#but if that's the case. then that poison runs deep enough that he might as well not be attracted to her even if he is. he's so mixed up
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The more I linger on it, the more I think this might be the most subtly unhinged thing in all of SGRS. What do you MEAN you dated for eight years and never told each other your real names???
Miyokichi talks after the breakup about how she was putting on a "professional front" with Kikuhiko. As a survival technique, Miyokichi tends to make herself into whatever she thinks the man she's with wants from her, and in this case, that means she presented herself as her idea of Kiku's idea of a "good woman" for a full eight years while they were together. She probably would have tried to go on like that forever if he didn't break things off.
Yet at the same time, I think she's rightfully upset on some level that Kiku never looked at her more deeply. We see very little of their relationship, only the beginning and the very end, but given what we do see, it seems like Kiku never quite stops holding Miyokichi at arm's length. He goes along with things and initiates some level of closeness (like leaning into her when he's upset during the rain), but he doesn't push her to get more intimate.
Kiku looks scared when Miyokichi talks about dying during their breakup, he defends her personhood to his master, and he wants to bring her back to Tokyo with along Konatsu and Sukeroku when he finds them, so it's not like he doesn't care about her at all. But while he treats her his own version of decently, he never tries to get to know her on a deeper level. He doesn't take initiative to look for who she is behind her front for him.
(Personally, I'd blame his disinterest in knowing her largely on his own fear of being known, but we don't have time to get into that right now).
The problem with Miyokichi's frustration with being taken at face value, though, is that she doesn't know Kikuhiko's real name either. She most likely never asks, just like Kiku never asks hers. I think she falls in love with the idea of dating Kiku as much if not more than she falls in love with him. He's safe and well-mannered and very handsome, and I think his distant coldness is a comfort to her on some level because neglect, though an unhappy business, is what she has experience with.
Miyokichi likes the idea of ~being the woman~ and supporting Kiku emotionally. I'm sure she encouraged some playact of emotional intimacy between them. I'm sure they found comfort in each other in a very real way sometimes. But, if she got to know Kiku too well, she would have seen things about him she didn't like. Could she have truly known him without knowing he didn't love her the way she wanted? She never quite looks deeper to see whether he's really the type of man that she needs him to be.
I think Kiku is a bit more at fault for the dysfunction in their relationship overall. Whether or not he was ever properly attracted to or in love with her, he's quite clearly an inattentive boyfriend to an egregious degree. Who the hell goes traveling for an extended period without saying a word to their partner?? But he's not the only one that lets their partner pretend to be something they're not.
Kiku and Miyokichi are both very talented actors. Boyfriend and Girlfriend are roles that they're both playing. They're the happy heterosexual couple! Miyokichi seems to latch onto Kiku in large part for the sake of her safety (and because she doesn't know how to exist without a boyfriend in her life). And however much pleasure he may or may not get from Miyokichi's advances, I think Kiku stays in the relationship with her at least in part out of a sense of social obligation. She's beautiful and hitting on him. Young men are supposed to have girlfriends. He's encouraged to date to get experience for his rakugo. Is saying "no" even an option?
But because they're both playing roles, because they're both invested in Doing A Relationship as much as they're invested in each other as individuals, both of them skim along the other's surface. Neither of them ever volunteers to tell the other their real name, and apparently neither of them ever tries to ask. They spend eight years together, but those years are spent dating the personas of Kikuhiko and Miyokichi, not daring to look at the people underneath those masks.
#miyokichi's mask is the more obvious one. but there's absolutely parts of kiku buried deep down underneath his front#I tried to write this post so that it could apply to any reading of kikuhiko. but I am absolutely a queer kiku truther#I'm 90% a ''he's not attracted to her truther''#he's just. so comphet#I suppose you could read him as bi (or even ace and bi). since it's not like compet obligations can't still poison things#even if you do like girls#but if that's the case. then that poison runs deep enough that he might as well not be attracted to her even if he is. he's so mixed up#anyway I think Kiku is both a bit less in denial about the hollowness of their relationship AND more in denial about his own mask#tho it's hard to tell bc he's the unreliable narrator of this whole section#sgrs#shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu#descending stories#kikuhiko#yurakutei yakumo#miyokichi#ID in alt text
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Kirito's Quest Reward
In Alfheim Online, a small party of friends were taking on a boss monster. The giant salamander itself wasnât particularly threatening, even with itâs attacks leaving multiple debuff effects, but the party enjoyed taking on large bosses together, and definitely enjoyed the payouts from selling the rare Fang Daggers these beasts drop.
âRemember, the one to finish it gets whatever it drops!â teased Leafa, who had been dealing most of the heavy hits this rotation. She knew they always shared rewards anyway, unless there was only one unique item per quest. However noticing her health had decreased due to the monsterâs poison, she was prepping to take defensive. âNow switch!â
In a swift movement the girl and her attacking duo Klein had fallen back to the defensive and support lines, and two new attackers came in, the romantic crossed sword duo of Kirito and Asuna. Between them 3 swords cut deep and heavily into the salamanderâs HP. Flurries of shortsword stabs and rapier pierces were landed before the rest of the team had assumed their new positions. Leafa began supporting her teammates with spell buffs alongside the cait sith monster tamer Silica, and Klein took a defensive stance beside the mace wielding blacksmith Lisbeth, preparing to run in to assist the mainline attackers. As the HP of the beast faded lower and lower, a rain of arrows shot down from above as the cait sith archer Sinon unleashed battalions worth of arrows. Not to be outdone, the blackswordsman Kirito rushed in unleashing a devastating combo to the creature, taking itâs final health points down to zero.
âHmmph, all that effort in the last moments and you still go and killsteal.â Sinon sighed and huffed jokingly.
âHeh relax Sinon, weâre all sharinâ in the rewards nomatter whatâ Kirito replied, smirking.
As the monster turned to glittery dust a gift box fell from itâs place and landed square on the battlefield.
âAh crap.â Lisbeth complained âThat special drop events still goinâ on. All that work and we still might get a freakinâ steel dagger out of it.â
âShoot! And I just barely made enough yuld off of it to buy back the potions we used.â Klein huffed.
âHey we still have a chance for it to be good, even if we havenât had much luck with itâ optimistically chimed in Silica.
âWell, in that case if nobody wants it, Iâll be the one stuck with it I guessâ Kirito said, striding over to it. âI was the one who took it down after all~â He playfully taunted to the other partymembers.Â
He tapped on the box to open it and reveal itâs contents, fully expecting something mediocre.
âHmm?â
A dialogue box appeared in front of him â1x Classic Maid Outfit added to inventoryâ
He closed the dialogue box before anyone else could catch up and see what it was.
âSo whatcha get?â Asuna inquired looking right over his shoulder.
Kirito jumped from the sudden break in silence, hoping she hadnât seen the boxâs contents. His face flushed red and he flailed his arms. âN-NOTHING- NOTHING AT ALL HAHA-â
Real smooth there Kazuto. He thought to himself. You know how your friends are. Thatâs just inviting problems.
âOoooooo~ somebody got something special~â cooed Lisbeth, now nearly hovering over the poor boy.
âSo what rare item did you steal from me hm Kirito?â Sinon peered down.
âHeh- no. Th-there wasnât even anything in it. Guess we got screwed by it haha-â
Next quest: Get better at lying.Â
âOh nuh uh, you aint keepin whatever it is for yourself, if itâs worth a buncha yuld then weâre splittin it okay Kirito?â Klein tossed out.
Kirito wanted to clear his inventory, he would sooner lose Excalibur than reveal what he had received.
âHey Yui, if Kirito isnât gonna tell us, could you check his inventory for us?â Silica spoke between small giggles.
âYui please donât-â
But it was too late. The small navigation pixie had already opened up a tab to review Kiritoâs items.
âHmmm letâs see. Ah it seems Daddy received an event item from one of Alfheimâs prior Valentineâs Day Eventsâ
Valentineâs Day Item? Well thatâs not gonna arouse any suspicion at ALL. Kirito grumbled to himself, his face so red he was matching the color of the holiday itself.
âSpill the beans Yui, whats it worth?â Klein inquired.
âHehehe~ I just wanna know what it is thatâs gotten Kiri so embarrassed~â teased Lisbeth. âIs it some toy youâre gonna share with Asuna later?~â
âAAAA Nononononono itâs nothing like that-â Kirito stammered out.
âNo itâs not a toy- it appears the item itself is a clothing item labeled âClassic Maid Outfitââ Yui innocently stated.
The group went silent as Kiritoâs face went from a flush red to a stark white pale. Then they all started laughing. Lis and Sinon were all but banging the ground laughing at the mortified boy. It took countless agonizing seconds until anyone spoke.
âS-*snkr* So you gonna model it for us Kiri-Chan?~â Lisbeth managed out between snickers.Â
âYeah itâs all yours oneesan~â Leafa joked out.
Sinon who had previously been laughing the hardest now had a more neutral but smug look on her face âJeez if you wanna see him girly so bad you should join us in GGO sometime.â
GGO⊠Kirito thought. Yeah that model was quite something. I swear that there was something special in my eyes there. They just seemed brighterâŠ
Kirito slapped his cheeks out of that thought.
âIâm not making it out of here without putting it on am I?â he sheepishly responded.Â
âHoney you donât have to if you donât want to. But I canât say I wouldnât mind seeing-â Asuna trailed off, imagining Kiritoâs toned physique in a maid outfit.
Add that to the online shopping list later. She thought, her mind filled with devious thoughts.
âYouâre just scared youâll like it-â Klein teased before getting one of Kiritoâs boots directly to the jaw.
âF-fine. Just- Everyone turn around. If anyone peeks as I change Iâm deleting this account!â Kirito stammered out.
The giggles of the group grew louder as they turned away. His fingers fumbled with the prompts to switch outfits, as if the outfit itself was attacking.
Youâre just scared youâll like it.
The words echoed in Kiritoâs mind as he hit confirm.Â
He got a good look at his reflection in the mirror view of the UI.
I look like one of those freakinâ anime twin maids Klein loves. Wait⊠Nononono- I look like SuguâŠ
Kirito wasnât wrong, if it werent for his modest chest, heâd easily be mistaken as his sister. But like this, he looked like his siblingâs little sister more than her big brother. His face was soft. His hair had updated along with the clothing, now appearing more similar to his GGO avatar, with the only substantially shorter in the back. In addition to the dress, he had been gifted with a cute little hat and was adorned in ribbons and stockings. The outfit was a dark lavender, with the ribbons appearing a slightly brighter purple. The purple really brought out the color in his dark grey eyes.
âEverything okay Kirito?â Squeaked Silica. âI know we were teasing but if youâre uncomfortable you donât havta show usâŠâ
Why is she the only one with any decency here? He took one last look at himself in the mirror. Those lights are back in my eyes⊠He pushed down that thought and sighed.
âYou can look nowâŠâ
He closed his eyes and braced for the worst. He expected laughter and mockery. What he got was⊠Silence? Silence for far far too long.
âGuys is everything okay?â
He opened his eyes and noticed everyone was just staring at him, shocked but⊠not giggly or amused⊠Almost confused? With the exception of Klein, who was frozen in place, and slowly tipped over before logging out.
âJeez tough crowdâ Kirito joked, trying to make the situation more bearable for himself.
He noticed as the slight breeze blew past, the skirt picked up a bit and waved effortlessly in the wind. Without thinking, he spun around, watching as his skirt effortlessly spun with him. He giggled.
Hmm. Not so bad⊠EH? What am I thinking I need to get this off-
âK-kirito?â Asuna quietly broke the silence.
âYes maâamâ Kirito almost chirped out.Â
He was happy to see he was now taking it better than anyone else. And then the whole group pounced on him, tackling him to the ground with a hug.
âYouâre so cuteeeeeeeeeee!â they all echoed.
Even Sinon, the most modest one seemed utterly infatuated.
âJeez Sinon, youâve seen me worse than this- And Sugu youâve DEFINITELY seen me worse than this-â Kirito thought of playing dress up with her as a kid, but a memory that shouldâve made him shudder now brought him a surprising warmth.
Thatâs not good. He thought to himself. Yeah Iâm gonna have to do some serious thinking about this. Or better yet I should simply never think of this again.
âOkay funs over nowâ Kirito exclaimed, tired of being at the bottom of a pile of bosoms. âThis has been exhausting and I wanna go to bed now.â
That night Kirito dreamt of his wedding in Aincrad with Asuna, only now he looked like his GGO Avatar.
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
Kirito woke up early the next morning and his heart ached. He sent a good morning text to Asuna, despite knowing sheâd probably be sleeping in still. He paused before he knocked on his sisterâs door to wake her up, and chose not to, just sending her a quick ârunning out for groceries, be back soon.â text before he got on his bike and left.
Maybe a little ride can clear my head.
