#if I’m the only one making fanart of these two I must train myself to go insane over my own art it��s for my own survival | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

shycoconutt · 3 years ago

Text

I Found My Light: Chapter 3 (Kakashi x Reader)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

A/n: Sorry for the delay! Wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this but it came to me in the shower (as all good ideas do). Hope you enjoy it! This story is far from over.

Summary: You attend the group training session where, to your dismay, Kakashi is in attendance.

Word Count: 1800

Warnings: fem!reader, SFW (but won't be in future chapters), violence, angst

Fanart!: Please check out this fanart inspired by this fic by the talented @szamasza <3

If this training session goes like any other typical training session, you are in for a long one. Training usually begins around mid-day and lasts several hours until everyone feels like they’re on the brink of death. Then, when face down in the dirt, Asuma tries to convince everyone to head to the bar on the main street that gives discounts to shinobi. After a few minutes of resounding I’m-too-tireds and maybe-next-times, everyone gives in and spends the remainder of the night into the next morning crammed in a booth getting absolutely sloshed.

This night was like any other night, except not because your anxiety was at an all-time high.

Kakashi showed up about an hour into training, aloof as ever. You were deep in your spar with Genma when you saw him out of the corner of your eye. Genma must have noticed your distraction, as he didn’t hesitate to spit his senbon at you with full force. Luckily you were refocused in less than a second and caught it between your fingers.

“Nice try, buddy,” you teased him, “It’s going to take more than that to throw me off.”

Genma raised his eyebrow at you. “I don’t know, (y/n), you seemed a little distracted,” he teased.

And just like that, you were back at each other’s throats.

Kakashi ended up finding a spot sparing Gai. Typical of him, as usually Gai is the only one who can keep up ability-wise. Although, Kakashi hasn’t seen how much you’ve grown and a part of you is hoping you’ll get a chance at him. You still have yet to use your chakra sword-whip, your most brutal weapon, in front of your fellow shinobi. It’s remained in its sheath strapped across your back, waiting to be used against the most brutal opponent.

“Alright, alright,” Genma pants, curled up on the ground holding his left side where you just landed a forceful kick, “Please show me some mercy, (y/n).”

“Only if you admit that I’m a better shinobi than you in every way,” you say smugly, crossing your arms across your chest.

“Yes, you are a better shinobi than me in every way. You're stealthy, quick, strong, intelligent, adaptable, beautiful, and, most of all, kind. Which is why you’ll give me my senbon back.” He pleas, still laying on the ground with his hand out to you.

“Mmm, fine,” you tease, pulling the senbon from your hair where you used it to hold it in a bun. “It does make a great hair accessory though. I think I might have to get one for myself.” You help Gemma back up to his feet and stick the metal needle back into his mouth.

He gives you a smirk, still grasping onto your hand. “You should see my collection. I have at least two hundred of these,” he boasts, taking the senbon out of his mouth to twirl it in his fingers. “I‘ll make sure to pick one out for you.”

“I would be honored.” You smile warmly, squeezing his hand.

At this moment you could sense a set of eyes staring at you from the other side of the training field. Well, one eye, you should say, as Kakashi is staring directly at you while he holds Gai in a headlock. His expression is unreadable as his eyes flicker from you to Genma and then back to you. You could swear that you saw his shoulders drop a bit before he brought his attention back to Gai who is currently struggling to breathe in his grasp.

“Ka-ka-shi-ple-ase-le-t-me-go-” Gai gasps, holding onto Kakashi’s arms currently wrapped around his neck. Kakashi’s eyes widen when his attention is brought back to his opponent and he immediately releases Gai from his grasp. With a thud, Gai drops to the floor and sucks in one big breath.

“Are you trying to kill him?!” Kurenai yells as she runs to tend to Gai who is sitting on the ground rubbing his neck. Everyone else on the field stops what they’re doing when they notice the commotion and circle around Gai wondering what happened.

“I’m sorry-” Kakashi starts, hands back in his pockets still staring at Gai wide-eyed.

“Apologies are unnecessary my rival!” Gai cuts in, still gasping for air. “Flashes of my youth came to me as I was falling out of consciousness. It reminded me how much there is to live for. I thank you for the near-death experience, Kakashi!” Gai quickly recovers and stands up, dusting the dirt from his green jumpsuit. “You win this round, but I wouldn’t get used to it!” Gai challenges, holding out a hand for Kakashi to shake.

“Yeah, sure Gai.” Kakashi agrees sheepishly, accepting Gai’s hand.

“Damn, Kakashi.” Genma starts, a smug smile pulling at his mouth. “The Anbu made you a pretty ruthless fighter, huh? I didn’t realize friend-killer Kakashi applied to us too.”

You could hear everyone in the circle try to hold in their gasps after registering Genma’s statement. Kakashi’s whole body stiffened and you could see the appearance of a grimace form under his mask. He is visibly uncomfortable. Yet, instead of looking at Genma who just addressed him, he is looking at you.

You suck in a breath, feeling terrible for Kakashi. Rumors spread, nicknames are formed, it’s all a part of being a shinobi. But “friend-killer Kakashi” is on a whole other level of petty.

That jerk.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Genma?” You turn to him and yell. “What makes you think you can say shit like that?”

“Oh c’mon!” Genma retorts. “We were all thinking it! This is the first time he’s been back training with us since the Anbu. You’ve heard what people have said about him. I’m surprised one of us isn’t already dead!”

This time no one was able to hold in their reactions as gasps escaped everyone in the circle.

You are fuming.

“Actually, Genma, the only one you should be worried about killing you is me because I am a second away from shoving that stupid senbon down your throat.” You take a step forward, challenging him.

“Hey, hey,” Genma retreats, taking a step back with his hands up in defense. “I was just trying to look out for us, for you especially. I mean out of all of us, you should be the most concerned. You know, with the whole situation that happened with Ri-”

You close the gap between you and Genma in seconds, grabbing the collar of his vest, you yank the senbon from his mouth and hold it against his throat.

“If you finish that sentence it will be the last words you ever speak.” You threaten. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You have no idea the details of what Kakashi has been through. What Rin went through. What I went through. It isn’t your place to speak about a situation you know nothing of. So do us all a favor and shut up.” You let go of his vest and shove him back a couple steps.

“Wow, damn, okay, sorry.” Genma apologizes, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I was just joking around. There’s no need to be so serious about it, (y/n).”

“My hand went through Rin’s heart,” Kakashi speaks up from his silence. “There’s nothing to joke about.”

Hearing Kakashi speak this hard truth sends a sharp pain through your heart, and you instinctively grasp onto the part of your shirt lying over your chest.

You turn and look back at Kakashi, who meets your eyes.

Pain.

So much pain.

You turn to step towards him, but he’s already retreating from the circle.

“I think that’s it for me today guys. I’ll catch you around another time.” Kakashi says as he turns away from the group giving you one last glance. Heading towards the forest, he reaches around to his pouch and pulls out his Icha Icha novel, bringing it in front of him to pick up where he left off.

After a few silent beats, Asuma claps his hands together to bring attention to him.

“So,” he starts, “drinks anyone?”

Everyone immediately becomes more relaxed now that the focus has shifted. You, on the other hand, are feeling so tense that you start to hear ringing in your ears. You get that Asuma is just trying to relieve the tension in the group, but you can’t help but be annoyed that he’s trying to move on from what just happened so quickly.

Kurenai meets your gaze and can read your annoyance. She gives you a pleading look that says drop it for now, (y/n).

Everyone in the circle, including Genma, give a resounding “yes” and head in the opposite direction of Kakashi back towards the village. You're left alone standing in the middle of the grounds as they make their way out.

“(Y/n), are you coming?” Kurenai calls out to you.

You contemplate for a second and begin to wave her off.

“I think I’m going to stay here for a minute. You guys go on ahead, I’ll meet up with you later,” you reply. Honestly, you have no intention of getting back together with them, as any place where Genma is hanging out is the last place you want to be.

“Okay,” Asuma shouts back at you, “we will be at that one bar on main.”

“As always.” you joke back, trying to sound light-hearted.

Once they are out of sight you turn to look back at the trees that Kakashi exited through. You have absolutely no idea where he could be headed to or how fast he could be traveling through the trees. It might be a waste of time to head out after him. After all, if Kakashi doesn’t want to be found, you have no chance of finding him.

Feeling slightly defeated, you plop down to the ground and sit criss-cross in the dirt. You sit up straight and put both of your hands palm-up on each knee. Taking a deep breath in, you feel the breeze rustle through your hair. Taking a deep breath out, you hear the sound of the trees flowing in the wind.

If he wants to talk, he will come to me. In the meantime, I will meditate.

The next time you open your eyes, it’s dark out.

Damn, how many hours have passed?

You close your eyes.

More time passes.

The next time you open your eyes, Kakashi is sitting a few feet across from you mirroring your position.

His eyes are open.

As if your thoughts are mirroring each other as well, you both speak in unison.

“I’m sorry.”

#kakashi #kakashi hatake #kakashi fanfic #kakashi fanfiction #kakashi x reader #hatake kakashi #kakashi fluff #kakashi imagine #naruto fanfiction #kakashi x you #kakashi x y/n #kakashi one shot #kakashi x yn #kakashi sensei #i found my light

123 notes · View notes

fanfic-me-up · 5 years ago

Text

Unwithering | Bakugou Katsuki x Reader (1)

Part Two

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x fem!reader

Prompt: Flower shop AU, “I think I’m in love with you.”

Warnings: Mild Swearing. Flowery language (pun intended 😉... I’ll show myself out)

Word Count: 2,250

Taglist: Reply to this post if you want to be added for future chapters!

A/N: This is for @bnhabookclub event going on! Thank you for giving new writers in the fandom, like me, a place to promote their work. Shout out to @smolmilkyways for letting me use this beautiful piece of fanart above! Go check them out! Also, thanks @gallickingun for letting me tag you in my first fic. You gave me some pretty solid advice that pushed me to get this out here. This was originally a one-shot, but of course it turned into a multi-chap, so stay tuned for more!

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Your fists gripped the hem of your dress. The sunflowers on it reminded you of him; a burning sun at the center of your universe. The boy in front of you crinkled his forehead at your statement; as if the love you spent years building up the courage to confess was no more than a pebble - insignificant - that he could kick to the side without a second thought.

Midoriya gave you a slight thumbs up from the back, but the rest of the boys cackled with no remorse.

“You hear that, Bakugou? She looovvveesss you!”

“Freaky flower girl and Bakugou sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G”

“Awww is she gonna cry?”

The lump in your throat was difficult to swallow, but you refused to prove them right. It would only add fuel to the fire threatening to burn the seed planted in your heart.

He stepped toward you. The scent of burnt sugar filled your lungs; like fresh apples picked from your mother’s garden, dipped in melted caramel. You heard it’s a side effect from his quirk, but it was the first time you were close enough to experience it for yourself.

You willed your eyes to find his. The soft breeze blowing past provided a cooling relief to the intense heat felt in your cheeks. When your eyes locked, a spark flashed within his own. You couldn’t catch it in time, but your heart stuttered in response.

Any chance of a flower blooming died the next moment.

“I’ll never love a weak girl like you.”

A year passed before you saw Katsuki Bakugou again.

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

“Here’s your pickup order, Tanaka-san, I’m sure your wife will love them!”

You ring up the older gentleman who’s been a regular at your mother’s flower shop for years. His wife loves the smell of scented geranium, a sweet apricot that never fails to remind her of the orchards back home. He’s convinced your flowers are the reason she’s still here; the true medicine to her illness.

You always deny this statement, shaking your head with a playful giggle, but the compliment warms you. It’s nice to hear people cared about your flowers.

“She loves only the ones made by you, dearest.”

He winks as his shaking hands grab the large bouquet. You smile and turn your hand, palm up, towards Tanaka whose eyes never fail to widen in awe at your quirk in action. A small stem sprouts from the center of your palm, growing taller by the second. You hone in on the bright yellow dot on the center of each petal. A wash of white forms around each dot, acting as a transition for the violet that envelops the rest of the petals.

Each petal opens up one by one to reveal a golden bud.

You hand the flower to Tanaka.

“On the house,” you wink back.

“Oh very nice, very nice, indeed,” he bows in thanks, “What is the meaning of this one?”

“Irises give hope. In Chinese tradition, it is referred to as ‘the purple butterfly’ because its petals flutter like butterflies.”

The breeze from outside trails in at the perfect time and the petals flutter about.

“Very pretty,” Tanaka remarks, “I’ll be sure to let the misses know about this one!”

He thanks you one more time before walking out with a newfound spring in his step; the lone flower nestled in the pocket of his worn out janitor uniform.

You’ve been working at Paradise Blooms for the past three years after your parents separated, and your mom needed the extra hand more than ever. It was difficult balancing school and work, especially when you were busy prepping for U.A. exams last year, but you could never say no to your mom. She’s been the constant in your life since day one.

The back door to the supply room squeaks.

“A little help here?”

All you see is the top of your mom’s head, adorned with a multi-colored flower crown. Her face is covered by the high pile of crates she’s trying not to drop. You rush to catch the top crate before it tumbles.

“Phew. That was a close one. Thanks, honey!”

She bends down to take the supplies out, arranging the items on the counters around the shop. She weaves through the aisles - it looks more like a garden than an actual shop, in your opinion, but you think it gives the place character. She stops at the row of potted flowers sitting on the far right of the shop, soaking in the sunlight cast through the window. It’s the new collection your mom got in time for the 2020 Garden Glow Event. Every year, flower shops all over the city participated in an annual gardening event to educate the public on gardening techniques with fun activities for the children. Your mom spent hours on the phone dealing with difficult vendors to get this specific collection for the event. Water sprinkles out from her palm as she takes the time to water each and every flower.

Since there’s no customers at the moment, you grab the broom from the storeroom and set to sweeping around the shop. It’s not long before your mom’s watering routine is interrupted by her phone ringing.

“Hello?” You continue sweeping, gently humming along to the tune playing through the speakers, but your voice catches when you hear, “Mitsuki! Hi! How are you?”

Mitsuki? Your mom couldn’t possibly be talking to Mitsuki... Bakugou?

Your knuckles turn white from squeezing the life out of the poor broom as you wait for confirmation.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

The memories you tried so hard to forget come flooding all at once.

“I’ll never love a weak girl like you.”

You’re snapped out of the memory.

“Yes, bring him in! Great! See you in a few, bye.”

Your mother returns to watering the flowers like nothing happened - like that single phone call didn’t just turn your world upside down, after you spent the last year flipping it right side up.

“Who was that?”

You’re afraid of the answer.

You promised yourself you moved on from Katsuki Bakugou. It proved to be easier said than done. Even if you both went to separate high schools and most of your days were spent either studying or working; at night is when your thoughts strayed. You wondered what he was up to… was he passing all his classes? You’d giggle at the absurdity of Katsuki not being number one. Was he still bullying Midoriya? Did you ever cross his mind?

Was he happy?

Because more than anything, you wished him happiness - even if that happiness was not with you. Was that weakness? Was wishing for someone’s happiness, who could care less about you, considered weakness?

“Hm?” Your mom turns to you, “Oh! That was Mitsuki Bakugou. Her son, Katsuki - I believe you went to school with him? Well, he needs a part-time job to help pay for tuition. Can you believe he got into U.A.? Mitsuki must be so proud of him.”

“I figured you’d be happy,” she continues, " I know you’ve been struggling with balancing school and work, so I thought having another person around would help lighten the load a little bit. Besides, I owed Mitsuki a favor.”

Your mother blushes at the last part.

Favor? What favor?

But that’s the last thing on your mind when you suddenly feel the need to pass out.

Katsuki… is… working… here?

“Honey, are you okay? You look a little pale.”

“I - I’m not sure I can…” you trail off. Your mom didn’t know about your confession to Katsuki. When you came home in tears that day, with your dress all wrinkled, you told her it was because kids were bullying you for trying and failing to get into U.A.

It was the half-truth.

“Y/N, did something happen between you and Katsuki? I can call Mitsuki back right now if you don’t feel comfortable with him around.”

It was as easy as breathing or using your quirk, second nature, all you had to do was utter a two letter word and your mom would immediately have Mitsuki on the line, apologizing for the inconvenience, but making sure to recommend a few places in the area who were hiring. A simple “no” and your world would become right side up again, the boy you loved long forgotten during the day and only remembered at night when there’s nothing to consume your mind, but him.

Taking the easy way called out to you, beckoning you to relinquish your strength, and give in. But if you couldn’t face one boy, then maybe Katsuki was right. Maybe you were weak.

“I’m fine, mom, I can work with him,” you say.

Pounding footsteps against the pavement outside cut your mom off from her next words.

“OI! LET ME GO, OLD WOMAN, I’LL KILL YOU!”

“CALL ME THAT ONE MORE TIME AND SEE WHERE IT GETS YOU!”

