#been practicing chibi kinda things lately

[moonshell25]

*drops these and runs*

[princess-of-inarizaki]

Hi honey how‘re you doing?💗 I hope you‘re doing great ♡´･ᴗ･`♡ I wanted to ask if you still do inarizaki manager headcanons, because if you do can I PLEAASE request something? Inarizaki is my comfort team and I really want a girlfriend rn (lmao simp) so can you please write a fic about inarizaki randomly meeting their cute little manager in public with her girlfriend and her girlfriend has her arm around her and then they go talk and find out that they’re dating and the team is actually really suprised that Y/N is kinda „💅“ you know... because she dresses and acts really feminine (like she loves plushies,pink,skirts and shit) so they didn’t really expect this but they‘re really supportive (but kinda sad because they were simps for her -oop) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) YOU DONT HAVE TO OFC if you dont want to write about gay relationships that’s fine no worriesʕ•ᴥ•ʔ It’s just I don’t really like lesbian representation by other writers because they always make her hate feminine stuff, really masculine and I really like your headcanons. AGAIN It’s okay if you don’t want to write it, take care of yourself and please don’t stress yourself💓

Omg heyyy sweetie <3 I'm doing fine!!

Thank you so much for sending in your request! I usually don't reply to requests, since I've been really busy lately. But every once in a while, I see ones like yours in my inbox, and I can't help but write imagines for them, so thank you for this!!

I wish you all the best in finding a girlfriend, love. You're amazing, and any girl would be beyond lucky to have you !! 💖

And yes grrr, the lack of lesbian/gay representation is not okay :( I'll do my best to make sure I write more headcanons for my LGBTQ+ followers in the future :)

Inarizaki's sapphic manager headcanons

If you were to ask any of the boys on the Inarizaki team "which girl do you love most, in this entire world?" they'd say your name in a heartbeat.

Because frankly, those boys adored you to hell and back. It wasn't just because you treated them with so much respect, or that you were an attentive manager, the best they've ever had.

It was because of your kind and sweet nature, and the smallest of things you did which softened those boys to putty whenever you were in their vicinity.

After finding out your favourite colour was pink, Osamu took it upon himself to cook food in different hues of it.

The pink blush on his face whenever you were awed by it, made everything worthwhile. Eventhough it took hours to perfect the pink cupcakes, or shrimp dumplings, you saying "These are all in my favourite colour, 'Samu! Thank you" made it all worthwhile.

Atsumu, after following you home one day to work on volleyball plays together, noticed you collect plushies.

“These are all really cute” he stammered, as he inspected each of them.

A small idea formed in his mind as he gifted you with a plushie, a week after, for your birthday.

“I hope you'll add it to your collection... I named him chibi, I hope you don't mind.”

And Miya Atsumu would never forget the way your eyes lit up after receiving the gift, or the kiss you placed on his forehead as a sign of gratitude.

"Who knew something like that could make her so happy?" He thought giddily.

Suna thought you looked extremely pretty every time you wore a skirt.

He never missed an opportunity to compliment you, or to take a picture of you, looking your absolute best.

“You seem to like wearing skirts, huh?”, “yeah, I always have”

At night, he sometimes looked through his photo album with a soft smile. "She really is the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

Kita finds you small. (Wow borderline size link shjxjsks But please let me explain)

He loves seeing you in his jackets or his hand when comparing to yours, because it makes him feel responsible to protect you. To keep you safe.

In conclusion, they're whipped, your honour. Those boys love you to the Pluto and back, truly.

And it was an unspoken rule that someday, whoever got to date you would take the absolute best care of you. They had the others to worry about if they didn't.

Which led them to wonder. Why hadn't you fallen for any of them yet? Were they not obvious enough?

One cold January day, Akagi realised you were acting strange. “I'm telling you guys, she probably has a boyfriend somewhere!”

The rest of the team stared at him disbelievingly, but Akagi didn't give up. “No I'm telling you, she looks happier than usual and I see her smiling at her phone a lot.”

“I propose we follow her after practice today” said Atsumu. Of course, his ideas were usually radical, and they would've never done such a thing. But they were desperate, did you really fall in love with someone else?

After practice, you waved at them with a small lopsided smile on your face and headed away. Unbeknownst to you, the boys were actually maintaining a distance just so they could follow you.

They ended up in a coffee shop, as you seemed to be waiting for someone.

The look conspicuous. Six boys, all wearing sunglasses. “It's a wonder she hasn't seen us yet” drawled Osamu sarcastically.

Suddenly, a girl slid into a seat opposite yours and placed a gentle kiss on your lips.

Inarizaki.exc has stopped functioning. “So that's why she never liked any of us” whispered Kita with a small smile.

Ever the diplomatic leader, he walked up to you and your girlfriend. “Hi y/n-san, hello miss” he said politely to the both of you. A faint blush could be seen on your cheeks as you figured Kita, and the rest of the boys saw the kiss.

“Kita-san, boys, this is my girlfriend gf/n” you proudly announced, as your fingers found hers' and intertwined them together.

“We're so happy to find out about this, you guys make a lovely couple.” said Aran. The twins diverted their attention to your girlfriend and began peppering her with questions. “How did you guys meet?”, “Who asked who out?”, “Yer' so lucky”

Your heart felt full, it was not everyday that you found out you had the best friends in the universe. “Thanks guys” you whispered through choked sobs, as Suna gently hugged you. “please join us for some coffee”

taglist: @dai-tsukki-desu @k-sakusa-old @pleaseshutup2021 ❤️💛💚💙💜

[simpsamaa]

Haikyuu Captains Dating HC’s

Have some dating headcanons with some of the captains in Haikyuu because i’m not a total simp for captains. 

I also kinda got carried away with Kuroo’s- I just love him so much-

Also Bokuto’s is kinda suggestive- so- warning?

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

also my requests are open

so you can request characters from BNHA or Haikyuu for headcanons or scenarios 

Daichi Sawamura

Okay

When you start dating this man, you automatically become the mom for the team

Well second mom cause Suga’s the first mom.

You guys meet because you become a manager with Kiyoko and thus start a friendship with Daichi

and it leads on to more-

Will use stupid dad jokes on you when you feel down

Is the type of bf who would send you good night and good morning texts

He acts like an alarm clock for you

He will send you the good morning text at a certain time just to wake you up

Also so you have time to get ready in the morning, cause he’s a loving boyfriend

I expect this guy to be into PDA

But like

it’s just hand holding when you guys are in public

When you guys are alone, 

cuddles, hugs, kisses, etc.

but every time you guys do something affectionate the team makes fun of you.

You guys act like an old married couple

Will take you out on the cutest dates

Wear his jersey to one of his games and his receives will be spot on

same with his spikes and serves

Honest to the team you’re a lucky charm so-

“Dai-kun, how are the first years?” You asked your boyfriend as the two of you entered the gym. Only the third and second years were in there, the first years were still taking an exam. 

“Hmm, Tsukishima and Kageyama need to work on their interaction with the team, Hinata has been hyper as always, and Yamaguchi has some good progress on his jump serves.” Your black haired lover explained, making you smile at how he talked about his teammates.

“How have Tsukki and Tobio been working together? I think they’re the only ones who can’t sync properly” You said, crossing your arms while watching Nishinoya receive another spike from Tanaka.

“Well,” Daichi started with a deadpan look on his face, “Kageyama and Tsukishima can sync, they just argue over it half of the time.” He finished, making you laugh at the thought of them arguing.

“Mmh, maybe a training exercise for the both of them?” You asked, grabbing one of Daichi’s hands into your own, playing with his fingers.

“That might work, but-” “OI DAI-SAN STOP MAKING US FEEL LONELY” Tanaka cut off Daichi as he saw that you were playing around with the captains fingers. 

“YEAH DAICHI-SAN, NOT ALL OF US HAVE AN ADORABLE SHORT GIRLFRIEND” Nishinoya joined in, making you glare at Nishinoya.

“I’M NOT THAT SHORT” You yelled back to the male with spiked hair. “YOU’RE SHORTER THEN ME” Noya yelled back.

Daichi let out a sigh, watching his girlfriend bicker with his teammates with a small chuckle. 

“God, I love her so much”

We stan Daichi

HE CAN COOK

Will cook you lunch

In the end

100% husband material 

Also call him daddy

Oikawa Tooru

Now let’s talk about this flat ass man

He loves PDA

Will tell you he loves you

Will grab your hand, pull you onto his lap, kiss you in front of his fangirls-

He means the best-

Loves it when you wear his clothes-

Wear his jersey, his hoodies, his track jacket 

He loves it

Cause it shows that you’re his

He’s lowkey possessive 

Hates it when you and Iwaizumi team up on him

“Flatass oikawa“ Is your nickname for him

jkjkjk

It’s Tooru

Yes you call him by his first name cause we’re basic bitches here okay

You’re basically the unofficial manager of the team cause you care about them too much

They all love you

Sends you good morning and good night texts with his face

cause he’s like that

And Oiks gets jealous

Will wake you up at three am to take you out to see the stars

and look for aliens 

Honestly-

“TOORU OIKAWA DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?“ You exclaimed to your boyfriend as he dragged you out of the window, sitting on the roof at three fourteen in the morning.

“I know it’s late, but Y/n-chan,” The brown haired male started, “there’s a meteor shower and there could be aliens. So we have to watch tonight,” he explained making you sigh. 

You knew you weren’t getting out of this. 

“Don’t you have morning practice?“ You asked, locking your hues with his chocolate coloured ones. He gave you a smile before turning his head up to look at the stars, “Maybe, but that doesn’t concern you,” 

You scrunched your eyebrows before hitting Tooru’s shoulder with your own, “It does concern me,” you started, glaring at the male. You were looking at his side profile. “You’re my boyfriend, and I love your team, of course i’m concerned,” you finished making his eyes widen.

Giving you a small smile, he pulled you in to a side hug, leaning his head on your shoulder.

“Let’s just watch the stars tonight and not care about what happens later”

You and Oikawa miss the next day of school cause the both of you are tired from staying up all night-

I don’t think Oikawa can cook

but-

The meals his fan girls give to him-

eat them sis

He’ll never know anyway

His fangirls learn to like you too, because Oikawa likes you

and they like everything Oikawa likes-

though there are some of the delusional fans who think Oiks is just using you

Which he’s not btw

but take care of this baby-

he needs some love

In the end

100% Tooru material 

Kuroo Tetsurou

Can we talk about this gif for a second-

Like the fourth season did him so good

LIKE I’M SO PROUD

lowkey daddy material-

ANYGAYS

ON TO THE HC’S

He adores you 

like

A D O R E S Y O U

If you try a different style or change your hair style, he thinks it’s adorable

He’s highkey a simp for you

Loves PDA

He loves to grab your thigh when he sits next to you

he’s a thigh guys alright-

Loves kissing you in front of people

etc the whole team-

in front of Daishou-

Does get jealous sometimes, but only if he doesn’t know the person

You and Yaku are mom friends

After all, you do have to take care of a 187cm child

Kuroo lowkey think’s it hot how much you care about people and take care of people-

Study dates are a yes with him

You’ll go to little cafes with him-

CAT CAFES-

Sends you good morning texts at five am

and good night texts at four am

cause ISTG this man does not sleep-

Loves to tease you

If you’re shorter then him-

You’ll be called chibi-chan

Cough Yagami Yato Vibes COUGH

Loves it when you hug him

It makes him feel like a giant 

which he is but- ight

LOVES TO KISS YOU TO DIStract you

You’ll be doing homework in his room and he’ll pull you into a breathless kiss and leave you wanting more-

like-

You twirled your mechanical pencil in your fingers, you eyes glanced down at your homework, science. 

You weren’t the best at it, nor were you the worst but you still had trouble with it. Taking off your glasses, you rubbed at your temples before trying to solve the equation once more. 

Tetsurou glanced into his room, his gold hues stopping at your figure hunched over his desk, homework in front of you. Turning around he got a glass of water and walked into his room once more.

“You’re going to get wrinkles early if you keep doing that face,” The black haired male teased, making you groan and press your forehead against the dark wood of his desk. 

“i don’t get how you like science? It’s so boooring,” you groaned, the pencil rolling out of your hand onto the desk.

You heard your boyfriend chuckle before hearing him walk over to you. You raised your head, watching as his golden hues skimmed over the paper before he let out a small ‘pfft’. 

“This is easy,” he said before explaining it.

You gasp as you finally get it, pushing Tetsurou’s hands away and grabbing your pencil, you began to scribble  the answer down, only to be pulled into a heated kiss. 

Kuroo’s tongue pushing past your lips to meet yours. Your eyes were wide, face slightly pink and hands curled up into loose fists gripping his shirt. You were about to close your eyes before he pulled away, a large smirk formed on his face as he saw you. 

“You need to get back to your paper, I guess i’ll leave you alone”

Let’s just say- you did not get the paper finished, but it was a good outcome-

Okay-

I’m like thirsting Kuroo-

So this is long as fuck-

Kuroo can cook basic things

Will cook for you only if you ask

But if oyu cook for him-

He’s whipped

100% Daddy Boyfriend material

Bokuto Koutarou

Season four bokuto got me feeling some way-

like-

they did my baBY SO GOOD

ANYGAYS-

Hyper boy loves PDA

Will hold you when he has the time to-

Loves to kiss you

Even when Akaashi tells him that it’s going against the school rules-

Loves the difference between your hand and his

The way your hand is so small compared to his

and soft

his hands are huge btw-

Loves to call you pet names 

Birdy, Baby bird, dove etc..

Lots of bird related ones-

Loves it when you go to practice and his games

His spikes will be on p o i n t 

You and Akaashi are buddies

You both have to deal with this hyper male-

Like Kuroo he loves your thighs

if the two of you are cuddling-

hands on thighs

and ass-

He loves to hold you-

Sends you good morning texts at six in the morning

and good night texts at nine pm

This man actually sleeps i think-

The team loves you

You raise bokuto from his lowest on the court.

Will state how much he loves you everyday

“Y/N I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK“

“Y/N I LOVE YOU MORE THEN HINATA LOVES VOLLEYBALL“

yk?

Will get very whiny when you try to do something other then love him

Becomes depressed bokuto until you give him the love and affection he deserves.

Bokuto wasn’t at his best today at all. His spikes were off, his serves either hit the net or went out of bounce. Why, you might ask. well today you decided to get up early without waking up your boyfriend and go to school without waking him up. 

You walked into practice, scrolling threw something on your phone. Quickly looking up you gave the team a small smile before going to sit on the benches, your eyes going back to your phone. 

Bokuto let out another groan as you did’t give him a hug or a kiss or any type of affection. Akaashi soon caught on to what you were doing and marched over to where you were on the bench.

“Y/n-san stop ignoring bokuto-san,” the dark haired male said making you look up at his tall figure before giving him a small laugh. “how did you figure me out?” you asked while standing up and brushing your skirt. 

“Bokuto gets in his depressed mode when you ignore him,” The younger male stated before turning his body so you could see the spiked haired male whining.

You gave the second year a smile before walking over to your whining boyfriend. 

“kou are you alright?” you asked pressing a kiss to his cheek as he was hunched over. Golden hues locked into yours before Bokuto pulled you into his muscular chest.

“Are you done ignoring me?” his whispered as he nipped your ear.

“Yes sir“ you quietly responded, eyes darting around, making sure no one was looking at the two of you.

“that’s a good girl, now go over there and wait for me. You’ll get what you deserve after practice”

-------------------------- 

Okay well we’re done for now with these headcanons- i started this in july and only finished it now-

anygays- I hope you enjoyed these and if you have characters you want me to write a scenario or headcanons. just ask!!

BTW DID YOU KNOW: Oikawa is taller then bokuto, but Bokuto weighs more. That ass got weight that Oikawa’s non-existent ass doesn’t have-

i love you guys💗

✨thank you for reading!!✨

[concussed-to-pieces]

Late July Part Two

Fandom: Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Pairing: Agent Whiskey [Jack Daniels]/Reader

Rating: Holy shit kinda' tame.

AN: Guess who was a fool and thought that they could leave Late July the way it was?! Me. Spoilers for Kingsman: The Golden Circle abound in this chapter, so proceed only if you don't care about the movie being spoiled for you! I'll see you guys on Wednesday. Enjoy!

Tag List: @huliabitch @wrestlingfae @cookiethewriter @culturalrebel @jackierey09 @crookedmoonsaultpunk @duker42 @agirllovespasta @nelba @pedrosbigdorkenergy @lestrange2703 @youmeanmybrain @luvley-shadow @theocatkov @miscellaneousjunkk @reluctantlyresponsibleadult @buttons-beads-lace @gooddaykate @lackofhonor @talesfromtheguild @absurdthirst @mostly-megan @pancakepike @88dragon06 @chibi-liz05 @iellaren-uodo-rian @heatherbel @ripleyafterdark @oloreaa @thesoftdumbass @okilover02 @renegademustelid

Alright, I think I got everyone! There will be one more part on Wednesday, so if you would like to be tagged please let me know!

Part One

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This chapter contains attempted purposeful triggering, frank discussion of character death, memory loss, regression and vivid flashbacks/allusions to post-trauma. Stay safe!]

He came back around slowly, still tasting the stale beer of last night's party like an unwanted echo in his mouth. But instead of waking up on the kitchen floor of his shared apartment, he was in a blindingly white room that looked suspiciously like an alien spacecraft. Jack's mind raced. Shit, maybe my roommate wasn't being a total spaz when he talked about getting probed, the young man realized with an undercurrent of fear. 

Incomprehensible beakers of things lined the walls of the room. Alright, maybe he should have paid more attention in his chemistry classes, but he could hardly be blamed for assuming that none of it would have practical uses!

Jack rattled his hands in the cuffs that secured him to the table, clearing his throat. Man, his head ached. This was why he needed to remember to drink a glass of water before passing out!

"S'cuse me? Uh, hello?" He called hesitantly. "Look, if the guys from Theta Alpha Phi put you up to this-"

A beautiful older woman rounded the corner into the room, observing him over her glasses. "Welcome back." Her voice was steel, and Jack worried his lower lip nervously. "Wasn't sure if you were going to make it for a little while."

The restraints around his wrists and ankles abruptly retracted into the table, leaving Jack to awkwardly stumble forward onto the floor. He quickly regained his footing, reaching up to seize the lapels on his usually-open shirt and finding instead that he was wearing some sort of...ski suit? Jumpsuit? Top Gun, I can dig it. 

God, she really was a good-looking woman. Ah, what the hell. Nothing ventured...

"Hello gorgeous. I'm Jack, what's your name?" He didn't give her any time to answer before he carried on with a disarming grin, "How would you like to ride home on a real cowboy?" Jack ran a hand through his usually-unruly hair and found it...weirdly tame. "I've got a six pack on ice and my roomie is out for the night so you can scream my name as loud as you need to, sugar!" He continued, ambling forward. The cheesy, blatant approach usually worked well for him. Sixty/forty split, or thereabouts.

She kept retreating as he advanced, and then she reached into her pocket. Jack braced himself for the rebuff, confused when she pulled out a Polaroid instead. "I hate to do this to you, Jack." She sounded like she meant it. There was Blue-Tack on the back of the Polaroid and handwriting that some portion of his brain vaguely recognized as his own, but he didn't get the chance to read it before she was showing him the faded image.

It took him a moment to realize that it was a picture of one of the girls he had dated in high school, but it looked like she had grown into a legitimately stunning woman. She was smiling fondly at whoever was taking the picture, and the entire image radiated playful energy. Jack cocked his head, a buzz of foreign sadness churning briefly in his chest before he raised his eyes to meet the...scientist's? Teacher's? "Where'd you get this picture? I ain't seen her in years! Shee-it, she got beautiful." The young man drawled. "I have been thinkin' about visitin' my folks again. Maybe I'll go 'round to her place too for some catchin' up."

The woman seemed startled, her sculpted brows raising and then dropping as she studied him intently. "You...don't remember...?"

