#I used to make them for the karate dojo I attended too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

knit-wear-it · 3 years

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Bloom

A/N: Happy Pride! Here’s some Crossbow Canary to celebrate 🏳️‍🌈❤️🏳️‍🌈❤️

They met at a Halloween party. Helena was half-listening to a group of fellow freshmen discussing the politics of TokTok when she noticed her— a petite, athletically-built blonde wearing a yellow hard hat and a slick of red lipstick. It was a shade too dark for her, standing out stark against her pale skin; the mark of a makeup novice. She was laughing with a small group of friends, her smile radiant. She was radiant.

Then, as if she could feel Helena staring, the blonde looked straight at her.

There was a faint flush in the apples of her cheeks as she offered a tremulous but encouraging smile, and Helena practically bolted across the room toward her.

***

Her name was Dinah.

They met again a week later, by accident, at a small martial arts studio off campus. Helena arrived just as Dinah was leaving, her face shiny and blotchy with exertion, her ashy blonde hair plaited back in a sweaty French braid. She wore black Lycra gym-gear beneath her pea coat to stave off the approaching New Jersey winter. Her coat was a vibrant cornflower blue, reminding Helena of the rich pigments Italian Renaissance painters used for Mary Magdalen's robes. Without the dark smear of lipstick, she could see the graceful curve of her prominent Cupid’s bow, giving her face a sweetness that belied the clear-eyed maturity few their age possessed.

“Oh,” Dinah stopped short on the sidewalk, her face lighting up. “Hello,” she grinned.

“Hi,” Helena grinned back at her, suddenly giddy as if she’d eaten a gallon of corn syrup. She could feel excitement fizzing in her veins, propelling her closer like a moth to the flame.

“Do you train here?” Dinah asked, re-shouldering her gym bag.

“They have a Krav Maga class I like,” Helena explained. “You?”

“Jiu Jitsu,” Dinah shrugged, smiling. “My old trainer swore by Krav Maga, but it doesn’t have the same…” she pursed her lips as she took her time to search for the word. “Grace,” she settled on.

“Grace?” Helena smirked. “Are we talking about ballet or fighting?”

Dinah laughed easily. “My first sensei would say they were the same thing.”

“Wow, how many senseis and trainers have you had?” Helena teased. She immediately regretted it when Dinah visibly tensed, her expression abruptly becoming guarded.

“I was fostered at a dojo for a little while when I was a kid,” she explained haltingly, her brown eyes darting off to the side. “And uh, then I was in a group home until I was eighteen and they… let me keep taking karate to give me some, uh, stability I guess.”

Helena’s eyes widened at this revelation, delivered so candidly in passing on the sidewalk—that she’d grown up in foster care; that she was an orphan. She could feel Dinah’s uneasiness, and it inspired a desperate need to comfort or reassure her, a wholly unfamiliar impulse.

“My dad sent me to a Swiss boarding school when I was twelve,” Helena blurted out. “After my mom died. It was kind of like a group home just with, you know, rich kids and archery. And a castle.”

As the words came tumbling out of her mouth, she knew she was being horribly rude by being so flippant about her privilege, but it seemed to lighten Dinah’s mood, her kind smile blooming again.

“Well, just because there was archery doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard to be away from everything you knew,” she said, meeting Helena’s eye meaningfully.

She understood loneliness, Helena realized. She understood the pain and anger of abandonment. Yet she didn’t carry bitterness around in the same way Helena did; bitterness that didn’t taste as bad when Dinah was standing here proving there was a way beyond it. It gave Helena hope—something she wasn’t well acquainted with after repeated tragedies.

A squat city bus puttered past behind them, catching Dinah’s eye. She glanced at Helena apologetically, a sliver of vulnerability slipping into her otherwise confident counternence.

“Maybe I’ll try Krav Maga sometime,” she offered, almost shyly.

“Maybe we could get coffee afterward,” Helena suggested, beaming.

They exchanged numbers before Dinah ran to catch the bus.

***

A week later, they kicked the shit out of each other at the studio and went for coffee. Helena had expected Dinah to pick up the Krav Maga moves quickly since she was well-versed in Karate and Jiu Jitsu. She even indulged in a stupid fantasy about helping her find the right techniques and positions, a blatant ploy to be physically closer to her.

But when they began sparing, Helena quickly realized she was wildly outmatched. Dinah did not need her help—she already knew Krav Maga even if she hadn’t quite mastered it. Then the minute Helena got the upper hand, Dinah gave up on the prescribed moves the instructor gave them, and took Helena down with a few quick karate strikes she couldn’t counter effectively.

Helena’s back hit the mat hard, knocking the wind out of her. Her eyes widening as Dinah pinned her down with a steady hand flat over her heart, the heel of her small hand grazing the top of Helena’s breast through her sports bra.

Dinah released her and sat back, looking smug.

“You cheated!” Helena laughed, accepting a hand to pull herself up to sitting.

“What’s the point of fighting if you aren’t going to win?” Dinah shot her a knowing smirk.

“What happened to grace?” Helena demanded, her eyebrows raising when Dinah faltered but quickly recovered.

“You’re right,” she agreed, her face softening like she’d come to some internal revelation. “It’s not about winning. It’s about the practice, and finding balance.”

“Alright, sensei,” Helena rolled her eyes but she couldn’t stop smiling—another unfamiliar impulse. “You can buy me a coffee to make up for cheating.”

“It’s called mixed martial arts for a reason,” Dinah insisted as they headed for the changing rooms. “I was just mixing in more martial arts”

“Yeah, yeah.”

***

For the rest of the semester they trained and went for coffee at least once a week. They would tell each other which parties they were going to, what events their friends were discussing attending. It went unsaid that they were leaving breadcrumbs for each other, a trail that would lead them back together.

Their social lives began to blend. Helena became friendly with Dinah’s carefully cultivated group of scholastic overachievers and misfits. Meanwhile, the gang of loud, kittenish gay men Helena surrounded herself with fawned over Dinah. They showed her how to do her make-up properly and cheered when she paraded around the dorm in high heels for them like a clumsy newborn colt.

“She is gorgeous,” one of Helena’s friends hissed to her.

But it never went any further than a lingering touch or look as Helena restrained herself from making the first move, but not because she feared rejection. She’d taken a gap year after boarding school, a boozy thirteen months during which she’d travelled across Southeast Asia—Vietnam, Cambodia,Thailand, Bali, Singapore—and then on to Australia. The youthful hedonism that characterized backpacking made it easy not to be shy or ashamed of her attraction to both boys and girls. But she resisted making the first move with Dinah— she wanted Dinah to come to her.

***

Helena stayed at Princeton over the holidays, just like she’d done throughout boarding school. The only place she could feasibly go was Gotham to be with her younger brother, Pino. He was seventeen, and Helena had just enough contact to suspect he was already involved in the ‘family business,’ which she tried not to think about. They mostly kept in touch via Snapchat and Instagram, a selfie and meme-based relationship that removed the painful edges of reality.

Dinah returned to Gotham for Christmas to visit another member of the orphanage she’d grown up in. She wanted to see how they were getting on without her, she said, though she wasn’t looking forward to being back in the city.

But something obviously went wrong while she was away, because once they were back at school she began determinedly avoiding Helena. She made excuses about being busy with classes and other friends needing her attention. Weeks went by and Helena started to feel crazy, like she was missing something obvious, which meant she was either blind or too stupid to be able to see what was happening.

Then out of the blue Dinah showed up at Helena’s dorm, her hair freshly cut in a cute, girlish bob that brushed the collar of her cornflower blue coat, her tawny eyes glowing determinedly.

“Helena,” she breathed, searching Helena’s face. “Will you go out with me?”

***

They went out for dinner, something Helena had never done with a girl before. She’d slept with women, but she struggled with the idea of going on a date with a woman. She was disappointed in herself, that she hadn't evolved beyond worrying about the perception of others when she knew what she wanted.

But those worries were relegated to background noise when Dinah showed up on her doorstep, wearing a candy-apple-red shade of lipstick that suited her perfectly.

“Hey,” she greeted Helena, her smile radiant. Excited.

***

After dinner, Helena walked Dinah back to her dorm. When the moment she’d been waiting months for finally arrived, Dinah tucked a loose piece of Helena’s hair behind her ear, then tentatively laid her palm across the curve of her jaw. Her eyes fell shut as she drew Helena's mouth down to hers.

Her lips were eager and curious, but clumsy. Helena paused to draw back, the thick fringe of her eyelashes brushing Dinah’s nose as she opened her eyes. Dinah’s hand was still resting on her cheek, while Helena’s hands had found Dinah’s waist. Her eyes were heavy and her lips parted, the red lipstick faded.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Helena said slowly. “But... have you ever kissed someone before?”

Dinah’s face split into a rueful grin, without a trace of shame. “I have now,” she pointed out playfully.

Helena mirrored her grin and gave Dinah’s waist a gentle tug, pulling her closer as their lips met again.

***

They went on more dates, and eventually they found their way into each other’s beds. They got to know each other’s bodies, bringing them closer in a way Helena hadn’t realized was possible. She’d only experienced sex as a blurry, rushed encounter, but with Dinah she was overwhelmed, drunk on how badly she wanted her.

Their friend groups continued to cross pollinate with the queer communities on campus, and they slowly began to build a chosen family together since neither of them had one of their own. Helena was thrilled to see Dinah slowly shed the armour she’d built to protect herself, becoming more open and accepting of her own feelings and desires. But Helena found it harder, in part because she was lying to Dinah by not telling her the full truth of her past.

Her family and their ‘business’ was a dark, shameful secret she had never told another person, and she couldn’t decide how Dinah, with her strong moral compass, would react. It was like an invisible blockade between them, one Helena knew could destroy the delicate fabric of their blossoming relationship if she didn’t resolve it.

About four months after their first official date, it became impossible to keep it inside any longer, especially because the words “I love you” were constantly threatening to spill past her lips. It was only when she couldn’t keep it to herself any longer that she found the courage.

“You can tell me anything, Helena,” Dinah insisted, holding Helena’s hands between hers. They were sitting on a blanket on the quad, the sun shining bright overhead as the first vestiges of spring bloomed around them.

Helena felt physically sick. She’d imagined every way this conversation could go, and she usually settled on Dinah being horrified once she learned the terrible, violent truth.

“It’s about…” she swallowed thickly. “My family. I haven’t been… completely honest with you. My dad. He wasn’t really a businessman. Not in the traditional sense.”

Dinah’s eyebrows raised, but she gave Helena’s hands a reassuring squeeze.

After a few false starts, Helena explained that her family wasn’t like other families. That her father and his brothers and generations of Bertinelli men before them hadn’t had… normal jobs. They were criminals. Successful, powerful criminals whose influence manipulated the very fabric of Gotham society.

Dinah listened, her expression becoming more and more guarded as Helena ploughed ahead. She could see what she was thinking. That Helena’s family was partially responsible for the corruption and crime that plagued Gotham. That the city was a shithole because of men like her father. It was all true, or at least it used to be, before the masked freaks took over and made everything worse.

She explained that a man named Mandragora tried to usurp her father when she was twelve, killing her mother, aunts and uncles, cousins and family friends in a blood feud. She was shipped off to Europe for safe keeping while her brother Pino, just 9 years old at the time, was sent to live with extended family in Central City. Ultimately her father’s associates and friends ran Mandragora out of town, but not before the damage was done. Helena remained in Switzerland, and Pino returned to Gotham, where he was raised by what extended members of the Bertinelli clan.

There was one more piece of information Helena couldn’t bring herself to share, because just thinking about what happened to her father made her blood boil—anger frequently outstripped grief when she thought about what Harley Quinn did to her Papa.

She hunted him. Tortured him. Murdered him.

But she couldn’t say the words. Mobsters were bad enough. Harley Quinn was an entirely different kind of villain, one Helena didn’t want her family — who she loved deeply despite their flaws —associated with if she could help it.

By the time she’d finished, Dinah had taken to playing with an errant daisy springing up from the grass, her attention wholly focused on the little white flower as she worked through her thoughts. When she finally looked up at Helena, she was cautious, still uncertain, but eventually her lips curved into a smile—kind, open, generous, and reassuring.

“I have to tell you something too,” she shrugged helplessly. “I love you, Helena... and you aren’t responsible for the choices your family made. You still loved them and lost them and I know how much that hurt you.”

Helena’s eyes widened, shocked that Dinah was speaking these words to Helena. For Helena.

“I—“ she faltered, searching Dinah’s face. “I love you too.” She sprung up to her knees and pitched forward, grabbing Dinah’s face with both hands and making her shriek with laughter as they fell back on the grass together. “God, I really really love you, Di.”

Dinah laughed again, her eyes closing as Helena urgently kissed her. She felt as if she’d never be able to properly express how much she felt. This was the polar opposite of the grief and anger that plagued her. This was the beginning of something beautiful and powerful and safe.

Dinah would save her from the darkness, she decided.

She was the only one who could.

***

A/N: I know you’re all here for Jarley, but in the same way I wanted you to love Ed, I’m hoping you’ll simp for this ship. I loved writing Dinah through the eyes of someone who sees the best in her since she’s been pretty limited to her own self-punishing point of view and Harley’s warped vision of the world. And it’s a relief to see Dinah begin to grow up now that she’s around people her own age she relates to… Even wearing lipstick is like an indulgent act for her that she’s finally allowing herself to take part in. Yes, Dinah! You deserve love and lipstick and self care! ❤️🎉

#happy pride 🌈#crossbow canary #dinah lance #helena bertinelli #helena x dinah #the harlequin #Nolanverse #one shot #maybe a two shot #there are no crossbows here

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thisisawonderfulusername · 4 years

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carry me

diego hargreeves x reader

requested: anon

summary: diego has been dating the person who teaches karate down the street for a while. after meeting the family at reginald’s funeral, they end up helping to stop the end of the world... twice.

trigger warnings: cursing, unedited

word count: 2.3k

a/n: i’m so sorry to anon that this took so long to come out, i’ve been in and out of writing and i was busy so it was sitting in my drafts, half finished for a while lmao. but here it is! i hope it was worth the wait. i wasn’t able to fit everything that you wanted in, but i got the basics lol.

you take slow steps around the room, watching as your most advanced students spar, taking hits from their opponents that land on the padded gear they wore with loud thuds. this was something you watched every day, but these students were your favorite because they were never afraid to give or take a packed punch.

there’s a tap at the window that forms the wall to your left, but you ignore it, assuming it to be a bird or something that hit the glass. when it returns, this time much more insistent on getting someone’s attention, you turn your head to look and you see diego standing outside of the dojo. sighing softly, you look towards your assistant, “i have to attend to something, take over for a few.”

as the slightly younger man nods, you exit the room and make your way out of the building after slipping your shoes on, rounding to where your boyfriend waits. “i hope this is important.” you tell him with a small grin, “i don’t leave my students for just anything, you know.” he doesn’t smile or anything, his face set into hard stone, and your eyebrows furrow. “is everything okay?”

“my dad died.” he tells you simply, and your lips part in surprise, stepping towards him, ready to comfort him, but he shakes his head. “i don’t care about him. it’s the funeral that i care about. i’m only going to see pogo and grace, but my family will be there and i don’t know if i can tolerate them alone.”

you glance through the window at your students, “are you saying what i think you’re saying?”

he nods, “if what you’re thinking is that i want you to come with me, then yes, i am.”

you purse your lips, taking a deep breath as you think it over for a moment. “when?” you question, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

“uh... now?”

you’re too surprised to think for a moment, just gaping at him at the suddenness of it all. after a few seconds, you regain yourself, shaking your head, “right now? you’re serious?”

diego gives another slow nod, looking at you like a lost puppy. you sigh heavily, looking away from him into the dojo, before running your fingers through your hair. “alright.” he smiles at that, and you hold a finger up, “let me send out a few emails. i can’t just dip out without an explanation.”

when you met his family, they loved you, much to his annoyance. that week was a crazy one, and you ended up having to help save the world- which didn’t work at all.

and then you landed in dallas, texas, in the year 1963, only a few weeks after diego did. when you found the newspaper that told you where you were, it also gave you some very interesting information on what your boyfriend had been up to when he landed before you.

that’s how you ended up at the mental institution that he was being held, watching as he was escorted into the small visiting room. the smile on his face when he saw you was contagious, though you tried to hold yours back.

“hargreeves, what the hell did you do?” you question with a chuckle as the guards moved to stand nearby, ready to step in if anything happened. too bad they wouldn’t be able to stop what you had planned. there were only two of them. really, a mistake on their part.

taking your hands as he sat down, the man leaned forward onto the table. his hair had grown out a lot since he had gotten here, and you would be lying if you said you didn’t think that he looked good. “i missed you.” he doesn’t answer your question, and you roll your eyes, raising your eyebrow to get him to tell you. “okay, i’m going to save the president. and you’re going to help.”

your lips part for a second, and when you have fully processed what he said, you let out a bewildered laugh. “no,” you tell him, “no i’m not. you’re not going to do that.”

his eyebrows furrow in confusion and you can tell that he had gone a little crazy in his time here. “why not?”

shaking your head, you run your thumb over his knuckles. “because, that’s just a stupid idea.” you grin as you watch him deflate slightly, “do you have any idea how that would change the timeline? it’s going to change everything, and if five ever finds us, he’ll kill you for it.”

when he doesn’t say anything, almost seeming like a toddler with how he looked at you, you sigh, leaning forward slightly. “but i’ll tell you what we are doing,” you start, the volume of your voice dropping, “we’re getting you out of here.”

the smile comes back, and he leans towards you, sneaking in a quick kiss. “i’ll get the one at the door.” he whispers, and you nod, already bracing yourself for the fight ahead of you. “on three.”

