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udo0stories · 7 months ago

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Never be afraid of shadows. They just indicate that there is a light shining in the area." Renkel, Ruth E. I believed I had a serious problem before I began to heal from my anxiety. Every panic attack, every dreadful morning, and every social gathering I would psychologically brace myself for made me feel as though I lacked something that no one else possessed. When I worked as a grocery store cashier, I avoided socializing with customers twenty-four hours prior to my shift. Yes. That implies that I would not spend Friday afternoon and evening with anyone if I worked on Saturday morning. Why? I had to get myself "ready" for my grocery store entry-level job. I felt like everyone was watching to see if I could go an hour without smiling, and I had to "make sure I felt okay." I was harshly critical of myself and believed that I was worthless to the world if I was not filled with optimism. Additionally, if I did not radiate confidence at all times, people would assume I was not good enough. Upon embarking on my quest to overcome my anxiety, I discovered several life experiences that had significantly impacted my inner world. One of them happened at a dance competition in which I participated when I was younger. I joined a Bhangra group when I was around ten years old. Bhangra is a kind of folk dance that has its roots in Punjab, India. When you see a performance of bhangra, you can tell that the dancers are exuberant and smiling broadly. Bhangra is a very energetic dance form. This is a crucial portion of the show since you want the audience to enjoy themselves, so you need to bring this much energy to the stage. My group had just finished a performance at one of my dance competitions, and the judges were prepared to give their piece. All of the judges were very complimentary, with the exception of one who chose to draw attention to a weakness in my own portion of the performance. "You," he said, pointing to me, younger Raman, "did not seem to be smiling so wide. Everyone did such an amazing job and were smiling so big and having fun," he said. Why did that occur?" My heart stopped as a ten-year-old because every single eye in that auditorium was staring at me. To be honest, I do not think I said much in response, but I cannot quite recall what I said. It was "chill," as best I could. It was probably just a shrug and an "I do not know" as my soul slowly poured out of me in embarrassment before my dance group and I eventually left the stage. We were enjoying ourselves during this dance competition because we were young. We were not even attempting to impress the judges, much less win a national championship. The criticism from that one judge ended up lowering my spirits, even though we did wind up winning a prize. It really affected me to be the one singled out among the group. Our minds may not know why we might grow older with certain fears and anxieties, but the child who went through that suffering is still a part of us. Additionally, the judge from a dance competition takes on the role of an inner judge who assesses us prior to a cashier shift. "Grow your smile!" he exclaims. Both the little and the large painful moments are what stay with us. Even though, as adults, we might think, "Oh, it was just one thing someone said; that is not a big deal," to that little child, it certainly was. It is very significant! This brings me to the first misconception about anxiety that we have: that there is a problem with us. There is nothing wrong with you if anxiety of any kind has ever occurred to you. Your internal system is, in fact, operating precisely as intended! We develop an inner judge to "fix" what went wrong (in this case, not smiling big enough at the dance performance) in order to hopefully prevent having someone criticize us from the outside (at work) and avert a potential future "threat" (in this case, the embarrassment from the judge in my story). Our inner world functions strangely, but it does its duty. It is true that

if you mentally prepare yourself for a big smile at work for twenty-four hours prior to a work shift, you will probably smile big at work, and no one will criticize you for being a downer. You no longer have the energy to give it your all when things start to get really tough. When your inner critic makes you feel inadequate, it gets particularly difficult. It’s usually around this time that people start looking for some help, because even though their inner world is doing its job, it becomes exhausting to keep up with it. This brings me to the second misconception about anxiety, which is that it is a lifelong condition. Many people think that a label you receive from someone has to stick with you for the rest of your life. Not me, though. For example, I made the decision to change my anxiety for the better and to take the necessary steps to treat it when my doctor diagnosed me with moderate generalized anxiety disorder. There is no need to "cope" with anxiety. A young woman who was one of my clients recently exclaimed, "Oh, yay, another coping mechanism!" when I suggested a tool. Even though she was eager to try something new, I had to be honest with her and tell her that she could change her anxiety rather than just learn to live with it. Recognizing the dominant thoughts in your mind is the first step towards changing your fears. Frequently, the anxiety is brought on by overly critical thoughts. We can then inquire as to the source of these thoughts once we become conscious of them. You have a backstory for your anxiety, just as I do! Although there are frequently multiple origin stories—a collection of origin stories—it is helpful to begin with one. You will shift more the more willing you are to change and the more open you are to healing through your story. You do not have to live your life in constant control of your anxiety. It can even function as a passenger. This brings us to the third and last myth concerning anxiety: the idea that healing requires constant tranquility and the total absence of anxiety. The truth is that anxiety has occasionally surfaced during my six years of recovery. I spent weeks being a nervous wreck when I first started offering workshops. When I am trying something new, I still get nervous, but my reaction is different. The process of healing gives us strength that enables us to act and behave differently in the world. Despite my intense nervousness about taking risks in my career, I found the inner strength to pursue it! That is because my life is no longer driven by anxiety. It turned into a welcomed traveler. The fact is, I do not want to throw her out of the car if her experiences and that inner child are the source of her anxiety. I should make a safe place in my life for that little girl. I greet anxiety when it manifests itself. I talk to her, I journal in her voice, and I reassure her that everything will be alright. I tell her that I will be the one to empower and encourage her, that I am not that judge from that day on. She is free to join me at any time on this journey. And it would be a pleasure if she could travel with me. I am here to reveal to her the full extent of the magic within. I am here to help her recognize the qualities and abilities she possesses that no one else can take away. She is a welcome passenger, and I will steer the vehicle in the direction of our mutual benefit. I have learned to be kinder to myself, to see the person behind their mask, and to be a living example of inner peace as a result of my experience with anxiety and the healing that followed. It is possible that the more trying times in our lives also mold us into the people we were destined to be.

#PersonalDevelopment #Anxiety #Healing #Myths #Popular

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boss-the-goofball · 2 months ago

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Ok so I was thinking about this post while at work and Britt's addition is amazing. I was also thinking of adding Yubel to this post, but you beat me to it!

So instead I will add one that, had Lorch watched My Hero Academia, would hit really close to home for her.

Touya Todoroki aka Dabi

He is a character who really highlights just how far Hero Society has gone and while a lot of his motivations are incredibly personal (Wants his father to notice him, but to also get revenge on his father for crushing his dreams even if it was for his own good)

The Todoroki Family as a whole is an entire mess of tragedy after tragedy that's rooted from Enji Todoroki aka Endeavor's desire to surpass All Might and become the Number One Hero - because All Might is the equivalent of a force of nature in the context of this world, the gap was too large for Endeavor to reach. This is what led to Enji paying the Himura Family to have Rei as a wife for a Quirk Marriage, a process where a couple wants to mix their Quirks so their offspring has a desired Quirk.

Enji has a Fire Quirk that causes him to overheat when he overuses it, while Rei has an Ice Quirk. It was Enji's hope that the children they had would develop either a mix of Fire and Ice, or Fire with a way to cool themselves off.

Touya was born with a Fire Quirk that was more powerful than his father's, but his body was noted to be built for an Ice Quirk, which means whenever he used his Quirk he's constantly burning and hurting himself. Initially Enji did train Touya and Touya saw this as the best thing ever - he was bonding with and connecting with his father. But the more Touya hurt himself, the more Enji realized that his eldest son would never grow to surpass All Might and would instead likely kill himself in the process.

This is what led to Natsuo being born. Touya was initially not happy, until it came out that Natsuo did not develop a Fire Quirk at all. But Touya knew he had to train harder and kept trying to get his father to look at him.

And then Shoto was born, and we got a panel where Touya finally snapped.

He attempted to hurt or even kill his baby brother, Shoto.

And over the years he became more and more envious of Shoto who developed the perfect Quirk, the Quirk their father wanted them to develop. It got to the point where he would sneak off to train to hopefully show his father that he can surpass All Might, become the new Number One Hero, and ultimately make him proud.

Touya did what Enji feared would happen to him. While alone on the mountain, emotional after his father yelled at him upon discovering he was still training in secret, he lost control of his flames and burned to death. (His corpse was then picked up by the BBEG and resurrected via similar methods as how Shirakumo was resurrected and became Kurogiri)

He would grow to resent his father and even Hero Society as a whole, because if it wasn't for the current state of Hero Society then none of this would have happened. Even if he no longer holds any love for his family as the villain Dabi, he is someone who has personally been fucked over by the current state as a whole (and the same can be said for other members of the League like Himeko Toga, Tomura Shigaraki, and Spinner).

He is someone who embodies the point Stain tried to make about how corrupt the Hero System is; and much like Stain, Dabi went the route of "Burn it all down" instead of trying to find another way of fixing what's broken.

And it is that "Burn it all down" mentality that ultimately led to him sticking by Tomura's side, because Tomura's goal of destroying everything is what resonated with Dabi at the end.

The Lorch 50 Villains Challenge!

Fuck it, I think this 50 Villain thing should be turned into a challenge.

I'm calling it "The Lorch 50 Villains Challenge!" where you have to name at least 50 villains who have a good point, but we'll actually give a definition for what counts as a villain with a good point and not use Lorch's three point margin.

Lorch's Margin/Criteria and what's wrong with it: 1. Have a point (Alright, that isn't the criteria we're looking for in the list. Any villain can or cannot have a point, but the point in question has to be Good) 2. Successfully avoid the issue of "Why are they a Villain?" (From a Meta perspective, it's because the writer wanted to have a Villain in their story that can challenge the Hero/Protagonist. 99% of the time the Villain is an Antagonist, but not all Antagonists are Villains. If the story clearly paints the character in question is a Villain, then that character is a Villain no matter what their motivations or end goal is. It's like trying to say a character like MCU Thanos is not a Villain) 3. Are Good (Subjective, not a valid criteria)

So instead we will be working with this criteria

The Villain has to have intentions that could be seen as Good from the viewpoint of an average person, but the way they go about achieving that end goal is what makes them a Villain.

Name 50 or more Villains who fall under that criteria and you have completed "The Lorch 50 Villains Challenge!"

I will give one example for if I were to do this list

Light Yagami - His ultimate goal at the beginning was to reduce crime. That is a fairly noble goal and can be seen as an overall good thing. But his methods of attaining that goal, using the Death Note to mass execute all criminals no matter what crime they commit, is not a good thing and what makes him a Villain. He views himself as the Judge, Jury, and Executioner and gives insight into how, despite breaking the law, the criminals are still human and we should value human life at the end of the day. And if those criminals were already on death row, then it should be left to the justice system that was put in place to make sure that the people are sentenced in accordance to whatever crime they commit. (Should one person decide execution for both a petty thief and a pedophile, thus making their crimes equivalent?)

#lorch 50 villains challenge #two really good additions

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dontwarnthetadpoles · 2 years ago

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I'm obsessed with the new Disney film Prey (minor spoilers to come) that has been released this month, to the point that i've already rewatched it many times for many reasons, but the most important is it's impossible for me to not interpret it as a passionate and long love letter to BtVS.

I know that the film is a new "opus" in the Predator franchise but the influence of Buffy is so much everywhere (she spent her time killing all kind of predators on BtVS), that this story could have been easily used to completely reboot my favourite vampire show, if the intent to resuscitate it was still in the air.

Let's be clear i'm not usually a fan of crossover, i saw the first Predator film but wasn't into it because there was no reason for me to bother with so much testosterone, when the Alien franchise offered me years before an heroine like Ellen Ripley.

But Prey is a new concept: i watched the gifs on Tumblr and was immediately and intensely attracted to the vibe of the film, without knowing anything about it.

The landscapes alone (the story takes place in the Northern Great Plains in North America in 1719 so a very wild and breathtaking environment, with seemingly endless sweep of prairies, forests and mountains) are to die for.

But it's really the cast that makes it worth: an ensemble cast of almost only native americans (Comanche people) with as main character a teen heroine (between 16 years old and 18 years old), named Naru and her amazing dog Sarii. They are both at the center of a story that focus on her fight to survive and to protect her community/tribe from a monster coming from space.

A predator looking constantly for new preys, acting with the strength and ferocity of a wild animal and the intelligence of a human hunter, while being also equipped with the most advanced technology (heat sensor, an unbreakable field that can cut heads and many more weapons).

The script shows very well Naru's progression: how she develops her real even solid hunting skills and tools that aren't, despite her training, enough to convince her tribe that she could be a hunter like her brother that everyone admires.

The plot is driven by the question of her ability to eventually come at the top of the chain of all the different kind of predators that the film presents. Will she convince her community that she has the capacity to lead them in the many other fights coming for survival, against the european settlers (and possibly more monsters from space), that are deliberately reducing drastically their habitat and their access to the food?

The most exciting part being how i can make connections with Buffy. This story was already more or less contained in the seasons 3 and 4 of the tv show.

It's like Buffy from the episode Helpless - the version of our heroine without supernatural powers but with better coordination than she had in the episode and still ressourceful - had met Beer Bad/cave Buffy for the fashion sense and they both become one and jumped into the world of Pangs.

But instead of fighting the Chumash people, she would be a part of them and would lead them to fight the colonial and patriarcal system of the white settlers (The Initiative) and the cyber monster half human/half demon that they created: Adam.

The monster of Prey The Predator has nothing in common with humanity, but he strangely reacts in very human way sometimes. And of course he shares with Adam the same physical strength, size and weight, same taste for evisceration with sharp blades and a deep need to hunt and be at the top of the food chain, if only to dominate (but not necessarily to eat).

The cherry on the top/the highlight of those endless parallels and patterns: the fact that season 4 is the season that introduced the first slayer Sineya, and brought Buffy to the roots of her power and how the line of slayers was created.

Naru is "born" (as a hunter) from fighting a demon/monster never seen before but unlike the first slayer she's not sacrificed, forced to take the demon blood and become one of them to equal its strength and kill it. Naru chooses to hunt/fight the monster as a part of a ritual that all the hunters of the tribe must follow to earn their place.

Taking the monster's blood in this scenario would be a sign of victory and social prestige (and it's the reason why she at first wanted" to hunt something that could hunt her" before her journey became a revenge tale against the white men and the monster).

Like i said if anyone wanted to reinvent the origin of the entire line of slayers, it couldn't have been a better beginning.

I didn't think it was possible to get me so hooked about a possible reboot but this film raised the stakes to a new level. All of sudden, i find myself wanting a new BtVS prequel (show or film). Desperately. And i'm even ready for a new cast, as long as it's as good as this one (i've seen criticism of Prey cast and all i have to say is that it's pure racism in my book: they totally own their part, and are more real and credible that you can dream them to be).

Prey really deserves by itself all the praise and hype it can get: it's probably the best action film of the year.

But for a Buffy fan, it's a gift and one so much more exciting because it came out of blue, is so completely unexpected. I didn't need a new obsession but i really needed this new obsession and now i need more of BtVS too.

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #crossover #parallels #prey #review #disney movies #long post

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sarahjtv · 3 years ago

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BNHA Chapter 319 Spoiler Analysis: Found Family

Holy crap what a phenomenal chapter! This arc in general has been great, but this chapter might be one of my favorites of the arc. Not just because it focuses on Class 1-A (I’m so glad to see the kids again), but because of the growth we see in these kids in general especially Bakugo and Shoto IMO. Like, holy shit ESPECIALLY BAKUGO! I stand by my opinion that Bakugo is one of the best developed characters in the series. There’s so much I want to say about this chapter and I’ll try my best to do so if my poor injured left hand will let me 😭:

The chapter starts off with the first of 3 colored pages we’re going to get over the next few weeks to celebrate 7 YEARS OF MY HERO ACADEMIA!!! CONGRATS, HORIKOSHI-SENSEI!!! This series revived my love of anime/manga and really helped me in some really rough spots in my life. I will forever be grateful towards Horikoshi for bringing this series to life and blessing us with such an incredible story full of beautiful characters. MHA may be a little overrated, but I still think it deserves all the love it can get.

Anyway, the color page. It shows Uraraka, Iida (who has red eyes here, so IDK why the anime gives him blue eyes though I do think they work better for him personally *shrugs*), Shoto, Tokoyami, and Bakugo after basically figuring out where Deku went. Bakugo is shown tearing up his letter (which says something like “Thank you for being there, Kacchan”; there’s more but I can’t translate it 😭) and you can kinda see some bandage wrap around his arm where he was stabbed. Also, both Bakugo and Shoto still have some visible injuries on their faces and Bakugo’s hands, so they’re still recovering from the War. It’s a really pretty page in general and I can’t wait to see what the next 2 color pages are going to look like. I also kinda want Horikoshi to take a break after this too again so he doesn’t overwork himself. Maybe he’ll treat himself to the MHA: World Heroes Mission movie 🍿.

So, Shoto and Bakugo have figured out that Deku is most likely with Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist. Problem is that none of them are answering their phones. I like that Bakugo calls Best Jeanist “Pair of Denim Pants” 😂 and Shoto’s image of Endeavor is still a very angry version of his old man. Shoto’s still making amends with his father, but he’s still not THERE yet. Regardless, these kids are smart enough to know that something’s up. Especially since All Might hasn’t returned to UA either.

It’s basically confirmed by Ojiro that because classes have been suspended, our Class 1-A kids are still 1-A; they haven’t moved into their second year yet. That clears up the confusion on whether we should still refer these group of kids as 1-A still or not.

Now Bakugo’s showing how much of a genius he really is despite his personality. Bakugo figures out that the Top 3 and All Might are working together as a group based on how they all connected with each other back at Central Hospital. Also, Bakugo concludes that All Might snuck Deku’s letters under their doors while Deku started running. Ultimately, Bakugo does know more about Deku and All Might more than anyone else does. He’s been around his childhood friend and he’s admired his idol longer than most people have. Bakugo understands how bad the situation is and he’s ready to take action.

As are the other kids. You can see how determined they are and you can see Kirishima’s black roots coming in 🥺! Even Uraraka gets some shine here by bringing up the idea to trick Endeavor to come via getting help from Principle Nezu as Endeavor was a UA student. It’s really interesting to see Ochako in a more serious roll than usual, but I actually like it. I hope she’s still as bubbly as she always was at the end of the day, but she’s definitely matured and grown a lot over the corse of the series. Even the simple things like her hair show it as it’s not as floaty as it was before. I love it when Horikoshi shows small details like this. It adds to the characters and stories a lot. Also, the art in this chapter is amazing.