"I remember her, yeah, we dated for a while in high school." Jack insisted. "Broke up senior year because I was leavin' for college, y'know how it is."

"This is your wife, Jack. Or she was, rather." 

His head throbbed, left temple lighting up with sudden agony. "Oh, shit." Jack grunted, holding the side of his head and grazing a bandage that he hadn't realized was there. "Damn, I must have hit my head real good when those pricks from Theta Alpha shoved me down the stairs. Hangover probably ain't helpin'." He grinned ruefully at her. "Guess you must be the one who patched me up. I ain't never asked out a doctor before, but there's a first time for everythin'. Can I pay you back with dinner?"

The woman appeared perturbed. "Jack. This is your wife." She repeated, waving the picture in his face. 

"I'm real sorry ma'am, but I ain't the marryin' sort." Jack replied bluntly, "I would definitely remember if someone like her was still my girlfriend. Or uh, had become my wife."

"What do you remember happening, Jack? Before…" she gestured vaguely. "This?"

Jack chewed on his lower lip in thought, tilting his head back to stare up at the featureless ceiling. "Uh, I remember…well, before they pushed me down the stairs, them TAP boys crashed my roommate's party…"

…

"'Pressions, I need you down here in the reconstruction laboratory." Ginger Ale's voice issued abruptly through your earpiece and you sat up a little straighter at your desk. 

"What's happened?" You asked softly, rising from your seat and making your way to the door. What with a majority of the population currently locked up in stacks of cages, enough to fill football arenas to their brim, you weren't doing much in the 'managing first impressions' area. Since you had fewer and fewer responsibilities, Ginger Ale had begun to lean upon you a bit more, especially as all able-bodied agents were deployed into the field to search for an antidote. With Tequila being incapacitated, it had made the assignment personal to many agents. 

It had been fascinating to find out that Statesman was technically an offshoot from the now utterly-decimated Kingsman agency. When the two surviving members of their group had shown up to the Statesman headquarters, it had caused quite the stir. 

"I need a favor." Ginger said, sounding tired. 

"Anything." You agreed before she could elaborate further, picking your way through the gravel in the courtyard as you headed to the warehouse where the massive casks of Statesman Reserve were stored to age. Once inside, your heels clicked loudly in the stillness of the temperature-controlled storehouse and you were certain that Ginger Ale could tell your location just from the noise alone. "I'll be with you in a moment."

"Don't promise me that until you know what I need."

Your brow furrowed. "Uh...okay." 

Once you had made your way through the somewhat labyrinthine halls of the Statesman underground facility, you found Ginger Ale waiting for you directly outside the sick bay. She was rubbing her temples. 

"Oh no, that's not a good sign." You quipped as you approached.

She looked up and her face bore an expression of long suffering. "You don't have to say yes to this, okay?" 

"Ginger, talk to me. What's up?" You asked worriedly, taking her arm and leading her off to the side of the doorway.

"'Pressions, Whiskey may not be...one hundred percent." She said carefully. "He didn't snap back into 'Whiskey mode' even though the nanites-"

"Wait, what happened to Whiskey?" You interrupted in concern, your heart hammering a foreign, panicky tattoo on your ribcage. "He was with the Galahads, I thought?"

"He got caught by a sniper." Ginger Ale grimaced. "Clean shot to the head."

"Jesus, no." You gasped. "I'm assuming one of the Galahads used his alpha gel?"

"Yes, and the nanites did their job perfectly. So he's stable, and conscious. Better than that, I would hazard, considering that he took a bullet to the head and he's walking and talking. The issue is that he's not really...Whiskey. At the point he's regressed to, he thinks he's still a dropout living with his college roommate." Ginger Ale pulled a picture out of an inner pocket. "It used to be that we could just trigger him to resume where he left off using the memory of his wife and unborn son, but it doesn't appear to be working this time."

You stared at her, mainly because of how casually she stated the fact that they triggered their agents back to 'normal' with traumatic memories, but also because you had a sneaking suspicion that you might be the reason why the aforementioned trigger no longer held the same weight for the field agent. 

You told yourself you would refuse to feel guilty about it. Whiskey had asked for your help and you had obliged. It was as simple as that.

"Now, I know your family has that rental cabin, and I also know that it's fairly secluded. If the Statesman organization could possibly, uh...commission the cabin and persuade you to take some paid leave until Jack is...himself again, or at least until the drug issue is sorted and we can devote more time and research to this situation, I…" Ginger Ale trailed off as Jack's head popped out around the doorway.

You were treated to a blatant once-over stare that seemed to last for a lifetime, his dark eyes studying you intently. "Have I...met you before?" Jack asked you, the hesitance in his tone making you briefly hopeful before he continued, "yeah, last night, in my dreams I think?"

You couldn't help your groan and eye-roll, laughing in spite of yourself. "Ugh, and how often does that line work for you?" You teased. 

"So far, never." Jack admitted. "But I've always held true to the belief that the sexiest thing a fella' can wear is confidence." He continued with a grin, "That and a high-quality hat." He glanced down the hallway. "So, is it just you two lovely ladies on this alien spacecraft, or what?" 

"Alien…?" You raised an eyebrow. "Okay Ginger, I'm convinced. I'll get the paperwork ready. But if you need anything-"

"I know. I'm glad that I can rely on you." She interrupted you gratefully, looking relieved. 

"You gals got any Midrin on you? My head is killin' me." Jack grimaced, palming over the gauze square attached to his temple even as he shamelessly watched you walk past him to the lab's computer.

"Midrin was discontinued almost ten years ago." You replied absently while you punched in your login and searched for the proper documents to send to the nearby printer. Commission for resources...ah! There you are.

"What, really?" Jack gawked at you. "Hell, I should probably tell my roommate to chuck his then, it must be way outta' date."

"Somehow, I doubt that will be a problem."

…

Jack balked a little when you stated that you would be driving, but he quieted down once you implied that the world may look a bit different than he recalled and that he didn't have a choice in the matter.

"He's not the first one to get put back a little wrong. The process isn't perfect," Ginger had told you. Of course you knew about Galahad senior, the Kingsman agent who had been shot in the head and returned merely wishing to study butterflies. "But I'll send you informational packets that he can sift through. Hopefully something will jog his memory."

Just riding up in the cask elevator had Jack worryingly pale, though getting him outside into the fresh air and sunshine appeared to perk him right back up. He was obviously doing his best to roll with the punches. You thanked whatever gods were listening that Champ had given you permission to take Whiskey's Bronco. Despite the technological advancements of your own personal vehicle that made it miles more convenient to use (you kissed your Bluetooth phone sync goodbye with a woeful sigh), the last thing you wanted was to cause Jack even more distress. Whiskey was mercifully a classic, no frills, no fuss man when it came to his preferred vehicle, even for being a secret agent.

You grabbed your go-bag out of the trunk of your car and walked over to the Bronco in the lot, barely holding back a laugh at Jack's obvious approval of the vehicle. He was running his fingers reverently along the tiny red pinstripe on the exterior, back and forth.

"If I get enough money for one of these beauts someday, God, it will be a sight." He mused, sounding wistful. "Have to get a better job first, though." He continued, as if reciting an oft-repeated mantra. 

"Ginger said you dropped out. What courses were you taking?" You asked curiously. Jack had never been very forthcoming with information about his past, so you seized the opportunity to glean a little insight into the normally tight-lipped agent.

"My parents want me to be a doctor." Jack answered you with a shrug. "I dropped out last semester. Still ain't sure how I'm gonna' break it to 'em." He bounded up into the passenger seat, drumming his fingers nervously on the edge of the door. "Can I ask for somethin' to eat? I'm fuckin' famished." He admitted, changing the subject.

"Yeah, what do you feel like?" You paused, wondering if visiting the establishment near your cabin would assist his memory. "Sandwiches? Pizza?"

"She drives a manual and she eats real food? Be still my goddamn heart!" Jack proclaimed dramatically.

"Easy now cowboy, flattery will get you everywhere!" You laughed.

He grinned back at you, but the smile soon faded. You noticed him studying himself in the side mirror, running a finger down his jaw and grimacing. "God, there's a lot more mileage on this face than I remember." He muttered, prodding the skin of his right temple to smooth out the pronounced crow's feet around his eye. As if working on muscle memory, he reached down without looking and popped open the glovebox to grab his sunglasses. He paused, like he noticed what he had done, then shrugged and slipped the glasses on. "How do I look, ma'am?" 

"Perfect."

What with the drug situation ravaging the world right now, the normally-bustling joint you favored was downright sleepy. Aside from the muted television over the counter, the only sign of life was the lone waitress who ushered the two of you in to sit at the counter. 

"I can turn that up if you'd like." She offered, nodding at the TV. "I just leave it silent when I'm alone because all the reports...well, they can grate on your nerves, y'know?"

"Nah, leave it off." You shook your head. "I'm full up on hearing about the topic at hand." 

"'Topic at hand'?" Jack repeated, looking confused. He had taken his hat off and placed it on the countertop, his fingers back to worrying the bandage on his head. 

You nudged him with your elbow. "Hey, cool it. You'll undo all of Ginger's hard work." You chided, and he jerked his hand away with an embarrassed chuckle. 

"Whups, sorry." He looked up at the menu, and then asked the waitress, "Ma'am can I get a cup of coffee and a hot brown with chicken? I'm downright famished." His smile seemed more genuine, somehow. You realized after a moment that it actually reached his eyes, warming them even further. You weren't sure if you had ever seen him smile like that. Maybe he had forgotten how.

You began to explain in an undertone after the waitress had bustled off to the kitchen, "so there's this...problem going on in the world right now. Big drug problem." 

"Yeah, no shit." Jack scoffed, taking a sip of the black coffee she had poured him. "Nixon started that shit, and Reagan's been on that shit for years. You ain't tellin' me nothin' I don't know."

"N...No, no no, this is different." You grimaced, leaning in a little closer. "I'm talking like, there was one person behind the whole thing and now a large chunk of the population is infected with a virus that will kill them because they used illegal drugs."

Jack stared at you, his coffee cup forgotten in midair between the counter and his mouth. "You...what, hell, all drugs?" He asked incredulously. "Weed? Coke? LSD? 'Shrooms? Everythin'?"

"Everything unregulated, yes." 

"I...God." The mug met the counter with a thump and Jack put his head in his hands. "Fuck, you're serious about this, ain't you?"

This was a far cry from the boardroom Whiskey who had insisted that Champ "couldn't make this personal" after it had been revealed that Tequila was infected. But then, people changed over time. Things happened. You imagined a secret agent would grow into a fair amount of detachment through their career, if only for the sake of their sanity.

"So what's gonna' happen to them? Is anyone doin' anythin' to help? Or is everyone just sittin' on their damn hands again, watchin' shit happen?" Jack growled. 

"Well, our friends are doing their best. I'm confident that they'll be able to pull off their mission." Even without the senior Statesman agent at their side, you added mentally. Jack stayed in his hunched-over position for several minutes after his food arrived and you finally nudged his elbow. "Hey, sour puss. C'mon, we only made this pit stop because you were hungry."

"I'm sorry, my head is...I'm havin' some trouble." He mumbled faintly, and you noticed that he had gone pale again. "Headache."

You felt a touch of remorse. Maybe it had been overly optimistic of you to assume that he might recall more clearly in this location that he had only visited once. "To go it is." You decided for him, tugging out your wallet. "Once we get up to the cabin, we'll settle in for however long. It'll be fine."

…

There was no power. 

You cycled back through the last month's bills in your head. You had definitely paid the electricity. You huffed out an annoyed breath. "There must be a tree down somewhere." You said aloud. 

Jack was already making a beeline for the table in the kitchen, the takeaway container quickly splayed open so he could dig into his food with newfound zeal. "So, what do we need to do?" He asked around his first mouthful. He hadn't even bothered to sit down.

"Well first, I'll call Ginger." You sighed, already dialing the reconnaissance specialist. "After that, I'll check the stove, the fridge--"

"What happened?" Ginger answered before it even had the chance to ring, her voice sharp.

"No no, nothing's wrong. Just the power is out. With everything being the way it is, it'll probably be down for a few days." You heard the rapid clicking of a keyboard. "Whoa hey, don't move stuff around, Ginger. We can survive just fine without power for a day or two." You assured her. It always made you feel guilty whenever Statesman resources were used on someone as inconsequential as yourself. 

"Are...are you sure? I really should be working on getting more information from the drones in Cambodia-"

"Absolutely, you have way bigger fish to fry. We can wait our turn on the outage route." You interjected firmly. "I'll use the car charger for my phone, so if you need anything you can still get in touch."

…

Jack did his best to tune out your conversation with the woman from the lab, the young man scanning the inside of the cabin as he ate. 

It was small, though not cramped. Behind him was the common room, separated from the deck by sliding glass doors. The ceiling overhead was simple untreated beams, interspersed with skylights that left sunny squares on the warm wood floors. 

There was a hallway to his left that he assumed must lead to at least one bedroom and the bathroom, but he wasn't particularly interested in snooping down that direction.

His gaze landed on the wood stove that was tucked into the lone river-rock corner upon a sturdy pedestal of bricks, eyes tracing the stovepipe up to where it pierced the wall to the outdoors. Jack left the table and meandered to the stove, turning the handle and popping the door open after a brief struggle. It was still full of old ash from the last use and he grumbled under his breath, grabbing the shovel and bucket from their cobwebbed resting place against the wall so he could give the stove a proper seeing-to.

You would think people had never heard of a damn chimney fire, the young man griped to himself, eventually standing with the half-full bucket and making his way outside. "Hey!" He called to get your attention, "where's your trash?" 

You waved a hand off in the direction of a waist-high wooden crate that no doubt housed the waste receptacles, out at the end of the rutted drive. On his way by, Jack slowed briefly to a halt to watch you talk into your...God, is that really what cellular phones looked like? 

You shot him an absent smile when you seemed to notice that he had paused and the young man felt his stomach lurch, what the hell? This all seemed so familiar, like he had done it before. 

His head hurt.

Waking up in a body that was damn near twenty years older, retrograde amnesia was what the...what Ginger Ale had called it. Jack scoffed to himself. The hell kind of name is Ginger Ale? Then, he winced. Jack Daniels, meet kettle.

So what had happened in between? Something must have happened to him. Ginger had implied that he and that girl he had dated in high school got married, which was...not something he had ever thought about having on his radar, if he was honest.

Unless…

A weird, uneasy suspicion began to take root in his chest. There was one scenario where he believed he would ask a woman to marry him, if only because it was the goddamn proper thing to do. 

Oh God, he felt sick to his stomach again. Something, a memory, was lurking just out of the light and he couldn't shake the burgeoning sensation of dread. It was as if his brain was playing tug-of-war, both pushing him towards the realization and dragging him away from it in equal measure.

Jack shook his head and dug his fingers in beneath the heavy wooden lid that shielded the waste containers from the elements (and snooping animals), shoving it up so he could empty the bucket into the ash can. Later, he promised himself, we'll tackle that shit later.

...

Jack appeared to be deep in thought as he carried on the task of emptying out the wood stove, so you simply left him to it as you did a quick check of everything else in the cabin. It looked like the power hadn't been out for too long, as the small fridge hadn't defrosted just yet, so you made a note to head down the road and pick up some ice at the amenities store. You kept an 'emergency' cooler under the counter for such an occasion as this. 

This cabin and the surrounding ones didn't lose power very often, but what with all the old trees around it tended to be inevitable once the winds got strong. Your parents had instilled the knowledge in you of how to properly maintain the property, and you were immensely grateful that no problem had cropped up yet that you hadn't been able to straighten out by yourself. 

Most of the vacation cabins that littered the nearby woodlands had been booked up for the summer, due to the prolific population of affluent wealthy who enjoyed them as an 'isolated retreat from civilization'. You were hard-pressed to think of an 'isolated retreat' that included a convenience store within literal walking distance of one's residence, but any port in a storm. 

Jack was oddly silent for nearly the entire walk down the road to the tiny store, his thumbs hooked through his belt loops as his fingers idly patted out an off-tempo rhythm on his thighs. "Penny for your thoughts?" You broke the quiet with your question, trying for a genial tone.

"I dunno', really. I've got a lot of 'em. How many pennies we talkin'?" He replied, his smile strained. "I just feel like I'm missin' somethin'...big. Obvious. And I...dunno' if I'll be happy about figurin' out what it is, y'know? Like there's somethin' in the back of my head, hollerin' at me, but I can't make out the damn words and I don't--I ain't sure if I really want to." Jack stared off ahead, his eyes shaded by the brim of his hat. "I've already been a fuck-up for most of my life, y'know. I can't imagine what bullshit I pulled later." 

This uncertain man was a far cry from the usual cocksure attitude you had come to expect from Whiskey. In a way, you weren't exactly surprised that his attitude may have been mainly bravado. Or it might just be that he had played the part for so long he started to believe it. You reached out carefully and he met you halfway, almost absentminded, instinct kicking in before his brain as he wrapped his hand around your wrist. 

It took a moment before Jack's fingers twitched, and then his shoulders went stiff. Just like Whiskey, you found yourself thinking. "Uh, sorry, I-" he began to awkwardly apologize. 

"It's okay." You murmured, rubbing your thumb over the back of his hand. "If you're okay, this is okay." 

"...okay." Jack's voice was barely a whisper, the man smiling gratefully and giving your hand a gentle squeeze. 

...

It was a beautiful night. 

Due to the lack of power in your cabin and the ones around it, the stars were clearly visible. You had brought the battery-powered radio out with you onto the deck, soft crackling static and faint music the backdrop to your after-dinner conversation. 

Jack was more at peace than he could recall feeling recently, the man content to watch your expressions in the light of the lone citronella candle that you had lit on the table. 

At ease, well-fed and comfortable, it was almost malicious how fast his mind began to twist everything for him. Jack Daniels, college dropout. Nothing to show for it at all. He'd crashed and burned so damn fast, there hadn't been time. And now, all of this, finding out that the world had gone to shit--

In the middle of his ruminations, something dragged him back to the present. A familiar song, jarring him out of his self-deprecating reverie. "You fill up my senses…"

His head aching again, Jack got a fleeting recollection of a kitchen in a tiny apartment. Faded, dingy gray subway tiles on the backsplash, yellow curtains framing the window over the sink, her yelling at him, "I hate it when we fight, Jack," eyes snapping with fury but resigned and no, no, something is wrong-

"What's wrong?"

It took him a minute to realize that it was you asking him aloud, not his brain screaming at him. Jack grimaced, pressing his fingers to the bandage. "This song, I...I know it."

"I mean, it's John Denver." You said in a deadpan tone. "The guy oozes questionable sweater choices, denim and radio-friendly vibes. I'd be more surprised if you didn't know it."

"When she and I...we had moved in together. And this…it was playin' while we were arguin'." Jack's head was pounding. The kitchen had always felt too small, though it was the perfect size for her. They fought. About little things, and then bigger things. His gambling, her drinking. What a couple. Jack shoved his chair back from the table on an impulse, getting to his feet. "C'mere." He ordered, extending a hand to you

You raised an eyebrow, looking up at him. "Why?"

"Dammit woman, just-" Jack tangled his fingers with yours, giving your arm a light tug. "C'mere." He pleaded.

You obliged begrudgingly, obviously comfortable in your current position and unwilling to move. But once you were upright you didn't seem to have any reservations about him swaying you back and forth in time to the music, your head on his chest like it belonged there and your hands tucked into the sleeves of your large sweatshirt. 

"...like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean…" the song carried on, sweet and calm. Jack rested his chin on the top of your head, closing his eyes and just letting the faded memories wash over him.

"...I can't do this shit anymore." He had whispered into her hair, his voice hoarse. "All we goddamn do is fight and neither of us change and I'm fuckin' sick of this shit." He had continued to rock the both of them to and fro in that tiny kitchen, as if to soothe her. 

