#JOE AND CHERRY HAVE THIS WEIRD LOVE-HATE THING GOING ON
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r0semaryt3a · 2 months ago
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Sk8 has to be one of my favourite shows ever just because it’s the only show where I genuinely like the entire named cast and enjoy seeing them on screen.
Reki: he’s a good protagonist and is easy to relate to through his struggles with perfection and inferiority. Watching him feels like I really am watching a teenage boy, struggling through school and social life, watch his newfound best friend slip away and his world seemingly fall apart. Sure there’s some hiccups and annoying bits of his writing but those all come together to make him an enjoyable character.
Langa: arguably wasted as a character a little bit and there isn’t too much I have to say. But! Still very enjoyable to watch, you see this boy who’d lost his father and moved from home find himself in a new sport with a new person. Ofc there’s the whole plot armour thing but I can very easily glaze over that.
Miya: ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS, too many people gloss over Miya when he is one of the best representations of an overachieving child I’ve ever seen (for the kind of show SK8 is anyhow). The way he acts, his responses, the way he presents himself to the world and how that changes when he becomes comfortable with the group. It’s all brilliant character writing and development. He’s a 13 year old boy who’s been shoved into a limelight and it’s clear to see that he doesn’t belong there.
Cherry: again arguably wasted potential by just how long they linger on certain things (and the fandom. I hate fandom cherry lore.) but he’s still human. He’s an intellectual man who runs off calculations and the second we see him drop those calculations in turn for chasing pure rage, rage that has been harboured for years? He gets knocked down. He fails time and time again and is shown to put up a front; again is shown to tear that front down when comfortable enough.
Joe: human. Joe is human. He cares and he isn’t afraid to show it. He acts boisterous and flirty but he does it with respect, he has boundaries that he tries his damned hardest to stick to; he hurts. Joe is one of my favourite depictions of hurt in sk8 because unlike everyone else it’s not laid out for us to plainly see, it’s subtle through his interactions and facial expressions and it’s gorgeous.
Adam: for all the shit the fandom gives him sk8 wouldn’t be sk8 without him and it’s never not enjoyable to me when I go and analyse his theatrics (as weird as they may be). A ton of people bitch about his backstory but I personally love the way it was done, it wasn’t shown to the characters as a cheap means of redemption (episode 12 I’m looking at you) it was an explanation to a character that at first just seemed like a 1D creep who was mildly flamboyant. It gave him depth. He’s certainly not the most deep character in sk8 but the switch from Ainosuke to Adam is such an interesting transition that I am eager to see more of in the OVA.
Tadashi: Similarly to Joe, Tadashi is a great example of hurt. Now, unlike Joe, he does have some of his pain laid out to us as the audience it still hits its mark and makes him one of my favourites in the cast. Tadashi is a perfect compliment to Adam that I yet again hope to see more of in the OVA
Shadow: do I wish he was more like a team rocket trope than a member of the main cast? Sure! But also Shadow works to subvert expectations as to where everyone else in the cast is slowly breaking mentally and the guy rocking up like a party clown is just fine and dandy (in the loosest sense of the word). Shadow almost compensating for how weak he thinks he is out of S by being “strong” in S is brill.
Oka and Kiriko: putting them together cause we don’t see much to them but I still want to talk about them. I like how sk8 doesn’t just revolve purely around S and all that jazz and though I do feel like pacing was whacked around a little these two characters are criminally underrated for how they contributed to scenes they were in.
I could go one for ages about families and all that but I’m leaving it here
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imaginarylungfish · 5 months ago
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well i finished sk8 the infinity lol. i didn't realize it was only 12 episodes
whelp, here are my thoughts:
- first episode: kinda goofy but i like it. i like Reki's all-over-the-place personality contrasted with Langa's mellow one (sun and moon, cough, cough). Also, Shokichi (the manager at the skate shop) and Hawks from MHA have the same English VA lol (yes, this is what stood out to me during the first episode)
- Reki reminds me of Dot from Mashle--yes, maybe it's the red hair and head band but also a little bit of the personality lol
- Joe has the same English VA as Ogasawara from Sasaki and Miyano lol
- love how open Reki is with just going to hug Langa after he wins against Miya
- and how he emphasizes friendship and the love of skating rather than winning
- eww Adam is creepy, reminds me of Hisoka
- i like how Shadow and Miya are helping Langa and Reki against Adam, united against a common foe
- i love how intense this is lol so goofy
- lol Reki having nightmares about Langa getting hurt when racing Adam
- ok Adam is a creep. Like he's 26 and gave roses to a 17 year old. Hes also weirdly hugging and dancing with him, calling Langa Eve.  Like literally Hisoka
- love how silly and feel-good the beach episode was
- lol how Miya pretended Joe was his dad and Cherry was his mom
- i like how Chery, Joe, Shadow, Miya, and Reki and Langa hung out together 
- i like how we see Reki come to realize Langa is better than him and become discouraged--so real
- alright so the abused abuse, Adam
- adam is literally saying things that Hisoka said to Gon this is insane
- ugh i hate that Adam is gender-inclusive tho
- I literally hate Adam
- so Cherry had a crush on Adam when they were teenagers? dramaaaaa
- I like Cherry and Joe's relationship--they're not alone
- lol Reki and Langa are acting like exes
- it's cute seeing Miya want Reki and him to be friends
- honestly love Reki's journey with skating. Him just loving the sport, loving trying to improve, and wanting to share it with others
- love Reki skating after Langa to catch him after Langa tried to visit Reki
- also love that Langa only feels a certain way skating with Reki
- Adam is a creep!!!!!
- ok Tadashi and Adam's friendship is so tragicccc
- fucking love Reki's attitude: "it'll be fun to try" yes!!!
- i teared up when Langa's dad "showed up" for him while racing Adam
- lol Adam The Creep just wants friends to skate with
- ok Langa jumping into a hug with Reki at the finish line was so cute... now kiss!
- adam is a little puppet and i hate him
- ok so Adam and Tadashi are doing pup play? They confuse me
Overall, such a goofy and cute anime. The love themes with Adam was a little weird tbh. But oh well? And I always go into an anime telling myself not to look for queer undertones but like idk maybe stop making them so hard to ignore? Anyway, now I'm gonna go read some renga and MatchaBlossom fics hehe
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terrible-leviathan · 2 years ago
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Currently watching sk8 and this sport anime is somehow more gay than the actual gay sport anime
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teabights · 2 years ago
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Ready To Make Some Magic?
Summary: You and Joseph kinda hate each other, but will a certain scene change that for you guys ?
Warning: SMUT 18+ MINORS DNI (dom!reader x sub!joseph quinn)
AN: this started out with a tiktok inspiration and apparently i just got too !!! While writing it so. If you dont like then sorry
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You curse as you hold the cigarette in your mouth. You dig in your pockets, trying to find the lighter that wasn't there. You roll your eyes as you glance over at Joseph who was standing a few feet away, texting on his stupid phone, with a lit cigarette hanging out of his lips. You walk over to your co-star and stand in front of him.
"Quinn, can I bum a light?" You ask, taking the cigarette out of your lips.
"What? You brought a whole pack of cigarettes and no lighter? Left your head at home today?" His words are like fire to your ears.
"Listen, I am having a hard day. Can you stop being an ass and light my cigarette?" You ask him in one last attempt before you are ready to just go without a cigarette.
"Yeah, whatever." He says.
You put the cigarette back between your lips and instead of pulling out a lighter, Joe pulls his cigarette out from his lips, singeing the end of your cigarette with his own cherried cigarette. You inhale it and make it light. He pulls his cigarette back, placing it between his lips again. That pulls a weird turn in your stomach. It was awfully sensual for no reason.
"Are you going to be able to focus now?" He asks.
"Uh, yeah, cheers." You say as you feel a blush creep on your face, letting out a little smoke.
You walk back over to where you originally were, just to help hide your face from him.
"Oh, now that you got your light, you hate me again?" He jokes.
"I don't hate you, Quinn." You speak out the lie. You think you love him?
"That's news to me. When did you start liking me?" He raises an eyebrow at you.
"Uh, I think you've become more bearable to be around, not necessarily like you." You say.
"Ah, sure love." He says with a wink.
Joe finishes his cigarette, tossing the butt to the ground, and stomping it out. He walks across and gazes at you. You see him eyeing you up. Your cheek flush again as you focus on your cigarette. After your cigarette, you find your way back to the main set. Your eyes watching the scene going. Joseph is not missing a beat. His lines come flowing out of his lip so perfectly. You are so amazed that he was just that good. You sit in your little chair. He catches you staring at him, giving you a little wink, which makes your cheeks heat up yet again. He continues with the speech about love to the other character. Wait… does he feel the same way? The scene ends and they stay still in their spots. The director goes over the scene and dismisses them from the scene.
“Okay, y/n, get in there. You feeling better now?” the director asks.
“Yes, I am sorry.” You say as you get on the set.
You do your whole solo scene, not noticing that Joseph was watching the entire time. He was always amazed by your acting, just like you are of him. He thought you are one of the best actors that he’s ever worked with, even on your off day. You walk off of set after the director yells cut. They talk to you for a brief moment before dismissing you. You walk over to sit in your little chair again.
“You’re so brilliant.” Joseph says from his chair.
“What?” You ask.
“You are so good at this. You know how to capture people into the scene. I felt like I was right there with you, feeling everything you felt.” He responds to you.
“Uh, thank you. You are pretty good too. You make it look so easy.” You say as you pull your phone from the pouch on your chair.
“Thank you.” Joseph says. “Hey, there is a little club near my apartment, do you want to go tonight at like 9?”
“Uh… who else is going?” You ask.
“Probably some crew members…” He responds, lying to her.
“Okay, yeah, I’ll see how I feel.” You say.
“Cool.” He mumbles.
You send a quick text to your best friend about how things are going. You also send a text to your mom.
“Joseph, Y/N, it’s time.” The director says.
You notice the depletion of staff, only a select few were there. You also realize the bedroom scenery was set to a more romantic feeling. You forgot that the sex scene was today. Why of all days was it today?
“Joseph, you are stripping off your clothes in the scene. Y/N, you can strip down just to your underwear and get under the covers." The director says. “We’ll do a camera change after Joseph strips to his boxers and that is when Joseph will climb into the bed. We’ll leave you two up to make the magic happen.”
“Uh, can I keep my bra on?” You ask.
“We have pasties if that’ll help you feel more comfortable.” They say.
“Yeah, that’ll be fine.” You say.
A couple members of the crew open a partition so you can change, one of them holding pasties in their hands. You move to go behind it. You strip yourself down to just your underwear, thank God it was a cute lace black thong type of day. You help the crew member put the pasties on you. You grab the robe that they provide. You wrap yourself up in the robe. You walk over to the bed and the partition follows you, helping you climb into the bed, letting you adjust the blanket around you.
“Ready.” You say. The crew members carry the partition and the robe out off the set.
“Perfect.” The director says. “Joseph whenever you are ready.”
Joseph walks into the bedroom and that is when you feel your heart thump hard.
“Action.” The director calls.
You watch Joseph come over to the bed. You lean up on your elbows, letting the skin of where your breasts are connected to your torso show. He is supposed to be goofy as he strips down to his boxers which he is. It made you genuinely giggle. His big brown eyes give you a certain look when he is over you on the bed. You just nod your head.
“Cut! Okay Joseph under the sheets please. Y/N, you’re okay?” The director asks.
“Yes, I am.” You say as you keep your eyes on Joseph.
The director gives you a thumbs up. They get distracted by the camera shifting, trying to get it right. You watch Joseph climb under the cover, feeling his eyes on your body and you flush beet red. Joseph has to position himself between your legs to help sell the scene. He keeps his eyes respectfully on your face after.
“You really wore those today?” He asks in reference to your undergarment.
“Sorry, I totally forgot it was today. I literally just threw on whatever I grabbed last night. I can ask for more cover up if this is going to make it hard for you… not literally hard… figuratively hard.” You stumble over your own response.
“Shut up.” He says with a small eye roll, but his lips pull into a smile.
“These at least offer a little more cover up for my…” You comment.
“At least.” Joseph says.
“Ready to make some magic?” The director asks.
“Yes.” Joseph and you say urgently at the same time.
“Alright… 3…2…1…action.” The director says.
There is a moment where he leans down to kiss you. You kiss him back so softly. His lips move perfectly against yours as he starts to rock his hips. The feeling of the blankets moving, you part your lips from him and start with the fake moans. Soon the ‘thrusts’ coming from Joseph start to become more quicker, which makes you change up the moaning pattern. You are surprised that he thought that he would need to move quickly. You two start to make noises of two people who just came. His forehead drops to land on your forehead, capturing your lips in a kiss despite all the fake panting. The kiss was desperate. You can feel the slickness between your thighs and you can’t even close your legs with Joseph right there.
“Cut! Good job guys.” The director says and claps. Everyone starts to clap, knowing that it will help ease the awkwardness of filming a sex scene.
Joseph pulls away from your lips, almost seems like he didn’t want to stop and would had fucked you if that was allowed. He moves from between your legs, laying down next to you.
A crew member hands you your clothes then hands Joe his clothes. You two are quick to pull on your clothes. You might have to go hide in your trailer and take care of yourself. You notice Joseph standing up, his pants looking a bit tighter than they did at the beginning of the scene.
“We are going to end with that today. It’s emotionally tolling, so we are going to release early today.” The director informs you two.
“Okay, thanks.” You say, just pulling your shirt over your tits, leaving your bra off.
“Oh, they match.” Joe comments.
“Yeah, I am not a complete monster.” You say with a small chuckle. You get up off the bed. “I’ll see you tonight, Joe.”
Joseph’s lips pull into a smile. “Joe? Damn, who knew that all I needed to do was fake fuck you to make you call me by my name and not my last name.”
“Shut up. See you at 9.” You say as you walk off to go to your little chair, fishing your phone out. You immediately start texting your best friend about the scene and how you got wet from it. You also go off about his kisses and how soft his lips are. You walk to your trailer first to grab your bag. You get inside your trailer and grab your bag, shoving your bra inside. You hear a slight knock on the door. You move to the door and open it, seeing Joe there.
"Hey, uh.. " All his cocky attitude was gone. You look down at him.
"What's up Quinn?" You ask, trying to mask the excitement you feel when you see him.
"Was I too much with the scene?" His voice is nervous, you can hear it.
"It was fine. We have to sell the fact our characters are in love." You say with a shrug and go to close the door.
"But you were comfortable? I didn't weird you out by commenting on your underwear?" His voice catches you off guard. You hold the door open for a moment.
"Joseph, I was truly fine. I didn't care. I've done sex scenes with a whole lot worst. I am used to comments. I don't let it affect me and you don't have to feel bad, I promise." You say to him.
"You promise?" Joseph asks.
"I'll fucking pinky promise with you right now." You day to him.
"Okay… Well, I'll leave you alone now, y/l/n." Joseph comments, not budging.
You look at him. You know he had a small chub from fake fucking you. You take a moment to lean out of the trailer to grab him by his shirt collar and pull him into your trailer, more like he lets you pull him in. You lock the trailer door, press him against the door, and kiss him. He is quick to reciprocate the action. His hands resting on your waist. You guys hold the kiss until your head is spinning.
