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uwuwriting · 5 years ago

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Midoriya, Todoroki and Mirio waking up with kisses

Request: May I request best boys Todo, Mirio and Deku waking up with kithes. They’re all grown up and maybe the kithes aren’t coming only from the reader......okay I may want them to have kids and be all cute. - anonymous

Um excuse me who gave you the right to make this cute request? I have weak resolve and um ->this<- close to writing another dad fic. I LOVE TODOROKI SO MUCH I SWEAR I COULD DIE! Sorry for the small break I took yall but I’m back and better than ever *that's an overstatement bc my allergies decided to ruin my summer*. Hope you like it. Love ya. 💖💖💖

rules

warnings: characters are aged up, todoroki and mirio are dads, deku is a dad to be, fluff till your very soul

Midoriya Izuku

-Izuku is a very busy hero.

-Being the number one in Japan and running his own hero agency is very tiring.

-He loves spending time with you and really tries to make it up to you whenever he is called into an emergency.

-Now, Izuku as an expecting dad is a whole other issue.

-He doesn’t spend as much time at his agency, deciding to take his paperwork home and do it while you’re in his line of vision.

-Being such an important and strong hero puts both you and your child in danger so he prefers being in a one mile radius.

-Helicopter dad 99% of the time.

-There are however, times when he has to go to the agency or on patrols.

-And there are times when he has to answer to an emergency.

-This was one of those times.

-He was chilling on the couch while you basically slept on him, on hand massaging your lower back and one rubbing soft circles on your belly feeling the baby kick once in a while.

-He loves feeling them kick.

-They always do when he touches your belly.

-You told him that they already love him, “reacting to their daddy’s touch is a sign of pure affection”.

-Now many things happened at once.

-They gave a rather powerful kick, waking you up with a whine while his phone started ringing on the coffee table.

-He had to leave and you almost had to kick him out the door since he didn’t want to leave.

- “But why do I have to go???? I wanna stay with my babies!”

- “MIDORIYA IZUKU!”

-He came home really late that night and collapsed on the bed, wrapping you in his arms nuzzling into your hair before drifting off to sleep.

-It was one of those rare mornings when you woke up first, from a kick...again.

-You expected Izuku to be already awake but nope, he was snoozing.

-You really cherished these moments.

-You never truly got to see him really relax anymore, both with hero work and his constant worry for the baby he always had that wrinkle in between his brows.

-Even asleep.

-Last night’s fight must have taken a lot out of him.

-Getting restless you decided to nuzzle into his neck, leaving feather light on his shoulder, neck and jaw.

-He didn’t even stir.

-Trailing up his jaw you left a kiss on each cheek and two on his nose before cupping his face and peppering his forehead.

-The last kiss was on his lips, feeling him kiss back as he finally woke up.

- “Mmm good morning.”

-You just kissed his nose again making him scrunch it up.

-Placing his hands on your sides, his thumbs rubbed your belly as his lips followed their own trail along your face.

-You giggled as he explored your face letting out small whines every time he kissed a rather ticklish spot.

-He finally reached your lips giving you a long kiss and bringing you flush to his chest.

- “I wish I could wake up like this every morning.”

-Just then your kid decided it was a good time to sucker punch you in the liver, giving their father their own little good morning.

-Izuku chuckled at your groan and leaned down pecking your stomach.

- “Good morning to you too little one.”

Bonus

- “I think I might be having a kidney failure.”

- “Y/N come on don’t be dramatic.”

- “You want me to kick you in the balls?”

- “No.....”

- “Good now less talking more kisses.”

Todoroki Shouto

-Shouto having a day off is a blessing.

-Your daughters are angels whenever their dad is home wanting to let him relax.

-When I say that the twins are daddy’s girls I mean it.

-It’s not only about them getting what they want it’s also about loving their dad unconditionally.

-They don’t see him as the easy parent who will let them go on with their shenanigans unbothered.

-They just see him less and really miss him so they usually do their best to give him a relaxed and happy afternoon or day off.

-So when he told you that he was taking the week off you guys were so excited.

-Your girls even though they were like three stayed calm and collected, dawning their dad’s infamous poker face when he came home that night, playing quietly on the living room floor.

-The night was really quiet.

-You knew that the girls were excited and were bubbling with energy, they talked your ear off when you broke the news to them but they also wanted their dad to relax.

-Really you could never truly understand them.

-They were the most considerate toddlers you have ever met.

-Since they know that their parent’s jobs are hard, since you are both in the hero business, they always restrained themselves.

-The toddlers Fuyumi or Natsuo described while the babysat, the constantly arguing and bickering twins, were a far cry from what you saw at home.

-Sure they had their slip ups but they were generally well behaved.

-The did crawl onto their dad’s lap though at the end of the night, snuggling into his relative sides and snoozing off almost immediately.

-The next morning you woke up first.

-Todoroki was sleeping almost on you, his arms around your waist as his head was buried into your neck.

-He looked really tired last night, poor baby must have been exhausted.

-You moved some of his hair from his eye tracing the red skin of his scar with your fingertip.

-Long into your relationship he had told you that he felt self conscious about his scar.

- “Not many people will find this attractive, I-I think you could do much better than this.”

-From that day on you had made it your mission to make sure he knew you loved him, scar and all.

-Leaving a few kisses on his forehead you raised his head slightly bringing your lips to the scarred tissue of his eye as you left feather light kisses on the red skin.

-When his grip on your waist tightened you let his head rest back on your chest and whispered a soft I love you.

-That’s when you heard the pitter patter of little feet on the marble floor of your home.

-Whispers could be heard from outside your door and only caught the words ‘breakfast’ and ‘you’re stupid’, before your bedroom door opened ever so slightly.

-Two heads of fluffy hair, one snow white and one fiery red, walked in and made their way to your bed.

-You stifled your laughter as one of your three year olds tripped over one of Shouto’s shoes grabbing onto her sister for support.

-You could feel the glare the white haired girl gave to her twin without having to see it.

-They made their way to your side of the bed, locking eyes with you and waddling to you as quietly as possible.

-They both gave you a few kisses before looking at their dad who was completely oblivious to all this.

-You motioned to them to go around the bed and climb on from his side.

-The twins nodded and before you knew it the two of them were looming over Shouto.

-You kinda expected them to plop down on him and give him a heart attack but you melted when your girls just laid their heads on their dad’s back.

-Shouto stirred at the extra weight but he didn’t wake up.

-After like ten minutes of your snuggling, the twins got restless and started their master plan of waking their father up.

-One of them settled fully on his back while the other moved some of his hair from his eyes, like you had done previously.

-Then the assault began.

-Soft kisses on his forehead, cheeks, under his eye, on his nose.

-Really anywhere they could reach.

-Soon enough Shouto woke up a smile adorning his features as he slowly wiggled out of your arms, placing the twins between the two of you.

-He rested his chin on your white haired daughter and brought an arm over both of them reaching for your hand on the other side.

- “Good morning snowflakes.”

- “Good morning daddy.”

-He made all of you snuggle with him for half an hour before scooping his girls into his arms and walking out the door to make breakfast.

-One of his top mornings no doubt.

Bonus

- “We tried to make breakfast.”

- “But Ren burned the toast.”

- “And you froze the juice.”

- “My little girls are not the best cooks huh?”

-*incoherent mumbling*

Mirio Togota

-To say that Mirio is busy is an understatement.

-Being the owner of a large hero agency and doing his own hero work on the side even though he no longer has his quirk really takes a toll on him.

-Having a four year old son didn’t make things easier.

-He wanted to be there for his child like his father was there for him.

-He hits him really hard when he comes home one night and he finds his son sleeping on the living room couch clearing waiting for him to come home.

-Until recently the two of them had a ritual before they went to bed.

-Your son said that it scared the nightmares away.

-But a handful of paperwork had fallen into Mirio’s hands forcing him to stay longer at the agency, missing his son’s bedtime by two hours.

-It was the first night that you ad let him wait for Mirio knowing how ever since their small ritual stopped happening , nightmares had been keeping the little boy awake.

-But alas sleep had won him over and now he was being carried to bed by his dad.

-Mirio almost had a breakdown later saying that he was a horrible father.

-You had to calm him down by giving him some examples of him being an amazing dad before luring him to bed.

-Later that night your son woke up from a nightmare, trembling and crying out for his parents.

-He spent the night in your bed, Mirio placing him in the middle bringing him flush to his chest.

-He calmed down rather quickly and was asleep in no time, you two following suit soon after.

-The next morning you woke up to small kisses on your forehead as chubby hands held your cheeks.

-It was the cutest thing you had ever seen.

-Big blue eyes looked back at you as you opened your eyes, a small twinkle in them.

-You brought him into a hug, rubbing his back softly as your other hand reached out to grab Mirio’s under the sheets.

-After a mini cuddle session with mini Mirio you motioned to big Mirio and winked at your son.

-Slowly getting up you straddled his hips as you placed your son gently on his chest.

-He let out a low grunt but only placed a hand on your hip turning his head to the side.

-Then you dove in.

-You left small kisses on his jaw, cheeks and lips while your son hugged him really really tightly.

-Your kiss attack continued until Mirio’s giggles bounced off the walls, his arms shooting up to wrap around your back, trapping both of you in his embrace.

-It was his turn to attack you both with kisses, not holding back at all.

-Really your plan kinda back fired.

-When you finally got up almost an hour later, Mirio had that proud smile on his face.

- “Maybe I’m not that bad of a dad after all.”

-You just kissed him again a little more passionate now that you were out of your son’s sight.

Bonus

- “W-when did you come down? I didn’t hear you coming down the stairs.”

- “He has your quirk you dummy!”

- “Don’t call dad a dummy!”

- “Go put some pants on you shrimp!”

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@iwaqchan @the-arcana-fan-fic @angelwritings @axerrri @reinyrei

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whatwillyoudodifferently · 5 years ago

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Look, Louts! Lilies! - Yuri For A Hope-Flung Present and Hopeful Future

Look, I’ll be frank. I typically try to keep to a more formal tone when I write for this blog. I’m not in a formal mood. It is June October 2020, and I, like the rest of you, have been under quarantine for a little over three almost seven months now due to the Covid-19 virus. Throw in a eensy, teensy bit of massive political movements and change in response to police violence and racism, and an increase of police violence and racism in response to those movements, and I think it’s fair to say it’s been a tumultuous couple of months. Except, strangely, it also hasn’t been, because so much of this time has been characterized by ennui and isolation. Stressful, yet soul-numbing. In short, it’s been a very weird place to be in.

So, we’ve all found our different ways to cope. My sister’s way has been getting really into succulents(?), and my way has been buying digital manga and video games. I’ve finished stuff I’ve put off for literal years and bought stuff I had heard was good but wasn’t that hyped to get into. And somehow, the one thing I’ve really gotten into has been yuri?

Now, yuri has a very long and rich history, as well as its own sets of conventions and nuances, so it is with a great, great, GREAT deal of respect that I say that I’m going to simplify it for this essay as “Japanese media with a particular focus on romance between women” for brevity’s sake. If you want to know more, there’s actually quite a lot that’s been written about it in English, but I’m aiming this essay at English-speakers who have had at least a little experience with yuri and more than just passing knowledge.

Because you see, I’ve found that yuri fans have a lot of things to say about yuri! And a lot of those things really bug me!! “Yuri is only fetish quasi-porn written by men,” “yuri is only bland wholesome fluff,” “yuri is only high school drama,” so on, so on. It made me mad, but it also made me realize something: a lot of people simply must not know how big this field of lilies truly is! How else can we get people saying “yuri is oversexualized” and “yuri is sexless” as gospel truth? Something’s not adding up here, guys!

So, all that is to say I’m doing something different for this blog: I’m writing up a recommendation list of yuri. A large chunk of it will be stuff I’ve read and can officially give my seal of approval to, while some of them are just titles I’ve heard of that I think will interest others. All of them have been specifically chosen to counter common untrue things I’ve heard about yuri as a whole. I hope you can find at least a few things on this list that you will enjoy and help you keep your head as the encroaching darkness lurches yet a few inches closer!

1. “Yuri is all schoolgirl stuff! Where’s the sci-fi, the period pieces, the action, the fantasy?”

Otherside Picnic

What It Is: A light novel series written by Iori Miyazawa (illustrated by shirakaba). Ongoing, four volumes at time of writing. The story is being adapted into a manga by Eita Mizuno, and an anime adaptation directed by Takuya Satou will be airing in January 2021.

What It’s About: It was on her third trip to the Otherside that Sorawo Kamikoshi almost died, and it was on that same trip she was saved by an angel. Toriko Nishina is a beautiful and confident young woman who also happens to have intimate knowledge of the Otherside, a dangerous yet captivating world that Sorawo can’t help but being drawn to. Toriko convinces Sorawo to join her on her expeditions to the Otherside, fighting off bizarre creatures that have somehow been ripped out of Japanese urban legends and finding strange artifacts in order to make a little extra cash-- all the while keeping an eye out for someone dear to Toriko’s heart.

What I Think: Otherside Picnic is heavily inspired by the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and features several creatures and scenarios from ghost stories, net lore, and-- there’s no other way to put this-- creepypasta. On paper this sounds deeply unoriginal, so it’s pretty surprising that OP has an incredibly strong identity. The idea of fusing horror with a yuri love story excited me enough the moment I heard about it, so when I finally got to read it for myself, I was delighted to find that the horror elements and the romance elements are both quite strong.

I will say that thanks to the author’s commitment to following his sources of inspiration to the letter sometimes causes him to undercut his own writing (good example: in one arc there’s an ominous train that keeps being mentioned, causing the reader to dread its arrival with each passing page, but seeing what’s on the train will inevitably fall flat in comparison to the reader’s imagination), but those moments are made up by the more original moments-- the things that are left unseen and unexplained.

The place where the story truly shines is the relationship between the two leads. Sorawo and Toriko are great characters, both incredibly charming and deeply flawed, and they achieve a great chemistry with each other right off the bat. Sorawo is a very interesting protagonist, one who turns out to have a deeply tragic past that has made her into a reclusive, somewhat selfish young woman. What’s great is that Toriko, vivacious and confident, everything Sorawo isn’t, accepts this part of her, in a way. Toriko flat out admits she’s not looking for a particularly virtuous person to accompany her, but an “accomplice.” A big part of the appeal of OP is seeing these two “accomplices” bounce off each other, and eventually come to care about each other, all playing against a background of some genuinely spine-crawling horror. Otherside Picnic is a truly underrated series, and I deeply hope that the anime adaption next year will finally get it all the eyes it deserves (menacing phrasing very much intended).

Where To Get It: The light novels are published by J-Novel Club and can be found via various digital platforms and bookstores. The manga will be published by Square Enix Books starting May 2021. The anime will start airing on January 4th, 2021.

Goodbye My Rose Garden

What It Is: A manga by Dr. Pepperco. Three volumes, complete. It inspired a stage play that ran for a while in Japan, but not much information is available about it in English.

What It’s About: Hanako has two goals: to meet Victor Franks, the mysterious author who pens the books she adores, and to become a writer herself. Despite having the mettle to travel to England on her own to pursue her dreams, she soons finds that it’s difficult for a young, unwed Japanese woman to dream in 20th century London. However, her luck seems to turn around when she meets Alice Douglas, a noblewoman who offers her a job as her maid-- as well as a surprisingly warm friendship. Alice even offers Hanako a way to meet her idol… but at the price of a horrifying request.

What I Think: In the afterword of Volume 1, Dr. Pepperco openly admits that Goodbye, My Rose Garden was the result of them trying to marry all of their favorite tropes (“Victorian maids! Loads of frills! An English family manor!” are some standout items), and this is apparent in the best way possible. GMRG is a lush period piece that will likely appeal to fans of movies like The Handmaiden and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, with loving attention paid to details like clothes and settings.

The relationship between Alice and Hanako is quite charming, with Alice supporting Hanako as much as she can while still taking every available opportunity to tease her, while Hanako constantly surprises Alice each time she shows her moxie and strength. It’s an adorable, sweet dynamic, yet a dark, melancholy weight lurks in the background in the form of Alice’s request-- in short, it’s a relationship that feels tailor made for me. Still, I believe this “darkness” never threatens to overwhelm the story, only enhance it in such a way that the reader will soldier on, hoping for a happy ending for our two leads. With an engaging plot and gorgeous art, this is a great manga for both longtime yuri fans and newcomers looking for an introduction to the world of yuri.

Where To Get It: Seven Seas Entertainment has translated the first two volumes, with the final one coming to English soon all three volumes into English.

Seabed

What It Is: A visual novel by paleontology, a Japanese doujin circle.

What It’s About: Mizuno Sachiko is a designer who is haunted by visions of Takako, her vivacious childhood friend and former lover. Narasaki Hibiki is a psychiatrist who wants to help Sachiko make sense of these hallucinations. Takako is… confused, trying to figure out why she keeps losing her memory and why she and Sachiko drifted apart despite being so close. Seabed is a story that spans the pasts and presents of these three women as they attempt to find and understand the truth.

What I Think: At first glance, Seabed seems simple, but it’s a bit of a hard story to explain. In a way, there isn’t much to explain-- it’s a very slow, down-to-earth story that gets almost tedious at times. I think it would be a hard sell to someone who isn’t used to visual novels, but I could imagine it being challenging even for fans. All I’ll say is this: if you give Seabed a chance, it will draw you into a surreal, gentle, melancholy tale akin to slowly sinking beneath the water of a strange, yet not unfriendly sea. For its simplicity, it’s got quite a few surprises in its long, long runtime, and any attempt to explain further will just ruin an experience that’s meant to wash over the reader over time. The only thing I’ll say is the one thing I think everyone knows: the climax will make you cry.

Where To Get It: Seabed is published in English through Fruitbat Factory and is available on Steam, Itch.io, and Nintendo Switch.

SHWD

What It Is: A manga by Sono. Ongoing.

What It’s About: Sawada is one of the few women working for the Special Hazardous Waste Disposal, and the only one in her office. But that changes when the stunningly-strong yet staggeringly-sweet Koga is hired, and the two become close in no time. Sawada trains Koga and soon the two go on their first mission to dispose of the “hazardous waste” left after a recent war… the dangerous, organic anti-human weapons known as the Dynamis.

What I Think: SHWD opens with several close-ups of Sawada’s arm muscles as she works out. I have found that page alone is sometimes enough to convince someone to read SHWD, and if not, pictures of Sawada and-- especially-- Koga are often enough to do the job. In all seriousness, what I love about SHWD can be summarized by something Sono said in an interview about the manga:

‘The first motivating force was "I want to write a yuri manga featuring strong women." I was very drawn to strong female characters by watching "PERSON of INTEREST" and "Assassin's Creed Odyssey." However, I felt that I should differentiate myself by doing something other than a "strong woman" and "weak woman" dynamic. So, I thought about coupling women with different types of strength. This is why all of the SHWD main characters are "strong women."’

It’s a mindset I love a lot. Koga is remarkably strong in a physical sense, but her mental fortitude is fragile due to her past experiences with the Dynamis, and as such, it’s Sawada who uses her immense mental strength to support her. Indeed, every character in SHWD so far bears intense trauma born of the Dynamis in some way, and it’s hard to see how their pasts still hurt them in the present. But that just makes it satisfying to see these women come together to support one another. SHWD drew me in with a unique and often dark action-oriented story with horror elements, but it’s this idea of “strong women” who make up for each other’s weaknesses that really makes it dear to me.

Also, it can’t be stated enough that Sono is so so so so so (etc) good at drawing muscular women.

On a completely unrelated note, there’s a side story about Koga and Sawada playing sports together. This includes judo. I am saying this for no reason.

Where To Get It: The English translation of the manga is released in chapters by Lilyka Manga.

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!

What It Is: A two volume light novel series by Ameko Kaeruda, illustrated by Kazutomo Miya. Possibly complete.

What It’s About: Tanya Artemiciov is an absurdly talented Mage. So why the hell was she kicked out of her adventuring party? Her leader and former friend sums it up in four words: “You’re a woman, Tanya.” In a fit of rage, Tanya channels her anger into a “venting” session that involves swearing her head of and casting a volley of Explosion spells into the wasteland… and accidentally releases a legendary sorceress! Luckily, Laplace is actually quite nice, and just as powerful as the legends say, so the two decide to team up so Tanya can have her revenge!

What I Think: So, this is a silly one, but after a couple of darker entries I think it’s a good palate cleanser. Sexiled is a loud, not-even-remotely subtle, unabashedly feminist take on the “power fantasy” light novel, especially the “revenge fantasy” subgenre-- and even if that sounds awesome on paper to you (ex. me), it will probably feel over-the-top at times to you (ex. me). But in a way, that’s actually kind of its charm.

I like that Kaeruda utterly refuses to let up on what she wants to tell you, especially because the story was inspired by a real case in Japan. One may be tempted to think “this story is ridiculous, no one would ever be this cartoonishly sexist!” and then you read a news article about how in a famous Japanese medical university was found rigging the test scores of women, and you realize, “oh, people are still this cartoonishly sexist.” So I’m fine with Kaeruda letting it all out in this story. At the same time, I think Sexiled is best when it’s focused not on Tanya’s revenge but on her kindness, and the way her compassion, her strength, and yes, her anger inspires the women and girls around her.

Sexiled is a fun and often very funny romp about assholes getting theirs, with some surprisingly deep and nuanced moments hiding in a very unsubtle story.

Where To Get It: The light novels are published by J-Novel Club and can be found via various digital platforms and bookstores.

BONUS: Other titles with sci-fi/fantasy/action elements that may interest you!

The Blank Of Describer: A one-shot manga by kkzt about a pair of two dream-builders. They’ve taken all kinds of commissions in the past, but one job they recieve throws them for a loop: a request for a shinigami that can predict and report death. And then comes the kicker: the customer asks the two of them to give it features that the both of them “adore the most…” (Published in English by Lilyka Manga)

A Lily Blooms In Another World: A light novel by Ameko Kaeruda (illustrated by Shio Sakura), author of Sexiled, about Miyako, a Japanese wage slave reincarnated into another world based on her favorite otome game. However, she’s not interested in her would-be love interest, but in Fuuka Hamilton-- the game’s villainess! After Miyako confesses her love, Fuuka decides to give her a challenge: if Miyako can make her say the words “I’m happy” in fourteen days, she’ll stay by her side! (Published in English through J-Novel Club, available on various platforms)

Superwomen In Love: An ongoing manga by sometime about the sentai villainess Honey Trap and her infatuation with the masked superheroine Rapid Rabbit. After being kicked out of her evil organization, Honey Trap decides to team up with her former nemesis to fight evil-- and hopefully, find romance! (To be published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, coming in April 2021)

2. “Yuri is all stories about teenagers! Where’s the stuff about adults?”

Take a look at the previous section: there’s the stuff about adults! Otherside Picnic, Goodbye My Rose Garden, Seabed, SHWD, Sexiled, The Blank of Describer, A Lily Blooms In Another World, and Superwomen In Love are all stories with adult-aged protagonists! But if you’re searching for a more down-to-earth romance, I’m happy to report there’s quite a bit of options to look into!

Still Sick

What It Is: A manga by Akashi. Three volumes, complete.

What It’s About: Makoto Shimizu is an office lady with a secret: she’s a yuri fan who draws doujinshi. She’s able to keep her two lives separate, all until the day she comes face-to-face with her co-worker at a convention! To Makoto’s horror, Akane Maekawa is amused by her nerdy secret, but Akane may have some secrets of her own...

What I Think: This one was a roller coaster for me: I loved the premise of the manga, but wasn’t sure about the dynamic between the leads… that is, until near the end of the first volume, where something happened and everything changed. Without giving too much away, I implore people to give Still Sick a chance-- it has a much deeper story than one might initially guess, as well as an interesting character dynamic between the two leads with some surprising turns.

Where To Get It: The first two volumes of Still Sick are published in English by Tokyopop, with the final one coming soon All three volumes have been published in English by Tokyopop.

After Hours

What It Is: A manga by Yuhta Nishio. Three volumes, complete.

What It’s About: After being ditched by her friend at a club, Emi Ashiana is ready to write the whole night off. All that changes when she meets Kei, a DJ who seems to be everything Emi is not-- cool, confident… employed.... But Kei and Emi hit it off and Emi’s life changes as Kei draws her into the world of Japan’s club scene!

What I Think: It’s hard to explain exactly why I like this manga, but I reeeeally like this manga.

There’s just something about the sleek art, the amazing atmosphere of the scenes set in nightclubs, the chemistry between Emi and Kei, the focus on more mature topics.... it’s a manga that’s remarkably magnetic for how down-to-earth it is. It’s also just interesting to read stories about subcultures that don’t normally get a spotlight in comics. To sum it up, After Hours is just a lovely manga that’s severely underrated that’s perfect for someone who’s looking for a story that’s both fun and mature.

Where To Get It: All three volumes are published in English by Viz Media.

How Do We Relationship?

What It Is: A manga by Tamifull. Ongoing, five volumes at time of writing.

What It’s About: Miwa and Saeko’s first meeting is… interesting. But despite that, and despite their clashing personalities, the two of them become fast friends. Well… actually, perhaps more than friends. You see, pretty soon the two of them learn that the other is into women. With that in mind, Saeko suggests they try dating each other-- might as well, right? “Might as well” seems like a strange place to begin a relationship, but perhaps even something like that could end in true love?

What I Think: “Why do romances always end when they decide to start dating?!” That’s the question Tamifull poses in the afterword of Volume 1. And it’s a great question! What makes How Do We Relationship? an interesting manga is how oddly realistic it is, highlighting things like the compromises people make in relationships, people who get into relationships for pragmatic reasons rather than love, the whole “thing” about sex… as well as highlighting the additional issues queer people have to deal with. That may sound like a heavy story, but it’s actually quite light-hearted, as well as very, very funny at times. With a cute art style and surprisingly deep premise, HDWR is a great manga for older yuri fans who are craving a more mature story.

Where To Get It: The first volume has been published in English by Viz Media, with more on the way.

BONUS: Other titles with adult protagonists that may interest you!

Even Though We’re Adults: A manga by Takako Shimura about two women in their thirties. Ayano and Akari meet each other in a bar and almost immediately feel a sense of chemistry between them. There’s just one problem: Ayano is married to someone else. (To be published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, coming in January 2021)

Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon: A manga by Shio Usui. Uno Hinako wants nothing more than to be seen as a normal young woman, but she just can’t seem to make a “normal” romance work. But maybe Sato Asahi, a woman who works at the same company as her, can show her a new kind of normal? (To be published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, coming in February 2021)

Our Teachers Are Dating: A manga by Pikachi Ohi. Hayama Asuka is a gym teacher, Terano Saki is a biology teacher. One day, they come into work both looking suspiciously happy… because they’ve started dating! (Published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment)

I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up: A one-volume manga by Kodama Naoko. Morimoto is sick and tired about constantly being badgered about finding a man to marry, so her kouhai from her high school days offers a solution: marry each other to make her parents back off! (Published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment)

Now Loading…!: A one-volume manga by Mikan Uji. Takagi has just snagged her dream job at a games publisher, but being put in charge of a mobile game that’s barely pulling in any attention isn’t exactly what she was hoping for. What’s worse, she’s drawn the attention of her strict higher-up Sakurazuki Kaori… who also happened to design her most favorite game of all time?! (Published in English through Seven Seas Entertainment)

3. “Yuri is all schoolgirl stuff! Where’s- wait, didn’t we already do this one?”

Yes we did. And you know what? I’m making a stand! There’s a lot of really, really good yuri stories set in high schools, and I think more people need to give them a chance! Here are some high school titles that I think are worth a second look for one reason or another!

Bloom Into You

What It Is: A manga by Nakatani Nio. Eight volumes, complete. A twelve episode anime aired in 2018, covering about the first half of the series. A three volume spinoff light novel series written by Hitoma Iruma was also published.

What It’s About: Yuu Koito has long dreamed of the day she’d find That One, Storybook Romance that would make her feel like she was walking on air, but the day that a boy confesses to her, her feet remain firmly planted on the ground. When she meets Touko Nanami, a girl who seems to have the same strange, distant relationship to romance as she does, Yuu feels like she has found a comrade. But what will happen when the next person to confess to Yuu… is Touko?

What I Think: What can I say about Bloom Into You that hasn’t already been said? There’s a reason it’s basically considered a staple of yuri despite being only five years old. The art is beautiful and delicate, the story has a deft mastery of comedy, drama, and romance, and the characters are deeply loveable. Really, the only reason this one is here is to tell you to get to reading this manga (or watching the anime) if you haven’t already. So get to it!

Where To Get It: The entire series-- as well as the spinoff light novel series Regarding Saeki Sayaka-- has been published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. The anime is currently streaming on HiDive.

