#hey fujimoto question:

[rutilation]

currently working on a meta on the use of flower language in csm

and i must say…

it is difficult to identify flowers when the author has a habit of fudging important botanical details for the sake of mystery, or theme, or whatever

[toodrasticallydumb]

PONYO AU COME HERE MY BABIES

*ahEM* So. What occurred is—as you can maybe see—i was studying Studio Ghibli’s art style to draw lil baby adorable kiddos and may or may not have gotten carried away a bit.

I can explain.

I just love baby Walt and wanted to draw him more and then i was watching Ponyo and Ponyo has red/orange hair like Barbara’s and then one thing led to another and yeah it’s a whole au thing now.

Basically, Ponyo = Baby Barb, Sosuke = Weeny Walt, Fujimoto (Ponyo’s dad) = grown up Jim, Granmamare (Ponyo’s mom) = grown up Claire

Ponyo’s story (i’m gonna refer to as Barb in min) goes pretty much the same as in the movie: she’s a curious lil magical fish who wanders away from her overprotective father one day, excited to catch a glimpse at the infamous humans her father has warned her so much about on their motor boats, unfortunately she gets stuck in a tiny jar and gets swept up onto shore, being found and rescued by…a green human?

Baby Walt is a small youngling, abandoned when he was so small he had barely opened his eyes, or so his father, Vendel, tells the story. Without a proper mother and just a tiny whelp, Trollmarket’s leader (with his badly hidden soft heart) can’t help but end up adopting the small whelp. So baby Walt (as he is nicknamed because Waltolomew was FAR too long, Vendel.) is raised alongside his two much older big brothers, Blinky and Aaarrrgghh who watch over him when Vendel’s busy.

They take him on short, highly-supervised outings around Trollmarket and the beach shore during the night; the one rule? No head-butting anyone’s gronk-nuks. Okay, but also NO GOING IN THE SUN.

Vendel is incredibly acute about the rule and it was a long time of whinnying and complaining and pushing and puppy-dog eyes until he FINALLY let Walt go outside to the beach shore with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh. But Walt always knew his dad was so strict about the rule because if he ever touched the sun he’d burn himself and turn to stone.

Right?

One night, Walt is feeling a little down and Aaarrrgghh suggests bringing a teeny bucket to collect seashells in, except they get kinda get caught up in all the serious work and sunrise comes before they know it. The sun is peeking out past the horizon when Walt gets distracted by a strange glittering in the shallow water. Aaarrrgghh is busy convincing Blinky to let them bring all the shells for Vendel so Walt goes after the shiny item himself. He pads over and finds a jar…with a goldfish inside?

Trying to pull the little fishy out of the jar as gently as he can, he tugs and bites at the glass with his short tusks, before feeling a strange stinging across his body and giving a big shiver—

“HEY! KIDDO GET OUT OF THE WATER!” someone shouts from above and his head whirls around to see a human waving his arms at him and heading down the rocks to get to him.

“Blinky!” he yelps, frozen on the spot, but the troll hushes him with a finger and after an anxious beat of his heart he sees them scramble to run away from the human as it reaches the bank and goes after him. “BLINKY?!” Walt cries out, tears coming to his eyes but he’s quickly scooped up into the arms of the chubby human.

“Be careful, kid, the tides comin’ up, let’s get you out of here.”

“But my papa-” he croaks.

“We’ll find him, don’t worry little dude.”

The rest of the story unfolds similarly to the movie, except Walt is nonverbal for a long part of the time Barb is a fish in the bowl of water. Later though, Barb licks a wound from Walt’s human skin and becomes a human girl (mostly), the two wander around getting into small hijinks at the senior center and around town while being (horribly) babysat by Toby and Wine Aunt Nomura, all the while Barb and Walt get closer and fall in love ❤️

But then Baby Barb is snatched away by Jim and Weeny Walt is left trying to find his big brothers and get back to Trollmarket but keeps questioning if they’ll take him back now.

Soon enough Baby Barb girlbosses her way out of Jim’s hold and makes it back to her green friend, in the process LITERALLY BRINGING THE MOON CLOSER TO THE EARTH AND RAISING THE TIDE UP MOUNTAINS. But it’s all chill, they figure it out in the end lol

As if this post isn’t long enough: some hcs!!!

Barb thinks all humans turn green at night and is very Confused™️ when Toby and Nomura Don’t???

She also thinks all human children are as quiet as Weeny Walt and when they get stuck in school she is very shocked when kids start talking to Weeny Walt like nothing

Walt is VERY attached to Aaarrrgghh and very obvious about it, his favorite brother fr while his relationship w Blinky is more of a play fight of who can be the smartest little buttsnack to each other and impress papa

If it’s kinda confusing: basically changelings in this au change between troll and human when sunlight hits them or darkness/shadow does and since baby Walt didn’t go out in the sun he didn’t know (Vendel knew but was convinced it wouldn’t matter if his little baby knew either way)

Walt wears a moss gauntlet-type thing around his forearm as a sign that he was adopted and spoken for by someone other than his mother

Barb is kinda scared of the dark so Walt shows her cool stuff like fireflies and Walt is scared of the water (because rocks SINK) and Barb shows him cool stuff like big fish and swimming

Barb is the ONLY person Walt talks to during a majority of their time with Nomura and Toby, he is very nonverbal and Barb is VERY verbal so she has enough words to speak for them both

She drags him everywhere and he just lets it happen because of course he does

(when i post, I POST OKAY)

[linalavender]

[Spoilers] Chainsaw Man chapter 177: The Statue of Liberty

Hey its been a while, Ive been sucked into the bird apps clutches again despite my wishes. (Sidenote the M key on my keyboard is broken and inconsistant, I try to proofread and correct it but if you see a word that looks like its missing a letter its probably an M somewhere lol sorry)

Anyhoot, Time to talk some theories, more specifically: What the hell is the Devil that the American Government has hid in the Statue of Liberty? And why is it Yorus child?

I cant believe I'm saying this but I think a Fanart Fujimoto did holds the answer.

A number of years ago, Fujimotos deffinetly real not fake sister posted Fujimotos take on Captain America on twitter:

And while I dont quite think Fujimoto is asking to have Disney lawyers at his doorstep anytime soon I think theres some inspiration to be drawn here. Because I think the Devil is something directly tied to both America and its many many wars Justifications: "Freedom"

Guntrotting warloving americans will often joke about "Dispensing freedom" into destabilized countries with a power vacuum and the attrocites American soldiers will commit in the name of "Freedom" is inumerable. Not to talk about all the shit the CIA does behind the scenes. I think its very fair to say the concept of "Freedom" and its american flavor of it can and frankly is a pretty feared idea. And it also ties directly into being a child of war because you would only fear freedom as a concept when its used to justify the attrocities commited to your people, using Bombs, Guns, Tanks, artilery, missiles etc during a "war"

It is also very ironic to have the Embodiment of the fears of Freedom imprisoned in a monument dedicated to the concept.

theres a few things against this though. Why did specifically only NPA members lose their trigger finger and not like, soldiers carrying out these atrocities. How do you make freedom a power that is both reasonable and something you can like stop in the story, Im a little stuped on these questions specifically but hey Fujimoto is a far better writer that me so he can figure it out lol

[antimonyantigone]

Whats really artistically incredible about Tatsuki Fujimoto's work is that it begs the question, "hey uh dude are you okay? Do you like need to talk to somebody?"

[deathbxnny]

Just thought of something and thought you would like to hear it

The Memory Devil

In exchange for your own memories, you will be given the power to force someone to relieve their most worst memories. So the human it is in a contract with the Memory Devil will always suffer continuous amnesia and needs to write down important stuff about themselves to remind them who they are

Btw how are you doing bxnny?

- Flower Anon 🌸

-----♡

Hey there!

I really love your devil idea alot! It's so interesting and creative. Especially the part where they have to relive their worst memory. The idea is pretty Fujimoto-like somehow haha!

Also, I'm doing okay. I'm pretty tired and work is a little stressful, but I'm managing it well enough.

Oh and to your question in your request about your past asks, I admittedly cleared out my entire inbox to keep myself from stressing out during my break. I'm sorry about that, but if you're willing to really shorten and simplify them for me, I'd be willing to do them once my requests are open again!

Thank you for sharing your ideas btw and I hope you're doing well too!<33

-----♡

[cherry-dr0p]

Introduction;

Hey folks! This is my first ever Tumblr post without reblogging or answering questions 🤭 I'm still very much new to Tumblr but I thought I'd do a little post about me.

◇ My name is Cherrydrop! But feel free to call me Cherry, since it's a lot easier.

◇ I'm 19 years old

◇ I'm Bisexual 👀

◇ I'm an artist! I like to draw a lot, especially my OCs. I'll probably introduce them here one day.

