#but i definitely have read the nees book in any case and it would probably be an interesting read if you want to know more about this | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

akehoshimystar · 6 months ago

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Chapter 3

Shinobu: One Oracle?

Kiho: It's a simple form of fortune-telling where you draw a card and decipher the answer.

Tarot and oracle are technically different things, but let's leave out that complicated stuff.

Shinobu: Wow, seems like it would be easy to join.…. Crap! I forgot I had to call Mika-nee about a customer.

I'm off for a bit, you two enjoy yourselves~

With that, Aizawa-kun left for the staff room, and the store fell silent for a moment. After a long, not short, but just the right amount of time, Kiho-san spoke again. As always, there's not a single moment of awkwardness or stagnation in the conversation he leads.

Kiho: It says in the document that we need to discuss how to incorporate flowers into this fortune-telling.

Ito: About that... I was thinking of making bookmarks with flowers with positive meanings to hand them out at the end of the fortune-telling.

I think I can ask Ichikawa-kun to do the illustrations and design, and I've already found a few candidates for the printing store.

Kiho: Ah, that might be good. If you prepare several types, I can convey the fortune-telling results in a more connecting way.

Would you mind if I choose the flowers for the motif myself?

Ito: Eh? Not that I mind, rather, I'd be very grateful... but I don't intend to make it that much of a hassle for you.

Kiho: Don't worry, it's not a hassle at all.

Due to my previous job, I am quite familiar with flower language.

Ito: (His previous job made him knowledgeable about flower language? .....A florist, perhaps?)

Kiho: If you don’t mind, allow me to take over the work related to the bookmarks, including cooperating with Ichikawa-kun. I'm sure there is a mountain of other things you have to do, Ito.

Ito: (...I feel a bit reluctant to increase the work of someone, especially Kiho-san, who is almost like my boss.)

(Flower language is an important part of this project. It's definitely better to have someone who knows one or two things about it take on this task than for me to look for it with my superficial knowledge.)

In that case, let me take you up on your offer. Thank you so much.

Kiho: That settles it. But why bookmarks?

Ito: I initially thought about postcards, but I also didn't think there was much use for them.

Of all the practical things, paper bookmarks were the cheapest to make.

Kiho: I see.

Ito, do you dislike things that are not practical?

Ito: Eh? I wouldn’t say that..... Let’s see.....

It's fine if I receive it myself, but when I think about giving it to someone else, I tend to remove it from the options.

Kiho: Why would that be?

Ito: ……Uhhh...

(Is he trying to read my mind right now?)

Kiho: Sorry, you don't need to think too hard about it. I was just wondering. So, is there any particular reason?

Ito: I can only think of obvious reasons like there being a certain number of people who would find it annoying to receive one...

Probably nothing in particular.

Kiho: Oh yeah?

Kiho-san gave a somewhat vague response before gently closing the conversation. But he still seemed to be asking, “Really?” with a smile. Maybe Kiho-san was wondering how I would answer that question. But in the end, he didn't check the answer.

The reserved seats for the event were all booked shortly after it was announced.

The day before the event, just when I thought preparations were going smoothly and I would be able to greet the day without any problems…

The “unexpected event” happened.

Ito: Good morning.....Ah.

(He’s on the phone.)

Yuzuru: ………Yeah, I can take your place for lunch today. I should be able to start without any problems, I will head there right away.

Then, I'll talk about the details later tonight.… No, not at all. I'm sorry, but I can’t say that I’m not grateful. Sorry for bothering you even on your day off.

Any time is fine, so please get some rest for now. Thank you for your cooperation.

Yuzuru: Phew... Good morning. Sorry for causing a ruckus early in the morning.

Ito: Is it an urgent job?

Yuzuru: The ST Dept. has suddenly been tasked with an agent job. I was discussing that matter just now.

This is an ongoing personal guarding job that strictly requires Yu’s presence, and is also an irregular request.

He wanted me to take his place until tomorrow night.

Ito: ….! Don’t tell me Nina-san can't attend tomorrow's event?

Yuzuru: As you may have guessed.

That being the case, the only kitchen staff left will be Yashiro-san.

I'll have to think about it a bit.

Ito: ...I see what happened now.

Yuzuru: I wish I could have taken your place. But that is proving to be difficult.

Ito: That's true...

If Kise-san is going to take Nina-san’s place in the kitchen, someone else will need to take his place. At Aporia, which operates with a small but elite team, each person's role is already heavy. Kise-san’s position and work, which covers the whole team, are rather special. Not something that can be easily replaced.

Ito: (But the kitchen shifts are always shared between Kise-san and Nina-san. Is there any other staff who can do the cooking...?)

Yuzuru: If I manage to adjust other matters, I think I can ask Ai-san to help out around the dining area.

And maybe I can secure some time to help out in the kitchen.

Either way, we'll need a full-time person. And that’s why I asked Tomose.

Ito: Eh?

(.…..Did I mishear something? Just now, I think I just heard a name that didn't cross my mind even once.)

Yuzuru: As for the menu, I have some time tonight, so I think I can teach it to him.

Ito: …..Currently, Nina-san is responsible for most of the cooking work.

It may not be much, but I'd like to help out a little more.

If you don't mind, please let me join in too. As long as you don’t find me a bother.

Yuzuru: No way! Not at all. That would be great. But it looks like we'll be meeting a little late today.

We'll have to come early tomorrow, so please don't push yourself.

Ito: You don’t have to worry about that. I'm actually grateful to be able to review what we sell.

By the way, excuse me for asking this. Just to confirm...

The one who is in charge of the kitchen...

Yuzuru: .....? You heard it. It’s Tomose.

Onda Tomose from ST. Dept.

Ito: …..! (So my ears weren’t playing a trick on me!)

Chapter 4>>

#break my case #buremai #joseimuke #Aizawa Shinobu #Kise Yuzuru #Arima Kiho

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kareofbears · 5 years ago

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day 22: into the woods

Fuyumi understands how important this is.

After their father had left for work, Shouto walked up to Fuyumi with an expression she hadn’t seen on him since they were young.

She was reading a book in the dining room when he walked next to her. His face was neutral, and his hands were perfectly still and clasped behind him. His eyes, however, looked off into the side. That alone was enough to make Fuyumi put down her novel. Even in the face of fear (of villains, of their father), Shouto never fails to look at the battle directly, prepared for anything and more, pushing aside any fear and stomping his feelings underneath his feet. It’s how he survived this household for fifteen years.

He isn’t looking at her now.

“Nee-san,” he greets, head bowing slightly. Mentally, she frowns. No matter how hard Fuyumi tries, she can’t shake the unnecessary politeness from him, even when it’s just the two of them. An unfortunate habit of their upbringing.

“Shouto,” she smiles instead. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you’re busy on Saturday.”

Fuyumi can’t help but blink at her younger brother. Shouto making a request? It was rare enough to get him to tell her what he wants for dinner, always infuriatingly accommodating, let alone ask her of something for an entire day.

Saturday? She racks her brain, mentally flipping through her calendar to see if she missed anything. The only thing she comes up with is that their father is on a business trip to Hosu City. She isn’t dumb enough to believe that that’s a coincidence.

“No, probably just going to catch up on some marking.”

“Ah,” Shouto’s eyes glaze over, expressionless. “I see, I don’t want to bother you if that’s the case.”

“No!” Fuyumi exclaims before Shouto can even turn around. There was no way she was letting this slip by her, not when he just made a breakthrough like this. “I can easily do my marking tonight, or Sunday. It’s really not a problem!”

A hint of relief seeped into his heterochromatic eyes. “If that’s the case, would you mind if I brought someone over? I would like to introduce you to him.”

Despite the nonchalant tone he used, Fuyumi felt a lump in her throat.

After over a decade of watching Shouto, she saw more than anyone how much he missed in his childhood. Rigid training forced him to only have enough time for school, and punishment if he ever drops from the top five. She saw his isolation, not just from kids at school but from his siblings too, something Fuyumi will regret until the day she dies. Yes, she was too young to understand back then, but she definitely isn’t too young anymore.

Shouto never had friends, a fact that Fuyumi had known too well. He couldn’t have - their father wouldn’t allow them to waste time on petty things like friendships when they could focus on honing their quirks instead. For her and her siblings, they had slowly been allowed more freedom as time went on. Shouto, however, was their father’s favorite - a fact that brought many exceptions between him and his siblings, including the rules that came with socialization with other kids his age.

And after a few years, much to Fuyumi’s heartbreak, he had stopped trying.

For Shouto to bring someone to their house, a place filled with fire that only ever burned him in many, many ways, was almost enough to make Fuyumi burst into tears.

“O-of course!” she chokes out, struggling to school her overwhelming emotions.“Just let me know what time, okay?”

He nods. “Of course, thank you,” and with that, he walks away.

As soon as he walked away and was out of earshot, Fuyumi let herself slump back into her chair, eyes bugged out.

It doesn’t matter if the boy Shouto was bringing was an alien, or had three heads. She was going to bow deep enough for her head to hit the ground and thank him as many times as he’d let her.

---

Shouto left early to pick up his friend at the train station, leaving Fuyumi alone in the house to panic clean.

Considering that both Fuyumi and Shouto never picked up the habit of being messy (lest they want a problem with father), there isn’t much to do. She absent-mindedly shifts the plate of fruit that she’d dutifully prepared, despite Shouto’s protests that she doesn’t need to do anything.

She was about to meet Shouto’s first friend, or at the very least, a friend that’s important enough in Shouto’s heart that he was willing to merge his two worlds, school and home, a concept that was once impossible.

Is the boy nice? He must be a good influence to Shouto, if this entire situation was anything to go by. A small part in the back of her head wonders if the boy was only using Shouto as a means to talk to Endeavor. She squishes that thought, but not fast enough.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time for either of them. People, young and old, would attempt to befriend them just to see a glimpse of the domestic life and secrets of Pro-Hero Endeavor. It only added another reason why Shouto’s social life was something to be desired for many years.

Absent-mindedly, Fuyumi wanders to the kettle and wonders if it was too early to prepare their tea when she hears the door slide open, followed by footsteps.

“I’m back.”

She tries not to scramble on her way to greet them. A first impression like this was too crucial.

“Shouto,” she says, rounding the corner. Behind her brother, a plain-looking boy with a mop of green hair is carefully removing his shoes and neatly placing it by the door before he turns to her.

She can’t help but wonder if she’d seen him before.

“Todoroki-san,” he greets her, bowing. “Thank you very much for allowing me into your home, it’s very lovely.”

“Please, call me Fuyumi!” She exclaims, bowing in return, secretly ecstatic at the boy’s overwhelming manners. Probably not a manipulative monster, then. “And what may I call you?”

“Midoriya Izuku,” he answers, voice levelled.

Her mind twitches, but doesn’t recognize the name.

“Well, Midoriya-kun, let me get you some tea,” Fuyumi smiles, walking back to the kitchen.

“Thank you very much!”

Before she walks out of earshot, however, she hears Shouto huff. That alone was enough to make her smile—he’s so casual with him. Nothing like how he is at home. For a second, Fuyumi selfishly hopes she can see an insight on how Shouto acts with normal people.

“Are you nervous?” Shouto whispers.

“Of course I’m nervous!” she hears Midoriya blubber, voice poorly muffled and all calm mannerisms out of the window. “This is crazy nerve-wracking! It’s almost worse than meeting your mom—”

Fuyumi nearly trips on her own feet.

“—but it’s almost scarier somehow!”

Entering the kitchen, she’s now thankfully out of earshot. Fuyumi puts the kettle on the stove, thinking deeply. She needs time to process what she just heard.

Shouto took him to mom?

It was a near-miracle that Shouto had finally visited their mother. After years of coaxing, Fuyumi thought there was absolutely nothing she could say to get him to go. She begged, pleaded, yelled, but he didn’t budge an inch.

Then one day he came home, lightly bandaged from the sports festival, and admitted to her that he would be going to the hospital that day.

Fuyumi had no idea what had possibly gotten through Shouto’s skull, but she’d never question it. Whatever made him go was none of her business, but it still eased her heart to know that, even if the process was slow-going, Shouto was changing. Though she realized that he was very careful not to show his progress at home, which, as much as she hates it, made her a little bit relieved (and extremely guilty). If their father were to have even a whiff of a distraction for Shouto, a fallout would be inevitable.

The kettle whistles loudly, pulling her out of her musings. She grabs three china cups from the cupboard and drops tea bags into them, shaking her head.

If Shouto was willing to bring someone here, he must’ve considered the possible repercussions and the dozens of possible outcomes that could happen if their father finds out. Shouto is analytical, in and out of the battlefield. He’d consider things she wouldn’t even think about, outweigh the repercussions she’s never considered. Besides, Fuyumi refuses to be the reason that her younger brother feels isolated.

Not again.

Making her way to the dining table, she finds that the boys are already sitting there, speaking quietly yet enthusiastically to each other.

Well, Midoriya is, and Shouto is nodding along at whatever he’s saying.

Fuyumi would clutch her heart if she wasn't holding three cups of tea.

“Ah!” Midoriya says seeing Fuyumi. “Please, let me help you with that!”

“Thank you Midoriya-kun,” she smiles as he stands, relieving her of two cups. She’s liking this boy more and more.

As they both settle down into the table, silence stretches over the three of them

Up close though, Fuyumi couldn’t help but stare. There’s something familiar about him, nagging at her at the back of her mind. The green curls, the figure, the presence. Midoriya definitely wasn’t the largest boy she’d seen, but it’s almost as if he takes up the whole room.

Or an arena.

Everything clicks into place.

“Midoriya Izuku,” she gasps, name slipping past her lips. She remembers that name when it flashed on screen just before the fight. Of course it’s him. Of course the boy who made Shouto used his flames in battle would be the one to melt his heart. She’s watched and rewatched that battle many times, always going back to the few moments before Shouto lets loose a power he’s buried for the majority of his life.

All because of the words that came out of a boy sitting right in front of her.

He blinks. “Yes?”

“You’re the boy who fought Shouto in the sports festival,” she says softly.

“Oh! Um, yes?” Midoriya stutters, a blush peeking out from his shirt. “Well, yes, but I’m surprised you remember that, considering-

“You made Shouto use his flames.”

Midoriya pauses, and Fuyumi Isn't as surprised as she should be to see understanding dawn on his features.

Because Shouto told him. Probably not everything, but enough for Midoriya to understand the weight of Shouto’s flame being used. But Midoriya will never understand it completely, not the way Fuyumi does.

He shakes his head. “It wasn’t me, Fuyumi-san. Shouto’s the one who used it. I just...knew what to say.”

Fuyumi laughs, a little wobbly at the edges. She’d been trying to get rid of her tendency to cry ever since their father had found out how prone she was to it, but that’s just another failure on his part. “You say that as if it’s nothing.” She pauses, rolling her words in her head before throwing caution to the wind. If Shouto trusts him, she has absolutely no reason not to do the same. And besides, Midoriya deserves this much. And, not to mention, he called Shouto by his first name. That isn’t something she can easily overlook. “Growing up, I didn’t say anything at all.”

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling. “So thank you, for being the first one to speak out to him.”

Midoriya’s confusion melts away, revealing determined eyes and a warm grin.

“It’s my pleasure.”

#whoa would you look at that another bnha one #probably the last non persona one for the rest of the escaprils lmfaoooooo #bnha #tododeku #fanfic #mine #escapril #escapril2020 #fic tag

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iwrite-sometimes · 5 years ago

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Family is thicker than blood

Chapter 2

Rk 400 was a detective prototype designed to assist the DPD with any cases they have, so he didn’t know why he was being taken to a private residence to be a house android. When he meets his little charge, a boy named Connor, he will have to do things he wasn’t programed to do. But as he learns all the horrors the boy has to go through at the hands of his mother, he will feel things he was never meant to feel.

Chapter 1 here

AO3

Life at the Stern house started early. Hank had to wake Connor up and get him ready at 5 o’clock. They had to be fast because the boy was meant to do his morning reading at 5:30. He had to fix breakfast for 6:30 and the kid had to be quick, as he had his first lesson at 7 o’clock. Amanda wasn’t kidding when she said the boy was on a tight schedule, though Hank doubted that woman could make a joke even if her life depended on it.

His detective program was a little more advanced in comparison to the other two, it was clear that he had used it before even if he didn’t have any sort of memory of the time. He assumed he had worked for the DPD at one time, according to the conversation he heard in the lab but any memories he had from that time were gone.

They weren’t able to erase his original purpose, so his ‘personality’ was still there. Hank was meant to blend with police and law enforcement officers. He was meant to be a detective, so he was programmed to be observant, pay attention things others normally ignored and take care of any case that was handed to him. He was a little gruff, some might describe, both in appearance and in his way of being. But that, in a strange way, blended well with the new programs they had installed. He could see this kid was obviously being shaped to be some sort of trophy child, and Hank would do what he could to make his life a little easier. Maybe he could be a friend to the boy, he had seemed awfully quiet last night, but again it was pretty late when he arrived so maybe Connor was just tired.