Yuri Is My Job

What It Is: A manga by Miman. Ongoing, seven volumes at time of writing.

What It’s About: Hime wants nothing more than to be adored by everyone and to someday bag a rich husband. Of course, being loved by all takes a lot of work, and she prides herself in keeping her perfect, adorable facade so well-maintained. But of course, the one time she slips up, she ends up injuring the manager of a local cafe! Hime finds herself strong-armed into working for this cafe under their star employee, a kind, graceful girl named Mitsuki. But things aren’t quite so simple-- you see, this cafe has a gimmick in which all the employees are constantly acting out yuri-inspired scenes for the customers, so in a way, the employees also have their own facades. And under her facade, Mitsuki… hates Hime’s guts!

What I Think: Yuri Is My Job is an odd duck, but in a good way. It’s advertised and initially framed as a comedy, but it becomes a surprisingly thoughtful drama about the personas people adopt and why they do so (though, luckily, the comedy never truly goes away). There’s an interesting web of relationships between the girls, and having those interactions take place in a setting where they must act out a completely different sort of drama adds an extra level of drama and intrigue. The cute, polished artwork is just the icing on the cake. YIMJ is a good manga for those who are already familiar with yuri tropes and those who are interested in a drama that doesn’t get too heavy.

Where To Get It: Six volumes have been published in English by Kodansha comics, with the seventh on the way.

Riddle Story of Devil

What It Is: A manga written by Yun Kouga and illustrated by Sunao Minakata. Five volumes, complete. A 12 episode anime aired in 2014.

What It’s About: At Myojo Private School, an elite all-girl’s academy, Class Black has a secret. Twelve of the thirteen girls are actually assassins who have been offered a dark deal-- one wish will be granted to whoever manages to kill Haru Ichinose, the thirteenth student. But there’s still hope for Haru in the form of Tokaku Azuma, one of the assassins who has decided to defect to Haru’s side-- and defend her from the other girls at any cost.

What I Think: I’m not sure… if I can say Riddle Story of Devil is “good.” It’s definitely something. Although its premise is vaguely similar to Revolutionary Girl Utena, its tone and atmosphere remind me a lot more of the Dangan Ronpa series. It’s schlocky and ridiculous and often over-the-top and at times exploitative. It’s pure junk food, basically… and I believe that’s where the charm comes from. It’s my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. It may not exactly be good, but more often than not, it’s fun. It’s hard not to be immediately interested in a yuri battle series, you have to admit.

And if it does have one undeniably good element, it’s Tokaku and Haru’s relationship. They contrast each other nicely, and while one might expect Haru to be boring and helpless, she’s actually quite proactive at times, and some of the most interesting, engaging parts of the series come from seeing how the two work together to fend off the latest assassin. It’s a short read and if anything, it’s worth it to see how each girl ends up. I recommend it for older viewers who are okay with violence and ludicrous battle scenarios.

Where To Get It: All five volumes are available through Seven Seas Entertainment. The anime can be watched through Funimation.*

*Please don’t watch the anime.**

** At the very least, please don’t watch the anime unless you’ve read the entire manga. Riddle Story Of Devil was one of those unfortunate cases where the anime adaption was produced before the manga reached its conclusion, and as such it has a very strange, rushed ending that includes none of what I enjoyed about the actual ending. Several scenes were also changed, and if I recall correctly, fanservice was added in several places where there was none previously. All in all, I’d really only recommend it for big fans of the series.

Side By Side Dreamers

What It Is: A light novel by Iori Miyazawa, illustrated by Akane Malbeni. One volume, complete.

What It’s About: Saya Hokage has been suffering from insomnia, but one day finds relief in the form of Hitsuji Konparu, a strange girl who can put people to sleep. As it turns out, Hitsuji is a person who has the special ability to move freely in their dreams, known as a “Sleepwalker.” The Sleepwalkers have been battling beings that possess people through their dreams, and it turns out they want Saya to join them in the fight.

What I Think: Side By Side Dreamers is short and… well, dreamy. I really enjoyed the premise and I think it’s a good novel for people who think Otherside Picnic may be a little too much for them. I also enjoyed each dream sequence-- I tend to find that the writing in light novels is a little dry, so the use of figurative language to describe these scenes was really refreshing and interesting. SBSD is a fun oneshot that I think is especially ideal for newcomers to yuri.

Where To Get It: Side-by-Side Dreamers is published by J-Novel Club and can be found via various digital platforms and bookstores.

Cocoon Entwined

What It Is: A manga by Yuriko Hara. Three volumes, ongoing.

What It’s About: Hoshimiya Girls' Academy is a strange, almost otherworldly paradise with a peculiar tradition. For all three years, each girl grows out her hair to absurd, breathtaking lengths, in order for it to eventually be cut and weaved into uniforms for future students. Perhaps it is these strange uniforms that seem to whisper about the past that makes the school seem frozen in another time… picturesque, yet stagnant. But one day, a shocking incident shatters the quiet peace of the academy, and the tumultuous feelings that have long been hidden in the hearts of these girls come rushing into the light.

What I Think: Cocoon Entwined is, in a word, eerie. It’s not marketed as a horror story, and I don’t think it’s intended to be one, but I’ve seen some that say they get horror vibes from it. I definitely understand that-- there’s a deep sense of unease that permeates the entire story in a way that’s a bit hard to articulate. The running thread of uniforms made from human hair definitely doesn’t hurt (it does-- I’ve seen many people understandably turned off by this element), but it’s more than that. It’s the sense that everything at Hoshimiya feels frozen and fragile. It’s the sense that everyone is burying their true feelings under countless layers. It’s the fact that in one scene, Saeki reaches out in a dark room full of uniforms and feels her arm touched by countless hands made of hair.

Cocoon Entwined is a strange manga, and I feel it’s not for everyone-- besides the way many are put off by the central premise, the way that the story jumps around in time can be a bit confusing to follow. But in my opinion, I love it for these elements: the uniforms and their marriage between beauty and grotesque, the sense of frozen time, the delicate artwork that feels like it might be shattered by the weight of your gaze, the strange, airless atmosphere, the girls and their clear exhaustion of having to be ideal women. It’s a strange little series that I think should be given a shot, particularly if you want something a little more out there, or a darker take on Class S tropes.

Where To Get It: Yen Press has currently published two volumes in English.

BONUS: Other high school titles that may interest you!

A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow: A manga by Makoto Hagino. Konatsu Amano has just moved to a new town by the sea, and must deal with her new school’s mandatory club policy. Luckily, she meets Koyuki Honami, an older girl who runs the Aquarium Club. Recognizing her loneliness, Konatsu decides to join her club. (Published in English by Viz Media)

Flowers: A four-part series of visual novels published by Innocent Grey. Flowers focuses on Saint Angraecum Academy, a private high school that prides itself on overseeing the growth of proper young ladies. One notable thing about the academy is the Amitié program, a system that pairs students together in order to foster friendships between the girls. But friendship isn’t the only thing blooming… (Available in English from Steam, J-List, and JAST USA)

Adachi And Shimamura: A series of light novels written by Hitoma Iruma and illustrated by Non that has recently received a manga adaptation and an anime adaption. Adachi and Shimamura are two girls who encounter each other one day while cutting class. Little by little, the two girls become a part of each other’s lives, and feelings begin to form. (The light novels are published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, the anime is licensed by Funimation)

And there we go! 24 different yuri titles. I didn’t even go into the series that I tried but personally didn’t like that still might interest other people. I primarily made this list to gush about yuri that I liked, but I also tried to include a fairly wide range of things so that, hopefully, any random person who read this whole list could find at least one new title that interests them. And I hope that includes you!

The yuri scene is quite large and wonderful if you know where to look, and it too often gets a bad rap. I hope that this list could give you a new perspective on what kinds of titles are available, and I hope it gives you something new to try. And remember: if you want something specific, try looking for it! There’s a good chance the story you’re craving is already out there, waiting to be discovered!

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btsqualityy · 5 years ago

Text

Heaven Sent; Part 2

Jin x Reader

Genre: Angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

Warnings: None to note.

A month in and the grieving process hadn’t gotten any better for you. In fact, it seemed to get worse. You were barely eating, barely showering, and barely taking care of the house. The only thing that was keeping you going was the reminder that Aera needed you, and that was only barely helping.

Your family and friends had been doing their best to try and be there for you, but you had begun to isolate yourself from them. You didn’t mean to, it was just easier to do that than to have people pitying you and trying to tell you how you should grieve, especially since you still had a daughter to take care of.

The fact that you didn’t want to be around anyone didn’t stop your parents from checking up on you almost daily though, which is why your head instantly began to hurt when you heard a knock at your front door.

“Y/N-ah,” you heard your mother Chae-won shout. “We know you’re in there!”

“We just wanted to check on you,” your father Ji-tae call out. Sighing heavily, you pulled yourself up from the couch and walked over to the door, grasping the handle and yanking the door open.

“There? You happy?” You snapped, not waiting for them to reply before you were turning around and heading back to the couch.

“No, we’re not happy,” Chae-won sighed as she walked into the house, your father following behind her and shutting the front door. “Why aren’t you answering our calls?”

“I’m grieving,” you replied simply, flopping down on the couch.

“Where’s Aera?” Ji-tae wondered.

“Aera!” You shouted out, fast little footsteps accompanying your words as Aera bolted into the living room.

“Papa, Nana!” Aera squealed, rushing over to your father who swooped her up into his arms and pressed multiple kisses to her little cheeks.

“God Y/N, you look like you haven’t eaten in days,” your mother whispered as she sat down on the edge of the couch next to you. “Maybe even weeks.”

“Haven’t been hungry,” you shrugged.

“And Aera?” She wondered and you whipped your head to the side, your glare hard and intimidating.

“What kind of mother do you think I am?” You demanded to know. “Does she look like she’s lost weight to you?”

“No,” your mother shook her head. “You’re just so deep in this depression, I couldn’t be sure.”

“I may be falling apart at the seams because I lost the love of my life, but my daughter is still my whole life and I’d appreciate it if you could remember that,” you snipped and your mother nodded her head immediately.

“Ji, why don’t you take Aera in her room to go play while I talk to Y/N-ah?” Chae-won said and your father nodded.

“Why don’t you show me some of your toys?” Ji-tae suggested and Aera’s eyes widened excitedly.

“Ok! We can have a tea party with my dolls!” She exclaimed happily, making your father chuckle as he carried her out of the living room and down the hall to her bedroom. Once your mother heard the click of Aera’s bedroom door shutting, she instantly reached out, setting her palm on your cheek gently.

“My baby,” she whispered. “It’s breaking our hearts to see you like this, you know?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say Mom,” you murmured.

“I don’t want you to say anything,” she told you gently. “I just wish you’d let us help you.”

“Why, so I can be pitied every time that you and Daddy look at me?” You scoffed lightly.

“We don’t pity you, but we are sad for you.”

“What’s the difference?” You shot back. “I just....I need to work through this by myself.”

“But-”

“It’s not going to help me to have you and Daddy, or anyone else for that matter, breathing down my damn back,” you muttered through grit teeth, trying to contain your annoyance that would surely give way to anger if you let it. “Give me my space to deal with it how I see fit.”

“Ok honey, ok,” your mother relented. “At least answer the phone when we call so that we can know that you’re alright?”

“Fine,” you nodded.

“How about if your father and I take Aera out for some ice cream?” Chae-won suggested. “It’ll be fun for her.”

“Yeah, alright,” you agreed easily.

“And I’ll stop by the store and grab you some groceries while we’re out,” she added, and you turned to look at her with a raised brow. “Don’t even bother lying to me. I know you’re running low by now and I doubt you’ve been to the store.”

“Mom, you don’t have to do that,” you sighed. “I’ll go while you guys have Aera.”

“You sure?” Chae-won checked. “Don’t feel like you need to push yourself.” You almost laughed then, because that’s exactly what you were doing. The last thing that you wanted to do was go out to the store, to face people; but you also didn’t want to be a burden to your parents, which you already felt like given the fact that you had caused them to worry about you so much.

“It’s fine, I got it,” you nodded, putting on a fake smile in order to help reassure her.

“Ok, suit yourself.”

......................................

That’s how you found yourself wandering the aisles at the nearest supermarket, taking a quick glance at the list your mom had made for you. You didn’t have the attention span or patience necessary to take stock of your fridge and assess what you needed but your mom was kind of enough to do it for you, handing the list off to you before walking out of the door with your father and Aera.

As you moved towards the section of kimchi, you took a few seconds to glance over the multiple brands available. You couldn't help but to chuckle to yourself, knowing that if Hae-il were with you, he’d scold you for even looking at the store bought kimchi. “The best kimchi is always homemade”, you remembered him telling you several different times throughout the years. It was funny how grief worked, because you never expected to be tearing up in the middle of aisle 4 over kimchi.

“Y/N?” You heard someone call and you turned your head to the right, seeing Seokjin standing there. Your eyes widened, reaching up and wiping at your eyes with the sleeve of the hoodie that you were wearing.

“Jin, hi,” you chuckled awkwardly. “What are you doing here? I figured you would’ve been back in Japan by now.”

“I uh, I actually just moved back last week,” he revealed, making your eyes widen slightly in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah. With everything that’s happened,” he motioned with his hand and you knew that he was talking about Hae-il. “I realized that I missed home and life is kind of short to be stuck in Japan with none of my loved ones around.”

“I get it,” you nodded in understanding.

“How are you doing?” He wondered and you squared your shoulders, preparing yourself to tell the lie that you always did whenever people had asked you that question over the last month.

“I’m doing ok,” you told him and it looked like he wanted to challenge that, if the raise of his eyebrows said anything, but he didn’t. A few seconds of awkward silence passed between the two of you then, before he suddenly spoke up again.

“It was the kimchi, wasn’t it?” Jin asked and your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“What?”

“Before I called your name, you were crying,” he said softly and you immediately began to shake your head.

“I wasn’t.”

“It’s ok, I’m not judging you,” he replied gently before a small smile came across his face. “You were thinking about Hae-il and his crazy agenda against store bought kimchi, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” you confirmed breathlessly. “You knew about that?”

“Knew about it? Where do you think it originated?” Jin laughed. “When we were in college, there really wasn’t space to make kimchi the old fashioned way so we had to buy the store kimchi and Hae absolutely hated it. It got to a point where he stopped eating kimchi for almost the entirety of our college career, except for when we went home for holidays.”

“That sounds like Hae,” you giggled. “Over-dramatic as all hell.”

“Ridiculous,” Jin chuckled. Another silence fell over the two of you, but it wasn’t as awkward as before.

“Well, I should finish this shopping so that I can get back home before my parents bring Aera home,” you said.

“Alright. Tell Little Heart that I said hi?”

“Sure,” you nodded, moving to turn away.

“Y/N?” Jin called and you turned back to him again. “If you ever need anything, anything at all, you can call me.”

“Jin,-” you started to say but he shook his head.

“Don’t feel pressured or anything,” he assured you. “I’m not forcing you. I just wanted you to know that I’m here if needed.”

“Ok,” you replied softly. “I don’t have your number though.”

“Oh! Just a second,” he murmured, reaching inside of his suit jacket and pulling out a business card. “That has both my office number and my personal cellphone number. Feel free to use either.”

“Thank you,” you whispered and Jin shrugged dismissively.

“No problem. Have a good night Y/N,” he smiled.

“You too,” you responded, sliding his business card into your pocket before turning around and walking away.

......................................

After getting home and getting Aera from your parents, you managed to get the groceries unpacked and put into their proper places throughout the kitchen. However, you noticed that it was getting late and that you needed to start fixing dinner.

The problem was though, that you just couldn’t find the energy to actually cook anything. You knew that you should (given the fact that you had ordered way too much take out over the past month) but between dealing with your parents and making an unwanted trip to the grocery store, you just didn’t have the energy to do anything extra.

Just as you moved to grab your phone off of the kitchen counter, there was a knock on your front door. Furrowing your brows in confusion, you walked out of the kitchen and through the hall, stepping up to the door and pulling it open.

“Jin?” You greeted him, confusion laced through your tone. Jin was standing on your front step, a large Tupperware box in his hands as he fidgeted nervously. “What are you doing here?”

“I know this probably seems really weird,” he started and you cut him off by nodding your head rapidly.

“Extremely,” you agreed. “Did you follow me home?”

“No, of course not,” he shook his head insistently. “I couldn’t remember where the hell you even lived. It took me 20 minutes to find an area that looked even vaguely familiar and I knocked on this old lady’s door by mistake and I still think she might come after me to kill me because I think I woke up her husband or something.”

“Jin?” You interrupted him, making him stop talking. “You’re rambling.”

“Right,” he chuckled nervously. “Well, when I saw you in the store earlier, you looked exhausted. No offense.”

“None taken,” you shrugged, leaning against the doorway and crossing your arms over your chest.

“I went home and made dinner but I always make too much because I like to cook but it’s only me at my apartment so I figured that you and Aera might like some,” he summed up.

“Jin, you didn’t have to go through the trouble,” you sighed heavily.

“It was no trouble at all,” he assured you. “I make way too much, remember?”

“What is it?” You wondered.

“Some samgyeopsal and japchae,” he said as he extended the Tupperware towards you, and you straightened up as you took it from him.

“Aera’s favorites,” you smiled lightly. “That’s a coincidence.”

“It really is,” he laughed. Just then, you felt tiny hands pushing your leg to the side and when you looked down, you saw Aera pushing her way into the doorway as well.

“Hi uncle Jin!” She cheered and Jin grinned widely as he bent down and held his arms out, Aera falling into them immediately.

“Hi little heart,” he cooed, taking a second to press a quick kiss to the side of her head before pulling away from her. “How are you?”

“Good! I had ice cream today with my Papa and Nana!”

“Did you get our favorite?”

“Yep, strawberry!” She nodded and Jin chuckled. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, I just brought you and your mommy some food,” he shrugged. “Some samgyeopsal and japchae.”

“That’s my favorites!” She chirped excitedly, making you laugh at her.

“I know little heart,” he nodded.

“What do you say to uncle Jin love?” You reminded her gently.

“Thank you!” She told him, leaning forward and kissing his cheek.

“No problem,” he replied before standing up straight again. “Well, I should get going.”

“You don’t want to stay for dinner or anything, do you?” You offered, remembering your manners and he smiled while shaking his head.

“No, I’m fine. I just wanted to help you out,” he responded. “See you later.”

“Bye,” you said.

“Bye uncle Jin!” Aera waved her hand wildly, making you smile as you turned around and guided her back inside of the house, shutting the door behind you.

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gxldencielo · 4 years ago

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Angel In Disguise- Part 3

Masterlist

Part 3:

Warning: Trigger Warning- Emotional Abuse ( I AM VERY SORRY IF THIS IS TRIGGERING TO SOME... PLEASE FORGIVE ME!) Words: 3.5K

“This is, perhaps, the greatest risk we will take- to be seen for who we really are.”- The Wicked Stepmother (Cinderella).

Around 4 o’clock your lunch session with Chris was over, he ends up paying for the meals even if you argued about being able to pay for your lunch, he didn’t let you. After, paying the bill Chris calls Johnathan telling him to come to pick you guys up. When he gets there both of you stand up, you put on your trench coat picking up all your belongings then grabbing your tote bag walking out with Chris.

“Thank you for bringing me out to lunch Chris, I had a lot of fun. I needed this.” You say looking up at him and smile.

“Your welcome angel, I had a good time, and thank you for an amazing company.” He says putting his arm around your waist walking to the car. Your eyes widen quickly looking away and feeling yourself tensing up. Chris opens the car door for you, thanking him you go inside the car Chris follows right behind you sitting right next to you.

“Where to now Mr. Evans?” Johnathan asks looking back at the both of you.

“We’ll be taking Y/N home now, then to my office,” Chris says. Johnathan nods and asks you, “Ms. Y/N what is your address?” He asks turning on the GPS in the car. You give him your address and he starts the drive to your house.

“So, angel I was thinking since we will be attending the gala together, we should match a bit. I will be sending you a couple of dresses so you can pick from them.” Chris says looking at you smiling.

“You don’t have to Chris; I can go shopping for the dress myself. You don’t need to send any.” You say shyly not looking at him. “Angel look at me, please. I want to. You have worked so hard planning this event. You deserve all of it.” He says making you look at him while looking into your eyes. You look at him not saying anything just nodding your head. You couldn’t say anything because you were such in shock that this just happened. He winks at you leaning a little closer to you. Before, anything happens Johnathan stops the car and looks back at the both of you announcing you are home. Moving back, you breathe heavily and bite your lip, Chris smirks moving away from you.

“T-Thank you for today Chris, I’ll see you Saturday for the Gala. Bye.” You say softly quickly getting out of the car shook that you guys had a moment. You didn’t even let him have a chance to say bye. You go inside leaning against the door smiling softly walking towards the kitchen you see your nanny Mary, walking over to her you wrap your arms around her. Mary smiles at the feeling and turns around smiling at you.

“Hello, my darling, how was your day?” She says hugging you back, “what’s got you smiling so much?” She asks pulling away a bit looking at you.

“Oh Mary, I had such a great day today. I have to tell you all about it.” You sit on the breakfast stool as Mary sits down next to you while you tell her everything that has been going on. She squeals happily hearing about the moment you had with Chris today and holds your hand. “Darling that’s great! He sounds perfect! Saturday is going to be just perfect. Your mother will be so happy to hear about this if she were here.” She says kissing your hands looking at you. You nod feeling yourself getting sad.

“I wish she was here Mary.” You say looking down.

“She is here,” she says pointing to your locket, “your mother is always here.” Mary smiles softly kissing your forehead you smile fake and nod. The moment was interrupted when you heard someone scratching their throat. You look behind Mary seeing Lucinda standing there with a serious face and Stella standing next to her mother with a smirk on her face.

“Y/N. I need to have a word with you now.” Lucinda says sternly walking into the living room you nod and get up nervously following them.

Lucinda looks at you and says, “as you know the gala is this Saturday and we will all be attending.” She says looking at you. You nod your head and start fidgeting with your fingers nervously.

“I spoke to your father today and he decided that Stella will be attending with Mr. Evans.” She says smirking softly putting her hands on her waist looking at you. You look at her and your eyes widen, “but I-I,” you don’t even try to complete the sentence because you can’t change anything about it.

“Your father believes it will be better for Stella and Chris to attend together with Stella being a model and all the company will be getting even more publicity.” She says, “I also saw you today at lunch with Mr. Evans. I suggest you don’t ever do that again Y/N because it will cause you a lot of consequences. You should know that by now my sweet.” She tells you to sit right next to Stella.

Stella looks at you and smirks, “I really don’t know why you keep trying so hard to impress everyone around you. Just because you went to NYU doesn’t mean shit to anyone and you know that. Even dad doesn’t care.” She says adding fuel to the fire.

You swore it didn’t hurt much. You were lying to yourself and everyone in the room knew it, but you were hoping that she would stop. You tried to block out was she was saying to you but somehow this time you couldn’t block them out. Why was it getting to you now? You thought to yourself. Her words were like daggers stabbing you every single time. Your thoughts were interrupted by her vicious voice.

“Y/N, why do you think your father still keeps you around. He keeps you around because he pities you and he has no other choice but to act as he wants you here.” Your stepmother says to you while standing up sitting right next to you. “He will never love you as much as he loves Stella.” She whispers in your ear smirking softly.

You are trying to keep your composure, but you couldn’t help the tears that were forming in your eyes. All you could do was nod your head. Lucinda and Stella laugh.

“Now that we have cleared the air on everything. Let me remind you, I know you wouldn’t like anything to happen to your mothers’ box, right? Remember I can easily just get rid of everything that’s in it.” Lucinda says patting your shoulder, “Stella sweetheart, come on we have to let your father know that you will be going with Mr. Evans to the gala.” Stella squeals following her mother.

You stood on the couch waiting for both Lucinda and Stella to leave, your heart broke when you heard the door close. You sniffle softly and getting up with tears rolling down your eyes swiftly walking to your bedroom. Why? you thought to yourself. You start to take off your clothes, putting them away when done going straight to your bathroom turning on your shower. When the water hits your body that’s when you feel yourself break down. You cry out as if you were in pain. You have been dealing with this type of behavior since Lucinda married your father. Your father didn’t know, and you couldn’t tell him about it.

How can someone who was best friends with your mom do this to you? How can someone who basically treated your mother like family to this? You always thought to yourself. She was supposed to be a mother figure in your life after your mom’s death and she is far from it. Lucinda and Stella Smith both came into your life when you were exactly 11 years old. All you remember was your dad coming home the happiest had ever been from one of his trips in Japan. Seeing how ecstatic your father was about finding the love you felt as if your life was falling back into place after the death of your mother. However, that wasn’t the case. The once happy girl that her father loved dearly became the ugly duckling in her family. The fairytale evil stepmother from the fairytale was your reality. Moments like these you wish your mother was still alive to hug you and kiss you in comfort. You wish your father knew what was going on for years, you wish you had told him when this has started.

After taking a nice bath you hear a knock on the door.

“Come in,” you say softly. You see Mary with a frown on her face.

“My darling, I’m so sorry that you still have to deal with this.” She says softly sitting on your bed. You frown and shrug your shoulders, “it’s okay Mary, I’m used to it.” You say going into your walk-in closet quickly putting on your pajamas.

“It’s not okay my sweet. I’ve brought you chamomile tea, to calm you down.” Mary says you can hear her preparing the tea for you and hands it to you when she finishes.

“Thank you, Mary.” You say softly sipping your tea slowly.

“I’m so sorry darling, I’m sorry they do this all the time.” She says sniffling.

You frown putting your tea on the nightstand shifting yourself to lay down on Mary’s lap and you can’t help but start crying again. Mary starts to play with your hair as you cry on her lap. Mary is wishing to take the pain away from you and endure it all for you. Eventually calming down at Mary’s touch. She sighs kissing your temple.

“I-I won’t be coming down for dinner Mary. You say closing your eyes.

“Okay, darling get some sleep for me. Alright.” She says looking down at you. You nod shifting back to the side where you sleep.

“I will.” You say with a fake smile. Mary kisses your forehead standing up and walking out of your bedroom bidding you goodnight. You sigh. How am I supposed to tell Chris about the changes? I don’t want to upset him at all.

Tears start to form in your eyes again. Sadness overcoming you, you felt as if the world was crashing against you. Trying to make yourself not cry you start to play with your necklace.

“I wish you were here mom; I miss you every day.” You cry out softly into a deep slumber.

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

It was finally Saturday, the day of the Gala. You met with the party planner to get all the details straight for that night, you had to make sure the invitations were sent out to every individual party, you had to make sure that Chris’s team was up to date with everything such as the schedule for that night and lastly making sure that your dad had his speech ready for that night as well.

“Everything looks so beautiful Emily. Thank you for your patience.” You say looking around at how everything is coming out so far.

“Oh, dear please, you told me what you wanted, and I delivered.” Emily says winking at you causing you to let out a giggle, “now my dear head home and start to get ready, the gala will be starting soon, and I need my start coordinator and planner to look beautiful.” Emily shushes you away laughing pushing you towards the exit even with you arguing. Emily says her goodbye running to the florist who has just arrived shouting at them to where the flowers belong.

The drive home was quick, as you step inside the house you saw the hecticness coming into full effect. Stella’s stylist walking around with dresses and shoes, her makeup artist going crazy over what makeup look will she do, her hairstylist trying to finish on her. You wave at everyone and quickly walk away so that Lucinda doesn’t assume that you are trying to steal Stella’s spotlight. Before you can step into your room, you hear your father calling you from his office sighing deeply you walk to his office.

“Y/N, sweetheart your home. How is the gala looking?” Your father asks walking up to you hugging you. “Well dad, it's looking great, you will see when you get there.” You say fake smiling at him.

“I’m proud of you darling, you did well under pressure. Tonight, it’s going to be worth it.” He says looking at you and kisses your forehead. You nod your head and looking at him with a forced smile as you kiss your father on the cheek walking out and straight to your bedroom. While setting everything down on the nearest chair, your phone begins to ring; you quickly pick it up and hear Rose’s voice on the other line.

Rose: Y/N, I am just letting you know that the makeup artist, hairstylist, and dress designer will be on their way to your house to help you get ready.

Y/N: But I thought they were already here for Stella only; I was going to just wear a suit for tonight since-

Rose: Oh no darling. Mr. Evans has everything planned out down to the tea. You won’t have to worry about the dress, hair or makeup. They are already heading to your house. See you at the gala.

Rose hangs up, setting down your phone near your nightstand. Wow, you thought to yourself, he really did all of that for me. You couldn’t believe it. You never had anyone do that for you. It was a new feeling for you. Smiling to yourself walking to the bathroom taking a quick shower and get your hygiene done. You put on a robe and walk out of the bathroom. “Her room is on this side.” You hear Mary’s soft voice outside your bedroom. Someone softly knocks on your door.

