#he came by to look at sth on my screen and he was kind of brushing my shoulder i almost PASSED OUT

[rainnbepourin]

.

[asakurahaos]

I dreamt i was in a neighbouring building and there was some kind of a meetup/ house party but like sth was wrong like it wasnt supposed to happen (like it was forbidden) and anyway, at that party some dude just came up to me and didnt wanna unstick from me and followed me out of the building -

and it turned out the guy is actually some demon and he was following me to curse me or sth. He told me my tries to repell him (repeatedly doing the cross on myself lmao) were in vain, and the next thing in the dream was me dragging that same man, unconscious, to my building where i rang for a deacon, for him to ring the priest (and both of them, apparently, live in my building??)

so anyways, i tell them whats going on, they look at me, look at the demon/passed out dude-

and i sit down in front of the computer with a ff.net-looking-ao3 on the screen, to read the first chapter of a minchan witch au wip by my favourite author.

[otsukare-katsukare]

god i know it's been said a million times and nobody needs reminding. but what a fucking show takeover r evolution is start to finish. it's so good and every single little detail in it makes it better. bookended with kevin owens being the baddest bitch on this earth. contains four big matches that each ramp up in intensity and offer something different, namely:

aiden english throwing simon gotch out of harm's way to take the brunt of two flying luchadores. simon gotch looking like simba after getting saved by his father from the stampede.

finn balor causing a "MARKING OUT! MARKING OUT!" chant from his demon antics.

not a match but the look that sami and kevin share in the locker room, so understated and blink and you'll miss it, but oh my god. the tension. the quiet acknowledgement, the telepathic communication in that moment.

sasha and charlotte putting on an absolutely thrilling banger filled with some of the most unique and surprising counter sequences (charlotte's moonsault attempt segueing into a senton is something!!!)

sasha also being the baddest bitch on this earth with her mocking nature boy walk (hot) followed by licking her palm to slap charlotte (HOT)

also sasha being adorable and weirdly rootable for despite her being very heelish. whenever charlotte gets her on her shoulders and her eyes widen in terror real "hey im just a little guyyyy" shit

literally every single god damned thing that sami zayn and adrian neville do in the ring together. and the AUDIENCE. the way they sing for sami and he looks out at them, then back at neville and it's like you can see their energy powering him up like a battery.

the way he waits for neville to enter, sitting watching from the corner on the floor with this slightly sardonic smile, like he can't quite decide if he hates this guy now or if he can't help still loving him, he just knows he has to beat him, and he channels it into this tiny little passive aggressive finger wave to neville on the top rope

frankly the degree to which they are eyefucking right up into the start of the match. while corey remarks that adrian's been changing his gym schedule so he doesn't have to overlap with sami.

neville getting increasingly frantic and checking with the ref after every pin attempt, until he starts roaring and punching sami in that way you know is just going to fire him up and it DOES

the strangled cry of frustration from corey and the audience both when sami checks on the ref after he gets hit in the head by neville (STOP YOU KIND HEARTED FOOL). and conversely the desperate screams of NO when he even looks in the direction of the title and they realise what he's considering.

kevin enters the ring to hug sami and bleed all over his shoulder and sami kisses his head twice, and even after everything with neville being sami's on screen bestie it's immediately clear even with no context that these two have something deeper. when they're reuinited it's like watching sami come home.

tyler breeze is in the crowd of wrestlers congratulating sami. and he's blue steeling which means he's in character doing that, it's canon that tyler breeze was happy for sami and came out to congratulate him. i need to sit down

sami does a little dad dance on the top turnbuckle after his big celebration it's really fucking cute. he does a thousand cute things in this show that's just one example.

oh and something that happened at the end i can't remember the details, sth with kevin and sami. it was pretty cool iirc

[kpophubb]

Enhypen x reader

❥ʜʏᴜɴɢ ʟɪɴᴇ: ᴀsᴋɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ᴇɴʜᴀ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ᴋɪss

ᘜᗴᑎᖇᗴ: 𝕗𝕝𝕦𝕗𝕗, 𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕜, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕝𝕦𝕗𝕗 ♡︎

---------------------------☾♲︎☽----------------------------

♧︎ℍ𝕖𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕦𝕟𝕘 :~

𐂂 developing intense romantic feelings for best friend heeseung doesn’t sound too impossible right? So yeah that’s exactly what happened with you.

𐂂 you guys have been best friends for years now and one day, somewhere along the way you found yourself relentlessly in love with him. You don’t know how it happened, why it happened, what you only know is that you love him so much and you can’t help it.

𐂂 you weren’t sure if he felt about you the same way. Cause he was way out of your league and he was just a naturally very sweet person who always cared for you and made you feel loved.

𐂂 so, one time when you were hanging out with heeseung in the dorm, you decided to do sth about your feelings. You waited for all the boys to empty the living room until it was just the two of you alone.

𐂂 hee was looking at the tv screen and grinning and you couldn’t help but stare. He looked so so beautiful. The way his perfect body fit in between his oversized hoodie and he looked so warm and cuddleable, the way his doey eyes were sparkling under the faint tv light, his pretty lips curled into a pout and his whole face looking like god’s favourite piece of art. You were always so overwhelmed by how much impact the sight of him had on you. Your heart always fluttered so much in his presence, your mind went blank and all you could hear in your ears was the loud thud of your own heartbreat. It was kind of unfair that only you were the one who felt this way.

𐂂”…hee?..” you cleared your throat finally catching his gaze in your direction. “Yes y/n?” He smiled at you and attentively prepared himself for your conversation. You were beginning to grow very hesitant, but you reminded yourself that today was the 1st of April. So you could say whatever you wanted to and brush it off by saying “april’s fool “, hoping to get away with what came out of your mouth next.

𐂂 “can….I..get a kiss?😳” you muttered, that came out almost as a whisper. Your face turned bright red and you couldn’t contain your shyness anymore..

𐂂 heeseung literally went h e e f u s e d. 😶 he stared at you blankly for a solid minute before..asking you to repeat what you said. “Y/n..what did you just say?”

𐂂 oh my god you hated how he reacted. You were so embarrassed and ashamed. You began protesting saying “ahh april’s foo-“ when hee gave you such a shy and cute smile. 🥺☺️ hee burst out laughing right afterwards, making you feel even more embarrassed.

𐂂 (but you really think you would get away without a kiss from your best friend who was also in love with you?😉). Much to your surprise, when you prepared to run away, hee cupped your face gently with his slender hands and gave you a sweet peck. 💋

𐂂 “if this is what I get, then I wish everyday was the first of April.” He giggled while making intimate eye contact with you, brushing your hot red cheeks with his thumb.

𐂂 “wait..heeseung 😳 you mean-?” He cut you off by leaning in to kiss you again, this time more passionately. Much less like a gentle peck, and much more like a loving kiss. His lips were so feathery soft and he tasted so sweet. The subtle movements of his heavenly mouth on yours and his hot breath fanning your cheeks- damn this feeling was enough to carry you to paradise.

𐂂 “yes y/n be my girlfriend. Cause I love you.” He whispered into your ears, breaking away from your lips for the time being. You pulled him back in again in an instant, letting your lips give him your sweet answer. 💋😳🙈

♧︎ 𝕁𝕒𝕪:~

♲︎ now you saw a tiktok trend a while ago- “kissing my best friend to see how he reacts” and you were SUPER CURIOUS to try it on your best friend, jay.

♲︎ he never really initiated any intimate skinship with you, nor showed romantic interest in you despite you having an immense love interest in him much to his oblivion. He’d only hold your hands in a large crowd to make sure you didn’t get lost, in a way to protect you like the fine gentleman he is.

♲︎ so on the weekend when he was on his way to your house for your usual hangout, you set up your phone and concealed it so he doesn’t realize he isn’t being recorded in any way.

♲︎ the meet-up was going in a normal direction as usual, you guys were having a lot of fun laughing, talking and telling eachother about what you did throughout the week. It was little things like these that made you fall in love with him in the first place. The way he was always so attentive when you spoke, and talked about so many interesting things. He was pretty knowledgeable, supportive, caring and loving in his own way. He had a calm and refreshing vibe around him that won your heart on the very first day.

♲︎ you waited for the right opportunity and just when you guys finished your lunch, you caught his attention by saying “jay…?“

♲︎”yes y/n?” he replied immediately, his voice making the knots in your stomach twitch from both nervousness and excitement.”Please close your eyes jay. And don’t open them until I say you to.” You fought your hardest to voice these words out, your flustered face and nervousness becoming more and more obvious with the growing second.

♲︎ though jay was confused, he didn’t inquire anything and thought you had sth to give him. Protesting with your inner wild emotions and excitement, you leaned in to give him a gentle peck on his lips.😳

♲︎ but it didn’t go as planned. (Ouch) when he felt you getting oddly close to him, he flinched and moved backwards, out of sheer panic. He didn’t anticipate this, it was so out of the blue..and he suddenly felt so..shy…by your random move?😳

♲︎ “it’s a trend jay!! Look there is a camera. I’m making a tiktok!!!” you yell out to defend yourself. However, jay just eyes the camera and moves out of the room the next minute.

♲︎ you really thought everything was over. It was so humiliating..it felt as though you messed up your own friendship by being so awkward and full of yourself. All this made you loathe yourself. Because, obviously, you didn’t know how today jay had planned a surprise for you too. Because, obviously, he was in love with you the same way you were in love with him.

♲︎you don’t get enough time to cry out of humiliation because he’s back in an instant, carrying sth underneath his tshirt. He walks up to the camera, hiding the bulge underneath his clothes from you as a smile begins to form on his lips and his eyes light up in awe.

♲︎ “kissing my boyfriend to find out how he reacts should be the title..”he shyly shrugs, as he takes out the flowers from underneath and holds the rose in between his hands.🥺🥰

♲︎boy just kneels down before you and asks you out in the most filmy way possible.😳 “y/n. Be my girlfriend so I can officially kiss you all the time.” He laughs before adding “cause…I’ve always loved you.❤��”

♲︎ so there you go, running to his arms in a split second and crying tears of happiness before immersing yourself in the most romantic and sweetest kiss ever, with nobody else but your beloved jay. <3

♧︎𝕁𝕒𝕜𝕖:~

♧︎𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕙𝕠𝕠𝕟:~

☃︎ I don’t even think I have to explain HOW EVERYONE WANTS TO KISS PARK SUNGHOON FOR THE HOT AND BREATH TAKING MAN HE IS😀✋🏻

☃︎ so yeah, that’s your prime struggle in life, being friends with the ice prince despite being irresistibly and helplessly in love with everything about him. (Bc from head to toe everything about this man is WORTH falling for)

☃︎ however, it was hard to make any kind of move on sunghoon. He was so introverted and reserved, you had no way to peek inside his head and know how he felt about you. He was also not very good at displaying his feelings, so you were left hanging by a string.

☃︎his friends would tease him about you RIGHT in front of you and ask him to hold your hand while laughing at him, but you couldn’t understand whether it was bc he might like you or CAUSE your feelings for him were so evident to everyone else, except for him.

☃︎ but you only live once right? So you decided to give it a shot.

☃︎ one time, he invited you to spend his break-day with him. It was a very fun day, going on a cafe date together to have brunch, then dropping by at a gaming shop and a dog park, and lastly eating ice cream and talking a lot about all the things you missed saying eachother during his busy working days. It was very calm and nice to be surrounded by his presence, cause when he was there beside you, everything just felt so right.

☃︎ you secretly prepared a lot for this day. You dressed up in a black mini dress, with off shoulder sleeves and short length so your skin would be revealing. You curled your hair with a lot of care and tried doing a new makeup tutorial, all just to catch your beloved sunghoon’s attention. 😉🙈🙊

☃︎ it was working though. Today was the first time he made eye contact with you that lasted around 3 seconds. (Yeah for someone like sunghoon it’s a big deal) and he even silently complimented you, although you weren’t sure what he said bc he said it so softly, it sounded as faint as a whisper. And this stubborn penguin was just SO reluctant to repeat it😒😩

☃︎ when your day together was almost over and you guys were walking by the han river, with the mesmerizing view of the golden sunset and chilly breeze blowing away your fatigue from the long day, you decided to go out of your way and ask him for a kiss. 😳

☃︎“sunghoon...?“ you muttered in the most polite and inviting way possible but ofc he didn’t get the hint. He just simply nodded, not even looking your way.🙄 but you still continued anyways.

☃︎ “can I get a kiss?”😳 you shyly asked, that took almost everything in you. But the setting favoured you, it was so romantic which made you feel a little less nervous.

☃︎ trust me when he hears you say this, boy literally m a l f u n c t i o n s. He looks at you in a frozen position, unable to manifest what you just said..😳

☃︎ he turns his face away from you and you see the side of his cheeks turn bright red..he’s smiling and having difficulty walking..he’s just so overthrown by the question he just doesn’t know what to do.. he giggles under his breath and simply Ends the conversation by saying really silently..”shut..up..don’t joke with me at a time like this…☺️…😳”

☃︎ he’s covering his face with his bangs as much as he can so you don’t notice how flustered he is. Well, you never expected him to kiss you right off the bat like that anyway but seeing his shy and cute response, your heart melts at the idea that imagining about kissing you had such an impact on him.🥺

☃︎ he looked so cute with that fluffy red face that you continued teasing him the whole way back home. “why don’t you shut me up then?😌” “wow..are you shy?” “Oh my god look at PARK SUNGHOON being this flustered hahah😆.” You cooed at him and laughed, thanking the lord for finally giving you the chance to get back at sunghoon for all the times he’s teased you before.

