#(screw it i have no shame anymore into the main tag you go- but anyway was inspired at 2am and spat this out super fast fKSLJL)

[getcuboned]

The hardest thing for a show to do without absolutely Destroying its audience's belief in stakes is fake out deaths. It happens all the time during a season or even series finale: A main character dies, but then is revealed to be mildly/moderately/extremely hurt (throw a dart).

All the emotional payoff a character dying is immediately followed up with a cathartic return of a beloved figure. When its done right, it's Effective. That's why it was so popular, that and another reason.

The other reason is that its relatively Easy. It doesn't require the writers to change the status quo. Silly fun adventures with the gang go on as always without any real changes. This is so Cost and Idea effective, that it got overused and now everyone is jaded.

Now there's good ways to do this of course. AtLA comes to mind: Genuine threat of death, maguffin from last season finale which has been haunting the previous episodes comes into play, and the status quo changes: Aang is recovering from a serious injury for weeks, is furious that he died and failed Again when the world needed him, and he can't tap into god mode anymore.

So what's this got to do with the tags? Well if you know you know. Otherwise spoiler warning so gtfo already.

Sir Pentious, and I suspect Adam, did die a fakeout death, but the death part was genuine. Sir Pentious was not found in the rubble of the Hotel. Sir Pentious didn't respawn and explain that Adam's divine energy beams weren't angelic steel. Sir Pentious was Genuinely dead and the status quo has genuinely changed.

But! The show's premise is that the Hotel can help sinners redeem themselves. Redeption isn't a reward you seek. Its a condition that one meets on a personal, individual level. Sir Pentious came to the Hotel as a spy, and when he was shown that Charlie was willing to forgive him, it changed his understanding of the world. He realized that he could improve, it just starts with one good sorry.

Sir Pentious put aside his self loathing, his shame, his anxieties. He used his inventions to put himself on the line rather than keep himself out of danger (I mean that's what the airship is all about isn't it?). He fought for the people he cared about. He died to protect the ones he loved. And that transformation: from a paranoid worm of a human being (slimy? Snakes are not slimy), to an actualized individual willing to put himself on the line, earned him salvation.

Now Sir Pentious is an Angel! He's in Heaven! Even more so he bypassed the Pearly Gates and functionally respawned In the Seraphim's boardroom. Frankly He was one of the older sinners to be around so it doesn't surprise me the implication that he's powerful enough be worth the notice of the Seraphims.

So what about Adam? Why do I mention him? He was killed by a filthy janitor. Well. As another post mentioned: In the 10,000 years that Adam has been in charge of killing his own descendants because Lilith and Eve (where the fuck is she anyway?) screwed him over with the assistance of a short, dumb, naive angel (poor guy just wanted to share his ideas, look at him. 10,000 years later and he's hardly got a drop of malice in him that isn't put there by someone else), Adam has become Prideful, Slothful, Lustful, and Wrathful. Even one of those is enough to make you fall. Yet he was tolerated by heaven, most likely due to his extenuating circumstances.

Adam has died. He died full of Wrath, and Pride. He died because he was unmotivated to come up with a better solution, and unwilling to keep himself in shape. He died because of his Blood Lust.

So I think that very early on in season two, we will get to see Adam's demonic form.

Two fakeout deaths! But not really. Both characters have provably died and both (theoretically) will create a new status quo not just by dying, but by reincarnating across enemy lines.

[chaosmax]

Loneliness and the friendship-denying character (tm)

As a young kid, I often didn't totally understand the Kaiba-like "stoic and/or closed off character who insists they don't need friends and pushes everyone away". Yes, I often had empathy (when you understand the feelings of another but do not necessarily share them) or compassion for that character because the show/book/etc. often showed or told us what happened to that character that made them that way.

But I didn't have sympathy (is when you share the feelings of another) for those characters.

Not until several years later. Long story short, some stuff happened in my sophomore year of college which I won't go into much detail unless people give a shit lol. But basically, turned out most of the people I hung out with at school turned out to be fake friends. On top of that, I was taking two of the hardest classes in my life for me.

But back to the point. Within that semester, it suddenly all became "clear" to me. No one was going to stick around, I was the convenient friend only brought along when there was no one else. The door was open, and people were always leaving. So why not just close the door? It was literally the most logical next course of action.

In retrospect, and with a sound mind it sounds ridiculous, and it turned out all I needed to do was keep searching for people that truly wanted to be in my life and I theirs. But. 

At the moment, it all seemed to make much logical sense. If you shut yourself down you can't get hurt. It's like being stuck out in a blizzard and growing numb to the cold. Sure, if you find a fire here and there you can stay there for a while, but you'll always have to go back out into the cold, and after being near the fire, the blizzard seems so, so, much colder. It really just makes more sense to be numb. It's logical. At points like these, saying like 'better to have loved than never loved at all' seem idiotic and irrational. I honestly had a desire at that point to cut myself off from all people and not even bother.

"every single one of us is alone in this world, Yugi!" Kaiba says to Atem during the Battle City semifinals. (Disregarding the narrative continuity the Noah arc creates because that's a whole other issue) For the longest time, I found this to be an odd thing to say. Kaiba, who often talked/showed how everything was for his brother, and that was his inspiration and motivation. He had Mokuba. What did he mean he was alone?

You can be lonely in a room full of people. Mentally, Kaiba was very much on an island for the majority of his life. He had Mokuba, but much of that was while in the role of a parent. There were many things he couldn't tell Mokuba, worries he had to keep to himself, and I'm sure plenty of trauma too. Because he needed to create as stable of a living environment for Mokuba as he could. It isolated him, but he likely saw it as the most efficient and easy way to handle the situation he was in.

I suppose what I'm trying to say now is: I get it now. I really do. A lot of us can become the Stoic Kaiba-like character (TM) if we're thrown into an environment that isolates us. And while it's certainly not something good, not something that should be romanticized, it's also very realistic. While it may seem like just sheer stubbornness and dislike of Yugi's clique, either by genius or by accident, (most likely the later with how Takahashi works) Kaiba is remarkably... real. And I think that's why a lot of people relate to him. While I hope that many people didn't hit the closed-off point, I'm sure many have and that's why so many of us like his character.

And hopefully one day we can all find our way off the island.

[erule]

The frat party | t.h.

Title: The frat party

Pairing: Frat boy!Tom Holland x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1859

Warnings: OC Elizabeth (Lizzie), fake dating/relationship trope, language, fluff

Summary: Tom and the reader met at a frat party, but a year later they broke up because of some reason. Now, rumor has it that the reader is dating one of Tom’s friends and he gets jealous.

A/N: Hello hello, enjoy the new chapter! Sorry for the waiting, guys, but I hope that I made it up to you. Just let me know your thoughts about this chapter!

If you wanna be tagged in my Tom Holland fics, just let me know in my ask box! You can also find me on AO3 and Wattpad. Feedback is always appreciated by a writer!

Taglist: @webmeupspiderdaddy​

Read chapter 1 here!

Main Masterlist

Tom Holland Masterlist

Peter Parker Masterlist

Story under the cut!

Chapter 2

Rumor has it

“So, guys, rumor has it that…”

“Stop!” Tom exclaimed, interrupting Harrison. “Everytime you say that sentence, something hurts me and I really wanna miss that opportunity today. I’m already angry at myself because of what happened with Oliver,” he said, lighting a cigarette while sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Smoking makes you even more annoying than usual, Tom,” Harrison said. Tom sighed.

“Oliver makes me like that. He’s still flirting with Y/N, even if he should know by now that she’s mine. I mean, she will be mine again. My girl,” he said, with a soft smile on his face. “Ouch”.

“Still hurts?”

“Yeah, a bit,” Tom answered, brushing his bottom lip where Oliver hurt him.

Jacob suddenly opened the door, a big smile on his face. Tom and Harrison looked at him with suspicion.

“What happened, Jacob?” Harrison asked.

“So, rumor has it that…”

“Oh, fuck me,” Tom sighed, laying his back on the bed. Harrison chuckled.

“I was saying: rumor has it, that there will be a huge frat party at the end of the year to celebrate the older students like us, that will graduate soon and Lizzie asked me to come with her,” he said, happily.

“Lizzie as in Elizabeth? Y/N’s friend?” Tom asked and Jacob nodded.

“She looked a lot like Y/N last year, I thought they were twins. Now she has changed her hair color, at least,” Harrison said.

“The most important things is that she likes me!” Jacob exclaimed. “Be happy for me just once, guys. I deserve it”.

“You’re right Jacob, you do,” Tom said, giving him a pat on his back.

Somebody knocked at the door. Harrison went to open it and found someone who Tom would have been very glad to see. In fact, he jumped from the bed instantly, throwing the unlit cigarette in the trash.

“Hey darling, what are you doing here?”

You sighed, looking at him.

“I have an unseemly proposal for you and you can’t say no”.

“A fake relationship?”

After Tom had sent his friends away, you sat down on his bed in front of him to discuss about the details.

“Look, I didn’t want to do this, but Oliver’s still flirting with me and I have to cut this. He would leave me alone only if he’d see that we’re back together, I’m sure of it. Also, you literally proposed this to me last time, so… Wow, that’s really unpleasant. It must hurt,” you said suddenly, staring at his lip. You moved a hand to reach the wound, but then you stopped. You gazed at him. “Can I?”

Tom nodded. So you brushed it with your fingertip, thinking about how much it costed him to protect you even after your break up. How much it hurt. You swallowed, melancholy threatening to eat you alive. He had closed his eyes for a second. A very long second. Like you at the party. Maybe standing this close to him wasn’t a good idea.

“Y/N…”

“So, what do you think?” You asked, withdrawing your arm.

Tom shrugged.

“I agree,” he said.

“Just like that? You don’t want something in return?”

