant it saved their lives. she is a high-priority target of the alternates due to her status. hasn’t slept in days, both due to the fact that she has probably never had a normal sleep schedule in her life and because she spends every night fending off the alternates that inevitably break into her apartment. gets dragged around by agent 8 to document the alternates and post them online

Hachi “Agent 8″ (Victim Four) an octoling who grew up in octo valley. defeated commander tartar and kept him from killing everyone with assistance from popular idol duo off the hook (who have since gone missing). moves to splatsville and starts the splatsville paranormal society, where she and captain three (who is only really there for moral support) investigate alternate and other weird sightings over livestream. she and three have garnered quite a large following worldwide by the thrill-seekers that are inklings and octolings, especially after alternate sightings and deaths start to ramp up in splatsville. although their first mission is to have fun and provide spooky content to their fans, their second mission is to try and figure out what happened to off the hook.

[musedbyalli]

Loved your Honjo family headcanon. I’m also in denial of what happened:( Don’t know if I will accept it. Can you do another one (normal day of life with children)?

Thank you so much!  I’m glad you loved it!  I’d love to write more about it!  I’ll split it a bit into some different eras of them raising their children, so I’ll put it under a read more since it’ll get long because I love them.

Infant Stage (Not fully a normal day, but oh well)

Things are incredibly difficult for Nana and Ren at this point.  Ren’s still recovering from his accident and trying not to fall back towards his addiction, especially with pain killers almost always being offered to him.  On top of that, he is dealing with the change of not being in Trapnest anymore, which is something that many from the record company are trying to talk him out of.

Nana is also dealing with quite a bit of pressure besides being pregnant between worrying about Ren and still dealing with the fact that she felt completely left in the dark for awhile about his problems with drugs.  That all leads her to wonder if all those things he told her about her not needing to give up her dreams when their twins are born will all just be a lie, yet she can’t back out of having the children now and she refuses to just abandon a child like her mother had her.  The thought that Ren may possibly put her in a position to feel the need to run scares her, which simply makes her more angry than anything else.

When the twins are finally born and he finally gets to hold them, it is the best day that Ren has had in a long time and actually possibly ever.  Nana initially holds off on holding them and is ultimately talked into holding them by Hachi, who was of course there for everything.  Ren is the one who comes up with the names, Ayame for their son and Sakura for their daughter.  Both names follow the flower name theme (iris and cherry blossoms) like he had suggested to Hachi for her child and his own name.  

Once the couple brings their children home, it is a different atmosphere there.  The nursery had already been figured out, thanks to Hachi’s excitement to bond with Nana about how their kids will be close in age and can be best friends like them.  Initially, Ren is the one who is the first one up whenever either of the babies make a noise or need anything.  He is trying hard to prove to Nana that she truly doesn’t need to abandon her dreams for what he had wanted and that they can both have what they’ve wanted.  

Once Nana slowly starts getting back to where she is making plans to write some new songs with the other members of Blast, she seems to grow more comfortable with the changes at home.  There are times that Ren will return from leaving her with them to go to the bathroom and he returns to her entertaining them with the rattles, usually shaking it to some kind of beat.  The fact that both kids seem to enjoy the music seems to make her completely embrace them as hers because they inherited her ‘awesome taste in everything’.

Toddler Stage

Nana has worked on a few new albums by this point in the twins’ life and once they begin attending preschool, Ren begins thinking about accepting some of the offers he receives to make some guest appearances on some albums since a part of him does miss making music, even though he doesn’t want to return to it full-time.  

Ayame and Sakura own just about every kind of musical instrument toy that is made for little kids.  The household is almost always noisy, which actually doesn’t bother their parents much.  Nana likes hearing her kids ‘rock out’ to their musical creations and Ren feels the same.  

They have playdates with Hachi’s children almost once a week.  Sakura and Satsuki tend to make the choices about what games they’re playing and make their brothers go along with (which they don’t usually resist too much to anyways since they’d pick similar).  While the kids are playing, Nana and Hachi spend time catching up.  When Takumi accompanies (which isn’t that often), Ren will usually catch up on how Trapnest is doing.  Typically though, Ren is the one to keep an eye on the kids and he almost always gets talked into playing something with them.  The amount of times they have managed to talk him into letting them dress him up as a fairy princess and play pretend with them is quite impressive.

Childhood

Ayame and Sakura attend a private school with Satsuki and Ren Ichinose.  The couple had considered homeschooling to not chance any obsessed fans targeting their kids, but decided that neither was exactly suited to educate them for all their school subjects.  

With more free time, Ren does take up more offers to contribute to albums, making both guitar and bass contributions.  Nana goes on her first tour during this time where she can’t have Ren and the kids come along.  It is far more difficult than she had ever thought it’d be before she ever had kids.  The tour was not a long one though, since Yasu had assumed that Nana would struggle with it more than even she had expected.  

When both parents are home, the day starts with both kids going to school.  During that time, both parents usually work on music.  On some rarer occasions, they’ll take the time to go on a date or do something romantic.  Nana will often still be working when the kids first get home from school, so Ren usually has some kind of snack for them (nothing too fancy, usually chips or something).  They usually get their homework done before Nana gets home, or at least start working on it.  Neither of them seem to place much effort into their homework, so it is usually finished relatively quickly.  Sometimes, the kids go home with Hachi’s kids from school for a sleepover or just a playdate and vice versa.  Usually on the nights when the kids are gone, that is when Ren and Nana work on their relationship (usually sex).

Once Nana gets home, the Honjo family typically has dinner about an hour later (except on occasions where Ren decides to surprise Nana by having dinner ready).  There is usually always some guest over, with the other members of Blast and Hachi (and her kids) being the most frequent guests.  Sometimes, the former members of Trapnest will come over for dinner too, but less often as the others.  

[acooleg]

hi welcome to the self-insert herosona au (ficlet below)

It had been early one winter morning when Yoshie received a text from Hawks. It had been a simple series of texts, asking her how she had been, what she had been up to... It was all very mundane things that people that stood on the borderline of acquaintanceship and friendship spoke about - compelling stuff, but nothing truly deep. 

Conveniently, it had been her day off; she was free to take as long as she wanted in replying and keeping the conversation going. Between making breakfast and curling up on the couch with her dog, a mug of tea, and a large blanket she would respond, feeling somewhat pleased that Hawks was the one instigating the conversation. He hardly ever spoke to her if it weren’t for official Hero work - maybe he was finally warming up to her, wanting to approach a real life friendship?

During a brief lull in conversation, she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and inhaled slightly. It still smelled like Dabi and his cigarettes - while she appreciated his natural scent of firewood and cheap cologne, she didn’t like the cigarette smell. She’d either have to break him of the habit or convince him to not wear the clothes that smelled so strongly of them when he appeared.

(He’d probably use that as an excuse to bully her, but she’d be willing to let that happen if the thick smell of cigarettes went away. He’d say something like, “The Hero’s scared of a little second hand smoke?” Yes, of course, it smells bad.)

Her phone buzzed against her thigh and she glanced down, pushing glasses up her nose as she brought the phone closer to her face. Hawks was asking her to meet up for coffee. At... noon? Well. It wasn’t��super late to get coffee. And Yoshie needed a reason to get out of her apartment for the day - she had only gone outside once to take her puppy dog potty. The pair could both use some more exercise... And there was that pet friendly adoption cafe nearby. She could always see what kind of animals they had up for adoption while they were there, too... Hachi was becoming an old lady and could definitely use some younger company while she was at work.

So she responded with her request and almost immediately got an excited ‘Yes!’ as his response. She could only blink at the strings of emojis that followed it before giggling loudly. Hachi, her loyal black lab, perked her head up slightly to stare at her, blinking her big brown eyes twice. She settled back down when Yoshie smoothed her palm over her head and ruffled her ears. “I’m gonna have to go put clothes on, sweet girl, but then we’re goin’ for a walksie!”

But Yoshie didn’t immediately move, sipping from her tea and staring at her phone. She wanted to call Dabi, if only to hear his voice for a second. They weren’t... quite a couple, but she found herself oddly infatuated with the Villain. It went against most of her moral code but... Well. The heart wants what the heart wants, yeah?

She sighed and tapped on FaceTime, hoping to maybe also get a glance at his face. It rang a couple times before he picked up and she lunged for her phone, holding it towards her face. “Good morning, star shine, the sun says hello!” she reflexively greeted, unable to help the goofy smile spreading across her cheeks.

Dabi just stared at her impassively, though there was the slight twitch of his lips. An almost smirk. (She was learning what got him to smile.) “What do you want?” he asked blankly, glancing up and at something behind his phone.

Yoshie could hear Fua in the background, hear how she was relentlessly teasing someone there. She could hear the teenage girl’s (Toga, right?) maniac giggles and someone’s angry grunts. It seemed that everyone at the bar was awake.

“I just wanted to hear your voice,” she answered honestly, moving to lean against the side of the couch, smooshing her cheek against the arm. He just gave her a look, one brow quirking up ever so slightly.

