#aku is the other half obviously

[ssaraexposs]

So fierce, so iconic, so pretty, so strong, so beautiful.

[thedarkdisgrace]

Thread from my twitter about this official art because it’s one of my favorite official anime art. This is actually part 1 because alot of people wanted a soukoku specific/Dazai focused part. So will post that here as well.

Starting off:

They’re gorgeous here but what I really love is the detail of the red thread of fate. More specifically how & where the thread is wrapped for skk & sskk + Kyoka. I’ll start with skk.

When it comes to Soukoku, my loves, Dazai has the thread wrapped around his neck. Chuuya has one end & it’s wrapped around his wrist (the one with the scar that proves he’s human btw), that seems to symbolize he's holding Dazai's life in his hands, at least partially. That's no surprise we all know they're inexplicably linked and fated etc.

Chuuya is always there to save Dazai & Asagiri said he’s the only one who truly understands Dazai. But it's super interesting the other half of Dazai's string that’s wrapped around his neck is first wrapped around his own wrist, before continuing to Aku. This essentially saying Dazai holds his own life in his hands.

Which obviously seems super accurate since we know his is biggest enemy is often his own mind & the hole inside his chest that he has a hard time filling. It’s where his suicidal tendencies come from. But essentially, it seems like Dazai's life is held only by Chuuya & then himself and I love that detail.

This is in contrast to Atsushi, Akutagawa, & Kyoka. The thread is wrapped around Atsushi's throat & Aku & Kyoka both have it around their wrists. Essentially symbolizing *both* Aku & Kyoka have Atsushi’s life in their hands. This seems to showcase both of their importances in Atsushi’s life.

Also other than dead apple, given recent events with Kyoka saving Atsushi in the beginning of the DOA arc & Akutagawa's sacrifice for him later, that red thread being held by them continues making sense.

Also Aku's sacrifice was massive for his development & I hope it is our universes Aku at the end of episode 11 so we can continue exploring that development for himself & his relationship with Atsushi.

The red thread itself is typically to symbolizes those who are destined to be together, regardless of place or time. Which naturally makes sense for soukoku & their “two bodies one soul” situation lol It’s interesting that Atsushi has both Aku & Kyoka linked to him in this sense.

That’s just my take on the art & why it’s one of my favorites.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Heyo! You said in the notes of a post that you kinda wanted to stop discussing discourse and go back to talking about sskk headcanons, so, uh, tadaa!

This isn't entirely a sskk hc but it sorta counts! As a Taniatsu are besties believer I like to imagine that Atsushi would often rant to Junichirou about Akutagawa before they started dating. Basically just a whole bunch of

"Yeah I hate his eyes, they're so beautiful and mesmerizing and it clashes horribly with his butt ugly personality. I can't stop thinking about them and it's annoying."

"I'm sorry, his eyes are what now?"

"Annoying."

"Ah, right, got it. That's what we're focusing on."

Or something like that. After a while Junichirou completely loses any and all fear he once had for Aku, he just looks at him and thinks, 'yeah I guess his hair does look kinda fluffy, and he does a slightly grabbable looking waist from certain angles.' And is just constantly looking at him trying to justify the hours Atsushi has spent complaining about the guy that he says he hates but so, so obviously has a crush on.

Not sure if it's entirely in character but I like the idea of it. By the way, Aku is doing the exact same thing but he's talking to Rashomon instead of an actual person, and even though Rashomon is only like half sentient she is just as done with Aku's bullshit as Juni is.

UHM. I LOVE THIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING IT. Zero self-awareness Atsushi gives me life, I swear he can be even worse than Akutagawa on that front. I also love how Junichirou kinda lets himself get carried away ahah, that's so him. Overall, strong chapter 53 vibes “Ugh. I hate working with that dude. We just don't get along on a fundamental level” [said right after having entrusted each other with their deepest fears, revealed the most vulnerable to each other, defeated enemies as if they were thinking as one]

[waeirfaahl]

About reproduction system of Aku's species

Another small addition to my analysis of Aku. Although, I earlier discussed about this aspect, I still have something to say. Let's talk about reproduction system of Aku's species.

Yep, he already is confused like "Excuse me?! What?!". What we know from the show, Aku is absolutely asexual and genderless creature, neither male nor female. He has no bones, no inner organs, no skin, no DNA, no genitals, hence no sexual reproduce and no hybridization with other species, especially mortals. Plus, his acid-like blood is deadly poisonous and starts to devour a living organism to death, if it happens to be inside of this organism. However, "Birth of Evil" dilogy pretty clearly states that his species (in this case, his ancestor) reproduces, using fragmentation or budding. So, Aku was born from this tiny almost dead fragment. Hence Aku's potential cubs will be born either from his separated parts or they will be inside of his body some time (yes, some animals, who uses fragmentation, can bare their offspring in own body for some time) and only after this they will separate as his parts and will be born.

Hmmm, interesting... here the fragment acts like really dead thing. I mean, it just floats in the space, it doesn't move, it doesn't try to return to the ancestor and to merge with it again or to escape from the alien gods. It just floats as if it is totally dead. Can it be an explanation to why this thing started to corrupt Earth? Like, it is dead, and it is in the absolutely new place, so all know what happens, when invasive species arrive.

However, Aku was born only after Jack's father shot the poisoned arrow into the fragment. I.e. the poison of the arrow really gave the life in this case. So, even in this case he is born in unusual way. Maybe, if the fragment was alive, it would birth the demon itself and without the poisoned arrow exactly after falling on Earth, i.e. before humankind started to exist.

I.e. it lost all ties with ancestor (who was killed already) and was itself dead, so it couldn't even birth the new creature, so it instinctively made these spikes after devouring animals or humans, i.e. antennas for getting information about this worlds and dead siblings, which became defensive mechanism.

Yeah, it is pretty painful to realize that you are an accident, which was never intended to exist...

And although it is absolutely impossible for Aku to have offspring with some mortal, there's still a plausible way of how he could do this. Let's ignore for a second the fact that Aku is absolutely asexual and lonely creature, who needs no one. I mean, he rules for eons and is absolutely not interested in making family at all (they can become rivals and threat for him for fight for ruling Earth, or they can become his vulnerable spot and hence they can be in danger from side of Aku's enemies, not to mention the psychological trauma Aku got during his first interaction with Jack's father — like, Emperor created him, but was cruel and then rejected him, so Aku can act the same way toward his cubs or even try to kill them, what also can be a part for inner conflict and inner fear to harm them etc). Not to mention that he hates and despises all mortals and especially humans. Hence he'll never fall in love with a human. Even if it is Jack, who is more a rivial/enemy and half-brother at the same time for Aku...

Although, if to choose the less evil, I'll choose Ikra. I mean, that is exactly Aku's real human form, not the one he tried to do in 9 episode of 4 season.

I guess, this shot confirms, who is boss in this couple. But no matter. I already mentioned this guy, Achu from "Duck Dodgers" show, as the only character I can confidently see as a cub of Aku (child?demonling?).

He has feline traits, hence his second parent has to be a feline. Obviously anthropomorph (and I made arts with this, but not there), but let it look like this for this post at least.

Yup, Achu has mother's eyes in this case... Because Aku's natural colors are only black, white, green and red. And, yes, I see exactly a black leopard.

So, how is it possible, if Aku is deadly poisonous and absolutely asexual creature, whose species reproduce with fragmentation? Well, I won't mention fully and in details the way I imagined and used in my headcanon, 'cause I'm writing now the final story for my trilogy, so no spoilers ('cause in the story it's not only just a detail, certain elements affect on the story), but I'll mention the concept itself with biological focus — Aku could megre his blood (separated part) with blood of his mate and after some magical acts there will be born this hybrid. And, as I mentioned earlier, Aku could care his offspring in special place of his body for some time (and the offspring feeds from his inner energy), until it will be strong enough to be separated from his body and become one independent young organism. Please, don't confuse it with pregnancy. It is exactly the way of fragmentation or budding some animals and plants use. I.e. asexual reproducing. Aku, sorry for this picture. You just swallowed Jack, but this comic page perfectly fits to the topic and joke about Tartakovsky's fetishes.

[chuu-huahua]

chapter 108, a review.

firstly, we start of with some very amazing gore. i love the details of the punching the face in. very amazing. 10/10.

no but atsushi literally stopped himself from punching aku’s lights out even though vampires can heal themselves?? 

ok but he looks so innocent?? i saw a few theories about this on tiktok already, something about it linking to irl fyodor’s crime and punishment, and about his outbreaks when he gets triggered. i feel like it might actually turn out this way, cuz ain’t no way asagiri would draw his eyes with the shine if he likes to use eyes as an actual “window to the soul” for the characters.

aku obviously did not return the favour.

no i seriously like the gore a lot. i showed this to my friend and she literally replied “dang atsushi. again?”

my only reaction to this was “FYODOR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THINGS PURE, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?” no because his face?? you can see there’s a bit of white in the pupils with the black on top of it and surrounding it, as if it’s blocking it out and submerging the white. link back to theory? or is it just the light reflecting off his eyes?

anyways, thanks @downbadforpixels​ for the amazing raws and the english translations after! i literally read this thing right before my math paper and half of my brain was processing the chapter and the other half was crying over my graph analogies and trying to log

[bpd-baddie-bracket]

My bbygirl (dazai) is losing and ive never played life is strange so idk if chloe’s rep is better but i have diagnosed bpd and ive never found a character that represented that so well

self-injury , suicidal ideation, suicidal behavior and feelings of wortlessness: i mean, just look at his character design (the bandages) but i get that might seem overly edgy. Anyways, dazai is someone who is marked by being different than everyone around him, his silly little skill is literally called “no longer human” i don’t remember if there’s a term for it but he’s not another quirky edgy anime boy he just. Encapsulates, that feeling of emptiness and anhedonia and the void inside. So perfectly. Like bojack if he wasn’t a groomer. In canon dazai has attempted suicide several times. After he commits himself to the purpose left by his dead friend, he doesn’t actively try to die but treats suicide as a hobby just for the adrenaline. which is one of the few things i suspect makes him feel human Which brings us to point 2

Impulsive behaviors : he may not want to die anymore… because he’s assigned himself a purpose. To help others. But he still feels that chronic instability and so we see him try different methods of suicide and put himself in dangerous situations to shock himself back in his body. He claims to not like pain, but it’s obvious that’s he’s being half truthful. Ill elaborate more later but he obviously doesn’t gaf about his physical well-being when trying to achieve his goals.he’s also an alcoholic lol.  

