#all the earlier specials were super easy to find but i can only find shitty quality mirror flipped zoomed in ones of this it;s tragic

[butchtwelfthdoctor]

hi does anyone know a non-virus-ey place to watch doctor who s11 special resolution 2019 that isnt bbc that would be amazing thanks <33

[livwritesstuff]

Angsty question- feel free to ignore if you want.

Historically, dads yelling has always been a very not-good sound. Especially to girls.

What happened the first time Steve or Eddie (or both) yelled? Not even at the girls; it could’ve been a heated argument they were having.

How old were the girls? What did they do? How did Steve and Eddie feel? What did they do?

oooh okay i definitely took my time mulling over this one bc i wanna make sure i’m getting my wording right

(and reading this back i’m realizing i kind of don’t really answer your actual question hope that’s okay lol)

I think a really important facet of this is that (in this ‘verse) Steve is a licensed and practicing trauma counselor. Not only does he know how harmful (and counter-productive) yelling can be, he also knows all sorts of other methods for communication that are just better.

It’s not that the girls don’t ever piss him off or do stupid shit and get in trouble – he just knows way more effective ways to get them to realize oh shit, I fucked up than by yelling at them.

(I think if anything, he could be a stress-yeller, but by the time he and Eddie start fostering kids, he’s been through so much shit that he doesn’t really ever hit that stress threshold anymore).

And then, I think with Eddie, he’s still as dramatic as ever even in middle-aged adulthood, and I think he gets loud about things pretty much regardless of the emotion behind it, so the girls aren’t super phased by it if/when he does get loud from a place of anger or frustration. I also feel like Eddie tends to defer to Steve when it comes to the heavier parts of parenthood, precisely because he knows that Steve is coming at it from a place of clinical expertise in a way that he himself isn’t. Steve isn’t a yeller, so neither is Eddie. Maybe if Steve had been more inclined to yell, Eddie would be too.

Same thing applies with Steve and Eddie’s communication with each other – they don’t really get into screaming matches over shit, but when they do argue or have disagreements or conflict or whatever, they get mean, and I think this is where there could be some problems. 

Like, they can throw some serious barbs at each other when they want to (and they’ve known each other for a long time so they’ve got plenty of ammo), and when the girls are little, it’s easy to forget in the heat of the moment that they actually can understand what their dads are saying.

Hence why, a few hours after an argument (about nothing – they were just both in pissy moods at the same time, and with Hazel not even five months old yet they’re not really getting much sleep which doesn’t help things at all), Steve finds three-year-old Robbie crying in her room, and when he asks her what’s wrong, she whimpers, “Moe said you and Daddy are gonna get a divorce.”

And, fuck, Moe is only six, and Steve didn’t know that she even knew what divorce was (though it’s possible he and Eddie had gossiped a little too close to the sun about one of their neighbors’ divorce earlier that same week, so maybe that one's on them), and the notion that her brain had been able to make that connection from the things she'd heard earlier had Steve feeling like the worst guy on the planet.

Then, when they sat down with the older two girls to make sure they knew that everything was fine and no one was getting divorced, it only got worse because Moe started repeating back to them the shitty things they had said to each other, and there’s a special kind of shame in hearing word-for-word the vitriol he’d directed at Eddie – who he loves; no argument could ever change that – coming out of his kindergartener’s mouth.

Yeah, so anyways, I don’t really think yelling would necessarily be an issue with them, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some real flaws in their communication that stick with the girls.

[matthewtkachuk]

the essay - rafe cameron

rafe’s having issues with his philosophy class, especially the paper worth thirty percent of his grade. you’ve already taken the class, crushed the essay, and rafe offers to take care of you if you take care of the paper for him

warnings: smutty smut smut (sorry not sorry), oral (female receiving), penetrative sex, lil bit of cockwarming, idk man it’s smut

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

word count: 2.5k

a/n: surprise smut saturday ig hehe, s/o to @sortagaysortahigh​ for the ffhd universe - here’s frat!rafe being a lil shit 

Rafe has to take a humanities class as part of his general ed requirements and he fuckin hates it. He thinks the prof is an old fuck who talks in riddles and he finds himself falling asleep during the 8 am lecture.

Luckily, you, his super hot super smart girlfriend (yeah, he’s sucking up a little, sue him) already took the course and you’re willing to share your immaculate notes (color coded and shit fuck yeah).

Except, Rafe is lazy and hates the content so much that he literally can’t focus when he goes to try and study your notes, so you decide to help him, sitting cross legged on his bed as he sits in his desk chair. You’re asking him questions and for everyone he gets right you lean over and give him a lil baby kiss.

He still thinks the content is stupid and overcomplicated for no reason, “I don’t understand why they don’t just say what they mean?” He groans as you attempt to explain John Locke’s two treatises of government, explaining that men are by nature free and equal. But, he likes the sound of your voice, and he is actually learning something.

He doesn’t totally bomb his first quiz, pulling off a pretty decent mark for sleeping his way through the class, and you definitely celebrate, with you showing him just how proud you were of him by letting him shove his cock down your throat.

It’s all going well, until the essay. The fucking essay.

Rafe thinks its stupid as shit, he hates essays, he’s a fuckin business major for fucks sake. Humanities can kiss his ass, you know.

He’s sat hunched at his desk, shoulders stiff with tension when you walk into his room, his philosophy textbook that he literally has not cracked once this semester is open beside him. His hair is disheveled from running his hands through it in frustration you assume. You pout, you don’t like seeing Rafe upset like this. Your frat boy boyfriend is usually calm and collected - you’re the one who gets a little too stressed when it comes to school.

Sliding your arms around his shoulders from behind, you press a kiss to the side of his face, “you okay baby?” He groans, and you feel the vibration through your entire body. He leans back into your embrace, letting his head fall back far enough that you’re able to kiss his forehead twice, making him smile

“No, this essay is fuckin stupid,” he grumbles and you can’t help but giggle at the stormy look on his face. He pouts again, turning his head to the side and puckers his lips hoping you get the hint. You peck his lips quickly once, before leaning back.

“It’s really not that bad Rafe, I got like an A on it”. At your words, something flashes behind his eyes, and he’s quick to slink out of your embrace, rolling his chair around and pulling you down onto his lap. You laugh, hands flying to grip his shoulders to keep your balance. He’s just looking at you, a small smirk on his face that makes your face feel hot. Sliding your hands from his shoulders to cup his neck you ask, “what?” But his smirk only grows wider.

Your eyes flutter shut as his lips trace a path along your jaw before he stops at your ear and whispers, “if it’s so easy why don’t you write it for me then?”

You gasp and push against his chest, “No way Rafe, I passed that class once I'm done with it.”

He grins against your neck where his kisses have migrated, his large hands gripping your hips to keep you close, “I’ll make it worth your while baby” you pause for a moment, distracted by the way he’s sucking and biting at the delicate skin of your neck, before shaking your head.

“That sounds like prostitution Rafe,” you attempt to snap at him, but the effect is lost with how breathy your voice is.

“No baby, you’ve got it all wrong,” he punctuates his point by lighting scraping his teeth against your pulse point, “it’s appreciation”

“You’re an idiot” you push against his chest again, trying to wiggle out of his hold, but his large hands don’t let go, his thumbs rubbing against your hip bone.

“C’mon baby,” he whines, lifting his head to rest your foreheads together, “I need your help”. You close your eyes, when his voice gets all whiny like that, it does something for you and he knows it and is using it to his advantage.

“Rafe, that’s literally the definition of academic dishonesty.” You tried to reason with him, but the thing about Rafe Cameron is that he’s not typically very reasonable.

“Only if we get caught baby,” he pressed a kiss to your shoulder, “Just write something shitty.”

“I literally cannot write a shitty essay,” you hissed, but sighed looking at his puppy dog pout, “If I agree-”

He cut you off with a big kiss, “thank you baby-”

You pushed his face back from you and continued speaking, hands holding his face away, “If I agree, I’m just going to formulate your arguments and find you quotes, the only thing I’ll write for you is the thesis statement, the rest you have to take care of.”

“Alright,” he nodded before kissing your shoulder again, “now let me take care of you.”

You sighed and relaxed your tense shoulders, wrapping your arms around his neck and letting him kiss you. Before you know it, the kiss is hot and passionate, and you feel your heart in your stomach. His one arm is warm and strong against your lower back, pressing your chests together as you grind down on his lap. His other hand is curled against the base of your neck, pressing slightly into the flesh. Your mind is so clouded over with lust, you’re startled when he lets go of your throat to keep you steady as he stands up from the computer chair. Your legs instinctually wrap around his waist as he carries you to the bed. You whimper at the ease with which he supports you, turned on by the idea of your six foot three boyfriend manhandling you.

He lays you down gently on the bed and loses his shirt before kneeling over your body and leaning down to connect your lips again. Your fingers trace his abs, around his hips and up the smooth muscles of his back, feeling the goosebumps erupt on his skin after your touch. His hand slips under your oversized t-shirt, the cold metal of the ring he wears on his index finger a contrast against your warm skin. He helps you out of the item of clothing, you sit up a little to help get it over your head before your lips are together again.

The lower half of his body grinds against yours, causing you to throw your head back and gasp at the friction you desperately crave in that moment. You feel his smirk against your skin as he resumes his earlier ministrations against your neck, marking up your neck.

“No marks, Rafe,” you whine, already irritated about having to cover up the healing marks he previously left. Your friends giggle and tease you when you don’t cover them.

“You’re my girl, want everyone to know,” he shrugs, continuing his assault on your neck, licking and sucking until purple bruises litter your throat. You can’t help the flutter of your heart at his words, despite your slight annoyance over his possessiveness.

You trail a hand up from between his shoulder blades to pull on his hair, hard enough to pull him from your neck but not enough to actually hurt, and his lust-blown pupils stare into your eyes for a moment before he’s attaching your lips together again. Tongues lazily meeting, his hand finding its place around your neck again.

It’s not long before he’s kissing his way down your neck and across your collarbone before finding your breast. He sucks a few marks against the soft skin of your right breast, as he massages the other. “God, Rafe,” you moan as he pulls a nipple into his mouth, teeth lightly scraping against the sensitive flesh. Your back curves up at the sensation, pressing your bodies even closer together. As he moves to give attention to your other breast, you make eye contact, sucking your bottom lip between your teeth at the sight of him - messy hair and a hungry look in his eyes. This is your favorite Rafe, you muse, unkempt, unrestrained. You know his childhood wasn’t the most pleasant, know that he was saddled with responsibilities and expectations like Atlas was saddled with the world on his shoulders. When Rafe is like this, his guard is down and his state of vulnerability, the one that he only shares with you, makes you feel special.

You’re broken out of your thoughts by the feeling of lips pressing their way down your abdomen and you clench your stomach at the sensation, but a hand softly rubs your hip as he murmurs, “beautiful” against your skin. You can’t fight the small smile, even as he prepares to ruin you he’s offering you sweet reassurances. That’s the duality of your fratboy boyfriend - equal parts saccharine sweet and sultry suggestive.

You tense again as he runs a hand against your clothed heat. “Relax, baby, I’ll take care of you,” he smirks, hooking a finger in either side of your shorts, pulling them down along with your underwear to reveal your bare self to him. He licks his lips before running a finger through your folds, cocky grin returning to his face as he says, “so wet, baby, all for me?” It’s difficult to find the words to respond to him, so you just whimper in response. His thumb rubs circles on your clit as he lowers his mouth to your pussy, tongue probing your entrance. 

One hand grips the sheets, while the other grabs his hair, tugging lightly when he replaces his tongue with two fingers. He fingers you slowly, torturing you with the slow pace before you tug on his hair again and whine, “more, please.”

“Since you asked so nicely,” he smirks, increasing the pace and curling them slightly inside of you to stroke your walls. “Think you can take another?” he doesn’t wait for you to respond, sucking on your clit between his lips and slipping a third finger into you.

As your orgasm approaches, that familiar sensation begins to pull at your stomach. You try to push his head away from you, the feeling almost too much. He just grabs that hand and links your hands together, the simple act coupled with the way his fingers are curled inside of you has you seeing stars, grinding your pussy against his face as your back arches. He continues to work you with his mouth and his fingers as you come down from your high.

He moves to hover over you again, kissing you hotly as your fingers move to grip him over his sweatpants. He grabs your hand and breaks the kiss, “no baby, I’m taking care of you tonight.” He gets up, slips out of his remaining clothes and easily flips you over so your stomach is pressed into the mattress. Lifting yourself onto your hands and knees, you look at him over your shoulder, biting your lip as he strokes himself a few times. He runs a hand down your back slowly before squeezing your ass with one hand as he lines himself up with his other.

You moan, head falling forward as he enters you slowly, giving you a chance to adjust and catch your breath before he’s relentlessly pounding into you. You’re a whimpering mess, hands desperately clinging to the bed sheets, loving the way he feels inside of you, the way his hands grip your waist. You feel him shift before your back is pressed to his chest, as he continues to press his hips into yours.

This angle does it for you, he’s entering you more deeply and his whiny moans in your ear spurn you closer and closer to another orgasm. He’s murmuring sweet affirmations into your ear, telling you how good you feel, what a good girl you are taking his cock so well. It’s when he sinks his teeth into the juncture of your neck and shoulder, as his hand dips to rub between your legs that the coil snaps once more. You scream his name as you cum, head falling back against him as he fucks you through it.

He’s close now, and you whine as he slips out of you, shifting until he’s laying on his back and you’re hovering over him. His hands grip your hips once again as he helps you lower yourself onto him. You do your best to roll your hips as you ride him, but you’re oversensitive and tired, so he quickly takes over thrusting up into you. This is his favorite view, you with your head thrown back, one hand gripping your own breast, the other rubbing circles on your clit as you bounce on his cock. He doesn’t last much longer, cumming with a whiny groan as he cums inside of you. His hand replaces yours on your clit as he continues to thrust up into you until you cum again, collapsing on his chest still seated on his cock.

“Fuck,” you breathe out, utterly exhausted as you wrap your arms around his body and press a kiss to his chest unable to move any further. He chuckles, moving a hand to run through your hair. It’s silent for a few moments, the only sound in the room your shared disordered breathing.

“Y’know baby I could marry you,” he murmurs in his post-orgasmic state, holding you tightly to his chest. His words awake butterflies in your stomach and you know he feels the erratic beating of your heart against his skin. You can’t deny the feeling of arousal that pools in your belly as you roll your eyes.

“Shut up, Rafe. Talk to me after you’ve finished hazing pledges and I’ve been accepted into my masters program.” Despite your nonchalance, you’ve thought about it. How could you not have thought about it after an imperfectly perfect year with the man at your side. You loved him, all of him - he could be an asshole, but he was your asshole. Always protective, always ready to defend you, always so, so loving, you think you could spend the rest of your life loving him.

“I mean it,” he replies, fingers dancing along the ridges of your spine. You shiver as he leaves goosebumps after his touch.

You pull back slightly to look him in the eye, “I’m not going to write your paper for you,” you accuse, suspicious of his motives. There’s love behind his eyes, but also a dark rim of lust around his pupils.

“Maybe you’ll change your mind after round 2,” he smirks, flipping the two of you so you lie underneath him once more as he leans his weight on his forearms on either side of your face, lowering his lips to yours.

taglist bbs: @velyssaraptor​ @danicarosaline​ @copper-boom​ @x-lulu​ @prejudic3​ @rekrappeter​ @downbytheouterbanks​​ @ilovejjmaybank​​ @bricksatanakinswindow​​ @jellyfishbeansontoast​ @sunwardsss​​ @rudyypankow​ @im-a-stranger-thing​ @alexa-playafricabytoto​ @maybankfullkook​ @girlsru1eboysdroo1​ @sortagaysortahigh​ @socialwriter​ @bluesiderudy​ @anxietyandtacos​ @diverrdown​ @stargazingstarkey​

[ramblyimagines]

New Year’s kisses!

With -> Aizawa, Mic, Hawks, Midnight, Ms. Joke and Fatgum! After such a crappy year, let’s give the pros some love!

Nemuri Kayama (Midnight)

Nemuri LOVES New Year’s celebrations!!! She loves getting all dressed up and going to the club but that’s obviously not happening this year

So instead, she’ll get all dressed up to stay home! And insist that you do too! She’ll be right there by your side the entire time to chat or gossip and compliment you every five seconds while you pick out your outfit and do your hair

She isn’t the best cook in the world but she can make a few dishes that are just...so warm. You can taste the love she put into cooking them! But tonight she isn’t feeling like a fancy dinner. So she whips up a huge bowl of ramen with thick chunks of pork thrown in as well as veggies! And of course some eggs!

You can’t help but laugh when you sit to eat together cause...holy cow! Neither of you can eat that much!! Looks like you’ll have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! And the day after!

She takes it upon herself to put a towel around your shoulders to act as a bib so you don’t spill food down the front of you. She’ll tease you about it as if she isn’t wearing one too “Awww look at you! So cuuuteee! Like a big baby!”

Neither of you pick up after dinner besides putting the leftovers in the fridge for later. The dishes can wait! You’ve got each other all to yourselves...might as well make the most of it.

You dance together, hands all over each other, unable to resist the urge...You’re kissing long before the countdown begins :0

She puts a finger against your lips, pausing to smile at the firework display visible from your apartment “Looks like we missed it. Oh well, you’re not going anywhere anyway. Happy new year, honey”

You’ll get plenty of kisses to make up for it! And much more :0 You’ll return the favor too of course! She deserves it :’)

Cont...

Shouta Aizawa (Eraserhead)

Shouta managed to get the night off so despite it being a holiday, he’s not wasting this opportunity to rest

He’ll order some really shitty takeout and have a movie marathon! He lets you pick the movies and konks out halfway through the first one

If you really want him to stay up he will but is it really that important to stay up? Just set an alarm for 11:55pm and call it good!

Being the persuasive little shit he is, he’ll probably get you to curl up and nap with him. I mean...it’s hard to resist when he’s so warm and his hugs are so inviting

You turn the tv down and set the channel to where the countdown would be later tonight so you can rest together

Sure enough, your alarm goes off just as planned! You gently shake him awake so you can watch the last pre-countdown performance of the night together

You count down along with the announcer and once it hits zero, Shouta smiles :) he pulls you down for a lazy, tired kiss, his hands running up and down your back ‘Happy new year...can we go to bed now? It’s so late...’ Of course you can’t say no to that handsome face

Emi Fukukado (Ms. Joke)

Emi has been planning this for awhile!! She bought party poppers, silly hats, board games, noise makers- all kinds of stuff to make your night together special!

She keeps the countdown channel on all day long, watching the speeches and performances from celebrities “Ooo!!! I didn’t know they were performing!!! So cool!!”

Her eyes light up as she watches, practically bouncing in her seat while crushing your hand in her grip

You eat tons of popcorn and candy while playing charades, Twister and Mario Kart on her Switch. Some other games she brings out are tough to play with two people but eventually, you guys just make up your own rules! It’s more fun that way!

She jumps for joy when the countdown starts! She gets her party popper ready and fixes your hat “Here we go!!! TEN! NINE! EIGHT!-“

You both pop your confetti poppers and laugh as it rains down on you. She grabs you and dips you with a grin “Here comes your kiss, sweetheart!” Your silly, giggly kiss slowly melts into a warm, loving one

“I’m so happy that I got to spend this year with you! I wouldn’t wanna be with anyone else. Let’s kick 2021’s ass together, what do you say?”

Hizashi Yamada (Present Mic)

Hizashi is beyond excited to be spending New Years with you! He’s got all kinds of snacks dumped out into big ol’ bowls and soda in champagne glasses since he isn’t exactly the biggest fan of alcohol

His hair is down and the ‘Present Mic’ facade is gone for the night so you’ve really got Hizashi all to yourself :)

He has a whole playlist made of songs you guys enjoyed together throughout the year! He frequently pauses songs to reminisce with you ‘OH! Remember when we went to the beach and that kid totally face planted in the sand? This song was playing!’ He remembers these moments so clearly just cause he associates then with songs! There’s plenty of moments that he loves to remember

You two don’t tune into the countdown or the pre-countdown performances or speeches. Instead, you play Guitar Hero!! It gets so competitive that you find yourselves sweaty and out of breath by the end of the final game before you realize ‘oh shit! Thirty seconds to midnight!’

You fumble with the remote and just barely make it! “5...4...3...2...1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Hizashi whoops and yells, pulling you into a sweaty hug ‘WOHOO!! This is gonna be our year babe I just know it!’

Before you can even get a word out he smushes your lips together. It isn’t exactly romantic or anything but you two are smiling and giggling like idiots anyways :)

Now that you’ve caught your breath...How about Guitar Hero round two? He’s not gonna go easy on ya this time!

Taishiro Toyomitsu (Fatgum)

Boy oh boy! You’re in for a fun night!!

Instead of staying in the whole day, you’ll be running all over the city together to pick up food from different restaurants so you can have a bit of everything together back at home! It’s mostly appetizers and little desserts :)

Back at home, you share your dinner while looking at pictures on your phones. Tai gets so excited when talking about his interns and coworkers. Looking back through these photos shows him how much they’ve improved in just a year! Wow!

He’ll also pull up horrible pictures of you just to mess around “What!? I like this one! Oh don’t give me that look- I’m not gonna delete it!!”

Once it starts getting dark you’ll curl up on the couch to flip through channels, maybe settling on a movie or crappy soap opera to watch until it’s time for the countdown

People are setting off fireworks before it even hits midnignt so the two of you make your way outside to watch from your balcony. Tai looks especially handsome all lit up under the colorful lights...He thinks the same about you too

That’s where you have your midnight kiss too, under the fireworks while people celebrate in the streets below. You can’t stay out there too long though! It’s cold!

Eventually you tumble back inside to dive back under your warm blankets on the sofa, hugging each other close

You don’t even know what time it is when you fall asleep but you’ll wake up in the morning to a super sore neck and Tai drooling on your shirt as he lays on you... Better take a picture as revenge for earlier! >:)

Keigo Takami (Hawks)

Keigo got stuck on patrol but that won’t stop him from coming home to celebrate anyway!

You get frequent texts from him letting you know where in the city he is. He’s desperate to get home cause you’re his one and only New Years kiss!!

You’re home alone until 11:30pm rolls around. You left the window for your shared apartment open so he could get in but you weren’t expecting him to fly full speed through the window!!

He nearly collides with the wall, quickly righting himself and throwing his arms up in the air triumphantly “Look what I got! Just for us, chickadee!” ...It’s a bucket of KFC. It is a tradition after all!

Keigo insists you sit while he fixes you a plate. You two usually don’t eat in the livingroom but tonight can be an exception!

He’s still in his hero costume, his feathers are disheveled from flying and there’s a smudge of dirt on his cheek. Not to mention, he’s absolutely tearing into a chicken breast. Wow...you really are in love, huh?