“You’re awfully attached, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question as much as it was a statement. She shrugged and hummed a lackadaisical response. “That’s dangerous, Miss Hero. Falling for a Villain.”

“Says the one that always finds a way to get into my apartment.” He was grinning now, dark and foreboding.

“Maybe you should lock your doors and windows better.”

She was smiling softly, teasingly, a shit eating look on her face. “That was a reference to you sweet talking your way in, but thanks for admitting that you break into my house. Hachi’s a terrible guard dog.”

“Maybe you should train her on what bad people look like better. She falls into my lap every time I show up.” She looked back to her lab, who had closed her eyes and fallen back into a snooze. She was friendly - if sge introduced her to someone, she liked them immediately. But she also had a knack for trusting the right people...

“I don’t think you’re a ‘bad people’ so she doesn’t need to know.” He had stood up on his end, wandering thorough the hallways of wherever he was at. She had sat up ever so slightly, the blanket falling from around her shoulders. “I’m gettin’ coffee with a friend today!” she suddenly spouted. While the silence that frequently fell between them had become comfortable, Yoshie still hated the silence. Things happened in the silence. “We’re gonna go to that adoption cafe near me! I’m bringing Hachi and I think I might see if there’s anyone she gets along with - she gets lonely when I’m gone, and I think a younger puppy would be good for her!”

He had settled in some dark corner, leaning against the wall. “...you’re awfully domestic when you’re off the clock,” he muttered. She tilted her head at the statement but didn’t question it. She glanced at the time and realized she needed to get ready, standing up and moving towards her bedroom. She didn’t drop the blanket - it trailed behind her like a cape. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Well. I like you and I try to keep the people I like informed of what’s goin’ on in my life,” she answered truthfully. She set her phone on the top of her dresser as she dug through it, finally deciding on a ridiculous sweater and leggings to wear. Without thinking, she pulled her tank top off. “And, like... Well, you just admitted you sneak into my house, so if I do get another dog it’d be best to let you know, right?”

“...do you also strip over FaceTime for people you like?” She leaned over her dresser to stare at him through her phone, purposefully not putting her sweater on yet. Her cheeks flushed at his nearly embarrassed face.

Then she smiled and pulled her sweater on, fluffing her hair out of the collar. “Nope! I only do that for you.” She adjusted her phone to lean against the wall, keeping him propped up. Then she reached for the waistband of her shorts, giving him a lecherous grin. “Wanna see me take my pants off?”

“I will hang up on you, Yoshie.” He looked terse, serious - a cover up for his embarrassment? (Oddly enough, she was struck by a thought; Shoto did that when she would compliment him during his internship.)

She giggled and stepped closer to her dresser, effectively hiding her lower half. “You’re no fun, Dabi,” she playfully chided as she changed. They continued speaking about whatever stupid things they could think of as she finished getting ready. He watched in silence after a couple moments, taking in how she carefully made sure all her things were in order.

“You’ve checked your hearing aids twice,” he muttered after a moment. It wasn’t unusual to see her buzzing around her room, but she stopped by her dresser several times. He remembered from previous experiences that she kept most of her hearing stuff up there.

She shrugged as she made sure the right one was secure, “I wanna make sure I don’t go deaf while at the cafe. Hawks doesn’t know sign language, so I gotta--”

“Hawks?”

Yoshie was taken aback by the not quite venom in his voice, peering at him through her phone. He was staring at her evenly, darkly, brows furrowed ever so slightly. “Uh. Yeah? I do have other Hero friends than Fua, you know that right?”

“You’re getting coffee with that over sized chicken?” His scowl made her insides twist, something almost like fear tightening in her stomach. Did he have a grudge against Hawks? She couldn’t recall a fight between them, so why was he getting bent out of shape?

She could only tilt her head in curiosity, “Yeah? We’ve done some work together in the past, you know. He just wants to get together and talk, you know. Like friends do.”

He growled deep in his chest. If it were a different situation, it might’ve been hot. This was just... weird. “Be careful around him,” was all he offered with a click of his tongue.

“He’s a Hero. I’m a Hero. What do I have to worry about?” He didn’t respond. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t be careful if I don’t know what I’m looking for, Dabi. You can’t just - you can’t just say that and then not elaborate.”

“If you trust me, you’ll be careful.” Oof, he went right for the kill.

“Of course I trust you.” She reached for the phone, holding it level with her eyes. “I may not agree with you, but when it comes to us, I trust you. I’ll... be careful, I guess? I don’t know why but I’ll be careful. Okay?” Without thinking, she pat her chest twice. It meant understood in Japanese sign language.

He smirked at both (his grasp on JSL had grown exponentially since knowing her, so the physical touch of her understanding was rewarding). “That’s a good girl.” She rolled her eyes at that. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“So I can break into cute girls’ apartments while I’m out?”

“Who said you were cute?”

“Rude.” She snickered, offering him a peace sign with her palm facing her chest. See ya in JSL. “Bye, Dabi. Love ya!”

“Bye, Yosh--wait what.” She had already hung up at that point, dropping her phone into her purse as she collected her things, humming ever so slightly. She slipped on her boots and jackets, sinking into the fluffy fur of the collar as she hooked Hachi onto her leash.

She locked up her apartment and started on her way, Hachi looking happy as they began to wander towards the cafe. Her day off fell during the work week, so the complex was basically deserted, save for a couple mothers and their young children playing in the park in the center of the complex. They were all bundled up for the cold weather, although the kids were expressing their want for snow.

The young children stopped her as she passed, playing with Hachi for a few moments before losing interest and wandering back to their mothers. She waved on her way out, picking up the pace and falling into a light jog. She glanced at her watch, selecting the appropriate playlist for an optimal good mood without offsetting the natural winter around her. (It’d be really obvious if there was a pocket of warmth around her.)

Hachi kept pace with her, panting excitedly as they navigated through the mostly empty sidewalks of the city. Yoshie couldn’t help but hum along to her music, although she did turn it down so she could hear the sounds of the city over top of it.

It wasn’t a super long jog to the cafe - maybe 15 or so minutes - but she was thirsty by the time she got there. As she opened the doors, she was struck by the scent of delicious coffee and sweets, as well as the smell of young animals. The lobby was separated from the cafe itself by a half wall, with a cute young girl leading people in to their booths.

Yoshie looked over the half wall, searching for Hawks and also to see how many puppies and kitties they had wandering on the floor today. Hachi jumped up as well, trying to peer over it. She wasn’t tall enough.

Being a good mom required her to pick the old lady up and help her look over the wall. Her tail thumped into her chest. She laughed, “I spoil you, you know that?” But the dog didn’t respond, too infatuated with the puppies that were coming her way.

“Ah, you brought your dog?” Yoshie glanced over her shoulder, the hostess having returned to collect her. She nodded with a small smile. “Have you been here before? Is your dog registered to our Friends List?” (It was a registrar of outside animals kept on file to make sure they were fully vaccinated and passed their in-house behavior test.)

“Yep! Hachi’s been here before - I got her from you guys five years ago, actually!” She smiled as she put her dog down, stepping towards the hostess as she pulled out her wallet. She showed her the official registrar card and was cleared to walk back. Because of who was coming, she requested one of the private rooms in the back.

The last thing she wanted to do was get swarmed by Hawks’ fangirls while she was out with him.

Hachi had already sniffed out an ideal companion for the day - from the tag around his neck, his name was Kuriru and he was a pit bull/terrier mix. He stared up at her with beautifully blue eyes, his black nose sniffing back at her. So Yoshie requested to spend some time with him and they made their way to the private room.

She had ordered a melon bubble tea and a selection of cake pops on her way in, snacking idly as she played with the dogs. The private rooms were nice because they were secluded from the rest of the cafe and came stocked with dozens of toys. It also had a fully functional kotatsu, so those that sat inside were right there with their chosen playmate.

Hachi absolutely adored playing with the puppy, showing him the ropes of how to play with toys. Yoshie couldn’t help but smile as she took a sip from her tea - although the enjoyment from it was short lived as she snorted it out of her nose when the sliding door was thrown open. “Yoshie, are you in here--stop coughing, did you swallow wrong?”

The woman turned to him, scowling deeply, “You startled me, asshole.” He shrugged and shut the door, coming to sit across from her. He stretched his legs under the kotatsu and she shuffled a bit, making sure to keep her feet from underneath of him. Hachi and Kuriru had come up to sniff the newcomer - and then promptly made themselves comfortable in his lap, deeming him safe. The waitress came in to take his order before immediately dipping back out.

He was busy petting both dogs, a boyish grin on his face, which meant it was the perfect time to stare at him critically. Dabi had told her to be careful - but why? He wasn’t in his Hero gear so that probably meant it was his day off. And he didn’t look any worse for wear or anything. Or, like, evil or anything.

