#but I don’t think horrible people would be here so you’re great and cool

[banditblvd]

Bandit you’re like

So cool.

Idk man you’re just really fuckin cool <3

YOU’RE COOL TOO

Never forget this ghosty never ever

You are awesome forever and that’s actually a fact

[insomniac4000]

Jelly Legs- ArthurTV

Becoming a camerawoman for ChrisMD meant two things;

Standing out in all weathers for hours on end watching people try to shoot a ball into the net and

Trying not to stare at ArthurTV while doing number one.

You were first introduced to Arthur on your first day on the job, you were obviously nervous but professional and found it sweet Arthur spent his down time when he wasn’t taking part in the video, asking you questions. It was a ritual now, after shooting had wrapped for the day Arthur would stop for you a chat, one of his questions was always ‘what are you doing after this?’ so you would tell him your plans whether it be with some friends or mostly going home and edit the photos from the shoot before watching some Netflix and Arthur’s response would always be ‘cool,’ and a nod before he stuttered and walked off to speak to Chris.

“Do you mind that Arthur has a crush on your videographer?” George asked when him and Chris were getting into an Uber to go home after another very long shoot. Your day was far from over still, you had to take the equipment back to the office and back up the SD cards before heading home.

“Nope, it’s been what? Eight months now and it’s still the exact same routine, he stares at her, talks to her about animal mating rituals, she follows him around with a camera for apparent content,” Chris said doing the finger quotes before continuing “Then he asks her what she’s doing that evening but never follows it up with oh you’re not doing anything? Maybe we could go out? There’s nothing to be worried about, Arthur is a man of habit,” the small man explained as he played with his phone. George nodded in agreement but just because he agreed with it didn’t necessarily mean that was the way it had to be.

“Has she said anything to you about possibly liking him back?” George asked raising his scarred eyebrow.

“No, I don’t know a ton about her outside of work, she tends to keep things professional mostly. I know she loved science fiction films so they’d be a good pairing in that sense,” Chris replied with a shrug and George nodded.

“When’s the next time you’re going out with your team? Let’s invite her along, I think it’s time you got to know her a little bit more socially,” George suggested and Chris nodded, just because he was unlucky in love didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to help out a friend.

“So if you fancy is we’re all going to go out for dinner and then some drink’s next Friday?” Chris asked you the next time you were both in the office, setting the wheels of the plan in motion.

“Oh wow, yeah sounds good,” you nodded before looking back to your screen.

“Really? Okay great,” Chris replied and you looked at him a little and frowned.

“Unless you were just asking me to be polite…”

“Oh no no no! It’s just, I wasn’t expecting you to say yes so quickly. I’ve kind of noticed you tend to keep to yourself quite often. Its one of the reasons why we’re doing this actually, to get to know everyone outside of work, I like to think it’s quite cool and relaxed here and I’m not some horrible slave driver boss,” Chris explained and you nodded. You did keep to yourself often and people had sometimes pegged you as unfriendly when you were simply unsure.

“Sure, it sounds good,” you smiled and Chris nodded before adding the line that made your heart thump a little.

“George and Arthur will be there too,” You needed a new outfit.

After work that day you went shopping, it wasn’t your favourite thing to do in the world and it was something you could do quite quickly, it was often the case that whenever you had money and needed to buy something there was never anything, here you now were in Westfield trudging through each shop in a desperate attempt to try and find something that made her look good but also make it look like she wasn’t making too much of an effort. She picked up a black cami with a floral pattern and lace trim, feeling the material between her fingers, maybe this would work some jeans? Suddenly she heard a voice the other side of her which sent chills right down to her bone.

“You know you suit dresses a lot more,” the dark voice said in a low tone, you froze and kept trying to tell yourself that this couldn’t be happening, there was no way he was here, it all had to be a misunderstanding, a terrible one at that.

You finally mustered the courage to look up and there he was in front of you, the one person you never wanted to see ever again in your life, the person who you thought you would never see again, sure the legal side of things had ended but perhaps naively you thought he wasn’t so stupid that he would seek you out and talk to you again. You pulled the hanger with the top on it from the rail and marched to the till, hoping that human interaction with someone else could firstly, cause him to back off and secondly it would stop you from bursting into tears. You bought the top but it only kept the tears at bay for those five minutes as the second you left the shop they started to flow. Your vision was blurry from tears no matter how hard you tried to wipe them away as they were being replaced so quickly. You could see a man approach you and you started to panic, your breath quickened in pace and you started to wheeze ever so slightly, feeling the intense squeezing sensation in your chest, a panic attack. You hadn’t had one of these in over four months, you were doing so well. The figure got closet but you noticed the hair wasn’t long and brown so it couldn’t have been him. But he was a big guy, you could tell he was definitely a gym bunny, it wasn’t until you could hear his voice that you started to relax.

“Y/N, Y/N it’s me Reev, what’s happened? Are you okay? Let’s get you somewhere a bit quieter,” he said softly and you nodded. Your main work was for Chris but as he didn’t have a crazy upload schedule you would often do other work in your down time mostly for other Youtubers as they knew your work from Chris and or shared an office with him so it was easy to coordinate.

You could only nod, not having the strength or ability to speak in that moment. It was only when you started to walk you noticed Theo who walked on the other side of you, you were squished between the pair and managed to find some seats in a quieter part of the shopping centre off from the main stretch of shops.

“Do you live far from here?” Theo asked scrolling on his phone for Chris’s number, not knowing who else to contact. Your breathing was still very erratic so you shook your head, it was roughly a ten or fifteen minute bus ride away so an Uber would take closer to ten minutes if not a little bit less.

“Do you have a housemate or anything we can call?” Reev asked but once again you shook your head as you gripped onto the bench so tightly while trying to steady your breathing. You lived alone, you had lived alone since you and him broke up, him. You couldn’t believe after so long you would ever bump into him, let alone him having the audacity to speak to you and now after months of hard work he was at the forefront of your mind yet again.

“Hey Chris, are you home? We’ve got a bit of a situation here,” Theo asked Chris who he had now gotten on the phone, he explained the situation with the little information he had and Chris agreed you could go to his if you needed somewhere. You were starting to feel incredibly embarrassed but still hadn’t gained your ability to speak, or regulate your breathing properly so off to Chris’s you went with Theo and Reev in tow.

“What’s happened?” Chris asked once you were settled on the sofa, a mug of tea in hand, a very concerned ArthurTV and George sitting on the other sofa staring at you waiting for answers.

“I saw my ex,” you managed to spit out, staring at the wall in front of you, you had a thousand yard stare, it was obvious you had been traumatised by something.

“Must have been a pretty shitty ex for you to react like that,” Theo noted. Arthur frowned, the thought of you being so upset by someone did not make him feel good, from the little he knew of you he had only known you as an incredibly sweet person.

“He was. I was so surprised to see him because well…” You sighed, it was all going to come out anyway you may as well let the cat out of the bag. You took a deep breath to compose yourself before speaking again “He went to prison, he was violent.” You stated before downing a big gulp of tea. An uncomfortable and stunned silence filled the room as you looked around to see everyone’s faces, there was a mixture of pity, shock and anger, it was usually what you got.

“Did you know he was out?” Arthur was the one to break the silence, he needed to know more, he needed to know if you were okay.

“Yeah, there’s no restraining order or anything, not anymore. I had a no contact order but he didn’t go to prison because of me, he had a fight with someone else, but still I just didn’t think he was stupid enough to talk to me in that shop. If you guys hadn’t have seen me I don’t know what would have happened,” you burst into tears again as everyone looked at each other not knowing what to do for a crying woman. Chris gave you a hug first, some of the others did too in an attempt to cheer you up, you spent the next hour telling everyone your story, asking their questions to the best of your ability.

“That’s why I keep to myself a lot and keep things professional, I’m so so scared to let anybody else in,” you explained, your gaze flicking to Arthur briefly.

“I can’t say I blame you, but you know if you need anything you can call on any of us right?” George offered as he nudged Arthur a little and the brown eyed boy nodded profusely.

“You know you’re safe with us,” Arthur added and you nodded, you did feel safe with them, but could you open up in the way you wanted to?

Armed with their new knowledge the boys had well and truly embraced you into their inner circle, the best part was as far as you could tell they weren’t just doing it because they felt sorry for you but they were genuine.

The work drinks were a huge success, you spent a lot of time talking to people but mostly you chatted to Arthur, George and Chris although pleased the two of you were talking were now very aware of the complication, as was Arthur but he was determined to not treat you any differently, in fact he was even more determined as he wanted to show you just how you should be treated, you deserved the very best.

“Do you think somewhere in China there’s English takeaway serving up questionable fish and chips and steak and kidney pies?” You asked Arthur as the pair of you tucked into a takeaway. The two of you had started to hang out together just you two. It was purely platonic, you had mentioned you had wanted to learn how to play chess so now it was a regular thing going over to his flat to play a game, eat and talk about your views of the world. For some reason this particular evening had ended up being a little boozy, Arthur often liked a drink but this evening he seemed to be drinking a little but more and also tonight you were in a mood to match him somewhat.

“Maybe, I want to go to China. I had a great time in Sri Lanka, I need to go to Asia a lot more plus it’s so diverse,” Arthur mentioned to you, you hadn’t travelled a lot but it was on your bucket list.

“I’ve never been outside of Europe, I’d really love to do something like that,” you replied as you ate your food.

“Maybe we could do something together? Only if you wanted to of course…” Arthur asked trailing off at the end as his shyness kicked in.

“That sounds amazing,” you smiled and blushed before eating some more of your dinner.

The two of you continued to eat in a comfortable silence, you always insisted on washing up when you went over to his flat despite his insistence it was fine but the two of you had a routine now, you washed and he dried and put away. You handed him a plate, the blush rising very quickly on your cheeks as your hand brushed with his momentarily.

“You’re very cute when you blush,” Arthur said, his eyes widened, he didn’t realise he had said it until the words fell out of his mouth, he stuttered a little as he tried to come up with something to say and now it was his cheeks which were the red ones. You couldn’t help but admire how cute he looked all flustered.

“I’m sorry,” he managed to choke out eventually and you frowned a little and shook your head.

“Don’t be sorry, it’s always nice to hear a compliment. You’re cute when you blush too,” you replied looking down a little picking up the fork and cleaning it so the last of the washing up was over.

“I just don’t want you to think I’m coming on too strong or that I’m only after something. There’s some nice guys out there and I really hope you believe you deserve something nice,” Arthur gushed, he didn’t know why he was saying this let alone why he was saying it now but he couldn’t help himself, the words were spilling out of his mouth he just couldn’t hold onto them anymore. You looked at Arthur carefully, trying to ignore the thumping in your chest. You reached out and grabbed his hand lightly walking back to the sofa where you both sat, hands still entwined and now resting on his knee.

“I know, I think you’re one of the good ones. I didn’t say anything before because of my past and I was scared to get into anything but I don’t want my past to effect my future anymore.” You admitted and Arthur had a very small and hopeful smile on his face.

“Does that mean we can maybe go out for dinner next time?” He asked his voice shaking ever so slightly.

“I’d really like that,” you replied with a giggle. This was going to be different in the best way possible.

[your-unfriendlyghost]

Do you have Stevie hcs

Yup

tons

it’s a problem

How they met:

-Steve has always thought Evie’s pretty, but in a hallway crush way- he never really met her until the incident at the police station, when they’re both sixteen (Stevie police station meetcute is @dallasgallant’s fantastic idea lol and I love it sm)

-Evie was also vaguely aware of Steve before that, but she just knew him as Darry Curtis’s little brother’s angry boyfriend sidekick

-I talked about/drew it in this post, but in more detail, I think the police station incident went like this:

-Evie’s mom dates a lot of not so great guys. Usually they leave Evie alone, but they’re pretty abusive towards her mom. On the day of the police station incident, one of them slapped her mom in the face. So Evie punched him so hard his nose broke.

-And then he called the cops on her. So she got hauled into the police station.

-That’s where she met Steve, who was at the station because he got caught for a bit of petty theft

-Steve hears her arguing with the cops while he’s waiting for Soda to come pick him up, and when she comes out of the office and sits across from him to wait for her Mom to get her, he says something like “You know, your crime was pretty tuff.” And then he cringes because that’s a ridiculous thing to say to someone, especially a really gorgeous girl

-But Evie, who’s had a hard day, actually really needed to hear that. She was standing up for her mom, and her mom didn’t even thank her, and now the cops just yelled at her and honestly scared her for it. She’s actually started second guessing herself- like is she crazy? Should she have hit the guy? Is she in the wrong here?? So it means the world to have Steve tell her he thinks her actions were justified

-She thanks him, because she’s legit close to tears at this point she’s so frazzled

-Steve elaborates on how badass he thinks she is. He rambles about it more than he otherwise would because he genuinely thinks she’s awesome for that, but he also isn’t used to complimenting anyone (especially not pretty girls), so he thinks he’s coming off as so uncool

-But Evie needs that, actually. So when Soda comes to pick Steve up, Evie makes sure she takes note of his name/who he is, and she starts purposefully showing up at the DX to “accidentally run into him”

General relationship h/cs

-All of Evie’s friends think Steve sucks, which is okay because Evie thinks their boyfriends suck too

-Like when she tells Sylvia, who I hc as her best friend, about Steve, Sylvia’s like “Ew, really?! C’mom, him? The one with the teeth? That guy’s such an asshole, I don’t think he’s ever said anything nice in his life.” Slyvia mainly knows Steve as an annoying friend of Dally’s, who has the same temper and poor attitude but none of the cool rebel allure. (Part of this disdain is that Sylvia just doesn’t find Steve attractive, like at all, so in her head he’s just a worse person)

-And Evie’s like “You can’t say that, you’re dating Dallas Winston.” (Evie thinks Dally is both unattractive and horrible to be around)

-Steve’s friends all love Evie though

-Soda thinks she’s so cool- he’d be jealous (of both of them) if he didn’t have Sandy (for now 😭)

-Evie is the only person Steve feels comfortable showing his deeper feelings. She’s pretty open about her own, so Steve can let himself be more sensitive around her without feeling like a total sissy. I mean, he’s open around Soda too, but honestly less. He still kinda wants Soda to think he’s cool, yk? Evie though is so open about how cool she thinks he is that he can let his guard down easier. (I mean, due to traditional gender norms, especially in the 60s, it’s easier for Evie to be open than it is for Soda or Steve I think)

-They’re both pretty physical- Evie may not wrestle people or affectionately punch them, but she likes physical touch too. Just with her it’s usually like. Less aggressive. She does get a little more aggressive with Steve though to kinda match his energy (translation- they both like PDA a lot)

-Evie’s tried arm wrestling Steve a handful of times- she hasn’t won yet

-But she has carried him before lol- he’d never admit it, but he loves it (He doesn’t need to admit it tho, she can tell)

-Evie’s good with reading people, but especially Steve. She can see right through his bravado and the more preformative aspects of his personality- like how he’s always wearing sleeveless things, obsessively checking his hair, the way he’s always gotta have attention or he’ll just die- and she thinks it’s honestly so cute. Like, he’s not just a cool tough hood, he’s also a dumb teen boy. And she finds that really endearing

-Steve finds her brain really attractive, but also very much her looks. That sounds shallow- hear me out. My version of Evie doesn’t see always see herself as conventionally good-looking- she’s a mixed race girl in a very white part of town, raised by a white mother who doesn’t know how raise a non-white kid, in the 19-fucking-60s. She’s tall, and not the most thin- she’s used to feeling too big, too dark, too much, from how she looks to how she acts to how she is. So having Steve see all that- all her emotions, all her anger, her height, her hair, her everything- and yet see her as the hottest chick in Tulsa and also probably the whole world matters so much to her. She’s never felt like she fits into the proper mold of good wholesome femininity and it kills her, so the fact that Steve sees her as the epitome of The Perfect Girl makes her feel so much better about herself. (I know this attitude probably sounds kind of dated, but uh. Again, it’s the 60s. So.)