When you two are done with your feast, he clings onto you, resting his head on your shoulder while his wings curl around you “Sooooo....What was your favorite thing you did this year?”

“That’s a tough one. I got to spend so much time with you so...I’d say every day was my favorite!” And just like that you broke the poor guy :( he starts crying and kisses your cheek. He can’t help it!! He’s an emotional guy :( “Birdie :( I didn’t expect you to say thaaaatttt :(“

For the countdown, you sway side to side together with content smiles. Your New Years kiss is soft and sweet, a little short lived but oh well. You’ll get plenty more kisses later

You wipe the dirt and grease off of his face for him before he leaves again! And a playful slap on the ass for good luck ;)

“Hey!! Knock it off!” He’ll get you back when he comes back home :0

[fumiko-matsubara]

AssClass Rewrite: How Kaho should’ve been portrayed instead

I’m just transferring what I’ve proposed in the discord server to here for easy access UwU.

I hate how Matsui oversimplified Kaho’s character until she’s literally being portrayed as Maehara’s overly unsophisticated bitch ex-girlfriend and left her like that, implying that it’s okay for fans to put her under the same level of being horrible as Seo.

Haha how about NO?

With all the red flags that are just plain obvious throughout Kaho and Seo’s interaction in the chapter, Matsui had the chance to write her as the unfortunate girlfriend of the school’s rudest student. But noooo, he just went “it’s too complicated so let’s just end it like that” and it’s pissing me off smh

So, here’s my take on her character UwU:

Kaho is like the BIGGEST SIMP for all the Ikemen in school, and she will go out her way to get close to them, even asking them out (Zaina and I headcanoned that she’s from the Tennis club, but only because Isogai was also a member and she didn’t think that the club is separated by gender lmao). She’s basically Ikemen crazy, a pursuer, and does all the chasing.

If that’s the case then, how did she ended up dating Seo, of all people, with his ugly rude shitty ass self being the opposite of what the traditional Ikemen is?

Let me add a defining personality trait of hers then: Kaho is very un-confrontational.

Because of this certain trait of hers, she couldn’t say “No” when Seo asked her out, especially since the guy has a really good reputation at school as a virtuoso and for his “exceptional” (yeah right) English skills, that his family is said to be stinking rich, and that his outrageous personality in general makes everyone in school uncomfortable.

As Zaina, who is @dreaming-of-assclass​, have pointed out in her tea spill post about Seo, there is an obvious power imbalance between the two, that it’s beyond uncomfortable to think about what could’ve happened to Kaho had she rejected him when he asked her out, broken up with him when she had enough, or especially had she got caught cheating on him behind his back. Paired that with my take of Kaho being un-confrontational, she’s literally trapped and it’s heartbreaking.

Her crush on Maehara is definitely genuine, from what we’ve seen in the chapter of how happy they are together and the fact that Maehara is very popular with girls in school pre Class E and is considered as an Ikemen, brushing aside his “fast-dating” trait.

Background  and background:

When Kaho and Seo first started dating, she briefly stopped her pursuing habits, but then suddenly went back to it after seeing more of how shitty Seo really is in general (As previously mentioned, she couldn’t just call the relationship off, considering Seo’s reputation in school and how much power he has in the relationship along with how un-confrontational Kaho is). So, I’m gonna assume here for a bit. Kaho “unofficially” broke up with him, by keeping a distance from him until they, hopefully that is, drifted apart that they’re no longer together without the need of an actual declaration of breaking up or something.

So by that logic, to Kaho, it’s now okay to go after other guys since she already “unofficially broken up” with Seo. Then we have Maehara: handsome, athletic, fun, good personality, and very popular among junior high school girls in Kunugigaoka town. Despite his fast-dating playboy trait, he’s considered by many as an Ikemen. Kaho loves Ikemen, especially the very good-looking ones. So after him she goes lmao. Of course, with your girl being both a simp and a pursuer, she’s the one who asked him out. And Maehara, being your everyday fast-dating playboy, of course, said yes.

Now we have the retaliation chapter:

Kaho and Maehara might have been dating for a few weeks at this point, considering that Maehara knows of her daily schedule and how she commutes to school. They’re chill with each other and just happy together. All good.

Then Seo showed up.

With all the points I’ve stated earlier about their power imbalance, with Kaho being un-confrontational, she’s beyond panicking at this point for getting caught. (Let’s be real, Maehara kind of made things worse by pointing out the sudden change in her schedule as of lately. Important point: I’ll address this too shortly).

Cue the big mistake she had made that day: using Maehara as a scapegoat just so that she wouldn’t have to deal with facing Seo’s wrath, especially with how horrible his temper was. Yes, it’s wrong for her to do that, but you can’t exactly hate her for it since poor girl is beyond scared, that she had to do it.

To quote what Zaina and I have discussed months ago, about the café scene:

Fumiko – “I’ve also noticed something in the retaliation chapter. It’s only Seo who actually insults disguised Kayano and Nagisa. Kaho was more like, reprimanding them angrily rather than explicitly insulting them. And when they were talking about what happened with Maehara, it was Seo who was carrying the whole. Kaho was more of “I know right?!” rather than expressing her thoughts.”

Zaina – “EXACTLY!! It’s so clear that he’s the way ruder one!!! And she’s just going along with things to please him.”

Fumiko – “She even looked scared when Seo asked her if she had previously brought other people with her to the café. If 3E were that empathetic enough, surely the recon team would realize the way Kaho was just trying to go along with Seo’s rudeness to please him.”

Zaina – “I feel like in canon, none of 3-E was thinking very straight, or open-minded like they usually do. Because of Maehara’s humiliation and the direct insults towards them, it felt personal and they didn’t want to see it any other way. This was unfortunately exemplified by Koro’s encouragement. He really wasn’t a good role model at all for supporting this. Because you’re right: how did none of the recon team, or anyone notice how the two interacted?? How scared and stressed Kaho looked?? Especially Nagisa, who specializes in reading people and is sitting right across them??”

The last point made a lot of sense. We should really make Nagisa notice Kaho’s obvious cry for help, and even Kayano too for how obvious Kaho was faking it to Seo.

So now, we have the whole revenge thing:

Zaina – “You know, the revenge that 3E got on Seo and Kaho was super harsh. But it’s even more messed up when you remember that Koro encouraged and helped planned it.”

Fumiko – “I don’t like how they managed to get away with that with little to no witnesses. The lasy who asked the three to cut the branches should’ve noticed that large branches fell on two kids in front of her.”

Zaina – “The problem with AssClass is that they never acknowledge the consequences of their actions ever, which makes it hard to be realistic sometimes.”

Fumiko – “Another thing I don’t like about the retaliation chapter was that Kaho and Seo thought it was just a very unlucky day for them. No one else knew that 3E did all that shit. They literally got away with it with 0 consequences.”

So here’s how I think 3E should face the consequences of their actions in this chapter, which involves adding the scene of where Seo shoved Kaho just to get inside the restroom from the farther convenience store, it may have not been explicitly shown in the manga, but it was implied.

Until we get to Nagisa and Kayano noticing the huge red flags in the café, to 3E initially, both Kaho and Seo are equally in the wrong and deserve the same punishment. All the canon process in the revenge can still remain here, if y’all fine with that. After noticing the red flags and witnessing Seo shoving Kaho out of the way, wouldn’t it be best if they started to reflect on their actions from that moment? Like “did we go too far? Is she really that bad as we all initially thought? Was this even the right thing to do in the first place?”

It’s also a good chance for them to reflect on the fact that Koro encouraged all of this and is one of the most involved in planning, considering the fact that he is still a teacher, and he literally encouraged them to humiliate two kids in public. At the same time, even Koro might reflect on what he teaches them.

Also, Zaina pointed out that Maeheara literally did not learn anything from this in the end and just went back to his fast-dating habits like the whole thing never happened in the first place.

So let me addressed what I’ve mentioned earlier, then.

Maehara and Kaho dated for quite a while if he already knew about her daily routine, and it’s showing that they really do like each other and enjoy each other’s company. No bad blood whatsoever. So after finding out that Kaho is dating him behind Seo’s back, also known as the rudest student in school with such a horrible temper, don’t you guys think it was a very bad dick move of him to expose Kaho, the very girl who he was just having a great time with, just like that while it’s beyond obvious at how scared she was of Seo and is trying to save herself from getting in big trouble? Couldn’t he just have helped her with making her excuses more believable so that both of them could get out of trouble?? He’s good at talking, so he can definitely make it work. So why did he choose the option where either him or Kaho could the brunt of it, when it obvious that he’s gonna take it considering he’s from Class E?

We’re also definitely gonna make him learn something out of this in the end smh.

 And that’s the end of my long ass essay UwU

[ekebolou]

I haven’t forgotten the wordbuilding stuff.  I got distracted by planning the Academy grounds.

It’s funny because I started off with all the ideas about strategic design, and comparison and addition to the previous structures (let’s face it, they copied the Palace tower - it’s copying - actually it’s puerile dick-measuring, but that’s still copying).  And then I started thinking about who is actually building it, and how long it would take to build.

Because the foundations of the idea of the Academy are laid out by Keadar-Ainjir himself.  And he definitely builds the Academy Tower (diiiiiiiiick-measuring).  But he doesn’t live that long.  He’s pretty young when he initiates the rebellion (older than Nika and Cole during the war, so less late-twenties and more early thirties, but since paths to advancement would be very different back then, that would be young for the position he takes on), but it takes a long time to come to fruition, and the coup at the Palace is several years after the war starts, and then he’s got to, you know, establish a whole new system of governance.  And deal with when they find out the royal family was not eradicated. and then there’s more rebellions (because of course there are).  Wulsh starts to get uppity.  Adineh starts meddling.  It takes a long time to get stable.  He dies maybe in his sixties.  Maybe it’ll be early seventies, but probably not. 

And the Academy is a major engineering project.  It’s built out of the same basalt the Palace is (only more, and better, because penises need to be compared).  It’s not that easy to mine.  A lot of stone will have to come from somewhere else just because you already have city built over where the original mines were.  Those are the places (out in the Ards and Namera) the tend to rebel, too, and being looped into a massive engineering project doesn’t help make ‘em NOT ornery. 

He focuses on the wall, and the Tower.  He’s a smart guy, but he’s not a builder. And he’s distracted.  He doesn’t know what he’s going to do with the palace, but he knows it can’t be a seat of new governance, and then it turns out a royal baby lived (Adineh and the nobility both frown on baby-killing, post-coup anyway) and any idea of maybe trying to tear down or convert goes out the window because he can stash the nobility there and not spend any more money on them, and he’s now got a real excuse for a whole new center of power for the military.  So he builds the tower and the starts (and mostly finishes the wall. 

His lieutenant takes over after him and really has enough to be getting on with making sure nothing gets fucked up once Keadar-Ainjir is dead.  It’s really remarkable.  He does some sketches, defends the principles of the place as written down by his predecessor, but mostly lets whoever cares most keep developing the Academy.  The first classes are tiny - maybe 20-30 kids - and the grounds are fucking huge.  Because I’m phenomenally bad at picturing spaces, the rather arbitrary picture I drew is sectioned off to something like 800 acres.  Good-ol’ K-A walled off 800 acres (remember - some of this is existent city walls that he added to, so he didn’t build the whole circumference wall) and built a fucking enormous tower in the middle and died.

Originally, I was concerned with what an actual experienced military tactician would decide for how the grounds were planned, and then I realized it’s going to be the work of decades.  Plans will be found, lost, discarded.  Different visions will intervene.  Resource scarcity will have a say.  The things that Keadar-Ainjir can gift to the physical presence of the place are limited, but important, and probably would’ve faded without his lieutenant being so adamant about them, if nothing else.  That thing, as per the grounds, is not defensibility, but the idea of self-containment.  Now, this isn’t like a castle is self-contained, obviously, because the major food supply for the Academy comes from way far from the grounds, as discussed in earlier ramblings.  He builds a wall, he builds a tower - he sets a boundary, and gives it a center.  Everything needed to go from boundary to center - from periphery to seat of power - is within the walls.

The result being a kind of stupidly designed campus. They plop the first building down right next to the Tower, some 80 years after K-A dies, and it’s kind of all-purpose - dorms, classrooms, storage, library, spaces for combat practice, etc.  But this is dumb, and the outgrowth of temporary buildings as class sizes starts to go really points up how dumb this is, because the Tower is supposed to be special, but they can’t move the whole building because labor costs money, so sort of... semi-wall the rest of the space around the tower, then start plopping buildings around the original building, and at one point they wall off what was a nice arch-lined walkway which becomes the famous seldom-used hall of alcoves by the kitchens (because damn me, I did establish some places in previous writings I want to keep). 

And they toss up some dorms, but one of the reasons to build on the other hill back in palace-building days (other than the fact that it was slightly taller) is that this hill has an awkward slope, and is actually quite narrow where it levels out, so they either have to level the ground, build off-level or into the hillside, or just put shit where the ground is already level.  They generally opt for the latter. 

And now I like it.  I’ve drawn it out a few different ways, but I like it - because it’s  messy.  There’s an idea behind where everything is, but it’s a very big idea and anything less wouldn’t get expressed properly.  And at this point - the Academy Dayz stories - they’re still behind, because they’ll always be behind, and the class sizes have required the building of extra dorms for the First and Second Year classes that are wattle-and-daub and shitty wood and bricks, pushed all the way up against the walls, and the Southwest gate is stupidly built, because the city started to creep around the Academy walls and they didn’t want that, so the destroyed a bit but couldn’t destroy it all (because people live there), so they just built a new wall and now there’s a double gate - like, two gates, fifty feet apart and it’s super inefficient.  And there’s all this shitty detritus up by the Northgate, which is actually brick and nice and an extension of the street outside but it’s awkward because it violates the sacred boundary between City and Academy, so cadets are strictly forbidden from going over there even though it’s right near the Second Year dorms.  It’s like Hogsmeade, only instead of magical candy and butterbeer you’ll just catch an asswhooping if you go in there without permission (but who wants to, because ugh, townies, amirite)

I still don’t know where the showers are.

[cosmic-affinities]

Fantasy Meets Reality Ch.1

This is the first chapter of my take on the BNHA Fantasy AU, I posted a snippet of this fic earlier this week, let me know if you are eager for more! Also huge huge huge shoutout to @we-stanjirou for being my motivation and feedback machine for this! This would have taken a lot longer without their help!

Read chapter 1 on AO3 Here.

Of fucking course it had to be Katsuki Bakugou.

Who else would have a weirdo clone from some kind of ‘Alternate Dimension’ show up to mess up their life. Obviously no one.

Of fucking course Bakugou just had to be the one who temporarily imprinted on the random ass third year who had a dimension summoning quirk.

Because why wouldn’t he?

It started with Bakugou being in the direct line of sight of a sick third year who was having trouble keeping his quirk under control. Next thing he knew there was a small pop and deceivingly large tear in the middle of the room.

Before anyone could react a second Katsuki could be seen, luckily Mr. Aizawa had been nearby and witnessed the ordeal. The teacher ushered the third year out of the room and sent him to Recovery Girl to relay the events in hopes of reversing them. He was lucky enough to have had him as a student and understood how his quirk worked. As he turned to face most of his homeroom class, an eruption of noise came over the room.

“WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!” Was the most prominent question in the room.

“Everyone quiet down IMMEDIATELY.” Mr. Aizawa was quick to rein in his problem children.

“That student's quirk has the ability to pull a different version of anyone that is in close enough range from a different reality. In this case Bakugou happened to be in close enough range when the student lost control of his quirk due to him being sick, to have summoned a different version of him. Everyone is to remain silent as I talk to this alternate version of Bakugou.” The class was too stunned to speak, and those who weren’t took Aizawa’s words to heart.

“Now, I am Shouta Aizawa-”

“The mage?”

“No I am not a mage, you have been brought to an alternate reality than that of your own, we are going to get you back to your own realm as quickly as possible, but for the time being you will have to remain here.”

“How would anyone but a mage know of these things?” The skepticism was evident in his tone and expression.

“In this reality we do not have mages, many people are born with special abilities unique to them and your presence here happens to be because of one of those abilities.”

“If that is the case then why are there many people here that I recognise? That one with the dark blue hair is a knight, and the red and white haired one is the son of the insolent so-called King of the surrounding lands.”

“You must have been pulled from a dimension with similar people around you.”

“Are we just going to dismiss the fact that this fucking extra is wearing my face?!” Bakugou finally snapped.

“Bakugou, language, as I said we will resolve this as soon as possible but in the meantime you all must stay here, we can’t afford to disrupt two separate dimensions if the student’s quirk usage was faulty due to being ill, I want all of you to stay here until I get back, acquaint yourselves, I still can’t be sure as to how long there will be two of you.” The teacher left no room for complaints as he swiftly walked towards Recovery Girl’s office.

As soon as everyone was composed, the questions came flooding in.

“Did you say Iida was a knight?”

“Do you know who I am?”

“My father is insolent in more than one realm, who would've guessed.”

“Do you recognise me?”

“Who are you?”

The questions were all coming far too quickly for any of them to be answered, the ruckus did seem to alert another student though. As Midoriya walked in everyone became quiet.

“Hey Kaccha- You’re not Kacchan.” Midoriya stopped abruptly in front of the newcomer, obviously confused.

“Um guys what’s happening?” Before anyone could respond, though, the second Bakugou spoke.

“Izuku?” Any words the students had died on their tongues, they had never heard that voice call Midoriya anything but Deku.

“How do you know my name? Who are you? What’s going on?”

“I am Katsuki Bakugou.”

“No-no you definitely are not, would someone please tell me what’s happening?” The only one who surprisingly held their composure through all this spoke up.

“Some idiot third year who couldn’t control their fucking quirk brought this here from another dimension, and apparently you  happen to make an appearance there too.”

“Kacchan! Finally someone who will answer me, this is all because of a quirk? What are we supposed to do?’

“Aizawa just told us to stay here until he gets back from talking to the idiot that got us into this fucking mess.”

“Izuku.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“That’s your name, is it not?”

“Well yeah but I don’t know you!”

“Well allow me to reintroduce myself, I am Katsuki Bakugou, Dragon Master. Although, you usually call me Kit.”

“Okay... Kit?  How do you know me, and anyone else here that you might recognise?”

“Well Izuku, you, a Knight in training, came to find me to join you on your quest to rid our kingdom of its biggest threat, a giant demonic beast determined to destroy everything we have built over thousands of years.”

“Okay… and everyone else?”

“Well there is,” he pointed around the room, gesturing to everyone as he spoke “Prince Todoroki, the witch Uraraka, the knight Iida, Martial Artist and aspiring Dragon Master Kirishima, Soldier Kaminari, the Musical Mage Jirou, Ashido and Asui are the Innkeepers of our favorite inn, and finally potion master Yaoyorozu.” He had gone around the room completely only skipping the other version of him.

“Alright, Kit, thank you. I guess we'll just have to wait for Mr. Aizawa, like Kacchan said.” At this his classmates began quietly discussing the new information, curious about their alternate personalities.

“Who is this… Kacchan?”

“Me, the one whose face you stole.” There was a certain edge to his voice that no one could place.

“Yes, I’m guessing the other version of me calls you Kit in a similar way that I call him Kacchan.” Midoriya said in a placating maner.

“I doubt that, based on the way Kacchan acts, I would say it is different from the way my Izuku calls me Kit.”

“Don’t call me that, my name is Bakugou, I don’t care if it's yours too.” Neither version of the fiery blonde took notice of the flush on Midoriya’s face at the usage of ‘my Izuku’ and newfound protectiveness over a nickname.

At this point the rest of their classmates became interested in the newcomer, curious to find out more about the alternate reality.

“Wait, bro can you tell us more about where you are from? I kinda want to know more about becoming a Dragon Master like you said I am becoming!” From there Kit moved towards the middle of Class A’s common room to answer their questions, now coming at a reasonable pace.

“Tch.”

“What’s wrong Kacchan?”

“Huh, nothing! I don’t care about that shitty version of me.” Although his voice radiated with confidence, he wore a look of distrust, waiting for something to go wrong.

“It’s all a little too weird for me, I guess everyone is really curious about what the other versions of them would be doing, I really would rather not.”

“I figured a nerd like you would be all over this, trying to figure out the formula to replicate the quirk that started it all or something equally as stupid.”

“Yeah no, it's kinda weird talking to not-you, although the way he talks about not-me makes me wonder…” Midoriya trailed off, not wanting to admit to wondering about Kit’s relationship with not-him.

“No one else seems to really care, even half and half is using an actual facial expression.”

“You two are so different though, it would be super easy to tell you two apart.”

“You really think so Midobro? They are pretty much identical.” Kirishima cut in, apparently satisfied with the answers from Kit.

“O-oh yeah I’m pretty sure it would be super easy.”

“Wanna try?”

“What do you mean shitty hair, it’s literally wearing a cape with no shirt, obviously he could tell us apart right now.”

“Why don’t you guys just change clothes? You are literally the exact same size, and I want to see if Mido could actually do it,” Kirishima quickly faced the rest of the room “Do you guys think Midoriya could tell these two apart?”

There were varying murmurs of agreement before Mina spoke up.

“Well yeah, but right now it is super obvious! They would need to change.”

“I never fucking agreed to this Shitty Hair!” Before anyone could respond, the door opened and revealed a tired looking Aizawa,

“Listen up everyone, Recovery Girl told me that the safest way to get Bakugou into his own reality would be to wait until the third year is no longer ill and just have him reverse his quirk. She also said that his recovery would not be for three to four days because she cannot heal the flu.”

Everyone looked at their teacher expectantly, they were waiting for him to continue. With a sigh Aizawa continued.

“He will stay in the extra dorm room on the second floor, and I just need to ask Bakugou to lend him some clothing while he is here, seeing as you would be the same size.” The teacher looked at the original Bakugou and nodded at his vague grunt in response.

“I will take that as a yes, and if I see him in the exact same clothes tomorrow, you will serve a detention.” With his words he walked out of the common room and left the students to their previous conversation.

“See Bakubro, if you just give him something now and then you go change, we can see if Midoriya can actually tell you two apart!” The only response Kirishima got was an eyeroll.

“I don’t think he could, they’re identical!” Kaminari spoke from his position across the room.

“I don’t think so either, sorry Midoriya.” Todoroki’s words caused Midoriya to flush. The rest of the class came to the consensus that, if wearing different clothes, they didn’t think Midoriya could tell the two apart.

“Do you think they’ll let this go?” Bakugou leaned in and whispered to Midoriya while everyone was distracted.

“I don’t think so Kacchan, you know how everyone can get.”

With an audible sigh and an eye roll Bakugou spoke up again, this time to the whole class.