“one... two... three!” with the raise in your voice, you jump up from where you sit, and so does diego, jumping the guard at the door before he can even realize what’s going on.

you managed to barrel over the table and get your guard, landing a kick right in his chest that knocks him back into the wall behind him. the impact doesn’t allow him to recover in enough time to fight back, and with a punch to the face (one that had definitely broken his nose), he was out like a light, slumping to the ground.

turning, you see that diego had no trouble getting the other guy, and just as you were about to leave the room, you’re surprised by the sudden appearance of a red light that flashes in time with the alarm ringing through the place.

“let’s get the hell out of here before we’re both stuck in here.” you grab his arm, beginning to run down the hall towards what you hope is an exit, and not a dead end that lead to guard detaining you.

as you run, diego keeps a good hold on your hand. “you know,” he breathes, looking behind the two of you to be sure nobody was following, “it’s hot when you fight like that.”

you can’t help but laugh, but shake your head. “we don’t have time for your flirting, diego.” you tell him, taking a sharp turn down another hall. you suddenly stop when you come face to face with another woman, diego nearly bumping into your back but stopping just in time.

“i knew you were crazy enough to plot an escape.” the woman chuckles, and you’re surprised that she knows him.

you look to him in silent question, and he lets out a breath. “no time. we’re still in a pit of guards, if you’ve forgotten.” he’s already beginning to move forward, “let’s go!”

with his shout, you’re running again, the woman right beside you. you’re not sure who she is, but introductions can be made later, when you’re not in danger of being locked up.

you had really thought that she was an okay person. diego seemed to like her enough to keep her around, and she seemed harmless (other than her knowledge in combat).

yet there she was, standing in the middle of the empty field ahead of you, the handler at her side. five and diego had gone out to meet them and see what they wanted while you, klaus, allison, and luther stood near the barn in the snow, squinting to try and get a peek at what was happening.

you didn’t get much time to wonder, however, because with blue flashes- literally everywhere- people started popping up all around them, equipped with briefcases and a gun.

“oh, my god.” you hear luther breathe out from next to you, the four of you looking out as they continue to pop up. they filled the field behind lila and the handler, and you began to realize what this was.

“this can’t be good.” you mumble, your heart beginning to race.

sure, you could fight. you had trained in karate since you were seven, but that didn’t seem to be of much importance right now, when they were all pointing guns at you and you had nothing to protect yourself with.

in the distance, you see the woman pulling something out of the pocket of her jacket as the two boys begin to turn and run, causing the rest of you to do the same.

the next thing you know, you can hear the pounding of hundreds of feet against the frosted ground, too caught up in trying to save your ass to look back and see everything. you just hoped that diego was okay.

then, the gun shots begin. all around you, bullets crashed into the ground as you ran for cover, and just as you were about to dive behind carts of hay with the other three, you feel the sharp stinging pain in your leg. you fall to the ground just behind the hay, and when you look down to see what the pain was, the snow is stained with your blood.

breath becoming shallow, your eyes widen at the sight. “fuck,” you breathe shakily, hands waving wildly in the air as you try to think of what to do, “what the fuck.”

you’re too busy worrying about the blood pouring out of your thigh to see what everyone else sees- vanya floating in the air, a white glow surrounding her- until the fire raining down on you ceases.

you look up from the red snow, shifting your body to look past the side of the cart while the others stood to look, seeing lila beginning to do the same as vanya had done.

allison, klaus, and luther begin to run- apparently not taking notice of your situation- just as the force from the power begins to move over the field, and you try to push away from it before it can get to you, but you’re too late. the cart is knocked over by the force, trapping you under it as you hit your head against the ground, effectively being knocked out.

“where’s y/n?” diego questions the moment he’s on his feet, looking around at all of his siblings who had helped him get out from under the tractor that had trapped his leg.

the three that had been with you look to each other, silently asking if you had been with them, and when nobody seems to say anything about it, klaus looks to the cart that they had left you at. “last time i saw her...” he says, pointing towards where you were trapped.

the man’s eyebrows furrow as he immediately turns on his heel to run to the cart, seeing the blood when he gets to it and quickly dropping to the ground beside your unconscious body. everyone else had followed and when they saw the sight, luther jumped to lift the hay that trapped you as diego pulled you out.

“god, no!” he pants, looking to your leg that had slowed down a bit in it’s bleeding, his eyes widening as he quickly checks for your pulse. he lets out a relieved sigh when you’re alive, looking to the others. “i’ll take care of her,” he tells them with a nod, “go find five, get rid of lila.”

they all split away from the two of you with the command, going to defeat the enemy that is the crazy lady you had met at the asylum.

she had been dealt with. mostly. the handler was dead and lila had disappeared with the suitcase she arrived with, off to who knows where to do who knows what.

you shoot up from the ground when you wake up, groaning from the pain the shot up your leg. “ah, shit!”

diego quickly looks up when he hears you, “oh, thank god you’re up.” he lets out a huff of breath, shaking his head. “how did this happen?” he questions, motioning to your thigh, where a piece of your shirt had been wrapped around the wound, already bleeding through.

“well, i got shot.” you state the obvious, picking at the shirt and gritting your teeth as you feel the pain.

he breathes in sharply, “okay, you’ll be okay.” he nods, and you think he may be telling that to himself rather than you. “we took care of lila and the handler-”

“i really thought she would be an alright person,” you shake your head as you prepare yourself to stand up, but diego quickly stops you.

“i don’t think that’s a good idea.” he warns, his hand held up to keep you from doing it, “i’ll just... carry you.”

you grin at the proposition. “a real knight in shining armor.” you chuckle, “i guess i’ll allow it.”

“yeah, yeah.” he smiles as he loops his arm under your knees, careful to not move your thigh too much to avoid pain, before putting the other on your back. you put an arm around his shoulder, and he lifts you slowly, trying his hardest not to hurt you.

you squeeze your eyes shut at the pain that courses through your leg, but you try to tough it out. “did five find a way to get back home?” you question, opening your eyes to look up at him.

“yeah,” he tells you, “we had an array of briefcases to choose from.” he chuckles, bringing you around the front of the house. “grace will be able to fix you up.”

“oh, thank god.” you giggle, “i thought i’d need you to carry me around everywhere.” you joke, curling a piece of his hair around your finger. “i wouldn’t mind it, though.”

“neither would i.”

taglists

main: @horrorklaus @megasimpleplan4ever

tua: @rasberrymay @noodlextrash @atomicpillar @malfovs

diego hargreeves: none yet

#the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua #diego hargreeves #diego #number two #the umbrella academy x reader #umbrella academy x reader #tua x reader #diego hargreeves x reader #diego x reader #number two x reader

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fantastic-rambles · 3 years

Text

The Skylark’s Song [2/4]

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Characters: Hibari Kyoya, Kusakabe Tetsuya, Namimori Middle Disciplinary Committee, Fon (mentioned)

Warnings: PTSD, Mild Language, Violence [A/N: Depiction of PTSD may not be accurate. I apologize if this bothers anyone.]

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: My personal headcanons of the (pre-canon) experiences that made Hibari into the man that he is today. Part Two: the development of his commitment to discipline and explaining his apparent state of constant sleep deprivation. [This may end up being a four-part story, lol. Or a three-part with a small extra... which I guess is also four parts. I hope you enjoy! xD]

[Part 1]

Ever since that night, Hibari had never had a good night's rest.

Other than the week that he'd been in the hospital, woozy from the painkillers that had been constantly fed to him and barely aware of the world around him, he'd never slept for more than a few hours at any given time. At first, the nightmares--the memories--would wake him up in an empty house, screaming for his parents who were no longer there, and then he'd spend the rest of the night huddled in the corner, flinching at every shadow. For a long time, he feared that the men would return, but as time passed uneventfully, he grew more convinced that they didn't care. That they didn't think a mere child could be any danger to them. And they were probably right.

By all rights, he should have probably been taken away and moved to an orphanage, but a distant relative had been found who was willing to become his legal guardian. They'd spoken briefly on the phone, eventually coming to an agreement: since Hibari refused to leave his childhood home and Fon had special circumstances that made traveling and raising a child difficult, a housekeeper would be hired to watch over him, paid out of the fortune that he had inherited from his parents. Initially, she would come early in the morning every day and leave only when he was about to go to bed, but his growing preference for solitude and independence quickly asserted itself, so that she would eventually only come in the afternoon when he was at school, to clean and prepare his meals.

In school, his teachers also noticed a drastic change in his personality. Though he remained a good student, the previously outgoing and energetic child became withdrawn, appearing as though he was actively avoiding his classmates. Any attempts to speak with him outside of his assigned schoolwork were met with a stony wall of silence, and the many phone conversations that they had with his guardian did nothing to improve the situation.

In fact, the only activity in which Hibari demonstrated any initiative of his own was in his new studies of martial arts. Every evening found him at one dojo or another, practicing karate, boxing, kenjutsu, and a number of other combat arts with single-minded focus until he could barely drag himself back home. The physical pain was a welcome distraction, though it was short-lived as his body accustomed itself to the new routine.

His devotion to the arts and strict self-discipline meant that he quickly learned all that the instructors in Namimori could teach him. By the time he started middle school, he was no longer attending the dojos, instead practicing with masters that Fon would occasionally send to him while developing his own style. Hibari also began experimenting with weapons, discarding the sword and spear as impractical to carry and bare fists as too weak, before he eventually settled on his tonfa. The metal was hard enough to be difficult to deform, they were easily concealed, and simply adjusting the force could mean the difference between injury and death.

He still saw his parents every night. But at least he stopped screaming when he woke.

For the most part, his middle school years passed without anything of particular note until his third year, when he joined the disciplinary committee and a group of wannabe punks started to attend. In general, they were harmless, just mimicking the types of idiots that they saw in anime and manga and mouthing off out of the mistaken impression that it made them cool. But it irked Hibari to have to tell them off every morning for their appearances and watch them swagger around like thugs. When they finally started trying to extort their peers, however, he finally had a real excuse to step in.

"Hey, c'mon, you've got cash, right? We just need to borrow a couple thousand. We'll pay you back later, really!"

Hibari had been about to return home when he heard voices coming from behind the gym. If there was a response to Kusakabe, it was too quiet for him to hear, but he hoisted his bookbag higher over his shoulders as he went to investigate. As he turned the corner, the sight before him turned him cold with rage.

Kusakabe and his friends stood in a loose half-circle, a few of them holding wooden swords, leering at the student they had trapped against the wall, a young boy who looked absolutely terrified. His bookbag appeared to have been upended all over the ground, with books and pens scattered everywhere, and Kusakabe knelt before him, his hand outstretched expectantly. One of his friends stretched, cricking his neck threateningly, and noticed the prefect standing there, shaking. He smirked, reaching out to nudge their leader and jerking a thumb toward Hibari when Kusakabe looked up.

"Get rid of him," Kusakabe ordered, and three of his pack peeled away, advancing on Hibari and blocking his view.

"There's nothing to see here, Prefect-san. Get lost, unless you want what he's getting," one of them snapped, and Hibari's eyes fell to the ground as his hands clenched into trembling fists.

"Hey, look at him. You think he's gonna piss himself?" Another one laughed, jabbing his bokken toward Hibari, who took a step back, to more laughter. But in the next instant, Hibari was lunging forward, the gleam of metal in his hands knocking the wood aside and slamming the boy under the chin. Before the other two realized what was happening, they were splayed on the ground, clutching their heads as Hibari stood in front of them, breathing heavily. He staggered slightly, as if he were injured or drunk, as the rest of the gang advanced on him, Kusakabe in the lead, their victim forgotten. They were cautious now, now that they saw he could fight back, and when Hibari's head snapped up, even Kusakube seemed to hesitate. There was a gleam of madness and bloodlust in Hibari's normally flat black eyes, and his stance as he lifted his tonfa in front of his body telegraphed experience.

Even so, they couldn't back down, not from a fight that they had picked, so they approached the older boy carefully, trying to spread out to encircle him. He didn't make any move to stop them from doing so, just standing with an air of watchful patience, like a predator waiting to pounce. The fact that he was outnumbered didn't seem to bother him at all, and he kept his eyes fixed on Kusakabe. His unwavering gaze seemed to make the younger boy hesitate, but at the same time, foolish pride urged the delinquent forward.

"Get him."

After a heartbeat of uncertainty, they rushed in wildly, fists swinging and getting in each other's way more often than not. And in the midst of all of them, Hibari's weapons flashed like quicksilver, falling with precise blows upon heads and joints until he was the only one who remained standing among the carnage, like some ancient god of war. The few boys who weren't unconscious were groaning, clutching where they had been struck, and their victim had run away, leaving behind only a few pencils and a snapped ruler.

Languidly, Hibari walked over to the leader, nudging Kusakabe under the chin with his foot to make sure he had the boy's attention.

"Try this again, and I'll break your bones. A third time, and I'll bite you to death. Do you understand?"

It wasn't a threat, but a simple statement of fact, delivered in a flat tone that left no room for discussion. He waited for Kusakabe to nod, then turned around and walked away, stepping over the bodies that littered the ground.

From his experiences with hot-blooded people, Hibari didn't expect things to just end there, but nothing could have surprised him more when he arrived at school the next day. The moment he stepped inside the gates, he was greeted by a shout of "Good morning, boss!" and he turned to see Kusakabe and his hoodlums bowing to him.

"What's this?"

Hibari watched warily as Kusakabe approached him, smiling while sporting a black eye.

"Hibari-san, you're strong, and you've earned our respect. Please feel free to use us however you want," Kusakabe addressed him formally, bowing again. Some of the other students were staring at them, wide-eyed, and Hibari shoved the punk away with one hand.

"I'm not strong. You're just weak," he snapped. "That's why you just crowd together with the others. It makes me sick."

But his words didn't seem to upset the other boy, who deferentially took a step back to give Hibari the personal space that he clearly wanted. However, for the rest of the day, they hung in small groups at the corners of Hibari's vision whenever he wasn't in his classroom, following him around like a pack of devoted dogs. It was irritating, and when they began to follow him home after school, he snapped again, beating them all thoroughly, even though they didn't even try to fight back.

Gradually, though, Hibari noticed that their one-sided admiration seemed to be imposing better order on his beloved school. Small incidents were quickly straightened out without his interference, and for the most part, the gang stayed out of his way. So he tolerated their existences so long as they avoided grouping up in front of him, using them as yet another tool to protect the discipline at Namimori Middle School and in town as a whole. He never dealt with any of them directly except for Kusakabe, on the rare occasions that he had to give them orders; even so, he kept a close eye on them to ensure that they didn't overstep their bounds.

His parents had loved the town, and so did he. Even though they had been betrayed, it was only because the authorities had all been weak: afraid of violence, dazzled by money, grasping for power, or any number of other reasons. Although Hibari intended to control them himself through the same methods, he had no intention of unleashing another pack of animals that would cause even more problems for others.

And on the day that he finally finished his compulsory education, he set out to settle the score.

[Part 3]

#katekyo hitman reborn #khr #reborn #fanfic #fan fic #hibari kyoya #kyoya hibari #hibari #character study #headcanon #mine

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fiction-in-my-blood · 4 years

Text

Switching Sides: Part 1 (HLITF)

Annnddd I have a new series even though I haven’t finished any of my others yet. Heh heh. Although, this is like a year and a half in the making 😅 Also, I wanna thank @theshove for being my proofreader and basically editor haha. Check out her kbtbb fic cos it’s super good!!

Premise: Growing up in a life of crime in a Japanese mafia, Atsuko Motomori has seen enough injustice to last her a lifetime. To try and give back to the universe her family has taken so much from, she dreams of being a detective from a young age. Her twin, sharing her disgust for her father and many uncles, just wants an ordinary life away from the crime, paing and suffering. Instead, she wants to be in the spotlight with the soft notes she makes with her cello. In their escape of 2015, on their coming of age birthday, they must split ways, never to be together ever again. If one was found, they didn't want the other dragged down with them. Atsuko, having changed her name and appearance as best she can without a scalpel, sets off to start her life of car chases and arrests.

Four years in a seemingly dead-end police station in the middle of nowhere, being passed over time after time for promotion, Atsuko finally gets a shot at her dream, having been sent to an academy for the best candidates in the country by her boss who had always kept an eye out for her. After discovering her boss may have made her bite off more than she could chew, Atsuko must become the slave of a dominating instructor!? Who so just happens to be the captain of the most famous police unit in Japan? Not to mention a total knockout! Will Atsuko finally achieve her dream? Or will her new instructor put her through the wringer?

