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uh-oh-howd-i-get-here · 2 years ago

Text

Achilles Come Down

Bakugo Katsuki X gn! Reader

This deals with a super-serious topic, but it's self-indulgent. I'm feeling better than I was in my last fic belive it or not. If you need help, or if you feel like it's hopeless, please reach out to someone. This is based of the song 'Achilles Come Down'.

Link to the Song: https://youtu.be/T_V76Dm42bY

Summary: Reader is going to jump, Bakugo talks her down.

Pairing: Pro! Bakugo Katsuki X gn! Reader

Warnings: Deals very heavily in Suicide, Do not read if it will trigger you. Attempted suicide, does not go through with it. Mentions of death. Angst.

Word Count: 1,826

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, come down

Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?

You're scaring us and all of us, some of us love you

Achilles, it's not much but there's proof

You crazy-assed cosmonaut, remember your virtue

Redemption lies plainly in truth

Just humor us, Achilles, Achilles, come down

Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?”

His voice was so sweet, so gentle, trying to coax you down from the ledge. You on one building, him on another just parallel. Police car lights flashing up the buildings and reflecting on the both of you. Your friends 50 floors below on the ground. You’d never seen Dynamight so desperate, your heart would break for him if you knew it weren’t because of you. How had this become so complicated?

“Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, come down

Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?

The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken

Remember the pact of our youth

Where you go, I'm going, so jump and I'm jumping

Since there is no me without you”

His threat hung heavy in the air, causing you to falter. You had been smitten with Bakugo since you were little, and then a crush bloomed right before you when you were in the same class at UA. He had hardly expected to see you, since the last time he had seen you was when you were paralyzed by the car accident. It wasn’t immediate friendship, but you’d quickly become close with the rest of the Bakusquad and the two of you had grown closer. You’d started dating before graduation and through being sidekicks at different agencies. When he told you that he and Kirishima were creating an agency and asked you to be part of it, you’d accepted immediately.

During your first official patrol with Dynamight, you made a pact with him that no matter what, you’d always be on each other’s side. You’d since moved in together spending time with each other and with your mutual friends. Life was a hero’s paradise until the accident.

“Soldier on, Achilles, Achilles, come down

Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?

Hurt and grieve but don't suffer alone

Engage with the pain as a motive

Today, of all days, see

How the most dangerous thing is to love

How you will heal and you'll rise above”

He was pleading now, his voice shaking. Tears welling in his eyes. It broke your heart, but your guilt was heavier. He was offering you forgiveness, a second chance because everyone makes mistakes. You couldn’t be forgiven though. You didn’t really want to jump, you wanted to call for help, to beg Dynamight to save you. To ask any of the bystanders below to help you. You knew deep down that this emotion wasn’t yours, but the effect of the man behind you. His quirk amplifying and intensifying your guilt and agony over your mistake until you couldn’t bear it anymore. Jumping was the only way to get rid of these effects, the only way to rid yourself of this guilt that was literally drowning you. Even as you were fighting for your life, even as close as Dynamight was, the man was right behind you, whispering in your ear.

“Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, jump now

You are absent of cause or excuse

So self-indulgent and self-referential

No audience could ever want you

You crave the applause yet hate the attention

Then miss it, your act is a ruse

It is empty, Achilles, so end it all now

It's a pointless resistance for you”

His voice was smooth in your ear, and you felt your burden intensify. Two days ago, while on patrol by yourself, you’d ended up fighting a villain. There weren’t any other heroes in the area so you were alone until your backup could arrive. Your first priority was to save the bystanders, and you tried, you really tried. The villain was relentless and used the innocents as a shield. It wasn’t until the fight was over that a life had been lost. A young man had had a heart attack during the fight. You hadn’t been able to get him somewhere where someone could help him. He had died before you could finish the fight. Bakugo held you that night as you sobbed for him.

His family had made a statement to the press and magazines were eating up the story. The family wasn’t suing, which you were grateful for, but you still visited them and apologized profusely. The man’s mother was understanding, as was her husband, but you could tell that the man’s brother was angry. Fury was radiating off him, and you took it because you knew you deserved it. What you didn’t expect was to see the brother that night on your way home from the office. All he did was grab you and yell, but looking back on it, that was when he’d put his quirk in use.

The next day your guilt was tenfold what it was yesterday, and it only grew. Your friends, your manager, and Bakugo could tell you were off. They didn’t ask questions though; no-one had gone through what you were feeling. You were all so young. That night you went on patrol with Dynamight and a couple other of your friends. You were on lookout on the very same roof you were standing on now when he had come up behind you. Every word he said enhanced what you were feeling until he saw you glance at the ledge. His smile was cruel as he said what you were thinking. A life for a life, it was only fair.

Now, in the present, Dynamight saw the man and recognized him for who he was. Puzzle pieces started to fall into place, that you weren’t in full control of yourself. He had to wait until he had more backup though, he couldn’t tip off the brother that he knew.

“Achilles, Achilles, just put down the bottle

Don't listen to what you've consumed

It's chaos, confusion and wholly unworthy

Of feeding and it's wholly untrue

You may feel no purpose nor a point for existing

It's all just conjecture and gloom

And there may not be meaning, so find one and seize it

Do not waste yourself on this roof

Hear those bells ring deep in the soul

Chiming away for a moment

Feel your breath course frankly below

And see life as a worthy opponent

Today, of all days, see

How the most dangerous thing is to love

How you will heal and you'll rise above

Crowned by an overture bold and beyond

Ah, it's more courageous to overcome”

You wanted so bad to believe him. Wanted so bad to be able to reach down and know that you had been forgiven. That it wasn’t your fault. You wanted to rise above it, but you were drowning. Flailing like you never learned how to swim. Was it really going to end like this for you? After everything that had happened in your life? After every obstacle you had overcome, this was it?

You briefly wondered if this was the kind of guilt that the drunk driver had felt when he learned that he had paralyzed a young child. If he had overcome his own guilt to help come up with your cure. You’d have to ask him if you survived. Oh, how you wanted to survive but what you did was unbearable. You’d killed a man. This quirk was so powerful, and you were feeling very weak.

“You want the acclaim, the mother of mothers”

His voice whispered again, smooth as silk.

“It's not worth it, Achilles”

Dynamight’s voice was quieter, like he was getting farther away.

“More poignant than fame or the taste of another”

You shook your head, shame filling you. He was feeding off other emotions now. Amplifying them to be your undoing.

“Don't listen, Achilles”

If only it were that easy, but the ledge was right there, you already had one foot on it.

“But be real and just jump, you dense motherfucker”

You stepped up onto the ledge.

“You're worth more, Achilles”

You were so high up; your knees feel weak.

“You will not be more than a rat in the gutter”

The lights down below were so mesmerizing.

“So much more than a rat”

You could see the outline of your friends down below, fewer now than before.

“Be done with this now and jump off the roof”

You moved one foot forward, ready. It would be fast right? You wouldn’t survive the fall.

“Can you hear me, Achilles?”

Your head snapped up to make eye contact with red eyes. So many emotions floating in them. Sadness, anger, desperation, and fear. You’d never seen him so scared. His fear frightened you, but not enough to shake this. Your foot hanging over a 50-story drop.

“I'm talking to you

I'm talking to you

Achilles, come down

Achilles, come down”

You loved him. You loved him so much it hurt. You’d die for him, you’d kill for him, but in this exact moment you wanted to live for him. You wanted to live so that he could propose, so you could get married to the love of your life. You wanted to build a family with him. Tears welled up in your eyes. You wanted to live but you didn’t know how after this. You’d killed a man. You deserved to die, didn’t you? The look on his face told you that this wasn’t the path to take but you were so sure.

Is there a way that you could be forgiven? The poor man’s mother had said so. Your friends had said so. Your agent had said so.

Bakugo Katsuki had told you that when he was holding you that night. He had never lied to you, that was a truth that you could live your whole life knowing. It was a pillar in your life. Maybe you could step down from here and continue living.

You faltered again, this time backwards.

Your eyes still locked with Dynamight, a voice behind you shouted,

“Throw yourself into the unknown

With pace and a fury defiant”

Then silence. A hand grabs your arm with a grip that could’ve broken it and yanks you off the ledge. Your heart seizes before you fall into Kirishima’s arms and start sobbing. What happens next is a blur, you’re handed off to familiar arms and they carry you. Sat in the back of an ambulance, Bakugo whispers into your hair,

“Clothe yourself in beauty untold

And see life as a means to a triumph

Today, of all days, see

How the most dangerous thing is to love

How you will heal and you'll rise above

Crowned by an overture bold and beyond

it's more courageous to overcome”

#mha #bakugo katsuki #bakugo x reader #bakugo x gender neutral reader #my hero acedamia #my hero fanfic #angst #katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugo mha

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keerishima · 4 years ago

Note

HELLO! I saw you were a new blog that needed requests and I was wondering if you could write head-canons for todoroki, bakugou, and kiri (separately) with a s/o that has a witchcraft quirk? TY

well hi! thank you for the request, it was so cool to write! now i’m assuming you mean like a quirk that works like potions and herbs/crystals and spirit summoning and spells which is the road i’m taking i hope that’s okay?

now this boy is

excited

when he first saw the mist swirling around your fingers as you fought the robots in the UA exam, a shock went through his body

what was that?

okay he didn’t mean to stare- considering he was in the middle of an exam- but the way you moved and the glints of a crystals around your body was just so cool

time passed and he got closer to you, during the dorm competition your room was the only room he wanted to see and boy did he love it

the green ivy and plants in your room, the pots and white smoke curling from diffusers and shelves full of powder and inks organised in a neat row

your room felt like a whole new world- like magic

literally after everyone had left he was still in your room looking around like a meerkat assessing it’s surroundings

fast forward; you guys are dating and he was VERY curious as to how your quirk worked, and you explained how your spells and energy came from the crystals and jewels

each crystal gave you a different energy, which converted to your power!

kirishima literally watched in awe as you pointed at all the different coloured gems and jewels and the symbols on your walls

he even asked to touch some of them and asked where you got them

he also asked to see them in battle, and asked if you had any similar to his own quirk!

the both of you engaged in LOTS of different mock battles, which almost always ended up in a play fight rather than real training- just because he ends up enjoying watching you use your quirk too much to actually focus

once you two had engaged in a long, breathless make out session against one of the walls- what can I say? you wanted to see what it felt like to kiss kirishima in his red riot form and have him melt back to normal under your touch

yeahh...it was a bad idea to do that in the school gym, where half of class 1-B caught you two mushed together against a wall

back to the hc!

he asks SO many questions

sometimes just sits on your bed for ages and asks one after the other after the other, to the point where aizawa has to come and send him back to his side of the dorm

let me tell you now: if you are 1) planning to get anything or 2) NEED anything, don’t let him find out

you once let it slip that you were considering getting pouches to carry these crystals, and the sweet, sweet boy went out and bought BUCKETS of bags

yes buckets because he didn’t know if your crystals would be affected by material or size of the bag or- god forbid what if it did and he ruined your quirk in battle?!

he’d never forgive himself.

ever.

like literally he’d be on his knees ready for punishment of how you saw fit because of his mistake

what can i say? the boys dramatic

but its endearing :,)

it ended up being the cutest date of you cuddled up on his bed wrapped in his blankets like you were drowning in them,

whilst he sat on the floor, presenting each little bag and pouch to you, all teleshopping style.

‘and THIS 🤩 gorgeous article comes with not just 1😱! not just 2 😱! but THREE 🤯🥵🥳🥳 buttons to clip close to ensure a tight, secure hold of your 😏 special package’

yeah he made a sleazy face

yeah you threw a plushy at him

all of them were bought with your costume in mind and how could you not keep some of the bags? with kirishima watching you with the biggest eyes and slightly-pouting-lips-but-he-would-never-admit-it there was no way you didn’t keep the most useful ones

you asked him to return the extra bags so he wouldn’t have wasted his money, whilst you repaid his kindness with lots and lots of kisses and cuddles

;) or more depending on how you want it

todoroki is uhh...

emotionally constipated

but thats not his fault

#fuckendeavour

sometimes it comes off that he’s not interested in your quirk in a general sense, but it’s only because he doesn’t know how to ask without seeming pushy

he gets shy (but doesn’t show it) but with time that decreases to a sort of dry affection

i’m not saying he’s a dry boyfriend but he definitely isn't as spritely as someone like Denki might be

the way you’d see that he wanted to know more was if he asked you to come and fight with him, train with him and study

this is where he asked about your quirk

he didn’t ask to the extent of kirishima, who said everything that came to mind, he asked precise questions that gave him all the information he was desperate to know because you are so cool it makes his heart burn needed

and he also knew you would add more information as you explained, which he loved because he loved hearing you talk so passionately

this time your quirk allowed you to control people to an extent, depending on different plants and herbs you used

the plants each had a special line, muttered as you dropped the herbs anywhere on your opponent for it to activate

best believe todoroki asked for one to knock endeavour out, literally out of nowhere💀

once, one night you had been laying on your bed, and todoroki had popped over to see you. it was still quite early on in your relationship so you weren’t expecting him to cuddle up beside you and tuck into your smaller body, chin hooked onto your shoulder whilst his eyes bore into yours from below todoroki loves eye contact

‘Do your plants have meanings?’

that’s it, that’s all he softly whispered in your ear

‘What do you mean?’ You whispered back

‘Like...like roses mean love...do your herbs have a meaning linked to what they do?’

okay now he was blushing, very gently because he didn’t want to annoy you, or ask you a question you’d never thought of and make you feel silly or insecure about his quirk

YOU on the other hand were smothering a dopey grin. you knew your boyfriend and his boundaries, and you knew that him asking you in such an intimate setting meant he was trying hard for you

you also knew that he’d just given you free reign to ramble however you saw fit

so you explained, how each herb did this, how if you mixed them they did that, if you made a liquid infused with them it helped with your application in battle and so much more

todoroki listened silently, but his eyes were gleaming

literally glowing in the darkness- I mean was that even possible? it had to have been considering how todoroki looked at you that night

after you were done, he replied with a similar thing about his own quirk, and both of you had a long long chat that went from quirks, to schooling, to life, to aliens and more

todoroki had the weirdest humour, he never knew he was being funny until your quiet giggles morphed into full blown laughter- and caused a knock from the next room over because you were being too loud

he would let out his own little chuckles and smirks, seeing you enjoy his company so much

it was a while after that day when something new happened

you’d sent him a message, whilst he was sitting right next to you, and your contact name flashed on his screen suddenly, catching your eye

‘my calendula’

you looked at todoroki

todoroki looked at you

you both blinked

‘calendula?’ you asked

‘yes’ todoroki replied

‘why calendula?’