"Listen, this is going to be a one time thing… I am going to let you fuck me, mostly because I need to get off." You say.
"Oh, did I make you wet baby?" His words are smooth like butter.
You had no problem shoving your hand down his pants to grab at his cock through his boxers. "Did I make you hard?"
His knees buckle for a moment under your touch. "Maaaybe." His voice is a bit singsong.
Your hand finds its way down his boxers and you start to stroke his cock. "Mmm, I think I did.”
“You are wearing those fucking panties.” He mutters as his hips buckle a little bit into your hand.
You collect the precum that has leaked out. You move your hand out and give him a small slap on the face. "You didn't seem to mind."
He lets out a small gasp. You start to undress, which was easy because of already being so undressed earlier. You peel the pasties off and you can see Joseph licks his lips.
“God, your tits are perfect.” He mutters.
“Shut up.” You say with a small eye roll. You aren’t into being lovey dovey with him. “Fucking get naked and get on the couch.
"S-sorry." He says as he starts to strip off his clothes. He gets on the couch, his cock standing straight up.
You get your clothes off. You move to straddle his hips. "You're gorgeous." You mutter. You rub your slick onto his cock.
He whimpers out and moves his hand to grab his cock to try to slip it into you. You smack his hand away with a small eye roll.
"I am in charge here. You can fuck me when you beg for it." You say to him.
"Fuck, yes…" He says as his hips push himself against your folds. "Can I please… please fuck you?"
"Ha, no. That is the worst begging I have ever heard." You say.
"I've never…" He says, surprisingly turned on by your dominance.
"Beg." You speak.
"Fuck, please, please, please, fuck, can I please fuck you please." Joseph begs, it was like a song to your eyes.
"Awh maybe." You say.
"Please, please, please y/n." He begs more.
"Very good." You say as your hand moves to sink down on his cock. You moan softly. His hands scramble to grab your hips. "I am still in charge."
“Yes ma’am…” Joseph whines.
You start at a painfully slow pace, mostly to stretch yourself to him and to tease him. You can see his eyes clench close as little whines leave his throat when you would sink down and clench your walls around him. Your hands move to take his hands tightly. You start to move yourself quickly up and down his shaft. Moans and skin slapping fills up the room. You hate that his cock is one of the best cocks that you’ve had. You hated this man. You gasp loudly as your walls clench around him and you start to orgasm. His moans are weak and you could tell that he was close.
“Fuck - fuck - fuck -...” He says.
“Fucking cum in me already Quinn.” You demand.
“Yes ma’am… fuck…” His hips snap up to meet yours on the down stroke a couple of times before the symphony of moans and whines leaves his lips. His hips still for a moment before he goes limp under you.
“Good boy.” You lean down to kiss his forehead.
“You’re fucking rude.” He whispers between pants.
“You came didn’t ya? You should be so lucky I didn’t make you beg for it.” You say as you move off of his cock, letting the pool of his cum mixed with your own dribble onto his lower pelvic bone. You move quickly to the little bathroom to get a wet rag. You return with the rag and you wipe his pelvis and his cock clean. “Don’t let this get to your head, but your cock is impressive.”
“Yeah? Thank you.” Joseph’s cheeks flare up into a pink.
“Probably the best I’ve had in a while.” You mutter as you clean yourself up. You toss the rag on the table. You start to get dressed.
Joseph gets up after a minute and starts to get dressed himself. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a woman boss me around, it was nice.”
You pick up you bag again. “Alright, get the fuck out of here. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I’ll see you tonight.” He says with a chuckle as he walks to you.
“Don’t even think about it, out.” You say as you open the door.
“You just -... Fine.” His eyes roll a little bit, but his smile doesn’t fade.
He walks out of the trailer. You walk off after he does and lock the trailer up. You definitely were going to have to tell your best friend about this.
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calzonekestis · 2 years ago
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I’ve seen antis cherry pick the quote out of context, and some shippers have been confused/discouraged given all the support Joe been giving the pairing…
Yes, Joe did call Eddie/Chrissy a weird pair. Context is everything, though.
Joe called Eddie/Chrissy weird in the same way Eddie called Chrissy a freak. It was playful and affectionate, not derogatory.
In the same sentence he says that it would be lovely to seem them together, they should be/should have been a couple, and that people were right to pick up on the romantic intrigue between them.
This was all reported from biased accounts on twitter, but thanks to one tiktok user who wanted their identity protected so the antis didn’t direct abuse their way (not joking) it’s on film and you can see it all for yourself. @wandaloki posted the clip, and you can watch it here.
So don’t be discouraged by Joe calling them weird if you’re a hellcheer enthusiast, it was actually validation.
And if you’re of a certain sect who are so vile and hateful towards Grace, yet take his words out of context to act like he doesn’t like endorse the ship… maybe pull your heads out of the sand. Or your own butts. Idk, wherever you be keeping them.
It’s Joe’s favorite scene. It’s Grace’s favorite scene. It’s one of the Duffer’s favorite scenes in all four seasons. That is all a matter of public record. It’s not going to change just because it’s not one of Your favorites.
You don’t have to like the thing, but don’t be vile about your dislike. Stay in your lane. Leave the actors alone. Leave fellow fans alone.
Neither Eddie nor Chrissy are going to be a part of the final season. Spoiler: they’re dead. You’re dedicating all this negative energy when it it doesn’t matter.
Why not dedicate positive energy towards what you like, rather than what you don’t? What other people like… doesn’t affect you in anyway.
I like Coke. You ain’t gonna see me tweeting “it’s not enough to tell Pepsi stans dni, I need them to unalive”
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clarawatson · 3 years ago
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It Only Takes a Taste
Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x [Fem]!Reader (GN pronouns, fem coded stuff, but I’m not sure where this is going as a larger work so we’ll say Fem!reader to be safe) Summary: You work at a diner. Aaron Hotchner falls in love with you. We’re not kidding around trying to make us all sound like profilers, just accept the diner life, we love it here. W/C: 1498 Warnings: none yet!  A/N:  First chapter of that diner!au i was talking about here! AO3 ps. I forgot to tag people, so: @willowrose99 & @genevievedarcygranger my beloveds. If you want to get added to the tag list jump in my inbox and i’ll try to remember to add tags every time i post. Where am I in this series?  01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |
~
When you first meet him it’s 5am and raining. You’re switching over shifts for your friend, Rita, because she’s been doing night shifts at the diner. This late into her pregnancy she shouldn’t be working, not technically, but she needs the money and she’s got insomnia because of the baby, so she works nights now. There’s always someone working with her, be it Joe (who’s got far too much muscle for a chef) or Lola (who can beat anyone to a pulp with a pie tray). In the early hours of the morning a bunch of tatt’ed bikies come and sit and talk about their extracurricular activities (definitely not legal) because one time there was an armed hold up and the police didn’t turn up until two hours after it had happened. People don’t like holding up a diner full of men who eat their own motorbikes for breakfast.
But when he comes in, he’s not any of them. He’s not even one of Lola’s nightly hook-ups (she needs the money, you don’t ask). He’s too well dressed in a grey suit (or is it black? Maybe it’s black), trying desperately to shove his I.D. badge in his pocket. He has a look about him that says ‘I’m part of one of the alphabet soup agencies’. A smile on his face, dead in the eyes, and the weight of the world on his shoulders. He fumbles with his wallet as he squints to read the menu behind the counter. The rain’s stopped dripping from his hair, instead he’s got droplets like his woken with the morning dew upon him.
“Hi love,” Rita coos as she hangs her apron up. She has a look about her that says she’ll eat this man for her breakfast. It’s an effort not to curse those pregnancy hormones some days.
“Go home,” you tell her, swatting her arm. “Put your feet up, rest, sleep while the baby does or some shit.” Rita sticks her bottom lip out and pouts, but she’s making grabby hands for her purse, which is stored where the tea towels used to be. Far too high to reach even when one’s not pregnant. You grab it down for her, ignoring the showering of thank-yous.
The new guy (who is getting more and more handsome by the second) is still looking at the menu. He doesn’t look like he’s going to stop looking and order any time soon.
“Are you sure you’re fine to take the metro in this weather?” you check. She’s rubbing her swollen belly and looking longingly at the booths that haven’t had anyone sit in them for hours now. 
“Wait forty-five minutes and I’ll take you!” Joe yells. He’s slaving over something in the kitchen even though it looks like no one’s ordered in hours. “Wife gave me the car ‘cause of the storm!”
“Forty-five,” you repeat and point her towards the seat that she’s been eyeing off. Rita sighs, nods, then goes out to the seat. “What can I get you?” Usually when addressing the customer you’d add something gentle like ‘sweetheart’ or ‘love’ or ‘dear’ because the customers like it and they come back because they think you’re treating them like a long lost friend.
He bats his dark eyelashes and rubs at his forehead.
“I don’t know.” He sounds tired, balancing on the very edge of exhaustion. He might just fall off into a pit of sleep that he won’t wake up from. Been there, done that. “Do you guys do coffee?”
You laugh and point to the brewed pot beside you. There’s one for each table, free refills with a pie purchase. It’s written in decorative lettering right above you on the blackboard.
“We can put it in a take-away cup. It’s before six so it’s free anyway,” you offer. The last bits a lie, but Joe doesn’t care about a cup or two of coffee going missing. He’ll catch it up later when he flirts with all of the mom’s coming through after school drop off. The new guy nods and pulls out a ten dollar note and shoves it in the tip jar. You raise an eyebrow at him, but he nods anyway. He’s like a broken bobblehead.
“I know.” He goes to the sweets display and searches through it like he’s looking for something specific. Maybe he is. You’ve not seen him in the diner before, and neither has Rita, but maybe he’s one of Lola’s regulars. Maybe you’d judged him wrong. 
“Anything caught your eye?” you ask, leaning over the counter as if you could see it from his angle too. Maybe you do it to show off just that little bit of cleavage. He notices, then looks like he’s done entirely the wrong thing as he licks his lips and blinks like a school boy.
“S-sorry,” he stammers, and Rita giggles. You point at her and give her a stern look, but she just puts her hand over her mouth and lies down on the seat. She’s still silently giggling because her belly keeps bobbing above the table. 
“I just…” he has that exhausted look on his face again.
“Long day at work?” The answer is always yes for the people who work at the alphabet agencies. He nods. “Take a seat, grab some coffee, take a minute. It’s only just gone five, you’ve got time.” 
He nods. He looks like he’s gotten his words all mixed up and they’re just sitting in his mouth, refusing to leave. Tongue tied doesn’t exactly encapsulate what looks like is going on inside his head. He sits at one of the chairs in front on the counter, and takes the coffee cup gratefully as you pass it to him.
He’s definitely an alphabet soup man. He sits in this weird stance like he’s countering his weight against a gun. His shoulders are hunched forward as if he spends hours a day doing paperwork. He’s got a nervous twitch in his hands like sitting still is only going to bring the next case.
You think about making a joke about turning on the cellphone jammer, but last time Joe made that joke the whole place ended up swarming with cops. Absolute disaster. No one’s going to do that one again. 
“Cherry, berry or apple?” you ask, grabbing a plate.
“Sorry?”
“Cherry, berry or apple?” Rita repeats from her booth. “For the pie, sweetheart.”
“Uh, I didn’t—“
“Eat it,” Rita growled. You pull a face at her even though she can’t see you. The guy smiles.
“Apple, please.” Well mannered. Sweet. He looks elated as you slide the apple pie to him and hand him the canned cream.
“Not as good as fresh, but it’s better than nothing.” 
He puts a generous amount on his plate. You half think he might like it more than proper cream. Rita leans up just enough to look at him as he digs in, fanning herself playfully before sighing and collapsing back down.
Joe brings out his tray of caramel salted cookies. They’re thick enough to look like cakes with a gooey caramel center, and they usually sell out pretty quickly. The new guy watches them intently.
“How much trouble am I going to get into if I give those to my son?” 
“How old is he?”
“Ten.”
You smile. That’s a good age. “How much do you hate his teacher?” 
He considers this with a gentle tilt of his head. “Not a lot. I’ll give it to him after school.” He pulls out his wallet again and Joe looks like he’s just hit the mother lode as he grabs one of the cardboard boxes. 
“If you really want to spoil your kid, y/n here can write really pretty on top.” You glare at Joe. He shrugs. He’s covered in cake batter and cookie dough, and smells like pancake batter. He’s always smelling sickly sweet, and like a well lived in home, despite looking like the living embodiment of Gaston. “She does it for my wife all the time.”
The handsome man’s phone buzzes. He checks it, then shovels the rest of his pie in his mouth like a starved man. 
“I have to go,” he says. He gives Joe another ten and tells him to keep the change. Joe looks like he’s about to break into a song and dance. You pour a fresh cup of coffee into a take-away cup and slide it across the counter to him. He thanks you a thousand times over then goes. With his cookie.
“Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?” Rita screeches the moment the door shut with it’s little jingle. “I’ll-show-him-my-cleavage-but-I-won’t-ask-his-name?? No wonder you can’t get a date!”
“I’ll do it next time.” Not that there’s ever a ‘next time’ for these alphabet soup agents. They’re always looking for the next place to go to so they don’t have a ‘regular place’ that can be ambushed. 
But in a perfect world... you’d see him every day.