“As you said, I suggested it in the first place, so I totally agree with it,” he said. Then, he got dangerously close to you, so close that you thought he wanted to kiss you on the lips – and, in fact, he smirked –, but he didn’t. He left you a light kiss on your cheek instead, before whispering these words in your ear: “I’m gonna get you back, Y/N. One way or another,”

You ran away from there like a wolf was chasing you to eat you.

***

You were looking at Zendaya, hands clasped in prayer, begging her to help you. You and Tom had decided to go out as in a date in order to convince Oliver that the two of you were, in fact, back together. Lizzie was already somewhere with Jacob, so you had just Zendaya left to pick the outfit for the evening. She didn’t like that kind of stuff, mostly because because didn’t agree to your plan, but you were too desperate to let it go. She would have helped you at the end. Well, that was your hope anyway.

“Please, Z,” you basically begged her.

She rolled her eyes, arms crossed, but then she nodded. You tried to give her a kiss, but she moved away.

“You know what? This will be a dumb outfit for a dumb plan,” she said, while opening your closet.

“Z, I just…”

“You know why? Because the second, the second, Tom will try to kiss you, you’ll fall for it. Again”.

“I thought that he was your friend too,” you said, showing her a dress, but she shaked her head.

“He is, but I don’t know if he’s the right pick for you. I don’t condone what you did to him,” she said and you gulped, “but he’s not exactly an angel either. He ruined a lot of relationships even before he met you. That’s who he is,” she continued.

You sat on the edge of the bed, while she was looking for something that you could wear.

“Maybe he’s not like that anymore. People grow up, Z,” you said.

“Oh, yeah? Have you?” She asked you, turning around. You swallowed. “That’s what I thought. Don’t come to me when he’ll screw things up again. Or when you will” she stated, then she showed you the outfit. You looked at it with a sparkle in your eyes. “We have found it”.

You showered, wore the outfit and prepared in less than an hour. You were trying to wear your shoes, when Zendaya opened the door to Tom. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a red flannel on it and some ripped jeans. You waved at him, while grabbing your bag. You told Zendaya not to wait for you and then you smiled at Tom, ready to go.

“Are you still smoking?”

“Sometimes,” he answered. “Where’s Oliver tonight?”

“He posted on Instagram an hour ago, so I assume that he’s still with Jacob and Lizzie somewhere in the campus,” you said, looking at your phone.

“Well, so we have some time,” he said with a smirk. He took your hand and you felt shivers running down your spine.

“What are you doing, Tom?”

“Come on darling, if we have to pretend, then we have to make it believable. What’s worse than seeing the girl you like having fun with someone else?” He asked and you noticed a lightning passing through his eyes.

Then, without even realizing it, you found yourself running with Tom all over the campus. That alone made you laugh, because you felt like a little girl. If you had to describe Tom in one word, you would have said he was light. Not because it was always sunny, but because of the way it managed to get you out of the darkness you found yourself in sometimes. He pulled you out of the darkness and made you feel alive, everytime. He was the only one who could do it. Sometimes you wondered why you gave up on him, in fact. Because you had given up on the light, you, who often felt like a full moon in a dark and gloomy sky. He brought you in a part of the campus that seemed a minigolf. Maybe he and his friends had created it, since Tom loved playing golf very much. He gave you a golf club, urging you to try your hand at it.

“I’m not a good player, Tom,” you said, shaking your head.

“I’m still chasing you, right? So I wouldn’t say so,” he replied, leaving you speechless. “I was joking. Come on, let me show you,” he said.

It seemed so cliché, letting him touch you, teaching you to play, celebrate with him every victory of yours… You could have had it, a year ago. That. Tom. All yours. But you gave up on everything. It was your biggest mistake.

“Tom, it’s time. I think that we should go back. Oliver and the others could be coming to their rooms right now,” you said. Tom seemed a bit sad at your words, but only for a moment. It was hard to see an emotion flash on his face.

He nodded.

“Whatever you want, darling,” he said.

You wanted to say something else, but you closed your mouth before you could actually do it. The two of you came back and fortunately, you found Oliver with Lizzie and Jacob still hanging out. You caught Jacob attention and waved him, while Tom was smooth to hold your hand. You turned around in order to tell him something, but he was quick. One second later, her was kissing you and there was something in your stomach, like a knot, that slowly loosened its grip. You felt a weird sensation, a sort of relief. You could feel Oliver’s eyes trying to burn Tom’s skin, Jacob saying Let’s go and your blood boiling in your veins like lava.

When Tom broke the kiss, he ran his thumb over your lips, looking at them with a sort of melancholy. Fake relationships are a beautiful dream, but waking up is from them a nightmare.

“Tom…”

“I think that he got the message,” he said, taking a step back from you. He lit a cigarette, clenching his jaw.

“This is not a joke to me, Tom. It’s not something I’m doing just for him,” you said.

“No? Then explain what all of this is to me, darling,” he replied, throwing out some smoke like it was his anger.

“Yeah,” you said, but then you bit your inner cheek.

“What’s stopping you, Y/N? What are you hiding from me?” He asked, scanning your face. “Are you ashamed of something? Maybe it’s what you did, you know, the whole cheatingthing… or maybe it’s admitting that you still have feelings for me that brings you shame”.

“No, I’m not ashamed,” you said, determined.

“Then talk to me, darling. What’s happening?”

“I can’t tell you, Tom, I’m sorry,” you said, looking around. It was like you needed some air, even if you were outside. That secret didn’t make you breath anymore.

“What? That you liked throwing all away? That he didn’t make you feel like I did? That you weren’t done playing with me? Just tell me something, Y/N, anything would be better than this fucking silence,” he said, raising his voice.

“I didn’t cheat on you!” You yelled. Tom’s eyes grew wide. Everything around you two seemed now quiet, motionless. You covered your mouth with your hands, maybe to erase what you just said. “Fuck”.

Tom stared at you for a good couple of minutes. He looked at your tired and tearful eyes, perhaps thinking whether to believe you or not, then he did something unexpected: he put out his cigarette. He walked over to you, raking your face in his hands and looked into your eyes, this time more intensely. He looked tired and incredibly older.

“Now you’re gonna tell me everything, darling”.

[raevenlywrites]

The Ties That Bind 12 of ???

Rei and I held hands as we emerged from the dark into--more dark. Zane had promised the  rsh  wasn’t as dim inside as it seemed, but I missed the sun. And I was grateful for Rei’s hand in mind as we moved through the tight press of netting and vines.

There was an uncanny beauty to it, this joining of intention of happenstance, a closeness that I might have found comforting if I hadn’t felt so stifled already. Rei’s hand seemed too thick and hot in mine, but I stuck close to him anyways, unnerved by the walls of the  rsh . They seemed to slither and switch, and it wasn’t until we rounded a corner back into the main room that I realized their movement came from the shifting shadows cast by a dancing flame.

Once a fire was lit in the central room, the entire space transformed. Where net and leaf began became much clearer, because the nets, I could now see, had once been bright, vibrant colors. Time had dulled them, and I could only imagine the brilliant jewels they must have once been, however long ago.

They say our peoples have been at war for over two thousand years.

They also say the falcon empress Cjarsa is older still than that.

It seems petty to doubt such magic when I myself have knit closed minor wounds with only the power of my voice and prayer. But surely, surely, some myths need not to be true. I didn’t want to believe our war was that old. And I didn’t know what to make of an empress that was supposed to remember a time we knew peace, but did next to nothing to help us return to it.

 Zane startled me from my thoughts, even as my mind played back the last few seconds and realized I had noticed my guards shift around me and had simply dismissed it. It wasn’t  Zane  startling me, it was the interruption from my introspection in general.

 “It’s eerie, isn’t it?” he asked, gazing at the wall and not me. “There’s a  rsh  just like this on the edges of the marketplace, with a central room just like this one, but...”

 He trailed off, dropping the hand he’d been reaching out to a broken twist of net. It amazed me how it still stood at all, and I said as much.

 “This one is more vine than net, I think,” he said carefully. “It takes time and patience to grow up walls like this. And even more to bring them back down.”

 I humphed under my breath.

 “Everyone keeps talking around me lately, in pretty metaphors--or obvious ones.”

 He turned wide eyes to me and I gave him back what I hoped was a single arched brow. It was a difficult expression to master, without screwing up the rest of my face to be comical. Apparently it was effective though, or Zane was being polite at my failure when he smiled with a soft shake of his head.

 “That one was for me, actually. If you feel the tearing down walls metaphor is apt for yourself as well, then hopefully it means we’ll be able to find more common ground before the week is out.”

 My stomach dropped at the reminder that I was expected to stay here, with him--and Rei--for an entire week. It had seemed like such a good idea at the farmhouse, staring into the triumphant face of Alasdair.

 “You said your dancers dance around the sign of the Anhleh,” I said, not caring how obviously I was changing the subject. “Do you think there’s one intact here, or...” I gestured lamely at the walls. Zane gave me another humoring smile.

 “This nest is dead, a relic. I’m afraid if you want to see serpiente dance before the Anhleh you’ll have to come back with me to sha’Mehay.”

 It was only my blood running cold that kept my cheeks from flushing. The terror at the thought of willingly entering the heart of the serpiente palace cooled any embarrassment at the thought that I might have been asking him to dance, here and now.

 You want to do this here, now? Rei’s voice echoed in my head and the blush won out. Zane chuckled.

 “Is the thought of merely watching others dance too much for you, pretty Danica? I knew hawks were prudes but--”

 “I’m not a prude!” I snapped, and instantly regretted it. Softer voices could be politely ignored in this close space. Quiet shouting could not.

 I felt Rei crowd closer behind me and suddenly wanted out of this hole in the ground.

 “Rei,” I ground from between my teeth, “you  cannot  hover over me all week. I meant what I said to Erica, and I’ll say it again to you too. I don’t need a soldier, I need a guard. Go fly a scouting circuit, see how obvious the smoke from that fire is above the trees.”