Your breath hitches at the sound. You haven’t heard that voice in over a year; it’s gotten deeper, raspier in tone. You take a few breaths in and out to calm yourself so you don’t melt into the floor at first glance.

The door swings open - the “We’re Open” sign rattles dangerously against the glass - and in barges Mitsuki Bakugou, dragging her son by the ear.

Katsuki struggles to get out of his mother’s grasp, his arms stretch toward the door, but Mitsuki pulls him all the way inside.

“I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAINING, WOMAN!”

“AND NOW YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF GETTING A JOB!”

“I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT!”

“YOU’LL MAKE TIME!”

Katsuki growls. His palms curving into themselves like he’s trying to reign in his quirk from exploding Paradise Blooms where it stands.

You and your mom look at each other, unsure how to inject yourselves in the rather awkward exchange. Truthfully, you’re not surprised by the interaction; you’ve seen Katsuki and his family at school events in the past. The Bakugous had an… interesting family dynamic.

Mitsuki notices the both of you watching and immediately releases Katsuki. She smiles and greets your mom with a hug as if the previous interaction never happened.

“Y/Mom’s/N, it’s great to see you! How’s the event planning coming along?”

Your mom and Mitsuki engage in small talk for a couple minutes leaving you to sneak a quick glance over at Katsuki leaning against the door. He’s looking out the window with a scowl on his face. He crosses his arms to stop himself from fisting his palms, a sign you picked up on when he’s itching to get on the field and obliterate.

You find yourself thinking how beautiful and destructive at the same time.

Once Mitsuki and your mom finish catching up, she directs her attention towards you.

“And you must be Y/N? Your mother has told me so much about you!”

You catch the flash of recognition in Katsuki’s eyes, but you’re wrapped in a hug before you can think. The hug is a bit awkward with the counter digging into your side, but the warmth radiating off Mitsuki makes you feel at home. She lets go of you and turns around to where Katsuki is still standing by the door, ready to leave the first chance he gets.

“And this is my son, Katsuki,” she beckons him over, but when he doesn’t move she barks, “Don’t be rude! Get over here and introduce yourself.”

Katsuki grumbles under his breath, but trudges over.

“Sup.”

Mitsuki growls and slaps Katsuki over the head, “Oi! Where are your manners!?”

She glances apologetically, “I’m sorry. He’s… a bit much to handle. I really appreciate you agreeing to hire him. He’s had trouble in the past with defying authority.”

Katsuki scowls at the ground when Mitsuki pats his head affectionately this time.

“But he’s a good kid at heart, a little rough around the edges, but overall a good kid. I hope you’re able to see that and work with him.”

She bows; her hand on Katsuki’s head nudges him to do the same. His nose twitches, but he listens this time.

Your mother is an empathetic person, able to walk all paths of life and notice the beauty in each one. It wasn’t like her to turn someone down in need.

Your mom smiles, “I’m happy to work with Katsuki. What about you, Y/N?”

She’s giving you a way out for the last time.

Mitsuki looks at you, hope in her eyes.

Doubt laid out its hand for you to take; to lead you away from the pain that still ate away at you everyday. The teasing. The pointing. The rejection from U.A. and from Katsuki. Working with him would force you to face the pain head on.

“I’ll never love a weak girl like you.”

You lock eyes with Katsuki for the first time since that day many moons ago; he’s awaiting your answer, a twinge of hope laced in his eyes overshadowed by a grimace.

You wonder if you now hold the fuel to the fire threatening to burn the tiny seed of hope he’s trying so hard to bury.

For better or for worse, you were also a person who found beauty in all paths of life.

“Welcome aboard,” you say.

#bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #katsuki x reader #bnha #bnhabookclub #bnha x reader #fanfic-me-up #bnha fanfic #mha #mha x reader #mha fanfic

889 notes · View notes

entracteofevil · 4 years ago

Text

Round Table Discussion with the Cover Illustrators

Entr’acte of Evil, page 142-145

--First, everyone please introduce yourselves.

Ichika: I’ve been responsible for the first cover and the illustrations for the series. My name is Ichika.

Suzunosuke: I am Suzunosuke. I normally just draw what I want to. I was able to make the cover for the second book.

You: I am You, and I was charged with the cover for this book. I’m really nervous, but I look forward to being able to do this interview with you.

--When did you all first start making illustrations?

Ichika: Since I could first remember. I don’t recall it all that clearly, but by the time I was in first year I was already drawing.

Suzunosuke: I think it was about middleschool. Apparently when I was a kid my parents were consulted by my teachers on the fact that I couldn’t actually draw pictures.

--You couldn’t draw pictures?

Suzunosuke: Even when I was made to stay behind by myself in kindergarten, the only things I drew were like little pictures of flowers on my drawing paper. It wasn’t that I was sick or anything like that, I was just a normal kid who couldn’t draw.

--I see, that’s very unexpected. What about you, You-san?

You: I don’t clearly remember when I first started drawing as a hobby, but my first picture was when I was three years old, and was a portrait of my caregiver in nursery. Back then I always wanted to use every color of crayon I had, and I guess the fact that I’m still always using rainbow colors even now just goes to show that what you learn in the cradle you carry to the grave.

Suzunosuke: I think that’s cool.

--Incidentally, when did you start making pictures related to VOCALOID?

Ichika: I think around 2007…maybe? I remember the first time I drew Miku was after listening to Yuuyu-P’s “White Season”.

Suzunosuke: I don’t remember how many years ago it was, but I feel like the first thing I drew was Kurousa-P’s “Cantarella”.

You: I listened to VOCALOID the first time in the winter of 2007, so I think it was probably around that time.

--So then, when was the first time you encountered AkunoP’s work?

Ichika: It was right after “Daughter of Evil” was posted on Piapro. I had just finished up making a PV, and when I was looking for new content on Piapro I got drawn in by the title and started listening to it.

Suzunosuke: The “Servant of Evil” was on NicoNico Douga’s rankings, and when I opened up the PV it had a tag saying to watch it after “Daughter of Evil”, so I watched them in order of “Daughter of Evil” and “Servant of Evil” for the first time.

You: Like Suzunosuke-san, probably in the autumn of 2008. The “Daughter of Evil” had a lot of buzz when it was first uploaded! I saw it in so many places with Ichika-san’s illustrations~ It feels so strange to see it having taken this form so many years later.

--Suzunosuke-san and You-san, this was the first time you’d seen a song that used Ichika-san’s illustrations, wasn’t it?

Ichika: I’m sorry for being alive…

Suzunosuke: Sorry, haha

You: Hey, hahaha

Ichika: I’m honestly really shaking here, haha

Suzunosuke: Maybe we should reply with “You’re a very wonderful person” ha ha.

-(Laughs) So what was everyone’s thoughts on the work when they saw “Daughter of Evil” and “Servant of Evil”?

Ichika: I think the imagery in it was really easy to get emotional about. I also thought it was a really interesting concept that although “Daughter of Evil” and “Servant of Evil” had a really different feel to them, they still felt like part of the same story.

Suzunosuke: All else aside I thought it was really sad, and I kept getting stuck on the fact that Allen couldn’t be saved. Still, it was because it was such a sad story that I was captivated by it. It also really made me feel the potential of the VOCALOID genre. It’s a derivative work, but also original content.

You: At the time I had thought it was really interesting and unusual to make a work with such dark fantasy elements using VOCALOID. I also really liked how catchy the tune was. It was also really impressive with all the derivative songs and fanart that got uploaded as things went on. I think it’s a work that shouldered a main pillar of the VOCALOID community in its heyday. And it’s really cool that it’s continuing to spread around the world even now.

--What image do you get of its creator, AkunoP?

Suzunosuke: Given he’s got “Akuno” (of evil) in his name, I thought he might be a scary person.

Ichika: Generally the people who do DTM have a kind of science-y image, so there’s that. And when we actually met, I remember he was a lot like that image. Though he was a bit thinner than I had imagined. Maybe if Akuno-san had shown up to our first meeting with his sunglasses look I’d answer that his image was different, haha.

You: Before I met him offline…He made a lot of romantic-type works, so I actually wondered if maybe he was a woman. When we actually met, it was apparently right after he’d changed his look, so I was a little amused to see him wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses.

--Have you all met AkunoP-san wearing sunglasses?

Suzunosuke: I actually just brushed him off because I didn’t know who he was for a second. As a fan the way he is now is probably close to his image as AkunoP, I would think.

Ichika: I also brushed him off.

You: Everybody brushed him off!

--Well that was an unexpected outcome, haha. Next, do you have a favorite AkunoP work?

Ichika: I actually really like “Clockwork Lullaby”. I prefer the quietly compelling melody and lyrics. Aside from that, I remember when I listened to “Daughter of Evil” I was really drawn to it, wondering what other kind of work he’d done, so that left a significant impression.

Suzunosuke: I think that might be “Re_Birthday”. The flow of sin and rebirth is so painfully beautiful, and I always get misty-eyed no matter how many times I listen to it.

You: Like Suzunosuke-san, I like “Re_Birthday”. I really love the music, and as for the story of it I think it’s really great it has that theme of salvation.

--I see. I had thought that Suzunosuke-san might say “Lunacy of Duke Venomania”, so that was surprising.

Suzunosuke: I could also say “Lunacy of Duke Venomania”, but I don’t want people to think I’m someone who likes erotic content, haha. But that’s also another song that I really like.

About the Novel Illustrations

--How did you feel when you heard about the “Daughter of Evil” becoming a novel?

Ichika: I was simply surprised.

Suzunosuke: I thought it was awesome.

You: I thought it was awesome for Akuno-san. I thought there must have been so many fan’s voices there, and that kind of invisible strength was deeply moving.

--Ichika-san, in the first book you did the cover illustration as well as the ones in the book itself—What was something that was hard about that?

Ichika: I’d have to say highlights.

--Highlights…! Certainly you had to do quite the interaction there… Honestly, was there any point where you were like, “I hope these editors step in dog crap”? haha

Ichika: Nah, ‘cause ever since I’ve become able to put in highlights more seriously, so I’d say it was good practice, haha.

--Suzunosuke-san, you were asked to do the cover for the second book; how was it when they approached you for that?

Suzunosuke: I had thought for sure that they were going to have me just do a pinup on the inside of the book, so then I was kind of like, “Now what?” The others who’ve been involved in it are such amazing illustrators, so I wondered if I’d be good enough for it.

--Was there anything you had trouble with?

Suzunosuke: Drawing the two of them to be just adorable was a little hard.

--I understand you had a bit of revision going on…?

Suzunosuke: Oh no, I saw that as being good training in a lot of ways, so even now it’s a good memory for me.

--You-san, you’ve been asked to do a lot of color illustrations each time, and in this guidebook you were entrusted with the cover illustration. How did you feel after finishing your work?

You: I really like doing the pinups, and I’ll generally paint them as I like, but I dealt with the cover with some different feelings in mind. As a fan I thought that Ichika-san would be given preference for sure. And I’ve refined on my composition a bit looking over past work. I wanted to emulate the flow of things up to now, so like Suzunosuke-san’s work I made it very horizontal.

--Who are some characters that were fun for you to draw in this novel series?

Ichika: All the characters are fun to draw, but if you’re gonna make me choose I’d say Elluka…I had this sense of security while drawing her, like it wasn’t an issue if I made her look a little bit like a villain.

Suzunosuke: I’ve only drawn two characters, so that would be the harmonius Clarith and Michaela. That pair so really cute, so I like them a lot.

--Suzunosuke-san, are there any characters that you would like to draw?

Suzunosuke: I love old man figures, so I’m a bit intrigued by Leonhart. Though I know that’s probably not what you were looking for, haha.

Ichika: (after half a second) It is!

Suzunosuke: Yay, haha

--You-san, you’ve probably drawn all of the main characters at this point; are there any that you’re fond of?

You: Everyone’s fun with how cute they are. I think Riliane-chan is really precious with how her hair is done up. And then there’s the princely Kyle-san—for some reason I’m always grinning when I draw him.

--Please tell us the impressions you were left with as the story has developed.

Ichika: I wasn’t expecting the romantic love between Michaela and Clarith, so that surprised me a bit.

Suzunosuke: I was actually really surprised that the base for Michaela and Gumillia’s appearances were those characters in those other songs.

You: I was also surprised at Michaela and Clarith. I felt the books complemented the content that wasn’t expanded on in the songs, which made them have a lot of interesting points. I think it’s also pretty great that I can now listen to the songs with a fresh perspective.

--Conclusively, how do you think the story will develop in the third book?

Ichika: I think Kyle’s mom is gonna be the final boss.

Suzunosuke: Hmm, I think all of the countries might get wrapped up in the fires of war. All the preliminary announcements have a pretty foreboding feeling to them.

You: All will go according to the will of god (AkunoP).

--Please let us know any final thoughts you have.

Ichika: Thanks for having me here. I don’t know yet how the third book is going to go, but I look forward to being able to go through the novels again with you.

Suzunosuke: I’d be really happy if I could be with you on the sidelines. This interview has been great!

You: I’m really happy to be linked to this series and involved in the work in this way. Thank you very much!

--Thank you very much for joining us everyone!

directory

15 notes · View notes

liliesoftherain · 5 years ago

Text

My Hero Academia Main 3 Boys x Reader

Ch. 4 The Fight of U.S.J Part 1

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3

Chapter 4 is here! Thanks to everyone who was waiting, School is getting a bit busy, and I couldn’t help myself and made a prompt list! I just love to write, I wish I had more time to do it haha, so that’s why this is a bit short! If you didn’t see, @decaffeinatedtealover drew (y/n) and I’m in love ahhhh<3 Check it out because it made my entire day! I love seeing fanart, I never would have thought I’d get anything so I’m over the moon(: Thank youuuuu

*-*-*-*-*-*-

“Hello everyone! I’ve been waiting for you!” Everyone was in shock at another Pro Hero in the flesh.

“The Space Hero: Thirteen!” You grinned at Izuku as he spoke up, fangirling yourself just as much he was.

“She’s so cool!” You said, sparkles in your eyes. You have heard about her time and time again, she’s rescued so many people and has saved so many lives. You really wanted to be the same type of hero she was, always helping others and always protecting them!

Thirteen lead you all inside the large building, letting you all look around from the high point where you stood. It really was something else. The large indoor area was split off into multiple parts, you assumed all serving as a different purpose for training. Thirteen confirmed your thoughts as she listed off each area.

“There’s a shipwreck zone, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, and many more! I created this training facility to help you learn what to do in different types of disaster! I call it, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! USJ for short.”

Aizawa walked closer to Thirteen and asked something about AllMight, and even though it was hard to hear them as they whispered you did see Thirteen raise three fingers.

“I wonder what happened to AllMight.” You wondered out loud, looking at Izuku.

“I don’t know, hopefully nothing bad.” You hummed in agreement but didn’t think the number 1 Hero was hurt.

“Let’s hurry up and begin.” Your teacher sighed, his usual grim demeanor not changing at all.

"Of course, before we begin I want to say something. Well, maybe two somethings. Or three..? Anyways, listen up. I'm sure most of you know I have a powerful quirk called black hole. For those who don't know, I can use it to suck things up and turn that into dust."

"Yea, you've used it to save so many people in all kinds of disasters before!" Izuku yelled out, a dopey smile etched into his face, he looked like he was on cloud 9.

"That's right, but don't forget, my quirk can also be used to kill." A dour hush fell among all of the students.

"Many of you may also have powers that can be dangerous. In our society, we have to follow the rules to make sure all quirks are strictly regulated and certified when heroes go around helping civilians and fighting villains, it's often easy to forget how unsafe they can actually be."

"So it's important to remember if you lose focus, or make the wrong move, those powers you're using trying to protect someone, could be deadly. Thanks to the fitness test Aizawa made you take, you have a better understanding on your quirks potential. Especially with AllMight's combat training, I'm sure you learned how dangerous it can be."

"Carry those lessons over with you when you take this class, because today. You will learn to use your quirks to save lives! After all, isn't that what a hero is all about? Ensuring the safety of others. Thanks for listening guys, let's get to work!"

You clapped along with everyone else, really moved by Thirteen's speech. It was an important wake up call, that while you are strong, you'll have to be strong and smart enough to make sure you can protect and everyone around you!

“Right, now that that’s over let’s-” Aizawa’s next instruction was cut off when the lights that circled all the way around the building shut off. Leaving the area covered in darkness, save for whatever sunlight was streaming through the windows.

You didn’t know if this was how it was supposed to go down, seeing Mr. Aizawa was looking surprised. You heard a weird sound, and noticed the water fountain down in the center of the training facility was sputtering, something black coming from it and shining through. The black fog, is what it looked like, was growing larger until it exploded, taking an almost human form.

“Stay together and don’t move!” Aizawa yelled out, and you knew this wasn’t apart of any training.