“Oh, darling. We are here to get you ready for the gala.” A gentle voice calls outside the door.

“Come on in.” You answer back. They all step in smiling at you.

“I hope you are ready darling, I’m Patrick Ta, and will have you looking marvelous for tonight.” He tells you to walk towards your vanity setting everything up. You sit down by your vanity and they all get to work. At around 6:30pm your makeup and hair were both done.

“Ta-da, darling you look marvelous, spectacular, divine.” He tells you to move away from the mirror. Your eyes widen, you did look different in a good way though. You started to feel confident. Your makeup and hair looked flawless; you couldn’t believe it was you.

“Patrick, thank you so much! This is great!” You say hugging him smiling widely.

“Darling, you’re welcome. It was an honor to do your makeup. Now let’s finish you up so you can head to the gala.” He helps you up from the chair leading you to the stylist. “This dress was specifically picked by Mr. Evans.” Tyler the stylist says, “you have nothing to worry about beautiful.” He says winking at you. You shake your head playfully giggling softly. Patrick helps Tyler bringing the mannequin with the dress towards you. It took your breath away, a one-shoulder emerald, green gown with a black flower embraided into the dress but it all came together. Both Tyler and Patrick take the dress off the mannequin and help you put it on as well for the accessories and shoes. After everything was on you couldn’t believe it was you. You looked like a goddess your confidence was now on a 1000 and tonight was going to be your night.

“Yes, slay my life baby!!!!” Patrick and Tyler say excitedly, and you just start giggling. It was almost time to go, Patrick and Tyler bid their goodbye leaving you alone in your room. Pacing around a bit trying to get rid of your nerves, breathing in and out calming down a bit grabbing your gold handbag and phone. You walk out of your bedroom hearing Lucinda arguing with Stella as she is throwing a tantrum while your father is trying to calm down the situation. You roll your eyes mumbling, “like always Stella has to find a way to make tonight more complicated.” Heading towards the living room-clearing your throat.

“Excuse me, but the gala is soon starting and dad you need to be there for the press photos and the opening speech.” You say softly interrupting the argument.

Your father looks at you relieved, “ah yes! Thank you darling we must go now enough arguing let's go!’ Your father says fixing his suit jacket and walking away and out the house calling for the chauffeur. You look at Lucinda and Stella who are fuming because you interrupted the argument but follow your father out of the house. You walk behind them quietly waving at Mary. As soon as the limo arrives you all quickly get in and start heading to the MET. Looking out the window you start to nervously play with fingers and hoping to yourself that you will not screw up tonight. You remind yourself of Lucinda’s threat...

“Let me remind you, I know you wouldn’t like anything to happen to your mothers’ box, right? Remember I can easily just get rid of everything that’s in it.”

“So tonight, you better not screw up!” You think to yourself. Nothing can happen to that box! Just nothing. After a couple of minutes, you hear the driver say you guys are there. Your fathers out taking Lucinda and Stella’s hand walking on the beige carpet. They start to smile at the paparazzi whose flashing cameras can blind anyone nervously posing you feel someone's arm around you and whispering in your ear, “remember what I said. Tonight, you stay away from Mr. Evans and if you don’t the box will be gone by tonight.” She whispers into your ear and smiles at the camera making you look and fake smile and nervously pose with her. As the pictures are finishing up you walk next to your father avoiding eye contact with anyone. You lead them into the Garden of Safe Haven, your father praised you loudly and gave you a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. Smiling widely, you kiss your father on the cheek and see the photographer capturing that moment. You all walk in the gala and it was like a scene out of the Great Gatsby everything turned out as planned and you were proud. The flowers blooming everything the angel statues looking elegantly the serves matching the theme, everything was up to par.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard someone shout.

“Y/F/N! You have finally arrived!” You hear that familiar voice angelic voice say looking away from the cameras and at him. It was Chris. You feel yourself getting even more nervous and you quickly look away when you feel a set of eyes land on you. He was looking at you and you just had to look away for Stella. Stella squeals and jumps into his arms. “Chrissy Poo!” you hear her say. Your father and Lucinda laugh at her, “she's so cute isn’t she Mr. Evans.” Lucinda evilly looking at you.

“I guess. Y/N is finally nice to see you again. The dashing dress I must say.” He says looking into your eyes. You nod your head looking at what he is wearing. He has purposefully matched his suit with yours and for sure now you knew, you were in deep shit.

“Dashing dress? HA! Chris stop boosting her ego. She doesn’t need it.” Stella says bitterly holding onto him. Your father tells her to stop and not to start. You excuse yourself away from them.

Surrounded by people and their noise, you felt alone. Hearing these people talk about business and their questions drowning out your racing thoughts, and for few moments your breathing slowed, and your mind cleared. Who knew peace could emerge in the middle of a party? It was exactly what you needed. The music was so loud the crowd couldn’t even talk above it. It looked like everyone was silently mouthing words around you. You feel someone's presence around you, looking back you see its Chris. Biting your lip, you turn away and you hear a deep laugh.

“So, this is what we're doing now angel you're ignoring me now,” Chris says walking next to you.

You nod your head, “you are here with Stella, Mr. Evans I should not even be speaking to you right now.” You say softly looking away from him.

“Well, I don’t know about that, but Stella seems pretty occupied to me angel.” He points in her direction, seeing her drink back-to-back shots with her friends. Shaking your head, you look away.

“Now that’s something I have to clear up by the morning with the tabloid.” You say softly and hear Chris let out a loud laugh. “Let your father deal with it.” He says and holds out his hand, “let's go to our table, you and I need to have a long talk.” Chris says as you bit your lip walking with him discreetly holding his hand.

The angel has decided to play with fire… hell … you aren’t ready for what's about to happen.

#angel in disguise #ceo!chris evans #chris evans imagine #chris evans imagines #chris evans x reader #ceo chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #Jerilys Writes ❤️#Chris Evans

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mhashorts · 4 years ago

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When Our Eyes Meet

Inspired by mmajjyc’s art on TikTok.

Pairing : God Izuku Midoriya x Reincarnated Katsuki Bakugou

Prompt : God falls in love with a mortal, only to lose him. The reincarnation of his lover slowly remembers him after making eye contact with a painting.

Genre : Romance, Fantasy, Anime

Word Count : 1,550....I think.

It was a sudden visit to the museum, nothing interesting to be expected besides the random pieces of art made years ago by artists known and unknown. And some new pieces of modern art of course. Eijirou thought this trip would be a great outing, something different from the amusement parks, arcades, and movie theater. He also needed the visit so he could write the 5-page essay on specific pieces of art for his college class that was due in two days. Not like he was going to tell any one of his friends that though. Unbeknownst to him, Denki and Katsuki did know the moment Eijirou pulled out his notebook from his backpack once they stepped foot on the museum’s front steps. They just did not want to ruin the positive atmosphere.

Grumbling as the trio walks further into the museum, Katsuki separates himself from his friends but stays close from behind as they enter the Japanese God’s and Goddesses exhibition first. There were a decent amount of people examining the art and sculptures, silently speaking amongst themselves. Some even attempting to sneak a few pictures of the angels in the paintings.

Eijirou and Denki walked at a fair pace, catching glimpses of everything here and there. Coming up to a huge mural-like portrait painting, Katsuki stops in his tracks and stares up into the eyes that suddenly caught his attention. He stays fixated on this piece of art that displayed a crying angel, paying no mind to his friends who continued walking, leaving him behind.

Deciding he wanted to know more, out of pure curiosity, he calls out to Eijirou. “Oi. Shitty hair, give me the guidebook.” He demands, not sparing him a glance as his focus stayed on the painting. “I wanna know who this is.” Eijirou turns to him (as well as Denki) and brings the book up to his face, flipping through the pages.

Finding the right page, he reads it out to his friend who was ready to listen. “It’s a representation of Izuku, The God of Peace. He answered people’s prayers and was worshipped in all Japan in ancient times.” “One day he fell in love with a mortal, and he was banished from the god realm.” An image of Izuku with a huge smile flashed through Katsuki’s memory suddenly, causing him to shudder. He did not know why but it felt like déjà vu to him. Like he has experienced seeing that smile before in person.

“Legend says he is among us, trying to find the reincarnation of his long-lost lover… who remains unknown?”

Katsuki’s eyes stayed on the face of the green haired angel and his eyes widen as another memory flashes through his brain once more. This memory was vividly clear to the point a single tear fell down his cheek. He shakes his head to rid the memory, but it was no use. Then he recalls the dreams he had that he never remembered the morning after. Unable to tear his eyes away from the green ones that stared back, Katsuki jumps to the touch of his friend’s hand on his shoulder. He turns to them with teary eyes. Eijirou and Denki stand their shocked, not knowing what to do since this was the first time seeing their hardheaded friend so emotional.

“Are you okay Bakubro?” Eijirou asks, “Did I say something wrong?”

Katsuki uses his sleeve to wipe his tears and shoves his way past the two.

“Woah. I didn’t know he cried. He’s usually so kept.” Denki states, watching his friend leave the exhibit. He looks at Eijirou, “I’m worried. Should we go after him?”

It doesn’t take the red-haired friend more than two seconds to respond, “Just give him a minute. I think he needs to be by himself for a while. I’m sure he’ll message us if he goes home.”

“Okay.” The two continue their visit.

Katsuki makes his way out of the museum in a rush, not caring if he bumped into anyone on accident. He was somewhat thankful that his friends did not follow him out, not wanting to break down even more in front of them. He treks down the stupidly long cement set of stairs and when he finally reaches the last step, he trips over his own feet. With no way to prepare himself for impact, he closes his eyes, only for him to land in a pair of sturdy arms.

“Woah. Are you okay?” The person who caught him asks, helping him to his feet. “These stairs seem to be a little steep. There should be a sign that says, ‘watch your step’. Haha.” He jokes before pulling his hands away from Katsuki. Looking up, the two make eye contact and the memory floods back.

~Flash Back~

Izuku’s face was covered in dirty tears as he held his lover in his arms, his face buried in the ash-blonde hair that was now stained red. He screamed out to the gods, begging for forgiveness so he could heal his dying lover. Alas, the gods did not respond to his cries. He rocked his dear Katsuki, kissing his face over and over in hopes that the gods and goddesses saw his pain.

“Don’t die on me. I cannot live on this world without you. I just can’t.” He pulls him closer, “Please Kacchan. Please.”

Katsuki lets out a small cough, placing his hand on Izuku’s tear stained face. “I wish I could, but I don’t have immortality like you, my love.” He whispers, “Or else I would walk on this earth with you for eternity.”

“No. Not like this Kacchan. I won’t let you die.” “I can’t be healed, whether it be from the gods or yourself.” Izuku cries get harder, “This is all my fault. If I didn’t fall in love with you, you would be living peacefully.”

“Yet here we are.” Katsuki coughs, “It’s not your fault Deku. None of this was your fault. I fell in love with you, and nothing could come between that, not even the gods. Please, do not blame yourself.” More coughs erupt and blood falls past Katsuki’s lips.

“I’m sorry, my love.” Izuku apologizes. Katsuki uses the last of his strength to bring Izuku’s head down so their foreheads touch.

“What did I say Deku? Don’t apologize.” He grunts, “We will meet again. And when we do, I may not remember until my eyes meet yours.”

“O-of course.” The two share a final kiss and once Izuku pulls away, Katsuki’s body falls limp.

“Got damn you!” He shouts up at the sky, crying harder. “I did nothing wrong but fall in love with someone who had a heart! You all would do the same if you were in my place. You let me keep my immortality but at what cost. To see my suffering for falling in love!”

He looks down at Katsuki’s body once more, “When our eyes meet. I’ll see you again Kacchan.”

~End of Flashback~

Reality sets back in and Katsuki is in shock. He does not break away and looks deeper into the familiar green eyes. “Deku?”

Izuku, equally shocked, slowly starts breaking out into tears. “Kacchan? Is that you?”

Engulfing Katsuki into a hug, he brings his hands to the ash-blonde hair. Soft and spikey, same as before. He pulls away for a second, examining the face he dreamed about every night. The lips he remembered kissing. The eyes he stared into for hours on end. “Please tell me you remember me.”

Katsuki smiles back, “I do. It’s cloudy but I do my Deku.”

“Yes. I’m your Deku.” He laughs through the tears, hugging his lover again. “It’s been so long Kacchan. I almost lost hope.”

“Like I said, I may not remember until my eyes meet yours.”

They make eye contact again and finally, after decades of their souls being separated, they share a kiss. A spark flows through the two of them, rekindling the fire that has been waiting to be ignited once again.

They can finally live in peace.

At the top of the stairs, Denki and Eijirou fist bump. “Our job is done. Great work partner.”

“Do you think we should tell them that the Goddess of Love sent us?” Denki asks.

“Nah. I think they’ll be better off knowing that the gods regret their decision to banish him. Plus, Midoriya is no longer immortal.” They look at Izuku, smiling when they see he is finally at peace and can rest after decades of searching. “It seems like he already knows that.”

“And I don’t want to know what Bakugo would do to us if he finds out we knew about this this whole time. We might be the goddess’s helpers; we can still get hurt.” Denki nods rapidly in agreement.

The two watch on as the lovers walk away, holding each other close as they disappear into the crowd. “We are good friends.”

“THEY DID WHAT, DEKU??!!!” Katsuki shouts, running back towards the museum with Izuku right behind him.

“Hey. Do you still have that essay to write?”

“Yup. Wanna go back to the apartment and help me finish it?”

“Yup.” With that, the two book it.

“KACCHAN. THEY DID IT FOR US! DON’T HURT THEM!”

“THEY’RE DEAD.”

The End.....

So, it is the end of the short story I promised. It took me 4 hours to write since I wanted it to be perfect. I tried to input as much detail as possible get make it short. I cried at the flashback part. I also didn’t know if I wanted to do parts but it took me some thinking and I just decided with this. I also added a little funny ending for my pleasure since it’s what I do in my regular writings.

I hope y’all enjoyed it! Let me know if you did!

Also, thanks to mmajjyc for allowing me to write a short story of the duo! You art is beautiful and inspired me to write this since there wasn’t gonna be a part two. Lol! You are amazing!

Thanks again! Much Love - Maia❤️

#midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #mha #bakudeku #kaminari denki #kirishima eijirou #my hero academia

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sunflowershouyou · 5 years ago

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🏕️ Camping trip with Karasuno

requested by: @scorpiosanssexy

As summer is upon us , could you perhaps do headcanons with whatever team you want in which they go on a camping trip for some *team bonding*. Who tent collapses? Who is the camping expert? Who straight doesn’t want to be here?. I so wish we could have another haikyuu OVA. I am loving the blog so far, keep up the amazing work.

word count: 2622

The members spend a lot of time together but it’s mainly because they’re in the same team and they talk mostly about volleyball. That’s why Daichi and Sugawara came up with the idea to go camping, just the members and the managers, no teachers or coaches. They wanted to get to know each other a bit more while doing different activities. Everyone liked the idea (except for Tsukishima but he didn’t have any choice).

It was a Saturday morning when everyone got on a bus and headed to the campsite. It was a beautiful field near the forest with a little lake with crystal clear waters – like a piece of heaven. There also was a tiny waterfall and a small river nearby. Everything looked so calm and relaxing up until Karasuno came.

On their way to the campsite Hinata, Nishinoya and Tanaka were screaming of excitement. For them to stop yelling Suga suggested singing. They were extremely loud. However Kageyama was sleeping during the whole ride and Tsukishima was trying to ignore them and put on his headphones. Kiyoko was reading a book for school, Yachi and Asahi were discussing all the different animals they wanted to see during the next 24 hours in nature. Asahi even took his huge book with all the species you can find in Japan. Yamaguchi was looking through the window the whole time, delighted by the scenery. Daichi, Kinoshita, Ennoshita and Narita were playing cards and at one point they even tried to teach Hinata how to play but the poor boy didn’t understand a single thing so he gave up.

- At the campsite –

Nishinoya and Hinata ran to the lake. Yachi was right behind them ready to hand them the towels. Tanaka lifted as many bags as he could trying to impress Kiyoko which sadly didn’t work out.

Daichi saw that everyone went to a different direction and decided to end this mess:

‘Listen up everyone! We have four tents which means that there is one for the first years, one for second years, one for third years and one for the girls.’

‘Excuse me but why should I share a tent with the crazy duo? Can I exchange with someone?’ Tsukishima didn’t like the fact that he had to sleep next to Hinata and Kageyama who always had a reason to be loud.

‘I’m sorry Tsukishima but it’s already decided. Besides because of certain people’ Daichi looked and Nishinoya, Tanaka, Hinata and Kageyama ‘there should be at least someone in every tent who is responsible and mature. I’m sorry but in your case it has to be you and Yamaguchi.’

‘Hinata is the problematic one.’ Added Kageyama.

‘FIGHT ME KAGEYAMA!’ yelled Hinata at which Tsukishima sighed. He knew exactly why he had to be the responsible one.

The boys wanted to swim so bad but Daichi told everyone to set up their tents. To make things more interesting and exciting they decided to turn it into a competition.

Yachi had no clue how to do it but luckily Kiyoko knew. Their team was the one that won. The third years didn’t have many difficulties so they ended up in second place. Third place was for the second years. Their tent was almost done when Noya saw a flying moth and went crazy throwing his hands left and right. He accidentally pushed Tanaka who grabbed Narita and they both fell over the tent which caused them to start all over again. No one in the first years team knew how to set up a tent. Tsukishima couldn’t care less but Yamaguchi actually tried to learn how to do it by reading the instructions. Kageyama amd Hinata weren’t of much help because they couldn’t understand a single thing that Yamaguchi was telling them. Both of them were arguing the whole time.

‘This piece should be here!’

‘Hinata are you dumb!? It should be there!’

They were both wrong though. Tsukishima started to pity Yamaguchi for having to deal with two 7 year-olds, who share a single brain cell, and decided to help.

The losers had to collect firewood from the forest. Tsukishima was trying to ditch them but failed every time. Suddenly some bushes near them started moving. Hinata screamed and hid behind Kageyama.

‘Hey come out! It’s probably a mouse or something.’

‘Kageyama, why aren’t you scared?’ asked Hinata.

‘Nothing is more frightening than Oikawa.’ calmly replied Kageyama.

‘Ah... I guess you’re right.’

Tsukishima looked at the duo and added:

‘Nothing except the wendigo.’

Yamaguchi got goosebumps. Hinata and Kageyama were very confused:

‘What is a wendigo?’

‘Oh you don’t know? The wendigo is an evil spirit... a monster who was once a possessed human. It is hiding in forests... just like this one... and it’s waiting for someone to come visit it. Legend says that wendigos are very fast and eat human flesh.’

‘Haha Tsuki... don’t be ridiculous! There’s no such thing as wendigo!’ Yamaguchi was trying to calm himself down because he was really close to faint.

‘Yes! Tsukishima was just trying to scare us! Besides I am a very fast runner.’ said Hinata who actually believed the story.

The whole time while they were collecting firewood Kageyama, Hinata and Yamaguchi couldn’t help themselves but to look around for the wendigo.

Nishinoya saw the first years.

‘Oh they’re back! Sho come here the water is really warm!’

The boys quickly put on their swimwear and jumped into the lake. Tsukishima was resisting but Suga and Tanaka lifted him up and threw him into the water declaring he should have fun. Hinata and Kageyama were racing once again. They wanted to see who can swim faster. Tanaka and Noya were showing their swimming skills off to Kiyoko but she was too busy sunbathing and didn’t even notice them. Ennoshita, being the good swimmer he is, made sure that no one drowned. His job was extremely hard considering the fact that half of the team needed a babysitter. Sugawara was like an embarrassing mum and made everyone put on sunscreen.

It became cooler and the boys got hungry. Kiyoko and Yamaguchi started preparing food. They needed fire so Tanaka and Nishinoya once again wanted to prove to Kiyoko that they are husband material. The others were wondering why they haven’t given up already because every time they failed miserably. Nishinoya tried to start a fire using rocks but one of them flew directly to his face. Good thing that Kiyoko had first aid kit and took care of Noya. He felt extremely blessed and didn’t regret hitting himself with a rock. Hinata also wanted to try but he ended up setting Kageyama’s shorts on fire. He was afraid that Kageyama would find out so he hid them while he still could. A couple of minutes had passed and Tanaka realised that Saeko gave him a lighter earlier today just in case.

‘You had this the whole time???’ yelled Ennoshita.

‘I’m sorry okay... I totally forgot about it.’

While Kiyoko and Yamaguchi were cooking the three explorers of the group (Asahi, Yachi and Sugawara) headed to the woods searching for wild animals. Yachi took her camera and made some great photos. Asahi was reading his book while still walking deeper into the forest. Suga was dressed as if he was Bear Grylls.

‘Hey guys, I know this might sound a bit weird but if we don’t find the way back whose piss are you willing to drink?’

Yachi and Asahi looked at him in confusion wondering if he was joking or he’s actually serious. Both of them were later having a lively discussion when they realised that Sugawara was nowhere to be seen.

‘Asahi... where is Suga?’ asked Yachi very uneasily.

Both of them started screaming Suga’s name but there was no sight of him. Yachi started crying and wondered if a wild animal has eaten Sugawara.

‘No no Yachi please don’t cry. We’ll find him don’t worry.’

Suddenly a dark figure appeared in front of them. It was a few meters from them.

‘S-Suga? Is that you?’ asked Asahi.

The figure didn’t move nor said anything.

‘Come on Suga... it’s not funny anymore.’

‘Suga? Suga?’ Yachi panicked ‘Asahi I don’t think that’s him... ‘

The figure started moving towards them slowly but suddenly it got faster and faster. Everyone heard from Hinata the story about the wendigo that Tsukishima told him earlier. Asahi and Yachi were so terrified that they ran straight to the campsite while screaming their lungs out. A few seconds later they heard a laugh behind them.

‘Oh my god I can’t believe I actually got you!’

‘SUGAWARA!? IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG?’ asked Asahi still screaming.

‘You should have seen your faces! Oh god I love camping!’

‘I can’t believe you did that! Yachi and I were worried about you and you pranked us!’

‘Okay...I’m sorry but that was really funny. Wait...where is Yachi?’

Yachi was in fact still screaming and running to the campsite. When she finally reached it she told everyone that a wendigo had eaten Suga and probably Asahi. She was crying when both of them appeared in front of her. Everyone made everything they could to calm Yachi down. Her poor heart couldn’t take all this chaos.

After having dinner and Yachi got better everyone gathered around the campfire. Kinoshita had brought his ukulele and played while the others were singing. They ate marshmallows and shared stories of themselves. It was so much fun. They laughed all night long. Hinata insisted on Tsukishima to tell him more about the wendigo but Daichi forbid them after what happened in the woods.

It was time for everyone to go to bed. Yachi and Kiyoko were the first ones to go to sleep. Tanaka and Nishinoya found it impossible since their tent was near the girls’ one. Nishinoya was listening very carefully for every sound that might come out of Kiyoko and Yachi’s tent.

‘Hey Tanaka, do you think Kiyoko sleeps on her left or her right side?’ wondered Noya.

‘I don’t know man... what if she sleeps on her back?’ answered Tanaka.

‘Whatever it is she’s still very pretty.’ said Noya.

Ennoshita had a very confused look on his face. He wanted to share a tent with someone else because of the conversations Noya and Tanaka were having but he had to make sure that both of them went to sleep on time. In the tent next to theirs was the first years’.

‘Please Tsukishima tell me more about it!’ begged Hinata.

‘No! You heard Daichi!’ said Tsukishima who was already annoyed.

‘Pleaseeee I won’t tell him!’

Yamaguchi was very tired and told Hinata to just forget it.

‘But I can’t! I need to know more about it!’

‘I also want to hear it.’ said Kageyama.

‘Okay I’ll tell you... but then you’ll leave me alone!’ Tsukishima finally agreed because he also wanted to sleep. Yamaguchi wasn’t very pleased with how things turned out. He was really afraid of the wendigo.

‘Everything started in a small town. A couple moved there. The man had to go to work to the nearby town and on his way there was a dark forest. One night he finished work later than expected. He drove his car when suddenly on the side of the road he saw a hitchhiker. It was an average looking man. Since it was extremely dark and scary outside the man decided to stop the car. The man asked the other one questions but he wasn’t responding.’

‘Oh no why isn’t he responding?’ asked Hinata.

‘If you don’t interrupt me maybe you’ll find out!’ explained Tsukishima then continued with the story:

‘That man got so scared that he left the hitchhiker and headed home. A few minutes passed and he heard a weird noise coming from his car. The man went to look and there was nothing wrong. He got into his car when he saw a big figure walking towards him from the direction where he met the hitchhiker. He thought it was nothing but the figure was getting closer and closer with incredible speed. The man tried to start his car but he couldn’t. The figure was just a couple of meters away from him. He still couldn’t start it. Finally the figure was so close to him that he could see it. It was a wendigo. A giant creature with antlers and a discharged body. It looked hideous. The wendigo was about to grab the person when the car started and the man managed to escape. When he got home he told his wife what happened and she said to him that her co-workers warned her about the creature but she didn’t believe them. The next day the couple was nowhere to be seen. They have moved out.’

‘That was it?’ Kageyama asked with disappointment.

‘This is the coolest story ever! Tsukishima do you know more scary stories?’

When Hinata asked that Yamaguchi quickly suggested everyone to sleep.

‘Yes I know many more. But first I have to go brush my teeth. Yamaguchi you wanna come with me?’

‘I’ve already brushed mine. I want to sleep.’

‘No you haven’t. Come with me.’

‘Um... okay Tsuki.’

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima went out and Hinata and Kageyama were having a discussion.

‘Do you believe in the story Kageyama?’

‘Not really. As I said nothing is scarier than Oikawa and if I can beat him I can beat anyone!’

‘But this isn’t a person Kageyama... it’s evil and horrific. I’m getting goosebumps even by thinking about it.’

‘That’s why you’re the dumb one Hinata.’

‘WHAT? SAY THAT AGAIN!’

-somewhere near the tent-

‘So your plan is to scare Hinata and Kageyama... but why?’ asked Yamaguchi.

‘Come on it’s going to be fun. Besides Daichi took my mp3 player and I can’t even ignore them.’ answered Tsukishima.

‘And what’s your plan then?’

‘I’m going to pretend to be a wendigo.’

‘You shouldn’t joke about stuff like this Tsuki.’

‘Do you really believe the story? It’s fake. I read it online. Can you lift me up now?’

‘Okay Tsuki. Do you think it will work?’

‘Of course! You’ve seen their grades.’

- in the tent-

‘Kageyama did you hear that?’

‘Yes... it’s probably nothing though.’

‘I see something.’

‘Probably Tsukishima or Yamaguchi. Now sleep!’

‘Um...Kageyama... this is not Tsukishima nor Yamaguchi... it’s too big to even be Asahi... ‘

‘What? Let me see.’

Kageyama took a look and saw it! A wendigo! Huge and with antlers. The crazy duo started screaming and woke everyone up.

‘RUN! A WENDIGO! RUN!’

Sugawara came out of his tent and laughed after seeing the so called wendigo.

‘Guys your wendigo is Yamaguchi holding Tsukishima who has sticks on his head.’

Daichi was so done that he couldn’t even yell at them so he calmly said: ‘Why can’t we have a single normal day together?’

-the next morning-

‘Okay everyone time to go! Saeko should be here in a minute.’ informed Daichi.

Last night was a disaster. No one could sleep. Some of the boys were snoring, others were screaming, Asahi was even sleep walking and scared Hinata and Kageyama again. As a punishment for starting all of this Tsukishima had to take care of the loud members for a month without using his headphones.

‘Hello guys! Did you have fun? How was the camping?’ cheerfully asked Saeko.

‘Please not now... we’re not ready to talk about it yet.’ replied Tanaka which left his sister bewildered.

On their way back all of them were sleeping. No one expected that a calm camping trip with the idea of bonding would turn into an emotional roller coaster.

-at Kageyama’s home-

‘Why does my swimwear look like it’s burnt?’

Thank you for reading!

- sunflowershouyou 🌻

[07.07.2020]

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #hq!!#karasuno headcanons #karasuno scenarios #karasuno imagines #haikyuu x reader #karasuno x reader #hinata headcanons #kageyama headcanons #sugawara headcanons #nishinoya headcanons #sunflowershouyou

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saiilorstars · 4 years ago

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Fandom: Sailor Moon (Crystal) – – [Rewrite of season 2, AU-ish in that there’s new OCs and the fusion of plots from the manga, crystal and the og series]

Pairings: Eventual OCxOC, Usagi x Mamoru

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel

{If you’d like to be added to this OC’s taglist, let me know!}

// Story Masterlist //

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Ch.2: Sailor Hemera

"Watch where you're going!" A seemingly enraged girl called after a boy who had bumped into her because he'd been too engulfed in a gray book. "Not even an answer!" the girl scowled but sighed after a moment.

