#i think they were from a pride collection in 2018?

[polaroidcats]

after months of looking on 2nd hand clothing websites/apps i just found a replacement for my favorite pair of doc martens that were from a limited collection years ago! they're practically in brand new condition everyone hope and pray for me that the person selling them replies to me and i get them 😭😭

[dysfunctional-doodle]

2003 quotes anon returns with: The Donatellos in a nutshell

2003 Donnie, walking into their house: Hello, people who do not live here. 2012 Donnie: Hey. 2024 Donnie: Hi. 1987 Donnie: Hello. Bayverse Donnie: Hey! 2003 Donnie: I gave you the key to my place for emergencies only! 2018 Donnie: We were out of Doritos.

2012 Donnie: It’s Pride Month, you know what that means! 2024 Donnie: I get to eat as many Skittles as I want? 2012 Donnie: What? No! What has 2018 Donnie been telling you? 2018 Donnie, walking in, pouring Skittles into their mouth: Taste the rainbow, bitch.

1987 Donnie: Hey do you wanna hang out this weekend? 2018 Donnie: Generic excuse. 1987 Donnie: I can’t believe you said that out loud, to my face. 2018 Donnie: I can.

2003 Donnie, clearly drunk: Bayverse Donnie, hit me another drink… wooOO HOOoo… Bayverse Donnie: I think you need a therapist and not a bottle. 2003 Donnie: I think yooOOoou need to shuUT YOUR MOUTH!

*Something crashes* Bayverse Donnie: Shoot- 2003 Donnie: *running into the room in a panic* WHAT FELL?! 2018 Donnie: *walking by the room calmly* What died?

Donatellos, my beloved-

And bonus one for the Mikeys

*Everyone is standing around the broken coffee maker* 2003 Mikey: So. Who broke it? I'm not mad, I just wanna know. Everyone: 2018 Mikey: ...I did. I broke it. 2003 Mikey: No. No you didn't. Bayverse Mikey? Bayverse Mikey: Don't look at me. Look at 2012 Mikey. 2012 Mikey: What?! I didn't break it. Bayverse Mikey: Huh, that's weird. How'd you even know it was broken? 2012 Mikey: Because it's sitting right in front of us and it's broken. Bayverse Mikey: Suspicious. 2012 Mikey: No, it's not! 1987 Mikey: If it matters, probably not, but 2024 Mikey was the last one to use it. 2024 Mikey: Liar! I don't even drink that crap! 1987 Mikey: Oh really? Then what were you doing by the coffee cart earlier? 2024 Mikey: I use the wooden stirrers to push back my cuticles. Everyone knows that, 1987 Mikey! 2018 Mikey: Okay let's not fight. I broke it. Let me pay for it, 2003 Mikey. 2003 Mikey: No! Who broke it!? Everyone: 1987 Mikey: 2003 Mikey... Bayverse Mikey's been awfully quiet. Bayverse Mikey: rEALLY?! *Everyone starts arguing* 2003 Mikey, being interviewed: I broke it. I burned my hand so I punched it. 2003 Mikey: I predict 10 minutes from now they'll be at each other's throats with warpaint on their faces and a pig head on a stick. 2003 Mikey: 2003 Mikey: Good. It was getting a little chummy around here.

You return with so many fun quotes! I am collecting them all

[claireelle18]

She’s a Gem - Vince Dunn

Shoutout to @cellythefloshie for gushing about this man, and encouraging this write. Hope everyone enjoys it!

Vince bought her some sort of sparkly gem for every major occasion that happened between the two. The tradition started after he won Lord Stanley, because she deserved something shiny. Paper rings were what he made her on every date leading up to the first gem. The St. Louis 2018-2019 team won the Stanley cup. He got his Stanley Cup and the ring to go along with it. He bought her Sapphires. This was the first major gift he ever gave her. The two only had been dating a little under a year when he did this. He said it was because she needed to rock something blue to go along with his gear. She wore the set every game, even during the bubble series. It made her feel closer to him, even though he was in Toronto, and FaceTimes were the only form of face to face either got of each other. Her shadow box with the paper rings he made her sitting next to the new box containing her first gem.

When news broke he was going to Seattle during the expansion, she was the first one to cheer on the new opportunity, even if that turned them long distance again. In the bubble, she moved home to Florida to be around her family. Due to the world turning back to some weird level of normal, the couple was allowed to see each other again. He wasn’t in the bubble anymore. He presented her with Aquamarines to match his new team’s jersey color. “You need to be able to coordinate correctly, loves,” he explained. A small promise to her that she had his heart. Her box of paper rings, more added to the collection of both because again he continued the original tradition for every date. She took the move to Seattle right before the fall season, right before the hockey season started up. She had been out of the Florida heat for a while, but her wardrobe was bright, cheery, Key West colorations. What did he get her? Pink Ethiopian opals. They reminded him of her so much, matching her personality (and her clothes). October 23, 2021 - Vince Dunn scores his first goal as a defensemen for the Seattle Kraken. The following day, he took her out and bought her black pearls. “What? I can’t celebrate my first goal with a new team by spoiling my hunny with some new jewelry?” “I’m not saying you can’t, but Vince this is about you!” “And it wouldn’t be for me without my number one cheering me on from the sidelines.” A paper ring adorning her ring finger at that time. “Vince Dunn! You better not tell your mother you just said I’m your number one! She’ll be heartbroken!” ‘Ha,’ he thought. His mother would be estatic, knowing that there was good reason behind that statement.

She landed a new job in Seattle, finally, after being out there for a couple of months. Peruvian blue opals for her new job, and because it was another reason for him to gift her with something to reminder her of him. “What? Can’t spoil my girl?” “Vin, it’s your birthday celebration!”

“So? My beautiful girlfriend will now have something to wear and think about me while she rocks the new job!” She rolled her eyes, and thanked him again. The opals came in back to back sets, along with the pearls, due to the fact that their birthdays were days apart from each other. That paper ring collection larger than imagined when the tradition started. He couldn’t resist giving her options and reminders of him, every major chance he could. Whenever she wore them, it made his heart swell with pride. She loved it because he took the time to choose each item, each one holding so much meaning to their relationship. Maybe one day these would be passed down to their children, and then their children, and so on. The two had talked multiple times, at length, for the future, what it held for the couple - marriage, children, a real house. Over the off season break, he put his next plan of what celebration the two would have. The biggest decision for him. That ring. Not her paper rings, not the other rings that matched the sets of jewelry previously gifted. He had been giving it thoughts for a year now. First season completed in Seattle, he was ready for that next step with her. She donned his name multiple times for years, stitched into all the jerseys. She had stuck through it all with him. Every twist, turn, bump, and loop-de-loop life threw at them. Glued to his side. The ups and downs, highs and lows, every moment. That old box of paper rings proving every day their commitment. He knew she kept them all. He finally settled on the perfect ring for her. A 3.5 karat diamond with a titanium band. Classic, with minor flare. A little more flashy than the others in her now decent size collection, but she deserves the attention. The most important piece she’d own.

He found it by accident while out with the boys back in Toronto. Home for him is with her, no matter where they are. The group had popped into an antique based shop, and as she was more of a timeless, classic girl, he took a peek at what the case held. Nestled in red velvet, sat the ring. Then and there he saw her with that particular one adorning her finger. A little more shiny and sparkling, definitely a conversation starter. Similar to her grandmother’s ring that she said she adored growing up. The marquise cut, flower set diamond ring. Immediately he rang his mother, followed by her mother. Both were in agreeance. That ring was meant to be hers. Without a second thought, he bought it.

He had the girl of his dreams. He now had the perfect ring. All he needed was the perfect place to ask her that all so important question. She wasn’t the type to care for the general cheesy proposals. He needed something more meaningful, more unique.

He held onto that ring until their trip to the Bahamas with some of the other teammates that weren’t selected for the All Stars series. Sunset on the balcony of their hotel room with drinks, and a hidden bottle of champagne to celebrate with further after he asked. His phone hidden and recording to keep this moment forever.

Her back facing the camera, she was admiring the fire painted sky. He came up, hugging her from behind. The box in his pocket feeling heavier than before. “Hey hunny…you know that I love you, right?” He asked her.

“Yeah, of course I do loves. Why do you ask?”

He was already nervous, a little giddy even. He never thought he’d be there, ready to ask her to be by his side forever. He took her hand making her face him. “I say that because…be…because…I want to spend the until the end of time with you.” He drops down to one knee, his ocean tumbled curls falling into his eyes. “For years already you’ve worn my last name proudly across your back, but now I want you to share that last name. Our last name across your back. I want those future moments we’ve talked about time and time again. Will you marry me?” He pulled out the velvet box, that ring glinting, reflecting the scorching colors.

Her eyes sparkled with tears that threatened to tumble down her cheeks. “Of course I’ll marry you Vince!” He slipped the ring on, she pulled him in for a kiss.

After dinner and celebrations, back in the hotel room. “You picked a wonderful ring. Knowing me so well for this shiny one,” she commented to him. “But you know I’d marry you with paper rings if it came down to it. You’re the one I want.”

[r00tpackl0ver]

I thought this would be fun too show off....My small Root Pack collection on it's shelf! It's my pride and joy and looking at it makes me so happy every day!

A little more info about everything undercut

The first picture has stickers I got off etsy! They're so cute and I LOVE how the artists drew them. The card also came with the first sticker and it was a very pleasant suprise! The artists [Left to Right] are Circleheadd and NinjaHaku21. [Always important to give credit!]

Along with that is the Chauncey Funko Mini! I got it when they came back alll the way back in around 2018-2019.....I have a few dupes too. I was really excited about those things back then ahaha!

Second photo...So! Awhile back there was a Cuphe@d Pop Up Shop exclusive to Japan! It's hard to find merch online because you had to go to it physically, but I'm always checking on Japanese Websites to see if anyone has stuff related to it! (I actually so have some, I'm very lucky....) Ah but I'm rambling...The sticker was one of them of the things sold there, it's so cute!!! I love the fence detail. There's other merch of the pack that was sold but sadly I haven't been able to get my hands...(Someday....)

There's also the funnies card that came with the collector's edition of Cuphe@d. It'd be an utter lie to say this was the only reason I got it but it was a huge factor as too why. They're adorable even when their been jerks to other people ♡

And of course the most recent addition I already posted about, The PlzDot Figure! It's so well made...I was so giddy when these were first revealed and I'm overjoyed to have them!

Finally, The boss cards from the cuphead Rolling Dice game! (Which I can't even play because I have no irl friends rip lol) There all such menaces, (except for Ollie but it's ok he's having a rough day) I enjoy how expressive they are!

I do take some of the items off the shelf and in my bag if I have to go into public. It helps me a lot with my anxiety, haha.

There's a couple other things I had, but I didn't think they'd fit in with these. Might post them some other time....

[acircusfullofdemons]

PARAMAY DAY 13 (CREATION)

*inhales* oh boy, here we go…

Claypso was created on January 12, 2018, the day/day after I had seen the movie “The Greatest Showman”. It Unlocked something in my brain because the MOMENT I got home I pulled up Pinterest & started looking for inspo to make a Cool New ~*Self Insert OC*~. I can't really remember my exact thought process (who knows wtf 14yo Luka was on) BUT I do know I specifically made Calypso to represent "me". I would then joke for the next 2ish years on how, despite this, I made Calypso a boy when I identified as a Cis Girl. Idk I just find that fact so funny now that I’m nonbinary. (In the same vein, I also made him confident/proud of his bisexuality when I still had no clue if I was bi or not. We love projecting onto our own ocs/paras <3).

Calypso is the parame I remember actively making, thinking, "this Character is me but runs a circus" (I had just seen The Greatest Showman so inspo was strong there lol). Which is funny, because if you look at Cali, then look at me, I don't think you'd think/realize that?? His personality is very much…the opposite of mine lol. I am not a super cool extrovert that has multiple friend groups and goes on odd adventures. I’m on tumblr participating in a month-long oc challenge. Clearly something went wrong /j.

Uh. I made him at a time when I was questioning if I was Bi or not (I mean i was a freshman/starting highschool. Do any of us know who we truly are then?) so I kinda projected that into him??? In all honesty I feel like he should fall somewhere on the aro spectrum as well, since I'm aro & that's important to me, but I want it to evolve naturally if it at all happens so I won't entertain the idea just yet.

Funny enough, homeboy has always been a homeboy. Er, what I mean by that is, even tho I made him based off of me/representing me, having him be a (cis) male was one of my first decisions for him. At the time I wasn't 100% sure why, maybe I was influenced by the movie, which had Hugh Jackman star/play as PT Barnum, both males. But uh *looks @ nonbinary flag* I think there's a reason why now. Also part of the reason he's so feminine / """girly""" I guess. Tbh I probably projected into him a lot more than I realize (coughdaddyissuescough) but he is my parame & started out as a paraself, so it's fair.

Oh wow I haven’t even gotten into the original version of his story yet. It’s honestly not that different from how it is now, with a few minor differences. Originally, he was just the circus’ ringleader and died trying to save Clairette from a lion attack. The time loop was because he was the son of Persephone and Morpheus (yes..the greek gods…they were a thing in this once) so I think Persephone allowed him to be a Poltergeist?? OH and Macbeth was his half brother which made their relationship kind of sad because Cali genuinely wanted a sibling relationship but Macbeth just wanted him dead (Macbeth is a Reaper and his job is to collect Souls Cali is literally a lost soul do u see the problem here).

The VR stuff was always canon (except for that brief period of time where I got insecure and it wasn’t and everything was just their normal life which made things less confusing but also there was literally no plot lmao). Idk what else to say uhm fun facts: 

His default playlist is a little over 8hrs long and is currently the longest playlist I have on Spotify (that I listen to. My instrumental playlist is a little longer but tbh I rarely touch it).

He used to have gold eyes. They were quickly changed to blue and got shifted into the turquoise they are now! In addition to that, his first design used to have him wearing an actual ringleader outfit. He also used to have black hair, then light purple, and finally the dark purple it is now. In total he’s been through roughly 7-8 redesigns.

Cali is combined with a previous character, Anthony Morningstar. Anthony was inspired by Pride!Roman (an AU of Roman Sanders from the webseries “Sanders Sides”) and is the reason Calypso is now a prince! I scrapped Anthony because I had no idea what to do with his character and felt like him & Cali were too similar to really justify them being different people.

The tarot cards that represent him are “The Magician” and “Page of Wands”.

“A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman is his theme song.

....this is all probably Too Much. hm. have the first drawing of Cali I ever did (it is from 2018 😞)

[unhingedselfships]

So I was asked to elaborate! And here we are. Cause I'm procrastinating. Lmfao.

H. - Tool (Ænima 1996)

This one, kinda hit pinnacle of her side of the dynamic for me. I latched onto it hard.

Kadokura is an objectively "bad" man. She knows this very well. She knows he manipulates, and that she is not separate or an exception to/from that. There is darkness in him, and he brings out the darkness in others. If he can be bothered to.

He hurts people. Literally and figuratively, herself included. And she lets him. She knows, and she allows it, accepts it, at times even craves it.

It's unhealthy. She's unhealthy. She doesn't mind.

Freak - Sub Urban ft REI AMI (Thrill Seeker EP 2020)

And here we see perfectly normal totally healthy Kimi again. (/s)

As far as I can figure, Kadokura collects people. And if they weren't monsters, chances are, he'll make them into one. Kimi will do anything for the validation and praise she needs. It's almost... Pathetically desperate.

DEVIL - Shinedown (ATTENTION ATTENTION 2018)

This one is almost... Playful? On Kimi's part. And includes an unnamed and irrelevant 3rs party. But it basically comes down to Kimi telling someone to watch themselves because "the Devil", Kadokura, is aware and waiting. A warning to tread carefully, because someone much more dangerous than they're prepared for, is just in the other room.

Under the Water - The Pretty Reckless (Hit Me Like A Man 2012)

Given the background she has here, in a messy sort of way, Kimi views Kadokura as a savior. She was crying out for someone, anyone, to save her, and then there he was. Serendipity.

The Remedy (3 Kord Scissor King) - Puscifer (Money Shot - Your Re-Load 2016)

This is also almost playful. And Kimi getting a bit... Big for her britches, as my mother would say. It's a sort of, telling off anyway who dares to cross her boss. When someone she loves, is devoted to, is treated or spoken of poorly she can get. Mean. They've become "lowly" in her eyes. Unworthy.

Dance with the Devil - Breaking Benjamin (Phobia 2006)

This one's mostly self explanatory I think. I'm sure she's been warned away, by more than one person, but. She's never been very good at listening. This can only end terribly but. Oh well.

Fragile Minds - Silent Theory (Delusions 2016)

A peak into how she's doing with her devotion. Not well lmao. She is willing to give anything and everything. Her mind, her body, her soul, her life. She'll break herself for him, in any and every way. Whatever he asks. She destroy herself if asks. And she knows it isn't ok. That she isn't ok. She doesn't care. It scares her sometimes, the depth of her feelings, but she wouldn't change it. Not for anything.

There is also an element here of, what he could shape her into. She isn't much, physically speaking. But with the right guidance, I think she could be a kind of dangerous. Not to mention how easy it would be, with the right push, to make her snap.

Devil's Playground - The Rigs (Black 2015)

I feel like Kadokura has a way of making even the worst parts of society look appealing somehow. This is sort of a "welcome to my world, it's fun, I promise" kind of track.

Do Bad Well - KSHMR, Nevve (Do Bad Well Single 2019)

This one is fun. In terms of symbolism and what not, I definitely view Kadokura as something of a devilish character. If I were to assign him an arcana, that would be it. But the life he's given her, certainly isn't hell. Devil's in heaven indeed. Couple that with a healthy does of enabling. Here we are.

There is also an element of "whatever you do, do it well", a "take pride in what you do". Commit to it, basically.

(there was also an amazing conversation on his reaction to being called Daddy. Hilarious 😂)

[tojiscrack]

𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋: 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑

summary: 18.1k words — you and the rest of your friend group experience all the changes and activities that high school has to offer.

notes: so during the making of this chapter, i put up a poll where i left it up to my little liars (you guys) on what colour the school should be. as much as i absolutely HATED that the majority of you picked blue over red (i'm still salty about it) i'm glad 132 of you actually participated in the vote. now enjoy this monstrosity.

tw: swearing, mention of dicks, mention of suicide in a metaphor, and that's probably it lmao

i do not own any of the characters of jjk, i only own the character of y/n and her mother. the other characters belong to gege akutami.

previous chapter :)

next chapter :)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

2017-2018 freshman year

"i don't like this."

"nobody cares, porcupine."

the two of you were currently sat in satoru's — correction: mr gojo's — office at school. it was orientation week and both you and megumi had collected your ID cards and your locker numbers. you were yet to receive your timetable for the coming year, but you were certain that they'd hand it to you some time this week, seeing as freshman year officially started in the coming week.

megumi had put up a pretty stubborn front when it came to admiring the larger corridors and the midnight blue lockers littered around the entire school (which was pretty massive, you had to note). you imagined that it would be terribly easy to get lost in, with the corridors no longer as narrow as the ones back in your middle school and with several other buildings attached to the main one in order to make room for specific departments for specific subjects. currently, you found yourself in the science department, satoru's — mr gojo's — expertise, fiddling with the new keys you'd have to take extra care of.

you'd read about jujutsu high all over the internet (and heard quite a lot about it from satoru himself). apparently, he, ieiri, and suguru attended here back in their youth. the pictures you'd seen in his camera roll, and on several polaroids, indicated that it had been a really good time ("the best time of my life," satoru would never fail to remind you). changing schools for the third time had become much easier knowing that you might experience everything that they did. it also didn't hurt that high school lasted for four long years. there were plenty of things you could do to make tons of memories in that time, especially due to the fact that yuji and nobara had both found seats in jujutsu high too.

sato— mr gojo's office was pretty decent. the walls around you were littered with several display boards showcasing a bunch of his students' work and diagrams of subcellular structures. he clearly took pride in his teaching, even if he randomly spurts out that he'd rather have their yearbook pictures up instead. apparently they had been horrendous, but a good laugh all the same. though, you'd hate to think what this man would do after you and megumi left the school. probably put up our identification pictures, you thought with a grimace.