You shared a worried glance with Kirishima, before looking back towards the portal-like being. A hand came out of it and your heartbeat picked up speed in nerves.

“Thirteen protect the students!”

“Was is that thing?” Kirishima gasped out as a figure attached to the hand you saw walked out. Many others following him out, tons of people, making you heavily outnumbered.

“Has the training started already? Weren't we just rescuing people?” Eijiro continued.

“Eijiro I don’t think this is apart of the training-” You gulped, your throat feeling very dry as you spoke up, but were cut off by your teachers shouting.

“STAY BACK!” You all flinched at how sharp his words were, while he was never the kindest, he was never harsh. Just tired and annoyed all the time, you’ve never heard this tone before.

You felt even more nervous when you saw Aizawa put his goggles on. What was going on, was this real? Could this many people really break into a U.A. area so easily?

"This is real. Those are villains." Aizawa said, and feeling as if he read your mind. You could only watch as more and more people piled out of the black smoke.

"So you scumbags used the press as coverage, a way to sneak onto campus." Aizawa grunted, you saw his hands twitching, most likely trying to think of a plan.

You felt shaken to your very core, you're entire life you've been surrounded by Pro Hero activity and not once did you deal with villains this close.

"Where is he!?" A voice echoed throughout.

You tried to calm yourself down, steeling your resolve. A panic attack or being frozen in shock wouldn’t help you in this mess. You needed to be level-headed, ready to make a quick and precise decision when the time came.

“What would dad do?” You thought to yourself. Clenching your fist, you were trying to think of a plan, some type of action, anything.

"How could so many villains get into a U.A. facility?" Eijiro asked, looking hard down on where they all stood next to each other.

"Yea Thirteen, why aren't the alarms going off?" Your head snapped to Momo. They couldn't have been that smart.

"Don't tell me.." You whispered, "they knew what they wanted was here so they learned how to bypass the security system?" Thirteen stared straight ahead at the villains.

"Not sure, that's a good guess."

"If that's the case," Todoroki's voice cut through the air," is this their only target? Or is the entire school under attack too?"

You looked back and made eye contact with him, both staring at one another believing that it would give you some answers.

"Either way, if the alarms aren't sounding off.."

"They must have someone who has a quirk to mask their presence here." He finished for you. You nodded in agreement, looking back to the ever growing ranks of the evildoers below.

"Whatever it is they're planning, they must think they can win." Todoroki continued.

"A concrete objective, they must've known a class was going to be here at this time, otherwise why base it all on chance." You finish his sentence this time, now trying to think of what exactly they could be after.

"Thirteen get them out of here, and alert main campus. If they have a way to block the sensors, they may have blocked our communications systems too. Kaminari," Aizawa continued, " Try to use your quirk to contact the school."

"Yes sir!" Denki replied, going straight to work trying to radio someone with his headpiece.

"What are you going to do!" Izuku shouted at Aizawa, fear burning in his eyes. It was always there, even on normal days, but this fear seemed to be more, running just as deep as yours.

"You can't fight too many on your own, no matter how strong your quirk is, it isn't suited for this type of combat! You're better at stealth and on-on-one, this is neither!"

Your teacher glanced back, his resolve hard and your eyes widened again.

"You can't be a pro if you only have one trick. I'll leave it to you Thirteen." Then he took off, you could only watch in amazement and worry as your teacher, who was being a bad ass as he began to fend off the villains.

‘Like a real Pro.’

You quickly snapped out of your thoughts when the others started to run towards the exit from Thirteen's signal. You looked over your shoulder and say Izuku staring down at Aizawa fight.

"Izuku this isn't the best time to fanboy, let's go now."

"OH right!" He said while running with you to catch up with the other students.

Before being able to reach the doors, the dark swirling aura formed on the ground, springing up into the air and taking shape. It's, what you could only assume to be, eyes stared at you all, thundering voice shaking you to the core.

"There is no escape for you."

You took a defensive stance, your heart rate spiking once more. The shadow figure was huge, making you crane your neck up almost painfully to see the area of what could be his face. His eyes were slanted and growing brightly, contrasting with his body.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. We are the League of Villains. This may be impolite, but we took it upon ourselves to come without your invitation, to say hello."

"Besides," You heard it chuckle, such an evil sounding one at that, "Wouldn't this be a fitting place for AllMight, your Symbol of Peace, to take his final breath?"

You gasped.

"He was supposed to be here today was he not? And yet I see no sign of him. I'm sure there was a change of plans that we have not foreseen. Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter."

He spread his arms out wide, and you kept your guard up.

‘Was he going for an attack? Why do these guys want AllMight? What’s the goal?’ Your head was swirling from all the uncertainties.

But you knew one thing for certain, you couldn't hesitate. You couldn't stop just because you were afraid. You're friends and classmates were here with you, and you weren't going up against any simulation. It was all real. They could be hurt, you could be hurt. You can't rely on anyone else, even if you aren't the strongest, there was no excuse for not giving it your all to protect everyone. Like you're father always told you,

“A hero never believes in excuses.”

You charged up and sprinted forward, willing the light in your hands to burn hot and take a solid shape at your fists, only to try to shoot off a hot blast at the villain as a way to not get too close. You briefly noticed Bakugou and Kirishima jumping along with you, before your vision filled with smoke from one of Bakugou's blasts

"Did you really think we were going to stand around and let you tear this place to shreds!" Kirishima yelled out, standing tall next to you both.

You grit your teeth, eyes searching for any sign of movement. Reeling back in shock as he began to appear with the dissipating smoke, cackling as he talked.

"You really live up to your schools reputation. But you should be more careful children. Otherwise someone might get hurt."

"You three get out of the way right now!" You heard Thirteen yell from behind, and when you looked at her you noticed the tip of her finger on her suit was opened.

"I'll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades, and your deaths!"

A black fog blocked your vision, and you could only cover your eyes as it overtook everything. You grunted out, the only thing you were able to do was try to remain standing against the harsh whirlpools it was making.

"Crap, what is this!?" Eijiro yelled, and even though he was standing right next to you, he sounded miles away.

You felt the ground give way beneath you, and that's when you started to fall. A small yelp of pain escaped your lips as your back slammed against the ground. You winced, quickly taking in air through your clench teeth, trying to make the black spots in your vision disappear. When you could finally breathe again, you looked at your surroundings, noticing you were in some type of abandoned office room, in a beat up building.

You winced while sitting up, a dull pain shooting down your spine as you did so. You heard a groan from beside you and quickly looked over to the noise.

"Eijiro are you alright?" He landed just like you did, but thankfully he has his quirk activated, which must've helped preventing my damage from the fall.

"(y/n)? Shit are you okay?" He questioned, getting up and pulling you with him.

"Yeah I'm fine. Where are we-" You heard someone coming up behind you and fast, so you dropped down in a crouch while kicking your leg out, allowing your quirk to propel your kick, despite how much your body ached from the sudden movement after your fall. You made a man tumble then crash to the ground face first, which gave you enough time to back away with Kirishima.

"You two fuckers watch out!" A familiar voice yelled out, as you were bombarded on all sides by different villains alike.

You and Kirishima went back to back as they circled you. Feeling another arm touch yours, you glance and saw Bakugou. You three formed a triangle, making sure to watch each others blind spots. You were so short compared to them, that your shoulders barley hit the top of their biceps.

You shot off a beam of light, making sure to keep it burning hot unlike how it was during your fight against Iida. You weren’t looking to hurt Iida during that battle so you made sure to turn the heat down. Using it more as a blinding method, unlike now, making sure to have it hurt.

You three fought hard, but if you were being honest, the villains weren't all that great at combat. These had to be low level thugs seeing as you were knocking them out in seconds flat. Your body temperature began to rise, but not to the point where you were being weakened.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a large man go to swing at Bakugou, even with his normally sharp reaction time it didn't look like he'd be able to dodge him, he had his hands full with 3 other people. You felt yourself move without thinking twice, taking a running jump and getting high above them.

"Bakugou duck!" He surprisingly did what you asked, throwing a quick look your way before ducking down and sending an explosion to the villains in his front.

You came down fast, punching the man in the face with your quirk activated, before twisting your body and using his as a way to propel off of him. He fell with a thud and you landed in a squat, immediately, jumping up to smash your fists into someone else's gut. You grunted out when you were hit from behind, and tumbled to the ground.

"You kids are nothing more than a nuisance, just stand still and let us kill you quickly." A blade lightly cut your cheek as you barley managed to roll out of the way in time.

"Shut the hell up, I'm going to be the one to fucking kill you! SAY GOODBYE" Bakugou roared, blasting into the guy who was towering above you, breaking the windows of the already broken training room. Giving you enough time to get back up and dodge someone else who came at you.

Their numbers were dwindling, and you saw while the three of you had minor cuts and scrapes, no large injuries were present. You grinned, wiping the blood off of your face while letting light travel up your arms.

"Let's finish this!"

One of the last people of the group came up to you, he was decked out in heavy armor and had a large sword. You dodged their efforts to swing it at you, noticing he was going pretty slow, swinging blindly as if he didn’t know how to use his weapon. You made your light sold around your hands and caught the weapon mid swing, making him grunt out in surprise.

“What the-”

You willed your hands to heat up, so hot that it began to melt the sword. Using this distraction as an advantage, you brought one hand back and knocked him backwards. He stumbled from you punch and was knocked to the ground when another body slammed into him, someone Kirishima had punched the same time you did.

You took in large amounts of air, trying to calm your raging heart and bring your body heat down some.You arms were smoking due to the temperature you had to use to melt the sword but you felt good, everyone else seemed to be knocked down or too hurt to get up, and you three were still standing. You saw the boys breathing hard as well, but grins on each of their faces. Well, a smirk in Bakugou’s case, but it had to count for something.

“That looks like the last of these guys, what a bunch of weaklings.”

“They were too weak, even with their large numbers. Did they really think they could take out AllMight?” You questioned, walking over to stand in between them.

“Who know, they were dumb asses.” Bakugou shrugged while looking at you.

You nodded in response, but still felt uneasy. There was no way that many people would’ve walked to their deaths if they didn’t have reassurance they could take down the number 1 hero.

“Well even so, let’s go and find the rest of our class.” Kirishima chimed in.

"If the three of us are still in the U.S.J, I'm sure everyone else is. And not all of them have the offensive skills we do. We have to make sure they're safe, especially since we screwed things up and gotten in the way earlier! If Thirteen would have just sucked up that villain, we never would have been separated!" He continued, eyes screwed shut in obviously guilt.

"Eijiro we made a choice and we should stick by it, whether it was a good one or not. A moment's hesitation can be the weakness needed to get killed." You placed a now cooled hand on his shoulder, trying to make sure he saw that what you three did wasn't in vain.

"We still owe it to them to go help!"

"You wanna take the time to track everyone down, have fun, but I'm going to go destroy that warpy bastard." Bakugou huffed, eyes set into a glare.

"Huh? But our physical attacks didn't hurt that guy, c'mon don't be an idiot man."

"SHUT UP! I'm going to take him down because he's their only way in and out, don't you get it? If we cut off the escape route they'll be forced to stay here and pay for all the shit they've done. We'll figure it out."

"Eijiro, I think I agree with Bakugou. Even if we don't know just yet how to take him down we have to give it a shot. Plus we don't have time to search this large area to find everyone, we have to have tru-UGH." You staggered as a white hot pain made your arm throb.

You twisted your body, bringing your other arm up and around, punching the chameleon-looking villain and slamming him back a bit. He was still standing, so you went to rush back at him. However, an arm draped across your chest, pushing you back before an explosion was released in their other palm. Immense heat making your hair fly back as Bakugou took the guy down for the count.

Bakugou's arm dropped from holding you, and he turned away from the body on the floor.

"Anyway, if all these villains are small fries like these guys were, then our classmates can handle them." He looked into your eyes before down at your arm.

It was an open cut, and it was bleeding.

"You okay? Geez, that reaction time was insane! Both of you." Kirishima held your arm as carefully as he could, panicking on what to do. You removed his hands gently.

"I'm good, let me close it up. I learned this trick a while back." You allowed heat to enter a single finger, bringing it up to the wound and started to cauterize it. You were biting your lip at the pain, the burning was worse than the actual cut itself. You missed the looks of admiration both boys gave you for it.

Slowly but surely you were able to use the heat to close your wound.

"It's going to scar but at least it won't bleed out. Thanks for the save Bakugou."

"Yeah whatever."

"Wait, since when does Bakugou act so calm and rational?" Kirishima muttered to himself, but you two still heard it.

"Usually you're the opposite, acting like uh.."

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" You finished for him mimicking Bakugou, laughing with Kirishima while doing so.

"I'M ALWAYS CALM AND RATIONAL SHITTY HAIR!"

"Yea just like that!" You smiled, he huffed at you while turning away.

"You can go find the others if you want shitty hair, we'll go find that warp bastard." Bakugou started to walk away, expecting you to follow. You were about to protest before Eijiro spoke out.

"Wait hold up, I think what you're really saying is you believe in our classmates, and that's thinking like a man Bakugou!" He slammed his fists together with a smirk, his hardening quirk activated.

Bakugou stared firmly at him, not agreeing but not disagreeing. You're glad Kirishima understood what he was trying to really say, even though his tough guy act wouldn't crumble. You had to trust your classmates to be okay, because you had to look at the bigger picture. You smiled at the boys, determination set in your gaze.

"Let's go kick some ass shall we?"

304 notes · View notes

yamayamawrites · 5 years ago

Text

Switched - Part 2

A/N: Hi everyone! I’m so thankful for the wonderful reception to the first part of my fic, Switched! I released part 2 on AO3 (find it here) a few days ago, and I’ve been meaning to upload it here, so here’s part 2! Once again, @amit-crabcrab is wholly responsible for the amazing concept and even better fanart that inspired this fic. Hope you enjoy!!

Waking up in Tsukkishima’s body was no less jarring than it was the day before. Kageyama had been hoping, praying that maybe the entire thing was a nightmare, but when he woke up and couldn’t see five feet in front of him, a scowl formed on his face and he nearly slammed his hands onto the glasses on the bedside table.

He grabbed for Tsukki’s phone and sent a quick text to Tsukkageyama only to be startled half to death when not even a minute later Tsukkageyama pushed the bedroom door open. “My—I mean, your—mom let me in,” he said with a shrug, dropping a bag at the door and closing the door behind him.

“Do you remember that shrine visit?” Kageyama blurted. Tsukkageyama raised an eyebrow at him.

“That was over a month ago. I thought of that, too,” Tsukkageyama admitted. “But I don’t think it’s that.”

“Well that’s the only thing that makes any sense in my mind,” Kageyama replied with a defeated shrug. “But whatever.”

“Can you please put some actual clothes on?” Tsukkageyama said in a mock-disgusted tone. “I’m sitting here looking at myself shirtless and it’s kind of uncomfortable.”

Kageyama stuck out his tongue, but he obliged, throwing his legs off the side of the bed and standing. He still wasn’t used to this new lanky height and found himself stumbling a bit with his first few steps. I probably look like a toddler, he thought with a grimace, but Tsukkageyama didn’t comment. He threw on some clothes for the day, somehow not even minding that Tsukkageyama was watching, because after all it was his body, not Kageyama’s.

“So, you and Hinata,” Tsukkageyama whistled as Kageyama flopped back down onto the bed. “Can’t say I didn’t see it coming.”

“Shut up,” Kageyama growled back. “You and Yamaguchi are together too.”

“We have been for almost a year,” Tsukkageyama responded, idly picking at Kageyama’s pristine fingernails. “Pretty much everyone knows.”

“Is that why you freaked out so much when I said that last night on the phone?” Kageyama sneered, watching himself—Tsukkageyama—become flustered once again. Even though Tsukki wasn’t in his own body, it still felt strange to see him this nervous and jumpy. Kageyama thought that despite the cool demeanor Tsukkageyama wore, he really was terrified of their current situation.

“Okay, so maybe not everyone knows. I’d like you to keep it a secret,” Tsukkageyama refused to look over at Kageyama as he spoke.

“Ditto,” Kageyama replied. “Hinata and I haven’t really decided what we are yet, and we wanted to wait until we did to tell anyone…” Kageyama felt backed into a corner. The last person he ever wanted to figure out about his and Hinata’s relationship was, in fact, Tsukkishima, but now he couldn’t help but tell Tsukkageyama the details of their relationship in order for Tsukkageyama to not screw it up.

This whole situation was a hot mess, and Kageyama honestly had no idea how to deal with it. Based on the furrowed brows and scowl on Tsukkageyama’s face, he also had no idea how to deal with the fact that they had switched bodies. After all, this wasn’t really something one could Google and find a WikiHow article on how to reverse a body-switch.

“Where are we going today?” Kageyama asked finally, breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them.

“Well, I told Yamaguchi it would be a surprise,” Tsukkageyama replied with all the vigor of Tsukki. “We could go anywhere.”