Warnings: None for this chapter, but fair warning this fic does get pretty dark. It’s also a VERY slow burn.

~~~~~~~

The loud rattling of the subway was silenced ever so slightly by the soft beat emitting from my earbuds. Looking around the carriage, I spotted an advertisement for a famous orchestra and their tour dates. She's gotten so far, I thought to myself, looking at the edgy, green-haired woman standing with the composer and a few other famous instrumentalists within the group. We had the same features, same voice and same upbringing, but on paper, we were from completely different worlds.

Fighting back the lonely feeling crawling up my spine, I averted my gaze to the people on the train carriage. Across from me was a man: tall, like every other member of the opposite sex compared to me, dressed in casual clothes for a young person. And he didn't stand out in a crowd. But he had a certain look. I recognised it from all the bad people and high stake criminals that frequented my home as a child. I eyed him closely before approaching him.

"Sir, what do you think you're doing?" I glared down at the hand slipping out of the pocket of the man standing in front of the suspicious character. Everyone in the area swivelled around in surprise at my judgemental tone. "You shouldn't steal, y' know. It doesn't set you in a good light." I frowned, the older man ensuring his wallet really was taken.

After exclaiming that it had been, the seemingly normal guy whipped out a pocket knife. Everyone jumped back, except for me, as the thief waved the blade around. "Don't be dramatic. Put the weapon down." I sighed out in boredom before he could lunge at me. I grabbed his wrist as it passed me and twisted my body into his, slapping the knife out of his hand and elbowing him in the face.

Falling back in painful anguish, I ignored the wails of the man to pick up his small blade. When I turned around again, having slid the blade back into the handle, a long-legged man was kneeling down to pull the thief to his feet. Before I could say anything, I saw the silver shine of handcuffs clicked around the thief's wrists. Is he a police officer? I pulled a quizzical expression as the silent man turned to me. He didn't look like much of a city policeman, not like the ones I had seen growing up. His black hair reached the bottom of his neck, not to mention scruffy like a teenage boy's. The only thing that set him apart from the police I used to see visiting my childhood home was the fact he was actually arresting the criminal.

"The public shouldn't endanger themselves." An angry expression soon took over the blank one I saw moments ago.

"Oh, err... Okay?" Thrown off by his handsome appearance, I didn't know how to respond and completely forgot I was also a cop.

Then, I saw the blood trickling down the criminal's face and my eyes grew wide when I noticed my instincts, forced upon me since I was able to walk, took over. "If you're nervous, you shouldn't do such dangerous things." He frowned at my face, twisted up in cringing embarrassment, as I was annoyed at myself for causing a scene. I had lasted this long in a small town of Nagano, being a patrol officer, and not drawn this much attention to myself before. Having this opportunity of becoming a detective, thanks to my boss sending me to a new institute for training officers like me, I had become a bit more ambitious.

"Was he acting alone?" Another tall, nicely dressed and stoic faced man appeared, only he was wearing glasses, and looked at the cuffed man being held by his acquaintance.

"Yeah. Watching his technique, I'd say it's habitual." The suited man replied, losing his look of annoyance at me. They were probably colleagues, they both had the air of lawmen, and they were the only few on the train that was still wearing blazers on a hot day like today. I wonder if they're on an investigation?

The man in glasses, who had most recently appeared, then turned to me. "Any injuries?" With his question, I was quickly pulled back to reality.

"Nope. All good." I smiled, ignoring the earlier comment from the man holding the thief I apprehended.

"It's admirable that you don't overlook crime, but please do not get involved." The smarter looking man furrowed his eyebrows, making his expression look even sterner. "It's more important that you do not get injured." His face quickly eased at the caring comment, his frown replaced with a flat smile.

Growing up, whenever I had accidentally injured myself in the hazardous place I called home, the men in my life would only get angered by my whining. When I joined the police academy, I had to show how strong I was or I'd fall so far behind the male-majority class that I'd get tossed from the class. Thrown off from being shown concern, I hastily lowered my head thankfully at the detective with a hidden badge.

However, I felt like I needed to make them aware that I, too, was an officer of the law. But, before I could, another one approached the one with glasses.

"You collected their garbage?" A moodily-faced man, with long, neat hair and a sloppily tightened purple tie, frowned.

"He brandished a knife on the train. I had no choice." The kind detective's expression froze over once again as he confronted his colleague.

"You could have left that thief to Little Miss Justice here." The new character glanced dismissively at me, which made me raise an eyebrow. He, on the other hand, was like the detectives I saw growing up.

"So that way your scandal isn't the only thing getting attention." The man with glasses took a jab at his associate, but it only made the other man smirk. Or was it more like an irritated grin?

"I don't want to hear anything about a scandal. That's just a lie." As I watched the two bicker, I couldn't help but wonder if they got along well enough to be able to work together.

When the train finally stopped, the moody man disembarked and the ones who helped me hauled the handcuffed man off. I watched the backs of the men who quietly discussed something between themselves until I realised it was my stop. As I ran through the closing doors, I sighed in relief that I didn't make myself late on my first day. With that rush of adrenaline, I forgot about the eventful morning that seemed to whiz by.

~~~~~~

"Wow." I gaped at the grand, white building in front of me. It was wide. The main building in the centre was four stories compared to the three-storied buildings that led off it. I could tell thanks to the rows of windows. On top was a clocktower that also had one set of windows in each of the two floors it contained. The massive archway that led into the main building made the scene look like a western college in a teen movie. Pink sakura trees lined up either side of the pathway towards the academy.

So, this is the new police academy... Amazing! A smile spread over my face as I watched the beauty of the new building unfold before me. The reason for being on that train this morning was for this school. As a girl who grew up dreaming of being a detective, I never got my opportunity to get the promotion the usual way. There were always men that got there before me. After three years of striving for excellence and finally giving up hope, my boss eventually gave me my chance by enrolling me at this academy. One built to promote officers to detectives.

I've heard the details are limited to very few officers but... My fears of all my hard work not paying off made me nervous. How did my boss know about this place? The reason it was built in private is that they'd likely get hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants within the first week! Then I never would have gotten in. There'd always be men that were ‘better’ than me.

I continued along the well-maintained path as I thought about how lucky I was to be attending such a prestigious and, not to mention, beautiful school. As I walked through the campus, I spotted a dojo to my left.

Wonder if anything's going on in there? Having grown up needing to defend myself, I trained in judo and karate, so I decided to take a look out of curiosity. It should be fine. My instructors didn't mind it when I snooped around, I thought to myself, overlooking the fact that I was the daughter of a major mafia boss and if the instructor did reprimand me, he'd lose a finger.

I was awed by the interior, watching the expansive ceiling go further than I expected it to. Looking around, I spotted a man wearing a kendo gi, robes used when performing the art, and meditating in the rays of the sunlight that filtered through the gridded window. I recognised them from what my sister practised in our youth.

He seems young, but could he be the instructor? His eyes were shut, but his expression looked kind. His long, tied-back hair was very feminine looking for a man with such youthful features. The guard he had wrapped around his torso was black compared to the blue robes he had on underneath.

Enthralled by his quiet, mysterious atmosphere, it surprised me when he opened his eyes. As a kid, I had never seen anyone let their guard down like that. To sit in a room, all alone with their eyes closed as they listened to their innermost thoughts: the concept made my nerves arise. But now, face to face with someone I had been snooping on, my heart raced. His penetrating gaze froze me over, stopping me from moving to look less inconspicuous.

Awkwardly not removing his eyes from mine, the light brown-haired man smiled softly at me. Having grown up around mostly men, I was no stranger to the variety of the male appearance. But, I had never seen a man so beautiful before. The new fantasy before me forced me to keep my mouth shut.

"Are you a new student? Reception is in that building." Hearing words come out of his mouth, I jumped back to reality. I quickly realised I was staring intensely at him and my face flushed brightly. I mentally recoiled at that embarrassing display as I thanked him.

Entering without permission and probably creeping him out... What is wrong with me?

"Good luck." His face lit up in a radiant smile. I bowed deeply to show my gratitude and ran off towards the main building.

~~~~~~

Along a glass-walled corridor, I searched for a locker room to change into the uniform the admin office had given me. I spotted one and pushed the door open, only to find myself looking at the backs of several naked men. Before anyone spotted me being a perv, I closed the door and pulled the school map out. Not seeing a distinction between the locker rooms, I called over a man in uniform.

"There's only one. But the shower room should be empty..." With an uneasy eye, the man directed me to the place where I could change. I thanked him, although I was suspicious. There wasn't a women's locker room, but there was a women's shower room? The only reason I could think of for them to think that was okay was that there were so few of us. They likely thought it was fine for us to change in the same area.

Typical. I sighed, heading for the shower room in the back, deciding to check the details later.

As I walked through the door, I was affronted with a man fixing the towel around his waist. Body still wet, I assumed he had just taken a shower.

Annoyed and embarrassed that I had put myself in another embarrassing situation for the second or third time today, I sighed out my apology. "I was told the showers would be empty." I tried to make him understand why I was still standing in the doorway, showing a small smile to help him know I wasn't some crazy girl off the street.

"Yeah, it doesn't get much emptier than this." He chuckled, seemingly not having a problem with my intrusion. My brows furrowed, confused about what the man outside had told me.

"This is the men's shower room, right? So the women's is..?" I trailed off, letting him finish my statement.

"There are no facilities at the school for girls... Except for the women's toilets, I think?" He answered without an expression change, something I quickly noticed hadn't happened since I entered.

Now allowing myself to look at him, his body was in perfect shape. Although his body was of an exceedingly fit man, his blond, bowl haircut made him look younger than I'm sure he is.

"You're kidding?" I slouched, my hope for the progressive police force dulled in a matter of minutes.

"There are only two girls this year. You and one other." He looked into the distance to think about the math. "They can't prepare facilities for so few of you." The bluntness of his statement didn't help my mood as I quickly became deflated. "Well, if you're worried, we could arrange for special times or something?" Noticing my defeat, the man gazed blankly again. "I'll be out soon, just wait a moment." Suddenly, he showed me an encouraging smile.

"Thanks." I smiled back, appreciative that he would give me my space. It was the first day for all of us, so I'm sure he understood my nervousness. Abruptly, he starts changing, right in front of me. I hurried to look away, but he didn't seem to care either way.

"Alright, don't forget to hang up the key..." Throwing the key he had left on one of the sinks, I caught it in a hurry, not wanting to look like a fool for not catching it.

"Sorry for rushing you." I gleefully showed him I’d caught the keys as he began to walk towards the door. As he approached, he closed the distance between us.

"No worries." His expression quickly turned mischievous. "Besides, I don't mind naughty girls like you." His tone was serious as he whispered in my ear, which is what threw me off.

"Naughty?" I shrieked without thinking, maybe reacting more than I should have.

"Don't be so loud. They'll hear you out there." He smirked at my reaction and I grew angry.

"Look, I'm not looking to get into anything here. I'm here to become a detective, I just wanna do that. So keep the harassment to a minimum, alright?" Trying to keep calm and not make a fool of myself, I didn't let his handsome features get the better of me. His expression went blank again. He looked me up and down, and then let out a short chuckle. Then, he left as I tried to cover up my panic.

You're not here to mess around, Atsuko! If you flirt with one guy, they'll think you're a bimbo! I told myself after I began to regret turning him down. Showering like a madman to get to the ceremony in time, I changed before running to the gymnasium.

~~~~~~

"So, it looks like it's just you and me." I laughed with a sigh, having met the only other female student at the academy in the gym.

"Hey, I'm just glad I'm not alone and have you here, Atsuko." She sighed in relief as we stood in the bustling hall. It was full of skyscraping men in the same blue uniforms as us.

"Me too! I was a little surprised when you hugged me, though." I laughed uneasily, not wanting to offend her over-friendly attitude. She was a cheery girl with short, brown hair and hadn't stopped smiling since we met.

"I was just happy to see another girl for the first time since school started." Naruko Sasaki sat beside me in the plastic, foldable chairs. She's my age, which I'm thankful for. I struggle to not feel intimidated by those older than me. And I think my pride would take a hit if some young probie was admitted into the school. Although, Naruko did act a little childishly.

"It's only people chosen from the force... I guess it's unavoidable that they're all men." Naruko sighed after inspecting the testosterone-heavy room.

"Chosen? So it's not a lottery?" I turned to her, surprised to hear that. Coming from a small, boring town, I was surprised that I would be selected for such a prestigious opportunity.

"It might be a lottery in the end, but only people with connections qualify, right?" Clueless to my surprise, the girl just smiled. I quietly agreed with her, trying to think of any connections I would have to get me here. I didn't have the same name as I did in my childhood, so any crooked cops that worked under my dad wouldn't be able to track me down.

"It's called a police academy, but it's meant to train elite public safety detectives." Naruko continued explaining the school to me. I yelled out in surprise. I really had no clue what I was getting myself into when my boss threw this assignment on my plate. The Public Safety Division is an elite group within the National Police Academy. Honestly, I would have been happy to become a homicide or narcotics detective. I never thought, coming here, I would be trained to deal with terrorism or anything with that degree of danger.

"Uhh, Atsuko... Did you apply without knowing anything?" Naruko finally caught on to my confusion as she showed her own astonished expression.

"My superior told me I could become a detective if I graduate..." To be honest, It was my fault I was in this mess. I hardly asked any questions before jumping at the offer.

As I circled further into my confusion spiral, the ceremony began. The Director gave a strong, hardened greeting, then the instructors took to the stage. There, I saw all the men I had run-ins with walk up onto the stage.

"They're all so young... I thought they'd be retirement-aged..." Naruko whispered to me, excited shock written all over her face. I, on the other hand, couldn't hear anything she was saying. "And they're all so handsome in their uniforms." She squealed as quietly as possible as the Director continued. I tried to quieten her before she drew too much attention.

I struggled to keep my jaw from dropping, fear of embarrassing myself in front of all my new teachers taking over my thoughts. Surely, hopefully, they don't remember me?

Around us, I heard our classmates also gossiping about the instructors. One I heard questioned how good they could possibly be, only being a little older than us.

Stepping up to the microphone, I saw the moody man from this morning. "My name is Hyogo Kaga, Public Safety Captain." He announced, and I felt my insides crumble.

He called me Little Miss Justice... I'm going to be a laughing-stock. I slid down in my chair, wanting the world to swallow me whole. I didn't have the guts to tell them I was a cop. If they recognise me, they're going to think I'm a rookie or completely inept.

"We'll be instructing you while we perform our everyday duties as officers. We can't afford to waste our time on spoiled brats." His bluntness silenced the room of anyone that might still be gossiping. "If you have no potential, we will drop you. That is all." With that statement, which I felt was personally directed at me, I went into a state of existential crisis. I didn't even know what the academy was training us for, which showed how good of a detective I would be. I so badly wanted not to be the first out, but surely I would be one of the dropouts. I had no connections and very little detective training. The most of an official investigation I’d seeb was when I was given scut jobs the real detectives didn't want to do. Let's just say I’d been in far too many dumpsters than a human being should’ve been in.

"Terrible way of speaking, but he's still handsome!" As Naruko continued to whisper to me, I got to learn what kind of girl she was. It would be difficult for her to focus here. Over the silence Captain Kaga had created, I heard another classmate explain how he was the most skilled person in Public Safety. Then, the man he was talking to began to argue that "Ishigami" was the one who couldn't be matched and would easily beat Kaga in a fight.

After the Captain, the man with glasses stepped forward. That must be Ishigami, I thought, remembering how un-scary he seemed on the train this morning. The man announced he was, in fact, Ishigami, and that he was a Captain as well. "This school will produce excellent officers. I want you all aiming to create a force that can take down terrorism and foreign crime." His ambitions for the students threw me another punch to the gut, until I remembered what the school was built for.

When Captain Ishigami stepped down, the messy-haired man approached the mic. "I'm Goto. Member of Ishigami's Team." The man was as blunt and as harsh as he had been this morning. "My rank is Lieutenant. Thank you." And like that, he was gone, replaced with the long-haired man I had found in the dojo.

"Hehe, what a short greeting. That's so like Goto," Now in a police uniform, the beauty introduced himself while I tried to ignore Naruko jittering at all the hot guys that had been on the stage so far. "Nice to meet you, I'm Shusuke Soma, also a member of Ishigami's Team. My rank is First Lieutenant. I hope to grow alongside all of you. Thank you." He smiled in the same gentle, pleasant way he had when I’d met him, which only made it harder to listen to their speeches without wanting to destroy myself. Naruko announced that the 1st Lieutenant was her type and I quickly prayed that she would shut up before she was caught and got us both in trouble for gossiping and made fools of.

Appearing after Soma was the man I saw in the shower room. I did not accuse an instructor of trying to harass me, please, God, tell me I didn't. I slid further down my chair, the heavy weight of my actions pushing me down.

"I'm Ayumu Shinonome of Kaga's Team. My rank is Lieutenant." And, of course he had to be a lieutenant, not some rookie who was there to step in for some retiree on sick leave. "Feel free to call me Ayumu. Thanks." He smiled before the gossiping started again.

"Shinonome is a genius and the youngest officer to ever be selected for the top squad." Naruko and I were awed at overhearing that fact, although for different reasons.