Fear of abandonment : He feels his life is characterized by everyone and everything he wants being ripped away from him. So why want? He puts up those walls of malice, plays up how manipulative he is, but he’s really very possessive. HE MAKES COUNTLESS ALTERNATE REALITIES SO HIS FP CAN FULFILL HIS DREAM even if it means the one universe that’s possible is one where he himself is hated by all and others he cares about suffers.then you have his whole push and pull thing with chuuya (they fuck) like you can tell that down deep he greatly respects chuuya. But he only shows him tenderness when chuuya’s passed out. And for all the masked affection he shows chuuya, he runs away before he can receive the same back.

 Frequent mood swings : this is equally a way he copes with his environment. I mean, we go from “the demon prodigy” accomplished torturer to his mild and irresponsible character at the agency. We can look at his attitudes towards his mentees. There’s atsushi, then aku, who he. Abused. He may care for aku but they met in a toxic environment so dazai took the approach that felt the most natural being in the mafia. It reminds me of a blown-up version of many bpd baddies relationship with their siblings. 

Unfortunately i have a LOT more to say but its gonna come in parts 

[amenomiko]

Linguist MC Gets Angry

Nobunaga - East Malaysia (Borneo)

It was that moment when he lift her chin during their argument with "You have become very bold in lecturing me, aren't you, fireball?" And he expect for her to pout, or maybe sulk, just like she always do, but..

"OI. Ko pikir ko siapa oh??" (Translated: Oi. Who do you think you are??)

He blinked. Thrice. "..What-"

"Lucky charm la, bebola api la. Sa sumbat nasi lemak dalam pantat kau biar ko jadi api naga sana nah baru ko tau apa maciam jadi fireball. BUDUH la ko sana!" (Translated: Lucky charm, fireball. I will shove nasi lemak in your asshole and let you become a fire dragon so you know how a fireball is! IDIOT!)

Then she roll her eyes, flipping her hair before stomping off angrily, leaving bewildered Nobunaga alone in his Tenshu. "As expected of my lucky charm.. She is very unique indeed. Hmph."

Somehow he is happy. Not knowing what he is called just now.

Hideyoshi - Indonesian

"MC! Stop running in the hallway!"

"MC! Don't carry those stuffs! What if you fall and scrap your knees??"

God..! Another day, another nagging. What is he? Disciplinary teacher??

"MC--"

She fumed, turning to him with a gritted teeth, "Iya udahlah. Brisik, lebay banget sih. Cerewet betul orangnya. Anjir." (Translated : Yes, enough already. So noisy-- you are overreacting. Such a naggy person. You dog.) then earn a very confused Hideyoshi.

He literally froze, even when she look at him, up and down, shaking her head and continue with her task in hand.

It took him few minutes to realize that she is somehow cursing him, ...in a weird language.

Masamune - Korean

MC is a lucky woman. She got a handsome lover, the most good looking warlord (as voted by the women of Azuchi town), which is Date Masamune.

She would always be happy and giddy around him. If this is an animated world, she could see flying hearts all around her when he is nearby. But today..

Is not the best day. EVER.

Everything pisses her off. Ah yes, it's just what you think. That damn time of the month. Oh gosh she is angry, she was so, so angry thanks to her mood swings, and was trying her best not to show it away. Which she failed miserably.

Masamune had brought her to the tea house, not knowing she was cursing the whole time when she was walking. "Let's get an anmitsu, shall we? They say it was good as they imported those 'ice cream' thing." She smiled (not reaching her eyes) and nodded.

He had realized this; it could be those time of the month again, he thought. But maybe with some sweets and kisses, she would be better. Ah..! Good timing. The dessert has arrived and he instantly let her have a taste first. And another perfect timing. There was a stain of vanilla near her lips.

"Kitten."

"..Hm-"

His lips pressed against hers, aiming for the vanilla, yet also a sweet gesture that makes the people around them gasped. However..

"....YA!!" (Translated : HEY!!)

SMACK!

"OPPA MICHYEOSS-EO?? AISH- JINJJA!" (Translated : Oppa (A way to call a lover other than brother) are you crazy?? Aish- really!!"

His only eye widen like plate, taken aback and rub his painful cheek that were smacked by her. "K-Kitten- I didn't mean to--" What language is that anyway??

"Wait..! Lass!"

She already walk away, back to the castle before he realized it.

Note taken. No affection should be given when she is in a bad mood. "Ahh.. That time of the month is horrifying indeed.."

Mitsuhide - West Malaysian (Semenanjung)

If Mitsuhide could choose one thing that he like about MC, it would be (obviously) her interesting reactions to his teasings. Her angry face, her pouting face, and her frowning is his favorite, yet there's one thing he always be curious about.

She never get angry. As in really, really angry. Especially towards him. Sometimes he think she is too pure for him, loving him to the point she won't do such thing no matter how hurt she is.

"AMBOI." (Translated : Interjection word used to express angry/admiration/wonder feelings. But in this case, it's for feeling angry)

'Amboi' what now? For as long as he live, such word is new to him. He read her gesture-- furious expression, hands on hips,.. Ah, it could be an angry word? "I believe I require for you to explain what does that mean. Is it a new language other than Japanese back in your time--""Hang diam." (Translated : You be quiet.)

Miraculously he stopped, somehow feeling uncharacteristically nervous to her unknown language. She huffed, shaking her head, "Hang ni memang dah takda keja ka hah? Dok asyik nak cuba buat aku marah. HAH tahniah pada hang la aku dah marah ni. Perangai poyo. Nasib hang hensem kalau tak dah lama aku hantaq hang ni pi kahwin ngan Hideyoshi. Hisshhhh!" (Translated : Don't you have any other work to do, huh? Do nothing but keep on trying to make me angry. HAH. Congratulations to you, I AM angry. You act like a damn show-off. Thankfully you are handsome or else I would've sent you to get married with Hideyoshi. Hisshhhh!)

"....." He watched her turn around with a groan, and couldn't bring himself to call out for her. Trying to understand what she's trying to say (which obviously NOTHING), all he can understand is the word 'Hideyoshi'. "Somehow I don't think it's a good thing."

Duh.

Ieyasu - Chinese

"How many times do I have to tell you to NOT overdo it?"

"But-"

He takes the bow and arrow from her, despite the adorable way she pouted; which is very hard for him.

...Not knowing she was not pouting, but being angry. Seriously angry.

"I know you are worried about me, but just give me chance to learn more about this..! Bow and arrow is way better than a sword itself don't you agree?"

"No."

"It is not for the purpose of killing, obviously. It's for me to protect myself! I'm determined to do it! H-hey wait..!"

He already walk away from her, giving the weapon to a nearby vassal before continuing with a grunt, "No means no. I've told you that there's no such need to do so as I will be the one to protect you, have you forgotten that?"

"Of course I didn't! But let me just--"

"No buts."

"Ieyasu--..!!"

"...No."

"Stop right there!"

He ignored her, and continue to walk yet about to give another answer when she suddenly shout on top of her lungs;

"Ni zhè wángù de háozū. Ni yiwéi ni shì shéi? Ni bixū ganxié wo méiyou zài ni yan li sāi jièmò!" (Translated : You stubborn porcupine. Who do you think you are? You have to thank me for not stuffing mustard in your eyes!")

...in a weird language.

Making the nearby vassal goes (　☉д⊙)?? until the bow and arrow in his hands loosen its grip.

"Hmf! Fine!"

Ieyasu swallowed the lump in his throat, he didn't know why but he got a feeling he will be sleeping in a different bedchamber tonight. Obviously.

Mitsunari - Romanian

Being a chatelaine; particularly appointed to be the tactician's assistant, is NOT easy.

Yeah, okay. He is the less complaining type. The one who is easy to discuss with, and the one who won't make your eyes roll. Haha. Ha. Ha. Nope.

Mitsunari as a whole is easy. But to ask him to eat is NOT easy. There were time when he mistook MC's hair as ramen, and her fingers as crab stick, to MC's misery. It will take half of her life to successfully feed him completely, making the bowl empty until there's no rice grain left.

Eyes glaring at the book in his hands, MC tried for another method. "Mitsunari. Look at me."

"....."

She take the book away from him. "Mitsunari. Look. Here."

"....Hm? Oh- oh..! Hello princess I didn't see you there-"

His cheeks were then cupped tightly with her hands as she said with a gritted teeth; "Hei! Vrei să-ți dau una peste față cu un dicționar sau cu un morcov. Alege!" (Translated : Hey! Do you want me to smack your face with a 1000 pages of dictionary or a carrot? Choose!) ...while squeezing her cheeks inwards until his face literally goes like this ( O)3(O ).

"Mmh- mmmh- mmm." He nodded, silently gulped to the flare of glare in her eyes.

"(눈‸눈)....(❁´◡`❁) Good!" And she hopped away happily, placing his meal in front of him before tossing away such book from his room (which got a handful of nagging session because the book accidentally knocked on passing Hideyoshi).

Kenshin - East Malaysia (Kadazan)

He is strucked with nightmare again. Nightmare of MC leaving him, but it was.......

Ridiculous.

"I saw an animal, similar to Motonari's pet. But bigger. We were about to get married, and it came. Placing you in its pouch, jumping away no matter how I've tried to reach to you. Even with my fastest horse-- I- I couldn't--"

MC watched as he cupped his face, being emotionally emotional, secretly pursed her lips to hold back her anger. Yes. Anger. It was not of pity but anger.

First, she had a rough day lately. Lack of sleep, that's for sure.

Second, when she FINALLY get some rest, certain good looking dragon shakes her in the middle of the night, telling a story about a kangaroo kidnapping her during their wedding.

Problem is--

They are already married for fu- fish sake.

"I see now. There there. It's just a silly nightmare. You will be fine."

"It's not MC..! You were kidnapped..! Just like those days when you were attacked and I wasn't there-- and--"

"Yes, yes, I understand. Now let's forget about it slowly and once you get some sleep those dream is nothing more than a dream itsel-"

"I can't forgive myself..! MC-- I--"

"Kada agagau, Avantang tanak laja do kusai! Siodop noh ku tih!" (Translated : Shut up handsome prince! I want to sleep!) She said under one breath, and with a grumpy huff, she takes all the blanket and sleep facing the other side.

Meanwhile, Kenshin: (　ﾟдﾟ).... (He was dumbfounded until sunrise)

Shingen - Tagalog

She had found herself being kabedon-ed again.