When the waitress returned with his coffee and croissant, she dropped off a bowl of water and dog food as well. That prompted both dogs to get up and got eat, finally giving him some space. He lifted his mug to his mouth, eyes meeting hers. “Oh! I didn’t realize you wore glasses, Yoshie. Or that you ever wore your hair up. I’ve always seen it down!”

She shrugged awkwardly, “I usually wear my hair down to hide my hearing aids, or ‘cause I’m wearing my Hero gear. And... I’m usually in contacts because glasses rest on my hearing aids weird, but my eyes were starting to hurt so I pulled these bad boys out.” She tapped the side of the frames, “But it’s cute, right?”

“Yeah. You’re really cute like this! You went for a Harry Potter look with the frames, right? All round and such.” He set his coffee down, keeping his hands wrapped around the mug. His finger tips were red as they stroked the ceramic contemplatively. He didn’t look away from her, though, keeping his gaze level with hers.

“Yeah... Harry Potter. Definitely not because they’re cute.” His smile had fallen with his eyes, both drifting down and away. And while one doesn’t have to smile to look at peace, he definitely didn’t look at peace with that frown. He seemed... derisive. Nothing like the laid back man Yoshie knew. “...are you alright, dude?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “There’s just been a lot on my plate lately.”

She rolled her eyes with a smirk, “Yeah, yeah, tell me all about it, Mister Number Three.” But when he didn’t return her chuckle with one of his own - or a smile, or nod, or anything - she felt the coolness of dread fall into her stomach. Dabi’s warning be damned; she had known Hawks for a few years now, and she knew his personality. He was never this melancholic or morose. “Shit, man. What’s wrong? Can I help you with something?”

Amber eyes flicked up to hers once more, eyebrows stitched together tightly. He was... nervous? Worried? What was wrong with him? “I’m a little worried that if we start this conversation, you won’t like where it will lead.”

Black eyes blinked right back, determination setting in on Yoshie’s face. She wanted to make this right for him, whatever it was. Maybe that’s why he suddenly reached out - he needed someone to talk to. “I’m a Hero, Hawks. I can deal with uncomfortable things. Please, just tell me what’s wrong. I wanna help you.”

They stared at one another for several seconds. He scrubbed one hand down his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You asked for this, Yoshie.” She tilted her head ever so slightly. “How long have you been involved in the League of Villains?”

She had apparently chosen the wrong moment to take a drink of her bubble tea - it once again found itself spewing out her nose and making her choke. She smacked one fist into her chest, her right hand signing what repeatedly. He just stared at her.

“I-involved with the League of Villains!?” Yoshie finally coughed herself out of her choke. “I’m not involved in the LOV. What in the fuck would give you that idea!?” She had never assisted them in their crimes. She didn’t even know where they were located! She wasn’t involved with the League. She was - she was involved with Dabi and that’s it!

Hawks sighed as he drew his phone from his jacket pocket, “I told you you wouldn’t like this. Yoshie. How long have you been seeing Dabi.” He slid his phone towards her and she paled at the picture before her. Who... who the fuck...

It had to have been from the first time Dabi had come over - she was supporting him, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders and her other arm wrapped around his back. She could see the blood dripping from him.

He had even made a snide comment about how the press would go crazy if they were ever to see her helping him. She had made some remark about how she hadn’t become a Hero for the press, but to save people that needed saving.

He reached across the table and scrolled to the next one. It had been taken from outside her apartment window. Dabi was shirtless on her couch, chest wrapped in bandages. She was on the floor in her PJs, staring at the TV while playing a game on her Switch. That was from, what, the first or second time she had saved him from some stupid brawl?

And each one that followed was increasingly more intimate, until the final picture was a graphic picture of their first time making love. She was too petrified to blush out of embarrassment.

“H-how.” She looked back to Hawks, who looked almost pained. “How did you... How do you...” The terror in her voice only served to scare her even more. She could feel the ice climbing up her neck, freezing her breath, stopping her heart. The music she had purposefully kept on wasn’t helping. She was seizing up in terror.

He knew. He knew she and Dabi knew one another. He thought - oh god he thought... Her career as a Hero was over. She’d have nothing - nothing - nothing left...!

“I’m going to ask you again, Yoshie. How long have you been involved with the League of Villains?”

“I’m not involved! I - I. Look, I’m not even dating Dabi! I want to, oh my god do I want to scoop him up and take him out of that situation, but - but I am not helping the League of Villains. You don’t have to believe me but that is my truth.” She was hyperventilating. Only her closest friends knew of her relationship (or lack thereof) with Dabi. How did he find out? “Who... told you, Hawks.”

“Yoshie, I...” His voice was wavering. She was crying, rubbing at her eyes aggressively. Hachi felt the change in mood, coming over and sitting beside her master, rubbing her face into her arm. “I was put in charge with bringing an end to the League. So I’ve been following all the active members as closely as I possibly can. No one told me. I found out myself.”

So no one had told him? ...and he was in charge of this all on his own?

Kuriru had found his way into her lap. She was crying as she pet both animals - but she nodded nonetheless. “S-so that’s why... you’re so stressed?”

“Yeah. And... when I found this out...” He scrolled back to the first photo - the one of her helping Dabi. “I thought it was just a coincidence. I know you; you’ll save anyone that needs it. I thought you didn’t know the whole situation - that you just rescued someone you thought was hurt. But then... He kept showing up, and you kept getting closer to him, and.” His voice cracked, “You have to understand that this information has to go to my higher ups.”

“I’m gonna...” She sobbed, pressing her head into Hachi’s fur. “I’m gonna lose everything.” She was shaking, and the ice spread to the kotatsu. A small storm had rolled from around her.

“No. No. You’re not losing everything.” She looked up to him. He had a fierce look on his face. “I won’t give these pictures to my higher ups if you agree to help me. I can tell them I’m bringing you on as extra help, as one of my trusted allies--”

And the ice, storm, and tears on her cheeks evaporated in just a moment as the roaring fire exploded from her, red hot anger and disbelief coursing through her. She managed to keep it controlled, not burning the area around her, but it was bright and everywhere. “Are you... blackmailing me, Hawks?” she seethed, voice scratching against her throat.

He shook his head. “’Blackmail’ isn’t right. Consider this... motivation to work together.” Their gazes found one another again. “This is to make a better, safer world. A world where us Heroes aren’t stretched so thin--”

“You want me to use my relationship to infiltrate the League and bring them to an end?” Her voice was only a couple notches below a scream.

“...yes. I do.” Hawks sighed and pushed himself back, leaning on his hands and staring at the ceiling. “If it makes this any better, I’m also a double agent. I’ve had to do some things I’m not proud of in order to gain their trust so far. They won’t even let me see their leader, Shigaraki. Dabi’s his proxy.”

Yoshie glared at him. “This is why Dabi told me to be careful.” Without thinking, she scooped the puppy towards her chest and pushed Hachi behind her. Protecting them. “And if I say no?”

“You know what happens if you say no, Yoshie.” He stood up and looked almost remorseful. “I’m sorry you got involved with this mess. I’ll... cover the bill today. And the adoption fees - you were gonna get that one, right?” She didn’t answer, instead choosing to glare at him. He shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll get this all cleared away with my boss. We’ll be in touch soon, alright?” She turned her head and gave a stiff nod. “And Yoshie... don’t tell Dabi about this.”

He turned away in time to avoid the heat from the fire suddenly roaring from her again, and to avoid the cold from the ice spikes that climbed their way towards him, only stopping at the door.

[am-gen-z-gay-and-pissed-blog]

First diary entry from my document (has swearing.. all of them do)

Ehh, it’ll say what date I wrote it, and this is a whole while ago. This one just puts you right into my feelings do I’m going to have the next one too

God fucking dammit, I made someone fucking sad again, why? Why does everyone believe me when I say I'm just tired. I'm happy but I need to vent but I know that when I vent people of quiet or sad or I can just see how their voice tells me that my problem isn't that bad, it could've been worse. They don't come with advice, they need advice, that's why I can't vent. If I kill myself, would they miss me or my advice? Would they be sad because they lost a friend or a therapist? I draw happy drawings to cheer people up, I do PvP even though I hate how it makes my heart go off. I support people, I'm an extra character in a game, I'm an NPC character in a game everyone plays, I'm left on the side, I have side quests and I am a helping character, am I needed for the game play or do I just have hints to solve some problems? Perhaps I should write something people will remember me by. A book? No, a text, something they can send to my friends online, something they can put online to make the older generations realize that perhaps kids aren't ok, that perhaps it's not a phase, perhaps we make all these suicide jokes so that we won't be as sad when it actually happens? I can't be sure of anything anymore, we insult each other because that way it hurts less when people try to actually make less of us. Gosh I'm rambling, what is my actual problem? Do I actually have a problem or is this in my head?  Is it because people get mad at me? Is it because I'm too fucking tired to think or even live? Can I please please please just kill myself? Mum and dad, if you're reading this it's either been years or I actually killed myself… I wish adults would just understand that it's not just a teenage phase and that we are depressed, most of us are. Some of us are suicidal, some of us cut, some of us just can't bother anymore. The condensing way adults talk to me, the looks they give me as I cry or as I complain. They say I'm a kid, they don't know the shit I'm going through every fucking day. Oh well.. If I do kill myself I have this… This is perhaps my legacy… A legacy heh… Planting seeds in a garden you don't even get to see, will there be a future to change? I don't know the answer to that. Everything is fucked up. Our generation wants to make the best of now because we don't know if we can change the future, we don't have faith in ourselves. In this text I just want to tell you all… You are worth all the love in the world.. I love you, even if I'm gone, I'll love you and everyone who needs it. Only very few people know I have friends online heh… I surround myself with friends so if I lose someone it won't hurt me as much… I'm Gorfelina and I want you to know that you're not alone, and no matter how hard everything feels you shouldn't give up like I did, be part of the butterfly project, don't start cutting. I know it's hard but by doing this I hope that you all can see that you are so much more than you think, you haven't given up yet. I love you, keep trying, for me?

