#and that’s what makes Nakano Kou

[wool-string]

Nakano being portrayed as a clumsy idiot in the anime really sucks because he’s really more than that.

If anything I realized that for someone with such dumb luck, he is actually quite dexterous!

I mean, him saving Akiyama from Tanaka in a spur of the moment and then getting away quickly. Even Tanaka had to comment on how fast he was!

His entire suit encounter. He was dodging multiple shots and skilled hit men chasing him down and if that’s not badass idk what is. Sure he looked a bit clumsy as he did so, but he was doing it. And he still managed to try to keep Hirasawa safe.

His chase with Kei also shows how quick he thinks, though it’s not always right. But I think what mostly threw him off with the Kei fight was his hesitation. Tbf that would throw anyone off tho lol

And then BOTH car chases where he managed to get them where needed even with cop cars chasing or crowds of people around

His skill is literally running away but he’s too stubborn to do so completely from the fight. He keeps pushing forward and yk I love him for that.

[noit-art-surf]

[epic-potato-crisp]

AjinWeek21/2

Day 2: Favorite minor character/ cigarettes / sin

Notes: A combination that just screamed Ogura, imo. More of a character study than a ship fic, but some sad-adult-trio undertones.

——-

For all intents and purposes, Ogura Ikuya was dead.

It’s not that his heart had stopped beating, or he had stopped breathing, or even his synapses had stopped firing.

Physiologically, he was in an impeccable condition. Minus a few broken bones, but hey. With all the cigarette smoke he kept inhaling, he had made peace with the fact that he was here for a good time, not necessarily a long time.

To the American government, he was dead. To the Japanese government, as good as, with a handful of exceptions that knew better and were currently keeping him kidnapped at a hideout in the countryside.

Was it even kidnapping, at this point? It better not be Stockholm Syndrom, Ogura thought with vague amusement, noticing how relaxed and carefree he felt despite his situation.

The animosity that had been there between him and the others initially, had started to dissolve into an air of ambivalence, that slowly began resembling a sort of kinship.

Hirasawa might have broken his fingers, but he was an interesting guy and Ogura enjoyed hanging out with him and his crew after work hours. Especially when Manabe brought generous amounts of booze.

And there are, well, there are others.

Shimomura Izumi is one of the smartest and one of the prettiest women he has seen throughout his entire life. One that could easily take you down, if you weren’t careful.

It’s quite obvious that Tosaki is aware of that too, as much as he tries to gloss over it with bureaucratic terminology and the constant air of being stressed.

He has a fiancé, that much Ogura knows. She’s comatose, but even with Tosaki’s character deficiencies, he’s aware that the man would rather give an arm and a leg than to be unfaithful to her.

It’s almost ludicrous how it is exactly this determination that makes him so appealing to Ogura. The waves of hatred he feels coming from the other man are just a bonus, the cherry on top of a large sundae. He itches to get under his skin, to unravel that cold exterior, to unclench that beautifully chiselled jaw. And if Izumi were to be there, in the same room with them, well- wouldn’t that be a lucky coincidence?)

(He leaves these fantasies at the door. Some nights. Others, he replays them over and over.)

Ogura is a man of many talents. He has a doctorate in the sciences, a senior position at a prestigious research facility and a fluency in three languages. But now, more than ever, he has time to kill, so out of necessity, he expands his hobbies.

He keeps himself updated on his colleague’s research by anonymously browsing the main publishing hubs, and on American politics in general. He refamiliarizes himself with Tetris. He third-wheels Tosaki and Izumi at every possible occasion, as it is both hilariously entertaining and another petty opportunity to exact revenge on the ministry worker that had ordered his fingers to be broken. These bones might heal themselves, but that would take time and copious amounts of physiotherapy he was not able to receive, let alone have his insurance cover - yet another regrettable downside of being considered deceased. This was nothing Tosaki’s laughably insincere apology could fix. And yet, he can’t bring himself to be too hard on the man.

At least, he, Ogura, is free to do as he pleases at the hideout. Aside from answering any of the group’s burning queries on IBM research and voicing his opinion when the time came for making plans, he doesn’t have much on his plate. It’s not him that spends half his day going about his governmental dayjob and the other half running an illegal resistance operation that included quasi-babysitting two immortal teenagers.

Ogura had always known he was suited far better for the role as the fun uncle that would smoke with you and talk about physics, or more recently, ghosts made out of invisible black matter. Nagai Kei takes advantage of the opportunity, often coming to him with an remarkable amount of questions at quite the impressive level that he genuinely enjoys answering. He doesn’t connect with Nakano Kou as easily – to be fair, it is hard standing out next to Nagai – but soon discovers the teenager’s need for some remedial English lessons, which he has no trouble delivering. If he happens to teach him several swear words while doing so, it is nothing but a happy coincidence.

“Can I interest you two in another evening of bad decisions?” he says, one evening, mischievously gesturing with a tequila bottle and three glasses.

He’d walked in on them sitting half-dead in their meeting room, which was becoming a regular occurrence.

Izumi gives him a tight-lipped smile: “We’re not playing “How many drinks until the IBM manifests” again. Remember what happened the last time?”

Ogura remembered, in fact, he was sure everyone did. That had been one of the most entertaining evenings of his entire summer. Izumi could certainly hold her liquor, if four drinks were anything to go by. That was usually how long it took for Kuro-chan to go wild.

“Aww, see, and here I thought I was in for a treat.” Ogura says, sighing theatrically.

“Just get out if you’re going to waste our time.” Tosaki grumbles. But then, he clicks his tongue and holds out his hand expectantly.

“You can at least make yourself useful.” he says, averting his eyes.

Ogura raises an eyebrow in surprise, but then obliges, pouring him a glass.

The man is walking enigma. One that is a but a day away from ending up as clinical burn-out patient.

“Drinks for the lady?”

Izumi graces him with a withering glare, but then she too nods in defeat.

“Hit me up.” she says, a smile tugging at her lips.

“As you like it.” Ogura says, grinning, as he settles down to join the saddest party of his entire life.

After all, it would be nearly a sin to pass up such an opportunity.

[inkdrawndreamer]

This is a shot in the dark, but... book store coffee shop au

You know what, I've actually never written a coffee shop au before. I could definitely see that working for ajin though:

Kei just wants a a part-time job and makes the rookie mistake of thinking a bookstore will be a quiet work environment. Instead he's stuck working the register with Nakano, who is great for stocking shelves but never knows where anything is. Kaito is the charming barista who always remembers their orders. Kou may or may not have tried to set him up with Kei at some point.

Izumi is the cool manager of the coffee shop side of things who's mostly just glad to not be a grunt anymore. She gave Nakano some free breakfast sandwiches once when he hadn't eaten and now he's smitten.

Tosaki is the bookstore owner who conveniently disappears whenever Kei needs him for something.

Tanaka is the assistant manager to the coffee shop who started the job after high school and just kinda stayed on. A long stay in the hospital screwed up his college plans, so he's working now while he tries to figure out what he really wants to do. His favorite regulars are an office worker who chats him up during her coffee breaks (Naomi), and a salaryman who rarely says anything but leaves good tips (Okuyama).

Takahashi and Gen are the ones who come in at closing to ask for a cup of whipped cream with 15 espresso shots.

Sato randomly appears whenever Tanaka or Kei are working late. Nobody else has seen him and they aren't sure he's actually real. He didn't start doing it on purpose, but now it's just fun. He actually owns an arcade in the next town over.

Ogura is a university professor who comes in every morning. Catching his students (ie. Jim) getting coffee en route to bring late to class is just an added bonus.

Hirazawa, Manabe, and co. come in every month for a book club. Together, they and Sato are responsible for the rumor that the bookstore is a yakuza front.

[fairy-writes]

FairyTailWzard’s New Annual tradition!

2020’s Top 10 List Part One!

So here’s a list that no one asked for of the top 10 anime series I watched this year. I wanted to put this in no particular order but I figured I might as well.  I’ll also be doing my top 10 fanfics from this year and my top 10 books I read this year so stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!

10.) RWBY

Uuuggghhh I really didn’t wanna put this on here… but I really didn’t watch much this year so I had to I guess :(((

I’m really not liking this right now… if my blog wasn’t sort of popular because of my rwby oneshots I’d consider just dropping the anime all together….

(I’m seriously debating on whether to watch the new season or not)

Honestly, the only thing bringing me back is my unhealthy love for Ozpin, Torchwick, and Ironwood.

Honestly, I’d give this show about a 3 or 4/10…

I used to love it so much but I think the quality of writing is going down and the show is trying to be too many things at once that I’m just losing interest.

9.) My Hero Academia

Why is this so low you may ask? Well, cause I think my main hype coming from this is the manga.

Yes I love the show, the animation studio is freaking amazing and the quality of animation never ceases to amaze me. But I love the manga a bit more.

This will probably jump up in rating around season 5 or 6 but for right now I’ll leave it in the 9th spot :)

8.) Sirius the Jaeger

Oh my GOSH, I want a second season so bad. One of my favorite OC’s I’ve ever made was for this anime (it’s Idris Tana btw) and I actually commissioned artwork for her recently and it’s SO PRETTY.

Anyway getting off-topic, the animation of this show and again with the dark and grittiness of it is what drew me in.

Actually, my late grandma and also my great aunt tagged me in a Facebook post with the trailer when it first came out cause they saw vampires and thought I would like it and that's what got me into this show in the first place.

So thank you grandma and auntie!

But I absolutely adore the soundtrack, the mix of orchestral pieces mixed with the more electro-kinda-vibes is my life (seriously go listen to “The Beginning of the Hunting” it changed my life, as an orchestra and cello geek it made my heart so happy)

7.) Tokyo Ghoul season 1-3

Ok, I’m currently reading the manga after I’ve seen the anime and lemme tell you I wish they didn’t censor the anime so much.

I can’t even find an uncensored version anymore and it makes me so upset.

The darkness and goriness of the manga is what appealed to me in the first place (yes I get weird looks for it, no I will not change my mind)

Kaneki is my CHILD and he CANNOT do any wrong. I don’t care who you are I love him

6.) Ajin: Demi-Human

Uuuggghhh to be honest the anime is kinda meh but my love for the manga is so great I am legally obligated to put this here.

Don’t get me wrong, the animation and soundtrack for this show is phenomenal and I think they got Satou down pat.

But they did dumb down and cut out a lot of interesting scenes. Scenes like how Satou takes down some of his opponents (which I can see why... many American viewers would most likely get offended by it… you manga readers know what scene i mean)

Nagai Kei turns into a bit of a whiny character instead of the smart but exasperated teenager I know and love in the manga is the anime version of Kei going to bite off his own fingers in order to climb a wall into a military base?? Definitely not. Would manga-Kei do that? Well, he already did… so... yes..,

Nakano Kou is still kind of funny but he is so much more fascinating in the manga (his backstory breaks my heart).