☃︎ hoon doesn’t reply anything, he just giggles and brushes you off. But the fun time soon ends as you reach your house :( He waves you goodbye without even looking at you (bc he’s so red it’s like he’s gonna explode now) and you wave him back, closing your door.😔

☃︎ but like 30 seconds later, the door bell rings. You open the door and in the blink of an eye, you feel a soft pair of lips peck your own. You don’t open your eyes, and give yourself in, knowing from the familiar savoury scent and soft hair brushing your forehead, that it was nobody but your beloved sunghoon.💓 (someone was not gonna head home without kissing you today ;))

☃︎ damn…he kisses with so much passion. Like he’s filling up every empty piece in you with his taste. He’s so swift with his movements-his lips are so soft and moving so gently but at the same time they’re so intensely conquering you, as if you feel every contact being burned on your mouth bit by bit.

☃︎ he doesn’t pull way. Nor do you. Because kissing someone obviously never felt this good. As if this was the moment you lived to feel all this time. The sweet and lingering heat from his mouth, on yours.

☃︎ but after some time, you pull away to check whether you’re dreaming cause the moment feels too good to be true. And trust me the feeling you see portrayed in his beautiful dark brown eyes lights up your whole body. As if those pair of eyes are telling you a thousand different love stories right now, in the most beautiful way ever.

☃︎ however, don’t worry, cause the moment doesn’t last long because someone just decides to run away like he’s running for his life. 😳😆O H M Y G O D. He’s done it now and THERES NO WAY IN HELL HE’S PREPARED TO SEE YOUR REACTION TO HIS ABRUPT kiss.☺️😳👉🏻👈🏻

☃︎ so there you are, chasing after your lover boy to catch him and give him another tight smooch. Cause Thank god, he’s finally yours. 🥺💞

The End

♡︎𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚑𝚢𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚘𝚗 ➪ᴍɪᴀ’s ᴘʟᴀʏʟɪsᴛ ♡︎

𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕪 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕓𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘/ 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. ㋛ 𝕚 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕪’𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕞𝕖. ꨄ

[anime-grimmy-art]

Told you guys I’d ramble in due time.

I absolutely adore Bravely Default 2. It came at a really bad time cos I can’t waste 70 hours on a jrpg, but well, it’s too late to be concerned about that now. And as is tradition with me obsessing over a new game / show / whatever, you’ll basically find a fullblown review disguised as ramblings right under the cut. Be aware that I’m gonna talk about EVERYTHING, so spoilers are a given. Some maybe even for the previous Bravely Default games.

Also, if you wanna talk about this game in any capacity, hit me up, I’m DESPERATE to talk more about it.

Just for reference on how long this is gonna be, I made a voice recording while driving to remember all the points I wanna make, and that recording is almost 2 hours long. I did cut it down but still, this is gonna be a lot.

I’ll start off with the things that actually bugged me about the game, since there are only 3 things that really bothered me. First of, I really don’t like that you can name Seth. He has too much personality to be a self insert and player integration is not that big of a part in the game that this decision can be justified. It wouldn’t bother me that much if it didn’t leave a bad mark on the ending. First of all, we were robbed of Gloria desperately shouting for Seth, which makes the impact work less, and it’s just so prevalent that the name can’t be said because you have all the normal sound design going. If they’d just let the credits still play I wouldn’t have batted an eye, but because every other sound comes in it’s so obvious they’re just silently shouting in this scene, which makes it look silly. Like I said, this decision is more a detriment than an addition, and it’s a shame it casts a shadow on an otherwise heartfelt ending.

Speaking about lost potential, the other thing that really bothers me is the lost potential in certain plot points and character conclusions. I mainly mean Adam and Edna here. Both of them have been built up to be these formidable foes but they just, die. If it was just Adam I’d be fine with it, since you expect Edna to backstab him and be the actual big bad of the story, but I cannot fathom why they dropped Edna this HARD. If not Edna herself, I don’t understand why we don’t get more of a reaction from the Fairies and especially Adelle. I mean, Edna was her sole reason she left for her journey in the first place, then Edna dies and that’s it? No part where she grieves for a second? No concern from the others about Adelle? Mind you, I haven’t finished all the Sidequests, so maybe there actually is one in which this is addressed, but I think even just a Party Chat after Bad End 1 would have been sufficient to show how Adelle suddenly feels about the loss of Edna. It would have made Bad End 2 / The Secret Ending even more impactful, because, yeah, of course, you kinda know Adelle isn’t going to turn her back on fairy kind, but one of the reasons she doesn’t leave is because if Enda didn’t get a happy ending, then she shouldn’t either. It would have been amazing foreshadowing if she showed this sentiment before this scene happened. Other than that, it’s a shame that we know so little about Edna, or rather, how she became “bad”. I get she’s supposed to be corrupted by the Night’s Nexus, but how did it even come to this? It can’t have been a gradual thing, after all, Adelle says Edna was always good natured and then just disappeared one day. Really would have loved seeing more of that plot point.

Ok, last gripe I have, some choices in the soundtrack and sound design. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the OST, and I will get to that, but damn, whatever Revo used for the lead instrument in Wiswald hurts my ears. It’s a really good track, but I always have to turn down my volume because these high pitched sounds physically hurt. And for sound design. Dude, the Night’s Nexus is the least threatening, nightmare fueled abomination that ever existed. I get that its growl is kinda supposed to be layered with Edna’s or sth, but it, it just sounds silly. If they went the route of just swinging between different voices or began distorting it from phase to phase, it would have been fine. But the choice they made really made an otherwise creepy design just absolutely silly.

Ok, enough jammering, on to the good stuff. Like I said, there’s going to be a lot, so I’ll try to be brief in each aspect.

Gameplay

I honestly like the new battle mechanics more than the old ones. This individual, turn based system feels way more dynamic and it’s easier to strategies in battles. Because nothing made me more angry than setting up for a heal and the enemy suddenly being faster than me and killing my healer. Now it’s easier to plan ahead a bit.

I also found myself experimenting more with the jobs. Not sure what it really is, but none of the party members leaning more towards certain types of jobs and the job leveling being way faster probably helped.

And I know some people get up in arms because the boss sometimes can be a real pain in the ass (looking at you pope dude), I still found it very interesting getting around counters or even using these counters as a benefit. As an example, I made Adelle my main physical fighter and gave her lots of counter abilities to help her profit from being countered by enemies themselves. Now, she can attack enemies, get countered, automatically evade that counter and earn a BP at the same time. Made a lot of boss fights way easier and fun to exploit.

Music

Ok, I will try my best to be really, really brief, because in my recording this part takes up almost 40 minutes. Anyways, Revo might have just become one of my absolute favorite composers ever. I don’t know what kind of magic he used, but I initially wasn’t that impressed with the OST, but every time I listened to it, I just fell in love harder and harder. Before getting into specifics, I wanna highlight the two things that made me love this OST overall. First of all, this soundtrack almost seems like a refinement of BD’s. While losing some of that fairytale vibe, it sounds even more fantasy now. And in contrast to the original, this almost sounds more balanced? Like, BD’s OST felt high energy throughout, BD2’s on the other hand manages to find a good balance between high and low energy pieces. Like, the character themes or battle themes are absolute hype, but the overworld themes are a lot calmer and easier to listen to while exploring. Second big point that makes this soundtrack amazing is that Revo is an absolute god at using emotional progression/storytelling and leitmotifs in his songs. And heck, do I love myself my leitmotifs. You’ve got some obvious ones, like the final battle theme in which all the character themes and other leitmotifs are integrated. Then you got some maybe more subtle once, just like how the overworld themes are just the main theme, just a lot calmer and using the lead instruments of the towns of the areas.

But my absolute favourites gotta be the character themes and the main theme. I love how fitting the themes for the characters are and in general, each of them is such a bop. At first I prefered Elvis’, because I sure am a sucker for jazzy vibes, but over time Adelle’s became my fav. It’s just something about the trumpets, and how the theme almost sounds a bit melancholic and bittersweet, that drew me in. And considering her story, mostly her bad end, that the bittersweet tone really fits.

Then there’s the main theme. Just like BD’s it shouts “triumphant anthem” and it definitely gives you a very familiar vibe, but I’d argue it has even better emotional progression. Heck, the first time I heard the music start up in the reveal trailer, I didn’t have to look at the screen to know this is gonna be a BD game. Also, the credit song version had me weeping at the true end. I’m someone who’s very easily affected by music (if me shouting about soundtracks on this blog wasn’t proof enough) and just hearing that ending song, getting the after credits scene, just for the second credits to start as a freaking duet. Dude, at that point I just started sobbing, I’m not gonna lie. Just this little part showed how much Revo knows how to put emotion in a song and also write it in such a way that he can elicit strong, emotional reactions from you too. 

Story

People have been complaining how the story is too boring and kinda disappointing in comparison to the last one, but I just think the games tried to accomplish different things here. Since the BD series is a celebration of old, classic jrpgs, “cliche” storytelling is a given. Though, BD did throw a lot of meta stuff in there too. BD2 in contrast just feels like a direct execution of that initial idea. It feels familiar, it feels comfy and it feels safe. Except for the little things with the endings and then overwriting the Nexus’ “save file”, BD2 doesn’t really get that meta, which is totally fine. It doesn’t try to reinvent or innovate anything, it just wants to be a fantasy story, that might be cliche, but still fun and enjoyable in its own right.

I’d also argue that the pacing is a lot better than the old game, because with BD I sometimes found myself skipping through scenes to get on with the story. Not that this game didn’t have me rushing through stuff as well, but I found it kept my intrigue way better than the original.

Characters

Next to the music, this is the part that I absolutely love the most. While, yes, they did lose a lot of potential with some characters, mostly with the villains, the main cast is just so much fun. I love these 4 dorks so, so much.

I honestly can’t stand how much people compare them to the original cast. Yes, ofc, I’ve been doing my fair share of comparisons too, but calling these four a more boring version of BD’s party physically hurts me. Because except for some initial impressions, the Heroes of Light are completely different from our beloved Warriors of Light.

While yes, Seth and Gloria give off strong Tiz and Agnes vibes at first, they both grow into such different characters that they’re not really comparable. I think this shows with Adelle and Elvis even more. I do understand how people could compare Adelle and Edea, since they’re both the feisty girl type, but I can’t understand how people can see Ringabel and Elvis as the same character type. While those two are the “suave” party members, they act so differently from another. And that’s honestly apparent the first time you meet them. 

Anyways, I love these 4 so much.

We technically don’t know a lot about Seth at all, but they manage to pull so much out of just the fact that he’s a sailor, that it makes him really endearing, really fast.

I was kinda disinterested with Gloria at first, because again, the initial impression was Agnés2.0, but she grew on me a lot. Gloria is way more hard headed and honestly sassy in comparison to Agnés and I absolutely adore it.

Elvis. Elvis, my man. I love this fantasy scottosh wizard so, so much. He’s such a ridiculous character but so endearing at the same time. You got all this dorkiness, with him setting himself on fire as a student, him doing god knows what for a good drink or just laughing danger and prejudice in the face. But then you got his super empathetic and caring side. Mind you, most of his wise moments come from quoting Lady Emma, but still, as much as he’s hopeless with certain social situations, he’s actually still really good at reading the room and playing things smart. He’s a smart and powerful idiot, which makes him a danger to everyone and himself, and I love him for it. (I also can’t believe they called him Lesley I MEAN COME ON)

And then there’s Adelle. I liked her from the start, but I didn’t think she would stick out to me. I think now she’s my favourite character. Not even talking about all the stuff that happens in chapter 3 and onward, because these story threads are awesome in their own right, but there’s just something about her personality that’s interesting and appealing to me. Like I said, I’m not surprised people compare her to Edea, I did too at first, but while Edea walks very close to the line of a Tsundere, I was really surprised that Adelle is, well, not a Tsundere at all. Yeah, of course she’s putting Elvis down a lot, but that stems more from her preventing his ego from going to his head than her being all embarrassed. No, Adelle is actually really well adjusted when it comes to communication. While it’s hilarious that she and Elvis met with her chucking her shoes at him, the two just got along well right from the start. Adelle in general has this really open and helpful personality, but also doesn’t shy away from putting her foot down, even if that sometimes comes out as an embarrassed sputter. She’s also the mother hen of the group. She looks out for the other three and gets concerned about them real fast. 

I dunno, Adelle just really grew on me over the course of this game, and then her kinda being paired with Elvis too, as partners and as partners, makes me like her even more. Because as much as I like their personalities individually, I like their character dynamic even more. I honestly love the relationships between all four of them a lot. You really feel them grow closer as friends and all the little character sidequests just always made me really happy.