In any other normal days, this is how he start their daily routine - flirting session. Her eyes stared at those openly broad chest in front of her, ah that is so nice. That will be a very nice feeling if she could feel it with her palms now but--

Ah, she is tired. Her body feels like a log-- heavy and tired, and slumpy. It is as if all, ALL the fatigue in the world just slapped her-- no, just KICKED her on her lower belly area; yes, that time of the month is coming soon. There comes the usual pre-menstrual syndromes, she feels fatigued, clumsy, and most importantly,.... irritation. Irritated to the point his handsome voice couldn't reach her ears.

He then let out a chuckle, lifting her chin to kiss it, when her already bored eyes changed into menacing ones as she grunted, "Hoy! Dyan ka lang, poging oso na to. Subukan mo kong halikan, pagtatatadyakan ko kalamnan mo hanggang walang matira!" (Translated : Hey! Stop right there you charming bear, if you dare to kiss me I will kick your guts until there's nothing left.).

It instantly send jolt of cold shivers all over him, hands automatically back away from her and legs took a step back cautiously. "I- I'm.. sorry..?"

"Hmn (눈‸눈). You are lucky. For now."

Shingen gulped, lips pressed tight as he watch her go with the same scowl on her face all the way. "Somehow I... Escaped a death warning.. Maybe? Heheh. Heh. Uhm--" Feigning a cough, he pats his chest to calm his rapid heart beat of fear.

Yukimura - English (Just assume all this while they were speaking Japanese and suddenly she let out this language)

"H-hey wait-- MC..!!" He chased after her, who have been stomping her way off from another of their short arguments of the week. Yukimura realizes this, it's good for relationship bond they say, but he can't help but to be afraid of it. Usually it will be him to start it, but this time,...it came from her.

With "Get away from me, damn it!" As a morning greeting. All of sudden. Making him confused, thinking if he had offended her a day before, of which he just came back from long mission that took him a week. And to assume he will be greeted with a hug, or a kiss, or maybe a word of "I miss you" plus a cute smile of hers, is indeed wrong.

"MC please..! Just tell me what's going on?? Did I make you wait for too long? But I have informed you that I will be in a long missio-- hey MC did you hear me?? Just stop stomping off like a REAL wild boar will you--"

Ah. She stopped. That is definitely an ultimate magic word.

"Inform-- informed you say--" He stared at her trembling fists, but before he could hold her shoulders, he was startled to her change in language--

"(English) Informed MY FOOT! There's no single letter coming, NONE! I don't see any damn birds nor eagle or those pelican whatever bird that is assigned to send your letter! I've been worried sick, and you came back yesterday to just casually slipped into the bed to sleep?? To. Just. Sleep?? Even without KISSING or HUGGING ME?? YOU- YOU- *sniffs* EEEHHHEEEE ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥A˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚!!"

"Wha- wha- WHAT LANGUAGE ARE YOU SPEAKING AUDJSHDKSKSF (　☉д⊙) SPARE ME WILL YOU--"

Too late. Shingen and the others has appeared to separate him away from her, and Sasuke has made him feel EXTRA guilty after translating it.

Sasuke - Nepali

Sasuke blinked at his wife, who is currently glaring at him. "MC, you look like those meme with a bald man with hands on hips." He said casually, earning a loud sigh from her as reaction.

"I believe you are still injured from your previous trap check in the ceiling, and I believe I've told you to have a meal and rest, so why are you still here, sitting on your futon, and clean your weapons?"

"...MC, you will be a good inspector because you have a very detailed report (´・_・｀)👌."

"..Honey. I am NOT in the MOOD to be playing around now ʕʘ̅͜ʘ̅ʔ."

Pressing his lips shut in instant, he nodded at her while placing his weapon away. "I apologize, MC. I will eat my lunch now, as you wished. I wouldn't want to make my wife worried."

She huffed through her nose, pursing her lips before narrowing his eyes at him. "Really? You promise."

"Yes. ..But may I have the permission to clean another set of my shuriken and kunai, I will be rest assured if I do so--"

"...SARUTOBI SASUKE! TYO FERI GARA ANI MA TIMRO SISA SANO THUKRAMA FUTAERA TIMRO CHAMAL SANGA MISAUCHU (　☉д⊙)!" (Translated : Do that again and I will break your glasses into small pieces and mix it with your rice!)

"....." The box of weapon in his hands fell, despite having expressionless emotion on his face.

"EAT. NOW." She groaned before stomping away angrily, continuing to curse in any other languages.

Meanwhile, Sasuke who turned to his phone after MC stomped away be like

"...If only my phone is alive. I want to translate that (´◦_◦｀)."

[toku-explained]

The Swordsmen's story

Heroes' Odyssey: the story of the miracle team up of Tiga and Dyna is completed. Okay, it's time to talk about the Tsuruno Takeshi situation. While obviously it is bad that Asuka's scenes have been cut, I have to stress, in no uncertain terms, that the problem is the Chinese Government. Far more powerful companies than Tsuburaya have been forced to make changes to films to appease them. Do I hope that Tsuburaya will change it's position on including Tsuruno in scenes? Absolutely, and ideally the fact Toei has him doing Zenkaiger's theme despite the current situation will lead to them changing their position sooner rather than later.

Saber: Okay, good, Sword of Logos isn't ruled just on the authority of Master Logos, the seeming true enemy, but there's also a council of sages, who may also be corrupt. Ren leaves Southern Base, deciding on Kento alone. Yuki wants a sequel to Lost Memory, which leads to reflecting on Touma's past, then Yuri explains the Wonder Ride Books history. Storious and Zooous have had Charybdis reading all sorts of tomes. If all the Wonder Ride Books are gathered together the world will be unmade, which is why Reika has been stealing them. Master Logos saw Touma as the key to gathering them, but now it's time to be rid of him, with help from Reika's brother, Shindai Ryoga, wielder of the Sword of Time, Kaiji? Ren finds Kento and tries to join him, but Kento transforms in order to seal Hayate, forcing Kento to fight, Desast arrives too, amused to realise Kento is back. Touma rushed to the scene, arriving after Caliber seals half of Hayate. Using Elemental Dragon he manages to overpower Kento, who believes he is continuing his father's work. Ren vows to get stronger so Kento notices him. Mei briefly sees Wonder World in the sky.

Zenkaiger: Ijirude sends out Boxing World when Vroon rushes over to him asking about the freed Koritopia and Kinokotopia, Ijirude decides to have him scrapped to stop the information getting out. Boxing World forces people into impromptu boxing matches. As the team prepares to fight him, Vroon literally runs into them. Mid battle Vroon starts asking if they stole their gears from Ijirude or have also been capturing Worlds. Deciding he must be important, they get him away from Boxing World. Ijirude orders Vroon defeated, leading Boxing World to set the winning boxers after him. Vroon is very curious about everything now he's out in the world, and reveals that even his working in the palace as a cleaner was to satisfy his curiosity. He explains the actual nature of the Tojiru Gears and the liberated worlds to the others, allowing them to finally learn how to save them all. When they're then cornered by Ijirude and Boxing World, Vroon decides to give his notice and ask to fight with them. Due to his curiosity he asks how the Geartlinger works before accidentally firing. If Vroon resembles Souta, then ZenkaiVroon represents the vehicle Sentai, resembling DaiBouken. Using the Dairanger Gear grants them all use of the Dairen Rods. After defeating Boxing World it's time for Dai Boxing World, who gets the advantage due to ZenkaiOh ZyuraGaon breaking the rules by having a sword in the ring. Vroon becomes VroonDump, resembling GoGo Dump, and removes the ring, prompting the summoning of another Kudaitest. Kaito evens the field by merging ZenkaiOh VrooMagin. After the two robots get both opponents in the same ring, they swap for ZyuraMagin and VrooGaon, then back again. Boxingtopia is freed. Later, when Secchan mentions Isao and Mitsuko, Vroon mentions there were people with those names at Ijirude's lab at one point.

Zenkai File: This time all 4 Kikainoids are shrunk by Braceki World, so Kaito combines them into all 4 mecha combinations before they finally are restored to fight Dai Braceki World.

Introducing ZenkaiRed: The now-human Magin seems to be struggling to make any prediction, but decides to gorge on sweets. The Tojitendo discuss Normal Warumono World's plan. Secchan somehow receives a challenge from him for the Zenkaigers. Red and Gaon talk, and Kaito catches up to them. Turns out Gaon had been leaving a trail so Kaito could find him, but Kaito didn't notice. Kaito invites them to battle. Zyuran, Magin and Vroon are making their way to the battle when Vroon and Zyuran suddenly become human. At the battle site the 6 meet up, and when Normal Warumono World arrives, Red calls the rest to his side, leading the Zenkaigers into battle. Or he would, but none of them change, and then his gear and Geartlinger vanish. Despite their lack of powers, the regular Zenkaigers fight nonetheless. Red reveals to Kaito he was given his equipment by Normal Warumono World as part of some scheme. Kaito encourages him he can fight too, and when Red reaches out to him his gear and Geartlinger reappear. Together they become Zenkaiser and ZenkaiRed, and use the normal Lupinranger Gear and Red Patranger Gear to perform a combined Itadaki-Ichigeki Strike to defeat Normal Warumono World, returning the Kikainoids to their true forms. Normal Warumono World revives on his own, Zenkaiser and ZenkaiRed pilot ZenkaiOh ZyuraGaon together. Afterwards, after some talking Red leaves, only giving his name as ZenkaiRed, saying he'll give his name when he's acknowledged as the Zenkaiger leader. When Kaito returns to his doubts about the leader having to be red, he is corrected and greeted in a vision by Sentai leaders who have white in them: Big One, Battle Japan, Red Falcon, BoukenRed, ShishiRed Orion, Patren 1, and lead by NinjaWhite, Tsuruhime. They tell him that what's important in the leader is not the colour, but the heart. Kaito wakes up, having seemingly dreamt the whole adventure, but now reassured of his position.

Dogengers: All the heroes tell Ohgaman that Dogengers is a terrible team name. Ohgaman and Yabai Kamen square off, Kitaqman actually fights some Karami, leaving Metal to face Maid Shitsuji, after Yaamshiron, Daidairon and Aoiron face some Karami they're confronted by Nectaris, El Brave and Uzagi rematch, with Gallia as referee, the two Fukuokaliber confront Shuraomaru, and Rookie faces some Karami, and takes on more confronting Yuki, who is using the Naginata to defend Eboshi Musha, he stops to tell Yuki he has something to say when the battle is done. Kitaqman and Metal use the Kitaq Kick and Metallic Smash to defeat Maid Shitsuji, the Yamashiro Gas Co Sales Department Hero Division use the 3 Man Check on Nectaris, El Brave's Brave Slash defeats both Uzagi and Shaberryman, and a combined Hakata-ori Dynamic defeats Shuraomaru. Rookie leaps at Yabai Kamen, and his Karami squad, before Ohgaman gets a chance, accidentally injuring him a little. They then join forces, after a Double Kick, they activate their finishers, with a bonus of Rookie's thermometers. Yabai Kamen intends to destroy Fukuoka and them with it, but Rookie is able to block the attack, and by joining Rookie's spear with Ohgaman's gun they launch a Golden Seal powered final attack. The heroes have a party to celebrate their reunion.