5.) Bungou Stray Dogs

Another new one that I was actually recommended by my friend @bright-like-the-sun-00 :) I ended up watching it originally in dub but then went back and rewatched it in sub because I love my children so much.

Chuuya is my bean and I love my OC that I created Charlie Dickens :)

(if you guys could go read her story I’d be eternally grateful).

Anyway!

This show has a fantastic cast in both Japanese and English and the music score is one of my favorites. The characters are so wonderfully hilarious and interesting and fhajxbqbaka I love this show okay??

4.) Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

I actually put this off for YEARS because my oldest step-brother kept saying I should watch it. At this point, I was refusing out of spite cause I’m petty like that. But I finally started watching and-

HOLY-

GUYS

I have never gotten so attached to a character (cough cough Giyuu) so quickly.

I have been listening to Gurenge and Kamado Tanjiro no Uta on repeat for literal weeks now and I still grin like an idiot when listening to them. I also have a potential OC/crossover coming out soon sooooo…. stay tuned??

I also broke my sister cause I showed her a post that said national donut day and had a picture of Rengoku on it… I didn’t understand it until she explained it to me and now I cackle every time I think about it.

3.) Jujutsu Kaisen

@plusultranerd​ got me into this blame her for the future spamming of your dashboards

GUYS GOJO SATORU IS MY LIFE NO QUESTIONS ASKED

He could literally murder me and I’d thank him. He is the prettiest anime character I have EVER SEEN and I love him so much.

Anyway anime. The show got my attention from the get-go. Itadori is such a fun main character and Megumi is me cause you know dogs.

I think I saw an ad for it and since I have Crunchyroll I figured why not and fell in love with it

AND THE ENDING SONG

BEST ENDING EVER YOU CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND

I put it on sometimes so me and my sister just start jamming out to it and we get the stupidest looks and it is amazing

2.) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Another anime that I will rewatch over and over again until literally the end of time. Also, another series that I’ve already read/or am reading the manga.

Alphonse Eric is my cinnamon roll you can pry him from my cold dead hands.

I have cold hands and no heart by holy heck my BOY

I actually am buying the special edition hardback manga covers that are coming out and I LOVE THEM

THEY ARE SO PRETTY

Am I talking about the characters or the manga?

My answer is yes

Anyway, all of the characters in this are so wonderfully complex and have motivations and i fall in love with 99% of the characters (except for Shou Tucker, I even like Father actually)

1.)  Death Parade

This has got to be one of my top favorite anime of ALL TIME.

I rewatched it early this year and this is one of the very few anime that will get me to cry and this makes me cry every freaking time.

The music is stunning, the animation is magnificent.

For being based on an animated short film, this has such potential for a second season and such a complex storyline was packed into 12 episodes.

I will forever recommend this anime to literally anyone who is looking for something new to watch.

I’m also noticing I have a thing for white-haired male anime characters with really pretty eyes….. Kaneki… Gojo… Decim...

Honorable mentions!

Darker than Black

I didn’t rewatch the whole thing this year but this anime is literally my life. Hei is such a bean and I love him.

Hunter x Hunter

Another anime i didn't rewatch completely but still adore :) I heard they’re continuing it and I’m excited for the dark continent arc!

Dororo

Technically i watched this late 2019 but whatever; I do what I want. The animation was absolutely gorgeous and I loved the gritty darkness of it. Mio will forever be my favorite character; you cannot change my mind. Some parts I did find a bit boring but overall I’d rate this a solid 6/10!

The Devil is a Part-Timer!

I rewatched parts of it and not the whole thing, I also have the first two volumes of the light novels and I forget how funny it is until I actually watch it. It has me laughing every time and never fails to put a smile on my face :)

[coconutnakano]

Nakano: Hey Izumi what cha eating?

Izumi: Just some ramen. Why?

Nakano: Oh just wondering...

Izumi: What?

Nakano: Does it have updogg?

Izumi: I- What?

Nakano: You know. Updogg.

Izumi: I... don't understand..

Nakano: C'mon it's updogg.

Izumi: What's... Updogg?

Nakano: *laughs uncontrollably*

Izumi: *flustered* I-I don't understand. What is happening? What- What did I say?

[thiefcat-niao]

“Kei. You still with me, love?” Kei shook his head slowly. “Should’ve… left me… bitten…” “I’ll never leave you, Kei.” Kai took his hand. “I’ll stay. And if you bite me, then so be it.”

With fleeing the apocalypse no longer an option, Kei turns toward the research facility where the outbreak began—where the first Jikininki, the first hungry ghost, appeared. This isn’t the future he imagined for himself; he isn’t even entirely human anymore. But if the world ends, there’ll be no future at all—not for him, for his beloved Kaito, for the hopelessly confused Kou Nakano or the aberrant Izumi Shimomura. And Kei isn’t willing to live with that.

[Chapter One Post]  Chapter Two 

“We can’t get out of the quarantine zone," Kei said. "I won’t make it through the perimeter.” He motioned to his shoulder. “It takes about an hour for people to turn. I’m sure they have some way of checking for infected people who aren’t showing signs yet. The stakes are too high. If even oneJikininki—or someone who’ll become a Jikininki—gets through, then the quarantine zone itself will have been useless.”

“But you’re still human,” Kai said, without a trace of doubt. “They’ll let you through.”

“But they won’t!” Kei objected. “Because I’m not! I don’t know what I am, but it’s not completely human, for sure!”

“You are to me,” Kai said, and knelt. He took Kei’s hands—so chilled that the heat of Kai’s almost hurt—and pulled Kei gently to his feet. “And only I know you’ve been bitten. So if you’re human to me, you’re still human.”

Kei longed to argue—there was no logic to Kai’s words; Kai’s words were dangerous. But they were also so comforting that Kei couldn’t find it in himself to argue, and he let himself be pulled up.

Kai kissed his cheek. “We’ll make it, love. Don’t worry.” 

[chocomonki]

New kaikei fic, Black Feathers

Kei has one more chance to redeem himself before Heaven banishes him to the archives, what's so terrible about guiding a human soul to heaven? That is, until he finds his opposite is Kaito again, the demon who's been a pain in his ass for as long as he can remember.

---

“What’s this?” Kei looked at the slip of paper in his hands.

It looked like old parchment paper, with two thick, golden words on it: Nakano, Kou.

“Your next assignment,” came Shinya’s stern voice, “The higher ups wanted you to be punished a little longer but I convinced them to give you one last chance.”

“The way that last assignment ended wasn’t even my fault,” Kei protested, taking a step towards Shinya. The other’s platinum wings were tense; Shinya being his handler and getting a lot of crap from those in higher ranks always made him a little pissy. His feathers twitched and Kei took a step back to stay out of his immediate range.

“Your charge ended up killing twenty-five people in one day.”

“And then he was caught by the police.” Kei’s black wings shifted, moving around so they shielded part of him from Shinya’s view.  Maybe that way the scolding wouldn’t seem so intense. It had been a few decades since his last assignment too, he was surprised the higher ups went for it again.

“Need I remind you that you’re on thin ice? One more screw up and you’ll be in the archives for the next century.”

Kei scoffed. They acted like that was a bad thing. It meant not interacting with the mortals and rarely seeing his coworkers and Kei was so down for that, but apparently that was a punishment and he couldn’t ask for a transfer. “Don’t get your feathers in a twist.”

Shinya crossed his arms over his chest, wings flaring at the ends a bit. “Last chance, Kei. I expect you back with your success.”

Which meant he was to stay on earth until he finished. Such a pain.

Kei glanced down at the name again. As soon as he stepped out of heaven’s gate, that slip of paper transported him to his latest charge.

“I wonder what kind of human he’ll be.” Kei stood outside his charge’s home, waiting for him to make an appearance.

An idiot , Kei found out, upon seeing Kou a few minutes later, narrowly avoiding death three times all because he was super clumsy.

“This is gonna be such a pain.” Kei shook his head, a frown on his face as he looked up at the sky, hoping Shinya would be able to feel his displeasure aimed at him. He’d have to plan out the best time to make an appearance as mortals sometimes panicked when they encountered an angel. At least Kei was human-looking, sans the wings of course. Anyone else could be sent down to earth and some of his coworkers are eldritch and would absolutely send their charges into insanity. Which is why Kei was stuck doing this forever unless he got himself in enough trouble.

Probably.  

“Not too bright, is he?” asked a new voice, startling Kei who immediately whipped around, wings unfurling in a tense state, ready for flight in case he needed it. There weren’t very many mortals who could see him and this voice sounded too nonchalant for it to be a mortal. His red eyes narrowed when he saw the person before him.

Of course, as if he didn’t have enough to deal with.

“Kai.”

Read the rest here!  (https://archiveofourown.org/works/14846901)

[heckdt]

hey it’s an ajin theory on ibm summoning!

explained from: my dumb 5am post tht i made 

hey.. i actually wrote a LOT more than i thought i would & also came up with stuff on the spot to support my dumb theory even more so.... :D? if stuff seems kinda out of whack, there’s ur chance to call me out on it!

anyway, enjoy!

alright listen lemme spit some SUPPORTING EVIDENCE to my nakano/ibm theory:

i’ll start it off by basically repeating my last post: i like to think ibms are connected to any particular thought about death. i think they’re manifested with dark thoughts that would lead to death or completely involve death. so here goes with my first example:

nagai! that guy! in the beginning of the manga, he’s thought about killing people (not..directly) or.. more specifically, just.... not wanting them to exist at all. he wants their existence gone.

and as a kid he’s thought about death (not...in a bad way? in a normal/thoughtful way)

and both of these occurrences resulted in his ibm appearing!  in the anime, there’s one line that has particularly stood out to me, when nagai says something like, “Good. Now I know how to make it appear.” and i’ll be damned if that aint a mystery to be solved (by yours truly). to me, it feels like nagai’s hinting at the conclusion that ibms are produced/can be summoned by connecting them with some form of thought or thought process. (& this is where i come in & say, “yeah, they’re connected thru dark thoughts!”) he’s basically understood that ibms are produced by something but we don’t know what. it’s almost like a “fill in the blank” type thing. thanks sakurai!

oh, and also (gonna mention ogura outta the blue here), despite ogura saying “making an ibm appear is like luck” to kou, i don’t really think ogura knows how to make an ibm appear (cus...he’s not an ajin so he wouldn’t have firsthand experience, so this is kind of a subject he can’t really offer much advice on), so that line is...kinda......redundant. he even says “there’s not a way that i’m aware of.” just ..puttin that out there i guess!

now onto tanaka. everybody knows he was tortured for 10 years (GOD...) . in that time, it’s kind of assumed that he never really learned how to use his ibm properly or like...maybe he never really even learned to manifest it. its shown that he didn't really hold the “”resent”” he carries/carried when he was caught by satou. well. he didn't have it the whole time. i wanted to include this scene

cus in this moment tanaka probably had the chance to kill her & the scientists & maybe even escape?? but. in this moment he says “save me.” he doesn't tell the lady to go fuck herself, he doesn't ‘damn anybody to hell’, he doesn't do anything that i would completely consider normal in his position! he asks her to save her because, at that moment, he still believes in humanity (...........to some degree) ! he doesn't hold the resentment towards humanity that u see when satou saved him! 