Kirito cruised down nearly empty streets, trying to think of anything other than his dream and yesterday. He hadnât lied about the groceries, he just walked through the supermarket picking up a few essentials for him and Suguha for the week, passing through on his way to checkout when a glimmer caught his eye. He had wound up in the womenâs clothing department, and beside him standing tall was a mannequin wearing a basic black skirt. It was nothing special, it was cheap, it was just a department store clothing brand. He looked at his reflection in the black screen of his phone, seeing sparkles in his eyes. He sighed, knowing he was about to make a mistake and placed it in his basket and checked out. He rode home from the shops with his mind racing.Â
Why did I do that? Iâm such an idiot. What the hell am I doing? What would Sugu say? What will Asuna say? I- I just need to try this once. Iâm just gonna go home, try it on, nothing will happen and Iâll burn the damn thing.
Kirito tried to enter the home as quietly as possible, dropping the groceries on the table and tip toeing to his room with the bag with the skirt in it. He closed the door behind him, but in his anxiousness to try on the skirt, he neglected to lock it. He slid out of his black sweatpants, staring at his body in the mirror. His figure was slender, almost effeminate in nature. Years without hardcore exercise and barely eating while in SAO clearly took itâs toll on a previously toned figure.
Maybe I do look like SuguâŠ
Back when they were little, Suguha and Kazuto were always mistaken for twin girls, despite Kazuto being older and not even Suguhaâs blood sibling. He never minded back then, he just liked being close to her. Theyâd occasionally swap clothes to mess with their parents. Kazuto softly smiled at the thought. He slipped on the skirt. She slipped on the skirt.
His eyes met hers in the mirror. Where a dull grey void once sat, a galaxy of stars was now present, with shimmering highlights and purple hues never noticed until now. There was a subtle curvature to her hips. A natural softness to her face. Her slender physique made him jealous. He stared at the girl who looked back at him, she shyly smiled and as the words left her mouth, they followed in his. âSo, this is me?â
She looked down, and the girl was him. The girl was her.
She nervously laughed and shook in place. She watched as her skirt flowed side to side with every subtle movement. She spun herself around, watching the skirt flare up. She giggled to herself. She spun herself again. And again and again. She was giggling to herself like crazy. There were no thoughts left in her head, it was just a pure moment of bliss. And it came crushing down as the door opened behind her.
âYawnnnnnnn~ Kazutooooooo please could you make a little less noi-â Sugu entered the room with her eyes closed yawning, but her eyes quickly shot open as she saw what was once her big brother in a tiny black skirt.
âS-Sugu??? EH! Donât Look! Iâm not decent!â She blurted out, not realizing she was pitching her voice higher than normal. She scrambled behind her bed, trying to cover up her shame, hiding her blushing face behind her hands.
Suguha smiled softly and walked over beside her as she softly pet her sisterâs head.
âWell, it seems like Iâve stumbled into something big huh? Listen Kazuto. Or⊠whatever you may wanna be called. Iâm always gonna support and love my big sibling, nomatter who they are.â She kissed the timid girlâs forehead. âIâm gonna go make us breakfast okay. You can wear that if you wanna. Itâs just us home today. You donât have to worry. You donât have to tell anyone else if you arenât ready. You donât even have to tell me if youâre not ready. But Iâm here for you.â
She walked out the door, and Kazuto sighed, knowing she meant every word of that.
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
Kazuto followed not long after, choosing to wear the skirt downstairs to the kitchen. She was blushing the whole time, still unable to meet her sisterâs eyes. She slid a stack of pancakes over to her.
âHere big sis, I made your favorite.â She smiled sweetly down at Kazuto.
â...I like that.â
âHmm?â
âI think⊠I think I prefer being your big sister.â
Suguha smiled brightly.
âYayyyyyy! Now we get to do fun girly stuff together! This is so exciting!- Oh and of course, thank you for trusting me enough with this sis. It means a lot.â Suguha felt a warmth she had never felt, and she felt like it was due to the beaming smile on her big sisterâs face.
âSo, what are you thinkinâ for a name?â
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
A few days pass and nobody outside the Kirigaya household hears from Kazuto. He seemingly vanished from the ALO party, and only returned a few texts with âSorry Iâm just busy, miss you tooâ or âI love you too Asunaâ. Truthfully, Kazuto had been training up a new ALO avatar with her sister, creating a swordfighting cait sith, with a name she chose for herself, Kiriko.
âHey Iâm gonna head out and make some lunch for us okay Kiriko? Donât go far, and Iâll meet you in town.â âSounds good Leafa, thank you!â
While Suguâs cooking wasnât the masterpiece Asunaâs was, Kiriko was always happy to indulge in some of Suguâs fine craftsmanship as well. Leafa signed out, and her model disappeared. And Kiriko was alone.
She strolled through the town, wondering what to do in the meantime.
âI could really use some sword upgradesâŠâ She muttered to herself, knowing that the only blacksmith worth caring about was Lisbeth, and she didnât know who Kiriko was yet.Â
âAh well I can help you with that one!â A familiar voice made Kiriko jump, her ears and tail standing on end. âHeh, didnât mean to scare ya, Iâm Klein, and if you need some smithinâ done, I know just the girl for you.â
Kiriko did her best to pitch her voice up to not be recognized âN-nice to meet you Klein, but thatâs okay- I- I think I might just wait until I get a better sword dropâŠâ
âNonsense, Liz is the best in the business, she can make a starter sword scale right alongside Excaliburâ He laughed to himself. âWhatâs your name by the way?â
âK-KirikoâŠâ She embarrassedly managed out.
Great. I look like my little sister, and the name I chose is 1 letter off of my old handle. I am the smartest woman alive.
Luckily for Kiriko, Klein was the dumbest man alive, and did not question it at all, leading her to Lisbethâs Smithy.
âHey guys, Iâm back, and I found a newbie who needs some sword help.â Klein announced to the full party.
Kiriko gulped. Everyone but Leafa was here. Asuna, Yui, Strea, Lisbeth, Silica, Sinon, Philia, Agil, even Argo.
With my luck, somehow Sachi is gonna walk through that door isnât sheâŠ
âH-hi everyone, Iâm Kiriko⊠Klein said that Lisbeth is a master blacksmith. At least I think he said âmaster blacksmithâ but all I really caught was âmaster bâ-â She knew this was gonna be dreadful, so the least she could do was tease Klein before the whole thing fell apart.
âH-HEY! I said nothing like that- She is a master blacksmith though! Sheâs been working at it since Sword Art.â
âYup yup! The best in the business!â
âItâs nice to see you again Liz, I havenât had a chance to see you since SAO I supposeâ Kiriko lied.
Itâs not too farfetched to be another SAO survivor⊠Gives me some leeway if I mess up and say more than I should knownâŠ
âOhmygosh sorry- I usually donât forget my customers facesâŠâ Liz pouted.
âHey now, cheer up, consider us equal for me breaking your sword.â
Smooth one smoothbrain. Kiriko thought to herself.
âEh?â Liz cocked her head. âI donât think anyone but Kiri-â
âYâknow out in the field, I abused the poor sword, I shouldâve taken better care of such expert craftsmanshipâ She smiled out the quickest excuse she could muster.
âAhhhh I see. You just reminded me of my favorite customer hehe.â She took Kirikoâs sword from her and got to work on it. âCute guy, but heâs dumb as rocks. Broke my best sword and made me go on an adventure to forge him a new one.â
âSounds like a bit of a jerk to me.â Kiriko joked.
âNah, heâs the sweetest guy, but heâs a little bit off.â
âYeah, he helped me revive my Pina!â Silica butted in.
âAnd he saved me from the Hollow Areaâ Philia added.
âAnd heâs like, the sweetest husband everâ Asuna swooned.
âAnd heâs the best daddy ever!â Yui chimed in.Â
âHeâs helped me in more ways than Iâd care to sayâ Sinon said blushing.
Kiriko herself was now blushing and trying to stifle a smile, hearing all these kind things from all of her friends.
âJeez, put the boy on a pedestal some more will ya? Youâre just begging for this girl to be competition in that polycule youâve got brewinâ Klein sighed âCourse, ya cant help but love the guy, after all, he saved us all so many times.â
She felt at home for once, the moment was so warm and peaceful.
âHmm, you even look a lot like Kii-boyâÂ
Crap.
Argoâs intuition was always top notch. Sheâd sniff out the fact that Kiriko was Kirito faster than anyone. She needed excuses and fast.
âWell, Iâve been told I do look boyish-â Kiriko idly fiddled with her skirt, kicking her feet a little.
âNono- You donât look boyish at all! Infact itâs more that Kirito looks girlishâ Philia tried to console Kiriko.
âYeah! He actually wore a dress recently and he was really cute!â Silica was practically meowing out the compliment.
âWeâve all been thinking, we havenât seen him since he did it, weâre worried that maybe we teased him too much and now he got self conscious.â Sinon looked down shamefully.
Kiriko could barely manage to keep up her facade.Â
Focus focus focus. Think of things to say to make this go away.
Kiriko chose to simply say the truth. âWell, I think if they were willing to put on the dress, maybe they were just finding an excuse to try it out. Maybe they ended up liking it and has been taking some time for themself to work some things out.â
The room went a bit quiet. All that could be heard was Agil talking to customers and Liz hammering away in the background, but both were clearly listening in intently.
âWhatcha mean?â Silica asked.
âW-well⊠Thereâs this thing Iâve been reading about on some MMO forums. Apparently some guys will dress up with female avatars as a joke, and then realize something, that maybe they were girls all along. Maybe your friend is doing that?â
Kiriko was stuttering out almost every word. Thereâs no way they wouldnât catch on.
âWell, then Iâd be the luckiest woman in the world to have the best wife in the world.â Asuna announced.
âYeah, and Iâd get to have the two best Mommies!â Yui said, with Strea nodding along with her.
âNomatter what, theyâre always our Kirito. Weâll always love them nomatter who they end up being.â Sinon added.Â
âYeah, and I can have my own big sister instead of a big brotherâ Silica giggled to herself.
âWell, she already has a little sister, you sure you can compete with that role?â Kiriko pet Silicaâs head and then she realized what she just said.
âWait⊠how do you know Kirito has a sister?â
âW-well Iâve been playing with a girl named Leafa whose been teaching me everything- and she keeps talking about her brother Kirito so I just assumed since you both brought up the name.â
Next quest: PLEASE GET BETTER AT LYING BRAIN Kiriko screamed at herself internally.
Argo mischievously laughed. âYknow Kiriko, I have gotten some inside scoops that Leafaâs been playin alongside a new account and callin her âbig sisâ. Now aint that somethin Kiriko? Or rather Kii-gal?â
Crap. Thatâs Argo for ya. She knows me better than⊠well even me probably.
As the tension grew thick enough to cut with a knife, Leafa walked through the door to the Smithy, and Lisbeth returned to listen to the gossip more intently.Â
Hopefully Sugu can tell Iâm blinking an S.O.S. to herâŠ
âAh I see youâve met my friend Kiriko! Sheâs really sweet right?â
Kiriko shifted in her seat.
â... Fine ya caught me. Itâs meâŠâ Kiriko mumbled out.Â
No escaping this one chief.
Leafa glanced down a look of âare you sure Kiriko?â to which Kiriko could only nod.
âWhile youâre about to lose some polycule points for forcibly outing me Argo-â âPolycule points?â Lisbeth inquired.
If I can earn those Iâm taking them- Liz thought to herself
âYes itâs me. I⊠I just couldnât stand being Kirito anymore.â The small catgirl looked to be near breaking point. âI.. I didnât wanna lose any of you. I never had friends until now. And I was so so so worried Iâd lose you all. Iâd been keeping this down since GunGale. That avatar stuck in my head like a parasite. I couldnât stop thinking about having long hair, and cute outfits, and twirly skirts, and- and after I tried on that stupid maid outfit, I couldnât go back. I couldnât be that same person I was anymore.â
She couldnât stop the tears anymore. She just balled herself up on the couch. But then she felt a warm soft embrace around her. And another, and another, and another.
âKiriko, Iâm so proud of you. And trust me, youâre still the person I fell in love with in Aincrad. Iâm not gonna leave you because you found out more about yourself. Thatâs just more of you I get to love. I get to fall in love all over again with a wonderful wife.â Asuna held Kiriko tight, and rubbed her cheek against the girl.
A hand was placed on Kirikoâs shoulder. âHeh, youâre so used to playin with chicks that you became one yourself, good for you.â Klein smiled every word out. He may not have been the best with words, but Kiriko appreciated the meaning behind each one.
âWeâre all gonna love you nomatter what KirikoâŠâ Silica was gripping onto her even tighter than Asuna.
Yui and Strea held onto Kiriko for dear life, trying to make their new mommy happy.
âYeah, youâre our favorite gal to tease, and now we can tease you even harder and in new ways!â Lisbeth smirked devilishly before hugging Kiriko with one arm and poking her cheeks with her free hand.