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that-was-anticlimactic · 3 years ago
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hii corey, have you got any new sokka/reki ys headcanons to share? i love hearing about them
(capt-snoozles)
omg omg omg theo this is Such a dangerous question because the answer is Always yes i have so many constantly all the time and now with your au on the back of my mind... thinking about them together and... (this isn’t super long but imma put most of it under the cut to be safe lol)
i still stand by sokka having a tic where he just. yells about the moon. in canonverse, modern au, doesn't matter where he will just always have that tic to me <3
katara and sokka are obviously protective of each other (but not for themselves--) so katara is always ready to jump to sokka's defense if he needs it with his ts and over time, she can tell when his tics are starting to get bad or when he's having / about to start having a tic attack
she always keeps something for him to fidget with on her at all times because sokka forgets all the time (and a perk is that she gets to use them too!) and she also gives sokka massages whenever his shoulders need it (she and zuko argue over who gives better massages--the answer is probably suki but sokka isn't going to tell either of them that)
canonverse, zuko heats his hands ever so slightly when he gives sokka massages and katara cools hers ever so slightly when she does it :)
anyways so like sk8 atla au, when katara finds out that reki has ts she's ready to throw hands with anyone she needs to for him as well and she offers him massages if his shoulder or neck tic gets bad (and he's super confused by her offer at first but now they're massage buddies because he always gives her massages in return because katara can get tense)
jOE ALSO GIVES GREAT MASSAGES cherry does too... usually... but he gets really deep when he does it so sometimes it really hurts and sometimes it feels really nice
reki and sokka are the masters of suppression in any given universe, so they're both the type to be like "okay now whatever you do, don't suppress, okay? it's bad for you and i care about you" to the other and then Not follow that advice at all themselves
i feel like someday, reki is at like joe's restaurant or langa's house (having dinner with him and his mom) and his hand tics are really bad that day and they're shaking a lot too and he drops a plate and it shatters and he freaks the frick out because he just broke one of joe's work plates / broke a plate in front of langa's mom who he really wants to like him and neither of them would get angry about it until reki starts to try picking it up with his still shaking / ticcing hands and cuts his finger
thinking about sokka with a pigeon tic type thing (what noooo that's not self-projection hahah what) and reki with echolalia and reki's echolalia picks up on sokka's pigeon tic and it's just. an endless cycle of pigeon sounds uigyfcgvyhuiojhbgv they think it's funny but on the inside sokka thinks it makes him look weird and reki is worried sokka will think he's copying him
reki's handwriting is really bad primarily due to his tics lol sorry dude
still thinking about reki having a really aggressive tic one day during a beef or while he's skating and he ends up falling off his board hard and he just hates himself for it because he wants to love himself and his tics but how can he love them when they do things like this and langa is always there to listen to reki rant about how angry it makes him because there's nothing he can really do to comfort him except tell him that his tics don't make him any less of a skater but reki won't believe that (because he thinks everything makes him less of a skater oops)
katara and sokka share a room / have slept within feet of each other most of their life, so she has trouble falling asleep without sokka's tics (one of my roommates actually called me during winter break once to tell me she missed falling asleep to my tics because she always fell asleep before me and i almost cried happy tears lol)
idk why but i just get the vibes that shadow is really good at helping out with tic attacks. cherry struggles because he's a very hands-on person and tic attacks are very hands-off situations, so he usually tries not to get to close. joe is also pretty good in those situations because he's better at words than action, so he's able to provide verbal comfort. shadow just has a calming presence, oddly enough, and he lowers his volume and is great at grounding people
but above all, oka is the best at helping reki with tic attacks. like his mom is good at it too and so is koyomi, but oka is the best at seeing the signs and knowing when to send reki on breaks when he notices his shoulders rising to his ears and his neck twitches getting worse and worse
sokka found that talking tends to decrease his tics because he likes talking (this is Not including public speaking lol) and also listening to zuko sing also lessens his tics
okay... as much as i love and adore little spoon sokka because yes so true... i am a zukka sleeps on opposite sides of the bed truther above all because... sokka is the big spoon? scared to turn around in bed and he has to a lot, scared of accidentally hitting zuko, scared that he'll make zuko uncomfortable with all his movements and not let zuko relax, so big spoon is out. little spoon has a lot of the same fears but he's scared that he's too loud or that his tics will hurt zuko or keep him awake, so that doesn't work well either and sokka hates it because he loves holding zuko and he loves being held by zuko but he struggles with it (they sleep on opposite sides of the bed but usually wake up with sokka's legs on top of zuko's and one of zuko's arms haphazardly laying across sokka--his stomach, face, his legs sometimes...--and sometimes they cling to each other in their sleep lol)
reki loves hugs but prefers initiating them and having his arms on the outside
sokka has noise cancelling headphones like ik that isn't ts specific, but he needs them for sensory overload because lots of people talking at once loudly stresses him out, therefore making his tics worse lol
shadow makes reki [and sokka] friendship bracelets with charms (curtesy of you, theo !!!) and i like to think that he would make one with like ts pride colors for him [them]
sokka can't wear things on his wrists tho and has to use them as anklets or attach to key chains and stuff. he can only really wear his choker / necklace thing around his neck but that's it--everything else is too constricting
reki loves wearing things on his wrist, he likes that he has easy fidget access through them! can't do necklaces either
i just think that they should both have weighted blankets for bad tic days
miya buys reki one of those warmies for when his body is in pain and he needs some kind of comforting heat
okay as much as i would like to continue, i am about to fall asleep oiuhygvhujiuhgvghji but THANK YOU for letting me talk about them and i might add more in the morning cause they...
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pappydaddy · 2 years ago
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get to know me better
tag 10 (or 4 if you're like me) people you wanna know better
thank you for the tag lovely @purple-flamingo ! i was just thinking about how much i missed doing tag games!
relationship status: single and not ready to mingle
favourite colour: earthy colours (forest green/safe/browns/reds/etc.), lilac, and other flowery colours
favourite food: dill pickles, spinach pizza (a specific frozen pizza brand tho) and cheese pizza (with mozzarella) both with ranch (don’t knock them before you try them - i know they are weird)
song suck in my head: earlier: spider-man cartoon theme song ; at the moment: good looking by suki waterhouse
the last thing you googled: when is the next full moon
time: 2:04 in the morning (when making this)
dream trip: california then a nice tropical place like hawaii if the tourism industry would stop ruining sacred lands and bulldozing nature, and then scotland (for multiple weeks). also, bc
last thing you read: the love hypothesis
last book you enjoyed reading: the love hypothesis
last book you hated reading: people we meet on vacation (it is taking me so long to get through the book, idk why bc it’s a good book), novella i was forced to read for a class that the format made it very confusing to read - good meaning and story that was being told tho, and the tempest (one of my least favourite shakespeare plays)
favourite thing to cook/bake: cook - I make this really good mushroom dish (yum), sloppy joes, dill pickle grilled cheese, and a really good bbq chicken wrap with naan bread for the wrap ; bake - pastries/anything where i work with yeast, blueberry muffins
most niche hate/dislike: cherrys/cherry flavouring - i had medicine when i was a kid that was cherry flavoured and it made my tongue and throat numb so now when i taste cherrys/cherry flavouring, it feels like my tongue and throat are numb ; golf carts - i will not be elaborating, no further questions regarding the matter at this time please (read it as an official saying this)
opinions on circuses: uh, never went to one, never plan to go to one. just not my cup of tea.
do you have a sense of direction: a little. i can navigate the woods and i can navigate if i have been to the place before, but i get lost easily when driving in the city
d&d character: do not play bc i have nobody to start playing with (also cannot afford another thing to be obsessed with and co-dependant on)
no pressure tags lovelies! @i-always-come-back-xoxo | @k-k0129 | @diademsandtiaras | @alistair-strange
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jubesy · 4 years ago
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3 for Midotaka and 46 for MatchaBlossom for the drabble prompts please? (I've recently gotten into sk8 too and I haven't seen much content about them yet) thank you! 💕
Thank you for the asks! Sk8 is so good. I’m really enjoying it so far~
I managed to keep the MidoTaka short, but the Matcha Blossom ran long, haha. I hope you like them!! And thanks again~
MidoTaka #3 “Make me.”
“Kazu, unhand my lucky item,” Midorima said, arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his lips. “I have to sit in on a surgery today.” They had already graduated and Midorima was well into his residency at Todai hospital, but he still insisted on following Oha-Asa daily.
Not that Takao minded. In fact, he fully supported his boyfriend’s weird obsessions. All of them.
Still, he was so fun to tease. 
Takao grinned. “Make me.” 
Midorima’s eyes widened behind his glasses. Then he glared. “Kazu…” 
“Listen, I’m about twenty centimeters too short to play keep-away,” Takao offered. “So, let’s just end this quickly, Shin-chan.”
A long exasperated sigh. “What do you want, Kazu?” 
Takao bit his lip, holding his boyfriend’s lucky item behind his back and blinking up at him through his bangs. “A kiss?”
Midorima raised an eyebrow. “Just a kiss?” 
“Mhm.” Takao closed his eyes and puckered his lips, waiting. However, instead of the chaste peck he was expecting, Midorima roughly pressed their lips together, pulling Takao against him and deepening the kiss.
When they broke apart, Takao found himself dazed and empty-handed.
“Thank you, Kazu,” Midorima said, holding up the small fan. “I’ll see you tonight after work.”
Takao nodded dumbly and waved as Midorima left their apartment. He’d lost, in a way. Since his boyfriend had gotten one over on him. But in many other ways, he’d won.
Request a drabble here!
Matcha Blossom #46 “I’m in love...shit.” | Ao3 mirror
It was a late night. They’d been extremely busy, which was good. But that meant that no one was able to do their side work until after hours, which slowed down closing, which kept Joe from finishing his inventory and getting to input his order until nearly one in the morning.
He did not have his usual visitor tonight. He’d sent Cherry a text earlier, letting him know they were swamped. And even though he hadn’t replied, Joe knew he’d at least seen it. He was so tired that he didn’t have the energy to be offended at being left on ‘read.’ He just typed a quick, ‘Finally done,’ before walking toward his bike.
However, just as Joe was about to head home, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that Cherry had messaged.
‘Come over.’
That was rare. Joe usually played host to his childhood friend at his own restaurant and then the two parted ways. Sometimes, he’d crash at Cherry’s after ‘S’ races, just because he was bored and it was fun trying to come up with recipes with the few things the other had on hand -- honestly, did he even go grocery shopping? -- But never just randomly like this. Well, not since high school, probably.
‘Miss me?’ He typed back, adding a winking emoji before sending.
Kaoru is typing… ‘Die.’ 
Joe chuckled and started to respond, but Cherry sent another message.
‘I want pizza.’ 
Oh, was that so? That sounded pretty good actually. Well, not take-out pizza. Joe had grown up with his Italian grandfather and no one in his family could stand the chain store stuff. He didn’t feel like typing anymore, so he called. Cherry picked up on the second ring. “Did you order it already?” Joe asked.
Cherry was quick to reply. ‘Are you an idiot?’ Joe snorted at that. ‘Like I’d order something you hate.’
Joe laughed. “It’s kind of hard to eat pizza without ordering it,” he supplied.
A scoff came over the line. ‘Obviously, you’re going to make it.’ 
Ooh, Cherry was being feisty tonight. Cute. “I’ve already locked up and even if I hadn’t, the truck doesn’t come until the day after tomorr--”
‘I have the ingredients already,’ Cherry interrupted. ‘Just get your overly-muscled ass over here.’ A pause. ‘I’m hungry.’
Cherry had gotten the ingredients? Cherry had gone shopping? He’d gone shopping with Joe in mind, knowing that he couldn’t stomach Japan’s poor excuse for pizza? Something warm blossomed in his chest. “Okay.” 
‘I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.’ The call ended.
Joe stood there, dumbfounded, the heat from his chest spreading up his neck to his face. He swallowed. “I’m in love…” Then, realizing what he said, that this was Cherry he was talking about, he cursed. “Shit.” Then he got on his bike and rode off toward Cherry’s house, his body still pleasantly warm.
Request a drabble here!
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machablossom · 4 years ago
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I really want to rant about the ending. That was one wild episode 12 and I can't say I loved it, but I didn't hate it either.
Being honest, I think I'm mostly dissapointed things didn't go the way I wanted. I usually expect from a series to let me down in some aspects, but this time I felt like there was no rush of emotions like it happened during the past episodes.
I don't actually mind about the supposed queerbaiting, though I would have wanted Renga and Matcha Blossom to become canon. Alas, a girl could dream.
However, there were many things I believe could have been better, others which were just fine, and others which could have been different altogether from the very start of the series. Overall I feel like the main plot (Langa and Reki facing up against Adam) and the main theme of the anime (skating is a fun thing to do and it's better enjoyed surrounded with friends and people you love) were developed just right. However, the way they got to the results were not the best, in my opinion.
I would like to give my opinion on each character development, so this may take a while. Also, I'd like to point out what I would have wanted to happen, if things were up to me.
First and foremost, Adam is the character I had more trouble with. I didn't love the last beef against Langa much. I've had trouble with the entire Eve thing and the fact that he's a 30-something chasing after a 17 yr old boy, be it romantically or just skate-wise.
I know Adam's sexual preferences are never stated through the whole series but we can imply he does feel a certain attraction towards Langa beyond the skating scene and it is very uncomfortable, not to say wrong.
I loved the idea that he let go of the idea of chasing his 'Eve', to celebrate a wedding for a funeral. I am all for theathrics and drama, and his "final boss" outfit was nuts. The skateboard was awesome too! But the mere implications of him, turning into some sort of Grim Reaper whilst racing against Langa one last time are very bone-chilling, at least to me it was, again, very unconfortable.
I'd have loved for Adam to lose to Reki, OR, Tadashi and Langa to race so that the final encounter could have been Adam vs. Tadashi. That way, I think he'd have gotten to reflect on his actions and actually grow as a character rather than just be cured by the power of fun and friendship.
In the perfect scenario, he'd escape with Tadashi, he'd ditch his job and tell his aunts to go f*ck themselves, close 'S' for good and get some therapy somewhere where he could be happy skating with his beloved assistant.
On the other hand, I was hoping he'd get arrested. I hoped Kiriko got to put him behind bars and ruin his carreer both as a politician and as a skater, so that S would close. Maybe in some sort of epilogue we'd seen him come out of jail and make up with the gang, skating with them again as friends. Maybe Langa would go see him in prison to help. Idk, I feel like he needs retribution and punishment, but he was also a character who needed help.
The last part with Tadashi and the dog thing was weird and I didn't love it, but I think it works for their relationship. I won't complain, some other people here on tumblr have put it into words way better than I would have.
What I feel was the worst, worst thing they could do was have him crash their celebration party, falling ridiculously from a helicopter with a bouquet for Langa. No. No, just no. The creeps again. Ugh.
Then, I have to say the second in line who bothered me the most were Miya and Shadow.
It's silly: I really screamed in rage and pain about Shadow not getting together with the manager. I wanted all the other ships to be canon, but I knew it's Japan we're talking about and I know we'd get teased about it in the best case scenario, but the straight ship? The one they could totally go for? NO! Also, I think Shadow got played dirty, shoving him into the background after he was attacked in ep. 10. We didn't get to see any justice done to him against the dude that beat the crap out of him, if, perhaps, Shadow could beat him again at 'S', this time fair and square.
Miya, oh my poor catboy. Played so dirty as well. I liked the last time we see him when he meets with his friend again in school and they seem to reconect. But I wish we would have gotten to see them skate together again. This is very wishful thinking, but I wished we could have seen Miya a little bit older, when the others could have taken him a lot more seriously. I wanted him to do much more than just be a background character, because he deserved it.
Next is Joe and Cherry. Oh boy. Hold onto your horses, I have a LOT to say about my favourite duo.
Listen here, I wanted them to be canon. I hoped for the discreet rings on their fingers shot, or a sudden drop of any of them that they had been secretly married for the past two years or something like that. I wanted flashbacks to their trip to Paris. I wanted more of their teenage years. I wanted a date night at Sie La Luce. Man, I would have died for a kiss. But, alas, it's Japan we're talking about and I know I'm viewing the series from a western point of view.
But that's not what bothered me. What really bothered me was that all the tension that had been growing since ep. 7 between the two of them and then between them and Adam seemed to be just a stepping stone for Langa to win the tournament. We saw Cherry get slapped with a skateboard just for us, the expectators, to dislike Adam a lot more.
I would have loved for them to have the chance to reconect with Adam, be it by punching him or by accepting a heartfelt apology. Specially Cherry. Kaoru deserved MUCH better than what he got, and Joe deserved better than what we've got to see from him. The last scene we saw of them, idk, I thought it was funny and I loved how Cherry showed so little professionalism by drawing on his bf in public. LOL.
But I also didn't like it. I think they ended up being comic relief when they were two of the most wonderfully developed partners in the whole series, even if we've just got some crumbs of their relationship. Also, Joe's deep and caring personality, the whole pinning on Kaoru situation, feels like it matters so little when we see him back at the starting point, just being a shameless flirt. The advantage I see from all of it is that we've got a lot left to the imagination with them.
(Man, i would have loved to see Joe punch Adam in the face with a skateboard at the celebration party after his arrival on the helicopter).