(adding on: actually, i just kinda realized--maybe tanaka just says “save me.” beause he’s tired of being experimented on? you wouldn’t believe how emotionally taxing being tortured would be.. maybe he’s just tired of living.. just some food for thought!)

now to satou haha (tht basard!) satou has been linked with death since he was young... so like. it was inevitable that he’d be able to make an ibm. and obviously he’d be thinking about death (he thinks about it in his downtime, this man is literally obsessed with killing) at Any Moment so i dont really need to talk much about satou. but like. y’know. satou being obsessed with killing = easy way for him to form an ibm.

takahashi, okuyama? i don’t know about these guys. they’re confirmed ajin (i didn’t mention gen cus he’s not confirmed!) and they can definitely make an ibm. but for them to be thinking about death while making it? seems....unlikely. okuyama in particular, because he has such a hard time controlling his ibm + making it appear. kinda leads me to think he doesn’t have a particular interest in death. and with takahashi, it’s kinda like. i guess he just doesn't particularly care? to me, he just seems like the type of guy to do something that’ll entertain him & killing (not necessarily the act of taking lives but maybe the rush you get from doing it) seems like a ‘fun’ thing to do!

izumi’s turn! with izumi i have a fun game theory about her ibm. my favorite thing about her ibm is probably how it changes from her teen years to her adult years. i wont go too much into it but i think that during her teen years, she was going thru something Rough (resentment towards her stepfather + mom, she was literally living on the streets, & her only way of living was..prostitution) and was probably really mad at the world in a lowkey way. angst!

(oh, one more thing. the way her ibm looks now is probably because she lost the resentment towards her mother, so it’s kind of like...recovery? she’s definitely better emotionally, i’d say.) 

((adding a bit more: what i mean by that is like, now, the way u see her, she’s firm in her resolve. she knows she has a purpose. but back then? shaky. after her mom & stepfather died, (i feel like) she was going thru a kind of “fuck the world” stage. there was a lot of pent up anger and u could see it in the way she treated/talked to tosaki when he first met her. angst x2..)

kotobuki! kotobuki is a... tough nut. i can’t seem to imagine someone as aloof/nonchalant like him thinking about death in any particular way (other than, “i can’t die”) he’s kinda like nagai in that sense, they don’t really worry about dying since they know they’ll just come back to life. well, kotobuki regards it more as some form of escape i suppose? he doesn’t care about any damage inflicted to him cus he’ll just come back to life.

so i guess since death is a form of ‘escape’ to him, that’s why his ibm is like that. i dunno! its blurry on this one!

now it’s nakano’s time to shine! nakano, who is clearly shown to struggle with making an ibm, probably doesn’t think about death at all. well. not in the sense that everybody else does. maybe it’s cus he’s scared of dying.

he doesn’t really like dying and can’t embrace his ability to die like all the other ajin can. there’s no resentment from him (the only form of resentment would probably be towards his parents but i don’t think he would even do that) and it’s not like he loves killing like satou. he doesn't see death as a form of escape (re: scared of it) and he definitely doesn’t see death as a fun way to pass the time. i think he’s genuinely too pure-hearted to really think about death in any other context other than fear. but maybe (ONLY MAYBE) because of the “nagai ditching him” incident, maybe something will stir up in him... only sakurai will let us know....

and that’s the end! thanks for coming to my ted talk!

[wool-string]

Post alternate ending

[eyedelater]

post about the rest of the ajin anime (seasons 1 and 2)

(nothing special, just a liveblog post)

ajin episode 6

i see that the animation budget saved by doing CGI was instead spent on the fluttery shifty effects of the black ghosts

so satou's ghost is also anvil-headed

right, nagai doesn't have much empathy... hmm... hmm... that doesn't excuse his being an asshole at times

tosaki sure is eager to jump to conclusions as to why satou didn't bring out his ghost

ohh, ghost-to-ghost head collisions can bump some memories back and forth, interesting, i forgot about that...

huh, what is eriko calling kei "onii-chan" for at a time like this? she called him "nii-san" to his face and i think in front of everyone who talked to her about him, right? was that her way of expressing worry about him...?

episode 7

tosaki's gotta get that dekai kane

right, of course he's motivated by comatose fiance. doesn't excuse any of the shit he's done

episode 8

nakano kou. do we seriously have a kei, a kai, and a kou? sounds like a bit of a natural OT3 tbh

episode 9

there we go, nagai kei finally being an indisputable asshole

oh, right, big pharma makes an appearance as an antagonist

sokabe has a very silly face.

i already forgot what IBM stands for and can only come up with IBM he company or ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) without the C

right, ogura's distinguishing feature was not only smoking cigarettes, but being unreasonably dedicated to his brand of smokes in particular. so dumb

episode 10

ogura says a black ghost can only be used once or twice a day, but didn't nagai kei whip em out one after another like it was no thing? is that his special protagonist power that makes him differentiated enough to be the protagonist?

kei's ghost learned how to fell a tree from minecraft

do they really have huge screens up in cities complete with booming audio? the screens are nothing new, but the audio seems unusual to me

episode 11

oh, tosaki finally learned satou's name. from satou's video.

yamanaka-san bought him an oPhone8

"life and money are synonymous" sounds like your typical CEO

omfg satou rode the sinking tower and had a great time

sokabe is still calling satou "hat guy." get with the picture

episode 12

this just in: does satou sometimes substitute a "sh" sound in for an "s" sound?

episode 13

kei demonstrates his shittiness by holding a knife to yamanaka-san's neck after getting sniped. what a dick. oh wait he made it work. well whatever

tosaki says nagai kei is not a fool and as such he probably already scouted out the area, but tosaki immediately also says nagai kei has probably exhausted his black ghost uses for the day, something a fool would do because only a fool doesn't know their own limits and try to use them tactically in such a situation

time for season 2 i guess, episode 2-1

this OP isn't bad i guess

these subs having sokabe say "it's normal for a subordinate to greet his senpai." listen, if you use "senpai," you gotta also use "kohai," and if you use "subordinate," you also gotta use "superior" you can't just pick and choose which words you want to translate

this ending song is horrible

ep 2-2

sakurai emerging from the airplane toilet clearly zipping up his fly out of frame and seeing satou and his eyebrows just turn on a fulcrum and then turn backward like they're pinball flippers

ep 2-3

ah. i was musing over what must be the most popular ship for ajin, thinking maybe kei/kai or kei/kou or tosaki/ogura, but i've had a bit of a realization, and if i know the hearts of the BL community at all, their favorite ship is probably some sinful shit like tosaki/kei. i’ll find out soon enough whether i’m right (haven’t looked at any ajin pixiv tags yet)

ep 2-4

kotobuki, eh. seems like a charming character. oh, this bandanna delinquent is pulling the ol' pee-and-chat

kaito, everyone's favorite punching bag

for the record, i know i've read beyond this point in the manga, but i don't remember shit except that i left off around a chapter where we see shimomura's history.

kotobuki has a small head, maybe he just squeezed through some bars to escape

ah, i just realized the other anime this kinda reminds me of: zankyou no terror. it's got the police/government and the american government trying to intervene aspect to it.

carly meyers doesn't have any kind of american accent... i was kinda hoping she would

neither does doug here. i guess they didn't have voice actors who would have some fun doing a bad accent... or maybe they didn't see it as appropriate

holy FUCK, kaito executed a flying dropkick even though he wasn't on higher ground or anything, what the fuck

kotobuki asks kai what nagai kei is like and i earnestly half-expected him to reply "he's scum" like everyone else does

oh, so kotobuki's got a winged kuro-chan. lucky... 

i forgot to write about this in the episode where it was said, but that iowan ajin whose ghost was driving a tractor is such a perfect image i can't stop thinking about it

ep 2-5

so i guess satou's catchphrase is "sssshate" (bc he kinda does a "sha" instead of a "sa") (meaning "now, then.")

the first OP wasn't skippable but i find myself needing to skip this one

there's lots of "pulling up live television broadcasts via a non-television device" in this anime

kou calling shimomura "izumi-san" pls

i like how whoever is nearest the whiteboard is the one to cross the latest victim off the target list

ok, if tosaki is about to be fired (which, hasn't he been for a while now?), that made me think, why is he concerned about his job when he's doing this conspiring with ogura and nagai etc hidden from his superiors? is he concerned about stopping satou, or is he still only concerned about money for his fiancee...? is he getting hella paid for this even though he's less involved in the torture (the real moneymaking activity) than before?

i don't like this dynamic btwn american guy and carly meyers where he keeps correcting her gruffly and she keeps backing off and looking afraid/ashamed.

they had nakano put on a satou hat to be satou ;w;

did shimomura just plug a flash drive into her phone? what kind of compatibility we got in this time period?

how long do neck-stab sedatives take to kick in in real life?

carly meyers's kuro-chan has a gem-shaped head

why don't all ajins just keep a knife or something on them to cut their own throat whenever they get hurt

ep 2-6

tainaka yoko. yup, this is about where i left off in the manga, i believe

whoa there, tosaki just got tased right in the nib nob. that's dirty, american doug

i can't say i feel bad for tosaki getting tortured.

ep 2-7

shut your ungrateful mouth, tosaki, shimomura was LITERALLY just doing her job, which you TOLD HER WAS HER JOB: PROTECTING YOU

how in the fuck did satou get away with playing dead when the other side KNOWS it's ajins they're fighting

why isn't ogura, a native english speaker, the one writing an email to the defense department

ep 2-8

this new OP is ok

ep 2-10

(i spent all of 2-9 doing origami instead of typing)

tosaki don't relapse on your smoking habit :( that's not gonna do anyone any good.

ep 2-11

kai busts in with his signature move and saves the day and he's started calling kotobuki "senpai"

so kei's signature line to kai is "i really have to pee"

kai's like "you're wrong. he (kei) isn't an idiot." that's right, he's actually trash, ask anyone

i can't emphasize enough how bad this ending theme is

ep 2-12

well okuyama-kun has been kind of lovable so far, so if he and others decide to join tosaki's side, that would probably be good

isn't burying someone alive the worst way to try to contain them? because you can't see them directly. they could escape without you noticing

ep 2-13

no kabedonning shimomura >:(

wait wait is tanaka also wearing a satou hat? oh, it's just a baseball cap.

fuck off tanaka don't impale shimomura in the same way twice

oh, one of nagai's new ghost army said the thing that nagai said at the scene where he first saw a ghost :0 about the sick puppy. i like all these ghosts spouting quotes

oh, he cut off satou's head. well, that's the first head we've seen cut off. is he facing the right direction to meet his new self? he closed his eyes too soon for us to find out :\

helicopters are raining in bullets from above like in ghost in the shell (1995) (unless i’m completely misremembering. there were other things that were raining bullets in various directions in that scene so i’m not sure)

so now satou's in custody for the first time. 

so satou had an exposition dream

honestly i’m no longer sure where i even left off when i read the manga x years ago, i feel like i may have dropped it because i didn’t care for the boring military shit going on for quite a while, but i feel like i even distantly remember satou being beheaded in the manga...? but anyway i’m gonna (re?)read the whole manga now i guess. overall manga verdict: it had a distant, clammy feel to it, but not bad; the voice for nagai’s ghost was real good; they did a good job with the cgi animation, but it definitely lacks something compared to the art in the manga; the only good OP was the first one; and yeah idk my feeling toward this anime is pretty neutral.