All of these thoughts went by Hank’s mind while he headed up the stairs to Connor’s room. The poor boy was bound to be cranky, he had gotten at most 6 hours of sleep. Not nearly enough for a child so young, his program supplied. Well, nothing to do. Orders were orders and the kid was probably used to it by now. Maybe in one of his free periods during the day, Hank could fit a little nap or something. He was homeschooled, by the looks of it, so he had some free hours during his day.

Reaching the room at the far back of a long corridor, he saw a little name plate with neat cursive writing attached to the door. Niles & Connor. This is it. Hank gently pulled the door open and saw a simple room. The walls were a soft blue with white carpeted floors. There were two small twin beds on either side of the room just under a big window. Matching desks where near the beds, facing the wall. One of them was packed with books and neatly organized writing supplies. Hank couldn’t see any color pens or children books on either desk, and that made him think that perhaps this was his older brother’s room and Connor had moved elsewhere. He was about to leave when he saw slight movement from the bed on the right. A tiny head peeking out of the covers and what looked like the ear of a plush toy. So this was Connor’s room. The android took a moment longer to inspect the area. There were no toys, the other bed was neatly made and it was clear that no one had slept there for some time. The desk was similar to the bed, there were a few schoolbooks and some pens, but not much else.

From his database, Hank knew that children were often messy. He had expected to find clothes on the floor, books and toys scattered around. Hell, he expected to at least find one colored pencil or crayon, but no. This room looked like a guest room or an adult’s one, but definitely not like a child’s bedroom. Maybe Niles was a lot older than Connor and he didn’t want a childish room, Connor appeared to be quiet and meek enough to go along with anything he was told. Plus, it was obvious his mother favored his older brother.

Shaking his head, Hank approached the little bed. This kid was adorable, tousled brown locks going everywhere, a little pout on his lips, freckles all over his face and thin arms clinging to what looked like a dog plush. Well, at least he had one toy, for the looks of it.

The android gently placed his hand in Connor’s shoulder and gave it a little shake.

“Connor. Wake up, kid.” He kept his voice soft, as to not frighten the boy. The only reaction he got was a weak whine and a little frown on his face. He wished he could let him sleep a little more, but he had to wake up if he was going to make it to his morning reading (why such a young child needed to spend an hour reading at 5 in the morning was beyond Hank).

“C’mon kid, time to get up.” He said a little louder with another shake. Connor turned a little and hugged his dog closer while scrunching up his little face, but didn’t wake up otherwise. “I know you are tired, kid. I promise to try and squeeze a little nap later today, but your mom will be waiting for you in the library in a few, so we nee-”

As soon as Hank mentioned the boy’s mother, he sprung up with amazing speed for someone who had been peacefully asleep mere seconds ago. The kid’s eyes were wide open, scanning the room frantically before falling on the android in front of him. Fear changed to apprehension as he hugged his plush a little closer.

“Hey, it’s ok. We have time. C’mon I’ll help you get dressed and take you to the library.”

Connor blinked up at him owlishly and said nothing. After a beat, he got off the bed and put his dog on the opposite bed. The plush was obviously well loved, a soft St. Bernard dog with big brown eyes that reminded Hank of Connor. Hank noticed that the kid’s pajamas were huge for him. They fell off his little frame and swallowed him whole. Strange. Amanda was clearly not lacking in the money department, so the android couldn’t thing of a reason why the kid had clothes that were obviously not his size. Pushing his thoughts aside for now, he looked back at the toy.

“He’s cute, what’s his name? Or is it a she?” He tried to make conversation with the kid, but as of now, he hadn’t heard a single word come out of his mouth. He really wanted to think the boy was shy and wary of him, being new and all, instead of all the other suggestions that his detective program was giving him.

Connor looked at him for a moment longer before rubbing the sleep of his eyes with tiny fists and turning towards his bed. He climbed it again, and Hank was about to tell him he couldn’t go back to sleep when he realized the kid was beginning to make his bed. The boy was really short, so it was a fit watching him wrestle with the sheets like that.

“It’s ok. Why don’t you go and use the restroom while I do that for you? Then I’ll help you get ready.” Hank moved to pick the child off the bed when he turned to look at the android and rapidly shook his head. The fear he saw when he woke up was back again, it was really unusual. He could see that it was a lost battle, and if he wasn’t careful the kid would freak out.

“How about I help you? You will do everything yourself, but it’ll be easier and faster that way.” Hank moved slowly, as to warn the kid of his intentions. He picked the boy gently and helped him while he fixed his bed. God, this kid weighted almost nothing. Especially since the android was designed to have a bulkier built and could lift heavy things, the boy felt like nothing in his arms.

Once they were done, Hank placed Connor on the floor. The boy had a strange expression on his face, one he couldn’t identify. He looked at Hank for a moment longer before heading to the bathroom, leaving the android standing in the middle of the room. There was something off with this kid, he didn’t fit any of the standards of children his age according to his database, well, at least not his caretaker database. But it was something more, some deeper knowledge like something buried deep in his core. His investigative program was raising up some warnings, but they were in the background and quickly dismissed by a strange code he hadn’t seen before.

He headed to the wardrobe and found a lot of black slacks and white shirts. It looked like a uniform. There were some socks and undergarments in a drawer, some pajamas, coats and sweaters, all in greys, whites and blacks. The only color in here was some blue sweaters that were too warm to wear at this time of year. What a dull attire for a 6-year-old. He picked up some pants, underwear and shirt. He placed them on the bed just in time for Connor to come out looking just as sleepy as before. He gently helped the kid change and then combed his hair. His little curls gave him a really soft and childish look, it didn’t go along with his careful pose and fearful eyes. Hank finished placing the shoes on his tiny feet and helped him hop off the bed.

“All set! Ready to do some reading?” His fake-cheery voice sounded ridiculous even in his ears. As expected, Connor remained quiet and looked up at him. He approached the bed and picked up his plush dog before standing next to Hank. He carefully reached to take the android’s big hand and Hank was quick to hold it. Together, they left towards the boy’s first lesson of the day.

———————————————————————————————————–

Library really was the only word to describe the huge room they were in. Walls covered with printed copies of thousands of books. That was a rarity these days, most books were digital and it was very hard to find a printed copy of anything. There were cozy looking couches against the walls and a fireplace in the corner. A table with some open books and sheets of paper where on top of the table in the middle of the room. Amanda was sitting in one of the chairs, facing the door.

“Go begin the breakfast, Hendrik. Come Connor, let’s begin.” She regarded the boy as he walked up the table, head down and back straight. He placed his plush in the chair and sat next to it.

Hank left the room and went to prepare the food.

Every interaction he saw between Connor and Amanda was even stranger than the last. The woman obviously cared about the kid’s education, if the sheer amount of classes was anything to go by, but she didn’t seem to care for anything else. Hank couldn’t avoid but to be wary of that, he had been programed with the purpose to investigate and aid the police force, and that involved all types of cases, some including children. He didn’t have the memories of his time as a police android, but his database was all there. Pair that with the new programs and all of these mother-son interactions were enough to raise some warnings.

What also worried him was the fact that Connor hadn’t talked at all, not even a word. He wondered if the child was non-verbal and that’s why Amanda chose to have him be home-schooled instead of going to the same school as his brother. He started putting all the information he had gathered so far and see if his program might bring any sort of warnings of the treatment of the woman to Connor.

>>Gather more data to form conclusion.

Yeah, of course. He hadn’t seen anything that might raise a red flag. Yet.

Hank shook his head. The strange code was back and all his thoughts on the matter disappeared. He reached the kitchen and grabbed the tablet that had the menu of the week.

The food this woman wanted him to make was just as plain and boring as everything else in this house. Jesus, this kid ate the same food old people were getting at a hospital. Plain oatmeal. No milk or sugar, just water and oatmeal. Some barley crackers and a glass of water. This ain’t right. Hank looked again, trying to see if maybe she had a separate menu for Connor, something a little more flavorful than this. But no, that was it. All of the meals on the menu was the same, the occasional fruit was thrown here and there, but that’s about it. This is ridiculous, the kid gets no sleep and now he gets no food. What is his woman’s deal? His processor was going crazy, trying to make sense of what was happening. Something inside him was telling him things in this place were seriously fucked up. Then, his vision went back and he froze.

It was only a second, not enough for anyone to notice but himself. Something seemed to jolt him out of that train of thought and he suffered a quick reboot. His eye components came back online and he found himself looking at a tablet in his hands. What was he doing again? Ah, breakfast, right. Better get that done.

Without another thought, Hank began the task of preparing the food. His movements were precise, calculated. He was done in no time and started to clean up and get the table ready. Just as he was placing the water at the table, Amanda and Connor entered the kitchen.

Amanda moved fluidly as she sat at the head of the table and grabbed the little honey container and sweetened her food. She was wearing a similar white outfit with some green fabric over one shoulder that Hank didn’t know the name of and didn’t bother looking it up. Then he turned his sight to Connor and his processor seemed to stop.

The boy was standing near the door; it was clear he had been crying. His little arms were holding his dog close to his chest and he was trembling slightly.

“Connor.” Amanda’s voice was sharp and cold, not even caring her son was crying in the doorway. “I do not have all day for you to stand there like an imbecile. Eat, I won’t have you be late to your first lesson.”

Tears ran down his flushed cheeks as he walked to the table. He sat down and placed his plush in his lap, but made no move to start eating. One tiny hand raised and grabbed is ear, he was trying to calm down, to stop crying, and the look of this little boy, silently crying and obviously distressed in the middle of a cold dining room did something to Hank’s thirium pump.

He tried approaching the crying child, only for a pointed look from Amanda to stop him.

“Stop this ridiculous behavior this instant! You will eat your breakfast and freshen up to be ready for class, or the consequences will be severe. Have I made myself clear, Connor?”

The child nodded quickly, struggling to control his breathing and took the spoon with a shaky hand. He began to eat, still highly upset about whatever happened before breakfast but scared of his mother’s threat. Amanda resumed eating, and the only sound that could be heard was the cling of spoons against plates and the distressed breathing of the little boy.

Connor lifted his head and spared a quick glance at Hank, and when the android could finally see his face clearly, he felt his thirium freeze. One of Connor’s cheeks was redder than the other, slightly swollen and irritated. There was no way that could happen from crying, it looked as if the boy had been slapped. Hard.

“Don’t you have other chores, Rk400?” Amanda was looking at him with eyes that dared him to say something.

“Of course, ma’am. I will continue. Enjoy your breakfast.” The words tasted bitter in his mouth but his body was already moving to comply with his tasks.

———————————————————————————————————–

The rest of the morning went by, Hank took care of the house and discovered that the detective part of him had a word or two to say about chores, none of them good. Connor never left the room where he had his classes. Apparently, the kid had his lessons in a small office-like room near the library. He met with his tutors online and didn’t leave the room at all. Hank doubted the kid new other children, with the way his schedule was. It was strange that Connor didn’t take any sort of breaks or snack times, especially since kids his age didn’t have a big attention span, but as he had learned until now, Connor was a different boy.

Lunch was just a plain soup thing that had probably no taste at all and he had to serve it when Amanda came home after work. She arrived a little after midday, looking just as prim and proper as ever. She glanced at the android in the kitchen and went to fetch Connor. They took way longer than was necessary, considering the kid should be done with class already, but when they returned Hank expected the kid to be in the same state as he was this morning. Oh, how wrong he was.

His cheek was still red and puffy, it stood out even more considering the kid’s face was completely pale. Probably starving Hank hoped assumed. His little hand was clinging to his ear again while the other held his plush close. He looked upset, but Hank was coming to think this was a constant for the boy. He looked like a prisoner walking to his death. For once, he wasn’t looking down, but his eyes were looking straight ahead but not really looking at anything.

Hank’s program told him that some crazy shit was about to happen. He felt something like dread go through him. He could see some software instability warnings out of the corner of his eye, but he pushed them away. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it. Something in the back of his processor was screaming at him, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

Connor sat down, placing his dog between the chair and his back and went back to grabbing his ear. Nobody moved until Amanda picked up her spoon and began eating. The boy didn’t move, just staring at his soup with the same terrified yet resigned look on his face. Amanda gave the boy a sharp look and he flinched, letting his ear go and grabbing the spoon. He began eating mechanically.

Hank knew the woman was going to dismiss him, so he left towards the kitchen to clean up and adjusted his hearing processors so he could listen what was going on. For a long time, all he could hear were the sounds of plates and spoons making contact. Maybe he had overreacted. Maybe Connor was just hungry and tired.

“So, Connor. I talked to your teachers.” Hank had never heard the woman so displeased before. Maybe he was just full of shit.

“It looks like you are doing an adequate job in most classes. Not that anything less was expected of you, obviously. You clearly need more time studying, adequate is not acceptable like I have already told you but you seemed to keep forgetting.”

Connor’s breath hitched a little. It was the only reaction the boy had and the silence returned for a little.

“Ms. Clark, your history teacher, had some interesting comments today. She seems to think you are doing good in her class. However, there was a little, shall we say, inconvenient today. Care to tell me what happened, Connor?”

Hank could see a little of the dining room from the kitchen, just enough to see Connor’s hand drop the spoon and grab his ear again. Amanda continue eating, as if nothing was wrong. The boy didn’t say anything, but Hank could see him opening and closing his mouth, trying to form words through the panic he was in. Small sounds came out of the boy, but Amanda continued like he had answered her.

“You were sleeping in class. Sleeping, Connor. I do not know how you can pay attention if you are asleep, but I doubt you have that capacity.” The hell. It’s obvious the kid was gonna fall asleep, he was exhausted! Can’t she see that? Hank couldn’t understand how someone could be so blind as to not see this little boy being beyond tired. His schedule was too full; the pressure was simply stupid to place in someone so young! But she didn’t stop.

“I don’t think you understand the amount of time and resources you make me spend on your education. But to waste another one’s time on top of it? Was it not enough for you to already affect your brother’s progress so much that now you have to waste a teacher’s time as well?” Connor’s breath hitched, he looked like he was about to start crying and was trying his best to remain quiet.

“Or is that your objective, hum? Do you wish to hinder your brother’s progress? Is that why your performance is constantly disappointing? Are you actively holding your brother back?” Connor was shaking his head madly. He couldn’t hold his tears anymore and were now running down his cheeks.

The silence that followed was thick with the panic the little boy was in. He looked in the midst of a panic attack, rocking back and forth in his chair while never letting go of his ear. Hank was beyond worried, a 6-year-old was about to have a panic attack and his mother was just sitting there, berating him. The fuck is wrong with this bitch! Hank was about to go in there, do something, fuck he was ready to grab the child and calm him down before he had a massive breakdown. This is ridiculous, this qualifies as mental abuse, I don’t give a fuck.

>>DO NOT INTERVENE

A red wall showed in his vision showing that order she had given him the other day, he raised a fist to smash that shit to pieces. Before he could make contact with anything, Hank’s ear processors filled with static, it was so loud he could feel it damaging them. He couldn’t move, he was frozen in place and then. Nothing. All his processors went offline and he was left where he was standing.

A reboot started a few seconds later. The android could feel his senses coming back online. Finally, his eyes and ears components activated and he could see Amanda and Connor had finished eating. He didn’t know why the reboot had happened, this glitch was weird. He hoped he didn’t have to go back to Cyberlife so soon after being fixed.

Dismissing that thought, Hank moved to stand near the table and await further instructions.

“Come, Connor. I will help you with your homework this afternoon. You will have some garden time later.”

Amanda got up and started walking. Connor didn’t look very happy on the prospect of having his mother help him with his work, but he got up and grabbed his plush anyway. He quickly glanced at the android with careful eyes. Hank gave the kid a little smile but got no reaction as Connor turned and went after his mother.

Part of the afternoon went by in the same way. Amanda left at one point, probably went back to work while Hank took care of the cleaning. He was done with everything inside and the only thing he had left to do before dinner was the garden. His instructions told him not to come close to the rose wall in the middle of the garden, so he went to a little corner near the porch surrounded by flowers and some shade and started to work there. No more than 5 minutes had passed when he heard the door gently open and close and footsteps approach him. Amanda was gone, and judging by the sound of the steps, Connor had come to have some ‘outside time’ like his schedule said. Hank turned and saw as the kid warily made his way to the android and sat in the porch near where he was tending to the flowers.

“Hey, there kiddo. Come to play in the garden for a while?” Connor just stared at him. He was holding his faithful stuffed companion and a large book on the other hand. Was-was he going to read in the garden? Hadn’t he been reading the entire day? He had some games he could play with the kid, they were all here in his database, but he couldn’t do much with how his relationship with the boy was at the moment.

He decided to try a different approach. Looking at the plush, Hank tried to put the most mock-serious voice he could and began a conversation.

“Hello there, Mister Dog. How are ya today?” While talking to the toy, he continued working on the flowers. Connor hadn’t said anything, but his eyes held a little interest now.