Kiriko felt another hand on her other shoulder, and looked up to see Agil.
âIâm proud of you for finding out who you are. Iâm blessed to have met ya.â
Kirikoâs tears turned from fear and sadness to joy and love.
Sinon came walking up to where Kiriko was sat and hugged her from the front then pet her head. âTruthfully, I thought you were trans the moment you said you were actually a guy in that avatar in GGO. Every time we fought there I saw that light in your eyes youâve got now. Iâm so proud of you.â She kissed the girlâs forehead. âAnd now we can confirm that two GGO Winners are girls tooâ she smirked.
âHehe, sorry for gettin ya to come out if you werent readyâ Argo tossled Kirikoâs hair. âBut ya know Iâm just like ya too! I just wanted ya to rip that bandaid off hehe. Makes it better in the long term.â Kiriko could only smile at the rat in front of her.
âAnd can I please have my polycule points backâ
âT-thereâs no such thing Argo. And if there were I wouldnât take them from my favorite ratâŠâ
âHey I know we already talked Kirikoâ Leafa held onto Kirikoâs hand âbut Iâm so proud of you and Iâm so happy to have a big sister.â
All Kiriko could do was smile, she was finally herself, and surrounded by all of the people she held dear.Â
And in the back of her head, she heard the faint singing of familiar christmas music, and relaxed.
Heh. I guess even Sachi was here afterall.
âI love you all. Thank you so much. All of you.â
#i told you id make this yalls problem#this might go on ao3 later. id need an account tho#sao#sword art online#kirito#trans kirito#transfem kirito#fanfic#fanfiction
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Trapped
Pairing Dark Luke castellan x Poseidon daughter readerÂ
Platonic Percy jackson x sister readerÂ
Trigger warnings kidnapping, poison (not strong enough to kill ), cursing/language, dark themes
You had arrived at Camp Half-Blood long before Percy your half brother did. You had actually arrived with Thalia, Luke and AnnabethÂ
You'd think being the daughter of the sea god You'd have the advantage especially in the middle of the ocean but that was not the case for you. Luke had been poisoning you. The poison wasn't enough to kill you but enough to weaken you enough that it was hard to use your full powers. Also the celestial bronze chains didn't help either. You maybe thinking how'd you get here? Well it all happened on that night. The night Luke betrayed Camp Half-Blood. Percy came back with a new cut. Annabeth had seen everything.
FlashbackÂ
  âOh my gods Percy what happened to you?â You asked rushing over to your younger brother looking over at the cut on your little brother luckily the cut wasn't very deep. â You're ok Percy i promise I've got you. What monster did this to you? At least they didn't do worse.â You said holding Percy close to you. Annabeth, Chiron and Percy all glanced at each other. âAnnabeth your ok too ?........right?â You questioned your eyes scanning the young girl you grew to call a sister yet she wouldn't met your eyes. âY/n âŠâŠ.. you might want to sit down for this.â Chiron said. âSit down for what Chiron?â You asked. âŠâŠ.no answer âChiron?â You asked again refusing to sit down.Â
â It's LukeâŠâŠhe's the lightning theif and traitor to the camp.â Chiron said and with that the world went black. When you awoke again it was late and none was around. You were in the camps hospital bed or at least one of them because you fainted. Honestly it wasn't the best idea to leave the hospital bed in the middle of the night because who did you run into? Luke. â You shouldn't be here Castellan. â You growled under your breath. â Come on now M'loveâŠâŠ. Luke started but didn't get to finish.Â
âDon't give me that my love crap Castellan we're over. We were over the moment you chose Kronos over camp.â You said turning your back towards him which really wasn't a smart move. âMy love come back we're not over i refuse to let you break up with me!â Luke exclaimed after you. âGoodbye Castellan. â You replied. Maybe if you hadn't turned around you would have seen him pull out backbiter and hit you in the back of your head with the butt of it.Â
End of flashbackÂ
The door to Luke's room opened.Â
â Hello darling.â Luke purred and wrapped himself around you spooning you from behind. â Fuck off Castellen go rot in Tartarus.â You replied you could feel Luke's chest rumble slightly in amusement. â Don't bite the hand that feeds u love.â Luke replied . âIf you loved me you'd let me go.â You said struggle against his embrace. â It's because I love you that I can't let you go. You are MINE forever. Goodnight darling.â Luke replied. He feel asleep quickly while you laid in his arms feelingâŠâŠ.
Trapped .
#x reader#yn#percy jackson and the olympians#toxic luke castellan#dark luke castellan#yandere luke castellan#luke castellan x reader#fem reader
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đđđđđđđđđ đđ DAY 21: FEAR PLAY Ăs Nödt x F! Reader
Requested by: @muzans-stuff ⥠Hello If it's okay I'd like to participate in the kinktober event. I'm an AFAB with pronouns of she/her. I choose Ăs Nödt with these following kinks: Dom/sub, impregnation ,humiliation ,CNC and ESPECIALLY fear play. thank you â„ïž âĄ i'm sorry for the delay my love, but here it is finally! hope you enjoy :3 tw: MDNI. In any case I am saying being admitted to a psychiatric hospital is scary, however being dragged to a place like that without being informed... CNC (rape/forced to mentions. be extremely careful). fear play. rough sex. humiliation. kinda dominant as (duh). slapping. humiliation. and everything dark. wc: 1,3kmasterlist
Eyes wide open, mouth covered. Boney hands, a chill running through your spine. âYou are mineâŠâ âAm I?â
White cold flickering lights, padded walls⊠why is everything so empty? Why does it look like a mental hospital room?
Your back pressed against the wall; it doesnât hurt, itâs soft and secure. But your legs are shaking, you even feel like peeing yourself.
âĂs⊠what are we doing here?â you ask, with trembling voice and watery eyes. âShut upâŠâ he whispers, with low raspy voice thatâs both terrifying and sexy.
You swallow, blinking fast enough for a single tear to finally fall from your eye. You try to search for an exit, perhaps the door. When have he taken you here? was it while sleeping? The last thing you remember was feeling dizzy and sleepy during dinner with the Sternritters.
When your eyes finally devise what it might look like a door, you take a deep breath and decide to run towards it. You love Ăs, in a sick twisted way⊠but you are also scared⊠and there are still, maybe, boundaries you arenât ready to take. Or are you?
As you move your foot, he approaches you violently. One of his hands cover your mouth, while the other pushes you from your lower belly against the padded wall. You canât move a single muscle, you feel your blood turning cold, as if you were instilled with a poison right in your veins.
âDo not search for an exit. Havenât I tell you already that you are mine?â he grunts, with his tiny nose pressed against your cheek but still wearing his black mask over it.
You try to deny with your eyes, as he is pressing your head so hard against the wall. He seems to be losing control, as if your fear fed something feral inside of himâŠ
âStop crying. Stop crying. Stop crying!â he suddenly screams, when your tears become profuse and wet the back of his pale hand. The veins on it become swollen, and his muscles tense more and more.
You canât help it; you canât stop crying.
His black pointy nails carve in your cheeks, as he shakes your face and then pushes you to the ground in a swift and violent motion.
Your knees carve in the padded floor. And somehow you begin to see the situation as a dark metaphor for the love you both hold for the other; itâs humiliating, itâs painful⊠but itâs pure white, and it doesnât really hurt⊠itâs sick, but itâs healing.
You turn to look at him, his black boots, his black hair, and black eyes contrast with the white around as he walks to you. He does it slowly, but it is terrifying.
Ăs looks at you from the side, as he tilts his neck to the right. His silky long hair falls like an onyx downpour on his frame. âYou are patheticâ he growls, but you get the impression he is smiling under his mask as his eyes get squinted and the black orb takes over the whole socket.
Your white uniform has been slightly tore, but you donât even remember when it happened. Nor you realize his heavy boot is now over your chest. Time seems to pass either too slow, or too fast⊠you feel like missing parts of reality⊠have you been drugged? Or is it Ăsâs power? Is it the F supposed to be used this way?
âWill you hurt me?â you ask him, still crying. âOh no⊠it is yourself who will if you donât comply to my ordersâ he says, using his foot to spread your legs.
You soon realize that what he is meaning to do is not killing you⊠but fucking you. He is not willing to hear a ânoâ as a response, thatâs why he isnât even asking. You are, however, afraid of his words⊠knowing that he has the means to make you hurt yourself, makes you tremble.
You begin crawling back, you are sweating cold, you get tunnel vision having him to be the only image in the centre of your sight.
In a blink of an eye, he is already pinning you against the floor. Ăs is topping you, with his long hair tickling your cheeks and the mask barely separating your lips from his.
His body feels like a bag of bones, a characteristic you have always loved about him. You enjoyed the way his hipbones protruded through the long white cover of his uniform, and always wished to be able to see his collar bones... well, now you will.
His hand slides down until your leg, lifting it up until his waist. Your skirt, thatâs probably falling off by now, will allow him to have easy access to your core.
You are terrified and confused.
You arenât sure if you want it or not, but the way his erection feels against your core fans the flame of need and yet of fright. And the more he grazes his hardness against you, the more you cry; this time, uncontrollably sobbing but with bucking up hips searching for more. What a beautiful yet painful dichotomy.
âYou are such a slut, crying because you donât want to get fucked but still rubbing yourself against meâ he growls, searching with his bony hand for your panties to rip them off.
You catch a glimpse of logic and begin fighting -or trying to look like you are- to get him off of you. Deep inside, the more you want him to force you, the more that turns you on.
Ripped your underwear, his hand is now grabbing yours by the wrist above your head. âStay still, bitch. You are getting that hole raped by me because⊠YOU. ARE. MINEâ
You squirm under his firm touch. He might look like he is weak, but he is stronger than you in every way.
With his free hand, he slaps your face and then takes off his mask. For the first time you discover how his façade looks and you are beyond pleased. He is beautiful; pale, chapped lips, sick looking eyes but still full of a strong desire to live.
âStop crying, you are not making me stop⊠come onâ he whispers, now with his lips playfully grazing yours.
You sniff, trying to obey, trembling in fear but also in need. You feel his hand going down, while his dress like clothes go up. You get a glimpse of his pale, almost white abs. There is not a single gram of fat on his abs, and you discover that he is indeed way thinner than what you thought he was.
While his flesh is generally cold, his sex isnât. You can sense the throbbing warmth reaching your slippery entrance.
âEven if I am forcing my dick in you, you are still so wetâŠâ he moans, attacking your lips afterwards and impaling you with no mercy.
You arch your back, mewling in his mouth. But he wonât let you breathe any other air that the one coming from his own lungs.
Ăs fucks you excessively rough, making you sure you arenât able to escape from his claws, leaving you at his complete mercy⊠with your head spinning, and your legs losing their total strength.
He enjoys your clenching walls, your milking insides, slapping you once in a while. Sometimes he even stays inside you for some seconds, to show you how much you want him to keep ramming into you.
âYou were crying and kicking before, and now you want more of my dick? Donât you see how much of a needy whore you are? Why donât you become my cum dump too? Let me get you pregnant, so that everybody knows you are only mineâ
You widen your eyes; humiliated, asking for more of his dick, pleading with tears for your womb to be filled with his semen⊠forced to get pregnant by him.
Do it, Ăs⊠After all, you have become crazy⊠stupidly psychiatric for himâŠ
taglist: @miabiaria @carmenthedreamer @stygianoir @electronicwitchcollection @aizenwifey @deputy-videogamer @efrodd17 @mizugami @uzxotic @cyberdazetragedy @bookandyarndragon @fushiguroshotwife đ
#as nodt#as nodt x reader#as nodt bleach#bleach#bleach fanfic#bleach x reader#bleach anime#bleach imagines#bleach fanfiction#bleach fanart#as nodt fan fic#as nodt fan fiction#sashi ya#bleach quincy#kinktober#kinktober 23#kinktober 2023
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DIAGNOSTIC OLYMPICS, SEASON 2, EPISODES 10-18
S1: part one, part two, part three
S2: part one
Hi! I was curious about who on House (besides House) gets the most diagnoses right. Other folks have already run a tally (it's Chase), but I was curious how other factors would influence the tally â whose ideas get run with, who manages treatment, who screws up⊠So I thought I'd keep score.
1 point for getting the answer. This is almost always going to be House.
.5 points for Valuable Contribution â stuff that isn't the final answer, but either is thought to be the final answer or is valuable to the solving of the case. Stuff like "noticing something on the MRI" doesn't count; things like "figuring out how to treat" does.
-.5 to -1 for Mistakes â stuff that delays or prevents diagnoses, injuring or killing patients, etc.
FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE DIAGNOSES: Brain Malaria
+1 HOUSE: Honestly, should get more than one point: he solves the case by phone with no information. Thatâs more because this is a weird and pretty weak episode, though. +.5 CHASE: Although he was wrong in the end, he got an early win realizing the patient was on drugs, and suggesting a lumbar puncture that only later (on Houseâs order) was done. Thatâs two good ideas in a episode with very few ideas at all. +.5 CAMERON: Finally, finally realizes the patient only talks when his wife isnât around. +0 FOREMAN: Comes up with basically no ideas, and continues to struggle with leadership. Chase and Cameron actively rebel and refuse his orders, and he doesnât do much to prove himself. +0 TEAM: The Fellows do a pretty terrible job all episode, missing the obvious and running all over the place. But the episode also really isnât about the case, so whatever. Honestly, wanted to give out no merits this episode at all.
NEED TO KNOW DIAGNOSES: Just so many things. But mostly a tumor.
+1 HOUSE: Another episode where the team is mostly running around chasing symptoms, House figures out the last piece of the puzzle (that the patient was on birth control) at the last second. +5 CUDDY: Her exasperated Stacy impression is, actually, very good.
DISTRACTIONS DIAGNOSES: Anti-depressant poisoning
+1 HOUSE: A not-so complicated case where the main problem was just testing the kid and getting information. House stumbled onto the correct solution, almost killed the patient anyway, and then figured it out for real. +.5 FOREMAN: Now that heâs no longer in charge, heâs suddenly doing much better, suggesting smart ideas and tending the patient. His merit is specifically for doing a very dangerous lumbar puncture successfully.
SKIN DEEP DIAGNOSES: Testicular cancer
+1 HOUSE: Cracks the case, despite the Heightened Pain and all his sleazy comments. As ever, we donât judge on words, only actions. +1 CUDDY: Not only refuses to misgender the patient and calls House out on it, she manages to completely pull one over on him with her morphine trick. Love to see it. +0 FOREMAN: He makes a big to-do about House rushing things and being wrong due to his pain and haste, but every call House makes this episode is completely right, so probably would have been better saved for another episode. -.5 CAMERON: Early in the episode, she and Chase are told to do an LP and an MRI. The patient has a twitch, so Cameron decides not to bother with the MRI at all. Oops! Now, later in the episode Wilson also did an MRI and didnât find anything, but at the end of the episode, House did find the cancer during a third scan. In between, the patient got a brain biopsy. Giving Cameron the demerit because if she had done the MRI in the first place, it might have been found sooner, sparing the danger of a brain biopsy.
SEX KILLS DIAGNOSES: Cheese bacteria; STDs
+1 HOUSE: Figures out patient #1 is Cheese Sick pretty quickly â literally, only about fifteen minutes into the episode. +1 TEAM: Most of the episode is spent keeping patient 1 alive and getting patient 2 healthy enough to donate her heart. She turns out to have an STD, but no one person really âsolvesâ the case. +5 MR. NEUBURGER: The episode is intentionally full of very sympathetic characters, but I liked him. I loved how he sort of inserted himself into the case and kept following House around, I liked House being more sympathetic than usual and letting him insert himself into all the DDXâs, itâs just a weirdly cozy episode.
CLUELESS DIAGNOSES: Gold poisoning
+1 HOUSE: Lands on heavy metal toxicity early, but they canât figure out what metal for much of the episode. He then has a second eureka moment and realizes gold. +.5 FOREMAN: Becomes convinced itâs lupus. It isnât, but when House continues to insist on heavy metal toxicity despite test results, Foreman not only stands up to him but wins, proceeding with the lupus treatment because House canât come up with proof that isnât âbecause I say so.â Foreman was wrong, but this might be the first time any of the fellows successfully stand up to House like this and get their way.
SAFE DIAGNOSES: Tick bite
+1 FOREMAN: When the patientâs heart starts failing, House wants to come up with a fancy reason the allergy would call it, but has no ideas. Foreman, for the second episode in a row, pushes back and gets his way: to investigate the heart failure rather than start guessing. He then takes charge of the team and whiteboard as House sits quietly, and more or less runs the rest of the case. House even admits heâs right! +1 WILSON: Able to come up with an excuse to get the patient in an elevator with House on the fly. Itâs always great to see his lying skills in action. +.5 HOUSE: Realizes the tick bite after he finally talks to the patient, and then is able to find it through, uh, invasive means. +.5 CAMERON: First one to guess tick paralysis, although itâs quickly shot down because at the time theyâre no longer thinking allergy. +.5 CHASE: Suggests botulism, which is a long shot but becomes Houseâs running theory. Also figures out that the patientâs boyfriend has been sneaking in to see her, and is the one to realize they never actually talked to her. The second they do, it clears everything up. No big revelations from Chase, but three little ones makes half a merit fair.
ALL IN DIAGNOSES: Erdheim-Chester
+1 HOUSE: Goes in thinking itâs Erdheim-Chester, and it is; the test just gives a false negative. The rest of the episode is spent throwing things at the wall until he finally is able to prove it. +.5 CHASE: Despite starting the episode whining and skeptical, he gets points for his first guess once he is committed: House compliments it and calls it not just good but exactly what he did with Esther. Itâs wrong, but points for a literal House-level theory.
SLEEPING DOGS LIE DIAGNOSES: Bubonic Plague
+1 HOUSE: Everyone is running around with no good guesses, and get distracted by the liver failure, but House pulls it out in the end. +0 CAMERON: While she complains and gets bogged down by the ethics of toxic lesbianism, and is certainly not winning points for bedside manner, she doesnât let her distaste screw her up. Character development! +0 CAMERON AND FOREMAN: Foreman didnât actually âstealâ Cameronâs article, but he was a huge asshole about it all the same. They both lose points somewhere, but not here for this. +500 TOXIC LESBIANS: I think about these women every single day. This episode is simply incredible and one of the writers clearly has had some Experiences and I salute her for them
RUNNING TALLY:
HOUSE: 32 (+8.5) TEAM: 5.5 (+1) FOREMAN: 3 (+2) CHASE: 3.5 (+1.5) CAMERON: 3.5 (+.5)
Foreman is finally catching up, ironically only after he lost his temporary leadership role. I guess you could say that the experience gave him confidence â his points are mainly for standing up to House and taking charge.
#diagnostic olympics#house md#hate crimes md#at some point i'm gonna make a spreadsheet i swear#malpractice posting
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I was once told I was white passing enough that I should "just join the winning team" since I could "get away with it" just because you don't encounter racism in your life doesn't mean others do not.
I was once removed from a knife shop in Portland because upon checking my ID the guy running the place identified that my name was Native and told me he "wouldn't supply my kind with the means to scalp people." Just because you might not encounter racism in your life doesn't mean other do not. (They checked my ID because my family has been the victim of numerous identity theft and credit card theft cases, so my old credit card had "ask for ID" on it to help protect from that.)
I have had my language mocked multiple times in my life while trying to teach people who stated they wanted to learn it. I've been told to "speak american" while conversing with Natives in their language (in this case Cherokee since I actually had an easier time learning enough conversational Cherokee than I did Lakota which I'm still learning despite it being my first language because resources are so scarce and it's an ever evolving language) so again, just because you haven't encountered racism in your own life doesn't mean others haven't.
It's very easy to say that Native issues "aren't that deep" when you're not aware of how deep the racism goes. When you don't live it, and don't experience it; you have no idea how it feels to encounter it and be told it's not a big deal.
Savage is a slur that has been used against our people since the declaration of independence, and honestly even before that. It's something we are reclaiming; but that doesn't mean it's okay to be said. I do not lash out at people who use it, but I do remind them that it's a slur that has been used against my people. The good people who actually care typically apologize or will state that they didn't know it was offensive or that they didn't consider the use for it. Which is fine, I'm not mad at them for it; they didn't mean any harm and their intent is more important to me than their words. However the few times I've been called a "savage" after I say something sassy only to respond to the individual by saying "well, I am Native" and they tell me "oh get over it, no one has used that word offensively in at least 100 years." I do not let that shit slide.
It's easy to overlook and ignore racism that you do not face. When the media and the government would have you believe we're already dead and gone or that fighting for our rights outside of (and even including) "Landback" is pointless.
I don't fault people for not knowing about the racism against Natives, I fault them exclusively for how they act upon learning about it. Because I assure you that nothing aids the racists who rape and murder our people, who steal our land and poison our water with their pipelines; nothing helps them more than when you learn of what they're doing, and look the other way.
If you refuse to look away from Gaza, if you refuse to look away from the racism and crimes against Black individuals, then I need you to stand with Natives; educate yourself on our matters as you would theirs, ask us about what's going on; listen when we tell you something is wrong.
We're human too, we're still here; and we still matter just as much as anyone else.
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Kirito's Quest Reward / Something Comforting
In Alfheim Online, a small party of friends were taking on a boss monster. The giant salamander itself wasnât particularly threatening, even with itâs attacks leaving multiple debuff effects, but the party enjoyed taking on large bosses together, and definitely enjoyed the payouts from selling the rare Fang Daggers these beasts drop.
âRemember, the one to finish it gets whatever it drops!â teased Leafa, who had been dealing most of the heavy hits this rotation. She knew they always shared rewards anyway, unless there was only one unique item per quest. However noticing her health had decreased due to the monsterâs poison, she was prepping to take defensive. âNow switch!â
In a swift movement the girl and her attacking duo Klein had fallen back to the defensive and support lines, and two new attackers came in, the romantic crossed sword duo of Kirito and Asuna. Between them 3 swords cut deep and heavily into the salamanderâs HP. Flurries of shortsword stabs and rapier pierces were landed before the rest of the team had assumed their new positions. Leafa began supporting her teammates with spell buffs alongside the cait sith monster tamer Silica, and Klein took a defensive stance beside the mace wielding blacksmith Lisbeth, preparing to run in to assist the mainline attackers. As the HP of the beast faded lower and lower, a rain of arrows shot down from above as the cait sith archer Sinon unleashed battalions worth of arrows. Not to be outdone, the blackswordsman Kirito rushed in unleashing a devastating combo to the creature, taking itâs final health points down to zero.
âHmmph, all that effort in the last moments and you still go and killsteal.â Sinon sighed and huffed jokingly.
âHeh relax Sinon, weâre all sharinâ in the rewards nomatter whatâ Kirito replied, smirking.
As the monster turned to glittery dust a gift box fell from itâs place and landed square on the battlefield.
âAh crap.â Lisbeth complained âThat special drop events still goinâ on. All that work and we still might get a freakinâ steel dagger out of it.â
âShoot! And I just barely made enough yuld off of it to buy back the potions we used.â Klein huffed.
âHey we still have a chance for it to be good, even if we havenât had much luck with itâ optimistically chimed in Silica.
âWell, in that case if nobody wants it, Iâll be the one stuck with it I guessâ Kirito said, striding over to it. âI was the one who took it down after all~â He playfully taunted to the other partymembers.Â
He tapped on the box to open it and reveal itâs contents, fully expecting something mediocre.
âHmm?â
A dialogue box appeared in front of him â1x Classic Maid Outfit added to inventoryâ
He closed the dialogue box before anyone else could catch up and see what it was.
âSo whatcha get?â Asuna inquired looking right over his shoulder.
Kirito jumped from the sudden break in silence, hoping she hadnât seen the boxâs contents. His face flushed red and he flailed his arms. âN-NOTHING- NOTHING AT ALL HAHA-â
Real smooth there Kazuto. He thought to himself. You know how your friends are. Thatâs just inviting problems.
âOoooooo~ somebody got something special~â cooed Lisbeth, now nearly hovering over the poor boy.
âSo what rare item did you steal from me hm Kirito?â Sinon peered down.
âHeh- no. Th-there wasnât even anything in it. Guess we got screwed by it haha-â
Next quest: Get better at lying.Â
âOh nuh uh, you aint keepin whatever it is for yourself, if itâs worth a buncha yuld then weâre splittin it okay Kirito?â Klein tossed out.
Kirito wanted to clear his inventory, he would sooner lose Excalibur than reveal what he had received.
âHey Yui, if Kirito isnât gonna tell us, could you check his inventory for us?â Silica spoke between small giggles.
âYui please donât-â
But it was too late. The small navigation pixie had already opened up a tab to review Kiritoâs items.
âHmmm letâs see. Ah it seems Daddy received an event item from one of Alfheimâs prior Valentineâs Day Eventsâ
Valentineâs Day Item? Well thatâs not gonna arouse any suspicion at ALL. Kirito grumbled to himself, his face so red he was matching the color of the holiday itself.
âSpill the beans Yui, whats it worth?â Klein inquired.
âHehehe~ I just wanna know what it is thatâs gotten Kiri so embarrassed~â teased Lisbeth. âIs it some toy youâre gonna share with Asuna later?~â
âAAAA Nononononono itâs nothing like that-â Kirito stammered out.
âNo itâs not a toy- it appears the item itself is a clothing item labeled âClassic Maid Outfitââ Yui innocently stated.
The group went silent as Kiritoâs face went from a flush red to a stark white pale. Then they all started laughing. Lis and Sinon were all but banging the ground laughing at the mortified boy. It took countless agonizing seconds until anyone spoke.