◇ The medias I'm interested in switch often, but for the time being, I'm interested in

The Walten Files

The Owl House

Ponyo

Stardew Valley

Portal 2

Sonic The Hedgehog (especially the IDW comics)

Oneshot

SMG4

And there's probably more that I've forgotten but my main ones are defos listed

The characters I like/love

Harvey ; Stardew Valley

Elliott ; Stardew Valley

Fujimoto ; Ponyo

Brian Stells ; The Walten Files

Felix Kranken ; The Walten Files

Dr Starline ; STH IDW comics

Axol ; SMG4

Wheatley ; Portal 2

Kip Silverpoint ; Oneshot

Princess Daisy ; SMB

ETC.

That's all for now! I'll probably start posting here soon (if I remember). Possibly OC stuff or maybe some other stuff too. Feel free to talk to me!

[belindarimbi13]

I posted 2,022 times in 2022

That's 1,383 more posts than 2021!

432 posts created (21%)

1,590 posts reblogged (79%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@magicalmess93

@mattzerella-sticks

@alivedean

@dear-ao3

@tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang

I tagged 833 of my posts in 2022

#doramitsu - 307 posts

#draken - 306 posts

#tokyo revengers - 296 posts

#mitsuya takashi - 285 posts

#draken x mitsuya - 272 posts

#ドラみつ - 235 posts

#takashi mitsuya - 234 posts

#ken ryuguji - 163 posts

#chainsaw man - 90 posts

#twin dragons - 75 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#ao3 would be like: hey the world is ending & nobody probably would read it but in case there's any other survivor out there this is for you

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

yoshidenji truther

700 notes - Posted September 13, 2022

#4

The Parallelism.

Chapter 122

ドラケン「見守ってるぜ。…相棒」

I'm watching over you, ... Partner.

Draken's Birthday Official Illustration

878 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

#3

There's something heartwarming about Denji thinking of the answer for Aki's question while staring at their laundry outside.

I really love how the actual answer was being transmitted through this scene.

I wonder how little Denji's clothes before he met Aki and joined the Public Safety Hunter. I bet he never even hangs his laundry that much. And seeing how his clothes, Aki's, Power's hung out there... maybe it's small realization that he finally has family.

1,110 notes - Posted June 12, 2022

#2

Goodbye Eri & Chainsaw Man Part 2, Chapter 98: Bird and War

See the full post

1,412 notes - Posted July 12, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

MAPPA really highlighted Fujimoto's love for movies

See the full post

18,164 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[wolfwing04]

As Above, So Below - Ruffled Feathers

Rin Okumura x OC

Chapter 5

——————————————————————————

Sun beams down on the beach where Rin, Shima, Kamiki, and I are stationed on a ‘mission’. Which so far, has just being trying and failing at selling fried squid. Rin has taken charge of that department since he’s weirdly good at cooking. Shima and I are helping with testers and trying to help the squid sell. Kamiki ditched us to do who knows what. 

She soon emerges in a very cute swimsuit and ring float. “What? It’s my turn for a swim.” she saunters off to the ocean. The nice, cool ocean. Hey, just because I’m Aussie doesn’t mean I like the heat. 

“That’s what we need! A cute sales girl! Then I’m sure we’ll make sales.” Shima grins, staring off at the sea of cute girls in cute bikinis. I slap him upside the back of the head. “Watch it there, monk.” Bon made me promise to keep him in line. apparently he’s been slipping into bad habits again. 

“Hey! Ok fine. You can’t say I’m wrong though. Why don’t you do it?” I burst out laughing before I can stop myself. “Yeah right! A cute girl would make better sales than an AFAB non-binary in board shorts and a swim top.” Shima just shrugs his shoulders and turns his attention to Rin, who’s attempting to keep Kuro away from the squid. “Hey man, you wanna get out of the sun for a few minutes? Your cheeks are really red.” 

He almost knocks Kuro off his shoulder with how quick he flies his hands to his red raw cheeks. “I’m fine!” Rin’s voice comes out mufffled with the way he’s squished his cheeks. We shrug it off.

Suddenly, we all hear a commotion from the waterfront. We turn to see Kamiki flailing about in the water frantically. Shima and I start bolting to her. Rin follows after shutting off the grill.

——

“Are you ok?” “What happened?””Hey where’s the guy who saved you?” We all rush out when we reach Kamiki, who in all reality seems fine if not a bit shaken up. “I’m down here!” A small voice from near knee height angrily answers Rin’s question. We all tilt our heads down to meek Kamiki’s brave hero. A 10 year old boy. 

——

After the long walk around the island, we finally reach where we are staying for the night. Shima and Kamiki go to bed right away. Rin doesn’t but I don’t know what he’s up to. I instead go onto the balcony and dramatically stare at the night sky. Heaven is up there. The Above. Where I’m from. 

While lost in thought, Rin sneaks next to me. “Feeling homesick?” He knows the answer. It’s not the first time we’ve had this conversation. He caught me doing a similar thing the night he found out what I am, and what he is. He asked me the same thing. I explained the situation; that it’s not actually my home just where I was born and where my parents are from. Australia is my home. He nodded and said he knew how I felt. His dad is from Gehenna, but his home was with Father Fujimoto. 

I let out a chuckle and bump my shoulder with his. “You know that answer.” He hangs his head for a second before looking back at me. “Not that home, Angel.” Angel. He started calling me that a while ago. I hate it, but it means in return I can call him ‘Sheep’. “I don’t know…I miss my parents, my friends, and the overall vibe of Australia. But I don’t think I miss home in the way you mean.” 

We stay like this for a while. Looking out at the sea and sky in a comfortable silence. My head at one point or another ends up on his shoulder. Crickets are chirping and we can just hear the waves crashing on the shore. It’s peaceful. It’s nice. It’s another long while, maybe 20 minutes, before the next small conversation starts. “What do you think will happen if people find out?” It’s more of a whisper than I meant it. “I don’t know. But there’s nothing wrong with us being friends, right?” He says this as he rests his head on top of mine and wraps an arm around my shoulders. Friends.

It’s quite late when we finally decide to head to bed. Mine to mine. His to his. Kuro though, has decided to follow me and sleep by my feet. I think back over what Rin said. Friends. I play over the hypothetical scenarios of our friends and ‘sides’ finding out, how they would react, what we would say, how it would end.

——

The next morning, I’m the last up excluding Kuro. The place is nice and quiet, open windows allow the sounds of gulls and seaside sounds to flow in. Since it’s just me, I stay in my racerback tank and shorts. With a short detour to the bathroom to appear decent, I rummage the kitchen for breakfast like a little raccoon. 

As I’m putting together a scavenger plate, the balcony door opens. I freeze and turn to face the being. I must look like some weird fairytale creature stealing food to make a spell. It’s just Rin though, so I relax. “Morning” turning back around, I grab my plate and make way to the table. “Uh…morning” I bite into a slice of cheese “Are you not going out with the other two?” “I am. Just slept in a bit.” He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. I chuckle “Aight then…Sheep.” 

He walks to find Kuro, who is still asleep on my bed, but as he gets behind me he stops. “Can I help you?” It takes him a while to answer. “No. Just tired still. Sorry” and he leaves.

——

When we regroup with the others, they’re talking with our new little friend. He is in a very heated conversation with Kamiki. “What’s going on?” We quiz Shima. He fills us in about the demon squid, Kraken, and the kids backstory. We find out about the lack of fish and how the ocean blackens. Hey! Like what’s it’s doing now. Shit.

The kid darts off to the dock with Kamiki hot on his tail. Not really knowing what else to do, we follow behind, trying to coax them both back. 

The kid doesn’t even stop when he gets to the edge, he just jumps straight into the sea, spear in hand, ready to avenge his father. Rin goes in after him with the same lack of hesitation. Kamiki, Shima, and I remain on the dock.

The fight is a difficult one. Knowing only the basics of the Kraken made it hard to figure out what verse, if any, could weaken it. Rin is attempting to fight the squid one handed, the kid propped up with the other to stop him from drowning. I’m kneeling on the docks edge, unsure on how to help. If the demon blade can’t work on it, I doubt mine can. 

A voice breaks through the chaos from a little wooden row boat. It’s the kids father alive and well.

It takes a while for everything to settle down, but when it does, the dad explains how he befriended the Kraken. Ah, a symbiotic relationship between a demon squid and a seaside town, what more could you want?

——

The rest of our class join us at the sea for a debrief and to relax. We swap stories at the restaurant, and plates. Mephisto and our teachers join us to report on our next assignments and what generally happens next. 

“So, what did you two get up to last night? You were alone on the deck for quite some time.” Shima, ever the one for both chaos and embarrassing his friends, asks, gesturing to the two of us. Rin’s sunburn comes back. Looking Shima dead in the eyes, I answer him sarcastically with a blank face, “Making out, obviously.” 

He whoops and laughs for a few seconds before realising. “Ok but seriously, I can’t be the only one who thinks the two of you would be cute together.” We burst out laughing. Both at Shimas idea, and the idea of a demon and and Angel-born being romantically involved. “When did you become a matchmaker, dude?” I ask between laughs. Shima rolls his eyes. Shiemi looks down at her plate. Bon glares at Shima. Both Rin and I return to our food, quietly thinking the statement over. 

Friends. Together. 

Sure.