And finally, Reki and Langa. Being honest? I actually loved them. I didn't mind there wasn't a explicit moment of romance or a confesion. That was never the point. The symbolism of their 'friendship', of their bond, is more than enough for me.
I think Langa was slightly too overpowered. As I said before, I think the beef was a little too over the top, but, mah, I've seen a lot of sports anime, its not that over the top. I'd have loved to see him snowboarding at some point, perhaps then we'd have seen Langa as a very talented athlethe and not just some random teenager with crazy skills he just pulled out of his pretty canadian butt. Then again, the little scene with his father's memory was really nice. Closure over mourning, that's a wonderful thing to do.
Reki, my boy, on the other hand, I loved him. Cheering for his bf and believing in him and waiting for him at the end of the line, *chef's kiss*. The part where Langa falls over him and they hug on the ground, perfect, hilarious. The insinuation that they are both happy when they are together, yes, yes, good. The last scene with Reki and his family, I love it! I have nothing wrong to say about Reki. I love him and I'd give an arm for him.
...
Overall, it was a good series. It could have been done better. The ending could have been better. I would love a sequel anyway, if only they could focus on the plotlines they left inconclusive and, for god's sake, they kick the creepyness down a notch. For what I conclude, the entire series was meant as fanservice and they didn't imagine it would grow so big. Anyway, I will keep writing Matcha Blossom, I really loved them and I hope this is not the last we ever see of them all.
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nagichi-boop · 3 years ago
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Ways me & Miya Chinen are similar
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Welcome back to another self indulgent kin post. This one may be a little more of a stretch but I’ll delude myself into thinking I’m similar to Miya.
TW // Mental illness (specifically abandonment issues/trauma?)
Also, spoilers.
1. Abandonment issues
One of the biggest parts of Miya that I related to was his fears over being abandoned. We both had our friends abandon us for being different and that has made us terrified of losing those who become our friends.
2. Afraid to get close to others
A follow on from the last point, but even when Reki said he wouldn’t abandon Miya, he still didn’t fully become buddy-buddy with Reki and Langa. He of course looked up to both of them (more so Reki than Langa), but because he was afraid of repeating his past, he kept somewhat of a distance from them at first before eventually being a bit more honest and friendly with them. He didn’t particularly seem to care about Langa at first (though I’m sure he did) as he cared more about Reki, but by the end of the series, he even called Langa a “hero”. Miya also felt incredibly betrayed when Reki stopped showing up, seeing it as him abandoning him. When he finally sees him again, he just wants him to come back, but is deeply hurt and betrayed when he’s pushed away and left behind.
I tend to find it difficult to make friends with people because I have an underlying anticipation for them leaving. So in my mind, if I don’t get close, I can’t get hurt again. Miya had this attitude before Reki promised not to leave - he believed friendships weren’t important and were almost laughable. But even so, I think he still wanted friends, he just seemed to be waiting for the right person to find him.
3. Hiding our true emotions
When Miya does his interview, he portrays a more humble and gentle character. Then he finds his parents looking at pictures of him as a kid with his old friends, so he puts on an act to make it seem like he is okay. Given that his parents looked at the pictures with no issue seems to suggest that Miya also never told them what his friends did and so they view his friends in a positive light, unlike Miya who has bad feelings attached to his memories with them.
I don’t think I ever fully talked to my parents about what happened between me and my friends and how much it hurt me. Then years later when I did, it didn’t feel like they truly understood how I felt about it. Ever since I was “abandoned” by them, I’ve struggled to make a connection with anyone irl. Even when I find someone who seems kind and understands me, it eventually gets to a point where I panic because I’m afraid they’ll hate me and want to leave, if they don’t already feel that way. I guess I’m still waiting for someone like Reki to come along and be unapologetically loyal to me.
4. Uncomfortable when treated with kindness
When Reki stands up for Miya during Adam’s reveal, Miya is somewhat happy at first because of the thought behind it. But then leading up to the actual race, Miya tells Reki not to do it, that he doesn’t want him to do something for his sake.
I don’t like it when people do things for me. Not because I don’t appreciate it, but more because I feel guilty about it. Even if it’s something that I would be happy about or when it’s something the other person insists on, I still feel guilty about making someone go through a level of effort for me and it contributes to my feelings of being a burden to others.
5. Bad at showing affection
Somewhat related to the last point, but when Miya compliments Reki (calling him a “golem” rather than his usual “slime” insult) and Langa calls him out on it, Miya immediately snaps and says Langa is wrong about him calling Reki cool. He tries to put on a front that he doesn’t care, but he is also the only one of the group to be vocal about his upset when Reki and Langa race Adam and is the only one who tries to actually stop them (but is prevented from intervening). He also looks away whenever any of his friends are hurt during a beef because he doesn’t want to see them hurt.
I don’t necessarily act like I don’t care about others, but I have a hard time expressing how I feel about others and what they mean to me. I’m sometimes afraid of coming off as intense or weird. Deep down I suppose I’m afraid of showing vulnerability because I’m afraid it’ll somehow put the other person off.
6. Pranksters
On a more lighthearted note, Miya has a habit of taking every opportunity to play pranks. While he seems annoyed about stepping in and stopping Joe’s flirting, he ends up with a very gleeful look on his face when Joe begs the women to stay. Then later on, Miya makes repeated attempts to scare Reki, collaborating with Cherry at one point for one of his tricks. While he may have been rude to everyone before, his same smug attitude gets translated to a more affectionate teasing his friends instead which is very wholesome. Funnily enough though, Miya doesn’t deal too well with embarrassment. When his stomach rumbles, he becomes squirmy and embarrassed which is also very wholesome.
I tend to be a bit more reserved when I meet people, which then causes a shock the first time I crack a cheeky joke. Also at home, I tend to try and stir as much chaos as possible, almost like starting a fire and then walking away from it. I find teasing people funny, even though I suck at being teased back and can actually become irritated by it.
7. A love for gaming
Miya has a very clear love of video games and references them pretty much whenever he can. He uses it in insults (“slime”) and compliments (“hero”) and he talks about “levelling up” while he’s skating. He is seen to play video games frequently when he’s not doing much else and carries a gaming console in his bag wherever he goes. He also is a bit of an insomniac in part due to his late night gaming habits.
I don’t play video games as much as I’d like to, but I definitely love them and have since I have a kid. I’m assuming the games I play maybe aren’t as intense as what Miya plays, but I think I play a fairly diverse range…or maybe not, I have no idea. I just play whatever I find fun.
8. Animals
We are both very catlike in nature and enjoy the cat aesthetic, but we also don’t necessarily prefer them over dogs. Anything fluffy is good.
9. Cute clothing
Not a super strong point but we both like clothes that are cute…I may be running out of points. Guess I should wrap this post up-
xxx
Idk if this comparison is too much of a stretch. The main thing I relate to is Miya’s fear of abandonment and intimacy with others. I’m not as confident as he is, but in my mind he’s a very relatable character.
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sunfish999 · 4 years ago
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best (and worst) parts of the new sk8 ep (spoilers, duh) 
reki having a nightmare abt langa in class bc he was worried ab him  
langa opening reki’s water bottle for him bc his arm is sprained🥺
reki saying ‘stuff abt me doesnt matter. i absolutely dont want langa skating against adam’ sjhgbsj ‘i dont want him to get hurt because of me’ THEYVE BEEN FRIENDS FOR LIKE A WEEK WHERE DO U FIND SOMEONE LIKE THIS
they did not. cherry: ‘so close’ me: yall are kidding rn right. yall are
anyways im in love with joe, only sensible one, AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT (arms......) 
reki just keeps getting more and more fine istg i am so in love w him 
also langas lil pink blush 10/10 very cute
langa rides his lil moped scooter thing i love it i love that he picks up reki all the time
‘even if i get injured i wont quit skateboarding’ reki’s eyes: SUN 
*puts fist over langas heart* ‘dont be reckless* HIS VOICE WAS SO SOFT DJFDNJNJ ok i was really rooting for their friendship but this is so gay lmao they literally just stared into each others eyes fondly for an awkwardly long amt of time
 nonoonononononononono um. adam did not j call that poor security guard (driver?) a good boy no no nooooo WHY DID HE SAY MASTER STFU THATS SO WEIRD
i hate adam with every inch of my entire being 
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ADAM IS A PEDO THIS IS SO AWFUL IM GOING TO THROW UP 
guys im not kidding what the fuck this is so weird um 
adam to langa: ur the same type of person as me! 
me: ,,...no....., hes really not,,,, 
:0 langa is the coolest every holy shit
adam: EVE me: huh? wait- NO
holup has adam got sum superpowers or some shit wait huh
langa and reki rlly like staring at each other huh
no langa u did not just do the sports anime grab ur shirt where ur heart is while thinking abt skating w adam big no no sir
anyways thats all for my commentary uwu i hate myself
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queen-of-my-goofball-army · 3 years ago
Text
Sakura's First Guitar Lesson
Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted some writing here because most of the time I use my a03. For Sk8Tember writing athon I originally wanted to do Fairy Tale day which is tomorrow. However, since I'm currently in the middle of changing up my writing style from first person to third person to try and be a better writer I thought that it would be for the best that I pick Instrument Day because guess what? Today is my birthday! I'm now officially 22 years old even if I don't look or act like it. I'm here to celebrate my birthday with everyone by sharing my new writing with all of you.
Songs mentioned in the fic:
La Via Strangiato: Rush
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK1hmDpa8bo
The Long And Winding Road: The Beatles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR4HjTH_fTM
Let It Be: The Beatles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDYfEBY9NM4
Sakura Nanjo rocked back and forth on her heels outside of the music studio that she had her first lessons in. Since she told her parents that the thing she wanted to do more than anything in the world was to learn how to play the bass guitar just like her hero, they had been encouraging. Haru even found that he had a profound interest in learning how to play the drums. In reality, he wanted to do it so that his sister wouldn’t feel alone in wanting to try something new. He would never admit that to her though. There were some things that his sister did not need to know. She would never let him live it down if she knew the actual reason why he was so adamant about learning to play the drums.
“Sakura, if you keep doing that you’re going to wear yourself out. I know that you’re excited but it’s really starting to freak me out.” Her best friend, Miya Chinen, reminded her lightly with that same small smile that he often had when he was around her. He couldn’t help but find this childish and excitable side of her adorable. She would always be cute in his mind but especially when she got excited about the simplest of things. Like learning how to play an instrument that had always spoken to her.
“I can’t help it! I’m excited, I’m nervous, part of my brain is screaming at me because what if this is a really bad idea and what if I’m not any good at this thing that I’ve never tried before and change is terrifying and-“ He lightly put his arm around his best friend cutting off her word vomit. She only got like this when she was way past nervous and her brain to mouth filter failed her.
“Change is scary but it can also be good for you. You told me so yourself that this is something you’ve wanted to do for all your life right?” Sakura nodded her head nervously trying to stop this anxiety from bubbling up inside of her. With the recent diagnosis of aspergers syndrome she’s still learning to cope with the help of her friends and family.
“Well yeah, I’ve always loved the idea of playing music. Especially bass guitar because of my fixation on Rush and on Geddy Lee as a whole.” She argued and he just chuckled lightly at his best friend. Leave it to her to want to do something that could potentially become life altering just because her favorite singer did it too.
“Then I think that it would be a great experience for you to have if it’s something that you really want to do. It’ll make you happy and give you a hobby that you didn’t have before. You really need to have more hobbies other than cooking Saki.” She sighed knowing that her best friend was right as she looked over at the music studio.
“I know that it’s bad. But this could be something that I get really passionate about. I already know that it won’t necessarily be easy. Nothing really ever is easy for me.” She looked down at her skateboard tracing the end of her Haku dragon sticker before sighing slightly. Nobody ever did anything by being anxious about every little change that they came across. If that was the case then most of her favorite music would have never come to exist.
“Skating came rather easily for you after you got those grips for your feet. You just needed to distribute your weight easier than the way that you were.” Miya argued lightly hating that she would get like this sometimes. She shouldn’t ever have the need to feel sad. He preferred her when her ruby red eyes lit up with happiness rather than downcast and saddened like they were right now.
“Yeah that doesn’t mean that I’ll be good at this though… what if all of this is just me being childish?” She just sighed burying her head in her hands. Now that she had been told to stop being so overly excited the dread was starting to sink in. Her playing bass guitar? Yeah and the moon is secretly made of cheese.
“I don’t think that it’s you being childish. I think that it’s you trying to make yourself into a better version of yourself. You’re clearly not happy and you barely do anything for yourself simply because you want to. Saki you can’t know that you suck at something if you’ve never really tried it before. I know that you can do this because you’re the bravest person that I’ve ever met. You can literally do anything that you set your mind to. If you can dream it you can do it.” He comforted her and watched as slowly the light came back to her eyes.
“You’re right! I can do this, and I’ll be good at it as long as I work hard enough at it. I know that I can do this.” She clenched her left fist and shook it up at the sky daring anyone to tell her otherwise. If you asked Miya, this was the first thing that he really noticed about her that was different. He never met anyone that was as determined to do their best until he met Sakura. Her determination to defy every obstacle inspired him to push past his limits as well.
“That’s the stubborn best friend that I know and love.” He lightly teased and she looked down at her lap picking up the instrument that was there. The second that Kaoru found out his beloved daughter wanted to learn to play bass guitar he found the best one that he could through hours of off the clock research. He wanted his little girl to be happy and if this is what would make her happy and confident in her own wicked way then he would do everything that he felt within his power to do so. The guitar that he had eventually chosen for her was a lilac colored and sparkly one that he thought just suited his little girl’s personality.
“Shut up, I know I’m super stubborn already. It’s why me and Haru struggle so hard to see eye to eye because he’s just as stubborn as I am if not more.” She huffed a breath thinking about the argument that her and her brother had gotten into last night. It had been about something so stupid but it had just got blown way out of proportion and now she wasn’t sure if things were going to be awkward around him for a while. It had been about who was going to make dinner that night and Haru just blew up at her. Of course, never to back down from a fight the only thing that Sakura did was yell right back at him.
“He’ll forgive you eventually Saki. He always does you’ll go home and there will be forgive me cookies on the table for you. Besides he’s usually the one who yells first and knows that you will yell back. I’ve never once seen you actually pick the fight with him personally.” Miya hated when Haru would purposefully try and ruin her mood. He knew that he was just going through his own personal hell as he was still in the early stages of transitioning but he didn’t need to take his anger and aggression out on her.
“This one was really stupid though. It was just over who would make dinner since dad had to be at the restaurant late and mom was working late surprising absolutely no one ever.” Kaoru had always been the type that worked long hours even at the cost of not spending a whole lot of time at home with his children. He did the best that he could with the time that he was given and had mandatory time with them on weekends but the house was most of the time silent except for the twins. And sometimes they just couldn’t be around each other without a screaming match breaking out.
“You guys are the kids of Cherry and Joe, it would be weird if you guys didn’t fight constantly.” Miya tried to joked just to hear her laugh, which it worked. The first thing that really drew him to her was that laugh. That loud and open sound when she was well and truly tickled by something or the more quiet sound that he got right now when she was emotional.
“That’s true, come on, I’m thirsty all the sudden and want to get a drink before I have to go in for my first session.” She stretched getting off of the concrete and offered her best friend a hand up off the ground before she stepped onto her board.