There was a light pitter-patter near her and when the girl looked down she found a purple cat beside her. The stark golden crescent moon on the cat contrasted with her dark fur.

"Luna, remind me again why I'm the only one who got to remember Sailor Moon, the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask existed?" the girl asked, huffing as if she were still angry about it. Now, it became more of a mystery.

"Because you, Azula, are exceptionally different," Luna articulated with refined elegance.

The girl, Azula, shot the cat a look. "You're sticking to that because you still haven't figured it out, either, huh?"

"Eh," Luna gave a tilt of her head.

Azula shook her head and watched after her friend, or rather ex-friend, Mamoru, who didn't even notice her anymore. A month ago Sailor Moon, or Usagi, had made everyone forget that the Sailor Scouts had existed. No one remembered any attacks from the Dark Kingdom. The scouts themselves didn't remember they were Sailor Scouts reincarnated. Usagi Tsukino didn't remember she had been a princess in her previous life. No one remembered anything...except for Azula Keena.

Azula had been a close friend of the scouts because she had managed to find out their identities. She proved herself useful with her tech abilities and quickly became a strong asset for them despite not having powers like them. One year older than them had her situated in the same school as Mamoru Chiba, although she was a year younger than him. They were friends, had been, but now he didn't remember her. In fact, he didn't remember anyone, not even Usagi who had been his grand love from a previous life.

But despite everyone losing their memories, Luna, Artemis, and Azula remembered everything. The memory wipe was not efficient with Luna and Artemis but neither had an explanation as to why Azula remembered as well. Fact was she shouldn't have. It was impossible. Yet here they were. Since then, Azula tasked herself with making sure there were no more enemies to deal with since Sailor Moon and the Scouts were out of commission. But she also tasked herself to simply look after everyone even if they didn't notice it.

"I may not be one of their scouts but I think myself as a guardian," Azula said confidently as she and Luna walked down a street after school. "A silent guardian."

"Job's taken, I'm afraid," Luna said quietly but Azula still heard and gave the cat a curious look.

"Luna, exactly how many scouts are there? Usagi made it look like it was only her, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako. But I've always been curious if there were more."

"That information is not necessary right now," Luna replied calmly. "So there is no need to even talk about it."

"Hm," Azula smiled to herself and continued walking.

They came across the local arcade of the district and walked in. The teenage boy behind the counter gave her a wave. Motoki was always the type to greet you with a big, wide smile. "Azula, your father said he would be taking a business trip tonight so it's going to be just you and Keiko tonight."

Azula gave a small nod. "Thanks, I'm sure Keiko's gonna love the fact she gets to babysit her dear old step-sister tonight."

He laughed. "Keiko doesn't treat you bad."

"No, she doesn't, I just like teasing her." Azula turned her back and leaned against the counter.

Her father actually owned the arcade - which made it easier to sneak into and use the underneath grounds for their secret Moon base - and he was usually in and out of the house attending to it. Azula's parents had been divorced since she could remember and she had lived with her American mother in America until her passing. At seven years, Azula had been taken in by her father in Japan and was introduced to her step-sister, Keiko Keena. Keiko wasn't actually related to Azula but they didn't care. Both girls had been an only child within their original families and wanted to experience having sisters. And after Keiko's own mother had passed away, Azula's father grew to see Keiko as his own. The were a small, complex family but nonetheless a family.

"Not again!" a girl cried in despair when she lost at the Sailor V game. She dropped her head over the controls, her long blonde hair falling down.

Azula motioned Motoki to watch her school bag for a minute while she went to the crying girl. "Usagi? Let me guess, the computer won? Again?" She laughed.

Usagi Tsukino was no stranger to losing to automated computers. She raised her head for a minute and gave a nod. "It keeps beating me."

"You might wanna try 'beginner'," Azula teased, prompting Usagi to drop her head on the controls again.

"You should be nice to your best customer!" she heard Usagi's muffled voice a second later. Azula looked down at Luna, both amusingly shaking their heads at Usagi.

"C'mon, Usagi, don't you have homework you're going to forget about or something?"

Usagi jumped from her chair like a bed spring. "I HAVE MATH TO DO!"

"There it is," Azula's voice was barely heard beside Usagi's loud shout. The blonde girl scrambled a quick goodbye, not even noticing her own cat, and ran out." Hard to believe she was actually a refined, Moon princess in another life," Azula remarked afterwards. Luna groaned beside her.

After a couple of minutes Azula and Luna left the arcade and were subjected to a sudden heat in the air that hadn't been there earlier. Though it was strange, as it really wasn't time for heat anymore, neither made a comment about it. Instead, Azula opted for a lunch on her own. Luna wasn't surprised by it though since nearly every day, at the exact hour, Minako Aino, Makoto Kino and Mamoru Chiba all ate their lunches, separately, but there. Azula just liked watching them all, even if it was from afar. Fruits Parlor Crown was a nostalgic place.

"There is no rule that you cannot speak to any of them," Luna would say just before Azula walked into the restaurant.

"Usagi wanted to be normal and I'm trying to respect that. Everyone wanted to be normal. The only reason I talk to her is because you're with me and, well, kinda awkward," Azula sucked in a breath and greeted Motoki's younger sister, Unazuki, the waitress before finding an empty table.

Just like each day she would come in, Azula pretended to do her homework while she ate. This was the only times where she could more or less learn what went on with her friends without actually talking to them. She knew it was probably strange but she really didn't want to compromise their memories. She already carried the burden of remembering everything that happened and, while Luna and Artemis did keep up at the base, she felt like it was her responsibility to be on the look out for anything potentially dangerous. She was the person, after all, that remembered everything - that had to count for something right? She wasn't just like any ordinary person.

"What's...that…?" Unazuki's voice pulled Azula from her mathematics book. The young girl was pointing at the glass window where they all saw a black cloud literally floating.

Azula's eyes widened in alarm, and frankly fear. She got up from her chair and stared in bewilderment as the cloud floated past the cafe in broad daylight. Everyone else in the cafe were doing the same thing.

Luna rushed out the door without even warning Azula.

"Luna!" cried Azula before running out herself. Her red, flaming hair bopped as she hurried down the stairs to get to the street.

There was a loud scream down the street and it was of course due to the black puff of cloud. It had captured someone, apparently, and had everyone else around running away from it. Azula skidded to a halt and gasped at the sight. The black cloud, which now began to look more like a shadow, had entangled a young woman with black thunder that kept the woman still, but in pain.

"I need the Shadow Crystal!" the purple-black cloud demanded.

"It talks?" Azula was frazzled but Luna skipped that part and went on to the concern stage.

"Somebody's got to help her!"

Azula turned sideways to find Makoto a couple inches behind her. From further behind Azula spotted Minako and Mamoru apart from each other. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

"We're going to have to call Usagi!" Luna warned Azula, but both knew that even if they did do that Usagi would not get there in time to save the poor woman.

The victim screamed as something was pulled right from her chest: a shining white crystal with freckles of gold.

"A white crystal!?" went the black shadow, obviously angry at the results. "You have wasted Senka's time, puny human!" the black thunder around the woman vanished and the woman dropped to the ground. The white crystal slowly lowered until it returned to the woman's body. "I shall try another one!" and the cloud suddenly moved in the direction of Azula.

"Luna I don't suppose you could grant me temporary powers…?" Azula took a step back.

"I'm afraid not…" and Luna truly lamented it. She was sure Azula would have made a fine Sailor Scout.

"Yeah…" Azula gulped.

"Halt!" went a new, feminine voice that froze the cloud for a moment. "You shall not go any further!"

Azula, and the others, followed the voice up to the top of a parked truck across the street. There stood a woman with long, straight brown hair and stark, golden eyes. She was dressed in a long-sleeved body suit tucked underneath a pleated, light brown skirt with golden hemlines and matching short, golden boots with light, brown laces. The top part of the body suit exposed her middle with light, brown thick strings running across. There was a golden jewel piece going around her forehead, reminding Azula of the tiaras the Sailor Scouts wore, only this one had a golden sphere at the center. It matched the golden sphere necklace around her neck.

While everyone stared in awe, Mamoru felt a sharp jab at the side of his head.

Young Prince Endymion had wandered from the castle and came across a lonely field of almost dry grass. It was strange because as far as he knew everything on Earth was full of life and cared for. Something was wrong.

He stepped over the long weeds and keenly looked around for anything more suspicious. Suddenly, he crashed into a wall - an invisible wall. He had to shake his head just to see if it had been his own illusion. He reached out and came across a wall, indeed, that rippled upon his touch.

"Halt," a female voice commanded.

Endymion turned to find a woman, similar in age to him at least by appearance. Long, straight, brown hair billowed in the wind that wasn't there a minute ago. Dressed in shades of gold and light brown, she held out a golden sword towards him.

"You must not pass," she warned. Endymion looked around just to make sure the woman was talking to him and not someone who perhaps followed him. His generals were no stranger to doing that. "Yes, prince, I am speaking to you," the woman read his thoughts and gave a small smile. "I know who you are, and I know you must be very confused but I cannot allow you to get any further."

"Who are you?" Endymion finally found his voice and began to demand. He knew every possible fighter in the Kingdom and he had never seen the woman before.

The woman lowered her weapon and got down on one knee. "I am Sailor Hemera, an honorary Shadow scout of light and day, protector of the barrier between the Earth Kingdom and the Shadow kingdom."

"The...Shadow kingdom…?"

Sailor Hemera's golden eyes raised up to the Prince. "The Shadow Kingdom led by Queen Nyx and her daughter, Princess Reign."

Could that be the same woman he just saw? And if so, why had he seen that vision all of a sudden? Mamoru wasn't sure, but he definitely wasn't leaving now.

"Step away from the nice girl or suffer the consequences," the mysterious woman ordered calmly of the shadow.

The shadow cackled. Apparently, the woman had been funny. "And just who do you think you are little girl?"

The woman, who seemed young in appearance, regarded the shadow with pure disdain. She somersaulted off the truck and landed gracefully on her feet. "An honorary Guardian of Shadow, I am the Sailor Scout of Day and Light! I am...Sailor Hemera!"

"A Sailor Scout!?" Azula nearly fell backwards. Luna too was gaping.

"You are from Shadow?" the cloud, Senka, suddenly grew interested.

"And you are from the Shadow Dominion, are you not?" Sailor Hemera raised her head. "I knew there was a reason why I was awakened. You want the Shadow Crystal, don't you?"

"I am Senka, created by the Trinity Guardians. I am the Queen of the Shadow Dominion and I will find my Shadow Crystal!"

"The Shadow Crystal was never yours!" Sailor Hemera reached to her forehead where the golden circle suddenly sprouted headband fabric, forming a clean, clear headband altogether around her head. "Glimmering boomerang attack!" she flung the tiara towards Senka.

"Watch out!" Makoto had yanked Azula backwards as the boomerang whipped in the area. Azula nearly fell back if Minako hadn't rushed up to help keep her steady.

The boomerang went right through Senka but she groaned like it had actually hurt her. Gold power swirled within her shadow form for a couple of seconds. "I am not strong yet!" Senka cried and vanished into thin air.

Sailor Hemera caught her golden boomerang and easily placed it back on her forehead.

"I-is she gone?" Azula asked just as Sailor Hemera turned to leave.

"Yes, but she wasn't defeated. Senka will return and look for the Shadow Crystal again."

"What is that? A-and who are you?"

"Sailor Hemera," Mamoru spoke before the woman could. Everyone turned to look at him but he was busy staring at Sailor Hemera herself. She seemed startled by his determination that it was her. No human should have that much recognition of her and yet here was this one…

"You should all be careful," Sailor Hemera warned deeply and made her getaway.

Makoto and Minako went to see how the victim was doing but Azula remained in her spot unable to do anything. She looked down at Luna who was just as concerned as she was, then they both glanced at Mamoru. He had remembered? No...that couldn't be it. But then why was he staring at the Sailor Scout the way he was?

#ocappreciation #sailor moon #sailor moon crystal #usagi tsukino #mamoru chiba #sailor moon fics #sailor moon imagines #sailor moon crystal fics #oc: azula keena #fic: reign from the shadows

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bolbianddolanhouse · 4 years ago

Text

BNHA self insert AU [Book 3]

New? Read here! Then here!

Chapter 15: Why Do We Live? Just To Suffer?!

Beizu and I didn’t waste any time trying to escape for the weekend! It was our weekend! We agreed to go to our parent’s homes and hang out from there. I get home and nobody was there as expected. Saturdays are hang out days for the kids and short work days for mom and dad. I slam myself onto my bed, as I missed sleeping on my very comfy mattress. The dorm beds SUCK! I get coffee from the kitchen after a while and floated around.

“Hey Muffins, update me on the household since the last time I was here” I called out to the resting robo on the couch.

“It’s been 115 days since you’ve last been home, there’s been 4 fires and 7 gatherings at the house.” the robo listed “20 pictures has been added to the family virtual library. Mom didn’t celebrate her birthday. There’s been 2 lockdowns at the house, Tensei went to debate nationals in March, Hanaka got suspended from school that same week. Lili has video called every night for the past 2 months. And that’s up to date.”

“Only 4 fires? Huh” I took a sip of my coffee “Thank you for the update, whats the ETA for anybody?”

“Hanaka and Dad are due to come back from the doctors at 1pm”

“Doctors?” I whispered to myself “She never gets sick, hope she’s okay.”

It may not be obvious, but Hanaka used to latch onto me when she was a baby. She’d cry when I don’t acknowledge her before I leave the house and set my sweater sleeves on fire if I don’t hold her right away. She’s very much the little, bratty sister type but I still worry. She depends a lot on family support because of her fire quirk, it makes it very hard to live a normal life. Wonder if that’s the cause? I wait around and see them come through the door but it feels so off. Hanaka goes straight to her room in silence, ignoring the fact that I’m in sight.

“Hello Iwata, how was your trip home?” Dad said once Hanaka was in her room.

“It was fine but what’s up with her?”

Dad sighed “She had an episode where she couldn’t control her fire. Nobody got hurt but it happened at school and the school made it a big deal out of it, calling her a delinquent.”

“So what’s the diagnosis?” I asked, processing what dad told me.

“Anxiety trigger, the mix of her quirk and puberty hormones are making her unstable” Dad sets down his keys to wipe his glasses “I really don’t know what to do. And I’m scared its going to be like when your mom gets unstable.”

“Wait, mom gets unstable?” that was news to me. I know of mom losing her temper when she was younger but getting unstable?!

Dad nodded and put his glasses back on “It happens when she overworks and stresses out. Once I triggered the breaking point and I got hit by her psych-blast. If your uncle Jin didn’t set up the robo to sedate her at the right moment, she could’ve died.”

I looked toward the top of the stairs “Well you’ve dealt with mom’s and mine anxiety things, how is this any different?”

“You and your mom have the same quirk and therapy has helped you two” dad started “Your sister doesn’t have the same quirk to body part association. How do you contain a fire that water doesn’t douse nor can be snuffed out? I want to help, I know how much she wants to live a normal life.”

“Leave it to me then” I said confidently “Lili isn’t here to do a girl talk, but I’m here to do a big brother support conversation! Maybe I’ll break through to her, who knows?”

“If you feel like it will help” Dad smiled “then go and talk to her. I’ll be down here making lunch.”

I make my way to the girls room. Before I could even knock, I heard her deep and heavy sobs. It was unsettling as I’ve never heard her sob like this. I knock on the door.

“Can I come in?”

“No”

“Why?”

“I don’t wanna talk about things!”

“I don’t wanna talk” I shake my bag of snacks “I just wanna share cheetos with my little sister.”

“...what kind of cheetos?”

“Hot con límon.”

“...okay you may enter.”

I open the door to see Hanaka in a blanket burrito, mouth and nose peeking out. Trying not to laugh at the sight, I sit next to her bed on the floor and open the bag of cheetos. I float them between us so she could get some without reaching too far. We just sat there in silence for a while until she spoke up.

“Iwa, do you think I’m a bad person?”

I look over to see her face peeking out “No.”

“Do you think anybody would love me? Romantically?”

Oh its that kind of conversation “I believe there’s somebody for everybody.”

“It’s just that, I confessed to somebody and they said so many mean things” her lips started to quiver “Like I’m weird looking, my quirks are weird, that my fire quirk makes it so it burns to hold my hand and who would want to love me if they can’t hold my hand.”

“Well that’s rude! They should’ve just said no and be on their way!” I never wanted to punch a child so much in my life.

“What was worse was that all his friends were there to laugh at me and it attracted more kids to poke fun at me” Hanaka got teary eyed “And I just couldn’t take it, I got all shakey and just combusted into flames. The flames were strong enough to set the play yard on fire. Nobody got hurt but it was still scary.”

“Nobody helped you afterwards?”

“Tensei, Petti and Kyanka covered me until a teacher came” she wiped her tears with the blanket “But I caused so much trouble and it really upset the people in the office. They called me a bad kid and that it wouldn’t surprise them if I became a villain.”

Oh hell no, that school is on my hit list for saying something like that to a child! “Fuck that school! You know what Hanaka, you’re not a bad kid, okay? And you are capable of love and people love you back, do you think Tensei and your friends would do that if they didn’t love you?”

Hanaka sniffed “No...”

“Would you do the same for them if their quirk got out of hand?”

“Yeah! Of course I would!” she responded passionately “I’m their best friend, and friends don’t let friends do things alone!”

“See?! You’re not a bad kid, you love your friends and family” I encouraged her “You can worry about romantic love later, the one will come around soon enough. Right now just focus on school work and being a good friend.”

Hanaka loosened the grip she had on the blanket so it unfurled around her “I guess that does make me feel a bit better” she brought her knees up to her chest “But now I don’t even know if I’m going back to that school. Mommy got really upset like you did at the school office that she’s fighting with the school officials.”

“Wow, good on mom to stand up for you!” I gave props “I’d do the same. But lets not worry about that and trust in mom to make the right move. So, lets change the subject! What’s new?”

Hanaka blew her nose and disposed of her now highly flammable tissue “Uhhh, I made a new friend. Which so happens to be the daughter of one of mom and dad’s hero classmates.”

“Oh that’s tea, who?!” I was intrigued by that second part.

“Her dad is ‘Can’t Stop Twinkling’ the Sparkling Hero” she explained “She was the new girl at school this year and she’s just like me and the girls!”

Her usual giddy self came back, warming my heart “And what’s that?”

“We hate our hero dads, love shopping and wanna be goth” she grabbed her phone to show me her lock screen “See? That’s us right before that juice stand behind us caught on fire.”

“Did you-”

“I don’t think I was responsible for that fire” she clarified “We booked it just in case anyone wanted to pin it on me. BUT look at us!”

I squint at the lock screen picture “There’s glare on your friend’s face.”

“That’s her quirk, don’t be rude!” she scolded me “She’s so luminescent that it hurts to look at her sometimes, and in pictures she’s always glared out. But we put her next to Petti in pictures to offset the light and take a decent one.”

“I’m glad you made a new friend! Has she been to the house?”

“Yup, she’s not yet used to the spicy food we eat though” Hanaka stifled a giggle “Her dad says that she was born and raised in France. He brought her over here because the schools in Japan are better and the hero work is abundant.”

“Can’t wait to meet them”

“Lets see during graduation season” she started then her phone pinged “Oop that’s the group chat, they’re sending their concern memes.”

Before I could take a peek at her phone, Tensei busts in. Which was weird because he ALWAYS knocks.

“Rosa! Okay, okay, okay” he said quickly before calming down a little “I did...a thing...wait- Iwa? When did you get home?”

“I got here late morning but whats the haps lil bro?” I asked “You look like you landed in a trash heap.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that happened” he said closing the door behind him and locking it “But back to the thing I did. PLEASE don’t tell mom and dad! Because I’m still very fresh from the thing I did and I’m still processing it.”

“Okay just spill it” Hanaka was getting annoyed “You keep saying thing like you don’t know other words! What thing did you do on your sleep over with the boys?”

“This” he lifted his shirt up to his chest, revealing a belly button piercing.

I was shocked, so shocked that I dropped the bag of cheetos that I was floating. Tensei is this good boy image with a punk-like personality. To see this rebellious side to him made me proud in a way. He looks the most like our dad but with a darker skin tone, so I guess this is his baby step into his true self. Hanaka was so shocked that the waste basket contents caught on fire.

“What the- where in Japan did you go to get pierced?” Hanaka asked genuinely “Those jewelry places don’t let you get one without adult permission if you’re under 16.”

“Don’t get mad, but one of my band members has a cousin that’s a tattoo artist and does piercings at the place they work at” Tensei started to get red faced “Sooo I showed him that I could fix his little barbel piercings for free when the boys and I walked into his shop for fun... And he gave me this as payment.”

“Tensei! You got this i l l e g a l l y?!” I harshly whispered “Why did you agree to it?”

“Yeah! It’s not like you to do those things” Hanaka scowled in concern “What’s gotten into you lately? Ever since you came back from Nationals, you’ve been acting different.”

Tensei pulled down his shirt and sighed “I’m sick of being praised of being as good and law abiding like dad. I’m nothing like him inside! I’m not some capri-wearing rectangle!” he huffed “I’m way cooler, smarter and talented then people give me credit for. I don’t need the signature quirk to make my way in this world! And I wanna change my image so people take me seriously...no more orderly Tensei, I wanna be anarchist Oro!”

Hanaka narrowed her eyes, like she was shooting needles into her twin’s soul “Is this because you lost and can’t accept the L?”

Tensei turned red and scrunched his nose “No! I’ve already grieved over that and took and L” he crossed his arms “Nationals was just a tiny part of the whole reason.”

“What?” I was lost in this timeline of events.

Hanaka leaned over to me and whispered “Tensei cost his team majorly on all his debates. So bad that the team barred him from going to more debates this season and has to prove himself all over again to get back in the top 3 teams at school.”

“Oof that’s some sad boi shit” I winced at the recap “It’s okay to still not be over that L, you don’t have to spiral like this.”

“Well it’s too late, I got the damn piercing already and planned the next one” Tensei took a deep breath “I’ve been wanting this for a while, to just rebrand and have respect as my own identity. Not some clone of my father or just be the ‘other’ Iida twin. But until I take the next few steps, please don’t tell our parents about this. I want to tell them myself when the time comes.”

“Okay sure” Hanaka and I agreed.

Tensei turned to open the door “Thanks guys, it means a lot to me that you support me.”

Man, things are getting crazy here! My sweet parents have to deal with this shit on their own and they deserve a vacation or the Nobel peace prize for being the most supportive during life disasters. Seriously! I didn’t see mom until the evening, she looked a little run down but I really wanted to talk to her.

“Hey mom” I announced myself as I entered the living room.

“Iwata! I’ve missed you so much” Mom said as she used her quirk to pull me in for a tight hug “You’re getting so big, I can hardly wrap my arms around you!”

“Missed you too” I hugged her back “I just really miss being home.”

“I bet, heard you did phenomenal at the last practice test” she smiled and caressed my face with her hand “Just like your mama back in the day. I’m so proud of you for using the good old distraction card! That’s what I was well known for, wildcard and distractions.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about” I sat up straight “I don’t know how things are going to get for the Labyrinth practice test. You took the practice and the evaluated one, what’s the winning combo?”

“What? hahaha” Mom laughed for a moment “There really isn’t a ‘winning combo’, just being well versed in fighting techniques. That’s where your uncle Jin didn’t get to the mid-point, he’s a genius and has good speed BUT he lacks impulsive/on the fly thinking. Everything has to be calculated to the T for him and if too many things has gone wrong in his thought out strategy, those seconds he takes thinking of a new plan can be the death of him.” She sighed into another chuckle “And your aunty Mimi! Boy, she’s an amazing weapons user and she NEVER misses. But in the exam, she didn’t make it past the 3rd stage because the stand off was with someone that erases quirks. She depended too much on her quirk for her gun wielding and she got out because of it.”

“So you did the opposite?”

“I used my critical thinking to get me though all the stages. The place were I used my quirks the most were at the end to win the fight with the mock villain” she leaned back and looked up at the ceiling “The rigorous training I did for basically a year got me to the point of not depending on my quirks until the very last resort. Remember Iwata, just because we can do anything without lifting a finger doesn’t mean we should ignore how able bodied we are. So I suggest do some more strength and endurance OH and you might need to do some breathing training too! Never know if you need to hold your breath for a certain amount of time.”

“That’s a lot to train on, kinda makes me feel like I didn’t do enough” I got self-conscience “I wanna do good in this one! Not because I want to make you proud, but for myself. Maybe passing this will spark something in me that’ll give me an idea about my destiny.”

“Oh sweet child of mine” Mom looked over to me lovingly “This test won’t give you any ideas on anything, trust me. Both times I had to go into intensive care to make sure I didn’t rupture my vial organs, thats how hard I went in. Just give it your all and just ride the wave that comes next.”

“Did you think you’d pass?”

Mom snickered “Nope! The second time was easier by a little bit but I just keep telling myself ‘whatever happens, happens’. I didn’t think passing would lead me to the agent position I’m at today! Same how I didn’t think that giving the class a cookie would lead to finding the love of my life. So don’t let the ‘what ifs’ rule your self-worth, life has a way of surprising you at the very last second.”

That made me feel better about things. I’m glad I decided to go home this weekend, because I know what to do now.

-The next day, At Beizu’s house-

“...you still have this?” I said to Beizu as I was rummaging through his closet.

“Wha- oh that thing! Yea” he responded “You were my only friend in elementary school, so that graduation picture meant a lot to me.”

“Really? That’s why it’s framed” I looked closely at the picture of us holding hands “We look busted with all those missing teeth!”

“Don’t act like you didn’t cry every time you lost one” Beizu retorted back “Besides, it holds something more special to me...it was when I realized I loved you.”

I counted the years in my head “...damn, almost 6 years ago! Why so long?”

“I didn’t know if these were romantic feelings or not. And you did your own thing in middle school with band” he sighed and sat on the bed “I felt a little left behind and I tried really hard to stay in your interest. I wanted you to tell me I was yours, I didn’t care if that meant friend or lover” he turned red “It sounds silly now, but I was happy if you just said good morning or spent lunch with me.”

“Bei, you were always in my interest” I floated over to him “Nobody understood me like you did. You were never anything less than my best friend and it took some eye opening to see that we were basically lovers anyways.” I put my arm around his shoulders “Are you happy that we’ll basically wake up next to each other for the rest of our lives?”

“Are you kidding me?! It’s my dream come true!”

“Great! Just making sure” I kissed him bashfully “because I was getting ahead of myself and looking into apartments in Taito. We’ll be able to move in once I get possession of my inheritance money.”

“I don’t care if I have to wait until I’m on my death bed” he tackled me onto the bed “As long as I’m with you, anywhere is home.”

How everything was coming together nicely for us after UA. In between training and schoolwork, we looked at apartments online. Everyone was envious of us having things set afterwards, but to be honest, we only have an idea of things! We don’t know where exactly we’re going to work nor where to settle. It’s a bit bold to think our parents will give us work when we graduate. But I’m following my mom’s advice and just ‘riding the wave’ of what comes next.

-Fast forward, Mid October-

Beizu, Gee and I take advantage of the half-day of school by filling it with training in the disaster practice gym.

“Huh? The door is unlocked?” Gee said as she checked the door, key in hand “Did we come on the wrong day?”

“No, we have today reserved for us” Beizu pointed to the bulletin board next to the doors “See, we’re in the right.”

We walked on in and checked for anybody that straggled from the last session. But we found three people having banter on a rock.

“Remember the days of disaster training with sensei?!” said a familiar female voice.

“Ugh! Shut up or his ghost is gonna show up and bark at us to do wall sits” said another familiar male voice.

“Rich coming from someone that shat their pants the first time they shot a gun” shaded a Russian accent.

“Mom? Aunty and Uncle?” I spoke up as we got closer “What are you doing here? Aren’t you guys supposed to be agents today?”

“We came to interrogate the administrators here and since we finished early” Aunty Mimi explained “Your mom wanted to take a trip down memory lane. Back to the days of our youth.”

“Speak for yourself! I’m still nimble to go on a tussle like I did in high school” mom flexed her arms “They called me the sparring queen during my time here. I never lost a spar and I still maintain that streak.”

Uncle Jin rolled his eyes “Just because you still train like you’re gonna go to war! Bet you’ll get folded like an omelet if you did a one on one right now.”