“Fine whatever, none of you will ever let this go so let’s just get it fucking over with.”

Everyone looked shocked, no one expected him to agree so quickly, if at all. Their eyes soon drifted to Kit, who seemed slightly confused.

“Really?”

“Did I fucking stutter Shitty Hair? I don’t want to deal with this shit for three days, might as well get it over with now.”

“Wow, ok um Kit, are you o-”

“Um I would actually prefer if you didn’t call me Kit, thank you.” Mina and Uraraka shared a look at this information.

“Oh right sorry, how about Katsuki-kun?”

‘Yes that’s fine.”

“Alright Katsuki-kun, are you alright with doing this little test?”

“Um sure I guess, although I don’t understand what enjoyment could come of it.”

“Perfect! Bakubro, why don’t you take Katsuki-kun to get some clothes and we can set up here with Midoriya?”

“Tch whatever, let's go.” The blondes walked out of the room towards Bakugou’s dorm and the common room quickly got to work.

“I say we have them sit next to each other on this big couch and make Midoriya stand on the other side of the table. And we can have them put their hands behind their backs against the couch so he can’t tell by quirk usage.” Kirishima said, seemingly having put in a lot of thought.

“And we will just check to make sure there are no obvious identification marks on them.” Uraraka added.

“We also can’t let Midoriya see them walk in, what if they walk differently!” Tsu had a point.

“I can take Midoriya into the corner while they walk in and get settled then he can stand behind the table.” Mina suggested.

This seemed to appease everyone, Mina quickly whisked Midoriya into the corner and everyone waited for the two to return.

“So Midoriya, what’s got you so confident?”

“W-well I guess there's just something distinct about Kacchan that Kit doesn’t have, I honestly couldn’t tell you Mina” The pink girl took a moment to process what was being said to her.

“Just a distinct quality or..?” She hoped to get a little more information,’something distinct’ didn’t help her at all.

“Not a quality exactly, maybe a distinct presence? Like I said I’m not too sure, but I am confident that I’ll be able to tell them apart.”

“Well they do say confidence is key, maybe that’s all you need!”

“Alright I hear them walking this way, Mido turn around!” Mina gently grabbed his shoulders and faced him towards the wall and they listened to the instructions being told to the two as they came in.

“I don’t know Deku, they look pretty identical to me!” Uraraka slid in next to him and Mina, the two girls sharing a glance behind his back.

“Alright! They are in place! Sitting the exact same way and making the exact same face! Good luck Midobro.” Kirishima said before he motioned to Mina to move him towards the table.

He was right too, Midoriya saw the two from across the room and they could’ve been carbon copies of each other, but once he got into place he stood for about three seconds before he turned around and spoke up.

“So, when I get this right what happens?” The question created a small silence.

“Well what do you want IF you get this right.” Kaminari was first to speak up.

“Honestly? For Kacchan to make katsudon, but to ask him would defeat the purpose. OH! Actually I do know what I want,” He faced Uraraka directly “and that is for Uraraka to get off my back for that thing we talked about a few days ago, for at least a week.”

Everyone looked confused as Uraraka thought over the proposition.

“You really expect me to lay off after this?” Her eyebrow raise sent a note of challenge.

“Fine let's make a deal, I’m right and you lay off for a week. I’m wrong and I won’t complain for a week AND I’ll take one of your suggestions! You definitely have the better end of this.”

Uraraka had been on board when he mentioned taking one of her suggestions and didn’t hesitate to say yes.

“Now I really want to know what they talked about.”

“Well, you won’t be able to figure it out for at least a week Kirishima, because I know who is who.”

“There is no possible way you know already, you looked at them for like five seconds from ten feet away!” Kaminari seemed taken aback by the mere suggestion that Midoriya knew already.

“Well let me prove it then.” Midoriya faced the couch once again and pointed to the figure sitting to the right “To the right is Kit and to the left is Kacchan.” The air of confidence Midoriya possessed had rarely been seen.

The left figure spoke up first.

“Well shit, nerd, how did you manage that?”

Then the figure on the right.

“He’s right Izuku, that was quite impressive.” They were the only two to speak up for the moment. Then Midoriya responded.

“Kacchan, I could say your name before I could say my own, actually no, I couldn't say your name so I called you Kacchan instead before I said my own name, I’m pretty sure I can tell you apart from someone I just met like fifteen minutes ago.” This statement seemed to have gotten their class out of their stupor.

“Wait, that’s why you call him Kacchan? No wonder he won’t let m-”

“Pikachu I’ll kill you!” Bakugou made a move to stand up but Mdoriya stood in front of him.

“Kacchan really? Not worth the detention I promise, especially not one with Aizawa.” Bakugou slowly lowered his hands, resigning to the fact that the nerd was right.

Once his hands were lowered Midoriya turned away from him and faced Ochako.

“Now, you have to lay off for a whole week!” Everyone saw the smug look on Midoriya’s face, one they never expected to be pointed at another person.

“Izuku, would you come here for a minute?” The common room quieted down for a moment when they heard Kit speak up. Midoriya walked towards him in response and they both moved just out of earshot of the others, and they continued their shocked conversations.

“Can I ask you something? Will you promise to not be offended?”

“Uh sure Kit, go ahead, I won’t be offended.”

Kit dropped his voice even lower, making sure no one would over hear them.

“You love him?”

Even though he didn’t say who, the red of Midoriya’s cheeks gave away his answer.

“Seeing as you are only going to be here for a few more days, I’m not going to lie to you. Yes, I’m pretty sure I always have.” The simplicity of his words and the sincerity in his eyes were almost incapacitating, he had never even been that honest with himself, let alone to someone else. Even more so than to someone who had the same face as the one he was talking about.

“Thank you for your honesty, it is very noble of you. I have one other thing to admit to you.”

“Go ahead Kit, I’m listening.”

“I feel a very similar way about my Izuku, that's why I was in such a state when you came in, you see my Izuku became angry with me around a week ago after a nasty argument, I haven't had his gaze upon me since so the shocking green of your eyes momentarily disarmed me.” His honesty urged Midoriya’s primal need to please people to kick in.

“Hey Kit?”

“Yes?”

“If he's anything like me, then a little bit of time will go a long way. Once he realises you're gone he won’t want to lose you again, but if you want a piece of advice. Go after him, don’t let him think that you are willing to let him go. Trust me if you go after him, even just once, it will mean the world to him.” Midoriya disconnected their eye contact and looked towards his own hands.

“He’s watching us you know. Has been this whole time.” Midoriya’s eyes snapped up and over, he saw Bakugou huff and face the ground. “Do you trust me?”

“Depends on what for.”

“Will you follow my lead? If I can’t be with my ‘Zuku, maybe you can be with your Kacchan.”

“Yes, I trust you.”

“Good, act as if everything is normal.”

“Ok.” The two faced the rest of the class and stopped whispering, Kit quickly turned to Midoriya and spoke in a normal voice.

“It’s remarkable how similar you two are, and here I thought My Izuku was one in a million, or maybe I am just lucky enough to have met two of you in one lifetime.” As he spoke Kit ran his thumb over Midoriya’s cheekbone softly before letting his hand drop.

The flush on his face was evident, no one had ever spoken so poetically about him before. The silence that surrounded them was quickly broken by a small crackling that stopped just as suddenly as it started but not before Midorya caught a glimpse of an orange glow around Bakugou. Kit shot him a knowing glance.

“Wow Kit, uh, thank you. That was very nice of you, I’m sure your Izuku would love to hear it from you.”

“I’m quite afraid that I may have ruined my chances with him. I did and said some pretty harmful things.” Kit glanced towards the floor.

“I don’t think that’s possible Kit, some things are worth fighting for, you just have to choose what those things are.” Midoriya chanced a glance at Bakugou then directed his gaze back down to the floor. Once he looked back up he saw Kit looking at him.

“Thank you Izuku.” Midoriya had no time to prepare for the hug Kit enveloped him in, he stood shocked for a moment before he returned the gesture.

“Of course Kit.”

A whisper reached his ear from slightly above him.

“That was great, you should see his face.” Midoriya flushed at the implication and their arms dropped.

Midoriya was now fully aware of all the people staring at them, he quickly walked towards Uraraka to try and avoid their eyes. The reprieve he was searching for was not found with his friend, however.

“Deku what was that?!” Uraraka whispered to him, he should have expected this.

“What was what? He wanted to talk to me, is there a problem?” He tried very hard to give off an air of confidence, it seemed like he was succeeding.

Until he felt all the eyes on him. His facade wavered momentarily but that’s all it took.

“Deku, come over here now.” It was not a request, although if it was there was no way he would have denied it, he couldn’t say no to Kacchan.

“Alright I’ll be there in a sec Kacchan, I’ll come back as soon as I’m done, Ura, ok?”

Without waiting for a response Midoriya made his way to Kacchan, hoping maybe he would offer him a reprieve. As he moved across the room, eyes flicked between him and Kit, then eventually to Bakugou.

“Hey Kacchan! What’s up?”

“You’re helping me make katsudon for dinner.”

“Oh am I now?” Midoriya responded with a playful tone, both of them knew he couldn’t pass up katsudon.

“Unless you want one of these shitty extras to try and make some half assed dinner then yeah you are.”

“How could I say no to Kacchan’s katsudon? Oh right I can’t.”

“Damn straight, I make the best fucking katsudon.”

“Don’t ever tell my mom I said this but, yeah you do.” The two, so engrossed in their conversation didn’t notice the proud smile on Kit’s face, or the sea of eyes looking between the three of them.

“I don’t think Auntie Inko would ever forgive you.”

“Wait, who is Auntie Inko?” The first voice to interrupt their conversation spoke up.

“To you? Ms Midoriya-san, but I have privilege ‘cause she likes me more than her own son most of the time.”

“Kacchan! Hey! Mean! But yeah he’s talking about my mom, Kirishima. Ever since Kacchan was allowed near a stove he has competed with my mom to make the best katsudon and soba, and with Auntie Mitsuki to make the best desserts.”

“And you said I make the best katsudon so I win!”

“Wait, you guys call each other’s moms Auntie? That's freaking cute!”

“Can it, pinky!”

“No way! I need to hear everything about your collective childhood immediately!”

“Oh Ashido, it really isn’t that interesting! Plus if you all want to eat we should probably get started.” Midoriya didn’t want to get into every complicated aspect of his childhood so he decided to turn and walk to the kitchen without waiting for a response.

Bakugou followed soon after him and they were both glad to have a room between them and the rest of their class. Bakugou quickly got to work and started to cook. Midoriya had done this plenty of times before, even if he could never do it by himself he knew his way around the recipe. Their companionable silence was fleeting.

“So, what's with you and my shitty clone? I thought you said talking to him was weird?” Anyone else would have assumed his tone was passive, conversational even, but Midoriya knew better, this must have been the reason he was called in the first place.

“Oh it is, trust me.” Midoriya could’ve continued, probably would have if he was talking to anyone else. He wanted to see where Kacchan would take it.

“Then why’d you talk to him, you do have the ability to say no. It’s really not that hard.”

“He sounded so serious, I wanted to see what he had to say. Plus it's a little less weird now that I can see how different you are.” Again he cut himself off early, determined to not give everything away in an unfocused ramble.

“So… what was so serious that he had to pull you all the way into the corner for, seems kinda dramatic to me.”

“Really Kacchan? You are going to call him dramatic?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“Kacchan I have literally seen you blow up a pillow that you tripped over because, and I quote, ‘mother fucker was out to get me’ I was calling you dramatic.”

“Watch your fucking language Deku! If round face or four eyes hears you, they’ll get on my ass and I do not need that.”

“No one should ever hear me while I play video games, I think everyone would have a minor melt down.”

“Well you own damn fault for setting high expectations. Anyway, you were about to tell me the idiot’s sob story that lured you into a corner.” He had a signature smirk on his face but the fact that he asked four times gave Midoriya the impression that the smirk was nothing more than a facade.

“Well he asked me a question about our class, and then he started to tell me about the other Izuku, the one he knows.” He stopped there, hoping he could get away without lying about what Kit asked him. One look up from the vegetables he was cutting told him he would have no such luck. Bakugou was looking at him with an expectant look, waiting for him to continue.

“Apparently the other Izuku got mad at him around a week ago, to the point where he won’t even look at Kit, so when he saw me look at him and willingly interact with him he was caught off guard I guess.”

“And…?”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s not something he would hide from everyone else, in fact he told everyone right after you finished talking, so I’m asking what else he told you.”

Thinking quickly, Midoriya didn’t have very many options, he couldn’t lie to Kacchan, he would be the only one that would be able to see right through it, he would just have to think of something.

“Oh well, um he may have asked for some advice as to how to stop the other me from being upset with him, I’m guessing that's why he mentioned the two of us being so similar, although I wonder how true that can actually be given that a lot of me has been shaped by you and All Might, two people that the other me could not have had the same experiences with. It seems like the two of us from there had only met fairly recently so I wonder how different that makes us.”

“Damn nerd now you want to mumble?” Although Izuku could hear him, it was almost as if Bakugou was talking to himself.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t even realise!”

“Yeah no shit, are you finished chopping? I finished prepping the pork already.”

“Oh yeah, here. I made the onion thinner like you said last time, and I grabbed the stuff to fry the pork.”

“Great, now I know you actually listen to what I say.”

The two returned to a companionable silence as they continued to cook, working together like a well oiled machine, an impressive sight to anyone. They had been in the kitchen for about a half hour when Kit and Mina came in, luckily the pair had finished talking out the earlier occurrences with Kit.

“Hey guys! I wanted Katsuki-kun here to see the kitchen, he said he had a knack for cooking!”

“Although I am more accustomed to working over an open flame rather than a controlled heating box.”

“What the hell do you want pinky? Is there a reason you’re distracting us?”

“Actually yes there is! Katsuki-kun, Uraraka, and I need to steal Midoriya here for a few, isn’t that right Katsuki-kun?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Midoriya looked at Bakugou who was resolutely staring at the food in front of him, Midoriya switched his gaze over to Kit and saw him look at Bakugou then at Midoriya trying to convey some kind of message. Apparently he had taken too long to respond.

“Tch, just go you damn nerd, I’ll be fine and I know you can’t say no to anyone.” The remark was punctuated with an eye roll, but there was a sincerity in Bakugou’s voice that Midoriya did not miss.

“Thanks Kacchan I’ll come back as soon as I’m done and I’ll help you finish up.”

“Yeah yeah whatever just go already.” Bakugou continued to methodically fry the pieces of pork, now moving slightly slower because he had to prep them himself.

The three walked out to the common room and immediately walked over to the corner Uraraka was sitting in.

“Ok so what did you guys need me for? I was in the middle of making dinner.”

“We know about your… thing with Bakugou.”

“Uraraka what are you talking about? What thing? And who are you talking about Kacchan or Kit?”

“Not me Izuku, what we discussed earlier, like what I have with my ‘Zuku.”

This was met with a blush covering Izuku’s face, he hoped that Kit hadn’t said anything.

“Hey Midoriya? I don’t think you should be worried all that much, I think you have a good chance with Bakubro!”

“Thanks Ashido, but I don’t really think I’m going to chance that, I’d rather be friends than nothing at all. So if that’s everything I’m going to help him finish dinner before he gets upset about me ditching him.”

Izuku left with no room for argument, he really didn’t want any of them interfering, it would only make the inevitable failure worse. He quickly made his way back to the kitchen happy to see that his spot wasn’t immediately taken by Kacchan, he went back to where he was and continued prepping the pork like he was before.

“Oh back so soon?” Izuku could hear the slight apprehension in his voice, he wanted to soothe it immediately.

“Yeah, they were just being dumb, not important enough for me to ditch you to make the rest of the katsudon alone.”

“So what the fuck did they want?”

“Oh they were just trying to um get me to tell them how I could tell you two apart, they seemed set on the fact that it was somehow rigged I guess.”

“Tch, what’d you tell them?”

“The same thing I told Mina before you guys came in.”

“Which was…”

“Oh right you weren’t there to hear it, I told her that you just have a distinct presence that Kit doesn’t I guess.” Maybe if Izuku said it enough it would be true, it was better than admitting the real reason to anyone.

“That’s bullshit, how did you actually tell us apart?” Shit, had Kacchan noticed? He couldn’t just say that his heart rate picked up when he looked at him or that Kacchan felt like a hero while Kit didn’t, that would be hard to explain. Hell it was hard to explain to himself.

“I really don’t know, I guess I just do.”  It was weak at best, a blatant lie at worst. Maybe he could get by being vague.

“I’m just saying maybe if you figure it out you can tell the extras, I don’t want to be mistaken for him until he can go back to wherever they hell he came from.”

“Ha maybe. Hopefully this gets sorted out soon, I know neither of you want him here.”

The conversation drifted off, neither feeling uncomfortable with the silence, it was a comfort neither took for granted.

Small requests for ingredients and tools passed between the two until they finally finished cooking and plating everyone’s food, Izuku quickly called for everyone to get a bowl and the class congregated at a long table, Izuku and Bakugou sitting down last, next to each other at the end of the table.

“Wow Bakubro, Mido wasn’t kidding when he said you make the best katsudon! This is delicious!”  At Kirishima’s words many murmurs and nods of agreement followed, even Kit had a positive word to say.

“Damn straight I’ve been perfecting this for years!” No one argued with him, many were surprised that he would put so much effort into such a random dish yet no one felt inclined to mention it.

“Hey, didn’t you say katsudon was your favorite Deku?” Uraraka seemed to randomly have an epiphany.

“Uh, yeah, it always has been. At least according to my mom.”

“Do you know why?” Deku blushed at the words, he did but he didn’t really want to tell that embarrassing story. He decided to stay quiet.

“You do know why! Come on tell us, I’m always curious as to why people’s favorite food is their favorite!”

“Oh well um, it’s all I would order when we went out to eat, because I was dead set on ordering for myself.” He continued to blush, the story was incomplete.

“Why is that all you ordered?” Uraraka really was not letting him out of this one. He huffed out a sigh and collected himself, preparing to be severely embarrassed by everyone in the room.

“Fine if you must know, apparently it started when I was about four. I was just learning how to read and I wanted to order for myself because I thought I could read the whole menu by myself which I couldn’t at that point. I could really only read my name and… Kacchan’s name. According to my mom I recognised katsudon on the menu and very excitedly told the waitress that, for dinner, I wanted… Katsuki. She thankfully realised I meant katsudon and that's what she put in. And then I repeatedly ordered it everytime we went out for food. Only realising when I was like seven that it was katsudon.” Izuku quickly buried his face in his hands feeling his entire face grow warm.

There was a chorus of ‘awws’ and other similar noises, apparently everyone was very amused and delighted at Izuku’s expense. There was also an undertone of laughter very quickly taking over.

Kaminari quickly began to speak, only pausing to wheeze out more laughter. “So you mean to tell me for years... hah you ordered a bowl of…. Katsuki… whenever you went out to eat anywhere?!” More laughter fell from the electric boy’s mouth punctuating his amusement with the situation.

Izuku only hid his face more, effectively answering the blond’s question.

“I was four!!” Izuku’s indignation only fueled more laughter. He chanced a glance at Bakugou and found the boy slightly flushed, he nudged him and shot him a pleading look, all he got in response was a whisper.

“It’s ironic that I’m the reason you love katsudon so much, especially since you are the reason I was set on making the best katsudon.” He quickly leaned away determined to keep the attention off of him.

“Really? I guess it all worked out then.” Izuku whispered back, not meeting his eyes. The two were oblivious to the two girls keeping a close eye on them from across the table.

Eventually everyone recovered from their varying fits of laughter and cute-overload imagining a small Izuku excitedly ordering Katsuki everywhere he went. The rest of dinner went relatively smoothly, save for Kirishima accidentally drinking from Kaminari’s water only to be minorly electrocuted and slightly dazed due to the residual electric current.

Once the dishes were cleared and washed (no thanks to Bakugou or Midoriya ‘Hey we fucking cooked you shits can clean!’) many went their separate ways into dorms to study or to the showers. Izuku looked around and noticed only Kacchan, Kit, Uraraka, and Ashido were left in the common room with him.

“Hey Kacchan? Do you want to spar tomorrow morning? I’m trying to perfect my new aerial attack and you’re the only one that still blocks it like it’s nothing.”

“Tch you practically fucking annouce when you’re about to do it, you need to work on the build up, make sure no can tell where you’re about to go.”

“So… will you?”

“Training arena two at 7:30, don’t be fucking late.”

“Thanks Kacchan!”

“Yeah whatever. I’m going to sleep don’t be loud down here or I’ll come and whoop some ass.”

“Good night Kacchan!” As Katsuki left Izuku turned towards the other three left in the room with him. He looked to find them watching him conspiratorially.

“Ok Deku, you have nowhere to be. Just hear us out, please.”

“Uraraka there is nothing to talk about, I went along with Kit earlier and Kacchan didn’t even act any differently. I got my answer and I’m happy enough being friends.”

“I know Bakubro, he never loses control of his quirk and yet his hands popped today when it looked like you were about to kiss Katsuki-kun here.”

“Well I know Kacchan, he was probably just surprised to see someone with his face that close to me, we haven’t been that close in… well let’s just say he had me pinned to the ground both of us exhausted and covered in dust.” Izuku thought about their fight, it was their unusual start to what everyone would call mutual pining, Izuku would call friendship, and Bakugou would call not hatred.

“Izuku, will you at least agree to sticking with me until I can go back? I’m still very confused as to how all of this happened and you are someone I have come to trust the most, maybe it’s the way you remind me of my ‘Zuku or maybe it’s just your personality but it’s all a little overwhelming.”

‘Of course Kit, I won’t leave you if I make this easier on you. Maybe tomorrow you can come watch me spar with Kacchan, so you can see our quirks. It's amazing to see Kacchan for the first time!”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it. I hope I don’t get in anyone’s way.” Izuku merely shook his head, denying the thought entirely, the four stood, quiet for a moment.

“Deku? Can I ask you something? You totally don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“Uh sure Uraraka, go ahead.” He had a feeling he knew what she was going to ask.

“How long have you, uh you know…”

He was right.

“I’ve um, been in…  love with him for years. Practically my entire life.” His voice was small, severely lacking his trademarked positivity.

“Wow, Midoriya we had no idea-”

“That’s kind of the point Ashido, that’s why I’m ok with the way things are, better than any alternative.”  Everyone could see the wistful look on his face, he had thought all of this through before and everytime he did he came to the same conclusion.

“Midoriya? Will you hear me out for a second?”

“Sure Ashido, what is it?”

“I think you should give it a shot. Bakugou has never shown interest in anyone but he has always been different with you, almost like any emotion he has is amplified just by you being there. That should count for something.”