"so," he'd said, leaning back in his spinning chair with a grin, "you nervous?"

as megumi eyed the display boards with a look of concentration you'd only seen on him when he would read the questions presented to him in an exam, you answered cheerfully.

"excited, mainly." you were seated on the chair opposite your future teacher. "but megumi was throwing a fit about it on the way here —"

"i was not," he harshly interrupted you. you did not have to look over your shoulder to tell that he was glaring at the back of your head.

sa— mr gojo paid his reaction no mind, only continued to tease him as though he hadn't spoken at all.

"i can tell! you look kinda roughed up, kid," he said, and you nearly laughed when megumi patted down his haywire hair as if it were a new thing for it to be standing on different ends. mr gojo merely flashed him a toothy smile. "i mean, that picture on your ID card —"

"that wasn't my fault," megumi snapped coldly, fiddling with his lanyard that was falling out of the pocket of his pants. "the lady kept telling me to smile."

you perked up excitedly. "but get this: he told her that is him smiling."

the picture itself was megumi being typical megumi, a bored expression that could very well be mistaken for anger. you'd never let him hear the end of it. mr gojo threw his head back and laughed.

"i'm leaving —"

"okay, okay, we're sorry!" you said hurriedly, sitting up in your chair because slouching meant that you wouldn't be able to turn and face your friend with urgency.

megumi glowered at you, but did not leave. you took that as a win as he came to stand behind you, eyes narrowed at s— mr gojo.

"i hope we get ieiri as our teacher," he grumbled, because apparently, ieiri had also taken a job here to teach.

mr gojo, looking mildly offended, simply laughed his statement off, tilting his head forward to present his weirdly-blue eyes to the two of you behind his sunglasses. you wished someone would get this man brown contacts.

"keep an eye out for your timetables, yeah?" he responded, his tone all too teasing.

you did not mind having mr gojo as a teacher, to be perfectly honest. as annoying as he could be, he was extremely laidback and matched your humour in ways many adults could not. megumi might hate him, but you supposed that it was only because you and mr gojo would team up to make fun of him, no matter the situation. there were, however, instances where you thought megumi didn't actually hate him. not really, at least. but that was a story for another time.

sitting up straight, your back to the head of the chair, you tilted your head slightly. "wait... did you do something so that we'd be the unlucky few to have you as our teacher?"

mr gojo's lips pursed. if it hadn't been for his sunglasses, you supposed that his eyes were probably wide enough to give you a shock wave and send you straight to a hospital bed.

"why would you be unlucky to have me as your teacher?" he demanded, clearly offended.

mr gojo had always put himself on this pedestal where nobody could ever find him anything but endearing. in short, he truly believed that he was above everyone and that if you have a class with him, you should be grateful, if anything.

you barely had time to respond before megumi cut in coldly:

"you'd lose your own head if it wasn't screwed on tight."

mr gojo raised a brow at him, pulling out a small mirror from his desk drawer and holding it up to take long glances at himself. "how could i ever lose such a beautiful thing?"

megumi looked as though he wanted to shatter the mirror and everything else in the room just from louring.

"you keep a mirror in your office?" you questioned, confused.

mr gojo lowered the mirror and frowned. "you don't?"

"millennials," you heard megumi sigh from behind you.

mr gojo tucked the mirror away and fiddled with the framed picture he seemed to have propped up on his desk, its back facing you. since both you and megumi had entered his office, he seemed reluctant to show it to the both of you, storing it away with a cheeky grin you felt meant trouble. even now, he seemed to be taking glances at it and chuckling to himself, as if the two of you were part of an inside joke you had no knowledge of.

with the framed picture now resting on his lap, cleanly out of your sight, he looked up at you, lazily spinning on his chair.

"are you guys taking any extra-curriculars here?" he asked, perhaps the first ever serious question he'd posed to you that day.

"no, not me," you answered truthfully. you actually hadn't even given it a slight bit of thought. "but megumi wants to take football!"

mr gojo beamed. "really?"

megumi nodded. "heard they had a good pitch and everything."

"great coach too," the white haired male added. "the old one left last year. i had to fill in for him till the new one came around. you'll like him."

in saying that, you had expected his gaze to be directed at megumi, who had shown genuine interest in the sport. however, his head had lowered ever so slightly, showing that he was looking at you instead; you, who had shown no interest in taking an extra-curricular, namely football, at all.

"were you on the football team when you were here?" asked megumi, the harsh tone he usually used with mr gojo now lowered and at ease.

mr gojo shot him a lazy grin. "nah, i did basketball."

"so why did you fill in for the football team then?"

"i'm not bad at football," he said calmly, but you already knew that seeing as the annual family football game was usually dominated by either him or toji. but for once, he didn't sound cocky about it either. "i'm really good at it, obviously. i just prefer basketball."

before either of you could respond, the door behind you opened abruptly. annoyance ran through you, swift as an arrow, for the conversation had just begun to get interesting. all three of you peered at the door, watching as a head of a blonde, stern woman popped through the gap, lips pursing at the sight of you and megumi.

"no students allowed in the teacher's lounge, mr gojo," the woman had stated icily.

you decided that whoever this karen was, you didn't like her much. she stirred up old memories of a teacher from kindergarten that you weren't too fond of, and judging by the bored look on megumi's face, you were certain that he also agreed (a rare occurrence, seeing as the two of you were usually on opposing ends of several arguments).

mr gojo didn't look too pleased at the interruption either. already slouching in his chair as it was, he barely sat up straight to respond to her.

"i'm their legal guardian," he sneered, discontent. "and this is my office."

the woman, clearly disoriented, left without another word. you let out a low whistle.

"who was that beauty?" you said, looking back at mr gojo with raised brows.

"i like to call her negative nancy," he said, before standing up and walking around his desk to gesture to the door, ushering you out. "but anyway, you should check out the football pitch! i think the new coach is out there too, it'd be good to introduce yourselves!"

you and megumi made your way over to the door, a sense of delirium washing over you. the one major thing you'd been looking forward to out of everything was the football pitch and the late night games that would take place. due to mai showing you several clips of how rowdy the games could get, you only wished that high school would come sooner in order to experience it all in real time.

as the two of you made your way down to the football pitch, passing several classrooms filled with people listening intently to an adult doing a speech, you spotted tsumiki leading a line of students down to what looked like the school library. you instinctively glanced at megumi.

"she's part of the student council," he reminded you, continuing to walk past the library and then outside the building. "she has to help out with this stuff."

"ooh, maybe i could do that too," you commented determinedly.

megumi looked down at you, monotonous.

"you have to be elected in."

"that's no big deal!"

"no one would vote for you," he said at last, continuing to walk and not stopping even though you had, stumped and stupefied.

"that's rude, porcupine!"

he ignored you, figuring that you'd follow him eventually; you did.

it wasn't long before your constant bickering had lead you to the football pitch in no time... and it was everything you'd imagined and more.

it was like any old football field, but wider, larger, bigger: surrounding the field of grass was the running track that went round in one giant oval. behind you were the seats, benches upon benches that went higher with each step in order to make space for every viewer to sit comfortably. the field itself was adorned with several white lines, each marked with expert precision, ready and prepared for any football game that would take place. on much higher ground, behind the benches, was a wide, dark blue building, with speakers attached to the left, middle, and right sides of the roof. it was also adorned with several massive windows on the front, allowing you to see that the inside also had seats. you squinted your eyes to clear your vision a bit and found that there was a microphone for each chair.

"i was hoping for the school to be red, like the one your mom wanted us to go to," you stated, eyeing the blue on the benches with disgust. 

"i like blue," megumi countered calmly. 

you scowled at him. "no, red is better. who the hell made the decision to decorate it all blue?"

megumi stared off into the distance, breaking the fourth wall and peering at the people who were left the responsibility to make the choice, deadpanned.

until you broke the silence, tugging on the arm of his shirt to grab his attention.

"am i seeing things or is there someone standing over there?" you asked quietly, pointing at the figure standing in the middle of the field, unmoving. 

you and megumi were on the pink track, therefore the distance between the two of you and the mysterious person in the centre of the field was great. you wouldn't be at fault for making a mistake with your presumption.

 "probably the new coach," your stoic friend responded, simultaneously leering at the person. 

upon further inspection, it looked to be a pretty tall man, perhaps tall enough to be at even satoru's height (and satoru was pretty damn tall, which he never let anyone forget).

"let's go," said megumi, turning away to leave the pitch.

you hadn't moved, blinking at him in confusion. 

"you don't want to introduce yourself?" you questioned, addled.

megumi shook his head; you sighed exaggeratedly and pulled him in by his arm. surprisingly, you didn't need to put any extra effort in doing so: megumi put up no fight when you dragged him along.

"don't be so shy, porcupine," you said, your tone teasing because you knew pretty well that he wouldn't like it one bit. hell would freeze over before you ever neglected a single day of annoying him till he snapped. "the emo in you is showing."

"i'll hit you."

"you wouldn't," you sang, and weren't surprised when he didn't argue with you on that. "now c'mon, malakai —"

"you're really testing my patience, mermaid —"

but you'd found no time to start a brawl with him (as you usually would) at his cruel comment. instead, you stopped dead in your tracks, your arms still wrapped around one of megumi's against your torso, but your eyes were no longer focused on him. instead, you were ogling at something in front of you, namely the peculiar being that the two of you had questioned only a few minutes prior. 

you felt megumi's free hand poke at your cheek.

"what's wrong with you—"

"MASAMICHI?" you yelled, uncaring of the fact that your emo friend had flinched at the sudden volume of your voice. 

initially, megumi had thought your cry of the name of your former p.e teacher from middle school was a mistake. after all, there were numerous times in the long years that he'd known you where you were wrong, whether it be in an argument, a factual comment, or even your opinion on something (he held no regard for the fact that an opinion can't actually be wrong, but you were always an exception for him). however, when the figure at the centre of the field became stiff with your call, he had a pressing feeling that today must've been the night of the blue moon or something: you were actually right.

"MASAMICHI YAGA!" you repeated, louder and with less questioning in your voice. 

megumi's arm had become loose in your hold, he slowly took it back, grateful for the distraction. you didn't mind.

the man had finally turned around as you hurriedly dived forward, more excitement in you at the idea that your favourite former teacher (no matter how many times he'd yelled at you) had followed you here! you had to be dreaming, there was no way this was happening.

coach yaga's appearance had changed over the years since you'd first met him. he was still as tall as ever with a muscular frame and tanned skin. though what stuck out to you the most was his hair. where it used to lie flat on his head, barely any to run his hands through, now he was sporting some that were flying up on different ends, short yet spiky. the rest of his head had remained shaved.

the final thing, along with his frame, moustache and goatee combination that had remained the same, was the tired, annoyed, and exasperated expression on his face, as if simply being in your presence was a chore.

"megumi, pinch me," you said once you'd arrived in front of your former teacher, staring up at him in awe.

"gladly," your friend had responded.

from the corner of your eye, you could see his hand flying towards yours — you slapped it away without a second thought or a single glance. 

"of all the high schools you could've gone to," coach yaga sighed, staring down at you as if you were the bane of his existence (you might as well have been), "it's the one i happened to join this year."

"right?" you perked up, thrilled. "isn't that great?"

megumi thought he looked anything but thrilled. he seemed to be questioning his choice in partaking in that long process of application forms and interviews for the job here, clearly. and when megumi caught a glimpse of you, practically buzzing with excitement, it was as if all the memories of your troublesome nature had come flooding back to him in one go. he thought he understood what coach yaga was so distraught about. he thinks he might have even experienced it once or twice.

coach yaga seemed to have come to terms with it, for he let out a long, drawn out sigh and then turned to face megumi with a critical look.

"you been practicing over the summer, fushiguro?" he said, voice gruff and stern. "you once said you wanted to take football properly in high school. you haven't changed your mind, have you?"

"no."

coach yaga regarded him stoically. 

"don't bother turning up to try-outs," he'd said after a few seconds of merely nodding. "you're on the team."

you felt megumi stiffen up beside you, so when you looked up at him, gauging out his expression, you were concerned to see that he'd completely frozen, and not even with a half-smile curling at his lips whenever he was secretly happy about something. megumi's face was morphed into an expression of distress, you might even say that it bordered annoyance. 

you couldn't help but question why: he'd been given a free position on the football team without even having to (as a theatre kid would see it) audition for the part. 

unless he was being righteous again, which always managed to irk you to a certain degree. uncle ogi called him foolish because of it, yet his mother had called him an angel. 

"favouritism!" you accused, pointing at him in shock. "masamichi is doing favouritism!"

"if you don't lower your voice, girl —" your former teacher threatened, raising a fist at you, though you knew it was a completely empty threat.

ah, this was the teacher you remembered. 

"...and it's coach yaga to you, for the millionth time." 

"sorry, but i can't accept that," megumi had intervened (though that probably was not the right word for it, seeing as the topic was centred around him to begin with).

both your heads had turned to face him. it was, perhaps, the first time that you and coach yaga could see eye-to-eye on something: you weren't happy with megumi's refusal to the offer. you couldn't understand it. 

megumi was incredibly good at football. in fact, you had so much faith in him, you were certain that even if he did take part in try-outs, he'd get in without question. you had no doubt about it. so why, you thought in your head, ready to voice it if need be, did he have to go on this whole righteous tangent if the offer could save time for both him and coach yaga?

"what the hell do you mean by that?" snapped coach yaga. "you were on my team last year, different school, but my team nonetheless. you've got a talent, i don't need to see it again to decide. you're on the team, that's final."

"you can decide after i turn up to try-outs," said megumi, clearly unmoving on his view. "it's only fair."

"fair?" sputtered coach yaga, as if he hadn't heard of the word in his entire life. you couldn't blame him, simmering in silence as you watched the interaction between them with irritation. "life's not fair, boy! you're on the team. i saw the line-up for the team last year: inumaki's on it, so you'll have a familiar face to work with."

"that doesn't matter," megumi stubbornly continued. "yuji's coming here too."

"well you can tell him he's on the team too, then," said coach yaga, also stubborn. 

megumi glowered at him. "i'm not doing that —"

"then i will!" you added, pulling out your phone from the pocket of your jeans and hurriedly opening up your texts with yuji. 

you could feel two holes being burned into your left cheek where megumi was glaring daggers at you, but you didn't care. you were happy for him and yuji. it was a moment to be proud of. the two were so good at the sport, that coach yaga felt the need to eliminate them from even trying out for the team, insisting that they were that talented. this, if anything, was something to celebrate. you knew that megumi would probably hold a grudge against coach yaga for the rest of his miserable life, but you were also aware of the fact that your grumpy teacher just simply would not care. so long as he has a winning team in his hands, he could not care less. that, you were grateful for.

in the end, like you had expected, megumi gave in (though not without a word; it was routine for him to complain about something) albeit reluctantly. later that day, when you met up with yuji and nobara, your pink haired friend had been as ecstatic as you, only to feel guilty at the look on megumi's face. one righteous grump was enough, how had he influenced yuji to be the same (minus the being-grumpy part)?

as the week continued to roll on — and you began to question when it was that they'd finally hand you your timetables — all four of you had found yourselves sitting around a table at the school, your first official day as a high schooler, excited...

only to deflate the second you examined megumi's sheet, eyes darting left and right, up and down, just to go on repeat.

"megumi!" you gasped, feeling more disappointed than angry.

the only classes that you shared with megumi, out of the nine that you were in, were chemistry, biology, and math. you didn't even share the same homeroom, and aside from the three mentioned, the only time you would be able to see him again would be during study-hall and lunch, all of which were not nearly long enough to compensate for the time lost with each other.

eyes bulging out of their sockets, when you'd darted them to ogle at your dear friend, you thought he seemed to be thinking the same thing. megumi never usually smiled, so it wasn't a shock when his lips pressed themselves into a thin line, but you could differentiate each and every one of his expressions as if they were your own, and megumi (though he'd never admit it) was not pleased with the arrangement of each of your timetables. 

at all.

"this is all your fault," you said, shaking his timetable aggressively. he snatched it out of your hands with a look of irritation. you let him. "what did you have to go and pick business for?"

he glowered at you. "can you imagine me on stage doing performing arts?"

"of course i can!" you snapped, waving a hand dismissively. "i literally edited you on a stage once, don't you remember —"

"you did?" yuji perked up, to megumi's annoyance. "show it to us!"

"yeah, let's see!" added nobara, extending her arm across the table and making a 'hand it over' motion.

"let's not see," megumi interrupted icily, slapping nobara's hand away with enough force, the sound reverberated around the hall; nobara hadn't taken that lightly either, kicking him under the table with an expression of pain and vexation.

you ignored them all, staring down at his timetable, which you'd swiftly swiped off the table again, with confusion. how was it possible that you only shared three classes with him? it seemed that these classes were based off of the end of year exams from middle school, and megumi was at the top of the class for everything, to no one's surprise. but so were you, except for math. last year, the only reason you passed with flying colours was because of megumi, because even though he'd made rude and judgemental comments when tutoring you, he actually happened to be a very good teacher.

the thought did not compute to you. when you'd compared your timetables with yuji and nobara's, you'd been over the moon at the fact that you shared several classes with them, whether it be individually or as a group. it wasn't mentioned enough (mainly because you were quite careless about it) but you had done just as well as megumi in the exams for every other subject, so why were you in only three classes with him?

clearly you'd committed a terrible crime in your past life to be punished with such a sentence. who else will blame megumi for the funny writing on the board the second everyone enters the class? who, other than you, will frame him for the aeroplanes thrown at that one kid you despised for being so cruel for no apparent reason? who, but you, will provoke him enough to start a dictionary fight from two opposite ends of the classroom simply because his angry face was belly-ache-laughter inducing?

from the looks of it, it seemed that you'd have to pass the torch on to yuji. you did always think he would be your replacement... ever since you first met the annoyance.

"this isn't fair," you sighed.

megumi agreed, shaking his head, monotoned and bored. "yeah it's just not fair."

"anyway, megumi might physically abuse me if i show it to you guys right now," you said, changing the subject begrudgingly, only to smile just as soon as a lightbulb flicked on over your head. "but satoru has a ton of pictures of him from our christmas play back in elementary school!"

you did not have to glance at megumi to know that he was scowling (what was new?). yuji beamed at your statement, eyes sparkling with curiosity that was certainly not mild enough to restrain him from demanding that you send every single one of those images to him.

"did you play baby jesus?" he asked loudly, smiling from ear-to-ear as he awaited megumi's response.

"you're intellectually challenged," your dark haired friend snapped, visibly irked at the way you and nobara laughed at the thought of little megumi, ever the grumpy one, playing baby jesus. "how the hell would anyone play a new born?"

"just... wrap them in a towel or something," yuji suggested, though he sounded less passionate now that megumi had set the record straight. if it wasn't yuji, you might have actually felt bad. 

"so what did you play then?" nobara swiftly questioned. "the shepherds?"

"maybe he played the livestock!" yuji perked up excitedly, turning to you for confirmation. he seemd to have effectively recovered from the disheartening moment of being told he wasn't very clever. "he's always loved animals, right?"

megumi let out an exhale of disbelief. "the hell makes you think i wanted to be one?"

"wouldn't put it past you," scoffed nobara. "didn't you try and stay at the zoo when your family went to visit, like, a decade ago?"

surprised at the prospect of megumi's head remaining in tact with his neck due to how fast he'd snapped it round to face you in apparent annoyance, you did not meet his gaze, resting your chin on your hands held up by the table, still examining his timetable that you hadn't returned.

"why'd you tell her?" he questioned, when it became crystal clear that you had no intention of voicing the elephant in the room. 