He must think I'm incompetent for standing around in the shower room while he changed. I sighed to myself as Naruko categorized our instructors into who would be the easiest to get along with. Our classmates also vocalised their prayers of not being taught by the Captains of the unit. However, I heard one voice that helped me refocus my reasons for being here. "But only the best become instructors at this school. They're all super-elite. Don't you want to train under the greats?"

~~~~~~

After all the daily and special instructors had been introduced, (there were only 20), a supervisor stepped up to the platform, announcing that the ceremony was over. "New students, change into suits and report to the Monitor Room." Everyone the instruction was directed to stood in unison, all either eager to get to work or scared of being reprimanded.

"I wonder what we do in this so-called Monitor Room?" Naruko thought aloud as we shuffled out of the hall within the masses of men. "Ah, I forgot my map. I'll be there after I go get it." She showed me a clumsy smile as we parted ways, me telling her I was going to change, as instructed.

As I approached the doorway, I ran into Captain Ishigami. Avoid eye contact. If I can't see you, you can't see me, I thought to myself, trying to not look at the floor or in his general direction. However, maybe by some sort of telepathy, the captain began walking towards me. I tried to inconspicuously navigate my way through the masses and out of his way, but the boys wouldn't part. I frowned up at the back of the person that was blocking me as the instructor stopped in front of me.

"Captain! Great speech up there, sir!" Trying to play it off like I wouldn't know what he was approaching me for, I smiled to try and distract him.

"You are an officer?" His gaze turned serious, just like it had before he had started talking to me this morning, as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "I thought I had no choice with there being only innocent people around..." He trailed off, referring to his team's interference. If it were anyone else, I would have explained that he didn't have to step in. But, by his tone, I could see I was on thin ice as it was.

"But the story changes if you're an officer. Dragging the public into a dangerous situation like that is an embarrassment." He frowned, gritting his teeth as if it was going to help him hold back.

You have no idea, I thought to myself, feeling the eyes of every person in the room watching eagerly for the first student to be kicked out of the school. I bowed in apology, thinking it best to not retaliate with how I had handled the situation.

"A passenger could have been taken hostage. Did you consider that?" He continued to frown down at me.

"That's why I disarmed him." I let the words slip without thinking, my heart racing the second I realised what I had said. I couldn't look him in the eye as I asked myself if I had just done what I had done.

"Ah, so that was you this morning." The instructor I had met in the shower room approached the situation as I felt myself turn to stone. Ishigami hadn't responded yet and I couldn't tell if it was because he had never met anyone stupid enough to talk back to him or if he was just too ticked off to respond calmly.

"You better make sure Kaga doesn't run into you, the perp we were tailing got away during that mess." Ayumu Shinonome laughed at the inconvenience.

"I wasn't aware I hindered an investigation. I'm so sorry." I gasped, bowing again as I wished I could re-do this day. It would have been better if I was hit by the train.

"Hmm, don't just apologise with your mouth..." Instructor Shinonome's tone was surprisingly stern. "I want you to take responsibility... But that was my fault too." His face was suddenly in front of mine, him having closed the distance once again.

"Responsibility?" I question, trying not to be affected by his forwardness as I took a step back. Thankfully, Ishigami stepped in between us.

"That can wait for later. Hurry up and change, then get to the Monitor Room." Either misinterpreting what Ayumu had said or wanting me to get out of his sight, the Captain allowed me to leave with all my body parts intact.

~~~~~~

In the Monitor Room, the small amount of new students looked around in awe of all the technology covering the surfaces. There was a long wall of monitors that I'm sure gave the room its name.

"Our first round of training will begin now." Ishigami caused confusion within the small crowd of students and the air grew thick with tension.

"But I thought today was just orientation?" Naruko sulked, joining in on the bewildered complaining of our classmates.

"Anyone who can't make it through this training will receive a special punishment. So look forward to it, scum." Captain Kaga smirked down at all of us. As the rest fretted over the punishment the losers could receive, I was caught on what he had called us.

"Scum?" I sighed, wondering what need he had to belittle us like that.

"Additionally, we'd like to reward those with excellent results. So please do your best." Instructor Soma, the man I saw in the dojo, seemed more joyful than the rest of his team. "Especially those who want to get ahead." Reminding us all that this school was a race that we were all competing in to become the best detectives for the Public Safety Division, Soma sounded more easy-going than the statement was. As I looked around at all the faces of classmates lighting up at the notion of progressing, I realised how career-driven they must be. They were aiming for the top.

"This is training for undercover investigations and will be done with an instructor," Ishigami spoke up again. The idea made my heart rate with excitement. Going undercover was like something out of a movie and a perfect occasion for me to show how ‘ordinary’ I can be. I had been living out of the spotlight for four years now; I would be able to continue in the shadows.

"You will be going undercover to a location designated by the instructor. This time we'll let you decide which instructor you'll pair with in order of ranking. Number one is..." Looking down at the clipboard in his hands, Ishigami's brows frowned at the name listed as the best performer in this class.

"...Atsuko Motomori." Announcing the name I had taken as my own after leaving my family, I was shocked to hear it. Even Naruko seemed confounded.

"That's amazing!" Probably thinking she had made a great friend to learn from, I quickly grew worried that my boss back in Nagano had altered my resume to make me look more appealing. I had been working in a small town, doing the most basic police work for three long years. There was no way I could hold a candle to half the people here.

Knowing about my earlier failure of not being able to look away from injustice, Ishigami stared at me in disbelief. Beside him, Shinonome bore a strangely knowing smile on his face. Looking around the room at the five instructors I had met standing before me, I couldn't help but freak out. I had the chance to work with anyone I liked and learn the years of high-stake experience they had collated.

"Motomori, who will you partner with?" Ishigami closed the book of names and held it under his arm, keeping a close eye on how I was reacting. Letting my eyes meet each one of the detectives' before me, I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves.

#her love in the force #hlitf #hlitf goto #hlitf kaga #hlitf ishigami #hlitf shinonome #hlitf shusuke #hlitf soma #hlitf hyogo #hlitf seiji #hlitf hideki #hlitf ayumu #oc #ooc #crime #mafia #mob

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charliejrogers · 4 years

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The Karate Kid (1984)

Being a fan of pop culture in the 2010s has meant a lot of things, but one of them has definitely being subject to boat loads of 80s nostalgia of which I have none. There was a Ghostbusters revival, a Star Wars revival, those commercials that recreated significant portions of Ferris Bueller and E.T., the very existence of Stranger Things with its infinite call-backs to E.T., Aliens, Indiana Jones, etc. But as a big-time fan of How I Met Your Mother, I was subject to endless references to 1984’s The Karate Kid. Between HIMYM and that episode of Community where they recreate the entire movie as a play, I feel like I had already seen this movie before, and frankly I wasn’t too excited. I’ve been told “wax on, wax off” so many times in my life it had practically lost all meaning. After so much build up for what seemed like a silly teen movie from 36(!) years ago, I expected to be disappointed.

I love when my expectations are wrong. This movie fucks. If I were a kid/teen in the 80s, I would absolutely be a Karate Kid fanboy. Yes, in plot it’s not too different than the first Rocky movie. A challenge is put forth to our underdog protagonist (here Daniel played by Ralph Macchio) and the movie focuses on his training alongside an old, cranky man (here Mr. Miyagi played by Pat Morita) as he gets ready for the big fight with which the movie closes.

Like Rocky, Karate Kid too focuses on issues of class. Daniel and his single mother live in a slightly dilapidated apartment complex and drive a car that often requires a (quite literal) running start. Meanwhile, seemingly the rest of the high school Daniel attends lives in mansions and attends social gatherings at the local country club. But where I felt Rocky was rather one-noted in terms of its themes, this movie isn’t simply a rich vs. poor story. Nor, like Rocky, is the final fight simply a way for the protagonist to gain glory. This is a coming-of-age tale, one in which training is less about building muscle and more about find balance (in more ways than one). And it’s a film whose script is in countless subtle ways filled to the brim with heart.

Every character is a fully rounded individual whose backstory is filled with sadness, sometimes made obvious to the audience, sometimes merely hinted at. Much has been said (sometimes comically, sometimes not) about how the film’s primary antagonist (the snobby, entitled, rich kid Johnny Lawrence played by William Zabka) is unfairly portrayed as a villain. While I find these arguments largely facetious, I admit he is far more than your average movie stereotype of a bully. He’s subtly nuanced with real motivations beyond the plot’s need to have an antagonist, especially since Daniel is far from an innocent victim and does much to provoke the conflict between himself and Johnny.

But take Daniel’s mom (played by Randee Heller). We never hear “boo” about Daniel’s father. We don’t know if the two divorced, if his father passed away, etc. What we know is that this is a woman for whom her child is her world. She will do anything to advance her station to give him a better life, but she is not embarrassed of who she is. Yet her heart breaks (and ours with her) when she sees her son’s black eye or sees him throw his broken bicycle in the dumpster. She cares so much that her son fits in and that he has friends, that she blames herself for anything that goes wrong, seemingly giving little thought to her own sacrifices, that she too moved across the country for the promise of a job in tech only to end up working as a hostess/waitress in a local restaurant. All these details are plain and out in the open, but never fully dwelled upon, which is appropriate. This movie isn’t her story. Yet these small details are crucial. They build a realistic world in which Daniel operates and heightens the drama of his situation. He’s not just fighting to get back at bullies. He’s fighting because he’s too young to fully appreciate what his Mom has done for him. He just sees that his Mom has always made him an outcast socially (it’s not the first time they’ve made a move like this), that she dropped into a new school environment, and he now turns to violence because presumably because no male figure has been there to teach him any other way.

All this makes his relationship with Mr. Miyagi so beautiful. On his sixteenth birthday, it is Mr. Miyagi that Daniel chooses to celebrate with over his own mother. Only in the 1980s could films pair teenage boys with old men with no questions asked (see: Doc Brown & Marty in Back to the Future). But the two fill a void in each other’s lives. Multiple times Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi how he learned all the various things he knows about life and karate, and every time Miyagi answers that it was from his father. Daniel replies that Miyagi’s father must have been something special, and we can just hear the pangs of regret beneath Daniel’s words that he wished he had such a man in his life. And on the converse, in that unforgettably emotional scene where a drunken Miyagi openly grieves his wife and newborn child who died in a Japanese internment camp forty years prior from likely preventable complications of childbirth, in front of Daniel, we learn how Miyagi was denied the opportunity to pass on that incredible Miyagi family wisdom to the next generation. Surrogate father gains surrogate son; what could be more beautiful?

There are other small thematic touches I enjoy. I like how the two karate trainers are symbolic of how American vets from differing eras transitioned to civilian life. The Cobra Kai dojo where the film’s antagonist Johnny trains is headed by John Kreese, a highly militant Vietnam vet who treats his dojo like training camp. Orders are barked out and push-ups expected for the slightest infraction. It is not enough to defeat the enemy: they must be destroyed, shown no mercy. This Vietnam vet never fully transitioned to civilian life. He fought in a war that America never won, and therefore never really ended. In an effort to gain control and respect he creates new enemies and uses brute strength to subjugate them.

Miyagi on the other hand has no interest in violence. He tells Daniel how he was always scared to fight, which at the time in the film seems to mean that he is scared when he has to fight out in the streets, but after we find out about his military service it instantly speaks of his time fighting the Germans in WWII. He fought and risked his life, scared that he would never again see his wife, all for a country who didn’t care about him, who let his wife and child die. He won his war, was likely celebrated as a hero, but what price glory? Victory gave him nothing, which likely informs his final advice to Daniel before he tries to return to fight Johnny despite Daniel’s broken leg. Miyagi asks Daniel what’s the point of fighting since he made his point and gained the Cobra Kai’s respect. The fact that Daniel insists on fighting goes against Miyagi’s deeply rooted life philosophy to not use karate in an aggressive manner. Yet he compromises because he loves the boy and to do otherwise would break his heart. The ritual laying on of hands is obviously little more than placebo, but it means the world to a boy who places his utmost love and faith in the man.

Probably the weakest aspect of the film is the love story but that’s not to say that Macchio and Elizabeth Shue aren’t cute and don’t share good chemistry throughout the film. They are and they do. Really it’s more just that this movie is a product of its time and largely views Shue’s Ali as an object to be “won” by either Daniel or Johnny. That said, she is a fairly strong character who is more than capable of standing up for herself, but overall doesn’t have a whole lot of personality other than having a good heart.

But a weak love story does little to drag this movie down. I’ve spoken little of the film’s cinematography but there are many beautiful and expertly crafted shots. I loved the way that the shadows of the Cobra Kai loom large behind Daniel as he hurries to ride his bike home without being pummeled at the beginning of the film. And all of the shots from the beach contain stunning shots of water and sun. But the reall winner is incredibly smartly crafted script that refuses to overplay its action. In fact, there is really little action throughout the film, which makes the ending karate tournament montage set to “You’re the Best Around” a genuinely exciting sequence. Overall, its emphasis on character-building scenes over muscle-building training sequences help this to rise above the crappy movie this could have been. I was not expecting to be brought to tears by The Karate Kid, but with one of the all-time great characters in Mr. Miyagi, it’s hard not to be won over. Don’t fear the hype, this movie really is one of the best around.

***3/4

(3 and 3/4 stars out of 4)

#the karate kid #ralph macchio #mr. miyagi #pat morita #william zabka

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ffwriteradvisor · 4 years

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Combat skills in your characters

Just like real life, not every story requires that a character know how to throw down physically. It really depends on where they are and what they’re doing. Sometimes, it’s just something that shows they’re physically fit, other times, it’s more immediately relevant to their ability to survive the plot.

Once you figure out what sort of martial art you want to work with, you need to do three things:

1: Research

Read up on whatever subject you’re referencing. Not only will it keep you from making any unfortunate gaffs - foil fencing doesn’t really involve slashing moves except as maybe a distraction, for example, and even then, it was never used as anything but a training/competitive tool - but it might give you ideas on how to organically expand on your character’s skill set; applying the concept of the parrying dagger to your character’s two-sword fighting skill set instead of working solely with the ‘double attack for double damage’ concept.

There’s also things like what kinds of builds and body types are helpful in any given art. A lot of wrestling puts emphasis on being big and tough, while other arts like judo are designed with the idea that you’re the smaller person in the equation.

Research also might give you some sense of the kind of philosophy is encouraged in the practitioners of a particular martial art, which can be used to develop your character in any particular direction.

2: Make sure it makes sense

A character who is learning a martial art in the modern world is going to have a very different time of it than a character who is in a medieval setting for a lot of reasons. Someone born in California in 1980 would have the access and means to learn karate - a 16th century English peasant would not. On the other hand, that same peasant would be more likely to know how to actually handle themselves in a real fight despite their lack of polish and formalized skills, as modern karate (or the American understanding of) is about avoiding getting into fights in the first place and put a focus on executing katas rather than sparring, the last of which puts an emphasis on students not breaking their classmates.

In another case of ‘making sense’, there’s also a manner of opportunity. Like most extra-curricular activities, learning how to fight takes time and money. How much varies based on what they’re learning - basic self-defense is a lot less involved than anything involving swords for the simple fact that swords have a lot more immediate inherent danger in them than a person’s bare hands do. There’s also the fact that while it’s easy to find martial arts dojos in most major cities (at least in the United States), finding swords schools is significantly harder.

A third point is practicality/legality of transport/carry. An unarmed fighter is never entirely disarmed and is never in violation of any weapons laws unless they’re in the habit of carrying brass knuckles or the like to add a little extra ‘pow’ to their hits, but a swordsman can be stymied by the lack of their weapon... which aren’t really, y’know, legal to haul around in the modern day and, even back in the days where they were, were often subject to laws specifying who could carry what depending on their social rank.

3: Don’t stack too many specialties

It isn’t unreasonable for a character to be skilled in both armed and unarmed combat. A lot of disciplines, particularly the ones designed for practical use, actually encourage such diversifying. But there’s a difference between a character knowing how to fight with three different weapons for three different ranges and a character who picks up any kind of weapon with the knowledge that they know how to use that weapon as a formally trained expert would.

I was in a martial arts course for about five years as a kid, which at one point gave me the opportunity to attend a Wushu (Chinese martial arts) camp. We covered five things - unarmed fighting, spear (qiang), saber (nandao), fan, and calligraphy. I didn’t stick with the training very well after, but I could reasonably recreate a couple of the spear katas now if given the right equipment.

This would be a reasonable array of skills for a single character to have training in, especially if there’d be a reason for them to be exposed to such a variety of skills (the arts being culturally linked to each other or the character’s background in some fashion) and you make them specialize or excel in one specific area above the others. You also have to consider what happens to the skills your character isn’t keeping up with - they might know a bit, but the longer they’ve gone without using it, the more problems are going to arise with that particular skill unless they take the time to correct it.

Another thing that’s not necessarily a ‘must have’, but still a good thing to keep in mind, is to maintain a good balance of description when it comes to the actions in a fight.

Aim at catching the spirit of the action instead of every technical aspect of it. Too much description can make fight scenes take forever, but being too basic about it can make them extremely forgettable in the long run. Study the arts that you’re working with and see what stands out - how important are proper stances, is there an emphasis on strength before speed or is it the other way around, are cheap shots encouraged or despised?

Think about it when it comes up. And good luck to you all in your writing endeavors!

#skills #characters #weapons #fighting

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codenamesazanka · 5 years

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extremely hastily written, in before Chapter 218 comes out

We know that when Quirks started appearing, people freaked out. Quirk-users were feared and attacked, while Quirk-users also used their new found powers to do whatever they wanted ie commit crime. Vigilantes came about from this, an informal law enforcement and peace keeping, but once the government got a hold of things and started regulating quirks, they picked their choice of who got to be Heroes while the rest became Villains for not having the license to use their quirks. Ever since then, that system has remained the same, or so I suspect. People aren’t allowed to use their quirks willy-nilly, they need licensing, which occurs through mostly hero schools.

But what of people who can’t attend hero schools? Suddenly they aren’t allowed to use their quirks, which is like not being able to use an innate part of yourself. That must be frustrating. For quirks that are always ‘on’, that must be even worse - they’ll have to suppress it with external means. This could be support items - but support items are highly regulated, not everyone can just have one. More licensing, more extra work to suppress something you didn’t ask to be born with.

Horikoshi written in one of the extras that there’s Human Right groups for Quirks - they want the normalization of quirks, they want accommodation not suppression. That’s why they protested that news reporter who cut off his horn (his quirk) so he won’t block presentations. I imagine they want decriminalization of quirk usage...

...but that would mean everyone can be able to use their quirks, and that would be hard to oversee in day to day life. No doubt some people would use it for bad stuff, but also there will be activities that skirt the line. Like if Momo can create anything she wants, we’ll have to ask what’s she allowed to create and if she can give it to others and if that could potentially effect the economy (as she said herself). Or, like, idk, what if a homeless person use their quirk to build their own house? They just build it in an alleyway or abandon lot. I think real estate people and who oversees property stuff won’t be happy about that.