“How about a movie?”

“Yamaguchi doesn’t like movie dates. He likes to talk.”

Kageyama scowled. Hinata also didn’t like movie dates because he’d gotten kicked out of so many theaters for making sound effects where he thought they should be in movies. Kageyama had to remind the boy multiple times that when characters kiss, it doesn’t make the “SMOOCHY” sound that Hinata always emphasized.

“Dinner?” Tsukkageyama suggested. “I mean, it’s not ideal, but—”

Kageyama’s phone rang. Tsukkageyama picked it up and immediately groaned. “It’s Shrimpy,” he grumbled.

“Well, answer it!”

“He calls you too damn much.”

“Answer the phone!”

Somehow Kageyama didn’t even have to ask for Tsukkageyama to put the phone on speaker mode. He really just wanted to hear Hinata’s voice, the way he talked to him and only him. It sounded sappy, but that was because it was, and Kageyama didn’t mind being sappy when it came to that little ball of sunshine.

“Ka-ge-ya-ma!” Hinata sang into the phone. “Are we hanging out today?”

“Yes,” Tsukkageyama groaned. Kageyama sent him a warning glare.

“Okay, because there’s this super cool festival happening right now! It’s kind of small but there’s food carts and a few games and stuff—”

“Okay.”

“Gwaah!”

“That’s not a real word.”

Kageyama sent Tsukkageyama a warning kick to the side. Both of them flinched.

“I’m on my way to your house now!”

“Wait – Hinata,” Tsukkageyama suddenly had a look of panic on his face.

“Yes?”

“I’ll…meet you there. I’m not home right now.”

“Where could Kageyama be at such an early hour?” Hinata hummed on the other side of the phone, and Kageyama really wanted to grab the phone from Tsukkageyama’s hand and tell him everything, tell him how they switched bodies and how much he missed Hinata—but Tsukkageyama had just mumbled a “you’ll see” into the phone and hung up.

“Here’s the plan,” Tsukkageyama spoke sternly to Kageyama now. “We’re going to go shopping. You’re going to tell me what Shrimpy likes, and I’m going to tell you what Yamaguchi likes. We’re going to suck it up and play good boyfriends, and after that we’ll deal with…this situation.” He gestured between the two of them.

“Right.” Kageyama wasn’t used to Tsukkageyama taking charge like this. The only time Tsukki had ever taken charge like this was during a match, when he was timing out blocks, and even then he simply said “ready, and”. There was never an explicit plan laid out like he’d just done. He watched Tsukkageyama fidget – something that Kageyama had never seen Tsukki do – and knew that Yamaguchi must be special to him, for him to be this worried about everything.

That’s not to say Kageyama wasn’t worried, because he was. But his and Hinata’s relationship was new, and while Kageyama would love to have kissed Hinata the night before and not Yamaguchi, he knew that Tsukki and Yamaguchi were practically inseparable, and that this must be hell for Tsukkageyama.

Did he actually feel bad for that asshole?

He didn’t have long to dwell on whether or not the feeling in his chest was frustration that he couldn’t see Hinata or frustration that Tsukkageyama couldn’t spend time with Yamaguchi. Tsukkageyama pushed himself up off the bed and grabbed his bag. “Let’s go,” he said without looking back at Kageyama.

***

Shopping with Tsukkageyama, as much as Kageyama hated to admit it, was kind of fun. Tsukkageyama had a habit of mumbling comments about other shoppers, saying things like “she really wore that out in public?” and “he looks like he doesn’t know how to use a hairbrush.” Kageyama would snicker behind his hand, admittedly practicing to play the role of Tsukkishima later during their double date.

As they idly walked around the store, looking for things to get each other’s boyfriends, they devised a plan. Kageyama had to pick Yamaguchi up, so Kageyama would text Tsukkageyama when they were on their way to the festival. Tsukkageyama and Hinata would buy lunch at a nearby stand and sit at a table in clear sight from the direction that Kageyama and Yamaguchi would be coming from. Once Hinata spotted Kageyama (Tsukkishima) and Yamaguchi, there was not doubt in either of their minds that Hinata would wave them over, and the group would – like magic – be on a double date.

That was the hope, anyways, as Kageyama picked out a small crow stuffed animal and gave it to Tsukkageyama. “Hinata loves stuffed animals,” he mumbled, cheeks turning somewhat pink. He hated the feeling of not getting the stuffed animal for Hinata himself; even since before they were dating, Kageyama treated Hinata to stuffed animals for special occasions. One time, he even found a calico cat plushie to commemorate a training camp with Nekoma.

Tsukkageyama didn’t say anything about Kageyama’s blushing. Instead, he led Kageyama to the flowers aisle. “Yamaguchi really likes flowers and gardening, so, um…just pick some.” Tsukkageyama wore the same frustrated blush Kageyama did as Kageyama tried to decide between two bouquets. Finally, he settled for one with orange and white lilies. The two paid for their respective gifts, and Tsukkageyama gave Kageyama directions to Yamaguchi’s house.

When they parted ways, Kageyama felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. This was really happening, and so much could go wrong in the span of a single day that he felt like his heart might beat out of his chest. He followed Tsukkageyama’s directions carefully (he’d sent them in a text while making fun of Kageyama’s short-term memory) and made it to Yamaguchi’s house much faster than he’d made it home the night before with Tsukkageyama’s directions. He wondered vaguely if Tsukkageyama had been messing with him the night before. Probably, he concluded.

He sent Tsukkageyama a text that he’d made it to Yamaguchi’s house. Just before Kageyama called to say he was outside, Yamaguchi swung open the door, smiling sweetly. “Hey, Tsukki,” he chirped, then looked down and saw the bouquet Kageyama had so carefully carried all the way here. “Oh! Are those for me?”

“Who else would they be for?” Kageyama asked in the most Tsukki tone he could muster; it must have worked, because Yamaguchi giggled and grabbed the bouquet, then planted a kiss on his cheek.

“I’ll go put these in water, then we can go. Where are we going, anyways?”

“You’ll see.”

Somehow, Kageyama felt much more relaxed on their walk to the festival than he had felt the day before. This time he listened to Yamaguchi rattle on, and maybe had he listened the day before he could have gathered just how much Yamaguchi loved to garden; he talked endlessly about the status of a few vegetable plants he was growing, as well as some sunflowers that he said reminded him of Hinata, then laughed. Kageyama smiled at this, thinking once again of Hinata as they turned a corner and headed toward the festival.

“Oh, Tsukki, you said you didn’t like festivals!” Yamaguchi’s face lit up.

“It’s not always about me,” Kageyama responded. He found it easy to act like Tsukki when it was just him and Yamaguchi; he didn’t have a grumpy face that made things like this sound cranky when he said them to Hinata. He decided maybe the best idea for the night was to act like Yamaguchi was Hinata—

But that wouldn’t be happening, he decided, when they saw Hinata and Tsukkageyama sitting together. Hinata had the crow plushie stuffed under his arm, and he wore the absolute cutest summer outfit. Nothing could top the real Hinata, he decided quickly.

As if on cue, Hinata stood and waved the second he saw Yamaguchi and Kageyama (Tsukki). Tsukkageyama turned around and – was that a smile? Yamaguchi waved to the two with a shy smile, then looked up at Kageyama. “Tsukki, did you know they’d be here?”

“N-no,” Kageyama replied. Maybe he wasn’t entirely used to acting like Tsukkishima.

“Yamaguchi, Tsukkishima! Over here!”

When they sat, Yamaguchi let his knees bump against Kageyama’s under the table. Kageyama wondered if this was similar to the nervous tick Hinata had; whenever Hinata was unsure of himself, he would tap his fingers in a certain pattern on Kageyama’s shoulder, palm, whatever was closest. And, if Kageyama was able, he’d get Hinata out of that situation. Again, something they’d been doing long before they started dating.

“What are you guys doing here?” Tsukkageyama asked, trying his best to sound like actual Kageyama.

“Tsukki brought me here,” Yamaguchi replied with a smile over at Kageyama. “We’re on a—”

“Friend date!” Hinata piped up quickly, his cheeks and ears red with embarrassment. “Yup, us too! Right, Kageyama?”

“Oh, um, yeah,” Tsukkageyama nodded. His eyes were trained on Kageyama with a look of subtle horror in his eyes as both of them came to the realization that either they would have to admit they were dating, or they would continue in this unsettling atmosphere.

“How’s your face?” Hinata asked Kageyama, sneering a bit. “Kageyama got you good, didn’t he?”

“Oh—um, it’s fine,” Kageyama struggled, being put under the spotlight far too quickly. “I deserved it.”

That shocked everyone at the table, including Tsukkageyama, who made a quick sputtering noise and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry I did that,” he said finally, and it sounded much too sincere to be coming from either Tsukki or Kageyama.

Kageyama waved it off after the momentary shock and the group instead shifted to discussing some television show that Hinata and Yamaguchi both enjoyed. Hinata was trying to explain the plot to Tsukkageyama while Yamaguchi argued about how the two main characters were obviously in love to Kageyama. Both of them looked at each other from the corners of their eyes, completely confused because neither one of them had seen a single episode of the show.

It became harder and harder for Kageyama to watch Hinata mindlessly drum his fingers on Tsukkageyama’s hand. That should be me, he thought stubbornly, and he didn’t even notice how hard he was glaring until Yamaguchi nudged him with his knee under the table. “Is something wrong?” Yamaguchi asked in a hushed tone, moving his face a bit closer to Kageyama’s.

“N-no, it’s nothing,” Kageyama flushed a bit and felt somewhat guilty. No matter how much he despised Tsukkishima, he’d never want to do something to jeopardize his relationship with Yamaguchi.

“Well, you look angrier than usual. We can go do something else, if you want—”

“Yamaguchi and I are going to go play some games,” Kageyama announced in as bored of a tone as he could muster. Hinata and Tsukkageyama looked over at him, almost quizzically, but soon Kageyama and Yamaguchi were on their feet and heading towards the game stalls.

“I want to play something too, Ka-ge-ya-ma!” Hinata sang in that same way he’d done multiple times already. Tsukkageyama wondered what it would sound like if Yamaguchi said his name in a singsong way like that. He concluded after a moment that it would sound terrible; he liked the nickname Tsukki all too much.

“Bet I can beat you at the ring toss,” Tsukkageyama decided the most Kageyama-like thing to do would be to induce competition.

“Oh, you’re on!” Hinata laughed, a bright and sunny laugh that reminded him of the way Yamaguchi laughed when it was just the two of them. He sighed and glanced around, catching sight of Yamaguchi playing some sort of rubber duck fishing game with Kageyama, their shoulders bumping. Both of them wore wide smiles.

Tsukkageyama had never taken Yamaguchi to a festival, despite knowing just how much his boyfriend enjoyed the people and the food and the sights. He’d never wanted to put himself willingly into that close of proximity with people for fear that they’d somehow read Tsukki’s mind and know that he was gay, and that he was dating his childhood friend. He wasn’t ashamed of Yamaguchi; he was afraid of admitting to anyone (himself, mostly) that he liked men. He loved Yamaguchi with all of his heart, and he wanted to protect Yamaguchi with his life, but still he found it exceedingly difficult to take Yamaguchi on dates where someone else might figure that out.

Hinata and Tsukkageyama bounded towards the ring toss stall, which was just a few stalls down from where Kageyama and Yamaguchi were. Kageyama stood close to Yamaguchi, and every once in a while Yamaguchi would lean up against him and smile up at him like he was the only person there. Tsukkageyama’s heart clutched and he forced himself to look away. He had gotten used to that look being special, being just for him; but he supposed that meant Kageyama was doing a good job playing the part of him, and that should be a good thing, right? Why did he feel so hurt?

“Hey, Kageyama,” Hinata tugged on Tsukkageyama’s sleeve. Some of his mannerisms secretly made Tsukkageyama wonder if maybe Kageyama was just into petite girls and he couldn’t get a girlfriend with his scary face, so he settled for the next best thing.

“What?” Tsukkageyama snapped back, but judging by the look on Hinata’s face, Kageyama didn’t bark at him like that when they were alone. “Sorry,” he added.

“It’s fine. You just seem a little tenser than usual. Did you not want to spend time with Tsukkishima and Yamaguchi? Because I’m sorry, I spoke without thinking—”

“It’s alright,” Tsukkageyama said quickly.

“Do you think they’re dating?” Hinata followed up in a genuinely thoughtful tone. “I mean, they’re always so close. And Yamaguchi told me one time that Tsukkishima comes and spends the night a lot.”

“That doesn’t automatically mean they’re dating,” Tsukkageyama responded, trying to hide the fear and frustration in his tone.

“Well, yeah, but…” Hinata smiled up at him. “That’s how we got together, isn’t it?”

“I-I guess?” It was genuinely a question; Tsukkageyama had no idea how they got together.

Hinata laughed at the look of confusion on his face and turned his attention to the ring toss game. “Either way, they look happy together. I hope they’re happy.”

That sent Tsukkageyama’s head swirling. What did Hinata mean? Was that supposed to be some sort of joke? Tsukkishima had never taken the time to care about the Shrimp’s happiness before all of this, and up until this point, he hadn’t been planning on caring about it after. How come Hinata cared if he was happy or not? He never paid any attention to Hinata’s happiness, and he was sure Hinata had to know that.

Tsukkageyama must have zoned out, because he was brought back into reality with a swift kick to the back. He winced, and just a few stalls down he saw Kageyama wince, too, then scowl over at Tsukkageyama as if he was the one who had just kicked them in the back. “Earth to Kageyama,” Hinata giggled. “What’s up?”

“It’s nothing,” Tsukkageyama plastered a frown onto his face that he hoped looked similar to Kageyama’s. It must not have been quite right, because Hinata giggled even more.

“Are you sure? You look constipated.”

“Why do you care about m—Tsukkishima’s happiness?” he finally spat. He had to know.

“Oh,” Hinata shrugged. “He’s my teammate. He may be mean and all, but I still care about him. Because if he’s happy he plays volleyball better!” Hinata accentuated this with a pump of his fist to the air. “Besides, if he plays volleyball better, then it’s a real competition of who’s the best middle blocker!”

Tsukkageyama wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t that. He laughed, then, something he rarely did in his own body. Hinata watched him with a look of confusion. “Why’s that funny?”

“Because it all comes down to volleyball, like always,” Tsukkageyama sighed after he calmed down.

“Well, volleyball is my favorite thing. And that means you’re also my favorite thing by extension,” Hinata nudged into Tsukkageyama playfully, and Tsukkageyama’s face flushed. Yamaguchi said things like this to him, but they were rare and always followed up by a million apologies. However, Hinata was unapologetic and smiling, and he kind of liked that. Tsukkageyama didn’t know how Kageyama responded to these types of things, though, so he just smiled and tossed the rest of his rings at the bottles, missing every single one.

***

The four of them gathered again at a table for dinner. Yamaguchi carried a large chibi flower stuffed animal under his arm that Kageyama must have won for him, and Hinata and Tsukkageyama both had a variety of small, cheap plushies. The conversation flowed much better than it had earlier that day, and Kageyama hated to admit it, but Yamaguchi and Tsukki (inside Kageyama’s body or not) were quite fun to spend time with. He knew Hinata must have been having the same thoughts, because as Tsukkageyama and Hinata parted ways, Hinata exclaimed that “We should do this again soon!” as they walked away.

Once they were gone, Yamaguchi sidled up closer to Kageyama. “I think they’re dating,” he said finally.

“Yeah,” Kageyama mumbled, not entirely processing that wait, Yamaguchi had figured it out. His face flushed when he did have that realization.

“Well, it makes sense,” Yamaguchi shrugged. “They spend like, all their free time together.”

“I guess it does make some sense.” Kageyama inwardly panicked. Were they really that obvious? Did the whole team already know? He had to remind himself how surprised Tsukkageyama had been when he found out, despite having already guessed it.

“Do you want to spend the night? My parents aren’t home.”

Now, Kageyama would do a lot of things to keep them from getting found out—kissing, cuddling, hugging…but he would not lose his virginity to Yamaguchi. “S-sorry, I’ve got some homework to do. Maybe later this week?” He hoped in his suggestion that their bodies would switch back later that week.

“Oh. Yeah,” Yamaguchi plastered a smile on his face. Kageyama could immediately tell he’d upset the boy; he knew the look of a fake-smile all too well from the many times Hinata tried not to act offended when Kageyama said he had to go home after hours of after-school practice.

“I really am sorry,” Kageyama insisted. “Can I walk you home?”

“Yeah, sure.”

***

It had been a few days now that Kageyama and Tsukkishima were trapped in each other’s bodies. The two were getting antsy to find a solution, but so far their only lead they had was the shrine visit from over a month ago. After some feverish Googling, Kageyama and Tsukkageyama found the American film Freaky Friday, which may have been of some help if the two had gone to a cheap Chinese restaurant and gotten strange fortune cookies.