"Oh, you think I'm not sick? I've been sick!" She threw it right back at him hotly, her fists clenched on his chest like she wanted to beat the piss out of him. He probably deserved it. "Jack, you're the one who needs to change! You're the one who's the father of my fucking baby, why don't you start goddamn acting like it!"

Jack's eyes flew open. Baby? He scoured his mind frantically, every memory he turned up so frustratingly piecemeal! 

Baby, a baby, son? Blue crib, blue walls, my son? Married, needed to get married, can't have a baby without getting married, her parents hate me, my parents are already disappointed, have to elope--

And then everything ground to a halt. It was like his memory hit a wall, leaving him confused and almost raw with uncertainty. He needed more, damn it! He exhaled raggedly, making you look up at him in concern.

"Jack? Are you okay?" Your query was so quiet, like you didn't want to disturb him.. 

"I just...my uh, my joints are complainin'. Guess I let myself sit for too long." He fibbed, smiling down at you in an attempt to distract you from his obvious turmoil. "Thanks for the dance," Jack hesitated, an unfamiliar pet name lingering on the tip of his tongue, "cherry pie."

...

Jack meandered to lean with his arms crossed on the porch railing, his head tipped back to look up at the sky for a time. "Have I...been here before?" He asked out of the blue. "I feel like...it's weird to ask, but I feel like you and I have...I feel like I've been here before. With you." He finally managed to get the words out.

"Well, yes." You admitted. "You came to me because you needed help."

"And did you?" Jack cocked his head to the side. 

"Did I what?"

"Help."

You hesitated to answer him, mulling it over. Because in the moment, it seemed like you had. Whiskey had left your care an obviously happier man, but…

If the memory of his pregnant wife, the memory of losing her had been established as his failsafe, it was downright irresponsible of him to have removed that trigger without instating a new one first. Ginger Ale hadn't known, and now Statesman was down their senior field agent in the middle of an incredibly dangerous and tenuous maneuver. The health and safety of countless people hung in the balance and technically, technically (by your reasoning, anyway), it was your fault that Statesman was unable to put their best foot forward in this endeavor.

But…

"I think so." You said softly. "You hung onto something from your past that hurt you, Jack. Something that weighed your body down. I guess you finally got tired of carrying it with you."

Jack's smile was slow, but it lit up his face yet again in the way that Whiskey's never had. "Well good, then! I'm glad you helped me out." He shook his head ruefully. "I just feel like I've been here before. This point in time. It's like...like I'm gettin' the chance to do somethin' over, but I don't know what the hell it is. I'm scared, feel like I'm gonna' fuck somethin' up on accident." He admitted quietly. "It was here, wasn't it? Where you helped me?"

"Yes. This cabin is a safe environment for anyone that needs it."

"I can tell. It's...peaceful." He drawled, one boot hooked over the other as he shifted his weight against the railing. A hand wandered to your arm, his warm palm rubbing your shoulder absently. "I just hope that I can...do whatever it is folks need me to do." Jack murmured. 

His hand stayed on your arm for a good long while, the two of you silently looking at the stars.

"Hey, uh," Jack spoke up suddenly, "your...helpin', I…"

You glanced over at him, the stark white bandage on his temple serving as a stern reminder that this was not Whiskey, but simply Jack Daniels. The man, not the senior agent. A college dropout in a dead-end situation. 

"Do you help even if a person don't need helpin'?" He asked pointedly, an eyebrow hitched upwards as he observed you.

You opened your mouth, uncertain of what you would even say, but you were suddenly blinded by the motion sensor light blazing to life overhead. Jack pulled you into his body defensively, once again seeming to act on muscle memory. You watched through squinted eyes as he reached down for weapons that he didn't have, his hand flying to his hip. "Hey, don't worry." You mumbled against his chest. "The power just came back on, that's all."

"Jesus fuck that shit is bright!" Jack squawked, his voice pitched high. "Thought I was gettin' abducted by aliens again!"

"Again?" You couldn't help your laughter at how ridiculous he sounded. The man began to laugh along with you after a moment, his expression sheepish in the brilliant Illumination.

"Yeah, yeah, get your kicks." He growled good-naturedly, rumpling your hair. "You're lucky you're cute."

You grabbed hold of his hand, tugging him to follow you back inside. "C'mon, let's make sure nothing got overloaded." You urged. 

Even when he could have let go of your hand, you noticed he continued to hang on.

Part Three

[et-lesailes]

puppy play

pairing: chris evans x reader

themes: puppy snugs, chris snugs, just all the fluff

word count: 1550

summary: you and your husband chris appear on buzzfeed’s famous “playing with puppies” interview, ready to surprise the fans with bigger news than anyone was expecting.

taglist: @viarogers, @evanstush, @chibi-crazy, @chalamet-evans, @world-of-losers,@songforhema  @sebabestianstan101 @tanyam93 @b-val1@wonderwinchester@little-miss-exo​ @poerebel @bitchbabes-world 

note: requested by anonymous // hope you enjoy! also just wanted to apologize to everyone that my fics have been so much shorter lately. while i’m traveling, i’ve been writing on my phone which usually ends up in less of a word count as compared to when i use my laptop. but i’m still putting all my effort into making these as good as i can for you all, i promise :))

** please send an ask if you would like to be added to my taglist of any chris evans related fics!

You smiled brightly at the camera waving as the BuzzFeed interviewer introduced you and your husband as the two of you sat on the floor; though of course, she did not actually introduce you two as that, considering the general public had no idea. As far as everyone was concerned, you and Chris had been dating for years and engaged for around six months, but you had still managed to keep it a secret that the two of you had gone ahead and had an incredibly private ceremony to officiate your new relationship; while part of you felt guilty for leaving your fans out of your life, both of you had discussed how you simply did not feel like receiving all the exhausting backlash that came with such announcements. "Didn't he just propose? That marriage isn't going to last." "Isn't she younger than him? She has no idea what she's doing yet, she won't want to be tied down for long." "Is he even ready for a stable relationship? He seems like he's always working on some project or the other."

However, now that it had been four months of marriage and things were sailing smoothly, the two of you had discussed before today's BuzzFeed interview that you'd finally be willing to break the news-- along with some other very important information. It would end up being a personal interview, that was for sure, but you were actually excited for the big reveal. As the recently awarded Model of the Year, you loved and appreciated your fans, and you wanted them to know about your life-- you knew you could not let the negative comments get to you, considering they were not about to end anytime soon given you and your husbands' careers, and it was about time to suck it up and face the music. Besides, you knew you had several respectful and loving fans who would support you and your relationship, and so you would make sure to focus on that.

You squealed in delight as the crew released a small horde of puppies towards you; when BuzzFeed had contacted you and Chris asking if you wanted to do the “play with puppies” interview, the two of you did not even hesitate. You both loved dogs far more than you loved humans (hell, maybe more than you loved each other) and so this was more than fun for you guys. Chris’ had a huge smile on his face as the puppies ran towards him, his mouth open wide in delight. “Hello, little guys!! Look at you-- oh, God, look at you-- babe, are you seeing this, they’re so fuckin’ cute.” He blinked and suddenly looked to the cameras, laughing, “I’m not allowed to swear, am I? Oh, you’ll beep it out? Okay, nice.” You sighed and rolled your eyes fondly towards the camera at your husband’s potty mouth, but you’d be lying if you said you didn't find his swearing attractive. Picking up a puppy to snuggle on your lap, you smiled up at Chris cutely. “Kinda makes ya want another one, doesn’t it…?” you said innocently, even holding it up to make Chris look it in the eyes. He laughed and playfully covered his eyes, shaking his head. “Don’t do this to me!! You know puppies are my weakness!”

You were happy to be on a set where you could act so naturally with your husband; you tried to do that as much as possible in general, but it was difficult for some shows that had more strict rules. The interviewer and crew were laughing as they watched the two of you fool around for a bit before finally starting to ask questions.

“So you two are officially living together, aren’t you? How has that been?”

“Amazing.” Chris instantly replied, a grin crossing his lips as he glances at you, simultaneously stroking the puppies clambering onto his lap. “It was a really smooth transition, honestly. She moved into my place, and she was already spending a lot of nights anyways, so it wasn’t too different ya know?”

You smiled and nodded, looking back on the past few months of living with Chris. “We’re both pretty independent people, so we know when to give each other space, but we also know when to come together and have time for just us, too. No phones, not even TV, just talking and catching up-- and of course showering our dog Dodger with love,” you said with a giggle, thrilled to simply be able to call Dodger yours too.

“So you two are able to balance your busy schedules and making sure to have some date nights, too? I imagine it would be difficult, what with Chris having so many upcoming projects and you doing photoshoots practically every other week!” 

“It’s definitely hard sometimes,” you pondered thoughtfully, “but we learned early on that communication is the most important. Sometimes you have to accept that one person might be busy, even for months on end if it's a big project-- but as long as we let each other know beforehand, we’re understanding.”

“She’s the most understanding girl I could ask for,” Chris piped in, a smile on his face. “We’re just always on the same page, I swear. And if we’re not, it’s so easy to talk it out, there’s no pressure or tension. I’m incredibly grateful for her.” You swore you were about to tear up from hearing his touching words, and you knew there was blush on your cheeks; you giggled as you look to the camera, biting on your lip clearly happy, laughing as the crew starts to coo in support. “He’s alright I guess,” you playfully added on nonetheless, casually shrugging your shoulders and earning an “offended” scoff from the male, though the twinkle in his eyes is undeniably there. 

The interview continued and the puppies were as playful as ever, making you and Chris laugh with their adorable antics and persistent kisses. The two of you answered relationship questions, career questions, lifestyle questions; the interviewer seemed to be wrapping things up, and then came the question you guys had been waiting for.

“So, Chris, fans are dying to know-- when are you two finally going to get married?” she inquired with a playfully sly smile, and he glanced at you with a little grin. You matched his expression, looking at him for a few moments keeping up the suspense; even the camera crew looked interested now, leaning slightly forward as they looked at you guys suspiciously. He finally looked back to the camera, cradling a sleeping puppy tenderly in his muscular arm. “Well… don’t hate us, but my beautiful fiancée and I actually decided to become husband and wife a few months ago…” 

The reactions practically overtook the studio-- loud gasps, squeals, cheers, applause-- the two of you couldn’t help but laugh as you looked around, simultaneously getting attacked by overexcited puppies who were now completely alert and hyped up from the noise. “Okay, okay!” Chris laughed loudly as one practically climbed up him to cover his face in kisses, holding him up in the air keeping him at a safe distance. “I love you too, little guy!” 

“Wait, wait, wait,” you spoke over the noise, giggling excitedly as you glanced at Chris briefly before looking to the camera. “We may also have a new member of the Evans family coming along, and while I’d love for it to be one of these adorable little guys, it’s someone else…” Chris grins as he leans over, gently touching your belly, his eyes full of love as he looks up at you before looking to the camera wiggling eyebrows. “So I hope you guys understand why my beautiful wife will be taking a little hiatus from her modeling career pretty soon-- nothing but rest and relaxation for my baby mama,” he said with a playful grin, leaning over and pressing a kiss to your cheek. You giggle as more puppies scramble upwards to try and get in on the kissing action, holding one as you lean into Chris’ body. “We’re sorry we didn’t tell you all earlier, we just wanted some privacy with our relationship for a little bit while we were newly married,” you apologized, feeling like you owed it to the fans to explain why you had been hiding something so huge. “But now that you know,” Chris pitched in, grin still spread across his face, “expect an obnoxious amount of baby related tweets and photos, okay?” 

The interviewer and crew clap again, cheering in delight. “Congratulations, guys! We can’t wait to see the newest Evans in a few months!” You laugh as Chris pulls you into a hug, then squeal as he playfully pulls you down backwards to lie on the floor, the two of you now being climbed all over by tiny puppy paws. “Thank you for watching, and thanks for having us, BuzzFeed!” you playfully call out from the floor, lifting your hand up to make a peace sign to the camera and slightly cough-laughing as a small paw presses against your throat; Chris laughs loudly along with you, the two of you practically forgetting that you were at an interview as you play and roll around with the pups, completely happy and very much in love. 

[fanfux]

The Start Of Something

The heroes are auctioned off to the highest bidder for 24 Hours! 

A/N: Hey, hi, welcome! This is the first piece of fanfic I've written in a while. It’s the first piece of fanfic I've written on this side, so i’m kinda nervous. I know my writing style’s kinda whack, but that’s what practice is for! Feel free to clown, but please be gentle.

The repurposed library was awfully empty, considering the charity event had already started. People milled around in the lobby, talking to friends or scrolling on their phones. Sighing,Casey pushed the double-doors of the main hall open and immediately saw why everything was so sparse.Half the decorations weren’t up. The food bar was practically empty. Barely any staff were present. Most importantly, none of the advertised heroes were up; it was a bunch of b-listers and sidekicks. The audience looked to be filled with small time reporters, small business owners and community leaders. Looking back, the flyer did mention that the wildly popular heroes, like Deku and Red Riot would be on in the afternoon. No excuse not to get a good seat, though. Finding a place, they plopped down and began catching up on some neglected manga. 

It was already 11 am and Casey was well into the third main arc of their new favourite manga. Not many people had shown up, and the ones that did immediately left after seeing the state of the room and who was being auctioned off.  Next to them was a plate of some of the bleeding fruit and a cold bagel, with some barely-warm and over sweetened coffee that they snagged from the paltry spread the event staff put out. Their immersion was suddenly broken with the announcement of a name they’d been waiting to hear. A quick glance around the room showed nobody in the room seemed particularly interested, but one of the store-owners seemed to be considering it. Casey tried to hide the tremble in their hands when they lifted the betting paddle. It went once, twice, thrice and was sold. The auctioneer went onto the next hero, and Casey tried to steady their excitement.

The warm, midday summer sun baked Casey’s legs through their jeans. Heat radiated off the hoods of the cars. They were leaned up against the outside lobby of the building, anxiously tapping out the rhythm of a song they couldn’t clearly remember. Their eyes darted over the faces of the people milling in the lobby, looking for the person they betted on. It’d gotten much more crowded, and the place looked much nicer; Cutouts, posters and banners were plastered along the walls, and people posed for pictures with mascots. Vendors were selling merchandise as well. Casey was clutching a small plastic bag, with a smiling chibi Deku on it. Finally, they found the person they were looking for. A smile spread across their face, and they waved to get the person’s attention. The pro-hero noticed and made his way over, and wow he was tall. None of the posters or camera angles did him justice. He looked like he could match All Might in height! Casey stopped their wandering eyes and focused on the hero’s slightly off-put gaze.

“Um… hello? Tentacole?”

“ Hey, You can just call me Shoji for now” one of his appendages said. You’re Casey, aren’t you?”

They trilled nervously. “Uh, yeah! Do you um, wanna get going?”

 The hero made a motion of agreement, so Casey pivoted and headed towards the door, moving way too fast, but the guy was like, two feet taller than them, so it’s not like he’d have trouble keeping up and there he was, keeping pace, not even bothered.

Right. Now wasn’t the time to be freaking out. They had twenty four blessed hours ahead of him with this man, and it was mission imperative to keep calm.

They were two blocks from the event centre before anything happened. Shoji was the one to break the silence.

“Um...pardon, but where are we going?”

They stopped and turned around to look at him. He shifted his weight from one leg to the next, a sign of uncertainty.

“...The grocer’s? I gotta get a couple things right quick.” they paused.” Something wrong?” They fiddled with the flimsy bag in their hand.

“Nah, just kinda curious, you didn’t really say anything.”

“ Oh, sorry. Do you want me to talk? I tend to ramble, though.”

“You’re all good.” His appendage mouth smiled. 

Casey did their best to relax.

“ Umm, okay! Cool.” They smiled and did their best to relax.

For the next two blocks and five minute bus ride, Casey talked about… everything and nothing. Movies, manga, the latest hero drama and international mess were all extensively elaborated on. Shoji quipped in here or there with the odd tidbit here or there, but it was mostly all Casey. 

Finally, they arrived at the grocery store. The odd pair mulled about the isles, Casey goofing off occasionally, to the amusement of their companion. They cashed out and left, with Shoji carrying all the bags, despite their protests.

“Your place next, right?” Shoji cocked his head. “ I’m sure you don’t plan on carrying these around with you all day.”

“Yeah! It’s just down the street from here, actually. Really convenient and close to work.”

“Must have been a steal.” 

The pair set out once more, with Casey leading the way.

“Not really? It’s kinda run down and full of shady people but I promise it doesn’t look like shit on the inside and all the tenants are really nice! You probably shouldn't look at them for too long, though.”

“Oh. Um. I don’t know how I feel about that.”

They snorted. “ Relax. It’s not like they’re all Yakuza. I think.”

 Shoji shot them a side-eye. “ I don’t want our next reunion to be when I’m breaking your door down.”

Casey laughed and unlocked the door. The apartment wasn’t that bad, to Shoji’s eyes, just kinda old. It certainly showed in the decor and architecture. He eyed the place, and tried to not notice the keycode Casey was punching in.

 _____

Casey’s apartment could be mistaken for a miniature nature display. It was covered wall to wall in plants and replica animals and insects. The pro-hero admired the decor while Casey unpacked. His trance was broken when they called for him from the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway; there was a spread of ingredients on the counter and his handler was in the middle of tying an apron around their waist. They looked up, startling slightly.

“Hey! Um, wanna bake some stuff with me? It’ll be fun, and I kinda know what i’m doing.”

Slightly confused, Shoji entered the small kitchen and let Casey put an apron on him. They began the process, with Casey directing and Shoji following their lead. The pair worked wordlessly, with the scraping of utensils and the quiet jazz mellowing to create a comfortable atmosphere. The brunette was greasing a large bowl before he spoke again.

“This is nice, not at all what I expected to happen.”

Casey tilted their head towards him.

“I was told that- uh, to expect something different than, uh...this.” He motioned to the counter and  swallowed thickly. There was a beat before his partner replied.

“You mean they told you to expect to-”

“Yeah. That.” He tossed the damp tea towel over the bowl and pushed it to the side and Casey nearly choked on their spit.

“Oh! Nononono, I’m not into that kinda thing. You’re good, fam.”

He shrugged in response, but visibly relaxed. Casey continued.

“You mean that people bid on y’all with the intention of doing that? Is that even allowed?”

He shrugged. “ There was a contingency plan for anyone feeling the need to perform a task outside of the norm, so I guess? I wouldn’t be surprised. Have you seen twitter lately?”

Casey shuddered. “Sacrilege.”

___

The baking goods filled the small space with a wonderful smell. Shoji was sprawled out on the too-small couch, playing Breath of the Wild on a Switch that wasn’t his, while the owner was hunched over a small table, completely immersed in a piece of art. ‘ It’s supposed to be abstract’ was what Casey said ‘but i can’t seem to really get a proper grasp on abstraction, if that makes any sense’. Shoji thought it was plenty abstract. The window was open, and the cool summer breeze wafted into the apartment. The pro hero was finding it harder and harder to stay awake. 

“Um” he started “ Not to ah, look a gift horse in the mouth, because it’s been fun, but.” He paused. “You could have done anything you wanted…”

Casey stopped moving. Shoji thought they didn’t hear him, and was about to repeat himself, when they finally replied.

“I don’t know? I see you guys running around, protecting us all, and I think it’s gotta be really tiring. I don’t think you guys get enough time to relax. Y’all are in the prime of your lives, and you’re spending it doing some of the most stressful and dangerous jobs in all the country. And, i dunno” they laughed nervously “ I kinda have the urge to take care of you? Wanted to give you the chance to slow down a bit, y’know? Um...yeah. That’s why.”

Link made some questionable sounds and pseudo-words and the Hero opened his mouth to reply, but Casey continued.

“I mean, I know how awful it is to work and work and never have any breaks. I um, slacked off in my Senior year. Almost failed.My family left me for that one, not that they were really there anyways?  All of my friends left me behind, and I had to go the um, less standard route. Hard as hell. And i’ve got the job I have now, right? But it was hell getting here. I’m not really done either, since i’ve still got my dreams that I wanna accomplish, right? But, um… Yeah. I wanted to help someone that was going through the same thing.”