Written 2018 on the eleventh of August.

Hi y’all, I’m back again, time for an update on my life, it’s the eleventh of September… I’ve survived this long… perhaps I’ll start writing in this document every month on the eleventh to see if I recover or I lose my fight. That’s what I’ll do, either this is my legacy or I’ll one day post this online to show people that things get better.. right now, if I do post this, this will be something like a diary of my life, you guys might get in on some secrets, oh well, I’ll take it. . I’m still together with Cosmic.. “who is Cosmic?” You might ask… well… He’s one of my many online friends, right now.. we’re dating, I didn’t mention him last month but we started dating a more than a month ago.. the reason I don’t tell you his real name is because I don’t want to accidentally reveal his identity. I’m actually going to do that with all of my online friends, even with my two real life best friends, only a few people will know who I’m talking about. Right now my life is a mess, school just started and I have my grades to worry about, I might even be developing feelings for another guy named Hachi… Everyone is so good looking, I must be cursed with bad looks, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m pansexual… Gosh, I get crushes far too easily, I get crushes over the internet, I fall in love with their personality, their voice and their laugh… Gosh, now I’m just rambling about my love for friends and people in general.. But I'mma ignore that and just ramble some more about my friends. Cosmic, he’s still kinda insecure about his voice (sorry for telling others) and I find that kinda adorable but really sad, he’s insecure because his voice is pretty high pitched for a guy his age, he’s asked me about if I think his voice is high pitched and I always dodge the question, I will tell him that his voice is high pitched one day. I find boys who have high pitched voices a whole lot cuter, even if it might be scientifically proven that women are attracted to guys who have low pitched voices which has happened to me, I talked to a guy whom’s voice was very low pitched which while making me kinda attracted I got embarrassed because he was flirty which kinda ruined the whole low pitched voice thing for me, I find that guys who have higher pitched voices are a whole lot easier to have long conversations with and they can also be adorable in ways that guys with low pitched voices can’t, although that’s just my opinion. Hachi is… well yeah, he’s not insecure about his voice even if he does have other insecurities (sorry, once again) although that’s for another time, he’s pretty talkative and so is Cosmic, he also has a quite high pitched voice although he’s younger than both me and Cosmic so he has reason to have it high pitched, so far I love his laugh and how nice he is. He’s kinda like Cosmic in a way but I’ve known Hachi for longer, maybe that’s why I’m starting to like him… I also have Biscuit, she’s really pretty and sweet and I love her so much, she’s very different from Emoji who’s just a friend.. I love most of the people in my life… The people I mention now are going to be the main cast for my life story for now… This is the character cast for my game of life. Cosmic, Hachi, Biscuit, Emoji, Kodo, Virtus, Darish, Yin, Kakashi, Stitch and Kraken, these are the people I’m probably gonna mention, there might be a few others that I mention but these are the ones online and they’re the ones I’m going to talk about most.

This was it for today, I’ll hopefully keep writing next month. If not and I killed myself.. I’m sorry, but that means I lost my fight, once again, stay strong, things will get better, I just wasn’t a strong enough to win my fight, I believe in you and I love you, stay strong, you can fight off the waves of temptation. Goodbye for now…

Just today I’m pretty good. Thanks for taking the time!

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

Aaand... here. [ffnet] [ao3]

Me notes: I’m living dangerously and haven’t actually looked up the possible lingering symptoms of lead poisoning up till a week ago. And yet, it’s disturbing how legit my guesses were, even past the chronic pain lmao??? Shit’s wild, yo.(Won’t come up, but among other things, it can fuck up your cognitive abilities, that is to say, make you stupid(er)... our genius Law’s IQ was probably so broken that it needed to be nerfed to hell, yet he’s still one of the smartest jackasses in the series. somehow, this info delights me… what a force of nature.) (I’m definitely winging the shit as to why those things happen tho, this is just a shitty fic project, I don’t need nor really want a PhD in neurosurgery and whatnot. … for now, at least. I’d be happy with a teacher’s degree. And something to prove that I’m by no stretch bad at translating stuff.)

26. Shenanigans

As soon as Kat reaches her destination, Nami poses a question immediately; “What was that about?” All she could see was that Law was both mad and… well, confused, while trying his darnest to be civil. Which in itself is a point of interest, just like the fact that her new friend here also seems kind of lost.

Kat sighs. “I’ve been too,” Honestly, how should she summarize this? Uh... “well... nice?”

“Too… nice.” On second thought… the navigator feels she shouldn’t be surprised that the Heart captain would find that unwelcome. He’s not exactly the buddy-buddy type, hell, probably even paranoid.

“Like... I felt kind of guilty for skipping all that practice and being a general nuisance,” among other things she cannot talk about... “... so I brought down some rice crackers and tea after breakfast and washed his dusty mug that must have been lying around for months for him,” she looks up, slowing down a bit to get her thoughts in order; “We had, like, a tea party. Which was still okay, I guess. After having managed to sit out the new training shit proper, probably looking like a maniac during it all… I definitely overdid it by buying a teddy at the fair for his suspiciously big bear themed collection.” It really seems excessive and random in hindsight. “Man, can you imagine I even considered to buy a gigantic one? I couldn’t bring myself to pay up the twelve grand, but… pfff.” she mumbles mostly to herself, putting on a faint smile over the mental image of chucking that monstrosity at him again, then places a hand on her cheek while contemplating the general idea over in vague confusion. She settled for the small one, but... sheesh. On the other hand, she likes being charitable, and it’s been too damn long since she had both the financial background and an excuse to buy a gift for someone apart from the obligatory job stuff. Thinking about this makes her want to give a little ‘thank you’ gift of sorts to both crews… except, well, she ain’t got jack as far as ideas are concerned. They already have everything they could need, too.

Nami rolls her eyes upon hearing that. “Geez… it’s like you’re wishing him a belated happy birthday and he’s complaining over the attention. Which… is not all that surprising, I guess,” she concludes then with a shrug. “He did the same when we threw him a party before arriving in the country,” His main complaint was that he had his private party with his crew a few days back… none can do for Luffy if he wants to party, however. “On the other hand… you do realize that you sound like an overly apologetic boyfriend, right?” Nami muses while returning her attention to her, finding sudden enjoyment over the image of Knight Kat and her grumpy liege.

“Well… he is a princess as far as I’m concerned,” Kat nods in agreement. “While I’m not sure his highness would agree, I can see where you’re coming from, though,” she adds, scratching the sideburns in embarrassment. “I’m… not really good at taking care of anyone or anything in general, no lie. The moons must have aligned, or something.”

“You must be underestimating yourself,” the other woman states, leading her towards the table with the still steaming drink on it. Sanji must have been here a mere minute ago. “People who have no sense of nurture would never be able to do your job, you know?”

“Work is different,” she protests, crossing her forearms in an X, and squints at the back of Nami’s head where some small creature seems to be very, very lost in the orange sea; “Because… I know I have to do that stuff, and I must pay attention at least some of the time, you know? If I didn’t, I’d get fired. When just home, or hanging out… I get way too comfortable, and next thing I notice after spacing out is that the day is already over. Flowers unwatered and still full of lice or whatever, dog unwalked and unpooped, cat unfed and has knocked everything off the table, and then there’s me, also hungry and dirty... Can’t just do all of that quick before going to bed, can you?” She sighs. “I’m happy I’ve gotten far enough to be able to take care of myself, you know.” Sometimes she still forgets to eat, or keeps going just one or two more days without the designated bath. It’s so… it’s beyond embarrassing. And infuriating. Occasionally… even humiliating.

She picks up her cup and stirs the beverage, then downs half of it immediately. A sugar chunk in her mouth and the barely comfortable temperature remind her that she probably should slow the fuck down. Oh well… if she already has half the cube, might as well lick it away.