-Similarly, Steve’s not always the most confident in his looks even if he acts like he is. Being best buddies with a universally beloved guy like Soda occasionally does make him feel like he’s ugly by comparison. Especially with his teeth and height and the fact that he’s less lean and slender than Soda- Steve’s shorter and hasn’t lost his baby fat and it feels lousy. (Little bit of Steve angst- I h/c that girls have gone out with him in the past just to get closer to Soda. It seriously fucked with his head, because he was so jealous and angry with Soda, but also loves and adores Soda, and it’s not Soda’s fault that he’s good looking and Steve isn’t… ) (Steve is still perfectly alright looking, even if Soda’s more conventionally attractive- but he’s also less friendly/charismatic than Soda) Anyway, having Evie go for him over Soda feels like a big deal- It’s happened before of course, but never with a girl he liked as much as he likes Evie

-Steve used to like reading, but he slowly stopped over time because he’s a JD and books are for sensitive babies like Ponyboy. But when Evie recommends books to him, he reads them and talks to her about them. He wants to understand her and all the things she loves

-In turn, Evie talks to him about cars- she likes cars too, but admittedly not as much as Steve does. Still, she’ll go with him to every motor show and often helps him out at the DX. She used to help her dad work on cars back when he was alive, and so she knows about as much about them as Steve does anyhow

-In springtime, Steve steals flowers from his neighbors’ yards and leaves them in Evie’s locker at school

-One time Ponyboy and Two-Bit catch him with the flowers, and they both make fun of him so hard for “going soft”

-Legit though, for Evie, he is completely soft. She could stab him if she wanted and he’d thank her (she would never do that but you get the idea)

-One time she convinced him to let her do his eyeliner. He thought it was ridiculous, but only protested a little- plus, it meant getting to stare into her eyes and admire her face for the whole time she was drawing it on, and he can’t complain about that

-When they first started dating, Steve was real insecure because he’s 5’7 and Evie’s 5' 7.5- and in the go go boots she always wears, she’s 5’9. And Dally would often make fun of him for being shorter than his girl which just made things worse. Deep down he was also kind of…physically into their slight height difference, which confused him so much. Over time though he got over the discomfort- besides, he might be shorter than her, but he’s still bigger/stronger than her so it doesn’t hurt his masculinity too much anymore

-Steve realizes he loves her when he gets sent to the cooler for lifting hubcaps. As he’s being handcuffed, Evie starts to cry- both at being disappointed in him, and from being scared for him. And for the first time since he was a little innocent happy kid, Steve reconsiders whether he wants to be a hood. Because if it makes Evie this upset…is it really worth it? And that freaks him out, because the only other person he’s ever cared that much about not disappointing is Soda

-Evie has loved him a little bit ever since they first met and he understood her when no one else did- but she falls in love with him when she’s had a fight with her mom and Steve comes over. He had been at some thrilling drag race with Soda, but he dropped everything to make sure she was okay as soon as he heard. Once he’s there, he listens to her talk, takes her seriously, and she’s never felt so understood and seen. And she knows then that she’s found someone who gets her in a way no one else does

-Evie steals Steve’s sweatshirts and jackets and occasionally even his jeans. In return, Steve wears her (more androgynous looking) jewelry- like her rings and chains and whatever. She almost convinced him to let her pierce his ears so that he could steal her earrings too- he chickened out at the last minute, less because of the pain and more because he didn’t wanna be seen as girly or gay (even though he is for Soda). Maybe someday when Steve’s older and more secure in his masculinity he’ll let her do it though

-Privately, Steve has already planned out how he’s gonna propose to her. He doubts he’ll go through with it until after Evie’s finished college, but he knows he wants to marry her someday

[a-kaash-me-outside]

a bit dirty - ch1

in which you hook up with osamu in a club bathroom and that's just the beginning. ch1 | next [masterlist]

// maybe a bad idea ~ ᴏsᴀᴍᴜ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ~ 6683 ᴡᴏʀᴅs

a look into this chapter: 18+ minors dni nsfw, cute flirting before, drinking but not drunk sex, unprotected sex (NO PREGNANCY TROPE I PROMISE I SWEAR FOREVER), thigh fucking, slight missed connection trope, names names names pet names a million pet names, minimal foreplay (unless you count flirting as foreplay), afab she/her pronouns

join my taglist here!! ~~ ♡ ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢs ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs ᴍᴇᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ♡

you are completely aware that you should not be out right now.

but you are.

and you could chalk that up to your horribly persuasive friends and their constant nagging and pleading for you to tag along with them tonight or your distaste for saying no to people and disappointing them or even a mild fear of missing the played out events of a really great night in your head.

the truth is, it doesn't matter the reason that you’re out despite how kinda stupid it is. the fact is, you know that it’s a bad idea to be entering a club at 12am when the alarm in your pocket is set to 6am, but you’re doing it anyway. sure, you were lightly bullied and, sure, you keep offering deprecating and pity-me sentences about how you really shouldn’t be out, but you’re still there. you’re still out. 

you’re still hovering over a high-top table in the corner of the club a few steps from the bar screaming over loud music, “i told you guys that i didn’t really want to drink tonight.” yet, a drink is, indeed, thrusted into your hand. the glass bottle is cool against your palm, fingers smudging the condensation on the label as you hold it tight.

“if you don’t want it, i’ll drink it,” your friend offers, red jacket bunched around his wrist as he extends his hand towards you, palm shaped so the bottle would fit perfectly against it. you shake your head, bringing it to your lips, taking a sip, and then another, and then another. 

“this is such a bad idea, kuroo,” you drone, exhaling as you take another sip.

“yn,” kuroo says abruptly, one hand placed on your shoulder, fingers squeezing to call you to look at him, “we know.”

“do you want to go home?” akaashi asks, calling your bluff or genuinely concerned, you’re not completely sure. he turns to another member of your friend group for confirmation and a bit of support, “bo, should we just take her home?”

you stick your hand out in between them as if this would stop the conversation from progressing or any decisions from being made. you shake your head, “no. no, i don’t want to go home.”

“then maybe loosen up and act like it,” bokuto implores, hands on your shoulders, leaning his definitely not a tiny bit of weight against you, bouncing along with the beat of the song. 

“i just feel like if i keep saying it’s a bad idea,” you reason, narrowing your eyes as the sentences finishes in your head and you know that you’re going to get flamed when it actually comes out of your mouth, “that it makes up for the fact that i’m out because i feel bad for it?”

definitely not.

yeah, i don’t think so.

nice try.

bad logic, yn, really bad. 

you groan, “okay, okay. fine. actually having fun. because i’m out,” you point at akaashi and he nods back at you, “and so why not just enjoy it instead of making myself miserable for being out?”

“and us,” tsukishima notes, “don’t forget us. you’re also making us miserable.”

kuroo throws his arm around tsukishima, runs the tops of his knuckles over his hair as he laughs, “you’re always miserable. you don’t count.”

“tch, knock it off,” tsukishima swats at kuroo’s fist so violently that he almost falls over.

“yea,” you say in an attempt to convince yourself, “just have a fun time and don’t think about the fact that i should probably be on my way home right now.” 

akaashi bumps his shoulder into yours, the one that bokuto’s fingers are still tightly grasped around. “you know how to have fun, yn,” he reminds you, “laughing at those dumbasses is usually a good start.” akaashi nods towards tsukishima and kuroo trying, and failing, to contain their back and forth, bumping into the table and spilling bokuto’s drink. 

it is a good start, you suppose. you can’t help but laugh, actually, as they start yelling at each other, blame spewing and insults flown. “and then,” akaashi says, raising his eyebrows and gesturing to your drink. he raises his own, waits for you to do the same and then lightly taps the neck against yours. you raise the bottle to your lips, tilt it upwards, and don’t bring it back down until the only weight in your hand is the empty glass.

“c’mon, idiots, you owe bo a new drink,” akaashi shouts over the already loud club and added bickering, “and we need a refill also.”

they either don’t hear him or choose to ignore him. neither tsukishima nor kuroo even bat an eye to akaashi waving his hands to get their attention or the dramatic sigh that he forces. bokuto notices, though, nods to the bar as he says, “c’mon, we will go get new drinks. they won’t even notice we’re gone!”

your tiny nod is confirmation enough. bokuto grabs your wrist, gently pulls you through the mass amounts of people to the bar, moving through the crowd much easier than you would’ve on your own. sure, you could maneuver in and out of people, but bokuto could barrel right through them, polite enough to offer small sorrys and excuse mes, but assertive enough to keep moving the entire time. 

bokuto presses up against the counter, leans over the top to order whatever drinks he’s ordering, and then waits patiently while the bartender grabs said drinks. you stand next to him, akaashi on the other side of bo, a bit of space between you resting with your lower back on the edge of the countertop and the horde of people dancing in the vicinity. 

the bar is a bit of an oasis, somewhat more organized than the conglomerate of different groups that occupied the rest of the venue. there is a patience here that you don’t get in other parts of the club, a knowing restraint that you welcome like a breath of fresh air. you scan the length of the bar, the groups of people inhabiting the same space that you are for the same reason that you are and among them, a man with gray hair and a tight black t-shirt who keeps looking over in your direction. 

everytime you try to sneak a private glance, he’s already looking at you, eyes meeting yours for a fraction of a second before pretending that he was looking somewhere else. you’re suddenly feeling much warmer than before, perhaps it has something to do with the club lights or the large gathering of people or the way the two guys that are with him keep nudging him in your direction. 

“that guy keeps looking at you,” bokuto notes, pointing very blatantly at the man across the bar. “you should go talk to him.”

“no way!” you instantly reject the thought. 

akaashi leans forward, peeking out from the other side of bo. “step three of having a fun night out? getting railed by a mystery guy who keeps throwing you looks,” akaashi explains, head nodding, no inclination of sarcasm. 

“you said talk to him,” you say, glance thrown over your shoulder just in case he’s already gone. that would solve a lot of your inner turmoil right now. but when you do look, he’s looking right back. this time, he keeps eye contact with you for an entire second before pulling away.

“right, well, and then fuck him,” akaashi says, mischevious smile, shrugging his shoulders as if it were obvious.

“i don’t do that,” you explain. 

“you haven’t done that,” bokuto says, “there’s a difference.” 

“look, you’re out, you’re trying to have a good time, that hot fuckin’ guy is staring you down?” akaashi says, naming all of the reasons that he believes this is a great idea, “and the four of us are here if something is weird. this is the perfect opportunity.”

“no, no,” you shake your head, “besides, i’ve gotta finish this drink and tsukishima and kuroo are probably-”

bokuto taps his card against the machine as you babble on excuses and grabs the drinks from the counter in the middle of your sentence, handing one to akaashi and holding the other two. “oh nooo,” bokuto whines, “turns out these drinks are for me. better find someone else to buy you a drink.” he makes eye contact with akaashi, nods towards the direction of where you all came from and starts moving that way.

you move to follow them, but your feet don’t move, heart beating against your chest as your core tells you that if you hesitate for only a moment, they will be out of reach and it’ll actually be easier to just sit here at the bar. and if something were to happen while you were abandoned by your friends, if the buff looking tall guy a few feet down the bar decides to talk to you, then it wouldn’t be the worst thing to have ever happened to you. 

it’s not just that you don’t move, it’s that you make the very conscious choice not to move. you take a deep breath and check one more time that he’s still there, that he’s still looking at you, and he is. you let your stare linger this time, you have no other obligations or people to talk with. it’s you, all alone at this bar, waiting for one particularly attractive man to make his way over to you and talk to you, you might as well make it obvious. 

with him are two other guys, one that looks eerily like him but with brassy dyed hair and a louder personality and another one with a black mask on and dark, curly hair. the blonde one nods in your direction, pushes him with his shoulder once and then twice and then a third time. you think that this will cause a reaction, but it doesn’t. 

you’re almost ready to concede, make your way back to the high top and have a good night without going out of your comfort zone, but the other guy leans over and says something in his ear, points at you with his chin, and then pulls the blonde guy away and leaves the gray haired guy alone just like you. 

for someone who didn’t make his way over to you the first three times someone shoved him in your direction, it doesn’t take him long to walk over to you once he’s alone. you wonder if you’ll have to say something first, what will you say first, what should you say first?

“did your friends leave ya too?” he asks, and if you hadn’t downed your first drink and you weren’t as nervous as you were, you might’ve noticed how out of place he sounded as well. 

you laugh, offer a short nod as he takes place next to you, leaning against the bar the same way you are. you’re rooting through your brain to concoct an adequate response, one that will entice him to stay, continue a conversation, let him know that you’re very interested while also not telling him that outright, but all of that thinking is rendering you currently silent.

still, he tries again, asks something much easier, “can i buy ya a drink?” 

you nod again, turning towards him this time, but not before catching a glimpse of his profile, his chest, his forearms tense with his fingers gripping the edge of the counter. tonight was definitely not a mistake. you don’t care how early you have to be up tomorrow. “only if you stick around for a dance too,” you say, hand ghosting on said tense forearm, testing the waters, voice projecting so that you’re sure he hears you.

he laughs this time, gorgeously genuine smirk appearing along with it. “i don’t really dance,” he admits, “but to talk to ya a bit longer? i’d be stupid not to.” his eyes flicker down to your lips, the way your tongue peeks out for just a second and your teeth scrape against the bottom, and then back up to your eyes, wider than before but just as lust-stricken. 

he turns, flags down a bartender. on their way over to the two of you, he leans down, “what can i getcha?”

“i’m not picky,” you respond, “i’m pretty adventurous, actually. i like trying new things. i feel like you can learn a lot about someone from drinking their go-to drink.” you feel like you’re rambling, but he’s looking at you like you’re the cutest thing on earth. 

he leans over the bar, orders whatever he orders, and then quickly returns back to your side. “so what did you order?” you ask. “what will i be drinking?”

“spiced rum and coke,” he calls back, “what does that say about me?”

“hm?” you question, tilting your head.

“ya said that ya can learn a lot about someone from their go-to drink. what does that say about me?” he asks, smiling.

you purse your lips, mulling it over for a second. “i think it says that you like the classics, but with a more exciting twist,” you say back. “like-” 

he wraps his arm around your waist, cutting you off as he pulls you closer to him, moving you out of the way of some far too drunk couple that was knocked in your direction, drink sloshing right where you were just standing. “sorry,” he says, very slow to remove his hand from your waist, but you lean back into it. 

“don’t apologize,” you say, staying pressed up against his side. “practically saved my life,” you joke. “if the roles were reversed, you’d be drenched right now. i’m not that fast.” he raises his eyebrows at your sentence, but you don’t correct yourself, just avert his gaze and laugh at yourself. “did you have that all planned or?” you ask.

“nope,” he says, arm still around your waist as he pulls his card out of his pocket to pay. he hands you one of the drinks. “just the stars aligning or somethin.” 

the spice of the rum is nice, warming, a bit more flavorful, an unexpectedly fun twist to a classic. you smile up at him. “now you owe me a dance,” you say, nodding towards the dance floor full of people. 

he doesn’t hesitate, slides his hand down your side, digs his fingers into the fat of your hip, and nods in the same direction as you. “lead the way,” he says. he follows you as you weave through groups of friends and drunk couples until you find a somewhat less crowded corner. the music isn’t as loud here, a bit further away from the speakers and the action, but it feels perfect for the two of you. 

dancing is a generous word for what the two of you are doing. it starts more like swaying, his hand still on your hip, your hand now on his shoulder. you’re both still chained with mostly empty drinks in one hand, taking small sips here and there in between half-lidded eye contact and half-steps closer to the other. 

“is it bad that i want to get rid of this ridiculously over-charged drink so that i can put both of my hands on you?” he asks, leaning down to place his lips against your ear despite the fact that the music isn’t necessarily loud enough to warrant that. you shake your head, his lips brushing against the side of your cheek as you do, and then you let it fall onto his shoulder. 

you reach out, feel alone guiding you as you set your half-drank cup on a random table. you clasp your hands around his neck, allowing yourself to lean backwards to take him all in, pretty gray eyes, hungry look in the depths of them. you tangle your fingers into the hair at the base of his neck. you really want to kiss him.

the hand that just held his drink is colder, shocking almost as it smooths down your lower back, fingers hooking into the waistband of your skirt, toying with the fabric and the zipper on the side. now you really want to kiss him.

he’s staring directly into your eyes as his fingers ghost over the lace of your underwear. he doesn’t pull away at the feeling, doesn’t stutter or retreat or dive deeper, but pushes his fingers underneath the band, dull nails scraping against the soft skin of your hip. you really want to kiss him right now. 

he’s so focused on touching you, on teasing you, on watching your adorable expression as you try to keep yourself composed, that you decide to take matters into your own hands, pulling him down into you and pushing up into him, lips smashing against his, fingers threading into his hair. 

you talk in the same instances that you breathe, in between long, sloppy kisses and roaming touches. “i don’t normally do this,” you admit. “am i supposed to say that?” 

“i wouldn’t know,” he says back, out of breath before pressing a kiss into your lips again, speaking against them, “i don’t either.”

“looking like that?” you ask, just as out of breath as he is, “your hands confident as that? yea fuckin right.”

he pulls away for a real breath, chest rising and falling a bit heavier than usual, tongue swiping over his lip to swallow the spit you’ve left there. “honest,” he replies.

you shake your head. you still don’t necessarily believe him, “i suppose i don’t have to trust you to go fuck you in the bathroom.”

he tilts his head, a huge smile on his face now. “oh?” he questions, “is that how far this is goin? ya thinking that far out?”

you blush, instantly warm against his touch. “well, no, i- i didn’t mean-,” you stutter.

“i mean, i suppose it doesn’t have to be that far out,” he says, low, as he brings one hand up and places your chin between his fingers, demanding your eye contact. “it could be in the next thirty seconds if ya want.”

all you can do is nod, but that’s enough for him. he’s dragging you by the waist to the other corner of the club, nodding towards the only single-room, open bathroom and you nod even more dramatically, following him inside. 

he locks the door behind you and his hands are instantly back on your body, gripped around each of your hips, both pressing you against the door and holding you in place as you pull his face down into you harder. he slides his hands to your lower back, down your ass, pushing up your skirt so he can feel your soft skin directly on his large hands. 

he uses this grip to lift you, back sliding against the bathroom door as he pulls you closer to him. he doesn’t have to lean down as far to kiss you now, doesn’t have to worry about using his hands to press you into the door. your legs are wrapped around him, his hips pressed between them. 

he kisses down your neck. “do i get to know your name?” he asks into your collarbones.

“do you need to?” you ask, cheek against the top of his head. 

when he laughs, you can feel the vibrations dance across your chest, “guess not.” he licks a strip up your neck, grinding his hips against you, “what do you want me to call you tonight then?”

“something cute,” you offer. 

he laughs again, “alright, doll, i’ll get creative then.” he holds you tight, both hands on the undersides of your thighs as he moves you to the sink, sets you on the edge of the porcelain fixture. his hands move to the tops of your thighs, sliding up and up until the hem of your skirt is at the top of your hips, exposing the lacey panties he was toying with moments ago.

surprisingly, this weird grip that he has on the tops of your thighs is not doing a horrible job at keeping you up right, but the longer that he feels your skin, drags his nails against the fats of your thighs, nudges open your legs with his knee, the less his focus is on keeping you steady. your core is tight, engaged to not fall backwards into the faucet, but perched right on the edge. 