“I don’t know Ashido. There is just so much between us, I’m not sure if there is room for any of this. Even if there was, Kacchan is so focused that he probably won’t think of it as anything more than a distraction and a waste of his time.”

The three figures in front of Izuku looked at him sadly, he had felt enough sadness already and wanted to alleviate theirs.

“But look guys! Just today we made dinner together and no one was blown up! I told an embarrassing story from my childhood and he didn’t make fun of me! He even made me feel better.” It was his last few words that shook them out of their saddened state, Uraraka even seemed to remember something.

“Oh yeah! I was going to ask you what he had said to you. You two were leaning towards each other, but not looking at each other. Almost resolutely keeping your eyes off of each other.” Izuku flushed at the mention of their seemingly private conversation, he knew Kacchan wouldn’t want him to share what he had said.

“Oh! That, right um I wanted him to help me! Everyone was laughing and I was embarrassed!”

“That didn’t answer my question! What did he say to you?”

“Oh you know just something about irony I guess.” The confusion on everyone’s face was nearly comical.

“What do you mean ‘ironic’? How was a story about you ordering katsudon ‘ironic’?” Uraraka was unfailingly persistent today, Izuku would have to think quickly.

“Oh um you know how I got the nickname Deku right?”

“Um yeah you said and I quote ‘That’s what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me.” when we first met. What does that have to do with irony? That’s completely off topic!”

“Well not really, you see the Kanji for my name can be read as Izuku all together but the first half can be read as Deku, and well he was one of the first ones to start reading in our class, go figure am I right? But yeah he read my name as Deku and just said how it was ironic that I had read katsudon as his name and he read my name as Deku and I guess we weren’t looking at each other so we didn’t draw attention to ourselves, but I guess that didn’t really work did it?” Izuku finally let out a big breath, filling his lungs with much needed air.

They all stared, taking a moment to process everything that came out of Izuku’s mouth, desperately wishing for Bakugou’s ability to understand everything Izuku says within mere moments of him speaking. Kit seemed to comprehend everything full first.

“Wow, I didn’t think both of you would do that, I was not fully prepared as I usually am.”

Izuku reddened at his words, although he had done it on purpose, having someone point out his rambling never failed to leave him embarrassed.

“Wow, that was a lot of information. Wait did you say that the other Izuku does that too?” Uraraka was next, having gone through her fair share of Izuku’s atics.

“Well yes he does, although he usually talks about dragons which is significantly easier for me to comprehend at higher speeds, and I can’t help but to be enthralled by everything he says.”

The two girls fawned over the admission, still not used to seeing ‘Bakugou’ being so open, neither of them being able to tell the two apart.

“Can we train Bakugou to be like this? He would literally never just say something like that, he probably wouldn’t even think it!”

“Uraraka! I don’t think that's true! He wouldn’t necessarily say that exactly but you just have to learn to translate slightly. Like for example instead of saying what Kit just said he would probably say something more like ‘ugh I hate that I can understand you and I swear if you distract me from something one more time I’ll kill you!’”

The two girls could only stare in shock at the startilingy good impression he did of Bakugou, even if he didn’t curse at all.

“Ok yes you have a point but oh my gosh how long have you been able to do such a good Bakugou impression?!” Ashido seemed genuinely affronted by this new information, as if it was offensive to have hidden it from her.

“Oh I don’t really know? I guess always? I’ve never seriously done one before, although I guess I do know him well enough.” Izuku seriously contemplated the information, allowing himself to briefly forget about his situation, he was brought back to shocking reality when Ashido spoke up again.

“I wonder if Bakugou could do that good of an impression of you?” Everyone pondered the question, genuinely curious in the answer.

“I mean if Deku can act like him why couldn’t he act like Deku?” Although the subject matter was weird, Izuku was grateful for the conversation shift.

The two girls quietly went back and forth as to why or why not the brash boy could emulate Deku convincingly, allowing Izuku to turn his focus to Kit, who had stood quietly since his last comment.

“Hey Kit? Are you alright?”

“Oh yes I’m fine, I guess everything is hitting me now, I really am stuck in some random world where I don’t belong.”

“Oh Kit, we’ll get you back soon. Hopefully tomorrow after a good night’s sleep we can ask Aizawa for an update, and tomorrow after I spar with Kacchan I will explain our quirks to you, it’ll be easier to understand once you see us use them.”

“Is it bad of me to say that I hope I wake up tomorrow and never see you again?”

Izuku couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him, it was entirely inappropriate but completely necessary at the same time.

“You know what Kit, I don’t think it is bad at all.” The two boys turned to look at the girls in their company, still animatedly debating.

“Hey guys? I’m heading to bed for the night. Unless of course there was something else you wanted to question me about?” Anyone could hear the sarcasm dripping from Izuku’s voice as he spoke, he knew his friends meant well.

“You know what Deku? I think you’re off the hook for tonight. Try to get some sleep would ya? You know even if you're sleep deprived Bakugou won’t go easy on you.” There were small huffs of laughter at Uraraka’s words, amusing as they were accurate.

“Goodnight guys, Kit do you want me to walk you to your room?”

“I’m alright Izuku, I saw where it was earlier today and I can manage to make my way back. Goodnight.” With a swift nod to the three in front of him Kit turned away and walked out the door.

“Wow, just as aloof as Kacchan, don’t even know why I offered help.” He was talking mostly to himself.

“Night Deku, Mina do you want to walk up together?”

“Sure! Night Midoriya!”

“Goodnight you guys.”

The girls left quickly, walking up a floor to their dorms. Izuku paused for a moment, for the first time seriously contemplating their words throughout the night, did they see something he didn’t?

Not allowing himself any false hope, Izuku turned and made his way into his dorm, double checking the alarms on his phone on the way, turning his mind to perfecting his aerial attack. Izuku hadn’t realised the toll the day had on him until his pajama clad body hit the bed and instantly melted into the soft embrace, before he knew it he was asleep.

[fireblaze5555]

Fire Away: Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Well I WIsh I Could Say That I’ve Never Been Here Before

Also on Ao3:  Fire Away: Chapter 9

Super emotional sexy times in this chapter.

--

The next day found them in an unfamiliar diner across town, Frank and Karen on one side, Matt and Foggy on the other. Karen fidgeted with her straw wrapper, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. When she glanced up she noticed Frank and Matt were having a ‘staring’ contest of sorts, both scowling deeply at the other. Foggy was trying to act casual but she could see tension in every inch of his face.  

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Karen snapped her hand down on the table bringing all eyes to her. “Listen, if you two want to make moon eyes at each other the entire time, that’s fine, Foggy and I can get another booth and discuss the situation.”

Matt had the decency to look a bit sheepish and Frank gave her what she was coming to understand as an apologetic look before he sat back in the booth to rest his arm behind her on the seat. When she looked over to Foggy, he was doing his best not to laugh, a smirk tugging at his lips. If it weren’t for his unease around Frank he would be outright laughing.

Matt cleared his throat, “You said you knew who was behind the attempts on your life?”

Karen opened her mouth to respond but Frank snorted before taking a quick drink of his coffee. His voice was casual but he was clearly antagonizing, “Yeah, Murdock, it’s someone who should be in the ground instead of a jail cell.”

Squeezing Frank’s knee under the table, Karen turned a withering glare at him. There was no apologetic look this time, he just shrugged and took a longer drink of his coffee. Matt, for his part, didn’t respond, just clenched his hands around his own coffee and kept his attention on Karen.

It was Foggy’s turn to jump in, his eyes wide with disbelief, “How is that even possible? He’s under constant surveillance and his contact is limited. Brett has been checking in personally to ensure that he isn’t getting special treatment like last time.”

Another sigh, this one defeated, escaped Karen before she answered, “Because he still has enough money and power to get around the justice system. We’ve slowed him down putting him behind bars but I think it was more just an inconvenience for him. What we have found over the past couple of weeks is that he was using me more as a diversion to distract from what he was trying to accomplish.” Karen launched into the particulars of what they had found, being sure to lower her voice whenever the waitress would return or other patrons strolled by. When she mentioned Vanessa being the outside link, Matt let out a quiet curse.

“Okay, so what is our plan then?” Foggy asked. Karen gave him an affectionate smile, he was all business now, whatever discomfort he had disintegrated when there was work to do.

“Well, for the legal side of things, the plan is giving you all of the information and evidence we have found and see what avenues you can find to legally sink her. However,” Karen drags her bottom lip through her teeth, “Some of the information we obtained...less legally? So you may not be able to use all of it in court if we get to that.” Matt scowled while Foggy raised an amused eyebrow at her.

“Ms. Page, we leave you to your own devices and suddenly you are an investigative reporter, PI and a hacker? I’m so impressed at how you keep gaining these valuable skills!” Foggy smiled teasingly at her while Karen shook her head at him, smiling herself.

“Don’t forget Counselor, she also has the ability to find trouble anywhere she goes and an incredible talent with sarcasm.” Frank spoke up, taking a bite of toast before smirking at Karen as she gaped at him.

Foggy let out a choking sound, sucking his cheeks in to hold in his laughter, “Man, he does know you Karen.” Matt was even smirking through his scowl.

“Shut up, all of you.” she grumbled but she couldn’t help but smirk, “ Anyway , that is the legal side of it. The less than legal side of it, we are going to go to Vanessa’s estate and I am going to talk to her about lifting the contract on my life.”

Matt tilted his head slightly, ‘When you say ‘we’...” his voice was the slightest bit strained with a hint of antagonism.

“Frank and I. You as well if you want to as long as you agree to go in as a team.” She did her best to ignore Matt’s tone. To his credit, Frank kept quiet and just sipped at his coffee but Karen could see everything he wanted to say, clear on his face.

“I really don’t think it’s necessary for Frank to be involved any longer. We don’t really need a murderer present to have a discussion with someone.” The antagonism was strong now.

Karen and Foggy simultaneously put their faces in their hands while Frank let out a scoff.

“Christ, you really are an alter boy all the way, huh?” Frank gave a cutting smile as he shook his head and then leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table, closer to Matt, “You can take your sanctimonious bullshit and shove it right up your ass, Red. They are after Karen, she’s the one that has done all the investigation, that means she gets to decide who is on her team. Not you. And if I have to choose between killing a shit bag and keeping Karen alive, you bet your ass I’ll take them out.”

“Yeah, well, she’s always had clouded judgement when it comes to you so maybe it shouldn’t be her call.” As soon as he finished speaking, Matt’s face scrunched up with regret. Foggy was looking at his friend, aghast, and Frank had sat back and was chuckling lowly. Karen was glaring so icily at Matt she was surprised he hadn’t started shivering.

Karen smacked Frank in the stomach with the back of her hand causing him to grunt and hunch over slightly before she leaned in towards Matt across from her. “I really hope I didn’t just hear you say that Matt because if we are going to talk about clouded judgement I can give you a whole list of shitty calls you have made.”

“Karen-”

“And for the record, this is why I didn’t come to you. Now, I’m going to be mature enough to pretend you didn’t just say that and get back to the plan. So you can keep your patronizing bullshit to yourself and just listen, got it?” Her voice brokered no argument and Matt, very smartly, just nodded.

Foggy looked between Frank, Matt and Karen before heaving a deep sigh, “Karen, not to agree too much with the idiot next to me but I don’t like the idea of being part of a plan where murder is an option.”

Frank clicked his tongue but didn’t say anything as Karen glared at him once more. “I know Foggy.” She paused to smile at the waitress as she dropped off Frank’s eggs and bacon and her own food of yogurt and fruit. She saw Frank eyeballing her plate but ignored him to respond to Foggy, “We have already discussed that. It looks like most of the personnel at her estate is a hired security company, not criminals so they won’t be killed.”

Matt gave a derisive snort that resulted in Foggy elbowing him sharply in the ribs before saying, “And what about the ones that are criminals?”

“As long as they don’t threaten Karen, I promise to be on my best behaviour Counselor.” Frank looked at her plate pointedly. “Is that all you got to eat?”

“Yeah, I’m not that hungry.” She murmured before she turned back to Foggy, “I’m going to do everything I can to ensure we talk to Vanessa with no casualties.” As she spoke, Karen saw Frank move two pieces of his bacon to her plate and bit her cheek to keep from smiling. When she turned her attention back to Foggy, he had been watching as well, there was a look of bewilderment on his face, like he couldn’t quite comprehend what he was seeing.

“Well, I guess that is all I can really ask at this point, I’m just glad you are back and safe. It is getting so boring at the office without you.” Foggy said.

Matt looked offended as Karen laughed, “Well, I hope to be back in the office by next week at the latest. I can only imagine what kind of disarray you left my desk in.”

They chatted over their food, mostly catching Karen up on things she’d had missed while she was gone, cases that had been completed, new cases on the docket and any ridiculous gossip that had been picked up at Josie’s. Matt jumped in every once in a while but he and Frank stayed silent for most of the meal after that.

Once the food was gone and everything had been discussed, they all stood to pay for their meals and go off in various directions to begin preparing for their respective parts of the plan. As she moved to the register, Karen felt Frank’s hand at the small of her back, a steady, reassuring weight as they waited for the person in front of them to finish up. She wondered if she would always be so aware of him, if every little touch would always feel so important and monumental. She hoped so.

Foggy took off first with a promise to dig into the files Karen planned on sending over as soon as he received them but first he had a coffee date with Marci that he couldn’t miss. With a tight hug for Karen and respectful nod to Frank he turned and made his way to the closest taxi.

Karen gave Matt a quick hug and promised to call later with an address and started to turn away but he grabbed her elbow before she got far. She could feel Frank tense behind her but he didn’t say anything. She looked expectantly at Matt.

“Karen, look, I-,” he sounded strained for a second and took a moment to collect his thoughts, “I’m sorry about earlier alright? I know you are capable of taking care of yourself and it was a real asshole thing for me to say.”

She raised her eyebrows, “Ya think?” She relented however, she knew it wasn’t an easy thing for Matt to be around Frank, especially since he could probably tell with his fancy superpowers that there was something going on between them. “I know, Matt, it’s okay. Just, try to have a little more faith in me, okay?”

Giving the hand he had on her arm a reassuring squeeze she attempted to leave again but Matt kept his grip firm. Oh for Chrissake, what now? She squared her shoulders, forcing him to drop his hand, and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to say what was obviously on his mind.

“Why don’t you come stay with me or Foggy?” Karen started to protest but he pressed on, “You said you were staying in some warehouse, that can’t be comfortable. We can finalize everything at my place and you’ll still be safe.”

“No.”

Matt looked at a loss, like the only real option was going with him and the fact that she refused was beyond comprehension.

“Why?” he asked.

Karen chewed on her bottom lip as she studied him for a second. She had the urge to shake him which was not unusual with Matt Murdock but she settled for a quiet, “You know why, Matt.” before turning to walk back to where Frank was waiting. She didn’t have to look at Frank’s face to know he was looking smugly at Matt and rolled her eyes when he slung an arm over her shoulder as they walked away. I’m going to hurt them both.

She gave him a sweet smile and then promptly pinched his side, causing him to step away quickly with a quiet curse.

“What the hell was that for?” he asked, rubbing the spot. He tried to sound angry but she heard the underlying amusement in his tone.

“You know why, Frank.”

They spent the day going over details and making sure they didn’t miss anything important. Karen had forwarded her files over to Foggy and had answered a couple calls from him for her input on clarifying some finer points.

Karen was pulled from her hundredth time of scanning the folder she put together by Frank beckoning to her.

“Hey, come over here for a sec.” He waved her over with one hand while the other was digging around in a container that appeared to be full of tactical gear. Pushing away from her computer with a long stretch, she made her way over to where he stood and watched him pull out a couple of bulletproof vests.

She raised an eyebrow at him but he just shrugged and stepped in front of her with one of them. He strapped her in with ease and went over the garment critically, checking how it fit and laid on her frame and said, “I’ll occasionally acquire them after finishing a job. I wanted to see if any of these fit you or if I am going to need to find one before tomorrow night.”

Karen looked down at herself as he tugged and shifted the garment and said skeptically, “Is this really necessary?”

Frank stopped what he was doing, two fingers tucked into the vest at her chest and gaped at her disbelievingly.

“Alright, alright it was just a question.” She gave a small laugh and let him maneuver her around to take the vest off.

He apparently wasn’t satisfied with the fit of that one because he tossed it back into the container before grabbing another and starting the process again. “To answer that question, you wouldn’t be going into that place without one. Maybe the guys working there aren’t criminals but they are there to do a job. If they see us as a threat, which I’m betting they will, they will probably take some shots so you need to have protection.”

He focused fully on the task at hand and seemed more pleased with the fit of this vest but she could see the worry creeping into his eyes, no doubt imagining all of the scenarios in which the plan could go wrong. Karen caught his hand checking the straps at her side and held it between hers, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.

“It’s going to be fine. We are just going there to talk, it’s not like we are facing down a psycho with a bomb or escaping through elevator shafts or anything.” Her gallows humor had the desired effect for a second, his lips quirking a bit at the corners.

It faded quickly though, his eyes going serious and grim, his voice solemn, “I know how quickly things can go wrong, normal one second and batshit crazy the next. People there with you one second and then gone the next.”

Karen’s heart gave a painful lurch and she felt her eyes start to prickle so she stepped into him quickly, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Thinking of everything Frank had lost always made her weepy and she didn’t want him to have to deal with her tears when he was the one who should be upset. She felt his arms settle around her shoulders and his head rested against hers and for a moment they just swayed together gently.

After a moment though, Frank stepped back, placed a soft kiss to her forehead and began to pull off the vest.

“This one fits pretty well, I think it will work well for tomorrow.” He placed it next to his, the emblazoned skull stark against the black material, which lay atop his selected arsenal for tomorrow. “Have you heard from the counselor? Got anything he can use?”

Karen sighed, “Yeah, there are a few things he would be able to use against her, some illegal trading and some potentially forfeit art but nothing as serious as I would like but it may be enough. At least to get them off my case.”

Frank nodded and she saw him thinking about his next question. Here we go. And she wasn’t disappointed.

“Have you heard from Murdock?”

“No”

“Have you contacted Murdock?”

“ No .” she answered a bit more curtly.

Frank held up a placating hand, “If he is going to be part of the plan, he needs to know where we are going.”

He was right of course but she was still a little annoyed at both of them. “I’ll text him the address and where we intend to meet. You sure you two are okay to work together? You seem like you would rather glare and bitch at each other.”

Frank scoffed, “Red’s a pain in the ass but he isn’t a bad ally to have on your side. If he could just stop being so preachy, we would get along just fine.”

Karen shook her head with a small smile, “You’re not wrong, I suppose. On the flip side, I’m sure he thinks if you were less murdery you’d get along just fine.”

He gave her a wry grin, “I guess neither one of us are going to get what we want, huh?”

She couldn’t help but laugh, walking away from him to go back to her task, “No, I guess not.”

-----

Frank watched Karen go back to her desk to pour over everything again. Nothing will have changed since the last time she looked but he knew it was a good distraction for her. In the meantime he needed to make sure he had all the gear he needed and was ready himself. He still didn’t like the idea that not only was Karen going into the den of the enemy but he had to also attempt to get her in and out without any fatalities. As much as Murdock annoyed him, Frank was glad he would be there as well, it would allow him to focus more fully on Karen’s safety.

Sitting across the room, Frank began running through his mental checklist, he wanted to have time to hunt down any needed supplies before go-time. This was a top priority mission with very precious cargo and he was not going to fuck it up. Every mission or war he had waged over the past several months was nowhere near as important as the one he was preparing for, failure was not an option.

He’d need to pick up some more ammo for his .45, realistically he probably had enough but he’d rather be over prepared. Frank glanced up when he heard a thoughtful noise from Karen, a detail catching her attention. He watched as she buried long graceful fingers into the pale spun gold of her hair with one hand, while the other skimmed the document, occasionally tapping out a rhythm on the table. For a second he was transported to the previous night, those long locks sliding between his fingers while she was on her knees in front of him. Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip as she worked and Frank couldn’t help but watch the slide of her tongue when she wet her lips.

When he realized he was outright staring at her he shook his head and went back to the task at hand. For God’s sake he was acting like a horny, head over heels teenager. First that little dominance stunt he pulled with Murdock, huffing out a laugh he rubbed the spot Karen had pinched him, and now he was ogling her while she worked. It was amazing how fast the switch was flipped in his mind of him thinking of Karen as his. He really needed to get a grip. Frank still wasn’t sure he made the right call, agreeing to give a relationship a shot. He was still dangerous to be around and the thought of him bringing even more danger to Karen’s life made him nauseous. The thing was, it was obvious that Karen would be in trouble at some point whether he was there or not and the thought of him not being there to help her also made him nauseous.

Maybe it was a bad idea….but god he wanted it. He could pretend he was alright with the solitude and all the nights alone but that delusion was quickly fading. The past couple of weeks, waking up with someone in bed next to him again, was like a breath of fresh air he didn’t know he needed. Like an ache in his joints he wasn’t aware of until they were gone. Even cramped on the little cot with Karen who was just as tall as him and threw a mean elbow in her sleep, was the most comfortable he had been...well, since Maria. The feeling of waking up to Karen’s softness and warmth, her smile and morning quips, was like a drug and the mere thought of going back to the way things were had him feeling like he was going through withdrawals.

It didn’t really do any good to debate it with himself at this point, he had told Karen he would give it a shot and wouldn’t lie to her. So they would take care of the issue at hand and then he would man up and keep his word. However, if it looked like he was bringing too much danger into her life, he was gone, no questions asked. Well, probably anyway. He had a feeling Karen Page was becoming a major guiding force in his life and he may not have a choice on if he goes or stays.

Shaking his head, Frank ran through the remainder of his list and decided to grab some more ammo for Karen’s .380 while he was at it. He set everything back in place and stood, rolling his shoulders back to work out the knots and headed over to grab a jacket and pull on his boots. When he stood from lacing them up he noticed Karen was watching him.

“I’m going to go pick up some ammo and dinner. Anything sound good to you?”

She hummed, eyeing him with a hunger that had nothing to do with food and he felt desire hit him hard in the gut. Before he could begin to make his way across the room though, she gave him a coy smile, her voice mischievous, “Japanese sounds good. Some sushi? Maybe Katsudon if they have it, yakisoba if they don’t?”

Raising an eyebrow at her, he turned to pull the jacket on. “Japanese it is. I’ll be back soon, I’ll text you before I come in so you know it’s me. Keep an eye on the cameras and call me if anything looks out of the ordinary.” She nodded along as he spoke, turning back to her work but he said her name softly, it brought her attention back to him quickly. Frank gave a little smirk, “Stop being a stubborn ass and text Murdock the information.”

He stepped around the closest object to dodge the pencil that had been lobbed at him and made his way to the exit. He didn’t care one way or the other if Murdock actually accompanied them, it would be helpful sure, but they would be fine without him. However, he knew it was important to Karen to keep her friends in the loop, a pact they had made she didn’t want to break.