Kageyama had to quadruple check with Tsukkageyama that that didn’t happen. Each time, Tsukkageyama had to remind Kageyama that they didn’t go out to eat with each other. Like, ever.

Their acting slowly improved during volleyball practices to the point that they were acting mostly like themselves again on the court. Tsukkageyama even attempted a freak quick pass, which went well for the most part, except Hinata had to hit it with his left hand. Everyone in the club seemed to be off their trail.

Except for Suga.

Suga waited in the clubroom until Tsukkageyama and Kageyama were the last ones, idly fumbling with his gym bag. Before they could leave, he cleared his throat and put a smile on his face. “Hey, you two,” he chirped, “how about you take a seat?”

The two glanced at each other and swallowed thickly. Neither one of them had the guts to dash out the door and run forever from Suga, so they accepted their defeat and sat on the bench together, heads hung. “Now,” Suga began, “I might not be the smartest person on the team, but there’s a reason I’m called the most observant.”

Shit, Kageyama thought.

“You two are playing some sort of weird game,” Suga still wore his intimidating smile. “You’re acting like each other. Why?”

He doesn’t know, Tsukkageyama thought.

“We switched bodies—”

“We’re practicing for a play—”

The two spoke at the same time, then looked at each other in confusion. Suga shook his head. “I can’t understand you with both of you talking at once. One at a time, please.”

“We’re…practicing for a play?”

“Right! A play!”

Suga laughed out loud at this. “Yeah, right. You don’t have time for that,” he waved his hand dismissively. “What was that other thing?”

Kageyama looked at Tsukkageyama nervously. Both of them looked up finally, completely defeated. “We switched bodies,” they said together.

Suga laughed even harder at this – that is, until he noticed that neither of the boys in front of him were laughing. His laughter slowly died. “You…you are joking, right?”

“Sadly, no,” Tsukkageyama replied. “It’s been like this since last Friday.”

“Is that why—”

“Tsukkishima punched me in the face,” Kageyama replied, and Suga was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Tsukkishima had just referred to himself in the third person – no, that was Kageyama, not Tsukkishima.

“Jesus,” he sighed. “I thought you were just playing some stupid prank or something…”

“I wish,” they responded at the same time.

“Quit doing that!” Suga cried. “You’re freaking me out now.”

“Do you know how to help?” Kageyama asked desperately.

Suga tapped his chin in thought. “Have you seen the movie Freaky Friday?” he asked finally.

“We didn’t eat any Chinese food,” Tsukkageyama replied bluntly.

“Well, that’s not exactly what I mean. In the movie, the mom and the daughter don’t switch back until they do something nice for each other and see each other’s points of view. Have you tried that?”

“I’d rather smack our heads together,” Tsukkageyama droned.

“They do that in the movie too,” Kageyama noted. The two seemed all too eager to do that, and Suga had to throw himself between them to keep them from throwing their heads together.

“Bad plan,” Suga huffed as he separated the two. “Okay, we’ll keep this our little secret. Let’s have lunch together again today and we can try to figure it out.”

“Hinata will be upset if I bail again,” Tsukkageyama replied. Kageyama glanced over at him, shocked; some time after their visit to the festival, Tsukkageyama had started caring more about Hinata. He even stopped referring to him as Shrimpy to Kageyama.

“Well then maybe we can try after practice. Tsukki—Kageyama, is that okay with you?” Suga asked.

“I usually walk Yamaguchi home,” he replied, rubbing his neck. Suga groaned.

“This might be a little harder than we thought.”

***

They ended up settling for meeting at Suga’s apartment later that evening. Neither Tsukkageyama nor Kageyama commented on the fact that Suga lived alone; they both supposed they knew next to nothing about their upperclassman. By the time Kageyama arrived after walking Yamaguchi home, Tsukkageyama was already sitting on the floor across from Suga, drinking tea from a colorful mug.

Suga greeted Kageyama with a warm smile and a cup of tea for himself. “Tsukkishima and I were just trying to think of some things that might work,” he said as he led Kageyama into the apartment.

Despite how uncomfortable the atmosphere should have felt, the group spent a great deal of time laughing and joking with each other. It was especially strange when Suga heard Tsukkishima full on laugh the first time; of course, that voice had come from Kageyama, but Tsukkageyama was laughing, too.

They brainstormed for a good, long while, not even bothering about the time despite it being a school night. The best option they could come up with was to see one another’s point of view, like they did in that movie Freaky Friday, but slamming heads together was kept as a back-up option.

The group was startled from their brainstorming session when there was another knock at the door. “Shit,” Suga breathed, still wearing a smile as he pushed himself up and walked to the door. Kageyama and Tsukkageyama heard a muffled noise, then a yelp, then a door slam. “Wrong address!” Suga said quickly as he came back into the room, but neither of them bought it.

A little bit later, they said their good-byes and thanked Suga for everything. He waved them away, saying how he always enjoyed extra company. Tsukkageyama and Kageyama passed by Daichi in the hallway, who was seemingly trying to hide behind a fake plant. It only dawned on Kageyama as he was walking to Tsukkishima’s house what Daichi had been there for, but he tried to shake the thought away and imagined that maybe Daichi was just there to…study. Yeah, study. At around midnight on a school night. Of course.

That evening left him much to think about besides Daichi and Suga’s…study session. He wondered what it meant to see things from Tsukkishima’s point of view. He supposed seeing out of Tsukkishima’s eyes was the ultimate view of his point of view, but obviously that wasn’t the answer. Plus, he was getting antsy. Not being able to set to Hinata was eating away at him, and he felt like he might explode in a heap of jealousy soon if he watched Tsukkageyama set even one more poorly-received toss to Hinata.

#kagehina #tsukkiyama #haikyuu!!#volleyball #kageyama tobio #hinata shouyou #tsukkishima kei #yamaguchi tadashi #switched!au

34 notes · View notes

szivtalan · 4 years ago

Note

8, 9, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 53, 55, 57, 58, 59, 62, 64, 65, 70 (aside from Kagami 😂), 71, 72, 79, 82, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 for the "Asks, why not" thing please? (Omg that's soo much, I'm sorry I got carried away ^^')

8) Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself)

Average height, bordering on short. Broad shoulders, thick arms and thighs, square face, slightly projecting ears (one pierced, one with a stretched lobe), bushy arched brows, thick square glasses, faded dark red hair, dark brown eyes, butt chin. I look pale and perpetually sleep deprived.

9) What do you/did you study?

I was in a teacher’s training program for English and Hungarian language and literature, and I’m planning to go back to school to study sociology!

16) What do you look for in a SO?

Consciously: understanding, fun, sweet, kind and accepting. Unconsciously: somewhat broken and in dire need of emotional help which I’m desperate to provide lmao.

19) Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands?

Eh, u know, it depends? I don’t think I’m fit for a serious relationship right now, so I’d prefer casual stuff atm, but on the long run I do want a partner to share my life with.

20) What are your deal breakers?

Really obnoxious people, ignorance and bigotry I guess. And I’m not keen on someone pushing or disrespecting my boundaries, either.

21) How was your day?

It was good!! My bro, his girlfriend and my friend tagged along to get our (me and my soon-to-be sis-in-law’s) ears pierced, and then my friend and I got a loot of food. I didn’t exactly feel good enough abt myself to be comfortable outside, but I got a lot of random kindness and that was Nice.

22) Favourite food & drink

Food: teriyaki chicken and seafood pasta, drink: ginger ale and iced coffee

23) What position do you sleep in?

I sleep half-curled up on my side, but I need to toss and turn a little until I find The Best Position.

25) Your fears

The dark, needles, rabbits (I don’t even know, dude), the fact that I’ll die without having made an impact on the world, being spoken about behind my back, being a bad influence on my friends.

28) Any pets?

Not right now! I used to have two rottweilers around the house growing up, but they both passed away sadly.

29) What are your hobbies?

Writing, sketching, basketball, getting on people’s nerves, researching typology, watchin movies idk?

31) What was your last awkward situation?

Asjhdh the ticket control guy told me to “Have a safe trip” and I said “You too!”. This rarely happens to me tho

32) What is your last regret?

Not holding my friend’s hand on public transport. It was…right…there….and she already told me she’s more than comfortable with physical touch! I’m a fool! Everyone thinks I hate touching but I don’t! I’m just shy!

34) Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.)

Ehh. Kind of? As for believing, I believe more in ghosts, but I do see some patterns in different signs. I just try not to let it affect the way I see/interact with a person, because no one deserves to be prejudiced for whatever reason, especially not their date of birth. Tarot is just fun, and the cards r cool

35) Have any quirks?

I bite the skin on my fingers, scratch my acne, make my knees jump… most of it is just regular anxiety stuff tho so idk?? I do think I’m quirky, but there’s just too much weird stuff to list ‘em.

36) Your pet peeves

Cig/booze stink on a person, customers being rude, bigotry, interrupting other people… There’s quite some things that annoy me asjdgd

40) Last 5 things from your search history

Boku No Hero Academia, Hawks, duck emoji, Grumman fma, How To Train Your Dragon

41) What’s your device backgrounds?

My phone lockscreen rn is a beautiful KagaKuro fanart of them standing in the rain in yukatas, Kagami looming over Kuroko and shielding him from the rain and Kuroko reaching up to stroke his face; my phone background is an art of they/them pronouns tattooed on someone’s knuckles, their posture unsure; my laptop background is a screenshot from the movie Déva, of blue skies and a street lamp.

42) What do you daydream about?

…cu..cuddling,,my…crush……..

44) What's your religion/Your thought about religion

Short version: barf

Long version: I was raised catholic (even tho I was never baptized), and attended catholic school for 8 years which gave me a really warped idea of Christianity, Which made me a cynic & an agnostic or atheist by proxy. I harshly criticize the catholic church and faith but sometimes… when I do feel hopeless I get down on my knees and pray, so I guess if I let myself find my own faith I’d be a believer. But right now, I’m good just existing in my nihilistic bubble

45) Your personality type

Needy imeanwhat. In a typological sense, I’m an INFP in Myers-Briggs, 4 core 5 wing in Enneagram, melancholic or sanguine in the temperaments, et cetera. Basically I’m a sad daydreamer with unresolved issues and a need to do Art

47) Are you happy with your current life?

Nah bro. I like my friends and my workplace but I’d like to move out of home ASAP. I’d also… like to get therapy before I go and put myself out there.

48) Some things you've tried in your life

Playing the guitar, hostess work, weed, cigarettes, being blackout drunk, smoking from a hookah, cooking, football, handball, basketball, volleyball, cycling, sailing, driving, hitchhiking long distances, folk dancing, one-night stands, long-distance relationships, helping people in need…

50) Favourite colour to wear?

Olive green, midnight/navy blue, white, grey and black.

53) If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be?

I’d… like to know how it would feel if I had a flat chest and a penis? I also want bigger Guns, and Abs, some more tattoos and maybe an eyebrow piercing.

55) Do you get complimented often?

I think so? I usually brush off compliments uhhh but yeah maybe! Maybe idk

58) Songs you're currently obsessed with?

My friend’s playlist reminded me that ‘Phenomenon’ by Thousand Foot Krutch exists. I’m also really into ‘San Francisco’ by The Mowgli’s atm and ‘Golden Time Lover’ by Sukima Switch!

59) Song you normally wouldn't admit you like.

I mean, it’s not like it’s cringe or anything, I hate cringe culture BUT. I do have Ariana Grande’s ‘Side to Side’ stuck in my head rn

64) Can you sing or play any instruments?

I can sing pretty badly, play a bad tune on my guitar, drum on the edge of my table, so- Nah not really asdh

65) Do you like karaoke?

YES VERY MUCH I live and die for karaoke, last time I did it in front of an audience we sung the Shaman King opening at an anime con with friends, it was Rad

70) Your fictional crush/es

AH NO FUN Kagami’s my number one,,, let’s see then: Aomine, Roy Mustang, Kise, Mikoto Suoh, Hotch & Reid from Criminal Minds, Yagami Light, Jaime Lannister and Brienne from GoT, Rustin Cohle from True Detective, Shizuo Heiwajima from Durarara!!!, why is this list full of men I didn’t think I liked men this much

71) Which fictional character is you?

Eddie Brock from Venom I mean? He’s a whole ass mess.

79) How much time do you spend on the internet?

Yike. More than I’d be proud of.

86) Would you use death note, if you had one?

No way dude. I don’t fuck with that shit, karma would fuck me right back.

87) What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to?

I’d eliminate money and power and just make it a huge peaceful hippie community or something idk

90) What would you want to happen to you after your death?

Donate me to a medical school I don’t care. Make use of me! I’m gonna be dead, I won’t have any more feelings left to be hurt or anything asdghdsg

91) If you had to change your name, what would be your pick?

I’ve had a name in mind that I tried out once, but it didn’t really work out for me after all. I’m fine with Vee and Vic rn. Anything that isn’t my given name. I do want to change my surname to my mother’s, but if I do that I also want to give myself a different first name, and since That isn’t figured out yet, I’m just?? Call me whatever dude

94) Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true

Ugh, I’m bad at these. 1) I have plenty of moles. 2) My eyesight is pretty good. 3) I’ve broken some bones before.

95) Cold or hot?

Cold in beverage, hot in weather.

96) Be a hero or be a villain?

Being a villain is way too much fun, but I have too strong of a conscience to pull that off, so… hero, I guess.

97) Sing everything you want to say or rhyme?

Asjhdf singing is funnier and more annoying, since I Cannot Sing

98) Shapeshifting or controlling time?

Dude I’m non-binary. Shapeshifting for Sure

99) Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death?

Aight I’ll give in – I agree to immortality Just This Once.

#this was LONG as FUK #ask and i shall answer #i kindly skipped those i've already answered ^^'#thank u buddy!!!#meiyanaalexia #i didn't think i'd get too real with this but here i am

4 notes · View notes

marshmallowgoop · 5 years ago

Note

What are your unlimited thoughts about Satsunon? I free you from the limits of the train >:D

Aw, Anon, the train was supposed to save y’all from the boredom of reading my novel-length essays ^^;

But if you’re really interested in a book on my bad take (thank you!!), I’ll say that I was initially gonna answer this ask by kinda just pasting what I wrote about Satsunon in this post right over here, where I explained:

Nonon definitely puts Satsuki up on a pedestal, but I think that after the events of the series, Nonon could absolutely grow and come to see Satsuki as an equal. Satsuki, too, could finally feel safe in fully letting Nonon in.

I’m a total sucker for the “childhood friend” trope, so. It was also inevitable that I’d like this one.

Plus, Sushio totally encourages the pair with stuff like this adorable after-series fanart of Nonon about to give Satsuki flowers!!

And, heck, even his character sheets in LOVE LOVE KLKL make me go, “Aww!”

Satsuki may not be the most open with her emotions until the end of the show, but I think she clearly loves Nonon and loves having Nonon in her life. This couple has a lot of sweet potential.

But looking back, this really ain’t my unlimited thoughts about Satsunon at all! And though I won’t go that far here—both for the sake of my readers and myself—there is definitely a lot more that I can expand and elaborate upon.

First of all, please, please don’t take this the wrong way, but while I like Satsunon as a pairing, I also believe, as noted in the little bit I pasted above, that steps have to be taken in order for Satsuki and Nonon to have a healthy romantic partnership.

And I want to stress: I don’t at all mean this as a bad thing. I don’t at all think it’s a bad thing for characters to change and grow and learn to treat each other better, especially if they’re doing so together; there’s a reason that I love Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship so much, after all! Those two certainly don’t start out in a great place, but they get there by the end of the series. (And I cry, seriously.)

But unlike Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship, Kill la Kill doesn’t devote much time to explicitly focusing on the bond shared between Satsuki and Nonon, so we don’t get to see the same kind of development for them. But like Ryuko and Senketsu’s relationship, both Satsuki and Nonon must also make an effort to better respect and love each other in order for them to have a more positive, beneficial connection, and just like with Ryuko and Senketsu, I would love to see Satsuki and Nonon’s journey in doing so.

On Satsuki’s side, though I didn’t really mention it in my writing reprinted above, one of her biggest struggles when it comes to Nonon is the issue of trust. As the official Elite Four light novel reveals, Satsuki didn’t even tell Nonon that she was transferring middle schools back in their pre-Honnouji Academy days, and I’ve previously described this decision as “absolutely tragic” and as “[showing] how much Satsuki did not trust Nonon at all.”

Yet, I don’t see Satsuki’s actions as stemming from cruelty. Maybe not too unlike Houka’s decision to frame his father in order to save his family from certain death at the hands of Ragyo Kiryuin, I would argue that Satsuki tries to keep Nonon in the dark to protect her. As much as Satsuki hides her emotions for the majority of the story, her love for Nonon is still more than evident within the show, and the game’s glossary even takes care to make Satsuki’s feelings for the girl quite explicit with the note that Nonon is “one of the few people that Satsuki feels comfortable around.”