And now it’s Endeavor vs. Class 1-A in a much needed conversation. All the kids are wearing their school uniforms to make this as formal and serious as they can. EVEN BAKUGO IS PROPERLY WEARING HIS TIE YOU KNOW SHIT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN!!! And, I must say, Bakugo looks damn good with a tie 😳. You can also get a decent height measurement on the kids here if you want. Ngl, sometimes I forget that Shoto’s about 2 inches taller than Bakugo. It’s definitely the hair.

Shoto’s the first to step up and he scolds the hell out of his old man. Rightfully so tbh. Endeavor shouldn’t have ignored Shoto’s calls even though I kind of understood why. Shoto reminds Endeavor of their plan to stop Dabi though thankfully that’s what’s pushing Endeavor forward so he hasn’t forgotten. Shoto calls his father “Endeavor” and gets mad at him fro leaving Deku and All Might alone. The rough translations say he called Izuku “Deku” here too btw. Endeavor has no response. I think this anger Shoto’s unleashing is very justified and has been burning inside him since Deku left UA. His best friend just up and left him and his friends with nothing but a letter to kinda explain things. Also, Shoto and the rest of 1-A (minus Bakugo) have basically been lied to for about a year. I’d want answers too if someone did that to me.

Bakugo steps in by putting a hand on Shoto’s shoulder (🥺) to calm him down a bit and to say his piece. Ultimately, he thinks what Deku is doing is right, but that the way they’re all doing it is wrong. I love Deku and All Might, but they’re sacrificial idiots. They care more about others than they probably ever will themselves. That’s how All Might lost his OFA in the first place. It’s because of that that All Might doesn’t have it in him to stop Deku from going down this path. They shouldn’t have been left alone. Someone should’ve kept a closer eye on them. I know the Top 3 were all worried about getting too close to Deku before, but really, someone should’ve been watching them closer on the sidelines.

The next page is a really cool drawing of Endeavor flinging his phone to the kids to catch. The previous panels showed Endeavor with this face that’s regretful and I think he realized something: That Bakugo is right and that the kids might be better off finding Deku than he is. So he basically gives the kids his GPS on his phone. Those are just my thoughts, but it does look like that. I don't think Endeavor’s just going to up and give up though. He’s probably going to start rethinking things though.

As Sero manages to catch Endeavor’s phone, he and the rest of the kids think about how even though they’ve only known Deku for a year, they still think of him as family and cannot let him go down this thorny path alone. They’ll carry the OFA burden with him if they have to. They can’t smile without Deku around. These kids truly have become a family over the year. It’s amazing to see. Everyone’s like a brother and sister and it’s really nice to see. I just love Found Family stories, guys 😭❤️

And really quick, I want to focus on my ❄️🔥 boy, Shoto, really quick. As he’s thinking about Deku, he mentions how shocked he still is about Deku keeping OFA from them and how Deku thought just a letter would suffice. He has this sad look on his face like he’s trying to say: “I still can’t believe my best friend hid this from me for so long. Why? Did he not trust me?” That’s just my interpretation. Still, I can’t imagine how upset Shoto must feel. I think he still cares a lot about Deku enough to go out and find him, but he’s gotta feel some sort of betrayal. More so than the other students outside of Bakugo because, again, Deku was essentially Shoto’s best and closest friend 💙😭

Endeavor is rightfully worried about letting the kids out in the state of Japan right now, but now Principle Nezu speaks up and praises the kids on growing up so well. He’s also took into account Deku's feelings about his mission which is why he agreed to the team up. Also, Deku’s still welcome back to UA whenever he wants thank god ☺️. He’s a student who has to be protected. There’s a cute panel of Uraraka and her mom crying happily after getting her acceptance letter too. Not 100% why this is shown other than Acceptance Letter part, but it’s cute to see. Maybe Ochako realizes how much Deku needs to be protected or something.

As for the refugees, Nezu had the security system strengthened in time for the Cultural Festival earlier, but they never used it before. It’s call The UA Barrier. God, how strong is this thing? Is it strong enough to stop Shigaraki who was able to Decay the last barrier? This seems like something that’ll be used in the final battle TBH.

So, Nezu trust the 1-A kids to bring Deku back home. Which is exactly what they plan to do as all 19 of them enter Kamino in a badass full page. I actually wasn’t sure if all 19 of them were there at first since I couldn’t find Shoto for the life of me, but then my eyes saw the BIG-ASS ICE WALL IN THE BACK AND I THOUGHT “OH THERE HE IS!!!” LOL 😂

The next panel actually does show Shoto with Momo as they capture the villain from the last chapter. Momo politely calls Bakugo “Bakugo-san”, but Bakugo demands that he be called his insane hero name: “GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT”! I CAN’T WITH THIS DUDE SOMETIMES WHY DO I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 💥🧡

Deku sees his friend and wonders why they came. Ochako answers because that they were worried about him, but Deku tries to convince everyone (including himself) that he’s fine. He’s obviously not and Bakugo calls TF out on him! He even drops a good F-bomb for good measure. Bakugo mocks Deku for trying to act like All Might and asks Deku if he can even smile right now. I actually really like it that Bakugo’s calling Deku out on his shit. I think Deku needs some good tough love right now to knock some sense into him. Who would be better to do that than Katsuki Bakugo himself?

As Deku is trying to convince everyone that’s he’s fine (while still looking like a demon btw), there’s a small focus on Iida. Actually, a few panels this chapter have focused on Iida. Maybe he’s remembering the time Deku saved him back when they went up against Stain. Deku saved him then so it’s now Iida’s turn to save Deku. Also, Iida hasn’t gotten much focus lately and I really like his character, so I’m glad he’s being brought back to the forefront again. Also, I like hearing Kaito-san’s voice in general so I’d be happy to hear him again (thanks for that one, Haikyuu).

The final spread shows Deku telling everyone to move away while Bakugo, Iida, and Ochako get ready to stop him. IT’S DEKU VS. CLASS 1-A!!! WE’RE ENTERING CIVIL WAR FOLKS!!! Seriously, though, this is great. I was thinking that it would be just Bakugo and a few other students finding Deku. Instead we got the whole class. And looks like that “helping hand” thing will happen later because we got a battle to fight first.

Bakugo’s become a damn fine leader and I love to see his growth every freaking time🧡! I like how Iida has his hand on Bakugo’s back to support him btw. It’s weird that Shoto’s not in this page though. He’s one of Deku’s best friends, so I would think he would be in this page along with Bakugo and his first 2 friends (Ochako and Iida). Maybe Horikoshi’s saving Shoto for a more 1-on-1 conversation with Deku. God, I hope that happens because I think along with Bakugo, Shoto deserves a good talk with Deku the most.

Honestly, I’m not sure who would win this battle. I’ve been going through scenarios in my head on who would win, but I can’t come to a solid answer. Class 1-A has 19 versatile Quirks under their belt and they have more energy than Deku to fight, but Deku still has 6 insanely powerful Quirks that he’s been practicing for a while. The kids could probably win if they strategize enough and use Deku’s exhaustion against him, but again, Deku has OFA and multiple other Quirks. If he could beat Lady Nagant, one of the best snipers around, he might be able to beat the 1-A kids. He could just escape with Smoakscreen, Black Whip, and Float if he wants to really. That would put 1-A on another wild goose chase. There’s also Deku’s Danger Sense which will be a pain to deal with. Also, Deku said that he’s as strong as All Might was in his prime with Fa-Jin and OFA combined. Only AFO and Shigaraki were strong enough to take on THAT. Plus, we still don’t know what the 2nd OFA Holder’s Quirk is yet. Deku might use it in this battle. God, I have so many theories in my head now. I think this battle will be awesome, but ultimately, I want Deku to come home 😭💚

Me reading and loving My Hero Academia:

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wonder-kid-pugh · 4 years ago

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First Words - (Rose Lavelle x reader)

Being one of the younger players on the team always meant that the older player and the vets were always going to be protective of you. But with me they took it to a whole other level. I joined the team the same time as Mal. But when I came onto the team everyone on the team thought I hated them.

"Why won't she talk to us?" Emily pouts as I walk over to a table with my headphones in. I guess they thought I couldn't hear them. "Has anyone actually heard her say a word since she's being here?" Kelley asks. Everyone shakes their head before they all turn to Becky who's my roommate but she just shrugs, "She's hasn't said anything to me". "She doesn't even call for the ball in practice" Pinoe sighs. Tobin shrugs, "Maybe she's just shy. I mean she's seems cool". Although I do stay near Becky and Alyssa I do drift near Tobin always finding the two of of us juggling the ball together before training.

"But what if we did something wrong?" Christen frowns. I bite the inside of my cheek as I pretend to check my phone. I never meant for them to think they did something wrong. They had been so welcoming and kind trying to involve me in their conversations or inviting me to hang out with them. They always tried to get me to talk to them and I wanted to.

It was the fact that I couldn't

I guessed I must of zoned out as I'm snapped out of it by someone sitting across from me. I look up from my plate to see Rose was now sitting across from me with a smile, "Can I ask you a question?" I just nod my head expected her to ask me the obvious question. But I'm surprised when instead she shows me her phone, "Which dog do you think is cuter?"

I look at her in shock and I guess she sees that as she frowns, "What? Please don't tell me your a cat person". I let out a snort and shake my head making her smile, "Good now which one do you think?" She asks again. I lean in front and look at her phone. The first one was Siberian husky puppy with adorable bright blue eyes. While the other was a Pembroke Welsh corgi with white and brown fur. I look over both of them for a few more seconds before pointing at the husky.

A big grin spreads across her face, "I knew it! Lindsey kept saying the corgi but just look at his little blue eyes! I mean they're both adorable but I just can't get over how blue his eyes are". She starts to ramble on about the puppy and I can't help but smile at her. She kept ranting about the blue eyed puppy which was ironic as her own blue eyes seemed to sparkle talking about the dogs.

"Y/n? You okay?" She asks making me shake my head at the thoughts. I just point at her, "Me? She asks pointing at herself. I bite my lip and grab my phone before quickly typing out a message and passing her my phone. She tilts her head at me before taking the phone. I try to ignore the spark when her fingers graze mine. Instead I chuckle at the blush on her face as she reads the message.

"Your eyes sparkle just like the husky's"

Honestly after that some of the team didn't know what to do with me. Some left me alone just happy that they hadn't done something wrong to make me feel out of place. But people like Kelley and Sonnett made it their mission to get me to talk to them.

"So who are you rooting for to win the league this year Y/n?" Sonnett asks. Kelley and Sonnett thought that if they kept asking me open ended questions that I it would force me to speak to them. I had become their latest challenge as they were determined to be the one to get me to talk.

If only they knew

"Definitely the Royals right Y/n?" Kelley grins looking at me but I just shake my head. "Who are you supporting so?" I tug on Rose's sweatshirt making her look at me only for me to point at the badge over her heart making the two frat daddies scoff, "Your cheering for the Spirit?" I nod making Rose smile beside me as Mal teases Kelley and Sonnett.

I cuddle in beside Rose as they are about to start the film and I smile widely as I feel Rose wrap her arm around me as well. As the movie ends and everyone's about to head back to their room Sonnett turns to me, "Did you like the movie Y/n?" I nod as I get up and walk over to Becky who's waiting for me by the door. But before we leave i hear Emily sigh.

"Are you ever going to talk to us?"

I freeze for a second before I continue walking not even stopping to wave goodbye to them. I can hear Becky follow me as I walk into my room and dropping onto my bed. "You okay Y/n?" The centre back asks as she looks at me with concern. I just nod lightly before looking down and playing with my fingers. I hear her sigh before she sits down beside me, "Don't listen to Kelley and Emily. They're idiots and they don't understand that not everyone is loud like them. You don't have to do anything your not comfortable with. We just want to make sure that your happy and working hard with the team okay?"

I nod and smile at her before surprising her with a hug which she returns. As she leaves for the bathroom to get ready for bed, I check my phone as the screen lights up with a message.

Are you okay?

I smile at my phone my heart lifting at the thought of the spirit midfielder worried about me. I shake my head ridding it of any thoughts of her remotely returning my feelings and send off a quick message before turning in for the night.

👍🏻

I think after that the team just accepted that's how I was. Kelley and Sonnett although they kept trying they dialed it back no doubt due to the team talking to them. It was only at my second camp that they learned the true reason behind my silence. They were shocked to say the least.

"Yes Clicker!" Tobin laughs as I nutmeg Lindsey before I continue running down the wing. I couldn't help but laugh at the nickname the team gave me. Tobin called me that after practice one day when everytime I wanted the ball I would click my fingers. After that it just stuck with the rest of the team calling me that as well.

Sonnett steps up trying to tackle the ball off of me but I keep close control of the ball and I end up putting Sonnett on her ass before crossing the ball for Christen to volley it into the net.

I grin and jog over and hug Christen before they call an end to practice with my team winning. "That was incredible Clicks!" Tobin laughs as she wraps her arms around me and Christen making the forward laugh, "That was an amazing run Y/n". I blush at their compliments before beaming up at them.

"Better look out for this one Heath. She'll be coming for your title soon" Pinoe jokes. "I hear your starting in the match against Mexico. Are your parents coming to watch?" Ali asks me. The smile on my face drops and I just shake my head. This makes the other frown as well, "Why not?" I just shrug and look down at my cleats digging them into the turf.

Kelley sensing that I was uncomfortable with the topic tries to lighten it up. "Well if you play like you did today then they don't stand a chance. I think the best part was when she put Sonnett on her ass" Kelley sniggered making everyone else laugh while Sonnett pouts. The blonde defender looks at me but I just wink at her making her wrap me in a headlock.

I squirm before I push her off my harshly as I look at her in fear. I pushed her so hard that she fell to the ground making everyone look at us. Emily looks at me bewildered as my breathing starts to get heavy as I out my hand on my neck. I close my eyes trying to calm down enough to get my breathing normal but nothing works.

Next thing I know is someone grabs my hand dragging me away. I let them pull me along wanting to be anywhere else but here at the moment. When we finally stop in the hallway to the dressing room I feel them hug me tightly guiding my head into the crook of their neck. "Hey it's okay. Everything's okay. Your safe I promise. Now I need you to breathe with me okay?" They say soothingly. I recognize her voice instantly and the smell of her perfume relaxes me slightly as I nod into her neck. Her hands rub up and down my back as she coos in my ear, "Follow my breathing. In and out. That's it. That's good Y/n".

I keep following her breathing for a bit longer before it finally goes back to normal and I sink into her embrace. She just holds me a little while longer before she pulls back just enough to look at me, "You okay Y/n?" I just nod finding comfort in her bright blue eyes. "I'm going to bring you to Dawn okay?" She asks and I just nod again.

She takes my hand again but this time walking beside me rubbing her thumb over the back of my hand reassuringly. She brings us over to the sideline where Dawn looks up at us worried, "What wrong Y/n?" I just lean into Rose laying my head on her shoulder as she explains, "Sonnett got her in a headlock and freaked her out a bit".

Dawn looks at me with pity, "I'm getting that triggered it?" I just nod making Rose look at me in concern, "Triggered what?" Before Dawn can say anything the rest of the team come over. "You okay Y/n?" Becky asks looking me up and down. I nod while Alex looks at me, "What happened?"

I sigh and look at Dawn, "Want me to tell them?" I nod and she looks at me softly, "All of it?" I gulp but nod before leaning back into Rose who wraps her arms around me.

Dawn sighs as she looks at the rest of the woman, "Y/n grew up in foster care. She never knew her parents and she was moved around a lot as a kid. She didn't have the best experience living in the system". Dawn pauses for a second before steeling herself and continuing, "In one of those homes it wasn't great. Her foster parents verbally abused her. And one night her foster father attacked her and nearly choked her to death".

Everyone is quiet as they all digest what Dawn has told them. I can feel Rose's arms hold me tighter. "Oh Y/n" Becky breathes out who looks on the verge of tears. Christen who is crying lets out a few sniffles along with some other players. "She's hasn't spoken since then and doctors says that she was so scared and traumatized by it that she developed selective mutism because of it".

Kelley frowns looking extremely guilty, "That's why you haven't talked to us. Because you can't". I just nod while Sonnett looks at me with tears streaming down her face, "I'm so sorry Y/n". Everyone is quiet no one quiet knowing what to say. That is until Rose pulls back from me taking my face in her hands, "This doesn't change anything. Your still the same person as before. This doesn't change who you are".

She looks at me so determined making sure I know she means her words that I can't help but stare back at her in awe. Only tearing my eyes away from her as Becky puts her hand in my shoulder, "She's right. We're your family now".

I start to cry as I pull the two them into a hug which leads to the rest of the team joining in. I nestle my head into Rose's neck as for the first time I finally felt at Home.

And that led them to be extremely protective of me. Whether it be from other teams, fans or the media. They wouldn't tolerate anything negative about me or my unwillingness to speak. Even after 2 years they were still extremely protective of me. They made me feel the safest I've ever felt. And as I sit in my cubbie I realise how important this team is to me.

"Hey, you okay?" Rose asks putting a hand on my leg. I look down at her hand and put my hand on hers and interlock our fingers making the both of us smile.

"I love you guys"

Everyone stops talking and instead looks in our direction looking at me I shock. But I instead just look down at our enjoined hands playing with her fingers like I usually do. "Did you....just talk?" Rose whispers out. I nod and look up to her dazzling cerulean eyes which are starting to water.

"Yeah"

"Oh my god Y/n! You just spoke!" She exclaims picking me up out of the locker and spins me around in her arms making me laugh. Everyone crowds around us as she puts me back down on the ground, "I just wanted to tell you guys how much I love you. Your like my family". Rose cups my cheeks making me smile and hold her wrists, "God I love the sound of your voice".

Not being able to hold myself back any longer I stare deep into her eyes, "Can I kiss you?" Rose lets out a watery laugh before she nods. I waste no time smashing my lips into hers and she happily returns it. As we break away the entire team cheers us on and smiling at us while I smirk down at Rose who's now breathing heavy unable to speak.