The air was chilly when he stepped out into the dusk, heading in the direction of the subway, he needed to go a ways to get to the shop he was wanting. He walked quickly, eyeing his surroundings casually and jumping on the train just before the doors closed. It took about 15 minutes to get to his stop and he emerged onto the street about another 10 minutes walk from his destination.

Frank was nearly there when he felt the prickle on the back of his neck so he stepped into the next alleyway and kept his hand ready to reach for the gun at his hip. However, only one person he knows could land that softly out of nowhere so he wasn’t surprised when he turned to see Murdock frowning at him from behind his mask.

“Evening, Red.”

Murdock gave a small nod and a quiet, “Frank.” Before resuming his pensive silence.

Frank waited another minute before shifting impatiently, “Did ya have somethin’ you wanted to say or….? I kinda have some errands to run and a hungry private investigator waiting for me. I have a fair idea of how grumpy she can be when hungry and would like to avoid that if I can.”

Matt’s face turned a bit more sour, his stance stiffening even more. “She shouldn’t be there. She should be somewhere safe. Somewhere away from you.”

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Frank tucked his hands deep into his pockets and balled them into fists. “You’re not entirely wrong Red but the fact of the matter is that is where she decided to be and you of all people should know that telling her to do something else would not go well.”

The other man gave a begrudging nod but didn’t look put at ease. When he spoke again he had his lawyer facade on, trying to dig for information, “What exactly is your relationship with Karen?”

Frank went still, his eyes narrowing at the other man and said nothing. It wasn’t any of Murdock’s business and Frank was pretty sure he knew already.

“I could smell you on her, at the diner.” His voice was accusatory.

“Well that is officially the weirdest thing you’ve ever said to me, Red. Also the creepiest.” A very immature, alpha male part of his brain swelled with pride at the knowledge that there was no mistaking that Karen had chosen to be with him. He nearly chuckled when he thought of how quickly she would put him in his place if she knew he was thinking like that. “What does it matter to you anyway?”

“You know why it matters Frank. You are still killing, making enemies and starting wars. Karen deserves better than that. Better than you.”

“You’re not wrong there either.” Frank closed the distance between them, bringing them toe to toe, his voice dropped low, a mix of building anger and antagonism, “Is that the only reason, Murdock?  I remember seeing you two back then, holding hands, standing close. How she watched you with so much admiration in the courtroom, when you showed up, that is. Now, she doesn’t want to stay with you, despite being in danger. So is it really that you want to protect Karen or is it that your ego can’t take the fact that you royally fucked up and lost a beautiful, intelligent, brave and loyal woman? To a murderer no less. ”

Matt snarled muscles tensing as though preparing for a fight but Frank’s phone chimed alerting him to a message. His adrenaline spiked, brain always going to the worst case scenario first and Matt must have picked up on it because he took half a step back. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, Frank relaxed when he read the message.

“Shrimp Shumai as well, please. Don’t forget chopsticks, I don’t trust the silverware you have here not to give me tetanus.”

Frank shook his head with a smirk, tapping back a quick ‘Yes, Ma’am’, before tucking the phone in his pocket again. Matt’s head was tilted to listen and his features had relaxed from anger and disgust to mild annoyance and disbelief.

“I don’t deserve her, Murdock, you’re right about that. The problem is, I’ve pushed her away time and time again and we just keep endin’ up back in each other’s space. I’ll never argue with you that Karen Page is too good for me but she asked me to give this a chance and goddamn it, I owe it to her to try. I know I’m one lucky motherfucker that she chose me of all people, you don’t have to tell me.”

Matt looked downright defeated, “You love her.” It wasn’t a question.

Clicking his tongue and stepping around the other man, Frank walked back towards the main sidewalk, “I ain’t even talked to her about that Red so I’ll be damned if I talk to you about it. Check your phone, she should be sending you the information for tomorrow night.” With that, he stepped around the corner and walked the remaining few blocks to the gun store. He did love Karen, but now he was wondering if love encompassed everything he felt for her. Frank was starting to feel complete in a way he hadn’t since he still had his family. That large piece of his life would always be missing, god he missed them every second of every day, but Karen was becoming the glue that held the rest of his pieces together. His air when he was suffocating. The stones in his foundation when it started to crumble. Love was only a part of the things he felt for Karen Page.

It was another hour and a half before he had the ammo and food in hand, heading back to the safe house. He texted Karen to alert her that he would be there soon and when he stepped through the door and into the living area of the building, she was right where he had left her.

“Welcome back, took you long enough.” She barely turned from the papers but he saw the teasing lilt to her lips anyway.

“The lady wanted shrimp shumai, the only place to get shumai in this city is Mei’s so I had to go a little out of my way to get it.” Frank set the food down at the table and plucked the container with the shumai out of the bag. He walked over to Karen, popping the lid open to waft the delicious smelling steam in her direction, enticing her to leave the desk.

Karen let out an appreciative groan at the smell, pushing her chair back and following closely behind him. She settled down at the table and pointed at him accusingly with the chopsticks Frank handed her, “I know of at least three places to get shumai and I know at least one of them was pretty close to where you were going.”

“Yes but the only place you should get shumai from is Mei’s.” His voice was deep with conviction when he pointed his chopsticks right back at her.

Karen barked out a quick laugh, “Unbelievable, a burger snob, a coffee snob AND a Japanese cuisine snob. The surprises keep coming.” However, when she took a bite of the first morsel, her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head with pleasure. She snapped her eyes to his quickly to see if he caught her, which of course he did, with a knowing, smug smirk. “Alright, you win this one Castle.”

Frank thought about mentioning the fact he ran into Murdock but she would want to know what they discussed and he wasn’t sure he was ready to go down the rabbit hole just yet. So instead they talked about their favorite places for asian food and occasionally discussed details of tomorrow’s mission. Thankfully she mentioned she had texted the information to Murdock so he didn’t have to bring it up again.

Once they were full and leftovers were packed away in the small fridge, it was time to call David and ensure that everything on his end was set as well. The phone rang a couple of times before he answered.

“ Hello friends! Ready to talk super spy stuff and breaking and entering?” His voice was cheerful and already grating on Frank’s nerves.

“Cut the shit, David. You got everything you need?”

“ I want to talk to Karen. She’s nicer than you.” There was an unmistakable pout in his voice.

“David…” Frank growled. Karen hid a laugh behind her hand. He gave her a pleading ‘don’t encourage him’ look and turned his attention back to the phone.

“... And prettier. Fine. Yes, everything is in order. I’ll walk you through setting up the comm pieces tonight so all you have to do tomorrow is turn them on and double check the frequency. There haven’t been any changes to the personnel schedule and the layout of the house hasn’t changed over the past two days.”

Over the next hour they activated and synced up their comms, checking for any bugs, and outlined the time frame they hoped to maintain for getting in and out.

“ Hey, uh, I noticed you only requested the two ear pieces, was there a change of plan? Daredevil no longer assisting?”

“No change of plan. He won’t need an earpiece, he will be able to hear just fine.” Karen’s voice was one of begrudging acceptance.

“ Okay then, well, then I think we’ve done everything we can for today. I’ll be in touch tomorrow at 10. Now, I need to go to dinner or I have the real potential of sleeping on the couch tonight.”

Without preamble, the line went dead, the screen of the phone flashing the call time for just a moment before going dark.

Karen gave a little snort, “What an interesting change of events, usually it’s you hanging up on him.”

“I guess the prospect of sleeping on the couch is more motivating than getting on my damn nerves.” Frank said gruffly as he put the phone on charge next to the comm equipment. When he looked back at Karen, she had an unreadable look on her face.

“What?” he asked.

“If he bothers you that much, why do you keep in touch? I know he is an incredible hacker but you are crafty and would be able to figure something else out.” Karen asked, leaning on the table and regarding him curiously.

Frank gave a deep sigh. David did endlessly wear on his nerves but he cared for the man and his family. “David just...doesn’t know when to shut up. That being said, he’s a good guy. He’s reliable and a good person.” When he looked over there was a smug look on Karen’s face and he felt like he just walked into a trap.

“So...you care about him? Behind all the mean words and mask of indifference he’s your friend.” She looked so proud of herself, blue eyes sparkling and her head tilted as she watched him.

Frank shook his head turning away from her, “ Christ . You're just as bad as he is. I’m takin’ a shower.” He could feel her eyes following him as he grabbed a change of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. She wasn’t wrong, he did care about David and his family. Very much in fact, but he wasn’t going to admit it out loud. It could make it back to David and Frank would never have peace again.

The hot water was doing wonders for his knotted muscles. Preparing for tomorrow had left him anxious and processing his feelings for Karen furthered that anxiety because he knew how easy it was for things to go wrong. He could lose her tomorrow and it had him on edge all day. It would be his luck that he would finally accept what he feels for Karen, just for it to be taken away immediately. If it were just him going in he would be unaffected, if he got injured or killed it will have been worth it to keep her safe. But Karen was going to be with him, just as close to danger as he would be.

The shifty plumbing gave a groan and sputtered a quick deluge of ice water over him before going back to hot so he finished washing off quickly before he got another rude surprise.

He found as he stepped out of the shower he was more tired than he thought, his muscles finally loosened a bit so he didn’t feel quite so much like a spring that was wound too tight. However, as he tossed his towel over the curtain rod of the shower, Frank gave a quiet curse as his brain started sprinting down the same roads it had been running all day. Just that quick he felt his shoulders drawing back up towards his ears, muscles coiling and ready to fight. Christ he couldn’t wait for this to be over so he could be the normal amount of anxious over Karen’s well being. Throwing on some boxer briefs and low slung sweatpants he made to leave the cramped room.

A small cloud of steam followed him out of the bathroom before Frank started toward the cot. Karen was already laid down with one of his books open in her hand as she sprawled over their makeshift bed. Suddenly, Frank felt like he had been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer and his coiled muscles were prepared for an entirely new action.

Karen had grabbed one of his shirts to wear to bed, something that would have been enough to turn him on in general but due to their similar height the shirt just barely brushed the tops of her thighs. Frank’s gaze traveled from the tips of her toes up her impossibly long legs and fixated on the spot where the shirt had ridden up, exposing a hip bone where the thin black strap of her underwear contrasted exquisitely with her creamy skin. He could just glimpse the curve of her perfectly shaped ass the way she was laying but it was enough to spark something in him. Frank was suddenly a man starved. Hyperfocus that he tends to save for the battlefield is now fixated on the woman just across the room from him to the point everything else blurs and she is the only thing in focus.

Karen must feel his gaze on her because she lowers the book a fraction to meet his eyes. He sees her breath catch and her eyes widen when their gazes lock. Carefully she sets the book aside, her eyes leaving his to slowly drag down his body. Frank felt his temperature spike when he watched her hungrily take him in, her pupils blowing wide and her bottom lip unconsciously pulling between her teeth. It amazed him how expressive Karen was with just that bottom lip.

“I, um, ran out of comfortable sleeping clothes so I borrowed one of your shirts. I hope that is okay?” Her voice was small, uncertain. If Frank were more stable at the moment, he would feel guilty that she would feel so unsure about taking what she needed from him. Of course he didn’t mind, in fact, he would encourage it any chance he got.

When he didn’t answer, Karen looked even more unsure, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have presumed. I can grab one of my old-” She began to wrap long fingers around the hem as though she were going to pull the shirt off.

“Don’t. Move.” The words came out commanding, a simmering heat in his voice that was deep and full of gravel, his desire filling the words with a thousand promises. Karen froze at the order and when she drew that damned bottom lip between her teeth again and he saw the full body shiver of her reacting to him, Frank couldn’t stop himself from crossing the room. He moved steadily, long, methodical strides that had him at the foot of the cot quickly.

From this new vantage point he could see the pretty blush starting across her cheeks and down her neck to disappear under the shirt at her collarbone. She was perfection. Slowly, he placed a knee on the bottom corner of the bed, Karen watching his every move with rapt attention.

Another full body shiver ran through her when he caressed her ankles with hands he could no longer keep idle. There was a growl that he belatedly realized came from him before he was bent over, dragging teeth over the exposed flesh of her hip, the breathy noise Karen released spurring his actions. Frank’s hands slid up the smooth backs of her thighs that now bracketed his chest until he had two glorious handfuls of her ass.

“ Frank.” Fuck, the way she said his name. She had a way of putting everything into those five letters, all breathy want and desire. He was so hard it almost hurt, the need to be inside her so strong Frank was almost delirious from it. He snapped his eyes up to hers from his spot at her hip, where he continued to drag his tongue along her skin, nipping and sucking at her where he saw fit. He followed her panty line, nudging the shirt out of the way as he went. Karen’s eyes never left his but the air caught in her chest when his hands slid around to grip her underwear as he continued to cover her skin with pink marks.

He could smell her and god, she smelled sweet. Frank let out a small sound of need and began tugging away the barrier between them. He had reached her other hipbone, nipping the soft skin there before sitting back to fully remove her underwear and then she was gloriously bare to him, only his shirt bunched up around her midsection. He took a moment to take her in, lips glistening with arousal and a blush spreading over her inner thighs. It was his turn to pull his bottom lip through his teeth, taking a moment to decide where he wanted to start. Leaning down again, Frank tucked his arms under Karen’s thighs, wrapping them around the outside so his hands were at her hips to get a good grip and tugged her roughly to the edge of the cot.

She let out a little yelp in surprise and when Frank looked at her again, the shirt had rucked up around her chest when he scooted her down. Her graceful arms were above her head where they had settled after her startled movement. She was a fucking sight. Frank knelt on the cold concrete floor and settled her legs over his shoulders, moving slowly and deliberately, his entire focus on devouring the woman in front of him.

Giving an appreciative groan, Frank leaned in, dragging a kiss over Karen’s inner thigh before switching to the other leg. Next, he ran his tongue up the crease of her leg, mere centimeters from his destination. Karen’s hips were beginning to sway towards his mouth, rising and falling with each tempting swipe of his mischievous tongue.

As he was laving a slow kiss to the top of her mound Karen gave a quiet curse causing Frank to glance up at her with a devastating smirk.

“Something wrong Ma’am?” his voice was impossibly deep and rough.

She reacted like his voice was a physical touch, closing her eyes and shivering before she looked at him again, the blue of her irises dark with her need, voice husky with restrained desire. “If you don’t touch me soon Frank I’m going to lose my goddamn mind.”

His answering chuckle was rich and dark and it vibrated through every spot their bodies were connected. What Karen didn’t know was he was torturing himself as much as he was her, every fiber of his being screaming to do more, to drive her crazy, make her scream for him. Frank finally relented, giving a slow languid lick to her center, just barely parting her folds. Both let out a groan and before Frank could convince himself to keep the pace slow, he was drinking her in like he’d not had water in years.

There was longer any finesse to his movements, lewd noises filling the room as he licked and sucked at her, letting out appreciative growls and grunts as she moved under him. Fuck she tasted good, her breathless moans and little curses, her beautiful lips saying his name when he pressed just right, all driving him mad with need. When Frank opened his eyes he let out a long low groan at the sight. Karen was gripping the blankets above her head with one hand so tight her knuckles were white, her eyes screwed shut while her mouth was open and panting. Her other hand had pushed the shirt over her breasts and was tweaking a nipple in time with the firm strokes of his tongue.

It was all too much, he needed to be in her, and soon. Never taking his eyes off of her, Frank closed his full lips over her clit and gave it a hard suck. Karen’s back arched off the cot prettily and her breathing stalled. Lifting her hips slightly he did again before quickly dragging a firm tongue over repeatedly. It only took two more strokes before she went completely rigid, a keening moan the only sound she was able to make.

Frank softened his ministrations, licking at her softly until her hand snaked into his hair to tug him away gently. He pulled just enough to nip her thigh before he rested his cheek there and looked up at her. She was gloriously disheveled, chest still rising rapidly with each breath, lips parted and eyes glassy and distant as she came down from her high.

Slowly, Karen came back to herself and she gave him a devastating little smile, her voice throaty and sated, though he saw the hunger building in her gaze again, “Goddamn, Castle. You’ve been hiding your finer skill sets from me.”

He gave a quiet laugh, trying to not let his pride show too much on his face, “Happy to be of service, ma’am.”

Slowly he stood, tugging at the drawstring of his sweatpants as he did, Karen watching the movement with intense focus. Frank slid pants and underwear off in a smooth movement before he started to crawl after Karen as she scooted back up the cot. Working together, his shirt was peeled up and over her head to be discarded somewhere on the floor.T hey didn’t have much room on the small bed but neither seemed to mind as he settled between her thighs and their lips met. The kiss was slow and dragging, tongues sliding together deliciously and little gasps escaping when they drew back long enough to change their angles.

Frank’s arm had traveled up to bury a large hand in her hair, something he found was quickly becoming one of his favorite things to do, his forearm bracing the side of her face as he continued to ravage her mouth. Slowly, he began to grind his cock against her core, dragging it through her folds torturously. Her hips met him at every thrust and finally, finally , he let himself sink into her.

All he could do for a moment was rest his forehead to hers, his hips stilling when he sank to the hilt, tightening his grip in her hair when she groaned and nipped at his chin. Being inside Karen was intoxicating and Frank was dizzy with pleasure that coursed through his system. He was so fucking lost on her, there was no way he could ever recover.

Frank leaned his head back enough to watch her eyes as he slowly pulled almost completely out of her before unhurriedly sliding back into place. Her gaze never left his, though her eyes were hooded, and he saw raw emotion staring back at him. For a moment it was overwhelming so Frank focused on the leisurely push and pull of his hips, his chest tight with everything he felt. They continued like that for several moments, quiet gasps and moans punctuating the easy rhythm that Frank set. Occasionally he would break eye contact to lick and suck at her neck, Karen dragging her hands up his back to hook over his shoulders, nipping at whatever skin was presented to her, a bicep, shoulder, the underside of his jaw. He could feel her starting to tense under him, her body straining towards release. He was working steadily towards his own orgasm, the burning pleasure spreading down his spine.

When Frank pulled back to look her in the eyes again the breath stilled in his chest. There was a trail of silent tears seeping from Karen’s eyes as she looked back at him. The hand in her hair dropped to her cheek to swipe the tears away tenderly. He hated to see her cry but it made him feel better to know she was feeling just as intensely as he was and when he spoke his voice was wrecked with the struggle to keep his own emotions in check, “What do you need?”

“Just...” she let out a shuddering breath and brought her hands to the back of his head, sliding blunt nails over his scalp, “Just don’t let go.”

A hungry desperate noise escaped from the back of his throat before he descended on her mouth. The kiss was slow but frantic, a desperation filling both of them. The hand on Karen’s cheek dropped to the side of her neck and the arm that propped him over her buried fingers into her silken hair. Frank’s thrusts sped up but they were still deliberate, grinding into her at the end of each stroke. That’s how they both came apart, her hands at the back of his head and neck, him not far behind with his own hands buried in her hair. Both of them holding on with both hands. Karen came, gasping his name in between quiet sobs and Frank came with a shuddering moan, pressing her name and kisses into the delicate skin of her temple.

For a moment they both were still, Frank was trying desperately to recover his composure and he felt Karen trying to do the same. When he did lean back again, swiping a gentle hand over her forehead to move damp hair out of her face she gave him a watery smile and he couldn’t help but return it.

Sniffing quietly, her smile turned sheepish, “I promise I’m not usually a crier during sex. I uh...just got a little overwhelmed, I think.”

Frank huffed out a little laugh, stroking a thumb over her cheekbone but before he could think of something to say, her hand came up to rest on his cheek, her eyes on him with a singular focus that wouldn’t allow him to look away.

“I love you, Frank Castle.” Karen’s voice was quiet and sincere, her eyes were watery once again but her gaze dared him to refute her.

Frank felt everything around him spin and then go completely still all at once before he drew in a quick breath and suddenly his chest was light, like a band that had been wrapped there just snapped. He was still terrified at the prospect of being loved, of loving again but looking at her, daring him to deny her, he felt like it might be worth it.

“I love you too, Karen Page.” Rough and low, the words felt so natural he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t said them before.

Just like that, the bravado left her and tears were escaping the corners of Karen’s eyes again, a smile so sweet on her lips he ached just looking at her. He leaned down to give her a tender kiss, her lips trembling lightly under his. Tsking, Frank rolled gently to the side, pulling her into his chest, banding protective arms around her, “You keep crying like that, Page, and you’re going to give me a complex.”

She gave a little laugh, thick with tears and swiped at her cheeks, “Sorry, Frank, I’ll try to keep the tears to a minimum next time. Promise.”

Humming, he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.They lay quietly like that for awhile, both awake and lost in their own thoughts. Karen was running absent minded fingers over the smooth planes of his chest while his thumb ran soothing circles over her shoulder. Eventually he felt her relaxing against him, her breathing turning deep and even. Frank could feel his own eyes falling shut, heavy as lead as he listened to her breathe. He wanted to think a bit more, run the plan through his head again before giving in to sleep, think about the monumental words Karen and he had just spoken to one another but before he could try he was snoring quietly against her forehead and neither of them moved until morning.

[purplesurveys]

883

1. What kind of textures do you enjoy most in your food? Crunchy, crispy, soft, hard, grainy, slimy, etc? I love chewing on any meal that involves rice. Born and raised with it, can’t feel full without it. I’ll give a special mention to slimy too, because I love seafood.

2. Do you keep up any seasonal decorations outside of their season? No. My mom removes our Christmas decor by late January, which is when Christmas season ends here. We don’t decorate for other holidays.

3. Can you remember the most awkward situation you've ever been in? What happened? Ugh god. Any time I’m left alone with Gab’s dad is bound to be awkward because he’s very quiet and stoic and I tend to be a vibrant, cheery people-pleaser and nothing I do will muster more than two words out of him...but our most awkward moment has to be when I was at their place and he had to leave to run some errands. I stood up and walked over to give him a hug, but for some reason the floor was slippery and I started to do the world’s clumsiest and longest stumble. As an instinct, I held on to his arm and shirt so that I wouldn’t fall flat on my face. It was terrible and nothing I could’ve done or said would’ve saved that situation. EUGH I’m wincing right now lmao

4. Can you remember the most scary situation you've ever been in? What happened? [trigger warning] Would have to be the time when my grandfather got too drunk off his ass that he physically assaulted one of my cousins, then a toddler. My aunt (cousin’s mom) is a little on the delicate and petite side and couldn’t do anything to confront my grandpa, who went on his rage for like 10, 15 minutes. Certainly felt like forever. Nothing has traumatized me more and that’s saying a lot, considering it’s been 13 years and I’ve been through tons of shitty situations.