Yabai Kamen is forced to make an apology in behalf of Aku no Himitsu Kessya, El Brave returns to the factory, the Yamashiro Gas Co Sales Department Hero Division leave work, arguing over Redron's bike, merge to travel. Eboshi Musha and Fukuokaliber clean up, assisted by Misetaka, a mascot for Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting. Kitaqman finally removes his helmet, allowing Taki Yuki to enjoy a meal. In Kagoshima, Kojin NEW EX, a hero there, greets Ohgaman after defeating some Karami. Most of the Arakuremono quit, the last, along with the Marou Project Kaijin, harass a civilian who Rookie saves, the man seems to have a sort of recognition of something in Rookie. Tanaka finally tells Yuki what he meant to so long ago, and asks her to be with him in a way. As they run to greet the heroes, with Yabai Kamen forced to give them a lift, the last piece of the Golden Seal, floats towards the area, where 3 toys from childhood are stood together.

[bungou-stray-dingus]

Could I request headcanons of Chuuya with a girlfriend who is shorter than him, plays a lot of instruments(Piano, flute, violin, percussion, I guess singing counts too?) professionally, and is sun allergic? I’m sorry if it’s too much!

FOR BB!! Also hell yeah for marching band!! I miss my marching band days.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING THIS AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED WRITING IT!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

High School AU

You sat in the back of the music room, waiting for the teacher to give the signal that it was time to head out onto the field. It was the first game of the season, the Homecoming Game, also known as the most important football game of the year. The sun was still setting, but just there enough to cause your eyes to water and you to start sniffling.

“You alright?” Chuuya came up to you, the drum sticks tried under his arm. He was so cute in his marching band uniform, and you had secretly been crushing on him since the first day you saw him. The two of you had managed to become super close, and you hoped deep down that he would ask you to the homecoming dance.

He waved his hand in front of your face, pulling you out of the daydream daze you were in and you shook your head, giving him an awkward chuckle. ��Y-yeah, I’m fine. The sun is just setting off my allergy. Hopefully it’ll be fully set before we go out on the field.” You gave him a sheepish smile and he looked out the window then back to you.

“Oh yeah, do you need a tissue? We can’t afford to lose our best percussionist.” He smiled back to you and you felt your cheeks heat up.

“Uhm, first thing, your flirting sucks, and second, marimba isn’t percussion. Duh.” Dazai’s voice broke through, and you watched as he brought the trumpet up to his lips, trying to play it as he walked closer.

“Dude, shut up! Also, the marimba is definitely a percussion instrument. How did you even make it into this class. Who’s trumpet is that?” Just seeing Dazai had Chuuya on the verge of a fit of rage. His last question was answered when Kunikida ran over to where Dazai was standing, blowing into the mouth piece, producing a bunch of spit but no sound.

“Dammit Dazai, now I’m gonna have to disinfect it.” Kunikida said, snatching the instrument from Dazai’s hands with a look of disgust. “Also, the marimba is definitely a percussion instrument.” He added before walking away, mumbling under his breath about how disgusting it is to use someone else’s mouthpiece.

“I don’t know what his problem is.” Dazai shrugged, then looked down at you. “You look very good in the uniform by the way, Y/N.” His voice was suggestive and if it were possible, Chuuya would have smoke coming out of his ears, he looked so pissed at Dazai’s comment.

“SHE ALREADY KNOWS THAT!” He shouted, smacking Dazai with one of the drumsticks. “Y/N, you look great.” He said, and you dropped your head to try to hide your blushing face.

“Dude, why not ask her out already.” Dazai said, dodging Chuuya’s second hit. “I’m just saying!” He held his hands up as he backed away. “You guys would be soooo cute together.”

“I... He.... heh... let’s get your instrument down to the field?” Chuuya stumbled over his words, obviously put in an awkward situation and he didn’t know how to react at all. “Kenji, give us a hand?” Chuuya called to him from across the room. The saxophone player was rather strong considering his small build. He easily lifted the other end of the instrument with no sign of a struggle, he didn’t even break a sweat.

You sat on the bleachers with Chuuya, waiting for the other members of the band to come out. Chuuya situated himself between you and the light of the setting sun to help keep your eyes from watering. “Are you nervous?” He asked, noticing your fingers tapping nervously against your lap. He placed his hand over yours to keep you from tapping, and you felt the blush rise into your cheeks again. “There’s no need to be nervous, most of these people talk over our playing anyway.”

“I-I’m not nervous, I just...” You noticed he was staring at you, his eyebrows raised, obviously not fooled by your lie. “Alright... maybe I am. But...”

“I’ll be right next to you the entire time.” He whispered, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of your hand. It made your heart rate spike and you tried to keep your heavy breathing to a minimum. “Oh, looks like everyone’s coming down now. Are you ready?” He asked and you nodded quickly.

Everyone lined up on the field, getting into the formation that had been practiced multiple times over the last two months. The sun had finally set, but that was the least of your worries at this point. All the lights, all the eyes on you, it had you sweating profusely. Chuuya looked down at you and noticed how pale you had turned, the tiny beads of sweat that were forming on your forehead considering how chilly it was. “Psst.... hey.” He whispered just loud enough for you to hear. You looked up to him, his smile seemed brighter than any of the lights on the field. “Keep your eyes on me, whenever you feel nervous, just look at me. Okay?” His voice was soothing and you felt yourself relax a little.

You and your instrument were in the center of the field, the rest of the band had circled around you, but you kept your eyes on Chuuya, his red hair peaking out of the hat let you know that it was definitely him. You felt a pair of eyes on the back of your head and you turned around to see that it was Dazai. He licked his lips and winked at you before wrapping his mouth around the mouthpiece of the saxophone. You faced back to your teacher quickly, his hands were in the air as he waited for everyone to get ready. Then they dropped, and the sound of everyone’s instruments filled the field. The band started to move, walking in sync to the rhythm of the music and your eyes focused in on Chuuya, you could pick out the sound of his instrument through the sound of everyone else’s. When his solo came up you couldn’t fight the grin that spread across your face, hearing him play, it was pure talent. His drum solo was absolutely flawless, and you almost missed your time to start playing again, you were so entranced by his playing.

The football game started and the band took their seats at the far end of the bleachers, all the instruments and their cases littered the ground in front of the seats. You were sat between Akutagawa and Chuuya who talked across you about how football was meaningless. The crowd roared when the team scored a touchdown and Akutagawa groaned. “They didn’t cheer like that when we were done playing. They don’t appreciate the art that is playing an instrument.” Chuuya nodded at Aku’s words.

“Well I think we played really well tonight!” Tanizaki chimed in, leaning forward so he was peaking between yours and Chuuya’s shoulders.

“Heck yeah! We were awesome tonight!” Atsushi added, patting Chuuya’s back. “Oh, where’s Ranpo?” Atsushi asked, looking around the bleachers.

“He went to the snack stand. You want to go?” Tanizaki asked and Atsushi nodded. Akutagawa, Kenji, and Kunikida followed behind them.

You shivered as a breeze blew through the stands, and Chuuya wrapped his arm around your shoulder. You leaned against him, he was so warm and you enjoyed the feeling of his arm around you. “Awwww. You guys are so cute. Can you just ask her already!?” Dazai’s voice broke through, ruining the serene moment. You sighed and moved away as Chuuya did a 180 and turned to face Dazai who was sitting two stands up.

“Will you just shut up for once? God, you’re so annoying!” Chuuya argued, and you could see how agitated he was when Dazai just laughed. Chuuya’s cheeks burned red when he turned back around, he was breathing heavy as he tried to control his anger.

“You should just ignore him. He’s trying to make you mad.” Dazai’s laughter ringed in your ears as you tried to help calm Chuuya. He sighed loudly before standing up and stepping over your legs.

“You wanna take a walk?” He asked, waiting for you to follow him. Dazai’s clapping and cheering irked the both of you, and you saw Chuuya clench his fists as he walked a little faster, most likely to get away from Dazai as fast as possible so he wouldn’t punch him.

He held the doors open for you as you walked into the school. The empty building brought peace now instead of the anxiety that usually came along with the over congested hallways. It was quiet, and your footsteps with Chuuya’s seemed to echo down the long halls. Even your breathing seemed to be amplified by the emptiness.

“Chuuya...”

“Y/N...” You both spoke at the same time and you let out an awkward giggle that matched his own. “Oh sorry, you can go first.”

“No, no, what were you going to say?” You asked, stopping at the stairwell and taking a seat on the bottom step. Now that the two of you were alone you could hear your heart beating in your ears, your entire body felt warm as his eyes lingered on your face.

“Are you... uh... going to homecoming?” He asked, refusing to sit down. He was standing in front of you, biting his lip as he waited for your answer. You shook your head no and he smiled a little. “Oh... well... would you maybe want to... I don’t know... go with me?” Your stomach did a somersault as his words registered in your brain.

“Like, as friends?” You asked, hoping that he’d say no. He shrugged and finally took a seat next to you.

“I mean... if you want to go as friends.... but....” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence. The sound of footsteps racing down the hallway startled the both of you.

Tachihara turned the corner and spotted the two of you and he sighed. “Man, teach is freaking out because of you two. We’re about to go on for half time.” He was out of breath from running and you found it hard to hold back your laughter seeing him so flustered.

“Sorry dude, we’re coming.” Chuuya said, stifling his own laughter.

The three of you sprinted through the empty hallways, bursting through the double doors. You took your place on the field where the rest of the band was already in formation. Your teacher scowled at you and Chuuya, but that wasn’t even the worst. Dazai’s smug smirk put you on edge and you couldn’t shake the awkward, uneasy feeling his look gave you.

Chuuya’s words replayed in your mind over and over as you watched him move across the field. What was he going to say after the but? You wished that Tachihara hadn’t barged in at such a bad time, now you were left with the overwhelming feeling of nervousness at Chuuya’s unfinished sentence.