[ponett]

Hey got another chainsaw man question for ya. Also Spoilers for chainsaw man part 1, but what were your favorite monster designs in the story? one of the things I really liked about chainsaw man visually was both the variety and the design philosophy of the monsters in universe and the presentation these got in the manga cause fujimoto manages to make the most with these creatures with the limited amount of time they appear by using creative page layouts and paneling and pulls from a wide range of inspirations for them with a few references squeezed in there as well in some cases, my favorites in no particular order were the Darkness Devil (surprise lol), the Gun Devil, the Blood Devil, the Ghost devil, and Santa Claus even though I know thats not technically a devil.

(chainsaw man spoilers)

there are a lot of really cool ones but the gun devil really does stand out to me. it's hyped up as the most dangerous foe for a lot of the series, and then when it finally does show up and it's this massive jrpg final boss-ass thing it just rules. but like you said, the creative layouts also do a lot of work to sell just how terrifyingly, unimaginably powerful it is. i really do not know how the anime is gonna handle that scen since the manga is using the medium of comics in such a specific way there. the giant splash panels of destruction that represent only one second of time each, the names. it's so good

i do have to acknowledge power's devil form too, though. it's cute. i mean she's a grotesque body horror abomination but the monster face is cute

[yukiokumura]

for forever yours, 4 please? and 1, 7 and 10 for philautia if that’s okay?

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

This was so hard for me because almost all my favorite parts of Forever Yours lies in the narration. So I'm going to cheat a little bit and submit a dialogue exchange.

“Very well!” The current Paladin spoke in a slightly flustered tone. “I accept your challenge, Fujimoto! Let it be known, however, that you do not stand a fighting chance and I accept this challenge for the sole reason of teaching you your place.”

“We’ll see about that. ThreetwooneGO!” Shiro grinned and broke out into a sprint. 

“HEY!”

For such obvious reasons... I think interactions between Shiro and canon scenes are fun and this one was directly hilarious.

Now on to Philautia!

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

We actually started writing Philautia not long after we finished Three's A Crowd. Mainly because we wanted more action between Renzou and Yamantaka. ♥

7: Where did the title come from?

Philautia means self love. Though nowadays it's more regarded towards the healthy self love usage, it can also be used to describe the narcissistic type of self love. Given Renzou's relationship with Yamantaka, and how Yamantaka is unrelentingly enabling Renzou's selfish side, we decided this title was appropriate. It also perpetuates the points in the story where it's hard to distinguish where a specific emotion comes from, because since they're both so close with their mental link, emotions and urges seem to simply spring forth from the both of them, and so they feel much closer than two separate individuals.

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

See question number 1. Also... M... Monsterfucking ♥....

[talesofsonicasura]

Fallen Royalty

*warning: contains vivid curses and slight gore*

Trust is a very fragile thing. It can easily be shattered by misdirection, lies but the most devastating were secrets. And something very important is kept from someone by those they consider family, it can make a soul fall unto a very different path.

The Snatcher, a legendary and powerful spirit who ruled the Fallen Kingdom known as Subcon. He used to be a human prince married to a princess of a different kingdom named Vanessa. Before the prince and Vanessa lived happily ruling their kingdom but this wasn't a happy story. A misunderstanding had brought out a dark side within the princess. Her love unknown to the prince was actually toxic.

Anything that stood in her way of the prince had met brutal ends. Not even the young man himself wasn't safe. He purchased flowers for his sweetheart only to be accused of cheating by the insane princess now Queen. She locked the prince in the dungeon and unleashed dark magic all over Subcon freezing the land solid. The residents were cursed to live as spirits and the dark magic gave birth to the Snatcher from what was left of Subcon's prince.

Snatcher reigned over his fallen domain that became consumed by the forest around it. His magic kept Vanessa's frost contained in her castle and locked the witch away. Through his magic, the cursed citizens were given new bodies in the form of wooden puppets Snatcher crafted. Subcon Forest was created and its denizens lived in peaceful solitude. Then came the Demon King Satan.

Subcon brewed with so much magic that powerful demons sought it out. Demons dwelled in Gehenna and could only reach Assiah, the realm of man, through possessing an item there. However Subcon Forest's powerful magic could grant demons easy access to Assiah by harvesting its mystical energy. Something Satan wanted and wished to discuss with Snatcher himself. The discussion didn't turn out good for Satan.

The powerful specter had immediately been ready to refuse the Demon King access to Subcon's magic. Even though Snatcher hated outsiders, he understood the balance between their worlds and saw Satan as a threat! Being devious, Snatcher had the Demon King signed a contract. Before realizing what it read, Satan had already signed the paper. The demon began screaming in pain unaware of his own folly.

Snatcher could create powerful magical contracts that become true once signed. He had tricked Satan into hurting himself and his schemes greatly. The first was Satan could never possess any nonhuman for his power will burn it to ashes and humans will die from his possession. Second was the Demon Lord couldn't touch or set foot in Subcon for eternity and neither could his servants. And finally, a chunk of Satan's power became Snatcher's own along with a particular possession the Demon King would acquire in the future.

Satan cursed Snatcher before being banished back to Gehenna while the King of Subcon laughed. Though the spirit knew it wouldn't be the last time he'll see the demon or his schemes. The ghost didn't know what this key possession the Demon King would seek but he had enough time to prepare so he could eliminate it. However, he didn't suspect this.

A small boy ran through the busy crowd of Kyoto, Japan. He had dark blue hair and the brightest blue eyes leaking tears down his cheeks staining his white shirt and black shorts. His name was Rin Okumura and today wasn't a good day. The boy knew he was always different from everyone else. He was much stronger than what a 7 year old should be also he was more aggressive and easy to lash out at those who anger him.

People from kids to adults would look at him like a monster and call him a demon. He thought he could trust his foster father Shiro Fujimoto and his twin brother Yukio but clearly it was a lie. Rin had come back home a bit earlier than he usually did to see his Father and brother talking. What he heard broke his heart. Demons were real, Fujimoto and Yukio were exorcists that killed demons and Rin…was the bastard son of the Demon King Satan.

Rin had Satan's flames and they were sealed in a sword along with half of his soul, his demon half. Yukio being trained to kill demons by Shiro himself. His mother killed by exorcists the day they were born. A whole basket of lies and secrets hidden under his nose. It didn't take long for Rin to slip out of the monastery that served as home his whole life and run away. The boy didn't care where he was going but he had to get away.

Tears blinded his sight and sorrow messing with his rationality, Rin ran into the woods specifically a section banned from the public. A part of the forest where people disappeared and never came back, the Snatching Woods. After a few minutes of nonstop running, Rin sat on the ground and cried. He didn't notice how the forest around him had transformed into something otherworldly.

Glowing mushrooms of yellow, pink and red shining in a garden around him, a large picket fence with spikes lit in flame, a large marsh like pool surrounded by pumpkins, wisps of blue, green and orange floated about and finally the large tower shaped mushroom house that the boy currently sat on the front doorstep. Something large and dark purple began to slither through the home, no doubt searching for the crying source.

The dark purple thing was a large ghost. He had a noodle like body with thin arms each carrying two large claws, a mane of fluffy fur around his head, bright yellow childish looking eyes and a jack o' lantern smile with two small fangs. The towering ghost looked at the small crying child in utter confusion. "Hey kiddo? How the peck did you get all the way here?" The ghost questioned with his raspy and light static echoing voice.

Rin looked up from crying to see the ghost hovering above his head. "I don't know and I don't care! Rather die lost in a forest than live a lie." Rin cried. That clearly got the ghost's unwanted attention. "Why the peck do you want to die because of a lie? What kind of lie would get a kid this depressed?" The ghost asked as Rin looked back at the spirit. He definitely had to know the kid's story.

"I lived in a monastery with my twin brother since I could remember. I never knew that Father Fujimoto and my brother were keeping secrets from me. I walked in to hear their conversation about me. Demons are real and evil. Father Fujimoto teaching my brother to be an exorcist and...I'm the bastard son of Satan! My mother was killed because of it and I learned half of my soul was stripped out then sealed away." Silence carried through the woods once Rin spoke that last sentence.

The ghost figured Satan would find a new way into Assiah but...this was going too far even for him. And he was Snatcher, a spirit that ate unlucky souls and toss their husks away like a banana peel! However, he would never use his own child, even though he didn't have one, for a sick game like this. A particular girl and a purple hat flashed through his mind. He was going to regret this but he didn't care. No way in hell was this kid going to suffer from his bastard old man.

"Then to hell with them!" Snatcher exclaimed grabbing the boy's attention. "Kid, I ain't a good person but even I know common sense. Just because you are the son of an idiotic peckneck demon doesn't make you him! The fact that your own foster father not only kept important information like this from you but now your brother is wrapped around his finger. Not all demons are evil. Some of us are mischievous or just want to be left alone." The ghost began.

"You have the right to know your origin and your own mother. Plus, that peckneck doesn't know the damage he has done sealing half your soul away! Your power even though suppressed is unstable without your demon half. It messes with your mind making you aggressive as it fights to the surface. You are a walking infernal bomb capable of wiping out half the continent and yourself by reaching a major mental meltdown! You are a person, a child for pecking sake! YOU ARE NOT SATAN!!!" Snatcher exclaimed voice roaring with irritation at the cause of the boy's misery.