5. Do you do anything unusual to help you concentrate? It’s not very weird but I did install an extension on my browser that would let me list certain sites (usually social media) I’d want blocked whenever I have work. I suppose not everyone has that kind of program so it kinda counts as unusual.

6. Do you ever wonder what your parents were like as children/teenagers? With my dad, yes. My mom tells me enough stories. I know her family hit a rough patch when she was a teenager and they had to sell a bunch of their stuff, including a grand piano. She went from living a comfortable life to having to skip meals in college because she only had enough money for her daily commute.

7. Do you think suicide is ever "okay?" Groan, this is so triggering. I’m not elaborating on this, soz.

8. Would you rather a close family member/close friend/significant other die of suicide or murder? Why is this? “>> I think having to deal with a murder investigation would be terribly messy and intrusive, and would add more trauma on top of what I’m already dealing with.” < All of this. You don’t always get closure with murders, too. And I would hate that.

9. In your opinion, what is the worst thing someone could ever do? Raping an infant is definitely up there for me.

10. In your opinion, what is the best thing someone could ever do? Be a positive change or impact in someone’s life. Idk, I’m easy to please.

11. Do you think about any fellow xangans outside of xanga? I’ll change the context of this question to Tumblr so I can answer it. And yes I do, sometimes. Not in a creepy way or anything; it usually happens when I encounter something in real life that I know another survey-taker likes.

12. What military installation is the closest to you? Fort Bonifacio.

13. Do you still open your windows during winter? We don’t get winter but yeah, December is the best time to leave the windows open throughout the night. It’s also a great time to be able to save on electricity haha

14. How cold is too cold? How hot is too hot? I’ve lived in a tropical country all my life so I’m a big-ass wimp when it comes to the cold, even though I love it more. I start shivering at around 23ºC. Too hot is anything reaching the 40s.

15. Would you rather lose both legs or both arms? Why? Legs. I use my hands a lot more, so it would be slightly more difficult if I suddenly had to move about without them.

16. If you committed a crime that landed you in prison for the rest of your life, but were given the option to receive the death sentence instead, which would you choose? Why? Death. I get to have the infamous ~last meal~. Lol in all seriousness though, I’d pick it because it would be a quick release for me, I guess. It’s a big reason why I’m not a fan of death penalty...it’s too easy an escape for criminals who deserve a lot worse.

17. Is there any specific album you can listen to in its entirety and enjoy every single song? After Laughter - Paramore

18. Would you rather be a famous movie star, television star, or musician? I don’t have talents that would make me succeed in any of these fields...I guess it’d be fun to be a movie star though.

19. If you are not religious, have you ever eaten dinner with a group of people that were and said grace before eating? How was this for you? If you are religious and say grace before dinner, have you ever eaten dinner with a group of people that weren't and didn't say grace before eating? How was this for you? Yes. I’m from a Catholic family, so we pray before every meal. I do a sign of the cross but barely, just so my mom sees I move my hands when we start the prayer; but I haven’t recited grace since I told myself I was going to be atheist.

20. Do you think an evil Santa or an evil Easter Bunny would make a better villain in a horror movie? I’d go with Evil Santa mostly because I have no attachment to the Easter Bunny whatsoever, and because it’d be hilarious to see a man with reindeer be mean.

21. Did you ever think any fictional story-book character was creepy as a child? Do you still think any of them are creepy? Yes. That girl who wears a ribbon around her neck still gives me the fucking creeps.

22. Would you rather wear nothing but white or nothing but black? Is there any color you'd actually want to wear head-to-toe? Black. I’ve done that many times, so it wouldn’t feel weird.

23. What physical/mental health problems run in your family? Do you have any of the same problems? I’m almost certain there are underlying issues on my mom’s side but seeing as none of us have ever gotten ourselves checked (and most of them don’t believe in mental health problems anyway) I doubt I’ll ever find out what exactly’s wrong.

24. What is your mental and physical health like right now? They are both doing surprisingly well considering how long I’ve had to stay home and how much everything has turned upside down. I’ve only had two bad breakdown in four months and I’ve since recovered from that nasty fever I got, so I can’t complain.

25. If you found a suitcase (with no information about the owner) with a million dollars inside of it , would you turn it into the police or keep it? Be honest. ;] “>> See, a million dollars is an exorbitant sum. There is no way I could just casually make off with a missing million and not suffer repercussions. It's just too much goddamn money, and in this particular scenario, it's highly likely that it's a trap of some sort (whether set for me, or set for someone else and my dumb ass just happened to stumble across it). I'm not dumb enough to try it.

Neither would I necessarily want to turn it in, because that might cause me to get involved in something I didn't want or need to be involved in. The most logical course of action for me would be to leave it the fuck alone.” < Yeup.

26. Would you rather gaze at the stars or clouds? Stars. The fact that they’re so much farther away makes them more fascinating to me.

27. Are they any foods you used to enjoy but no longer like? Are there any foods you used to dislike but now enjoy? There’s a certain brand of frozen sisig that I used to looooove and would have multiple servings of every time I had it. But I had it one too many times and now I can’t even stand the smell of it. On the other hand, I hated chicken curry as a kid, but I can’t get enough of it now.

28. Do you feel much older or younger than you are? Why? Neither. I just feel 22.

29. Did you get along with kids that were older or younger than you? I mostly got along with kids of the same age. I found younger kids too rowdy and being around older kids always felt intimidating.

30. Do you know any magic tricks? Nopes.

31. How much would life suck for you if you had a wheat allergy? A lot.

32. Are you able to watch gory scenes in movies? Why or why not? For sure. I always want to see how far FX artists can go; and if used correctly, gory scenes can be super integral to the movie. Midsommar is a really good example.

33. Do you constantly check the time? Does time seem to move quickly or slowly for you? Not anymore. I used to check it a lot while I was still in school. Sigh, I miss that life so much. Anyway, time definitely felt slower during the first few weeks of the lockdown, but now that I’m used to it days just fly by. I can hardly believe we’re nearly in the middle of July. So much of this year has been wasted. It’s miserable.

34. Would you rather live in a nice house in a bad location, or a less-than-nice house in a great location? I’m taking the great location. I don’t know if I can last living in a shady area, no matter how beautiful my house is.

35. Have you ever been a witness to a horrible crime? What happened? Domestic violence is the worst thing I can think of. I enumerated one of them in one of the earlier questions, but I witnessed several other cases as a kid.

[yuukei-yikes]

lost day hour should’ve been the end of kagepro babey

what is UP it's 2019 i am NOT ONLY talking about kagepro but im also gonna talk about a comic that came out like over half a year ago. Yeah

i've just been having too many feelings about it and it's my blog and i get to post whatever i want SO:

the lost day hour comic really was what would've been the perfect end to kagepro. like, kagepro in its entirety!!! songs, anime, novels. the comic just being THE ending.

haruka was the protagonist. in the songs, the "last" one (at least chronologically in universe) was from his point of view, but despite that the novels and anime did him dirty and never gave him his screen time, even outside of str. i mean even str isn't actually about him lol. haruka was never important enough, he's just the devise to make konoha tragic. but this time, it's post/during str and he's here!!!! he's the protagonist of the story!!!!

all the members of the mekakushi dan feel SO in character and everything they say really feels like a good resolution to all of their arcs.

kido speaks of family. she's really THE family character, not ayano. she makes sure to be the next big sister after having lost TWO (2) of her own big sisters. kido is the character to have lost the most family members: first her biological mom, after having to kill her own father lol she loses rin, then her new mom ayaka and her new sister ayano, and then her new dad kenjirou. even like that, kido keeps it together. she's never the one breaking down. kido is essentially what makes the mekakushi dan what it is, because she takes ayano's game and turns it into something seto and kano can continue feeling that comfort in. she takes over to be the leader and their big sister. SO OF COURSE SHE SAYS THAT FRIENDS ARE HER FAMILY. 

kano says confusing stuff but that's just him and i. Love it. like when i read the comic and i was talking to my gf about it and the first thing i said was that i loved kano's bit and that he felt super in character and i still feel the same!!! he gets asked what a friend is and his answer is basically "whoever makes ME feel like im a friend" and really that's just The Most Kano.... and it's so rewarding to read his part because it feels like he's being super honest? like his expressions and stuff, he looks like. vulnerable or smth. especially when he says "i say good things sometimes" AHHH HIS FACE THERE!!! he's not acting at all!!!

seto and mary work in A FLOWER SHOP!!!! THIS IS CANON!!!! no more shitty part time jobs because they either got a job together or opened their own shop and this is. the best news ever. it's SUCH a cool thing to show. if this comic was the end, wouldn't it be cute to say "oh seto and mary open a flower shop together in endgame"? i love it. they're so important to each other's arc... mary basically starting to live her life after meeting seto, and seto becoming this!!! BRAVE BOY after meeting mary since he has someone to protect!! their answers are based on each other and ARE THE SAME which feels so appropriate ;_; they really did change for the better after meeting each other. they're one another's most important friend!

momo says friends are the most important thing because she spent her entire life by herself. no brother no dad and no mom. hibiya acts like she's exaggerating when she says that but tbh??? she really isn't. she was always alone! of course that now that she has friends, they're her entire world to her. hibiya meanwhile is like momo: he's still figuring out what a friend is! but he chooses to be more skeptical and looks at it from another angle, and rather than HELL YEAH MY FRIENDS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT he's like "dammit harukas right wtf is a friend". but that's super cool because at the beginning hibiya didn't even want to be with the dan in this comic he specifically tells momo he just wouldn't be there if he didn't want to be friends

hiyori is. probably my least favorite thing of the comic. i absolutely adore her it's not that i dislike her at all!!! she just... appears for such a short moment, and based on her story and the fact that she's A REVIVED character, her answer doesn't really grab my attention. she's confusing and ??? um, i would've liked it better if her answer was somehow connected to konoha because she's still mourning him, and like isn't haruka the (in?)appropriate person to hear this? lol. but overall, if this comic had been the ending, it's still good to see hiyori made it back! 

ayano's bit really makes me want to cry because everything is perfect in it. she made it back. listen an ending where ayano doesn't come back does make sense because kagepro is about moving on and with ayano surviving shintaro's manpain makes NO sense lmao bUT HEY. SHE DESERVES IT. so she's back! and she's wearing that cute dress and she has her scarf! she's on the SWING SETS WITH HARUKA and i know that's such a silly detail but im so happy about it because it feels so right to have haruka and ayano's interaction be in a place like that KSNXKSKSK and aghhhh how she asks the question back to haruka!!!!! that's so cool lmao and it's so in character ;; but also her answer is sooo fitting, she even says "the current me" like acknowledging she's not the same she was before. since she's a chara with mental illness that's nice to hear... and another cool detail is that we see her drinking soda with shintaro while they watch the others be silly SKDNSLDK like if this were the end, that's SUCH a nice detail to put since the comic doesn't require shintaro and ayano interaction at all, and both are important characters to the story and each other. so they're clearly hanging out and talking to each other so that's really good to know

shin and haruka are probably my favorite in this comic because their interaction is the most fitting thing considering their entire history together. like ever since their friendship was introduced in novel 6 it's been something important! shintaro and haruka really represent the side of friendship in kagepro because overall it's a story about family, and their relationship always represented this other angle of finding family in a best friend. in novel 6 haruka says that if shintaro isn't his friend by now then he doesn't NEED any friends. he's the reason haruka even realises he has feelings for takane, because it felt so right to call shintaro a friend but it felt off with her. neither haruka or shintaro ever had friends because takane and ayano are their love interests, so it's their first genuine platonic relationship ever. and they just continue appreciating that always! even in their interaction in the comic shin expresses that he's still not sure what a friend is, but if haruka is one he just wants to keep it that way. so their talk in the comic is fitting and it's super nice to see shintaro gets to reunite with his best friend.

ok and........takane...... everything about takane in the comic is good. she is SO cheerful. all of you DUMBASSES who "hate" ene but "love" takane can die mad about it now because newsflash ene IS takane. if you hate ene then you dislike takane when she begins her character development. it means you hate endgame takane. it means you hate the happy takane in lost day hour!!! she has come SO far. she smiles so much and encourages haruka when he was overthinking and didn't know what to draw. she just tells him the answer is easy and friendship is the mekakushi dan. SHE'S PERFECT have you seen how INCREDIBLY HAPPY SHE LOOKS?? no one else has this impact of character in the comic, everyone kind of acts the same in regards of attitude (except kano who looks v honest and over himself but still). in the fandom we always took it for granted that endgame takane is more cheerful than she was but lost day hour just. confirms it and it's done in the best way possible.

ok and of course im talking about harutaka too because 1) im biased and 2) harutaka IS the love story of kagepro and that's not bc im biased anymore, it just is. and it never had a good resolution... until this!!!!

haruka asks everyone what a friend is but doesn't ask takane. like really he didnt want to ask her in the first place because when shin asks who's left to ask harukas like "uHHHH one person but..." and like he doesn't just imply he wasn't going to ask her, but his interaction with her is soooo different from the ones he has with the dan earlier. with everyone else he just asks what a friend is but with takane he actually... doesn't? wh. why wouldn't he ask her im just. ok.

haruka in the beginning tells kido to think of it as an interview and essentially that's the feeling there is in each interaction but with takane it's different. he's not interviewing her. 

she shows up and sits next to him while he's trying to draw. they talk about WHY he's asking and about what he wants to do with his future. during the entire comic haruka is normal and friendly, and doesn't really act any differently, but with takane he seems a lot less formal and does things like allow himself to talk or get embarrassed when she immediately figures out he heard too much and didn't know what to draw.

their love story was always just left there as this tragic thing and as a fandom we always wanted their tearful reunion in the ending, but this is better. we finally know they actually do reunite. we always knew because in str takane is running towards him but this is... an actual interaction we're seeing 

they didn't only reunite, but we get to see they still have a close and comfortable relationship with one another. out of everyone haruka speaks with, takane is special. when his face appears for the first time in the comic it's a smile for her

and um, it may be because it's my otp and i've been waiting for this str content for YEARS and you know harutaka is my lifeblood 😩😩😩 but i believe it's already established to be more than a friendship at that point. i mean haruka wasn't going to ask her so jUSt saying man im not saying they're a established couple there im SAYING i think they're Something. i mean like haruka always said in novel 6, it felt weird to put takane in the friend category so in str it's the same, just very Obvious

BUT that's exactly why it'd be a good ending. it's up to interpretation. little things like that ARE fun and good to simply allow them to be heavily implied. just like with their jobs. because okay haruka wants to be an artist, hell yeah that's a cool thing to have as canon. BUT i think it's cool that just one character gets a canon detail of his future, the one who represents what growing up means. HARUKA of all characters, the one who for a long time thought he wasn't even gonna have the chance to grow up, which is why it's incredibly fitting that he's the one to represent this.

kagepro might be a mess and just a pain to be a fan of, but it's really a heartwarming and wonderful story about friends, family and love. this comic covers all of that. while they're answering this question, it's a good way to say bye to the characters individually.... and i mean. the comic's ending is literally the most perfect thing ever for a close, with the ENTIRE mekakushi dan having fun together and finally being happy and complete.

of course it's jin's series. they're his characters. we all understand and respect that, and if he wants to make kagepro never end like he claims then so be it but personally!!! it makes me really upset that it's gonna go on

anyway. that's it bye gamers

[gay4eraser]

For big baby boy Brad! 1-10, because childhood is important, 12,13, 15, 18, 21, 26, 31, 42, and 49!

my braddy boi!!!! thanks bb!!!! a note that Brad is somewhat a co-created character between me and blop at this point

Bnha Brad Boi content under readmore!!! 

1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything?

Brad Bartholomew Jenkins. His name was literally chosen as a placeholder name and then we just Liked it and he stayed a Brad

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them? 

Does Zookeeper count??? In bnha universe he was a zookeeper who was eventually hired on in All Might’s Lost&Found Shelter and Educational Center to take care of exotic animals, since he can communicate with them. 

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory? 

Brad had a very distant childhood. His family was huge and not very well off, and he had to grow up fast to help take care of a lot of siblings and cousins. He does have a lot of good memories though! ...mostly of being the one delegated to taking care of all the family pets, which while kind of bad overall, he considered a huge plus. 

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents? 

Brad knew both parents but they were often tired, overworked, and rarely saw him. They didn’t really understand their son’s quirk and how it worked and so everyone in the family thought his quirk was weird and made him go a bit crazy. 

Brad has fond memories of family gatherings, full of people, never being alone. He has fond memories of never EVER being alone because being surrounded by people was just as nice as being surrounded by animals, and he was always with one or the other. 

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults? 

He has lots of siblings! All of which I have not named in the slightest. Brad is the oldest and he’s always been a loner type simply because people find it weird that he considers animals perfectly acceptable company. He also took a job ASAP to help support his family so his siblings never saw much of him. They all think he’s kind of stuck up. 

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate? 

Brad loves the sciences! He’s pretty good at them too, though he’s very absent minded in school unless it’s a special interest like his animals. His school tried to get him to join sports so many times he doesn’t much care for sports anymore 

Have I mentioned he grows up to be 7′2″ 

In high school he hit 6 feet tall and kept going up from there 

He’s also really, really bad at math. 

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood? 

Brad had a ton of friends as a kid! As weird as he is, he makes friends pretty easily. None of them were super close, but that was fine enough for him, he certainly didn’t care lol. He didn’t have time for friends really outside of work but everyone there loves the shit out of him and he has an extremely friendly and open demeanor. A lot of old friends honestly just went to the zoo to say hi to him.

When he moved to Japan a lot of people were really sad to see him go, though he was generally unaware of it 

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals? 

Brad doesn’t consider them pets he considers them his best friends, thank you 

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals? 

His entire quirk revolves around animals, calming animals down, and slowly influencing the intelligence of animals. He Loves Them So Much. He will talk about them or TO them for fucking hours on end and infodumps about them at the slightest opportunity. He’ll destroy you if you try to spread false information about animals.

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect? 

Ehhhhh Brad’s too.. earnest for most children. He also tends to lose his temper with them easily. Animals need to be treated with kindness and respect and if a child taps on the fucking glass ONE MORE TIME- 

He’s nearly lost it towards kids several times and only timely intervention by coworkers has saved his job. Kids can be kind and innocent, and he loves those kinds of kids, but he has No tolerance for shitty kids. Kids who respect him and his animals however, he’s a great babysitter for, as long as the kids are fairly self-sufficient and don’t mind being forgotten in favor of the cockroach exhibit needing to be fed again. 

12. What is their favourite food? 

Boi loves himself some granola bars, he’ll chow down all day. In general snack and convenience food he loves

13. What is their least favourite food?

He can’t eat anything that resembles the animal it came from. Whole roasted chickens? He’ll cry over

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking?

He can put sandwiches together and basic foods, but he’s not too good on cooking. Mostly just good enough to not starve. Everyone appreciates his efforts

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else

Get him a documentary and a laptop for fact checking and this boy is set for Hours of entertainment. He also religiously follows animal birthing livestreams and has vines of cute animals doing silly things on a playlist. He also watches terrifying shows like Eaten Alive and will chatter happily about the parasites transferred through eating infected, improperly cooked fish during dinner and make his sigfigs hurl 

Also survivalist shows, anything in nature really. He’s not huge on video games because his hands are too big and it makes him a bit clumsy. He’s cried during every sad dog movie that ever existed. 

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper?

Like mentioned earlier he has No tolerance for stupidity towards his animals, but otherwise he’s very easy going and generally just super chill. It’s hard to get a rise out of him. 

When he does get angry he unconsciously squares his huge ass shoulders and tenses up and straightens up alllll the way and that’s usually when his gentle giant aesthetic falls away and people suddenly realize. This guy. Lifts animals bigger than them. Without breaking a sweat. He’s stronk from sheer daily working like a bear. 

He’s very, very terrifying when he’s angry but all he’s gonna do is lecture you furiously and physically pick you up and remove you from wherever your offense is. (The worst he’s ever done is physically THROWING Asshat from his zoo) 

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?

Brad chatters excitedly yet peacefully when he’s happy! To people, to animals, to himself, doesn’t matter, he’ll talk out loud to anyone. 

31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing?

Brad doesn’t much drink? He’s into biology, so he’s Very Aware that alcohol is technically just poisoning your body. Also, he’s slightly afraid because when he gets tipsy (the most he’s ever gotten) he gets clumsy and hella  uncoordinated, which is dangerous when ur so big. He doesn’t wanna hurt anyone

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition?

Brad’s a simple guy, give him an animal and a job with them and he’s Solid. Doesn’t have any goal other than to keep supporting his family. He sends them checks whenever possible. 

49. What is their most valued object? Are they sentimental? Is there something they have to take everywhere with them?

Brad’s TERRIBLY sentimental but he doesn’t have the space for all the stuff he wants to have. He also is something of a minimalist otherwise so while he loves the value in items he’s probably not going to keep it. He DOES have a wall covered in Important Pictures printed out and taped on! Most are of animals. 

[mysteryofjotun]

My Destiny — prologue

summary: making a mistake after having way too many drinks can change everything

pairing: ceo!tom x female reader

warnings: maybe a bit of angst, smut, shitty writing

word count: 2221

a/n: I rewrote this a million times, but I finally came to a point where I'm kind of satisfied?? I'm using the plot of a Taiwanese/Korean drama. But I'm not entirely sure I will follow the plot to the letter, so there will still be surprises for the one who watched it. And it’s my first smut ever, so it probably sucks. Feedback is always welcome, feel free to ask me/tell me anything. As always, I'm sorry for the mistakes!

prologue | chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5 | chapter 6 | chapter 7 | chapter 8 | chapter 9 | chapter 10

“Careful!” you said running, your hands full of coffees,“sorry, get out of the way!”

You walked around the hall of the building, avoiding people so you wouldn’t run into them.

“That's super hot, sorry!” you apologized.

You hurried when you saw the door of the elevator closing. You were able to make you a path into the flood of people. Once inside, everyone was packed tightly, stamping on each other. Suddenly someone patted on your shoulder, you turned your head and came face to face with a handsome man.

“Give it to me,” he said pointing at the coffees.

“Ah, thank you!” you smiled.

When the elevator reached the 30 floor, you fought your way out. “Excuse me,” you said taking the coffee and thanking him. “You… Do you want one?” you asked walking next to him.

“Is it okay if I drink it?” he asked taking one of the pack. “By the way, why it’s always you who does things like this?” he said still walking.

“Actually, I was on my way out here,” you explained shyly. “Thank you,” you said again.

“Have a good day!” he said smiling before leaving.

Lost in your thoughts about this stranger, you completely forgot you had still things to do.

"I'm sorry!” you screamed running towards the office. "Get out of the way!"

"You just get here?" a man shouted angrily. "I have a meeting in 2 minutes, how should I drink that?"