“Arizona sweet tea?” He offered her that option and she nodded her head with a small smile on her face. She had fallen in love with her best friend’s sweet tea that he had gotten her addicted to after they got introduced to each other.
“What are you going to do while I’m doing my session?” Miya gestured to his backpack where he was hiding his switch that he brought with him today. He knew that he’d want to spend the afternoon waiting for his best friend to finish her session.
“I’ve got my games in here don’t worry about me. I want to spend the afternoon with you. You’re my best friend and I want to support you in any way that I can.” He encouraged her as they pulled into the connivence store so that they could get their tea and some snacks while they waited. This was a huge deal for her and he wanted her to know how much he supported her.
“You’re going to be amazing Sakura. I know that you will be because you constantly give everything that you can into your interests.” Miya knew that she could do anything that she put her mind to because if his best friend was anything it was bound and determined to do her best at every little thing that she tried. Even if she found that she wasn’t as interested in the idea of playing her favorite instrument as she made it sound both in her head and in the music she listened to, she wouldn’t back down without a fight. That stubborn nature combined with her kind heart had him being pulled even deeper into her orbit.
“I sure hope that your right cat-boy because I am so nervous right now. As was prevalent by my earlier word vomit.” He just smiled softly at her doing his best that he could to be her support system as much as he knew that she was nervous.
“Sometimes your nerves stop you from doing things that you’re really good at though. They stopped you from making genuine friends before now didn’t they? Being nervous about something is considered totally normal. But you can’t let those nerves run your life Sakura. Otherwise you’ll never get anywhere. If you let nerves stop you then there’s so much you can’t really achieve.” He knew the amount of almost crippling anxiety that she struggled with. He had only ever wanted to support her and push her further. As they stopped in front of the music studio and she took a deep breath opening the front door and hearing the sound of somebody in one of the rooms practicing.
“Hello! Are you here for a lesson or just here to see what kinds of facilities we offer here?” Sakura lightly yanked on her ponytail just to try and ground herself.
“My mom scheduled my appointment, it’s Sakura Nanjo. I want to learn how to play the bass guitar.” She told the clerk and Miya just squeezed her hand sympathetically. Talking to people that she didn’t know was never a skill that Sakura had excelled at. Haru was always the people person not really her.
“Oh that’s right!! Your mother did call in to our shop so we’re excited to begin to teach you. We’ll have your teacher be with you in just a moment. You’re welcome to look around. He mentioned that you’d bring your own instrument?” She nodded her head holding up her guitar sleeved she had walked her with her.
“He bought it for me a few days ago and came home with it the day before yesterday!” Sakura showed her the guitar that her mom had bought for her that matched her personality.
“That is really pretty!! It does seem to match your bright and bubbly personality. Are you here for lessons too or just moral support?” Miya put his arm around his best friend’s shoulders supportively with a small smile on his face.
“I’m just here for the moral support factor. She struggles with nerves and anxiety and I thought that it would be easier for her if she had me here to support her.” He reasoned and she smiled gratefully at her best friend. Despite only being friends for a few months she knew that there was something unique about the video game obsessed boy next to her. Something that was life altering and that she wouldn’t ever want to change.
“That’s really sweet of you!! I’ll go and tell your teacher that your ready to learn.” The worker went off in search of the bass guitar teacher and Sakura’s ear twitched lightly.
“Are you hearing La Villa Strangiato?” Her ear was always in tune to when a Rush song was being played around her. Miya couldn’t help but laugh lightly at her as he had been hearing it since they had come into the studio. She must have been way too nervous to notice that somebody had been playing a song by her favorite band.
“They’ve been playing it since we walked in. Want to go and see who it is?” She followed the sound of the guitar as it led her to a spare room where a girl with dark hair and baby blue highlights was playing a guitar. She was wearing a different school uniform than the one that they were wearing. It had a music note on the band around the arm. Maybe she went to a music school of some kind? Whomever she was, she was clearly absorbed in the music that she was playing. And what’s more than that, she was a good. Good from years of clear practice at her craft and good from knowing exactly what she was doing. Miya accidentally leaned into Sakura’s side a bit too far trying to get a better look at the girl and knocked her over. The girl that as playing the instrument suddenly stoped and looked over at Sakura who was on the ground.
“Sorry Saki!” He frantically apologized offering her a hand and helped her to dust off the back of her skirt.
“Are you guys new? I thought that I closed that door!! Sorry if I was playing too loud, my dad runs the studio here I don’t take lessons.” The girl apologized very clearly worried that she had distracted them from something.
“Sakura is here to get lessons but she’s a huge rush fan and knew exactly what you were playing. She wanted to see the person that was playing La Villa Strangiato.” Miya explained to the girl lightly put off by the fact that the girl instantly took Sakura’s hands in her own.
“A fellow Rush fan?! At long last!! I’m Kayla Sunohara!! Super awesome to meet you Sakura.” She introduced herself excitedly and Miya just possessively gripped her hand.
“I’m Sakura Nanjo, this is my best friend Miya Chinen. How long have you been studying Alex Lifeson?” Miya buried his face into Sakura’s shoulder, trying on a whim to keep the possessive nature that he was feeling come up his spine. She’s allowed to have other friends and not just me. She should have a female friend who likes the same style of music as she does. It was only a matter of time before Sakura made another friend that wasn’t just me. She’s too nice for me to keep all to myself like that.
“Oh I’ve been studying his work since I first started playing when I was seven!! What about you? You interested in studying Geddy Lee?” Sakura gripped her bass guitar a little bit firmer in her hands nodding her head.
“That’s so cool…” She gushed and Kayla just laughed a bit waving her hand up and down in a dismissive manner.
“It’s not really anything that fantastic, I’m nowhere near his level and I probably never will be. But his guitar is what inspired me to pick up my own. What about you? Why did you want to learn bass?” Miya couldn’t help the halfhearted glare that he was sending to the other guitarist. He didn’t know why, maybe it was because he hadn’t had friends in so long but he wanted all of Sakura’s attention on him.
“Sakura?” The lady in the front of the studio called her name and she instantly lightly hugged her best friend noticing the slight stiffness in his appearance.
“Miya, I have to go. Is there something wrong?” He shook his head at her putting on the fakest smile that he could muster at the moment.
“I’ll be alright, I’ve got my games and I’m going to play these games with Sunohara.” He lightly told her and she just sighed a little bit.
“Look we’ll talk later cat boy alright? Don’t do anything stupid like start a fight or whatever.” She lightly told him with a small smirk on her face going out of the room and carrying everything over to the room.
“Miss Nanjo? I’m Shizuko, I’m going to be your teacher.” She took a deep breath just trying to do the final calming of her nerves. “I’m Sakura, it’s nice to meet you.” She bowed before her teacher with a small smile on her face carrying the guitar.
“It’s nice to meet you as well. Why don’t you come with me and we can figure out what you want to do and why?” As her teacher led the way she couldn’t help but look at everything with this sheer ease of wonder and light.
“So, why do you want to learn how to play bass guitar?” She sat down in the chair in front of her putting the guitar on her lap lightly.
“I want to play guitar because I was deeply inspired by Geddy Lee. My dad he raised me on Rush because that was what he loved back in high school.” Her teacher listened to her speak passionately about her love of the music that had inspired her to get through the day.
“My little sister has been studying the art of Alec Lifeson for a majority of her life. So I totally get that you can be inspired by the lead singer. He’s a big inspiration for everyone that ever felt like they didn’t fit in. She’s going to probably take over this studio one of these days.” Shizuko bragged about her younger sister that was now bonding with Miya over a shared love of video games in the spare room.
“I met your sister! She was playing La Villa Strangiato in another room. I thought that she was really amazing at it too. She’s really talented.” Sakura exclaimed her praises towards the other main guitarist. Her teacher just laughed a little bit already foreseeing a future friendship between her newest student and her younger sibling.
“You really know your stuff if you knew the exact song that she was playing. Music has always been something that brought us closer together as a family. Performing has been something that was passed down through the lines. Our dad taught us when we were just little kids so it’s always been a big part of our lives tighter. So what do your parents do?” She put her guitar on the floor knowing that this would just be an initial interview to see what she wanted to do and why.
“My dad he runs an Italian restaurant, Sia La Luce by the marina that’s what I’m going to do when I get older too. That’s what I was doing until both of my parents decided that I should be allowed to be a teenager for a little while. I’ve wanted to play bass guitar ever since I first started to deep dive and I really learned what music was and what instruments did what. It wasn’t just Geddy Lee. I’ve been inspired by countless other artists as well.” She reasoned and the teacher just smiled to herself. She had a feeling that this student would excel really far at the guitar. She also thought that her sister might finally make a really good friend.
“Do you do well in school? Do you have any other interests?” She nodded her head with a small smile on her face thinking about her lessons in skateboarding.
“I’m currently learning how to skateboard finally. My parents both do it and compete in their own ways. My brother picked it up like a fish to water. I’ve only recently started to learn how because a friend wanted to teach me. He’s the first friend that I’ve ever made. I was relatively well liked by my classmates but we weren’t ever really friends. I do pretty good in school depending on the subject. I’m mostly good at math and English but struggle with science. That’s my brother’s area of expertise.” Sakura talked about the little things in school that she enjoyed doing.
“Science isn’t for everyone and it’s not your fault that you aren’t very good at that class. I’m sure that yo excel in other areas. Who are some of your other heroes in music that aren’t behind Rush?” As important as having one hero was, Shizuko knew that she wouldn’t get very far if that was the only genre of music that she wanted to play.
“The one that my mom got me hooked on from a young age was Queen so I’ve always admired John Deacon. He was the quiet one so not a lot of people really think about how important he was. He was both an incredible bass player but he wrote some of Queen’s most iconic songs. Also, Paul McCartney has always been one of my favorite musicians for The Beatles and for Wings. Really I found a lot of different musician heroes that I could aspire to one day learn more about. I have a recent diagnosis of aspergers that caused me to rethink a lot of what interested me.” Sakura was still just ever so slightly self conscious about what had interested her. She’d had so many people judge her that weren’t Miya it felt like. Shizuko couldn’t hep but smile softly as this young tween in front of her reminded her so much of her when she was younger. From the admiration that she had of all these different styles of bass guitarists to her naturally shy disposition.
“There’s a lot of really beautiful Beatles songs, do you have a favorite one?” She nodded her head with a small smile on her face.
“My favorite is The Long And Winding Road. Many times I’ve been alone and many times I’ve cried anyway you’ll never know the many ways I’ve tried. It reminds me of my relationship with my brother. We get into a lot of really heated arguments but at the end of the day he’s my twin brother and I love him.” The entirety of Let It Be was her favorite non-Rush album of all time and it was one that she listened to consistently when she was alone in her bedroom. Her parents got her a record player when she was eight because that was the item she most desperately wanted. Ever since then she’d been collecting records and she shared it with Haru.
“You sing really, really well for somebody your age. That takes a lot of talent, have you ever done it professionally?” Do my friends in Italy count? We’re kind of a band I guess and I always love singing with them. While Sakura had friends before Miya, they didn’t live in this country. Rather they all lived in Italy. They were the only large group of people that had welcomed her into their group.
“I have a couple of friends in Italy where my dad did his studying for his restaurant. We go back every summer just about and my friends and I we sing. I’ve always appreciated singing because it was something that I could control. It could be loud or quiet. I could train it to sing in different styles.” She explained her dynamic with her small group of female friends that welcomed her with open arms years ago. Found family movie nights on Friday’s were something that she always looked forward to even if it was earlier in the afternoon for her then it was for them.
“I don’t know very many young girls that are that into singing. They do it for fun a lot of them but none of them that do it for fun are very good. Not unless they put in the effort. Talent takes effort. You have to put in the work and make the commitment in order for talent to come from that. Taking on an instrument is a pretty big commitment especially with the guitar. Sometimes you just want to throw the thing against the wall and call it a day. But then you get back to it and you’re suddenly able to do it and you feel this sense of self worth and accomplishment.” Shizuko tried to make her young pupil see things from her perspective. She had lost a lot of younger students because they weren’t serious about the instrument. Once they saw the first sign of struggle they threw in the towel and gave everything up.
“I’m willing to put in the work. I just need a teacher to show me how things work.” Sakura never did anything halfway. She was either all in or had absolutely zero interest in the task at hand. She had grown up around the sound of a bass guitar coming from every room in the house in some capacity.
“I can tell that you’re one of the serious ones about this otherwise you wouldn’t have stayed after that talk. Most of the students leave because I’m “too harsh”. I just want people to try their best and to succeed in the areas where they should.” The teacher ranted and Sakura couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. That threat hadn’t even begun to diminish her joy at the idea of simply being here.
“My mom is a lot more scary than that so I’m used to the idea of being threatened. Music has always been a part of my life and now I want to learn how to play it.” She said confidently and by the look on her face Shizuko knew that she had found a gem in the rocks.
“That was why I wanted to learn how to play bass too. I grew up hearing it with my dad because he loves all different kinds of music really but it was a whole lot of Beatles, Rush, Queen, Heart, and a lot of other artists that just seemed to flow out of the windows. I’m glad that you came in today Sakura. I can’t wait to start teaching you. We’re just going to gloss over the essentials today.” Sakura looked at her teacher one question burning in the back of her brain. “What is your favorite Beatles song?” Shizuko blinked a little bit in confusion before a small smirk appeared on her face.
“My favorite Beatles song is Let It Be. Has been since I was a little kid, Mary was my mother’s name. She died last year so it’s been kind of a rough point in my life. But that song has always gotten me through bad times. And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me. Shine until tomorrow let it be.” As Shizuko told her new student about her song obsession Sakura’s heart warmed. It was such a beautiful story that she couldn’t help but love it.
“I’m sorry for the loss of your mom. That really must have hurt something awful. Is it just you, your dad, and your sister now?” Sakura pulled her hair back a little bit further with a small smile on her face playing with the ends of her ponytail.
“Thank you so much sweetheart that makes a lot to me. My dad has a girlfriend, they were divorced for a while since Kayla was younger. It was a bit of an experience for me to deal with but we’re still a family anyways.” Shizuko reasoned and her student just smiled sympathetically at her. She had no idea what it would be like if there was a fight that just pushed things over that sometimes tightrope edge that her parents walked on. When she was younger she feared that one day one of them would fall off the tightrope and it would end their relationship. That it would go out in a burning inferno and that one fatal argument would end their bickering relationship. It wasn’t until she got a bit older and wiser when she learned that their love language was bickering.
“I’m glad that you were still able to have that family. My family can be a bit loud and chaotic personally. It’s a lot of bickering and a lot of arguing sometimes about the simplest of things. But I love my parents even if half the time it’s like I’m the parent and they are the children under my care. My twin brother isn’t really that much better.” Shizuko laughed openly at the idea of this family as she could completely visualize it. From what she had gathered when she had spoken with Kaoru Sakurayashiki the man seemed like a complete overprotective but at the same time loving mom figure.
“So you have two dad’s right?” She nodded her head getting out her phone and showing her a picture of them all skating together.