Rin stood shellshocked at what he witnessed. Other than Father Fujimoto and his brother, no one ever helped or cared about him. To see a ghost he just met get so angry at his mistreatment made the pain in his heart fade. "Thank you." Rin said as Snatcher looked at the boy. "Boy, what's your name?" Snatcher asked as Rin wiped his tears. "Rin Okumura." The boy replied. "Rin Okumura? You can call me Snatcher, boy. How would you like to stay with me in Subcon Forest?" Snatcher asked as Rin had a look of surprise.

"You aren't safe staying with an exorcist who sees you only as the Son of Satan and potential threat but also filling your brother's head with half baked truths. That kind of person can turn your own sibling into your potential murderer even as an unwanted consequence. I can teach you how to forge your own path and control the power within you. You see, I met your blood father and suckered him into giving up part of his power and any potential of escaping Gehenna." Snatcher explained conjuring a ball of blue flame in his hand.

"Pretty." Rin said looking at the glowing blue flame. "This pretty flame can also be used to craft some powerful spells as well. Along with fixing your unstable power, I'll be teaching you magic and the ways of Subcon. This place will be your safe haven and no secrets will be kept from you here. A clone crafted from my magic will take your place so no one will suspect a thing. What do you say kiddo? Want to live with me in Subcon Forest?" Snatcher asked offering the boy his hand.

Rin looked at the hand and remembered all the years living with Father Fujimoto and his twin brother. What glittered gold slowly rotted away to faded gold paint old wood. The boy reached his hand towards Snatcher's and took it. The deal was struck as blue light surged throughout Subcon forest. Many unaware of the single act that sent ripples throughout the world and it's future. 9 years later…

A 16 year old Rin Okumura was being attacked in the home of True Cross Monastery. A powerful demon hunting him had attacked the boy out in public forcing to realize he wasn't normal or human. Father Fujimoto had taken him back to the momastery fending off hordes of undead demons coming after them. However, one demon possessing a teenager had crashed a truck into the monastery giving it and other demons easy access to the sanctuary.

Rotten dogs, growing demonic fungi and any other unholy creature bridled with maggots, rot and decayed flesh were creeping towards the young man, head priest and his follow exorcists. Father Fujimoto faced Rin who wielded a blue scabbard sword in hand. Running a hand through his short gray hair and dark eyes was prepared to shove Rin into the hidden basement for safety only for the boy to push him down.

"Rin! What's the meaning of this?! You have to run!" The man shouted only to be confused when the boy began chuckling. "Why should I listen to the words of a liar? I'll handle these pecknecks myself." Rin spoke earning confusion from Fujimoto and the monastery men. "Pecknecks? What kind of insult is that?!" The possessed boy laughed only to jump back as a burst of blue flames erupted from under him.

"If I knew you guys were going to attack me earlier than I would have put on my best clothes already! Oh well! A quick costume change won't hurt. Ain Soph Aur!" Rin said before snapping his fingers. He ignited into blue flames to the group's horror and absolute confusion before it died down. The young man was completely changed from head to toe. His suit was replaced with a dark violet long coat with azure flame, a dark blue tunic bearing a peculiar symbol that looked like a spirit surrounding a burning tree, black tights often seem worn by royalty, fancy black Italian shoes, white gloves and a violet top hat with a yellow ribbon.

His ears were pointed as he had small vampirish like fangs and hints of yellow in his blue eyes. He was also much taller having 5 inches more than Fujimoto's 6'5 height. In his hand was a long dark blue umbrella with dark violet flame like flares on the fabric and a yellow handle. The air Rin now carried was of royal but very ominous and eerie compared to his cheerful street punk one. "Rin?" Fujimoto questioned.

He was caught off guard by Rin's sudden change but the boy merely ignored. "I'm giving you demons a chance to leave with your souls intact. I can't guarantee you'll even survive the trip to Gehenna if I slay you instead of the exorcists." Rin said with a wicked glint in his eyes despite his jovial smile. "You think we are afraid of your clothes change and a dumb umbrella? Sorry brat but you're going back to Gehenna to your father Satan!" The possessed boy laughed only to suddenly flinch.

The air was flooding with instant killing intent that leaked from Rin as he looked at the demons with a disturbing malice filled smile. "I gave you a chance but you spat on it. Prepare to die because your contract has just expired!" The young man laughed as his voice sounded distorted saying the last few words. Rin suddenly vanished from sight only for a group of demonic fungus to explode in blue flames!

Rin burst out from the burning blue mass almost as if he teleported from underneath them. He faced his umbrella at the demons he hovered above as blue flame spheres manifested at the tip before firing them like a gun. Multiple ghoulish corpses and vile living fungus ignited which crashing sphere burning in pure anguish. The horrifying part to the child possessing demon was the flames were actually destroying the demons instead of sending them back to Gehenna!

Demons possessing objects or people couldn't die in Assiah since their real bodies existed in Gehenna but Rin's fire was burning both through their souls! The chilling part was Rin was singing with the carnage. "Run along this forest trail. Now you'll find you'll failed. Never gonna reach that goal, now give me your soul! Some advice, don't think twice! Should have known I wasn't nice! Off with your head! Tata, your dead!" The boy sang as he continued his carnage. However the next few lines was when the demon truly realized that initiated a fight with someone that Satan himself couldn't win against.

"Got no more use for you! When you sign that dotted line you should've thought it through! Your subconscious holding on clinging to your fear. Every haunt just moved along but now the SNATCHER'S HERE!!!" The demon's face along with Fujimoto's grew dramatically pale. "You?!! You know the Snatcher?!" The demon questioned shivering in terror within his host's body. Rin merely laughed at the demon's frightened words.

"Know him? More than just that little peckneck! He's my true father! Not your dumbass king or this lying priest bastard that kept so many secrets from me! He treated me like his own son and taught me all I know. He was honest with me and actually gave a crap about me for being myself, Rin Okumura, not Satan's bastard son!" Rin roared as Fujimoto looked a bit hurt. "And don't think Satan will pop up here either. My father's magic will immediately expel him upon possession. It was listed in the contract the Demon King was tricked into signing." That had gotten the demon to literally piss itself in its host body.

"Enough talk! Time for the finish!" The young man shouted as he began waving his umbrella and danced as if he was on Broadway. "And the weird and the wild should have left you all beguiled. That is that, you little bastard child. Rid my jobs that took time and bask! Now it's time to take you to task!" A ring of blue flames surrounded the remaining demons preventing any chance of escape.

"As the ink is slowly drying, it's time you get dying! Your contract has expired, sleep now in the fire! You gonna meet your match! Your soul belongs to Snatcher! Now let's sing higher!" The flaming ring grew smaller as the flames burned brighter and more intense. It was so bright that Rin's face was shadowed revealing a terrifying jack o' lantern eyes and mouth smiling at the torture.

"AND THE WEIRD AND THE WILD SHOULD'VE LEFT YOU ALL BEGUILED. THAT IS THAT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD CHILD. RIP MY JOBS THAT TOOK TIME AND BASK! NOW IT'S TIME TO TAKE YOU TO TASK. THE INK IS SLOWLY DRYING AND IT'S TIME THAT YOU GET DYING! YOUR CONTRACT HAS EXPIRED! SLEEP NOW IN THE FIRE! YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH! FOR YOUR SOUL BELONGS TO SNATCHER! BURN TO ASH IN MY MELODIC BONFIRE!!" With those last lines, the ring of fire exploded into a large burning blaze.

Every demon and their host burned away until their screams became silent and bodies turn to ash. The young man snapped his fingers as the blazing blue flames extinguish themselves before Rin glared down at Father Fujimoto. "Rin…" Fujimoto spoke only for Rin to interrupt him. "Don't say a word. I learned about the truth coming home 9 years ago. I watched you through a clone crafted by my father's magic and gave you multiple chances to tell the truth." The boy started.

"Did you know that sealing my soul's demon half made my power so unstable that I was a walking timebomb? Not only did you kept secrets and lie to me but you put everyone in danger. You didn't see as a child or son but a potential threat because of my damned sperm donor. If you did, you would have told me and trained me to be an exorcist than just Yukio. I wanted to die that day but Snatcher saved me from potentially killing myself." Fujimoto flinched and looked truly hurt once realizing what he had done.

"I won't kill you or get revenge for keeping secrets because you spared my life instead of killing me or my brother on the spot when we were babies. However, you, Yukio and everyone in this room are no longer my family. A true family would see me for me, not some bastard son of Satan or a potential threat. And if you go after me, I won't protect you from the full might of the Subcon Kingdom! You have been warned." Rin explained as he took the sword that contained his power before stuffing it in his hat like a magician.

"Rin! Please don't go! I'm sorry! It was for your own good!" Fujimoto cried out but Rin merely ignored him. "Goodbye Shiro Fujimoto." And with those last words, Rin Okumura disappeared in a flash of blue fire. Shiro Fujimoto fell to the floor and weeped. Secrets were a dangerous thing and he didn't listen to his friend's warning. The price he paid was his own son's trust now in the hands of the infamous Snatcher. Yukio came home to his weeping father and the approaching pike of mistrust that crucified his father's heart. It wasn't anyone's day at the True Cross Monastery.