Conclusion

You might not believe me, but I really held back there. This could probably have been 3 times its length. As much as I love this game, it’s of course not perfect. It struggles and flails in some parts a lot and it certainly has some aspects that might turn people off. But for me, it was just a very familiar and comfy game that didn’t necessarily deliver anything new, but that told its story in such a way that it still got me excited to keep going. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and the conclusion of the story actually got me to cry. While not groundbreaking, this game is highly enjoyable and leaves you absolutely satisfied at the end.

Also, I would like to iterate that I am desperate to get more content about this game, so if you wanna chat about it, hit me up.

Anyways, anyone else felt like having a fever dream when everybody in chapter 2 started talking fantasy scottish? Cos I sure did.

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review ch (90)- First pages ONLY.

I skimmed thro ch-89 to know the context of ch-90. it was Cinderella’s play. In this chapter, Kyo says early on, that time has passed since the play & that they are NOW starting their third year in high school. cool.

This part will ONLY focus on the 1st few pages of ch 90 abt (kyo & tohru) & stop before kyo’s memories starts, because the early pages contain:

Tons of new unexplored analysis of (kyo & tohru) characters that unfortunately was intentionally cut & worse! “changed” in the anime.

No space to add kyoko’s story in this post.

Kyoko’s story is full psychologically & socially.. I need to take a deeeeeeep breath before I unpack it. very deeeeep breath!

-Glimpses of Tohru (the silent grieving girl) Subtle Writing of Grief:

Right from the beginning, I hate how much insight into tohru’s grief & weakness as a human being is already there in the first few pages of ch-90 than the entire 3 seasons of the anime! From few pages we have:

Tohru’s seemingly delighted watching a video. Subtly, showcasing tohru’s grieve & paving the path for tohru’s trauma exploration later in the story. Grief is not sth you quickly past, that’s the most tragic misunderstanding of grief. Time will pass, so, you’ll be better & healthier. Really?!. Tohru’s inner desire to see her mom alive manifested in her words: “ like a photo comes to life” T_T.

The story/writing/manga is acknowledging tohru’s heartbreaking & NOT cute habit of talking to her mom’s cold dead photo! In the anime, tohru talks to her a lot in se01 & it’s up to you to see as as “ cute” as all the canon characters do or actually feeling it IS wrong. Kyo’s  “ what would she do if there were a video of her mom”! “ drives the point more abt tohru being a sad grieving human~not the “advice-giving, optimistic angel, & rain-stopping sunshine in the anime.

Tohru telling kyo to NOT catch cold connecting it to se01, ep 9 (haru’s ep) when tohru was afraid that yuki might catch cold & kyo noticed that! so now in se03, they’re dropping this plot altogether within the main anime, for what? we dont even know if this part would be included in whatever “ kyoko’s” spinoff content would be. -_-’.

That’s how you write subtle trauma such as (grief) for a main (female) MC. subtlety is the key. Respect the viewers intelligence & do it.

You don’t have to give her the long speeches or the many focused ep that yuki had. he’s the kind who confront himself inwardly constantly.

You don’t have to showcase drama, confrontation & force the emotions out like you did with kyo. he runs from his trauma & punishes himself.

Tohru buries her feelings! she’s different from both kyo & yuki. So, with her subtle & symbolic scenes are enough!!!The viewers will catch it if you show it, but ignoring it, cutting it & hoping the viewers will magically predict what you cut, is weird. But the anime isn’t even into us predicting nor subtly showing her cuz this tohru is NOT the tohru we have in the anime. How?

Simply cuz there is no kyo’s inner thoughts abt small things such as tohru’s photo obsession which subtly shows her grief & trauma. If kyo didn’t monologue abt her, tohru does not exist as she’s meant to be. You loose the subtle insights into tohru if you cut kyo’s inner thoughts. Not everything kyo thinks abt in regards to tohru is romance!!! That’s a very narrow & superficial look into the writing of kyo/’tohru dynamics. Flip the pages, hmm..cut this kyoru scene here & there cuz we dont want the anime to be only their love story.. But the story itself IS NOT only their love story at all. These pages/scenes here are abt tohru as a PERSON. Not tohru the lover...

- Writing Clashes between manga & anime: (Kyo’s Conscious Gradual Psychological Exploration vs Shock Value & Drama)

In ch 90 i really love all the inner self talking that kyo’s doing. It really explains why he ended up rejecting tohru so strongly. Also, going for a trip into kyo’s mind is hella exciting, new, refreshing & full of analysis-worthy exploration! Kyo’s inner psychological argument with himself is a psychologically-informed presentation of a tried guilty mind:

“ Why can’t I stop thinking of (kyoko’s words) lately? Acknowledging that he IS remembering kyoko & never forgot her. This is also supported in the anime itself. When he apologized to a sleeping tohru in se01, ep14 & se02, ep9 , confronting yuki in the stairs & other instances as well. 

“ It’s like a lid been opened & all the memories came pouring”. Acknowledging that kyo DID open his lid since se02, ep9 byt chose to run & not confront it due to his guilt of ruining tohru’s happiness by confessing his connection to her mom. 

“ pretending I didn’t know, pretending I forgot”. Here is a blatant clash in kyo’s writing (1) between the anime & manga (2) between the anime’s episodes themselves!!. In the manga, again kyo chose to ignore & pretended to forget. Death is NOT sth you forgot. Kyo saw kyoko bleeding & dying.  The anime chose to make him totally forget & it could’ve worked if they didn’t included all the canon moments of him actually remembering & pretending to forget. Is that lazy writing? or was the director for se03 different from se 1 &2 &? chose to NOT watch the two previous seasons? Why would you consciously include a contradicting depiction of your character on screen for thousands of confused viewers? Was the scene of kyo’s shocked gave upon seeing kyoko’s photo that artistically appealing that you forgot everything? I really have NO problem of kyo forgetting kyoko if that was written in the anime since se01, but it wasn't. that's why it sucks. 

“Is this payback? maybe I want to blame ME?” augh! i love this line so much! Directly hinting to the viewers that this is kyo’s one-sided guilt before his story with kyoko even started! subtly paving the path for the reason of his rejection of tohru” I dont want forgiveness. I want to blame ME.

-I don’t mind that the anime left kyo’s thoughts of kyoko until the climax in eo8, cuz ep 8 was SO well-done! Se03, ep 8 pacing was very suitable to (1) uncovering dark secrets & death, trauma, & guilt. (2)  for exploring the effects such secrets on kyo’s character, decisions, mentality. Also, the animation of kyo’s face all ep 8 was one of the most expressive facial expressions the anime has ever delivered! The eyebrows, eyes, mouth, tears, body languages, heartache was all 100% perfect. The fact that the following eps didnt have much time to express everything & chapters were cramped is not ep 8′s fault but the decision to have 13 eps. Kyo’s delayed trauma deserved to have its own ep.

-What I DO mind is the added scene of ep 6 where he freaked out upon seeing kyoko’s picture, the concept of shock is perfect & so suitable for an anime but was NEVER properly written into the anime itself from the beginning. On the contrary, the anime itself contradict such usage of such value. Good job ruining an otherwise perfect-depiction of two traumatized characters (kyo & tohru) with ONE scene.. -_-

Side Notes:

I thought tohru is narrating the 1st page in ch-90, turned it out it is kyo!!!! Kyo narrates sth? Kyo monologues? kyo has a POV? Just the setting of kyo doing that feels different! I duno if it cuz when that happens in the anime it’s always clash & drama! lol, or cuz it’s sth original!

Shigure’s “ it’s broadcasted all over the nation” is epic! XD! you know poor stupid kyo would fall for that! XD. kyo, you really are an idiot! XD... man this scene would’ve been epic comedy~ lol.

Tohru not knowing what a “dvd” is is outdated for the anime, but to still keep the sentiment of “her wishing she’d have a video footage of her mom”, they could’ve replaced her words with “ It’d be fun watching this play years from now & remembering all the details”. I know that to some, it feels weird that tohru doesn't have video footage of her mom in this era. but trust me, this is more common than you might think. My late brother, who’s way younger than me, doesn't have much video footage, he always felt awkward & preferred not to be filmed. We got photos for him tho~

Even if you want kyo’s knowledge of kyoko to be in the climax only. You can always include this scene of tohru & kyo in the first pages in the anime somehow. It doesn't even need to be abt the dvd even tho that’s manageable. Cutting this short scene of them talking abt videos, & catching cold is cutting tohru’s trauma from its core. Then, the old grandpa’s narration from se03, ep6 would at least have some backup in the anime’s canon.

Momiji & shigure are perfect as a comedic duo!

I can’t get over tohru’s art~ <3

Pinning kyo at the beginning is epic~ kyo always gets the BEST romantic lines when he talks to himself. “ burning (tohru’s ) memories into my head or forgetting everything”. The torturing fire inside him is only distinguished by loving her but is also ignited by loving her~ what’s the solution~

[hblackberry]

Original High of first times Pt.1

Justhis imagine

motivation for writing this: I am simping hard but can't find enough content

plot: Justhis meets Y/N a newbie rapper who is only good at getting on his nerves but she is also kind of cute

words: 1.7K

surprise: there might be a part 2. unless school kicks my ass, justhis speech is violet because I wanted to write a dialogue but I'm worried that it's confusing

tw: cursing because that's a human thing, Y/N is insecure

You had no idea why; why you had decided to meet outside when it was this cold. Your back was leaned against the blue LOVE sculpture in Myeong-dong as you nervously tapped your foot onto the ground, only getting more fidgety as the minutes passed. It was your first time meeting someone of his importance, to hell it was your first time in Seoul, your first time in South Korea even! And you weren’t even here to visit but to stay. You had already given up on all other options when you had moved out of your apartment because you couldn’t afford staying in two cities. Suddenly you were very aware of how stupid and rushed your reasons for coming here must sound to anyone rational.

Also suggesting to meet Justhis at the blue LOVE sculpture after you had been involved in a diss battle with him three months ago seemed very unfitting, but you pushed your negative thoughts aside. You had picked this place because it was remarkable and easy to find. It was okay. You unlocked your phone to check the time – 5 minutes left. About to lose your brain cells one by one you ran an ice hand over your face trying to keep it together. You put on Nafla’s sip slow, pulled up your knees to your chest and started bopping your head to the boombap. You slowly got those insecure thoughts out of your head as you recited the lyrics.

Then your phone buzzed with new IG messages from thisisjusthis. ‘Where are you?’ and ‘I’m in front of the blue statue, what are you wearing?’ You looked up, screening your surroundings and there he stood. One hand in his pocket, bunching up the fabric of his long black shirt, and phone in his right; searching. You tried not to get caught by his gaze as you gave him a once-over before you glanced back as another message lit up your display. ‘If you won’t tell me, can you stand up or sth? You’re there, right?’ You sighed. If there was one thing, you noticed, you were good at, it was getting at his nerves.

You self-consciously fixed your hair again before getting up and taking a step towards him. His eyes almost immediately flew to your figure, focusing, but he stood still. Shit, he was waiting and you were hesitating. You gulped hard and walked towards him, possibly giving him the most awkward smile, he’d ever seen. “H-Hi.” You were too frozen by the look he gave you to even curse, or be polite, or at least act normal. That inquiring stare just messed with you. Eventually Justhis gave in to your silence, taking the initiative: “Are you Y/N?” You fervently nodded your head. He smiled in slight amusement before leading you to a quieter place. “You know you will have to start talking to me? We can’t make a deal otherwise”, he taunted. Yeah, that’s what you were here for you remembered. To take rap lessons from Justhis and not to swoon over how he looked like the boyfriend you never had. You hmm’ed and he glanced at you, chuckling. “Is that a yes? You’re going to say something?” You nodded and bit your lip as you realized you had done it again. You needed to use words, like actual words. “Yes”, you firmly confirmed.

The two of you entered a small café, that was next to another, another and yet another café. Seoul was near bursting with café’s. You sat down at a table and you attempted a smile. A waitress came over to take your order and Justhis ordered two hot Americano’s. You hadn’t even noticed the menu. Excitement was getting the best of you today; you couldn’t sit still. The man opposite yourself rested his hands on the table, looking at you with interest. You felt the intense need to say something, perhaps to justify your silence or to apologize. You bit your lip, a nervous habit, and swallowed. You continued to sit there like prey. Your coffee arrived. More than glad for the distraction you took a big sip and burnt your tongue. The rapper chuckled, casually stirring his coffee. You shot him a death glare and muttered out ‘dick’. That’s how you started talking. Because of that annoying sparkle in his eyes whenever you embarrassed yourself.

“So, you want to take lessons from me, duh? First you diss me and then… you ask me to help you? Not that I should mind. I’m getting paid.”

You sighed. “I already told you that dissing you was a strategic move. You’re just so short tempered I just knew getting on your nerves was a perfect way to get a shoutout. I gained so many followers just by that.”

You giggled, being met by a not so welcoming expression.

“Oh, come on! I’m not the first person to pull this move. You never would have noticed me otherwise. Just see it as supporting a small rapper, okay? I wouldn’t even be here today if it weren’t for you!”

Still nothing.

“Do you really need me to kiss your ass? I like you. I like your rap style. I like your lyrics. I only said those things to provoke you because I am a small girl from the countryside, desperate for attention.”

Now a grin was plastered across his face, you groaned internally.