“I have two dad’s. My brother and I were surrogate children because they wanted kids with their own DNA. To keep things less complicated when we were kids me and Haru decided okay your mom and you’re dad. It’s been that way ever since. Our family dynamic is a bit unique because of it but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if they weren’t my parents. They bicker like people that have known each other their entire lives because that’s what they do.” She settled against the back of the chair that she was currently in.
“Do you and your brother bicker a lot because of the fact that your parents do?” Sakura sighed heavily playing with her index fingers. She hated the fact that she had instantly been called out like that.
“Well… yeah we kind of do. Both of us are naturally stubborn types of people and sometimes it gets to be rather explosive. If it’s a day that we don’t get into at least a little spat well then that’s a miracle I feel like. We’ve really put our parents through hell these last several years especially.” She picked at the hem on her skirt just wishing that she could finally get along with her brother. It was so hard for them to see eye to eye though. Half of the time she had no idea what he was thinking and why he was doing the things that he was doing. She just wanted to help and every time that she tried he exploded on her.
“Sometimes siblings just don’t get along. You’re one of the lucky pairs if you don’t fight every time that your put in the same room together as children. My sister and I still fight a lot because we’re just different kinds of people. I’m sure that it’s the same way with your brother and you.” The older of the two of them felt the pain that the younger one went through like it was her own. There was a time a few years ago where a positive relationship between her and Kayla seemed like a wish on a dying star. It was just plain not going to happen.
“I want to be a better sister to him. I know that I do. I also just really want something to bond with him over. He wants to learn to play the drums.” Her teacher smiled at her instantly feeling that sense of love that Sakura had for her brother.
“Now that we’ve gotten all of that personality stuff squared away I know how to properly teach you. We’ll put primary focus on songs from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s rock n’roll because that seems to be the genre that you enjoy the most. I appreciate the taste it’s a welcomed change of pace. I get so many people that tell me their favorite artist is somebody more modern.” She got her own red guitar that looked familiar enough to the young tween in front of her.
“That a version of Brain May’s red special isn’t it? For the bass guitar?” Shizuko grinned openly at the girl in front of her for recognizing the iconic guitar.
“My dad also happens to make guitars here so I asked for this one to be custom made once I started teaching. It’s always been my favorite guitar that’s an icon so I asked if he could take that concept and make it into a bass guitar for me. I used to do band when I was in school and now I’m going to college for music theory.” That guitar had gotten the teacher through a lot when she was younger. Everyone has their little things that they’re obsessed with and for Shizuko that would definitely be her guitar. She couldn’t live without it.
“That sounds like me with my cookbook. I can’t go anywhere without it. My mom calls it my grounding object because it helps me to stay calm and it helps me to remember my goals and ambitions. I want to one day make food that will make people happy just like my dad. If that means that I have to do the same training that he did in Italy for four years then so be it. Whatever it takes to make people smile when they eat my food.” Whatever it takes to make Miya happy when he eats my food. I want to keep making meals for him that he’ll love. I want to get him on a healthier diet. She shook the thought right out of her head, now was not the time to start thinking about Miya. It was the time to start learning the basics of the instrument that had always inspired her.
“Your mom mentioned that you have a recent diagnosis of aspergers?” She nodded her head unzipping her own guitar and showing it to her teacher.
“I got it a few weeks ago when it was still summer break. We went to Hokkaido to get it in a beach town since my family and found family wanted to go on a small vacation.” The shiny guitar that was in her hands made Shizuko smile softly. It was obvious that everyone in the familial unit that made her heart happy.
“Does that boy that was with you, is he in your found family?” She blushed a bright pink and her teacher couldn’t keep back the cackle of laughter from leaving her.
“Miya is my best friend, I’ve only known him for a few months but he’s… well he’s everything to me. I never had a friend before him really. I was popular enough with my classmates but was never asked to hang out when I wasn’t in class. That was fine with me but I never really thought about how deep down lonely I really was. Loneliness started to get to me and I was depressed every time I would go to school.” As Sakura talked about what she went through during these last few months the sadness in her voice was evident. She had spent the last couple of months just half alive until she met Miya who had brought life and color back into her eyes.
“I’m sorry that happened to you sweetheart, I know that you’ve struggled a lot during the course of your life. Sometimes we just need to wait until the right person comes into your life. I didn’t meet my best friend until I was eighteen and she’s been there for me every step of the way. I only had rent-a-friends during my entire childhood.” Shizuko reasoned and she played with the ends of curly hair with a small laugh.
“He’s easily the best thing that has ever happened to me. We do everything together now and he’s been teaching me skateboarding.” She lifted the guitar that was in her hands and put it over her lap. Shizuko demonstrated the first cord that she would be teaching her and Sakura easily copied the same note. She was instantly feeling the energy that she was actually really good at this job.
“Skateboarding can be very difficult but I know that you must feel very passionately about the art from. It can be a lot of fun actually. My friend’s and I used to do it all the time when we were back in high school. I still skate because it’s rather simple to get from place to place that way.” Shizuko reasoned with the young girl as she showed her the chord again and Sakura hit it with ease. The teacher was surprised at the amount of talent that the girl clearly had for somebody that had never touched a guitar before. It was something that she was just clearly passionate about.
“I was never really able to do it until a friend of mine was able to make me a custom board. I had to have little divots for my feet to go so that I could maintain my balance. I have really bad balance normally so trying to do that on a skateboard was just a plain old recipe for disaster.” Sakura laughed a little bit at the pain of the moment as the timer on Shizuko’s phone buzzed.
“We spent most of the session today learning about each other so that we can better work together through this experience. I know that you’re going to be one of the best students that I’ve ever taken on. I’ll see you again next week?” Sakura nodded her head zipping up her guitar before her teacher stopped her.
“For right now, I think that I should keep the guitar here. It’s probably difficult skating with it right? I can have my sister drop off a rental at your house since she’ll probably be one of your closest friends.” Her teacher reasoned and she handed the sparkly guitar to her teacher.
“Thank you, I’m looking forward to you teaching me as well!” She looked down at her shoes with a small smile on her face. Sakura bowed right before she left the room easily picking up her backpack with a small smile on her face as she heard Miya’s familiar laugh.
“Hey! I finished my session. What did you two get up to?” Sakura flopped onto the ground next to her best friend and he instantly put his arm comfortably around her shoulders. He had missed her despite her only being gone for a small amount of time.
“We were just playing some Crash Bandicoot!! Your friend is really good at video games. How did your first session with my sister go? Was she too hard on you? She can be a lot during first sessions. I try to be a lot more open minded and friendly with my students.” Kayla mentioned off handedly as the pinkette just shook her head.
“No she was actually really, really cool. I liked my studies quite a bit and I’m excited to come back next week. I’m hungry for dinner though, you coming cat-boy?” She lightly ruffled his dark hair as he nodded his head against her shoulder. As much as he knew that she had to make new friends and that it wouldn’t be just the two of them forever and ever he would always be protective over her. She might be her friend but I’ll always be her best friend. Nothing in the world can change that.
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starglossie · 4 years ago
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how can we deny what we feel?
summary: where cherry is joe’s date for a dinner party because he lost a beef. and when joe gives himself a chance to truly consider how beautiful cherry is. and how they nearly get into a brawl in the middle of the dance floor, because their love language has and always will be: fight first, fall in love later.  rating: e for explicit! wc: 4.7k!  pairing: matchablossom !!!  CAN BE READ ON AO3 + under the read more below! 
“Excuse me?” 
Kojiro anticipated the dirty, crumpled napkin, hurled his way and dodges just in time. Kaoru’s eyes widen and his eyebrows are crunched so hard Kojiro’s convinced they’ll connect by sheer force alone. His cheeks are red. His lips are pulled upwards into a snarl. Nothing out of the ordinary. 
“Just for a weekend,” Kojiro continued while Kaoru looked for a fork. Or a knife. Probably both. “It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”
“Once! One time! That was the promise!” Kaoru hisses and Kojiro is so close to losing it. 
“Okay, well, you know what they say about the second time being the charm… Don’t give me that look!” he takes a purposeful step back as Kaoru leans forward to grab him by the collar. “Listen. It’s for the restaurant. It’ll only be for a few hours. And the food will be delicious.” 
Kaoru’s expression barely shifted, but it’s one Kojiro noticed. A little acquiescence to the idea of good food- free, good food. Something Kaoru could never deny. Kojiro grinned. Kaoru’s shoulders visibly relaxed, though he was still on edge. That’s also nothing surprising. 
“... You think I’m so cheap to be bought by food, you brainless musclehead gorilla ?”
Kojiro’s eyebrow twitched. “I absolutely think you are, gearhead . Anyways, you lost the beef.” he crossed his arms over his chest, smug. “I’m just entertaining your back and forth at this point. You know the rules.” 
If there was a bet made during a beef, the losing party had to abide by the terms the winning party set out.  Kojiro knew this. Kaoru definitely knew this. He was just being stubborn. And really, if the roles were reversed, Kojiro would be doing the same thing. But they’re not. So he’s enjoying every second of it. 
“I hate you,” Kaoru mumbled, stabbing his fork into his steak Kojiro made. 
“The feeling’s mutual. So 8 o’clock. Be ready. And don’t bring Carla.” 
“Huh? That’s not a part of the deal! Carla comes or I don’t come.” 
“Do you have separation anxiety? She’ll be fine. She told me she needs space from you to spread her AI wings and fly.” 
“She would never speak to you or say anything like that. Carla comes .” 
Kaoru’s stubbornness was going to be the death of Kojiro. He was sure of it. “Alright. Alright she comes. But she’s on mute .” 
Kaoru opened his mouth and then promptly slammed it shut. “Fine. And one more thing.” he said, though it was much quieter than his earlier words. 
Kojiro raised an eyebrow. Waiting for Kaoru to speak. When he does, it's like he hadn’t spoken at all. “Huh? Speak up! Stop acting like you’re all shy!” 
“I-” Kaoru’s frustration was apparent. Kojiro braced himself for a hit but what came instead was… not expected. “No repeats. Of last time. Strictly platonic.” 
Ah. And maybe, at this point, a physical punch would have been better. Kojiro can’t tell why his stomach curled into a horrible twist or the sharp twinge that followed. Can’t explain why his brain suddenly went into overdrive about why and what does he mean as if he wasn’t aware of what Kaoru was referring to. 
He remembered the heat. And nails down his back. And the cramped fit of the closet. And being on his knees. 
Was this feeling, the weird heat up his neck, disappointment? 
Better play it off. 
“Cool with me,” Kojiro shrugged it off. He picked up Kaoru’s plate and placed it in the sink. “We go. We mingle. We leave. In and out. Easy peasy.” 
He carefully watched Kaoru’s expression and body. How the man’s shoulders still seemed taut with tension. How his frown deepened even further and his eyebrows were bunched so tightly, Kojiro feared they’d magically meld together and form one, pink unibrow. Kaoru wouldn’t look at him. But Kojiro caught the red tinge on the tip of his ears, and held back the urge to snort. 
Sometimes he was so easy to read. 
“In and out,” Kaoru finally said, agreeing. 
“Easy peasy,” Kojiro repeated, smiling. 
-
Dinner parties were never really Kojiro’s things.
Sure, they were fun. Especially when he got a few drinks in his system. And socializing was never a problem for him. Well, until he socialized a little too much. To the point where two people were fighting to see who went home with him. Cliche, horribly so, and happened a lot more than he would think it would-now that he gave it a little bit of thought. But then again, he had two hands-so why fight? 
That normally worked. 
As he adjusted his tie, he looked towards the suit hanging by his mirror. He really hated suits. They felt tight around his shoulders and arms always . He was a big guy, with a lot of muscle. He’d rather wear loose jackets, or no shirt at all. 
Really, this was all for formalities. A lot of investors and restaurant connoisseurs came to these kind of fancy smancy events. He’d rather be out skating. Out feeling the wind in his hair and the open road before him. Rather than feeling the gel in his hair, and the sparkling lights of chandeliers and designer jewelry. Had to be done, though. For the sake of business. If he wanted to keep his place afloat, he had to show up to these things at least once. Get his face out there. Make nice with people. Laugh at the right jokes. And then steal a platter of shrimp cocktails before heading home. 
And then there was Kaoru.
This wasn’t the first time he’s done this. Gone with Kaoru to one of these events. The first time it happened spurred from a late night, drunken conversation. When Kojiro had gotten a look at Kaoru's back profile, with his hair over his shoulder and his elegant stance-proud, sure, strong. And immediately thought about how Kaoru would look on his arm, done up in a different way from his usual attire. 
“Be my date for this dinner party,” Kojiro slurred, his smile coming across nice and easy. 
Kaoru frowned, confused. “Huh? Why?”
“Because you’re beautiful,” Kojiro had said aloud. Faster than he could catch them. But the words were already out in the air. And really, Kojiro was never one to go back on something once he’s said it. 
He watched as Kaoru’s face exploded in a brilliant shade of red. All the way to the tip of his ears. Kaoru didn’t speak. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Instead, he had reached for his glass. Downed whatever whiskey was left. And quietly, but fiercely, responded-
“Fine.” 
That same night ended with them in a closet. Also drunk, but this time a little better dressed than Kojiro in one of his casual t-shirts and Kaoru in his casual kimono. How did they get into the closet? Kojiro wasn’t sure. 
But did they have fun in the closet?
As much as Kojiro remembered, they did. 
“No repeats,” he said to himself in the mirror. He wasn’t upset. Not really. Hooking up with Kaoru was not on the top of his list. But it did reside on his list. If he had to have a moment of honesty with himself as he stared at the reflection in his mirror. 
He slipped into his suit the same time as the door to his room opened. He caught Kaoru first in the mirror, and turned around immediately to get the full view. 
His hair was loose. Not in its usual high pony or low pony. But free. Kojiro had rarely seen Kaoru’s hair out since high school. He normally kept it tied up because he hated how it got into his hair. He didn’t have his glasses on. And he wore a brilliant purple kimono. 
Kojiro’s throat went dry. 
“What?” Kaoru fidgeted and Kojiro realized he must have been staring a little too intently. 
Kojiro beamed, from ear to ear. “You really know how to sweep a guy off his feet. I should have known your pride wouldn’t let you come dressed anything less than your best.” 
“Well, I have a rep to uphold,” Kaoru sniffed. 
“Right right. The purple is actually a good choice. It brings out my eyes.”
“You’re the most annoying individual to ever grace the earth.”
“Thanks, I try. Ready to go?” 
-
They arrived fashionably late. 
Kojiro never liked to be on time for things. Kaoru liked to be on time for things a little too much. 
So yes, maybe Kojiro did take an extra five minutes for them to do a shot of courage before leaving his place just to waste time and get on Kaoru’s nerves. 
Absolutely worth it. 
“You wanna drink?” 
“No,” Kaoru said, folding his arms across his chest. 
Kojiro shrugged and reached out for a champagne flute by a passing waiter. “Suit yourself. You’re gonna regret it later, though.” Kojiro could never get through this party without being a little drunk. Just for funsies. 
“We already drank before we came here.”
“One shot is not drinking.” 
Kaoru rolled his eyes and stalked off towards the buffet table. Kojiro watched as he left, gaze intent. Kaoru was usually a bundle of spikes and clenched jaws. However, when he was walking through the crowd Kojiro couldn’t deny the elegance and grace Kaoru swiftly adopted. 