“... I still think you are selling yourself short, but… can’t say I haven’t met the problem.” Getting started after Bellemere was… overwhelming. Although they helped out a lot since they were little, and there wasn’t a lot more extra work to do, neither her nor Nojiko had an idea where to start with the household, even though the villagers cleaned up the mess in the house that Hachi had left behind. The laundry seemed to be more when it was less, the cooking more challenging... even the tangerine grove felt bigger and more intimidating than before. Everything appeared to be more than what it was in reality. When she noticed some work waiting to be done, she handled it on autopilot, but there really was a lot of spacing out while doing stuff. From what she just said, Kat seems to be in a similar state of mind, albeit near permanently. “Either way, that already is something. You talk as if you were worse about it, so there’s nothing to be worried about. That forestside cottage won’t tend itself once you get there.”

Kat lets a smile creep on her face, being reminded of her silly life goals. Nami was listening in on her and Robin’s conversation, huh? “I guess… but I’m still eons away from even attempting that.” Finishing the sentence, she also finishes her coffee and puts the cup down. Now, let’s address that minor annoyance that’s been bugging her quite literally for a minute… “By the way, turn around a bit?”

“Turn…? Why should I?” the redhead asks, complying with the request regardless.

Kat reaches into her hair and picks out one tiny black dot after short looking around the neck area. “You had one of these really small spiders in your hair,” she says, lifting the little goober for her to see. The wind carries these all over the place.

“Eeeh,” Nami gets shivers turning back to her while holding her locks, zeroing in on the barely visible animal. “Oh, god, get it away….!”

A mischievous smile appears on Kat’s face; Nami knows her just enough to step back and eye her with suspicion.

“Away?”

“Don’t…”

“Don’t what?”

Another step back is followed by a step forward by Kat, and they start waltzing faster and faster, until Nami starts sprinting and runs into Sanji, who is bringing out drinks for her and probably Carrot, as Robin should be having her coffee now.

“Shield!!” she shouts, flinging him in between. The man keeps enough balance for the layered cocktails to barely sway; quite impressive. He’s also visibly pleased with the development.

“Oh, Nami, dear~ you are so passionate today. What brings you to me~?”

“An itsy bitsy spider,” says Kat, bringing it up to his nose, almost.

“Oh, a spi---” the smile freezes onto Sanji’s face upon turning towards her, then he emits a sound alike a deflating balloon before arching back all of a sudden over Nami in panic. The utensils in his hand can’t compete with the sudden movement, and are wobbling precariously, until the tray itself starts to tilt; noticing that, Kat snaps her hand towards said objects to stop them from falling, and the spider, having had enough of these shenanigans, uses the momentum to make an exit with a jump into the greenery.

The drinks, along with every layer, practically stop in time; Sanji looks over to them, still in shock.

“Sweet catch,” says a bubbly Carrot who has likely seen everything as she's sliding down the mast.

“... thanks…” Kat squeaks. Something about this feels… weird, though. “And, uh, sorry,” she adds, looking over to the cook. “Didn’t know you felt this strongly about creepy crawlies.” She almost ruined those drinks and potentially could have broken the glasses, too...

“I-it’s fine,” he croaks with the frozen smile still on his face, shaking a little both from the position and scare.

“That was mean, Kat,” Nami grumbles, pushing the man back onto his feet, checking the grass for the small stowaway. “Don’t bring bugs near me… or Sanji, -sorry, Sanji,- they are gross!”

“After this, I really won’t,” she mumbles, slowly setting the glasses back into position on the tray now that Sanji’s calming down and is not shaking things all over the place. The contents, however… need extra care? They are levitating by themselves, so she needs to move them along with the glass. What is she doing differently, here?

“Thank you,” the man mumbles with the last item returning to its place and having recollected himself.

“No need to, I was the one brewing trouble in the first place.” Being done with the extra task, she feels relieved. “The falling things save is an aspect that I’ll definitely miss, no lie,” she breathes then; the odd feeling from before has not left her. There’s a notion that she can pinpoint every last detail around the ship, to the last strand of hair… she can even feel the little tiptoes of that tiny arachnid under them; taking a look to the side, she can spot a dot exactly where she thinks it is, too. And two butterflies flapping around the garden, flies all over the place, and just in general a lot of all kinds of small creatures all over. Even the positions of people moving around on board, whom she can kind of identify by size, position, what they might be doing or the way they walk… as well as the different layers in the drinks, which appear to be the most detailed ‘feeling’ thing. There’s just a lot of stuff not belonging to places, and it’s a little overwhelming.

Her perception being off is apparently noticeable, as Nami picks up on it as well. “You alright?” Kat has a tendency to space out or look out of it, so she’s always a little worried that there’s something like a pulled neck muscle going on. Most of the time, though, she’s just daydreaming.

“No, I’m alright, it’s…” Suddenly, she feels enlightened. “Oh, I think I know what this is…”

“What would that something be?” Nami asks, blinking in confusion.

“I think I just activated this scanning stuff by accident,” she informs her, looking down at her hands. The trigger must have been reaching for the glasses, but… how does one turn it off?

“Scanning…?” the woman mumbles. This must be something Ope Ope related.

“Like… I just know where a lot of stuff is, all of a sudden…” Thinking about it, she knows specifically where living things are, and the overall shapes of objects. And… possibly the density of things, because, those drinks...

Sanji notes her sudden interest in said beverages. “Would the resident changeling fairy like a glass of her own?”

Oh god, he’s already back to cheesy descriptions level… ANYWAY.

“No, thanks, I don't drink... I do like looking at pretty cocktails, though.” Honestly, sometimes they smell really nice, so it's hard to resist.... like these. There’s some chocolate and raspberries in there… but all she has to think of is the bitter aftertaste and the temptation is no more.

“Actually,” she continues as Nami gets her cocktail to sip on and Carrot walks up to them, asking whether she can have the other one, to which Sanji informs the mink that it was meant to be hers anyway; “mind if I try something with one of these…?”

“Oh, are you going to do some cool tricks?” Carrot asks with excitement; “I’ve been wanting to see the stuff Bropper has been talking about, too!”

“Ah, right!! I wanted to show you some stuff, anyway!” she says while sucking up some of the radiating fuzz buzz up, too.

Sanji raises a brow and puts on half a sulk. It takes a second to let the notion of food being tampered with slide, but if it’s for the greater good and less frustrating body statuses… Indeed, the thought of everything in the universe being in its rightful place puts his head back in the clouds. “I’ll be on my way, my lovelies, call if you need anything~” he swoons while disappearing back in the kitchen in a whirlwind.

Nami also gets going direction library and waves goodbye while drinking, which gesture the remaining two return.

“So, so,” the mink starts again, lifting up the glass to Kat; “what do you want to do with this?”

“What I want to do with the drink specifically is probably not that interesting, but even if it’s a total failure, I’ll make it up to you right after,” she notes. She has about one shot at this, anyway.

“Tee-hee~ Show me watcha got,” the rabbit girl says with a smug face to challenge the cocktail’s opponent.

“As you wish,” Kat responds with a smile of the same smugness level; Carrot snorts at this.

“You legit sound and look like Bepo’s captain right now,” she giggles.

“Hey, hey, careful,” Kat half-laughs while trying to keep the glass upright; “I need this thing as it is right now.”

“Alright, even if you will suck at this, you’ve already redeemed yourself,” the mink states as they waddle with combined efforts towards the table to put the beverage on. “Purely on a basis of a spot-on impression that you ruined immediately after.” She wasn’t there for the first performance anyway. “Bonus points for not even trying, tho.”

“Well, Carrot, to catch the pray…” she looks around with shifty eyes as the glass clinks on the polished surface; “you need to become the prey.”

“Well, well, well, Kat… I literally am prey,” she nods, releasing the object at last. “Also… are you saying you are out on a hunt? Hmm?” The smug smile returns, and this time it’s accompanied by a knowing look and crossed arms.

The girl needs to consider this for a moment, and she also puts on a comically exaggerated thinking face. Is she trying to go for Law's jugular in any way or form? She's had worse company, but... "Not really. Or deliberately. Unless hunting for funny situations for either person counts as such." With that she also lets go of the poor liquid that still retains most of its original form.

Carrot nods wisely after a few seconds, eyes entranced in the cloudy horizon. “... that’s fair, can’t blame you for that.”

Kat needs to hold back a smile, then decides to put an end to this banter. “Okay, alright, I may have finished off my coffee in like three shots, but I’ll have to hurry regardless,” she waves her hands around. “Let’s see this bad boy,” she groans while dropping on a chair; Carrot follows her lead and watches intently.

Okay, so… she still has that feeling going, that’s good; she also tried to keep the drink stable while holding it, which seems to have been a success. Now, how to do the thing she has in mind… She touches the glass again, which seems to power up the sensation somewhat; even if it’s a placebo effect, being in contact seems to make things much easier. There is definitely a difference between the glass and its content... what she’s really interested in, however, are the individual layers, which also seem different… they feel different. Especially the lightest and heaviest ones.

What if she just tried, took the lowest, dark layer, and...