"I'm so sorry," you apologized.

"It's on me," you added embarrassed.

"Elizabeth, latte, without sugars," you said.

"Thank you," your colleague responded.

There was always a person like this around. The person was already busy with her own work but couldn't say no. Even if they didn't thank her, the person still listened to everyone’s requests. And even if it wasn't fair for her, nobody seemed to care.

"Can you stop by the copy machine?" someone asked. "I need it at noon."

"Y/N did you clean the desk yet?"

"Y/N get me a cup of coffee!"

“Y/N, here is today’s to-do list,” someone said putting a post-it on your shoulder.

If you looked at this post-it, it was like you. Although needed by everyone, no one really thought it was precious. It’s comfortable and easy to throw away.

"Marzia, your coffee," you said wearing your best smile.

"Why are you so slow?" she declared annoyed. "We asked you to bring coffee and you take this as an excuse to take a little walk. Hurry, you still have work to do," she added angrily.

You just nodded before returning to your job. “Didn’t I tell you to stop doing this?” said a voice behind you. “Every time you do this, it upset me so much.”

“I have to do it, they asked me, Lizzie,” you explained to your friend.

“You’re not a servant, you don’t have to run errands!” your friend said angrily. She was tired of seeing you getting pushed around.

“What can I do? I can’t say no Lizzie!” you said. “You know that!”

“You're too nice,” she said. “From now on, every day you’ll say to yourself ‘no! no! no!’ you need to practice.”

You laughed and went back to work. But everything changed from the very moment you met your handsome stranger. The same night, as you were alone in the open plan, Harold – that’s your stranger’s name – came to ask you out. It's was the first time somebody genuinely noticed you and seemed to like you. Therefore, to celebrate your now 5 month anniversary, you wanted to make something special. So you had booked a room in a four-star hotel in London.

——

"Harrison," said Tom. "You took care of the thing I asked you?"

"Ah," Harrison responded. "Don't worry. I've painstakingly prepared your proposal. Your room is booked and the flowers were sent to Leah."

"Good," Tom said moving some files around. "Thanks, mate."

"The car is ready to take you to the hotel and then you just have to wait for Leah," he said smiling.

Tom smiled back at him and opened a drawer of his desk. He took a ring box and stared at it.

"Well," Harrison started.

"I'll leave you alone. Good luck, mate," he said smiling before leaving the office.

Tom arrived in the hotel lobby earlier than expected, he was splendid. He was wearing a black suit matched with a white shirt. He headed to the reception, all eyes on him.

“Sir, we were waiting for you,” the receptionist said politely.

“Here’s your key and spare key as you asked. The bellboy will take your luggage and escort you to your room. Enjoy your stay, sir,” she smiled slightly at the young man.

Tom nodded and took the keys. The bellboy quickly approached him and Tom gave him his bag.

“Room 2006,” the bellboy announced in front of the room.

Tom thanked him by giving him a generous tip. The latter accepted it willingly and left. Tom entered the suite and gazed at the room. He would explore the suite, later on, because what he needed was a drink to loosen up. He poured himself a drink and was about to sit when his phone rang. He sighed but smiled when he saw the name on the screen.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said grinning as he sat on the lounge coffee table.

“Hey, how you're doing baby?” Leah asked in a quavering voice.

“Everything’s alright?” he asked. “You seem a little off?”

“Well…” she breathed but Tom cut her off.

“You can’t come, huh?” he exhaled feeling the anger increased.

“You know it’s not my fault,” she said,“but I got the role baby!”

“You know how much time I prepared this night?” he asked angrily.

“Baby, don’t-” she started.

“No, don’t ‘baby’ me,” Tom said. “I heard enough,” he added before hung up on her and thrown the phone away. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It wasn’t the first time she bailed on him. Each time it was the same, Tom made every effort he could for her, for them and she just called and cancelled everything like it was nothing. He couldn’t do it any more. So he finished his drink in one go and decided that since he was already here, he could at least have some fun. He put his jacket on and headed to the hotel’s bar.

——

“That’s beautiful,”

You said amazed entering the hotel lobby. You looked all around you and headed towards the reception. You turned around expecting to see Harold, but nobody was behind you. You saw him leant against a chair talking with a tall brunette. You sighed and turned around not wanting to see any more. Sadness shook you, you were used to his flirty behaviour but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“Miss?” the receptionist said startling you. “Here’s your key. Call the reception if you need anything. Enjoy your stay.” she smiled.

“Thank you,” you answered smiling in return and took the key. You headed towards your flirty boyfriend and patted his shoulder. He turned around and flinched when he saw you. He dismissed the brunette and made her a ‘call me’ sign before she left. “I don’t disturb you, do I?” you asked ironically.

He rolled his eyes and sighed annoyed. “That’s nothing,” he said defending himself. “I only have eyes for you, ok?” he said kissing you slowly. He knew that it would make your knees weak and that you wouldn’t argue more.

“Let’s go upstairs, would you?”

“Yeah, of course,” he answered smiling and guiding you towards the elevator.

You walked around the hallways, looking at everything. It was sublime.  

“We’re almost here,” he said.

“Oh, it’s here!” he declared as you reached your door.

“Room 2009” you read on the door.

“It isn’t famous for nothing. It’s pretty great,” he said opening the curtains and looking at the windows.

You nodded and gazed at the suite. There was a spacious living room, a large room and bathroom with golden tones that gave a touch of elegance.

“Wow, this is great,” you said as you sat on the bed.

“What should we do now?” Harold said as he sat with you on the bed. “Huh?” you asked not understanding what he had in mind. “Do you have somewhere you want to go?” he asked.

“I saw the brochure… there is a lot of stuff to do. Where should we go first?” you asked not wanting to force something on him.

“I’m going to take a look, maybe you can rest,” he said.

“Oh, huh, okay,” you replied looking down at your hands.  

——

You slept about an hour and when you woke up Harold wasn’t here. You tried to find him but without success. On top of that, you felt so bad, you were one hundred per cent sure you’d caught a cold. You couldn’t stop shivering and as you stumbled in the hotel’s hallways you almost fell at every turn. You constantly banged into the walls, using them as support to reach your room. “Room 2009,” you stuttered pointing at the number on the door. “It’s there. Slide the key,” you said to yourself leant on the door. You fought several minutes to open the door. As soon as your body touched the covers you wrapped yourself in it. “I will close my eyes one second before he came back...” Y/N muttered. 

——

“Another one, please,” Tom mumbled sprawling on the bar. “I think it would be better if you stop here, sir…” the barman started. “I said another,” Tom responded angrily.

Tom tried to stand but almost felt. At this sight, the barman made a call. A few minutes later, two burly men appeared, taking Tom and bringing him back to his suite. The two men opened the door with their master key. They entered the room filled with blackness but Tom stopped them when they reached the bed.

“I can handle this myself,” mumbled Tom as he used the wall as support. When he finally found the bed, he took off his clothes and then threw himself on the bed. He stirred when he felt a body. “Princess… you came…” he said placing himself on top of her. “Hum...” you muttered sleepily.

“I thought I lost you,” he said kissing you slowly.

Tom felt your mouth opening against his and decided that he would let you lead the way. Your hands moved to Tom’s neck, pulling at the roots. Tom let escaped a moan at your action. Your lips moved together, in unison. It was passionately but yet still gentle.

“How do you want this, baby?” Tom whispered huskily. “Just.. you. Now,” you said closing your eyes and biting your lips.

Tom hummed slowly, tracing a cool path of kisses from your neck to your breasts. Tom smirked as he sucked and moved his tongue around each nipple. You tilted your head to the side and sighed of pleasure. Then he kissed his way down your belly, making you shiver as your breath get caught in your throat. Tom lowered his fingers, teasing your clit. You moaned gripping the sheets before clenching Tom’s long curls. Tom smirked when he felt your hands in his hair and softly he slipped his fingers inside you. Tom smirked when he felt your hands in his hair and softly slipped his fingers inside you. You tighten your grip on her hair and it was the signal for Tom to stop. He moved your hips for better access and lined his erection with her entrance, pushing in slowly. 

“Oh my god,” you shuddered as he filled you.

Tom smirked at your comment and pushed himself further until his entire length was in. He began to thrust in and out slowly. You gasped and your eyes shut with pleasure. He went faster and changed his angle to go deeper. He pounded into you, both coming close to the end. 

“I’m… I’m gonna...” she stuttered.

“Come on baby girl,”

Tom replied as he was kissing her neck.

Tom felt your walls tighten around him and you both met your release together. He pulled out and collapsed next to you. You let out a breath of contentment. Tom wrapped his arm around you, spooning you as you both fell asleep.

——

You woke up feeling two strong arms around you. You gasped when you recalled the events of the night. I really did it you thought, and couldn’t stop smiling. As you tried to move, Tom secured you against him. “Let’s stay like this for a little bit more,” he said holding you tighter. Maybe because it was the morning but his voice sounded a bit different for you.

“I’m so sorry,” he said out of the blue. “I didn’t even realise when you came in.”

“No, it’s ok,” you replied reassuring him. “I’m sorry I came late.” “When did you come?” he asked sleepily. “We came together, silly,” you laughed.

“We came together?”

he asked frowning and thinking of what you just said. Automatically he looked down.

You gasped simultaneously, putting space between you and screaming when you realised that it wasn’t the person you thought.

[dcarevu]

Christmas With The Joker

“It’s not relentlessly cheerful, is it?”

So, only one episode in, and they do a Christmas special. One episode into this series that they wanted to be dark, serious, and adult…and they do a Christmas special. A Batman. Christmas. Special. Huh. Well, it is becoming that time of year. So let’s sleigh right into: Christmas With The Joker

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

Villain: The Joker Robin: Yes Writer: Eddie Gorodetsky Director: Kent Butterworth Animator: Akom Airdate: November 13, 1992 Episode Grade: B  This episode holds the distinction of being the very first episode of Batman The Animated Series I ever saw. I had seen Mask Of The Phantasm prior (which was a glorious place to start), and eventually Warner Brothers started releasing these Batman TAS VHS tapes each featuring a particular villain. My mom bought me one featuring the Joker, which included this episode, along with The Laughing Fish. I picked it out specifically because of the screenshot of the Joker wrapped up in his straightjacket shown on the back, and I assumed this was from his origin episode. I didn’t get an origin episode, but I did get a Christmas special that I now watch every single year. I absolutely love it. 

 I’ve always been someone that enjoys the darker side of Christmas. Carol Of the Bells. A Christmas Carol. That one Twilight Zone episode featuring a drunk Santa Claus that ends up making Christmas magical for everyone. It’s funny, because despite this, I very much enjoy the more innocent side of Halloween (think of cute Beistle die cuts or Scooby Doo). This episode fits right into this archetype, and maybe that is why I love it so much. Of course, this isn’t the only reason. We also get the first appearance of the Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill (yes, that Mark Hamill), and overall a very entertaining episode, Christmas concept aside.

So it’s Christmas Eve, and Dick Grayson (Robin) is home for the holidays. All he wants to do is spend the night relaxing to Christmas dinner and It’s a Wonderful Life, but Bruce isn’t about to let up his night watch just because of the following day. He just knows that something will happen, and right as he finally gives in to Robin’s movie request, we see that the Joker has somehow interrupted pretty much every channel broadcast, and is airing a Christmas special all his own. Featuring a kidnapped Commissioner Gordon, Detective Bullock, and Summer Gleeson, a news reporter (I had no idea it was her before reading it on the DCAU wiki. Kinda cool that it’s not simply some unnamed character!). Batman, aware of the Joker’s love of destructive games sets out with Robin to find his broadcast, and put an end to the Christmas Eve havoc. Throughout the episode he gets sidetracked by an exploding train track (done by the Joker of course), a barrage of cannonballs being fired straight into the city (done by, again, the Joker), and a barrage of Christmas-themed dangers at an abandoned toy factory. At the end of the episode, with the Joker found, and the kidnapped three dangling above a vat of acid, the Joker has Batman open up a special present addressed specifically for him (complete with bat wrapping paper). “Don’t do it, Batman!” shouts Robin, but Batman knows that it’s the only way to save the three and Gotham City as a whole. What’s inside? A pie in the face, what else? Immediately afterward, although Joker tries to run, he slips on a roller skate and nearly falls into the acid himself…but is caught by Batman on the way down. Everyone is saved, and the two heroes even get to finally watch their Christmas special in peace.

Let’s talk about the two big things with this episode: Robin and the Joker. The idea of using an older Robin was obviously a way to bring some realism to the character, and to not ruin the tone that they were going for. Robin is historically kind of a goofy character, and was meant to be a role model for the kiddies. Wanting to avoid specifically kid elements in their show, they used a college-aged Robin. I think it works sometimes, and not so much at other times. It is a little weird seeing such an old character wearing the Robin outfit, but they also made an effort to tone down the silliness of it a little bit. Thank god we didn’t get those little elf shoes and those freshly-waxed legs. While Robin’s usefulness varies throughout the show, I think in this episode they work pretty well together, and for an episode like this, it gives Batman someone to talk to, and introduces some comic relief. Hearing Batman referred to as a Scrooge and seeing him bag on Robin’s choice of movies is pretty funny, and I feel like these two have similar exchanges about Christmas as a lot of us do in real life. The action scenes with Robin were also pretty good, and I never really felt like either of them had nothing to do/were a damsel in distress. That’s the one thing about Robin that bugs me sometimes, and it wasn’t until much later when they got consistently good at having more than one superhero on screen at once, balancing everything out. I will admit, some of it did get a little too corny for my liking…particularly the way Batman would bark things like, “Easy, Robin!” But it also reminded me a little bit of the Adam West show in a charming way that I accept much more with a Christmas episode. So take these comments how you take them. 

 And the Joker? Fantastic debut. He’s funny. He’s menacing. He’s batshit insane. He’s charismatic. He’s everything a classic, definitive Joker should be. I love Heath as much as anyone else, but being a great Joker vs being a definitive Joker are two different things. I wouldn’t get rid of either of them, and I think they both perfectly represent the type of character they are meant to be. I think the Joker changed a lot throughout this show. He giggles unlike later in the series here, and he’s clearly mentally unstable in a different, albeit very fun way. But then there are moments like where he laughs in someone’s face because he knows that her mother is on a train that is headed straight for a blown up bridge. He’s that character that you love to hate, and as much as you want Batman to sock each and every one of those yellow teeth out of his mouth, you also can’t help but root for him to keep getting away just so that you get more of him. It is kinda weird for me picturing this episode’s version of the Joker with Harley, and Harley Quinn may be the main reason why the Joker’s personality changed a little bit and got a hair more serious. In this episode he’s like, well, a cartoon character. More than usual. He has a stylized personality as much as he has a stylized look.

When I mentioned earlier that this episode fits alongside a lot of the darker aspects of Christmas, to clarify a little bit more, it’s not just because you have a psychotic killing clown and a scary guy dressed as a bat. It also has the vintage aspect to it. You have the “dark deco” 30′s aesthetic already in place. Then you add the vintage-looking wintery landscape...the Nutcracker music...and even the dark, snowy city that almost makes me think of Victorian England. I think all of this creates the old-timey Christmas feel without shoving religious morals, or Santa Claus, or greedy marketing down our throats. It succeeds in being a Christmas special almost exclusively through vibes, and mention of it being the holiday. Okay, and Robin’s green and red pajamas are pretty festive as well. The DCAU would do a couple more Christmas episodes later, another one of them being Batman, and while this one is also great, it communicates Christmas in a vastly different way than this one, a way which is much more modern. Both can be great, but this is the Batman Christmas special I will come back to year after year.

 As far as my girlfriend Char’s impressions, she really liked this episode too. As someone who has never seen a single episode of the DCAU before this blog, she said that she expected and was hoping for Harley Quinn, but wasn’t necessarily disappointed that she didn’t show up. Picturing a world of Batman TAS before Harley’s existence is something that I feel like we all sorta gloss over since it’s almost like she’s always existed. And while the show got better with her first appearance, I’m glad that they could do a solid Joker beforehand. Char loved the Joker’s representation, and was surprisingly very much in line with what she expected from the character. She said that he was very creepy, but in a very entertaining way. She also noted his design, particularly his color pallet (wait till she sees TNBA). Some more comments about Harley Quinn were made, and she’s scared for Harley after seeing what a maniac the Joker is. She ships Harley and Poison Ivy, something that I see a lot. I don’t necessarily disagree 100%, but, well, we’ll save a lot of that conversation for later. 

 An older Robin was something that Char was really into, and I got the impression that she never really cared for the super young Robin, as, well, yeah, it is kinda strange. Back when the character was introduced, maybe not so much, nut nowadays? Yeah. What the hell, Batman. Also, Loren Lester provides a voice that she always sorta pictures with the character, and again, she noted how definitive everything seemed. 

 Some other stray observations she made: She agreed with me on some of Batman’s lines being corny, but she also found them a little bit creepy.It was a unique Christmas special. Batman and Robin sorta feel like father and son, but only sorta. This is something the show will get into much more as we go on. She thought the Joker would make a hilarious game show host if he weren’t, well, evil. She noted how shitty the star on the tree at the very beginning was. Apparently Arkham Asylum needs a better interior decorator. And lastly, she loved the ending. As do I. It’s so unsettling, yet so perfect. Better than what I expected when I saw the screenshot on the back of the VHS as a kid. Char’s grade: B

Major Firsts: The Joker, Robin, Summer Gleeson, Arkham Asylum, Xmas episode, we see the Batmobile has a TV, a musical number (The Joker sings) Next time: Nothing To Fear

[sending-the-message]

My coworker and I are trapped at work by NuclearNathan

My coworker and I need help. I don't know how to explain any of this, and she knows a lot more than I do at this point, or at least I think she does? I don't know. She saw more than I did before this thing showed up and cornered us in the office. Something about Zeke and Heather screwing in the storage room? I don't even know what the hell that has to do with the thing outside, but it came from inside the storage room. It saw us through the cameras. It pointed at us through the goddamn camera and even if it doesn’t have a real mouth, I swear it smiled.

Catherine thinks it knows we're in here and said we needed to do something but I don't know what the fuck to do. She says she misses her boyfriend and wants to go home, but she's scared that even if we escape, it might follow us. She doesn't want to potentially bring this thing home with her and have her boyfriend get hurt. I can't believe her; we're probably gonna die a terrible death and all she can think about is keeping Vincent safe. Why can’t my girlfriend be like that?

My girl went and screamed at me for being late to her birthday party because some asshole ran me off the road and nearly into a damn tree. Didn't even ask if I was alright. She just screamed at me for ruining her night. Can you believe that shit? Rebecca, if I die, I'm haunting your ass. None of that weak ass haunting either. I’m gonna haunt you so hard you question your own sanity.

Fuck, I don't have time for details or stupid shit like that, but it sort of makes me feel better to just ramble. I need to try and explain what this thing is. It's face looks like a white mask and all it has are eyes. Well, all it had was eyes. The mask sort of cracked? Whatever. Now it's got a mouth and there's this weird black shit that kinda looks like tar maybe? It's dripping all over the place. It smells sweet. I don't know if it's blood or something, but it doesn't really look like it. It seems too dark and too thick. Doesn’t blood smell like copper anyhow? Can’t be blood.

It doesn't have teeth, I dont think. It's mouth is just kinda oozing that nasty shit all over the place. It's got black eyes with bright orange centers. Does that make sense? Like the part that's usually white is black. It doesn't have pupils, just an iris, I guess. It creeps me out remembering them. They seemed almost happy looking. That’s the best way I can describe them, anyway. Like the fucker is super happy to see us. I can only imagine why.

The worst part is that it doesn't have legs, but it's arms are like legs. It walks on it's arms. The arms are way too long and skinny and the hands are too big. It also has hair, a lot of it. It's oddly well kept. Long, black and shiny, but it obscures the majority of the body. I know it has a body, you can make it out, sorta, but the hair covers most of it. You can tell it's white like the rest of it, smooth too. Kinda like a doll. Dolls creep me out. Maybe that’s why this thing has me nope’ing the fuck out. Then again it could be because I’m pretty sure if it gets us it’s gonna kill us. That also seems pretty nope worthy if you ask me...

It can talk too. Well, sorta. It cries, laughs, screams and whispers. It sounds like a bunch of people all at once, but it's either talking in a language I can't understand or all the words are slurring together. That's probably not the best way to describe it, but I don't know what to liken it to. It just sounds like a lot of people talking very quietly at the same time, except I can't make out any bits of the conversations because there's so many happening at the same time. It’s loud and quiet at the same time. It sounds like the whispers are in your head, but also muffled and far away. I know that doesn’t make any sort of sense. I swear I’m not drunk or high right now.

At first, I don't think it knew we were in the office, but maybe? I mean, it saw us through the camera, so maybe it knew... We didn't know where it went after it busted down the door to the storage room and started screaming. Once the screaming stopped, we checked the cameras to try and find it. We couldn't see it anywhere so it had to be in one of the blind spots and assumed it was in the hallway. We couldn't really try to run since if it was in the hallway, we'd for sure run into it. So instead we just stayed here and kept as quiet as we could. We waited. A lot of this whole thing involves a lot of shutting the fuck up and waiting. What else can we do though? Go out and say hello? Fuck that noise.

Catherine said something about how leaving the cameras on was dangerous if that thing could see through them, but that was our only way of seeing it, you know? So we left them on and waited. Finally, it came into view over on camera 4, near the produce section. I wanted to bolt right away, but Catherine insisted we try to leave as quietly as possible so it wouldn't hear us. She said something about not knowing how fast it is, so we shouldn't try to outrun it unless it spots us first. Better safe than sorry I guess. Personally, I wanted to run down the hallway to the exit, screaming like a baby. Not my brightest course of action, but damn I’m not in a great state of mind, you know? Demonic doll thing wanting to kill me and all.

We tried to leave. We started creeping down the dark hallways as quietly as possible. Catherine left the office door open as a just in case sort of thing. I was fucking terrified, but she seemed really fucking calm considering our situation. We almost made it to the exit, but that monster found us. It fucking laughed when it saw us and I swear it was smiling again. Catherine kinda glanced between the thing, the exit and the way we came from. I think she was trying to figure out what our chances were at getting around it, but it's pretty big. Bigger than she is, that’s for sure. Maybe not as big as I am, but definitely taller. It’s arms are way too long. Legs? Arm legs. Larms? Fuck! Why does it even matter! It’s tall, okay?

Whatever she was thinking was cut short by that thing screaming and running straight towards us. I can't even describe how fucking terrifying it is to see something that creepy running at you on it's hands and screaming. It moves all jittery like. Catherine shouted to run. We did. She's a lot faster than I am, but that's a good thing. She ran to the broom closet, grabbed a broom and smacked the ever loving shit out of that thing when it almost caught me. It laughed and screamed as it was getting back up, but it gave us just enough time to turn the corner and make it to the office without it seeing where we went. Catherine shut the door quietly so it wouldn't know. I think it must have figured it out anyways because it just started slamming against the office door and screaming something in gibberish. I really want to scream at it to fuck off, but I really doubt that’s gonna help the situation.