Satsuki’s attempt to shield Nonon from her goals is of course unfair to Nonon, but it’s an attempt that comes from a place of love. Satsuki wanted to assure that if she were unsuccessful, Nonon would be safe. She wanted to assure that if she were successful, Nonon would not be a casualty. She’d have Nonon to come home to.

Nearing the end of Kill la Kill, Satsuki obviously opens up. She stops concealing her heart, and in after-series explorations of the material, I would love to see Satsuki come to feel more than just comfortable with Nonon. I would love to see Satsuki feel safe with Nonon. I would love to see her feel safe sharing herself with her childhood friend.

You know, just like how scared, shy Ryuko comes to feel safe sharing herself with Senketsu. Yes, I can’t shut up about them.

On Nonon’s side, I kinda detailed the journey I’d like to see her take in my writing pasted up above, but one of my better fics, “The Woman with the Rose-Colored Hair,” is a Satsunon story from Nonon’s perspective that really gets into the Satsunon development that I crave. As I’ve written about the fic before:

In my piece, Nonon learns that Satsuki is going away by hearing some chatter, and to prove to Satsuki that she’s worth trusting, she runs to Satsuki before Satsuki leaves, declaring that she’s coming with no matter what. At the end of the fic … Satsuki meets with Nonon again after the world has been saved, and Satsuki finally opens her heart up, noting that she wants Nonon by her side, as a friend and equal, and she’s done with being treated as a goddess to be worshipped.

So, tl;dr, I like Satsunon. I think the pairing has a lot of sweet, sweet potential, and I love how the game has added so much to their relationship. While Nonon’s infatuation with Satsuki is beyond clear with just the show itself, you really get a sense of how much Satsuki loves Nonon in the game; Nonon is the only one of the Elites whom Satsuki refers to by their given name (which could admittedly be because Nonon is a girl, as I believe it’s common in at least anime for girls to be referred to by given names whereas boys are referred to by surnames, but I don’t think Satsuki is the kind of person to do that), and Nonon’s interactions with Ragyo solidify that Satsuki and Nonon have been close for a long, long time.

And I think that they’d like to continue being close for a long, long time, and I’d love to see them do so.

#kill la kill #satsuki kiryuin #nonon jakuzure #satsunon #Anonymous #replies #sushio #ramblings #okay rewritten!#i hope it's okay and as good as the first version that got erased from existence ^^;

122 notes · View notes

littlemisssquiggles · 5 years ago

Note

You know this has been bothering me for a while now... How do you feel about people dropping the show? I mean, I'm currently not that close anymore and I am willing to give Volume 7 another chance (but I keep my expectations veeeery low since I am so tired of being disappointed like I was with Volume 6 - it started out good and I really much liked the two Apathy episodes, even though they had narrative weaknesses in my opinion), also thanks to you. I just want to know what you think about it.

Hello again Mizu! Firstly, let me apologize for taking so long to respond. I’mbacklogged on questions to answer in my inbox so I’m slowly working my waythrough them. Secondly pleased to hear you’ve decided to give the new season achance.

To be honest with you fam, I honestly have nothing against folks who wish to drop RWBY. As I’vebeen telling you before, folks are entitled to feel the way they feel---be itgood, bad or indifferent.

Basically what I’m saying is, I understand that everyone’s viewson RWBY aren’t the same and I respect that. I respect the fact that there arefolks who are genuinely loyal to the series and will continue to support it tothe very end, just as much as I acknowledge and respect the views of the folkswho are genuinely disappointed with the series or rather, they’re disappointedwith the direction in which the series has changed since V3---the last seasonits original creator---Monty worked on, I believe, before he sadly passed away.

When it comes to indulging in media, myideology stands as this: if you’ve come to a point where you’re watching apiece of media that you used to indulge in but the overall positivefeelings--- love, joy and entertainment--- you once felt for it when you firststarted is no longer there, then you’re more than welcome to drop it if you sodesire.

Or you can take a break from it and come back later. Heck you can evendrop it but still remain a part of its FNDM, not necessarily following the showanymore but still enjoying other things like fanart and fanfic. No one is atfault for wishing to stop watching a series they once loved nor are they atfault for wanting to leave it/ take break from it only to come back later. Youdo you, dude.

In terms of RWBY, I’m half and half. Iunderstand why folks would wish to continue to watch the series; but at thesame time, I understand why folks would wish to drop it. The series, whilestill entertaining and enjoyable in some parts (at least to me) has admittedly madesome rather questionable choices in regards to certain aspects of the writing within therecent last arc.

Questionable choices which unfortunately left a lot of fansdisappointed. As a matter of fact, I think disappointed is an understatement.But like I said before, folks are entitled to feel the way they feel andthey’re allowed to express their feelings, thoughts and opinion if they feelthe need.

Where I may take issue with folks whodrop RWBY, however, is if they turn into one of those kindred spirits over inthe RWBY Hatedom. RWBY is the one series I know where it has a community of people who dislike the show as much as the ones who love it. And they’ve very vocal about it too.

It’s perfectly cool if you feeldissatisfied with the way things are being done with RWBY but where that becomes problematic, in my opinion, is when it turns to bitterness which then leadsto you attacking people and downright disrespecting them. This is inclusive of notjust the fans who still support RWBY but also the members of theCRWBY.

I get that people didn’t like the waythings were done with the show but that still doesn’t give you the right todisrespect the people working on it. One habit that I’m tired of seeing from theHatedom is their incessant use of throwing Monty’s name around as a means toridicule the current state of the show.

Regardless of whether or not you don’tlike the way the showrunners have written the show, you still have to show themsome level of respect. And continuing to use the name of the show’s deceasedcreator to scrutinize the efforts of the same people---some of which wereMonty’s friends and original colleagues---is just beyond disrespectful.

If I may talk about Monty here for abit, it honestly disgusts me whenever I go into forums discussing fan reviewsof RWBY and still see people leaving comments such as “Monty wouldn’t have liked this” or “You’veruined Monty’s vision” and all that jazz.

Seriously, how entitled of a fan must you be to act as if you knew Monty personally enough toimply that he wouldn’t have liked the way RWBY is now?

Who do you think will have the moral high ground in this predicament of deciding how RWBY should continue? The people whopersonally knew and worked with Monty when RWBY first started and are doing thebest they can to keep the show running? Or the so-called fans who continue towatch the series just to mock the efforts of Monty’s former friends and colleagueswhile constantly throwing his name in their faces as an insult.

You tell me.

What happened to Monty was sad and I’mmostly saying that as a longstanding fan of his. Like many RWBY fans, I didn’tknow Monty personally. I knew him mostly through his work. Monty was a creatorwho got an opportunity that most of us creatives with our our stories to tell couldonly dream of. He got a chance to bring his story to life only to unfortunatelypassed away while working on it.

It’s one thing to be disappointed withsomething you used to love but it’s another thing when your anger andresentment makes you disrespectful. It’s not cool when former fans of RWBY become people whoconstantly look for ways to talk down the show. I can sympathize with the FNDMfam members who were upset with the development of the show but where Ican’t take your side is if that dissatification leads to contempt.

I’ve said this before and I’m going torepeat it again. RWBY isNOT a flawless show. It never has been and quite frankly,it’ll probably never be as perfect as fans want it to be. But what I havelearnt is that RWBY is a show that’s much like the man who created it. It keepsmoving forward. Each season it tries to do better than the last and it shows.

I know certain parts have not been sogreat but I have to acknowledge the ones that were. I know some of usweren’t 100% pleased with how V6 turned. However, I will say this. Prior tothat season, the Writers promised that they were looking into some of the criticismsleft behind from past seasons and were working to fix him. Did they live up tothat? To quote Ozpin, in some ways yes and in other ways, no.

V6 still unfortunately suffered fromthe same issues with the writing that fans disliked back in V5. But what I willpoint out that it didn’t start off that way. I think we can all admit that thefirst half of V6 (C1 to C7) was done well. The other half….....er....not so much. Butit’s still worth noting that there is good within the bad.

This is why I personally will keepgiving the series a chance. Speaking for myself here, I’ve been on the RWBY train since thevery beginning and sink or swim, soar or crash, I’m staying on-board till thisseries reaches its final destination. Because outside of that fact that thereare still things about the show that I enjoy and love, I’m also very, verycurious to see where exactly the CRWBY Writers are taking this story of theirs.

Monty may not have been able to joinMiles and Kerry in progressing the show he made; however Miles and Kerry arecontinuing it. They are telling theirstory now in direct correlation to the onethey kicked off with Monty.

What that story is overall? How is it gonna go for future seasons and arcs andmore importantly, how is it all gonna end? Those are questions with answers I’mstill interested to know. And until the day comes when I no longer care aboutthese things with RWBY, I’m gonna stick around and try my best to enjoy the ride alongthe way---whether it cruises calmly or runs over a couple of rough patches andbumps. It’s fine. I’ve got plenty of tolerance.

I see a lot of potential for betterwriting in RWBY. I’m just patiently waiting for the season where the Writersfinally find their groove since I think they were struggling during the MistralTrilogy. RWBY isn’t perfect but it’s a show with folks who admittedly do theirbest to improve on it as the seasons go.

They may not land every time but theeffort is still worth appreciating in some sense-- well at least I know appreciate it especially when they get things right cause, contrary to what othersmight believe, not everything about RWBY is completely bad. As a matter offact, some of it is arguably not as bad as folks let it out to be. But I understand that’s amatter of opinion. Can’t honestly speak for other FNDM members. Only my squiggly self here.

Now mind you, none of the stuff I’vementioned about the RWBY Hatedom applies to you Mizu. I know we’ve only chatted once or twice between Q&A but forthe most part, you’ve been quite humble and a pleasant person to talk to.

Despite your voiced issues with the current run of RWBY, you’vemaintained a cool, respectable air about yourself and that’s great. Please keep that up. Regardless of what happens during V7. Regardless of whether youchoose to stay or go with RWBY during or after V7, do your best to remain as humble as you as much as possible. That’s basically the bottom line point I’m trying to say here.That goes for you and anyone else who’ve been feeling the same way you haveabout the show.

Just stay humble guys. Opinions can be different but still maintain that R-E-S-P-E-C-T and that goes for both sides.

And, yeah, that’s pretty all I gottasay. I hope I actually answered your question. I feel like I did. As always,feel free to let me know. In the meantime, take care.

~LittleMissSquiggles(2019)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #rwby #mizuike #squiggles answers

32 notes · View notes

tomfooleryprime · 6 years ago

Text

I love Sarek. But he’s really not that great.

Sarek and Amanda are my favorite couple, not just in Star Trek, but ever. I’ve written more than half a million words of fanfiction about them. I’ve watched episodes featuring them so many times I secretly worry Netflix will put me on blast.

But I am not a Sarek apologist.

I’m pretty sure what draws most people to this couple is the age-old romantic notion that opposites may attract but the power of love can overcome anything. Cue cheesy instrumental music and a torrid kiss in the rain at a train station. I imagine a lot of women see themselves in Amanda, a seemingly regular woman with a regular life. Then they see a successful guy like Sarek, a dude who’s physically fit, well-educated, powerful, and absurdly intelligent, and it’s only natural that a recipe for hotness is born.

Because I’ve devoted literally years to dreaming up various ways this couple might have shacked up and vomiting the results all over AO3, I’ve also been forced to examine the personalities of both characters in great detail, and the only consistent conclusion I come to is fanon (myself included) gets it wrong most of the time.

Their marriage can’t have always been smooth sailing. If you’re not willing to believe me, then believe Amanda.

Oh sure, there are tons of one-shots where they have little spats, but they almost always end with both of them making heart eyes at each other and jumping into bed. I get that Star Trek originated in the 1960s, but that doesn’t mean Sarek and Amanda had one of those “golly gee” wholesome relationships that could put Ward and June Cleaver to shame.

Whichever version of Sarek you personally subscribe to, be it Mark Lenard, Ben Cross, or James Frain, it’s entirely possible to find the actors attractive but still think the character of Sarek could use some improvement. It’s also possible to love a character and admire their good qualities while being disappointed in their shortcomings. Maybe it makes me a shitty fangirl. Maybe it makes me realistic.

Literally decades of fanfiction and fan art have polished over Sarek’s unprettier bits, often portraying him as a hopeless romantic, a tender lover, a devoted father, and a man fiercely dedicated to his wife. I’m not going to argue each of those is patently false—hell, as a fanfiction writer, I’ve bought into some of those tropes myself—but I think some are truer than others. Let’s examine the canon.

When we first meet him in “Journey to Babel,” he’s callous and aloof. He’s Vulcan, I get it, more on that later. But seriously, the guy has a habit of summoning his wife and acts like he doesn’t even know his own damn son. No one should be standing up to enthusiastically applaud and hand the man a husband or father-of-the-year trophy. Even Amanda seems pretty resigned to the arrangement.

I already know what the pushback to this assertion will be. He’s Vulcan! You can’t judge a Vulcan by human standards! Well, his wife is human and one of his sons is half-human, so I would argue that it should at least be an option, but I wrote a whole other essay on Star Trek’s moral relativism problem.

Long story short, Star Trek glosses over a lot of moral and ethical dilemmas by using the argument, “Who are we to judge a culture we’re not part of?” I can’t answer that, but I will say someone once gave me a great piece of advice that I think applies to this idea of moral relativism: no person’s belief is inherently worthy of respect, but every person is. Maybe to understand Sarek as a person, we should look first at Sarek as a Vulcan.

Obviously Sarek subscribes to Vulcan philosophy, and while Vulcan philosophy seems pure as hell with its pacifism and its belief in embracing Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (IDIC), I’m going to assert the Vulcan adherence to that philosophy seems to be a little lunch counter in nature. Yes, they take two scoops of resting bitch face and they’ll pass on the extra helping of tolerance. Sarek hails from a culture that is ostensibly exclusionary, sexist, and xenophobic in its practices.

When we encounter Vulcans in Enterprise, they’re people who mock humans for being too volatile, go to war with their Andorian neighbors, and aggressively purge the Syrranites for wanting to get back to the true meaning of Surak. But you might say, but that was before the Federation! They got better when they put T’Pau in charge.

Really? When we meet them next in the chronological timeline in Discovery, they’re telling Sarek they’ll only admit one of his weird social science pet projects (or as Sarek calls them, his kids) to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group.

In the Discovery episode “Light and Shadows,” Amanda reveals that Spock had a learning disability as a young child, which clearly embarrassed Sarek. Sadder still? Amanda explains there didn’t seem to be any educators on Vulcan willing to help a half-Vulcan child with a human learning disability.

In the alternate timeline, when Spock applies to the Vulcan Science Academy, the admissions folks give him a pat on the back for achieving so much, despite his great disadvantage of having a human mom. Replace the word “human” with any religious, racial, or ethnic group, and see how you still feel about that sentence.

Yes, Vulcans have racists and nationalists just like the rest of us and it doesn’t seem like they’re a rare breed either. Sarek is clearly attempting to be a better Vulcan, so kudos to him. However, not being an overt racist is not synonymous with sainthood.

It’s pretty obvious throughout canon that while Sarek loves his wife, he’s uncomfortable with humanity, and he’s doubly perplexed with the humanity she imparted in their son. She even directly accuses him of never truly respecting humanity, to which he replies:

Which, let’s be honest, sounds like the rough equivalent of the “I can’t be racist because I have a black friend” defense. So many things in canon point to Sarek being utterly baffled by humans, not cutely intrigued by them as so often seen in fanon. The only time Spock and Sarek seem chummy with each other is when they’re mocking Amanda’s human emotionalism in “Journey to Babel.” Whether or not he meant to (and he definitely meant to), Sarek raised a son who saw his human half as a thing to be overcome.

Discovery has also hammered a lot of nails into the affectionate father coffin. Up until the final episode in season 1, he never called Michael his daughter and instead referred to her as his ward. It’s nice that he finally got over that technical distinction, but it doesn’t exactly conjure up the image of him tucking her into bed and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

He seems to accept her humanity because, well, she is human, but his own son’s humanity isn’t ok? Not like it matters, because his plan was to mold Michael into a Vulcan-like human anyway, which is pretty weird when you think about it. At one point, Michael tells Sarek she knows he must have considered the effect a Vulcan education and lifestyle might have on a human child, but she wants to know what he wanted Spock to learn from the experience of having a human sibling. His reply?

Which is... nice? He doesn’t say the only reason he took Michael in was for her to be his son’s empathy tutor, but he does essentially admit he was worried Spock was becoming too much of a momma’s boy. So the theory that Sarek was just scooping up orphans all over the galaxy like some kind of Vulcan Angelina Jolie doesn’t seem accurate. It gives the distinct impression that even Sarek thought of his hodge-podge brood as an experiment, at least to a degree.