"it was supposed to be a secret?" you replied, looking up at him with faux innocence. but megumi knew you, and he knew you very well; well enough to tell that you had done this on purpose. if there was one thing you were an expert in, it was trying your absolute best in annoying, shaming, and angering megumi fushiguro. 

and he hated it.

how it worked, mostly, but he hated it all the same.

"uncle ogi said we couldn't tell anyone," he reminded you, firm and very visibly offended. 

you grinned at him. "what, because of the reputation of the zenin family?" you continued before he could answer. "well guess what, porcupine? i'm not a zenin."

"and neither am i," he stated, the frown on his face deepening with each passing second.

"by name, maybe not. you're literally toji's son —"

"i would've found out anyway," nobara intervened confidently. she twirled a piece of her short hair around her finger mindlessly. "you ended up on national television —"

"national television?" yuji repeated, his voice raising several octaves. you expected him to look a bit more impressed, but your pink-haired friend merely pouted at the three of you. "why am i being segregated? what happened on national tv?"

that particular day had been very hectic. a visit to the zoo with the rest of the family (along with suguru and his two girls, mimiko and nanako), was meant to be how any other family would act, admiring the animals and walking in sync with one another... only for it to turn into absolute chaos when little megumi had ended up in the gorilla enclosure and decided that he wanted to live there.

you never let him live that one down.

"megumi became one with the gorillas —"

"did you tell them about your interest in the aquarium?" he cut through your statement coldly.

your eyes widened, gawking at him in something in between disbelief and complete annoyance. if there was one thing megumi knew embarrassed you (and you don't tend to get embarrassed by much) it was the mermaid lie you'd made years ago. 

"i was interested in the sharks," you explained, growing more and more agitated with the way megumi's face became more and more dismissive, as if you were lying. "they were scary but i liked it —"

"makes sense," he interrupted again, "they're a danger to your species."

you could see yuji laughing; the knife lodged itself deep in your heart. you could see nobara holding hers in; you felt the knife twist in its place.

the irritating part of it all was the fact that your dark-haired, cruel friend deserved credit for that one. it was good, and if it hadn't been directed at you, you might have even voiced how impressed you were.

"okay i'll give you that one," you said, turning away with your nose in the air. "it was good, you got me there. but only this time, porcupine."

you hoped and prayed that yuji and nobara would forget this moment: it happened to be the only time your constant teasing came back to bite you right in the ass. you wondered to yourself how many times the four of you could sit like this together, pester megumi because it happened to be something you, yuji and nobara all had in common, a habit you did not believe would ever break for as long as you lived on this great, green earth. from the looks of your timetables, there weren't many classes where the four of you would be in altogether, only a the three that had been previously mentioned: chemistry with ieiri (who you'll now have to refer to as miss shoko), biology with satoru (who you'll now have to refer to as mr gojo) and one of the teachers you'd never met here, math, with mr kento nanami. 

he sounded strict. 

you didn't like strict.

but you also could have sworn that the name sounded familiar. 

you happened to be correct, and you'd found that out in one of your first lessons with mr kento nanami:

he was a tall man, with blonde hair that had been styled in a neat side part. his cheeks were hollow, making the cheekbones on his face seem more prominent and emphasised. he didn't smile, not even during the first lesson, which had mainly been an introduction, and he spoke very formally, like a business man. you had learned that the business attire (the suit, tie, formal pants and pointy shoes) had not been a one-off dress code for him. after attending several of his  lessons, getting to know him better, you'd found that this was an everyday fit for him. 

that tie was a bit weird though, and mr nanami was anything but weird.

so you'd been correct in assuming that his name sounded familiar. he was just a year younger than satoru, suguru and ieiri, a mutual friend (though he did seem adamant that satoru and him were most definitely not friends, no matter how many times the white-haired beanstalk declared that they were). 

mr kento nanami was a funny man, you'd decided. strict, firm, and constantly exasperated, but funny nonetheless. without even trying, that is. you liked his lessons very much. the one thing that you didn't like, however, was the learning part of it — math was not your strong suit. that had been established years ago when you first started learning it, but it only became more emphasised in his classes.

"i can't do it," you declared out loud, using an eraser to erase yet another one of your miscalculations. "this is too hard —"

"you can do it," said kento nanami, who had made you sit right across from his desk because you seemed to need the most help out of everyone in the class. it turned out, this very class had been one of the top sets. it was a miracle you'd been placed there, let alone managed to stay there. though, arguably, you had been moved down several times, only for you to fail even more because apparently, only kento nanami's teachings stuck in your head, even if it was a struggle.

"i can't," you sighed, rubbing your temples, feeling a headache starting to form. whoever created math was going to wish they hadn't. "i'm going to die —"

kento nanami pinched the bridge of his nose: he didn't like it when you became dramatic.

"you're not going to —"

"yes i am." 

"you cannot expect to do even remotely well with that attitude," he said, completely disregarding your dramatic comment. "the last exam you completed —"

you grimaced. "don't remind me! even yuji did better than me... and he never studies!"

"i do study!" the pink-haired idiot lied from somewhere behind you. 

you knew he never studied. in fact, one time, when you spent most of the day at nobara's, her grandmother had forced you to sit and work through multiple equations, meanwhile yuji spent the day teaching football to the neighbours' kids. you knew — you watched him enjoy himself through the window.

"you can't believe him kento, he's lying to you to impress you —"

"i have half a mind to believe him simply out of spite," kento firmly told you, and there was a tick in his jaw. "for the millionth time, y/n, you will refer to me as mr nanami."

there was a habit that you'd adopted, which applied to teachers you really liked, but not limited to teachers you really hated. it was something that had always existed, calling teachers by their first names rather than their last names, if only to show them that they were your friends (or you simply had no respect for them if they were seen as your foe). masamichi, kento, satoru, ieiri, are candidates you liked very much. other teachers... not so much.

"mr kento nanami —"

"mr nanami," he repeated, stoic and stubborn. "as i was saying, the last exam you completed was notably better than the one prior. that shows improvement."

you stared at him, deadpanned. "i was only two points higher."

"any improvement is improvement."

you never considered yourself a pessimist. in fact, you always looked at the brighter side of things when no one else would. but with math, it almost felt like you would become a whole different person, and the last person you wanted to be like was emo, depressed, careless megumi. the thought sent a shiver down your spine.

"this is too hard," you sighed, placing your pencil down on the table with a look of defeat. "just bury me already —"

kento gave you a long and hard look, his expression stern and brows furrowed to the point where a deep line had been formed between them. he looked at you... perhaps not at you, maybe something or someone behind you, as his eyes fell over your shoulder meeting someone else's.

you would soon find out that it had been megumi. 

as if they'd created their own form of communication through the eyes itself, you found yourself sitting by megumi's desk now, his judgemental and critical look only serving to offend you.

"i'm helping you —"

"you literally called me dumb," you scoffed, brow raised in scepticism. 

megumi's eyes grew half-lidded, apparently bored with your accusation. "no i never."

"yes you did," you said firmly. "you said i'm as 'sharp as a marble'." 

the offender simply raised his own brow at you in apparent confusion, as if to say 'and?'. 

"marbles aren't sharp!" you snapped angrily, taking everyone around you by surprise at the sudden volume of your voice.

megumi ran a hand through his hair, dragged it down his face, and let out a small groan, muffled so as to not distract the rest of the class any further. he did not seem impressed, but you didn't care. the audacity he had to call you dumb when his teaching was clearly not working spoke volumes for you. 

you leaned back in your chair, arms folded over your chest, reluctantly sliding your completed work across from you and over to him. 

"mark my work," you demanded, with every intent to make it sound as bossy as you could.

he glared at you, but did not oppose, picking his pen up and going through the questions with you with a look of deep concentration. at times, he would scratch the back of his neck, rub his brow, grasp his chin, shake his head, and you had no idea what any of those actions meant (probably that you got every question wrong, again). 

only for you to be completely stumped when he looked up and met your eyes once more, no longer sporting the look of exhaustion, but one of pride. 

at least, you thought it was pride. all of megumi's expressions tended to be the same: his mouth a straight line, his eyes half-lidded, his brows unmoving, etc. though with time, you had managed to dissect each and every one and figure out whether he was happy, or sad, or angry, and so on. right now, you thought he looked impressed. you knew for sure that he didn't seem annoyed with you — that was usually his default, too!

cautiously and gradually, you leaned over and pulled the sheet towards yourself, eyes darting up and down before finding the final mark:

7/10 - good.

beaming, you met his eyes with a toothy smile, brows raised in pleasant shock.

"i'm so smart!" you declared, confidently and immensely proud.

he let out a long exhale through his nose. "why did you have to go and ruin it?"

you ignored him, snatching the paper and rushing over to kento's desk, taking enough care to slide in between the discarded chairs and tables people are sitting at, and swiping yuji's pencil case off the table just for the fun of it. at his wail of despair, you merely responded with a quiet 'oops' knowing quite well that your actions had been very much intentional. 

you did nearly slip on one of the stray pencils that had rolled out of his discarded pencil case, to your doom, but politely flipped yuji off when he laughed 'karma'. 

by the desk, on kento's chair, sat a baffled nobara, her eyes drooping and her soft, short hair dishevelled through, no doubt, constantly running her hands through it in obvious exhaustion. like you, math was not her strong spot. also like you, she looked ready to absolutely throttle whoever decided to add letters to numbers and make it part of the compulsory curriculum. 

kento himself stood opposite her, bent forward and holding himself up with his hands on the desk, pointing at the numerous equations on her own paper, and giving her extra guidance and clarification on them.

"do you understand it now?" your teacher asked her, looking down, sombre yet patient.

her hands were hidden somewhere beneath her hair, holding her head up as she stared grimly down at her own messy work, slowly nodding.

"yeah... but i'm going to torture, and murder, and torture —"

"— the guy that created math," kento finished off, looking slightly tense as he stood up to his full height, straightening himself seriously, "i've heard it, nobara." he looked over his shoulder and noticed you standing excitedly behind him. "what's wrong, y/n —"

"i get it now!" you informed him honestly, though you could tell the enthusiasm in your voice simply encouraged kento to feel more suspicion than anything else. "i got everything right!"

the small gasp of envy from nobara did not go unnoticed by you; kento tilted his chin downwards to take a better look at your paper, held up proudly by yourself. his narrowed eyes darted left and right, examining each question, each neat tick megumi had left behind, and finally reached the bottom of the page where your impressive score had been written in a bold red. 

kento nodded at you. 

"seven out of ten," he quoted, almost like a machine. "that's more than fifty percent."

"please, ken— i mean mr nanami —" you added when you'd caught sight of the pursing of his lips, "no more numbers. i've retired from being the genius i was just two minutes ago. i got everything right!"

"seven out of ten," kento repeated, voice gruff. "definitely an achievement, but not one hundred perce—"

"i'm still a genius," you interrupted, apparently choosing to select which parts of his statement you truly wanted to hear. "megumi said so —"

"no i never," your traitor of a friend had intervened from somewhere behind you. 

you regarded him, boot-faced and unimpressed. he was sitting next to yuji now, finishing off his own work. but apparently, your little white lie was enough to break him out of this cycle of work, work, and more work. 

"stop lying," he gracefully added.

you felt your eye twitch in indignation, turning around to face kento and plastering on a smile to mask your obvious discontent.

"he's the one lying," you whispered, though that did not stop kento from believing him over you. it became a habit over time, you'd noticed. you were still trying to figure out a way to break it.

"be more humble," grumbled nobara, still slouching on kento's chair with a permanent scowl painted over her face. "some of us are being beaten black and blue with all of this."

"i can teach you!" you offered, relishing in the smile that nobara's face had formed, extending to her eyes where the spark that usually lay there had been re-lighted. 

giddy, you skipped around kento and his desk to reach nobara on the other side, ignoring his weak protests about how he wasn't sure that you were absolutely confident in your skills at the particular topic. you and nobara were in your own world, sitting on the thin arm of his spinning chair, one half of your body slumped against her side and the other hovering above her as you guided her on the questions.

it was later found that kento had been correct. helping nobara only served to take away the knowledge that your teacher had already tirelessly given her. you walked away in shame after that, completely unaware of the fact that half of the method you'd used to solve the equations out were actually correct...

and not just over fifty percent, but one hundred percent. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

due to a series of upcoming exams, you and the rest of your little group had spent majority of your break times at study hall, looking over a bunch of your notes from social studies, to performing arts, to biology, chemistry, physics. however, the only one you had to truly focus on was math.

you slumped over your textbook, your expression a mix of frustration and defeat as you stared at the seemingly indecipherable equations before you. to you, math was a labyrinth of confusion, a tangled web of numbers and symbols that ensnared your mind with its complexity. each problem felt like a battle, with your thoughts colliding like opposing armies on a chaotic battlefield. the numbers mocked you, dancing tauntingly on the page as if daring you to unravel their secrets. it was as if you were trying to navigate through a dense fog, each step forwards only leading to a hundred steps backwards. math, to you, was a relentless adversary, an insurmountable mountain that you could never hope to conquer. 

your gaze flickered over to yuji, who seemed to effortlessly breeze through the math problems with a nonchalant ease that left you envious. he was like a graceful dancer, effortlessly gliding across the stage of equations while you stumbled clumsily in the wings. each correct answer he produced felt like a dagger to your pride, a reminder of your own inadequacy in the face of his natural talent. it was as if he had been born with a mathematical compass embedded in his mind, guiding him effortlessly through the labyrinth of numbers and formulas. you couldn't help but feel like a mere spectator in the shadow of his brilliance, your own struggles magnified in comparison to his effortless mastery.

what pissed you off more was the fact that this was yuji. 

yuji.

he barely studied (no matter what lies he fed to kento, your sensible math teacher). you could pass him a math paper without a warning and he would bring it back to you without a single strand of grey in the field of pink on his head. 

so, naturally, whilst megumi tutored an ever-growing depressed nobara, you asked yuji to help you...

you wished you hadn't made fun of megumi's hair that morning, that way, mustering up your courage to ask him for help instead probably would have been easier.

"so first," yuji began slowly, carefully writing out the numbers over your blank sheet. and then it was as if your life went by in two times speed. "you do that, and then that, and then that."

you took a careful glance at megumi's watch. your life hadn't zoomed by that fast: yuji was just a terrible tutor.

he dropped the pencil in front of you, letting it roll right next to where your hand lay, sitting back on his seat with a happy smile on his face, as if he'd actually accomplished something.

you felt your eye twitch.

"how about i show you how i do this, and then this, and then this!" you said, each emphasised word paired with a harsh smack on yuji's head with a rolled up booklet you snatched off the table. you did not know who it belonged to, probably megumi, but you did not care.

"okay okay okay! — ow! — okay, woman!"

"is that my business booklet?" megumi icily interrupted, eyes narrowed, following each and every movement of your hand that waved it around.

you shot him a glance, mild fury smouldering in your eyes.

"no..."

megumi fixed his gaze on you, his face a mask of calm that barely hinted at the storm brewing in his head. his eyes were like twin daggers, piercing through your facade with chilling precision. a muscle in his jaw twitched slightly, the only betrayal of his controlled exterior. 

"it has my name in bold," he informed you, bored.

"okay..." you said, peering down at the booklet in your hands with a masked expression. "you can have it back if you teach me how to do algebra?"

megumi's mouth set itself in a firm line, conveying a silent but unmistakable challenge. though his expression remained stoic, the intensity of his gaze was like a glacier, cold and unyielding, and also a bit tired, as though he'd expected nothing less from you. with a grin, you knew what it meant: you won.

before you could carry out your plan to throw yuji off his seat and reach megumi and nobara, an external voice jolted you out of your intense focus.

the four of you looked up, distracted: it was noritoshi kamo accompanied by chad montgomery, both of whom were part of the school's official football team alongside yuji and megumi. noritoshi (who preferred to simply go by kamo) had dark, straight hair that stopped a little further down his chin whereas chad was rather big, tall, and blonde, with a friendly face to match. it was a running joke that chad was very unlike the typical chads you'd see on tv. he was kinder, friendlier, yet still rather well-known.

"nice catch at gym today, y/n," kamo had said, barely smiling. you thought he had some sort of face freeze like megumi.

"thank you!" you beamed, turning to your friends as the two boys casually walked off. "see? people do appreciate the effort i put in at sports."

"you and nobara weren't meant to be in our class to begin with," said megumi, sliding a worksheet in your direction. you accepted it gratefully, though your attention was hardly on the paper.

"touche," nobara muttered into her own hand, her other scribbling over the doodles she'd drawn around her paper. "our class is boring."

"huh? i thought you liked coach lauren?" said yuji, visibly surprised.

you tapped the back of your pen on your worksheet impatiently. 

"we do! but it's not as fun when she doesn't care about us not participating," you told him thoughtfully. "but when it's coach yaga —"

megumi scowled. "he lost his voice because of the two of you."

you mirrored his scowl. "hey, we didn't tell him to yell and chase us across the field, did we?" 

"and he wouldn't have even noticed us if you hadn't ratted us out, snitch," nobara helpfully added, levelling an accusatory look at megumi while pointing the end of her pen at him.

megumi regarded you and nobara with a blank, almost bored expression. his mouth remained a straight line, devoid of any hint of emotion, as if he were staring at an unremarkable, distant horizon. the only movement was the slow blink of his eyelids, which seemed to convey a sense of enduring your antics with the patience of a stone statue.

"you guys were standing at the back and laughing at everyone," he stated.

"wrong," you hummed. "we were laughing at you."

yuji's laughter erupted, nearly causing him to topple from his chair as he doubled over, resting against the table. his whole body shook with mirth, his laughter filling the room with its infectious energy. 

nobara sliced through it with unbridled ease.

"we were laughing at you too, you clown," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "you and that todo guy being in your own little word —"

"it's not my fault!" said yuji, defensive. "he keeps following me, even when i go to megumi! he keeps saying we're brothers — i don't even know him!"

"i can't imagine you with a brother anyway," you said, barely registering yuji's alarm and stress, but it had completely disappeared at your comment, now masked over with an expression of pure confusion.

"but i do have a brother," he'd said, resulting in all three of you to look up at him with raised brows, parted mouths and narrowed eyes.

"huh?" nobara voiced, aggressive. "what do you mean? you never told us you —"

"i did!" he interrupted, eyes darting from megumi to you to nobara and then back again. "my half brother!"

"half brother?" you repeated, outraged. 

you spent the next few seconds thinking deep and hard as nobara verbally assaulted him for causing the three of you such distress with such a lie, racking your brain for a time where yuji had voiced to you that he had a half brother, something that you'd been blissfully unaware of for the last four years you had known him. 

"what's his name?" megumi asked, intervening loudly so that yuji would hear him over nobara's attacks.

"choso," said yuji, as though it were the most obvious and easiest thing to remember. "i told you guys!"

"so every time we watched movies at your place, how come it was only ever gramps and your parents?" you asked, notably surprised. 

on the days you'd sleep over at yuji's, you'd see mr and mrs itadori, both of whom insisted you'd call them kaori and jin, as their day shifts at their respective work places would end. never once did you see another being, another male by the name choso.

"he's much older than us, so he's already got his own place to live in," yuji explained, which, as much as you hated to admit it, made sense.

the initial shock of finding out that yuji had a half brother by the name choso had worn out after the next few minutes had been spent looking at different pictures of him and his odd family. they looked nothing alike, with choso sporting dark hair styled in odd pigtails and a more mature face and yuji having pink hair (you still insisted that it wasn't natural) and a more friendly, soft face. they didn't even have the same eye colour or remotely similar features.

somehow, the conversation had spun back to yuji's alleged brother, todo:

"maki told me that when he gets to senior year, he's planning on doing it twice," said nobara, glancing between a panicked-yuji and an exasperated-megumi for confirmation.

you nodded in agreement. "yeah, toge said the same thing."

nobara grinned at yuji. "looks like you'll be dealing with him for as long as we stay here."

yuji looked like he could be physically ill.

the rest of the day had gone by with yuji making multiple attempts to persuade the three of you that him and todo were most definitely not related by any means, and he only grew more and more panicked and alarmed when nobara would make sly comments about how todo would replace megumi as yuji's best friend and run off into the distance together, to which megumi pretended not to care (but you practically spoke in megumi-facial-expressions, and could tell that he very much did).