“I didn’t think you’d actually suck up to me that easily, but I guess we can work with that. How many lessons do you wanna take?”

“Four.” You were sure you wouldn’t be able to afford more. At least not at the moment, you still needed to find an apartment and most importantly a JOB. The thought of job hunting hovered over you like a black stormy cloud.

Justhis looked at you in surprise. “Four? You came all the way from Europe for four lessons?!”

“Shut up. Money is money, okay? Just tell me how much.”

“Six double lessons. 500€ no conversion fee.”

You looked at the rapper, feeling as if you were talking to a wall. It just wasn’t an option.

His voice softened as he saw the exhausted look on your face. “Look Y/N, I know it’s a lot of money, but I am not demanding you to pay upfront. You said you want to improve but four lessons are going to get you nowhere.”

“Sure, but I can’t tie myself to such a contract. I have nothing here in Seoul. I can’t even stay at the hotel for too long because it’s expensive. I need an apartment asap and a well-paid job. I need financial steadiness before I can commit to pay 500€.”

Justhis looked contemplative, not mad though. You took that as a positive sign.

“Following plan: take two lessons every second week and once you settle down, we can do them weekly. You can back out anytime. 1 session - 1 deal. But if you want to cancel a lesson tell me in advance advance.”

You knew you had to come to an agreement, and it didn’t sound that bad. After all you had to hope that what he suggested would come true. You’d be screwed if it didn’t.

“Okay. Where? When? I’m currently free all the time”, you laughed but it sounded bitter.

“I usually meet students at my company studio but I admit I am quite busy these days and not there often. If you don’t mind, uhm, I’d tell you in advance and you can come to wherever I am?”

It was a foolish idea. It was a very foolish idea, being at his call. At his freaking fingertips. Yet, it was the first time he had acted shy when speaking to you. And you found it cute. You also knew that Indigo music was way too far away from where you planned to live to be convenient. So you agreed. And when he carefully asked whether it would be fine to not plan lessons ahead and just hold then whenever you also found yourself agreeing.

He smiled at you, boyishly as you found. You rolled your eyes and finally leaned back in your chair, relaxed, examining your now lukewarm coffee. You looked up at him through the sheer curtain of your untied hair, but he was already looking at you. Caught in your act, you got flustered and your stomach threw a tantrum when your gaze met his. You huffed out softly. He reached out his hand and you were expecting him to... No, no, no, you weren’t expecting anything. His tattooed hand wrapped around your glass.

“This is cold. Are you gonna finish this? Y/N?!”

Your head shot up. You stared at him with wide eyes as his words slowly trickled into your brain one by one and you belatedly started to nod your head aggressively. Fuck his handsomeness. Fuck your brain.

“Y—Yeah, g-give it to me.”

He smiled, pulled the coffee further from you.

“This?”

“Yeah, that one.” Fuck your heart that fluttered at the sparkle in his eyes.

He handed you the drink, he’d tease you another time.

“So, Y/N about your apartment hunt. If you need help with that, just tell me, you look like someone who would get lot easily”, he laughed quietly.

You bit your lip unconsciously, fidgeting with your hands. The offer surprised you, but you weren’t in a position where you could let your pride get in the way. He was right, you had 0.0 orientation sense and were unfamiliar not only with the city but also the huge underground system.

“I’m trying not to be butthurt because you are right. I need help. I’m looking at an apartment tomorrow and I am concerned that I won’t find it. It’s somewhere, anywhere, and I really need to be there on time because it’s near perfect. It even has a washing machine and an oven!”, you exclaimed.

Justhis thought you were kinda cute, getting excited over an oven. So he promised to take you there, without allowing himself to second doubt his decision.

You beamed at him, finally finishing your coffee. You must have tired him out you thought to yourself, but you were happy nevertheless. You got up to say your goodbyes, then walked to the cashier, together.

“I’m paying you can pay me back if you get an apartment. Thanks to me.”

He smirked and walked away.

“God, he’s so *ugh!*”, you fisted your hands, but wore a smile when you skipped out of the café.

a/n: I tried to keep Y/N neutral for now but it's ofc never really possible so if there will be a second part (IF xD) it will be necessary to describe the character further. I usually write for OC's but I decided to name her Y/N this time because this format is so popular. LOL Please tell me I'm not the only one who always reads 'Y/N' as 'why-en' and treat her as an OC sometimes I even give Y/N a name like Gina. idk

[kyotakumrau]

2021.02.16 2nd session of Meguro Rock-May-KanGIG at Zepp Yokohama

The encore of the recorded concert changed, it was such an awesome surprise! Felt a bit more like an actual concert, I love the idea of the changing setlist!😆

When they prepared the stage again for the talk session, Fujieda and Takabayashi came first. F jokingly started the introductions with 'hi this is Fujifuji~ and...' but T didn't realize what's F is doing (or did he?😂) and didn't join😂 after a moment of F waiting he finally joined with '...I'm T'.

Then F invited the band members on the stage and again Die and Kyo came on stage!

Die stayed in the same outfit, but Kyo changed! He had a long oversized greengrey-ish coat and shirt with a scarf thing.

D: はい、Dieでっすー

K: 京です🦊

F started to talk about Kyo's birthday again, but then K casually turned to the side and very casually without a comment pointed his phone at F.

F: are you filming me?!

K: I can't? (あかん？)

F: Ah no, it's okay...

*K continues*

F:... so Happy Birthday Kyo!

...

K: you know, I'm not that happy with the waiting time between the sessions, I'd prefer to do the talk part at the beginning and then go home. I don't want to waste time. We should have two patterns, one with the talking first.

(I guess some fans would be happy with that too😂)

F: (moved to the Rock-May-Kan film topic) so you played your new song, Ochita koto no aru sora there, how was it?

K: it was okay, it went smoothly

D said something like the song was ok, it will likely change/transform when the tour comes (?)

F: so it wasn't hard.

D: the hard part was that the stage was so narrow there was only space for few extra people (cameramen), all other staff were waiting in the audience area

F: so when you had to change guitars etc they had to climb the stage?

D: also with guitar tunning, especially the 7 string one, it's really tough and takes time, so it felt there wasn't enough time during short breaks between the songs. Toshiya always does tunning humself, I don't, I guess I should improve that a bit.

F: any songs that stood out?

K: I guess Jealous

F: in what way?

K: the arrangement was too old, it's actually embarrassing (how bad it is), the lyrics too. I changed the lyrics, I was laughing internally at myself, but I couldn't change the arrangement. it was like hell.

He also complained that some parts were too high, they were hard to sing. Some parts changed the piano intro done by Takumi etc, he didn't want to listen to the CD, old version, because it was too embarrassing.

F: and it became a 2021 version?

K: I want to change it even more, make it less troublesome for me.

D: it wasn't hard for me, but it is old, so the song's speed doesn't match my body anymore (not too fast, just wrong speed), it was easy to play though.

K: but it was hard to know how to move during the song.

*Kyo then showed us a movement he got unhappy with*

K: So I moved as little as possible

F: it didn't look like you had this much trouble

K: I'm a pro in the end.

😆

F next talked about the release of Oboro on April 28th.

F: K, you said that Oboro is refreshing. How about TDFF?

K: てんでだめなぶしぶし (TendeDamenaFujiFuji can translate to 'utterly useless Fujieda')

🤣

F: D, you said it's powerful, what about Oboro?

D: the music video is good. The filming took quite a long time, the way we used to do it in the past.

K: it was [refreshingly] cool, too fresh (light).

D: it got refreshing from about halfway?

F then talked about the merchandise. He started with the travel poach, he held it up and moved it closer to the center of the table so fans could see it on the screen in the back. But by doing that it ended up quite close to Kyo's head. K gave F a super bewildered look, turned to check the screen in the back and then continued to give F evil glares of 'why you doin this to me'😂

K: I thought that rubber keychains are so cute! We should release the older costume versions as well (he got applause from the audience for that).

K then commented it looks so cute that they all got beheaded with their heads so low, like they're holding their heads.

D grabbed the rechargeable heat pack and said (totally sarcastic): ah so wa~rm...

😂

F: the highest temperature is 40℃.

K: (gets the pack) Can you charge devices with it? Huh, it just gets hot? When you're in trouble or sth you can't use it as charger? People would have wanted that in December...

F: ...(passes it to Die)

D: it's exactly the same temperature as the charging phone...

F next showed us the usb power strip holding it over Kyo, K got uncomfortable again😅

After that they moved to the questions from fans.

D: "anything you were particular about when creating the setlist?" We added songs we were thinking about playing at SOGAI, so also some older songs.

F: do you have any good questions?

K passes one paper to F.

F reads: "did F do anything to make you angry?"

and K replied with a list😂 the main was again F's easy ﾊｲﾊｲﾊｲ ( like yeayeah) or biting his lips.

F: how about you D?

D: nothing really.

F: " do you have favourite ramen?"

K (immediately): Jiroken. And it has to be smaller noodle portion with more toppings (麺少なめ全マシ), it's the best.

D: I don't really eat ramen.

F: you also said no McDonald.

D: yeah

F: Have you tried Jiro?

D: once or so

K (concerned😂): did you eat normal ramen? Which shop?

he made sure Die knows which ramen to order and which shop is the best😂

T: "which venue would you like to play at next?"

D said not exactly a venue, he would like to go to prefectures they haven't been to yet.

K: Nagoya Music Fan.

F: in Fujigaoka?

T: Does it still exist?

F: yeah.

T: let's discuss it in the future (aka not very likely?😂)

F: but it's not impossible!

F then picked a 'combo-question': "do you use any perfumes? What are you crazy about now? What kind of BGM do you play at home?"

K: I don't use perfume. I have a bar soap I like, the old style one with an image of cow on it. It doesn't have a strong smell.

F: how about BGM?

K: I only play Fortnite. Ah, but now the Chinese buns skins are on sale. I've been playing for a year and only saw someone using it once. Somehow I like the least popular skin.

K: at home I also eat cookies. Chocolate cookies.

F: what kind/brand?

K: Any.

D: I use perfume / he said he got Fueguia (but then there was some thing wrong with the frangrance after a while, it went away???)

And no crazes or BGMs.

D: "when you travel on work to other cities, are your seats on bullet train decided? Do you sit next to someone?"

D: it's not really decided, we travel by ourselves (??), most of us prefer aisle seat. So I was surprised when once Shinya asked if we could swap so he can get the window side.

F: and you K, window or aisle?

K: Definitely aisle. If you're on the window side and someone next to you falls asleep it's really rude to wake them up if you need to get up. I prefer to be woken up than wake someone up.😇

D: There's also the table.

K: aaah, Shinya likes window seat so you could put the table down with some food on top of it and then pretend to be dead sleeping.😈

The change😂 he was laughing so much at the idea too😂

F: "what's your preference for the food at venues?" (??)

K: sushi.

D: like in Shinkiba.

K: yeah, I get so excited.

F: We also had sushi in the US.

K: We got it from a fan.

D told us a story how he was able to start eating eel/unagi, he doesn't like fishbones but once in Nagoya everyone was having hitsumabushi backstage and saying how good it is, so he tried and actually liked it.

F: "Did you watch any good movies recently? I watched Miike's 'Imprint'". Do you know this movie, K?

K: Yeah, it as good.

F: you watch movies often.

K: Recently I watched Rob Zombie's '3 from Hell'.

F: how about you, D?

D: a movie with Tachi Hiroshi, a new one, about yakuza (he didn't remember the title, but most likely ヤクザと家族 The Family (2021)).

F: "Do you have a favourite fruit?"

K: melon.

F: do you eat it at home?

K: no・食べない

F: do you eat it if it's backstage?

K: yes・食べる

F: but at home?

K: no・食べない

F: melon...

K: like・好き

👨‍👦

F: do you eat melons at home, D?

D: I don't.

T: "who do you like from Fist of the North Star?"

D: I saw it, but I don't remember details.

K gave a very detailed answer but as I haven't seen it I didn't really get it (the only name I caught was Shuren)😅 but he compared one character to F?😆

And then came Kyo's biggest laughing fit.

The question was about some story about other members they remember the most. Kyo talked about how once Kaoru had trouble with the mic stand and guitar cable, the cable got twisted around the stand and Kaoru ended up empty handed which Kyo found very amusing. Then Kyo just kept gesturing the 'round round・ぐるぐる' bit and he was laughing so much he started crying🤣

But then Die said he had a similar situation once and F replied he remembers that. Kyo burst out again and then it was also Die's turn to just lose it🤣

The laughers to the point of tears continued for a while as they tried to calm down😂

But then.

Then.

Suddenly the backscreen went black with a message 'battery empty, please change battery' and the venue that was giggling because of band members also exploded.

The timing was just too much🤣🤣🤣

F said it's time to finish anyway and asked them for the last comments for the fans, starting from Die.

Die: ... 🤣... can't think of... anything🤣...I'm crying🤣

F: ... let's go from Kyo

K: ... I don't have anything to say... all...

(a moment)

Kyo: I don't have any big message. But please wait a bit more for the new single. It will be like Taiyou no Ao 2.0, in a good way. ...or Taiyou no Ao remix.