 It was almost certainly the wrong thing to say. But he met my orders with a tight, “Yes, Shardae,” and gave me the space I so desperately needed. Now if only I could order myself up and into the sun.

 Zane was studying my face, and didn’t have the manners to try to disguise it when I turned back to him. Or maybe it was a cultural thing. Maybe serpiente just openly stared at everyone. Either way, my emotions were too wrung out for niceties anymore. I’d spent the better part of a week either traveling or trapped in fruitless arguments, and I just needed a  break .

 “This is the most emotion I’ve ever seen from you,” Zane commented before I could speak. “It’s a shame it’s all tense and jagged like this. I have a feeling you’d have a lovely aura in more pleasant times.”

 At that, I could only blink.

 “W-wha?”

 Zane did that sad smile, headshake thing that was definitely starting to seem like his go to cover up for laughing at me.

 “In our scaled form, serpents taste heat. Life. Alive-ness. Like this, I can still taste your heartbeat, smell the sticky sharp closeness of panic on the back of my tongue--“

 “That’s disgusting,” I said, nearly sick from the thought of it. How could serpiente stand to be so close to one another if they were so aware of each other’s bodies?

 “It’s a metaphor,” he said lightly, colder than he’d been a moment before. “We sense it with a sense that isn’t taste or smell or touch, but it's like trying to describe a song to the deaf. I can hold your hand, tap out the beats, but you still miss the soaring of the melody, the finer notes that make it music and not just sound.”

 I nodded, contrite at having offended him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”

 He sighed. “It’s quite alright. I can only imagine it will be the first of many.”

 Something about that made me unspeakably sad. So sad that it changed my “taste” apparently, because Zane reached out for me, to brush my arm I think. But of course Erica was there, and I finally lost my temper completely.

 “Enough!”

 I snatched Zane’s hand in mine, earning startled cries from everyone in the room, even Adelina. I raised our joined hands and shook them, like brandishing a weapon.

 “Zane and I are going to touch. Zane and I are going to be close, because Zane and I are  trying  to have private conversations. If one more person comes within a foot of me without my express invitation I am going to send them home. So help me I will sit in his lap if that’s what it takes to get you all to  stand down .”

 Abruptly, I became  aware  of the fact that I was holding Zane’s hand, that I had taken it without his permission, and that the whole room was staring at us. I squeezed his hand tighter, not knowing how to get off this metaphorical dias.

 Zane squeezed back.

 “It’d be almost worth it to call your bluff,” he muttered, but then said to the larger group, “Is there something we can do to help make you all more comfortable? Among my people, we have elaborate rules and traditions for guests, and I do consider you all my guests, even as I consider myself yours. In my house, I would offer you food and drink, and you would know that no harm would come to you unless violence was offered. What is the way of it in the Keep?”

 In the Keep, violence was absolutely unheard enough. We had enough of that on the fields, on the training grounds. There was no violence in the Keep because it was our refuge from such things.But that wouldn’t help us here.

 “We are held by our word,” Raymond said. I startled, almost having forgotten the quiet raven in the press of so many louder personalities. “Words spoken by or to the Tuuli Thea have power, real power, especially in the halls of our Keep. I do not know how such oaths would hold you, but it is what we would do, if we felt the need.”

 Zane nodded. “We have our own words, codes of conduct, contracts.” He turned to me, pulling our hands closer to our chests.

The Ties That Bind Tag list: @thehellinsideyourhead @therecouldbecolorsandlove @adventuresofacreesty @writing-with-melon @rainydaydarling

Raev’s Gen Tag List (should I tag you guys in this? It IS a thing I wrote. I’m gonna say yes unless you guys are like “no of course not we’re sick of hearing about your stupid fic for a twenty year old book XD)

No one has complained yet so yall gonna keep getting tagged :P

List is currently: @lordkingsmith @writinglyra @drbibliophile @mperialscribe @adie-dee @adie-dee @lexiklecksi @writinginslowmotion @raenawrites @apollon-arium @anika-writes

[maarmendes]

Chapter 3: Alliance [I]

Warnings: Swearing, fighting, mental illness... (the main characters are pretty rough around the edges)

Genre: OC insertion; angst; fluff.

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x OC [Anahita Shuzenji]

Word Count: 2949

Tags: @bnhabookclub​

[Wattpad Link]

"Ana! Breakfast's ready!"

My grandma yelled out but I refused to get out from under the covers. After a good night's sleep, my fight with Bakugo seemed dumber than ever. It was none of my business, but once again I overstepped and did something stupid. I curled myself up into a ball and sighed, regretting how embarrassing this whole mess became. That's what I get for trying to fight fire with fire.

"Anahita Shuzenji! I've called you once already!" The old woman barged into my room. "Why are you still in bed? You haven't been staying up late again have you?!" I felt her poke me with her walking stick.

"I'm never going to school ever again." I pulled the covers tighter over me. "Just let me die here and then bury me in some unmarked grave in the woods or something." That won me a cane beating. She wouldn't hurt me but she did annoy me into getting up.

"Stop that, old hag! I was joking! I still won't go to school though."

"Fine." She sat next to me. "I know what this is about. Shota told me what happened with that boy and said he talked some sense into you. Do you want to talk about it with me? Maybe I can help."

Granny patted my head lovingly and my pride broke down. Since my mom's death, we promised to trust each other with everything. After all, we were all the family we had left. And so, I told her about the fight, about Bakugo and Midoriya, about what I said before and during my apology. She scolded me for wasting candy but still found it funny, no matter how embarrassed I was. She held my hand while she listened to me and I told her how much I regretted it. I knew it wasn't my place to scold him, I wasn't the perfect example of a stable person either, and it was none of my business anyway.

"You're right, you shouldn't have involved yourself." I frowned, looking down in shame. "But you did well in defending that child. It's the third day of school and he has spent more time with me than in class! His master already got an earful from me." I cocked a brow at the mention of a master but she shrugged me off and sighed. "You should try to apologize properly today and apologize for butting in where you're obviously not welcomed. Now, get up and get ready! The food's getting cold." With a pat on my cheek, she hopped down the bed.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Shota and I will be out for the day. Something about representing the U.A., probably something boring. He said you had someone who can walk you home, will you be alright?"

"It's okay, Nana. I'll be fine, promise!" I sent her off with a smile as she left me to get ready.

I was more than fine. With Aizawa and Granny out for the day, I could resume my plans. It was the perfect opening! Going to school was no longer an issue for me, the good news had revived my motivation and blew Bakugo out of my mind. He was an issue I could deal with later. I could apologize at any time, but I couldn't get rid of Aizawa that easily. I refuse to waste this opportunity.

Getting to class, there were only a few students around. I spotted Blasty at his seat, his red-haired friend telling him and some other blond guy something he was excited about. I tried to ignore him as much as possible. I knew I had to apologize sooner or later, but I had other things in mind right now. Sitting at my desk I pulled out my phone. The night of the accident, I was following a lead about a bar downtown looking for part-timers. Rumor has it that's a villain hanging spot where all kinds of shady deals go down... And it's the perfect spot to gather information. Thankfully, the ad for a part-time job at the bar was still up and I was about to answer it when someone calls out to me.

"Good morning, Shuzenji!"

"'Morning, Midoriya. You can call me Ana, you know?"

"O-oh, sorry. You can call me Deku then!" His awkward smile made me chuckle.

"How are you doing? Nana is out of campus for today but I can help you if you need anything."

"Oh, no need! I'm fine, really, you already helped enough. I actually wanted to thank you..." The boy rubbed the back of his neck and I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"It's okay, really! Actually, I... I want to apologize." I looked away from him. He babbled frantically trying to reassure me I did nothing wrong but I didn't pay attention. "Listen, I yelled at Bakugo for hurting you... And I feel like I was out of line and shouldn't have butted in between you two... Well, I'm partially sorry. I'm not sorry I told him not to be a dick and to stop hurting people." That remark earned me a chuckle from the cute boy.

"Kacchan and I... It's complicated. But you were trying to protect me, right? I don't think you should apologize for that." I gave him a worried smile at the adorable nickname he gave that dickhead. "Ah! My mom baked cookies yesterday, I brought some for you and Recovery Girl. I'm sorry for the trouble I've been causing..." He offered with a shy smile.

"Oh, Deku... You're no trouble at all!" I tried my best to hold back but I couldn't help myself and ended up pulling the boy into a tight hug, to which he winced in pain. After a couple of apologies and a few laughs, we agreed we should stop being so apologetic.

"Damn, Ana!" Mina wrapped her arm around my neck. "You threw yourself right in! Didn't think you liked them quiet."

"What? No! It's not like that!" I stumbled, trying to find the right words. "I'm so sorry, Deku! I'm just so used to getting close to people..." There was no way for me to hide my embarrassment or Mina's laughter.

"Ignore her. She's just trying to tease you too!" Jirou chimed in, pinching Mina's cheek.

We settled into a nice conversation until the bell rang for the beginning of the first period. Besides the occasional conversation with Deku or some of the girls, I kept my distance throughout the day. I was still sore from 'the Blasty Issue', and I'd rather be left alone than screw up again. No offense to my classmates who were always welcoming and inclusive, but I couldn't take any more distractions. The week I spent without training had already left me behind and I couldn't afford any more mistakes, not when I had such a good chance.

I tried finding a secluded place to eat during lunch so I could do some research and check out what I was getting myself into. I tried the library but the lady had already kicked me out for eating there before. I'd tried the roof but, as expected, it was filled with students I'd rather have nothing to do with. Besides, Bakugo would follow me everywhere I go. Even if I lost him in the hall, when I looked back he was there. He kept following me but never approached me. It was starting to get on my nerves, so I thought out a plan. I took a sharp turn at the end of the hall and ran quickly to hide in the girl's bathroom. No matter how sad it felt to eat a sandwich in the bathroom, he would never follow me here. Hopefully, no one would find me here, it'd be really embarrassing to be caught eating lunch in the bathroom. All hope was lost when I heard someone opening the door. Hiding in a stall wasn't ideal, but there was no way I'd let Bakugo find me that easily.