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

satoru's classroom was significantly larger than any of the other classes in the school. you noticed this the second you'd entered it back in september. he said it was because of the fact that he's a science teacher and therefore needs a larger room for laboratory experiments and so on, but you knew it was a lie. why did ieiri, who was also a science teacher, have a classroom slightly smaller than his? 

you ran the thought in your head multiple times, before ultimately deciding that he had probably thrown a fit over it and bribed his way up that ladder. it helped that he was also filthy rich, not that anyone else needed to know that.

there were three lab tables in his room, his desk on the left of the whiteboard and projector, and the door on the right. windows surrounded two of the four walls in the room, brightening it up so much so that on the days that you were plagued with headaches, satoru's classes became dreadful (which was saying a lot, seeing as you and several others thoroughly enjoyed his lessons).

you, megumi, yuji and nobara sat on the table in the far left, closest to satoru's desk. there wasn't necessarily a seating plan, but the one time you and nobara sat on the table furthest from his desk, he did act pretty prissy about it the entire day. 

"reproduction!" he said, a little too enthusiastically though knowing him, he most likely meant to. adjusting the circular glasses on his nose, he gestured to the board where a presentation of said-topic demanded each and every viewer's attention. no other topic within the subject of biology ever had this many balloon stickers or confetti gifs. "my favourite topic!"

"fuck's sake," you heard megumi mutter under his breath from across yuji, who was sitting nervously on your right.

the other boys in your class, sitting around the table in the middle and the table on the far right seemed to be getting a little too excited, in your humble opinion: sitting up straighter with ugly grins forming on their ugly faces, looking around and making cheeky eye contact with one another. 

"i know a lot about that," you heard tyler jenson announce, his too-happy face only serving to irk you in ways even megumi could not. but whilst you sat there with a sour expression forming second by second, nobara (seated next to megumi) turned around and voiced your thoughts.

"and yet you've never been touched by a woman."

the classroom was then filled with muffled laughter as many hid the lower halves of their faces behind their hands, giggling and chuckling as tyler's face became more compatible to the colour of a cherry rather than the colour of the skin on his hands and arms. nobara turned back around with her lips in a straight, thin line, shaking her head due to some of the hair that had fallen over her eyes. 

"mr gojo," one of tyler's minion-friends spoke up, very clearly offended. it became quite clear that tyler would not speak for himself from here on out. "aren't you going to — like — say something about that..?"

satoru raised a brow, the smile he usually adorned with pearly-white teeth non-existent, almost as if it were never there. 

"no," he said, hands resting in the pockets of his pants, "because she just demolished you."

he went back to teaching as though nothing had happened. 

the rest of the lesson had gone by quite well. few of tyler's minion friends had gotten the message and remained silent for the remainder of the hour, chalking it up to 'favouritism', though everyone knew otherwise. as many odd jokes that satoru had made, he did eventually teach the curriculum, even when the comments from tyler's other foolish friends had irked everyone by opening their mouths:

"okay," nodded satoru, visibly tense as he stood up and slammed his entire hand against the whiteboard so suddenly, with such aggression, the projector wobbled. "listen here! reproduction? sex? it's bad. who can tell me why?"

you looked around. everyone seemed just as startled as you. as fun as satoru's classes were, when he pulled random shit like this, you were more inclined to feel scared than enraptured. but it wasn't a class lead by satoru gojo unless satoru gojo became melodramatic at some point during it. 

"no one?" he continued, head turning left and right. "megumi?"

"leave me alone."

satoru promptly turned to your other friend instead. "yuji!"

"er... because... it distracts you from school work?" yuji guessed, scratching the back of his ear, a random habit you realised he'd picked up over the last few months. 

satoru nodded slowly. 

"warmer..." he'd said; yuji beamed. "nobara!"

"because men don't perform —"

"no, but i should've seen that comin'," your teacher interrupted mindlessly, the smile unwavering as he turned his gaze to you. although, it was hard to tell for certain, for the silly sunglasses he wore indoors concealed his eyes. "y/n!"

"it's a sin —"

"why on earth did i ask you to begin with?" he said, turning away and shaking his head. "okay, note this down, all of you. you can die if you have sex, yeah?"

clement roy, who was seated by the middle table (also one of the smartest in the class) spoke up with a frown:

"no you can't. having intercourse isn't dangerous."

satoru did not seem impressed. he stared at clement roy with the expression a child would give to their parent over rejection of candy before dinner. 

"all right smarty-pants, want to explain to the class what'll happen when you get chlamydia?" hedemanded, visibly nettled. before clement could even think of a response, the drama queen had already pressed on. "you'll die. you'll suffer in silence because you won't want to communicate to another responsible human being about how you were being irresponsible and then die because chlamydia got you."

you could drop a pin on the floor and the sound would echo around the room and bounce off of the walls with how eerily quiet it had gotten. had it not been broad daylight, you were certain the croaking of crickets would be the only thing perceived in this awkward silence. 

"don't just stare at me, write it down!"

barely fifteen minutes later, satoru had gone back to behaving more positively playful than negatively dramatic. 

at some point in the lesson, he'd handed out worksheets for everyone to go through and complete, filled with a series of questions based on what he managed to teach for the last thirty to forty minutes. the questions hadn't been too hard; you whizzed through them in no time. to check your answers, you stretched your body over the table and snatched megumi's paper without warning, sitting back down comfortably and ignoring his demands of handing it back.

"give it," he'd said, but the look on his face was too funny to pass up. 

megumi's default expression was always that bored, grumpy look. his angry expression, however, was much more emphasised: his nose had a way of scrunching itself up the tiniest bit, his jaw became tighter, and when his brows closed in on each other, he looked as though he'd aged ten times faster. this expression was harder to catch on camera because he always managed to swipe your phone out of your hands whenever you'd reach for it, like his sixth sense was knowing just when you'd go for the kill, the oddbot. that was why it mattered a million times more when he'd look more angry than he did bored or careless.

"i have to mark my work," you told him, placing it side-by-side with your own.

"ha! thanks, megumi!" added yuji, adding his worksheet (with scribbles, writing, and more scribbles on it) next to yours and megumi's. 

"you're not welcome. give it back, y/n —"

"hand it to me when you're done. think i got the last few wrong," said nobara, and without looking up, you raised your thumb, giving her your affirmative. 

megumi growled. "no —"

"what're you gonna do, huh?" said nobara, poking him on the shoulder with the end of her pen. "tell mr gojo?"

"what is this, mean girls?" megumi grumbled, deadpanned. "oi, regina, give me back my sheet —"

you shook your head. yuji came to your defence:

"we're not done —"

"shut up karen."

he gasped. you probably would have laughed if you weren't so occupied with scribbling out the few answers that you'd gotten wrong (based off of megumi's own work, which tended to be correct nine times out of ten). 

before you could blink, megumi's work had been swiped away from you, but not by the owner himself (you were silently surprised that he hadn't marched around the table to snag it from you by now) but by an audibly annoyed yuji, who was mumbling curses under his breath as he sketched something in the top left corner of the paper. 

vexed, exasperated, and disturbed, you pinched yuji's thigh before snatching the paper back, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. your hardened expression became less tight at the sight of the literal penis that yuji had drawn. two seconds had barely passed before you found yourself gasping for breath, hand over your mouth at a futile attempt at muffling your own laughter. 

nobara perked up, interested and offended.

"hey, don't leave me out," she snapped, back straight and chin held high. "what's so funny?"

with the deliberate intention of ensuring that the sulky boy seated diagonally across from you had also seen his own paper, you lifted it and showed it to her. 

"what the hell?" he demanded, making a move at swiping it out of your hands, but you were quicker, sliding it across the table to nobara instead. 

megumi's face twisted in irritation as his dark eyes landed on the defaced worksheet. a faint flush spread across his pale cheeks, a rare sign of his mounting frustration. his jaw clenched, muscles tensing visibly under his skin as he took a slow, deep breath, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, betraying the effort it took to suppress a scathing retort. he glared at yuji, his gaze as cold and hard as steel, before flicking back to the offending drawing. with a huff of exasperation, he snatched the paper back, his movements quick and brusque, clearly indicating his annoyance. for a moment, he sat still, radiating a palpable aura of vexation, before muttering under his breath and looking up at you all, clearly done with your antics.

nobara whistled lowly, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "damn, who pissed in your cereal, megumi?"

"why would you do that?" megumi demanded, his voice edged with irritation as he fixed Yuji with a piercing glare, completely ignoring nobara's teasing remark.

yuji, with his arms folded over his chest with a look akin to a child after throwing a tantrum, returned megumi's glare with one of his own. 

"revenge," he stated simply, his tone carrying a quiet but unmistakable resolve. 

before anyone could chime in with their own thoughts, satoru materialised from behind megumi, sporting his trademark easy grin, which only widened at megumi's apparent annoyance.

"who rained on megumi's parade?" he'd asked, sounding curious yet looking devious. it wasn't a surprise to anyone that satoru enjoyed anything that made megumi unhappy (in terms of teasing, of course).

"yuji doodled a bit on his paper," you said, rolling your eyes. "now he's throwing a fit over it."

megumi shot you a sharp glare, his expression a mix of annoyance and disbelief. his eyes narrowed slightly, silently questioning your choice of words, but refrained from saying anything, opting instead to let his disapproval speak for itself.

until he couldn't.

"stop being such a grump, megumi," satoru chortled, his teasing only exacerbating the tension brewing within megumi fushiguro. "it just makes you look more like your dad, and who the hell wants to look like toji —"

"he drew a dick on my paper," megumi interjected sharply, his frustration evident in his tone, like a rope pulled taut in a tug-of-war.

satoru's laughter bubbles up, a blend of genuine surprise and amusement twinkling in his eyes. he chuckles softly, a grin playing on his lips as he shakes his head, clearly taken aback by megumi's straightforwardness and yuji's unexpected actions.

"big deal," he said, forcing himself in between nobara and megumi. "let's see de vinci's art —"

"ugh, you're squashing us!" nobara snapped, but satoru had paid no mind to her. in fact, her comment had only seemed to have encouraged him to force himself between them further, all with a knowing smile on his face.

satoru's laughter burst forth as he caught sight of the drawing, genuine amusement evident in the small crinkles that formed around his eyes. his grin widened, his shoulders shaking slightly with suppressed mirth as he took in the absurdity of the situation. his constant laughter eventually caused him to double over, and he instinctively reached out, grabbing onto nobara's shoulder for support. his fingers gripped onto her firmly, but not aggressively, just enough to steady himself as he tried to regain his composure. 

nobara's irritation became palpable at satoru's hand that had landed on her shoulder for support. she shot him a pointed look, her body stiffening slightly as she made subtle attempts to wriggle out of his grasp.

"as wonderful as this is," he sighed, wiping an imaginary tear from his shielded eye, "i have to get rid of it."

it was, perhaps, the first time in that lesson that megumi had looked up in approval.

yuji shrugged, his tone matter-of-fact. 

"i don't care, i did it to prove a point," he stated, his brows furrowing in mild annoyance.

"what point?" said nobara, apparently having given up on trying to pry satoru's hand off her shoulder. even so, she didn't look too pleased about it. 

yuji shrugged, his expression easing as the tension left his jaw and his furrowed brows smoothed out. eyes widened, and his brows lifted slightly, yuji's lips parted, and his forehead smoothed itself out. the overall expression on his face was one of genuine puzzlement. 

"i... can't really remember to be honest —"

"erase it," megumi commanded, his voice tight with irritation.

"no," yuji shot back, defensive. "maybe you should learn to be more nice to me —"

"after this?" said megumi, voice sharp and cutting, brimming with barely restrained fury. "like hell."

"there's too much testosterone on this table," said nobara, eyeing your other male classmates that sat down a little further down from the four of you. "y/n and i should've sat near the door —"

"oh yeah?" began satoru, bending down slightly to level his face with hers. he did not look too pleased. "and how well did that work for you last time, huh?"

but before she could actually answer his question, he had already moved on, looking around at you, yuji and megumi, and pointing at the cursed sketch on the paper.

"i don't want to do this," he said, leaning over to grab it and slide it towards the end of the table where he stood with an eraser in his hand. 

he pressed it against the drawing, letting out false sobs of despair with each swipe, loud enough to draw the attention of the rest of the class. it was ugly, drawn-out, and extremely sonorous. you regarded him with a look of disgust; megumi slouched in his seat, as though that would conceal him from the onlookers; nobara pressed a hand to her forehead, head bent and gaze averted; yuji watched satoru without shame, apparently still his biggest cheerleader.

"okay you can stop now," you added, when it became crystal clear that satoru would go on and on just for the sake of someone finally addressing his shameless acting. you would rather die than have it continue. 

he grinned, radiating self-assured pride as he addressed your little group.

"now i wish i took a picture before i got rid of it," he sighed, placing the paper in front of its rightful owner. 

from where you were sat, you could still see the outline of the sketch, faded yet visible. it seemed that yuji had released his anger from his hand straight to the pencil, applying enough pressure to leave a mark even when erased. if that didn't teach megumi to be more polite, you didn't know what would. 

a deep voice suddenly interrupted the commotion, cutting through the conversation like a knife. the speaker's tone was unnervingly calm and composed, each word enunciated with precision and the use of complete formal english added an air of false-authority and distance, sounding almost archaic due to the lack of contractions. 

all five of you turned your heads to stare at the figure hiding beneath the table surrounding the outer-edge of the classroom where multiple sinks were built in: malakai the emo, who you had first met in middle school. he just so happened to attend the same high school too. even so, the only classes that the two of you shared were satoru's biology and physics ones.

"there is a disturbance occurring on that table near the desk belonging to the teacher," he began, voice slow, almost snarling. "and i do not like it very much..."

satoru frowned, watching him with obvious exasperation. if there was one being that threw even satoru gojo, the drama queen off, it was malakai the emo (who, if anyone had forgotten, preferred to be called 'kai' and will visibly glitch if referred to as 'malakai').

"disturbances should never occur inside classrooms..."

you scoffed. "coming from the biggest attention-whore of today's history."

satoru waved a hand in your direction, a silent dismissal, one that very clearly communicated that he would handle the issue. 

"and this is my class," he told the emo, raising a white brow. 

"mr gojo..." malakai began, still borderline snarling, "you do not know how to manage this class very well..."

you couldn't exactly tell due to his opaque glasses, but judging from the way his brows shot up dramatically, nearly disappearing beneath his white hair, you knew that satoru's eyes widened in exaggerated shock. his mouth dropped open in a perfect 'O' of disbelief. he gasped audibly, the sound loud and theatrical. his usually playful demeanour transformed into one of theatrical indignation, his entire face a portrait of mock outrage. his head tilted back slightly, as if to better display his expression to everyone present.

"you don't even know how to stand without glitching, kid," he teased, with every intent of offending malakai. "ah-ah, not another word outta ya," he added, pointer finger raised with a smile. "i'd send you to miss shoko —"

you did not need to take a look at malakai to know that he was smiling hopefully. if there was one teacher he loved, it was ieiri, for her classroom was shielded from the light outside, and she did not have a care in the world for whatever he did.

"— but she said she'll beat my ass if i do that again. so, i'll make sure you sit on the table, kai, not under it."

context: malakai had this thing where he detested sitting in the light, hated classrooms where the blinds weren't down, and loathed anyone who wore bright colours. according to him, the 'darkness will consume him'. on the first day of high school, he'd sat underneath the sink where it was dark, tight, and cramped. when satoru made an attempt to get him to sit on the table (like everybody else) he visibly shook and caused a scene, turning animalistic over nothing.

satoru had never made another attempt since.

at some point in the year, it had come to your attention that the teachers in his other classes had forced him to sit on the tables, but not without a negotiation: he would sit on a table on his own, so long as he was at the very back of the classroom, in a secluded corner, where no visible sunlight would reach him. even then, he would glitch and tweak, but he would sit there quietly nonetheless. 

there was a time where kento had to teach one of his math classes due to his regular teacher falling ill, and when you'd asked malakai about it, he'd described it as 'hell'. you could only assume that kento hadn't let him sit under a table, nor made an effort in following any negotiations. 

but, surprisingly enough, malakai's grades in satoru's classes were the highest out of the rest of his classes. perhaps sitting under a table like he wants actually has its benefits. 

malakai let out a loud hiss at satoru's words, as if they'd burned him to the point of no recovery. 

satoru had given up.

"okay i'll risk the ass kicking, go to miss shoko."

malakai crawled out from his spot beneath the sink and sprang up, a maniacal grin plastered on his face. his arms flailed wildly, as if he had downed ten bottles of alcohol in one sitting. malakai's eyes widened, the gleam of anticipation shining through the heavy kohl lining his eyes. a wide, ecstatic grin stretched across his face, revealing a flash of his sharp canines (apparently he loved to use charcoal toothpaste). he practically bounced on his feet, his whole body vibrating with eager energy as he ran across the classroom in that weird way that he runs — body bent forward and arms extended backwards (satoru once said that he should be part of the ninjas in naruto — you couldn't get the image out of your head now).

"yes — miss shoko — and her dark, dark under-eyes —"

the rest of you watched him ninja-run out of the classroom and down the hall, his footsteps echoing and fading. 

satoru adjusted the glasses on his nose with an air of quiet concern. "there is something seriously wrong with that kid."

barely five minutes had gone by before his phone vibrated in his pocket; he took it out, checked it, and then smiled up at you all.

"if i don't turn up tomorrow, it was ieiri shoko: thirty one years old, brown hair, brown eyes, about this short —"

he did show up the next day, but with a cut on his lower lip and quite the story to tell. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

as several other paying customers walked into the quaint cafe, the bell above the door chimed softly, announcing their arrival. the interior was a charming blend of rustic and modern elements, creating an inviting atmosphere for its patrons. the space was not overly large, you'd noticed since your introduction to the place, but it was very clearly thoughtfully designed to maximize comfort, with several circular tables made of beige wood on each side of the room, all of which were adorned with fresh flowers in small vases. your favourite part, however, was the soft ambient lighting from the hanging pendant lamps that created a warm glow, casting a muted illumination all over the space.

the walls were also furnished with framed artwork and vintage posters, which you thought added some character and charm to the place. where you and megumi sat on the stools by the counter, a large chalkboard stood behind it displayed the day's menu offerings, written in elegant script with colourful chalk illustrations of pastries and beverages. the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods wafted through the air, tempting your senses and inviting customers to indulge in the cafe's delectable offerings. 

you and megumi tended to avoid the place during peak time, but if you just so happened to be passing by, sometimes you'd force your way to the front to offer some help to the distressed, kind lady (also known as miss B) serving everyone. since it also happened to be local, you had become regular customers and people she looked forward to seeing during the day. 

with kento's gruelling homework laid out messily over the counter before you, the gentle chatter and soft music filled the air, further distracting you from the cruel equations on the papers waiting to be solved. 

while you and megumi had come here to study together, you only did so for, perhaps, twenty minutes before the laptop you'd stolen from the bakery woman working diligently behind the counter had been used for activities other than studying math. it wasn't a new occurrence: it was a daily routine to search up the reviews on the cafe (buttercup brew) and respond to any that were badmouthing miss B, the food, or the place itself since the two of you both acknowledged the fact that she was too lenient and nice to do so herself.

"'what's the opposite of delicious?'" you read out, leaning in to megumi's side to read off of the laptop that he had pulled towards himself.

megumi scoffed, his pale fingers typing away aggressively at the keyboard before him. 

what's the opposite of clever? he had silently written.

your eyes widened in both surprise and delight, a bright, melodious laugh escaping your lips, eyes crinkling at the corners, sparkling with amusement. your laughter eventually subsided into soft giggles, and you looked at megumi with a twinkle in your eye.