“fuck, you’re so pretty,” he murmurs against your neck, hooks both of his fingers into the waistband of your panties, pulls them down your thighs, over your knees, and lets them rest around your ankles and the fact that he’s being this mindful, doesn’t let your panties touch the gross bathroom floor, either means that he has, indeed, done this before or, the much worse option, he’s just that considerate and thoughtful.

he wraps one arm around your lower back, places one large hand on the inside of your thigh and slides it further between your legs until the tip of his thumb rubs against your already messy clit. you reach out on instinct, fingers wrapping around his forearm, eyes begging to stare into his, but he can’t pull away from the way that you’re teetering on the edge of the sink, thighs quivering to keep yourself upright as he begins to tease you, so you force it, slide your grip up his arm and shoulder and tilt his head to look you in the eyes and now he’s convinced he can’t ever pull away from this sight. 

your eyebrows are knit together but always moving, lip jutted out, chin tilted upwards, breathing already unsteady and he can feel the heat radiating from your entire body. he watches your jaw fall open as he drags the tips of two fingers between your puffy lips, circling the pads against your hole once before your tiny, but insistent nods convince him to push inside. your eyes close lazily and then open half-lidded, corners of your lip upturn into a blissful smile, and the prettiest hum leaves your throat as his fingers fill you.

with your position on the sink it’s not easy, but you move your hips forward the smallest bit. it barely pushes his fingers deeper, but the miniscule movements are better than nothing. he could give you everything you wanted right now, could curl his fingers and move so fast that his arm’ll be sore tomorrow, but there’ll be time for that in a second. right now, you’re whimpering so needy for him, soft walls clenching around two fingers, juices dripping into his palm and down to his wrist, a slow, sticky squelching louder than the music and chatter behind the closed door. 

“more?” you ask, quiet and sweet. you could’ve told him politely or demanded it, however you wanted to communicate your need would’ve been good enough for him, but you ask him so nicely and he knows exactly how the rest of the night will go, knows exactly what you need from him. 

“oh, sweetheart,” he says and the butterflies in your stomach are getting restless now. he nudges your legs open wider with his knee, steps in between them to get a better angle, chest against your shoulder as he starts fingering you faster, driving his two thick, long fingers deeper inside of you, curling as he pulls his arm back towards himself. “give ya anything ya want when ya ask that nicely.”

you can’t think of any other words, the only thing leaving your mouth over and over again is, “fuck fuck fuck” as he fucks you so pretty with his fingers. you’re so wet around him, so easy for his fingers to slip in and out of you and you’re having a hard time keeping your legs spread. if he weren’t standing between them, they’d be closed around his hand right now. it’s all so much. 

your forehead falls into his bicep, nodding against the muscle, fingers grip around the edge of the sink as you babble, “gonna come, please, gonna make me come.”

“then come, bunny,” he says, presses a soft kiss into your hair, and you’re gone. you listen to him so well, he can’t help but smile as he continues the motions, fingering you through your orgasm, walls fluttering around him, flooding even more. the grip on your waist gets tighter as you lose control, taking care of you as nearly every thought leaves your head. if he were any less in control, less thoughtful, you’d be on the floor right now. 

“and what do i call you?” you pant the second that you’re able to think again, hands not really sure where to root as they move from his chest to his shoulder to his forearm. 

“s’pose you might need something to call out when i wreck ya, huh?” he asks, kissing the side of your jaw because it’s the closest thing he can reach, thankful for your tiny recovery as he reaches down with one hand to undo his belt and jeans. 

fuck. you swallow harshly, not caring for even a second how much the effect of these words is showing on your face. this confidence might look tacky or awkward on somebody else, but his beaming genuine smile and equally as strong grip on your waist is driving you insane already and you know he’s not lying, he’s going to ruin you. you nod. 

“don’t matter to me, princess,” he says, smearing the juices on his fingers down the length of his cock, swirling around his tip, but you don’t dare look down, eyes on his as he finishes his sentence, “as long as it’s coming out of your pretty mouth, you can call me whatever you want.”

“and you say you haven’t done this before,” you breathe, voice very unsteady for how confident that sentence could’ve been.

“i really haven’t,” he shakes his head, leaning down to kiss you. “honest. just something about you that’s driving me crazy,” he says, wet fingers digging into your hip under your skirt, and for some dumb fucking reason you believe him, nodding stupid like he needed confirmation to a plain statement and you hope he understands that this means that you want him right now.

you press your forehead against his shoulder, catching only a glimpse of him lining himself up, finally having a scene to match the sensations as he drags his thick head between your sloppy lips, grids the underside against your clit, pushes the tip against your slightly stretched hole. 

“nuhhuh,” he says, picking your chin up, shaking his head, talking so soft that you accept it all as gospel, “look at me, dove. you can watch later, but right now, i need to see your pretty expression as i spear ya, okay?”

all you can do is nod, all you can say is, “okay.”

he smirks, kisses the side of your jaw so quickly before pulling away, eyes scanning every facial feature so he can notice the change in every single one, and then he pushes inside of you. the moan that rips from you is so loud that you’re convinced every person in the building can hear it. it breaks off at the end, so forceful that your vocal chords can’t support it, and you can’t see how entranced he’s looking at you because you can’t focus on anything.

you’re so fucking full. 

he’s pressed completely up against you, hips resting on the insides of your thighs, arm around your lower back to pull you into him, your chest against his, and his face is so close to yours, but not close enough that he can’t see how hard he’s already wrecking you just by being inside of you.

his hips pull back slowly. you can feel every inch leaving you and you’re already squirming at not being filled to the brim, circling your hips as best you can on the edge of the sink. he pushes forward again, harsher this time. your head falls against his shoulder and from this position, you can finally see it, the sheen of your slick on his cock as he pulls out and fucks back into you, how thick he is as he disappears inside of you. your walls clench around him at the sight, his hips stutter at the feeling, he needs more. 

every thrust inside of you, the fronts of his thighs slam against the side of the sink. you feel like the entire room is shaking with how forceful he’s being, but he can’t help himself, not when you’re sucking him in so tight. “shit, so fuckin’ perfect for me, fuck, so wet, ‘s it feel good, pumpkin?”

you nod vehemently, can barely talk amongst your whimpers and whines, can’t even really form a thought it feels so fucking good. “mmm,” you whine, “feels mm- feel- s- so good, baby, fuck, so so s- so good.”

“can’t even talk, you’re so cock drunk, huh, pretty?” he asks, moving both of his hands to your hips, rocking you back and forth to meet his thrusts and you just let him.

“please don’t stop, please, gonna come,” you say, the only string of words you’ve managed since he’s started fucking you, but you need him to know how close you are. 

“lemme feel it, babygirl, lemme feel how tight ya get when you’re comin’ on my cock, yea?” he coaxes, rhythmic pace unwavering, harder now even as he pushes you over the edge. before you even make a noise, he knows that you’re coming, can feel you gush, dripping down the underside of his cock as you squeeze him impossibly tighter and he’s throbbing now, doesn’t know how much longer he can take it when you’re making such adorable noises and looking at him like that between bouts of inabilities to focus and panting that heavily. 

he lets you ride through your orgasm completely as he hammers into you, lets you recover fully before even thinking about asking, “can i come on your thighs, angel?”

“oh, fuck,” you breathe, gummy walls fluttering at the thought.

you’re so drenched, juices running down your thighs and the inside of your legs, that it’s easy for him to press your legs together and fuck into them to finish. your plush thighs aren’t as tight as your cunt, but they’re softer, fuller, kinder, and he can’t get enough of the feeling and the sight, skin rippling as his thick cock slides against the sheened skin, disappearing into the fats of them repeatedly. you can’t stop looking either, forehead pressed against his as you both watch this sight in awe. 

“gonna paint your thighs white, puppy, fuck,” he announces, his own breath getting heavier, thrusts getting less rhythmic, more messy as he gives in, heavy cock resting between your thighs as he releases.

the throb is violent against the inside of your thighs and you can feel every single pulse as stream after stream of his sticky load coats your thighs. as the last bit of come drools out of the tip, he presses your legs together harder and pushes his hips forward one more time, hissing as his sensitive cock slides through the mess of come he’s created on your legs. 

“holy shit,” he breathes after a silent second. or, well, as silent as it can be with an entire world of people and happenings just a door away.

you nod, finally catching your own as you cup his cheek with your hand, guiding him down to meet your lips one last time, not because you’re desperate or needing, but something that you hope he takes with him as he leaves the bathroom and the club, a wordless thank you.

in the aftermath of lust and infatuation, you smile at him. he holds you in place, but leans away from you to grab some form of tissue to clean you up. he helps you down from the edge of the sink, helps you stand up right when your feet touch the floor, backs of your thighs aching from being pushed into the edge of a cheap sink all night. 

“well,” you shyly bend over to pull your panties up from around your ankles, “really great night,” you say, voice still weak even after you clear your throat. 

“yea,” he breathes a light chuckle, “a really great night,” he agrees.

you wait a beat, patient to see if he’s going to add anything else, a prying question or longing statement. the longer that you stay in this bathroom, the louder the noises of the confines get, the outside fading away momentarily as you hear the occasional drip of the faucet and the hum of fluorescent lights.

“do you think i could-,” he starts.

“i should probably get back to-,” you start at the same time.

“what?” you ask quickly, rushing to get him to finish the sentence he started, but there’s a soft pink on his cheeks and he’s quiet for another couple of seconds, and then he shakes his head.

“nothing,” he says, “i should get back to my friends too.” you only notice the sigh, the gulp, the hesitance and the regret because you’re looking for it, because you’re feeling it too. 

his hand is on the door handle and for a single second you’re sure that he’s going to say something else, finish his other sentence or start a new, but he doesn’t. he opens the door, the loudness of the music unwelcomed in comparison to the privacy and seclusion of your bathroom hookup.

“well,” you repeat, “maybe i’ll see you some other time and you can fuck me in the bathroom again.” his hand is still on your waist as he smiles huge and his laughter takes residency in your chest seemingly until the end of time.

“or, maybe you could-,” he starts, but perhaps the stars have unaligned themselves now, because he can’t seem to catch a break.

“HEY!” kuroo screams from across the bar the second that he makes eye contact with you. akaashi hits him once and then a second time for good measure, leaning in and overtly pointing to the person next to you. kuroo raises his arm, taps on his wrist with the other hand, and oh god you don’t even want to know what time it is. still, you shake your head and turn your attention back to your fling that you hope asks for a number and turns into at the very least a longer-term fling. 

“sorry about him,” you shake your head, and you swear he looks like he’s going to try one more time, pushing past all of the things that are refusing to let him ask you a simple question, but the blonde from earlier catches his attention, making a similar motion with wide eyes, chest forward like he’s going to walk over here any minute and your well it was really great while it lasted fling is removing his hand from your lower back. 

“i hope so, yea,” he replies, a smaller smile now as he turns his body towards the two people he was with before that are heading to the exit. “i really hope so.” 

the second that he starts to move so do you, both making your way through the dwindling crowd to the respective groups that you came here with, throwing a look over your shoulder every few seconds to make sure that, yes, he is indeed stealing the same obsessive glances that you are as he leaves.

“i can’t fucking believe you,” you say, hitting kuroo on the same shoulder that akaashi did, “he was about to give me his number, and now he’s gone forever.”

“you’d think that you’d get his number before you left the bathroom, yn, god,” kuroo says, shifting blame. “besides, maybe you’ll come out with us more now instead of being a buzzkill all the time, instead of being all guys, it’s not a good idea and i literally have work in the morning and-”

“kuroo is… oddly right,” akaashi says, interrupting him and shrugging, “in some weird way. he probably comes here from time to time, i’m sure you’ll run into him again. what was his name?”

your eyes go wide and you try to hide the fact that you fucked this guy without ever learning his name, but tsukishima catches it instantly and starts cackling. “wow, who even are you?”

“we’ll come back next friday, yea? you’ll probably find him again and you guys can have a fun mystery hookup in the bathroom again,” akaashi half-reason, half-pokes fun and you nod. you hope he comes back too. maybe you’ll at least learn his name next time.

/\ /\ /\

despite the fact that you do not regret anything from last night (well, maybe the part where you didn’t get the number of an incredibly hot guy who fucked you in the bathroom of a club, but nothing else), the morning is still not well-recieved for you. you didn’t even drink that much last night, but the small amounts of alcohol and the severe lack of sleep have you waking up feeling like your bones are made of bricks and your head is filled with them.

you didn’t get home until nearly 3 in the morning and you didn’t pass out until well past 3. you can’t brush your teeth enough times and the water in the shower can’t be hot enough and no matter how much concealer you layer on, the bags under your eyes are still at least somewhat visible.

regret isn’t the right word per se, because you definitely don’t regret going out the night (morning?) before or staying out as long as you did, but you definitely are feeling the effects of your bad decisions come to life. 

and on top of everything, you have to be presentable enough to go into work? that’s ridiculous. 

** bffs + tsukishima **

&lt; delivered / 8:04 am < alright who tf did this to me

> kuroo / 8:15 am > that guy last night lmao

&lt; delivered / 8:25 am < i wish akaashi was up instead of u

> kuroo / 8:29 am > what time do you   have to be in anyway?

&lt; delivered / 8:30 am < omw now.

a deep breath is not enough to prepare you for a full day of work, but it has to do something, right? and taking six of them outside of the front doors of not only your job, but your first day at your new job is probably enough to compensate for the exhaustion and physical garbage that you’re feeling.

you push open the doors, fake smile plastered on your very tired face, apron draped over your forearm. “good morning,” you offer over the chime of the entrance bell. before you even step fully inside, you’re greeted with the same tired-veiled enthusiasm, voice so familiarly soft that his morning welcome sounds more like an opening hymn. 

you walk towards the voice, but you don’t see anyone fully yet, only the top of a moving black cap behind the counter accompanied by shuffling papers and clanging pots. “just a sec, sorry,” he calls before standing up straight, rice cooker in his arms and he realizes it in the same immediate instant that you do.

gray eyes, still pretty but surprised now; gray hair no longer casually messy but neat under an onigiri embroidered dad cap; tight black shirt against his chest long-sleeved now; and he laughs, not because anything is funny, but because he doesn’t know how else to react at how impossible this situation is and yea it’s the exact same laugh that’s still living in your chest. 

you’re sure you look like a deer in the headlight right now, because it’s certainly how you feel. you can’t really breathe, don’t know what to say, because, yes, this is, indeed, the man that you had sex with in a dirty club bathroom less than 8 hours ago. 

you look down at his name tag, miya osamu. well, fuck, if only you’d have learned his name last night.

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[akkivee]

Health Conscious Curry: Hypmic Curry Drama Track TL

Jakurai: Hifumi-kun, Doppo-kun. I thank you for coming all this way to help make our curry. Time is of the essence, so let us begin right away.

Hifumi: Okie dokie!! I’ve got a bunch of ingredients here, so we can make whatever kind of curry we want!

Jakurai: Oh my! It does indeed look like a supermarket sized collection.

Doppo: And if there’s anything missing, please just say the word and I’ll run out to buy it!

Hifumi: So we got chicken, beef, pork, lamb and venison! And I even bought seafood and veggies, but I can’t decide on what main ingredient should be!

Jakurai: With this curry battle, it’s to be expected that the other divisions’ quirks will present itself in their curry.

Doppo: So then… what would be our trait?

Hifumi: Well, that’s obvs gotta be “finacially secure adults,” right?

Doppo: “Financially Secure Adults’ Curry” … Then, should we use this high-class sea urchin?

Jakurai: Yes, let’s. And… I would like to use something that makes one think of Shinjuku.

Hifumi: Great idea~! Something like our glimmering neon lights~!

Doppo: “Glimmering Neon Curry” …? D-do any of these ingredients light up??

Hifumi: Heehee~ I thought something like this would come up, so I brought some gold luster dust!!

Jakurai: It will surely be beautiful as a finish.

Hifumi: Chan-Doppo, you gotta let me know what you think too~!

Doppo: B-But it’s not like I have any cooking sense…

Jakurai: Doppo-kun. This is a curry to be made by the three of us. Therefore, you’re indispensable.

Doppo: I-Is that so…?

Jakurai: Of course. Please do not feel hesitant; let’s make this curry together.

Doppo: Um… If it’s okay, I really would like meat to be in the curry…

Hifumi: Cool!! What kinda meat??

Doppo: We’re trying for a sense of luxury, so I guess we should use beef, but some people don’t like beef… So, I guess chicken would be the safest choice? No, but it has to be something special, so we should use game meats right…?? Aaaargh, this is too hard, I can’t make up my mind!!

Hifumi: Woah?? But don’t take it out on the meat??

Jakurai: …How fascinating.

Hifumi: Eh?

Jakurai: A doctor, a host, and a salaryman are certainly on different corners of society… And yet, somehow, life has brought us together. I feel that this is the appeal of Shinjuku Division.

Doppo: I see! So then we should… Um, what should we do?

Hifumi: We should go with this!!

Doppo: We’re using all the meat??

Hifumi: Heh heh~!! We’re going to combine these land meats and sea meats and make it work!! It’ll be like we're making the Curry Division!!

 Jakurai: Haha. I hope we’ll be able to create a harmony of it, just like ours as Matenrou.

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

Hifumi: And curry is served!!

Doppo: It looks amazing!! Is this really our curry…??

Jakurai: It has quite the impact. As for the taste…

MTR: *eats*

Doppo: It’s so good!!! None of the ingredients are overpowering, but it still tastes like fine dining…!!

Hifumi: Heh heh~!! Obviously it’s because we only used the finest! If we sold this at a restaurant, you’d have to pay yen in the tens of thousands!!

Doppo: That can’t be the price?? Who would buy our curry??

Hifumi: Welp, I think that’s something the curry battle producers are gonna have to think about! …But, what’s up, Doc? You’re making a weird face over there.

Jakurai: I must apologize to the both of you. I have overlooked the most important aspect I wanted to include.

Doppo: W-What was it?

Jakurai: For this curry battle, I wanted to stress the importance of eating meals to maintain health. This curry is far too high in cholesterol, fats and in purines….

Hifumi: And using butter rice probably isn’t helping keeping that calorie count down…

Jakurai: If we continue to eat this, I fear gout and obesity would be imminent.

Doppo: That’s horrible!! I can’t believe we created something that dangerous…!!