[imaginajin]

Scenario: You and Kou get into a food fight

-It all started during training that afternoon, you started teasing Kou after you managed to finally reach 30 push-ups first. –You kept rubbing it in Kou’s face, and Kou was quite annoyed tbh like —"RUDE (y/n)“ —"Not my fault I’m finally the superior one, Nakano!” –Not to mention, you also clocked in your run faster, scaled a higher wall than him, and was the first to connect four (Nakano still hasn’t forgiven you for that)

–Your cockiness was still showing at dinner, you bragging to anyone willing to listen –No one was listening though, Tosaki was settling something over the phone, Izumi was slicing apart her food, Kei was going over some plans while (secretly) drinking his soda, and the hitmen were at another table, deep in discussion with each other -Which meant that Kou was the only one left. With a smirk, you decide to keep quiet, since you bragged to him the ENTIRE day –Kou, on the other hand was ANNOYED LIKE NO ONE BUSINESS. HE’S GOING TO CHOKE YOU SOON.

–Kou then had a brilliant idea. –You both were having steak and peas with some mashed potatoes, which you figured was a rarity, since you were accustomed to noodles and rice every other day. On the right of your plate, was a small glass of your favourite drink, with ice. -Anyway, Kou scooped up some of his potatoes, and glanced at you, who was looking over at Kei, trying to get him to listen to you –Kou held down the tip of his spoon, and as if he didn’t have anything to lose, let go, launching the mashed potatoes off his spoon like a catapult, the potatoes hurtling towards your face

-You felt something slightly wet hit your cheek, and instinctively, you placed your fingers on it -You took your fingers away, with bits of potato clinging onto them -You whipped your head in the direction where they came from, and saw Kou, his eyes gleaming with revenge, and his lips twitching vigorously, trying to both hold back his laughter -You looked at the others, thinking that they’ve seen what just happened -No one seemed to be bothered. Heck, you don’t think they even noticed.

-Infuriated, you whipped your head back to Kou, who was still chortling -You wiped the potato from your face, hungry for revenge over Kou’s act of war -You dropped your fork and as though you were acting on instinct, brought your fingers to your place and used your thumb and index finger to flick a hard, boiled pea right in Kou’s face

-You smiled at your small victory, seeing the pea bounce off Kou’s face, his face morphing into one of pain, and then anger -Kou was looking at his plate, searching for anything to use against you –His eyes darted to the seasoning shakers to your left, and reached over to get them -You pushed yourself back in your chair, narrowly missing Kou’s arm, your eyes narrowed, knowing he was about to retaliate. -Kou had grabbed the salt shaker, and was now pulling back his arm. -Before you could do anything, while his hand was right over your food, Kou tilt his wrist and sent salt spilling all over your steak. -You let out a small screech, shocked at the turn of events, and angry that your food was practically inedible now, thanks to Kou.

-FINALLY, the rest noticed the two of you, alerted by your little screech -Tosaki’s face was something between alarmed and annoyed, while Shimomura’s face was one of alarm and concern, their eyes on you. Meanwhile, Kei had an eyebrow cocked, glancing at you two. -When Tosaki demanded to know what happened, you quickly grabbed your napkin and told him nothing happened, trying to pretend nothing had really happened, wiping your mouth -Unfortunately, when you pulled your napkin away, you found a large smear of chicken gravy on the edge of it. Sadly, you missed your embarrassing gravy-covered cheek. -You glared at Kou, who was now giggling like crazy, closing his eyes and covering his mouth, his head slightly bent, Low enough to hide it from the others, but high enough to prevent you from smashing his face into his food, which you oh so badly wanted to do.

-Tosaki went back to his phone call, and Shimomura went back to her dinner, whereas Kei rolled his eyes at your immaturity, and went back to his own dinner. -Kou was still giggling and hunched over, you felt yourself burning with embarrassment. -Then, an idea struck you. You grabbed your ice drink, stuck your hand in the liquid, and pulled out 4 large ice cubes. -You felt the ice burning in your hand, and you smiled to yourself. Perfect. -Glancing over, you saw that Kou hadn’t sat up yet, and you knew you had to work quickly. -Acting as though you were tired, you leaned wayyy back against your chair and stretched out your arms, faking a Long yawn. –And just like that, you let the cubes slip from your palm, and down the back of his shirt.

-Kou s c r e a m e d -You let out a sharp laugh, seeing Kou’s terrified face –Immediately, Tosaki jerks his head back to you two, Shimomura’s shocked, and the hitmen were all actually standing up at attention, guns drawn. -Kei Nagai, on the other hand, did absolutely nothing.

-Tosaki sharply demands an explaination —"NAKANO KOU, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON ANSWER ME AT ONCE" -Kou feverishly started to answer through stammers, while shimmying and tugging his shirt, desperate to get the ice cubes out -You were actually SCREAMING with laughter, sounding like a dying horse and slapping the table with every “HAAA” that came out of your mouth -Shimomura asks you to explain, and you tell her, with a large grin and choked laughter -She tried not to smile, but it was too hard not to, it was too funny for her. Kou was a blushing mess.

-Tosaki then scolded the both of you, and you and Kou began to point fingers at each other —"I DIDN’T SEND ICE CUBES DOWN SOMEONE’S SPINE" —"WELL III DIDN’T MAKE SOMEONE’S FOOD TOO SALTY BY SPILLING THE ENTIRE SHAKER ON PURPOSE!“ —"WELL IIIIII DIDN’T CHUCK PEAS AT SOMEONE ELSE’S FACE NOW DID I?!?!” -Tosaki told the both of you to break it up (ie; telling the both of you to SHUT THE HELL UP) and assigned the both of you to clean the table and the plates as well. -Together. -You both also weren’t allowed to eat steak ever again. -The both of you stared first at Tosaki, and then at each other. -The amount of regret you felt was uncountable.

-An hour later, while you were wiping down the table and Kou was pushing the chairs back in, you apologised for your bragging after training, because after all, that’s what started the war. -Kou looked back sheepishly and apologised too, for throwing his potatoes at you, starting the war in the first place. -You both gave half-hearted smiles to each other, and went back to work, Glad that your little food fight was finally over. —"That ice cube manoeuvre was good though you gotta admit" —"OH MY GOD (y/n) CAN YOU NOT.“

[epic-potato-crisp]

Caramel Syrup

Note: Dear @gingerrhd, I was your secret santa this year! You mentioned KouKei, autumn, sarcasm, and the worst coffee date ever in the prompts, so I decided to go with a coffeshop! AU for the story. I hope you enjoy!  ^-^

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell jingled over his head as Kei pried open the heavy door of “Fantôme.” There weren’t many customers around, which is what he had been going for for when he decided to pick a small, secluded coffeeshop to study in favor of the larger franchise store down the road. It had been his go-to-place, before Kei discovered just how many students from his High School spend their free hours and afternoons there.

No thank you. Kei could do without the obligatory socialization every time he tried to get ahead in his homework. Also, their management had changed and for some absurd reason he had a strange feeling about the new shift manager behind the counter, an old man approaching pension age who graced him with a downright unsettling smile every time they met. So Fantôme it was. As it turned out, not only was the store empty, and offered “Free Wifi” if one were to believe the obnoxious signs plastered throughout, it also held a large amount of seating opportunities. That was welcome news to Kei, who despised encountering his classmates almost as the lack of free tables. “Welcome!” The red-haired boy behind the counter shouted as soon as he spotted him, bowing promptly. Kei grimaced at the ear-splitting volume. “A gingerbread latte please.” he ordered, after a customary glance at the menu. “That will be 600 yen.” Kei nodded, and handed over the required amount. “Alright. Please take a seat. Coming right up!!” the barista responded, flashing him an irritatingly cheerful smile. Kei rolled his eyes and went to find a table.

  “Here you go, sorry for the delay.” A good ten minutes later, a steaming cup of coffee was placed in front of him. Kei had already spread himself out over the desk, his laptop turned on and class notes on his side. “Thanks.” Kei graced the barista-server-whatever he was with a court nod, before turning back to his screen. “Oh, what are you doing there?”

Someone save him.

“Homework.” “Oh, cool, for what subject?” The redhead didn’t seem the slightest bit deterred by the venomous look Kei shot him, sliding into the empty next to him. On the contrary. “History.” “Oh man, I hate that subject. But you know what I hate even more?” Kei did not remember asking, but the barista generously provided him with an update anyway. “Biology. Seriously man, I didn’t know there were so many complicating things to know about plans. Don’t you just water them?” He gestured wildly as he spoke. “Oh, and don’t get me started on Japanese Literature-“ “Don’t you have work to do?” Kei cut across him. “Nah, actually, my shift break just started. Lucky, eh?” the barista grinned.

Oh God, he should have gone to his old place. Not even his classmates talked this much.

“I’m Nakano Kou, by the way! Nice to meet you!” He held out his hand. Kei grimaced, but forced himself into the polite response and shook it briefly. “Likewise.” He replied monotonously. Nakano tilted his head, his bushy eyebrows travelling skywards. So much for privacy. “I’m Nagai Kei.” Kei grumbled, “And I have work to do, so if you excuse me-“

It was at that moment a tall man with glasses and silver hair appeared behind the counter. “Nakano!” he barked, as soon as he spotted the pair of them, “If you have time to harass the customers, you might as well get to work! The tables won’t clear themselves.” Nakano winced, caught and got to his feet with a sigh. “Sorry, my shift manager is no fun. I’ll see you around, yeah?” Kei didn’t dignify that with a response. He got to work.