"impressive," you praised, glancing back at the laptop, intrigued. "any more?"

megumi nodded, a carefully manicured finger gently swiping down the touchpad.

"'came in the day they were trialling savoury dishes. the food was bland. this is a bakery, stick to sweets,'" he'd read out, monotoned. "by a woman, this time."

your cheerful demeanour fades slightly as megumi read out the negative comment, brows furrowed as a small frown tugged at the corners of your lips. you pulled the laptop towards yourself, eyes narrowed in mild irritation.

"i got this one," you told him, reading as you typed. "you'd... know... all... about... bland... wouldn't you... no-season-susan?"

you hit 'enter' and smiled, self-satisfied. 

but before you or megumi could voice your thoughts on your comment, the soft sound of the bell chiming behind you had the two of you turning in your stools to examine the stoic man walking into the cafe. you pinched megumi's thigh, hard enough for him to angrily slap your hand away with a low grunt. you didn't mind, smiling as you watched the aloof man with the undercut walk up to the other side of the counter and order his food.

"i want to do this one," you said, voice low so as to not attract the attention of the man. "he dressed up as levi and went to the military, asking to join the scout regiment."

megumi peered down at you, blank faced. "where the hell are you going with this?"

"he got sent home."

you watched his face carefully, noting how his eyes shifted away from yours, as if he were suppressing his emotions. you could tell he wanted to laugh; it was evident in the subtle curl of his lips and the slight tremor of his shoulders as he exhaled through his nose.

"that's not levi," he finally settled on saying, glancing at the man in question. "that's ivel."

you grinned. "close enough... i was thinking more along the lines of evil."

your usually stoic friend let out a rare chuckle. with a broad smile, you nudged his side, eager to show him that you had the unique ability to make even him laugh.

"look," you called out to miss B, preparing what looked to be black coffee for mr evil-not-levi, the strong aroma of the coffee beans wafting in the air. "porcupine's smiling! quick, take a picture!"

miss B chuckled, her brows raising so that her soft bangs fell over her closed eyes as she stirred the mixture in the cup. megumi, on the other hand, scowled, any trace of what once held a small smile eradicated.

"too late," he'd said, moving the laptop so it was in front of him instead, and holding the bottom arrow to scroll further down the website with critical eyes.

"you should just take it secretly from now on," you told miss B, watching as she handed the fake-levi his coffee and politely told him to take a seat. she now stood opposite you, smiling as she adjusted the red baker's hat resting on her head. "megumi smiling is a super rare occurrence."

"why would you say that in front of me?" said megumi, looking up and facing you with an expression of mild irritation. "defeats the purpose of secrecy."

"what are you gonna do, attack us?" you challenged, rolling your eyes. "i'll tell my dad never to bring you any of those weird artifacts that you like."

"stop lying."

"okay so maybe i wouldn't do that... but i could change my mind! so you're treading on thin ice, porcupine! i'd be really careful if i were you."

megumi's eyes grew half-lidded, his expression teetering between a scowl and a look of complete disinterest as he stared down at you.

"i'm so scared right now," he stated, the obvious sarcasm making miss B giggle at the interaction. 

you had a witty response resting at the tip of your tongue, but could not execute it in time before the bell by the door had chimed again. all three of you had turned your heads so as to check who had entered. you beamed in excitement, watching as a rather beefy man waddled up to the counter to place his order.

before he had reached it, however, you glanced at miss B, lip curled in interest.

"why don't you have a go?" you asked her, sounding slightly pleading. "i promise you, it'll be fun!"

"because no matter what you say, they're paying my wages," she said calmly, though not unkindly as she prepared to walk over to the other end of the counter to take the man's order. "and it's mean!"

you pouted, looking over at megumi with slightly puckered lips and a frown.

he got the message and (as always) feigned reluctance before turning to scrutinise the stranger. you sat up straighter, a rush of excitement coursing through your veins as you awaited his theory, the disappointment that you had been feeling for all of two seconds evaporating as if it had never been there to begin with.

"he definitely had a wife and three kids with him years ago," he began leisurely, as if to build some suspense to this unconfirmed story, "but someone called cps on him because they would resemble skeletons and he'd resemble the do-the-roar-kid , but if he was older."

"he ate all their food?" you gasped, surprised at the dark turn of events. 

"and their plates too."

"oh!" you nodded, focused. "so like your dad?"

the corners of his mouth turned downwards, and his eyes narrowed, darkening with annoyance.

"i'm not having this conversation with you," he stated matter-of-factly.

you smiled sheepishly. "yeah, don't tell him i said that."

"won't make any promises."

"well then i'll tell satoru that you and hana reunited at the hilltop downtown —"

"he knows you like lying."

"doesn't mean he won't tease you for it regardless."

"..."

"yeah, that's what i thoug—"

"i'll tell everyone tonight about what happened when you lied about being a mermaid —"

your embarrassment surged like a wave, your face growing uncomfortably warm. you felt the heat radiating from your cheeks, a prickling sensation spreading across your skin. your heart pounded in your chest, a mix of anger and mortification causing your pulse to quicken, the heat of your blush intensifying as the urge to defend yourself burned inside you, evident in the way you jammed your elbow into his side. 

you relished in the pained grunt he let out as he rubbed the targeted area, slightly bent forward as he glared up at you through narrowed eyes.

satisfied and proud, you pulled the laptop towards you and scrolled down to find more rude and dishonest reviews to casually debunk and argue with. 

 "'saw rats around in the shape of two kids... they should get an exterminator'..." you read out slowly, a tense silence falling over the two of you and (in your mind) the entire cafe too. your stomach dropped, eyes widening as you snapped your head over to face an already-disgruntled megumi. "is this incel talking about us?"

"ye—"

"how dare it?" you gasped, angrily typing up a response, the sounds of the buttons on the keyboard being pressed more aggressively than it should be resonated around the small interior. "look at the profile picture, that's the guy we shouted at last week!"

megumi leaned in, chin resting a little over your right shoulder as he examined the image with a glower. 

"he could afford to skip a few sweet treats —"

"it, megumi," you corrected, hitting 'enter' after you finished typing up your response. "it could afford to skip a few sweet treats."

he read out your response, tone bland and unwavering:

"'is that why they call you the rat whisperer?'"

he locked eyes with you, his usual blank expression barely masking the faint trace of amusement in his gaze. you looked away, back at the laptop to find another rude comment to respond to. 

"oh, one star review! look!" you said, pointing at the screen enthusiastically. "'chocolate too sweet. bad.'" you stared at the review, unimpressed. "i mean, it's almost as if that's the point."

you sighed and rolled your eyes, fingers flying over the keyboard as you typed a response to the absurd comment. megumi watched quietly, noting the way your eyes narrowed in unimpressed concentration as you crafted your reply. you wouldn't be actively defending this cafe and miss B if you truly believed that her food and service was not good: her bread, pastries, cupcakes, sweet treats were the best in the town. people ought to know that.

your response was quite simple, written in the same manner this liar wrote his:

dave schlager too stupid (chocolate is meant to be sweet). bad.

the bell behind you gave a soft chime, heralding the arrival of yet another customer. however, when you and megumi eagerly and robotically looked over your shoulders to observe the newcomer, you hadn't expected to feel that familiar strain in your stomach, an itch that ran all the way up to your throat, prompting you to laugh. you usually had this reaction when you'd see men, but the sight before you proved otherwise.

the woman who had entered the cafe was a sight to behold. her hair was an untamed mass, sticking out at odd angles that defied any sense of natural order. strands of grey wove through the wild mane, giving it a streaked, chaotic appearance. her eyes were wide and bulging, darting around the room with a manic energy that made them seem even larger. her clothes were dishevelled, adding to her overall rugged and eccentric look, only making it more of a struggle for you to suppress a laugh, her appearance so wildly unconventional, that it seemed almost surreal. you had half a mind to ask megumi to pinch you, but refrained, knowing he'd enjoy it too much. 

the two of you faced the front again. megumi didn't seem too fazed, face stony and tired. you, on the other hand, found your shoulders shaking with the effort of holding back several incoming giggles. he looked down at you, very clearly unmoved. 

"i'm gonna take a wild guess and assume you want to take this one?"

you slapped a hand over your mouth and faked a cough, forehead nearly meeting the table as you hid your laughter, bent forward and chest heaving. you felt megumi's hand tapping and rubbing at your back, almost as if to hold up the act that you were ill. 

you almost thanked him before you heard his low, grumpy voice.

"you're not embarrassing me today."

you didn't even have it in you to shrug his hand off. instead, you straightened up and made an attempt to mask your expression as much as possible, facing him with a sheepish smile.

"her story's not too long," you began, almost letting a giggle slip. almost. "megumi... she stole from the bank and the fbi tased her. and then — and then she got electrocuted!"

you laughed harder at that, making little effort to conceal it. even megumi, who barely ever smiled in a day — and who you very much expected to scold you for this one — looked like he was struggling to hide one (but just scarcely).

he eventually let out a small chuckle, which only encouraged you to laugh some more. you doubled over slightly, gripping onto the counter for support, some of your abandoned math sheets falling on the floor, your infectious giggles filling the quiet air. megumi's lips twitched slightly, a silent chuckle escaping him as he watched your reaction, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. at the sight of him joining in on the fun, you pointed at him, realising something else.

"why are you laughing?" you inquired, then reached down to retrieve a mirror, holding it up so he was met with his own reflection. "haha! you both got struck by lightning!"

his smile had disintegrated, only watching you as you rocked yourself back and forth at his expression, feeling a stitch in your side with how funny the situation was. silently and angrily, he swiped the mirror out of your hands, raising his own hand to flick at your forehead. 

you choked, the minor pain at the centre of your forehead jolting you awake from your laughing fit. scowling, you rubbed at the area he'd intentionally hurt, barely registering the fact that he had taken the laptop to continue attacking the bad reviews.

you let him, acknowledging the fact that what you had said was rather mean. 

"'i came not once, not twice but THREE times for food, every time it tasted not up to par,'" megumi's disinterested voice read aloud, the annoyance from what you'd said still lacing each word with slight venom. you laughed. "why would you go back to a place if you didn't like it? idiot."

"you tell 'em, porcupine," you encouraged, anticipating his response. 

megumi's witty comebacks were always funny. he didn't even mean to make you laugh with them, but even then, they were enough to have you practically rolling around on the floor, belly aching and heart running a million miles per second. his nonchalant behaviour only added to the amusement.

he wrote his reply, sent it, and then slid the laptop over to you. you leaned forward, reading and judging:

stop coming for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we're not a food bank.

you gave that one an 11/10 — the man behind the account would need to change his name, date of birth and identity, and then remove himself from the face of the earth if he ever wanted to recover from that, you concluded wisely.

your praise sat at the tip of your tongue, only to be abandoned at the echo of the bell's chimes that bounced off of the walls, signalling the arrival of another customer. figuring that this would be megumi's turn to create a theory, you turned on your stool excitedly, only to have your jaw drop to the floor and under.

standing in front of the door was none other than your favourite (and only) math teacher of the year: mr kento nanami! 

your heart skipped a beat as you caught sight of your math teacher entering the cafe. shock painted your features as you gawked, wide-eyed, hardly believing that the business-attire man was standing in a setting that wasn't your typical school environment. you exchanged a quick, incredulous glance with megumi before hastily adjusting your posture, trying to appear composed despite the unexpected surprise.

it was typical. he still wore the same clothes (which made sense since you and megumi had too seeing as you went straight to the cafe right after school had finished). but something about seeing him enter such a cottage-vibe, almost feminine cafe made you recoil, not that you were displeased at all. in fact, you thought that this was the best arrival that the bell had drawn your attention to yet!

"kento nanami!" you yelled, ignoring megumi wincing at the sudden volume of your voice as you raised an arm over your head to enthusiastically wave at him. 

a slight scowl of annoyance marred his usually composed face when he heard you call out to him using his government name. his brows furrowed, and a hint of disapproval flashed in his eyes, portraying his strict demeanour, but you didn't mind. surely school rules did not apply outside of the school environment? surely it didn't matter whether you referred to him as kento or mr nanami or whatever?

"kento, look!" you tried again, turning halfway to grab your math homework sheets and present them to him. "i'm sitting here doing your homework! in this beautiful cafe! because of you!"

"actually, you spent the last thirty minutes laughing at my customers and arguing with the bad reviews again," miss B corrected you, apparently materialising out of thin air. 

you jumped slightly, the sheets scattering and your brows furrowing as you watched her shut the laptop and take it away. kento's response also took you by surprise.

"i was correct in believing that it wasn't you disrespectfully responding to them."

he had made his way further down the interior, leading up to the counter where miss B, you, and megumi were.

you beamed. "no, it was megumi and i."

megumi grumbled something along the lines of 'wasn't me', which you knew was a complete and utter lie. megumi was your accomplice in all of this; it didn't matter whether you were the mastermind behind it all. he still served his purpose and did it brilliantly too. you couldn't have asked for a better partner. except, perhaps, nobara, who was equally as good as him at silencing people when it was necessary.

although, kento did not look as though he believed you. you didn't like that much.

"keep an eye out for the one where he told the guy that he shouldn't come so often because we're not a food bank!" you told him honestly, still smiling despite kento's obvious disbelief.

he glanced at megumi as if to say is-this-true? 

you chortled, knowing full well that megumi would not lie with his chest, especially not in front of you.

"megumi is sensible," said kento, with such confidence, you almost felt bad for him. you wondered what his reaction would be if you told him about that one zoo incident where megumi jumped into the gorilla enclosure and declared that he'd stay there for the rest of his life? or the occasion where little you and megumi had been scolded by your parents so badly, he made the suggestion of running away together (and went through with it) even though it was bound to have failed from the beginning? or the time where he helped you torment your unfriendly, rival neighbour mrs daphne on facebook to the point where she had marched down to your houses to complain to your parents? 

megumi is sensible, you thought, and nearly laughed. how comical, loud, and wrong.

"why do you think the punctuation is so perfect?" you asked, raising a brow. "you think i'd care enough to put capital letters and full stops everywhere?"

kento's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face as he processed the unexpected news. a momentary pause followed, during which his features tensed with mild astonishment, and yours only grew more joyful. megumi, on the other hand, was silently forcing down the urge to push you off your stool and walk home without you (he would never).

"the usual?" miss B interrupted, still smiling the elegant way that she does. 

kento nodded slowly, she began organising his order behind the counter. you blinked several times.

"the usual?" you repeated, bewildered. "kento nana—"

"y/n," he snapped, still composed even so. "refrain from referring to me with my first name."

"we're not at school," you reminded him.

he adjusted the odd, spotted tie he wore, looking irked. "doesn't matter —"

"you come here a lot?" you asked, curious. even megumi seemed interested, and he had been frowning and grumbling the second kento had walked past the door. 

"this place has the best bread in town," he told you, stiff. "better than my local supermarkets."

you grinned. "and miss B is the best cashier and server ever, right?"

you sensed megumi's gaze on you, causing you to adjust the way you sat slightly in your seat. you ignored the feeling, understanding that megumi knew what you were trying to do and was making it extremely clear that he wanted you to look at him for a second, if the way he was tugging at the bottom of your sleeve aggressively was anything to go by. you slapped his hand away, grin widening ever so slightly as the hiss he let out, still getting into character. your role? temporary matchmaker.

kento watched miss B work behind the counter.

"i respect her a lot," he said, barely answering the question. 

you wanted to gruel him for some more information, but your time had been cut short when miss B's soft voice had driven a smooth knife through the heated conversation.

"here you are," she said, handing him his food in a bag. 

he exchanged it for some money, she tried to give him some change, he told her she could keep it. with a final look at you, megumi, and the homework he'd assigned you, he told you to take care of yourselves and left the cafe, his strides even and his back straight. 

what took you by surprise was the fact that miss B had followed him out, waving at him from the door and telling him to come again after a brief conversation with him that you and megumi, from where you were sat, could not hear. she never did this with any of her other customers. you were here so often that you knew she did not. the two of you exchanged looks of obvious bafflement, sitting up straighter and raising your chins to nosily observe the sight before you.

when she returned, you did not miss the rosy pink in her cheeks. 

"miss B —" you began, only for her to interrupt you with a laugh.

"he's a regular customer, quite like the two of you," she said, and then looked around at the mess on the counter that were your unorganised math papers. "and he told me to tell you that you only needed to do page ten and eleven of the booklet."

you felt your stomach flip itself upside down.

you had fried your brain for no reason at all, for you'd completed nearly half of the booklet instead of the assigned designated pages. perhaps that would teach you to meddle in business that wasn't yours, you thought you heard megumi grumble from next to you, but you weren't so sure...

not when you'd dropped your head on the table, hopeless.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

bonus scene:

megumi and yuji were both traitors. 

during gym class, coach lauren did not seem to mind that you and nobara had migrated to the corner of the gymnasium, gossiping and laughing about who-knows-what. naturally, the class grew quite boring for the two of you, so you'd snuck out and gone to the football field where you knew coach yaga's class would be residing. 

long story short: megumi and yuji both rat you out and coach yaga had kicked the two of you off his field and had you stay with him for detention. 

all. because. of. them.

so in conclusion, the two of you had seated yourselves far, far away from them in any class that you could, which included satoru's physics class.

you were wary not to sit near malakai, who always had something odd to say to nobara. in fact, when she'd come into school with a brighter, new hair-do (no longer the dark colour that you were so used to) malakai had a few things to say... but that was a story for another day. 

now, you only just realised the mistake you had made sitting on the middle table instead of your regular seats. and it was not because of megumi or yuji, no.

it was because of the drama queen that just so happened to be your male, adult, mature teacher: satoru gojo. 

when taking the register, which usually went by pretty quickly, the second he had come to either of your names, he had started an act that made you believe that perhaps he should have been the one taking performing arts as a subject:

"y/n?" he'd called out, looking around the class as if you were not seated across the whiteboard, the first seat on the middle table. 

"here," you said, unfazed. 

"huh — oh!" he said, resulting in the eyes of everyone in your class to look at you as though you'd done something wrong, as though you were malakai, even. "oh, right, y/n... are you new here?"

you scrunched your nose up in something in between confusion and annoyance. what the hell was he talking about? unlike majority of the people sitting in the classroom, this man knew of your existence since you were four years old. what game was he playing?

"you're joking, right?" you said, watching him carefully as he scratched the top of his head and shrugged. "sa—"

"o-kay!" he perked up, rushing through the register with such ease, you hadn't expected him to stop and squint a second time. but he had. "i might get this one wrong so forgive me but... no— nobara? nobara?" he called out, once more, looking up and all around the classroom as though he couldn't see her sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with you.

unlike you, she had a much shorter fuse that he'd lit.

"what's wrong with you?" she demanded, eyes narrowed. "i'm here."

he raised his eyebrows up at her and nodded, muttering to himself. the two of you were both equally confused, and so was the rest of the class, it seemed, if the whispers were anything to go by.

the register had been completed not long after that. you assumed his weird antics would also finish too, but you were proven wrong once the idiot had opened his mouth to address the class again.

"so we have two new students with us today!" he said, excited. "make them feel welcome! their names are... nobara and..." he thought long and hard before looking over at you, tilting his head forward so you could see the terrifying blues that were hiding behind the circular lenses. "hmm... what's your name again?"

your anger simmered like a pot left too long on the stove, bubbling beneath the surface. as you stared back at satoru's clueless expression, it felt like a storm brewing in your chest, thunderclouds gathering with each passing moment. his feigned ignorance was like a slap in the face, a sharp thorn pricking at your patience, igniting the flames of your frustration.

how dare he?

he moved on to teaching the class before either of you got to call him out for his bullshit. 

only for it to slowly get worse as the time went by. 

he was sat at his desk, explaining the slide from the powerpoint that he'd presented on the board with a lazy smile and stretched out legs that resting on a spare chair.

"what's at the centre of an animal cell?" he asked the class, encouraging people to raise their hands.

nobara raised hers, eager to answer.