Jakurai: This curry is a masterpiece. However, if it’s alright, can we create something else from a healthier standpoint?

Hifumi: Can do! But we kinda used up all our ingredients in that first batch…

Doppo: ...Ah! We still have these left!

Jakurai: Canned chickpeas and canned tomatoes…!!

Hifumi: Way to go, Doppochin!! If we use these, our curry’s bound to be healthy, right??

Jakurai: Yes. Beans are rich in dietary fibers and in protein and tomatoes have antioxidant benefits. This curry will surely be a healthy dish.

Doppo: A curry that’s conscious of health is still something of an adult appeal, right?

Jakurai: And to support everyone’s busy day to day lives, this meal will heal the mind and body. Victory is sure to be set with our “Health Conscious Curry”!

[hannahssimblr]

“I do. You always look pretty. Every time I see you, I think that.”

With this, she bursts into a flood of fresh tears. “Oh God, you’re so nice.”

“Look, I know this isn’t helpful, probably, but if things were different, if I wasn’t leaving, then maybe… maybe things would have turned out another way. I know you don’t think much of yourself, but I think you’re a great person. You’re really sweet and sensitive and talented and you make me laugh, and from my point of view anyway, you light up every room you walk into. Whoever the next person is that gets to be with you is lucky.”

“But it won’t be you.” Her mouth is so down-turned at the edges that she looks almost cartoony. Those looks are one thing I will miss most about her. If I were lucky enough to know her for longer, I think I’d fill a hundred sketchbooks just drawing the expressive shapes of her face.

I simply shake my head, and my arms are outstretched and ready to catch her as she falls into them for another round of sobs. There’s nothing I can do. I learned this a long time ago. Sometimes all you can do is hold someone until they’re ready to be let go again. I’ve spent whole nights holding Ivy like this, and I’ll spend hours with Evie if it’s what she needs.

Into her hair, I murmur an admission I have never made to another person. “Leaving is going to be so horrible. Sometimes I can’t think too much about it. Like, I know I won’t be that far away, but it’s going to change everything. I have amazing friends here that will be so hard to leave behind. And my family, obviously. I have a sister who’s nine. Ivy. She’s in that stage where she’s obsessed with me. She wants to do everything I do… Jesus, it’s going to be rough. I’ve never lived away from home before. I don’t really know how to be a functioning adult who, like, pays electricity bills.”

“It will be hard at first, but then eventually it will be really good,” she sniffles. “You’ll meet all these cool new people and you’ll forget all about everyone here.”

“Is that your way of telling yourself that I’ll forget about you, too?”

“You will.” 

“I won’t. We’ll still be friends. I’m not great at keeping up with people, and I don’t use Facebook that much…”

“So you’re saying we’ll be friends, like, on a symbolic level, but we’ll never actually talk to each other ever again.”

I laugh. “Shut up and let me finish before you start getting cross with me. I’ll email you. Old school, like.”

“Hm. That will be nice, like sending letters.”

“Exactly.”

She squeezes me, and I squeeze her back, gazing down at her face, red nose and smudged makeup, and I still think she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in real life. “How are you doing?”

“Very badly.”

“Well, one day, you won’t care about me at all. And maybe when you go to college, in like a few months, a year, or after that, you’ll look back on this and think ‘oh, ew, I can’t believe that when I was seventeen, I liked that lanky guy with the weird accent. That was so embarrassing.’ And you’ll wonder why you ever cried over this at all.”

Her face becomes fierce, like she wants to be serious, but it’s hard not to smile when she sticks her lip out like that. If I was being stupider, I might like to push my thumb into that crease between her eyebrows. “You don’t have a weird accent.” She insists. “Well, okay, you do, but I like it. And there’s nobody on earth that’d be embarrassed to have ever liked you.” 

“Okay, Evie.” I chuckle. “Lets see how you feel in a year.”

“A year?”

“Yeah, one year from now, I’ll email you, like I will every single week, mind, and you’ll roll your eyes and think, ‘oh God, him again?’ I’d be willing to bet on it.”

“You underestimate my feelings.”

She overestimates them, more likely, because we’re young and stupid and that’s just what we do, but it’s fine. She’ll learn, like I did with Michelle and all the girls that came before her, that the things that feel raw and real in the moment, the people you swear you’ll spend your life loving and wanting and missing, you forget them in the end.  

We lapse into silence as the grasshoppers chirp in the long grass. The cleaner comes by to pick some of the rubbish nearby and makes small talk with me about various happenings at the festival. Ignoring Evie, firmly locked in my arms with her damp cheek against my chest.

When he finishes, and the rubbish is gone, and the music in the distance goes silent, it is just us and the insects and the blanket of dew, and the smell of lingering summer in the air. Evie shivers, and I draw back to look into her sad little face.

“Are you cold?”

“No.”

“I think you are.”

She smiles, and her teeth chatter. “If I say so, then you’ll make me go back to the tent.”

“We have to go back eventually, don’t we?” I take the opportunity to stretch out one of my legs, which is cramping. “What time is it?”

“Don’t care.”

“It’s got to be… I don’t know. You can see the sun rising a bit.”

“If we leave, then it’s over,” she whispers.

I murmur, “It’s over, anyway.”

Green eyes skim my face in one last pursuit of a truth they won’t find. And then she sighs with resignation. “You’re leaving.”

“Yeah, I’m going away.”

“It’s just sad.”

“Of course. For me too.” And I’m not sure there’s much left to say. “Come on. Let’s just end this day.”

She doesn’t protest. Climbing to our feet, we make our way back towards the campsite, hand in hand. Though she’s not my girlfriend and never will be, it feels good to pretend while I can.

It’s lights out in our circle, embers smouldering in a campfire that we missed, and someone’s, Joe’s, Kasper’s, snores float from their tent. Evie’s is wet with morning dew as I unzip it for her with the same chivalry as any man opening a door for a lady. She shuffles inside, and the moonlight shows up the goosebumps on her arms and legs. Claire is not inside, her shoes stacked neatly outside Shane’s tent instead.

Evie grabs my wrist before I zip her inside. “Do you want to come and stay with me?” She whispers. “We won’t do anything. I just think it’d be nicer than being alone.”

We will do something. I’ve been a teenage boy for long enough to know the score, and tempting as it is to have one final, movie-magic experience with her to round off the summer, I know it is different for her than it is for me.

I shake my head. “Not a good idea, Evie. Sorry. Goodnight.”

The last thing I see is the dismay on her face before I zip her inside the tent, and head for my own.

There is Jen, cocooned in her sleeping bag. She stirs as I fumble with my clothes.

“You’re back,” her voice cracks with sleep. I ignore her, as the anger I felt for her in the woods resurfaces with a vengeance. My heart thuds with the memory.

“What time is it?” she says, and again, I say nothing. I struggle into bed and turn my back to her.

“Jude?”

“Talk to me in the morning.” I whisper sharply, and I shut my eyes, willing away the heaviness of the day, and all the things I know are still to come. 

Beginning // Prev // Next

Corresponding LG Chapter

[wambsgansshoelaces]

Turmoil; Chapter 4

Roman Roy x Reader

a/n: I’m back on that grind guys. enjoy x

Word Count: 2.744k

“You’re fucking lucky Y/N was there,” Kendall says, struggling not to raise his voice. “You’re so fucking lucky your vote didn’t tip the scale.”

You’re back in Kendall’s office, you and him perched on his sofa while Roman is stood, leaning against the wall.

“I… I just couldn’t,” he says meekly.

“Then why’d we agree to a vote of no confidence?” you ask. “Roman, I get if your feelings are complicated about this, but you almost fucked us over.“

“Why am I doing this again?” he asks, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes.

Kendall scoffs. “You need to think about what you want. Dad’s a horrible person doing horrible things. You can go run to him, but I’m staying here.”

“We go to Norway tomorrow. How about we just have a good time?” Roman suggests. “There’s nothing we- or he, for the matter, can do while we’re abroad. I need… I just need a break.” You roll your eyes and get to your feet.

“Whatever, Roman. I’ll see you at home.” You give Kendall an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder before going out and finding Greg in the bullpen.

“Oh, hello, Y/N.” He finishes whatever it is he was doing and turns in his chair to face you. “I could hear the… commotion from all the way over here. And I saw the police, and, uh, Kendall’s still alive, so…?”

“Yeah. It worked, surprisingly. They had to escort Logan out the conference room.” You drag a hand over your eyes. “Instead of dinner, want to go out for lunch? I like you, Greg, but my brain’s going to be fried by the time the work day’s over, and I don’t want to subject you to that.”

He smooths his dress pants at the knee before getting up. “Yeah, no, yeah, that’d be great.” He glances over your shoulder. “Uh, is he okay?”

You follow his gaze, peering into Kendall’s office to find Roman facing you both, watching intently with his hands folded behind his back. “Don’t mind him. He’s neurotic.” You touch your thumb to the cool gold of the ring sitting on your finger.

“Well, then, after you.” You walk across the street to a quaint brunch spot that’s hailed for it’s food. “I love this place,” Greg tells you. The conversation pivots, however, when you both are seated. “Shiv told me you need some, what should I say… favors?”

“We do, and I’m sorry it’s all been dumped on you.”

“No, it’s okay. It makes me feel important.”

You laugh. “What do you have in mind? Shiv tell you anything?”

“I’ve been thinking- and it’s completely valid if my voice isn’t relevant to you, but I’d like to share my thoughts -that instead of whaling so hard on Logan directly, why not try to get access to him through Marcia? Or any past… connection?”

“Do you think we’ll be able to find anything?”

”I heard, through the grapevine, of course, a few rumors about Marcia and a… new friend.”

“If you find anything,” you say carefully, “I think you know what to do.”

“I also have heard a lot of complaining from people who work directly under him. Or, used to, I guess.”

“I think the general consensus is that he’s a criminal piece of shit. We just can’t find any proof.”

“I think I’ll be able to find something.” He tentatively picks up the menu laid out in front of him.

“Do you think you’ll make it out to Norway?”

“Me? I think Roman would shoot me.”

“You should come, after you deal with things here. Everyone could use a break.”

“I’ll try. I do really need to get out of here for a while.”

“If Roman’s giving you trouble, you can tell me, you know.”

“Oh, it isn’t anything new. I don’t know what it is with him. He has his own issues he doesn’t know how to deal with, so sometimes he projects.”

“That’s profound,” you say. “You’re right to not think anything of it. I know him well enough by now to say I don’t think he thinks before doing anything.”

You both order, and conversation comes easily to the two of you. Greg’s a wholesome guy, you think. He makes you comfortable, and you know you can trust him.

“I wanted to tell you something,” he says after a while. “I haven’t seen Connor in a bit. But last time I did see him, he was on the phone with some lawyer, talking about a lawsuit. And I’m almost 100% sure it wasn’t you, because I know your name isn’t Brad.”

You give your drink a slow stir. “Did you catch what the lawsuit was about?”

“All I heard were the words ‘negligence’ and ‘innkeepers law’.”

You press your lips together. None of this seems right. “Is it possible you can figure out the firm he was speaking with?”

“I’ll do my best. I figured you’d want to know.”

“I do. Thank you, Greg.”

Eventually, after a fight over bill(which you won), you hail a taxi and make your way back home. You kick your heels off by the door, Roman’s dress shoes haphazardly strewn in the same vicinity. You pad into the kitchen and toss your keys onto the counter, clocking Roman sat on the couch.

“Greg, huh?”

“What about him?” You pull a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Do you like him?”

“Yeah, I do. He’s respectful and I can trust him,” you say acridly.

“I respect you. A lot, actually.”

“You don’t show it. It’s not a competition, anyway. Why do you care?”

“We’re engaged.”

You roll your eyes at his childishness. It’s starting to get on your nerves. “We’re just friends, remember? Your words, not mine.” You leave the kitchen and wander into your room. You don’t think Roman’s ever slept in the bed- he’s been living on the couch. He gets up and follows you. “Even if I was into Greg- which I’m not -what’s your deal?”

“I lied to you. That morning.” You’re sitting at your desk now, and stare up at him.

“About?”

“What I remember.” He takes both your hands. “I remember everything I said. I meant it.”

You can feel your face begin to heat up. “Are you drunk?”

“Sober. I swear it.” He uses his finger to draw a cross over his heart, still gripping your hand in his.

“What’s your point here, Roman?”

“I want to try being something. I want us to try being something.”

“Are we just ignoring the fact that you threw us under the fucking bus?”

“Yes, we are. We’ll talk about that later, I promise.” He gets to his knees, resting his cheek on your thigh as he looks at you. “I want to do something right, for once. I want to do this right.”

You’re sat frozen in place. You force yourself to card a hand through his hair, pushing it from his face.

“You were on the news, once. Giving some legal advice before my father went on air for some propagandist bullshit. I thought you were so fucking hot. I mean, I still do-” He cuts himself off. “What I’m trying to say is, I like you, you’re fucking gorgeous, and while the situation we’re in is less than ideal, I want to make something out of it.” You stay silent. “You’re kind, funny, you’re brighter than the fucking sun. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, but I’m just some piece of garbage who keeps making things between us worse. Friends? I was lying, then, too. I’ll never be able to accept you as just a friend. I’ll never stop wanting you.”

“Really?” is all you can manage.

“Yes, really. And I know I’m an asshole. I’m proud of it, 90% of the time. That last 10% is when I’m with you and I feel so fucking guilty I made that precious smile of yours disappear. It eats me alive that I piss you off. That you don’t like me. But that’s all I’ve ever been capable of doing.”

“So change it. Make me like you,” you say quietly. Reluctantly, he pulls himself to his feet and instead hooks his arms under you, hoisting you up. He takes your place in your desk chair, settling you on his lap.

“You deserve lots better than me, Y/N.” Roman keeps his arms wound around you, one tight around your waist, the other across your back, anchoring you to him. “I don’t know what I was doing this morning. I get so scared of him, Y/N. It’s like he was looking into my soul.”

“If you think I deserve better,” you begin, “become better.” You let yourself lean into his chest. “As for the vote, I still think you’re an asshole.”

He sighs. “And that’s fair. Kendall ripped me a new one after you left.”

“Good.” His hand wanders idly up and down your back, gently massaging knots of tension that he can find. “Roman Roy, realizing the consequences of his actions.” You drag a finger across his jaw. “Am I dreaming?”

”If we are, I don’t want to wake up.”

“So, what now?”

“We be all lovey-dovey. I mean, we’re already engaged.”

You snort. “You can’t stop saying that.”

“Who wouldn’t, when engaged to someone who looks like you?” He gives your ass a quick pinch.

“Roman!”

“Sorry. Had to,” he says, grinning stupidly. “Jokes aside though, I want to take it slow.”

“I… Yeah. Let’s take it slow.”

“You do want this, right?” he asks quietly.

“I’ve wanted you since the minute we made eye contact.” You stifle a smile. “You’re sexy when you have a stubble. What happened to it?”

“What, I’m not sexy now?” He absentmindedly draws a hand over his smooth jaw. “I’ll grow it back for you.”

“Hey, I’m just kidding. You’re sexy now, don’t worry.” Roman grunts and moves the two of you to bed.

“What? My back hurts.” He sinks into his side of the bed. “Please don’t make me sleep on the couch again.”

“You’re always welcome here.” You sigh happily and roll out of bed.

“Where are you going?”

“To brush my teeth and get ready for bed, unlike some slob I know. No outside clothes on my bed, Roman.”

You duck the pillow he chucks at you.

As you progress through your nightly routine, eventually, he comes to stand with you at the sink. You make a face at him before returning to your business. For a bit, he just watches you, happy to just be in your presence. When he starts brushing his teeth, he hooks an arm around your waist and pulls you close.

You protest halfheartedly, and he rolls his eyes at you before spitting his toothpaste out. “Quit whining,” he tells you, giving your hip a squeeze.

“I’m building a wall between us tonight,” you threaten lightly.

“I was a rock climber as a kid.” He pokes you gently. “Now that you’ve let me into your cold, shriveled up heart, I’m not leaving.”

“You still have a lot of work to do, Roman,” you chide. “Just because you got onto your knees for the first time in your life doesn’t mean everything’s magically okay.”

You both pad back into your bedroom, crawling under the covers together. “I thought we could kiss and make up,” he says, propped up on his arm, facing you. You curl up on your side, also facing him.

“Absolutely not,” you tell him. “You’re going to sit here and explain yourself. Or you’re sleeping on the floor.”

He sighs, pulling up the blankets so that you’re both covered. “It’s like I blacked out. I was so scared, Y/N.”

“Why? He can’t do anything to you, Roman, especially now that I’m involved in all this.”

“It’s complicated,” he mutters.

”We have time,” you urge gently.

“It’s the way I grew up, I guess.” He collapses onto his back. “He’d snap over the smallest things. My entire childhood I was walking on eggshells. I don’t… It’s such a bad excuse. God, I feel horrible.” He covers his face with his hands.

You crawl over, close enough to him where you’re able to set your cheek onto his chest and still lay comfortably. You’re still facing him, and one of his hands moves to sit on your hip. “I think I was too harsh on you,” you murmur. “Don’t get me wrong, it still was a dick move, but I get it. Just promise you’ll do better, okay?”

He peels his other hand off of his face to wind it through your hair. “I promise. I promise.” You press a kiss to his chest, to which he stiffens. “Don’t,” he says quietly. “Don’t.”

Hesitantly, you pull away from him, settling on your side of the bed and facing the other way. You fall asleep without saying anything else.

You wake up to an empty bed. You thought it was going so well, too. You drag yourself out of bed and find him in the kitchen. Wordlessly, he pushes you a mug of coffee and a plate of scrambled eggs.

“I felt bad. But then I remembered I don’t know how to cook,” Roman says meekly. “I’m sorry. It’s getting too real for me.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I, uh, ‘ve never been in a serious relationship. Not with someone I like this much. I don’t… I don’t want to fuck this up, Y/N.”