This also means that when people get confronted by heroes, what if they can use their quirks to fight back against what they believe is undue and excessive force? Of course, police don’t want you to ever fight back, but excessive force is a thing that brings penalty. Imagine the court cases where people fight over whether Heroes was using excessive force and the defendant was only using self defense to prevent himself from getting more injured than necessary. No more easy arrests.

But most of all, this means the government won’t have a monopoly on the labor of quirk-users. They’re Heroes, but they’re still workers. They provide their labor. (Do Heroes have a union???).

The thing about Hero Schools is that they train fighters for the government, and they don’t just make them proficient in quirk use, they’re actively training these kids to be experience warriors. Lethal. This makes them wayyyyy more powerful than most of the population, save for the people who train their quirk secretly, of which would include villains. Sure, in real life we have people who have military training and other expert combat skills, but I think we can agree there’s a huge difference between someone who can karate chop someone, and someone who can immediately scorch an entire city block.

Quirk Liberation Army sounds about right. The name harkens back to revolutionary groups that fought for freedom. I thought that they were historical, people who fought for their freedom, for a lifestyle not ‘pretend you don’t have quirks’ but one that is ‘quirks should be used and integrated into society’ or maybe even ‘we should make a society where only quirk users live’...but that’s kinda null once society has 80% of the population with quirks.

But apparently they’re still around. These people want quirks to be freely used... but maybe also to create a society govern by quirks, a hierarchy of powerful people, with quirkless people at the bottom.

(I personally was never too sold on the fact that quirkless people are necessarily oppressed, but I acknowledge the bias and discrimination and the increasing lack of knowing what to do with them in like schools and whatever else)

A society that freely uses their quirks also has big implications for businesses. Heroes are super popular, almost like idols, and their claim to fame is a lot of how they use their quirks, how they show off their quirks. These agencies, the people that market them, the people that sell their merchandise and everything - they also have a monopoly. You have a small subset of people that make money off the fact that there is a small subset of people showing off their quirks.

In the spin-off, there’s a character that wants to be an idol, and she uses her quirk to have street performances - but that’s illegal. She has to run from the cops. A world where people can use show off their quirks, you’ll have youtube stars, you’ll have a lot from street performances, people can market themselves their own abilities. They’ll be able to train themselves to the level of Heroes, even. There’s probably parallels about how the entertainment industry was affect by the rise of self-made youtube stars, and I’m likely overplaying the effect, but yeah. Like that.

Moreover, how do kids who want to go to Hero schools train their quirks? Do they all go into the woods and practice? Do the police turn a blind eye because they know they’re kids wanting to be heroes? Or is there, like in my headcanon, spaces where people can train their quirks - but again, are probably regulated again. If they’re private spaces, this means that someone is profiting off that - rent a gym for 2 hours, your kid can train. But this would be a barrier to those that don’t have the money or time to use, what, 6 hours each week to go to one of these gyms and train. Uraraka is poor, that’s why she applied to hero schools, and I’m totally not dismissing her hard work, but her quirk is relatively benign. She practice floating stuff, and her parents work construction, so she can practice heavier stuff relatively easily. But for a kid with an, say, a emitter fire quirk, that’s harder to do in a city with little wide space. There’s a reason that Endeavor prob has a huge house with a dojo so he can train himself and his kids with all that fire and no worry about property damage.

Shigaraki and his gang hate the current system of Heroes. Toga says she wants a world that’s easier to live in - she is talking about having to suppress herself and being shunned for having a blood quirk? Twice’s quirk affected his mental health and he thinks he’s not virtuous to be saved by heroes. Magne also rebelled against societal norms. Shigaraki himself hates heroes for being the face of justice, when they’re flawed justice (Justice is always going to be flaw when it’s humans dishing it out, but still); and with a disintegration quirk like his, he’s probably would be shunned in society. If he killed his dad, he’s the kid who would be known as ‘the kid who killed his dad with his quirk’. He’ll prob be carefully monitered and made to wear gloves mandatorily. I know there’s lots of headcanons where he wear gloves to use his hands freely, but imagine having to wear them constantly, almost 24/7.

Imagine that if he wants to let his hands air out a bit, his teachers start getting antsy and wants him to put them back on immediately. Imagine people waiting for you to fuck up. Hitoshi experienced a bit of that, but he isn’t shown to be monitored like that, but his is a voice quirk and it’s much more a visible violation of rights if he was forced to not talk, effectively made to be mute.

Shigaraki also wants to fuck shit up and hates rules and is all for chaos, so he doesn’t have the best reasons to hate current society, but yeah. His speech to Bakugou is how Villains feel bound by rules and regulations that limit their freedom. Suppression.

The current setting of My Hero Academia is one that’s implied to keep the current status quo of ‘let’s act like people don’t have quirks and carry on’. Gran Torino says that this age is an age of ‘suppression’ and I didn’t understand that at first, but now it makes sense. It’s suppressing quirk usage, it’s suppressing a possible right to bodily autonomy and self-determination. And what will the Villains and Heroes do about that when people start to want something different?

#bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha #heroaca #quirks #meta #worldbuilding #nalslastworkingbraincell

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peace-coast-island · 5 years

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Diary of a Junebug

Making snack boxes!

We’re here with Amanda, Laura, Quentin, Vincent, and Roselle at the campsite putting together snack boxes for a charity event with Falling Star!

Thanks to Gulliver and his travels, we have plenty of snacks to go around! We’re giving them out as prizes - gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third. The event’s basically a carnival with loads of games and snacks!

While making the snack boxes, I got to learn a lot about the Falling Star fam - most who are cancer survivors since all the proceeds will go towards various charities for cancer research.

There’s Amanda Bonfiglio, who’s the leader of Falling Star. The foundation was created according to the wishes of her best friend Lacey Travino, who lost her life to cancer. They met in the oncology ward where Amanda was undergoing treatment for leukemia. With help from Lacey’s mother, Falling Star was created to help kids and teens with chronic and/or terminal illness. For the past decade, the foundation has grown and helped many lives.

And there’s Laura Skylar, whose older sister Cassie was a recipient of Falling Star. At seventeen, Cassie was diagnosed with a brain tumor with a poor prognosis despite aggressive treatment. Using the money provided by Falling Star, Laura and her best friend Joanna decided to fulfill Cassie’s wish of seeing the ocean, even if it meant sneaking her out of the hospital. After spending a few days at the beach, Cassie passed away alongside her family and friends.

Months after Cassie’s death, Laura’s mother accepted a job at Seashore Path College, which happens to be about half an hour away from Camp Constellation. Since then Laura has been involved with Falling Star as a counselor and assistant coach. She also just started her sophomore year at Seashore Path and is studying to become a physical therapist. Not a single day passes by when she doesn’t think about her sister.

Quentin Toledo and Vincent Yang are both survivors of bone cancer. Quentin was a recipient of the foundation after experiencing a relapse at sixteen, resulting in the loss of left arm. He was first diagnosed at thirteen and it was caught early enough that amputation wasn’t necessary. After his relapse, Quentin was in and out of the hospital. It was a rough time for him and for a while he didn’t think he had a future. But by some miracle, things took a turn for the better thanks to experimental treatments and he achieved remission after two years. Since then he has been cancer-free for three years.

While undergoing treatment and dealing with the loss of his arm, Quentin was invited to attend Camp Constellation as a junior counselor. He almost turned down the invitation - which would have been on top of his list of regrets if he had - and that summer changed his life. Being around other kids going through similar struggles like him helped made him feel less lonely and scared. Plus the activities got him interested in sports again as he was a star athlete and was encouraged by Mira to pursue that. So he became a personal fitness trainer, working with various clients with all kinds of disabilities.

Thanks to Quentin, Vincent became involved with the foundation. Vincent had led an interesting life - from traveling on inter dimensional adventures with Celinda and Owl to masquerading as a vigilante nicknamed the Karate Killer - people thought he was invincible. And so did he - at least until a broken leg led to a diagnosis of cancer. As a result, his right leg had to be amputated - which resulted in an infection that complicated things. After a year of aggressive treatments, Vincent achieved remission and has been cancer-free for almost a year and a half.

While undergoing treatment, Vincent worked with Quentin to stay active as best he could. Later he began working at the dojo with Coen and started teaching beginner karate classes at the camp during the summer. Vincent and Quentin also participate in some of the group therapy sessions, which are helpful to them too, not to mention many of the kids - especially amputees - look up to them.

Finally there’s Roselle Viola, a former teen pop sensation turned director. Back in the day she was known as the quirky pop star Amanda Savannah in the sitcom of the same name. After the show ended, Roselle took a break from acting to attend college. What was supposed to be a short break turned into an eight year long one.

While trying to restart her career and move away from her Amanda Savannah image, Roselle encountered several obstacles along the way. The biggest one was cancer, specifically stage three lymphoma, the same cancer that took her mother’s life nearly twenty years ago. After two years of uncertainty, she was in remission. Along with kicking off her new career as a director, Roselle has also been spending a lot of time working with various charities and foundation dedicated to cancer research, including Falling Star. She’s also working with Amanda and Mira on a documentary about Falling Star, which just started production last year.

Hearing their stories and how they came together is a good reminder that no matter how bad things get, there’s always a small glimmer of hope. Five people with different lives brought together by hardships and loss, working together to make a difference.

At first, putting together all these snack boxes seemed like a daunting task. But then we started talking and before we knew it, we were done! Now let the fun and games begin!

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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reallyhardy · 7 years

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ok, i gotta get it all down before i forget (but could i really ever???) so here is an extremely long, very spoiler-iffic

loren’s spongebob-musical-sperience

i attended the 8pm performance on friday, 24th nov and it was....

AMAZING!!!

i have never ever had such a wonderful time at a theatre. so first off i was on the front row mezzanine toward the left with my bestie and my sister, so we were at a really, really good vantage point. we...we very very enthusiastic, possibly verging on obnoxious...but being so close to that barrier...well. we were basically hanging right over.

i’m just gonna go through the numbers. obviously i have seen the chi boot so i was comparing what i could to what i’ve seen. if you’ve seen the thanksgiving performance it was mostly that beyond what we’re familiar with with spongebob going through and meeting all his friends around town, and like. oh man, that new newsies choreography was AH-MAZING! it was all so funny, ethan’s little spongebob walk and the way danny sort of...rolled into his appearance when he gets introduced. then of course there’s the new krusty krab set which was SO nice (and gets even cooler later!) but there was a scene with squidward and spongebob getting a lot more into that dynamic from the cartoon, and this hilarious little bit where SB puts his hand down on the stove and then, when he notices that it’s burning...he flips it over so he can cook that hand nice and even on both sides. and there’s a part where he hangs his spatula on squidward’s finger while he sings a new and improved and even more emotional ‘please be proud of me dad mr krabs’ part.

so the order was different from chicago because it goes bikini bottom day -> no control -> B.F.F. whereas the previous order was B.F.F. before no control. no control isn’t a fave of mine but it was VERY fun to watch and ethan did extra little contorty gymnasticy bits along with his split :’) but at the end... so the crowd screaming melts away leaving patrick screaming in the middle in his house before SB finds him -- that was absolutely hysterical. danny had a lot more opportunities to shine as a comedian, so many more jokes for patrick and he was so, so, soooo funny. but anyways - B.F.F. was very lovely - though i noticed no best friend handshake this time around as i’d seen from the rehearsal footage. the new painted cardboard letters were so fun and cute looking and it was just a really fun number - plus ethan and danny’s harmonies at the hand were so lovely!!!

then there’s a bit more of everyone freaking out before we get to going get tough which was!!! mind boggling!!! i did not think at first that wesley could rap because the first verse started and seemed quite slow, and it sounded particularly empty without karen’s beatboxing. but then. oh BOY. it suddenly became amazing. first, he did a big ol’ dance break with the plankton puppet attached to his shoe and a little spotlight on him to make you focus on watching him dance and then-- and THEN. OH. MY GOSH. THE SUPER FAST RAP VERSE. ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDING. my sis, pal and i were losing. our. minds up there. it absolutely blew us away. i need to just say that wesley is absolutely fantastic as plankton, and clearly love love loves getting to play him. his voice is almost a dead ringer for mister lawrence and his whole manner is just. hilarious. absolutely brilliant.

okay! the next number is simple sponge! i didnt notice any lyric changes but i did think it was absolutely hysterical the way krabs slowly backed up while quietly echoing ‘simple sponge, simple sponge’ - too funny. he stood at the back on the higher balcony in front of the neon krusty krab sign and really hammed it up for the ‘you are still a simple sponge’ parts. and the neon sponge dance, oh my lordy!!! it looked so so SO good live! they adjusted the shape for gary so he is more obviously a snail. and they did a little belt around SB’s waist at the ‘own dojo’ line. and boY!!! that ethan slater!!! absolutely slaying!!! he didn’t go for the super super high note but what he did do was still awesome and super powerful. love love love that boy. plus, he kept up using it as a way of pepping himself up, so on his way to different locations he was chanting ‘i am not a simple sponge’ to himself.

okay, next up was daddy knows best. so, by now we probably all know that jai’len absolutely SLAYS as pearl. honestly, the whole audience was completely losing it every single time that girl opened her mouth. she was utterly, utterly PHENOMENAL. i never heard a voice like that!!! but okay so first SB comes up to the krab trying to tell everyone that they don’t have to leave town because he’s got a plan. krabs is busy packing and pearl is trying to decide what to wear to the benefit concert. she brings out two pink prom style dresses, a long and a short, but krabs tells her she’s not going (this is an interesting dynamic to them that i prefer from the chicago - it seems less like krabs is uncaring and disinterested in pearl and more like he’s an overprotective dad - still well meaning despite his blunders. i also noticed he did not say ‘yeah’ when pearl asks ‘is money more important than me?’ in act 2 which made me feel a bit better.) ANYWAY. spongebob takes the dresses and slips the shorter one’s hanger over his head so it looks like he’s wearing it and it is adorable. then when the song is going on, krabs instructs SB to cover his eyes (and he does so, for the rest of the number) while krabs cracks open all the doors and set pieces and to reveal all of where he’s hidden his money, so it’s all this seriously shiny gold coinage and it’s absolutely brilliant!!! i did notice that this time around pearl did not do any overdramatic sobbing, which was a little disappointing, but her amazing amazing singing made up for the little lack of comedy. then it got SAD because pearl sits own on the corner of the stage, genuinely upset, but there’s a very sweet moment where SB sits down with her and tries to comfort her a little bit. it. was. precious, and made me think of all the times SB helps pearl out in the cartoon because. he’s the best big(little) brother ever.

and then... HERO IS MY MIDDLE NAME! oh boy. okay. so, when sandy’s running from the mob, holy heck. the theme there on racist commentary is...oh. my god. every time this was brought up i could not stop crying. so sandy walks into the centre of the stage and on the right, a couple fish spray paint the words ‘LAND MAMMAL GO HOME’ and!! god!!! it was absolutely heartbreaking, lilli’s acting at this point had me full of tears. she said in this quiet voice -- i thought this was my home and MAN. SO SAD. then it goes into the song and...patrick did not carry spongebob in this time around, so, bummer, and i noticed there’s a lot less physical interaction between the team of tres than before - spongebob doesn’t extend his hand to sandy and sandy knocks out a bunch of plus squirrels in cowboy hats instead of striking pat and SB - both are pretty dang funny though so its all good. during this performance sandy did not sing the new verse heard at the playbill preview event, so i was a lil disappointed in that too, but all the fun little moves and dances were still really good - and the team of tres high-five handshake from bikini bottom day happened again, except this time with sandy in the middle. would have been cool if they full circled it at some point with patrick in the middle, but it ain’t no big thang. anyway - hero is my favourite song and it was so fun to hear live -- again the harmonies were absolutely fantastic!!! PLUS. SO SO BADASS, and this made me cry too -- patrick and spongebob hold up the board that ‘mammal go home’ had been sprayed on, and sandy kicks it to break it in half, they cheer, and then the boys toss the board away. SO. GOOD.

and now! SUPER SEA STAR SAVIOUR! this one was AH-MAZING. the new costumes for the sardine followers are absolutely gorgeous and i massively prefer them, and the new choregoraphy. wow wow WOW. okay. so they added this dance break to it where they all bust out tambourines and patrick does a hamboning thing with the tambouring like in the first movie. i did not expect at all that this would be a thing because in chi during dance numbers danny was typically at the back but here!!! WOW!!! he has clearly improved so much as a performer and this lil tambourine dance was SO GOOD. and then of course his singing was amazing, he was nailing those high notes, and and and!!! he did this funny little thing where he blessed all the sardines by sort of karate chopping their heads a lil bit, and the whole thing was. so phenomenal.

then of course there’s the breakup scene, where they acted a bit... spongebob did not seem as much hurt and sad as hurt and angry, and they insulted each other a bit first - ‘at least i dont live in a fruit!’ ‘at least im not pink!’ (hysterical) before they go fine, fine, fine! and then...well. then spongebob gets sadder, and he sits right down in ‘defeat corner’ much like pearl did earlier after daddy knows best. then it goes into tomorrow is, which was absolutely as beautiful as i’d hoped -- lilli and ethan’s voices together are my absolute favourites and!!! it got so very emotional. again i noticed that krabs sticks very close to pearl in a protective way here, although i was again a lil disappointed that plankton and karen don’t emerge very obviously post-coitus... they still dont seem to have quite reached that point this time around. THEN ANYWAY INTERMISSION TIME.

this was where i freaked out a little, talked to a friend, wiped my tears, freaked out a little more, and then by the time i was done talking and freaking, patchy had hurried back onto stage.

so it seems jon rua cannot play the accordion, but they got around this by having him have written some sheet music he’d come up with on a piece of very piratey parchment, which was passed along down the on-stage band who pretty much just passed it along with no regard. nothing was really different about the poor pirates number beyond patchy not having the accordion, it was still very fun but over quickly enough that we could get back to the action.

then its bikini bottom day reprise which is much like in chicago, except allan k. washington now plays gary, so he sat off a little ways to the side on stage to do the meows whilst visible on stage. i have no strong feelings on this - i think its kinda fun i guess!