  “Welcome! Oh, Nagai, it’s great to see you back!” “Likewise.” Kei ground out between clenched teeth, cursing his luck. The shop was fuller this time, the tables being occupied by elderly people enjoying their afternoon treat and college students typing away at laptops alike. Did the Fantôme not employ anyone else? Either Nakano was the epitome of obliviousness, or he purposefully ignored Kei’s hostile tone. He took his order- Kei went with his regular, with an extra helping of caramel syrup- chatting away merrily as he did. “Honestly, I’m really glad you chose our store. You know, the bigger franchise one down the road?” “Hard to miss.” Kei deadpanned. “Yeah, that one! So, they drive away most of our customers. But Hirasawa-san- that’s my boss, you know- he says not to worry. That the Phantom has its own unique charm, ya know?” The coffee machine beeped shrilly. “Oh, whoops, gotta refill the water tank. Just a second!” “It’s Fantôme.” Kei couldn’t help himself. “What?” Nakano appeared genuinely confused, as he filled a large container under the sink. “The shop. It’s pronounced Fantôme.” Correcting other people’s pronounciation had always been one of Kei’s biggest pet peeves. It hadn’t exactly helped him in making friends at school. “Sure, if you say so! French confuses the heck out of me.” Kei was about to spitefully remark what doesn’t, but held his tongue.

Nakano, who had meanwhile successfully managed to get the machine working again, turned his back on the cup filling with coffee and grabbed a chocolate pastry from showcase, placed it on a tiny plate and handed it to Kei.” “Voila!” “I didn’t order that.” Kei said. “Yeah, I know. Consider it on the house.” Kou winked and rang him up.

Kei managed about an hour of successfully typing away at his essay before a certain redheaded menace decided to join him again at the table.

“Hey, hope you don’t mind!” He declared energetically, before taking a seat next to Kei, armed with a piece of cake and sparkling glass of soda. Kei did mind, but apparently that was obsolete.

“So what are you doing today?” “History again. Citing my sources.” “Ugh, that sounds boring.” Nakano said emphatically. “Tell me about it.” “So you’re going to Kaisei?” Nakano said, with a nod to his blazer. “I guess.” “Isn’t that crazy hard to get into?” Kei shrugs. “Maybe. I didn’t think the entrance exam was that difficult.” “Woah!” If Kou’s eyes widened any further, they would have popped out of their sockets. “You’re really fucking smart, aren’t you?” Kei, much to his disagreement, felt his cheeks warm at the unexpected praise. “So, you’re in High School too? What year?” Kei asked, in an attempt to redirect  the conversation towards Nakano himself. “Year 2.” “Same as me.” Nakano groaned pitifully. “End of term exams are going to kill me once I start studying for them.” Kei stopped his typing. “What do you mean once you start studying for them? They’re in February.” “Yeah, so? “It’s December.” Kei knew it wasn’t his place to advise the other boy on study methods, but he was adept at spotting a train wreck in the making. Or perhaps, that was just his OCD talking. “When were you going to start?” “End of January?” Nakano responded. It sounded like a question.

Oh dear God.

“Anyway.” Nakano said, misinterpreting his stunned silence for agreement, “You know how I said that the larger store drives our customers away? Know why that is?” His eyes sparkled excitedly. Kei glanced at the counter, hoping the coffee machine would decide to act up again and save him from the rest of this conversation. “Other than that they’re an internationally renowned franchise with stores all over the world? No. Couldn’t possibly imagine.” Kei replied sarcastically, which went right over Nakano’s head. “Nah, that’s not it.” Nakano said, dismissing Kei’s perfectly logical statement with a wave of his hand. He grinned conspiratorially. “Listen to this. There are rumors that their new manager is cahoots with the yakuza. The Yakuza! Crazy, right?” “Wow.” Kei said, not knowing what else to respond to this. Indeed, the grandpa behind the counter did look like he could murder his him in his sleep and get away with it. It would probably a merciful death by comparison, he thought, side-eyeing Nakano, who rambled on as though there was no tomorrow. A few minutes later, he was saved by the same sour-faced shift manager that had come to his aid the other day. “Stop trash-talking the competition, Nakano! Table 3 wants to order!” “Ah, yessir!” Nakano yelled, making Kei wince. He jumped up and gave a wave. “Laters!” Kei pinched his forehead, and returned to his sources.

For someone who had vowed to never return here, Kei thought glumly to himself, as he walked into the Fantôme a week later on a rainy Thursday afternoon, he was really bad at keeping promises. Even to himself. The lady behind the counter was tiny. “Good afternoon.” She greeted him monotonously, staring at him with dark, soulful eyes that looked like they’d seen enough. “What would you like?” Kei thought decisively that he didn’t miss the exciting chatter that had accompanied his earlier orders, and got out his wallet.  

“Oh, hey! Nagai! Izumi-san, I’m taking this one.” Kei didn’t know what exactly possessed him to return the very next day, but there was work he had to yet finish, and the atmosphere of the coffeeshop had provided to aid his levels of productivity. Well, for the most part. “Alright.” The petite woman from yesterday replied, eyes even more weary than the day before, and moved on to the next customer. Fridays were busy, even at the Fantôme. “Gingerbread latte?” Nakano asked, as soon as Nagai reached the counter. Nagai nodded. “And, one of these pastries, please.” he said. “Coming right up! And, sorry, but I guess I’ll have to charge you for the pastry this time. Tosaki-san- that’s my shift manager said I’m not allowed to give out freebies.” He shrugged. “That’s fine.” Kei said. “But I’m starting to convince him of the fact that you’re a regular, so that might change!” Nakano winked. “Don’t count on it.” “Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say.” Nakano said teasingly, and rang him up.

Kei was impressed to learn that even a rush on a Friday afternoon was not enough to deter Nakano from bothering him at his table. Strangely enough, he found himself not really minding the company. Even if it did keep him from his statistics homework. “Fun fact.” Nakano said, “You know that this store was originally gonna be called IBM? But you know, that’s trademarked, so Hirasawa-san didn’t go ahead with it.” “What the hell would IBM even stand for?” Kei shut his laptop screen, deciding that perhaps a small break would not completely ruin his progress. He took a bite out of his pastry, which tasted more delicious than it had any business being. “I don’t know, man. International Brewery Masters?” “You literally have one store.” “Point taken.” Nakano grinned.

Kei rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be at the register?” “My coworker’s handling it.” Nakano said, making large puppy eyes at him, “I have a double shift on Saturday, give me a break.” “Your coworker?” “Well, yeah, Izumi-san. You’ve met her, right?” Nakano’s voice picked up, excitedly. “She’s really hot, isn’t she?” “What exactly is hot, Nakano-kun?” a quiet voice asked behind him asked. Nakano choked on his soda. The woman in question had approached with the stealth of a panther. She narrowed her eyes at the younger employee. “I-Izumi-san!” Nakano responded, flustered, “I, uh, I meant the coffee! Right, Kei? It’s really nice and hot, isn’t it?” “It’s very good, indeed.” Kei responded, after a delighting moment of watching Nakano struggle in embarrassment. Izumi left, but not without shooting last glare in Nakano’s direction. “I feel like she doesn’t like me.” Nakano whined, as soon as she was out of earshot. “How on earth did you reach that conclusion?” Kei asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced at his watch. It was already close to 6 pm. “I’m sorry, but I’m leaving in a bit.” Eriko was home from the hospital for the weekend. And as strained as their relationship might be, Kei did feel guilty for not spending as much time with his little sister as he probably should have. “Oh, that’s perfect!” Nakano replied, “I’ll get off in half an hour. Want to walk to the station together?” Oh well. He needed to catch his train either way. “Sure.”

   Nakano, predictably, talked the entire way to the station. Which suited Kei well this time, as it saved him from having to make awkward small talk. He learned that Nakano had been working at the Fantôme for a year already. He was one of two High Schoolers the shop’s owner, Hirsawa-san had employed. Most other employees were college students. There was Tosaki, who was studying for his masters at Keio University, and Izumi, an undergrad student at Sophia. He also learned that Nakano lived on his own, and had barely scraped by his first year in High School. When asked about his parents, he shrugged. “They didn’t pay the rent, and got us kicked out of our place. My uncle’s helping me pay for a room, but I’m pretty much on my own with all other expenses. Sucks, but that’s the way it is.” “I’m sorry.” Kei answered, not knowing what else to say. “Don’t be.” Nakano gave him a smile that seemed genuine, “I do like my job. Even though Tosaki-san can be a pain at times.” An awkward silence fell between them. “Want to exchange LINE ID’s?” Nakano asked, just before they reached the station. “Sure, whatever.” “You can call me Kou, by the way. Nakano’s so freaking formal. And can I call you Kei, too?” “Whatever.” Kei repeated, ignoring the pleased feeling in the pit of his stomach when he realized Nakano had bothered to remember his first name.

Ten minutes later, on a crowded train heading back home, Kei muted his phone notifications when Kou wouldn’t stop spamming their chat with rilakumma emojis.

  Despite his better judgement, Kei started showing up at the Fantôme once a week. His visits fell mostly on Mondays, which was coincidentally also the day that Kou was on his regular shift. Kei blamed it on the workload the school assigned with the beginning of every week.

He had slowly developed a craving for the Fantôme’s coffee specials, and the place did offer a rather peaceful study atmosphere, if he left aside Kou’s chattering during his impromptu visits at Kei’s table.

But even those, he secretly grew to like. Not that he would ever admit to it.

  “Welcome! Your order?” The barista at the counter was not Kou. A shadow fell over Kei as the man towered above him at what was easily two meters of height. The Fantome’s signature apron barely reached his midriff. The accompanying cream-coloured frills provided a striking contrast to his perpetual scowl. Tanaka, the name tag read. “I, um-“ “Oh, hello Kei.” Izumi greeted him, emerging from the kitchen with a rare smile. He did know when exactly she had learned his name, but somewhere between his first and his fifteenth visit, he had apparently made an impression. It was what came with being a “regular” , he supposed, which wasn’t nearly as beneficial as Kou made it out to be. Even though he enjoyed the occasional complimentary pastry. Where was he, anyway? It was a Monday like any other. “Nakano’s not working today.” she said, apparently having read his thoughts, “He’s at home studying. His exams are coming up soon.” “Oh, I see.” Kei said, “Then, well…” he glanced at the mountain of a barista that looked like he could take him out in one ill-timed blow, “I just wanted to get drinks for takeaway. One gingerbread latte, please.” he said. “600 yen.” “Actually, can you make that two?” Tanaka grunted, which Kei understood as a confirmation. “Visiting a friend?” Izumi-san asked, a knowing look in her eyes. “Just for my sister.” Kei responded. His heart was racing, which was a little odd, he thought. He was yet to consume any amount of caffeine. “I see.”

  This was most likely a bad idea, Kei thought. In between spamming him with memes, links to prank compilations on youtube and various emojis, Kou had also written his address.

“What would I need that for? ”Kei had texted back. “In case you ever wanna hang out!” Kei had left him on read.