‘because,’ todoroki blushed deeply, eyes flickering away from yours

‘because you said calendula means joy...you’re my joy. arent you?’

and god help anyone who tries to say you aren’t todoroki’s joy

because you would literally throw them to the ground

your heart soared at how todoroki loved you and your quirk so much

even though it wasn’t blatantly obvious, it was the little things he did for you 😍

he originally going to call you his basil until Bakugou came round behind him asking him if he was writing the dorms grocery list. safe to say that plan was aborted immediately :D

oho

sorry I just

*pfft*

bakugo amuses me, he really does he’s so entertaining

okay sorry back to the headcanon

I headcanon you’re REALLY strong

like STUPID strong

Remember bakugos reactions to all the students quirks and he was like ‘shit I cant beat them 😨’

And his reaction to todoroki? yeah he’d literally see you use your quirk and just

no I’m joking

but I feel like as your s/o he’d be super obsessed with your quirk

he’d always want to train with you, he’d see it as an amazing part of you that he wants to help hone so you can be the best of the best

not better than him obviously but the best anyway

not that he’d SHOW all of this awe and pride to you, it’s normally delivered in a bunch of bakugo sentences:

‘oi your form is shit. do this instead.’

that means he’s realised a new way you can throw this punch, with much more force

‘tch, go train. you need the training.’

he wants to train with you. again.

‘....finally. took you long enough to learn that.’

you’ve just done something successfully and he’s trying so hard not to blush at how well you did it.

here your power is more destructive

you can create sigils using a your finger in the air and they create attack power

this with bakugos quirk makes a formidable duo, and if he doesn’t get partnered with you he will most likely throw a fit

but not a long fit more of a like ‘oi why is she over there we work better together’

but he realises as heroes you need to work well with anyone you meet, so he’s not too fussy

because of the fact that you draw the sigils, you have a habit of tracing out patterns and new symbols and any sort of designs subconsciously

this is done normally on any part of your skin, with a pen

bakugo being old man bakugo 🙄 got mad at you

he told you off for almost giving yourself ink poisoning and ruining your hand and making it all dirty drama queen

but throughout all of this bakugo had been clutching your hand, and best believe he wasn’t letting go

he used the hand he was holding to pull you along and sit comfortably, dropping his own palm into your lap and mumbling something that kind of, sort of, might have been along the lines of ‘use my arm dumbass’

now you had bakugos arm to scribble on to your hearts content.

you used this when you were stressed, worried that your nerves were causing you to forget things or simply because you wanted to hold bakugo close

in fact, bakugo himself had adopted this habit, and you’ll notice I said arm instead of hand

bakugo got nervous around you, and therefore sweaty, which therefore lead to tiny little explosions in his palms when you were near

but this habit had started to make him feel comfortable with his hands around you, it made him trust himself more

he knew his power was strong and he didn’t want to hurt you, your quirk was something that helped him with that

and he wouldn’t tell you that but he was grateful. VERY grateful

he once asked why you used pen, and not your finger on your skin considering the pen ink is toxic

you answered very quickly, by pulling out a sheet of people and sliding your finger across the surface in a sigil shape

promptly the paper burnt into a cinder :)

and bakugo never asked again

and that is the end! I hope you liked it and I did the idea of Witchcraft justice 😅 please do send some more requests!

god I loved this so much they’re all so cute :,) thank you for this request!!

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mikimagines · 4 years ago

Note

can I get a reaction of a Byakuya Toko Kokichi and maybe genocider syo if you can but if not genocider can you do celestia? to s/o revealing themselves as the mastermind during a class trial?

I do see that masterminds are loved in the danganronpa fandom a lot.

mod mikan.

Byakuya, Toko, Kokichi and Genocider with a mastermind s/o.

Byakuya Togami

how do I say this.

he was surprised and at the same time angry as hell,

the person he was looking for all this time and wanted to take down was his own s/o?

although he is Byakuya Togami, he was actually unexpected that you were the mastermind.

well other than that he hates you now.

he won’t go obviously soft on you once Makoto gives him the hope he needed.

there is two endings to this and that is:

if you did survive and joined Makoto as he tries to “change you” it would be awkward with byakuya.

I mean he won’t forgive you, you literally killed off his entire bloodline.

if you didn’t and lived the same fate as junko.

he would just scoff, and hide his feelings for now on although he is still actually sad(?). not like he would show it anyways.

Toko Fukawa

you are literally pure evil.

being toko’s 3rd love and the fact that you are the mastermind.

it would probably, yet maybe make toko cry.

I mean she loved you! she trusted you!

You are the reason that she got over byakuya!!!

over pure logic, she would obviously yell at you while crying her eyes out.

she had a person who finally cared about her and they turn out for the mastermind?

you did try cupping her face while laughing at her.

but then she suddenly slapped your hands and told you to stay away from her.

she NEVER wants to see you ever again or your stupid face.

Kokichi Oma

is he shocked? yes.

he did give prompts a little at the same time angry as hell because YOU lied.

and he’s the king of lies???

So how the hell does did he not figure it out sooner?

he’s in a mix of emotions right now.

angry, mad, sad??

how is he supposed to deal with this when the person he trusted was the mastermind he almost killed himself to find?

for the rest of the trial is honestly just you yelling at each other.

also him making fun of you for being stupid when Shuichi shows a mistake you made and how “easy it was to do”

although he was the stupid one to trust you to begin with.

maybe he should take you off his trustworthy list if he gets to his dorm.

Genocider Sho

or genocider jack, jill.

would fall in love with you even more tbh.

literally anything you do is attractive to her. (I swear to god if you guys saying anything wrong-)

anyways you being the mastermind did get her to put scissors next to your neck quick.

then she realized you two could be y’know.

partners in crime.

while she was saying that you just looked,

blankly at her.

you thought of a more despairing reaction like a idiot.

but this?

what even is this.

I lost my 1000 combo on a rhythm last night. it was not fun especially when it was the last part...

mod mikan.

#danganronpa imagines #danganronpa #danganronpa headcanons #danganronpa x reader #byakuya togami x reader #toko fukawa x reader #kokichi ouma x reader #genocide jack x reader

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r0zyp0zy0zy · 4 years ago

Note

Hiya! Could I please request number 6 from that prompt list for Taketora please~? Thank you!

Haikyuu!! Prompt list trial

HQ!! Prompt list

Words: 1400

Warnings: slightly suggestive, probably ooc Yamamoto

Pairing: Yamamoto Taketora x FEM!reader

Prompt: #6 ("you, uhm— kinda touched my�� yeah..")

Thanks sm for the request!! This is my first time ever writing for Yamamoto, so sorry if it feels a bit off

Yamamoto was an interesting fella to say the least. He was quite intimidating when you saw him throughout campus, with his intense blonde mohawk and sharp gaze. It was only when he bumped into you in the hallway that you got a taste of what he was really like.

"Oh, sorry Yamamoto-Kun," you bowed slightly, trying to avoid his gaze. When he didn't reply, you looked up to see your very red and flustered classmate opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish.

"It's- uh. I mean, it's was my fault, so uh- yeah," he stuttered awkwardly, blushing harder when your e/c eyes locked with his. He bowed deeply in a sudden movement, "I-I'm sorry for bumping into you, l/n-san!"

From that point onwards, you had opened up a soft spot for Yamamoto in your heart. You made sure to smile at him in the halls when you saw him, causing his friends to poke fun at him when you did. You thought that it was cute that he was so shy; it made you want to befriend him. It was a slow and steady ride, but one day you finally mustered up enough courage to invite him to hangout over lunch.

Even several months later he was still flustered and shy around you, so it was a pleasant surprise when he asked you to watch him practice volleyball with his team in the gym after your classes.

"Hey, um. Y/n?" Yamamoto asked, wringing his hands together nervously. "Would you like to watch my volleyball team practice around 3:30?"

You smiled at him, "sure! I would love to." You felt giddy that he was letting you in on his hobby. It was what he talked about most, so you assumed that it was very important to him.

Yamamoto grinned wildly at you, a light rouge dusting his cheeks. He filled you in on all of his teammates while he walked you to class, telling you their special plays. You nodded along politely, and you gave him one last smile before you slipped into your English class.

You couldn't get your mind off of the bleached blonde while you scribbled down verbs half-assed, subconsciously simpering thoughtfully. Your fondness of Yamamoto over time turned into a silly crush, and you blushed at the idea that you caught feelings for the boy so quickly. You kept glancing at the clock above the door, hoping that it would tick faster so that class would be over. You sighed as you doodled on the margin of your paper, absentmindedly daydreaming about playing with Yamamoto's hair.

You walked up to the gymnasium doors, nervously contemplating if you should knock or just walk in. You could hear the squeak of runners on the gym floor, and the loud smacking of multiple volleyballs echoing inside the large room. You took a breath, tightening your grip on your bag and decided to just walk in. You fumbled with the door nervously, swinging it open quietly. You peaked inside just in time to watch Yamamoto leap into the air and sock a ball into the ground on the opposite side of the net.

He got a few cheers from his teammates and you clapped along, causing Yamamoto and his team to glance over to you. You cowered nervously at the attention, and looked at your friend for help.

"Y-y/n-san!" He yelped with wide eyes. He walked over to you, burring his hands in his shorts waistband as if they were pockets. "You came!"

"Of course I did!" You replied, closing the gymnasium door behind you. "I said I would, didn't I?"

You realized that the noise that was previously ringing through the gym had stopped, and you looked around to see some of the team members either looking at you, or chatting with each other in whispers. When you turned back you jumped and let out a startled yelp.

"Who're you?" Asked the giant that materialized beside Yamamoto. He had striking green eyes that seemed to be staring into your soul.

"Don't scare her away!" Yamamoto defended, pulling the beanpole away from you. "I invited her to come and watch me play."

"And she agreed? Surprising," a boy you recognized as Kuroo butted into the conversation.

"You boys get back to practice! Yamamoto, go find your girlfriend a seat on the bleachers and get to work!" Nekoma's volleyball captain shouted at the players. You and Yamamoto blushed at the words 'your girlfriend', but neither of you made a comment.

"Er, sorry about Lev— he's kind of blunt with his words," Yamamoto apologized, leading you to one of the front bleachers.

"Ah, it's alright. He just spooked me is all," you shrugged, putting down your bag. He gave you a curt nod and jogged back to practice, yelling at one of his teammates to serve him a ball.

In all honesty, you had hardly a clue what was going on. You thought you had a grasp on volleyball when Yamamoto explained it to you, but... apparently not. You cheered with the team when you assumed something impressive happened, half embarrassed when the team glanced at you.

During their midway break, you fretted over Yamamoto's hands, "don't they hurt? Is there any bruising?"

"Oh," he waved a hand, a blush creeping onto his face, "sometimes there are bruises, but I hardly feel them!"

Unconvinced, you eyed them and ran a finger along one of the bruises on his palm. "You sure? I can kiss them better if they do..." you teased, only half joking.

"W-well, maybe a little," Yamamoto stiffened, hope fluttering in his chest.

You looked at him and smiled innocently, taking each of his hands and laying a chaste kiss to both palms. You watched in amusement as Yamamoto's face bloomed a darker shade of red at your affections, eyes considerably wider that before.

"Feel better?" You cooed, relishing his flustered state.

"Y-yes, thanks!" He stuttered, looking as though he was about to feint. You could hear muffled giggles from his teammates somewhere in the distance, probably laughing at his awkwardness. "Hey! I don't see a pretty girl kissing your hands, huh?!" He snapped at his friends.

"Pretty?" You repeated.

Yamamoto turned back to you with a shy smile, "w-well yeah.. you're very pretty."

"Oh just shut up and confess already!" Someone, (probably Kuroo), called from across the gym. You heard the 'phtftftft' of a ball flying through the air, and watched in slow motion as Yamamoto slid an arm across your chest to shelter you from the ball. He slapped it down with his other hand.