"Looks like I left you Speechless"

#rose lavelle imagines #rose lavelle x reader #rose lavelle imagine #rose lavelle #uswnt imagines #uswnt imagine #uswnt x reader

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hiro-gari · 4 years ago

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Going back at reading the manga and the webcomic made me realized this Batarou parallel:

Both Garou and Badd had horrible experience as a prisoner. One was imprisoned by Monster Association after being tortured by the MA members, whereas the other was imprisoned by Neo Heroes after being sedated for days by the cyborg guards.

Both of them were chained up and also at the end they released themself to escape the place by breaking the chains so easily. Although one was going berserk in unconscious state while the other was calmly and in full-consciousness.

This got me thinking: Why not a headcanon for prisoner villain Batarou AU? 😳✨

—————————-

So in this AU, both of them are considered criminals by people, but in truth it was wrong.

Badd was a former S-Class hero who decided to become a lone vigilante after seeing how corrupt the “Hero System” and the society around him. He was captured by his former employer and sent him into the prison to keep him from spilling out their secrets to the public. Badd still holding the grudge to the Hero Association of being treated worst during his time as hero and as vigilante.

Garou was an underdog outcast who tried to make a point that the “Hero System” is cruel and corrupted. He was successfully ruined the whole Hero Association into crumbling mess in the public eyes, but finally was defeated and captured by the S-Class heroes. Basically like canon Garou but more hardcore on being a villain.

So, Garou and Badd become prisonmates, since their cells location were side-by-side. Sometimes they tried to make a conversation, sharing their past or experiences, or their beliefs regarding the unfairly “Hero System” that caused them imprisoned. Thus, their bonding resulted in some kind of friendship during the time.

Garou likes Badd alot because he shared the same sentiment with him and have admirable courage to fight against his former “friends”. And from what Badd has telling him, Garou wanted to witness Badd’s legendary Fighting Spirit by his own eyes. Badd likes Garou alot because despite the extreme way of his villain vision, Garou has many good points about the flaws of heroes, that they were wrong about the so-called “Absolute Justice”. Besides, Badd really wanted to see Garou’s monster side.

One day before their execution day, after going through cruel punishments and tortures, Garou and Badd managed to escape together from the prison.

Garou was going berserk suddenly after being triggered by the exhausting physical tortures. Still in half-awakening monster form, he destroyed the cell and breaking through it with tremendous strength, which accidentally also destroyed Badd’s cell, too. Badd also capable to release himself from the restraining chain easily at that time, thus decided to follow Garou towards the exit.

Imagine Garou destroyed the whole prison building, going through the walls Kool-Aid style like he did in the manga. And Badd calmly following Garou from behind, ignoring the whole chaos that Garou had caused.

As soon as he reached the outside of destroyed building, Garou finally has fully transformed into his monster form, mesmerized Badd in the process with such an amazing sight. He took the chance to escape by climbing onto Garou’s monster body and riding on his back/shoulder/head. That’s when both of them running away together from being recaptured by the heroes.

After successfully fled to their newly hideout, Garou and Badd agreed to be villain partners from that day on. Imagine them being kickass villain duo, fighting side-by-side against the heroes.

Somewhere along the way, they started to develop new feelings beyond friendship and partnership. Born from the protectiveness, genuine cares for eachother well-being on their survival, being attracted for eachother, longing for some companionship to take away their loneliness after so many years being alone (Garou) / far from the family (Badd), etc.

But the most prominent feeling was Love. A happiness after finding someone who could understand them without being judged, accepted them for what they are wholeheartedly despite people said they were on “wrong side” since they were both outcasts. Having someone who willing to give affection and comfort, unconditionally.

So one night after treating eachother’s battle wounds, Garou and Badd confessed their romantic feelings. Thus officiated their new relationship as lovers.

From outside, they looked like merciless villains. But when nobody is watching, they’re actually very gentle human beings who never hurt innocent people. They often treating eachother with so much care and tenderness. Always have eachother’s back in protectiveness.

People wont admit it, but everytime they watched or witnessing how they fight against the heroes, they would say Garou and Badd are “the Strongest Power Couple in Battlefield”. Knowing how perfect their coordinated attacks and teamwork, also how soft Garou and Badd were looking at eachother in secret footage, people couldn’t help but secretly rooted for them. Some even emphatized them, wishing them have the best life wherever they are.

For sure, Garou and Badd completed eachother’s life. They didn’t mind living like villains, the bad guys, for the rest of their life. As long as they have eachother, then it’s okay..

————————–

And that’s all I have for Prisoner Villains Batarou AU! I was thinking no matter what universe they’re in, they will still found and loving eachother dearly. Their love is so big it overcomes their life obstacles! 😤👍💖

Btw I’m so sorry if everything I come up with looks like nonsense blabbering aaaa forgive me and uncreative mind– 😭🙇💦 I hope you guys don’t mind of untalented me :“”)

Huge thanks always for: @hiro-gari, @the-goddessfighter, @kaincuro, @guby1620, @garous-nipple, @jusqu-une-etudiante, and @lovelybutnot-ablankcanvas, also ofc all of Batarou shippers in the fandom! 😉👍💞💖💝🌸🌼🌻🌷💐

Always wish you all the best, guys~ 😘💕💓

-Little1993lamb-

—————————

~Lilia:

Ooooo damn, the HA/Neo Heroes are gonna be regretting making enemies of them big time 👏 I really like the vigilante idea for the two of them, they’re bringing the system down AND giving monsters hell.

ALSO I’m dyinggg they’re like “execution?? not today” 😤 just *bulldozes the fuck out*

look at this boy ain’t nobody gonna execute him he’s got shit to do

Anon your mind is incredible✨ thank you for sharing your creations with us!!

#this has so much hurt/comfort potential tho :’)#don’t say it’s nonsense blabbering I like it a lot 🥺🥺#ur brain is amazing #also ur way faster than me at writing waaah #I hope to post a fic based on one of your headcanons this weekend!#possibly tonight if I get it together 😭#wishing you the best too 💖#submission #anon #au #batarou #garou #metal bat #opm #spoilers #webcomic spoilers

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spield · 4 years ago

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journey to i - kakasaku

Author’s Notes: This has been in my google docs for so long, I’ve forgotten all about it. I low-key panicked when I couldn’t find it my files hahaha. But here it is. Not much romance, but more of... hmm, you tell me what you think it is in your comments! ;)

Disclaimer: As I’ve said before, sometimes I just write to get things out THEN edit it after. This is the case for this one. Will probably edit this soon though!

In the end, when Sasuke asks, Sakura says no.

She takes his lone hand, kisses his palm and whispers why she can’t.

Sasuke doesn’t understand but he sees the longing in her green eyes, and ah, that he understands. So he pokes her forehead, just above her seal, and hopes they meet on the road and promises a cup of tea.

She doesn’t linger to watch him leave. Instead, the moment he turns his back, she turns hers too. One feet in front of the other, she walks through the paths of her village, through the market and takes a few turns and goes inside the Hokage tower.

In less than an hour, Sakura files her indefinite leave with a promise to assist, help and support members of the Shinobi Alliance on her way but with no promise when she’ll come back.

Kakashi is outside when she steps out, no signs of his hat and coat but with his trademark slouch present. He must’ve jumped through the window, Sakura thinks amusedly. Somehow, even through everything, under the fading light, he still looks untouchable. Perhaps, especially now. “You going somewhere?”

“You just approved my papers.” Sakura smiles, waving the scroll in front of him. “You know where I’m going.”

Kakashi’s dark eyes - eyes, how odd - are unreadable as he says, “No. No, I don’t.”

There’s much left to say, but years of cowardice and hiding are not easy habits to break. So Sakura heads home, and is gone before the sunrise.

At the end of it all, Sakura goes on a journey to retrace her own family’s history. Beyond Konoha, beyond the Land of Fire and beyond the world of the shinobi.

Because before Sakura was the Fifth’s Apprentice, before she was The Scorpion Killer and way before she was the leftovers of an old genin team, Sakura was a Haruno.

And all Haruno go back to the sea.

She left Konoha with just one bag filled with colorful clothes that she never got to wear. Clothes that her mother and father gifted her year after year, holiday after holiday, even when she couldn’t wear them. Not in the village of leaves, not when they smell of the sea even if they’ve never touched it.

So, Haruno Sakura goes home.

This is what Sakura tells the Godaime, the Rokudaime and anyone who asks.

(This is what she tells herself, however, in the end, it’s still heartbreak that leads her away from Konoha. When she meets Sasuke for tea, she hopes they could talk about how Konoha broke their hearts in the way it never did to Naruto.)

All questions are quelled by a calling, by the vast distance, beyond the greens of different trees and blues of different seas tug at her heartstrings, whispering, “Darling, our darling, let us hold you.”

Sakura circumnavigates the world and through her journey, she meets a monk, a lover and a heathen.

Suna is not known for their religious beliefs. From what she’d gathered throughout her years of friendship with Kankuro, they were pretty lenient to whatever gods their shinobi choose to worship.

“Maybe, you know, except for another Rabbit Goddess,” Kankuro backtracked, fingers uncoordinated and stiff from fighting, trying to balance a sake cup. It was the first time they’ve seen each other after the war, on the tails still of victory and defeat. High off it. “Yup, maybe not another Rabbit Goddess, maybe not Jashin either - everything else, fair game.”

“Faith is an interesting reprieve from the terrors of life.” Gaara said, righting his brother up with his sand. His teal eyes are fond and warm, and new. His gourd is nowhere to be seen and he looks so young for a man who led their army. “We let people have their gods.”

Suna is not known for their religious beliefs, or rather, they’re known for not being known for it but still, it’s where Sakura meets the monk.

Suna welcomes her with open arms because the sands may be forever shifting, but it never forgets. It remembers her as that 15 year old prodigy who saved their Kazekage’s brother, that 19, 20 and 21 year old who performed miracles in the battlefield with eyes fierce and elbows deep in people’s guts. Suna loves her for what she represents - grit, dirt and kindness honed by the cruelty of the world.

(Abandoned. That’s what Suna and Sakura had in common.)

Sometimes, Sakura wishes she could see what they see too.

Now, she’s 23 years old. Two years after the war and she’s still so tired.

In Suna, she’s given free reign of the hospital. Overseeing their developments in prosthesis, their puppet corps turned into experts of the field. She supposes Sasori would be rolling in his grave at the thought of how his notes revolutionized the entire field of artificial limbs - if he had a grave that is.

(Sasori was a brilliant man. Mad, yes, but brilliant - and aren’t the brilliant ones always are?)

When Sakura lessens her healing and caseload citing more hands-on training for the Suna medics, Gaara doesn’t ask. She’s still brilliant with her lectures and demonstration and nobody dares to question the greatest healer of the nations.

It is on the first day of her sixth month when she sees the monk. There’s some sort of blessing ceremony to be done to the new ward of the hospital. The Kazekage’s invited the religious leaders of Suna to bless the place.

Several came, all with different garments and different rituals. One came with water from a blessed oasis, all barefooted and with hair reaching up to the backs of their knees. They spoke a language she’s never heard, words running over like water over rocks in a bubbling stream. Another came in traditional Suna garments, and sprinkled sand over the white tiles of the new ward - under the setting sun, it looked like fairy dust and gold.

Many came and went, but one remained still at the outskirts of the crowd, quiet and familiar.

“It’s the first time he’s gone out in public since Chiyo-baa-sama’s death,” Kankuro shrugged when Sakura asked. “He’s kind of particular and all that.”

It isn’t until the sun dips down the horizon that the monk steps forward. At this point there aren’t anyone left but Gaara and Sakura but nevertheless, they receive no acknowledgement from the stooping man.

He’s quiet, as he bleeds his chakra to the floor and down every grain of sand in the ward. It always amazes Sakura how chakra lives in non-combatants - a proof that it exists beyond duty. And proof that it can, perhaps, one day exist only for beauty.

“Do you think he takes confessions?” Sakura whispers. Gaara’s lips quirk upwards, knowing that she knows the difference between a priest and a monk and yet indulges her. “Perhaps. If he does, let me know.” They’ve all got sins to unload, Sakura muses. And yet, despite being weighed down by all the choices she’s made and been forced to make, it’s not what spills from her mouth when she finds the monk a week after.

Or rather, he finds her. Coughing, old and sitting on her table.

There’s something about him, lungs barely holding on and yet still at peace, old age running lines on his face that had her saying, confessing - “I believe I am lost.”

The monk pauses, eyes torn away from the window and gravitating towards her face. Sakura doesn’t expect a response, after all, he hasn’t said a word to anyone for years. But, he shakes his naked head and offers her a smile, “Nothing is ever really lost.”

That night, she receives a missive from Konoha, like she’s been receiving for the past eleven months but this time, there are two of them. One is a response to the report she wrote about the progress of her study in prosthetics and the other, the other smelling of home and written in a piece of old weathered paper. It almost makes her smile. Mr. Ukki misses you.

Sakura doesn’t stay long after that. She fears that if she stays so near to home, its voice will overpower her roots’, and the sea has been waiting for her since she was born.

She bids Suna goodbye after a year of staying within its walls. She hugs Kankuro tightly, hold Temari’s hand and kisses Gaara’s cheek.

The Kazekage blushes underneath his hat and Kankuro jibes, “Well, if this is what farewell feels like, then you should say goodbye more often.”

For months, Sakura moves from town to town, village to village. Occasionally receiving scrolls from Konoha, asking her to lend assistance to a new ally or an old enemy.

It’s funny, how a great military power apologizes for its sins. Never acknowledging it, never calling it reparations, preferring the term “aid” when it only ever is leverage.

How odd.

How hypocritical.

(Sometimes, Sakura wonders if Uchiha Itachi was truly a loyal ninja of Konoha or if he was yet just another blinded soldier searching for idealism in a corrupted system. Was he a victim, truly? A hero? A martyr? To what end? For whom?)

In her bones, Sakura feels time slipping faster and faster, and despite these emerging thoughts, she wonders if spring has begun in Konoha.

She claims her free tea from Sasuke at a small town on the border of Iwakagure and Takigakure, almost half a year after she left Suna - two years into her journey.

“You need a haircut, Sasuke-kun.” Sakura greets and watches in satisfaction as the hobo-looking man looks up to her as she sits in front of him. His hair has grown longer, covering part of his face, finally succumbing to gravity and bidding the duck-butt style goodbye.

“Sakura.”

There’s something in the way Sasuke speaks her name. When they were kids, it’s always with dismissal and when they went on, it’s with a tone of chained fondness. During the war, it’s with disdain turned acknowledgement.

When they were in Konoha, Sakura could swear that she could hear pride in Sasuke’s voice, hidden behind the syllables of her name.

Here, he calls her with surprise melting into relief. Perhaps, being alone has taken a toll to her wayward teammate.

(Here’s the difference between the two: Sasuke is looking and running from something, Sakura knows where she’s going. Whether or not she’s running or looking too is irrelevant.) (Kind of.)

“Hey, Sasuke-kun.” Sakura smiles and waves a waitress down, “Fancy a cup of tea with me?”

Sasuke nods, his lips tugging upward. His dark eyes linger on the spider silk strands of her hair against the orange setting sun. Her hair’s grown longer, almost as long as when they were genin.

For a short moment, he’s filled with dread, struggling to remember what young Sakura looked like. He’s starting to forget, perhaps, and it is both a blessing and a punishment.

The shadows shift and stretch under the guidance of the setting sun, and they exchange stories of the road until the moon nudges the sun to rest.

It’s funny how easy they fall into bed together, right after tea.

Sakura’s childhood dreams featured more of a courtship, a promise and a marriage. Teenage Sakura’s fantasy featured more heated kisses, a fight and a leveling of a forest in rage turned lust.

But this, this is so much better.

Sasuke touches her with surprising gentleness and want, after they trip their way to his accommodations. There’s a softness in the firm kisses of his mouth, a tremble playing at the edge of his fingertips. It’s not a battle, or a dance but rather an introduction. A hello followed by oh... gods, yes, there --

Sasuke makes it good, despite only having one arm, it must be an Uchiha thing to be so good at everything, Sakura thinks as she lay beside her former team mate.

In a different life, perhaps, she would’ve married Sasuke, she thinks as she watches his lashes flutter as he sleeps. Perhaps, she would’ve give him a child, a girl with his eyes and her hair. A pink-haired Uchiha. But this is not that lifetime.

Instead, Sakura meets Sasuke again - or perhaps for the very first time - as a lover. Washed anew by his journey, Sakura gets to know her former teammate as a man who can reel out moans and gasps from her, who can, after they decided to travel together for a while, and will start a fire to keep her warm and will tease her about her love affair when he reads Kakashi’s letter over her shoulder. “Was he the reason why you didn’t come with me?” Sasuke asks. They’re in the Land of Snow, farther from where Sakura really aims to go, but she’s got time to spare and Sasuke might actually be killed by the Raikage if he’s found shuffling around near their country without an escort. Sakura glances at the words written on the wrinkled parchment (Naruto’s taking classes with Shikamaru. Lots of reading for him to do. He tried using Kage Bunshin to study and knocked himself out. Time is of the essence, he said, and I agree.) and pinches that flicker of hope budding in her chest.

She shrugs at Sasuke’s question, “I think... I think I wouldn’t have gone with you even without him in the picture.” Something sad flickers in Sasuke’s eyes before it’s gone, “And yet, here we are.”

“Here we are.”

In the frigid cold of the snow, Sasuke moves against Sakura as an apology and a goodbye. It’s more than comrades sharing warmth but less than lovers making love. At the back of Sakura’s mind, she wonders if Kakashi knows - if he’s angry or if, like always, he understands. (She misses him, even when they’ve never had each other like this. But the intimacy of sex is trumped by the intimacy in battle, in handling each other with precious care, scars and blood be damned. It is an intimacy borne of desperation, fostered by respect, watered with fondness -- and killed out of love. She misses him, but time is of the essence.)

Sasuke and Sakura split up at the outskirts of the Land of Stone at the start of her third year of travelling. He went East, she went West and that was that. A few days in, Sakura enters Asakura. Asakura is the city of heathens - prostitutions, gambling, and underground dealing. It’s the city of sin, which means, it’s also the land of base instincts and humanity stripped to its bare bones.

It seems like a city just right up her shishou’s alley. Sakura only had to follow the sounds of bellowing, of bodies of men flying out of tavern, and murmurs about a (beautiful but) crazy bitch burning through her own money to find Tsunade.