 Casey half turned around and Shoji was Staring At Them. So intently that they could feel holes being burned into them.They couldn’t make eye contact. The silence was pregnant before the other person spoke.

“ I..think I understand. That’s very sweet, actually. One of the nicest things that’s happened lately.”

Casey’s head shot up in alarm.

“I mean, yeah, people are nice to me, but it’s partially because i’m a hero. And y’know, people say nice things all the time, right? But that’s all it is. And uh, it’s nice to have someone actually do something nice to me for once. Thank you, and i’m not just saying it because.”

Casey couldn’t stop the grin spreading across their face, or the warmth blooming in their chest if they tried. Shoji’s arm-mouth smiled back.

“You’ve very much welcome, Tentacole.”

Neither of them said much until the bread finished baking. They both watched in awe as steam wafted gently off the hot loaves. 

It rounded four o’clock before anything else really happened. Casey suggested that they go to the arcade not too far from here, and the half-asleep Shoji agreed. The sun had baked everything in the street, and the heat was oppressive. On a whim, they’d pulled their companion into a hole-in-the-wall drink shop for refreshments. Unsurprisingly, the shopkeep recognized the hero and gave the pair their drinks for free. Both Casey and Shoji tried to pay them anyway, but the owner wouldn’t budge. After a fair bit of haggling, the two left.

“Is it just me or do you feel kinda bad? I should have gone in alone, I think.”

Shoji swallowed before replying. 

“I do feel kinda bad too, but it’s not like we were robbing them. I didn’t really like the way they did it, but i’m not saying no to free boba. Plus it’s super good. I’m coming back when I can. As for you, you should learn to accept things.” he ruffled their hair, and despite their whining, there was a smile on their face. The two finished their drinks and entered the arcade. After a quick tour and some mild teasing, they settled on the DDR machine. ‘We both suck at dancing, so why not?’ Shoji argued. Casey had no retort. 

Fifteen minutes later, they were both sweaty and panting.  The screen displayed a horrific score for both participants. They both agreed to do something else, and over the course of four hours, hit every machine in the store. Shoji, unsurprisingly, excelled at rhythm and accuracy games. Casey shone in speed and racing games.They were shoving some of the overpriced greasy food down their throats when Casey pitched the question.

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where’d you go and why?”

The response was instant.

“Naminoue Shrine. My parents took me there when I was little, and I remember it was very beautiful. I’ve been dying to go back, but I never have the time.”

 He finished eating his chili dog and shoves the soggy cardboard container into the overflowing trash container. Casey finished their grilled cheese, and the two walked out into the still-warm 8 p.m. air. The city’s nightlife was just beginning to stir, as could be seen with various bars and adult establishments beginning to open their doors. It had rained while they were inside, and the pungent smell of wet concrete and the fainter smell of garbage saturated the still-warm evening air. The sun was casting its dying rays, and they made a stark contrast with the monotone gray business buildings and faded advertisement signs. 

“Hey, do you have the day off tomorrow?” Casey asked. It was an innocent enough question.

“Nope. Patrol first thing after we’re done, actually. It’s kinda sad. I feel bad for my companions. “

Casey laughed.

“Why, you think some of them are gonna get their backs blown out?” They snickered “Or are they gonna be wandering around in post-nut clarity?”

Shoji laughed, this time from his mouth. It was loud and hearty and filled Casey with warmth. They wanted to bottle it and keep it forever.

“I know at least three people that are gonna be in that post-nut clarity haze for sure. Not naming them for uh, security reasons. Work is going to be fun tomorrow.”

“Oh, I can imagine.”

__

The pair were rounding the corner onto the street where Casey lived, and Shoji was about to tell his companion about the one time one of his co-workers had somehow found himself involved in a flash vampire harem and got absolutely drained, both metaphorically and physically when he was abruptly pulled into an alley. His back slammed into the cool brick. Confusion muddled with fear in the pit of his stomach.

“Close your eyes.” Casey’s frame betrayed their strength. The light from the street made Casey’s face look inhumane.

“Whu-”

“Shhhh, just close your eyes.” Casey slapped their palm over the exposed part of the hero’s face, forcing him to close his eyes. His world turned into disorienting, nauseating kaleidoscopes of colours. The ground beneath him turned into a vortex and as soon as it began, it was over. He collapsed on his hands and knees onto the ground. Casey hovered nearby.

“I’m sorry. I hope you haven’t lost your lunch? We did kinda spend a lot of time on it.”

The hero struggled to look up. His arms had become rubber. “What” he strained “The hell…”

More apologies ran off Casey's tongue. They hurried to Shoji’s side and helped him stand up. He leaned heavily on them, still heavily disoriented. The ground still swam beneath him, but he began to regain his legs. He stuffed another gag back down his throat. Finally, the wave of nausea passed, and he looked up.

And stopped.

Deep blue ocean, accompanied by the gentle crashing of waves on the cliffs created the perfect backdrop of the shrine. The sinking sun made everything look covered in gold. He remained on his knees, but the feeling keeping him there was awe. The shrine was beautiful, to say the least. Memories of past visits came flooding back to him, and now he was on his hands and knees. The feelings he’d filed away that had been bubbling under the surface all day were Right Now pouring out, pressing at and breaking through the seams. Shit, he hadn’t felt this much in years, with his appearance making friendships and work and romance and everything else so much more difficult. He wasn’t ready for-any of this really. This entire day had been a slow, methodical tearing down of all the walls he’d put up to protect himself and now-

He didn’t realize he was crying until there was a cloth dabbing at the space between his eyes and his mask.  Casey was apologizing- they needed to stop doing that so easily -and had tucked his hair behind his ear. The laugh that came from him was shaky and rattled in his chest. He grabbed the hand that was wiping away at his face and squeezed it.

“Thank you. You don’t have to do that anymore, i’m fine now.” He laughed again, this time more stable. Casey stopped and sat beside him, wordlessly. Technically, the shrine was closed to the public, so the area was almost unnaturally quiet. The sunset was beautiful.

___

The train ride back to Musutafu was quiet. Teleporting back was unanimously decided to be a rather bad idea, prepared for it or not. The carriage was empty and Casey had fallen asleep half an hour into the train ride, so Shoji had the luxury of some time to reflect.. In the short amount of time he’d come to know them, Casy had made more of an impact on him than the three years he’d spent at Yuuei had ever had. It’s not that he hadn’t been friends with any of them, just that some of the louder personalities had dominated the class life and he’d been..left behind? Not to say that he hadn’t had any friends, just that they’d grown more distant once their careers hadn really taken off. That was understandable of course, but that didn’t make it any less lonely. The auction event was supposed to be a bit of a joke, something to laugh over with everyone else at work, maybe a conversation starter. It certainly wasn’t supposed to turn into...well, this. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been this close to anyone in basically forever why he was feeling like this. He watched the rise and fall of Casey's chest as they slept and it took him a minute to realize he was smiling. Whatever the feeling in his chest was, it was too early to say. For now, though, he was going to enjoy the moment.

Casey shot awake, slightly panicked and very disoriented. The fucking sun was shining into their eyes like it had a personal fucking problem with them. The blanket that had been previously tucked around them was Really Hot. Caset cringed when their arm audibly unstuck when they lifted it. They fumbled around for their phone, before finding it on the bedside table - fully charged, mind you- where they literally never put it. Intentions to check the time were forgotten, however, because sitting on their screen, front and center was a message. From Shoji. Yesterday’s events came flooding back to them and they groaned. They almost didn’t want to open the message, but they’d have to if they wanted to apologize for yesterday’s stunt. Christ, how cringey could they be? Hesitantly, they unlocked their phone and clicked on the notification. To say what they found was unexpected would be understating it. 

Shoji: Hey, it’s me. You fell asleep on the train and I didn’t want to wake you, so I brought you home. I made sure your door was locked when I left, so you don’t have to worry. :) I wanted to clarify that me crying yesterday wasn’t because of anything bad you did. You mentioned feeling left behind by everyone in your life, and the trip to the shrine brought up some things I needed to deal with, so thank you for that. I really enjoyed the time I spent with you, and I wouldn’t mind hanging out again, if you’ll have me. Let me know if you ever need a scoop and I'll do my best to hook you up.

Shoji: Also I stole one of the bread. They were too good to pass up and my fridge is kinda empty. 

Casey snorted. This man was too sweet for his own good. It was no use staying in bed any longer, plus they had work to do. They smiled. Yesterday was nice. Not quite what they’d been expecting, but nice. Maybe they’d take him up on his offer.

A/N: Hey, you made it! Thanks for reading this mess of a fic. I don’t know what this ending was supposed to be either, but there it is! I like the dialougue, kinda, so I think i’ll keep it. I’m more than happy to recieve any feedback you may have, so send ‘em in.

[suishouyuki]

Sometimes I feel like this is pointless. Like I've missed my chance and it's too late. Isn't it better to start churning out comics as a teenager, build a following, and then go pro as a young adult? Isn't it too hard to start from scratch in your mid-twenties? Isn't the market saturated and opportunities limited? Does it mean that I should be doomed to the bottom where dreams have died? Can I never leave the ranks of those who started but never finished?⠀ ⠀ No. I don't believe that. Not anymore. Why?⠀ ⠀ We all start somewhere. The years I've already spent creating art and stories have not been wasted. Professionals only get to their skill level after years of dedication and practice. Artists are starting new things now at ages beyond mine. The market may be saturated, but the stories within us still need to be told.⠀ ⠀ I have a duty to see this through.⠀ ⠀ The Lord has blessed me with a few people in my life who inspire me to keep pushing forward when I feel like giving up, or like no one cares, or like I'll never succeed. They remind me that the crap the Enemy throws at me is just that: crap. It may sound kinda weird, but that's what this foundational Patreon tier is all about.⠀ ⠀ When you encourage artists through Patreon, in comments, by commission, and in many other ways, you truly are a hero because you help us fight discouragement and give us reasons to not quit. I appreciate you, and you truly are essential--no matter what type of job you had in this COVID-19 pandemic. :)⠀ ⠀ On behalf of myself and many other artists, thank you!⠀ ⠀ https://patreon.com/suishouyuki⠀ ⠀ #peptalk #artbysuishouyuki #youareessential #missingharuka #minamiharuka #ミッシング春香 #南春香 #patreoncreator #patreonartist #onpatreon #patreonwriter #patreoncomics #mangacreator #chibi

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 230: League of Thots

Previously on BnHA: We learned all about Twice’s past, which was a lot like Oliver Twist, if you’re like me and you never actually read Oliver Twist and only have extremely vague memories of watching one of the movie versions as a kid and seeing some poor wretched child asking for more oatmeal and falling in with some lovable scalawags. Although I’m pretty sure Oliver Twist never hit a dude with a motorcycle and made a bunch of clones of himself because he was lonely and then the clones all tried to kill each other. But like, other than that, I still kinda got that vibe, idk. Anyway so Twice is great and we all love him and feel sorry for him, and the Metahuman Liberation Army ripped his mask off because they’re dicks, and then they broke his arms because see re: the part where they’re dicks. But once his arms were broken, Twice, who’d been having an ongoing identity crisis due to not being sure whether he was one of his own clones, realized he couldn’t be a clone since he was still alive and hadn’t melted into a big blob after taking all that damage. So then he got all empowered, and he made like a dozen fresh new clones of himself, and now they’re gonna fuck up the MLA’s shit hopefully, and good riddance.

Today on BnHA: The League of Twices surges forth to do battle with the forces of evil and it’s my favorite thing ever. What started out as a dozen quickly multiplies exponentially -- we’re talking literal exponential growth here -- until Re-Destro’s Army of 116,000 people actually find themselves outnumbered. Up in his tower, Re-Destro is all “gee Skeptic you sure did fuck up spectacularly :)” and Skeptic quickly makes himself scarce, leaving Giran all on his own to antagonize RD about how royally screwed he is. Back in the thick of things, Dabi continues to attack The Night King, but it turns out he’s able to create new ice from just about any water source, so that complicates things a bit. Meanwhile Dabi is apparently starting to roast himself with his own quirk, which is very interesting and a huge clue as to how he came to be where he is, all scarred up and presumably Presumed Dead, and it’s all very intriguing. But before we can ponder that much, we cut to Ujiko, who’s getting tired of watching the League kick ass so effortlessly and decides to throw a Gigantomachia-shaped wrench into the mix just for the hell of it, waking the big guy early so he can join in on the fun. Well you won’t see me complaining omg.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added a couple of ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

oh my god

first of all, y’all know I love it when Horikoshi really gets into the nitty-gritty of how someone’s quirk works and hammers out all the little stipulations and provisions about what they can and can’t do, etc. but then to do it with this adorable little chibi Twice sketch is almost too much. we’re only on the first panel here; if this is an indicator of what the rest of the chapter is gonna be like, fair warning that I will probably have a number of little fangirling breakdowns

anyhoo, so this definitely clears some things up. the translation could be a little clearer, but I’m gonna take this to mean that he has a two-clone limit, period, and can’t make more than two of any person or object until the existing clones disappear. meaning that this can’t actually be used to create entire armies, which is a smart move on Horikoshi’s part in terms of keeping him from getting too op. this is especially important because we know his clones can use the same quirks as the original. so yeah, that could potentially get out of hand real fast without a few limiters in place

but! there is one exception to the “only two” rule, which we’re now seeing in action! a quirk hack, if you will. which is that if he clones himself, each of those clones is then capable of using the same Doubling quirk under the same rules. so each clone can make an additional two clones. which is dope. like, past a certain point, you actually have to start using math to keep up with him. and that part is in fact pretty motherflippin’ powerful, even if each duplicate is weaker than the last. it’s definitely not something you want to fuck with. I would sure hate to be a person, or army of people, who have done just that and are now going to have to feel his wrath. oh man

so because this is a Flashback Arc we are now cutting to another flashback, but this time a more recent one involving the Shigaraki Squad all hanging out in the ol’ Villain Shack

-- holy shit

okay but this is so fucking smart, though. these guys keep thinking of things that would never, ever occur to me because try as I might, I just can’t get on the same level of thinking outside the box that they’re at. obviously they’re a good deal more primed to think of creative applications of their own quirks, having lived with said quirks for most of their lives. but still

anyways, look at me, I’m practically beside myself being impressed even though Twice wasn’t actually able to do anything lol. but just, even the fact that they tried is impressive to me. leave no avenue unexplored. god this manga is so good

anyway so now we’re cutting back to the present, and Twice is thinking that he wants to repay his friends for accepting him. “that’s all I ever think about!”

weekly reminder that Twice is in fact the nicest guy in the series. and it’s all the more impressive since he lacked any kind of good influence when he was growing up. dude is a fucking saint if you think of it like that

lol. well no one ever said saints couldn’t be violent sometimes

so now the MLA goons who were formerly watching on the sidelines are all “oh shit” and they’re rushing in to try to help contain the situation

only to be confronted with this

you see?? math. Twice to the nth power. holy shit

also the title/attack name Sad Man’s Parade is so good and evocative that I assumed it must be a reference to something, but when I googled it just now all I got was links to articles and reviews of this very chapter. but I still think it must be a reference though. we’ve had a lot of them recently, including last week’s title, which as @herongale pointed out to me was a reference to The Killing Joke. so if any smart person can figure this one out, please let me know. it sounds like a song or something maybe

anyway I just clicked to the next page and it’s the most badass thing I’ve ever seen so let me just share that with y’all

things I like:

Twice’s face

that last panel. just. that

Twice holding Toga all protectively fffsdfasd

and did I mention that face though. holy hecking fuck my lovable lil LoV mascot is suddenly all grown up and making me feel things. going after all of my weak spots at once! protecting his friends: check. all scuffed up and covered in blood all sexy-like: double check. and last but not least, that look of utter, fearless determination: checkcheckmotherfuckincheck

jesus christ. first Giran and now you. more like League of Thirst, fml. what was that he was saying in the previous chapter about his scary looks?? you know what Twice, you can fuck right off with that noise. I can’t believe you were holding out on us this entire time

anyway so now here’s Re-Destro to chill me out before I completely lose my shit

ah, nothing like that arrogant pointy mug to bring me back down to reality right quick. really can’t wait until someone knocks this guy down off his high horse

and now he’s turning and casually remarking to Skeptic that it’s rare to see him fail. and holy shit though, there’s something about this scene that just sent a chill down my spine

and why did I get flashbacks to that poor lil dead mouse guy just now, though. the thing about Re-Destro is he’s the kind of guy who can and will be all smiles right up to and including the point where he happily snaps your neck for having displeased him. and that is scary as fuck. just look how quickly Skeptic noped the fuck out of there

look at him omg

he sure got the message right away, didn’t he? better go fix things right the fuck now if you enjoy being alive, dude

holy shit. he is genuinely scary. that one panel there may actually be scarier than anything AFO ever did. I suddenly had a rush of appreciation for Overhaul of all people, yes you heard me right, because at least he was just unabashedly Straight Up Evil. none of this pretending to be all nice with this cold dead look in your eyes bullshit

just, I really don’t like how it just seems like he could snap at any time and you’re never quite sure what the final trigger might actually be. it’s terrifying. but I guess that’s the kind of vibe you’ve got to have if you’re looking to be a villain so bad that the actual villains are fighting against you lol

now Giran is straight up not giving a fuck again, and acting like he’s not tied to a chair with one remaining hand and trapped in a room with this profoundly unsettling man, and as usual I love it

you just keep on being insolent and sarcastic you sexy piece of shit. you’re doing great

lol now Re-Destro says they’ll overcome quantity with quality, and wow. that may just be the most delusional thing this asshole has said thus far. have we even been reading the same arc?? are you really trying to say that your Metahuman Army of Jackasses is in any way even in the same league as Tomura’s merry band of ragtag prodigies? just go ahead and admit that they’re wiping the floor with you

and as if to prove my point

tbh I’m genuinely starting to feel like any one member of the League could singlehandedly take out Re-Destro’s entire force. and they haven’t even introduced you to Gigantomachia yet!! my god. RD’s horribly discomforting general vibe aside, this arc is like watching a horror movie play out where none of the victims realizes how screwed they are until it’s too late. and also you’re rooting for the killers because they’re likable and sexy

I do have to hand it to Parka here though because he’s somehow not dead yet in spite of all that, which is legitimately impressive

Dabi even says that his ice is almost gone. you’re living on borrowed time Baskin Robbins

ooh now we’re getting a quick panel of Compress doing his thing while Dabi carries on

Compress are we getting your flashbacks next. I can only begin to imagine what kind of tragic and relatable things you’ve been through and how hot you probably are too underneath that mask. how long until you’re my new favorite character. I’m onto this arc and its games by this point, Horikoshi. you and your motherfucking League of Thots ffff

Dabi is all “why do I have to help you?” lol. classic Dabi

eh what’s this

before I click to the next page, I’m just going to assume he’s talking about the twelve million Twices headed their way

yep

new favorite panel alert

oh my god. this is amazing. more of him to love

LMAO

FUCK YOU AND YOUR CAREFREE SELF-AWARE MANGA HORIKOSHI KOUHEI. I CAN’T LEGALLY MARRY A SHOUNEN MANGA SERIES SO WHY ARE YOU TORTURING ME LIKE THIS

and Compress is all “wow that sounds like something from a hero story,” and then we’re cutting to another Twice panel so that we can’t see him turning and winking at the audience

Twice says that the League are his only friends in the world and that they’re all precious to him. actually, he didn’t say it so much as he straight up yelled it. nicest guy in the fucking world I’m telling you. what a good egg. what a chaotic good little boy scout

lmao now he’s drunk on power and ambition

lmao go for it. THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER

(ETA: also I just realized what I said before about him not being able to make an army is clearly blatantly untrue, since even though he has the two-clone limit, that hardly matters if there are like 17,000 of him and each of them can clone two other people. he truly is a beast.)

oh my god

are you telling me that you guys are kicking so much ass that it’s actually backfiring on you. “that was such a good plan that we had, but unfortunately we didn’t take into account that we’re straight up gangstas who kick ass and take names”

hell, if the Army’s all gone by the time G-Man gets here, you can just sic all the clones on him and see if it finally gets you somewhere! I’m past the point of putting anything past you guys now. I’m pretty sure you can do anything. I’m glad you’re on our side. oh shit wait

anyway so Compress is checking his dandy pocket watch and says Giganto should be there in one hour and five minutes

are they taking travel time into account?? or wait, I guess Ujiko can just warp him over to their location once he finally wakes up. right

Twice is telling them all that Toga’s in trouble and needs help! yessss help her. I got so caught up in your tremendous badassery that I almost forgot

HEY WHAT THE

RUDE. WHO DID THIS

oh go figure

you know it really is incredible how quickly Horikoshi can get me back on that “so are we going to get any Dabi flashbacks” train though lol. I really should know better by this point. quash those hopes. this manga is not a charity; we don’t give out flashbacks for free just like that

and yet. my brain says no but my heart says “pleasepleaseplease”

so now Ben & Jerry’s is saying that he can also control the temperature of the ice. um, what? it’s already ice; how much colder can it possibly get? unless you’re talking about making it warmer, in which case I hate to break it to you but then it’s water and not ice, and you obviously can’t control water so

oh wait he just means that he can use his ice to freeze other stuff and make More Ice. oh

RIGHT, DABI??

and now Klondike here is launching into some kind of speech, oh joy

hoohhhhh boy

[sidles up to Dabi] hey there boy. that last part sound like anything you’ve heard before? jog any memories for you there bud? provoke any thoughts? spark any reveries??