“Hmm, yeah. Weather’s nice today, right? You must be happy to be outside for a while.” Hank made some pauses where the plush supposedly the plush was ‘answering’ him.

“Me? I’m just doin’ some gardening. You know, planting things and stuff like that.”

Connor moved a little closer, clearly interested in the conversation he was having with his stuffed friend.

“Plant candy? Well I don’t know, Mr. Dog. I guess we could try to plant some chocolate and see if we can grow a chocolate tree, what do ya think? Think Connor might like that?”

Hank turned to look at the kid and dog with a face of mock-surprise. He gasped a little and said “A jelly bean tree? Yeah, we could plant a jelly bean and grow a huge tree. Then we would live there and eat candy all day. Sounds like a blast if you ask me.”

A little giggle came out of Connor hearing the ridiculous voice he was putting. Bingo.

“Oh, Connor! There you are kiddo. Was beginning to think the cat got your tongue.” Connor did a little head tilt to the side, God this kid was a puppy in another life. Then he poked his tongue out as to check if it was still there. Hank chuckled and came to sit near the kid.

“What you got there?” He asked pointing to the big book the kid was carrying. It looked like those big old picture encyclopedia type things.

Connor perked a little and placed his dog between himself and the android. Exited hands grabbed the book and showed the android what it was. It was indeed a picture encyclopedia. The language was far too complex to be a kid edition but Connor didn’t seem deterred. He eagerly opened it showing Hank all the different pictures it had. It was full of fishes and sea life creatures. Connor stopped at a page, a big pictured of a Dwarf gourami along with some basic facts on the species were on display. The kid looked up at Hank, a small smile in his face while looking at the picture of the fish.

“You like fish?” He was asking an obvious questions, he knew that. But maybe this would get the kid to talk to him a little. Connor nodded his head excitedly.

“Are they your favorite animal?” The boy thought for a little before shaking his head. He was about to ask another thing when Connor picked his plush up and showed him to Hank.

“Yeah, dogs are the best. I like them, too.” A little glitch came in his vision, but he shook his head and it went away.

Connor was looking at him again with a strange expression on his face. He got up and headed to the door to go back inside. Damn. Well, that was progress, at least he wasn’t so wary of Hank anymore. He got the kid to giggle, so that felt like a success in his book.

Hank headed to finish working on the stupid flowers when he heard Connor approach him again. He stood right in front of the android and without a word thrusted a photo in the android’s hands and ran back inside. He had no idea what just happened but once he looked at the photo his thirium pump seemed to skip a beat.

It was a photo in one of those little digital picture frames. He could see himself in the middle of the picture. It looked like it was taken in a park. Connor was clinging to his neck with one arm at his right. The dog plush in hand and a big smile on his face. Hank smiled a little, the kid looked genuinely happy for once. At his left was another child. Hugging him in a similar fashion Connor was. The kid was a cardboard copy of Connor only with icy blue eyes. He looked older than Connor, that was obvious, but his scans showed the kid to be 8 years old. It looked like this kid had gotten all the size Connor didn’t. He was tall, but had an equally big smile on his face and looked like he was taking the selfie. Hank couldn’t erase the smile of his face. They all looked so happy, and he couldn’t remember any of this. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a little notification

>>Connor Stern: Warm.

#dbh #fanfic #dbh connor #dbh hank #kid connor #detroid become human

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shepard-headcanons · 7 years ago

Photo

1- What’s their full name?

Kilian-Jane Arcturus Orion Shepard

2- What’s the reason/meaning behind their name?

She was born on the SSV Arcturus, and her parents decided to name her that, also mainly due to the fact that her father was a major nerd and wanted to give her the name ‘Kili’ though her mother negated that and chose Kilian, Arcturus was the name Hacket chose, and Orion was the name Anderson chose, Kahlee and Karin Chakwas chose Jane. So Hannah and John both decided to add that to Killian’s first name leaving Arcturus and Orion to be her middle name

3- Do they have a nickname? What’s the meaning behind it?

Babyface and Ice King, growing up on the SSV Arcturus, meant that babyface was something Kilian would grow used to…. you would think… The 'grunts/engineers’ came up with Babyface, and it just stuck. After a while, Hacket, Anderson and Kahlee started calling her Babyface in private as well. Kilian got the nickname Ice King after rejecting many relationship requests (of course, Kilian is absolutely oblivious in love and tends to reject others without realizing it much to the amusement of most of the SSV Arcturus crew)

4- Do they have a false name? Why? Does it have any meaning?

5- How old are they? How old do they appear?

Kilian turns 27 this year (?), but appears to look 18

6- What is their eye color? Do they have to use glasses or contacts? How good/bad is their vision?

Light Blue, originally it was Emerald green but exposure to Eezo at an early age changed her eye color to Light blue

7- What is their weight/height? What kind of body type/build do they have?

8- What is their skin tone/type? If they have fur, how long is it? Does it have any markings or patterns?

hm…. toned? I guess, it depends on lighting, if she’s on the normandy or so, her skin is radiant white, but if she’s else where then she’s usually pale white

9- Do they have any distinguishing marks?

Yeah, Kilian has a tattoo of her family tree on her back, due to Cerberus 'repairing’ her body, she had to get it redone when she went to the citadel. She also has a phoenix tattoo on her right arm, (something she got when she turned 15 on a dare, much to the annoyance of her parents, hacket, anderson, and Kahlee Saunders. Dr.Chakwas just found it hilarious)

10- What are their prominent features?

Her eyes.

11- How attractive are they to others?

Kilian usually gets a lot of fanmail requesting relationships quite often and to the normandy crew, all of them minus Grunt, Zaeed and Samara can at least testify that they’ve all fallen for Kilian once.

12- Are they healthy? If no, why not?

Nope. Kilian tends to skip meals quite often, to the point most of the crew, Hacket and Anderson have to remind her to eat.

13- What’s their favorite color? Why?

It changes everyday, so she doesn’t really have one

14- What’s their least favorite color? Why?

Depends on the day.

15- What’s their favorite music? Why?

Favorite Music Genre…. Classical, Kpop, Jpop and Jrock. Kilian loves the beat, as for classical, it gives her something to take her mind off.

16- What kind of food do they like or have to eat?

Ramen, Coffee, and Dango

17- What kind of books do they like to read?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

18- How do they get around?

Either through running or by bike. She got a bike custom-made from Earth as a present from her friends in Japan

19- Are they a daredevil or more cautious?

Dare Devil definitely. She especially loves defying reality much to the annoyance and worry of her friends and family.

20- How do they handle being alone?

With a good book, or a guitar she snuck on board.

21- Name any good habits they have

Kilian loves to create things, where as she's FINALLY learnt to cook, she prefers baking. Or singing. Depends really.

22- Name any bad habits they have

Smoking, really…. Kilian smokes quite a lot to deal with stress, but dislikes alcohol from the Galaxy preferring to drink earth Alcohol… (like vodka, whiskey or beer)

23- What are their favorite hobbies or pastimes?

Writing/Creating music, and sometimes, she’ll go to the childrens ward on the Citadel hospital to read to children

24- How would they like to spend a rainy day? A sunny day?

Well…. Kilian tends to game heavily if she’s left to her own devices… if she’s done with reading to the kids on the citadel. So probably game

25- Where do they come from? What is their culture? Any traditions or things of that sort in their hometown?

Kilian’s mother and father both happen to be high up in the military so she grew up on ships, but her mothers family is Japanese and live in Tokyo, Japan where as her father’s family is American and live in California. She’s been to Earth before and visited both sides.

26- List out their immediate family. How good is their relationship with them?

Rear Adm. Hannah-Lee Shepard (nee. Akamine) :Mother

Commander Jonathan-Amicus Shepard :Father

Elias Jonathan Levi Shepard (brother)

Sakura Kya Shepard (sister)

Isabela Arabella Shepard (sister)

Kilian gets along well with her family, but being the youngest out of her family meant all of them are overprotective of her. Sometimes, it gets too much but she knows they love her so she lets it slide

27- Are they diurnal or nocturnal? Early bird or night owl?

Norturnal, Kilian has insomnia, and usually has to take medication for her to finally get to sleep due to night terrors of reapers and all. Kilian is NOT an early bird usually needing 3-4 cups of coffee before she can finally start her day off.

28- What are they afraid of? What are they not afraid of?

Does her mom count??? kidding, yeah no…. Kilian is afraid of failing others.

29- What are their goals? How are they going to achieve those goals?

Killing the Reapers, and well…. she’s still on-going with that mission but she’ll let you know when she gets there.

30- Are there any obstacles that might get in the way of their goals?

The Citadel Council…. if they count.

31- How well known are they among the common folk? Is it for a good reason?

Kilian is well liked by many, managing to earn the respect of many. Kilian also tends not to take any Xenophobic crap aimed at anyone in her presence. Once, she knocked out an admiral for talking crap about Tali, Garrus, Wrex and Samara. Getting into trouble for the event, until the truth was found out.

32- Do they hold any secrets? What are they?

Kilian has an Asari-child that she didn’t know about, but after finding out that secret from her ex-lover, she provided everything for her child. Only Joker and Samara know of this secret as she told the both of them (mainly due to the fact that Joker is her bestfriend and it is hard to keep a secret from him, Samara found out about it when Kilian asked her for help using her code against her for it to remain a secret) aside from that no one else knows mainly due to the fact that it was hidden well, due to Kilian fearing that her child would be used by the council in order to get Kilian to do their bidding.

33- When confronted with danger, how would they react?

With major Sarcasm. She tends not to care most of the time, until it gets serious.

34- What is their species? Describe their species and their features

She’s a human…. nough said. :)

35- What is their basic story?

Born onto the SSV Arcturus, Kilian has lived a life of ship jumping… before meeting Joker and becoming the best of friends, both used to go around the citadel causing mischief, even managing to prank not only the consort but councillor Tevos as well, before mocking their security. Ofcourse due to them both pranking Sha'ira and Tevos, (somehow managing to dye their entire head bright neon pink, something that the entire SSV Arcturus crew were roaring in laughter at), they were both grounded… in which case Hacket had to ground them due to both their familiies and the SSV Arcturus crew in tears from laughing to hard. After that Kilian enlisted at the age of 15 being the youngest to ever enlist in the SA, before graduating at the age of 18. Kilian saved her squad-mates and the colony of mindoir before being awarded the star of terra. She became a commander at the age of 19. Surpassing both her parents and older siblings, she is well known for her nickname being Ice-King or Babyface. Much to her annoyance. Kilian is also the one who gave Joker his nickname.

#other shepards #fshep #submission

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kilianjaynehepard · 7 years ago

Photo

1- What’s their full name?

Kilian-Jane Arcturus Orion Shepard

2- What’s the reason/meaning behind their name?

She was born on the SSV Arcturus, and her parents decided to name her that, also mainly due to the fact that her father was a major lord of the rings nerd and wanted to give her the name ‘Kili’ though her mother negated that and chose Kilian, Arcturus was the name Hacket chose, and Orion was the name Anderson chose, Kahlee and Karin Chakwas chose Jane. So Hannah and John both decided to add that to Killian’s first name leaving Arcturus and Orion to be her middle names

3- Do they have a nickname? What’s the meaning behind it?

Babyface and Ice King, growing up on the SSV Arcturus, meant that babyface was something Kilian would grow used to…. you would think… The ‘grunts/engineers’ came up with Babyface, and it just stuck. After a while, Hacket, Anderson and Kahlee started calling her Babyface in private as well. Kilian got the nickname Ice King after rejecting many relationship requests (of course, Kilian is absolutely oblivious in love and tends to reject others without realizing it much to the amusement of most of the SSV Arcturus crew)

4- Do they have a false name? Why? Does it have any meaning?

5- How old are they? How old do they appear?

Kilian turns 27 this year (?), but appears to look 18

6- What is their eye color? Do they have to use glasses or contacts? How good/bad is their vision?

Light Blue, originally it was Emerald green but exposure to Eezo at an early age changed her eye color to Light blue. As for her vision, its 20/20. Due to Cerberus, she has better vision than most humans

7- What is their weight/height? What kind of body type/build do they have?

Kilian is actually underweight, weighing at only 48kgs due to forgetting to eat and only binging on coffee alone. Dr.Chakwas usually has to remind her to eat, and that it is okay to eat. Kilian is 174cm (note: Chakwas, has now had to intervene... so Kilian is now eating... with Chakwas’s threat of getting her mother involved if she doesn’t)

8- What is their skin tone/type? If they have fur, how long is it? Does it have any markings or patterns?

hm…. toned? I guess, it depends on lighting, if she’s on the normandy or so, her skin is radiant white, but if she’s else where then she’s usually pale white

9- Do they have any distinguishing marks?

10- What are their prominent features?

Her eyes.

11- How attractive are they to others?

12- Are they healthy? If no, why not?

Nope. Kilian tends to skip meals quite often, to the point most of the crew, Hacket and Anderson have to remind her to eat.

13- What’s their favorite color? Why?

It changes everyday, so she doesn’t really have one

14- What’s their least favorite color? Why?

Depends on the day.

15- What’s their favorite music? Why?

Favorite Music Genre…. Classical, Kpop, Jpop and Jrock. Kilian loves the beat, as for classical, it gives her something to take her mind off.

16- What kind of food do they like or have to eat?

Ramen, Coffee, and Dango (Kilian is obsessed with Ramen, often tending to eat it when she can)

17- What kind of books do they like to read?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

18- How do they get around?

Either through running or by bike. She got a bike custom-made from Earth as a present from her friends in Japan

19- Are they a daredevil or more cautious?

Dare Devil definitely. She especially loves defying reality much to the annoyance and worry of her friends and family.

20- How do they handle being alone?

With a good book, or a guitar she snuck on board.

21- Name any good habits they have

Kilian loves to create things, where as she's FINALLY learnt to cook, she prefers baking. Or singing. Depends really.

22- Name any bad habits they have

Smoking, really…. Kilian smokes quite a lot to deal with stress, but dislikes alcohol from the Galaxy preferring to drink earth Alcohol… (like vodka, whiskey or beer)

23- What are their favorite hobbies or pastimes?

Writing/Creating music, and sometimes, she’ll go to the childrens ward on the Citadel hospital to read to children

24- How would they like to spend a rainy day? A sunny day?

Well…. Kilian tends to game heavily if she’s left to her own devices… if she’s done with reading to the kids on the citadel. So probably game

25- Where do they come from? What is their culture? Any traditions or things of that sort in their hometown?

26- List out their immediate family. How good is their relationship with them?

Rear Adm. Hannah-Lee Shepard (nee. Akamine) :Mother

Commander Jonathan-Amicus Shepard :Father

Elias Jonathan Levi Shepard (brother)

Sakura Kya Shepard (sister)

Isabela Arabella Shepard (sister)

27- Are they diurnal or nocturnal? Early bird or night owl?

28- What are they afraid of? What are they not afraid of?

Does her mom count??? kidding, yeah no…. Kilian is afraid of failing others.

29- What are their goals? How are they going to achieve those goals?

Killing the Reapers, and well…. she’s still on-going with that mission but she’ll let you know when she gets there.

30- Are there any obstacles that might get in the way of their goals?

The Citadel Council…. if they count.

31- How well known are they among the common folk? Is it for a good reason?

32- Do they hold any secrets? What are they?

33- When confronted with danger, how would they react?

With major Sarcasm. She tends not to care most of the time, until it gets serious.

34- What is their species? Describe their species and their features

She’s a human…. nough said. :)

35- What is their basic story?

#Kilian Shepard #mass effect headcanon

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ycmiis-blog · 7 years ago

Text

wingman romeo

Romeo isn't an expert when it comes to girl problems, but he thinks he can help Wendy with hers. ( ff.net // ao3 )

because i love chendy and it needs more love, and i also love rowen being a supportive brotp, so a combination of the two?? yeS. this is set a few years after canon!!

Romeo doesn't consider himself the most attentive person in the universe, or even in the guild, but he can definitely sense when people are acting out of the ordinary, especially when the behaviour continues for so long. It helps that he and his current target are close in age (even though they're not actually supposed to be, and he's technically even older than her now, but he just can't stop adding nee to the end of her name because it's what he's always done).

A few hours pass and he decides that enough is enough. He's going to see what's wrong with Wendy Marvell.

"Hey, Wendy-nee," he says, sliding into the seat in front of her. He half expects Carla to give him one of those looks, but all of her focus is on Happy, and not for the first time, Romeo finds himself thanking the exceed. "You look kinda down. What's up?"

Wendy sits up straight, eyes wide. Her fingers remain on her drink's straw. "Oh, no, I'm fine! I didn't mean to worry you."

Romeo channels his inner Carla and sends her a look. Wendy has never been much of a liar, and when she does lie, it's only because she doesn't want anyone to worry about her. He doesn't know whether it's a strength or a weakness. "You're a horrible liar, you know that?"

For a moment, he thinks she's about to protest, but instead she sighs so harshly that she actually deflates. She slumps in her seat. "It's not really a problem. I'm just overthinking things, that's all. It's hard to explain."