News of another jinchuuriki kage reaches her ears too, but she brushes it away. It’s been three years since she last saw her shishou and in the dim lights of the tavern, she’s glad to see her as youthful as ever, and tries to erase the image of her wan, old, and dying.

It is only after Tsunade wins that Sakura approaches with a bottle of sake on hand.

Glancing down at the large money of pot she just won, Tsunade’s heart pounds hard looking at the girl she broke and trained and broke again until she remade herself - her daughter in all but name - and chokes, joking, “Are you dying?”

When her girl smiles, all calm and accepting, and raises a bottle of the most expensive sake Tsunade ever tasted, something inside the old Senju crumbles.

“Aren’t we all?”

“Oh Sakura, what have you done?”

Tsunade’s hands are shaking, the fading glow of her uselessness mocking her in the darkness of Sakura’s rented room.

“Everything, shishou. I’ve done everything. I’ve read every book, prayed to every god--”

“God? What good is a god?”

Initially, Tsunade refuses to let her go. Forces Sakura to stay put with the same glint in her eyes when she taught the kid how to dodge, but it seemed the Slug Princess taught her too well.

Because after the barbs, sarcasm and nights of getting way too drunk off the pots of money Tsunade continues to win, Sakura says goodbye.

And Tsunade, not as bitter as she would’ve been, lets her go, and curses the gods for not taking her instead - because hasn’t she witnessed to many deaths already?

It’s at the fourth year of her journey does Sakura finally lays her eyes on the blue of seas at the border of the old Whirlpool lands. The calling is silent now that she’s come.

She sheds her old life - her headband, her gloves and her boots and brings out the vibrantly colored fabrics from her parents. It’s silk against her pinkened skin, and the sand is warm against her feet.

It feels like a hug and a song of - “Darling, our darling, let us hold you.”

Kakashi writes to her and Sakura doesn’t answer with a letter of her own.

Instead, she sends Kakashi eel that she herself smoked, a small vial of pink sand and a kiss on a card.

That night, she dances under the moonlight like a flickering moth around the pyre she built.

The oceans sings for her and she is home.

After that, there’s no more letters from Konoha.

In the middle of the fourth year of her journey and the year mark of her semi-permanent residence by the seas at the border of the old Whirlpool lands, Ino visits her. Ino, with her platinum blond hair arrives, still beautiful even with sweat dripping off her.

It takes three days of sunbathing, flower weaving and rebuilding of an old friendship before Ino asks her to come home.

“Haven’t you been away for far too long?” Ino asks, quiet and grown. The days of high-pitch screams and name-calling seems so far away from this little shack by the sea, in this little life her best friend built for herself.

They’ve spoken of their friends - Naruto’s marriage, Shikamaru’s courtship fo Temari, Ino’s love with Sai and they laughed like bells but Ino didn’t find an ounce of longing in her friend’s eyes, and she already knew she has lost.

Sakura looks to the shore, there’s a storm coming and hums, “Perhaps.”

The last letter she receives from Konoha is not a letter at all.

It’s a missive, an invitation - for the Rokudaime’s retirement and the Nanadaime’s ascension.

“God? What good is a god?”

Who knows? For believers, gods are good for much but--

Because Sakura is not a reincarnation of a god, when she touched Kaguya with her fist glowing green and blue, Sakura touched something not human.

And it touched her back.

A year into the peace, it rooted deep inside her bones, a poison of the gods against humans brave and stupid enough to lay hands on them.

It doesn’t take long for Sakura to understand her predicament. She was rotting inside out. Her chakra is poisoning her organs, taking bits off her little by little and so she left Konoha. In leaving, she left what was blossoming between her and Kakashi too in hopes that perhaps she could spare him from this pain.

But also, she left for this: the sea, the calling and the sand under her feet, and the presence drawing near.

On the last day of her journey, five years after she left, with her life force draining and yet stretching still - holding on, waiting, the Rokudaime, Kakashi, the man of a thousand jutsu, her lover, her love - arrives on the shores of this little island west of Whirlpool.

He is older, of course he is. But still, Sakura runs towards him and he, mask pulled down, feet bare and eyes warm - finally free-, takes the last step and meets her halfway. (There’s still much left to say, but they’ve had years of dealing with cowardice and hiding that they’re laughingly easy habits to break.)

#kakasaku #mild sasusaku #kankusaku friendship #gaasaku friendship #tsunade #journey to i #inosaku friendship #the aftermaths of touching a god

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gamewise · 4 years ago

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Batman Review

What, you thought the NES was the only one to be graced with a Batman video game? Well, believe it or not, when Sunsoft’s name actually had some merit, they put out a few Batman games thanks to the movie license, and each one was a little different. The NES ran off with one of the best side scrolling license-based video games, the Game Boy got a decent side scroller, and the PC Engine got a... top down game where you literally clean up Gotham? That one is worth a review in itself, but we’re looking at the often overlooked Genesis game. Is this game really that bad that few people talk about it in Batman retrospectives? Absolutely not!

Sunsoft’s Batman on the NES is quite the crazy game, especially considering the liberties they took with the source material. What makes the NES game special outside of this was the attention to detail in the animation, the fantastic soundtrack, and the frantic action. Batman on the Genesis, is different. It takes a few liberties here and there, but moments you expect from the movie are here, such as the Boombox thug, Batman rescuing Vicki Vale, and also Batmobile and Batwing sequences. It’s doing things differently from the NES game by slowing things down a bit, and sticking a little closer to the source material. It’s doing a lot more different by changing up level designs completely to reflect locations featured in the movie, such as the Flugelheim Museum. As such, I find it unfair to compare it to the NES game versus style, as we’re dealing with two completely different fantastic beasts. Instead, we’re going to look at the Genesis version on its own merits, while discussing what the game is doing differently from the NES.

So what does Batman have going for it? Well, for starters, much like the NES game, you play as Batman, and punch out The Joker’s henchmen. They’re not all unarmed, as you deal with thugs toting guns, bazookas, axes, and swords. There’s even some fire breathing clowns! Each enemy has its own unique pattern of attack, which requires the player to have a certain sense of timing. Much like the NES game, Batman can either punch his way through enemies, or toss Batarangs at them, and here’s the first deviation in gameplay. Batman does not have a ton of gadgets here, instead relying entirely on Batarangs for a ranged attack. Unlike the NES game, Batarangs do not arc back towards Batman, they go in a straight line like shurikens do. They are not just effective on dealing with certain enemies from a long distance, they are very useful on bosses to make your life a little easier. There is a catch to all this, and that’s Batarangs are few and far between, as are health powerups. It’s going to take a little more skill than the NES game to survive as Batman. Batman also has the ability to do a mid-air somersault, which when used correctly doubles as an attack that is insanely useful against bosses. Be careful though, if you don’t time this right, you will either miss completely, or take damage in the process.

Compared to the NES game, which had punishing level design and boss fights, this game chooses to not only stick to those roots, but Sunsoft have chosen to turn things up a notch. See, Batman never starts at full health, instead, he always starts at half and with only 5 Batarangs. That’s right, for the first time, Batman didn’t have enough prep time to go against The Joker. This means that every time you die, you not only lose a life, but you’re back to half health, and 5 Batarangs. So those 30 Batarangs you went through the trouble of collecting will be gone completely. And believe me, you are going to be frustrated at times with the game’s insane level design, especially with the Flugelheim Museum and its amazing barrage of death traps.

Not only do you have to deal with falling chandeliers, but there are numerous gaps just waiting for Batman to fall down. While it sounds unfair, there is a way to deal with every situation here, and that is to have a sense of patience. You’re not on a time limit, and all your gun-toting enemies aren’t going to fire non-stop. They need to steady their aim before firing, so you have a window of opportunity to react accordingly. Another thing you don’t have is a checkpoint system, but instead, you just respawn where you died, unless you fell to your demise. Should you lose all your lives, only then will you be forced to start a whole level over. What it boils down to is to study the screen, and watch how enemies attack. Take patience, and nail the timing, and you will be ready to take on almost anything the game throws at you. It may not solve all the difficulty issues though. When you get to the last level, the game throws gun-toting thugs at you non-stop, and they not only stand and shoot, but crouch and shoot. Make sure you have Batarangs handy for the situation, and you should be prepared to deal with it. What you won’t be prepared for are the two vehicle levels.

One of the complaints I had with the NES version of Batman when I was a kid, was no Batmobile level. Here, I get my wish, and in many ways, it’s both frustrating and enjoyable. For starters, there are no real power ups to collect here, instead you get standard health and ammo power ups that appear in both the top and bottom sections of the screen. Any Batarangs you collected up to this point are converted into missiles for the Batmobile and Batwing. The trouble is since the screen is scrolling fast and the health and ammo boxes are the same as regular levels, it is insanely easy to miss them, or even mistake them for an obstacle. This is also the only point in the game you will have a checkpoint system to deal with, but what makes this part more frustrating is that all enemy attacks will do two damage as opposed to one. Which means, you will die in two hits unless you are at full health. The Batwing sequence turns the difficulty up to eleven, as suddenly it turns into a bullet hell with heat-seekers coming every which way. In the Batmobile sequence, you can easily predict where projectiles are going to go, and have plenty of time to react accordingly. Yet despite this, as I played, I began to get a sense of a horribly unbalanced difficulty. I found myself dying too easy

On the NES Batman had an aesthetic of using dark backgrounds with brightly colored sprites and platforms, giving off an almost comic-book feel. Here, the game wants to match the movie’s aesthetic, and the Genesis seemed to have the right color palette for Sunsoft’s goal. More importantly, there is a lot of attention to detail in the animations. The fact that Sunsoft decided that no animation should be spared is incredible, especially for something as simple as a thug steadying his aim. Only thing I’d maybe consider taking away is Batman’s haters gonna hate stride, it looks kind of goofy when you see him striding down the streets of Gotham. Also, I can’t stress this enough, much like the NES game, the audio is phenomenal. Just listening to the soundtrack, you’d almost forget you were playing a Genesis game, since most people associate the Genesis sound chip with nails on a chalkboard. The Flugelheim Museum has a great bassline, and the Batmobile and Batwing levels have the perfect high energy music for a shmup. However, it’s a little disappointing the sound effects department. Everything sounds just a little too quiet, save for Batman taking damage. Everything’s either muffled, or the music winds up taking over the whole show.

At the end of the day, Batman on the Sega Genesis is one criminally overlooked licensed game. While it can’t quite reach the same heights as its NES counterpart, there are things here the Genesis game does differently to allow it to stand on its own two legs. Had it not been for the unbalanced difficulty, this game would be a bit more enjoyable, but to the uninitiated, this game may feel like nonstop torture. Sunsoft did a solid job here, putting forth the best Batman game they could on the Genesis, and choosing to stick closer to the 1989 film classic. I wouldn’t want to imagine this in anybody else’s hands at the time. Batman on the Sega Genesis needs to be brought up more when discussing early Batman games as an example of what happens when a developer ends up delivering a different experience each platform.

Positives

+ Memorable soundtrack

+ Detailed Sprite animation

+ Batmobile level becomes fun when you get the hang of it

+ Does a great job following the movie

+ Death respawns you where you died rather than forced to a checkpoint as Batman

+ the parallax scrolling in the Batwing level is beautiful!

Negatives

- Unbalanced difficulty may leave you frustrated

- Batwing level does everything in its power to kill you

- Flugelheim Museum has too many death traps

- Underwhelming sound effects end up making the game feel less punchy

- Batman’s walk cycle

Overall: 8/10

#video games #retro gaming #retro #batman #gaming

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henshengs · 4 years ago

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Welp, here’s my take on the Hunger Games AU. I went in a bit of a different direction from @la-belle-et-la-bete, but this definitely owes a lot to their amazing fic and all the brilliant ideas I stole from it.

I made Zonghui a girl since mdzs oppresses me specifically by not having any female Qinghe cultivators.

---

Under other circumstances, Meng Yao would have enjoyed the view outside the train window. There was a certain harsh and rugged beauty in the mountains of Qinghe, or so certain poets claimed. Meng Yao couldn’t see it. He’d spent four years in Qinghe, and begun to despair of seeing green fields and wide rivers and placid lakes ever again. Under other circumstances, he might have glued his face to the window and gazed enraptured at the landscapes rushing by.

Things being as they currently were, however, he simply didn’t have the time.

The train carriage was thankfully large enough that he and Zonghui could sit almost ten feet apart from each other. She was staring at her untouched food in grim silence. He was watching the televised broadcast of the Reapings.

He was unsure where Nie Mingjue was, and normally, that would be cause for anxiety. Right now, it was something of a relief. It allowed him to concentrate on the screen.

The Yunmeng reaping had been first, and he’d missed that one, standing in the heat in the Unclean Realm’s main courtyard next to other dressed-up seventeen year olds, most of them peasant children but a few in the gray or black of outer sect cultivators. Then had come the Qinghe reaping; he’d have to wait for the replay to see how he’d looked, walking steadily up to the podium. How much damage Nie Huaisang had done with his cries of protest and the way his small fists had pulled at Meng Yao’s robes. He knew what his own face had looked like, and he knew what expression had been on Nie Mingjue’s, because he’d been looking at it, across the podium, for the whole ceremony.

After Qinghe came Gusu, and he’d missed that one too, because he’d been sitting very straight, hands folded across his lap, in a cool air conditioned room inside the Qinghe Regional Administration Office, and Nie Huaisang had been sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

Now, sitting on the train, the screen in front of him showed banners of gold and white, crowds of people gathered before a familiar vast set of stairs. Something inside him tightens. Of course, Lanling is after Yunmeng.

He watches a name be chosen from a giant golden emblazoned bowl. A girl steps forward, in the robes of an outer sect disciple, an empty sword belt at her waist. A cultivator; that explains why she doesn’t look terrified, only furious. She looks like she’s fourteen or fifteen.

His competition, he thinks, and a wave of nausea hits him. He breathes through it.

They draw the boy’s name.

“Jin Zixuan,” the announcer reads, with a bit of a smirk on her face. The commentators make noises of surprise. The Jin heir, how thrilling, what a coincidence! Meng Yao’s hand tightens on the arm of his seat.

So it isn’t just Qinghe that’s being sent a message.

The cameras zoom in on the ranks of teens in the deep yellow of the inner Jin disciples. They focus on a handsome boy in very expensive clothes, with no expression on his face. He doesn’t seem to move. The cameras circle his parents, catching their reactions. Meng Yao does not blink.

After a long moment, an older teenager in the deep yellow of an inner Jin disciple saunters forward to volunteer, and even before the cameras zoom in on his face and his life details pop up in bullet points on the screen, Meng Yao has him identified as Jin Zixun. A cousin. Not a surprise. Jin trains its well born children as competitors- though not its heirs- and four times out of five they win. They have the money to buy any number of advantages in the arena. Meng Yao guesses this one chafes in the shadow of his cousin, is itching for a chance to prove himself and bloody his sword on the bodies of peasant children at the same time. Meng Yao does not think it will be difficult to kill him.

As the tributes reach the top of the stairs, the Sect Leader comes forward to congratulate them. Meng Yao wants to look away. He doesn’t. It’s important, to glean any information he can from this. His fingers twitch, longing for his notepad, but his memory will suffice. Physical notes are a luxury he can no longer afford.

After Lanling come the minor sects. Often, in Qinghe and in Yunmeng, people would turn aside and go back to their daily work, after the tributes from the major sects had been chosen. Meng Yao knows better, even though he wants to see the Yunmeng and Gusu reapings, needs to see what message their leaders have been sent. He watches. For about a third of the reapings, a clan heir is chosen. The commentators pretend at surprise, but not too much of it, apparently choosing to preserve the laughable pretense that the drawings are random. Most of the heirs who are chosen are saved by volunteers. The volunteers are usually younger children, looking underfed and threadbare. No sword belts at their waists. No minor sect cultivators are going to volunteer their children to fight the well trained and equipped Jin and Lan tributes.

The big surprise is Yueyang, where both tributes selected turn out to be blind. Not utterly insurmountable, Meng Yao thinks, with a high cultivation level and a strong spiritual tool- but spiritual tools are banned in the Cultivation Competition, and these two are children, the girl looking much younger than twelve, the boy also small and delicate. He ought to be pleased. Two less threats to worry about. He isn’t, really.

The commentators laugh about Yueyang’s bad luck. Meng Yao wishes he could see their faces. It would make it easier to imagine killing them.

After Yueyang, the channel shows a condensed replay of each ceremony, with additional commentary now that the news crews have had a chance to frantically research each competitor. Meng Yao watches an aerial shot of Yunmeng appear on the screen, and then a wide angle of Yunmeng’s largest square. The nausea returns, because he can remember standing in that square, holding his mother’s hand, before she gently pushed him to go stand with the other twelve-year-olds. By that point she’d been very frail, and he hadn’t wanted to leave her to stand by herself in the heat.

“Keep your hat on straight, A-Yao,” she’d said softly, and held his hands in hers.

At this point, it’s not a surprise to him when the first name drawn is Jiang Yanli. It’s a shock to the Sect Leader’s family, though, as the cameras zoom in on a well dressed man who’s gone pale and nearly fallen from his position on the podium, on a beautifully decorated woman who’s gone white with rage. On the rows of purple-clad teenage boys, and the two in the front who appear to be scuffling. When the cameras show a close-up of Jiang Yanli herself as she walks to the stage, she’s also gone white under her makeup, but she’s composed and dignified enough. Meng Yao doesn’t know anything about her, and that’s both embarrassing and worrying. The commentators don’t know much either, though since this is a recap they’ve had time to remember that she’s engaged to Jin Zixuan. “An exciting problem for him,” one of them says, “he’ll have to decide whether to root for his cousin or his betrothed!” He sounds thrilled to have found such a juicy angle.

The faces in the crowd don’t appear pleased, so the Jiangs have at least some degree of loyalty from their people. Or perhaps just Jiang Yanli does. But no one volunteers to take her place. The sect leader looks like he’s about to have a heart attack. Meng Yao is unable to summon up much sympathy for him, though he understands why it would be harder, to send your own child to die, rather than someone else’s.

“Jiang Cheng,” the announcer reads, drawing the boy’s name, and the crowd goes very still. Well, Meng Yao thinks. That certainly is a message.