Now, standing in front of his door, he considered turning around. But he had already come all this way, to a ward on the suburbs of Tokyo. Also, the coffee was getting cold. He sighed, and pressed the doorbell. “Kei!!” Nakano’s surprised expression gave way to a joyful one when he noticed his unexpected visitor. “Come in, please!” He beckoned him inside eagerly. “Please excuse the intrusion.” Kei mumbled, taking off his shoes and stepping into Nakano’s apartment. It was tiny. There was bed and a dresser, a floor table and seating pillows. A fridge, and a single stove with a microwave took up one corner of the room. Kei spotted a door in the another one, probably leading to a bathroom. Also, it looked like a bomb had exploded in here. “Please have a seat. Sorry, it’s not very tidy.” Nakano said, That put it lightly, Kei thought, stepping over books, socks and empty bottles. Nakano brought him a glass of water, and they sat down at the table. “I heard you were studying for exams.” “Yeah, I have some tests coming up.” Kou sighed, “Tosaki-san told me to take the week off and study. When I came into work this afternoon, he yelled at me, so… I guess I’m here.” He laughed embarrassedly. “When are your exams?” Kei asked, with an impending feeling of doom, taking a sip of his water. “Thursday. Friday.” Nakano said. “This week?” “Yep.” He should have just gone home. “Do you have trouble with any of the material?” Nakano flashed him a saccharine smile. “Perhaps you could tutor me?” Kei could feel a headache coming on. “Depends on the subjects.” “Math, I can mostly do, but I am struggling with biology.” Nakano said, giving him the largest puppy eyes Kei had ever witnessed. “Alright, fine. Let’s do this.” Kei agreed with a sigh, opening a textbook. How hard could that possibly be? He aced biology every time. Surely tutoring someone else was not that vastly different.

One hour later, their styrofoam cups were empty and Kei was about to lose his sanity. “What exactly are you not getting about the polymerase chain reaction?” He snapped, twisting a pen in his hand, ink smudging all over his fingers, “It’s not that hard!”

“Yes, it is.” Nakano yelled, desperation clawing its way into his voice. “Well, what part?” “Everything.” Nakano moaned, burying his face in his hands. “Oh man, I’m sorry. Nagai. I’m a lost cause. You should just go home.” Kei felt very tempted to do just that, but he took a way at Kou’s room and the tense way he hunched his shoulders and the staple of bills on the corner of the desk, and felt like an asshole for even considering it. But wait. He still had an ace up his sleeve. He stepped out onto the balcony, and made a call.

“I came as fast as I could.” Kaito leaned against the doorframe, motorcycle helmet underneath his arm, “Lucky I live nearby.” “Thank you. I owe you one.” Kei said. Kaito waved him off. “No, believe me, you’ll call in that favor once you see what I mean.” Kei said dryly. Kaito laughed at his pained expression. “It’ll be fine.” “Kei, are you leaving?” Nakano called, emerging from the bathroom. He paused in his tracks once he saw Kaito. “Oh, hi, you are-“ “Your new biology teacher.” Kei said coldly. Kou tilted his head in confusion. “A friend of mine. Who’s good at biology. He agreed to teach you. That’s all.” Kei grumbled. Immediately, Kou’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Hey! Wow, thanks for doing this! I’m really an idiot, so sorry in advance for taking up your time. I’m Nakano, by the way. Come in!” “Kaito. Pleasure.” the blond replied, giving him a warm smile. “I’m gonna go and get some food from the conbini down the road.” Kei responded, “Have fun.” “Get me some tuna onigiri, yeah?” Kou called after him. “In your dreams.” Kaito laughed.

  Three hours later, they sat at Kou’s table together, feasting on rice balls, soba noodles and lemon tea. “Kaito, you’re seriously the best.” Kou said, mid-chew. Kei turned his face away in disgust. “I feel like I really understood the stuff for the first-time!” “You’re welcome.” Kaito replied, “And by the way, Kou, don’t be so hard on yourself. You do understand more than you think. I think you just have trouble remembering the detail, but that’s okay. It’s what you study for, after all.” “You’re so nice, Kaito.” Kou fawned, “You’re much nicer than Kei.” “Hey. Remember who got him here in the first place?” Kei snapped, irritated. “I know, sorry. That was pretty great of you.” Kou said apologetically, grinning at him cheekily. Pretty great of you. Kei felt his cheeks heating up. “Bathroom.” he said, leaving as quickly as he could, and ignoring the smile on Kaito’s face.

  “So, what’s the result?” Kou’s shift manager had apparently been waiting for them already when they walked into the store on Monday. “Hello, Tosaki-san, nice to see you too.” Kou said, rolling his eyes. Tosaki glared at him. “Okay, okay, fine!” Kou held up his hands in defeat. “I passed. Both exams. B in maths, C in biology.” “Just a C, after all the tutoring that Kaito gave you.” Kei comments acidly, “Were you even trying?” “Hey, I passed, okay? Wasn’t that the goal?” Kou pouted at him. Kei sighed, wishing that his puppy eyes didn’t have that much of an effect on him.

“I guess you did. Well done.”

Kou smiled at him. Kei felt his heart flutter, and looked away. “Well done, Nakano-kun.” Izumi said, who’d apparently overheard a part of their conversation, “Nagai’s drink is on me.” “Thanks.” Kei said. “Well then, get to work.” Tosaki adjusted his glasses. “Seriously, that’s all? Don’t I get a reward or something?” “Your reward is the tables you’ll be clearing.” Tosaki says haughtily, crossing his arms in front of his chest, “You’re late, so get moving.” “Yes, boss.” Kou sighs. “…Well done.” Kou turned in his tracks. “What was that?” “Move it!”

“Your regular?” Izumi asked, just as Nakano trudged off to get changed, “It’s on me.” “Is the gingerbread latte even a seasonal item anymore?” Kei said, seriously. “We make exceptions for our frequent customers.” Izumi responds, lowering her voice secretively. “Well, then I won’t say no.”

Izumi hummed and got to work preparing his drink. “Oh, in case you were worried. Nakano-kun still has all his vacation days. I guess that’s a type of reward, isn’t it?” “Hadn’t crossed my mind to be worried at all.” Kei answered, too quickly for it to be true. “I see.” Izumi said, with this knowing smile Kei hoped he interpreted too much into. “Here you go.” “Thank you.”

Kou came out from the staff room at this very second, wearing his work-shirt and apron. “Grab a seat, yeah?” he told Kei, “I’ll be with you as soon as I get a free minute.” “You don’t have to-“ His voice cut off, his brain short-circuiting in shock once he realized that Kou had kissed his cheek. “I-“ “That’s your reward.” Kou said, smiling at him, gentle and invigorating like summer rain, and for the first time in months, Kei was speechless.

[pleasesavetanaka]

Ajin V9 - Vertical Edition

Volume 9 is finally here, and I’m looking over the translation once again! I’ve already noted the changes in art between the original magazine (and crunchyroll) versions and the tankobon, so they won’t be noted here.

Overall I actually feel pretty positive about this volume. There’s a lot of corrections and good changes, and while there’s a few issues and errors that crop up, the positive outweighs the negatives! I can pretty wholeheartedly recommend picking up V9, even if you held back on older volumes because of the translation quality.

Hirasawa and co are noted as ‘The Four Black Suits’, interestingly.

It’s also “Forge Safety” rather than “Forge Security”. This is consistent with previous volumes.

I’m not going to note every change, but I am going to note interesting ones, or ones that change the context.

Chapter 39:

Again, the translation in V9 is similar to the Crunchyroll translation, but with completely random changes. For example, “Is he with Sato...?” becomes “Is he with Sato?!”

There were a few things that were actually corrected, or at least better in the Vertical version. For example, when Kei grabs Kou in the staircase it was originally translated as “You listening...?” which is a stupid thing to say, because he’s literally directly behind Kou, there’s no way he could not be listening. It’s changed to just “Listen,”. The mumbles on the same page are also flipped so they’re horizontal.

“Five or six revolvers” was changed to “several” and “tranquilizer gun” gets shortened to “tranq gun”.

Another fix: Izumi’s “Tanaka has been neutalizi...” was corrected to “neutraliz-” to indicate she was abruptly cut off rather than trailing off.

First meme of the volume:

This is, so far, the first complaint I have about their translation.

Kei’s “We need to make this fast, Nakano.” was swapped for “We’re pressed for time, Nakano.”

Chapter 40:

Gulf squad dialog was watered down. “Direct tranquilizer hit to the arm. Target is asleep.” became “Tranq hit to the arm. Target asleep.”

Manabe’s ‘we met eyes’ is fixed to ‘our eyes met’.

The saliva thing is actually vastly improved.

CR: When you’re asleep, you secrete significantly less saliva. So if he’s really sleeping, you wouldn’t expect him to be swallowing. Vertical: You secrete significantly less saliva during sleep. So if he’s really asleep, it’d be some time before he swall-

Verticals is definitely the better translation and makes it less convenient timing wise.

“Look, you made me use it.” became “Damn, you made me use it.” which I think is a good change.

A lot of Kei and the gulf squad’s dialog has been cut down to be shorter, which makes sense considering how fast things are happen. Like, “Tanaka won’t be able to handle this situation on his own.” becomes “Tanaka alone can’t do anything about this.” While I’m sure there will be mixed opinions, personally I do like the more clipped dialog in combat.

Interestingly, Kei’s line about IBMs is swapped from “Only I can do that.” to “Only mine can.”, correctly changing independent IBMs to something the IBM does rather than something the ajin does.

Major Change:

Satou’s line “So how much of this was your plan, Nagai?” became “Which bits were even part of the plan, Nagai?”

This is a pretty big change because in the original, he’s implying someone else came up with the plan and Nagai took a backseat, while in the new change it’s more ‘you lost control of things’.

The original line is roughly “Was this your plan, Nagai?”, so I can see why the original line was translated as it was, but it left it ambiguous whether he meant ‘this plan was disappointing’ or ‘was this someone else’s plan’

Chapter 41:

Another fix. “Nothing, I’ll meet up with Shimomura.” became “No reply. I’ll meet up with Shimomura, then.”

And a new error pops up: “Having dealt with us, he must be in the CEO’s room.” sounds extremely awkward, and it’s followup line “Lets wake up Nakano and go after Satou” is split weirdly between bubbles.

“Why not give up and go home? I’m getting bored.” was perfect, but it was swapped to “Give up and go home, I’m kinda bored.” which is again split oddly between bubbles.

Tanaka’s “I understand making the assassination list...” became “I know I’m the one who made the hit list-” which again correctly implies he was interrupted.

“But I’m going to go bug Nagai a bit more.”

Never change Satou, never change. This is rather than ‘mess around with’ which sounds significantly more ominous than Satou probably intended.

They fixed Satou calling him ‘Kei’ over the intercom rather than ‘Nagai’.