Shoulders high, gaze straight and resolute, and striding with purpose. Kojiro carefully sipped his drink watching as the crowd of sparkling individuals quite literally parted for Kaoru. 
“He sure knows how to command a room,” Kojiro murmured. He scanned the crowd to see if any of the usual, important connections were there. He had at least three people he needed to follow up with about inventory, marketing, and promotions. So with another sip he slipped into the crowd himself to mingle. 
Mingling was easy. It didn’t take much for Kojiro to find what a person loved to hear and then, repeat those very same words like silver and silk to get what he needed. Conversation was never something Kojiro struggled to cultivate. Once he painted on his smile and adjusted his body language as open, friendly, and warm-the rest was quite easy. 
“Are you by yourself tonight, Kojiro?” Hana was one of Kojiro’s important connections in the restaurant business. She was beautiful and quick witted. Any restaurant in Okinawa who wanted to stay on top of the latest trends knew it was best to have her on their side then against them. She was, quite literally, the pulse of their social circle. 
Kojiro’s eyes cut through the crowd slowly. He found Kaoru at the buffet table chatting with a man Kojiro didn’t recognize. Kaoru was engaging pleasantly. No doubt putting on his fake, charming persona to engage the man with. 
“Hmmm,” he debated what to answer. He could say no. And see if that would lead to Hana offering to go off, just the two of them. They’ve hooked up before at one of these functions. And she was always a fun company to be around. 
But then he saw the man talking to Kaoru lean forward. Whispering something in Kaoru’s ear that made him flinch. 
“I am,” he said to her, smiling. And then took off to where Kaoru was. 
Kaoru caught Kojiro’s gaze as Kojiro was walking over, and Kojiro immediately caught the tense aura surrounding Kaoru like a cloak. 
“Kaoru,” Kojiro made his voice syrupy sweet, slipping an arm around Kaoru’s waist. Kaoru leaned in, pressed to his side. A part of Kojiro’s brain said this is right . He shut that part down. “Sorry to make you wait. I was catching up with some friends.” His gaze cut to the man who looked much smaller up close now that Kojiro had a good look at him. “Who’s this?”
“Oh, don’t mind me!” the man smiled shakily. “I was just complimenting your date’s attire, as all.”
“Did you have to lean so closely to do it?” Kojiro asked. “Surely you can respect another’s need for space and leave them be, no?”
“Kojiro,” Kaoru muttered. He placed a warning hand on Kojiro’s chest and then flashed the man a dazzling smile. “Don’t mind my date. He’s overprotective as all. Though I’d appreciate that if we ever have the unfortunate experience of crossing paths again, you don’t try to touch me so inappropriately in such a casual manner.” when Kaoru opened his eyes again they were sharp, and cutting. “Now begone.”
The man scurried off into the crowd without another word. 
Kojiro watched him go, laughing. “Man he can haul ass.” More seriously, he asked. “Are you okay?”
Kaoru yanked himself out of Kojiro’s arm. Kojiro looked down at the now empty space and frowned. “Fine. Did you have to do all that? I was capable of handling it myself.”
“You looked uncomfortable. What sort of date would I be if I didn’t come to your defense?”
“Oh please. Don’t act like you’re a gentleman when you were off flirting with some woman.”
“Who?”
“Don’t play dumb! The woman who was hanging off your arm!”
“Hana?” Kojiro asked, slowly. “We weren’t flirting.” then a beat later, “Yet.”
Kaoru scowled, muttering a curse Kojiro couldn’t hear but definitely felt. A waiter with a tray of champagne glasses walked by. Kaoru waved them over and grabbed two glasses. He downed them with scary efficiency and placed the empty glasses on the table. “I’m going out for some air. Don’t follow me.” 
Kojiro could have let Kaoru walk away from him again, tonight. But something in him wanted Kaoru to stay. Maybe this was another one of his urges to push the boundaries between them. Or, maybe, it was something within Kojiro that still felt irked having seen that man get a little too close to Kaoru.
Whatever it was, Kojiro reached out and grabbed Kaoru’s wrist. 
Kaoru turned back, glowering at their hands. “What?” 
“Let’s dance,” Kojiro responded, smiling. 
Kaoru balked, “Excuse me?”
The music turned into a slow tempo and Kojiro just continued grinning as he led Kaoru to the dance floor. “Dance. You and me. Do something a little different from getting incredibly wasted, stuffing ourselves with food, and then passing out in the Uber home.”
“That sounds much better than this idea,” Kaoru said but he still allowed himself to be pulled. And when Kojiro looked back, he could see a blush coating his cheeks. 
Cute , Kojiro thought. There were people on the dance floor, some chatting and some dancing with their dates. Kojiro wouldn’t call himself a dancer. But he’d been to enough of these events to know a few basic steps. He placed one hand on Kaoru’s waist, and grasped one of Kaoru’s hands in his own. 
“I’ll lead,” he smirked. 
“I’m going to step on all ten of your toes,” Kaoru smirked back. 
Kojiro threw his head back and laughed as he led them through the dance. “Please do! I’d love to see you try, metalhead.”
“Metalhead? I’ll have you know per your request I haven’t even unmuted Carla, you monkey in a monkey suit.”
“Monkey in a monkey suit? Is that the best you can come up with?” 
That earned him a stomp but it was well deserved. The two continued bickering back and forth through the dance, much to the amusement of anyone who caught them. It was truly comical. Kojiro turned them around and around while Kaoru barked insults and Kojiro threw back as good as he got. 
When the song ended, the two’s foreheads were pressed together. Their hands were now interlocked in a fierce embrace as they snarled at each other. 
“I didn’t even want to come! Meanwhile you basically blackmail me to come-”
“-You lost the beef, idiot!”
“Shut up! Don’t talk about that here! You brainless meathead! And then you have the audacity to flirt with someone woman when I’m your date!”
“Oh so I’m just supposed to turn away people who come talk to me while my date is getting himself felt up by somebody else?”
“You act like I wanted that to happen! I was ten seconds from ripping all his fingers off!”
“If you weren’t gonna do it, I was!”
“All you do is talk and talk and talk! That’s why I can never take you seriously. Because all the talk you speak is just empty flattery to everyone and everyone! You drive me crazy .”
“You’re the only person I never just chat to! You’re the only person I’m ever serious with!” God when did his voice get so loud. And when did their faces get so close. And when did Kaoru’s face get so slack, so shocked. What did he say? What had he said?
The weight of his words finally crashed. He felt like he’d just wiped out on the track. 
Kaoru leaned back. “What…” he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. “Do you mean by that?”
They’re on the dance floor in stupid, fancy attire. Amongst stupid, fancy people that Kojiro had to woo and smooze once every few months. Yet it’s in this moment where the chandelier is above them and the violin strings are softly building up momentum and Kojiro is filling the champagne in his veins and he can’t help but think. Think that in Kaoru’s rage he is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. 
At this moment, he could run. He could put on his pretty words and regulate Kaoru to everyone else, like he said. With pretty words and pretty lies and shallow promises. 
But it was Kaoru.
And Kaoru was always different. 
“It means. It means, I like you, Kaoru.”
The music stops. Kojiro’s feel his entire face heat up. Kaoru’s face turned a brilliant red and he’s so beautiful. God he’s so beautiful. Why had Kojiro never allowed himself to see that? To allow himself the ability to gaze upon the most beautiful man he’s ever had the pleasure of calling his best friend. 
Why has he not kissed him yet?
Kojiro pulled Kaoru back, until his arms were around his waist. Their foreheads touched again, and he could feel Kaoru’s heart pounding. And Kojiro’s remembering when they were drunk in the closet. And how he wished they weren’t in the closet, but back at his place. Getting to know each other. Getting to learn each other’s bodies. Getting to slowly fall in love with the parts of themselves they’ve always known, but now they could experience one another in a whole different fashion. 
He wanted that so badly he could taste it. 
“I like you,” he said, softer. He closed his eyes. And he’s not sure if his pulse quickens out of fear or exhilaration. 
“Kojiro,” Kaoru’s voice sounded strained. Kojiro opened his eyes, Kaoru’s face was still bright. His eyes shining with something Kojiro couldn’t quite place. But then Kaoru’s leaning forward, and their lips almost touch. “Take me home.”
If Kojiro didn’t know Kaoru so well, he would have taken those words as rejection. But Kaoru was gripping his shoulders tightly. Biting his bottom lip. Glancing down at Kojiro’s lips and then back again. 
“Yeah. Yeah ok.” 
“Is this alright?” Kojiro asked, as he placed a soft kiss on Kaoru’s neck. 
Kaoru gripped Kojiro’s shoulders, “You keep asking me that. I’ll punch you if I don’t like it.”
Kojiro frowned, lifting himself up. “One, don’t do that. And two, you said you didn’t want any repeats. I want to respect that. So tell me, now. If you want to keep going, or if you don’t.” 
He’d respect it. Even if every nerve in his body was screaming to be inside Kaoru and feel him down to the wire, if this wasn’t something Kaoru wanted to do tonight-he’d respect that. No questions asked. 
Kaoru glanced up at him, and Kojiro got such a glance of how wrecked Kaoru looked already. His lips were red and glistening from their earlier kissing. His pupils were blown and his kimono was slipping off his shoulders. The sight was… so much. It made Kojiro’s cock ache tightly against his pants. 
“Thank you,” Kaoru said softly. Then his hand moved to cup Kojiro’s hardening cock through his pants. He stroked a few times. Kojiro moaned, head dropping forward and hips shallowly moving into the touch. “I appreciate your concern, but.” his thumb traced the tip of Kojiro’s cock. He was too good with this. Moving his hand up and down Kojiro’s hardening erection like he was making brush strokes. “I want this.” 
“Are you sure?” Kojiro gritted his teeth as Kaoru gave him a particular squeeze. 
“Yes, you idiot.” Kaoru wrapped his legs around Kojiro’s waist, pulling him close. He leaned up so his lips were near Kojiro’s ears, “I want you to fuck me. Make a mess of me. I want to feel it tomorrow morning.”
Kojiro didn’t really need to be told twice. He stripped out of his shirt and jacket until he was just in his pants. Where he unzipped himself and freed his cock. He reached over to the bedside table where his lube and condoms were. 
Kaoru started stroking Kojiro’s cock with his. Kojiro groaned, dropping his head to Kaoru’s shoulder as Kaoru worked them slowly. “You’re far too fucking good at this.”
“I know,” Kaoru replied, smug. 
Kojiro snorted and kissed him again. “Hold on, stop.” Kaoru did as he was told, and Kojiro spread Kaoru’s legs wide as he kissed down the slope of his body. Kaoru’s cock was leaking, strained against his belly. Kojiro pressed a kiss to the head. His own cock twitching as Kaoru sighed in pleasure. 
He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about sucking Kaoru off again. He never thought the opportunity would arise. Now that it had, he wasted no time swallowing Kaoru to the base. 
Kaoru’s hips raised off the bed. He moaned Kojiro loudly as his hands fell to Kojiro’s hair. Kojiro hummed, his tongue running along the underside of Kaoru’s cock. He pulled off with a pop after a few sucks. With the lube, he poured some over his fingers and began to slowly work open Kaoru. There was some resistance at first, but he made sure to go slow. First, with one finger, and then another, and finally-a third. 
He watched as Kaoru became an utter mess. Writhing and cursing, an arm flown over to cover his face. Kojiro kissed the inside of Kaoru’s thighs, feeling them tremor and shake. He kissed up and up until he was at the base of Kaoru’s cock. As he thrust his fingers forward, working him open, he licked Kaoru from the base to the tip. He suckled on the head, swirling his tongue around and into the slit of Kaoru’s cock. 
“Fucking Kojiro , stop being a tease.” Kaoru pushed at Kojiro’s shoulder. “In me. Put it in me.” 
Kojiro slipped Kaoru out of his mouth as he removed his fingers. He reached for the condom on the bed and ripped open the packet with his mouth before rolling the condom onto his cock. “I should have known even in bed you’d be super demanding.”
“Yeah yeah,” Kaoru rolled his eyes and pulled Kojiro closer. “I should have known even with my dick in my mouth you can’t shut up.”
“It’s part of my charm,” Kojiro grinned as their tongues met, a sloppy intertwining as he lined himself at Kaoru’s entrance. He pulled back so he could guide himself slowly, feeling Kaoru’s walls stretching to his size. He sank until he was inside, fully. Groaning at the heat. Kaoru was so tight . He was so tight. Kojiro had never felt something sweet. Nothing better. 
He held onto Kaoru’s thighs, lifting them up so Kaoru was angled slightly off the bed. “You okay?” he asked, voice tight. 
Kaoru exhaled slowly, nodding. “Go slow. I’ll adjust.”
Kojiro obeyed. He eased himself out slowly and slid back in just the same. Kaoru’s soft gasp at the thrust sent a warm jolt down Kojiro’s spine. Their pace was gentle, as he took the time to work Kaoru open, in and out. Kojiro went in for another kiss. Their lips wet, and tongues sliding against each other.
Kojiro’s fingers curled around Kaoru’s hips, and he snapped forward with a roll that had Kaoru gasping his name into Kojiro’s mouth for him to swallow. 
“Faster, there.” Kaoru commanded. 
“Yes,” Kojiro snapped his hips forward again while he picked up the pace. 
Kojiro threw his head back and moaned. Kojiro dipped forward, sweat coating his brow, to kiss and mark up and leave Kaoru’s neck a red mess. 
“You feel so good,” Kojiro moaned while he fucked Kaoru. “So so good. I’ve thought of this. Of me fucking you. Me kissing you. Like this. You feel better than expected.”
“Shut up. Shut up, Kojiro. You’re so cheesy-Ah!” Kojiro’s next thrust hit the right spot, it seemed. Once found Kojiro angled his hips so he could hit that pressure inside of Kaoru again and again. 
Kaoru couldn’t speak. He could only moan and let loose curses as they continued. Their hips meeting each other for every thrust. Until Kaoru reached down between their bodies. Grasped his dick in his hands, and jerked himself off shakily. 
Kojiro grabbed his hand and placed it above Kaoru’s head. Kaoru growled but Kojiro leaned forward to kiss him. “No. Let me make you cum. I want to.” Kojiro released Kaoru’s hands and leaned forward, pressing his weight on Kaoru, and rolled his hips with deep, quick thrusts. Kaoru grasped onto Kojiro’s back, nails digging into his skin. Every word out of his mouth was of pleasures, moans and gasps and moans and gasps until his breath started hitching. 
He rolled his hips frantically, cock leaking and hard and pressed between their stomachs. With a few more thrusts, Kojiro felt Kaoru’s walls tighten around his cock and felt wetness spurt between their bodies. 
“ Kojiro ,” Kaoru groaned as he came. Kojiro fucked him through his orgasm, holding him tightly as he felt his own come upon him. He groaned Kaoru’s name into his neck, fingers gripping tightly upon Kaoru’s back. His whole body shook with the force of his orgasm.
After a few moments to catch his breath, Kojiro pulled out of Kaoru and rolled over. He took off the condom, tied it, and deposited it by the trash can by his bed. 
He turned back onto the bed. Laying on his side as Kaoru laid spread out, his entire skin a soft pink. His kimono ruffled. His hair all over the place. And beautiful. Utterly beautiful. 