The boy in black and maroon at the front of the rows of teenagers wins his fight with the boy in lavender and violet, and somersaults onto the stage, landing with a showman’s bow. A cultivator, and a recognizable one. Wei Wuxian, the chief Jiang disciple. “I volunteer,” he says, and grins. Jiang Yanli bursts into tears. Madame Yu’s mouth twists. Wei Wuxian winks at the cameras. The commentators go wild. Jiang’s chief disciple is already a crowd pleaser. The cameras don’t show what happens to Jiang Yanli’s brother.

When the view switches to the gates of the Unclean Realm, Meng Yao glances over at Zonghui. She’s shifted from staring at her food to staring out of the window. There’s no sound inside the high speed train but the mechanical noises of the air system and the low volume voices of the commentators coming from the television. Nie Mingjue and the Wen escort must be in another cabin.

Ten feet away from him, Zonghui stares out the window. On his screen, she stands, back straight, and moves to the podium. Meng Yao tries to remember what he’d been thinking, watching her. He’s afraid it might have primarily been consideration of who would make the best replacement aide to keep Nie Huaisang out of trouble. He and Zonghui had never been friends, and it would have been something of a relief to have her gone.

Then, on the screen and in his memory, the announcer calls out the name of the male tribute. Nie Huaisang.

He remembers, with crystal clarity, the frozen moment when understanding of the situation had passed through him like a sword through his chest. The Cultivation Competition had never quite served its true purpose, when it came to keeping Qinghe in line. The Nies had developed a tradition, in response to the first Competition; each Nie heir, in the year they turned eighteen, volunteered as tribute. Most of the time they won both the competition and the loyalty of their people, who did not resent the sacrifice of their children as much as they might have, knowing that each of their rulers fully understood the cost.

(Though did they? There was a difference, between an eighteen year old trained nearly since birth in the saber, and a twelve year old peasant child chosen on one of the years there was no Nie heir to take her place.)

And so the Wens had decided to disrupt the balance by selecting the name of the sect leader’s useless baby brother, who would die five minutes into the Competition.

In that moment of clarity, Meng Yao saw the future. In all likelihood, one of the younger disciples would volunteer. The army was not particularly fond of Nie Huaisang, who was a brat and an embarrassment, but they loved their young leader with an intense ferocity, and so one of them would volunteer to save his brother. And that volunteer would die. The Qinghe disciples were trained for war, but they were not trained for the Competition, not like their leaders were, not like the Jin were. The volunteer would die, and the survivors would resent Nie Huaisang for needing to be saved, for being such a disappointment. That resentment would spread and corrupt their love for Nie Mingjue. And next year, Huaisang would be selected again.

If the Wen didn’t simply tire of Qinghe’s defiant attitude and send Wen Zhuliu to crush Nie Mingjue’s core.

“They want humiliation,” he had explained to Nie Mingjue in that air conditioned room, speaking almost too softly to be heard over the roar of the fans. “They want your brother to make a fool of himself in the arena. But they will be satisfied with your lover making a mockery of you on every screen from here to Qishan.”

Nie Mingjue flinched from the word lover, and Meng Yao resented that, too, when he’d been careful not to say whore. Others would say it. Nie Mingjue did not have the luxury of delicate sensibilities, now.

Nie Mingjue’s hands squeezed so hard, when he lifted Meng Yao up into the air, that there would certainly be bruises, later. “We do not submit,” he growled. “We do not accept their humiliation, we do not play their game.”

Meng Yao had a horrible urge to laugh in his face. What did you think you were doing, last year, when you killed four other teenagers? he wanted to ask. But Nie Mingjue’s red eyes were filling with tears, and Meng Yao remembered that he was, in the end, only nineteen. Only a boy who wanted to protect his brother. Who wanted to make his father proud.

On the train, Meng Yao blinks away the memory, pressing his head back against the velvet seat, but it is only replaced by a worse one: Nie Huaisang, his hair undone and falling around his face, looking very, very young. He’d insisted on redoing Meng Yao’s braids himself, holding them in place with that silver hair ornament. “Your token,” he’d said, leaking tears and snot, and Meng Yao had thanked him, very sincerely.

On the screen, in the train, Meng Yao watches himself walking to the center of the courtyard, head bowed, eyes modestly downcast, a small drab figure distinguished only by his Nie braids and subtly expensive robes. This time, watching on the screen, Meng Yao can see the faces of the Nie disciples. The anger, the resentment, the humiliation that he, the servant son of a whore, had stolen their chance to die horrifically.

You would die, Meng Yao thought now, remembered thinking then. They would die. And it would be a waste. Tributes were brought inside Nightless City. Victors had access to the highest levels of cultivator society, and travelled throughout the sects.

If that victor was someone who was able to make use of the opportunity-

It was not how he had imagined winning his father’s attention.

The screen changes to a commentator’s face, caked in makeup and perfectly coiffed. “We regret to report that seasonal weather is continuing to disrupt broadcasts from Gusu,” she says. “The competitors have been selected and we look forward to you meeting them tonight at the Nightless City parade.”

Meng Yao stops digging his nails into his arms.

What is happening in Gusu?

#meng yao #nieyao #the hunger games au #fic

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dramapic · 4 years ago

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MASTERLIST

I update this list everytime I watch and review a show.

Disclaimer: These reviews are subjective and only reflect my opinions. There are no drama on that list that I’ve turned off and all are worthy of a watch.

Recs welcome!

#1 Crash landing on you

(사랑의 불시착)

Grade: A++

Genre: Modern, Star-Crossed lovers

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Son Ye-jin (who plays Yoon Se-ri) and Hyun Bin (Ri Jeong-hyeok) have amazing chemistry and every episode plays out like the chapters of an excellent fanfiction. Classic romantic tropes, humour, angst, action, CLOY has it all. Moreover, if you’ve never watched a Kdrama in your life, CLOY is a great starting point—not only will it introduce you to Korean culture but also to popular tropes and codes of the genre.

#2 Rookie historian Goo Hae-ryung

(신입사관 구해령)

Grade: A++

Genre: Historical, Age gap

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Delightful from end to end, with lots of humour and an engaging story. The romance between Goo Hae-ryung and himbo-prince Dowon will make your heart go soft, especially if you’re into reverse gender dynamics (she’s older and kisses him first *le gasp*)

#3 Memories of the Alhambra

(알함브라 궁전의 추억)

Grade: B+

Genre: Modern; Sci-fi; Fantasy

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Intriguing premise, great cast and tons of special effects but the romance between Jin-woo (Hyun Bin) and Hee-joo (Park Shin-hye) won't go down in history. On top of that, the ending is a bit wishy-washy in that annoying “maybe there’s more to come” kind of way. Give us a clear cut ending, damnit!

#4 Good doctor

(굿 닥터)

Grade: B-

Genre: Modern, Medical drama

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Good heart but the writing is really clumsy at times and the hospital politics don’t make an awful lot of sense. On the bright side, Joo Won is great in the role of Park Si-on.

Note: I haven’t watched the American remake so can’t compare.

#5 My love from the star/ You from the stars

(별에서 온 그대)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Sci-fi, fantasy, Star-Crossed lovers

Episodes: 21

Happy Ending: Yes-ish

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Jun Ji-hyun is absolutely stellar in the role of Cheon Seong-yi, a ditzy Hallyu* star whose career is going south while Kim Soo-hyun plays the emotionally closed-off alien to perfection. Lots of pinning, a dose of angst mixed with a pinch of wacky humor.

*Hallyu means “Korean wave” in Chinese and refers to the popularity and spreading of Korean pop-culture outside of Korea.

#6 Hwarang The Poet Warrior Youth

(화랑)

Grade: B

Genre: Historical, Coming of age, fake siblings who catch feels

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Cute boys and interesting lore rooted in true facts (the bone rank system and the real Hwarang, the “Flowering Knights” of the Silla kingdom) but the story drags. I guess I expected more bromance and frolicking and less angst. Lastly, the main girl starts off quirky and fun but they quickly transform her into a sobbing mess which becomes real annoying real fast.

#7 Love in the Moonlight / Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (구르미 그린 달빛)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Romance, Coming of age, Posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 18

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

A classic tale of a girl raised as a boy who ends up in a situation where she needs to do her best to not blow her cover while catching feels (As someone raised on Versailles no bara and Ribbon no Kishi, it remains one of my favourite tropes)

Sweet romance and good characters. The fact that Crown prince Lee Yeong doesn't turn emo when he starts developing feelings for Eunuch Ra-on before discovering she's a girl is the cherry on top of the cake.

#8 Something in the rain

(밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나)

Grade: C

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes, but it still doesn't make you happy

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Wasted potential!

Great start but the characterization falls apart quickly and you end up wondering why the main characters keep sabotaging their lives. By the end, despite their reunion, you're left with the impression they've learned nothing and that their relationship is doomed to fall apart.

On top of it all, watching Jin-ah fight sexism in the workplace and gaining nothing is depressing af (I don’t need realism in my escapism, thank you very much).

Too bad because Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in look really good together and the acting is top-notch. My advice is to watch the first 8 episodes then make up your own ending in your head.

#9 Moon embracing the sun

(해를 품은 달)

Grade: B+

Genre: Historical,Star-Crossed lovers

Episodes: 22

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

A traditional historical drama with all the tropes that go with the genre + a hint of esoterism.

If you love ill-fated relationships, tragic love triangle, evil queens, and amnesia, this is the show for you. Beware, the interrogation/torture scenes are rather brutal.

#10 My sassy girl

(엽기적인 그녀)

Grade: B-

Genre: Historical, Rom-Com

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Cute and lighthearted but easily forgettable. Still worth a watch thanks to Joo Won & Oh Yeon-seo's chemistry.

#11 Coffee Prince

(커피프린스 1호점)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Solid story, great cast but be ready for a lot of bickering.

Yoon Eun-hye is a precious bean who manages to sell the story of Eun-chan, a struggling androgynous working-class girl who mistakenly gets hired by a rich guy to play his boyfriend, then becomes his employee, then falls for him while not correcting his assumptions about her gender. Opposite her, Gong Yoo (from Train to Busan fame) is 🥰🥰🥰

Sidenote: Despite Han-kyul's struggle to accept his feelings for Eun-chan, homosexuality isn't treated as a joke or a shameful thing. The one time he goes seek “medical help”, the doctor is depicted as an old, clueless idiot. And honestly, the story would work too if Eun-chan was a guy.

#12 My girlfriend is a Gumiho/My girlfriend is a Nine-tailed fox

(내 여자친구는 구미호)

Grade: B+

Genre: Modern; Fantasy

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki - Available on Netflix (FR) too

Campy and goofy. It does look a bit dated (it’s from 2010) and the story is a little predictable but Lee Seung-gi as Cha Dae-woong, an aspiring action film actor and Shin Min-ah as “Gu Mi-ho” the nine-tailed fox looking for a mate are super cute. The show is also a good introduction to Korean folklore.

#13 Goblin / Guardian: The Lonely and Great God / The Lonely and Great God – Goblin

(쓸쓸하고 찬란하神 – 도깨비)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Historical, Fantasy, bromance

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes-ish

Watched on: Viki

Unpopular opinion but since I’m not into older guys, I wasn’t invested in the romance between Bride and Goblin until late in the series. I loved everything else though. The show has such a unique tone and atmosphere. It goes from super serious to goofy in no time. The cinematography is gorgeous (especially the historical sets) and you'll cry your eyes out.

#14 Healer

(힐러)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

If you're into toll broody guys and fearless smoll girls, you’ll love Healer. The story is great, the characters are great and the way Jung-hu (played by Ji Chang-wook) and Ji-an (Park Min-young) are horny for each other is peak drama! *chef kiss*

#15 Kangchi the beginning/Gu family book

(구가의 서)

Grade: B-

Genre: Historical, Fantasy

Episodes:

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Engaging coming of age story of a half-human half-gumiho looking for his place in this world. If it wasn't for the wishy-washy ending it could have been the perfect mix of action fantasy and romance.

Special mention for Dam Yeo-wool (played by Suzie Bae) who is a female character who's allowed to be a bit of everything at the same time (strong, kick-ass, funny, cute, romantic)

#16 Queen for seven days

(7일의 왕비)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Romance, Villainous crush

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

With that title don’t expect a HEA but there are plenty of sweet moments along the way to make you appreciate the journey.

Chae-kyung loves the Prince and the Prince loves Chae-kyung but the King wants to kill the Prince and Chae-kyung is loyal to the King but the King is a tyrant and everyone wants the Prince to take his throne. On top of that the King wants Chae-kyung. Big mess. Lots of feels.

The story is (very) loosely based on real-life Queen Dangyeong, which makes it even more poignant. I cried my eyes out at the end because I’m a big softy.

#17 Korean Odyssey

(화유기)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Fantasy

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Kinda

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

The show (very loosely based on Journey to the West) has its faults including the wishy-washy ending and the fact that Jin Seon-mi/Sam-jang starts off as a doormat but I ended up liking the relationship developing between the assholish Monkey god and the naive human girl more than I expected.

The side characters are compelling, and the banter and bickering between the deities work really well. If you grew up with Dragon ball, you’ll have a blast trying to match-up the Japanese and Korean names of everyone without looking up Wikipedia.

Lastly, not something I imagined saying after seeing him in Gumiho and Gu family book but Lee Seung-gi as Son Oh-gong = BDE *fans herself* 🥵

#18 Strong Girl Bong-soon

(힘쎈여자 도봉순)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Super-Heroine

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning: Graphic depiction of violence against women

A++ super-heroine story, bad side characters

First, every girl should aspire to find a Min-hyuk in their life. Someone who'll love them because of their strength, and support them unconditionally. Someone who won't ask them to change or pretend to be somebody else.

Second, western media should learn that a super-heroine can HAVE IT ALL—the superpowers AND the love AND the family.

My only complaint with the show (and that's why I gave A- instead of A++) is the inclusion of many cringy side characters/situations that spoiled my overall enjoyment (see the caricatural flamboyant gay co-worker, Bong-soon’s mom hitting her dad, the mobsters...)

#19 The K2

(더 케이투)

Grade: B-

Genre: Modern, Political

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

The romance is bad and the political story far-fetched but Ji Chang-wook is 🔥🔥PEAK HOTTIE🔥🔥

That being said, I didn’t completely dislike the political intrigue and it was interesting to see the good guy working for the villains (sort of).

#20 Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok-joo

(역도요정 김복주)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Coming of age

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Uplifting coming of age story and super sweet romance. Bok-joo (Lee Sung-kyung) & Joon-hyung (Nam Joo-hyuk) are precious children on top of being cutie-patooties. Bok-joo’s insecurities hit hard, especially if you’ve ever been outside the norm of beauty standards.

I liked how the show normalizes therapy and taking care of your mental health.

In one word…

SWAG!

#21 The scholar who walks the night

(밤을 걷는 선비)

Grade: B

Genre: Historical, Fantasy, Vampire, posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Guilty pleasure.

Don’t ask me about the details of the main storyline, I’ve already forgotten most of it. Sometimes all you need is a show where a hundred-something years old good vampire with a sad backstory and the main girl who is thirsty for the good vampire are fighting a sexy evil vampire.

PS: Did I mention the sexy evil vampire?

#22 Romance is a bonus book

(로맨스는 별책부록)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Friends to lovers

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Imagine reading a relaxing book under a cozy blanket while sipping hot cocoa. That’s how that series made me feel.

Everything is sweet and soft from the characters' fluffy jumpers to the soft palette of color used for the sets. People make books and love books. There’s a mystery but no unnecessary angst. If you need a break from everything, jump in that ship.

#23 Hotel Del Luna

(호텔 델루나)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Sorta

Watched on: Viki - Available on Netflix (FR) too

Interesting world-building and a good cast of side characters but the romance lacks a bit of oomph.

On the + side, the hotel sets are gorgeous and Man-wol's wardrobe is to kill for.

#24 Suspicious Partner

(수상한 파트너)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Star-crossed lovers in an office

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Toll serious who hates criminal falls for smoll weirdo falsely accused of murder. A must watch for anyone in search of a quirky romance.

#25 Touch your heart

(진심이 닿다)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Tooth rotting sweetness. The series is just a pretext to watch two good looking people (Lee Dong-wook and Yoo In-na) being nice and awkward around each other. What do you need more? 0

Note: If you watched Goblin you can also pretend it's a spin-off series about the reincarnations of Grim Reaper and Sunny. 💡

#26 Because this is my first life

(이번 생은 처음이라)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Fake marriage

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

The Fake Marriage AU you’re looking for, mixed with slices of modern, messy, complicated life.

The main storyline revolves around Ji-ho an assistant drama screenwriter who struggles to find her place within the patriarchal structure of Korean society, and Se-hee, a socially incompetent computer designer who only cares for his cat and his mortgage. The way they end up in a fake marriage as well as the development of their relationship feels organic and doesn’t rely too heavily on comedy like it’s often the case with that trope.

The show also follows the stories of Ji-ho’s friends, Su-ji and Ho-rang who have different aspirations in life—Su-ji’s goal is to become CEO while Ho-rang only cares about becoming a housewife. I loved that the show makes a point to not pit women against each other and advocate living your life the way YOU want rather than trying to follow societal expectations of what love, work and marriage should look like.

Also they have the cutest cat.

#27 What's wrong with Secretary Kim?

(김비서가 왜 그럴까 )

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

I wish Secretary Kim had more agency in certain situations but the romance develops well and the horny moments are caliente 🥵🔥

#28 Where your eyes linger

(너의 시선이 머무는 곳에)

Grade: A++

Genre: Modern, BL, Coming of age, Friends to lovers

Episodes: 8

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Bite-size BL gem to devour in one sitting.

Stellar acting from the two leads and the balance between fluff and angst is just right. There's no graphic violence that sometimes plagues yaoi and BL and the story is believable. I got emo remembering my first love.

#29 Live up to your name

(명불허전)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Historical, Time travel, Star-crossed lovers

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning for graphic depiction of violence

Big surprise. I was looking for a cheesy comedy but it was actually a thoughtful story about humanism. I even teared up a little.

Trigger warning for needles. They do some pretty impressive procedures with those acupuncture needles.

#30 W - Two Worlds Apart

(더블유)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Imaginary men > Real men, especially when they're played by Lee Jong-suk. Nuf’ said.