"I know! It's so unfair." I heard a girl whine. "We've been trying our best to get into the hero department, studying and taking tests, and some stupid bitch gets randomly transferred? Pathetic." She scoffed.

"I heard she's some pro hero's relative. I guess even U.A. can be bought into letting low-lives with no talent in, huh?" Another girl added.

"Yeah, she's that nurse's granddaughter. How can a stupid healer even be a hero? What can she do? Heal villains to death? I bet that's why her grandma ended up working here." A third girl mocked and they all let out the most annoying laughs I'd ever heard.

I wasn't known for keeping my cool and that would show well at this moment. It's not them insulting me that pissed me off. Sure, my pride was hurt but I did get transferred under 'special circumstances' so they weren't wrong. But, insulting my grandma?

Kicking the door open I step out to confront the now quiet girls.

"What? What's your problem?!" All three glared at me but I stood my ground.

"Wanna talk shit? Say it to my face." I took another bite of my sandwich as I waited for their retort, to which they laughed.

"You're the transfer student?" The pink-haired girl mocked between laughs. "They really do let anyone into 1-A, huh? How do you get into the class if you can't reach the doorknob?"

"That's all you got? Weak shit." Keeping a straight face I savored another bite. They finally got their game faces on.

"What did you say?" The middle one got closer and I assumed she'd be the supreme dumb ass of the group. "You think just because you cheated your way up you suddenly become some hot shit?!"

Suddenly something cold rains down my body. The blue bitch had her hands out, a smirk on her stupid face as the idiots laughed at my drenched look. I did say insults don't get me, but controlling toilet water and dumping it on me? Oh, that rubbed me just the right way.

The bullies kept laughing as I jumped up and hit my knee on the girl's nose, hearing a clear crack. They went quiet, watching her friend fall on her back. I threw my soggy sandwich on her face.

"You caught me in a bad mood, Sewer Hands."

Before any of them could retort, my fist hit another girl's face throwing her against the wall. Her friend tried to grab onto me, but she couldn't hold me down and ended up being thrown over my shoulder and out the bathroom. Turning back to the reason I wasn't eating my lunch anymore I see her trying to get out, holding onto her friend.

"What? Play time's over, huh?!" I catch up to them in the thankfully empty hall. Grabbing the girl - whose nose was still bleeding - by the shirt, I push her back on the floor as I stood over her.

"You're out of luck, Toilet Water. I was in need of some stretching." I got on top of her grabbing her by the tie and glared right into her eyes. "You really, really pissed me off."

I threw my arm back, ready to show them exactly what got me into 1-A, when someone gets a strong grasp on my wrist and pulls me off the whimpering girl by the waist. My instinct to fight kicked in and I dug my heels on the ground and used my free arm to elbow them in the ribs, earning my freedom. Grabbing onto their arm, I use my momentum to throw my attacker onto the floor, stepping on their chest to keep them down.

"God- FUCK! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" A familiar rough voice yelled up at me.

"Bakugo! I'm sorry, I didn't know! I- I didn't-" Getting off him, I offer a hand to help him up.

"Fucking hell, Shortie! How did you do that?!" He rubbed his head and I assumed he hit it pretty hard when I threw him down. "I gotta admit, you got some spunk, pipsqueak."

"I'm going to assume you're fine then."

Waving all the worry away, I turned to see the group of girls stumbling down the hall, helping each other run away. Scoffing I swatted a few wet bangs off my face. All of a sudden, something warm is draped over my shoulders and I look over to see Bakugo placing his jacket around me.

"You're wet. Did they do this to you?" He glared down the hall, but the bullies were long gone. I shoved him away and threw his jacket back to him.

"It's none of your business. I can handle myself."

"It is my business! I'm supposed to keep an eye on you remember?!" He threw his jacket back at me.

"Yeah, I know! I know I'm like some stupid assignment you gotta deal with but don't worry. I don't plan on telling Aizawa about this." I shoved his jacket right back.

"What the fuck are you talking about?! I'm trying to help you!" He shoved it back.

"Why?! It's not like you fucking care!" I snapped at him, throwing his jacket in his face.

"BECAUSE, I'M SORRY OK?!" He threw it back in my face and I froze, peeking at him from under the jacket. "I fucked up and pissed you off and I'm sorry okay?! Just let me help, you dumb idiot!"

He grunted in frustration and I watched him shift in place, obviously uncomfortable. It was clear how hard it was for him to talk about these things... But he tried, and I couldn't blame him for trying his best to make things right. Sighing I gave in and slid into his jacket.

"Your jacket smells like caramel. I like it." He rolled his eyes and scoffed at me, ready to retort but I stopped him. "I'm sorry too. We were both rude, but I was worse..." I looked down at my feet. "I butted in on something that had nothing to do with me, and I even said really mean stuff... I'm really sorry... But even if I don't know what's up between you two, it's not okay to hurt someone like that. Friend or foe. Don't hurt people like that, please."

I looked back up to him in time to see his expression soften and his fist unclench. With a sigh, he nodded.

"I'll try my best." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Guess I will too since I've just beaten up a bunch of bitches in the bathroom. And lost my sandwich." I frowned.

"We'll get you something to eat, but first you should change. You smell." I punched his shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about, all I can smell is caramel!"

"Will you shut up?! Do you know how uncool it sounds when you keep announcing what I smell like?! It's fucking weird!" Bakugo complained as we made our way down the hall.

"But I like it! It's comforting." I nuzzled deeper into his jacket and pouted up at his flustered face. That was a first for him and I tried my best to burn it in my memory as it seemed it wouldn't be a common occurrence.

Bakugo guided me to the girl's locker room, where I quickly cleaned off and changed into my gym uniform. I hated walking around with my hair down. I liked how long it was no matter how annoying it was to keep it in place, so I usually tie it up. But since it was still damp from the shower, I had no choice. Walking out, Bakugo was still waiting for me.

"Worried I might get bullied again?" I smirked throwing him his jacket.

"More like worried you might bully someone again." He scoffed. "You're a feisty one though, aren't you? First, you cuss me out. Then, you get yourself in a three on one fight. Are you trying to beat me at my own game, pipsqueak?" He looked somewhat proud as he ruffled my hair.

"Hands off, jackass!" I swat his hand away. "This mess is hard enough to keep without your help."

"Messiness suits you though." Bakugo flashed a rare smile, turning me into a flustered mess.

"Whatever, Sweat Stain. I'm starving!" I shoved him, walking faster.

I shrugged the feeling of wanting to see him smile more away and started making my way back to class. I finally apologized to him but it didn't mean I had plans to get close to him. Our relationship was already upsetting enough, especially considering I had to find a way to fool him into letting me walk home alone today. As per Aizawa's instructions, he had to leave me with some kind of supervision, such as Aizawa or Nana. Thankfully, once the last bell rang Kirishima and Kaminari were on Bakugo, trying to convince him to go somewhere with them, which I took as the perfect chance to get him off my case.

"Bakugo, I'm headed to Aizawa's office now! You should hang out with your friends!" I called out over my shoulder, smiling and waving as I made my way out of the room. I heard him scream out to me but ignored him.

I made my way out the school as naturally as possible, with a book open in front of my face to avoid getting caught on camera. Not tying my hair up actually worked to my advantage in not being recognized. Once far enough to not be caught by U.A's security system, I declared my plan in motion.  

It's go time.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

[one-piece-dumpster-fire]

Is it possible for you to do the scenario where Brulee dies, but instead it's from Katakuri's view?

Alright, this is a bit of an AU aka„what could have been“ since I thought about it and decided to goa different road with this one, hope it’s fine and you still like it xD

Brûlée dies, part two- Katakuri (scenario)

It was the middle of the night, thestreets of a certain city were empty and only the light of the moonwas illuminating the old harbor where the waves crashed against theshore. But right there, in a worn-down and abandoned lookingwarehouse, an unusual commotion took place- one which would ultimatelydisturb the long-lived peace of the country….

„C-curse you… damn Charlotte…“

A middle aged man coughed out alongwith a gush of blood which immediately splattered onto the floorand painted the stones a crimson color. Roman, better known by hisunderground alias ‘Rusty Falcon’, was slowly sinking to the ground, hisboney hand desperately pressed against the hole in his chest as aweak attempt to stop the bleeding, but to no avail. He shot a final,hatefilled look towards the man looming over him before the lifedisappeared from his eyes and he completely sunk and fell to the ground, muchlike a lifeless doll.

And right there across from him was the manresponsible for this tragedy- despite his enormous height his facewas looking very youthful- well, the part that wasn’t covered bya fuzzy scarf at least. The weapon he held in his right hand, which wasresembling a trident, had drops of blood running down the blade anddripped to the floor, quickly forming a small pool of blood around his feet.

The young man gazed down at his victim for a few more moments before reaching into his pocket to tug out ahandkerchief and began to clean the blade his bloody weapon.

„Call Maestro. Tell him ‘Missionaccomplished.'“

He then muttered and swung his tridentaround, so it was now pointing at another man standing behind him-although, you could hardly refer to this one as 'man’- bushy orangehair framed a face that looked as if it belong to a teenaged boy, andthe green eyes were widened in fear and awe.

„Uh, y-yeah Master Kuri, rightaway!“

the boy exclaimed dutifully and quicklypulled out a transponder snail before turning around and letting itring to call the afromentioned 'Maestro’, like his mentor ordered.

In the meanwhile the other man,referred to as 'Kuri’, kneeled down to a table standing next to thecorpse and picked up a few documents. The mission was a true success,not that Kuri had expected anything different or less- and although hehad his clumsy student tag along this time, everything still went accordingto plan.