âS-*snkr* So you gonna model it for us Kiri-Chan?~â Lisbeth managed out between snickers.Â
âYeah itâs all yours oneesan~â Leafa joked out.
Sinon who had previously been laughing the hardest now had a more neutral but smug look on her face âJeez if you wanna see him girly so bad you should join us in GGO sometime.â
GGO⊠Kirito thought. Yeah that model was quite something. I swear that there was something special in my eyes there. They just seemed brighterâŠ
Kirito slapped his cheeks out of that thought.
âIâm not making it out of here without putting it on am I?â he sheepishly responded.Â
âHoney you donât have to if you donât want to. But I canât say I wouldnât mind seeing-â Asuna trailed off, imagining Kiritoâs toned physique in a maid outfit.
Add that to the online shopping list later. She thought, her mind filled with devious thoughts.
âYouâre just scared youâll like it-â Klein teased before getting one of Kiritoâs boots directly to the jaw.
âF-fine. Just- Everyone turn around. If anyone peeks as I change Iâm deleting this account!â Kirito stammered out.
The giggles of the group grew louder as they turned away. His fingers fumbled with the prompts to switch outfits, as if the outfit itself was attacking.
Youâre just scared youâll like it.
The words echoed in Kiritoâs mind as he hit confirm.Â
He got a good look at his reflection in the mirror view of the UI.
I look like one of those freakinâ anime twin maids Klein loves. Wait⊠Nononono- I look like SuguâŠ
Kirito wasnât wrong, if it werent for his modest chest, heâd easily be mistaken as his sister. But like this, he looked like his siblingâs little sister more than her big brother. His face was soft. His hair had updated along with the clothing, now appearing more similar to his GGO avatar, with the only substantially shorter in the back. In addition to the dress, he had been gifted with a cute little hat and was adorned in ribbons and stockings. The outfit was a dark lavender, with the ribbons appearing a slightly brighter purple. The purple really brought out the color in his dark grey eyes.
âEverything okay Kirito?â Squeaked Silica. âI know we were teasing but if youâre uncomfortable you donât havta show usâŠâ
Why is she the only one with any decency here? He took one last look at himself in the mirror. Those lights are back in my eyes⊠He pushed down that thought and sighed.
âYou can look nowâŠâ
He closed his eyes and braced for the worst. He expected laughter and mockery. What he got was⊠Silence? Silence for far far too long.
âGuys is everything okay?â
He opened his eyes and noticed everyone was just staring at him, shocked but⊠not giggly or amused⊠Almost confused? With the exception of Klein, who was frozen in place, and slowly tipped over before logging out.
âJeez tough crowdâ Kirito joked, trying to make the situation more bearable for himself.
He noticed as the slight breeze blew past, the skirt picked up a bit and waved effortlessly in the wind. Without thinking, he spun around, watching as his skirt effortlessly spun with him. He giggled.
Hmm. Not so bad⊠EH? What am I thinking I need to get this off-
âK-kirito?â Asuna quietly broke the silence.
âYes maâamâ Kirito almost chirped out.Â
He was happy to see he was now taking it better than anyone else. And then the whole group pounced on him, tackling him to the ground with a hug.
âYouâre so cuteeeeeeeeeee!â they all echoed.
Even Sinon, the most modest one seemed utterly infatuated.
âJeez Sinon, youâve seen me worse than this- And Sugu youâve DEFINITELY seen me worse than this-â Kirito thought of playing dress up with her as a kid, but a memory that shouldâve made him shudder now brought him a surprising warmth.
Thatâs not good. He thought to himself. Yeah Iâm gonna have to do some serious thinking about this. Or better yet I should simply never think of this again.
âOkay funs over nowâ Kirito exclaimed, tired of being at the bottom of a pile of bosoms. âThis has been exhausting and I wanna go to bed now.â
That night Kirito dreamt of his wedding in Aincrad with Asuna, only now he looked like his GGO Avatar.
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Kirito woke up early the next morning and his heart ached. He sent a good morning text to Asuna, despite knowing sheâd probably be sleeping in still. He paused before he knocked on his sisterâs door to wake her up, and chose not to, just sending her a quick ârunning out for groceries, be back soon.â text before he got on his bike and left.
Maybe a little ride can clear my head.
Kirito cruised down nearly empty streets, trying to think of anything other than his dream and yesterday. He hadnât lied about the groceries, he just walked through the supermarket picking up a few essentials for him and Suguha for the week, passing through on his way to checkout when a glimmer caught his eye. He had wound up in the womenâs clothing department, and beside him standing tall was a mannequin wearing a basic black skirt. It was nothing special, it was cheap, it was just a department store clothing brand. He looked at his reflection in the black screen of his phone, seeing sparkles in his eyes. He sighed, knowing he was about to make a mistake and placed it in his basket and checked out. He rode home from the shops with his mind racing.Â
Why did I do that? Iâm such an idiot. What the hell am I doing? What would Sugu say? What will Asuna say? I- I just need to try this once. Iâm just gonna go home, try it on, nothing will happen and Iâll burn the damn thing.
Kirito tried to enter the home as quietly as possible, dropping the groceries on the table and tip toeing to his room with the bag with the skirt in it. He closed the door behind him, but in his anxiousness to try on the skirt, he neglected to lock it. He slid out of his black sweatpants, staring at his body in the mirror. His figure was slender, almost effeminate in nature. Years without hardcore exercise and barely eating while in SAO clearly took itâs toll on a previously toned figure.
Maybe I do look like SuguâŠ
Back when they were little, Suguha and Kazuto were always mistaken for twin girls, despite Kazuto being older and not even Suguhaâs blood sibling. He never minded back then, he just liked being close to her. Theyâd occasionally swap clothes to mess with their parents. Kazuto softly smiled at the thought. He slipped on the skirt. She slipped on the skirt.
His eyes met hers in the mirror. Where a dull grey void once sat, a galaxy of stars was now present, with shimmering highlights and purple hues never noticed until now. There was a subtle curvature to her hips. A natural softness to her face. Her slender physique made him jealous. He stared at the girl who looked back at him, she shyly smiled and as the words left her mouth, they followed in his. âSo, this is me?â
She looked down, and the girl was him.Â
She nervously laughed and shook in place. She watched as her skirt flowed side to side with every subtle movement. She spun herself around, watching the skirt flare up. She giggled to herself. She spun herself again. And again and again. She was giggling to herself like crazy. There were no thoughts left in her head, it was just a pure moment of bliss. And it came crushing down as the door opened behind her.
âYawnnnnnnn~ Kazutooooooo please could you make a little less noi-â Sugu entered the room with her eyes closed yawning, but her eyes quickly shot open as she saw what was once her big brother in a tiny black skirt.
âS-Sugu??? EH! Donât Look! Iâm not decent!â She blurted out, not realizing she was pitching her voice higher than normal. She scrambled behind her bed, trying to cover up her shame, hiding her blushing face behind her hands.
Suguha smiled softly and walked over beside her as she softly pet her sisterâs head.
âWell, it seems like Iâve stumbled into something big huh? Listen Kazuto. Or⊠whatever you may wanna be called. Iâm always gonna support and love my big sibling, nomatter who they are.â She kissed the timid girlâs forehead. âIâm gonna go make us breakfast okay. You can wear that if you wanna. Itâs just us home today. You donât have to worry. You donât have to tell anyone else if you arenât ready. You donât even have to tell me if youâre not ready. But Iâm here for you.â
She walked out the door, and Kazuto sighed, knowing she meant every word of that.
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Kazuto followed not long after, choosing to wear the skirt downstairs to the kitchen. She was blushing the whole time, still unable to meet her sisterâs eyes. She slid a stack of pancakes over to her.
âHere big sis, I made your favorite.â She smiled sweetly down at Kazuto.
â...I like that.â
âHmm?â
âI think⊠I think I prefer being your big sister.â
Suguha smiled brightly.
âYayyyyyy! Now we get to do fun girly stuff together! This is so exciting!- Oh and of course, thank you for trusting me enough with this sis. It means a lot.â Suguha felt a warmth she had never felt, and she felt like it was due to the beaming smile on her big sisterâs face.
âSo, what are you thinkinâ for a name?â
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A few days pass and nobody outside the Kirigaya household hears from Kazuto. He seemingly vanished from the ALO party, and only returned a few texts with âSorry Iâm just busy, miss you tooâ or âI love you too Asunaâ. Truthfully, Kazuto had been training up a new ALO avatar with her sister, creating a swordfighting cait sith, with a name she chose for herself, Kiriko.
âHey Iâm gonna head out and make some lunch for us okay Kiriko? Donât go far, and Iâll meet you in town.â âSounds good Leafa, thank you!â
While Suguâs cooking wasnât the masterpiece Asunaâs was, Kiriko was always happy to indulge in some of Suguâs fine craftsmanship as well. Leafa signed out, and her model disappeared. And Kiriko was alone.
She strolled through the town, wondering what to do in the meantime.
âI could really use some sword upgradesâŠâ She muttered to herself, knowing that the only blacksmith worth caring about was Lisbeth, and she didnât know who Kiriko was yet.Â
âAh well I can help you with that one!â A familiar voice made Kiriko jump, her ears and tail standing on end. âHeh, didnât mean to scare ya, Iâm Klein, and if you need some smithinâ done, I know just the girl for you.â
Kiriko did her best to pitch her voice up to not be recognized âN-nice to meet you Klein, but thatâs okay- I- I think I might just wait until I get a better sword dropâŠâ
âNonsense, Liz is the best in the business, she can make a starter sword scale right alongside Excaliburâ He laughed to himself. âWhatâs your name by the way?â
âK-KirikoâŠâ She embarrassedly managed out.
Great. I look like my little sister, and the name I chose is 1 letter off of my old handle. I am the smartest woman alive.
Luckily for Kiriko, Klein was the dumbest man alive, and did not question it at all, leading her to Lisbethâs Smithy.
âHey guys, Iâm back, and I found a newbie who needs some sword help.â Klein announced to the full party.
Kiriko gulped. Everyone but Leafa was here. Asuna, Yui, Strea, Lisbeth, Silica, Sinon, Philia, Agil, even Argo.
With my luck, somehow Sachi is gonna walk through that door isnât sheâŠ
âH-hi everyone, Iâm Kiriko⊠Klein said that Lisbeth is a master blacksmith. At least I think he said âmaster blacksmithâ but all I really caught was âmaster bâ-â She knew this was gonna be dreadful, so the least she could do was tease Klein before the whole thing fell apart.
âH-HEY! I said nothing like that- She is a master blacksmith though! Sheâs been working at it since Sword Art.â
âYup yup! The best in the business!â
âItâs nice to see you again Liz, I havenât had a chance to see you since SAO I supposeâ Kiriko lied.
Itâs not too farfetched to be another SAO survivor⊠Gives me some leeway if I mess up and say more than I should knownâŠ
âOhmygosh sorry- I usually donât forget my customers facesâŠâ Liz pouted.
âHey now, cheer up, consider us equal for me breaking your sword.â
Smooth one smoothbrain. Kiriko thought to herself.
âEh?â Liz cocked her head. âI donât think anyone but Kiri-â
âYâknow out in the field, I abused the poor sword, I shouldâve taken better care of such expert craftsmanshipâ She smiled out the quickest excuse she could muster.
âAhhhh I see. You just reminded me of my favorite customer hehe.â She took Kirikoâs sword from her and got to work on it. âCute guy, but heâs dumb as rocks. Broke my best sword and made me go on an adventure to forge him a new one.â
âSounds like a bit of a jerk to me.â Kiriko joked.
âNah, heâs the sweetest guy, but heâs a little bit off.â
âYeah, he helped me revive my Pina!â Silica butted in.
âAnd he saved me from the Hollow Areaâ Philia added.
âAnd heâs like, the sweetest husband everâ Asuna swooned.
âAnd heâs the best daddy ever!â Yui chimed in.Â
âHeâs helped me in more ways than Iâd care to sayâ Sinon said blushing.
Kiriko herself was now blushing and trying to stifle a smile, hearing all these kind things from all of her friends.
âJeez, put the boy on a pedestal some more will ya? Youâre just begging for this girl to be competition in that polycule youâve got brewinâ Klein sighed âCourse, ya cant help but love the guy, after all, he saved us all so many times.â
She felt at home for once, the moment was so warm and peaceful.
âHmm, you even look a lot like Kii-boyâÂ
Crap.
Argoâs intuition was always top notch. Sheâd sniff out the fact that Kiriko was Kirito faster than anyone. She needed excuses and fast.
âWell, Iâve been told I do look boyish-â Kiriko idly fiddled with her skirt, kicking her feet a little.
âNono- You donât look boyish at all! Infact itâs more that Kirito looks girlishâ Philia tried to console Kiriko.
âYeah! He actually wore a dress recently and he was really cute!â Silica was practically meowing out the compliment.