The police are on their way, but Catherine says we can't just sit and wait for the door to break. She's crying now and I thought she would text or call Vincent, but when I asked her if she wanted to use my phone to contact him, she said she couldn't bring herself to worry him or risk him coming here to try and save her. I swear she's too good of a person for this shit to be happening to her. I really don't want her to die. I mean, I don’t wanna die either, but I’d feel even worse about dying if she had to die with me.

We don't know what it wants and we don't know why it's here. We don't even know what it is. Ghost? Demon? Something else? Stupid fucking doll hellspawn from my nightmares? We can't understand it so we can't even try to figure out what the fuck it's saying. It feels evil. Really, really maliciously evil. Like, kill you and feast on your innards evil. Or murdering babies for funsies evil.

I tried to call Zeke and Heather, but Zeke won't answer and Heather just keeps texting me about how she's thirsty. Catherine found a spare charger and is charging her phone now. I think she might be on the phone with Zeke? That thing outside is so loud I can't even hear anything else. It won't shut the hell up.

We don't have access to anything outside of this office and it's pretty much typical office supply shit. What am I gonna do, attack it with a stapler? Tell it I’m could burn the building down if I wanted to? Tell it if it leaves, that’d be great? It’s already pretty damn pissed off and I'm 90% certain it wants us dead so it can eat our damn innards. No need for me to make it angrier with shitty Office Space jokes, right?

Actually... it just stopped slamming the door and now it's just outside crying and whispering. Even though the words don't make sense, I get the feeling it wants us to let it in. I can't do that though, because I'm goddamn terrified and I feel like if I open that door I'm going to die. I’m definitely going to die if I let it in. It’s going to kill me. I don’t know why it wants to kill me. I haven’t done anything to anyone. I can’t even kill spiders.

Catherine is looking through the drawers of the office, dunno why. I asked her if she got through to Zeke and she gave me a weird look. Can't describe it really. Unnerved, maybe? She said yes, but that all she heard was weird gurgling noises. I told her about Heather's texts and she didn't know what to make of it, but said that she texted Heather earlier about something unrelated and she responded the same way. Typical fucking Heather. She’s never any help to anyone. She’s useless. Pretty though, so I won’t hold anything against Zeke for wanting a piece. Still, she’s a stupid bitch who thinks she’s something special. I tried to make a pass at her once, she acted disgusted. I just wanted an easy lay. As if I’m actually interested in some shallow brat. Get over yourself you gypsy whore! … Alright maybe I am kinda bitter over the rejection, but still.

We're at a complete loss here. I think Catherine is trying to seem strong, but she's quietly crying while going through the drawers and shelves. The best weapons we have are some pretty dull box cutters, scissors and maybe a stray screw driver or two in the drawers. She just inspected the vents and says we could crawl through it if we had to, but that it's probably not the best idea. Something about enclosed spaces, not knowing where we're going and crawling on our hands and knees giving us even less of an advantage than we already have. Not a bad point. Besides, that’s some Dino Crisis shit right there. Getting taken out in a vent, I mean. God this fucker is so damn noisy. Doesn’t it know how to shut up?

I really don't want to die tonight. I've already humiliated myself in front of Catherine by literally pissing my pants earlier when that thing almost caught me. Yeah. I pissed myself. You would have too, okay? I guarantee you would have. Catherine noticed. She’s letting me preserve whatever dignity I have left by pretending she didn’t see, but I know she did. As if this night wasn’t already terrible. The only thing worse would be dying. I really can't deal with pissing myself in front of the girl I like and also dying. That'd make for a really shitty night. This even tops the night I got drunk and puked all over Rebecca mid-sex. She tossed me out on my ass completely naked in the middle of fall. Okay, okay, I know she had a right to be pissed, but that’s still a fucked up thing to do to a guy.

The whispering is getting to be too much. It's so damn loud. It's like tons of people are in the room here with us trying to have a conversation on their phones all at once. It's gonna drive me mad. It's so fucking loud. I keep screaming at the thing to shut up but I doubt it can understand English. Catherine keeps trying to calm me down. I think she told me to try and tune it out like white noise? She says if I stop focusing on the noise and on something else, it’ll be easier to tube it out. Her smile, strained as it is, makes it a little less unbearable. Instead I find myself focusing on her. Her long, wavy brown hair, the freckles across her nose, the little scar on her left hand, her cute, pouty lips. I know this is fucked up, but I wish she wasn't with Vincent. Is it weird that's what I keep thinking about? It sucks even more because he's such a great guy. They're so fucking perfect together.

She found a hammer underneath the desk and a crowbar behind one of the larger file cabinets. She asked me which one I wanted. If I'm being honest, I want that damn crowbar, but I told her to take it. I'm pretty sure she's more capable than I am at this point. I think she knew I wanted it. Looking into those big green eyes of hers, I can just tell she knows and is letting me save face by acting like she doesn't know I'm just a damn coward. She smiled at me and told me we're going to be alright because it's not going to expect us to fight back. She says we're definitely getting out of this alive. I want to believe her. I want to believe her so bad.

Catherine says I should post this now, while the thing outside has quieted down. I think it's just fucking with us though, it busted down the door to the storage room, after all. So why can't it seem to get in here? It has to be tormenting us on purpose. The sounds are driving me crazy. Why won’t it shut up?

Oh and does anyone know what, 'teem gah seet' means? Google isn't telling me anything useful, but the stupid fuck keeps whispering that shit through the door.

[meiizumi]

Castle of Shikigami: An informal rant nobody asked for about my most obscure obsession to date

STOP i spent like 2 days writing this post and im only posting it on tumblr because it’s the one website i’m a member of that can hold the most text. i wanted to infodump somewhere...... read this to learn something i guess (´･ω･`)

Bad voice acting is the Peak of comedy to me, and while I was looking for something to laugh at one day, I found this game called Castle Shikigami 2 for the PS2. The US version of the game's dialogue is rife with machine translated text that makes no sense, and awkward voice acting to boot. They even have voice actors saying the wrong lines, voice actors speaking implied commands, and a few voice lines are left in Japanese. Apparently, Roger Craig Smith (Sonic the Hedgehog's current voice actor) was in this game but I don't think he's even credited?! I think I know which character he voiced but I’m not exactly sure.

The history behind this game’s localization is REALLY weird. Castle of Shikigami/Shikigami no Shiro was originally an arcade bullet hell shoot em up game. The series was created by Alfa System and it was one of Alfa System’s main IPs. There are three main shmup installments and a text adventure game for the PS2, Nanayozuki Gensoukyoku. Nanayozuki was practically fanservice for whatever number of CoS fans there were back then. Each main game in the series was originally an arcade cabinet, but they were all ported to PC and home consoles. In CoS 2′s case, it came out on the PS2, Gamecube, and Dreamcast, but only the PS2 version got localized. The western publisher, XS Games specializes in publishing quality budget titles such as “Bass Pro Shops: The Strike” for the Wii. I theorize they didn’t care too much about the actual content of CoS 2 and were more focused on selling a game quickly for a low price, so they just machine translated it and adjusted a few things. If you’re wondering if Castle of Shikigami 1 was also translated this badly, the answer is No. XS Games instead removed all the dialogue from the western release of CoS 1, and released it with the title “Mobile Light Force 2″.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘Mobile Light Force TWO’ if Castle of Shikigami 1 is the first game in the series?” If you want to know what Mobile Light Force 1 was, it’s GUNBIRD; another shmup game, but by a completely different developer than Castle of Shikigami. I don’t know why they did that. What really kills me though is that both MLF 1 and 2 use the same boxart, which is COMPLETELY unrelated to the actual contents of either game. AFJQHJFOKLJFDS look at this

There’s more hilarity behind Mobile Light Force that isn’t hard to find so you can search that up if you’re interested. But thankfully, Castle of Shikigami 3's Wii edition got more of a proper localization by Aksys Games.

Now I would bluntly say something like “stan castle of shikigami” but:

1. This series’ lore is insanely convoluted. It’s an essential part of this expansive fictional universe referred to as “Mumei Sekaikan” (I don’t know what this translates to in English) where there’s like, 7 different parallel worlds. There’s more obscure ass games and manga that are tied to this universe, and I think there’s even a tabletop RPG made based off it. Have you heard of “Gunparade March”? Most likely you haven’t; it’s an obscure video game made by Alfa System that also got adapted into an anime, and I feel it can be described as Mechas x Persona. One of the characters in CoS 2 is just one of the GPM characters going undercover to find her senpai who traveled to the CoS world. Or something like that. The 7-world universe isn’t explicitly talked about in the game but they make so many references to it without defining anything that it’s like you Must know about it. There is NO documentation in English about the Mumei Sekaikan I could find on the internet, although there is a wiki in Japanese where I got a ton of knowledge from (GOOGLE TRANSLATE IS MY TRUSTED FRIEND) I feel like I might be THE person in the United States who has the most knowledge on the Mumei Sekaikan, and I could go on another tangent talking about what I know so far (and who this one specific dude Shibamura Yuuri is) but I won’t.

2. The writing isn’t excellent and can be pretty Unwoke ™; the first game came out in 2001 and the third game came out in 2005 if that gives you a sense on what era these writers were in. As far as the games dialogue goes, the characters appear kind of flat. CoS 1 and 2 Kotaro (i refuse to use the official “Kohtaro”) is stupid and driven by JUSTICE to a point where it’s annoying. I can’t tell if Hyuga is trying to be a Ladies Man in CoS 2 and 3. Kim, a religious tae kwon do instructor, spends CoS 2 thinking about how he should atone for his sins, then he turns himself into jail at the end. Sayo’s backstory is that she was a shrine maiden raised as a “human weapon” to have no emotions and her only goal in life was to kill god and then die, something like that. However, after CoS 1, she gets a crush on Kotaro because he actually treats her like a human and Of course that’s what you’d expect from the main teen girl and boy in the series. In CoS 3, Sayo's character is mostly played out to be a major tsundere for Kotaro even though surprisingly HIS character in this game changed a ton compared to 1 and 2 (he had to kill an illusion of his older brother, who he learned actually died earlier, and now he has to kill an illusion of his childhood sweetheart... damb that shit sucks :/). He’s still stupid though

There’s a gag in CoS 2 that I can’t clearly remember where it’s like, Niigi makes Sayo and Fumiko, who are both romantically interested in Kotaro, think that he’s only into little girls? Meanwhile, Fumiko’s magic goes wrong and her appearance turns to that of a child though in response she’s like “hee hee maybe Kotaro will like this”. basically more On-Brand early 2000′s anime unwokeness than average. Speaking of Fumiko, she’s a 400+ year old militaristic witch who constantly teases Kotaro (who’s like 16 or 17) and she wants to marry him for his magical potential since he’s like one of the candidates for becoming God??? From the official CoS 3 character descriptions, “Her hobby is to steal the men from other women. Her second hobby is trampling upon people.” She canonically stole her stepmother’s husband from her stepmother (the 3rd boss of CoS 3). I don’t get how that shit would have worked

3. The game itself is HARD af but to be fair I’m a scrub gamer. I can’t get past stage 3 on easy difficulty without continuing. Yes i bought CoS 1 on Steam, Yes it has a port on steam i feel like i should have mentioned this earlier

4. Besides CoS 1 having a port on Steam, CoS 2 and 3 might be hard to obtain legally. The poorly translated CoS 2 was apparently super cheap back then, but since it’s an old game, its value might’ve increased. When I tried looking up prices for English CoS 3, all the listings were like at least $40 and being broke I wouldn’t want to spend more than $29 for a Wii game in 2019... honestly I just emulated CoS 2. shout out to PCSX2

Last month I was desperate, bored enough, and deep enough in the Shikigami rabbit hole that I tried to find the manga based off of it online. The CoS manga only tells the events of the first two games so I still don’t really get anything about CoS 3, like who Mihee, Batu, and Emilio are supposed to be. However, the plot events also differ. For example, Roger Sasuke exists as a character in CoS 3 but in the manga he literally Dies. There’s 11 total volumes of this; 3 volumes dedicated to CoS 1 and the latter 8 (the “Twisted Castle arc”) dedicated to CoS 2. Only the very first 3 chapters were scanlated to English all the way in 2011. Fortunately, I did find the entire manga uploaded though............... in CHINESE. So you know what I did? I “read” the entire thing using my phone’s Google Translate OCR app to take pictures of each page and comprehend the translations. Of course I still don’t understand CRAP because of the Mumei Sekaikan jargon + machine translation but I understood enough to get emotionally attached to some of the characters. I wish I hadn’t. At least through the manga I learned that the characters DO have some depth and pre-established relationships. For instance, the reason why Roger Sasuke became a ninja is because when he first landed in Japan as a kid, he was getting bullied or something and he didn’t know Japanese then Kotaro saw this and told the bullies to stop. Then after Roy /sorry i mean Roger learned that he was set to home-stay with the Kugas in the first place, he decided to dedicate his life to Japan in order to protect Kotaro back. I think. DO U SEE HOW ABSURD THIS SHIT IS Anyway Nanayozuki takes place between the second and third games and sets things up for CoS 3. There’s a full playthrough of it uploaded to YouTube and I think it contains a lot of juicy lore, but it’s just too much to go over with Shitty Google Translate OCR. There’s also Shikigami no Shiro novels which apparently contain the most backstory, but I have a 0% chance of finding these online for free. Not to mention that these would ALSO be too much effort to Google Translate.

in conclusion: You don’t HAVE to play Castle of Shikigami. Like, I’m not gonna recommend it for the content, but if you love shmups and are looking for a shmup game you haven’t heard of then I will recommend it for the gameplay (old touhou mutuals assemble theres a POWER-UP-BY-GRAZE MECHANIC). I’ve counted like 4 total fans outside of Japan that like this series for the story, and I don’t think that number is going to increase because I doubt CoS 2 will ever get retranslated and ported. I just want you to know that this series exists and that there’s a ton of wacky shit behind it besides the bad Castle Shikigami 2 dub. also if someone knows enough japanese or chinese and has an INKLING of interest in this series umm talk to me and help me decipher stuff

I‘m kinda sad that the series is pretty much Dead though. This is the most recent piece of official Castle of Shikigami art I could find, and this was for the 2018 New Year. The next most recent piece of official CoS art I found was also drawn by the character designer Sonoda Miku all the way in January 2008, commemorating the end of the CoS manga serialization. Alfa System released a spiritual sequel to Castle of Shikigami on the Japanese Switch eShop called Sisters Royale, with character designs I think are still by Sonoda. By “spiritual sequel” I mean that it has some of the EXACT same shot types as CoS and the same mechanic where grazing bullets increases your power and score. This is the closest we’ll get to a Shikigami no Shiro 4. I wonder what the business decision behind that game was but it actually looks like fun and I want to play it so OK Go off i guess

[mentcrmoved]

I’ve been meaning to do this since the Assassins Creed movie came out on DVD, but I kinda didn’t think to do it until I was watching it last night. So, at long last, I’m giving my Official critic of the movie, while also discussing some points of interest.

Thus, I give you, Murphy’s Official Assassins Creed Movie Critic. (part one)

This is gonna be quite the post (including pictures!) so it’s obviously under a read more. It will probably take me a few hours to write & maybe an hour to read. Ya’ll been warned. It will also, obviously, contain spoilers so if you don’t want that shit then I suggest not reading this. Overall, these are my thoughts, as an Assassins Creed fan, on the movie & if you don’t agree, think I’m crazy, etc. I really do not give a care. 

Anyway, here we are, enjoy if you can, & of course I’d dig some feedback/discussion.

Okay so first I want to start off by saying that, as a movie in itself, Assassins Creed was pretty great. It wasn’t revolutionary or anything super special, but the effects & the production was pretty good, in my opinion. From the perspective of a person not familiar with the games it’s easy to follow & not overly complicated. It was, as a movie, decent.

As a movie representing a 10-year-old franchise that has 10 years of established canon and development and complexities the movie was an utter fucking mess. In my opinion. Also, a personal bias, I really do not like Michael Fassbender so that was an immediate -10 in my book. But, because I’m such a wonderful person, I’ll look past that & say that Michael Fassbender was okay & as the movie progressed my desire to punch him in the face lessened.

So, here we go, from the top, first scene in the movie was awful.

As a huge fan (ya’ll know this) of Altair this really made me angry. First of all I’d like to make the point that Altair died in 1257, & that the historical parts of the movie take place in 1492. Secondly, & I don’t think I have to remind anyone of this, Altair, using the Apple of Eden, wrote the Codex... during his time (despite the continuity issues in the first game) the ring finger was cut off to enable the use of the hidden blade, but with the Apple he devised a new design that made this morbid little ritual unnecessary, as we learn in the second game.

Now, they could just be doing it as a ritual of tradition, but I don’t see why, considering that about 3 years earlier Ezio was inducted into the Order in Italy & their ritual involved branding the finger not cutting it off. It could just be a communication issue, but considering the amount of time that passed & the proximity of Spain to Italy I find that unlikely.

Thus this is kind of... stupid, & before someone says it’s because they wanted continuity for non-gamers lemme just say that this little piece of information isn’t important in the grand scheme of understanding the assassins creed world. They could just as easily branded the finger or done nothing at all, & since this blatantly ignores canon what was the point of adding it anyway?

So far, not impressed.

Next order of business, this scene:

Jesus, when I first saw the movie I was like ??? what is going on here why did he kill her? Then he was like ‘they found us’ & I kinda understood & then I was just... appalled by how they portray the assassins from the getgo. Firstly, when I saw this scene the second time all I could think of was how sad Rebecca would have been hearing about this. Two perfectly good assassins, one of them dead at the hand of her partner to avoid capture, & the other captured, orphaning a son.

& knowing all that we do about how small the brotherhood’s numbers are this makes zero sense. Why kill her (death before dishonor maybe?) when you could just as easily get your son & run? This isn’t the assassin way! This isn’t what assassins do! Assassins don’t just lay down & take what’s coming, they don’t sit complacent to a world that needs to be saved. They don’t just accept death! This isn’t the assassin brotherhood! This isn’t right!

Now, a reasonable explanation might be (& I have theories about this) that where they were living is like where Desmond grew up: it was a ‘safe’ community made up of assassins trying to live on the down low. I think this is reasonable because of this concept art:

In the background, behind Cal on his bike, are hooded figures that look a lot like the guy who we can assume is his dad. I don’t think they’re Templars because if you look past his dad there’s the jeeps & you can already see a guy standing out with a gun like in the movie. So maybe this was a community, though if that’s true that still raises a bunch of questions, like why didn’t they all run, & if only Cal’s dad knew about it why didn’t he say anything to the others?

& if it was a death before dishonor sort of thing why didn’t he slit his own throat when the Templars found him? Why not kill Cal too? Of course, I guess it’s implied that Cal’s mom wasn’t aware when she died, that his dad took her by surprise by stabbing her in the back. But still that raises the question, why? Why kill her then allow yourself to be captured? Why kill her then tell your son to run if you intended to be captured? & if they really were living among assassins why wasn’t there more to this? Why wasn’t anyone fighting?

Watching this scene I just want to scream why repeatedly at the screen, because I just do not understand any of it. & when I try to explain what’s going on to myself it just makes things worse, introducing new questions. So, as far as I’m concerned, this is just a tragic backstory made specifically to build the type of character they wanted Cal to be, which I think is shitty mostly because I think Cal is a shitty character in general.

My only comment about the next scene is that Cal is seriously fucked in the head.

Also, why are literally all assassins decent artists? Is it a genetic thing?

Next, the ever classic “I woke up in a strange place with a needle in my arm so don’t mind me while I rip that little shit right out & make a beeline for the door” scene. &, of course, I wonder why he runs? There is literally no threat? What does he think this is, an episode of the Twilight Zone? You’re a paranoid fucker, aren’t you Cal?

My next thing is, if Aguilar had his finger cutoff how can Cal wear his blades?

Like I understand it is very likely Abstergo modified them, but I still feel like they should have explained that? Because I’m pretty sure there was some perceptive non-gamer in the theater wondering how the fuck Cal could wear them without cutting his own finger off? & why the fuck, if Aguilar had two blades, did they only cut off the finger on one hand? I smell so many continuity issues here it’s not even funny. But I can hear your thoughts: oh Murphy now you’re just nitpicking at the small details shut up. As an aspiring director & screenwriter, as a lover of film, I’m nitpicking at this because there’s someone in the crowd who did too. This sort of thing shouldn’t be left unsaid, even if it is “obvious”.

Now, my thoughts on the Animus: cool af, like legit. I imagine Rebecca looking at it & yelling “what did you do to baby??” with either utter horror or excited surprise. It’s an amusing image, you should try picturing it in your head. I’m not gonna complain about continuity here because its 2016 in the movie & Desmond died in 2012 so Abstergo has probably upgraded a lot. Also, this makes the historic scenes a lot more exciting.

Plus, look at the lighting! This is literally so aesthetically pleasing.

The next historic scene is pretty epic, though I was yelling at the assassins for dying in the fight because guys ??? what are you stormtroopers? I don’t really have any critics about the fight scene because the choreography was amazing, I mean the scene during the chase where Maria fucking backflips off the rock to get behind the Templar? Hot as hell.

Plus, can we just appreciate that they fulfilled the ONE thing that all games share? That one fucking mission where you’re chasing someone in a carriage/cart/on horesback & it takes you five tries to do without dying! I was really happy about this.

Now, the next thing I’m about to share is something I was literally screaming about after I saw the movie. When this scene played out, as short as it was, I was excited af. I knew immediately what I was seeing & that made me very happy. Of course, this was all theory until I got the DVD & watched it... which confirmed my wildest hopes.

Do you see this book? The one Sophie is reading? Do you see how it’s written in Arabic? Do you see how thick it is, the drawing, the little notes scrawled in the corners? DO YOU SEE? Because THIS is Altair’s motherfucking codex. They put his fucking codex in the movie! Sure, it’s a tiny easter egg that you can’t be sure of on the big screen but... I knew it. They put it in. Altair exists! This literally made me so happy last night when I paused the movie I was screaming, like not even in my head I was physically screaming & my mom came upstairs to make sure I was okay.

Plus, even if this ISN’T what I think it is, among the pages Sophie has put up around the apples figures there seems to be at least two written in Arabic. So I have high hopes.

Well, I think I should end on that good note. As I said, I’m open to feedback & discussion! &, as for the rest of the movie, I’ll get into that in a different post so it’s not all jam-packed in one long ass post. Either way, here we have it!