“Alright bet!” Mom huffed at the challenge and pointed at me “Iwata, would you be a dear and spar mommy?”

“Oh shit your mom just challenged you” Gee gasped “What are you gonna do?”

“Fuckin fight I guess!” I said with my hands in the air “Let me stretch first though.”

Mom hopped and clapped “Yay! I’ll meet you in the circle in a bit sweetie.”

“Are- are they always like that?” Gee whispered to Beizu and I when the other three were out of earshot “I didn’t know your mom, aunt and uncle were so chummy with each other, like they’re teenagers.”

Beizu groaned into a sigh “All the time! You’re used to our aunt being on sensei mode when we do weapons class, but put them in the same room and they’re one bad decision away from throwing hands.”

“Don’t get us wrong! We love seeing them having fun” I say as I do my stretches “But when we get roped in, we don’t have the means to escape! And I can’t pass this up” I stretch my sides “I’ve NEVER sparred with my mom! She’s only quirk trained me but never the punchy stuff. I really want to see if I’m on par because we have the same quirk.”

We finally walked up to the sparring circle where the agent trio were still reminiscing.

“Ready to throw down nephew?” uncle Jin hyped me up “You’re in for the fight of your life!”

“Don’t scare him!” Mom scolded before dramatically pulling off her agent office uniform to reveal her two piece training clothes “I’d be shitting my pants if I had to fight my mom too. Your hype isn’t helping Jin.”

“Woah, your mom has an amazing physique!” gasped Gee, giving my mom the look over “And with the tattoos?! I can’t even tell if she gave birth to you. Man I hope to be that hot when I’m older.”

“I like your friend there Iwata, she knows what’s good” Mom said as she walked to the middle of the circle “Come now, step into the circle and show mommy what power my little baby boy can harness.”

I blushed hard as I walked up to her “Mom don’t coddle me in front of my team! So embarrassing!”

“Oop sorry baby!” she quickly covered her mouth “Force of habit!”

“Okay rules are first one to pin the other for the ten count is the winner. No weapons and no boundaries” Jin officiated “give the arm brace and assume the position.”

“What’s the arm brace? I only know about the bowing before starting” I whispered to my mom.

“Oh here, hold out your arm” she demonstrated then griped my tricep “now grip mine... there! This is how we show respect before an agent spar.”

I looked at our arms, then into her eyes. Those were the eyes of a woman that has 5 strategies ready to go to win. Those eyes has seen it all and isn’t afraid to do it all again. Wonder if she sees the anxiety in mine? I didn’t have the time to ponder these thoughts, the spar started and she didn’t let up. Immediately I felt the sting of a slap on my face, followed by the whoosh of her movement. What scared me a bit was that the whole time is was silent. Not a single grunt and her breathing was controlled, like she was conserving her energy. She dodged all of my attacks but didn’t land a single attack on me.

“Tired?” asked Mom as I stood to catch my breath.

“I can still fight” I wiped my forehead “hit me mom!”

The smirk that spread on her face was so wicked, I regretted my life because I just played into her trap.

“As you wish mijo!” Mom bellowed as she levitated herself up, followed by pistons jutting out of her body “Nothing personal Iwata” she pointed her palm at me, piston charging with energy “Mama isn’t ready to lose.”

And like the dumb ass I am, I charged right at her with my palm piston. And at the very last second...she grabbed me by the wrist with her other hand to seismic toss me onto the ground. I felt the weight of her foot on my back and knew that I was done for. My arm was locked and I was too tired to get back up, I saw uncle Jin’s feet near me.

“...8, 9, 10!” uncle Jin finished counting down “Winner is our undefeated Queen of Spars, Agent 19!”

“See? Told you I still got it!” She picked me up like when I was child “You okay? Did I hurt you?”

“No I’m okay” I responded to ease her worried tone “But I played right into your trap! You tired me out on purpose and edged me on to strike so I could lock my dominate arm. So simple but effective!”

Mom giggled “You’re so smart! I have a wicked high stamina and my quirk is amplified the more tired I am. So either way, my enemy isn’t leaving unscathed.”

“Wow! You’re absolutely incredible Mrs Iida!” fawned Gee “What else should we study before the test?”

“Just endurance and critical thinking” Mom responded “it’s that simple really. Wish the answer was more thought provoking or full of wisdom.” She looked at her watch “Well it was fun kids but we have to head back to our office to do all that boring office agent stuff.”

“Okay, bye mom! Bye Uncle and Aunty!” I chimed as I waved.

We watched them leave via portal and we continued with our training. I take the critical thinking part more seriously knowing that my mom applied it our spar. But I really don’t know if I’m going about it right! She makes it seem so easy and I wish I was at her level of super genius, big brain strategy.

-Day of Labyrinth practice exam-

“Bei, I’m shitting myself” I say as I finish suiting up “I’m so nervous that I just might anxiety shit myself.”

“That’s not a thing Iwa and you know it” Beizu responded as he finished lacing up his boots “Everything is going to go well! Watch, we’ll all pass and without intensive care afterwards.”

“I hope you’re right” I smiled at him “kiss me good luck?”

Beizu hopped and put his arms around my neck “Okay, one kiss. Then we go in the waiting chamber.”

Sooooo, things were not going well. Gee croaked at level 3 and Beizu didn’t even make it into the doors of the 5th level! He spent too much of his energy in level 4 that he passed out on the moving platform on the way to the next level. Now it’s up to me and I tried really hard not to tire myself out. I see where Gee failed in level 3, there was fast moving projectiles and she isn’t the fastest. Everything was going alright until the 5th level, my quirk stopped working and I panicked. There was nothing in the room and the exit door was locked. I had to think fast, what would I do if my siblings locked me in a room?

“Oh? Feeling trapped?” taunted someone that came into view “You can’t leave until you defeat me! But what is a quirkless agent going to do?!”

“I don’t need quirks” I reach for my gun and cock it “You really wanna fuck with me? I’m a child, WITH A FUCKING GUN! HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT?!”

The person was visibly nervous “Psh! I’ve seen plenty of gun fights!” they started to fumble their words “Come on, shoot me!”

“Naw, don’t feel like shooting you” I aim at the light fixtures on the ceiling “Eat broken light bulb BITCH!”

The lights went out and the sound of broken glass hitting the ground was oddly satisfying. I check to see I could use my quirks again and surely, I started floating. Once the door beeped to signal the level cleared, I made my dash to the next level before the final level. Next level wasn’t too hard, at least not for me, I knew how to swim and hold my breath for longer than 2 minutes. That would’ve sucked for anyone that didn’t know how to swim, gotta hand it to my mom for teaching all of us how to swim when we were kids. I get to the rescue part of the final level and it was fine until the ‘villain’ showed themselves.

“Not so fast agent! You’re forgetting someone important” said the villain as they walked into view.

“Nice try villain, all 8 hostages are safe and accounted for in rescuers care” I said smugly as I raised my gun at them “Lets make this quick.”

“I think you’ll want to put your gun down” the villain revealed someone tied up in a cage “You wouldn’t want to hurt my favorite prisoner.”

“Iwata, don’t shoot...please” said the hostage weakly.

I looked at the hostage closer and it’s...mom? That didn’t seem right to me. This person sounded like her and looks like her from the face. In fact, the whole room changed too! I was under some sort of illusion quirk and I didn’t want to risk shooting something that might cost me points. So I lowered my gun and started to scheme.

“Aww you don’t want to hurt mommy?” taunted the villain “To think that the hot shot agent, grown weak and aged terribly! Do something momma’s boy! Don’t you want to be a big shot agent like mommy? Or are you just as weak as she is?!”

I get an idea “Oye mama, tengo hambre!”

“What-” whispered the villain in panic.

“Que vas a cocinar hoy? Un pozole o taquitos?” I kept going, knowing that I threw the ultimate curve ball in this plan.

“I don’t understand you sweetie” responded fake mom “I’m so weak from my fight, that I lost.”

“That’s okay mommy” I smiled calmly “Will you sing me my favorite song? You’re never too tired to sing!”

“ENOUGH!” cried out the villain “make one wrong move, and I’ll kill her!” she took out a dagger.

“Okay then, fine” I stood completely still with my hands on my hips, ready to do plan B “I won’t move then.”

The villain was super confused on my erratic actions. But it was working because they started to pull back the illusion in the room. Once I saw the door, I knew that victory was in reach.

“We can stand here all day” said the villain bringing the dagger closer to fake mom’s throat “But think about your poor mother’s health! Do you really want her death on your conscience?”

“...any second now” I warned before I gave a content smile “You underestimate me villain! I’m not my mother, I am me! And I have a secret bio-weapon that I’ve just released into the room.”

“A bio-weapon?” the villain looked around frantically “I don’t- oh my- WHAT’S THAT HORRID STENCH?!”

I look at fake mom slowly fade and I knew that I was in the clear. The villain fell to their knees and vomited.

“Eat taser WHORE!” I said right before tasering them and put them in cuffs “do more research on our family next time and maybe this would’ve been a challenge!”

“LABYRINTH PRACTICE TEST CONCLUDED, AGENT 88 HAS CLEARED AND PASSED.”

The doors opened and I walked through to see my teammates, sensei and the test proctors waiting for me at the end of the hall.

“That was amazing!” cried out Gee “We saw everything on the proctor’s panels. How did you know that wasn’t your mom?”

“The person in the cage looked like my mom from the face but my mom is more petite,” I took my visor off “The one in the cage looked taller and didn’t have the big butt and thighs like my mom has.”

“Yo that spanish speaking was the biggest wildcard!” Beizu complimented “You knew that the villain had to break at that vital detail that they didn’t know. And that last line, chef’s kiss.”

“Aw shucks guys, I’m latino and can’t help but to be dramatic about it” I start blushing and acted coy “Kinda wish the illusion was more convincing though.”

“What was that ‘bio-weapon’ you released that made the villain basically pass out?” asked sensei “You don’t have the quirk that can do that.”

“Oh I farted” I confessed shamelessly “I’ve been holding that one in since I started the test...I also suggest decontaminating that room, my farts spread quickly and linger.”

Everyone but Beizu got visibly disgusted. Doesn’t matter because I passed and I can’t wait to tell my parents that I farted my way to victory. Nothing can stop me right now, I’m all the way up.

-Chapter 15, end-

<Previous-Next>

#mha #bnha #self insert au #book 3 chapter 15 #not canon #will update regularly #ask me anything #//Palma-sama Speaks #more big bro Iwata moments! I love his character as the older-but-still-middle-child in the family dynamic #The interaction with the twins is a big plot hint in the next book! And yes...Aoyama child confirmed BUT ya gotta wait #Quite a bit of skipping because their wasn't much in terms of main plot in between these events #Here you really see Iwa embracing what his mom taught him while staying true to himself and I love to see it #And yes... that last boss in the test was exactly who you think it is! More in the next book tho #next is the FAQ and there was a lot of good ones! You can still submit some as it will take me a while to organize the questions and answer #Thanks again for reading! I know I thank the reader a whole lot in the tags but I mean it! Thanks so much!

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cheswirls · 6 years ago

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it’s your extension (let me extend) 6/6

sabo climbs into the backseat, and shanks squints at him from the rearview mirror.

“isn’t that ace’s?” he asks, gesturing to the cord wrapped around sabo’s wrist.

he looks down at it, humming. “i’m just holding onto it.”

sabo can’t sleep that night.

he feels like he’s missing something, and it keeps him up.

he wanders into the kitchen the next morning, eyes dry and red, and makino looks at him with concern. she gets up from her place at the table for two, letting sabo sit across from shanks.

“you look terrible,” he notes.

sabo hums, not enough energy mustered to form a snarky comeback.

“you . . are going to do great today!” shanks says next, switching tactics when he notices makino’s stare from the sink. “fuck those people from yesterday. today you’ve got this!”

he heads off before too long, leaving sabo at the table alone. makino heads out too, leaving sabo to watch micah while she worked her day shift. not that he minded. he was there for the week, and this was the least he could do.

he switches with shanks around midday, and comes back to the redhead in the exact spot he’d left him.

“how’d it go?” shanks asks, and sabo’s lips quirk down.

“i picked a more competitive career than i thought,” he mutters.

he crashes for a few hours and wakes up as the sun is setting, mind still set on something he can’t seem to remember.

he doesn’t sleep again.

early, the next morning, sabo decides he’s had enough. he gets out of bed, giving up on sleep, and turns on his desk lamp.

makino is in the kitchen. she looks tired. she doesn’t look surprised to find sabo there, messing with the old coffeemaker. instead of questioning, she pulls out two mugs and a carton of eggs.

sabo fills up both and takes one back to his room, closing the door softly. he sets it at his desk, and a minute later he’s hefting all twenty of his notebooks right next to it.

sabo’s never really read through his logs. there’s never been a need. he’s never forgotten.

but there’s a gap. one he hadn’t noticed until now.

and he hates forgetting.

so he steels himself, divides the stack in two to see the light, and begins flipping through the first notebook before the sun has thought to rise for the day.

he’s a third of the way through notebook nine when he pauses, hand going through the motions to flip the page and freezing, and he peels it back to still find something unusual written, uncertain now that it wasn’t his tired mind trying to pull a trick on him.

he marks the page and rises from his seat, digging around until he finds an old sketchbook, all but one of the pages ripped from the spiral, stacked loosely inside.

it’s the one attached that he’s interested in.

“who are you,” he mumbles, reading the sprawling script, near covering the entire page, aloud.

“quit writing in my sketchbook.”

“surely one page is fine.”

he pauses, continues, voice picking up, heart rate steadily increasing.

“this isn’t a dream, y’know.”

his coffee has gone cold, so he sets it on the corner of the old wood, not willing to get up and leave his reading to warm it.

he’s missing days in the notebook. well, he is. they’re there, after a spell. just in a different handwriting, a different format.

he has trouble reading them, at first, because it’s very hard to process. but the more he does, the more dread and wonder pool in his stomach, as he realizes the impossibilities of him doing this to himself, playing some sort of trick years in the making. this person, this ace, was undeniably different, and was taking control of sabo’s life every other day.

sabo’s notes weren’t very interesting, usually. it was either long, unending paragraphs ranting or rambling about the day, or neat, precise notes for more uneventful times. but, after ace started leaving entries, sabo’s changed.

he still wrote for the sake of logging, yes, but now the margins were filled. certain things, reminders for tests or important events, were more bolded and circled, easy to catch. like that was the point, to get someone to notice. he finds himself reading the notes more closely than his own entries.

please set my alarm from now on. at least three of them. preferably all five.

quit writing all over my face!! i get it!

i finished that report. just print it out and bring it, please.

sorry if you wake up tired. had a long night.

yeah, sorry. here’s the password.

if i have to scrub ink from my face one more time i swear ace portgas i will take permanent marker to your eyebrows.

let’s make this easier for ourselves. if we write about what we did when we switch, it won’t matter that we weren’t there. we’ll be all caught up for the next day.

we didn’t switch again.

sabo blinks. he turns to the next page, again met by his own handwriting.

we still haven’t switched. i’ve been drawing, what i could remember. it’s funny, i just realized today that i don’t even know where he lives. somewhere in japan, in the corvo mountains. but it’s a big mountain range. there are a lot of settlements. i draw everything i can remember. the old vending machine out near the high school. the view of the mountains from the lake’s shore. the inside of garp’s craft room. my calls still aren’t going through. i try and convince myself that the number’s not wrong, but every time i try again, it ends the same. i tried texting, but it didn’t send.

it’s weird. after that night, after i finally convinced myself how i felt, that i really well.

and then it all stopped. like it really was a dream. except, i still have his cord. i wear it all the time, like i’m afraid it’ll disappear too, if i leave it alone for too long. i can’t lose it. i can’t lose anything else.

i don’t want to believe i’ve lost him, either.

the next entry he finds worth to note is only a sentence long. it’s the shortest one he’s ever seen.

i’m going to find him tomorrow.

he turns the page. the next entry is marked a few days after that, after he’d come home, apparently. if he ever left at all.

he bites on his lip, moving the page corner between his fingers, flipping back and forth as if the missing entries would magically appear.

he sighs after they don’t, leaning back in his chair and throwing his head back.

out his window, through the blinds, it’s lighter. he blinks tiredly at it, trying to process this fact.

muffled crying from further in the apartment breaks his train of thought. sabo sits up, leans over the desk, and grabs the coffee cup, intent on refilling it before he read through the other half of the stack.

as he’s standing, though, his gaze falls to his wrist, and his feet fall still. he stares.

the red cord from the other night is still wrapped around his arm.

sabo meets robin one day for coffee, because she’s in the city by chance, and he’s looking for something to do.

he’d already had coffee that morning, but he definitely wasn’t passing up the chance for more.

makino had turned the machine off on him after his fourth cup, and even as she left to take micah on a walk, he hadn’t the courage to turn it back on.

shanks had woken up and walked in on him still mulling over his notebooks, this time with the added bonus of all his sketches laid out across his desk. he’d quietly closed the door after seeing sabo had spend yet another night without any sleep, and left for work soon after.

sabo slips into a loose jacket, attempts to flatten his hair that had been ruffled through in his earlier musing, and drains half a bottle of water in hopes of clearing the more gaunt part of his expression.

he thinks it maybe does. somewhat. robin doesn’t bother to mention it, so he doesn’t think about it anymore.

instead, halfway through their light conversation about life as they trekked through the city, he thinks about something else. he casts glances down to his wrist, where the cord was tied, leaning against his coffee cup. robin stops talking and he finally looks up to her questioning gaze. he feels like he’s missed a cue to respond, but instead of trying to figure it out, he throws one back at her.

“hey. when we worked together, did i ever . . . mention an ace portgas?”

robin’s eyes narrow, and she hums, still walking forward. “wasn’t that who you went to go find, that one summer?”

he turns his eyes back to their path, thinking it over. it synced up. so she knew about his trip, the one missing from notebook number nine. entirely.

“did i find him?” he asks, almost scared of his own voice.

“you found fuusha,” robin answers, not the one he wanted, but an answer nonetheless.

sabo gets home and rips his desk drawer open, taking out all the articles on fuusha and lying them across his desk.

they don’t all fit, so he lies them across the floor instead, taking time to examine each of them.

he reads them all carefully, about the comet, about the crash, about the evacuation. fuusha was nestled in the corvo mountains, so it matched up.

wait.

he purses his lips, stands so fast he trips and nearly tumbles over, gripping the back of his desk chair. he swipes notebook nine from the desk, moves to sit back on the floor, and rifles through the pages. there.

by the time your date is over, you’ll be able to see the comet.

the date was the same as miran comet, though the years were different. his eyebrows slant. that was odd. something still wasn’t adding up.

he stands again, another fleeting thought passing through.

“makino,” he mumbles just inside the kitchen doorway.

she looks up, turning away from micah in the highchair.

“can i get luffy monkey’s address?”

this was crazy.

sabo sighs, dropping his hand away from the door for the fourth time. he couldn’t knock. what was he even thinking, coming here? sure, these were the only people from fuusha he knew, but he didn’t really even known them. he’d greeted garp in passing, he’d seen his son once, and he hadn’t even met luffy, that night.

but. he did know the other brother. sort of. at least, he had some connection with him, now.

he drops his raised arm again. but! there were over one thousand people living in fuusha, back before the comet hit! even if they could help him, would they even know the person sabo had been switching bodies with?

he raises his arm before he can think of another excuse to walk off the porch.

the door opens as he’s reaching to knock.

sabo startles back, the door swinging open all the way. a scruffy head of black hair greets him, the boy nearly a whole head shorter than him still bent over to stuff on a pair of shoes. his head raises as he attempts to step forward, finding sabo in his way. he’s met with a wide pair of eyes.

sabo tries to smile, but he’s nervous now, and he doesn’t think he does a very good job. “uh, hi,” he begins. “luffy, right?”

“luffy” picks his hand out of the back of his shoe, letting the leg fall to the ground as he straightens to full height. “yeah. who’re you, though?”

sabo nearly slaps himself. of course. he didn’t even- “i’m sabo.” he offers his hand. “i was here the other night, for your graduation party.”

luffy doesn’t take sabo’s hand, but he stares at it for a long time. he realizes it’s the hand he has the braided cord wrapped around. “oh, that’s-”

“my brother’s,” luffy finishes, looking back up. there’s a new light in his eyes. “you said your name was sabo, right?”

“yeah.” he nods. “is, um. is your brother here?”

a wide smile slowly begins to form on luffy’s face. “no. but i can tell you where he will be.”

[ 6:23 ] ill b home late

[ 6:24 ] you have your key?

[ 6:24 ] yeah

[ 6:27 ] Then i won’t wait up

[ 6:28 ] Take care of yourself

sabo sets his phone facedown, his lips quirking up. he feels around his pockets to make sure he has his key, not wanting to give makino anymore worry. he settles down again when he finds it, fingers pressing into the cool metal.

outside, it starts snowing.

sabo watches it, gaze fixed on the large windows he’s sat in front of. there’s a drink in front of him, steam wafting up. his phone vibrates again.

he picks it up as the tingling bell signals the door opening. the passing conversation catches his attention, though.

“lighten up, kidd. this will be the last one, i swear!”

“you said that the last time.”

sabo sets his phone back down. he tries not to stare, but as they order at the counter, then turn to find a table, he can’t help but watch the pair. he’s certain he’s never seen them before. at least, he doesn’t recognize them. but that name . .

“i just want this wedding to be perfect,” the girl mutters, sat close enough to where sabo can hear.

“i know, lami,” kidd says, ducking forward. the name strikes sabo, again. lami. and kidd.

his eyes narrow. he turns back to the window.

it’s still snowing.

he hikes up his scarf at the thought of venturing out into it, phantom goosebumps rising on his covered skin. his eyes watch as people walk by, the streets still relatively crowded for the hour, considering it was a weekday.

he takes a sip from his drink, content on people-watching.

“-like from fuusha?”

his ears prick as they catch on to the word, and he inclines his head slightly to hear the conversation behind him.

“no. maybe? i . . i don’t know.” a sigh. “i think i just miss it, y’know? it’s that time of year and all.”

sabo blinks, and then his eyes catch on a figure coming across the street. he bends forward, catches sight of dark, mused hair beneath a hood, freckles lined on tanned skin-

the door opens and he reaches out, having chosen the seat nearest to it for a reason. his hand snags in black fabric, right at the elbow, and he holds tight.

the door closes again and sabo looks up, seeing the surprised look just moving off of luffy’s brother’s face, replaced by something more knowing, like he knew exactly who sabo was.

or, his mind supplies, luffy just told him.

he turns to face sabo and the blond releases his sleeve, confident that he’s gained the attention he’d been seeking. carefully, not looking away from the other’s face, he undoes the knot tying the braided cord to his wrist, and holds it out in the space between them.

“you should have this back,” he mumbles. “it’s important to you.”

you’re important to me.

sabo blinks.

freckles reaches out, carefully, and after a moment cups sabo’s hand in both of his own. he’s smiling, now, faint and soft, but definitely still there. his hands are cold around sabo’s.

“thank you,” he says, removing his hands, dragging the cord with them. sabo resists the urge to frown as they leave, suddenly missing their presence. they’re back soon enough, though, as ace holds the cord out length-wise, presents it to sabo. “then, will you tie it for me?”

sabo takes the cord back. his eyes widen. wait-

he looks up. “you never told me your name,” he whispers.

“you already know it.”

“ace?”

“hey, sabo.”

#saboace #SABOACEWEEK2019P2 #acesabo #writing #one piece #iye/lme #hEY if you read all the way thru give this post a like !

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breanime · 6 years ago

Text

Traditions

I’m in a slight writing slump, so here’s a piece of ~smut~ featuring our very own Logan Delos for @suchatinyinfinity--thanks for indulging me, homie!

*gif not mine*

Logan used to love going on business trips. He loved being out of the office, he loved being away from his father, and he absolutely adored all the sex with strangers. Sex was his favorite distraction and being in another city meant he could get as wild as he wanted. But things had changed. Ever since you came into his life, Logan found himself obsessing over you. You tasted so sweet and felt so damn good—no one else made him feel so good…and so loved.

You two hadn’t said the words to each other, you weren’t even a couple—but Logan knew he had something special with you. The sex was insane, but there was something else there, something deeper. You were the only person he could spend time with without needing to be drunk or high, the only one who liked his sense of humor and bawdiness, who he could complain to without being told he was whining or talk about his accomplishments without making him feel like he was bragging. And you held his attention—that was a big deal for Logan. He was used to having to hop from one warm body to the next, no one ever maintained his affections for long: but you did.

He had just gotten off of a plane from Tokyo and had two choices for what he could do with the rest of his day: run home for a quick shower before heading to the office or go to your place. He decided to compromise by taking a shower and then going to your apartment.

You and Logan had been fooling around for months and had fallen into a familiar rhythm. Logan took you out for dates, and you would come by the office to see him at least twice a week. You’d given him a key to your place (which he used with reckless abandon, of course), and he’d reciprocated. Yet neither of you ever brought up or questioned your relationship status. If he were being honest, Logan would admit that he was scared. He was into you—really into you—and he knew you liked him, but he couldn’t be sure if your affections were only surface level or not.

Logan knew you’d be home when he let himself into your apartment but was surprised when he didn’t see you working on the couch. He had picked up some take-out on the way over and dropped it off in the kitchen before heading to your room. He broke out into a smile when he saw you.

You were sprawled out in bed, hair all over the pillows, with your laptop dangerously on the edge of the comforter. Logan chuckled to himself as he moved your computer somewhere safe. He slipped out of his designer shoes and crawled into bed with you. He caressed your cheek; your skin was so soft and warm under his hand. You nuzzled into his touch and Logan laughed again. You really were adorable.

“Y/N,” he sang softly, “sweetheart, it’s time to get up…” You mumbled, turning and cuddling into him. Logan’s grin widened when he saw that you were topless under the covers. He pulled you to his chest, kissing the top of your head. “I’m up,” he coaxed.

You giggled. “I’m sorry, is that a double entendre for your boner?”

“You don’t even know if I have a boner.”

You slid your hand into his pants, eyes still closed. Logan licked his lips as he felt you grip him. He hadn’t been hard before, but he was definitely getting inspired now. “I thought you had another day in Japan,” you said, rubbing your thumb up and down the head of his cock.

Logan put a hand on your throat and lifted your head. You were looking up at him now, pretty eyes still a little unfocused with sleepiness. “I got back early,” he said, pecking you on the lips as he spoke, “I wanted to surprise you,” he paused to give you a slow, languid kiss, “Didn’t think you’d be home.”

“Got the ok to work from home this week,” you sighed when Logan dropped his mouth to your neck and suckled on the skin there, “it’s been so boring here without you.”

Logan groaned as you started slowly pumping him. He lightly bit down on the juncture between your neck and collarbone right as you snaked a hand in his thick hair. “If you’ve been bored,” he breathed in, “I can give you a few suggestions on how we can pass the time.”

“Yeah?” You dipped your head down and caught Logan’s lips in a filthy kiss. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well,” he kissed you, “I was thinking you could wrap those pretty lips around my dick for a while.”

You giggled and moved down his body. Logan sat up and shed his shirt while you worked on his belt buckle. He watched as you tossed his belt aside before sliding his pants down. He kicked them off and grinned as you kissed his V-line. You kissed his dick softly, smiling up at him through your eyelashes and Logan could have died a happy man right then and there. You took your time warming him up, gently pumping him as you kissed his twitching dick. Logan loved to be kept waiting. You slowly graduated from soft kisses to slow licks, and Logan moaned loudly as your tongue swept over him. Your ass was in the air, and you were wearing the lacy black panties he’d bought you a month ago (he’d seen an incredible lingerie set in Paris that he just had to get for you) that made Logan weak. You gave his dick one last, loving kiss before you dipped your head down and took him in your mouth. Logan huffed out a laugh; your mouth was wet and warm and you were swirling your tongue around him—it was incredible. He put a hand in your hair—more for the feel of it than to move or direct you in any way—and sat up on his elbow to get a better look at you. Your eyes were closed as you bobbed your head up and down, taking as much of him as you could. Logan lifted his hips a little and was rewarded with your answering moan as his dick slid deeper down your throat. He eased up a little, sinking back into the bed, and let you resume your pace. Your hair spread over his lower half, and he loved the feel of it brushing against his abdomen with every dip of your head. He loved it a little too much, actually.

“Shit,” he hissed between his clenched teeth, “Sweetheart, come here, I wanna taste you now.”