BIKINI BOTTOM BOOGIE WAS FANTASTIC. i never loved it that much as a song on its own and didnt enjoy it that much in the chi boot - i liked it a bit more on the cast album but HOLY HECK. ON STAGE. so of course pearl is singing along and that gives jai’len another change to shine shine shine, and holy HECK. okay. there is a part where kyle matthew hamilton does a skating trick on TWO SKATEBOARDS. STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. again -- i freakin lost my mind!!! it was unbelievable!!!

chop to the top was pretty similar to chi, a couple of lyric changes but they did much the same stuff - it seemed a bit slicker and all put together better than in chi, and there were a couple more projections to give the boxes more of a lava-y effect. the harmonies between ethan and lilli again -- absolutely a m a z i n g.

now we get to another part that made me very emotional but i held in my tears this time. it leads in with patrick and the sardines but this time around they make it more obvious that he’s thinking about spongebob when he recounts the memories of his stretchy couch, because he says ‘spongebob and i this, spongebob and i that...’ and when they ask him what more do you need he repeats it in this hearbreaking little way. yeah. what more do i need? before he goes into the song. its just as emotional as on the album, but on stage ethan and lilli do a little bit more miming that they’re climbing the mountain while danny’s singing. then there’s no dailogue lead into spongebob’s verse, he just goes into it. there’s something about danny’s face when he sings this song, he just looked like his heart was breaking. he’s so, so good. the emotion breaks just a little at the end - sandy sounds a bit more impatient than before when she says ‘come on spongebob, this mountain won’t climb itself’ and SB goes ‘unless--’ ‘no it WON’T, spongebob!’ so i ended up giggling there in a bit i didnt before. not a bad thing, but i did kind of want to cry during that number all the same.

anyway. THEN WE GO INTO THE SHOWSTOPPER. NOT A LOSER. it looked pretty much the same as in chi BUT. SO SO SO AMAZING TO SEE LIVE. nothing to really say except that it was utterly perfect, and so, so so very very sparkly and beautiful. and the audience applauded for AGES. gavin just stood there holding that final post as we cheered and cheered and cheered. so so so amazing!!!

then its back to spongebob and sandy on the mountain. they added a little thing for plankton and karen where they use an ‘avalanche maker’ which makes them the reason spongebob gets knocked out on the mountain, and. oh, holy goodness, okay, here we go. before i get to the reunion, let’s spin back to plankton and karen. who...so ppl have probably already talked about this but. big guy. big guy. he gets her to call him big guy, moans every time, and then they have this BIG DAMN MAKE-OUT. there’s this bright, glittery projection of hearts and sparkles as they do so, and it’s just. oh my god. losing my mind yet again. SO much cheering from the audience.

right, and back to the mountain. the audience reaction to patrick flying down on the jetpack. glorious. we were all loving it. and then the reunion, oh my gosh! very very heartfelt, they changed the dialogue so the boys say a lot more emotional and genuine stuff to each other before they hug (though it was quite a brief hug) (and they did not do the ‘we are back’ dance, they just did the ‘best friends’ dance which i dont think was quite as funny but okay.) then...then we have the final part with the volcano. it was especially funny here because both ethan and lilli did cartwheels, and then danny lifted his arms like he was going to do one too...and then just kept on running. brill. then spongebob climbs the mountain and my sis and pal were all holding each other in fear because at one point it really felt like ethan might fall. obviously he had his harness but still. TERROR. then when he threw the interruptor. BLINDING! but awesome.

okay. hurrying along to the best day ever. i started crying right during the speech and continued to weep on and off ‘til the end at this point. i noticed perhaps due to tiredness or maybe real feeling but ethan kind of dropped out of the spongebob voice and delivered the really powerful speech in a voice more like his own which....ahhh. it had me weeping. plus, sandy took on a little bit of the speech at the start, and i just love the demonstration of spongebob and sandy’s strong loyalty to each other in both songs, dialogue and action. anyway. then of course the song starts and i absolutely adore how they staged it -- spongebob has a little interaction with almost every character and a lot of the time tailored to who they are -- so he joins in with a sardine’s hand motion, obviously shakes the mayor’s hand very officiously, and brings a lot of the characters together before they all join hands -- and SB was stood between pat and sandy when i saw it, which i like better than when he was between sandy and the mayor because...agh!!! what if that was it for them!? the whole thing of the best day ever absolutely has me bawling almost every time i listen to it, because they all come together to be joyful one last time before they thing they could all just...die.

god, i wish there was a way i could re-live the end when they all celebrate though, because i could not take in everything. i noticed that pearl and krabs hug, and sandy and SB hug each other before patrick runs in to join them. and. OKAY. SO THE RACISM THING COMES BACK AGAIN HERE AND. BY JOVE.

so the whole time, it’s been jenkins that lead the charge against sandy, which is horribly fitting as he represents...every old white man running the world right now, so how important and monumental that he is also the one to tell her you saved us. but then...god... they ask what happens now and sandy says -- i guess i’m leaving. and jenkins asks her to please stay, reminds her that in their town everyone should be welcome. and she says--

she says-- i don’t know if i can trust you, these people, anymore.

cue TEARS. i was absolutely sobbing here. i mean, you’d think, right? in spongebob, it’d be easy. she’d just be like ‘okay, you’ve convinced me’, but she didn’t. it was such a raw and real moment and lilli absolutely killed it. SO emotional. and then ethan steps up and, again, in not such a spongebobby voice, in a much more mature tone, he begs her to give the town another chance, and the whole time he’s been reminding her that she never deserved it but he understands if she wants to go -- he tries one last time and the town comes together ‘til sandy agrees to stay.

then or course, the town makes their own band. this was SO lovely because sandy takes the second line instead of krabs, and all the instruments were painted and decorated to be super bright colourful, it was so gloriously chaotic and wonderful. then of course the theme song!!! me and my squad screamed out lungs out and waved and cheered like crazy and ethan totally caught our eye!!! big, blessed moment.

at the stage door...almost every cast member we spoke to was like ‘i saw you three up on the mezzanine!’ stephanie hsu was very VERY lovely and me and hailey spoke to her about the art we gave her, she told us it made her so happy which made us so happy, we talked to oneika phillips about her cool hair and her very cool wig and makeup, lauralyn mclelland noticed my blue eyebrows that matched hers, and kelvin moon loh. oh my god. he gave me a little 20 cent wahlgreens print he’d made of a fanart i’d done for him that he’d set as his twitter and facebook pics -- he said he’d made copies for his family, signed them all...then went back inside to his dressing room to get me one.

i managed to give some badges and fridge magnets i made to lilli, danny (i slightly brushed his hand with mine and!!! got embarassed but he was sooooo lovely) (on his way out he held the starfish magnet up for me to see like yeeeah!) and also to ethan, who came out last when a lot of the crowd has dispersed, so he was the only cast member we snagged a pic with.

but the real highlight!? TINA. FREAKING. LANDAU. was also there. she was just stood behind me in the crowd looking out for ethan to make sure he got through okay. i got a bit giddy and emotional trying to tell her how much the show meant to me, and we shook hands but...it was no simple handshake, no. she took my hand in both of hers and gosh!!! i’ve never felt more blessed.

it was honestly. the best, best, best day ever. i left with a t-shirt and a streamer worn as a scarf and a stack of rescued playbills, and everything was absolutely wonderful.

#the spongebob musical #a big ol' review #emphasis on big #this took me about 2 hours to type up omg #its just adoring nonsense #there's stuff i didnt love but i mostly tried to keep it out of this because #i just want to express #ive never ever EVER loved something so much #in my life

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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More Than Miyagi Director On Honoring Pat Morita

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“I didn’t really think there were that many people out there who were interested in Mr. Miyagi,” Kevin Derek says. “But (it turns out) millions and millions of people are.”

Derek is a martial artist, producer, and documentarian, whose latest documentary, More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story, seeks to humanize the man behind some of pop culture’s most mythical characters. The timing for such a doc couldn’t have been better, but it turns out that was simply good fortune.

“We started shooting this back in 2016, so it was a year before Cobra Kai was even in production,” says Derek. “They didn’t even know that they were going to shoot Cobra Kai.”

Everyone knows Pat Morita from his beloved Oscar-nominated role as Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid franchise, and many remember him as Arnold in the hit TV show Happy Days. However, Morita’s TV and film career goes all the way back to 1964. IMDb credits him with 175 acting roles. Long before Morita taught Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio) how to crane kick, Morita played a Karate instructor for Bob Hope and Eva Marie Saint in Cancel My Reservation. He also played a wide variety of roles, from cameos as a token Asian in the early years, a stand-up comedian known as ‘the Hip Nip,’ to dramatic roles like the WWII-based I’ll Remember April and Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes.

More Than Miyagi documents Morita’s tumultuous life, from being bed-bound by tuberculosis as a child to growing up in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, and through his battles with racism, alcohol, and drugs. Featuring interviews with the casts of The Karate Kid, Happy Days, Morita’s widow Evelyn Guerrero, and many other notable celebrities like Tommy Chong and James Hong, More Than Miyagi reveals the Pat Morita we never knew.

This isn’t Derek’s first venture into the Miyagi world. He’s been involved with two previous documentaries. While not directly related, Empty Hand: The Real Karate Kids follows the personal journeys of four real life Karate competitors as they train in hopes of becoming the next national champion. Closer to home is Derek’s The Real Miyagi, a documentary about the venerated Karate Sensei Fumio Demura who was the stunt double for Morita in the Karate Kid films. Derek has been practicing Karate since he was nine and was a student of Demura Sensei. Making The Real Miyagi became a stepping stone to More Than Miyagi.

During production Derek met Guerrero over sushi. The director recalls: “She started sharing all these stories about how Pat suffered this, did this, did that, and how his father died in front of his eyes. And that stuck with him, and he had all these demons.” A year later when The Real Miyagi came out on Netflix, Guerrero was impressed and moved by it. “That was my chance to ask her if she wants to do a documentary on Pat Morita.” Once Derek had her support, Morita’s celebrity circle were eager to participate.

Happy Days Are Here Again

For those old enough to remember, Morita broke into American households as Arnold, the owner of the self-titled restaurant that everyone hung out in the popular sitcom Happy Days. Reflecting on that period in Morita’s career for the doc are Happy Days cast members Henry Winkler (Fonzie), Anson Williams (Potsie), Don Most (Ralphie), and Marion Ross (Mrs. Cunningham).

“I grew up watching Happy Days,” says Derek. “Now I’m sitting right next to the Don Most, and we’re doing an interview. It’s just weird to me. It’s great, I loved it.”

Derek says the cast was welcoming and nice, eager to contribute to the legacy of their castmate Morita despite a harrowing story of how his alcoholism spoiled their 30th reunion show. That episode is unflinchingly described in the documentary.

“I knew that he had a drinking issue but I didn’t really know how severe the drinking problem was,” Derek says.

The cast shares stories of different instances from multiple people about when Morita was intoxicated on the set, but Derek didn’t want to dimmish him, saying “I love his character. I love who Pat represents.” Derek was selective and picked just that one example to illustrate a significant and grim chapter of Morita’s life.

“Alcoholism is just like any other disease. It was more important to me to show all the suffering that he (endured), all the internment camps and the tuberculosis and what he went through, to rise from it and to become this iconic character.”

The Real Martial Arts Behind Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid

By Gene Ching

The Real History of Cobra Kai

By Gene Ching

Despite those sad times, Derek says that his interviews with the Happy Days cast were … well, happy. As a longtime fan of the show, interviewing the cast filled him with anticipation, especially for Ross. “I was telling my producer, Oscar Alvarez, ‘I hope when we go to her house, she’s just like Marion Cunningham. She’s going to offer us cookies and lemonade.’”

Sure enough, upon arrival Ross offered the documentarians lemonade and cookies – and with Happy Days-branded napkins, no less.

“It was like basically stepping inside Happy Days and just living this for a couple hours. It was awesome.”

Meeting Morita

In contrast to the Marion Cunningham experience, meeting Morita was nothing like stepping into The Karate Kid for Derek. It was more like a transition between Happy Days and The Karate Kid, only the filmmaker didn’t realize it at the time.

Derek met Morita in 1983, who he knew from Happy Days, when he was just a teenager. Morita attended his sensei’s annual tournament just prior to when The Karate Kid came out. In retrospect, he believes Morita was there researching Miyagi.

“I think he was trying to perfect his accent. Because if you watch him talk, it’s very close to how my sensei talks.”

Derek has fond memories of Morita taking the time to speak to a teenage fan. “He loved to donate his time to children, to causes that have anything to do with the kids, because he had tuberculosis from ages two to 11, he spent most of his time in a hospital, so he could relate to kids.”

The Karate Kid was a huge blockbuster for its time. “That was the only film that I actually waited in line for an hour-and-a-half,” recalls Derek. “The line was wrapped around the whole fricking mall for people to watch The Karate Kid.”

The film was a particularly big deal for anyone who had a dojo back then. Derek also remembers lines of people trying to sign up for Karate lessons. That chance meeting with Morita nearly forty years ago and the subsequent success of The Karate Kid still amazes Derek.

“I never would have thought that I would be making a documentary on Morita’s life.”

Cobra Kai Connections

As part of More Than Miyagi, Derek also interviews Morita’s castmates from the Karate Kid franchise including Ralph Macchio (Daniel), William Zabka (Johnny), Martin Kove (Kreese), Ron Thomas (Bobby), Pat E. Johnson (the referee and choreographer), Robert Mark Kamen (writer and creator), and Sean Kanen (Mike Barnes).

“They’re all such nice people. Zabka is such a nice person, Ralph is so nice. Everyone was so welcoming to this project, and they really wanted to help us out, and I’m thankful for all of them.”

Derek believes Morita would’ve loved Cobra Kai as the show honors Miyagi in so many ways. Throughout his life, Miyagi embraced the role and hoped the character would live on.

Cobra Kai Season 3: Does Young Kreese Redeem Cobra Kai’s Founding Sensei?

By Gene Ching

Cobra Kai Season 4: What to Expect

By Gene Ching

“Ralph (Macchio) is doing a great job. He’s trying to keep the Miyagi legacy in his Cobra Kai.”

During Derek’s research, he discovered that Morita completed a script about Miyagi with George Johnson of Rafu Shimpu magazine. “It’s about Miyagi’s earlier life, where he came from, WWII and all that stuff. So if anyone’s interested and wants to hit him up, it’s ready to be made.”

Some actors feel trapped when an iconic role pigeon-holes their career in a way that they can never escape. Morita managed to succeed in other meaningful roles too, but he will always be remembered as Miyagi. There was something genuine in Miyagi that still resonates in the hearts of fans.

“He was basically Mr. Miyagi,” claims Derek. “Whoever I spoke to, they said that. That was him. Everyone says he was such a nice person. If you were down, he would bring you up. The first thing he would say is a joke. Even when he signed an autograph, he would put a little funny message in there. He was basically Mr. Miyagi, I think.”

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More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story comes to iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, DVD and Blu-ray on Feb. 5 2021.

The post More Than Miyagi Director On Honoring Pat Morita appeared first on Den of Geek.