Now, some may argue that Sarek never told Spock that he had to follow Surak’s teachings, which is true-ish. But that’s like telling a kid, “You don’t have to believe in Jesus” and then sending them to a Christian school in the heart of the Bible belt. What decision did he imagine his son would choose when he decided to raise him on Vulcan and stand by when other kids beat him up for not being Vulcan enough?

Seriously, Spock was almost guaranteed to turn out one of two ways: either he would just try harder to out-Vulcan everyone, which he did, or he would give logic the middle finger, which, well, is the option Sybok chose to run with.

Despite fanfiction and fanart imagining him as this really hands-on parent who changes diapers and decorates baked goods (yes, I wrote a story like this and I’m calling myself out), he admits he’s the kind of dad who works late in the evenings, not the kind that reads stories at bedtime.

It’s also no secret that as a parent, Sarek holds grudges. In “Journey to Babel,” Amanda confesses that Sarek and Spock haven’t spoken as father and son for eighteen years. In “Brother,” Michael asks Sarek when the last time he spoke to Spock was and he concedes it’s been years. In “Light and Shadows,” he’s clearly [Vulcan] pissed that Amanda is harboring a fugitive, who also just so happens to be his own son.

Is Sarek just that logical that he believes in justice even at a high personal price, or is he embarrassed that his own estranged son has been accused of murder and appears to be in the clutches of a mental breakdown? As far as I can tell, it might just be a little bit of both.

Then there’s the idea that Sarek is a caring and devoted husband. Is there actually any evidence for this in canon, other than he was married to Amanda and had a family with her? Lots of people are married and have kids and don’t have a relationship that would rival that annoying couple on This is Us.

Their relationship doesn’t seem like an equal partnership based on compromise, but rather one where Sarek does what he damn well pleases and Amanda follows along as a dutiful wife.

Amanda gave up a lot of things to be with him: her home, her culture, and potentially even her own son’s well-being. The woman went to extremes for love not even witnessed on the Bachelor, and why?

In some contexts, that sounds like the powerful kind of love and devotion that epic-poems would be based on. In other contexts, it sounds almost like a pathological self-martyrdom. Did Sarek ever fully appreciate her sacrifices? It’s hard to say, but if he did, I doubt he ever voiced his appreciation.

In his later years, when Sarek is losing his mind due to an age-related degenerative disease and he mind melds with Captain Picard, he tearfully muses (as Picard), “Amanda. I wanted to give you so much more. I wanted to show you such tenderness. But that is not our way. Spock? Amanda? Did you know?”

He's strongly implying he never told Amanda he loved her out loud. I’m sure he did love her, but it hardly bodes well for the idea that he’s a flowers and handmade cards kind of guy. And as for the notion that behind closed doors, he and Amanda had a super intimate relationship that would make even characters in Harlequin romance novels swoon, please, point me to an episode that makes you think that. I will watch it every day for the rest of my life.

In summary, between his first chronological appearance in Discovery to his death in The Next Generation, Sarek had a lot of improving to do as a person and we see evidence that he most certainly did. He came to accept Michael as his daughter. He started speaking to Spock again after wrecking his childhood and turning him over to Section 31. Even though it clearly exasperated the hell out of him, he occasionally gave into his wife’s emotional needs.

But that’s still a pretty far cry away from galaxy’s best father, husband, or lover. I think that’s what draws me to this couple so much. Sarek and Amanda didn’t live happily ever after: they did the best they could and made it work, just like the rest of us non-fictional losers.

What little we have of canon depicts them as a couple who likely got married before they really knew each other, probably should have spent their first few years of marriage in counseling, eventually figured one another out enough to raise three kids who could all probably benefit from some therapy, and loved each other no matter what, even if it wasn’t out loud.

#sarek/amanda #sarek and amanda #brother #journey to babel #light and shadows #discovery spoilers #star trek #sarek #amanda #spock #Michael burnham #sybok #Star Trek Discovery #the original series #Vulcan #parenting #sarek x amanda

154 notes · View notes

chemicalmagecraft · 5 years ago

Text

The Gamer Hero, Deku Chapter 14

A/N: So I've been thinking, and do you guys think I should post my fanfics on Archive of our Own too? I know some people prefer AO3, plus if anyone makes fanart of a certain scene then I could, with permission of course, be able to put it on there (wink wink nudge nudge i have a tumblr). Plus there's that whole thing about how AO3 has lawyers and stuff to protect their fanfic writers. That's pretty cool.

Kyrianae Narii: Yeah people would totally call Izuku one of the fathers of modern magic. I mean, I wouldn't. If anything, he's the grandson of modern magic. (¬‿¬)

xoxoxo

I closed all of the text boxes I'd gotten now that we were back at Yuuei, the police were done taking our statements, and just waiting for our parents to show up on account of the fact that they didn't want to let us go just yet unless it was with a relative. My level jumped from twenty-eight straight to thirty-six after taking out the Nomu. It made sense, it was so above my level that I couldn't even see how much it was above my level. Plus I got another title, Giant Slayer, for having beaten more than one opponent with a level at least fifty over mine, the other one probably being the zero-pointer. It gave me a small offense and defense boost for every level over mine an enemy was, which I knew almost immediately would get less and less useful as time went on, even if it was very good at the moment. I was already level thirty-six, and it was the first semester. Not to mention, depending on how it worked, it was entirely possible that it'd make me weaker against weaker opponents. Of course, I wasn't the only one who leveled up in the USJ. I looked over at Uraraka, who was sitting next to me.

Megalovania

LV 23

Uraraka Ochako

Apparently she'd stopped Kurogiri for so long by using gravity to slam him into the ground and then making him fall in another direction whenever he tried to make a warp gate to get away. It was apparently really effective, at least until he managed to trick Uraraka into throwing him into a portal. She had a really intense look on her face still, and I could feel my weight fluctuating from the gravity mana she was unconsciously releasing.

"I apologize deeply for not being able to help more," Iida said to Uraraka.

She sighed and lightened up. And I mean literally lightened up; the gravity effect stabilized, causing her chair to stop creaking. "No, you did fine. I just couldn't help feeling like... Like maybe if I noticed that portal sooner, I would've been able to do cancel out Thirteen's Black Hole..."

"I-I'm sorry!" Nebula said.

Uraraka smiled and ruffled her starry hair. "No, you're fine."

"B-but I couldn't help at all, you did everything..."

"There'll always be next time," she said. Nebula sniffled. "Let's... change the subject for now. What the heck was that thing you did to the giant monster?"

"Yeah," Kirishima shouted, quieting the general conversations that were going on, "that was super manly!"

"I would also like to know," Tokoyami said.

I felt my face heat up a bit and rubbed the back of my neck. Almost everyone who was still there was staring intently at me as they waited for my explanation. "So, you guys know how my Quirk works like a video game, right?" They nodded. "So one factor of this I almost never use is that I get points for leveling up that I can use to raise my stats, and I used that to raise my WIS, which gave me three new skills. One of those was Duality, which raised my elemental affinity and gave me access to secondary elements, one of which was lightning."

"I told you, Kaminari!" Jirou shouted, pointing at him. Yaoyorozu smiled awkwardly and put her arm on Jirou's shoulder.

"And then I got a much better version of Elemental Aura from raising its level enough called Elemental Embodiment when fighting the Nomu, which was what I used to beat it."

"So that's why it looked like you were teleporting," Hagakure said.

"Yeah, though it wasn't really teleportation," I said. "I just spilled a lot of water on the floor and conducted myself through it in Lightning Embodiment."

"Dang, that's pretty awesome," Kaminari said. "I wish I could do that."

"Well if you practice Lightning Aura enough, you might be able to do it. To use Elemental Aura, you infuse your body with elemental mana. Elemental Embodiment is just that, but... more," I explained. "Sorry I can't give you more for that, but I only used it three times in the middle of battle and the downside of automatically learning things with my Quirk is that it's a little hard to explain how to do them sometimes unless I concentrate really hard on what I'm doing."

"Nah, it's cool, man. I'm sure I can figure it out eventually."

"And by the way," Kacchan said. "You probably shouldn't use a spell that makes you generate electricity all over your body anywhere near anything sensitive to electricity. Not at first anyway." He paused for a moment. "Actually with your Quirk, you should probably know how the fuck that shit goes."

Kaminari gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, I learned that lesson already."

"What were the other two?" Sero asked. "You said you got three WIS skills, right?"

"Yeah. There's Tactician, which just lets me think better and automatically gives me information on my skills as I need them, but only when in a battle or crisis. The other one..."

Mantra (Passive) LV1 EXP: 52.19%

Mantra is a sacred utterance, words to live by. This skill represents the ability to change one's meditation into an internal mantra when not in danger, providing some of the benefits of meditation without the downside.

Allows the use of Meditation as a passive when not in times of high exertion and/or stress, but with 1/5th the effect.

Stacks with Meditation.

"Mantra is interesting. I can't use it in battle, but it basically turns another of my skills, Meditation, into a passive at the cost of some of its effect. That pretty much means that my HP and MP regenerate a bit faster and, even more usefully, I can automatically train one stat aside from LUC at a time."

Slowly, we broke back up into our smaller groups and started talking to each other. "Hey Deku," Uraraka said, then pointed to Tsu, who was sitting alone. "Is it just me, or is Tsu-chan shaking a bit.

I winced. "Oh," I said. I'd asked her if she was okay after everything was over, on account of the part where she almost died, but she just said she was fine and I didn't even think to Observe her to check to see if that was the case. Though in hindsight doing that might have been an invasion of privacy. "She... almost got her face disintegrated. I think I might need to talk to her."

Uraraka got up, a serious look on her face. "No, I'll go."

xoxoxo

Tsuyu Asui felt like she couldn't breath, and her heart was pounding. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see that man's hand in front of her face. Her hands kept on shaking, even when she tried to stop.

"Are you okay, Tsu?" a familiar voice asked. "Deku said something about your face almost disintegrating, which sounded like it was really scary," Uraraka said.

Tsu took a deep breath, and tried to steady herself. She didn't want to worry any of her classmates. "I-I'm fine, Uraraka."

Uraraka sat down next to her. "You can call me Ochako, if you want. It's okay if you're scared, Tsu. I was terrified, and I didn't even get attacked." Tsu bit her lip. Her vision started to blur, and a hot tear rolled down her cheek. Ochaka held her arms out, offering a hug. "Do you want to cry on my shoulder." Tsu let out a small kero and leaned into her embrace, pressing her face to Ochako's shoulder. She sobbed and let the tears flow. "There," Ochako said. "Feel better?" Tsu nodded, face still on her shoulder. Ochako rubbed her back lightly. "That's good."

xoxoxo

"I feel shame as a class representative that I didn't notice how Asui was suffering," Iida said as he watched Uraraka comfort Tsu.

"Maybe you could see if anyone else needs a hug?" I offered.

"Ah, thank you, Midoriya. I will do that."

"Just remember," Kacchan said, "if someone's on the verge of a fucking panic attack, make absolutely fucking sure to use your fucking indoor voice."

"I know that," Iida said using his fucking indoor voice. He looked over at us. "Bakugou, Midoriya, are you two alright?"

"Oh my fucking what," Kacchan said flatly. "I'm pretty sure we're both fine!" He shooed Iida off. "Go, ask how everyone else is!"

"We're good, Iida," I said. "Koda looks a little nervous, maybe start with him?" I gave Iida a thumbs-up as he walked over to Koda.

I heard the tapping of a certain needle cane. "Midoriya-kun!" Recovery Girl said as she entered the room. "I'd like you to come to my office. I've patched up Erasor Head and Thirteen enough that I'm willing to let you get some hands-on experience."

"Right," I said. "I'm coming."

"Izuku!" my mom shouted, then grabbed me in her death grip of motherly worry. "Are you okay? I was so worried!"

"Katsuki!" Auntie Mitsuki shouted. "You damn well better be alright!"

"I'm fine, ma!" he shouted back to her.

"So you two must be Midoriya-san and Bakugou-san," Recovery Girl observed. "If you don't mind, Midoriya-san, I'd like to take your son to my office for a bit."

Mom stepped back a bit and inspected me. "Is Izuku hurt?"

"M-mom, I'm fine!" I said.

"Sorry, I think I should've worded that better," Recovery Girl said. "Midoriya-kun is fine, but I'd like to have him help with the actual wounded. He's taking my support hero courses, remember?"

"Oh, right!" Mom said. "How is my dear Izuku doing, by the way?"

"He's doing pretty well, which is why I want to borrow him for a bit. Plus, his healing spell can be safely used on people I've used my Quirk on because he's the one providing all the energy. I still need to learn it..."

"Right," I said. "If you don't mind, Mom, I'm going to go with Recovery Girl. I'll see you when I'm done."

She smiled at me. "Go on, sweetie."

xoxoxo

I looked over my new elemental affinities.

Air: 20

Earth: 20

Fire: 30

Water: 30

Bio: 20 (earth+water)

Ice: 20 (air+water)

Lightning: 20 (air+fire)

Molten: 20 (fire+earth)

Sonic: 20 (air+earth)

Vapor: 20 (fire+water)

I'd tested each combination of elements in Illusion Barrier just in case any of them were immediately explosive. The only one that did anything close to exploding, though, was sonic, which caused a low humming sound when I used it. Bio was... worrying at first, but I found that all it was was a combination of poison and plant, though I felt like maybe there might have also been some flesh manipulation in it that I wasn't quite willing to mess with just yet. It was interesting, though, using the secondary elements. Now that I was out of danger and able to properly concentrate on my magic, I noticed that it wasn't exactly fusing the elements together as I thought it was. If anything, it was more like using power that was less fragmented than the primary elements. It was odd but that was the best analogy I had. "Right," I said. "Is everything ready?"

"You do realize that this probably isn't the best idea, right?" Blaise asked, referring to the six ritual circles equidistant to my bed and in particular the molten lava and cup of boiling water he was keeping warm.

Halitus nodded. "Agreed."

"I'm going to be out of it either way, might as well speedrun it," I responded.

Rayne grinned widely. "I like it! We get all of the new weapon buddies at once!"

"Yeah, weapon buddies!" Dune agreed, happily pulling the cord on my I Am Here All Might action figure (with kung-fu grip).

"Right, let's start this," I said. I placed my hands in front of the circles, had Dune put the Laughing All Might in the empty circle to provide the sonic element, and activated the six rituals at once. "I, Midoriya Izuku, call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee."

xoxoxo

I stirred from my sleep to the sound of a familiar explosion. "Suck it!" a slightly less familiar voice said. I opened my eyes to see several children that looked like they were roughly twelve, along with one girl who looked like she was ten, in varying states of corporeality. The boy whose voice I heard looked like he could have easily been Kaminari's younger brother, except for the odd-looking ears, the red spots on his cheeks, and a strange lightning-bolt tail. He had a yellow jacket with two brown stripes on it. My new lightning elemental, Raimon. He was holding one of the controllers of my Switch, and judging from his furious button presses he was the one who was playing the Pikachu that was winning. A lot.

"Cheater," Rayne whined. She'd gained even more dark blue on her clothes and hair, and she now had blue fingerless gloves with white knuckles. It looked like she was playing as Greninja. She wasn't very good with Greninja, though. I couldn't help but notice how Raimon and Rayne resembled the characters they were playing as. "I knew I shoulda picked the sword guy..."

"Which sword guy?" my vapor elemental, Claude, asked. He wore light, red body armor, had three spikes in his red hair, and for some reason reminded me of a lobster. "Aren't like half of them sword guys?"

"Thirteen of seventy-four," Halitus corrected. Halitus had changed a lot, actually. His hair was now sky-blue instead of his robes, and he had two long ponytails. His robes were fully made of the cloudy material with the exception of five blue tassels in the back that might have actually been some weird tail. He now had patches on his cheeks like Raimon, though his were white.

Claude rolled his eyes. "Same difference."

"Not even close, bro," the biggest of the elementals, Iggy, said. He was my new molten elemental. He had a red long-sleeved shirt with three blue circles on the sleeves and two large brown lumps on the back. His hair was also red with a few spikes, so he and Claude almost looked like they could have been brothers if not for his... camel ears? He had a red tail as well. "And I think it's my turn now." He put his intangible hands on Rayne's controller, and I felt a weird shift in the mana that was automatically leaving my mana pool as he and Rayne switched between being partially summoned and fully summoned. "Who else wants a go?"

Mifuyu, my ice elemental, switched with Raimon. "That would be me." Oddly enough for an ice elemental, she had dark red hair, eyes, and two tails. She was dressed in dark blue ninja clothes, like Rayne, but in a different shade. She had a small yellow gem on her forehead. Mifuyu picked Shiek and Iggy picked Dedede.

"So how are you guys able to summon yourselves?" I asked.