"Try me," is his immediate response, because that sounds like a challenge, even though the logical side of him knows that Wendy is likely the last person to issue him one. "I've got time."

Wendy looks around as though she's worried someone might overhear. Carla has been dragged away by Happy and is now lecturing Natsu about something, Lucy standing there with a thinly-veiled smile. The Strauss siblings are all by the bar, as are Erza, Macao, and Wakaba. Gray and Juvia are talking in hushed voices by the doors, and Romeo is sure the Raijinshuu are off on a mission. Even if they were all sitting nearby, they wouldn't be able to hear a thing over Gajeel's basic guitar playing and horrible shooby doo bop vocals. Levy has her work cut out for her.

Another sigh leaves Wendy, this one sounding even more defeated than the last. "I didn't want to go to any of the others about this since they'll all start asking questions, and Carla only knows because she guessed." She pauses. "You know how I go and visit Lamia Scale?"

"To see Chelia-san, right?" Romeo says, because it's common knowledge that the two girls are best friends.

Rather than simply agreeing, Wendy seems surprised that he knows what she's talking about. Her face burns red and suddenly everything makes sense.

"Oh." Romeo's surprise turns into smugness. "Oh."

Wendy starts stuttering, holding her blushing face in her hands. "P-Please don't say anything! Please! Like I said, I'm - I'm probably overthinking things. It's nothing to worry about!"

"I guess it depends on what you're overthinking, doesn't it?" Romeo says, the smug smile starting to fade now that he knows just how much grief this is causing her. "She could feel the same way."

He says this to encourage her, make her feel better, but all she does is lean against the table with a dejected expression. "I don't think so. She likes Lyon-san, and I'm nothing like him."

Romeo wants to joke that he hopes she isn't like Lyon, because Gray doesn't need another person to fight with. Instead, he says, "She's probably moved on by now, you know? The last I remember seeing anything like that was during the Grand Magic Games the year you guys returned, and that was years ago now."

Wendy's frown flattens out just a little, but Romeo will take what he can get. "I suppose you're right. And - And Lyon-san is getting married this year."

"See? There you go," he says, just as the familiar tune of a compact lacrima phone starts ringing. Wendy fumbles around with her lacrima, eyes widening when she sees the name on the small screen. "Is it Chelia? Answer it!"

She doesn't need to be told twice. Romeo waits patiently as she greets her friend, watching her fiddle with the collar of her dress. A nervous tick of hers, he guesses, but he has no more time to dwell on it as she says, "Hold on, let me see if I have anything else going on today."

Romeo raises an eyebrow at that, because Wendy usually agrees immediately whenever spending time with Chelia is involved. Rather than looking for Mirajane or Erza to ask, however, she turns to him. "Chelia's babysitting Sherry and Ren's new baby and asked if I want to go over and help - which I do - but did you want to come with me? So you - you can see what I mean. You don't have to, though! If you're busy, I don't want to interrupt you -"

"Sure," he says with a shrug. "Let's do it."

Wendy visibly breathes a sigh of relief and continues her conversation with Chelia, confirming that she will, indeed, be there.

It takes longer than it should for him and Wendy to convince Carla that they'll be fine on their own, but Carla knows better than anyone that Wendy can take care of herself, and Romeo hasn't done anything to land himself in Carla's bad books yet, so she has no reason not to trust him. As soon as Wendy mentions that they're going to be helping Chelia, Romeo grins from behind her and Carla seems to get the message that he's here to help the cause, not to hinder it. They have to promise to be back before it gets too dark or they have to stay at Chelia's. That's fine with Romeo, though Wendy blushes and mutters to herself.

When they arrive at Chelia's, they can hear the baby's screams from behind the door, so Romeo can only assume that Sherry has already left her son in Chelia's hands. Wendy knocks lightly and it takes a few seconds, but they're soon greeted to Chelia's smiling face.

"Wendy! Thank goodness you're here!" She spots Romeo and blinks, surprised. Her smile fades the slightest bit, and while Romeo would usually be a little insulted by this, he takes this as a good sign for Wendy. "Um, hi, you're Romeo-kun, right?"

"That's me," he says. "I didn't have much to do, so Wendy-nee invited me to come along."

"Is that okay?" Wendy asks quickly. "I know I didn't mention it, and I should have, but Romeo's not a bad guy, I promise!"

Chelia recovers quickly. She opens the door wider and smiles. "Of course. Any friend of Wendy's is a friend of mine. Make yourself at home, I'll calm Vesper down."

Romeo and Wendy head to the couch while Chelia disappears down the hall, into one of the bedrooms, Romeo suspects. The crying stops fairly quickly and he can't help but wonder if Chelia needed help at all. Perhaps this is just an excuse to see Wendy. He hopes so, for Wendy's sake.

When Chelia returns, she seems to hesitate before opting to sit on the floor in front of them, crossing her legs. "He's a cute kid, but he can be a bit of a handful. I think he's been hanging out with the Trimens too much. Maybe that's why Sherry wanted me to babysit tonight."

Wendy giggles into her hand. Chelia may be the cause of her troubles, but she's definitely in a better mood than before. "Don't say that, I'm sure the Trimens are just enthusiastic. You know they love Vesper."

The conversation continues, though Romeo doesn't contribute much. He doesn't mind, considering the whole reason he came was to see if Wendy was right about Chelia, and right now, he thinks he's on the right track to proving her wrong. Chelia isn't intentionally ignoring him, by any means. She always makes sure to include him. Yet her eyes are always drawn to Wendy, especially when she smiles or laughs, and sometimes she'll zone out of the conversation completely when she's staring. It's not so major that just anyone would pick up on it, but Romeo's looking for hints like these. He can't help but feel satisfied.

As the two girls are talking about the preparations for Lyon's wedding, a harsh cry is heard from the hallway and they all stop talking at once. It's Wendy that springs to action first.

"I'll take care of it this time!" she says, and she quickly rushes down the hallway. Romeo notes that she knows exactly where she's going and smiles to himself.

Chelia doesn't say anything at first, fidgeting with the ends of her hair, then her ribbons. Once she's convinced that they're tied properly, she says, "So, um, can I ask, why do you call Wendy 'Wendy-nee'? You just look a little older, so I was curious."

It's not the first time he's been asked this, and he's sure it won't be the last. He just grins and shrugs. "I met Wendy before she went to Tenrou Island, and at the time I was just six while she was twelve. I called her Wendy-nee back then, and for the entire time she and the others were gone, I referred to her like an older sister. It feels weird calling her anything else now. She is like a sister to me."

He makes sure to emphasise that point, and whether Chelia realises that or not, she visibly relaxes by the information. Her tone even sounds more vibrant when she says, "Oh, that makes sense. I just didn't know how close you were, so I was wondering." She pauses, eyes widening as she realises what she's saying. Romeo assumes that's the case, anyway. He never has been good at reading girls' thoughts.

Taking a chance (and hoping this doesn't embarrass Wendy too much, but at the same time, she wanted him here to find out answers, so), he leans forward with a smile that's probably a little too cheeky and says, "Were you worried that the two of us had a different relationship?"

Chelia blushes. Bingo.

"It's not that, I mean, it's not my business who Wendy's dating, though I guess it would be weird for her not to tell me since we're best friends and everything --" She cuts herself off and holds her head in her hands.

Romeo leans back into the couch. "Just ask her out. Trust me."

Chelia looks up at him, ready to question him, but Wendy chooses that moment to walk back into the room. Judging by her eased expression, she hasn't heard a single word they've said. Romeo thinks that's probably for the best. The seed has been planted in Chelia's head, and now he just has to hope that she lets it grow.

An hour and a half later, and they've moved on from casual conversation, now playing a card game that Cana taught everyone else in the guild a long time ago. Wendy must have taught Chelia, because she's a natural. Romeo can't seem to win, and so when Vesper's cries once again ring out throughout the room, he takes the opportunity and tells the girls he'll take care of it this time.

Once he's in the hallway, he simply follows the sound of crying until he finds the right door, then lets himself inside. Vesper lies inside a mobile cot, screaming his little lungs out. Romeo hasn't heard crying this bad since Asuka was a newborn.

"C'mon, little guy," Romeo says, hesitantly picking the little boy up. "Let's calm you down so I can hear what the girls are talking about, yeah?"

As though he can actually understand what Romeo is saying, Vesper doesn't take long to calm down. All he needs is a few pats on the back and he's fine. He still seems a bit restless, so Romeo uses that as an excuse to stay in the room and loiter by the door, poking his head out to try and hear what's going on. He can only just hear the girls' voices, but it's enough.

"Hey, Wendy, you know how I talk about love and stuff all the time, right?"

"Of course, I think it's wonderful. Why do you ask?"

A pause. "Well, I was wondering if -- if you've ever been in love. There have been times where I've thought I've been, but…"

"But…?" Romeo notes that Wendy hasn't answered the question, but he can't exactly blame her. He'd probably do the same.

"Well… I think I might be in love. W-Well, I think that maybe I could be, maybe I'm being a bit hasty, because I do love this person, but I don't know if I'm in love with them yet, you know what I mean? But I'm on my way there. Maybe. I just wanted your input."

Romeo can almost see Wendy's blush. "I… I think I do love someone," she says quietly, almost too low for him to hear. "But I'm the same! I -- I don't think I'm in love with her yet, either, but…"

"Her?"

Wendy attempts to string a sentence together, but all her words come out jumbled at first. In the end, she just mutters, "Yes, her," in a meek voice.

'Come on, Wendy,' Romeo thinks to himself. 'You defeated Acnologia, for Mavis' sake, you can tell the girl you like her!'

Someone takes a deep breath, but he doesn't know it's Wendy until he hears her voice. "I really like you, Chelia. I really like you."

Her voice is squeaky from embarrassment, but Chelia doesn't seem to mind, as she laughs and says in a loud voice, "Oh, thank the skies, 'cause I was talking about you, too."

There's more laughter, then the sound of someone falling to the floor. One person hugging another, perhaps? Romeo can't be sure, but he considers this a success, even if he doesn't think he did much to push the two together. He's sure they would have gotten there eventually without his help. They're both smart girls.

He turns to Vesper, whose eyes are slowly closing, and says, "They've got it under control. Let's put you back to bed, shall we?"

In compliance to the promise they made Carla, Wendy and Romeo leave before it gets too dark. They offer to stay the night, but Chelia insists that she'll be fine on her own, that she's done this before and that she doesn't want to keep them away from the guild for too long. She gives Romeo a high-five and Wendy a hug that goes on for a little too long to be considered platonic before saying goodbye.

"Thanks for everything, you two," she says. "I'll call you later, Wendy! And thanks for everything, Romeo-kun!"

Romeo and Wendy leave after that, heading towards the train station. They've only walked a few metres before Wendy speaks up with, "Um, Romeo-kun, did you say anything to Chelia? About what I told you earlier today, I mean."

He actually has to consider his response. "Well, not in so many words. It just sorta came up. I didn't tell her anything you told me. I just said she should ask you out, since it was pretty obvious that she likes you. And it looks like she took my advice, huh?"

Wendy's face is so red that she could double for Erza's hair. "Y-Yes… Thank you for doing that, Romeo-kun."

"Don't mention it. We're friends, aren't we?" he says. "I'm your wingman. Wingman Romeo, I should start up a business."

Wendy laughs, previous embarrassment forgotten. "Wingman Romeo. I think it has a nice ring to it."

#chendy #fairy tail #chelia blendy #wendy marvell #romeo conbolt #in all seriousness tho where is my chendy #i need more #**myfanfic

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minchiutau · 8 years ago

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Quartet Night LIVE Evolution full report

Written by me who have short-term memory and is really biased to QN

(PLEASE TAKE ALL OF STUFFS WRITTEN HERE WITH GRAIN OF SALT; there’s no way i could remember all stuffs exactly at it was. I would be happy if you could just ‘take the feel’)

First of all, it was awesome. I can’t really describe how overwhelming it was. If you’ve watched any of utapri live before, i just want to say that for me this is the best utapri live i’ve seen so far. If you think 5th and 4th live was awesome, this was on different level. The hall was definitely too small for a group who got #1 weekly oricon and more than 100k sales (which was made up by hundred of cinemas live viewing), but it was really well-planned. Probably the most well-planned utapri live ever.

The penlight on the hall changes automatically/programmed and it was really pleasing to watch. Also gosh they’re all so good at live-singing. I can’t even say anything else, their blend was extremely nice and they’re all so powerful at live-singing.. not to mention that all of them dance in a lot of songs!! *u*)bbb As usual their harmonies really shines and how they mysteriously blend well tho their voices are so strong individually are all so pleasing to listen to.

Here’s some highlights and rough translations/summary (not accurate; just feel more like summary):

The con was started with a really cool MV-like video where the seiyuus act as their character! It was really really aesthetic, the four of the seiyuus look extremely cool on it. It was opened with Morikubo walking through a garage (??) spinning a key on his right hand and then he entered an old car ala reiji and drive to a place near a sea. Then we got to see shoutan seating on seaside, reading a book about human psychology (like ai), and closed the book when reiji/morikubo’s car approached. He then scold reiji/morikubo for being late and point at a clock (in which the date of today con was written). Next scene was Maenu, sitting inside an expensive limo having a classy tea-time (they don’t forget to show how the sugar goes from fullbox to empty LOL so camus). They then showed inside the window of the car, Tattsun walking on the street with a bass case on his shoulder. They also showed us a scene of him patting a stray cat on street (like ranmaru). Eventually they reunited and walk through a shining door together. It was really well-made!

1. QUARTET ☆ NIGHT This was their first song and the reason why i first got interested in QN. Exactly like 3rd live, the slow part at the very beginning was beautifully delivered. Also they appeared on a really cool gray/black suit. This song as first song easily won my tears bc wow time sure has passed since their first song ever and how i first came to know them.

2. Dice are cast Not many stuffs i could say, it’s mostly same with the one at 5th live, except THEY’RE DANCING MORE like it used to have less dancing. Also the adlibs part on bridge was really really well done, harmonies on last part of it just stole my heart.

MC I don’t remember much but they introduce themselves, it was really short tho they barely have interval between people like how it usually was with utapri live. Probably because they’re going to sing a lot of songs so no time LOL Interesting part is how they ended the MC with maenu tattsun and shoutan posing while saying Reiji’s “Rolling??” which connects to next song!

3.Dekiai Temptation I actually didn’t expect to hear first solo series to come up in early setlist LOL BUT YEAH maracas tradition is still going strong and he goes “(Tokyo Kokusai) Forum!!” instead of usual “(Yokohama/Saitama Super)Arena! xD It was really on point and Morikubo is so reiji as usual! The talking part on bridge was done exactly as it is on recording too! Also so many fanservices given for people at live-viewing!

4. Junketsunaru Ai -Aspiration- I WAS EXPECTING FOR FIRST SOLO SERIES but instead we got camus second solo series instead lolol I was really off-guard, from that point i just stopped trying to guess song since it’s shuffled LOL ALSO i just noticed but Maenu got brown-ish styled hair color and blue contact lens i almost didn’t notice him AHAHA //sweats One thing i’ve noticed tho, he has improved A LOT with his dancing since the last time he danced this song. I’ve always thought Maenu’s dancing was a bit awkward (tho that’s the good bc you could see how much he tries and work hard to memorize it) BUT this time it just feels really natural and cool! Congrats Maenu, i was really moved!

5. Innocent Wind And LOL here we got third solo series! The performance itself is really similar to the one at 5th live. I think shoutan surpassed his previous performance with this one tho! I always thought that this song has such a complicated dance (it does) but shoutan nailed it even better than previous one imo. Also i think it has additional choreos too! Instead of falling like last live, this time shoutan disappeared inside thick smoke

6. ONLY ONE The song started with Ranmaru’s voice saying he’ll be taking revenge (for 5th live bc at that time tattsun broke his arm and danced only with one hand). It was really really awesome! I expect no less from tattsun live singing and dancing. Also the dance definitely looks complete with two hands (of course)

They began with another opening and reintroduction (albeit longer this time) They also talked about how the live is not going to have time to break so they suggest audience to go to toilet now if they want to LOL

I like how Maenu was teasing us. Everyone was waiting for Maenu to change into "PEASANT!!!!” mode but he keeps talking with polite butler camus mode LOL he even went “Are you waiting for something?”; In the end the other three look at him intensely tho and he finally let out the “PEASANT!!!” LOL

Live viewing was held in 128 cinemas and was seen by more than 56000 people

God’s S.T.A.R got a gold disc record award and they thanked everyone for it

(not in place, just all i could remember with place probs switched one another) Morikubo: “These one week almost everyday we met each other, right?” Tattsun: “We did the best we could for today” Morikubo: “Somehow it just felt missing when we haven’t seen each other for the day, i just can’t calm down before seeing everyone” Maenu: “Even when the rehearsal already ended i didn’t want to return home *laughs*” Shoutan: “Like we’ll ask each other "Should we do this part once again? or is it okay already?” Morikubo: “While saying such stuffs we would ended up talking for 30 minutes. In the end we were just like "Then let’s do it!” Tattsun: “That’s just how much connected we were.” Morikubo: “Everyone, Quartet Night will present you an ‘evolution’ tonight. Each of you watching this, would be the witnesses of our evolution.” Shoutan: “Today we came to present you our bond (reff to their song 'kizuna’). I would be happy if you could feel the power of our bonds!”