Imaginary men > Real men, especially when they're played by Lee Jong-suk.

The silly premise hides a solid story that keeps you on your toes and I was suprised by the rollercoaster of emotions I went through.

“Option 3″

“That’s 4 fingers”

#31 Life

(라이프)

Grade: C

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Kinda

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Unless you want to learn how fucked up the private health sector is becoming in Korea, there's not much to gain watching this show.

The story starts off well though. The problem is that by the middle of the series the writers have dropped the main mystery (the circumstances surrounding the death of the director) to deliver an exposé on the political machinations of big corporations, and then shoehorn an explanation at the last minute (“it was all but a misunderstanding”). Very underwhelming.

The relationship between the two brothers played by Lee Dong-wook and Lee Kyu-hyung is the only bright spot.

#32 Pinocchio

(피노키오)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Fake family members who catch feels

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

On paper, the story sounds a little crazy but it all comes together nicely.

Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye have great chemistry and deliver a stellar performance as “uncle” and “niece” (not related by blood) who can’t fight the romantic feelings they harbor for one another. The main storyline has enough twists to keep you entertained and surprised.

My only complaint is that it drags a little. 16 episodes would have been enough.

#33 My Holo Love

(나 홀로 그대)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Sci-fi

Episodes: 12

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Fake men > Real men

Imagine a Black Mirror episode about a love triangle between a woman suffering from face blindness, an emotionally supportive AI boyfriend and the disenchanted creator of said AI, minus the nihilism. *chef kiss*

#34 Legend of the blue sea

(푸른 바다의 전설)

Grade: B++

Genre: Modern, Fantasy, Fairy tale, Star-crossed lovers

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Park Ji-eu (the writer) read the little mermaid and decided to give her a happy ending. Great chemistry between Lee Min-ho and Jun Ji-hyun but the spark is missing for me.

The antics of modern-day mermaid Shim Cheong are a little predictable and Joon-jae needs to be less of a control freak at times but the story remains enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised to see Shim Cheong’s character grow, making the power imbalance between the clueless mermaid and the con-artist less pronounced by the end of the series.

The side characters are interesting but underused, and I wish Tae-oh was more developed. On the other hand, the Joseon area sets and costumes are absolutely gorgeous (Don’t tell anyone but Joseon!Lee Min-ho is hotter than Modern!Lee Min-ho 🥵)

#35 Tale of Arang / Arang and the Magistrate

(아랑사또전)

Grade: B

Genre: Historical, Fantasy,

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

One word: Campy.

Interesting lore but the pacing is a little off—there’s a lot of back and forth between the characters and the locations and the love triangle doesn't add much.

#36 My ID is Gangnam Beauty / Gangnam Beauty

(내 아이디는 강남미인)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Coming of age

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

If you’ve ever been bullied for your looks, you’re gonna bawl your eyes out.

The show does a great job of calling out the unhealthy beauty standards imposed on Korean women but the topic is universal enough for the story to resonate with everyone. I love that you never see Mi-rae’s old face because it’s not our perception of her lack of beauty that matters but the fact she suffers greatly. Don’t you hate in western shows when they take a beautiful actress, give her a pair of glasses or a fat suit and call her ugly, making sure the audience feels shittier about themselves? Here, the writers concentrate on Mi-rae’s transformation and her coping with the consequences of her decision to do plastic surgery.

It’s also not a revenge fantasy where the ugly duckling suddenly becomes the most popular girl at school. Being a “Gangnam beauty” leads to a new form of suffering.

Romance-wise, it’s the slowest burn of slow burns because Mi-rae and Do Kyung-seok are the most socially awkward beans on the planet. I love them, Your Honor.

#37 Tale of Nokdu

(조선로코-녹두전)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 32 x 30mns

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki - Now available on Netflix (FR)

Fun and lighthearted all the way through.

The story of a guy who puts on a dress to investigate a village of widows could have gone very wrong but it was well handled. It’s refreshing to see the classic trope of posing as the opposite sex reversed and Jang Dong-yoon is never cringy when he’s pretending to be Lady Kim Nok-soon.

#38 Bride of Habaek / Bride of the Water God

(하백의 신부 2017)

Grade: B

Genre: Modern, Fantasy

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Content warning: Crime against fashion

Promising premise and lore (I'm interested in reading the original comics now) but the writing fails to deliver an epic romance and a cathartic ending. Moreover, the sets lack imagination (or money?) and in the end I failed to ever feel immersed in a fantasy world.

The unfortunate consequence of the clumsy writing is that the male characters who are meant to be arrogant/confident Gods (Habaek and By-ryeom) sound like they're negging their love interests more than wooing them, and the relationship between Mu-ra and By-ryeom particularly irked me.

#39 Strangers from Hell / Hell is other people

(타인은 지옥이다)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Psychological Thriller

Episodes: 10

Happy Ending: Spoiler

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Content warning: Violence

What a departure from everything else in that list! Absolutely worth a watch if you enjoy thrillers and shows like Hannibal. If psychological horror isn’t your cup of tea though, you might give it a pass.

The storyline and the characters are a little cliché (it goes with the genre) but the cinematography and photography are fantastic. You can notice how the pension becomes more and more sinister throughout the series via the use of dark greens and browns and pale yellows, as opposed to the mundanity and coldness of the city (greys, and cold blues).

Last but not least, the acting is top-tiers. Im Siwan does a great job at portraying Jong-woo, an aspiring crime novelist who slowly loses his marbles but the true revelation for me is Lee Dong-wook. After seeing him so many times in roles where he plays awkward yet charming men who can barely express emotions, I was intrigued to see him take on the role of a serial killer, and holy cow, he's the perfect mix of sinister and alluring. Towards the end of the series, his character Moon-jo acts like a black-hole whenever he appears in a scene—a towering, dark presence who sucks the light out of the room (If he carries any of that darkness in the upcoming Tale of Gumiho, it’s gonna be *chef kiss*).

#40 Empress Ki

(기황후)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 51

Happy Ending: From a certain point of view

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning for violence against women (not graphic but implied)

51 episodes.

Fifty.One.Episodes.

That's a lot of episodes considering the story starts with the ending.

Did I enjoy this show? Yes, very much so. Do I think it's for everyone? Nope.

You'll enjoy Empress Ki if you're into old-school historical sagas or you wished Game of thrones had no gratuitous nudity and violence. If you’re looking for an historically accurate biography of the real empress Ki though, then look away because Empress Ki is basically a lengthy fanfiction trying to justify how the Goryeo native Seung-nyang married the wimpy Emperor of the Yuan dynasty whilst trying to portray her as loyal to her motherland and to her first love, the Crown Prince of Goryeo.

Personally, I didn’t care for the love triangle formed by Seung-nyang (Ha Ji-won), Wang-yoo (Joo Jin-mo) and Toghon Temür (Ji Chang-wook) but I liked the politics and the backstabbing. Also, contrary to GoT, the bad guys get their comeuppance at the end so it makes watching the side characters die less painful.

#41 Meow, the secret boy / Welcome

(어서와)

Grade: B-

Genre: Modern, Modern fantasy

Episodes: 24 x 35mns

Happy Ending: I guess

Watched on: Viki

How do I put it? It's not *terribad* but it's not *good* either.

I was super on board with the concept—if Lee Seung-gi can bang a nine-tailed fox in My girlfriend is a gumiho, I have zero issues with Sol ah, our heroine, falling in love with Hong-jo the cat-person after being dumped for no reason by Jae-sun her boyfriend—but it didn’t exactly develop that way, and as soon as they explained why Jae-sun had broken up with Sol-ah, the writers lost me because I like when things happen for a reason.

#42 Clean with a passion for now

(일단 뜨겁게 청소하라!!)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Rom-Com

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Super zany and tropey but that’s why it works so well. The only reason I’m giving it a minus is because it’s trying to be woke but in the end there’s still a lot of unsolicited grabbing and some iffy remarks/pick-up lines said by every male characters (IRL that’s the kind of story that ends up with a restraining order and a lawsuit for sexual harassment).

#43 Mystic pop-up bar

(쌍갑포차)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Fantasy

Episodes: 12

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning: Heavy themes (miscarriage, pregnancy, loss of a child, death of loved ones)

You know how the meme goes... Sometimes a family is a hot-tempered bar owner, a cursed kid and an ex-Afterlife-Police officer with a secret past.

It took me a few episodes to get into it, but once the characters were established it became really enjoyable.

The tone of the series leans toward wacky but the core of the story is actually pretty dark if you look into it. Every grudge they solve for their “clients” gives a clue about Wol-joo’s personal story and by the last episode I was crying my eyes out.

Last but not least, Wol-joo’s collection of modernized hanboks is *chef kiss*

#44 My secret Terrius

(내 뒤에 테리우스)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Action, Comedy, Bromance

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

An enjoyable action drama to watch with your family or your significant other.

Koreans prove that you can write a story about a black ops agent on the run who becomes a childminder without reeking of toxic masculinity. Contrary to American comedies where the manly-man-hero working undercover is incompetent and believes that working with children is a woman’s job and a waste of his manly-man talents until he has an epiphany of some sorts, Kim Bon (played by So Ji-sub) never once expresses discomfort to the idea of looking after two kids. In spite of his sober demeanor, he’s a caring and attentive person from the start and watching him gradually becoming a part of this spunky family while investigating a national security threat made my heart go awww.

Opposite him, fearless and resourceful mom Go Ae-rin (played Jung In-sun) brings a lot of energy, and the twins are absolutely adorable.

#45 Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

(달의 연인 - 보보경심 려)

Grade: A--

Genre: Historical

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Random streaming site

Don’t get attached—Moon Lovers is the missing link between Empress Ki and Boys over flowers, but with a sad ending.

I did binge watch the series but there are some frustrating aspects to it that prevented me from giving a perfect score, notably the fact that Wang So remains possessive and demanding with Hae Soo throughout the years—for instance “You’re my person” is a romantic statement until it evolves into “You can never leave me.”

The other problem of the series is that Lee Ji-eun (UI) does cute and goofy really well, but she doesn’t have the emotional range needed to portray a character who goes through many heartbreaks and betrayals. As a result, Hae Soo appears a little fickle in her infatuations with the princes.

That being said if you’re a sucker for tragic romance and you believe that power corrupts even the purest of love, you’ll have a blast.

#46 Forest

(포레스트)

Grade: B++

Genre: Modern, Romance

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

UST in the woods (Dat first kiss 🥵🥵🥵)

The characters and the story are a little cliché but who doesn’t love a story where the protagonists are clearly attracted to each other but can’t act on their desires because their moral values are opposite?

*slams fist*

San Hyeok is your typical heartless businessman who refuses to confront his childhood trauma, and Yeong Jae is a surgeon who suffers from panic attacks and cares too much about other people. They’re both good looking and fate brings them to a remote village in the middle of the forest where they have to share a house. Really, I wonder what’s gonna happen?

#47 100 Days My Prince / Hundred days husband

(백일의 낭군님)

Grade: B+

Genre: Historical

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Trigger warning: Important character death.

Cute and charming but also very annoying at times. Obviously, the story is tropey af (fake marriage doubled with amnesia, you can’t really beat that) but it also includes elements I’ve never seen in any other dramas like the fact that the Crown Princess is pregnant with another man’s child (le gasp!). The things that annoy me the most were the unnecessary flip-flopping of the heroine towards the end of the show for the sake of creating artificial drama (just let them be together FFS!) and the fact that the male characters take a lot of decisions for Yeon Hong-shim.

Romance wise, Do Kyung-soo and Nam Ji-hyun are really cute together but in the end I found myself more interested in the political intrigue and the side characters than the main romance because slow burn has its limit. In essence, it’s the perfect drama to watch with your conservative family because whilst the main couple is living under the same roof and is technically married they don’t get frisky.

#48 I Am Not A Robot (로봇이 아니야)

Grade: A++

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Angsty with a good pay-off.

With a premise like that, things could have gone wrong really quickly but the writers managed to write a story that isn’t a man wanting to fuck a robot because real women are scary so big kudos for them. Seeing Min-kyu celebrating his Roomba’s birthday because he has no other friends will instantly melt your heart and from that point on you’ll cheer for his recovery. The show has the right amount of angst without becoming a mess and they handle the big reveal very well, making sure to show how hurt both Min-kyu and Ji-ah are by the situation, without making you doubt that they can find each other again. The other strong point of the show is that it’s not just about romance, it’s also about friendship and learning to let other people in your life.

The acting is incredible to the point that by the end I wondered if Yoo Seung-ho and Chae Soo-bin were making out in front of my salad or if I was still watching the characters Min-kyu and Ji-ah being lovey dovey.

#49 Sungkyunkwan Scandal (성균관 스캔들)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Posing as the opposite gender

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Hana zakari no kimi tachi he with gats.

This show checks so many boxes when it comes to my favourite tropes story-wise and character-wise that I instantly fell in love with it. It might feel a little dated for a younger audience and it definitely suffers from the second male lead syndrome (who wants unseasoned boiled chicken when there are not just one but two juicy rotisserie chickens on the table next to you?!) but it’s still very much enjoyable. Also, they don’t shy away from using the word “homosexuality” and having one of the second lead confessing to having romantic feelings for his friend (I’ll take any scrap of bi-representation, okay?)

#50 It’s Okay to not be okay (사이코지만 괜찮아)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Found family.

In spite of one ridiculous plot twist (that I was aware of when I started the show) this show has made me feel all the feelz. The three main actors all did a phenomenal job portraying their characters in all their complexity and fragility and I ended up crying so many cathartic tears in the second to last & the last episodes.The relationship between Sang-tae and Gang-tae is one of the best sibling relationships I’ve seen on-screen in a long time while the romance between Moon-yeong and Gang-tae blends perfectly elements of comedy and melodrama. Mental illness isn’t treated as something to be ashamed of, whilst showing that you can grow and recover from trauma and finding your own happiness.

PSA from my boyfriend, who dropped the show before the end:

The plot twist is so stupid that it takes away from the rest of the series. In my opinion it negated the positive portrayal of mental illness built up until then. They completely lost me.

^ We discussed a lot about it which is why I wanted to share his POV to balance my own review.

#51 coming soon

#k-drama #kdrama

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loregoddess · 3 years ago

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Ib and Ff7

FF7 is under the cut bc I Had Some Thoughts about it, and I am so sorry.

Ib:

Favorite thing about that game: I was NOT expecting to end up as emotionally invested as I got after like, a handful of minutes playing it? Like it's a little indie rpg maker game and yet it's honestly one of the most impactful games I've ever played.

Least favorite thing about that game: The motion controls are a bit wonky which like, small indie rpg maker game mechanics are to blame, but it made getting out of the mini-maze hell when I was on my "I have to save Garry" run.

Favorite character in that game: Garry, I've never gotten so attached to a fictional character in such a short amount of time only to be BETRAYED by my own choices, resulting in him being dead and in a painting for my first ending.

Would I recommend it? Why? Yes yes yes, it's free, it's fun, and it only takes like, 30 minutes to play.

Free space to go off about something! Despite Mary being the antagonist and responsible for Garry's death in several endings, I do feel a bit bad for her and wish there was an ending where Ib could like, save both Garry and Mary. It doesn't make much sense for the overall mood of the story, but still.

Rating out of 10: 9/10, good game overall, strong narrative, slightly wonky controls, excellent soundtrack, endearing aesthetics.

FF7:

Favorite thing about that game: It has a really interesting plot and cast of characters, and just a really strong narrative overall. Getting into all the extended compilation stuff was easy because the initial game experience left me wanting to explore more. The Remake does a really good job integrating a lot of this extended lore into...whatever the Remake's narrative is trying to do.

Least favorite thing about that game: The fandom--Okay, for real though, in the original game I hated Aerith's death. Like, yes, from a story perspective as the player because she was one of my favorite characters, but I actually think that was strong writing for the narrative development. What I mean is that mechanically it was a hideous decision because it leaves this gaping hole in the game. Maybe the player was using her and now has to try and get a character they weren't used to using up to level speed with Cloud and whoever else they were using for their main battle party, and that's just frustrating from a player perspective, but also when she leaves she takes everything except the materia she was carrying with her and the player looses access to that entirely for the rest of the game, but can still purchase her staffs and stuff from in-game vendors? Like, knowing this now what's the point of using her at all for the first part of the game? There's literally no point in leveling her up when I could use the exp for someone else, and there's no reason to buy her any good equipment because her most powerful staff is in the last dungeon you can use her in and you could give her any throwaway bracelet because you're going to lose it anyway. It literally makes no sense from a mechanic standpoint and I hate it because the original game's mechanics are already wonky (although that wasn't entirely rare for that era's jrpgs) but then just having this mechanical gap appear halfway through the game just messes things up even more. The original FF7 game has a lot going on in it, but because there's so much I feel it lacks the sort of polish it could have had, and I especially feel that Aerith's death just made the lackluster mechanics feel more insulting. However, the Remake has so far done a fair job of balancing the party mechanics so that even if the writers do decide to kill off Aerith again, I don't think there will be the mechanical gap that the original game suffered from because the Remake is much more mechanically balanced and well-designed.

Favorite character in that game: Aerith and Tifa, even when I was playing through the original game with it's really wonky writing (or localization, maybe), I just liked them a lot. Aerith breaks a lot of the "jrpg squishy healer girl narrative's heart" tropes I've come to expect, and Tifa had a lot of depth stemming from all that was going on in her personal character arc, and I really appreciated the writing for both. The Remake's kept the momentum and added even more details that make me love these two even more. Special mention goes to Nanaki (Red XIII) because would it wouldn't be a game series I've been obsessed with if I didn't love one of the characters the main writing team loves to ignore.