"Hey! Mind your damn business!" His arm was still on your chest, and you realized with a start that he was gripping onto your breast.

"you, uhm— kinda touched my—," you started, pulling Yamamoto's attention back to you. He seemed to realize his mistake and yanked his hand away, "yeah.."

You stifled a laugh when he literally got on his knees and bowed in apology, "y/n I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to I swear! I was just trying to protect you!" He glanced back up at you with a beat red face, "please forgive me!"

"Oh, it's alright," you said awkwardly, "it was an honest mistake, Yamamoto-chan."

His eyes turned into saucers at your words and his mouth fell open. You had to drag him back up to his feet so he wasn't kneeling on the floor of the gym.

A (very) loud laugh broke your thoughts, and you looked over to see Kuroo gripping his stomach as he spewed the most hideous laugh, "Yamamoto-chaan~" he mocked, "I forgive you for groping me without my consent!"

"It was an accident!" Yamamoto raged, "and your 'y/n voice' is nowhere near as pretty as hers."

Kuroo went into another laughing fit, and you could see Kenma covering his mouth as he giggled. Yamamoto looked back at you with his still guilty eyes, silently begging you to reassure him.

"Seriously, Yama, it's alright," you muttered so only he could hear. "And besides, I was going o to let you do that anyway at some point," your whisper sent shivers down his spine, and he quickly made up and excuse to go to the bathroom.

#anime #hq anime #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #yamamoto taketora #taketora yamamoto #yamamoto x reader #taketora Yamamoto x reader

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restlessmaknae · 4 years ago

Text

half to your half

➳ Lee Dongheon is a praised choreographer for a soon-to-be debuting boygroup, but the trainees are complaining about his strict way of teaching, so he ends up at your dance class alongside literal kids.

♦ Pairing: choreographer!Dongheon x choreographer!reader/you

♦ Genre: soulmate au, fluff, comedy

♦ Words: 8.5k

♦ Dedicated to: my other half @dat-town who deserves the world! I think you had a feeling I would write about Dongheon, but I hope you’ll enjoy the story nevertheless. I’ve incorporated that one Road to Kingdom scene that made you bias him (and stan Verivery) because I just had to! 😉 Love you more than words could explain! Take care, stay safe! 💖💖

♦ A/N: Click here to be added to the TAGLIST and to let me know about your fic preferences. 💖

��What do you mean I need training? I’ve thought you hired me because I was good enough.”

The air in the meeting room froze for a minute, but Lee Dongheon was firm in his words, and he wasn’t going to break the silence first when he was the one who had asked the previous question. He didn’t want to give up on keeping the eye-contact with the coordinator either because he was sure that sooner or later, the 30-something guy would break. He wasn’t willing to leave just yet, he needed his answers if he was about to receive training when he had been hired because the entertainment company had deemed him the most suitable dance choreographer for their soon-to-be-announced boy group.

“The thing is…” Mr Park started hesitantly, lowering his voice as he continued. “The trainees are complaining.”

Dongheon almost let out a snort hearing that. Almost. The only thing that held him back was his pride and the fact that he was a professional, so he wasn’t going to show that he wasn’t happy to receive such news.

“About what?” He quirked an eyebrow challengingly, having a feeling about what it would be about, but not wanting to back away either. He wasn’t even exactly surprised when he was told:

“About you being too strict.”

“They need to take dancing seriously. It’s not a child’s game. They are preparing for their debut, much worse is waiting for them once they eventually make it to live shows and all that,” Dongheon reasoned with a click of his tongue. He didn’t regret how he had treated those kids. Sure, they were 14-16 year old teenagers, but if they didn’t learn how to behave well during dance practices, when would they take their idol life seriously? One wrong move was enough to turn someone’s life into a hellhole, and they could laugh all they wanted outside of his dance practices, but he wasn’t going to let them have their way when he was their dance teacher.

So no, he didn’t want to show any remorse, nor did he want to seem like he was willing to beg for the company’s forgiveness. He didn’t think that he had done anything wrong. If they kept making mistakes, why wouldn’t he force them to practice more? Maybe he wasn’t the most beloved dance choreographer of all time, but his previous dance teams had never really complained. Though they hadn’t even been as young as these kids.

“Why don’t you just find a new choreographer then?” Dongheon asked flippantly, keeping the eye-contact with Mr Park. The coordinator let out an aghast sigh, then put his hands down on the table, leaning over, so that he could be closer to the guy and explain in a whisper-like tone:

“Because the choreography is yours, and the company is satisfied with it. You just need to soften up a bit,” he said, almost pleading. It seemed like they really did try to keep him at the company, but the choreographer wasn’t exactly happy about some random training when he had other dance classes to attend and other dance groups to teach.

He looked down at the inked words on his arm (a war worth fighting for), the half of that so-called soulmate quote everyone had on their skin. It was like a tattoo, but you couldn’t get rid of it no matter how much you tried. You had half of a quote and your soulmate had the other one, and when you said the two out loud at the same time when you finally found each other, the other half would be engraved into your skin.

He always looked at this half-quote as a life motto. He felt that if he wanted to achieve something, he would only get it if he worked hard enough for it, so that it seemed like a fight. Maybe this particular one would be the same.

“How?” He raised an eyebrow in an almost elegant way, willing to listen if they didn’t want to bring him into some nonsense. Hearing that, Mr Park leaned back, his lips curling upwards. He should have known that the man’s smile didn’t indicate anything good, but what he expected in that meeting room on that fine spring day was very, very far from what actually happened afterwards.

Lee Dongheon found himself at a different dance studio a few days later, staring at the palette of colourful clothes the kids were wearing as they were giddily running around the practice room, occasionally bumping into him and moving on after giggling a bit. If he called the 14-16 year old trainees kids, these kids were toddles. They couldn’t be older than 12. Tooths were missing, boys were screaming in high-pitched voices and girls were still taller than boys. This age group wasn’t something he had ever dealt with, and he didn’t even intend to do so. The entertainment company didn’t seem to think the same though.

He felt so out of place that his usually sociable self started feeling anxious, but it wasn’t because of the amount of people around, but rather because of the age group and their typical (and loud) antics. He didn’t get why he would need to spend time beside a dance teacher who taught dance to kids because it wasn’t the same dealing with teenagers and literal kids! They had different capabilities and different physiques, so how was he supposed to learn anything useful from this so-called training?

That’s when you walked in, dragging him out of his wandering thoughts, and greeted the kids cheerfully. They seemed to like you a lot, grabbing your hand to pull you closer to the centre of the practice room, hugging you (or well, your abdomen because they weren’t that tall to hug you properly) and chattering to you. You listened attentively to them, your smile dazzling and eyes shining in fondness, and only when you walked closer to the benches, did you actually catch sight of the choreographer.

“Oh, hi! You must be Lee Dongheon,” you noted with a bright smile, bowing a bit out of respect. He did the same, albeit a bit fidgety. You took note of his behaviour, cheekily remarking:

“You look like you’ve been reprimanded. Relax! It’s just a class for kids. I don’t even know why you’re here. I only know that you’re going to teach kids as well and need my help,” you explained to him beamingly, and you could see how his shoulders slumped. So you didn’t know. That lifted some weight off of his shoulder. Not because he was ashamed of the reason behind his presence, but rather because he didn’t get it either why he was assigned to you, so how could he explain the situation to you?

“Well, we could say so.” Dongheon nodded hesitantly because he wouldn’t quite phrase himself like that, but let’s just leave it that way.

“It’s okay. I’ve only been teaching kids for three years myself, so I’m not very experienced either, but all I can say is that with time, you’ll surely get used to it,” you reassured him first things first, and when you made sure that he didn’t have any questions, you clapped your hands to gain the kids’ attention, and started the class.

You started shushing the kids and telling them to follow you while you were presenting warm-up exercises. Dongheon followed you a bit clumsily in the beginning, but once he realised that the kid beside him wouldn’t give him odd glances (well, not all the time, just sometimes), he loosened up a bit, and you flashed an encouraging smile at him before continuing. After the warm-up, you went over with the steps for a choreography that you had started teaching the kids last time, and it wasn’t anything groundbreaking, so you weren’t surprised that Dongheon learned the moves just like that, and once it was time for the practice rounds with music, he executed it without any problem.

You decided that it would be best if you showed him how you usually led the classes and after going over the teaching part, he could try himself out while you were practicing the moves with the kids. You hadn’t been given any instruction on how to treat the dance choreographer and what you should do differently compared to your usual classes, you had only been told that he would need to learn how to teach kids, and it was your uncle who had asked you to let him join your classes, so how could you say no?

However, when it was time for the practice rounds by the end of the lesson, and Dongheon took your place, all you could hear was:

“Again!”

You shook your head after a few attempts of his because you could see how demotivated the kids got, their heads hanging low and their usually buzz killed right away. It physically hurt for you to witness what he was doing, and even though you were sure that he would make a great dance teacher one day, he really needed to learn how to deal with kids on top of being a good dancer himself.

“You can’t just tell them to do this again without pointing out their mistakes. They aren’t old enough to realise what they’ve done wrong each and every time.” You stepped beside him, deciding to interfere at this point, and despite the slight annoyed expression on his face, he didn’t voice out his disagreement, so you took it as a good sign and started going around the practice room, telling the kids individually what mistakes you had caught onto while watching them from the side. Then, you walked back to him, signalling him to go on.

You could see that the ones you had told about their mistakes tried to correct themselves, but there were still some children who did the moves wrong by either missing a beat, forgetting to move their hands alongside their legs or putting their arms in odd angles.

“Ag-” Dongheon started automatically, but when he caught himself saying the word, he immediately stopped. He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. For a moment, you assumed that he would give up and leave the dance practice behind, saying that he can’t do it any longer, but a second later, he started going around the room just like you had done so, instructing the kids what they should do differently.

You tried to conceal a triumphant smile, but you were proud nevertheless. He might have looked like he wanted to avoid directly touching the kids or that he was searching for ways to let them know about their mistakes without using too much professional dance vocabulary, but at least he was trying, and you appreciated that. Victories always started with initial attempts.

As he walked back to the centre, you tapped a few times on your wrist, indicating that it was time to finish the class, and he nodded.

“Okay, let’s do it one more time, and then, you’re free to go!” Dongheon announced firmly and when he gave you the signal, you pushed the play button on the laptop and started the music. You watched as this grown young man did the trivial little moves with your students, and you couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was so obvious that he was used to something different, something that required more physical strength and stamina and probably more powerful moves, but he seemed to get the hang of your choreography by the end, and he was sweating nevertheless when the final round was finished.

“You all did well today, I’m really proud of you! Don’t forget to practice what we’ve learned so far! See you next time!” You clapped your hands as you were ready to bid your goodbye to your students. They all left in their own ways, but you liked that they were still pumped up, and some of them left the room while doing some moves. You gave them encouraging thumbs-ups and watched them leave with a fond smile before turning back to Dongheon.

“I can see that you have the intention of bringing the best out of them which is essential, you just need to keep in mind that teaching them and practicing with them isn’t the same as practicing by yourself and prompting yourself to do better,” you pointed it out based on what you had seen, but before he could say anything, you added: “But you were good. I could see the improvement.”

Dongheon seemed a bit speechless, ruffling his pitch-black locks to cover up his nervousness, but he still mumbled a hasty thank you in the end. You were content with just that much since it was the first time you had ever met. You inquired if he had any queries, but when he shook his head, you let him go on his way, watching with a knowing smile as he left. Then, you packed up your stuff after everyone had left and headed home.

The next time it was time for a class with the same group of kids, you arrived earlier than your brand new student slash co-tutor. You still didn’t really know why exactly he would need his training and why your assistance was enough because you were nowhere near an experienced professional, but you didn’t want to question neither your uncle, nor him. After all, you were sure that they would tell you if it mattered at all.

You put down your stuff on a bench, opening your laptop and getting ready to start the class while the students were coming into the classroom, chattering as cheerfully as always. Some of them went up to you telling you what they had been up to, or who around them had found their soulmate, and you listened attentively, finding their childish innocence and passion heartwarming.

Truth to be told, you didn’t believe in soulmates as much as those kids did. Maybe it’s because you had tasted the bitter medicine of life when you had been kicked out of an entertainment agency on the verge of debuting because you had messed up your final evaluation, but you didn’t believe in fairytales and in life working out the way you wanted it to. Not anymore. You had more important issues to deal with and more important questions to dwell on other than that big soulmate question even though everyone around you seemed to be buzzing in your soulmate-centric world. There were apps where you could upload your half-quotes and find which one seems matching, there were soulmate-based restaurants and selfie booths and movies and you name it. Once, you might have been interested in finding your soulmate, but after you had decided to become an idol and dating wasn’t allowed for trainees, you had tried your very best to hide your quote with those special sprays you could get your hands on.

You weren’t the only one who wanted to hide their quotes. Idols actually did so while performing live if they hadn’t yet found their soulmate, athletes did so and most teachers and professors did so too because they didn’t want others to see it. You couldn’t blame them. Soulmate quotes were highly personal, and those who didn’t want the whole world to see it and strangers gawking their eyes on what those words on their arms could mean tried to hide it, and there were creams and sprays and plasters and all kinds of things for such purposes. Even though you didn’t hide it anymore since your dreams of becoming an idol had shattered into pieces, you were reassured that you could always hide it if you wanted to.