"new kid!" he said, and when she glared at him, he backtracked. "i mean nobara! — that was scary — what's at the centre of an animal cell?"

"the nucleus," she answered. 

he frowned. "huh?"

she frowned. "the nucleus," she repeated helpfully.

he leaned forwards, a hand cupping his ear. "sorry, i can't hear you, you're too far away."

oh, it made sense now, you thought in your head. he was throwing a fit over the fact that the two of you had chosen to sit in the centre of the room, a little further away from his desk, than at the back table with megumi and yuji, closer to him.

what a diva.

he directed the question to maryam, who sat at the table closest to the door and furthest from his desk.

"you're right! it's the nucleus!" he cheerfully praised her, continuing to teach as though he hadn't just distracted the entire class due to his theatrics. even malakai sensed something was wrong, claiming that 'the darkness is starting to reach the lightness of his hair... it is consuming him', whatever the hell that meant.

it hadn't ended there though, for when the worksheets were being handed out by yuji, he had completely skipped over you and nobara (though he looked quite frightened at doing so). it was no doubt satoru's instructions he was acting on behalf of.

"give it," nobara demanded, standing up and approaching him.

yuji held the papers close to his chest. "but mr gojo said —"

"mr gojo also once said that he's married with thirteen kids, do you believe that?" 

she forcefully snatched two sheets from him, marching back to where she was sat with you and slammed them down onto the table with such force, it shook, your pencil committing suicide off the edge.

"men will be the death of everyone, mark my words," she'd said.

when you raised a hand for help, your pencil clasped in your curled fingers, he asked what happened to gravity and why an inanimate object was suddenly floating. 

that was the last straw for you. 

if he was going to pretend that you had miraculously turned invisible, then you were going to do as you pleased with this ability. pencil still in your tight grasp, you stood up, made eye contact with your childish teacher, and sprinted out of the classroom.

satoru perked up, alarmed as he ordered for help.

"whoever's closest to the door, close it before she —"

you'd already left.

he let out a long sigh, only to raise a brow when you'd returned the second you'd disappeared from view, running across the classroom to take nobara's hand, glance up at your teacher, and say...

"malakai."

— before taking off with your friend, chaos ensuing behind you.

the chaos being malakai emerging from under the sink, arms flailing around himself, eyes rolling to the back of his head, snarling and growling as he shook, only creating more issues for satoru who, everyone knew, hated dealing with the odd emo.

that'd teach him to pretend that you (out of everyone) were invisible.

lesson learned, he thought in his head, letting out a loud and drawn out groan when malakai refused to stop.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

(random tweets cuz i think you guys waited long enough for this chapter to come out, eat well 😁)

(p.s. ignore the date on the tweet, it was meant to say 2017 lmao)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

notes: i'm so tired, gonna take a longgg nap. not my favourite chapter tbh, but it's needed to set the scene for high school because the real part of the story (the one where all the drama starts and stuff) is arriving in less than three chapters!! and we also have a lovely character, important to the plot, to introduce next chapter, so stay tuned my little liars?

previous chapter :)

next chapter :)

taglist (send an ask or comment to be added):

@1l-ynn @shaigimo @shuupiu @myguumi @momoewn @xbarrjallenx @reinaswrld @anintrovertedechoe

© tojiscrack (previously ack4rwoman)

if you enjoyed my writing, i’d really appreciate it if you tipped me — tumblr no longer has the tip function, so maybe here in my tip jar :)

i do not own any of the characters of jjk, i only own the character of y/n and her mother. the other characters belong to gege akutami.

[denimbex1986]

'A powerful film about intimacy, grief and gay identity, All of Us Strangers – featuring outstanding performances by Andrew Scott as Adam and Paul Mescal as Harry – can only be properly appreciated in the context in which it was produced.

In a recent article I co-authored with the film studies academic Gary Needham on post-millennial LGBTQ+ film-making in the UK, we argued that there is no collective movement or recognisable trend that can be called British queer cinema.

LGBTQ+ representations in British film-making manage to cross over different styles and genres. However, such wide visibility risks compromising the potential of LGBTQ+ films as a political force of collective dissent against homophobia and transphobia. In other words, mainstream representation may evade new agendas of LGBTQ+ activism.

Three areas have tended to dominate the past three decades of queer representation in British film.

1. Reclaiming LGBT heritage and history – including films such as Vita and Virginia (2018), The Favourite (2018), and Ammonite (2020).

2. Reinterpreting British cinema’s legacy of social realism and poetic realism – think of Weekend (2011), God’s Own Country (2017), and Pride (2014).

3. Making visible LGBTQ+ migrant identities, as seen in films such as My Brother the Devil (2012), Nina’s Heavenly Delights (2006), I Can’t Think Straight (2008), and Monsoon (2019).

Rather than leading to a politically and aesthetically distinct trend or wave, these films relay queerness in significantly different ways. Film historian Robin Griffiths argues that the “post-Thatcher” trajectory of British queer cinema is like “a journey without direction”, saying: “The struggles and oppressions that were so key to the radical currency of earlier iconic queer filmmakers such as Derek Jarman seemingly no longer hold the same social and political charge.”

For Griffiths, the “post-Jarman” British queer film demonstrates a shift towards a different set of aesthetic and political concerns, which were shaped by aspirations for inclusion and visibility. Griffiths also argues that this shift in LGBTQ+ culture is a departure from the radically political energy of Derek Jarman and his generation of activists.

Ghosts of the past

However, after I watched All of Us Strangers (2023), the trajectory of director Andrew Haigh’s work – from Greek Pete (2008) and Weekend (2011) to 45 Years (2015) and the HBO series Looking (2014-5) – started making more sense.

I came to realise that Haigh’s latest film is telling us a complex story of love, grief and attachment that is a product of the director’s evolving yet consistent commitment to a cinema of intimacy – a form of authorship that I have been struggling to locate in contemporary British LGBTQ+ film culture.

Most characters in Haigh’s films yearn for connection and intimacy and drift in and out of relationships. While the couples of Weekend (Glen and Russell) and 45 Years (Kate and Geoff) question their faith in and longing for monogamous coupledom, All of Us Strangers expands this question of intimate attachment to a new, piercingly existential level.

The film starts with Adam (Andrew Scott) working in his flat, located in a near-empty tower block in London. Harry (Paul Mescal), a mysterious neighbour, knocks on Adam’s door and starts flirting with him. As their relationship develops, Adam is preoccupied with the memories of his past.

He starts visiting his childhood home in Croydon, where he meets his dead parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) who, as apparitions, appear to be living there just as they were on the day they died in a car crash 30 years ago.

From a near-empty tower block to a suburban house of ghosts, the unpopulated cityscape in the film feels like a parallel, dream-like universe that we are invited to experience through Adam’s navigation of loss and grief.

Two cryptic conversations reveal the film’s deliberate ambiguity of where we are. “How do you cope?” Harry asks, meaning not only the quietness of the apartments they live in but also the lonely realm of alternative reality Adam’s mental state creates through grief.

In another conversation, when Adam reveals he lost his parents in a car crash and tells Harry he shouldn’t be sorry because it happened 30 years ago, Harry says: “I don’t think that really matters.” Grief is a life-long process: the resolution (or redemption) is not in moving on but in walking with and acknowledging its manifestations.

As a gay man in his late 40s, carrying the generational trauma of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Adam talks to the ghosts of his “younger” parents about his childhood and his sexuality. Avoiding confrontation, Adam’s conversations with them evoke a different kind of wisdom, that of a deeply reflective, other-worldly older self, which ends up feeling a form of forgiving compassion for the now younger vulnerable selves of his lost parents.

With this, Haigh’s universe of apparitions does not expose a trauma-induced nightmare but offers a powerful remedy for an ageing generation of gay men and their coming to terms with grief and trauma. Without grief resolved, there is no love. And without love, there is no grief resolved.

The powerful ending of the film makes us wonder if everybody in the story was a ghost, or if that matters at all. As Haigh also says, “in the end, it’s all about love”. Haigh’s account of love in the film transcends life and death. We are invited to embrace not a closure but a loving opening, through the acknowledgement of our ultimate orphanhood.

Distinctly more mature and relevant than Weekend’s formula of gay romance shaped around the monogamy v promiscuity divide, the depiction of love and grief in All of Us Strangers offers a beautiful response to contemporary queer culture and its crisis of intimacy.

I watched it with a friend who afterwards said something that really resonated with me: “It felt like one of the truest depictions of growing up gay in the 1980s and 1990s.”'

[emilylangridgegrad604i]

Lecture 1 GRAD604 - Unpacking the Brief

“Creatives, creations and creative communities – finding your way through research, you will develop your curiosity to investigate and expand your specialist subject knowledge, in order to identify strengths of your design practice within current environmental, social, cultural, sub- cultural, and political contexts. Your research will seek to identify and analyse examples of historical and contemporary design work of other designers/creatives that are of significance to your own design research interests.”

SDL: 

We were asked to identify important design elements and research the main points the best awards work “What makes me plastic” conveys. 

I think the key idea and main elements that this project shows is the disconnection that some feel from their identity and culture, it highlights how due to urbanisation and how big and large the city and highly dense areas, people feel lost and isolated from their community and culture. 

Questions to think about:

The creative • Who is doing the creative practice and underpinning research? • Who am I as a designer? • What are the influences on me as a designer and where do they come from? • How can I unpack the personal design ideologies that cultural shifts, ethics, and responsibility that impact my decision-making? • How might I expand my visual vocabulary by understanding the environmental, social, cultural, political contexts of my design influences? • Where do I stand in relation to my practice and what do I value? Collecting visual information, designers and examples of who we’re inspired by: 

- Natrasha / Jaimie Hutton 

A fellow creative, drag artist, designer and one of my good friends Natrasha / Jaimie inspires me and my artistic journey hugely, I love her drive, work ethic and how she has the ability to work and design over a variety of mediums, she has a unique perspective and take on her creative approach and draws inspiration from interesting and diverse work. I will always admire Natrasha and her visions.

- Kaan Hiini

Kaan Hiini works as a design director at the creative agency Curative - “uses the tools of creativity to grapple with complex social issues to, amplify the voices of communities across Aotearoa for the betterment of our people.” 

“Kaan is an award-winning designer who specialises in working deeply with communities, valuing their perspectives and livelihoods. His personal connection with Māori language, values, and practice has been instrumental in shaping our own team’s ways of working. Beyond the studio, Kaan can be found nurturing Auckland’s rainbow community in his role as co-chair of the Auckland Pride Festival.”

Some of Kaans work, “Inside Out” 

- Studio Nine 

“We are an experienced design agency in designing marketing communications that push boundaries and affect change. Whether you need a logo design, brochure design, a new responsive website or an advertising campaign, get in touch. We can express your brand in a constant manner across all media, with optimal communication to your target audience”

“Studio Nine was founded by Katrina Knapp in 2018. Katrina is a graphic designer with over 10 years experience, specialising in visual brand identity, and logo design. She has worked at some of the top design and advertising agencies in Auckland before founding Studio Nine. She gained her design qualifications from AUT University, in Auckland — New Zealand. Her studio balances playfulness with purpose to deliver work that is both beautifully crafted, leaves a lasting impression and resonates with the target audience. Enough about us”

Studio Nine - Wide, vast and unique portfolio with a focus on accessibility, affordability and values in client relationships, I found appreciation in what the brand prided themselves on 

- Mugler & Lady Gaga

Mugler is a vision who I find incredibly inspiring and an excellent creative force, I truly respect their collection and body of work and think there is no mind quite like his. 

Mugler was drawn to fashion via dance and photography in France and his work focuses on unique curves, angles, lines and shapes.

His portfolio features couture that is ready to wear and more extravagant, avant-garde costume type pieces. 

[cellythefloshie]

Game Night

Auston Mathews x Reader

This fic was originally posted to AO3 on  2018-06-07 and has been adapted from its original format to read as a reader insert. Note: I do not own the above photo, but it was the one to originally inspire this work.  Reposting to celebrate Auston Matthew’s 50+ goal season! SUMMARY:  William Nylander enlists a special friend in assuring he beats his teammates at NHL 2018. Does he come out the champion, or is he the one that gets played?

You were practically sitting in his lap, legs left bare from the flirtatious rise of her floral dress draped over the pale denim that dressed William Nylander. In one hand you held his beer that on occasion brought it up to your lips in a casual sip. Your other hand was lost, toying within in smooth blond strands that brushed back over his head. William didn’t seem to mind as his eyes were focused on the screen before him. His thumbs rolled over the analogs, trying to score on his opponent's net.

NHL 2018. He often found himself playing it with the other young guns that had brought life back to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tonight was just himself, Marner, Martin, Anderson, and Matthews in the rotation.

You were one of his longest friends, sitting draped in Nylander’s lap. Your tiny frame and sweet exterior fooled most — hell, his mother had even asked if you were dating yet — but he knew he could never see her that way, even if you seemed to be stuck to him like glue. Will, however, knew better than anyone that you were a temptress, or rather a tease. 

You knew how to have her fun with the attention you acquired, but never with Will. He was much too protective of you for that, he hadn’t even let the boys that he considered family near you. The last thing he needed was you hurt — or worse, them hurt. There were perks to having this level of promiscuity around on game night, Will knew how to ignore your effortless flirtations — his friends, however, found themselves easily distracted. 

Dropping the controller onto the table Nylander let out a laugh. “That’s the last game Marner, is it just me or do you guys suck at hockey?” He mocked as large hands moved to stroke at the smooth skin of your thighs. 

“Kicked your ass last game,” Marner defended, tossing his controller aside at Matthews who would play Nylander next after a quick round of beers.

“And never again after that,” Nylander spoke full of cocky pride.

“We’ll see about that,” voiced Matthews, his large hands taking hold of the controller. “Or are we forgetting who the defending champion is?”

Eyes near rolled in Nylander’s skull as he leaned forward to grasp the controller once more. “Your reign is over Matthews,” Will spoke firmly and leaned back to mutter in your ear, “grab us more beers and pick it up a notch so I can win this one, yeah?”

A smile tugged at your lips as his head shook. “You boys are so weird,” you muttered and slid off the couch. You could practically feel all eyes focus on you as your dress fluttered around her rear as you walked to the kitchen. As you gathered the bottles of cold beer you couldn’t help but smile at the boys as they chirped. 

“—you really can’t expect to beat me with Arizona can you?” 

“I could beat you with the Sabres—“

“BULLSHIT!”

Returning to the collection of chairs and sofas, you handed out the beers to those not playing before taking it upon herself to pop the caps off Matthew’s and Nylander’s beer and placed them on their coasters. Instead of returning to your place on Nylander’s lap, you squeezed herself in between Anderson and Matthews on the sofa. Biting your lower lip you leaned in to mutter into the player's ear. 

“How badly do you want to win?” you teased gently before giving a wink to her friend. “Because I think I know a way to break his focus...”

While Auston kept his eyes on the screen he couldn’t help but wonder what you had in mind. After Nylander managed to score on him, he made a quick glance towards you, “What are you waiting for then?” 

“You,” you countered before making herself comfortable. You leaned into Matthews insistently, and he quickly understood what you were playing at. A strong arm quickly took hold of you, his body carefully pulling you with him as he slid towards the ground. The table was bumped by his long limbs, but he was soon comfortable with you seated between his legs and leaning back on his chest. 

“Your good luck charm’s mine now, Willy,” he taunted.

You wiggled back close to Matthews, and suddenly felt small — hell, they all made you feel like an ant, but something about Auston’s hold made you hold your breath. It was firm, possessive even. Smiling, you leaned your head back against his shoulder, your delicate fingers tracing lazy circles around his thigh. 

Nylander looked away from the screen briefly, his eyes growing wide. That was not what he meant! Before he could regain focus, Matthews evened out the game with a goal.

“You are a lucky one aren’t you?” Mathews half purred in your ear, a strong arm wrapping tight around her middle. His body leaned forward, his chin coming down to rest on the your shoulder. “No wonder you keep her so close, Willy...”

“Auston!” You squealed as his face edged in closer to her neck. You could already feel the slightest of tickles threatening her nerves. “Careful!”

“Oh?” He hummed as his fingers danced over the controls, “are you ticklish?” Auston muttered playfully and attempted to nuzzle a little closer but kept his eyes on the screen.

You could feel the scratch of his stubble against your skin, and you quickly lurched away with a chuckle. You didn’t move far instead you managed a position change. Completely turned around, you faced him, your legs draped over each of his and parted off to the side. You suddenly felt exposed, your lace white panties visible to the hockey star. 

“Just move your head a bit,” Auston muttered out. While he appeared unfazed, you could hear the uneasiness in his voice. His arms encased you again. Your cheek rested on his shoulder and you watched the subtle rise and fall of his chest. His breathing was near mesmerizing, drawing you in until you were placing a gentle kiss on his throat.

“What are you doing?” Nylander sounded from the adjacent chair, obviously distracted. 

Auston, however, was finding himself distracted too. Your core was practically pressed to his crotch, and the warmth of your breath on his neck made him shudder. Blood rushed through his veins, his heart raced, and his cock slowly began to throb. 

“Ah fuck,” he sounded, but not only because Nylander managed to score a goal that would win him the game — but he was quickly realizing how little self-control he had.

With the game ending in a Nylander’s victory, you pulled back slowly and smiled, “maybe next time Matthews,” and smirked as you eased yourself back from him slowly— you didn’t want to give anyone else the free show.

Clearing his throat, Auston quickly shut his legs and turned off the game system. “Well played man,” he congratulated his friend, “you won’t get so lucky next time.”

After a couple more beers, Marner, Martin, and Anderson gathered their things and moved to catch their taxi home. Roommates Matthews and Nylander tossed beer cans in the sink and you curled up on the sofa. 

“You going to be okay there?” Willy sounded, “you can take the bed if you want it—“

“I’ll be good here,” you promised and snuggled into the couch pillow. Your legs pulled up into your chest, barring your lacy once again— but more prominently, your round ass.

Willy took a fist full of the blanket, tossing it your way before retiring into his bedroom for the night. Auston remained in the kitchen, watching you wrap your legs around the lush fabric of the blanket. He couldn’t stop thinking about the ghost of a kiss on his neck, or the way you felt barely grazing his cock. While he knew it was bad, Auston found himself wanting her.

“All that earlier,” he whispered out into the air, “that was all for show?”

You perked up on the couch and soon found yourself kneeling. “Come here?” 

Once the back of the couch divided them as you leaned forward to place a kiss on his collarbone through the thin fabric of his black t-shirt.

“He likes to think he can control me but he doesn’t. Will...he’s just my friend. And while he likes to put on a real show, I want some real release— Can you give that to me Auston?”

Large hands took hold of your sides, quickly hoisting you up into his hold. Your legs circled his frame, pressing your need to his length. Carrying you back to his bedroom, Austin’s mouth came down in a firm, hungry kiss against your own. He could taste the beer on your breath, and feel the gentle embrace of your tongue.

Falling back on the bed with you, his hands went to explore your body. Caressing your curves on the way down, his hands quickly shot up your dress; a thumb traced over the lace, pressing down on the sweet bundle of your clit. A whimper left your mouth, and your hips raised into his touch. 

Your eagerness made his cocky hard, tenting the fabric of his pants. Removing his hands from your body, Auston pushed down his sweatpants and began grinding his contained cock against your clothed pussy.

As he arched over you, you pressed upwards, your lips seeking out the sweet flesh of his neck once more. Nails scratched down his back before peeling and black t-shirt up and away from his skin. Your body eased downwards, your lips taking assault on his tone chest but Auston quickly pulled you back up to eye level. His hands fisted at your dress, lifting it from your frame so that you remained in nothing but her white panties. Licking his lips in desire, his mouth consumed a single breast, his tongue toying with the perky peaks of your rosy nipple. The quiet moan that left your mouth brought a smile to his lips. 

Traveling down further, your petite legs were guided up over strong shoulders, a broad tongue stroked over the lace fabric, feeling the dampness of your desire up to the sensitivity of your clit. Matthews peppered kisses over your core before nipping flesh and lace in a playful tug.