“... Kat, what part of reality are you breaking again?” asks Usopp in a vaguely wary manner while passing with his tool box, his eyes catching the liquid blob pass a rather opaque layer following her finger before settling on top. Carrot breathes a ‘cool’ as she watches on with her head on the table.

“... density or gravity, I guess.” If not both. Those are kinda correlated, aren't they...? Eh, fuck physics. She can break all the rules, anyway.

As the layer settles in, she takes a look at the one now below it; a motion of another finger lowers it to the middle, then she raises it up again through the static ones. After that, she puts the reddish, heavy goop back to its place, with the lightest layer over it. Releasing it all makes the whitish liquid phase through multiple other ones, stirring the entire cocktail up. Looks rather nifty, with all those vertical stripes in it. Last part notwithstanding... if souls or whatever feel just as different, and she can make them slide through another... after some refinement, this just might be the thing she needs.

[bearxclaws-archive-blog]

Arc Headcanons // PRE-SKIP PT.4

It’s been two weeks since I did one of these ‘cause I was on vacation, but here we go again! Sorry for being repetitive, but there will most likely be mentions of Sanji x Anita.

DUVAL / SABAODY ARCHIPELAGO

— ARC OUTFIT

— After almost watching Sanji’s upper half disappear on Thriller Bark, it’s going to become a habit for her to touch a bit more. Not that she was why about it before because she’s just a physical person, but she’ll touch his arm, chest and anything from the neck up as a weird way of making sure he’s there. Totally brushes it off as just making sure he’s still mostly intact.

— She doesn’t know him, but Anita is worried about Ace too. She doesn’t like that his Vivre Card is burning. Still, she trusts Luffy’s judgement and doesn’t insist that he go after his brother. By the sounds of it, Ace is perfectly capable of defending himself.

— While Chopper and Usopp are relaxing and the rest of the crew is dealing with the submarine, Anita is in the kitchen pouting because she wanted to go underwater. With her Devil Fruit, she can’t. Oh, well, it’s sort of given her the chance to indulge in her stupid crush and watch Sanji work.

— Him getting decked by Keimi’s whole body when she lands on him cracks her up, though. She really needs to stop laughing at other peoples suffering. Not really sure why she does, but I feel like she just would.

— Having not been there during the Arlong Park chaos, she isn’t sure who Hachi is. Learning about it infuriates her, and so does learning that mermaids are sold.

— A thing I am realizing; when her island was taken over, her and her troupe were basically turned into slaves. They were a little cleaner and happier looking, but it was part of the act to lure pirates in. If they disobeyed, they were beaten or even put to death. They were scared of the man that had put himself in the position of master. So the entirety of this arc, Anita will likely be pissed and slightly afraid in a ‘ does he realize I’m gone and has he told other Marines so they recognize me’ way. She doesn’t want to be dragged back home yet when she can’t help. Didn’t have the smarts to think that it might happen until now. Whoops~

— Anita goes with the flow, so she doesn’t care who they’re saving as long as Luffy’s the one that ordered it. Although a large part of her wants to meet a talking octopus-man.

— Duval’s existence almost kills Anita. She will be doubled over despite being attacked with poisonous harpoons, holding her stomach and wheezing for breath.

— Because she’s stupid and obvious, I feel like the ones that know she has a crush on Sanji would be Nami, Robin and Usopp. At least one of them is going to be a shit and make a joke about her liking Duval because what’s the difference between him and Sanji? Rude as fuck, but it only makes her start laughing again.

— Flips her shit when they trap him in the water and announce they’re going to drown him. God, sometimes she hates that she has a Devil Fruit. When he does get rescued and has his dumb little nosebleed, Anita will poke him with her foot. Moron.

— Luffy and Anita have a contest to see who can put the most takoyaki in their mouth at once. Anita loses, obviously, and ends up almost choking. Sanji goes to help but Luffy smacks her hard on the back and ends up coughing it up. Ew.

— I’m wondering if Anita would know who the Celestial Dragons are. What I’m thinking is that their conditions at the circus were a lot worse than I first made them out to be. That they were treated like slaves, and that because the corrupt part of the government turns a blind eye ( and sometimes encourages ) the buying and selling of people. So if they were treated and seen as slaves, then I wonder if Celestial Dragons visited the island to be entertained and buy some of the troupe members. 

One day she will have noticed that a certain member has gone missing and not come back. Would destroy her to see them being treated poorly years later while visiting Sabaody. Not sure if that’s giving her too much personal involvement in the arc, though. But, honestly, I’m liking this idea because she’s not going to get a major arc of her own like the canon Straw Hats to. This is the only personal things I can think of to make up for her lack of an arc and a slight foreshadowing that she won’t have a home to come back to.

— Anita debates being a love-struck idiot and staying on the ship with Sanji while it’s getting repaired by Franky and Usopp. Decides against it because she knows she’s being stupid and doesn’t want to look at his dumb, handsome face. Stupid cook.

— Like Zoro, she wasn’t there for the briefing about not dealing with Celestial Dragons. She’s off on her own thing, probably notices someone that used to be in her troupe but sees they have a collar and are being treated like an animal rather than a person. Follows after them, tries to call their name and get their attention. Might get a small, frantic look as the only warning not to say anything else! Gets confused and ends up losing them before she realizes that she’s where the rest of the Straw Hats are. Is yanked down onto her knees by one of them and doesn’t get why. Learns real quick and decides just as swiftly that she doesn’t like this place.

— Doesn’t care about Law’s crew, except for Bepo. Bear! Walking, talking bear! If they weren’t trying so hard to get Keimi back, she would have scrambled over to talk to Bepo. Wants so badly to be his bear-buddy.

— Adds a kick of her own when Sanji asks if they can buy the dancing girl. Come on, Sanji.  .  . Really? You’re my most beloved muse and I wanna kick your ass for that.

— Anita doesn’t get why people are reacting so badly to Hatchi. She isn’t the least bit against other races because there were too many different kinds of people that worked for the circus, so she only sees them all as people.

— She’s secretly enjoying learning about all these old pirates because she never met Crocus, and she doesn’t hear about Roger much. Always a sucker for good stories.

— The idea of splitting up doesn’t appeal to her. She has a bad feeling in her gut that she blames her animal-like instinct on. Assume Chopper can feel it too even though they’ve got got human in them too. Doesn’t mention it and almost approaches Sanji to ask if she can tag along with him wherever he plans on going.

— Anita can be incredibly dumb sometimes, but I feel like she would quickly notice that it wasn’t Kuma they were fighting. Or, at least, notice that he doesn’t have the paw-pads. Kind of hard for her to forget those when she’s so closely associated with bears.

— Probably tried to bite at the Pacifista’s and only managed to get through the ‘skin.’ I know Brook couldn’t get through it, but she’s a gigantic bear, come on. They’re supposed to be able to bite through iron, so she’s going to get her jaw into PX-4 and shed some of that outside layer.

— Running would be so easy for her in her bear form, but she doesn’t flee like she’s told. She’s taking on too much responsibility as a tank and trying to protect the groups that look like they’re under attack the most. 

— Because of that, I feel like she would end up being the first one ‘erased’ because she would make every attempt to lunge in front of Zoro when the real Kuma comes. I know Zoro disappearing first was important, but she’s the one that jumps out first to do her job. She won’t get to see what happens to Chopper while he’s rampaging again, and doesn’t get to see what happens to everyone else. I wanted to be more despair inducing for her, but she would be one of the first gone and won’t have time to see them vanish.

URSA ISLAND / TWO YEAR SEPARATION

— Anita crash-lands on an island inhabited entirely by large, beastly bears. They’re all larger and stronger than she is, and they aren’t the least bit welcoming to find a human on their island. Unlike actual wild bears, these ones are barely smart enough to have a system of roles, the most important being tribe leader.

— The tribe leader, Anita dubbed King. He was a large, black, monstrous bear with nasty scars and gnarly teeth. He looks like a cruel leader, but he’s actually as kind as they come. He only wants to frighten her away because they can’t stand humans. He seeks only to protect his people. That’s what she’s come to understand, at least.

— There’s only one place that’s safe on the island, and it’s the largest tree in the entire place. They can’t climb to the top, and she can in her human form. Discovers, however, that she’s not the only human stuck on that island. A young girl is also trapped there. She doesn’t know herself very well and is nameless. She lives in the trees to avoid the bears and has lived there so long that she smells like them. Eventually, they agree that she will be called Ylde. Pronounced like ‘wild’ but Anita can’t spell and just went based on the sound.

— Ylde: Isn’t it spelled w-i-l-d?     Anita: ...How the fuck does a two-year-old stuck on a bear island know how to spell better than me?     Ylde: I’m thirteen.     Anita: Silence, small baby.

— Ylde attempts to convince Anita that there’s no point in trying to integrate herself into the tribe. Even as a bear, they’ll know she doesn’t belong from her scent and size. Anita corrects her and says she only wants to get off the damned island so she can get back to her friends.