You try wiping the bleariness from your face. “I don’t understand you, Rome.”

He reaches out, wiping a bit of coffee from your lip. “I hope you can learn to.”

“As long as you put in the effort, too.” You look up at him. “I don’t mean to pressure you into anything you don’t want. I just mean I want you to actually try.” You take a sip from your mug. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you haven’t exactly been… proactive the last week.”

He leans against the counter behind him. “Who’s the one who went out with another man?”

“Roman, that doesn’t have anything to do with anything.” You laugh as he jabs a hand into your side.

“I’m not going to let you forget it.”

“It’s Greg. Wholesome, kind, Greg.”

“You should’ve been out with me.”

“Take me out, then.”

He bridges the small distance between you and fits his hands into the curves of your waist. “I’ll be all over you in Norway, don’t worry.” He takes the heel of his palm and massages circles into the skin of your hip.

“We need to leave soon,” you tell him. You want to kiss him, but you know you can’t.

“I haven’t even packed,” he says lightly.

“Roman!”

“God, I’ll never get sick of hearing that.”

You drag him into the closet and roll his suitcase over to him. “Get to it.”

☾𖤓

At the airport, Roman carries all of your bags for you. He even demands to hold your purse, a cute short strapped Prada you’d treated yourself to the first big check you’d received. He holds it by the handle over his shoulder the same way one would hold a jacket. He looks silly with his sunglasses on and your purse sitting on his back. It’s endearing, and you smile softly at him.

In the car out to the private jet, you and Shiv make plans to go out shopping your first day in Norway. Willa sits cramped next to Connor, and you feel bad, so you and Shiv invite her. Kendall’s practically snoring on Roman’s shoulder. The poor guy’s been working dusk till dawn this whole ordeal. He deserves the break.

You’re glad Logan won’t be taking the same plane as the six of you. You wouldn’t be able to handle it- the paranoia, his snide comments, and hell, even just his voice would set you off.

You and Shiv settle across from each other on the plane, her feet propped up in your lap. Roman’s slumped against you, asleep, and you think he’s drooling. Kendall sits across from him, also asleep, neck pillow and sleeping mask on like the sleeping beauty he is.

You sigh contentedly.

If you close your eyes, you can pretend like the threat that is Logan Roy isn’t dangling over your heads.

If you close your eyes, you can pretend like you’re just travelling with your chosen family.

If you close your eyes, you can pretend like you’re at peace.

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF S2 Ep 2

Also watching this while sketching now here we go!

Previously on TGCF… 

-And starting off at the Gambler’s Den!

-Hey you’ve heard the old saying, “It costs an arm and a leg” I think this fits perfectly for the red demon masked gambler

-Hey! No getting sweat on the gambling table!

-Hua Cheng: No Thanks~ *fans myself with a hand*

-Yeah those are the best house policies San Lang

-Man, the loop braided ghost assistant is literally all of us fawning over Hualian amirite? (that Ghost maiden is going places!)

-This den operates on Hubris Logic

-Stop decreasing your child’s lifespan!

-Now Roll!  That just made think of DND, I dunno why

-Those dice weren’t loaded (Anybody seen Road to El Dorado 10/10 totes recommend)

-Worst dad I’ve ever seen and he’s just a gambling NPC

-Hehehe Just imagine Toph in the Gambler’s Den (For those anticipating The Scrap Immortal and the Avatar, I’m afraid that’s going to be a scene that won’t come to fruition, really sry readers)

-“It’s despicable, and that’s coming from a ghost like me” that was a really great quote ngl

-Kinda hard to accomplish since you were talking to a ghost

-Yep prolly the worst Dad I’ve ever seen in all of TGCF

-Hi Rouye

-Hi Windmaster

-Honestly, the reason they have Qingxuan switch from Male to female in this season is that from a Union Standpoint, they had to allow Anjali Kunapaneni dub other series while Jacob Eiseman took over and vice versa.  That’s just my theory, I’m not sure if it might be true.

-Aw, he’s worried over his complexion

-Man, Xie Lian’s expression shifts as he inspects Qinqxuan’s complexion.  I love that little attention to detail in the animation.

-And then Qingxuan happily exclaims while putting both hands on his cheek was 100% precious!

-“If I were a mirror where would I be” they have the best lines of this Season 2 so far!

-Wind Master laugh is clearing my pores

-Hi Qianqiu, Hi Mengyou

-Not so smart to me

-All the ghosts have really unique and distinct designs (it’s that kind of uniqueness I’m trying so hard to capture in my TOH Oc murder mystery au)

-“Aw man!  What was his number!  Not cool Taihua!” - Literally every ghost in the Gambler’s den, and also me.

-Well, you’re not wrong, Qianqiu

-Hehehe the double facepalm XD

-Not the brightest candle on the altar

-Let’s face it, we all lost it during Hua Cheng soft chuckle!

- He noticed the laugh!

-Man the background ghost voices are on point

-And I’m like at Qingxuan, “You didn’t read the signs?” Does anybody other than the ghosts, read the signs???

-“He might be fine if he doesn’t reveal who he is” Qianqiu: *reveals who he is* Too soon dude

-That blue masked ghost woman sure has sass

-That blue beaked ghost also has a cool design tho

-Don’t mind me just fanning myself whenever Hua Cheng speaks cause it gives me the vapors~!

-The fact that they thought the same thing!

-No not the gambling table!  

-Woah he sent it right back!

-This is infinitely better than the live action martial acts films I’ve seen in my whole life

-It’s like a stake raising tennis match

-That glow in his eyes

-He’s going Super Saiyan

-That animation really did get better

-“He’s stuck up there!” My comment: “Like a fly on fly paper” My sister’s comment: “Like an idiot on idiot paper” lmao

-Yep just point and laugh ghosts, point and laugh

-You mean from bad to worse

-I told you Ghost City’s the Las Vegas of Ancient China, told ya~

-A new table!

-You’re not wrong on luck

-Snake eyes is even worse

-“Like I said, biggest is so overdone!  Crazy idea, what if smallest wins? Sound fun?”  Qingxuan is spitting bars in the dub people!

-They’re just gonna believe that from two newcomers?

-Xie Lian, internally chanting: “Small…small…small…” His cursed and horrible misfortune: LOL nope :3

-Not your fault for looking like a snack Qianqiu

-Wait till you see the fandom, Taihua

-Alright, hat got Hua Cheng enticed

-Literally everybody witnessing a man in white robes desperately shake a pair of dice: Is…that guy ok?

-His smile widened!

-“I can’t watch!”  I can and it’s gonna be something!

-Oh he sees a lot in that raggedy jerk than you do right now buddy

-“What’s there to teach about shaking dice?  It’s just shakin dice!”  The best random quote of this episode, and the tone when that side character said it!

-“And you’re the expert!” He got sassed back

-*Hears Hong Lian Qian starting up like* Aw yeah, the best song of the new season! *Vibes out with writing and sketching like no tomorrow*

-Dude! Pass me the Aux cord!  You better not be playing mainstream garbage!  *Casually plays Hong Lian Qian like a G!*  WOO!!!

-There he is, just a red transparent curtain keeps them apart, also Hua Cheng’s status but let’s not get ahead of ourselves

-The wind animation!!!, and Wind master’s not even summoning it

-Literally when my older sister first saw this scene she was like: It’s the pottery scene from Ghost

-He rolled an 11!

-If my underaged TGCf OCs witness the infamous dice scene like in season 2, Qing Tao and Chun Xue(both 12) look up to their older friends: “..ssShould we be listening to this?”  And then Lan Hai and Nuan Yu (both 14) frantically respond with covering their younger friends’ ears: “…pProbably best if we played it safe.” (Quotes are from an episode of Close Enough) heck I can imagine the Gaang reacting like this witnessing the dice shaking too, just swap Qing Tao and Chun Xue with Aang and Toph, and Lan Hai and Nuan Yu with Sokka and Katara, (Zuko would also try to cover the Southern Water Tribe Sibs’ ears, but this hypothetical scene also won’t happen in my TGCF x ATLA xover, now back to the reaction!)

-The singing really is timed well with the animation!  10/10 baby!

-“You see, it’s bigger now” …I got the joke

-“It’s starting to feel like San Lang is just teasing me” Oh yes he is~

-They’re chucking their dice at him!

-It’s a 10!

-“Now I’m sure San Lang is just teasing me”  Told ya~

-The chibi scene!

-Welp, looks like those rolls were just practice rolls

-You gotta love Xie Lian’s internal monologue

-Qingxuan chucked his fan at Taihua, and it came back like Sokka’s boomerang (I had to make that reference!)

-That tapir/baku headed Ghost

-It’s a 12, and it timed well with the rising crescendo!

-That one monkey like ghost

-Right on the gambling table!

-Did he cheat?

-The music change!!!  The soundtrack team knew what they were doing!

-“Who cares it’s gorgeous!  He’s so handsome I think I might just die right here!”  “What are you talking about?  You’re already dead!”  That was a really great exchange!

-And he is seeing his real face!

-“Please my lord don’t tease me!”  Oh yes he will~!

-Now the ghosts are suspicious it took em like half an episode!

-Hey guys I think we’re all gonna get a kick outta this, “The stale half eaten bun from Ep 5 was in Xie Lian’s sleeve the whole time!”  I’ve always wanted to quote that, and it was totally worth it!

-Man, I can’t wait to write Aang’s reaction seeing Xie Lian and Hua Cheng interact together!

-“Um, I’m afraid it’s gotten a bit hard” Yep, they slipped that in, and James was a boss at writing the whole english script for the season

-He tosssed the bun up and down like San Lang did with a small piece of a broken sword in S1 Ep 6, the parallels people!  The parallels!!!

-And him biting the stale bun got XL all flustered! AAAHH!!!

-Look at him go!

-Not that random stand, wait it’s still in tact

-Slay that performance Qingxuan!

-Chide him good!

-And Xie Lian’s still does a great job as a strategizer and a mediator

-The introduction that would change the season forever, also Qingxuan’s emotion shift when it came to describing his new friend’s current occupation with collecting scraps as a living

-He knew San Lang was Hua Cheng?!?!?!

-Hua Cheng is messing with them!

-They’re using him as bait!

-Oh yeah, that’s right, they’re friends

-Geez savage, Wind master

-Hey, no dissing Ling Wen she’s doing her best!

-Gone from Season 1 eps 2-3 and Ling Wen still couldn’t find him???

-Welp, there’s the cliffhanger

Does this reaction count for Hua Cheng’s B-Day?  More reactions will be on the way, I’ve got 3 weeks left of my quarter and I’ve got two big projects to finish so hang tight everyone!

[xotrashratxo]

Nerdy Prudes Must Die Quotebook

Comment any I missed LMAO

⚠️NERDY PRUDES MUST DIE SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT⚠️

“I am only ONE MAN’s girl, and that man is JESUS CHRIST.” Grace Chastity

“SHUT UUUUUUPPPP.” Max Jagerman *Audience cackles* 

“THE ANSWER IS STILL NO….. by the way.” Max Jagerman

“RAAH” Max Jagerman and Grace Chastity

“the fucking BOW TIE KID???” Brenda the Cheerleader

“I know he’s RICH. But money isn’t everything! Looks are. “ Stacy the Cheerleader

“WAIFU MATERIAL” Richie Lipchitz

“SHE’S TOUCHING MEEE!! LUCKYYYY!” Ruth Fleming and Richie Lipchitz

“Woooow…. These toilets aren’t even in stalls! It’s better than I ever imagined!” Ruth Fleming

“Thats some cooool kid privilege right there.” Ruth Fleming OR Richie Lipchitz

“DESTROY HIM.” Grace Chastity

“God you suck, Grace.” Stephanie Lauter

“He’s made ALL OUR LIVES a living HECK.” Grace Chastity

“The most terrifying, HOTTEST bully in Hatchetfield” Grace Chastity

“BE COOL BEANS, KEEP THE BEANS COOL.” Grace Chastity

“We’ll fight sin with sin! Let the games begin!” ‘Nerdy Prudes’

“AM I READING AS GHOST OR LIN MANUEL MIRANDA” Peter Spankofvski

“YOU’RE FUCKING USLESS PETE.” (SO MANY PAUL REFERENCES.) Richie Lipchitz

“Ugh I gotta piss….” Max Jagerman

“Oh SHIT, where’s that creepy music coming from?” Max Jagerman

“Oh shit oh fuck it’s a fucking ghost!!!” Max Jagerman

“He thinks it’s real he’s just really fucking BRAVE.” Richie Lipchitz

“BOO HOO BITCH.” Max Jagerman

“I MAKE THE DEAD RUN IN FEAR! I AM GOD GOOOOO NIGHTHAWKS!” Max Jagerman

“Oh shit oh fuck I didn’t think there’d be a skele’in HERE!” Max Jagerman

“WOW… I uh… I thought you guys hated me. But uh, thanks! This was really great! No no no, this is the nicest thing anyone’s done for me!” Max Jagerman

“That was really special.” *bows* Max Jagerman

“And with MY luck, no one will even BOTHER making me their BITCH.” Ruth Fleming

“It was an act of god!” Grace Chastity

“Oh no she’s snapping again!” Richie Lipchitz

“Oh my asthmas back…” Richie Lipchitz

“I just cut off his nips.” Ruth Fleming FORESHADOWING??? 

“Steph, you can keep it. It would bring down my GPA.” Peter Spankofvski

“I’m tryna feel bad but it’s hard when everything is objectively better.” Peter Spankofvski

“Never thought I could open my locker without the fear running through me.” Richie Lipchitz

“N-IG-HT-AWE AWE- ks!” Everyone

“FUCK clivesdale.” Everyone, repeatedly. 

“FUCK YOU CLIVESDALE WE’LL KILL YOU!” Cheerleaders and Jocks

“Zeke! The fighting nighthawk!” Jason the Football player

“We support and love you, but you fuckin’ stink man!” Jason the Football player

“FUCK CLIVESDALE! FUCK EM STRAIGHT TO HELL!” Richie Lipchitz

“I love being alive!” Richie Lipchitz

“YA BITCH.” Max Jagerman

“Of course not! But you’ve lost everything.” Max Jagerman HIT SO HARD 

“Mama I’m cured!” Grace Chastity

“HWAELL they didn’t say!” Mark Chastity

“Alright ima need the 3 of you to shut the FUDGE up about Max Jagerman.” Grace Chastity

“SHUT. THE FUCK UP. RUTHY.” Stephanie Lauter

“People tell me to die everyday!” Ruth Fleming

“Don’t be ridiculous! Wait-“ Grace Chastity

“DAN!” Angry Adult Mob

“Suddenly the show is real upsetting!” Angry Adult Mob

“Fuckin’ transcendent…..!” Cop Corey

“I wanna remember who I YAAAMmmm…” Trevor, who’s only other credit is Barbecue Monologues Man 2 

“I turned 40 today.” *pours alcohol* Ruth Fleming in Barbecue Monologues

“Oh shit not Clivesdale!” Officer Shapiro

*heavy breathing* “…… thank you.” Peter Spankofvski

“MY DAD sells WOMEN’S SHOES.” Peter Spankofvski

“Dork at the beany’s counter has more balls than you.” Stephanie Lauter

“LEAVE ROOM FOR JESUS” Grace Chastity

“She’s bisexual and dead, where else could she be?” Grace Chastity, also GRACE DONT CALL ME OUT

“I’ve done horrible things! Like touching myself and lying to the police! I called god a son of a b word! Who am iiiiii…..” Grace Chastity

“Don’t comfort her, she’s fucking weird.” Stephanie Lauter

“KYUK KYUK KAH FUCK.” Max Jagerman

“I beg to differ, BITCH.” Max Jagerman

“I’ve got a gun.” Stephanie Lauter

“Are you a woman of god?” “Catholic.” “I’ll take that as a no.” Grace Chastity and Officer Shapiro (as a Catholic this is hilarious.) 

“I have no idea what I’m doing.” Peter Spankofvski (Me too Peter, me too.)

“My phone!” Stephanie Lauter

“WE DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR PHONE.” The Lords in Black

“Or fuck off!” The Lords in Black

“It’s you Steph. I’m into you.” Peter Spankofvski (IM CRYINGGGG)

“I just took a bullet for you bro!” Max Jagerman

“SO YOU DO KNOW THE BIBLE?” Grace Chastity

“But Jesus never threw a football like you Max.” Grace Chastity

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH HOLE SPANKOVSKI. I wanna hear this.” Max Jagerman

“FUCK. YEAH.” Max Jagerman

“GASP. That’s NASTY. I like it.” Max Jagerman

“WHAT. THE FUCK. IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.” Stephanie Lauter (That’s so me, Steph.)

“GRACE IS HAVING SEX WITH A FUCKING GHOST!” Peter Spankofvski

“I paid the price. Now fuck off!” *Spins* Grace Chastity

“WHAT ARE YOUUU-“ Max Jagerman

“You’re in my world now. Bitch.” One of the Lords in Black (Pokey I think???) 

“I…. Am gonna get some fucking coffee.” Officer Shapiro

“Did you guys know JASON goes to my CHURCH?” Grace Chastity

Total quotes: 85

[saltydkdan]

Yo, Salt man. Decided to finally bite the bullet and dive into One Piece. Currently on Volume 4/Chapter 27 of the manga (also episode 2 of the Netflix live-action, really good ngl). I'm excited to read it, but the sheer length of the manga is extremely daunting to me, and I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth reading at this point. Dunno if you got any sort of tips or such to help someone like me through this, or at least boost morale?

Don’t worry! I felt the exact same way. The length of One Piece can feel really daunting when you start. However here is what I tell people to keep in mind:

Get to Arlong Park

This is what EVERYONE SAYS. But it really is true. Get to Arlong Park, and if you enjoy it, then you will 100% love this series. Arlong Park is the arc where One Piece starts to really become what it is known for (and in some senses Baratie too). And what’s cool is that as someone who has caught up, Arlong Park isn’t even my favorite anymore, far from it. Arlong Park made me a fan, but later stuff like Alabasta, Skypeia, and Water 7 especially made me HYPER FOCUS on the series.