The music faded, and the band ran off the field as the crowd erupted with applause as the football teams sprinted out on the field. Everyone began packing away their instruments, ready to finish up the night and go home. You held Chuuya’s tenor drums as he and Kenji worked to carry in your marimbas. The two walked ahead as you stayed behind talking with Tanizaki and Atsushi who were taking apart their clarinets. “So where were you and Chuuya anyway?” Tanizaki asked, genuinely curious as he was highly worried when they couldn’t find you at first.

“Well... we were-“ You began but Dazai jumped in again.

“You two were probably making out in an empty stairwell. Ha! So cool, didn’t know you had it in you Y/N.” He said, leaning closer to you. “You know if Chuuya won’t ask you out-“

“Shut up Osamu.” You mumbled, pulling away from his whispering lips that were far too close to your ear.

“I like when you say my name like that.” He winked at you before walking away. Akutagawa shook his head as he looked after Dazai.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just a typical upperclassman. He probably hasn’t even had a girlfriend.” Tanizaki said, patting your shoulder to try to make you feel less upset about what he had said.

“Yeah, he acts like he’s....” You stopped listening to them, you just wanted to get back up to the classroom and put your stuff away so you could go home.

Chuuya was waiting for you next to the door to the classroom, he had already changed out of his uniform, his backpack slung over one arm as he scanned the hallways, his eyes lit up when he spotted you. He took his drums from your hands and took them to the back of the class and you followed him. “You took a while, I was starting to get worried that Dazai got to you until he came up.” He chuckled, but you could hear that the thought alone made him uncomfortable. “I’ll let you get changed.” He reminded you that you were still wearing your uniform and you nodded, grabbing your backpack and heading to the restroom to change.

You stared at yourself in the mirror, suddenly self conscious about the way you looked. You so badly wanted Chuuya to like you, as more than a friend. Whenever you were around him you felt like you couldn’t breathe, he was so perfect and there was nothing more that you wanted than to call him your boyfriend. You didn’t know how he felt though, and you were way too nervous to ask him. You walked out of the bathroom, heading back to the music room to wait for your ride. Chuuya had probably already left, you would never find out what would come after the but. Even if you were to go to homecoming as friends, there was nothing bad about that, you would still be with him... right?

Taking a seat on the piano bench, you dropped your bag to the floor next to you and began playing a song that you had made up on the spot. It started out cheery, lilting and fun, then it slowly turned more solemn, kind of how you felt whenever you were with Chuuya. He was always able to cheer you up, he made you happy, he made you smile, whenever he would hug you it felt like your heart would explode out of your chest. Even with all of that though, you knew that there would never be anything more to your relationship. You would never be able to walk down the halls with your hand intertwined with his, giving him a quick kiss after he drops you off at your class. There would be no cute couple photos taken in photo booths filling the front of your binder.

Your fingers slid from the piano keys and rested by your side. “That was beautiful, I’ve never heard the song before. What song is it?” His voice was soft, he was hoping not to surprise you by coming in, and he was glad that he got to listen to you play. He never knew that you could play the piano, but that was just another thing he could add to the list of things you did that amazed him.

“I uh... I made it up.” You said, turning around in the bench to face him. “I thought you had already left.”

“No... I never got the chance to finish what I was saying earlier.” He rubbed the back of his head nervously, biting his cheek as he thought of how to word what he was going to say next. “I uhm... I didn’t want to just go as friends. I wanted to know if.... maybe you would like to be my girlfriend?” He asked, his voice rising an octave with each word.

You were shocked that he had asked, you had never thought that he felt that way about you. You couldn’t even manage to say yes, so you nodded, you nodded so fast that it made your head hurt. He laughed at your reaction, stepping forward to stand in front of you. He grabbed your hand and pulled you up off the bench, wrapping his arms tightly around your waist. It was different from the friendly hug he’d usually give you whenever he saw you in the hallways at school.

“Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to ask you that?” He asked quietly, his lips brushing the top of your head. The feeling sent shivers down your spine and you sighed as you rested your head against his chest.

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask?”

[diverse-hearts-ocs-a]

@multilili​ said: 

“This doesn’t have to be forever. If it doesn’t work out we can always get a divorce.” - Aku @ Garth

ARRANGED MARRIAGE STARTERS

He knows those words are supposed to bring with them a sense of comfort but it takes everything inside him to stop from scoffing at such a thought. If his father had arranged for this to happen then it was happening and if they tried to back out then all that would do was end up in pain, for them both no doubt. He wasn’t too sure on what to say, reaching over to sip on the strawberry lemonade to have been left on the table at his sides, one of the servants obviously knowing his favourite drink and trying to cheer him up, at least a little.  It wasn’t the others fault that they were to be wedded but he still couldn’t help but feel a little bitter towards them. It didn’t have to be forever? They could always get a divorce? It felt like it was a warning that everything was going to go wrong and that whatever it was that was being formed by their marriage, it could shatter like glass if he wasn’t careful with the steps to be taken.  “....you know my father wouldn’t accept such an outcome...do you truly believe that things could be so simply reserved?”, red eyes glanced towards his future husband, leaning over to place his half empty glass back on the table. If he entered this thinking this way, it wasn’t going to help anything and yet he was having trouble spinning much of a positive light. He should have already known that his life never belonged to him, that this was one way he could be useful to his father.  Well, what if he didn’t want to be useful? What if he was perfectly fine with remaining as the useless shell of a human that he’d always been seen as? You can’t go around calling someone worthless for twenty years just to turn around one day and claim that you could actually give them a purpose. Who would even accept such lies?

[thedarkdisgrace]

Thread analysis from my twitter about soukoku & Dazai specific stuff in this DA art since people were interested in my thoughts on it lol reminder it’s my personal interpretations on it.

This is part 2 essentially of the original post. This focuses just on Dazai and Chuuya.

Alright, so I’ll just start by readdressing a point from my other post just for convenience for people who didn’t see the other post. You can reread this or skip down to my newer points. Red thread typically symbolizes those who are destined to be together.

Dazai has the red thread of fate wrapped around his neck. Chuuya has one end & it's wrapped around his wrist, that seems to symbolize he's holding Dazai's life in his hands. It’s also wrapped around the wrist where Chuuya has his childhood scar, the one proving he’s human.

An obvious link to their shared humanity to me, despite they, themselves, not believing in their own. But it’s no surprise Chuuya holds one side of Dazai’s life, we all know they're inexplicably linked & fated. Chuuya is always there to save Dazai & Asagiri said he's the only one who understands Dazai always.

But it's interesting the other half of Dazai's string is first wrapped around his own wrist before continuing to Aku. This essentially saying Dazai holds his own life in his hands. Which obviously seems super accurate since we know his biggest enemy is often his own mind & the hole inside his chest that he has a hard time filling. It's where his suicidal tendencies come from. But essentially, Dazai's life is held only by Chuuya & then himself and I love that detail.

Moving on. Another thing I found interesting about Dazai in this art (& in DA in general) is that he is wearing an all white suit with a black inner shirt. While Chuuya is in his typical black outer coat & white inner shirt.

I believe this choice serves to emphasize the “yin/yang” of their relationship. The red thread bounds them together while their individual natures complement/complete each other, making them whole. Dazai seems to often see himself/his soul as truly dark by nature even as he lives in the light now, so it seems fitting.

He utilizes his darker nature to *protect* the light now, as he understands the darkness (the villains) that come for those in the light. I touched on that above as well.

Chuuya is the opposite but also similar. Chuuya having a “lighter” soul/heart by nature despite being shrouded in darkness. This is showcased in his fierce protective nature of those he cares for as well as the city he protects. His intense, unyielding belief that, despite all he has been through, people are *worth* suffering for, they’re *worth* protecting.

This in contrast to Dazai when they first met who believed “nothing he could pursue is worth the cost of prolonging this life”.

Chuuya believes people are worth it even while still living in the darkness (which it’s important to note dark doesn’t equal evil, everyone is grey and everyone has a role to play).

But even while living in it, *despite* it, he still holds onto his light. His humanity. Humanity is a consistent theme between Dazai & Chuuya.

They both end up making the other feel human, feel alive. Even their abilities are almost named *for* each other.

Chuuya’s ‘no longer human’ when corruption takes over, until Dazai brings him back to it. (Just to be clear, Chuuya is human. That was confirmed).

Dazai is ‘the tainted sorrow’ that Chuuya is able to awaken from that sorrow with his very nature, his vibrant showcase of humanity. I believe it’s his relationship he was able to form with Chuuya that not only kept him alive (“Chuuya convinced me not to die yet”) but also opened Dazai to the possibility that there *are* people worth it out there. It’s why he was open enough to form his relationships with Oda and Ango.

But despite their struggles, despite their methods even, they both are trying to protect what they can. Both have the capability of acting in the light & dark in equal measure.

Essentially, they’re both made up of different light & darknesses but they end up completing each other.

It’s also interesting they put Chuuya on Dazai’s “good” side. The side Dazai’s see the light with. Kinda shows you how Dazai views Chuuya.

—

Something else about Dazai’s clothes, he seems to be wearing a yellow ribbon on his “darker” side. Which I find very interesting given the yellow wrapped ribbon normally represents suicide *prevention*.

Yellow in Japanese culture also tends to represent courage, which is also fitting, it even used to represent role models.

(This next part I’m definitely reading too much into it but I still found it fun and interesting!)

But moving to the next interesting pieces, Dazai is holding an apple in his hand on his “darker” side. Given Dazai talks about apple suicide (+ being called dead apple) it seems these 2 pieces are at odds with each other.

The apple in this context representing death/suicide while the ribbon represents life/prevention.

But Dazai is holding an apple in his hand on his “darker” side. Given Dazai talks about apple suicide (+ being called dead apple) it seems these 2 pieces are at odds with each other.

The apple in this context representing death/suicide while the ribbon represents life/prevention.

So in this art, is the idea of apple suicide representing a dark irony? Dazai seeing death as good fortune? Or is the apple only representing the more surface level contrast of death with the ribbon being life? I think that’s up to interpretation.

Small side note, Chuuya’s hat being placed over his heart is definitely deliberate. The hat that helps protect his humanity, the hat that helps offer Chuuya some control, sitting atop of & covering his heart makes sense. It’s almost as armor, protecting his “light” as it were.

Now to talk about Dazai being the only one “awake” as it were & the specific eye that’s uncovered.

The fact it's the eye that used to be covered in the PM is an important choice. Especially given the eye that was open with the PM is closed.

Dazai seems to be seeing more of the good now, maybe even is starting to see the true value in light.