Satou’s speech over the intercom is so good. I won’t write the whole thing out but just overall it’s been touched up a lot and feels more consistent with Satou’s dialog. He refers to Kei’s genius as a ‘gift’ rather than ‘something good’. The only thing I dislike is “I think you’ll be more decisive once you’ve experienced it.” became  "You'll be down with it after one go, I'm sure of it."

“I know you can do it.” -> “You can do it.”

The final line is actually a correction! CR Translated it as “It’s time for the bonus stage, Nagai.” but it’s actually “Bonus stage, Nagai.” This is basically a double entedre. He’s both saying it’s time for Nagai to have his bonus stage, but also that Nagai is his bonus stage.

Chapter 42:

CR: “Here we go. All good, Nagai?” “There isn’t a thing that’s good about this.” Vertical: “Here we go, Nagai, okay?” “ ‘Okay’ it isn’t.”

I definitely prefer CR’s but this is a hard to translate wordplay.

“I’m going to die.” became “I’m a dead man.”

“No thanks. There’s no way that’s happening.” became “Nah. No effin way.”

Yes, for real, they put effin. Not fucking. Effin.

“Ah! You were a pretty tough guy!” was absolutely ruined because they fucked up the line. It’s “Oh my guy was pretty tough!” which should PROBABLY have been “Oh my, that guy was pretty tough!” which is still worse but is at least coherent.

Chapter 43:

Chapter title was changed from ‘Fight’ to ‘A Fight’.

They corrected ‘how are you getting back to the safehouse?’ to the correct ‘we’. They also fixed “Are you going to disguise yourself or something?” to a more natural “While you, what, disguise yourself?”

Kei’s ‘lowering my goals’ line became “Call it a downward revision of my goals.” which I really like for Kei.

“It’s this country that’s at fault anyway, not me! It doesn’t know how to deal with any type of violence that doesn’t fall into one of it’s categories!” became “It’s the government’s fault! It has no idea how to deal with atypical violence!” which is a lot punchier. Really, the whole of Kei’s lecture has been trimmed down to be much shorter.

“You think you’re so smart...” became “There you go talking B.S.-” which is, being real, more accurate.

The fight overall had a lot of changes. Kei seems a bit more passionate and his lines are shorter. He does say that Kou is ‘bitching’ which is pretty funny.

IMPORTANT CHANGE:

Kou’s all important background line, “But then... someone picked me up... gave me a job...! And gave me something to do...!” has become far more ominous. It’s now “But there were people who gave me a job! Who had a use even for me!”

[hyrulehb]

You Stole My Breath (Give it Back)

Okay, so here is the first part in the ‘How do you walk forward?’ series I have going. This will be a two or three part fic, the next pieces coming out hopefully soon. 

Tags: KouKei, mentions of suicide (Kou’s practicing), graphic descriptions of violence, but also fluff... It’s all there. 

Edited by Origami10, written for @kelpie-hearts since this accidental confession scenario was one of the first things we talked about (kind of an early birthday present!)

Nagai Kei had a problem, and no, it wasn’t the fact that he was an immortal being, being hunted down by the government, hated by his younger sister, or even that he was in the process of having an all-out war with a terrorist group of fellow immortals run by a psychopath obsessed with games. 

No, his problem was more dire he realized.

It was the case that scumbag Nagai, heart as cold as a glacier in Hokkaido in the dead of winter, Kei was in love… with a complete and utter dumbass.  

It was infuriating, he had had no interest in dating before discovering he was an ajin. Hell, he hadn’t cared about any of his friendships on more than a superficial level, after parting ways with Kai when he was a child all those years ago. He could still remember, on his old phone, the list of contacts labeled simply as friend 1, friend 2, and so on.

Betrayal after betrayal also followed Kei like the plague after his first death. First, he had abandoned Kai, while he had justified it to himself countless times by now. He admitted it to himself with grim acceptance that it was a shitty move. It was done to protect Kai, to prevent him from getting put into harm’s way, and it was to protect Kei himself. Less attachments, less trouble. It was the most basic formula that he had intended to follow through with.

Tosaki, the ass, had revealed that Kai was in prison because of his connection with Kei’s escape. Still he was safer in there, after all, juveniles’ information, under Japanese law, was not released to the public. If Sato wanted to use the other against him, there would be no stopping him. But if the location where his childhood friend was being kept was harder to find out. Then it was worth it. Still it wasn’t like he could afford to care that much. Kai was only a human after all.

A bad taste flooded his mouth, worse than the one he got when he received that awful second-hand smoke while he was speaking with Ogura.

A conversation with the older researcher resurfaced in Kei’s mind, the ajin had claimed that people couldn’t change. However, now he was starting to doubt his own words. For a long time, hadn’t he been cold and distrustful towards all people? Only holding fondness for his family, but even that was a falsehood, right? Wasn’t it just, to obtain a peaceful, stable life, that he needed to maintain those basic relationships?

He ran a hand through his short hair, trimmed far more than he was used to from when he was taken captive by the government. God, this was annoying.

If people couldn’t change then why the hell did his heart beat faster when that idiot looked at him with such admiration. When they touched, it was like the warmth that radiated from the light haired ajin’s personality was sinking into his own skin like the sun’s rays. The fluttering in his chest, at first it had concerned him as to being linked to something of medical concern with his body. He had even asked for a medical check up to be performed on him.

Of course, the results came back normal. Or as normal as they could be for a demi-human. From that point Kei had fallen to conducting research online on what it could possibly be. He hadn’t wanted to appear weak to the rest of the group so he didn’t go to them. Still he knew all too well that he was obviously the weakest physically out of the entire group.  

Typing in the symptoms was easy, he tried to give as much detail as possible so he could easily whittle down responses that didn’t fit. Face heating up, muscles in his shoulders and chest tightening, mind losing focus, sweating lightly, and a few other details. The answers he got were… disturbing. So many of the suggested links included quotes of his search query word-for-word, but they were from cliché love stories or movie plots.

The moment that he finally was forced to face the truth was the day that Kou asked him if he knew a good way to die. The question had brought out a strange mixture of emotions from the dark haired former school boy.

On one hand, it was a relief that Kou seemed to finally understand the severity of their situation and the desperate need they had for an ajin’s unique weapon, an IBM. Maybe there was hope for that braindead jock after all. However, on the other hand, Kei felt his stomach drop and chest seize without his permission as the image of Kou, slaughtered and unmoving flashed through his mind. Being put through what he had, government experiments, being smeared across the road by a truck, and shooting, stabbing, and mutilating both himself and others, his brain had plenty of material to make colorful, nausea-inducing imagery.  

It had to be a fluke, nothing more, Kei had assured himself as he led Kou out of the building and into the surrounding forest. Research had provided him with many answers for the lighter haired ajin’s wish for a quick death. The noose that Kei fashioned was the perfect fit, excuse the language.

Then Kou had to go and call him ‘amazing’.

Kei knew that he had flushed that the praise, eternally grateful for the fact that Kou had been turned away from him during that little declaration. Kei hadn’t thought that he was amazing, or that he had been doing anything that was particularly inspiring. Most of his actions should have brought scorn to most of the populace. He was doing everything to survive, he was being selfish. Kou acted like he could see some secret side of Kei that he was certain didn’t exist in himself… So, he had told the other to ‘hurry up and die’.

That was the start of their new routine. They would do their typical training; working with different guns and improving their physical condition, having a meeting to discuss Sato’s most recent moves and what strategies might work against him, having a second meeting with Kei explaining the prior meeting to Kou again, going out to the woods where Kou would hang himself while Kei would go back to the headquarters to plan with Tosaki. Then in a few hours Kei would come back to cut Kou down and end his cycle of constant death and revival.

More than once Kou admitted that he was afraid that Kei might ‘forget’ to come back for him. A threat to actually do so was always made by the darker haired ajin in response. But of course, he never followed through with it. One reason was, he discovered to his horror, that he really did care about the loudmouthed ajin, and very deeply, sickeningly, at that. And two, he didn’t want to hear Kou bitching. If Kei made Kou miss dinner, he would never hear the end of his complaints about it. Kou was practically a black hole for food. However, the athletic teenager never put on weight, much to the annoyance of Kei who had been forced on a diet by Tosaki when they first arrived to help him get physically fit.

Currently Kei was walking through the woods to free Kou from his noose, the path having grown familiar to his feet so he didn’t have to pay attention to where he stepped. This freed his mind to ponder his situation.

Maybe it was something in biology that held the answer he was looking for. Ajin weren’t humans despite what some claimed. Kei had made peace with the fact that he didn’t see himself as human long ago. Maybe the immortal creatures ran on a baser set of instincts that weren’t strikingly apparent on the surface. The need for a ‘mate’ or something of the like might be what was prompting him to be attracted to Kou. The brunet was physically more able than him and in a way, could protect and shelter Kei.

There was something that didn’t sit right with that theory though, if he was just bent over for a strong, healthy, and capable ajin, why hadn’t he felt this way about Sato or even Tanaka? Both were much more able than Kou obviously was. Also, there was the fact that all four of them were male, mating wouldn’t result in an offspring. Then again there was still so little that Kei knew about his own apparent species.

No, things just couldn’t be so simple unfortunately.

So why the hell was Kei in love with that infuriating, insufferable… Handsome, charming idiot known as Nakano Kou? He had all the humanity and faith in others that Kei lacked and was an open book to the world. He wasn’t a schemer like Kei, he was honest and loyal to the point of being dangerous to himself.

Kei’s steps stop as he realized that he probably just answered his own question while trying to dispute the facts about why he SHOULDN’T love his complete opposite. Groaning he rubbed at his forehead, dammit, he was supposed to be good at debate but he just lost against himself.

Wait…

He kicked the trunk of the nearest tree in frustration, he was just giving himself a bigger headache with all of this. And all he had gotten for it so far was an aching foot. At least the damage didn’t warrant a reset.

Honestly, all of these developments might as well have been a bright red sign that screamed ‘caution, your day is only going to get worse don’t take any chances’. Everything that could go wrong, would go wrong. Unfortunately for Kei, his tangled brain and heart made it seem like he was wearing blinders.

Instead Kei just continued on his way after shaking his foot out. The sun was continuing to set, but the summer heat didn’t lessen and it made Kei’s shirt stick uncomfortably to his skin and there was no relief in sight as the abysmal humidity would continue to cling to the air even when the seasons changed.

So was life in Japan, still the heat would probably be more unbearable in India.

The thought made a sigh leave his lips as he came to a stop in front of a particular tree, gaze taking in the sight of the body hanging above him. The fingers would twitch from time to time, signaling the split seconds of revival before the weight of Kou’s own body and the pressure of the rope would end his life again and again.

How many resets did Kou endure a day in this desperate attempt to bring out a black ghost? If Kei wanted to he could probably calculate the time it took for each reset and death, then divide it by however long Kei had left him swinging that day. But honestly… Kei didn’t want to think about the brunet’s death. Even staring at the corpse now made a shiver roll down his spine despite his normal pensive scowl staying on his face.