âWeâve all been thinking, we havenât seen him since he did it, weâre worried that maybe we teased him too much and now he got self conscious.â Sinon looked down shamefully.
Kiriko could barely manage to keep up her facade.Â
Focus focus focus. Think of things to say to make this go away.
Kiriko chose to simply say the truth. âWell, I think if they were willing to put on the dress, maybe they were just finding an excuse to try it out. Maybe they ended up liking it and has been taking some time for themself to work some things out.â
The room went a bit quiet. All that could be heard was Agil talking to customers and Liz hammering away in the background, but both were clearly listening in intently.
âWhatcha mean?â Silica asked.
âW-well⊠Thereâs this thing Iâve been reading about on some MMO forums. Apparently some guys will dress up with female avatars as a joke, and then realize something, that maybe they were girls all along. Maybe your friend is doing that?â
Kiriko was stuttering out almost every word. Thereâs no way they wouldnât catch on.
âWell, then Iâd be the luckiest woman in the world to have the best wife in the world.â Asuna announced.
âYeah, and Iâd get to have the two best Mommies!â Yui said, with Strea nodding along with her.
âNomatter what, theyâre always our Kirito. Weâll always love them nomatter who they end up being.â Sinon added.Â
âYeah, and I can have my own big sister instead of a big brotherâ Silica giggled to herself.
âWell, she already has a little sister, you sure you can compete with that role?â Kiriko pet Silicaâs head and then she realized what she just said.
âWait⊠how do you know Kirito has a sister?â
âW-well Iâve been playing with a girl named Leafa whose been teaching me everything- and she keeps talking about her brother Kirito so I just assumed since you both brought up the name.â
Next quest: PLEASE GET BETTER AT LYING BRAIN Kiriko screamed at herself internally.
Argo mischievously laughed. âYknow Kiriko, I have gotten some inside scoops that Leafaâs been playin alongside a new account and callin her âbig sisâ. Now aint that somethin Kiriko? Or rather Kii-gal?â
Crap. Thatâs Argo for ya. She knows me better than⊠well even me probably.
As the tension grew thick enough to cut with a knife, Leafa walked through the door to the Smithy, and Lisbeth returned to listen to the gossip more intently.Â
Hopefully Sugu can tell Iâm blinking an S.O.S. to herâŠ
âAh I see youâve met my friend Kiriko! Sheâs really sweet right?â
Kiriko shifted in her seat.
â... Fine ya caught me. Itâs meâŠâ Kiriko mumbled out.Â
No escaping this one chief.
Leafa glanced down a look of âare you sure Kiriko?â to which Kiriko could only nod.
âWhile youâre about to lose some polycule points for forcibly outing me Argo-â âPolycule points?â Lisbeth inquired.
If I can earn those Iâm taking them- Liz thought to herself
âYes itâs me. I⊠I just couldnât stand being Kirito anymore.â The small catgirl looked to be near breaking point. âI.. I didnât wanna lose any of you. I never had friends until now. And I was so so so worried Iâd lose you all. Iâd been keeping this down since GunGale. That avatar stuck in my head like a parasite. I couldnât stop thinking about having long hair, and cute outfits, and twirly skirts, and- and after I tried on that stupid maid outfit, I couldnât go back. I couldnât be that same person I was anymore.â
She couldnât stop the tears anymore. She just balled herself up on the couch. But then she felt a warm soft embrace around her. And another, and another, and another.
âKiriko, Iâm so proud of you. And trust me, youâre still the person I fell in love with in Aincrad. Iâm not gonna leave you because you found out more about yourself. Thatâs just more of you I get to love. I get to fall in love all over again with a wonderful wife.â Asuna held Kiriko tight, and rubbed her cheek against the girl.
A hand was placed on Kirikoâs shoulder. âHeh, youâre so used to playin with chicks that you became one yourself, good for you.â Klein smiled every word out. He may not have been the best with words, but Kiriko appreciated the meaning behind each one.
âWeâre all gonna love you nomatter what KirikoâŠâ Silica was gripping onto her even tighter than Asuna.
Yui and Strea held onto Kiriko for dear life, trying to make their new mommy happy.
âYeah, youâre our favorite gal to tease, and now we can tease you even harder and in new ways!â Lisbeth smirked devilishly before hugging Kiriko with one arm and poking her cheeks with her free hand.
Kiriko felt another hand on her other shoulder, and looked up to see Agil.
âIâm proud of you for finding out who you are. Iâm blessed to have met ya.â
Kirikoâs tears turned from fear and sadness to joy and pride.
Sinon came walking up to where Kiriko was sat and hugged her from the front then pet her head. âTruthfully, I thought you were trans the moment you said you were actually a guy in that avatar in GGO. Every time we fought there I saw that light in your eyes youâve got now. Iâm so proud of you.â She kissed the girlâs forehead. âAnd now we can confirm that two GGO Winners are girls tooâ she smirked.
âHehe, sorry for gettin ya to come out if you werent readyâ Argo tossled Kirikoâs hair. âBut ya know Iâm just like ya too! I just wanted ya to rip that bandaid off hehe. Makes it better in the long term.â Kiriko could only smile at the rat in front of her.
âAnd can I please have my polycule points backâ
âT-thereâs no such thing Argo. And if there were I wouldnât take them from my favorite ratâŠâ
âHey I know we already talked Kirikoâ Leafa held onto Kirikoâs hand âbut Iâm so proud of you and Iâm so happy to have a big sister.â
All Kiriko could do was smile, she was finally herself, and surrounded by all of the people she held dear.Â
And in the back of her head, she heard the faint singing of familiar christmas music, and relaxed.
Heh. I guess even Sachi was here afterall.
âI love you all. Thank you so much. All of you.â
#sao#sword art online#fanfic#sao fanfic#fanfiction#sword art online fic#trans headcanon#trans kirito#transfem
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feeling emo rn. how do you think reader would tell d word matty sheâs pregnant? i feel like he would be sobbing and thanking her
i see it as being like, during a busy time for the boys, or at least for matty. maybe he's co-writing and producing for somebody at that point, so he's at the studio a fair bit while you're also at work. and you've been feeling a bit under the weather for a min, you've missed a period (although working for that shitshow of a label, that's happened like twice before due to stress so you don't worry about it), but it's only when you physically have to run to throw up a couple of times in one day at work that you're like "oh. ok. this... might be something" - when your colleagues convince you to go home after you fib and say you think you've got food poisoning or a horrendous pressure headache or something, you sneakily buy a couple of pregnancy tests in the boots near oxford circus before you head home. you text matty to tell him that you're not feeling great and you've left work early but you're ok, it's just in case he called dh looking for you, correctly figuring he won't see the text right away; it's not until you're home staring at the tests that he phones you to fret over you, promising he'll be home within an hour and a half max.
in reality, you're in the bathroom 45 minutes later trying not to fucking freak out about the fact that both the tests you did have double lines when the door opens (as much as you want a kid, it's still a Big Deal and Scary to think about) and matty shouts "babe? you alright?" - you're like "matty get in here right now" and then add an "i'm ok. but please come to the bathroom" when you hear him swear and start to scramble through the house. the tests are still lying on the side of the sink when he bursts into the bathroom, but matty doesn't even see them because he's immediately over at you holding your face in his hands and cuddling you like "are you sure you're alright, sweetheart?"; you bask in his affection for a second, nodding and smiling like "i'm actually really good - or, we're really good, i should say". and matty's like "hmm? my darling what are you on about", and you kiss his nose and point to the sink like "look". bless him, he's absolutely baffled when he first turns around, and then his eyes widen in recognition and jaw drops in shock when he registers what he's looking at - matty turns to you, welling up a bit, like "i'm not dreaming, am i?", and your heart just aches and you're like "no, this is real, angel". and he reaches to grab one of the tests to look closer, to which you're like "EW DON'T TOUCH THAT I PISSED ON IT" and he's like "IT'S FINE PISS IS STERILE I WANT TO LOOK CLOSER", and then you're like "IT'S ACTUALLY NOT STERILE SCIENCE HAS DISPROVEN THAT" and matty's like "WHY ON EARTH ARE WE ARGUING ABOUT PISS AT A TIME LIKE THIS. YOU'RE LITERALLY HAVING MY BABY" and then he immediately starts crying with realisation like "oh my GOD you're having my baby. i'm going to be a dad. we're going to be parents" lol. and you're also getting teary like "yeah, we are. three healys", and matty chucks the test down and just grabs you into the biggest hug of all time, picking you up and spinning you around as best he can in the bathroom, before grabbing your face and giving you a deep, deep kiss. and he's like "i love you so, so much. i'm so glad you're the person starting a family with me, and so grateful. thank you, my darling, this is the best gift i've ever been given. i love you i love you i love you i love you. i can't say it enough to accurately convey how much, to be honest. i can't wait to do this with you" - you're fully sobbing at this point like "i love you i'm so excited you're going to be the best dad" and then there's more kissing and you being like "i like that i can call you daddy now and it'll actually mean something", and matty laughs like "true, babe" and then he's like "WAIT oh my god. you're in your milf era. god we're going to be such hot parents". and you're like "you're an idiot i can't believe i'm having a baby with you lol. but i love you!", and matty's like "i love you too, sweetheart. and thank you again, this is the best day of my life - well, tied with the day you married me, i think". yeah, it's so cute <3
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Day Twelve - Daydream
Word Count: 767
Warnings: Joel is very much in his FEELINGS, guilt, self-loathing, grief, imagined poisoning attempt, COFFEE, do I have a thing with porches now?
Notes: Joel Miller may have some survivor's guilt. I wanted to explore what he might be thinking about in Jackson, where he's safe with Ellie. I mean maybe, I dunno. I am familiar with how thoughts can swirl.
Main Masterlist / March Spring Prompts 2024 / Writing Challenges
Joel Millerâs mind wonders more than people realize. Heâs aware that heâs thought of as a boogeyman, legend, nightmare, murderer in the various places heâs been, also here in Jackson too. He keeps a small core group: Tommy and Elle, his brother and his kid. Thereâs also Maria who tolerates him because heâs useful and her husbandâs brother, otherwise sheâs on the side of the vast majority in Jackson who steer clear of him. Heâs used to the ire and navigating it with a scowl and indifference. Heâs aware of what heâs done, worse than people think and he doesnât regret it. Heâs still standing. Joel Miller is still alive. There are times heâs able to picture his daughter Sarahâs face, oddly when heâs out on patrol and sees crimson roses or yellow pansies. If she was here with him, heâd be motivated to do worse to keep her safe, or maybe because sheâs with him, he wouldnât need to. The echoes of her laughter and playful mockery of his lack of culinary skills makes him still form laugh lines on his face when heâs by himself and between the tears.
There are other times where Joel finds himself curious how Tess would do in a place like Jackson. How big of a pissing match would her and Maria have over how things should be run? Would she even care enough to stay or want to keep moving like they had been, smuggling to survive? Would her hair look the same with the sunlight hitting it through the window, a straw yellow with streaks of brown? The same deep breaths against his back as he stays somewhat alert just in case. Just because heâs gotten used to life without her doesnât mean he doesnât remember the way Tess smelled or comforted him in some of his darkest days.
It's a rare day heâs not on patrol. Elleâs gone off to classes and heâs sitting on his porch. Itâs cool so he has on his green flannel over his white t-shirt and jeans. The air is helping him to wake up in addition to the coffee heâs drinking. Itâs horrible, but it was this or some flower tea Maria suggested. She could be trying to poison him; he didnât know what flower that was.
âGood morning, Joel.â
You greet him despite knowing who he is and what heâs done. Joelâs fairly certain you at least have an idea. Your small wave and warm smile have him sip his coffee to hide his own. He canât smile for you, youâre not one of his people. He nods after he pulls his cup back from his mouth, certain he can keep his face neutral. He raises his hand, and you nod, heading down the road. You live three houses down, in a small house by yourself. Patrol with you isnât horrible. Youâre a damn good shot and keep your wits about you. On patrol Joel trusts you with his back, and you talk to him, like you did just now. Itâs not much, but heâs loathe to admit how much it does mean to him. Heâs seen the second floor of your house and that you still have the fuchsia primrose heâd given you a few weeks ago. Miller was surprised that youâd kept it.
Joel was curious about how conversations with you would go if he was ever keen to speak outside of clickers, raiders and landmarks on patrol. Youâd likely listen to him, let him talk for a bit as he clumsily asked you some simple question like what you did before Jackson. He was glad you were close in age to him. Well, heâd put you late thirties at the youngest but heâd bet on early to mid forties, given how calm you are and that you seem to have experienced life before everything went to hell, you couldnât be much younger. Maybe youâd tell him about family you used to have or what our old job used to be if you had one. What could Joel Miller picture your profession as?