Dabi you’re really one hell of a closed book, you know that? fuck my life

(ETA: but also! so the real colors of the MLA finally come out, huh. for all their talk of freeing people from oppression, they’re no different from the people they want to overthrow; it’s just that they want to oppress the people who don’t have quirks, or whose quirks are “weak.” no doubt the original Destro had a similar philosophy. can’t imagine quirkless people making out too well in this brave new world of theirs. in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if there was eventually a mass genocide of anyone quirkless. it would get real dark real fast.)

oh shit

everybody sHUT UP, WE’RE GETTING DETAILS ABOUT DABI’S QUIRK AND ABOUT HIS SCARS AHSLDFJASLK

okay first of all, !!!@KLK!L!!!LK!”!!!GGKK

and second, Horikoshi continues the trend of putting the brakes on the League’s powers getting out of control, even as he shows how much they can still kick ass when unleashed to their fullest potential. that’s a hell of a balance to strike

and third, !LJ!L!!!!”!”“!DSFLSDIW for reals though because this is the first we’ve ever gotten as far as actual details regarding those scars and their possible origins, and holy shit but I can’t. finally some more info on the mysterious house elf

and meanwhile Compress is sitting in a mess of melted and frozen Twices, and thinking that it would be great if they could have Haagen-Dazs face off against Gigantomachia. but like, the way he says that kind of implies that he doesn’t think he’s gonna last that long lol. which I’m in agreement with. Dabi you can go ahead and take this popsicle fucker out now

-- !!?!!

okay Horikoshi you can’t just CUT TO UJIKO LIKE THAT WITHOUT WARNING you ass. give me a sec to brace myself first would ya

and poor little John standing there in the corner. John-kun ;_; god that’s so fucked up to just draw him chilling there all but forgotten until he’s actually needed

and what do you mean “if you were to die here.” underestimating them much? but if you want to toss them a bone though sure go ahead

so does this mean he’s going to unleash another High End?? because I’m all out of puns for those, so I’ll have to come up with a new shtick and I can’t just do that off the cuff you know

oh, nope. even better!

yooooooo things about to get lit up in the club omgggggggg

YESSSSSSS

okay first of all is he literally uprooting fucking trees just by waking up from his nap slkjdlfffff how many more ways can Horikoshi come up with to show us how much of a fucking beast this guy is. holy fuck

and second, YESSSSSSSSS. THAT’S RIGHT YOU ARMY MOTHERFUCKERS! PREPARE TO TASTE SOME PAIN. JUST LOOK AT THAT. HE’S GONNA STIR UP SOME CALAMITIES AND SHIT. ALL YOU FUCKERS GONNA DIE, AND I’LL BE RIGHT HERE, WATCHING CONTENTEDLY AND CAPSLOCKING ABOUT IT

hahaha this arc is making me want to be a villain. I can’t help it. they make it look like so much fun. shit

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 7 Chapter 6 Review/Runthrough

I know I’m very late with this, but finals were hell. 

This chapter went from a middle ground of curious tension to the highest hype to the deepest dread and despair over the course of its roughly 16 minutes of run time and I hated that. And I love it. I hope y’all did too, but let’s take it step by step together.

It starts somewhat close to where chapter 5 left off, the riots in Mantle have been quelled and several people are in handcuffs, including three familiar thirsty moms. Guess the Happy Huntresses are popular with housewives, wish fulfillment of making a difference in the world yourself and all that. Robyn herself is being interviewed as we’re shown the riot aftermath and people getting in line to vote at electronic polling machines. And we get our first major surprise of the episode. There were two other candidates we never heard about, Ivy Brown and Pearl Wistier! So can we get some F’s in the comments for these two, who didn’t get any recognition or screen time and with the election ending probably never will? As Robyn talks about hoping voters will make the right choice and that the connection between her supporters and the riots is pure coincidence, we see Team RWBY and JNR training while Oscar watches. Blake and Yang are jumping around atop towers, Weiss is sparring with Winter again, Ruby is practicing her semblance, Ren meditates, and Nora and Jaune are bouncing a dodgeball back and forth to test his new shield. The Bees jumping around reminded me a little of the Chibi episode where they played tag, so I liked that. Weiss bounces Winter’s Beowolf around on black glyphs in a manner that made me think of a move Sans uses in Undertale, a very fun connection, and then she knocks Winter off guard by sending a small version of her knight to attack Winter’s ankle. Her playful smirk says she’s not sorry~ Ruby’s petal form splits into three parts to go around a pillar, and Oscar finally calls her out on that being a little unusual if her Semblance really is speed. The dodgeball keeps getting hit harder and harder as Nora puts her thunderous all into it until it dissolves against Jaune’s shield when he uses the Dust upgrades to better defend. He takes some damage to his Aura but recovers again very quickly, much to Oscar’s enthusiasm. Ren’s meditation seems to suggest he’s trying to unlock some kind of precognition or ability to sense other people like he had in Volume 4 when Tyrian was approaching to ambush them. But he doesn’t quite get it down yet and instead Ironwood and Clover enter.

70%-30%

Ironwood is impressed by how hard the teens are pushing themselves, with Ruby affirming it to be necessary with the current state of affairs, and Ironwood seems to think the info on his Scroll is evidence of that. The poll numbers favor Robyn, which is undeniably better than Jacques winning even if the Happy Huntresses and the military are in a silent stand off, and the young heroes think the general should make more of an effort to be open with her about what they are doing since they’re all on the same side of wanting to help Mantle. Nora argues for the sake of Mantle quite vehemently, furthering my theory and probably many others’ that she was born here. Jaune seems to agree, but Ironwood says that kind of communication will have to be a two way street and by his tone of voice I’m guessing he doubts that will happen any time soon. Before Nora can offer a rebuttal Ren asks why the General is here. Turns out, with the election happening tonight and the teams having done so much work recently, they’ve decided the kids should get the night off before things really start changing once Robyn or Jacques is elected. Ruby doesn’t seem to like thinking about that, probably because everything  in Atlas will get very different once the Amity Project is complete and she still doesn’t know how that will go. 

Regardless, Team RWBY make plans for the evening. While Weiss stands around glumly looking at the news feed on her Scroll, Blake puts on some eye makeup that I’m too uninformed to know the name of and Yang stares longingly at her from her bed. At least, that’s how I saw it. The two of them are going dancing with Team FNKI, in a club where it will be too loud for Yang to be able to hear Neon’s voice. Just the way she likes it~ Meanwhile Ruby is going with Ren and Nora to meet up with Penny at a party in Mantle to celebrate Robyn’s surefire win of the election. Because overconfidence like that has never backfired in media before. Weiss is still mentally torn about her father’s big layoff stunt and how in the world he thought it would actually work out for him with what a cunning man he’s always been. Yang thinks it was just a power play that backfired, but Weiss worries there’s a grander scheme below the surface. Then she’s asked which group activity she would rather be a part of, so after seeing Blake’s adorkable attempt to do a dance move Yang is showing her she chooses the suddenly appearing third option: going to the movies with Jaune and Oscar. Volume 2 Jaune would be so impressed his older self got Weiss to agree to that kind of thing with minimal effort... but also be very upset by all the terrible things that happened to the guy up to that point. So it barely matters to our Jaune anymore. Still, hope it was a good movie cuz that’s the last we see of those three for the rest of the chapter.

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Ruby and Renora are next seen walking down the street as celebrating Robyn fans pass by in a truck. Ren admits he sees Weiss’ point about celebrating a bit soon but Nora tries to be an optimist about it, that the people should be allowed to enjoy this supposed surefire thing. Ruby admits nothing will probably be a sure thing anymore once the Tower goes up and Salem’s existence becomes known, with Ren and Nora affirming that they’ve spent so long worrying about the secrets they’ve been keeping they haven’t thought about how they would have no plan to face her even once they get past that. Afterall, Jinn said she can’t be beaten. Ruby reminds them the exact phrasing was that she told Oz he couldn’t destroy her, and Nora picks up on the specifics. If Oz can’t, then maybe someone else can. And with her Silver Eyed powers Ruby seems like their best gamble for that. Personally I’m still of the mind that the point Jinn was trying to make wasn’t that “Oz can’t destroy Salem” and was instead that “Oz can’t destroy Salem”. Redemption and the restoration of her kinder former soul may be the best solution to this. But who knows? Regardless, Ren is restless and thinks they should go back to training, that they don’t have time to waste with social gatherings and fun distractions, but Nora says they’ve done enough for now and they need to unwind otherwise they’ll snap. So they’re at odds now, unfortunately...

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The three reach the town hall/auditorium where the rally is taking place and meet up with Penny, who is very happy to see them but wonders why it is only these three. Nora explains what Weiss and the boys are doing and that the bees are off doing their own thing, and Ren comments that he’s relieved the two are back on good terms after everything that happened. But Nora sees this as an opportunity to be passive aggressive. See, the situation with Blake and Yang is very similar to her tumultuous “will they won’t they” with Ren. So she calls into question whether or not Blake and Yang are actually just friends or something more intimate and close after being through such deep bonding experiences, but we can tell she’s actually asking about where she and Ren stand. Ren picks up on what she means immediately and fires back how he feels on the matter while keeping up the pretext of this being about the others. It’s kinda funny to realize they’re being so indirect and also teasing how romantic things seem with Blake and Yang when the fandom has been having similar arguments. But it does offer insight into their actual feelings: Nora wants to take that step and has always worn her heart on her sleeve so she’s ready to show how she feels but she also wants to be sure Ren feels the same so she doesn’t misread the signs. But Ren is worried that with all the deep political stuff happening and the impending threat of chaos Salem’s reveal will bring, now isn’t really the right time for relationship stuff. Nora fires back that they can’t figure anything out unless they talk about it, and I do kind of agree. If there’s tension like this between the pair then it might affect their teamwork and trust.

57%-43%

Ruby wants no part of this awkward conversation and slides over to Penny’s side, who also realizes the argument probably isn’t about the Bees. So the two head backstage instead, where Marrow is waiting and initially seems happy to see Ruby before getting back into a work mindset and says she shouldn’t be here since she’s still an amateur who wasn’t assigned to this job. But Ruby says she’s just here to be with her friend, and offers Penny a fistbump. Penny looks overjoyed to see this invitation, and eagerly gives Ruby a bump. Unfortunately, steel fists really hurt and Ruby’s hand starts throbbing red. Ouch~ Marrow just tells her not to get in the way, since they need to stay vigilant in case of any trouble. He is interrupted by the one and only... May Marigold, one of the Happy Huntresses we saw when they stopped the truck last episode. 

May is... a deep new kind of character, for reasons that have become clear in recent days and were first brought to my mind when I saw the cast list for this episode. May is voiced by Kdin Jenzen, a lovely woman who works for Rooster Teeth and is memorable for such feats as being able to handle super hot chips with ease on the last two RT Extra Life livestreams. She is also a trans woman. This does nothing to diminish my opinion of her and it should not affect yours. This fact also adds a layer of depth to the character, as the likelihood of May being trans as well seemed rather possible. And as of December 17, this is confirmed: May Marigold is RWBY’s first confirmed trans character. An extra layer of diversity to the world of Remnant is most definitely welcome, and it also adds some depth of character to Robyn Hill. Her group is comprised solely of women, and its a very good look for her that she sees May as one every bit as much as Fiona or herself. Because as we all know, TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN. Okay, tangent over for now.

May sasses Marrow a bit, saying the Happy Huntresses won’t be the ones causing any trouble and are there to make sure nothing goes wrong. So Marrow can scram, he’s not welcome. The poor pup tries to stand up for his faction, saying Ironwood just wants to help and the Ace Ops are there for good reasons. He’s interrupted by Robyn herself though, who accepts his presence as protective assistance as long as he stays out of the way. Clearly this isn’t what May or Joanna were expecting to hear, but Robyn says they need to learn how to get along if she’s gonna be on the council. Marrow tries to give her attitude by saying getting along will be easy as long as she stays within the law. Clearly her prior roadblocking activities make him think she hasn’t been. She tries to appeal to him and get through the strict military obedience, saying the law isn’t fair to everyone and he shouldn’t always have to obey it to the word. But he’s a Faunus in Atlas, it’s preaching to the choir at this point. She says all she wants to do as a council member is make Mantle and Atlas a better place for everyone, including the Faunus. But Marrow is unmoved, he still wants to guilt her about keeping her activities legal. But she matches his attitude tit for tat, everything so far has been totally legal and he can’t prove otherwise~ Their staredown is interrupted by the absolute angel that is Fiona Thyme causing feedback on the microphone and reminding Robyn she needs to get back to the party activities. Marrow backs off and tells Ruby to leave so he and Penny can do their jobs, so she sticks her tongue out at him behind his back and waves goodbye to Penny before returning to Ren and Nora... where things haven’t gotten any better. So she just turns right around to hang out at the front of the crowd.

Fiona has a very touching speech about how this victory has been a product of Mantle’s united effort to make things better, how this is their moment and they all know Robyn will do right by them. She even gets emotional herself, and then invites Robyn herself to come on stage and talk to the crowd a bit. The two seem to whisper to each other a little, likely encouragement by Fiona that she’ll nail her speech and reassurance from Robyn that the dear girl did a good job just now. Robyn opens with a joke that her difficulty with public speaking is a bad match for this career in politics, and Ruby seems amused. She always has seemed to sympathize with Robyn and think she’s a good person, and for the most part I would agree. 

55%-45%

The speech proper starts with Robyn thanking her gathered followers for their votes and for thus putting their faith and belief in her. And she assures them the feeling is mutual, that she believes in the strength and change a single determined person can bring just as much as she knows there is unlimited potential to what people can do when they work together.

54%-46%

And with that unity, it doesn’t matter if she wins or loses because they will all continue to fight for the sake of the city that brings them together. That earns a lot of applause and she leaves the stage, though she starts to show visible concern as the radio announcer points out how close the votes are as the deadline draws fatally near. The Happy Huntresses are still confident she’s got this in the bag...

53%-47%

But she’s no less tense.

With all this talk of unity in mind, Nora tries again to try and address the tension between her and Ren, but deep talks like this really aren’t his thing. Ren has always been emotionally closed off, it’s just in his nature and with emotion being so important for his Semblance it’s clearly been ingrained in his mindset for a long time. Talking is not his love language, he’s always shown how he feels through acts of physical contact. Hugs, leaning on her, holding her hand at the end of Volume 4. So while she’s seeking verbal validation that it is something deeper between them, he’s not used to that and doesn’t really know how to articulate himself and express all his feelings how he wants to. That’s how I interpret it anyway. Nora gets her own read out of his attempt at an answer, and it seems pretty similar to my takeaway from it. Clearly it was encouraging enough for her to know he does like her back he just has so much on his mind he can’t figure out how to say it. Why? Because she literally says “screw talking” and kisses him!!! A KISS FOR RENORA, 7 YEARS IN THE MAKING!!!!! So the two get blissfully lost in the kiss and each other’s company for a little while, and I’m so happy for them.

Unfortunately, this is where we start to have a bad time. We cut to Watts hiding out somewhere booting up several Scrolls in front of a screen showing drone footage of the party as well as older video of Penny’s hero work in Mantle, and he’s activating tech in his rings as we see that Tyrian is in the party crowd in a cloak ready to strike on his partner’s command. The polls are about to close, Ruby is looking over at Penny happy as can be... and sees Tyrian’s tail. She moves to get a closer look, and eyes meet between former foes. She screams towards the stage to watch out, but it’s too late. The lights go out as the election countdown chant hits one, Ren and Nora are holding each other close unsure what’s happening... and Watts gives the order to begin.

He starts doing vague techno stuff with the Scrolls that‘s mostly theatrical hand waving, while at the party Robyn drops her microphone and Ruby gets knocked to the ground by the panicking crowd. Tyrian has started killing people in the audience, in an attacking style seemingly unlike his usual work. Penny activates her night vision at the prompting of Marrow (who SHOULD be able to see in the dark as a Faunus but maybe he’s in a bad position to see what’s happening or her tech optics can do more than ordinary eyes Faunus or otherwise?) and pulls out her swords before she tells Tyrian to surrender. But either that scorpion boy has some mad jumping skills to get to the rafters or Watts could hack Penny’s eyes, because in the time it takes a panicked person to run in front of her he is gone. Watt’s puppeteer act continues as he seems to lift Penny’s movements from one video and put them into the footage of Tyrian’s massacre over the image of his body. How terribly devious. And with a single tap of a district map on one Scroll he changes which candidate several entire parts of Mantle voted for. He may very well have been doing this little by little over the course of the night so the election fraud would look natural, or maybe a significant portion of people actually were voting for Jacques and Arthur just forced the final push. I think the former is a lot more likely.

Meanwhile, Marrow is calling for backup and Robyn calls her Happy Huntresses to her side so they can all keep each other safe. Fiona wants to get Robyn to safety, and at the last second sees Tyrian running across the stage to attack them. His eyes and right arm both glow purple, and he scratches a hole in Fiona’s Aura before slicing at the exposed spot with the blades on his other arm. Seems his Semblances is being able to tear through Aura and then attack a person’s body directly. Useful skill for a killer like him... Still, we know only his tail is poisonous so she probably won’t die. That was likely on purpose too though... If they found venom in her they would know Penny didn’t do it cuz she doesn’t have anything like that. Speaking of Penny, she flies up to tackle Robyn to the floor when it looks like Tyrian is going to attack her next, but he just jumps up to the rafters and giggles maniacally. This part was planned too, because when the lights come on Penny is the one standing on stage with swords drawn over an injured Fiona and confused Robyn. Much like Pyrrha and to a lesser extend Yang before her, Penny has been set up as a brutal killer. Worse yet...