It was his default expression, his mask. When wearing it, nothing could hurt him and it made people steer away from him. Except stupid, unperceptive Kou. Right, he needed to get the dumbass down.

The knot in the rope would be too tight from the pressure of the constant weight to untie it so Kei pulled out the pocket knife that Ogura had given him the other day. It took a while to saw through the thick braided strands, but as soon as the last strand frayed, the corpse fell to the ground with a meaty thump. The process of reviving would take care of any scratches or bruises that Kou received from the less than gentle landing.

Kei’s steps towards the body were quicker than he would like to admit, grimacing at the sight of a blue fac; a red, raw neck peeking under the rope, and an unmoving chest. His stomach twisted as he kneeled to loosen the noose and carefully slipped it back over the head, tossing the rope against the tree to be used the next day since there was still a decent length of it left.

How many more days would they continue to do this? How long would it take to stop Sato’s rampage? What would happen after they stopped Sato, would equal rights be given to ajin or would Tosaki betray them? What would Kei do, return home to a town that had completely turned on him in the wake of his discovery of immortality? Would Kou disappear from his life as quickly as he appeared? There were so many questions that buzzed inside of Kei’s head as he stared down at the motionless body. However, one stayed at the forefront of his mind.

How many times would he have to see Kou die, and not by Kei’s own hands?

Sure, when Kei or his IBM killed Kou, there wasn’t such a sense of panic as he had right now. It was strange and honestly should make no sense, but when the other ajin died under Kei’s action, somehow  he felt assured that the brunet would come back. Even if it was just to scream at him for being an asshole.

Kou wasn’t one to let anything slide with Kei after all.

Still the stillness in the taller ajin’s form made Kei’s chest seize slightly, resetting could take time depending on the damage take and the length of time it took for the ajin to die. By hanging, Kou’s windpipe and esophagus would have been crushed, the spinal cord broken in a few places by the mixture of pressure and weight, and more than likely some arties and veins had been severed. It was a lot to repair certainly.

‘There’s always a chance, right? That we won’t come back.’ Kou’s words, from before they started to regularly do this marathon of death, rung in his ears. There were records of an ajin resetting over two thousand times, there was no way that Kou had even come close to that number yet.

He was worrying for no reason, it would be fine. Kou’s annoying cheery voice would greet him soon enough and then he’d complain about being hungry.

That thought was there though, what would Kei do if Kou’s life was permanently extinguished? He didn’t want to think about it, didn’t need to. It wouldn’t happen. There was no need for these repetitive, redundant thoughts to plague him as he watched the corpse…. But they were still there.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kei took a deep breath, attempting to ease the rapid palpating of his heart.

Kei felt himself leaning forward, he could let himself crumble just a little bit, right? His lips brushed over pink lips, body shivering as the feeling. Kou’s lips were rough, chapped from obvious disregard for using things like lipbalm. Still Kei couldn’t say that he disliked it at all. Drawing back only a few millimeters he muttered eyes closed as he tried to commit the sensation to memory, “I love you, dumbass. You better not die for real.”

Then he felt warm breath against his face.

“Is this a dream?”

Kei reared back, eyes wide as he met a pair of matching murky red ones with thick brows pinched together above them.

Fuck, was the one word and thought repeating in Kei’s mind as he stared back into the pair of muddy red eyes that matched his own. No, this wasn’t supposed to happen, Kou was supposed to still be in the process of revival for another eight seconds. His calculations were almost never off, why did it have to be now of all times?!

Kei was frazzled, it felt like his brain was short circuiting as he tried to think of a solution to his mounting shit fest.

“Nagai?”

His IBM decided to make the choice for him.

The crackling dark form appeared in an instant and in the next its claw-tipped fingers were buried into and through Kou’s stomach. Ignoring Kou’s pained groan of surprise, confusion and pain, Kei scrambled to his feet, almost tripping over in his desperation. But once he got his footing, Kei was gone, tearing through the forest and back towards the base. Maybe, just maybe, he could outrun his stupid mistake and Kou wouldn’t be disgusted with him. That life would continue as ‘normal’ as possible between them.

Back in the clearing Kou grimaced as he felt his ruined internal organs shift inside him as the IBM lifted its arm away, but still crouched over him. What was all that? Kou’s mind was still trying to piece all the pieces together as warm blood continued to flow into the growing puddle under him.

Had Kei really kissed him? His hand lifted unconsciously to trace over his lips. Kou’s gaze was dragged up towards the black ghost still slouching above him, but he could see that it was starting to disintegrate. Before it did though, a distorted deeper version of Kei’s voice reverberated out of it.

“I love you…. Dumbass….”

Then it was gone, Kou’s cheeks flushed with what little blood wasn’t gushing out of him, before anger made him shout out, voice tinged with annoyance and frustration, “DAMMIT NAGAI!!! YOU CAN’T JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND RUN OFF!!”

Oh, after he revived he had quite a few choice words for Nagai Kei.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Please tell me your thoughts, I love to hear back from readers to motivate me to write more. 

[fungus-amongus00]

Shrek AU (because it’s needed)

Basically the beginnings of an ajin shrek au, ideas coming from an ajin server. Just a little preview of something bigger ^^ 

A light breeze blew through the trees of the surrounding forest of the mountains. The air had a placid calmness to it, quiet besides the rustling sounds of the leaves every time the wind swept through. Within these mountains and acres of forest that lined the landscape, there lay a small clearing and a small house with a pond wrapping around the back of it. For miles around, it is the only habitation in those mountains. Within the house, lived a young man, who looked to be relatively normal despite being an Ajin. The Ajin started out gradually popping up within the general population of the kingdom. They possess a great and terrifying power of controlling an entity they can summon, which people are calling black ghosts along with being immortal. If they’re slain, they will simply stand back up again. Kei Nagai is the lone inhabitant of the house in the mountains and a feared Ajin. He guards the area heavily with his ghost which can be seen from time to time roaming idly through the woods. If it hears one sound of a potential intruder, it’ll go charging in that direction. Kei rarely had to venture to the outskirts in order to guard his territory. Therefore, the kingdom and surrounding villages left him alone. He even had his ghost set up signs and barbed wire along the border where the mountains began. Kei enjoyed his peaceful life. It may be seen as boring and lonely to others, but to him, it was perfect and gave him complete serenity.

 Outside of Kei’s safe haven, the kingdom outside of the mountains was changing. The current king who had been ruling for many years had suddenly passed away, and a man by the name of Lord Satou had taken over the main palace along with his own group of advisors which resembled more of a rag tag team. Things were slowly escalating into a turmoil as he was passing new policies and laws specifically on Ajin. Satou wanted any known Ajins to be rounded up and relocated to an Ajin area in the palace.

             “It’s for safety reasons. It’s for the safety of the Ajin of course. I’m aware of the attacks and discrimination against them.” That was his reasoning behind these new laws and was met with thunderous applause.

 Kou Nakano lived in a village near the mountains. He had heard a few stories about the lone Ajin that lived up in those mountains: the one everyone feared. He found himself staring at the nearby mountain as he walked through the small town on an errand. His day was going along like it usually did. He’d probably share a few drinks with the land lord later and maybe go visit the girl that always winked at him when he went past her house. He wore the same goofy smile he did when he thought about it when his vision suddenly went dark as he fell onto the ground hard due to a shovel promptly colliding with his skull.

When he came to, he found himself in the middle of the woods in some sort of camp. He was in some sort of wagon, but his wrists were tied together, making him groan when the rope rubbed the skin there raw. His vision was still a bit blurry as he was still coming to, blurry figures slowly coming into focus.

             “He’s an Ajin. I swear! I’ve seen him looking at things that aren’t there. He’s just strange in general,” a young woman’s voice said.

Kou felt his heart sink when he saw that the person turning him in was the girl that always smiled and winked at him.

             Figures..

             “But he’s not a known Ajin? You can’t just say someone’s strange and immediately jump to them being an Ajin.” A tall man with dark slicked back hair sat at a make shift desk with papers in front of him. He glanced over at Kou with some interest.

             “I saw him fall off the roof of a rather tall building, Mr. Tanaka. He laid still for a moment then got back up. It wasn’t natural,” she said quickly.

             “Fine, test him,” he said to a guard, motioning to Kou.

             “W-wait, let’s not be hasty,” Kou stammered, wriggling and trying desperately to break free.

Just when the guard pulled out a sword, Kou managed to sit up and get on his feet and was about to make a run for it when the sword was plunged through his chest. A gurgling choking sound came from his throat before his eyes rolled back a few seconds later. His hands desperately clung to the blade tightly until they were bleeding, blood running down it and dripping form the handle. Instead of trying to pull it from his grasp, the guard simply let go of the sword and let the other slide it out. Kou was still for a moment before he suddenly gasped for breath, still clutching onto the sword.

             “So he is an Ajin. Alright, arrest him and put him in the cart with the others,” Tanaka said with another motion of his hand.

Kou soon sprung onto his feet, using the blade of the sword to cut through the ropes tying his wrists together. He looked around frantically, trying to think up a way he could possibly escape or where he could go. Lord Satou’s kingdom stretched far and wide. It’s not like he could really go anywhere without being pursued. He’d be a registered Ajin now.

             The mountains! The one place they won’t go.

Without further thought, Kou bolted in the direction of the mountains. The lone thought in his mind was simply getting as far away as he could. The mountains had its own dangers, but that was the furthest thing from his mind right now. Anything was better than being captured with the other Ajins.

             “After him,” Tanaka said simply, sending about five guards.

Even when Kou made it into the mountain forest, they still chased after him. Kou was busy whipping his head back to look behind him, making sure they weren’t getting too close. Suddenly, the wind was nearly knocked out of him as he collided with something very tall and solid. It took him a moment to open his eyes and gasped as he gazed up at a tall shadowy figure standing over him. However, its gaze was taken off of Kou at the arrival of the five guards that stopped in their tracks.

             “Intruders..” it muttered.

             “Uh, look, I’m just running away from them. See, there’s this Ajin hunt going on..”

             “Shut it,” it snapped at Kou and started to walk towards the guards.

All of their faces had turned pale as they slowly backed up away from it.

             “Why don’t you just fuck off already? This is the part where you run away” it hissed and lunged at them, claws out and ready.

As soon as it moved, they took off screaming and running in the other direction. Kou breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got back on his feet.

             “Wow, you’re amazing..uh, whatever you are,” he said with a goofy grin but took a few steps back when it turned towards him. “Uh, I swear I’m not here to like take over your land or anything.”

             “Is that so? Then why are you here, and why were you being chased by those guards? Usually, people know better than to trespass here.”

Kou jumped when he heard another voice behind him and saw a boy around his age with short dark hair and vibrant scarlet eyes walking over from behind a tree.

             “What are you doing in my mountains?” he asked again, crossing his arms.