He sees you as capable so it could be any and everything. Maybe you had several. His eyes close as he sips his coffee again, the warm liquid sliding down his throat with a gulp. Could he sit out in that field and sip coffee with you? Did you even like coffee? As the sun continued to rise, Joel was curious if youâd sit with him again on a rock but this time side by side so he could talk to you. So many daydreams.
#pedro pascal characters#fanfiction#pedro pascal#pedro pascal fanfiction#joel miller#March Spring Prompt#March#day twelve#post outbreak joel#GN reader#joel miller fanfiction#joel miller fanfic#joel miller one shot#A Nerdie fic
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Prismatic War Chapter 2 - Periled Plants
Guess what, I'm back, now it is time for suffering again
Ashlyn walked down the untouched road outside the Safe Sound Shelter, admiring the lovely sights. She admired the butterflies, the beautiful flowers, and not a single Prismatic in sight! However, she still held onto the teleportation ray Dr. Grooph handed her just in case any Prismatic happened to attack her, but that idea was just an afterthought in her mind. Suddenly, she had stopped upon a small home inside a hill. She found it strange, as while the windows were boarded up, and the door seemed to not budge, the adjacent garden had shown attempts of growing crops, but appeared to have been stomped, devoured, and poisoned. Was someone inside? She approached and knocked on the door, calling for the resident.
âHello? Is anyone here? You donât need to worry, Iâm a nice monster, I wonât hurt you!â A deep, but soft and weakened voice replied shakily. âS-S-Spiky, darling, H-Have you returned?! Wait⊠Are you one of those Prismatics playing a trick on meâŠ? DONâT COME IN!! YOUâVE TORN MY FAMILY APART ALREADY!!! PleaseâŠâ
Ashlyn was confused. She knew she would have to go in through somewhere else, but where? But then, an idea sprang into her mind.
âI know, Iâll enter through the chimney!â Ashlyn chirped up.
She made her ascent up the hill towards where the chimney was set, moved the guard preventing possible intruders⊠and down she went into the home. Ashlyn explored the quaint, but almost abandoned looking house. Every place that could be used to store food was nearly empty, and everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. Ashlyn entered a bedroom, and there, she had discovered the origin of the voice. A Flowah, who appeared to be on his knees, was keeled over and gripping his stomach in hunger. Three baby Barrbs, who appeared to still be in a larval stage surrounded the poor monster, attempting to comfort him. Ashlyn attempted to question the Flowah..
âExcuse meâŠâ
âN-N-No⊠NO! Please, only take me, *sniff* donât hurt my children, theyâve been through enough alreadyâŠâ
âHey, Iâm not going to take you! And whoâs Spiky?â âMy partner. They said that they would be going into the forest to gather more food, but itâs been weeks, and weâre almost out. I would go out for myself, but Iâm so scared⊠What will happen to my children? Iâm so hungry, I might not make it back in time, what if a Prismatic finds me?â
Ashlyn replied, âWhat about the monsters running the Safe Sound Shelter? They would have given you something to keep your family fed, wouldnât they?â Flowah sighed deeply as he fell to the floor.
âI tried convincing them all I could, but General Entman and Sir Conberg told me that there âwasnât any room in the nurseryâ, and that my scent could attract my partner, who they believed had become a Prismatic at this point. Boskdrool! They have so many monsterlings in that thing, they could afford to hold 3 more, and if the SSS is so safe, then why should those buffoons be so concerned about one prismatic being lured in by my scent?!â
Ashlyn exclaimed, âBut, that couldnât be true! Maybe there was a misunderstanding, General Entman wouldnât abandon a fellow monster, would he?â
âI can tell you have too much faith in Entman to make everything right, all that monster is going to do is abandon those who need him most, that will have severe consequences one day,â Flowah said, as Ashlyn looked on, pondering on his words. Could Entman really be that bad? No! He couldnât, maybe it was just a misunderstanding. But she still felt a resounding pity for Flowah.
âWell, maybe I can help! I can get you and your kids food and find Spiky, does that sound warming?â Ashlyn piped up happily. Flowah looked up with concern and hope.
âOh, that would warm my heart and my stomach indeed⊠but donât you seem a little young to-â He was immediately cut off by Ashlyn, who was somewhat appalled by the insinuation that she was too young to help.Â
âWhere did Spiky last go? Iâll keep my eyes sharper than a wide-awake Glowl!âÂ
Flowah looked down at the ground, feeling as if he was at fault for Spikyâs disappearance.
âThey said that they were going to collect fruit in the Razzli Forest, and haven't returned since. I had originally thought they were just lost, but now, I think it might be worseâŠâÂ
âDonât worry, Mr. Flowah!â Ashlyn said confidently. âI think Spiky will be okay, the worst that could happen is maybe they just got stuck inside some bushes, or fell asleep inside a Sweetstreamz tree!â She was doing her best to calm down Flowah, but as she began to leave for the Razzli Forest, she could hear Flowah break out in tears, sobbing louder than a Yelmut could yell. And off she went, to the Razzli ForestâŠ
#my singing monsters#msm#msm fanfic#fanfiction#Prismatic War#msm au#msm ocs#Ashlyn#ask to tag#If this flops I may cry /hj
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Ferdinand only dared to steal the occasional glance at first, but now he watches Hubert's hands quite openly, a foreign giddiness bubbling up in his chest. In truth, he knows he shouldn't be here, doing this. Any of this. It's messy, and uncouth, and he's enjoying himself too much.
He turns his face to the sun, warm on his skin, as the sea breeze ruffles his hair.
Mornings start earlier around the markets and the Enbarr harbour than they do in the palace, and so they sit on the pier practically unnoticed - the fishermen, the stallholders, the people doing their shopping - they all have better things to do.
A drop of juice drizzles down Hubert's pale wrist when he squeezes the lemon over the bowl perched precariously on his lap. The sea urchins are freshly caught, just split open, the raw core on display a shocking orange against their black, spiky shells.
"I assumed you would say that buying food from street vendors is a security risk," Ferdinand remarks, and finally tears his eyes from the other He laughs when he says it, but even he can tell it doesn't sound quite right. He truly needs to put more effort into sounding casual.
"Perhaps," he shrugs, "if you are a paranoiac with too much time on your hands. Or if you were known to do it regularly, at a particular place, and invariably ordering the same dish. Assassinations generally require a great deal of planning, which often exploits patterns and habits. Naturally, there's always the chance of an unplanned attack, but poison is rarely used in such cases." Then, with a scoff: "This much should be obvious to anyone."
His tone is cool, unhurried, and Ferdinand wonders if he should find it as comforting as he does, given the subject. His gaze drops to the bowl on his lap, and only then it dawns on him he failed to account for the fact he'll have to eat it with his hands. Of course, the unwritten etiquette of this environment permits it, but it still feels improper.
Hubert next to him doesn't seem to share his reservations - Ferdinand watches him out of the corner of his eye, wondering what broke through his customary fussiness. Slowly, Hubert slips his fingers down the edge of the shell and digs his fingers as deep as the sea urchin will allow before he yanks out one of the soft lobes within and brings it to his lips.
A shudder runs through Ferdinand. The breeze from the sea must be colder than he realised at first. Distractedly, Hubert licks his fingers, and Ferdinand looks away, but that's not enough to shield him from the faint, pleased hum coming from his side. He swallows hard, clumsily peels off his gloves and shoves them in the pocket of his coat.
He's familiar with the delicacy, Aegir being a seaside territory, yet the pleasurable shock of the sea urchin flesh melting on his tongue never loses its allure. He'd tried to describe the taste to Lorenz some years ago, but failed miserably - he'd fare no better now. Savoury, and briny, though not overpowering. Paltry, insufficient approximations. It tastes like memory. Like so many holidays before the start of the new year after time erased the day-to-day troubles and scoldings, leaving behind only some irretrievable sunlit ease. Ignorance, someone might say.
The taste lingers, even as his eyes flutter closed, even as he rests his head on his companion's shoulder.
Hubert allows it.
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As humans in a changing world we crave continuity, reliability. Before we walk into a room, we like to be fairly certain of what weâll find â walls, floor, furniture, not hot coals or clouds of poison gas. Thus the popularity of the franchise. It may not lead to great, revolutionary art, but at the end of a long day, when you kick off your shoes and sink down into the sofa, you may not be in the mood for âLes Demoiselles dâAvignonâ or a stuffed goat with a tire around its middle.
âNCIS,â for Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is a theoretically inexhaustible series about an elevated team of military police investigating cases involving military personnel; you might think that is too shallow a drawer to fill several series over many years, but you would be wrong, especially given how thin the writers are willing to stretch that connection.
The series offers a full-course meal of mainstream theatrical possibilities. Itâs a police procedural, a metaphorical family comedy, a workplace comedy, a soap opera, a melodrama, a low-budget action adventure. You get good-looking heroes, a smattering of goofballs, a quirky medical examiner or two, a little romance â the amino acids of many such procedurals, to be sure, but âNCISâ is especially deft at combining kick-back entertainment with lean-forward tension. The military association adds a patriotic element, which I imagine some viewers prize, though the very premise of the series implies that the military is not squeaky clean. These arenât shows I customarily watch, but itâs easy to see why people do.
The franchise has included iterations set in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Hawaii and Sydney, each applying local color and flavor to a tried-and-true formula; some have come and gone, some have not been around long enough to go, but none is likely to display the staying power or global penetration of the original, about to embark Monday on its 22nd season.
Following that premiere on CBS, home to all âNCISâ series, is the newest addition to the family, âNCIS: Origins.â Instead of setting up in a new city, however, we are being sent through time, back to 1991, when ânewly minted special agentâ Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell), played by Mark Harmon in the original and narrating here, has just joined the team he will one day lead. (A team that has not yet added the C to its acronym, which looks odd on the windbreakers but is quicker to bark at suspects.)
We are in Oceanside â a new city, after all â on the grounds of Camp Pendleton. That itâs the least obviously sexy setting in the âNCISâ collection â no offense, Oceanside, not to say the ocean itself â is echoed in the teamâs drab Quonset-hut headquarters, a stark contrast to the bright, modern, high-tech lairs of the contemporary shows. Here, weâre in a world of phone booths, pagers and bulky computers no one knows how to work, of Walkmans and videotape, which both simplifies and complicates the action. It is, in its way, a kind of relief, a vacation from Now.
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/9acc50c0327cca413bc219dfdde0ae62/dfff8983b8ae88de-0d/s540x810/3b055a8d08b97ec334d31aa9b691be9cc26f23b8.jpg)
Harmon, who left the series after the 19th season to be replaced by Gary Cole, established the model of the âNCISâ team leader â the stern yet supportive surrogate parent, time-worn, time-tested, ever ready to buck hidebound authority when necessary. Young Gibbs, a Marine sniper just recalled from Iraq after the murder of his wife and child, is not (yet) that person, though we get some hints he might be: his numbered ârules,â his âgut feelings.â At the moment, heâs neck-deep in trauma, getting in bar fights, failing his âpsych eval.â There is some concern that heâs unstable, not quite Mel-Gibson-in-âLethal Weaponâ crazy, but potentially a danger to himself and others.
That the main character is a member of the team rather than its leader, as in other âNCISâ series, can feel a little awkward, given that itâs necessary for Gibbs, fresh behind the ears though he may be, to stand out from the group â that he see what others miss, and can handle a situation in an original way. When he says of a suspect, âHeâs not our guy,â it wonât be that guy. It throws the ensemble off balance.
The team leader is Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), Gibbsâ cowboy predecessor and mentor; with his horseshoe mustache, dark glasses and cigarettes, heâs like a â90s cop dressed as a â70s cop. (Older Franks, played by Muse Watson, appeared in some dramatic episodes of âNCIS.â) Hot-shot agent Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) is competitive and wary of Gibbs. (âYouâre on my squad,â says Gibbs upon meeting her. âNo, youâre on mine,â she replies, reasonably enough.) Agent Vera Strickland (Diany Rodriguez), who briefly appeared in the original series, is so far underused. (Only four episodes were available for review.)
Dark feelings and internal conflicts characterize these first episodes, which are full of raised voices, clenched jaws and steely stares. Necessary mood lightening is supplied by agent Randy Randolf (Caleb Martin Foote), friendly, chatty and the only one who wears a suit to work; âhead secretary in chargeâ Mary Jo Hayes (Tyla Abercrumbie); and Granville âGrannyâ Dawson (Daniel Bellomy), promoted after a couple of episodes to the K-9 squad and the care of a dog named Special Agent Gary Callahan. (âItâs just the one dog, but heâs all the dog you need.â) Bobby Moynihan (major comic relief), Lori Petty and Julian Black Antelope provide forensic backup.
As to Stowell, he is square-jawed and broad-shouldered and though his casting was obviously the end of many discussions, he does not strike me as someone who will grow up to become Mark Harmon. (Harmonâs son Sean, who had the original idea for âOrigins,â developed by franchise vets David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal, played the younger Gibbs in âNCISâ flashbacks.) He could stand to relax a little. But perhaps thatâs the point.