Die: Thank you for coming today. ... I'd really love to do a normal tour soon, shows with audience. For now please enjoy the concert film from Rock-May-Kan, but in the future let's enjoy the show all together... I still can't stop tearing up🤣 ok, I'm done.

A marvelous ending of even more marvelous day😆💚❤️

[stray-tori]

TPN Vol 13 (and some earlier volumes) Thoughts

I honestly thought there’d be more sort of... domestic fun times in the shelter with the dadsTM but Ig not, okay byeeee- (i wish i could be sad, come on brain)

I also just... they HAD to throw in that romantic sub...element before he died?? really? was that necessary? ugh. I felt like they could have done more of these flashes to the past earlier and then just reminded us of them here but... oh well.

Also Emma’s dreams give her therapy. I’m not sure if TPN is saying that these sort of visions are actually some sort of supernatural connection but I find the idea funny that Emma gives herself therapy in her dreams and just SENSES the timing of the explosion (again, weird “placing scenes inbetween other things that already happened”) - that was intense, but I just... I’m not huge on these outright CONVERSATIONS. I think for Ray’s hallucination it worked better because (and the german dub goes in on this even more) Norman just says things (even if a bit different) that were already said before, so it’s more of a.... coming together I guess.

That also kind of bothered me about the scene when Emma is passed out   in GP, it just felt a little “??”, thanks Emma for giving yourself a pep talk by imagining all of that. Ik she’s close to death BUT HOW DID SHE KNOW HOW PEOPLE DIED THAT SHE NEVER MET.

We kind of joked that since the eye necklace gives Emma that one experience on the water, it might be what triggers these things? but then again, it also happens earlier so probably not-

but it’s a fun little inside joke, “ah, there the eye goes again”.

.

STUPID KIDS- I mean yes let the kids be stupid sometimes but GOD WHY NOW, GO BACK- though ig if they had the mech owls, they might have easily found them again anyway. who knows.

How convenient that the randoms always died.

BUT injuries actually persist and are dealt with instead of just time-skipping to when the person in question is okay again :) Emma’s stab had no weight, it was only there for Yugo’s arc and was not dealt with satisfyingly for me hh...

I didn’t talk about this I think because I didn’t note down things for that volume, but hh idk, she seemed PERFECTLY FINE when she got up again, which was hard for me to believe... and afterwards, we couldn’t have gotten one or a few chapter(s) showing the things Emma recaps happened while she was out? We couldn’t have gotten some angsty panels with unconscious Emma and people coming to her side? come on :(

.

please get Andrew off my screen pls end my suffering, i do not want to LOOK AT THIS.

but also. goddamn. shounen manga, huh-

LIKE THIS IS EPIC BUT ALSO I DO NOT WANT TO SEE IT.

.

HAHAHA I THOUGHT THE ANIME CAME UP WITH THIS CONVENIENT DEMON NOM dsihsds, the manga executed it better (i will never get over how the anime cast just sits there like :o at the first time seeing a human being eaten but hey) but it’s still... very convenient oml.

Ray just wants to be burdened. the man wants to use his resolve to kill. let him.

.

Minerva time - obviously the secrecy is kinda ruined by the anime and by spoilers, but... idk... do people actually not find obscuring people... sus? I mean I GUESS the first time we saw the person with the hood, they also didn’t show his face SO I SUPPOSE it’s not completely unlikely that it’s just continuing to do that - but why would you not show it if it was actually James? He already had a face reveal. And the super harsh shadows on only him just look kind of awkward and hhh I DON’T KNOW-

As much as I like this scene as their introduction and I’m glad we get to see the mass production farm (the hug killed me), I also would have preferred them to omit him from it or just not show it NOW (they love their insert-scenes-in-hindsight stick way too much anyway) to commit to the “secrecy” approach for the audience. But maybe I just don’t get it. And I do like the scene so I’ll shut up and take it.

I will say... Barbara eating demon meat reveal in the anime... i liked that more tbh. Because we realize it with Emma and Ray and the way it frames the meat and her hate talk, it’s just MWAH-

Though they also have a lot more personality in the manga which I feel wouldn’t have hurt their anime counterparts.

I still pledge for a two year age-up for this story iduskhjds, it wouldn’t have hurt in general but also jsut because... imagining a 13 y/o dramatically pulling his hood off on a balcony in front of a crowd is just... not as epic to me as it’s supposed to be I think fuishdjs

And as much as the execution of the Norman reveal in the anime deserves to be dunked on and as awkward as the “walking up without saying anything” is... at least being in a demon community was a good reason to actually, yknow OBSCURE their faces and hide them naturally. I didn’t really think about this before BUT that actually makes a lot of sense and I like that more than the harsh shadow treatment.

I also always thought that the “Minerva” cover was supposed to make them come to him, which I GUESS it did, but he had his messages anyway (the way I thought it went was that he had no way to contact them, so he took that cover so they’d come find him eventually and stuff) and ALSO sent people out to find them so I guess it wasn’t the only reason - I suppose it’s also for other children/humans who know Minerva. I actually really like this element, I think it’s neat. I just thought it wouldn’t be this.... in your face and more sort of... not showing him at all until they meet him.

I also hope he actually told the squad his name is James, he’s just like a completely different person, actually sadssda.

I just find it funny to think about Lucas hearing some young soft-spoken boy, maybe barely being grazed by puperty voice and going, “yup, thats the same person as I heard on the phone with Emma :)” just. how. like if he didn’t think so I would have assumed he’d mentioned it.

Also another case of “we didn’t hint this, we didn’t show this off to the side in a panel (or tori is blind), BUT IT HAPPENED GUYS I SWEAR. HE ALSO GAVE IT TO OLIVER I SWEAR!!!!-”

.

I didn’t know about the mech owls. interesting.

.

I find Jin and Hayato’s reactions to the group interesting. the group kind of sees all the GF escapees as holy or also as their rescuers sth because like, if they hadn't escaped, none of them would be free, etc. Which now that I think about it, is... technically not true ig since Norman could have escaped Lambda even without the GF escape succeeding so. HM. And ig since they bowed to them, I think maybe it's jsut "wow you escaped on your own, you're so cool"? I just wonder if they kind of began thinking that way on their own or if Minerva's protecc squad/Minerva kind of gave them reason to behave that way by talking about the GF escape or something... probably they just did it on their own but I'm just rambling.

or maybe they’re just impressed they aren’t incompetent.

.

idk if im forgetting anything but yee, here we go. I’m just being a judgy prick, I’m enjoying it (mostly bc our read is just chaotic).

[gra-sonas]

What do you like about Roswell New Mexico?

Ooooof, so many things, nonnie!

The setting, I think New Mexico is just absolutely stunning and a beautiful backdrop for the show. The scenery, the light, ugh, it’s so pretty!

Aliens. I don’t like zombies (eternally upset bc I adore Rahul Kohli but iZombie’s kind of a huge NOPE for me 😩), vampires/werewolves etc have been done to death (quite literally on many shows :P), but aliens are kinda cool. Especially since they just look like us. Also so many sci-fi elements you can add to give the show an “otherworldly” touch without ever leaving earth.

The characters’ ages. Eternally grateful that they aged up the characters. I wouldn’t have watched a show set in high school.

The characters. The core 8 (minus the whiny, annoying dude, sorry, just not a fan of how he’s written, would be nice if they could also fix that in S3), but also the supporting characters like Michelle Valenti, Arturo Ortecho, Mimi DeLuca, Walt Sanders, Gregory Manes, Flint Manes, Jenna Cameron etc.

Liz. She’s so fierce and I love her. S2 didn’t treat her right imo, and I hope the show will put her back - front and center - where she belongs in S3.

The Pod Squad’s history. So intriguing. 50 years sleeping in a pod, tragic childhood for Michael, somewhat less traumatic childhood for Isobel & Max. I want to know so much more about them, where they came from etc.

THE CAST!!! Soo many wonderful and lovely people. Also gorgeous. Chemistry in spades. We are so lucky!

VLAMBURN 🔥🔥🔥

A L E X  M A N E S. Dear god, I’ve only ever loved one other character as fiercely before as I love Alex (Derek Hale, in case that wasn’t clear). He’s just... everything. 🥺 ALSO: T Y L E R  B L A C K B U R N 🥺😭😍🥰

M A L E X. I love them SO much, and just like with Alex, I’ve only ever loved another OTP as much as I love them (Sterek, in case that wasn’t clear). I just want them to figure things out between them, I want them to be together, and I want them to be happy. They are soulmates, they are each other’s destiny, and THEY ARE A CANON MLM COUPLE. We never got that with Sterek (not that it mattered to us from a certain point on), seeing them on screen, so in love, kissing (OMG, THEIR KISSESSSSSSS 😭😭😭), holding each other, saving each other. Their chemistry’s just... chef’s kiss!

~*~

Regardless of how many things I love about the show, I’d stop watching if it’d  turn out that Malex will be stalled for much longer (like making us wait for another year until maybe in S4 they’ll get a shot? Nah, thanks but no thanks).

I just can’t take any more of that particular misery and wasted chemistry. Yes, I do love all the other things I listed, a lot actually, but none of them combined would make up for the misery non!Malex would inflict on me. 

I’d hate it, I’d mourn the loss of the show, but I’ve stopped watching many other shows I used to LOVE before, and I’d stop watching RNM if they’ll continue to dangle Malex in front of us without ever giving them a chance.

I’m tired. And no longer willing to be patient for years and years. Always hoping, always begging, maybe getting a crumb here and there, but never a decent piece of the cake. I’ll give S3 a chance (unless we’ll get an interview or spoilers that will confirm things I just don’t want to see, I already skipped watching most of S2 bc of sth like that), but my patience has an expiration date. 

I hope it won’t come to that. I love the show, I love the cast. I don’t want to stop watching. I want the show to be good entertainment, with a stable, mostly happy queer couple at the very center. I’m not willing to wait for that to happen much longer tho.

[bondsmagii]

i‘ve just finished reading „agent running in the field“ and to be honest, at first i wasn‘t sure this would be something i‘d enjoy – having only read a few of le carré‘s books and all of them set in the past i was worried this one wouldn‘t be able to pull me in as much. but then came Ed and Flo, and oh my. they're both beautifully tragic in their own but similar way, justly angry (as we all are) and trying to do sth but ultimately unable to (which hurt)

Nat wasn‘t particularly interesting to me, though he had his moments, and i actually really enjoyed the relationships between Nat, Prue, Ed and Flo, as well as the hilarity of clusterfuck and grudgefuck being introduced into Nat‘s vocabulary as all of this played out. Nat dealing and interacting with his chers collegues was also a treat and his interrogation (i guess) was so ridiculous and infuriating and just absolutely what you would expect.  

Since things were hinted at from the start, i wasn‘t really surprised by seeing Ed appear on the screen, however, I only realized that he had been „tricked“ when Nat was kind enough to spell it out for me, and idk, my heart just repeatedly broke for Ed throughout the whole thing, as it did for Flo. And i can‘t imagine them being happy, so far away from it all, when both of them can‘t look away from so much going wrong and yeah(btw, is Ed's speech pattern unique to him or normal where he's from).

don't want to annoy but one last thing:"but when my turn came round, he just peered at me through his big spectacles, and then looked away as if he'd seen more than he could take. I had wanted to tell him I was a decent man, but it was too late" not to amp the cringe of this ask by quoting from the book but fucking ouch

honestly like... my thoughts exactly tbh I am still not over the horrible gut-punch of realising what had happened to Ed :( I had the same concerns when I picked it up because while I love le Carré’s work and there’s nothing I’ve ever hated, his older work does tend to be stronger than his newer work. Agent Running in the Field is definitely similar in style to his other more modern books (Absolute Friends and Our Kind of Traitor spring to mind) but it had so much in it that made me think of classic le Carré -- the betrayal aspect, the fact that Ed was caught up like that, and the whole “throwing everything away for an ideal and it ultimately being useless”? strong shades of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the Karla trilogy in general, if I’m honest. it was a really cool bit of nostalgia, translated into something modern and topical. kind of fitting that this was le Carré’s last novel rather than A Legacy of Spies, if I’m honest -- it wouldn’t suit le Carré to go out on a neat note like that. it kind of feels like he wrote A Legacy of Spies and was like “alright, I’m old now, that’ll do” but then Brexit happened and he came out with Agent Running in the Field as a huge “AND ANOTHER THING,”, which I can respect.

that quote as well, like. holy shit. what a sucker punch. I remember reading that and just kind of staring at the page and thinking yeah, this is why I read le Carré -- that specific, morose, dull kind of pain that really makes you wonder what the point was at the same time as you understand that none of the characters had any other choice, and that even though it ended so badly, inaction would have been worse. I really do worry about Ed. I don’t think he could ever be happy, not with all that on his shoulders. it’s always so tragic when someone genuinely sets out to do good, but just gets so mixed up in the process. I think it’s important to remember that Ed is very young, too -- still ideological rather than practical, and to le Carré, who wrote this in his 80s, he must have seemed like a baby. this is kind of a theme of le Carré’s -- yet another generation caught up in all these games, yet more people ruining their lives for an often unattainable ideal. I often wonder if this, combined with his obsession with Kim Philby and to an extent the rest of the Cambridge spies, speaks of a sense of regret that he didn’t do more for whatever ideals he himself held. so it goes, huh?