7. Tsukiakari no DEAREST Personal favorite utapri song ever!! I was really excited for this one and it’s funny how shoutan/ai waves at audience when appearing but maenu/camus did a deep butler bow LOL they’re so in character here! They came really close to the audience and the choreo was as cute as i remembered it on 5th live. ALSO THEIR HARMONIES i felt so lucky to hear this live, i’ve been liking this song so much since its release ;-;

8. Itoshiki Hito e I WAS REALLY OFFGUARD i mean who thought there’ll come a solo after a duet? lolol i completely thought RISE AGAIN was going to come after lolol such a random setlist indeed. THIS WAS REALLY EMOTIONAL BTW i always like this song the most among reiji’s solo and i have to say Morikubo did really great! Strong vocal and such emotional singing.. it was amazing! It began with Morikubo sitting aesthetically on chair and he began to do some poses with it. He then stood up and picked up a rose on the floor. At the 2nd verse “Doshaburi no~” an umbrella was also prepared. The lighting and stage effects were really great, it feels exactly like rain and lights are falling, it was beautiful.

9. BRIGHT ROAD AND LOL I SAID THIS ALREADY BUT THE SETLIST IS SO RANDOM this song brought back memories! Who thought Tattsun could dance really good before this song was performed years ago? The performance itself somehow got really different feel from 3rd live perf of this song. Idk that’s probably because tattsun sure has improved a lot and i could definitely see it. As usual Tattsun is slaying with powerful vocals and dancing; I think he danced some parts differently compared to 3rd live (the hands movements??) Also the adlibs at bridge was pre-recorded instead of left blank like in 3rd live (bc he was dancing there) Ranmaru: “See only me for this moment”

10. RISE AGAIN Here comes the other duet! It was extremely powerful and passionate, i got chills. Morikubo and Tattsun vocals sure fit this song a lot and they had really good chemistry at this performance!

11. Winter Blossom A piano was there onstage and audience was having a big ????? But then Shoutan walked and sit there AND ACTUALLY PLAYED THE INTRO OF WINTER BLOSSOM the whole hall was filled with crying scream of fangirls (including me) SHOUTAN PLAYING WAS REALLY GOOD THO but LOL we got tricked bc shoutan stood up after intro ended and stand onstage LOL i thought he was going to play the whole song since the beginning was really good but i guess i was asking for too much LOL Anyway this song was the end of me everyone near me was sobbing hard too. Shoutan’s pitch was 100/100 perfect and it was emotional as heck. Comparing this one to 3rd live i just can see how much he grew as a person and as a performer ;-; This one is even more emotional than 3rd live (if 3rd live wasn’t enough) “Nee, waratte?” happened before he started singing and my tears ;_; the second reff “Kimi ga suki datta, Hontou suki datta” 2nd suki datta was changed into a serifu suddenly and it brought scream of crying fangirls once again LOL The end was exactly as 3rd live when Shoutan waved a “Mata ne”. The hall didn’t stop calling “Ai-chan!!” until next song started

12. AURORA Instead of the english serifu at the recording, Maenu is talking about how he’s going to cast a magic??? on us?? (idk or if he’s going to take us to heaven i’m not sure which one) He’s holding camus’ cane and wave it like on 4th live! He also said “Even though STARISH is not here, their spirit is with us” and started wearing previous live rings one by one LOL maenu usual antics. The lighting was really nice i felt like seeing actual aurora onstage.. The penlight was also programmed to light as if magic is actually happening and i think it’s really nice. Also fanservice happened

13. Starlight Memory YEEEEEE HERE COMES SUCH AN UNDERRATED GODLY SONG It was extremely powerful performance. Breathtaking, i got chills the moment they started singing. Also they danced quite a lot with a stand-mic and posing etc. IT WAS REALLY COOL and i really like the stand-mic choreo. The hall was really heated up with this song! There was also a choreo where they created a heart-shape with their hands LOL

On the big screen they played a making video of the first MV-like vid at the beginning (which was also the pic on pamphlet). We got to see some moments of them laughing together! We also got to see how staffs prepared cakes for them to congratulate QN for breaking anime character song sales record and oricon #1! Also there was a scene where we could see maenu practicing dancing even when he was on other shooting ;-; such a hardworker We also got to see DJ morikubo/reiji xD he introduced the dancers and had a maracas mic

14. Hurrayx2 Dreamerz OH FINALLY 3rd solo series 2nd song aka the solo which hasn’t been performed everywhere; Morikubo was really energetic on it! The whole audience, dancer and he himself started to wave towel. Also the call and response was so fun to do!

15. Double Face DEFINITELY MAENU BEST PERFORMANCE AT THIS CON Exactly as it is in recording, Maenu changed his voice every few lines, making it like a duet between butler/idol persona camus and the actual cold camus. There was also like a play going on between a dancer wearing black and another wearing white. It was mindblowing! It’s amazing how Maenu could change his voice so quickly and clearly easy to tell which 'persona’ of camus was singing on what part. It was like a live self-duet LOL AMAZING

16. No.1 Like we expected from tattsun, it was a full-dance song! And the song has tons of call and response, the hall feels so heated up by this perf. ALSO small rap and tattsun singing/dancing was really powerful+on-spot.

17. MUNE NO KODOU I.. seriously didn’t know what to expect from this song; it’s moderately slow/mellow so i was really surprised to learn that this song actually has a dance and that it’s pretty complicated, but i think he does well dancing with one hand holding a mic! ALSO HIS SINGING WAS REALLY GREAT and emotional. Stunning at both low notes and high notes. The hall was filled with white lights and it was pretty.

18. WILD SOUL Exactly like 5th live, it started suddenly with tattsun powerful solo and a standmic! 'Wild’ is definitely the best word to describe the performance. Also this feels so complete in aspect of dance! We finally got to see how it was supposed to be in 5th live and it was great!! I’ve said this a lot but Tattsun is such a great performer!

20. A.I Such big gap to previous song LOLOL The screen showed us a pretty sunset and the automatically-set penlight on hall dyed into orange, it was really pretty. Also really nice live singing, i really can’t spot anything wrong with Shoutan’s singing. The concept was exactly same at 4th live, when he said “Let’s walk together” gave his hand as if holding hands while walking with audience. The end pose was also the same, his last smile was really cute!

21. Kiss wa Wink de ANOTHER BIG GAP AHAHAHA It’s exactly like in 5th live, Morikubo waved the maracas mic and danced a bit on the same part as the previous. I think there are also additional choreography. Aside from maracas mic i think he also brought another maracas xD two maracas!

22. Zettai Reido Emotion WOW such an old song it sure brought back memories. It started with a cane like maenu first solo performance on 3rd live! I don’t think there’s anything changed except some parts of the choreography are different. Really powerful and solid singing, really camus.

23. Marriage WHEEZES It started exactly like 4th live when the other three came out from inside the moving stairs with backlight behind them. This time tattsun or morikubo (i don’t remember which one) brought a handmic for maenu. The performance was really great and there were new choreography. The “Koyoi wa futari saikou no marriage” they walked in a circle and look at each other. They look like they’re having tons of fun performing together and it was really nice to watch. Many eye-contacts and body-contacts between them, you just could see how close they are as a group.

24. God’s S.T.A.R EASILY THE CLIMAX OF THE CONCERT. Gosh i love this song a lot and i could understand why utapri fandom loved it so much. IT WAS REALLY HEATED UP we all literally screamed at the “Woo~” and call and response. PASSIONATE SINGING i really got chills at it. Such a great song with great vocals. Also they danced it exactly like it was in the anime (yeah, including the leg movements at “Rin to ouja rashiku tatsu”) It was really fun song to do at live and I could tell the audience tension went max at it. I love how confident they looked at this performance, exactly how Quartet Night should be.

25. KIZUNA WEEPS THIS SONG Audience did the “Wow wow~”; They started by sitting on the stairs in the middle of the stage and sit as if they were on car like on the anime (even Morikubo posed as if he was holding a wheel) They look like they’re having so much fun it was precious. Also the slow part was extremely beautiful. Such a nice harmonies and blend, i was really moved. Also I love how they formed a circle and do the fistbump like in the anime. Such a precious performance i teared up ;;

MC A long emotional MC. - They agreed that even though they spent a lot working hard to prepare for the day, the moment it happened they just didn’t want it to end Morikubo: “Did we forget something?? Did we sing the second part too?” Tattsun: “We did *laughs*” Shoutan: “We didn’t forget anything *laughs*” Maenu: “That’s just how fulfilling it was.”

- Morikubo thanked fans for God’s S.T.A.R oricon #1 and gold disc record award. - Morikubo: “We honestly were really happy for it. We shared our happiness together at our line group and had a long conversation about it. It was such an honor for us to be able to receive gold disc award, but at the same time, we talked together on how heavy the title was for us. It meant we were able to leave a good 'result’, but it was also mean there were so many people who are waiting for us. It meant there were so many people who wanted to come here today. Our form of evolution.. is to return/repay a favor to everyone. To everyone in STARISH for making it possible for us to stand here today, to all staffs who love utapri with all of their hearts, to such a wonderful worked called utapri, to each of Quartet Night characters for making it possible for us to become one, to everyone who had been supporting us until this moment. To each of you watching it on the hall, on the live-viewing, or even for everyone who can’t participate today, thank you.”

-Tattsun: “First of all, i wanted to apologize to everyone for what happened at previous live. I hurted "Kurosaki Ranmaru” at that time. This one year, i’ve been thinking a lot about it. Whenever I had the time, I was always reminded of Ranmaru, Quartet Night and what happened one year ago. I’ve made everyone worry, even though those live wasn’t something personal that belongs to me. Since then, these one year, I feel like i have no right to say that I’m worthy to talk about Ranmaru. I haven’t talked about him much except for interviews, behind my mic and recordings. I really regretted it. I kept thinking on what to do to atone what i’ve done and came here right now to give a payback. I want each of you to love Ranmaru even more.. I want each of you to love Quartet Night even more. We’re here now because STARISH was there, and even before that, because utapri existed. Without it, i wouldn’t be able to stand here as Ranmaru or to proudly talk about it. I apologize deeply for what happened. But thanks to everyone, i’ve fully recovered! I hope i could proof it to everyone here today.“ (he actually teared up and stopped his sentences few times) Morikubo: "When you did this *imitates Ranmaru solo song dance movement*, we were watching from back and we went "YOSSHAAA!!” at it" Shoutan: *laughs* “We did” Maenu: “It was really cool” Tattsun: “I’m really glad to be able to meet and be part of these members. I’m really thankful for each of them.” They talked about how some STARISH members actually came to watch the live (later i learned it was Suwabe-san and Terashii!) When the audience tried to look around, they told us to concentrate on their stage and to put their sight on them instead of searching LOL

- Tattsun: “STARISH was in real-time formed before us but inside the world of utapri, we’re the senpai after all. So i hope today, Quartet Night would be able to show a good example as a senpai. At next live (6th live), there’ll be us, STARISH and HEAVENS too. If it’s Ranmaru, he’ll definitely say "I’m not going to do a live that will lose to another.” or “I will leave a performance that will leave everyone overwhelmed”. From now on, please keep on supporting Quartet Night, STARISH and HEAVENS.“

- Shoutan: "I can’t say cool things like Morikubo-niisan or Tatsu-nii.. Since I started doing voice for Mikaze Ai, I’ve been thinking a lot of things. Aoi Shouta is just an idiot who has such a limited vocabulary. Whenever i read the script, it’s clear how Ai knows a lot more words to express what he wants to, that he has more knowledge about the world. I’ve been doing his voice while looking at his back. I spent my time wanting to chase after Ai’s greatness to be worth of it. When i started standing as a member of Quartet Night, i was just a newcomer. I tried my best to be a part of it and to do stuffs more confidently. And here now, i finally got into a place where actually be a part of four, to talk and have wonderful moments with them, to be able to perform as Mikaze Ai. For everyone who trusted me to stand here as Mikaze Ai, to utapri and STARISH, to everyone here, i just can’t thank each of you enough. I want to pay this favor to all of you. To be able to sing on utapri live, to be able to release CDs and even to get a result.. I finally felt like, I finally got closer to Mikaze Ai.. to Quartet Night. All of this is because of everyone who loves utapri, to all of the staffs, dancers, staffs… Ah i said it twice *bitter laughs*” Morikubo: “Staffs (in number) are a lot after all, right?” Maenu : “Right right, there are a lot of them so don’t mind it!”

- Shoutan: “It was all thanks to other Quartet Night members. I want to improve myself and show those improvements to all of you in next (6th) live. I’m sorry for not being able to say something cool. I’m really grateful to be able to meet everyone. Thank you very much!!”

- Maenu: “Somehow it’s hard to say something after their speeches *laughs* I’m the one trusted to voice Camus, Maeno Tomoaki. To be honest, when i first heard of the idea of Quartet Night I had "Oi, oi.. I’m the only one out of place here?” on my thoughts. Unlike the other three, i’m the only one who isn’t doing anything other than seiyuu. (he means he is the only one who isn’t a singer since the other three were singers aside from seiyuu) It was a pressure for me. I did it hoping i wouldn’t cause trouble for everyone else.. but above all, i was thinking of what i could do. And i found the answer. It was of course, to make each of you 'feel’ the character through me. After changing my thoughts into that way, I finally was able to enjoy each of my time given as Camus. Even as Maeno Tomoaki personally, it opened a new world for me. I can’t thank utapri enough for guiding me through new road. I really love it. From now on, i hope this scenery would continue forever. To everyone participating on this contents, to staffs, and to cast of STARISH, it was all thanks to each of you. From now on, so that we wouldn’t got burried inside utapri history, we as Quartet Night would do our best! Please take care of us!!“ Morikubo: "Maeno said something like that, but he actually worked the hardest among us! Did you see the making earlier? His love for the series is amazing! Also look at the amount of his rings?? *laughs*” Tattsun: “He even uses Camus’ cologne!” Morikubo: “This guy is such a hardworker!” Tattsun: “I can’t help but thinking i have to work harder when i look at him!” Maenu: “*camus mode* Stop it, you peasants!!!” Morikubo: “Shouta also said something like that, but he is actually our 'idol’!” Tattsun: “He taught us how to make our movements look good in camera, how to appeal camera and how to make our movements look beautiful!” (and here i was wondering why other ossans had so many fanservices today; i get it now) Shoutan: *denies while shaking his head and hand* Maenu: “Kirei dayo” (<<ME: WHAT) Morikubo: “Right, right!!” Tattsun: “If you weren’t here I wouldn’t make it today!” Morikubo: “And this person right here *points at tattsun* is the one who gets us fired up!!”

- Morikubo: “Really, this is a secret okay? I REALLY REALLY LOVE BEING ABLE TO JOIN VOICES WITH THE THREE OF THEMMM!!!” *Audience cheers* Morikubo: “This is secret between us, okay? I’M GLAD I’M PART OF QUARTET NIGHTTTTT!!!” Maenu: “When the four of us are together it really feels like we’re unbeatable.” Morikubo: “We don’t need anymore words!!” Tattsun: “As long as we have our songs!!” (these two lines are lyrics of Evolution eve, “Kotoba wa iranai, uta ga areba ii”) Morikubo: “Let’s evolve together with our next song!” All: “Evolution Eve!”

26. Evolution Eve THE ACAPELLA BEGINNING WAS PERFECT AS HECK I TEARED UP…. the blend was heavenly and their voices are just so passionate ;; The dance was done a lot more closer to the anime (more dances) compared to how it was done in 5th live. Powerful vocals, the audience was really heated too. Simply say it was the best. At some parts of the song they snuggled close to each other and look at each other ;;;_;;;

Encore

27. Poison KISS THE FIRST SONG THEY SANG TOGETHER IN LIVE ;;;; They’re dancing a lot more than in previous performances of this song, it’s more or less a full-dance. They’re dancing while holding a mic in one hand. Amazing harmonies at “Love wo~”. Each solos were done really uniquely and powerfully but when together their voices just blend really well ;;

MC - The stage was wide but they’re standing really close to each other LOL Morikubo: “You guys are standing too close to me!!! The stage is big, why are we standing so close?” Tattsun: “We’re glued to each other” Maenu: “Nakayoshi” Shoutan: “Fufufu” THESE OSSANS ARE TOO CUTE

- Tattsun: “Yabai.. I really shouldn’t but can i say one thing? I really don’t want it to end…” Shoutan: *Nods profusely, already tearing up* Maenu: “Even in practices, we always talked about how do we do a right 'closing’ to this concert” Morikubo: “It shouldn’t end… Aaa~aa I don’t want it to end!!!!*sulking voice*” *Morikubo lays his body on stairs and sleep on it lol*

- Tattsun: “There’s just one song we haven’t performed right? If Morikubo-san said he teared up while recording for "KIZUNA”, I teared up a lot while recording for this song.“ Morikubo: ”This is the last, please sing together with us!“ All: "You’re my Life!”