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mashalocked-blog · 7 years

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[Translation] Dec 1, 2017 appearance on Tetsuko’s Room

(Thanks to 福山雅治甜心club for the Chinese subs)

T: Tetsuko M: Masha

[Tomoe Gakuen plays] T: Today's guest wrote this song for me. It's Fukuyama Masaharu. Please come in. [Masha walks in] T: You gained new experiences from visiting your elementary school, right? M: Yes. T: Welcome, do sit down. We'll talk about your mischievous acts in elementary school too. M: Please take care of me. T: I heard your legs are very long. M: Oh, really? T: Looking at them now, it's quite scary. How tall are you? M: I'm around 181, 180cm. It varies on different days. T: I think you're very handsome. M: Thank you very much. T: You're welcome. The drama 'Totto-chan' has started airing, I requested for you to write the theme song right? M: Yep. After I appeared on 'Tetsuko's Room' the previous time... T: Yeah, last year. M: At the corridor... T: Yes, it was at the corridor... M: You directly offered it to me. But at that time, I just accepted without thinking much. T: It must have been hard doing this. M: Yes, it was very difficult. It's just like looking at Mount Fuji from afar and looking at it close-up, the feeling is totally different. The truth is, when I went closer, I found that it wasn't easy to describe at all. But to be able to write this theme song for your life, one-half of your life, I reminded myself that I'm describing you. I'll think of you doing this and that, and what you're thinking in those moments. I wrote the song while thinking along these lines. I wanted to climb Mount Fuji, Mount Tetsuko, but I got lost in the forest at the foot of the mountain. I gradually couldn't find my way. I was really at a loss this time. T: We had a meal afterwards. M: Yeah, I thought it would be better to see Tetsuko face-to-face to have a chat. I had to interview you, otherwise I wouldn't be able to find an endpoint for the lyrics. It took around 4 hours. T: Yes, it was quite long. We talked about many things. M: Just both of us. T: Sometimes after I replied your emails, there would be new emails coming in again. M: Normally, I don't let my staff see my unfinished work. I complete them without anyone else seeing. But this time, I sent the unfinished work to you, asking, "How's this? How's that?" If I didn't get confirmation from you, I thought it would be hard to finish it. So I asked you for confirmation a few times, I think it was three times? T: Yes. M: Many times. T: Yes, I thought it was quite good already, at that time. I replied you, "That's good", but you felt that you hadn't reached a standard that you were satisfied with. M: At the start, I didn't want the song to just revolve around gratitude, I wanted it to be more than that. T: That's great. M: So in the final version, the endpoint was focused on the word 'freedom'. I think you represent the Showa-era female's characteristics of freedom, peace and love. T: Haha, that's over-praise. M: I realised females can live freely in this way too. That's what I thought. T: That's a good thought. M: So I thought that I should include this at the end of the song. T: After 36 years, you went back to your elementary school in Nagasaki. M: Yes, I really wanted to film the music video in my school. T: I see. M: At first, I really wanted to go to Tomoe Gakuen, but now...it's no longer there. T: It got destroyed in the war. M: Now, it's the black peacock... T: At Jiyugaoka. M: Yes, it's there. Because it's gone, I just went back to my elementary school. T: It was because of this. M: Yes. I thought it wouldn't be possible to film it there. When we were discussing it, the MV director, the creative director asked me, "What do you think of going back to your elementary school and becoming a special teacher, just for one day?" T: That's amazing. M: I was thinking, "Eh?! What is this about returning back to my school to become a teacher for a day?" The school told me, why not talk about dreams with the children? Talking about dreams in an elementary school, much less my own school, isn't that the kind of thing that only people like Suzuki Ichiro can do? I was in panic at that time. I anxiously wondered if the children knew who I was. T: They probably know you. M: After all, I don't often appear on dramas or TV programmes now. Will children really know who I am? They probably don't know what I'm doing. I was really worried. T: Yet the children were looking at you much interest. Let's take a look at this MV. [MV plays] T: So cute! M: Everyone's expressions were great, they were really cute. T: Everyone knows you! M: I was so relieved. [MV ends] T: These are 4th year and 2nd year students, right? They seemed to be listening to you really eagerly. M: During this class on 'dreams', everyone drew out who they wanted to be in the future. But the school thought that it would be unfair if only this class got to participate, so they asked me to visit all the classrooms. So I visited them all. T: It must've been tiring. M: Yes, but I was really happy to meet with the current students from my old elementary school. It made me very happy. T: Tamori has said this before - that when he visited Nagasaki, the taxi driver didn't say much and just brought him to your house. M: When I went to Music Station, Tamori said that when he was filming 'Bura Tamori', he went on the taxi and got asked, "Tamori-san, do you want to take a look at Fukuyama's house?" T: That's a bit weird, isn't it? M: Yeah, so Tamori rejected him. T: It's something to be happy over, to be so popular in your hometown. M: Yep, when I left Nagasaki at 18 years old, I didn't have anything I wanted to do there. I thought that if I remained there, I wouldn't become the person I wanted to be. It feels like my hometown and my dreams are opposites. To be known by everyone now makes me very happy. T: When you were young, you were very mischievous right? M: In elementary school? Yes. [Picture of Masha at 5 years old] T: How cute. M: At that time, when I saw bananas on the butsudan (Buddhist altar) at my house or my friend's house, I would take them and eat it. T: Very calmly. M: Yeah. When I was an elementary student, I practised karate. There was a dojo near my house. Karate is a kind of martial arts, which can hone the mind. "What you learn here cannot be used outside", "You can't use it for fighting", although I was warned, but the more I heard it, the more I wanted to try it out. T: It couldn't be helped. M: Yeah, it couldn't be helped. This photo makes me look like I'm studying. During gym class, I played truant and hid under the lecture table. The police even came to school. T: Why? M: I think Japan boycotted the Olympics at that time- T: Yes, there was this one time... M: In Russia (t/n: 1980 Moscow Olympics)... At that time, my father told me, "Masaharu, do you know what's a boycott? You can't go, you've got to boycott it, boycott." This made an impression on me for some reason, so when I attended gym lesson, my classmate asked me, "Hey, should we boycott this too?" So I hid under the lectern, and then I fell asleep. T: In such a narrow place? M: I laid down and fell asleep, and missed the chance to go out. When I opened my eyes, I didn't know why there was such a big uproar in class, saying, "Fukuyama is missing!", "Where is he?". I think my mother was called to the school, into the classroom. Even the police were called. T: Even the police! Because the lectern is facing the opposite direction... M: Yes, the lectern was only this tall [gestures to around somewhere below the knee] T: You went in there? M: I went in. T: You made yourself totally flat. M: It just so happened that there were lecterns around this height, and there were two at that spot. So I laid down inside and hid myself. I wanted to boycott the class, but I felt asleep. Because there was such an uproar outside, I had to go out. After I went out, my mother gave me a good beating in front of everyone else. T: Your mother was amazing... wow, but how did your mother manage to hit you in front of everyone else? M: I think she was very agitated. T: Were you already grown up then? Or were you still a little kid? M: I wasn't really big yet, it was around 3rd or 4th grade. T: So it was just a so-so age. If you were really grown-up, your mother wouldn't have been able to hit you anyway. M: I got scolded by my mother very often. Because there was just me and my older brother, we would often fight for no good reason. At that time, we would fight from dinner onwards. My mother would take a knife and walk out of the kitchen, saying, "Stop fighting!" while waving the knife around and hitting us. T: Sounds scary. M: I thought it was really dangerous then, so I told her to stop. She said it was okay since she was using the back of the knife. I don't think she was an expert in this area...in using the back of the knife. T: Your mother sounds interesting. M: Yes, now that I think of it. She was really different in this aspect. T: She wasn't just angry, but she seemed rather strict too. M: No, not at all. T: In Tomoe Gakuen, Mr Kobayashi was my big benefactor. To you, who was your biggest benefactor? M: During the process of writing the song, it once again made me realise my biggest benefactor is probably my grandmother. Mr Kobayashi validated your personality, everything about you. T: He told me, "You're actually a good child." He used the word "actually" but I didn't realise it at the time, because I didn't think he would honestly think that I was a good child. M: But because of him, you came to realise it was okay to be the way you are. It didn't mean that you could do whatever you wanted, but his words did give you confidence. Because Mr Kobayashi gave you validation, you also felt responsibility for it, that you couldn't let him down. It was the same for me too. Both my mother's mother and my father's mother never got angry with me. Although I was so mischievous... T: And your mother was so strict. Oh, it's your grandma's hands. M: These are the hands of my maternal grandmother. She's always been growing mikan (Japanese oranges). When she was young, my grandfather passed away. She was a young woman all alone, who had never worked in the farm before. She married into a family who worked on farms and gave birth... that was an era that encouraged childbearing. She gave birth to 5-6 children, including premature deaths. T: Your mother's brothers. M: She gave birth to many children. But because my grandfather passed away so young, she had to grow mikan while taking care of her children. Just hearing about this makes me respect her a lot. I've never been scolded by her. Somewhere in my heart, I thought, "I can't let my grandmother be embarrassed of me". T: Can you sing 'Tomoe Gakuen' for us, please? M: Of course, I'll use a guitar. T: Please bring the guitar up. M: I'll start singing. [Tomoe Gakuen acoustic live] T: Thank you so much! T: You'll be performing on Music Station at 8pm tonight, yes? I want to go too, it seems like it'll be fun. M: I heard that you want to go. T: I really do. M: Is that ok? T: I don't know too. If I could see you playing it live, I would feel happy too. Really, thank you so much. When you came on the show last year, didn't you teach me this? [sweeping motion with hand] M: Ah, Instagram? T: Yes. Please take a look over there.

[footage from 2016 appearance plays]

T: It seems like it's going to be a war of photos. M: This is...? T: I took my fake eyelashes down and was wondering what to do with them. M: You look so cute. Speaking of Instagram, since I don't have an account, I can't claim to know much of it. But if you post this up... I think it'll be very popular. What about opening an Instagram account? T: Let's discuss Instagram when we meet again, then. M: Alright, I want to learn about it. [footage ends]

T: When the show was about to end, we discussed this. Afterwards, that became my first post. I started using Instagram after learning from my friends. The most recent photo is me as a panda. M: Of course, I do look at your Instagram. I've said this before. I thought about it again, and it seems that you're really a genius at making people happy. T: This photo is me with a fork on my head. M: You came up with the idea yourself? T: Yes. M: Although I introduced you to Instagram, I didn't use it myself. So, I opened an account. Honestly, it didn't go as you planned it to be. T: Really? M: Yes. T: Is this you? Wow, you look good. M: How do I say it... it feels like I'm pretending to look cool. This is when I went to Venice. I got invited to the film festival there. T: Everyone likes to post photos of food, but I don't do that. I only post photos that I find interesting from time to time. M: To you, it's important to be interesting, right? T: Yes, because I decide whether to be friends with someone based on whether he/she's interesting. There's something else I want to request you for. What is it? Why? M: Let's take a photo. T: Sure, is there anything at the back that I can wear to hide my face? Yes, this is what I saw just now, the panda masks. M: This one? T: Ok, I'll use this one. M: I'll borrow the panda to use it too. You really match well with the panda. What about me when I wear it? Is it ok? T: Looks nice. M: Really? You can't tell who I am right? [walks over] Ok, I'll come over here... the camera is here. [points] I'll take the photo then. 1, 2, panda! How's this photo? T: It seems good. M: It looks a bit flat. T: We've both turned into pandas. How about posting this on Instagram? M: Yes, of course. T: Are you posting it? M: Can I? T: Of course, of course. So what will you write in the caption? M: Maybe my followers will increase. Thanks, haha. T: These are spectacles from Tetsuko's Room's 50th anniversary. I think they look good. M: I think pandas are better? Let's take a photo again. It seems like the programme's ending. T: So odd, haha.

#fukuyama masaharu #tetsuko's room #tetsuko #masaharu fukuyama #masha #translations #mine

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thestickchick · 6 years

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Long time readers of the blog know that I study "Presas Arnis" as my primary martial arts style. This is a hybrid of two styles - Modern Arnis, and Kombatan. There are other blends out there using the same name "Presas Arnis", but they aren't exactly the same as what my teacher teaches. This means that outside of my teacher's school, there's few people out there that use the same curriculum my teacher uses. He started to remedy this by offering an Arnis Instructor Program to martial arts instructors locally who want to learn and teach his version of Presas Arnis in their own schools and programs. Usually these folks are learning our style as an add-on to their base arts (karate, tae kwon do, whatever). But we do have participants who are looking to do a full-time program much like what I've been studying a little over seven years now. They're independent but they'e using the Presas Arnis curriculum my teacher devised. The first of these Presas Arnis training groups opened its doors this month in Shawnee, Oklahoma (check them out HERE on Facebook) and my teacher was invited to do an inaugural seminar/demo up there to potential students. I tagged along to help out.

It was a fun day, and it got Arnis OK off to a good start. But that wasn't the coolest part of the trip. The coolest part of the trip is that some of our Kombatan "relatives" at the Tulsa Arnis Club (a couple of hours away from Shawnee) heard about it and showed up to support the cause. Not only is this a super neat thing for them to do (they don't really know us at all), the guys who came were so helpful, and open minded, and just good folks to train with. It was awesome. The connection with the guys from the Tulsa Arnis Club was made when my teacher and I attended the Ernesto Presas Legacy Camp in Colorado last summer. So while I learned lots at that camp, you can see that the primary, ongoing benefit is the relationships we made there, and now it's paying off in getting Arnis OK off the ground. Not that the guys from Tulsa will do what Arnis OK does, mind you. They'e got their own deal that overlaps some with what we do. But now our friends in Shawnee have a place in our larger related style family they didn't have before. And through that connection, so do we down here in Texas. It's like discovering your 2nd cousin and his family lives a street over from you, and now you're thinking of getting together to have a barbecue. It's yet another example of how going to seminars and camps pays off. It's not what you learn at those camps - although that's a primary reason to go. It's the relationships you make. My teacher went to an Iain Abernathy seminar in suburban Kansas City a few years ago, connected with +Abel Mann Martinez, and long story short, that's how the Metroplex Arnis Players Alliance was born. The Texas Modern Arnis Coalition (a loose group of folks getting together to train a couple of times a year in Texas) was formed in the wake of a seminar our school hosted with Datu +Dieter Knüttel. And now we're already thinking about how to train more often with the Tulsa Arnis Club, and there's even the possibility of roping in folks who are interested in training from Kansas, too. Who knows what this will become, if anything, at this point. It's early days, and it's hard to say right now. But the potential... the potential is HUGE.

Blurry selfie of me & my friends at Arnis OK and the Tulsa Arnis Club.

My martial arts family ties are getting stronger, on what I think of as "both sides" of my martial arts family. I have more people to train with and to learn from. It's going to make me a better martial artist, over time. If you get the opportunity to get out of your home dojo and train with martial arts "relatives", you should take it. You never know when you'll meet the right person or people, and your training possibilities will change and grow. Forge those family ties. Grow your lineage tree. Make the relationships with other people who get this weird little hobby of ours like you do. Have you had an experience like this? How did you grow your martial arts connections? What does your martial arts family tree look like? Let us know in the comments!

#IFTTT #Blogger #Budoblr #Martial Arts

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itheelephant · 7 years

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#metoo? Groomed By My Karate Teacher

This one's probably gonna be long and rambly. It has taken years for me to even realize how much was wrong. I thought I was content with my conclusions, but apparently I'm still kinda stirred up about it, so I think it needs to be worked through some more.

When I was 15 years old, I started taking karate with three of my younger brothers. We happened to be buying a couch at a garage sale around the corner from our house and the guy had converted his garage into a dojo. He was in his 40s, was a 2nd degree blackbelt in taekwon do, and a blackbelt in kenpo although he said he couldn't prove that because his psycho ex girlfriend burned his certifications in a fit of rage. (Idk how well that story holds up, but he did know his kenpo, so.) He was close to home, not super pricey, and focused almost entirely on self-defense, which was what my dad was interested in. My brothers were required to join, and I, being a girl, was given a choice. I wasn't sure how far I'd go, but I knew I was gonna feel left out if I didn't give it a try, and I was thoroughly impressed by this man who told my dad and I, as he stood on our porch delivering the couch, that he specifically felt it was important to teach females how to defend themselves, and in fact he liked teaching girls better than boys because girls don't automatically think they know how to fight when they don't.

I don't remember too much about my first class except that I loved it, and that he totally buttered me up. I mean, I felt (/was) stupid and clumsy as all get-out, but he said as were leaving that I had natural talent. I was hooked.

I got better, some friends joined, we all teased and laughed all the time...I felt like what we had as a group was special. He pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed before, but it never seemed like too far. Which made me trust him. He made us feel like we were the real deal and no other dojos were worth a flip--he made fun of all kinds of things, like certain ways other systems tied their belts, pullover uniforms tops, sport systems...I know I felt so lucky. I became the head student and my brother Nathan was kinda right under me--we led warmups, helped teach the lower belts, our instructor consulted us on other students' progress and test scores, and he frequently talked about his dreams of opening a big town dojo and my brother and I teaching there after we became blackbelts. I never had intentions of continuing martial arts after I earned my blackbelt, but I didn't want to disappoint him, so I didn't say much and figured we'd cross that bridge when we came to it.

He and my dad became good friends. He came over for several holidays and when we joined a new church, he even attended my younger brothers' baptism ceremony despite not being a Christian. But our friends who had joined the class, two families, quit suddenly at around the same time.

--Everyone else in the class got birthday "treats" like, "Oh you're turning fourteen? Spar with 14 people in a row." "Oh, you're turning 15? Get in a horse stance so we can all line up and kick you in the thighs 15 times." Not me--I got presents. He gave me a volume of the complete works of Jane Austen, an apron handmade by his mother, and a gi top also handmade by his mother with lapels customized to my belt color which she changed every time I passed a belt test. He made a big deal about sparring scores. He said none of us should ever expect to get a 5, because 5=as good as him (which we weren't). I'm terrible at sparring by the way, I always end up a slobbering, sniveling mess by the end. I got an underlined 5. I KNOW I didn't earn that 5. Oh, and then he gave me a belt. Yep. A belt. Some lower belts were testing that day. There they stood, on the mat, waiting for their belts and certificates. Teacher came out. Called me up with them. There I stood, in my denim skirt, as he handed me a red belt. (Equivalent of 4th Brown in taekwon do--since we were doing a tkd/kenpo mashup he played with the ranks a little) He told me it wasn't honorary--that I would still be earning it, but he...wanted me to have it early because I was a good teacher? Yeah. Charmed my socks off though.

-In spite of having mocked sport karate ever since we began training, he started talking about some of us competing. My brothers did a couple of times. I had no interest at all. But he pressured me until one night, in the warm after-class atmosphere I loved, I gave in. He cheered loudly, and I was so proud to please him, but I felt sick to my stomach that night getting in bed, because tournament training is a huge commitment for weeks before the event, and I literally had zero interest in any part--the training or the competing. (I'm not a competitive person.) I felt (on a small teenaged scale) like I had signed my life away. I talked to my parents though, and they said I could change my mind, and I hated telling my teacher (who was very gracious about it) but I did, and I was SO thankful my parents allowed me to bow out. Now, looking back, I am even more thankful for it. I feel like that was a significant moment in my relationship with my teacher and if I had allowed myself to succumb to the pressure, he would have had complete control. I do remember one dayI regret-class was just me and my brothers.I was pulling punches, so my assignment for the next day was to randomly punch my brothers. I did, until Dad got home from work and said no, that was ridiculous. I still feel awful about that day.