— Because it will be a while before she gets the paper and she’s determined to leave, she gets into her bear form and readies herself to fight through the swarm of bears just to get to shore and find one of the many boats Ylde says have washed up over the years.

— End up coming back to Ylde’s tree because she gets her ass kicked. Tries this every single day until the moment the News Coo comes with the paper saying. She understands the hint given by Luffy and is immediately relieved to see he’s still alive. Doesn’t know if the rest are, but she’s hoping so. Didn’t even occur to her that they might be dead because she managed to survive the crash.

— Spends the next to years fighting and learning on her own. Ylde doesn’t stick around when, during the first year and a half, an intact ship is discovered. She insists Anita come with her, but she refuses. Ylde, having gotten attached to her, promises to come back to that exact spot in two years to pick her up and take her where she wants to go.

— Anita’s goal, like everyone else, is to get stronger. She realizes after being beaten again and again that she’s too weak in her bear form. Seeing as how that’s the part she wants to strengthen most, she dedicates herself to staying a bear as long as she possibly can. Day in and day out, from sunrise to sunset, she wants to stay a bear. She does this and does get stronger, but doesn’t realize that in the process she was inching closer to becoming the tribe leader herself.

— Over the two year separation, the following happens; she learns armament haki that she uses only on her teeth and claws, gets even larger than before, earns more devastating-looking scars, gets even greedier with food because of how unfair the tribe was to her before she became leader, eventually becomes the leader and earns the respect of the entire island.

— But because the rest of the tribe refuses to fight her, she becomes lazy and antsy. She will absolutely crave a fight whenever it feels like one is brewing now.

— New moves:           Mighty Roar: Can either a. instill fear in an enemy and send them fleeing or b. temporarily disable them because the intensity of the sound is mind-numbing. Not to be confused with Conqueror's Haki ;;

          Bear Trap: Bites through any part of an enemy that she can and fuses her jaws together with her Armament Haki as long as the teeth are touching, leaving it nearly impossible to shake her off.

          Bearrel Roll: Yes, it’s a pun to barrel roll. Doesn’t actually suit the move because she’s not doing a barrel roll, but she does curl up and roll into her target to catch them off guard. Is a good move to use with people she trusts to throw / kick her.

[gaiaplantress]

Title: Request Fandom: All Out!! Characters/pairing: Sekizan/Ria (Canon/OC) Summary:  Sekizan helps Ria out with something, and the conversation does not go in the direction she expects.

“Hirano-san, what are you doing?”   Ria paused and shifted the stack of books she was carrying before slowly turning around.  There was their second year history teacher standing there, hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face.  That was really weird, since normally she was one of the more laid back of their teachers, and Ria really couldn’t remember doing anything that would have gotten her into trouble. “I’m taking text books back to the storage room for Ando-Sensei,” she said out loud, hoping that would be enough to get her out of...whatever... trouble she had stumbled into unknowingly.  “He said that…” “Of course it was Ando-sensei!” The woman threw her hands up, “I’ve told him a thousand times that he shouldn’t use the students to run every little errand he can think of! Does he listen to me? Of course not.” “It’s all right really,” Ria said quickly and got a hand free to brush a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, “he just asked and said that I could do it.”  She wondered why this was such an offense since she was hardly the first student in the school to be asked to run an errand for a teacher. “It’s not that far and..” “He’s still taking advantage of your good nature,” Sensei huffed, “and he should have known better than to force  girl to carry a heavy load like that!” At that, Ria had to stand up a little straighter. “Sensei, it’s really not that heavy,” she said firmly. Yes, the books were a bit heavy, and they were awkward, but it wasn’t like she couldn’t deal with them.  “I can…” However Sensei apparently wasn’t paying attention to her and had turned around to scan the hallway behind her.  It was during break, so of course there were other students wandering around, and her face suddenly lit up. “Ah, Sekizan-kun, perfect!”   Poor Sekizan, who had been just walking down the hallway with Hachioji from her class stopped immediately because he always listened to the teachers.  “Sensei..?” “You’re big and strong enough.  Help Hirano with the books, okay?”  Sensei waved in her direction and she gave Sekizan a rueful little smile when their eyes met. ….Was it her imagination, or did he start when he saw her?  At least it took him a moment of staring before he seemed to remember himself. “Ah, sure,” he said. Hachi laughed and gave him a slap on the back as he walked by. “Good luck,” he said, his voice teasing.  He gave her a wink as he passed her and she swore she heard Sekizan all but growl Mutsumi as he walked away.  When she looked up at Sekizan, she almost thought that he looked a little red.  But then he heaved a sigh and came over to her like it was nothing.   Maybe it had been her imagination. “Here,” he said and took most of the books off the top of the pile.  Apparently satisfied that Sekizan was helping her, Sensei gave a nod and headed back into the classroom.   Ria turned her attention back to Sekizan. “You don’t have to take that many!” she said, “ignore what Sensei said, I’m still stronger than I look.” “...I’m still stronger,” was the only reply. “Where are we going with these?” She sighed, but decided that arguing with him wasn’t worth it.  Sekizan could be unholy stubborn when he wanted to be.  “Storage room,” she said instead. “It’s not that far.  Sorry that you got roped into helping.” “It’s fine,” Sekizan said as they started walking. “Besides, it’s Sensei’s request. That’s something that can’t be helped.” “I guess,” she sighed. “Although, did that seem a little odd to you?  I mean, Sensei was taking it a bit personally.  I think there’s something there at we’re missing.” “Even if we are, it’s not any of our business,” Sekizan said.  “Prying into a teacher’s personal life would be disrespectful.” “I can’t argue with that,” she replied and laughed, “though at the same time I can’t help but be a bit curious.  It’s part of human nature I guess.” All that got her was a mild grunt in reply, but she wasn’t really bothered by that.  Glancing over at Sekizan she felt relief he was talking to her at all.  For the past few days she’d almost felt like he was avoiding her.  Not in the ‘duck out of the room whenever he saw her’ sense exactly, but more that he was much more curt than usual when they ran into each other and seemed to not want to talk.  He also spent a lot of time staring at her rather intensely but would look away when she tried to ask him about it.   She had been on the verge of asking him what was wrong, because she didn’t think she had done anything to make him mad.  She wasn’t even sure he was mad.  He wasn’t acting like he had been before, when he had thought she was making fun of him.   Besides, if she was honest, she missed talking with him.  She had thought they’d actually gotten a bit closer lately.  He had run into her after practice the other day, insisted on walking her home, and they’d ended up just...talking.  It had been nice though.  Really nice.   She’d hoped they could do it again.   He had been friendly the next day, and she thought maybe….maybe something would happen.  Then he’d pulled away and it had hurt.  A lot.  Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. “Here,” Sekizan said abruptly, interrupting her train of thought. Now she wished the prep room was a bit farther away.   “I’ll get the door,” she said anyway, since she had the lighter burden.  She darted forward and opened it for them.   A little bit later, she was actually glad that Sensei had called Sekizan over, and not just because she wanted to be around him again. “I’m glad you’re so tall,” she said as she handed him a book. “It is was just me, I would have to use a stepladder.” She almost thought that she saw him smile. “I’m not sure that you could reach all the way up here with one anyway,” he said casually, ands he couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or just stating a fact. “So now you’re calling me short?”  She said, and smiled, “You know that I’m not that short.”  She could even argue that 165cm put her on the taller side of the girls in her class, but she wasn’t going to say anything. Sekizan paused as she handed him another textbook. “You look short to me,” he said after a moment and went back to putting things away. She couldn’t help but laugh at that. “That’s because it’s you.  It’s not my fault that you’re huge.  Everyone probably looks short to you.” “...Wouldn't that include you too?” He turned to take another book from her and there was something that might have been a smile on his face.  Then he turned back quickly and muttered something that almost sounded like ‘it’s cute’ but was sure she had misheard.   “I’m not admitting to anything,” she said loftily, “and this is the last one, and we’re done.” He grunted as she handed it to him, he didn’t look back as he reached for it and his hand closed around hers by mistake.  He froze looked at their hands, then let go like she was on fire.  The book fell to the floor. “Sorry,” he said quickly and stepped back, as if trying to give her space. “That’s my fault.” “It’s fine,” she said as she reached down and scooped the book back up, “It’s not a big deal, but now I’m working what’s up with you.  You’ve been weird these last couple of days and..” She stopped talking when she straightened up and found Sekizan right in front of her.  He was tense, his hands clenched, and she found herself caught in the sheer intensity of this gaze.  For the first time she realized what some of her classmates had meant when they said he could be incredibly intimidating.   You couldn’t look away.  Her heart started giving funny little jumps. “Sekizan…?” she ventured slowly. He took a deep breath, “Hirano-san,” he said, voice slightly deeper than usual.   “Y..yeah?” It took all she had to keep from taking a step back from him.  He wasn’t trying to be intimidating, and he hadn’t made a move toward her but she had forgotten how much of a presence he had, especially in a small space like this. “....Go out with me.” “S..sure,” she said, the reply startled out of her before her brain caught up with the meaning of the words.  “Wait, what!?”   The book hit the ground for a second time. “You, me...what?” she stammered, still trying to process what had just happened.  Of all the conversations she could ever imagine them having, this was the last on the list.  Her heart was beating double time and she could just feel the blush on her cheeks.  She had never been asked out before.  Never. And she hadn’t realized that Sekizan was even interested.    Yet here he was, looking a little red himself, trying to look straight at her. Trying because he kept not quite meeting her eyes. “I...you’re asking me out?” she said and pointed at herself.   Sekizan gave a quick nod. “...Yeah.”  Oh, he was definitely bright red, and she had never seen him like that before. She felt like she couldn’t breath for a second. Her mind was flying in a million different directions at once.   “You like me?” she finally managed to say, “is that why you…?” she realized it was a stupid question. Sekizan shifted uncomfortably.  “I….decided,” he said, “that if you’re going to be stuck in my head there should be a reason,” he said at last. All she could do was stare for a moment. Then she started giggling. Sekizan started and stared at her. “H..Hirano-san?” “Sorry,” she said, trying to stop, “I just...is that your way of saying that you couldn’t stop thinking about it me?” “Uh.”  Sekizan quickly froze up, “I...guess?” he sounded so unsure about it she almost started outright laughing at the poor guy.  And upsetting him was the last thing she wanted. “You know,” she said and picked up the book she had dropped, “that’s one of the oddest ways of putting it I’ve ever heard.”   “...Ah..” “It’s kind of cute though,” she said and smiled as held the book out for him.   He stared at her before seeming to remember what they were supposed to be doing.  “...Cute?” he stammered as he turned to put it away.   “Yes, cute,” she said teasingly and got a confused look from him. That was probably the first time someone had used that term for him in a long, long time. “...And that was a really blunt way of asking me out,” she said and his eyes widened, “although I guess it suits you in a weird way.  You’re pretty straightforward.” He seemed to freeze for a second then slowly dropped his arm and turned to face her.  “Then, are you saying..?” “I didn’t say i didn’t like it,” she said cutting him off.  “And I already gave you my answer anyway.” “You did?” he said and scowled slightly, like he was thinking about it hard. “I said ‘sure’ when you asked, didn’t I?” she said. She knew that she was blushing and decided that she didn’t care if he knew it. He suddenly let out a breath and laughed. “You did say that didn’t you?” he said as he swept back his hair with one hand, and then smiled at her. Her heart gave a funny little flip.  His smile was absolutely brilliant when he used it like that.   There was a paused then he slowly let his hand drop.  “So..what do we do now?” he finally said. She stared, trying to come up with an answer for that when the faint voices of their classmates filtered into the room and she remembered there were other people out there. “For now...let’s get back to the classrooms before someone thinks we’re doing something weird in here?” she said and gestured back towards the where the rest of humanity is. “And then...we can figure the rest out later.  When we feel like it.” “That’s probably a good plan,” Sekizan said but they shared a smile before they left. Sekizan looked as composed as usual but Ria just hoped that she could keep her blush under control the rest of the day. She really didn’t want anyone questioning her on it.  This was a piece of happiness she wanted to savor on her own before she shared it with anyone.