Would I recommend it? Why? Y...yes? I mean, sort of. Like my very long rant shows, I'm not actually a fan of the mechanics of the original game, and that's saying a lot since I actually love a lot of old game's for their wonky mechanics. But like, I had a hard time figuring out the internal logic and battle systems, and I'm still not even sure what healing magic scales off of right now, or the most effective use of materia and other items to their maximum effect, which is something I usually pride myself for knowing in jrpgs. The story is really interesting, but there's also a lot of plot gaps that sometimes get explored in extended lore but were never hinted at in the original narrative (like, when I found out that Tseng and Rufus not only survived their "this character very much just got killed on screen" deaths, but got quasi-redemption arcs, I was so, so confused). Also the general pacing is really weird, like the Midgar section sets up the Turks as being Really Serious antagonists, but then they just. End up being comic relief for the rest of the game, and slightly annoying boss fights. Rufus gives this really dramatic speech about how he's going to be a tyrant who rules by fear and then spends the rest of the game Not Doing That, instead chasing after Sephiroth and failing and then dying but not really dying bc as I noted, that got retconned. Hojo is literally one of the most evil characters in the story and the root of almost every issue, but you also get directions from him on a beach surrounded by girls in sexy (for PS1 era graphics) swimsuits, and it's like, why? So like, the original is decent and has a lot of interesting points, and the ost is amazing, but the mechanics are wonky and the actual plot flow is...weird. So like, if you just want to know the story, watch a playthrough, but if you want the challenge of the wacky mechanics (which I know damn well people have figured out and made incredibly strong end-game teams), then go ahead and play it yourself. As for the Remake, I would suggest at least watching the original game to get to know the narrative to better understand how the Remake is changing the direction of the story, but also like, I'd recommend it just because it's plain fun, the mechanics are pretty easy to pick up, the ost is still amazing, and the narrative is even more rich. I would suggest a handful of things from the extended compilation works to better enjoy some of the Remake additions (i.e. the novel where Kyrie and Leslie first appeared as characters, they're both actually super amazing and the Remake only skims the surface with them), but like, it's not necessary for the overall enjoyment of the Remake.

Free space to go off about something! I've gone off about enough already, but I would suggest avoiding the fandom if you're interesting in getting into the game because there's so much petty arguing over shipping nonsense and what is or isn't canon, like, it's not the most toxic fandom I've ever seen but it's not what I'd call fun either. Would fully recommend the entire compilation though, I really loved all the novels/short stories, and even just watching playthroughs of the games related to FF7 was so much fun and added so much depth to the world and characters. Would recommend Advent Children, but only after playing/watching the original game and reading at least On a Way To a Smile (and additionally reading The Kids Are Alright for the Complete version of the movie) because nothing in the movie makes any damned sense otherwise.

Rating out of 10: Original game is 6/10, and the Remake is 9/10

#I am so sorry the second section is so long #I even cut parts from it to try and sound less petty about things but I have Many Thoughts #ask meme #lookerdewitt #I still don't have an ask tag

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scullysexual · 4 years ago

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*Prompt request for AU where Mulder gets Scully pregnant in high school and they are “forced” to marry but fall in love.*

Okay now we’re at the final chapter/part/instalment. Meet my longest fic ever 5k words. I have never written that many words for a one shot before let a alone a chapter but here we are. This is a fic of its own honestly, it’s just attached to this universe. I don’t really have much to say other than I’ve really enjoyed this universe and that I’m still sticking to what I say in the last part- send me prompt in this universe and I will write them, this is probably my favourite universe I’ve ever written in I’m so glad this anon sent me the prompt and I hope I did it justice. A full masterlist of this will be posted tomorrow. @today-in-fic

A Baby Is Forever: Part Six [EPILOGUE]

Part One.

Part Two.

Part Three.

Part Four.

Part Five.

AO3.

- - -

There’s a warm weight trying to squeeze against her, a head that bumps her chin, and cold feet trying to find warmth between her bare legs.

Emily’s climbed out of her crib again.

“Hey Emi,” Scully hears Mulder mumble.

She slipping back into subconsciousness when she feels a pull against her pyjama top.

“No Emily,” she says, taking her daughter’s hands in her own to prevent her from tugging at the top.

“I want milk.”

For the past three weeks Scully had been slowly weaning Emily. It was going a lot soother than she expected, morning is full of distractions, replace breastmilk and snuggles with cow’s milk and cuddles and morning goes by with no hassle. Naps were a bit harder but followed the same pattern, night feeds were still a thing for now.

The system worked nine times out of a ten. The times it didn’t work was when Emily was sleepy but couldn’t fall asleep.

“Do you want Daddy to make you some big girl milk?” Scully asks, opening her eyes just in time to see Emily pout- a trait she got from Mulder- and shake her head.

“That milk’s yucky.” She frees her hands from Scully’s grasp and begins clawing at her t-shirt again.

She’s tired and wants to give in but Emily had been doing so well that to give in now seems like a waste of three weeks.

“Mulder, will you make Emily some milk, please?” she asks.

“No! I want your milk,” Emily whines at the same time Mulder leaves the bed.

“How about we cuddle while we wait for Daddy to bring your big girl milk, yeah?” Scully tries bargaining.

Emily doesn’t look convinced but she moves towards Scully anyway, snuggling against her.

She’s almost drifting off when Emily speaks again.

“Daddy heat milk up?”

“I’m sure he will, baby.”

Mulder comes back five minutes later, bottle of milk in his hand. He climbs back into the bed, handing the bottle to Emily.

“There you go, Em.”

Emily takes it and Scully falls back asleep for another hour.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.

She places Emily down on the counter.

“What do you want for breakfast, Emily?”

“Cookies,” the child says.

Scully sighs, the third day in a row Emily has asked for cookies for breakfast.

“You can’t have cookies, baby.” She roots in the fridge, pulling out a pack of eggs. “How about eggs?” she asks holding the pack towards Emily.

Emily shakes her head slowly. “Cookies.”

“You can have cookies when we’re out,” Scully tells her, putting the eggs back in the fridge.

Nearby Mulder’s bagels pop up in the toaster, startling both Scully and Emily. Mulder is over in seconds, taking them out. At least one of them knows what their eating this morning.

Seeing the bagels being placed on Mulder’s plate, Emily points towards it.

“Daddy,” she says.

“You want bagels like Daddy?”

Emily nods and Mulder is already a step ahead of her, pushing the lever of the toaster down.

.:.:.:.:.:.

She showers while Emily eats. A fifteen minute reprieve from her daughter.

She loves Emily more than she thought she could ever love anything but approaching two-years-old, Scully fears her once impeccably behaved baby girl was going to become possessed by the Terrible Twos.

With Mulder gone most days, it was just her and Emily. Occasionally her mom and Melissa would help out but Scully didn’t want to seem like she was depending on them. Since Emily was born, Scully had to need to prove to everyone that she could do it, that she wasn’t just a baby caring for a baby, she was a mother and she could live up to the responsibility of being one.

Even Mulder had proved himself capable. He was afforded more immature moments than her but he never let it impede on his ability to be a father. He helped out when he could and they fell into an easy routine. The dark early days he proved to be enough when Emily refused to suckle, refused to let Scully pick her up, refused to let her bond with her. Their daughter had just wanted Mulder and Scully had given up. She pumped rather than physically breast feed and Mulder had been left to do it all- feed the baby, change her diaper, play with her, Scully was just the sustenance provider.

Now she and Emily get along just fine, once they were over that initial hurdle, and now they were best friends.

Scully exits the shower, immediately grabbing her ring from the counter and putting it back on her finger. It still shined as brightly as it did two years ago and that’s how Scully intended on it staying.

Rumours had sparked all around the school when she returned wearing it not that it bothered Scully, rumours had been circling around the building since her baby bump became visible, questions on who the father was and Did you really expect Dana Scully to be the first one pregnant? No, I didn’t either. They could write SLUT across her locker in red capital letters as much as they liked, Scully was never going to rise to it, she had bigger things on her mind than what immature school kids thought of her.

“Scully,” Mulder calls through the door. “Em’s done with her food. Do you want me to dress her?”

Sometimes he could be amazing.

“Yes, please,” she calls back through the door. “Her clothes are already out on the bed.”

They were out today, buying paint for Emily’s new room.

The decision to give Emily her own room came when Mulder’s parents moved out a year ago, leaving them the house. Initially, they were resigned to the basement and it had worked having Emily, still a newborn at the time, right beside them, not having to go far, everything they needed could fit downstairs with them and rarely did they have to bother anyone upstairs.

But Emily had began to grow, like any child does, and the being confined to the basement just wasn’t good enough for anyone anymore.

They didn’t have many options, too young and broke to even rent a place of their own at seventeen, they intended on just making do with the basement until their options widened.

Until one dinner time when Teena announced that a house just down the street had opened up and they were thinking of moving into that, giving their current house to Mulder.

The deal was they, along with Scully’s parents, would help them out until they were done with school, then it was down to them.

Well, school had ended and it was down to them to support themselves now. Mulder worked, Scully looked after Emily. It was old-fashioned but it worked and Scully saw no issue with it, for now.

College was to be postponed for another year, too. Wait until Emily was old enough to go into pre-school or be able to stay with her grandparents for more than however long the milk lasted. They would stay in Maryland, too, and hopefully figure the rest out at a later date.

Now, though, it was about decorating Emily’s new room.

The child hadn’t been excited about the prospect of her own room no matter how much Mulder and Scully tried to big it up to her, she liked Mommy and Daddy’s room, why couldn’t she stay there?

Scully hoped that by allowing her to pick the room design Emily would grow more keen to the idea.

She exits the bathroom, walking towards her bedroom and upon opening the door, she is greeted by a partially dressed Hurricane Emily.

“Mommy! Me and Daddy saw Cookie Monster when we eat our bagels.”

Sesame Street was currently Emily’s favourite show, her favourite character was the Cookie Monster and he is the reason Emily asks for cookies every morning.

Scully bends to pick Emily up, setting her on her hip and bringing her back over to bed where Mulder sits holding a pair of socks in his hand.

“When you ate your bagels, Emily,” Scully corrects, putting her down standing on the bed. There were no worries about Emily’s speech development, she was actually a very intelligent, having been able to string sentences together for a while now.

It had been something Scully had worried about at the beginning. Emily was a premature baby- a late premature baby, but one all the same- and while the probability of the risks presented to premature babies were low for her they were still risks all the same.

But aside from running out of breath a little quicker when she got excited, Emily was functioning as any other child, developing around the same average time as other children, there were no worries in that department.

She hadn’t quite mastered grammar yet, however.

“What did you see?” Scully asks Emily as she buckles up her dungarees and Mulder puts her socks on.

Emily proceeds to tell her how Elmo stole Cookie Monster’s cookies and Cookie got sad and then Elmo apologised and gave them back to him.

She’ll test her like this sometimes, make sure that she’s paying attention, taking in what she’s seeing on the TV.

“How did you know Cookie was sad?” Scully asks, another test.

“Um…” She watches as Emily tries to find the words for what she knows. “He…he…”

“He sat on his own, didn’t he?” Mulder says, helping her out.

Emily turns towards him at the sound of his voice, nodding her head quickly and turning back to Scully.

“He sat on his own and looked like this…” She does her best impression of a sad face that makes Scully laugh and melt at how adorable she looks.

“It’s not funny, Mommy!” Emily admonishes in a voice that sounds vaguely similar to her own when she tells Emily off for doing something she shouldn’t.

“You’re right,” Scully says, correcting herself. “It’s not funny.” She strokes her hand through Emily’s bed head. She still needs to get dressed and tackle Emily’s unruly hair and they don’t have a lot of time left before they need to leave.

“Why don’t you go back downstairs with Daddy and watch more Cookie Monster and I’ll get dressed, okay?”

Emily nods, climbing down from the bed and grabbing hold of Mulder’s hand.

“Come on, Daddy,” Emily says.

“I’ll need your strong muscles to pull me up, Em,” he says, pretending to struggle to get off the bed. “I’m getting too old.”

Scully rolls her eyes but she’s warmed by it all the same. Emily uses her “muscles” and pulls Mulder up and the two leave the room leaving Scully on her own.

.:.:.:.:.:.

Within the hour they have made it to Home Depot browsing the paint section while Emily happily babbles away Quacky in the cart.

Public outings were always something of a tense situation. When Emily was younger they received a lot of disdainful tuts, shaking heads, and a lot of stares. Scully had tried to ignore it but she never went anywhere with just Emily.

Now it was easier to bare. The stares still came but Scully learned not to care about them. She was happy, her baby was baby and that was all that mattered.

“I think yellow,” Scully says, beelining for the coloured paint.

“Why yellow?” Mulder asks.

She stares at him like he’s stupid. He is stupid.

“It’s her favourite colour,” she answers pointedly.

Mulder chuckles. “It’s your favourite colour, you mean.” He looks down at Emily who is happy in her own make-belief world.

“Emi, what’s your favourite colour?”

“Yellow,” the girl says without missing a beat.

An I told you so look appears across Scully’s face.

“Only because it’s your favourite colour,” Mulder mutters yet loud enough for Scully to hear it.

She’s about to grab the yellow paint before she clocks the white shades above it. She looks towards Mulder who snacks on sunflower seeds, an idea in her mind.

She pushes the tub back onto the shelf and Mulder looks at her questioningly. She ignores him, her attention on Emily.

“Emi,” she calls and Emily looks at her. “What if, instead of painting your room yellow, I painted it white and covered it in sunflowers?”

Emily nods, seemingly excited by that prospect. Sunflowers had become Emily’s favourite flowers ever since she found out Mulder eats the seeds. That had led to some very interesting conversations with Emily believing that if she ate a seed a sunflower would grow inside her. Instead they had planted it outside in the garden and once it was “all big” (as Emily had said) it would be her responsibility to care for it.

“And who’s going to draw these sunflowers?” Mulder asks.

“I will,” Scully says, grabbing two tubs of white paint, two tubs of yellow, a medium-sized tub of brown paint, and finally a smaller tub of green.

They buy fairy lights in another store and with Emily’s toddler bed on the way, she was looking forward to decorating the room.

They had the weekend to do it, with Maggie having Emily over for a sleepover. Scully had been cautious of the idea at first. Emily had only been over at her parents’ for a few hours and never had she stayed there (without Scully also there). This was going to be a first for all of them and Scully hoped Emily was going to be okay with it.

There was another thing that an Emily-free night would open up for Mulder and Scully, and Scully was still unsure whether her thoughts should venture down that path yet.

.:.:.:.:.:.

Bathing with Mommy had become something of a treat. Emily loves water and there had been plans to take her to the swimming baths one day for now, though, Emily is just happy playing in a bubble bath. It’s easier to bathe her like this, rather than Scully kneeling and leaning over the edge. They cuddle after all the cleaning is done until their skin has pruned in the warm water or until that warm water has gone cold.

“You excited to sleep at Grandma’s, baby?” Scully asks.

Emily nods but Scully isn’t convinced. Usually her baby was as happy as a clam in the bath, even happier if Scully was joining her, but tonight she had been quiet and subdued, not playing much with the bath toys and barely laughed when Scully booped her on the nose with shampoo. They were all signs that something wasn’t right.

“Can Quacky come?” Emily asks.

“Of course. You can take whoever you like.”

“Can I take you?”

So this is what’s up with her.

“Oh Emi,” Scully coos bringing her daughter closer to her. “You like Grandma, you’ll be fine without me.”

Still, Emily isn’t convinced.

“Want me to tell you a secret?” Scully says and that gets Emily’s attention.

“Grandma’s taking you to a Jungle Gym tomorrow.”

Emily’s eyes light up. “Really?”

“Yep. But you gotta act surprise when Grandma tells you that. She can’t know that I told you, okay?”

Emily nods, “I promise, I promise.”

It’s done the trick and Emily seems a lot happier.

Maggie knocks on the door at 7:30. Scully finishes getting the last of the diaper contents together before picking up Emily who’s just spent the last 40 minutes watching Sesame Street and receiving “the best head scratches” from Mulder- Review left by Emily Scully-Mulder.

“Ready to go, baby?” Scully asks, bending to pick her up.

“Bye-bye, Emi,” says Mulder, pressing a kiss to Emily’s head. “See you Sunday.”

Emily sleepily waves back to him as Quacky’s foot finds its way into her mouth.

“She’s had milk,” Scully says upon opening the door and after the greetings. She passes the diaper bag over this. “There’s another bottle in there if she fusses. “She’s been bathed so all you need to do really is put her to bed. She hasn’t napped today so she should be tired.” Maggie nods, holding her arms out and Scully is suddenly hesitant to hand Emily over.

“Um…she has cow’s milk in the morning, it’s called her big girl milk, if you call it anything else she won’t want to drink it.”

Another nod from Maggie.

“If there are any problems, call me, I’ll be over straight away.”

Another nod. “Dana?”

“Yes?”

“Can I take Emily now?”

Right, she was still holding her.

“Bye-bye, Baby. Have fun with Grandma.” Emily’s grip tightens on Scully and Scully whispers into her ear. “Remember the Jungle Gym.” Emily’s grip loosens and Scully is able to hand her over.

She watches them go, waving to Emily before her mom and daughter go out of sight.

She closes the front door praying Emily will be alright tonight.

When she re-enters the living room the channel has been switched to some movie on mute and Mulder is scribbling into a notepad.

She eyes him coolly and walks towards the couch, sitting down upon it cross-legged. She leans into him.

“What you doing?” she asks.

“Brainstorming campaign ideas,” he answers, still engrossed in the notebook and whatever he’s scribbling down. “Thinking of getting the boys down and doing another session.” He looks towards her before turning back to the book. “You’re free to join if you want.”

She nuzzles into his bare arm, smiling. “And what do we do with Emily?”

He shrugs. “She can play, too.”

Scully hums her eyes shutting as she continues to nuzzle finding herself quite content.

“It’s quiet without her, isn’t it?” Mulder almost whispers. His pencil has stopped moving and the room has gone quiet besides the occasional noise of the pipes.

It was quiet in a presence-lacking kind of way. Emily would be in bed by now but her presence would still linger in the room, would still wander the house reminding them that she was still here. Now she was gone for the night, that presence had gone with her.

“I just hope she’s good for my mom,” Scully says remembering how she had clutched onto her.

“She will be.” He closes the book, pushing it to one side and sits back against the couch, bringing his arm around her. Scully adjusts, uncrossing her legs and curling them beneath her to lean against him more comfortably. “She’s a good kid, Scully.”

Yes, she was. A few hiccups on some days but for the most part, Emily was a good, well-behaved kid.

She smiles. “Wonder where she gets that from?”

“I always assume from you.”

Scully snorts. “I doubt it. I was a terror with a speciality in running off.”

Mulder laughs. “Well, when Emily starts I’ll know who to blame.”