Basically if you think Arlong Park and stuff like Baratie is good, it really only goes up from there, as it’s more or less a taste of what you’ll be getting as Oda develops the story. If you don’t like it tho? No harm no foul! You’re allowed to feel however you want! You can move on to something else if you feel like and that’s super okay. Though based on your current reactions I feel like you are def gonna like it LMAO.

You don’t have to binge ALL of it

You are totally allowed to pick it up and read a saga and then put it down to switch to something else for a bit. In fact, if you do find yourself getting too tired at points, def switch it up with another series, TV show, or video game! Nobody expects you to finish reading it in a month or something. It took me a full year to catch up after jumping on and off of it and I had a blast because I didn’t force it!

There’s a reason that the series is broken up into arcs and sagas! The end of a Saga specifically is meant to be a very good break point for you to do something else if you like!

And trust me, if you’re anything like me, you won’t want it to end. After I passed chapter 1,000 I had a sudden violent awakening that I was going to catch up and become a week to week reader and I got really sad LOL.

Being a One Piece reader feels rewarding!

This is something I would have loved to know going in, but reading/watching One Piece (especially nowadays) feels like an insanely rewarding experience.

I have no idea how Oda pulls it off, but there is information that is as immediate as Chapter 1 that is still relevant all these years later in Chapter 1,000+, it really feels rewarding to be into the series for so long.

I’ve never read or watched anything THIS LONG that rewards the reader like this, it’s so fun. And it’s also something that makes One Piece great to re-read or re-watch.

There are so many fun twists, turns, and reveals that are either foreshadowed, or established in a very small way early on. I can’t emphasize harder how fun and connected it makes everything feel.

I call it the opposite of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Because while Jojo will constantly reset itself with a new cast and characters every arc, instead One Piece doubles down, and is still revealing massive bombshells that we’re hinted at ages ago.

The series does show it’s age at times

I don’t like ending stuff on a bad note, but I like to let people know to keep in mind that One Piece has been running for a LONG time, and this can be both good and bad.

It’s good in the sense that I think it gets better and better over time, but bad in the sense that it does feature a couple of outdated depictions, as well as “Pervy” anime-esque humor that I honestly cannot enjoy personally. Just make sure you’re aware going in because some of it has aged… horribly.

That being said though, when One Piece gets depictions right it gets them SOOOO right.

There’s a reason that there’s an ongoing joke in the community that “Luffy would have died multiple times over if not for the Queer Community” lol it’s extremely correct

Reward yourself with the side content

One of my favorite things to do, is after I caught up to a certain point in the manga, is that I rewarded myself by watching one of the One Piece Films from around that time.

It’s a great thing to use as a rewarding little checkpoint and be like “Omg now that I’m this far, I can enjoy this fun animated film without fear of spoilers”.

And while a good chunk of films are very obviously not canon and don’t clearly fit into the overall story (I.e. there is not a good space for them to canonically exist) some of them actually do fit super well, and in my opinion, even add greatly to the overall story.

A big favorite of mine, One Piece: Baron Omatsuri, fits this description like a glove. Not only does it easily fit between the sagas of Skypeia and Water 7, but it even adds to the later themes of the story, and even foreshadows certain elements later on in a super fun way! Plus it’s one of the only One Piece films to have a very experimental direction, created by the guy who made Summer Wars. It feels very different, but in a super fun way, and works as a great little treat for getting as far as you have in the manga!

Anyway, I hope that this helps you out? Remember it isn’t a race, and you can pick up and put down the series whenever you want! There’s absolutely no pressure at all.

A part of me wants to kind of make a “read/watch list” for people who get into the series based off my own recommendation/experience. Obviously everyone is going to read and watch the anime in order, but it would probably be cool to know when you can check out certain side content like Anime-only specials and animated films during your read-through.

If anybody wants that let me know! (I’ll probably end up making it on my own time anyway I have zero self control).

Anyway yeah, enjoy One Piece!

[artyandink]

Just a little thing from the entirety of my heart:

I have only started properly writing on just Tumblr since a few months ago (haven’t kept count really), but I started an account a few years ago. But in that time, I’ve managed to grow as a writer and a person, got a lot more feedback and followers and publicity (don’t know what to call it otherwise) and it’s absolutely amazing.

I’m not as technically skilled or organised as some of the other absolutely goddamn brilliant writers on here, but I can tell you that I’m so grateful for everything that y’all have done to build my little space here.

I’ve struggled a lot over the years, with depression, anxiety, some degree of Autism Spectrum Disorder and have had some great difficulty with socialising and keeping real friends, which is a bummer. But fanfiction, writing, original fiction- it’s all an out for me. To be someone who I’m not, to escape from everything in the outside world and have one more where people look at me and think ‘wow, she’s so cool’ and out there it’s ‘ew, she’s so socially awkward’ because my social battery doesn’t replenish very easily and I tend to expect the worst.

Now, I know you don’t want to listen to my rant about my hardships, so here’s a selection of people that I wanna thank for making me more confident and more skilled as a writer just in general, which I absolutely appreciate (even if you aren’t mentioned in this list, I absolutely love y’all who support me as a writer):

@zepskies - You’re such an amazing writer here, you deserve every bit of support and love that you get from your readers because you’re truly a natural writer and such an amazing person in general. I only improved after analysing your writing and putting it into practical use. Also, your writing’s like self-therapy for me. You should be really proud of yourself (and this goes for everyone). @k-slla - Same for you, Kerly! Another thing was that I saw you about on Tumblr, and we found each other but you helped bring me out of my shell and gave me the support that I needed, and I’m forever grateful for that. @waynes-multiverse - Wayne, you were one of the first writers to give me your feedback on my first proper, thought out series here on Tumblr and I’m so glad you did, cause I met an amazing person and got to see your brilliant work, again something that I took inspiration from. @jackles010378 - You, my friend, are such a good hype person! You also tagged me in the little ‘get to know you’ posts, and otherwise I’d be a socially awkward hermit, so I am indebted to you for it. Keep on doing what you’re doing and including me even if my social battery hasn’t charged. It’ll shoot up to 100% ;) @angelbabyyy99 - Thalia, I bow down to you and your ability to write CJ. And you’ve reviewed my latest fics and it hyped me up so much that after a section of writer’s block induced by being horribly ill, I’m banging out fics in a day or two that previously would take me weeks. So glad you found me, and I hope you stick around, lovely! @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior - You’re such a good writer, and I recently found out that you were/are/could be in the same boat I am, and I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. To know that this isn’t a battle I’m fighting alone meant everything and I can’t thank you enough for sharing your struggles with everyone.

That was pretty heartfelt, but I felt like I had to say it otherwise my heart would burst from being so goddamn happy that I found my community.

The SPN community is so goddamn nice?!?!

Love, Arty 💜

[keii-starz]

The Waves of the Eternal Sea

PROLOGUE: "A REFUGE"

author's note: so sorry to the people who wanted to read Tourmaline's story, and never got to!!! Instead, I gift you the prologue of a new story of mine to make up for it! It's set in fukuoka, japan! (have this while you wait)

divider by: @/saradika

Slowly losing my breath, I could barely feel like I had the strength and energy to run anymore. I wanted to run away so badly. I so desperately want to just abandon everything and just run away from this situation. School, poverty…barely being able to feed myself…having to put up with everything my mother says to me and every time she has a whole childish tantrum, sometimes for a reason I’m not even sure of. I’m just a kid! What is a twelve-year old like me supposed to do in this wretched situation?!

Though…at this very moment, as I stop to catch a breath and calm down, I realize I’m at the beach I’ve always loved visiting as a kid. A tear trickles down my face, as I recall all the happy memories I’ve had at this place. Somehow, just looking at the sea seems to calm me down instantly. Slowly, I sat down on the cool sand and wiped my tears, quietly enjoying the view of the sea.

Just moments later, I hear steps quickly rushing behind me, steps which sound like that of a small child. Then, that very child bumped into me. 

“--Ah! Oh…I’m so sorry! I didn’t think anyone would be here at this time of the night..”

It was a boy..he looked of a similar age as me…or maybe as tall as the other kids at school would look. I could tell he must have been running away from something, too. Or maybe running from someone. He had a pretty appearance, but his eyes were red, and you could see how wet his face must have been from tears. It was obvious he was crying. It was a sad sight to see.

Looking up at the boy, I calmly said, “It’s fine. It’s not like I own this place anyway. I don’t mind. You’re here for the sea, right? If you want, you can just sit next to me and enjoy the view.”

At least, from my perspective, I seemed calm. The boy probably thought so, too. Without a word, he sat down next to me and started to stare at the sea longingly. It was a strange look on his face, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I had the exact same expression on my face, too. Maybe it was a few hours or so that had passed by, but it had been a long time since we started, and that was when the boy started a bit of conversation before he left.

“...How old are you? You’re smaller than me so you’re younger than me, right? Or you could be the same age as me, maybe. Sometimes people don’t look the age they are. Oh! Speaking of, what’s your name? I'm Shiro Aikawa!”

Shiro seems to be a pretty talkative boy..bright and positive, too. I do wonder what could have happened to him before coming here, but I’m sure it’s not my business to ask. I hesitated a bit before speaking, and looked up at the night sky for a bit, then looked back at him.

“M-my name is Emi..Shimizu, I’m…twelve.” Looks like my nerves are worked up again. Maybe I’m just not that used to speaking with other people yet. I was doing pretty good earlier.

Shiro’s eyes lit up. “Twelve! Woah! Hehe, we’re the same age! I actually just turned twelve today! Or yesterday? I’m not expecting a happy birthday or anything though, it’d probably have ended by now, after all. Plus, I think the sun is rising…”

“I-I see. Happy birthday. E-even though it’s over, I do hope you had a great one. I’m glad you got to see the sun rise, at least” I smiled at Shiro as I wished him a happy birthday.

He scratched his head a bit and chuckled. “Haha…well it wasn’t the best, but probably better than the other ones I’ve had so far. Still horrible, though. But seeing this pretty view and getting to talk to you made it better. I should probably get going now..It was nice to meet you.”

I nodded to him as I saw him slowly disappearing into the distance. I think…I may not be as alone, for now. I hope we’ll see each other again.

Eventually, we would get to see each other often, both upset with their lives, we ran to the sea. Sometimes, we would talk about our troubles, but not all the time. Other times, we would just leave each other alone and bask in each other and the sea’s company. The fish looked so peaceful swimming down there. Perhaps I could dare to even say there might be hope lingering by for the both of us in the future. All I knew, was that the sea…became our refuge.

@angelhairpastawithherbs @the-banana-0verlord @rayisalive @chocodaffodil @xxoomiii @red-viewe @officialdaydreamer00 @eynnwwyjth @cheezy-moon @crheativity

[one-idea]

i’m so excited to see where you take your reverse strawhat au, especially brooks and jinbei’s counterparts, once you get further along into the series

i just essentially binged your posts and i love how you’re going about it. i love the whole concept with sabo and ace possibly meeting in marineford that would make them reuniting in dressrosa so heart wrenching, same with sabo possibly taking luffy’s fruit

idk if since those posts your thoughts on it have changed but if sabo took the fruit i think it’d be really interesting if he never awoken his fruit, and really interesting to see luffys reaction to sabo having his fruit

it could even go as far as luffy helping sabo awaken it and almost teaching him how to embody joyboy/nika in more than just a revolutionary way

idk i’m just thinking lots of thoughts about it bc your au has fully taken over my mind, i just love it so much and the care you’ve put into it is just so cool like i can’t even describe it

Thank you so much!!

I really love this au. Right now a lot of the ideas are fluid as I get new information about the characters and learn more about the world. Oda is really good at setting something up several arcs before it happens so I’m trying not to get to far ahead of myself, that way I don’t have to scramble to force an idea into place. I want it to feel like its own world while paying homage to the original and the characters.

As far as Sabo and Ace go…… (and this is ALL fluid)

I am still in love with the idea of them meeting at Marineford. It’s so brutal. Sabo being there but not realizing who these people are to him. Him and Ace essentially getting in each others way for all of impel down (they fight in the beginning but figure out how to work together) only to fail so horribly at Marieford.

And you know both of them spent the next two years thinking over that day. Playing impel down and Marineford over in their minds again and again.

‘Maybe if Ace/weird masked dude (Sabo) hadn’t shown up I could have gotten Luffy out of impel down.

Maybe if we had worked together quicker we could have gotten to him before the marines moved him.

Maybe if more revs had shown up to the fight.

Maybe it the crew was there.

Maybe if Sabo had known who they were he would have fought harder.’

They torture themselves over it for two years. It makes their reunion at Dressrosa hard. Because I’m sure Sabo shows up wearing that same dumb mask. (How can he face Ace) and Ace knows this man. And he’s angry (with himself) and this guy got in the way of saving Luffy (for like two fights in Impel down. They both would have died down there without the other and Ace knows this but he’s mad at the world right now) so he starts yelling.

And Sabo just takes it. He deserves this. He failed both of his brothers and even know he’s to cowardly to tell Ace who he is. He can’t imagine how much Ace will hate him if he knows who Sabo is. And this is it for Sabo, he’ll take his only remaining brother’s hate and know that he deserves it for failing him.

But he zoned out for to long thinking about all of this, and Ace is mad mad. “Don’t you have anything to say!” He’s gotten right up into Masked dude’s face. “My baby brother’s dead because of you.” And he punches him. It’s a great left hook. So good that he punches the mask right off.

And now he’s faced with a silently sobbing Sabo. Who’s curly blond hair is so familiar. Who’s still carrying a pipe for a weapon. Who’s still wearing that stupid ruffly neck piece. Who looks at him with such broken eyes as he says “I know I got our baby brother killed.”

Ace doesn’t know what to do because “Sabo?” This can’t be real. Sabo is dead and gone and how is he here in front of Ace?

There’s more screaming (Ace) explanations (Sabo) tears (both) and finally Sabo is standing there after telling Ace what happened to him and how he’s still alive and is all “I know you can never forgive me but…” he doesn’t get to finish because Ace is hugging him so tight and crying about how glad he is that Sabo is alive, and how much he missed him. But also “I’m so sorry I got Luffy killed.” And there it is the root of their problems. The fact they both blame themselves for Luffy’s death. It will take some time but they will get better.

Again this is fluid and might change once I’m in Dressrosa. But I really like it so far.

As far as Sabo and Gomu Gomu no Mi go…..

He still saves the fruit in the coliseum, but I don’t think he eats it right away. Maybe dragon told him the real power of that fruit and Sabo doesn’t think he could handle it. Maybe he thinks no one should have that power but Luffy. Or maybe he doesn’t know anything about the fruit but because of his guilt doesn’t think he’s worthy of wielding Luffy’s fruit.

I think he gives it to Ace and the two have a long talk. (They need it) about what happened. About who they lost, and how much they’re hurting. (A discussion that hard to have with anyone else) and they come to an agreement. Maybe one day they will meet someone who embodies the sun and joy the way Luffy did, but for now Ace is going to keep the fruit safe. (Sabo won it so if anyone finds out the truth about the fruit they would go after him, not Ace. Plus if Sabo knows the truth of the fruit I don’t know if he would trust the revs with it. It is a powerful tool, but it’s also Luffy’s.

And so Ace keeps the fruit save for a while……

But I also LOVE your idea of Luffy helping Sabo learn how to wield the Gomu Gomu no Mi and awaken it.

Since Luffy is crashing into reverse Wano he’s already awakened his fruit. (Imagine your dead little brother rocking up to your fight. Saving your life. But he’s doing so as the awakened sun god. Wild day for Ace.)

It’s also the day the world government collectively shat bricks because HELLO “what’s the sun god doing here!” If I had worked so hard to hide that fruit and make sure it never fell into anyone’s hands that wasn’t under my thumb. Only to have so 19 year old show up out of no where, with that power fully awakened and using it to take out one of the 4 strongest pirates in the world. I’d question everything I’d worked for to.

But Ace and Luffy have their super affectionate reunion. (There is tears with snot, they are hard crying) Ace calls Sabo and is like “you got to get to Wano Luffy’s here”

Sabo is on the other end like “Ace I know you miss him but that’s a hallucination, stop drinking. Put Kuina in charge.”

And Luffy just grabs the transponder from Ace and yells “Sabo!!! You’re here to!”

Sabo doesn’t respond he’s already running to the nearest boat. He’s there as soon as possible.

After more crying, and explanations. The two older brothers tell their youngest about how he’s dead here. And Luffy’s just like “oh it was Ace who died for me. But don’t be sad, I’m sure this world me was happy with his choice. I would have died for my Ace if it meant he would live.” And Ace is Sobbing again and clutching his baby brother close because he hates it, but he gets it. Because he’s sure Luffy’s Ace died happy to. He would have died happy if his Luffy got to live. And he tells Luffy just that. Their both sobbing and Sabo’s sobbing because how did he fail to save one of his brother is two different universes?

They’re a wreck for days. Like the other strawhats are having big emotions but the brother are in their own little world.

Eventually they get to retelling their versions of Dressrosa. And Luffy tells them his Sabo ate Ace’s fruit. And Ace is thrilled with this news, proud that his fruit was still protecting his brothers, and there’s no one he trusts to wield it more than Sabo. But know they have to tell Luffy what they did with his fruit. Which boils down to they hid it in a box underneath one of the floor boards on Ace’s ship. And Luffy slaps them both upside the head. Mainly Sabo who thinks he’s not worthy of having Luffy’s fruit.

“Of course I want you have it! Who else would I chose!”

Sabo eventually eats it and gets to have a fun training montage with Luffy on how to use his new fruit. And it’s great because now he gets to carry Luffy with him every where and he can’t remember why he was afraid of this in the first place.