And that's it! This was written last year so if the writing style looks different then that's why. Blue Exorcist was one of the first Mature mangas I ever bought, I got Volumes One to Three.

And honestly, I feel really bad for Rin. His brother tried to kill him, his foster father kept TONS of secrets, his friends immediately turned on him for his heritage despite him saving their asses and trying to regain their trust, or just being marked as a target for existing. I mean WTF?!

Poor boy needs better friends and a hug because I don't think Kuro or Ukobach(from the anime) could help for so long. This was also one of my early attempts into writing Snatcher before I got the game myself.

I did watch someone play it quite a few times but limited my experiences to the first three end chapter bosses and Snatcher's area being Subcon Forest. This was something I usually do before deciding to buy a game.

Snatcher honestly felt perfect for this especially taking the dad role. When you take his experiences in the ghost's past life to now, betrayal and mistrust are two big factors.

Even if Snatcher is an antagonist character, he does have some morals and personality than just the common soul eating specter with a grudge. This also takes place after the events in a Hat In Time.

And yes. Rin was singing 'Your Contract Has Expired' cover by Man On The Internet although the last bit was abridged on purpose. If this Rin had a theme, it would be the Phase Two Version theme of Your Contract Has Expired.

Anyways, until next time folks! Smell ya later.

This is an Phase Two Version of Man on the Internet's Your Contract Has Expired, done by Ben Newsome. Please read the description because they cited this song belongs to their original owner and not stole it. Poor guy doesn't need anymore accusations involving copyright.

[haikyooot]

Ch 6: Magicians, Math, and the Universe

Life’s a Hoot Ch 6: The night draws on further when you, Bokuto, and Akaashi meet up at the park. Work, office politics, and adulthood can be put on full standby as the three of you remember the memories connected by the volleyball. If there's a mathematical formula to the operations of the universe, it's magic is starting to work.

Masterlist.

Bokuto x Reader

WC: 3k

You have a million questions in your head about Bokuto, Akaashi, and Fujimoto. What is this recording Bokuto took? It's Bokuto’s first time meeting Fujimoto today. What is Akaashi’s role in all of this? What’s going on between Akaashi and Fujimoto? 

You suddenly remember your brief conversation with Akaashi outside the bathroom before you headed out. He was definitely hiding something then. The hand fiddling should have given it away. But why didn’t he tell you about his call with Bokuto?

Bokuto senses your uneasiness and tries to shift the topic. You don’t hang on to thoughts about dinner or work, happy to get your mind away from the mess.

“Do you remember how we ended up playing volleyball for the first time?” Bokuto asks.

You laugh, thinking about that memory. “Of course I do.”

---

“Hey?” Bokuto asks impatiently, sticking another pen into his hair. You continue to check Bokuto’s homework. It’s a Sunday at the local library. You occasionally glance up and wonder what black magic is in Bokuto’s hair that’s keeping the pens in place. “Let's go somewhere, I’m bored! I didn’t even run this morning and I’m feeling itchy all over the place.”

“But you’ll play volleyball again tomorrow.”

“Yea, but what about today.”

“Your teacher told me your class will have a quiz on these trig problems this week. He means I gotta make sure you pass.”

“Awwww, come on! We’ve been here all morning.”

“Bokuto.”

“Okay…” Bokuto looks more and more dejected by the moment. His face turns sour and pouts off to the side, and pulls the pens out of his hair, grumbling. “Whatever, it’s just a stupid quiz. No big deal.”

This continues on for a couple more minutes. Whenever you try to get Bokuto to redo a problem, or explain something, he would still be mentally checked-out. You reason that at this rate, he won’t be productive anyways. You glance at the clock. The two of you have been working for a while, and Bokuto did manage to arrive on time and sit for the duration.

“Actually, I think we’ve been working long enough. Could use some exercise.” You stretch in your seat, sneaking a look to see Bokuto’s reaction. He’s still pouting and mumbling incoherent stuff under his breath. Since you have started tutoring and hanging out with him more frequently, you have been amassing a treasure trove of information you find out about him--such as his weaknesses.

Bokuto’s weakness #4: He can be petty.

You try a different approach. Bokuto’s weakness for grilled meat.

“Wow, won’t grilled meat be so good after a workout? I think there’s a student discount too.”

Bokuto doesn’t even budge and mutters, “I’m not hungry. I want to be a good student and study. I love math and math loves me.”

Bokuto’s weakness #5: He can be VERY petty

This is more difficult than you imagine, but if there’s something that can overwrite this pettiness, it would be Bokuto’s 6th weakness.  

Bokuto’s weakness #6: He loves to show off

“I’ve heard stories from a friend about a volleyball player hitting an incredible cross-shot.” Bokuto’s ear twitches as he listens carefully. Hook. “But I can’t figure out who she is referring to. Is it Washio? Saru? Man, I wish I could see it in person.”

Line.

“It’s me! That’s me, Bokuto!”

Sinker.

“Really?”

“Hey, hey, hey! You bet, I’ll show you. Come on, let’s go to the courts.” Bokuto springs up and shoves his books into the bag. The librarian sharply hushes the two of you as you get dragged out. You lose half your soul by the time you two make it to the Fukurodani volleyball courts. You’re still not sure how you actually keep up each time, but it’s some untapped potential.

“Oh no! I forgot today is Sunday!” Bokuto cries, trying to open the locked gym. He bangs his head against the doors and sinks to his knees.

You pat his back, “it’s okay Bokuto.” You begin to formulate a plan in case he gets too fixated on showing you his cross-shot. You consider fishing out your wallet for a lunch-bribe instead. But he suddenly pops right back up and runs to a bush by the edge of the gym. He crouches and starts looking for something.

You call out, “what are you doing?”

“Found it!” Bokuto comes back with a dirty volleyball. Some leaves and twigs are stuck in his hair and clinging to his clothes. “I forgot I left it there because I accidently took a volleyball home after practice. But I returned it on a Sunday and decided to put it there. Guess I forgot to put it back, heh heh.”

And so you clean off the ball at the water fountain and the two of you begin your tutoring session with volleyball. Bokuto patiently shows you how to hold the ball in preparation for a set, and walks you through the basic drill of bouncing the ball against the wall. You end up working with the ball way longer than Bokuto, who ends up fetching anything rolling away. The lunch hour passes by, but the two of you continue being absorbed in this exercise for a very long time.

---

“You got the ball stuck in the tree and I had to go get it.” You accuse Bokuto.

“I didn’t know how to climb a tree okay and I was the one who got stung by a bee in the end.” Bokuto defends. “But you gotta admit, I was a great teacher.”

Bokuto was definitely a great instructor, equally enthusiastic and patient, but also a bit overzealous. These sessions happened a few more times and eventually, you ended up being at least sufficient to help out with his practices as reward for him sitting through tutoring.

“Hey, do we even have a ball to play with? Don’t tell me there’s also a magical bush in Tokyo where you hide backups.”

“Nah, not this time, I have one in my gym bag. There might be a magical bush in Osaka though.”

You roll your eyes and shake the bag in question a little.

“Your black-hole of a bag always has the most useful useless crap. I know you keep forgetting your wallet, socks, shoes. But somehow you always have expired food, manga, and some capsule toys.”

It’s true. That’s how he ends up borrowing money from you or Yukie. Or why she’s in charge of bringing a set of Bokuto’s backup gear to every match. It’s difficult to decide which one is arguably more important: sports drinks for the team or Bokuto’s shoes. In the end, you suggest to Yukie and Kaori to establish a “Bokuto emergency fund for his forgotten stuff” where the other members and fans from the general student population chip in.

Bokuto chuckles. “Oh yea, there was that one time I brought my passport instead of my wallet. I ended up losing my passport, haha, and got a call from the embassy a week later. Hey, stop laughing. I’m not like that anymore. What’s so funny?”

“Hmmm. The universe.”

The October night sky is clear, however the streetlamps prevent you from seeing any stars. But you know they are still out there. Akaashi is already at the park by the time you and Bokuto arrive. You didn’t want to bring up the whole dinner and supposed recorder incident right from the beginning, but Akaashi breaks the ice instead.

“I kind of got the gist of what happened from Bokuto. Sorry for not being more transparent with you earlier today.” You prepare to tell him it’s okay, but he motions for you to let him finish instead. “In the past months, I’ve heard things from both male and female co-workers about Fujimoto’s abusiveness and unprofessionalism. I only really experienced a bit when Udai and I got involved with him over zombie manga. When I found out today that he would take my place for dinner, someone gave me a tip that he might overstep boundaries, and so I phoned Bokuto. I figured at the very least it could just be another reference for fact-checking things if he takes too many liberties with the transcript. And well,  worst case... but...I apologize. I should have been more honest with you about it from the start.”