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Jacques has officially won the election and gives a live acceptance speech that seems like a total slap in the face. And if we look more carefully at those lying dead on the floor, a few familiar outfits can be seen. The same thirsty moms last seen getting in trouble for taking part in the riots are now going to be orphaning their children... Whether he meant to or not, Tyrian has proven his ultimate villainous status above all others. Ruby, Marrow, Ren and Nora all rush onto the stage to help Penny and Robyn, but the latter doesn’t trust them at all and the former is in shock that such brutality is blamed on her, that she’s failed her purpose as Mantle’s protector when it mattered most. It’s not helped by the fact that a survivor loudly proclaims Penny did it, and refers to her simply as “Ironwood’s Robot”. Dehumanizing her, saying she’s just another machine that’s been taken over and used as a tool of evil. When the Happy Huntresses and angry members of the crowd charge to attack Penny and those that would try to help her, Marrow uses his Semblance for some literal crowd control, making all of them freeze in place. Ren and Nora are quite unnerved to hear Tyrian was the perpetrator, but they get Penny out the back door to relative safety while Robyn stops pointing her weapon at the girl long enough to shove Ruby out of the way when she was trying to help Fiona. Our dear sheepy says she’s gonna be okay, but Marrow still feels bad and offers assistance. Too bad that means he relaxed enough for his Semblance effect to wear off and Joanna starts shooting at him so he and Ruby leave too, though he does try to assure Robyn that Atlas had nothing to do with this.

Watts uploads his deep faked footage and packs up for the night, telling Tyrian their good work is done. Out in an alley, the good guys catch their breath and quietly panic how bad things just got while Penny just stands in despair and shock. Ruby reaches out a hand to try and reassure her before realizing it’s covered in Fiona’s blood. Marrow tells Penny she has to go back to Atlas, but she’s initially not responsive. She does fly off though,, just as the Grimm attack alarms go off and the others get ready for the long night ahead... with the girls not having their weapons unfortunately. As Manticores are seen flying over Mantle and into the streets, Jacques’ victory speech continues to lay faintly veiled dread into our hearts. 

So yeah. Hell of an episode, and one I took way too long to review. School was hell, just like this chapter.

[skittidyne]

Operation: Poison Tree Frog... :’) SO UNDERRATED. I’ve been wondering, I’ve read Persona fics where a protagonist is inserted into the plotline of another Persona game, so is there a Persona game you would be interested to see Hisako in? I’m super fond of everyone in Persona 3, so I think it would be really cool to see her in SEES, but I also think she’s experienced enough tragedy with her friends...

thank you!! ;v; i agree. ptf is made of blood sweat and tears and a very good girl trying her best

i think hisako would have a lot of things to deal with before she could overcome her fear of death, so i’m not sure how well she’d do in p3. she would also probably get pretty frustrated with all of the in-fighting. but koro-chan would make everything better, so. debatable. 

(takeshi would meet fuuka and scream)

persona 4 would probably be the best fit for her, haha. the after-dungeon minibosses are already kinda close to shadows, and she has a big enough heart that she’d just shout “WHO CARES LET’S BE FRIENDS ANYWAY” after kicking the shadows’ asses. but the super heavy themes of friendship/teamwork would be a+ in her book. plus, her character color is already yellow! 

persona 5……… i’m torn. it would be good for her to air out all her trauma and violently rebel against it, but i think she’d need more time to recup than that breakneck plot pacing would give her. she’d be like haru. come in really late but really strong. 

hisako, staring at yusuke: …………yuri???? 

hisako, staring at the twins: UM

she would have a fucking field day in the bank, let me tell you. might want to keep an eye on her for that one.

actually i take it back. hisako in p5 would be FUCKING HILARIOUS because she doesn’t have the wild card and that would throw off a huge part of igor’s plans. he’d just throw her in the jail cell and leave her. probably for the best. 

either that, or he’d notice [REDACTED]

she’d look best in p4′s uniform imo 

i want her in pq. mostly because i want her in that super cute chibi art style. and she has practice drawing her own maps, too. 

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen 1 | Gakuen Babysitters 1 | Idolish7 3 | Zoku Touken Ranbu Hanamaru 1 | Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 1 | Miira no Kaikata 1 | Death March 1

The debuts for the winter season keep coming, but we’re almost at the end of them with this post.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 1

Note I don’t have any prior experience with Cardcaptor Sakura aside from 1 volume of manga and watching the show in passing while other people were watching it, plus knowing about a few spoilers and the show’s reputation as a seminal magical show show…then in more recent days, I finished 2 episodes of it (in fact as of the day I’m typing this, I finished episide 2 today!).

This OP makes Sakura look like later-stage Sailor Moon, and I think that’s the point.

Where did the bear in Syaoran’s hand go when Sakura hugged him?

Eriol! I don’t really know much about him, and I knew I should’ve known about him before starting this, but…it was a bit of a shock to see a character I technically haven’t seen the debut of with my own eyes.

I get the feeling these are the “two bears” from the prologue OVA…

Emails! In the world of Cardcaptor Sakura! Wow, I feel old…and I didn’t even grow up with her.

Hot dang! Gimme dat bishie (Yue)! I knew he was coming, but…I still don’t really know how he came to be!

Wow, this Yamazaki kid spouts such rubbish! I’m looking forward to seeing him in the main series now.

It’s pretty obvious I need to watch the original before understanding this fully, so I’m putting it on hold.

Gakuen Babysitters 1

I’m here for my Ume and Nishiyama. I’m not particularly good at dealing with kids, especially younger kids, but this doesn’t make me run for the hills either.

Ryuichi involves the kanji for “dragon” and Kotaro has the kanji for “tiger”.

That man with the hat is so not sketchy…

I’ve never heard of NAS before (but I have heard of NAZ through Idolish7).

That joke Saikawa told actually worked! These shows may all be middling this winter, but I’d be happy with even some of them on my docket. I’ve been pleasantly surprised more often than not that I haven’t found “stinker of the season” yet.

The comedy for this show’s really on point, although the overall design is a tad lackluster.

K-Kamitani?! Apparently Ume-chan’s character is Hayato Kamitani, so that’s how Ume got involved, so to speak. This sudden intro of 4 kids works on a story scale, but not in a way any person can process without pausing the video (or getting individual intros later).

Well, there are those individual intros I was asking for. Spoke too soon.

It’s actually kinda sad and quite telling how independent Kotaro is. (I still find it extremely hilarous Nishiyama – whose first name is Kotaro - didn’t voice Kotaro, although from a practical standpoint I understand why.)

Usaida has such bedroom eyes, it’s hard to ignore (because they make him look like En)! Dangit, I want my En back!

This brings back memories. My mum used to deal with kids all the time, and of course I was in the background for some of the shenanigans.

Dragon puppet symbolism, eh? (see the dotpoint a bit back about Ryuichi’s name)

As soon as this guy (who kinda looks like something out of Haikyuu) started demanding Taka come with him, I screamed. That character doesn’t seem very Ume, but…uh, it’s Ume. Gotta deal with it. Now that I listen to their voices properly though, Ume does have a “big bro” voice and Nishiyama a “earnest young man” voice.

Oh dear. Taka’s imprinted on me already, and I don’t even like boys that age.

I haven’t felt a genuine sense of danger from any of these winter shows until this one, so it seems like it’s one of the strongest debuts. Then again, CCS was my frontrunner before this and YuruCamp the second best, so I guess I can’t talk, eh?

Gah, I feel like I wanna cry now. That is a strong premiere!

I have a real problem with how anime tears come out in globs. Then again, I’m too much of a crybaby, as my notes can attest…so I guess no arguing here.

Should it be “Chairman” or “Chairwoman”???

Tsundere grandma. Now there’s something I thought I’d never think in my life…

Oh, I didn’t realise earlier but Taka = “hawk” and Hayato = “falcon man”. Animal jingoism at its finest!

Whoo, that was a real nice debut. I thought I was too old for this stuff, but it’s a keeper!

Idolish7 3

It’s a good thing I chose to cover episodes 1 – 2 so I won’t have to do them now.

I didn’t notice Nagi getting all huggy there with everyone in range (the first time, at least).

In case you don’t know from all the other idol shows, the centre is the one in centre stage. They’re often seen as the leader, so it’s a very important position.

This song can’t be anything but Monster Generation! Woohoo!

Wow, I haven’t seen one of those “watch from a distance” things in a while. Makes me nostalgic.

“Ichi” would probably refer to Iori, right? (He has the kanji for “one” in his name.)

Wowee, Nagi’s entendre…is really thick. Like pudding.

I agree, brothers can be so strange…

“…spoil me sometimes.” - Laying on the entendre thicker than custard here, Iori!

These boys are so into their Magical Kokona. I want in now.

Tamaki really is an En-chan…En-chan! Come back! (But why does Tamaki have no socks???)

These ED outfits are so elaborate! Ooh! Imagine a gender-swapped cosplay of them, that’s be great!

Who’s that on the edge of the ED video though? (You can see something hopping up and down.)

Zoku Touken Ranbu Hanamaru 1

Can we please just call this “Hanamaru 2” like Crunchyroll? “Zoku” just refers to a continuation…anyways, I got Hanamaru season 1 done last year while dealing with Katsugeki, so…here I come, sword boys!

Didn’t Hanamaru get a dub, by the way? Why would you dub this? For me to criticise it? The Touken Ranbu fanbase is kinda small…

W-Wait, did they just write Yams out of this season? Yams is the protag (if not a protag) here! What did Ichiki do now to deserve this???

It was getting too hard to jump through the proxies to play Touken Ranbu as of late, so I deleted my DMM account. Even still, the sword boys have multiplied since I left! Yikes!

Wow, unexpected 1st person bit there, Kashuu/Masuda. I thought I told the industry to stop doing that…

Exposition wave…I don’t need this wave, but I guess anime-only fans might. Carry on, Heshikiri.

So this multiple Konnosuke thing wasn’t a Katsugeki-only gag? Oh dear, my head’s spinning…

I don’t think I noticed, but Kashuu uses a brush (and not a specialty brush provided in the lid of nail polish). Probably because in Touken Ranbu, plastic isn’t much of a concept…

I still appreciate how Kashuu was this Saniwa’s starter. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy for my own TR days…

Photos are a nice way to recap. After all, 1 picture speaks 1000 words.

Wow, Shishiou’s a real chibi compared to these tachi. But Shishiou’s a tachi too…

Dang, I’m jealous. These bros were around when I was a TR player, and I missed ‘em! Dang Kebishii drops!

So that thing really is a nue. I could never see it on Shishiou’s card, y’know.

Hmm…considering the bros are new swords, the Saniwa’s strategy is to level up them up using the younger bro as leader (remember, the leader gets more experience). I see…

A “pincer attack” is a V shape, so the description fits the Crane Wings formation…

I can’t say I wasn’t impressed by Akashi just then. Come to think of it, he didn’t have any battles in Hanamaru’s 1st season.

A double attack suits a pair like this, of course!

Oh my gosh, they even got two dfferent voice actors for the Konnosukes! LOL!

Hanamaru’s EDs kept changing and it seems like they’ll continue to change, eh? This one looks quite spiffy.

The style of this ED doesn’t look like Hanamaru at all. It was probably done by the original illustrator for the swords.

It’s a great return to form for Hanamaru! I’m sold!

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 1

Another day, another long title…plus this show I would’ve passed on, if not for that resolution…

Michiko Yokote is on a lot of shows I watch. I don’t really know what her influence is, but it seems she’s genuinely competent at what she does.

So…uh, Gendo pose anyone?

I think the teacher is the best part of this. I’ve been a bit of Tonari no Seki-kun, and the pull of that is the sheer ludicrousness of what Seki does with his stuff. However, there didn’t seem to be any intervention aside from Yokoi (I think that was her name)…

Nishikata’s reactions are just way too easy to read…

Well, that was okay, but it’s definitely a show to binge all at once. On to the “on hold” pile it goes.

Wait, but they missed a segment (the 100 yen segment). Gotta skip forward…

I didn’t get any laughs out of that show at all, but it’s still a decent school SoL.

How to Keep a Mummy 1

I have absolutely no experience with this manga, mind you…aside from seeing this tiny mummy on Comico…

Wow, if the mummy can fit in his shoe…how big is it?

The translation of “ready” is surprisingly ganbaru, and there’s a “but” mentioned in the Japanese title missing from the English. Also, “ready” has sexual connotations I’d rather not pair with a tiny mummy…I’d say the translation of the episode title should be something more along the lines of “White, Round, Small, Very Wimpy But [Also] Tries Its Hardest” (“It” being the mummy and not Pennywise…).

Is Dracula even public domain right now? (Does anyone care about the intellectual property of a classic vampire novel anyway? Because I sure don’t.)

Can we please start making jokes about how Sora’s daddy got him a mummy? It may seem childish, but I’m tempted to now.

This mummy is so adorable, I think it even beat out the kids from Gakuen Babysitters! Geesh, I’m spoilt this season! It completely set off my moe senses, and I don’t even have any!

It imprinted on him! Oh wow!

The mummy doesn’t even have a mouth…how can it spit things-oh wait. That’s the joke, isn’t it?

Come to think of it, crybaby characters ae few and far between. However, between this and Devilman…er, Crybaby…they’ve suddenly become popular…I guess?

It’s like a harem, only it’s between a dog and a mummy. Why I never…

One of the best things about anime is that you can learn about other cultures through the things included offhandedly…like that molokhiya thing that Sora mentioned. Apparently it’s a Jewish vegetable of some sort.

Do mummies get jet lag too? I was just thinking how Comico stories, with their full colour and yet simple design (to allow for downward scrolling and intake by the eyes) are perfect for anime.

I listened to the show with volume for once…because Tazuki seems to be the guy voiced by Keisuke Koumoto…and I think I was on the money there. Plus, Sora’s VA really sells the delivery of jokes (although he seems to be voiced by a woman…?)!

Yamanba…like Yamanbagiri’s namesake. The mountain hag, right?

Yep, I was right on the money with Tazuki being Koumoto. Kamitani Tazuki, it seems his name is…

This dance ending’s kind of cute, too. It’s a keeper!

Death March 1

(looks at title just above this dotpoint) C’mon. There’s no way I’m going to repeat “Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody” over and over again for at least 11 or 12 episodes…by the way, I’m here because I was reading a KonoSuba novel and saw an ad for this, just in time for the anime…

“SADA”, my butt…

I love how they almost replicated Windows 8 in this show. Or is it 7, or 10? They don’t show the taskbar, which is the main visual difference between 8 and 10, but either way the Windows replication without being sued is really something…

This OP’s gonna make me dizzy someday…

Classes, eh? So that means Suzuki’s working with an OOP language. Plus you can see Cortana on the computer as the mention of classes goes by, meaning that person’s on Windows 10.

UML.

By the way, Satou is a fairly common name in Japan…at least to my knowledge. But Suzuki is a pretty common one, too, hence the mistake.

The client? Unless Suzuki is referring to the client as in the program, it could also mean the client as in the person/group who wants the game made. Considering what he says though involving a call, it’s probably the latter.

That’s the second show with a lost kid in the first episode. It seems a bit trite, don’tcha think?

According to his phone map (flip phone!), he’s in Akihabara.

FFL…eh? Google says there are multiple Final Fantasy games for Android, meaning I’ve probably thinking of Fire Emblem Fates (which doesn’t match), and there’s no such thing as Final Fantasy 50 (L in Roman numerals) yet.

That’s the second time they mentioned work/daily life being a death march. Can we not???

Come to think of it, Suzuki looks like Nobuaki (King’s Game), which doesn’t bode well for either show.

Apparently you can get Facebook Messenger for Windows 10, which I didn’t know…

“…being a corporate slave.”

C’mon! This ain’t the Animatrix, but still, if you’re trying to make stuff look technological, at least make it look a bit better.

Third time they’ve mentioned “death march”.

It might just be Houseki no Kuni’s fault, but this CGI is really janky.

Welllll…at least it looks like a game.

Welllllllll…at least they knew where to put their money for some sakuga…

This running through fields scene is either a homage to Every Anime Opening ever, or Pokémon. I distinctly remember it being in Emerald’s opening animation, at least.

Dude, if you want to look for a wyvern, do it from the ground where you won’t get injured, dumb Satoo.

Does this look a lot like Berserk (2016) with all its CGI knights…or is that just me?

Zena…? I might be showing how old I am with this (or how much I scour the internet), but…by any chance, do you mean this gal instead?

I think I’ve had enough of this flip for now, so I’m putting it on hold.

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Gacha Gacha crate July 19

Lately I’ve been wondering if I’m either being overly critical of boxes, or not critical enough. Am I just in the middle? It’s where I would like to be if anything, but I’m not sure. If you read the blog and feel like leaving a comment please do and let me know what you think.

In other news, it seems I might be missing a box. I don’t believe I ever got my June Tokyo Treat just yet, and tomorrow it’ll have been 60 days since it shipped and I can message them on it. I’m going to double-check first though, just to make sure before I do anything.

Wood Puzzles

First up is this sorta common gachapon I tend to see when browsing, I can’t say I was ever tempted to get it though. I’m not a big fan of puzzles unless they are flattened cardboard pieces making a big picture- or those really pretty crystal puzzles of characters and various items. I got a handful of those that I love to admire in passing.

Anyhoozles, there are 5 different types featuring their own difficulties, and the brand is Koro Koro. Mine is “mystery difficulty“, which I found to be quite strange since as a pyramid it looks super easy to put together. In fact it came together already.

But... as it turns out, it’s not easy. I can see how it’s supposed to look, but the pieces want to keep sliding and won’t hold still. So I’m not really sure what I’m not getting...

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’m not a big fan of this one- but I do know that there are people who like mental puzzles like these and would probably love this set. The pieces are clean and perfectly shaped, and I could see maybe coming to enjoy it for what it is if I played with it a few more times. I kinda lost interest after the first few <3<

Hungry Kirby

Kirby must be trending right now because he’s been appearing a lot in these boxes; not that I’m complaining. I love Kirby. If only they would start giving us some Mario Brothers now~

This series is by Takara Tomy Arts and there are 5 possible variations you can get: 2 kirby, 2 waddle dee, and 1 chef kawasaki serving as the rare piece in the collection. The figure was assembled, although you do get to put the little fork in his hand and I assume the other figures share that feature. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Besides the collection being ultra-cute, this would be perfect for re-ment. The details are really nice. The fork seems a teensy bit flimsy but I don’t think it’s really a problem or anything. This is also a minor detail but there are visible seam lines in various spots but some figures are just made that way. It’s not extremely noticeable to be an annoyance.

Kingdom Hearts Figure

I was extremely excited when I saw this one :3 who doesn’t love Kingdom Hearts? I have the games and manga, and I LOVE this series!

This is another collection of small, but detailed figurines. This series is by Bandai and includes 6 characters: Sora, King Mickey, Maleficent, a Shadow heartless, Donald, and Goofy. The included little sheet lacks detail and images and is full of some Disney information, so I suppose it’s from there, or is a collab or something?

Anyway I can’t say my favorite Kingdom Hearts character is included in this line (but we’d be here for like 10 minutes if I wrote down everyone I liked), but I always had a soft spot for Sora and he is who I would have wanted to get out of the options here. 

The figures feature a chibi anime style and a few of them include an item and a small base with their name and series logo on it.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I love this little figure, but it leaves me with some confusion. From the top to the mid-section is extremely detailed, including the metallic keyblade. But from the mid-section down (I know its probably hard to see in the picture) I feel like they started neglecting detail; but with a small figure it’s probably expected right? The rest of it is very impressive.

Cat Wind Chime

(Sorry for the blur, I couldn’t get it to stop moving)

As a lover of both cats and wind chimes, this is the purrfect combination :3 Wind chimes are popular in Japan during summer, when people put them outside to listen to the jingle of the bells and feel the cooling breeze as it blows through them.

This series is by Epoch, and there are 5 kitties available; and all but 1 of them seems to have a gold bell. The 1 has silver. The dangle part, as you can probably see is the kitties tail, and each kitty has a clear bead on top to keep the string from falling through the hole.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The detailing is really nice and simple, it looks a lot cuter than my horrible picture makes it out to be. The bell has a sweet little chime, but I did notice that when it’s hung up the tail piece becomes stiff? But when holding it, it moves fine in the breeze so I feel like it should still work fine.