“Hi!” A familiar male voice dragged you out of your thoughts, and you were lucky that you were currently sitting because you were sure that you would have stumbled backwards if you had been standing, you were so startled.

“Hi!” You averted your eyes to Dongheon who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but you just shrugged off his unsaid question. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt that was tucked into his high-waisted black jeans, a black belt and black boots, the whole look highlighting his physique. He looked more as if he was to attend a fashion week rather than a dance class with kids, but you wouldn’t comment on his outfit choice for the world. Maybe he had come from a recording and he had needed to dress like that.

“Are we continuing the choreography from last week?” Dongheon asked as he put down his sports bag beside you on the bench, fishing a water bottle out of it and taking a sip from it while he was waiting for you to answer.

“Yeah, it’s the same as the last two weeks, and if everything goes well, we’ll be done with it today. Then, we’ll review it next week and record it at the end of the class.”

“Do you always record them?” He quirked an eyebrow as if it had been that weird, but you nodded confidently nevertheless.

“The kids like to watch it back, and their parents love that they can see their kids dancing,” you explained to him with a smile, thinking of that group chat you shared with your students’ parents. You were lucky that they were all very supportive of their kids’ hobby, it warmed your heart to read their compliments and to hear about their feedback. In a way, it was a way for you to feel as if you had left an impact on their lives. Just as you had wanted to do so by being an idol; you wanted to help others, to cheer them up and to give something to them that would make their lives a bit better, a bit brighter. As an idol, it would have been your songs and your performances, and as a dance teacher, it was the choregraphies you created for the kids and the weekly classes you gave.

“Understandable,” he noted after a few moments of silence, and you were about to ask him why he had posed such a question, but one of your students who had just showed up interrupted you.

“Are you going to teach us today, too?” Minhyuk inquired with his big doe eyes as he looked at Dongheon who was much, much taller than him. Dongheon looked back at you for support as if he had wanted you to answer the question for him, but you just shrugged your shoulders. If he wanted to learn how to teach kids, he needed to learn how to interact with them.

“Yes, I will.”

“I don’t want tooooooo,” cooed the kid with a pout, and you had to sniffle a giggle because he was just so cute, yet Dongheon was just so startled. “You were so scary last time. I don’t want to learn from you,” Minhyuk went on, puffing his chest out as if he had been ready to fight. You wanted to applaud his bravery, but you were so curious about the other dance teacher’s reaction that you kept your reactions to yourself and watched their interaction instead.

Dongheon scratched the back of his neck out of nervousness, then ruffled his pitch-black locks. Once. Twice. Three times. It could be seen that he didn’t know how to react because his eyes were flickering from one side of the room to the other, and his hands were fidgeting with the material of his shirt. Minhyuk kept looking up at him as if he wanted to intimidate him, not the other way round, and you were ready to rise from your seat and interrupt them, trying not to bring Dongheon into such an uncomfortable scene during his second class, but he decided to handle the situation by himself.

“I’ll try not to be that scary today,” he promised a lot softer than usual, but Minhyuk couldn’t be bought with just that.

“You pinky promise?” He raised an eyebrow in question as he held out his pinkie, and you were almost certain that Dongheon wouldn’t give into his wish, but in the next second, he crouched down to be at eye-level with the kid and sealed the pinky promise with the little boy. Minhyuk boasted a boyish smile at that, and bounced back to the rest of the kids with newfound joy.

Dongheon stayed in that pose for a few seconds as if he couldn’t quite believe what had just happened, and when he straightened up and looked at you, your lips curled upwards in an encouraging way.

“That was impressive!” You complimented him and gave him a thumbs-up before he could try to ask you to forget about it or deny that he gave in because he had a softer side, he was just not good at demonstrating it. You didn’t even let him say anything, you got to your feet and walked to the middle of the practice room, starting the class.

This time, the structure of the class was a bit different than last time because you asked Dongheon to do the new moves beside you, so that the kids could familiarise themselves with him and maybe feel closer to him by seeing that he also made mistakes from time to time. Although it was rare, you reckoned that it was only fair that he could be seen as something other than immaculate, and he didn’t seem to mind either. Even though you could see his frustration rising whenever someone missed a beat or made an obvious mistake or started acting up (because they were restless kids after all, occasional tantrums were inevitable), you didn’t need to interfere as much as last time. He still had a long way to go, but at least now he had taken your advice from last time, and pointed out the students’ mistakes albeit a bit harshly sometimes.

After the class, as you were packing your stuff, you didn’t think that Dongheon would speak up even though you could feel his eyes on you. Yet, when you walked back to your bag with your laptop in hand, he broke the silence:

“I don’t know how you can be so patient with these kids,” he mumbled in awe, and you tried hard not to show how surprised yet thankful you were.

“You learn how to be patient when you wait for years to achieve your dream, only for it to be taken away from you in the last minute,” you blurted out absent-mindedly, but when you saw the confusion in his eyes, you realised what you had just said. Damn it. “Nevermind,” you added with a semi-awkward smile, hoping that he wouldn’t dwell too much on your words. You didn’t want to dump your sappy ex-trainee life onto him out of all people. You were sure that he wouldn’t care.

“Anyways, good job today. You’ll get the hang of it soon, I’m sure,” you remarked in your best supportive tone, and watched as his face turned a shade brighter. Oh, so he could feel flustered because of a compliment. What a rare sight.

“Thanks.” He bobbed his head before gathering his stuff and leaving the practice room with you by his side. You bid your goodbye to him at the entrance as you were heading two different ways, and maybe you had seen it wrong, but it was as if you could see an empathetic smile playing along his lips. As if he had understood you even without you telling him about your crushed dreams.

Sure enough, Dongheon did start to get the hang of it, he just needed to learn how to treat kids on top of being a dance teacher. Or well, rather before knowing how to be a dance teacher to kids. Because someone could be an excellent teacher and horrible with kids, yet someone could be amazing with kids, but wouldn’t make a good teacher. So the two needed to go hand in hand, and you hadn’t been born with your current skills either, you had also needed to learn how to be a dance teacher to kids after giving up on your idol dreams.

You had loved dancing, you had loved kids, so you had thought that it would be rather easy, but you had had to learn a lot in the beginning, and if it hadn’t been for your love for both children and dancing, maybe you had given it up from the start. However, you hadn’t wanted to let this opportunity go when you had had the chance to continue learning unlike the time you had been kicked out of that agency.

You always watched Dongheon interact with the kids with a fond smile, and you had to realise that once he had gotten over his initial discomfort and sulkiness, he was seemingly starting to enjoy himself beside the little ones. How couldn’t he when he acted like a big baby sometimes? You wouldn’t have believed your own eyes that he was the same person from your first dance class together if you hadn’t witnessed both sides of him, but maybe he had just not wanted to do this whole thing in the beginning, and it had kept him from being his true self.

He could be silly and childish around the kids, joking with them and giving in to join their little games or listen to their ramblings. They even started to interrogate him about his life (and his love life), and despite them desperately wanting to know about his soulmate quote, he kept it hidden, telling them that he might show it one day but not so soon. You could understand him since they had tried to play matchmakers when they had seen yours, too, and it’s not like anyone could blame him for wearing long-sleeved shirts because it was winter anyways.

Thanks to the kids though, you got to know that he was a choreographer at an entertainment company, and he taught soon-to-be debuting teenagers, thus he was here to learn how to teach them in a less strict way. Even though you tried to bury your resurfacing memories from your trainee days, they came back anyways, sending a wave of bittersweetness through your body. When Dongheon caught onto your shaken up state and worriedly asked if he had said something wrong, you merely shrugged it off. It was all in the past, you told yourself, and decided to start the class instead.

However, it wasn’t only you who showed a different side of themselves during your classes. It was around two months after your first class together, and you could feel his tenseness from the beginning of the lesson, but decided to not bother him if he didn’t want to tell you about the reason. Maybe he was having a bad day, that’s all. On the other hand, when he got more and more frustrated throughout the class because of the kids’ mistake, you couldn’t just sit idly.

“That’s wrong. Do it again!” He practically ordered Kangmin to do the moves in front of the others without music, and when he was still not satisfied, he put his hands on his hips, letting out a long sigh.

“Can’t you see that you’re doing it wrong? You’ll never become a professional dancer if you keep messing up like this.”

That was when you decided to interrupt him, standing between him and the kid before he would say something that would move the boy to tears.

“Dongheon! You can’t talk to a child like that,” you told him firmly, and it was the first time your voice had such an authoritative edge to it. Whenever he was being a bit too harsh, you tried to prompt him to change his attitude in a rather friendly, nudging way. However, this time, you couldn’t just let him be. It seemed that your usual teaching style wouldn’t be effective on him.

“Why not? Should I be kind when life’s only treating me unfairly?” Dongheon looked you straight into the eyes, his words dripping with hurt and pent-up fury. His gaze could burn a whole city down with its fierceness and power, but there was something very sorrowful, very bitter in it, and your heart sank as you kept looking at him.

You were about to open your mouth when he turned on his heel and left the practice room, the sound of the door shutting behind him echoing for a long time before you found your voice and carried on with the class, your mind wandering off from time to time, wondering where he could be and what he could be feeling.

Not knowing his contact and not feeling like you had the right to pry into his life, you hadn’t seen, nor had you talked to Dongheon again, but you kept thinking of the reason behind his outburst, and it killed you that you felt like you couldn’t do anything for him. You could feel that there was something going on because there was no way he would have gotten so angry at Kangmin all of a sudden, but at the same time, you weren’t close enough to talk about such things. You wished you could be there for him because even if you might not have been able to help, you could at least listen to him.

The next week, you were so lost in thought that you merely registered that someone was already in the practice room when you entered, and if it hadn’t been for him speaking up first, you might not have recognised him until you had walked further.

“Hi!” He greeted you with a neutral expression, but you could detect guilt hiding in the corner of his mahogany eyes which made you feel even more empathy towards him.

“Hi!” You reciprocated his greeting with a subtle smile, not sure how to act around him after last time. So you decided on putting your bag down on the bench beside him without saying a word, letting him decide if he wanted to say something or not.

And so he did.

“I’m sorry.”

As you felt the words hanging in the air, you could feel how difficult it was for him to get it out, but at the same time, you could feel that it was as sincere as an apology could be. So you followed your heart and sat down beside him, looking ahead of yourself.

“It’s okay. You’ve probably had your reason,” you reassured him because anyone could have something going on in their lives that might affect how they treat others. You merely hoped that if he could share the burden, he would be willing to do so, but before that, someone had to show that they cared. So you gave it a shot. “Want to talk about it? If it’s about dance, I’m an ex-idol trainee who has been kicked out of her company after the final evaluation, so maybe I can understand.”

You weren’t afraid to confess something like this now because you wanted him to know that he wasn’t alone with whatever he was feeling. And despite the clear surprise on his face that you could see in the front mirror, you had a feeling that he already had a feeling that your back story would be something like this. He might not have been extremely nosy, but he was observant enough, so you were sure that he could guess some parts about your past.

“It’s not that. Not just that.” He shook his head decisively, and let out an aghast sigh. You finally looked at him and not just his reflection, and from the way his shoulders slumped, you could see that he was trying to master up his courage, but didn’t know how. You didn’t want to push him either, so you sat there side by side, listening to the sound of the clock ticking on the wall.

You would have been more than happy with the silence because at least he was there, willing to show up and willing to apologise, but when he spoke up, you listened attentively, your heart sinking deeper and deeper as the monologue went on.

“After graduation, I got accepted at a dance academy in the US, but a week before I was supposed to leave, my mom got sick, and then they found a tumor. She needed surgery and a few months of recovery, and I’ve stayed with her, giving up on my dream. Since then, I’ve never even left the city because I’m afraid something might happen to her, and last week she got her monthly examination, and her results weren’t that promising.”

“And you were afraid that she might fall sick again,” you whispered, barely able to master those few words out after you had gotten to know such a personal part of his life. He had always seemed rather composed and passionate, someone who had been confident because he had never tasted failure. You couldn’t have been more wrong.

Dongheon nodded, his mahogany eyes bathing in the sea of uncertainty. You wished you could say something hopeful, but it wasn’t like his mother’s condition would suddenly get better if you prayed hard enough. You also wished you could feel confident enough to reach out and hold his hand to show that you were there for him, but you didn’t know how he would react to that despite that inward urge to share the burden and listen to whatever worries he had.

“It’s no use running tests now because the doctors say that it’s common to have worse results once in a while, but I guess I was worried history would repeat itself,” he mumbled loud enough for you to hear it yet not any louder. It was a confession only you should hear, no one else. It was your secret, the whispers of his heart and the tales of his present.

“I don’t blame you. I can’t even imagine what I would be feeling if I were in your shoes.” A cold shiver ran down your spine even just by thinking about. “You know you don’t have to come to class if you don’t feel well. Mentally or physically, it doesn’t matter.” you added gently, trying your best with an encouraging smile. Just because he was supposed to come to learn from you, you didn’t want him to feel pressured to be here each and every time until his boss would finally be satisfied with his improvement.

Dongheon shook his head, bitterness swallowing up his words as he continued.

“I’ve wanted to apologise to you and to that kid.”