“Akaashi,” you begin, digesting everything he just said. “While that would have been probably better...there’s nothing for you to apologize for. I should thank you for looking out for me. I know that you have helped me in many ways even though I entered the firm a little earlier than you. Bokuto mentioned to me that I shouldn’t just see you as my junior or another co-worker. I think he’s right, it’s kind of arrogant of me after so many years of knowing each other. I hope that we can be good friends.”

“Of course. I like the sound of that very much.” Akaashi’s brows finally relax a bit.

The sentimental air between you and Akaashi begins to irk Bokuto off to the side, who find an opportunity to cut in.  “Alright, alright. We’re all friends now finally. And not ‘Bokuto’s teammate’ or ‘Bokuto’s tutor’. Good good good. We can talk later. Let’s play already.” He pulls out a volleyball from his magician bag.

The empty basketball court at the park provides a great space for activity. Only one group is playing basketball a few courts away. The bright lights illuminate the asphalt. After so many years of not holding a ball, it takes a while for your clumsy fingers and arms to coordinate properly. The three of you stand in a triangle and toss the ball back and forth, continuing some chatter. Usually it’s Bokuto and Akaashi holding a conversation. It’s a bit too much multitasking for you. As you get more and more comfortable with the ball, however, your feet begin to protest. Frustrated, you kick the shoes off to the side, much to the boys’ amusement. Akaashi also takes his jacket off and rolls up his sleeves. The light tosses become bumps instead.

“Sorry…” You apologize, attempting to go after the ball rolling away.

“I’ll get it, just stay there!” Bokuto orders, going to get the ball. “You’re already getting better!”

“Ugh, maybe I’ll just sit on the bench instead.”

“Nah, it’s more fun with three people. And Bokuto is right, you’re doing pretty good.”

Bokuto comes back with the ball, and gives you some more pointers.

“Make sure you keep form and remember to angle your arm upwards.” He demonstrates next to you and you follow his movement.

The next round of play goes by much smoother. Your body cooperates with you and you get a few good hits in too. The satisfaction at seeing the ball fly up is much greater than the sting currently growing on your forearms.

“Yea! Like that!”

As you watch the ball’s trajectory go up and down, then up and down again. You recall a particularly impressionable memory.

---

It’s the summer before the second term of second-year. You prepare to meet Bokuto at the library. It’s been a few weeks since you have last seen him. Bokuto was at a training camp with the rest of his team and a couple of other rival schools. He had tried to convince the coach to let you tag along, and it almost worked, because no one wanted to deal with an uncooperative Bokuto. But you declined and told Bokuto that you would give him a surprise at the end of the camp. And only at the end of camp. He didn’t seem particularly interested, but you insisted the surprise would be volleyball related and unexpected.

Bokuto’s weakness #15: Easily bribed...sometimes

You didn’t lie though. The surprise is most definitely volleyball related.

“This isn’t a surprise, this is torture!” Bokuto slumps over your ‘surprise’--a stack of calculus problems you insistently call ‘volleyball problems’. When Bokuto finally got to calculus and physics last semester,trying to get him through the definition of a limit was an absolute nightmare. It took you hours to convince Bokuto why limits “exist”. He said that limits were “too cruel” and proceeded to wonder if his volleyball skill was capped too. Trust Bokuto to give numbers and math feelings. 

Then, while you were multitasking your own math homework while watching the volleyball training Bokuto dragged you to, it clicked. A perfect marriage of math, physics, and sports. So, as soon as summer vacation started, you cleared out all the student council mountains of paperwork quickly, and began your ambitious project: a valiant attempt to rewrite Bokuto’s calculus summer homework into volleyball related situations. Complete with diagrams.

“It is volleyball related,” you insist, trying to get Bokuto to take another look at your magnum opus. “The laws of physics and instruments of math all govern what you can and cannot do in sports. You know how you got your straights to work so well? I can show you mathematically what goes on and how to calculate the point where the ball is the fastest in a spike. Or what makes a serve really nasty to receive?  What about the optimal defence placement? How fast do you need to dig? You can model exactly how a feint works. And also calculate the volume of air beneath a set.”

Truth is, most of the examples you list require a lot more math than Bokuto is able to handle. You hope he won’t ask you about it and just be excited enough to absorb the content. Bokuto squints at you and tries to detect any sign of lying.

“Sounds suspicious. I never think about numbers when I play.”

“And you shouldn’t anyways. But magician’s math can show you how the true genius of volleyball is born from upsetting the balance of stillness and motion.”

This some philosophical bullshit you are spouting to make it all sound cooler than it really is. Kind of like the motivational quotes floating around online with no connection with the photo it’s superimposed over, but it all still kind of makes sense and sounds good.

“Hm. Fine. Prove it.”

Bokuto is still skeptical, but you begin to shoot your shot. And you eagerly show Bokuto the diagrams and cartoons you have been working on.

“See this curve? Let’s imagine that’s Akaashi’s toss to you. Let’s say it takes 2 seconds for the ball to get to the highest point. If we divide the 2 seconds into 0.5 second sections, we can calculate the rate of change of the ball’s height from one increment to the next.” You continue to demonstrate how the ball’s height climb is increasing, at a decreasing rate. You hope that this will get Bokuto fully prepared to wrap a mind around the power derivatives.

“But I don’t hit the toss at this peak,” Bokuto says, pointing at the vertex on the parabola.  

“You’re right Bokuto, but this peak, the vertex, is really important for Akaashi. He needs to control this point, so that when the ball is falling, it’s going to fall to the perfect height for you Bokuto. This will change depending on how quickly you get to the net and how far away your spiking location is away from Akaashi.”

Bokuto looks at you in awe. He begins to understand the amount of technical intricacies that constitute his favorite activity. “Wow this is genius. Akaashi is a genius. Volleyball is genius. Hey, you are a genius.”

“Yep, magician’s math.” You nod excitedly. The diagram and exercise to help introduce Bokuto to derivatives ends a success. The two of you spend the afternoon drawing more pictures of absurd volleyball calculus and new ways of imagining curves in the context of the sport.

Bokuto unexpectedly even ends up finishing a big chunk of the homework. You did not plan for him to stay this long. Although you initially won’t complain, this thought also changes really soon.

“This is easy stuff.” Bokuto exclaims, still enthusiastic about the material in front of him. To him, math is no longer a befuddling puzzle, but rather, an odd distant relative of volleyball. And in the end, you’re the one getting impatient.

“You think you’ll be done soon, Bokuto?” For the first time, you are the one feeling like ending the tutoring session first.

“I think I can be a math genius.”

“Yea, say that again when you get to Fourier analysis or something.” You grumble.

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Most definitely. Not bad at all.”

---

By the time you, Bokuto, and Akaashi decide to stop playing, the park has already become quite empty. The basketball players have left and the three of you are the only ones in that vast space. You plop down on a bench and massage your arms. You’re pretty sure some bruises will appear. After a few painful bumps, you opted to wear your coat backwards for some more cushion. Akaashi comes over from the vending machines with three drinks and hands one to you. You accept it gratefully and press the cool bottle against your face.

“Ah, that’s so nice.” You gush. “That was a lot of fun.”

The three of you rest on the benches, and rehydrate. You glance at your phone. 23:07. Just like how Cinderella’s ball gown disappears when the clock strikes midnight, all things must come to an end. Akaashi must have seen you look at the time.

“We’ll walk you home.” He offers.

“That’s okay. I don’t live too far from here.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I want to see your place!”

Per Bokuto’s curiosity, you end up walking home with your high school classmates. The three of you are like young asteroids, floating around in the midnight landscape of twinkling city lights. Bokuto tells more lucrative tales about high school times while Akaashi corrects the exaggerations, much to Bokuto’s chagrin. It doesn’t really matter though, does it?

 In fact, when it comes to memories, the technical details aren’t necessarily the most important. And no one really thinks about the mathematics of why something gets remembered. Maybe some people do, but at least not you right now. Somehow, you feel like you’re just an ordinary high school student again, walking home with some friends after an eventful day. And that’s what is truly precious.

End Notes: 

I've been really excited to incorporate the flashback where reader baits Bokuto in with "volleyball math". This particular night has been especially long for our characters, hasn't it? It's interesting how our perception of time is so shaped by our experiences, and how all of that might change again in our memories. Or perhaps the other way around?