[acertaincritic]

Various Donghua Reviews

I watched or tried to watch a whole bunch of donghua in the past few weeks, and since I see little discourse on this type of animation, I decided to compile them into a list with my short opinions attached. If you are toying with the idea of watching this or that Chinese animation, check out below for both recommendations and a couple of no-no series ^.^”

First things first, some notes. “Wuxia” is a popular genre in Chinese media, based off martial arts, and most often it strays into fantasy territory (from what I’ve seen, at least). It comes with a set of already established tropes and world building details. Think about Western fantasy - when you see elves in it, you don’t have to be told what they are. There are variations, but generally elves = pointed ears + beautiful + magical, and everybody knows that. Wuxia has similar things that do not get explained in every story, so it might feel overwhelming at first, though many translators do try to explain them in the notes. Just for the sake of those who want to know before starting watching, here’s what might make your life easier:

Cultivators - people a little like mages, except they have flying swords and generally are well-versed in martial arts. Usually their purpose is to battle evil supernatural beings. In some stories they are ageless (as in, they don’t grow old) and very hard to kill, in others it’s toned down. Above a certain level, they often train by remote meditation.

Golden Core/Core Formation - sth like the source of their power?... Not exactly, but they have to form it through training if they want to use advanced techniques. It’s situated somewhere between chest and belly, I suck at anatomy, don’t kill me.

Paper talismans  - rectangular pieces of paper that are amazingly easy to toss at your enemies. Used for casting spells, easy to understand just by watching. Also if they seem to be glued to sth, then they usually serve as a seal of some kind.

Various demons/spirits/other magical beings - gosh, there’s a ton. TBH I don’t even know if some aren’t completely made-up by the authors for the sake of their stories. Generally be ready that a new demon/beast/something can jump out from every corner, and the characters are going to know what it is, while you don’t. Resentful energy seems to often be tied to them, as in, it’s what often fuels them.

All right, without further ado, here’s what I’ve tried already. The list is more or less in the order of recommendation, aka from those I liked best to those that I didn’t like at all.

Title: Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Grandmanster of Demonic Cultivation

Throughline: The supposed villain of the cultivators’ world gets reincarnated into an adult’s body 13 years after his death. Things escalate from there.

My take: 

+ my entry point into donghua.

+ I was hesitant to watch because of the BL tag, but there really is no need to get scared by it. There’s plot proper, well-developed characters, both main and side, and overall this clearly is a fantasy series with a romance rather than a romance with fantasy setting.

+ beautiful art and great animation with only sparse moments when CGI looks kinda clanky.

+ wonderful music, too.

+ honestly though, I’ve been on a low when I came across it and was brought back to life. It’s been a long, long time since I fangirled over a series so much.

+ if you follow my blog you must’ve already seen about it.

+ Just give it a try, OK?

- some things in the beginning are not clearly explained and many names get tossed in at once; especially if you don’t know any Chinese, they might all sound the same. The characters also all have long black hair and bishe faces. I recommend first checking them online and memorizing at least the main casts, it really makes watching it much easier - focus on the bangs and clothes, and try to remember their names. Or you can always rewatch the beginning after you get better at recognizing who is who.

- the cut to flashbacks is confusing, as it happens at the very end of episode 2. Then episodes 3 to 14.5 take place in the past - another thing that’s not super clear and worth keeping in mind.

Title: Di Wang Gong Lue / The Emperor’s Strategy

Throughline: The Emperor and his loyal noble ally take on many problems that befall the country.

My take:

+ This is the closest series to “Mo Dao Zu Shi” I found so far, though there aren’t that many specific similarities. Only the overall ‘feel’ is similar.

+ Also tagged BL, but TBH, if I didn’t know about it before watching, I still wouldn’t know it.

+ The relationship between the two main characters is like, funny and cute at the same time.

+ Politics and fantasy intertwined.

+ Also a lot of interesting side characters, though maybe they could’ve been given more screen time.

+ great character designs and music.

- animation. It looks like anime from around the year 2000, even though the series came out in 2018.

- some flashback stuff seems really cheesy. There’s not a lot of it, thankfully.

- the first three or four episodes aren’t very engaging. I got invested around episode 5, though as you see, the beginning isn’t so terrible that you can’t wade through it.

Title: Mi Yu Xing Zhe / Uncharted Walker

Throughline: A group of people are put on a tropical island, forced to play an escape game under extreme circumstances.

My take:

+ an interesting set of characters with various backgrounds, most of them likable or at least understandable.

+ despite the setup, it’s not as bloody as many similar series. Characters can die, but they don’t die that often, which really builds tension and keeps you on the edge of the seat, because when there’s a close-to-death moment, you never know if it’s one when the character will really die or when they get rescued last-minute.

+ there is a very strong “game” feeling to this, where characters generally have to figure out how to use their resources to overcome various obstacles.

+ some psychological stuff here and there.

+ very good animation and designs.

-/+ there are borderline supernatural elements, though generally playing pretend at scientific. I personally don’t mind it, but some people might be put off or disappointed.

- it turns much more creepy in the last 3 or so episodes, to the point that it becomes more of a horror than a survival and mystery story. Even worse, the horror stuff comes in a setup that’s pretty realistic, so I have flashback ‘till this day (I don’t like horrors, and being realistic makes it much worse). TBH if I knew, I’d probably resign from watching, because as much as I enjoyed everything up until that part, the creeps aren’t worth it... However, perhaps you like horrors better than I do.

- a HUGE cliffhanger at the end. But like, HUUUUUGE HUGE.

Title: Shuangsheng Lingtan /  Twin Spirit Detectives

Throughline: Twin brothers take on cases of supposed supernatural phenomena, bent on proving that they are not real - only that one of them appears to be a ghost himself...

My take:

+ interesting setup.

+ detective stuff - I have a soft spot for mysteries.

+ likable main characters and a few well-developed side characters, too.

+ animation is overall quite good.

+ has a solid arc, though with an open ending and kinda a cliffhanger about a side character at the end.

-/+ bordering on the supernatural territory again.

- horror elements, but thankfully, this time they aren’t that realistic.

- some things in the first few episodes feel rushed or not properly developed (apparently the issue is with the donghua adaptation, and the original manhua had a slower beginning).

Title: Quan Zhi Gao Shou /  The King’s Avatar

Throughline: The top player of “Glory” is forced to give up his account and retire for a year. What will he do now?

My take:

+ a decent setup, though it gets old quickly.

+ a large cast of interesting character with various strengths and weaknesses and strongly-defined personalities.

+ great art style and characters’ design.

+ great animation during fights.

- the main character. Just. I’ve rarely encountered such a Gary Stue, I really wish I could see him lose for real. Like, I’m OK with him beating noobs, that’s realistic, but he doesn’t stop even after other pros come into play.

- the plot seems generally directionless so far, and gets tiring easily.

- originally I was supposed to binge-watch it with friends as a series none of us knew beforehand, but we gave up after 6 episodes and I switched it to MDZS instead. I finished it alone later, and mostly for the sake of the side characters and animation.

- it is generally watchable, but like, far from best.

This point marks the end of series I watched whole. The following are series I dropped after 5-6 episodes (which I consider a fair amount).

Title: Ling Qi / Spritpact

Throughline: A guy dies and is given an ultimatum - to pass away or become a spirit companion of a demon-battling, Korean priest.

My take:

+ setup and world building. This seems just like the kind of fantasy that fits my taste.

+ ...character design is not terrible, I guess?

+ apparently the animation gets better in season 2.

+ the demon-battling priest seems like a character archetype I might like.

+/- TBH this series wasn’t tragic, I may still go back to it one day, if I really feel like it. The idea has potential and the plot probably gets better later, I just wasn’t able to prevail until then.

- animation in the first season is kinda meh. Could be worse, but it still doesn’t please. Don’t let the marvelous poster above deceive you!

- the main character. He’s so whiny, I was unable to stand him. He’s the main reason I dropped this, and I honestly have no idea if he gets any better later.

Title: Quanzhi Fashi / Full-Time Magister

Throughline: Three months after a guy gets transported into a magic-filled alternative reality, he struggles to get into magic school to become the best mage and get a lot of money for his family.

My take:

+ setup/world building again hit a soft spot in my fantasy-loving heart.

+ ...I’ve seen some fragments from season 2, apparently animation is good there.

- I hated the MC of QZGS, but he at least had half a reason to be so unrealistically OP. This guy here... he’s a new low... Basically “How to Write a Gary Stu?” example. Like. C’mon. You can have an OP cool protagonist without making them a GS.

- despite the potentially interesting premise, this is as simplistic as it could be. The MC is ridiculed, but he turns out to be super powerful with talent for not just one, but two most rare elemental magics. He gets bullied - then he shows off how much better he is than the bully during magic exams, stunning everybody. One of the Big Bad Rich Guys tries to recruit him - he flat-out refuses in a infuriatingly arrogant manner. Etc. etc.

- Characters are as deep as a puddle during drought.

- Look, there’s a set of tropes that are generally laughed at in this type of premise, like the MC having an OP secret power, getting put down by everybody to an unrealistic degree etc. Here they are played painfully straight, and there’s nothing more to the story. Absolutely nothing, not a single interesting character or plot thread. I kept watching for so long hoping that something would turn up, but it didn’t.

- animation in season 1 is pretty bad.

That would be all for my donghua experience so far. I had many ups, though I guess some salt pits were unavoidable +_+

[welcometoyournewhell]

In The Name of Research!

I believe this was requested by @starwarsdragons forever ago, however I did add Lance into the mix of tickling Keith with Pidge. I just can’t picture Pidge ever doing it herself, I picture her to like use tag teaming, unless it’s Matt. 

So here’s this.... enjoy!

It wasn’t her fault! Yes, Shiro had told her no, but that’s practically saying to do it! It could benefit the team in so many ways, and help her understand Keith more! So she could argue their friendship could benefit from her “bonding exercise”.

However she wasn’t sure how to calm the boy right now. “Pidge, let me go!” Okay she may have taken a little too far with the mad doctor research vibes but it was all in the name of science!

Keith was in the Green Lion’s hangar, tied down to Pidge’s work bench. His arms and legs hung off the table, tied back to keep him from moving. “Relax Keith, honestly your being such a baby.” He looked at her in disbelief. “You kidnapped me,” he cried. He’d been napping in his room and woken up tied to this table.

“No, I am simply standing here prepping for data collection, Lance kidnapped you.” Keith blushed a bit. Lance? He was going to kick his ass later! “Why am I tied to a table?”This was really freaking him out. It didn’t help he came out as Galra a few days prior. 

“Well Keith I was hoping we could do a bonding exercise.” Keith felt his stomach flip. Shiro was the only one that was truly okay with whole Galra thing, well that he took note of. “Pidge please... please don’t hurt me.” The girl looked up from her computer. “Hurt you? This shouldn’t hurt at all. I just wanted to run some tests to compare to a full human.” 

She began jotting down physical observations. “ Wait... so this is because I’m Galra?” He sounded so heart broken. “Kind of. I wanted to see if I could maybe figure out how to track them better.” Of course. He turned his head away from her, his eyes stinging. “What exactly do you plan to do with me?” Did it matter at this point?

He didn’t blame the other’s for hating him, he hated himself. He bit his lip. What if Shiro was just lying? He had to be. “Just typical exams, reflexes, physical, stuff like that.” Keith suddenly jumped. “H-Hey! What are you doing?” She had lifted his shirt. “P-Pidge!” She glance up at him. “Dude... chill. I’m just looking for any pink or purple coloring, or markings.” 

The eraser end of her pencil made him jump slightly as it grazed against his skin. The sudden movement caused brown eyes to look up from her floating screen. “Did that hurt,” she asked. She really wasn’t trying to hurt him. “No.” Keith wanted to scream for Shiro. He didn’t like this. But maybe this is what he deserved.

He moment of self pity was cut of by another gasp and flinch. Pidge was staring into his eyes this time. “Dude/” Her face suddenly broke into a smile. “Your ticklish?” Keith’s eyes widened. “N-No! Pidge please let me go,” he begged. “I don’t like this, your scaring me!”

He looked dumbfounded as she climbed onto his hips. “Oh relax you baby! I’m not going to hurt you, I’m your friend! And as your friend I have all the right to exploit this.” She looked up at him with an evil smile. “Consider it in the name of research.” She let out a giggle before lightly scattering her long nails against his tummy. 

“Pffahahaha! P-Pidge sthahp it,” Keith squealed. “Audio note activate.” The computer made a dinging noise before a blue screen appeared beside them. “Subject seems to be as ticklish as a normal human. Stomach is responsive to nail traces.” Keith giggled and squealed. “Sthap! Sthahap! Okay-- I’m tieheicklish!” 

Pidge smirked. “I can see that. How about... does this tickle?” She moved her hands up under the shirt, tickling his chest. “P-Pidge!” Keith’s face was bright red. That little pervert! “Ghehehet out of thehehe-- eee!” He moved his head into his arm as she began to poke at his ribs. “Shahahiro!” Pidge covered his mouth. 