28. You’re My Life I totally wasn’t expecting this song to be the last song ;; aaaaaaa i already cried the moment i saw shoutan cried at the MC before but it was even more when they started singing ;;_;;; Such a sweet song and unlike their usual strong atmosphere, they sing really gently in this one a;; SO MANY TEARS SHED ON THIS SONG Tattsun couldn’t sing part rightly because he teared up and Maenu’s eyes were red as if trying to hold back tears. Audience do the “Lalalala~” part and they make it a lot longer than in original. They also sing the last “Kimi no moto ni todoke~” together.

They waved goodbye at the audience, at the end they came closer to each other at center stage. Shoutan was crying hard and leaned at Maenu’s shoulder (who was also tearing up). Morikubo hugged shoutan from the side and Tattsun patted his head. The stage then ended at that condition.

Conclusion: THE MC WAS SO TEARJERKING I saw some people who aren’t even QN-oshi also teared up at it. I really shouldn’t say anything more about the performances, it was seriously the best. All in one, it was a really really satisfying live. I love STARISH and i do respect HEAVENS, but I just felt so glad I’m a Quartet Night-oshi. For me, they will always be the best seiyuu singing unit ever, in performances and other aspects. I’m so glad a group named Quartet Night existed.

If you’re reading this and never heard of QN songs, i really suggest you to do give it a listen because they have such a cool songs and great vocals (technically, blend, harmonies); Or if you only know STARISH and never give QN a chance, please give them a chance. They’re such an amazing group

#utapri #quartet night #aoi shouta #suzuki tatsuhisa #maeno tomoaki #morikubo showtaro #mikaze ai #kurosaki ranmaru #camus #kotobuki reiji

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arastiia · 8 years ago

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REALLY, REALLY LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES. repost , don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck !

TAGGED BY:@absolutiia & @mammaterasu (lemme luv u) TAGGING: (last few in my activity) @gloriatiia, @starrfated, @vcgabcnd, @aevyternal, @matoiii, @vindictiia, @wingedborn, @way-of-flowers, @tiiamate, @moralistiius & @drautcs.

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Satsuki Kiryuin. NICKNAME: Sats, sis, nee-san (Ryuko); Satsuki-chan (Jakuzure) -- mostly post-KLK. AGE: 18; turns 19 shortly after Ragyo’s death. BIRTHDAY: September 9th. ETHNIC GROUP: Asian. NATIONALITY: Japanese. LANGUAGE / S: Japanese, English. SEXUAL ORIENTATION: (prob.) asexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: biromantic. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: complex. CLASS: High; the Kiryuins belong to the richest & wealthiest families ever known. HOME TOWN / AREA: Honnouji; later on Kanagawa. CURRENT HOME: Kiryuin Mansion. PROFESSION: Honnouji Academy Student Council President, Heiress to the Kiryuin Empire; new CEO of rebuilt REVOCs (post-KLK)

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: varies; black. Used to be extremely long (110 cm); short / shoulder-long (post-KLK) EYES: color varies, depending on incidence of light. Dark blue most part of the time, sometimes gray. Satsuki possesses narrow eyes which are framed by very distinct eyebrows. One of the few physical features she definitely shares with her mother. NOSE: Pointed. FACE: angular, defined jaw & keen contours. LIPS: rather thin. Perpetually frowning. COMPLEXION: Pale. Almost white when compared to her sister’s skin. BLEMISHES: if examined close enough one will spot a petite patch of burnt skin on her back right between both shoulder blades (set on her spine). Hinting at the spot where life fibers made first contact during exerted experiments (in her youth). Mere ‘touch’ burnt the child’s skin, rendering her unfit for further tests. Said piece of skin was later on cut open before both parents eventually realized that aforsaid life fibers could not make contact with her neural system (connection error). Satsuki’s right hallux nail has furthermore been replaced with a custom made steel implement.

SCARS: minor cut (almost bleached out/barely visible) right beneath her left cheekbone. Moreover three insection scars on left brachium, long cut / scar on right side of her neck (knife wound which she often covers with high collars / hair) -- post-KLK. TATTOOS: None. HEIGHT: 164 cm (172 cm with heels). WEIGHT: around 58 kg. BUILD: Slender in shape; defined muscle in arms, back & stomach. Long legs, broad hips + shoulders. FEATURES: sharp & stoic. ALLERGIES: None. USUAL HAIR STYLE: hair is kept extremely straight & tidy; both bangs & hair-ends cut in a perfectly horizontal manner. This changes as soon as she shortens her hair. Despite keeping her style 'neat’ still, it often stays more loose & a bit ‘wilder’. USUAL FACE LOOK: rather apathetic, devoid of emotion yet undeniably calm at the same time. Brows oft furrowed, eyes steely. USUAL CLOTHING: various uniforms. Colors of choice are white & blue. Later perhaps even black -- Albeit having been a part of the fashion industry for quite some time already, Satsuki owns no sense for trends at all. This leads to her being prone to dress very formal; rather simple & plain. Items like long blouses & skirts are her favorites; she hardly will wear flat shoes & truly prefers heels (8cm) -- It is also known Satsuki sticks to more loose & unrevealing clothing when being able to choose.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S: Failure, losing those considered as family, being devoured by Junketsu & (post-KLK) becoming just like her mother. ASPIRATION / S: Killing Ragyo Kiryuin thus stopping her from gaining world domination; revenge for her dead father & baby sister (pre-episode 18) -- later on, protecting Ryuko & redemption become her driving force. After fulfilling this aim (thus losing her purpose), the rebuilding of REVOCs & the idea of helping those once hurt becomes the distraction she direly needs. POSITIVE TRAITS: Ambition, sheer endless willpower, diligence, intellect, passion, rationality / ability to think out of the box, dedication & will to protect her ‘family’. NEGATIVE TRAITS: manipulator, can have an ill-temper when losing control, hardly shows any empathy, can be seen as taciturn, apathetic,cruel & cold. Lacks the will to open up, tends to isolate herself, arrogant. Cannot see herself being human (’an experiment’,etc). MBTI: INTJ. ZODIAC: Virgo. TEMPEREMENT: Choleric. SOUL TYPE / S: Leader, Thinker. ANIMALS: Owl. VICE HABIT / S: manipulating / torturing others & donning Junketsu thus wrecking own body in the process. FAITH: Satsuki considers herself an atheist. GHOSTS?: No. AFTERLIFE?: in a way,yes. REINCARNATION?: No. ALIENS?: obviously. ECONOMIC PREFERENCE: Satsuki owns a high position / plenty of wealth; she does,however prefer a rather humble & minimalistic life style. SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION: CEO; business woman. EDUCATION LEVEL: basic school education + advanced education in several specific fields, excellent business skills.

FAMILY.

FATHER: Soichiro Kiryuin (deceased). MOTHER: Ragyo Kiryuin (deceased). SIBLINGS: Ryuko Matoi (alive). EXTENDED FAMILY: Nui Harime (’artificial’ second sister.), Devas. NAME MEANING / S: To offer a more indepth analysis; the name Satsuki can be translated into ‘moon’; thus refering to most symbolic traits the moon possesses. White & blue are her main colors, water & air her main elements. She is an introvert; reserved & the calm force opposing her sister Ryuko (the sun). Satsuki can also (symbolically speaking) refer to the satsuki azalea: a certain type of bonzai which is famous for its beauty & sturdiness when groomed with enough finesse & dedication.

‘Kiryuin’ roughly means "imperial house” (refering to her general family & the mere might it possesses) & “empress, emperor". It is also important to note that the word ‘dragon’ can be found in there too (when analysing the kanji) -- given Satsuki’s role during KLK & the dragon symbolism found in both Junketsu’s activated form & the transformation scene itself, the meaning of said finding can be considered as rather self-explanatory.

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: n/A.

FAVORITES.

BOOK: heavy content appealing to her level of intellect. Prose / poetry & various rather philosophical works oft interest her too. It nonetheless depends on her mood. Classic drama / tragedy can be relaxing in her pov aswell. 5 SONGS: Classical music in general; Jakuzure’s pieces are a blessing in her pov. DEITY: Athena. HOLIDAY: probably Christmas; Satsuki invests a lot of time & effort into preparing meals / gifts for Ryuko & her devas. She loves spending time with those she cherishes & surely takes a liking in the familiar atmosphere it entails. This only applies to post-KLK scenarios. Holidays hardly mattered to her while mother was still alive. MONTH: no specific one. SEASON: Perhaps autumn. PLACE: despite liking to be among Ryuko & her devas in general, Satsuki oftentimes strives for isolation -- in this case own apartment appears to be the safest choice. WEATHER: Rain soothes her. SOUND: Clashing steel, falling rain, soft melody of a piano or quiet pieces of classical music played in the background; to name a few. Kiryuin does nonetheless cherish silence / a certain tranquility above most other things. SCENT / S: brewed tea. old books, freshly washed/ironed clothing, to name a few. TASTE / S: Anything bitter. FEEL / S: nothing specific. Then again Satsuki surely favors the feeling of being in total control & undeniable security. Gentleness is high on her list too for several reasons. ANIMAL / S: majestic creatures with highly symbolic value. She bases her favorites on certain situations or rational choice / value more often than not. NUMBER: no specific one. COLOURS: several shades of blue.

EXTRA.

TALENTS: great leader/motivator, extraordinarily good at rhetoric, manipulation, master in swordmanship / dual swordmanship, several martial arts, master of self-control, good listener/advisor, quick learner, etc. BAD AT: acknowledging/dealing with own trauma, keeping (platonic) relationships alive, opening up / talking about herself, being ‘human’, coping (post-KLK), sarcasm & humor, picking the right clothes. TURN ONS: she would rather avoid thinking about something like that at the moment. TURN OFFS: ^^^^ HOBBIES: reading & several other rather artistic occupations, sparring (kendo,etc), simply enjoying a cup of tea. She does not frequent hobbies as such given her occupation -- reading is thus perhaps the only activity she can uphold. Other than that she also enjoys being in her sister’s company / doing casual ‘stuff’ alongside Jakuzure. AESTHETIC TAGS: strategy, tea, Victorian Age, literature, books, conquer, katanas, control, poetry, classical music.

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1: If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about ? — I would love to learn more about Satsuki’s childhood as such; about her life during these years, her education, the role she played in later years. How exactly did she conquer Honnouji, how did Ragyo’s & her interactions work out (not necessarily the ‘abuse part’ but more their dialogues, Ragyo’s influence on her earlier childhood,etc), how did the devas influence her life? How did she interact with them? How big was Jakuzure’s impact? How did they develop Honnouji Academy as such? -- to be honest there is a lot I wish to know. Perhaps also more about her mentality. About her redemption post-KLK, yada yada.

I have no specific name in mind but its title would probably be minimalistic. As for the style? I am not really thinking about a movie / documentation but more of a novel, I suppose.

Q2 : What would their soundtrack / score sound like? — Heavy & militant pieces which feature a lot of power but also ‘softer’ piano compositions that are rather melancholic. Satsuki would def need some female singers in there too. Maybe also tracks featuring the ‘Aurora’ or ‘Cry no More’ vibe. Songs that seem to start rather atypically but evolve into VERY powerful songs carried by a certain celestical tune. It really depends on the context.The majority of her score would consist out of very strong songs with a bit of fragility / melancholy mixed in here & there. Q3: Why did you start writing this character? — Satsuki is complex. A masterpiece in terms of character writing. She is certainly one of the richest characters I know & I love the amount of layers her character has. Writing her proves a challenge -- her dialogue is composed, every word often meaning much more than one might believe; also her psyche. Her drive. Her general story. I am simply drawn to antagonistic, manipulative heroes with surprisingly soft hearts & a terribly tragic backgroundstory who do awful things for the sake of serving a noble call. It gives me life TBH. Q4: What first attracted you to this character? — her power. & perhaps her design. The way she walked down the stairs in this undeniably majestic way? The way she held her first speech? I was sold. Q5: Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. — her manipulative streak. How she treats her devas in the first half of the show. Even if I understand why she had to do this / why she performed the deeds she did; it hurts me everytime. Q6: What do you have in common with your muse? — we are both manipulators. We are both hella introvert & driven. I cut my hair short kinda like Satsuki did too; I lowkey love running around in heels all day aswell. Other than that? Not that much. Q7: How does your muse feel about you? — hmmm. I am positive that she likes me. Q8: What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with? — A lot of characters actually. I love seeing her interact with her devas (Jakuzure, Sanageyama, Gamagori & Inumuta) & ofc also Ryuko. My plots with Ragyo are very painful but feature an unique dynamic that truly strikes me. Then again, I usually only write with roleplayers whom muses could be considered as interesting to interact with. Q9 : What gives you inspiration to write your muse? — To be frank, I rarely really need inspiration? I sometimes rely on my experience drawn from similar characters which I wrote before (Kuvira most part of the time.) but other than that? Music, I guess. -- I also gain most of my motivation from writing down potential hc topics & discussing them with the squad. Q10: How long did this take you to complete? — Sorta long. I rambled a lot + rewrote stuff around a thousand times tbh.

#[[ tbh I could have gone into even more detail in 80% of all cases bUT well #this got long enough already jfc ]]#「〈✦〉 ᴏ ᴀᴛʟᴀs; ʜᴏᴡ I ᴇɴᴠʏ ᴛʜᴇᴇ. Fᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀʀʀʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ & I ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. ━ headcanons. 」#tw // long post

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stargleeksil-blog · 7 years ago

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Criminal Minds s05e20 “... A Thousand Words” review - or more aptly named, an episode where I tried eating a pizza, nearly vomited, kept on watching without eating, and loved it XD

Episode 20 - … A Thousand Words

Hey guys! So last episode was really eye-opening to the whole immigration thing going on in the USA, huh?

Well, let’s see what this one has in store.

Oh god, we’re starting with 911 call center. I don’t like this.

“There’s a dead body in the warehouse.”

Wait what now?

What the fuck is going on here?

“Are you sure the victim is dead, sir?”

“He will be in a second.”

Oh fuck.

Did he just fucking kill himself right now? Fuck.

Did that unsub just kill himself? Oh boy.

Wait. So he’s posted all the pictures of his victims already? Oh god.

“Ah, hell, just … send everybody.”

Oh boy.

“Hey, have a good weekend, JJ.”

And, that weekend just got cancelled.

“There goes my beach house rental.”

“And my non-refundable sin to win weekend in Atlantic City.”

Ooh, Emily, you naughty thing XD

“I didn’t have any plans.” Oh poodle.

He fucking tattooed his victims. Shit.

“He called in his own suicide, didn’t he?”

How did ….

“Yeah. How did you …?”

“He staged all this. No reason to put on a show without an audience.”

Isn’t the very definition of the word ‘show’ that you have to have an audience?

“Tell them to leave the body where it is. We need it exactly how he wanted it seen.”.

Oh god.

This is also going to be dreadful. I can feel it.

William Dobell: “A sincere artist tries to create something which is in itself a living thing.”

Huh?

So it’s hot in Tallahassee. Okay.

“You know, it isn’t so much the heat as it is the humidity.”

“At some point it doesn’t matter how you look at it. It all sucks.”

So true!

I love how he always waves when he’s introduced!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My perfect poodle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Hope you have a strong stomach.”

I don’t. why show this to us?

Fuck!

“Talk about staging.”

Talk about how I’m so glad they haven’t invented TV that gives you smell, too.

“They’re always normal.”

Pah.

“Out here in the boonies you don’t get a lot of, uh, record-keeping types.”

“Especially when it comes to cash transactions, I bet.”

Oh dear.

“Most serial killers who commit suicide do it in prison after they’re caught.”

So it is weird.

Duh.

Aw, the deputy is so cute asking about why when women kill themselves it’s clean and men are so messy.

“Women worry about who has to clean up. Men don’t give a damn.”

Wow.

“Look at that. At the turn of the 16th century, rose tattoos were put on men who were sentenced to death.”

Fascinating?

“Yeah, if they escaped, it served to identify them. But now roses pretty much symbolize pure love.”

Not here.

“Pure love. Right before he kills them.”

Reid: “Hey, have you read The Illustrated Man?” “Nope.”

“It’s a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury, based on the metafictive device of a man who’s covered in tattoos drawn by a woman from the future.”

Disinterested Rossi: “Uh-huh.”

“At nighttime, the tattoos come to life and tell a story. It’s pretty awesome.”

You don’t often get to here Reid say the word ‘awesome’. And it’s glorious.

“These do tell a story.”

Not one I’m eager to read/hear.

“Why would he leave that space blank?”

“Maybe the guy’s just a psycho.”

“If it were that simple, we’d all be out of a job.”

What’s a fourth wall anyway?

“Hey, Reid.”