(Ace is having a great time being their opponent and training with both of his brother, though there is a moment where Sabo is practicing his Gomu Gomu pistol move and punches right through Ace’s stomach. It’s not Haki infused so Ace is fine he just turned to fire and let it pass through and laughed. Luffy is not fine and is running at Ace to hug him and cry as he has a full break down once again.)

Again this is all fluid and could change once I get a better grasp on the story and characters but I really like this idea.

Thank you so much for the ask and the support!

[noodyl-blasstal]

Icy Hot Romance - Best Served Cold Chapter 4

It's day 4 of @tazsapphicweek which means it's time for Chapter 4 of Best Served Cold!

Read below or on Ao3. Missed the start? Here's ch 1, ch 2, and ch 3.

-

Raven

opens the door for Sloane then locks it behind her and pulls down the roller blind. “Did anyone see you?”

“If by anyone you mean Istus, no.” Sloane replies, trying to soothe Raven’s obvious anxiety. She’s not in the business of keeping things from her wife. It feels wrong.

“Okay, good.” Raven sits back on the fancy ergonomic stool they all clubbed in to buy for her 60th birthday. “We haven’t got much time, and we need a plan.”

“Carey says it’s bad.” Killian looks more serious than Raven has ever seen her, and that’s saying something. “Istus is trying to be cool about it, but it’s clearly deeply uncool.”

“We need to figure out who’s trying to fuck with her.” Hurley already has her notebook in hand. “I’ve been trying to think of motives.”

“It’s The Good Dick Store.” Sloane and Killian reply in tandem.

Raven tries to stifle a laugh and fails horribly.

“Well obviously, but we have to prove it.” Hurley turns her notebook round. Raven refuses to switch out her glasses for this, but thankfully Hurley knows her well enough to know how stubborn she is about her definitely completely fine eyesight. “It’s a list of suspects and I’ve crossed everyone out apart from Good Lick.”

“Why am I on there?” Sloane asks, indignant. “I love Istus!”

“Exactly, and that’s why The Raven and Ram got crossed off first. I’ve got to be thorough though. You understand?”

“I guess you did also put Raven’s on.” Sloane says, soothed.

“You did what?” Raven stands up, managing not to make the long customary ‘hup’ noise through the sheer power of indignance.

“Always suspect the spouse.” Killian says with a knowing nod.

“I would never do anything to hurt Istus!” Raven’s hurt that they’d even think for a second the she would…

“It wasn’t you.” Hurley says quick and placating. “You can’t work Facebook, there’s no way.”

“Did you put yourself on too?”

“Gotta be thorough.” Hurley nods. “I crossed you and I off really fast. I put everyone on the list.”

“Well if it was them then I can just go over and tell them to stop.” Raven reaches for her jacket. Between her height and the flowing leather people tend to listen to her.

“Nope!” The others say in tandem. Killian moves to stand in front of the door, they’re so quick! It’s unfair.

“Well we can’t just do nothing!” Raven reaches for the handle and Killian slaps her hand away.

“We’re not going to do nothing, we’re going to make a plan.” Hurley sounds firm enough that Raven retreats from the door with a sigh.

“They already know what they’re doing is wrong, Raven. You telling them isn’t going to fix it.” Sloane adds.

“But we’re going to find evidence, and we’re going to get them.” Killian says, patting Raven on the shoulder.

“How? What can I do?”

“Host us later? We’ll have a proper meeting, but I have a security meeting with management in 10.” Says Hurley.

“Okay, we can use the games room.” Raven nods. “I’ll let Istus know.”

“She can’t come.” They say quickly.

“She’s going to notice that you’re there.” Raven says.

“Tell her it’s a secret meeting.” Killian smiles proudly.

“Great, that’s very not-even-a-little-suspicious, I’m sure she won’t have any questions.” Sloane rolls her eyes.

“I’ll figure it out.” Raven says.

–

“Oh hello dears, I like your combat trousers. Are you going out somewhere afterwards?” Istus smiles brightly as she lets Sloane and Hurley into the house, opening her arms for a hug.

Raven pops her head out of the office. “It’s okay Istus, I can get the door, I don’t want you having to get up and down.”

Istus releases the others and gives them room to take their shoes off. “It’s fine my love, don’t worry. I’m happy to help, it’s nice to see everyone!” She tugs Raven down for a kiss, just because she can. “Anyway, I’ll leave you all to it.”

She did mean to, of course, but what if they were thirsty? She knocks on the door. “Hellooooo, I made lemonade.”

There’s a quick muffled conversation and the door cracks open. “Is it the kind with the strawberries?” Carey asks through the narrow gap.

“Of course, I know how much you love it.” Istus holds up the jug so Carey can see. Carey lets out a happy little squeak and the door opens further. “Anyway, I won’t keep you.” She hands over the tray with lemonade and glasses. Heartened by the quiet ‘ooohs’ audible over the soft clinking of ice.

The door closes after a round of thanks and Istus goes to put her feet up, or, well, she intends to, but what if they want a snack to go with the lemonade? Maybe they’d like some lemon biscuits… she does have some unused fruit left over…

–

“Knock knock!” Istus says cheerfully outside the door.

“Who’s there?” Sloane asks.

“Biscuits!” Istus replies.

“Biscuits who?” Raven shouts in reply.

Istus can almost swear she hears some groans, but no one’s allowed to make them put any money in the jar when they’re in their own house. They all knew what they were getting themselves into.

“Biscan’t you open the door and get some lemon shortbread?”

The door opens and Raven plants a kiss on her head. “That was awful, I adore you.”

“I love you too dear, is that a no to biscuits?” Istus moves as if to take the tray away.

“No!” Killian barrels past Raven to grab the tray. “Thank you, we love you!”

“I love you all too. Do you need anything else?” Istus shouts into the gap in the door. “Oh… wait, I should get you some hot drinks!”

“But it’s so warm.” Carey shouts through the door.

“Oh… yes… of course.” Istus is probably overstepping.

“I do love your hot chocolate though…” Hurley adds quickly.

“With the whipped cream!” Killian adds.

“Shall I make some?” Istus is already heading for the kitchen again.

Raven rushes after her and catches her arm. “Thank you, dear heart. You look after us so well.”

Istus wraps Raven’s arms around her. “You deserve to be looked after.”

They lose a bit of time there in the hallway. It’s only after some particularly enthusiastic throat clearing that she remembers she’s on a mission.

“Sorry! I’ll make them extra good.” Istus waves over her shoulder, but doesn’t manage to sound particularly apologetic.

Raven winks at her and bumps their hips together as she turns to walk back. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

–

“We can’t keep hiding the board.” Hurley says as soon as Raven walks back into the room.

“I think the standing behind the door plan is going really well.” Sloane says from behind the board. “We didn’t know if you were coming back in together.” She adds. “Can I come back out?”

“Yes.” Carey says, head buried in her hands. “We’re not getting anywhere here.”

“We are! Look, there’s so many dooblies on the board!” Raven points enthusiastically. “Loads of revenge.”

“Yes, but we can’t talk about it properly, because… well Istus is…” Hurley grabs the board and moves back behind the door as there’s another knock.

Raven opens the door again. “Is everything okay?”

“I just wanted to check if everyone was okay with oat milk?” Istus asks. “Portia kicked the bucket over again.” Istus doesn’t begrudge Portia the kicking, it’s only ever enthusiasm.

“That sounds great.” Sloane says quickly. “Great for all of us.”

“Thank you!” Carey adds.

“Fabulous, I’ll be back soon.” Istus leaves again.

“We can’t plot like this.” Killian says. “I love Istus, you know I do, but she’s never going to approve, and she’s also never going to stop bringing snacks because she loves us and she’s perfect.”

“She is perfect.” Raven agrees.

“You’re going to have to distract her.” Sloane says.

“What?”

“Take her out on a date! A nice one!” Carey says.

“You can take her to the battle races!” Hurley suggests.

“Oh, or maybe the gym.” Killian looks pleased with herself.

“Dancing, and dinner.” Raven says firmly. “We haven’t been to Goldcliffe’s in ages”

“Isn’t it supposed to be dinner then dancing?” Sloane asks.

“That’s a recipe for acid reflux, absolutely not.” Raven shakes her head. “Plus if we’re too full of dinner it’s hard to really strut our stuff.”

The others try and fail to hide their laughter. It’s fine, they can make fun all they want, but Raven can’t even pretend to be grumpy. She’s too excited about the plan, it really has been too long since she took Istus out.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay without me?” Raven asks - as much as she’s excited to go on a date she doesn’t want to derelict her duties.

“Honestly, and I mean this with all the love in the world, you’ll only slow me down.” Sloane dives under the table. “I’m like the night. Invisible, soundless, ready to put a hole in some crucial pipe work.”

“I didn’t hear that last bit.” Hurley says flatly.

“None of us did.” Killian and Carey say in tandem. Well practised at this point.

“What?” Says Raven.

“None of us heard what Sloane said.” Hurley repeats.

“What?” Raven grins as they all groan.

“Terrible!” “Boooooooo!” “Get off the stage!”

—

“We’ve been planning, and I’d like to take you out on a date.” Raven says. Because neither of those things is a lie. It’s technically not her fault if Istus assumes the two points are related. She still feels a little guilty.

“It took all of you to plan a date?” Istus asks. She smiles, but raises a quizzical eyebrow. Raven places a quick, soft kiss on her lips, just because she can.

“I’d like to take you on a very nice date.” Raven says emphatically. She hopes that the flicker that crosses Istus’ face isn’t realisation.

Istus looks her directly in the eyes, right into her soul. She’d hate it if it was anyone else, but she knows Istus won’t be offended if she looks away. She tries not to wriggle under the scrutiny.

“You want to take me out on a very nice date.” Istus stays. “And also the others came over and you have been planning?” Shit.

“Yes.” Raven replies, because the less she says the better.

Istus pauses, mouth twitching in something suspiciously close to a smile. “That sounds delightful. What’s the plan?”

“It’s a secret.” Raven says quickly. Because it is, so secret that she doesn’t even know the plan yet. “But wear your dancing shoes.”

“And also my dancing skirt?” Istus asks.

“Definitely your dancing skirt.” Raven scoots closer to Istus on the sofa and is gratified to see Rave immediately pat her knee so Raven can flop sideways and lay her head there.

“And are we going for dinner?” Istus asks, running a comforting hand over her hair.

“Of course.” Raven rubs her face against Istus’ thigh. “Only the best for you.”

–

[Raven 08:00] Taako, I need your help. I need to take Istus on a date for subterfuge reasons and I left it too late to get reservations. [Raven 08:01] Taako? I know you love subterfuge. Please reply. [Raven 08:15] Can you please help me? I waited to text so you could have a lie in.

[Kravitz 08:15] Dear Mum, Please stop texting Taako so much, he’s asleep. I can see your name flashing up on his phone. He will definitely get back to you once he is awake, but remember that this is early for a lot of people. I love you, Kravitz.

[Raven 08:15] It’s basically noon! [08:15] Also I love you too.

[Kravitz 08:16] Dear Mum, It isn’t and you know that. Can I help? Love Kravitz.

[Raven 08:17] I need to get reservations for somewhere nice to take Istus tonight and I’m worried about disappointing her. Can you tell Taako I’m sorry? I don’t want to text again.

Raven paces while she waits for Kravitz’s reply. She probably shouldn’t pester… although maybe she could send one more quick message.

Her phone buzzes in her hand.

[Kravitz 08:28] Dear Mum, I asked Susan and she got you a table at The Spinnaker at 18:00. I think you’ll like it there! Have a wonderful time, Love Kravitz.

[Raven 08:28] You always were my favourite son.

[Kravitz 08:29] Dear Mum, I am your only son! Unless you’re talking about Taako? In which case I won’t tell him, don’t worry. Love Kravitz.

[Raven 08:30] You’d be my favourite regardless. I’ll ring you for our phone call at 9:30 Love you

[Kravitz 08:31] Dear Mum, I love you too, speak soon. Love Kravitz.

Raven shakes her head slightly as she puts her mobile down. She truly appreciates how lucky she got with Kravitz, he was diligent and caring and she wishes the pair of them would move closer. She understands, of course, orchestras don’t tend to be based in the sticks, but maybe one day they’ll come back.

[Raven 11:45] Sorry for all of the texts Taako. Kravitz has reminded me about time. Please ignore my other messages, Raven

–

“Dear Istus,

Tonight’s the night, We’re going out, My date’s the most beautiful, Without a doubt. I’ll pick you up, At 5pm on the dot, Then we’ll eat And dance a lot.

Love you, rainbow!

Yours always, Raven”

Istus reads the card again, closes her eyes to savour the warm feeling before she adds it to her memory box. She has an outfit to plan.

–

“Well, who could this be?” Istus shouts through the door as she unlocks it.

“It’s a secret.” Raven shouts back.

Istus swings the door wide to find Raven, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit jacket and long skirt, holding a massive bunch of flowers.

“For me?”

“For you - although they’re nowhere near as beautiful as you are!” Raven hands over the flowers and fans herself. “I’m all overcome, just look how gorgeous you are!”

Istus does a spin so she can bask in the attention a little, but can’t resist bobbing forward onto the step to cup Raven’s cheek with her hand and kiss her gorgeous face. She works her way slowly along her cheek bone, punctuating each kiss with a compliment. “You look wonderful, my love.” She says, before finally catching Raven’s mouth with hers. It’s rare she gets to be tall enough to kiss her easily, clearly she should meet Raven at the door more often.

“Hi Istus!” Sloane, Killian, Carey, and Hurley wave awkwardly as she finally surfaces.

“Oh! Are you all coming too?” They don’t look like they’re dressed for dancing and dinner, but then she never can keep up with the trends.

“No no, we’re just…” Hurley starts then awkwardly pauses.

“...coming to get the things from our meeting the other night.” Sloane says quickly. Smiling as if she doesn’t have a balaclava in her hand. It’s not that chilly.

“Mmmhmm, and shall I bring that out for you? Just to save you having to come in?” Istus asks sweetly. She tries not to laugh as they baulk at the thought.

“We have our reservations to make, we’d better head off.” Says Raven as if she didn’t already factor in at least 30 minutes of lateness time just in case. “They’re okay to lock up, aren’t you?” Raven turns to look at them all. Istus can’t see her face, but they all look slightly shame faced.

“Yes, we can lock up so well.” Says Killian.

“So well.” Carey echoes.

Raven gives her a half smile, full of apology, and Istus decides that whatever they’re up to they can do it. She’s busy.

“Okay, well, I demand a hug from anyone willing to give one before we go.” Istus opens her arms and laughs hard as Raven is the first one into them. After a loud kiss on the cheek Raven releases her.

“Sorry everyone, your turn.”

Istus doesn’t think anyone notices, but she has a very good idea where they’re going, and Sloane’s sense of justice is sometimes just a little unbalanced… She’ll give it back later.

“Have a wonderful evening everyone.” Istus waves as Raven takes her arm to lead her towards the car - ever a gentleman.

“Enjoy!” “Have a great time!” “Woo yeah! Romance” “Don’t embarrass us!”

–

“Sorry that we couldn’t do dancing first.” Raven says, taking an ill advised spoon of the cheesecake they decided to split because it sounded too nice (despite already being full of delicious food).

“That’s okay, my love! I think I’ve still got a few hours in me yet, I might even feel up to a spin by the end of the night.”

“Just a spin?” Raven asks, nudging the cheesecake towards Istus to ensure she gets her fair share.

“I wouldn’t want to presume…” Istus says coyly, and bats her eyelashes at Raven.

“You’re wearing your scooping skirt.” Raven says sagely, then hooks her foot around Istus’ so she knows it’s only a joke.

“Oh… would you look at that?” Istus stares, flabbergasted, at her own lap. “How did that happen?”

“It’s a mystery.” Raven says sagely. She can definitely scoop Istus, she got her out of the sofa last week! She deserves it, in fact.

–

The first notes float to them and Istus turns to Raven. “You requested our song?” Her face is soft and beautiful in the low light.

“It’s pretty good, you see, I quite like it. Will you do me the honour?” Raven stands and offers her hand.

“Well, if you insist.” Istus swishes into her arms. “It’d be rude not to.” She winks and Raven isn’t even surprised by the butterflies anymore. She’s long given up thinking it’ll wear off.

Sometimes Raven wonders exactly what the step was that set her on the path to Istus. One decision, one choice, and it led her here. Whatever it was, she is eternally grateful, although Istus always says that no matter what they’d have found their way to each other. As Istus spins away and Raven tugs her back into her arms, grey hair shining gloriously, she’d like to believe it. She could imagine life without Istus if she tried to, but why would she? She has everything she needs right here. They twist and spin slowly, ebbing and flowing together like the tide, until Raven spots her moment, scooping Istus into her arms, skirt flowing dramatically as Raven spins them. Istus’ laugh makes the twinge in her hip worth it.

Istus kisses Raven through the dismount, returning to the ground without breaking contact. “I love you.” She whispers against her lips.

“I love you too.” Raven leans their foreheads together, gathers Istus as close as she can, and they stay there, swaying gently to the music until Istus’ grumbling feet persuade them back to their chairs.

“Take me home?” Istus asks, batting her eyelashes.

“Well, I’m not usually this forward, but I would be a fool not to bring the hottest woman in here home with me.” Raven stands, trying not to wince at the way her knee twinges when she does, and offers Istus her arm.

“You won’t regret it.” Istus winks.

–

“Yes, there, right there!” Raven moans softly with relief as Istus’ hands work across her skin.

“Better?”

“Definitely. I swear that stuff’s magic with how quickly it works.” The pain in Raven’s hip is already fading as the Icy Hot settles.

“Do you want me to do anywhere else?” Istus asks, still holding the tube.

“I can definitely think of some places I’d like your hands… but you need to wash them first.” Raven winks and tries not to grimace at the memory.