You released him with a pop, licking your lips as you sat up. You looked so gorgeous, hair all over the place, chest heaving with a smile as you looked down at him. Logan put his hands under your armpits and slid you up his body. You both moaned at the feel of each other, so slow and so close. He kissed you, tongue dipping in and out of your mouth, chasing the taste of himself on your lips. His hands roamed up and down your bare back, caressing the skin that he was so eager to put his mark on. You moaned when he licked your nipple, pulling the tight bud between his teeth. He moved to the other nipple, and you rolled your neck, giving him better access to your chest. Logan rolled his hips, and you moaned at the movement. You were straddling him, and Logan was acutely aware that all it would take would be a little bit of shifting and he would be inside you. But he wanted to taste you first.

Logan lifted you up and laid you down onto the bed so that he was on top of you. He kissed you hard before heading south. He grinned as he took hold of your legs and spread them apart. “Jesus,” he whispered, “you’re so goddamn beautiful.” He kissed up your leg, then switched to leaving little bites when he got up to your thigh. You were breathing hard, and Logan knew you didn’t have half the patience he did…so he gave you what you wanted.

Logan plunged his head between your thighs and sucked on your clit, licking you up and down while you moaned out his name. Logan had a very talented tongue, and he added his fingers—first one, then two, then three—to the party as well. His chin was wet with your juices and he fucking loved it. You tasted so good. You grabbed two fistfuls of his hair and bucked your hips, trying to bring yourself closer to the sensation of his mouth and fingers. Logan placed an arm over your stomach, making sure you didn’t move too far. He was determined to make you come.

Gently, with much care, he rubbed your clit with his teeth, making you cry out with pleasure. He hummed into you, pumping his fingers in faster and rougher. Logan knew exactly what you liked and was all too happy to give it to you. He curled his fingers and hollowed his cheeks, sucking hard on your clit. The feeling was just the right amount of too much for you—the biting, the licking, the feel of his long, strong fingers pumping in and out of you—you came with his name and several curses on your lips. Logan lapped it up like manna from Heaven.

He kissed his way back up your body, taking a moment to give some extra attention o your heaving chest before you pulled him up by the hair for a proper kiss. Your hands were still in his hair when he pulled back.

You smiled sweetly at him. “You wanna fuck me, baby?” You asked, kissing his nose.

He swallowed. “Yes.”

“Mm,” you kissed his chin, nuzzling into his beard, before leaning back to look at him, “You want me on top?”

“Fuck yes.”

“Okay…” You gripped his chin and smiled. “Then beg.”

Logan’s dick twitched at your words. “Please,” he whispered, grinning as he obeyed, “please get on top, baby. I want you to fuck me, sweetheart.”

You kissed him. “Keep talking.”

“I’ve been wanting you to fuck me since the morning I left,” he said, closing his eyes as you gently pushed him on his back, “Fuck, I missed you. I wanted to be with you, buried inside you, every day I was gone.”

“Well I’m sure you found something to distract you…” You were kissing his chest now, not quite laying on him but wrapped around him.

Logan shook his head. “I spent all my free time jerking off alone in my hotel suite,” he admitted, “just thinking about you.”

You stopped, lifting your head up to stare down at him. “Really?”

He grinned. “Really,” he answered, “So sweetheart, please climb on top of me and let me finally fuck you before I cum from just this.”

You grinned back. “Well, since you asked so nicely…” You positioned yourself on top of him, and Logan stared up at you—his perfect match. “…What’s the magic word?”

Logan was nearly bouncing with excitement. “Please.” His head flew back when you lowered yourself onto him; it had been far too long, you felt amazing. He cursed under his breath as you both rolled your hips. Logan put both hands on your waist as he rocked inside you. Your eyes were squeezed shut and your mouth was thrown open in ecstasy. He liked that look. He liked it a lot, but he liked the way you said his name even more. Logan pushed himself off the bed, angling deeper into you. He hit your spot and was rewarded with your breathy “Logan!”. He wanted to make it last long, he really did, but you were so wet and warm and tight around him, plus the sounds of your moans and the slapping noise of skin-on-skin were driving him crazy: he knew he wouldn’t be able to last too much longer.

“I’m gonna cum,” he warned you, his tone just an inch above a growl, “I’m gonna cum in you because you’re mine.”

You opened your eyes and smiled down at him. “Yes, baby, please,” you huffed out, “I’m yours, Logan, I’m all yours, only yours.”

That did it for him. Logan came inside of you with a shout, and you were right behind him. He groaned as he felt your walls constrict, pulsating around him and drawing out his climax. He was sure you’d have bruises on your hips to match the scratches he had on his chest. You collapsed on top of him, and Logan made no move to remove himself from inside of you.

“Shit,” he gasped out, wrapping an arm around your back. You both had a light sheen of sweat on your skin; and Logan dipped his head down to lick the small pool of sweat that had gathered at the base of your neck. “I’m going to need…maybe 15 minutes before we go another round.”

“I’m gonna need something to eat—something that doesn’t end in Delos,” you laughed back. You ran a hand through his hair. “Mm…I don’t have anything in the fridge, though.”

“I brought take-out,” he kissed your forehead, “and we can get something delivered later…” He kissed your nose. “I mean, if it’s okay if I stay,” he pressed a tender kiss to your waiting lips, “I know you have to work.”

“Of course you’re staying,” you kissed him back, wiggling your hips on top of him to his groaning delight, “What kind of boyfriend would you be if you didn’t?”

He laughed, feeling more at ease than he had in years. The concept of being someone’s boyfriend should scare him—and it probably would when he gave himself a moment to really think about what that meant—but now, with you in his arms and him still semi-hard inside you, it only made him happy. “So I’m your boyfriend now?” He asked, a teasing tone in his voice as he ran a hand up and down your back.

You gripped his chin and lifted his face so that you were eye-to-eye. “Fuck yeah you are,” you grinned, “I’m all yours and you’re all mine, isn’t that right, baby?”

Logan felt himself grow hard inside you. “I’m all yours,” he echoed.

You giggled, bringing his lips to yours. “I thought you needed another 15 minutes,” you said, lips brushing against his as you spoke.

Logan grabbed your hips and pressed them down, groaning as he felt your warmness engulf him. “I got my second wave,” he grunted, burying his face in your neck.

You sighed happily, slowly rocking your hips in time with his.

Logan decided then and there—with his dick inside you, and you moaning on top of him—that this would be his new tradition: after every business trip, he’d come home and fuck you until both of you were too tired to move. And he stuck to it. You added it to the rhythm of your relationship easily; whenever one of you had to go away for work, you’d spend at least 48 hours in bed together when you got back. Sometimes you could only go for a few hours, exhausted and too turned on to play game, other times you’d last for days on end until you were too sore to go on or Logan had to go back to the office. Either way, it became a habit for the two of you that Logan absolutely adored. He even started volunteering to go out of the country for meetings more, much to the surprise and suspicion of his father. Logan became accustom to traveling through timezones and having to sit through boring, mindless meetings. He spent most of those kinds of days daydreaming about what he would do to you when he got home. You called and texted him every day he was gone, and he made sure to videochat with you whenever he could. You took the fear out of being a boyfriend for Logan, and he was determined not to fuck this up. You rewarded his dedication with your easy love, rare friendship, and a healthy amount of sexts when he was away.

It gave him something to look forward to whenever he had to travel for work.

*************************************************************************************

*insert shrug emoji* So I’m gonna try to churn out maybe one or two more oneshots this week before updating Heartworm. Please hit me up if you have a request or something you’d like to see me write. I need ideas.

Also--should I make an “everything” tag for people who want to be tagged in my non-Billy stuff? Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in. For now I’ll just tag: @banditthewriter @teacuplotus @suchatinyinfinity

#logan delos #logan delos x reader #logan delos imagine #ben barnes #westworld

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withasideoficing · 6 years ago

Text

Chapters (Part One)

Chapters- Part One- Things Change in the Blink of an Eyelid

Part One Summary: Cora Owens was raise on the ball fields of New Jersey. Now living in Columbus and a member of the US National Softball Team, a potentially career ending injury at the World Championships puts her dreams on the line. Cora’s had only one focus since she was a kid, and that’s get a medal at the Olympics. Enter Seth Jones.

Features: Backstory and brief introduction of Seth. Non-graphic depiction of injury; mention of surgery and physical therapy

Notes: I’ve been kicking this idea around for a while. It started as your typical imagine, but I opted to make it a story with a named character. I added some more detail. Forgive any conversions from “you” and “Y/N” that a missed, because like I said, it was originally going to be a normal imagine. I just kinda jumped right into it with some of it.

Word Count: 2k

From the time Cora Owens could walk, she had a glove on one hand and a ball in the other. She was a Jersey girl through and through, raised on the Mets, the Jets, and the Devils. Her father had played ball, but injury had sidelined him from the big leagues when she was five. He had coached her through her childhood. If Cora was on a ball field, her father was there watching.

Summers were made for being out on the ball field. Softball was her life. There was nothing like the smell in the air on a spring morning. The fresh morning dew that signaled a perfect day to play ball. The ball field was a second home. As a kid, she dreamed of being in the Olympics, only for that dream to end up on the back-burner when it was removed from the Olympics after the ‘08 games. But with the sport set to make a return in 2020, Cora and the women she played with were determined.

Cora had been on the national team since she was eighteen. Cora had played for Oklahoma State, bringing home the national championship twice while she was there. She had settled in Columbus, Ohio, finding a job that was flexible with her schedule while playing for the national team.

Until the World Championships in Japan. In a game against Australia, everything came crashing down. Cora had been caught in a rundown. That wasn’t abnormal. What was abnormal was the pain that ran up her leg after she slid back into third. Cora curled up as she bit back a scream. She had broken bones before, but it had never felt that painful. The training staff and coaches jumped into action to get on the field and get to her.

“Can you sit up?” the trainer asked her. In spite of her pain, Cora nodded and sat up with the trainer’s help.

“Let’s try getting you to stand now,” the trainer said. With the help of one of the coaches they got Cora up. When she tried to put pressure on her leg, she almost collapsed back down to the ground with the pain in her knee. For the first time since the announcement about softball being back in the 2020 games, Cora saw her dreams slipping from her grasp. She could only imagine the disappointment her father would have.

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When all was said and done, Cora was done for the tournament at the very least. Having to sit on the sidelines while her team played? That wasn’t something she was used to doing. The victory for her was bittersweet. The team had gone to dinner to celebrate, one of their last nights in Japan before heading home.

“Hey, at least we won, right?” Sarah asked. Cora just glared at the bubbly redhead. Sarah had a knack for trying to find the silver lining in everything. She shrunk back, feeling the annoyance radiating off the captain.

“Yeah. At least we won,” Cora said flatly. She grabbed her crutches from where they sat beside her and went outside.

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Cora was quiet the whole journey back to the US. Once she was home, she finally let herself break. Her childhood dream was within reach and fate was standing right there, seeming ready to snatch it away from her. Hot tears slid down her face as she curled up on her couch.

“It’s not fair. It’s not fair!” she cried. She could almost hear her dad’s voice saying “Nothing is fair kiddo. You think it’s a ball and the ump says it’s a strike and you’re out. Sometimes, that’s just the way it goes. You just go out there and do your best next time.” Her dad had always been one to try to come up with an analogy tied to softball, even if it didn’t make much sense.

“Pops, I need your advice,” she said to the empty room. A sob escaped from her. Days like that were the hardest. Almost on cue, her phone lit up with a call from her mom.

“Hello?” Cora asked, her voice low from crying.

“Hey sweetie, just checking up on you. You never texted that you got home,” her mother’s voice came.

“Yeah...yeah got home not too long ago. Didn’t mean to make you worry ma. I had things to do the second I walked in the door,” Cora said. ‘Like wallow in self pity,’ she thought. The two fell into conversation, her mother asking about the trip before she asked about the injury. Cora was quiet for a minute.

“Now, Cora Grace, I know you’re not going to just give up just because they think you’re done,” her mother said. Evelyn Owens was many things. She was a loving mother, a devoted wife, and above all else, she was where her daughter got her stubborn streak.

“What if they’re right ma? What if I never play again? What then? If I can’t play, who am I? I want to make Pops proud,” Cora said, the words flying out of her mouth rapidly. Her mother sighed.

“He would be so proud of you. Cora, even if you can’t play again, he would be so proud of you. Captain of the US National Team, you brought a national title to your school. Baby, you’ve accomplished so much. Your father would be so proud of you, Olympics or no Olympics,” she said. Cora let out a sob.

“I just wish he was here,” she cried. She heard her mother sniffle, a telltale sign that she was crying too.

“Me too, baby, me too,” her mother said quietly. Cora spoke to her mother for a while longer before she had to hang up. As she looked around her apartment, her eyes landed on the picture frame that sat on the entertainment stand by the television. It was one of the last photos she had with her father. She stood in her maroon jersey, her parents on either side while she held a bouquet of flowers on senior day in high school five years prior, the frame inscribed with ‘Cora Owens #19 Class of 2013’ across the bottom. Cora sighed as she stood up and grabbed her crutches, ready to go take a nap.

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The next morning, Cora awoke bright and early. She still had a few days off work for recovery from travelling. The first thing she did was make an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor. By some miracle, she was able to get an appointment that day.

She was worried. One of her friends was driving her to her appointments, because driving, as it turned out, was difficult to do with a messed up knee. She filled out the paperwork when she got there and sat waiting, her hand tapping her thigh to the beat of the music that was playing softly in the waiting room.

“Cora, knock it off,” Cassidy said.

“Sorry...just, nervous I guess? What if he says I can never play again?” she asked, voicing the fear she’d had since you went down. Cass’ expression softened.

“Cor, I doubt that will happen,” she said, trying to reassure her.

“I’m not so sure,” Cora replied. She had had a restless night of sleep. Between the pain if she moved the wrong way and the nagging thought that her time as a softball player was done, it had been a long night.

“Ms. Owens? Dr. Ashford is ready to see you,” a nurse said. They were taking x-rays first. When the doctor came in, he put the images up for her to see.

“Even with surgery, I’m not sure you’ll be able to play again, at least not competitively, without aggravating the injury. Torn ACLs can be career ending, as I’m sure you know. We’ll have to see how your recovery goes, but with how severe the tear is, I’m not sure a full return will be possible for you,” he said. Cora just nodded.

She felt like everything was crumbling around her. It was, without a doubt, the worst case scenario for her. Softball was part of her. If she couldn’t lace up her cleats and play anymore, who she? Softball had been her world since she was a child, looking forward to the weather breaking in the spring each year. Now everything was in jeopardy, including her Olympic dreams.

“So, when can we do this? Because I’m not giving up,” Cora said.

“The earliest we can get you in for surgery is Monday morning,” he said. She took a breath, trying to steady herself.

“Let’s do it,” she said.

“We’ll get you sorted up front,” he said. Cora took a moment to collect herself. When she returned to the waiting room, she didn’t say a word to Cassidy before setting up the appointment for her surgery. It wasn’t until they got to Cassidy’s car that she broke the silence.

“What’s the verdict Owens?” the shorter woman asked. Cora sighed. This was not a conversation she wanted to have. Not with Cassidy, not with anyone.

“Surgery. Even then...Dr. Ashford isn’t sure I can play again. I did quite a number on my knee,” Cora said. She was trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.

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August turned into September. Cora had her surgery and were in the midst of therapy to rehab it. She were frustrated with her progress. It seemed for every step forward, it was another two back with setbacks.

Cora was at her usual Monday appointment, but this time, one of the other patients had someone with her. He looked vaguely familiar but she couldn’t place it where she knew him from.

“When can I start playing again?” she asked. Her physical therapist sighed.

“Cora, you might not play again. We’ve talked about this,” she said.

“I will play again,” she told her, the tone of her voice even and sure. Cora wouldn’t accept any other outcome.

“With how much damage was done...going back out there could do more harm,” she explained. Cora just stared her down.

“I don’t care what happens. All I know is in 2020, I will be at the Olympics. I will be the captain of the team. And we will bring home a gold medal,” Cora snapped. Cora was in a mood and her physical therapist wasn’t about to argue with her. Cora was far from the first stubborn patient she’d had. As her session went on, the woman who was with the other physical therapist took her spot on the next table next to Cora.

“Oh, don’t pay any mind to her, she’s a bit of a pessimist,” the woman said. Cora laughed.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” she replied.

“What brings you here? Some kind of exciting story I’m sure,” she said.

“I messed up my knee playing softball in Japan,” Cora told her.

“That’s definitely more exciting that what I did. I slipped taking the trash out and hurt my knee. Embarrassing really,” she said. The two of them fell into conversation, the person who had come with her sitting silently. Cora still weren’t sure why he looked familiar.

“Oh, where are my manners. My name is Amy. This is my son, Seth,” she said.

“I’m Cora,” Cora said. That was when it clicked for Cora. Seth was Seth Jones from the Columbus Blue Jackets. She wasn't sure what to do with that information. She followed hockey, but her main team was the Devils and she wasn’t too up to date on the rosters of other teams.

“How long have you played softball?” Amy asked. Cora smiled.

“My whole life. I was practically raised on the ball field,” Cora told her. The two of them fell into conversation about her softball career and what had led up to her injury. She was easy to talk to and for once, someone wasn’t telling her to consider the possibility that she wasn’t going to be able to play again.

Before long, her appointment was over. Cora was waiting for her ride to show up. She hated the loss of independence that came with not being allowed to drive for a while. When Cassidy showed up, Cora just shook her head when she asked how the appointment was.

“If one more person tells me I might never play again, I’m going to scream,” Cora said to her.

“You do realize that is a possibility, right?” she asked.

“Cass, I’m not accepting it as a possibility until never playing again is the only option left on the table,”she said as Cassidy pulled out of the lot.

#columbus blue jackets imagine #seth jones imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey imagines #hockey fic #hockey imagine

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prettywordsyouleft · 6 years ago

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Too Good To Be Wrong - Part 10 [Final]

Summary: No matter how much you tried, you couldn’t resist Park Chanyeol, even if you knew it would test everything that you thought family stood for.

Genre: childhood friends & “siblings” to lovers au / forbidden romance / older woman - younger man au

Characters: Park Chanyeol x female reader

A/N: This is a series about falling in love with your “brother” Chanyeol - your family took him in when you were younger. It will contain mature content in later parts, but for the majority of the story it’s about reconnecting as adults and discovering feelings for each other.

I am expecting Too Good to be Wrong to be around 10 parts long, but this could change depending on how the story progresses in further parts.

Too Good To Be Wrong will be posted every Tuesday at 10am NZST.

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Japan had been successful for you. Your career was established there and you had been promoted twice in the two years since you had been back. You were often called upon to work with new clients and assisted in the expansion of the company. You were someone people envied due to your work ethic. And that’s because you had worked incredibly hard to avoid the pain of being without Chanyeol.

When you returned from the dinner that night, Chanyeol hadn’t been there. And he didn’t come home for days either, crashing with a work colleague until that became a permanent situation. Yet when you went to leave for Japan, he had turned up, eyes blazing.

“Don’t go, if you go, it means you’re giving up on us,” he had pleaded. You wanted to cave and dive into his arms and never let go.

Instead, you got on the plane and returned to your apartment six months later to find every physical trace of him gone. It hurt more than you anticipated being back in that space and it wasn’t long until you moved on as well, to another part of the city in hopes you would be able to start over, renewed.

Of course, you can never escape family.

At first, your parents had been awkward with their contact, simply checking to see if you were settling in well overseas. But as time continued, your mother’s usual incessant prattling returned and you grew accustomed to your role in your conversations with her again. After returning home, you had been invited home and turned up, anxious that Chanyeol would be there as well.

It was evident you were looking around for him and your mother smiled weakly. “Channie had something else on tonight.”

And that was the way you continued from there out. Family gatherings were split, you doing some holidays and Chanyeol doing the others. You would hear tidbits about his life now and then until your father would clear his throat loudly, noticing how quiet and anxious you became each time.

The first Christmas arrived and you were thankful for an impromptu business trip to Japan to keep you away from spending it with everyone. Although you had been preparing yourself ever since the decorations arrived in stores in late October, you knew it was too soon. You couldn’t fathom sitting in the same room as Chanyeol and your parents playing happy family. It was still too raw.

It was Chanyeol’s turn to miss Christmas the following year, now a famous music professor who was sought after overseas. You wondered if the distance from you would help him deal with things like it did for you.

Though you knew you were lying to yourself if you actually thought it had helped any.

The one thing you didn’t miss was the anniversary of his parents’ death. Of course, you went alone to visit them, leaving behind your endless tears and an apology for not remaining at his side. Your parents always attempted to get you to come to the offering each time, but Chanyeol had mentioned in the background of a call the first time that it was okay if you didn’t come. You realised then that he couldn’t handle seeing you either. Especially on such a vulnerable day for him.

It continued like this until a family emergency occurred.

“What?!” you exclaimed as your mother sobbed down the phone to you, and you leapt out of your chair immediately, blinded by the tears that fell fast. Your father had suffered a heart attack.

Arriving at the hospital as quickly as you could, you searched the numbers until you found the room you required, bursting into it and finding your mother slumped over the bed crying and Chanyeol comforting her softly. They both looked up at your arrival and your mother flew over to you, holding onto you tightly.

Family meant sticking together during the hard times no matter what differences you had.

Thankfully, the strain on his heart had only been mild and with a small hospital stay and a strict no-stress environment to go home to, your father was going to make a full recovery. All the same, your mother needed you and of course you took time off from work, supporting both your parents as they transitioned into the new lifestyle. You had found out that their shop wasn’t doing too well due to the progression of redevelopment in the area and that had caused the stress on your father’s heart. You hadn’t known that it had been this bad and for the second time in your life, you felt like you had failed your parents. You put everything into helping your father recover.

Chanyeol was there as well, placating your mother when she worried and fixing meals with you as they both rested. It was excruciating to be back together but not in a way you had always hoped for. You tried to remain focused on the task in front of you but you often went to bed thinking of him. He had grown even more handsome in the last two and a half years that you hadn’t seen him. Age was still definitely working in his favour. You wondered if he felt the same about you. In fact, you wondered a lot about what Chanyeol was thinking. Because you couldn’t stop contemplating everything about him. How life could have been quite different by now. Would you be newlyweds? Starting a family? Had you not thrown yourself into your career would you be boasting all you had ever dreamed of by the age you were now? It hadn’t hit you in the city just how much you craved settling down. Now back in your hometown and watching the adoration your mother had for your father still after all these years, you were immensely jealous.

And you only had yourself to blame for giving up so easily back then.

“Dad is calling for you,” Chanyeol mentioned as you fixed a tray of tea and you nodded, smiling weakly at him.

“Tell him I’ll be right there.”

You entered the study and blinked a couple of times to find everyone else in there too. Going over to your Dad with his tea and a glass of water so he could take his medication, you then took a seat on the chair beside your mother.

The head of the house didn’t look quite as pallid as he once had yet despite his appearance, he asserted an authority that made you wait in anticipation. “You both can go home now; your mother and I can handle things here.”

“You’re still unwell.”

You nodded in agreement with Chanyeol. “We don’t need to go anywhere, Dad-”

“Yes, you both do. You’re driving us mad.”

“It’s true,” your mother stated heavily, shrugging for added effect. “You’re a mess.”

“What?” you asked, blinking repeatedly. “Why would you say that?”

“We admit our wrongdoings to you both. We didn’t realise it was this deep.”

“I’m not exactly following,” Chanyeol mentioned and you looked at him before nodding again.

“You two!” your mother cried helplessly, getting up and going over to her husband’s side. “If I have to hear either of you sigh one more time in my life from being in the same room as each other, it will be one time too many! Just admit it, you still love each other. We were wrong to think this was something you could both get over for our sakes.”

“And your happiness means a lot to us. Our family being prosperous is important.”

“Y/N and I are doing well with our careers though, we are successful.”

Your mother nodded earnestly. “Yes-yes but you’re not successful in creating a family with anyone. Because you still both want it to be with each other.”

“Mum, you’re being a bit presumptuous,” you said slowly, avoiding the way Chanyeol snapped his gaze to yours. “That was two and a half years ago.”

“Can you say you want someone else?” she implored and you couldn’t bring yourself to answer.

“We know we’re late in telling you both this, we wanted to so many times over. And especially now with my health taking a nose dive, we only care for happiness. So who cares if you were raised together? That means you both understand each other better. My best friend looking down on us would be proud to know he had such a fine son fall in love with the best daughter I could ever have.”

“Dad…” you said slowly, feeling overwhelmed. This was happening all so fast and you felt a bit winded. As you snuck a look over at Chanyeol, you could see he mirrored your emotions.

“Please don’t tell me you don’t love each other anymore because we’re expecting babies!”

“Mum!” you cried and Chanyeol chuckled, surprising you with the reaction. You looked at him in annoyance. “Why are you grinning? It’s just like when you were happy they didn’t care you were younger!”

“We don’t, we only care that you’re happy.”

“But do remember your biological clock is ticking.”

“Honey, I think they know.”

“This family is nuts!” you implored, standing up dramatically yet not knowing what to do. You had a lot of ground to cover with Chanyeol. Could you even pick up from where you both left off? It had been so awkward, so broken.

As you stared over at him though, you could tell the fire still burned deep within him. His gaze was bright and as he laughed again, you could see him laughing every day at your side.

You softened. Maybe your family wasn’t so bad after all.

The End.

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 6 years ago

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Their Hero Academia – Chapter 26: Izumi Todoroki and the Big Friendly Giant

Presenting the next raw and unedited installment of my on-going, next gen, My Hero Academia fic!

As always, the actual semi-edited chapters (and a side series) can be found here

One of the regular chores of Class 1-A was to keep the panty and refrigerator stocked. Some maintained their own personal supplies, such as Toshi’s protein bars or the teas that Izumi herself preferred, but they also kept a number of communal essentials. As such, regular trips to the store for groceries was required. This was nominally a task given to two students, selected from their chore rota.

By happenstance, however, this week it fell on Chihiro Kaminari and Mika Mineta. Prior to their leaving after spending the afternoon in training, Mister Aizawa had pulled Izumi aside and asked her to accompany them, as he did not, to use his words, “trust them not to trade the grocery money for magic beans.” Izumi thought this characterization a bit unfair. Chihiro tried very hard, despite occasionally making rather poor choices. Granted, very often those choices were to listen to whatever scheme Mineta had come up with, but she supposed that Mineta could be quite convincing when she wished to.

The grocery store was… a unique experience. It was Izumi’s first time in one, as they most often had their food delivered. Or at least she was reasonably certain it was delivered. Certainly, more food appeared in the refrigerators, freezers, and pantry at regular intervals, though she had never personally seen it arrive. She had occasionally accompanied her mother to the Donki-Oote, which apparently had “the best bargains on the planet.” They would return with dozens of shopping bags and her father would simply regard it all with a small, possibly disappointed sigh. But that was a store where every square inch was filled with merchandise, all of there to temp to you. The grocery store, at least, seemed somewhat more logical.

Currently, Chihiro was pushing the shopping cart through the frozen foods aisle, as Izumi consulted the shopping list they had been presented with. Mineta walked behind them, her hooves clicking on the tiles rhythmically. “Are we done yet?” she asked, whining. “This place is boring and packed with grannies. There aren’t even any hot guys or girls!”

“We are about halfway through the list,” Izumi told her, without looking back.

“Relax, Mika,” Chihiro said, looking over her shoulder. “We’ll stop by the magazine rack on our way out and you can get a copy of Teen Hero Beat. It’s the issue where they rank the hottest up and coming Heroes.”

“Wait, that’s this week?!”

“How do you not know this?” Chihiro asked. “Don’t you have, like, charts for everything even remotely sexy?”

“It’s been a busy week!”

The banter between the two easy and light, and Izumi envied it. So different and less formal than what she had Chihiro had as friends, even though she was certain it was so less a friendship. But friendships and people did not come easily to Izumi, not with Chihiro, not with Toshi and the others, not even with Katsumi, who she counted as her dearest friend in all the world. People were strange and complicated and she did not always understand.

The clip-clop of Mineta’s horns suddenly stopped and Izumi and Chihiro to see Mika transfixed by something in one of the freezer cases, which she grabbed and then proceeded to run up to them excitedly. “We have to get this,” she said, cradling the box to her chest.

“Is it on the list?” Izumi asked.

Mineta looked down and away. “Does it need to be?”

“Yes,” she replied. “We’ve been given limited funds and cannot go over the budget, as well as a very specific list.”

Mineta looked like she was going to cry. “But I neeeeeed it!” What on Earth could possibly have been that important? Especially here in frozen foods?

Chihiro let out an exasperated sigh. She crossed her arms and pointed one of her Cords at her friend. “Mika, what is it?”

Slowly, Mika turned the box around so that they could see it. It was red and green and decorated with a cartoon apple with arms and a face. The apple appeared to be proudly presenting some kind of green… icicle?

“They’re frozen apple pops!” Mineta said, excitedly. “I haven’t seen these since the last time I was in America! I didn’t even know they made these here! They’re so good!”