“What’s up?”

“Our man here was a prolific journaler.”

“With teeny tiny handwriting.”

“He probably had counseling at some point when journaling was part of his therapy.”

“That’s what we were thinking.”

“And, uh, well, you know, the two of us, it would take us like three days to read all of this stuff.”

Oh my god, it’s so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“You guys owe me.”

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Aw, he’s so cute!

“What do we know so far?”

“He wanted the police here. He wanted us to see all this.”

“And he was definitely a sadist.”

Yup.

“Covering himself with his victims’ likeness is methodical, possessive. He’ll always own them.”

“And the suicide shows commitment. He’s organized and compulsive. The crimes are on an annual cycle.”

Oh god.

He rented the building two weeks ago, which is when he printed out everything.

“And proceeded to move everything into it. It’s a history of his crimes.”

Oh god.

“That’s it … everything. Everything.”

What?

“Reid?”

“Everything. His body, the tattoos, the clippings, the printout, the journals. He moved it all into one room.”

Okay …

“He wanted us to see it. See all of him …”

“His work … the women, he put them in chronological order.”

“He’s screaming, ‘look at me’.”

Right.

“We got all that.”

“No, but think about it. If you take a step back, it sort of makes sense.”

“It’s just a confession. A giant, flashy confession.”

What?

“What would we say if an unsub turned himself in to the police before they were even onto him?”

“That he was trying to hide something.”

“Or someone.”

Whoa.

“He made a mistake … in his third book.”

“I almost missed it, but then I caught it.”

Oh my cutie, rubbing his eyes.

“‘I thought it would take longer, but today was the lucky day. She almost walked right by, almost missed her completely, but at the last moment, we found our latest guest.’”

Oh god. He has a partner.

“He has a partner.”

“He put everything in his room so we wouldn’t look further, wouldn’t dig even deeper.”

“If he has a partner, he’s still out there, and he’s got Rebecca Daniels.”

Oh god, my poodle is the smartest poodle to ever poodle.

Wait. His partner is that pregnant lady? Oh boy.

Hey! That’s Holland Roden! Oh god, I love her so much.

So the cop thinks it’s a good idea to put pressure on the partner?

“If the partner didn’t know about the suicide, he might dispose of Miss Daniels and disappear.”

“If anyone can stop the media from doing something, it’s JJ.”

I hope so.

“So let’s profile the partner.”

Ew.

“Can any of you think of a case where a dominant unsub committed suicide to protect a submissive partner?”

“No.”

“So the partner must be equal in some way, or at least not a competitor, not somebody that he needed to feel dominance over.”

“Maybe it was someone he cared about?”

“It would be hard for a sadistic psychopath to care about anybody.”

“Which would make the partner all that much more important to him.”

“What about the tattoo artist?”

Ooh, they may be onto something there.

Did he just call her ‘Becky’? That’s weird.

“Detective, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Haha, Prentiss and Morgan are like – what the fuck did just happen?

“How much do they know?”

“The troopers told them everything.”

Oh god.

“Agent Rossi, please tell me you called because the case is over”

“And I can erase this freakity-freak off my otherwise uber-delicious desktops.”

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I missed my lovely.

“Long way to go, kid.”

“I am into emidermartistry as much as the next gen-x-er, but this guy … eesh.”

“I’m just glad he’s not breathing the same air as you, my fine furry friends.”

I love her so much.

“The state of Florida requires licensing for all skin illustrators, but …”

“And I am not going to elaborate on how I know this …”

“Not everyone in the body-art lifestyle goes through official channels.”

Now I’m curious!

“Epidermartistry?”

Yeah, it’s fine, Rossi, it’s not a real word.

My lovely poodle reading in the speed of lightning XDDDDDDDDDD

He’s so elegant.

“Do you know her?”

It sounds like he does.

“Is there a personal relationship? You’ve referred to her twice as Becky.”

“And nowhere else is she referred to that way. It’s always Rebecca.”

“If there’s something that’s gonna cloud your judgment, I need to know about it.”

As do I.

“Caring about a victim …”

“Personalizing it, can only be stupid if it’s reckless.”

I hope he doesn’t get reckless.

“It’s like 110 out here and it feels like a refrigerator compared to that warehouse.”

Ha.

I love you, Rossi.

“How’s Reid doing?”

“It doesn’t even seem to faze him. He’s just sitting there in the corner, turning pages.”

“Yeah, Reid goes to another place when he reads.”

Don’t we all?

“You want to go check these out with me?”

“Sounds like fun.”

Wow. Sarcasm.

“Prentiss and Rossi are going to check out some tattoo parlors.”

Sounds like fun!

“Did you ask him about calling her Becky?”

So my sensitive puppy picked up on it, as well.

“Well, I hope so. Because we still have no indication that this girl’s even alive.”

That’s also true.

“This guy’s killed all those women?”

“Looks like it.”

Yikes.

“And there’s another one missing.”

“Then he killed himself?” “Yeah, he did.”

“Good. Sort of a public service.”

“I guess that’s a good way of looking at it.”

Yup. Haven’t heard that point of view before.

I guess it’s true.

“You sure it’s okay to move the body?”

“Well, there’s no reason not to anymore. We’ve seen this guy’s show.”

Ugh.

“I think it’s pretty safe to say no one’s ever seen anything like this.”

Hell yes, puppy.

I mean, I get it that he’s into that stuff, but this guy killed himself after killing women, don’t appreciate it, you freaky tattoo artist.

“The illustrated man.”

“Second time I’ve heard that today.”

“The book?”

“Reid mentioned it.”

Yeah, well, if they’re into body art, it makes sense they’ll know the story.

The rose was tattooed over the cross? Why?

“If he did time, that would explain how a fifty-year-old unsub doesn’t start killing until he’s forty.”

True.

“Garcia can track this thorough the biometric recognition program.”

“So there’s, like, no chance of me seeing the dead dude, right?”

“None.”

Freak.

“I thought he was covered completely.”

So the movie deviated from the book. Duh!

“Biometrics?”

“It catalogues all the prison inmates and their tattoos. They have detailed photos of every one on every inmate.”

Damn.

“No, that’s not right. Hey guys, it isn’t the only blank space.”

Oh boy.

“The spot on his chest were we assumed Rebecca’s portrait would go …”

“In the journal he talks about filling in the last space, how once he does that the artwork will be complete.”

“It isn’t the only blank space.”

What?

“In his back, in the middle of that tree is a giant open spot. Why would he talk about completing the artwork when he hasn’t? I need to see the body again.”

Ew.

“Garcia?”

“I ran the covered tattoo through the morpho-tracking system.”

“Tell me you got something, babe.”

“Emily, don’t get ahead of my dramatic telling.”

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I’m in love

And shipping the two of them.

“I analyzed a 95% chance it is from one of four major institutions in the northeastern prison system.”

“The string of missings began unbroken from 2000, so I went back from that year, found 53 similar tattoos on forearms. Of those 53, ten were released prior to 2000.”

“Thank you and goodnight.”

“You are amazing.”

“Of the ten, any convicted rapists?”

“Four.”

“Do any of them trace back to Tallahassee?”

“None.”

Oh dear.

“So ultimately I have nada.”

“Bob.”

Who?

“The guy, his name, the guy who rented the property, just Bob.”

Boom.

“Garcia, remind me never to try to hide from you.”

“Perish the thought, mon ami.”

“You know him?”

Oh boy.

He was one of the suspects. And he talked to him. And he alerted him. Shit.

“Did he know you were looking for him?”

“He knew it was only a matter of time before you caught up with him.”

“He wasn’t about to go back to prison.”

Wait. She had the fucking baby and doesn’t want it because it’s a boy? Well, that’s fucked up.

Crap. He’s not in the apartment.

“You know what? There’s something there. I can feel the raised ink.”

Ew.

“Do you have a black light scanner?”

“Thanks.”

“Right there. Feel that.”

Oh god, that is nasty.

“I’ve read about this. Tattoos put on with invisible ink so that no one can see them.”

Damn.

“They lead to the blank spot.”

“It’s an embryo in a womb.”

Oh god.

“Do we know if she had the baby yet?”

“The tattoos have dates, the embryo doesn’t.”

“Dating is prominent in the tattoos and the journals, and they’re calendrical in their abductions. It’s hard to believe the baby’s birthdate wouldn’t be exceedingly important to them.”

True.

“Then she’s probably still pregnant.”

Or giving birth right now?

Yeah.

“Well, he didn’t live here with a pregnant woman. This is a males-only SRO.”

Fuck.

“They kept these woman for a year each. It wasn’t a one-room apartment.”

Yup. A house.

Did they meet in prison? Could be.

“My sweet.”

“Hey, you know the visitor logs from the prison we looked at?”

“Uh-huh. Still have them at the ready.”

“Okay, great, I need you to check dates for me. Were there any women who visited another inmate while Burke was there but then suddenly stopped visiting when Burke was released?”

“Huh.”

“Okay, let me hit you back.”

“Rev your engines, guys.”

She’s got her.

Oh god, it’s the daughter of the psycho rapist. Fuck.

“And she was his primary victim.”

“He raped her and she still went to visit him every year?”

“She’s repeating the cycle she grew up with.”

“And if you want me to slip you some convincers, she owns a house in northern Florida.”

Boom.

Oh thank god, they found her.

So cute.

“Three cards, please.”

“Three cards for the lady.”

“And I’m gonna take one card.”

Is Emily seriously playing poker with Reid? Oh dear.

“Oooh. One card. A straight or a flush, Dr. Reid, what are you trying to fill in?”

“Well, considering the odds of filling in an open-ended straight with one card are five-to-one against, while a one-card flush draw is more like 4.5-to-one,”

“I guess you’d say if I was smart, I’m drawing to a flush.”

“I think I’m gonna go all in on this.”

“So, are you?”

“Am I drawing to a flush, or am I smart?”

“Either.”

“I’m provably a genius, but, uh,”

“Actually, I was drawing to a full house.”

Oh bam.

“I always forget you’re from Vegas.”

“Yup.”

I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Oh, I’m sorry, not so fast.”

Wait. What?

“I, too, have a boat. Jacks over threes.”

WHAT?

“You drew three cards to a full house? That’s like 100-to-1 against.”

FUCK

“97-to-1.”

“Looks like you’re out.”

I LOVE YOU EMILY!

“Hey, Prentiss. Sin to win.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Come on, now, I gotta know. What the hell is a sin to win weekend in Atlantic City?”

“Derek, I have a tremendous amount of respect for you,”

“But there are some questions that if you have to ask them, it means you probably couldn’t handle the answer.”

“There is a whole other side to that woman.”

And don’t you ever forget it XD

“I never lose.”

Oh my baby.

“A whole other side.”

Yup.

Mohandas Gandhi: “I have seen children successfully surmount the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul.”

So to sum it up, this series is fucking perfect, I love every aspect of it, even the ugly and the weird, and the parts where they don’t follow up on possible subplots (hello, Morgan/Garcia much?) but I love it nonetheless, and that’s why I keep watching and doing this. I can’t believe we’re about to finish up season five. HOLY FUCK.

I’ll see you all next time, lovelies, it seriously warms my heart whenever I see those little popping digits that indicate another like XD I LOVE YOU GUYS! <3

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pod7 · 7 years ago

Text

Summer Anime* 2017 Lightning Review

*Just the shows I watched, of course

I’m leaving out shows that I dropped, so if you remember me talking about a show but it’s not listed here, I was either bored by it or just didn’t enjoy it anymore after a certain point, and that’s really all there is to say~!

Shows Included: 18if, Action Heroine Cheer Fruits, Aho Girl, Boku no Hero Academia 2nd Season, Centaur no Nayami, Classroom of the Elite, Clione no Akari, Gamers!, Hajimete no Gal, Isekai Shokudou, Kakegurui, Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun, Knight’s & Magic, Koi to Uso, Made in Abyss, Nana Maru San Batsu, New Game!!, Nobunaga no Shinobi: Ise Kanegasaki-hen, Pokemon Sun & Moon, Princess Principal, Teekyuu 9, Tenshi no 3P!, Tsurezure Children,

Reminder that there are spoilers in the reviews below

18if I didn’t quite get what they were trying for with this show until about half-way through. This felt like more of an excuse to explore and experiment stylistically than to actually tell a story at most times, but because of that it got to tell lots of varied and unusual-for-anime stories, including an episode exploring the culture of the hearing impaired/deaf population of Japan, which was really cool. The ending just ended up being kind of wank, but since there wasn’t really that big of a reveal set up, it wasn’t that disappointing. If you want to see some interesting visual styles and some cool Twilight Zone style reveals, you might give this show a shot. 7/10

Action Heroine Cheer Fruits This was quietly one of the better shows of the season. It had the same framework story-wise as Love Live; girls end up banding together to save a building from being demolished and help support the town by buying into the newest fad sweeping the nation. Only instead of idol groups, it’s “local heroes”, live stage shows portraying sentai and superhero like characters beating villains with the goods and virtues representing the town they’re from. The girls are all really cute, even the really cliché ojou-sama~ Shimura had her moments. I will also give this show all the praise in the world for not only including a handicapped character but also making her a central figure to the plot. The ending of the finale where she is included in the show after working behind the scenes for so long tugged on my heart strings a bit. Plus, there is a not so vague relationship between Misaki and Roko, with Roko probably being my favorite character in the show. It’s not as moe as Love Live and the comedy isn’t as quality as something like Yuru Yuri or Wakaba Girl, but it’s still a great show. 9/10

Aho Girl The comedy reminded me of a mixture of Saiki-kun and Plustic Nee-san; very off the wall slapstick kind of stuff, but still really clever and you could tell there was a lot of love put into this show. I don’t know that I would say I laughed the most while watching this show this season (more on that later), but I would say it’s the comedy of the season for sure. Was really easy to forget the episodes were only 12 minutes long because it was just jam-packed with gags. Definitely a must watch for 2017. 10/10 Boku no Hero Academia 2nd Season I definitely feel like the girl characters are getting more screen time in season 2, which is always good. I still don’t see what people see in Bakugo, even after reading ahead in the manga, I don’t feel like his attitude is “redeemed” or “explained” much at all. Hero Killer Stain definitely stole the show; he’s so grungy and RAW, and Go Inoue delivers Stain’s final lines so passionately he almost had me convinced he was the real deal. Like I said earlier, I’ve read ahead, so some of the moments to come are exciting, but there are also some that I can feel will take up waaay too much time, or even have filler put in, which I’m not looking forward to as shounen manga stretches things out enough as it is. Will certainly get another season, it’s so popular it would be stranger for it to not get a third one. 7/10

Centaur no Nayami It’s been a while since I have read the manga, but I feel like they got many of the voices down exactly the way I imagined them. However, it also felt like there was a lot of stuff that was anime-original, or at least were out of order. As much as I can remember, this was the only anime this season with a confirmed-in-show homosexual couple, and while the explanation to the kids in the scene left a lot to be desired, considering the overlying theme of “zero-tolerance tolerance” towards discrimination, felt kind of odd, and felt like maybe the studio made it a little more conservative than it was in the manga. It was a shame that a lot of the everyday life moments from the manga were cut out in favor of more tropes per minute. What I’m trying to say is that while the show is good, it isn’t the best representation of the manga that it could have been in my opinion. 8/10

Classroom of the Elite This show was almost trash, but was saved by the revelation of Ayanokoji’s true self at the very end. Right as Horikita is seemingly spilling her tsundere guts out to him as well. This, in a similar vein to Kakegurui, was really unintentionally comedic to me. There was zero tension at all, mostly because you could see where it was going in most cases. I think it was a bit cheap to have the solution to how Ayanokoji would win the survival test come from a rule they never mentioned about the classes losing points for guessing other class leaders wrong. It would be like having a multiple choice question A/B/C/D and then saying the answer was E. I also think Kushida was a dud. Every time she tried to buddy up or get closer to Ayanokoji, I kept waiting for him to say “At the risk of you blackmailing me again, I agree.” Especially when she asked him who would he choose between her and Horikita it’s like... gee, do I pick the super effective mark I just procured or the girl who has blackmail on me and is asking me this? I wonder... A show that thinks very highly of itself unjustly. 5/10