“Shh, he’s not even here.” Keith’s eyes widened. “Yeah,he, Hunk, Allura, and Coran went out for the day. “ Wait that meant. Keith shrieked as he felt something tickle his feet. “That means it’s just us Keithy boy,” Lance sang. He had popped his head out from under the table before continuing to tickle the boy’s feet. 

“Subject is weak to rib pokes and feet tickling. Could be useful when he annoys me.” Keith’s eyes widened more at her commentary. Keeping her hand on Keith’s mouth she looked over at Lance. “Hey Lance, what do his feet look like?” What the hell? Keith blushed. 

He felt something sharp just skim across his sole. “Well you tied his ankles so that I can’t take them off so.” He was cutting them off. “Mhhph! Mmmph!” Pidge pulled her hand back. “What?”

“Sthahap! I’m too tiahahicklish!” The two other paladins smirked at each other before Lance finally got the sock off. “Hey computer!” Pidge rolled her eyes. “Just tell me what it looks like Lance, it’s responsive to my voice only.” The other sighed. “Well that’s lame.” 

“Ghahauys,” Keith squirmed in his bonds. “Well their pale, and surprisingly soft!” Keith jerked forward, nearly bucking Pidge off him. “And very ticklish!” Keith squirmed about. “Lance don’t you--,” Pidge covered his mouth again. “Subject has human looking feet. Extremely sensitive to touch.” Keith let out muffled laughs as his friends tickled him again.

He was surprised on how gentle they were being though. He would have expected Pidge to be ruthless and crazy good at it. Lance was actually being really nice with him. He thought it would hurt... a lot. “Well so far Keith, you haven’t given us anything that shows your Galra,” she pondered allowed. 

She kicked Lance to get him to stop. Removing her hand she peered down at her friend, ignoring Lance’s complaints. “Can you turn purple?” Keith looked at her through half lidded, watery eyes. Between pants he tried to find his words. “I... I don...don’t know. Pidge please,” he whimpered softly. 

“Are you still scared? Keith we’re clearly not here to hurt you!” She was a little offended. “Yeah honestly bud, we’re just trying to see if we can get a cute little kitty purr out of you!” Lance tickles under Keith’s chin earning a giggle. “Sthap it!” 

Pidge’s eyes lit up at the idea. “That’s it! Glara are like cats, aren’t they?” Both boys looked at each other. “I-I guess,” Keith answered sheepishly. “H-Hey, what are you doing?” Pidge had started rubbing his tummy. “T...Th..at tickles,” Keith giggled slightly, trying to resist the touch. Lance observed quietly in amusement. Suddenly all three froze. A purr left Keith’s mouth. 

They stared at each other in shock, a blush spread across Keith’s face once again. “Dude.” Lance was amazed. “Subject seems to purr when belly rubs are administered.” Keith blushed even harder, burying his face into his arm. A groan left his lips. “Seriously, how is this going to help us defeat the Galra?” He flinched, trying to scrunch his shoulder to his neck. 

Strings of purrs left his mouth as Lance scratched near the back of his ear. “Ghauys... s...sth...urr....mm,” Keith fell limp to the touch. It felt really nice. “Subject seems to melt into ear scratches.” He could hear Pidge talking, but it didn’t matter. He felt hand return to his tummy once more, earning giggles and purrs. 

“This is adorable,” Lance cooed breathlessly. Pidge nodded. “Yeah, I never thought Keith would be the type to melt into affection.” It was nice after care from the torment he had faced. Until....

“H-Hey,” he giggled softly. Pidge had started kneading at his legs. “Pidge, don’t you think we tickled him enough,” Lance asked. The girl shook her head. “I need to do a thorough test Lance.” The other froze. “I’m not cutting his pants off for you.” Keith and Pidge both turned red. “What? No! I can feel if there’s fur or not.... wait... Keith we’ve never seen your legs before.” 

Keith began to panic before a voice interrupted the mixture of sounds. “I have, and they’re normal.” Pidge and Lane jumped. “S-Shiro,” they asked in sync. He glared at his space kids. “Pidge, Lance, untie him. Now.” The fifteen year old quickly jumped off her friend, helping Lance cut away at the ropes. An angry Shiro was a scary Shiro 

“Why the hell did you two tie him up anyway,” he asked as he helped Keith sit up and stretch out. “Research.” Keith glared at his older brother as he spoke. “Pidge, I told you,” he was cut off. The youngest Holt put up her hands. “But Keith purrs,” she cried. “Yeah, and he’s really ticklish,” Lance joined in. 

Shiro looked confused. “Okay I knew about that, but he purrs?” He looked at Keith who crossed his arms, looking away with a blush. “Yeah, just rub his tummy,” Lance encouraged. Keith jumped slightly when Shiro moved his lower arm. “Sh... pffhaha! Th....urrr...Shiro!” The other pulled back, a look of surprise and interest on his face.

“That’s adorable,” he cooed. He then went back into his dad mode. “But you two are still in trouble. Pidge I told you Keith is still Keith. You need to treat him as such. How did she even get you on the table?” He looked to Keith who blushed deeply. “Alright... never mind then. Lance, Pidge, you’ll be training for an extra hour today.” Both let out and awe as Keith let out a yelp. 

Shiro had lifted him off the table. “Come on Keith, you need a nap.” The eighteen year old smirked at the other two as he was carried out of the room. The scowls on their faces were priceless!

[littleoddwriter]

Well, if anyone - be it my psychologist or my friends - asks me again, just why exactly I don't come out to my parents again after 2 years of having told them I'm trans and having them not believe and support me... Here's a perfect example as to why, which just happened a couple of minutes ago, btw:

So I was watching a video of a trans guy reacting to sb and my dad came in, wanting to ask me sth.

He looks at the screen and asks what kind of mental people I am watching again (indirect quote here).

And he proceeds to look at the screen, completely ignoring me, and just shakes his head and seems to be mad, like??? Sorry bruh.

Also my parents, especially my dad, like to make "jokes" about trans people. Like. I have humor and I get it when you make jokes about trans people and they can be funny, if they aren't too offensive. But theirs are just... :))) please don't do that in front of me. Your child who you completely ignore to be transgender. Your child who has to hide himself out of fear. Your child who is mentally not okay. Your child that repeatedly has to come out to other people but has to have them call him by his birth name and the wrong pronouns out of fear.

Sorry not sorry for bothering y'all with personal shit, but uhhhh. :))))

[theygotmewhipped]

Skin - 4. The First Kiss

Word Count: 1689

Finally home. I exhaled completely exhausted facing the entrance door. I hate working in services. Customers are always so rude, annoying or stupid. Most likely all of the above. Especially old people. I don't care if you survived both world wars, ice age and dinosaurs, Betty, iced coffee without ice isn't iced coffee and no, we can't serve your grandchild fries if they are not on the menu just because he wants them.

I put the key in the hole and opened the door.

"Yes! I win! Again!" Some unknown voice could be heard out of the living room. What the fuck is this?! Then I heard claws clicking on the tiles coming my way. Toben ran towards me and welcomed me home. I squatted to him and patted him.

"What are you doing here, huh?" I asked him as if he could answer. Then I spotted unfamiliar pair of shoes in the hallway. Seems like we have a guest. And here I thought I'd finally get to chill. I took off my shoes and entered the living room with Toben following me.

"How are you so good at this? We're playing it for the first time." Chanyeol whined.

"It's all about talent, skills and practice, you know?" A guy next to Chanyeol said teasingly with a sense of pride. The two of them were sitting in front of the TV playing one of my video games totally oblivious to the fact that someone has entered the room. They were surrounded with candy wrappers, empty cans, bags of chips and other rubbish. The whole place smelt like coke mixed with energy drinks, sweat and who knows what else.

One day. Just one fucking day without Chanyeol finding a way to vex me. That's all I ask.

I cleared my throat to let my presence be known. Both of them snapped their heads around to look at me.

"Hey, Yumi." Chanyeol said looking guilty while the guy next to him was smirking at me. I frowned at them. The stranger jumped over the edge of the couch and took my hand kissing the back of it.

"Je suis Baekhyun." He said cheesily.

"What's with the French?" I said disgusted and yanked my hand away from him escaping the touch.

"It's language of romance." Baekhyun answered dramatically.

"Yumi, this is Baekhyun, my best friend. He's also harmless. You can pet him too." He introduced him like Toben the other day with a giggle.

"No, thanks. I liked Toben better." I ignored Baekhyun staring at me. "Speaking of him, what is Toben doing here?" I asked Yeol.

"I have to look after him for a few days. I hope it's okay." He scratched his neck. So now I live with two dogs. Can't wait to wake up to both of them barking.

"It's fine. But you could have told me sooner he would be here." I tried to suppress my frustration.

"Yeah, sorry, I forgot." He apologized. I sighed and went to my room. Less than three weeks and he's out. I comforted myself. I fell on the bed and tried to take a nap.

"No, no, no." "C'mon." "Are you kidding me?!" "Fuck!" No, the question is Are YOU-kidding ME?! Do they really have to be so noisy? I stood up and went out of the room.

"What are you so loud for, assholes?!" I yelled with intention to be louder than them. They both shut upped.

"Sorry, Yumi." Chanyeol apologized.

"We're just really passionate about it." Baekhyun smiled mockingly.

"Oh, really? I wouldn't have noticed. Thank you very much, Baekhyun." I was being sarcastic.

"Any time." He smiled widely. I rolled my eyes and moved to the kitchen for a glass of water. I was chugging it down when I noticed something move at the corner of my eye. What the... I turned around to see what it was.

"You gotta be shitting me." A fish was floating in its fishbowl on the counter. I looked in despair as a mute face stared back at me. Was I adopted by a circus or is there a hidden camera somewhere? Because since Chanyeol showed up there wasn't a single day without something unexpected or crazy happening. I took the bowl and carried it to the common room. "What is this?" I stood in front of the screen.

"Oh my God, move, Yumi." Baekhyun yelled at me. I waited until I heard a voice say Game Over.

"So what's this?" I asked again.

"A fish." Baekhyun answered pouting that I ruined the game.

"I can tell that much." I rolled my eyes. "But what is it doing in our kitchen and how did it get there?"

"It's a housewarming gift from Hyunie and it's...Toben, no!" Chanyeol suddenly called out in the middle of the sentence. Out of nowhere Toben jumped at me, I staggered and the bowl slipped out of my hands. It crashed to the floor and shattered leaving the poor fish splashing around the floor. The three of us started to panic. "Toben, come here!" Chanyeol tried to catch Toben before he could eat the fish. I reached for the fish on the floor at the same time as Baekhyun and we bumped our foreheads.

"Ou." "Shit." We bounced off. While we were trying to save a fishlife, Chanyeol was running around trying to catch Toben.

"Don't step on the glass, Loey." Baekhyun warned him. I finally caught the fish and ran into the kitchen with it. I dropped it into the first bowl I found and poured water into it. I exhaled in relief. "You almost killed Yeolmi!" Baekhyun came carrying pieces of broken glass.

"Yeah, I'm sorry...Wait, Yeolmi?" I looked at him with distorted face forgetting any piece of regret I had.

"Yep, like Yeol in Chanyeol and Mi in Yumi." He tossed away the glass, took a cloth and left the kitchen.

"Ew." I exclaimed and looked at the fish. "I'm definitely not taking care of you." Who brings pets as housewarming gifts? Couldn't he just bring a plant like Hyojong? Or a stupid candle or sth? I returned to the living room and looked at the mess. They were already back to playing the game. I looked at the screen and grinned to myself. "Hey, Baekhyun, I have a proposal." I called out to him trying to sound serious.

"I'm listening." His eyes fixated on the screen.

"Let's make a bet." I suggested.

"Sounds interesting. Continue." He paid attention to me, while playing.

"If Chanyeol wins your next game, you'll clean up this mess." Right that moment Chanyeol lost. "And order us pizza." I quickly added. Baekhyun smirked victoriously.

"Alright, but if I win, you'll go on a date with me." As if.

"Yumi, don't..." Chanyeol tried to discourage me but I interrupted him.

"Deal." Boy, you are up for a surprise. I don't gamble unless I am sure I win. "Before you start, excuse us for a moment. I'm gonna put a magic spell on Chanyeol." I motioned for Chanyeol to come into my room.

"Yumi, I don't want to ruin your air castle but I can't defeat Baekhyun." Chanyeol looked troubled when I closed the door behind us.

"Oh, I know. You suck big time." I said bluntly.

"Ouch?" He furrowed his brows. "So why did you make the bet?" He was confused.

"Cos I'm the one that's going to defeat him." I said with a smug look on my face.

"What? How? What?" Chanyeol was completely out of it.

"Give me your controller." He handed it over. "Here you go." I placed a different turned off controller in his hands. "Just pretend that you are playing and I'll do the rest."

"Isn't that cheating?" He asked like a little kid.

"Well, yeah. But I want free pizza and cleaned up room so just comply." Has he never lied before?

"Uhm, okay then. Though I feel quite bad lying to him." He gave me a sad puppy eyes.

"Don't be a baby." I rolled my eyes. "Now go there and tell him I'm staying in my room waiting for the results." I pushed him out of the door and watched through a gap until he sat down. Then I crawled out and sat on the floor beside the couch so Baekhyun wouldn't see me. I listened to their conversation and acted as Chanyeol's hands. You are on my turf now, Baekhyun, so let's see what you've got. I smirked to myself.