“Auston,” you encouraged his a heavy breath, your fingers hooking on her panties in an attempt to push them downwards. Instead, a large thumb tugged your panties aside and his face delved into the sweet heat of her arousal. You gasped, your body lurching to knit fingers into his dark strands. His tongue lapped at your folds, dipping into your sweet core before traveling up to suck on your sensitive bundle. Your hips squirmed with pleasure, pressing up into his face as he consumed you. 

It was when his mouth tugged at your clit and two thick fingers thrust up inside you that Auston knew he could not hold back any longer. You were practically dripping down his hand, stretching just wide enough for his fingers. Pulling free he quickly disposed of your panties in full before laying himself over you in search of a condom inside his bedside table. 

“Do you want me to fuck you?” He sounded in your ear as fingers fumbled with the foil. 

You bit down on her lower lip, your large eyes meeting his as you nodded. “Mhm,” you hummed, “I want you inside me. I want to-“ You were cut off with a moan. Auston has slipped the latex on with ease before moving into you with a deep thrust. His body near quivered with the hold your core took on his cock, his hips pumping in and out of your sweet heat.

“Fuck!” he cussed, picking up speed and drawing your legs up and pressing them back in an attempt to get in deeper. Your desperate touch took his shoulders, nails scratching down the strong muscles of his back before drawing him down for a sloppy kiss. A moan sounded from his mouth as he wondered: Can she taste herself on tongue? 

“Auston,” you mumbled as he continued to plow into you. “I’m gonna—“ he could feel your walls beginning to tense around him, his cock near ready to explode as your grip on him tensed and relaxed. Soon your core was a vice grip around his cock, trapping him deep inside, milking his hot seed into the thin latex that divided him. 

Sweating and panting, Auston didn’t pull back far, just far enough to discard the condom in the bedside trash can. Arms held your frame to him, his face in your hair. 

“That’s what you get for teasing me,” he whispered out before playfully nipping at the skin of your shoulder.

“I guess I’m going to have to tease you more often...”

Come morning, Auston was surprised to find you curled up in his bed — it put a smile on his face nonetheless. Leaning in, he began to suck on your collarbone gently. 

A slow hum slipped from your lips as you were drawn from your sleep. “You want breakfast?”

“Real food or is breakfast a new code for me sucking your dick?” you muttered and ran a hand over her tired features. 

“Food,” Auston assured before giving her a playful bite, “but I wouldn’t object to the latter.”

Small hands shoved him before you sat up on the bed. Reaching down to the ground, Auston retrieves his shirt from the knight before and tossed it at you. “Put that on. I don’t mind.”

Pulling on his boxers, Auston led you out into the kitchen in search of something to devour. Pinning you between himself and the cupboards, he sought out anything he could throw together for pancakes. It was difficult not to be close to you, feeling your flesh on his... but he nearly jumped back when he heard Will’s bedroom door creak open. Turning around Auston took a deep breath before speaking; “She’s my good luck charm now, Willy...”

[shocotate]

Live Action Movie 3 Ramble

Here’s stuff I wrote while watching the third live action movie. My more articulate ramble about the first movie is here (back in 2018, I have not watched it again before watching these two), and my ramble about movie 2 is here.

Combining the bandits and Izumi and Sig meeting Hohenheim is certainly a thing

I wonder why hoho is so concerned with his photo being damaged, wouldn’t alchemy be able to fix it? Actual alchemy not his 500k friends.

“Bring around the car” there’s a car? Where are we anyway

Hoho’s hand stab was stealthier, he avoids the Sig punch this day

People tell me right now why they keep translating the Gate (tobira/door) as portal.

The tiny title is also a choice that has been made. Makes me want to check the logos of these movies, since the first one had the ‘no’ in a red square.

Last movie used homunculus as plural, we homunculi now for real

Scar is in slow pursuit.

Ling is also Ling now and not Lin, hmmm

Envy’s eyes seem an interesting colour, like clear, also Ed avoids being eaten this time

Gluttony’s already home Ed better be busting out fast

Envy’s back in his regular form, budgeting, you must understand

Oh NOW the subs say door, what

And the next line we’re back to portal

I wonder if this teleporting method could be used to make more sacrifices, since there is no cost but some of the souls in the stone

Ed nearly did the dead yamcha pose at the Gate

These gates are like super dark grey, gonna make Father’s black gate look lame

Ed you saw scrawny Al at the end of the first movie why are you surprised he’s still here

No door punch and no second MATTERO :/

Gluttony takes 0% damage on the Ed, Envy and Ling escape. Envy should have thought about shrinking down all along.

Ling said arienai ha

This stone looks watery I want a redder one plz

Why is the soul dimension blue lol

Gluttony got outta the frame real quick. Greed is here now, will Gluttony say happy birthday

Ouroboros is the correct way, huzzah

Gluttony gets to live, and Greed is gone right away. Poor Father

I like the tiny flag in a frame in Wrath’s room, also two tiny glass plant things

Ed figures Hoho is in Liore for reasons, guess we can do his thing early

Just cause a cave in, Hoho, or cause one on the Promised Day that they won’t know about

Hoho you can’t be splashing your stones in the tunnel, that’s Father’s turf.

Scar bro’s research acquired

Ling’s back, wonder what he’s eating.

The door, the portal, it’s the same word they’re saying stop itttt

Wonder where Greed  got his homunculus mandated patterned clothes. Possibly swiped them on the way out? Who knows. People were way misinterpreting how low the zip is on it when it was on that mannequin, it fits him fine.

Because we aren’t going north (for now…) Scar’s research warning gets to actually be a warning this time

Scar gets to keep his yellow jacket, will it survive the movie. Who knows

Don’t try and stop the crest, Ed boy, I don’t wanna go North…

Al’s solo train adventure starts now, he’s off to Liore

Maybe flash your watch Edward and people will think you’re a state alchemist. Did you lose the prop between movies.

Ed: (Silence) Subs: what the hell.

Are my subs actually from the English dub and I don’t know it XD Fuuu

*Tch noise* subs: shame

Sloth is here and his tattoo has moved to his shoulder. He looks kinda weird, can’t see what kinda eye they gave him compared to Gluttony’s

With Falman not in the north, how will stalactites ever defeat Sloth

Ed did it with one kick…ok

Careful Buccaneer, Pride will wake up at some point and wreck shit in the tunnel.

Is Winry wearing Obelix pants

Sloth has been released back into his natural habitat

Winry’s bag has a den charm, this is just like that tv show with the ed and winry charms

Miles gets name checked but not in the subs ;<

“Dan”!?

Haha get fucked Raven, you can be thrown out even while still alive(??)

“The armour from my collection” oh nooo~

Xerxes flashback time

Moshi moshi? Like answering the phone? Flask-kun you so crazy

Homunculus gas is dense as fuck. Not as in stupid but thicc

No Theophrastus bombastus? How are we gonna call hoho stupid?

Aw, Father doesn’t keep on the kings gold sash parts from the flashback. Guess he only puts them on on special occasions

We’re an hour in I guess this is a time for forest fight. Wonder how much time passed between the flashback and Alphonse kidnap though. That’s kinda important.

The full moon is here, there will be no cgi fire tonight.

Just being able to sense hoho is probably easier, might as well keep gluttony around for the next 90 minutes. Or just have Lan Fan kill him, either or.

Dude Pride hasn’t done that much to Ed, it’s all good here. Maybe you should have kept an eye on Al better.

Roy team assemble. Black Hayate finally shows up.

We don’t even need to stop the train we’ll blow it up while it’s moving.

This may be trickier without Havoc and Maria’s smuggling schemes

Gardner is saved by a surprise reappearance from Sloth. Without zombies this thing will be over fast but there’s 90 minutes left

Sloth is fast but Alex is just super fast.

No heart to heart with Pride here Al, haha. Also I can’t understand real Morse Code. I’ll add it to my never ending list of Pride’s Morse Code when I do.

Gluttony has saved Pride from the dome. What a  tweest. He also punched both of Al’s legs off.

Gluttony is eaten now. Also I haven’t seen Envy in a while.

God damn it not the zombies again. Ed said my thoughts well.

Aim for the head, we real zombie lore now.

Ok here’s Envy.

This room is so damn dark, I guess it’s to help big Envy’s cgi.

Chibi envy is kinda cute. And has been caught in Ed’s left hand. The time for possession is now.

I take back what I said I don’t like how this thing’s mouth is moving.

Chibi envy has blue eyes and he’s outta here without saying bye bye. Peace out.

The sacrifice pieces! I love them. They didn’t need to make those. They would have been useful for scale to me a while back but that’s ok.

What no tube detachments this time? Lame.

I am Shoco, a woman denied her Hoho and Father fight. Two people who are the same actors (?) can fight, it worked in mortal kombat conquest.

Eurgh the stone juice looks like honey.

This is a very calm coup. Al running the streets. Hey wait how did Al get his legs back on. I mean I know how but did Pride just bail and leave him there knowing the teleportal will get him later. Huh.

I forgot to say earlier but Sloth broke a column with his chain. Now Izumi has happened to throw him onto the broken base of the column. Rip Sloth.

Time for a greed-wrath fight, maybe setting up greed’s powers before right now would have been helpful though.

Pride activates the teleportal circle for the sacrifices, we are spared the gold toothed doctor in this movie.

I think Buccaneer can survive this, maybe rough him up a bit more. Or maybe let him live even.

No blood tear mixing?! NOOO

Rip Fu and Bucaneer.

How is one eye Father, which is more correct technically, more odd looking.

Al doesn’t get to see his body, you’ll see it later, Al.

Just do it, Roy.

Roy has been stigmata’d. Also Pride gets the Riza neck attack. Maybe this would work if he’d had his beef with Riza finding out about him and telling Roy about him, but I like it anyway. Better than Wrath doing that too.

From the microsecond I saw it Roy’s gate probably still has Riza’s tattoo on it.

I guess May has fixed Riza off screen and Bradders is just letting things happen.

Scar vs Wrath starts now, and Scar gets a Y mark on him, or a V.

Aw fuck the broken sword stab is happening within 10 seconds, not looking good for Scar. It’s gone through his arm oh no.

I wish people could all have cool eclipse sunglasses, but some people just have to damage their eyes.

Father’s already in the correct spot, guess Greed won’t be here to interrupt. Also maybe I’ll get to see the little figures again when he does the slam.

I did see them.

May makes no moves to stop anything. Also I haven’t seen Shao May this entire movie.

No Winry saying Edo NOOO

Yeah that weird space thing happened, give me sexy Father now.

…He’s ok.

They move so slowly when Hoho wants them to hide behind him.

Nuclear fusion baybee

Wrath’s arms have been obliterated.  No mention of his wife though ;(

Alchemy is back on…pretend Father turned it off ok. Unless I turned away and missed it.

Pride's soul world is red. consistency...

Ed wins his fight by clapping his hands, he can learn Stonefu without impalement. Zero fight to be had, but no Kimble so maybe everything is ok. Also he says Pride as the manga does rather than Selim the anime went with. And proper final dialogue, but that’s the anime running out of time’s fault and possibly an earlier draft, can’t complain.

RIP Pr-- I CAN’T EVEN SAY THAT. STILL! Your murderous intent has failed me again Edo. That red coat should be for covering Al up Edooo. Nooo

Riza’s made her way downstairs. Izumi did not give Roy a lift on the pillar. Oh yeah I’d better mention that Sig is not here to fight Sloth.

Blue light's coming out of Father’s mouth. Oh he was charging his mouth blast. This time it was an accident rather than him waiting for Ed to appear.

Hoho’s defense stance actually protected Izumi instead.

I like Father’s glitter slippers.

I always wonder why Roy claps his hands to do his alchemy. Like, he still needs to snap to make a spark right? I know his hands are wrecked so that might not be doable, but where’s the spark coming from. I guess he does still snap, but the glove pattern is ruined so has to also clap.

Ed would love to run, Hoho, but his arm is impaled. Maybe use your alchemy to take that thing from his arm.

I haven’t seen Greed in a while. All Greed has to do is not show up and he doesn’t have to die.

Welp.

Soul land is still blue. Also the lack of Stones being super common has meant they need to double back on the plot point from the first movie. A homunculus’ soul can die but leave their Stone intact with just regular souls I guess. Like Lust’s did, so the same here will happen to Greed to give Ling his emperor-ticket. Bring on the coup.

You didn’t need to do the helium voice for the Father crushing, movie, that aint right X3 or the sparkle noise afterwards.

Will Ling’s stone be used to fix Roy’s eyes?

Miles pulls his red eye reveal when Scar is recovering. Can’t remember if Scar knew or not in the manga before this point, but I guess not.

Shao May has finally showed up.

Roy’s staying blind I guess, he’ll have to track down Lust’s stone from movie one. At least Riza will be his eyes for the time being.

Also the scene of Scar bandaged up would have been better here and not earlier, since that’s the same day and this should be happening later. Or something.

The lady playing Pinako is sweet.

Ooh we get the afterlife scene of Hoho and Trisha. I wish that had been in the anime. The hand hold from Shunkan Sentimental is finally fulfilled. Wonder if it was a late addition or Arakawa didn’t tell them about it back then, or just a time thing since 63 ends on Hoho dying.

Winry didn’t back down to 85% on the proposal, Ed’s getting 100% this time lads.

The end, with a sepia photograph.

The pose is nice at least.

No epilogue. We don’t see Pride again so maybe he just died down there ok

The end for real.

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

BTS at the SDG UN General Assembly (210920)

by Admin 1

Six days, as well as one flight from Seoul to New York City, after receiving their diplomatic passports, the day of BTS’ third UN appearance finally came. The SDG UN General Assembly AM session began with several speakers, one of them South Korea’s President Moon who first gave his own speech before introducing BTS by saying: “joining us today are an exceptionally outstanding group of young men who are connecting with youth across the world (...). BTS the first ever Special Envoy from the private sector (...) probably the artist that is most loved by people around the world.”

Like I said in my post about their visit to the Blue House, I was impossibly proud watching them walk onto that stage at the UN HQ bringing along two posters, one of which had pictures sent in by ARMY, and give their speech in Korean instead of English. Unlike the first time back in 2018 when only Namjoon had spoken, this time all the members took turns to lay out a meaningful speech which you can either watch in the video below (English subs, as well as in many other languages, are provided) or read it a little further below.

In the videos of the members sitting on the side waiting for their turn you could see each of them taking deep breaths and practicing their part of the speech a few more times wanting make sure they could deliver it to the best of their abilities on a stage as unique as this one. Their nervousness was clearly visible at various degrees underlining only so much more how historic this moment really was, for them, for the current and future generations, but also for their country.

Over the years, and especially since Namjoon’s first UN speech, ARMY made a million edits about President Kim Namjoon and today we saw a visual that turned edits into real life, even if “only” as UN speaker instead of president. If you ask me, he’ll always be my president. I’m sure JK would agree with me.

Speaking of which, it’s a beautiful coincidence that during his first speech at the UN (aside from the online version last year) JK is the same age as Namjoon was in 2018 during his first UN speech.

Before they began, it was so interesting to see Namjoon take a moment to look at his members, see if everyone is ready, and only once he was sure that they were, he began. Very leader like of him.

Though I don’t have a picture/gif of it, something that I thought was very meaningful and therefore important to mention was a moment during one of Jimin’s parts where his nervousness got to him. Instead of panicking, he simply took a moment, lowered his microphone, took a deep breath, collected himself, and then continued on with what he was supposed to say. It was a very human moment, one that showcases that it is okay to be overwhelmed, to take a small break, just a few seconds, before continuing, that it’s not embarrassing or a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength to calmly overcome the moment and continue on, brave and confident.

Another thing worth mentioning was how during their speech the different world leaders sitting in the audience, including President Moon, took out their phones to take pictures or videos of the members, how after they were done and left the stage and made their way out of the Hall, many of them gave them thumbs up as they passed, some even greeting them with a safe elbow bump, a show of respect and admiration. After all it takes tremendous courage to deliver a speech like this in a place such as this one.

The grand finale of their appearance, of course, was the pre-recorded performance of Permission to Dance filmed inside the Hall, the entrance area of the HQ, as well as the space in front of the building and a park next to it. It was shown on the two monitors inside the Hall as well for the attending world leaders to see as well.

We’ve seen so many iconic stages, especially since Dynamite Era last year, but I never thought we’d get to see them perform at the UN HQ, literally. In my early ARMY days, I never expected that our journey would take us here, and yet, as I think about it now, it completely makes sense that it did. Bangtan were always destined for greatness. It’s now clearer than ever before.

I do love how even at a performance as meaningful as this one, Jimin and Tae still found a way to have two tiny moments, the one in the gif below but also one that came just before it (though I couldn’t find or make a gif of it myself, sorry) where they seemed to giggle/smile at each other while Tae showed Jimin a jump he wanted, and also ended up doing afterward, for the camera. 

Though they didn’t interact in the Permission to Dance performance, my little Namjin heart was so happy to see Namjoon and Seokjin side by side throughout the appearance, which I’m aware was in large dictated by their usual lineup (though it was adjusted so Namjoon was in the center with three members to either side from him) but it still reminded me of Namjoon’s request to Seokjin four years ago, as in that he please be by his side at events like this because it makes him calmer.

Much the way it was back in 2018, this time we also got some selcas from Seokjin, Yoongi and Hobi showing off their UN IDs as well as their UN x SK masks which were also worn by the President and First Lady (and likely also their staff). One thing that caught my eye though were their pins which, upon first glance, seemed like the same ones everyone else had, but when you looked closer it turns out that our boys had to be a bit extra. Out with the plain ones, in with the bedazzled versions that, because of the gems, remind me of their mics as well.

Koreas pride with pins that sparkle just as beautifully as they do.

All in all this was a historical moment, something I’m impossibly grateful I got to witness live. My ARMY pride and ego is through the roof today and will remain as such for a long time going forward. The members have come a long way and have grown and matured into stunning young men with bright minds and intelligent words. As much as it was an honor for them to be there, it is an honor for us to be their fans, to support them, and I cannot wait to see where we’ll go from here but one thing is for sure, Hobi certainly was right, liking BTS certainly was the best decision ever.

[stormblessed95]

You don't think HOBI is straight? Can we have that conversation please if that's the direction you wanna take the blog discussion today? Cause I said to my sister who is a casual watcher and listener that I don't think he's straight either but she didn't believe me.

What did you see to make you think he isn't?

Hello! Yes, let's finally do a rainbow moments post for Hobi! Our sunshine!

Personally, no I don't think he is straight. But this isn't a post to prove his sexuality one way or another. This is just like all my other posts, a collection of moments that hint that he might be part of the LGBTQ+ community. Doesn't mean that he actually is, regardless all of this DOES make him an amazing ally if nothing else.

Hobi Rainbow Moments, Let's go!

To start, the way some people call him the "straightest" member baffles me sometimes. Lol there is nothing wrong with it either way, but like.... how much more rainbow do you want our boy to be?! Man literally went rainbow from my head to my toes during this fansign:

The amount of pride clothing or merch he wears, or simply just clothes worn in the bi flag colors order. Rainbow belt worn on the first day of pride month at a concert. Bi pride colors sweatshirt. Chanel pride necklace. All love necklace. This isn't even all of it, you can Google and see even more. Lol including the sweater from above from the DNA MV.

While we are on the topic of Bisexuality Pride Flag colors.... let's take a moment to talk about the flag colors behind him in his solo music video, Bi pride with a man sleeping in his bed. Yes I know that it's technically not what the MV is about and it's not *really* saying he has a man in his bed, but that's what it looks like. He also has bi flag colors in the smoke during Boy Meets Evil that he dances in. During his solo stage performance, he had the lights underneath him on the stage in the Bi flag colors.... I mean... come on... this HAS to be intentional at this point with how often he uses these colors in this order too! Lol

And talking about Boy Meets Evil, his wings solo song ALSO feels very queer coded, don't know if that was intentional or not, but it is and many in the community related to the lyrics

Back to the clothes, he has purchased and worn clothes that support LGBT causes and fashion. Hobi and Jin here are wearing items from designer Ashish Gupta who designs LGBT pro fashion. Look up his work if you haven't seen it

Hobi and Namjoon were openly supportive and showed a lot of love to a transgender ARMY during a fansign, making them feel supported and loved and accepted. Their account over that interaction here:

Last time ill talk about clothes here, but we know his family is very openly supportive of the community. His sister Jiwoo has this shirt she designed for her brand and wears herself.