However, it's only because of his dark past he's been able to survive & help save the ada multiple times. I believe that's why it's *that* wrist, the wrist helping covering that eye that was open while in the mafia, that is bound by the red thread of fate.

That wrist being wrapped up symbolizing how he partly holds his own life in his hands (along side Chuuya holding the other part). His fate is bound by *both* his sides, the light & dark in equal measure.

Dazai holds one side for his own life because not only is he his own worse enemy but he ironically (sadly) can't live completely without that dark side of him.

It's the part that wants him to end his life but it's also thanks to that side & what he went through that he can survive so well now & help others. It’s allowed him to understand the villains they face. Of course his past is a tragedy, but what we go through makes us who we are. At least he can use it to save people now.

Another point, (this more of a stretch) the overall theme here seems to be fate, since the thread of fate is predominately featured.

Dazai being the only one with his eye open, the only one awake, could also mean he knows something about their fates that no one else does.

Maybe since his “light” eye is open it’s a good thing. But it could possibly even be linked to the book, either that he knows more about the book & what it contains more than everyone else or (& this is a much bigger stretch) that he may even have read/seen briefly a piece of the book

Maybe whatever the reason is part of the real reason he picked up both Atsushi & Akutagawa & formed shin soukoku. Because for all his & Chuuya’s might, they need something *specific* for what’s coming. Something only shin soukoku has & we already know Atsushi is connected to the book.

Plus the thread of fate is linking them *all* together here. Some more connected to each other obviously, soukoku together & then sskk + kyoka. But again, this last part is very much a stretch but it’s just something fun to think about.

I hope all this made sense. Like i said, this is all just my interpretations so take it as you will. Everyone is free to have their own interpretations & opinions. I definitely went a little overboard & went deeper than just the art itself but oh well lol

If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed my interpretations! Again some are deeper than originally intended & some are much more a stretch but thanks for coming to my ted talk lol

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Shadowhunters 3x19, Aku Cinta Kamu -- Review (Sort Of, More Like a Rant)

Just a disclaimer, as always. I'm not a fan of this show. In fact, I've gone pretty much into full hate on the show and I'm really only continuing with it because I've put up with it for so long that I feel obligated to finish it. If you're all about positivity for this show, this is not the review for you. I strongly discourage against reading it and if you do, it's at your own risk. My opinions may be offensive to you. Also, spoilers for the episode.

Okay, seriously, what does this show have against making Clary a flawed character with weaknesses? Why do they insist on making her the most bland, generic, uninteresting character possible? Or a better question. Why is every character in this show like this? Why are they all so bland and generic and uninteresting? Do the writers have some sort of contest on who can write the most uninteresting characters imaginable? If they are, they must be trying to break a tie or something.

That's it. That's my review on 3x19, Aku Cinta Kamu. This episode was more of the same thing thing we've been getting all season. But I'll rant anyway to make you feel that taking the trip to my blog was worth it.

Even though the plot's finally happening and things are going on, everything in this show just makes me feel empty inside. I'm literally just waiting for this show to end, I'm receiving no enjoyment from it. I can't believe I'm saying it but I miss season 1 where even when the show was bad, it was at least fun.

I hate that dark!Clary is a thing that's happening because of magic and not due to a reflection of Clary as a person. Give Clary character development, give her a sense of agency. Clary in her initial design is not meant to be a Mary Sue so why can't the show just let her be flawed and allow her to break away from this Mary Sue archetype? It's infuriating. She has all the groundwork to be this fascinating, interesting, flawed heroine and the show chooses to take advantage of none of it and instead chooses to be willfully ignorant of all her personality flaws that are so obviously there. There's nothing more horrible than watching a character who could be interesting never being taken in that direction. All for the sake of what? To say you're a feminist show and that you have strong female characters? Well, I got news for you, Writers of Shadowhunters. It's not about having strong FEMALE characters, it's about having strong female CHARACTERS.

The Malec break-up, as I've already said before, is ridiculously childish and melodramatic and I want it off my screen. Just like with dark!Clary, I'm always saying I want a Malec break-up so these two can have some time for soul-searching and really think about what they want (and you know, give me a reason to ship them other than just the fact that they're an lgbtq+ couple) but that's not what I'm getting here. This is a plot born of some of the most generic Malec fanfiction out there and the show is doing a terrible job with it. It's childish and ridiculous and boring. Not to mention, Magnus trying to erase his memories of Alec is crazy out of character whether you're looking at book!Magnus or show!Magnus. Magnus accepts his immortality, he accepts that the majority of his connections live short lives and they will die so memories are super important to him because after those people are gone, memories are all Magnus will have left of them. So the idea that Magnus wants to get rid of any of his memories of the love of his life (someone he's no doubt thought about their inevitability of death) is just ridiculous and out of character for me. And then of course Asmodeus showing up the day after Alec breaks up with him, Magnus can be dumb and nonsensical sometimes but he can't be this dumb, can he? And why is this show always trying to put Alec in this contest of Magjus's previous relationships? Why is the show always trying to prove that Magnus loves Alec more than anyone else he ever has? Is this show being written by a 16-year-old who's trying to get over their Twilight obsession?

Oh and Cleophas conveniently is nowhere to be found to help out with the re-forging of Glorious probably because the show's trying to save money and didn't want to waste some of it trying to get that actress back. But it's okay, by the power of plot convenience, Izzy conveniently knows everything on how to reforge Glorious. Insert obligatory, cringy Sizzy stuff.

And for some reason Maia and Jordan think their relationship is going to be fixed if they become mundanes? Their relationship was falling apart long before the werewolf thing. Their relationship fell apart initially because Jordan didn't respect the things Maia wanted. It has nothing to do with the supernatural. But show, you do you, I guess.

It feels like 3B in particular with its writing just keeps running around in circles with its plot. We didn't need the Lorenzo plot to get into the Magnis and Asmodeus plot, we could've just started with that. What was the point of the season starting with Clary and Jonathon together, then separating, and then coming back together again? We should've just kept them together the entire time and gone from there. And realistically, if the show really wanted Sizzy, Saia should've ended last season to give more time to develop Sizzy and make them feel less forced. And not to get off topic or anything, what even was the point of the Heidi plot? It was a complete waste of time that could've been devoted to perhaps a better Saia break-up and subsequent Sizzy development. Oh and then we could've had Maia challenging the alpha and becoming the new alpha like she should've all along. Basically, this episode feels like had this season been written more competently, this episode should've happened a few episodes ago instead of the first half of 3B being nothing but filler. This episode gets a C-. It was blah, I didn't care for it.

[vyrim]

Re-watching Samurai Jack now, and I really love the presentation of the action and story for each episode.

The way the framed scenes where you could piece together what is happening through the panning of the screen or slight movements was something I dont think I saw really in any of the cartoons back then. They were elaborate without needing super complex animations, instead leading your focus with the action itself. Jack could throw a couple swings out at different angles and poses and you knew that he was cutting through several enemies. The episode with the blind archers was really good about this because the setup displayed the archers' reliance on sound to take shots.

The way they used robots was also pretty brilliant, and allowed for circumventing what was probably pretty strict rules against graphic violence. Watching a robot get cut in half was super cool, and with how intense the fights would get I dont think I ever stopped being invested.

They were also really unique in how they would do fight scenes too. I remember how crazy that fight was with the shadow ninja, and how they made Jack use the pure white of his outfit as a means of hiding in the light when against the ninja's pure black that allowed it to hide in the shadows. They animation with just using two colors was/is insane.

The overall story and most of the episodes in the series are also pretty tragic and serious. Jack's is obviously pretty sad, being forced to travel the world for a means of getting home while helping people and fending off Aku's minions. Worse even when by not forsaking his morals and beliefs when it comes to being a warrior of good leads him to give up on potential opportunities for going back to the past to save others. Individual episodes can get really scary or upsetting too. I just finished the episode with the ultimate robot assassins which still is super terrifying. The buildup with Jack coming to the ruins of these cities, with the robot one being especially graphic and terrifying, is combined with a look at how each robot is being assembled. This gives us and idea of not only how terrifying these things are, but also shows that they are equally awe inspiring in design.

I'm really looking forward to just binging through all the seasons again. Especially the final 4th one with the really crazy and scary stuff. It does also make me pretty disappointed with how the fifth one ended up. I have nothing against the approach, minus the plot cause it ended up being real silly, cause im sure they had an audience that really liked that grittier approach to Jack. I just feel like an opportunity was really missed when it came to using the methods that were honed and refined in the past.

[rahmatbulan]

2020 is ending in like, 2 hours and a half. I'm just gonna write here things to close my 2020 if that makes sense heheh.

This year hasn't been easy, obviously everyone knows that. Other than my "freedom" been taken away due to the pandemic, i've also gone through a series of events that tested me.

Firstly, degree life. I thought i was ready, yk because i love psychology right? But turns out learning things online is not as easy i think it would be. Meeting new people online is not easy. Doing assignments as a degree students is not easy. i struggled alot trying to cope, trying to chase the report deadlines, all that was not easy but i'm glad i managed to do it tho. i'm grateful to have super helpful groupmates!

There is no any particular order.. its 2020 and i'm happy that my relationship with the people i treasure grew fonder. Surprisingly, the lack of physical contact urged all of us to make up through social contacts. Somehow, we became way closer, i learned alot about them too.

2020... its funny to think its already been 2 years since i first got my heartbroken. How sappy, but he was my first love sooo i guess you could say i'm still thinking about him from time to time. I never asked for anything now.. I stopped. You know, seeing him becoming the person he is now makes me understand everything. That the separation was a good call because i'd be holding him back. The thought really turned the question mark to a fullstop. I realized that that is the closure i was looking for. He didn't have to explained anything because there was no reason to begin with. Compare to last year too, this year's birthday was wayyyy better. My 19 year old self is happy. Youth is something that i hold onto very dear to myself. For some reason, the feeling of nostalgic and sentimental washes over. "i'm really growing up", thats what i thought. I'm happy that airil was a character in my last chapter. And i don't think it will ever change.

Athikah, Adini, Hannan, Maizura, Yasmeen, Faatihah, Alya, Amira, Muhaimeen, Haziq, Najmi & Ammar, thank you for this year guys. Pretty sure adini would be the only one who reads this (if she see la..) since shes following me kekeke ayo are u reading? Hm.. what else.. haha mmg tak banyak pun nak cerita sebab tahun ni tak banyak benda jadi.. all i do is duduk rumah je lol covid ok kita kena behave! I can't wait for next year though, my cousin's getting married! I'm so happy. I loveeee weddings hehe. Ah, also benda ni bullshit je tapi i did the 2021 prediction and it says i would be in a healthy relationship hahahha eh eh malu plak 🙈.