"What? No! How is that possible?" I crawled back to my room while Baekhyun tried to accept the fact that he lost to 'Chanyeol'. I put away the controller and walked out of my room as if I never left.

"Seems like I won." I smirked. "So where is my pizza?" Baekhyun was completely dumbfounded while Chanyeol was enjoying 'his' victory.

"What kind of spell did you put on him? He played like a completely different person." Baek was curious.

"I gave him a lucky charm." I sweetly smiled at him.

"What charm?" Well, I didn't think this through. I exchanged a panicked glance with Chanyeol and turned back to Baek.

"I kissed him." What the hell did you just say, Yumi?! I freaked out, okay? It happens to the best of us. Baekhyun's jaw dropped and Chanyeol's eyes went wide his face slowly catching a color red. Mine would have probably looked the same but I've got a lie to sell so I can't afford to slip now.

"No way." Baekhyun couldn't believe it. "Chanyeol's never kissed anyone." What?! Chanyeol was now beat red. Is that why I never feel anything ominous out of him when he asks for cuddles? He really is a giant baby.

"Well, now he has. So order the pizza and start cleaning." I tried to keep the straight face. I think I just kind of might have ruined Chanyeol's first kiss experience in some way. I looked at Chanyeol's flustered face. Oh boy, I fucked up, but in my defense, how was I supposed to know that a guy like him hasn't had his first kiss yet?

First Chapter——–Previous Chapter——–Next Chapter

xx

[ushijimawakaflockaflame-blog]

(1/2) Heyyy good luck with the blog!! Can I ask a scenario of Kuroo and his older (college student) s/o: nekoma was having an outing/practice match w other school and otw back they got stuck by heavy storm or sth

(2/2) and the whole team ended up staying overnight at kuroo’s s/o place and they never met her before (except kenma). She is very caring and dependable. Super fluff plsss. Sorry for the super long and detailed ask 😅

AN: omg i’m sorry this took so long aksjhjkasf ty for the good luck!

YO I luh dis cuz I, too, am a college student with an apartment who would love to have a soaking wet Team Nekoma randomly show up on my doorstep :D

I hope I fluffed this up enough for you !! Fluff isn’t my strong point haha.

Volleyballs and the squeak of shoes echoed through the large gymnasium. After hours of practicing, Kuroo finally called for a break. The gym felt musty and sweaty, so Yamamoto went to the exit for some fresh air.

He groaned when he opened the door. “Oi, Captain!” He called. “Come look outside.”

Kuroo raised an eyebrow as the team followed him to the door where Yamamoto was. Outside the foreign gym, the sky was gray and the clouds clashed thunder to the earth. Lev flinched at each boom.

“Great, I bet the streets are flooded by now,” Yaku tisked.

“Not my fault our gym is being renovated!” Kuroo pouted. “Besides, it’s a privilege to practice at such a prestigious University like UTokyo. You brats should be thankful!”

“Did Coach even approve of this?” Kenma asked.

“He didn’t NOT approve of it. All he said was ‘practices are up to you while I’m gone’.”

“Look how that turned out,” Yamamoto muttered.

“Shut it.”

“Where will we sleep tonight if we can’t even make it to the train station to go home?” Kai asked.

A smirk slowly grew on the captain’s face. The team began to back away from Kuroo knowing that whenever he smirked, he was up to no good.

“I know exactly where to go ~” Kuroo said, taking out his phone.

“Stop smiling like that,” Kenma said.

It was a cold, lonely evening back at your apartment as you sat at your desk. The rain reflected your college life - dull but chaotic. College life had taken quite a toll on your social life because you never have time for it anymore. The most exciting events in your life were lunch and facetime with Kuroo.

You smiled a little as his silly face popped up in your head. It’s been awhile since you last saw him, and you missed him dearly. It was days like today where you always reminisce about the day you two got together. The story was not exciting to tell, but it was special to you.

Never in your high school years did you think to date someone younger than you, even if it was just by a year or two. You and Kuroo didn’t even go to the same school. You attended the prestigious Fukurodani while he was at Nekoma. It was like bad remake of Romeo and Juliet.

You had the pleasure of meeting Kuroo on the way to school - apparently, he took the same train as you up to a certain stop. One day, you were both in the same crowded car when he accidentally elbowed you in the face.

“Ow!” You cried, holding your eye with your free hand.

“Ah shit, I’m sorry -” Kuroo stopped mid sentence when he turned to face who he elbowed. The first thing he noticed about you was your long, silky hair, a weakness of his. The second thing he noticed was how cute your face looked when it was scrunched up in pain.

Kuroo cleared his throat. “I, uh, I’m sorry. I don’t have any ice or anything.”

“I would hope you wouldn’t. That’d be kind of weird,” you tisked, wiping away the tears of pain.

“You are very right.” The hustle and bustle of the car filled in the awkward silence. “S-So! You got to Fukurodani?”

“Yes, for three years now. I see you go to Nekoma.”

“Yeah, it’ll be my second year.”

“Hm, how typical of you cats….”

“What does that mean!?”

“Always bumping into things that you shouldn’t be bumping into ~”

“I said I’m sorry,” he pouted. The conductor called his stop. “Well, this is my stop.”

“Good riddance.”

“Ok ok! I owe you one, all right? The next time you go to Nekoma, ask for a Kuroo Tetsurou, and I’ll be there to make it up to you.”

“You’d never catch me walking into that litter box,” you smirked.

Kuroo smirked back. “You got a big peck for a small owl. I like it. Why don’t you tell me your name, little owlette ~?”

“_____ _____.”

“_____-chan, I’ll see you around. Make sure to ice your eye or your pretty face will get swollen ~!”

You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t deny the growing smile on your face.

It didn’t take long for Kuroo to ask you on a date. Well, attempt to. Kuroo’s style of pursuit was so typical it was almost scripted, like in the movies. His eyes would scan each car as it slowed down to his stop, trying to find which one you were in. The first few times he’d remark how coincidental it was to run into you, but after the third day, he stopped making excuses and just went with it. He even bothered to go out of his way to walk you home and every time he dropped you off, he’d ask you on a date. It was maybe three months later when you gave in.

“Go home, Kuroo,” you groaned.

“Nah ~ You haven’t agreed to go out on a date with me yet.”

“Feels like I have a stray cat companion.”

“I would be domesticated, thank you.”

You sighed, speeding up your stride to go on ahead. Kuroo chuckled at your childishness and followed behind you.

After twenty minutes of silence you turned around, wondering if he left. Kuroo bumped into you, startled that you stopped.

“Oi, why’d you stop all of a sudden!? Afraid I left you?” he smirked.

“As if,” you huffed. “Why do you keep following me after all the times I’ve said no?”

“Because that smile on your face every time I ask says otherwise.”

You blushed, quickly avoiding eye contact with him. Kuroo held your chin and lifted your head up.

“Didn’t think I would notice, hm?” He teased. The very smile that kept him going was hard for you to hold back. “There’s that smile.”

“Shut up.”

“So what do you say, my little owlette? Will you go out with a stray kitten like me?”

“Fine,” you said, gently swatting his hand away. “Only if you stop saying things like that.”

“Would you prefer Senpai instead?”

“I change my mind.”

“Wait, I’m kidding - hey, quit walking so fast!”

You sighed, smiling at the memories you’ve made with him. You felt the your desk vibrate with your phone, the name “Stray Kitten” lighting up your screen.

“Speak of the devil,” you said before answering. “Tetsurou-kun ~”

“Ah, _____-chan! How’s my girl doin’?”

“Just fine. Why did you call?”

“Can’t a guy call his girlfriend to say hello?”

“No.”

“Ya caught me. It’s no wonder you go into UTokyo, you’re too smart ~” he smirked at the thought of you rolling your eyes right now. “Anyways, are you busy tonight?”

“Not really, why?”

“Wanna hang out with nine hormone-driven teenage boys?” he begged. “The good kinds of hormones, not the bad ones.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, like growth hormones, cortisol, testosterone, all that fun stuff -”

“Dumbass, I meant what do you mean hanging out with nine boys?” you chuckled.

“Ah, I was going to surprise you, but the storm kind of ruined it. The volleyball team is practicing in your gym because our’s is under construction. But now we can’t make it to the train station because the streets are flooded. Do you mind if me and my team stay with you ‘til the morning?”

You felt your heart skip a beat. You finally get to see Kuroo again after a couple of weeks, but now you were meeting the whole team. You’ve always asked about meeting them since he became the captain, but now they were staying the night with you.

“T-Tonight? Right now?” you stuttered.

“If that’s ok with you. Don’t worry, I’m positive they’ll love you,” he said, whispering the last sentence.

“Ok, I’ll get a head start on dinner then. I hope you all like soup on a rainy day.”

“That’s exactly what we’ll need. I can’t wait to see you.”

“I’m excited, too,” you grinned widely. “Get here safely.”

As soon as you hung up, you sprinted into the kitchen pulling out all the cartons of broth and noodles you owned, ready to make soup that will feed an army. Since they were coming from practice, you figured they’d want some meat, too, so you threw all your bbq on a skillet. You basically cooked all of your groceries, desperate to make sure that the team would adore you for cooking so well.

As you pressed the button to cook some rice, a knock came at your door. Opening it, you saw nine drenched boys who held their duffle bags over their heads as coverage.

“O-Oh wow,” you gasped. Stepping aside, you held the door open wider. “Come in, come in! I’ll get some towels.”

You tossed all your towels to the oddly-quiet team as they settled in. You threw one extra vigorously to Kuroo.

“Oi, so mean!” he pouted.

“You came all the way here without knowing about the storm!?”

“I forgot to check the weather this morning!” He wrapped a damp arm around your shoulders and pulled you into a very cold hug. “Aren’t you happy to see me ~?”

“Of course I am, but the last thing I want is for you all to get sick. And let go of me, you’re still wet and cold!”

Kuroo nuzzled his wet hair against yours with a wide grin. You shuddered upon contact, but couldn’t help the giggles that escaped your lips. You both heard someone clear their throat that interrupted your interaction. You almost forgot the team was there. Looking up, Kenma nodded his head to the confused team.

“Oh, right,” Kuroo said, pulling away from the hug. “This is our lovely maiden _____-chan!” You punched his arm at his response. “Ow, ok, sorry! She’s my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend!?” Lev’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, Captain! An older woman.”

“Don’t be rude!” Yaku said, kicking his behind.

“Shut it, you two,” Kuroo said, keeping his arm around you. “Play nice tonight, or no dinner! And _____-chan made us soup, right?”

“Oh, uh, y-yes. There’s also meat and rice, but the rice is still cooking, but feel free to anything. But change out of those clothes first!”

“Mmm it smells great!” A shirtless Yamamoto was the first one in line for the soup.

You and Kuroo stood to the side watching the team bicker in line, devour your food, or change into their pajamas in the living room. Kuroo had already changed when he wrapped his arm around your shoulder again.

“I think the team’s a little scared of you,” he snickered.

“Is that why they’re so quiet?”

“Yeah. I’m usually the one who keeps them in line, but now they met someone who keeps me in line.”

“Good,” you smirked. You left a pouting Kuroo in the kitchen as you collected all the dishes from the team.

“Thank you for the meal!” they yelled in unison.

You blushed from embarrassment and waved your hand casually. “Of course! Anything for my favorite team.”

As you loaded the dishes into the washer, Lev crawled over to where his beloved Captain stood.

“Captain! Can you marry her?” he asked.

“W-What!?” Kuroo blushed, almost falling over out of surprise. “Why?”

“So she can come to our games and cook for us all the time!”

“I’ll ask for you if you’re afraid!” Inuoka chimed in.

“I’ll marry her if you won’t,” Yamamoto offered.

“I should kill all of you.”

It didn’t take long for the team to knock out snoring on your living room floor. Everyone was sprawled out in different positions and you and Kuroo did your best to cover them with blankets. When you were finished, Kuroo wrapped his arms around your waist from behind.

“I’ve missed you ~” he whispered, planting kisses all over your cheek and neck.

“I’ve missed you, too,” you giggled.

You unraveled his arms and led him to your bedroom. In an instant, Kuroo swept you off of your feet and sprinted to your room. After closing the door, he threw you on your bed and jumped on top.

Before you screeched in protest, Kuroo’s soft lips fell on yours. Instinctively, you both wrapped your arms around each other and tangled your fingers in each other’s hair. His kisses were warm and loving and they made your heart want to burst.

Kuroo pulled away and laid his forehead on yours. “I’m so happy I get to finally see you, even with the whole team around.”

“I guess I should thank the skies you’re here, huh?”

“I should thank the skies for you agreeing to date a helpless guy like me.”

“Don’t say that about yourself!” you pouted, hitting his chest softly.

Kuroo chuckled before pulling you into another deep kiss. Kissing him was like kissing him for the very first time every time because he puts his whole heart into every kiss with you. He always tasted so sweet and always felt like the softest velvet.

“I love you,” he whispers, holding you tightly.

You smile and kiss him once more. “I love you, too.”