So at 17, I got engaged to be married, in a year-long engagement during which my fiance would be completing his sophomore year of college in another state. He was mildly uncomfortable about my karate training, I think we both agree he was feeling overprotective out of ignorance, haha. So my dad invited him to watch a class to ease his mind. It didn't. In fact he says now that class is what made him really concerned at all, because when he met my teacher, it was like when two territorial male animals do that glare of death thing. My teacher clearly gave him major "stinkeye." And my fiance left with predator-alert warnings going off in his head. After I got engaged, my teacher's behavior towards me did a complete 180. No more of the cozy, "dojo-family" vibes, no more joking and teasing. Pure professional karate instruction. I was trying to make blackbelt in 1 year instead of two, so it was definitely crunch-time, but his change in behavior was much more than that. I was hurt, honestly. I remember a class conversation before the shift in which we were all discussing a news story in which a martial arts instructor had taken advantage of a female student, and we were discussing the trust in the student-teacher relationship. He said something, I don't remember if it was in the article or if he was describing another story, about a student in that relationship trusting their martial arts instructor so completely that they would jump off a cliff if he instructed them to. My brothers and I all scoffed, and he said, "Now wait a minute. What would you do?" He spoke in a cautionary tone, and I left chilled because when I thought about it, I did trust him so completely in a way I didn't trust anybody else, because of how well he knew me--how my body worked, and how my brain worked too. How he always seemed to know exactly where my limits were, and when to push them/when to let up. The bond was stronger than I knew for sure I liked.

So when he suddenly stopped the playful familiarity, the affectionate hugs and, "darlin'"s, I did feel hurt. And when his girlfriend moved in with him and we stopped going (my parents didn't approve), I hated the instruction we switched to. I felt like we had lost that one-of-a-kind atmosphere that was so much more than karate. My martial arts world was drained of color and life.

Through the next years, my feelings are what convince me more than anything else I've mentioned that I was being groomed. I wasn't "in love" with him, I was completely head over heels for my fiance/husband. That wasn't the issue. But I thought about him constantly. I invited him to my wedding and was disappointed he didn't come. Every time I went to town, I hoped to run into him. Every time we passed a motorcycle, I checked to see if the rider was him. For years. If I still lived there, I think I would still check motorcycles (not hoping anymore, but it's THAT automatic for me). That's so scary to me now.

Then I started talking to my friends, the other women who had been in the class. Two families had left suddenly, and I knew they had a problem with our teacher but I didn't know what. It turns out, he acted inappropriately with every one of them--one he pretty much stalked, showing up at her house repeatedly, despite being asked not to. I remember him showing up at one of our homeschool park days, but of course I didn't know how inappropriate he was being, I was just pleasantly surprised. It ended when he visited her house one too many times. She gave him an ultimatum about disrespecting her boundaries, and he told her students and instructors shouldn't have boundaries. They never went back.

I suddenly remembered the photos he had of former students on his wall when we first joined. He said they were a family a lot like ours, but they had suddenly up and left.

I also remember having a reoccurring nightmare throughout my time training in his dojo. In the nightmare, I would be attacked at night in an alley. I would execute my self defense technique, but it would suddenly be as if I were underwater. My moves in slow motion, with no strength.

I check his Facebook every now and then. He is an outspoken Donald Trump supporter, and at one point his cover photo was that famous quote, "Grab 'em by the pussy."

Most recently, I've realized I can't roughhouse with my (5 and under) children without starting to panic, and wanting to curl up in a fetal position and cry. I've been through other traumatic situations since then, so I don't know if my karate teacher gets all the blame for that, but I do know it has been deeply troubling since piecing together his character to realize those two years I so valued, those techniques and self-discipline I thought I would be able to use to protect myself and my little brothers or my children, were all taught to me by someone undermining it all by worming his way past them all.

So, #metoo? No, thankfully, but it could have been me. I was directly in his sights, and nobody, me or my parents, or anybody, had any idea.

#metoo grooming karate manipulation

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syao · 7 years

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[Random] [Prompt] Alternate Universe

Read Time: 9 mins | Set in: post-Konoha Gakuen Den-verse

Twenty-year-old Tenten has always been an early sleeper and riser— borne of her lot as the sole proprietor of one of the oldest karate dojos in the prefecture. Her father (bless his soul) used to deem two-hour conditioning exercises as an acceptable morning ritual, after-school activity, and evening family bonding... even for school-aged children.

So hearing urgent knocks on her door at ten PM was equivalent to a midnight emergency of kaiju invasion proportions. Hence, she was a tiny bit disappointed when she peeked into the peephole and saw a decidedly normal, non-kaiju Rock Lee.

“Go away,” she grumbled, sliding the hole cover shut.

“Oh, did I disturb your sleep?”

“Do you honestly expect me to say, ‘Oh no, don’t worry about it! Come in and have tea and cookies with me?’ Because if you do, I’d have to break your heart. Like, literally. With an elbow strike.”

“Ahahaha, Tenten, you’re such a joker!”

Grumpily, she finally managed to undo the fussy double locks and proceeded to throw the door open. “Okay, Lee, this better be good.”

“I brought Neji with me.” Lee then pointed to the long-haired male crumpled against the railing, face red. His head was bowed, causing his hair to partially cover his beautifully rare eyes. His usually crisp, starched long-sleeved dress shirt and necktie were disheveled, but she had no doubt that it was, indeed, Hyuuga Neji.

“K-Kaichou!” Tenten rushed outside worriedly and knelt before the male. “Kaichou, wake up! What happened to you?” She had to slap his cheek a couple of times before he responded with a breathing grunt.

She turned to Lee. “What happened to him?”

Lee shook his head. “I’m not sure. We attended one of his family business dinners earlier this evening. Then as usual, a bunch of women— daughters of his family friends, I guess— ganged up on him. And the next thing I know, Neji was dragging me back into the car looking like that and was asking me to take him away from the party because he isn’t safe.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Hired killers?” Their former school council president, along with his cousins Hinata and Hanabi, had always been targets of kidnappers and hired guns mainly due to the prominent family name they carried.

“I don’t think so. Uchiha Itachi’s agency is handling the security details of this evening’s affairs.”

“But he looks bad!” she cried, eyeing the state of her barely responsive friend.

“Tenten, how rude!” Lee frowned disapprovingly.

A vein popped on her head. “No, I mean, he looks really ill! Why did you bring him here instead of a hospital?!”

The bowl-haired male shrugged sheepishly. “Well, I was about to, but while googling which hospital had the most impressive cuisine, I heard Neji calling your name so I figured he wanted to say hi to you or something.”

“GRAH! LEE!” Whatever sermon she had planned was cut short though when she heard groans from behind her, reminding her of a wounded lion from a savannah documentary she once saw on TV. Immediately, she whirled towards Neji and urgently grabbed his shoulders. “Kaichou! Kaichou, it’s me! Can you hear me?”

In response, he nodded and brusquely brushed her hands off him.

“Oh, wow! I think he’s back to his usual normal self!” remarked Lee.

“Kaichou!” She peered down towards his face, inspecting his unusually colored cheeks and quivering lips. “We’re taking you to the doctor! Just hang on, okay?”

“N-No.” For the first time since the whole conversation started, the Hyuuga had finally spoken. “I’m fine,” he continued weakly. “Just help me find a place to hide.”

Her brows furrowed in concern. “Hide from what? Should I phone Uchiha-san’s team?”

To which, the male shook his head vigorously, as if he had found a new source of strength upon processing the preposterous thought of an elite Hyuuga asking for protection from a “lesser” family like the Uchihas.

Lee peered at Neji, too. “Let’s stash him in your cupboard! No one will find him there! Heck, even you don’t know where it is!”

“Well now, I’m sorry if I’m no goddess of domestication.” Upon locating her body’s center of gravity, she proceeded to lift the limp body of the Hyuuga with her shoulders and neck and turned to her friend expectantly. “Let’s get Kaichou to the hospital, stat!”

“We can’t!” replied Lee. “Hospitals are very open spaces. He can’t hide there. Plus, there are lots of female nurses there!”

Wait, what? But deciding that her friend’s medical situation was more important than making sense of Lee’s logic, she asked, “So where do we take him?”

“I have an idea!” Lee flung her apartment door open and pushed the both of them inside. She would have landed face-first if not for her lifelong training of recovering properly from a fall.

“WHAT THE HECK—” Tempers flared, Tenten was right about to lunge at Lee, but felt Neji’s body weighing her down like lead. Guiltily, she adjusted her stance to better support him, and then contented herself with glaring pointedly at the smiling bowl-haired male. “Rock Lee, what’s the big idea?! Now’s not the time for your stupid tricks! What if Neji’s dying at this very moment?!”

“Hide him in your apartment for now,” he instructed. “I’ll find a Hyuuga affiliated physician and bring him here to your place. That way, we won’t alert the media and give the Hyuuga Corporation any trouble.”

So Lee does think things through sometimes. She glanced quickly at the crimson-faced Hyuuga beside her. “Sounds good. But you better make it quick, Lee. I’ve never seen Kaichou like this before.”

“I will.” And with that, Lee shut the door. She then heard the sound of hurried footsteps departing her apartment complex.

Tenten pursed her lips, and then darted her eyes back at the hyperventilating, flushed man beside her. After deliberating on what to do next, she got up carefully and began to make her way to her bedroom.

“Come on, Hyuuga-sama! Just a taste!” A voluptuous pair of women crawled towards him, wearing the skimpiest fabric he had ever seen since the return of fundoshi.

“Open your mouth for onee-sama...” They held out a bowl of chocolate brandy ice cream towards him, which seemed to have a particularly large yellow banana drizzled in white corn syrup…

“GRAH!!!” Hyuuga Neji shot up his bed like an arrow, panting heavily. Just a dream… thank god it was just a dream… He cupped his throbbing temple with one hand, eyes still shut tight. He could feel his whole body was slick with perspiration, causing his shirt to undesirably stick to his skin.

I need a shower. He decided to get up, but before he could swing his legs to the floor, he felt his feet make contact with something that felt more solid than air.

“OUCH!” The next thing he saw was a familiar brown-haired woman tumbling down the floor. She got up slowly, rubbing her smarting head. “What the heck was that… oh, KAICHOU! You’re alive!” Tenten’s eyes brightened when she saw him seated on the bed, which he now realized wasn’t his own.

“I… I apologize for kicking your head.” It was the first thing that came to his mind at the moment when he wasn’t sure what the circumstance was and why exactly it involved Tenten. One thing he was sure of was that ice cream and the scary onee-sama were no dreams at all. The party earlier...

Tenten’s cheerful voice interrupted his reverie. “Oh, it’s okay! I never had gotten hit by something like that before because I could always guard, but hey, it’s bound to happen eventually anyway,” she said, waving her hands reassuringly. “More importantly, are you okay?” she asked, touching his blanket-covered leg worriedly.

Her blanket, he realized, feeling the rush of blood within him again. Her bed.

“I-It’s coming back, isn’t it?” asked the girl with the accursed keen observation skills. “Should I take you to the doctor?”

“No need.” He stiffly inched away from her, intent on not allowing any distance smaller than five feet between them. He may have slightly regained his wits, but judging from how his body was traitorously reacting to her presence right now, he knew he was still very much in the danger zone.

He saw her wince at his flinching reaction, but she nevertheless soldiered on with a sympathetic smile. “Does it hurt when I touch you?”

If only this terrible woman knew how she had easily set the whole entirety of him ablaze with those few, measly innocent words. “N-Now’s not a good time.”

Her forehead creased, but she nodded anyway. “If you say so. Should I get you a mug of hot chocolate?”

“NOT CHOCOLATE!”

She blinked. “Um, alright. Coffee then?”

“Ice cold, please.”

She gave him a hearty salute before disappearing in her pocket kitchen. “Hmmm… I swear I just saw that cupboard yesterday. I wonder where I was looking…” He could hear her muttering amidst sounds of pans and pots clanking.

Now’s my chance! He frantically grabbed his mobile phone, which thankfully was safely tucked in his trouser pockets. He quickly dialed Lee’s number. The latter answered on the fifth or sixth ring.

“Tenten, is it about Neji?!” Lee asked, huffing, even before he could even get a word in. “Don’t tell me… NOOOOOOO, he was such a good friend to us! He was like a brother to me—”

“I’M NOT YET DEAD, LEE!” he hissed, sneaking a glance at the kitchen. Still clear.

“Neji! You’re alive!” squealed the other party on the line.

“Yes, yes. But more importantly, why am I here?” he wanted to know. “I thought I told you to take me someplace safe without women!”

“But you were calling for Tenten so urgently in your sleep! It was really totes adorable by the way, and if anyone says otherwise, I’ll gladly show them the recording on my phone—”

“DELETE THAT!” He had to fight to keep his voice down, which was a feat given the panic he was feeling right now. “Delete that or I’ll buy that curry restaurant you frequent and then burn it down to the ground!”

“How majestically cruel! I expect nothing less from our cold-hearted Neji-kun!” He heard several clicks, and then Lee’s voice came on, reading aloud the message alert box. “Do you really want to delete this file? No, but my friend insists, so yes, I’m really deleting the file. There, file deleted!”

“Thanks.” He let out a deep breath to calm himself, and then spoke again. “You have no idea what kind of trouble you caused for her. Back at the party, I was tricked into consuming sweets potently laced with alcohol and hormonal stimulant—”

“Is it a viagra cake?”

He ignored the question. “So it’s a bad thing for me to be here with her right now, alone in her apartment. I’m leaving in a bit.”

“Don’t do that!” protested Lee. “What if, while walking, you chance upon an office lady? Or a university student? Or a salaryman! My conscience can’t take it if I read about you unleashing your libido on them in tomorrow’s headlines!”

“And you’d prefer me to unleash my libido on Tenten?!” he snapped. “Are you out of your mi—” His words halted when an ice-cold tumbler of coffee was placed on the console table beside him.

“That’s an interesting conversation you’re having, Kaichou.” Tenten sat back down on her stool, an amused smile on her face.

“...I’ll call you back.” Without even waiting for an answer, Neji pressed the End Call button and nervously faced the woman. He gulped inwardly before he spoke slowly. “Tenten, I… I can explain.”

“Basically, you’ve been fed an aphrodisiac by one of your business associates’ daughters so they can carry your child and force a marriage of convenience between your families. Is that right?”

He did a double take. “How did you…” He was pretty sure he didn’t cover all that with Lee during the conversation.

“ I’m a woman. I know how our minds work. Also, you might have accidentally hit on speaker during your very discreet and super secretive phone call.”

He nearly smacked his forehead with his palm. Of all the stupidity...

“You kinda wounded my ego a bit back there, though,” she continued in a light-hearted tone. “I know I’m not the most feminine gal out there but—”

“HUH?! I don’t understand.”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Forgetting that I’m a woman, too. I mean, how else can you explain what Lee said about you looking for me right after you stated that you can’t hang around with a woman?”

His mouth hung open at hearing her conjecture.

She got up from her stool and moved to the foot of her bed, where he still sat frozen. “But Kaichou, you’ve been so good to me. Back in high school, you kept the girls’ karate club open even when I was the lone member. Then after years of not meeting, you recognized me right off the bat when I barged into your corporate office to negotiate our land lease. And when your family bought off the land our dojo is leasing, you hired me as a security specialist in your company because you learned that I was an orphan with nowhere to go.”

Her brown eyes twinkled warmly. “So really, if an outlet for desire is what Kaichou needs to feel better then I will gladly do my best… if you will have me, that is.” With that, she unbuttoned her top and pulled it up her arms, revealing the modestly sloped valleys cushioned by her gray sports bra. She reached for the waistband of her pyjama bottoms next.

“You’re terrible at this.”

“K-Kaichou!” she gasped when he suddenly closed the distance between the two of them in a flash. His face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath fanning her face.

“You’ve got some nerve to act like it’s no big deal.” He grabbed her trembling hand and held it out in front of her face. “You’re clearly shaking like a leaf.”

She bit her lip in embarrassment. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“I won’t, sorry!”

Sighing, he gently placed her hand back on her lap, but didn’t let go of it. “When I take you to my bed, Tenten, it’s on terms that we both consented to,” he continued earnestly, looking straight into her eyes. “Not because you owe me anything, or that I was under the influence of anything. Did I make myself clear on that?”

“Y-Yes, Kaichou.”

“Also, then and now, never once did I not look at you as a woman.”

Her eyebrow cocked instantly. “Even in my karategi?”

“That’s my favorite look of you.” Well, second-favorite now, he thought as he clandestinely regarded how breathtakingly sensual she looked with her bare shoulders and cotton bra.

Fighting off the surge of the white-hot heat radiating within him yet again, he contented himself with lifting her hand to his lips— just as the front door banged open.

“Neji, fret not, ole buddy! We’re here to save you now--WHOA!” Rock Lee’s eyes widened at the sight of the couple. Behind him, the only medic readily available that he could trust— Haruno Sakura— whistled, sounding impressed.

“For what it’s worth. it’s not what you think,” said Neji, his face darkening in ire.

“Sure. sure. Oh, are we in the way?” asked Lee teasingly.

But before he could reply, Tenten had spoken up.

“Yes. Yes, you are,” she replied with a grin. Feeling his stunned gaze at her, she beamed back at him.

“Duly noted.” Lee closed the door behind him with a smile, leaving the two in their own little world for the evening.

THE END

#NejiTen #nejitenmonth #SyaoWrites #hyuuga neji #tenten #neji x tenten

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