“I’m sure he would understand.” You nodded fervently, knowing Kangmin well enough to assume that he would stay just as determined as before, if not more. That kid was one of the most dedicated dancers in his group.

“Thank you for telling me this,” you felt the need to add before any of your students would arrive, and when he finally looked at you and you exchanged a glance, there was a bit of a smile in the corner of his lips, and suddenly, that inward urge to be there for him elevated. You couldn’t pinpoint why, you didn’t know what was this sudden odd sensation going through your body, but you reciprocated his smile, and you looked away only when one of the kids arrived.

After you had talked about why Dongheon had suddenly left the class that time, you felt less cautious around him, and he also seemed a lot more loosened up around the kids. As expected, Kangmin didn’t hold a grudge against him, so Dongheon was good to go again, and you would have never taken it to heart that he had just rushed out of your class, especially after knowing the reason why. You felt like you could understand him a bit better, and you could feel his empathy, too. It was as if you could relate to what the other had gone through, and it was odd since you had never felt this way before. May it be because you had quite a special case with being dismissed from an entertainment company and finding your way to your current workplace and his dreams changing due to the circumstances, but that string that had kept on pulling you towards him had become more and more difficult to resist. Not to mention when he wanted to get to know you better.

“Why haven’t you applied for a different company?” Dongheon inquired the next time you met, posing you the question after the class had finished, and it was only you two left.

“I’ve spent my youth on training at that certain one. I was tired of life kicking into me,” you replied with a bitter smile, but you didn’t mind his question. You had a feeling that he would understand, and you wouldn’t need to elaborate further. You were right.

“Understandable.” He nodded firmly, and his serious state showed you that he really cared. Lately, you had had to realise that he was such a goofy, childish guy in general, his serious self resurfacing only when it was about something work-related which was dancing in your case, so you weren’t surprised that you could only see his most authentic sides when some time had passed by.

“Want to show me how you dance if you aren’t teaching kids?” Dongheon raised an eyebrow challengingly, dissolving the tension in the air with his question. You snickered, raising your eyebrows alongside his as if you were ready to fight him.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? You’re a choreographer for idol trainees.”

“Well, if you are that curious…” He shrugged without hesitating a moment, but before he would get ready to dance, he turned to you and put his index-finger in the air. “But you have to show me what you got afterwards,” he made you promise with a cheeky smile, and you rolled your eyes, but nodded nevertheless. You were actually curious how he would dance apart from your rather easy choreographies made for children, plus it really wouldn’t make any difference if you showed him what you had been working on instead of practicing only by yourself.

You couldn’t tell what exactly you had been expecting, but the guy didn’t disappoint. His moves were fluid, he was perfectly in control of his body, and he made the choreography look so effortless. You could still see behind the seemingly easily executed movements, see the many hours of hard work and the physical strength he needed to use to do certain moves such as pushing himself off the ground or sliding on the floor ever so quickly. Your lips parted in awe as you watched him dance because he was so immersed, it was as if dancing was his second skin, and you adored watching others dance who had the same passion as you did.

Since you didn’t know when he would stop and turn back to you, but the song went on because he probably didn’t finish the last touches on the choreography, he caught you staring with your mouth slightly agape. Even if you wouldn’t deny that you thought that he was amazing, he needed to rub it in your face.

“Not bad, huh?” Dongheon quirked an eyebrow teasingly, and that smirk in the corner of his lips made you roll your eyes. A second later, he let out a wholehearted laughter, and you let him enjoy this moment as he retreated to sit on the bench with you, reaching for his water bottle. That’s when you were ready to let him know about your opinion on what you had seen.

“That was impressive. You could have joined an idol group with those skills,” you pointed out frankly, but he shook his head after he had taken a sip from the water.

“Ah, I’ve never known how to sing or rap, and I didn’t want to be in the spotlight.

“To be honest, I’m rather thankful now that things turned out this way. I’m not sure I would have kept on enjoying being in the spotlight after debuting, so I can understand,” you let him know solemnly. Maybe you had been heartbroken over how you had needed to leave your agency, but now you were a firm believer that everything happened for a reason. Sometimes we can only see what a certain event or a milestone in our life indicates until some time passes by.

You sat in silence for a bit while he was trying to catch his breath, but he didn’t forget about your deal, so he prompted you to dance. You didn’t need to be told twice, you set the chosen song on repeat on your laptop, and walked to the centre of the practice room, sitting down and getting into position before the first beat of the song would be played. Then, you gave your all to the rather feminine choreography, focusing on your reflection in the mirror instead of Dongheon’s face, focusing on how you and your body felt while you were becoming one with the music. The moves were well-practiced and the transitions were smooth, so your hopes of telling a story with the choreography were high. Yet, due to the fact that you enjoyed it so much, it seemed like such a short time until you finished, and turned back to the guy, curious about his feedback.

Dongheon blinked a few times before he could form an opinion, and that was enough of an answer for you, so your lips had already curled upwards before he spoke up. He could scarcely be flustered, so you were rather content that you could make him lose his confidence for a bit while watching you dance.

“That was impressive, too,” he concluded after he had cleared his throat. You kept on your knowing smile as you sat back beside him, pulling up the sleeves of your sweater, the sudden rush of heat warming up your body enough to feel a bit suffocated in your clothes. You didn’t even think much of it until you caught Dongheon staring at your arm. To be precise, the inked half-quote on your arm.

“Oh yeah. My soulmate quote. It says ‘love is a war, but…’. I guess I may get to know once how it ends.” You straightened your arm, so he could see the quote properly. You had never really given the words much thought because there could be endless ways the sentence could end, so there was no use guessing.

On the other hand, Dongheon seemed a bit bewitched for a moment, yet you didn’t know why. Some people were rather sentimental about the soulmate quotes, so you assumed he was one of those too, and that’s why he looked so perplexed, but then he blurted out:

“A war worth fighting for.”

“What?” You furrowed your eyebrows in question, not knowing what his words could indicate. Was he trying to guess the ending of your soulmate quote?

“Love is a war, but a war worth fighting for,” he spoke up loud and clear, and you didn’t even have time to dwell on his words because you could feel a tingling sensation on your arm. It was as if an invisible force was hovering over it, but it didn’t hurt, it felt a bit ticklish instead. It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar feeling, but you had felt this way only once before; when the half-quote had appeared on your arm on your 14th birthday just like it had done for everyone. Which could mean only one thing...

The moment you looked down on your arm, your quote was finished. After the comma, ‘but a war worth fighting for’ was written as if it had always been there. You blinked in confusion, looking up at the guy who held up his arm for you to show that he had the same - now - full quote engraved into his skin. He seemed just as bewildered as you, but knowing that he was your soulmate could explain why he had seemed to understand you like no one else, and why you had wanted to be there for him to share his burden. Sure, soulmates could be best friends, siblings or lovers, but whatever their relationship might be, they were called soulmates for a reason, and knowing that he was yours was both oddly satisfying and scary. You had toyed with the idea of meeting your soulmate one day, but you had never quite imagined it to go this way.

You were both speechless for quite a bit afterwards, but then he nudged your shoulder, and said:

“Hey! At least, it’s not that awkward that your jaw dropped upon seeing a guy dance because I’m your soulmate after all.”

“I’m not the one who needed to visibly gulp after seeing my dance,” you retorted as you nudged his shoulder back, and you caught him with that, you could see it in the way his eyes widened. However, in the next moment, his lips curled upwards and he burst into laughter. You followed his example, and you let yourself enjoy this rather joyful moment. With him. With your soulmate.

What a turn of events.

After getting to know that you two were soulmates, not much changed. Neither of you were firm believers of forcing this soulmate thing onto your relationship, you let things flow as they would either way. Though one thing that the realisation helped to facilitate was opening up to the other, talking about your dreams and past scars after practices because you knew that you were soulmates for a reason, so you could share such personal matters, and after last time, you were more certain than ever that he would be able to empathise with you.

You enjoyed getting to know Dongheon better because there were so many sides to him, and the initial sulky one was just one of them, and now that you knew why he had acted the way he had done so, you couldn’t even blame him. He was such a jokester sometimes, you didn’t even get all of his jokes, but as more time went by, you became accustomed to his cheekiness. Not to mention that he got better and better at teaching kids, and you had a feeling that it was because he was still a bit like a child at heart, he merely needed to put aside his sternness when teaching the little ones. It also helped that his mother was doing okay again, so he didn’t need to worry about her previous worrying results.

No wonder his higher-ups noticed the change in his way of teaching, and you were both told that he wouldn’t need to come to your classes anymore because his so-called training had seemed to be effective. On top of that, he became busy watching over the soon-to-be debuting boygroup’s practices, so he couldn’t come by every time, but he still made an effort to show up from time to time, and the kids welcomed him affectionately each and every time. You sometimes met outside of practice rooms too, mostly eating or having something to drink after both of you were finished with work for the day, and soon enough, you found it easier and easier to believe that he was actually your soulmate. You two were close friends for a while afterwards, and occasionally you helped each other out with choreographies for your classes or for your own pleasure. Sharing the same passion for dance brought you two even closer, and when it was just the two of you dancing in practice rooms, you felt like your heart would burst out of your ribcage each time his fingers ghosted along your skin, and each time you felt like you breathed the same air with only a few centimetres between you two.

Soulmates didn’t have to be lovers; they could be siblings, they could be best friends or anything similar, but you felt the string between you pulling you two closer and closer figuratively and literally. You caught him when he almost fell on his butt on the ice outside of the dance studio you worked at, he pulled you back when you stepped onto the ground when the lights turned red, you helped him get into a taxi and get inside his flat when he knocked himself out after a drinking night, and he accidentally held onto your hand when you were watching a horror movie together (or at least, he said that it was accidental). All of those moments might have been coincidental, but you wouldn’t have minded if they had been for real.

Dongheon must have felt the same because once when he pulled you with him when you were running to catch your bus, he didn’t let go of your hands when you sat down in a love-seat. You looked at your intertwined hands, and when he caught you staring, he merely shrugged his shoulders.

“Does it bother you? I think it’s rather comfortable,” he remarked with a subtle smile, casting you a curious glance nevertheless.

“It doesn’t bother me. I like it,” you agreed with heat flushing to your cheeks, and you had to look away before he could see the blossoms of burgundy tinting your rather pale skin. You sucked in a few deep breaths before turning back to him, but when you did so, he was closer than ever, and you almost bumped your head into his.

“Really? I like it, too,” he said in a rather cheeky tone, and his eyes were so mesmerizing, you just couldn’t bear yourself to look away, so you kept staring into those dark orbs, those hidden universes, and you wished you could capture this very moment; him being so close to you, your heart beating alongside his, and his breath fanning over your skin.

Sure, it might have been less intimate if you had just kissed him right then and there, and he might have felt the same way because he didn’t seal your lips tight, he merely let a boyish grin stretch over his lips that didn’t fade away even as your bus ride came to an end. He didn’t forget about your earlier confessions, so when he walked you home with his hands still in yours, he hovered over you gently and slowly, and kissed you while smiling to himself. He knew you wouldn’t push him away, he knew you would kiss him back, but what could you do? You were already weak for him.

But that was okay. He was your soulmate after all, and you were willing to fight by his side no matter what it would take to protect this love.

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aliensunflower-fics · 4 years ago

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In Defense of Salt AND Sugar: Aka ML Fandom pls chill out.

So I don’t talk much as those who follow me will say I tend to just stick to myself and my own things. HOWEVER, Ive gotten a lot of asks about why I write both Salt and Sugar for Miraculous Ladybug.

The short answer: Both salt and sugar are valid, fun, intriguing things to read and write and the point of writing is to entertain and be entertained.

The long answer: Salt isn’t inherently someone hating on your fav show and sugar isn't someone necessarily giving it a free pass either. Ya’ll are just dramatic as hell.

The LONGER answer:

I write salt because I LIKE Miraculous Ladybug, BUT the show has not lived up to its potential AT ALL. The show could be so much better and the characters are so flawed or full of holes that occasionally I feel FRUSTRATED and mad!

I hate that Alya a character who I was so excited about, gets shafted ignored, sidelined, or written like a jerk! She could have been this great detective working alongside her friend to unmask the villain, but instead she often comes across as pushy, obsessed with Ladynoir or Adrinette, and so damn easily tricked. Not to mention how when shes not gushing over her ‘ships’ shes pushed to the side and ignored. [or you know... LILA]

I hate that Marinette’s crush makes her do things that are so cringy and awkward i feel ill I hate that she’s constantly the only one making mistakes and ‘learning lessons’ when the show has all these other great characters that could use the spotlight and be the ones learning lessons. I hate that she’s so jealous and that she cant ever seem to catch a break as if the show is punishing her constantly.

I HATE that Adrien is a mary sue, how the writers say hes perfect and treat him as such, I hate that he gets to guilt Marinette into fixing everything and dealing with bullies, I wanted a funny, Ron Stoppable, naive boy who learns about real friendships and grows into a great partner. Instead he gets to be pushy and downright a jerk as Chat Noir ignoring his responsibilities, guilting Ladybug with his feelings, never taking no as an answer. He’s not a good role model for kids.

I hate that Chloe got built up to have a redemption arc several times only for the writers to decide that Chloe a teenage girl who needs some serious therapy [and actual reasonable punishment for her actions] is worse than Gabriel child abuse Agreste. She could have been a great lesson on compassion and growth and dealing with your own pain without hurting others. Instead the writers wrote her off completely.