Clione no Akari This was kind of bizarre series; it was pretty obvious from the beginning that a certain character would die or was already dead. It felt like a series aimed at like 10 year olds, in an effort to teach them about bullying through entertainment. I don’t really have much to say about it, it had an obvious message with a miserable ending, I’d say pass on it. 5/10 Gamers! I’m not as enamored with this series as most people seem to be, but it has it’s charms to be sure. Karen and Aguri are really great, and in a close third Uehara-kun, but I’m not a fan of Chiaki and Keita, which is kind of bad considering they are the ones we’re meant to be rooting for. I was also pretty shocked at how well received this was considering it is almost entirely a love-pentagon rom-com; any other series with a love triangle or more seems to be met with “ugh, why does this shit have to be in here.” I suppose if it’s meant to be poking fun at the trope as a whole, then I can see it, but if that’s the case then it was so blunt I immediately dismissed it as being too likely to be the case. Karen is probably my fav in the show, and I was kind of annoyed that the rest of the actual game club didn’t really show up much at all despite the early hype for each member. Aguri is a late favorite, mostly because of how she was in the finale; a person who genuinely doesn’t understand the appeal of video games but is still willing to hang out with gamers and tease them about gaming’s darker sides. 8/10 Hajimete no Gal This was basically what I thought Galko-chan was going to be, but it also had it’s own uniqueness to it. The show knew what it was, and didn’t take itself too seriously, but wasn’t a slouch either; it made an effort to make the characters get to know each other and come together somewhat organically, considering how big the cast was. Obviously I’m drawn to Eri Kitamura’s Ranko; the misunderstood childhood friend with a gay crush on her best friend beating up any guys that try to get in her way is something I can get behind as a protagonist, let alone a side character. I think this show is actually more interesting censored than uncensored because they did it creatively and on-theme instead of just mysterious beams of light or clouds of steam. A fun show if you don’t mind sex comedies. 9/10

Isekai Shokudou The “comfy” show of the season to be sure. A great lesson in evolving narrative as well; it starts of with seemingly one off stories each week, but begins to intertwine the stories of the patrons that come along, which was done quite well. The only real problem with it is that, it’s called a western restaurant multiple times in the show, but almost everything they serve is Japanese; it was a real missed opportunity to introduce food from around the world to the Japanese audience, who would be able to relate even more to the bewildered fantasy characters coming to eat every seven days. That being said, if you just want to relax and enjoy something really just pleasant, or need to make yourself hungry, too, this is the show for you. 10/10 highly recommended

Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni It’s kind of a misleading title, to be honest; it’s meant to convey how powerful his smartphone is in this new fantasy land devoid of most technology, but it’s actually more that God gave him affinity to all elements that makes the protagonist so OP. If that wasn’t enough, he can also learn all null magic, which is meant to be like character specific spells... He doesn’t even have to be taught them, he just have to read about them in a book and he can use it, which is crazy ridiculous in any other show, but because you are expecting him to be over-powered from the start, it’s actually quite enjoyable, in my opinion. The harem stuff was tedious but at least they acknowledged that a) in a medieval setting and time period polygamy being normal makes sense and b) protagonist is still holding on to his previous world and life’s customs of monogamy, and won’t commit to marrying all of them, not yet, anyway. I don’t know that I’d watch a second season of this to be honest. It would have to go one of two ways; either an actual challenge shows up, or he ends up similar to One Punch Man, and begins working on a way to go home or something. 8/10

Kakegurui I said earlier that Aho Girl is comedy of the season, but that I didn’t laugh at it the most this season. This show (and another) would be the reason behind that. I don’t know if I’m just too jaded for it or what but the fact that this show was billed as “psychological” slays me. How anyone could take any of these characters or situations seriously, in the most obvious hentai setting on the planet, is beyond me. The style and animation was all ready pretty and well done, as were the expressions. It’s hard not to compare it to Prison School visually. My main complaint would be that Yumeko isn’t fleshed out enough; they tried to make her this force of nature type character but so was the student council president, who was far more mysterious (naturally), so she just ended up feeling underdeveloped. Since this probably won’t get a second season, I would have liked for the finale to be more in jeopardy by having the second to last episode end with the “president” denying Yumeko’s challenge with a smile, which would have been devastating to Yumeko. If you would like an edgy version of over the top characters rivaling the Phoenix Wright series that take themselves a bit too seriously, you might give it a watch. It’s hysterical. 7/10

Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun I’ll be brief about this one; it’s basically Sakamoto Desu ga, Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge, and DAYS!! mixed together. Make of that what you will. I loved the coach and the girls’ basketball star character. 7/10

Knight’s & Magic FINALLY another mecha show I can get into! Just had to make it wizardy and junk, I guess. Another show this season where the protag is OP and it ends up being just fine, honestly. A slight complaint would be that they bother to mention how much time passes between scenes multiple times, some of which are “many months” long, yet none of the characters visibly change with time. It kind of reminded me a bit of Arslan, in some ways. I would have liked to see more about the mysterious race that guards the secrets to the mech engines as well. If you’re only kind of sorta into mecha like me and want something different, this is a great show just for you! 9/10

Koi to Uso Really should have dropped this one, but there was just a glimmer of hope now and then that this would actually have an ending. It didn’t though, and now I feel like I wasted six hours of my life. There wasn’t even any big reveal in the finale that would be a hook to get me to read the rest of the story, just “he loves both and well I guess that’s it.” I liked how genuinely awkward the protagonist was; these days in anime they’ll say the protagonist is weird, otaku, awkward, but then he’ll be the least nerdy of his friends, or “borderline weird”, which when he’s with his friends makes him look normal (see Hajimete no Gal), which defeats the purpose. The guy friend who was in love with the protagonist was really interesting, and it felt like they didn’t do enough to make it feel like he would ever actually confess. The show isn’t particularly funny or poignant either, it’s just kind of there. The thing I will remember most about this show is that it had a catchy opening theme. 4/10

Made in Abyss It’s a crying shame that this isn’t a 24 episode season; who knows how long it will be until a second season, though apparently it’s pretty likely to happen. Don’t let the cute characters and pleasant background masterpiece artwork full you; there is some pretty gnarly shit in this show, particularly Mitty, a formerly-human blob of body parts that is functionally immortal, despite her friend Nanachi’s best efforts to put her out of her misery. You get to see, fully on screen, how this 10 year old became a puddle of skin, or basically the eldritch version of a pokemon. It’s fucked up. I honestly had to look away. Still, it’s a great adventure show filled with real peril and very, very dire consequences. My favorite character was Ozen because of how creepy she is but also I love her voice, it stands out from every other voice in the show. 10/10 must watch

Nana Maru San Batsu I have participated in quiz bowl in the past, but it was never this hardcore, yet still managed to have the elitist bullshit attitudes, so I wasn’t too sure I was going to like this one. However, Mari Fukami and Akira Sonohara kept me around. It’s rare to see a girl in a setting like this that is shown to have earnest and ambition separate from revenge; sure, she wants to redeem quiz bowl for her brother so she can play him again, but in general she just really loves it and wants to be better at it. Akira is fantastic, I empathize with them (for the sake of brevity, gender neutral pronouns will be used) on a lot of levels when it comes to games. Whenever I play canasta with my family, they just want to play to the bottom of the draw pile, which, when you want to play multiple games, can take HOURS, so I started playing where I would keep all of my cards in my hand, and then “go out” all at once to end the round. They stopped asking me to play because of it, but it sure was fun to throw a wrench into things while still “playing the game”. Also, Akira is really cute, I really loved the side ponytail wig. ANYWAY, I had low expectations, but this turned out to be pretty good, though there were some points I was skimming through. 8/10

New Game!! Anime of the season. I just can’t get enough of these ladies and their interpersonal dynamics. While things were once again switched around from the manga, it still feels very much like its right off the page, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Shoutarou Tokunou, the creator of the manga, sat in on script meetings and even wrote the script for some episodes! Which is pretty unheard of I think. He even started bringing a tablet with the script on it to make changes to the script on the fly. I’m really torn on the ending; they just about all but said Rin and Ko are lovers, which was actually more than what happened in the manga, but didn’t pull the trigger. I also feel like Ko leaving is a hell of a cliffhanger, especially considering the anime is basically caught up to the manga already. Tokunou has said that Ko’s time in France will be included in the next volume, so maybe in a couple years there could be a third season? That’s being greedy though; it got a second season, and I was already reading the manga before the anime so continuing to read it won’t be an issue. I just love them so much. 10/10 highest recommendation

Nobunaga no Shinobi: Ise Kanegasaki-hen Continues to be one of the better short form series I’ve ever seen. The comedy is always extremely clever and the historical accounts and the sarcastic take on such revered figures is always great to see. If you are interested in the time period or Nobunaga specifically but don’t take them too seriously you should really be already watching this. 9/10

Pokemon Sun & Moon I haven’t been this into Pokemon for a LOOONG time, and it is 100% to do with this series I think. It’s just so fun and energetic, there’s no world-ending threat (yet), the kids are all just hanging out and discovering new Pokemon stuff together. Lillie is of course the show stealer, and it would be great to see her travel as a full time companion with Ash eventually, since she essentially leaves at the end of Sun/Moon games to become a Pokemon master, just like Ash. I may have missed about 400 episodes of the series, but I don’t remember ever seeing any of the companions as like an apprentice to Ash, so that would be a new take for the series to use I think. I said Lillie steals the show, but Musahi/Jessie is still my number one gal; she is outstanding in this season, and is honestly becoming one of my favorite animated characters ever. Which covers a lot of ground. I know some people are down on the character design and over-exaggerated reactions, but I think, like the Sun/Moon games did for the game series, this was the breath of fresh air that the series needed to stay relevant. Continues!

Princess Principal The finale felt really flat/anticlimactic. They are definitely planning on a second season, or some way to extend the story like a game, which hurt it in my opinion by leaving too many things open-ended. Also seemed really hackneyed to have Princess and Ange just immediately back to lovey-dovey mode, despite Princess telling Ange to never let her see her again after a pretty hardcore betrayal. A begrudging thank you from Princess after being saved and a stern re-establishment of their relationship as mutually beneficial rather than romantic (or extremely platonic) that would build back up to it’s previous height in a continued story setting seems like it would have been a better choice. Best girl was Dorothy easily, for me. She seemed the most like a spy out of the whole group, and was kind of the Dick Grayson to Ange’s Batman; for raw ability she may be a bit behind Ange, but Dorothy has the heart and the willpower to really become a legend in the game, while holding the group together. Even though the show felt like it fell on it’s face at the end, the rest of it was crazy good, especially the episode where they confront the double agent and former classmate. 8/10

Teekyuu 9 Speechless. How do you describe perfection. Mandatory viewing. 10/10

Tenshi no 3P! Despite the pedo alarm sounding on nearly a weekly basis for this show, it ended up not being too bad. It was kind of like Ryo-Kyu-Bu but if all of the girls were professional level athletes already. To be able to play like that at age 7 or 8, and “not know what to do” with it seems really silly, but it’s more of a story about dragging the protag out of his room after becoming a shut-in from bullying. I feel like in the end the protag will end up with the age appropriate older sister, but then again I thought that way with Usagi Drop and Listen to Me Girls! I am Your Father! so who knows where this will go. Not to a second season, most likely. 6/10

Tsurezure Children I’m sure many people on tumblr were aware of this series without actually know the title, so it was nice to see it make the rounds every week with a decent amount of popularity. There’s not really one couple I would pin down as my favorite, it’s all just really clever gag writing that is couple with great visuals, another great short form series. 9/10

#summer anime 2017 #lightning review #anime review

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comicsatlasrp-blog · 7 years ago

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Welcome to Comics Atlas, Nee! Your application for Zatanna Zatara with the faceclaim of Priyanka Chopra has been accepted! Please send in your account within 48 hours. Don’t forget to:

Make sure your ask and submit are open. Follow everyone on the follow list. Track the necessary tags. Make sure your character’s bio is easily accessible on their page. Read this information on secret identities. And don’t forget that we ask that your pages are readable, with a minimum of 11px font.

Name / Timezone / Pronouns: Nee / EST / She/her.

Note from the player: My Zatanna is primarily based off of her older comics and a few of her newer ones, her personality is heavily based off of Zatanna the self titled comic from 2013 and Zatanna: Bloodspell, I’m almost surely avoiding Justice League Dark characterization, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to plot some of that out.

Zatanna could put up with the harsh necessities. The mutilations of primitive magic, the occasional unavoidable torture sessions, and even the increasing weight of her failures. What she wasn’t good at handling, however, were the unnecessary ones. And the timing on this case—and the resulting forty-one consecutive hours without sleep—definitely fell into the latter category.

But it was over now. She’d won. The demon was banished. Warehouses stood stark and rusted as they should.

She moved to reflexively straighten her top hat before she simply…gave up. It was time to call a cab and get home where she would collapse in her bed and not think about how neglected house wife it would be if she broke out the wine and a xanax tomorrow. She was a girl with needs, needs to be comfortable and relaxed and not angry at her dad who cursed a fucking comic book with a demon.

She pulled her cell from her hat but paused when she caught sight of the screen. Something must have gotten on it during the fight, some white cobweb-like substance. She swiped at it with her fingers, only to have it bite her with sharp jagged little needles—

Of glass. The glass. The screen was shattered—and she’d gone and jabbed herself on it like a complete idiot. Good one Zee.

She brushed the splinters from her skin, what she could see in the dark at least, and winced when it only seemed to drive a few of them deeper. She suspected she was going to be spending quality time with some tweezers in the near future. Another thing between her and her bed. The xanax and wine was looking better and better with every passing moment.

Mindful of the remaining shards, she pressed the power button, but there was no blinking green light, no cheerful wallpaper—no indicator of life whatsoever.

Motherfucker.

She stepped outside steady on heels and she wondered why she couldn’t have taken the time to switch shoes after her show instead of dashing off into the night like she was Batman, She wasn’t, he was a bit of an ass. She looked around but there was nothing here that would help her. No traffic, no shops—just stretches of decrepit walls and pavement.

“Is this all you have to offer me? After I was the savior of this derelict industrial district? Seriously?!”

No payphones appeared in the shadows.

Christ, nice Zee, good job, talking to shadows and air, that wasn’t dangerous at all. She was maybe delirious from lack of sleep.

Zatanna groaned and barely stopped herself from slumping to the floor, this was a bad neighborhood, her feet hurt, New York was awful and sure, she could protect herself and even better summon a batsignal so she wouldn’t have to, but it didn’t mean she wanted to have to.

“Looks like I’m walking. I regret these heels, I regret them a lot.”

She could cast a communication spell, or at the very least a directional one, but her situation wasn’t exactly dire. That was one thing that separated those who didn’t have experience with magic—or those who shouldn’t have any—from those who did: conjuring forces was only an option when all the alternatives had been exhausted.

Besides, she was fatigued enough to make a mistake.

Magic was a game of equivalent exchange, you could over tax yourself, you could break the laws of arcana but magic always got it’s due and if it wasn’t taking it’s pound of flesh from you, it was taking it from the people around you. Magic was dangerous and volatile and every dark thing that walked every back alley, but it was also every bit of childish wonder people let out into the world when they became adults.

Zatanna had learned to control words, their meanings were vast and varied with every person under the sun, she wasn’t the type of girl to wield words of power like blunt objects, both in magic and in life. Her father had taught her many things and of those things one was evident without her needing to say, self worth was not something anyone in the Zatara line should lack.

Magic is not something that comes naturally, there is no such thing as being born with an innate sense of spellmanship and the knowledge of incantation on your tongue. A twitch of the finger, and your spell could go horribly horribly wrong, and no one knew that better than Zatanna. She grew up surrounded by false magic, magic and tricks and a sense of understanding deep in her soul, and as she aged that understanding became confusion, became the stirrings of wonder. She found that magic was real, and that sense of wonder in her soul fostered into something bright, the light of power and the knowledge that she could do good with that power.

And doing something good with her power had landed her here.

The diner was exactly what Zatanna expected. Too bright and too full of drunks trying to see how well their dates from the clubs held up under fluorescents. Someone else, someone smarter and not in four inch heels with a working phone, would have bypassed this misery and kept going.

But as far as she was concerned, the diner might as well be the Mecca. It had taken her over half an hour to get here, and by the time she’d seen the flashing neon she’d been on the verge of crawling into the nearest dumpster and taking a nap on all that cozy trash—if it hadn’t been for the likelihood that she’d freeze to death. Or for the stench.

She probably looked like she belonged there right about now, or working a corner.

Magic was about equivalent exchange, life was not, not individually and maybe she’s glaring at the boys hitting on her and drinking up her bare legs like she’s a tall glass of water but she sort of laments her love life, or just her life in general really.

She was beautiful, unashamed of it, and she didn’t flaunt it anymore than she needed to for her acts. No, she was simply a woman, well, as simply as she was anything at all, she didn’t showcase nor hide who she was, her wants, her desires, her heart wasn’t on her sleeve, but neither was it barricaded in her chest, behind walls of bone, gilded with blood and curved into a cage. She was sure of herself and her opinions, of what society wanted of her and what she wanted in return because in things like this she expected, wouldn’t stand for anything less then, and believed in, equivalent exchange. So while she spent her days and nights fighting off suitors, suitors who bought the most expensive wine on the menu because they knew nothing of wine and wished to impress her, because they thought if they flaunted their money they would win her affections. To her ‘average jerks’ she thought, that mainly, they likened her to a prostitute, give her wealth, power, stability and she’ll give you her body, her mind, her soul, and that, she always believed, was not equivalent exchange.

The thing is, none of them offered her anything she didn’t already have.

Except the surprisingly hot guy behind the counter who was smiling, and whoa, were those dimples? And a phone. Zatanna leaned over the counter with a grin, and sent a quiet thank you to the universe.

#accepted

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