A quiet growl left his mouth and wasmuffled by the scarf however as the tall man noticed that the maindocument he had been searching for wasn’t there. The one that held vital information for the whereabouts of a certain person…

„…I confirm. Yes, 'Rusty Falcon’,who had recently rosen to fame by aligning himself with the infamousBig Mom Pirates, has just fallen at the hands of our group’s strongest,Kuri.

…yes, I understand. We’re just about to finish uphere and will then head back to the base…“

Noticing the curious and unsure lookshis student was giving him,Kuri quickly stood back up and turnedaround to face the door, while the boy finished his call and put thesnail back into his pocket.

„We’re done here now, so let’s getback.“ he proclaimed with audible impatience and stormed past theyoung man to return to the ship that was waiting for them in the harbor.

Although keeping up with Katakuri was alot of hard work because of the later’s long legs, the student did whathe could to stay close to the tall man and stick to his side as theyleft the warehouse.

Like usual, this should have been aquiet walk back to the ship and an even quieter return to theirpeople, but this time something their target had said was nagging onthe boy’s mind, and unable to keep his interest and thoughts tohimself any longer, he looked up to his tall mentor and loudly cleared histhroat to get his attention.

„Master Kuri, if I may ask… major Roman- uhm, I mean 'Rusty Falcon’, he… called you Charlotte,did he not? Isn’t that the name of the core family that build the BigMom Pirates?“

The tall man immediately stopped in his tracks and stared down at his student with a mysterious glimmer in his eyes. 

Charlotte… indeed, that was a name hewas associated with a long time ago… but now that name meantnothing to him anymore, and sounded more like a curse than anythingelse to ‘Kuri's’ ears…

20 years ago, a certain place…

„Wh… What do you mean they couldn’tsave her?!?!“

A young Katakuri screamed, his voicestrained and shaking from the terror that was clearly reflected onhis face as he looked his eldest brother, Perospero, straight intothe eyes.

„I mean that she is dead, Katakuri!Appearantly the infection spread too fast and attacked her vitalparts… the doctors couldn’t do anything to save her! It was toolate!“ The twelve year-old yelled back, tears had formed in hiseyes and were now running down his cheeks. Next to him was his sisterCompote, who’s expression was just as sorrowful and heartbroken.

„They tried Katakuri, they reallytried… but little Brûlée didn’t make it…“ the softspoken girlexclaimed with trembling lips, and although she tried her best tostay collected and calm her younger brother down, she was just asdevastated by the horrendous news of their younger sister’s passing.

„They… they killed her… THEYKILLED HER!“ the ten year old Katakuri screamed once again, the aura aroundhis body was getting darker and darker and a red glimmer appeared inhis eyes. Tears were now streaming down his face once more as hestarted to tear at his scarf and hair.

„AAAAAAAAAH!“

A few hours later, inside a largebanquet hall….

„Mama… Brûlée is dead…“ thestill shaken Katakuri muttered towards the giant woman infront ofhim, who was happily gulping down sweets, but the suddenexclamation of her son made her stop and blink with her eyes a fewtimes while she swallowed down the remains of the sweets she waschewing on until now.

„Oh… so she did indeed die, hmmm?“the large matriarch then exclaimed nonchalantly, her voice sounding asuninterested and bored as usual. His mother’s seeming disinterest inthe death of one of her children just further hurt the boy, but heknew that expressing any sort of weakness infront of her would onlylead to punishment so he kept his mouth close and looked down at theground.

„Well nevermind, the fact that asimple infection killed her shows that she was never worthy of cariryngthe Charlotte name anyway, hamamama! We don’t need weak people in ourfamily, am I right, Katakuri?“

„…..yes, Mama.“

….a few days later, at a certainport…

„You’re really leaving, huh?“ the voice ofhis younger twin made Katakuri snap out of his blind rage and caused him to stoppushing his boat towards the open sea for a moment.

„Daifuku….“

not knowing what to say and toomentally distraught to deal with his younger brother now, Katakurishook his head and continued pushing his boat. If he were to leavetonight, he needed to make sure that he wouldn’t regret it halfwaythrough- running away from the family is equal to expressing another spot of weakness, and this time his mother’s wrath would be unstoppable sincehe was considered her „perfect“ offspring… Daifuku however wasn’tgoing to give up that quickly.

„You bring shame to the Charlottename! I-If Mama finds out, then she’ll- she’ll—-“

tears ran down the boys’ face again,this time even worse than when he found out about his youngersister’s death,

„I don’t want to lose you… Neitherdoes Oven…. please Kata, let’s go back… Peros and Compoteconvinced Mama to give Brûlée a funeral, so we’ll get togive her a proper goodbye…“ Daifuku cried and took a stepforward, but the cold look his older brother gave him send chillsdown his spine and caused his sobbing to increase as he stopped once again.

„No… I know now that Mama doesn’tcare about any of us! She didn’t protect Brûlée, nor did she evenfeel sad for her death! At this point we might all just die and shewouldn’t even bat an eye!“ Katakuri hissed while trying his best torepress the tears that threatened to roll up in his eyes, „Ipromise you, Daifuku… One day I will come back and free you all! Wecan finally be a family, and no one will get hurt anymore!“

the first waves clashed against thesmall boat, and the last thing that could be heard as Katakuri sailed out to the sea were Daifuku’s loudcries of sorrow.

„…As of today, Charlotte Katakuriis dead!“

Back in the present.

„…. that name… means nothing.“

Katakuri then exclaimed before looking back ahead and walking past his student, signaling him that this conversation was now finished.

His goal was still far away, and it wasclear that right now, at the age of only thirty, Katakuri was nowherenear ready to face the monster that was his mother. But the day wouldcome, the day he had been working towards for over twenty years, whenhe would return to Tottoland and destroy his mother’s reign of terrorover the family and his many siblings.

He owed it to not only Daifuku, but Brûlée.

And this was a promise he would not dare break.

…

Uffffff first scenario in FOREVER and I feel like it really sucks but I’ve been working on it for two days now so screw it xD Also, did you see what I did there? Quite the different approach, am I riiiight xD?

[its-love-u-asshole]

Twelve Hours [Ch. 5]

Pairings: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei

Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou has dealt with a lot since he was eighteen, each year bringing the same depressing challenges on the same depressing night. He expects this time to be no different, but the universe is trying desperately to prove him wrong in the most bizarre ways imaginable. So screw it, Kuroo’s only choice is to buckle in and hope he doesn’t die. Easy enough. And hey, with some new allies at his side, maybe he has a chance. Who knows? At least Kuroo is sure of one thing in life when it comes to March 15th, and he stands by this unwritten law, no matter what happens:

If you try to kill pizza delivery boys on Purge Night, you’re irrevocably a bitch.

Rating: T

Tags: Purge AU, mentions of violence but nothing graphic or too bad, no character deaths here okay, this is borderline crack and idk what I was thinking, first meetings, other characters, shenanigans and just…a lot of fun (it seems angsty but its not)

Note: I’m back with another update! In spirit of all the excitement for kurotsuki week I figured I’d post today! But I’m also doing something for Monday’s prompt (and hopefully some more), so I’m super excited! Thanks so much @emeraldwaves for reading this over, and I hope everyone enjoys! 

AO3

The tires screeched to a slow halt as Terushima pulled the car into a gas station stall, and the bright artificial lighting did nothing to make them blend in with the surroundings. Their huge, black as tar SUV looked like a giant ink blot against the bright blue colorings of the signs around them, and as Terushima cut the ignition, they all stayed put.

No one dared open a door yet, instead listening for signs of trouble, of anything.

It would've been normal to see some debris, hear some yells nearby, hell maybe even see people raiding the small store. That would've been easier to deal with and process.

Silence...Kuroo was not good with silence anymore. Judging from the way Tsukishima straightened up, neither was he.

Ignoring the way Futakuchi's hand tapped anxiously against the glove compartment, Kuroo followed Tsukishima's gaze.

He peered out through the half-tinted windows, noting the strange pristine condition of the station. The small snack stand in the center looked immaculate, untouched, the displays standing straight and organized with a plethora of snacks and useless magazines.

No other cars were around, unless they counted the abandoned ones across the street, which had been stripped of their parts.

Now, Kuroo knew it was probably rare for people to be getting gas during the Purge (like...c'mon), but to see no one set the alarm bells off in his head. This was so stupid.

More than that, this was not good.

"I don't trust this at all," Tsukishima said finally, echoing Kuroo's thoughts. "Be quick about it."

Though Tsukishima's gaze was occupied, the words were clearly addressed to Terushima, who jumped in his seat, hitting the roof of the car. Such finesse. They were in good hands.

Futakuchi turned to his friend, tense, and a silent telepathic showdown seemed to go on between them. After careful observation, Kuroo concluded it was of the elementary school caliber.

'You go.'

'No you.'

"Seriously?" Suga muttered, and yeah...Kuroo could only imagine what it was like to deal with this on a daily basis. Mind numbing, he guessed, since Suga simply started playing sudoku on his phone.

In their defense, Kuroo did not want to be the one to do this. Not just because of the potential murder, but because this gas station had just about the worst prices he'd ever seen.

I'd rather be stabbed.

Apparently, the other two didn't feel the same way.

Kuroo rolled his eyes when their hands came up, leaving fate in the hands of rock paper scissors. Wow. If it had been Kuroo, and he had to die knowing it was all because of a rock paper scissors game, he'd rise from the dead before accepting it.

He'd pull his own soul right back from the devil himself.

Two stressful rounds later and Futakuchi was declared the winner, smirking due to his expert rock over scissors strategy. It really made Kuroo want to applaud, the true decision making skill couldn't be overlooked.

"It almost makes me want to cry," Tsukishima said, and Kuroo snorted, watching those bright eyes drift back towards the street. Something about watching Tsukishima's brain work hadn't failed to fascinate him.