“I don’t think we’ll ever repeat that mistake again. I’ll be back soon.” Istus holds her hand out to the side so it’s as far away from Raven as possible and swoops down to catch her lips in a kiss.

-

I hope you're enjoying! You can find the next installment here.

[textfromthelookout]

Super is a horribly made cash grab. Something like the Dragon BallZ multiverse would've been a lot more interesting to watch.

Especially the early chapters were we see universes with diffrent "what-if's" like Friza taking over, Planet Vegeta still around, Cell or Buu winning, Goku being raised as sayin, introducing the games etc.

I especially hate how super ignores Vegeta's already established character development and makes him regress. Either they just didn't know how to write a Vegeta like that or simply didn't care.

And god Gohan got the worst treatment ever. I understand the man doesn't fight, it's not what he does and that's a great point to his character but not keeping up with his training especially after cell and buu? Is out of character. The man is smart and knows that a bigger threat can come in at any moment.

Just wanted to leave that, drink some water

Perfectly valid opinion! Nevertheless, I disagree with you, and you’ve given me an excuse to ramble on at length about Dragon Ball, so ramble on I shall.

Super is a horribly made cash grab.

I think you’re thinking of the Z movies (which, for the record, I like). A cash grab’s supposed to be something you make quickly just because you know it’ll sell, and while I’m no economist, I do know you have to follow appreciably current trends when you’re trying to make one. While you may be right, it’s hard for me to feel that something is a cash grab when there was a ten year dry spell between GT ending and anything important that was DB-related coming out—and it wasn’t even Super, it was a little festival special that a bunch of people don’t know about because it never came overseas. Battle of Gods didn’t drop until five years after that, after the first half of DBZ Kai had already wrapped up, and Super didn’t start properly until the second half of Kai finished two years later. You don’t spend seven years feeling out if people are still receptive to something after a ten-year hiatus if you’re trying to make money quickly, is all I’m saying.

Something like the Dragon BallZ multiverse would've been a lot more interesting to watch.

I’ve never read Multiverse so I leafed through the first 400-ish pages to see if I agreed with you, and I don’t. A common complaint about the Tournament of Power is that it’s the most dragged out 48 minutes in existence, and from the looks of it, Multiverse is like if Super was nothing but the Tournament of Power. To me, one of the best things about Dragon Ball is that it doesn’t have to be all high-stakes head-to-head all the time. You get things like the Orange Star High arc, or the filler episode where Piccolo and Goku have to get their driver’s licenses, or the one where Goku doesn’t quite have control over his ki for a day or so because he essentially shorted out the wiring fighting Hit (which is a cool fucking concept that I wish they had done more with). It’s just fun. It opens the door for questions that are more entertaining—and more importantly, more varied—than arguing until you’re blue in the face about who would win in a fight between X and Y.

Especially the early chapters were we see universes with diffrent "what-if's" like Friza taking over, Planet Vegeta still around, Cell or Buu winning, Goku being raised as sayin, introducing the games etc.

Sure, I’ll give you that, Multiverse does knock that concept around a little. The problem is it doesn’t do much of anything with it. The setting is a character too, in its own way—arguably the most important one, since it’s the one that every other character has no choice but to interact with. You’re right, all of those what-ifs would be interesting—if they were set in the what-ifs.

Here, I’ll share one of my favorite what-ifs as an example to try and explain. What if, instead of being able to retreat back to his lab, Dr. Gero was destroyed along with 19 by Vegeta’s attack? There would be no reason to go check his lab out if the android threat is eliminated, so 17 and 18 would still be asleep. Cell would grow unhindered for 17 years, and when he hatches, he could simply go up the ladder and attain perfection without a fight. Goku wouldn’t have died at the end of the Cell Games. There would be no training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for anyone. Does Vegeta become an issue again, since his character arc stalls at the part where he’s reveling in his own power? If so, how does that resolve? How would the struggle against Cell play out if they had no warning at all that he even existed? What role would Gohan play in it—or Goten or Trunks, since they’d be old enough to be a factor? These questions and any number of others you could pose don’t even account for the fact that it entirely upsets the timeline—Buu arc would occur before Cell, if it occurs at all. Assuming it does, would they stand a chance in hell against Buu without the power they gained in Cell arc and the seven year gap? Could Cell somehow end up coming into conflict with Buu? In short—how does this change things?

Multiverse answers this with ‘who cares, where does it put you in the power-scaling?’ and that’s not compelling to me in the slightest.

I especially hate how super ignores Vegeta's already established character development and makes him regress. Either they just didn't know how to write a Vegeta like that or simply didn't care.

Define regress. If you’re referring to Vegeta retaining his determination to get stronger than Goku after the ‘you are number one’ speech, that’s. Pretty integral to his character, frankly. Just because he’s learned and accepted it’s not the end of the world if he isn’t stronger doesn’t mean he has to drop the competition entirely. I read it less as a set-in-stone declaration of Goku’s superiority, more like a concession of his own defeat. ‘You’re number one forever because you’re better than me’ vs ‘You win for now, but when the next fight rolls around, I’ll outdo you’, you feel what I’m getting at? He does show up to fight Goku in the tournament during the very end of Z, after all. My point is that it shows Vegeta’s worldview and perception of himself is more malleable now—and so, confines him far less.

As it turns out, that concept of ‘freedom’ is the direction Super chooses to develop him in, and I feel that it pairs very well with what he goes through in Z (spoilers incoming). In Z, Vegeta is restricted by The Way Things Are Supposed To Go. In Super, especially later on during Moro and Granolah, this has a natural continuation in how his past actions in the name of TWTASTG weigh on him in ways that hamper his growth. This has been one of his biggest stumbling blocks for forever—he thinks so goddamn much, he can’t get out of his own head.

His defense of the Namekians and Earth against Moro is motivated in part by Vegeta feeling obligated to right the balance, so to speak—and he says as much, even going so far as to ask Moori if he bears a grudge against him for his actions. He still considers himself a villain bound for hell. In effect, this idea that he has to atone for his sins via being the one to save the day (which essentially amounts to being stronger than Goku on some given day) has snuck in and made itself into the new Way Things Are Supposed To Go without him realizing it.

Beerus realizes, though. I couldn’t think of a way to eloquently get across what Beerus does for him short of copying down the dialogue wholesale, so fuck it, that’s what I’m gonna do, since not everyone has access to the official translation. (From ch 69)

BEERUS: How many planets have you Saiyans destroyed? VEGETA: ? Hard to say. Fighting was the only way of life for my people, so we had a way of racking up sin after sin. B: Sin, huh? V: However, it wasn’t until Freeza’s clan came along and began using us that the destruction and invasions became business as usual. B: You trying to lay all the blame for your wicked ways on Freeza and his people? V: Not in the least. In his pursuit for power, my father built his own kingdom atop countless deaths. Freeza’s clan taking control didn’t help, but the seeds of the Saiyans’ destruction were sown before that. B: So it was the Saiyans’ destiny to be wiped out, then? V: I’d say so. B: Hmph… Ridiculous. V: But never mind that. My people’s problems aren’t your concern. B: I’m saying it’s ridiculous! V: ! W-what? What do you mean? Weren’t you going to show me a technique used by Gods of Destruction?! What could that possibly have to do with the history of the Saiyans? B: Plenty. […] As long as doubt weighs down your soul, this power’ll never be yours to wield. V: D-doubt, you say? B: Your own crimes aside, you’re feeling guilty for the sins of all Saiyans. That’s awfully self-centered of you, mortal. Here’s a fun fact. The one who suggested that Freeza eliminate the Saiyans… was me. V: W… what? B: You still think it was destiny? You’re just gonna accept that? […] Everything those Saiyans did in the past… what’s it got to do with you now? As long as you’re trapped by the past, you’ll never manage to grow past this point. My mind’s always on destruction and nothing else. That’s why there’s no limit to my power. Listen. If you really want this power, you’re gonna have to destroy any stray thoughts and recreate yourself from scratch. Before creation comes destruction. Get it?

Yeah. He takes this and he intentionally divorces his efforts to get stronger from his tendency to dog Goku’s heels in leveling up. Ultra Instinct isn’t a power suited to him, so he gives it up instead of torturing himself over it and works on what eventually becomes Ultra Ego instead. Here’s the thing though. The biggest indicator of Vegeta’s growth to me is that he can’t tap fully into that power because he’s no longer callous and unfeeling, and he knows it. He identifies too much with Granolah to simply destroy him. And he tries to lead Granolah off the path that ruined him for so much of his life. That doesn’t sound anything like regression to me.

The way things stand with Goku and Vegeta right now, the next step seems to be adapting their Ultra forms to them personally, so I’m curious to see how Vegeta will bend that power to the person he is now.

And god Gohan got the worst treatment ever. I understand the man doesn't fight, it's not what he does and that's a great point to his character but not keeping up with his training especially after cell and buu? Is out of character. The man is smart and knows that a bigger threat can come in at any moment.

You could be right, but no amount of kvetching is going to change what the writer wrote, so you may as well stretch your critical thinking legs and ask yourself why the writer thinks this is in character. Speaking from the perspective of a person who makes a hobby of examining these pieces and spackling them together into something cohesive (fanfiction. I write fanfiction, in case that was somehow unclear), this is the more fun option for me. I’m not saying it’s really That Deep (‘don’t put more thought into something than the creators did’, yak yak yadda yadda) or that my personal interpretation is correct and canon or anything, I just know that writers rarely write something a certain way without a reason.

Because you’re right, Gohan is a smart person. I don’t think he did stop training after Buu in the way you’re thinking of, for two reasons. First, he mentions at the end of Super Hero that he’s been practicing the Makankosappo in secret, and the Makankosappo took Piccolo presumably several years nonstop (between OGDB and Z) to make from scratch. Gohan may have prior knowledge to base his experimentation off of, but he has a lot less free time too, between his family and his father’s tendency to one-track-mind the things he’s passionate about—Videl says he’s been in his room working on his ant project for several days. So how long has Gohan been practicing it?

That’s rather theoretical though so, second, Gohan was ready for the Tournament of Power with 48 hours of training, which I don’t think would be possible if he wasn’t at least keeping himself physically in shape. Indeed, when Piccolo is training him (DBS episode 88), his problem is not with Gohan’s practical technique—it’s with his attitude. Freeza notices this and mentions it earlier in Resurrection F as well, that Gohan is going out of his way to leave the people he beats alive. Piccolo describes it as a failure to ‘close the deal’, in the sense that Gohan needs to be able to win in a way that leaves no room for a rematch or a sneak attack at the last second. This doesn’t necessarily mean killing, mind, especially since the Tournament of Power has a no-kill rule. What Gohan has let go to rust is his willingness to be ruthless enough to remove an obstacle that has to be removed. That, I think, is the true meaning of the ‘training’ that everyone in universe harps on him for. Gohan’s always been softhearted, after all.

I will concede that it is very stupid that he apparently doesn’t recognize Piccolo’s ki when by all rights he’s probably the person most familiar with it. I consider that ‘out of character’, in that I have no clever explanation for it, but given that it isn’t load-bearing so the story functions, I mainly shrug and ignore it. That’s the healthy thing to do.

completely forgot to say... I *hate* how bulma is now. Nothing to the bulma we saw in Z, even at her most vexing she was never like the one we see right now. Genuinely massacred her

Personally I would be angrier about Videl in your position, because boy does she just not exist in Super. More to the point, I don’t know exactly what you mean by this. Unless I’ve misremembered/misread something, Bulma is still doing what she’s done from day one. She’s still smart. She’s still willing to try using her charm to get what she wants. She still builds things that are plot-crucial (Goku Black arc couldn’t have happened without her replicating her own time machine! Which she couldn’t have done had Future Bulma not counted on her and left her own notes!) She still wants to get a look at every would-be destroyer of Earth du jour, even though it’s really not a good idea. If you’re referring to her occasional shallowness/bitchiness/pettiness, that never went away, you know. That’s a pretty big part of Bulma.

Just wanted to leave that, drink some water

Cute, but I’ve been on the internet too long to get upset when a random stranger boos something I enjoy. Thanks for the opportunity to write way too many words about it though! 2500 of them, in fact! I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts on them.

[jujumin-translates]

[A3!] ★ Main Story | Act 14 - DREAM CATCHER | Episode 29 - Water me!! ~The Promise of Year 333~

Scheherazade: “Ali Baba, the oil jar is empty.”

Ali Baba: “Ah, I forgot. I’ll fill it up.”

Scheherazade: “Ali Baba, and while you’re at it, get some water, go shopping, and clean the carpets.”

Ali Baba: “That’s NOT just a ‘while you’re at it’ kinda thing!”

Scheherazade: “Ali Baba--.”

Ali Baba: “What is it now!?” 

Scheherazade: “Something weird just arrived.”

*Paper airplane chases Ali Baba*

Ali Baba: “Uwhoa, what’s with this giant paper airplane, it’s-- Stop following me!”

Scheherazade: “There’s something written on it. Hmm… An invitation?”

Ali Baba: “‘I am pleased to announce that I, the Genie of the Lamp, will be hosting my momentous 333rd birthday party.’”

Ali Baba: “‘Therefore, I would like to invite you, Ali Baba, and your wife, Scheherazade, to attend--.’”

Scheherazade: “‘Will Attend’ is already circled where it says [Will Attend / Will Not Attend].”

Ali Baba: “He even crossed out the ‘Will Not Attend’. The Genie of the Lamp sure is thorough.”

Scheherazade: “What are we going to do?”

Ali Baba: “Well, he has done a lot for us, so why don’t we go?”

Scheherazade: “We’ll have to prepare a gift for him then.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Genie of the Lamp: “Welcome to my momentous 333rd birthday party!”

Scheherazade: “Happy birthday.”

Ali Baba: “I mean, sure, the numbers are repeating, but don’t you think calling it ‘momentous’ is a bit much?”

Genie of the Lamp: “No, I’ve been waiting for this year for some time now.”

Scheherazade: “Ah, here, your birthday present. It’s an anti-fogging cloth for lamps.”

Ali Baba: “And from me, here’s a brush that can clean even the narrowest part of the lamp’s opening.”

Genie of the Lamp: “My friends! Thank you for the practical gifts!”

Sinbad: “So you two came too.”

Ali Baba: “Sinbad, it’s been a while.”

Scheherazade: “When you found Ali Baba and the magic lamp, you got a boat from the Genie as your share, right? I figured you’d be away on a trip or something.”

Sinbad: “I wanted to be as prepared as possible, so it took me quite some time. But I’ll finally be setting sail tomorrow.”

Ali Baba: “Then congrats on that! Sinbad the Sailor sounds way cooler than Sinbad the Bag Carrier, doesn’t it~?”

Sinbad: “I didn’t choose it for its coolness. I just thought I could do a wider range of work if I had a boat.”

Genie of the Lamp: “Then let us celebrate your departure as well!”

Scheherazade: “As well?”

Genie of the Lamp: “It had been 333 years since I lost against the wizard and became trapped in the lamp… It’s finally time for me to be free from the lamp.”

Genie of the Lamp: “After 333 years, my contract with the wizard can be dissolved. That’s why I intend to go find the wizard.”

Ali Baba: “So that’s why this is a momentous year.”

Scheherazade: “That’s great.”

Genie of the Lamp: “Quite.”

Aladdin: “Uwahhhh, Genie of the Lamp~!!”

Genie of the Lamp: “Hm?”

Ali Baba: “Isn’t that Aladdin?”

Sinbad: “What’s wrong?”

Aladdin: “You’re not gonna believe it! There was this weird wizard that came outta nowhere and stole my darling Honey AND my castle!”

Ali Baba: “What!? That’s horrible. You should do something about it, Genie of the Lamp.”

Scheherazade: “And by ‘Honey’ do you mean the girl you asked the Genie to get you a date with?”

Sinbad: “She’s actually the princess of a neighboring country, seems like he’s the one marrying for the money.”

Genie of the Lamp: “That’s unfortunate, however, due to things related to my contract with the wizard, once I grant a wish, the person I grant it to can never be my master again.”

Genie of the Lamp: “And I can’t help people who aren’t my master.”

Aladdin: “UWA~HHH!”

Scheherazade: “Regardless, you need to get her back somehow, don’t you?”

Aladdin: “Snnfnsnf… Yeah… You’re right… But that wizard’s so scawy…” 

Scheherazade: “The hell did you just say? Think about how much more scared your wife must be. Just get your ass moving already.”

Aladdin: “R-Right! Yeah! I’ve gotta save my Honey…!” 

Ali Baba: “I’ll go with you.”

Aladdin: “For real!?” 

Ali Baba: “If we’re talking about a wizard, then maybe he knows something about the fantastical paradise oasis.”

Scheherazade: “You still haven’t given up on that yet? Whatever. I’m worried about his wife too, so I’ll come along.”

Genie of the Lamp: “If you’re going on a journey, I’ll come with you. Or rather, I’ll have you take me with you.”

*The Genie of the Lamp jumps*

Ali Baba: “Hey, don’t just get into my bag without asking.” 

Sinbad: “I mean, he did say he was going to look for the wizard. It’s not like he can do that alone.”

Genie of the Lamp: “Right now, I’m the one trapped in the lamp. I’m not able to move freely.”

Ali Baba: “Alright then, we’ll depart tomorrow morning. We’ll all meet up at Sinbad’s ship in the port.”

Sinbad: “What!? Why my ship!?” 

Ali Baba: “You can’t go on an adventure without something to take you.”

Aladdin: “Thanks so much, SinSin!” 

Sinbad: “Urgh~...” 

Izumi: (Everyone’s so calm and in control that you’d never know about the chaos that was going on backstage.)

Izumi: (Compared to how things were back during their debut, they’ve all really become more dependable.)

Izumi: (They’re all even more comfortable with their roles than they were back then, and everyone’s individual characters are being conveyed in a way that is easy to understand.)

Izumi: (And above all, everyone seems to be having fun, which just makes it that much more fun to watch.)

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