Izumi honestly didn’t know how to respond to that, but Chihiro burst out laughing. “That’s what’s got you so excited, Mika? Apple-flavored popcicles?”

Mineta pouted. “They’re so much more than that. Granny used to buy them for me when we’d visit. They taste like… freedom!”

Perhaps these were the “magic beans” Aizawa had been referring to.

“You’re ridiculous, Mika,” Chihiro said, Cords drooping. “They’d probably melt by the time we got everything back anyway.”

“Hello, we have our own built in ice maker!” Mineta said, pointing a finger at Izumi.

“Why do you not just buy them for yourself, Mineta?” Izumi asked. “I would still be happy to keep them cold if you did.”

Mineta looked down. “I didn’t bring that much money. If I buy these, I can’t buy the magazine I want.”

“Are they expensive?” Izumi asked. “They couldn’t possibly cost more than ¥1000?”

This time, both other girls laughed. Why, she did not know. For a brief moment, she flashed back to her younger days in school and the merciless teasing because she was so sickly and frail. “Did I… say something funny?”

“Sorry,” Chihiro said, hanging on the cart for support. “I know we’re well off, but I forget that you’re, like, a whole other level of rich.”

“You’ve basically got all the money, Todoroki,” Mineta added.

It was true her family was very rich. The Yaoyorozu fortune combined with Todoroki money had made her family one of the wealthiest in Japan, if not the world. She tried not to take it for granted, but admitted there was much she probably did not understand.

“Then perhaps I should purchase this treasure,” Izumi said. “So long as you plan to share.” There was little harm in it. And it seemed to make Mineta happy. Which also had the long-term benefit of likely keeping her out of trouble.

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!” Mineta threw her arms around Izumi and hugged her tight. “You’re the best, Torodoki!”

“Mika!” Chihiro said. “Let her go so she can breathe!”

“Eeek!” Mineta said, as she released her. “Sorry!”

Izumi sucked in a few breaths. “It is fine,” she said, then nodded. “Shall we continue?”

Mineta deposited her treat in the cart with the rest of the food and they continued on.

As she rounded the corner, Izumi impacted with a human shaped wall.

***

“Oh!” Izumu called out, trying to steady herself and regain her balance. “I am so sorry…” She looked up at the person she had bumped into. And up. And up.

They were tall, easily over two meters, broad-chested, with sandy brown hair, buzzed on one side. “Oh, forgive me, I wasn’t looking…!” he said, and then his eyes fell on Izumi.

Instantly, his face broke into a broad grin. “Izzy!” He scooped Izzy up into his arms, holding her close as he spun her around. In spite of herself, she couldn’t help but let out a rather girlish giggle.

“Shinji,” she said, through her laugher, “Shinji, I am getting dizzy!”

Shinji Yoarashi simply laughed a great booming laugh as he put her down. “Sorry, I got carried away!” he said, though perhaps bellowed was the better term. One had to adjust for volume where Shinji was concerned. “Holy hurricanes! I haven’t seen you in forever, Izz! How have you been?! And Shota? And Katsumi?”

“I have been well,” Izumi told him. “U.A. is challenging, but I am confident in my ability to succeed. Shota and Katsumi are also doing well. And you?”

“Shiketsu High, of course! Have to stand for Dad’s old school! Rigorous! Intense! Challenging!” He struck a dynamic pose as he spoke.

“What are you doing here, then?” she asked. “That is on the other side of Japan.”

“A few of us from my class are staying in the city,” Shinji explained. “Our rescue training facility is undergoing repairs, so your school offered us the USJ to train this week. I came here to pick up a few snacks, but seem to have gotten turned around.”

“This place can be very confusing,” she agreed.

To the side, she saw Mineta elbow Chihiro. “…Did you know Todoroki knew somebody that hot?”

Chihiro shrugged. “I… think I’ve seen some pictures of him and Izumi with Shinso and Kirishima-Bakugo, maybe met him… once, twice? When we were little and Izumi was sick. But not in a long time. Which I’m now regretting.”

“Okay, in that case, I forgive you for not telling me about him.”

“You can’t forgive me for not telling you something I barely knew!”

“Fine, then I won’t forgive you!”

“Ugh! Why are you like this?”

“I’m charming and you know it!”

“Yeah, well, I saw him fist!”

“I totally called dibs!”

“You did not!”

Izumi’s eyes felt like ping-pong balls as she followed the argument back and forth. “Friends of yours, Izzy?” Shinji asked, chuckling.

Where were her manners? “Yes,” she said. “These are Chihiro Kaminari and Mika Mineta. Chihiro, Mineta, this is an old friend of mine, Shinji Yoarashi.”

Shinji was, of course, the son of her father’s friend, Inasa Yorashi, the hero known as Gale Force, and like his father, commanded the winds. Though she did occasionally wonder if the friendship was a bit one-sided. Certainly, Mister Yorashi seemed happier to see her father than her father was to see him at times, but that may have simply been attributable to their personalities. Her father was quite reserved and the Yorashis were… not.

Shinji took a deep bow. “A pleasure to meet you, ladies! Any friends of Izzy are friends of mine!”

Mineta gave Chihiro a slight shove back, stepping closer to Shinji. Even considering her hooved-feet, she was walking somewhat strangely, in a manner that exaggerated the movement of her hips. She stopped when she got closer to Shinji and thrust her chest out.

“Well, aren’t you a fine hunk of a man,” Mineta said, looking him up and down. “You see anything you like, Big Boy?”

Was this… flirting? Mineta did that kind of thing so often, it was difficult to tell. Izumi didn’t claim to understand her at all, though Chihiro often insisted she wasn’t quite as bad as she acted. Izumi could admit, however, that Shinji was very aesthetically pleasing.

“Mineta,” she began softly, “I don’t think you…”

And then, to her surprise, Shinji reacted to Mineta in a way she had never seen before. He smiled, his eyes dancing over her form. “Suffering Cyclones!” he said. “You are hot! I see quite a bit that I like!”

Mineta suddenly frozen where she stood, unmoving. Shinji waved a hand in front of her face. “Is she all right?” he asked.

“I think,” Chihiro said, “I think you broke her. She’s never had to think this far ahead before.” She prodded Mineta with her left Cord, before giving her a small shock.

Mineta let out a small cry of surprise. “Sorry,” she said, “went away for a little while there. Got distracted by the hotness.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m gonna need your contact details. Because I think we’ve got a kindred spirit thing going on here.”

“I would be happy to give you my number!” Shinji said. “I must say, I am impressed by your forwardness!”

Izumi felt a slight tug on her arm and turned to see that Chihiro had returned to the cart. “Might as well let finish up,” she said. “I get the feeling they’re gonna be a while.” She rolled her eyes. “I think she’s finally met her match.”

Izumi allowed herself to be tugged along. It was rude to leave without saying anything, but given how deep in conversation they were, she doubted the two would have noticed their absence.

***

“So, seriously, Izumi,” Chihiro said, as she put a couple of boxes of pasta into the cart, “you and the big guy, you got history?”

Izumi nodded. “We’re very good friends, Chihiro. Shinji and I go back quite far. You and he simply never had the opportunity to meet. Shota and Katsumi know him well though.”

Her friend nodded. “I can see him and Shinso getting along real well. Kirishima-Bakugo… probably not so much.”

That did get a small chuckle out of her. “Well…” she admitted. “Katsumi is who she is and Shinji is who he is. Though she has threatened to explode him on more than one occasion. Especially after one of his surprise hugs.”

“This is my completely not surprised face,” Chihiro said. “You two ever, ah, date?”

She shook her head. “He took me to a middle school dance once, but that is all.”

“Guess that’s all right,” Chihiro said. “But that is one fantastic looking guy. And if it doesn’t work out with him and Mika, you’ll give me his number, right?”

“I do not see why not.” Izumi was grateful for the lack of further follow-up questions on the dating issue. Though she had confessed her lack of sexual or romantic attraction to Katsumi not long ago, it was not a conversation she wished to have again and again with her friends. She was not ashamed, nor did she feel the need to hide it, but neither did she feel the need to lay herself bare like that in front of everyone at any moment.

Still, Shinji did make her smile. Where Katsumi was her dearest friend and her protector, Shinji had always been the one to make her laugh, to make her smile. Whether that was spinning through the air like a tornado, taking her for a flight around the backyard, or telling her of the adventures they’d one day have as Heroes, he always tried to buoy her spirits. Like Katsumi, he was loud and his own variety of explosive. But where hers was often born of anger, his was born of amusement and excitement, quick with a laugh and cheer.

When she was small and did not yet understand the concepts of attraction or infatuation (not that she could truly say she understood them now) but had understood that marriage was something you did when you found someone you always wanted to spent time with, she had thought she might marry him. That had passed, but he was still a dear, dear friend.

Chihiro added a couple of jars of pasta sauce to the cart, then resumed pushing it. Izzy checked off the items on the list. “It looks like we still need coffee and some vegetables,” she said. “And Katsumi has requested peppers.”

Chihiro went a little pale. “She’s gonna make Inferno Curry again, isn’t she?”

“I’ve never really understood that name,” Izumi said. “It’s really not that hot.”

Extension Cords pointed sharply at Izumi as Chihiro spoke. “You self-regulate your own temperature. You don’t get to decide what is or isn’t hot. Or cold for that matter. Learned that one before. Never challenging you to an ice cream eating contest again.”

At that, Izumi smiled. “The stomach ache was still worth it though.”

“…yeah, it was.”

“Hey!” Mineta’s voice rang out from behind them. “Look how strong he is!”

Izumi turned and found that Mineta was sitting on Shinji’s shoulder, supported by his bicep as they walked up behind them. Shinji, for his part, didn’t seem to be showing any strain. She wasn’t surprised; he’d always been quite strong, one of the few people other than Toshi who could successfully arm-wrestle Katsumi.

He set her down. “She didn’t think I could do it!” Shinji said, letting out a laugh. “But I proved her wrong!”

“You sure did, Big Boy,” Mineta said, patting a hand against his broad chest. Izumi noticed her hand stayed there for several long seconds.

“Your friend is delightful, Izzy!” Shinji added. Chihiro started to laugh, but stopped herself, ending up coughing instead. “Are you all right?”

“Fine, fine,” Chihiro insisted. “I’m fine.”

“We’re gonna have a lot of groceries,” Mineta said. “Think a big, strong guy like you could help us carry them back to the dorm, Yoarashi?”

“I would be delighted to lend my muscles to your cause!”

***

As they returned to the dorm (securing a pass for Shinji had been easy enough, after the security system had scanned his Shiketsu ID), Izumi reflected that today had been a good day. Spending time in the company of friends, getting out of the school for a little while… she had even shopped at a grocery store! It also meant that had had time not to dwell on the upcoming Sports Festival.

Even two weeks into school, even with having sat out several days for Quirk exhaustion, her stamina had improved by leaps and bounds. She would need to file the proper paperwork for the regulator equipment from her costume, but if she could use that during the Sports Festival, then she believed she would do well enough. Her actions would have to be careful and measured, but that was how she preferred to act anyway. She knew that her parents believed in her, wanted the best for her. But she felt that if she could make a good showing there… maybe they would be a little less worried about her pursuing the path of a Hero.

Maybe she’d worry a little less about it too.

The Common Room was sparsely occupied by the time they entered it. Asuka sat at one of the tables, with Shota, going over some kind of their homework, while Katsumi sat on one of the couches, feet on the coffee table in front of it, one of their literature books in her hands. Everyone else was presumably in their rooms or otherwise occupied.

“We’re back!” Mineta called out, as they set their groceries down on the kitchen counters. “And we brought a friend! But don’t try hitting on him, because I already called dibs!”

“You hit on everyone, Horse-Girl,” Katsumi said, without looking up. “Leave me out of it.”

“Katsumi!” Shinji called out.

“Shinji!” Shota piped up, recognizing his friend’s voice.

“Shota!” Shinji returned, laughing again.

“Oh, hell, no,” Katsumi said. With incredible speed, she launched herself up off the couch and towards the stairs. She was not quick enough, however, to avoid Shinji, who scooped her up in a bear hug.

Shota left Asuka behind to join them. “Me next, do me next!”

“Oh, it is good to see you two!” Shinji boomed. “I have missed you!”

“Me too!” Shota said.

“Put me down, you overgrown whirlwind!” Katsumi said, struggling to break free. “I’ll blow you damn head off!”

Shinji put her down, still laughing. “Still as funny as ever, Katsumi!”

“I’ll show you funny…”

Izumi quickly decided to intervene. “I think Katsumi has homework to be doing,” she said. “Perhaps we should not keep her?”

Katsumi shot her a grateful look. “Yeah, I do. Thanks, Izz. …I’m watching you, Windy.” She quickly returned to the table to grab her book and this time successfully made it to the stairs.

“C’mon,” Chihiro said. “We need to get these groceries put away. And then we need you to tell us alllll about how you know Kirishima-Bakugo, Yorashi.”

“Oh, yeah,this I gotta hear,” Mineta added.

All the better Katsumi had beat a rather hasty retreat… if she had stayed, violence would have likely followed. As it was, a little trip down memory lane with a good friend would do no harm. Time to look back, even as they began to look forward.

#my hero academia #their hero academia #fan fiction #fan fic #my writing #izumi todoroki

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linernotesandseasons · 5 years ago

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My 19 Favorite Albums of 2019

2019 is coming to a close. The entire decade is coming to a close. This list has been an increasingly comforting exercise the last few years. I guess this will be the eighth annual version of the linernotesandseasons favorite albums of the year list! Crazy how time passes. So here are the collections of songs that I used to mark my personal time & space this year. The lyrics that I learned by heart & sang out in dark & dirty rock clubs. I also made a spotify playlist with two songs from each album if you’re interested in listening along as you read.

This year most of my writing focuses on when & why I fell in love with a specific album. Sometimes the history is important, building a base or connecting some threads, so when relevant, I have also included my history with when I fell in love with a specific artist. And finally, as has become more important to my music chasing brain in the last few years, why this artist or album is important to music right now. What they’re doing to leave a mark on the world, in whatever small space or way.

So without any further ado, here it is, in no particular order (unless you’re particularly knowledgable or fond of the english alphabet) my 19 (well actually 20 cuz freaking Big Thief put out two!) favorite albums of 2019. It’s been a pleasure.

BETTER OBLIVION COMMUNITY CENTER / Better Oblivion Community Center

Spring 2019 in Denver was cold & breezy, sunny & exciting. I had spun the Phoebe Bridgers/Conor Oberst match-made-in-indie-emo-sad-folk-heaven record once through, but in late March I made a game time (like I bought a day-of ticket off stubhub at 6pm!) decision to drive down from work and see their show at the Gothic on South Broadway. I’d been up since 7am the night (morning?) before, watching opening day baseball live from Japan (on March 20th?!). Ichiro’s final game and I was feeling maybe a little emotionally fragile already. But anyway… Better Oblivion Community Center’s live show (they call them meetings) has all the potential to come off as cheesy or contrived. A recorded voice welcomes you, self-help-cult style, and invites you to “celebrate sound & light” & “travel the well worn pathways,” because “we are one.” A mystical backdrop gives a hint of what you’re in for (I didn’t know what I was in for...) with letters at the top reading “It will end in tears.” The band is brilliant, loose, & fun. They play all the songs. They play “Lua,” “Bad Blood,” & “Easy/Lucky/Free” from the endlessly varied Bright Eyes catalog. They turn Phoebe’s “Funeral” into a punk blast. They cover The Replacements! They wear shades and sing a song from lawn chairs! The show feels effortlessly cool and I feel like I’m part of something special again. Music has a way of doing that.

The record is perfectly equal parts Phoebe & Conor. From the opening lines, where Phoebe takes control with “my telephone it doesn’t have a camera” sounding for all the world like a gloriously mopey “Smoke Signals Vol. 2″ to the way Oberst sings the first lines of ethereal closer “Dominoes” sounding 100% like Cassadaga-era Bright Eyes. If you know & love either, you should know the other now. Phoebe carries a torch from early 2000′s emo with a sad-at-heart, genius songwriting style that emphasizes pinpoint autobiographical lyrics, a cutting, (even humorous at times) wit, and a teenage, feminist, internet, millennial heart. Oberst for his part has kept up a steady output since Bright Eyes, and (at least lyrically) doesn’t seemed to have cheered up much. Better Oblivion Community Center’s self titled debut feels fresh & catchy. While there is definitely an aching sadness in the duo’s songwriting, light hearted moments abound, and the writing often points to getting older, all hard work & growth. There is the bouncing outro to “Sleepwalkin’” where their voices rise in unison singing “Acting insane, playing it safe, I wasn’t sold on that plan anyways. Feeling afraid of making a change.” Or in the bright, rolling verses of “My City” where they go looking for “little moments of purpose.” But the one song I kept going back to; the one I recorded to cassette tape and played on almost every drive home from work at 4am through April & May, is the bittersweet closer “Dominoes.” Ironically, this one is a Taylor Hollingsworth cover (I think that’s him adding the random, spooky voice overs) but Conor takes the lead on vocals, singing a mostly lonely, hopeless tale, until the last verse when Phoebe cuts in. She’s “carpooling to kingdom come, into the wild purgatory.” Encouraging us to “Experience a magic rainbow, all you gotta’ do is follow. & if you’re not feeling ready… There’s always tomorrow.”

“The world will not remember when we’re old & tired / We’ll be blowing on the embers of a little fire…”

BIG THIEF / U.F.O.F. & Two Hands

2019 was the year that I finally finally got really really into Big Thief. A band’s band known for their live show (I still have yet to see them live) their following seems equal parts cult-y and universal. How a band that sounds the way they do, made it almost to the top of the indie-rock world is an exciting & inviting mystery.

This year, for me, the catalyst was “Cattails.” Released at the beginning of April, this song struck me and stuck with me, making its way onto almost every mix I made last Spring, Summer, & Fall (including this one for my Mom!) A real song of the year contender (& my #1 most listened to song of 2019 on spotify!), “Cattails” is a melodic, driving, beautiful tune, that finds singer & front person Adrienne Lenker marking Time (”riding that train in late June”) & Space (”going back home to the great lakes”) with grace & depth. There is a sacredness & mysticism tied up in a lot of Lenker’s writing and she refers to her writing experience with “Cattails” saying…

“It was one of those electric, multicolored waves of connectivity just sweeping through my body. I stayed up late finishing the song and the next morning was stomping around playing it over & over again. We thought why not just record it … & when James and I were playing it felt like a little portal in the fabric had opened and we were just flying. Listening back to it makes me cry sometimes.”

In truth, U.F.O.F. (the last f stands for “friend,” a way of humanizing the foreign) is a gorgeous record. Soft & gentle, full of songs about the constant tussle between things known & unknown. A real headphones-on-an-airplane record. And then, out of nowhere, Big Thief announced that they had a second (!) record on the way in the Fall. A dirt & earth twin for U.F.O.F., a special surprise gift for their burgeoning fan base. They announced Two Hands with the vicious single “Not,” a song very unlike “Cattails.” A brooding, ravenous rock song that made me remember why I love unhinged, well-written, unafraid rock & roll music. Another song of the year contender. If you’ve followed this blog the last few months, my well thought out comments to “Not” were “ohhhhhhhhhhhhh shit” & “oh my holy shit.” to the live version! But it was actually the second track on Two Hands that solidified Big Thief’s greatness for me. “Forgotten Eyes” is sonically similar to “Cattails” and rides the same effortless rhythm, driven by Lenker’s repeating guitar riff and James Krivchenia’s consistently impressive drumming. The riff seems to fall in & out magically, and the writing bookends “Cattails” with lyrics that speak to both a great pain & a great universal truth. While she wanders through homelessness & death, Lenker reflects beautifully on the life cycle we (& our planet, & maybe everything?) are all going through.

“Forgotten dance is the one left at birth / Forgotten plants in the fossils of earth / & they’ve long passed but they are no less the dirt / Of the common soil keeping us dry & warm / The wound has no direction / Everybody needs a home & deserves protection…”

BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT / At the Party With My Brown Friends

After finding Black Belt Eagle Scout’s debut album late last year, I soundtracked many a dusk, dawn, or midnight drive with her swirling vocals & entrancing guitar, usually in the cold & dark, through the early part of 2019. It made my 2018 favorites list, and her Larimer Lounge show in May was a highlight. I guess it makes sense then, that I didn’t truly fall for her sophomore album At the Party With My Brown Friends (released in August) until it got cold in November and I was able to take it out for some dark, snowy drives. Moody & serious at times, Black Belt Eagle Scout sounds every bit like the gray Pacific Northwest where front person Katherine Paul (KP) hails from. The lyrics are simple, repeating phrases, full of deep, important ideas. Family & friends. People & land. There are bursts of guitar coming out of rewarding slow builds, shredd-y, rhythmic, & melodic. Also, all the instruments on ATPWMBF are played by KP, and the drumming is fucking fantastic.

I have some sort of longer form writing building somewhere in the back of my mind about listening to music in cars, and both Black Belt Eagle Scout albums are perfect examples for that. I have always loved the feeling of having roads (highways or simply long straight dirt back roads) & music to listen to. In high school, we would sometimes get in the car simply to drive & listen to music (small town life ya know?) and I still relish any chance I get to take new (or old & long loved) songs & albums on road trips or just commutes around town. The time to sit with the songs, to focus on nothing but the words & melodies, instruments & voices, & the pull of the road, mystical & magical. Black Belt Eagle Scout’s songs have been a calming companion on a lot of drives over the last year, and I recommend you taking them out on a spin of your own. Drive to that coffee shop that’s 30 minutes away that you’ve been wanting to go to, drive out of town just to drive, alone with your thoughts & the road. You just might learn something about yourself.

“& I wake up / I love you / Screaming loudly / Screaming softly too / Am I here? / My heart dreams…”

BON IVER / i,i

Bon Iver is a long time favorite and if you’ve followed this blog at all, you know how much I love his albums and how much Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires festival has helped shaped my musical timeline. Seeing 22, A Million (the record that precedes i,i) live in Wisconsin by the river for the first time, was something special. That record made my 2016 favorites list, but until this year, until i,i, my story of the music felt very insular. Special & secret for me, confined to very specific times & places. Only to make me feel certain things. It’s why I was hesitant to buy a ticket to see the Red Rocks show last September. Or why I questioned streaming the album early while I was on vacation in Holden Beach, North Carolina. I thought the songs were only meant to carry me back to the river, back to Wisconsin, back to the Summer. Back to a very specific, special place in my heart. But thanks to the wonders of spotify, and the Bon Iver crew just up and releasing the album a week early under the simple & generous guise of “wanting folks to have the album & learn the songs before the tour!!” I obliged and… YESSSS that’s how you do an album release in 2019! I had the album in my headphones as I ran and sweated on the beach in North Carolina, letting brand new songs transport me thousands of miles away.

i,i is a gloriously weird, perfected mess of a hit indie record. It’s everything I wanted the next chapter of the Bon Iver story to be. It feels personal & widescreen. Little moments stretched out and shared with family & friends. Lyrics about growth & hard work & life (& a few WTFs, it’s Bon Iver after all!) The gang’s all here again (the massive crew that worked on the album are all pictured on the record’s gloriously, weird inside gatefold!) recorded from Vernon’s home (April) base in Wisconsin, to Sonic Ranch in west Texas (also pictured in the liner notes) walking distance from our southern border. The sounds are all here again too. There are hints of For Emma’s Winter falsetto folk in the gorgeous acoustic guitar of “Marion.” There are the industrial swells & stomps, bleeps & bloops of bi, bi’s Spring in the warbling, green grass, warmth of “Holyfields.” Then there is the distortion, the choppy samples of 22, in the jigsaw glory of “iMi,” the way it starts & stops, all choruses & voices, real & programmed. Threads of new songs tied up with threads from long, long ago. There is a fullness to i,i, a generosity, a true front to back album, with hits & new favorites sprinkled everywhere. The second half blooms with the charging folk of “Salem” & “Faith” and the contentedness of closer “RABi.” These are songs that I will love for years to come. These songs make me happy. They make me think. They make me want to share them with friends. They make me want to work on relationships. Songs about life. Songs about true, unconditional friendship. As Justin said way back in 2015, when my journey with the Bon Iver story began “The story is history, nothing more. Only the music can rise anew. & it is gone as soon as it is sung. & so we sing again…” I am soo soo happy to sing again, with songs anew.

“Living in a lonesome way / Had me looking other ways / Cuz I am lost here again / But on a bright Fall morning I’m with it / I stood a little within it…”

EARTHGANG / Mirrorland

EARTHGANG’s major label debut Mirrorland comes in hot & dancing, a hip hop duo with a true tribute to Southern culture, and a whole world encapsulated in 14 tracks. My personal introduction to the EARTHGANG universe, came courtesy of a dusk till dark dance fest at Denver’s Underground Music Showcase on South Broadway back in sweaty July. Their energy was infectious, their stories hilarious, & their songs stuck in my head. Specifically the Young Thug featuring “Proud Of U,” a song that carries enthusiasm & positivity through to the end. Other standouts include colorful, bouncing opener “LaLa Challenge,” & the squealing horns of Atlanta hot spot, name dropping “Wings.” A concept album of sorts Mirrorland references “The Wiz” as a jumping off point saying,

“We thought about how, if we’re going to make a project sonically to rival The Wiz, we got to create another world for people to imagine & go to. You know when Dorothy got swept away and she met the Munchkins? That was such a beautiful thing. You could see Quincy Jones on the piano, just playing away. It’s really colorful. It’s really dangerous. It’s really trippy. It’s literally Freaknik Atlanta in the summertime—folks riding around in cars with big rims with paint on their faces.”

EARTHGANG was formed in 2008 by high school buddies Johnny Venus & Doctur Doc in Atlanta, GA. It’s impossible to ignore Outkast comparisons and for their part, EARTHGANG does their best to keep up the Southern hip hop tradition. Mixing in bits of soul, blues, & jazz, Mirrorland plays like an homage, a soundtrack to the South. A real reminder that the album is not dead. These songs sound best played together. Also, that the hip hop group, or duo, is not dead. And finally, that touring and playing live shows is most definitely not dead. I probably still wouldn’t have heard about EARTHGANG if it wasn’t for their primo UMS slot (at the same Import Mechanics stage where Leikeli47 & Kiltro played!) and infectiously positive live show. Speaking of their live show, see y’all at Cervantes on February 3!

“One time, one time for your baby moms / Two time for the hand in the candy jar / Holy Ghost showed up in my favorite thong / Three times in the car for the way we are / Another white man scared, another black man dead / Another rich man war, another red man bled / I been writing this album down way too long / When I drop my shit, pray it hit the toilet like lala, lalalalala...”

FRUIT BATS / Gold Past Life

In the Autumn of 2013, my coworker Cassandra Disney at Mile High Organics played me “When You Love Somebody” by Fruit Bats (had that song already been out for 10 years in 2013?!) on one of her early morning work mixes, and I immediately put it on one of my favorite (if embarrassingly bro-folk heavy) mixes I have ever made myself. Discovering a weird/cool indie band in the vein of all my other loves (Band of Horses, The Shins, Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc…) but more underground (!) was hipster heaven. I subsequently forgot about Fruit Bats for awhile, but was reminded with their graceful “comeback” album Absolute Loser in 2016. Although that one missed my favorites list, it gradually became a constant road trip companion; from the mountains of Colorado, through the great American Southwest, and even on some epic Mexican back roads. All alt-country, lost 70′s AM radio classics, and wistful, witty, & wise writing about highways and scenery. A true classic.

I was therefore super excited for Gold Past Life (Fruit Bats’s seventh album?!) to drop on Merge Records this Summer, and fell in love pretty quickly on a late afternoon drive across the high road between Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico back in late June. Swirling guitar, bouncy piano. and Eric D. Johnson’s piercing, clear, impassioned vocals. Fruit Bats sound timeless & effervescent. Upbeat guitar rock with some weird twists, and Johnson’s consistently bittersweet, humorous, & big hearted lyrics. Growing up, growing older, & grinning a wry smile at a golden world. After catching back to back beautiful Fruit Bats shows in Fort Collins & here in Denver at the Bluebird this September, these folks are the real deal. Long live touring bands, long live seventh albums, long live music marking time & space! Here’s to many more Fruit Bats albums, Gold Past Life will be car stereo classic for awhile.