Always observant, no matter where you are, huh?

In the back of his head, Kuroo wondered how much Tsukishima truly remembered about him, if he'd been analyzed all those years ago without knowing. The musings were cut short by a less than comfortable Yamamoto.

"Can you guys stop stalling? The longer we're here the worse the risk is!" He yelled from the middle row, and all Terushima did was simply raise his hand in a 'can you not' gesture.

If anything, the people in the car would kill each other before anyone else could.

"I don't wanna gooooo," Terushima whined, glancing out on the desolate cement plain before draping himself over the middle console. Futakuchi scooted away, like he was disease ridden. "It's too creepy."

True, but...

"Hm, then maybe you shouldn't have wasted so much gas making wrong turns," Tsukishima hummed, and Terushima raised his middle finger (not that Tsukishima was even looking at him).

"Are you ever going to let that go? News flash, the jokes are getting old."

Pft. Even Kuroo knew the jokes weren't the point, and he adored Tsukishima for it.

"It's not about making jokes, it's about shaming you," Tsukishima stated bluntly. "Also, I let it go when I got in this car."

Despite the need to make a Disney reference, Kuroo's pettiness won out.

"Ditto," Kuroo said, and Yamamoto turned on him, raising an accusatory finger.

"Hush you! It wasn't even your house! You didn't have to come!"

And well...yeah, but it was Tsukishima's house. Tsukishima who got all his jokes and protected him and was all around amazing. So uh, Kuroo was in his right to be mad on his behalf.

"Eh," Suga joined in. "I'd be pretty mad if someone broke my boyfriend's wall."

Again with the boyfriend...

Kuroo's entire face bloomed red, and while he'd never object to being mistaken for such an angelic being's boyfriend, he didn't approve of his own feelings being so blatantly stated for everyone to hear. Especially not when said feelings had hit him like a ton of bricks only in the past few hours.

God. He was turning back into a naive freshman, swooning over every hot guy. Though, Tsukishima wasn't just a hot guy.

Beside him, Tsukishima glared, his own cheeks heating up in a way Kuroo couldn't help but fixate on. The blond's reaction was significantly more violent too, with the way his head whipped around from where he'd been observing the streets to glare at the rest of the car. It made Kuroo's heart race, even as the denial spewed from both their lips.

"He's not my boyfriend," they insisted at the same time, and Kuroo spared a side glance the blond's way, noting his refusal to focus on anything other than the leather seat in front of him.

The tips of his ears turn red when he's embarrassed...

Kuroo, completely fixated, almost didn't register Futakuchi's response. Sadly, it was hard to miss it.

The brunet made a fake, shocked choking noise, his palm flat against his chest. "Oh wow, very convincing! What are you guys? The main pining couple in a romcom?"

"Well that was very specific..." Tsukishima muttered, staring back out of the window, but his obvious lack of comment on the accusation made Kuroo's blush deepen further.

"Shut up!"

"Can someone just get gas please? Last thing we need is some freaks showing up for free blood," Suga sighed, his game long forgotten as the minutes past. Regardless of the bickering, they were all still on edge, so much so they kept their voices low. As ridiculous as the night was, it was still the Purge, it was still real.

"You mean like them," Tsukishima said, tapping his finger against the glass. Freezing, the rest of the group looked to where he was pointing, and immediately groaned at what they saw.

Two figures, faces masked with eerie clown features, stood on the other side of the street staring at them. Just...staring. They stood distorted and tilted, but even with the lame poses Kuroo marveled at how stone like they were, their heads on tilting every now and then in intimidation.

Motherfuckers.

"Great, we waited too long, now what?" Terushima whispered, eyes not leaving the potential murderers.

"Maybe they're just taking a break," Tsukishima said, and the rest of the car, sans Kuroo, looked unamused.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Yamamoto asked, and his tone could've been bottled and packaged as pure disbelief.

The blond only shrugged. "Well you didn't laugh so I guess not."

It wasn't funny, it was hilarious. Never change.

"Maybe we should move on," Futakuchi suggested, squinting at the way the figures stood. They couldn't afford to do that, and from the way Tsukishima glanced at Kuroo, he knew it too.

"No," Kuroo said, seriousness kicking in. They didn't know when they'd find another empty, working station. Unfortunately, the risk needed to be accepted in this case. "Go take care of it, if they move, we'll shoot."

The sentence made his throat close up, but he stuffed his own reluctance down until it burned. Self-defense, he reminded, self-defense. Tsukishima nodded next to him, expression grim but not unwilling. The blond was already unholstering his weapon, like he was so comfortable with it, so used to clutching it tight.

The rest of the car tensed, but that was fine. It was okay if they weren't ready yet. Kuroo had been referring to himself and Tsukishima anyways. Their innocence around this night had been taken already. Some of Terushima's had too, from the way he steeled himself, hand on the car door handle.

Kuroo inhaled, looking at Terushima expectantly. The other nodded, glancing at his friends one last time, and Suga reached forward, gripping his shoulder in comfort. It never got easy, seeing people thrown into danger, but this time Kuroo was here to help.

They all glanced back out to where the figures stood, and one of them raised a hand, causing Tsukishima to flinch. But he just waved slowly, a friendly gesture corrupted by the menacing air.

"Bastard," Terushima sighed under his breath, getting ready to jump out of the car with his wallet. "Alright, let's do--"

"Wait!" Yamamoto's voice made them all jump, the sound sharp enough to cut the thick fog of nerves around them. Kuroo heard Suga's breathing stutter.

Terushima stared at him, eyes panicked. "W-what?"

They all waited, looking at Yamamoto and anticipating some sort of advice or observation. Only Tsukishima's eyes stayed locked on the figures outside.

With no trace of laughter in his eyes, Yamamoto met Terushima's gaze head on, ready to spill words of warning and care. "I need you to get me a Snickers bar."

Kuroo should've known better than to expect so much from this car.

The vehicle descended into silence and oh--oh okay, maybe he should be concerned about the way Suga wheezed just then.

Even Tsukishima, will his ready-to-kill demeanor, couldn't not throw his hands up in defeat.

Kuroo didn't know what to feel. Annoyance? Awe? Admiration?

He was gonna sit out on this one.

It took about ten more seconds for Terushima to completely process the words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish until they finally settled on the most reasonable question: "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No wait, just hear me out--"

"Fuck you I won't hear you out!" Terushima went on, his voice hushed but incensed, and Tsukishima just shook his head and waved back at the killers. Yeah, call them over. End it all. Yamamoto raised his hands in placation, but Terushima wasn't having it. "I'm about to go risk my life against Hannibal and Dexter out there and you're asking me to get you a fucking chocolate bar?"

"First of all, you're probably giving those guys too much credit...." Yamamoto offered, which did not make things better but...

Agreed.

"And okay I was just thinking, I was too nervous to eat before we left and if we have to fight more dudes later, I think it would be a good idea to get some food in me." Yamamoto looked around the car for support, but everyone was steadfast in ignoring him.

Kuroo busied himself with other thoughts as much as he could, so much so he had to resort to the car ceiling. Man, this is some nice interior.

"Screw you, if you want it so bad, you get it," Terushima said, and it would've probably helped them all. Yamamoto was by far the most muscular of the group, though he hadn't shown any of the necessary violence Kuroo expected.

"Oh, well that's just real nice. You can't walk twenty feet to grab me one candy bar?"

"It's hard to do anything with stab wounds," Terushima said, gesturing to various parts of his body which apparently would soon be severed.

Kuroo wasn't so sure.

"If they stab you, some people get more creative than that," Kuroo said, and again, Tsukishima raised his finger in agreement.

Suga, eyes dead to the world, turned back to him, shaking his head. "Who hurt you?"

"Life."

"I'm not getting you a Snickers bar," Terushima said with a finality that made Kuroo actually wonder if he had kids. He felt like he'd just been denied McDonalds on a road trip.

Yamamoto was tough though, and his words were almost more ominous than the freaks standing across the street. "If you don't, you'll regret it."

"Oh god, I'm so scared. What--what are you gonna do? Kill me?" Terushima laughed, going as far as to slap his knee, and if Kuroo was being honest he would've gladly gone outside himself just to end this whole conversation.

"You'll see, and you'll regret it." And with that, Yamamoto folded his arms, ending the conversation. Kuroo knew this was far from over, but they kinda had more pressing things to deal with.

Eight more hours of this shit. Eight.

"I'm fucking sure," Terushima muttered, finally opening the car door. At least the tension and fear from earlier had mostly dissipated. Now he just looked pissed.

That’s right, channel that anger.

As if sensing it, Tsukishima probably felt it was his duty to help the cause. That or he was just a little shit, and Kuroo adored him either way.

"Hey if you change your mind, get me one too," the blond called, tapping his nail against his gun impatiently.

"I'll take some chips," Suga said.

Fuck it. "Push Pops please."

"I hate all of you," Terushima said, and with that, he slammed the door without caring who might here. Damn, be that way.

Shockingly, the guys across the street seemed to jump at the actual movement. Granted, no one in their right mind would get out of the car wearing nothing but yellow sweatpants and a high school jersey during the Purge but Terushima was a special person.

The wannabe murderers watched, like they all did, as Terushima fumbled with his wallet, dropped it twice, got his card declined, and struggled through his brain for his pin number.

Yeah, they had to see all that. It was upsetting, and if it had been Kuroo, he would've spared the bastard. He was having a night.

But no shots had been fired, so maybe they were just there for intimidation only. Either way, Tsukishima stayed trained on them, gun in hand.

Honestly, with the kind of confidence the blond exuded, Kuroo would feel safe even if they were in a shitty 1998 convertible with three flat tires, as long as Tsukishima was there next to him.

Yamamoto obviously didn't see the beauty of that though.