Some "Volleyball Math" for ya lurking nerds: •Two GREAT nerdy reddit on the math behind Kageyama's toss and why/why not it can be a foul in real life: first and second •Basic Physic Laws within Volleyball •Application of Calculation on Sports •Physics to Optimize Volleyball Serve (kinda advanced) •And the bigbrain academic paper that probably doesn't belong here:A Mathematical Model for the Trajectory of a Spiked Volleyball and Its Coaching Application

Masterlist

[zhalar]

@dykejaskiers tagged me, thank u dear ೕ(•̀ᴗ•́) task was to “answer some questions, then tag nine people i’d like to get to know better or catch up with”

last song: “come along” by cosmo sheldrake

last film: watched Ponyo for the first time ever yesterday ... mr fujimoto-ponyos-dad hand over your gender please

currently (re)reading: trying my fuckin best with classics(tm) such as wuthering heights and the trial for school things (i’m reading them in finnish, tho), but i’m also slugging my way through rereading the raven boys, you know, for my health

currently watching: still not that big on tv series but i’m listening to the adventure zone? that’s almost like a correct answer

currently craving: bruh i’ve been desperately craving chips for the best part of this month lmao. on a not-food related note, would Love to be able to use the bus safely/anxiety-free again

ah hey, i’ll tag @mooralltach @koobadoob @sapphiclamb , if you vibing w this! zero pressure as always ✌️

[alitaimagines]

“Ooooo baybia can I request some Sweet Sweet shiro fujimoto headcannons if you do them but if you don't, an imagine for when he gets home from a mission and sees you've cooked dinner with Rin and Yukio?“

shiro fujimoto x fem! reader

fandom: ao no exorcist / blue exorcist

note / song recommendation: shiro stans, RISE. / the drug in me is you - falling in reverse

Shrio set his bags down on the monastery floor as he heard commotion coming from the kitchen. He could tell you were in the kitchen as well which wasn’t unusual. 

“Rin no! You can’t add that much salt into the eggs, it’ll be too salty to eat!” He chuckled as crept his way to the doorframe of the kitchen. “Rin, listen to her.” Yukio reasoned from behind his book. 

Shiro knew if he walked in, he would just ruin the moment. He had met you a few years back, the kids were just turning six when they got introduced to you. It took a while for them to get used to you, Rin more than Yukio. But once they got comfortable around you, they started doing one on one things with you. 

Rin offered to ‘teach’ you how to cook. More than anything, you were teaching how to stop Rin from adding a mixture of things and calling it dinner. One of the first dishes you taught him was stew. It was a beef stew that he nearly perfected. 

Yukio was a different story. The two of you would go to the library whenever he was running low on books. It was a thing the both of you did. Shiro would generally take Rin somewhere else so you could take Yukio. 

He knew how important it was for you to bond with each kid so whenever they asked him to let you take them somewhere, he would almost always say yes. More often than not, he would join when he wasn’t busy. 

“Rin, if you add one more pinch of salt, we won’t get ice cream later.” You threatened lightly. Rin immediately stop and stepped away from you before he got into more trouble. “Now I want you to grab the bag of steak from the fridge and put it into this bowl.” 

Rin nodded as he grabbed the bowl and ran towards the fridge. Shiro realizing he might as well make himself known, he stepped into the kitchen with Yukio noticing him first. 

“Hey, you’re back!” Yukio mentioned as he went up to him and gave him a leg hug. Rin waved before going back to doing what you asked of him. “And no hello from you?” Shiro asked jokingly as he leaned up against the kitchen counter. 

You gave him a look. “You were due home three hours ago. I’ll give you a hello three hours from now.” Shiro cringed knowing you were right. He got caught up in church business and didn’t realize that time had slipped away from him. 

“Yeah dad, you were supposed to be here three hours ago. She got worried!” Rin accused as you started laughing from behind your apron. Shiro laughed as he knelt down to his Rin’s size. “Oh yeah? How worried?” 

You gave Rin a look before he looked at Shiro even more accusingly. “She was pacing everywhere. Her nails are completely gone and I think I might’ve heard her curse once or twice.” Yukio interjected. 

You sighed knowing that you got caught red handed. You were hoping Rin would say it in hopes of Shiro thinking that Rin was being dramatic but now that Yukio was the one that said it, you knew Shiro would believe him. 

“Well I’m here now, aren’t I?” Shiro said as he sat down between the two boys. “So what are you making?” He asked Rin. Rin ran around the counter and showed him a plate. 

“Eggs with steak bits!” Rin exclaimed. “It’s Yukio’s favorite!” Shiro chuckled as he watched you pull out a few more plates. 

“Dinner is ready! I’ll serve Rin and Yukio. You can get up and serve yourself.” You mentioned. Shiro grumbled, getting up from the chair and walked towards the stove. “How long are you going to be mad at me?” Shiro whispered into your ear. 

You thought for a moment. “You have less than three hours and than you can ask me that.” You mentioned as you sat down next to Yukio. 

Shiro sighed again as he sat down next to Rin and dug into the food. It was quiet for most of the dinner until Rin spoke up. “Hey old man, how did meet her?” He asked as you nearly choked on your food. 

You gave Shiro a desperate look as he tried to make up something. “We met at the library. She was walking out when I was walking in and that’s how we met.” Shiro blurted. Yukio gave both of you a look. 

“You’re lying.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh as you gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “Rin, I don’t think we can tell you that story just yet. You might be a little too young to hear that.” Rin questioned you, asking Shiro why was he too young to know. 

“Well, you just are. It’s inappropriate for someone like you to know how but ask me when you’re this tall and you’ll find out.” Shiro mentioned as he stood up and gave him a random height. “I promise I’ll tell you then.” 

Rin growled as he climbed off his chair and put his plate into the sink with an annoyed expression. “Now, go finish your homework and by the time you’re done, your food would have settled and we can go get ice cream.” You mentioned as Rin stomped his way to his shared bedroom. 

Yukio followed as Shiro sat on the counter. “Are you still mad?” He asked jokingly. You gave him a sarcastic look. “The library, really? Out of all the places you could’ve mentioned, it was the library?” 

Shiro laughed as he pulled you into a hug by your waist. “What, you wanted me to tell them that we met at a club and tell them how hot you looked?” He teased as you felt a warmth rush to your face. 

“Shut up. That was years ago. Do you want me to tell them how many women were before me?” You joked as he shook his head no almost immediately. You gave him a triumphant look before giving him a quick kiss. 

“Now go relax for a bit. I promised the boys we’d take them for ice cream after they finished their homework.” You mentioned as Shiro nodded. “But take a shower first because whatever happened on that trip made you really smelly.” 

Shiro tackled you for another hug as you tried to push him off. “Go! You smell!” You gagged jokingly. “Now!” You screeched as you started to laugh. 

Shiro got off of you before heading towards the bathroom. “Love you!” He screamed. “Love you too!” You screamed back before going to the sink where the pile of dishes stood. 

ALITA 

[facets-and-rainbows]

Bloody Fairy Tale (part 2)

Time to dust off my translation of the Shiro story from the light novels and actually start trying to finish it!

 Part 1 is here.

The white car I had driven into the village was parked inside the grounds. I let go of the man’s hand as we reached it.

I’d had the ghouls slash a front tire and a rear tire on my beloved car right from the start. That way, the villagers couldn’t suggest driving somewhere to call for help. All the cars in town had suffered the same sort of attack. And of course, all the phone lines were already cut.

By now, this village was like its own lonely island.

As I was feeling proud of my work, the Asian man muttered something in a language I wasn’t familiar with. “Kyou…kai?” [T/N: “A church?”] He was frowning.

Probably wondering why his chant hadn’t had any effect back there.

Seen from the side, he had a face like a knife blade: sharp, cold, and guarded. I would have to be careful around him.

“I think we lost them,” I told the men calmly, putting on a relieved face.

I was plenty aware that my gorgeous features and the bright white teeth peeking out from behind my smile had a tremendous effect on new people—or rather, on men. I use every resource available to me. What’s wrong with using my femininity a little?

I could either dispose of them somewhere in the commotion, or use my body to entice them—either way, I would have to pretend to be their ally for now.

“All of the villagers are hiding in here. I’ve surrounded the grounds with high-grade holy water, so middle level and lower demons can’t get in. It’s safe.”

“You put up this barrier?” the Asian man asked when I had finished speaking. This time he used proper English.

“Yes.”

“Fujimoto Shirou, Order of the True Cross, Japan Branch,” he said, taking out his license from his inner coat pocket and showing it to me.

So he was Japanese?

I honestly hadn’t expected that.

With his native-like English pronunciation and the way he looked straight at a stranger like he was trying to drill through them with his eyes…well, to put it bluntly, he didn’t seem very Japanese.

When I thought of a Japanese person, I imagined someone who was all cheerful smiles but never looked anyone in the eye, who was always hunched over busily working on something, who had a big camera slung around their neck, and who was surprisingly bad at English—not just the children, but grown adults too.

The thick glasses he was wearing were just about the only thing that matched my mental image…

“Maria LaMorte. Upper second class. I’m an Aria meister.” At any rate, I went ahead and held up the badge that I had hanging at chest level on a gold chain. Showing proof that we were allies would be the most effective way to get him to let his guard down.

“Maria, huh? Hey, have we met somewhere before?”

He lazily waved his index finger back and forth between us.

“Hm? I’m sorry, I don’t recall.” I shook my head.

“That’s weird,” said the man from Japan, rustling a hand through his coarse-looking hair. “I usually make a point of remembering every beautiful lady I see, even if we only met once.” He pulled one corner of his mouth into a crooked grin as he said it. It was the smile of a ladies’ man.

This is a japonés? At this point I’d gone so far beyond exasperation that I was almost impressed.

As I answered him with a “hmph,” the white man joined the conversation, also speaking fluent English.

“May I introduce myself as well, Fujimoto-sempai?”