Pokemon Paint

These paint palette gachapon have been pretty popular as of late I noticed. They either feature a variety of characters with art supplies, or a specific color theme- or in this case both. This series is by Kitan Club and each costs 300 yen, which I feel like is a bit expensive for such a tiny figure...

There are 5 pink adorable Pokemon to get in this collection, and if I had to choose I think I would have liked Mew or Clefairy the most. But they’re all very cute, and as you can see I got Chancy (whose Japanese name is “Lucky”).

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

As cute as this is, as I stated above the price has me a little iffy. I mean I can see why it’s that because it’s Pokemon- but I’ve gotten cheaper gachapon with more detail/bigger size. I noticed mine has a fair amount of color issues (there not visible in the pic at all), but at the same time it doesn’t detract from the general cuteness of the concept. The seams are fine and the figure is overall smooth, and while the colors are right, they could have been applied a little better.

Dragonball Z Figurine

Our last item.... is in pieces!

That’s right, our final item is a Dragonball Z figurine that you get to semi-assemble.

Yes that is a cat next to Frieza. He wanted some attention and wouldn’t leave me alone so at this point I decided to hurry up and finish to focus on him.

Anyway, this series includes very detailed figurines from Dragonball Z and is the 3rd series/wave of the collection and includes Frieza, Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma. I definitely wish I got Bulma or Vegeta, or even Goku would have sufficed, I wasn’t a Frieza fan. There is also another sheet in the gachapon, I think hinting at another possible set of characters you can get for this series. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The detail is obviously there, which is why I’m giving this a high rating. I also like the little put together detail and how it includes a small base piece. I’m not sure if I used it right though cause it looked like it could fit on a few places...

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Quality: 4 out of 5. I feel like it was very easy to see in each and every piece. There was no major complaints other than the color touch-ups I feel like my Pokemon needed.

Items: 2.5 out of 5. Don’t get me wrong, I did like them; especially the Kingdom Hearts figure, my cute little Waddle Dee, and the kitty wind chime. But in comparison to our previous box I feel like this one was a little bit of a letdown and pretty much was full of figurines that are just set for display. There isn’t too much to do with them and I feel no sense of practicality in this box (which isn’t you would think isn’t normally a thing with gacha, but so far our boxes have been including it and there are actually a lot of practical ones you can collect) other than the wind chime. Plus a lot of the items were on the tiny-small side and for the price we pay...

Total Rank: 6 out of 10 cuties. Detail was there, as was the cuteness with the exception of 2 capsules. I feel underwhelmed by this box though and I can’t say it’s the best representative of gachapon or Gacha Gacha Crate.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Cat Wind Chime - I mean come on, this should be obvious :P

2. Kingdom Hearts Figurine  - I love my little Sora~ I’m very happy I got him. The tiny keyblade is even cuter.

3. Hungry Kirby - Pretty simple, but very adorable. The whole collection would be great for a Re-ment display! Or to add to the other Kirby re-ment series.

4. Pokemon Paint - It’s cute and I like the metallic paint tube. I just wish the base looked more like actual paint, like I’ve seen the other paint series do.

5. Frieza - Even if he isn’t my favorite, I really appreciate the detailing put into him. The tail part is even missing its tip like in the actual anime. I remember that part, but I can’t say I remember it extremely well, I saw this series when I was like 6 or 7. I’m thinking of giving it to old babysitter, he was the one to introduce the series to me.

6. Wood Puzzle - It’s okay, but I just don’t feel any sort of desire to do anything with it.

[theultravioletcatastrophe]

Well, I guess it’s about time I did another

EARL’S ANIME ROUNDUP

My thoughts on some recent anime below the cut. This is gonna be a long one, so skip it if you’re not really interested. I’ll put all the series I talk about in the tags, so if you see one that catches your interest, read on.

Okay, so. I’ve been watching a few different series lately, and almost all of them are frustrating me in some way or another. I like all of them, don’t get me wrong, it’s just... well, here’s my thoughts on all of them.

Hinako Note: This one is actually from last season, but I just got around to watching it recently. I’m 5 episodes in and so far, it’s a pretty cute show. It’s about a girl who grew up in the countryside and has a hard time talking to other people without freezing up (like, she literally turns into a scarecrow), so she decides to move to the big city and take up theater to help her overcome her shyness. This works out about as well as it sounds like it would, that is, not at all. She ends up living in this odd apartment/bookstore/cafe place, and she goes to high school with everyone else who lives/works there. I’m not gonna analyze this one too much; some of the reviews I’ve read have been like... people taking this WAY too seriously. Visually, it’s pretty good. Half the time the characters are all chibi/SD and the other half they’re normal. Also, the animators can’t quite seem to come to a decision about how big Hinako’s boobs are. Like, it’s really odd having blatant fanservice mixed in with cutesy moeblob animation. I’m not gonna complain, because the cutesy parts are cute and the fanservicey parts are nice to look at, but it’s just weird. The voice acting is, like virtually every Japanese production, quite good. There’s something about the voice acting industry in Japan that consistently produces high-quality work, as opposed to the anime dubbing studios here, which are almost all uniformly awful. (Just a heads up, I’m not going to mention the voice acting in any more of these series unless it really stands out as exceptional; for the most part, every anime series I’ve ever watched has had really high-quality voice acting.) The music is fine, I guess, it’s nothing noticeable, but the opening song is quite possibly one of the most ANNOYING SONGS IN ALL OF ANIME HISTORY. It’s so catchy and yet so irritating. The ending song is kinda like that too, there’s too many tempo and time changes and I usually like that sort of thing, so I don’t know why it bothers me so much. Anyway, overall this is a pretty good series for what it is, as long as you don’t take it too seriously. It’s cute, and I enjoy watching Hinako’s relationship with the other characters develop, along with her own development in overcoming her limitations and growing as a person. I give this one a 7/10.

Gamers!: THIS SHOW PHYSICALLY HURTS TO WATCH. Especially the last couple episodes. I watched episode 7 and my chest hurt from how hard I was cringing from secondhand embarrassment. I WANT TO PUNCH THESE STUPID KIDS INTO THE SUN. Okay, that’s not fair. Let me back up a bit. Gamers! appears to be a show about 5 high school kids in various interrelated relationships with one another, and about every single one of them fundamentally misunderstanding every single one of those relationships. It’s ostensibly about video games, too, but that seems like more of a side thing. There’s Keita, the main character; his love interest, Karen; his apparently best friend Tasuku; his maybe-but-maybe-not rival/friend Chiaki; and his possibly actual best friend Aguri. To really explain the plot of this show, I’m going to have to explain how all the characters relate to one another. I drew that stupid chart a while back but I don’t think anyone cared, and it was kind of just a shitpost anyway. So here we go: So Keita, we think, has a crush on Karen; she’s pretty and popular, and he is quite surprised to learn that she plays video games just as hardcore as he does (she’s actually quite a bit better than him). She invites him to join the school’s gaming club, but he turns her down for reasons he can’t quite explain. Karen ends up developing a huge crush on Keita, and neither of them seem to realize that the other reciprocates their feelings. This is because of the other three characters and their STUPID FUCKING MEDDLING. So Tasuku and Aguri are dating; their back story is kinda cute, but their present-day relationship is... practically non-existent? Like, dude, stop being your buddy’s wingman and actually hang out with your girlfriend. Keita and Aguri became friends because they wanted each other’s relationship advice, and now they hang out more than Aguri and her actual boyfriend. WHICH OF COURSE CAUSES MISUNDERSTANDINGS. Tasuku thinks Aguri is actually dating Keita; Aguri thinks Tasuku is actually dating Chiaki; Chiaki has a crush on Tasuku but can’t admit it; and Karen appears to be concerned that all the other girls are going to somehow take Keita away from her. In short, it’s a HUGE FUCKING MESS and it’s hard to watch sometimes, because all the characters invent these little fantasies about the others in their heads, and then act on the assumptions that those fantasies are actually how it is in reality, when usually it’s nearly the complete opposite. So everyone is blundering around not realizing what’s actually going on, and jumping at shadows that aren’t really there, and all of this could be resolved if theY WOULD JUST FUCKING TALK TO EACH OTHER FOR FIVE FUCKING MINUTES OH MY GOD WHY ARE THESE KIDS SO FUCKING STUPID AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Sorry, I get carried away. I really like this show and I want to see how it ends, but getting there is going to be a painful journey (though I hope that ultimately makes it more satisfying in the end). Technically it’s a decent enough show; the animation quality falters a bit sometimes, but overall everything looks good. I like the music in this series, and the eyecatches and end cards are all well done. I give it a 7/10 as well.

Hajimete no Gal: I’ll get this out of the way at the start: this is explicitly a fanservice anime. There’s no mistake about it, the story is kind of just a vehicle for fanservice. At least with this one, the story is good enough to make it seem like maybe it actually IS about the plot and the fanservice is just decoration, but I’m pretty sure this is primarily about the T&A. Also, if you’re watching it on Crunchyroll like I am, you have to put up with some TRULY ATROCIOUS CENSORSHIP. Like, some of the stuff they cover up with obnoxious censor bars is not even that bad. It makes it hard to watch sometimes, frankly, because it’s just SO ANNOYING. Like, slap an age restriction on it and call it a day, will ya? I’m an adult and I would like my “””adult””” content left intact, thank you. But hey, on to the plot. I think I described it a bit previously, but it’s about a totally normal high school boy named Junichi. His idiot friends dare him to ask out their school’s most prominent “gal,” Yukana. On a whim, she accepts his proposal, and the two become a couple. The series appears to be largely about the development of their relationship (which is actually quite sweet, as the two of them are both so innocent), and the actions of their friends, which seem to be focused on preventing said development. This show has both one of my favourite characters in all of anime, and one of my least favourite characters in all of anime. The former is Yukana; she’s kind-hearted and fun and sweet, and she is just stunningly gorgeous. Like, it’s pretty hard for me to think of a single anime character who I’d consider to be more beautiful than her. The latter is... well, I don’t remember his name and I don’t want to bother with looking it up, because I FUCKING HATE HIM. He is literally a pedophile. It is his sole defining character trait. Like, every time he opens his stupid mouth, it’s because he’s fantasizing about little girls. None of the other characters apparently find this disturbing; a couple of them have made offhand jokes about him going to jail, but that’s it. Nobody seems to think it’s creepy or anything. Fuck, in the most recent episode, one of the other characters HELPS HIM GET A PART-TIME JOB AT A DAYCARE. LIKE... NO. Anyway, the actual story, when we get to focus on it rather than fanservice or stupid side stories, is really cute and sweet. Junichi is, of course, completely clueless about girls and about relationships, and seeing him learn and grow and become a better boyfriend to Yukana is really sweet and endearing. He undergoes actual character development, which seems rare for this type of series. The animation is top-notch; excellent artwork throughout, and consistently excellent too (plus did I mention how gorgeous Yukana is?). I give this show an 8/10, mostly for Yukana because I love her.

Netsuzou Trap: You’ve seen me post about this one before. This one’s got fanservice too, but it’s less of a focus, it seems; it’s more of a relationship drama than anything else. It’s about two girls, Yuma and Hotaru, who have known each other since they were kids. Hotaru was always shy and reserved, and she got picked on quite a bit, and Yuma would always be there to rescue her. When they got to middle school, Hotaru really started coming out of her shell, and she became quite popular, especially with the boys. Flash forward to high school, where Yuma has her first boyfriend, and Hotaru is on Man # 63643846 or whatever. Yuma expresses nervousness about doing... y’know... THOSE kinds of things with her boyfriend, and so Hotaru is like “hey why don’t we practice with each other, that way it totally doesn’t count, right?” Predictably, this leads to Yuma falling in love with Hotaru, and vice versa, though neither of them will admit it to each other (Yuma seems to have trouble admitting it to herself as well). The series is basically about how the two girls are cheating on their boyfriends with each other. The title itself is kind of a pun; it’s usually stylized as “Netsuzou TRap”, with the letters NTR being short for the Japanese word “netorare,” which basically means “infidelity.” As the series progresses, it gets harder and harder for Yuma to continue denying her feelings for Hotaru; her boyfriend Takeda senses that something’s up and that she’s not really that into him, and decides to, ahem, give Yuma some time apart to think about things. He’s such a sweet guy; he goes out of his way to make Yuma comfortable, and even after their little falling-out, he remains friends with her even though it’s super awkward. He gets played like a fiddle by pretty much all the other characters in the series, and it’s kind of sad. Hotaru’s boyfriend Fujiwara, on the other hand, is a total asshole and I want him to die. He’s physically abusive to Hotaru, and attempts to emotionally manipulate pretty much everyone (he catches Yuma and Hotaru fooling around one day, and while he already knew something was going on, he knows that Takeda doesn’t, and he basically threatens to tell everyone what’s going on unless the girls let him join in the next time they do it). It’s kind of a... dirty series, I guess. Not dirty in the sense of, like, sexual stuff, although there is some of that. I mean it makes you feel dirty, you know? Like, it’s not always easy to watch. It’s kind of dark and depressing; it’s definitely way more of a drama than any of the other shows I’m watching this season. I’m extremely invested in it, though. I kinda got spoiled on how the manga turns out, and I really hope the anime doesn’t end the same way, because I will be super depressed if it does. Also, the episodes are all about 9 minutes long, as opposed to the more normal 23-ish minutes. At least one minute is taken up by both the opening and the ending (which both have EXCELLENT music, by the way), leaving you with about 7 minutes of actual content in each episode. This wouldn’t be bad if you were binge-watching the whole series all at once, but the episodes only come out once a week. Waiting 7 days for 7 minutes of content is SO AGGRAVATING. I give this series a 9/10, which apparently puts me in the minority on MAL, as the series only has an average rating of 5.65/10.

New Game!!: Note the two exclamation marks!! This means that it’s season two!! And thankfully, it appears to be exactly what us fans of the first season wanted: more of the same!! I’ll explain the background of season 1, since it’s pretty much required to explain season 2. Our protagonist is Aoba Suzukaze, who gives up going to art college to pursue her dream of working in the video game industry. She joins the company Eagle Jump, which produces her favourite video game series ever, Fairies Story. She dreams of being a character designer like her idol, Ko Yagami, who did the character designs for the original Fairies Story game. Imagine her surprise when she learns that not only will she be working on the third installment of the series, but that her boss is none other than Ko Yagami! The series is pretty much a standard slice-of-life show, although refreshingly, it’s about actual adults with actual jobs rather than being about high school students like EVERY GODDAMN OTHER slice-of-life anime out there. It follows Aoba and Ko and their co-workers at Eagle Jump, detailing the ins and outs of the industry, and the ups and downs they experience. Also there’s a lot of implied lesbians in this show. In fact, I don’t think there’s a single man in this entire series, except possibly for background characters. Every employee at Eagle Jump is a woman; the director for the Fairies Story series, Shizuku Hazuki, explicitly says that she only hires cute women for this exact reason. And while there are definite implied pairings in this show, you can ship anyone with pretty much anyone and it would work. Ah, the fanfic writers must love this show. I wouldn’t know; I don’t want to read any. ;_; Anyway, the second season focuses mostly on Aoba’s new job as the lead designer for a new IP the company is making. Nobody seems to be taking her seriously, though; even though Ko gets promoted to art director, they still ask her to do a bunch of the work that Aoba should be doing, apparently because they think Aoba’s not good enough. It’s partly about her struggle to have her voice heard and to be recognized as the talented designer she is, and partly about how these office dynamics put strain on everyone’s relationships (particularly Aoba and Ko, who are at this point pretty much officially a couple I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE) and just generally balancing work and life. It’s a cute series and it’s compelling for anyone who was a fan of the first season; like I said earlier, it’s a direct continuation, and is exactly more of the same. The characters grow and develop, of course, particularly Hifumi (aaaahhh I love her so much), but for the most part it’s familiar territory. The animation is good throughout, as well as the music. This one gets a 9/10 from me.

And that’s it! I’d love to go into detail in another post about the games I’ve been playing lately, but I’m tired and I’m going to bed shortly. Maybe I’ll do a games roundup later this week or perhaps next week (things are going to be busy with me for a while so I’m not going to be on much).

Have any questions or comments? Think my reviews suck? Want to discuss any of these series with me further? Let me know! Send me a message or an ask or whatever and let’s chat about it! :D

[knightsoflight]

Chapter 1

Three young people must fight the darkness to survive. Warning: Fowl language and intense/uncomfortable moments. DO NOT REPOST!

"Let's go!" Said a young woman wearing a black trench coat with a green and purple striped shirt. She had black spiky hair and she was long and thin just like her friend. She was that of black and Hispanic heritage with ebony skin. When she spoke it was full of energy. Her eyes were an olive green.

"This girl is my friend, Tenna Green. She's the only friend that managed to stay beside me the longest. She and I have been friends, not long since I graduated high school. We live a few rooms from each other in an apartment complex. Her best qualities are cooking, bugging people to hang out with her or to go out and at the very most, be a great friend. She's loyal through and through."

"No!" Her friend, a girl with pink hair in pig tails replied.

"Come on, Devi!" Tenna said "We haven't went out in about weeks! I'm serious, you're starting to give off this creepy Howard Hughes vibe..."

"Really?" Devi sarcastically replied "I thought it was longer. It couldn't be long enough!"

"And this this is me. My name is Debra Dynast but I hate my name so I changed it to "Devi" since I was a kid. I'm what you would call one of those "struggling artists". I work for a company as a designer. I design anything from posters to covers, whatever and in both digital and traditional means. I prefer traditional but there was a demand for using digital, so I learned digital just to keep up with the job. When I'm not working for work, I'm painting for myself and myself alone.

Why I'm struggling to be alone? Well, you'll find out soon enough. I can't just tell you everything, you know?"

"Oh, come on Devi." Tenna replied to her friend. "You need to live a little!"

"I stopped wanting to live years ago..." Devi replied but then broke down after a while of Tenna just staring at her and said "Fine, I'll go! But in return I'll kill you afterwards."

"YAY!" Tenna said in her overly cheerful way.

"Spooky!" Replied her small familiar, a toy plush skeleton doll who squeaked to let him out of her trench pocket.

"See, Mr. Spooky is glad you're coming too!" Tenna replied. "Say, what about your little friend?"

"Tenna, we've been through this..." Devi said "She's not my friend. She's just proof that I'm going insane and I told you no magic!"

"But how come you can hear voices?" Tenna said.

"Cause I'm going insane as I said!..." Devi said. "Now drop it and lets go! You wanted to go, now lets get this done and over with..."

"Okay..." Tenna replied. "Crabby..."

"Okay, I gotta tell you at least this bit...Lately, there has been this little voice in my head...At first I thought I was going insane, especially when this little voice takes the form of this little doll that looks almost like me...It's like one of those plush chibi rag dolls, but with screws for eyes. I would hear this voice in my head, since this one incident that ended tragic with my last boyfriend. At first I thought I was going crazy, until my dear friend Tenna, showed me Mr. Spooky.

Apparently, anyone who can use magic, gain a doll like familiar born from their hearts. Tenna has magic in her blood, being on her mother's side, she came from a long line of witch doctors and shamans and such. So apparently, this thing was a part of my heart in the form of a familiar. I dunno if it's magic in my blood or just something I gained, but whatever reason, I didn't want to be apart of it. Least around that time."

They went into a brown car and drove off into the city. They stopped by at a Chinese Restaurant  called "Eat or Die". It was a hole in the wall type place. Kinda small but decent and clean, least a bit cleaner than some restaurants near by.

After getting out of the car, Devi sighed "Oh god...The world...."

"Oh shut up, hermit!" Tenna said "You'll like it here. No one works here. Everything is automatic."

"Well I like the name..." Devi replied with a small smile.

"Yeah, it use to be eat or don't, but they weren't making money."

As soon as they entered, they were greeted by an automatic voice that said "Welcome, please be seated...OR DIE!" The last bit startled Devi a bit. Tenna was just more enthused as she said

"Mmmmm....Death..."