Cakap pasal benda ni en, nak tahu yang aku memang doa taehyung tu jodoh aku hahha. Ahhh i'll keep onto that sampai laaa someone else datang lol.

Uhmm... feeling super mushy rn so might say a few words for that "person".

I might come off cold, withdrawn or distant at first so i would so surprised if you're still interested with me.. also i can be complicated, in a sense where one minute i need my own time, another minute i would want to have you all for myself— please layan hehe. I'm still scared of this, yk? I fell hard and things didn't worked out... the trauma's still there. I'll let you in a secret, truth is i would tell everyone that i have trouble sleeping because i just do.. but truth is— i was waiting. For what? I'm not sure myself. Just a message from someone at 3am... eh im not making any sense. But yeah basically. I guess it became a habit. Will you change that?

Eh its 10pm already. Okay 2 hours away. Like all those years, i'm always nervous, giddy and anxious welcoming the new year.

Thank you 2020,

Dear 2021, lets have a good one.

-y.i

[jaku-the-askblog]

Ok so i couldnt do the exact way you prompted, because i tie in Aku’s “sickness” heavily with personal headcanons about how Aku even functions (which i will post once im done collecting them in a cohesive way), but i have attempted a thing nonetheless

under the cut cuz it ran a little long

(from here)

Jack races outside to a balcony from the citadel, and stares up, gawking, with the rest of the crowd at the dark underside of the tremendous spaceship lurking overhead that is now blocking out the sun. A virtual screen flickers on, and a green-scaled, bug-like face comes into view. Its antennae wriggle as the mandibles move to make a fast series of clicking noises, evidently speaking.

Jack is about to ask if anyone can understand what’s being said, but then a robotic voice rings out from the ship, louder than the alien.

“Your leader Aku is weak and we have come to take that power! Do not panic, and do not fight it, or you shall be met with consequences.”

Jack narrows his eyes, and is about to prepare to run inside and grab his sword when he notices that the minions and workers are all just...standing there. A few even look bored.

And that’s when he hears a whistle of air, and his eyes only barely catch the streak of black before it collides with the ship, but it doesn’t seem to impact it. Instead, darkness spreads over the ship like a giant wave, the screen of the alien’s face flickering out as the spread continues, until there is nothing but the solid mass of black.

Jack’s jaw drops open again as that mass begins to float away, but he winces as light from the sun filters back in as the ship leaves. The crowd begins to disperse back into the citadel, though Jack is still frozen to the spot.

“Amateurs.” one of the minions remarks, rolling his eyes under the hood while he passes Jack.

When Jack finally makes his way inside, in the main hall Aku stands there with a massive crew of aliens exactly like the one that had been on the screen, all looking terrified as they are handcuffed by Aku’s minions. He walks up on shaking legs, but he can’t decide if he’s terrified by the display or almost bursting with awe and excitement at it.

Aku seems to delay in noticing him, even creaking as he does so. He beams when he sees it’s Jack, however.

“Ah, samurai! I am glad you are here to witness these criminals experiencing punishment for their crimes!”

Jack succeeds in not flinching at that, and then notices Aku seems...wispy at his edges. His shoulders, especially, seem to be in a constant, barely-there state of dissolving away. He blinks and refocuses on Aku’s face.

“Er, yes, good job Aku.” Jack walks up to gently put his hand on Aku’s arm, and he frowns when Aku feels a little more liquid than solid. Aku stiffens, and instantly his body is its usual texture.

Neither of them mention it again, but Jack does learn that not only did Aku control himself and the ship, but once he had landed it safely he used his essence to control the hundred aliens or more to get them to teleport back to his lair.

Truly, just one more impressive feat that Jack now knew Aku was capable of.

— — —

That night, two more ships come in and start off attacking the city. Thankfully most of the damage is superficial, as Aku’s reaction is fast once more. He uses the same method for one of the ships, but once the second comes in he simply grows in size and grabs it from the air, then tears off its engines before not-so-gently putting it next to the other.

This time Jack catches a ride on one of the beetledrones, following them out to where Aku has landed the ships, and while the minions and beetledrones do their work of capturing and taking record of all the new prisoners Jack walks around, trying to find Aku after the demon seems to vanish.

They literally run into each other as Jack rounds a corner, and when Jack steps back he sees Aku’s form ripple and shudder, and Aku seems to have trouble reforming himself into his usual stature at his typical height. He makes a sort of annoyed growl, and after a couple seconds gets himself together.

“Any damage reports in?” Aku immediately begins. Jack nods, but he’s keeping a wary eye on Aku.

“Are you alright?” He can’t help but ask.

Aku snorts, but it turns into a grin as he strides up and past Jack. Jack turns and follows him.

“Your concern is touching, truly, but not necessary.” Aku’s voice is clipped, almost tight. Jack doesn’t pursue the subject, even if it lingers in him, because they grow too busy directing the beetledrones and checking in with the damaged areas.

Aku had always seemed quick to recover from the times they fought before, anyway.

— — —

In the next three days there’s a whole series of more ships, with at least three a day appearing at any location on the planet. Aku is always there instantly, taking care of it each time, but Jack begins to notice a distinct weariness to the demon’s features, and Aku seems to move around the castle more and more sluggishly. He’s of course insistent that he’s fine, but Jack makes sure to move his own work to Aku’s throne room or office as often as he can to keep close to Aku, and he casually requests Aku’s secretary to move as many appointments out of the way as possible for that week.

By the fourth day the alien species, which they now know is the Hvarkthons from the Sarris system, officially surrender. The prisons in the citadel haven’t been this full in at least a year, but after they all sign the treaties and contracts all the temporary prisoners are finally cleared out and a sigh of relief is collectively breathed around the castle.

Jack heads down to Aku’s office the next day, but as he gets closer he sees a trail of small black puddles that grow larger and more frequent as he nears the door. When he steps inside he notices that Aku is hunched over, his face on his desk, and the demon is— there’s no better word for it— dripping. His entire form just looks soggy.

Jack rushes up to his side, and carefully reaches his hand out to what he can make out to be Aku’s shoulder. He is sure that touching Aku like this won’t result in getting possessed by the demon’s essence again, but he’s also never been this close to Aku if the demon ever got like this.

“Aku?” he asks softly, and his hand makes contact with the wet shape. He grimaces as his hand starts to sink in, so he keeps the pressure light and is sure to only let it rest just on the surface of Aku’s form.

He hears a low groan from somewhere inside Aku, and the blackness wriggles and shivers. It takes nearly fifteen seconds before Aku peels his face from the desk with a suction noise and stares past Jack, squinting. His eyebrows are low, almost out, but at least he seems to be able to keep his face mostly in its normal form.

“Samurai?” he mumbles, then begins to cough and hack, his body trembling and jerking about violently in the chair. Jack pries his hand back, and some of Aku’s body comes away between his fingers before slowly falling away and to the floor.

Jack takes a breath, and straightens his back.

“Enough! You are going to bed, and resting until you are better.” He makes his voice as firm and projected as possible, and when Aku stops coughing he seems to understand, drooping his head but making a little nodding motion as he does.

Aku doesn't really stand so much as contort his body into an upright position, but immediately starts to tilt. Jack reacts instantly, stepping forward with his arms out to grab Aku, but when his hands make contact Aku falls all over him, coating Jack in a wet, black goo.

Jack had flinched, but after a few moments he can’t feel much on his face so he risks cracking open one eye, then the other. He looks over himself to see splatters of Aku everywhere, effectively coating him, and he peers down to see a pair of small flames burning from the center of his chest.

He blinks twice rapidly, and then sighs through his nose and starts to cautiously make his way out of the office and back through the hallways and stairs to their bedroom. He passes thankfully few minions and workers, who only give him wide eyes before steering clear of him.

When he finds the final staircase down, Aku begins to slip from him, his essence peeling down Jack’s body and clothing. Jack quickly cups his hands around the two eyebrows, holding them, as he picks up his pace.

He spits out to get off anything that might have landed near his mouth, and then offers in a reassuring tone, “Come on, just a little further. We are almost to bed.”

The essence seems to shudder in response, and stops dripping heavily long enough for Jack to reach their bedroom and allow the puddles to pool together and slide under the sheets.

Jack takes a breath, and walks around to sit on top of the sheets, settling himself in for a long meditation. He can’t think of what else to do— as far as he’d known, Aku should be immune to diseases. It’s not like the demon has organs, or anything to become unwell. The only other time he’d seen Aku like this he’d never figured out what had caused it, and he’d never thought to ask Aku.

He loses track of time, and before he knows it he’s woken up by a hand on his leg. He shakes himself out of the lost state, and looks over to see a still obviously under-the-weather Aku, but at least he has a face and horns again.

The demon sniffles, a short series of deep, snorting noises, and clenches his half-formed hand into Jack’s leg with all the power of a small child.

“Is there anything I may do to help?” Jack offers, placing his own hand over Aku’s. It’s still mostly a liquid state, but at least he can distinguish between fingers.

Aku starts to cough again, hacking up essence that spills onto the pillow before it drools down to go back into his body. Jack watches with something akin to morbid fascination, since Aku’s anatomy is a strange (but sometimes fascinating) thing.

The demon paws at Jack’s leg, hitting the apex between his hip and thigh, and Jack almost warms a bit. But he takes a guess and lays down closer to Aku, bringing their hands up and between them. Aku seems to settle, closing his eyes again and starting to snore shortly thereafter.

Jack chuckles softly and lets himself relax again. He’ll be here for Aku, as long as the demon wishes.