[handsingsweapon]

The anya prompt you answered earlier 💟💟💟💟 😭😭😭 If you're still up for prompts: 3 or 5 years into the future. Yuuri coming in after a day of practice (or coaching if he's retired) and looking for Victor and Anya. When he finally finds them, they're napping together in the bedroom AAAAAAAAA

(i think you may have sent this twice, anon?)The original plan had involved Yuuri spending a few days in Montreal for work, followed by Victor meeting him in Calgary to head onwards into Banff for a brief vacation together. That had been Victor’s idea, originally, and it should’ve been romantic, except for the slightly exhausted expression he’d had when suggesting the idea while scrubbing crayon off of the living room wall. I’m coming with you to Canada, he’d said. We need a vacation.Okay…? Yuuri had agreed, at the time, and only later had he escalated the terms of the arrangement: Victor had been in the process of drizzling sleepy kisses down the back of Yuuri’s neck when a tentative, tiny knock sounded at their door, followed by a child’s plaintive cries about a nightmare.There is no day that goes by where Anya Katsuki-Nikiforova isn’t the light and joy and wonder of Katsuki Yuuri’s life, but that doesn’t mean for a second that after putting their daughter back to bed and discovering his husband sound asleep he hadn’t thought to himself: Anya is going to stay with my parents, and we are going to get a cabin somewhere very beautiful, and very remote. 

They made the plans accordingly. And then two days before the trip, Anya came down with a fever that wouldn’t break, no matter what they tried. Should we cancel? Yuuri wondered, and worried, and cancel he did: the cabin in Banff, the extra stay. He’d been on the brink of calling the airline, too, of sending an email to the Artistic Director at Cirque to apologize and explain the circumstances when Victor shut the lid of the laptop. We’re going to the doctor first. You’ve been excited about this opportunity with Cirque for three months. 

Anya’s diagnosed with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Victor talks, bullies, and wheedles Yuuri into still making the trip out to Montreal, even if he spends nearly every free moment calling back home for updates between helping the Cirque du Soleil team begin sketching out an ice show – new territory for them, something they try to want to take on tour. He’s very in-vogue as a choreographer; Victor, who trains four different skaters out of the Ice Castle in Hasetsu now – is incredibly proud. My brilliant, beautiful husband, he coos, when they get a moment alone, and sometimes even when they can’t. They’ve been married for eight years now – eight! – and it still makes Yuuri feel effervescent to hold Victor’s attention in that sort of way, makes him want to burn up and fly and do a million other illogical, wonderful things because he was somehow fortunate enough to stumble into a fairytale and then be told to stay as long as he liked there; stay forever.

Now the trip is over, and Yuuri’s made the trip back from Fukuoka himself, imagines Victor must be going stir-crazy at the house while Anya rides out the contagious period and stays home from preschool. It’s late-evening when he finally makes it home, greeted by the joyful yips of their toy poodle – a puppy for Anya to call her own, last year’s birthday present, but also, in a way, Victor’s. They name the puppy Hachi, and she doesn’t replace Makkachin, because Yuuri knows nothing can, but she introduces a different kind of guardian spirit into their home, increases the exuberance and chaos of their household. She is already Anya’s best friend in a way that never makes Yuuri fail to smile. He kicks off his shoes, deposits his suitcase, and kneels down to scratch behind Hachi’s ears and collect excited puppy-kisses. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t this; he’d pictured the pitter-patter of little feet, more than anything else, and scooping Anya up in his arms because she’s everything about the world that is precious and wonderful, and then turning into Victor’s chest for a welcome home kiss because he is the thing to which the compass of Yuuri’s entire being always points; he’s Yuuri’s true north. “Vitya? Anya?” 

The house is quiet. Yuuri can see into the living room and kitchen from here, notes the papers and crayons scattered over the coffee table, along with an abandoned cup of tea with a spoon tilted out of it. Curious, he moves closer, examines several drawings side by side; his daughter’s and his husband’s, and Victor’s horrible Japanese scrawl proclaiming welcome home, ‘tou-chan over the box that’s meant to be their house, three stick figures, and a dog. 

His heart swells, and he moves to check Anya’s room, which is empty, and then his and Victor’s, which yields fruit: his husband asleep with a child’s book propped against his chest, and their daughter curled into his side. Yuuri can see the healing blisters, almost gone, compared to the pictures he’d gotten a few days before. Victor’s phone is dead on the floor, unplugged from the charger, which explains why he never responded to Yuuri’s texts of arrival. Yuuri figures he’s got Hachi to thank for that; she must’ve tugged on the cable, wanting to play.

Nevertheless. It’s a perfect picture, because it is real, and it holds all of his favorite people. Yuuri climbs up onto the bed with extreme care, settles in on the other side of Anya, props himself up on an arm so that he can kiss foreheads, first hers, then Victor’s. When Victor’s blue eyes flutter open at the touch, Yuuri presses a finger over his mouth, intending to keep quiet for Anya’s sake. 

Hachi has other ideas, climbing up the trunk that’s at the foot of the bed and then running up to all three of them. Anya mutters short-lived protests as the poodle licks her fingers and then her cheek; like Victor, she slowly comes to. “Tou-chan!”

Yuuri opens his arms, cradles her. Victor’s fingers sweep through his hair, gathering and keeping, and the universe is a bright, just place. “I missed you too, ducky,” he says fondly. It’s an odd nickname, perhaps, born from Anya’s absolute obsession with the birds. Besides, he’s picked up the habit from Victor, from Yuri Plisetsky, whenever he visits. Hardly anyone ever seems to be called by their real name, anymore.

Plisetsky is still convinced he’s going to be able to make her into a cat person. He’s made the trip annually – not for you idiots, but your spawn’s cute – and so far it hasn’t stuck.

Yuuri looks at Victor, still perfect, all these years later. Still his. 

“… I missed you both.”