We have this interview on Mnet where Hobi accidently slipped up and almost said boyfriend instead of girlfriend by mistake, but quickly corrected himself. I believe the original interview ended up deleted, but the internet is forever lol

And there are many many accounts of ARMY who talk about how hobi has noticed, pointed out, smiled huge and given thumbs up to their pride flags during concerts. He has done this quite a few times, always making sure he acknowledged them if he saw them. (Note: he is NOT holding the flag, the fan is. The angle is off I know lol. You can search for videos of these reactions online if you want want see them)

I also want to add during his MAMA speech in 2018 when he says he learned about all the various types of love in the world and talked about appreciating that during the hard year they had. Etc. It was a moment, but a minor one overall through that whole speech, I'll link it here but if you haven't seen it yet, be prepared to cry your eyes out. They are very emotionally vulnerable through all these speeches

Ending this with the way that Hobi moans in the background during Cypher 3 during Yoongi's iconic line about sending men and women to climax with his tongue. And he does it during that line live too. Lmfao I mean, he is just illustrating the point for us....

No this isn't everything, I'm sure. I know it not including all the moments he has play acted out gay scenes with the members, play acted an almost kiss scene with V or with Jimin. Or talking about how he would get flustered by the members showing skin. Lol He again, obviously doesn't mind "looking gay" or having people have that impression of him.

Again this doesn't prove anything in either direction. There is a wide range on the sexuality spectrum that he could fall on. I'm just saying that the vibes he gives off aren't necessarily straight. Lol doesn't mean that he couldn't be. But there are also plenty of moments and times where it hints that he might not be too. In the end, no matter who he loves or when, I just hope he is happy and well loved. He deserves the best and to be surrounded by constant affection. 💜

[screaming-apple]

A LETTER FROM ZHANG ZHEHAN’S MOTHER (Through Li Xuezheng’s Weibo)

Note:

"In Bold and in double quotation marks": Dialogues

(In Italics and in round brackets): My notes

(Only in round brackets): Zhang mama's notes

---

A forwarded 36-year-long Party’s member’s complete text. “The voice from a mother’s heart”:

Hello, everyone! I am Zhang Xia, the mother of the actor Zhang Zhehan, as well as a Party member of 36 years. Because of the cherry blossoms flowers taken during his trip to Japan in March 2018, my son has been going through the worst case of cyber violence since 13th August this year. I want to talk about the impacts and the trauma this event has brought upon my son and me.

On 13th August, my son was still working in Shanghai. Before that, he had already been insulted and attacked for many reasons. It was undesirable, but after 813, it reached its peak, everywhere was overwhelmed with curses from one side, Han Jian (traitor to China), spy, country traitor, treasonist, the netizens’ storm of rage rained down on him, then getting boycotted by the entire network Internet in less than three days. Meanwhile, his Baidu profile was altered, his history was meddled with, rumours were created to fabricate the truth, to shame him. They even made up stories about him and brought him into lessons in class. His name was banned on social platforms. All of his dreams and his achievements from working hard for 10 years were completely erased. Not only so, but an entire network was also fully covered with foul, dreadful contents, his whole life’s love for the Party and country was gone, and the same went for his works. My son told me that he had not gone into the Yasukuni shrine, had not visited the place, even more so had not prayed nor worshipped there, that the information on the Internet was wrong, he said he was willing for a formal investigation. I think that if one could be judged based on some photos, then he still has photos showing his love for his country, photos of him competing for the nation’s pride, of him volunteering to help the community, are they not enough to prove his patriotism, his spirit? He has been condemned and sentenced on the Internet. Most of the accusations made against him came from unchecked, unverified information on the Internet, all of the conclusions were made without a proper investigation, an examination relevant to how wide misinformation can spread, and we did not get a chance to clarify anything, for we were helpless and desperate. However, seeing the general circumstance, the two of us had hidden the pain deep inside, did not speak up and did not create trouble for any government’s department or agency to avoid causing harm to the country. We were hoping that there would be an investigation and evidence collected for correct judgement and conclusion. But as a mother, I can not accept how my son has been treated. He is only 30! His future, his career, and his potential were all destroyed by some pictures taken over 3 years ago. Not just that, he has to live being looked down on by other people. This time coming home, when he first saw me, his first words were: “Mom, I’m ashamed, 30 years old already and I still make you worry.” I burst into tears, but he continued: “Why are you crying? Am I not healthy physically?” His positivity and health are my only comforts! But his beloved nephew who is only four, did not dare to face him, saying his uncle was a bad person, always covering up his own face to not look at his uncle. When my son saw this, he hid in his room and tears were shed. Normally, he is a strong person, but at that moment, he had truly broken down. In the eyes of a mother, at that moment, I felt like hearing my heart being ripped apart. I am a mother, I have raised him as this country has nurtured him. It was supposed to be the time to repay the country’s splendid months and years, but he was immediately destroyed by the vicious struggle of the industry and the netizens.

My son grew up in a family of the Party’s members, both of his parents being the Party’s members (his dad passed away because of illness in 2016), his grandfather was a leading cadre of the judicial department, loyal to the Party, devoted to his work, then suffered a sudden heart attack because of his hard work in the earlier years. His work was affected by his own myocardial infarction. Six of us sisters, four are members of the Party and one is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. My son’s generation (meaning ZZH’s cousins) has 5 grown-ups and 3 of them are members of the Party. They all work for the Party in different ways. My whole family loves the Party and the country! My son has grown up in the Party’s warmhearted embrace. I have always taught him to love the Party, love his country, passed down to him all the good qualities of the previous generations, taught him to be honest, kind, brave, strong, hard-working, which is basically earnestly educating him. He is not perfect, he has his flaws, but he is not tainted. Whoever said that I was a Japanese mistress, that my son was half-Japanese, that Ya Tai Rong which I registered (a small company that produced selfie sticks, and had nothing to do with Japan, as well as had been written off because of losses) was also corrupted, gradually, imposed on us all of the labels belonging to Japan, intentionally insulted and slandered us.

Over these three months, we have lived in fear, anger, pain, sorrow, and helplessness. My son has not dared to go out, and I feel jealous looking at everyone else. It’s too painful to live in struggles and shame, I even had the thought of trying to awaken people’s sympathy by ending my own life. But my son has comforted me, begging me to trust in the Party, in the country, and educating me back: “You are still a life-long Party’s member, we have to believe that justice is arriving late, but definitely not absent!” My son’s words have snapped me out of it and strengthened me! We strongly believe that the Party and country will make the right judgments, clearing up everything for us, restoring the truth, giving us back an open path for our lives and careers.

I swear again: “If my son had gone to that devil place, my whole family is willing to die for it! I can assure what I have said to be true in the Party’s spirit and my own morality! Thank you, everyone, and thanks to Li Xuezheng for speaking up despite the risk!”

---

I wanted to translate this earlier but my book club was holding a bonding session so I couldn’t. My apology. I believe that many have read this letter or a translation of it already, but I wanted to do it justice with my words and add a little thought to it.

So, here’s my thought: By far, this is the most details we have got about ZZH’s and his family’s situation in general. I came close to crying a few times translating this but at this point, I’m mostly just angry. Furious. Not only at the people who are directly responsible for this, but also at the so-called anti-fans. I was in the middle of my club’s bonding session when I saw a translation of a page of this letter, but words and sentences were cut out to create whole new meanings to each line, each paragraph. Which, of course, has drawn the anti-fans in. They were insulting, cursing, saying that they would be fine and happy if people really died. Like, that should not be normalized, not anymore, not after this. At least, many other celebs’ anti-fans were humane enough to only hate and make fun of some stuff, at least no one else has been cursed to die. How can this still be a norm and thought to be harmless in this society? Are these antis not also humans? Do they not have families and especially, parents or siblings or loved ones? Mocking people on the Internet is one thing, but sending funeral flowers and cursing people are on a whole new level of cyber violence. I’m sick of this. So sick and so tired of it all.

But he still has supporters, people who care about him, and people who care about justice prevalence. I pray for his and his family’s welfare and happiness, I hope they know that they are loved and supported by his fans and other justice-seekers everywhere.

Stay strong, everyone, and have the faith in seeing a brighter day.

[tokyokookmin]

I really loved your explanation regarding vmin it was retable. kanmom51 anon, Im using a little of your ask for @tokyokookmin to explain and narrate a lil about JIMIN shes a JM biased too so I felt that it would be appropriate to ask her.

"Because it’s no secret that JM doesn’t get any praise from the company, the choreographer, and all."

"When it comes to the members it’s a different topic. They hype Jimin up. We have J-Hope constantly praising JM. Jk completely in awe with JM dance. Jin thanking him for helping him rehearse."

"So for me Bighit for some reason doesn’t do anything for JM, no credit in his work, no acknowledgement, nothing."

I felt that every single word that this anon has said is pure truth and this remark deserves much more attention. We all know what's currently going on with JM, the situation is really bad and its getting worse, toxic solo stans are bashing him and they are comparing him to other members from every perspective + even the hate that he's getting bcuz of him "annoying jk" in that memories 2020.

I need you to explain on how a wonderful person JM is. Your impact makes a huge difference on people mindset. tysm keshhh.

Hey there anon!, I deeply understand your emotions. The hate that JM is going through is really bad and I have personally reported those accounts on twt etc. I even took a few snapshots of a tiktok video comment section... I will surely share them some day or another. Well then lets get started! I can't compare J-HOPE TO JM because they are my biases and both of them captivated my eyes, I just can't resist their flawless moves and they make a great dance unit... it would be incomplete without one of them + JK lol.

Most armies would say that JK is the golden maknae or he's the best overall in the team, well y'all took JM for granted, he's capable of doing so many things as well. But before that we need to talk about his dancing skills, I have made one blog about the 3J. Here's the link if you would like to know about their achievements/viral moments https://tokyokookmin.tumblr.com/post/654670945252933632/a-guide-to-the-dance-line..... this blog was mostly just me collecting info's lmao-.

1. DANCE ☝️

Well I found this incredible video from tiktok and I thought that this video would be perfect to describe his contemporary skills. Utmost respect to the creator for creating such a masterpiece!

Jimin Van Fleet Award!

Do we really need to talk about this? We all knew what impact he had given to audience with his remarkable traditional korean fan dance.He is extremely talented, after all he trained in contemporary.

“I received many really big awards today. I sincerely appreciate it, and it was a day when I thought I would like to share it with you with better music and stage in the future. Thank you all for your support. #JIMIN# We have been unclear” #JiminWorldwideLoved 📷📷📷📷

"As emphasized by the ballet dancer, being lifted is not easy, just like in the case of Jimin in the said stage. A strong core, glutes, and chest are vital for the one being lifted." https://youtu.be/3RW91KT3bXw - another review from a japanese dancer.

He is extremely versatile and he can master any sort of genre.He excels in dancing,his moves and fluidity of his body is astonishing they way he moves every tissue in his body to perfectly to complete the cheoreo is just mind blowing, he is truly the embodiment of dancing! Believe me or not, you should pay more attention on his facial expressions... he keeps it graceful. His fingers and angle are on point.

From MAMA 2016 Lie meets Boy meets evil to MMA 2020 black swan 🦢..I wonder what's coming up next.

2. Loving member

Jimin is the member that I connect emotionally to, he's a sentimental person but he just doesn't show it you just have to pay attention on his behaviour and actions. He consoles many of the members and he provides comfort for them. The picture I attached below sets a great example.

1. BTS MAMA 2018... It was a tough year for them. They were close to disbanding, and the members were emotionally drained. My heart sank when I saw hobi breaking down in front of the crowd, you can find tons of fancams but you should take a close look at Jimin. He handled the situation very well and I love the way he gives his subtle touch of love towards the other members.

2. Taehyung grandma death announcement

I don't think that I need to explain the about the situation. Taehyung was really sad and felt guilty as he couldn't mention his grandma name. He broke down and Jimin immediately noticed him and ran towards him and just gave him little pat/huggie.

3. The Final

Even by looking at the picture you can see the comfort. You know that GCF-TOKYO song “there for you’ which implies that Jk means he will be there for jimin but "you gotta be there for me too” which means jimin gotta be there for him too. So yeah, JM just know jungkook well and he comforts Jk pretty well.It was so cute and i wished i was a part of the audience, i would have had a panic attack looking at them being so cute,fluff,intimate ON STAGE . Too bad it’s impossible now .

3.He's a badass [ athletic/ physical ]

Jimin has often talked about his experience in kendo,japanese fencing,Geomdo (검도, 劍道) “Way of the Sword” & hapkido. HAPKIDO: electid korean martial arts .It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks.

https://youtu.be/oUcHghZQxiw - a video you may refer to.

.4.Academic excellence

After Namjoon Jimin has the most remarkable academic achievements in bts. He was one of the top students in junior high and was THE top student in Busan arts high school from ALL the departments. Fun fact Jimin IQ is 128! He was valedictorian too.

"When he was in junior high, he was one of the top students so Jimin's dad thought of enrolling him in a foreign language school. When he decided to go to an arts school, his teachers tried to stop him and were disappointed. He was accepted as the top of his class and attended Busan High School of Arts. He was doing really good. Then he switched to K-pop dancing and decided to be a trainee in Seoul. Teachers also tried to stop him and were disappointed. Park Jimin's life is really something.

36. Our Jimin didn't spend a lot of time preparing for the arts school. He was dancing popping when he decided to go to the arts school. He then learned modern dancing for a little over a year and was accepted at Busan High School of Arts as the top of his class even though he was a dance majorπ TT TT Every member in this group could've been successful at anything. That group is our pride, BTS.

60. Wow! If there's only one dance class, it's really incredible~ It's hard to get a top student from dance department. And it was achieved by a male student and it's Park Jimin TTTT

67. That's what I know too.. I was looking into Busan Arts School before and one class for dance is probably correct. It was mostly music and art classes that I remember. So from Busan Arts School, one out of ten classes and a male student from dance department getting accepted as the top of the class...the percentage is just incredible. I know that the dance class has about 40 students? And male students could be 25:15 or 30:10. Jimin broke through this and became the top.

Namjoon and Jimin really made a huge gamble. They could've went the easier way. Truthfully, if they went their way, they both would have succeeded. But becoming an idol and not knowing what their future will be and BTS not being successful from the beginning must have been really hard for them. But now I'm glad they're successful and they can realize they've made the right choice."

cr @artimitatesjimin

I really respect and idolize him. His personality is unique and its different.He's been through alot. Being kicked from BTS for 8+ times, the members ranking his looks as the last and being called fat and ugly, that's really disturbing. He starved and went on diets just to please the audience and to have a jawline. He works his ass of and he really deserves more. He's obviously cutie,sexy,lovely,sweet guy! He prioritize his career, family and fans before anything. He has absolute heavenly vocals (+crazyyy high notes) and he is the definition of stage presence. PARK JIMIN IS THE STANDARD. Solo toxic fans are definitely going to attack on me but this is the reality.Jimin deserves more and he's such a sweet person. He performs with his whole heart and expresses it wonderfully,he goes all out and each performance comes out from his soul. He loves to perform. I MEAN FOR THE LOOKS, JIMIN IS THE FIRST FOR JUNGKOOK~.

He once even wasn't able to attend THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW due to his sore muscles.

He went through alot and he deserves the #1 in brand reputation, who doesn't admire his determination?

Each member is unique in their own way. I want no hate or malice on my platform ~

Bits and pieces I collected anon! love ya ~ stay safe.

[citrus-system]

do all of the questions from the ask game posted by evilneo!!

>:3!! I am currently eating edible raw cookie dough hell yeah!!! Thank you

🍓- if you’re an introject, what is ur source?

We sorta have one introject :0! She was just a fragment who attached to the character tho, so she just looks like her!

📍- funny story that happened in source memories?

No source, so just a funny story ;p But we wanted to give Pockets an appearance, so we got him to look at pictures with us and he kept saying like; “I don’t look like that. They drew me too short. Why are they so bad at drawing me” etc. and we had to explain to him that they aren’t drawing HIM- we are looking for a picture he thinks he looks like

🍒 - funny story that happened in headspace?

Omg everything just sounds so funny to me until I type it out it jahsbsnishd,

Krow and Jace fight over which bong to imagine (it is ongoing…no resolution in sight…. RIP)

People going “awwhhh, I wish I was blonde/etc.…. WAIT *imagines themselves blonde/etc.*”

Feeling an “:3” with the force of a thousand bricks

Jace’s instinctual motherhood over Bug….. Bug being more stable than Jace

“FUCK YOU *attempts to go further into headspace*”…. *fails*

Everyone fights like toddlers, it’s comical and brotherly and loving..

🌹 - funny story that happened in the meatspace?

(m….meatspace…. omg I can’t believe that’s a real word…. meatspace…)

Okay I’ve been playing Everskies a lot and for some reason I have a TON of lesbian pride stuff, despite none of us being gay ladies, but now my friend Venti is just GASLIGHTING (lighthearted) me into being a LESBIAN, I-

🍊 - tiktok audio/vine that reminds you of a headmate?

front @ everybody 24/7: “CHRISSY WAKE UP. I DONT LIKE THIS- CHRISSY WAKE UUP-“

🎃 - who is close to the front rn?

Jace and Tadpole!! Jace and me keep switching for work (I get downtime >:3c to play video game) and Tadpole is staring with her little eyeballs

🥕 - are there any headmates frontstuck rn?

Nope, thankfully <3

🏵️ - a random song lyric? :)

“買ったので歌詞書きます

歌詞

雨 灰色 滲んだ影 昨日

浮かんでは消えてく 色は見えない

ただぼやけて曖昧な輪郭に

そっと触れた 冷たくて

優しく差す光 目を奪われた

その瞬間 輝き出す” <3

🌻- do you use I/me, us/we, or any other 1st person pronouns?

Yep! Both, depends on what I’m talking about <33

🌙 - do any headmates have typing quirks? if so, what are they?

Not in the common sense no :0 but I think some of us type differently! Honey has a whole bunch of kamojis saved to use and Krow is a chronic ‘lol’er

🍋 - does the system have a host? if so, who?

No one really fits the bill anymore! Luckily we’ve been in a pretty stable spot lately!

☘️ what do you use to keep track of system members?

Google docs and our notes app for my lists & SimplyPlural to track fronts and analytics !

🌿 - Any cliques among alters?

A…angry gays…… (why are you all so angry and into men)

🦎 - do you share any memories with your alters?

Mhm, some! Before 2018 (which holy crap! So long ago now) our memories were very segregated, but lately our barriers have been pretty low & it’s easier for people to peep into front and also to better share what’s been happening day to day!

🍂 - is your system "heavy" with a certain type of alter?

We’re masc heavy, with only one lil lady ;0 and most non-human bubs are canine related!

🐬 - any non-humans?

Ye! Bones, ♟, Pubby, and Honey! (dog, dog, dog, Honey!!!)

🛋️ what does your inner world look like?

A Caucasian minimalist’s living room snshjsjsb

👁️ - what does front look like?

Right now it looks like a dirty shop bathroom :P

☔ - Being a system can be hard, but not always! whats your favourite thing about being a system?

Um! Shitposting brain!! I love (/hate) getting live reactions to my actions, and just a near constant stream of angry gays

👾 - collective name/pronouns?

None really, but we’ve taken a liking to the collective nickname Citrus obviously <33 And he/him! You’ll be right 70% of the time eheh

🌂 - singletsona?

You already KNOW we a creature