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Detective Conan-Case Round-Up(Chapter 781-786)
This was an interesting case as it ran quite long for a case that didnât have much narrative impact. It did have a lot of twists though. And left quite a deep impression on me in a probably unintended way. In this case, we find out why Heiji originally came to Beika this time because he wanted to show Conan a mystery. By the just to put into perspective how much of a trek Heiji and Kazuha make, Beika is said to be a ward of Tokyo and the fastest method to get from Tokyo to Osaka is the Bullet Train, clocking in at 2 hours. By car itâs around 6. So Heiji really loves Conan to be coming by this much. The case turns out to be about the CEO of a graphic design company that gets murdered and leaves a disappearing dying message on the tiles of the bathroom he was renovating. To avoid spoilers, Iâll talk about it past the âKeep readingâ and go more in-depth into it as well.
Okay, so that was a lot of twists. Breaking down the case it turns out it was the secretary who was the CEOâs daughter from his first marriage and angry at the son and wife for covering up his death. She got revenge by first killing the son using his gluttonous attitude and an optical illusion to make it seem like the piece of pastry that had the poison on it was bigger, and then blaming the death on the wife by using her sandals and making it look like she committed suicide through another optical illusion which caused her to forget how Kanji looked like and ac in a very specific manner because of that. I really loved how thematically consistent it was and how it centered around the concept of optical illusion while also being about graphic design. This was a really strong case all around.
This case had a lot of moving parts, but the one it utilized most was previous knowledge as it helped to solve the murders, with both optical illusions being things people could have possibly known. Though I did know the trick with the baumkuchen, my mind totally blanked until they brought it up and the Kanji trick is understandable through sheer common sense as well. Speaking of Baumkuchen, after seeing it in Cipher Acadamey Iâm now seeing it here and I wonder if Iâve ever had any. We used to get a lot of sweet type things from the local bakery but itâs german so I donât know if our bakery would make it. Time to hit up my german friend I guess. Speaking of german, these previous knowledge parts always remind me of the RACHE moment in Study in Scarlet.
Anyways, on top of it all, we got a return of some of my favourite characters, Kansuke, Yui Uehara, and Komei. I always found their dynamic interesting and their character designs have them chewing up the scenery. They feel like they dropped right out of a 80âs hard boiled hong kong detective film. I donât know why but they also always seem to have higher stakes, maybe itâs because their harsh designs cut such a sharp contrast to Aoyamaâs worlds as opposed to his more agreeable silhouettes. Anyways, Iâm not a good enough artist to speculate but they just do. Letâs leave it at that.Â
Now letâs get to the character drama. We get Ran telling Kazuha about how Shinichi confessed and she worries that she might have pressured him into it. Itâs really sweet how much she cares about him and how understanding she is. Though Conan confessed, if you can call it that(I guess itâs the best youâll get out of a deduction freak), it was because he saw how much Ran actually cared about him. And I understand that he doesnât tell her about his predicament because he worries for her safety, you canât blame her for not figuring it out because frankly itâs an insane conclusion to come to and Shinichiâs also pulled off some impossible stunts to keep the illusion going that most people wouldnât be able to bridge the assumptions between. Such as the very convenient antidote pill.
Anyways, Kazuha tries to get Ran to give Shinichi a reply by promising to confess her feelings to Heiji and she does but he runs off to Conan before she can finish. I really love Heiji and Shinichiâs relationship. He straight up acknowledges himself as Shinichiâs best friend and thatâs where it strikes a really sad cord with me. Because both Shinichi and Heiji both didnât have peers that they could relate to and talk to and get excited about stuff with until way later in life. Theyâve lead pretty solitary lives but now Conan finally has a lot of peers from the Detective Boys to Heiji to Sera. But Heiji is still pretty alone.
#detco#dcmk#detective conan#gosho aoyama#manga recap#manga discussion#manga#shinichi kudo#hattori heiji
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â @un1awful said . . . ( Ë¶Ë ÂłË(ââ Û ââ)!⥠Kura kissing Ghost on the cheek as a sneak attack and then running away â
đđđ đđđđđđ đđđđđđïżœïżœïżœ đđ đđđđ đđđ đđđđđ đđđđđđ đđ đđđđ đđđ đđ đđđđđđ đđđđđ'đ đđđđđđđđđđđđđ. the killer kept the blonde at arms length at all times, often snatching the other by back of his collar and shoving him into the nearest wall. but kurama was much like a cockroach. no matter how many times ghost squashed him, cut off the head, it didn't matter and he always came back. the kiss leaves a burning sensation on his skin as if the blonde is poisonous and for all ghost knows he might be.
â you little shit â â but before ghost can even turn his head kurama has hightailed it out of the room. at least the idiot had enough sense to run off. a deep breath filters through his nose, huffing as he turns to face where the blonde hand run off to. the knife slides so easily from inside his sleeve into the palm of his hand, raising it just in case kurama turned his head to look back at ghost. if kurama wasn't dead by the end of the night, ghost is sure he'll wish he was.
send ( Ë¶Ë ÂłË(ââ Û ââ)!⥠to kiss my muse on the cheek. â accepting.
#un1awful#â© answered ask. â
âȘ#â© ghost reply. â
âȘ#â© what's your favorite scary movie? / main verse. â
âȘ#this was supposed to be a cute meme#and they both ruined it LMAO
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stuff like this is why for a long while I didn't think fans were giving Luffy enough credit regarding his character, specifically in terms of his emotional intelligence.
I know that the words "luffy" and "intelligent" seem like oil and water which lol fairness but while if you asked Luffy if eating moldy meat is safe or not while he already gobbled it down - he's poison proof he'll be fine right? - what luffy lacks in general smarts he makes up for in emotional intelligence.
Luffy knows, and more importantly understands that people have to come to terms with what they want in their own way but also that he won't give up on them b/c they don't want him to give up on them.
You see this the most in Sanji, Nami, Robin, and Ussop leaving the crew. When Nami leaves, Luffy knows that she's lying, the time they spent together wasn't fake even if he doesn't know why - ie the backstory between her and Arlong - he doesn't need too. What he knows is Nami was happy on the crew, and therefore refuses to abandon her until that final moment when Nami finally begs Luffy for help. Which he provides because he will always be there for his crew.
With Robin, Luffy knows she doesn't want to die after all she's been nothing but alive while with them all this time. She's no longer a ghost, a demon child, she's the strawhats Robin. And Robin has to know that too, know what Luffy knows - that Robin wants to live, and wants to be a strawhat.
With Sanji, Luffy has to change his tactics a bit, because Sanji isn't protecting his family/village like Nami, Sanji isn't and wasn't running like Robin, but Sanji has to understand what Luffy knows bone deep - he's irreplaceable on the crew. Luffy needs him, not for his fighting skills the thing his family disparages for not being physically strong enough, but for his cooking. What Sanji loves to do, the representation of Sanji's humanity and kindness, Luffy needs that and he needs Sanji to understand that. So Luffy doesn't eat - for all of like 3 hours and bro was skin and bones lmao you dramatic puto luffy - and Sanji comes back.
Even with Ussop, Luffy doesn't want to fight Ussop but he understands and more importantly respects Ussop. He has to fight Ussop to prove that, that Ussop is worthy of respect, he's not the weak link in the crew, and Luffy knows beating Ussop means Ussop will leave. But he doesn't pull punches, he fights Ussop for GM and wins because to do otherwise wouldn't be respecting Ussop's feelings.
And this is why Luffy needs Zoro; in the case of Nami, Robin and Sanji, Zoro was willing respect their decisions at face value. You want to leave, leave. But Luffy sees beyond that because he's got more emotional intelligence than Zoro, on the flipside, Luffy needs Zoro because he will allow his emotions to get the better of him. Because in Ussop's case, Luffy may have understood what Ussop needed, respected that, but he didn't want too, and he wanted to just accept Ussop back without an apology.
Zoro knows better, he knows that to be a strong crew, a cohesive crew, they have to have a captain that doesn't waver even in the face of his crew members, his friends, and he'll stick to his convictions. To be a Captain they can respect and trust in those life and death situations - meaning even if their in danger Luffy isn't rescuing them all the time, he's got to trust they can take care of themselves and that they'll take care of each other while he's fighting giant dragons and government gods.
Because Luffy might be the sun god nika, but he's a liberator, not a savior, not a hero. He helps Shirahoshi, Rebecca, Vivi, and Momo, but they have to ask first, they have to become brave enough to reach out, step out, and want to save their own homes first.
Luffy is legitimately one of my favorite fictional characters so it makes me kinda sad when people say he's just a pirate version of Goku. Luffy, at the very least, knows what marriage is.
i really really love that luffy is someone who respects agency a lot. he turns down zeff's request to take sanji onto his crew, and respects sanji's view that he wants to stay at the baratie even though everyone in the room knows that sanji does want to go to the grand line. he waits for nami to ask him for help instead of just storming in to take down arlong. he insists that robin says that she wants to live. he turns down kin'emon's request for his crew to save wano because he wants to hear it from momonosuke himself. there's probably more examples but i can't think of any rn
#sorry goku#i know it's just cause toriyama like the gag of you taking everything literally#b/c toriyama was a gag manga artist first and a battle manga artist second lol#oh luffy feels#that's mi chepito#i have been in the trenches for years with ppl not appreciating luffy#and now ppl are and i'm so happy#i also didn't mean to shove a little zolu in there but like!!!!
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There's a lot of talk about Heiji's tendency to drop everything and go to Tokyo to helpâor even just to see!âShinichi, and rightfully so. It's something Heiji unabashedly admits to (Episode 278, Magic File 5)...
Heiji: If any other suspicious persons show up, just call me! I'll run right over!
Ran: Hattori-kun saw that incident on the news and rushed over because he was worried about you, Conan-kun. Heiji: Grabbed the first bullet train in the mornin'!
And I still can hardly believe that Heiji's canon, actual, real-deal reaction to a request to put his life on the line and impersonate Shinichi... is an immediate "OK" composed out of heart emojis (Episode 345).
Seriously. That happened. Heiji couldn't not help.
Heiji (internally): I had no choice. After all, Kudo e-mailed me asking me to do this.
But in Shinichi's first appearance since being poisoned (Episode 49), after seemingly refusing to show his face to Ran or Inspector Megure or anyone else in town for who knows how long, he unabashedly claims that he dropped everything to meet Heiji. He smiles about it!
And of course it's a lie, but there's a smidgen of truth to it, too. Conan did accompany Heiji, despite feeling terribly sick and harboring zero interest in the (apparently) non-murderous case, because he was intrigued. Because he was impressed with what Heiji had uncovered about him already and was nervous about what else his so-called "rival" could reveal.
Conan (internally): I don't wanna go, but there's no telling what this guy might say!
But even without that context, Shinichi's easy, immediate cover story gets to me. He really, truly, unhesitatingly asserts that meeting Heiji was important enough to jump right on a train to get there.
It reminds me of Shinichi's excitement when he first learns of Heiji (File 520), and his grin when he thinks of meeting Heiji for real one day (File 522):
Shinichi: Really? Then he's just like me!
Shinichi (internally): We'll meet each other again... on that mysterious stage...
I think I could totally buy that Shinichi actually would have done exactly what he claims in the clip. He is interested in other detectives like himself, and with the pain of the antidote wearing off in Episode 49, that smile's gotta be genuine.
Finally, while it's Not That Deep, there's maybe something to be said about how Heiji is symbolically the key to Shinichi's true self, since it's Heiji's alcohol that transforms Conan back into Shinichi. With this clip, Shinichi underlines the same idea. It's Heiji who brought him back after so long. It's because of Heiji Hattori that Shinichi Kudo makes his first appearance after vanishing.
And I love how forthright Shinichi is about it.
#detective conan#case closed#shinichi kudo#heiji hattori#ramblings#long post#video#funimation english dub script#because i've devoted a lot of time and effort into mixing my german blu-ray footage with my funimation dvd english dub audio#and everyone needs to look at it lol#(really though it's a lot easier now that i know to change the 'fps' of the audio but it's still a lot of work...)#(i match up the japanese audio track from the blu-ray with the japanese audio track from the dvd and copy any cuts needed to the eng audio)#(not hard just tedious... i'm dying for an official hd english dub release so that i don't have to do this lol)#(but any official english video releases for this show at all would be great...)#(i don't want to use bilibili screencaps anymore because there's a big watermark now)#(so i spent a whole lot of time timing bilibili subs to my ep 345 blu-ray here for those caps đ©)#(more tedious than other eps because bilibili splits up multi-part specials so i had to string together four different .srts)#(gosh i do *the most* lol plz official releases i'm dying)#anyway just was thinking about this because of my hd english dub project! he really says this#wanted to post this before the end of the year for one more essay but alas... took way longer to write than i thought ^^;#as per usual amirite ^^; ^^;
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