Scully giggles before taking a deep breath and sighing.

“So what do we do now?”

All day she had been trying to work out how to ask him. Tell him that she’s okay now, she’s ready, and that it won’t be like the first time they tried.

“Mulder, if you want…” she starts, trying to find the words. “We can try. I…I think I’m ready now.”

She doesn’t look at him so she doesn’t see the realisation of what she’s saying- trying to say- dawn on him. She hears it, though.

Oh.

“Well if you want to, Scully. I don’t want to feel like you’ve been pressured or-“

She looks up at him then to find him staring at her as she interrupts.

“No, it’s fine.” She hops up from the couch, quickly, intending on getting this awkward asking moment over with.

“Well, if you’re sure…” Mulder says, beginning to rise from the couch himself.

Yes, she’s sure because if he keeps asking she might not be.

There’s an awkwardness as they enter the bedroom. One would think they hadn’t done with this.

“So how do you-“ She’s on him, fast, allowing no time for gentle kisses, her lips are on his, her tongue in his mouth and her hands are already working on the button of his jeans.

A mantra in her head: I want this, I want this, I want this.

And Mulder is trying to keep up. He’s that awkward fifteen year old again when Scully threw herself at him in a similar manner, unsure of what to do with his hands, where to put them.

That encounter was quick, what was supposed to be a throwaway moment of drunken recklessness between two teenagers who had a house to themselves.

He doesn’t want this moment to be like that moment, and Scully knows that but any slowness, any moment that isn’t rushed and over with before her brain can start thinking has her doubting herself. I want this turns into I don’t know if I want this even if she knows deep down she does want this.

But Mulder doesn’t know that. Mulder doesn’t know about the inner struggle she’s currently having with herself and pulls away, halting her.

“Scully, stop.”

She stops and those first blossoming thoughts of doubt come blooming in.

“We don’t have to do this now,” he says and his hands are still around her shoulders holding her away from him. “We’re gonna have loads of times in the future.”

She swallows. “You don’t want this…” she says quietly looking towards the floor. She should leave, go to her mother’s and camp out there with Emily until Sunday as well.

“No, no.” He uses the hold he has on her shoulders to bring her into his embrace. “No, I want this more than anything. The question is, do you want it?”

She’s fighting his embrace.

“Yes, of course, why do you think-“

But he stills her by holding her tighter.

“Do you really want it?”

She stops trying to fight and thinks. She does. She does want it. She nods.

He brings her away from him and smiles and she smiles back.

The air around them stops feeling awkward and his eyes fall to her lip and slowly he presses them against hers. It’s slow and gentle, everything she didn’t want it to be seconds ago until his tongue is running along her lower lip and she parts them, allowing him in.

He sets the pace, still going slow just as their tongues greet each other. A surge of heat pools below and the pace hurries, whether from her or from Mulder, Scully has no idea but he bends lower, hands wrapping around her thighs as he hoists her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

The kiss breaks only when he places her down on the bed. She watches as he pulls off his t-shirt, throwing it off to the side, before working on his jeans, finishing the job Scully started.

She follows his lead, taking off her sweater and leaving her in an unsexy-yet-very-comfortable cotton bra. She gives him a shy smile.

Clad in only his boxers now, he kneels before her, his hand soothing up and down her leg, the action comforting.

“You can keep it on if you’re worried you’ll leak.”

That had been what happened the first time. Too much stimulation on her breast and her milk had gone everywhere, not helping the already increasingly uncomfortable experience.

But Scully shakes her head, beginning to remove the item.

“It shouldn’t be so bad this time,” she says.

Mulder smiles, rising slightly to kiss her once. “Whatever works for you.” He resumes kissing her, letting him lay her down on the bedcovers.

Their tongues play with each other for a bit, picking up where the pace left off only moments before.

He breaks the kiss, proceeding downwards, sucking at the sweet spots he had found during their second time at this.

Mulder moves away from her neck, continuing his path. He stops when he gets to her breasts and nuzzles one of them.

“I love your tits.” He said that last time, too, but this time Scully feels like he actually means it.

“Perks of having babies, I guess.” She lets out a breathy sigh, closing her eyes as his tongue circles her nipple, her hand falling to his head and combing through his hair, so grateful to be able to finally feel something there again.

But then he latches on and begins to suck and oh no.

Her eyes dart open. “Mulder, you’ll-“ But it’s too late, a tingling sensation she’d been feeling lately whenever she nursed Emily is back and she knows what that means.

Mulder does, too, as his eyes widen and he begins to suck more eagerly.

She falls back, another sigh saying, “That’s Emily’s.”

Mulder unlatches, chin resting against her ribcage as he looks up at her.

“Emily’s not here.” And presses a kiss against the nipple.

Scully hums in agreement.

“I understand now why she gets so upset when you tell her she can’t have any.” He hovers above her. “I’d be freaking out, too.”

Scully just stares at him, deciding that he’s been talking too much.

“Mulder, shut up and fuck me.”

A shit-eating grin passes across his face. He gets down close to her ear and whispers.

“Okay, Mommy.”

She knees him in the ribs for that.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Scully, I’m curious to see these artistic skills you claim to have.”

Mulder stands in the middle of his childhood bedroom holding two tubs of white paint.

“I don’t claim to have any artistic skills.”

Scully takes one tub of paint away from him.

“You want to decorate the walls with sunflowers.”

She opens the tub up, grabbing a paint brush.

“They’re just sunflowers, Mulder,” she says beginning to dip the paint brush into the paint. “It doesn’t take an artistic genius paint them.” She starts on painting the wall.

They agreed that Emily would move into Mulder’s bedroom, it was bigger than Samantha’s and they felt that maybe Emily would be more at ease in there knowing that it had been her Daddy’s before hers.

“Are we even going to get this room painted in this weekend?” Mulder asks from across the room.

They split the walls- Scully would do the back wall and the window wall, Mulder would do the opposite wall and the wall nearest the door.

“No,” Scully answers. “I’m hoping we can get the walls finished before Em comes back but the sunflowers will have to be done another time.”

“Are you going to have the time to do them?” They had gotten Emily psyched up for the sunflowers and they both didn’t want to burst her bubble by not going ahead with them after all.

“Yeah, Emily can sit in the room while I do them or my mom can come over and watch her. It’s not like this where she’ll probably knock over the paint and get herself covered in it.”

That was the main reason why Emily had slept over at her mother’s in the first place. She couldn’t be trusted to just sit in a corner and play, she would get curious and when Emily gets curious it often leads to trouble.

Mulder chuckles, remembering something.

“Like when she was 18 months old and we let her play her in the garden and she decided she was going to take a mud bath instead?”

Scully groans at the memory which just makes Mulder laugh even harder. It had rained all day every day for a solid week and on the last day of that week the sun decided it was going to shine so they let Emily play outside (something she had wanted to do all week) What they didn’t realise was at the bottom of the garden a giant mud puddle at formed and, naturally, Emily had found it.

Mulder swore he only went inside to get some orange juice for two seconds and when he returned, Emily was covered head to toe in mud.

Scully wanted to die when she saw her whilst Mulder and Emily just laughed and Emily kept repeating pig and pointing to herself. Apparently she found out pigs take mud baths when they were too warm.

Mulder had only continued to laugh which had encouraged Emily more. She told Mulder to stay outside until he had calmed himself down and took Emily to the bathroom not knowing where to even start to clean her.

“You’re laughing but you weren’t the one who had to shower her,” Scully says, even after four months she doesn’t see the humour in it.

“I would’ve helped but you locked me outside.”

“Cause you were laughing and Emily thought that made it okay.”

Mulder shakes his head, not agreeing with her. “It was funny, though,” he mutters to himself.

As they paint they tell each other stories of Emily’s two years on with earth, reminding each other of little moments, telling each other of moments they might have missed. It’s a nice walk down memory lane, to see how far they’ve come as parents as they paint their daughter’s room and talk about their daughter.

They finally finish in the early hours of Sunday, three coats, and two empty tubs of white paint. The toddler bed was arriving later today and that meant dismantling the crib but that was a job for later, the only thing Scully wanted to do was sleep.

Emily returns around lunchtime, bursting through the front door shouting.

“Mommy! Daddy! Grandma taked me to Monkey Business!”

Scully laughs ignoring the questioning look her mother gives her and pulls Emily put onto her lap.

“Really?” she says with feign surprise. “Was it fun?”

Emily nods her head furiously. “And I cutted my finger, look.” She forces her finger in front of Scully’s face, almost taking an eye out. Scully laughs nervously, taking Emily’s little hand in her own and inspecting the band-aided finger.

“How did that happen?” Scully asks Maggie more than Emily.

“It’s just a paper cut but she insisted on me giving her a band-aid,” her mom tells her.

“I was brave. I didn’t cry.” Emily looks at her finger, running her other finger over it. “Is my sunflowers ready now?”

Scully strokes her hair. “Not yet, baby. We only had time to do the background but tomorrow, when Daddy’s at work, we can start on them and you can watch, yeah?”

Emily nods her head, pleased with that idea.

“Hey Em,” says Mulder catching Emily’s attention. “Just no paint baths, okay?”

Emily giggles, remembering the mud baths. “I promise,” in a voice that sounds like she doesn’t promise at all.

- - -

Thank you to everyone who’s read this and anyone who read it on ao3, too. You are amazing and I hope you’re satisfied with this ending :)

#txf #high school au #a baby is forever part 6 #COMPLETED FIC #teen pregnancy fic #i write

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magnolia-penn · 5 years ago

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A Helping Hand

Noriaki Kakyoin x Reader

A totally late self comfort fic that I wrote to help cope with terrible parents

WARNINGS: Just some Part 3 spoilers. Nothing that you wouldn't know after watching the fist few episodes. Other than that, there's none. Just self indulgent fluff.

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Dealing with Jotaro Kujo isn’t the easiest of tasks for anybody unless you’re his mother. He’s cold, abrasive, and a bit of dick. He detests people who can’t take care of themselves and hates covering anyone’s ass.

Not a good situation for you.

You had only developed your stand, Magenta Sunset, ten days ago. A week before your meeting with the StarDust Crusaders. It happened during a business trip to Cairo that you attended with your father.

The night it manifested, you were approached by a man named DIO. He used sweet words and promises to help you better understand this strange new power you had received, as long as you helped him when he needed it.

You naively agreed.

He took your hand and whisked you across Cairo’s rooftops to his mansion, the wind and his deep voice almost drowning out the screams of your father.

True to his word, he taught you about Stands and how to control yours, by inserting a flesh bud into your forehead and giving you your orders to eliminate the Joestars.

You encountered the Crusaders in a small desert town, and you launched your attack. The battle only lasted about fifteen minutes, and you shouted your apologies the entire time.

After being apprehended by purple and green tendrils, it was the redhead’s idea to have you join them, stating that your circumstances were no different from him. The old man agreed and ordered the teen dressed in all black to remove the flesh bud, and you were put under the care of the redhead, now known as Noriaki Kakyoin.

It soon became glaringly apparent that without the flesh bud dictating your movement, you were at an infant level with your stand. After some deliberation, the old man, Joseph Joestar, and the Egyptian, Muhammud Avdol, chalked it up to inexperience. Everyone had theirs for quite possibly years, while you only had yours for a mere couple of days.

With introductions and backstories out of the way, it was time to get back on the road. You took every opportunity to practice with your stand, and everyone agreed to help, except Jotaro, which was to be expected.

Kakyoin was your sparring partner more often than not. Under his guidance, you improved significantly, but you still faltered in defense. You always struggled to keep an eye on your surroundings and were slow to block.

The others would offer words of encouragement, but Jotaro would only scoff and throw an insult. His words hurt because you knew he was right. He was the strongest member of your team, and the team is only as strong as the weakest link. AKA, You. You started pushing yourself too far beyond your limits, to the point of exhaustion, and it was beginning to show. Your performance would drop, and Jotaro would degrade you more.

Kakyoin was always quick to rub salve on the wound, though. Every word he spoke lifted your spirits and inspired you to keep pushing. This might sound cliche to say, but you thought you might be falling for him.

Sadly, good things never last, and it all came crashing down after an actual battle. In a last-ditch effort, some C rated thug, who probably wasn’t even one of DIO's minions, launched a full-powered attack straight at you. Even the almighty Jotaro wasn’t prepared for it, and he just barely managed to pull you out of the way by the back of your shirt. He let you fall to the ground and quickly finished the thug off. He turned back to you and glared while looking you up and down. After a few tense seconds, he turned and walked away. He didn’t say anything. Not even a “Yare yare daze.”

That hurt worse than anything he could possibly say.

The other members of the group quickly came to your aid, gently pulling you to your feet and checking for injuries. You brushed them off with a smile and a wave. Kakyoin lingered longer than the rest, eyes filled with fear and pure relief at your safety. He embraced you in a giant hug, and you quickly returned it. Kakyoin pretended not to notice the way your body quaked in fear and how you clung to him like your life depended on it.

He knew Jotaro was harsh, but he didn’t expect it to affect you so severely. He worked with you every day, and none of his criticism ever got under your skin. But after seeing the sheer despair in your eyes after Jotaro turned his back to you solidified his belief that you cared about how Jotaro saw you.

His mind was telling him that it was only logical that you wanted Jotaro’s approval. He was the strongest of the group, and Jotaro’s harshness was a way of showing he cared. Still, Kakyoin’s heart overrode the system, and he couldn’t help but get angered at Jotaro’s lack of sympathy for you.

Later, out of the prying eyes of anybody else, he talked to Jotaro. It took some will power to keep his voice even as he tried to explain your side of things. Eventually, Jotaro acquiesced, promising to apologize to you.

That night, after everyone fell asleep, you snuck out over a sand dune to get some practice in. Every kick, every punch, every block seemed slow and sluggish as all of your pent up emotions chiseled away at the wall you put up. Letting out a frustrated groan, you dropped to your knees and cradled your head in your hands.

Large tears threatened to spill as you tried to suppress a sniffle. You knew it was useless to cry, but that didn’t stop the tears from falling

You were so wrapped up in your own emotions that you didn’t hear someone come up from behind and sit beside you.

“Messed up that badly today, huh?”

You jumped and quickly manifested your stand, ready to attack. Before you could, Emerald coils wrapped around your arms and pinned them to your sides.

“Hey, hey. Calm down. It’s just me.”

It was Kakyoin. Honestly, as much as you cared for him, he was the last person you wanted to see. He put too much time and effort into your training to see you on your knees, sobbing like a baby.

“It is just you. What do you want?” You managed to push Hierophant's coils off and sat up, pulling your legs to your chest.

“A reason to why you’re in the desert trying not to cry? A moment of your time? Penny for your thoughts?”

You let out a half-hearted scoff and played with the hem of your shirt.

Kakyoin chuckled. “A nickel?” No reaction. “A dime?”

Your face broke out into a smile against your will. “How about a quarter?”

Kakyoin rooted around in his pocket for a bit. “Aha! One quarter. You’re thoughts, M’Lady?”

You took the quarter and sighed, setting it between you as a time filler as you figured out what to say. You always admired Kakyoin. His stand is well-rounded, and he was so strong. He never walked out into the desert to lose control of his emotions. You knew it would be hard to explain everything you felt in a way he would understand.

“I’m weak.” You finally say after a long pause.

Kakyoin blinked in surprise. “You’re not weak.”

“Yes! I am! I can’t block attacks, and I’m painfully unaware of what’s happening around me! Anybody and their mother could sneak up on me! You did! I have to rely on everybody else to protect me, and there’s nothing I can do to get better!”

You threw your arms around Kakyoin and buried your face into his chest to hide your shame. He sputtered on air, and he prayed that you couldn’t feel the way his heart sped up.

He wrapped his arms around you and said, “That still doesn’t mean you’re weak.”

“How so?” You asked teary-eyed.

“Y/N. You are one of the strongest offense fighters on our team. Magenta Sunset might have lower defense, but you really make up for it in offense and improvisation. The others only wish they could come up with crazy ideas that just might work on the fly like you.”

Your ears twinged pink at his kind words. “Even you?”

“Especially me.” Kakyoin moved his hands to cup your face, forcing you to look at him. “ Look, you’d never be able to guess it, but Hierophant is actually kind of terrible at offense. Sure it has the Emerald Splash, but it works better out of the spotlight. And every time I see you and Sunset spring into the thrall without a moment’s hesitation, I get so jealous because I could never just jump in guns blazing. Hierophant works better in enclosed spaces, but Sunset works great just about anywhere.”

Kakyoin suddenly caught himself.

“Sorry. I was rambling again. But you get the idea, you are so amazing and so far from weak. I know I’ve only known you for a couple of days, but I really like you, Y/N.” He accidentally confessed.

Your eyes widened in surprise at the redhead’s words. You never imagined that anybody thought of you like that, not even Polnareff. When you didn’t respond, Kakyoin’s face lit up in a fiery scarlet.

“I.. I mean-I mean! I look up t-”

“I have an idea.” Your words cut off any excuses in his throat. “It’s crazy, but it just might work.”

“Yeah?”

“Hierophant sucks at offense,” You said as you pulled yourself off of Kakyoin.

“You don’t have to put it so bluntly.”

“Sunset sucks at defense.” You twirled a lock of hair while deep in concentration.

“I’m not sure where you’re going with this.” Kakyoin gently pulled his curl from your fingers.

“We both like each other, and we will spend a lot of time together now, since you confessed,” You took his hand in yours.

“Naturally. Wait, what?”

“Why don’t we partner up and give each other a helping hand.”

Kakyoin was going to ask about what you meant, but the realization of how great an idea that was hit Kakyoin like a truck. “Oh my God, that’s a great idea!”

Kakyoin pulled you to your feet and pressed a quick kiss to your forehead. He went on a tangent about how great of an idea that was, and you couldn’t help but to laugh and go along, shushing him to keep his voice down.

As the two of you lost yourselves in tactics and techniques, you didn’t notice a tall figure stand some distance away.

“Yare yare. I guess I’ll apologize tomorrow. Lovebirds are having too much fun.”

#stardust crusaders #jojo no kimyou na bouken #noriaki kakyoin #kakyoin x reader #jjba x reader #jjba #jojo's bizzare adventure stardust crusaders #jojo's bizarre adventure

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greenkratomcbdfacts · 3 years ago

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