"Isn't that a little intense?" He said from the row in front of them, twisting just as Tsukishima raised his gun a little higher. The windows weren't so tinted that the men across the street couldn't make out the bodies inside, or Tsukishima's gun. As one stepped forward, they halted immediately at the sight of it before backing off.

"Calm down Rambo," Yamamoto said, but his voice trembled too much to leave an impact.

Tsukishima sighed, rolling his shoulder. "First of all, you've clearly never seen that movie--"

"You--"

"Second, these are rubber bullets." Jostling the gun a bit, Tsukishima's frown grew. "As if I'd let such insignificant people weigh on my conscience."

The unspoken "it's heavy enough as it is" did not go unnoticed by Kuroo, and he wrapped the detail away. There was no judgement on his end, only respect. Nothing he learned about Tsukishima turned him away, if anything, each new fact pulled him in closer.

"Oh, that's cool of you," Yamamoto said, but his brows were still furrowed like more questions were on the tip of his tongue. Kuroo could relate, but at the same time, Tsukishima had proved enough he'd share in his own time.

No one in the car knew that though, so Suga trudged on, curious. "How many times have you done this?"

"Yeah, you sure seem to know a lot," Futakuchi added from where he was tapping his shoe on the dash. Kuroo wondered if they were really listening, or if this conversation was pointless filler until Terushima got back.

Speaking of...

Tsukishima's shoulders tensed as Terushima opened the door, jumping in and locking it immediately after. Kuroo hadn't noticed he'd finished. Guess Tsukishima wouldn't get to answer, but maybe that was best.

Calmly, Kuroo laid his palm flat between Tsukishima shoulder blades, waiting until he felt the muscles relax under his hand. It might've been too forward, too intimate, but it was his instinct and he had to trust those on a night like tonight.

Exhaling, Tsukishima turned back to him, and...oh...please always look at me like that.

"Hello? Hello! Are you guys listening to me?" Terushima's voice came in a hushed whisper from the front. Kuroo had no idea how long they'd been staring at each other but...

"No,” they both responded at once, because honesty was the best policy here.

"I swear, I'm this clos--"

The loud clang across the street made Terushima's threat turn into a high-pitched shriek, but Kuroo hardly tensed. Oh right. Those guys.

One of them must've hit one of their weapons against the nearby fire hydrant. Attention whores.

"God, can't they wait their turn," Kuroo muttered, and naturally, only Tsukishima found it even remotely amusing.

He was right though.

"Maybe we should leave," Suga suggested, and everyone else fiercely agreed, considering all the ground they had yet to cover. Well, almost everyone.

"Did you get my Snickers?" Yamamoto asked, the tremble in his voice gone.

Wow.

"Get out of my car," Terushima deadpanned, not bothering to turn around and grace Yamamoto with any form of expression. At least Kuroo knew Terushima could be cold when he wanted.

But knowing the threat held no bite, Yamamoto just sighed forlornly to himself, crossing his arms and staring out the window. "Fine, but I told you you'd regret it."

"Yeah, can't wait." Terushima chuckled humorlessly, and without giving the warning any more thought, they peeled out of the station, watching the strangers until they were nothing but specks behind them.

--

They did regret it. Yes, they, as in all.

The silence which had enveloped the car the next twenty minutes would've been normal, standard even given the pressure on all of them. Suga continued to drain his phone battery by playing app after app, and Kuroo fidgeted at the obvious skittishness there, manifesting in the form of Suga cursing under his breath with app switch after app switch. He didn't bother silencing the game's noises, and each one seemed faster and faster than the last. Even still, nothing could distract Suga enough for him to stick to it for longer than five minutes.

No one said anything, if they even heard the high pitched pings at all.

Moving on from that lovely image...

From where Kuroo sat, he could see Terushima's autopilot-like stare out of the windows as he routinely checked all his mirrors, but the pensiveness there told Kuroo the blond's mind was on everything other than driving.

Which yeah...not what he as a passenger wanted to see, but breaking that freakish concentration would probably cause them to swerve into the nearest telephone pole, so nah. Futakuchi steadfastly read the car's manual, maybe because he'd realized neither of them truly knew how to drive this behemoth, and Yamamoto...Yamamoto just stared out the window, searching for something Kuroo didn't feel the need to know about.

So yeah, maybe not a traditionally normal silence, but a fitting one nonetheless.

Oh, but Kuroo sensed it, Kuroo knew something was amiss, but he just couldn't pinpoint it until it was too late. Tsukishima must've though, from where the blond sat beside Kuroo, eyes sharp and stuck on whatever the fuck Yamamoto was trying to find. The blond never missed those mannerisms, and maybe Kuroo should've taken a page from his book, and then he could've saved them all the headache.

The first gas station they passed, with its turned over kiosk and scattered litter, was the spark that lit the kerosene drenched air of their quiet ride.

He heard Tsukishima's sharp inhale as Yamamoto's eyes widened like a predator's, and Kuroo's brain finally got it. Oh, that's what he was waiting for.

"Wow, that station sure looks full still--"

(It didn't.)

"--perfect opportunity to get me some food. A candy perhaps. Chocolate. With caramel. Starting with an S..."

Kuroo could see the moment Terushima visibly tensed, and then the exact moment where his brain flashed the 'stay put or murder' option in front of his eyes.

Suga looked up from whatever pinball shit he was currently losing to stare at his seat buddy with nothing but "I wish we'd left you at home" written on his face. The game noises continued even as Futakuchi threw his manual back into the glove compartment.

Kuroo didn't say shit.

Not yet. But errr, looking back, he probably should've. Because oh, that little interruption was the first of many.

Every gas station they passed, every single one elicited some sort of comment, some sort of demand from Yamamoto which gradually chipped away at Terushima's patience.

"Oh look at that, another empty station, how rare."

"Hey that kiosk isn't as far away from the pumps this time, ey Terushima think you'd walk ten feet instead?"

"Sure wish I had some food right about now."

"Snickers."

And oh, just the one word was worse than any sass imaginable, it was similar to a punch.

Suga tried fiddling with his door to leave, to find it had a child proof lock. Kuroo didn't know which was worse, the discovery or the insult it carried.

Anyways.

It got to the point where every time the neon sign of a station gleamed in the distance, they all winced, dreading the words out of Yamamoto's mouth.

"Why are we in this car?" Kuroo whispered, barely audible, and Tsukishima just shook his head.

"Fuck if I know."

In actuality, it was probably better they act as petty and foolish as usual as opposed to drowning in the sorrow and violence of what they were traveling to do. Terushima needed the distraction before he thought himself into a hole, because for once, treating the matter seriously wasn't always the best option.

That being said, fuck this.

In the distance, another gas station sat, like it was crafted and ordained by the gods themselves. Why. This is worse than waiting for the damn 7 P.M. sirens.

The instinctual need to bolt made Kuroo feel like one of Pavlov's dogs, and he wasn't even getting food for this kind of mental torture.

And that was him, god knew what Terushima was thinking. (Judging from how emotionless his eyes peered into the darkness, not good things).

Kuroo gave him...eh, about five more blocks before he snapped.

Oh. Whoops. Looks like I lost that bet.

"Sni--"

Terushima spun around in his seat, and damn, they all leaned back. "If you fucking say you want a Snickers bar one more time I'm going to turn this car around and--"

"And what? Put another hole in his house?" Yamamoto's finger shot in Tsukishima's direction so fast it could've taken out an eye.

"Um..."

Yeah if Tsukki is speechless, we're all fucked.

"You're making a difficult situation like twenty times harder. You realize that right? Don't you know what holiday it is?"

"How dare--"

"Because it's not fucking Christmas!"

Tsukishima looked to Kuroo with wide eyes, and they were almost impressed. Huh, so Terushima did have a bite to him (when he wasn't a puddle on the floor anyways).

"Should we be trying to stop them?" Kuroo whispered, but before Tsukishima could answer, Suga's hand came between them.

"No...no, no. Let them do this, it's healthy."

"That's a word for it."

Yamamoto powered on, and okay, Terushima hadn't checked the road in at least two minutes. "This would've been a lot easier if I'd gotten my Snickers..."

"Do--do you really wanna keep doing this?"

"I'm just saying, if you had just walked to the kiosk--"

"Because I will stop this car and come open your door, so help me god."

"You could barely get out to get gas, I'd like to see you try it."

"I'm--fuck you! I'll end you!"

"I'm already dying of hunger! Finish the job!"

It went on in much the same fashion for a while, the only changing variable being Kuroo's growing concern for their safety.

Good thing no one else was driving on these roads.

Eventually Terushima did agree to pullover and let Yamamoto get his damn candy bar, but as he munched on the snack, the bickering only accelerated. Whatever, maybe they all had also realized how much better it was to complain about insignificant things than to worry themselves to death.

Bored with the useless arguing, Kuroo sat back, content with returning to his new favorite pastime: watching Tsukishima.

And no, it wasn't creepy. Tsukishima watched him too. So...ha.

To his disappointment, the blond's eyes had drifted though, his soft face twisted into a scowl as he stared at the seat in front of him. All thoughts of nougat and caramel were forgotten in Kuroo's head.

The blond's face had returned to the way it had been after they'd left the first station, stiff and concerned. Tsukishima sat back, detached from the conversation, eyes narrowed as he watched the empty streets pass by. Yamamoto's gas station rant apparently hadn't been enough to shake off whatever brewed in Tsukishima's mind, and Kuroo needed to know.

Tsukishima was the most experienced with the Purge out of all of them. If he had a bad feeling, they couldn't ignore it. It was only then Kuroo noticed the blond's hand hadn't left his gun holster, probably not since they'd left the first station.

Not comforting in the slightest, but that was from his point of view. Who knew what Tsukishima was going through.