They sat down near the window in the restaurant and Tenna asked "Okay, now that I used my super ninja skills to take you and get you into a comfortable state of mind, mind telling me what's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong..." Devi said.

"You're afraid of your powers..." Tenna replied "There's nothing to be afraid of!"

"Yes there is!" Devi told her friend. "I mean, don't you find it weird that we even have these powers and these weird creatures?"

"Well, to me it just means we have magic in our blood." Tenna said "And so we got powers and now we get to use em. Instead of being afraid of them, why not just accept it and practice it, so you can have control over it?"

"You don't understand, Tenna..." She replied

"That's not just the reason why you're afraid of yourself, is it?" Tenna asked.

Devi looked at her oddly and sighed.

"Oh come on, Devi!" Tenna said "I'm your best friend! You can tell me anything!"

"Yeah, you're my only friend." Devi replied with a cool smile.

"More the so reason for me to help you." Tenna replied with a smile. "I mean, why are you so afraid of accepting this?"

"Well..." Devi replied

*flashback*

Devi~ "Long ago while I worked at a book store, I met a somewhat strange young man. Well strange was putting it mildly, as I would have found out, but we somehow clicked. We were both painters with a passion, but at the same time something told me that there was something strongly off about him. His name was Johnny C. Kestral and instead of going by "John" or his full name, he went by the nickname "Nny". Yes, like "knee" the joint. I told you, he was eccentric.

He had jet black hair, pale skin, wore a lot of black and leather, was tall and long with green eyes. There was something mysterious about him, but not the cool, calm, collect kinda guy. He was outgoing and laid back, but something just came off of him as odd. Not just because he wore the same kinda dark outlook as I  and the whole "Nny" thing, but just over all.

He was like the wind, something I could feel and be around, but slips out of my grasp when I tried to hold on. And just like the moon, he would disappear sometimes. When I tried to grasp just what he's all about, he disappears as quick as a gale and yet, he was like the moon. Mysterious and yet captivating. He would go off on his own for a while, sometimes for weeks and just come back without explanation.  I just wanted to know more about him. He had a charm that, to this day still works, despite what happened. Childish, laid back, simple yet wondrous and so mysterious.

If I knew what I know now about him...I wonder if I would still have welcomed him in my life.... to try to save him...?

While we watched the city from a large hill, upon a mountain road, he asked me what makes a person who they are and what would happen if they lose their most defining trait? He said he asked that because he hadn't drawn anything in a while."

"Hmm..." Devi said calmly as she looked up at the sky and smugly with a smile said "If I could never paint again? Not possible! For me, to not paint, is to not live! I'd cease to exist!"

"Or maybe you just feel like you're dropping into insanity, trying to keep it back with your abilities."

"Nope!" Devi replied, thinking he was just joking about it.

“I guess that’s just me...” He whispered.

“What?”

“Oh, no nothing!” He said with a smile. "The fix is probably obvious. Maybe, I just need to stand back, look at the situation from a different perspective..."

"Maybe not." she said. “I mean, look at the city. It looks so pretty from a far but look closer and you see the ugliness of the human kind.”

He took a deep breath and smirked “You honestly think that?”

“Hmm?”  Devi looked confuse.

“I dunno, you have such feeling about you that makes me feel happy. It’s just kinda weird hearing something that harsh, from someone that gives me such a feeling.”

“Johnny...” Devi said in surprise.

“But I guess that’s what makes us alive.” He replied with an upbeat tone. “The good and the bad, the salt and the sugar. All that stuff...”

Devi let out a giggle and said “Yup!”

His hand became shaky and he felt nervous for some reason. He looked at his hand in slight worry.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked

"Oh, nothing!" He said and looked up at the stars. "Please...let me have this night to feel good." He thought to himself. "Where I’m not a warrior. Just a civil human being."

Devi ~"We were having a nice time. I thought maybe there could be a chance for me to be with someone."

"But I thought wrong..."

After a moment long moment of quietly looking at the sky, something became wrong with Johnny.

"Kill her..." Said a strange voice in his head.

"What?" He asked it.

"Kill her! " It said again.

"But why?" He asked it.

"She has the power hidden within her that can possibly destroy you!" The voice said in his mind.

"What!? No way!?" He shouted

"No way what?" Devi asked

"Uh..." He said "Nothing..." He jumped off the car and felt his head pounding.

"Johnny, are you sure you're okay?" She asked

"Yeah..." He replied.

"If you don't kill her, she will destroy you!" Said the voice in his mind.

"She's just an innocent girl..." He said quietly as he put his palms to his head in agony. "Leave her be..."

"Do not question us, Johnny!" Said his thoughts. His hand began glowing a purplish glow, as he held his hand tightly as if he was losing control of it.

"I will not kill her!" He screamed

"Johnny, what's wrong?!" She said as she jumped down from the car and walked toward him. A look of worry on her face as she came close to him.

"It's nothing!" He yelled at her.

"This is certainly not nothing!" She told him. As she touched him, he pushed her away.

"Don't you DARE touch me!" He said with madness in his eyes. Dark form of energy fired all around him.

"What's going on?!" She yelled "What's happening to you?!"

"I'm sorry..." The fading voice of Johnny said as he stretched his hand out and what looked to be a sword made out of purple dark aura and matter, shot out of his hand. He raised it over his head as if to hit Devi with it. "But now I have to kill you!"

Devi looked at him frighteningly and raised both hands "No!" She could feel a strange energy pulsing from her body, as he took the energy sword and slammed on her. However, the strange energy pulsing from Devi was protecting her from the attack. Suddenly the energy from Devi pushed forward and blasted Johnny away!

She looked at her hands afraid of what she just did. She took off and never looked back. She eventually got home and locked herself away.

*Flashback ends*

Devi ~ "Not long after that, was when I started hearing that tiny voice in my head and started seeing her..."

As they walked out after getting done eating, Tenna began trying to talk to Devi again.

"Well okay, that does explain a lot why you confined for solitude for so long." Tenna replied "But you can't just stay in solitude for the rest of your life. I mean, you got powers, instead of keeping that all inside, you should learn to use them."

"But I don't wanna use them!" Devi said "I mean don't you ever wanted to be normal again?"

"Who said we were ever normal to begin with?" Tenna asked smugly.

This made Devi's just drop and put her palm to her face and said "Okay...good point..."

"Besides, maybe if you practice them and who knows, maybe that voice that you keep hearing is your familiar, trying to speak to you. If the voice is a familiar, maybe it just wants to be your friend." Tenna said

"She's not my friend..." Devi said "You never heard Spooky talked to you before he appeared, did you?"

"No, but that's because I didn't push him back or anything. He just was born from my heart, least from what my family said. He appeared one day and we've been friends ever since!"

"It's almost sickening how you accepted it so easily...." Devi replied annoyed and then got serious again. "That little voice.. won't shut up about this strange 'darkness' that's supposedly coming."

"Darkness?" Tenna replied

Mr. Spooky popped from her shoulder pocket and went "Spooky?"

"Yeah..." Devi replied "She keeps ranting on about this darkness. She won't tell me what she means. I'm not too sure even she knows. If she's going insane then I feel that I might be too. She keeps saying I'm the only one to stop it."

"I see..." Tenna replied, not really sure what to make of it.

As they kept walking, Tenna began to ask with a grin "You know what you need?"

"Don't say it...." Devi sighed.

"You need to get out more!" Tenna replied

"ACKKKKKKKK!" Devi replied.

"I'm serious!" Tenna replied "You spend way too much time being cooped up! You wonder why you're going insane! I know I would be going insane if I didn't get out much."

"Yeah, I don't think so..." Devi replied sarcastically "Tenna, you say that all the time!"

"That's because it's true..." Tenna replied "If you're not going to practice your magic, well, get out more and see if that helps. Socialize, get some fresh air! Keep your mind off of stuff and maybe that little voice will shut up or at least calm down....Maybe she's a part of you that's frantic because you don't socialize much or get out often."

"I don't need to socialize with more people, especially since that thing keeps popping up. It might pester me during a conversation and besides...People are sick beings." Devi said this coldly. "Why would I need to socialize with the likes of them? They're nothing but breathing organisms that take up air."

"Oh come on!" Tenna replied as she pat Mr. Spooky on the head. "Quit being a Debbie Downer!"

She looked at them uncertain with herself. She and her friend walked out in town.

"Maybe, try mingling might help.." Tenna replied in a cheeky way.

"You mean go on a date with someone..." Devi replied in a revolted fashion "And that is not gonna happen either! I'm bad at dates and most people I dated were jerks...OR psycho killers! I gave up on that along time ago!"

"Come on... Okay, so your date with that Eddie dude wasn't so great, considering he kept thinking about sex and not clearly on the road. Least you lived....And your last date was a psychotic spooky dude, that wanted to kill you for.... some... reason....You lived! It doesn't mean all guys are all bad!"

"Oh, I know that for sure..." Devi replied as she remembered a tender memory..."Believe me, I know not all guys are bad..."

[tobeflyhaikyuu]

Soulmate AU Oikawa/Hinata feel each other's pain

You are the devil.

Hinata knew about the soulmate feel each other’s pain phenomenon. He just never had much to worry about regarding that. His soulmate, who he hadn’t believed existed, appeared to be a very cautious guy. Hinata barely felt any pain and when he did he always attributed it to something he did, not to what his soulmate did.

Say he felt a pain in his pinky, he figured he’d stubbed it in his bedroom desk a few minutes before. Say he felt a headache, he figured it was because he hadn’t slept well the night before. The examples went on and on.

But one day, his knee just… the pain was so intense! It was like nothing he’d ever felt before and he knew he couldn’t attribute that to something he did. His soulmate was hurt pretty badly and Hinata was feeling everything they did. And it was excruciating. The pain he felt there was so strong he passed out in the middle of volleyball practice. Before he completely black out he only hear Suga’s voice.

“Hinata!” His senpai called, worried. “Hinata!” 

Then the word just turned black. Next thing he knows he’s waking up in a hospital bed. He touched his forehead to feel a bump there, he must’ve fallen pretty hard on the floor. 

“Oh Shouyou, you’re awake!” His mother tries hugging him, which results in Hinata complaining. “I’m so sorry sweetie, how are you feeling?” 

“Groggy.” Hinata answered truthfully. “I know what happened but when did I get here? And where’s Natsu?” 

“Your friends at the volleyball club called when you passed out. I drove you here straight away.” His mother answered, using one hand to brush his cheek. “And I asked your aunt to drop Natsu off at school this morning.”

“Ah…” Hinata replied.

“What happened, Shouyou?” His mom asked, feeling so worried.

“Just that stupid soulmate thing.” He snorted. “I was fine and then next thing I know it’s like a tiny bomb just went BOMB inside my knee.”

“Awww sweetie...” She muffled his hair gently. “Well, good news is all your friends came here to see you!”

When his mom said all his friends, she meant all of his friends. 

The entire volleyball Karasuno team was there, along with Aone and Oikawa. Even his friends from middle school were there! They all had to wait outside the hospital and Hinata could only see that because his room was on the first floor and his bed was next to the window. They all stood there, looking at him. 

All of them seemed pretty relieved he was stil alive.

One by one they were asked to come in. First were Daichi and Suga. They acted like a worried couple, nothing unusual there. Suga brought him a teddy bear. Hinata held on to it pretty tightly. Then were Nishinoya and Tanaka. Both boys were talking about how tough Hinata is and how they knew he would be already. Though he could’ve sworn seeing tears on both their eyes when they were waiting outside. From the Karasuno team, Kageyama was the last one to come in.

“How’re feeling, dumbass?” He whispered the last word.

“Pretty good now, Bakayama.” Hinata smirked. “Thanks for coming.”

“You thought I wouldn’t?” Kageyama raised an eyebrow.

Hinata shook his head. “Never doubted it.”

After Kageyama left, his middle schools friends went inside. He was so happy to see them! The last time he did was at the Shiratorizawa game. After them it was Aone. He didn’t speak much but he wished improvements for Hinata and also snuck in a meat bun, which Hinata deeply appreciated.

Once he left, Oikawa came in. He had a bandage around his knee too...

“The Grand King!” Hinata gasped. He did see Oikawa outside, he was just curious as to why he was here. It’s not like they were exactly friends.

“Chibi-chan, you should call me by my name.” Oikawa smiled. 

“Then why don’t you call me by mine?” Hinata argued.

“Touché.” The Grand Kind replied. “Hinata-chan, I need to talk to you.”

He just called him by his name, right? He knew what he said, he just never aspected Oikawa to actually said it.

Hinata’s mom, who had been there for the whole time his friends visited, suddenly stood up from her chair. “I’ll go get some coffee sweetie. I’ll be right back.”

“Ah okay, mom.” Hinata was nervous, he wanted to ask her to stay. Instead he turned his head to Oikawa. “What do you need to talk about?”

“Suga-san said you felt pain in your knee?” He asked quietly. 

“Suga-san called you?” That caught him by surprise. He’d always thought Sugawara tried to match him with Kageyama. As if that would ever happen. Also he was pretty sure Karasuno’s vice captain and Aoba Johsai’s captain didn’t like each other.

Oikawa nodded his head.

“Does this mean what I think it does?” Hinata said those words carefully. He didn’t know how to feel about this.

“If you’re thinking soulmates, then yeah.” Oikawa replied. “Believe me, this is weird for me too.”

“Wasn’t thinking it wasn’t.” Hinata said. “What the hell did you do to make your knee hurt so bad?”

“Remember our first practice match?” Oikawa questioned and he nodded. “I was late because I had to step away from playing for a bit because of an injury I got a few weeks before. Yesterday we were playing and-”

Yesterday was what caught Hinata’s attention. “Yesterday??? I black out for a whole day?”

Oikawa laughed a little. “Yeah, Chibi-chan. Pain can do that to you.”

Hinata shook his head, trying to push that fact aside. “Just go on.”

“We played yesterday and I fell pretty hard, on my bad knee.” Oikawa continued. “I had to go to the hospital too, but I didn’t black out. Guess I got used to the pain.” 

“That sounds...” Hinata furrowed his eyebrows, “kinda sad.”

“If you think so, Chibi-chan. I’m just glad you’re alright.” Oikawa smiled with some sort of pity in his eyes.

Hinata had never seen this side of the Grand King before. He saw dramatic, and tease and competitive. He never saw worried or caring or loving. This was way weird for him.

“Eh I think you have other friends here to see you...” Oikawa rubbed the back of his neck. “I should leave now.”

Oikawa stood up before Hinata called. “Oikawa-san!”

“Yes, Chibi-chan?” He encouraged.

“Put your number on my phone, please.” He asked pointing at the small desk with his telefone there. “I want to talk to you more.”

Oikawa smirked. “Anything you’d like, Chibi-chan.”

After Oikawa laughed, Hinata’s mom came back. No coffee cup in sight.

“You left so I could talk to him, didn’t you?” Hinata questioned.

“I do not know what you’re talking about.” His mom replied. “But how did it went?!”

Hinata had a lump in his throat. What he’d just learned was... sort of momunmental for him. “He’s my soulmate mom.”

“I had a feeling.” She said. “So...”

“So what?”

“So, do you like him?” His mom was eager.

Hinata sighed. “I don’t know, mom. It’s not like I’ve ever spent time with him before. I’ve only ever seen him at volleyball games.”

“Well then, you could bond over volleyball!” His mom tried. “Let me just go find him so you two can arrange a date and-”

“MOM!” He interrupted. “Don’t please, just give me time to understand this, please?”

She stopped and sat down slowly. “Well do you at least plan on talking to him?”

Hinata sighed yet again. “I do. It’s why I asked him for his number.”

“Awww my baby boy has a soulmate!” His mom was smiling. 

“Mom, how are you so sure this soulmate thing with Oikawa-san will happened? Or will end well?” He questioned. He was still trying to convince himself Oikawa was his soulmate.

His mother still smiled but this time it looked like she knew some kind of secret he didn’t. “Just do. Now, sweetie, do you need anything? Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m good, mom.” He smiled at how caring she was. “Thanks.”

*

When Hinata was released from the hospital, he just went straight home. His knee still hurt a bit, it throbbed once in a while but it was manageable. 

He wondered how Oikawa was doing. However bad Hinata felt, he must be worse. And could he still play volleyball? As far as Hinata knew, he could feel his soulmate’s pain and not gain the actual injury. 

Hinata was worried. He cared so much about volleyball and he had no doubt Oikawa cared just as much, if not more. And then suddenly his heart just ached. It was physically pain but somehow different. He knew there wasn’t anything wrong with him, it was just one of those things you know. 

No, this was something else. Like when you suddenly feel so sad and lonely and everything in you just aches. 

Hinata decided to text Oikawa

“Oikawa-san are you...” He stopped, wondering if he should send it. After a moment he decided. “are you alright?” He hit send.

It didn’t take too long for Oikawa to replied. “Is this Chibi-chan?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I just...” Should he be honest? Just tell him right out? He pondered over that for while. “I’m feeling this ache in my chest and I think it has something to do with you.”

“Me, Chibi-chan?” Oikawa texted back. “Why would this have anything to do with me? Why don’t call a nurse?”

“I already left the hospital. I’m just... worried about you, that’s all.” 

“I’m so touched!” Hinata could picture him putting his hand over his chest in a dramatic manner. The thought made him laugh. “But I’m good Chibi-chan, no worries.”

Hinata could feel the pain in his chest diminishing a bit. It was still there but just a little less suffocating. 

“Well I’m glad you’re alright, Oikawa-san.” Hinata sent back. “I’m still here if you want to talk.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Chibi-chan.”

[sunnmo-moved]

HELLO I AM BACK TO BUG YOU AND SEND YOU LOVE!!♡♡♡~ YESSS LETS TALK ABOUT ART OMG. WHERE DO I START???! how did you start drawing?? :) i always find it lovely hearing the stories of artists!!! ^^ ♡ I JUST PEEPED AT YOUR ART PAGE AND ASDFGHJKL I LOVE YOUR ART SO MUCH!!!!!! i stared at each piece for about 5 minutes TT please teach me how to be a better artist omg.. (i dont know how to use color) ps. how are your drawings(gifts) coming along?♡ ~ Sending you love and hugs ♡♡♡♡♡ -Secret santa🎄🥕♡

gAhhh !! thank u so much you’re the sweetest 💖🌟😪 okay lemme think.. so i started drawing in like ? 7th grade i think ?? so abt 3 years ago,, n it was because i was in a “Anime Phase” (it was honestly only like,, naruto haikyuu and fairy tail ndksnd) and welp it influenced me to go start drawing! so yeah i have a few sketchbooks filled w some bad chibis n stuff,, but p shortly after that i started to move away from That and started trying to develop my own kind of style, which is stILL in the works,, its not easy… nd for a while it was just kinda drawing without learning from it?? idk,, but this year ive definitely been studying more abt anatomy and landscapes, esp in the past few months, and imo its helped a lot !! i still have a long way to go tho, like i need to practice clothing and fabric more along with more full body things but it all gets better with practice!!

also i actually am nOt very good with color skcnks,,, a good chunk of the stuff ive posted have pre made color palettes ! which are acTUally a very good way to practice coloring tbh,, it limits what you can use a little bit but also makes things look cohesive and they can also inspire ideas for the piece! in the one i did of minghao in 7 the colors reminded me of like a cityish street at night so i done plopped it in the bg !! and another thing that helps with color, anatomy, and lighting too is REFERENCES !! Since a lot of the things ive been doing lately have been more realistic ive been using sO many references and it really helps man im tellin ya !!! so those are the things i would recommend to help you practice!

this answer is already super long HNDKSN bUt i actually haven’t gotten any more presents done :// it was a Super unproductive day today and its not that great but its okay!! i can do it :^)) anWay ur a sweetie pie n i love you n i hope u have a good day !! practice ur art !! you can do it !! ✨💛🌙⚡️🌟⭐️👏🌼☀️