And dont get me started on how the show treats Nino, Kagami, Luka and the rest of the cast. They may as well be a backdrop for the forced love square that we NEVER get a break from. Seriously I’m a sucker for romance but does it need to be EVERY damn episode?! Can’t we just get some wholesome friendship between everyone including Adrien and Marinette at this point like COME ON.

And i’m not even touching on the white washing, awful lessons on responsibility and forgiveness, awful lessons on well so much other stuff really, the guilt trips, the teacher, the fact that she show could be used to teach kids how to better handle negative emotions and the importance of open communication and not keeping quiet about injustice and/or your feelings but instead decided that the main priority should be a love square that gets force fed to us EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.

My point is the show has FLAWS. That doesn’t mean its the worse show ever and it doesn’t mean its not fun, and has a great premise and characters, and so when I write Salt I write it because i’m frustrated! Im frustrated with the show, with the characters, with the writing and so I vent that out with salt I write those characters as their worst selves because I cant stand how the show has decided to treat them and Im ANGRY and disappointed.

It feels good to write salt and to read it. It’s nice to see characters get called out for bad behavior, its nice to read about Adrien not getting the girl. Its nice to occasionally indulge in salt because it validates that the show is flawed and lets you get out that frustration.

BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE

Miraculous Ladybug is a lovely show. It’s a show that decided to give little girls a FEMALE HERO. And not just as a side kick or background character! No they made her the protagonist! Its so important to me that little girls see good well rounded female characters in media.

And even if the show is clumsy about it they are TRYING to build an expansive lore that tickles the theorist brain. And gets people invested in the world.

The show also made Marinette shy, and awkward, and clumsy something a lot of girls deal with during puberty as growing up can literally make you clumsier as your body adjusts. Having a character who tries to be positive and tries to find solutions who solves things with creativity instead of pure violence. Thats LOVELY for young girls to see.

Growing up I loved and admired Kim Possible, and probably would have loved Marinette, even if the shows not perfect I can admit its trying and I can see why people love it as much as they do! And why they write these fluffy sugary fics its the reason I WRITE fluffy sugary things.

Because even though I am frustrated and angry and disappointed with the show, I still see Alya’s potential and how great she is as representation to little girls who want a black female superhero so I write fluff where Alya’s loyalty, compassion, cleverness and her pursuit of justice are center stage.

I see how Adrien could be better and I want him to be better and I WANT him to be the naive funny comic relief the Ron Stoppable to Marinette’s Kim Possible. I want Adrien to grow and learn and spit in his dad’s face I want him to overcome the abuse and be happy. To show people that neglect and abuse doesn’t mean you will get stuck like that forever, that you can overcome that and be a better kinder person.

I want Nino and Kagami, and Luka and Chloe and the class to grow and get attention and have funny moments I want to laugh and make other people laugh! So I write prompts focused around comedy and shenanigans and where the characters get to be fun and silly and make decisions for themselves!

SO IN CONCLUSION:

I write salt AND sugar. I see the value and merit in both sides of the coin, and I respect how other people see the show. I know its easy to get angry with other people in the fandom who see the show differently then you do but please can we put down the weapons and just BREATHE.

Someone who writes salt might LOVE the same show as you, and they might in fact love it so much that they vent their frustrations in angst and salt and cracky fics. Let them vent about how they wish the show was better, leave their tags alone or block them if you cant stand to see it. But dont attack salt writers for ‘hating on your show’ when they might love it just as much as you do but want a way to vent out their feelings.

On the flip someone who writes sugar might NOT be forgiving the show for its flaws, they might see all the same flaws as you but decide to take that frustration and write fluff and fix it fics and sugar because they want to indulge in a version of their favorite show where everything is just... OK. Where everyone is well written and happy and the character development sticks. Stay out of their tags let them have their sugar, they aren't writing it to hurt you just like you don't write salt to hurt them.

So ENOUGH. Enough hunting each other down, enough sending each other hate, enough filling each others tags. Let people write SALT if they feel angry and vengeful and disappointment, let them have their tags, let them explore the dark side of the characters, let them rant and rave and be HURT when the characters they love upset them with their actions. Its not your place to tell them to stop, to tell them their feelings are invalid, to tell them that ‘adrien is sweet sunshine boy how dare you’ or ‘alya would never’ or ‘i hate your marinette leaves dupont au’. Just leave it be, heed the tags, and let it go.

AND ENOUGH. Enough hunting each other down, enough sending each other hate, enough filling each other tags. Let people write SUGAR if they just want something to feel happy about. Let them makes coffee shop au’s, let them make fix it fics where everything is just happy without needing 8 pages of backstory for why everything is just happy. Let them squeal and gush and talk about the ship they like and the fluff they see. Its not your place to argue with them that the show is flawed, its not cool to ruin their fun by accusing them of not understanding the flaws, to tell them ‘umm actual this character shouldn’t get to be happy’ or ‘wow this is so shallow’. Just leave it be, heed the tags, and let it go.

PS: Now with that said and done. I do have one final message for everyone - If you write/enjoy pedophilia, if you sexualize KIDS. Then get the fuck out of fandom spaces, stop fucking following me, and do everyone salt and sugar a favor by LEAVING. Your pedophilia and child sexualization aint wanted, aint ok, and I will fight you.

PSS: IF YOU HATE WHAT IVE SAID ABOUT SUGAR AND SALT FINE OK I RESPECT YOU REGARDLESS. ENJOY THE SHOW, STAY CLASSY, DONT HURT PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION.

#its just me #ml salt #ml sugar #adrien salt #adrien sugar #alya salt #alya sugar #chloe salt #chloe sugar #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #class salt #class sugar

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anthrogothic · 3 years ago

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Body/Prision

~Well, this is the first fic I've posted (not that I've written many). Maybe I found it interesting to explore the emotional and psychological side of the clones and, of course, Echo. Besides, of course, other little things. Hope you like it. 🥺 (and sorry for any mistake as this fic was originally written in brazilian portuguese).

Second part heeeeree

Pairing: Echo x fem!Reader (in this chapter only Hunter and Wrecker appear for now)

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: Body insecurity and bullying.

You were always a woman of science. Curious, persistent and genius. As a child, you loved growing plants and watching animals. Sometimes experimented with changing the color of flowers in jars with colorful products or hatching small eggs of birds and reptiles in small boxes bathed in light and heated cloths. You once set fire to his parents Aldeeranian Silk curtains, after pointing a magnifying glass in front of the sunlight streaming through the windows.

No wonder you was one of the top students at Naboo's Faculty of Science when was older. After all, you were one of the few females in your class. Being constantly the victim of offensive comments and jokes, mainly because of baggy clothes that didn't mark your body, adopted after years of harassment for your sharp curves. Your glasses and voluminous hair didn't do much for the "jokes" to stop. Withdrawn in any group of popular and partying colleagues, you had nothing but to study with your few fellow “nerds”.

As a result, you soon got your first job in the field. Standing out so much that you was invited to participate in the cloning processes on Kamino a few times, even creating a certain professional relationship with Nala Se, the chief scientist.

You weren't a fan of cloning, even though it was incredible, you found it somewhat unethical in relation to the impact on the lives of Jango Fett clones. They weren't just battle products or numbers to you, but Human Beings with as many rights as anyone else. That they should have autonomy over their lives. But work is not always 100% pleasant, as much as it is something you love as long as you understand being human.

With your occasional visits to Kamino, you ended up having the sympathy of the clones, precisely for treating them like ordinary people, with different names and personalities despite the identical DNA and their fateful serial numbers.

You even ate with them in the cafeteria instead of the staff room and played with them in your free time and some would sneak men's uniforms for you, who were too bothered by the looks and teasing you received in your tight women's uniform.

One day, during a typical meal with your friends, a tone of laughter and nasty comments made you take your attention off your plate.

You poked your clone friend in the shoulder on your right.

"What is happening?"

He, without even looking up, snorted a laugh and spoke before taking the meal to his mouth:

"So you don't know the subject of the moment? There is a new squad among us. Weird… but they haven't suffered a single casualty on the field so far."

You raised an eyebrow, craning your neck a few times in an attempt to see something.

"I was not informed of this. I have not been assigned to inspect newly graduated soldiers for some time. But why the laughter and so much whispering?"

Deep in your brain, the bitter memory of your college days was pulled.

Your friend gave you an incredulous look, gesturing to find the right words to avoid any reprimand from you:

"They… well… are technically defective. Very different from us. No wonder they nicknamed them The Bad Batch."

He stifled a laugh. Soon getting punched in the arm accompanied by a scowl from you.

"Okay, okay. Forgive me, clone rights advocate."

His irony was clear, making you roll your eyes and get up, heading towards the counter where they left the used dishes. After thanking the wrinkled green lady who served the meal, you turned in the direction of leaving the cafeteria, but a sharp impact on your face and chest propels you back, followed by a lot of pain and strong hands gripping your elbows.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

A familiar, but deeper and stronger voice resonated in your ears, making you open your eyes faster than you normally would, as you bring your hand to your forehead and in the background thanking the Maker for wearing contact lenses instead of glasses today . It took you a while to map the face of the man in front of you. His long dark hair fell to his shoulders, his red bandana letting out a few shorter strands across his forehead, his almond-shaped eyes looking a little worried, and finally, a tattoo that covered the entire left part of his face.

He was familiar…but at the same time very different from the other clones. Even the armor, grey and red. Definitely seeing a different face in that cafeteria was a bit intriguing.

"I think you broke her, Hunter!"

A loud, husky voice came from behind you, making you turn your back to the tattooed man, just to behold the huge soldier who covered your entire field of vision.

He was huge, broad and with perfectly shaped muscles. Gradually, your eyes traveled from his abdomen, across his broad chest to his face. This one had no hair. He had a blind eye, with a huge scar running from there to the ear. The clone's good eye looked you up and down, literally.

"I'm fine… sorry… I-"

You were shocked by the image of both men. Could it be they who your friend had spoken of?

You can barely complete your sentence when interrupted by a clone next to you.

"Well well. The scientist and her laboratory freaks. How comical..."

He didn't even stop to stare at you, being followed by two other clones who clearly enjoyed the bad joke.

The men beside you clenched their fists and the bigger one growled, taking long, heavy strides in front of you, until he was stopped by the tattooed-faced clone, who practically jumped in front of him, bracing a hand on his chest.

"Forget it, Wrecker. It's not worth it… and we can't take another warning for assault in the cafeteria."

The taller one nodded a few seconds later, clearly disappointed not to get his hands on his attacker.

With slow steps, you approached them, curious and also irritated by the other clone's words.

"Idiots."

You huffed, crossing your arms over your voluminous breasts.

"You are the new squad the others are talking about, aren't you?"

There was a certain wonder in your voice now.

"Force Clone 99, doctor!"

The two said in chorus, with clear pride in their words and saluting.

"The rest of the team is going through the assessment upstairs. Miraculously we both got through!"

Said the taller clone, with humor in his voice, pulling a smirk from the tattooed clone.

You smiled, even more in awe of them. They were beautiful, unique and not "sloppy".

"Nice to meet you Hunter and… Wrecker, isn't it? My name is Y/N, I work in the lab."

The two looked at each other, minimally polite treatment to the clones was a little rare around here.

"We've heard about you. Won't you give me a warning? For… bumping into you?"

Hunter was a little suspicious, moving closer to you, watching your forehead. Looking for any evidence of injury.

"Oh no, of course not. It was an accident. I also barely looked where I was going."

You tried to be as gentle as possible, despite your brow and nose bothering you, already realizing that it couldn't be too easy for them to get along with each other. You continued:

"Trust me, I know what it's like to be bothered all the time by little jokes and to have people pick on me out of simple dislike. I'm not like the rest of the employees."

Wrecker approached you, already with a content expression on his face.

"There is! I liked her! At least someone here doesn't hate us!"

The clone pulled you into a hug, pressing his side with yours. You blushed a little, as physical contact was never common with you.

Hunter continued with a suspicious expression and his arms now crossed, making him even more imposing, just taking the look off your face, when the communicator you carried in your pocket beeped.

Brought out of your reverie by Wrecker's tight embrace and Hunter's form, you picked up your communicator to read the newly arrived messages.

"Uh… I need to go. Nala Se never give me a break. See you later guys. Hope to meet the rest of you!"

You headed towards the exit, leaving a sympathetic smile as you left the clones. They were still there, trying to absorb how kind you, a scientist, were to them.

#tbb x reader #echo x reader #star wars #the bad batch x reader #the clone wars #fanfic #hunter x reader #arc trooper echo #clone simp #body/prision #echo x you #echo x fem reader #echo x y/n #star wars x reader #clone wars x reader #clone trooper x reader

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pulaasul · 3 years ago

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Apologies

A/N: Credits to @redlyncentral and @cadetcama for providing my co writer the necessary corrections and creative juices for the story.

After opening night, Ricky confronts Gina about her treatment towards him, ever since Carlos's Quinceañero. Gina opens up to Ricky.

FFN I Ao3

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Days have passed since opening night. East High's Drama department has just finished dismantling their props and sets from their final showing of their production of 'Beauty and the Beast'. Everyone was heading to the school's pool to celebrate a successful three-night showing of their musical.