Without thinking, Kuroo moved closer to him, placing his own hand over a weapon which he usually hated having to touch.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he whispered, leaning in. Much to his satisfaction, Tsukishima met him halfway, foreheads almost touching. "Did you forget something?"

He knew it couldn't have been so simple, but the need for false hope hadn't totally left him in all these years. Tsukishima must've sensed that, because the hardness in his eyes softened, flooded with compassion Kuroo knew he was blessed to see.

As soothing as that was, the blond didn’t baby him with hesitation or fluffy words. "Something's not right," the blond whispered, and finally, Kuroo felt his blood run cold.

He swallowed thickly, even as the pointless conversations from the other car rows drifted into their space. His focus was solely on Tsukishima.

"What do you mean?" Kuroo's own face hardened as his hand gripped the blond’s, his no-nonsense mode turned back on full force. "Did you see something?"

Tsukishima shook his head. "No, but that doesn't mean anything.”

Yeah, he was right, and it made things twice as terrifying.

“Kuroo...why wouldn't those guys at the station attack us? It doesn't make sense. No one is just standing around tonight, there has to be a purpose to it." The question sounded more like Tsukishima’s own way of processing his thoughts, not as if he was actually interested in Kuroo’s response. Not in a harsh or condescending way, but in a way that told Kuroo the blond had already made up his mind and couldn’t be convinced otherwise.

That wasn’t good.

And yet, Kuroo tried.

Shaking his head, he tried to calm him. Tsukishima was overthinking this, he was being too protective, that’s what he told himself. "Intimidation maybe? Tsukki, some people are just douchebags with no balls, they didn't have it in them to--"

"They were too confident Kuroo," Tsukishima cut him off, tone giving no room for Kuroo to argue. It made his breathing stutter as the words penetrated his thoughts. Problem was yeah, Tsukishima was probably overthinking, but Kuroo couldn't imagine him being wrong. "They stood there, vulnerable, but like nothing could hurt them. They didn’t need to attack us, not yet."

"But--"

"That's not normal, and you know it." Tsukishima looked behind him as an afterthought, shoulders tense, and he was met with nothing but empty alleyways. No threats. No indications of foul play. Everything looked alright, even though he knew nothing ever was.

So why did Kuroo feel so on edge now? Why was he so convinced they needed to gun it out of there?

Kuroo didn't want Tsukishima to be right, but he also knew gut feelings shouldn't have been ignored. Not tonight.

And as Suga tried to interject between the rest of the bickering car, oblivious to Tsukishima's warnings, the blond leaned into him, driving his point home. "Intimidation is nothing without an attack. An end result. I…I would know.”

The blond closed his eyes tight as the next words left his mouth, features trembling, and Kuroo already dreaded them. “I've done it before."

And Kuroo froze at the exact moment they crossed the next four way intersection, barely having time to take a breath before their car was hit from the side, jolting them off the road.

[oracleadyton-blog]

I wasn’t sleeping tonight so i watched No Mercy. My timezone sucks for american sports - you don’t want to be in my shoes during the NBA Playoffs - but it’s great for Japanese pro wrestling so yeah it’s good. Anyway i watched the thing, took some notes and gave some meltzerian star ratings. So yeah i’m not doing anything tonight and this blog it’s supposed to be a free-for-all (although i should post more music-related things and not so much pro wrestling ugh) so yeah here it is.

No Mercy 2017

Didn’t watch the pre show so don’t ask. Elias vs Crews i’m sure it was great yeah we cool? Cool. God i should really post more important stuff.

The Miz (c) (with his BOIS) defeated Jason Jordan for the Intercontinental Championship.

Main card started well. Good back and forth as the two guys can really go; unfortunately the whole role dynamic is twisted so the babyface in (somewhat peril) was booed quite loudly. In the end the BOIS interfered, JJ got caught in Miz’s STO, 123. It was good! Jordan is good in the ring and good presence; Miz with his usual great heel work. Money’s in the chase. JJ cut a face promo at the end on the line of “I came up short i wasn’t able to defy the odds i need another opportunity” and the crowd booed. So yeah good job building faces guys. 3.25 starz.

Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt.

I have a soft spot for Bray: i really like big hoss guys that hit hard. Unfortunately they book him like crap so the crowd doesn’t really care anymore; still him and Finn were able to pull a good match out of the fued. Structurally wasn’t foretelling anything interesting and Finn’s comeback was expected. But still: both guys can really go, got good reactions and were able to put most of their stuff in. The crab spot with Balor freezing on the post was quite dumb. I mean it’s supposed to be that much scary? As they traded big moves the matched picked up steam and both looked good in the end. Hope they don’t screw Bray again as this was probably his best match since Elimination Chamber. But they probably are going to anyway. It’s a shame that Devitt Balor doesn’t use the Bloody Sunday anymore as it would have made for a great finish here. Still, good match. Hope there’s something bigger for both guys this coming winter. 3 starz.

Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (c) defeated Sheamus & Cesaro for the Raw’s Tag Belts.

Fun match. The problem is that we saw this exact same thing every week for what, almost 2 months now? So it doesn’t really feel special. Dean and Seth took turns being in peril and Cesaro got busted open early. Lost at least two front teeth going head first in the post. Quite gruesome. So it wasn’t anything special but all four guys are good performers so psychology and spots were good. Ambrose kicked out of a very cool White Noise/Powerbomb combo and it made me mildly angry. I know that everybody kicks out of finishers nowadays but i still think they shouldn’t as much. Ending was your usual “heel hit themselves and faces take advantage”, Dirty Deeds and it was over. As i said at the beginning it was fun but already seen like a dozen times. Also the structure was usual WWE match so it didn’t help. 2.25 starz.

Alexa Bliss (c) defeated Bayley, Emma, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks in a Fatal Five Way for the Raw’s Women Championship.

This was relatively quick but packed with lots of good stuff. Bayley got a good reaction coming out but mixed at announcing. Nia got a good pop and Banks a weird reaction. Early on Emma and Jax teamed up on Bliss so she was out. A quick Banks-Bayley staredown didn’t got much reaction. After that it was all Nia Jax: lots of power spots - throwing people around and an amazing double samoan drop - and it took two distinct efforts from all the other four women to take her out. She came back from both of them getting a great reaction. In the ending everybody tried to put her hands on Bliss - who showed good wrestling - but she got a quick DDT on Bayley for the pin. It was really good. Personal MOTN. Everybody looked good and had a chance of showing some good - even Emma who was kinda shoehorned into the match. Jax looked really good and not just “strong”. Not sure how they’re going to book her with Asuka coming in at TLC but for the moment everything’s fine. Weak champion looks cunning and gets away with the win. 3.75 starz.

Roman Reigns defeated John Cena.

This was too long and mostly boring but felt like a big deal. Because it was and No Mercy absolutely felt the wrong place for it happening. Roman got the usual boos coming out but Cena had a pretty favourable reaction. The first section of the match was, effectively, a squash. Cena was selling like crazy and every attempt at a comeback was quickly stopped by Roman who was playing his clumsy #notaGOODguy #notaBADguy #justTHEguy gimmick. Which means he was wrestling heel without fully committing. Also Cena was clearly the face but had the heel announcers on his side? It was a mess. After that it became a usual WWE big move/staredown type of match. Crowd started chanting “boring”. Roman called Cena “Son” and honestly felt wrong. Finally Cena hits his comeback as they start trading finishers. Couple of very good spots - like a spear through the announce table and a nice STF transition - and the match really picked up. Reigns kicked out of a Super AA and a double AA. In the end Superman punch+spear for the win. So it was what it was. Long - and honestly quite boring for the most part - but it felt huge and had some cool spots. The ending got a god pop. After the match Cena raised Roman hand and everybody booed. So yeah that’s yet another coronation going down the drain. RR leaves Cena in the ring who takes a long amount of time to leave and it honestly felt weird. Is he going away? Like this? We’ll see. 3 starz.

Enzo Amore defeated Neville (c) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

So Enzo came out and didn’t really get a reaction, i guess people are tired of his act. Got a couple of jokes on Neville before the match started that ranged from really awful to Jason Biggs kind of comedy. Yay. The match started as a squash lead by Neville and Amore was surprisingly good at following. Both had good character work. Mainly mat wrestling from the champion and a cool DDT spot by Enzo. This went for like ten minutes until Amore, while on the outside, grabbed the belt and used it as a distraction. WIth the ref turned he lowblowed Neville and got the win. I’m torn. While the psychology was good i’m really sad for the belt. At the end of the day i want to see good matches and Enzo isn’t that type of performer. The belt felt important - maybe not as much as NJPW’s Junior Heavyweight but still - and the division was growing. So Enzo comes in end effectively throws everyone under the bus. I think Neville’s going to get the belt back before or at the Rumble but at the moment the division seem frail. 2 starz.

Brock Lesnar (c) defeated Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship.

Good hype and it felt like a proper thing even if the odds were massively against Strowman, who got a fairly huge babyface pop. Lesnar comes out and it’s always a spectacle. Match starts with Braun throwing Brock around like a ragdoll. Lesnar’s selling like crazy and got almost no offense in but after locking a standing kimura (always looks great) they start trading moves. Three powerslams didn’t made the job but after one F5 the Monster was put to sleep and Lensar retains. On one hand this felt properly like a main event but was quite underwhelming. Braun looked great in defeat and Brock cemented his status for his WM34 match with Reigns. 3.25 starz.

Match average: 2.9, let’s make it 3 starz. As a whole it was fun. Not super entertaining or amazing but head and shoulders above your usual WWE PPV. Not really any weak spots.

Whoo it was fun doing this. Would be fun keeping doing it for the major shows and the NJPW stuff. Unfortunately i don’t have much time for everything - earlier today i was able to catch up with a couple of Destruction in Kobe matches but i’m not sure if, for a show of that type, i’d want to review the whole multi-man matches carousel. Probably i’ll be doing KoPW later in October? Maybe. We’ll see.