[cctaehyung]

seduce 👀

seduce —  write my character trying to seduce yours or vice versa 

he had always imagined the ballroom to be a place of elegance. if a party were held in one, it’d be full of the rich who had class and a table with champagne or sparkling water for anyone who wasn’t of age. there would be a buffet along with a few snacks if anyone wanted something lighter and classical music played at the front at some random corner as people danced to it or just simply listened. the visitors had a mask on. whether it’d be an actual mask that covered the top half of their face, a mental mask to hide any thought or emotion that might seem obvious on a person’s face, or maybe some combination of both. even if something seemed familiar, it had to be foreign in some way. that’s how ballroom parties worked in his head, specifically masquerade ones. 

apart from the outfit and the mask that matched along with it, ricky did not necessarily feel any different. he had no idea what yuuko, aku, eli moon, or any other magical being had planned when setting up the event, but he was confident that not all intentions were normal. the strange vibe of magic was clear in the air the moment the boy walked into the building and he did not feel comfortable with it. luckily, it wasn’t similar to the one he felt at the expo. he would’ve left as soon as he felt that again. 

despite the fact that they wore masks, taehyung obviously recognized his friends, enemies, teammates and acquaintances all around. their outfits, especially the women’s, were extravagant to say the least. he felt confident in his own outfit enough, but just looking at everyone else made him feel as if this was a room full of so much colour surrounded by walls and a floor of gold. 

his features could be recognizable. he was sure that as he turns and looks around, he would encounter someone who would immediately know who he was. he hasn’t talked with much people to begin with, but the looks people gave him show the fact that they could identify him in the huge crowd. it wasn’t a sign that was necessary, but he still appreciated it. 

he eventually finds himself at the tables where most of the partygoers sat. seeing them, taehyung was able to tell if they sat because they were tired or if they had nothing else to do but to eat or watch other people do what they needed to do. it was easy for him to know. it was easy for any other person to know. 

among those tables however, he sees a familiar figure and he stops walking and looking around the moment he spots him. he wasn’t even looking for him in the first place. sure, he was searching for some company so he didn’t look like a lonely idiot, but the fact that fate had somehow brought this boy right to him was hilarious. it seems as if the two of them were destined to run into each other at the most unfortunately fitting times.

after coming to a decision, he walks to the table to ask the boy who sat there a question. “is this seat taken?”

he doesn’t reply automatically, but judging from the tone of his voice, it seemed as if he knew ricky was speaking. “yeah,” he replies. “you can’t sit here.” 

ricky smiles to himself at the response. “i see you’re still bitter as ever,” he replies, walking over to the seat in front of him and sitting down. “i’ll warm up the seat for this someone then. that way, other people wouldn’t be willing to take it.” 

yoongi rolls his eyes. “whatever.” 

even if he got the message that he was not in the mood to talk to him, taehyung still tries to keep a conversation going between the both of them. reasons why? to be annoying while also keeping himself company. 

“didn’t think i’d see you here tonight,” ricky starts. “i’m sure you got an invitation, but you could’ve declined. did someone drag you to the party?”

“why is it any of your business if someone else brought me here or not?” he asks. “you don’t see me asking you if your brothers forced you to come to this place.” 

he raises his eyebrows. “well, to answer your question, they didn’t,” he answers. “i was forced to come here because of the invitation. special class members are required.”

“what a shame. maybe i shouldn’t have come so i didn’t get to see your annoying face.” 

“this annoying face is helping you make the party less boring, though,” he states. “you should be grateful.” 

“and how are you going to make it any less boring?” he asks. “by continuing to irritate me?”

the music in the background and the people dancing in the ballroom gives taehyung an idea. “how about you dance with me?” 

yoongi blinks and gives a look of disbelief. “excuse me?” 

“you heard me,” he replies, standing up from his seat afterwards. he walks to the side of yoongi’s chair, holding out a hand to him. “why? don’t think you can dance?” 

“i never said i couldn’t-” 

“dance with me, then,” he says with a cool, yet reassuring smile. “you can dance with the devil just for tonight. that’s all i’m asking you.” 

he’s hesitant, but he takes the hand anyway, letting the other help him stand up from his chair. with yoongi following behind him, taehyung walks to the floor while not letting go of his hand. the moment taehyung stops and pulls yoongi over to get the both of them to face each other, the boy stomps on his foot, earning a hiss from the redhead in response to the pain. 

“sorry,” he says sarcastically. “didn’t see your foot there.” 

he does nothing about the action but give him a forced smile as they kept going on. he’s never been taught, but it’s not like he didn’t know how to dance. he’s danced with yoongi before, just not in this setting and not in this situation.

it’s a bit of a surprise to him that there was no one messing up. taehyung didn’t want to ruin this moment with any weird steps or hesitations, but it seemed as if no matter what he did, yoongi would follow. the satisfaction of how they went along with what the other did made it difficult to not grin like an idiot over something as little as that, but ricky made sure to keep his composure. besides the bright mask he put on today, he also had confidence. he was aware that it had always been a good look on him. 

even if they were dancing, taehyung still wanted to make sure there would be an ongoing conversation between the both of them. “say, you’re not so bad at this,” he compliments him. “did you have lessons for dancing during those two years or something?” 

“you’re not too bad either,” the other responds. “did you learn how to dance to impress someone? i wouldn’t be surprised if you only danced just to get into someone’s pants.” 

ouch. “well, people would do anything to get what they want,” he replies. “i just wanted some company. couldn’t handle being alone.” 

“if you couldn’t handle being alone, why did you push me away then?” yoongi asks, getting direct eye contact with him.

“i have my reasons,” he says, refusing to break the stare as they continued to move along. “all that really matters is that i’m not the same person i was before.” 

yoongi looks away from him then. “you don’t need to tell me. i know that already,” he replies bluntly. “you were nicer and less of a prick.” 

the dance stops for a bit as taehyung looks at the boy who refused to face him. “i’m not talking about that,” he states, continuing the dance despite the personal conversation. “i’m not some slut who sleeps around with random strangers anymore, you know. i haven’t done that in a while.” 

yoongi hesitates. “that… doesn’t change the fact that you’re not any less of a jerk.”

“but i’m not pushing you away now,” he answers before putting their dance to an end by pulling the other close, unintentionally getting the other to look back at him. “i’m pulling you close.” 

the world around them suddenly becomes quiet and blurry. rather than feeling as if they were at a party with other people around them, taehyung felt as if it was just the two of them in the room together. the longer they looked at each other, the more taehyung felt as if he was about to float. even if his feet were firmly on the ground, he felt as if he was about to float up into the air. 

he begins to wonder if yoongi felt the same. did he still even have feelings for taehyung? did he even know that he did? taehyung was no longer a hero in yoongi’s eyes. he wasn’t even the boyfriend. he wished there was a way he would know how yoongi felt. perhaps if they swapped for the day, that might let taehyung know if he was free from the racing heartbeat or if he would still have it. 

the gaze on yoongi’s eyes suddenly fall to his lips. he hasn’t seen them this close in a while. the fact that they were right in front of him now felt unbelievable to him. he didn’t want to have to ask yoongi to pinch him to make sure he’s not dreaming right now. just the simple fact that yoongi was close to him now felt like reality was far from his reach. 

as soon as he closes the space between them to kiss those lips, even with how soft they are, he doesn’t feel so light anymore. in fact, everything was slowly going back to normal. the kiss wasn’t short and sweet, but it was long and romantic. no longer did taehyung feel as if he was floating off of the ground or as if yoongi and him were the only ones in the world together. he was back on the planet earth in a party surrounded by many people in a ballroom. 

when he pulls back, it all comes back to him and though the feeling felt foreign, it also felt comfortable. the fact that taehyung was no longer kissing yoongi anymore felt odd to him, which he found confusing. rather than wanting to kiss him again while he was gone, taehyung just simply wanted him back. when he saw him again, he just wanted him to be safe. there was no thoughts on touch or the crave of it. it was strictly thoughts on his wellbeing and the fact that he was alive and well. 

taehyung hadn’t felt like wanting to kiss yoongi again in such a long time that the moment the feeling returns to him, he finds it irritating to be surrounded by so many people. god, that boy was so powerful. he makes ricky feel so much in his heart that he’s surprised that it hasn’t burst with love yet. 

but, love had already been given. even if he still wanted it, he just wanted to have to feel those lips against his once again for perhaps maybe a longer time. 

taehyung looks around himself before looking back at the boy in front of him. “say… you wanna ditch the dance floor and have some more fun somewhere else?” 

no words come out of yoongi’s pretty lips. he only nods, earning a grin from ricky. 

“then let’s get out of here.” 

rather than being in a place full of light, they were now surrounded by darkness. the sound of the music is distant, while the sound of voices aren’t that audible where they are. the both of them wanted to be somewhere private on the floor, but not too far from the center of attention. it wasn’t like they were going to do something too scandalous now. hopefully that would left for later outside of the party. taehyung knew yoongi well enough that at this point of time, he wouldn’t feel comfortable with having sex at a place like this, regardless if they were hidden or not. 

it was never listed on taehyung’s agenda to make out with yoongi tonight, but he was far from upset about the fact that he was doing just that. after having not kissed the boy in such a long time, he feels as if he deserved this. sure, yoongi doesn’t know exactly how ricky feels about all of this, but he didn’t need to. it’d be too complicated for him to fully understand, anyway. 

taehyung was obsessed. he was in love with having to feel yoongi’s lips against his again and again. no longer was there a mask covering their faces to get in the way. when the both of them kiss each other, taehyung is relieved to not have to feel anything else touch him other than yoongi and vice versa. the scent, touch, and sound as they continued to kiss each other felt like home, but in a strange way. at a setting like this, it made sense to feel this even now.

he pulls away for a bit to let the both of them catch their breath. “god,” he says breathlessly. “you have no idea how long i have wanted to do that.”

“to makeout with me?” yoongi asks.

“just- to kiss you, in general,” ricky replies.

“why did you even kiss me in the first place?”

“couldn’t help it,” he answers. “your lips just looked so soft and irresistible.”

“you little-” yoongi stops the moment he sees ricky’s smile. “ugh. just shut up and keep on kissing me.”

taehyung laughs. “whatever you say, sweetheart,” he says before he kisses him again.

like how it went the first time, the kiss starts off sweet and gentle before taehyung deepens it, making yoongi sigh into it. the action gives ricky the idea to move the kisses lower from his lips to his neck to get more of a reaction from him. fortunately, yoongi gives him what he wants by moaning lowly, making taehyung smile against the skin of his neck. he wants to say a snarky comment, but he holds it in as he continues. 

unfortunately, to ruin the moment, taehyung feels his phone vibrate in his pocket that forces him to pull away. he quickly looks at the contact name and sighs to himself before he looks back at an expecting yoongi. 

“duty calls,” he says. “the boss is calling me.” 

yoongi lets out a silent whine that taehyung was able to hear. it makes him smile before he holds yoongi’s hand. 

“i’ll make it quick. i promise,” he says before leaning in to give the boy one last kiss for now.  he pulls back and whispers low enough for the other to hear. “when i come back, let’s take round two somewhere else other than here, hm?” 

the reaction on the other’s face lets taehyung take it as a yes, letting go of his hand as he walks away. “i’ll see you later then, kitten!” he says while walking away. he stops to turn around back at the other. “by the way, you look amazing tonight,” he turns around quickly so that he doesn’t see the other’s reaction before he takes the call and puts his phone up to his ear.