Gina was in front of her locker, storing up some things that she won't need at Ashlyn's, while EJ was in the nearby bathroom.

"Gina, c-can we talk?"

EJ made his presence known by leaning on the side of the lockers but he did not approach his girlfriend or the boy who approached her.

"Okay." Gina stoically answered.

"Like… Talk-talk?" Ricky tried again.

"Meet me at the bomb shelter in two minutes," Gina provided. "We can talk there privately, everyone's already at the pool"

Ricky simply nodded and immediately headed towards the rehearsal room.

"Are you sure about this?" EJ approached his girlfriend as soon as Ricky left.

"I have to tell him why at some point, he needs to know what he had done to hurt me."

"Do you want me there with you?"

"No, I can handle this." Gina shook her head. "Just wait for me here, or you can go on ahead to the pool and wait for me there."

"I'll wait here for you." EJ nodded.

---------

"You want to talk?"

"Right," Ricky nodded as he stood up to face Gina. "Can I ask what changed between you and me?"

"Changed? Nothing changed between us, Ricky." Gina shook her head. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know," Ricky sighed. "Before this, you've been giving me one-word responses if you don't outright ignore me," He answered.

"Are you really that oblivious?" Gina questioned.

"E-excuse me?"

"You are excused." Came Gina's automatic reply.

"P-please, Gina, can you please tell me if I did something wrong?" Ricky begged. "I'm tired of trying to puzzle out everyone's thoughts and feelings." He sighed. "Please, do me a favor and lay it out straight to me?"

"That's fair," Gina agreed. "Okay, Ricky, what you did during Carlos's Quinceañero was not cool. You hurt me a lot when you asked me about Nini, Ricky."

"H-how did I hurt you?" Ricky gulped as he tried to rack his brain during that time, but he came up with nothing.

"Tell me, Ricky, were you aware of the gravity of my words during our HSM opening night?" Gina asked.

"That was a lo-"

"Yes, it was a love confession, I confessed my feelings to you, Ricky." Gina cut the boy off. "It was bad enough that half of your attention was on Nini but I accepted that you both were back and happy together, I didn't want to be in between the two of you."

"What did I do that hurt you so much then?"

"The fact that you casually threw in the 'if we were dating' line." Gina bluntly replied. "I can't believe that you, of all people, would say that to me, when you know what I did months ago."

"Tha-"

"I gave you a chance to leave the conversation, Ricky, I gave you plenty of chances, but you still pushed it."

"But I thought, you were okay with me confiding in you? You granted Big Red's question about Nini."

"Tell me, Ricky, does Big Red know of what happened during that night?"

"Of course, not!" Ricky was quick to reply. "The only one who knows is Nini, even then I don't think she quite knew of what you really meant."

"And for that, I thank you," Gina expressed her gratitude. "But that doesn't change the fact that I was hurt by your actions." She shook her head. "The reason I gave the okay to Big Red asking me about what you want to text to Nini during the snowstorm was because of the simple fact that Big Red was there."

"Huh?"

"Big Red did not know about that night, frankly only EJ and Ashlyn knew what happened." Gina shared. "I didn't want him to suspect something going on between us, to avoid any uncomfortable questions, I gave the okay to continue."

"I-"

"You thought, because of that, you can confide in me with everything that has to do with Nini." Gina summarized Ricky's thoughts.

With Gina laying everything down, Ricky finally realized that he made a huge mistake. He knew he was selfish when he went behind Nini's back to get her into the show, he didn't think that his selfishness hurt one more person, in the form of Gina.

"I-"

"I'm sorry, Ricky, I don't think I can forgive you anytime soon," Gina admitted. "What you did to me hurt a lot, maybe in time I can, but not now."

"I…I see." Ricky looked at his shoes. "For what it's worth, Gina, I'm sorry for hurting you in that way."

Gina simply nodded.

Ricky turned around and left the rehearsal room.

As soon as Ricky was out of the room, EJ went inside and immediately engulfed his girlfriend in a hug.

"Let it out, just let it out."

Gina buried herself more on EJ's chest as she cried. Ricky was really the first friend she made during her time in East High and for it to end this way, it hurt so much.

"You know, he tried asking for my permission or blessing to talk to you," EJ shared. "His exact words were, 'Would you be mad if I talked to Gina?'"

"W-why would he do that?" Gina sniffled as she looked at her boyfriend. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him no, I won't." EJ answered honestly. "The last time I got angry with someone for texting my girlfriend, it ended with me broken-hearted."

"Aww EJ, you do learn." Gina teased. "The question still remains, why would he do that?"

"I have some inkling of an answer but I don't really know for sure." EJ admitted.

"Why do you think?" Gina urged as she wiped her tears from her face.

"I think it has something to do with Nini," EJ admitted. "It's no secret that Ricky tried to break Nini and I up, in hindsight, he felt he was justified because all he knew was that they were just on a break and didn't break up."

"But she thought it was a break-up," Gina interrupted. "Those two are very bad at communicating their feelings." She sighed.

"You can say that again." EJ agreed.

"So?"

"So, when Ricky sent Nini a voice message, I confronted and told him to stay away, I think that's where he got the idea from." EJ admitted.

"If you hadn't told Ricky to stay away from Nini, you wouldn't have been found out." Gina informed.

"True, and I probably won't have my confidence crushed by Nini's incredible ghosting abilities." EJ chuckled.

"Wait, she ghosted you?" Gina exclaimed.

"After ignoring my texts, calls, and voice messages, even got Kourtney to lie for her, she blocked my number and my social media accounts," EJ informed. "It felt like she was literally breaking my ribcage and went for my heart."

"I don't know if I should call that petty or something else?" Gina admitted.

"Definitely something else." EJ chuckled.

"Eej, why does it hurt?" Gina sighed as she slumped on a nearby chair.

"Because he was the first friend you made here in East," EJ answered. "You didn't think that he could hurt you much more than just seeing him with Nini."

"But I'm used to moving around, I should be used to this," Gina tried to counter. "I should be used to this." She repeated.

"No one can really get used to this, Gi." EJ shook his head as he knelt on one knee in front of her. "You felt like Ricky betrayed you, that's why it hurt so much."

"How do you know so much?"

EJ fished a book from his bag and gave it to his girlfriend.

"I've been reading that book as my pastime." EJ admitted.

"Do you even sleep?" Gina exclaimed. "You have so many clubs, so many sports, and you're the senior class treasurer to top it off!"

"I'm just good with managing my time," EJ shrugged. "Ashlyn and I are."

"It does help that the both of you are intelligent."

"I won't go that far, I can't find words to rhyme with sorry." EJ shook his head.

"Vary? Starry?" Gina listed.

"Clearly, you know more than I do." EJ chuckled.

Gina chuckled alongside her boyfriend.

"So are we good to join everyone by the pool?" EJ asked.

"How you managed the principal to let us use the pool to celebrate will forever remain a mystery to me, I've overheard other clubs groaning that we can use the pool."

"It probably has to do with the fact that I did not cheat at Waterpolo during tournaments," EJ answered. "No one probably knows, but after those self-exposing videos I posted on Instagram, I was banned to play the sport for months as the tournament officials investigated my claims."

"Why would you do that?" Gina was full-on grinning.

"It felt freeing at the time," EJ shrugged. "In any case, what I meant in those videos was whenever the school had us play against our teammates."

"You, EJ Caswell, are one bizarre person."

"That, and my father is on the school board." EJ chuckled. "I still got an earful from both my parents and Ashlyn's parents." He shivered.

"Thank you for Everything, EeJ." Gina smiled as she stood up.

"It's what boyfriends do." EJ grinned. "Be there for their girlfriends."

"Aww, that's awfully sweet of you."

“Hey, it’s what boyfriends are for, being awfully sweet.”

#ricky bowen #ej caswell #gina porter #portwell #hsmtmts #apologies #story

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ye0ncore · 4 years ago

Text

regret - jake shim <3

req by anon: can i request prompt list number 39, 41, 50 + jake, thankyou!!

note: thank you for the req anon 🥺 i’m back!! i missed writing a lot haha i couldn’t stay away for too long 🥺 i missed all my amazing readers too, you guys are the best <33

>> prompts: “are you avoiding me?” , “you’re breaking my heart.” , “i’m not leaving you alone like this.”

>> pairing: jake x female reader

>> rating and genre: g, pg if you don’t like angst,

>> warnings: angst, some strong language

>> word count: 1334

“y/n? are you okay in there,” you mother asked for the hundredth time that day. you appreciated her caring, but you just wanted to be left alone. there was only one person you wanted to talk to, but you knew you wouldn’t be able to. you missed him like crazy. he just up and left you, leaving you broken and confused.

he was moving away. and he told you in a text. if that wasn’t enough, he told you the day he was leaving. he told you in the same text in which he broke up with you in. it wasn’t even a paragraph telling you how much he would miss you and how much he loves you. it was only a few sentences, but it was enough to break your heart.

ever since, things had been going downhill. your grades dropped significantly. you quit your extra curricular activities. you almost never left your room, making your friends and family incredibly worried. they knew how much jake meant to you. he was your whole world, and to have it all ripped away from you, was the worst pain to experience.

your parents had done everything they could think of to help you. they took you out, made your favorite food, even had movie nights where the only things you guys would watch were your favorites. your friends did their best as well. but nothing they tried, seemed to even come close to bringing you out of the hole you were in. they knew the only thing that may help was jake, but that wasn’t going to happen. or so everyone thought.

a few days later at school, you walked in wearing the new normal for you. sweatpants and a hoodie. you walked to your locker, earning a few sympathetic looks from your friends. you walked to class, your eyes looking down the whole time. you sat in the back, and got on your phone, passing the time by with tiktok. a few gasps brought you out of your thought bubble, making you look up. you froze in your spot. it was jake, in the flesh. why was he back? he moved a few months ago, so why on earth was he here?

he looked around and when his eyes met yours, his face softened. you looked down at your phone, wanting so badly to disappear. you mentally cursed yourself for being somewhat excited, even after what he did. admittedly, you missed him so much. and seeing him just made it worse. and just your luck, the only seat left, was the one beside you. he took his seat, set his stuff down and got out his notebooks. he had always loved school. he loved learning something new, so he was always very excited to go to class.

it brought back a lot of memories that you didn’t want to think of. class began and you didn’t do much. you were on your phone during the entirety of class, not paying any attention to what your teacher was saying, confusing the hell out of jake. you weren’t like him in the way that he loved school. you hated it, but you would still do it. so why weren’t you doing it now? boy he was oblivious.

as soon as the bell rang, you stormed out of the room, ignoring his voice calling your name. you went to your next class and of course, he was there too. this time he was sat on the other side of the room, but you could feel his gaze on you.

it was like this the remainder of the day. you ran into him constantly, and he called out for you everytime. you had no interest in talking to him about what happened, so you continued to ignore him. however it’s jake shim. you can’t ignore him for forever.

you were walking to your car after school had let out, literally begging the gods that jake would not find you. however, clearly, luck was not on your side today, as you heard a familiar voice calling your name. you kept walking, hoping that he would get the memo and leave you alone. “are you avoiding me?” he kept calling your name, running up to you. he met you at your car, standing in front of the drivers side door, stopping you from getting in. “jake, move and let me in my car,” you hissed, your voice venomous.

he shook his head. “no, let me say this.” you crossed your arms and sighed, motioning for him to get on with it. “y/n, i am so so so sorry.” you stayed quiet, thinking there would be more for him to say, but he was silent after that.

“is that all you have to say to me?” your voice broke slightly, feeling your heart contract. after all he did, all he could say was he was sorry. no explanation. you waited a little longer, and he said nothing. scoffing, you pushed past him and opened your car door, putting your bags in your car.

“y/n, please. you’re breaking my heart.”

you immediately stood up straight and looked at him, anger written all over your face. “i’m breaking your heart? no. you broke mine. jake, you left me in a text message. you couldn’t even tell me that you were leaving until you were already gone. how do you think i felt? that fucking hurt jake. so don’t even try to tell me i’m breaking your heart, when you’re the one who broke mine.” jake stood still, hurt written all over his features.

you got back in your car and drove off, as your eyes began to water. seeing him again brought back a lot of old emotions and you couldn’t help the tears that formed. you tried to suck it up since you were driving and you didn’t want to drive while crying, knowing how unsafe that can be. you got home fairly quickly, walking inside and storming off to your room. you ignored your family’s calls after you, slamming your door shut.

the stress of the day was beginning to weigh on you, making you start to tear up again. you let yourself cry freely, letting out all of the emotions that showed back up today. you sat on your bed, knees tucked into your chest for a while, until someone knocked on your door. “come in,” you sniffled. your mom peeked in, and smiled at you sadly, already having found out about the days events.

“someone’s here to see you, y/n,” she said, sympathy laced into her voice. “can they come in?”

you didn’t put the pieces together, so you just nodded, not expecting it to be who it was. a few moments later jake walked in, a guilty look on his face. “jake, p-please go away,” you pleaded.

“no, y/n. i’m not leaving you alone like this. it’s my fault you’re like this. it’s my fault you’re so hurt, and i can’t even begin to tell you how sorry i am.” you went to talk but he cut you off.