Kaoru looked up at him, as Kojiro looked down, and their lips naturally found their way to one another. They kissed lazily, with no rush to start another round and no rush to kick each other out. 
Kojiro leaned back, pulling Kaoru to lay on top of him. Kaoru frowned but he didn’t make any moves to get away. 
“You’re sweaty.”
“So are you, Kaoru.”
“You’re sweatier.”
“Oh my God can we just bask in the afterglow of some bomb sex, please?” 
“You like me.” Kaoru said instead. 
Kojiro had the audacity to look embarrassed, “You’re … I-yes?”
“Since when?”
“Uh… honestly? Probably since, high school.”
‘Since high school !” 
“Listen! I just recently realized tonight I like you, ok! I’m just saying that I’ve probably always liked you since back then and didn’t know until… now.”
“God, you’re an idiot.” Kaoru huffed and dropped his head onto Kojiro’s chest.
Kojiro chuckled, running his hands through Kaoru’s hair. “That I am. Yo, you gonna tell me you like me too or did you just use me for sex?”
He felt Kaoru’s mouth move against his chest, but whatever he said was too quiet for Kojiro to hear. 
“Huh? What was that? Can you speak up please?”
“I said I like you.” 
“What was that?”
“I SAID I LIKE YOU, YOU IDIOT. YOU BUFFOON. YOU OVERSEXED GORILLA.” 
Kojiro’s laughter rang through his room as he flipped them over and kissed Kaoru all over his face. 
“Since high school too, right?” Kojiro asked, laughing between the kisses. 
“Shut the fuck up.”
“ Knew it. ” Kojiro was grinning ear to ear. He smiled down at Kaoru’s scowling face that soon transformed into a small smile in return. Kaoru wrapped his arms around Kojiro’s neck and pulled him in for a sloppier kiss, all tongue and saliva. 
“Congrats. Now fuck me again.” 
“ Anything for you, Kaoru.” 
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soulbornincoldandrain · 4 years ago
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so im just going to have to sit here and deal with the fact that ADAM is absolutely unhinged and if i emotionally distance myself from the other characters i have to say this man is an absolute blast of a villain
like, yes the flamboyant borderline pedophilic bastard with a weird notion of love and just enough nostalgic backstory to evoke the slightest bit of sympathy in the user, and if not sympathy then just plain curiosity as to how this fucker ended up the way he did
like there's this very casual buildup to his complete fuckery; we start with rude and alienated and extravagant with the slightest hint of pedophilia and we go yeah, yeah he's the antagonist and then he starts flirting?? with our seventeen year old definitely-a-minor protag in his weird creepy way?? and like yeah he's definitely perverted and creepy and the living personification of MAKES-ME-FEEL-UNSAFE-IN-THE-SAFETY-OF-MY-ROOM and like that's the target right? that's what they're going for
not to mention, the way he treats tadashi, right? his closest friend, his only confidante, the only person he trusts enough to help him with his shady af double life on the tracks of S !! and he calls him a dog, treats him the way a crappy excuse for a human would treat a stray mutt and is generally super tasteless and extra which is pretty in character of him and you're like surely there is no redemption for this man right?
and there isn't! there is absolutely no redemption for him,,,
,,,but then we have the fleeting moments of vulnerability, of his aunt's revealing their shitty personalities and the way they've tormented ainosuke his whole life and how skating was his only reprieve that was also brutally snatched away from him and so he's filled with bitterness like; yeah, sympathy maybe, sure
and maybe that even explains his toxic and disgusting view on the class divide, maybe it's been forced upon him by his aunts (which btw i can totally see happening, what with the way they completely purged ainosuke of any capability of love) and that coupled with his own bitterness stemming from the fact that tadashi didn't stand up for him in a place where ainosuke genuinely believes he should have (and btw don't get me wrong, tadashi is Not at fault here because his literal life would have been on the line had he tried to defend his master's stupid skating hobby and yeah im saying ainosuke is an entitled piece of ass but that's the thing about entitlement; it blinds you) and still no redemption, but it's just enough to keep you on your toes
// mentions of abuse, emotional manipulation and all the ugly business
and oh, did i mention he had a tragic past? verbal and physical abuse that bent and rewired his concepts of love so that he started to view abuse and hatred as love and care and the determined reassurance from every character who knew him in the past, oh he wasn't like this before and he changed for the worse and like okay, yeah maybe he has some shred of humanity within him
and his interactions with cherry and joe and tadashi back then, that smiling laughing kid of the past being pushed around on the board by tadashi, that quiet terrified little boy hiding in the corner because even though his aunts told him they were punishing him out of love it still hurt and he was terrified, he didn't want to go back to that and so tadashi helped him out of there, offered him a way out on four wheels and a rush of adrenaline and then that same tadashi who was a hero in ainosuke's eyes ended up betraying him in front of his father
the same ADAM who formed an important bond with his best friends and started a whole underground skating movement with them, the same person who kaoru was (im assuming) wildly in love with, to the point that this relationship of theirs blinded him into complete faith and was the ultimate reason why he lost against ADAM in this episode
and like. we see this huge divide between childhood + teenage ainosuke and the way he just wanted to skate because he enjoyed skating, skate to escape from the pain of his responsibilities, skate because he loved his friends and then we have adult ADAM, this wildly unpredictable man-child who flirts with a seventeen year old because he genuinely believes the two of them are made for each other and it really gets you wondering as to whether he really was this manipulative sleazebag in desperate need of therapy all along, or whether something changed along the way that made him who he is today, whether cherry and tadashi, the two people whom we know to be near-canonically in love with ainosuke, were right about him all along and that underneath that terrifyingly creepy façade he's,,, secretly a good guy?
and they rope you along! even if it's just for a second, you feel that slightest bit of sympathy for the bullshit he's gone through like yeah i hate the fucker, but i sincerely wish he manages to free himself from the shackles of a life he didn't want and that he gets that catharsis for all the pain he's suffered-
-AND THEN HE UP AND FUCKING DECKS CHERRY IN THE FACE WITH A SKATEBOARD WHILE THE MAN WAS COMING AT HIM AT NEARLY THIRTY MILES PER HOUR??? BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GET A POINT ACROSS???
man.
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diabloindigo · 3 years ago
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Are you the person to open a box of cereal just to get the toy inside? As a kid yes. Right now, I don’t buy cereals with prizes anymore. Do they even stuff toys in cereal these days? 
Do you get scared easy? If it’s in the anxiety induced variety, yes. 
What was one of the stupidest things you cried over when you were little? Not sure, it could have been anything from not wanting to wear a fancy dress or dress shoes to a party or a broken toy. 
Have you ever drank milk from the carton? Despite having a working dishwasher and plenty of glasses, I “waterfall” milk and juice from the containers. 
Juice or milk? I go both ways, leaning more towards juice. Apple or orange. 
Do you ever turn off your computer properly? Once in a while. 
Do you wish you were a fish? Not really, though I kinda envy the blue Dory (Doctor Fish?) in the tank at my gynecologist’s waiting room. It likes to swim to the bottom of the tank and ride up to the top on a bubble jet. That damn fish has probably had more fun than I have in the past several months. 
Who’s your favorite super hero? Invincible (Amazon Prime). Along with Spider-Man (2002) and the Big Hero 6 movie, that character/series is a rare superhero show that makes me feel strong and vulnerable at the same time. 
Who’s your favorite super villain? Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke as seen in “Teen Titans: The Judas Contract” animated movie and the 2003-2006 “Teen Titans” cartoon series. 
Spiderman or X-men? Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire and Peter B. Parker from Into the Spiderverse. 
Movie theatre or stay at home movie night? Theaters. Alamo Drafthouse. I love ordering boozy milkshakes and finger foods.
Do you have a Blue Ray? I have one of those external drives for my Mac though I never use it. 
How about HD television? Yeah
Do you think HD television is kind of a waste of money? No. 
Do you get why people get so frickin’ freaked out during football season? I do not, and living in a state with a hard-on for (American) football makes it weird when I tell people that I do not have a favorite football team/player. 
Do you ever sneak scraps to the dog even though you’re not suppose to? I don’t sneak him food. If I cook or order too much to eat, then I scrape a couple of cup’s worth of leftovers in his bowl. He’s probably got only a year to live so let him live it up a little. 
Are you reading a book right now? If so what? A friend gave me a copy of “The Only Good Indians” but I can't get into it so I’m reading “Full Throttle” by Joe Hill. 
What was the last book you were required to read for school? It’s been so long I can’t remember. 
O donuts or jelly filled? Whipped cream filled. I love Krispy Kreme’s whipped cream filled donuts with raspberry filled donuts as a close second. 
If I’m feeling bland then I do like crullers. 
Do you like your ice-cream in a bowl or cone? Bowl unless it’s a tasty cone. 
Marshmallows in your hot chocolate or no? I could go either way unless it’s a tiny cup of chocolate. 
Do you like cherry coke? Hell yes. I love going to Sonic for a cherry-vanilla-lime Coke or this greasy little 1950s type burger joint for their cherry cokes since they load the cups with several cherries. 
Do you really think diet Dr. Pepper is the equivalent of a cupcake? No, it tastes artificial. Like a bastard child of a soft drink that wants to pass for cherry soda. 
Do you snore in your sleep? Drool? Talk? Snore and talk (I’m pretty stressed out).
Have you ever sleep walked? no
Are you a morning person? I am now. 
How do you wake up in the mornings? by alarm during the work week, naturally at 6-7 on vacation days. 
Do you think guyliner is hot? What is that? 
Is variety the spice of life? yeah
Do you think strawberry milk is disgusting? I like it. 
Have you ever drank after anyone? Like sharing a cup/bottle? Yeah, loads of times.  
Have you ever drank after anyone you don’t know very well? No. 
Do you have any limits on who you drink/eat after?
If we’re talking about sharing, then I will share food/drink with family and friends. If someone offers me bite-size pieces that are individually wrapped or can be torn off the main portion, I’ll eat it, but only from co-workers or acquaintances. 
Would you eat a sucker if someone already ate some of it? No. 
Would you chew somebody else's gum? Hell no. 
Do you know anyone who’s going to die of mono because of that? No. 
Do you enjoy school? My English and psychology classes. 
Are you a teacher’s pet? no
Do you have a job? Yes. 
How did you get to and from school? Parents drove me or I walked for elementary through high school. I drove when I went to college. 
Do you have a bedtime? And if so what is it? I’m in bed between 11-12 a.m.
What time do you get up? 6 am so I can walk/exercise before the sun boils the earth in full force. 
Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Yeah in college. 
What’s more important? Beauty or brains? brains
Do you believe in yourself? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. 
Did you ever want to be an astronaut when you were little? No. Being a veterinarian or scientist were my highest ambitions as a small kid. 
How about the president? Never. 
What did you want to be when you were little? Veterinarian, scientist, cartoon character. 
Did you ever want to be a super model? no
Do you believe you’re attractive enough to be a super model? No.
Have you ever had an X-ray? Several in the past few months for pre-surgery and dental work.
What’s your favorite guy’s name? What’s your favorite girl’s name? Guys’: Shane, Mark, Tadashi, Austin, Cade, Trip.
Girls’: Quince, Sienna, Amy, Kit, Lizzie (Elizabeth), Raven.
Who’s your second cousin’s, grandparent’s, sister? The fuck...
Do you laugh to yourself whenever the ketchup bottle farts? No, in fact, I get annoyed when other people hear it and ask me if I farted. 
Do you have any real guns in your house? I have several. 
Do you know how to use nunchucks? No, I bought a pair at one of those Asian imports emporiums, but I donated them since I never learned to use them. They were these crappy foam padded ones with dragons printed on the handles. 
Do you know anyone who can use nunchucks? No. 
What do you want to be next Halloween? In better health and not shitting bricks about using up my paid time off to go to doctors’ appointments. 
Did you ever consider getting a job as a mall Santa? No. I’d rather be one of his elves or a reindeer. 
Are you the one responsible for taking out the garbage? Yes. Grosses me the fuck out sometimes with smelly discarded poultry trays or rotten food, but somebody’s gotta do it. 
Do you recycle? My city has the blue recycling bins, but I heard that since we’re an ass-backward community, “recyclables” and trash all go to the same place. I just place recyclables in the blue bin to help clear up space in the trash bin. Maybe I’m wrong and this city does recycle? Can’t hurt. 
When I was 11, I’d collect empty soda cans to take to the recycling guy since back in the day, they’d pay for aluminum cans. That’s how I scraped up funds for dollar movies and hot dogs. 
Are you a pyro? Yeah. I carry/collect Zippo lighters but mostly because the “click-click” is satisfying to hear since I flip the lids open and closed to relieve stress. And I burn a lot of old bills and letters with sensitive info on them. 
What was the last word/thing you wrote down? I was researching high fiber foods that are also low in carbs to make a grocery and dinner meal plan. 
Sleeping or eating? After my surgery, sleeping. 
Are you overall a positive person? I try to be realistically positive, if such a thing exists. The world will never be all sunshine and My Little Ponies, but I try to find some comfort and positivity when my world is a shit-show. Filling this survey out kinda helps. 
Do you hate hypocrites? Yeah, especially the “do as I say, not as I do” types. 
For instance, a certain family member is pushing good diet and health habits, but it aggravates the hell out of me if I see him drinking high sugar iced tea or eating ice cream. Or Door-Dashing Burger King, even if it is a Beyond Whopper with a diet Coke. 
Do you like to prank people? Yes, but I do benign pranks like leaving dirty riddles and meme drawings on their front doors. 
What was the worst prank you’ve ever done on anyone? I tried fucking with a telesolicitor but I could not stop laughing. 
Have you ever jumped on a trampoline in the ice? I don’t own a trampoline. 
Have you ever ice skated? No. I tried once after a local minor league hockey game. I got the skates on, but my ankles were bending/bowing out so I changed my mind.
Ever water skiid? No. 
Is vacuum spelled funny? Yes. 
Democrat or republican? I don’t associate formally with either party, but I hitch my pony a little to the left. 
Who’s the biggest asshole you know? My former boss circa 2013. Very unprofessional and a veritable loudmouth and a poor (shit) showman wannabe. 
Pen or pencil? Gel-ink pens. 
Should all paper have holes? nope
Speaking of holes. Swiss cheese, what’s the point of that? Fewer calories? Spinning slices in my hand like a TV cowboy spinning his revolver in the trigger guard with his finger? 
Have you ever been in a helicopter before? No. 
Own any airbrushed tshirts? Nope, not even in the nineties. 
Have you ever been suspended? No. 
Have you ever been in a fist fight? A few playground fights as a kid. 
Ever said something to someone that you didn’t mean to say? Yes. 
Do you forgive too easily? I don’t think so. 
What are you listening to right now? The AC running. 
Have you ever seen any of MCR’s music videos? Nope. 
Are you tan? No. 
Have you ever been in a tanning bed? No. I have no desire to look like a Cheeto or woo skin cancer. 
Have you ever played water volley? Once at my uncle’s neighborhood swimming pool. 
Ever had a sunburn? Yes, from neglecting sunscreen re-applications or underestimating the sun. 
How about wind burn? It hurts….. Nah, I don't live in a cold enough climate for that. 
What was the first word you learned how to say? I think it was “mama.”
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