"That would be from my help," Pyra said. "It seems we elementals can summon ourselves, partially or fully, so long as our summoner can bear the strain of our summoning without a noticeable decrease in mana. Master Kacchan gained the strength to handle me recently, and it seems your current limit is three. With Sonia out regardless to allow us to be as loud as we want without waking your mother up, that meant that we've mostly been playing doubles matches."

"You're welcome, by the way," my sonic elemental said. She had a purple shirt, a black scarf, and black jeans. On her nose she had rounded triangular purple sunglasses that you could still see her golden eyes through and over her ears were some expensive-looking purple headphones. "Yeah, after the primary elementals filled us in on everything, Pyra showed up and told us how to summon ourselves so we could play some games to wait for you to wake up on your own."

"We did have some fun with a party game earlier," Juniper, my bio elemental, said. She had a blue-green dress with darker green patches on it. Around her neck she had a scarf that appeared to be made of green fronds, with a sort of brooch on the form of a pink bud. Her eyes were red, her hair was green, and she had pointed canine teeth. "I hope you don't mind too terribly. We didn't mess with anything and made sure not to mess with your saved data."

"Actually, if you guys want to make an account on that you totally can," I said. "I'm pretty sure that'll give you guys save files separate from mine."

"Let's do that later, then," Blaise said. His shirt darkened and the sleeves now had small patches of light blue on them. His scarf had changed to have long red ends with a few black dots on them. "For now we're just playing Smash."

"Can I join in next round?" I asked.

"Sure," Sonia said. "We still have an hour or so 'til morning, according to a few of your neighbours' clocks anyway."

"Hey, can I play next too?" Dune asked. Her clothes were now half camo and half solid black.

We played until the sun rose. It was fun.

xoxoxo

A/N: Just in case you didn't notice by now, Midoriya's The Gamer lacks the party level up feature that the original does. Only Midoriya can get more powerful from his Quirk.

And I bet you guys can tell at least one pairing I ship based on this chapter.

Now, for the elementals. First, I'd like to say this one thing. There is exactly ONE Pokémon that has the true power of steam, Volcanion, and I didn't want to bust out the legendaries just yet. So that meant I had to look over all of the Pokémon that can use Scald (the closest to a vapor spell I could find that wasn't Volcanion-exclusive) to figure out which one was the steamiest.

Juniper: Ivysaur

Mifuyu: Sneasel

Raimon: Pikachu, natch

Iggy: Camerupt

Sonia: Noibat

Claude: Corphish (insert morbid joke about steamed lobster here)

They're in their secondary stages (when applicable) because as intermediary elementals they're in the middle, in case you couldn't tell.

#The Gamer Hero Deku #Gamer Hero Deku #GHD CH 14 #fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #bnha

2 notes · View notes

kid-crashed · 6 years ago

Text

Catch Me If You Can (Part 1)

This is a DamiJon College AU based off of some fantastic fanart by @une1st that you can find right here. Part 2 coming soon!

A shrill whistle rang over the practice field, easily being heard over the sound of rock music blasting from a set of speakers.

“Come on boys! Let me see that hustle!” The coach would have been easily identifiable, even without the booming voice. He was a giant man, easily six foot five, maybe more, with muscles straining against muted gray sweats. He was the only one standing on the sidelines, while the Metropolis City University football team practiced. “You best wake up and get your asses in gear or you’ll be running laps for the rest of the day!”

“Yes Coach!” The call came unanimously from the team as they worked through a series of warm up drills. Practice had only just started; earlier than normal, but they had their big Homecoming game tonight. This was their last chance to get a little extra training in.

The team finished their warm up, the coach stepping into the center of the field.

“Alright boy, take a knee.” The herd of college kids formed a semicircle around theman. His eyes surveyed his team before landing on one member in particular. “Kent. Get your butt up here.”

“Sir, yes sir.” The guy in question stood up from amongst the team with a cocky grin on his face: Jon Kent. At twenty years old, he wasn’t the youngest person to ever make team captain, but he was still only a junior; a fact which had originally left a bad taste in the mouths of some of the seniors. Still, no one could deny that he’d earned this title, captain was elected by majority vote after all. But it was early in the season. This was his first big game to prove himself in.

He was tall by most standards, short by football’s, at six foot one. But more importantly, he was built almost entirely of lean muscle. His shoulders were broad, half inherited from his father, half the result of doing farm work his whole life. Unlike a lot of the members of the team, who looked like they snorted protein powder and skipped leg day regularly, Jon’s muscle mass was evenly distributed, giving him a conventionally fit, and attractive build.

He wiped the sweat on his hairline with the sleeve of his practice jersey. A clip board was handed over to him. It contained notes about each player on their team, as well as on their opponents.

“Alright folks,” He cleared his throat. “As you know, we’re going against Gotham tonight. Coach Stone can’t be trusted to call the shots ‘cause it’s his alma mater, so I’ll be taking over instead.” There was some collective snickering amongst the team. It was a running joke to five their coach a hard time for having gone to their biggest rival school. “So, here’s how it’s going to go.”

Jon started listing off the positions for roughly half of the team, mostly upperclassmen who were guaranteed a little spotlight in the homecoming game. There was a promise to all the new freshies and returning sophomores that if they proved themselves during training, they could get a little action too.

“Alright boys.” Coach Stone piped back in once Jon was done. “Take five for water, then we’re back to it.”

The members of the team split off back to their bags. Jon had left his over on the one long metal bench that stood at the bottom of the hill leading that lead to the field. As he walked up to it, he was able to look around and notice the small crowd of people interspured all over the knoll.

It wasn’t uncommon for other MU students to sit around and watch various athletic teams work out below. It was a nice place to hang out; sunny, but with a few trees for shade, and easy walking distance to one dining hall, the main gym, two libraries, and some of the larger academic buildings.

Seeing all these other students out here brought a smile to his face. He liked feeling like he was part of a community.

“Yo Kent, think fast!”

Jon’s head snapped up just in time to see a football being launched right at his head. God dammit. He ran back a few steps, thanking every fiber of his body that his reaction time was pretty high quality. Jon was able to cover enough distance that rather than being smacked in the head, the ball slammed his right in the chest. Jon wrapped his hands around the ball, pulling it in and keeping it close with his forearms. Nice. Ball: Caught. Receive: Perfect… Except… As he let his body follow the momentum, Jon felt the back of his ankle knock against something, and he toppled backwards.

“And down I go.” The exclamation was involuntary as he hit the ground with a thud. His recovery period was quick. The man sat up just in time to see one of his teammates cackling at Jon’s expense. “What the hell Batson?”

“Sorry man.” That boy was not sorry. Billy had been a close friend of Jon’s for years, but he could be a bit of a joker. “Also, uh, sorry!”

Jon scrunched his eyebrows at the second apology, noting that it definitely wasn’t for him. That was about when Jon became aware of the weird lump under his leg.

A backpack.

Shit.

“I’m so sorry.” Jon scrambled to his feet, brushing any grass or dirt off his sweatpants. He was careful for the disrupt the bag anymore than he already had.

“You should be.” The lower register voice made Jon unintentionally wince -- Please don’t start a fight right now -- He look at the person belonging to the backpack.

A guy sat on top of jacket, as if he were using it as a picnic blanket of sorts. He wore a rather comfortable looking green sweater, despite it being a nice, seventy six degree day. As Jon’s eyes traced over the figure under the sweater, taking note of how naturally tanned the guy’s skin was, leading up to the mans face and -- Oh… Oh that was a death glare if he’d ever seen one.

It was then that Jon realized he was also stepping on something, well, somethings to be exact. He took a step back and kneeled to pick up an assortment of what he was pretty sure were charcoal pencils. “Um… here.” He handed them to the guy.

This guy stared at Jon for a moment before reaching out with one color-covered hand, palm out flat. Jon dropped the pencils in the hand, being careful not to get any of whatever that ink was on his own hands. He watched as the individual organized the charcoal next to a box of what looked like oil pastels. Well, that explained the color.

“Sorry again.” Jon felt kinda sheepish. “It won’t happen again. I’ll yell at the guy who threw the ball, and uh… yell at myself for falling.”

The fellow sighed. “I didn’t think I’d be in the way when I sat here.”

“You’re not! I promise this was a one time fluke.”

Hazel eyes seemed to study Jon’s face to see if he was really sincere or not. “I’ll take your word for it.” The man then picked up a sketch book that had been resting on the grass next to him, and leaned it carefully against his knees.

Suddenly, something clicked in Jon’s head. “Oh! You’re that dude who’s always drawing here!”

“Excuse me?” The guy rose an eyebrow, and for some reason Jon suddenly felt a bit flustered.

“No I mean,” He took a step back, trying to actually think before he spoke. “I just see you here a lot. Like, during practice I’ll look and and it’s like, boom, you’re there.”

The other male let out a sigh, turning his attention away from the moronic quarterback, and back to his artwork. “I suppose I’m here often.”

“You are.” Yeah that sounds about right Kent. Tell the guy exactly how often he’s here. That’s just a fantastic idea. “I mean, well, I notice that you are.” There was an awkward bit of silence, where this other student was probably just trying to ignore Jon’s presence on that hill. Rightfully so. He was definitely just bothering the guy. “So… Do you always draw the team?”

“No.” The answer was short and simple, but one glance upward must have allowed the man to see just how painfully curious Jon was. “Sometimes I draw what’s in front of me, sometimes I draw based on assignments, sometimes I just draw whatever comes to mind first.”

“That’s so cool.” He peaked over the edge of the sketchbook once more to get a look at the work in progress. “You’re really good.”

“Thank you.”

Jon was about to open his big mouth all over again, probably to make another dumb comment, when his coach’s voice suddenly boomed over the whole field. “Kent! Stop flirting and get back over here!”

“Yes Coach!” Jon called back over his shoulder. “Uh… I’ll catch you later?”

“Perhaps.” The artist shrugged. “Goodbye, Kent.”

For some reason, that just brought a grin to the junior’s face. “It’s Jon, actually. Kent’s my last name.”

“Alright then. Goodbye, Jon.”

“Can’t I get your name first?”

The man looked up from his work with a sigh, making eye contact with the football player once more. “Damian.”

Practice ended rather uneventfully, with the usual post-training pre-game huddle Coach Stone always made them do. Supposedly it boasted moral until the more official motivational speech in the locker room, but Jon didn’t know enough about psychology to say one way or another. The members of the team started branching off, each going back to their bags to collect their things and head out. As Jon was heading back to his own bag, he looked up and noticed that the artist from before was starting to pack up his things as well.

“Hey!” Jon ran over to Damian, before the other was fully packed up. “Wait a sec.”

Damian didn’t slow as he put placed a piece of wax paper between the pages in his sketchbook, and closed it. “What do you want?”

“Are you going to the game tonight?” Jon awkwardly adjusted the strap of his gym bag over his shoulder.

Damian looked him over, then, he carefully put the sketchbook in his messenger bag. “I doubt it.”

There was a very good change that Jon looked like a kicked puppy. A pout grew on his face. Childish? Maybe. But if it works, it works. “Why not?”

The art student shrugged. “I never purchased a ticket. Besides, I’m not so interested in sports events.”

“I can get you a ticket.” H flashed a grin. “And you could just come and draw or something?”

That got a puzzled look in response. “You want me to come to your game, and not watch it?”

The quarterback shifted, rocking back onto his heels, then to his toes. “Why not? Can’t a guy want to see a pretty face in the crowd?” He studied the expression on Damian’s face, noticing the change from confusion, to what he dared to call fluster.

“How--” Damian coughed into his hand. “How will I get the ticket?”

The smile on Jon’s face would have split his head in two. “I’ll leave it at Will Call for you.”

84 notes · View notes

modernlotrhobbitthoughts · 6 years ago

Text

Tauriel - Day Four

Next is one of the more controversial characters in the whole Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series: Tauriel. She didn’t exist in the books, yet was put into the movies as a female elf fighter, alongside Legolas (who also wasn’t in that book). I know that there are some people who were unhappy with Tauriel, and some who just straight up didn’t like her. Personally, I think that she’s a really interesting character, and that she did add to the story. (In addition, it’s not necessarily canon that she WASN’T there, but I’ll talk about that later.)

Tauriel, by MariaNovikova on deviantart

Quick notes: Basically, Evangeline Lilly, who portrayed Tauriel in Desolation of Smaug and Battle of Five Armies had two conditions for her to be in the films: 1) she needed to play a character that she thought was true to the Tolkein universe, and 2) she would not be involved in a love triangle. We’re all well aware of the love triangle that Tauriel ends up involved in, and the debate is still out on whether she was true to the universe. While she wasn’t technically part of the book, it must be noted that the entire novel is told from the perspective of Bilbo, and, as the two characters have no interactions, it is possible that Tauriel did exist (in the scope of Middle Earth, not necessarily Tolkien's vision). That’s not, however, what I’m going to be talking about in this post (so please take your discourse elsewhere).

The thing that I really want to appreciate about Tauriel is how her character varies from the other Elf maidens in the series. We see Arwen, the perfect and beautiful daughter of Elrond, and Galadriel, the ethereal and powerful Lady of Lothlorien. Tauriel is our first look at how an elven warrior, or someone of non-royal blood, may act. She has a job in the kingdom of Mirkwood, and seems to be very good at her job, as she works closely with the prince, Legolas.

She’s a very good fighter, as first displayed against the spiders in Mirkwood. Her style of fighting is very precise and intense, without too much fluff or unnecessary movements. Based on the fact that she works directly for the king, we can infer that she’s been trained to end battles quickly, which seems to be in the style of Thranduil, so that makes sense. She’s a good fighter, etc.

The one scene that I do want to talk about is the scene after Barrels out of Bond, where Tauriel shoots an orc’s arrow out of the air with her arrow to save Legolas. Ignoring the physics of this scene (unless you don’t want to, in which case click here), the important thing is what’s addressed at the end of that article: What was Tauriel thinking? Rather than just shooting the orc, she shoots the arrow, showing not only her fighting skills, but revealing a bit about her personality as well. The orc that she didn’t shoot is later shown in the throne room, and reveals some information about the “real enemy.” Perhaps she knew that they wanted someone for that? The more likely explanation is that she simply wanted to show-off. Not necessarily because she’s vain or wants attention, but more because she’s just frustrated as being seen as just another soldier, or, in Legolas’ case, a love interest. Obviously, we can’t know for sure, but it seems fairly reasonable to me.

ANOTHER THING THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT IS HOW SHE’S PORTRAYED AS A FEMALE CHARACTER. I want to talk about this mainly in relation to her relationship with Kili. This is certainly one of the areas where I will say that Peter Jackson did well. Her fighting skills and good actions are not diminished by her emotions. Throughout both DoS and BoFA, the audience can see that she develops feelings for Kili, based on how her manner towards him changes throughout the two films.

Kili and Tauriel, by @drawblog

The thing that I REALLY want to applaud is that there’s no scene where Tauriel seems to lose her fighting abilities and has to be “rescued” by Kili (or Legolas). In fact, quite the opposite might seem to be true. AND she still has emotions and a personality, rather than being the “strong female character” that’s strong because she can fight. Yes, part of her personality revolves around her feelings for a man, but she was awesome before she met Kili, and she didn’t change after that. I’m going to stop on this subject, for fear of just repeating myself over and over again, but I really love this about Tauriel.

Fanart, finally!

Tauriel, by EM-MIKA

formal!Tauriel, by @adylainne

Modern Tauriel, by Kaye Magistro - I love the visual of her in stared themed clothing.

Tauriel, by Helen Kupp

Okay let’s just jump straight in:

Modern AU - personal thoughts time: Tauriel was very popular in school. She came from a lower-class family, but her parents (seperated, but both good people) relentlessly encouraged her to do well in school. She interned at Thranduil’s law firm for the last two years of high school, having known Legolas through many of her years at school as well as co-ed sports. She got into a prestigious law school on sports scholarships and a hefty donation from Thranduil (who hoped that she’d come work for his firm after graduation). She became a public interest lawyer, specializing in class action lawsuits and non-profit representations, working for Thranduil’s company (though she didn’t quite agree with all of his policies). She met Kili while working a case where people had sued against a prominent and discriminatory industry, along with its feared head “the Goblin King.” One of the people suing was Thorin, who claimed to have been physically attacked while on the Company’s premises. Tauriel was called to interview his witnesses, one of whom was Kili. When the war came around, she joined along with Legolas, and their team fought alongside Thorin’s in several main battles. Her relationship with Kili progressed, mostly in secret, until he was killed in battle. She survived and returned home, quitting her job with Thranduil’s company and moving across the country, to pursue a new career.

This was kind of a long one, but I have a LOT to say about Tauriel. I just want to emphasize again that I believe that she is a great character. I understand if you don’t like her, but I hope that you can still appreciate some aspects of how she was portrayed in the films.

Tauriel, byMelusine-FleurAvalon on deviantart

48 notes · View notes