“i didn’t tell you i was leaving because i didn’t want to hurt you. i kept it short because i thought it would make it easier on both of us. but looking back, all it did was hurt both of us even more. it was a mistake, and i’ll regret it for the rest of my life. but please y/n. you don’t have to take me back, i’m not expecting you to. but please, forgive me. please.” his voice was soft as he begged. his eyes started to water as he sat staring at you, waiting for your response.

“jake... i can’t forgive you just yet. i still need time. but i will try. i um... i missed you,” you confessed, your eyes on the ground.

“that’s okay, i completely understand. i missed you too. i’ll make it up to you, i promise.”

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isthatbloodonhisshirt · 3 years ago

Note

(This will probably be a 3-4 part ask, fyi) So I skimmed through Alpha Beta Omega when that post with the photoset popped up, mainly to remember if I've read it before. (I have a lot of opinions on the actions and stuff in that, and that's definitely a fic I can never re-read, but that's not what this ask is mainly about). But anyway: how soon after the video incident did Scott meet & become friends with Stiles? I can't imagine he would know what was happening and not mention it or say (1/3?)

anything, even if they were only acquaintances at that point. Like Scott knew who some of the pledges were, but did he know who the "targets" were (besides his own)? Because maybe I just read way too many 'true alpha' style fics but I can't imagine him not trying to warn people. (But then again I'm also basing some of this off of my college experience, which was a tiny campus (<2000 students) so warning people is probably easier said than done when you add a huge campus & class size) (2/3?) Also, no rush on getting back to my messages. I know you didn't actually say names with that comment but I'll out myself as one of them. I know I'm bad about sending literal essays sometimes (and then adding more later) . I know I've told you but one of my best friends also doesn't always have enough spoons to actually respond to me with words, so sometimes our messages are only gifs & memes for weeks. But I still love you both just as much no matter how frequently or what style we talk with ❤

Okay listen. Listen. I can’t remember what I had for dinner yesterday, and I almost always eat the same thing (creature of habit + cheap + lazy) and you’re asking me to remember a fic I wrote when I just started in the TW fandom |D LOL I barely remember any of the fics in the Sterek New Year’s Extravaganza except the ones people seem to always bring up (Quickest Way to a Man’s heart, Not so Beauty, It’s Happening, Your Pain is my Pain, etc.).

All I really remember from Alpha Beta Omega is that the prompt requirement for that day was Fraternities and I know exactly 0% about frats because 1) Girl, 2) Canadian, and 3) Not involved whatsoever with Greek row at my uni. Like, I’m 80% sure we had frats and sororities at my university -- I just Googled it, we did -- but I know nothing about any of that outside of movies |D AND MOVIES ALWAYS MAKE FRATS SEEM LIKE TRASH!!! So I had to go with what I knew (and sadly if I recall from the comments, a lot of people said most frats are like that. Not all! But most, which is depressing tbh).

Anyway, in answer to your question remembering like, basically nothing about this fic, I would assume Scott and Stiles didn’t meet until way later. Scott definitely would’ve told Stiles about everything with Derek considering I’m pretty sure (if memory serves) that he left the frat specifically because it was trash and... he fell for his target right? It was Allison or something I think? I DON’T REMEMBER OKAY LOL. But yeah, Scott would’ve 100% told Stiles about the whole thing so they would’ve met after Scott had already left and Derek had already done his part.

There’s a lot of fics in that entire series I’m honestly not super happy with because again, that was when I first started, didn’t really have a handle on the characters, and a lot of the prompts were things I would never write (frats being one of them, another being the friends with benefits, crossovers, etc.). On top of that, I rushed like, basically all of them because I was trying to get a fic out a day and some of them are LONG |D (I legit remember writing Not So Beauty on the fucking bus on my way home from work for a week because it was the only time I had to write it, and my brain was like “IMAGINE HOW GOOD THIS COULDA BEEN WITH YOUR COMPUTER!” because I defo cut corners. And we’re not gonna talk about the Human prompt because I hate that one and legit wrote it the same day it went up. Mistakes were made during that event, I am not proud, but you learn and grow from things, right? |D

Anyway, not what we were talking about. Yes, Scott would’ve told him.

And thank you ;~; AND SORRY! I just... need to do it. I keep watching the number go up and instead of doing something about it, I just hide from it |D But I know some people probably think I’m a bitch for not replying to them, or think I’ve like, idk, died? I WILL REPLY THOUGH! Maybe I should give myself a goal of like, 10 messages per week minimum or something |D I’LL REPLY TO YOU SOON THOUGH I PROMISE FORGIVE ME!!!!! <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

#Not TW #Blood's yakkity yaks #simpsonizer-demigod-143

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recentanimenews · 4 years ago

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SPOILER-FILLED REVIEW: Talking About That Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Ending

A note on safety: The following movie review undertook the strictest of safety procedures to watch the anime film in cinemas in Japan, including washing hands with disinfectant before and after, sitting in seats apart from others, going to a cinema outside of the busy metro area, and wearing a mask during the entire runtime of the movie. We strongly urge everyone to follow the recommended safety protocol in your country and always wear a mask when in public — not just for your sake, but everyone else’s as well.

For those who are outside of Japan and want to know how the latest (and final) Evangelion film stacks up, we have already published our completely spoiler-free review. For those that want to know more, please read on.

After the airing of the NHK documentary which followed Hideaki Anno and the four-year production of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the unofficial “spoiler ban” was lifted by Studio Khara on March 22. This means, as much as Khara is concerned, we are free to discuss anything and everything Evangelion: 3.0+1.0, like how [omitted for spoilers] kills [spoilers] and LCL [spoilers].

Seriously though, if you don’t want to read any spoilers for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0, then leave. Immediately. Close the tab, don’t scroll down.

This is a warning.

I’m not kidding.

I’m putting an image here as a buffer. It's sweet right?

If you scroll past the next image you will be spoiled for everything in the film. This is your last warning.

"Asuka" as a kid

Welcome to Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time where I may have lied in my previous review, cause things go tumbling down — but in a good way. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t recall the exact right terminology here on out: between the Doors of Guf, the hundreds of Evangelion models and ships we see, and that ending, it’s hard to keep it all in one head. That’s why this film has four directors.

If you’re already here, you’ve probably read the synopsis going around the internet right now. Yes, it explains what happens on screen, but experiencing it is a different story. Evangelion 3.0+1.0 takes a lot of cues from The End of Evangelion in its final act, but prior to that it is mostly a story of growth for Shinji, where he rejects being depressed (after a heart to heart with black-suit Rei, who then turns into LCL), learns that things aren’t 100% his fault. Shinji goes on to tackle his source of depression head-on; owning up to his past mistakes and taking down his father, who is now literally just a vessel of his own desires.

Unholy Gendo

Something truly missing from Evangelion 3.0, and one of the reasons I loved Evangelion 2.22, was just the gang hanging out together and interacting with the — very scarred — world around them. That scar has vastly grown throughout the 14 years Shinji was missing from the actual 3rd impact (the one at the end of 2.22 was a “near-impact event”) which saw the world covered in the red haze we saw in 3.0. Luckily, WILLE has purification pods that keep the core-ification of the world at bay. We saw that being used in the 12-minute preview, but throughout the film, they’re used extensively to keep the Evangelion wandering the landscapes on the red earth away from the villages that are helping the WILLE cause. They need to get food from somewhere.

This is where we spend a lot of time learning how the characters from Shinji’s class all survived, got paired off, and that Asuka is staying (and is probably in love) with Kensuke. She confesses to Shinji that she loved him when they were kids, but 28-year-old Asuka can’t keep loving someone who hasn’t changed in 14 years. Shinji does accept the confession, saying to her that he loved her too, and she turns into LCL — though that’s in the Anti-Universe and after Asuka meets the “original” Asuka (I’ll get into that). As I said, it’s The End of Evangelion 2.0.

Rei discovering herself in the village

One of the nicest parts of the film is black-suit Rei discovering human emotion and society in the village. Being a clone that likely spent all of her time locked in her room (and without the love of the now inhuman Gendo, which original Rei got), it was unlikely that she learned anything that makes humans human. The concept of “hello” and babies from Toji and Hikari confuses her as she finds a place herself in this village. Admittedly, it was sad to see her go and turn into LCL (from a lack of LCL exposure), but serving as the catalyst for Shinji to get over himself and face his demons was worth it … I guess?

After this, Shinji grows up. Even Mari on a re-introductory sniff claims as much. During his time in the village, he discovers how the settlement stays afloat and that the 14-year-old son of Misato and Kaji (the latter perished in the real 3rd impact) helps keep the village alive. A picture of Shinji and Kaji Jr. helps warm Misato’s chilled heart and gives her the confidence to let Shinji pilot Unit 01 again, much to the disdain of multiple members of the WILLE crew.

All of this is nice. Unlike the despair and hopelessness felt in 3.0, the entire first three parts of the film are uplifting and bring moments of joy. Seeing black-suit Rei smile as she came to terms with herself was just utterly beautiful.

Then Shinji decides to get in the robot.

This is where I’m going to get into the Hideaki Anno talk, because this film, as well as the rest of the anime versions of the Evangelion franchise up to this point, is basically just a self-examination of the man’s mental state. In the spoiler-free review, I called Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 the antithesis of Evangelion: 3.0. And that’s true, but it is also an antithesis to The End of Evangelion: A rejection of the depression Anno felt while creating the 20-plus-year-old film. There’s no doubt in my mind that the journey of Shinji through these Rebuild films is the journey of Anno creating Evangelion, with 3.0 being the lowest point.

But this isn’t just felt in the story of 3.0+1.0, it’s also felt in the way it was presented. The entire final act of the film is basically a happier version of the “tumbling down” scene from The End of Evangelion, just with some more interesting aspects to it along with some inventive filmmaking — including making Lillith’s face live-action. That was haunting.

This includes the above scene, which got a lot of flak on social media for being very poorly animated when it appeared in a trailer. Even I was confused over the inclusion of such poor animation in what is one of the most hyped anime films of all time. Funnily enough, it was Anno trolling. The scene comes from the ending, where the two Eva’s fight through the history of Evangelion, with this scene either representing a testing stage for CGI or one of the many Evangelion video games. The poor animation makes sense in the film … mostly.

Over multiple film-like sets, the two Evangelions duke it out — one with Shinji, the other Gendo — over their ideals. This takes them to Misato’s apartment, the school, and even where Pen-Pen (or his offspring, I don’t know how long Penguins live) resides in 3.0+1.0. Before cutting to each of the different scenes, an Eva smashes through the set wall and onto a production stage.

I also said in the spoiler-free review that Anno “takes everything he knows about animation and filmmaking to deliver the perfect end to Evangelion,” and it shows when you see the (animated) production stage filled with props, miniature cities, and controls that you’d probably see on a production stage for a live-action Evangelion. Again though, this part is animated.

Mari at the End

The surrealness doesn’t end here. When Shinji “wins” and chooses to reset the world without Evangelion, the animation breaks. Shinji devolves into key animation, then layouts, then into a storyboard, which is then broken by Mari bringing color back into Shinji’s world on that beach. No “how disgusting” here, only happiness.

The film ends with an adult Mari and an adult Shinji at Ube Station. As the music of Hikaru Utada’s “One Last Kiss” swelled up through the speakers, the animated backgrounds slowly transitioned into a live-action drone shot of the area surrounding the hometown of Hideaki Anno.

A poster for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 showing Shinji on the tracks outside Ube Station, which I discussed when the poster was first released.

This is how I know Hideaki Anno is done with Evangelion. While yes, he has said he is done and feels no personal connection to the franchise anymore, the end of the film is a deeply personal one that clearly shows the anime creator cares about his creation and is now happy enough to see leave home and become its own thing — if anyone else chooses to pick it up.

Shin Evangelion (the Japanese name for the film) is the true form of Evangelion that Anno set out to create over 25 years ago. While it wouldn’t have looked anything like it does now, the emotion poured into one of the longest animated films ever made makes that point as clear as the bright blue sea.

Some other various interesting spoiler points:

I’m not sure if character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto was lying about him not knowing Mari’s story and just making that one-shot chapter of the Evangelion manga on a whim or whether Anno took what Sadamoto wrote and expanded on it, cause Mari was right there in school with Gendo and Yui exactly as the chapter laid it out. Unless she’s also a clone...

There’s a really good shot of CG Asuka trying to force-feed Shinji, which was a direct evolution from this test footage back in 2018.

On the topic of Asuka, she had a small version of a purification pod in her eye that, when opened, unleashed an angel, and in turn let her meet her “original.” It’s not explained whether the original is Langley Soryu from the TV anime series or not.

Also, she’s a clone, like Rei and Kaworu as part of the “Shikinami” series. Interestingly, Mari Makinami also has “nami” in her name...

Ritsuko did nothing but shoot Gendo, mimicking the scene from The End of Evangelion. The shot was as useless as her character arc in the Rebuild films.

This film has to be set in at least the third continuity of Evangelion, as the TV series is directly referenced in the production stage and thrice does mean three...

Sakura is one of the most grounded characters in the film, with her asking the true question of “why the heck are you letting him in ANOTHER Evangelion?!” Let’s hope the live-action world she is now in is good to her.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time is currently showing in theaters across Japan, there’s no word on an international release at this stage.

Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.

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By: Daryl Harding

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