“Still waiting around for some mystical shift in the winds / So honey please, don’t go just yet / Cigarette fingers, a shake in the knees / A bit blue, kind of tired, but not broken… Anticipating a magical bend in the road / So hang on, take it slow / Your go bag is packed & your hangover gone / Another dawn at the edge of the known world…”

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER / Terms of Surrender

Durham, North Carolina’s Hiss Golden Messenger (folklorist, family man, & singer-songwriter MC Taylor & revolving crew) have become something of a mainstay on this music blog & in my car’s cd player over the last five years. I picked up a used (!), advance (!) copy of Lateness of Dancers in the $1 bin at a record store in Seattle, Washington. after having been passed a burned copy of his 2010 solo album Bad Debt by an old coworker. Lateness ended up on my 2014 favorites list. Two years later, Heart Like A Levee made my 2016 list, and the next year, Hallelujah Anyhow was one of my favorites of 2017! I referred to the songs on Hallelujah as Hiss “building a repertoire, creating a legacy.” This may seem like quite a bit of superfluous backstory, but believe me, it is essential to the story, a journal of the journey. Geographic art for a topographic heart if you will. But anyway, Terms of Surrender…

The title is cryptic, referencing (as Taylor puts it “what we are prepared to sacrifice in order to live the lives that we think we want”) and the songs are deep (& growing deeper) & timeless. Not so much timeless in the way Yola’s songs sound timeless (skip down a few albums on this list to read about Yola!) but timeless in the way the songs seem to seep their way into my bones and stay for years. Terms burst on the scene with the release of the first single “I Need a Teacher” back in stormy June. With bright, rolling guitar stabs courtesy of The National’s Aaron Dessner (whose upstate New York recording studio was home for the Terms recording sessions), “Teacher” is about “the search for infallible guidance in an ever-changing universe.” but it is also about everyday work. Dedicated every night of the tour to all the teachers in the room, a political statement wrapped up in the seemingly obvious sentiment of “Defend Public Schools.” See what I mean? Timeless songs written for the here & now. “Bright Direction” & “My Wing” are reminiscent of Hallelujah’s “Jenny” & “Darkness.” a 1-2 punch of driving, drifting major key numbers, written from a hillside in Virginia, high on mushrooms. They contain multitudes. With a murky middle (Brad Cook gets funky on “Old Enough to Wonder Why” & “Cat’s Eye Blue”) & the already canonical Hiss’ live fav “Happy Birthday Baby,” the back half of Terms spreads out the Hiss’ sound in new ways. New live favorite, the nostalgic “Down at the Uptown,” had me googling maps of San Francisco to find the mythical Uptown bar where Taylor first heard Patti Smith’s Horses.

In late October, Hiss played an absolutely glorious three night run at little Globe Hall over in Globeville, just Southeast of where Interstate 70 meets Interstate 25. I went to all three shows. The shows were special & career spanning; from “Jesus Shot Me in the Head,” to Dead covers (& a Jesus & Mary Chain cover!) to all the Terms songs. I spent the Saturday afternoon before show #2, walking around the disappearing & rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in & around Globeville (& drifting across the highway into Sunnyside) listening to Terms of Surrender on my headphones. Thinking about the things I’m willing to sacrifice, thinking about the life I want, what are my Terms? After all, “It’s a real live world & I wanna live in it.”

“Something drove me crazy / Love had me lazy / Backwards won’t get me to my destination / Move me in some bright direction / Looking to be captured, looking for my freedom / Oh, dreams will come to get you / So careful what you’re wishing / Your family might correct you / Your heart might take a pounding / Make sure you take a picture…”

JUNE JONES / Diana

I can’t remember where I first heard of June Jones, but I’d like to think it was from one of my many Australian music friends (thanks Camp Cope, Julia Jacklin, Middle Kids, Courtney Barnett, Gang of Youths etc…!) The music community is a wonderful thing. June’s songs can be hard to explain, but Diana is an epic album that burns with a steady, stately drama. Most of the songs ride swelling synths and measured, 80’s sounding drums and center around June’s unique, emotive voice and head turning lyrics. Jones had fronted the Australian rock band Two Steps on the Water and written songs on the guitar for many years, but it’s pretty clear from listening to the writing and sound on Diana that these songs were meant for piano, synth, and a solo album. Her own writing. Her own words.

The album begins with the brooding “Rome From Afar” and the opening line “I got drunk again last night & I fell down outside the bathroom at my little sister’s party.” It then follows a dancing bass line into an apocalyptic nightmare of a world ending. “Meryl” is a gorgeous, autobiographical (?) song, an ode to “complicated” hard working women everywhere. There are parts of Diana that nod to it being a break up album, like in the gorgeously melancholic “Boulder Falling Slow” (”I am a boulder falling slow / You’re a magnificent spiderweb”) but I have been viewing it as just a complex, everyday life album. Jones lets her magnificent voice trail slowly over seemingly uncomfortable or awkward topics that she strives to make… not so. Sorry Alex Cameron, your “eating your ass like an oyster” line in “Miami Memory” is only the second best “eating ass” line this year after Jones’ “Look at You Go!” Her voice often belies the emotion in her lyrics, she works it up & down, and lets it stretch out over words, like in lonely closer “Sixteen Horses,” but she also sounds almost matter of fact at times. There is a moment in the piano led “Thorn” where she glibly throws “Have you seen the moon tonight? No, me neither, who cares about the moon when everything is dying?” over an understated horn trill. Everything is dying after all, but I want June Jones to sing it to me like an Australian Lana Del Rey or Matt Berninger. Trust me, you’ll be hearing more about June Jones in the coming years. Watch out.

“I haven’t thought too much about family / Ain’t got no husband or a couple of kids / I’ve spent 26 years in this office / I said goodbye to my relationships a long time ago / What does the mayor of a small town heart do after she retires?”

JUSTIN PETER KINKEL-SCHUSTER / Take Heart, Take Care

My long time music friend Adam over at songsfortheday had been trying to tell me about Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster for quite a few mixes with songs I loved from his 2016 release Constant Stranger. But it somehow wasn’t until I needed Take Heart, Take Care, that Schuster’s work hit me right. It didn’t feel like a light at the end of the tunnel, but more like a light in the tunnel, something lasting, a collection of songs lifting up & out towards a light. As Schuster wrote upon it’s release…

“Here, I’ve fumbled my way, as always, and of necessity, into a collection of songs that hold a light to the joys & comforts of life not given up on, those that appear over time as we are looking elsewhere, to surprise & delight us when we need them most. Sure, it’s me, so there are glimpses of and nods to the dark, but the dark is not winning anymore. I simply mean to acknowledge its presence. To me, that’s the most fundamental job of songs, of stories, of all art — to be allies, friends, companions, when we need them most and it’s my hope that these songs can do that work in a world that seems to need it. If you are lucky enough to have something good to say, say it. Please. We’ll thank each other, now & later.”

So i guess it’s that second part that I have found solace in through my 20′s and into my 30′s. That songs (and stories & all art, but songs & albums seem to be my thing) can be allies, friends, & companions, and that sometimes (like Hanif Abdurraqib wrote in his brilliant collection of essays “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us”)…

“If you believe, as I do, that a blessing is a brief breath to take in that doesn’t taste of whatever is holding you under: say I Speak To God In Public and mean more than just in his house, or mean more than just next to people who might also speak to God in public, or say God and mean whatever has kept you alive when so many other things have failed to.“

Take Heart, Take Care is a straightforward, well written, indie rock album. The songs ring true with light & darkness, an uplifting take on growing older and finding “Plenty Wonder” still to be found in the world. Schuster played the Hi-Dive on South Broadway in November, the last show on the Take Heart tour. A show I had bought tickets for months in advance, and I found myself in a crowd of maybe 15 people, celebrating the songs of Take Heart, Take Care. Listening to a writer with something good to say. Trying all in our own way to hold our own. I have a feeling I’ll keep these songs with me for awhile.

“Time is the mender / Whose strange mechanics yet untold / Bid us rise entwined together / So take heart, take care / Be true but beware / & honey we need not be scared…”

KARA JACKSON / A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart

In only 10 minutes & 42 seconds, Kara Jackson creates an intimate, magical world with just her voice and a guitar on her debut EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart. Four intricate & intentional songs, none longer than three minutes, finger picked slowly & methodically, Jackson balances a poetic, whimsical wandering with a steely focus on the craft of songwriting. These are the bones of songs, played honest & upfront, with no adornment. There is room for Jackson’s lyrics to really shine, all aching & wistful, yet practical. Like the way she balances “I have a crush, I have an ache” with “I know that love’s just a pain in the ass” in the bittersweet “Crush.” Her songs buzz with a youthful energy & teen angst. Wise beyond their years, finding their way in the world. As a songwriter and a poet, Jackson writes about race, activism, social justice, self, bodies, & humanity.

At 20 (!) years old, Chicago’s Jackson is... oh also a poet. The 2019 National Youth Poet Laureate (!) in fact, and it was her absolutely breathtaking writing about being a teenager that first caught my attention. She quotes Gwendolyn Brooks (pulitzer prize winning American poet) in her Ted Talk saying “write what’s under your nose.” She says that Brooks took the mundane and put it on a pedestal. That she understood there are “poems in train cars, poems on front lawns, & poems in microwaves & tea kettles.” An almost obligation to celebrate the ordinary. Ordinary folks celebrating similar ordinary folks. It’s the way that John Darnielle howls on The Mountain Goats song “Werewolf Gimmick” (track nine on 2015′s Beat the Champ) about “nameless bodies in unremembered rooms.” In his prerelease essay for Merge Records, music writer Joseph Fink wrote that the entire career of The Mountain Goats has been about “giving names to nameless bodies and remembering unremembered rooms.” and what a worthy cause that is. That thought has stuck with me for years and I have always loved the specificity of it. Whether it is Darnielle resurrecting historical characters real or fictional, or the way Lady Lamb (keep reading a few more albums down!) celebrates the specifics of her friends & family, in all the messy details. Written in song, remembered forever. It is also essential that all cultures have artists who look like them and think like them, as the ones doing the remembering. It’s why it’s so important that Kara Jackson is the one doing the remembering for young black girls. The same way Eve Ewing did for her, and Gwendolyn Brooks did before that. I can appreciate the magic of the remembering, but I need to let them be the ones to tell the stories. Oh, speaking of appreciating, I bugged Jackson enough on social media and got a handmade PHYSICAL copy of the EP that I’m hanging onto forever cuz it’s probably gonna be like the next original pressing of Bon Iver’s For Emma! Thanks Kara!

“Don’t take my pillowcase, that's my place to be alone / Don’t take my lamp from me, it helps me read about places I don’t know / Don’t take a lot for me to be on my own...”

KILTRO / Creatures of Habit

My end of the year albums list usually has at least one local Denver band. The Lumineers way back in 2012, Gregory Alan Isakov & Covenhoven in 2013, Nathaniel Rateliff, Covenhoven (again!), & The Yawpers in 2015, Nina de Freitas in 2017 (hey Nina & the Hold Tight, new album in 2020 please?!), and Izcalli last year. Kiltro is a part Coloradan, part Chilean folk band that have been putting on one of my favorite live shows around town this year. The brainchild of Chris Bowers-Castillo, a native Coloradan who spent time growing up in Valparaiso, Chile, Kiltro is named after the Spanish word “Quiltro” meaning a mixed breed dog. A dog that Kiltro has taken for their logo. In their own way, Kiltro is a mix breed; both in the way they mix the sounds of South America with the folk music of North America, and also the way they mix organic, acoustic instrumentation, with electronic, looping sounds and effects pedals. Their live show is a masterclass in layers, with Bowers-Castillo adding loops of guitar rhythms (sometimes simply bare hands slapping beats on the top of the guitar) to steady bass & drums, until the songs swell & build into dramatic crescendos and almost EDM-influenced drops. The extended intros & outros are my favorite parts of their songs and the live versions (from their sweaty 2pm UMS dance party, to Lulu’s Downstairs in Manitou Springs) have stirred hearts & feet alike with dancing not usually found in the Colorado “indie-hipster” scene. Keep an eye on these guys and maybe come out to Larimer Lounge in January and witness the dance party for yourself!

“Somewhere down the bank where the dogs go / Por la calle que te lleva a Curicó / & down the beach, where no others can find / Ni por agua, piso, coche, ni avión...”

LADY LAMB / Even in the Tremor

As I have been writing this year’s favorites list, I’m realizing that so many of the albums I loved & learned, came hand in hand with experiencing the artist, and specifically that new album, live. Lady Lamb released Even in the Tremor, her masterful & moving third album, way back in April, and I had a Spring-y three weeks to learn all her intricate, visceral lyrics to sing back at her Larimer Lounge stop in Denver on the Deep Love tour. Maine by way of Brooklyn’s (by way of a bunch of other places) Aly Spaltro has always written songs for Lady Lamb like her hair’s on fire. Wailing & gasping about blood & guts & death over spiraling electric guitar, there is a realness to her writing that reminds me of the east coast emo I grew up on. But for all the blood red gore & messy heartbreak that colors much of the Lady Lamb discography, there is a light hearted tenderness as well. Tremor has songs written for & about friends, lovers, parents, & god. Quirky opener “Little Flaws” is a first-dance-worthy love song, while personal favorites “Strange Maneuvers” & “Emily” are odes to platonic friendships, mental health, & growing up. In the same way I wrote about Kara Jackson celebrating the ordinary, Lady Lamb has always celebrated specifics of people, time & space. Tremor’s characters are Spaltro’s real life people (Emily, Shervin, Kurt (Kurtie Bear), Isaac, & her Mom), and the places (the diner, the batting cage, Templehof Park, Midtown, Berlin, Montreal, Madrid, a fast food joint, the stage of a church, someplace upstate, Lavanderia & Graham Ave) are specific, varied, & globe spanning. Her stories are autobiographical and rewarding and the music is stirring, singer-songwriter rock & roll with some punch behind it. She is one of my favorite modern writers for her ability to not just tell a story, but to find wonder in the small things and to celebrate the ordinary. Like she tells Shervin, minutes before “Emily” closes the album on a gorgeous, uplifting high note, “No photographic artifact, but here is something better than that.”

“There’s a picture that I found, my first car in the falling snow / Seems like yesterday I drove down into low tide / & Isaac snapped a polaroid of me pretending I was sinking, pressed against the glass pleading / I misplaced it but I’m looking... / When we are young, if only we could see beyond our fears where we are free / When we are lonely if only we could know that in our stillness we are growing... / All the portraits we collected, while we were running around in the desert / We were trying to seem fulfilled to rewrite our New York City narratives / But Emily we were utterly dejected / We took turns crying on the passenger side of America / Too clouded to be empowered by towering Redwoods... / When did we lose the ancient truths? / Is it what we’re born bending our bodies toward?...”

LIZZO / Cuz I Love You

For much of 2019, Lizzo could be heard playing everywhere. The 31 year old Minnesotan’s third full length album Cuz I Love You, came out in April, after a busy three years of huge singles, consistent touring, & building a repertoire of songs capable of headlining arenas. When Lizzo finally exploded these last few years, it has been fun watching the whole world embrace her uptempo, bold, self-love anthems, and hearing them blaring from open Subaru windows in Cap HIll, from balconies & rooftops in uptown, and on the lips of countless joggers & bikers, loving themselves in the Denver Summer sun. I know for my part, I took Lizzo with me to the beaches of North Carolina & through the Southern mountains of Colorado, dancing, singing, & gleefully giggling along. Bottom line, the songs on Cuz I Love You are FUN! You try not to crack a smile as Lizzo romps through “Never been in love before, what the fuck are fucking feelings yo?” on the bouncing, brassy, vocal led, track one title track MOMENT. Or the way she makes up the word “accessorary” on the spot (“my ass is not an accessorary”) and then fires back with “Yeah, I said it, accessorary!” Lizzo has been an outspoken supporter of our generation’s version of the self-love, body positivity movement, and has put her money (and body) where her mouth is, inspiring legions of teens & twenty somethings to do the same. “Soulmate” is a loner anthem that finds Lizzo belting “True love ain’t something you can buy yourself / True love finally happens when you’re by yourself / So if you by yourself, then go and buy yourself another round from the bottle on the higher shelf.” The soulful slowdown “Jerome” is about being the bigger person and ending a relationship that isn’t working. Lizzo manages to actually address her own issues, focus on the work she needs to do (“I’m trying to be patient & patience takes practice.”) and still absolutely belt a singalong chorus that rhymes Jerome with “take your ass home.” Also, the deluxe version of Cuz I Love You tacks on three previous Lizzo singles that hadn’t found an album home. Those singles? “Boys,” “Truth Hurts,” & “Water Me.” Three songs totaling almost 555 MILLION plays on Spotify. With apologies to Ariana Grande & Billie Eilish (Billie see ya in a few months at the Pepsi Center!) Lizzo is the biggest superstar that I want on this list. And she 100% deserves every bit of it.

“If I’m shinin’ everybody gonna’ shine...”

ORVILLE PECK / pony

There is an appealing, theatrical quality to the dramatic country songs on Orville Peck’s debut record Pony. I spent my high school years growing up in small town Western Colorado so country music has been embedded in my brain since I was 11. I’ve gone through so many phases of loving it, hating it, loving it ironically, nostalgically, hating it for it’s sound, cheesiness, backwards politics, etc... But with Pony; these are true country songs written by a gay, masked cowboy anti-hero from.. Toronto? Maybe? Who is Orville Peck?!?! It’s like all the best parts of “country” music came together. And the mask? The fringe? All the packaging & theatrics? It makes it fun. Part Bowie, part Coheed & Cambria, part Grace Jones, part Ghost, part Brandon Flowers. Hollywood meets Vegas meets Carson City.

When I listen to Orville Peck’s songs it brings together so many feelings from my youth. From country radio & boxes of old country cds, to the dramatic side of theatre, play acting on a stage, dress-up, halloween, cowboys, loneliness, & the open road. From the tumbleweed roll & mournfully powerful coyote howl of opener “Dead of Night,” to the shoegaze rumble, autumn ride of “Winds Change.” Peck’s lyrics are honest & heartfelt, drawing on sweeping, western imagery, & idolizing the classic country ideal... the cowboy. Music marks time & place and Peck makes sure to reference the cities along his highway songs. Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Carson City, Kansas, a veritable Rand McNally road map of the American West. In the same manner as both Black Belt Eagle Scout albums, Fruit Bats, & Caroline Rose from last year, it wasn’t until a highway drive that I truly fell in love with Pony. It was a brilliant November sunset & still warm, but windy & changing, and we knew we had to hustle to beat the snow back to Denver. Highway 159 from the Southern Colorado border through Costilla County, on the way towards Fort Garland & then Walsenburg. Purple & Orange out the window to my left, Winter on it’s way. Peck’s songs sang with a heartache... a loss. a rhinestone loneliness that country finds a way to revel in. When “Kansas (Remembers Me Now)” statics out like a long lost FM radio. When “Hope to Die” fake ends at 3:30 and instead key change pivots like a washed-up Broadway starlet, shooting her shot on a dusty jukebox. When “Nothing Fades Like the Light” draws its last, peaceful breath, closing Pony like the last light of that November sunset. Thanks Orville, this one’s a classic.

“Fell in love with a rider / Dirt king, black crown / Six months on a knucklehead hog / I like him best when he's not around / He gets me high, oh, big sky... Fell in love with a boxer / Stayed awake all year / Heartbreak is a warm sensation / When the only feeling that you know is fear / I don't know why, oh, big sky...”

RAPSODY / Eve

Rapsody’s third album Eve is a masterclass on rap music, and the Snow Hill, North Carolina rapper sounds relaxed & loose, while still staying focused & on topic with an album that reads as, as Rapsody herself puts it “a love letter to all black women including myself.” She is at the top of her game right now, and these songs cement Rapsody as one of the premier rappers in an exciting field of rap talent both young & old.

Each track on the album is dedicated to one of Rapsody’s personal heroes, and I am going to focus these words & my research for Eve (besides listening to it nonstop, which I’m currently doing now!) on those black women. Track one is for Nina Simone (”without Nina there’s no Lauryn Hill, & without Lauryn Hill there’s no Rapsody.”) and features critically important verses about black heritage & culture over Nina’s terrifying & sobering classic “Strange Fruit.” Rapsody is recognizing her legacy and the importance of heritage, but she is clearly claiming her spot in that bloodline. “Cleo” preaches standing up for yourself over a Phil Collins sample (between Cleo & Lucy Dacus, “In the Air Tonight” is getting some serious love this year!) and is named after Queen Latifah’s character in the 1996 movie “Set it Off.” From there Rapsody recognizes artists (Aaliyah), philanthropists (Oprah & Michelle Obama), actresses (Whoopi), athletes (Serena Williams & Ibtihaj Muhammed), writers (Maya Angelou & Reyna Biddy), models (Iman & Tyra Banks), and historical figures & activists (Hatshepsut, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Sojourner Truth, & Afeni Shakur). Bottom line, ALL of these women are essential google material (you’re reading this on your phone or laptop, google and give yourself a five minute refresher if there’s anyone you don’t already know!) While you’re at it, google the lyrics for Eve (and Jamila Woods’ equally incredible, equally name dropping LEGACY! LEGACY!) and listen along. This is an important time capsule document for Rapsody and it’s just a damn good rap album.

“I am Nina & Roberta, the one you love but ain't heard of / Got my middle finger up like Pac after attempted murder / Failed to kill me, it's still me, woke up singing Shirley Murdock / As we lay these edges down, brown women, we so perfect...”

SABA LOU / Novum Ovum

When I listen to Saba Lou’s intoxicating sophomore album Novum Ovum, I am transported to somewhere magical & different. Maybe older, maybe out of place & time. Everything about Novum feels… classic. From the dusty, record-store-bin-find look of the out of focus cover photo, to the laidback natural way Saba Lou seems to dance along on top of a rollicking house band lifted from the 70’s. There are elements of surf rock, shoegaze, late night soul, and classic rock & roll on Ovum, but it is all driven by the singular writing & vocals of Saba Lou. In the liner notes of the record, a note can be found, claiming that this album is meant to be from the future. 2286 to be exact! Is a concept album?! Is it actually from the future & delivered to us by a time traveling band of Germans?!! Does it have songs about Star Trek??!! Maybe, mayyyybeee... & YES!

Yet to turn 20 (!), Saba Lou is a German born singer songwriter who has been making & releasing music since she was literally six years old! Novum Ovum is Latin for “the new egg” and features a hot four piece full band, and wonderfully fleshed out songs that bounce and swing with palpable energy. The lyrics span an awesomely wide spectrum from endometriosis pain (the title track obv) to a Star Trek mindmeld tune sung from the perspective of Gracie the pregnant whale (closer “Humpback in Time”)!! All in all, Saba Lou is an absolutely electric songwriter and her youthfulness & fervor are contagious. It’s the reason I love making this list every year, and what makes discovering new music so exciting. Can’t wait for the next one!

“A brick wall around your placenta / Cut them all off from her mother blood / The hounds call for appassionata / A phoenetic paste for the fetal bud...”

SHARON VAN ETTEN / Remind Me Tomorrow

Over the last few years I started the practice of making a draft favorite albums list in January and adding albums throughout the year, as I fall in love with them. This way I don’t forget the ones I loved in January & February, the ones that got me through the backend of the Winter. I’m able to track my year in music as it develops, a sort of captain’s log. A living, personal journal using music to mark time & space as I sprint my way through another increasingly faster, increasingly chaotic year. Sometimes, scrolling through the list acts as a comfort. “That album only came out this year?! OK, this year isn’t moving too fast, that feels like forevvverrrr ago!” Sometimes it helps to show me how much I’ve grown, how much an album has meant, or has helped with my mental & emotional growth. This year, the very first album I added to that list, the very first album that I fell hard & holy hell in love with... was Sharon Van Etten’s Remind Me Tomorrow.

A blast of energy. A weird synthy, pulsing red & blue darkness. Simultaneously club-y & indie rock vibey. Van Etten’s fifth album is supposedly written from a place of contentment. A marriage, a child, a life & happiness discovered. Less desperation, more introspection. I hear in her voice & words, how taking care of yourself, how striving to be your best self, can bring out the most powerful, most emotional art. She also isn’t afraid to let her voice go and I think her vocal performances are what truly take Tomorrow to another level. “Memorial Day” rides a haunting vocal loop & tumbles in nearly wordless, glimmering vowels, all ethereal magnificence. The chorus of the brooding “Jupiter 4″ spirals upwards & then rollercoasters, a late night drunken banger. But at the heart of Remind Me Tomorrow sits one of my songs of the year, one of my songs of the decade, “Seventeen.” I had heard it first live, way back in October 2018 in the rain in the mountains at Red Rocks. I got tipsy & wrote about it the day it came out, January 8, 2019, after a long, cold stretch working the night shift. This album & especially this song will stay with me for a long time. Sharon has taught me to keep working on myself. To look back in fondness. To think about how, with hard work, how much joy & peace & comfort await in my coming years. But she also taught me to lean into emotions. To embrace the ache of memories and the bittersweetness of growing up. Thanks for making this album Sharon.

“Downtown hotspot, halfway up the street / I used to be free, I used to be 17 / Follow my shadow around your corner / I used to be 17, now you're just like me / Down beneath the ashes & stone / Sure of what I've lived and have known / I see you so uncomfortably alone / I wish I could show you how much you've grown...”

TIM BAKER / Forever Overhead

I have a special feeling tied to the collection of intimate, swirling songs Tim Baker released this year from Canada. Forever Overhead carries a certain small town holiness, recognizable to those who grew up in small towns , but specific to his own personal, north-north-eastern-eastern “small” town, St Johns, in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. Growing up on the farthest coast of the Atlantic on the tippy, tippy point of Canada (seriously google it!), Baker fronted emo band Hey Rosetta! for four albums until striking out this Spring on his own with Arts & Crafts Records. There is a very Springsteen-esque bent to the way he writes about growing up somewhere (as someone) small & wanting to be somewhere very big and exciting. He captures the bittersweetness of growing up so perfectly. From the teenage romantic feelings in swaying opener “Dance” & the rousing “Mirrors,” to the friends & bars & singing found in the melancholic “Spirit” and the absolute hit “All Hands.” The latter is the core of the album, a bright, rhythmic guitar number that builds & swells with voices & instrumentation to a few huge, singalong choruses. A real song of the year contender. Baker isn’t afraid to let the songs go on journeys on Forever Overhead and they rarely finish where they begin. Horns & handclaps burst in at points, celebratory & fearless. The sexual tension of “Strange River” is lightened with a false start and a “sorry. In ‘D’” followed by a belly laugh, before restarting. The light & dark are present throughout Overhead and listening to these songs remind me of growing up. I feel like I’m being given a secret glance into Baker’s youth and the parts that mirror mine make me want to lift my voice in unison with those that understand. Sometimes small collections of well written & well played songs can do that, and to me... it’s sacred. Hopefully I get a chance to visit St Johns someday, and if I do, these songs will be playing as my soundtrack.

“A boy in bed, all the windows wide / You can hear the hot rods running from the light / From the light, into the dark / That's all I wanted in my cousin's car / To listen to the wind & to the lead guitars / & feel the reckless running of your heart / Now is that gone or does that all remain? / Can I go back and have it all again? / Well now I know it, where I'm going / I'm going back behind the river / I'm going back behind the rain / Cuz no matter where you're heading / You end up where you’ve been...”

YOLA / Walk Through Fire

It’s clear from the first minute & 30 seconds of Yola’s debut full-length Walk Through Fire, that this album is destined to be an all-time classic. She comes in slow & wistful with “wish I knew what you were wishing for...” over a soft wash of cymbals and mournful country-soul guitar. Then one minute in, her voice swells to gigantic proportions, seeming to lift the song right off the page, carried into another stratosphere, timeless & magnetic. That “Faraway Look” in your eyes.

From there, Yola (36 year old Yolanda Quartey from Bristol, England) takes her commanding voice through bluesy, fiddle-led country (”It Ain’t Easier” & the title track), and laid back soul (”Shady Grove” & “Deep Blue Dream”). Personal fav “Ride Out In The Country” became a backroads, summer anthem for me this year on multiple trips through Southern & Western Colorado. Through it all, her voice booms, whispers, & rocks gently, propelling the songs forward with warmth & light. Her lyrics are full of both dreamy memories & work-a-day stories about the challenges of life. It was fun this year to have different friends & family members get into Yola at different times, getting texts like “have you heard of YOLA??!!” Sharing songs, & collections of songs (like the ones on Walk Through Fire) is what makes making this list every year so fun, and I’m always excited to see what new, life-long favorites I will discover. See you in a couple months at the Bluebird Theater on Colfax here in Denver Yola!! Can’t wait!

“A little shady grove / A memory long ago / A tale too old to know the ending / I gave it all away / It takes my breath away...”

#yola #tim baker #Sharon Van Etten #saba lou #Rapsody #orville peck #lizzo #lady lamb #kiltro #kara jackson #june jones #hiss golden messenger #fruit bats #earthgang #bon iver #black belt eagle scout #big thief #better oblivion community center #justin peter kinkel-schuster

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