I observed the second man indifferently.

First off, he was terribly tall. Even I had to crane my neck to look at him.

He was probably an Aria or something, with skin so pale you could see the veins underneath. He had nice features that I suppose could be called handsome, but there was a nervous look about him—maybe it was the dark circles under his eyes.

“I’m his underling Johann, lower second class. It’s a pleasure to meet such a lovely Sister.”

He certainly wasn’t shy about speaking so pretentiously in his clear baritone voice, complete with theatric gestures. And what’s worse, it actually suited him.

If he was lower second class at his age, he must have just become an exorcist. That would explain why his brand-new uniform looked so pitifully out of place on him.

Plus, he seemed weak and sickly.

Nothing to worry about from this one.

I made myself a mental note and turned my gaze back to Fujimoto.

There was one thing I needed to confirm before anything else.

“Do either of you speak Spanish?”

Spanish was the lingua franca in much of South America. The villagers here all used Spanish in their daily lives, and knew practically no English. And that meant things could get dicey if these two spoke any Spanish—but they both shook their heads.

That was a relief. It looked like fortune was on my side.

“But what are members of the Japan branch doing here?”

“It’s a cross-border mission based in international goodwill,” Fujimoto answered my question first, but he was clearly stifling a yawn as he said it.

Johann was eager to add, “We finished our mission without incident and were on our way back to the nearest branch office when we ran out of gas. We walked the rest of the way here! Yes, that’s why we’re so ill-equipped. We’ve already exhausted the bulk of our supplies.”

What an unbelievable stroke of luck. This is perfect, I thought, as I desperately resisted the urge to grin. That would explain why they were so lightly armed.

In that case, it would be child’s play to kill them. As long as I promptly dumped the bodies somewhere near where their mission had been, I could fool the local branch. I’d found a silver lining to all this.

“It’s true what they say—that exorcists are always horribly understaffed. To think a new recruit like me would be sent out to work like a dog…I’m afraid I may have chosen the wrong profession.”

Fujimoto ignored his lackey’s cheerful complaint and asked me, “So what the hell happened to this village?”

He spoke casually, but his sharp gaze never dulled. Beneath his flippant demeanor, the man had no weakness, no openings. I felt like he’d pierce right through my armor if I let my guard down at all—and as I thought that, I casually glanced away from him.

It was dangerous to make too much eye contact with an enemy, especially a sharp enemy like this.

That said, avoiding eye contact too much wasn’t an option either. That was practically begging them to suspect you.

I was confident that I could strike the right balance.

“When I got here this evening, there were already ghouls wandering all over the village.” I put everything I had into playing the part of a good and pious exorcist.

When I bit my lower lip a little in mock bewilderment, I really did start feeling bewildered. I was sure the deep lines forming on my forehead looked surprisingly natural too.

“The villagers were in a terrible panic over being attacked by corpses all of a sudden—everything was completely out of hand. I don’t think I finished setting a barrier around this church and getting everyone inside until about an hour ago.”

I cut off the story there to say, “Anyway, let’s all go inside the church,” and invited them onto my home turf. The more I talked, the more likely they were to find holes in my story. I needed to keep conversation about the village’s condition to a minimum. “The ghouls might attack us again, after all. Can we wait until we’re inside to talk?”

The two men accepted my proposal easily.

I had some awful uninvited guests on my hands, but I was glad they were both men, at least. If they were women, I wouldn’t even have the option to seduce them as a last resort.

The Japanese one especially seemed like a womanizer. As long as I could deal with him somehow, that weakling Johann wouldn’t be a problem.

It’s okay. They’re not a major obstacle, I repeated to myself as I led them to the church and pushed the door open. The door was needlessly heavy, maybe because of its elaborate construction, and Fujimoto casually reached out from behind me to help support it. At this decidedly un-Japanese show of chivalry, I looked back at him over my shoulder and smiled.

“It’s too bad for you two, but…I’m glad you ran out of gas.”

“Well, hearing that from someone as beautiful as you makes the whole walk worth it,” Fujimoto answered, flirtatiously.

I gave him a gentle grin in return.

Deep down, all I could think of was how to entrap this man from Japan.

 At the very least, I had to get rid of these two tonight.

No matter what it took…

[pinkshinobi2]

“YOU CAN’T DATE HER!”

Rin Okumura x fem!reader

chapter 1

warnings: none?

summary: rin always thought of y/n as yukio’s friend from school, never bothering to actually speak to her, until the day she spends the night at his house. A lot happens, and people get hurt, but was it all worth it in the end?

NEXT CHAPTER

masterlist

GIF not mine

——————————————————

“Hey, Yukio.” Y/n smiled at her best friend, walking home beside him.

“Hello, Y/n,” he replied, returning her smile.

“Are we still on for tonight? I’m excited to meet your dad,” she asked. Her and the freckles boy were planning to study together that night, in preparation for their history test the next day.

“Yeah, but my brother will be there, too. I love him, and all, but he always interrupts my studying,” Yukio sighed, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

“I’m sure he’s not that bad. Anyway, what I’m confused about is: how have I never met any of your family members, but you’ve met all of mine?”

“Well, Rin’s always out, probably fighting, and whenever I invite you over, my dad assumes we’re doing “things” and steers clear.” He chuckled.

“I mean we might be doing “things”.” She wiggled her eyebrows at, playfully nudging him.

“Yeah, sure,” he joked.

She reached the street she lived on, and hurriedly crosses the road. “I’ll see you at six, Yukio!”

“See you then.”

Y/n entered her home, a goofy grin on her face. Her mother gave her a quick hug, offering her some fruit, and she ran upstairs to her room.

The time was 3:57, and Y/n had to leave at 5:40 to get to Yukio’s house on time, so she sprawled on her bed, scrolling through social media. After roughly 45 minutes, she decided to change out of her smart school uniform and into something more comfortable. Pulling her fairly new black hoodie over her head, and her old blue jeans up to her waist, she reminded her mother of her plans, before settling on the couch in the living room.

She searched her Netflix list for something entertaining to watch, finally deciding two episodes of How I Met Your Mother were adequate. When the second episode was over, she slid her feet into her shoes and checked the time. It was 5:45, so she would be slightly late, but she hoped Yukio wouldn’t mind much.

Saying goodbye to her parents, she exited her home, glad it was summer. The sun was still in the sky, and there was a warm breeze flowing through her hair. She began to think her hoodie was unnecessary, but she wasn’t extremely hot, and she wasn’t about to carry it for the rest of the journey.

Before she knew it, she was in front of Yukio’s house. She’d forgotten to text him when she’d left home, and wasn’t concerned when he opened the door in confusion.

“Y/n, I thought you’d forgotten we were studying tonight.” He ushered her inside, leading her into his kitchen.

“Sorry, I lost track of time and was in a bit of a rush,” she apologised. “And I kinda ran here so I couldn’t tex- hello!”

She noticed the man at the table. He was old, yet he had the aura and smile of a young man and his round glasses were perched rather high up his nose. He had patchy grey stubble around the lower half of his face, and gray hair to match.

“Ah, you must be Y/n. I’m Shiro Fujimoto, Yukio’s father.” He held his hand out for her to shake, rising from his seat. She shook it, hesitantly, a nervous smile never leaving her face. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, same to you,” Y/n replied, glancing at her friend. He had a pink tint on his cheeks.

Shiro laughed heartily, releasing her soft hand from his grip. “You’ve got a good girl here, son.”

“I promise I will repeat this to you until you get it: we’re not in a romantic relationship, we’re just friends,” Yukio snapped, glaring it his old man. Y/n agreed, nodding her head furiously.

“Sure. Well, if that changes, make sure you tell me.”

“It won’t,” Yukio stated, grabbing Y/n’s wrist and pulling her to his bedroom. She could hear Shiro’s laughter behind her, blushing lightly.

When the pair of friends entered the room, the first thing they noticed was the blue haired boy lounging on one of the beds. He was in jeans and a loose t-shirt, hands behind his head. His hair drooped in his eyes and he stared at the two people in front of him. One he recognised as his brother, and the other was a rather beautiful girl he’d never seen before.

“Rin, this is Y/n. Y/n, this is Rin, my brother.”

Rin smiled at the girl, pushing off the bed.

“Hey, Y/n. I don’t think I’ve seen you before, what are you doing here? In my room? With my brother?” he questioned, looking between her and his sibling.

“Sorry to intrude. I’m just here to study with Yukio.” She blushed, trying to avoid his gaze. She could definitely admit it to herself: he was attractive, and she almost couldn’t handle his proximity.

“Okay, I think I’ll join you.”

“Definitely not,” Yukio interrupted, “We’re actually going to study tonight, and you always distract me. Please, go stay with Dad.”

“Fine. I’ll se you later, Y/n.”

Rin left, leaving his brother and a girl alone in their bedroom. He was envious, they could’ve been doing all sorts of things together, and he’d barely spoken to a girl before. Especially a girl that gorgeous.

Y/n sat beside Yukio at his desk, pulling Rin’s chair over, and opened her textbook.

“Let’s get started.” She cracked her knuckles.

~